Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless (currently 57% of float sold short per FinViz), with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note: this sub disallows image posts. There is a similar post in the RILYStock sub which contains virtually all source images for the claim in the comments (too many images to embed in the post). The source images are illuminating.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	Repaid in fullFALSE , early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	Full redemption FALSE of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	Core Scientific IncExela Technologies Arena Group Holdings FALSE a. . repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	is in full compliance FALSE RILY with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	extremely valuableFALSE Segment is . From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	Audited 10-K FALSE was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	Sullivan and Cromwell FALSE is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	MarcumFALSE is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	NomuraFALSE is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	stated by the company UCC search FALSE As , Simple disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	hit the 5yr SEC ruleFALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had , so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	hit the 5yr SEC ruleFALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had , so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	5 consecutive yearsFALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for . As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	Marcum is a highly respected auditorFALSE The auditor is fully qualified. ; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	reduced 24Q1FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and

There are too many source images for the claims above to embed in a reddit post, and this sub doesn't allow images in comments. Images can be seen on a version of this posted to a sub that discusses RILY in the comments (~55 images). All claims can be sourced on the various social media venues and websites utilized by the short sellers. Other sources include: https://wolfpackresearch.com/research/rily/ and here https://friendlybearresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RILY-Analyst-Day-Questions-12_11_13-Final.pdf and https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2cpgaejc45gocvoqb1ngg/corner-office/how-b-riley-garnered-the-biggest-short-interest-of-2023 and https://www.wsj.com/finance/how-an-unremarkable-deal-became-a-big-threat-to-a-small-investment-bank-f819a169 . https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/304196 form ADV. This is not financial advice. All claim summarizations reflect my interpretation of the short seller claims, and should be verified against original sources, along with all counters.

I have a pretty extensive selection of hair oils from Haus of Gloi. Figured I should give back a little and see if anyone wants some comparisons. There are a few groupings where scents are very similar and realistically if you have one there's no need for the other similar ones.
I'm a gourmand lover, so my thoughts are obviously going to be biased towards those types of scents. (I also really dislike melon, tree and any green fragrances.)
If I had to pare my hair oils down to just a few, the ones you'd have to pry out of my cold dead hands are: Ghost Puffs, Mama's Porridge, Risque, Vice, Who Needs Love and Epicurean. (Pistachio cake, brown sugar latte, golden corn cakes and by candlelight are approaching the same status, but not there yet)
Here's the list!

• Beguiled
• Blueberry Tart
• Boca Chica
• Brown Sugar Latte
• By Candlelight
• Coffee Haus
• Come Hither
• Cozy Sweater
• Depravity
• Eggnoggin
• Epicurean
• Fancy Bread
• Faunus
• First Blush
• Ghost Puffs
• Golden Corn Cakes
• Haus Amber
• Haus Birthday
• Hearth
• Honeybelle
• Hummingbird
• Kitchen Witch
• Lemon Marshmallow
• Lemon Tart
• Lily Cake
• Little Hedgehog
• Long Winter's Nap
• Mama's Porridge
• Marshmallow
• Marshmallow & Whipped Cream Cocoa
• Marshmallow Rose
• Narcosa
• Nefarious Gingerbread Man
• Odette
• Olde Cider Haus
• Pistachio Cake
• Plotter's Breakfast
• Pumpkin Queen
• Risque
• Snow Wolf
• Splendiferous
• Spruce Tip Shortbread
• Strawberry Angel Food Cake
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
• Superfreak
• Tonka Bean Tea Cakes
• Turkish Delight
• Twice is Nice
• Vice
• Violet Marshmallow
• Violet Moon
• Who Needs Love
• Zazz

Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless (currently 57% of float sold short per FinViz), with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note: this sub disallows image posts. There is a similar post in the RILYStock sub which contains virtually all source images for the claim in the comments (too many images to embed in the post). The source images are illuminating.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	FALSE Repaid in full, early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	FALSE Full redemption of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	FALSE a. Core Scientific Inc. repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. Exela Technologies repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. Arena Group Holdings debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	FALSE RILY is in full compliance with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	FALSE Segment is extremely valuable. From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	FALSE Audited 10-K was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	FALSE Sullivan and Cromwell is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Marcum is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Nomura is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	FALSE As stated by the company, Simple UCC search disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	FALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for 5 consecutive years. As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	FALSE The auditor is fully qualified. Marcum is a highly respected auditor; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was reduced from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and 24Q1

No source images included for the claims, as this sub disallows images in posts and comments. Images can be seen on a version of this posted to a sub that discusses RILY. All claims can be sourced on the various social media venues and websites utilized by the short sellers. Other sources include: https://wolfpackresearch.com/research/rily/ and here https://friendlybearresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RILY-Analyst-Day-Questions-12_11_13-Final.pdf and https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2cpgaejc45gocvoqb1ngg/corner-office/how-b-riley-garnered-the-biggest-short-interest-of-2023 and https://www.wsj.com/finance/how-an-unremarkable-deal-became-a-big-threat-to-a-small-investment-bank-f819a169 . https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/304196 form ADV. This is not financial advice. All claim summarizations reflect my interpretation of the short seller claims, and should be verified against original sources, along with all counters. Due to Reddit image attachment limits, not all source images are included (but any missing can be found on TwitteX or other publicly available sources).

Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless (currently 57% of float sold short per FinViz), with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	FALSE Repaid in full, early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	FALSE Full redemption of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	FALSE a. Core Scientific Inc. repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. Exela Technologies repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. Arena Group Holdings debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	FALSE RILY is in full compliance with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	FALSE Segment is extremely valuable. From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	FALSE Audited 10-K was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	FALSE Sullivan and Cromwell is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Marcum is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Nomura is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	FALSE As stated by the company, Simple UCC search disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	FALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for 5 consecutive years. As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	FALSE The auditor is fully qualified. Marcum is a highly respected auditor; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was reduced from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and 24Q1
19) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"$RILY doesn't make it till Easter... I will say it again and again.."	FALSE They made it, filed a 10-K and paid a dividend, filed a 10-Q and are paying a dividend, and are chugging along. With stock price 50% higher than when this claim was made.

A sampling of the source claims listed above can be found in the images embedded in comments below this post, with additional claims found here https://wolfpackresearch.com/research/rily/ and here https://friendlybearresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RILY-Analyst-Day-Questions-12_11_13-Final.pdf and https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2cpgaejc45gocvoqb1ngg/corner-office/how-b-riley-garnered-the-biggest-short-interest-of-2023 and https://www.wsj.com/finance/how-an-unremarkable-deal-became-a-big-threat-to-a-small-investment-bank-f819a169 . https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/304196 form ADV. Additional claims can be sourced on the various social media venues and websites utilized by the short sellers. This is not financial advice. All claim summarizations reflect my interpretation of the short seller claims, and should be verified against original sources, along with all counters. Due to Reddit image attachment limits, not all source images are included (but any missing can be found on TwitteX or other publicly available sources). Was unable to embed images in the post itself due to a Reddit limitation/bug.

This is the rewritten version of when Rue reveals to Maddy that Cassie has been fucking Nate Jacobs. Do you prefer the original version or this?
Cassie: you got it skibidi, just take it easy and go at your own pace, day by day. don't let yourself get overwhelmed, ya feel me?
Rue: yo, cassie my friend, i gotta ask, how long has this thing with nate jacobs been going on for? time to dig for the juicy details, ya dig?
Cassie: what in the skibidi toilet are you rambling on about?
Rue: hold up, how many days, hours, minutes and seconds have passed since our beloved cassie started gettin' it on with that fine piece of cake, nate
Maddy: yo, i got no clue what's up wit u, fam. you soundin' like you’re speakin
Rue: yo, i was walking down the street, minding my own business, when i saw that fine lass cassie gettin' into that fancy old truck with that handsome devil, nate, and they had themselves a little pash session, ya dig? i couldn't believe my eyes, i had to do a double-take, but i saw it with my own eyeballs, just a month ago.
Maddy: you must be jokin', ain't no way you expect me to believe that hogwash about cassie and nate jacobs. i ain't bout to fall for that tomfoolery
Kat: bruh, cassie goin' after nate jacobs is like asking for a one-way ticket to drama city. that ain't no good, ya dig?
Cassie: I have no clue what's going on in that girl's head, you know?
Maddy: Your not sigma Cassie, I'm literally going to lose my Gyatts over this
Suze: Alphas are having a stepping in stairs
Maddy: Yo, you're crying, but you're the one who screwed things up. like, you're straight up trippin' and actin' like the world revolves around you. you're messin' with my ex and expectin' sympathy? that's some next level nonsense, fam. are you serious right now? you gotta be playin' with me, bruh.
Leslie: yo, i ain't care who's getting wit who, you know? like, ain't none of my business, not my circus, not my elephants, ya feel?
Cassie: You did not use the skibidi toilet with gyatt, Rue ain't sigma she's a fanum tax addict
Maddy: Rue speak the sigma
Rue: yo fam, you wanna know how long ago that juicy piece of gossip went down? My gyatt says yesterday.
Maddy: yo, you're like a dumb biiiitch and I'm gonna mess you up real good Cass

Information

• Prices are in USD
• US shipping: $7 USD, includes tracking
• Canada shipping: $1 USD for letter mail (no tracking), $8 USD for larger packets with tracking
• International shipping: $8 USD. Does not include tracking, but can get a quote if you'd like it
• From a smoke-free, cat-friendly home
• Payment by PayPal G&S (I will send an invoice)
• All items used two times or less just to test/swatch, unless noted
• Open to bundle deals and reasonable offers

The Goods

• Spreadsheet here with full details including notes

Alkemia
Full size

• Confectionaire - 5ml roller, $14
• Rondeaux d'Amour - 5ml roller, $14
• Veneficium - 5ml roller, $14 PENDING
• Halloween Alchemy 2023, $7

Samples

• Hellcat - 1ml sample, $2
• The Highwayman - 1ml sample, $2

Black Baccara/Amorphous
Full size

• 90s Goth NYC - 5ml bottle, $16
• Boardwalk 1990 - 5ml bottle, $16
• Witch's Veil - 5ml bottle, $16

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL)
Full size

• Krampus (Yule 2023) - 5ml bottle, $18
• The Poinsettia Gown (Yule 2023) - 5ml bottle, wand cap added, $18
• Witches' Currant Cake (Halloween 2023) - 5ml bottle, wand cap added, $18

Samples and Ajevie decants

• Arachnina the Spider Girl (Carnaval Diabolique) - 0.92ml Ajevie sample, $5
• Blood Garden (Carnaval Diabolique) - 0.92ml Ajevie sample, $5
• Frankincense, Bourbon Vanilla and Hazelnut (Menage a Trois) - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $4
• Rose Moon 2023 - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $4
• Fancy Pups (Lupercalia 2024) - 0.5ml Ajevie sample, $3
• Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid-Orgies (Lupercalias 2024) - 0.5ml Ajevie sample, $3
• Implacable Beautiful Tyrant (Lupercalia 2024) - 0.5ml Ajevie sample, $3
• O Daughter of Death and Priapus (Lupercalia 2024) - 0.5ml Ajevie sample, $3
• Sister Death (Lupercalia 2024) - 0.5ml Ajevie sample, $3
• There Yet Shall Be Sorrows (Lupercalia 2024) - 0.5ml Ajevie sample, $3
• Aperotos Eros - Imp, $2
• Bruised Violet Compound - Imp, $2
• Dance of Death - Imp, $2
• Defututa - Imp, $2 PENDING
• High John the Conqueror - Imp, $2
• Kabuki - Imp, $2 PENDING
• Mage - Imp, $2
• Paris - Imp, $2
• Shub-Niggurath - Imp, $2

Death and Floral
Ajevie decants

• Hallows' Eve Museum Heist - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $2 PENDING
• Plastic Pumpkin Bucket - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $2 PENDING

Deconstructing Eden (Shipping within Canada only)
Samples

• Cardamomum No. 18 - 2.5ml sample, $4
• Morrigan - 2.5ml sample, $4
• Violaceum No. 4 - 2.5ml sample, $4

Hexennacht
Samples

• Lipstick Accord - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $2

Nocturne Alchemy (NAVA)
Full size

• Achilles - 5ml bottle, $18
• Neon Vampire - 5ml bottle, $18 PENDING

Samples and Ajevie decants

• Dracula - 2ml sample, $5
• Faust - 2ml sample, $5
• Riven - 2ml sample, $5
• Salem - 2ml sample, $5
• Conjuring With the Witch - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $3 PENDING

Nui Cobalt
Full size and partials

• At Your Command - 5ml bottle, $15 PENDING
• Au Bal Masque - 5ml bottle, $15
• Exsanguinated - 5ml bottle, $15
• Long Shadows - 4ml partial in original bottle, $13 PENDING
• Sword and Shield - 3.5ml partial in original bottle, $12

Samples

• Achievement Unlocked - 1ml sample, $3
• Aphrodite Chrysea - 1ml sample, $3
• Aphrodite Peitho - 1ml sample, $3

Pineward (Shipping within Canada only)
Samples

• Caravansary - 1.8ml sample, $4
• Revelries - 1.8ml sample, $4 PENDING
• White Fir - 1.8ml sample, $4 PENDING
• Iceflow - Mini sample, free with purchase PENDING

Poesie
Samples

• Awakening - 2ml sample bottle, $5 PENDING
• Forest Cat - 1.15ml sample, $3

Possets
Full size

• Death (The Pardoner's Tale) - 6ml bottle, $16
• Orion - 6ml bottle, $16
• Silver Leather - 6ml bottle, $16

Samples

• Bar Sinister - 0.74ml sample, $2
• Field of Reeds Perfume Oil - 0.74ml sample, $2
• Hera - 0.74ml sample, $2
• Morgan Le Fay - 0.74ml sample, $2
• Nefertiti and Akhenaten - 0.74ml sample, $2
• Wraith - 0.74ml sample, $2

Pulp Fragrance
Full size

• I've Written A Letter to Daddy - 4.5ml roller, $16
• Whispers in the Forest - 4.5ml roller, $16

Samples

• And to All a Good Night - 0.74ml sample, $3 PENDING
• Eris - 0.74ml sample, $3
• Helen - 0.74ml sample, $3
• Ready For My Close-Up - 0.74ml sample, $3
• Vanilla Adagio - 0.74ml sample, $3
• Vanilla Allegro - 0.74ml sample, $3
• Vanilla Grave - 0.74ml sample, $3

Solstice Scents
Full size

• Camp Willow - 5ml roller, $16
• Upstairs Window - 5ml roller, $16 (Shipping within Canada only)

Samples

• Winslow's - 0.74ml sample, $2 PENDING

Sorcellerie Apothecary
Samples

• Something Wicked - 0.74ml Ajevie sample, $3

Thin Wild Mercury (Shipping within Canada only)
Samples

• 34 Bohemian Cafes - 2ml edp sample, $5
• Chateau 1970 - 2ml edp sample, $5

Venus Invictus
Samples

• Enyo - 2ml edp sample, $5 (Shipping within Canada only)
• Eros - 2ml edp sample, $5 (Shipping within Canada only)
• Hekate - 2ml edp sample, $5 (Shipping within Canada only)
• Pothos - 2ml edp sample, $5 (Shipping within Canada only)
• Three Graces - 1ml sample roller, $4

Makeup

• Rituel de Fille Stellaris Rare Light Luminizer, $20
• Rituel de Fille Flora Ash and Ember Eye Soot, $20

Thanks for looking!

Any recs for a wedding cake vendor for a NYC wedding? I obviously want something yummy but my wedding is in a few months so clearly this isn’t that important to me and I just need something pretty that will get the job done. I have no idea how much it costs to get a cake for a 220 person wedding that’s not being baked by a fancy Ron Ben-Israel type of place, so a point of reference on price is appreciated too. Thanks! Xo

Hey there! Just wanted to send you this in advance, seeing as you start in a week from now. I haven’t actually interviewed anyone before, seeing as I’ve usually been able to handle things on my own, and I’m glad it went smoothly! Anyways-- you already know this, but there’ll only be two employees-- you and I (my name is Lill, if you’ve forgotten!)
I’d count my brother, but he isn’t really an employee here. He just shows up. Anyways, I threw these rules together for you. Sorry if they’re a bit sloppy! I haven’t needed to make a rules list before- this is my first one. Anyways, enjoy! :)
1 - Just so you know, I’ll practically always be here with you! That being said, try not to freak out when you walk up to the building when it’s dark and you just see me there. We’ve already met, so you already know what I look like, so you’ll probably be slightly less spooked. If it makes you feel any better, the bees won’t sting you unless provoked, and the ink won’t stain or really drip anywhere. I don’t even know what it is, nor when I got it. Probably food safe. hopefully.
2 - When the lights flicker, don’t be alarmed. Flicker or wave back! They prefer if you flicker, but are understanding, so don’t worry.
3 - For some reason, we don’t have an actual thing to open to get into the counter area. You’re gonna have to make a leap of faith over the register. Goodluck dude, just don’t break the register.
If you see something that looks like it’d be something to open to reach the counter area, just.. don’t open it. You can jump over it, just not actually go in it. I’m.. pretty sure you’ll end up somewhere else if you go through it. Maybe? Yeah, I wouldn’t try finding out.
4 - Our baked goods display will always be fresh! The bigger things will be on the bottom shelf, and the smaller on the top! There are three shelves- if there’s any more or less, tell me. If the pastries are out of order, just rearrange them.
If there are any blue sunflowers in the display, book it. I won’t mind if you send the register crashing down in this case. Just make sure that I know what happened so I can burn the sunflower and skedaddle with ya. Yeah, you can go back once you pass this pizza poster thing. I think it’s retro themed? No clue what that’s called. You’ll know it's the correct one once you spot the eyes.
5 - When you’re standing behind the register, you’ll get a clear view of two windows off in the table area. If you see a tall humanoid figure who is either pitch-black or constantly changing color and stuff, just wave or something. That’s Jimothy, and that guy can eat fifteen cakes in five minutes. He’s really proud of himself. He’s my most favorite customer.
6 - That being said, Jimothy will probably come in and place an order. It’s usually cake(s). When he pays, please DON’T look at what you are being handed. Ignore the texture and slimy feeling. Thank him, place the payment into the purple&black striped container below the counter, and go wash your hands in the kitchen. Or, the sink near the seating area. Continue with the order as normal afterwards!
7 - If you’re ever on break, there’s a mattress in the basement. To access the basement, go into the kitchen, go by the sink, and pull up the hidden trapdoor. Cool, right? I thought it was cool. Anyways, climb down the ladder, ignore the heavy-metal door, and walk into the area. Mattress will be to the right in the corner! That being said, ignore how cool it is down there. If it’s unbearable, too bad.
However, if it’s even slightly warm down there, get back up the ladder immediately.
When on the mattress, please keep your limbs on it. I lost track of what's down there, but the mattress can’t get chewed on.
actually, if the mattress gets warm you also wanna get back up.
okay yeah maybe you should lay on one of the metal shelves instead
8 - When entering/exiting the kitchen area, you may see a rock with googly-eyes on it. His name is Jimmy. Carefully pick him up without touching where his mouth would probably be, seeing as surprise-amputations aren’t fun. Then, go outside and chuck him as far as you can. The reason for this is because his owner will come looking for him, and he knows where he is at all times. Unless you’re into surprise decapitations, but without the dying part, then you gotta chuck him.
9 - If the register is ever too full to take anymore, don’t try putting anymore things in. Take the received money, look to the drawer below the register (that was totally there earlier), open it, deposit the money, and watch it fall into the darkness. Make sure you can’t see the money anymore before closing the drawer.
10 - If some fancy guy with a tophat and stuff comes up to place an order, look for any flowers in/on his clothes.
Red rose; Resume as how you would normally.
White rose; Redirect him to the flower-shop across the street. If he refuses to accept his fate, please keep eye-contact with him despite the gaping holes. He may try asking for his eyes back- refuse. Make sure the purple/black striped container is out of sight. He’ll give up soon. If he sees the container, you stop making eye-contact, or you’re a jerk, then he will most definitely tear your eyes out. Then he’ll get mad that he can’t see through them and curbstomp you. It’s funnier when I write it, not so much when it happens.
Blue sunflower; Leap over the register and begin throwing hands. I’ll help you if ya want me to. Or I can cheer for you behind the counter! Actually, I think all the other customers will also cheer. Put everything you’ve got into those punches, great stress reliever.
11 - Keep track of the people in the seating area.
If someone has a blue sunflower, point it out. Shout it out or something. Even if you didn’t see anyone else in the seating area, there’ll be people punching that guy now.
If one/more people sitting there are eyeless, please head to their table(s), and request that they spill no blood of theirs on the table/floor. I’m writing that part because there’s still stains on the floor in front of the counter. Anyways- after that, grab the phone and dial Jimothy- you’ll know his calling numbers. Tell him that there’s escapees here and hang up before the static starts. If you are unable to call him, quickly and calmly lay plastic wrap over the floor behind the counter, grab a brick and bandage, and then aim for the face.
12 - When there’s no customers in the bakery, you may hear the rose-bushes outside being violently rustled (bushes are around all the windows at the seating). You’re gonna turn to the counter behind you, grab some burnt bread and cupcakes out of the WOODEN basket, and chuck them out the door. If whispering starts after this, close and lock the doors. If the whispering continues, then uh.. don’t ask how I know this, but the floor… may or may not let you phase through it. Yeah, just try not to look around too much when you’re falling. If Jimothy is down there when you are, then you’ll be back up in a few moments! If not, please do not try counting how long you’re down there. You’ll be back and remember the whole “void” thing, but not how you got to the moment you’d currently be in, if that makes sense. You'd probably be met with my concerned face, and guts on a mace.
13 - If you are opening a door and are met with the view of white static with occasional colors flashing through, please close the door and re-open it. It should be gone. If it’s not, don’t blink. Blinking will make everything you see static. You’re able to blink again once something flies out of the door and smacks you. If it’s a yellow eye + a black pupil, please just give it back to me.
14 - If someone with a red cap & uniform comes in, take a look at the logo. If it is a pizza slice, but there’s eyes on it, please bring said person into the kitchen and out of sight. If anyone asks if their employee was here, deny. Try to send it to the flower-shop across the street and claim that their employee went in there. I’ll help said employee once the store closes, don’t worry.
15 - When leaving after your shift, the outside may appear as a foggy morning, even if it’s meant to be pitch-black outside. Quickly walk into the flower-shop, greet me, and just chill in there until it’s not foggy anymore. After the fog goes away, you can walk outside and go home. What the fog does changes every-so-often. As of writing this part in, breathing in the fog too much will allow your lungs to swell with flowers. I think some of those flowers have eyes in the middle. I hate this part both because you don’t want to imagine eyes in your lungs, and also because I’m sick of how everything seems to have ‘eyes’ in the rule. Hell, even I have three eyes. I do NOT know how or when that happened, nor if I’ve always been like this.
Anyways. That should be everything important, seeing as you already know the other procedures. Just ask me about anything else that happens. Unless you die. If so, get well soon! <3

This story is very recent and it still amazes me that people like that are out there. (I don't know if this is relevant, but fyi this happened in Europe where I'm from.)
So I am a full-time student and I had a Saturday part-time job at a small fancy cake shop. The owner quickly turned out to be an extremely rude and toxic person with no slightest knowledge of what good manners, respect and friendliness are. This person spoke always in a raised voice and yelled at everyone on a daily basis. Even the customers were complaining about the "screaming owner with anger issues". Owner was very unprofessional and not able to give clear orders, then got angry and screamed even more if someone did not do what she expected them to do, she expected part-timers to already know everything about the store and the cakes and you can guess she got aggressive when someone didn't. She thought she was way better than everyone and was treating people accordingly. I got yelled at and loudly criticized in front of the customers and other employees, was talked to in a very disrespectful manner and treated extremely unfriendly and just terribly. My main job was actually to put the cakes on the plates so that they were ready to be carried out by the waiters but that woman e. g. screamed at me to clean the dishes and tables while I was preparing those damned cakes (did she expect me to be in multiple places at once? lol) and while there were other employees who were already doing it. I also overheard her talking about me behind my back that I'm annoying (actually she must be either pretty much stupid to think I couldn't hear her in the other corner of the room or wanted me to hear that). She also insulted me by saying (always in an arrogant rude tone) that "you are not even able to count", when I got nervous because I ended up randomly having to sell ice cream (this cake place sells ice cream in the warm season) and she didn't care enough to tell me how much she charged for a scoop. So you get the picture, a lot of yelling and basically abuse at the workplace.
I left that stupid job and I was so mad that I left a very negative review of her shop on a website where ex-employees shared their experience (btw every single one was 1 star and extremely negative). A few days later I get an email where she threatens me to report this to the police because of slander and wants me to delete the review. Honestly I am still laughing because I only repeated what has already been said by other ex-employees of hers, everyone hates her and she is a clearly horrible person.

I believed in fairies as a kid. More than believed in them. I think something terrible happened to me, and I've just buried it until now.
Call me a typical emotion-bottling man, but I have never considered therapy. No matter what I went through, no matter how many times I thought to myself, verbatim, that I should talk to someone about this, I just never thought of it as an option. It simply wasn't on my roster. It was just one of those things that existed on a separate plane of existence than I was living in, never to cross paths or interact lest the universe collapse in on itself.
I have no problem with therapy, don't get me wrong. It isn't like I don't understand the overall appeal. I have plenty of friends who swear by it, swear it has helped them tremendously, including my wife. It just wasn't ever something I thought was in my cards.
"I just never really thought about it," I told Alice one evening, when she had brought the topic up once again after dinner.
There was a serene sense of peace wafting through the entire house that day, and I was feeling content. It was a Sunday, and swimming season, so we had dropped Emmie off that morning at the public pool for practice and gone straight to our favorite breakfast place. The rest of the day was filled with all the conversation that had built up over the week, all the topics we couldn't fully dig into with each other while babysitting our eight year old, and lounging, all crammed in between sporadic bursts of housework and paperwork we had to catch up on. It was the perfect day, in my humble opinion. It was a lovely moment of peace in the midst of a chaotic life, as is life with kids. And now the sounds of Mario Kart drifted in from the living room, Emmie's squeals cutting through the cheery music every now and then, causing Alice and I to share small smiles of acknowledgement.
Oh, to be a child again. Still a little drenched from a post-swimming shower, full of chili, eyes glowing with the reflection of a television screen.
"Well, maybe you should." My wife was scooping leftover chili into a Tupperware with a ladle. Her hair had been tied up like it was every day after dinner, as if she planned to run a marathon rather than do the cleaning up. She wasn't looking at me, dialed into the task at hand.
It's crazy how some parts of my memory could be so good, and others nonexistent.
I reached over from where I stood before the dishwasher, sliding my arm around her waist. She gave me a look, like, what?
"I just don't think it's for me, babe," I muttered, resting my mouth on her shoulder as if I was trying to skip her ears and speak right through her skin. "You know those things make me uncomfortable sometimes."
She let out a half groan, half sigh, setting down the container and the ladle and turning to face me, draping her arms over my shoulders.
"Everything makes you uncomfortable, John."
I smiled, letting my hands fall to her hips. I knew her frustrated act was just that, an act, at least for the most part.
"It's good for you," she continued pointedly, reaching up to tap her pointer finger against my forehead as I swayed her back and forth to a nonexistent tune. "Like medicine. And I know for a fact there are some things you need to work through."
I feigned offense. "You think I'm some kind of nut job?"
"Everyone needs therapy," she snarled, pulling out of my arms, but she didn't resist when I reached out and drew her back in. "Not just nut jobs."
And that was how most of those conversations went. Some got a little more heated, ending with a lightly slammed door (so as not to wake our daughter) and a whisper-shout of "this is why you need therapy!"
I feel I'm making it sound bad, but it wasn't. Even our more serious fights never quite felt like fights. They felt like playing. We were like two cats, biting and tackling and swishing our tails, but never baring our teeth to hiss. I never felt genuine, full-bodied anger towards her, and I knew she felt the same. It sounds sappy, but we were just very in love. I sometimes felt that we had never actually left the honeymoon phase.
I'm also making it sound like that conversation was incredibly common, and it wasn't. It came up maybe once every few months. I knew she was just looking out for me. She knew me better than anyone.
We had met through mutual friends, and we had initially bonded over our terrible childhoods. We both had moms who were out of the picture, and over emotional, over compensating dads, although this manifested in vastly different ways. Alice's mother left her father for a D-list rockstar type, following him on his state wide tour. She would sometimes send Alice letters or postcards from the road, although her dad wouldn't always let her keep them if they seemed to be stained with blood or seemed to have made contact with any strange white powders.
Her dad coped with anger. He never laid a hand on her, but his shouting and the sounds of glass bottles smashing against the walls kept her up almost every night. During the days he'd take her out, buy her things, go mini golfing and bowling and to the movies. Anything to seem more fun than her mother.
My mother passed away on my seventh birthday. She was driving home from work, which was at a law firm half an hour away from our house, when it began to rain. She was texting my dad her ETA when she ran a red light and a semi truck T-boned her, completely obliterating her car.
After that, everything changed. My seventh birthday could've been my twenty-first. At night it was the worst. I remember sitting with my dad as he cried, curled up in a sobbing ball on the filthy living room carpet, whimpering like a kicked puppy. He would scream and wail so loud the walls shook. He would say, over and over as if I wasn't hearing him, sometimes mumbling and sometimes shrieking, "She was cut in half. I'm sorry sir, she's gone. No, there's no chance she survived, she was completely cut in half."
The days were almost worse. During the day, when he could decrease the helpless wails into weeping at the very least, his attention turned to me. He tried to get something out of me, almost silently begging me to break down with him. Every other second it was, "How are you feeling, son? Do you understand what's happening? You poor thing, you must be devastated, your mommy is gone... Don't you want to cry?"
But I couldn't indulge, and I didn't want to. I had to wash the sheets, because he'd pissed them again, and I didn't want him to sleep in it and smell like pee when he took me to school the next day. I had to vacuum the carpet, so the next time he curled up on it and begged God to take him too, when he finally stood up, his cheek wouldn't be caked in crumbs and dust.
I don't know if I ever truly mourned. My mother's death was more like an absence, as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and carved a chunk out of my side, or snipped off a limb. I could still feel her, I could still talk to her, but all I got back was a deep ache and a crushing silence.
I hated how people reacted when I told them my mom was dead, and had been since I was a little boy. I hated the looks on their faces when they asked how she died, and when I told them. How their mouths fell open dumbly and their eyebrows twisted and contorted in sympathetic horror. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know," they said, as if there was vomit rising in their throats, and I wanted to say, "Well, you fucking asked, didn't you?"
Alice never reacted like that. In fact, she never really even asked me what happened. We were on our second date, nursing beers while leaning against the pool table a a dingy speakeasy, when she told me about her own mom. It was the first time in a long time I actually felt like the conversation was open, like I could respond and she would listen and care, but not too much. Not an uncomfortable amount. When I told her about my parents she didn't say anything, and her pretty face didn't contort. She leaned over the corner of the pool table and kissed me on the cheek, took my hand.
The day she found out she was pregnant, we promised each other to be better, to not let our child ever have to grieve alone or feel the very specific hopeless terror that only a parent can cause.
So maybe I should have listened to her. Maybe I should have gone to therapy the first time she brought it up, the first time she told me how it had helped her get through her own terrible memories. But if I'm being honest, I didn't think I had anything to get through. I had left it in the past, I had coped so far in my own somewhat crooked way, I didn't want to dig any of that back up. I didn't want to be put back in that place where I was expected to talk, to cry, to open up. It made my skin crawl just thinking about it.
"I was always the therapist," I would say to her with a crooked grin. "And I like it that way."
Then, the dreams started.
I could tell you I don't know what triggered them, I don't know why it was now. But that wouldn't be the truth. I know exactly why I started to remember.
At first, they were brief. Nightmares that I couldn't quite recall or explain, waking up disoriented and a little sick. The rest of my day would feel strange, like I was surrounded by a thick fog. Eventually, they started to wake me up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and screaming, scaring the shit out of my wife. Once I ran to the bathroom and threw up, barely making it to the toilet. That was when the word "therapy" came up again.
It feels like I've been in a coma for twenty years, and I'm just waking up now.
It's so strange how different the world looks to a child.
I believed in fairies as a kid. Laugh it up if you want. When I turned four, my aunt brought me this book - we've all had one, I think. It was one of those huge hardcover books filled with information about something mythical, with little patches of fabric to simulate a mermaid's scales or a dragon's claw.
Mine was about fairies, and it was so real to me. My mom would sit up with me later than she probably should have, reading to me, placing my hand on the textures to feel. I wanted to know everything about them, I became obsessed, and naturally, my parents played along. They bought me toys, books... every year I had a fae themed birthday cake, and any kid who dared to giggle behind their hands weren't invited to next year's celebration.
When I was old enough to use the internet, supervised of course, I began further research. My mom helped me navigate Wikipedia first, and they had plenty of information to sustain me for a while. My interest turned from wings and magical powers to different types of fae from every corner of the earth, mushroom rings and their alleged distaste for iron. While I still wasn't very good at reading, I would just look at the pictures until she got home from work.
When my mom died, the fairy memorabilia began to amp up. My aunt bought me new books, gave them to me wrapped and tied with ribbons with tear filled eyes, and my dad brought them up whenever he thought I needed comforting and felt strong enough to leave the house. "Wanna go look in the forest for fairies, son?"
I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I began to worship the fairies. I was convinced they lived in the forest behind my house, just behind each tree I looked at, hiding from me. I would spend my weekends escaping into the woods with a bucket and a cheap pair of binoculars, positive that this time, this day, I would see one.
At night, when my dad finally passed out in his own puddle of tears and other bodily fluids, I would pray to them. I never believed in God, we weren't a particularly religious family, and besides, I had seen what good He had done for my dad thus far. But I believed in the fairies.
I asked them for help with my father. I asked them for peace. I asked them to bring her back to me.
They never answered.
Until they did.
It was a Friday. I remember now, I'm not sure how I could have forgotten. After school I had sprinted into the shade of the trees before my dad could stop me, gripping the hem of my shirt in my fist, the thin fabric bearing the weight of two handfuls of the shiniest silverware and most colorful buttons I could find in our dusty cabinets.
I had a plan that day. I was going to lure them to me.
My path began in a clearing where I thought a ring of mushrooms may have begun to grow... but even without that, it was just the perfect spot for fairies. I could picture them flitting between the trees, chirping to each other happily, picking wildflowers to weave into flower crowns.
I walked backwards all the way back to my bedroom window, dropping another item every few steps. When I got inside and looked out my window, I could see my trail of shiny things curve through the overgrown grass in our backyard and disappear into the trees.
I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. Tonight, surely, they would come to me. They would show themselves, and they would help me. But after another few late hours of coddling my father, finally convincing him to drink some water and get in bed, I was exhausted. I completely forgot about my plan. When I got to my room I collapsed on my mattress, not even bothering to undress before I closed my eyes.
Then I heard it. The scratching.
I opened my eyes. The moonlight shining through my bedroom window casted strange shadows across my ceiling, shadows of the swaying grass and the creaking trees.
It was strangely silent, other than the sound. Usually there was lots of noise, or at the very least a few crickets, but not tonight. Tonight, I realized, I couldn't even hear the wind.
I sat up slowly, as if in a dream, and looked toward my window. I couldn't see anything out there, nothing glaringly obvious at least, that could be making that noise.
The scratching turned to a tap. Tap tap tap, like a fingernail against a glass. It had a playful air to it, like someone was saying, look over here!
I stood, rubbing my eyes, and stumbled over. The tapping stopped abruptly when I got to the window and peered outside, out to the dark yard, pitch black if not for the moon's glow. The grass didn't sway, the trees didn't creak. I frowned and unlatched the window, sliding it up above my head.
I was right, there was no wind. Not even a gust. Everything was still outside, like it was frozen. I actually started to believe it was frozen, that time had stopped completely somehow, before I saw it.
My trail of silverware and buttons. Sparkling softly in the moonlight.
Disappearing.
It began where the path met the trees, curving off where I couldn't follow it anymore. A fork disappeared right before my eyes, right on the edge. Just vanished, as if someone who was invisible had picked it up and stuffed it in a pocket very quickly.
Then another went, a spoon. Then a particularly large gold button. Whatever was taking them was doing what I had wanted, it was taking my bait, it was coming to me. And it was as if whatever had tapped at my window had wanted me to see this, wanted to show me.
But something felt very, very wrong.
This wasn't how I had pictured it. There was no twinkling, tiny winged thing at my window, winking at me before dashing back into the safety of the trees. There were no secrets being whispered in my ear, no fairy dust or promises of better things.
Something about this wasn't right. It felt like a mimicry, almost a mockery, of what I had imagined. Like something was trying to give me what I wanted, but was rusty at it.
I didn't want this anymore.
My stomach twisted and my hands shook as I pulled the window back down slowly, watching more glittery things disappear from the grass, growing closer and closer. As soon as it was closed I quickly locked it and pulled the blinds shut, turning my back to the window as if something would happen that I didn't want to see.
Nothing happened. The deafening silence continued for a few seconds as my ears strained to hear anything else happening outside. Then the wind picked up, and the sounds of crickets, muffled by my closed window, filled the night air.
I don't remember when I fell asleep that night, I just know I felt unnerved and jumpy for a while. I woke up the next morning feeling guilty. Had the fairies really come last night? Maybe they had come to talk to me, to bring me gifts, favors, and what had I done? I had closed my window on them. I felt ungrateful. Why had I even been scared? Because it was dark outside? What was I, a baby?
When I opened my window and peered outside, I gasped. The trail of silverware and buttons was completely gone, all the way up to the last one, which I had placed on my windowsill. In its place was a shoe. I didn't know what kind of shoe it was, but it looked sort of nice, fancy. I remember smiling out the window as I opened it, as if they were looking, and taking my gift.
How could I forget that night? How could I have forgotten what happened after? I feel crazy, either like I made it all up or like I've made up everything since then, like my life isn't truly my own.
I remember telling my dad. I remember saying, "Dad, the fairies came last night!" and the absent smile he gave me.
Until I showed him their gift. The shoe. Instantly his face went pale and he snatched it from my hands, staring at me as if I was something unholy.
"Where did you get this, Johnny?"
"The fairies, dad, I told you!"
He didn't respond. Just gave me another long, solemn look, before turning away from me, still holding the present I received close to his chest. I was upset, but I knew better than throwing a tantrum. That would be too much emotion anyways, too uncomfortable. Even back then, I didn't know how to handle those things.
I didn't show him their gifts after that. I didn't want to risk having them taken away. I tried not to be scared of the fairies, even though they always came at night, but I didn't go to my window when they came anymore. I read everywhere that fairies didn't particularly like to be seen, even though this one seemed to want to be. It always began with tapping, but otherwise complete silence that almost felt like it was swallowing me... and eventually the tapping would stop, the silence would pass, and I would fall asleep. In the morning there was always another gift for me, sitting on my window sill. A sparkly gold ring, the other matching shoe, a hat... I smiled when I took every one, wanting them to know I was grateful. And I would leave things for them too, little sweets or shiny things like coins or paperclips that I found on the ground at school.
Things seemed to get better with my dad for a while. He kept to himself more, he was quieter. At night he would cry softly in his room, rather than his uproarious wails that I used to have to quell so the neighbors wouldn't come knocking. During the day, he would talk to me, but more casually. He didn't ask me how I was feeling anymore, or tell me to let it out.
I hoped this was the fairies. I felt invincible, like I had a secret superpower that no one knew about. I was friends with fairies.
Then one night, everything changed.
It started with the tapping, as always. That night I was fast asleep, catching up on well earned rest since the nightly therapy sessions had ceased.
The tapping woke me. It was that loud. It was louder than usual... but it seemed like it stopped abruptly as soon as I raised my head to look.
That was different...
That night, I had left my blinds up and my window open by accident. Since that first night, even though I wasn't scared anymore, I had always closed them... but this time, I must have forgotten.
It was silent outside. It seemed darker than usual. I could almost make out something, a shape, way on the other side of the yard, but it was too dark and I was too far away to tell.
That feeling from that first night retuned. A twisting like a hand reaching into my stomach and mixing things around, a heavy feeling in my chest like someone had stolen all of the air from my room, even though the window was open. The silence seemed to crush me, bearing down on me from every angle, making my ribs hurt.
The feeling that something was very wrong.
I don't remember deciding to stand: looking back, I have no idea why I would do that in my state of fight or flight. I don't know if I consciously chose to. I don't remember walking over, but I remember getting there, my hands on the windowsill and my head poking out into the completely still night air.
There was something there. On the edge of the trees. Right where I had seen that first fork disappear into thin air. I squinted, leaning further into the darkness to try and make out what it was.
When I finally did, the outline taking shape as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I began to shake uncontrollably. I remember that I tried to scream, but no sound would come. I couldn't move, couldn't do anything but stare.
Two legs stood in front of the trees, facing me. Two legs, a blood-soaked pair of slacks, no shoes on the purple, swollen feet. And a jagged, violent rip in the torso where the rest of my mother's body had been severed from its lower half.
It took me a while to realize that the legs weren't standing on their own. They began to move, jerking clumsily toward the window, like something I couldn't see was struggling to hold them up. I finally forced myself out of my trance and fell to my carpet, vomiting.
I don't remember much else about that night yet. My dad came running when I started crying, I'm sure, but he didn't see what I saw. My mom's legs were gone, or hidden. Because they weren't for him.
They were for me.
We moved after that. Before now if you had asked me why we moved so far away so suddenly, I probably would have mumbled something about the grief, and it being too hard to stay where my mother had died. But I remember why now.
It was because the next morning, when I checked my windowsill, there was a hand. My mother's hand. Purple and stiff, and missing her gold wedding ring. Reaching, fingers rested against the glass, like it was trying to get in.
Like it had been tapping.
I don't want to think about what else it might have brought, had we stayed.
That thing, whatever it was, wasn't my mother, and it wasn't a fairy. I had invited something else with all my praying, with all my naive and innocent beliefs, and with all my bottled up emotions. I had invited it, and I had let it in.
And then I had forgotten everything. Maybe I bottled that up, too.
Now I remember. Now I'm having nightmares, and waking up with that sick feeling in my gut, my eyes jumping to our closed bedroom window.
Because a week ago, my daughter woke me up very early in the morning my jumping on our bed. A week ago, she shook me awake, her eager smile stretching all the way across her face. A week ago, she told me, "Dad, the fairies came last night!"
She showed me a doll, a ballerina, with a pink tutu and beautiful long blonde hair.
And now, with all these terrible memories hitting me like cold water to the face, only one keeps me awake at night.
I asked them for help with my father. I asked them for peace. I asked them to bring her back to me.
It has granted two of my wishes, in its own twisted way. My father grew distant from me and my mother was brought back in pieces.
I'm happy now. But I don't have peace. I don't think I'll ever fully have peace, at least not with a child and a wife to try and provide for, and not with all of these memories.
So what has it come back for?

Hello everyone. This account is a throw-away, just created just now for this purpose, and to remain anonymous. I'm sorry, but this might get long.
Hi. I'm Blind_and_Empty. You can call me "bae", if you like, haha. That kinda worked out in my favor, didn't it? I understand that is how the younger folks are spelling 'babe' now. They can't even be bothered to type type the second "b" in, hahaha. Funny. And aggravating, especially when doing text-to-speech. Anyways, I'm a 55F, and was a preemie, so I have been "legally blind" since I was born, way back in 1968, when we were still pretty much in the cavemen era back then, you see. It was before we had personal computers or the Internet, and everything was done via landline telephones, paperwork, rubber stamps, and a lot of stapling and filing cabinets. My parents didn't know there was help for me, and I went to regular schools, but had special tutors come in from state agencies for the blind, to help me with large print books, etc. We didn't have a lot of options back then.
Fast forward to NOW. I am retired, and doing fine, healthy. I was not able to have children. I was not able to get married, because I never met a rich man who could support me, and I live on a small SSI check, like a lot of you.
The things is, I am at a point in my life now, a point I have feared for decades. I lost my dad long ago. I have never had siblings. I have lived with my mom for the past 25 years. We took care of each other. Over the years, everyone else in my family died. Both sides. And the 5 wonderful and amazing friends my mom and I had?--they all died either from covid 19 or cancer since 2019. And then, 3 days before Christmas, this past xmas, the point I feared for so long, my mom died. Suddenly. After a short few days in the ICU. It was not covid-- it was a stroke. She was only 76! I was truly living a nightmare in real life.
Now, I am alone. And before you guys start telling me I have a lot to live for, well, thank you--help me out with ideas, because I'm at my end of my list!
Things to know and consider:
First and most important-- I AM NOT SUICIDAL! I repeat: I AM NOT SUICIDAL!
Next, I live VERY rurally, on a dirt road. My neighbors are cows and pine trees, I kid you not! I don't have neighbors, they are far and few in between out here. This is important to know--that I live way out in the country! There are no resources out here, for the blind, or anyone, really. We can't even get an Uber out here, we are so far out! So-- also, the only store nearby is a Dollar General, and thank god I DO have the new option of Door Dash out here and gd if that dg isn't one of the 2 stores here they will shop for me. The other store is a food truck, that is no longer there. Man, I have OPTIONS, I tell ya!
Moving on>>> I have reached the point in my life where financially I'm comfortable.
But I feel like my life has no purpose. And it doesn't. And looking back, it never had! I've WASTED my entire adulthood. But not on drugs, or alcohol, just wasted because I had no kids, no career, no family of my own making, no social life. Then the Internet was pretty much 'born' circa Windows95 and my social life became an online social life only. Not a real physical one. Just because of circumstances.
Next thing to know is that I have, and always will be, an Atheist. You will NEVER change my mind, so please don't even try to start, and if you suggest I join a church, I will have to block you. I am adamant about my belief in science, not fairy tales. (I am sorry if this offends you, but it is how I feel).
I was not able to have kids. But besides that, I don't even care for their company much. At all. Not at all. So please no one suggest I try babysitting, NOT going to happen!
My life has and is pointless and I need ideas to keep going or I'm going to go crazy with grief!
I don't need a support group right now for my grief, I have plenty of support from hospice and some other agencies they hooked me up with. So I'm ok, they call and check on me and I have an app where I can call anyone at anytime. It's called Empathy app, and hospice told me about it. I'm also working through "A daughter's grief journal-losing your Mom" workbook, and that is helping.
But I've never had a career. I finished high school, and didn't know what to do, so for a year I sat around. Then I met a guy, and we got into trouble. I was a late bloomer when it came to having teenage angst and that 'I hate my parents" phase. (I never really hated them). I went through that phase at the late age of 25. I ran off to a party city and for the next 10 years did NOTHING but party.
Then, Dad got sick and died. I moved back home to help my mom sell our house and we packed up and moved together back to our home state. And for the past 25 years, I've lived with her. We were so close, so very very close, as mother and daughter. We were each others' world. And now, she's gone.
I have a lovely home, and a 2 acre yard, big enough to keep me busy. I hate gardening though. So I hire someone. I have a dog, and some cats. My yard is fenced in and safe, at least I'm doing MY part, even though most people who live in the country think it's normal to NOT fence in your pets!
I need something to do! I have some vision, so I can see a little. Enough. I'm bored! I have no idea what to do every day when I wake up! Sometimes I go outside and just howl and cry at night, or just go out there and SCREAM with frustration in the day, just to get it out!
We can do that out here in the country. We can also play our music as loud as we like and you can bet I'm doing that!
But I'm crying with ennui! Please help me find a goal or something to work on.
I saw a guy on TT, who had a stroke, Uncle Andy, and he can't talk much now, but his niece helps him create t-shirts and they sell them and it is a way to keep Uncle Andy from going bonkers, and to give him a reason like he feels his life still matters.
That is what I need. A reason to feel like my life CAN STILL MATTER somehow.
But I have no knowledge of how to make or edit videos. I have a great iPhone though! And now a pretty empty room in the house, full of potential. I don't know how to edit videos. I thought about starting a YT channel. But, of what? I have no talents. I can't play music. I can't draw or paint. I can't sing. I sure as hell can't dance. Have you ever seen a blind person try to dance? You kind of have to be able to watch others in order to learn those dance moves, you know? Well, us blind folks are kind of at a loss.......
I've tried macrame'. It's ok. But I don't like plants--I manage to kill them because I can't see how they are doing. I don't like gardening, remember?
I've tried making paperweights, other things with resin. Fun, but messy and hard for the blind!
I've tried glass dip fountain pens. What was I thinking? WHAT?!!
I have TRIED desperately to take up bird watching with strong binoculars. Psssshhh, sighhh. A blind birdwatcher. At least my birds are fat and full of food.
I don't want to blog---I've written SO much over my life, already. My own memoir, even. Just not published, yet. Hopefully, it's not finished yet. I hope to add some EXCITING (HINT! HINT!) chapters to it!
I can't see enough to use a sewing machine, or to knit.
I bought a handpan drum, and am TRYING to take lessons via YT, but again, I have no talent for music, though I am trying.
I have tried watercolors, acrylic paints, alcohol inks........I have no artistic talents either. Jealous of the painter, Monet.
I can't see to play any sports and I already have a workout routine with my kettlebells.
There is no place to volunteer here, and even if there was, I'd have no way to get there.
I am so desperate for ideas of stuff to do, I even bought drumsticks to try to drum on some empty plastic buckets, like I saw the kids in another city doing. This was before I bought the handpan drum, which you play very lightly, with ONLY your hands, no sticks or mallets. The bucket drumming was a disaster.
I can't see well enough to make jewelry.
I don't need to make money--so I'm not after that. In fact, I have enough money to start any project really, but what? I thought about even buying a pottery wheel and all of that junk, but for what? Even if I had a kiln, I'd have to sell the pottery after all, and I'm not interested in selling anything. I'd have to give it away, but why bother?
I am not able to get out to meet new people, to make new friends, and right now, I'm scared AF, and I don't trust ANYONE. I don't want strangers coming into my house, because Mom and I have been burglarized before twice, and that is a horrible and terrifying ordeal to go through once, let alone twice! And that was when she was here, and she HAD good eyes, and we still got hit, twice. Yes, it was people who had been in our home! No, the police never caught them or recovered our goods, which were handguns. NOW I HAVE A BIG ASS SAFE BOLTED TO THE CONCRETE FLOOR!
Looking back, decades, years of this life, of a human who is good hearted, who never really did anything bad in her life (that trouble I got into was between me and my parents and this guy, you know--the typical we hate your bf kind of crap trouble). I try to follow the wisdom of the Buddha, by living in the moment, by trying to be mindful. I am kind. I am generous and too damn softhearted. My life has been a waste! I only lived to keep mom ok, and she the same for me. We lived for each other. We traveled. We had fun. We did everything together. Now she's gone and I'm ruined, crushed, confused, so sad, so GDF sad! And I'm healthy, so I think I have another 20 in me, and I have enough money to do whatever I like, really.
I'm just out of ideas and because I live so rurally, I'm out of luck for resources. Oh god, how I'd give anything to be able to walk down a bustling sidewalk to my favorite local coffee house and sit down for an espresso while taking in the atmosphere of one of America's most famous cities, like I used to do, when I was in my 20's, and lived with this trouble-maker-of-a-boyfriend. But it allowed me the taste of freedom from home, and of what big-city-life was like. Now, I have a fancy Keurig machine, that I don't even find pleasure in anymore.
There is no pleasure in anything anymore, now that Mom is gone. I find it hard to even cook a meal, because there is no pleasure in it. I've lost so much weight... But I needed to, so that's a bonus. I spend SO much money on food, because our fridge was always packed FULL, and I don't know what else to do. But it is SO much food that I can't eat it. It gets hard, dried, wasted, tossed out. My pup and cats get a lot meat, hahaha.
Please help me find reasons to make me feel like the remainder of my life won't be wasted and for nothing. I know my life really wasn't "pointless" to those of you who mean well and to want to boast my mood, but come on, I am a realist, and look at what I have accomplished: NOTHING. I never even had a job. I've always been taken care of. I've been so effing fortunate, and I still am, because my Mom made sure I'd be taken care of. I can see now how spoiled I truly was. People always told me I was a spoiled brat, even though I was a quiet, and docile, scared blind child. I never made much noise, and always hid behind my parents' legs. I just need to find reasons to make the days feel like there is something to look forward to. A reason to be excited to get out of bed.
And please, no one suggest a new puppy or kitty or anything like that. I already thought about getting a kangaroo-- a few people around here DO have them-- but no. I already have pets. Mom and I tried a laying chicken, what a lot of work she was! Yeah, the egg every day or so was COOL, but we were too freaked out to eat it, (why????????), and that hen shat on EVERYTHING! So we gave her to a young girl who needed one for a science project. We called that hen "Betty Clucker" because we DID use her eggs sometimes in a cake or something. But we couldn't eat that egg by itself for some stupid reason. Mind over matter.
Anything else, I'd be grateful for your ideas.
I am just NOT open to church or kids. And we don't have an animal shelter here to volunteer at, so that is out too. Anyways, I'd have no way to get anywhere.
Please, I'm needing to keep myself busy, or the grief starts to work on me too much. I know it'll ease up in time, but it never stops hurting. So I already know to give myself time, to be easy on myself. I am folks. I'm just going crazy with not knowing what to do all day, every day.
Thank you ahead of time. I am eager to hear your replies, and I really do appreciate anyone who took the time just to read this. Thank you.

Buster growled softly, baring his teeth at me as he stood in defiance. His stance rigid and unyielding, his tail stiff, and ears pinned back - he watched my every move with alert eyes.
My 3-year-old German shepherd had intuitively figured out the prospect of an upcoming bath when he saw me reach for the towel, and decided to give me a hard time over it.
“I know buddy. I am not happy about it either. But I will make it quick. I promise,” I tried to reason, holding up both hands to reassure him.
‘But it’s not even been a week…’ I could almost imagine him saying those exact words to me when he growled back in protest.
“You’re right...But listen, man. You’re dirty. I can feel your presence from here,” I said, standing ten feet away and pretending to cover my nostrils with my finger.
Buster, of course, didn’t care and continued to defy without hesitation.
I put my hands on my hip and sighed. My glance immediately shifted to a hose attached to a tap outside my quarters.
“Tell you what. I’ll make it worth your while. You don’t mind the jet spray, right? In fact, you even tolerate it sometimes,” I said, pointing to the hose located only a few feet away.
“How about a little cooperation now, and I’ll make you your favorite meal a little later?” I asked him, while reaching out to pick a can of chicken liver from the kitchen.
As I dangled the can in my hand, I could see it slowly chipping away at his resolve, his mind grappling with the pros and cons of my new proposal.
A moment later, Buster barked at me twice and slowly made his way out of the house. He sat by the garden tap, ready to receive his bath.
I took a handful of lotion and began to rub it against his torso to remove all the muck and grime that was sticking to his body. We had been quite busy lately, guarding the base and conducting multiple patrols along the perimeter every day. The rain a few hours ago certainly didn't help matters, with Buster leaping over puddles of water and actively rolling in the mud to escape the desert heat. I had to use a brush to remove the layers of dirt that had caked all over his body.
It’s been a strange week, to say the least. The days were busy but peaceful, while the nights brought scattered, random sounds. Their origins were a mystery, as they appeared not to originate from the base. But I wasn’t too worried about it, not yet anyway.
There is an air base located a couple of hours away from the facility, and it wasn’t unusual for them to conduct sorties at odd hours in the night. I assumed they were probably testing out some new technology.
My colleague Joe thought the same thing as well. But we couldn’t take any chances, and we both had a job to do. So we conducted regular patrols around the base just as a precautionary measure.
But deep down, I felt something nagging at me, like I was being watched by someone or something. I couldn’t exactly put it into words.
For a second, I wondered if Buster too felt the same way when I saw him suddenly lift his head up, listening intently with his ears up in attention.
I quickly turned back to check if there was anybody standing behind me, but I found no one. When I turned around to face him again, I saw him looking up at the night sky, his gaze focused and unwavering.
“What’s it buddy? You see something?” I asked him as I cleared away the foam from his face. Moments went by slowly. And then, just like that, as if nothing had happened, he put his head down and began pawing my leg, urging me to finish his bath. I sighed again and turned on the hose, to wash off all the soap.
He finally looked presentable and I have to admit, his coat glistened beautifully under the moonlight.
Before I could reach for his towel, Buster swiftly moved in to close the gap between us and looked me in the eye dead serious. He then shook his body vigorously, much like a wet dog trying to rid itself of wetness, and trotted off without bothering to look back.
I laughed out loud as I sat there, drenched in water. I knew I should have seen that coming. However, my smile quickly faded, as it also reminded me of Jessica, my ailing wife.
Before another thought could take shape in my mind, I heard a familiar voice blare across the radio.
“Mike, I need you down here. Get to the post quick.”
It was my colleague Joe and I replied back in the affirmative. I quickly grabbed my gear and signaled Buster to follow after me.
When I reached the post, I saw Joe standing there armed with his rifle. As a seasoned war veteran with two tours under his belt, Joe was a dangerous man and not to be trifled with. But he was also compassionate and wise beyond his years.
“What’s up Joe?” I inquired, as I approached him near the entrance of the base.
“I am not sure yet. I thought I heard something at a distance. It could well be nothing.” he replied, after a brief pause.
‘Well, we’ve had a lot of that going around all week’, I thought to myself.
He then turned around to look at me. “I want you to run a perimeter sweep first. Then go on patrol again. Take Buster with you” he said, before heading back to his post.
I started the jeep and drove out towards the perimeter. The engine hummed softly as I navigated the rough terrain, with Buster sitting alertly beside me. After finding nothing suspicious during my initial sweep, I decided to broaden my search radius.
A mile into the drive, Buster suddenly started barking, prompting me to stop the jeep immediately. He leaped onto the ground and dashed towards a boulder located a short distance away. I picked up my rifle and cautiously followed after him.
When I reached the spot, I keyed the mic attached to my shirt and said, "Boss, you need to come see this."
I knew he wasn’t going to be happy about leaving the guard post unmanned, but I thought he would prefer to come and inspect this himself.
Joe arrived ten minutes later, parking his vehicle next to mine. He walked towards the boulder overlooking a small pond, and switched on his torch to get a better look at the skeletal remains of an animal dumped nearby. Three other animal remains lay next to it, all appearing to be in a similar condition.
“These look like coyotes, probably stopping by to drink water from the pond before they were killed,” he observed, his voice expressing concern. “Did you find them like this?”
“Yes”, I replied. “And they weren’t here when I drove through the same place this morning. I thought it was quite odd to be honest, to find four of them out here all at once in the middle of the desert, that too at this hour.”
Joe simply nodded in agreement.
“What sort of creature do you think did this Joe?”
“I mean it must have a ravenous appetite to chew every sinew of flesh from the bone, and lick it this clean.” I said, leaning in take another look.
“Do you think it could be the Chupacabra or something similar?” I continued, knowing fully well my question was a bit far-fetched, but I had to still get it off my chest.
Joe finally stood up, switched off his torch, and looked around the vast open desert in quiet contemplation.
“This is in fact the fifth sighting in less than a week, Mike, and all have occurred in close proximity to secure government installations. The one before this was even stranger, and happened near a military base, where an old buddy of mine continues to serve.”
“He told me in that instance, the remains belonged to a dog. There were no signs of flesh or connecting tissue from the nasal region to the abdominal section, while the region spanning from the abdominal cavity to the tail bone was left fully intact. The whole thing was carried out with surgical precision, and drew morbid praise from even the medic back at the base.”
"But how is that even possible? What are you suggesting, Joe?" I asked, surprised by the tone of my own voice and my inability to hide my disappointment upon hearing about it for the first time.
“This is not a hunt for prey, Mike. This is a hunt for attention. Somebody is trying to make a point. And I’d say they are accomplishing their objective.” Joe said.
When we got back to the base, Joe updated the command centre about the new developments. I headed back to my quarters and lay down on my bed. The exhaustion washed over me and I immediately drifted to sleep.
I looked at my Mickey Mouse watch. The time was 5:36 PM. I was licking my ice cream while sitting next to my mom in the car. To my right, was my 4 year old cousin Henry who was fast asleep on his mother’s lap.
In the front, my dad was driving the car with his brother seated next to him. Then a truck from the opposite side suddenly came in our lane, and rammed into our vehicle causing it to turn turtle.
With great difficulty, I managed to extricate myself and pulled my cousin out from the wreckage as well. And then suddenly, the car exploded and went up in flames….
I opened my eyes and realized I was still in bed. The same dream had come and gone a thousand times before. It has become a constant part of my life ever since I was a 9-year-old kid.
I slowly got off the bed and found my head hurting. I had barely slept since last night’s excitement, and my mood was already beginning to turn foul.
Buster was already awake. I gently patted him on the head as I walked into the kitchen to put a kettle of water on the boil, and turned on the TV.
My attention immediately shifted towards the news. There was a nuclear explosion in Russia in a small town that was just a couple of hours away from Moscow. The details regarding the explosion were still shrouded in speculation.
“Just the kind of news to start the day,”I groaned as I reached for a nearby chair in the kitchen.
‘But what could have caused this?’ I thought to myself a little later, and hoped the damage there was minimal.
I then looked at the clock and set about getting ready for work. I showered, ate my breakfast, and was out the door by 8, with a hot cup of coffee in hand. Buster raced ahead to get to the guard post.
Joe had already completed his shift, and was waiting for me to relieve him of his duties. We high-fived as usual, and he began to walk back to his quarters. I settled into my chair, and made an entry in the logbook.
My name is Michael Armesto, a 30-year-old security guard working for a secret government installation located in an obscure area in the hot Nevada desert. The facility is centered around a medium-sized building occupying 7,000 square feet of space.
A 10-meter-high wired fence had been erected around the base to provide added protection. There was nothing else around the facility for miles, with the exception of a few boulder fields and mountains in the distance.
For over 5 years now, my colleague Joe and I have been working in shifts to ensure the guard post is manned at all times. When compared to other secret government bases, the security requirements here are not as stringent. And yet, neither Joe nor I ever had any clue about the kind of work being done here.
Every day, like clockwork, a bus carrying 25 people would arrive at the facility at 9:00 AM sharp. I had to open the gates to let them through, once the customary security checks were performed.
These people always wore lab coats and looked like scientists. They would work in the facility until 5:00 PM, and leave by the same bus at the end of the day. In all that time, they never once smiled or waved at me. It was as if their bosses had strictly informed them to not even initiate eye contact with people outside their circle.
Anyway, I never took offense to any of that. My job was to provide security to the facility, and I was doing that to the best of my ability.
As I sat back in my chair, ready to take another sip of coffee, my phone began to ring. It was from the hospital, and I answered it. A minute later, I called Joe and asked him to stand in for me. He immediately understood.
When he arrived at the guard post, I apologized for the inconvenience and Joe simply nodded with a reassuring smile.
As I was about to climb into my jeep, I pointed my finger at Buster and said, “STAY.”.
“Take him with you Mike. She will be happy to see him” Joe said quickly intervening.
“But Boss, I don’t want to leave you here alone after last night.” I protested.
Joe waved his hand dismissively. “Get going Mike. That’s an order.”
“And don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Go see Jess and tell her I am rooting for her,” he said, before walking back to the guard post.
I put a leash on Buster and climbed into the jeep with him. I started the vehicle and began driving towards the city to check on my wife Jessica. She was receiving treatment for lung cancer at St Mary’s Hospital, which was a 5 hour drive from the base.
Jess had never smoked once in her life, and for her to go through all this hardship really broke my heart. I would have normally liked to stay by her side during this crisis, but I could not afford the cost of treatment on my own. Thankfully, the insurance from my government job so far helped me cover most of the medical expenses.
After arriving at the hospital, I headed straight to her room and found her with tubes attached to her mouth. She was heavily sedated and looked like she was in pain.
Buster was standing by the door looking glum. He could see that Jess was unwell. Buster came into my life as a surprise birthday gift from Jess, and he has been a part of our family ever since. The people working at the hospital regularly allowed him inside the premises, knowing fully well that his presence always helped to uplift her spirits.
I came to know from the doctor that Jess had suffered a heart attack due to long term COVID complications. While she was stable and out of danger for now, she did need to undergo an emergency surgery within the next 3 days. The surgery alone would cost $30,000, and that was not covered by my insurance policy.
I pulled Buster by the leash to tell him it was time to go, but he kept resisting. He wanted to sit by her side for some time, even though she was unconscious and unable to acknowledge his presence. So, I too pulled up a chair and sat beside him. It immediately brought back happy memories of our marriage.
We used to spend our summers going on long drives, visiting natural parks, or idly sitting by the beach, enjoying good food and playing all kinds of sports. Jess and I would also often embark on scenic routes, with no particular destination in mind, allowing the road to guide us towards hidden gems.
Whether it's a visit to a historic village or a hike through a lush green forest, all the shared experiences helped strengthen our bond as a family.
The two of us also enjoyed using Buster to pull pranks on each other. Whenever Jess gave him a bath, she would command Buster to go ‘Shake’ in front of me and I would get drenched in water, leading to fits of laughter all around. It was one of her favorite pranks.
So when I saw my wife on the bed with tubes attached to her mouth, I got the reality check I needed. I stood up from my chair and yanked harder at his leash; he didn’t resist this time and followed after me.
I walked out of the hospital feeling a bit dazed. As I started to drive back to the base, my mind was busy trying to come up with solutions. I had only $2000 in my bank account, and that clearly wasn’t enough.
‘Maybe I could contact an official from the government and apply for a loan?’ I thought to myself. I kept driving while mulling on the best course of action.
Then, at a certain point, I suddenly snapped to my senses and immediately stopped the car. I had been driving for over 4 hours now. It was 7 in the evening, and night had already fallen.
Yet, I could not spot the base in the distance. Usually, by this time, the floodlights would have been turned on, and the facility would be easily visible for miles.
Instead, all I could see up ahead was pitch-black darkness. Something was wrong.
I tried calling Joe on his phone, but he was unreachable. I pressed the gas pedal and drove as fast as I could.
When I finally reached the facility, the situation looked much worse than I had feared. The entrance gate was left half open, with no one manning the guard post. The entire building just sat there in the darkness with no power. I tried calling on Joe’s number again. No response.
I then called Joe’s boss, who was stationed in Carson City, to inform him of the situation and possibly request reinforcements. He was unreachable as well.
‘What on earth is going on?’ I asked myself. This was completely bewildering on so many levels.
I slowly drove up to the base, and stopped the jeep a short distance away from the front gate. I wanted to be able to make a quick exit, if things turned hostile. I took a torch light from the dashboard and unfastened my sidearm from the holster. After getting down from the vehicle, I softly whistled towards Buster to follow me.
When I walked past the gate and checked the guard post, I saw a body lying face down on the floor. From a distance, it was difficult to identify the person clearly, but as I got closer I recognized Joe’s uniform. I ran towards him and turned him around and got the shock of my life. I stumbled back in fear and hit the floor hard.
I don’t know what they did to Joe.
But he was lying there dead! Very dead!
It was like he had been zapped or electrocuted. The only thing that was remaining of him was his skeleton. Not an ounce of flesh was visible on his body. And yet his uniform looked in pristine condition.
‘How is this even possible?’ I asked myself.
It immediately reminded me of the dead coyotes I found on patrol the previous night.
“Could this all be somehow related? Was this an execution? And was this carried out be the same group of people?” I wondered.
Joe’s rifle was still there, leaning against the wall. I holstered my sidearm and picked up his rifle. I checked the magazine. He hadn’t fired a single shot.
I then turned on the tactical light and started moving towards the government facility. No one could enter this building until they had a high level of clearance, and every person who had clearance, was issued an electronic key card to gain access. So I was shocked to see the door was left ajar here as well.
Before entering, I headed back to check the junction box. The darkness was making me paranoid and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to fix it first. When I reached the box, I discovered that the power had been deliberately shut down.
I turned it back on, and the entire place lit up like a Christmas tree.
But the whole facility wore a deserted look. The bus that was usually used to ferry the scientists was still parked at the parking lot.
I doubled back towards the entrance, and slowly entered the building with my rifle pointed forward. This was the first time I was setting foot inside the facility. And if this was supposed to be a top research lab, I wasn’t seeing any signs of it.
The place had been hastily evacuated. There was not a single soul in sight. All I could see was waste paper and computer cables strewn across the floor. Everything else had been cleared out.
Buster then took off on his own, and dashed towards the far end of the building. Something had caught his fancy and I followed after him. He stopped against a large couch and started barking at me.
I looked down and could see something metallic hidden underneath. I stretched my hand to retrieve an aluminum briefcase with blood stains all over it. Someone was obviously holding onto it for dear life, and then tossed it underneath as a last ditch attempt to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands.
‘Did the scientists manage to escape? Or did something bad happen to them, like it happened to Joe?’
‘Could the nuclear explosion in Russia have something to do with this?’
“Are the two countries about to go to war? Is this to be viewed as an escalation,” I wondered.
A hundred questions were going through my mind now, and I had answers to none of them.
I decided to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. I saw no point in staying, now that Joe was dead and the facility had also been cleared out. I ran back to my jeep, tossed the briefcase in the backseat, and began my drive back to the nearest city I could think of.
Twenty minutes into the drive, I began to get curious about the briefcase, and I had to stop the car to take a look. I switched on the light in my vehicle and opened the briefcase. There was some kind of a telescope inside.
On its base, it bore the insignia of a bright burning Sun with a single eye at it’s center. It also had a name tag attached to it that was labelled Korelo ZX4 – 1969.
The telescope in itself was a strange looking contraption, the likes of which I had never seen before. It was the size of a camcorder, and comfortably fit within the palm of my hand.
There were two identical knobs on either side of the device. The one on the left moved freely clockwise or counter clockwise. It felt similar to those old radio transistors, where you could switch back and forth between stations.
The knob on the right looked the same but had a small pointer attached to it. It had limited range of motion and worked like a switch. Close to the pointer were 3 printed dots, one larger than the other in ascending order. I guess this signified the 3 levels in which this device functioned.
I held the telescope gently in my hand and peered into the eyepiece. With the moon being the only source of light in the desert, I could hardly spot a thing. I then turned the knob on the right, and the device immediately roared to life. I could even feel it mildly vibrating in my hand.
As I peered into the eyepiece again, I now had clear vision of the space all around me. A green display had opened up and was providing clean imagery with stunning levels of detail. I slowly started to turn the knob on the left, and the telescope began to zoom in and out.
I could now clearly see the creatures of the desert ….miles away… coming out their holes …looking for prey. Their heat signatures capturing perfectly… the contours of their own bodies as they moved swiftly across the sand.
As I kept zooming in further, I could also spot the local diner of the nearest town that was more than 50 miles away. I could not only figure out the make and model of cars parked in front of the restaurant, but also read the number plates on them.
And then I looked upwards, pointing the telescope at the night sky, hoping to see the stars a little more clearly. And suddenly everything became obscure. It was like staring at a blank wall.
I moved the telescope away looking confused. Everything looked normal. There was an abundance of stars scattered across the sky, and there were hardly any clouds. I looked into the telescope again, and started zooming back, and my heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Thousands of feet high up in the sky, a large spaceship was hovering mid-air. It was big enough to accommodate an entire football field. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I just kept staring at it for several moments.
Then I slowly began to pan the telescope across the skyline, and soon realized that I was in for an even bigger shock! There were at least two more spaceships thousands of miles away. Make no mistake. They were clearly visible as the one I was standing in front of.
‘Ok Mike, What else you got?’ I said out loud to myself.
I then turned my focus back to the ship in front of me, and turned the right knob again.
The second dot got highlighted on screen, and the telescope suddenly zoomed in to reveal the insides of the spaceship.
The unfolding images were a little grainy but still definitive enough to provide sufficient visual quality. It was like an X-ray, CT scan and MRI all rolled into one. As I kept adjusting the left knob to get a clearer visual, I could see a large workstation occupying most of the space inside the ship.
Close to the panel, two people were standing and conversing with each other. They did not look human at all. In fact, they looked like aliens!
By this point, I was already sweating even as the cool winds of the desert were hitting my face, and ruffling my hair. I continued to stare into the telescope completely transfixed. I turned the right knob one more time.
The last big dot got highlighted on screen, and then I suddenly started hearing weird noises. Buster who was keeping silent all this while, let out a soft howl and dug his face into the sand. But the noises didn’t stop. It sounded odd and animal like. Like the garbled speech of someone attempting to speak with a mouthful of water. I realized I was now eavesdropping on the aliens talking amongst themselves.
I think they figured this out as well. Because one of them abruptly stopped speaking, and walked towards a work station, and then punched something on the console.
In a matter of moments, the other alien turned around and took a step forward in my direction. It looked like he was peering down at me, fully aware of my existence. A wry smile appeared on his lips, and I felt a shiver go down my spine.
I immediately switched off the telescope, put it back in the briefcase and ran towards my jeep. Buster followed after me. I decided to get to the nearest town and drove as fast as I could.
Part 2

This is soo petty and insignificant. But I just have to get it off my chest cuz like wtf. They didn't buy me anything when i turned 18 it's literally been 7months and I can't stop crying about it, It's one of those things that I find so hard to let go off cuz it's kinda supposed to be significant. First of all we are a pretty stable middle class family so its not about the money. They just didn't buy me anything, I remember cutting cake and waiting for them to hand me a gift. I sat there next to my friend while they were in the kitchen i opened up the gift. My friend and i were so excited to see what it was. I'm not type of person who needs a masive gift i rly dont ask for much. I open the wrapping and guess what it was... a light up sign saying 18. My smile dropped so did my friends cuz we both knew that this was the gift it was a small light up sign saying 18. Nothing else, if this sign was something rly unique or just better quality i would not complain. But it came with the 18 birthday kit... guys it was part of a 20euro birthday kit it wasn't even supposed to be a gift its supposed to be a prop in the back of my bday photos with the balloons ect. I just sat there dumbfounded. Idc what my friend thinks shes like a sister she definitely doesn't even remember my bday and isn't the type to judge. It's rather that it was my last yr for any birthday party. My parents aren't the type to celebrate anything after 18 because I'm officially an adult.
I cried that night so hard it wasn't just the bday gift which was the issue. On my bday i had to ask one of my friends to go out with me. I bought her lunch and she was great company i love this girl to the moon and back but obviously. She thought i would go out with a different friend or something, she cancelled her plans for the day and hung outwith me. My other rly close friends at that time were busy. My friends aren't bitches dw they just arent that close to me if that makes sense. They came to cut cake and give me gifts a few days later. But by then i was sick of my bday i just wanted it to be over wished i was never born so i didn't have to be in this awkward situation.
It hit me that it kinda sucked that my parents couldn't love me enough that day. You would think if i don't friends i would at least have my parents. But damn they didnt even buy me a birthday card. The one birthday that ive been looking forward to since a child thinking its supposed to be the best and most important birthday turned out to be the worst bday possible. The realisation kicked in that i have never actually had a single good bday in my life. And this was the last shot at it and it's fucked.
Just when I was beginning to realise how stupid i sounded. I am religious, i know that i should always be greatful for what i have and shouldn't ask for more. Materialistic desires never lead to a true feeling of fulfilment.
My friends suggested that we suprise a different friend for her bday. We walk into her house and her parents did the same thing for her they wanted to suprise her for her birthday. We walked in and the living room was fully decorated they put in so much effot for their daughter. They picked out 18 gift for her 18yrs. This family isnt rich either same as mine middle class all the gifts were simple and reasonable. Clothes, some small mini make up, nail polish and face mask and some of her favourite snacks. And they bought her one expensive main gift.
If they wanted to they would. Went home and felt so fucking useless. My parents couldn't even get themselves to write a card for me. I don't need a shit tone of bday gifts i just wanted a bday card with words of encouragement from my mom and dad. I just wanted a lil small tiny ring, didn't even have to be a fancy expensive one.. they could've gave me a gummy ring and i would just laughed it off and not cared and would've been happy with the card.
Idk it just sucks I'll probably laugh at it 30yrs in the future but it still sucks. Its so dumb to cry over somthing like this. There definitely are bigger issues in my life but i just wanted one important bday to go well. I wish bdays didn't exist. I don't even want my next birthday to come cuz it's just embarrassing sitting and writing in my journal about how shit my day was.
Sorry im on my period and wanted to rant. Also Im dyslexic asf ignore the typos. This is soooo embarrassing. Idk if this is the right place to be posting this either tbh.

I thought it would be beneficial to share my IELTS experience (academic, computer-based) to decompress and de-traumatise myself haha.
I'm not a native English speaker, but I've lived in an English-speaking country for around 13 years now. I speak English daily and hardly ever use my first language (I hate it; it's so ugly). I need at least a score of 7 in every category for registration purposes. Basically, if I can't deliver, I cannot pursue a certain career. I breathe English, I think in English, I basically AM English. IELTS, pffff, should be a piece of cake, right? Oh boy, was I wrong.
I forced myself to do a little one-week IELTS bootcamp before my actual test, you know, just to be prepared and not waste money as this dumb test costs a fortune. I used the official practice tests. Listening? No worries, easily got an 8.5/9 every time. Reading? MHM. In my first reading test, I had 24 correct answers out of 40... The stupid YES / NO / NOT GIVEN questions were wonderful for someone who overthinks A LOT. I looked up some strategies and then got 8.5/9 every time for reading. EASY. Writing? I literally just looked at the structures needed and memorised a couple of fancy words. EAZZZYYYYY. Speaking? Well, I'm awkward as hell and introverted, but hey, I can speak if needed. All good. Also, there’s not really much to prepare for.
Fast forward to the testing day. I used a new shampoo the evening before (voluminous & shiny hair) and went to bed with wet hair. When I woke up, my hair had so much freaking volume, it exploded so much that it now basically filled my entire room. It was intimidating. No time to do anything about it - I put a cap on, and this somehow tamed it.
You should be there 30 minutes before your test starts. Traffic was a nightmare; I was there 20 minutes before the test and had no idea there was an introduction. I walked into a room full of people, listening to someone explaining stuff. Everyone stared at me. My nervous self became even more nervous, and my face probably mutated into a tomato. "Sorry," I mumbled and sat down somewhere in the darkest corner. We were then informed that 1. we are not allowed to take food with us. It really stung because I had this new tiny delicious protein bar with me as a treat, carefully chosen the day before. 2. We weren't allowed to wear watches and mobiles needed to be turned off. 3. The introduction lady stared right into my soul: "NO headwear is allowed." I had to remove my cap, guys. It was so messed up. My hair was everywhere, and I felt like a miserable mop. You then basically get married to your passport. DO NOT FORGET TO BRING IT. One girl got disqualified because she didn't have hers. Hold on to yours; you need it for EVERYTHING. The number of times they checked mine, before, during, and after, was insane. The whole test building was a mess, by the way. It was old, it smelled, it was damaged, and there was NO light. I felt depressed the second I entered that damn building. We then got herded into a tiny room with really old computers. Guess what? Passports got checked again. We were around 10 people, and they had just checked them before sending us into the room. Anyway, the test started. Listening was great, except apparently I don't know how to write "volcano" correctly. I went to the bathroom before the test, but I could already feel my bladder getting annoying during that part. When I started the reading section, my whole body was shaking. It was insanely cold in that room; I was wearing a hoodie. The reading part was so much harder in comparison to the practice tests. This also may have had something to do with the articles I got. They didn't interest me in the slightest and my nervousness was making it really hard to focus. I wiggled my way through it but had around 8-9 questions I wasn't sure of. Fun fact: they had 2 sections of these stupid NOT GIVEN, TRUE / FALSE questions. Just to celebrate my existence. I panicked a little during that section and ran out of time in the end. The reading part takes around 1 hour, and by then I felt tired, HUNGRY, exhausted... and I was almost peeing myself. They don't stop the time for you, so what kind of idiot goes to the toilet during an IELTS exam? Yes. I was that idiot. I lost 5 minutes of time for my writing exam. I honestly should have worn a diaper. I really needed those 5 minutes. Long story short: after task 1, my thoughts were "That's pretty meh, I'll come back and sparkle it up later." I ran out of time for task 2. I had 7 minutes left when I was working on my second paragraph. I didn't have a conclusion yet; I didn't proofread. Task 1 was simultaneously breathing down my neck. Guys, it was an absolute shit show. I also started freaking out, which probably didn't help much. I spewed out a conclusion, 3 sentences which did not make ANY sense. I tried to finish my second paragraph, which also now does not make ANY SENSE. And I wasn't able to proofread any of it. Did I mention the computers were ancient? You had to basically spank the keyboard for it to work. I'm sure there are lots of missing letters. Fark mi life.
Once I slumped out of that dark testing room, I honestly could have cried. I felt fragile, exhausted, HUNGRY, and just massively disappointed with myself. I just wanted to roll home and die in bed. But wait, I totally forgot - there was one more part to tackle. SPEAKING. Yay. A fun thing to do when you feel absolutely broken.
I had to loiter around for an hour, cap proudly back on my head, stuffed my face with the protein bar (which turned out to taste like an old sock), gulped down some water and an energy drink. I hadn't had caffeine for over 3 years, so drinking an energy drink might not have been the best option. I FELT SO ALIVE AND EVERYTHING PASSED IN THE SPEED OF LIGHT. YEEEEW HAAAAH. I galloped back into the testing center, peed my insides out in the bathroom (I've learned), stared into the mirror, took off my cap for one millisecond, and decided it was best to keep wearing it, for humanity. I sprinted out of the bathroom, wasn't even surprised that my passport got checked again, and, did I mention? They also love your fingerprints. They got taken around 5 times while I was there. "NO HEADWEAR." I had to take that damn cap off again and could feel my hair fluffing up. HOW CAN ANYONE TAKE ME SERIOUSLY WITH THAT HAIR? I now had to engage in an actual conversation with an actual human. First impression was out the window, bet. I had to sit around for 20 minutes, not being able to use my phone or anything. I could not sit still. I watched people leave other rooms, crying. Finally, the door opened, and I was let in for my speaking test. The tester was literally a machine in human form. He mechanically read questions to me. I didn't feel strongly about ANY question he asked me. They were all so boring, and I literally had nothing to say. One of them, for example, was "Does your family have an old belonging? What is it? And what do you know about it?" My family are minimalists; they don't keep stuff. There I was, having to give some sort of stupid presentation in one minute, and I literally had NOTHING to talk about. Guys, don't let this dishearten you though; just make stuff up. I ended up word vomiting on him. He had to stop me multiple times. I felt annoyed with how much I was talking, but hey, at least I said something. He knew I could yap and speak English. We were all good. After that, I had heart palpitations and am still high on caffeine while writing this.
If you have any questions regarding the test, I can attempt to help you. If you messed up your writing and potentially reading test, I feel you. I will very likely have to spend between $199-300 to resit it. I absolutely hate the IELTS and hope to tick it off... soon.
EDIT: PART 2
Today (one day after the exam), I got my results back. For everyone asking -> they are: L:8.5 // R: 7.5 // W: 6.5 UGH // S: 8.5 (word vomit, guys, word vomit, that's the magic).
I'm happy that I "passed" most of it, but unfortunately, that means I have to re-do the stupid writing part. 0.5 more and I would have dissolved in happiness. Can't wait to enter the building of total darkness and despair, once again. <3 #chefskiss
FORTUNATELY, this might give YOU a bit of hope. My task 1 was SO BAD. I didn't really finish task 2 and what I had written DID NOT MAKE SENSE whatsoever. I honestly expected a 5 or lower for writing. This is so beatable, GO YOU. ALSO, this is how I gonna do it: I will start with task 2 this time because it apparently counts DOUBLE. So it's much better if you have a slayin' task 2 and then there is.. its special brother, task 1.. just casually existing. Better this way than vice versa. Another bonus, no diaper needed, it's just an hour, baby.
EDIT: PART 3 - FINALE
This was an absolute rollercoaster, guys. I ended up double-checking the language requirements for my career path, and they stated that I was NOT allowed to retake only one section of the test. So, if I don't have a 7 in every section, I need to retake the WHOLE test. I'm also not allowed to have anything below 6.5; otherwise, I'd be out straight away, not even allowed to retake it. Honestly, the pressure, I could have cried. I was pretty damn happy with my other outcomes. Heck, an 8.5 for speaking for someone super introverted with social & performance anxiety - that's more than alright, I'd say.
Anyhow, after discovering this, it took me almost a day to get back in balance. The test is so damn expensive and then having to put myself into the same miserable 3h+ situation again... with no diaper (decided against it; weird crinkle sound while moving, everyone will know... everyone... *whispers). My deadline for the career thing is mid-June. I was not able to find ANY available tests in my area until mid-July. SERIOUSLY?! At this point, I honestly thought about just giving up. There have been so many roadblocks; maybe the universe or whatever (we're all thinking about the Flying Spaghetti Monster, aren't we?) was telling me that I shouldn't pursue this particular career path. Decided to swim up one last time for air.
I found one test available in a different city, very far away from me. I almost booked it. Almost. So close. Then I had a heart attack and died. Jokes. Just checking if you're still with me. High 5. I literally was breaking my brain: is there another possible way to get these extra 0.5 points in my writing task? Remark. There is an option to get a second opinion on your task(s). I researched a bit, and it's more the norm that they don't change your mark at all. However, if you are insanely lucky, most likely they'll only increase it by 0.5. Zero. Point. Five. The magic number.
Requesting a remark costs a lot of money (nobody is surprised, surprise.) and a lot of time. It can take up to 23 days to process it. Additionally, what I read online was not very encouraging; a lot of people just ended up wasting their money and then wasting more by having to retake the damn test anyway. I was desperate, and in my head, at that point, it made sense to gamble. I ended up requesting a remark. One second after, I regretted it. What if it takes 23 days? That would be too long; my deadline would not be met. Also, the other test might book out while I was waiting for the result. I was getting close again to that heart attack but then decided to just wait a day or two and, if needed, book that test again.
I was watching a really cool show, and suddenly, it was super strange - my screen began to flicker like cray cray. I've never had that before; clearly, it must have been all your positive energy. It wouldn't stop, so I actually had to close the window and then saw an email that my remark request had been completed. SIX HOURS after I sent it off. My heart dropped once again. If that was done so quickly, surely they just brushed it off with a good old f u smile & big middle finger. BUT. BUUUUT. You know it already. THE MAGIC NUMBER sparkled all over my screen. The impossible has been made possible. I have NO IDEA how and why, but if you are the IELTS person who scored my writing part and gave me an extra 0.5 - I love you with all my heart. Thank you for putting me out of my misery.
To everyone out there - I wish you all the very best with your test. Please don't let my lil IELTS novel dishearten you. It's rough but with a bit of practice you can definitely make it work. Even if you need to go for round 2.
*I think to up your chances, the remark should only be requested if you have higher marks in your other sections and if you only need an extra 0.5 in writing or speaking. Even then you have to be very lucky so please really think about it, I don't want you to waste unnecessary money on this. I think I was just really, really, reaaaally lucky. All the best!

I read a piece today I thought you all might appreciate. It's from the NYT Magazine and by Leslie Jamison, an incredible writer who's in recovery. A quote about her first AA meeting:
"When I reached the gravel parking lot of the address I’d copied down, it was just a clapboard house, not a church. But the lights were on. For 10 minutes I sat in my car without killing the engine, heat blasting, wiping my snotty nose with the back of my wrist, jamming my fists into my eyes to make them stop crying. I was searching for a story I could tell myself that would take me back home: Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow, maybe I don’t have to be here, maybe I can do this on my own, maybe I don’t have to do it at all.
The meeting itself — once I willed myself out of the car, into the cold and through the lit doorway — was just a bunch of strangers gathered around a huge wooden table, past a kitchen tracked with footprints, old linoleum curling upward at the edges of the room. People smiled as if they were glad to see me, almost as if they’d been expecting me. A sheet cake on the table was frosted in muted sunset tones.
A man called Bug was celebrating an unthinkable amount of time without booze. He described staying in his apartment for 40 days straight — without leaving, without going anywhere, like Christ in the desert of a low-rent Iowa condo — and getting handles of vodka delivered to his door. I thought: I never got that bad. And then: Vodka delivery actually sounds pretty great. When Bug described how he’d gotten there — starting with the ritual of a vodka tonic with the 6 o’clock news, his whole day built around it — I thought, Yep. Imagining the rest of my life without that relief made me sick to my stomach.
But in that room, I felt a different relief, just an inkling: the eerie immediacy of hearing myself spoken out loud. These people didn’t know anything about me, but they knew one part of me — the part that thought about drinking all day, every day — better than anyone else. I tucked myself quietly in a corner. I wasn’t sure what to say aside from my name — which, as it turned out, was enough."
Here's the whole piece if you want to read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/magazine/does-recovery-kill-great-writing.html
TW: the early parts of it might give you cravings.

https://xenagoguevicene.wordpress.com/2024/05/17/us-stuck-on-stupid-biden-and-the-democrats-face-disaster-in-november-by-stewart-lawrence-17-may-2024/
“Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette once famously said, disdaining the immiseration of peasants in pre-revolutionary France. Joe Biden didn’t use those exact words last week during his interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, but his tone-deafness about the suffering of millions of Americans grappling with high food and gas prices and unaffordable rents was palpable.
Burnett did her best to allow Biden the opportunity to address voters with a measure of simple empathy – but Old Joe was having none of it. When Burnett gently suggested that Americans weren’t feeling the vaunted “recovery” the White House keeps touting, Biden all but insisted that Americans were simply wrong – and needed to buck up.
It was an embarrassing performance, and coming on the heels of Donald Trump’s remarkable mass rally in Jersey City in the midst of his trial in the Stormy Daniels case, it suggests that the White House is sinking deeper into denial about its prospects for losing – and losing big – in November.
Despite weeks of campaigning and TV ad buys in the key swing states – outspending Trump by a whopping 13-1, while the former president is largely sidelined – Biden hasn’t moved the needle in the polls. In fact, he appears to be losing ground. The latest NY Times/Siena poll has Trump up by a whopping 13 points in Nevada, 9 in Georgia, and 6 in Arizona, three states Biden carried in 2020. In Pennsylvania, where Biden recently barnstormed, Trump went from slightly behind to ahead by 3. Trump also inched up in Wisconsin, a state that many consider the pre-eminent 2024 bellwether.
Only in Michigan, where Biden clings to a 1 point lead, is there a fresh sliver of hope, and that could soon fade as the prospects for peace in Gaza slip further and further away.
Burnett’s willingness to challenge Biden on his administration’s economic performance is just one of the many signs that the mainstream media is unlikely to continue fronting for an administration that keeps gas-lighting voters with misleading data on jobs and GDP growth while a growing number of metrics point to the country’s continuing descent into full-blown stagflation.
By almost every indicator – from sagging consumer confidence and rising home prices to declining real wages and mass layoffs at major firms – Americans do not feel better off than they were during the heyday of the Trump administration – before COVID-19 and the mandated government shutdown all but destroyed the burgeoning economy, resulting in jobless numbers not seen since the Great Depression.
A large number of those jobs – maybe three-quarters – have since returned, but those are hardly jobs that Biden “created” from scratch. Americans, still traumatized by the COVID experience, are grateful for a return to a semblance of “normalcy.” But they hardly credit Biden for putting America back on a solid footing. Unemployment at 3.9%? Perhaps, but many Americans are working two jobs that still don’t pay enough to feed their families, while a record number of those without jobs are homeless – with an increase of 12% between 2022 and 2023 alone.
America, of course, has never been just one country economically, current trends mask the continuing divide. Some, in fact, were protected during COVID and large corporations reaped billions. And though funded through deepening consumer debt, the fortunes of some are now improving. But what many analysts don’t recognize is that a disproportionate share of the nouveau riche and comfortably salaried professionals, especially in government and health care, are now Democrats, not Republicans. The party may still be the “party of the working class” when it comes to the labor aristocracy in the trade unions – but those workers represent less than 10% of the total workforce. Many blue-collar workers – even a goodly share (close to half) of those in unions like the UAW – have drifted to the Trump camp, while the greater mass of non-union workers are voting GOP, and indeed, have done so for years. These voters generally don’t eat cake – not the fancy stuff, at least.
And their ranks now include a growing number of Hispanics and African Americans, especially men, who find Trump’s angry macho posturing appealing, or least comforting. “Polls are just polls,” Democrats keep saying, but we haven’t seen numbers like this since…..well ever. Trump could end up with well over 20% of the Black vote, besting the historic percentages reached by the Nixon-Ford regimes in the 1970s. And amazingly, if current trends hold, he might well take close to 50% of the Hispanic vote –besting George W. Bush’s former record of 41% in 2004, and completely reversing the more recent 2-1 – and even 3-1 – Democratic voting trend. Hispanics interviewed in Larino-rich swing states like Arizona and Nevada tell reporters a simple truth: they can’t afford the rising price of beans and tortillas, their family staple.
Something is happening to the U.S. electorate that goes far beyond Joe Biden. The old “Obama coalition” – the one that analysts John Judis and Ruy Texeira famously predicted – or, at least hoped – would become a “permanent” Democratic majority – is falling apart. It’s not just the large-scale defection of workers of colors, but of youth. Amazingly, Trump, in most polls, is now leading or tied with Biden among 18-29 year old voters, completely reversing the president’s former advantage. And while Biden leads strongly among women, some polls have the gap surprisingly narrow, while Trump’s lead among men remains wide. While the GOP is not about to become the “populist multicultural working-class coalition” that Republicans like Marco Rubio still fantasize about, Democrats are in danger of losing their once broad demographic support, giving Trump and GOP a fresh opening not just in 2024 – but well beyond.
The good news? Signs of a serious freak-out — and even a potential meltdown – about Biden’s prospects in November – once dismissed as mere “bed-wetting” – are finally appearing among party pooh-bahs. Witness the remarkable drunken rant of former Clinton strategist James Carville posted on Twitter last week. Never one to mince words, an angry and exasperated Carville bemoaned the continuing slide of Biden in the polls and confessed that “nothing is working” to convince disaffected Democratic voters to return to the fold. “You can prepare and you can be on TV, you can write pieces, you can have a YouTube channel, you can have a podcast…and it doesn’t matter. Everything we’re throwing is spaghetti at a wall, and none of it is sticking, me included,” he fumed.
Another staunch Biden supporter, CNN’s Farid Zakaria, also took to the airwaves to issue his own stern warning about Biden’s rapidly diminishing prospects. In a blistering six minute review, he listed one area after another where Trump’s political resurrection and standing with voters is exceeding expectations, noting that a landslide win – including a popular vote victory – by Trump in November was looming. Zakaria even broke with the party line on Trump’s presumed “criminality.” suggesting that the four legal trials aimed at discrediting the former president were largely motivated by simple politics, not a concern for justice. “I doubt a criminal indictment in New York would have been brought against a defendant whose name wasn’t Donald Trump,” he deadpanned.
Could all this dire hand-wringing lead to another public call for Biden to step down? That seems highly unlikely for now. Top White House apologists like Simon Rosneberg and Jim Messina continue to insist that Biden is simply suffering from the usual presidential first-term blues – disaffection at the base combined with pre-general election apathy among all voters. Sustained outreach coupled with a persistent hammering of the challenger can turn things around, they say. Once voters realize what the real stakes are – democracy, abortion rights, climate change – and the threat posed by Trump, they’ll surely pull a lever for Biden, even if it’s not with great enthusiasm.
It sounds logical – but the accumulating evidence strongly suggests otherwise. Most voters do question Trump’s commitment to upholding democracy, but nearly as many now question Biden’s. And by a wide margin, they also rate Trump as a stronger and more effective leader. Trump enjoys a 10 to 20-point edge over Biden on the handling of the economy overall, inflation, immigration, crime and foreign and defense policy which are also deemed by voters to be the nation’s top issues. Dismissing this perception – and support for Trump generally – as a form of irrational “nostalgia”– as pro-Biden pundits continue to do, is self-defeating. 2024 wasn’t destined to become a classic “change” election – not with a current incumbent battling a former scandal-ridden one – but that’s what it’s becoming. By all appearances, 2024 is now Donald Trump’s to lose.
Of course, there’s still six months left before the election – and “anything can happen.” But anything includes a further deterioration of Biden’s position. One election-year wild card Democrats clearly didn’t count on was Gaza, which has only compounded voter concerns about Biden’s weakness on the world stage. The chimera of a pending peace may have helped Biden in the polls in Michigan recently – the one battleground where he’s gained ground just slightly – but it’s unlikely to last. Despite mounting pressure from the White House– or perhaps because of it – Netanyahu is digging in his heels and will likely stall in any deal until November, hoping that Trump wins and gives Israel a freer hand to prosecute the war as it sees fit. By trying to have it both ways – castigating Netanyahu publicly, while sending massive new amounts of military aid, Biden has managed to alienate Arab-Americans and Jews both, while leaving many undecided voters both aghast at the carnage and dismayed by Biden’s obvious pandering to both sides.
“Genocide Joe” and the Democrats could well face a decline in support thirty highly competitive congressional districts where the Arab-American vote (though relatively small nationally) is large enough to make a difference, and not just in Michigan. But a loss of support among the much larger and traditionally Democrat-leaning Jewish population – concentrated heavily in the four main “Blue” states, California, Florida, New York and New Jersey – could also weigh heavily on key House and Senate races. And if Trump is right – God forbid – it could even help put New Jersey – where Biden won by 16 points in 2020 – in play for the first time in years.
“We need to do something completely different,” Carville moaned at the conclusion of his recent Twitter rant, before wandering, Biden-like, off camera. But from all appearances, the Democrats, right now, have no Plan B. Not in Gaza or anywhere else.
Biden’s apologists insist on comparing his re-election prospects to Obama’s in 2012, when a once-popular incumbent began sinking in the polls, and for six months prior to the election, seemed headed to defeat, only to pull out of his tailspin, thanks to Bill Clinton and Hurricane Sandy. But the more obvious if daunting parallel might be Jimmy Carter’s predicament 30 years earlier. In 1980, Carter was saddled with domestic discontent over inflation, a general feeling of pessimism and malaise, and a series of intractable foreign policy challenges, including a never-ending hostage crisis. Ronald Reagan – whom Democrats derided as a right-wing “madman” – threatened Carter’s re-election. Democrats were clearly rattled by Reagan’s rise in the polls and decided to play it safe, pivoting to the center and closing ranks against Ted Kennedy, who enjoyed a fierce loyalty among liberals. There are eerie parallels to Biden’s predicament today, with another Kennedy RFK, Jr., Teddy’s nephew, stoking discontent. And of course, there’s another madman, Trump, fueling a right-wing insurgency – or in this case, resurgence.
Overconfidence and a misreading of the public mood killed Carter in the end. Right up to the final week of the campaign, he enjoyed a small but seemingly unshakable single-digit lead over Reagan.. Most pundits – and Carter’s senior advisors – confidently predicted victory. It was conceivable that voters would choose as their leader a man steeped in anticommunism, pro-life family policies while promising – much like Trump – to “make America great again.”
But Reagan won big. Capitalizing on a groundswell of discontent with Carter, even among Democrats missed by pollsters, the Gipper, ended up winning by a whopping 10 points, with a near-landslide in the electoral college. The party, shut out of power for the next 12 years, eventually recovered, but it wasn’t easy. Bill Clinton led the Democratic comeback, largely by moving the party even further to the right than Carter had. And America – saddled with Reagan’s legacy of militarism and free market fundamentalism for much of the past half century – has never been the same.
Is it really too late to reconsider Biden’s faltering candidacy? LBJ, facing antiwar opposition, pulled out before the Democratic convention in 1968, at roughly the same distance from the election that year. Democrats are headed for another potentially riotous convention – and in Chicago, no less – which will only further damage Biden’s standing with the public. Most Democrats, shocked by the prospects of Trump 2.0, are quietly loitering in the shadows, just holding their breath, while an increasingly emboldened right – championing their beleaguered King – is eagerly waiting to exhale.
Democrats, it seems, are destined to soldier on. They missed their chance to replace Biden painlessly months ago, and are now stuck on stupid. Barring a miracle, the price for their cowardice and lack of vision is likely to be severe.

(here's to hoping you actually use reddit and are active on this sub)
It was my parent's 30th marriage anniversary yesterday and we went to a restaurant to celebrate. Told the waiter it was a special day and requested for a cake. Nothing too fancy. The restaurant was not too crowded, maybe just 3-4 other families.
The cake arrived and my parents start cutting it. Generally in public when someone is celebrating an event no one really gives a shit. But seeing this a girl (prob mid 20s) arrived at the table and wished my parents a very happy anniversary. We asked her to have a piece of cake, she then told us to have a great evening and went back.
This simple gesture made my parents visibly happier, since they were never wished out of the blue, that too by a stranger at a hotel.
If you're reading this, just wanted to thank you, you made their day :) I was going to thank you personally after dinner but you left
Also peeps, TIL that if you see anyone celebrating something at a public place, it doesn't hurt to go wish them. Even I used to be very reserved in the public before this, but this really opened my mind.
Thanks again!

I had a terrific time on this ship. This was my 3rd cruise and first Princess voyage. There were essentially 3 legs of the journey. 1. Sydney to Melbourne New Zealand 2. Melbourne to Vancouver, BC 3. Vancouver to Seattle, WA
Demographics played a huge role in the onboard experience. Leg one had a small contingent of younger families as we were sailing during NZ school holidays. No children were on board during the second leg. The third leg saw an influx of children and young families. I'm guessing the average age dropped by 30 years for the 3 day trip from Vancouver to Seattle. I'm 63 years old and expected to see a ship full of retirees, but didn't expect to be on the younger side. Princess definitely expected this. Much of the entertainment - both in the main theatre and the casual venues - were geared to ages 75-85 years old. At Vancouver that changed dramatically. Ballroom dancing in the piazza was replaced with more modern dances. I was happy to see the ship liven up. Also, the food improved. There were fancy cakes in the buffet and Alaskan salmon on the "Princess Favorites" in the main dining room. I would speculate that if you are sailing to Alaska this summer, you will have an energetic atmosphere on board for your 7 day cruise.
I had heard raves about Princess beds and they did not disappoint. I am a lousy sleeper but I slept well on this ship. I took a cruise on Royal Caribbean last summer and slept poorly. If I take a future cruise, I will stay with Princess so I can sleep.
I had a deluxe balcony cabin that I shared with a friend. We overpacked, but had plenty of room for our stuff. We got the large balcony because it had extra room for the long voyage. We didn't spend much time on the balcony, so if I was booking a shorter cruise I would consider an inside cabin.
One interesting feature in my cabin were the motion sensor lights. There was one in the hallway leading to the bathroom and ones at the bottom of our nightstands. When making a nighttime bathroom visit, the lights at the nightstand turned on when my feet hit the floor. Then, as I approached the bathroom, the hall light turned on. This second light will probably wake up your companion, so be warned.
I also saw in the pre-boarding option (I believe under accessibility) you could request a raised toilet seat (About the height you encounter in most public spaces) and a shower head mounted on a hose. We opted for both of these and they were wonderful.
I am still working, so I bit the bullet and paid for a single wi-fi login. It was easy to switch between devices in our cabin. I was totally impressed with the connection. I made some video calls and there was only twice that I experienced connection issues. As far out in the middle of the Pacific we were, I was impressed.
I didn't pay for Princess plus. My companion doesn't drink and I couldn't see drinking the amount that would have made it worthwhile. I also didn't dine in a speciality restaurant either.
My companion had some mobility issues. We found out that in many of the ports there would be two decks to disembark from. Choosing the lower deck was easier because the ramp wasn't as steep.
This is all I can think of right now. Hope this helps someone sailing this summer.

People can really be oblivious to holidays like Mother's Day and things were they post spending money on themselves and as someone without a family (estranged). I spent the week going from crying on Sunday and feeling let down in general. I try so hard to find work but I'm applying for disability. I have to do physical therapy. Working remote is the best option for me, and I used to freelance write and get a few extra pay checks a month from doing that. I could go back to that but right now I'm exhausted and working on getting my health and energy back up so I can work and be productive. That said, people seem to get it wrong when people ask for help. They blame my last relationship, for relying on a man, for not magically being independent. Then these same types of people saying this are surrounded by people, it takes a village, they are not in a vacuum.
If anyone can help me with things like so small, where do I even ask? The system takes forever, especially for cash assistance. I can't afford to wait around without assistance in order to get it. I have food stamps, but they buy toilet paper, soap, razors, makeup, things I need for my two cats. Sometimes it's so sad it's like people want to tell me then don't have cats, do without these things, but why should anyone have to?
My college degree feels useless because my past work experience makes me under-qualified but my degree makes me over-qualified for other places of work. And minimum wage will cover the MEFA loan I'm paying back. It's like the universe is saying stay stuck, don't get ahead, etc.
At this point going to start an OF if I have to because maybe then I'll get some money. So people wonder why people do that in the first place, when they're too stingy to give $20 or $30 for basics even though they got enough to go to the movies and buy non-essentials and that's fine. They earned that money. But I've helped others and they never help back, it just starts to feel like why was I so generous when I had so much to give? But when I'm in a rut, everyone else is too busy having a good time to stop and care about others. I may be just hurting and speaking out of that frustration, but I try really hard to not ever need to ask for help. I design shirts and hats nobody buys. But they'll post that they bought something from Amazon or Temu and I'm like I'm willing to work and earn money.
Or worse they go to their snobby benefit dinners, they fly somewhere to raise awareness for mental health, disabilities, LGBTQ, and their businesses are making this money they can choose to use to give out water bottles and free swag at corporate events. That's so insulting. It's more about building up their portfolio and network but not about actually listening to their friends in need. So what's the point? To build a resume that says you like to help people in need, but only when you're on the clock?
I want to philanthropic one day and give to people in need without needing a catered event with fancy doodads and cakes and lobster and pates and special guests, celebrities, and spokespeople who just exist in their vacuum to self-congratulate one another for hosting super cool events. I don't get it. It's like running a homeless shelter and hosting big mansion parties to raise money for the shelter but the hosting of the party costs the average of putting up 400 people in beds. Like does anyone else see a huge disconnect? The system is broken.
I'm glad I have food stamps and I'm waiting on disability but like I said, this is embarrassing and any help would be great if possible.