Welcome to Think Tech on Spectromosi 16, Hawaii's weekly newscast on things that matter to tech and to Hawaii. I'm Keisha King. And I'm Cynthia Sinclair. In our show this time, we'll review the talk shows we've done to cover the 30-meter telescope project on Mauna Kea. PMT has become very controversial, and our many talk shows on the subject may be helpful for people to understand the issues and the stakes involved. Those shows include discussions with people who sympathize with the native Hawaiian opposition to the project. There have been a number of us who have played music, written songs, written poetry, gone down and give testimony at the legislature, organized and participated in the protests. And it goes back, you know, a good long ways. That thing that we saw was what, done in 1982. And, you know, the movement that sort of gave rise to that is even older than that.  And, my God, we're still doing it, and we still have to do it. And we're still here to do it, though. Well, you know, that's just, you know, not all of us are, right? I mean, you know, that's just the kind of luck of the draw. I'm glad I'm 65 and still alive and still able to. But some people have given their whole lives to this movement, and that performance there, we were celebrating and mourning the loss of George Helm, who's participation in this was relatively short-lived, but still so incredibly important. Female deities up there, Poliyahu, who is the snow, Lillianoi, who is the mist. And that Lillianoi is a huge component of Mauna Kea as an aquifer, as the, you know, because that brings the drip that just goes into the bogs that are that high up and then go down into the aquifer and then out, you know, along the, I mean, the water dispersal through those feminine deities at the top of Mauna Kea I had never considered. And they're kind of standalone, standalone female deities, which I didn't realize that either. So I learned something there and I thank you very much. And another thing that was unbelievable was there was an archaeologist whose name is Patrick McCoy, and he'd been doing work up there since the 70s. And finally wrote an epic piece after all the EISs were given this, this random exhibit submitted by the UH, probably by mistake, ended up being the bomb. And I'll give you a copy. No, he's now retired, but he's as epic because he, his whole conversation was about the linkage of ascent and descent routes with these priest ads makers who had consecrated work and their retinue of people coming up and down that mountain. Community groups, environmental organizations have been raising concerns ever since the first batch of telescopes were being developed on the mountain. And we also have, we have, we have laws, you know, we're, we're, we're, we live in a community that has actually the rule of law in theory. And those laws prohibit this kind of development in a conservation zone. So our job as Kea has been, has been, you know, holding the state accountable, holding these institutions accountable and ensuring that our laws are upheld. Thank you for framing it that way. There's a lot of people who, who like to split this baby around science. And it's, it's really not helpful. No, it's not. Yeah. Yeah. I know that Kea has certainly been a heavy user of science in the case. And as a matter of fact, our background is from the Huy Malama, Mauna Kea report on the aspects of Mauna Kea that have not been in compliance over the years. As you said, and this, this, the graphic is around the, the view planes that have been distorted by, by the 13 observatories that are there now. Right. Right. Okay. So this week was a big deal. It was. It was the latest in a series of, I mean, I think it's important to always keep things in, in context. It's very easy, I think, for people who are, who are deeply concerned about the, the life and health of our, of our Mauna for them to feel depressed or bummed out about the decision. They also include discussions with scientists and others in the community who support the project. Yeah, they can be protests. The protests can be on the side. Police and other forces will have to do what they need to do. And, you know, construction has to resume in a normal schedule. It's not a very large project.  It's a hundred feet. It's a hundred feet. But in the drawings, they make it look so beautiful and so big that then quite a few people are there culturally sensitive. They say, oh, this is a monstrosity. No, it's not. No. Again, 30 meters is a hundred feet. I mean, really, Mauna care is very big for a hundred feet. Yeah. If we are talking geometry now, it's not like they're going to take a quarter mile of the mountain or, you know, hectares or whatever. When it's finished is not going to be a giant building. A lot of the projections, again, they really brought forward the architectural and the science thing. They wanted to make it a crown jewel of the crown on the top of Mauna care, top for science. They overdid that part. Interesting. The architectural part. Again, 30 meters, which is really the big disk. And then there is the surrounding shell. 90 feet. That's all it is. Yes. You don't want to make them too big because when you make them too big, they differentially start expanding with the sun and all or the cold side and then they start distorting. So there is limits of how big you're going to make them. Again, let's stop arguing about a hundred feet. Lillia, we've seen that the demise of the 30 meter telescope here in Hawaii is a massive failure commercially, educationally in terms of the reputation of Hawaii as an investment climate and also a further failure of public policy. But one of the things public policy needs to do is balance competing needs and demands here in the United States of America, we believe absolutely in the First Amendment, the right of individuals to freedom of speech, which includes the freedom to protest one's government. So that certainly took place in the drama of the 30 meter telescope. But how do we balance this in the world of public policy? Balance with the needs of the many. It's an interesting question. And I think, you know, you can't, the protesters, what credit is due, they did a fantastic job. You know, I think they're helped because when you cover a story like this, it's certainly a lot sexier to cover, you know, protest and media. That's the story. The story is these people have this problem and what it's thanks for. And I think this is where I feel like Hawaii's, I guess, leader sort of dropped the ball is that what that story is out there, you know, they deserve a chance to tell their story, to put their position out there to let everyone know what their issue is. But we also cannot, we can't function as a state, as a government, as an economy if every activist, every group of activists has the ability to hijack everything we try to do, every state of action, every business, everything we build. I mean, you could get to the point where you can't even build, say, a hospital or a school because you could fight an activist who has a problem with some point of it. So there comes a point where your whole process is in danger of being hijacked. The Mauna Kea situation in which Hawaiians are playing a big role in terms of opposing the 30-meter telescope is an important thing for the people avoid to take note of because what we're talking about here is public policy. The objections that I disagree with the objections, the basis on which objections from the loudest speaking Hawaiians are that any digging into the mountain constitutes a cultural injury or any intrusion into the airspace, the air column above the mountain is a cultural injury. The history shows us just the opposite. I mean, there's a seven-mile vertical, seven-mile high quarry that ancient Hawaiians used to mine to get the best stone for their tools and their weapons. So the concern is that it seems that as the years go by, there are these new customs and traditions that are kind of made up in order to suit the politics of the moment. And that is my opinion and that is what I see happening. Mauna Kea is one of those things. And people ought to be concerned about it because in the case of Mauna Kea, we are talking about a public policy issue. The opportunities that a 30-meter telescope would provide for the people of Hawai'i, for education process, for opportunities in science and advancement, and to become a global leader on something that is so natural. Then if you want to talk about cultural validation, there is no Hawaiian cultural endeavor that is more important than the search for knowledge. The search for knowledge has been fundamental to Hawaiian culture, to the existence and the quality of life that was afforded Hawaiians during pre-contact before Captain Kut came. Study things that we simply can't do well with the existing class of telescopes. I think the Exoplanet application is the easiest for the viewers to grasp. But one of the main areas of astronomy nowadays is to look at planets around other stars. The recently developed field of 30 years or so ago, we weren't even sure there were planets around other stars. I grew up with only nine and now there were only eight of those in our own solar system. People always suspected there were, but there wasn't any proof. Now we know about thousands of them. Now the attention is okay. Are there any that are like Earth? How much like Earth? How many of them? And of course the follow-on question there, what's the likelihood that life could have developed on those planets? Now in order to do a good job of researching that, you need a bigger telescope than the current generation for the two reasons that I suggested earlier. Exoplanets are really faint, right? They're small and they're far away, so you need a big telescope to see them at all. You certainly need a big telescope to study their property. The other thing is that these planets are quite close to their parent star. The whole thing is far away. You need to be able to separate a really faint planet from its great big bright star right beside it. And that requires you to be able to separate things that are close together on the sky. To that you also need a big telescope. So the goal is to, among other things, with a 30-meter telescope is to look at exoplanets that we know are there from other techniques that other telescopes found, and then be able to actually get a picture of the planet separate from the star, and then be able to analyze the light from the planet and see if there's an atmosphere, what gases might be in the atmosphere, and if there are fingerprints that might indicate the presence of life. That's the real sort of holy grail of that area of astronomy, and it's one that the 30-meter telescope is uniquely capable of pursuing. The majority of the people in Hawaii supported and a large group of native Hawaiians. The Civil Bee came out with a poll that said something like 44% of native Hawaiians now supported versus previously 72%. I haven't figured out what the margin of error on that is. It's probably like 10%. So it could be over 50% or under 30% right now, or 34% supporting and opposing right now. But just like the protesters didn't care what the poll said back when they were trying to change the narrative, it's the same way that I don't care what the polls say. I want to tell my story about what... There's a native Hawaiian story out there that is a perfectly legitimate story despite what the protesters do try to tell me, that we can embrace Mauna Kea and the sacred, and Mauna Kea can embrace the telescopes and native Hawaiian culture can embrace that kind of science, that kind of use of land. I saw that article in the Civil Bee and I had the impression from it that from a time about a year ago when the support for the telescope was something in the order of 77%, the actual identifiable support has declined. And I guess the oldest protest has had an effect on the average Joe and how he feels about it, and some people are gravitating toward the opposition rather than to support the DMT, am I right? I think that's absolutely right, and I think that's democracy, that's how it works.  The pro-TMT side, the grassroots efforts that I'm contributing to, we didn't think we had to be going out there. Everybody was supporting, the rule of law was on our side. We voted for these politicians who were supporting it, so it was pretty clear which way we wanted to go in a democracy law-abiding society. And then, meanwhile, the protestors knew that for two years they... I guess I'm assuming they knew they were going to lose or thought they were going to lose in the contested case hearing because this project is so good and has done so much to accommodate so many things and has done so many things right that there would be no reason for somebody who's actually looking at the evidence to rule against it. The Institute for Astronomy is literally the world leader in this field. We have the hand-stars telescopes on Haleakala, which are about as big as I am across, and that scans the sky a few times a year looking for large-ish asteroids and they're far, far away and we could send a space mission to deflect them. And then we have the Atlas telescopes, which stands for Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System. Those are smaller telescopes, but they scan the sky every night or so, the whole sky visible from Hawaii there and on Manaloa and Haleakala, and they just were funded to put telescopes in the southern hemisphere. That can find most asteroids like the one that was by, and so the idea is it's literally civil defense. The office at NASA that funds these is called the Planetary Defense Coordination Office. So their goal is for us not to be like the dinosaurs. And now with the telescopes that we've built and designed and systems we have here, we're responsible for more than half of the asteroids and comets that are being discovered worldwide.  So for instance, with the current shutdown of the observatories, we're discovering things that we cannot follow up before they disappear. And if we were to discover a big Earth-destroying type of asteroid, you would find that far enough away with like the Pan-Stars Telescope that you would have 20 years or so to figure out what to do. But you would want to characterize that asteroid is it a pile of rocks or it's a one big rock. What exactly is its orbit? How big is it? And where would it hit us? And where it would hit us. And if you can get precise data, you would want something like the 30 meter telescope to be able to make those measurements when the asteroid is far away from the sun where it spends most of its time. It's extremely faint, too faint to characterize with the current ground-based telescopes. I think that a lot of people who are there don't really care about the rule of law in the first place. But I think they would care about just knowing more about what is there. Like I said from the beginning, I didn't I didn't know what's there on the mountain, what do telescopes do, what does that have to do with related to being a Polynesian and our ancestors that were star-gazers. And it's all at Imi Lua. I mean everybody should go there. But just taking the mystery out of what people are what people are protesting against. I have not met somebody in person who is protesting that I didn't tell something new about that they didn't know about the telescopes just like how I didn't know about the telescopes. They need to inform themselves maybe not just on the legal process that allows them to be there, but on the actual industry and what they really do. And I mean I'm still not a fan of like space things or whatever and nobody has to be like we're not probably going to be scientists or astronomers. Not everyone can be an astronomer. I don't know yet but okay maybe. That would be really neat if I'm proven wrong.  This is what happens in your neighborhood and I don't think enough of us know about that. So not only to educate people on the legal process that let them be there but on the actual what is the TMT? What are ground telescopes? Why is it that if if TMT doesn't isn't built in Hawaii why does that affect all astronomy in Hawaii? Like astronomy in Hawaii is astronomy on Maunakea and Haleakala. This is some of the best astronomy on the planet because of where we're located and it is going to show a sign to the world we don't care if you're here or not. Why should any astronomy program continue to thrive here and it's going to be really bad for us in a big loss. What I hear you saying and I think this is the last point of the show is that inherent in in Imua and the TMT and your view of things is this notion of moving forward but also respecting what your neighbor is doing especially if your neighbor is doing it for altruistic reasons this is university stuff. Why not support that? Why not care about your neighbor? Why not care about the greater good of the whole state? Wouldn't that be better? That would be. It's caring for each other which is an old line value. These are only samplings of the shows we've done on the subject. You can see these shows in their entirety on our website and our YouTube channel and find out what our host and guest are saying. Some people are for it and some people are against it but one thing is clear after 10 years of litigation in all the courts and coverage on all the media it's not really defensible to say you don't know enough to make up your mind. It's time for all of us to take a position one way or the other. It's time for all of us to express that position so that government and the media will know how we feel. The determination of this controversy will define Hawaii and what we stand for and will have a huge effect on the future of our state. And now let's check out our think tech schedule of events going forward. Think Tech streams its talk shows live on the internet from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Then we broadcast our earlier shows all night long. If you missed the show, they're all archived on demand on thinktechhawaii.com and YouTube and we post all our shows that's podcast on iTunes. Visit thinktechhawaii.com for our weekly calendar and live stream and YouTube links and sign up to get our daily email advisories. We'll be right back to wrap up this week's edition of Think Tech, but first, we want to thank our underwriters. Thanks to our think tech underwriters and grand tours. The Atherton Family Foundation. Carol Mun Lee and the Friends of Think Tech. The Center for Microbial Oceanography Research and Education. Collateral Analytics. The Cook Foundation. Dwayne Kurisu. The Hawaii Community Foundation. The Hawaii Council of Associations of Abarbono. Hawaii Energy. The Hawaii Energy Policy Forum. Hawaiian Electric Company. Integrated Security Technologies. Galen Ho of BAE Systems. Kamehameha Schools. MW Group. The Shidler Family Foundation. The Sydney Stern Memorial Trust. Volo Foundation. The Shidler Family Foundation. The Shidler Family Foundation. The Shidler Family Foundation. The Shidler Family Foundation. Volo Foundation. Yuriko J. Sugimura. Thanks so much to you all. Okay, Cynthia. That wraps up this week's edition of Think Tech. Remember, you can watch Think Tech on Spectrum OC-16 several times every week. For additional times, check out OC-16.tv. For lots more Think Tech videos, visit ThinkTechHawaii.com. Be a citizen journalist on Think Tech and help us have an impact on Hawaii. Thanks so much for supporting our open discussion of tech, energy, business and globalism. You can watch this show throughout the week and tune in next Sunday evening for our next important weekly episode. I'm Keisha King. And I'm Cynthia Sinclair. Aloha everyone.


Hi everyone, Joe for jazby's casebreaks.com. Happy new release day coming at you with that right there some 2020 2021 Panini contenders basketball six-fox pick your team number four very big thank you to everybody here for getting into the action David got triple last Vodmo Joe bought the last three teams all at once Thanks to him. Thanks everybody For getting into the action Appreciate it spurs grizzlies on in the background So tonight's winner plays the Golden State Lakers loser for the eighth seed Some layers there. I remember in the previous break break three. I marked all these four So, you know that they're all from the same case right there So here we go with figure team four. Good luck. I think the spurs are the or I'm sorry I think the grizzlies are the favorite in this game if I'm not mistaken They were Minus five or something like that Ben thanks. Yes for spurs our track Although the road has been playing some good some good basketball But Memphis moving on definitely hashtag good for the hobby John Morant has a big game We've got some other players that we've seen in recent years as well. Sharon Jackson jr. Dylan Brooks All right, here's box number one of six. Good luck There's Tyler hero to 249 That's for Miami. That'll be for Jeffrey and there is Chris Paul great season for the Suns This year as Isaiah stored rookie of the year contenders So two autos a box in this contenders here and there's our first Lamello ball lottery ticket insert That is for Charlotte Neil with the Charlotte Hornets. There's our first autograph and it's a nice one James Weisman Finals ticket autograph 46 out of 49 Cody with the Golden State Warriors my Lakers will be playing them tonight after The spurs Grizzlies game these die cuts are pretty cool Superstar die cut Zion Williamson second-year Zion And that'll be for Mark and the Palakins was Anthony Edwards lottery ticket card For Adam and the T wolves And the second autograph is also for the Warriors the legendary contenders Jeff Mullins 84 out of 199 another warrior autograph for Cody got some of the old now some of the new without Weisman There's RJ Barrett to 75 conference final Ticket card 34 out of 75 on the next playing great basketball Nothing but cardboard what's going on? How are you? Yeah, the lottery ticket cards are pretty nicely really pops. Oh Speaking of which here's a lottery ticket card to 25 Anthony Edwards That's gonna be for Adam Kelly who got the T wolves Getting the cracked ice version of that lottery ticket insert. That's pretty cool. It's a sweet-looking card Nice nice box one next one. We've got a random team break coming up after this And keep picking your teams I'm getting your random team spots folks And we don't have a late night tonight so get in to the action early and often We will have late night the next three nights though Thursday Friday and Saturday box. Good luck And we got Rudy go bear to 149 Peter with the jazz first round ticket card I Think LeBron John Morant and Zion are the veteran commons at will ship What a game for this guy and this one's also numbered four out of 25 Superstar die-cut cracked ice what a game for Jason Tatum and we got a tray Jones 65 out of 99 Trey Jones get minutes Trey Jones point guard is uh, yeah, he gets about 14 minutes a night Gets a little playing time there spurs that'll be for William and of course With Greg Popovich Coaching he can always turn these random players into all stars Dylan Brooks Whoo and a redemption any guesses on the redemption for bragging rights There's Kawhi Leonard right there and there's RJ Barrett 68 out of 75 For the Knicks both of those go into Christopher Murphy in New York Hollywood guessing Trey young Ben's guessing Luca Donchich. There's Paul George Nothing is saying Anthony Edwards Here's a Steph Curry die-cut superstar die-cut Shane's guessing Halliburton. Yeah, that would make Ben very happy. It's gonna be It's gonna be Tyrese Halliburton There you go. Good call Shane. You've got bragging rights now. Tell your friends. Tell your neighborhood Hey, I guess the redemption at Jaspie's the other night. What did you do with your life? Nothing. I even have a purple purple pen going today, too. It's Matches the color of the team there rookie playoff ticket autograph Tyrese Halliburton and a free top loader to Ben Bam nice one Shane Nice one Ben's happy. All right next one after this box will be halfway through this half case break There's a second-year Zion Patrick Williams lottery ticket card Kyrie Irving and Whoa a 10 out of 10 Allen Iverson autograph Sixers were one of the last teams picked up Triple last spot moja for David. He got the magic. He got the net And he got the sixers. They were laying there. They were just sitting there Nobody wanted him Until the very very very end they were available for everybody everyone passed 10 out of 10 Hey, I the answer one of my favorite non-laker players Steph Curry season ticket and that contenders optic design And then another die cut and it's Steph Curry again super star die cut Those are all going to Cody and the Warriors We got Nicola busavich to 249 for David and the magic There's David right there Congrats, man. Nice AI John Moran I'm playing right now Memphis up big early 23 six with five and a half minutes left in the first order 23 25 to six now 5 20 left in the first Memphis might score 40 points in the first quarter and we've got a Julius Randall What a season he's been having 37 out of 99 He's got a he's got to win most improved player of the year That's an award, right? Another former Laker Brandon Ingram won that last year and a one out of five ticket stub autograph cash is Winston What a break David Nadler with the Washington Wizards. You're a wizard David Out of fives and under get the train whistle All aboard the big hit express Got a nice auto to Jeffrey saying Barclay wait Jeff if are you Jeff Shay? Are you trying to guess redemptions? If so, you may be lagging behind make sure you're watching live. You'll hear this in a few minutes. I guess all right Second half of this half case break the next pick your team break will be from a fresh case Antonio finally in double digits now. They're 29 11 Three-and-a-half minutes. All right next box. Good luck as Isaac the coral and we've got Alexi Pocosevsky And that contenders optic design That's for okc mark the set James Weissman lottery ticket card. We saw his autograph earlier And there's obi top and rookie of the year contenders some nice stuff here I'll be topping going to the Knicks Christopher Murphy and the James Weissman for Cody and the Warriors God John wall playoff ticket card to 249 Jared with Houston All right, Jeff's live now Welcome welcome back to the present We've got Danny Granger 26 out of 99 legendary contenders autograph for Indiana Serenity with the Pacers And we've got legendary contenders Bill Russell this foil trips me out because they kind of have like a Bluish tint on the foil, but it's not numbered Makes it look like it's a low number, but I don't see a number on it, but it'll still ship Nice insert Yeah, Ben remembering that Granger was so good before and before his knees fell off. Well, there's Fred Ben bleak 45 out of 99 Raptors that's gonna be for Anthony All right two boxes to go next one Oh Nice there you go Jonathan It's always traps always nice Get well soon my truck 36 points already with a minute left Everyone had the first quarter over right Memphis 36, San Antonio 17 50 seconds All right, our first autograph is Devon Dotson Rookie ticket autograph for EAN the Bulls It's in the game. We've got Anthony Davis superstar die cut for my Lakers ace with the Lakers Anthony Edwards lottery ticket insert Adam with the Timberwolves There's a carousel avert 58 out of 75 Pacers carousel didn't even need a carousel of earth will be for serenity Steph Curry We got a Sadiq Bay rookie of the year contenders for Detroit MVP contenders Steph Curry certainly had a great season And we got a second-year Zion Williamson playoff ticket card 125 out of 249 It's gonna go to Mark and the pelicans and there's rookie ticket Nico Manion Cody with the Warriors And That autograph is gonna be Jordan and Wara The finals ticket on card autograph 47 out of 49 for Milwaukee It's gonna be for Brian and the Bucks We were just in Milwaukee coming back from our Wisconsin Dell's card show trip hung out at the Got to stop by the historic Third Ward In Milwaukee Seems like a nice part of town Little farmers market or the public market there. It's pretty good Last box. Good luck What a first quarter for the Memphis Grizzlies. They almost scored 40 3819 All right last box pick your team number four the next pick your next six box pick your team is gonna be from a fresh case And we've got a random team break coming up in a little bit as well. All right. Good luck, everybody Here and pick your team number four. So be topping and Any guesses on the redemption for bragging rights where Shane might go two for two We got a Yanis onto the compo superstar die-cut. I really like this design right here like the Sort of a 70s-ish kind of color scheme right here, right? Jeff's guessing Barkley Which which Barkley what team? Hollywood's guessing Lamello. There's Colin Sexton to 249 for the calves. I'm gonna be for Patrick Cure Lewis Jr. So Jeff's guessing sons edition of Barkley. There's Jonas Valenchunis for Memphis 141 out of 149 Very fast start for the Grizzlies in the first quarter and that will be for Cody James Weissman And The second autograph is gonna be Daniel a tour rookie ticket autograph going to the clip show that'll be for Jeff Shea On the board with an auto All right It's gonna be it's gonna be Killian Hayes rookie season ticket autograph Killian Hayes is Is a is a piston that's right Detroit that's gonna go to mark the set there you go Not too shabby put since kind of have some youngsters. They're coming up the ranks here We got it. This is a worth taking another look at this is a pretty nice break the Zion the Edwards Right the out of five Cassius Winston the AI the Tyrese Halliburton The numbered superstar die-cut right here the numbered lottery ticket Anthony Edwards So James Weissman at the beginning of the mellow ball lottery ticket car So a lot of great stuff here ladies and gentlemen More plenty of contenders on jazby's case brace.com go and get it. I'm Joe and I'll break more with you later tonight. Bye. Bye


Are you a Yolo County resident between the ages of 17-24 and not currently attending school? Did you drop out or have been through the justice system? Are you homeless, currently in foster care, disabled, parenting a child, or pregnant? Get help with your long-term career goals and get paid while gaining valuable work experience. Yolo County Children's Alliance seeks teenagers and young adults to join our Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act Youth Employment Program. Our program coordinator can match you with an employer who will work to develop a training plan based on your needs. Through this program, you can learn career development skills, build your resume, and even explore other educational opportunities. To learn more about the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Youth Employment Program, please contact our program coordinator, Eric Blair, at<PHONE_NUMBER>, or visit YoloKids.org slash W-I-O-A.


Chapter 18 of The Czar's Spies The Czar's Spies by William LeCue Chapter 18 Contains Elma's Story Before me stood my love, a slim, tragic, rather wand figure in a heavy dark traveling coat and felt toke, her sweet lips parted, and a look of bewildered amazement upon her countenance as I burst in so suddenly upon her. In silence I grasped her tiny black-bloved hand, and then also in silence raised it passionately to my eager lips. Her soft, dark eyes, those eyes that spoke although she was mute, met mine and in them was a look that I had never seen there before, a look which as plainly as any words told me that my wild fevered passion was reciprocated. She gazed beyond into the room where the others had assembled and then looked at me inquiringly, whereupon I led her forward to where they were, and Muriel fell upon her and kissed her with tears streaming from her eyes. I prepared this surprise for you, Mr. Gregg, Muriel said, laughing through her tears of joy. Alinto learnt that she was on her way to London, and I sent him to meet her. The princess has managed magnificently. Has she not? Yes, thank God she is free, I explained, but we must induce her to tell us everything. Muriel was already helping my love out of her heavy Russian coat. A costly garment lined with sable, and when, after greeting Jack and Alinto, she was comfortably seated, I took some note paper from the little writing table by the window and scribbled in pencil the words, I need not write how delighted I am that you are safe, that the Almighty has heard my prayers for you. Jack and Muriel have told me all about Lifeport and his scoundrelly associates. I know too, dear, for I may call you that, may I not? How terribly you must have suffered in silence through it all. Lifeport is dead. He sank the yacht with all the stolen property on board, but by accident was himself engulfed. Bending and watching intently, as I wrote, she drew back in horror and surprise at the words, then I added, we are all for determined that the guilty shall not go unpunished, and that the affliction placed upon you shall be adequately avenged. You are my own love.  Some strong but mysterious bond of affinity between us caused me to seek you out, and your pictured face seemed to call me to your side, although I was unaware of your peril. I was sent to you by the unseen power to extricate you from the hands of your enemies. Therefore, tell us everything, all that you know, without fear, for now that we are united, no harm can assail us. She took the pencil and holding it in her white fingers sat staring first at us, and then looking unhesitatingly at the white paper before her. Her position amid a hundred conflicting emotions was one of extreme difficulty. It seemed as though even now she was loathe to reveal to us the absolute truth.  Her complexion was perfect, even though her face was pale and jaded, and her eyes heavy, consequent upon her long, weary journey from the now frozen north. Presently, when by signs both Jack and Olinto had urged her to write, she bent suddenly, and her pencil began to run swiftly over the paper. All of us stood exchanging glances in silence, neither looking over her, but each determined to wait in patience until the end. Once started, however, she did not pause. She, after sheet she covered, the silence for a long time was complete, broken only by the rapid running of the pencil over the rough surface of the paper. She had apparently become seized by a sudden determination to explain everything now that she saw we were in real, red, earnest. I watched her sweet face bent so intently, and as the firelight fell across it found it incomparable. Yes, she was afflicted by loss of speech. It was true, yet she was surely inexpressibly sweet and womanly, peerless above all others. With a deep-drawn sigh, she at last finished and, her head still bowed in an attitude of humiliation it seemed, she handed what she had written to me. In breathless eagerness, I read as follows, It is true, dear love, for I call you so in return, that you were impelled towards me by the mysterious hand that directs all things. You came and searched me, and you risked your life for mying at Kajana. Therefore, you have a right to know the truth. You, as my champion, and the princess as my friend, have contrived to affect my freedom. Were it not for you I should air this have-been on my way to Saakalyan, to the tomb through which Ober had so ingeniously contrived to consign me. Ah, you do not know, you never can know, all that I have suffered ever since I was a girl. Here the statement broke off, and recommenced as follows. In order that you should understand the truth, I had better begin at the beginning. My father was an English merchant in Petersburg, and my mother, Vera Besanov, who before her marriage with my father, was celebrated at court for her beauty and was one of the maids of honor to the Tsarina. She was the only daughter of Count Baldesanov, ex-governor of Karpov, and before marrying my father, she had, and with her mother, been a well-known figure in society, immediately after her marriage, her father died, leaving her in possession of an ample fortune, which, with my father's own wealth, placed them among the richest and most influential in Petersburg. Among my father's most intimate friends was Baron Xavier Ober, who at that time held the very subordinate post in the Ministry of the Interior. And from my earliest recollections, I can remember him coming frequently to our house and being invited to the brilliant entertainment which my mother gave. When I was thirteen, however, my father died of a chill contracted while boar-hunting on his estate in Kiev, and within a few months a further disaster happened to us. One night while I was sitting alone, reading aloud to my mother, two strangers were announced, and on being shown in, they arrested my dear mother on a charge of complicity in a revolutionary plot against the Tsar, which had been discovered at Peterhof. I stood defiant and indignant, for my mother was certainly no nihilist, yet they said that the bomb had been introduced into the palace by the Countess and the Shyprop, one of the ladies in waiting, who was an intimate friend of my mother's and often used to visit her. They alleged that the conspiracy had been hatched in our house, color being lent to that theory by the fact that a year before, a well-known Russian with whom my father had had many business dealings had been proved to be the author of the plot by which the Tsar's train was blown up near Lvivia. They tore my mother away from me and placed her in that grey prison van, the sight of which in the streets of Petersburg strikes terror into the heart of every Russian, for a person once in that rumbling vehicle is, as you know, lost forever to the world. I watched her from the window being placed in that fatal conveyance and then I think I must have fainted, for I recollect nothing more until I found myself upon the floor with the grey dawn spreading and all the horrible truth came back to me. My mother was gone from me forever. In sheer desperation I went to the ministry of the interior and sought an interview with the Baron, who, when I told him of the disaster, appeared greatly concerned and when it wants to the police department to make inquiry. Next day, however, he came to me with the news that the charge against my mother had been proved by a state of the woman Shapirov herself and that she had already started on her long journey to Siberia.  The Baron, however, declared that, as my father's friend, it was his duty to act as guardian to me and that as my father had been English I ought to be put through an English school. Therefore, with his self-assumed title of uncle, he took me to Chichester. For years I remained there until one day he came suddenly and fetched me away, taking me over to Helsingfors, for the Tsar had now appointed him Governor-General to Finland. There for the first time he introduced me to his son, Michael, a pimply-faced lieutenant of Cavalry and said in the most decisive manner that I must marry him. I naturally refused to marry a man through whom I knew so little, whereupon finding me obdurate he quickly altered his tactics and became kindness itself, saying that as I was young he would allow me a year in which to make up my mind. A week later while living in the palace at Helsingfors, I overheard a conversation between the Governor-General and his son, which revealed to me a staggering truth that I had never suspected. It was Oberg himself who had been out my mother to the Minister of the Interior and had made those cruel, baseless charges against her. Then I discerned the reason. She, being exiled, her fortune as well as that of my father, came to me. The reason they were scheming for Michael to marry me was in order to obtain control of my money. I saw at once how helpless I was in the hands of that unscrupulous pair, recognized, too, sufficient of the Baron's methods as the strangler of Finland, to show me what kind of character he was beneath that calm, eminently respectable, black-coated exterior. After deliberately sending my poor mother to Siberia, he had assumed the role of my guardian in order that he might, when I came of age, obtain control of my inheritance, the idea, no doubt, being that I should marry Michael, and then, after the necessary legal formalities, I should, on a trumped-up charge of conspiracy, share the same fate as my mother had done. The infernal scoundrel I ejaculated when I read her word, while from Jack, who had been looking over my shoulder, escaped a fierce and forcible vow of vengeance. The Baron took me with him to Petersburg when we went on official business, and we remained there nearly a month, the narrative went on. While there I received a secret message from the Red Priest, the unseen and unknown power of neilism, who has, for so many years, battled the police. I went to see him, and he revealed to me how Oberg had contrived to have my mother banished upon a false charge. He warned me against the man who had pretended to be my father's friend, and also told me that he had known my father intimately, and that if I got into any further difficulty, I was to communicate with him, and he would assist me. Oberg took me back to Helsingfors a few months later, and in summer we went to England. He was a marvelously clever diplomatist. His tactics, he could change at will. When I was at school, he was rough and brutal in his manner towards me, as he was to all. But now he seemed to be endeavouring to inspire my confidence by treating me with kindly regard, and pleasant appability. In London at Claridge's, we met my old school fellow Muriel and her father, a friend of Oberg's, and in response to their invitation went for a cruise on their yacht, the Iris, from Southampton. Our party was a very pleasant one, and included woodrope and chatter, while our cruise across the Bay of Biscay and along the Portuguese coast proved most delightful. One night while we were lying outside Lisbon, woodrope and chatter, together with a linto, went ashore, and when they returned in the early hours of the morning, they awoke me by crossing the deck above my head. Then I heard someone outside my cabin door, working as though with a screwdriver on screwing a screw from the woodwork. This aroused my interest, and next day I made a minute examination of the paneling, where in one part I found two small brass screws that had evidently been recently removed. Therefore I succeeded in getting hold of a screwdriver from the carpenter's shop. And next night, when everyone was asleep, I crept out and unscrewed the panel. When, to my surprise, I saw that the secret cavity behind was filled with beautiful jewelry, diamond collars, tiaras, necklace, pine pearls, emeralds and turquoise, all thrown in indiscriminately. I replaced the panel and kept careful watch. At Marseille, where we called more jewelry, and a heavy bag full of plate was brought aboard, and secreted behind another panel. Then I knew that the men were thieves. But surely, continued the strange story my mute love had written, I need not describe all that occurred upon that eventful voyage, except to tell you of one very curious incident which occurred. I had spoken confidentially with Muriel regarding my suspicions of the men who were our fellow guests. And when in secret I showed her several places on board the yacht where valuables were secreted, she also became convinced that the men were expert thieves to whom her father, for some unexplained reason, rendered assistance an asylum. She told me that since she had left school, she had been on quite a number of cruises, and at the same party always accompanied her father. She had, however, never suspected the truth until I pointed it out to her. Well, one hot summer's night we were lying off Naples, and, as it was a grand festa ashore and there was to be a gala performance at the theater, life court took a box and the whole party were rowed ashore. The crew were also given shore leave for the evening, but as the great heat had upset me, I declined to accompany the theater party and remained on board with one sailor named Wilson to constitute the watch. We had anchored about a half mile from land, and earlier in the evening the baron had gone ashore to send telegrams to Russia and had not returned. About ten o'clock I went below to try and sleep, but I had a slight attack of fever and was unable. Therefore I redressed and sat with the light still out, gazing across the starlit bay. Presently from my poor old, I saw a shoreboat approaching and recognized in it the baron with a well-dressed stranger. They both came on board, and the boatman, having been caved, pulled back to the shore. Then the baron and his friend, a dark, middle-aged, full-bearded fellow, evidently a person of refinement, went below to the saloon and after a few moments called to the man Wilson who was on the watch and gave him a glass of whiskey and water, which he took up on deck to drink at his leisure. The unusual character of my fellow guest on board that craft was such that my suspicion was constantly on the alert. Therefore curiosity tempted me to creep along and peek in at the crack of the door standing ajar. A closer view revealed the fact that the stranger was a high Russian official to whom I had once been introduced at the government palace at Helsingfors, the private councilor, and Senator Paul Palovstov. They were smoking together and discussing in Russian the means by which he, Palovstov, had arranged to obtain some plans from new British fortifications at Gibraltar. From what he said it seemed that some Russian woman, married to an Englishman, a captain in the garrison, had been impressed into the secret service against her will, but that she had, in order to save herself, promised to obtain the photographs and plans that were required. I heard the Englishman's name and I resolved to take some steps to inform him in secret of the intentions of the Russian agent. Presently the two men took fresh cigars, ascended on deck, and cast themselves in the long, pained chairs amid ships. Still all curiosity to hear further details on the ingenious piece of espionage against my own nation, I took off my shoes and crept up to a spot where I could crouch, conceal, and overhear their conversation, for the Italian night was calm and still. They talked mainly about affairs in Finden and with some of Ober's expressions of opinion, Halasdok ventured to differ. This aroused the barren's anger and I knew from the cold sarcasm of his remarks and the peculiarly hard tone of his voice that he was more incensed than he outwardly showed himself to be. He rose and stood with his back to the bulwarks facing his friend, who still sat leaning back in his deck chair, insisting upon his own views. He was quite calm and not in the least perturbed by the evil glint in the barren's eye. Perhaps he did not know him so well as I did. He did not know what that looked meant.  Startled, I leaned around the corner of the deck house when, to my abject horror, I saw under the electric rays the Tsar's privy counselor lying sideways in his chair, with part of his face blown away. Then the hideous truth in an instant became apparent. The cigar which Ober had pressed upon him down in the saloon had exploded and the small missile concealed inside the diabolical contrivance had passed upwards into his brain. For a moment I stood utterly stupefied, yet as I looked, I saw the barren in a paroxysm of rage shake his fist in a dead man's face and cry with a fearful implication. You hound, you have plotted to replace me in the Tsar's favor. You intend it to become Governor General of Finland. You knew certain facts which you intended to put out before his Majesty, knowing that the revelation would result in my disgrace and downfall.  And he spurned the body with his foot and laughed to himself as he gloated over his dastardly crime. I watched his rage unable to utter a single word. I saw him after he had searched the dead man's pockets, raised the inert body with its awful featureless face, and dragged it to the bullwalks. Then I rushed forward and faced him. In an instant he sprang at me and I screamed, but no aid came. The man Wilson was sleeping soundly in the boughs, for the whiskey he had given him had been doctored went on the narrative. Upon his face was a fierce, murderous look such as I had never seen before.   I sank upon my knees, imploring him to spare me, but he only laughed at my entreaty. See, he cried as you saw how he enjoyed his cigar. You may as well see this. And with an effort he raised the dead body in his arms, poised it for a moment on the vessel's side, and then with a forced laugh of triumph, heaved it into the sea. There was a splash, and then we were alone.  The water there will close your chattering mouth. I shrieked, begged, and implored, but his trembling hands were upon my throat.  This he actually forced me to do, gloating over my horror as I removed for him the traces of his cowardly crime. Then with his hand upon my shoulder he said, Girl, recollect that you keep tonight's work secret. If not, you shall die of death more painful than that dog has died, one in which you shall experience all the tortures of the dam. Recollect not a single word or death. Now go to your cabin and never cry into my affairs again. I went back to my cabin as I was dead and sat speechless in abject horror. The fiendish actions of the man who was my guardian frightened me, and yet I was utterly helpless. What could I do? Who in holy Russia would hear me? Ober was a power in the empire. The Tsar himself trusted him. If I spoke, who would believe me? Who would heed the words of a defenseless girl whom he would at once declare to be hysterical? Thus I waited alone in the darkness, watching the lights of the court gleaming across the placid waters until nearly one o'clock when the gay party returned and the baron greeted them merrily as though nothing had happened. But my heart was frozen within me by the recollection of the awful crime that had been committed. Why? Now I remember, cried Muriel Amaze. I remember that night quite well. How white you were when you came to my cabin and asked to be allowed to sleep in my spare bed.  None of us had any idea that such a terrible tragedy had been enacted. But of course the baron had arranged it all, for it was at his instigation I recollect that the crew had been given sure leave. Macintosh suggested that only half the crew should go, but he declared that if Wilson alone were left, it would be sufficient. I too recollect the affair quite well, Jack declared, tugging at his moustache, utterly amazed at my love's strange story. It was a strange statement of far astounding facts, and she now stood clinging to me, looking eagerly into my eyes, meeting every thought that passed through my mind. A great sensation was caused when the body was discovered. The squadron was lying off naples about a week after the iris had left, and while we were there the body was washed up near Sorrento. At first but little notice was taken of it, but by the marks on the dead man's linen it was discovered that he was Polostov, one of the highest Russian officials who had, it was said, been warned on several occasions by the Nillis. It was therefore concluded that his death had been due to Nillis vengeance. Elma pointed to the paper and made a sign that I was to read on. This I did, and a statement ran as follows. The real reason why the Baron spared my life was because if I died my fortune would pass through distant cousins living at Durham. Yet his manner towards me was now most polite and pleasant, a change that I felt voted no good. He intended to obtain my money by marrying me to his son Michael, whose evil reputation as a gambler was well known in Petersburg. We traveled back to Finland in the autumn and in the winter he took me to stay with his sister in Nice. Yet, almost daily, he referred to that tragedy at Naples and threatened me with death if ever I uttered a single word or even admitted that I had ever seen the man who was his rival and his victim. Last June, commenced another paragraph, we were in Helsingfors when, one day, the Baron called me suddenly and told me to prepare for a journey. We were to cross to Stockholm and thence the hall where the iris was awaiting us, for Mr. Life put in Muriel had invited us for a summer cruise to the Greek islands. We boarded the yacht much against my will, yet I was powerless and dare not acknowledge the facts that I had already established concerning our fellow guests. Muriel and I, it seemed, were taken merely in order to blind the shore guards and customs officials as to the real nature of the vessel, which, when safely out of the channel, was repainted and renamed the Lola until her exterior presented quite a different appearance from the iris. The Fort of Legorn was our first place of call, and for some reason we ran purposely upon a sandbank and were towed off by Italian torpedo boats. Next evening, you came on board and dined, Muriel and myself, having strict orders not to show ourselves. We, however, watched you, and I saw you pick up my photograph which I had that day torn up. Then, immediately after you had left, Woodruff, Chatter and Mackintosh went ashore and were away a couple of hours in the middle of the night. Just before they returned, the Baron wrapped at the door of my cabin saying that he must go ashore and telling me to dress and accompany him. He would never allow me the luxury of a maid, peering, I suppose, that she might burn too much. In obedience, I rose and dressed, and when I went forth, he told me to get my traveling cloak and dressing bag, adding that he was compelled to go north as to continue the cruise with Occupy too much time. He was due back at his official duties, he said. As soon as I had finished packing, the three men returned to the vessel, all of them looking dark-faced and disappointed. Woodruff whispered some words to the Baron, after which I went to Muriel's cabin and wished her to die, and we went ashore, taking the train first to Corleus Salvetti, then to Pisa, and afterwards to the beautiful old city of Sienna, which I had so long to see. One of my teeth gave me pain, and the Baron, after a couple of days at the Hotel de Sienne, took me to a queer-looking little old Italian, a dentist who, he said, enjoyed an excellent reputation. I was quick to notice that two men had met before, and as I sat in the chair and gas was given to me, I saw them exchange, meaning glances. In a few moments I became insensible, but when I awoke an hour later, I was astounded to feel a curious soreness in my ears. My tongue too seemed paralyzed, and in a few moments the awful truth dawned upon me. I had been rendered deaf and dumb. The Baron pretended to be greatly concerned about me, it went on, but I quickly realized that I had been the victim of a foul and dastardly plot, and that he had conceived it, fearing lest I might speak the truth concerning the Privy Councilor Falosta, for of exposure he lived in constant fear. To encompass my end would be against his own interests, as he would lose my fortune, so he had me silenced lest I should reveal the terrible truth concerning both him and his associates. He was not rich, and I have reason to believe that from time to time he gave information as he persons who possessed valuable jewels, and thus shared in the plunder obtained by those on the yacht. From Italy we traveled on to Berlin, thence to Petersburg, and back to dreary Helsingfors, journeying as quickly as we could, yet never allowing the opportunity of being with strangers. Both my ears and tongue were very painful, but I said nothing. He was surely athene in a black coat, and my only thought now was how to escape him. From the moment when that so-called dentist had ruined my hearing and deprived me of power of speech, he kept me aloof from everyone. The fear that I should reveal everything had apparently grown to haunt him, and he had conceived that terrible mood of silencing my lips. But the true depth of his villainy was not yet apparent until I was back in Finland. On the night of our arrival he called in his son who had traveled with us from Petersburg, and in writing again demanded that I should marry him. I wrote my reply, affirm refusal. He struck the table angrily with his fist and wrote saying that I should either marry his son or die. The next day, while walking alone out beyond the town of Helsingfors, as I often used to do, I was arrested upon the false charge of an attempt upon the life of Madame Bakoura and transported without trial to the terrible fortress of Kajana, some of the horrors of which you have yourself experienced. The charge against me was necessary before I could be incarcerated there, but once within it it was the scheme of the Governor-General to obtain my consent to the marriage by threats and by the constant terrors of the place. He even went so far as to obtain a ministerial order for my banishment to Sugghelion and brought it to me to Kajana, declaring that if in one month I did not consent, he should allow me to be sent to exile. While I was in Kajana, he knew that his secret was safe, therefore by every means in his power he urged me to consent to the odious human. All the rest is known to you, how Providence directed you to me as my deliverer, and how Woodruff followed you in secret and pretending to be my friend took me with him to Petersburg. He had learned of my fortune from the Baron and intended to marry me himself, but now that all is over, it appears to me like some terrible dream. I never believed that so much iniquity existed in the world, or that men could fight a defenseless woman with such double dealing and cruel ingenuity. Ah, the tortures I endured in Kajana are beyond human conception, yet surely Ober and Woodruff will obtain their well merited desserts. If not in this world, then in the world to come, are we not taught by Holy Rift to forgive our enemies?  One of the strangest and most startling stories ever revealed. She watched every expression of my countenance, and then, when I had finished reading and placed my arm tenderly about her slim waist, she raised her beautiful face to mine to receive the passionate kiss I imprinted upon those soft, cool lips. This, of course, makes everything plain, exclaimed Jack. Halostov was a very liberal-minded and upright official who was greatly in favor of the Tsar and a serious rival to Ober, whose drastic and merciless methods in Finland were not exactly approved by the Emperor. The Baron was well aware of this, and by ingeniously enticing him on board the iris, he succeeded by handing that small bomb concealed in his cigar, a niless contrivance that had probably been seized by his police in Finland in freeing himself from the rival who was destined to occupy his post. Yes, I said with a sigh, the mystery is cleared up, it is true, yet my core elma is still the victim, and I kissed my love passionately again and again upon the lips. End of Chapter 18, Recording by Tom Weiss The Conclusion of the Tsar's Spy Nearly two years have now gone by. There have been great changes in Holy Russia, many great and amazing changes consequent upon war and its disasters. Russia is no longer the great power that she once was supposed to be. Many events that have startled the world have occurred since that day when I first unfolded my silent love within my arms. One of them is known to you all. You read in the newspapers without a doubt how the Baron Xavier Ober, the persecutor of Finland, the enemy of education, the relentless foe of the defenseless, the man who ordered women to be noted to death in Kejana, the heartless official whom the Finns called the Strangler, was blown to pieces by a bomb thrown beneath his carriage as he drove to the railway station at Helsinggvors on his way to have audience with the emperor. The secret truth was that the Red Priest decreed that Ober should die, and the plot was swiftly put into execution. And although 500 arrests were made, the police are unaware to this day of the identity of the person who directed it or of who threw the fatal missile. From pillar to post, the revolutionists have been haunted by the bloodhounds of police. Yet the Red Priest still lives on quietly in Petersburg, and the Princess Zerloff, still unsuspected, devotes the greater part of her enormous income to the cause of freedom. Of Jack and Muriel, I need only say they were married about three months after Elma's return from Russia. And at the present time they are living on the outskirts of Glasgow, where Jack has secured the shore appointment which he so long coveted.  And after a long search they found him hiding at a hotel in Liverpool. When however they went to arrest him, he laughed in the faces of the detectives, placed something swiftly in his mouth and swallowed it before they could prevent him. Then ten minutes later, he fell dead. He knew what terrible revelations must be made if we gave evidence against him, and he therefore preferred death by his own hand to that following a judicial sentence. Chatter, although one of the most expert jewel thieves in Europe, had never been actually guilty of any grave or offense. And when we heard that he was in San Francisco, where he had opened a small bar and was trying to live honestly, we resolved to allow him to remain there. Indeed Jack wrote to him about nine months ago, warning him never to set foot on English soil again, on pain of arrest. Olinto Santini has recently opened a small restaurant in Western Road, Brighton, and is, I believe, doing very well. And ourselves, well, what can I really tell you? Mere words fail to tell you of the completeness of our happiness. It is idyllic, that is all I can say. My proposal of marriage was made to Elma a very few days after she wrote down her startling and romantic story. And a year ago at a little village church in Herbert Shire, we became man and wife, there being present at our wedding, Madame Heath, my bride's mother, to whom by my exertions in official quarters in Petersburg, the czar's clemency was extended, and she was released from that far-off arctic prison to which she had been sent with such cruel injustice. Two of the greatest London specialists have continually treated my dear wife, and under them she has already recovered her speech, so far indeed that she can now whisper in a low, soft voice. But they tell me they are hopeful that ere long her voice will become stronger, and speech practically restored, already too she can begin to hear. After all the storms and perils of the past, our lives are now indeed full of a calm, sweet peace. In our own comfortable little house, with its trellis porch covered with roses and honeysuckle, that faces the blue channel at St. Margaret's Bay beyond Dover, we lead a life of mutual trust and boundless love. We are supremely content, the happiest pair in all the world, we think. Often, as we sit together at evening, gazing out upon the great ships passing darkly away into the mysterious afterglow, our hands clasp mutually in a silence more eloquent than words, and as we gaze into each other's eyes, there occurs to us the divine injunction, whom God hath joined, let no man put asunder. This is the end of the Tsar's Spying by William Le Cue, recording by Tom Weiss.


Hey, it's the BNPR show number nine a celebration of stylized rendering today's highlights texture paint new features controlled cell shading and The hair modeling contest winner Now time for the news Let's start with a public service announcement Please try not to use the hashtag NPR on Twitter to tag your NPR tweets Unfortunately, hashtag NPR is used by the national public radio station in the US Please use hashtag be NPR instead, which means Blender non-photoreal Pablo de Barro is working hard on improving Blender's texture painting first up those jaggy artifacts while painting lines are gone Texture paint now supports fractional brush radius Second texture brushes now have new properties At the initial glance from his tweet it feels like having paint tool SAI brushes The new brush properties are Opacity flow density hardness wet paint tip shape and tip rotation With these us Blender heads can have our own truly free paint tool SAI This is a mind-opening article by Ahmed Amidi on cartoon brew In it he states that TV show production has followed a very fixed and very optimized pipeline The result is that every show has a samey look and feel He argues that shows like undone has broken the workflow to bring visuals to a new level By working on the creator's intention by doing so the show can better communicate the state of mind of the character by Exploring the uncanniness of reality But the unreality at the same time be sure to read this article fully. Oh We just realized this we can do NPR without doing the established to tune shading as well. Yeah, we know this is deep stuff Two sources to sketch shaders by the community The first is Tom Krellin who has a sketch shader on Gumroad. It is pay as you want So go check out his shader Nagoya and Hong Min made a pencil shader in OSL He uses the metalness map to control three levels of sketch shading with freestyle line are added the result looks marvelous Go pick his brain for some details Max Cajasieras made a comic shader The result looks very similar to comic shading mind blown right go pick his brain about it Frank Moe made a procedural stylized water surface shader The shader can be customized to many styles from bubbly to wavy and even fractally Fractally is a word now and you can find this node setup in the blender market. Let's support artists who do cool stuff Here are a few line art renderer updates Feature line modifier is now in object field. It works like setting up a material As of right now it doesn't support selection of intersection lines because it involves two or more objects at once We can now have multiple grease pencil materials for different line types Line rendering will auto update when the scene is changed as Weird as this may sound, please try to crash LAMPR and send the blend file to Wu Yiming With the improvement on how grease pencil lines are handled the inking result looks so much better At underscore at Yadub is working hard to make lasso erasing a grease pencil object possible It is still the early days, but this looks so much fun. We can't wait to see the more optimized tool working Grant Abbott made a demonstration of texture painting a wooden beam The takeaways from his video are texture painting is fairly easy And blender can generate the passes for you, but painting the details by hand will make it look more NPR compared to auto-generated Go watch the short demonstration and after that dive right into texture painting yourself. It's very fun Last show we featured the animation by lion X animations This time he gives us tips when working with grease pencil Those tips are The problem one will face when appending grease pencil animations How to fix animation sliding How to add atmosphere effects How to preview grease pencil effects How to remove rim effect from shadows How to make masking on effects How to use an image plane to make a scene lightweight and tips on making and editing background images and There is a very happy story at the end of the video. So be sure to watch it till the end Raymond Cripps made a video on how to make a convincing shell shader for anime style The core idea is Intentionality that is what the creator wants to show and not govern by default algorithms driving how the image will look To do so is to take control from the software and introduce the artists intention If you follow NPR long enough, this idea is fundamental in all NPR creations things to control are color used the shadow area highlights the shape and flow of the shadows ambient hue and line art To take control three texture maps are used the base map, which is the lit area colors The subsurface scattering map, which is the shadow colors The ILM map This is a texture storing multi layer of data in RGB color channels like specular density ambient occlusion specular occlusion Surfaces where specular will happen less or will never happen and Surface line art that will work together with an inverted hole and of course control does not end there To control the shape of the area of the lit in the shadow. We use vertex normal editing We think everyone should be familiar with this concept by now We have discussed a lot about it in the first few shows. You can refer to those shows for the details Then at the end of the tutorial Raymond shows how to assemble the material using all nodes available in blender This tutorial is a lengthy process to introduce control and intentionality. Please watch it after the show Apex Legends just released a story animation called void walker many NPR techniques are shown Be sure to decipher each NPR technique displayed League of Legends has a new animation called light and shadow If you are not sure what is happening go read the comment section of the animation on YouTube We see not only 2d techniques in 3d. We can see actual 2d being used Animation is so smooth. It's brilliant Dillion goo is one punching meow. Oh that didn't come out right anyway a New character is introduced in this new animation called garu the wolf See how animating and changing material for different situations and feel is done here This is what we have been telling everyone for a long time in NPR shaders are animated for emotional impact Go watch this animation again to see how the shaders are animated You see them coming, but which artworks got selected in this show. Let's find out This one thread on blender artists forum by this guy. Sorry. We don't know how to pronounce his name He brings the lasso tool painting looks with his limited knowledge on how to use blender into 3d From what we gather from the thread his style is very easy to do You just have to translate the style from 2d painting onto 3d planes Once the basic scene is done. You just model these meshes in 3d space Focusing on shapes silhouettes depth and composition not the details We like this style a lot Time to announce the winner of the hair modeling contest The winner is at doujin dev on twitter from his tweet. It took him four days to model the hair At doujin dev Please dm us to get your copy of soul stirring digital color mastery Which consists of a screen friendly ebook example sheets and a jumpstart video. Congrats If you've made it this far, thank you Please subscribe to this channel And tell your friends about the show as well To those who click the show notes We have hidden many resources in there If we made all of them into the show it would probably be an hour long Also go to these links to get even more npr greatness The facebook group has many in-depth discussions be sure to answer these questions when you join Want to decipher how npr works? Be one of the 200 active patrons to fund the stylized documentary we are planning to make And these cool patrons are helping make the documentary a step closer to reality Before we go one last question What makes you happy today?


in the Superdome in New Orleans. This is not necessarily the friendliest place in the world I have to play today. And today in the newspaper, by the way, they had 15 reasons why they should hate the Falcons. Hating the Falcons. This seems to me that every time these two franchises get together, it's going to be something crazy to happen. When you think about the mentality of playing games and national football, you try to keep that mentality of, OK, every game means the same. And they do, from a weight standpoint, each game goes from the winner to the lost column. But the same game meant a little bit more. You people got to make something happen. We got to find out what we are. Let's go. When we come around, it feels a little bit different. The hair stands up on your back a little bit more.  It's going to be a dog fight. And it's going to be, you know, both teams want to do this before the time of the year. Touch the right. Morning, just football. You know, everybody got something to prove out there. Every possession, every play matter. You can't waste any opportunities. Superholds on, and it's an Atlanta touchdown. When you play there, everything's on the line. Just don't, we don't like them. We don't. So it's on. We're ready. Welcome to Rivalry Week, where this one just means just a little bit more. The Atlanta Falcons are hosting the Saints for the first time this season. And it's going to be a good one. It's going to last all 60 minutes. So we've got a lot to talk about. Thank you guys for joining us for the Falcons pre-game show presented by Ticketmaster. Of course, I'm Taylor Bisfor. Next to me is Derek Rackley. We took last week off, but we're back in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Are you all rested? I know the players are rested. They needed the bye week. Are you rested?  This is the biggest. This is like the best game to come back off the bye. Both teams coming off the bye. It's going to be a big game today. I think I agree with you. And they're celebrating the 50 years of hip-hop. So I'm just kind of letting you and all of the listeners and viewers know that if you see me start to bob a little bit or maybe sing, just know that they're rocking some great tunes behind us. Yeah, it's going to be a big, big game, but it's also going to be a big show from the start of pre-game to the end of the game. Lots of performers today in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It's going to be a really good time. But like we said, a huge rivalry here. But I know most of these rivalry games are tooth and nail fighting to the end. But for this season alone, the Falcons and the Saints are teaming up for a better cause. The Falcons and the Saints have one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL. However, this season the two organizations are coming together to fight for a common cause, to make a meaningful impact of the lives of those affected by ALS. Atlanta Falcons legend Tim Green, who played linebacker and defensive end for Atlanta from 1986 to 1993. And New Orleans Saints legend Steve Gleason, who played defensive back for the Saints from 2000 to 2006, are both battling the terrible disease. This year the organizations will host a 50-50 raffle at each game, today in Atlanta and in week 18 during New Orleans, with all proceeds going directly to tackle ALS and team Gleason. If you're coming to today's game, please look for 50-50 raffle ticket sellers wearing bright yellow shirts throughout Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Additionally, Tim Green and Steve Gleason are here with their families and will serve as honorary captains for their respective teams today. Such a great opportunity to give back and really help this terrible or find a cure for this terrible cause. It's going to be a really awesome game. I haven't been fortunate enough to meet Tim Green, but I played against Steve Gleason a number of times. He was actually in New Orleans the exact same time that I was here with Atlanta, the years that you just read. And I will tell you that he was probably one of the better punt blockers that I ever faced being on the punt team. He just had a knack for finding his way into backfield. And you're right, it's a rivalry game, but then you see what happens to Steve Gleason, to Tim Green. And it's just, it's so unfortunate because I see the pictures of Steve Gleason and I remember what he looked like when I played against him. And I'm like, gosh, this is just terrible. But I love the fact that the Saints continue to keep him around. Falcon's doing the same with Tim Green, continuing to honor him, continuing to find a cure for this disease. And hopefully at some point we do and we see less people that are struggling with this. Yeah, it's going to be great to see them in honorary captain form today, coming out in pregame to shake hands and for the point toss. So it's going to be really fun. But let's go ahead and get to the same conversation. This is a big rivalry today. First time that we're going to see this team out of two times in the season. So lots to talk about. We've met this team 108 different times. Oh, that's it. And it's split, 54, 54, it's up in the air. It's split 500 right down the middle. This just means more, right?  Sometimes you look at some of the rivalries, especially in college football and they're lopsided because one team has just always been that much better than the other. Even though maybe it's because they share a border or they're really close, they're in the same state. But with this one, you look at it competitively and it has been almost right down the middle. You talked about it from a win-loss perspective, but also the statistics are just eerie how close it is in this game. So I'm looking forward to this matchup. I mean, it's always one that, yes, I think Dave Archer was saying it and are open that it's another game, but the Saints is not always just another game. It's another game with a little bit more on the line. First time they got together was back in 1967. Saints are currently on a three-game winning streak in Atlanta, is desperate to go ahead and end that win streak today. Yeah, hoping to end that win streak and Desmond Rutter is gonna be back under center today and he's gonna be the starter for the remainder of the season. Arthur Smith spoke to that earlier in the week, but Desmond Rutter's first start last year was also after the buy and it was against the New Orleans Saints and media asked him this week if this game had the same kind of feeling that it did last year and he kind of laughed. He said, no, this is a completely different feeling. I know what to expect. I know what it's like under the pocket. I know how this offense runs. When you're a rookie and you're coming in for your first game, it's an entirely deer and headlight situation, so he feels more comfortable under the pocket today, but first time he's gonna be back after being benched during the Tennessee game. So big game for Desmond Rutter today. Yeah, big game for him and the perspective that he gained being out of the lineup, I'm looking forward to seeing if he's able to put that into motion on the field. And what I mean by that is some of the things that he learned, obviously, he knew that the main reason for him sitting out was the turnovers. They had to see if they could figure it out. Too many giveaways, too many fumbles, obviously interceptions as well, but I feel like that perspective of him being out of the lineup, maybe hearing things a little differently, having the earpiece in on the sidelines, hearing the play come in from Arthur Smith, but watching it from the sideline and then going into the film room and watching it at the film room, gaining a different perspective and appreciation for it now being back as the starter, I'm looking forward to seeing him go out there and be efficient, right? Like you don't have to win the game on every play.  And if you are gonna run with football, because we know that he's an athletic quarterback, you gotta make sure you tuck the football away, expect the unexpected, especially somebody coming from behind you that's not in your vision, they are taught to go for the football first, tackle second, just can't afford to have any more of those giveaways. Yeah, two things that I wanna piggyback on of what you said, Desmond Rutter, obviously when he was benched, there's a lot to take in there, there's a lot of pride to kind of build back a little bit, but something I loved about Taylor Heineke when he took the reins is he let Desmond Rutter continue leading the team. That is huge, that's enormous for someone that is now back under center, taking the reins back to have been in that driver's seat, kind of all along and leading those team meetings. Second thing I wanna mention, you said he was a mobile quarterback, that he is, he's great on his feet as well, and that's something that the New Orleans Saints has made sure to work on during the bi-week because they haven't been great against mobile quarterbacks throughout the season, so they went back during the bi, watched all that tape of those mobile quarterbacks that they went against, they're trying to tweak those things, so it's gonna be interesting to see what Desmond Rutter is able to do and how they lock him down in the pocket today. I agree with you, and going back to your first point about still leading the meetings, not only Taylor Heineke allowing that to happen, but Desmond Rutter being that one that still wants to do it because it's real easy in that situation, Taylor, to feel bad about yourself, to kind of distance yourself a little bit and say, well, that was my job, and it's not anymore, but that was not his attitude. He wanted to continue to lead the meetings, he wanted to still be a leader of this team, and we talked a little bit about the rivalry, just look at how these stats end up stacking up. The one, there's one playoff game that ended up having this thing tied at 54-54, and I went back this morning, Taylor, and I look back at the six years that I played for the New Orleans Saints, because I don't have a telegraphic memory. I mean, that was a long time ago, 23 years ago with my rookie year, but over the six years that I played the Saints, two games a year, split right down the middle. It's insane. In six, in six years. So it just, it mirrors exactly what we just saw right there, such a heated rivalry, but a very closely contested rivalry. Yeah, so we talked about Desmond Rutter under the center today. Let's go to the other team. Derek Carr will be under center as well today for the Saints. He obviously came out before the bye week against the Vikings because of a shoulder injury and for a concussion protocol. He will be back under center today. He said he's ready to go. So when you look at Derek Carr, obviously a veteran quarterback, we kind of know what a ceiling is. We know what he brings to the table. What do the Falcons need to do to be able to shut this quarterback down? Well, just try to limit his ability to gain confidence early on in the game, because you're right, he's a veteran. He's made a lot of plays in this league. He was paid a lot of money from the New Orleans Saints to come over and be that starting quarterback. And you mentioned in the Minnesota game, he had the shoulder injury that was kind of a nagging injury from back from week three, but he also ended up being in concussion protocol. So when so many of the players end up leaving on the bye week and they go take some time away, they go on a vacation with their family, they go back and watch their college team or whatever it was. Derek Carr stayed in New Orleans and his job was treatment. His job was to get himself back to where he can be the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. And they were able to remove him from the injury report this week because of all that work. He said that the bye week came at the absolute perfect time for him. But this defense makes some plays against him early. Get the pass rush in his face early to make him feel uncomfortable. Tip some passes at the line of scrimmage, take the football away. It's easiest way for a quarterback that's playing on the road to kind of squabble his ability to gain confidence early on in the game. That's what I'd like to see from Atlanta's defense. You mentioned the Atlanta defense. You got two players that came from the Saints during free agency this year. Kate and Ellis and David on Yamada. They've made immediate impacts for this defensive team for Atlanta. And we've got a lot of people on this Falcons team that came from the Saints, whether that's in the front office with Terry Faunno came from the Saints. But then you go all the way down to an Albert Huggins who also came from the Saints. So many people on this list, so many people on the 53 man roster and part of this organization that came from the Saints. Yeah, personnel department and players on this team. And so it just means a little bit more to those guys too. I mean, don't you think that David on Yamada and a Kate and Ellis want to prove to the Saints that they are better players, that things are working out well in Atlanta, that they're on a better team? I mean, Kate and Ellis having a great season and he's tied for the team lead in tackles with Jesse Bates at 73. He's got a couple of sacks on the season as well. Jesse Bates, three interceptions this year, but these couple of guys and the rest of them that are going to get into this, I mean, Terry Faunno probably urging the coaching staff a little bit more, prepare a little bit more. Let's make this a statement because so much familiarity between these two organizations and they want to go out on a bang today. Yeah, so we mentioned David on Yamada. He was out the week before the buy. He is active today. He will be playing his old team, a little bit of blood in the water. That's what Kate and Ellis said earlier this week too. That's blood in the water. It's time to go. David on Yamada will be active today. So let's go ahead and get to the inactive list for the Atlanta Falcons. A lot of people will be active today that they were not active for against the Arizona Cardinals. That's again, David on Yamada will be back. D Allford will be back. Young Wake Koo was a big question mark with a strain at the back. He is active today. Matt Collins obviously will be inactive for this Falcons team today. What does Matt Collins missing the link? What does that mean?  So he's missed a couple of games, but again, this is an area as far as playmakers and pass catchers where Atlanta has developed some depth. They've got guys that they feel confident. So now you need to Drake London. You need to Kyle Pitts to bring a little bit more to the table. There's so many different guys that can get into the action in the passing game. So yes, you're hoping that Matt Collins gets back out here. I don't know if they're going to lose a ton offensively just because of all the different depth that they developed there. So it's good to have not only the guys that you talked about, Koo, they had to sign a kicker because they thought that there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to play, but he's going to be active in this game. So big boost for Atlanta. Yes, let's go ahead and get to the Saints inactive. Obviously, the inactive list is not the main story today. It's the IR list, the Endure Reserve. Obviously, Michael Thomas was placed on IR with an e-injury. And then yesterday, Marshawn Lattimore placed on IR as well with an ankle injury. Big, big misses for the Saints team. What do you make of this? Yeah, Marshawn Lattimore played his entire career with the New Orleans Saints. Former first round draft pick. He's got 15 career interceptions. So not having him there is obviously a downgrade for the New Orleans Saints. It's something that's going to help Atlanta a little bit. But they've got some guys that have been taking away the football in the defensive backfield. I'll talk a little bit more about Paulson Debo a little bit later on in the show. But the other interesting nugget, as far as player that will be available, is the Saints did elevate Jason Pierre-Paul from the practice squad. And Atlanta's got some familiarity with him. 94 and 1 half career sacks, 21-force fumbles. So he'll be in action today. Kind of interesting to see a guy like Jason Pierre-Paul in the practice squad. A little bit toward the end of his career. But these are some of the players that are not going to be involved. See if Atlanta can take advantage of the secondary without having a guy like Marshawn Lattimore. Now you don't have Michael Thomas opposite of Crystal Lave. Helps them defensively because it's two really productive receivers for them. All right, so let's go ahead and talk about what the Falcons can do to secure this win against the Saints. These are the keys to the game, presented by Wells Fargo. So go ahead, Rack, take it away. What is the first key of the game today? I know I've been harping on this one all season long. But ball security is going to be number one. We talked a lot about the turnovers and the giveaways for the Atlanta Falcons. 16 giveaways this year, nine of them coming via fumble. And we talked about some of the issues with Desmond Ritter. He's got to be able to get that fix coming back into the lineup as a starting quarterback. But think about the other side of the coin. 18 takeaways for the New Orleans Saints' defense, including 12 interceptions. And as I mentioned, Paulson and Debo, four picks this year. It's top five in the national football league. They're going to have to make sure they find out where he is because he's had a knack of taking the football away. But ball security, and I don't want to take away anything from Atlanta getting takeaways as well. But ball security, to me, is at the forefront. You've got to be able to make sure we tuck it away. The ball cannot end up on the turf. No interceptions in this game. So there's going to be a lot on the shoulders of this guy right here, Desmond Ritter, to make sure they protect the football. Yeah, a big focal point for Desmond Ritter before Tennessee was the fumbles. And the turnovers that he created obviously has six interceptions on the season with six touchdowns as well, but has seven fumbles so far this year. It was a key thing that they've worked on during the buy as well as how to fix those fumbles. But with Desmond Ritter, you learn a little bit when you're benched, and you watch Taylor Heinecke and how he runs his offense a little bit. But what you're wanting in Desmond Ritter today, especially with this defense, who has so many turnovers for them, you don't want to force anything. You don't want to rush anything. You want to find a way to slow the field down. Maybe that's going out of the pocket for him, like DJ said on Falcon's Audible. When you're an athletic quarterback and you can kind of move out of the pocket, everything kind of slows down for you. And so for Desmond Ritter, it's going to be a big question of will he be able to let things fly and not force anything down? Yeah, he's got to still take his chances. You don't want to take the edge away from a quarterback because that's the ability to make some of the big plays downfield. So you don't want to play scared.  If the safeties make the rotation and you've got the skinny post down the middle of the field, cut it loose and take the skinny post. But if you see somebody that spooks you away from it, it's okay. Go ahead and find Bijan Robinson or Tyler Algier out in the flat, dump the ball down, let them turn up field and pick up five or six yards and live to play on second down. Those are all okay. All right, but speaking of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algier and Drake London, what is the second key to the game today? Yeah, let's get some touches for these playmakers. And I've got some numbers that I put aside, just arbitrary my own numbers, but number one, Drake London, five plus touches in this game. I think he's averaging 4.4 a game right now, but I just think good things happen, especially downfield, when you get the ball in the hands of Drake London. He's got the ability to go up over the top of the defense, use his physicality to kind of box out some of these defensive backs. He needs to touch the ball five plus times in my opinion. Tyler Algier, 10 plus touches in this game. Notice I'm saying touches because this could be run game, this could be catches out of the backfield. You think about Tyler Algier when he gets in short yardage and goal line situations, how much a force he is for this offense, picking up first downs, pounding his way into the end zone for touchdowns. 10 plus touches for Algier. And then you can't leave out Bijan Robinson. 15 plus touches for Bijan in this game. Again, whether that's on the ground or through the air, one of the most electric playmakers Atlanta has right now. I think he's got to touch the football 15 times or more in this game to give ourselves the best chance to win this football game. I think if that happens, five, 10, 15 for those guys, spread the rest of the wealth out between the other guys, they're going to be in really good hands. Yeah, I love that you gave the most touches to the running backs. Tyler Algier, Bijan Robinson, we've said it once, we've said it a million times. Tyler is a human bowling ball. He just runs downhill, where Bijan is a little bit more of a shifty running back. But if you give those two guys opportunities because of this, how good this run game is and how not so great New Orleans has been against a run game in defense. So far, this season, Atlanta is averaging 130 yards per game on the ground. New Orleans in the last three games has allowed 148 yards per game on the ground as well. So it's going to be a big game. Possibly a lot of touches for Bijan and Tyler today. Yeah, and as you mentioned, it seems like there's been some holes lately in that run defense for New Orleans. So got to take advantage of it, exploit that. But you get the hands in the ball, the ball in the hands of these three playmakers and they're going to be in good shape. All right, so we told everyone about our three playmakers, Drake, Tyler and Bijan. But we also have to keep the ball away from their three playmakers. Yeah, they got three pretty good ones in my opinion. Obviously Michael Thomas out, but Alvin Camara, the running back and he is so involved in the passing game as well. They've got to keep him to a minimum in this game. Alvin Camara comes in this game with 104 carries and 50 receptions on the season. Four total touchdowns. So as you can see, they get the football in his hands. Also, Taysom Hill, the quarterback, slash running back, slash wide receiver, slash tight end, does a little bit of everything for the New Orleans Saints. Again, you could expect him in the run game, the pass game or maybe even behind center. And then finally, Chris Olave, their young receiver is already into a great position in his NFL career. You got to slow these three guys down. If you can keep them to somewhat minimal numbers at the end, you're going to be in good shape. And the Saints also reported not to overlook Joanne Johnson as their tight end because you might be focusing on these three playmakers and really focusing on them and double teaming them. And you might leave Joanne way open downfield and have a really big explosive play for the New Orleans Saints. So we'll see what they're able to do today. Yeah, not to say that there's not other playmakers on the New Orleans Saints offense. I've just seen in history, these are the three guys that have a tendency of hurting not only Atlanta, but all the teams that they play.  Yeah, it's going to be a good game. So let me ask you this, as a former Falcons player, favorite memory of a Saints game? I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit here. Favorite memory? My favorite memory is, and I hate to say this, but going down to New Orleans and the amount of noise and the ability, like trying to stay focused just because of the way that stadium is built and how loud they get for this matchup, right? I'll never forget some of those that's like, it's an older stadium, it's an older locker room. You got to come in, you got to walk all the way through the field to get to the locker room and then you come back out. I'm just going to remember so many times down in New Orleans, but as I mentioned, six wins, six losses. It's been so closely contested back in my career and it's been that way for some of these guys as well. Yeah, well, I have not seen a Saints win as a Falcon yet. Obviously I started with the Falcon last year and my first travel game was the Saints game.  Desmond Ritter and I almost collided during his first run out. It was horrible. I like wanted to cry. I felt so bad, but we didn't touch.  He shifted right around me. He didn't even think anything about it, but I, it's still like singed in my brain today. But anyway, nonetheless, it's going to be a good game today. Hopefully I can see my first Saints win today. Yeah, let's do me a favor. Don't run into Desmond Ritter. No, I'm going to stay off to steal this game. I'm done. I hung up my clades a little bit there. There you go, there you go. It is the 50th anniversary of hip hop today. There's a bunch of people on that set list that are here today. Any favorites, anyone that you're most excited to see? Probably T.I. And I don't want to let the cat too far out of the bag, but T.I. and his song, Bring Him Out, was even played when I was playing, right? And so there's just a little bit of goose bumps that come on, every time I hear that song, I don't think about anything else than when I ran out of the tunnel, when I played for the Falcons. So T.I. is in the building today. Yeah, it's so good it's unmatched, but I think something that matches close to it is welcome to Atlanta. Jermaine DePri is also here today. He's going to be around. I got to actually meet him. You know, we're talking about the hip hop, and I was going to put this on. I didn't want it to be too distracting, but like, how about this? Is this just me? I think it goes nicely with my outfit. Y'all white. Someone called Jesse Bates a third. I know, right? Which one do you want? Jesse Bates' chain or this one? But Jermaine DePri will be here. Obviously was a co-creator of Welcome to Atlanta. And funny enough, a lot of the guys from the locker room did not know the lyrics to Welcome to Atlanta. Gosh, they're too young. Take a look. Welcome to Atlanta where? Where the play is plays and we rock. It's like every day. Welcome to Atlanta where the play is played and we ride on a thing like. The play is played when you something by area day. Am I right? Welcome to Atlanta. Welcome to Atlanta. Oh, it's the old G-1. Oh, welcome to Atlanta. What a play, a play and we ride on a thing like. The players play and we ride on a thing like every day.  Probably knows that there ain't a lot of it. Finally, Keith Smith. I love it. Somebody knows the lyrics. Saved it. He fully said everyone was like, welcome to Atlanta. And then a couple of like, right? Richie killed me. He's just like mumbling nothing. Come on. There's like certain songs that when you live in the Atlanta area, you just got to know the lyrics, too. If you get drafted, I think that has to be like a class. Like hip hop 101. Here's what you need to know. Here's your playbook. Here's what time you need to be at meetings. Make sure you know the lyrics to these songs. OK? Anyway, that's enough of that song for right now. I'm sure we're going to hear it later today. Again, lots of performers here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The first meeting of the Saints that we have so far this year. And the last meeting will be week 18. The division will come down to that game in week 18 down in New Orleans. So we'll see how this game pans out. Obviously, both teams looking for a win coming off thereby. But until then, thank you guys joining us so much for the Falcons pre-game show presented by Ticketmaster. Enjoy the game.