Hey All…I’ll try to summarize this very complicated situation as best as I can. Issues: 1. My Parents have never been good with money and my father has never been able to hold down a steady job. Because of this, they bought a home they really could never afford, but out of pure luck and miracles they’ve been able to keep until now. The house was scheduled to foreclose on April 7th, but they initiated a chapter 7 bankruptcy and that halted the foreclose. They have until the end of July to either sell the home or start making mortgage payments again or else they will get foreclosed on. 2. The home was originally bought with two mortgages. After a few years of steady payments, they once again ran into a few problems and couldn’t pay their mortgage. They did a loan modification of which it was supposed consolidate their two mortgages into one. Forward to Nov. 2022 and low and behold, the second mortgage (lesser of the two) sends a letter saying that the mortgage, theirs, has not been paid in 7+ years (we did ask why we never got a notice from them about missed payments, no letters emails or calls for seven years until now) and they are going to foreclose unless they pay back all the missed payments + fees. Fast forward to April, 7th 2023 and lots of calls and emails with the bank(s)/mortgager and don’t want to cooperate and they are about to foreclose. Because of all the late payment fees and other “fees” the bank is charging, the mortgage has literally not been paid down after 14 years of living in the home and they now owe more than when they bought the home. Home was bought for 210k and now need to sell the home for about 320k to satisfy both mortgages…per realtors the home is worth around 400k now, per the neighborhood/comparables. 3. My dad started real estate investing in 2009 and did quiet well for about 10 years and unfortunately it all came crashing down after a few bad decisions and being over leveraged. The chapter 7 bankruptcy should wipe out most of their revolving credit debt (approx 110k) and because they live in Texas, they can keep their home after the bankruptcy is over. 4. Questions: can my parents sell the home to me at a discount? What about gifting the home, and what complications should I be aware of? Not sure what other options are available…any ideas? I’d really appreciate it. 5. Goals: I love my parents and they brought us to this great country and have given us everything. But we can’t just keep giving them money just to see it mis-used because of their bad financial habits. The thought of buying their home is, admittedly selfish, we live in Northern California and don’t foresee being able to buy a home here for a looong time. We intend to buy their home as an investment and pay it down in under 15 years and sell it later down the line. This would satisfy our goals to have real estate as part of our net worth and also allow my parents to not be homeless. We would only buy the home if we can afford the monthly payment + our own rent payment. We would ask them to pay us as much rent as they can to help out. But based on history, know to prepare for them not being able to pay every month.
There’s a lot more to this story but hope this helps paint the picture. Any advise or help from this community would be much appreciated. 🙏🏽 Cheers and happy Memorial Day weekend!! 🤙🏽

Hello all. 22yo female dealing with primary hyperparathyroidism. Surgery scheduled for middle of next month and dealing with significant bone pain, emotional issues, and extreme fatigue. Going on 3 months without having my period. I know stress can cause it, but does hyperparathyroidism also contribute to absent periods? Just curious if this will get better after surgery. My periods have always been irregular, but in December 2022 I bled for 22 days straight, had really heavy periods February and March, and suddenly no more.
It is not possible for me to be pregnant, and have gotten confirmed negative tests .

Hello,
I'm a beginner, although I've been doing this for a very long time and not aware of it(Flexible sleep schedule with naps?)
I want to try to start Dual core schedule but I'm not sure if I need to strictly follow the time on the pie charts from polyphasic.net.
Is that just a sample scheduling? Or, I can move it anytime I want as long as I full fill the required sleep and nap duration?
Thanks!

Y’all I can’t hold down a nursing job. There are many many reasons, many of which I’m sure you could guess.
I’ve been unemployed for 6 months. Almost all my jobs are contracts/short term. Going from most recent to my first job:

• 2021-22 public school nurse (3 sites, 3500 kids, not enough training or resources). I quit asking for support for months in the form of a full training and not receiving it. i was burnt tf out and left.
  
• 2022 private school summer camp covid testing (2 months. I did my job so well the position was actually dissolved after I left. they were unable to offer me part time or help with disability accommodations even though i disclosed in my interview, my agency was unable to help.
  
• 2020-21 adolescent eating disorder residential recovery (boss was abusive, the program had fraudulent licensing and asked RNs to break laws so they would not have to pay/hire more. I absolutely crushed it here, but it was toxic AF)
  
• my fav - 2020 covid vaccine nurse, sutter contract 6 months (i ran inventory and worked in the draw room reconstituting hundreds of vaccines a day.
  
• 2019-20 - charge nurse in federally funded skilled nursing facility (first nursing job, truly hel. Neglect, abuse, exploited employees, cutting corners, absolute nightmare 24 hour shifts, i was here when covid hit. it was not okay.)
  

Guys I am willing to leave nursing but I’m still hoping there is something within this system that isn’t broken, corrupt and traumatizing. I tend to burn out less with part time commitments and less inter-personal aspects of the job (covid vaccines I worked in the back, my final semester of nursing school clinical I was in OR-Pacu so most of my shift was monitoring and charting patients in surgery). Ugh Idk. I love special education, I did it before and after nursing school , but it’s impossible to be a public school nurse in Oakland.
I am desperate for guidance. I am considering landscaping, construction, single patient home care, personal assistant, nannying, anything.

I'm back in Cannes for the third year in a row! I can gladly say that this festival is more than worth the effort, even though it takes a lot of work to make it magical. I've been able to continually attend thanks to the 3 Days in Cannes program, which is offered to people aged 18-28. For any of you in that age range, I highly recommend you take up the opportunity to attend!
You can check out a ton of pictures I took on my Instagram Account and other reactions at my Letterboxd. While I didn't get any personal pictures with celebrities like last year, I did briefly cross paths with Alice Rohrwacher after the premiere of La Chimera, Nanni Moretti on his way to the closing ceremony, and Jonathan Glazer as he was walking away from his photoshoot with the Grand Prix.
Just as I have done with the 2021 and 2022 editions with this post, I’m going to share my thoughts on the 13 films I saw (a new record!), as well as reactions I heard from people about other films. I’ll also give my Oscar prognosis on each one.
I'll list them in the order I saw them, and then give a final ranking at the end. This was probably the weakest edition of the three years I've been. But don't let that statement mislead you, because a bad year is still pretty good.
And before you comment, I was NOT able to see any of the out-of-competition premieres like Killers of the Flower Moon, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, or Elemental. I also won't be covering them in this post since those movies have been widely talked about and will be major talking points for months to come.

FILMS I SAW

A BRIGHTER TOMORROW
My Review: With his own version of Bardo, Nanni Moretti provides humorous meta commentary on his personal and professional life, as well as the state of modern filmmaking.
While not all that innovative or groundbreaking, it's still light and breezy enough to be a good time. (6/10)
Oscar Prognosis: It received much worse reviews than I anticipated. Moretti has never been on the Academy's radar either, and it looks almost certain that La Chimera will be Italy's submission for the International Feature category.
ABOUT DRY GRASSES
My Review: 197 minutes with the biggest asshole in all of Turkey. Will definitely require (and deserve) a rewatch at some point, although I'm not exactly sure I'll ever have the ambition to dive back into this again. (6/10)
Oscar Prognosis: My dissatisfaction puts me in the minority, as many other people walked away thinking this was one of Ceylan's best. It's ultra talky and ultra slow (just like all Ceylan films). Merve Dizdar's win for Best Actress was fully deserved, as she provides a much more interesting character arc compared to the main "protagonist."
Ceylan has represented Turkey numerous times for Best International Feature, but he has yet to be nominated. I doubt this will be the film to crack him in, as it's respected more than loved. It also doesn't have a US distributor, so we'll have to see who picks it up.
MONSTER
My Review: Kore-eda brings Rashomon into the modern age with Monster, a movie that is both much more gentle and deadlier than it's title implies. While I hope be goes back to writing his own scripts, Kore-eda's touch as a director is still undeniable, especially during the final two acts. (7/10)
Oscar Prognosis: This film is eerily similar to Lukas Dhont's Close from last year, which I mean in the best way possible. Shoplifters remains as Kore-eda's only film to receive Oscar attention. I don't think Monster will bring him back, especially with Japan likely to submit Miyazaki's How Do You Live?.
MAY DECEMBER
My Review: Grab the marshmallows and graham crackers because Todd Haynes is bringing the camp! Portman and Moore have delicious chemistry, with Charles Melton taking over from Austin Butler as the new CW movie star. I'm hoping the Netflix acquisition will allow a new generation of cinephiles to appreciate Haynes. (7/10)
Oscar Prognosis: I want to give major props to everyone involved with this film for not spoiling just how silly it is. Portman and Moore are going BIG with their performances, and so Is Todd Hayne's direction. This is "trash" handled by masters of the craft. I'm kind of doubtful of it being a big Oscar player on account of its weirdness. If anything, maybe the screenplay and Portman can get in with the last slots. We'll know more once Netflix outlines their release strategy for it, as I don't know if they'll bring back into the conversation with the fall festivals, or just kind of toss it aside.
LAST SUMMER
My Review: Nothing like climbing the Lumiere steps at 7am to watch some stepmom-stepson action. To be honest, I only saw this so I could see at least one movie in the Grand Theatre, as everything else from schedule was one of the secondary theaters. (6/10)
Oscar Prognosis: Won't be submitted by France, nor does it have good reviews. No chance whatsoever. It's not like a Catherine Breillat film was going to gel with the Oscar's anyway.
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
My Review: Sickening in the most calculated way possible, The Zone of Interest is Jonathan Glazer's answer to the question of how evil can exist unchecked. Soak it all in during your first watch, because I doubt you'll ever want to view the world this way again. (8/10)
Oscar Prognosis: This is going to be the movie that critics will rally around during the season, so don't be surprised if NYFCC and/or LAFCA throw it their laurels. There's rumors that A24 will be releasing it around December, meaning they're likely to tour it around all of the major fall festivals.
I know we've been going by the "one international director nominated per year" rule for a while now, but I think we need to look at it a little more specifically. Every international directing nominee in the expanded era has been for a movie that won a prize at Cannes: 2011: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist); 2012: Michael Haneke (Amour); 2018: Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War); 2019: Bong Joon-ho (Parasite); 2020*: Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round); 2021: Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car); 2022: Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness). Glazer could, and probably will, join that list. This is such a directorial showcase that that specific branch has been known to favor.
However, I wouldn't go around thinking this will be a strong contender in many other categories. This is a cold arthouse movie that is a miserable watch, meaning it could be a turnoff for a good chunk of voters. Think of it more like a Terrence Malick movie.
The script and the actors, while great, aren't the things the movie focuses on, nor are they the features you walk away most impressed by. Mica Levi's score is incredibly haunting, but it rarely featured (maybe less than 25% of the movie), so I'm not sure how much traction it will get.
It's likely between the UK and Poland for submitting it for Best International Feature. My money is on Poland considering that's where a good chunk of the funds came from, and the story is more closely connected to that region. Whoever submits it, this will be one of the major contenders.
FIREBRAND
My Review: I'm a simple man. I see some costumes and hear a big score, I'm satisfied. This could have used a little more directorial flair (which slightly begs the question for why it was even here to begin with), but Vikander and Law make up for that with their fiery performances. (7/10)
Oscar Prognosis: It only had an outside chance to begin with, and the reviews have mostly sunken any sliver of hope. Dune: Part Two, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, and Barbie are likely to crowd the craft categories, making it extremely doubtful this gets in anywhere. Jude Law's performance is a standout, but there won't be any passion for the movie to take him anywhere. This really should have been a TIFF Gala premiere.
BLACK FLIES
My Review: You might as well walk into this movie with a headache because you're going to get one five minutes in. You might as well not watch this movie if you're squeamish to blood and needles. You might as well not watch this movie if you want to watch interesting characters in an original story. You might as well not watch this movie. (5/10)
Oscar Prognosis: There really needs to be limit out in place for how much Sean Penn can be at Cannes, because his output these past few years has been putrid. No Oscar chances, nor will anyone probably see it.
ANATOMY OF A FALL
My Review: Disappointing isn't the right word (since I still liked it), but there was something special missing that prevented me from loving it like everyone else. 150 minutes doesn't necessarily fly by, no matter how flawless Sandra Huller's performance is. Maybe Saint Omer filled me up on French courtroom dramas and I'm still not ready for more? (7/10)
Oscar Prognosis: I didn't think Neon would get much out of Triangle of Sadness last year, so I don't want to count them out again. This will likely be France's submission for Best International Feature, and possibly be their best chance to win the category after years of a disappointment. Similar to Jonathan Glazer, Sandra Hüller's lead performance will be a critic's favorite. I'm doubtful about Best Picture and any of the other top categories, but I could see still see it happening if other big contenders start dropping off.
PERFECT DAYS
My Review: The serenity of doing the mundane, and the bliss we could all achieve if we didn't overcomplicate everything we do. One of those movies that sounds terrible on paper, and yet is oh so beautiful. Watch this on a calm summer day with some tea. (7/10)
Oscar Prognosis: This a Japanese-German co-production, so either country could submit it. Wenders has never been nominated in the Best International Feature category (although that's mostly because it's been forever since he made a good narrative feature). With Neon also behind it, there's an outside shot of a nomination.
BANEL & ADAMA
My Review: I've always had a blind spot for African films, so I felt compelled to let this be a mini-introduction. Plus, it's barely 80 minutes so it slotted easily into my schedule. It has a bold style about it, with some striking cinematography and music cues. A stronger narrative would have lifted it higher. A great debut, and I'd be happy to watch Sy's next film if it were to come back to the festival. (6/10)
Oscar Prognosis: It doesn't have a US distributor, nor do I think will get a US release in time for contention. It won't matter, as the reviews are tepid and the movie doesn't have the gravitas to stay noticed.
ASTEROID CITY
My Review: By far the strangest film in his already strange filmography, Asteroid City is Wes Anderson's attempt at a Christopher Nolan movie. It's got all the trappings you've come to love (or hate), with some really interesting methods to express its ideas. I'm already planning more than one rewatch once it opens in theaters! (8/10)
Oscar Prognosis: I'm a Wes Anderson apologist (The French Dispatch still remains one of my all-time favorite movies after seeing it at Cannes 2021), so don't think my rave reaction will be uniformly applied. This movie is way weirder than you think it's going to be, which is evidenced by the divided critical reactions.
As with all Anderson projects, it's impeccably crafted. But with The French Dispatch being blanked in a relatively weaker year, I'm not so sure this will crack any categories. Maybe Best Production Design, but there are so many other heavy hitters I'd predict first.
THE OLD OAK
My Review: This was rumored for a prize, which would have absolutely pissed me off. Painfully flat and oversimplified, with way too much time spent speechifying instead of actually building characters. Basically boils down to "racism is bad" and ends without resolving the main plot and one of the subplots. (4/10)
Oscar Prognosis: Ken Loach is not an Oscar player, so don't expect anything.
Ranking of Films I Saw

1. The Zone of Interest
2. Asteroid City
3. Monster
4. Firebrand
5. Anatomy of a Fall
6. Perfect Days
7. May December
8. A Brighter Tomorrow
9. About Dry Grasses
10. Banel & Adama
11. Last Summer
12. Black Flies
13. The Old Oak

FILMS I WASN’T ABLE TO SEE

*I’m only going to talk about the films that I heard about from other people and might stand a chance of actually getting released in America for Oscar contention. You have to remember that about 1/3 of the films at Cannes never get released outside of their native country*
FALLEN LEAVES
It won the Jury Prize and was acquired by Mubi, so there's some hope it gets into the Best International Feature category. Kaurismäki has been nominated before, and I expect this to pop up at the fall festivals.
LA CHIMERA
The reviews from highbrow critics have been great, but there was a much more mixed reaction from the "regular" people I talked to. I expect Italy to submit it, and it has a decent chance of getting nominated.
THE POT AU FEU
This was definitely the surprise of the festival. It premiered pretty late and it immediately became the talk of the town the day after. It still doesn't have US distribution, so I'm not sure what prospects it has. Honestly, the best case scenario is that it becomes a cult classic years later and inspires some food-themed screenings at indie cinemas.
​
These are my thoughts on what I experienced at Cannes this year. If you have any questions about the films, or anything about the festival in general, feel free to comment below or DM me.

I’m 40f, overweight, and infertile (low ovarian reserve). I have a history of ovarian cysts, so it’s normal for them to come and go, and in 2019 I had laparoscopic surgery to unblock my fallopian tubes (blocked with mucus). While in there, my surgeon checked for endometriosis and gave me the all-clear. I’ve been relatively healthy and our doctor gave us the green light for fertility treatments, beginning with 4 failed IUI’s in 2019 before moving on to IVF in 2020.
My husband and I just wrapped up our IVF cycles and we finally got our first ever embryos! That’s a very long story, but doctors always reassured us the meds were safe and we were in good hands. Along the way, I’ve had every test under the sun come back perfectly normal, including my countless transvaginal ultrasounds for the past 3 years. Basically, my uterus has always appeared perfect, so we never had reason to believe I couldn’t carry a child. However, my doctor and I agreed to run additional tests before moving forward with embryo transfers, so we can put our best foot forward.
Last month, I got an endometrial biopsy for the EndomeTrio (ERA, EMMA, ALICE) and the ReceptivaDX. Those tests determine the exact moment of my cycle to transfer an embryo, if my lining is likely to accept an embryo, and also tests for inflammation, endometriosis, endometritis, bacteria imbalance, and (according to the nurse) malignancies. I just received the results that everything is normal!!
On Monday, I went in for my saline ultrasound and it took the doctor literally a half hour to “find” my cervix (I didn’t know they could get lost!). They finally got the catheter in and the test was pretty painful, as usual. Later that night, I experienced very painful soreness from my ribs all the way down to my groin, as though I just did 1000 crunches or got punched in the gut! I called the nurse line and they told me to take ibuprofen and as long as I feel better the next morning to move forward with the HSG.
The next morning I felt a bit better, so I go in for my HSG (which is typically excruciating for me, so I really wanted to just get it over with). I told the tech about my reaction to the saline ultrasound, so he read my results and decided to cancel my HSG. He said the report showed “narrowing” and he suspects my pain is from saline still trapped in my uterus and he didn’t want to add dye to the mix and cause me more pain. He suggested I speak to my doctor before moving forward with the HSG.
The ultrasound report says no mass can be seen, but there is narrowing, and moderate “nodular thickening”, with my lining at 6mm. An NP from my clinic called to discuss results, and she was very vague about everything. She said to hold off on the HSG, because I need a Hysteroscopy and a biopsy. My prior Hysteroscopy 2 years ago looked good, except some scar tissue in my cervix, but since my recent biopsies were normal she kept saying things like, “Don’t worry until there’s something to worry about”, after pointing out the biopsy I just had was located on the fundus and my thickening is below that (which means it probably doesn’t count).
I went online and started reading about different female reproductive cancers and now my anxiety is through the roof. I cannot call anyone to schedule anything until Tuesday because of the holiday. It’s been almost a week, but since my saline ultrasound, my cervix has been in a lot of pain.
To top it off, I’ve had ovarian cyst pain non-stop for 2 months, along with some mild cramping. The pain is mostly on the left side and the transvaginal ultrasounds in April showed I had an ovarian cyst on my right ovary. When I expressed my concern, they said it was referred pain so I was feeling it on my left. During my saline ultrasound, I asked how that cyst was looking and they said I have no cysts. That means my cyst is gone and I still have the pain. Also my periods have gotten heavier since starting fertility treatments. It doesn’t last any longer than usual, and it isn’t heavy the whole time, but my heavy days are heavier and my cramps are terrible. I asked the nurse how my ovaries look and she said, “They only glance at them for a second, so they look okay, but we can’t promise they’re okay.”. I voiced my concern about my ovarian cyst pain and she said it is not related to what’s happening in my uterus.
Lastly, I reviewed all my transvaginal ultrasounds this past year to see if anyone noted anything significant. In October, a nurse remarked “visualized free fluid, three layer pattern- somewhat irregular, uterus is anteverted, and malformations- arcuate.” None of that was mentioned to me, or noted before or after that ultrasound! Also I noticed my thickness is always normal throughout my cycle, except at my baseline ultrasounds (days 2-5), according to a chart I found online.
I don’t know what this all means, but I’m very concerned. Since COVID, I lost my mom to lung cancer and 2 father-in-laws (one to pancreatic cancer), not to mention I lost my first husband several years ago… so I have a lot of PTSD and health anxiety. I’m terrified of cancer. We were literally weeks away from potentially getting pregnant (finally), and instead of celebrating, I’m laying here awake all terrified I’ll get diagnosed of cancer 😢

any insight where you think i could change things around, please let me know. my biggest struggle was the summary.

I feel like I've always been a tired person. July 2022 I had my blood tested and my b12 was 68 ng/l. After 6 loading doses, it went up to about 300 after about 3 months. I was then told that I was fine and no longer needed any more injections. I protested and was referred to the hospital and another doctor where I had an injection once a month for 4 months. I said that I wasn't really feeling any different or better, so I was then told that they weren't working and I should stop receiving them. I've still protested so the doctor has agreed to continue them, but at an even greater interval than before.
My symptoms are: fatigue, shortness of breath, high heart rate, blurred vision (I now need glasses), muscle aches and pains, pins and needles, headaches, limb numbness. (Likely others but that's all I can think of right now).
I've read about daily/weekly self injecting but it just seems daunting to me. I've pestered the doctor about the high heart rate that I suffer with from doing very simple, non strenuous tasks (walking up one flight of stairs, walking and talking etc) so I have a TTE and 48 hour AECG scheduled for next week to see if that comes up with anything, but the doctor was reluctant to do those really.
This is kind of just a rant, kind of a cry for help.

I’m a 23 yr old Male. 5’5 weighing 218.3lbs.
In March of 2022 I started having lots of acid reflux. On 12/24/22 I start having a very dull pain on my left side just below the ribs. I could sometimes feel it just a little bit above that spot behind the rib. Over the next 2 months the pain stayed full and was come and go. Still having acid reflux. However, in February a doctor put me on 40mg Pantroprazole. It seems to help because my burps are airy again compared to being thick if that makes sense. In April the pain dull pain started to feel like muscle cramps or tighting. Then for a week I was pain free. It started back up and the pain was no longer dull but maybe 1 or 2 on the pain chart. And still feels crampy or tighting.
The pain also started hurting just below the breast bone in the middle of my upper abdomen. And on my right side of the upper abdomen. All of which is come and go pain only lasting maybe a second or 3. However, the pain in my left side is some days constant.
I also started to have a diarrhea, yellow and pale stools, and greasy and oily stools. After about a week the diarrhea stop. But my stool was still odd colors. About a week or 2 later my stool went back to being light brown and hasn’t changed since. I still have diarrhea but it almost seems episodic. As I’ve noticed there seems to be a pattern of when it happens.
Come May my back has started to hurt. In the middle and sometimes lower part of my left side close to the edge of my back where the body wraps around to the abdomen. The pain is is maybe a 1-3 on pain scale. Some days it’s come and go. Others it’s constant. It could be due to my lumpy mattress but I don’t think so because my mattress has been lumpy for years and it just now is causing me problems. Also the pain I feel in my upper left abdomen just below/behind the rib has moved up to just below the pectoral muscle area. The pain is. 2 maybe 3.
About three weeks ago my stool has been floating almost constantly. I’ve noticed that the first bowl movement of the day usually sinks to the bottom. But any other stool for the day is 90% floating. sometimes with that white fuzzy stuff around it. It’s sometimes formed, others it’s just a pile of mush or very oily/greasy. I’ve noticed blood a few times but on those days I noticed I was either having a hemorrhoid or it was hard to push out.
About a week ago I started to be very constipated. However, I also have not been drinking nearly as much water as I usually do. Not sure if that has something to do with it.
I would also like to mention that some days I have to poop a lot like almost all day it feels. Then the next day it’s back to normal or sometimes it starts the diarrhea that lasts for about 2 or 3 days.
Recently I’ve started doing 15 hour fasts and it has helped a lot I believe. The pain in my abdomen is not as frequent.
My doctor has tested me for H. Pylori which came back negative & he legitimately believes I have a hiatal hernia. But I’m not so sure. Can anyone tell me what they think?

RLCS 22-23: Europe

Regional #2	Day	UTC
Rounds 1 & 2	Fri	15:00
Playoffs - Top 8	Sat	15:00
Playoffs - Top 4	Sun	15:00	Today
RLCS 2022-23 Guide

Coverage

Official Bracket
Liquipedia / / ShiftRLE.gg / / Pickstop.gg

Results

Elimination		Liquipedia Bracket
▼ Upper Final		(Bo7)
Karmine Corp	0 - 4	Team Vitality
▼ Lower Semifinal		(Bo7)
Team BDS	4 - 3	Moist Esports
▼ Lower Final		(Bo7)
Karmine Corp	4 - 0	Team BDS
▼ Grand Final		(Bo7)
Team Vitality	1 - 4	Karmine Corp
Team Vitality	4 - 2	Karmine Corp

Standings

Place	Prize	Team	RLCS Points
1st	$30,000	Team Vitality	+24 (111)
2nd	$20,000	Karmine Corp	+20 (181)
3rd	$10,000	Team BDS	+16 (66)
4th	$8,000	Moist Esports	+13 (91)
5th-6th	$6,000	Guild Esports	+11 (22)
5th-6th	$6,000	Oxygen Esports	+11 (101)
7th-8th	$4,000	Team Liquid	+9 (135)
7th-8th	$4,000	PSG TUNDRA	+9 (61)

Moi again lol.
Previous post: Update to 35F looking to settle down and start a family: Phoenix, AZ or Sacramento, CA? Or any recommendations? - California is now off the table for me. https://www.reddit.com/SameGrassButGreenecomments/13q9ujh/update_to_35f_looking_to_settle_down_and_start_a/
Background: I'm a 35F in Austin, TX and would be moving March 2024. I'm very happy to report I've just accept a new job offer ✨✨ where you can work remote from pretty much anywhere, except California, New York, Hawaii and Alaska. Ideally I want to met a man and start a family in one of these places. One of the main reasons I'm leaving Texas is due to the abortion laws, as well as all the hate laws they are producing towards minorities. It would also be a nice change not worrying about the electricity failing every time it gets cold too 🙃
(1) Reno, NV

• I've never been but would schedule time to visit this upcoming September. I was originally looking at Sacramento, but since California is now a "no", Reno might be a good fit
• I'm originally from Chicago so I grew up with cold weather and snow, but I would prefer no snow and cold lol. However, sunlight is more important than cold weather and Reno has about 300 days of sun, which I like. How cold does it get in the Winter and Summer?

(2) Summerlin/Henderson, NV

• I've been to Vegas 3 times, and specifically went last August to check out the area, which I really liked. But when I went this past August, it was a bit cooler (around 100F) than normally, so I want to visit again this upcoming August to see if I could stand the 110F weather
• I've heard Las Vegas is a very transient area to live in, maybe it's better in Henderson or Summerlin? Not sure how it would be for dating or meeting friends
• I'm currently sober and am not sure how much of the culture is around drinking? Even in Austin, most socialization is done around drinking. I'll make-do by ordering Topo or sparkling water at the bars

-OR- Phoenix, AZ

• I visited in October 2021 and absolutely loved it. I was actually planning to move out in May 2022, but then Roe v. Wade was overturned and I decided to stay in Austin another year to figure out what I wanted. I would want to visit in August to see how I do with the heat. Quick note: I also went out to Tucson on my trip, nice city, but I liked Phoenix/Scottsdale much more
• Abortion is currently at a 16 week ban (Texas is at 6 weeks). I know AZ has been red, but they have a Democratic governor, so it seems much better than Texas overall
• I have a feeling dating will probably be the best in Phoenix

Of course, I could check out both Vegas and Phoenix this summer, but the more I think about it, I do want to check out Reno. I keep coming back to Las Vegas, but I feel like Phoenix offers more (dating to settle down, better schools, better healthcare).
I could also do Vegas and Phoenix this summer, and then go out to Reno later in the year around November and December. But then I would have to schedule vacation to the place I finally chose around Jan 2024 (to find an apartment) and March to move out there.

Before you disregard this idea, read my thesis.

Theme
Vitalik's huge dong + Dog coin
(Unique and hilarious + Proven meme)
Vitalik with a huge dong is the ultimate power symbol. Vitalik created programmable money so he's a giga nerd = Star Trek captured. He is a billionaire so business and money chasers = captured. He's a humanitarian so granola and WEF = captured. He's autistic so Rainman enthusiasts = captured. Lastly, and most importantly, his giant trouser snake makes him the ultimate Chad. All other crypto bros are beta. Vitalik has it all. Add the fact that Dog coins are the only memes that have cracked the top 10 in market cap and there’s no need to say more.
​
The Team and origin story
A group of previous collaborators in the crypto space that include a full stack dev, two professional marketing consultants and a VC decided in the summer of 2022 that the ultimate MEMEcoin should be created. It wasn’t until a picture circulated around Twitter depicting Vitalik Buterin with a huge bulge in his pants did the inspiration for the theme arrive. VBONE was born!
​
Token function
VBONE is a DEFLATIONARY reward token. VBONE has no buy tax and a 10% sell tax. All of the sell tax is reflected as VBONE back to all VBONE holder wallets. This process happens automatically inside of your wallet. You never have to claim these rewards. This tax is also reflected to a burn wallet that contains 42% of the VBONE supply. Note that they also sent Vitalik.eth 0.69696969% of the total supply. These burned tokens can never be retrieved so all reflected tokens there are permanently lost. This means that the total VBONE supply decreases over time making VBONE deflationary. Thus, VBONE is a deflationary reward token that grows right in your own pocket. Of course, just as importantly, VBONE is all about Vitalik’s huge Johnson rod.
​
Network
Ethereum fees are unsustainable. At $5 to send an erc20 token and $50 to trade on a dex, Ethereum is unusable for most people looking to enter a coin. The next bullrun will result in $80 erc20 transfer costs and $1000 to swap on a dex. VBONE is on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) which is cheap and fast. It's easy to onboard as evidenced by this being the second largest layer 1 blockchain. BSC coins, including memecoins like Baby Doge, pumped in 2021 as Ethereum became prohibitively expensive. I expect an even stronger trend in the next bull market. VBONE is also bridging to Shiba Inu's new layer 1 blockchain (Shibarium). This is a smart play to access a hyped event and a well-aligned, very large (1.3M+) community of potential VBONE holders.
​
SAFU?
The VBONE smart contract is public and certified on BSC scan. The code is audited by a leading audit company (Tech Audit). In addition, the admin keys are burned/ownership of the smart contract is renounced so the contract can never be changed. VBONE was launched on a Pinksale fair launch so that anyone could join and contribute. The Lp was locked by Pinksale automatically for 274 years at the end of the fair launch. The team also locked all team tokens on Unicrypt according to a vesting schedule (3,6,9,12 months). Importantly, the team also hired 24/7 telegram mods on day 1.
​
Marketing
VBONE has the best website (vbone.io) that I've ever seen. This includes non-crypto. This should give you confidence in their competency since they have such weight to the most publicly facing aspect of VBONE. The memes are also the best and most numerous I've ever seen. They serve as fuel for engagement within the community and as tools for recruitment for members outside of the community. Efforts have involved sponsored tweets from large influencer accounts (250k-700k followers), 4chan/biz banner ads, ads on Telegram Raid bot posts, shill contests but the master stroke thus far has been a Binance Live AMA hosted by Cryptotrails (90k+ TikTok followers). A Binance Live AMA hosted by a large influencer on the Binance app itself is typically something that is only observed for hyped projects with large raises. This shows that this team is CONNECTED with major players and will swing for the fences. VBONE marketing is financed from two sources: initial marketing funds raised during the Pinksale fair launch as well as the ecosystem wallet that receives sell reflection tax like all wallets do and thus will grow. Additionally, VBONE has the most polished, aesthetic and professional whitepaper that I've read in a long time.
​
Roadmap
There is no formal roadmap. However, the team regularly gives updates ongoing activities in their Telegram group and Tweets from the official VBONE twitter account daily. The team says that this is a marketing project and that marketing opportunities are fluid and change enough to preclude a strict format. The team has shown that they are spending big resources to attract KOLs and super active accounts from other projects. These valuable members are seeds for recruiting dozens of new members and accelerating the network effects of growth. The team is also reaching out to other projects to collaborate or barter in order to gain access to value outside of the VBONE team’s own expertise. One such example is their recent partnership with noiseGPT. They reached out to noiseGPT to seek their assistance in creating a custom celebrity AI-generated voice for their meme needs (guess who?). Subsequently, the VBONE team has also hinted at another partnership. These partnerships are real boons to expanding VBONE’s influence and community beyond what they can accomplish alone. How do you attract the eyes of your target audience? This is crypto so give out your coin as a marketing device. That’s why the VBONE team is setting up a claim drop for Shib holders. Don’t worry if you hold VBONE, the total claim is only for 0.1% (100B) of the VBONE supply.
​
Take home message: I’m loading my VBONE bags because this is going to melt faces.
​
Website: https://vbone.io

Information

VCT Americas is one of three international leagues where teams play to qualify for Masters and Champions. The Americas region covers North America, Brazil, and Latin America.
Coverage: Liquipedia VLR.gg THESPIKE rib.gg
Official Information: Website VCT 2023 VCT Americas
General Resources: VCT Ruleset Global Contract Database subreddit guide to VALORANT Esports
Americas League:

• Patch: 6.06-6.08
• Map Pool: Lotus Haven Pearl Fracture Ascent Bind Split
• Dates: April 1 – May 28, 2023
• Location: Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles, USA — Offline (LAN)

Schedule

Match	PST (local time)	CST	EST	CEST	JST/KST
LOUD vs NRG Esports	1:00 PM	3:00 PM	4:00 PM	10:00 PM	5:00 AM

Streams

• English: Twitch / YouTube
• Portuguese: Twitch / YouTube
• Spanish: Twitch / YouTube

Broadcast Talent

Hosts	Commentators & Analysts	Guests	Observers	Producers
James "Dash" Patterson	Mimi "aEvilcat" Wermcrantz	Mirna "athxna" Noureldin	David "prius" Kuntz	Uwais "spvce" Farooq
Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez	Arten "Ballatw" Esa	Benita "bENITA" Novshadian	Heather "sapphiRe" Garozzo	Albert Iskander
Sue "Smix" Min Lee	Brennon "Bren" Hook	Melanie "meL" Capone	Alberto "Tiie" Chavez Benitez	Kurtis Russ
	Doug "EsportsDoug" Cortez	Sean "sgares" Gares	Victor "Vflight" Pothikan	Mike Demski
	Rivington "Rivington" Bruce Bisland III		Nicholas "Yehty" Tesolin	Alex Pilaski
	Josh "Sideshow" Wilkinson			Rob Pinkston
	Alex "Vansilli" Nguyen			Joshua Yu
	Wyatt "Wyatt" River

^{See Liquipedia for talent from non-English streams}

Format

• Regular Season (Apr 1 - May 20)
  • Single Round Robin
  • All matches are Bo3
  • Top 6 teams advance
• Playoffs (May 23 - May 28)
  • Double Elimination Bracket
  • Lower Final and Grand Final are Bo5
  • Top 3 qualify to Masters: Tokyo