My Trip to Hawaii 2016: Maui

Hey everyone! Since I never showed you all photos from Maui back in August, I decided on the last day of the year to do a post about it. Over the Summer, I was in Maui, Hawaii for four days.

One day, my family and I went to the top of a mountain at around four in the morning to watch the sunrise. When we first got to the top of the mountain it was dark out and you could see a ton of stars. We stayed on top of the mountain for about three hours.

The mountains looked like they were from another planet, and I thought that was pretty cool. There was a pit below I from where I was standing and it's known as the world's quietest place.

After seeing the sunrise, we went on a bike tour down a mountain. It was such a cool experience to be able to see Maui from so high up. 

My family and I posed on top of the mountain with one of the bikes.

After our bike ride, we got a breakfast/lunch at a truck that sold burritos, and such.

The next day we went on a 110 mile round trip on the Road to Hana. This excursion is by car, and there are many fruit stands, small shops with banana bread, and incredible views on the way. Hana isn't super special, but the journey there is more amazing than the destination.

The blue bracelet is made with a type of seed that is in Hawaii and can be used as beads.

At one of the overlooks tree was a small shrine to a few surfers that most likely died around there. I thought the shrine was very pretty, but it was hard to get any closer to it.

On our way to Hana, we passed a catholic church in a small neighborhood.

One of the small places we passed on the road was a store that sold jewelry and tie-dye shirts.

Here is a picture of me in front of a Black Sand Beach. I used this photo for my Christmas card.

One of the stops on the road was a smoothie shack, and they had advertised all of their super fresh fruits.

After our trip to Hana, my family and I stopped in a small town called Paia. We ate in a Mexican restaurant, and I had one of the best fajitas ever in this restaurant. I also had a virgin piña colada, which was also very good.

Paia is a beach town, and it has many bathing suit stores, restaurants, tattoo pallor, and cute boutiques.

My family and I stayed at the Grand Wailea, which is a very beautiful hotel. The resort contains so many pools, and had a beautiful view of the water.

Question: Where did you travel this year?


                                                                          xx
                                                            Christina Madeleine

Pearl Harbor + Honolulu 2016

Hey everyone! Today is the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii and I wanted to share some pictures from when I visited it. In August, I went to Honolulu and Maui. While I was in Honolulu, my family and I visited the Pearl Harbor memorial. At Pearl Harbor, there are memorials for the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah, which were destroyed beyond repair during the attacks of December 7, 1941.

The USS Arizona lies in Pearl Harbor where it had sunk. The memorial is built over the ship, and visitors have to take a minute long trip on a boat to the memorial. The USS Arizona and the USS Utah are able to be seen by visitors because the remains of the ship lay on two different sides of the harbor. The USS Oklahoma had huge hole, and sunk a few miles from its brother ships. The memorial for the USS Arizona is the only one I saw, but it was such a nice experience because the memorial is a truly beautiful. If you closely into the harbor, you can see the oil that has continuously leaked from the ship for 75 years, and there is no way of knowing when it will ever stop.

The memorial is seen as a sacred site in honor of all the people who died on December 7, 1941. For survivors of the USS Arizona, when they die they have the option to have scuba divers put their ashes into the sunken ship. Currently, there are only six veterans from this ship alive.  On this sign, it talks about how when the divers put the ashes into the ship, it's like the soldiers are returning home to their fellow soldiers.

At the memorial, there is a list of all the people who died on the day of the attack from all the ships. The whole wall is filled, and it has the first initial and last name of the soldiers.

Pearl Harbor also has two museums about World War II, and the involvement of the United States during the war. Also, the museums had artifacts from the ships, letters from soldiers, old uniforms, stories, and so much more. It's like walking into a time capsule of this event, and it's so interesting. I loved reading about the people who gave their lives to their country. Also, going to the memorial and the museum made me more connected to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it made everything more real. There's a difference between reading about an event, and actually seeing the faces of the fallen, and the place where it happened.


Other Pictures from Honolulu ( Oahu):

Honolulu is so far away from New York, but once I go to the Island I was so happy. It seems like everyone is just so happy and friendly. Oahu is the most populated island of Hawaii, and is filled with tourists from the mainland and Japan.

 I lived for all the fruit that was accessible to me in Hawaii. All the fruit is so fresh, and almost everywhere has at least one smoothie option. For breakfast one morning I had a pitaya (dragon fruit) smoothie bowl with strawberries, bananas, mangoes, coconut shavings, and blueberries.

My family and I went on a bus tour around Honolulu, and the views were spectacular. I also got to see the veterans cemetery that is filled war heroes, celebrities, known and unknown soldiers. Hawaii is a place with such a rich history, and I was so glad to be able to experience it.

Right when I took this photo, the tour guide pointed out that Obama grew up in Honolulu. Since I have never been to Washington D.C, this is the closest I have been to something that is connected to the president. Although there are tons of beaches and palm trees in Hawaii, Honolulu is a metropolitan city.

If you have ever seen Hawaii 5-0, you might recognize this building... :) In reality, this is a government building, and there is an older, identical building right across from it that was also in Hawaii 5-0.

I obviously had to post some picture of me from Honolulu, so here is a picture of me when I learned how to paddle board  in the lagoon at my hotel. Coincidentally, people were filming for Hawaii 5-0, when I got out of the lagoon.

On my last day in Honolulu, before I went to Maui, I went on a walk to try to get to a mountain. After walking about 1.5 miles and then realized  that the mountain was very far away. The walk was very nice because of the view of the clear water and all, but since it was August, the sun was blazing hot.

 I hope you liked my post about Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. This month, I will be posting about my Maui experience, but I felt it was appropriate to post about Pearl Harbor today. 

                                                                            xx
                                                              Christina Madeleine

My Month in Photos: November 2016

Hey everyone! I know I did two photo posts this month, but that was about two specific events that I wanted to share about. I haven't been updating frequently, and I really want to share what I have been doing. For 2017 I am planning to get myself organized and post on a schedule, but until then I am going to post a lot in December, and for now I am going to show you all what I forgot to share.

 I am in AP drawing this year, so this is the fourth of twenty four pieces that I will have to create this year. I am currently on piece six (so I am not even 25% done, but I have faith that I will). If you can't tell, this is a drawing I did of a pipe in my school.

 As seen in my photo post on Union Square, this is a poster from the NYC Love Rally/ Peaceful Protest.

This was the Empire State Building the weekend of Veteran's Day.

 This is the post-it note wall that now complete covers Union Square, and it's filled with peaceful and inspiring messages (with the exception of a few).

 This is the fifth of the twenty four pieces I will be doing this year in my drawing class.

 This year I am the events coordinator of my school's feminism club (we call it W.O.W i.e Women in Our World). Our club got to host a summit in which we had 15 speakers come including people like Sara Horowitz, Abigail Disney, and many other inspiring women in the fields of business, theater, medical, politics, and more. We hosted a photo booth for the day, so all 85 of our participants could take pictures with out props. It was such a great experience, and I can't wait to plan it again for the second annual summit in 2017.

 I went to a concert on November 19 at Webster Hall for a group called Wet, this is a picture of Demotaped, who was one of the opening performances.

 The group is made up of three people, and their fan base is relatively small. Webster Hall had about 400 people in the room, so it was quite intimate. It was a very tame concert, and the music was wonderful. They have songs called All in Vain, You're the Best, and Don't Wanna Be Your Girl.

 The lead singer, Kelly, sang by herself for the encore. She also gave a small speech about how she was so happy to perform at Webster Hall, and it warmed my heart. People's dreams do come true.

This was what the outside of Webster Hall looked like on November 19.

 The weather in New York is very unpredictable. This was a selfie of me that I took during gym class in forty degree weather. I brought out my scarf, and Kate Spade ear muffs (that I absolutely adore them). My teacher told me that my ear muffs look like little furry animals, but I think they're really fun (and I got them for $55 cheaper than the original price because they were on sale).

 I spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my cousins, and this is one of the only pictures I have from it. I even posted it to instagram: @chriistinamariie

 This is the Oculus at the World Trade Center, and it's newly built and has a ton of stores to shop at it. I bought some Christmas presents there :)

 On November 26, I visited my grandmother in Orient, Long Island and she treated us to a very fancy dinner. Since I am a blogger, I just had  to take photos of all my food and of a view.

 If you ever find yourself in North Fork, Long Island I recommend this restaurant because it's in an old house, and they change the menu based off the season.

 The truffle mac & cheese was truly a thing of beauty, haha.

 This was my first time trying tapioca, and I think it's something I would have again.

Last but not least, this is my dog Bosco, and he loves this bed so much that he'll spend all day on it if he could.

Question: What did you do this month?

                                                                             xx
                                                              Christina Madeleine

Book Review: Angela's Ashes

Hey everyone! I hope all you Americans had a great Thanksgiving, and if you're not American that you have had a lovely thirteen days since my last post. As I said in my last book review, I am doing the Goodreads reading challenge, and I just finished book 26 of the 30 I want to read. It took me about three weeks to read my latest book because I have had just so much homework, and I have been very busy. The book I just finished was called Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy — exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling — does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors—yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

Angela’s Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt’s astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.

My Thoughts:

I don't know if I would have picked this book out if I was just wondering through the bookshelves of a library because I usually go for fictional books. It's a very subconscious thing I do, but I almost always end up reading fiction, even if it's historical fiction. Both my parents read Angela's Ashes some time ago, so they recommended the book to me.

After having the book in my locker for about a month, I finally started reading it. You shouldn't go into this book expecting a super happy ending because the main character, Frank, has a rough life that gets way worse before it gets better. His family is in poverty, his father is an alcoholic, the mother doesn't have a job for the longest time because she takes care of the kids, and just his whole life is filled with struggle. For about 17 years of his life (from age 2-19 when the book takes place), the McCourts live in Limerick, the holiest city in Ireland. Since the book is written in Frank's point of view, there is much talk about nuns, brothers, priests, and how just about everything is a sin.

This book is a tough read because it's very far from my own life, so it took me awhile to remove myself from the present to fully absorb the book. I did, in fact, enjoy the book because there is a comedic spin to sad story. The book is a memoir, and Frank writes the way he thought when he was three years old, all the way to nineteen. The ending of the book is inspiring because it reminds me of how hard people worked to come to America in the 1940s and 1950s. The book contains a lot of vulgarity, especially from adults towards children, but that was what happened during that time period because of the whole children should be seen and not heard.

I do recommend this book for people who want a challenge, and also want to read the memoir of a child that grew up in poverty-stricken home. This book is very depressing, but it is and was the reality of many people in the world.

Some Favorite Quotes:

“He says, you have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else but you can’t make up an empty mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. It is your house of treasure and no one in the world can interfere with it. If you won the Irish Sweepstakes and bought a house that needed furniture would you fill it with bits and pieces of rubbish? Your mind is your house and if you fill it with rubbish from the cinemas it will rot in your head. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.” 


“I know that big people don't like questions from children. They can ask all the questions they like, How's school? Are you a good boy? Did you say your prayers? but if you ask them did they say their prayers you might be hit on the head.”

Questions: Have you read this book? What books are you currently reading/ recommend?

                                                                          xx
                                                            Christina Madeleine

Love Trumps Hate

Hey everyone, in the wake of the president election in the United States, I want to share with all of you my feelings on the latest events. This was the first time that I have paid attention to politics. I always used to say how I identify as an independent, and I don't really care about the two main parties. This year my views have changed an incredible amount due to fact that I needed to educate myself on politics to understand this election. Although there were four candidates (equal numbers of men and women!!), the media and the people of America focused on the Democratic (nominee Hillary Clinton) and Republican (nominee Donald Trump).  The thing with this election is that both candidates were on complete different ends of the spectrum. We had Hillary Clinton, who had the same values as our current President, but also was a women (could have been our first woman president), and was more for equality for all Americans. She, obviously, had many flaws such as Benghazi (I learned all about it from VlogBrothers), and the email scandal. Many people also didn't like her, not because she was a woman (although some people do believe females can't be president but that's different), but because she didn't bring much change in the country from what we have now. Donald Trump, our now president-elect, was on the opposite side of the spectrum because he was a conservative Republican. He changed history because he is one of the only people ever to run for office in America (and is the only one to win) with no previous political position. The big problem with his campaign is that he used xenophobia, racism, homophobia, sexism, and more to get people to vote for him. The election was between two very hated people with two very strong, and opposite views. 

Now that Donald Trump is the president-elect, now more than ever people have to have their voices heard. His presidency gives many people throughout the country the idea that they are able to openly show their hatred towards a race, religion, etc and that it is perfectly okay. It is never okay to show hate towards a group of people because the actions of a few.

On November 11, 2016 I was able to stand among hundreds, if not thousands, of people in Washington Square Park in New York City. This was a peaceful protest against Trump. There were people of all genders, ethnicities, nationalities, sexualities, races, and religions talking about loving each other and fighting the hate in the world. This protest was meant not to be violent because nothing ever good comes from that.

I strongly believe in an America where all people will be treated equal. I can't let a leader have the interest of only one group of people (white, heterosexual, well off ) in his head. By protesting yesterday I was able to use the 1st Amendment (Freedom of Expression) to fight for my rights. My president-elect does not believe in abortion. I, personally, would not have an abortion, but because of my own personal choice I would never tell other people they can't do that. Planned Parenthood is an amazing foundation that does cancer screenings, gives out birth control, and does abortions for people in need of it. Yesterday, I protested Trump for women everywhere to be able to safely have control over their bodies.

Every person that I talked to at the protest is an amazing person. I was surrounded by people from 15 to 75, and they all wanted peace in the United States. These were not people who wanted to bring more violence because they have seen what hatred does. Hatred spreads like wildfire, and it's very hard in a short period of time to turn things around. I was not scared of a single person at this protest because I knew we had the same beliefs about human rights no matter what our financial status, race, religion, or sexuality was. I plan to fight for the rights of everyone for as long as I need to for everyone to be heard. I will not accept the xenophobia. I will not accept the racism. I will not accept the sexism. I will not accept the homophobia.  I will not accept the hate.

My friends and I walked from Washington Square Park to Grand Central Station with our sign. We walked up 6th ave with all the people on the way to the Trump Tower. All the protests shut down a whole avenue, and there were police everywhere making sure nothing violent happened. It was so empowering to scream at the top of my lungs for all the people across the country who are being oppressed. There were people videotaping, high-fiving, and taking photos of us. This was one of the best things I have ever done. I had such an adrenaline rush, and all I wanted to do on the subway home is scream "I HAVE A VOICE." My friends and I high-fived each other and did a group hug because we protested for something we fought for something we believed in. When we were walking the streets it was so encouraging to hear people go, "I love your sign", "keep going girls, "yeah! f#@& trump", and "I support you guys 100%." So many people smiled at us, or honked there trucks at us to show support. New York was magical on that night. The city takes on a feeling like no other.

Our chants were: WE REJECT THE PRESIDENT ELECT. BLACK LIVES MATTER. DISABLED LIVES MATTER. MY BODY MY CHOICE. PUSSY GRABS BACK. THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED. RACIST, SEXIST, ANTI-GAY, DONALD TRUMP GO AWAY. HER BODY HER CHOICE. WHO'S STREETS? OUR STREETS. PEACE.

Bernie Sanders said, "To the degree that Donald Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve he lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environmental policies, we will vigorously oppose him."

I will never ask for my president to fail because I want to see my country succeed and become a place for all people. I am, obviously, not happy with the election out come, but I have a voice for a reason. My job, and the job of all people, is to get your voice to be heard. If this means that I will be marching through Manhattan a few times a month to protest a law, idea, or proposal so be it. I was surrounded by so much love at this protest. Love will always triumph over hate.

I leave you all with this. No matter who you are, always fight for what you believe in. Never let people tell you that you don't matter.

Until next time,

Christina Madeleine

OOTD: Halloweekend 2016

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in more than a week, I had 4 tests this week! I feel like when Halloween is on a weekday, the weekend before is when everyone celebrates it. Tomorrow, October 31, is actually Halloween, but my friends and I went to a party on Saturday and dressed up. On Halloween, my class is being Rosie the Riveter at school (there will possibly a post about this).

                                I was a devil for the Halloween party, and my friend was an angel.

My outfit:

Lace Up Shirt from H&M - $17 (about)

Tennis Skirt from American Apparel - $52

Lace Tights from H&M - $12

Steve Madden Boots

Horns from Ricky's - $3.50

I don't like to buy costumes from Halloween Pop-Up shops, so it's fun for me to make my own costumes, and of course go shopping to do so.

Question: If you celebrate Halloween, what are you dressing up as?
                                                                        xx
                                                           Christina Madeleine

Book Review: I Am The Messenger

Hey everyone! This time I am going to do a book review on I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. He is the writer of one of my favorite books, The Book Thief. I have been meaning to read this book for a long time, and I am glad that I was finally able to. This book took be a little more than a week to read. I think I am going to start doing more book reviews because I have read many books this year due to the GoodReads Reading Challenge (I am on book 25 of 30).

Synopsis from Amazon:

By the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book Thief, this is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail. That's when Ed becomes the messenger. Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

My Thoughts:

 This book, right off the bat, has different vibes than The Book Thief. Does that make this book bad? Not at all.  The two books are completely separate and shouldn't really be compared. This book has the same sort of feeling as Looking for Alaska by John Green, because both main characters are lanky boys who kind of have the odds against them in a sense.

The main character, Ed Kennedy, is a very funny character to me. He didn't go to university, and he drives a cab around. He lives in a shack with his 17 year old dog who loves coffee, and is called The Doorman. Ed Kennedy at first seemed like a character with no potential, and I felt like I would get bored of him very easily. I was pleasantly surprised how he gets himself together to complete tasks that seem impossible at first. He is smarter than he is made out to be, and Zusak emphasizes on how many books Ed has read, which is always a very good thing.

The other characters that are involved with the messages that Ed receives, make this story very unique. Without giving too much away, each character has something wrong going on in their life that which needs to be changed, and Ed is the guy who is destined to make the lives of these people better. The characters seem almost real because of their circumstances such as abuse, abandonment, loneliness, poverty, and just being down on yourselves.

This book also has the underlying theme of mysterious because the whole time you ask, "Who is sending all these messages and tasks to Ed?"

I really liked this book, and I do recommend it from teenagers to adults because it isn't written in a too complex way, and it's an interesting read that makes you think.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Some Favorite Quotes:

“Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.” 

“It's not a big thing, but I guess it's true--big things are often just small things that are noticed.”

“You can kill a man with those words.
No gun.
No bullets.
Just words and a girl.”

“Only in today's sick society can a man be persecuted for reading too many books.” 

“People die of broken hearts. They have heart attacks. And it's the heart that hurts most when things go wrong and fall apart.”
 

Questions: Have you read this book? Also, what are some books that you recommend?

                                                                      xx
                                                        Christina Madeleine

International Day of the Girl 2016

Hey everyone! Today is International Day of the Girl, along with Coming Out Day. I feel like these are two important days of the year and show how much we have grown as a more accepting world in the 21st century. I wanted to do a post today on the the importance of being a girl and how awesome it can be. I've been inspired today because of all the positive posts and videos that I have seen about being a woman.

I am a feminist, so to clarify for those of you who don't know the right definition of feminism it is...the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Feminism to me means that I want all genders to be equal. I, personally, advocate for the gender pay gap to be closed because I don't understand why I shouldn't be paid the same amount of money as a male for the same job. I also advocate for men and women to not be forced in societal standards. Why do we use terms such as "man up," "you run like a girl,"or the use of a word that has made a lot of headlines lately due to Donald Trump.

Girls need to be supported in everything we do. The world was run by white males for thousands of years, and females became the oppressed sex. Girls are still seen as sex objects in many countries, and are forced into prostitution before they even understand their own body. For many centuries, girls weren't even allowed to have an education because their jobs were to clean the house and raise children. To this day, girls make up 2/3 of the amount of people in the world who are illiterate. Less than 40% of countries in present day do not give equal education for boys and girls. I am blessed that I was born into the life that I have because I get to have an education, and will be able to graduate from college and get a job. The United States is one of the countries that has made a leap (not a big enough leap, but a leap all the same) to give girls equal education because for every 100 boys in University, there are 103 girls.There are girls around the world who even if they want an education do not have the financial means to or are not allowed to by their family, government, or other forces. In countries such as Nigeria, school girls were captured by extremist groups just for wanting an education. How is this fair to girls? Why is it seen as illegal in many countries just to receive an education?

Girls deal with problems that nobody should be subjected to. Rape is a problem in all genders, but when we have political figures trying to stop non-profits such as Planned Parenthood, we fear for our future generations. Without getting too political, girls need a round of applause for dealing with a choice shaming society for whatever they do. I've seen stories of girls getting shamed for getting an abortion even though it's their own body. I've seen stories of girls getting shamed for keeping a baby no matter what the circumstances. How can a girl develop and prosper in a world where whatever their decision they get shamed?

I can go on and on about the statistics of women in the world and all the injustices they face, but now I am going to talk about the pros of being a girl and the empowerment we deserve.

Women received the right to vote in 1920 in the United States. At the time, this right didn't include all women, but it was a step in the right direction. This is important for me because in the year 2020, I will be able to vote for the president of the United States.

Women can be in the Olympics, and win medals in the sports they compete in. If you haven't learned anything from the Summer 2016 Olympics, then you should look to see how many women won medals in the sports they competed in.

Girls are the future. There is not a job or thing we cannot do. Just because people use the insult "like a girl," that doesn't mean that you can't do something. Yes, I am a girl and I can run, finish college, get a degree, be an engineer, be a soccer player, be a CEO, and anything else I set my mind to.

Everyone should work to build each other up because that's how we make progress. We live in a time with computers, iPhones, and technology that can send our message out in minutes. We need to raise awareness for those who are suffering from injustice, and support those who are trying to beat it. You don't have to be a girl to support other girls, but by not using derogatory terms to put others down is a step in the right direction.

Here are some videos that can explain the importance of celebrating girls:

Hurdles: Narrated by Emma Watson

"Like a Girl" by Always

"The Woman Card"

Emma Watson speaking at the UN in 2012 on Feminism and the #HeforShe Movement.

If you get anything at all from this post, it is to support girls because they are the future when it comes to progressing in society. It is the end of an era of oppressing women. Spread the word about International Day of the Girl, and fight for it to become an even bigger thing. 

                                                                   xx
                                                      Christina Madeleine

*If I said any things that are politically incorrect, it is not my conscious intention to do so*

Start a conversation below in the comments about feminism, the importance of girls, and whatever else in the comments below.