I know what I would love to get. I have a real longing to get a vivid yellow into my brown hair. I don't want an all over color because that's too much.
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I showed my hair stylist a picture of what I would love to get done with my hair. He booked me in for a balayage.
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I was happy with this but now I found something else that would be the most suitable thing for me and my hair and my hair goals too and that's a peek a boo highlights. It's perfects for me. I want to get a bold color worked into my hair in some way but I would like to also keep it somewhat soft or subtle and easy to grow out. The peekaboo highlights would be perfect for me. I get the bold color pop.
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Do I need to contact my hair stylist and change my appointment? Or do I just show up on the day and show him the peekaboo look that I would love to get instead of the bolder block of colour balayage?
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Cally sawyer: Cally is a wild/angry girl, she has A LOT of anger issues that she needs to work on but hasn’t. Cally was also a rebel in the sawyer family as she constantly bugged/pranked and even hurt hitchhiker and the others for fun, Cally wears a cowboy hat, ripped, worn out jeans. A belt, checkered shirt, and a white t shirt. In her VO lines it shows how easy it is for her to get angry, if she loses sight of a victim, you could hear her yelling at herself and even blame the others if they are close. Cally’s ability “Peek-a-boo” allows her to crouch for 20 seconds, if she spots a victim she can get up-close behind them and grab them holding the victim hostage for 5-8 seconds, the victim can be rescued by a sneak attack or a leland barge. Once the timer is up, the victim looses 25% of their health. (Cally and the victim is highlighted to EVERYONE for the entire duration.) Her weapon of choice is a broken glass shard.

• I think I posted quite a fair bit of background information in my previous post here so I will not reiterate here for brevity
• Refer to link here for a map which details the entire trip based on an app tracker
• My goal is to provide datapoint for other parts of Japan that isn’t Osaka, Kyoto or Tokyo which I feel is well documented in this forum by other knowledgeable posters. Primarily, I intend to drive awareness for Shikoku, Shimane/Tottori and Kanazawa/Noto Peninsula which are hidden gems for people who would like to chance it
• Since 36 days is long, I intend to first cover Shikoku, Shimanami Kaido up to Hiroshima which is about 10 days.
• Special footnote/write-up is given for things that might be of interest e.g. getting sightseeing train tickets etc.
• If there’s interest for subsequent sections then I’ll consider making follow up posts for other sectors in due course (in particular, Shimane, Tottori, Kinosaki Onsen, and Kanazawa, Noto Peninsula).
• I include links to photos from my own (throwaway) blogger where applicable which I have originally shared with a few close friends; for now I will refrain from linking my blog in full as I do not think that is permitted. Please correct me if that is not the case.

Day 0 – Narita, Tokyo Station [Tokyo]
Touched down at Narita just after 1700 and cleared immigration at Narita Airport in 30 minutes. Was fortunate that the queue to redeem the JR Pass was also smooth, with under 20 minutes wait. All in all, I was able to get on the 1815 NEX train to Tokyo Station which is significantly quicker than my original estimate. Started to wait for the Sunrise Seto train arrival at around 2030; at that time there were already at least 3-4 other people in front of me queueing for the shower card. So if you want to shower on the train, get there significantly earlier before the official arrival time at 2150.I had managed to get the Single Twin bed which was barely enough space for me and my large luggage; bed was of the hard variety but I still had a pretty nice sleep overall. You are given one pillow and a pyjamas per bed so I got to have two pillows as a result. Slept all the way to Okayama where I was a tad too late to witness the train decoupling. Got some onigiri from Lawson to snack on since there’s no food options onboard to purchase.
SECURING SUNRISE SETO TICKETS – so you want to get those tickets…
There’s typically two ways of doing it: either by getting direct from the JR Midori-no-Maruguchi with a physical friend proxy right when the reservations are open at 1000JST [it’s so well-known that there’s a Japanese term for it i.e. 10時打ち lit. ‘strike at 10’], or getting it yourself online through the JRwest portal. I got mine through the latter, though I will note that you will need to be FAST to get it, like =< 1 minute fast from ticket selection to payment. The room reservation is only guaranteed when you make payment so you’ll need to do some dry runs if you are serious about it. I note that the Tokyo~Takamatsu/Izumo tickets sell significantly faster compared to the reverse route, so you might want to consider the reverse route for an easier time if you just want to ride it for the experience.
JR nationwide pass covers the basic fare, but you will still need the room reservation ticket.
Redeeming the tickets is simple enough – just retrieve it from an e5489 machine [JR west ticketing machines, specifically] and inserting your credit card that you have used for the reservation, as well as the reservation code. Do note that you can’t just retrieve it from those Midori-no-Maruguchis in Narita Airport or Tokyo Station as those are under JR East [I have been refused service by the staff on this matter]. Also, e5489 machines within Tokyo prefecture is limited so please check in advance where they are available.
Day 1 – Kotohira [Kagawa], Iya Valley [Tokushima]
Reached Takamatsu very early in the morning just before 0730. Managed to reserve all of the upcoming limited express trains via the e5489 machines, using the nationwide JR pass. The entire process of reserving ~9 limited express/Shinkansen tickets was done relatively quickly within 15 minutes; the only pet peeve I have is that you need to key in your passport number for every single reservation. There’s English option so no need to fret if you cant interpret kanji/hiragana/katakana. Took a train over to Kotohira to explore Kotohiragu. The view from the top overlooking the town is great, though the climb will be challenging if you’re not used to walking long distances (in my opinion, slightly difficult than the climb in Fushimi Inari, Kyoto). Also didn’t help that it was raining on the day. Had a nice sanuki udon meal along the shopping street. After that, I took the limited express Nanpu down to Oboke where I took the boat ride along the gorge. The train has a dedicated luggage compartment similar to the NEX thus no issue storing my luggage on the train. Innkeeper picked me up and drove me to look at the peeing boy statue overlooking Iya Valley before retiring for the night at the lodge [Kajiya Iya Romantei]. The lodging is undoubtedly one of the most memorable stays that I had in this trip, which in a sentence, is quintessential rural Japan living (and that is saying something for a ~36 day travel trip).
Day 2 – Iya Valley, Mount Tsurugi [Tokushima]
With the innkeeper gladly driving me around the valley, I explored some of the local hotspots such as the Oku-Iya vine bridges and the Nagoro Scarecrow Village. The scarecrow village was interesting in that it feels like a gloomy portend of most countryside towns/villages due to the ongoing ageing /depopulation situation in Japan. However, the main event was the snowy hike up Mount Tsurugi; due to its high altitude it was already snowing in mid-November. Took almost 2.5 hours to get to the top via the ropeway and down; there was somehow an eatery open near the top which was much needed for me to recharge before heading down. Ended the day with a scenic drive along Ochrai Village overlooking the valley.
Day 3 – Kochi [cityside]
Early start to the day, catching the first limited express train Shimanto at 0720 from Oboke down to Kochi. The morning view along Iya Valley was magnificent. After dropping my luggage at the hotel, proceeded to hit various hotspots such as Kochi Castle and Hirome Market to try out the seared bonito, before heading southwards towards Godai Observatory Post/ Makino Botanical Gardens. Ended the day with a visit to Kasurahama to look at the beach, as well as the Sakamata Ryoma Memorial Museum. While I didn’t manage to time my trip to coincide with the Sakamata Ryoma festival, I was still able to get on a time-limited scaffold structure to view the larger-than-life size of him at face height which was pretty cool for 100yen. The one-day My-Yu bus pass is quite useful if you intend to hit multiple destinations within Kochi in one day, using the sightseeing bus. There are also associated discounts with it as well. Do note that the Tosaden (bus company) does not accept Suica or Icoca so you’ll have to pay in cash.
Day 4 – Ino [Kochi], Takamatsu [Kagawa]
Had a half day worth of time in Kochi before heading back to Takamatsu so I arranged for a sightseeing taxi to bring me to Suiseibuchi and Nikobuchi (Niyodo Blue). The views were in general, not bad, though I suppose I came at a lull period where the water flow was a tad underwhelming. The waters hum a pretty cobalt blue color as per advertised. The sightseeing taxi driver also drove me to some of the hotspots such as Aso Submersible Bridge which was featured in Netflix’s Belle. For a 25k taxi cost for ~4.5 hours, it is a bit pricey, but at the same time, it is mandatory if you do not drive since public transport is almost non-existent in that sector; we are talking about < 3-4 buses a day , with 3-4 hours inbetween frequencies. Still, I do think its worth the asking price, bonus if you are able to handle basic conversation with your driver [fwiw, I had a 72 year old man driving me around and explaining the history behind the places, showing me some hidden spots, as well as treating me to some local pudding (!) out of his own pocket which was really above and beyond what I had expected].
The entire sightseeing taxi trip lasted from 0800 till 1320; I initially booked a limited express Nanpu from Kochi to Takamatsu at 1530, however since the sightseeing trip ended earlier than expected, I managed to make good use of my JR pass to re-book an earlier departure time at 1430 at no extra cost. Just bring your ticket and JR pass to the pass office and explain your situation; the staff will follow up from there. Note that most rail staff do not speak English so do prepare Google translate if you are unable to speak Japanese out of hand. Took the 1430 Anpanman-decal train back to Takamatsu to end the night at one of the nearby business hotel. Did I mention that there’s no shortage of Anpanman related stuff within Shikoku?
Day 5 – Ritsuin Gardens, Naoshima [Kagawa]
As the bike rental in Naoshima only opens after 0900, I decided to make an early play for Ritsuin Gardens which was open from 0630 before boarding the ferry at 0920; apart from a few locals, I basically had the entire gardens to myself. These picturesque photos speak for themselves. I had a nice time strolling around the gardens for about 1.5 hours. The only downside starting this early is that the café in the gardens are closed, but it has minimal bearing on me since I’m not a café type of person.
After that, I made my way back to the ferry terminal where I boarded the fast craft at 0920 over to Naoshima. The ride took around 20-30 minutes. As stated in the Benesse Art Museum website, you could either take a shuttle bus to get around the island, or cycle by renting an e-bike. I took the latter option for 1500yen , renting from a shop near the port - no reservations required, first come first served. The cycling option allows you to traverse down to the southern part of Naoshima where the museums are [Chichu Art Museum, Benesse Art Museum, Lee Urfan Museum etc] without having to depend on the shuttle buses. I would warn that within the Benesse House Area, the segment between Chichu Art Museum to Tsutsuji-so [where the yellow pumpkin is] is a no-car and no-bicycle zone, meaning that you’ll need to park your bicycle at a designated parking area, and walk between Chichu to Lee Urfan/Benesse/etc, or time yourself well using the shuttle buses. Also, if there are a lot of people waiting for the shuttle buses, you may not be able to board and be forced to wait for the next bus (I think it was on a 30 minutes frequency). I spent nearly ~5 hours exploring the museums along this stretch.
After exploring whatever the museums have to offer, I took a return shuttle bus back to the bicycle parking area and cycled over to the Honmura area where there are multiple art houses and the Ando Museum to explore. My personal opinion is that the Benesse House Area should be the main priority if you are short on time; the art houses at Honmura are good, but they’re not a must-do. Spent about ~1.5 to 2 hours in this area.
Finally, I cycled my way back to Miyanoura to peek at the red pumpkin before boarding the return ferry to Takamatsu at 1700. All in all a pretty hectic day, but it was very enjoyable. I reckon for art connoisseurs you might like the idea of spending ~1.5 days on the island, with a night stay at the Benesse Art Museum (it has a hotel segment).
Day 6 – Matsuyama, Iyo-Ozu and Yawatahama [Ehime]
Started the day off with an early 0600 train from Takamatsu over to Matsuyama via the limited express Ichitsuchi, with a 2.5 hour train ride coasting along the Seto Island Sea. As with all previous limited express trains in Shikoku, there’s a dedicated luggage storage space for large luggage like mine. Dumped luggage at the hotel near Okaido before taking the limited express Uwajima towards Iyo-Ozu at ~1100. Explored Ozu Castle [which was reconstructed relatively recently as far as castles goes] as well as Garyu Sanzo (view was pretty good in autumn). Getting around the area was relatively easy since I rented an electric assist bike near the station for ~500 yen for 3 hours. Public transport in this section is relatively limited so its probably better to cycle around; the attractions are relatively close to one another making cycling a feasible option. Spent about 4 hours in Ozu; it has that sleepy countryside vibe to it that I do like. From Iyo-Ozu, I headed further south towards Yawatahama to do some sightseeing related to Suzume No Tojimari; the town has these chairs dotted around the townscape for visitors to explore which I thought was a pretty neat way of getting people to walk around (and spend tourism dollars in the town). There was a total of 9 chairs to visit, of which I managed to find 6~7 [one was in a public bath that was closed on that day]. That said, apart from Suzume there wasn’t much else that would appeal to foreign tourists to Yawatahama in my opinion except…
The final, and main event of the day was taking the evening Iyonada Monogatari train from Yawatahama back to Matsuyama. The food provided for tea was very filling [I skipped dinner as a result] and very delicious, and presented in a form reminiscent of English tea time. Along the way, there were regular citizens who were waving towards the train which I thought was really a nice touch. The train made a brief stop at Shimonada Station [that station labelled as the closest station to the sea] where there were a lot of locals waiting for this train to pull in, so that they could take photos of it. Unfortunately by the time the train pulled in, the skyline was almost dark thus there was no chance of taking a photo of the fabled sunset view. Nevertheless, it still made for a pretty picture. Returned to Matsuyama to crash for the night, walked along Matsuyama’s shopping street Okaido to get a feel of the city vibe.
JR nationwide pass covers the base fare for Iyonada Monogatari, but you'll still need to get a limited express ticket at 9900 yen (fees include food, but excludes souvenirs etc). Reservation is simple through a dedicated JR Shikoku reservation website, though I do note that the tickets for the Iyonada Monogatari do run out pretty quickly so you'll have to grab them as soon as you can [reservations opens 3 months in advance iirc.] Do note that you'll need to give them your hotel address as they will forward you the train ticket via post, in true traditional format. Also, seat locations are assigned randomly (you cannot select your preferred seat location through this method).
Day 7 – Matsuyama, Imabari [Ehime]
There was a cyclone warning in the morning, thus I decided to take my time for breakfast in the hotel. After checking out, I started making preparations for tomorrow’s ride along Shimanami Kaido starting with sending my luggage across to Onomichi.
A note on oversized luggage logistics across Shimanami Kaido:
Typically, for people with <160cm dimension luggage, you could make good use of Sagawa Transport's same-day luggage forwarding service to forward luggage between selected hotels/hostels at Imabari or Onomichi. However, since my luggage was ~167cm in dimension which exceeds the permissible limits, I decided not to chance it and make use of the standard Takkyubin service offered by most (if not all hotels) to forward my luggage. The downside is that it is not a same-day service i.e. I send my luggage on the 19th morning, the luggage reaches Onomichi on the 20th evening. So to manage the fact that I wont be having access to my luggage for one day, I did the following:

• Pack whatever I do not need for the night into my luggage, and forward via Takkyubin to Onomichi today morning since it takes at least one day to forward
• Pack whatever clothing I need for the night into a large bag, and carry with me to the hotel to be used. Then, on the next day, I’ll forward this same large bag via Sagawa Transport to Onomichi at the hostel so that I don’t need to carry them while cycling, reducing my carry load.

Sending luggage through Takkyubin via your hotel is simple – just tell the staff where your next hotel/hostel destination is, let them know that the content of the luggage (just say its clothes etc, probably for insurance/liability concerns), fill your particulars and pay the forwarding charge (~2.2k yen in my case, subject to distance). If you are paranoid you could stick an AirTag in the luggage; I personally did for that extra peace of mind, but it was probably unnecessary since Takkyubin never disappointed me for this entire trip.
After preparing for tomorrow’s cycling, I started off exploring Matsuyama, starting with Bansuiro and Saka no Ue No Kumo Museum which are essentially side-by-side to one another; while I cannot fully appreciate the latter since it was entirely in Japanese [my understanding is limited], the architecture by Tadao Ando is worth a visit at least. From there, took a bus over to Dogo Onsen to watch the Botchan Karakuri Clock animatronics on the hour, strolling along the shopping streets and try the local delicacy taimeshi. The actual onsen building was still under renovation at that point in time, but it was still usable/accessible. Didn’t use it though due to the excessively long queue, and I have already planned for onsen ryokans later in the trip so missing it wasn’t too much of a loss. Then, proceeded to Matsuyama Castle via the ropeway; as one of the few original castles left standing, the view of the city from the castle is something to behold. By then, it was already 1530 and I proceeded back to JR Matsuyama to hitch the return Ichitsuchi limited express train to Imabari, followed by a local bus to my final lodging for the night Sunrise Itoyama. This hostel offers a room at just 4.4k yen with the downside that it has no private shower facilities [you’ll need to use the bathhouse]. However, the main reason for staying here is that it is just under a minute walk from the bicycle rental store, which means I’ll be able to grab my rental e-bike immediately when it opens at 0800 with almost zero downtime, allowing me to maximize my cycling time. The hostel has a nice restaurant with steak option at a relatively affordable 1.5k yen.
I should mention that the buses under Iyotetsu do not accept Suica or Icoca so you’ll have to buy their brand of IC card, or pay by cash (which is what I did, and it’s a pet peeve of mine).
Day 8 – Shimanami Kaido [Ehime], Onomichi [Hiroshima]
Had early breakfast at the hotel; proceeded to check out shortly after and forwarded my large bag through the hostel frontdesk to my hotel in Onomichi. There were people queuing outside the bicycle rental store before it opened at 0800, but I was able to get the reserved e-bike in 15 minutes.
Some general opinions regarding the entire cycling experience:

• Using an e-bike means you MUST finish within the day no matter what; you can only return it at Sunrise Itoyama, or at Onomichi – no halfway returns
• The hard time limit to return the bike at Sunrise Itoyama or Onomichi is 1900, but realistically you shouldn’t drag beyond 1700 in autumn/winter since some of the streets are not as well-lit, and you are not given any bike lights to navigate at night
• Do not try to rush for the 1025 ferry between Omishima to Okunoshima from Sunrise Itoyama/Imabari [if you're starting around 0800 just like me]; my opinion is that at average fitness you’ll need 2.5~3 hours to cycle from Sunrise Itoyama down to the ferry port. In my haste to rush I fell twice and nearly got hit by traffic, so please do not make the same mistake be me.
• First aid options are available at Lawsons (bandages etc) should you fall or injure yourself [you'll need to buy them].
• You are provided a helmet with the bike, at no added charge.
• The cycling segment to/from Oyamazumi Shrine can be challenging with uphill/downhill roads. Individuals on manual pedal bikes may find this difficult.
• In addition, cycling up and down the island bridges can be challenging as well with significant inclines. Be forewarned if you’re on manual pedal.
• Vending machines/Lawsons are relatively common along the main cycling path so its probably okay not to be excessively prepared, but at least have a bottle of watepokkari sweat and a packet of gummies for that hydration/one-off sugar boost.
• In general, the cycling path are well-demarcated with the blue line, though there was a segment at Innoshima where I accidentally went off path and had to check against Google maps to course-correct myself.
• I do note that there were moments where I didn’t felt comfortable cycling too close to vehicles, most notably at Mukaishima near the ferry port to/from Onomichi. That said, as long as you do your best to stick to the blue line, most local drivers would also try to keep a berth from you which is well appreciated.
• There were local tourism representatives at the bike rental store promoting the use of the Shimanami Kaido app for cyclists to use; I downloaded and used it to track my cycling path. For what its worth, I think its pretty user friendly, and worth a download just to track your own cycling route. The app is in English so no Japanese knowledge is needed.
• Psychologically, starting from the hardest/longest bridge from Imabari feels great when you've cleared it. Also, you get to pose with the iconic SHIMANAMI sign overlooking the longest bridge of the route [Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge 来島海峡大橋] right outside the bike rental store before starting off.

I started off from Sunrise Itoyama at 0815, cleared Oshima at around 0930 and Hakatajima just after 1000. Realized that I wont be able to make it to the 1025 ferry to Okunoshima so I decided to de-tour to Oyamazumi Shrine instead. Individuals who have interest in samurai swords and maritime related history would like the place. After exploring the shrine, I cycled back towards Ikuchijima where I had a filling lunch at Soil Setoda just before 1300. After lunch, i stopped by Kousanji and the Hill of Hope ; those two are probably the most touristy hotspot that I’ve seen in this cycling day. Also, stopped by Dolce Ice cream for a quick lemon icecream. By then it was just after 1500 where I realized that if I do not pick up the pace I would be in trouble so I raced through Innoshima and Mukaishima, reaching the ferry port just before 1700. By the time I returned my bike at Onomichi it was around 1715, not too far off from my original estimate. Based on the Shimanami Kaido app, the total distance covered was ~95km, more than the 70km blue line estimate due to the detour to Oyamazumi Shrine. Being injured on both knees, I settled for a quick Onomichi ramen, walked around the shopping streets (which was unfortunately deserted at night) before heading back to the hotel to recuperate. Both luggage and my large bag were in one piece waiting for me at the hotel.
Day 9 – Okunoshima, Takehara, Hiroshima [Hiroshima]
I initially planned to tour around Onomichi in the morning, but since I was suffering from temple fatigue I decided to swap for Okunoshima instead. Unfortunately there was a slight train delay from Onomichi which resulted in me missing my connecting train to Tadano-umi, with the next train a cool 2 hours away. As a result I had to use a taxi from Mihara costing a cool 5k yen to maintain my planned schedule to catch the 0945 ferry over to Okunoshima. Made use of the baggage storage service at the souvenir shop to keep my luggage while I tour around the island. I took around 2.25 hours to traverse along the island at a relatively moderate/brisk walking pace, which is similar to the recommended time required for the short course. Get at least 2 or more rabbit feed bags since those go in a flash quickly. I am aware that you could feed them raw vegetables but I’m a bum and didn’t prepare them ahead of time. I suppose the highlight for me was the poison gas museum (I think there isn’t any English translation so prepare your google lens if you need). I find that brown rabbits are the dominant types on the island, followed by grey, black and white rabbits. Returned to the mainland shortly before 1300.
Cue second curveball of the day – the 1320 local train that I planned to take to Takehara was delayed for at least an hour due to ‘collision with human’ (I wish I made that up). Fortunately, there was a parallel bus service running from Tadano-umi to Taekhara around 1330. The bus has no dedicated luggage storage space, however there were only two other passengers so it wasn’t too embarrassing to bring my luggage up the bus. My thought is that as long as you don’t block the passageway its probably okay. I spent about 1.5~2 hours walking around Takehara for anime reasons (Tamayura), but I do think it’s a quaint townscape worth the time to explore if you’re already heading to Okunoshima, such as Saihoji [西方寺], Takehara Conservatory Townscape and 旧笠井邸.
The final item on my day was to board the sightseeing train etSETOra from Takehara to Hiroshima where I have planned to stay for 3 nights there. There is a dedicated baggage holding area so no problem on that front. Similar to Iyonada Monogatari, this train is different from your typical train with dedicated seat numbers, as well as a shop where you can purchase snacks, drinks as well as train-related souvenirs. I find sightseeing trains a great way to ‘slow down’ your travel and enjoy watching the scenery unfolding in front of you. In this case, the view of the Seto Inland Sea is extremely captivating to me as I reflect on my journey across Shikoku over the past week. Upon reaching Hiroshima, I boarded a local bus over to the hotel, dropped my luggage and had dinner at Okunomura to try out the okonomiyaki; it was delicious, but I note that trying to find seats during peak dinner hours (1800~) will be challenging even for a solo patron like myself.
JR nationwide pass covers the base fare for etSETOra, but you'll still need to get a limited express ticket at ~1000 yen. I note that the demand for this sightseeing train is relatively low (compared to Iyonada Monogatari) so snagging those ticket seats should be easy; I reckon you may be able to get those tickets on the same day. Reservations can be made through the JRwest website. Seat locations are assigned pseudorandomly (you cannot select your exact seat location through the JRwest portal, but you can 'sort-of' choose the approximate location (based on the seat alphabets A/B/C/D), and mulligan if you don't like your assigned seat [I cannot remember if there was an administrative cost for mulliganing your seat] ).
This day is a good reminder that things don’t always go as per planned during a vacation, but knowing your alternative options (which in this case is as simple as using google maps) and acting on it can help to salvage (or even enhance) your trip experience.

I am an estranged adult child--LC/VLC with my parents and sibling. An entire category of the many, many, many reasons I am estranged from them was their behavior toward my children, particularly subsequent to my divorce. Highlights include religious trauma, extreme and open favoritism of my sister's children, and abject disinterest in my children unless they realized they'd "look bad" by not attending (the only event they attended was high school graduation).
An example of what "quality time" with their grandparents was like for my kids: I let my kids stay with my parents once when they were toddlers (long before the divorce). My youngest came home with scabs and a bruise on his temple, accompanied by my mother's horrifying "amusing anecdote" about how Mom and Dad were putting in a rock garden with columnar basalt pillars and as the boys were playing nearby, she had watched them (ages 2 and 4½) playing some toddler boys' version of "peek-a-boo, you can't hit me" with the largest rocks they could lift. A) No one was the dedicated adult in charge of two toddlers while farm equipment was being operated in their near proximity, and B) Rather than intervene before someone got hurt, she allowed this game to continue until one of them hit the other in the head with a rock AND THEN when it resulted in a profusely bleeding bump on the head, rather than provide care and comfort immediately she allowed him to "scream as the blood ran down his face and dripped off his chin" as my oldest watched "with eyes like saucers," to "teach them a lesson"... all while my dad also said and did nothing. Jesus Christ.
My kids did not stay at my parents' again without me until they were in junior high and then only because it was a last resort.
After the divorce, which was devastating, my parents and sister were every bit as much as anticipated "not a support system." Ever.
When my ex retired from the military several years after the divorce, he wanted a custody change. One son wanted to live with him, the other did not. Rather than talk to me face-to-face and do it pro se through the court assistance office, he had to lawyer up.
We knew his parents were paying his legal fees. My parents, who never liked him or his family for no real reason (which was a factor in the failure of our relationship), were aware that my sons received educational support services. They knew that he had been uninvolved in their education and healthcare by his choice for nearly 10 years. They were also aware that at one point, he made no contact (and refused to respond to contact) for over two years. They did not know the condition of the home, which my oldest son said was worse than his (paternal) grandmother's, who was a level 3-4 hoarder. I asked my parents for help retaining an attorney and explained that as important as it was for my kids to have relationships with both parents and both sides of the family, it would be an absolute disaster if one of the boys went to live with him. It would be splitting up brothers for no reason, and the son who wanted to live with their dad would not receive educational support services he needed if he went with his father (who had freaked out over the need for speech therapy and behavioral support).
Rather than support me, they said I may as well agree to it because "[I] wasn't doing anything with him anyway," and they gave me just enough to hire an attorney to say "ok" to the custody change.
After the custody change, the parental alienation and sibling alienatation began. My ex had by now married his affair partner and I had always been cast as the evil, mentally unstable (ex) wife in their narrative. Our older son was now also cast as bad/evil and wholly to blame for their financial woes because he didn't want to live with them and so my ex still had to pay child support for him.
My parents and sister had no problem with any of this, and never failed to shit talk my younger son for not being at family events during the alienation. They cannot be bothered to try to understand the harm it did to both of my sons, or me, nor do they care (it nearly destroyed each of us and continues to affect each of us in different ways to this day).
My youngest son absorbed a lot of his dad's opinions about me during the alienation. We have tried multiple times in his adulthood to re-establish a relationship, but each time it quickly became really clear that professional help is needed. My son isn't willing to do that, and I can't maintain my own mental health yet be around someone whose perception of me is frozen in 2005, treats me exactly like his dad and my parents & sister do, and "isn't happy with himself" unless he's self medicating.
The estranged parents subs are gross. I just can't even with those people.
I know why I'm estranged from my son, I know it's mutual, I absolutely own my part in it, and I'm willing to go to therapy with him to rebuild our relationship. What I am NOT willing to do is accept abuse or responsibility for other people's actions, including their choice to do nothing.
It took DECADES of my own healing for me to realize I'm not defective but I sure did have a lot stacked against me.
It wasn't my fault that I had depression and was surrounded by people who overtly interfered with my every effort to obtain treatment. It wasn't because I had strayed from God's will or was lacking in faith or hadn't prayed enough or for the right thing, it was because I was surrounded by assholes doing all sorts of asshole things to me and telling me I was crazy any time I made an outside connection and realized this isn't anywhere near normal.
It took me more than half of my own lifetime to understand that my ex, my parents, and my sister need me to "have something wrong with me" like a junkie needs a fix. It's how they self soothe. It's how they make themselves look good/like saviors. It serves as a fantastic distraction from their abuse and neglect (newsflash for them: as an adult, I've connected with people who knew what was going and haven't forgotten, and they don't blame me in the least for having very little to do with my family). That is always going to be their go-to narrative, no matter what or how well I am doing, and my best choice is to have them in my life as little as possible.
I know that my depression throughout his childhood resulted in trauma to my children (having a parent with mental illness is an Adverse Childhood Experience; whether or not the parent meant for it to be traumatic is irrelevant). I want him to heal from all of it, not "just" the abuse he suffered via the alienation. I don't want him to spend the rest of his life tormented by "why" and grieving the healthy relationship with the parent he could have had.
I can't be the only person in this situation, and want to connect with people who are dealing with the same things... not be part of the "missing missing reasons" crusade (🤮).

First off, you want the optimal bow for this. My recommendation is So'lek's survivor heavy bow. Optimally, you use pale materials (pale root, reed) and the best horn (clean kill stormglider) along with the skill point that gives better stats for newly created stuff. here's a good guide on collecting pale crafting materials
If you cannot get a strong heavy bow, I recommend getting armor and armor mods that either deal bonus wildlife damage or bonus weakspot damage, or both. It's also good to have the following skills active: - warrior tree: heavy bow expert, strength 3
- hunter tree: damage bonus - weak spots
Now you need food that will also increase your base damage. So any food that gives you fury 3 (stormglider meat, any thanator meat) is ideal.
NOW! you've got your armor, your weapon, and your food, it's time to farm some thanators (from a safe location)
Any screenshots of aiming at thanators were taken just before a clean kill. Getting a clean kill requires hitting the weakspot, which can be hit by aiming in between the flaps of skin that hold the twitching whiskers.
RegulaKinglor Wetlands Thanators:
There are trees that can be quite tricky to get into, but are superb at providing the best safespotting location for normal and Kinglor Wetlands thanators. Once you get the white border indicating a thanator is tracking you, jump onto the side branch of any tree that looks like this:
​
find any tree that looks like this and jump onto the branch that is angled to the side.
To get on these trees, you can either jump onto the stump and double jump neo around the trunk to the branch, or you can try high jumping from the ground and then spam jumping until you get onto the branch. Now you need to wait until they stop moving and you can see their weakspot.
when you get used to the thanator silhouette, it's about here. Be sure to put thanator on your pinned list so it'll highlight them when they're hiding
weakspot is more defined here.
I was dealing with 6 normal thanators at the same time and managed to clean kill 4 of them. 1 I misjudged the location, the last one I didn't realize was there until it was attacking me
Moss Forest Thanator:
This one is much easier. Use the nearby jump pad (sunflower gigantus) to stand on top of the Budding Watcher. (2/2 clean kills)
Jump onto this pad to get onto the Budding Watcher
Again, use the pinned list to use the silhouettes to your advantage
https://preview.redd.it/vmusantgcpbc1.png?width=496&format=png&auto=webp&s=ac3e8498b8c29f82f101df4344f8d95bc2367cb7
Boulderlands Thanator:
This one requires some bravery and a little bit of luck. There's a cloud pine right next to a massive dead-looking root system. It doesn't have to be this exact ledge, just one that the thanator can't jump up to from the ground. Then, you just gotta play peek a boo with the thanator as it tries to get to your ledge but can't. You should be close to it to see the weakspot nice and bright and then just shoot it when it stops moving as it decides what to do.
This is the kind of perch you want to be on - high enough to not get jumped on, but close enough to the thanator's prowling ground
the weakspot up close (but still a safe distance away)
​
To respawn a specific thanator, I usually will wait at a campfire for 2-3 full days and then hunt something else.
And that's it! Let me know what you think!

 
prev ch. 7-9
 

Chapter 10 - The Party

.
“We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where we don’t conduct business, where people don’t shop.”

• President George Bush, 10/12/2001

 
“The shooter is still at large, so let's pray for justice to prevail and then let’s move on and let’s celebrate - celebrate the independence of this nation.”

• Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey, 7/4/2022, after a nearby mass-shooting[1]

.
 
It was the first time Clayton had ever actually seen them kill somebody and he hadn’t expected to be this unaffected. He didn’t even drop his bag of booze. He had vaguely guessed that killings happened down at the barn but until now he didn’t really know. He wanted to be ‘cool’ with the cops. That meant giving the them a certain amount of space. It meant letting them think that the barn was theirs. He didn’t want to intrude, legally or socially, on whatever they might be doing. He had always told himself that any gunfire he heard was target practice. Even at night. Even when it was less than one clip.
Bottom line: if they were dispensing justice on his family’s property, even outside the ‘legal’ channels, he was proud to be a part of it. Like many young men from wealthy backgrounds with contempt both for work and idleness, Clayton gravitated towards politics. While his privileged peers rendezvoused, compared notes on their previous rendezvous, and planned their next rendezvous, Clayton war-gamed scenarios for how to take over the government so he could protect it from liberals.
Cultivating his own private militia was a natural step in the process. His political idol, Don Midas, had the Midas Militia. Why not Clayton’s Cowboys, or the Fairmont Five Hundred, or something like that? Bigger things had started with less people.
“Sorry,” the old cop said, “didn’t realize you were coming down this early, Clay.” “No, no - It’s no problem. I guess you guys are getting further along. Nobody can say you’re all talk.” “Yep. Finding terrorists, rooting them out. Did a little work for Dick Hathcock tonight.” “Oh, he’s staying up at the big house, for my grandfather’s thing tomorrow,” Clay said. “I guess you guys were involved with that thing with Elian Rodriguez, huh? At that porn star’s place?” “Yep.” There was an uncertain beat between them where the old cops worried that everything was at stake. “So you guys done killing for the night, or what?” Clayton asked, nodding towards Howie and the remaining revolutionaries. The old cop grinned and looked back at the captured leftists as if to double check who Clayton was talking about. “Kill?” He repeated. “I mean, kinda takes the sport out of it if they know what’s gonna happen.” “Maybe we could save them for later,” Clayton said. “For when Chet comes down. I’m gonna drop off this booze and go get him. You guys call everybody you know, ok? Oath Boys are gonna have a nice party tonight.” The older cop laughed. “Hell yea, brother,” he said.
Clayton followed behind the older officer looked down at the fallen body and recognized the corpse, a new guy who had just joined the militia and was maybe gonna become official. Clayton donated the money to hire him, get him his uniform and everything. He thought it was weird that a new cop would get killed by another cop. But part of being a good civilian meant knowing that he just shouldn’t ask. Maybe it would be even better to play it down with a joke. “Shit, I was going to ask somebody up there to help me bring the booze down - glad I didn’t!” He said. They both laughed. “The guy I was gonna ask is fuckin’ annoying, anyway,” Clayton continued. “Family hired him as the manager, up my ass all the time.” The old cop turned around to look Clayton directly in the eye. “You want to add him to the a pile?” He offered. Clayton’s breath emptied. He felt the sting of fear in his throat. The bottles clanged. Now, he almost dropped them. But the old cop’s empty expression flashed into a grin. He was only joking. Clayton gave a nervous laugh. They walked inside.
Local cops, some of them belonging to the Oath Boys, began arriving and bringing friendly citizens with them. Rumors spread about piles of cocaine and country singer Chet Sage and pretty soon there were more than a hundred people in the barn and more arriving. Headlights swept over the field as trucks, jeeps, and ATVs found parking. Small circles of people stood out in the field smoking. Coolers in the backs of trucks were opened and beers were handed out. One truck idled while it’s headlights lit up the party and country music blared from its speakers. Everyone was either already a member of the Oath Boys or was cool with them. And who didn’t want to be part of a fun-loving vigilante militia of self-identified ‘upstanding miscreants’? Whether they were center-right, far-right, alt-right, libertarian, anarcho-capitalist, christo-fascist, white nationalist, neocon, paleocon, paleo-libertarian, rad-trade, dissident right, reformicon,^link or just plain pissed off, tonight everyone set politics aside because it was just about having a good time.
As more and more people arrived, Clayton worried the party would get away from him. He didn’t want to get any guff from the fancy people up the hill who had arrived to celebrate his great-grandfather’s centenary in the Senate, but he was in a ‘fuck it’ mood since he had seen the dead body. Someone had brought tiki torches[3] and handed them out from the back of their truck. He grabbed himself a tiki torch and bitched about the government along with everybody else. He was excited to hang out with real Americans. His peers from prep school might hang out with poor people who were, like, drug dealers or whatever, but Clayton was never down with that. He was cool with these people. He was glad they were using his barn. Bigger movements in history had started in smaller places.
Inside the barn, the young enthusiastic officer was stuck with the lefties. He was drinking and keeping them quiet and out of sight in a stall. They were going to be brought out later, as a surprise. Someone had taken a trailer and set up a little stage inside the barn.
The old cop peeked his head over the stall to tell the young one they would have a remembrance ceremony for the one they had just killed. “But he died a traitor, right?” “Nah, nah - he died in the line of duty! Hell, I’ll probably speak at his funeral.” The old cop opened the stall door and leaned close to the young one and gave him a pearl of wisdom. “Look, those people out there? They can’t know, really, what it takes to keep ‘em safe.” He poked the young one in the chest to make a point. “You and I know there ain’t no heroes, but they need heroes. So that might as well be us, right?” It was a twist on some speech he heard about sheep and sheepdogs[4]. He’d kept the lesson with him throughout his career. “We still got the hoods? Put ‘em back on. It’ll be more dramatic.” “Alright.” The older officer stood, sipped his alcohol, and contemplated. No, they couldn’t know what kept them safe. Couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t handle the darkness. The worst of the world had to be kept secret from civilians, so they could keep their innocence. Otherwise, what was his job for?
 
 

Chapter 11 - Far Right Stag Fire

 
.
“Take all the rope in Texas, find a tall oak tree, Round up all them bad boys, hang them high in the street”

• Toby Keith, country singer, 2003

“Perhaps the best way to pull us back from the brink is a good public lynching."

• David Dietrich, Chairman of the Hampton, VA electoral board, 2022

.
Chet Sage’s helicopter landed after his concert. Clayton showed him his suite up at the big house and then proudly escorted Chet down to the party at the barn. As they were going down the hill, they could see headlights sweeping over the valley as new cars arrived. The flat stepping stones of the path near the big house dwindled into dirt as the estate gave way to the land where the barn stood. All of the Oath Boys were excited when Chet arrived. He was an icon.
“You want a beer?” “Always!” “Chet Sage wants me to get him a beer!” “Hey man, we’ve got a surprise for you, inspired by your new song.” Chet Sage had be working out a new song on his live tour called ‘Hang em High’ that hadn’t been released yet as a single but had been bootlegged and uploaded by fans. Before he went to greet Chet up at the Big House, Clayton had made sure to ask for decorative nooses hanging above the makeshift stage. The party guests didn’t think much of it, as nooses and gallows had come back into vogue as motifs for political gatherings. Mostly, they were signals to the guests that it was their kind of party. “Hey, would you maybe be ready to play us a song?” Clayton asked. Chet Sage took a shot of tequila. “I am now,” the singer said. “I’ll introduce you,” Clayton said.
He nervously mounted a makeshift stage that was basically just a trailer that had been backed into the barn and parked below the nooses. Though Clayton had helped his grandfather in speeches to donors, he had never greeted this many people before, or encountered an audience of this socioeconomic strata. He wasn’t sure how to do it. In spite of feeling grandiose, he knew ‘hark’ would be too formal and ‘whats up guys’ wouldn’t be formal enough. So he settled on ‘greetings’. He pushed the bounds of his own familiarity by adding ‘brothers’. He spread his arms wide.
“Greetings, brothers!” He said. “Greetings!” “Cheers!” They yelled. The ones with tiki torches joyously hoisted them aloft, while the recent arrivals with unlit torches received the shared flame. “First of all, I want to thank Sergeant Langley for brining the Oath Boys here tonight,” Clayton said. Everyone cheered, which settled Clayton down. Despite his vague sense of racial superiority, public speaking always made him nervous. “And secondly, I want to thank my Delta Iota Kappa brothers for bringing Chet Sage!” Everyone cheered even louder. A group of fraternity members chanted ‘dik, dik, dik’ in unison. “We brought some booze down from the big house, and we’ve got a bunch of beers here tonight-” “And coke!” Sergeant Langley yelled. “Hell yea! Y’all please enjoy it. Thanks again for coming. And now everybody, here’s Chet Sage!”
The country singer stepped up onto the stage and waved. Clayton was proud of himself for using the conjunction y’all. It did not feel natural but he thought he pulled it off. He hoped his flannel wasn’t too over-the-top. He’d sent out for it that morning, in anticipation of meeting the famous country singer.
Sergeant Langley elbowed his way to the microphone after Clayton. “Raise ‘em high, boys!” Langley said. “Let’s toast to Clayton, here, for offering us this space. And let’s toast to the supreme race! The race that has kept burning the flame of civilization - a lotta people don’t like me to say it, but fuck ‘em - the white race!” Everyone cheered. Clayton was startled at their frank and open racism. His class of people generally lowered the volume, if the subject was even broached at all. “And proud of it!” Langley said. “I’ll say it!” Members of the audience murmured. “Gad-dam.” Clayton got back on the microphone while Chet was still tuning his guitar. “And please be sure to vote for Senator Strom Fairmont,” Clayton added. “Hell yeah,” Langley said. “Let’s send him back to the Senate for another hundred years!” Everyone cheered. “Now let’s everyone make sure their torches are lit. We got something serious about to happen.”
Clayton beamed as he beheld the undulating sea of torches in his barn. He wasn’t just proud as a white man - he felt free to say that, now - but he was also proud as an event organizer. Nobody in his family took him seriously as a hotelier but he knew it was his own hospitality that had brought these people together, brought them to his family’s estate. He’d given these people a place to drink, do drugs, and now even kill commies. He’d even made sure the barn had wifi. It was the first step to upgrading the barn and turning it into an iconic gathering space. All the halls on the estate would be revamped, remodeled, and renamed. The barn would be called Stag.
“Now, we got our honored guest this evening, Mr. Chet Sage!” Langley said. Everyone cheered. “Honored to meet you, brother.” He shook Chet’s hand. Chet waved. “But we got some other honored guests, as well. Or, they’re dishonorable, more accurately. Give it up for our proud new officer, Officer Lane. C’mon, bring ‘em out!”
 
Officer Lane took that as his signal to march out Howie and the other prisoners from their stall behind the stage. “Now, I dunno if y’all heard,” Sergeant Langley said, “but Elian Rodriguez is dead.” Everyone cheered. “The Oath Boys brought three lucky lefties because we were part of that operation that killed him!” Chet laughed and clapped. Everyone cheered. “And I got some great news, boys - according to the paperwork, these commies are already dead! Which means,” he paused for silence, “we can do whatever we want with ‘em!” The crowd roared. They took the visual cue from the nooses and gradually resolved into a chant of ‘hang them’. Hang ‘em! Hang ‘em! Hang ‘em! Hang ‘em! The barn rocked with the rhythm of their stomping. Bits of straw fluttered down from the loft. Langley calmed them all down. “Sounds good to me!”
The nooses were a little high and someone found stools - an apple crate, a stump, whatever worked - and Lane forced them all to step up to where the nooses could reach. He walked behind the victims and slipped the nooses over their heads and cinched them tight around their necks. Howie struggled to keep his balance. At the opposite end of the line from Howie, they started. “Now let’s see who we’ve got under the hood, eh?” Langley said. Chet Sage and Clayton clapped and cheered along with everyone else. He pulled off the first hood, on the furthest victim at the opposite end of the line from Howie. He was a bearded hipster dressed similarly to everyone else in the barn, but ironically. This made him hatable. Above his taped-up mouth were wide, fearful eyes and a man-bun.
“A violent left meets a violent end!” Langley said.
And he kicked out the wooden stool the leftist was standing on. Howie’s hood was still on, so he couldn’t see anything, but he heard the hollow pang as wooden stool fell, the sudden tense pull of the rope, and the breathless sound of struggle. For a brief moment after the young man dropped, the crowd watched silently. They laughed as they watched his feet wriggle desperately in mid-air, searching for the ground. Finally, he lost his energy and hung still. The crowd roared and clapped. Torches bounced in the air. Sergeant Langley moved on. There was an animal energy to the crowd, a tense anticipation of an orgy of violence.
“Let’s see who our next contestant is!” He unveiled the next leftist, a young woman. She was next to Howie. There was tape over her mouth and bits of hair stuck to her face where her cheeks had been soaked with tears. Langley pantomimed kicking out the box from under under her. Do it! Someone yelled. And they gradually resolved into a chant of ‘Kick it!’ Kick it! Kick it! So Langley kicked it out, and she dropped. The fall was too short and her neck did not break. She writhed in panic. Her legs wouldn’t stop moving. She stretched and pointed her toes to the ground but couldn’t quite find it and then she hung still except for a ghostlike sway.
Everyone cheered again. They thought tremendous justice was being done. All the anger and resentment they felt was quenched and they felt ecstatic. Officer Lane, the newer officer, made a mental note to tie their legs next time. It would be more ceremonial that way, more dignified. The wild legs looked ridiculous.
“And let’s see who our last winner is!” Sergeant Langley unveiled Howie’s hood. Now, the cheering was more subdued. Several Oath Brothers were quiet. Some retained their enthusiasm but the feeling in the room ebbed. The few who paid attention to the news withheld their bloodlust. They gradually pieced together where they had seen this new face. As the tension built before Langley kicked the box, one of them called out.
“Hey, ain’t that Howie Dork?”
Howie’s eyes adjusted to the light. In front of him were dozens of men, each with a tiki torch in one hand and a drink in the other. Lots of women, too, mostly in shades of natural or unnatural blonde.
“Yeah, that is Howie Dork!” Another member of the crowd confirmed.
Officer Langley wasn’t sure what to do. Attaching a name to the face made everyone hesitate over turning Howie into a corpse. But then he stumbled on a way that both Howie and the mood could be rescued.
“He’s saved!” Officer Langley said. “We found him!” Then he leaned toward Howie. “Sorry we took you by accident, bro,” Langley said.
The mob’s mind stumbled over the movement from condemnation to salvation but when Langley lifted the noose off of Howie and began clapping they took it as their cue to begin clapping, too. Howie was saved. They had a hand in it. It was great. Questions about how he got there in the first place were best left to libtards, snowflakes, and journalists. The fact was, in that moment, they were all heroes who had saved the famous victim of a kidnapping.
Langley took the tape off Howie’s mouth.
“Oh, thanks,” Howie said. He looked over to the bodies next to him. If he seemed casual, it was because he was in shock. It had been a long day since his delivery to CoCo tower.
“Yeah, here, let’s get them hands untied,” the younger officer said. “Howie was kidnapped by Elian Rodriguez, and now he’s safe here with us!” Langley said. He hadn’t heard of Howie but he could tell the crowd wouldn’t stand for this particular murder. He congratulated himself over the smooth pivot.
Howie rubbed his unbound wrists. “Am I under arrest?” He asked. “No, no - you’re not under arrest,” Langley said. And then he turned to the crowd and asked, “who in here is a cop?” About half the audience[5] cheered. “And is this guy under arrest?” Langley asked, shaking his head as a kind of hint. “No!” They yelled. “So be it,” Langley said. “You’re safe, Howie.” Clayton knew that the most leader-ish thing he could do right now was to be a smooth host. He bravely stepped into the awkward void. “Hey, I think it’s about time to get Chet Sage to sing a song!” He yelled. Chet was drunkenly tuning his guitar but the sound of his own name roused him to attention. “Hell yea!”
Clayton picked up one of the discarded stools so Chet could sit on it and everyone except the singer left the stage. Chet was alone up there for a moment and the audience was expectant and silent while he glanced up at the hanging bodies. “Quite the decoration,” he said. There was hearty laughter in the crowd. “I should get my roadies to take ‘em on tour with me,” he said, and the audience laughed even louder. “Okay, I’m gonna try a new one for y’all. Now y’all know I got in trouble recently.” Everyone knew about Chet’s problem with a recorded racial slur. They booed. “Yeah, well, free speech in America, right? Anyway, I know y’all will be able to handle this one without getting your panties in a twist. Now this one here is still a work in progress. Perhaps you’ve heard it. It’s called ‘hang ‘em high’.” They cheered. “And, uh, I think this here is the perfect place for it.” He played an arpeggio melody to lead into the verse. Howie was actually kind of excited to hear the song. He’d never been slow close to a famous person before. As the notes of the arpeggio resolved, Chet began to sing.
 
Daddy brought me to the attic
He showed me a noose
He said times had got drastic
They had broken the truce.
The bad guys are back out
And they’re causin’ the crime
So it’s time to go back to
What we did in old times:
 
When he got to the chorus, he strummed and let it rip:
 
Hang ‘em high!
Let liberals die
Let the commies fry.
Hang ‘em high!
 
And then he repeated himself, and added:
 
Let the flies
Go dance on their eyes.
Hang ‘em high.
 
People cheered, laughed, and clapped as he moved to the second verse. The crowd didn’t get to kill Howie but the song helped quench their bloodlust. They smiled and fantasized about the vast possibilities for continuing justice in America.
Chet was smiling, too. He knew he had a hit. Since budget cuts, the news media found that the cheapest way to fill vast blocks of the 24-hour cycle was to simply point the camera and let an anchor talk about what pissed them off[6]. They could fill even more time by inviting other people on to talk about what pissed them off. Ideally, those guests would piss each other off. Production-wise, it was much cheaper than investigative reporting, which would probably only end up pissing off the companies that paid for advertising.
Chet figured his song was ideally suited to the media moment. Liberals would be pissed off about it; conservatives would be pissed off about liberals being pissed off about it, and then all the ensuing drama would be free advertising for Chet. Hell, last year he was using a slur and this year he was hosting an awards show. He found the formula for success and he had to stick to it[7]. The audience was thrilled.
“Well, I’m glad you liked that one,” Chet said. “Now, we’re gonna go to a classic.”
Chet began singing one of his hits from an early album about the working class. It was the kind of song you could stomp along to, with a bayou beat. After a twiddle of melody, he settled into a firm rhythm:
“Some jobs take boots. Some jobs take shoes. And that’s just a bit ‘o the difference b’tween me and you,” he sang.
The Oath Boys and their brethren stomped their boots along to the beat. Their energy was amplified by their hatred of office culture; the song was about the way those fancy types wore shoes rather than boots. As they stomped, bits of hay and chaff wafted down from the rafters, through the citronella smoke of the tiki torches.
Chet finished and everyone cheered. But then he smelled something.
“What’s that?” Chet asked.
Someone began stomping on the hay.
“Fire!” They yelled.
There was pushing and shoving as everyone tried to exit the barn at once. A puddle of flame spilled across the floor as fast as water. The flames crawled up the rafters and the barn began burning in earnest.
Thanks to the big door, everyone made it outside. Those with burning clothes hit the ground and rolled. Some jumped in a nearby irrigation pond. Those untouched by flame turned to watch the sparks reach up toward the pale early dawn.
Through the conflagration, one could still see the hanging corpses. For a moment, they were robed in fire, before the blackened timbers buckled and the whole thing collapsed. A geyser of sparks shot upward and mixed with the stars.
On top of the rubble, through the smoke, was the stag weathervane. The fire would eventually be blamed on communists.
 
 

Chapter 12 - Gaslight Lodge

 
.
“..the most suspicious activity that takes place in the grove is the alleged logging of old-growth redwood trees. But common to all reports from the two-week-long gathering of the country’s rich and powerful old guard (members have included every Republican president since Coolidge) is an account of profuse outdoor urination. With gin fizzes being poured at seven a.m., so many enlarged prostates, and such majestic natural urinals, who’s surprised? We present to you a guide to the Bohemian Grove…”

• Julian Sancton, Vanity Fair, 4/1/09

.
 
While the barn still burned, Clayton led Howie, Chet, and a few select others up the hill toward the comfort and light of the lodge - the ‘big house’, as Clayton called it. Blinking yellow fireflies hovered above the dark green grass beneath the pale dawn. Gaslight flames flickered against the granite base of the building and gave the place its official name: Gaslight Lodge.
The birds began to trill and tweet.
A white throated sparrow held its two long notes distinctly above the din. Heeeee-ooooo, heeeee-ooooo.
They climbed the wide steps of polished granite to the wooden porch with a roof held up by naked tree trunks shorn of their bark.
 
The outside of the hotel looked like a giant rustic log cabin, but the inside was as fancy as any five-star hotel. Howie supposed the interior would be called 'rustic chic' but he was as uncertain about using in-vogue artistic terms as he was about using economic ones.
There was a vast chandelier in the lobby made of concentric iron rings stacked like a layer cake. They were suspended one below the other with black chains. A large gaslight had been suspended in the center. It illuminated antlers mounted on the iron that faced inward toward the flame.
“Here, I’ll take you to a room I know just opened up,” Clayton said.
It was Mr. LeBubb’s old room. He would still attend Strom Fairmont’s centenary celebration of one hundred years in the Senate, just as a corpse. So, his room had become available.
It was palatial. When Howie saw the giant bed, he was excited to sleep. Except for being knocked out, he hadn’t had any rest.
“Oh, thanks,” Howie said. “The bed looks very comfortable.”
“Oh, no. I can’t have you sleeping,” Clayton said. “We’ve got the fundraising breakfast in an hour. I mean, your dad’s funeral. Well, they’re kinda the same thing.”
“A funeral breakfast?”
“You know, it’s just so busy, we wanted to get everything done early. Plus, your father was scheduled to be here, anyway. Here, take this.”
“What is it?”
“Clayton handed Howie a pill and opened a nearby bottle of water to help him wash it down. Then he hesitated.
“I think that bottle cost a hundred dollars,” Clayton said. “We’ll comp it. Anyway, here you go. It’s an upper.”
Howie swallowed. He wanted to stay awake. He didn’t want to miss his father’s funeral. But Clayton was perturbed. He was re-checking his pill bottle.
“Oh, dang,” Clayton said.
“What?”
“Sorry, that one might send you sideways, too.”
"Wait, what's sideways?" Howie asked.
"Definitely up," Clayton said. "Maybe sideways. This is a bottle left over from a festival I went to. I had the same doctors who work on my grandpa put a slow-release coating on some acid. I call it PsychedeliContin[8]. But you just got straight speed, probably. Hopefully! Anyway, I'll get you some clothes."
"Thanks," Howie said.
“Just be careful and don’t put any more stress on yourself,” Clayton said.
“That’ll trigger it. Try to avoid getting beat up by any more lefties.”
“It was the—”
Howie wanted to tell him it had been the Oath Boys, but the door was already shut. He was finally alone. He looked out a big window, across the valley, over the river, and then up the opposite ridge. The molten glow of the coming sunrise had turned the ridge into a silhouette until the bright sunlight finally erupted over the top and into the valley. The winding river that carved the valley over the previous centuries had dwindled into a creek, but it still shimmered with gold. The smoke and haze lingered in the air, not just from the barn fire but also from the wildfires in the forests beyond. The smoke gave shape to the sunbeams through the serrated pine ridge.
Howie tried to get comfortable, but with nothing to unpack it was hard to feel like he had really arrived. Any home-y feeling in the room was crowded out by its careful perfection.
Something about the sunbeams through smoke and being in his father’s room made Howie suddenly feel emotional. With the sunbeams, maybe it was the way something invisible that was taken for granted had found shape, form, and fragility amid the smoke. But maybe it was just the stress of the night and the lack of sleep. Or maybe the pill Clayton had just given him.
The emotional ice that protected Howie melted as surely as the dwindling snows that fed the river. What was frozen had become a flood. It was the first moment he had to himself to realize the tumultuous events of the day.
He cried.
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Clayton had returned.
“Hey Howie!” He called through the closed door. “I got some fresh clothes for you! I’ll take you to the chapel, so you can have a private moment with the deceased before things get going.”
“Thank you!” Howie called. His voice cracked. It wasn’t his father with whom he wanted to spend time right now; it was his mother. His newfound fortune was all she had ever wanted for him. He wished she was there to enjoy it. Maybe if he’d had the fortune earlier, she would still be alive[9].
He wiped his eyes and opened the door. He smiled with effort as Clayton handed him his clothes.
“You alright? I’ve got to check on some other guests. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Howie nodded and Clayton left.
Howie set the clothes on the bed and showered because he wasn’t sure what else to do. His body began to feel a strange sensation of heat and excitement. He no longer felt sad. Actually, his mind felt enthusiastic. He felt refreshed as he got out of the shower.
He dried off and looked in the mirror. The swelling on his face wasn’t so bad but he had an obvious black eye. He put on the clothes and they fit perfectly. He left the room and flagged down a passing hotel worker.
“Hi!” Howie said. The worker was startled. In spite of his shower and fresh, clean clothes, the heir still looked terrible. “Do you know where the chapel is?” Howie asked. “My father’s funeral is that way.”
The worker was confused.
“Funeral? I think the chapel is hosting a breakfast for the Founding Father’s Foundation.”
“Apparently it’s all the one thing,” Howie said.
The worker nodded. It was no good arguing with someone who had exited the Presidential suite.
“Here, I’ll take you,” the worker said. “Are you alright?”
“Oh, I’ve just had a rough night.” Howie pointed at his face. “Cops. Can you believe it? I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“No. I can’t believe it,” the worker replied in a flat voice. They walked just ahead of Howie. He saw the Gaslight Lodge logo on the back of their vest.
Was it the actually cops? Howie was pretty sure it was the cops who gave him the black eye but it had been a long night.
The worker might have acknowledged Howie’s story but no one wanted to be caught speaking out against the police. In these uncertain times, those who sacrificed their own safety for the sake of someone else’s were to be applauded. That’s why the police were first in line for whatever remained of the budget. Safety was paramount. People were disappearing, after all.
Howie followed the worker back into the lobby, below the high ceilings and the sepulchral chandelier, and past the ubiquitous bulletin board of missing persons. Clayton was at the front desk.
“Hey!” Clayton said. “You look good! You cleaned up well.”
“Thanks,” Howie said.
“Here, I’ll take you the rest of the way. I got it,” he told the worker. They turned around and got back to their work, carefully avoiding the bulletin board. There were familiar faces.
Clayton led Howie outside along a concrete path towards another, smaller building constructed in the same log cabin style as the big lodge, but on a smaller scale. The grounds between the buildings looked beautiful. The slanting sunlight twinkled on the dewy morning grass of the well-manicured lawn, so it looked encrusted with diamonds. Tree trunks, carefully pruned over decades, stretched up toward the sky like Roman pillars.
Down a slope next to the path, Howie saw a fire pit surrounded by benches that had been carved out of enormous logs. Where one might normally sit on top of a log, these were large enough to have benches carved out of them in a sort of three-quarter circle.
“So many rings on those logs,” Howie said. “They must be so old.” “Oh, those are the redwoods,” Clayton said. “Yeah, thousands of years old. My grandfather’s timber company turned them into benches. The craftsmanship is our bohemian touch. Supposedly, even with the fires, there are still some redwoods left out there.”
Howie saw some movement in the woods beyond the fire pit. He looked closer and saw several men standing at the edge of the clearing who were urinating into the woods. One of them finished and turned around. It was Geo LaSalle, the private prison CEO who had been at the Best of All Possible Worlds symposium the night before.
“Hey Howard!” He waved. “Glad to see you’re okay!” He gave a thumbs up.
“Thanks!” Howie said. “You, too.” He gave a thumbs up back.
Geo was having a great weekend. He had just finished auctioning the rights to broadcast security footage from one of his prisons that he was converting into a school. After gun violence made everyone realize that schools had too many entrances and exits, Geo successfully pitched his prisons as the ideal solution[10]. He hoped Senator Fairmont would visit the new prison-cum-charter school later that day.
But for now, he was happy just for a simple piss in the woods.
“I’ll see you all at the fundraiser!” He said.
Howie and Clayton arrived at the smaller outbuilding. It was a chapel with a simple wooden cross and a stone portico with gaslights fastened to the columns. The most elaborate thing about the chapel was its wooden door. As Clayton opened it, Howie saw that it had been carved into a bas-relief of a bear pulling salmon from a river.
“Welcome to the Bruin Chapel,” Clayton said, ushering Howie through.
Where normally the chapel might be filled with chairs facing the front for a wedding ceremony, now it was empty, save for a long redwood table at the center. LeBubb's casket had been placed against a far wall. The dead man lay beneath the large windows that overlooked the valley and the smoky haze beyond. Luckily, he had fallen face-first into the snow. His back was burnt to a crisp but his front was relatively intact. With a healthy dose of makeup, he looked presentable enough for an open casket.
“That’s him,” Howie said, in a tone somewhere between a question and an answer.
“Yeah,” Clayton said. “I thought you might like a moment alone with him, before everybody gets here for the fundraiser. Er, funeral. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Howie said. “They’re the same thing.”
He was beginning to understand that for his father his peers, life was business and business was life, even when it was mixed with death.
“Alright, I’ll leave you to it,” Clayton said. “I’m going to make sure everything’s ready. Be back in a moment.”
Clayton closed the door and Howie was left alone with his father. The dead man lay as still and lifeless as the room around him. Howie wasn’t sure what to do. His mother’s death had been protracted but in the end her funeral was simple and unpretentious. He wasn’t sure about the etiquette around his father.
He saw a religious book from the Resurrectionists on the windowsill. The warm rush of the pill Clayton had given him earlier compelled him towards the book. Several pages were earmarked, but one stood out among the others for its use. Howie opened it and hoped that the highlighted passage would help him connect to the great man who was both closer and further away than ever.
“The Lord is my shepherd,” Howie began. “I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me besides still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow d-”
But then a nearby vacuum loudly turned on. Howie had thought he was alone.
“Of death.” Howie tried to finish but the vacuum drowned out his voice. The vacuuming was inappropriate but the man doing it was in a desperate hurry. He had spent the morning hosing down the barn because the fire department wouldn’t come because the previous bill was unpaid[11].
He hadn’t noticed Howie near the casket because he was distracted by his own trauma. While fighting the fire, he had accidentally washed away some mud and ash and seen some dead bodies. They didn’t look like they were from the fire. They looked older. He recognized bits of clothing because of the descriptions of missing persons posted in the lobby.
But he couldn’t say anything because he was technically an illegal immigrant. Money flew freely around the world but people were tightly controlled. Without the proper paperwork, he was discouraged from making a fuss[12].
So, he kept vacuuming. He didn't even realize Howie Dork was there.
As the man vacuumed and Howie contemplated his father, the heavy door opened, and the rest of the staff burst into the Bruin chapel. They moved with military precision. Clayton orchestrated them.
“Catering over there. Camera over there,” he pointed. “Turn that off!” He yelled to the man vacuuming. “I’m sorry, Mr. Dork. I know you were having a private moment.”
“Don’t worry,” Howie called back. “I hardly knew him.”
“Please,” Clayton gestured at the man vacuuming, “I don’t know why he’s not finished yet. We’ll have him deported immediately.”
“Please don’t,” Howie said. Having just finished his own journey through custody, he didn’t want to inflict it on anyone else.
“Very well, sir,” Clayton replied.
The world-class catering staff whirled throughout the room. They expertly tilted circular folding tables on their edges and precisely wheeled them into position. Tall stacks of chairs jiggled as they were moved. A platoon of workers unfolded a giant linen tablecloth above the long redwood table and fluttered it in the air. They pulled it taut and gently guided it down like parachute. Shiny metal coffee urns and polished metal chafing dishes were placed on the clean white linen. A fusillade of long lighters lit burning blue wax canisters in unison.
Howie stepped aside so they could place flowers near the casket. He felt the old familiar feeling of being secondary to the proceedings.
While the rest of his family had no choice about cremation, LeBubb’s face-down fall and the fire department’s rapid response enabled him to be placed in an open casket. This meant his foundation could use his corpse to raise money. Some donated their bodies to science, but LeBubb donated his to political fundraising. Though they were grief-stricken, his governmental affairs team was thrilled that death had finally given him the patience to pose for photo ops. To be seen with the casket was the main attraction.
And to earn even more money for the Foundation, LeBubb’s estate auctioned off the rights to host the funeral in the first place. Clayton had been the highest bidder. It was the only way he could resolve the scheduling conflicts that might arise if his rich and powerful guests had to choose between between competing networking events.
On one side was Strom Fairmont’s centenary in the Senate. On the other was Beezle LeBubb’s funeral.
Boldly, Clayton had combined the two.
So, Gaslight Lodge would honor one great man with a funeral while celebrating another’s refusal to die.
 
ch. 13 & 14
 

So I took the nose dive into Red Velvet by first listening to every music out there. These opinions will not include solo debuts or subgroup debuts in Red Velvet as that would be a bit much for the initial time I started this list.
My Initial opinions listening through Ice Cream Cake all the way through Rookie was man these songs were a slog and that kpop enjoyment must come from the stage performance (more to come later on that controversial topic).
When I realized this was going to be a slog:

1. Ice Cream Cake, giving honest opinions on this albums was a slog when listening to "Stupid Cupid" and "Take it slow". The title track was featured on Killing Voice was not as good as I thought it was going to be but was more fun then its counterparts, all average songs. The top 2 contained "Somethin Kinda Crazy", which is a slow song, and "Candy", which probably should've been the title track.
2. Red, has 2 of the best holding up songs, with "Oh Boy" and "Dumb dumb", but was also the beginning of my slog with listening to 4 below average songs, "Huff N' Puff" was painfully average, and the rest of of the higher value songs being attempts at ballads, and I am not a ballad person.

With a lot of the better songs being an attempt at ballads and just having painful songs in my opinion to listen to being a continuing trend with "The Velvet" having only one average song and the rest, huh, and "Russian Roulette" having similar impression as Red but the best song was "Bad Dracula" (another attempt at a ballad), therefore the track was worse then already some painful tracks. I almost forgot of "Rookie Rookie", the title track the only average song, while the rest of the track was painful.
There was a silver lining to all this pain however, when I listened to the Red and thought that was the first half decent album I listened to. Its highs were not as high as "Oh Boy" and "Dumb Dumb" but hey it had some rather enticing songs with "Red Flavor" and "Zoo". All the ballads were average sounding and I came across the phenomenon that Red Velvet throughout their first years had done all that trial testing to master ballads, and it was pleasant. The trend would be followed by Perfect Velvet with its standouts reaching the heights of red's bests songs with "Peek a boo" and "Moonlight Melody", though it was a bit sad that it had rereleased songs during it from Perfect Velvet but it was not longer a painful journey through finishing the whole discography.
As one might have expected Red Velvet continued to get better after albums 6 and 7, I had the honor of witnessing the rise of true musicianship with red velvet, in which I decided to take a break after the Reve Festival 2019, as it was so good, that I was caffeinated from hearing it back to back.
Some Highlights of this journey before Reve Festival (In the order listened too):

• From Summer Magic: Mosquito (A tier), and Mr. E (B+)
• Really Bad Boy was a mastered them of what had come from Bad Boy being punk rock truly a divine listen too
• From Sappy: Sappy(B+) and Sayonara (A), were great to listen too.
• From #Cookie Jar: Attai-Tai and Cause it's you are both A tier, and #Cookie Jar is pretty good despite being base off of a hash tag.

For the Reve Festival section of 2019, I'm not going to bore you with what was good as like the whole new finale songs are A tier and the 1st day Reve Festival has 2 B+ tiers while the 2nd day has 1 B+ tier, and that's some pretty high mastery. But man what a listen to, what an experience. The title track Umpah Umpah getting a near perfect score from me (A+) to cap off the title tracks of Reve Festival 2019. And the best song in Red Velvet's discography "Milk shake", what's not to love about this moment in Red Velvet's history. About to buy my first album I want the Reve Festival Finale.
The rise of Red Velvet from albums 6 - 13, with Red Velvet consistently having a top tier banger of music, and peaking 13-15, with almost every song I was on tier maker having them already in A tier, is an experience. One could even say there is a linear transition of quality between this era of Red Velvet. This hit me as thinking that Red Velvet might be similar to Queen, in which they are volatile but eventually become masters of their craft.
There is a sharp decrease in quality after Reve Festival 2019 with lows as low as average songs but you get to hear a masterclass song that you know for sure is going to be a banger, like Marionette, Queendom, and Feel My Rhythm. Oh aside around Feel My Rhythm, Red Velvet completely mastered ballads getting B+ ranking Ballads which would be A tier had they not been ballads, again not a ballad person. Oh and also peaking the era with the great Albums of Reve Festival 2022 and Chill Kill, which are of similar quality to Reve Festival 2019.
Aside note, I can't believe Red Velvet released Reve Festival Finale 2022 before Reve Festival 2022, they have completely different songs, its just funny.

So I have dark cherry colored hair, with a bleached peek-a-boo and chunky highlights on top of my hair.
It about time to re-dye it and when I was dyeing it last time, it gave me a lot of trouble because the red would seep into the bleach and make it pink instead of white.
How do I keep the red dye from leaking into the bleached parts??

Sorry guys, this is a long one so please indulge me.
With Chill Kill promotions over and no more RV content, I’ve been spending time the last few days watching youtube reactions to Red Velvet’s Killing Voice. As a fan of RV I find it odd I feel proud whenever someone on youtube reacts positively to the girls’ Killing Voice performance. I can’t really say if their reactions are genuine or it’s all an act but at this point I just take it as it is with a grain of salt. Anyway, as fun as it is to watch reactions from people already familiar with RV music, I find watching first time reactions from people unfamiliar with RV more fun to watch. We RV fans already know how good the girls are vocally and how diverse their discography is. The un-initiated reactor is going in blind and doesn’t know they’re in for a treat.
Starting from the first few notes of Happiness, the first-time reactor will notice how good the girls sound singing together – their first introduction to the RV harmonic wall of sound that is their bread and better. Comments on how cute and bubbly the song sounds are then always, ALWAYS, followed by wide-eyed stares of disbelief and jaws dropping when Wendy hits them with her iconic “Shine on me, let it shine on me, yeah Nae pume let it shine. Shine on me, let it shine on me, yeah Nae du pare, let it shine.”. The newbie listeners are left wondering who was the first girl on the left?
After Happiness, the Red Rain continues … red song after red song showering the first-time reactors. Dumb Dumb, followed by Ice Cream Cake, followed by Russian Roulette. Confusion ensues for the first-time listener when Zimzalabim comes up. “Are they … chanting?” “What’s zimzalabim?” The highlight of the song, the magnificent Zimzalabim bridge, takes the listeners by surprise. Shock and awe courtesy of Team Rocket – makers of quality bridges since 2014. Carpool, Queendom, You Better Know, and Red Flavor continues the red onslaught of bright catchy fast songs.
Peek-a-boo is the perfect transition song from Red to Velvet. Just when the first timers think Red Velvet repertoire is all fast and feel-good bops, the Velvet Wave rolls in with Bad Boy. Yes, first-timers, RV girls do R&B and they do it very very well. The legendary Psycho pre-chorus sneaks up and reminds the first-time listeners that, even if the music has slowed down, the vocal fireworks aren’t over. With One of These Nights, Automatic, Kingdom Come, and Time to Love, the sexy and mature side of Red Velvet is making their presence felt. If the newbie listener is not yet an RV believer after the initial deluge of Red songs, then this flood of Velvet songs will do the trick. The Kingdom Come chorus in particular is a personal favorite, with RV’s exquisite harmonies, intricate runs, and crazy adlibs in full display.
The third act of this performance revs up again, this time with songs that fuse both red and velvet sounds. Oh Boy, Lady’s Room, and Feel My Rhythm follow each other in quick succession and ends with the full version of their latest title track, Chill Kill. The first-time listeners are left amazed and exhausted, happy they have discovered something truly special, and promising to check out more RV songs.
For the longest time, fans had been clamouring for them to guest on Killing Voice. I’m pretty sure the girls themselves wanted to be on the show. The girls take pride in their vocals and their songs but they don’t have a showcase worthy of their discography. Now they do. For this show, the girls are hyped and singing their hearts out and viewers can see that. They know this performance is one for the ages. I dare say some of the songs sound even better now with the girls’ improved vocals and maturity. The girls originally wanted to put in even more songs but had to bring down the playing time to 33-34 minutes. Still, that’s the longest Killing Voice episode on record. Kudos to whoever arranged the songs for this extravaganza and kudos to the girls for the vocal-flex. The girls have given us fans the perfect gift. If you're a listener who wishes to hear more from Red Velvet, this is the perfect introduction for you.

I noticed that there hasnt been a lot of posts on dqy trips here so I wanted to share our experience.
We included a day trip to DLP on our 9 day visit to Paris for our LO who has recently been Toy Story obsessed. Upon recommendation here, we added the studios to our itinerary so she can meet Jessie and Woody. Our sole objective was this meet and greet, the Pixar show, and for her to watch the parades. Any on top of it was just a bonus.
We went on 19 October. It was rainy in the morning and we arrived a little past 9 after commuting from Paris (stayed in 2eme arrondisement so direct RER). The train was busy so it was quite a handful for the stroller. Good thing toddler was sleeping. She was still sleeping when we got in. My husband cried as he was about to enter (first time in any disneyland). He said he was super happy that we had the chance to share this with our baby - something that he wasnt able to experience when he was younger.
We went to the studios first thing as we wanted to be first in line for the meet and greet - no idea how long that could take. Woke the baby up in front of Buzz so she was in a good mood and kept pointing at all the decors. We had some time to do small rides before meeting Jessie so we did the Cars one and the flying carpet. Both had no lines that early. So we queued for jessie and woody at around 10am. Prioritised Jessie first then Woody. She went crazy - kept on waving and jumping when they first appeared but cried when it was her turn. She did better with Woody although no smiles for pics. Staff was helpful in advising us to be in between baby and character - helped a lot. One of the staff took our phone (upon our request) and took blow by blow photos which was great. We had her in a jessie costume (complete with hat).
We finished by 1115 and had to rush to the main park for the parade. We positioned ourselves near the end and squeezed the baby in front of all the adults - took a seat on the ground so we weren't blocking anyone. She enjoyed the parade. A lot of the dancers approached and said hi, including Woody again. All the princesses on our side noticed her and waved. This made me tear up as i could feel the joy of our kid and also the kid in me.
We went through the shops a bit and had lunch at Col Hathi's. Kid is a picky eater but ate a lot of the pasta. Food was ok. Nothing to write home about. Just as when we were leaving, we saw Chip (or Dale) and he approached our kid in a stroller who promptly cried out of surprise. Dale (or Chip) followed a minute later and interacted with the baby too. This went better as she wasnt as surprised.
Went around. Photos by the castle, checked out other areas. Baby napped in her stroller while we walked around the park. We looked for any ride with a 15 mins wait time. it was the star wars ride. I went in while husband would stay with the baby then we'll switch. TBH, it wasn't a great ride, feel free to skip if you dont have the time. When i got out, Donald was outside doing something interactive with kids. Baby was now awake and just watching. She loves ducks so Donald was great!
We ran to the Pixar animation for the 330 showing and was in line at about 3pm. We were worried about the baby waiting so long but it wasnt too bad. Some of the people in line played with her (peek a boo) and it helped pass the time. We had a seat by the side of the theater. Baby was really engrossed in the story line.TIP: If youre toddler likes bubbles, please sit in the center. We missed out her popping bubbles which she loves doing.
Back to the park for the halloween parade (scheduled at 430 pm i think). We had some time and took a seat by the gutter. We bought a bubble wand for her and this kept her occupied while waiting for the parade. Really worth it for us. The parade was shorter and wasnt us fun as the earlier parade but was still great. Baby kept waving at the characters.
We then went through some of the shops to buy a christmas ornament and something for our kid to take home. After we saw really short wait times for Its a Small World so we went on that. This was really fun for us and the baby because she kept pointing and saying wow. She was exhausted at this point (past 6pm). But we wanted to at least go on the carousel. Not a great idea as she was a bit cranky and wouldnt stay on the horse.
We left the park past 630pm. Bought food when we reached Paris and ate in our airbnb. Baby fell asleep as we walked home.
This was above and beyond what we expected. Made the trip worth it for us. We were surprised at the tears upon meeting the characters despite the enthusiastic waves when they were not close by. We should have practiced this more but not really a regret. We missed the mickey show but we were realistic in what we were aiming for. We wanted to meet with Olaf too but was too late to queue so baby just saw him from the sides which was enough. We saw other characters from afar too - goofy, tigger and gaston. Best highlight really was all the princesses waving at the baby and seeing her pointing and waving back.
Happy to answer questions about toddler disney experience and day trips! This sub helped me a lot in planning. :)

Hello
Thanks to the many threads here, I was able to put together a rough itinerary that I was able to stick to for the most part and just wanted to share my experience and some lessons learned. This was our first trip to Seoul and we have another trip to make in December.
We are a couple that arrived in late October for roughly 8 full days. We love food, culture, shopping (wife), and nightlife but not clubbing. I had pinned various restaurants to try but hadn't fit into our itinerary before getting sick a month before the trip. I only recovered 3 days before departure so decided to wing it for food since the actual activity itinerary was more important.
I got an esim through Krsim (esim Red) while I got my wife a package through Mobimatter. I wanted one that gave a Korean number (never ended up using it though) while we wanted to test a cheaper provider for when we visit other Asia countries later on. We were happy with both providers. All of the navigating was done through Krsim which did lag at times.
We flew Korean Air economy and it was a great experience. We'd fly with them again.
Here's a play by play to give you a rough idea of how time was spent per day so you can plan your trip better than me.
Day 1 Friday:
- 6PM - Arrived at Incheon Terminal 2. Customs and getting our luggage took about 45 mins.
- 7PM - Picked up a Discover Seoul 24hr pass (preordered through Klook) but was unable to pick up our Korea Tour card as they did not have me in the system. I showed proof of purchase but they needed a voucher which I realized I never received even though I bought through the official website. I decided to swallow the $8 and leave as we were tired. Bought tickets for the all stop train
-7:30PM - Took the all stop train from Incheon to Hongik for a one night stay at Ninebrick Hotel. Train ride was quick and relatively empty the whole ride. At Hongik, we took exit 12 since it had an elevator but it meant a longer walk to the hotel on a busy Friday night. It felt like a long 10 minutes.
- Ninebrick was a nice and spacious hotel but not recommended for people with kids or elderly as our room had a couple stairs between the bedroom and bathroom. A couple stairs isn't bad unless you have heavy luggage. The bathtub is lowered and out in the open so can be unsafe. The location is nice, central in Hongdae, great water pressure and surprisingly quiet. Good for couples but a bit of a walk through busy streets with luggage to the station.
-9:30PM - Went out for dinner and wanted Kyochan Chicken (as recommended by the front desk) but it was a 75 min wait for takeout. Instead, we walked around Hongdae and ended up at Tera Gimbap (11PM) for pork cutlet (ok) and gimbap (very good). Walked around some more after and even ventured onto clubbing street before calling it a night at midnight. The area was very busy and felt safe everywhere.
Day 2 Saturday:
- 9AM - Went to Offer Bakery Cafe just across from the hotel for breakfast. Their pastries and coffee were absolutely delicious and would return. Offer latte is legit.
- 10:30AM - Checked out and left our luggage with the hotel. We ended up doing one night in Hongdae to try something different but mainly because we couldn't get an extra night at our original hotel booking because they were full.
- 11AM - Wanted to go to Cloud in Sky Dog Cafe when they opened at 11AM but when we got there, there was a sign saying they wouldn't open till 1... Wife wanted to check out Greem Cafe which was a 30 min walk each way. Had time to kill and figured it was a good way to see more of Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong.
- 11:30AM - Greem Cafe was visually nice but was disappointing compared to Offer. Their signature forest cake was very dry. The walk there and back was very nice with lots to see.
- 1PM - Walked back to Cloud in Sky and spent about an hour there "playing" with the dogs. I say "play " because you walk around the floor petting dogs that let you pet them while the others snub you or go crazy whenever a dog walks by outside. There's a nice variety of dogs and during our stay, there were only two other couples so that was nice. There's no admission fee but you have to buy a drink. Chose this cafe over the Samoyed Cafe for the dog variety but Cloud does have one samoyed.
- 2:30PM - Had samgyetang at Baek Nyeon Baekse Ginseng Chicken Soup. It was ok and we ordered only one dish to share since we weren't that hungry (and it was quiet in the restaurant).
- 3:30PM - Retrieved our luggage and made our way to Ninetree Myeongdong II in Euljiro. Despite Hongik and Euljiro 3 being on the same line, it is a major hassle to move luggage through the train stations as we always had to look for not the closest exit, but the one with an elevator or escalator (exit 11 at Euljiro 3). We picked this location because we knew we wanted to be on lines 2 and 3 for attractions and family visits.
- Ninetree is a nice hotel that's a tier above NInebrick. The service is friendly, water pressure great, the location central for attractions, a menu of different pillows to try, a GS25 in the lobby and spacious rooms. It was also nice to have a window and a view of the city. It's also a 5min quiet walk to the station so that made luggage dragging easier. I'd stay here again despite the light construction noise that starts at 7AM.
- 5:00PM - Walked to Ikseon-dong Hanok Village to try to find dinner before our night tour at Changdeokgung. This place is very busy on a weekend night. Managed to get a dinner of mandu and tteokbokki at Cha Hwa Dang and those were good. Would love to come back in the day when it's not as hectic with lineups everywhere.
- 7:00PM - Made our way to Changdeokgung Palace for their moonlight tour which we prebooked online. Apparently, it's not very often that they do these tours in English so jumped on that. Debated between the tour and just seeing the palace in the daytime for much cheaper but in the end, we're glad to have a tour of the palace along with the shows they provided. It would have been nice to see the secret garden in the daytime though but night provided for some wonderful pictures without people.
Day 3 Sunday:
- 9AM - Breakfast at the GS25 in the hotel lobby was convenient. Also booked admission (agoda) and round trip bus tickets (klook) to Everland
- 10AM - Arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace and wanted to have time to walk around before seeing the changing of the guard ceremony at 11AM. We were disappointed to hear the changing had been cancelled but delighted to hear it would be replaced with a special show in turn.
- The palace and the grounds are very beautiful in the daytime. Well worth checking out. I'd probably come earlier so that you don't feel rushed to make it back by 11 because the viewing area was packed by then.
- 11AM - The show was actually an exhibition put on by the palace guards to demonstrate their fighting skills and wartime capabilities in front of the king. Very exciting to watch their weapon skills and fighting. The show was still going when we left after 45 mins.
- 12:30PM - Made our way to Bukchon Hanok Village, grabbed a croissant from Salt24 and a coffee from Ediya. Walked through the residential area and took photos at the scenic spot
- 1PM - Left Bukchon and got distracted by the Sulwhasoo Flagship where damage was done. Each purchase gets you tea and treats upstairs
- 2PM - Went to the legendary Onion Anguk and waited 30 mins just for takeout... the wait was not worth it
- 3PM - Got back on track to take the train to Hansung University so that we could start the Seoul City Wall trail at Hyehwamun Gate.
- 3:10PM - Exited the gate into a residential area and got lost. The nearby visitor centre could not help.
- 3:30PM - Went a short bit in several directions and decided screw it, we will start the walk from a different spot. Honed in on Ihwa Mural Village
- 3:45PM - Walked the main strip in the Hyehwa area and it was lively with lots of young people. A pleasant surprise to getting lost
- 4:30PM - very hilly to walk towards Ihwa and actually ended up at Naksan Peak.
- 5PM - finally made it to Ihwa and could not find stair murals but the walls had plenty. Being up this high during golden hour with few people around was wonderful.
- 5:30PM - found part of the wall and relieved we finally could start our walk. Originally planned to walk this during the day but sunset was cool and pretty. Unfortunately, the wall is on the opposite side of the sunset but it makes Ihwa nicer.
- 6PM - Reached the end at Heunginjimum Gate into Dongdaemun. Heunginjimin park is very pretty and especially so during sunset.
- 6:30PM - Hungry and ventured into Dongdaemun Market. A lot of shops were closed and most of the food stalls were selling chicken hanmari and tripe which we weren't feeling so we left. Saw that Gwangjang Market was not too far away.
- 6:45PM - Made it to Gwangjang Market and it was busy! Went to the netflix stalls for bindaetteok, yukhoe and soy marinated crabs. Ended with hotteok and twisted donut. Will have to come back for the kalguksu.
- 8PM - walked back to the hotel via Cheonggyecheon Stream at night
Day 4 Monday:
- 830AM - grabbed breakfast at Paris Baguette and walked to Myeongdong which is only 10 mins away from the hotel
- 9AM - Arrived in front of the starbucks near the Myeongdong station for 9:20 bus pickup (Daesung Tours). Consider getting a coffee but reviews say the driver is very punctual and will leave you.
- 9:10AM - Bus arrives.
- 9:18AM - Bus leaves. No coffee. Hopefully everyone made it.
- 10:30AM - Arrive at Everland. Shocked at the amount of people already here on a Monday morning...
- We were only interested in Zootopia so figured we would be nice. We waited 60 mins for Amazon Express, 60 mins for Lost Valley and 90 mins for Safari World. Advice to others would be to buy the q-pass as your time is more valuable and less than 10 people used the q-pass line per attraction. We missed seeing Panda World as a result but got to see a lot of the other animal exhibits. In hindsight, would also plan around which attractions close earliest. Highlight was the giraffe peeking its head into the bus to eat leaves.
- Food was OK here. We did the stalls outside as some of the food courts were closed.
- 6:20PM - made sure to return back to the bus stall ahead of the 6:30 departure given that they left early. Board bus and only two separate seats left for us. A family of 3 got on later but I guess they got first dibs on an empty bus.
- 7:30PM - dropped off in front of the HBAF store. Bought some snacks. More discounts could have been had by buying at the duty free store instead.
- 8 PM - left the store and walked right into Myeongdong walking street and it was so busy. Dinner was all street food and our favorite was the hotteok filled with bulgogi and japchae.
Day 5 Tuesday:
- family meetup and lunch in Gangnam
- 1PM - returned back to our hotel (as we received items needing refrigeration so forced to return)
- 1:30PM - walked Cheonggyecheon back to Gwangjang Market and finally ate at the Kalguksu stall. Very good and only waited 5 mins
- 2:30PM - checked out the Dongdaemun Design Plaza inside and out
- 4:30PM - went to Doota Mall to find food and accidentally stumbled upon a Hyundai Duty Free...
- 8:30PM - hungry and ate at the Shake Shack downstairs. The pricing is outrageous compared to the local food.
- 9:30PM - walked back via the main street towards our hotel. I would actually recommend training back if at Myeongdong as most of the stores are household hardware stores so they are closed so it's jsut dark and nothing to see. That or get lost through small streets though most of Dongdaemun outside of the DDP was dark. Still very felt safe. Did see a No Name Brand Burger on the way home and tempted to try as "it's good enough". Too full though.
Day 6 Wednesday
- 9AM - made out way to Myeongdong Cathedral and grabbed coffee from Coffee Libre. Very good coffee!
- 9:30AM - walked through Myeongdong on the way to Namdaemun Market and literally a night and day difference. It was nice to scope out the area when not as busy but it's also more boring.
- 11AM - reached Namdaemun and ate various street food and bought some clothes. Ate too much street food that we were too full by the time we reached Kalguksu street so another time.
-12PM - planned to go to N Seoul Tower but got sidetracked and ended up walking a bit of Seoullo 7017. It's a raised walkway so I probably wouldn't go out of the way just for this. it made the walk to Namsan extra long but it was good to burn off the food.
- 1PM - reached the Namsam Oruni and kept hearing a lady complain how slow the elevator moved
- 1:15PM - purchased return trip cable car tickets from the booth. I wish I had checked klook or other sites though to see if I could have gotten this for less. The views up the cable car were very nice.
- 1:30PM - reached the observation deck and even more stairs. Great views all around. Did not purchase a lock.
- 2PM - activated the Discover Seoul Pass (24 hrs) and went up to N Seoul Tower. Nice to see but I think the view below is nicer since windows aren't in your way. One and done. Going down the cable car, wife say a Lotte duty free store in the distance...
- 3PM - used Naver to find a tonkotsu place nearby in Myeongdong and ended up going to a KBBQ place right beside called Wangbijib. Apparently, if you do a IG story/write a google review, you get a free dish (soondubu, cold noodles or banquet noodles). Despite the bribed 5 star reviews, the KBBQ was delicious, the banchan varied and great service as they cooked the meat perfectly for us. The noodles left much to be desired but at least they were free.
- 4PM - walked to the Lotte duty free store and it was pricier than Hyundai. Also went to Uniqlo but nothing there that we couldn't get at home
- 6:15PM - original plan was to go to Aqua 63 to see the view, check out Yeouido park at sunset and then go on a river cruise via our Discover Seoul pass. Shopping was unexpected as well as the time it would take to get to Yeoinaru. Lesson learned as we arrived at the park at night and Aqua 63 already closed.
- 6:30PM - got to E Land River Cruise and given two options for their moonlight cruise: 7PM along with 300 students or 8:30PM currently half full. Time more valuable so chose 7PM.
- 6:45PM - waited inside the waiting deck and grabbed drinks from a CU. Saw a very large contingent of yelling loudly, shoving one another and spitting make their way over. Immediate regret... until they continued onwards to the other waiting deck
- 7PM - embarked along with what I believe were high school students but everything went well. They all rushed to the deck while we sat inside in the bottom deck. Halfway through, the jazz singer started performing and she was amazing. Also, majority of the students made their way inside as it was getting cold so perfect timing for us to go to the deck for the final 20 mins. You can also hear the performer outside. No idea where the boat was passing or what we were seeing but it was still nice to see along the Han River at night.
- 9:30PM - back to Euljiro3 and hungry. Went to Kkanbu chicken and ordered wrong. I thought it was crispy fried chicken but it appeared to be baked and dry. Fries expensive for the amount paid.
Day 7 Thursday
- family meetup in Gangnam
- 12PM - grabbed a Jindo cream cheese croquette burger from McD. Yum!
- 12:30PM - Bonguensa Temple to see the giant statue
- 1PM - walked to Starfield Coex mall and.. it's a mall. Difficult to justify buying things after going to the Duty Free
- 1:30PM - activated last activity going to Coex Aquarium. Thoroughly enjoyed my time here
- 3:30PM - checked out Starfield Library to take some photos
- 3:35PM - saw coffee and left to go to % Arabica.
- 4PM - hungry and ventured to a restaurant called Riching for jjangmeyon and jjampong. Cheap and delicious. We were the only ones there but they had constant deliveries. Wife saw another Hyundai duty free.
- 5PM - Hyundai duty free in Gangnam was shortlived as it had less of the same stuff as the one in Dongdaemun so bullet dodged
- 5:30PM - decided to go to Seoul Forest and wouldn't you know, dark by the time we get there. Actually saw lightning and heard thunder during our brief 10 minute walk. Props to the couple taking wedding photos during the storm!
- 6PM - wife scared of thunder so hung out at Olive Young for a bit. We actually walked from Wangsimni to the meat marker cause we didn't want to bother transferring and it was only a 15min walk.
- 7PM - ate dinner at Majang Meat Market. A lot of stores were actually closed by this time and we were approched by several meat vendors. Of course, we picked the one who spoke the best English... Prices were comparable throughout so picked the set that offered the cuts of meat we were most interested in. Now I'm not sure if I got ripped off or this is the case for all of the market, but if you use card to pay, there's a 10% surcharge and of course, I only had 20,000 KRW on me. They didn't hide it as it was shown clearly so let that be a lesson. We purchased the meat and they took us to the restaurant where we could cook it ourselves for a charge of 6,000 KRW/person. Hanwoo beef and beer just hits different after a long day of walking.
Day 8 Friday
- 10AM - walked to Ikseondong to check it out in the daytime. Grabbed salty buns from Soha Salt Pond and walked around till 11. Buns were great
- 11AM - shared a cake and a drink at Cheongsudang Cafe. Great fromage cake and latte!
- 12PM - Boo... Donut Jungsu was closed for the day. Walked towards Insadong and spent time checking out the shops and Ssamziegel
- 2PM - saw family and walked around Gangnam
- 3:30PM - made it to Seoul Forest in the daytime. Walked around to see the Butterfly Garden (no butterflies), Deer Corral and the rabbits at the small animal house.
- 5:30PM - went back to Dongdaemun for our final duty free stop. Had street food across from DDP as well as toast from Egg Drop
- 8PM - walked back to our hotel despite what I mentioned earlier because we needed to build up space for one last night at Myeongdong Street. Ended up on Myeongdong Chicken Street. LONG lineups for BHC and Puradak. Saw no lineup at a store called NY Night Market and that should've been a warning. The chicken was ok... almost like eating chicken tenders. Should've followed the lines...
Day 9 - Saturday
- 9AM - packed up in the morning and checked out leaving our luggage with the hotel. Flight departing at 7PM.
- 11AM - decided to go to Anguk and have treats and coffee at Knotted Anguk and Cafe Layered. At Layered, we ordered coffee and they told us to wait outside. Saw a bench outside their store and not 10 seconds after sitting did staff come out to say we can't sit there. We had their cake in hand and said we were waiting for coffee. They said to stand elsewhere. Definitely left a bitter taste and can't say I'd be back on a return visit. Their signature einspanner is so small.
- 12PM - walked around the commercial parts of Bukchon Village and had one of our best meals at Seumire Tonkotsu.
- 1PM - made our way back to the hotel walking through Insadong and stopping at Olive Young
- 3PM - reached hotel to checkout and forgetting this is when people also check in.... I along with a few others just needed to give a slip to staff so we could collect luggage. I waited about 10 mins until someone in a rush just went to grab their luggage, staff came to assist and then helped everyone who needed their bags. It'd be a great idea to have a separate line to collect luggage over those checking in.
- 3:30PM - it took way longer than I thought to go from Euljiro 3 to Seoul Station to AREX. Definitely not fun lugging heavy luggage around the huge station. It was my first time in Seoul Station and it was a little confusing differentiating where to go for all stop and nonstop so I should have accounted for that. Found nonstop and the next train was fully booked and another 30 min wait for the next one. Agent said all stop is faster so we took it. Train was so full but we managed to get on with our luggage.
- 5PM - got to the airport and ready to tap out and of course, we needed to topup our cards. OMG. Stressing out a ton since people say you should arrive 3 hours before an international departure.
- 5:15PM - Stressing out and took an escalator towards the parking garage. OMG. Escalator down is out of service and rushed to find an elevator.
- 6PM - checking in bags at Korean Air took 5 mins. Submitting receipts for a tax refund took 1 min but I waited 15 mins in line. Security took 15 mins so I think we were very lucky.
- 6:35PM - OMG the line to actually collect the refund once you pass security is long. I waited in line while my wife scoped the area to find where our gate was since they were boarding. Don't think I'm going to make it but will see how efficient the line is.
- 6:45PM - yep, still in line not near the front and I hear last call.... at least it was only $20 but still. Fortunte that most shopping was at a duty free, 3 hours ahead of time is recommended if you need to get the tax refund (and do more duty free shopping). Booked it to the gate
- 7PM - departure
Lessons, regrets and questions
- late october but everyday was sunny. It was t-shirt weather for us but we could see other people had winter jackets on already. Save for one thunderstorm night with only drops of rain, we came at a very lucky time! Even at night I wore a t-shirt except for the Changdeokgung night which needed a jacket as it was a bit chilly.
- Korea Tour card seems to just be a T-money card for tourists. I'd consider that over a normal tmoney card. The Discover Seoul pass would serve the same purpose plus the attractions. I did not consider the wowpass since I had a visa and mastercard with no forex fees. The $8 I lost is worth a jjangmyeon...
- I brought 100,000KRW with me exchanged at a currency exchange prior to arrival. I used bank ATMs while in Korea and the exchange rate I got was much better. This is the way to go to save money unless your bank doesn't cover the fees. I used about 250,000KRW cash during my time. This was for transit and the markets for food, clothing and gifts.
- I only used Google and Naver Map. I used google to look for things in hangul and then copied to Naver especially for food recommendations. I think having specific restaurants or cafes to go to is fine if you plan around it but sometimes you take a detour or you get hungry so you just look up jjangmyeon in Naver to find many nearby options. I also had a subway map tab open so I could determine which train direction to take as you need to know a couple of stations ahead to know which direction to take.
- I used Google lens and photos when translating was needed. I didn't use Papago since the voice to text always heard wrong
- That being said, I would like to plan specific restaurants next time. I also wish I was not as anxious to go into the alleys to try restaurants (especially in the Euljiro area near the hotel). It is a bit intimidating when everyone looks local and is only speaking Korean or their menu is only in Korean. I also want to try No Name Brand Burger and Mom's Touch next time.
- Best food places I went: Offer, Riching, Gwangjang Market, Coffee Libre, Seumire Tonkotsu and Majang Meat Market
- Worst food places I went: NY Night Market, KKanbu Chicken, Cafe Layered and the banquet noodles at Wangbijib.
- yakgwa was strange at first but it's really starting to grow on me
- For coffee chains, for me, Mammoth > Twosome Place > Ediya. I didn't go to Starbucks.
- Walked and took the train everywhere. No taxis. Average of 28,000 steps/day. Good walking shoes and cushioned socks are just as important if not more.
- Felt safe everywhere at all times
- Getting lost was fun unless we were on a time crunch to beat the sunset
- due to family commitments and some unplanned excursions, we did need to backtrack to several places so that transit time did take out a good chunk of our day. It would have been nice to see other areas like Yeouido Park (in the day), Olympic Park, Itaewon, Seong-Su or even a day trip to Suwon.
- I found Euljiro 3 to be central yet quiet and would stay in that area again. Very walkable to most tourist attractions and neighbourhoods. The train station is also not as busy if that helps to get your transit bearings in a new city. I wouldn't stay in Myeongdong itself as it's too busy with tourists everywhere. I would consider Hongdae as it would have been nice to stay there longer but it's a longer walk if taking the train.
- I kept getting stuck when tapping on the gate but apparently, you can only tap when there is a blue light, and then you go when red light shows up so that initially confused me. I did check and didn't lose money from erroneous taps. When frustrated, I used the handicapped line (when empty) as it doesn't have a gate but you still tap.
- Budget-wise per person, I'd say I spent 35,000KRW for transit, and 350,000 KRW on food and 150,000 on attractions, tickets and tours.
- Seoul is BIG. You look at the subway map and think you want to go to Olympic Park from Gangnam since it looks closeby, but it actually takes an hour. I'm not the type to plan transitting times before a trip especially for Seoul where the transit is great but if I did, I would've planned better.
- Transitting in the train stations takes time as they are big. You'll be rushwalking a good 5-10 minutes each station to find the next line. I wasn't used to this as a transfer where I'm from is a leisurely 2 min (though the trains don't come as often).
- Only did 24 hours for the Discover Seoul Pass and while we missed Aqua 63, we did hit the main ones we were interested in (N Seoul, Han River Cruise and Coex Aquarium).
- Despite how my schedule looked, I only planned 2-3 major things per day and worked around them. Clearly this allowed for all the excess duty free shopping time...
- Nonstop AREX fixes you to a time since it's reserved seating. I'd rather do all stop unless you aren't in a rush and plan better when departing. I would say the opposite if you were going during rush hour though or if you had kids/elderly with you. Airport bus is another option but we figure we're going during rush hour.
- Take it easy on arrival and departure days. Even though my flight was at 7PM, it certainly didn't feel like I had a lot of time. Definitely allocate more time than you need so you don't stress out especially if it's your first trip
- Anyone know if the duty free stores in Seoul are the same price as those at the airport as those on the plane?
- If you know Mandarin, they speak that better in the duty free stores than English. I did feel they were more friendly when they learned I wasn't part of a Chinese tour group though.
- Signed up for a Hyundai membership and also used a visa infinite which apparently gets you more discounts
- You can't try on clothes at the duty free (or the markets). I am a M in North America. An M in Korea still fit but more snug. L would have been a better choice.
- Is the duty free the best deal in town? thankfully, our itinerary didn't allow for trips to the outlets
- Returning to Seoul in 2 months. Does anyone know if I can go back to claim my tax refund that I didn't get on this past trip or am I out of luck?
- Lastly, does anyone know how to continue the Seoul City Wall trail from Hyehwamun Gate?
Thanks for reading. Please do let me know if it helps you.

A few days ago I covered Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals (Par) from Australia great durability results, follow this link to take a read if you missed it:
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https://www.reddit.com/ausstocks/comments/17d08pe/pars_latest_results_part_1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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Tonight I go one better...actually it's probably ten better...
This will be a long post...so take your time, I promise you, it will be worth the full read, you will learn a stack if you are new to iPPS and Par of Australia. The results will be worth it.
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Please enjoy:
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THE GOOD MEDICINE

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Laughter the best medicine?
They say laughter is the best medicine but you know what? I tend to think patients in pain would laugh a lot more if they weren't in pain...
For a drug to really work...to be really spectacular...it has to show efficacy in an area that's not currently being too well addressed.
To enhance this chance of success you need to a number of other advantages and effects. Some examples are durability of the drug...even great efficacy...and a smart safety record in tandem is always going to increase your chance of global success. Osteoarthritis is a disease with two distinct aspects.
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1. Symptomatic manifestations
2. Structural ramifications

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1) feeds into 2) as the typical patient is in pain, has a loss of function and can also experience disrupted sleep. This all results in the patients doing less exercise and having less mobility. This then can lead to co-mobilities not unlike increased chance of Heart Disease and Diabetes.
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We have already seen in a number of examples to date, the efficacy of Pentosan on the symptomatic phenotypes...tonight we tackle 2), structural observations. You get 1 and 2 together and you start to understand why I have been following this particular stock like no other stock in the known investment universe...
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Ahh the vast universe of stocks...which to choose? How to find the most excellent, highest prob. of success but not pay too much?
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Watch out for a future Mozz post that will further examine what exactly is required to increase one's chance of striking the best stock!
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THE STRUCTURAL CHANGE

Par and most of the people following Par closely...I mean *really* closely, knew there was only a small chance of seeing real material structural changes in a short period of time. There were two things going against this study (known as 008 - Synovium study) in terms of possibly sighting structural observations.
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1)

It was short duration of just 12 initial doses and then nothing more for the rest of the 10.5 odd months, remember this drug was up against rescue medication which was allowed every single day after day 56...PAR's drug is also very much in the pain domain...this automatically pits them up against a very high wall...that wall is called a placebo effect!
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The placebo effect - like scaling a wall....ok a cliff, specially in pain related indications!
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The placebo effect can be quite a wall to climb for prospective drugs, particularly when its a pain indication. So much so that there have been studies in the past that document even when the patient KNOWS they are getting a placebo; there can be a positive placebo effect! Take a read of this extract from the prestigious Harvard Medical Journal:
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A study led by Kaptchuk and published in Science Translational Medicine explored this by testing how people reacted to migraine pain medication. One group took a migraine drug labeled with the drug's name, another took a placebo labeled "placebo," and a third group took nothing. The researchers discovered that the placebo was 50% as effective as the real drug to reduce pain after a migraine attack.

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The researchers speculated that a driving force beyond this reaction was the simple act of taking a pill. "People associate the ritual of taking medicine as a positive healing effect," says Kaptchuk. "Even if they know it's not medicine, the action itself can stimulate the brain into thinking the body is being healed."
Ref: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect

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2)

It was heavily under powered to show any positive structural changes! Yes the study was merely designed to show a link between what's happening in the synovium (the chambemembrane that encases the joint) and the serum (Bloods).
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In light of the above two points it would surely be nice to see *some* small signs of minute positive structural change as a complete bonus? But I was keeping myself tempered, and firmly tethered, well grounded to the floor...
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Mozz trying to be grounded by the Anchor Man.
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I have a pal, let's call him Anchor Man...he is that somewhat more negatively dispositioned bird on the left shoulder. Not saying I don't need him, in fact we all need to be grounded and think "What can go wrong?". He has often been OFTEN right in terms of some of the events and usual business delays we have had...dang it...don't tell him I said that, he will have that sweet knowing smug smile on his face, none of us want to see that!
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A little necessary background before I take you through this first-time-seen amazing results.
There are NO drugs in the world that show any meaningful cartilage re growth.
Do I need to restate that fact?
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There are zero drugs ever recorded to meaningfully, statistical significantly have materially positive growth connotations on cartilage.

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Let me just state that in a different way if you can oblige me...
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There is to date (well to last week), NO DMOAD...(Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug). There is one for pets, (that's also Pentosan)...but not in humans....We have the exclusive rights to treat humans once we have our NDA passed by the Authorities like the FDA, EMA and TGA.
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SUPPRESS ME NOT

As we get older or sustain injuries our cartilage changes and can start to break down....this leads to inflammation and then becomes a vicious cycle of further typical degradation. Some drugs have attempted to block these inflammatory markers and proteins (known as cytokines)...but that's not the right solution.
Why? Because they become immunosuppressants. It's a bit like taking on a new diet of only carbs...or only proteins, it's never going to result in what your body needs. It's all about harmony and balance. Yes, we actually do need some oils..some fat..some sugar...but it has to be in balance (I'm no Doc, do not take any of this as advice).
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No Fats? No Oils? No sugar? Whatz left?
In the same way we actually do need some of these inflammatory cytokines...they can be helpful in moderation and enact the body's repair processed. It like totally numbing out pain...you are deliriously happy that you can't feel any pain....but in that very delusion, you are subject, you are prone, to more destruction and you aren't even getting warned about it.
But the results Par presented were a very big surprise!
They were advised not to expect too much...they got more than they expected....a lot more.
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Let's take a look...
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THE RESULTS

Ok remember, when you take a peek a boo at the below results, have in the back of your mind that the n is so crazy low...and yet you are seeing material separation between Placebo and Active AND you are seeing some crazy results that just weren't expected!
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"iPPS demonstrates preservation of cartilage in knee OA participants in a phase 2 study".

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This first statement is pretty incredible. In light of no drug being able to arrest the progression of OA...this statement is stating that this is a world first. There is now a drug that can demonstrate preservation of cartilage, Guys, we want our cartilage to be preserved. Without cartilage not only are you going to experience eventual pain...you are going to destroy your joint entirely.
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"A 6-week twice weekly course of subcutaneous iPPS was shown to increase cartilage thickness and volume and reduce bone marrow lesions and synovitis on MRI follow-up at 6 months".

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Have a 6 week dose, then no more...after that cartilage thickness INCREASES along with cartilage volume and they saw a reduction in Bone Marrow Lesions... as if that's not enough..we also get a reduction in synovitis.
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Rightio, for this next highlight...please ensure you are sitting down...actually...please sit down and have a seat belt on...this is going to actually blow you away...
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Make sure you are sitting down before you read this next Mozz highlight.
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PAR stated this in their latest announcement:
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"In the natural course of the disease, it is expected that a person with moderate to severe knee OA will lose approximately -40 µm (-0.04 mm) of cartilage thickness in the central medial femur per year on MRI".

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Ok so the typical OA patient will lose 40 µm per year.
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Reddit readers...can you believe the next statement?
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I'm going to quote it directly from Par themselves...
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"Participants who received iPPS had an average improvement of cartilage thickness in the central medial femur of the knee of 60 µm (0.06 mm) at 6 months. This is compared to placebo who lost an average -20 µm (-0.02 mm) of cartilage thickness".

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This has two major ramifications:
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1. That was the AVERAGE reading...to get such a prolific positive result is actually feint worthy...and....
2. That represents a full 1.5 years worth of destruction...in JUST 6 months.

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I cannot tell you what this means from a commercial sense. (Not advice).
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This (above statement) is the single best statement like, EVER.
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Take this drug, and on average, despite a tiny sample size, they got effectively 1.5 years of NO further destruction...AND they actually increased the volume of their cartilage on average, on top of that.
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I want to be this guy...this is *so* me when it comes to the efficacies of iPPS.
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iPPS makes a material difference to you if you have OA.
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I know what a lot of readers to this Mozz Post are wondering...who has OA?
If you are lucky enough not to have OA yourself that's painful OR you don't actually know anyone that has it (rare but possible I guess)...there are some 630 million ppl that have this infliction!
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In the USA there are 32 million doc diagnosed patients...the undiagnosed population is more like 90 million....I will repost an old post I did a number of years ago to support this...
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If you have made it this far down this Part 2 post... you are in for a real treat going forward in subsequent posts...I have so much mind blowing evidence to come....plenty of science...plenty of independent peer reviews...plenty of patient testimonies...I will slowly release this here for your reading pleasure over the next few months.
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What did PAR say about the results at a summary level?
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"The results indicating a treatment effect on OA beyond the relief of symptoms supports iPPS as a blockbuster opportunity".

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For those that don't know ..."Blockbuster" essentially means 1 Billion of revenue.
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Yep, that's a Billion dollars right there...$100 bills
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1 Billion is a lot...but in actual fact its very much UNDERESTIMATING our potential. If you have a safe drug that can address pain...its going to be somewhat north of 1 billion...eventually
When they say blockbuster = $1 B...they are talking US dollars, that multiplies it by an additional 40% odd to get it into Aussie Dollars
As an example, 1 Billion is simply nothing for APPLE...but we aren't apple. Our entire market cap today is like $178 M AUD...that's $112 Mil USD. Now is not the time to cry...now is the time to be smug. Why? Because YOU dear reader are potentially able to get on at such a crazy cheap price that it really is borderline unbelievable.
Yes so cheap we are that it is actually a detractor...investors out there are actually sceptical SOLELY because our Share price is just so low. They don't really know about the science, the ability for us to make multi billions in the future...they just are too worried that they are missing something that's negative, that's keeping the share price so low. A lot of them think they will get more interested once we start selling, bringing in revenue.
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Sure that's not a bad idea...but what about best of both worlds? A spec play really early...and then come in when you are more confident. Remember, I have nothing to actually gain if you buy early and I'm not being paid to write this, I'm independent.
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Now I have to state that there is nothing in the world other than death and taxes that are 100% certain....We are not 100% guaranteed to win...there is risk, there is more risk because we are pre revenue. you have to factor that in, that's the prudent thing to do, All I'm saying is that I think it is a good chance...this is a good investment IF you can hold for some time. BioPharma companies often take a long time to come into fruition.
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When you plant a tree, it can be years before you get to pick the fruits of your labour!
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MORE STRUCTURAL RESULTS

Ok remember, we weren't suppose to really see any results in such a short period of time....these are results being reported on in just 6 months! In just 12 SubQ injections...and then no more injections ...
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One should hope that the active (ippS) is more positive than placebo, correct?
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If this is a miracle drug then it should influence the cartilage thickness in a positive way....HALTING cartilage degradation would be a great result.....reversing it would be the miracle...
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Here is what PAR reported:
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"An increase in overall cartilage thickness, across all compartments of the knee, of 0.17mm (p=0.05) compared to overall decrease of -0.09mm in placebo".

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Guys....iPPS not only halted it, it reversed it...placebo went the other way...it continued to deteriorate.
Cartilage volume also had improvements with the iPPS cohort against placebo:
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"An increase if overall cartilage volume by 1.9% (p=0.07) compared to a decrease of -1.58% in the placebo group".

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Yes you are right, some of these values weren't strictly (<= 0.05) statistical significant, but in actuality, they were. I mean the n was so low (15 odd patients), you scale that up and there is no doubt some of these measures will tighten up further..
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Bone Marrow Lesions which has been shown to have links with the progression of OA was also remarkable:
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"Resolution or decrease in of bone marrow lesions (BML) volume by 17% in the iPPS group, whereas placebo subjects saw a 2% increase in BML".

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Finally even Synovitis was reduced, think of this as inflammation in the synovium:
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"At 6 months in this phase 2 clinical trial, synovitis increased from baseline in the placebo arm (4.6%) compared to a slight decrease (-1%) in the twice weekly iPPS arm".

What the above is saying is that iPPS not only preserves the integrity of the joint tissues, at least in some cases it is regenerating or assisting the regeneration process.
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THE MOZZ LINE ©

If I wanted to conduct a small seminar in terms of the benefits of iPPS and proclaim in a SINGLE statement that would capture the audience...I would just have to say ONE line....this line Paradigm gave us in their second announcement that came out last week....*clears throat*...This is what I would say in Mozz words:
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On average, a given OA patients loses some 40 Um of cartilage each year. There is nothing to date in the world that can safely claw that back. In this well controlled study it was found on the central medial femur the placebo group lost 20 mu over the course of 6 months, matching this average observation. What did the iPPS group observe on average? A world never been seen before INCREASE of some 60 µm !
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Lets see this in the chart PAR presented:
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https://preview.redd.it/nje9uaid2yvb1.png?width=1016&format=png&auto=webp&s=166d660733b82c2df023b8422fbe14040b535782
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For the guys that have followed me over the last 4 years, you will know that I have mentioned the Medial compartment in the past. For those that are new to me...it's the medial chamber that's the load bearing of the chambers, get efficicacies here and you are already a cut above the rest.
In other words...our patients in this trial saw what is normally 1.5 years of cartilage destruction as a positive GAIN, in just 6 months.
No other drug has done this before...no other drug has slowed down cartilage deterioration so consistently and so safely LET ALONE causing it to grow!
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This is the power of this drug.
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I can find NO other single investment that has as much potential as this one stock. (Not advice, I am not a licensed financial advisor)...and you know what....
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It's 63 cents Aussie...thats 40 cents USD...for one share. I see a time in the not too distant future where each and every share will be precious. We only have 285 million shares on the books, that's actually not a lot.
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BUT SEEING IS BELIEVING

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Mozz, love your work so far, I can certainly take away these interesting facts, observations and data points and do my own research on material out there on this Pentosan thing you are describing. But wouldn't it be good to actually SEE images of this stuff working?
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ie Mozz, don't just tell me about the money...show me the money!
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It's not lost on me, This Jerry guy was an agent for NFL stars...
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What has the above Jerry Maguire film got to do with Par? Par have already conducted an EAP program in the USA for ex NFL players to see what efficiacies could be derived in local American athletes.
I'll post on this in a future post coming to a screen near you.
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So yeah, pictures and 'seeing' the good efficacies?
Yeah that's next level, we will see this in the future one day, right?
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Wrong...we've done it already...here are the mind boggling images.
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https://preview.redd.it/mc6z1hf44yvb1.png?width=1395&format=png&auto=webp&s=01c7b13e1d12fcb64be34db6e92a879de1d6b74b
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Ok I want you to take a super close look at the above image...
I've added the labels A, B, C and D for easy reference.
Take a look at B compared to A....if you really zoom in, you can see the white 'bridge' of cartilage is actually thinner and does appear to be thinning out over just 168 days!
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Now look at C compared to D...there is more white thickness in D compared to C.
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See the red dot in C? It vanishes in D...what is that? It's a bone marrow lesion.
Guys, there is a link between BML's and OA progression. To see this disappear totally in 6 months due to iPPS is a real green flag for us investors.
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While it's not at all advice...and while this could still take some time to play out...I'm in!
Here was an MRI image that PAR presented in regards to Synovitis...
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Synovitis by MRI
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What was the actual % change active -v- placebo?
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https://preview.redd.it/llmknq9i5yvb1.png?width=826&format=png&auto=webp&s=57bfa4f1217877b3ed3c8c6ea0ed87118544ce24
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Reddit guys, there were actually a lot more readings in the announcement, too lengthy for this one post. You can check out the full reference below and read at your leisure...it's quite a read!
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Things will happen in the background after groundbreaking data like this....watch this space!
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DYOR
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- Mozz
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MAIN REFERENCE

Interested in reading more about the full data set that was released? Just follow this link below...
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https://app.sharelinktechnologies.com/announcement/asx/058732021c8928f27d89da8502ca692a
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Hi all! So, my main hair color is purple. I’ve always been a purple girl and finally dying my hair purple has made me so happy. Anyway, I’ve started to do peek-a-boo highlights and change colors when I go to my twice a year hair cut/color. Last winter they were blue. Right now it’s bright pink. I like the pink better than the blue because it’s brighter. I’m going next month to get my hair done and I’m wondering what would be a good winter color that would still pop? I maintain my colors between visits with color shampoo- dunno if that matters. Thanks!