Hello, I hope you had a spooky Halloween and you stay safe in those times! Please suggest any pieces you would like to play during Christmas time: suggestion form. Next piano jam will be posted around 2-3 December. The jazz and ragtime sections are run by u/abnormal_human, thanks!
Guidelines
If you're new to /piano, the Piano Jam is a monthly event where you get the chance to challenge yourself to work on a piece of music and share your playing with the community. Whether you're a beginner or expert, we'd love to hear you play! See the guidelines below and check out all the previous piano jams in the sidebar. You are encouraged to share a recording (of YOU playing) in a post to /piano anytime during the month. Please put "Piano Jam" post tag or "[Piano Jam]" somewhere in the submission title, so we know that's what the post is for. People have posted without this tag before and it's not the end of the world of course, but it does mean I might miss your submission! Please try to use YouTube / SoundCloud / Bandcamp for your links for accessibility & reliability, but any links are allowed.
You do not have to complete or perfect pieces to submit them, and don't be afraid to simplify/shorten pieces. Also, don't be afraid to improvise or write your own ending to a looped piece of video game music, etc.
This is not a contest! It's a chance for you to set a goal for yourself and to share your journey and accomplishments with the /piano community.
For classical pieces ABRSM grade estimate is in brackets - the source of estimation is piano grade aggregator
You do not have to limit yourself to just one piece, you can submit as many as you like as long as they belong to the list.
If you have pieces you would like to suggest for future Piano Jams, please use our suggestion form.
November 3, 2020 Across the United States voters took to the ballot box with COVID-19 precautions in place. Voting lines were longer than usual for a few reasons: firstly, social distancing meant that the lines would be extended by 6 ft per person, secondly, the COVID-19 response in the US had polarized an already polar nation split along the lines of emergency and hoax, at-risk and not at risk. Thirdly, fears that mail-in ballots would not be counted only extended the lines further than usual. This meant populous cities had to create more polling places with emergency haste right before the election to create more room to alleviate voter overload and fears of spread/their votes mattering less than they already do. It was expected that with the high-stakes election of a potential second term for President Trump, that turn out would be much higher anyways. Those who could afford to take vacation time to line up much earlier than normal, in working families where this was not possible they mailed in their ballots and hoped for the best. Ultimately, despite former concerns, the US Postal Service had no intention of delaying ballots any longer than the normal mail service already takes. Some states with toss-up and mail-in concerns set up a ballot counting notification system, like Arizona that informs the voters that their ballot was received, the vote was counted and who the votes were cast for via text or email which is selective for registration upon receiving the mail-in ballot. In the Senate, 35 seats were up for election, and in the House- the entire place was open for election as usual. Despite concerns around social distancing and mail-in ballots, the election went forward as expected. Rural and hardline Republican areas saw little to no social distancing or mask-wearing, while those more conscious in the cities saw compliance with mask and distancing regulations irrespective of political leanings. With around 171,000 dead from the virus, and spread still occurring as the nation plans to implement vaccine distribution of the Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines, while an end may be in sight- at what cost. The American people have not so quickly forgotten the actions or inactions of their leaders, and have planned to vote accordingly. President Trump and Vice President Pence watched the election results on Fox News from their “headquarters” at the White House while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris watched from a private suite at their headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the early hours of the night, as expected, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee were awarded to President Trump. Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New York, and New Jersey was awarded to Biden. One of the former states won by President Trump, Pennsylvania, was soon to follow by solidifying its position as a Biden state, with Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, the following suit. In this time, President Trump swept the American South, with Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Arkansas falling in line with the President. Virginia and North Carolina were called for Biden, while President Trump called in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The election seemed decidedly Trump, while Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio were too close to call. Unsurprisingly, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and California made their unsurprising declaration as Democratic voting states, followed by Oregon and Washington State. Alaska called Republican while Hawaii was decidedly Democrat. By the end of the night Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio were too close to call, by 2:00 AM EST, Ohio was called Republican, followed by Wisconsin, and Florida by 4:00 AM. President Trump declared he was victorious, and Biden prepared his concession speech while Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, and Arizona were still left in play. In the middle of Trump’s victory speech at the White House, he was briefly interrupted by Vice President Pence, where he was informed that Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois had flipped democrat by a few thousand votes that were previously led by Republican voters, and all eyes remained on Arizona. President Trump decided to continue his victory speech despite having only 243 electoral votes, and only a few moments later was informed that Arizona had flipped Democrat- the first time since Bill Clinton’s election in 1996. In the span of 10 minutes, the election had completely changed course from what was seen early in the night as a Trump wave, and Biden was confirmed as the President-elect securing 295 electoral votes to Trump’s 243. President Trump lost key states that he formerly won like Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania- also states that were surprisingly Republican at the time. Arizona, which was a toss-up state in 2016, had flipped blue after horrendous COVID-19 management citing lack of confidence in Governor Doug Ducey, and appointed Senator Martha McSally. North Carolina made a surprising call for the Democratic Party, which was also formerly Republican voting in 2016. Trump stopped speaking once he received word, and turned to Pence:
“Are you serious? We have already begun, there must be a mistake.”
Pence shook his head and stepped back, while the President was live on the air at his podium in front of the White House with the entire nation watching him. He looked off to the side as if he was thinking, and looked back up to the camera a moment later.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have received reports that there is evidence of voter fraud in Arizona related to mail-in ballots, as well as Michigan, Minnesota, and North Carolina. We will be holding a recount of the votes cast before the election is called, but it appears that Sleepy Joe and his team have been casting votes for hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been dead for decades, and that doesn’t even include the illegals voting in Arizona. I do not believe we can respect the outcome of a rigged election, do you? We have worked hard for four years to be outplayed by Sleepy Joe? No one believes it!”
Biden posted up at his podium while Trump was in the middle of deciding what he should do. What was expected to be a concession speech, turned into a bright celebration with fireworks and wild cheers from his supporters. He raised both of his fists in the air,
“We did it, folks! It took four years! Democracy is coming back to America, everywhere! The heartland, the rust belt, the.. the... rich communities and black communities too. We did this united, as a team, we finally stood up and said no to Trump, and no to malarkey, this is our time! As we speak, Trump is frozen at his podium and won’t accept the outcome of the election, just as we predicted, he will not accept that America has outlasted the need for Trump-era racism and politics. I am ready, as the elected leader of the free world, alongside Ms. Harris, to bring the heart and soul back into this country that Trump took out of it. We will return back to being reasonable, and respectable, a leadership that America desperately needs after being misguided for four years and lied to. It is time to trust your leaders again, and stop the lying! I want to thank all of you for letting reason, respect, and democracy win in this country. To be honest, I was very unprepared to give a victory speech tonight, as just a few moments ago, I thought that Trump had been re-elected, so I apologize if I seem unprepared, but I really wanted to thank the hardworking men and women on our team and in this country for their confidence, and I will do my absolute best to represent the best of this country. Congratulations, everyone!”
A very furious President Trump took to Twitter to address the nation after leaving the podium without saying anything more.
“I spoke to Ratcliffe, the BEST and MOST SKILLED, and he has EVIDENCE!”
“We will be watching these recounts CLOSELY, WE KNOW THE REAL WINNER!”
“CHINA ELECTED BIDEN, NOT AMERICA!”
Within several weeks, in a call-back to the Bush v. Gore election, the election results went to the Supreme Court. Democrats were very concerned about what the outcome might be, but the recount votes were upheld as the deviations were not significant and were not influential to the overall result of the election and confirmed Joe Biden as the victor in the election. This was significantly helped by the fact Biden and his team was not as willing to back down as Al Gore was in 2000, and stuck to the message that they had won. So had President Trump, however, there were clear results, and the Supreme Court, mostly Trump appointed, was willing to accept Biden as a victor. It was time to hang up the red hat, and Trump, rather than admitting defeat, silently was prepared to embrace the transition and deflected all questions regarding conceding defeat. He released a cryptic Tweet that was the closest thing to his vocal admission of concession:
“Back to 4 YEARS OF HELL, UNBELIEVABLE!”
Most of the nation was satisfied, knowing Trump would hold on to his pride at all costs, while all silently accepting the results with the expected KAG protests and Antifa and BLM protests that persisted to around Christmas time. Electoral Map
R: 6 D: 1 Newcomers: Jerry Carl (R), Barry Moore (R) Alaska
At-Large: Don Young (R)
R: 1 Arizona
1: Tom O’Halleran (D)
2: Ann Kirkpatrick (D)
3: Raul Grijalva (D)
4: Paul Gosar (R)
5: Andy Biggs (R)
6: Hiral Tipirneni (D)
7: Ruben Gallego (D)
8: Debbie Lesko (R)
9: Greg Stanton (D)
R: 3 D: 6 Newcomers: Hiral Tipirneni (D) Arkansas
1: Rick Crawford (R)
2: French Hill (R)
3: Steve Womack (R)
4: Bruce Westerman (R)
R: 4 California
1: Doug LaMalfa (R)
2: Jared Huffman (D)
3: Tamika Hamilton (R)
4: Tom McClintock (R)
5: Mike Thompson (D)
6: Doris Matsui (D)
7: Ami Bera (D)
8: Jay Obernolte (R)
9: Jerry McNerney (D)
10: Josh Harder (D)
11: Mark DeSaulnier (D)
12: Nancy Pelosi (D)
13: Barbara Lee (D)
14: Jackie Speier (D)
15: Eric Swalwell (D)
16: Jim Costa (D)
17: Ro Khanna (D)
18: Anna Eshoo (D)
19: Zoe Lofgren (D)
20: Jimmy Panetta (D)
21: David Valadao (R)
22: Devin Nunes (R)
23: Kevin McCarthy (R)
24: Salud Carbajal (D)
25: Christy Smith (D)
26: Julia Brownley (D)
27: Judy Chu (D)
28: Adam Schiff (D)
29: Tony Cardenas (D)
30: Brad Sherman (D)
31: Pete Aguilar (D)
32: Grace Napolitano (D)
33: Ted Lieu (D)
34: Jimmy Gomez (D)
35: Norma Torres (D)
36: Erin Cruz (R)
37: Karen Bass (D)
38: Linda Sanchez (D)
39: Young Kim (R)
40: Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
41: Mark Takano (D)
42: Liam O’Mara (D)
43: Maxine Waters (D)
44: Nanette Barragan (D)
45: Greg Raths (R)
46: Lou Correa (D)
47: Alan Lowenthal (D)
48: Michelle Steel (R)
49: Brian Mayott (R)
50: Darrell Issa (R)
51: Juan Vargas (D)
52: Scott Peters (D)
53: Sara Jacobs (D)
R: 13 D: 40 Newcomers: Tamika Hamilton (R), Jay Obernolte (R), David Valadao (R), Christy Smith (D), Erin Cruz (R), Young Kim (R), Liam O’Mara (D), Greg Raths (R), Michelle Steel (R), Brian Mayott (R), Darrell Issa (R), Sara Jacobs (D) Colorado
R: 13 D: 14 Newcomers: Kat Cammack (R), Alan Cohn (D), Pam Keith (D), Bryon Donalds (R), Maria Elvira Salazar (R) Georgia
1: Buddy Carter (R)
2: Sandford Bishop (D)
3: Drew Ferguson (R)
4: Hank Johnson (D)
5: Nikema Williams (D)
6: Karen Handel (R)
7: Rob Woodall (R)
8: Austin Scott (R)
9: Doug Collins (R)
10: Jody Hice (R)
11: Barry Loudermilk (R)
12: Rick Allen (R)
13: David Scott (D)
14: Marjorie Taylor Greene (R)
R: 10 D: 4 Newcomers: Nikema Williams (D), Karen Handel (R), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) Hawaii * 1: Ed Case (D) * 2: Kai Kahele (D) D: 2 Newcomers: Kai Kahele (D) Idaho
1: Russ Fulcher (R)
2: Mike Simpson (R)
R: 2 Illinois
1: Bobby Rush (D)
2: Robin Kelly (D)
3: Marie Newman (D)
4: Chuy Garcia (D)
5: Mike Quigley (D)
6: Sean Casten (D)
7: Danny Davis (D)
8: Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)
9: Jan Schakowsky (D)
10: Brad Schneider (D)
11: Bill Foster (D)
12: Mike Bost (R)
13: Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (D)
14: Lauren Underwood (D)
15: Mary Miller (R)
16: Adam Kinzinger (R)
17: Cheri Bustos (D)
18: Darin LaHood (R)
R: 4 D: 14 Newcomers: Marie Newman (D), Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (D), Mary Miller (R) Indiana
1: Frank J. Mrvan (D)
2: Jackie Walorski (R)
3: Jim Banks (R)
4: Jim Baird (R)
5: Victoria Spartz (R)
6: Greg Pence (R)
7: Andre Carson (D)
8: Larry Buchson (R)
9: Trey Hollingsworth (R)
R: 7 D: 2 Newcomers: Frank J. Mrvan (D), Victoria Spartz (R) Iowa
R: 2 D: 10 Newcomers: Amy Kennedy (D), Frank Pallotta (R) New Mexico
1: Deb Haaland (D)
2: Yvette Herrell (R)
3: Teresa Leger Fernandez (D)
R: 1 D: 2 Newcomers: Yvette Herrell (R), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D) New York
1: Lee Zeldin (R)
2: Andrew Garbarino (R)
3: Tom Suozzi (D)
4: Kathleen Rice (D)
5: Gregory Meeks (D)
6: Grace Meng (D)
7: Nydia Velazquez (D)
8: Hakeem Jeffries (D)
9: Yvette Clarke (D)
10: Jerry Nadler (D)
11: Max Rose (D)
12: Carolyn Maloney (D)
13: Adriano Espaillat (D)
14: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)
15: Ritchie Torres (D)
16: Jamaal Bowman (D)
17: Mondaire Jones (D)
18: Sean Patrick Maloney (D)
19: Kyle Van Der Water (R)
20: Paul Tonko (D)
21: Elsie Stefanik (R)
22: Anthony Brindisi (R)
23: Tom Reed (R)
24: Dana Balter (D)
25: Joseph Morelle (D)
26: Brian Higgins (D)
27: Chris Jacobs (R)
R: 7 D: 20 Newcomers: Andrew Garbarino (R), Ritchie Torres (D), Jamaal Bowman (D), Mondaire Jones (D), Kyle Van Der Water (R), Dana Balter (D) North Carolina
1: G.K. Butterfield (D)
2: Deborah Ross (D)
3: Greg Murphy (R)
4: David Price (D)
5: Virginia Foxx (R)
6: Kathy Manning (D)
7: David Rouzer (R)
8: Richard Hudson (R)
9: Dan Bishop (R)
10: Patrick McHenry (R)
11: Madison Cawthorn (R)
12: Alma Adams (D)
13: Ted Budd (R)
R: 8 D: 5 Newcomers: Deborah Ross (D), Kathy Manning (D), Madison Cawthorn (R) North Dakota
R: 10 D: 8 Newcomers: Christina Finello (D), Lisa Scheller (R), Jim Bognet (R) Rhode Island
1: David Cicilline (D)
2: Jim Langevin (D)
D: 2 South Carolina
1: Nancy Mace (R)
2: Joe Wilson (R)
3: Jeff Duncan (R)
4: William Timmons (R)
5: Ralph Norman (R)
6: Jim Clyburn (D)
7: Tom Rice (R)
R: 6 D: 1 Newcomers: Nancy Mace (R) South Dakota
At-Large: Dusty Johnson (R)
R: 1 Tennessee
1: Diana Harshbarger (R)
2: Tim Burchett (R)
3: Chuck Fleischmann (R)
4: Scott DesJarlais (R)
5: Jim Cooper (D)
6: John Rose (R)
7: Mark Green (R)
8: David Kustoff (R)
9: Steve Cohen (D)
R: 7 D: 2 Newcomers: Diana Harshbarger (R) Texas
1: Louie Gohmert (R)
2: Dan Crenshaw (R)
3: Van Taylor (R)
4: Pat Fallon (R)
5: Lance Gooden (R)
6: Ron Wright (R)
7: Shawn Kelly (L)
8: Kevin Brady (R)
9: Al Green (D)
10: Michael McCaul (R)
11: August Pfluger (R)
12: Kay Granger (R)
13: Ronny Jackson (R)
14: Randy Weber (R)
15: Vincente Gonzalez (D)
16: Veronica Escobar (D)
17: Pete Sessions (R)
18: Shelia Jackson Lee (D)
19: Jodey Arrington (R)
20: Joaquin Castro (D)
21: Chip Roy (R)
22: Troy Nehls (R)
23: Gina Ortiz Jones (D)
24: Beth Van Duyne (R)
25: Roger Williams (R)
26: Michael Burgess (R)
27: Michael Cloud (R)
28: Henry Cuellar (D)
29: Sylvia Garcia (D)
30: Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)
31: John Carter (R)
32: Colin Allred (R)
33: Marc Veasey (D)
34: Filemon Vela Jr. (D)
35: Lloyd Doggett (D)
36: Brian Babin (R)
R: 23 D: 12 L: 1 Newcomers: Pat Fallon (R), Shawn Kelly (L), August Pfluger (R), Ronny Jackson (R), Pete Sessions (R), Troy Nehls (R), Gina Ortiz Jones (D), Beth Van Duyne (R) Utah
1: Blake Moore (R)
2: Chris Stewart (R)
3: John Curtis (R)
4: Burgess Owens (R)
R: 4 Newcomers: Blake Moore (R), Burgess Owens (R) Vermont
Notes Elizabeth Warren - Former Presidential candidate with extensive experience on the Congressional Oversight Panel, and established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A natural selection for the role due to her experience in finance, securities, and the banking sector in Congress. Michael Bloomberg - Former Presidential candidate, with a background with philanthropy, and wall-street; he symbolizes President Biden’s ties to big-business and commitment to Wall-Street executives. Andrew Cuomo - Governor of New York who took a leading role in the nation to drive the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and led the push towards virtual learning, while also having experience with gun legislation for schools making him a preferred selection for the Secretary of Education. Tulsi Gabbard - A Major in the United States Army who has stepped down to take her position as Secretary of Defense. A reminder to Americans that Hawaii is just as important to the US as all the contiguous 48 states. While she and Biden disagree on issues of intervention, she will be the devil’s advocate to offer alternate opinions on intervention, which allows Biden to know that if the Secretary of Defense recommends action, Gabbard has likely considered it deeply. Judy Chu - Relations with China have bottomed out under the Trump Administration, and it is time to get back in the saddle to deal with them. There will be no better mutual understanding than employing an American politician with Chinese abilities and family to understand their culture and give insight into their negotiation strategies. Biden hopes that Chu will help the United States restore its relationship with the People’s Republic of China, but be sure to not allow China to get a better deal. Raul Grijalva - Bringing in Arizona to the democrat fold was not an easy task, but now that they have come over, there needs to be incentive to stay. Grijalva has been around for some time and has experience with the House Natural Resources Committee, he would be great to keep around. Michelle Lujan Grisham - The Governor of New Mexico and a former member of the Hispanic caucus. Trump destroyed relations with the Hispanic community, and Biden needs a strong team of cabinet members to keep him focused on restoring relations with them and solving the issues that impact them directly. Sharice Davids - A Native American representative would be very symbolic if placed into the position of Secretary of the Interior. The Dakota Access pipeline fiasco did not do the American Government any favors, and the mistreatment of the Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic is certainly leaving the native community feeling isolated, it is important that their interests are not forgotten, but also represented on a federal level. Cory Booker - A former Presidential candidate and an African American Senator who is vocal about the criminal justice system and mending the racial disparities in the country. Having Booker in the AG position would be very interesting to see what ideas he can generate to reform and improve our current systems. Raja Krishnamoorthi - Time for another Indian-American for the cabinet. Krishnamoorthi’s extensive experience in the House Oversight Committee has aligned his work with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Biden hopes that he will excel in this role and his membership to the Cabinet alongside VP Harris will forge a pathway to mend and progress American-Indian Relations. John Kerry - After a wild career with President Obama as Secretary of State and also a Naval career, Kerry isn’t likely wanting any big or spotlight position. However, Biden’s experience with Kerry has called him back to the White House, but this time for his Naval experience for the Secretary of Veteran Affairs. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - Biden was very cautious to give a platform to AOC since she is known to be outspoken, and much further left than Biden is himself. She has called out to abolish ICE, and has set Medicare for All as an important platform, while Biden doesn’t really support these things, she is vocal about the Green New Deal- having a part in the authorship. Biden thinks the Green New Deal is a step too far, but appointing something with thoughts in the correct direction to the EPA would be a strong signal to the country that it is time to get serious about the problems we are facing. Biden knows AOC will be able to get the job done, while not always seeing eye-to-eye. Anthony Fauci - The perfect thing about Dr. Fauci, is that he isn’t a politician, he is here to do his job and do it well, and save lives along the way. Biden doesn’t need a politician to make decisions about the direction of the nation during a health crisis, he needs an expert. While Fauci is more advanced in his years, he will be asked to seek out a successor to his role at the NIAID that he feels is the most qualified for the job, before finishing out his career in a role that suits the spotlight necessary for federal management of emergencies. Stephanie Murphy - A Vietnamese-American who supports Presidential war powers, she is fluent in Vietnamese and would be very helpful to East-Asian relations, specifically with Vietnam. She formerly worked in the DoD as a national security specialist, which makes her fit for the role. Charles Djou - An independent politician of Thai descent who has military experience. Biden hopes he will take a very neutral approach to address the US domestic security concerns to provide resolutions that both sides will appreciate. Elon Musk - Immigrants often represent the best of the United States by using uncommon solutions for uncommon problems. Biden has long supported an HSR system for the United States, and Musk might be the only one with enough balls to do something about it. With the funding of the United States at his back, the benefit might be worth giving his idiocy a platform. However, it would of course mean he will have to separate from his company, at least temporarily. Ed Bastian - The CEO of Delta Airlines, one of the US forefront passenger airline services. Bastian wasted no time by providing alternatives and coping with change faced during the epidemic and is renowned by his employees as a respectable and thoughtful leader. Scott D. Berrier - Former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Deputy Chief of Staff to INSCOM. The US needs someone that gathers accurate and precise intelligence, with the most qualified professional out there. If a government needs overthrowing, a leader needs assassinating, a military man in the CIA will get the job done. Hugh Grant - CEO of Monsanto prior to Bayer acquisition, he knows his stuff. Pete Buttigieg - Biden didn’t really have the choice of ignoring Pete, he is sometimes useful, but needs to be kept at an arm’s length. Housing and Urban Development is a great way to respect Pete, but make him irrelevant. Earl Blumenauer - Member of the Ways and Means Committee representing Oregon. He looks like the stereotypical nice grandfather, but his background on the committee tells us he means business, and when supplemented with other cabinet members, will make an effective team member in trade negotiations and be able to lead the discussions on a warm, and friendly foot. Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis - He had some choice words to say about President Trump and his foreign policy, but is apolitical as a military man should be. Biden would like to give the Mad Dog a better understanding of how the White House should respect the country and its members, but needs Mattis’ military discipline, time management, and efficiency to keep the cabinet and government in line. There is nothing wrong with having a respectable man who is well versed in foreign policy, and believes in the unity of the American people on your side. Biden hopes that this will give Mattis a better experience and help restore some trust in the country he dedicated his life to.
Hello, Next piano jam will be posted around 1-2 November. Thank you for suggestions, they really help to put the list together. Currently we are low on suggestions from anime/movie/video games category, please suggest pieces you would like to play here :). The jazz and ragtime sections are run by u/abnormal_human.
Guidelines
If you're new to /piano, the Piano Jam is a monthly event where you get the chance to challenge yourself to work on a piece of music and share your playing with the community. Whether you're a beginner or expert, we'd love to hear you play! See the guidelines below and check out all the previous piano jams in the sidebar. You are encouraged to share a recording (of YOU playing) in a post to /piano anytime during the month. Please put "Piano Jam" post tag or "[Piano Jam]" somewhere in the submission title, so we know that's what the post is for. People have posted without this tag before and it's not the end of the world of course, but it does mean I might miss your submission! Please try to use YouTube / SoundCloud / Bandcamp for your links for accessibility & reliability, but any links are allowed.
You do not have to complete or perfect pieces to submit them, and don't be afraid to simplify/shorten pieces. Also, don't be afraid to improvise or write your own ending to a looped piece of video game music, etc.
This is not a contest! It's a chance for you to set a goal for yourself and to share your journey and accomplishments with the /piano community.
For classical pieces ABRSM grade estimate is in brackets - the source of estimation is piano grade aggregator
You do not have to limit yourself to just one piece, you can submit as many as you like as long as they belong to the list.
If you have pieces you would like to suggest for future Piano Jams, please use our suggestion form.
Preamble: This should be a list of topics you can learn in general (and as long this isEngineeringStudentsyou may not learn in courses as well). Have a look what might fits you, what can be a benefit for you in future and what sounds fun. This list will never be 100% correct, there will be stuff missing and maybe some things change over time (also a lot of typos and bad grammar, I'm sorry). But withyourhelp we may create a list with interessting and helpful topics. Yes this post was made around half a year ago, but is usefull in my opinion and would be to sad to be lost in the archive. Hello everyone, I noticed a couple of posts in the last weeks where people are looking for stuff to learn, but are not sure what. So I want to make a small list of EE-stuff what I recommend, beside most standard stuff (like Calc I, Ohms law etc.). I have no clue about other engineering fields (I'm into automation & robotic), but maybe YOUcan help out for your engineering field, but please in another topic, not here*!* (but will be linked, if you post them in the comments) One general advice, if you know where you want to work in future, you shall not wear blinkers and concentrate just on stuff of your field. Take a look outside the box and try to learn some stuff. You don't have to be a master on all fields, but be able to know what other engineers are talking about. Short notice: I try to list mostly free or open-source stuff, because some of us haven't got a student-licence (and/or the money), but I also know that you can't beat some commercial products so far. General Stuff:
LaTex (and Addons you may want to use) - I know a lot of people are stucking on Work/OpenOffice/LibreOffice and similar programms. It is intuitive to deal with it, but if you are not an advanced/expert in Word and writing your thesis you may go nuts like I went. With LaTex you are "programming" your thesis. Sounds creepy, but it looks so good (and much better than Word-Stuff) . Have a look, because many professional papers are made with it. You may get help at LaTeX.
Programming languages:
Assembler - You want to programm stuff realy fast and want to be one with your embedded system? Than you have to learn assembler, the language every other programming language is speaking in the end. It depends on the microprocessor you are using, because they have different command lines. Try to deal with a RISC (PICxxx family) and a CISC processor (8086) and you will have a feeling how to deal with them. (Example Tutorial)
C - maybe you learned it already, maybe not. C is one of the fastes functional procedural, structured languages every made. Many microcontroller boards deal with it and is mostly used in embedded systems. You will have great power to do anything, but also great responsibility. It is easy to learn the basic stuff, but more complex when you want to do advanced stuff. Reddits: C_Programming Try the IDE Qt for such stuff, because it is packed full of good stuff and is free to use (afaik). Also you can programm in ...
C++ - as well in Qt. C++ is the bigger brother of C. Mostly the same blood is flooding along the code lines, but is a little bit different. C++ supports object-orientaded programming (OOP), what C can't do (so easily). If you can deal with C, it is maybe the best entrance in the OOP-World. It is used for operating systems, virtuall machines, embedded systems as well and some more. When you can deal with C++, you may be able to deal with Java(what I don't like, but different reasons) as well. Have a look on the actual new standard C++20! Reddit: cpp
Python 3 (yes there is Python 2 as well, but ...) - the most famous interpreter language in our time at the moment. It works different than C/++, but you will find much similarities. There are tons of tutorials out there. You can use python for big data-stuff, image processing, robotics, gaming, sensor stuff and many more things. Tons of packages are free to use for your project, if you download it you get a ligthweight IDE IDLE as well and is very dynamic. If you can deal the cons (it runs until errors appear and other stuff), it can be a good friend. If you have some experiences with IDEs and want to make bigger private projects I recommened PyCharm, because you will learn to programm in the PEP8 standard (rules how to write good code in Python) and have plenty of tools for your pure Python code. Watch licences! Reddit: Python
Matlab (free alternatives: Scilab/GNU Octave) - normally I would not support it, because a licence is expensive (even for unis and companies). But it is still used by many Profs., so you have to deal with it anyway. Matlab is "a giant calculator-interpreter-programming language". When you have matching packages it can be a good friend for image processing, controlling, robotics, math problems, numeric and many more (some of us may heared about Simulink and Stateflow which is based on Matlab). So it is a powerfull tool, but expensive. Maybe try Scilab or Octave as well (maybe not so powerfull, but usefull). Reddit: matlab
R - When you have to deal with stochastic stuff, data mining and big data stuff. Sometimes this language can be pretty handy, because it is specialised for this use case. Reddit: Rlanguage
Rust - An upcoming language, which promise to be safer than C, by great performance and slim in it's size. What you can do with it? Well theyself say nearly everything. It is more complex in the beginning, but if you are able to tame it, it may be a powerfull weapon. Learn Material- Reddit: rust
Electronic stuff:
Electromagnetic compatibility(EMC) - I'm an automation guy and EMC is Voodo for me. But it is one of the core competences you need to design circuits. How do you have to design your board, that obscure phenomenons won't happen (signals that shouldn't be there). What is this stuff and what weapons exists to fight these ghosts! :^)
VHDL and Verilog - There are three kingdoms of integrated ciruits (IC): Microcontrollers, FPGAs and ASICs. VHDL and Verilog are from FPGA land and very popular. FPGA is "hardware programming". But this is where my knowledge ends to be honest.
fritzing- Programm to create nice looking pictures with breadboards, motors, arduinos ... , circuit layouts and making your printed boards. Easy to use and for beginners helpful.
EAGLE - fritzing is for beginners and you want to be more professional in designing circuit diagramms? Then you may use EAGLE. I'm not sure what kind of licences exist at the moment, because it was bougth by Autodesk come years ago? But I think there is still a small free version for everyone and maybe a special license for students (but I'm not sure!). A good open source alternative is KiCAD.
Applied Mechanics - wait you will say, you are EE and tell me to learn ME stuff for circuit boards? Yes! Because your circuit boards may have to deal the toughest conditions. Dropping your smartphone, vibrating plates, bending...it happens to your board as well. So learn to deal with it.
LTSpice - simulating circuits with a high parameter variety (like termic noise etc) [thx CaulkParty ]
Altium for PCB-design, seems to be one of the mostly used in industry
Automation &Robotic:
Language standards for PLC - There are plenty of sellers of PLC stuff. Rockwell, Siemens, Mitsubishi and many more. Depending where you are living there is a "trend" to a company. When you have the money and/or possibility to work with it, do it. I don't know if there is a cheap one out there, but maybe YOU can help us out.
Applied Mechanics - A robot is not just DH-Parameters and cables alone. It is good to know what your robot can lift, what forces and torques exist while your robots tries to throw a 90kg stone 300m far...while driving on a truck ... taped on a ladder...while the truck is driving around a sharp corner up the hill (ME students may laugh or cry here as well).
Linux - Sooner or later you may be confronted with Linux. A free operating system, which is not like Windows or this thing with the fruit. It is used so many times, especially in the embedded field. It is not easy to get into it at the beginning, but an easy start is with Raspbian(and a Raspberry Pi, because it's optimised for that) or for Notebooks/PCs Ubuntu. There are plenty of distributions and you have to find your favourite one (I was distro hopping a couple of times).
Quaternion - when you are dealing with robotic the first time, you know the singularity problems. Not with Quaternions. If you know how to work with them, you will be a step ahead of other people.
Safety - A point I missed in my courses. How do I design a robot cell? Where does an emergency stop has to be? What is SIL? And when do I have to deal with a risk (there will never be 100% safety in a process).
Security - Like Safety I missed this in my courses as well. In a time where digitalisation is everywhere. From mobile apps, killer USBs, ransoftware, snake oils, 5G, GPG etc. How can I be sure that my data was not manipulated? How can I protect my system against introuders? Why has data securety to be such a thing? And when is it usefull?
CAE/CAD ( computer-aided engineering/design) - Sometimes you should be able to read a technical drawing and how you can design your own prototype. Especially while 3D-Printers are on the rise in the industry. Poorly I don't have a clue about good&free software in this case. =/ Otherwise SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor is the most used software in this topic afaik and Studentlicences exist. This is not about mechanical constructions only, sometimes even electrical construction or simulations. Reddits: SolidWorks, AutodeskInventor
Hydraulic & pneumatic - Another topic from ME. If you know the basics as EE it is good enough (reading hydraulic and pneumatic plans, how do valves (and the sensoric) work, what are basic components in such systems, math of pressure etc. ...). [WANTED: GOOD PAGES FROM ME PEOPLE TO ADD AS LINK HERE)
computer networking - There will be much more technology working via networks. So you should know something about switches, routers, IP-Networks (especially IPv6), TCP/UDP (, fieldbus systems). It's not so popular in "classic" EE, but I think this will be a big deal in future anyway.
ROS and Industrial ROS - an open-source framework for robotic. It is good for fun stuff and to learn a bit around robotic, but in case of expensive constructs or safety stuff not reliable! Reddit: ROS
MPLab X IDE - IDE to simulate and programm microcontrollers. (thx UnDeaD_AmP )
Information - and communications technology:
Wireshark - paket analyser for network stuff. Can be usefull for automation as well (field bus). Reddit: wireshark
GNU Radio - (thx to CaulkParty): Capturing and demodulating real-time radio transmissions, Real-time signal capturing of cellphone transmission packets fed to Wireshark, Simulation of a radio and more.
Micro- and Nanoelectronics:
Here could be your advise as well!
Power Electronic/Electric:
Powerworld - used to simulate large power systems, old legacy software that's used all the time in industry
AutoCAD Electrical - See CAE/CAD
Batteries - LiPo, NiCd, LiFo etc. What is important to know, why you should have a safe charge place, fireressistant covers when you build your own charging electronic and more.
Renewable Energy - wind, solar, hydro and more. How they work, how to regulate them and if such a gadget would be good enough for the next hiking/camping trip
Learn about transformers, 3 phase power, know what a duck curve is and why it could be bad
Craftmanship (can be tricky, because you may not get the tools and somebody with experience for that)
Minecraft <--basic
soldering - because it is everywhere and breadboards are not made for eternity
drilling (sounds easy but you may should know some stuff)
making your own circuit board from scratch ( Never done it before? Be extra carful in case you want to deal with acid! Better grab somebody who can help you out with that!)
Softskills: Yes I can see some of you are rolling with their eyes and thinking "serious"? And you are right! And wrong! Don't underestimate Softskills. Having lectures about that stuff is sometimes pretty boring, but you won't believe what people are out there not being able to handle stuff. Neither Time management, not social skills to deal with conflicts and so on. Some people don't even know that they are missing this kind of skill set. Be honest to yourself and get at least a basic set. It is difficult to teach suc things for yourself and some techniques won't work, but others will (I manage my projects in another way than my workmates do). [Sources are welcome, because this field is huge. I will just describe stuff I know/recommened/warn about ...]
Time Management - Scheduling the week, an event, your life and more. Are you using your smart phone caleneder? A Notebook? How to know where to start with your pool of tasks? There are many ways how to handle stuff.
Conflict solving skills - My old Prof worked in a company before and he told us that 50% of his time was solving conflicts between people and 50% doing engineer stuff. Many conflicts are based on a misunderstanding, excalating over time and explode by a tiny spark. You need to moderate these conflicts which measn. Make rules (no bad words, don't get loud, we don't talk when the other one is talking), be neutral and don't take position, try to find the root of the evil, ask questions so the others have to answer and make breaks when needed ... and sometimes you even have to know a point where you have to say "Fuck it, you don't want a solution, deal with your own stuff".
Presentation Skills/Debate Skills - You know this one prof who is writing in a cryptic wingdings font in size 4, while mumbeling stuff with the blackboard to explain stuff and you are sitting in the other corner of the room, running your AI skills to understand stuff. Or the other one who is using yellow letters on white background and wondering, that you can't see them via beamer, but on the PC it was so clear. Don't be that type as well! Speak loud and clear, ask if every one can here you, make rules at the start like "Questions after the presentation please", check your presentation location, make tests if everything works, choose a good medium (free talk, powerpoint like things, placards, >> practical stuff if possible << (alsways good)), make the presentation for the target audience you expect, improvise if needed etc. Talk in front of a honest test audience, know how to built up your presentation (mine is Intro, definition, history, basics, topic, meta stuff/future, end statement). Know the fouls of a conversation and try to find a good way handeling them. It is important to stand against others in a discussion as well.
Project Management skills - The father of many softskills: Waterfall model, Kanban, V-Modell, time management, importants of tasks, how big is your team, handling budget, risk management, RISK MANAGEMENT (doubled, because especially as engineer it should be on your skill list or know what to do), teamwork and more.
... (more)
Other Topics that aren't mentioned yet Maybe I will add/change some stuff from time to time... Anything you are missing? Put it in the comments and if I know it (or enough other) I will add it on the list as well. Something wrong? Please let me notice so I can change that! You don't even know how to survive Engineering? You may check out this regular post from me.
Deze draad is bedoeld voor het staatsbestel van Nederland. De tags die ik heb toegevoegd in de introductie, waren:
Staatsvorm, verantwoordelijkheden en macht, politiek zelf, omgang, Koningshuis, burger en (kleine) overheid | Soevereiniteit (deze is nu toegevoegd)
Dit stuk is ingedeeld in vier delen.
Een beknopte geschiedenis van de Nederlandse politiek.
Nog even dit...
Wat kan er ook?
Nieuws & trends
Ik wil nog als 'disclaimer' (afwijzing?) toevoegen dat ik in geen enkel opzicht geschoold ben in de politieke geschiedenis. De tekst kan fouten en onwaarheden bevatten. Correcties worden toegevoegd, daar waar ik er tijd voor heb.
Een beknopte geschiedenis
Voor een volledige geschiedenis kunnen we zo ver terug gaan als het Karolingische Rijk. Naar mijn mening de start van de West-Europese staten en staatsvorming. Dat doen we niet. Wel wil ik twee punten benoemen in de totstandkoming van Nederland. De vorming, door strategische erving en dwang, vond plaats onder de Bourgondiërs en Habsburgers. Hierin was de macht van de adel tegenover de monarch relatief groot. De Lage Landen waren een economisch zwaartepunt in hun tijd, de 14e, 15e en 16e eeuw. In de strijd naar onafhankelijkheid in de 16e eeuw heeft Nederland iets bijzonders gedaan, tot die tijd niet gezien. De Staten-Generaal stelden dat de vorst namens God regeerden voor het volk, en niet over. Hiermee kreeg het volk de macht om de vorst af te zetten. De Republiek werd geleid door de rijke burgers, met het gewest Holland en de stad Amsterdam voorop. De economie was redelijk vrij en dat gold ook voor innovatie, techniek en wetenschap. Wil als noot hier nog wel aan toevoegen dat religieuze vrijheid pas opkwam aan het eind van de 19e eeuw, vooral de katholieken waren praktisch tweederangsburger. Het tweede punt is de strijd in de eerste twee eeuwen. De politieke strijd ging om de verhouding tussen leider en parlement. De leider heeft deze gewonnen. In de 17e eeuw leiden de moorden op Van Oldenbarnevelt en de gebroeders De Witt tot een machtige net-nietvorst eind 17e eeuw en in de 18e eeuw. Stadhouder Willem III is waarschijnlijk het meest koninklijk geweest tot 1815. Ook omdat hij koning van Engeland was en strijd bood tegen Lodewijk XIV, de Zonnekoning. Dus richting de 19e eeuw heeft Nederland twee eeuwen erop zitten waarin Nederland alsnog een vorst heeft gekregen. Cue Revolutie! Rondom de eeuwwisseling naar de 19e eeuw is de strijd weer helemaal terug. Ook hier kunnen we lang over uitwijden, maar na Napoleon werd Nederland weer een onafhankelijke staat. Nu met appendix! Vanaf 1815 is Nederland dus een nieuwe staat. De tijdelijke situatie daargelaten, zijn er veel elementen van toen nog steeds in ons staatsbestel. Wat hadden we al wel? Zoals al genoemd werd, we hadden al een Staten-Generaal en een gezant van de staat, de stadhouder. Daarnaast was, door de macht van Holland, de leider van deze fractie ook de eerste van de Staten-Generaal: de raadspensionaris. Dus hier is al de relatie tussen vorst, overheid en parlement te zien. De vorst had ook een adviesorgaan: de Raad van State. Daar kwamen wat dingen bij. De basis van het Nederlandse staatsbestel is berust op de scheiding der machten. Hier heb ik al even over gepraat in de Introductie. Nederland heeft daarom nu drie onderdelen van de overheid: de rechtbanken, het parlement en de (rijks)overheid. Daar kwam ook nog het tweekamerstelsel bij. Vroeger werd de Eerste Kamer aangesteld door de Koning, nu is het een getrapte verkiezing vanuit de Provinciale Staten. De Tweede Kamer begon met verkiezingen waar alleen de gegoede burgerij aan mee mocht doen. Tegenwoordig zijn enkele mensen uitgesloten van deelname aan de verkiezingen, zoals jongeren, maar tegenwoordig mag 'iedereen' kiezen en verkozen worden. In 1848 is deze basis aangehouden, maar zijn er een paar essentiële wijzigingen geweest. Alsextranoottrouwens,hetstaatsbestelstaatbijnageheelindegrondwet.Dehuidigekomtuit1983,maarwordtgezienalsdezelfdeversiealsdieuit1815. De belangrijkste zijn wie de Eerste Kamer kiezen, net al gemeld, en waar het primaat binnen de politiek zit. Als namelijk de ene Kamer door de Koning wordt benoemd en de ander door het volk, dan is het niet gek dat deze twee veel botsen. Hetzelfde geldt voor de overheid. Als de Koning de ministers benoemt, maar de Kamers het niet eens zijn met het beleid, hoe ga je dan verder? Met mijn beperkte kennis zou ik dit willen vergelijken met de VS waar het land op slot kan gaan als het parlement en de overheid niet uit de begroting komen. De wijziging in 1848 zorgde ervoor dat de Koning nog wel de benoeming deed, maar daar niet op afgerekend kan worden, of op het beleid in het algemeen. De ministers zijn verantwoordelijk voor het beleid en de Koning is onschendbaar. In de decennia daarna bleef trouwens de strijd nog doorgaan. De ministerraad bood haar ontslag aan, maar het volgende kabinet, door de Koning benoemd, moest hetzelfde beleid blijven voeren. Uiteindelijk heeft het parlement deze strijd gewonnen en zien we tegenwoordig dat wanneer het kabinet geen vertrouwen heeft van de Kamer, het kabinet aftreedt. Hiermee is het primaat duidelijk onderdeel geworden van het parlement. Hierover straks nog wat termen voor. Belangrijk om hier in de gaten te houden, is dat in deze tijden het politieke spectrum zich verdeelde in liberalen en conservatisten. Ook hier straks meer over. Hier een nrc-artikel waar ik me op baseer.. Aan het begin van de 20e eeuw komt het socialisme op en verschuift dit politieke spectrum naar socialisten en liberalen. Het kinderwetje van Van Houten, algemeen en bijzonder onderwijs, Algemeen kiesrecht, Algemeen vrouwenkiesrecht. Het parlement was er voor meer mensen en de mensen kregen meer (grond)rechten. Daarnaast zien we ook de huidige structuur in de Tweede Kamer ontstaan. In de Tweede Kamer had je al wel mensen die zich met een bepaalde ideologie affilieerde. Alleen opereerden de Kamerleden geheel zelfstandig. Om meer een machtsblok te krijgen, is er onder de confessionelen (ten dele conservatisten) uiteindelijk de ARP opgericht. ARP betekent hier trouwens het verwerpen van de belangrijkste idealen van de liberalen, 'opgelegd' en verwoord ten tijde van de Franse Revolutie en Napoleon. Fastforward na WOII. Na de wederopbouw kwam er de verzorgingsstaat. Hiermee werd de overheid verantwoordelijk voor de zorg aan burgers. Het bekendste voorbeeld is wel de AOW. Hiermee hebben alle ouderen recht op een uitkering van de staat als ze de AOW-leeftijd voorbij zijn. De laatste decennia van de twintigste eeuw worden gekenmerkt door een hegemonie van de partijen CDA en PvdA. In deze tijd komen bepaalde functies van de overheid aan de orde of worden gebruikt die voorheen minder belangrijk lijken. Nederland heeft bijvoorbeeld geen Ministerie van Koloniën meer, of van Marine, of van Oorlog. Ook namen als Handel en Nijverhijd verdwijnen voor namen als Defensie en Economische Zaken. De politiek in de 21e eeuw is gedomineerd door wat er eind 20e eeuw is opgezet. Het neoliberalisme, waar nu weer vanaf gestapt lijkt te worden, zag de overheid meer als bedrijf. Hierin zijn overheidstaken overgeheveld naar semi-overheids instanties. De bekendste instantie is, denk ik wel, de NS. Hiermee kunnen taken van de overheid gedaan worden met bedrijfsefficiëntie. Daarnaast is in de 21e eeuw Europa een belangrijker begrip geworden. Al na WOII begon een integratie van economiën en markten in (West-)Europa. Uit m'n hoofd zijn bijvoorbeeld de verschillende munten en fiscale beleidsterreinen al sinds de jaren 80 steeds meer naar elkaar gegroeid. Daar komt dan nog bij dat de staatsschuld en banencreatie prominentere rollen hebben gespeeld. Over de Europese Unie kan ook nog wat worden gezegd. Kortgezegd: er zijn mensen die al sinds WOII een Verenigde Staten van Europa willen. Er zijn mensen die geen samnwerking willen, er zijn mensen die daar tussen zitten.
Nog even dit...
Dit was een beknopte geschiedenis van de hoogste organen van Nederland, en ik ben er waarschijnlijk een paar vergeten. Hier wil ik nog even vier onderdelen extra toelichten. In Nederland is de rechtsstaat een belangrijk goed. Mijn gok is dat Nederlanders het ook als onderdeel zien van hun cultuur. Nederland had in de 17e eeuw relatief veel vrijheid en rechten vergeleken met de rest van Europa. Daarnaast werd Nederland in de 20e eeuw het centrum van de rechtspraak. Genesteld tussen de grootmachten Frankrijk, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, het Duitse Rijk en het Russsiche Keizerrijk had Nederland een neutrale houding in de wereldpolitiek en was geen dreiging voor de grootmachten als zij hier het internationale recht hielden. Dit was al te zien in 1713 met de Vrede van Utrecht over de Spaanse Successieoorlog. Deze erkenning van Nederland is ook terug te zien in de Haagse vredesconferenties rond de eeuwwisseling. Wie weet, misschien dat Nederland wel het hoofdkwartier van de VN was geweest, als de VS niet de enige wereldmacht was geweest. Maar terug naar Nederland. In navolging van de grondwet uit 1815 en onder Franse invloed heeft Nederland sinds 1838 een Hoge Raad. De Nederlandse rechtsstructuur is, beknopt, makkelijk in te delen. Het recht kan gaan over de relatie burger-burger (civiel recht) of burger-staat (strafrecht & bestuursrecht). Bij die laatste zou je nog kunnen zeggen dat strafrecht de oplegging van de staat aan burgers is en het bestuursrecht de plichten van de staat aan de burgers/oplegging van de burgers aan de staat. Nederland kent voor civiel recht en strafrecht drie stappen: de (kanton)rechtbanken, het gerechtshof en de Hoge Raad. Deze laatste heeft alleen de mogelijkheid om te controleren of de procedure goed nageleefd is. Bestuursrecht begint ook bij de rechtbank, maar kan uiteindelijk eindigen bij de Raad van State. Deze heeft dus twee taken in ons bestel: (juridisch) advies aan de Koning/overheid bieden en recht spreken over bestuurskwesties. Ik kan deze website ook aanraden voor een overzicht. Nederland heeft nog andere lagen dan alleen het rijksniveau. Deze zijn de Provinciale Staten, de waterschappen en de gemeentes. Alledrie hebben ze een basisstructuur van een uitvoerende raad en een controlerende raad. Deze laatste is waarover gestemd wordt bij verkiezingen. De Prov. Staten mogen ook de Eerste Kamer kiezen. De waterschappen zijn het oudste, nog bestaande bestuursorgaan van Nederland. Provinciën, gemeenten en waterschappen worden geleid door iemand benoemd door de Koning. Dit zijn resp. de Commissaris van de Koning, de burgemeester en de dijkgraaf. Daarnaast heeft Nederland nog allerlei samenwerkingsverbanden die weinig macht hebben. Bekend met deze crisis zijn de veiligheidsregio's. Naast de overheid zijn er ook allerlei uitvoerende organisaties en semi-overheidsorganisaties. Bekende voorbeelden hiervan zijn de Belastingdienst, DUO, Nederlandse Spoorwegen en Rijkswaterstaat (bestaat sinds 1815!). Deze organisaties zijn erg op de toepassing gericht en moeten verantwoording afleggen aan een ministerie. Dit is bijvoorbeeld terug te zien bij de toeslagenaffaire. De minister kan een reorganisatie afdwingen, de Kamer kan alleen de minister dwingen, maar weinig doen aan de Belastingdienst. Hier wil ik trouwens nog even als noot toevoegen hoe geweldig de gedachten hierover kunnen zijn. Een burgerinitiatief kan een voorstel op de Kameragenda zetten, maar heeft geen invloed op het debat. De Kamer dicteert dit debat, maar kan vervolgens alleen een (dwingend) voorstel doen aan het kabinet. Deze kan dan weer de uitwerking bepalen en dit door zetten naar hun uitvoerende dienst. Deze dienst is dan degene die de uitwerking moet doen. Toch leuk hoe iedereen elkaar iets kan opleggen, maar niemand eigenlijk de macht heeft. Als laatste nog een paar termen waarmee Nederland beschreven kan worden:
Parlementaire democratie - een staatsvorm waarbij de primaire macht bij het volk ligt (democratie), maar deze dat uitoefent door een vertegenwoordiging (parlement).
Constitunionele monarchie - een staatsvorm waarbij het staatshoofd een vorst heeft, in macht ingebonden alsvorens de grondwet.
Rechtsstaat - de overheid is gebonden aan rechten.
Verzorgingsstaat - de overheid heeft de taak te zorgen voor het welzijn van haar burgers.
Parlementair systeem - het mandaat ligt bij het parlement. Presidentieel systeem is een tegenhanger.
Ik laat hier even het reilen en zijlen van organen als de Tweede Kamer voor wat het is. Er zijn plaatjes waarop te zien is hoe de Tweede Kamer is ingedeeld, ook qua waar wie moet staan.
Wat kan er ook?
Kan nog worden uitgebreid. Enkele voorbeelden van andere landen in 'Het Westen'. België is een federaal systeem. Hiermee heeft een laag onder de rijksoverheid (bij ons de Provinciale Staten) meer macht. De soevereiniteit ligt niet volledig bij de nationale overheid. Duitsland is ook een federatie, maar heeft ook een president. Frankrijk heeft ook een president. Deze heeft zelfs een presidentieel systeem. Hierbij wordt de premier 'opgeofferd' voor beleid. Dit is recentelijk onder Macron nog gedaan. De VS heeft dit systeem ook, maar de overheid is hier nog machtiger. In principe ligt er geen mandaat bij dit systeem. Het rechtsysteem is ook minder onafhankelijk. Het VK maakt gebruik van de Common Law (gewoonterecht), waarbij rechtspraak niet wordt gedaan op rechten, maar op hoe die eerder zijn uitgesproken. Veel landen in Europa hebben een ander recht: Continentaal recht (civil law). Enkele voorbeelden buiten 'onze kring': Zuid-Afrika had apartheid. Hierin hebben bepaalde mensen meer of minder rechten op basis van hun huidskleur. Landen als Zuid-Korea, Japan en Taiwan zijn ook een democratie, maar hebben meer een top-down variant (oplegging) in hun cultuur. China is geen democratie en heeft een extreme variant van top-down. Dit was ook terug te zien bij de Sovjet-republiek.
Nieuws & trends
Als mensen berichten/artikelen hebben die ze willen delen, plaats ik die hier. Enkele trends zijn dus onder het neoliberalisme. Hierbij heeft de overheid enkele van haar organisatie afgestoot als onafhankelijk opererend. Daarnaast is er onder gemeentes een enorme uitdunning geweest de afgelopen jaren. Dit zorgt voor sterkere gemeentes (lees: meer middelen), maar staat wel verder weg van de burger. Taalgebruik en omgang in de politiek is informeler geworden. Daarnaast bepalen media enorm de bekendheid van politici en beleid.
Nog even dit
Ik ben vast wat dingen vergeten. Als je geen zin hebt om de reacties hieronder te vullen met lappen tekst, kan je een persoonlijk berichtje sturen.
September 14th, 2020: Mandahrk Interview (Part 1 of 2)
Due to the number of questions Mandahrk received from the community, the interview exceeded reddit's character limit, and will be split into two parts! The questions from the NSI team will be in this post, and the community questions will be included in the second. You can read part two here. Tell us a little about yourself. Hello everyone! I am a 25 year old civil engineer from India. I grew up in towns so small they didn't have proper internet connections until the mid 2000s and little me couldn't even have imagined that one day I would be writing for a large international audience like this. As one of the few, if not only, writers of your nationality and history on NoSleep, are there any distinct challenges you find in your writing and interactions with the subreddit? The love and support I have received from this community has been nothing short of incredible. I certainly did not expect this. When I first started writing for nosleep I was worried that my stories won't be good enough and that if I write about India people won't easily connect with them, simply because the setting is so unfamiliar to most of the sub. But since I was mostly writing for myself and since I had seen WriteChrisWrite's series based on Hindu mythology do really well I stuck to my guns and lo and behold - my first story to crack 5k upvotes - the first part of a series - was as Indian as it gets, and unlike the aforementioned series that focused on immigrants in the United States, it was set in India, had Indian characters and even referenced Indian TV shows in the first part itself. The success of that story gave me the confidence to begin carving a niche for myself on the sub. I saw that people were craving for content from other parts of the world, as it keeps horror fresh. It's why Japanese monsters are all the rage right now. And so I began writing about myths and legends I grew up with, about characters based on people I personally knew, and the response was great! To be the first writer from India to get a modicum of popularity on nosleep was (and is) absolutely a big honor for me. But of course I didn't want to be typecast as just "the Indian guy", so I experimented and the next story that blew up was from the perspective of an American character. This was a whole new challenge for me as I'm not American, and the only knowledge I have of American life is through books and films and TV shows. So I focused on universal themes and that made it much easier for me to connect with people from all around the world - things that scare you, things that you treasure - you can touch the hearts of people from any nationality if you focus on the core human experience. I mean, to my utter surprise, my 'This is why mimes are much more terrifying than clowns' is astonishingly popular in Vietnam of all places. There's even an animated video of it in Vietnamese that's now sitting at over half a million views. Just incredible. Of course the internet being what it is, I also got some hate. But I just used that hate to fuel my creativity. When did you first become interested in horror? I was about 4 years old when 'woh' was airing on TV. It was an Indian adaptation of Stephen King's IT and its opening was scary enough to rival American Horror Story at its best. My father thought it would be a good idea to watch the show with me on his lap. It wasn't. It scared me so bad that I would start bawling at the mere sight of this clown doll that I had. My parents had to throw it away. And I used to love that doll. But I wasn't just frightened, I was also fascinated. I craved that adrenaline rush that consuming horror fiction gave me. There were other Indian horror shows airing at that time - shhh koi hai, zee horror show, Aahat, Aap Beeti and others that I would try to watch behind my parents' back. Soon I graduated to Hollywood horror with The Descent, the Saw series etc before moving onto Japanese horror. I remember watching the ring on cable TV when my parents weren't home. Gave me nightmares for weeks. I loved it. Was there a specific moment you knew you wanted to write in that genre? I'd say it was when I got a copy of my high school's magazine and read a horror short story by a senior. I had always been interested in writing fantasy, but I knew that it was a long term goal and that my writing needed to improve in preparation for that. And the best way to do that was by writing short stories. I just didn't know what kind I wanted to write. But after I read my senior's story, I knew what I wanted to do. I read some Stephen King shorts and wrote my first one about a kid who's selling lemonade to his neighbours while his mother's corpse rots in his house. I would write every now and then but didn't really get serious about pursuing writing as a hobby until last year. For nosleep. That's a very creepy early story! Where else have you found inspiration? Have real life experiences ever made their way into your work? Inspiration is everywhere. You can find stories hidden in the most mundane of things. You just need an active imagination. I was out on a run the other day and saw this girl taking her pregnant dog out for a walk and I thought wouldn't it be funny if she gave birth to a human baby? And I turned that into a story. My first story to hit the top spot - Every night for the last 18 years someone has been sneaking into my bedroom and sleeping next to me - is based on my childhood fears. I was terrified of sleeping on my side because I would keep imagining someone lying down behind me and gently caressing my back. The character in the story stacked pillows next to him - something I very much used to do. Hide'N'Seek is also drawn from experience. I was playing that game at a friend's house, and I did see someone lying down like a corpse on a ledge when it was my turn to search. See, when you're writing a story you should remember that only if it scares you will it have a shot at scaring others. Not otherwise. That's why it's important to keep it personal. Every night for the last 18 years someone has been sneaking into my bedroom and sleeping next to me features a pistach, and you mentioned admiring a fellow author's series featuring Hindu myths. Do you have plans to incorporate other myths and creatures from Hindu theology and culture in your future writing? Absolutely. India is such a mesmerizing country. Culture, language, food - everything changes here every 100 km or so and there is just a treasure trove of myths and legends waiting to be explored. I'm glad that there are finally horror movies like Tumbbad that are starting to dig deep into local mythology and I can't wait to do the same in my stories. Your story Fake News feels so relevant in our times of technology, social media, and mass panic, often stemming from rumors with no factual support. No matter where in the world one lives it seems people from all cultures have fallen victim to this epidemic. Was this story based on something that actually happened in your area? Yes. The story is based on an actual spate of lynching that occurred in India in 2017. Dozens of people were killed in separate incidents over baseless child abduction rumors that appeared out of nowhere and spread through whatsapp groups like wildfire. Mob violence isn't anything new in India, there have been numerous riots that have occured since independence in 1947. But in almost all of these incidents, the riots were organised by political parties - fanning flames of hatred with incendiary speeches, spreading fake news, organising mobs and providing weapons to them, deliberately holding back the police or even having them participate in the killings etc. However in the 2017 killings, no political party was overtly involved - they were completely organic, carried out at the grassroots level by common people themselves with no provocation. And that terrifies me - the idea that perfectly normal people can suddenly turn into monsters and kill in broad daylight for absolutely no reason just scares the living hell out of me. Ever since then I've been interested in the role social media plays in our lives. How can people, even those who are highly educated, fall for just the most unbelievable, fact-free nonsense they read on the internet and turn into blood thirsty monsters? How did you discover NoSleep? What prompted you to begin writing for it? It was late 2015 and I was in college. It must have been around 3 am and I was sitting in front of the clock tower with a group of friends around a small bonfire exchanging ghost stories. A friend of mine gave me a list of the scariest horror shorts on YouTube. One of them was an adaptation of the 'smiling man' creepypasta. I discovered nosleep the next day. And I've been hooked ever since. During this time I came across inaaace's air traffic controller story and it was the scariest thing I had ever read. I knew then that I wanted to write for nosleep and try and scare others as much as this story had scared me. Eventually I graduated college, got over my procrastination and hesitation and finally began writing last year. My 'This is why mines are much more terrifying than clowns' was a homage to him and I think it's why so many people who read that story found it to have a 'classic nosleep' feel to it. Because it was meant to be that way. What NoSleep stories and/or authors have had the strongest impact on you? There are so many authors here who've had an impact me and continue to influence my work that I'm afraid I'll end up forgetting about some people. But anyway, here goes nothing. inaaace - for his absolutely terrifying imagination. WriteChrisWrite - for his all you can eat diner series (which is no longer there on nosleep as it is being adapted into a TV show) where he used monsters from hindu mythology, which gave me the confidence to start writing about things that I'm most familiar with. TheJesseClarke - for expanding my understanding of horror. dopabeane - for her mesmerising prose. verastahl and Mr_outlaw_ - their work helped me create my own extended universe. The_Dalek_Emperor - one of the all time greats of nosleep. Borrasca, room 733, all classics. Max-Voynich - for introducing a surrealist element to horror that was sorely missing on nosleep. Seriously, his writing is a treat for the senses. Literally everyone over at /thecrypticcompendium. Having the opportunity to pry open their skulls and peer into their imaginations has been a fascinating experience. There are so many others - u/nslewis, u/fainting--goat, M59gar, headofspectre, samhaysom, Cymoril_MelniboneElias_witherow, searchandrescuewoods, harrison_prince, TheColdPeople, dariuspilgrim, 1000Vultures, bloodstains, magpie_quill, Coney-IslandQueen. Some stories on nosleep that etched themselves onto my memory, in no particular order are - Left/Right game by NeonTempo - imaginative concept executed flawlessly. What happens when the stars go out by thejesseclarke - makes my bawl every time I read it. Third Parent by Elias_Witherow - the only story on nosleep that I haven't been able to bring myself to read again. Uncle Gerry's family Fun zone by red_grin - it is the perfect horror short story and each read reveals something new. What is the most terrifying thing you have personally experienced? When I was 12 I had this mole on the small of my back that was gradually increasing in size. Swelling up like a little balloon. I showed it to my parents and they took me to the doctor, who told us that it was a benign tumorous growth that would have to be removed. It was the most scared I've ever been in my life. To stop myself from bursting into tears in the hospital I kept pestering the nursing staff with questions. They were really professional and helped me keep my nerves in check, to the point that I was pretty quiet when they wheeled me into the operating theatre and knocked me out with an anaesthetic. Thankfully the surgery went smoothly and I even got to see the chunk of flesh they cut out of me! We're so glad you were able to have it taken care of and are okay, that's so frightening! You mention another real-life fear in your story Manpig, where you delve into the topic of bullying, and the horrible results it can have. What prompted the story, and its notably grim ending? I actually wrote that to subvert what I believe has become a bit of a trope on nosleep. There have been many stories about physically unappealing, almost monstrous people/creatures that seem terrifying on the surface, but are in fact just misunderstood and even end up befriending the protagonist. The only evil that exists in such stories comes from "normal" people. I thought it would be a fun sleight of hand to get everyone to sympathise with Manpig only to reveal him as a monster in the end. Another reason that it ended on such a dark note is that it was a deliberate choice. I find myself struggling with grim endings, it's hard for me to kill off characters I love. The thing is that horror is at its most memorable when it leaves you feeling hopeless at the end. That's why I've been making a conscious effort to try and make my readers feel despair by the time they finish reading. At least in some of my stories. What are some of your biggest influences from media? Stephen King. Because obviously. I don't think there's anyone writing horror today that hasn't been at least somewhat influenced by the man. I also really love Shirley Jackson. Her prose took some getting used to but once I did, I enjoyed her work immensely. She's great at slowly playing with your mind and her characters are some of the most well fleshed out in horror. There's also Joe Hill, Thomas Olde Huevelt (HEX was devastating), Adam Nevill, Paul Tremblay, Victor Lavalle, and Mark Danielewski (house of leaves is such an inventive book). Moving away from horror I'm a huge fan of Arundhati Roy - she cuts through the wilful ignorance and hypocrisy of privileged Indians in a way that is very rare for writers over here. Then of course there is Dr. Ambedkar, whose Annihilation of Caste continues to be the most revolutionary thing I've ever read. Amitav Ghosh, Salman Rushdie, Khushwant Singh (his stories on partition of India are awe-inspiring) - all legends. I also devoured Premchand's stories as a child, but his work is a part of the hindi literary tradition. Now growing up, I loved fantasy. Lord the rings was the first book I ever truly fell in love with. It was a tattered old thing when I bought it, and is still one of my most treasured possessions. I have the fondest memory of searching for old books with my father at Daryaganj in Delhi. (Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Dickens - I was introduced to all the classics because of this street market.) My mother is a huge book lover as well. She's got trunks and trunks of books - everything from Enid Blyton to Jeffrey Archer and Mario Puzo. Got my love of reading from her. The series Every year for the last 3 centuries our town has been sacrificing its women to protect the world is an edge-of-your-seat ride documenting a man and his harrowing experience with something...otherwordly that has his town in its grip. Since you mentioned Shirley Jackson, was this story, however much more fleshed out, initially inspired by her classic tale The Lottery? It absolutely was! I loved the idea of the lottery - generation after generation following a violent ritual that they don't even understand or question anymore. Letting some inexplicable horror become a part of your life - what a fascinating concept. And it is set in a small town too - the most fertile ground for horror. I wanted to do something similar - write about a cold Himalayan town, but didn't want to explore the same themes in the exact same way. So I turned Shirley Jackson's subtle psychological horror about blindly following tradition into a popcorn thriller, wove it into my extended universe and it became my favourite story that I've ever written. Do you ever plan on revisiting Rocky and the group he works for? Yes! I have outlines of multiple series planned out in my head already and will be going through them one by one. In fact, I'm current writing a series set in the universe. Other than writing, what are some of your hobbies? What other creative mediums do you enjoy? I absolutely love music. I will literally listen to anything. From Rammstein to Frank Ocean to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, my playlist is a hodge podge of genres. Hell I was just listening to Black Pink's latest song a couple of days ago. The tonal shifts in my playlist can be so jarring they can give people whiplash. But my first love will always be Punjabi music. Give me some Jassi Gill or Sidhu Moosewala and I'm ready to bring the house down. Apart from music I love acting. I was involved in the theatre scene in high school and college but decided not to pursue it. From improv to street plays to staged productions - I've done it all, in both English and Hindi. I'm a bit of an introvert, but just love being on stage. I was once so into a performance I dislocated my shoulder. Finished my part though, before collapsing in pain when I was alone. Popped that fucker right back in myself. But the damn thing ended my chances at playing for my college's basketball team. Do you ever explore writing other genres besides horror? If so, what other styles of writing? Which do you prefer? Oh yes. I wanted to write my own high fantasy epic after reading the Lord of the Rings. Still do. But it's on the back burner for now. For when I'm a better writer. At the moment I'm content with writing horror and exploring its different facets. How much time do you spend writing in an average day or week? Do you have any rituals that help you focus? When I'm not working on a series I generally average around 3-4 hours a week. I don't really have rituals as such. I just write whenever I have some free time and the mood strikes me. Though I do at times listen to music to set the mood. Especially if I'm writing an action sequence. In that case I generally fall back on classical music - like Mozart's Lacrimosa or Handel's Sarabende or even Vivaldi's four seasons. If you're writing violence to thrill, and not to horrify, finding elegance in it is the way to go. And listening to classical music helps me get into that mindset. When crafting a piece of fiction, do you generally start with an outline or simply begin writing? It really depends on what I'm writing. Sometimes it'll be an idea that goes off in my head like a lightbulb and I'll write the story down in less than half an hour. No outline, no idea of how it's going to end, I'll just go with the flow and see where the story takes me. 'Every night for the last 18 years someone has been sneaking into my bedroom and sleeping next to me' began as a sentence and I wrote the first part in 16 minutes. I actually saw how much time it took. On the other hand, some stories will be meticulously planned. Like the 'I just met the lone survivor of a village that disappeared over 200 years ago' series and the 'My Home Owners Association seems to be a little too passionate about enforcing its rules' series were all planned out from start to finish and it took me weeks to write them. Wow! That's some intensive planning. Your HOA series takes an inventive approach to the common "rules" series we see on NoSleep, with all the rules being fairly typical and benign, but the consequences of breaking them proving fatal. What led you to the concept, and in particular, the revelation that the people behind the rules are white supremacists? Rules based stories have been doing really well on nosleep for a while now and I knew that I wanted to do my own spin on them. It's certainly not the first such series I had written either. My rule-breaker series was also a subversion of the concept. I love playing around with ideas - to see how I can stand out from the crowd and do my own thing. After wracking my brain for a while I eventually decided to write about rules that appear perfectly normal at first glance but something sinister is lurking just beneath the surface. It was awesome, because not only was it a novel concept, but having "normal" rules added an extra element of mystery and suspense to the story as well. That's because when you see a rule in a story and it tells the protagonist to ignore the little girl that walks the hallway between 3:03 AM and 3:13 AM, you as a reader are already somewhat aware of what's going to happen. But when there's a rule specifying that trash cans must not be kept outside the allowed hours, you're completely in the dark and are left wondering - what could the possible consequences of that be? As to why white supremacists? I'll answer that in the next question :) Have you received any backlash for including racial elements in your stories? How do you approach the topics with the appropriate gravity and awareness? Funnily enough, I got absolutely zero backlash for the series and the response was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, it was the other way around - racial "backlash" was what prompted me to write the story in the first place. When my grandfather, who fought in the second world war once told me a story that has haunted me ever since hit 6k upvotes, I got a slew of racist messages from this one guy who kept creating accounts specifically to hurl racist abuse at me. It incensed him to see an Indian do so well on the subreddit. Bigots just can't handle the fact that the world is rapidly changing around them. It made me laugh. And I thought okay buddy, now I'm gonna write about a middle aged Muslim man killing a bunch of neo Nazis in suburban America. But it's not like I wrote that series specifically for that one guy. With so much ethnic strife around the world I had wanted to write about tolerance, and about being intolerant of intolerance, and that is why, to me - the inclusion of David in the HOA series was so important. Here's an old white man, as patriotic as they come, with an American flag fluttering outside his house, who's also lost his son to the endless war on terror, but still refuses to give in to hatred, and actively fights against it. He's the embodiment of my belief that a better world is possible, and his bond with his muslim neighbour becomes the most significant aspect of the series. Another one of your in-depth series, The Inheritance Game - What exactly would you be willing to do for $300 million?, is incredibly intricate, with the plot relying heavily on the interactions of the characters. How far in advance did you draft out the story, and who the ultimate survivors would be? Inheritance Game was my own take on the battle royale genre (belko experiment, hunger games etc). I wanted there to be a cerebral element to the old kill everyone else mayhem and so added to the stress that my characters would go through by forcing them to think, to do calculations, to form alliances and more. I planned it out from the start to finish and was so happy that I was able to distract most of my readers from who the mastermind was. It was the first time that I had used red herrings and misdirection and it worked out fabulously. Planning it was a bitch though - I had to make a chart to keep track of all the characters and how they were related to each others. Thankfully, one of the readers, Reflaxo was kind enough to draw a family tree on paint and it really helped! We've seen other bizarre will readings in media in the similar (though far less deadly) The Westing Game, and the twisting whodunit Knives Out, among others—if you were to do your personal twist on the idea, what odd stipulations would you place in your own will? You know what? It would be fun to have some sort of a treasure hunt in my will. Whoever gets to the goal first gets to keep all the money. This would of course be only if I hate my family (which I don't). Now that I think about it, this would make for a great sequel to the Inheritance game - have people go around some city solving sinister, often fatal puzzles while they plot against each other - a terrifying race! But damn, just thinking about the planning that this would require gives me a headache. Have any of your stories ever involved research? If so, what was involved? Almost all of them. When I'm writing from the perspective of an American character I have to do research on the tiniest of things. What kind of architecture is common there, what materials are used to build a house, what do people eat, how are law enforcement departments structured, radio call signs used by the military - things that might be ordinary to you isn't so much for me. Hell, I even made a post on nosleepooc asking about what HOAs are like. Are there any topics you feel are too controversial for you to address or that you prefer not to explore in your writing? I think don't think there are any topics that are too controversial to be addressed, as long as they are handled with proper care. Personally, I like to explore anything and everything in my work. I believe that writing and/or reading about the most horrific things can have a cathartic effect and can help us deal with the pain that comes to be associated with these events. But these topics (sexual assault, transphobia, racism etc) must be treated with respect or else it's just exploitative. What are your feelings toward NoSleep's immersion/plausibility rule? What impact, if any, do you think the suspension of disbelief format may have when transitioning your work toward a mass audience unfamiliar with NoSleep? I am of two minds when it comes to this rule. On hand it sets this platform apart as its own thing and helps weed out a lot of what would ultimately end up becoming extremely repetitive stuff. It's only because of this that nosleep isn't choked with series after series about the zombie apocalypse. It also forces writers to be a bit creative and does away with the 'I was dead the whole time' cliche to an extent. I also enjoy the role playing aspect of it. Quite a bit actually. Especially when its a long series and everyone is invested in it. On the other hand, I hate how almost half the comments end up being deleted because of the immersion rule. Feedback, praise, criticism - these are all important and they all end up being removed. Sometimes I'll scroll past a story with hundreds of comments and it'll just be a sea of [deleted], [deleted]. The comments we get on our stories are little packets of memories for us and it's annoying to see them get deleted. Do you have any favorite reader reactions to your writing? I love any and all reader reactions! I am grateful that I have the opportunity to share my imagination with other people. And it's even more special when my stories are able to connect with someone. When they're invested in seeing where a series will go, when they're touched by a story or get shit scared or even repulsed - it really warms my heart. Seeing my name and my stories pop up in recommendation threads makes me ecstatic. But if I had to pick the most memorable reactions I've seen, I think I would go with the girls sending me links to their onlyfans accounts via dms and comments on my story about the platform ;) What story or project are you most proud of? 1st November 1984. It was an incredibly personal story and it was very difficult for me to write. But I'm really proud of how it turned out. I'm glad that it ended up being one of my most popular stories and that I could bring the truth of that horrible event to so many people. The heartfelt messages I received from people on the sub and from other Sikhs who found the story really made my eyes water. It's been 36 years since the anti-sikh genocide and justice has still not been served. And that makes it so important that its history is remembered and passed down from generation to generation. It's extremely satisfying that I could contribute to that in my own small way. What an amazing way to use NoSleep to shine light on a horrific time in history that took so many lives. 1st November, 1984 brought forth an outpouring of comments from people whose families had been affected, in addition to those who were learning of this tragedy for the first time. You can feel a strong sense of solidarity among your readers and a thankfulness for bringing knowledge about such a dark time. Did you expect to get such a response from this story? You say it was personal—did you have family impacted by this, and if so, was it cathartic to share this story? Is there ongoing turmoil and trauma in your country due to these events? I didn't think that the story would get this popular. But I'm so glad that it did. Like I said, it's been 36 years since the pogrom and we still haven't seen justice. Court cases are still dragging on and many of the killers have died natural deaths. There's just so much unresolved trauma in the Sikh community. The rot was so systemic back then - everyone from police to politicians to media to bureaucracy - all were involved in spreading hate and organising the genocide. Keeping quiet and bottling it all in became the norm for our families, for fear of state reprisal. It got so bad that many young Sikhs living in the west today are unaware of the extent of the tragedy. I know that just reading that story was cathartic for many older Sikhs and the heartfelt messages I received are a testament to that fact. I'm so glad that I decided to write it. We need to remember what happened in 1984. If we can't get the victims justice, the least we can do is remember them. Forgetting their suffering might be an even bigger crime than what happened all those years ago. Writing it and spreading awareness about the genocide to so many people was a tremendously gratifying experience. I must say here that it's only because of TheJesseClarke's As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death that I realised that there was space for stories like this on nosleep. And yes. My family did suffer in 1984. My dad's family lost their home (which was later taken over by someone else), their business and had to shift to Punjab (a traditionally sikh dominated state in India) with nothing but the clothes on their backs. My Dad was in college back then, and had to make the terrifying journey all alone. My mother's family faced the same. They were boycotted by their neighbours and had to ultimately pack everything and travel over 2200 km to get to safety. Thankfully, no harm came to any of them. But they knew plenty of people who were butchered, especially in Delhi which was the epicenter of the violence. 1984 was the biggest reason why despite being born in a Sikh family I've never had long hair and have never worn a turban. I grew up to be an atheist, but I still feel like what could have been a part of my identity was robbed from me. What's the most valuable lesson you've learned since you began posting to NoSleep? I'm sure others have said this, but upvotes don't really say everything there is to say about the quality of a story. There are many factors that decide whether a story becomes popular on nosleep or not, and its quality is just one of them. In fact, one of my favourite series - little house on Briar rose drive - barely cracked 100 upvotes. It really taught me to write for myself first and foremost instead of always worrying about whether other people will like it or not. Not to mention there is something special about writing a series that hovers around 500 upvotes or so but with the same 15-20 people commenting on each part. It's like telling a campfire story to your friends. That intimacy is somewhat lost when your story hits the top spot and you're more focused on other things instead of just enjoying the ride. (Psst - that doesn't mean I don't feel gutted each time a story of mine fails to hit the #1 spot. But that's fine. Failures help me appreciate successes more). As a successful author on NoSleep, do you have any advice for new contributors? Oh gee... Me? Successful? Why, thank you very much! To anyone considering posting on nosleep or those who already have a couple of stories out on the sub, I would just like to say that practice makes perfect. Keep writing. The only effective way to get better at one's craft is by working on it. Don't worry about writing the perfect story or getting negative reactions, just start writing. And put yourself out there. Get over that hesitation and post you story! Let others see your work. Crossing that hurdle is the first and the most important step in any writer's journey. One thing I'd like to add here, is that just writing isn't enough. If you keep writing in a vaccum you'll soon end up plateauing and you'll be stuck at a certain skill level. You may even end up developing some bad habits - like repeating words, character arcs etc. To break through you'll need an extra push. What might that be, you ask? Reading. But don't read as a reader, read as a writer. Stories on nosleep, horror books recently published, other books in other genres - read everything that grabs your interest. And see how writers write. Take notes if you have to. Because I do. Sentence construction, character development, use of metaphors, how to build suspense - you can learn a lot, just by changing how you read. Read, till you find your own 'voice'. And then read some more. Next - Get in touch with other writers. Show them your work. Ask for help. Look for ways to improve your craft. Feedback is important. Feedback from people who know what they're doing is priceless. Your advice for writers to read more is truly some of the best advice we've heard. To bear the fruit, you must also ingest the fruit. You are what you eat and all that. So, looking forward, what are some of your short-term and long-term writing goals? I am currently working on a series that I would like to put out as soon as possible. There's also a collaboration with three other authors that's been stuck in development hell for months now. Would like to get that show on the road as soon as possible. Long term writing goal - I want to get a book published in India in the traditional way. Something to do with magical realism. Due to the number of questions Mandahrk received from the community, the interview exceeded reddit's character limit, and will be split into two parts! You can read part two here.
Intellectual deep dives can be important, but Evidence shows they often miss the big picture and lead to tragic errors. Don’t lose sight of the big picture, blinded by weeds that give confidence, but less accuracy.
The Millennium Challenge 2002. In the summer of 2002, the US conducted a large war game known as the Millennium Challenge. US war games are mock battles where one group of military personnel (blue team) simulates defending the US against a separate group (red team) representing an enemy. In this war game, extensive enough to cost $250 million, the red team represented a threat from the Middle East. The blue team performed so badly, the exercise had to be restarted and rescripted “to ensure a Blue Force victory”. Malcolm Gladwall writes of this war game in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. He shows the Blue team's main problem was becoming so lost in intellectual weeds they missed the bigger picture. Gladwell writes:
You get caught up in forms, in matrixes, in computer programs, and it just draws you in. They were so focused on the mechanics and the process that they never looked at the problem holistically. In the act of tearing something apart, you lost its meaning.
One example from the game: the blue team wanted to eliminate the red team’s air strike capabilities. They brought in experts, used sophisticated computer programs, and converged on taking out communications systems. While spending hours working out every minute detail, they lost sight of the big picture and discovered that “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” (Mike Tyson). While planning, the red team started attacking. They used WWII style communications that were completely overlooked by the experts whose biases and codes were catered to modern communications systems. Though their intellectual deep dive made sense on paper, it was the biases of experts getting lost in the weeds that led to disaster. The CIA: those who study an issue to death are typically more confident, but also more biased and less accurate. When getting lost in the weeds, information beyond the basics is seldom helpful. Gladwell continues:
Extra information isn’t actually an advantage at all... in fact, you need to know very little to [understand] a complex phenomenon… extra information is more than useless, it’s harmful. It confuses the issues… As they received more information their certainty became entirely out of proportion to the correctness of their decisions.
After analyzing the Millennium Challenge, Gladwell shows this pattern plagues the entire medical profession as well. Gladwell’s observations are vindicated by several other studies. Some of my favorites were conducted by the CIA, demonstrating it’s not just the observation of academia. They found that going beyond the simplest 3-5 pieces of information - the weeds - is rarely helpful, even for complex decisions. This plot is from one of multiple studies they have done. It shows that though confidence went up as subjects incorporated more complicated information, the accuracy did not improve, and in many of their studies goes down. The CIA explains that given how few pieces of information fit in a human’s short term memory, as the number and/or complexity of the information increases, the more your mind must weigh, order, and prioritize that information in and out of your field of view. Thus such decisions become increasingly more about your biases than your rationality. If you think that going beyond the big picture and most basic facts makes you a better decision maker, think again. Like this graph, you may be brimming with confidence, but are probably light on accuracy, and heavy on bias. Your biases are dictating what fills up your short term memory and thus your decision boil down to that. We have seen tragic mistakes like this a thousand times. When someone puts the big picture - that they have experienced really blesses them and their family day by day for years - to the side for one opinion about an archeological dig they know nothing about, that is not the hallmark of rationality. That is arriving at a state so biased that weeds you don't know the first thing about now take precedence in your short-term memory over that what you have actually experienced for years. The big picture about the gospel. Though I welcome deep dives into the intellectual weeds of the gospel, let’s not lose sight of the big picture. A big picture without becomes easy to stumble, and where life’s most important meanings may become unintentionally lost. The big picture where the gospel has changed myriads of lives for good. A big picture that has led to the biggest advancements in democracy and human rights where “all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator”. A big picture where the cultivation of much - if not most - of modern science, philosophy, and humanities was made. “Almost every university and college founded in the U.S. and Europe until the mid-19th century—and many afterwards—was founded by some religious organization.” A big picture that has inspired the world's great works of music and art from Handel’s “Messiah” to Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”. A big picture where countless acts of service and charity are motivated each year. Where youth are raised with the knowledge they have divine worth. Where young men and women quickly grow into mature adults on missions. Where families learn their relationships are more than mere chaotic connections between random matter, but have eternal significance. And most important, a big picture where in some way Jesus Christ gained the experiences needed to ensure that each of us has the path we need to inherit eternal splendor. Personally I can’t think of a single weed worth losing that over. Let’s not make a tragic Millennium Challenge class blunder by losing sight of that big picture, blinded by weeds that may give a person more confidence, but seldom gives that person more accuracy.
Hello, Next piano jam will be posted around 1-2 October. Due to delay, feel free to submit pieces from this one till 4-7th October. Thank you for suggestions, they really help to put the list together. If there is any piece you would like to have on a list in next months do not hesitate to suggest here: suggestion form. Some of links to the music sheet might be broken, if so, please comment with fixed link and I will update the post. Thanks! The jazz and ragtime sections are run by u/abnormal_human.
Guidelines
If you're new to /piano, the Piano Jam is a monthly event where you get the chance to challenge yourself to work on a piece of music and share your playing with the community. Whether you're a beginner or expert, we'd love to hear you play! See the guidelines below and check out all the previous piano jams in the sidebar. You are encouraged to share a recording (of YOU playing) in a post to /piano anytime during the month. Please put "Piano Jam" post tag or "[Piano Jam]" somewhere in the submission title, so we know that's what the post is for. People have posted without this tag before and it's not the end of the world of course, but it does mean I might miss your submission! Please try to use YouTube / SoundCloud / Bandcamp for your links for accessibility & reliability, but any links are allowed.
You do not have to complete or perfect pieces to submit them, and don't be afraid to simplify/shorten pieces. Also, don't be afraid to improvise or write your own ending to a looped piece of video game music, etc.
This is not a contest! It's a chance for you to set a goal for yourself and to share your journey and accomplishments with the /piano community.
For classical pieces ABRSM grade estimate is in brackets - the source of estimation is piano grade aggregator
You do not have to limit yourself to just one piece, you can submit as many as you like as long as they belong to the list.
If you have pieces you would like to suggest for future Piano Jams, please use our suggestion form.
here is topic on piano forum about difficulty of each variation: forum.pianoworld.com/ubbathreads.php/topics/2550377/goldberg-variations-order-of-difficulty.html
Aria is the easiest - it will be challenging for early intermediate pianists, but provides great study of baroque ornaments, so I encourage you to give it a try
Fragen zu Krypto-Aktivitäten und der verbundenen steuerlichen Pflichten
Hallo zusammen! Ich habe bereits diverse Beiträge[1][2] zum Thema Krypto gefunden, möchte aber für mich nochmal sicherstellen und Fragen ergänzen.
Zunächst einmal:
Thema Steuer(n)/Steuererklärung ist für mich gewissermaßen Neuland. Aktuell bin ich durch eine geringfügigen Beschäftigung das erste Mal 'in Kontakt' gekommen.
Überblick Krypto-Aktivitäten
Auf einigen alten Festplatten finde ich leider nur noch Rückstände von meinen Krypto-Aktivitäten bis ca. 2017, nicht jedoch zu den 2-3 Jahren davor. Vieles ist leider, nicht zuletzt durch Leichtsinnigkeit und zuvor auch minderjährige Unwissenheit gar nicht, bis nur bruchstückhaft protokolliert beziehungsweise nachvollziehbar. In der Zeit zwischen 2017 und Jetzt ist diese Protokollierung wesentlich besser, aber auch nicht optimal. Ich habe mich mal mit dem häufig empfohlenen Tool Cointracker auseinandergesetzt, das kann aber bei den vielen Tausend Transaktionen über verschiedene Blockchains etwas dauern. Etwas spezieller geht es um die Krypto-Währungen Bitcoin, Ether, Monero (hier fehlen mir z.B. die notwendigen Werte um einzelne Transaktionen belegen zu können - gerade eben auf Grund der Technik) , aber auch weitere Währungen (bspw. Token) auf Ethereum. Da mich die technischen Eigenschaften und Möglichkeiten der jeweiligen Chains (heute eher Ethereum, Monero - aber vertiefen wir das nicht) mehr interessiert haben, als eine Gewinnerzielung ist dies mit Abstand die häufigste Ursache für Transaktionen auf den verschiedenen Chains. Dennoch habe ich über die Jahre einige Auszahlungen in gesetzliche Zahlungsmittel und Einkäufe getätigt. Insgesamt sollten die "Auszahlungen" nicht die "Einzahlungen" (um viel) überschreiten (FIFO-betrachtet) und zusätzlich waren einige Krypto-Vermögenswerte mehr als ein Jahr in meinem Besitz - hier gebe ich mir noch alle Mühe das Alles zu ordnen und auf Grund der schlechten Protokollierung irgendwie zusammenzureimen.
Entwicklung der letzten Jahre
Wie bereits im vorigen Abschnitt erwähnt geht mit Abstand der meiste Teil meiner getätigten Transaktionen auf den Chains auf das Testen/Probieren (z.B. Interagieren mit 'fremden' oder 'eigenen' Smart Contracts auf Ethereum) zurück. Besonders im letzten und auch dem aktuellen Jahr habe ich mich dann auch programmiertechnisch an einigen interessanten Projekten beteiligt und eigene Ideen verwirklicht. Für eines dieser Projekte operiere ich seit Beginn des Jahres einen Server, der eine On-Chain (Ethereum) Dienstleistung durchführt und dafür anteilsmäßig entlohnt wird (mit diversen Tokens, darunter auch die Stablecoins DAI, USDC und USDT), um Server- und Transaktionskosten ungefähr zu decken (Anmerkung: generell tauschte ich nahzeitig dabei die Token immer in Ether um). Dies führte zunächst zu kleinen Gewinnen, unter anderem auf Grund der steigenden Preise für Ether, im Bereich von vielleicht 50-100 Euro/Monat (in Ether), wenn es hoch kommt. In den Monaten ab Mai/Juni jedoch vervielfachte sich das Volumen, sodass daraus aktuell 3000-5000 Euro/Monat geworden sind und auch der Wert noch steigen könnte. Zeitlich betrachtet beschäftige ich mich mehr mit der geringfügigen Beschäftigung, als mit Tätigkeiten im Zusammenhang mit dem Server.
Fragen, etc.
Q.1
Die Entwicklung des Servers bereitet mir etwas Kopfschmerzen. Auch wenn das zuerst nicht die Absicht war, mittlerweile ist der Vorwurf der Gewinnerzielungsabsicht berechtigt. Teile der Einnahmen von dem Server könnte ich aktuell gut gebrauchen und würde diese daher gerne realisieren. Bevor ich dies jedoch mache, muss ich überhaupt erst überlegen, wie ich hier weiter fortfahre. Ich nehme an, dass ich vielleicht ein Gewerbe anmelden sollte beziehungsweise muss. Was würde damit auf mich zukommen? Muss ich vielleicht vorher auch beim Finanzamt vorbei, um nachzufragen, ob es sich überhaupt um ein Gewerbe handelt und wenn ja welches? Gibt es hier auch noch was, das ich im Zusammenhang mit der geringfügigen Beschäftigung beachten muss?
Q.2.1
Unter den vielen getätigten Transaktionen auch Interaktionen mit dem Uniswap-Protokoll. Die Entwickler dieses Protokolls haben am 16. September unter anderem an Alle, die dieses Protokoll vor dem 1. September genutzt haben ein Token ausgeschüttet, welches die Teilnahme an einigen Verwaltungsentscheidungen des Protokolls erlaubt. Obwohl der direkte Gegenwert der Tokens zur Zeit eigentlich Null beträgt, so hat wohl die Aussicht auf potentielle Einnahmemöglichkeiten den Preis auf 4-6 Euro/Token steigen lassen - bei der "Standard" ausgeschütteten Anzahl von 400 Token schon über 1500 Euro. Jetzt habe ich in den vergangenen Jahren mehrere "Burner"-Accounts verwendet, sodass ich auch mehrere berechtigte Adressen besitze, die ein Anrecht auf die Ausschüttung besitzen. Bei einer Auszahlung könnte ich mir vorstellen, dass meine Bank sich bei mir meldet. Der Vorgang, um die Token in Anspruch zu nehmen ist wie folgt: Hat eine Adresse vor dem 1. September mit dem Protokoll interagiert, so kann nun mit einem Smart Contract interagiert werden, um diese Token zu erhalten. Wie würde ich diese Transaktionen beispielsweise in Cointracker, etc. markieren? Fällt dies unter Airdrops - beziehungsweise müssen darauf dann Steuern gezahlt werden? Wie würde ich das meiner Bank erklären sollen, wenn sich diese tatsächlich bei mir melden würde?
Q.2.2
Zusätzlich stellt sich mir dann auch im selben Sinne die Frage, wie ich "Einnahmen" aus Coinbase Earn betrachten sollte? Man (kann) lernt durch Videos neue Projekte kennen und kann dann Fragen dazu beantworten, für die Coinbase dann die jeweiligen Coins/Token (2-4 Euro) vergütet. Das kann sich schon summieren, nicht zuletzt durch Preisanstiege. Auch hier die Frage zu der Einordnung? Airdrop? Oder zählt das anders, da hier Fragen beantwortet werden müssen?
Q.3
Einige sonstige Transaktionen und damit potentielle Gewinne kann ich überhaupt nicht mehr nachvollziehen. Die Protokollierung fehlt vollständig, zum Beispiel nach der Verwendung von einem Coinmixer oder z.B. durch Monero. Wäre es rechtens, beziehungsweise würde jemand Fragen stellen, wenn ich diese einfach zu den Gewinnen in Q.1 dazuzähle? Ich hoffe das war jetzt nicht zu umfangreich oder umständlich und hoffe das meine Fragen vielleicht beantwortet werden können. Sollte es noch weitere Anmerkungen geben, die ich nicht beachtet habe, würde mich das freuen! Mfg
Handel per Diplomatie. Wenn man andere Zivilisationen getroffen hat, kann man mit ihnen über den Diplomatiebildschirm ebenfalls Handel treiben. Zum Beispiel Ressourcen gegen oder andere Ressourcen tauschen. Die Preise, die man erhält, bzw. bezahlen muß, sind abhängig von den diplomatischen Beziehungen zum Handelspartner. Handel über den Weltmarkt Bearbeiten. Auf dem Weltmarkt können ebenfalls Waren gekauft und verkauft werden, allerdings kein Biokatalyst und Aerogel, sowie keine seltene Ressourcen.Über eine Transferroute können Waren zu wechselnden Preisen ge- und verkauft werden. Die Transferroute läuft solange, bis sie nach zwei Stunden ausläuft oder der Spieler sie zwischenzeitlich aufhebt oder ... Handel (Deutsch): ·↑ Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache „Handel“· ↑ Friedrich Kluge, bearbeitet von Elmar Seebold: Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. 24., durchgesehene und erweiterte Auflage. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2001, ISBN 978-3-11-017473-1, DNB 965096742 , Stichwort: „Handel“, Seite 388.· ↑ Claus ... Beschreibung. Im Handel können fast alle Gegenstände verkauft und gekauft werden. Man benötigt zum Handeln das Gebäude Händlergilde. [] Handel ..[]... über das HandelsfensteDas Handelsfenster ist über das Waage-Icon in der unteren Leiste zu erreichen und besteht aus den Bereichen "Kaufen", "Verkaufen" und "Verlauf".[]... mit FreundeAuch unter Freunden kann gehandelt werden. Beim Handel tauschen die Menschen Waren untereinander aus. Früher haben sie eine Ware direkt gegen eine andere getauscht, das war der Tauschhandel. Heutzutage bezahlt man eine Ware meist mit Geld.. Wenn man vom „dem Handel“ spricht, meint man damit den gesamten Handeln in einem Land oder der Welt.
Georg Friedrich Händel, Messias: Halleluja Extra-Chor des Staatstheaters Wiesbaden Projekt-Chor Johann-Strauss--Orchester Johann-Strauss-Orchester Wiesbaden ... 🎵 Buy "Baroque Music Collection" (MP3 album) on the Official Halidon Music Store: http://bit.ly/2yKdLv1 🎧 Listen to our playlist on Spotify: http://bit.ly/Ba... In diesem Video zeige ich Euch Schritt für Schritt wie der automatische Handel funktioniert. Dabei gehe ich auf alle wichtigen Einstellungen ein und mache au... Mezzo live HD Solomon, oratorio by Georg Friedrich Handel Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh (Direction) Iestyn Davies (Solomon) Gillian Webster (Quee... Today’s talents will be tomorrow’s legends. Please Subscribe to our New channel @PAINTED. Discover and Empower classical music Artists all around the World !...
