Renee DiResta, The People Who Turn Lies into Reality

At Amazon, Renee DiResta, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality. #AmazonAsssdociates #CommissionEarned

Israeli animator sugarcoats and ignores the belief system that led to October 7, 2023

The Jerusalem Post recently spoke about animated shorts produced by an Israeli entrepreneur who's worked in animation, and produced a series of short cartoons called "God's Gang", which cannot seem to get its "point" across without including a character representing Islam, and even then, the rest of the cast in the cartoon shorts reeks of stereotypical development:

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s – a group of four superheroes from different religions, all working together to save the world.

That’s the premise of God’s Gang, a series of interfaith cartoons on YouTube that was created by Israeli hi-tech entrepreneur Nimrod-Avraham May, who developed this channel out of a desire to promote tolerance and love.

May said that he was inspired to create this interfaith story when he thought, “I know many people who are not Jews or Israelis who are kind and compassionate and truthful and positive and friendly and loving, and why not build these bridges instead of bombing them?... The show is not a show about religion or faith.... It’s a show [whose] underlying message is promoting coexistence and unity, the teaching of love,” he said. But he chose to convey these messages via children’s action-adventure and comedy cartoons.

The hit success of God's Gang

Since the series began running last September, it has become wildly successful, acquiring 1.5 million subscribers in just a few months. May has added to the YouTube channel, in addition to the cartoons themselves, videos about different aspects of the series, with everything from lessons on how to draw the characters to content about how the series was developed. There is even a video where May reads what he calls the “mean comments” out loud and discusses them.

But the heart of it is the cartoons themselves, which feature the four superheroes – and heroines: Sumuslim, a Muslim who fights sumo-style and whose power is “hypno-storytelling,” with which he mesmerizes listeners with tales from Arab lore; TaekWonHindu, a “big sister” to the group, who loves heavy metal and fights with Taekwondo, and uses “third-eye telepathy” with animals and can multiply her arms like various Hindu gods; Ninjew, a basketball-loving Jew who has a kind of laser vision and employs “special Kabbalah invisibility powder”; and Chris Cross, a Southern Baptist street preacher who uses karate (with an unbeatable flying kick), whose power is that when he turns his cheek, he can deflect anything thrown at it.

Well this is certainly telling, and most pathetic how Mr. May apparently cannot muster the courage to differentiate between religions and make clear there's such a thing as both good and bad religions, and good and bad ways to practice one. And what's this about the Jewish character emphasizing "invisibility"? Even if that alludes to going into combat cloaked, it sounds on the surface like he's written hiding himself based on his ethnic background, which isn't a very healthy idea either. But of course, what's really offensive is Mr. May's apparent sugarcoating of Islam. This is a religion that calls for smiting necks of kuffar (infidels/non-Muslims) in Sura 47:4 of the Koran, approves of sexual violence in Sura 2:223, and many of these verses and other such content of the "religion of peace" played a part last year in the October 7, 2023 bloodbath in southern Israel, yet Mr. May has the chutzpah to shrug all that off by giving Islam a role it doesn't deserve in his cartoon project? Does he even know about the antisemitic verses in the Koran, including 5:60's reference to Jews as "sons of apes and pigs"? What May's doing is perpetuating a vehement refusal by people like him to investigate what could lead to bigoted behavior by anybody, based on selective PC. And that's continuing to seriously harm the world's ability to combat Islamic terrorism.

Depending how you see this, it's funny how an Arab character isn't considered for the role of a Christian, nor does May and his staff think of emphasizing an Armenian for the role, most likely because somebody would want to point out how Christians have been persecuted in Muslim countries, and the Turkish Ottoman empire's slaughter of Armenians during WW1 was motivated by the Religion of Peace. And the sugarcoating of Islam in May's cartoons is also hurtful to Hindus, because in India, there've been only so many horrors perpetrated by Islam in the span of over many years, and that too gets swept under the rug by ignoramuses like May. Does he really think realists are going to appreciate how he creates a moral equivalence between Islam and other religions that're still long persecuted by Islam? Men like May clearly never consider communities like 9-11 Families, Black Christians in Nigeria who've been murdered by jihadists, Israeli victims of Islamic terrorism, victims of the jihadists at the Bataclan in Paris, France, or even apostates from Islam like Rifqa Bary. By whitewashing Islam, men like May marginalize the people who really deserve the spotlight for heroism and appreciation. May continued to reveal the following:

THE IDEA for God’s Gang first came to him in 2006, May said. “I had joined Disney Channel right after they acquired Fox Entertainment from Haim Saban; two months after I joined, we were all invited to the Disney Channel Executive Summit, and I was in the marketing department. We all pitched ideas about what can make Disney great, and I offered them an interfaith Power Rangers.”

But the entertainment giant didn’t go for the idea. “Luckily, they left it for me. I feel it’s my life’s mission.”

A mission to obscure any serious issues that could be raised about the Religion of Peace? Well sadly, that appears to be just it. Most interesting he mentions Saban, whom I don't exactly consider a "national treasure" for Israel, any more than most other leftists of their kind. Saban's been one of the biggest Democrat donors, and while he may have recently been critical of the outgoing POTUS Joe Biden, it doesn't excuse how he's long been the kind of leftist who simply won't stay out of political affairs, among other questionable career specialties. To be sure, Disney was already far gone politically even during the mid-2000s, yet for the time, that didn't convince them to take up the kind of project he sadly crafted, which some Islamists will be quite pleased with, based on how it excuses their religion's dark record.

May said that he had grown up in a liberal, secular home, where his father was a Holocaust survivor and his mother was an orphan, with no family. Being without a family “was a proof for her that there is no God,” he said.

But after life threw some unexpected experiences at him, “I realized that I might have been wrong in thinking that this universe doesn’t have a governing entity, aka creator, source, God, the universe,” he said.

He began exploring his identity and studying Judaism, on his own and with rabbis, and gradually realized, he said, that all the teachings could be summed up in “two simple words: ‘one’ and ‘love.’”

The more he delved into Jewish mysticism, he realized “I had to do a big tikkun.... We were chosen to spread light.... I decided to commit myself to bringing people together. It’s a difficult mission.”

Coming from the world of marketing and entertainment, he said, “I was ready to tell the story of how we can get together.” Keeping in mind The Beatles’ lyrics to the songs “Give Peace a Chance” and “Come Together,” he chose to launch God’s Gang, which he had put aside for over a decade. “I decided to bring them to life during COVID, not knowing what the future would bring.”

Aware of the sensitivity of creating a cartoon with characters from different religions, he appointed a board of advisers, an “interfaith council” from all religious points of view, with whom he consults on every detail of the series, “just to make sure that we’re not harming anyone or touching on any sensitive topics that we shouldn’t get into.”

Among those he has brought on board is Rob Kutner, the head writer, who has won five Primetime Emmys, whose credits include The Daily Show and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. He also hired creators from Disney, Netflix, and DreamWorks.

The article is evasive of clearer answers, but it's not hard to guess he hired a committee that's much like the "sensitivity readers" hired by some leftist book publishers to work on the scripting. Even his alleged finding of faith is suspect, as he's clearly left-wing in his viewpoints, and the article largely obscures issues like October 7, 2023. Does he know lyrics like "give peace a chance" have also been exploited by leftists who ignore these serious issues involved? And then he even employed people who worked for one of leftist Steven Spielberg's companies. That's got to be telling too.

May is currently funding God’s Gang himself, and he said he is actively looking for partners, which will enable him to produce more episodes. He hopes to create four new episodes this year.

There is also an online store selling God Gang-themed merchandise, the profits from which May is channeling back into the cartoons: “This logo promotes love, and I want this to be the most recognized trademark in the world associated with the values that we’re promoting.”

In the upcoming episodes, new characters will be added, possibly a Buddhist and an atheist, although May said that the core of God’s Gang would remain the same. So will the message.

Does Mr. May know Muslims have persecuted and attacked Buddhists too? Even atheists aren't immune. Writing up roles for Buddhists in a cartoon like this isn't going to excuse the serious issues occurring in real life. I for one will not be funding his cartoons and merchandise, if he doesn't have the courage to make distinctions between good/bad religions, and ask whether it's possible, in allusion to the 10 Commandments, to use God's name in vain for any particular religion formed. I get the awful feeling that, if National Socialism were a full-fledged religion, ditto communism, he'd blur distinctions between those and other religions too.

Earlier in the year, the JTA had more fascinating details to tell about Mr. May and his propaganda cartoon:

But some Jewish viewers have criticized the creators for showing what they felt was a surprising lack of cultural sensitivity.

“There’s a part where the Muslim character throws a falafel bomb,” Sam Cooper, a Maryland-based pop culture critic, said in an interview. “I assume the goal of the show is to teach tolerance and educate people about other religions, but they don’t seem to be very good at that.” (Kutner said the character, Sumuslim, aspires to be a chef, but in hindsight the decision to have him prepare a big exploding falafel ball was “a little unfortunate.”)

Cooper also lamented that the Jewish character, Ninjew, is short and has big glasses and a nasally voice. “I’ve seen this stereotype in so many shows,” she says in her review. “Jewish guys aren’t allowed to be cool. They’re usually depicted as effeminate, nerdy and weak. And then our boy Ninjew is all that and then some.” (May defended Ninjew, describing him as “a handsome Jew” with non-stereotypical blue eyes and blonde hair.)

Shekhiynah Larks, a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant in the Bay Area and a fan of animated shows, questioned the decision to make Chriscross, the Christian character, a Black Baptist street preacher who wears an Afro and bell-bottoms.

“Conceptually, I really like the interfaith gang, but all of the characters seem like weird stereotypes,” said Larks, who is Black and Jewish. “The Black character made me think the creators haven’t seen a Black person since the Blaxploitation films.” (Kutner said Brandon Jones, a Baptist pastor who serves on the interfaith council and is Black, loved the character.)

Yes, this is pretty troubling alright. The Jewish character is made to look absurdly pious in a way that suggests he'll never be depicted as a ladies man, and one of the commentors at the Post article noted, "Question: why does this self-proclaimed egalitarian cartoonist depict Islam as a gargantuan muscle bound djinn dwarfing the other three religions and looking down on them over his left shoulder, with the Jews getting a pint sized myopic nerd?" Yes, what's with that? Not every Muslim adherent is tall, after all. Is May scared his Muslim audience will be offended? A clue as to the wokeness involved. Interesting a DEI specialist was quoted here, and even he found it appalling. As for the Black character having an Afro hairstyle, it could've been worse - in more recent times, there was a stereotype to depict Black men as bald, as happened to Luke Cage under Brian Bendis when he was at Marvel, IIRC (even Black women were put through humiliating ideas like that, as seen in modern Black Panther comics and even the sequel movie). But, a valid point is made that it's ridiculous to make it look like Blacks should all have Afro hairstyles.

I think the most galling thing about people like May is that they believe their ethnic background will actually keep anybody else from taking serious issue with any and all leftist ideologies they embrace, though as the above makes clear, of course there's also Christians who find it ludicrous, and Judeo-Christian critics certainly did find the part involving falafel used as an explosive weapon by the Islamist disturbing. May, regrettably, is just one in a whole ocean filled with leftist ideologues, mainly because only so many conservatives over the years trashed and threw away serious chances to build their own competition, and now, look where we are. I strongly advise parents who're realists to keep their children away from May's morally equivalent propaganda that clearly whitewashes the Religion of Peace at the expense of other religions with better values.

Many who lived through 911 have since suffered terrible illnesses

As many as 23 years after September 11, 2001, when the jihadist organization al Qaeda destroyed the World Trade Center and murdered nearly 3000 people, there's first responders and civilians from the time who're now suffering illnesses contracted over 2 decades ago during the tragedy:

More than 45,000 people are living with the physical manifestations of the September 11 attacks more than two decades after the tragedy.

At least 45,200 civilians and officers from the FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are suffering from at least one cancer or disease that has been directly linked to the largest terrorist attack in history.

The whopping total is 1,408% greater than the death toll for the tragedy itself: 2,997 victims were killed in the Twin Tower collapse and aftermath.

The shocking number reflects the amount of victims enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program with verified illnesses — but because the project only recognizes some cancers and diseases, officials warn the true total of sick survivors is much higher.

Read more. Something tells me even Kamala Harris isn't going to do anything to help those who've survived get the medical attention they need. Harris - as anybody who's a realist and watched the debate between her and Donald Trump may have seen - spent a lot of her time telling lies and falsehoods, and clearly is not qualified to be a president. Why, who knows what more disasters could occur if she does become president?

Here's some more info on the history of the 9-11 tragedy:

The whole world experienced the attacks of September 11, 2001, in real time. Videos, photos, and audio captured the horror inflicted by Islamic terrorists and the heroism displayed by ordinary Americans forced onto the frontlines of a sudden new war.

In 2021, to mark the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 and to ensure that future generations never forget, Breitbart News assembled the following visual chronicle of the day that changed the world forever and the two decades of war that followed it.

It's very vital not to forget who the monsters were who committed the horrific offense.

Larry Bartels, Democracy Erodes from the Top

At Amazon Larry Bartels, Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe. #CommissionEarned

Tim Walz continues to support evil

The Democrat vice-presidential candidate has come out in support of anti-Israeli Muslims in Michigan:

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, speaking with a radio station in the key swing state of Michigan, where a large community of Muslims has vitriolically condemned the state of Israel, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while insisting “those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons.”

In an interview with Michigan outlet WCMU, Walz stated:

Well, I think first and foremost, what we saw on October 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They have certainly, and the vice president said it, I’ve said it, have the right to defend themselves, and the United States will always stand by that. But we can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves. We need to continue, I think, to put the leverage on to make sure we move towards a two-state solution. I think we’re at a critical point right now. We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction. But I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons.

The campaign for Republican Donald Trump called the remarks “sickening.”

SICKENING: Tampon Tim Walz says pro-Hamas radicals "are speaking out for all the right reasons" and calls to "put the leverage" on Israel to ensure Hamas terrorists live to see another day. pic.twitter.com/WYDZiX84PL

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 6, 2024

Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has already shown her contempt for the Jewish state, praising a student who cited false news reports about the Israeli war effort against Hamas, harshly criticizing Israel for not accepting an “immediate cease-fire” in March while Hamas consistently refused to accept terms, and threatening Israel not to go into the Hamas stronghold in Rafah, where Hamas later executed six hostages with bullets in the back of their heads.

In 2018, an event hosted by Minnesota’s Muslim American Society on Feb. 16, 2018, as The Washington Examiner reported, Walz praised a Hitler-promoting imam.

The Democrat party and its representatives continue to prove how evil it's become by now, and again, if they're elected in November, it'll be an absolute fiasco.

Vincent dePaul Lupiano, Nazi Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division *Das Reich*

At Amazon, Vincent dePaul Lupiano, Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane: Nazi Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division *Das Reich.* #Commission Earned

Another hostage rescued

A man of Bedouin descent who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was rescued from captivity:

One more Israeli hostage has been rescued.

The Israel Defense Force and Israel Security Agency announced Tuesday that another hostage taken during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack has been rescued.

"The IDF and ISA have rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Gaza where he was held hostage, and brought him to his family in Israel. This operation was part of the IDF’s daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza strip," said Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

"This operation joins a series of actions taken by the IDF that bring us closer to achieving the goals of this war," Gallant continued. "I would like to reiterate and emphasize: Israel is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages home to Israel."

Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Rahat was reportedly rescued by a mixed company of Israeli combatants, including members of the 401st Brigade, 162nd Division, and Shayetet 13.

Here's more of the rescued hostage's account:

President Isaac Herzog spoke this evening with Qaid Farhan al-Qadi, a resident of Rahat who was abducted on October 7th and rescued today by security forces from captivity in Gaza. Qaid Farhan is currently receiving treatment at Soroka University Medical Center.

The President emotionally said to him: “Dear Farhan, how moving it is to hear your voice! Our brother has come home. Our brother has returned!”

Farhan thanked the President and responded: “I am grateful to the State of Israel, to the army, who came. People are suffering there. Do everything you can to bring people home. Work 24 hours, don’t sleep until they return. People are really suffering, you can’t imagine. Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it. I thank you very much. This is thanks to our army, they are doing a sacred duty, risking their lives. Thank you very much, Mr. President.”

The man is fortunate to be rescued after nearly a year in captivity. This is a prime example of how people of Arabic background aren't immune to Islamic tyranny, no matter their own religious upbringing. Now, this man's lucky to return to his family alive.

Fintan O'Toole, We Don't Know Ourselves

At Amazon, Fintan O'Toole, We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland. #CommissionEarned

Taliban destroyed education for over a million girls in Afghanistan

Ironically, it's the UN that first reported this, considering such an awful outfit does nothing genuine to defend women's civil rights from Islamofascism:

The Taliban’s ban on women receiving above a secondary has deprived 1.4 million Afghan girls of education since 2021, according to research from the United Nations.

The Afghan government first banned girls from attending secondary school in March 2022, later going on to prohibit women from attending university classes in December of that year. As a result of the bans, girls over the age of twelve have had education opportunities restricted, with 300,000 more girls being affected by the ban since the U.N.’s last count in April of 2023, according to a press release from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

[...] Aside from banning girls from having access to secondary and higher education, the Taliban has also banned females from teaching male students, according to the press release. This change has contributed to the drop in total education enrollment in primary schools from 6.8 million boys and girls in 2019 to 5.7 million in 2022.

“In just three years, the de facto authorities have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan, and the future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy,” the press release states.

But don't expect Kamala Harris to speak in defense of women in Afghanistan if she becomes president. And don't expect the UN to come to their rescue either. They're all just big talk and nothing else. For now, it's terrible what Joe Biden led to shortly after he become the fraud-in-chief of the USA.

Vincent Lupiano, Nazi Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division Das Reich

At Amazon, Vincent Lupiano, Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane: Nazi Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division Das Reich. #CommissionEarned

Richard J. Evans, Hitler's People

At Amazon, Richard J. Evans, Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich. #CommissionEarned

Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian

At Amazon, Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. #CommissionEarned

Marybeth Hicks, Don't Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid

At Amazon, Marybeth Hicks, Don't Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Assault on Our Families, Faith, and Freedom. #CommissionEarned

Sloane Crosley, Grief is for People

A wonderful book. She writes so effortlessly, but with tremendous power.

At Amazon, Sloane Crosley, Grief is for People. #CommissionEarned

The transcript of Netanyahu's speech to Congress

Here's a transcript of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress on the 24th of July (via Daniel Pipes). It makes for very recommended reading.

Update: and here's also an important article about 4 survivors of the sexual violence committed by the Hamas minions on October 7, 2023.

Pro-Hamas vandals burned American flags in the District of Columbia

While Benjamin Netanyahu was giving his very impressive speech at Congress on Wednesday, the anti-Israel crowd in the USA predictably went about not just scrawling hateful graffiti against Israel, but also burning American flags and vandalizing USA symbols:

The Liberty Bell replica outside Washington, DC’s Union Station was defaced with pro-Hamas symbols and anti-Israel messages, including one that read “F–k Israel,” during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.

As thousands of protesters descended on the capital on Wednesday, the demonstrations quickly turned to vandalism around Union Station, where the anti-Israel crowd targeted landmarks to spread hateful messages against the Jewish state.

The Liberty Bell reproduction at the site was defaced with countless graffiti with messages like “Abolish Israel,” “All zionists are bastards” and “F–k Capitalists.” [...]

The protesters at Union Station were also seen burning American flags and an effigy of Netanyahu, with DC police, Capitol Police and US Park Police reporting 23 arrests following a chaotic clash with law enforcement.

Their antics continue to be despicable, and drew outrage from the GOP. Joe Biden's vice president Kamala Harris, who's not supported by a lot of the far-leftists, belatedly condemned the violence that took place at the station:

Vice President Harris has released a statement condemning violent anti-Israel rioting that disrupted Washington D.C.'s busiest station.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee released the statement Thursday, hours after the violent protests against visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C. we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric," Harris said. "I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews.

The protesters spray-painted monuments and pulled down American flags flying outside Union Station, eventually lighting them on fire amid cheers and chants against Israel.

Unfortunately, Harris, even before these terrible incidents, did too little on her part to prove she abhors the behaviour of such repellent creeps, and it wouldn't be surprising if any presidential campaign she leads, assuming she becomes the candidate to replace Joe Biden, does nothing convincing to oppose what's happened so far.

Don't be shocked if soon enough, similar monsters in Europe will be burning the French, Italian and Dutch flags too. Such leftists are that horrific.

Update: and on that note, Muslims in France have been acting horrific for the gazillionth time, during the Olympics in Paris, and it's predictably making everything truly awful. Not that the Olympics have really been worth watching for a while now.

Update 2: the Israeli government warns that Iran has predictably also been making threats against the Israeli atheletes competing at the Olympics.

Update 3: some police officers described how they came under assault by these pro-Hamas protestors at Union Station.

Christopher F. Rufo, How the Radical Left Conquered Everything

At Amazon, Christopher F. Rufo, America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything.

Barry Rubin, Silent Revolution

At Amazon, Barry Rubin, Silent Revolution: How the Left Rose to Political Power and Cultural Dominance.

William Manchester, The Death of a President

William Manchester, The Death of a President: November 20-November 25, 1963.

Nathan Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason, Mapping Political Violence

At Amazon, Nathan Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason, Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy.

Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman, White Rural Rage

At Amazon, Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy. #CommissionEarned. 

This AI-based beauty contest must've been rigged in more ways than one

An AI-generated Muslim woman became the first winner of an AI-based beauty pageant:

CNN reports that the world’s first AI beauty pageant has concluded with the crowning of Kenza Layli, an entirely AI-generated Moroccan Muslim lifestyle influencer. Organized by Fanvue, an influencer platform for both AI and human creators, the Miss AI contest opened in the spring and attracted entries from approximately 1,500 AI programmers worldwide.

Kenza Layli, the winning AI contestant, was created by Myriam Bessa, founder of the Phoenix AI agency. As the creator of the winning entry, Bessa will receive a $5,000 cash prize, support on the Fanvue platform, and the services of a publicist to raise Layli’s profile. The runners-up in the competition were AI contestants Lalina Valina from France and Olivia C of Portugal.

I'm sure this was no accident. So now AI is being exploited for normalizing the Religion of Peace and pushing its agendas, subtle or otherwise. It only takes the flavor out of such farces, which do not replace real beauty pageants, and only suggest AI is being used for political propaganda instead of fun pastimes.