text:
Dear Modern Day Music
Mon, 01/01/2018 - 16:38 -- elentoco
Dear Hip Hop and Rap and other types of music that were traps for what I thought was a good beat but ended up being everything but that.
Look, you had me for a second and reckoned that this song would be at the top of the chart. But apart from your little catchy beat, you treat the women in your music like pieces of meat. Catcalling women like rib- eye, ai, ai, I am, foremost, not an object for you pick at. But you claim that it's a flow where you brag about your dough so the world knows that I'm nothing but a hoe that "rakes yo' money off the flo"? Whatever, bro.
If you get my gist, women are dismissed if they're not some candy for their eyes to see. What bothers me is that despite being told about what to do with my body, no one else seems to care or think it's odd he calls women nothing but items who "want it".
But we're all so trapped in this beat, wrapped in it, rapping to lyrics, words that demean the very sense of humanity. Glorifying yet denying a problem's there because the beat was so "bomb", preaching misogyny like psalms.
When did music lose its meaning, be demeaning, be entirely about the image of a woman and the way she moves her hips. We've lost the original score to swearing, violence, and calling women whores. Don't try to ignore the underlying problem here. If it weren't for the catchy beat and melody, this type of music on a daily basis you wouldn't hear. So, cheers to you and throwing your dignity away while also stepping on the pride of other people who didn't have a say, in the way your lyrics demeaned their every being. See there is a huge difference between embracing yourself, and all of your beauty and considering that beauty to just be a shallow object. I will be someone to stop this objectification, to provide education, to tell you it's wrong. So, NO you can't grab, smack, or touch us, for we belong to a group of people who will fight this oppression.
Why don't you start preaching out the truth, that money ain't a thing and that using derogatory terms to belittle us to get some bling isn't right?
So listeners, readers, everyone around: I challenge you all- the next time you're seduced by that beat, whether at a party, in the car, at the bar wherever life put you and you so happened to be. And tell me, is that the message music should preach?
Author's Note: My objective is not to make you feel guilty for liking these types of music. The purpose of my poem/ letter is to not oust you if you do indeed like rap and hip-hop. In fact, I as well, love Rap and Hip Hop (Tupac, Blu, Kanye, etc. c'mon they're amazing) for the catchy beat, rhythm, and flow, but also the influential impact on society. See, Rap and Hip Hop when initially introduced was used to empower the unheard. It raised the conscious need for social change in America. In the end, this is a letter intended for two people: the producers who create this negative, demeaning type of music and you the audience. I'm here to educate on the controversial yet bitter, harsh reality of a lot of modern day music. Rather than music being about the need for change, for spreading the love, the representation of people's rights, it's all about sex and includes a wide variety of misogyny and objectification which is not in any form or type of way just in my eyes. Regardless, I hope you enjoy my slam poem/ letter.
My country
elentoco
Slick Rick 3.9
Eminem 3.8
Wale 3.8
Run DMC 0.7
objectification rap music hiphop strength womenempowerment iamawoman


text:
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Top 5 airlines serving Myrtle Beach Metropolitan Area to Shanghai
KLM 7.7
American Airlines 7.2
United Airlines 7.0
Pros: "I felt safe on this flight. Middle seats were empty, plane seemed clean, masks, etc. were in place. I flew Sun Country a few weeks prior to this and flight was overcrowded and COVID precautions were way insufficient."
Pros: "Very good"
Cons: "Baggage was extremely delayed. Boarding and take off were delayed too"
Pros: "of everything."
Cons: "travel time ...ahahah ...."
Cons: "Provide earphones or headphones"
Pros: "The pilot greeted us all on the jet way and then spoke to us. He even came to ask if everyone was ok before we left."
Pros: "Comfortable aircraft. Great crew."
Cons: "can't think of anything"
Pros: "Newer planes with extra large overhead bins are great and the boarding process is much easier and smoother now with all the various breakdown of groups instead of by row."
Cons: "Delayed 4 hours at LAX and even though we made it to the gate to fly out on our connecting flight they had given our tickets away and booked us on a flight 5 hrs later. They told us our bags would be transferred. They werent and now both my daughter and i are starting out a dream vacation with no l"
Cons: "The food not so much breadddd"
Cons: "The check-in process was abysmal. The crew gave poor guidance delaying my ability to check in my bag, then refused to check it. They then told me to cancel my skymiles flight and purchase a new ticket. I was able to check my bag at the gate. Show up 2 hours before to account for their incompetenc"
Pros: "Everything went smoothly"
Cons: "???"
Pros: "How friendly all the staff were and how quickly we boarded the plane."
Cons: "How the toilet didn't work, but it's okay because I think we could all hold it for an hour ;)"
Pros: "Seat confort"
Cons: "Food and drink service"
Pros: "Flew premium economy/delta comfort + and was a great flying experience. A taste of business without the $3000+ ticket price. Food was excellent, a huge step above economy. Extra comfort with wider seats. And priority boarding as well. This was more like premium economy that you get with European airlines. For long haul flights, well worth the cost. Flight was delayed 2 hours, but Delta had their own special route in Shanghai airport to bypass a lot of the crowds either transferring or checking in for fight. I wouldn't have made my connecting flight if they hadn't. Plus my checked bags went straight thru to my final destination in china,n instead of having to pick up and re-check them in Shanghai."
Cons: "2-hour delay causes me to almost miss my connection. I know some passengers had to be transferred to different flights which they almost missed."
Pros: "The crew both going and coming from San Jose, Costa Rica were incredible."
Cons: "The long waits on the tarmac waiting on other planes to leave. Which was a big problem because it caused a lot of us to either barely miss our flight or miss our flight."
Pros: "Upgrade to ComfortPlus"
Pros: "The professionalism of staff"
Pros: "I liked that the plane wasn't full which was a surprise."
Cons: "Last leg of the flight as usual we had some plane on it's last legs with entertainment equipment from the 90's and that's being generous. My iPhone 7Plus is only a little smaller than the screen they would have you watch for five hours. Also the plane was old and noisy and seats were not really comfortable. But this is par for the course flying to Hawaii for some reason, no matter the carrier. Hawaiian Airlines is usually better but that's to be expected."
Pros: "Crew was friendly"
Cons: "Paid extra for Econ Comfort but still got a seat with no in flight entertainment and they provided no food/beverage services."
Cons: "Lost baggage. No one told us anything till after an hour"
Pros: "1. Smooth flight itself and informed by captain well on expected time of arrival with frequent updates"
Cons: "1. I already had a tight connection and let the flight attendant know that I was concerned due to the delay. She seemed very laissez faire and there was no information about the connections gate overhead or when I got off the plane. I think that if the flight is delayed, the airline should let passengers know where the close connection gate assignments are to save them time (my flight landed ten minutes after my connection was boarding). 2. The carry on luggage section was impossibly small so I had to gatecheck my bag and it took five minutes to get my bag back. Given the tight connection, this created additional anxiety."
Pros: "Seats and service."
Pros: "Flight was 3 hours late leaving due to frost on wings. De icing truck wouldn't work so they waited until sunrise and parked the plane in the sun. Real hi tech solution."
Pros: "The snack variety"
Cons: "My headphone jack was broken :("
Pros: "Flight was nice"
Cons: "Boarding was slow because boarding is done poorly"
Pros: "I liked the fact that the flight left on time and landed ahead of schedule."
Cons: "The flight was rough. The coffee was horrible though."
Pros: "Great service, very comfortable."
Pros: "boarding process was good food was okay not great not bad entertainment was good flight attendants and service excellent"
Cons: "food could have been better but arriving to destination safely is most important"
Pros: "Inflight free texting everywhere that wasn't China, decent food, funny crew (I liked the mix of American and Chinese)"
Pros: "Staff pretty friendly. Plane clean. Ran on time. Good communication."
Cons: "No option for tv/movie on a longer flight. And really? One tiny snack for a longer flight too?? Little more room in seats would be nice."
Cons: "The boarding took a long time then when they called for the zone 3 they told us to hurry up. The steward was doing everything by hand motion. You couldn't hear what he was saying. The plane was extremely noisy and we asked what the noise was none of the crew answered. This is not the normal service that I am used to from Delta."
Pros: "The trip was short."
Cons: "I didn't care for my engine only window view. Nor did i like that the crew barely served refreshments (other airlines have zero issues with this on a DTW-MDW or ORD with a larger plane and equal amount of flight stewards). The route was also akin to being on a rough patch of sea for an hour."
Pros: "Great experience"
Pros: "Service"
Cons: "Comfort"
Cons: "There were extra seats to begin with and I was traveling alone with an infant. She barely slept the whole flight and I had a stuardis in a red dress who whem I asked for for a beverage made it seem like I asked for it right now. Didn't say a word Else to me until it was time to land and my daughter had just fell asleep. She told me. I had to take her out of the baby carrier. My daughter needed a diaper change and there were no places to change her. I tried to change her by the door really fast. The stuardis said no go change in a bathroom I asked which one had a changing station they said none and to just change in my lap. Plus my car seat was broke when I got it back."
Pros: "Distaff who is very friendly and accommodating."
Pros: "Crew was informative. The food was above expectations."
Cons: "The 27 year old B747 was a pain. Seats are hard, and engines are loud. The cabin is extremely dry after 14+ hrs of flight."
Pros: "Getting to China, albeit two days late."
Cons: "The fact that the lack of knowledge regarding international travel visas by the counter staff and supervisor meant that two days of the vacation were lost. Upon arrival in China the 144 hour travel visa was granted with no problem within minutes, but the U.S. staff was completely befuddled by the possibility. The interrogation was completely stressful and resulted in a reschedule of the original flight and during the second attempt at flying even an email from the U.S. consulate with a link to the Shanghai/Chinese government immigration site was deemed "not official enough". i will be expecting proper compensation. I was once given an $850 travel voucher for voluntarily giving up my seat, and was flown first class to Hawaii, given 4 star accomodation and then flown first class on to China within 48 hours. This was an involuntary bump from our chosen flight time, all because of a lack of knowledge about current visa regulations and international law on the part of the check in staff. We have been loyal Delta users for over 15 years, and this was the biggest blunder ever. Also humiliating and extremely frustrating, stressful and a big problem with fulfilling our travel plans between son and father."
Pros: "The entertainment system had a wide selection of good movies to watch."
Cons: "The seat was busted and could barely recline at all."
Pros: "Lady said she was taking the seat I paid an upgrade fee for. Crew did nothing. Said I should take her seat."
Cons: "Crew"
Pros: "Leg room was great compared to discount airlines. The built in entertainment for individualized interests was welcome. Crew was great."
Pros: "Very friendly and efficient. Food was hot and red wine excellent."
Cons: "Delayed 12 hours"
Pros: "Media options were ok."
Cons: "I received a frozen beer and no napkin. Beer began to overflow, and I sat there for about 10 minutes before another flight attendant walked by. Her attitude was less than desirable upon seeing the situation. Also my luggage never arrived in Singapore. Shanghai didn't have any notification, so I assume it was lost on the Delta end. Overall I am very disappointed and will be seeking a non-delta affiliate for my next trip."
Pros: "Not much."
Cons: "We disliked that our baggage was lost and we do not have it two days later."
Pros: "food was surprisingly good."
Cons: "the flatbed seat is very narrow and not comfortable. The crew took a long time to remove plates after the meal was eaten."
Cons: "Same as above"
Cons: "Family of 6 with 3 minors. Could not sit any of us together."
Pros: "The flight crew was nice and polite. They served drinks and snacks in a timely manner while on the flight."
Cons: "Flight was scheduled to leave early, the plane arrived, but they couldn't turn the plane around fast enough. We left the gat late, then pilot said we would still be arriving half an hour early. We arrived about 45 minutes late, and that was a problem because our connecting flight was due to depart now in 15 minutes. Lightning forced the airport to shutdown, which was great, we had a chance to catch our flight, but we were stuck in the airplane, and we couldn't get to our gate until the all-clear. I know this is not Delta's fault, but they did arrive quite late on a flight that, according to them, would be early. They also never communicated to the other flight that there were several passengers catching that connection. So by the time we had ran to catch our connection they had closed the ramp. Lightning hit again, and they shutdown the airport once again, so the airplane was still at the gate for about an hour, and they did not allow the 20+ passengers to board that plane, which was right there. So frustrating. The only thing that saved it was that our new flight was the new airbus, and although it left an hour and a half later, the comfort level was phenomenal."
Cons: "Allow business passenger to use front bathroom."
Pros: "Perfect"
Cons: "Nothing. Flight was amazing"
Pros: "Terrific hot breakfast in bus. class"
Cons: "Window did not darken like the others."
Pros: "Services is good ."
Cons: "Food can be better"
Pros: "Loved the smooth ride."
Cons: "Bathroom was pretty nasty"
Pros: "The crew was pleasant"
Cons: "Baggage checkin & flight boarding was slow & disorganized."
Pros: "The aircraft"
Cons: "No overbooking next time!"
Cons: "Not being 1 hour late"
Pros: "Slow service."
Cons: "Better communication!"
Pros: "Crew were great"
Cons: "Refreshments"
Pros: "Reasonable space in economy class seats"
Cons: "Staff hurrying us up 40 minutes before departing and threatening to take our bags out of the plane in case we didn't board then. I had to leave my coffee and run."
Pros: "Nice staff and no delay"
Cons: "Instead of crisps maybe a bit of cheese or crackers"
Pros: "Friendly crew, upgraded seat was worthwhile"
Cons: "More snacks in between meals,"
Cons: "KLM was not prepared to get wheel chair passenger off plane. Cost me delay of 1 hour. I will never fly KLM again."
Pros: "well mannered and attentive crew - good supply of complimentary food/drink - good over all comfort"
Cons: "boarding was running very far behind - considering this is mainly a hub operations carrier - resulted in several passengers missing their connecting flights -"
Pros: "The earphones for out two seats only worked intermittently, but the Purser, Lee-Ann handled it professionally and pleasantly. That was the only disappointment in an otherwise pleasant flight"
Cons: "The earphones could have worked!"
Pros: "The flight was smooth, the service was friendly, and the food with plentiful."
Cons: "Too much activity in the cabin during the flight."
Pros: "Crew was amazing, seats were comfortable with enough leg space even without choosing extra space seats. It was my childhood dream come true to fly with KLM. It was really an exciting trip for me, just that it was short."
Cons: "Well, for me everything was on point. Those who have never travelled with KLM, I would encourage them to do so and I'm sure they will not regret."
Cons: "The overall travel was good, no wifi and the entertainment system had a faulty headphone connection, and no place to charge devices other than through a USB port"
Pros: "Friendly hostesses"
Cons: "Flight was delayed 3 hours"
Cons: "wasn't able to take the flight since I missed it"
Pros: "Restrooms clean, decent food and drink, nice cabin crew."
Cons: "No complaints"
Pros: "Interior of the plane was clean. Smooth landing."
Cons: "Pilot did not avoid turbulence"
Pros: "Good services!"
Pros: "Good service onboard, good food. On time."
Pros: "The crew were hardworking, responsive, conscientious and friendly"
Cons: "Really poor entertainment choices esp compared to my inbound AirFrance flight. Boarding was pretty disorganized and late."
Pros: "Food was just fine, movie selection very good"
Cons: "Uncomfortable seat cushions, lights were truned on too early (1.5 hours before flight landed)"
Cons: "Bag was lost"
Pros: "Very friendly staff"
Pros: "Only thing we liked was the fact that we were able to get onto our flight at all..."
Cons: "Was not informed that checking in online is the only way to secure a seat. So, regardless of whether you book your tickets 3 months in advance or the day before, you're not actually guaranteed a seat unless you check in online. We weren't told this until we were at the airport and checked in there that we might not be able to get our pre-booked in advance flight because of over-booking from KLM. We then had to wait and see if there were seats available when boarding. Luckily, there were, but we were not sat together. Not the greatest start to our first holiday together as a couple. We were told that if there weren't seats available, they'd pay for us to get to another airport to fly out, which would have meant a huge delay on the only time off we'd get together this year and have to rearrange our pre-booked and pre-paid living arrangements for the week. All because there wasn't a lot of emphasis on the need to check in online before hand. You'd think if someone checked in at the airport, that would be more of a guarantee that they'd be flying with you that day, but apparently not. Definitely not impressed or happy with this part of the KLM experience. This is the only company that we've had this problem with, they should make it clearer that it is essential to check in online."
Pros: "The crew came to get me from the arrival gate to get to the departure gate since our plane was delayed. It helped to know that the airline was checking to make sure we made the flight."
Cons: "I did not get my luggage in Nairobi. The delayed flight that was the most likely reason it did not get to the connecting flight to Nairobi."
Pros: "The cabin crew were good. They explained what the arrangements were for the delayed flight connections"
Cons: "The plane wasn't refueled and so was not ready for take off once the passengers were loaded. The plane had a technical problem when it tried the first take off and so it had to be abandoned. This was alarming.."
Cons: "una valija se perdió. Eso desató el descontrol que tiene KLM para seguir el equipaje. No hay como hacer tracking. No hay un teléfono a donde hablar, la web está desactualizada y con información equivocada. Direccionan a usar canales de twitter y facebook que no responden. Primer experiencia en KLM y no pienso nunca más usar esta aerolínea. Llevar el equipaje o resolver un problema sobre valijas es de lo más básico de una aerolínea y no lo hacen."
Cons: "Two hours delay in the start."
Pros: "Comfort economy well worth the extra."
Pros: "Usual professional and friendly service from my airline of choice for most destinations."
Pros: "The flight was delayed due to fog, but the staff was amazingly helpful to make sure everyone got to their destination."
Pros: "Jet airways flight till mumbai"
Cons: "Poor legspace in Klm flight till Amsterdam"
Pros: "Flight was efficient enough and staff were friendly."
Cons: "It was delayed quite a bit and more on-time updates would have been appeciated."
Pros: "Food and staff were great"
Cons: "Entertainment system old and not as many options as other KLM flight. No power on aircraft for charging"
Pros: "Same as above"
Pros: "Wide selection of entertainment, food was good."
Cons: "Boarding unorganized, but that may have been more of a passenger issue then KLM"
Pros: "We love the flight all the way"
Pros: "Crew was excellent"
Cons: "Economy was very tight! Seats were uncomfortable"
Cons: "With skyteam elite status cannot select free upgrade from economy to premium economy unless it is 30hrs before boarding for this code share which is actually a KLM flight"
Cons: "I missed my flight because of MU"
Pros: "Except for my negative comment, a good flight."
Cons: "I paid extra for a window seat, but due to the poor alignment of the seats with the actual windows, I actually sat next to a wall! Nol much to see out of a wall. If KLM are going to charge extra for a window seat, then they should make sure there is a window there! If the seat had actually had a window it would have been an excellent flight."
Pros: "A nice short flight"
Cons: "We had booked business on our flight to Milan, and it was extremely disappointing that on this sector they put us on the last seat in the back of the plane. There were plent of seats on this flight that had extended legroom. A bit of a mystery, why Westjet elected to put usin the last seats on the plane?"
Cons: "Very slow service. I wanted to by several goods from duty free. But crew served only first 20 rows of aircraft."
Pros: "It was very comfortable"
Cons: "The crew was great"
Cons: "Flight attendant was very aggressive and confrontational."
Pros: "No"
Cons: "Of course. EMPATHY"
Cons: "A movie player"
Pros: "On time flight, entertainment and food options."
Cons: "Uncomfortable seats."
Pros: "Easy boarding. Crew was friendly."
Cons: "Both the to and return flights, I was never able to get their entertainment to work on my iPhone. The website fails to load in the browser even though I'm on their in flight WiFi and following instructions specifically"
Pros: "Crew super attentive and pleasant, movie options good, liked plug/outlet,"
Cons: "Seating could've been a little better, just not super comfortable for such a long flight"
Cons: "Opportunity to buy food on a 3.5 hour flight. Pretzels just doesn't cut it on a 'dinner time' flight."
Pros: "AA flights are always a pleasure. Staff is cheerful despite the early hours I fly out of Philadelphia."
Cons: "There is a complete lack of airport personnel at 3:00am and the fire alarm went off and sounded for about half an hour or so."
Pros: "Great Crew"
Cons: "More room"
Pros: "Crew was very nice, and helpful."
Cons: "I remember you used to get to choose from some seats even if you didn't pay extra. Since the smaller airlines started charging to choose, now the big ones are doing it as well. I checked in for two tickets at the same time, but my wife and i were still separated. Frustrating"
Pros: "Great crew. Falafel meal was delish."
Cons: "My seat was broken and didn't recline. I booked first class bc of a bad back, so I count on that. Salad was wilted and gross. Plane didn't have plug ins for phone! Entertainment system didn't work well- movie kept buffering. Sky texting wouldn't work either."
Cons: "Your staff needs to utilize better communication. I scheduled the first flight of the day, and it was delayed. We were stuck on the tarmac for an hour without anyone telling us what was going on. We had to return to the gate to refuel and we left at the time we were suppose to arrive to Charlotte."
Pros: "Not much"
Cons: "Two hours late. Poor gate communication. Laggy app updates."
Pros: "Very good service"
Cons: "Ok"
Pros: "The American airline is a wonderful experience especially during a stressful time to travel. Everyone was helpful. Especially the pilots. They help me order my Uber."
Cons: "The hostess was a little short but she was working alone, Thank you for sitting in front of plane."
Cons: "Mobile boarding passes did not work and required us to go back to the service counter and print the tickets. Luckily we had time but this was a hassle given we were traveling with our 3 year old. The woman at the service desk quickly helped us print the passes but stated the mobile boarding passes tended to not scan. They should have told us to print the passes the first time we were at the counter if they knew the mobile passes tend to not work."
Pros: "Flight was delayed. booked another flight through Dallas with a 150 minutes layover there. That almost wasn't enough as we had an unscheduled 1 hour stop in Austi . In Dallas I had to run from one flight to the next. The only reason I made was because the connecting flight eas also delayed. In rhe end we landed at SFO (instead of OAK) over 2 hours later than originally scheduled. To make matters worse, there was a backup on the Dublin grade, making the drive home to Tracy over three hours long. arrived at SAT at 4:30 PM CDT and arrived home in Tracy after 3:30 AM OFT. oh yeah, and my luggage didn't make it at all..."
Pros: "Awfully rude flight attendants Took multiple buses I guess American doesn't pay good money to the airports"
Pros: "Too many passengers, crazy lines and the food not great. Flight crew was friendly and helpful. Was great in terms of flight time. Flight arrive earlier than expect. Was smooth flight in terms of turbulence."
Cons: "Food. I didn't like my seat, was uncomfortable."
Cons: "Our original flight was cancelled so we were rebooked for a much later flight which impacted our vacation. Call system was not working efficiently."
Pros: "Flight attendant actually seemed to enjoy job even had genuine smile. Made that the most enjoyable flight I've had in awhile"
Pros: "Friendly service, smooth flight and quick boarding time."
Cons: "All good!"
Pros: "Delayed flights. Bumped from my first class ticket. No food. Lack of adequate response from AA."
Pros: "Everything else"
Pros: "Entertainment!"
Cons: "The drink was terrible, hot tea"
Pros: "Terrible. Old airplane, bad food, no entertainment. To avoid in the future"
Pros: "We enjoyed the room on the seats and the power outlets were very comfortable. Air Crew was extremely attentive!"
Cons: "Too much space in between meals provided and small portions."
Pros: "Great time. It was one of the best flights I have ever taken."
Cons: "Flight was delayed for nearly 5 hours. There was no accommodations for the delay, except for apologies. Very limited snacks were provided, but this huge delay cut into our reservations and vacation in our resort."
Cons: "Typical Shanghai ground delays"
Cons: "The airline "randomly" selected me for extra security. Even though I have TSA pre-check I was jostled around, sent to multiple security lines without any reasoning and the local Chicago TSA and airport staff didn't seem to know what to do. Once it was figured out I was subjected to what was essentially a cavity search. Again I HAVE TSA-pre-check but apparently that means nothing if an airline flags you. It was an extremely upsetting experience but you were in a situation of either agree to the invasive search or get stranded over 1000 miles from home. I will NEVER fly Iberia again after a cancelled flight and being stranded in the wrong country on the way to my vacation and the horrible security experience on the way back. I seriously may never go to Chicago either after seeing the complete lack of organization and traumatizing personal invasion. I fly a lot for work and have never had such a horrible experience. I would really like to know how many terrorists are caught with these invasive searches and would love to know the justification for sticking your hands inside someone's pants and grabbing their privates after they have already gone through a metal detector AND the body scanner. Especially for someone who has already passed a federal background check to obtain pre-check status. Absolutely ridiculous."
Pros: "Accommodation of letting me and my kids sit together."
Pros: "We were notified of the pending delay in our flight from Athens to Philly very promptly on the morning of the 10th. We immediately called and spoke to a British Airways agent and also a supervisor who was understanding and kind enough to accommodate us by reserving seats on a later connecting flight with American Airlines from Philly to Phoenix. We did not receive a confirming email and ended up calling back. We were then told that Vouchers will be waiting for us at the Philadelphia airport with our names."
Cons: "When we checked in at Athens airport there was no information available for our connecting flight in Philadelphia. The AA counter was chaotic, the agents were rude and had changed our seats to 2 separate areas. When we arrived in Philadelphia there were no vouchers waiting for us. The only thing that the agent could find were seat assignments . We stood in line over an hour waiting for her to figure out what had happened and almost missed our connecting flight . Even though my daughter was in a wheelchair with a brace on her leg and in pain, the agent at the counter was not very empathetic at all. The agent also kept saying that this was not correct somebody made a mistake to tell us we were booked and that person will get in trouble. Eventually she spoke with the supervisor and gave us 2 boarding passes."
Pros: "The flight was delayed 4 times until we were unable to make our connecting flight. We were sent home to try again tomorrow. Meanwhile other flights AA made their connections. Total bullshit. I suggest they couldn't round up a crew."
Cons: "You are kidding."
Cons: "Completely ignored for beverage service"
Cons: "The big delay (almost 4 hours) makes me loose my trip to Canada on the same day."
Pros: "Courteous crew"
Cons: "The plane was tiny and old"
Pros: "When the arrival time of the connecting flight was changed, we chose another set of flights."
Pros: "The trip from st martin was fine in terms of check in. AA opened their windows early so we beat the crowd."
Cons: "The plane left 20 minutes late, and then we hit turbulence and a bit of rain close to our arrival in Charlotte. I had originally booked a flight through Miami with plenty of layover time to get a connecting flight to Dallas, but AA canceled that one and put me on a connection the following day! When I called customer service, they were helpful in regards booking and assured me there would be plenty of time to connect through Charlotte. When our plane landed 35 minutes late, there was only 15 minutes to connect, and we waited for baggage that whole time. No idea what took baggage so long, but the result is that we missed our flight. AA did put us on standby for the next one, but that meant our relative had to pick us up at midnight."
Pros: "Boarding the plane from the back first saved longer queues. Unfortunately people cheat and the boarding officers don't send them back to the right queue. Toilets were clean. Staff excellent. I was glad all my flights were stuffed to the gunnels. Presumably that is best for the environment rather than lots of planes with fewer passengers in each."
Cons: "Passport control with new computer ID checks was fast. Baggage was slow coming. I booked through Netflights and they didn't book me a good seat. If I could have changed it myself they should have told me. On the way to Tampa on 3rd March I couldn't check in within 24 hours and had to wait half an hour while they changed our plane. BA used to do short science programmes which I loved. Shame these have finished."
Pros: "I did not get to fly out. Still waiting for my refund."
Cons: "I arrived to the airport Two Hours early. I had checked in online and obtained my boarding pass. I checked into Japan Airlines since this was the airline I chose. I get to the counter and I was told that I had to check into American Airlines. I rush to American Airlines and I was directed to check my bags in electronically. There was mass confusion, because people had no clue on how to operate the system. As my turn approached the system failed. By then I had 45 mins to board. I talked to a clerk and she directed me and the other people to the Custumer service desk. I waited my turn and time to board was approaching. They told me not to worry because the flight was delayed one hour. By the time I got to the counter, It was too late to board the already delayed flight. I spoke to a clerk via phone as i was at the counter and I wsa told I was to receive a refund due to the fact that this was not my fault. You caused a financial loos of money and time. as of yet I have not received my refund."
Pros: "The crew was friendly"
Cons: "We sat behind a 3 year old child. Very loud screaming jumping. Parent did not have control over child. The stewardess did not seem bothered. The longest most miserable flight EVER!!!!"
Pros: "I was traveling with a pet and they were very kind and helpful to me."
Cons: "American changed the 2nd & 3rd legs of our trip from Vancouver to Phoenix to Charlotte to New Bern and didn't bother to notify us. Discovered on our own after we arrived in Phoenix."
Pros: "Flight is only an hour so not much to get wrong."
Cons: "We were delayed and I felt like information could have been shared with passengers in a better way."
Cons: "The automatic machines wouldn't check me in. The lazy who checked me in manually have me wrong information about my luggage. The affect on the Mexico side have me MORE wrong information about my luggage. Ultimately, my luggage was lost. Still waiting for them to find it."
Pros: "Everything was smooth, even the getting through TSA process. I had minimal wait time."
Cons: "The seats on this plane seemed narrower than any plan I have flown on. I have never had a seat where both my hips were touching side of seat at same time"
Pros: "The flight was on time and the crew efficuent"
Cons: "The airplane was cold."
Pros: "Finally upgraded planes on this route. Dreamliner was very comfortable."
Cons: "Hour and a half delay for a scratch on a cargo door. Glad safety is a top priority but it must have been more this just a scratch."
Cons: "For Air Canada to go bankrupt."
Cons: "My wifi was not working for the entire trip!"
Pros: "Plane was nice, clean, good entertainment options, departed almost on time, arrived on time."
Cons: "Boarding process - seat upgrades should come with boarding zone upgrades. Paying extra for a seat and then boarding in last zone makes no sense to me."
Cons: "Seats are always a pain in the butt Wifi has never worked for me -slow and keeps dropping"
Pros: "You got me there without problems. Even the baggage got transferred. Better if seats declined more. I would pay an extra 40 to have a more seat recline."
Pros: "Everything is excellent!"
Cons: "The boarding procedure."
Pros: "Beautiful new 787"
Cons: "Entertainment options could be more plentiful."
Pros: "LITERALLY NOTHING Trashiest airline in the world"
Cons: "Customer service, boarding, check in desk, LITERALLY EVERYTHING WAS 3rd CLASS WILL NEVER FLY WITH THIS AIRLINE EVER AGAIN EVEN IF THE TICKE IS FREE WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE AND I WILL TELL EVERYONE"
Pros: "Friendly staff, happy to help"
Cons: "Terrible food, plane was overbooked, they only offer 'in-ear' headphones, they have squeezed maximum seats into this plane to increase their profit. Would absolutely NEVER fly Air Canada long haul economy or premium economy again."
Pros: "The crew ensured that all my needs were met while on the flight. Truly a pleasurable experience."
Cons: "Nothing... Can't exactly shorten the distance."
Cons: "I want to seriously complain about Air Canada and Kayak booking systems. I reserved the tickets to Shanghai but there were no place reminding me that I need Canadian VISA to connect flights between two Canadian cities. I am a Chinese citizen who is working at USA and not allowed to change flights in Canada based on the newest government rules. However, in both booking systems, there is no reminders. In my opinion, either Kayak or Air Canada can add a simple checkbox to let the potential guest choose his or her nationality status, then this kind of trouble can be mitigated. We talked and called Air Canada people but no buying. They kept saying this is our responsibility. We bought United Airline tickets at the last minutes and cost us about $2,400 because we cannot wait to get back China to prepare our wedding ceremony and US Visa interview. We are very very disappointed with Air Canada and will keep complaining about this issue. As a service supplier, how cannot you think on behalf of a customer? The air company definitely knows more about government rules than a customer. We did have mistakes of not researching government rules. However, the biggest mistake was we trusted Air Canada and Kayak who we thought had taken care of those kind of issues for us. Thanks."
Cons: "My direct flight was cancelled and rebooked with a connecting flight."
Cons: "Air Canada cancelled my original flight and it was difficult to reschedule. Customer service wasn't great."
Pros: "Crew very friendly. In-flight refreshments & Entertainment provided."
Cons: "Cramp seats."
Cons: "Food was not good. Just filling. Crew was not polite when I asked for more water"
Pros: "Nice crew and service, I ate all the food :) lots of new movies !"
Cons: "I guess it is a good thing for the airline because the plane was full, although it was crowded to me."
Pros: "Good meals and services with beverages"
Cons: "None"
Pros: "good crew"
Cons: "light in bathroom didn't work and was so small i couldn't help my three year old go without leaving the door open"
Pros: "Excellent service in business class: attentive, cordial, not intrusive."
Cons: "The Air Canada counter officer do not help me at all. She only told me to call Air Canada which I can not since the Shanghai office is close and the US number did not work. I ended up bought a new ticket with AA."
Pros: "It is always a pleasure to fly with Air Canada! The staff is always friendly and helpful and they provide great in-flight entertainment."
Cons: "Not enough bathrooms on this plane, constant line for bathroom."
Cons: "Someone was in my seat (and feigning sleep). Not a big problem, I just sat in another seat, but kind of uncool. Cabin crew were never aware, which is odd"
Pros: "Late departure due to an incompetent airport crew (the guys who fuel the plane) . The pilot keep us well informed about the delay. Since we left Vancouver late, we arrived late and had to sit on the runway for 30 minutes until we could get a gate at LAX. Again the pilot keep us informed and apologized for the inconvenience, The staff was very friendly."
Pros: "Service before boarding was excellent. Checking in as long as the boarding time was efficient and fast. In flight service was okay, flight crew was helpful and friendly. The selection of entertainment was excellent. Good international films, in addition to the monocles 24 hours radio station. However, the food was mediocre, there was not enough food for a flight of 11 hours."
Cons: "I didn't like the amount and selection of food."
Pros: "Nice service, flight was on time and can't complain. :)"
Cons: "Nothing to really put in here. Only a short flight and everything was above board. Sorry, no rant or raving today. Maybe next time."
Pros: "The professionalism, friendliness, entertainment. I was very satisfied because there has been a lot of negative press about other airlines, but Air Canada seemed really on the ball."
Cons: "nothing really."
Pros: "The ciabatta buns served with the regular meals, looked lovely, as did the regular meat meals. Unfortunately, I ordered the Hindu Vegetarian meal."
Cons: "Usually the Hindu Vegetarian meals are quite nice, but these ones were not. I have eaten a lot of Indian and Middle Eastern food, and I could not identify what this was supposed to be. The basmati rice had the consistency of oatmeal. The first meal was tasteless and the second meal had too much hot spice, but still no flavour. The bread they gave with the meal was tiny and tasteless compared to the lovely ciabatta rolls served with the regular meals."
Cons: "Seats were uncomfortable, too hard not enough recline. Not enough food considering we paid alot"
Cons: "We were missing some of our luggage and now 7 days later are no closer to getting it than we were .We haven't gotten much help or satisfaction."
Pros: "Everything was good with this flight - really no complaints. The staff was very friendly too!"
Cons: "Nothing - I really have nothing to complain about with this flight."
Cons: "my language has been lost !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Pros: "The boarding went smooth. The seats are very comfortable and there was a lot of leg room. The food was delicious and the service was great. I loved the selection of movies."
Pros: "The crew was especially friendly and helpful."
Pros: "Awesome entertainment and tech interface at the seats!"
Cons: "No tv no food"
Pros: "Made it in one piece without lost luggage"
Cons: "4+ hour flight, no complimentary snacks, seating felt cramped,~45 minute delay in departure and docking, infotainment center broken"
Pros: "Econamy class allows 2 piece of bag."
Cons: "I only have one bag. My bag is weighted 57 lb and charged me CA$100.00. They should have averaged 2 bags' weight and I should not have charged CA$100.00. I think the service is poor."
Pros: "The entertainment was good and the crew was efficient. Getting on and off the plane was smooth."
Cons: "I couldn't believe how little room there was for such a long flight! There wasn't enough room for me to reach my bag that was on the ground even when the seat in front of me wasn't reclined. And the people next to me kept jabbing me with their elbows because three grown adults simply could not sit next to one another in such a small space. I'm a small person so if I feel crammed on a flight I have no idea how the average person can tolerate it!"
Pros: "Boarding was on time and orderly."
Cons: "We requested for seat in the front and nothing was available. We were placed at the back of the plane one to the last row. There was many open seat in the front?????? Either inefficient or malicious. Our over head compartment was full with flight equipment and supply."
Cons: "There's a strong reason why the Asian airlines have greater customer satisfaction. I flew Eva Air, Cathay Pacific and China Airlines before. Their flight attendants literally walk back and forth non-stop during most of the time in the air to serve the passengers. Their food are much better. Added benefit: their flight attendants are much younger and prettier!"
Cons: "LGA Gate #6 and #7 to cold, people were freezing. Also, those two gates are like cattle barn."
Pros: "Seats more comfortable than most."
Cons: "Plane was pretty hot during boarding and taxiing"
Cons: "Seating for Econamy patron flyers has become disgustingly so close together that knees of person behind me kept jabbing me in my back. When person in front tilted his seat back I really felt cramped and felt like a sardine. I am not a tall person. I do have short legs. Maybe airlines should hereafter ban tilting the seats back."
Cons: "Air Canada ROUGE to Dublin was a nightmare. Small seats. Could not hear the announcements. When I asked the staff to repeat the information, I was assured that they would. They did not. Since the flight was late on takeoff and connections were lost this was critical. Overhead latches were not checked prior to landing. One opened during landing. Only because the pilot landed gently, nothing fell on the people in the seats. Entertainment!! nothing. You need to have downloaded an app to use your electronic device or rent an Ipad. More money in their pocket."
Pros: "Crew was nice but customer service at the airport and over the phone is terrible (takes over 30 min to speak with someone and a few times they hang up the phone)"
Cons: "Luggage was delayed for over 36 hours and customer service hotline was useless."
Pros: "Flight got delayed twice I had to go to the airport 3 times, finally the personal change me to another airline. I payed over 250 just in taxi to and from the airpor, plus 300 dollars in hotel reservations plus 250 in tours. The airline other than continue rebooking and printing more and more boarding passes did nothing"
Cons: "Flight got delayed twice I had to go to the airport 3 times, finally the personal change me to another airline. I payed over 250 just in taxi to and from the airpor, plus 300 dollars in hotel reservations plus 250 in tours. The airline other than continue rebooking and printing more and more boarding passes did nothing"
Pros: "Service, flight, food"
Cons: "Lost my luggage, two days before it was returned."
Cons: "map was broken halfway into flight"
Pros: "Toronto->Shanghai Good In general it was a good flight considering how long (14 hours) it was. The new entertainment system has a lot of features and movies. It also has chat to other passengers which is useful when travelling with a group sitting in different areas."
Cons: "Bad Long flight but that is the way it is. The fight map froze on my entertainment system about 1/2 through the flight so the map was useless after that. One side of my earphones also went dead. My wife wanted something better then hot noodles in a cup for the middle meal."
Pros: "They changed my seat twice to accommodate mother's with children. Lost my window seat. Told me no more room for carry on bag. Was my only bag cause doesn't want to go to baggage claim. Cost me extra 45 mins claiming my bag."
Cons: "Not take away my carry on bag at gate (was not a size problem), don't change people's seats."
Pros: "Crew didn't interact-but in all fairness it was only a 2 hr flight"
Cons: "Plane moaned groaned and squeaked with every movement. Turbulence was nasty in the first stage decent"
Pros: "Crew is always great with United."
Pros: "Everything was on time and as far as flights go, it was uneventful which is what you want on a long haul flight such as this."
Cons: "Food options have gotten old as I have taken this trip many times for work, maybe mixing up the choices a bit."
Pros: "Boarded a little early and everything was moved along smoothly and efficiently. Quick and painless. Very smooth landing."
Pros: "the crew was great!"
Cons: "The plane was very dirty"
Pros: "Food and wine was surprisingly decent."
Cons: "Slightly bumpy turbulence, nothing horrible. Lavatory could have been cleaner. There's nothing special about United; they're the Macy's of the sky."
Cons: "The flight was slightly delayed on departure and arrival."
Pros: "New Polaris Business"
Cons: "Cabin crew"
Pros: "The staff was courteous and efficient. The entertainment selections were diverse. The seating was adequate for a long haul flight."
Cons: "The check-in process took 50 minutes at the counter as the staff told me that I needed a visa for China (transit) while that info was incorrect. I had to deal with online customer service while the person at the counter couldn't help. It finally took 3 people at the counter to send me away. Once on the plane for a 14+ hour flight, I couldn't use the bathrooms freely as they were filthy. The staff obviously didn't maintain the bathrooms during the entire flight. The food served made me wish that I had bought take-out food for 3-meals prior to my boarding. the quantity of food was inadequate for the long flight as well. 1 extra snack would have been appreciated. I will likely book my future trans-Pacific flights with another airline."
Cons: "1. the business class had broken equipment; my seat belt got stuck and I had to relocate 2. They had no vegetarian option for snack 3. Seats were way too small for business class 4. Plastic plates in business class not Ok"
Pros: "crew was apologetic"
Cons: "no movie service, no wifi. this is the 3rd time this has happened to me on an international flight to China on United. so bad. every other airline has it all together"
Pros: "On time departure"
Cons: "Entertainment system Completely broken for full duration of flight. Individual screen also broken as well as seat Broken 19C"
Pros: "Legroom coffee and snacks"
Pros: "- Crew was attentive."
Cons: "- Personal device entertainment was intermittently functional, had to use the poor onboard display for entertainment. - Internet access was $39.99 for the length of the trip, that price is ridiculous."
Cons: "After being so delayed on our first flight from San Francisco, I was nervous about getting to our connecting flight in Houston. We were assured by the flight attendant that when a flight is delayed and has connections, they communicate that to the gates and we would be fine. It was the OPPOSITE of fine. We landed with 10 minutes until the flight to Costa Rica left and they let all of us who were connecting deplane first, only to run full speed to a gate who's plane left 10 minutes EARLY and decided that it was not going to wait for the 12+ passenagers who had no control of the delayed flight. My fiancé and I were flying to our WEDDING. So now I'm sitting here in Houston for a full 24 hours waiting for the next flight to take me to my wedding. The only "accommodation" united airlines gave us was a hotel. No compensation for the night we paid for at our resort in Costa Rica that we are missing, no upgrades to a better class on our new flight and no reassurance on how terrible they feel for this giant and heartbreaking inconvenience. I am furious."
Pros: "Can keep electronic devices on in flight mode. Had power outlets, very nice!"
Cons: "Boading horrible mess. A second flight was boarding using same audio system. And no elite flyer pre boading in SFO"
Pros: "On time arrival in China. Good entertainment options for my iPad, better than seat back display"
Cons: "The usual lack of attentiveness by United Flight crew"
Cons: "No drinking water was offered on the plane from Pittsburgh to Washington DC."
Cons: "First flight was late, so missed my connection. Waited 5 hours for next flight. United just doesn't have the capacity to cover unexpected glitches."
Pros: "Flight left and landed on time. In flight entertainment worked."
Cons: "In flight food made me sick later in the flight."
Pros: "My flight was delayed. So i would miss my meeting in NY Since I would miss the meeting I didnt take the flight. But i have to be in NY for the weekend. So I bought another One Way ticket to NY. But now, I found out since I dindnt take my first leg to NY, united cancel my flight back from NY to Miami! Thats completely unaceptable !!! It happened to me before with American and I could easily take my flight back. I will never fly United again, everytime you have an issue, the only word the attendents know is Unfortunately ... they NEVER help!"
Pros: "Food choices"
Cons: "Average service"
Cons: "WiFi for $39.99, used to be $19.99 before."
Pros: "Brought water out several times"
Cons: "Had very limited food availability No entertainment through app unless purchasing internet"
Cons: "The Asian style snack mix was absolutely disgusting. I was expecting a thing of pretzels or peanuts, not a ball of wasabi"
Pros: "United doesn't care about you or any of their customers. Charged me extra fees for luggage then lost my stuff and tell me to write your home office. No thanks but I will let people know how little you care and how poorly you treat your customers. Sorry I flew United!"
Cons: "Not accommodating"
Pros: "Crew"
Cons: "Wifi"
Pros: "On time good service very clean"
Cons: "Airline would not help in any way. Tried rescheduling flight and they wanted to charge me over $500 when I could simply book a $170 Delta flight. I thought they'd help me replace my ticket with another or at least something, but I guess we all know now how United treat their passengers."
Pros: "The crew and overall experience was very good. Things were on time and communication between crew and passengers was very good"
Cons: "It would be nice if United staffed their check in counter more than three hours prior to the flight or at least told their customers not to arrive more than three hours prior to the flight. We arrived early to avoid lines and congestion due to spring break, TSA, and customs only to find the counter closed."
Cons: "This flight was my third delayed United flight in under 3 days. I will not be flying with United again. Absolutely unacceptable."
Pros: "Getting from A to B safely. Some of the crew were extremely helpful and sweet."
Cons: "The poor guy next to me had a TV screen that was not functioning properly. He could only watch Lion King because the top right part of his screen would not register his touch. 15 hours with no entertainment."
Pros: "Connecting flights in China need more of a layover I missed my connecting flight not happy it was a disaster going through immigration takes forever in Shanghai .."
Pros: "Maybe crew should rest more and have better attitudes"
Cons: "That i got stuck in China for 2 days"
Cons: "i booked my flight on Kayak and immediately been cancelled dunno why"
Pros: "flights were on time with early arrivals."
Pros: "Our names are Steve and Jan Hovde if you have any other questions about our flight concerns. We can be reached by phone at 360-332-8414. We did not call FAA, but still very much a concern. We have flown United other times and many other airlines and many Boeing 737's...we noticed other passengers looking at each other because of the clunking and growling sounds."
Cons: "most important I vowed I would try and call FAA about safety concerns with the plane. Mechanical noises prior to take off , during flight(right fan whine) - could hear it when started engines in SF., Some loud clunking at take off bringing in landing wheels and again letting down for landing in Seattle. When plane came to stop at the gate, again some noises we have never heard before on 737's. Please check out that plane more closely. Part of our concern is that Pilot mentioned before take off that they had problems with scheduled 737 and they needed extra time to locate another 737 that could be used(Why our take off was rescheduled twice and different gate)......it seemed that one that had been mothballed may have been brought out to use......We did mention some of this tactfully to stewardess' standing near exit when we got off the plane(She seemed surprised and wondered what we were talking about. We were so thankful we made it. We just figured that flight crew would be tracking these odd noises and pass along to captain if he couldn't hear."
Cons: "The seats are tiny. If you drio something, you can't reach down to pick it up. The food was burnt. The app isn't downloadable in China. The overall experience makes me not want to ever fly United again."
Pros: "The crew was very professional and efficient"
Cons: "I'm 6'3 and economy is not made for someone like me. The aircraft as far as modernization is outdated, no screens on the back of the seats."
Pros: "Got there on time with bags"
Cons: "Headline AND noone knew or was clear on whether i needed to transfer bag myself to Juneyao airline in Shanghai. Was told by 800 number no but turned out yes. Friend thought yes and arrived in Chaing Mai and bag still in China!"
Pros: "Everything was great!"
Pros: "The flight was delayed because the incoming overnight flight was late. But not a big deal. Crew was good. My family of 4 pickcked this flight because it was cheaper than the United Code for the same flight. I bought these tickets with my United Mileage Plus card and avoided any bag fees."
Cons: "Was stuck in the last row because I was not able to navigate the check in process with the Kayak purchase. Flight was bumpy at times I think due to headwinds. Food options could be better. I chose the chicken but was not told it was curry chicken. My family told me the pasta was inedible."
Pros: "Punctuality"
Cons: "Food. It is a very long time and there no food enough"
Cons: "Flights cancelled, delayed, rude customer service"
Pros: "Movies were ok."
Cons: "Openly rude, almost argumentative staff. I was afraid to talk back because the last thing I want is any accusation of bad behavior on an airplane. But if this were a restaurant, the customers would get up and leave without eating. I've never had this experience on China Airlines or Japan Air. I will never use UA again."
Pros: "I still got to Grand Rapids on time but connecting flight forced me to run through ohare"
Cons: "Plan small. Late departing from montreal"
Safety measures for airlines flying from Myrtle Beach to Shanghai
Airlines flying from Myrtle Beach to Shanghai have enacted additional safety measures and adjusted policies to better accommodate travelers. Policies vary by airline.
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights from Myrtle Beach to Shanghai
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Middle seats unavailable to book on flights from Myrtle Beach to Shanghai
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text:
Irish is the fastest growing language on Duolingo
More than one million people are learning Irish every week on Duolingo, according to data released by the company.
Shane O'Brien
@shamob96
Over one million people are actively learning Irish on Duolingo every week. Getty
Irish is the fastest-growing language on popular language app Duolingo, according to data released by the company.
More than one million people are actively learning Irish on Duolingo every week, according to data from the app, and it is the most popular language to learn in Ireland.
Irish is currently the 16th most popular language to learn on the app, which has been downloaded more than 500 million times around the world.
Noah Higgs, an Irish language teacher who has contributed to the Irish section of Duolingo, told RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland that Irish has become so popular on the app thanks to the Irish diaspora around the world who want to learn about the tradition and the language of their ancestral homeland.
Online petition for more Irish-language content on Netflix reaches 3,500 signatures
He said that the COVID-19 pandemic probably helped thousands of people with Irish ancestry who had been putting off learning Irish, arguing that the pandemic has given them the opportunity to learn the language properly.
Higgs said that a number of Irish people have also started using the app to complement what they learn at school.
The Irish language teacher said that Duolingo was the perfect tool for anyone who wanted to start learning Irish or for anyone who wanted to refresh their knowledge of the language they last learned in school.
He said that a person's success on the app depends on how much time they spend learning the language in addition to their own language skills.
Duolingo, which was founded in 2011, is the most popular language app in the world and allows users to learn the basics of new languages through interactive features, including listening and oral tests in addition to grammar and vocabulary exercises.
Related: Irish Language


text:
Scooter Braun Sells Taylor Swift's Big Machine Masters for Big Pay Day
By Shirley Halperin
Some 17 months after Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings LLC acquired Big Machine Label Group and all of its recorded music assets, sources tell Variety the veteran manager and entrepreneur has sold the master rights to Taylor Swift's first six albums. The buyer, an investment fund, is as yet unknown but the deal is believed to be north of $300 million and closed in the last two weeks.
Ithaca purchased the Nashville-based independent record label Big Machine, founded by Scott Borchetta in 2005, in June 2019 for just over $300 million. The acquisition encompassed all aspects of BMLG's business, including its client roster, distribution deals, publishing and owned artist masters. Swift signed with BMLG at the beginning of her career. Her contract with the label expired in fall 2018, after which she signed a deal for future recordings with Universal Music Group.
Swift is free to re-record songs from her first five BMLG-issued albums as of this month. While most contemporary recording contracts have provisions prohibiting the artist from recutting material for a period of years, Swift likely had favorable terms in her contract that would make her songs eligible for re-recording at a certain point after the end of each album cycle, not the end of her overall contract.
In Aug. 2019, she declared publicly that it was her intent to do. What does that mean for the assets sold by Braun? Master recordings earn revenue through multiple avenues, including streaming and consumption, sampling, public broadcast, use in television, film and commercials. They've also become a hot property on Wall Street as funds like Merck Mercuriadis' Hipgnosis Songs have snapped up catalogs from the likes of Timbaland and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart to Jack Antonoff and Jeff Bhasker. Between March 2019 and March 2020, the company spent nearly $700 million to acquire 42 catalogs. As recently as last week, Hipgnosis purchased a 50% stake in Rick James' catalog - across both publisher and writer's share - and an additional 50% stake of his recorded music masters. James' "Super Freak" is one of the most referenced and sampled riffs in modern music.
Publishing assets are currently running at multiples well over 12, with master rights slightly lower but increasing in value. Says one insider privy to such deals: "In five to 10 years, it might be 20x - the value continues to rise." While this investor advises against selling IP right now for this very reason, others are eyeing an incoming Biden administration as reason to divest of such property anticipating "a major change" to capital gains taxes come 2021.
What's the advantage of Swift re-recording her catalog? Snatching income from the buyer by making sure that her new versions, and not the ones previously owned by her former label, are the ones played by fans and used in any number of commercial ventures, such as advertisements, TV shows, movies, games and other uses. The company buying master rights would still need clearance from a song's publisher in order to license it for commercial sync use going forward.
As for Big Machine, the label remains in the hands of Braun and Borchetta with a current roster that includes Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts and Lady A, the trio formerly known as Lady Antebellum.
Carlyle Group is a minority shareholder in Ithaca, which in recent years has launched Mythos Studios, in partnership with Marvel Founding Chairman David Maisel, acquired Atlas Publishing, and partnered with Jason Owen's Sandbox Entertainment. Ithaca also has a long-standing investment in and partnership with Aubrey "Drake" Graham and Adel "Future" Nur. In 2019, Ithaca launched Raised in Space, an investment fund led by former BMG President Zach Katz.
The deal is viewed as a big win for Braun, who profited handsomely from his initial investment. Braun was also harshly and publicly criticized by Swift, who labeled him a "bully" and said just under a year ago that Braun was "the definition of toxic male privilege in our industry."
Speaking of the sale of her masters, the Grammy winner contended: "This just happened to me without my approval, consultation or consent. After I was denied the chance to purchase my music outright, my entire catalog was sold to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in a deal that I'm told was funded by the Soros family, 23 Capital and that Carlyle Group. Yet, to this day, none of these investors have bothered to contact me or my team directly - to perform their due diligence on their investment. On their investment in me. To ask how I might feel about the new owner of my art, the music I wrote, the videos I created, photos of me, my handwriting, my album designs." She added: "The fact is that private equity enabled this man to think, according to his own social media post, that he could 'buy me.' But I'm obviously not going willingly."
Speaking to Variety in January, Swift elaborated: "Well, I do sleep well at night knowing that I'm right, and knowing that in 10 years it will have been a good thing that I spoke about artists' rights to their art, and that we bring up conversations like: Should record deals maybe be for a shorter term, or how are we really helping artists if we're not giving them the first right of refusal to purchase their work if they want to?"
For his part, Braun has been reluctant to address the clash publicly, but he did tell Variety during an interview last year: "I don't know where we got messed up along the way that we decided being politically correct is more important than having conflict resolution. … People are allowed to grow as human beings. They're allowed to have conversations. They're allowed to change their mind. They're allowed to go from not liking to each other to liking each other, and vice versa. But you don't find that out just yelling at each other. You find that out by showing each other respect and having a conversation."
Variety has reached out to reps for Swift and Braun for comment.
Best of Variety
Garth Brooks to perform at Joe Biden's inauguration: 'This is a statement of unity'


text:
Spearal iOS
============

## What is Spearal?

Spearal is a compact binary format for exchanging arbitrary complex data between various endpoints such as Java EE, JavaScript / HTML, Android and iOS applications.

SpearalIOS is the Apple Swift implementation of the Spearal serialization format.

## How to use the library?

### Add the SpearalIOS project to a new XCode workspace

Download the last source release of SpearalIOS [here](https://github.com/spearal/SpearalIOS/releases) and unpack it. Create a new XCode 6.1+ workspace and add a reference to the `path/to/SpearalIOS.xcodeproj` file. Then, create a new iOS project alongside.

You can also add SpearalIOS as a Github submodule in your new workspace.

### Create a SpearalFactory

In each file where you want to use SpearalIOS, type the following import:

````swift
import SpearalIOS
````

To start using the Spearal serialization, create and configure a SpearalFactory:

````swift
let factory:SpearalFactory = DefaultSpearalFactory()
````

To encode data (say a `myObject` object), create a new encoder:

````swift
let output = SpearalNSDataOutput()
let encoder = factory.newEncoder(output, printer: printer)
encoder.writeAny(myObject)
let myEncodedData:NSData = output.data
````

You can then send the encoded data over a network (eg. through HTTP with a NSURLSession).

To decode data, create a new decoder:

````swift
let decoder = factory.newDecoder(SpearalNSDataInput(data: myEncodedData))
let myObject = decoder.readAny()
````

## Exchanging class instances with a Java backend

Let's say you have a Java entity bean as follow:

````java
package com.acme.entities;

// skipped imports...

@Entity
public class Person implements Serializable {

    @Id @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    private Long id;

    private String name;
    private String imageUrl;

    // skipped getters and setters...
}
````

You must first replicate this data model in Swift:

````swift
@objc(Person)
public class Person: SpearalAutoPartialable {

    public dynamic var id:NSNumber?
    public dynamic var name:String?
    public dynamic var imageUrl:String?
}
````

Then, configure your factory so the server-side "com.acme.entities.Person" is mapped to the client-side "Person" class:

````swift
let aliasStrategy = BasicSpearalAliasStrategy(localToRemoteClassNames: [
    "Person": "com.acme.entities.Person"
])
factory.context.configure(aliasStrategy)
````

If all your entities (or beans) use the same package, you can also use closures to configure this translation:

````swift
let aliasStrategy = BasicSpearalAliasStrategy(
    localToRemoteAliaser: { (localName) in
        return "com.acme.entities." + localName
    },
    remoteToLocalAliaser: { (remoteName) in
        // return the package-less remote name...
    }
])
factory.context.configure(aliasStrategy)
````

## Working with partial objects

TODO...

## How to get and build the project?

````sh
$ git clone https://github.com/spearal/SpearalIOS.git
````

Use XCode 6.1+ to build the project.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French.

The words "sire" and "sir", as well as the French "(mon)sieur" and the Spanish "señor", share a common etymological origin, all ultimately being related to the Latin senior.  The female equivalent form of address is dame or dam.

See also

 Forms of address in the United Kingdom
 King
 Nobility

References

Men's social titles
Nobility
Royal styles

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Feb 11, 2017 | Fantasy, Featured, Olga Godim, Top Five, Volume 8 Issue 2 | 0 |
After a long, terrifying slide, Tiero's feet touched the ground. The thin rope tying him slithered down and coiled at his feet. Only his weight kept the loop tight for his involuntary descent. As soon as he was down, the witches dropped the rope.
High above him, at the mouth of the shaft he had just been lowered through, one witch sniggered, invisible behind a bent in the chute. "Bon appetite, boys!" Her mocking cackle drifted down the shaft.
"Harpies!" he shouted back.
Nobody replied to his toothless insult. The voices babbling far over his head trickled to nothing, leaving Tiero alone in the dimly lit stone well. No, not quite alone. He had a comrade in misery, a young officer, slumped unconscious against the shaft wall, the wound in his leg bleeding sluggishly. They were both going to die here.
Wincing at his morbid thought, Tiero wriggled out of his rope. At least the officer had fought bravely during the attack, while Tiero quaked shamefully in the carriage. Gosh, he was such a wimp, but he didn't know squat about fighting and didn't have any weapon except for his tiny pen knife. Ironically, neither the officer's valor nor Tiero's cowardice made any difference. The witches killed everyone else, tied up their two living captives, and pushed them both, the gutless and the intrepid, into one hideous hole in the rock.
Tiero's stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since morning. Bon appetite, indeed. The witches cruelly sentenced both of them to starve to death, unless some beast got to them first. It would've been more merciful to kill them, but they hadn't for some reason. He wanted to wail at the unfairness of it all. He was too young to die.
"Wake up, sir, please," he muttered. Maybe his companion would have an idea how to get out of this trap. Tentatively, Tiero shook the officer's shoulder. "Please, sir, wake up."
The blue eyes beneath the shock of sweaty blond hair snapped opened, their owner's face tense.
Tiero flinched and stepped back. "The witches dropped us both here," he said quietly.
The officer transferred his fierce gaze to their surroundings. There wasn't much, just the two of them, the smooth stone walls, and the rock floor littered with dirt.
"Who are you?" he asked hoarsely.
"I'm a clerk. I was in the carriage. Name is Tiero."
"I'm Eurist. I was supposed to protect the carriage, my men and I. Obviously, I failed. What happened to my soldiers?"
"The witches killed everyone."
Eurist shut his eyes for a moment. "Why didn't they kill us?"
"I don't know," Tiero said.
Eurist clambered to his feet and gasped, clutching at his wounded thigh. "Damn. I have to bind that." He sat back down, stripped his torn uniform jacket and pulled off his white shirt before donning the jacket again.
Tiero almost salivated at the sight of Eurist's muscular torso, sprinkled with golden hair. He forced himself to look away. The beautiful warrior was a known womanizer. The city buzzed with his exploits. Eurist didn't discriminate between aristocratic ladies and common wenches but he would probably spit on Tiero if he knew what Tiero was. Tiero's sexual predilections were usually frowned upon.
Eurist bound his leg with his shirt and stood up again, wincing. A glance up along the dark polished sides of the chute produced an angry growl. "Don't think I can climb that." His gaze swept around the floor, an irregular oval about two human heights at its narrowest and three at its longest. Multiple layers of rotting leaves and needles, interspaced with pebbles, blanketed the stone at their feet.
"Do you have any weapons?" Eurist picked up his rope and wound it around his waist.
"No, just my pen knife." Tiero had a few other odds and ends in his travel pouch under his jerkin, including a few coins and his lockpicks, but he didn't mention them. If he and Eurist survived this misadventure, nobody needed to know that he had been a thief before he started working as a city clerk. He grabbed his own rope and secured it around his body.
"The damn witches took my weapons," the officer said. "What is there?" He nodded at the oddly shaped rock at the far end of their tiny prison. The rock seemed folded like a wrinkle, and Eurist limped to it. He bent to examine the shadow behind the wrinkle and straightened abruptly. "There is a crawlway here. Maybe it'll lead somewhere. Come on, Tiero. Move." He dropped on his hands and knees and disappeared into the shadow. His baritone echoed faintly in the small chamber.
"What if there are monsters there, in this hole?" Tiero muttered. "Or snakes. Or whatever. Did you check? Move, indeed." He stomped after Eurist and crawled through the hidden passage.
Dense darkness met him on the other side. Of course, he should've expected it. They were deep underground. Feeling around with his questing hands to make sure he didn't brain himself, Tiero slowly straightened.
"Eurist," he whispered, his heart thumping. He tried to breathe, but the darkness didn't only swallow the light. It also seemed to have sucked out the air.
"Here." Eurist's calm voice floated from a few feet away. "We'll have to go blindly. There is some kind of a tunnel." His clothing rustled as he explored. "It's not very wide but it's high enough for me to stand in. We'll tie a rope around both of us, so we don't lose each other."
"I can make fire," Tiero offered. "I have a bit of magic. Not enough to warrant a place at the College but I can light a fire. We can use one of the ropes as a wick. It will take a long time to burn off, if I'm careful."
Tiero lit one end of his rope. The rope swayed, or maybe his hands shook, and the tiny flame didn't provide ample illumination, but at least he could see. The tunnel was narrow—they would have to go single file—but the floor was even, as if smoothed by years of flowing water. Was it an abandoned underground riverbed? No water trickled anywhere now. They would've heard it in the silence of the tunnel.
"I wonder where it leads," Tiero said quietly. His voice seemed too loud.
Eurist shrugged, his face taut, his mouth bracketed by lines of pain. "Does it matter?" He was leaning heavily on the wall.
"No. Do you need time to rest? Your wound must pain you?"
Eurist snorted. "I don't think my wound will heal in the next few hours, and we don't have food or water. Not much fuel for your fire aside from our two ropes either. We'd better find an exit soon. Let's go, Tiero. I'll walk as long as I have to." He pushed himself off the wall.
"Fine." Tiero started walking. The small fire at the end of his rope burned merrily, throwing uneven shadows around them. He could see only about a yard in front of him, enough not to stumble. Every now and then, he played out the rope; it burned slowly but steadily. What would they do when both ropes were gone? He didn't want to think about it.
Eurist limped behind him. Occasionally, a tiny moan or a curse escaped him, and his breathing grew labored, but he didn't complain and didn't slow down.
"Why were you traveling to the capital, Tiero?" Eurist asked suddenly. "You said you're a clerk. Where?"
"I work for the magistrate in the capital," Tiero replied. He licked his dry lips. How long had they walked already. He was terribly thirsty, and Eurist must feel even worse. What if he collapsed of his wound? What would they do then? Tiero couldn't carry him—the soldier was bigger than Tiero. He pushed the disturbing thought away.
"I was sent to collect certain documents in the provinces," he continued. "Spent all spring away from home. I was just coming back. The witches probably burnt all my papers."
"Damn witches!" Eurist spat. "They're becoming a menace, setting their ambush this close to the capital. If we come out of this stinking hole alive, I'll talk to the council myself. They should've killed all the witches years ago instead of exiling them."
"What do you mean, why? Because the witches' minds are poisoned by magic."
"Why is it when a man has magic, he is gifted, but when a woman has magic, she is poisoned?" Tiero asked softly. He had never expressed his opinion about witches openly—it might've cost him his job with the magistrate—but he always thought that expelling witches from the city was a bad idea. Now, when he faced death, perhaps it was time to say what he thought. "If the College accepted them for teaching instead of banishing them from the city, the witches wouldn't have to steal and kill. They just want to survive."
"They can't handle magic. They are females. Their brains are not equipped for such a heavy load."
"Who said? The College magi? The old farts are just jealous of the women's power. From what I could see during their ambush, they can handle their magic fine. They did win a skirmish with you and your men. And you all carried magical amulets, didn't you? Issued by the College?"
"Yeah, we did," Eurist grumbled. "Much good they did us. Are you turning the witches' advocate?"
"Not really. It's just…" Tiero hesitated before continuing. Every instinct of his warned him to keep his mouth shut, but he was tired of always agreeing with the pompous magistrates, always pretending to be a complacent little clerk.
"They're different, that's all," he said after a lengthy pause. "I'm not saying what they do is right. Violence and murder are never right. I'm not even sure I'll survive their attack but I know that it's not easy being different. The College shouldn't have pushed the council to outlaw them. It's the wrong law, the immoral law. The witches are forced into a life of crime if they want to live. You would've done the same, if someone outlawed you."
Eurist shuffled for a while in silence. "Maybe," he grunted at last. "Would you?"
Tiero grinned although Eurist behind him couldn't see it. "I would've become a thief." As he had been before, he added to himself. He didn't voice that last codicil aloud. "I would never kill. I never have. I don't know if I can."
"Everyone can if pushed far enough," Eurist said. "How much rope do you have left?"
Tiero would rather discuss the witches. Contemplating his shrinking rope and how far they still had to go was scary. He felt nauseous as he thought back. When they started, the rope had been coiled across his shoulder five times. Or six. Now, only three coils remained.
"About half."
"We'll walk some more, and then we'll rest," Eurist said.
Tiero didn't argue. His stomach ached, and his mouth was dry. The tunnel stretched unchanged in front and behind them. What would happen when their hunger became unbearable? The thirst? The little flame at the end of his rope was his only point of hope. What would happen when both ropes burned out?
When he heard the singing he thought at first it was a hallucination, darkness playing tricks on them.
Eurist put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Do you hear?" Eurist's fingers dug into Tiero's flesh. "Let me go first."
So the song wasn't a hallucination. It even got louder.
"You're wounded, Eurist," Tiero objected.
Eurist didn't listen. He pushed past Tiero and kept going into the murky depth of the tunnel, disregarding the darkness, as if the beautiful song pulled him in.
"Wait. What's the rush?" With his burning rope swinging, Tiero hastened after Eurist. "Eurist, it might be dangerous. Slow down. You don't know who is singing or why."
Eurist didn't seem to hear. If he wasn't limping so badly he would've been running. As it was, his desperate, jerky hobble was painful to watch. Despite his injury, he was getting away.
"Stop, damn you!" Tiero sprinted. So far, the tunnel hadn't had any sharp turns but it bent slightly now and again, snaking its way through the rock. The singer was hidden by the upcoming bend, and Tiero had a premonition that he shouldn't allow his companion behind that bend unescorted. A faint light emanated from the bend as well, and the song weaved around the light, beguiling and beckoning, resonating in the narrow tunnel.
They turned the bend together and stepped into a narrow cavern. Panting from his spurt of speed, Tiero jumped in front of Eurist, thrusting his burning rope in the officer's face. "Stop!"
At the far side of the cavern, the singer, a woman with long shining white hair—the source of the light—lounged beside a gurgling stream. Her hair concealed her face and pooled around her like a silvery puddle. She lifted her arms at them, and the song became a triumphant hymn, rising to the ceiling and bouncing off the walls. Pale twisted waves of magic shimmered around the woman.
She was not a woman at all, Tiero realized with horror. She was a water nix, a vodianitsa, luring Eurist with her song, as her sisters, sea sirens, lured countless sailors to their doom.
"Out of my way, clerk." Eurist pushed at Tiero's chest. His eyes were glazed, his fists bunched. He swayed and staggered determinedly forward, ready to plow through Tiero. He would have if he was at full strength. Fortunately, he was not. Wounded and exhausted, he teetered on his faltering leg.
"Stop, idiot!" Tiero yelled. "She is an undine. She'll kill you." He had never seen an undine before, of course, but he had heard stories. Everyone who lived on the seashore heard those stories. Why wasn't the siren's song affecting him? He didn't feel any compulsion to get closer, while Eurist didn't seem to hear anything but the song.
"I must get to her," the officer mumbled, his eyes glued to the undine by her stream. He shoved at Tiero with all his might and swung his fist.
Tiero ducked. Eurist was crazed. The song had him in thrall. If Tiero let him go, the undine would kill the man. Even wounded, he was stronger than Tiero and he was an experienced fighter. Unable to think of any other way to stop Eurist, Tiero kicked his wound. The injured leg collapsed, and Eurist went down, roaring like a wild animal. His head collided with the stone floor of the cavern, and his tortured scream cut off.
Tiero gasped. "I hope I didn't kill you. I'm sorry, Eurist, but I had to stop you." He dropped to his knees beside his unconscious companion. Eurist was still breathing, although he was bleeding from a gash in his head.
"See what you have done." Tiero tossed an angry glance at the undine. Oblivious, she kept on singing, her sweet trills and tremolos echoing in the cavern, creating an elaborate silken tapestry of music, but Tiero didn't care. "Shut up, would you!" he snapped.
He needed to dress Eurist's head wound. Stripping off his undershirt, Tiero bound the wound. Then he climbed to his feet.
His burning rope fell down during their scuffle. The fire was still hissing, and Tiero stepped on it to kill the flames. No point in wasting the rope. The undine's coruscating hair gave off enough illumination. Cautiously, he approached her. Not too close though. He eyed her suspiciously, ready to jump back, if she lunged at him.
She didn't. She stopped singing and regarded him from behind her pale curtain of hair.
"Why can you resist my song?" she asked in a lilting, flowing voice.
"I don't know," Tiero said. "Maybe because I'm a clerk. Maybe because I have a smudge of magic. Or maybe because I don't like girls."
She lifted her head at that. Behind her gorgeous hair, her face wasn't pretty. Her features vaguely resembled a fish, and her mouth was filled with pointed teeth, like a pike.
"You shouldn't have stopped him," she said
"You were going to kill him."
"I'm hungry."
"That's not the reason to kill a man," Tiero said. Although that was exactly the reason a band of witches had attacked their carriage earlier. Because they were hungry. But they didn't have a choice, while this nix did. Didn't she? "Why don't you get into your stream and eat some fish or whatever undines eat?"
"I can't. I'm chained. I can only swim a few yards. Besides, men taste better."
Tiero shook his head. "Who chained you?"
"Witches," she said resentfully.
"They want to use my stream. Sometimes they take a boat to the river." She gestured behind her, and as she half-turned, Tiero noticed a small boat tied to a bronze ring protruding from the rock. Her tail flipped nervously under her hair, its scales glittering.
"You can get to the river from here?" Tiero asked, dizzy with hope.
"All the way to the sea," she confirmed. "I'm not supposed to let humans use my stream; I'm its guardian, but I don't have a choice. The women chained me, and now I must serve them. They send me men periodically, so I don't starve. When your friend wakes up, he'll come to me, and I'll eat him. Then, the women will come, and I'll eat you." She stretched her fish mouth in a hideous grimace.
Must be a smile, Tiero thought disgustedly. He stared at her, his thoughts whirling. That's why the witches' parting words were what they were. That's why they didn't kill Eurist and himself. They dropped the men into that hole in the ground knowing that their beleaguered captives would eventually discover the tunnel and come upon the undine—her fresh dinner delivered on schedule, on their own feet.
"Why don't you eat the women who chained you?" he asked.
"Women don't taste right. And they're impervious to my song. Like you."
He chuckled. "If women were sailors, no siren would ever entice a ship to its doom."
"Good for us humans wouldn't let women sail." She sniffed. "You don't smell right either, almost like a woman."
"Probably because I like men," Tiero said. He couldn't suppress a grin. Once in his life, his sexual oddity worked for him. "What if I unchain you? Would you let me and my companion use the boat?"
Her mouth opened, revealing the horrible teeth, and her protuberant eyes glinted. "You can unlock the chain? You have the key?"
"I don't have the key but I might be able to pick the lock. You have to promise not to eat me though."
She cocked her head to the side. "But I'm hungry. Can I eat your friend?"
"No. None of us, if you want my help," he said sternly. Why did he even bargain with her? For all he knew, a vodianitsa didn't have to keep her promise to a human. She might lie to him just to get him free her, but on the other hand, what other choice did he have? He was hungry too, and according to the nix, the witches would be coming soon, and then both he and Eurist would be dead anyway. He pressed on. "Do I have your promise that you won't harm either of us?"
"Yesss," she hissed. She sounded irate, totally unlike her previously mellifluous singing voice. "If you free me from the chain, I promise you and your friend a safe passage along my stream this one time."
"Deal," Tiero said and stepped towards her. Pulse pounded in his veins. Would she pounce? Would she drag him to the bottom of her stream? Devour him alive? He spared a momentary glance at Eurist, but the officer didn't twitch. Tiero was on his own. He resolutely turned his attention back to the vodianitsa. "Where is the chain lock?"
She lifted the shining mass of her hair and pulled it to one side. Her body above the scales of her tail was sleek and pale, with no breasts or any other protuberances. She didn't have a waist either. A wide bronze fetter linked to a thick chain fastened around her long neck, below the thin slits of her gills. The other end of the chain dropped into the water. The fetter obviously chafed her, and the unhealthy swollen redness circled her white neck under the metal.
"Gods," Tiero muttered. "You poor creature. That must hurt. I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do it."
"Nobody should've done it to you."
"You're strange. Can you unlock it?"
Tiero knelt beside her, lifted his jerkin, and withdrew his lockpicks from the travel pouch at his waist. He selected the smallest pick, inserted it into the tiny keyhole, and the skills he hadn't practiced for two years flooded back, as if he had picked his last lock yesterday. Even his hands stopped shaking. His faint fear that the lock might have been be-spelled didn't realize. It made sense. The nix was a magical creature. If her restraints were magical in nature, she would've dismantled them herself long ago. No, it was a simple lock. It took him only a few moments, before the tumblers clicked.
She didn't move while he worked. Neither her skeletal, webbed hands nor her gorgeous hair stirred. Tiero pulled his tool out of the hole and slowly removed the bronze cuff from her neck. No magical trap bit him. He dropped the cuff beside her, scrambled to his feet, and stepped away.
"You're free," he said.
She shivered. Her hair spread around her again, she opened her mouth and began to sing, but it was a different song. Its liquid notes rose to the ceiling. She didn't try to entice anyone anymore. She was celebrating her freedom. Then, between one melodious arabesque and the next, she disappeared into her stream in a lithe silvery dive, while the last twirl of her song echoed faintly between the walls. A small wave splashed onto the stone shore beside the chain with its vacant fetter. The cavern plunged into darkness, except for the stream that seemed to retain the faint glow of her hair.
"Dumb nix! Don't you know I can't see in the dark?" More by touch than by vision, Tiero stumbled towards his abandoned rope, ignited it again, and put it on a rock shelf. Then, panting and swearing from unaccustomed exertions, he dragged Eurist's unconscious body into the boat.
Undoing the nautical knot of the rope took some time, but eventually, he did it, grabbed a single paddle from the bottom of the boat, and pushed them into the stream. His rope torch twinkled behind his back, until a bend in the stream cut the light off.
He almost missed it, when the boat slipped into the open river from the underground stream. It was just as dark outside, but the air abruptly felt fresh and infinite. And when he looked up, stars winked overhead, the tiny bursts on the velvety darkness of the sky. The undine had kept her word and granted them a safe passage.
By now, Tiero was so tired he couldn't even rejoice. Eurist still hadn't woken up, and Tiero wanted to sleep too. He couldn't do anything anyway. He rested the paddle on the bottom, sighed, and closed his eyes. The river current rocked the boat gently and crooned its timeless lullaby.
In the morning, Eurist woke up, grumpy and uncommunicative. No surprise: the man was obviously in agony. He had the right to be upset. Without much talking, they moored the boat at a small village, breakfasted at the local tavern, and hired a carter to convey them to the city, a few hours away.
"What happened?" Eurist asked at last, as the cart rambled along a narrow, rutty road.
Tiero told him everything, omitting only his lockpicks. Eurist didn't need to know, so Tiero lied. He said there was a key on a ledge, where the undine couldn't reach. It might've been the truth. There might've been a key. He hadn't looked.
Eurist shook his head. "How could I be so idiotic?"
"The undine's song bewitched you. You couldn't help it."
"Why didn't it overcome you?"
Reluctantly, Tiero explained, "I think because I don't like girls. She said I don't smell right." He waited for Eurist to utter a cutting remark, to show his revulsion, to avert his gaze. Even though homosexuality wasn't against the law in the city, most people disliked it.
Eurist didn't look away, just nodded quietly. "Ah. Lucky for me."
Surprised by his easy acceptance, Tiero blurted, "I'm sorry I kicked you."
"You saved my life. I owe my life to a heroic clerk." Eurist's grin turned lopsided. "Go figure. Should've been the other way around. Thank you."
Not only didn't the officer despise him. He thanked him, and Tiero's ears heated up in embarrassment. He didn't deserve Eurist's gratitude. "I couldn't just let her eat you. I didn't do anything heroic."
"I disagree. You approached her. You put your hands on her neck. Weren't you afraid she would bite your head off despite her promise?"
"Of course I was. Witless. But there was no other choice."
"That's what a hero means. Scared or not, he does what's necessary. There is a dashing hero hidden beneath your clerical jerkin."
"Nothing is hidden beneath my jerkin," Tiero said gruffly. Except his lockpicks. He stared at the woods rippling in the breeze alongside the road and couldn't quite suppress a smile. It felt nice being a hero.
Olga Godim is a writer from Vancouver, Canada. Her short stories have been published in multiple internet and print magazines plus several anthologies. One of her stories, FLOWER CONSULTANT, was published last year in Aurora Wolf. Her fantasy novels ALMOST ADEPT and EAGLE EN GARDE were released in 2014 by Champagne/Burst. In 2015, EAGLE EN GARDE won EPIC eBook Award in the Fantasy category.
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My story Clerk or Hero published | Olga Godim writing - […] Nobody replied to his toothless insult. The voices babbling far over his head trickled to nothing, leaving Tiero alone…


H24 Construction Ltd is one of the leading quantity surveying and consultancy firms in London. We specialise in a whole host of measurement services for all types of construction projects.
They are capable of processing and breaking down complex data sets and tender information quickly, enabling them to produce prompt and accurate measurement and tender tender enquiries.
We produce pricing documents and bills of quantities from tender information. We can also input our measure into a clients CSA as part of a tender return.
Every construction project comes with its own distinct set of variables, all of which need to be handled with care. If any one element is neglected, it can spell disaster for the entire project.