Hi! Back with another weekend full of music in KW! Some great popup concerts and tons of other shows all over the region.
As always, check out kwconcerts.ca for ticket links and more info on all the shows :) and feel free to follow on Instagram @kwconcertsca for a similar post to this every week!
Friday, Jun 9, 2023
Hotel Mira With Antisocial Surf Club & Red Output @ The Hub
Ryland James @ Maxwells
Jonathan Chapman @ The Jazz Room
Sunset Sessions 7:30PM (Two Secret Artists) @ Vogelsang Green
Summer Music Series feat. Jones + The Jackpines @ TWB Brewing Co.
Saturday, Jun 10, 2023
Bass Drum Of Death With Dearly Beloved & Basement Revolver @ The Hub
Wannabe - A Spice Girls Tribute @ Farm League Brewing
Junior Santos @ The Jazz Room
Alt Indie Night @ Maxwells
Foods, Marcelle, Stevedave @ The Yeti
Sunny Sounds 10:30AM (2 Secret Buskers) @ Hong Kong Plaza (near the market)
Sunday, Jun 11, 2023
Badflower @ The Hub
Anatomy of the Recovering Brain (NUMUS) @ The Registry Theatre
Elvis Punkley, The Essential Letdowns, Gourmet, Blue Freezie @ Jane Bond
Check out the full listing and information for all concerts coming up in KW this year at kwconcerts.ca.
Let me know if there are any concerts coming up that I've missed!

Sorry, I am aware, that you don't need to listen to me rambling about my feelings. I am fine with whatever reaction, if any, this post will get. I just need to get this of my chest.
I started caring about this team as a little boy from Slovakia, in the banter era. I had a surgery which was painful and as a treat for enduring it my dad stop at small booth that we saw on the way home to buy me some football jersey. Only one that was small enough for me was Inter's Sneijder one. I liked the color combination I wore it to school, although it was the banter era and I heard some comments like “this team/ player is better”. I preferred Inter over Napoli, which is weird considering the fact that they had Hamšík who was Slovakian, which considering that we did not have a lot of successful players was important for me.
Then other fellow country-man, Škriniar came to Inter. And I went form caring about team, to being really invested in it. From having a rough idea where in the table we were to following matches. From knowing Icardi to learning more about other players.
I know others who started rooting for some foreign club for similar reason, and stayed loyal even after their player left. But I don't know if I can do the same when there is such animosity between this community and the core reason that led me here. I will probably return to pre-Škriniar relationship with this team. Probably wishing you well, but not being as much invested.
I nearly left this subreddit, because I could not handle the hate. I know this is mainly his fault, but it pains me, that this is happening. It is like witnessing a parents fighting. What kept me was one last wish I have regarding this team. Since I started watching this sport, I hoped for a Slovakian player to finally win a CL. This is the worst way this dream could come true, it would certainly be bitter-sweet, but still…
If you are still reading, thank you for caring about me. I'm guessing this rant won't be met with the warmest response, I would totally understand that, I'm feeling a little heretical as I write this. Feel free to “this isn't an airport; you don't have to announce your departure" me.

My great-grandfather, Alexander Houck Mosier, served in WWI with the 79th Division during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which took place from September 26, 1918, to November 11th, 1918. This is his story.
I have in my possession the transcription of a diary he wrote while deployed. A major help in writing this story is the book History of the Seventy-Ninth Division A.E.F. during the World War: 1917-1919, published in 1922. The book was extremely helpful, as Alexander had trouble spelling the French names. Reading along helped me to narrow down the towns he traveled through. I also have created a google map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Q49-SJTkOTM5jPSWg-qH7cAeFjOtm68&usp=drive_link) , which plots where I think he was. Especially in later parts where his division is in combat, the pins mark the general area. The map covers his whole diary, so minor spoilers for where he traveled.
In this story, I have picked specific entries from his diary, marked in bold, to tell the story, with my comments/ summary along with quotes from the book, in italics. There are entries for each day, but some are removed to shorten the length of the story.
Alexander Houck Mosier was born on May 25, 1894, in Maryland. When he was drafted, he was a laborer in a flour mill with an 8th grade education. He was drafted at the age of 23 and was sent to Camp Meade in 1917 as part of the 79th Division, 313th Infantry, Company D.
Major General Joseph A. Kuhn oversaw the division, with Colonel Claude B. Sweezey commanding the 313th infantry. The men of the 79th division were drawn from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. A good example of the demographic makeup of the division is given in the form of the 310th Field Artillery: “In this one regiment there were fifteen nationalities, American, Russian, Italian, Polish, Austrian, Jewish, Swiss, English, Lithuanian, Greek, Bohemian, French, Irish, Romanian, and even German. There were four different religious beliefs, Protestant, Catholic, Hebrew and Greek Catholic, while twenty-five men of the regiment asserted they had no religious adherence. As to educational attainments, but fifty men in the regiment had ever attended college, while 114 had no education of any sort. Others had been to elementary, grammar and high schools.”
By September 30th, all the men had arrived at Camp Meade and were ready for training. The training lasted from October 1st, 1917, to July 5th, 1918. On July 5th, the division departed for Hoboken.
Saturday, 6 July: Reached Jersey City about 4 AM. Taken ferry across to Hoboken, on ferry boat. Loan aboard U.S.S. Leviathan. Went on Guard at 6 PM.
U.S.S. Leviathan was formerly the German Liner Vaterland, seized along with the entire U.S. branch of the Hamburg American Line when war was declared. The ship was originally designed to carry 4,500 passengers but by the time Alexander boarded, it had been upgraded to 14,000.
Monday, 15 July – Arrived at Brest about 2:30 PM. Stayed aboard ship all night. Up all night, band playing.
Tuesday, 16 July- Left boat and landed at Brest, walking 6 miles. Arrived at rest camp about 12 AM. Weather was cloudy and rainy. Went in a field of weed. Work hard to get tent up in rain.
Thursday, 18 July- Left camp about 2 AM. Walked 6 miles. Boarded cars 42 men to a car. Passed through Lerody, Landerneaux. Bremmes a very nice town. Munitions Camp located.
An excerpt on what the box cars were like: “Box cars are usually provided for the accommodation of the troops. They hold from 3'-2 to 40 men. Sometimes seats are provided. Straw will be provided whenever practicable to make the men as comfortable as possible when traveling in cold weather. Space at each end of the car should be left clear for rifles, rations and accoutrements; the rifles being secured by an improvised rack made with screw rings and a strap or sling.”
Friday, 19 July – Still traveling. Passed Angers, Tours, Vierson (Vierzon) large R.R. Centre. People of better classed. Nice homes.
Saturday, 20 July – Still on board train without much comfort eating or sleeping. Passed Dijon. Mostly wheat and potatoes grown. Seen droves of cattle 1500. Several camps, some been overseas 8 months.
Sunday, 21 July- Arrived about 6 AM. After being on train about 80 hours, walked 4 miles and secured quarters. 3rd floor 18 men in 1 room very good after being on train. Town named Blissey sa Pierre. Rained all day.
Thursday, 25 July- Hiked 2 hours with heavy packs and then drilled till noon. Packed up and left. Passed through Chatillon SuSeine. Reached Longeaux (Longeau) about 1 o’clock and stayed till morning.
Friday, 26 July- Left Longeaux (Longeau) about 11 AM. Traveled in trucks about 2 PM. Billeted again not very good. Town prices very high. Champlittle (Champlitte) name of town.
Champlitte was the site of the Tenth Training Area, where the division was to spend all of August in intensive combat training. This area had not been touched by the war. A description of the area: “It was picturesque from one end of the training area to the other, with the peasants always ready to extend a hearty greeting. Men of the Ammunition Train tell of a large sign displayed on the town hall, or hotel de ville of one of the places they entered, bearing the inscription, “Welcome to our American Friends,” and of the formal address of welcome delivered by the town’s patriarch, while the children and girls threw flowers to the men standing in the ranks. There was, however, little to do in the area by way of recreation. At the end of a hard day’s work the sole amusements would be a stroll through quaint village streets, a halting conversation with a native, or a glass of light wine sipped in a sidewalk cafe. Regulations forbidding the sale of strong liquors were enforced by the military authorities and were well observed on the part of the French population.”
From July 26 to September 8th, Alexander’s entries are sometimes short. The following is a selection of that time.
Saturday – 3 August – Short drill and lecture of care of feet. Taking automatic rifle apart with eyes tied shut with a handkerchief. Taking all apart with eyes tight shut, putting together the same way. Inspected by Lt. Townsend. Only 1 pin missed but would not stop from shooting.
Thursday – 8 August- Shooting on rifle range with automatic rifle. Made a good score. 23 five shots.
Thursday – 15 August – Drilled in morning and went to gas house and tested our gas mask. Took part of positions in front line trenches in honor of some Catholic festival. Nearly all people turned out.
Friday- 23 August- Went on 6 hour hike about 16 miles. In evening foot inspection. Tired and hungry and received pay. Also emergency rations. Still warm and cloudy and very cold at night.
Saturday – 31 August – Drilled and went through the manual of arms. Drilled with gas mask on for 1 hour. Pretty hard to get on in six seconds.
Monday – 2 September – General inspection of equipment. All taking a bath. One man drowned name Raspa. I ran for a pole up to town about 500 yards.
DROWNED? Taking a bath? What an awful way to go.
Sunday – 8 September – Left Campsite. Walked 6 Miles to Oyrios. (Oyreires) No rest men drop out about 11 AM. Boarded train with 2 days of rations at 5:45 PM. 40 men to a car, passed backed to Champlatde Maatz Chaumorunt (no idea).
Monday, 9 September – Passed Revigny Barekduc (Bar-le-duc?), reached Longville and unloaded. 9:30 AM went to town and stayed up in a hay loft.
Tuesday, 10 September – Rainy, no drill. More troops passing, auto trucks passing through, No retreat.
Thursday, 12 September – Cloudy and rainy. Inspection of everything, gun and clothes. Detail unloading cars, hay, and goats.
This story will continue in 3 days with PART 2: Preparing to Attack

Apologies in advance if this turns into a book. I'm trying to organize my thoughts and I think there's a lot to process. If you get a little, or even all the way into this post and decide I'm a nutjob, no worries, I agree. This post an attempt to reach out and get objective feedback on my situation and maybe help me find a path forward. People try to paint themselves in a sympathetic light on these things or try to get people to respond in at way that confirms their own beliefs. I'm actively trying to avoid that, so this post may not paint me in the best light. If your objective feedback after reading this is that I'm an asshole and all of this is self inflicted, that at least gives me a starting point for improving things.
I (45m) am currently in my car driving around the US, mostly aimlessly, while I try to figure out what's next. I just went dark on my long time girlfriend (42f), family, and friends. Except for a laptop, camping gear, and car, I've left everything behind. I don't have a plan and haven't been able to come up with one as I can't seem to create a plan beyond more than 3 steps into the future. For now, it's mostly get food, get gas, find a safe place to sleep. I quit my job a couple of months ago because I just hit a point one day where I couldn't function and was too frustrated with my inability to progress, I didn't even give notice, I just stopped showing up. For context, this wasn't something like a mcdonalds job, it was a 200k+ career. I had people relying on me to deliver work and actually enjoyed my career for the most part, so walking away from it wasn't a trivial thing. I'm honestly not even sure at this point if I'd be able to restart my career *if* I do get my head straight again. So, that's the now-of-it, alone, adrift, and directionless.
I've been putting a lot of thought into how I reached this point. I believe it was a result of my relationships collapsing and general disillusionment with life.
I grew up poor in a single parent home, in and out of homelessness, with a lot of food insecurity. I used to think my mom did an ok job getting me to adulthood despite all that, but I've come to realize I came through with a lot of issues and baggage. As an example, I'm not what I would consider a good person. Lying, cheating, and stealing aren't moral issues for me, they're survival skills. If you've ever been hungry, truly hungry, you'll probably understand. I'm not proud of the skillset, and the more financially secure my life is the less I need to rely on it, but I think explaining my family life is key to understanding my current point in life. Another complication is that when I *try* to do the right thing it's sometimes to my own detriment. I'm a firm believer that your word is your bond. So when my mom told me at age 8 that I would one day buy her a house and fix all of her worries when I grew up, I became obligated to do so because I childishly agreed to the statement. In my mid-30s I bought her a house, had it completely renovated, and signed ownership over to her before the ink was dry. Despite having 1.2k a month in student loan debts, living with roommates to make ends meet, not being able to start a family of my own because I was barely over the poverty line (38k a year at that point), and... most importantly of all, knowing that she had zero financial responsibility and accountability on home ownership and that I'd probably be constantly bailing out that situation. I wasn't wrong, she nearly lost the house to the county for delinquent taxes the second year of ownership. I paid off the house and renovation expense so she only has to save ~$50 a month for taxes as her only expense on the house (utilities aside). I suspected the whole thing was a bad idea before I did it, but it's a part of my nature I'm constantly at odds with. If you have nothing because you're poor, your only offering of value is your word. Once I've been obligated to something I can't force myself to break the obligation, even if I know it'll be completely absurd. Another complication of the good deed (buying the house) is that my sisters and their children are constantly trying to gain ownership of it in one scheme after another. My family is not good with money, logic, or reality, so the idea of selling a 50k house with a $50 a month expense to move into a 150k house with a $1000 monthly payment appeals to them. I love my family and want to do right by them, but despite my efforts to improve it they are children. I spend a lot of time and money getting them out of self-created situations, and unfortunately they know and abuse the fact that if I say I'll do something it gets done. I constantly stress over being unemployed because *they* might need something. Oh, one last thing on the family life. I used to reach out to them to find out how they were doing and what was new, but over the past few years I've come to realize that was one-sided. *If* I get a phone call, email, or message it always means they want or need something. Usually it's for an overdue bill, to get a utility turned back on, lapsed taxes, or bail. About once every three months my mom sends me realtor listings for million dollar homes that she'd prefer to live in because the house I bought her didn't check all of the boxes she had in her head and I therefore haven't really met my obligation on it or something. Never "hey, how are you?", "what's new?", etc. They have absolutely no idea what's going on in my life, or me, and don't seem overly eager to find out. They don't even know when my birthday is, and only got a vague idea of what quarter of the year it falls in when I stopped sending them yearly gifts a couple of years ago. I told them about six months ago around Christmas that I was struggling, really told them and was very candid about being depressed but I didn't tell them any sources of my stress other than work. I try not burden people with my problems but it was a particularly painful low point for me and a bit of a last resort. I haven't been contacted by them since that trip: I avoid thinking about this too much.
I've a few friendships, mostly online, I established decades ago but some in person as well. These all got strained during the pandemic as I grew bored with an online presence and wanted something more tangible, while my offline friendships were out of reach due to isolation. As I tried to branch out and try different activities, sometimes even different but similar games, I discovered a resistance of my friends to try new things unless it was strictly on their terms. When I realized this I dug a little deeper and realized it wasn't just the games themselves, but even during day to day they only wanted to do activities that they chose, immediately shutting down anything not originating with them. I consider myself a pretty easy going person and not overly demanding. I've come to realize my attitude towards life may have created a situation where I'm surrounded by people that are only interested in being my friend because they always get their way. I started testing this by trying to get some of them to do activities that I was certain they would like, even if I didn't, just to see if they'd partake. Time after time they refused to even entertain the suggestion, and yet I have several examples where the same activity was suggested at different times on their terms, sometimes vehemently, and they considered it the best thing since sliced bread. I spent a few years dissecting these relationships and I can now state with certainty that these relationships are just very one sided. It's made me conclude that I am the one seeking out these types of relationships. Something in me is causing me to surround myself with self absorbed people.
Lastly, my girlfriend and I have been in a serious relationship for a little over ten years. I don't know if we have a good relationship or if it's just another problematic relationship. At this point, I'm questioning everything I know about myself and the people around me, so I don't actually trust my own judgement. The first few years of our relationship were good, but with mixed long distance as I had to move away for work but we kept it going. I eventually moved back to her city and we discussed living together. I told her my only reservation was a previous experience living with someone. Shortly after moving in with an ex the ex quit her job, kicked up her feet, and seemed to settle into domestic life. The ex didn't really discuss any of this, just kind of decided on her own one day, and it ultimately led to us splitting. The current girlfriend told me many times that I was projecting insecurities on her and she wasn't like that. This was about three years into the relationship. She swayed my fears and I moved in with her. Two months into living together her dad gets sick and she quits her job to become his caretaker. That lasted another two years before he passed away and I took over all the bills to help out during that time. We then discussed buying a home and moving since I could get approved for the mortgage and she had enough money for a down payment as she'd gotten a little inheritance. I was hesitant to buy more than we needed in a house but she wanted more and swayed my concerns by telling me when she got a job we'd have an additional chunk of money to handle it all, so we got a larger house. That never materialized. In the years we lived in the house she would take short-term jobs and probably only worked for about three months in the whole time. She ultimately decided to return to college to get a second degree. I told her I would support that, but she had to get a degree that she could actually use to get a job since she considered her first degree to be useless. She *assured* me that she could get a job with it no problem, so I supported her. She graduated during covid with a bachelor's in speech pathology and told me that she wouldn't be able to find a job immediately due to working from home and needing lab hours. This over the course of a year or two evolved into other reasons eventually landing on she would need to get a master's degree in speech pathology to ultimately get a job. Since she still didn't have a job I insisted we sell the house that I was drowning in. We did and moved into a rental. While living there she held down a job for around four months before quitting as she didn't enjoy it. At some point she made a comment about being fortunate enough to pick and choose the work she did, it still stings to think about having that conversation as I was around 8 years into a job that I absolutely detested but stuck with for stablity.
That's probably my second biggest issue with her. I wanted to start a family, she wants kids too. Honestly, having kids in this world we live in scares the hell out of me and I'm not certain it's fair to the kid. In order to overcome my own issues (see above) I need to be certain my kids have the best start in life they can have. That means not being raised in a family living paycheck to paycheck. They'd have enough to deal with with the world exploding, being concerned about the next meal shouldn't be a thing. So for me, I needed us to be financially secure for that step. We never got there. She doesn't understand the value in keeping commitments like I do, especially when the promise of something down the line is your only bargaining power, but maybe that's just me holding her to a standard for something I've acknowledged is a personal problem. The biggest issue I have is that she's super conflict avoidant. I can't have important conversations with her that may create discord. Anytime we have a conversation that causes discomfort (even slight) she shuts down and won't talk, generally she'll just walk out of the room. Upside?, we never argue. Downsides? I have to guess as to her wants and needs, or get blasted with an encyclopedia of information when it's clear I'm considering ending the relationship, it's almost like a trump card now. I get frustrated and try to make a plan for the future and suddenly get inundated with hopes/dreams/fears I'd suspected existed but never had any real confirmation. Unfortunately at this point it may just be too late of a revelation for me? Once you past a certain point of frustration, the original reason stops mattering as much. This has been particularly pertinent for me over the past couple of years. I got depressed, [I deleted this section going into too much detail about my depression] so I had a conversation with my girlfriend. It just seemed to make her uncomfortable and seemed pointless, so I've never brought it up again. It made me understand how all those husbands and fathers off themselves and their families seem completely oblivious there was ever an issue.
I try to think about this objectively and put myself outside of my own perspective, but it's hard to know if I'm reaching valid conclusions or just have a skewed perception of reality. I mean, people like good people right? So if I was a good person, I would have people to talk this over with instead of posting to the interwebz. So that strongly suggests I'm not a great person. The evidence kind of supports this with my family's lack of contact after broaching the subject with them and there were some attempts on my part with friends, same result. I also once asked my girlfriend if I ever inspired her to be a better person. She laughed and definitively stated no. It was discouraging. I felt I genuinely supported her getting her degree and finding a career she was happy with. I didn't put time limits on it and never questioned her about finding work. I also tried encouraging her to pursue her other interests that may or may not have mattered monetarily. I hoped for better things, but I can only conclude she took any attempts I made as criticism instead. I'm probably rambling gibberish at this point.
Anyway, I'm trying something different now. For most of my life I've focused on what other people want: job, family, friends, girlfriend. At this point I don't actually know what I want vs. goals I've adopted from other people's agendas. I've pretty firmly decided to separate myself from the people currently in it. I've going back and forth over events of the past several years and I just can't objectively conclude they want me in their lives in a meaningful non-transactional relationship.
A. Buy a house in the woods and try living by myself - I'm not really rich at this point but I can afford to buy a small homestead and live independently for the rest of my life. I am very comfortable in my own company and just haven't had good luck with people in general. I could see this giving me time to explore myself a bit more and maybe approach the world on my own terms in the future.
B. Move to another country - This may sound like running away, but I think there's a bit of value in having the option for unconventional relationships. I'm not really sure what kind of relationships I can maintain at this point. I've lost trust in people in general. It would force me to approach interactions with people in a more elementary way, which I think I could benefit from. Any weirdness in my interactions would hopefully be written off as "he's just that weird American". I suspect people are a little more willing to be patient with "foreign friends". This option gets bonus points for not running the risk of getting shot up if I decide to check out the local mall.
C. Walk about - Travel a bit, stop and explore, work through internal conflict. Keep moving until something clicks in place. I'm kind of already doing this and it's not mutually exclusive to the other items on this list.
D. Check myself into a nut house - I had a friend struggle with his mental health in my twenties and I watched him go into facility after facility to no avail. I've also seen the studies where perfectly healthy people check themselves into facilities without ever reaching the point they were "qualified" to be released. So I am skeptical there is permanent help here. However, I am also aware that my self assessment ability atm may be compromised so am open to the idea of an alternative path.
Yeah, that was a book of text.

Hello, I would like to seek fellow redditors opinions, input and recommendation on how I could better finetune my itinerary better. There's only so much I can think of, and plan as an individual, but with everyone's input and comments I can further refine and enhance the travel experience before I set foot into Japan. Do forgive me in advance for the theorycrafting wall of text.
I know it may be difficult to review the itinerary, so to make the review easier I have broken the itinerary down into specific sub-groups e.g. Shikoku, Kinki etc. Specific questions that I have are bolded.
Thank you in advance for taking your time to provide your opinions!
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Baseline information

• 32M, average fitness, solo traveller
• Public transport only (challenge); I have a driver's license but I have not drove a car for god knows how long so I would prefer not to test it against the green hills of Shikoku
• Interest: anime (select few), experience autumn/nature, visiting secluded spots, and just trying random stuff
• JP language skill: rudimentary at best (N4), but I will not shy away from speaking in simple, broken japanese or use a translator to communicate. Reading/interpreting kanji is not a problem (in general).
• Visit history: Visited twice (once to Hokkaido for ~8 days, and once toKyoto and Osaka for 8 days
• Will probably travel around with a (slightly) oversized luggage at ~166cm (A+B+C), that’s the only one I have with me. This will be a problem on the Shinkansen (but hopefully not so much on sightseeing trains/limited expresses).
• Will be visiting during (almost) peak autumn at 11 November, and will depart on the 16th of December
• Jet lag is unlikely to be a problem (1h time difference), but nevertheless I will maintain a low tempo on the first day to acclimatize to the environment
• Only thing firmed as of now is the air ticket, everything else is up in the air.
• I like planning/min-maxing to some degree, though I recognize that I may not fulfill all objectives during the trip and I am totally ok with that [its just a guideline or framework to give the holiday some structure, that’s all.] FWIW, I personally like traveling at a high tempo pace like some japanese travel show do (e.g. ローカル路線バス乗り継ぎの旅)

​
Specific goals/objective:

1. Experience Shikoku in autumn (specifically the views at Iya Valley) and in other prefectures (thus making nature sightseeing more of a priority this time round)
2. Experience Kanazawa for anime stuff
3. Experience the Shimanami Kaido in full (including any sightseeing spots in between the 6 island chains)
4. Bonus - try as many sightseeing trains as possible.
5. Bonus - if weather, time and schedule permits, try skiing as an option in Nagano.
6. Bonus - stay in as many onsen ryokans as possible, without breaking the bank.

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Locked-in prefectures [i.e. I will definitely go to those prefectures no matter what]:

1. Shikoku (as per above objective)
2. Hiroshima (because its on the opposite end of the Shimanami Kaido)
3. Kanazawa (for anime related reason)
4. Tokyo (that is my starting and end point so it has to be included by default)

All other prefectures are basically float i.e. I am open to consider dropping said itinerary for something else based on your suggestion that aligns with my preferences/interest. Most of the other locations I added are prefectures that are often next to each other, or well-connected (apart from the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump via Sunrise Seto/Shinkansen).
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Wait-list prefectures (prefectures that I want to go, but I don’t think I can realistically fit in without dropping other locations):

1. Snow skiing at Nagano (depending on how cooperative the weather is in early-ish December (would 2 days be sufficient?))
2. Ehime, Kochi expansion [spend 1-3 more days]
3. Izu Peninsula (~2 days, via Saphir Odoriko)
4. Nagoya + lower Nagano (Kiso Valley) (~3 days)
5. Ishikawa expansion [1 extra day at Kaga]

I am open to dropping a few days in Tokyo/Osaka etc to make that trade off [currently kept 3 days free for further development]. Alternatively, if the planning can be better optimized based on your inputs I might be able to do one of those without compromising on the base set. I would like to hear your opinion on what locations you would drop in the itinerary to make time for one of the above.
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General planning philosophy:

1. My itineary adopts a breadth approach (cover as much area as I can humanely possible without rushing/touch-and-go) as opposed to depth (i.e. spending much more time within Shikoku than what I allocated); though I would be open to considering more days at selected locations if you have strong recommendations. My thought is to experience how different autumn is at various parts of the country (if possible), and maybe winter too (to a certain degree).
2. Due to the nature of my travel, I note that luggage logistics is a critical consideration when moving between prefectures; my thought is to park that luggage at the next hotel as quickly as possible so that I can free myself for sightseeing within the vicinity, or leave the luggage at the hotel after I check out until I am ready to travel to the next location. I will need to send (quite a fair bit of) emails to the hotels to confirm on this prior to booking.
3. I will attempt to minimize transit time between prefectures to no more than 2~3 hours a day to avoid having excessively long transport days (except the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump).
4. Because of the long trip, I will also need to factor a bit of downtime at night for administrative stuff (e.g. catching up a little bit on work, laundry etc).

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Shikoku (~7 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. I will need to exploit Limited Express trains as much as possible to minimize downtime between the 4 prefectures. Fortunately, for the most part these train frequencies are almost hourly, thus missing one train isnt too deadly consequence-wise.
2. The transfer between Kochi and Ehime [Matsuyama] is oddly quicker via express bus as opposed to trains (!)
3. For Kochi, my opinion is that it is best explored on car instead of public transport [it’s a really wide prefecture]; I feel that 1 day may not do it justice, but it is probably adequate for exploring the city centre as a whole.
4. There's a fair bit of uncertainties while planning this leg so I would deeply appreciate any advice you may have.
5. This current iteration is unable to weave in the Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatari sightseeing train [四国まんなか千年ものがたり] ; if you people think its something not to be missed do let me know and I will reshuffle my timetable as such.

Day 0: Tokyo Kagawa (Sunrise Seto) [Saturday, 11 Nov]

• Touch down at Narita at 1720hours
• Transfer to Tokyo Station via NEX or Skyliner
• Settle administrative matters at the Midori-no-Maruguchi (e.g. get all the booked tickets etc from JR Pass, for Shinkansen and all other sightseeing trains) at Tokyo Station.
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is obtained via the JR West portal booking, chill till 2200 and take Sunrise Seto to reach Kagawa (Takamatsu) at 0700 the next day. Try to snag the ticket online (likely via the japanese portal since there's no option to buy Solo Deluxe through the english/international website. Otherwise, compromise and go for Single)
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is NOT obtained, proceed to take the furthest possible Shinkansen westwards (probably Okayama) and rest for the night.

Day 1: Kagawa (Takamatsu) [Sunday, 12 Nov]

• Chill around Takamatsu. Drop luggage at coin locker OR the hotel (near JR Takamatsu ideally)
• Look at whats left of Takamatsu Castle en route to the port.
• Day trip to Naoshima or Teshima to visit the art museums (Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum etc).
• Ritsuin Garden in the evening (closes 1830)
• Find an eatery with Sanuki Udon for dinner if possible.

Day 2: Kagawa (Kotohira) Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Monday, 13 Nov]

• Morning trip from Takamatsu to Kotohira (either via JR or Kotoden). Visit Kotohiragu [includes inner shrine] and Kanamaruza Theater
• Return to Kotohira to pick up luggage, transit to Oboke via Limited Express Shimanto [Takamatsu Tadotsu Oboke]
• Retire at a local hotel around Oboke. If time permits, take the chance to explore around Oboke Gorge itself.

​
Day 3: Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Tuesday, 14 Nov]
[Post-research note: I realized that there is NO public transport to Mount Tsurugi on a weekday. I will have to rent a taxi direct to Mount Tsurugi, make the 'climb', then thereafter take the taxi down to the other attractions. I am inclined to just go full hog on the private taxi and rent it (almost the whole day, probably 7~8 hours for 4300yen/hour) to save the trouble.
Otherwise, I will need to hike downhill which can be rather rough since its just a single lane road (looking at nearly 10++ km) so I think it wise not to penny pinch in the interest of both time and safety.]
Spend the day at Iya Valley.

• Take a taxi after breakfast to zip to Mount Tsurugi and speedrun it to the mountain peak (aka using the chairlift to speedrun a good chunk of the mountain) about 2.5 hours ~ 3 hours as per the Iya Valley guide
• Taxi from Mount Tsurugi chairlift down to Oku-Iya Niju Kazuraashi and cross it (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi down to visit the mannequins/scarecrows at Nagoro Village (~3km downhill from Oku-Iya). (~1 hour estimate)
• Check out the Peeing Boy Statue (~0.5 hour estimate [its just looking at the statue that is overlooking the entire gorge is it not?])
• Cross the outer vine bridge Iya-no-Kazurabashi (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi back to Oboke, and retire for the day (~0.5 hour estimate, thus looking at about ~8 hours taxi rental total, with some leeway for lunch break)

​
Day 4: Tokushima (Iya Valley) Kochi (Kochi) [Wednesday, 15 Nov]

• Transit from Iya Valley [Oboke] to Kochi via Limited Express Shimanto (again) after breakfast. (~1 hour transit)
• Park luggage at hotel [ideally near JR Kochi Station], then proceed to mill around Kochi, visiting places such as Kochi Castle [高知城] and Harimaya Bridge[はりまや橋]
• Transit to Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum [高知県立坂本龍馬記念館] via local bus which is also near Katsumatsura Beach incidentally. Chill at Katsumatsura Beach in the evening
• Return to JR Kochi, dinnesupper at Hirome Market (ideally to try out Kochi's speciality seared bonito). [is visiting the market more preferable during lunch OR dinner?]

​
Day 5: Kochi (Kochi) Ehime (Imabari) [Thursday, 16 Nov]

• Complete any remaining items in Kochi in the morning, then transit to Imabari via train (Kochi Tadotsu Imabari), via Limited Express Shimanto (yet again!) and Ishidzuchi**[TBC: this might be better done via highway bus instead which is faster at ~2-3 hours]**
• Drop luggage at Imabari for the next 2 days, either at Sunrise Itoyama OR Cycle no Ie. [both are well positioned for the Shimanami Kaido, and are also one of the selected hotels eligible for the Sagawa luggage transfer.] Ideally done just around lunch time, so that there's still the better half of the day to explore Imabari.
• Spend the remainder of the day visiting Imabari Castle (closes 1700) and Towel Museum (slightly out of the way) (closes 1800) [TBC: I note this place is quite out of the way from Imabari itself, even the JP website suggests taking a taxi (!) there from the nearby train station. Might have to drop this).
• Attempt to try some Ehime-related food specialties e.g. Taimeshi (Sea Bream), Ehime oranges, Champon for the next 2 days

​
Day 6: Ehime (Matsuyama / Imabari) [Friday, 17 Nov]

• Take the Limited express train Ishidzuchi to Matsuyama day tripping. (~1h one-way).
• Explore Matsuyama Castle, and the nearby Matsuyama Ropeway Shopping Street
• Visit Shiki Memorial Museum
• Visit Dogo Onsen [and attempt to soak in the waters if possible].
• Also consider looking at Ishiteji (石手寺) beside Dogo Onsen.
• Bonus: Subject to train schedule, if possible, attempt to secure tickets for the Iyonada Sightseeing Train (伊予灘物語), Futami leg [双海ふたみ 編] , and also visit JR Shimonada Station (JR下灘駅) at the same time.
• Bonus: visit Yawatahama Port where the movie Suzume took reference from,
• Return to Imabari via the same Limited express Ishidzuchi and retire for the night.

Day 7: Ehime (Imabari) Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido) [Saturday, 18 Nov]
I am of the opinion that 1 day in Shimanami Kaido is adequate if I attempt just the main route which is about 80km [as a test run, I did 70km and finished it within 6-7 hours with lunch breaks included]. For now I will plan for two full days, however should I truncate it down to one day later, I will add an extra day to either explore Matsuyama or Okayama.
​

• Start off at Sunrise Itoyama [watch the sunrise, have breakfast here, cafeteria opens at 0700, rental opens at 0800] OR Cycle no Ie. Do paperwork to send luggage over to the next accomodation via Sagawa.
• I will (probably) follow the recommended 'extended' route on Cycle no Ie's website and do the following:
  • Take the west coast for Oshima (~13km) and cross to Hakatajima, with possible stop on:
    • Mount Kiro Observatory Point [I am aware that there's a steep incline so this would be contingent on my physical/mental status by then].
    • Nagahama Beach
• Take the coastal route for Hakatajima (~17km) and cross to Omishima and enjoy the coastal scenery
• Take the coastal route (again) for Omishima (~41km) (or lesser depending on how I'm feeling at that point) , with possible stop on:
  • -TBC: Okunoshima (there is apparently a ferry route to the well-known rabbit island via Omishima port. Not sure if anyone else have tried this particular route and if this is a better approach than going through Tadano-umi (though I would acknowledge that there's historical stuff to visit in nearby Takehara), and I would not be able to buy rabbit food in advance).[Based on Google Earth estimate, its about 3km for the entire island loop - seems doable within 2 hours to tour the poison gas museum with a bike and pet some rabbits).
  • Oyamazumi Shrine Treasure Museum
• End the day at WAKKA (Omishima) OR Guesthouse NEST / Soil Setoda (Ikuchijima) just beside Kousanji / The Hill of Hope (closes 1700). If possible, visit before closing, otherwise defer to next day.
• Try the ice cream at Dolce at Ikuchijima if possible.
• Bonus: if for some reason I am still ahead of time at this juncture (<1500), proceed to finish Innoshima and Mukaishima, then take a ferry to backtrack to Wakka/Soil Setoda or cycle back (last boat is ~1700) and rest; however, the next day I will zip straight to Onomichi via ferry after breakfast.

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Hiroshima + Yamaguchi (~4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Onomichi is a pretty good base to jump to Okayama to explore Okayama, Kurashiki or Tomonoura with the Shinkansen accessibility, but it is impossible to cover them all within a single day. If I finish the Shimanami Kaido within a single day or finish it early on the second day, I will have that extra time to visit those.
2. There's another sightseeing train etSETOra from Onomichi to Hiroshima but it only operates on Monday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. For now the schedule could fit the train timetable pretty nicely.
3. Would anyone suggest visiting Miyajima in the morning or in the evening? This would help me determine the order for the Kintaikyo Bridge/Miyajima day trip. Watching the sunset at either destination is pretty good in my books.

​
Day 8: Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido Onomichi) [Sunday, 19 Nov]

• Continue from Ikuchijima towards Innoshima and Mukaishima (~18km) via the western coast route after breakfast, with possible stops on the following areas:
  • Innoshima: Innoshima Flower Centre, Shimanami Beach [open to more suggestions]
  • Mukaishima : there seems to be a lot of brunch places like Willows Nursery etc, soak the view at Mukaishima Rest Park [TBC: open to more suggestions]

Ideally reach Onomichi just around lunch or earlier. Chill for the rest of the day, and if I'm still up for it, explore Onomichi, including but not limited to:

• Exploring the cat alley
• Visit the exhibits at Onomichi City Museum of Art
• Consider walking to Senkoji and Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
• Look into trying Onomichi-style ramen.

Retire at a guesthouse/hotel near JR Onomichi that I have forwarded the luggage to.
​
Day 9: Hiroshima (Onomichi, Takehara+Kure OR Tomonoura OR Okayama) Downtown Hiroshima) [Monday, 20 Nov]

• Mill around Onomichi in the morning (if not done yesterday), with a side trip to EITHER Takehara/Kure OR Okayama/Kurashiki OR Tomonoura (choose one):
  • Takehara: stroll along the historical townscape [and look if they have any Tamayura-related merch], Okunoshima (if not done during the Shimanami Kaido leg / Kure: look into trying Kure curry/Niku-jaga and visit the Yamato Museum
  • Okayama: Okayama Castle (zip via Shinkansen) / Kurashiki : Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
  • Tomonoura: stroll along the townscape during the day (zip via Shinkansen, transfer to local bus)
• Return to Onomichi (no later than 1400), board the etSETOra sightseeing train at 1437, and zip to Hiroshima. Enjoy the sunset along the coastline.
• Retire for the night at Hiroshima proper, probably near JR Hiroshima OR the bus terminal. If time permits, take a gander along the streets and see what takes me from there.

​
Day 10: Hiroshima (Downtown Hiroshima) [Tuesday, 21 Nov]
Spend the day surveying Hiroshima proper.

• Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園) and Atomic Bomb Dome
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims (国立広島原爆死没者追悼平和祈念館)
• Hiroshima Castle
• Orizuru Tower (おりづるタワー)
• Shukkeien (縮景園)
• Optional: Mazda Museum / Kure (if not done the previous day)
• Try to source for Hiroshima-specific food: Okonomiyaki, Dandan Noodles

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Day 11: Hiroshima (with a day trip to Yamaguchi) [Wednesday, 22 Nov]

• Daytrip to Yamaguchi [Shin-Iwakuni] to visit Kintaikyo Bridge via Shinkansen. Also stop by the nearby Iwakuni Castle.
• Try Tonosama Sushi at Iwakuni if possible.
• Take the local train back to Miyajimaguchi and take the boat to Itsukushima.Take the time to stroll around the island and perhaps watch the sunset at the torii gate.
• Exit back to Hiroshima via boat to Hiroshima Port direct, and transit back to hotel.

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Shimane + Tottori (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Matsue becomes the main jump point for Shimane just because of the subsidized highway bus from Hiroshima, and ease of access towards Tottori later. There's no direct train between Hiroshima and Izumo/Matsue (!).
2. Tottori is really wide size-wise, to the point that it feels more efficient to have two separate hotels in two nights (Kurayoshi/Misasa Onsen + downtown Tottori) rather than one hotel for two nights (i.e. downtown Tottori). Could be just me making excuses to get into an onsen ryokan however.
3. Is there anything interesting at Yonago (Tottori) that I should take note of? Based on my initial survey nothing in particular pops up (other than the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park).
4. Skipping Tottori Castle since it doesn’t seem to be interesting at first glance. Any other interesting things to at Tottori downtown (or nearby)?

​
Day 12: Hiroshima Shimane (Matsue) [Thursday, 23 Nov]

• Make good use of the 500yen highway bus from Hiroshima to Matsue. (3.5 hours transit). Fortunately the frequency is not too bad (7-8 buses per day, looking at 0800 departure or later); if there are still outstanding places to visit in Hiroshima I will visit them in the morning.
• Check in at a hotel near JR Matsue, and proceed to trawl around Matsue with whatever daylight is left. (TBC: am considering taking a few stops down to Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉 or Matsue-shinjoko Onsen instead of the typical hotel. Does anyone have any positive experiences there?)
• Attempt to spend the afternoon at the Adachi Museum of Art. Local train to Yasugi, transfer to free shuttle.
• Chill off in downtown Matsue for the night. Prowl for Shimane-specific food such as Naniwa Zushi (浪花寿司), Shijimi clams (しじみ), Izumo soba, Izumo Zenzai (出雲ぜんざい).
• Bonus: visit the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park for the winter Hanakairo Flower Illumination at Yonago at night [which is just beside Matsue. Free shuttle bus at Yonago bus terminal].

​
Day 13: Shimane (Izumo / Matsue) [Friday, 24 Nov]

• Day trip from Matsue to Izumo. (JR Matsue JR Izumo, swap to Ichibata local rail to Izumotaisha-mae)
• Take a stop at Izumo Taisha, as well as the nearby Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo (島根県立古代出雲歴史博物館)
• After lunch, return to JR Matsue and proceed to Yushien Garden (由志園) via bus. Enjoy the sunset over the garden.
• Stop by Matsue Castle on the way back.

​
Day 14: Shimane (Matsue) Tottori (Kurayoshi) [Saturday, 25 Nov]

• Transfer from Matsue to Kurayoshi in the morning via Super Matsukaze Limited Express (~1h).
• Settle down luggage at Misasa Onsen, then proceed to hike up Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple (三仏寺). Cater extra time just in case I have to wait for another fellow to pop up to climb in pairs. Estimated climb time excluding wait is about 2-3 hours both ways?
• Excess time to be spent sauntering Misasa Onsen and its nearby area such as the Nijisseiki Pear Museum [二十世紀梨記念館（なしっこ館)] and Kurayoshi Historical Quarter.
• Retire at Misasa Onsen for the night. Bonus: watch the constellations at night at Misasa Onsen on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 2100JST. Current plan does not fall within those 3 weekdays
• Bonus: take a short detour to Conan Town (postnote: not a big fan of the show).

​
Day 15: Tottori (Kurayoshi Tottori) [Sunday, 26 Nov]

• Transfer from Kurayoshi to Tottori (~35minutes transfer) in the morning, and proceed to tour around Tottori.
• Drop luggage, take a local bus to Tottori Sand Dunes, and visit the nearby Sand Museum.
• Transfer northwards to Uradome Coast via local bus and spend the remainder of the day there. Watch the sunset over the coast.
• Return to downtown Tottori, stroll around and call it a night.

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Hyogo, Kyoto, Osaka , Nara, Mie (10 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Kinosaki Onsen is intentionally designed to be a slow-paced leg to recover [and also to make time to enjoy the onsens].
2. The limited express train between Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka stops by Himeji thus I thought of resting a night there instead of doing day trips via Osaka.
3. Osaka itinerary does look sparse but that is in large part because I have already visited most of them in the past. Nevertheless, I would like to experience how different it is in autumn compared to summer [based on those few destinations that I loved going previously].
4. I have kept one float day to decompress, OR shift to any of the other prefectures (TBC).
5. There are (multiple) special limited express train by Kintetsu; they're not covered by JR pass but nevertheless I would love to ride on those as an experience. The Kintetsu pass covers the basic fare only but based on my preliminary cost estimate, it is still worth getting it.
6. Is it feasible to compress Himeji and Kobe to a single day?
7. The itineraries for Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Mie are flexible since they're literally beside one another - makes it particularly easy to shift around base on ground situation.

​
Day 16: Tottori (Tottori) Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen) [Monday, 27 Nov]

• Settle any outstanding sightseeing spots in the morning if required in Tottori, then transfer to Kinosaki Onsen via the Sanin Line.
• Make a pitstop at Amarube ('Sky Station') and marvel at the engineering work.
• Deposit luggage at the ryokan (or put in the coin locker), and stroll around and enjoy Kinosaki Onsen [after all its an onsen town].
• Try to hit as many of the 7 external onsens that are usable. Retire for the night here.
• Optional: go up the ropeway and oversee Kinosaki Onsen in the evening (last ride up ~1630)
• Optional: take a short hike up to Onsenji Temple.

​
Day 17: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen + Northern Kyoto (Amanohashidate) day trip) [Tuesday, 28 Nov]

• Optional: take a (very) early start to the day to Takeda Castle Ruins and witness the 'floating castle' effect in the morning (<0800).
• Day trip to Amanohashidate via ToyookaKyotango Railway. Do the funny bend-down pose on the bench at Amanohashidate View Land, and see how it feels like looking at the world inverted.
• Cross the sandbar and look from the other side (Nariaiji Temple / Kasamatsu Park)
• Select one of three additional side-trips:
  • EITHER take a local bus up to Ine to look at the Funaya + sightseeing boat,
  • OR local rail down to Maizuru to look at the Maizuru World Brick Museum + eat at the Michi-no-eki;
  • OR reverse to Toyooka spend time in the city itself e.g. Izushi Castle Town
• Return to Kinosaki Onsen, and continue experiencing the remainder of the onsens. Retire for the night here. Optional: ride the Aomatsu sightseeing train back to Toyooka.
• Optional: Take a trip to Ankokuji Temple (安国寺) in the evening. Likely to visit post-peak autumn which means less than ideal viewing conditions.

Day 18: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen Himeji) [Wednesday, 29 Nov]

• Transit from Kinosaki Onsen to Himeji via Limited Express Hamakaze (~2 hours).
• Deposit luggage at the hotel or the coin lockers at the station, then proceed for sightseeing.
• Walk along the Miyuki Street Shopping District which is en-route to Himeji Castle.
• Himeji Castle sector : Himeji Castle (姫路城), Kokoen (好古園)
• Take a local bus at Himeji Castle to go to Mount Shosha and hike up Engyōji Temple (圓教寺)
• Optional : Stroll along Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History and/or Himeji City Museum of Art which is beside the castle, OR Shosha Handicraft Museum which is just at the foot of Mount Shosha
• Optional: Make a detour to the Japan Toy Museum near Koro station (~30 minutes from JR Himeji). Closes 1700.
• Look for Hyogo-specific food: Kobe beef, steamed pork buns, sobameshi, himeji oden, etc

Retire at Himeji for the night.
Day 19: Hyogo (Himeji Kobe) Osaka (Dotonburi) [Thursday, 30 Nov]
Day trip to Kobe, before continuing further down to Osaka.

• Check out from Himeji, transit further down to Kobe for another stop before Osaka. Place luggage at the holding facility within the Shinkansen station.
• Take a visit to the Earthquake Memorial Museum (人と防災未来センター) to look at the devastation wrought by the 1995 earthquake.
• Stroll along Kobe Harborland (神戸ハーバーランド) and Meriken Park (メリケンパーク) , look at the Kobe Tower since its closed till 2024 for renovation, and look at the damage caused by the earthquake
• Optional: Head westwards to Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.
• Optional: Hit up the ASICS Sports Museum (アシックススポーツミュージアム)
• Look at the engineering feat that is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and the nearby Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center at Maiko. (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Return to Shin-kobe, pick up luggage, and transit to Shin-Osaka via Shinkansen, and then to Dotonburi/Shinsaibashi. End the (long) day in Osaka.

Day 20: Osaka [Friday, 1 Dec]
Osaka Nostalgia (acid) trip, speedrun edition: revisiting places that I want to go again

• Day trip to Mino Park and revisit the waterfall (I loved visiting it previously) via the Hankyu line in the morning.
• Zoom down to the Osaka Aquarium after lunch and walk around it (Minoo Umeda Honmachi Osakako Station).
• From there, race towards Abeno Harukas and watch the sunset/nightview at Abeno Harukas.
• Bonus: revisit Sumiyoshi Taisha if time permits.
• Spend whatever time remains at night at Nipponbashi Denden Town (shops close at ~2000) and Dotonburi (some stores are still open near midnight) and/or Shinsekai (新世界).

Day 21: Osaka (Nara day trip) [Saturday, 2 Dec]
Spend a day in Nara.

• Zoom from Namba to Nara via Kintetsu (note: non-JR)
• Explore Todaiji Temple, Kokufuji Temple, Isuien Garden and Kasuga Taisha.
• Optional: pass by Naramachi (奈良町) on the way back.
• Take the Kintetsu line down to Mount Yoshino. [TBC: subject to whether I am too early or late for the koyo.Based on last year's prediction I am about 1-2 weeks too late. Might swap this out to a Uji day trip instead in Kyoto.). Spend time walking around the Shimo Senbon and Naka Senbon and experience the autumn.
• Transfer back to Osaka. Bonus: take the Blue Symphony back to Osaka instead of the typical train. (non-JR)

Day 22: Osaka (Mie day trip) [Sunday, 3 Dec]
Day trip to Mie.

• Take the Iseshima Liner from Tsuruhashi Station (near Namba/Dotonburi) to Ise. Bonus: take the Hinotori from Osaka to Tsu, then transfer to Mie. (non-JR)
• Hit up Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮) [both inner and outer] and Okage Yokocho (おかげ横丁)
• Try to eat Matsuaka Beef or Ise Udon for lunch.
• Head westwards to Futamiokitama Shrine (二見興玉神社) / Meotoiwa Rocks; and if further time permits, go to Toba for the Ama Viewing Platform.
• Take the returning Shimakaze Limited Express train back to Osaka (note: only one train at 1630; if this train is missed, change to normal express trains). (non-JR)
• Retreat back to Osaka for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.

Day 23: Osaka ('north' Kyoto day trip) [Monday, 4 Dec]
(north) Kyoto day trip.

• Take a stop at the Kyoto Railway Museum. Optional: also consider heading to To-ji Gojunoto first if I reach Kyoto way early before 10am.
• Walk back to Kyoto station, and take a bus northwards to Kyoto Manga Museum.
• Hop on the bus direct from the Manga Museum to Kinkakuji. [bus 15]
• Select one of two side-trips:
  • EITHER head westwards to Arashiyama (note: already visited once in the summer but I still think it nice to visit in autumn/winter this time round). Bonus: experience sunset along the Togetsukyo Bridge.
  • OR head eastwards to Higashiyama (closes 1700), Philosopher's path etc (did not visit these in my past trip here so there's the 'new' factor, but it is going to be a physically taxing day. Also, most likely will reach here nearing evening i.e. closing time thus there's a limit to how much I can visit realistically).

Whichever choice, return back to Osaka for the night. Look out for Kyoto-specific food such as Yudofu, Saba Sushi, Warabi Mochi, Nishin Soba (にしんそば) etc.
Day 24: Osaka ('south' Kyoto day trip) [Tuesday, 5 Dec]
(south) Kyoto day trip edition (mainly Uji and Fushimi).

• Zip from Osaka to Kyoto via Keihan to Uji Station.
• Spend the better half of the morning in Uji.
• Visit the Byōdō-in and the nearby Tonoshima and Tachibana Island.
• Hike up to the Daikichiyama Observation Deck to oversee Uji as a whole. On the way down, explore Ujigami Shrine.
• Take the chance to buy some Uji tea as gifts to relatives. Have lunch along the Omotesando Road.
• Head further northwards to Fushimi, and do another hike up Fushimi Inari. (Note: visited once in the past but I liked the experience thus I would like to do it again.) Bonus: if its done in the evening.

Head back to Osaka and retire for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.
Day 25: Osaka (wildcard) [Wednesday, 6 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
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Kanazawa, Gifu+ (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Is it likely for the skiing season to open around 9~10 December at Shiga Kogen or Nozawa Onsen? Would very much like to try skiing for fun, but am uncertain if the snow condition would be satisfactory by then. Some of the skiing website indicates that these two destinations are usually the first to open. I would like to seek advise on this if possible [never skiied before].
2. As an additional question to point 1, is 2 days adequate just to get a flavor on skiing?
3. Kanazawa is a pretty solid jump point to Shirakawago/Takayama via express buses (~1 to 2 hour one way).
4. My initial planning considered going to Kurobe Gorge (Toyama) but apparently the railways are closed from December onwards. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
5. Another sightseeing train in Kanazawa that I can fit in nicely in my current plans (花嫁のれん), runs on Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun.

Day 26: Osaka Ishikawa (Kanazawa (Kanazawa cityside)) [Thursday, 7 Dec]

• Zip from Osaka to Kanazawa via Limited Express Thunderbird in the early morning (~3hours; ideally the 0740 or 0810 service). Drop luggage at the hotel near JR Kanazawa and explore the cityside.
• Have lunch at the Omicho Market (近江町市場), OR at Higashi Chaya District.
• Stroll around Kanazawa Castle (金沢城, Kanazawajō) and the nearby Kenrokuen (兼六園) / Seisonkaku Villa (成巽閣, Seisonkaku) .
• Consider visiting one or more of the nearby museums if possible:
  • D.T. Suzuki Museum OR
  • National Crafts Museum OR
  • 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
• Optional: Head southwards to Myoryuji Temple + Nishi Chaya District.
• Optional: Head northwards to Higashi Chaya District (if not done for lunch).

Any outstanding spots not completed today, to be rolled over to the next 2 days (if possible).

• Retire in Kanazawa for the night. Be on the lookout for Kanazawa-specific food: Gold-leaf ice cream, oden, hanton rice
• Optional: have a stay at Yuwaku Onsen for at least one night for anime-related reasons. (Hanasaku Iroha)

​
Day 27: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside) / Gifu (Shirakawago, Takayama) [Friday, 8 Dec]

• Day trip to Shiwakawago and Takayama via Nohi bus (non-JR, ~1h). Grab the morning bus express bus to Shirakawago and explore the place in the morning. Experience early snowfall (?) there. Optional: visit Ainokura on the way towards Shirakawago.
• Take another express bus down to Takayama for lunch (~1h travel time).
• Explore what Takayama has to offer. Stroll along the old town near the bus terminal and visit the Takayama Jinya. If time permits, stroll along the Higashiyama Walking Course.
• Optional: pay a visit to Hida Folk Village.
• Return to Kanazawa via Hida Limited Express to Toyama Shinkansen to Kanazawa, OR take the same Nohi express bus directly back (non-JR).
• Retire at Kanazawa for the night. Last express bus from Takayama to Kanazawa is 1630, arrive at 1845. Alternatively, head northwards to Toyama via JR and transfer to Kanazawa.

​
Day 28: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside / outskirts) [Saturday, 9 Dec]
Side trip to Wakura Onsen / Nanao for anime-related sightseeing. (Insomanics after Class, Hanasaku Iroha)

• Zoom from Kanazawa up to Wakura Onsen/Nanao via Limited Express Noto Kagaribi. Do some sightseeing related to Insomanics after Class and Hanasaku Iroha.
• Do some train spotting with two anime along the Noto Railways. Stop at Nishigishi station for some sightseeing. (non-JR)
• Return to Kanazawa in the evening from Wakura Onsen via the sightseeing train Hanayomenoren [花嫁のれん, last train 1630).
• End the night at Kanazawa.

Day 29: Ishikawa (wildcard) [Sunday, 10 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
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Tokyo (~6 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Specific interest to target: anime/vtuber stuff, music (piano in particular), bookstores etc.
2. This is the point in time I should go ham on souvenier purchase if I have not done so. I'll probably get an extra cardboard box or duffel bag to lug with me to the airport to store extra stuff.
3. Would like to seek recommendation on where I should set my base for the 5~6 days here. For now I am planning to pit at Ginza, subject to availability and cost. My thought is that as long as its along the Yamanote line everything rolls I suppose.
4. Hard pass on Golden Gai on the Shunjuku leg (I do not drink).
5. There's way too many to list in terms of what I would like to do in Tokyo, but I have listed items that are of particular interest to me first within the available time frame. If you have strong opinions on specific locations do let me know.

Day 30: Ishikawa (Kanazawa) Tokyo (Ginza) [Monday, 11 Dec]

• Zip from Kanazawa to Tokyo via the Hoririku Shinkansen in the morning (just north of two hours). (TBC : If I can optimize my schedule better, I can try squeezing two days here for a stop at Nozawa Onsen / Shiga Kogen (Nagano) for a short ski experience).
• Deposit luggage at one of the Ginza hotels (TBC: subject to cost; might swap for another location later on)
• Explore ('south') Tokyo with the remainder of the day.
• Marvel at the architecture that is the Tokyo Station and its surrounding.
• Visit the Imperial Palace.
• Head south towards the Mori Art Museum (closes 2200)
• End the night with a stop at Tokyo Tower (closes 2230).

Day 31: Tokyo (Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano) [Tuesday, 12 Dec]
Explore ('west') Tokyo, namely Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano.

• Start off with an early day visit to Meji Shrine / Yoyogi Park.
• Head up to Shinjuku. Spend the remainder of the morning and lunch exploring Kabukicho, Hanazono Shrine and Omoide Yokochō (ideally have lunch here). Also make a pit stop at Kinokuniya's flagship store at Shinjuku.
• Head northwards to Nakano Broadway and trawl for anime goods for several hours (closes ~1900)
• Head south down back to Shibuya and experience the crossing in peak night condition. Walk around and soak in the atmosphere. Optional: stop by the Ishibashi music store at Shibuya (closes 2000).
• Cap off the night and look at the night view at Shibuya Sky (closes 2230). Zip back to the hotel at Ginza.

Day 32: Tokyo (Akibahara, Asakusa and Sky Tree) [Wednesday, 13 Dec]

• Kick off the day with a morning visit to Asakusa (i.e. Sensoji).
• Transit over to Tokyo Skytree to watch the Tokyo cityscape in the day.
• Trawl around Akibahara for the afternoon. (Animate, Sega claw machines, etc).
• Also stop by Ochanomizu for sightseeing (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Zip back to the hotel for the night. If time permits, stop by the two flagship music stores along Ginza: Yamaha Ginza and Yamano Ginza. Also, visit Itoya Ginza (stationary store).

Day 33: Tokyo (Kamakura day trip OR Ikebukuro) [Thursday, 14 Dec]
EITHER take a day trip Kamakura, OR explore northern Tokyo (Ikebukuro)
Kamakura leg:

• Make a detour to Used Tyre Market Sagamihara Store to experience the retro vending machines. Then head southwards to Enoshima.
• Look at the giant Buddha statue and stroll along Hasedera.
• Take the Enoden to Enoshiima and explore the island.
• Take the JR back to Ginza and retire for the night.

Tokyo (Ikebukuro leg):

• Visit Otome Road for otaku related stuffs.
• Trawl the usual suspects such as Bic Camera etc.
• Make a stop at the Mejiro Gardens.
• Visit the Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) at Waseda University.

Day 34: Tokyo (wildcard) [Friday, 15 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
​
Day 35: Tokyo Home [Saturday, 16 Dec]

• Contemplate life at the hotel, doing whatever I feel like for the morning and early afternoon. Bonus: have an early breakfast at Tsukiji Market in the morning if staying at Ginza.
• Clear any last minute administrative matter (if any), or do (very) last minute sightseeing/buying. Most likely limited to Ginza and Akibahara.
• Get a nice lunch omakase to cap it off if possible. (taking recommendations if anyone has one, ideally meat/beef centric instead of just sushi).
• Head off to Narita from Tokyo Station via NEX just after lunch at 1430 1530 to Narita, flight at 1830.

END
---------------------
If you're still reading up to this point, here's my own personal ramblings/thoughts on JR pass usage:
I have thought of two ways of doing this for the first 21 days:
a. easy-mode : just get 21 days JR global pass before the price hike at 60450 yen, OR b. hard-mode: get a 7 day JR global pass (to cover the NEX fees, the basic fee on the Sunrise Seto to Shikoku, as well as limited express trains within Shikoku) (29650) + 5 days for JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass (15000) + 4 days for JR Sanin Okayama Area Pass + 5 days for JR Kansai Wide Area Pass (10000) for a total of 59230.
The initial conclusion was to go with option A since that reduces the administrative burden, but I realized the individual passes do have its own perk which truimphs over the global JR pass. For instance, the Sanin Okayama Area Pass provides a (minor) discount for the Adachi Museum of Art; the Kansai Wide Pass covers the Kyotango route between Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate which the global JR pass does not cover, JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass covers JR buses within Hiroshima for free, therefore I am inclined to go with the hell option (option B) as it stands.
For the remaining 14 days, I could also get the global 14 day JR pass at 47250 yen but it is not worth it at all, because I will be relying largely on Kintetsu for the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Mie leg which the JR pass most certainly does not cover.

• For the Osaka/Nara/Mie/Kyoto leg, I intend to make good use of a mix of both local metro and the Kintetsu rail pass for 5 days (4900). If I do exploit Kintetsu's limited express train to its fullest, I should be able to save money by buying the pass. The Osaka Amazing Pass at 2600yen a day does not make financial sense for me this time round, given how little I am exploring within Osaka.
• For the Osaka Kanazawa, Shirakawago and Takayama leg, the preferred pass of choice is the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass over the global JR pass, in large part because this pass fully absorbs the Nohi highway bus fees (which can rack up quite a lot at ~8000yen for a return trip between Kanazawa and Shirakawago/Takayama). Also this absorbs the Thunderbird fee. One major issue with my current plan is that it does not cover Wakura Onsen nor the sightseeing train.
• For the final Kanazawa Tokyo leg, the preferred choice is the Horuriku Arch Pass that covers the direct Shinkansen back to Tokyo, and the NEX fees to Narita when I depart from Tokyo. Will only break even with the pass at best unless I make a stop at Nagano.

So all in all, there's quite little incentive to get the global JR pass after I worked out my schedule, apart from the initial 7 days for the Sunrise Seto jump which the All Shikoku Pass will not cover.
Through the hodge-podge of multiple area passes, it works out to around 102890 yen for the whole trip of 35 days, contrast with 107700 yen for a 21 + 14 global JR pass. While there's a minor cost saving doing the hard way which sweetens the deal, the additional minor perks associated with the area passes sells it for me, as I would had to pay more out of pocket to cover non-JR pass buses/rails and such which would add up to much greater cost than I would had anticipated. Also, if I did this trip post-price hike in October, the calculus becomes a no-brainer: avoid the global JR pass like the plague.
-----
Thank you very much for your opinions, suggestions and advice in advance!

So when you think of cities with high culture and vibrant music scenes on the east coast, what springs to mind? Obviously New York. Thanks to Drake, we all know about the growing music scene in Toronto. You prahbahbly musta tawt a Bawstan tew. Maybe Montreal or Philadelphia or even Baltimore crossed your mind.
Hah. Baltimore.
Time to check your cultural bias, pal. You passed over a quiet little city on the south shore of Lake Ontario, nestled in the Genesee River valley. It has a history as a hotbed of Abolitionism and Women’s Rights. It is the home of Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, Western Union, Ragu and other innovative companies. It has a lively music scene, great nightclubs, world-renowned universities, thriving museums, arts & culture festivals, and live theatre. It is a true cultural gem that many folks overlook.
Yep. You bet your ass I am talking about Rochester, New York.
Since we know that Stoner Rock can come from anywhere, it should be no surprise that Rochester has produced one of the leading bands in this genre. This week we are going to check out a band you are going to want to listen to. If you know them, you love them. If you haven’t heard of them, you are going to thank me.
This week’s band is KING BUFFALO.
About Them
Hold on a sec. King Buffalo? Not King Rochester?
To be fair, King Rochester sounds like the villain in a Disney movie. Kinda hard to imagine that on a T-Shirt. King New York sounds like a particularly obnoxious Yankees fan (and yeah, finding a Yankees fan that isn’t obnoxious is a tough go). King Albany sounds like a car made by Kia.
But King Buffalo? That just works.
Our heroes didn’t start out together. King Buffalo were made up of members of two other Rochester area bands.
Randall Coon and Scott Donaldson were playing together in Velvet Elvis. That five piece band played heavy rock with space-based themes in the early 2010’s. Sean McVay and Dan Reynolds were in another band called Abandoned Buildings Club (side note: kinda neat that their initials were ABC), who had a pure psychedelic rock vibe. When both VE and ABC appeared to be having limited success, the four musicians decided to merge their talents into one band. Coon had handled vocals and guitar in Velvet Elvis and Donaldson had been rock solid on drums. McVay had done vocals and guitar in Abandoned Buildings Club and Reynolds had anchored the sound with his bass. All the pieces were there for a classic Beatles-esque lineup.
So out of the wreckage of ABC and VE, KB arose. The four members gelled so well that they were able to record their first demo - aptly titled Demo - in just two days. Their sound was immediately compared to tourmates and close friends All Them Witches. But where ATW were bluesy and sludgy, King Buffalo had produced songs full of space. Oh, there were heavy riffs for sure - but there were passages of music that were contrastingly lighter and further apart. The best example of these contrasts can be found in the more than 11 minutes of Providence Eye. The first six and a half minutes come at you at a lulling pace, enveloping you in the moment. You get swept up in the rolling riffs. But then the drop happens and you suddenly realize the song has been building to this peak. The tempo picks up and you ride a relentless rollercoaster until you hit the Black Sabbath-inspired outro, which takes you home. It is an emotional experience. The two other tracks - In Dim Light and Pocket Full of Knife are smaller essays on the same theme.
It was clear right from Demo that King Buffalo had some serious talent. But if you have listened to the band you will notice that one thing is starkly different on Demo than from any of their other releases: the vocals. Randall Coon was the lead vocalist on these recordings. If you play them up against anything since by the band they stand out. Our very own QotSA may have successfully had multiple vocalists on multiple tunes, but King Buffalo was destined to have Sean McVay take over the mic. Shortly after 2013’s Demo, Coon left the band to do a solo project called Skunk Hawk.
King Buffalo stood at a crossroads: did they look to replace Coon, or should they carry on as a Power Trio? The choice for them was obvious. McVay, Reynolds and Donaldson knew that they had fantastic potential together. They decided they didn't need anyone else.
Side note: Regular readers of these write ups know that All Them Witches just went through this exact crisis in 2019. What I didn’t share then is that ATW are close friends with KB. I would not be surprised to learn that ATW had some serious conversations about their lineup with the boys from KB before they, too, decided last year to pare down to just three members.
To re-christen their new lineup, in 2015 King Buffalo went in on a split EP with Swedish band Lé Betre (I mean, hooking up with a Swedish partner is a dream of mine, so I see the appeal.) They re-recorded their standout tune Providence Eye with McVay on vocals, as well as two new tracks - Like a Cadillac and New Time. New Time opens their side of the EP with an infectious, descending riff that hooks you immediately. It is clear from the lyrics - No wasting around, it’s a new time - that they had moved on from Coon. Like a Cadillac follows up and is a three and a half minute jam that leaves you wanting more. The re-recorded version of Providence Eye closes out their side of the split EP and leaves no doubt that they are in charge. It is a tighter, heavier version, and the amazing outro is so low down that it will make you want to rob your own house.
With their lineup now set, it was time to put together enough music to tour on. In 2016, King Buffalo released Orion. Here you can witness the melding of their influences into something majestic and fantastic, and it is here that they really develop their signature style.
To explain this style, you need to understand basic song structure.
Most pop songs tend to go verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - chorus - chorus. Sure, you could add in a solo for the bridge, or a detailed intro or outro, or another verse - but this is a tried and true formula. Some variation of this dominates the pop charts to this day.
Not with King Buffalo songs. These guys are the masters of the drop, and you hear it in most of their tunes. QotSA fans are no strangers to that long build and release; it is an integral part of tunes like The Evil Has Landed, God is in the Radio, Song For The Dead, and I Appear Missing. One of the sickest drops ever recorded happens in the middle of the Them Crooked Vultures tune No One Loves Me & Neither Do I. It is where the music turns around, and a new riff takes over, often along with a pace change. It is then that you realize that the song has built to this climactic moment, and you are engulfed by the music.
King Buffalo does this better than anyone else, and you hear it clearly articulated, again and again, on the album Orion.
Take the song Kerosene for example.
A rolling bass riff from Reynolds establishes the song right out of the gate. Donaldson produces punchy drum beats with cymbal crashes at the end of each phrase. McVay’s slide guitar rounds out the intro. McVay’s vocals - very Ozzy like, if Ozzy had any semblance of self-control - frame the first verse, which ends in a fuzzy, heavy riff with crashing cymbals. This same pattern is repeated a second time and the drop is teased at just past three minutes in, but does not happen quite yet. The listener’s anticipation builds as the airy, soaring solo from McVay calls out in contrast to the rolling bass. After the guitar solo bridge, the band goes right back into the chorus. But then it happens: THE DROP. Just past 5 minutes in, the song takes a complete and abrupt turn for a totally different riff that is at the same time heavier and brand new, and yet has been there all the while.
What King Buffalo does brilliantly is subvert your musical expectations.
The standard structure is V-C-V-C-B-C-C.
Kerosene is V-C-V-C-B-C-DROP-OUTRO. Just when you subliminally expect something the same, you get something different.
The entire album is like that. Orion hardly sounds like a debut. It is a mature and deliberate soundscape built by talented musicians who are making significant choices about their art. Songs like Drinking From The River Rising open with an expansive and elastic topography, but drill down to the molten lava of heavy riffs and distorted fuzz. Sleeps On A Vine begins with one of the most zen riffs you’ve ever heard and ends in a tumultuous and heavy sonic assault that is pure controlled chaos. Every song on the album is a study in contrasts that leaves you with auditory whiplash and a burning desire for more.
They are that good.
King Buffalo were able to tour on their new material, and did so extensively. They played clubs and larger venues, often with friends and fellow Stoner Rockers All Them Witches and other bands like The Sword and Elder. In 2017, the released the EP Repeater as a follow up. It is just three songs (The vinyl ad reads, All songs on one side! No need to flip!) but it is a heck of a musical journey. The title track off the EP is 13+ minutes long and is one huge build. When the fuzz finally drops after almost 8 minutes, it is a true cathartic moment. It sneaks up on you, and is so welcome when it hits - especially after McVay’s repetition that “Every Day is the Same* - that you intrinsically understand how great it is when things finally change for the better. Too Little Too Late is an instrumental tune that is both enveloping and expansive. It is a terrific bridge to the final track, Centurion, which is an unbelievable groove. Centurion has three minutes of set up leading to an unreal fuzzy drop that is so dirty it will get you evicted from your apartment.
The influence of their touring with All Them Witches can also be seen on their next full length release, 2018’s Longing To Be The Mountain. Ben McLeod from ATW produced the album. ATW, The Sword and Elder are all thanked in the liner notes. The album picks up right where Repeater leaves off, with KB experimenting with long form songs like Morning Song and the title track, and shorter jams like Sun Shivers, Cosmonaut, and Quickening. Reynolds and McVay pepper the songs with synthesizer sounds that add colour and texture to the overall compositions. Donaldson drums with impeccable precision to provide each song with a safe mooring to return to, driving the guitars forward at the same time as he holds the rhythm in check. This is most clearly evident in Eye Of The Storm. The result is a rich tapestry of expansive and flowing music full of heavy jams and storytelling that will leave the listener wanting more. Their signature build-to-sonic-explosion style does not let fans down.
The success of Longing To Be The Mountain allowed for extensive touring across North America and Europe. It also led to appearances at bigger gigs, like at Rockpalast and the Stoned & Dusted desert rock event in 2019. Anyone that has seen any of their live work knows that King Buffalo are simply hypnotizing on stage. Reynolds’ bass work is reminiscent of Geddy Lee with his complex and flowing style. Donaldson brings controlled power to the drum kit, and is ready to cut loose when the drop comes. And McVay has become a true front man, comfortable with the lead voice on guitar and the microphone.
Their next release, Dead Star, dropped in 2020 and generated all kinds of buzz in the Stoner Rock scene. Of course, the tour planned to support it got axed when the entire world went into lockdown. But the (short album? EP?) is simply fantastic. Red Star Pt. 1 & 2 continues their long form examination and has everything you’d expect from them. Echo of A Waning Star is a lament of just over 3 minutes that is near-perfect. Ecliptic sounds like the soundtrack to a John Carpenter movie and is a complete jam with serious cool 1980’s vibes. Dead Star, the title track, is almost Radiohead-esque in its evocative and regretful take on death and decay.
But the standout track has to be Eta Carinae, which has one of the greatest musical drops and turn-arounds you will ever hear. The entire song pivots just past four minutes in and becomes a 70’s anthem worthy of Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. If you listen to no other tune here today, you have to check it out. It will absolutely get stuck in your head.
The band dropped their first live record, Live At Freak Valley, in 2020. This is a really nice retrospective/greatest hits album kinda deal. What stands out is just how fucking tight the band is live. With some bands, live versions veer wildly from the recorded ones - and not at all in a good way. This record is the opposite. You can clearly hear on Orion and Kerosene that KB are just that good live.
In the wake of the global pandemic, King Buffalo decided to musically capture the moment in time. They decided to release a trifecta of albums. 2021 saw them drop The Burden of Restlessness and then Acheron. The third record in this trio is 2022’s Regenerator. It is really important to consider all three records in this Triptych at the same time, for they are a sonic cycle.
TBOR is a descent into despondency. Acheron is about hitting rock bottom, and being in Hell. Regenerator is about finding a way to claw yourself back into the light. Each album stands on its own, but together they form a sweeping epic journey that we can all relate to.
TBOR is an album where the protagonist gradually loses the will to exist. There is a cry of deep frustration in Burning, a not-so-subtle reference to a plague in Locusts, a study in being confined indoors in Silverfish, and an outright statement that our hero is sinking in Loam. In fact, the lyrics tell us: “Still I press my face into the ground/I’m waiting for the hammer to fall.”
It is not a happy album.
Just when you think things have to get better, we get the 4-track jam of Acheron. In this record, our hero has fallen to his lowest point. He has descended to Hell. The title track - the first one on the album - makes this clear, when it says: “Waking up under the ground/Silver asleep on my tongue.”
Just in case you didn’t get the classic reference, Acheron is the river one must cross in Greek mythology to get to the underworld. Souls going to Hell had coins placed in their mouth to pay Charon, the ferryman, to take them across the river to Hades. So our hero did sink into the Loam in the last album, and finds himself in Hell. This theme is reinforced in Zephyr, who was the Greek God of the West Wind, and Shadows, which references what the Greeks used to call dead spirits - Shades. And just in case you had any doubt, the final track on the album is Cerberus, named after the three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades.
What is even cooler about Acheron is how it was recorded. Instead of a studio, they recorded the album underground in a cave.
Now that is commitment.
The final album in this cycle is 2022’s Regenerator. While the first two records were about descent, despondency, and hitting rock bottom, this record is about regaining hope and optimism, and finding a way to come back. We hear this clearly in the lyrics of the record’s final track, Firmament, which says: “Out of the loam I rise, embraced by the etheThe river below relieves my hands of silver” - clearly calling back to the tracks Loam and Acheron. And in case you didn’t know, in Greek mythology the Firmament means the Sky or the Heavens.
Our hero has left Hell behind, and ascended into Heaven.
References to positive mythology are all over this album, from the album art to the tracks Mercury and Avalon. It is a total jam. But the best song on the album might just be Mammoth. If you don’t like the guitar on this song, you and I can’t be friends.
I got a chance to see KB perform last year when they toured with Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. They are fucking tight. They were the opening act, but were the absolute highlight of the show. I want everyone to hear this band because they really are something special.
Go check them out.
Links to QOTSA
We know that QotSA front man Josh Homme and Kyuss invented Stoner Rock in the 1990’s. They were the genre-defining band. King Buffalo (and other bands like All Them Witches) have picked up this proverbial torch and are now bringing the sound to the next generation of fans. King Buffalo drummer Scott Donaldson is known to be a huge QotSA fan. Perhaps he saw them live when they played in Rochester in 2014 in support of ...Like Clockwork.
It is also sometimes easy to forget that Josh was not the only architect of the low desert sound. Original Kyuss Drummer and co-founder Brant Bjork wrote many Kyuss tunes and continues to be a leader in the music scene today. King Buffalo have played with Bjork at festivals three times: Freak Valley Festival, Black Deer Festival and the aforementioned Stoned & Dusted. There is also a planned collaborative project between Bjork and King Buffalo that may be coming our way soon.
The future is bright, my friends.
Their Music
Providence Eye
In Dim Light
Pocket Full of Knife
King Buffalo songs from the Split EP with Lé Betre
Kerosene -- live in 2016
Drinking From The River Rising
Orion - entire album on Genesee Live
RepeateCenturion -- Recorded Live in the Quarantine Sessions put out by the band
Live at Rockpalast in 2019 - includes songs from LTBTM
Longing To Be The Mountain - Quarantine Sessions
Quickening -- everything is cool until the snake head pops out. Red Star Pt. 2 -- the official video
Ecliptic
Eta Carinae
Dead Star - Full Album
Silverfish
The Knocks
Loam
Hours
Acheron
Shadows
Mammoth
Firmament
Show Them Some Love
/KingBuffalo - C’mon, everyone -- there are just over 500 subscribers. Those are rookie numbers. You gotta pump those numbers up.
Previous Posts
Tool
Alice in Chains
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Rage Against The Machine
Soundgarden
Run the Jewels
Royal Blood
Arctic Monkeys
Ty Segall
Eagles of Death Metal
Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin
Greta Van Fleet
Ten Commandos
Screaming Trees
Sound City Players
Iggy Pop
Mastodon
The Strokes
Radiohead
All Them Witches
ZZ Top

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Is Transformers Rise of The Beasts streaming? How to watch new movie? The Transformers 7 release date is upon us, with the new movie set to bring metallic mayhem. Here's how to watch Rise of the Beasts on streaming services. With the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts theatrical release date only a few days away, fans wonder when the latest Transformers movie is coming out to streaming services like Netflix, Paramount Plus, and so on. Here’s the need-to-know info on streaming Transformers 7 and how to watch it.
What started out as a popular toy line has quickly become one of the biggest action movie franchises on the planet. With a total of 6 Transformers movies in the franchise and a new film on the way, the series is showing no signs of slowing down. With Transformers: Rise of the Beasts arriving later this week, you may be wondering where you can stream all of the movies online before it arrives. We've compiled a list of where to watch every Transformers movie in the series in June 2023.
There are multiple new movies on the way in the ever-bombastic and explosive world of the Transformers franchise, with the Transformers One release date set for 2024. Before the Transformers movies return to the world of animation, though, we have the Transformers 7 release date to look forward to. Fresh from Bumblebee, which was definitely one of the best movies the franchise has delivered, we’ve got another sci-fi epic. This time, Creed 2 director Steven Caple Jr. is at the helm of the twisted metal and unstoppable carnage. Here’s how to watch Transformers Rise of the Beasts, and whether it’s available on the best streaming services yet.
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Beast Wars is finally coming to the big screen, as the live-action Transformers franchise has decided to embrace the storytelling possibilities of a massive, robotic gorilla. We can’t wait to see it.
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Here are all the ways to watch Transformers 7 Rise of the Beasts.
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When Is the Release Date for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts?
Transformers 7 had its premiere at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on May 27, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the US, CA & UK on June 9, 2023, by Paramount Pictures.
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When it launches on June 9, 2023, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be exclusive to cinemas. The movie was originally scheduled to premiere on June 24, 2022.
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in Theaters?
Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the film arrives in theatres June 9, 2023. Those eager to see their favorite action figures come to life for the seventh time in live-action won't have to wait much longer. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be racing onto screens as early as Friday, June 9, 2023. Additionally, Collider is also hosting a free early screening of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on June 7 at 6 pm, in Los Angeles. The event will also include a Q&A session with Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, and you can learn more about the screening here.
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Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Release on Streaming?
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be racing onto screens as early as Friday, June 9. While Paramount has announced no streaming plans at this time, big-budget blockbusters like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts typically become available on streaming roughly ninety days after their theatrical run begins. Given that the Transformers franchise rights currently belong to Paramount Pictures, it's more than likely that we'll see the next Transformers film come to Paramount+ once the movie decides to indulge in a streaming release. While not every film from the franchise is currently available on the service, it's hard to imagine that Paramount wouldn't put a big recent release like this onto their own service.
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No, Transformers Rise of the Beasts is not yet streaming, so you’ll need to zoom your way to the nearest cinema if you want to see it. We’re sure that you’ll be able to stream Transformers Rise of the Beasts eventually, but Paramount has made it exclusive to cinemas for now. After all, that level of destructive action is best witnessed on a massive screen and through booming speakers.
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Where to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers Rise of the Beasts lands explosively in cinemas on June 9, 2023, and it’s a theatrical exclusive for now. If you want to bear witness to the Beast Wars and the threat posed to Earth by Unicron – a planet-devouring contender to be one of the best movie villains ever – then you’ll need to head to your nearest multiplex. In common with the rest of the best action movies in this franchise, it’s theatrical or bust to begin with.
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There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
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As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
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How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
To find out if Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is playing in a theater near you (and if it's available in IMAX near you), click on one of the following links below to find showtimes and advanced tickets for the upcoming film:
​
Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription alternatives - along with the availability of 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the fundamentals of how you can watch 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' right now, here are some details about the Skydance, Paramount, di Bonaventura Pictures, Bay Films, New Republic Pictures, Tom DeSanto/Don Murphy Production, Hasbro Studios, Entertainment One, Amblin Entertainment adventure flick.
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Where To Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online:
As of now, the only way to watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is to head out to a movie theater when it premieres on June 2, 2023. You can find a local showing on Fandango.
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Watch Now: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) Movie Online Free
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'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Disney Plus, Apple iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Redbox, AMC on Demand, DIRECTV, Google Play Movies, and YouTube .
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When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be Available On Netflix?
When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be Available On Netflix? Unfortunately the movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is not yet available on Netflix. Follow us on Facebook to see when Transformers: Rise of the Beasts becomes available on Netflix!
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Transformers Rise of the Beasts is too busy shaking cinema walls to be on Netflix just yet. But we’ll keep an eye on the streamer’s catalog and let you know if the new Transformers outing does show up in the future. The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts coming to Disney Plus?
Transformers Rise of the Beasts is not on Disney Plus, and we doubt it will end up there any time soon. The new Transformers movie is a Paramount production, so it’s not likely to end up on the streaming arm of a rival studio. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the latest installment in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 9th! The simple answer is, probably not, since Paramount Pictures make “Transformers” films, and so this means that the new movie will be streaming exclusively on Paramount+, following a theatrical and digital release.
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However, the previous “Transformers” films are spread around a number of different streaming services, depending on what country you are in, due to long-running contracts between the studios and streaming platforms.
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Amazon Prime?
We think Transformers Rise of the Beasts will be available on Prime Video before the end of 2023, but it’s not there yet. The other Transformers movies are available to rent or purchase on the Prime Video platform. Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.'
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Will Stream On Paramount+
Transformers: Rise of the Beast is expected to be available to watch via streaming on Paramount Plus by September 9, 2023. Paramount+ is where Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will stream upon its release. Paramount has been in charge of the Transformers movie franchise since it began in 2007 and thus is responsible for releasing every entry in theaters. While the studio might have previously sent its movies to other streaming services like Netflix, the shift to focus more on the development of its own streaming service Paramount+ has changed this tactic. That is why Paramount has released its other major recent blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick or Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Paramount+ after their theatrical runs conclude.
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Want to know how to watch the Transformers movies in order before Rise of the Beasts roars into theaters? You've come to the right place. The seventh entry in Paramount Pictures' Transformers film franchise arrives in cinemas worldwide on Friday, June 9, so you don't have much time left to watch its predecessors at home. But, if you're planning to cram them all in before catching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts this weekend, we're here to help you work out how to watch them in chronological and release date order, and we'll also tell you which of the world's best streaming services have them as part of their movie libraries.
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So, if you're ready to be reunited with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and company – and get the lowdown on every Transformers film to be released so far – read on.
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Here's How and Where You Can Watch All of the Transformers movies
The best place to start is finding out where you can watch all of the Transformers movies in order in the comfort of your own home. If you're subscribed to Paramount Plus, that's your answer – well, for five of the six films, anyway. Paramount's primary streaming platform is home to the Michael Bay-directed trilogy – Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The streamer's film library is also home to the two Mark Wahlberg-starring flicks, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: The Last Knight.
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● Transformers (released on July 3, 2007)
● Revenge of the Fallen (released on June 24, 2009)
● Dark of the Moon (released on June 29, 2011)
● Age of Extinction (released on June 27, 2014)
● The Last Knight (released on June 21, 2017)
● Bumblebee (released on Dec. 21, 2018)
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Potential users looking to watch this quintet of movies will want to check out our Paramount Plus price guide to see how much it costs to sign up. Alternatively, you can get the lowdown on whether a Paramount Plus free trial is available, so you can try the service out without paying any money to stream the movies. Unfortunately for Paramount Plus UK and Australian-based users, the sixth entry in the action sci-fi franchise, 2018's Bumblebee, isn't available on British shores as part of the package.
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US subscribers can catch Bumblebee on Paramount Plus (and Fubo, for what it's worth), but UK and Australian fans will have to look elsewhere to get the full Transformers movies in order experience. Here's where UK and Australian viewers can watch Bumblebee instead:
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● Australia – rent or buy via the Amazon, Apple TV Google Play, Microsoft, or YouTube stores
● UK – rent or buy via the Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft, Rakuten, Sky, or YouTube stores
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Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be On HBO Max?
No, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Paramount Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
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Disney may have made billions with last year’s mega-blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water, but for now it’s going to share the streaming success. The Steven Caple Jr. directed sequel is coming to streaming on September 11 and though the film was distributed by Disney, Disney+ won’t be the only place to see it. You can see it there as well as Max, aka HBO Max.
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new animation movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
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No, 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.'
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Release in the US
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hits theaters on June 9, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
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How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means.
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How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online For Free?
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best Solarmovie alternatives.
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There are a few ways to watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts online in the U.S. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
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When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be on DVD and Blu-ray?
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will likely be coming to DVD and Blu-ray around the same time as the streaming release. With theatrical films, on average, coming to streaming sooner than ever (usually ninety days after theatrical release), we'll likely see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts get a DVD, and Blu-ray release no later than Fall 2023. Transformers Rise of the Beasts isn’t on Blu-ray yet but will join the rest of the franchise on disc before the end of 2023. There are plenty of fancy releases and box sets of the other Transformers movies, so we’re sure this one will be available to buy in all of its 4K glory very soon.
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast:
Some familiar voices can be heard as the titular robots-in-disguise in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast, like Transformers legacy actor Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, as well as new cast members like Peter Dinklage and Michelle Yeoh voicing new Transformer characters:
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● Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz
● Dominique Fishback as Elena Wallace
● Luna Lauren Vélez as Mrs Diaz
● Tobe Nwigwe as Reek
● Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime
● Pete Davidson as Mirage
● Liza Koshy as Arcee
● Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal
● Michelle Yeoh as Airazor
● David Sobolov as Rhinox
● Tongayi Chirisa as Cheetor
● John DiMaggio as Stratosphere
● Peter Dinklage as Scourge
● David Sobolov as Battletrap
● John DiMaggio as Transit
● Michaela Jaé Rodriguez - Nightbird
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What Transformers: Rise of the Beasts About:
Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals to save Earth. For a while, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts looked like it might be another Bumblebee--a Transformers movie that lacks any of the pizzazz of the Michael Bay flicks but which actually tells a decent story about characters you actually care about. For the first 45 minutes to an hour, we get the most compelling and relatable version yet of the story about a regular person accidentally becoming friends with an alien robot who was secretly a car. But then the plot really kicks in, and suddenly we're watching a Michael Bay Transformers movie--but without Bay's skill as an action filmmaker.
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It’s a tale as old as time: A human character stumbles upon a group of Transformers that includes Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Bumblebee (voiceless yet again), and gets roped into their battle with an evil faction, which inevitably involves a race for a piece of Transformers tech that has the power to destroy the world.
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11 secs ago - Still Now Here Option’s to Downloading or watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts streaming the full movie online for free. Do you like movies? If so, then you’ll love New Romance Movie: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This movie is one of the best in its genre. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be available to watch online on Netflix's very soon! Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online Free Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online Free Now Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts available to stream? Is watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets. Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a Transformers: Rise of the Beasts movie experience like never before. of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is available on our website for free streaming. Details on how you can watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for free If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows Transformers: Rise of the Beasts as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien Transformers: Rise of the Beastst. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is definitely a Transformers: Rise of the Beasts movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts online streaming is available on our website. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts online is free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Release in the US Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hits theaters on January 20, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person. How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means. Where to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them. As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide? Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Netflix? The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.' Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Crunchyroll? Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America.Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Hulu? No, 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.' Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Amazon Prime? Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.' When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be on Disney+? Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the latest installment in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question!

Paramount Pictures! Here are options for downloading or watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch Paramount's latest live-action adaptation movies at home. Is Transformers 7 available to stream? Is watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Peacock, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. Watch Transformers 7 Rise of the Beasts 720p, 1080p..!
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be in theaters beginning June 9. If you're wondering how and where you can watch it yourself, take a look at the information below.
One thing we love about the summer season are the new shows and movies that premiere! Because, not everyone goes out of town. Instead, many of us enjoy a few days or more at home, unwinding and relaxing, while catching up on our favorite shows or enjoying a new movie. Or both! This is the perfect time to catch up on movies or a series you haven’t watched before. To us here at Hidden Remote, binge-watching movies is our idea of fun! So whether you are new to the Transformers movies or are already familiar with the franchise, this is a great movie series to check out ahead of the Rise of the Beasts release.
Still Now Here Option’s to Downloading or watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts streaming the full movie online for free. Do you like movies? If so, then you’ll love New Romance Movie: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This movie is one of the best in its genre. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be available to watch online on Netflix's very soon! Want to watch 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' on your TV, phone, or tablet? The Autobots and the Maximals are teaming up to face an all-new threat.
Is Transformers Rise of The Beasts streaming? How to watch new movie? The Transformers 7 release date is upon us, with the new movie set to bring metallic mayhem. Here's how to watch Rise of the Beasts on streaming services. With the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts theatrical release date only a few days away, fans wonder when the latest Transformers movie is coming out to streaming services like Netflix, Paramount Plus, and so on. Here’s the need-to-know info on streaming Transformers 7 and how to watch it.
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What started out as a popular toy line has quickly become one of the biggest action movie franchises on the planet. With a total of 6 Transformers movies in the franchise and a new film on the way, the series is showing no signs of slowing down. With Transformers: Rise of the Beasts arriving later this week, you may be wondering where you can stream all of the movies online before it arrives. We've compiled a list of where to watch every Transformers movie in the series in June 2023.
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There are multiple new movies on the way in the ever-bombastic and explosive world of the Transformers franchise, with the Transformers One release date set for 2024. Before the Transformers movies return to the world of animation, though, we have the Transformers 7 release date to look forward to. Fresh from Bumblebee, which was definitely one of the best movies the franchise has delivered, we’ve got another sci-fi epic. This time, Creed 2 director Steven Caple Jr. is at the helm of the twisted metal and unstoppable carnage. Here’s how to watch Transformers Rise of the Beasts, and whether it’s available on the best streaming services yet.
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Beast Wars is finally coming to the big screen, as the live-action Transformers franchise has decided to embrace the storytelling possibilities of a massive, robotic gorilla. We can’t wait to see it.
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Here are all the ways to watch Transformers 7 Rise of the Beasts.
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When Is the Release Date for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts?
Transformers 7 had its premiere at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on May 27, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the US, CA & UK on June 9, 2023, by Paramount Pictures.
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When it launches on June 9, 2023, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be exclusive to cinemas. The movie was originally scheduled to premiere on June 24, 2022.
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in Theaters?
Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the film arrives in theatres June 9, 2023. Those eager to see their favorite action figures come to life for the seventh time in live-action won't have to wait much longer. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be racing onto screens as early as Friday, June 9, 2023. Additionally, Collider is also hosting a free early screening of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on June 7 at 6 pm, in Los Angeles. The event will also include a Q&A session with Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, and you can learn more about the screening here.
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Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Release on Streaming?
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be racing onto screens as early as Friday, June 9. While Paramount has announced no streaming plans at this time, big-budget blockbusters like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts typically become available on streaming roughly ninety days after their theatrical run begins. Given that the Transformers franchise rights currently belong to Paramount Pictures, it's more than likely that we'll see the next Transformers film come to Paramount+ once the movie decides to indulge in a streaming release. While not every film from the franchise is currently available on the service, it's hard to imagine that Paramount wouldn't put a big recent release like this onto their own service.
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No, Transformers Rise of the Beasts is not yet streaming, so you’ll need to zoom your way to the nearest cinema if you want to see it. We’re sure that you’ll be able to stream Transformers Rise of the Beasts eventually, but Paramount has made it exclusive to cinemas for now. After all, that level of destructive action is best witnessed on a massive screen and through booming speakers.
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Where to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers Rise of the Beasts lands explosively in cinemas on June 9, 2023, and it’s a theatrical exclusive for now. If you want to bear witness to the Beast Wars and the threat posed to Earth by Unicron – a planet-devouring contender to be one of the best movie villains ever – then you’ll need to head to your nearest multiplex. In common with the rest of the best action movies in this franchise, it’s theatrical or bust to begin with.
​
There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
​
As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
​
How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
To find out if Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is playing in a theater near you (and if it's available in IMAX near you), click on one of the following links below to find showtimes and advanced tickets for the upcoming film:
​
Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription alternatives - along with the availability of 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the fundamentals of how you can watch 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' right now, here are some details about the Skydance, Paramount, di Bonaventura Pictures, Bay Films, New Republic Pictures, Tom DeSanto/Don Murphy Production, Hasbro Studios, Entertainment One, Amblin Entertainment adventure flick.
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Where To Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online:
As of now, the only way to watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is to head out to a movie theater when it premieres on June 2, 2023. You can find a local showing on Fandango.
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Watch Now: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) Movie Online Free
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'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Disney Plus, Apple iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Redbox, AMC on Demand, DIRECTV, Google Play Movies, and YouTube .
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When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be Available On Netflix?
When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be Available On Netflix? Unfortunately the movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is not yet available on Netflix. Follow us on Facebook to see when Transformers: Rise of the Beasts becomes available on Netflix!
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Transformers Rise of the Beasts is too busy shaking cinema walls to be on Netflix just yet. But we’ll keep an eye on the streamer’s catalog and let you know if the new Transformers outing does show up in the future. The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts coming to Disney Plus?
Transformers Rise of the Beasts is not on Disney Plus, and we doubt it will end up there any time soon. The new Transformers movie is a Paramount production, so it’s not likely to end up on the streaming arm of a rival studio. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the latest installment in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 9th! The simple answer is, probably not, since Paramount Pictures make “Transformers” films, and so this means that the new movie will be streaming exclusively on Paramount+, following a theatrical and digital release.
​
However, the previous “Transformers” films are spread around a number of different streaming services, depending on what country you are in, due to long-running contracts between the studios and streaming platforms.
​
Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Amazon Prime?
We think Transformers Rise of the Beasts will be available on Prime Video before the end of 2023, but it’s not there yet. The other Transformers movies are available to rent or purchase on the Prime Video platform. Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.'
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Will Stream On Paramount+
Transformers: Rise of the Beast is expected to be available to watch via streaming on Paramount Plus by September 9, 2023. Paramount+ is where Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will stream upon its release. Paramount has been in charge of the Transformers movie franchise since it began in 2007 and thus is responsible for releasing every entry in theaters. While the studio might have previously sent its movies to other streaming services like Netflix, the shift to focus more on the development of its own streaming service Paramount+ has changed this tactic. That is why Paramount has released its other major recent blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick or Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Paramount+ after their theatrical runs conclude.
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Want to know how to watch the Transformers movies in order before Rise of the Beasts roars into theaters? You've come to the right place. The seventh entry in Paramount Pictures' Transformers film franchise arrives in cinemas worldwide on Friday, June 9, so you don't have much time left to watch its predecessors at home. But, if you're planning to cram them all in before catching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts this weekend, we're here to help you work out how to watch them in chronological and release date order, and we'll also tell you which of the world's best streaming services have them as part of their movie libraries.
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So, if you're ready to be reunited with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and company – and get the lowdown on every Transformers film to be released so far – read on.
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Here's How and Where You Can Watch All of the Transformers movies
The best place to start is finding out where you can watch all of the Transformers movies in order in the comfort of your own home. If you're subscribed to Paramount Plus, that's your answer – well, for five of the six films, anyway. Paramount's primary streaming platform is home to the Michael Bay-directed trilogy – Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The streamer's film library is also home to the two Mark Wahlberg-starring flicks, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: The Last Knight.
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● Transformers (released on July 3, 2007)
● Revenge of the Fallen (released on June 24, 2009)
● Dark of the Moon (released on June 29, 2011)
● Age of Extinction (released on June 27, 2014)
● The Last Knight (released on June 21, 2017)
● Bumblebee (released on Dec. 21, 2018)
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Potential users looking to watch this quintet of movies will want to check out our Paramount Plus price guide to see how much it costs to sign up. Alternatively, you can get the lowdown on whether a Paramount Plus free trial is available, so you can try the service out without paying any money to stream the movies. Unfortunately for Paramount Plus UK and Australian-based users, the sixth entry in the action sci-fi franchise, 2018's Bumblebee, isn't available on British shores as part of the package.
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US subscribers can catch Bumblebee on Paramount Plus (and Fubo, for what it's worth), but UK and Australian fans will have to look elsewhere to get the full Transformers movies in order experience. Here's where UK and Australian viewers can watch Bumblebee instead:
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● Australia – rent or buy via the Amazon, Apple TV Google Play, Microsoft, or YouTube stores
● UK – rent or buy via the Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft, Rakuten, Sky, or YouTube stores
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Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be On HBO Max?
No, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Paramount Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
​
Disney may have made billions with last year’s mega-blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water, but for now it’s going to share the streaming success. The Steven Caple Jr. directed sequel is coming to streaming on September 11 and though the film was distributed by Disney, Disney+ won’t be the only place to see it. You can see it there as well as Max, aka HBO Max.
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Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new animation movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
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No, 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.'
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Release in the US
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hits theaters on June 9, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
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How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means.
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How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online For Free?
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best Solarmovie alternatives.
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There are a few ways to watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts online in the U.S. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
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When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be on DVD and Blu-ray?
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will likely be coming to DVD and Blu-ray around the same time as the streaming release. With theatrical films, on average, coming to streaming sooner than ever (usually ninety days after theatrical release), we'll likely see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts get a DVD, and Blu-ray release no later than Fall 2023. Transformers Rise of the Beasts isn’t on Blu-ray yet but will join the rest of the franchise on disc before the end of 2023. There are plenty of fancy releases and box sets of the other Transformers movies, so we’re sure this one will be available to buy in all of its 4K glory very soon.
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast:
Some familiar voices can be heard as the titular robots-in-disguise in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast, like Transformers legacy actor Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, as well as new cast members like Peter Dinklage and Michelle Yeoh voicing new Transformer characters:
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● Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz
● Dominique Fishback as Elena Wallace
● Luna Lauren Vélez as Mrs Diaz
● Tobe Nwigwe as Reek
● Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime
● Pete Davidson as Mirage
● Liza Koshy as Arcee
● Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal
● Michelle Yeoh as Airazor
● David Sobolov as Rhinox
● Tongayi Chirisa as Cheetor
● John DiMaggio as Stratosphere
● Peter Dinklage as Scourge
● David Sobolov as Battletrap
● John DiMaggio as Transit
● Michaela Jaé Rodriguez - Nightbird
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What Transformers: Rise of the Beasts About:
Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals to save Earth. For a while, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts looked like it might be another Bumblebee--a Transformers movie that lacks any of the pizzazz of the Michael Bay flicks but which actually tells a decent story about characters you actually care about. For the first 45 minutes to an hour, we get the most compelling and relatable version yet of the story about a regular person accidentally becoming friends with an alien robot who was secretly a car. But then the plot really kicks in, and suddenly we're watching a Michael Bay Transformers movie--but without Bay's skill as an action filmmaker.
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It’s a tale as old as time: A human character stumbles upon a group of Transformers that includes Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Bumblebee (voiceless yet again), and gets roped into their battle with an evil faction, which inevitably involves a race for a piece of Transformers tech that has the power to destroy the world.
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11 secs ago - Still Now Here Option’s to Downloading or watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts streaming the full movie online for free. Do you like movies? If so, then you’ll love New Romance Movie: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This movie is one of the best in its genre. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be available to watch online on Netflix's very soon! Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online Free Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Online Free Now Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts available to stream? Is watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets. Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a Transformers: Rise of the Beasts movie experience like never before. of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is available on our website for free streaming. Details on how you can watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for free If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows Transformers: Rise of the Beasts as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien Transformers: Rise of the Beastst. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is definitely a Transformers: Rise of the Beasts movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts online streaming is available on our website. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts online is free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Release in the US Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hits theaters on January 20, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person. How to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means. Where to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them. As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide? Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Netflix? The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.' Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Crunchyroll? Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America.Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Hulu? No, 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.' Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Amazon Prime? Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.' When Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Be on Disney+? Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the latest installment in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question!

When ever there's a political debate someone always compares NZ to Denmark or Sweden. That we should just have high taxes and socialized services like they do and NZ would be perfect...
Here's some key differences

• They are physically close and connected by land & narrow water to their trading partners, we are not.
• They have an economic history of at least a thousand years of wealth development we do not. (going right back to the vikings).
• They accumulated the wealth of nearly 100 years of colonial profit mining and trading from Africa, Asia and the Americas.
• They profited from decades of slave labour and slave trading.
• Geographically their countries are far more cohesive without the equivalent alps, mountain range divides, unpopulated areas, and seperation into islands.
• They have rich deposits for mining primary wealth.
• Denmark is rich in oil and gas production.
• They are high tech manufacturing and exporting countries.
• Sweden avoided and profited from both WW1 and WW2. Denmark surrendered quickly rather than bear the cost of fighting.
• They have a monoculture with institutionalized wealth. We're a melting pot of recent migrants and indigenous peoples.
• The ways they've built their cities, urban density, infrastructure, traditions and culture around transport are the results of completely different journeys.

Their economic engine is the product of 100's years of investment and wealth we can't just "copy".
They are a wealthy countries not because they are more fair - their system already had more income and wealth in it. It's easy to be socialist when you're already rich with privilege.

This is my first time posting on reddit because Ive finally given up trying to deal with this all on my own. I figured other people's perspective on this could help me find some clarity and hopefully move forward.
I met a girl in fifth grade. (i'm 27 now) Let’s call her Avery for the sake of storytelling. Avery transferred into my class midway through the year. She wasn't popular because she was ‘the new kid’ and I was the ‘fat kid’ (I had a growth spurt and it evened out thanks god) So we became fast friends. We were each other's only friends for that matter. It's safe to say we grew really close. Since we grew up together we were basically carbon copies of each other. Whatever I liked, Avery liked, and vice versa.
We moved schools, and Avery moved to a different state with her parents in seventh grade, around the same time I was figuring out my sexuality. We stayed friends through the distance, having 12+ hour facetime calls everyday. We were inseparable even with 3000 miles between us. We wouldn't even talk on the calls most of the time, just sit and enjoy each other's company. I sort of realized at this time that I enjoyed her company maybe a little more than she enjoyed mine, often when we would have to hang up the facetime, I would find myself hugging my phone, tears in my eyes. Or while on the call, letting my thumb rest on my screen on her digital cheek, just wishing she was real and she was here. Of course I was soooo in the closet and in denial about everything, I pushed it aside and that was easy to do because Avery was so far away…
High school came and Avery moved back to my town, and we were able to become friends in real life again. Things were fine for the first while, we were able to fall into the same comfortable friendship in person, like when we were kids. We had a few fights that led to us not being friends for a few months at a time, normal teenage drama but we always came back to each other, without skipping a beat we would be back to being best friends…Until Avery started getting boyfriends.
Sophomore year she got her first boyfriend, Let's call him, Hero. Hero and Avery were cheesy and in love and it killed me every time I had to hear her talk about him and sing love songs about him. (literally she would do this and it make me want to vomit) At this point I knew I was a lesbian, I was out on tumblr, but to nobody IRL. I had admitted to myself that I had a crush on Avery but I knew nothing would ever happen because she is straight.
She ended up moving away again back to the same state with her parents, this time keeping a long distance friendship with me and relationship her boyfriend. We would still Facetime just as much, to the point her boyfriend was jealous of us, asking if we were dating. Her mom at this point even asked her if she liked me that way, she came to me and laughed about how weird that would be…I laughed with her....ouch. She stayed with Hero into our Junior year. They were stronger long distance because when she moved back to our state, they broke up, right before junior prom and Avery had already bought tickets ... .So…I became her replacement prom date.
IRL hero’s name had a closely spelled feminine name so we told the security at prom that they just misspelled it on the ticket and they let me in with Hero’s ticket. I was still not out but I wore a tux with black vans and she wore a silver dress. We took pictures together. It was just like a fun friend's date for her but I was over the moon. I think it was at this point I realized my ‘crush’ was like, more than that. I was in love with her and it was painful. I knew I couldn't be with Avery, but the heart wants what the heart wants and of course I told myself just being her best friend was enough…It wasn't.
Come senior year I got my own apartment a few weeks before graduation because home was bad. I was the only one out of our friends group (it was like four of us lol) who had their own place. Avery’s parents moved away again and left Avery to stay with some friends to graduate. She didn't like them very much so she ended up living in the living room of my apartment, this was when she got into another relationship.
It was not a good relationship. It started off fine but one night, it was actually on her birthday, she came to my apartment crying, He had beat her up pretty badly and done some other pretty bad things. We ended up sitting in my kitchen crying and eating her birthday cake I had gotten for her to give to her the next day. I was a happy, good riddens boyfriend, I had her all to myself again and was fully prepared support her thought he breakup once again…Except she didn't stop seeing him.
I would hide her keys to keep her from leaving because I didn't want him to hurt her again. But she would keep finding a way to go back to him. It hurt me so much to see the girl I was in love with, going to his scumbag of a guy who at one point locker her in the trunk of his car. After a point, I couldn't keep her away from him without loosing her. I could feel her pulling away and I just had to give in so I let her see him, only If I was around.
I loved her so much I didn't want her to get hurt. I would be sitting in the front seat while they hooked up in the backseat. I would be there for their fights, her threatening to run into traffic because he wouldn't listen to her, I was there through all of it. I ended up talking to the guy a lot because I was with the asshole so much. I was nice because I loved Avery and Avery loved him. Avery at some point started to get jealous that I would talk to him, and we got into a huge argument, she thought I wanted to date him. I wanted to scream and tell her that NO I wanted to be with her and tell her I was gay, finally, but I held my tongue. She ended the friendship because he was convinced I like him, we didn't speak for two years. I didn't stop thinking about her.
Two years later, I was eighteen. My friend messaged me a screenshot of a post she posted on facebook about gay marriage being legalized in the USA. She happened to use the word We when talking about the LGBT community and my friend was like “Yo, Is Avery gay??” and I had a full on gay panic moment. I hadn't spoken to her in years, I wasn't out to anyone yet except my few online friends and suddenly, I thought, maybe I had a chance. So I messaged her for the first time in two years. I sent the screenshot from my friend, I asked her if she was bi, because I knew she liked guys. It's safe to say when she told me no, that she wasn't Bi or gay, she was referring to ‘we’ as in everyone, now can get married, straight and gay people alike. She asked me why I wanted to know and for some reason, completely unprepared, I said ‘because Im bi.” Stupid because I knew I was a lesbian but I took the opportunity and went with it.
We became best friends again after that. She even flew out to see me and spent a month with me like two weeks after I came out. It was a dream. I was talking to her about girls that were hot and we watched the L word. I was falling even more for her, being gay and being around Avery just fed my lovestruck heart this false hope, of course things were going well because Avery was single at this point.
We went on a trip together to look at apartments. It was a dream, just us together for a week in paradise. I never knew travel could be so fun until I did it with Avery. But, halfway through the trip, I got really depressed. We went to the gay area where we were staying. We were both under 21 so we couldn't go into any of the clubs, so we just walked around. Avery really went just because of me, we lived in a small town so being even near gay bars was special to me at that time (lol) we ended up holding hands as we walked down the gay street so she fit in more. I remember it hurt so bad when we unlinked our hands. It's like my weird, false reality shattered in that moment.
I remember the exact moment I realized I could never have her. I was walking like twenty feet behind her back to our hotel. She skipped down the pathway, it was sunset and I was just admiring her. I remember thinking I love this girl so much, and then I was in so much pain because I could never be with her. I made a pact to myself that from that moment on I wouldn't be in love with her anymore because It hurt too much…of course that's not how love works you cant just stop loving someone.
We found an apartment and moved in with each other when we were 20. For the first while It was a dream. I remember just staring at her all the time. I had the only full length mirror in our house and I worked from home so she would come into my room every-time she was gonna go somewhere and look in the mirror. I would just admire her, she would dance in the mirror, sing in the mirror, laugh at the jokes I told while she adjusted her outfit to look just right. She didn't look away from herself to see me just enjoying her being around me. I was SO in love. At this point, I was kidding myself that I wasn't, saying I was over it, trying to convince myself we were like sisters so I wouldn't have feelings for her. I went on my first date with a girl….but I still loved Avery so much. I would stay home and clean the house and wait for her to come home and we would cuddle on the couch and watch movies. It felt like I was married but sexless...and honestly I was content with that. I wanted more, obviously but I knew it wasn't going to happed. I would have been happy like that forever.
Then Avery got another boyfriend and this one moved in with us…I lasted three days having to be around them, kissing and hugging. It was torture. I don't think I stopped crying. We got into a huge fight because I told her he had to leave. He wasn't on the lease. She picked him over me. We got into a huge fight, yelling, screaming, I walked around the city for four hours alone, balling my eyes out that night when shit hit the fan just thinking about how He was comforting her while I was all alone again. She wanted out of our lease and we both paid $5k to break it 8 months early and I moved back to our small town.
That was seven years ago. We haven't spoken a single word to each other since then. In the time between then and now, you would think I'd have gotten over her. I mean, I've dated. I was in one long relationship but…Avery is my soulmate. I can't find what I had with her with anyone else. We grew up together, I can't replicate that closeness with someone. I keep trying and trying but every-time i'm upset or hurt I just cry wishing Avery was there. She is my soulmate and she is straight. Avery stayed with that guy for five years and now they are broken up and she is single (i def stalk her twitter on a fake account don't judge me okay) She often tweets about a ‘best friend soulmates’ and how ‘hers slipped through the cracks’ and I know she is talking about me and it hurts to much because why does me being a girl have to matter so much. (i've even considered for a brief moment transitioning so I could be a man and she would be able to love me but i decided against that lol)
But yeah, I want love, I want sex I want to feel something for someone who isn't Avery. I want to move on but I fear my love for her has consumed that part of me and its not possible for me to love anyone else.. If you read all of this, Please help. I don't want to be in pain anymore. I need to know if anyone has felt the same and how they overcame such strong, unrequited feelings.

This is my first time posting on reddit because Ive finally given up trying to deal with this all on my own. I figured other people's perspective on this could help me find some clarity and hopefully move forward.
I met a girl in fifth grade. (i'm 27 now) Let’s call her Avery for the sake of storytelling. Avery transferred into my class midway through the year. She wasn't popular because she was ‘the new kid’ and I was the ‘fat kid’ (I had a growth spurt and it evened out thanks god) So we became fast friends. We were each other's only friends for that matter. It's safe to say we grew really close. Since we grew up together we were basically carbon copies of each other. Whatever I liked, Avery liked, and vice versa.
We moved schools, and Avery moved to a different state with her parents in seventh grade, around the same time I was figuring out my sexuality. We stayed friends through the distance, having 12+ hour facetime calls everyday. We were inseparable even with 3000 miles between us. We wouldn't even talk on the calls most of the time, just sit and enjoy each other's company. I sort of realized at this time that I enjoyed her company maybe a little more than she enjoyed mine, often when we would have to hang up the facetime, I would find myself hugging my phone, tears in my eyes. Or while on the call, letting my thumb rest on my screen on her digital cheek, just wishing she was real and she was here. Of course I was soooo in the closet and in denial about everything, I pushed it aside and that was easy to do because Avery was so far away…
High school came and Avery moved back to my town, and we were able to become friends in real life again. Things were fine for the first while, we were able to fall into the same comfortable friendship in person, like when we were kids. We had a few fights that led to us not being friends for a few months at a time, normal teenage drama but we always came back to each other, without skipping a beat we would be back to being best friends…Until Avery started getting boyfriends.
Sophomore year she got her first boyfriend, Let's call him, Hero. Hero and Avery were cheesy and in love and it killed me every time I had to hear her talk about him and sing love songs about him. (literally she would do this and it make me want to vomit) At this point I knew I was a lesbian, I was out on tumblr, but to nobody IRL. I had admitted to myself that I had a crush on Avery but I knew nothing would ever happen because she is straight.
She ended up moving away again back to the same state with her parents, this time keeping a long distance friendship with me and relationship her boyfriend. We would still Facetime just as much, to the point her boyfriend was jealous of us, asking if we were dating. Her mom at this point even asked her if she liked me that way, she came to me and laughed about how weird that would be…I laughed with her....ouch. She stayed with Hero into our Junior year. They were stronger long distance because when she moved back to our state, they broke up, right before junior prom and Avery had already bought tickets ... .So…I became her replacement prom date.
IRL hero’s name had a closely spelled feminine name so we told the security at prom that they just misspelled it on the ticket and they let me in with Hero’s ticket. I was still not out but I wore a tux with black vans and she wore a silver dress. We took pictures together. It was just like a fun friend's date for her but I was over the moon. I think it was at this point I realized my ‘crush’ was like, more than that. I was in love with her and it was painful. I knew I couldn't be with Avery, but the heart wants what the heart wants and of course I told myself just being her best friend was enough…It wasn't.
Come senior year I got my own apartment a few weeks before graduation because home was bad. I was the only one out of our friends group (it was like four of us lol) who had their own place. Avery’s parents moved away again and left Avery to stay with some friends to graduate. She didn't like them very much so she ended up living in the living room of my apartment, this was when she got into another relationship.
It was not a good relationship. It started off fine but one night, it was actually on her birthday, she came to my apartment crying, He had beat her up pretty badly and done some other pretty bad things. We ended up sitting in my kitchen crying and eating her birthday cake I had gotten for her to give to her the next day. I was a happy, good riddens boyfriend, I had her all to myself again and was fully prepared support her thought he breakup once again…Except she didn't stop seeing him.
I would hide her keys to keep her from leaving because I didn't want him to hurt her again. But she would keep finding a way to go back to him. It hurt me so much to see the girl I was in love with, going to his scumbag of a guy who at one point locker her in the trunk of his car. After a point, I couldn't keep her away from him without loosing her. I could feel her pulling away and I just had to give in so I let her see him, only If I was around.
I loved her so much I didn't want her to get hurt. I would be sitting in the front seat while they hooked up in the backseat. I would be there for their fights, her threatening to run into traffic because he wouldn't listen to her, I was there through all of it. I ended up talking to the guy a lot because I was with the asshole so much. I was nice because I loved Avery and Avery loved him. Avery at some point started to get jealous that I would talk to him, and we got into a huge argument, she thought I wanted to date him. I wanted to scream and tell her that NO I wanted to be with her and tell her I was gay, finally, but I held my tongue. She ended the friendship because he was convinced I like him, we didn't speak for two years. I didn't stop thinking about her.
Two years later, I was eighteen. My friend messaged me a screenshot of a post she posted on facebook about gay marriage being legalized in the USA. She happened to use the word We when talking about the LGBT community and my friend was like “Yo, Is Avery gay??” and I had a full on gay panic moment. I hadn't spoken to her in years, I wasn't out to anyone yet except my few online friends and suddenly, I thought, maybe I had a chance. So I messaged her for the first time in two years. I sent the screenshot from my friend, I asked her if she was bi, because I knew she liked guys. It's safe to say when she told me no, that she wasn't Bi or gay, she was referring to ‘we’ as in everyone, now can get married, straight and gay people alike. She asked me why I wanted to know and for some reason, completely unprepared, I said ‘because Im bi.” Stupid because I knew I was a lesbian but I took the opportunity and went with it.
We became best friends again after that. She even flew out to see me and spent a month with me like two weeks after I came out. It was a dream. I was talking to her about girls that were hot and we watched the L word. I was falling even more for her, being gay and being around Avery just fed my lovestruck heart this false hope, of course things were going well because Avery was single at this point.
We went on a trip together to look at apartments. It was a dream, just us together for a week in paradise. I never knew travel could be so fun until I did it with Avery. But, halfway through the trip, I got really depressed. We went to the gay area where we were staying. We were both under 21 so we couldn't go into any of the clubs, so we just walked around. Avery really went just because of me, we lived in a small town so being even near gay bars was special to me at that time (lol) we ended up holding hands as we walked down the gay street so she fit in more. I remember it hurt so bad when we unlinked our hands. It's like my weird, false reality shattered in that moment.
I remember the exact moment I realized I could never have her. I was walking like twenty feet behind her back to our hotel. She skipped down the pathway, it was sunset and I was just admiring her. I remember thinking I love this girl so much, and then I was in so much pain because I could never be with her. I made a pact to myself that from that moment on I wouldn't be in love with her anymore because It hurt too much…of course that's not how love works you cant just stop loving someone.
We found an apartment and moved in with each other when we were 20. For the first while It was a dream. I remember just staring at her all the time. I had the only full length mirror in our house and I worked from home so she would come into my room every-time she was gonna go somewhere and look in the mirror. I would just admire her, she would dance in the mirror, sing in the mirror, laugh at the jokes I told while she adjusted her outfit to look just right. She didn't look away from herself to see me just enjoying her being around me. I was SO in love. At this point, I was kidding myself that I wasn't, saying I was over it, trying to convince myself we were like sisters so I wouldn't have feelings for her. I went on my first date with a girl….but I still loved Avery so much. I would stay home and clean the house and wait for her to come home and we would cuddle on the couch and watch movies. It felt like I was married but sexless...and honestly I was content with that. I wanted more, obviously but I knew it wasn't going to happed. I would have been happy like that forever.
Then Avery got another boyfriend and this one moved in with us…I lasted three days having to be around them, kissing and hugging. It was torture. I don't think I stopped crying. We got into a huge fight because I told her he had to leave. He wasn't on the lease. She picked him over me. We got into a huge fight, yelling, screaming, I walked around the city for four hours alone, balling my eyes out that night when shit hit the fan just thinking about how He was comforting her while I was all alone again. She wanted out of our lease and we both paid $5k to break it 8 months early and I moved back to our small town.
That was seven years ago. We haven't spoken a single word to each other since then. In the time between then and now, you would think I'd have gotten over her. I mean, I've dated. I was in one long relationship but…Avery is my soulmate. I can't find what I had with her with anyone else. We grew up together, I can't replicate that closeness with someone. I keep trying and trying but every-time i'm upset or hurt I just cry wishing Avery was there. She is my soulmate and she is straight. Avery stayed with that guy for five years and now they are broken up and she is single (i def stalk her twitter on a fake account don't judge me okay) She often tweets about a ‘best friend soulmates’ and how ‘hers slipped through the cracks’ and I know she is talking about me and it hurts to much because why does me being a girl have to matter so much. (i've even considered for a brief moment transitioning so I could be a man and she would be able to love me but i decided against that lol)
But yeah, I want love, I want sex I want to feel something for someone who isn't Avery. I want to move on but I fear my love for her has consumed that part of me and its not possible for me to love anyone else.. If you read all of this, Please help. I don't want to be in pain anymore. I need to know if anyone has felt the same and how they overcame such strong, unrequited feelings.

Here is a possible story in the world of Rimworld:
The crash was sudden and violent. The escape pod had barely managed to escape the burning wreckage of the starship, but it was still damaged by the debris and the atmosphere. It spiraled out of control, heading towards a barren desert planet.
Inside the pod, three survivors were strapped to their seats, praying for a miracle. They were:

• Jade, a 25-year-old female space marine. She was strong, brave, and loyal, but also stubborn, abrasive, and trigger-happy. She had a passion for shooting and melee combat, and a hatred for pirates and raiders. She had a scar on her left cheek from a knife fight, and a tattoo of a skull on her right arm.
• Remy, a 32-year-old male doctor. He was smart, kind, and compassionate, but also nervous, neurotic, and squeamish. He had a passion for medicine and research, and a fear of blood and violence. He had glasses on his nose from poor eyesight, and a stethoscope around his neck.
• Lila, a 19-year-old female pop idol. She was beautiful, charming, and talented, but also vain, spoiled, and naive. She had a passion for music and art, and a love for fame and fortune. She had long blonde hair with pink highlights, and a piercing on her belly button.

They had been passengers on the starship, heading to a new colony on the rim of known space. They had different reasons for leaving their old lives behind, but they shared a common dream of adventure and opportunity.
They never expected to end up on this hellhole of a planet.
The pod crashed into the sand with a loud thud. The impact knocked them unconscious for a few minutes. When they woke up, they saw smoke rising from the pod's engine. They quickly unstrapped themselves and got out of the pod.
They looked around and saw nothing but sand and rocks. The sun was scorching hot, and the wind was blowing dust into their eyes. They had no idea where they were or how to survive.
They were scared and hopeless.
They checked the pod's computer for any signs of life or civilization. They found none. The planet was uninhabited and uncharted. They were alone.
They checked the pod's cargo for any supplies or equipment. They found some. The pod had carried some basic survival gear, such as food rations, medicine kits, weapons, tools, and materials. They also found some personal belongings that they had brought with them from the starship.
They were relieved and hopeful.
They decided to make the best of their situation. They agreed to work together as a team, and to use their skills and resources to build a colony on this planet. They hoped that someday they would be rescued or find a way off this planet.
They were determined and hopeful.
They started by building a shelter out of steel walls and wooden floors. They used some solar panels and batteries to power their lights and appliances. They used some beds and furniture to make their shelter comfortable.
They also built a kitchen where they could cook their food rations, a freezer where they could store their food rations, and a dining room where they could eat their food rations.
They were hungry and hopeful.
They continued by building a farm where they could grow their own food. They used some hydroponics basins and lamps to grow rice, potatoes, corn, and strawberries. They also planted some cotton plants to make cloth.
They also built an animal pen where they could keep some animals. They used some haygrass to feed them. They had found some animals near their shelter that they had tamed or captured. They had two muffalos that they could use for wool and milk, two alpacas that they could use for wool and meat, two chickens that they could use for eggs and meat, two dogs that they could use for companionship and protection, and one cat that they could use for companionship.
They were happy and hopeful.
They expanded by building a workshop where they could make their own equipment. They used some workbenches and machines to craft weapons, armor, clothing, and furniture. They also used some research benches and books to learn new technologies and skills.
They also built a hospital where they could treat their injuries and illnesses. They used some medical beds and vitals monitors to heal faster. They also used some drugs and medicine to ease pain and cure diseases.
They were healthy and hopeful.
They defended by building a wall around their colony. They used some sandbags and turrets to fortify their wall. They also used some traps and mines to deter intruders. They had faced many threats on this planet, such as pirates, tribes, mad animals, giant insects, and ancient killing machines. They had fought them off with courage and skill.
They also built a comms console where they could communicate with other factions. They used some radios and satellites to send and receive messages. They had made some friends and enemies on this planet, such as outlanders, spacers, raiders, and mechanoids. They had traded with them, allied with them, or fought with them.
They were safe and hopeful.
They dreamed by building a spaceship where they could escape this planet. They used some advanced components and materials to construct their spaceship. They also used some cryptosleep caskets where they could sleep until they reached their destination.
They had found a broken-down ship with the help of a friendly AI. The AI had told them that it could take them to a glitterworld, a paradise planet where they could live in peace and luxury. The AI had also told them that they had to defend their ship for fifteen days as other desperate inhabitants of the planet attempted to seize control of it.
They were ready and hopeful.
They started their ship, and waited for the countdown to end. They saw their enemies approaching from all directions, armed with guns, knives, bows, grenades, rockets, and flamethrowers. They heard their enemies shouting threats, insults, and demands.
They grabbed their weapons, and prepared for the final battle. They had rifles, pistols, shotguns, swords, clubs, spears, molotovs, frag grenades, and EMP grenades. They shouted words of encouragement, support, and love.
They were brave and hopeful.
They fought their enemies, and defended their ship. They shot them, stabbed them, bashed them, burned them, and blew them up. They killed them, wounded them, or scared them away. They also healed themselves, rescued each other, or buried their dead. They fought with skill, strategy, and teamwork.
They were strong and hopeful.
They won the battle, and secured their ship. They cheered, cried, and hugged each other. They thanked the AI, who congratulated them on their victory. They boarded the ship, and entered the caskets. They closed their eyes, and fell asleep.
They were happy and hopeful.
The ship took off, and left the planet. It flew through space, and reached the glitterworld. It landed safely, and opened the caskets. They woke up, and saw a new world. It was beautiful, green, and peaceful. They saw friendly people, who welcomed them warmly. They saw advanced technology, that fulfilled their needs. They saw amazing wonders, that amazed their eyes.
They were happy and hopeful.
They lived on the glitterworld, and started a new life. They built a new home, where they could live comfortably. They found new friends, who they could trust and love. They found new hobbies, that they could enjoy and learn. They found new happiness, that they could share and cherish.
They were happy.
The end.
Source: Conversation with Bing, 6/9/2023 (1) RimWorld on Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/294100/RimWorld/. (2) RimWorld - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RimWorld. (3) RimWorld - Sci-Fi Colony Sim. https://rimworldgame.com/. (4) RimWorld review PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/rimworld-review/.

'Saudi Arabia First': Trump Lets Saudis Dictate US Foreign Policy--17 Saudia Arabian nationals executed 9/11 --At least 3000 Americans died and billions upon billions of damage to New York, the Pentagon and a plane nose diving in Pennsylvania on 9/11 FIRST RUSSIA NOW SAUDI ARABIA--DID TRUMP EVER HAVE ANY PLANS OF COLLUDING WITH AMERICA??
'Saudi Arabia First': Trump Lets Saudis Dictate US Foreign Policy--17 Saudia Arabian nationals executed 9/11 --At least 3000 Americans died and billions upon billions of damage to New York, the Pentagon and a plane nose diving in Pennsylvania on 9/11

1. Trump chose Saudi Arabia for his first foreign presidential trip In May 2017
   
2. Trump praised a Saudi blockade on Qatar--preventing the movement of goods and services to that country--why is this a big deal? Our Military has its largest Middle Eastern base in Qatar--Trump sided with another country against American interest--AGAIN!!!!!!!
   
3. Trump resumed sales of precision-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia--They were suspended by Obama over concerns about civilian deaths from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, Which has been engulfed in the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.
   
4. Trump steered clear of condemnation of Saudi conduct in Yemen war--hundreds of innocent civilains have been killed by Saudi bombs
   
5. Trump And Pompeo Enabled A Saudi Cover-Up Of The Khashoggi Killing--Following the uproar over Khashoggi's disappearance in 2018, Trump tweeted that he had "no financial interests in Saudi Arabia." But--Trump bragged about his business dealings with the Saudis during a 2015 campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama--“They buy all sorts of my stuff. All kinds of toys from Trump. They pay me millions and hundred of millions"
   
6. December 2018, Trump administration threatens to veto a UN resolution drafted by Britain demanding accountability for war crimes in the Yemen conflict and for Saudi Arabi
   
7. Trump Administration approved transfer of sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in two cases after Khashoggi's death--never mind that 17 Saudi citizens carried out 9/11 which killed thousands of Americans on home soil--details have been kept secret despite Congress demanding answers---WTF
   
8. Trump blocked bipartisan congressional resolution demanding end of U.S military support for the Saudi-led genocidal war in Yemen
   
9. Trump and Pompeo did not include Saudi Arabia on an annual blacklist of countries recruiting child soldiers
   
10. Trump blocked 3 congressional bills that would have stopped over $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia
    
11. Kushner may have offered valuable U.S. intelligence, that helped the crown prince to round up and torture dissidents in Saudi Arabia who opposed the goverment there--Saudi crown prince bragged that Jared Kushner gave him CIA intelligence about other Saudis saying 'here are your enemies' days before 'corruption crackdown' which led to torture and death https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5575395/Saudi-crown-prince-brags-Jared-Kushner-handed-U-S-intelligence.html
    
12. The FBI reportedly stopped a Saudi plot to kidnap a YouTuber on US soil after he criticized Mohammed bin Salman over Jamal Khashoggi's killing https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-thwarted-saudi-plot-kidnap-regime-critic-on-us-soil-2020-1
    
13. Saudi Air Force member kills 3 at U.S. Navy base--Trump says nothing https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/saudi-air-force-member-who-killed-3-u-s-navy-n1097641
    
14. Saudi royal family does seem to have a special relationship with Trump, who has repeatedly bucked bipartisan congressional majorities to block the Kingdom on topics ranging from its disastrous war in Yemen to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
    
15. The manager of Trump’s hotel in New York credited a timely stay by members of the Saudi Crown Prince’s entourage (though not the prince himself) with lifting revenue there by 13 percent in one quarter of 2018--the bump came after two straight years of booking declines for the property
    
16. Saudi lobbyists spent $260,000 at Trump’s hotel in DC back in December 2016 during the transition
    
17. Saudi Kingdom itself spent $190,273 at Trump’s hotel in early 2017.
    
18. Alwaleed bin-Talal, a member of the royal family purchased the 282-foot yacht "Princess" for $20 million in 1991 after the boat was repossessed from Trump (Trump was nearing bankruptcy at the time) And he sold it at a loss: $20 million. The Saudis also purchased Trump's financially troubled Plaza Hotel for $325 million in 1995
    
19. In 2016, the New York Daily News reported that the Saudi government also purchased the entire 45th floor of the Trump World Tower, for $4.5 million, in June 2001. Given annual fee fares for the building at the time, Trump also was paid $5.7 million by the Saudis between the purchase and 2016, the paper reported.
    
20. A real estate company Cadre partly owned by Trump and Kushner, has received $90 million from Saudi Arabia in 2018--how is this Fucking legal?
    
21. Saudi Crown Prince--the guy who ordered the killing of American journalist Jamal Khassoggi, Boasted That Jared Kushner Was “In His Pocket”
    
22. Embassy Staffers Say Jared Kushner Shut Them Out of Saudi Meetings--This is not how American foreign policy is conducted
    
23. Saudi shooter in Florida air base attack had "significant ties" to al Qaeda yet somehow--he was allowed into the United States in 2017-- non-citizens are normally prohibited from buying handguns, He used a loophole to legally purchase his weapon from a dealer in Pensacola https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/saudi-air-force-member-who-killed-3-u-s-navy-n1097641
    
24. 4 of Trump's 7 Vetoes Were To Protect The Saudis https://www.senate.gov/legislative/vetoes/TrumpDJ.htm
    
25. Trump Bragged About Serving Up American Troops to Saudi Arabia for Nothing More Than Cash Conservative Rep. Justin Amash, who was a Republican until recently, responded to Trump’s remarks, saying, “He sells troops” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-brags-about-serving-up-american-troops-to-saudi-arabia-for-cash-936623/
    
26. Trump-Bro Julian Assange Outed Gays, HIV+ People, and Rape Victims in Places Where They Could Be Killed like Saudi Arabia-- WikiLeaks has leaked info on gay men in Saudi Arabia, which has the death penalty for homosexuality https://www.fastcompany.com/4017692/wikileaks-has-leaked-info-on-gay-men-in-saudi-arabia-which-has-the-death-penalty-for-homosexuality
    

Scroll to bottom for TLDR
I am a 20 year old dude who is about to go into my senior year of university. A month ago I went to a bar with friends and hooked up with a girl who had been a friend for a couple months from one of my clubs. It was a massive surprise as I never thought she would be into me in a million years. She is now my gf and we do a lot together and are very compatible.
I had been a hardcore incel/far right guy from 16-early 19, then exited the movement mostly because i began in-person uni and my life became a little better, and I also made friends in the Jewish community that changed my views. When I was an incel I was a heavy stonealcoholic and was miserable, with horrible self-esteem, near daily suicidal idealation and severe depression that I had had since early teens. I hated being overweight and took the heightpill and blackpill (I'm 5'10", which is not short I guess in general but my uni has a lot of tall guys and I heavily believed in the 6 foot rule). Anyway my now gf is taller than me lol.
At uni I really wanted the college experience as I had learned from movies, the hardcore partying, lots of sex, etc. I did a lot of drugs but never really scratched that social itch with very few friends. I tried to join greek life but covid ruined my first 2 years and I had to drop because of grades in my junior year. My grades throughout this were all surprisingly maintained at decent levels.
Anyway I love my new gf and always look forward to seeing her, however I have been facing some major issues. To start off, I have some vision problems due to drug use-not enough to impact my functioning, but they are annoying to deal with. The second is that I had to lie to her and the sex we have is not very good-I am considerate and try not to just jackhammer etc and do oral on her.
My gf is in a sorority and has been for 3 years. This is where the problems begin. She was/is quite promiscuous, with a bodycount I believe is above 20. There are numerous reasons I believe this, I can go into more details in comments. I can't get over the fact that other guys have done the same things to her that I have. I think about it during sex which makes sex not fun for me. The funny thing is I don't think its necessarily because I am insecure, I actually don't really care about it because "leftovers" or whatever, but that her life experience contrasts so heavily with my own. The fact that sex was just a fun activity for her, whereas for me it was a mythical "golden goose" etc has caused some resentment. I for the most part hated my life and was extremely bored most of the time, and had to walk past the frats and sororities partying (my school is notoriously antisocial so that is really the only place to do that kinda stuff). I feel like most of my uni was wasted socially. Basically I have no experience and she has a lot and it makes me jealous and insecure.
Anyway it has become increasingly annoying for me, and she asked me why I never asked her out because she had been into me for months I said I didn't think I was her type, which then I had to explain away as thinking I was too nerdy or something (for context I am 5'10" 210lbs with a beard, so I guess I don't look that nerdy I kinda dress like a country guy with boots and flannels). We then talked about a mutual friend who doesn't get laid very often and I said that sometimes getting laid can be something that if u get u can assume you wont for a long time after because it was a fluke, and I said I had had the same approach and she thought it was stupid and that I could of gotten laid whenever I want.
This has kinda made me realize that if i had been more confident I could of had a much better sex/relationship/social life and that I threw a couple gears away and I don't know where to go from here. I want to enjoy being with her, but I also want to be promiscuous and be a player.
TLDR: Can't get over my gf's bodycount, sheer difference in life experience and comparing myself to her other lovers (mostly talk fratty chads)

I'm not sure who to ask anymore. My girlfriend and I have been together for roughly 2.5 years, and the past few months-year have been terrible for my mental health.
I used to work nights and she worked only days. So far, until last month, I was the only one with a drivers license. She's never had one. I was chauffeuring her to and from everywhere. She claims it's because she's a "passenger princess" and because she is scared to drive, even 2 minutes to work. We moved twice to make sure she was close to her job in case she ever needed to walk, yet she would still wake me up at dawn to driver her. My old job used to be very physical; I would come home and ask for help, like with comforting me after a terrible shift, or massaging me when I could barely move, and while I consistently asked, I rarely received the care I needed and craved. I used to not want to get outside help, especially because I massage her daily, and also to save money, but It got to a point with my physical health that I wanted to start seeing a massage therapist for my pain. Now that I have a new job, I can't visit the massage therapist (hours conflict) and so I've begun to ask her again for help, and still no help comes.
A few months ago, she decided that to help with money, she would go to a local club and strip for 3-4 hrs 2x per week. She doesn't always make much, and sometimes she doesn't go. Ever since she started working there, she's been acting differently. She's very sweet don't get me wrong, but she's been different.
About a month later, we were chilling at home on the couch, and as she asked for us to move to the bedroom to go to sleep, I agreed and started to gather our belongings for the bedroom- my phone, her phone, my cup of tea, her cup of tea, and even her vape. She was sitting on the couch, and I decided to walk over next to her. I stretched my arms above my head while holding the drink. For some reason, she decided to hit my in my balls- hard. Not even with a full fist, but enough to double me over in pain. I fell to the ground, looked up at her and saw her laughing at me. She showed no remorse until I decided to drop the tea cups. As some of the tea splashed and landed on her she began to cry and told me I had to sleep on the couch. I told her days later that I felt abused, manipulated, and completely disrespected. She eventually apologized after touting that "it was just a joke", "I didn't hit you that hard", and "what you did back to me was worse". I still don't let my guard down near her like I did that night. I tried to tell her how I felt that I was abused and uncared for, and yet she still tried to make the conversation about how my tea getting on her made her feel.
Recently, my birthday passed on a Sunday. As I Said earlier, she started stripping months ago, and I sat her down before she started and shared my boundaries- 1) no physical sexual touch, 2) no taking the customers home, either in person or via text- and 3) to be honest about what happens during a shift. Before we started dating, I knew that she did strip a few times, had done some onlyfans stuff, but she quit months before we got together. She lied about particulars of the onlyfans gig for a bit in the beginning, but I caught her lying to me and since it happened before we were dating I didn't think much of it.
On the weekend of my birthday, last month, we decided to go on a date. She was getting blown up on Snapchat and I was a little suspicious. So we have our lovely night, and after we get home, when she goes to the bathroom, I notice multiple snaps from a guy she's never told me about. So I ask her "who's (dudes name)"? She replied "I don't know, I don't know what you're talking about". So she grabs her phone, replies to the guy in the bathroom and brings her phone back to the bedroom. Since we have an open phone policy I looked at her Snapchat and opened the conversation. My heart was pounding as I was reading her text this guy about the next time she's going to be in the club and how he should "cum see me[her]😘". Then she started texting him about OUR date night and I find out that she was texting him before, during, and after our date. So I ask her more directly "who is (dudes Snapchat username) and why are you messaging him?" Once again, she starts to tell me about how she doesn't know who he is, or what I'm talking about. I told her that I read the messages and she needs to stop lying. She insists that she doesn't know who it is, that they randomly added her and that they're not texting. So she grabs her phone again, walks briefly in the bathroom and brings the phone back to the bed. She says "I hope you know I didn't take my phone in there to text that account back". So I'm furious now, and so I quickly look at her Snapchat and come to find out she has deleted the conversation. I immediately say "but you just deleted the conversation! Tell me who this is now". She then says that she thinks he's a regular from the club, but she doesn't know how he got her Snapchat- maybe one or two of her coworkers gave it to the guy. So I start to rattle off the texts I saw and she starts to concede more, like how she gave him 2 VIP dances, and that he gave her plenty of money and that she still isn't sure of who it is, and I shouldn't worry about it. She said she was texting him to "try to get more money from him" and that I shouldn't be upset. I get it- make your money, but don't lie to me.
Eventually, I got so upset at the lying and explaining to her the lying, that I decide to go to the couch and sleep.
A day after , we are sitting on the couch and she tells (as a joke, but also not) me, out of nowhere, that if she ever sees me and one of my "attractive" girl -friends out a a bar she would have to go to jail for what she would do to us. (???)
Two days later, we are sitting on the couch and I decide it's time to talk. I bring up how I felt that my trust for her has been broken, and that I'm not going to put up with the abusing, lying and gaslighting. She immediately starts to turn it on me and make excuses for her actions . I told her minutes later after arguing that I want to leave. She says "alright fine, then I'll get my stuff together and get out of here. I'll be gone in the morning". Eventually we talked enough to not break up, but now I've been feeling like nothing but a POS. She did apologize, and She tried to make up for it by trying to massage me and do nice things for me, but it all feels like a ruse.
It's been 3 weeks since then, and I only feel numb about it. What happened to me- am I crazy or is this too much? I'm horrible about putting my foot down, and need advice.
TL;DR: my girlfriend of almost 3 years has abused me and laughed about it, lied to my face, used me as her personal chauffeur, then broke the boundaries I set on her new job betraying my trust. Do I break up or is there hope?

Date: 06/08/2023
Reading time: 9 minutes, 1872 words

The units of the Azerbaijani armed forces open fire in the direction of the Armenian positions in Gegharkunik

Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian positions in the Tretuk sector, Gegharkunik Province. The Armenian side has no casualties.

Armenpress, Azerbaijani forces open fire at Armenian positions, Azerbaijani forces open fire at Armenian positions near Khoznavar – MoD, Azerbaijan opens fire on Armenian positions

Red Cross visits kidnapped Armenian servicemen in Azerbaijani detention

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have visited the two Armenian servicemen who were kidnapped by the Azerbaijani military and jailed. Private conversations took place, and they also helped them to make contact with their families.

Armenpress, Baku shares info about 2 Armenian troops abducted by Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan violates Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire

Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh in the early hours of June 8, the Ministry of Defense said. The situation on the line of contact is relatively stable, the ministry said. Azerbaijan continues to spread disinformation, trying to substantiate the regular ceasefire violations committed by its units.

Armenpress, Artsakh reports fresh ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan, Armenia reports ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan, The Ministry of Defense of Armenia and Artsakh report about the firing by Azerbaijan, there are no losses, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire in Artsakh, the Armenian side has no losses. PB:, Karabakh reports new ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan

Military universities will merge

Military University named after Vazgen Sargsyan and Aviation University will merge. The draft of the relevant decision is included in the agenda of the June 8 session of the government. The rationale of the decision is due to the decrease in the number of university applicants and the demand for certain professions in recent years.

CivilNet

Armenia makes every effort to encourage the development of "North-South" and "East-West" directions. Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan participated in the regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Sochi. The EAEU plays a key role in strengthening ties, establishing a single market, promoting trade and creating a single market. The Prime Minister delivered a speech, in which he said: "During these nine years, we have achieved considerable success"

Armenpress, Armenia advocates the systematic development of mutually beneficial and equal cooperation within CIS – PM

Azerbaijan attempts to derail agreements, Armenia warns at meeting of CSTO Security Council chiefs

Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan delivered a speech on June 8 at the CSTO meeting of Security Council Secretaries. He said Azerbaijan continues to escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and Nagorno Karabakh.

Armenpress, Armenia participates in CIS Border Guard council meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, The delegation of border guard troops of the National Security Service of Armenia left for Baku

Prime Minister Pashinyan participates in CIS Council of Heads of Government session

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the regular session of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS in Sochi. The meeting is taking place in the year of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Armenpress

Russia ready to discuss financial issues on building new nuclear power plant in Armenia, says PM Mishustin

Russia is ready to discuss financial issues and parameters of building nuclear power plants in the territories of Eurasian Economic Union members, including Armenia, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at the Eurasia Is My Home exhibition. The heads of government were briefed on Rosatom’s most effective plant, a joint Russian-Belarusian project with two reactors with 1200 megawatt capacity.

Armenpress

Belarusian leader Lukashenko calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to find mutually acceptable solution

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a mutually acceptable solution to end the conflict. President Lukas

Armenpress

Russia aims to block EU from hosting COP29 summit, potentially leaving Armenia and Azerbaijan as contenders - report

Russia intends to block EU countries from hosting next year's UN international climate negotiations, according to internal emails seen by Reuters. Armenia and Bulgaria had put themselves forward to host the summit. If Russia vetoed all EU countries, then Armenia or Azerbaijan could still be in the running.

Armenpress

Armenia eager to develop ties with UK, Speaker Simonyan tells Leader of House of Commons Penny Mordaunt

Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan and his delegation met with Penny Mordaunt, the Leader of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The delegation also discussed regional security with their British colleagues and presented the situation resulting from Azerbaijan aggression.

Armenpress

At CSTO, Armenia’s Security Council chief calls for targeted assessment of the situation in Artsakh

Azerbaijan continues to escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor. Secretary of the Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan addressed the Security Council Secretaries of CSTO member states.

ArmRadio

Russia has no long-term strategic plans in Artsakh. Lilit Gevorgyan

Analyst Lilit Gevorgyan says Russia has no long-term strategic plans in Artsakh. He says the issue of making Armenia a part of the Union State is not removed from Russia's agenda. The analyst says the guarantor of a possible Armenian-Azerbaijani treaty is Azerbaijan itself.

CivilNet

Armenian Foreign Minister speaks with new Turkish counterpart

Ararat Mirzoyan congratulates Hakan Fidan on his appointment as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. The sides expressed their willingness to continue working towards full normalization of relations between Armenia and Türkiye.

PanArmenian

Germany expects immediate release of Armenian POWs kept in Azerbaijan

Germany expects that the Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku will be immediately released as part of the peace negotiations. Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag Michael Roth said at the press conference in Yerevan on Wednesday, June 8.

PanArmenian

Semi-precious stones, precious metals, machinery named top Armenian exports in January-April

Armenia exported goods worth 2 billion 158 million 463,4 thousand dollars in January-April of 2023. Most of the exports went to Russia, a growth of 3,8 times compared to 2022. Precious and semi-precious stones, precious metals and related items comprised most of the exported goods.

Armenpress

The CSTO countries intend to increase the number of joint exercises

Secretaries of the Security Councils of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) discussed security challenges and threats in the region. The Security Council of the Russian Federation noted that tasks were set to block the ways of recruiting citizens and traveling to different places to participate in terrorist activities.

Armenpress

Armenian President receives Maren Jasper-Winter, member of Executive Board of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom

President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan received delegation headed by Maren Jasper-Winter. Meeting was attended by Martin Kothé, Regional Director for East and Southeast Europe, Katrin Bannach and Armen Grigoryan.

Armenpress

Speaker meets SNP’s Drew Hendry, calls for cooperation between Armenia’s self-governing municipalities and Scotland

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan and members of his delegation have met with Drew Hendry, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom representing the Scottish National Party. Regional challenges, post-war issues and consequences were discussed at the meeting, the Armenian parliament’s press service said.

Armenpress

Armenian metal smelting plant will continue its activities in the border area irrespective of Azerbaijan's complaint

GTB Steel, which is building a smelting plant in the village of Yeraskh, Ararat Province, Armenia, issued a statement responding to the statement of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Azerbaijan that the construction of the smelter will harm the environment of their country.

Armenpress, Company behind smelter in Armenia’s border village of Yeraskh to continue activity despite statements from Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan opposes Armenia’s plans to build new metallurgical plant

Armenian Minister, German Ambassador discuss the possibility of concluding a migration partnership agreement

Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan received Viktor Richter, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia. The issue of the possibility of concluding a migration partnership agreement with Germany was discussed at the meeting.

Armenpress

ICJ ruling on Azeri checkpoint in Lachin Corridor expected soon

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Turkey's lira plunges 7.6% to record low

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Christian Lawmakers urged to de-platform Azerbaijan ambassador

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Basics

My wife and I spent 14 days in Japan in May 2023, our first time in Japan (or anywhere in Asia). We usually got between 8-12 miles daily, though some of that was somewhat by choice, as in places like Hiroshima the transit within the city takes nearly as long as walking, and walking is preferrable to see and experience the city.
All the tips on here and those answering questions on Discord really helped plan things.

What I learned

Pay attention to the square footage of your room. We got a room at an APA in Osaka where it was literally impossible for both of us to stand up simultaneously. Luckily all of our subsequent hotels had room for us both to get dressed at the same time.
Get hotels with onsens/spas. We booked exclusively hotels with onsens/spas. This was crucial. It’s such a great day-ender to go up there for a soak in the hot/cold pools and sauna. They give you robes/lounge clothes and slippers to wear up there. It’s just incredibly cozy. Made me wish it was winter.
Japan is super easy to travel, the easiest country I’ve been to. It seems the country as a whole and everyone in it is extremely detail oriented and considers every possible issue. I’ve never seen workers tasked with holding up a screen for pedestrian protection around a man trimming the lawn until Japan. I’ve never seen a tour bus driver feather-dusting his bus until Japan. Everyone is so calm. I think I heard one person yell in two weeks. Everybody was super patient with our lack of Japanese and general lack of knowledge of their culture.
Note: We’re not really foodies. When traveling we usually just eat whenever we get so hungry that we must, plus the Japanese cuisine doesn’t mesh with our tastes, so this will be light on food.

Day by day

Day 0: Arrived at Haneda in the afternoon, got PASMO cards and caught train to Shinagawa. Then we took the Nozomi to Osaka, purchasing tickets in advance via Smart-Ex. All went smoothly despite the jet lag.
Day 1: Osaka. Mini-pig café, Don Quijote, wandered the neighborhood to the northeast of Umeda Station checking out shops, finished the day in a small bar in Dotonbori.
Day 2: Osaka area. In the morning, we rode out to Nara to see Todai-Ji and the bowing deer. The temple was stunning. In the afternoon, we went to a Hanshin Tigers game, which was great, though we were baking in the sun. It’s crazy how many beer vendors Japanese baseball games have. I didn’t go 30 seconds without a beer girl passing by. We ended the day with dinner at Snow Lion, a Nepali restaurant that was extremely tasty.
Day 3: We activated our JR West Sanyo-San-in Area passes and headed west on the bullet train then a slow Sanyo Line train, bound for Onomichi. I rented a bike from Trek, took the ferry to Setoda and rode the Shimanami Kaido. I rode a bit south after I got off the ferry in Setoda, across the next big bridge. Then I turned around and biked back to Onomichi. It was a beautiful ride, but the parts near the Onomichi end could be skipped. Too much traffic and development. While I did this, my wife wandered around Onomichi, visiting Cat Alley and taking a ropeway ride. After that, we met up and headed for Ōkunoshima, aka Rabbit Island. This was a cool little side trip, but not sure it was worth the time expenditure. Finally, we ended the long day traveling to Hiroshima to check into our hotel. Family Mart was our main meal, because the restaurants in Tadano-Umi were all closed on Monday, and we had time to kill before the next train back to Mihara.
Day 4: We took a train and ferry trip to Miyajima and took the ropeway to the top, then walked the rest of the way to the top. It’s a beautiful island, but pretty tourist trap-ish. Later in the day we picked up Carp tickets for a future date, then checked out the Atomic Bomb Dome at night. The main meal, at Okonomiyaki Teppan-yaki Momiji-Tei, was extremely good Okonomiyaki.
Day 5: Day trip to Hakata, with a stop for the Hello Kitty exhibition at a hall near Shin-Yamaguchi Station. After Hello Kitty, we headed to Nanzoin, the reclining buddha statue and temple. It’s a wonderful place, the nice ladies at the train station will loan you some cover-up cloth if you have tattoos or your shorts are too short. After Nanzoin, we got some Hakata ramen at Ramen Stadium in the giant mall, then wandered the streets of Hakata a bit, stopping at Kushida-jinja Shrine. Back in Hiroshima that evening, we visited Sam’s Café, an American-themed bar with more memorabilia than you’d think possible. The proprietor is a wonderful older gentleman who loves America.
Day 6: We started the day at the Peace Museum. This is an extremely moving visit. A late breakfast here featured the fluffiest egg souffle I’ve ever seen. Later, we went to the Carp game.
Day 7: Shinkansen to Himeji Castle. We scheduled ourselves a four-hour layover, which was just about perfect to walk up there, see the castle and walk through it, check out the garden, and walk back without feeling rushed and with time to grab train snacks. Then we caught the Super Hakuto to Kurayoshi where we met a friend and ended the day with some onsen time at Izanro Iwasaki in Misasa Onsen.
Day 8: Tottori Sand Dunes, Sand Museum and a trip to Refresh park Yumura, which is a very nice onsen with the standard indoor, gender-separated areas, plus some cool outdoor spots for all genders, including a little cave. You wear a swimsuit for the outdoor parts.
Day 9: I wasn’t feeling great, so I did nothing while my wife and friends went to Lake Togo area near Kurayoshi for a waterfall hike. Then we boarded the Super Hakuto for Kyoto, where we stayed.
Day 10: We got an early start to see as many temples as possible in Kyoto before our 1pm train to Tokyo. We were able to get to Kiyomizu-dera, Ginkakuji and Shimogamo-jinja before time ran out. We used the city bus, which wasn’t that bad. They weren’t quite on time and we had to let a couple pass by at the very start of our day because they were too crowded. We added our PASMO card numbers into the Smart-Ex app so boarding the Shinkansen was super easy. In Tokyo, we stayed in Ueno, which was a great spot with good accessibility to the rest of the city and lots of action and places to eat and drink.
Day 11: We started with a trip to Sanrio Puroland, which took even longer than planned due to some train delays. Our train went out of service at some point on the trip. Puroland is kind of odd. But it wasn’t too expensive and my wife loved it. On the way back we stopped at Gotokuji Temple, the waving cat temple and later caught a glimpse of the waving cat train at the nearby Miyanosaka Station. For a nightcap, we checked out Asakusa Rockza.
Day 12: Shopping/sightseeing in Akihabara. Yodobashi Camera is absolutely massive. I preferred it over Bic Camera. After some other miscellaneous shopping near Tokyo Station, we later walked from our hotel over to this cat-themed bar.
Day 13: Near Nippori Station there’s a cat-centric neighborhood, Yanaka Cat Town. We stopped at a cat store or two as well as a cat art gallery. I got a great foot massage in this area, as well. This area was so cool we skipped out on our tickets to TeamLabs. For a nightcap, we went to one place in Golden Gai. That area is absolutely overrun with tourists.
Day 14: It was super rainy, and we didn’t have all that much time to kill before our flight, so we checked out the Tobu train museum. Definitely worth a visit if you like trains. Though kind of hard to figure out how to drive the trains if you don’t speak Japanese. Then we proceeded to Narita on the Skyliner. Note, there’s a slight discount for foreigners if you buy online.

My gf (22F) and I (22M) have been together for about a year now. We met online, I live near the upper west coast and she lives practically on the other side of the country, so were long distance. I've had this problem in the relationship and basically its that anytime she goes out clubbing or partying, I breakdown. It usually starts with me just doing some things on my own while shes out, and then I check her social media and see what shes doing while shes out. Though nothing malicious is happening, I still get anxious and breakdown. Normally, these breakdowns happen unbeknownst to her. Because I realize she is having fun, and I don't want to disturb her. We are (aside from this situation) a very healthy couple, so instead of letting it build up inside me, I tell her about my breakdown, later, about a day after shes had her fun. I have diagnosed social and general anxiety, and so she understands that is the reason why I make big deals out of nothing sometimes, but while she doesn't mind nearly as much as I do, I still want to be good for her, and make it so that it's no problem for either of us.
The toxic part comes when it's me worried about her with other guys at the club. I have security in our relationship, I'm not worried that she would leave me. I instead worry about her being looked at by other guys, and then possibly doing something, and then all I have are anxious thoughts about her getting SA'd or raped. And I spiral knowing the fact that since I'm long distance, I'm quite literally powerless to do anything. There have been times, I've also thought she should wear something a little less revealing when going out, but of course acknowledge that she shouldn't have to do that and the whole hijab theory, where woman shouldn't be confined to standards just because of the threat men may hold over them. This is the case for the most part, however, with my worst case scenarios I have caught myself breaking down over the anxious thought that she might actually like the attention. Anytime she dresses with any hint of scandalousness, I know its only ever for myself or her girlies. But sometimes things she said in the past, sparks my anxiety. Like throwing out the idea that she'd work at a hooters, or that she has extreme attractions to certain music artists that she'd (jokingly ofc) say she would do anything for. And while I know these are things I shouldn't worry about they trigger anxieties that make me think maybe she does like when people look at her, which I shut down logically, reminding myself of our relationship and how stable it is, but still my anxiety keeps me there emotionally, and makes it hard to recover.
I also have developed and anxiety surrounding substances, I'm completely sober and have no intention on touching alcohol, smoking or drugs, and so when my partner goes partying if they smoke a cigarette or have a little too much to drink (even though I know they would be realistically be ok) I start spiraling and thinking about this false version of her that would do all these concerning things, that was created out of nothing but my own worry.
Anyway thats the worst of it, this is something that has really been throwing me through the cycle, and at times I've though of resorting back to suicidal behavior I've developed years ago because of how much it emotionally hurts me. But that all gets quickly shut down, knowing now that I have so much because of her, and I'd be stupid to throw that away. I've desperately tried fixing this too. I've talked to therapists about it, but I was turned away by the last two therapists I booked after I told them that this situation and my anxiety were my main reasons for going into therapy, I'm sure they had there own reasons, but it makes me feel a little unfixable. Also, like I mentioned we communicate a lot in our relationship and so shes heard all these thoughts, and sometimes I think that she may hate that I've told her these things and she'll hate me for it. But despite being shitty like this every so often she still says she loves me, saying that its one bad thing amongst a pile of green flags. But I want to be more for her, I want to change so that substances and her having fun w/o me isn't something that I need to feel hurt by. I don't wanna be like this forever, but I'm left to either fix it myself or to keep running into dead ends. And frankly, I'm exhausted. Does anyone have any advice?

In the fascinating realm of PlayStation, where digital adventures abound, it can be a thorn in the side to find that one is hampered by the nuisance of region-specific content. Early access to new-fangled games and special extras are often cordoned off, like exclusive gatherings of the upper crust.
The secret to entry, as it turns out, involves tinkering with your PSN region. Now, before you rush off to adjust your existing account, I should inform you that it's about as fruitful as expecting a dog to recite Shakespeare. One needs to construct an entirely new account, a laborious process akin to erecting a garden gazebo, albeit far less physical.
Though a VPN is not absolutely necessary for changing your PSN region, employing one does impart a sense of being tucked up in one's club, safe from prying eyes and DDoS attacks. These devilish assaults have been known to banish gamers offline, a punishment akin to being sent to one's room without supper.
Regrettably, PlayStation consoles regard VPN apps with the same disdain that Jeeves has for my purple socks. You cannot simply summon a VPN onto your PlayStation in the manner of other digital gadgets. It must be manually configured on your router or shared with your PlayStation via a Wi-Fi or ethernet connection, much like one might reluctantly share one's last biscuit.
Fear not! This humble narrative shall illuminate the path towards changing your PSN region and marrying a VPN to your PlayStation. A brief perusal of the most commendable PlayStation VPNs is also in order - ExpressVPN leaps to mind. This chap boasts a user-friendly router app, a multitude of servers, and security measures as formidable as a British bulldog. To cap it off, it exhibits the kind of speed that would make a racehorse blush.
A Jaunty Journey through PSN Topography, or, How to Swop your PlayStation Locale with Whimsical Ease
Relocating your PSN region is a little like moving house, albeit with less packing of teacups and more clicking of buttons. It requires the formulation of a new user account, a process smoother than a freshly ironed trouser crease. Allow me to elucidate with a play-by-play guide suitable for either PS4 or PS5:
Commence your journey by bidding adieu to your current PSN account.
On the bridge of your PlayStation console, navigate to the realm of the Settings menu. Descend the list to 'Account Management,' and select 'Sign Out' to effectively check out of your current PSN lodgings.
Craft a fresh user profile on your console.
Make your way back to the heartland of the main screen, and select 'New User.' Press 'Create a User' to breathe life into your new digital persona, clicking 'Accept' to bow to the wisdom of the User Agreement. Subsequently, choose 'Next' to christen a sparkling new PSN account. On the PSN login page, there’s a button at the base labelled 'New to PlayStation Network? Create an Account.' Give it a hearty click!
Decree the region for the new account.
Under 'Country or Region,' take a gander at the drop-down menu and select your desired locale. Nominate your language of choice and duly enter your date of birth.
Declare your age to the digital powers that be.
For most, a mobile number affixed to your account shall suffice. Alternatively, scanning the QR code displayed on your screen or opting for an email verification are viable routes. Be aware that these are third-party methods.
Divulge your home address details.
Fill in your city, state or province, and postal code. On the following page, hand over your email address and create a password that’s more secretive than Jeeves's special pick-me-up recipe. Now select your Avatar, add your online ID and your moniker.
Finally, doff your cap to PSN's privacy policy and arrange your privacy settings to your liking.
And there you have it! As if by digital magic, you're the proud owner of a brand new PSN account, complete with an updated region. Happy gaming! Oh, dear, I do apologize. This seems to end on a 'happy' note. Let's try again:
There you have it! As if by digital magic, you're the proud owner of a brand new PSN account, complete with an updated region. May your gaming exploits be ever victorious!
The Online Odyssey: Ensuring a Bally Pleasant PlayStation Experience, VPN-Style
In the game of PlayStation, one can indeed venture without a VPN by one's side. However, just as a gentleman wouldn't dare attend a high society event without a trusty valet, the sagacious gamer understands the multitude of boons a VPN brings:
Unfurling the map to region-locked content:
Like a trusty bloodhound sniffing out the elusive truffle, a VPN can ferret out and unlock games in the PlayStation Store that your geographical locale renders inaccessible. The trick lies in the VPN assigning you an IP address twinning with the location of the server you're connected to.
Ditching the DDoS dastards:
Regrettably, the online multiplayer landscape occasionally plays host to less-than-chivalrous tactics, such as DDoS attacks. Essentially, these scoundrels overwhelm your connection with an ungodly barrage of requests, causing your server to crumble under the strain. A VPN acts like a digital cloak, concealing your IP address and thus making you an unlikely target for DDoS ne'er-do-wells.
Securing the sanctity of your online endeavors:
VPNs act as your personal invisible ink, encrypting all your digital communications into a scrambled code that would baffle even the sharpest of minds. This means any meddlesome individuals, including your ISP, are left none the wiser about your virtual ventures.
Blocking the bandwidth bailiffs:
There are ISPs out there, the absolute rotters, who might deliberately slow down your connection if they perceive you're rather too fond of data usage. Typically, this would occur if you're deep in the throes of online gaming or binging on the latest series. However, your VPN's encryption shields your activities, preventing your ISP from putting a damper on your digital delights.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN, by Jove, emerges as the unrivalled VPN partner for the PlayStation in 2023, much like a formidable butler who anticipates every need before it arises. The beauty of ExpressVPN lies in its ability to introduce you to the gaming delights from a staggering 90+ countries. Not only does it fling wide the doors to a pantheon of region-exclusive games, but it also ensures your gaming exploits are both lightning-fast and more secure than the Bank of England.
ExpressVPN, in a show of singular tech-wizardry, is one of the few VPNs to offer an application for routers. This handy feature sidesteps the minor inconvenience that PlayStation consoles hold a steadfast "no VPN apps allowed" policy. If you fancy an even simpler solution, ExpressVPN presents the Aircove, a router with the VPN features already installed and ready to serve. Should you prefer the comfort of familiar ground, ExpressVPN also offers congenial apps for your Windows or macOS device that allow you to share your VPN connection with your PlayStation.
Now, the speed at which ExpressVPN operates is reminiscent of a whippet on its morning constitutional. Its Lightway protocol, finely tuned for briskness and efficacy, ensures gaming on your PlayStation is a swift affair. When put to the test on my PlayStation 4, the difference between my usual speed and the speed with ExpressVPN was about as noticeable as a flea on an elephant. Even amidst the frenzied action of Call of Duty: Warzone matches, my ping remained as calm and unflappable as Jeeves in a crisis.
ExpressVPN takes its role as your security sentry rather seriously. Not only does it stand guard against DDoS attacks, but it also offers comprehensive protection against DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 leaks. This effectively means your IP address remains more elusive than the Scarlet Pimpernel. To add further clout to its privacy credentials, ExpressVPN employs RAM-only servers, ensuring that all data is wiped clean at every server reset, and perfect forward secrecy, guaranteeing a fresh encryption key with each new VPN session. Also, its no-logs policy has undergone multiple independent audits and emerged squeaky clean every time.
As a cherry on top, ExpressVPN also wields a nifty smart DNS tool, MediaStreamer, that makes your console a gateway to popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. Since MediaStreamer doesn't bother with encrypting your data, you're left with the swiftest speeds possible, making your streaming experience as smooth as a well-aged brandy.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access, or PIA if we're on friendly terms, is rather like a seasoned bouncer for your PlayStation gaming exploits. Its servers, gallantly stationed across 80+ countries, come equipped with anti-DDoS armour, ensuring any DDoS scoundrels attempting to disrupt your gaming shenanigans are turned away at the door. It also flaunts an array of other formidable security measures, including leak protection, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy.
Much like the chatty gentleman at the bar who can't help but share a story, PIA regularly delivers transparency reports detailing the numerous requests for user data it has successfully thwarted. For those intrigued by the technical side, PIA's apps are open-source, allowing anyone to peruse the code and search for potential chinks in the armour. Notably, PIA's no-logs policy has stood under the harsh light of audit and emerged with nary a blemish.
Despite lacking a dedicated router app like our good friend ExpressVPN, PIA offers router support. Of course, a touch of manual labour is needed to configure the VPN on your router (fear not, PIA provides comprehensive guides to hold your hand through the process). For those who prefer a more streamlined approach, PIA's user-friendly apps for Windows and macOS can transfigure your PC into a virtual router, making it PlayStation-friendly. And with unlimited connections on offer, every member of the household can indulge in their gaming or online pursuits without fear of overstepping their bounds.
PIA further cements its place in the gaming world by providing lightning-fast speeds and steadfast connections, suitable for even the most demanding of PlayStation adventures. A series of Call of Duty: Warzone bouts under my belt attest to this, with not a hint of lag or sluggishness in sight. It appears, dear reader, that with PIA at the helm, the battle for smooth gaming sessions is one decidedly won.
A Case of Geographic Gymnastics: The Art of Shuffling Your PSN Account Region
A touch of geographic flexibility with your PSN account can make one feel rather like a cosmopolitan globe-trotter. One minute you're casually perusing the digital shelves of one region's PSN store, the next you've hopped across the globe to a different region altogether, revealing a cornucopia of diverse games and jolly little applications that previously eluded your grasp.
Consider the tantalising prospect of time travel. Certain gaming treasures and their subsequent updates have a habit of making an earlier debut in specific regions. By cunningly adjusting your PSN region, you find yourself striding ahead of your original region's release date, a veritable gaming pioneer.
Money matters too, old bean. Not all regions approach the delicate subject of pricing in the same manner. A particular game or app, lurking at a steep price in one corner of the globe, might be available at a price as friendly as a Labrador in another. A quick switch of your PSN region and voila! You're purchasing games with a spring in your step and a much happier wallet.
Last, but by no means least, there's the matter of multiplayer matchmaking. A quick region swap and you're thrust into an entirely new gaming realm, rubbing virtual shoulders with players from your newly adopted region. Depending on your choice, this could usher in a larger player base and the thrilling prospect of competition that would make even the most seasoned player’s pulse quicken. All in all, it's a rather splendid arrangement.
Navigating the Virtual Bazaar: The Gentleman's Guide to Acquiring Region-Exclusive PlayStation Games
The path to procuring region-specific PlayStation games can be as labyrinthine as the plot of a mystery novel. And yet, with a little finesse and strategic planning, you can traverse this maze with all the grace of a seasoned explorer.
Now, consider this: only the payment methods associated with your new region will permit you to purchase games. Thus, if you've adopted Uncle Sam's land as your region, you'd need a US PayPal account to conduct any virtual commerce.
While some souls have been known to spin a yarn about a fictitious address, it's not a course I'd recommend. Such antics tend to ruffle the feathers of service providers, potentially leading to a rather permanent expulsion from their services, and that wouldn’t do, would it?
Instead, the optimal method involves the acquisition of digital gift cards tied to your region of choice, redeemable within the PlayStation Store.
A handy roadmap for this delightful escapade would look something like this:
Acquire the services of a dependable VPN and connect to a server that aligns with your chosen PSN region. ExpressVPN has always been my preferred companion on these journeys, courtesy of its vast server network and lightning-fast speeds.
Engage in the purchase of region-specific PSN gift cards. These tokens of digital currency can be sourced from a variety of online retailers or local establishments with a penchant for digital codes.
Redeem your gift card on your PlayStation console. Navigate to the PlayStation Store on your console, select 'Redeem Codes', and input your newly acquired code. Follow the prompts to add the funds to your PSN account.
Finally, take your pick from the smorgasbord of games available in your new region’s PlayStation Store.
So, there you have it: the enlightened path to region-specific gaming bliss. Good luck and goodspeed!