Have you ever tried getting into a tv casting but never received any acceptance? Maybe this time it’s time to be my leading lady of reality! So my role will be an AFAM (A Filipino Arrived in Manila 😂) while you…. Ay basta leading lady nalang 😂😂😂 So let that law of attraction favour us!
Wow it has been weeks since I’ve been not using this platform but at least i’m back 😂
About me: (Here we go again) - 22 from Quezon City - 5’9 - Soon be entering Law School - Date to marry because I have no time to play - Emotionally ready (So please do too) - Multilingual so yes you can speak to me in English or Taglish (Can also do mandarin) - Traveller (fave city is the city of angels) - well i feel cute but it’s up to you if You find me cute - Check my profile for more about my intros 😂 (Haven’t found a leading lady yet kapagod paulit ulit)
About the leading lady: - Emotionally Ready - Cute Chinita girl - Mestiza or morena - Prefers Taglish or English - Plus point: If either in Law field or Med field course but doesn’t matter much - at legal age but I hope you think like someone at legal age (Sana di ka na umiinom gamit ang chupon 😂)
If you have come this far, Send me your intro and tell me why should you be my leading lady…. Here we go again but I hope that this will be the last time posting this 😂 I hope to see ya and i’ll message y’all asap para di sayang time natin!

u/umeshufan: (x4) There is so much to thank you for over the past month (wow, I'm bad at keeping up with thank you posts)! First, thank you for the postcard. As always, I appreciate the updates and found the architecture on the card to be lovely!
Second, the feedback on the Elite 95s was interesting and you've recently posted about my reply message (it's funny that I'm quicker at replying with mail than Reddit posts...). Your comments in your post made me smile and I do think that if you post the pen you'll find the experience to be much better! I also shared my impressions on the Lamy 2K and do think that improvements can be made to that specific pen to make it write better. That is my project now! Additionally, I've started reading The Most Good You Can Do per your recommendation and am really enjoying it. It is challenging in a good way and even though I was a philosophy major I did not spend too much time on ethics (I was focused on epistemology), so it is fun to re-engage with my love of wisdom again!
Lol, the comic was fantastic and I can relate to the experience you shared with it. My full reply is already in the mail. I really appreciated the bonus card as well! Now, it was also interesting to see your Modern Defense to my King's Pawn opening (I had to look up the opening names. Again, I'm not that good at chess). My next move is already in the mail along with the aforementioned reply.
u/libertyprogrammer: I loved your Seattle postcard! The artwork was fun though I do hope to avoid any Kraken attacks if I were to visit the city (which I would like to visit Seattle sometime but have not gotten to yet). There are so many fun things to talk about, and I will send a reply soon!
u/shipping_addict: Thank you for my starter Pokémon, and I promise to take good care of Bulbasaur on my journey to become a Pokémon master! We are already working on learning Razor Leaf, so things are off to a great start. That was a very fun offer, and I really appreciate it!
u/heymorganm: Thank you so much for both the card and the quote. Both are much appreciated and thank you for sharing the super nice HP postcards with us!
u/welshfancy: Your card made me happy, and I liked the sloth very much. They are so interesting. However, a certain mutual acquaintance does not like them at all!

The episode faded back in to the teenagers in their balloon, both still screaming in alarm.
"Steer Izzy! Steer!" Izzy cried out.
"What do you think I'm doing, Topher?!" Izzy replied as she tried to steer the balloon.
\
The scene flashed back to the train as Mal stood outside the door to the forward car, stomping his foot on the coupling pin. As he tried to break the pin and set the rear cars free, Ezekiel jumped back over the gap and grabbed the edge of the roof, to Mal's displeasure.
"Like I was going to make you leave me in the dust!" Ezekiel told him as he pulled himself back up to the hail-battered roof.
Mal grit his teeth angrily, then began to climb the rear ladder. "If your clone was more useful, he would've already prevented you from being here," he said as he got back onto the roof as well, and faced down Ezekiel.
The two looked up, and the helicopter descended into view hovering above them at pace with the train.
The musical note icon promptly appeared, the two dings signaling the contestants of what was next.
"I pride myself on my timing," Chris said impishly into his walkie-talkie.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Topher, Izzy, Ezekiel, and Mal said as one, the former pair on the right half of a split-screen and the latter pair on the left.
"You know the answer to that by now!" Chris answered with a broad smile on his face.
///\
[A rock and roll guitar riff kicked things off as the camera zoomed away from the helicopter, then panned down to Ezekiel and Mal as the song began.]
"Throughout the season, you laid low; took us all out of the show!"
[Ezekiel sang, grabbing his enemy by the hand and pulling him to his side into a close dancing position. He glared sternly at the malevolent one as he sang, and Mal rolled his eyes.]
"Now it's time for you to leave; I won't deal with a pet peeve!"
[He lead them a step to his left, then back to his right, then violently shoved Mal towards the gap between cars. As he finished the line, he listened to the thud of Mal's landing.]
"Look who's getting cocky! You think you're the bomb, gag me!"
[Mal began as Ezekiel over confidently ran back along the top of the train, the camera cutting to the troublemaker following behind from under the train.]
"Don't think that you can stop me! I'll always sting just like a bee!"
[The camera cut back to Ezekiel as he continued his run, reaching the front of the car and jumping across only for Mal's hands to reach out and grab him by the ankle, causing him to trip and slam down on the roof of the next car. Mal then climbed up, and finished his line with a mocking grin.]
"I'm gonna make it! You can't stop me now, just you try!"
[The two boys sang together, a riff leading to an image of a GPS device lowering onto the screen. It showed two parallel train tracks, a blue train icon on the left and a yellow icon on the right which Ezekiel and Mal promptly jumped onto as they sang at each other, pausing between lines to bob their heads to the beat.]
"Our fortune's waiting! It's time for you to say, bye, bye, bye!"
[The two 'trains' came along a large rock on the left and a cow skull on the right, which the two boys promptly jumped off to grab and admire while they continued their song. They then turned around and threw their chosen weapons, Mal ducking under the skull and Ezekiel dodging the rock. With startled looks on their faces, they finished the line and jumped off the bottom of the GPS screen.]
"I always knew I'd make it here; even after I caused some fear!"
[Izzy sang as the scene cut to her, then zoomed out to show Topher listening to her sing.]
"And since I'm in the Final Three; we better watch out for that tree!"
[The two bobbed and tilted their heads happily in time with the music, then Izzy looked forward again and noticed the large tree they were flying right toward. She promptly tugged on the fuel line, but was unable to get the balloon up in time. The camera panned past the balloon as Izzy was heard saying "No!"]
"You're gonna make it! They can't stop you now, let them try!"
[Topher sang as the scene switched to them flying over the GPS screen. Another tree came up in their path, but the fanboy leaned back and they easily swerved around it.]
"Our fortune's waiting! And they can kiss it all, bye-bye-bye!"
[As they continued over roads and rivers and the spaces in between, they came across an angry black bear. It growled and swiped at them, but Topher leaned forward and they avoided it. At the end of the line, the girls bobbed their heads to the music again.]
"You're going down, you don't deserve to win!"
[The melody became something more tango-like as the scene cut back to Mal and Ezekiel on top of the train again, in dancing position once more and turning around at the midpoint of the line.]
"You irritate me and get under my skin!"
[As they moved to turn around again, Ezekiel tripped his 'partner' so that he stumbled, then punched him hard enough to send him reeling off the train entirely, Mal crying out "Noooooo!" as he fell.]
"I'm gonna make it! They can't stop me now, let them try!"
[The view switched back to the GPS screen, showing Ezekiel smirking on his train while Mal, now on the ground, looked at a black horse standing behind him. Just as he moved off-screen, Izzy and Topher flew onto it, singing along with Izzy as they instantly locked eyes. Ezekiel became nervous, however, as his train suddenly turned and took him off-screen entirely, leading the flying duo to bob their heads to the music between lines.]
"Our fortune's waiting! It's time for you to say, bye, bye, bye!"
[Ezekiel's departure was short-lived, however, as the train soon brought him back on screen as the next line began, much to Izzy and Topher's shock. Even worse for them, the train was moving faster than the balloon, so it soon managed to outpace them and Ezekiel waved before passing under a set of power lines and off the GPS screen. The music ended as the scene moved back to the real challenge, the eyes of Topher still closed from a few final head bobs while Izzy's were wide open.]
///
"Topher?" Izzy said in rapidly rising panic as she saw them approaching the power lines. "Topher?!"
Topher finally looked ahead again, and the duo screamed.
\
"Update time!" Chris said as the scene flashed to the helicopter, now hovering in a storm-free sky. "According to the latest da-ta, Ezekiel is the only one still moving towards Hawaii!"
\
The scene flashed back to the inside of a passenger car as Ezekiel dropped down outside the rear door and walked in. "Yes!" he said, eyes on his walkie-talkie. "Million dollars, here I come!"
A shout caused him to turn around, Ezekiel Clone behind him menacingly.
The camera zoomed outside as Ezekiel was heard screaming, and the shot panned rightward to Mal on the back of a charging black steed. "Faster!" he said, urging his horse forward as well as the herd that was following them. "Oh Ezekiel," he called out with a dark smile, "I'm coming!"
\
Another flash took the scene to the parachute of the makeshift balloon hanging across the power lines. A few crackles of electricity were heard, and the whole thing exploded. The camera cut to the right to catch Izzy fly on screen and land painfully on her butt.
"Topher?" she asked in a pained voice.
Topher wheeled himself on screen and said "I'm okay," brightly. "Now let's get back in the air!"
Izzy sighed. "No chance," she said while pointing to where the balloon had been. The camera briefly cut to the crash just in time to see the parachute burn to a crisp.
"This is not good," Topher said as the camera cut back to them.
"So we have to find something else. But what?" Izzy wondered.
Topher looked from her and then back toward the crash. The camera cut to a small stand a little ways away with a large striped firecracker on its front sign and a slender white man with a hook for a hand and an eye patch manning it, then back to a pensive looking dirty blond.
\
"Is Izzy giving up?" Chris asked as the scene cut back to his master GPS, the red dot now stationary. "That is so not her," he added in annoyance.
\
Ezekiel Clone advanced on a wary Ezekiel inside another empty passenger car.
"I don't want to hurt you. We're basically the same person, even if you are feral." Ezekiel backed into the next door just then, then quickly spun around and flung it open and fled to the next car before Ezekiel Clone could react.
The alien growled and gave chase.
\
Ezekiel howled away from his clone as the two continued their chase, the camera showing it through the windows before cutting inside just as the real boy reached a dessert cart. "Quit chasing me!"
He grabbed two eggs and threw them at Ezekiel Clone, the yolks blinding his eyes. A pie was thrown as well, and this knocked him off.
Ezekiel sighed in relief as he held a pillow, until Ezekiel Clone tackled him and the feathers inside the pillow spilled out and covered the scene completely.
\
The box of fireworks was tossed in front of Izzy as the scene moved back to her. Topher wheeled on-screen and said "We're back in business."
"How did you manage to get this?" Izzy asked. "Not that I'm complaining."
"I gave the man running the stand DVD's of the first and second seasons in exchange for the fireworks," Topher said.
"You had DVD's all this time?" Izzy responded.
"No time to talk!" Topher told her. "Let's get these fireworks on my chair and fly!"
"Topher," Izzy said, "that is incredibly dangerous and crazy," she frowned before grinning wildly. "Let's do it."
The two smiled at each other.
\
"Yes," Mal whispered into his steed's ear, "keep running!" The horses were now running alongside the train, and the ruthless troublemaker was smirking confidently.
That is, until the perspective changed to a head-on view and Ezekiel burst out of a train window and was able to land on the back of a rather startled horse, and he and Mal looked at each other with utter shock. "You again!?" they shouted.
Mal turned his gaze forward. "Hurry up, horse!" he told his mount, the camera changing back to side-view as his horse sped up.
"Do as he says!" Ezekiel chimed in, trailing behind him but still ahead of the rest of the herd.
\
"Wooww," Chris said as the shot cut to the screen of his GPS device, now showing the blue and yellow dots heading forward at an even pace. "They just don't seem to really want it that bad, hmm? But barring any life-ending accidents," he told the camera as it moved to show his face, "I guess they're our Final Two-wait a sec!" he interrupted himself, his eyes going wide at something on his screen. He looked around outside, and the shot zoomed out just as a familiar pair of excited cries echoed through the air.
Izzy shouted as she and Topher flew by tied to Topher's wheelchair, the chair shooting off fireworks as they rocketed up past Chris's helicopter.
"Izzy's still in it!" Chris announced dramatically. "Like a phoenix burnt to a crisp, before rising up anew!" The shot cut back to the two flying on their makeshift rocket, and he corrected himself with "No wait, that's Topher! Anyway, it's a dead heat, people!" he told the camera.
"I can do this for the rest of my life!" Izzy said excitedly.
"And look!" Topher pointed out. "There's Tijuana Beach!"
"Lean!" Izzy said excitedly. Both leaned back, and the chair angled downward.
\
"I will squish you like a bug!" Ezekiel shouted as the scene cut to him and Mal racing along the beach on horseback.
"I will pluck you like a chicken!" Mal retorted.
The camera changed to a head-on perspective as an off-camera shout of "Look out!" from Chris caused both boys to look forward in shock.
Chris screamed, the camera inverting to show the two rapidly approaching a finish line in the sand, the host below it waving his arms. The two lead horses skidded to a halt with a panicked whinny, but the momentum caused Mal and Ezekiel to be launched forward over the banner. Chris looked back as they landed with a thud.
The camera cut to the two lying on the beach next to a dock, Ezekiel on top of Mal so that the two were face-to-face. "Get off me!" Mal shouted, shoving Ezekiel off as Chris arrived on the dock.
"Uhh, I still have a race to the million going on," Chris told them. "You interested? Hawaii's over there," he pointed as a few heavier notes began the music's increase in intensity. "Grab a boat, head to the big island, and-"
As he spoke, a faint whistling noise heralded the arrival of the rocket wheelchair and its passengers in the distance behind Chris. The chair crashed into the sand and sailed to the dock, the host quickly running out of the way. Topher and Izzy screamed in terror as they skidded along the beach, only to hit a large rock and be thrown into the air both flying toward the boats.
The camera cut in close as they landed in the middle boat gracefully.
"We made it!" Izzy said excitedly as Topher got to his feet.
"The GPS says Hawaii's over there!" Topher said, pointing off in the distance as he started the engine and sped the boat off.
"And Izzy plus one takes the lead!" Chris announced.
Mal and Ezekiel ran down the docks, heading for the last two speedboats.
"I really love this show," Chris said with a small smile as he watched the race unfold.
\
The footage skipped ahead to the three boats nearly even as they raced across the Pacific Ocean, constantly vying for the lead. Mal's boat rammed into Izzy and Topher's from the side as it passed by.
"Where'd you learn how to drive? A demolition derby?" Izzy insulted Mal.
The shot cut to Mal, his confident smile fading when her boat was rammed into. He looked to his left, the camera zooming out to show Ezekiel alongside him.
"These aren't bumper boats, wimp!" Mal told Ezekiel who rammed him further away.
Ezekiel continued on for another few seconds before looking down and gaping, the perspective changing to show a small leak in his boat.
"Guys, do you see a leak in your boat?" Ezekiel asked the duo.
"We are doing perfectly fine, so no!" Izzy responded.
Ezekiel picked up a large swordfish that had somehow been in his boat. Not wasting any time, he used it to plug the hole in his boat. "And I am back in the race!" he shouted victoriously.
The shot zoomed out again as Mal passed the others by. He laughed at their disadvantage and carried on. "Doofuses!"
The shot cut to a large naval mine floating on top of the water; a hapless seagull landed on it, causing it to explode just before Mal's boat passed through the area, the boy screaming in fear.
Cutting back to the other two boats showed Topher and Izzy in the lead. Ezekiel managed to get the upper hand and sped ahead of the two.
"Anything a girl can do, boys can do just as much!" Ezekiel said.
"You might wanna take a look ahead!" Izzy called out.
Ezekiel looked forward and gasped. He ran straight into another naval mine, launching his boat into the air just as Izzy and Topher passed by.
Mal was shown looking back with delight as he approached their destination, but a sudden sputtering from the engine caused him to look bothered. "I'm out of gas!" he exclaimed.
"Pathetic!" He promptly took an oar from the boat and began to row.
/
The scene moved to the beach, where the other former contestants, Josh, Blaineley, Bruno, Luna, and Ron had assembled to await the arrival of the Final Three plus two. A deep and dramatic riff played as the camera panned across them looking either sad, annoyed, or angry next to Chris. The camera pulled back and panned further over to the right, and just as it hit the beach, Mal's boat arrived.
"And just like that, I win!" Mal chanted, rushing off to dry land.
"Mal makes it into the Final Two!" Chris announced. "One question remains," he told the camera, "who will Mal battle?" The malevolent one rushed in front of the camera and grinned smugly. "Ezekiel, or Izzy?"
As he spoke, another boat was shown approaching, the camera zooming out to reveal it as Izzy and Topher. "We did it!" the psycho hose beast cheered. A further outward zoom showed that their boat was just a few yards away from shore, drifting idly towards it...
And then came Ezekiel's scream of terror, and moments after, his boat. It landed bow-first on top of Izzy's, splintering it and launching all three teens towards the beach. They landed off-screen with a thud, and the camera cut over.
"Oh, wow," Chris said in shock, looking over the forms of Topher, Izzy, and Ezekiel alongside Mal, "that's what you call a tie, people! I'd go to the slow-mo to declare a winner," he said as the camera moved in for a close-up, "buuuttt...we'rrreee...kinda outta time," he said, deliberately extending a few syllables.
"WHAT?!" the four declared in shock.
"Yup!" Chris told them. "We are totally, completely," the camera zoomed out to show the entire cast, most of them staring at the host in disbelief, "undeniably...out..of..time...aaasss..ooofff... riiigghhtt...abooouuutt...NOW!"
The Final Three groaned, and the series' capstone theme began to play.
"So come back next time to find out who battles who," Chris said, drawing the camera's attention back off the four on the beach. "And see someone finally win the million! Or die trying," he shrugged impishly. "Right here, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
(Roll the Credits)
\
(Bonus Clip)
The scene opened to the beach back in Mexico. Ezekiel Clone arrives at the beach and sniffs the air. He then sees a raft and an oar lying on shore, coconuts on top of the raft.
Drooling in excitement, Ezekiel Clone scurries over to the raft and pushes it into the water. He then jumps on and grabs the oar, paddling as fast as he can into the sunset.
18th: Shawn
17th: Amy
16th: Lindsay
15th: Rodney
14th: Jo
Eliminated: Owen
13th: Duncan
12th: Sky
11th: Heather
10th: Cody
9th: Ella
8th: Noah
7th: Sadie
6th: Owen
5th: Eva
4th: Topher

Hi guys I'm a long time penny 22" user. For my use case it's perfect. I use it for my daily commute to work (10 mins on asphalt) and for the occasional trip to the city from where I park my car to where I am headed. A friend of mine is going to buy one and I offered mine at a lower price, that gives me the opportunity of buying a new one.
I was going to buy a new identical penny with different art but I'm open to other possibilities. I don't think I'm interested in tricks and such but if there is a better cruiser that maintains or improve portability I am all ears.
Open to advices, thanks to all in advance!

Part One: What it's All About
We must slowly build on my first post, Space Military Structure, which gave a very rough overview of militarism in general, and the types of overarching warfare you might want in your space opera (which I call the four spatial forms, or modes). Now, it's time to actually dig a little deeper on some of the points. I shall gift a strong bias towards WWII. Not because there is nothing of use or import, or importance, from old warfare -- but because it requires too many words, and is not closely related enough to typical space opera. WWII also sets the stage for (almost) everything that came after it, and also saw the height of military leadership under George C. Marshall (U.S.). Although this is biased towards the Americans (U.S.) and the Nazis (Germany proper), you can borrow and alter such systems, doctrines, tactics, leaders, and so on as you require for your own setting/story/military, etc. Just warning you of the primary focus.
Note: I may write on the Communist/Soviet and Japanese side of things in the future. But, beyond a few worthy connections, I cannot possibly detail out the entirety of WWII! I shall just say that some great sources/places in this way would be the Soviet Union (circa 1922-1950), Japan (circa 1931-1945), the Ba'ath Party, and the Hutts (Star Wars; fictional). These have some things in common, actually. More so, the latter. Namely, they are generally what you might call 'Persian style ruling'. They are hyper-wealthy kings or king-type figures, literally living 'like kings', as they enslave everybody else. That's a bit harsh on the Persian Empire, of course, but you get the general theme/motif here, as it did apply to a number of Persian Kings (Darius III comes to mind as a bad ruler). This sort of direction also moves much more in line with classical empire-building and kingdoms, in that it's hereditary (i.e. ruling family, by blood). So, the exact source you focus on depends on the type of setting/story you have, and the governance thereof. (Of course, Stalin's Russia had the feel of Imperialist Russia whilst actually being much more in line with Hitler's Germany, at most levels, so it's quite a complex machine -- likely given its Catholic, nationalist roots, fused with the modernist, secularist Communism.)
In the Nazi context, of course, this was seen through the lens of a 'realm' (Reich), a kind of 'secular empire' which was not built upon a royal family, but a personalist dictator (with major focus on both militarism and propaganda; thus, the people themselves), where the 'blood' concept was shifted from 'ruling family' to 'the nation itself' (the Germans or 'German body' (singular)). This was also felt in a number of other nations, but Hitler's Germany is primary, and the direct source for most major space opera since 1940, so it's highly relevant for our purposes (almost always taking the side of the villains/evil empire, of course -- either in a simple-minded sort of narrative, or a more complex one (a la Star Wars (1977)).
The Americans, of course, had the President. I heard, from Douglas Murray around the time of King Charles' Coronation, that there is an innate tendency of humans towards a hereditary structure (this seems possible enough). We are obsessed with families. This makes logical sense. With this in mind, he defended the existence of the symbolic royal family of England, as a way to 'release' all of that feeling and desire at the national level.
He contrasted it with the American system, and looked to modern America to show its possible faults in this way. America became heavily obsessed with the 'first family', such as 'the Clintons'. Clearly overlaying this older framework onto the American system, which is innately unwise and unhelpful. Not only was the original idea that the President would be rather small, in terms of both power and interest -- but that his family would mean little. Hence, they took the title of president -- as in, 'president of the golf club' or, 'president of the school board'. This was not to replace 'king' or 'emperor' in any sense at all. Quite the contrary. A truly remarkable, and rare, shift in human governance. But, since the 1920s or so, this system seems to have fallen into a more European, kingly form (i.e. big government, and hyper-focus on the president). Just something to consider, if you're aiming at a generic democratic, republican type system. You need to be aware of what is likely to happen, and why, and what is required for X (pre-1920s American system) or Y (post-1920s American system). Of course, globalisation was a factor post-WWI, so you have to take your culture in relation to the wider setting (assuming you have different cultures and peoples trading/living with one another).-But, what is war all about? My understanding would be that war is about five things (in random order): (1) Defence/peacekeeping/protection (both in-country and overseas, etc.); (2) Expansion/general stability and growth -- often greed and akin to totalitarianism); (3) Emotional regulation (at the individual level); (4) Conflict resolution (religious wars, wars over land, etc. -- not that all of these are just); (5) National unity (not always positive -- and closely related to emotional regulation, among other factors and traits, and sub-traits; often (but not always) bleeds over into racial unity and purity)
Obviously, this is quite a simple picture, and war is very complex. But, this is good enough for writing space opera. Every single one of these is key; however, we (likely) want some kind of evil empire to fight, which means all of this needs to be nested in the framework of total war or the Nazi Lebensraum concept. This is primarily under (a) emotional regulation; and (b) expansion. Although Germany had major internal, and some external conflicts and issues circa 1870-1918, this alone was not enough to justify the birth -- and growth -- of Nazism for purely defence or conflict resolution reasons.
Part Two: Hitler's Total War
The primary focus must be on expansion (growth; primarily, beginning around 1927 due to mass starvation, etc.; coupled with totalitarian notions), emotional regulation, and national unity, in relation to Nazi Germany. The only other key element to throw in there would be the requirement to actually solve their major internal problems, but this did not innately require Nazism. But, by the fate of history, it was highly likely to be dealt with by either the Nazis or the by-then Stalinist Communists (which had become quite popular by 1932, at the height of the Depression in Germany).
To quote a German (long after the war): 'It was not a question of whether we were going to become a dictatorship [circa 1932], it was a question of the kind of dictatorship we were going to get: a Nazi dictatorship or a Communist dictatorship'.
Sadly, then, due to the state of affairs at this time, there was no hope for Germany to ever become a non-dictatorship through the 1930s and 1940s. The stage was already set for so many complex, interesting, confusing reasons. A primary problem, noted by Hitler himself, was the general state of Germany itself by 1920 or so (which had actually been a growing problem, and many-faceted since 1870). He writes about this in Mein Kampf (1925), and calls it so: Weimar Republic. This became the normative term by the 1930s. To translate Hitler's thinking: he meant it in the context of, 'the Ally puppet republic -- broken, weak, anti-German republic -- of the city of Weimar, not at all speaking to Germany or the Germans'.
Hitler was mostly correct about that, and many Germans agreed with him (including many pro-German socialists; hence, the name. In the first place, there was a major socialist arm of the Nazi (National Socialist) Party). He was able to weaponise this, and demand radical governmental change to solve some of their internal issues, including the Depression itself.
We should step back a moment. By WWI, Germany was already a fragmented, confused nation -- and there was a rapid growth of pro-war actors and groups by 1914, including Hitler himself. By 1920, Germany was crushed into the mud (quite literally), which gave way for Hitler and others to become seriously radical actors. One issue across Germany at this time was the basic governmental system itself, as the old President, Paul Von Hindenburg, was not up to the task of a modern Germany: but, he had one theme through him -- he hated Hitler. Now, Hitler had learnt from his failed Putsch back in 1923. He learnt to play the system (which he simply called 'the System', not an uncommon theme for a revolutionary group). As a result, he had the idea to take Germany, not so much by force, but by popular vote. And, that's what he did.
However, the Nazi Party's growth was slow, only reaching great power by 1927 or so (more so, 1932), due to: (a) The Depression; (b) Superior propaganda tactics; (c) Positive vision for the future (the Communists were rather unhelpful and depressive -- note, this does not mean that the Nazi vision was objetively positive, it was merely what they were handing to the Germans, in a pro-German context); (d) Extreme street-level violence (akin to the Communist side); (e) Trans-classist outreach (i.e. they tried to reach just about everybody, across the classes and groups, including (1) women; (2) working classes; and (3) the middle/upper classes; and (f) Hitler's remarkable oratory skills, and modern campaigning (i.e. travelling to every town and city he could, speaking directly to the voters, which was quite rare back then, believe it or not)
Shockingly, however, the Communist side was also hyper-popular, and used many of the same tactics and methods by 1932. Hitler saw major victories across this period (1928-1932), almost becoming President (yes, he ran for President). It was not until the famous, and final 'true' German election in 1933 that Hitler won out and became ruler of Germany. But, again: the race was quite close, but the numbers spoke for themselves. By now, Germany (tens of millions of voters) were not voting for the generic socialist or even German parties as they had done back in 1927, but only the two most extreme: Nazi and (semi-pro-German/Stalinist) Communist.
Almost instantly (around two months) did Hitler begin his process of Germanisation (Nazification). We already know from his early speeches and writings that he had such plans in place as early as 1921, give or take (with certain scholars claiming that Hitler had such visions in mind, back in 1914 or prior). The other major view of Hitler's Germany is that it was more of a co-op effort between the Party and the Germans, and that Hitler slowly came to his ideas and policy choices as time went on. Since there is great evidence for both of these visions, I must take a combined view, and say that Hitler had certain ideas/goals from the beginning, with others being later creations and plans.
Regardless, we know one thing for certain: Hitler aimed at total war, and he -- for a short period -- achieved it. Although notions of 'total war' reach back into Prussian and French history (among others), the real birth of it is Nazi Germany, by the mid-1930s (though both the Soviet Union and Fascist Italy may be of note), followed by Japan (more so under the singular ruling Party circa 1942).
We take such things for granted today, even confusing 'war' (as such) with 'total war'; however, we know the differences, and they are profound. First of all, Hitler's shift towards total war is clear by quite a rare notion: the total removal of the law of war. The singular 'law of war' can be understood as the 'fairness of war' or 'moral of war' (not to be confused with the 'art of war', which often speaks to an overarching theory of warfare by a given figure (such as de Saxe or Sun Tzu), which may or may not include core elements of fairness).
The second primary element at play, which you do not see in generic cases of war, is the total militarisation of the nation, of the people.
You likely understand all of this more in the fictional context, than the historical. I could mention the Empire from Star Wars, or the Klingons from Star Trek. They are, in a sense, low-resolution images or caricature of the Nazi machine. This is because the Nazi machine itself is a sort of caricature and is almost impossible to believe. That is how innately anti-human the system was and how anti-Western in its fundamental formulation and doctrines.
But, if you want to your evil empire justice -- or, indeed, want to create a more 'neutral' military empire, then you need to really understand the origins, doctrines, feelings, and core mechanisms and utopian goals of Nazi Germany, beyond the surface notion of, 'evil Fascists'. That's just not enough.
Part Three: What is Enough?; How Did Nazi Germany Function, if at All?
Well, you have to try and put yourself in the shoes of a typical German citizen during 1932, first of all. Imagine that you're naturally proud of your nation, history, and people/culture. Imagine that you're on the street without work or food. Imagine that you're being attacked, literally and symbolically, from the Russians/Communists from the north, and the French/Americans/British from the south and west.
Then, imagine you are filled with shame over the horrible defeat of WWI, and forced shame from the Allies, and the massive war tax, keeping the Germans poor and unfit. And, imagine that you're seeing a very arrogant, powerful, free, wealthy France take more and more of your land, and build up its own army around you. That would make anybody not only angry but extremely desperate and confused, with a burning desire for nationalism and the end to this state of affairs. Throw in an unhealthy dose of pro-German/anti-French (and anti-British and anti-Jewish) propaganda, complete with the already extreme anti-Semitic notions in the air (since at least 1880), and you have set the stage for such a shift of power.
After all, the Jews had their own sub-cultures and wealth, and were not deemed to be 'part of the German body' at all. On top of this, they were deemed as the murderer of God himself (from the Christian view), so it was not a leap for them to shift the blame from the Germans to the Jews, in relation to WWI. Being blamed for WWI and held in the mud by the French was too much for them to handle, once you throw in mass starvation and a broken internal structure.
It's not so much a question to me, that Nazism became the state power, but that it didn't happen sooner. This shows the primary strength of the average German through the 1920s, to still believe in some generic system and free Germany -- not to fall into Communism or Nazism so easily. Sadly, by 1932, this was too much -- and Hitler had his own large paramilitary force by this stage (early on, known as Stormtroopers (I'm sure you know this term from Star Wars)), so shutting down citizens was an easier task.
At that stage, you are likely capable of creating your own sturcture of this sort, for your own space opera wastory. You can really understand how such a system could be created; and why the average man would possibly vote for it.
This is also required to understand military thinking in general. Indeed, a lot of what was going through the average German soldier's head applied to America and almost every other nation, as it spoke to basic values and rituals and doctrines: honour, duty, nationalism, family, and freedom.
(See Christopher Browning's book, Ordinary Men. Jocko actually talks about it on his podcast at one point. Here, Browning goes through a pretty average, pre-Hitler German police unit, which was compelled into Hitler's Germany by the late-1930s. Mostly, older, generic German men. It goes through their journey from perfectly normal policemen into insane mass murderers. How? The same way you reach hell: one, small step at a time. This book single-handedly removes any notion that only special men can be evil, only special men can be killers. Much more difficult to factor into your moral framework is the reality that these are often not special at all -- but ordinary.)
In the case of Nazi Germany itself, this is made much more complex by its bedrock structure, which largely remained until 1942. As I alluded to earlier, one Prussian concept that remained was the idea of going above your superior's head. This came from the time when captains and such had some real power as mid-ranking officers, yet were filled by noblemen and such, that had no idea what they were doing. As a result, the actual soldiers and thinkers below the rank of captain were able to go around said nobleman, to complain to the higher-ups, or to actively take over the nobleman's duties. Hitler ultimately kept this system in place, and even played on it, to create major internal rivalry. This was a fairly decent method in some cases, for a short period; however, it became an unworkable mess by 1942, which is when Hitler finally solved the problem. The problem was, he solved it in a very foolish way, mostly under the KHO (high command), leaving the army disconnected, and hardly paying attention to the other branches by this time. The KHO was not up to the task, due to lack of size and talent.
The other major change he made was utter obeisance up the chain of command. This brought a new problem, however: now, instead of a local officer of mid-rank going over the head of a slightly higher-ranked officer (either to Hitler or otherwise), he now had to obey every order of said commandeofficer, without question or fail. No matter what.
Thus, we now enter the final primary stage of Nazi Germany circa 1943-1945. This is the 'downfall stage', and also the infamous stage of 'just following orders' (as noted as the primary defence plea at the trials). When a Nazi said, 'I was just following orders', what he really meant was, 'I'm not to blame the crime, because I was demanded, almost by divine command, to follow the order, no matter what that order was'. The trials took this into account, and understood the concept well enough, since it was fairly in place in America and England, though this saw a generally less extreme form, and most orders were actually decent from the American command during WWII. Nonetheless, this led to the almost impossible reality of the trials ending with a fair number of either free Nazis, or at least short prison terms. Of course, all top-ranking Nazi Party members were found guilty, regardless of their plea (which ultimately placed all blame on Hitelr himself, at the top of the chain).
Be mindful of such a framework in your own space military structure. One negative outcome of this by 1943, was that the high-ranking Nazis handed most of their duties down the chain of command; thus, forcing lower and lower ranked officers to perform more and more duties. At times, this led to the failure to complete said duties/tasks, or poor judgement. It also gave supreme power to the mid-ranking officers, as they de facto took on the role of the higher-ups. Since these high-ranking officers were many in their numbers and were widespread at all levels (location, ability, plans, etc.), it led to the complete confusion of the Nazi machine and war effort. Of course, this was somewhat the case since 1939, anyway. But, it became even worse by 1943, as Hitler fragmented everything to ensure his own position of power (after all, his worry was, having an actually functional system, like the Americans, would gift far too much power to the generals and other Party members; thus, they could easily overthrow him).
Either way, despite Hitler's supreme focus on his 'singular vision' for Germany (which he also stressed in Mein Kamf), he made some very foolish mistakes, and was dealing with such an innately broken, evil system that he couldn't possibly ensure such things. For example, as early as 1940, we saw major differences in how the generals and leaders of the Gaue, etc. treated their subjects and tasks. For example, when Germany invaded Poland, there was mixed understranding as to how to treat the Polish and others, and how all of this should proceed. It became such a confused mess that some of the leaders wanted to pretty much Germanised the existing Poles, take their land, re-educate them, and take them in as new Reich Citizens (more so, if they were found to be German in any way, at the level of blood). On the other hand, other leaders of the now-annexed Poland wanted to outright murder all the Poles, regardless of their German blood or other considerations.
This sort of cross-purpose working was almost the norm by 1942 across Nazi Germany: again, partly enforced by Hitler himself with his 'rough orders' sort of leadership. Hitler also had the notion that by forcing in-fighting, he would sit back and see who came out on top; thus, ensuring that the best man did the job/task. But, this was a heavily incomplete theory, to say the least.
Back to Star Wars, for a moment: there is some indications that this is how the Empire ran, as well; hence, the horrible leadership of the Empire and its ultimate downfall.
To end the thread of Nazi Germany (for now), I shall point your attention towards the utter secularisation, utopianisation of the society. By 1937, Nazi Germany was not only one of the most powerful cultures on Earth, with one of the greatest standing armies in history, but it had one of the most 'modern' (i.e. post-WII) social systems in place, which included the likes of cheap cruise trips and holiday sites and entertainment items (radios, etc.), primarily aimed at the working classes. Of course, most of this was only possible due to literal blood money and was primarily geared towards propaganda and total Nazification.
At the same time, Hitler began to re-shape Germany in his own image: removing all Jewish (and then Christian/Roman) elements from society... and history. He even tried to re-write the Bible with a so-called Fifth Gospel, as to replace Jesus (a Jew) with a Germanic figure. This failed as the people largely rejected such; however, atheism and secularism in general were radically enforced through the late-1930s and 1940s, and classical faith dropped massively.
At the level of government, Hitler crafted a semi-centralised system, with local rulers (of a district or Gau) that had near-total imperium (meaning, power over their area and subjects). This massively unified Germany and the flow of the culture, come the fragmented, hyper-localised system of the old Germany. Of course, this itself was a struggle to put into place, and by 1942, it was also clear that it's not so easy to control people: they have social networks and sub-systems of their own, and these are the primary driving forces behind settlement structures and otherwise.
Hitler had some sense of this, more so at the border to France, but like with many other fundamental problems of Germany (such as the large anti-Nazi Christian movement), he wanted to put it off until victory.
This is an unwise tactic, if the problems keep growing, as they did. It reminds me somewhat of the Japanese tactic of winning through, 'faith in victory'. Well, victory does not magically appear: you have to actually work towards victory in a stable, logical way. Of course, as I alluded to earlier: the Nazis had major problems in place as early as 1939, so entering/creating the war itself was a grave mistake (as the generals told him at the time). Keep this in mind. You need to actually create a real, functional, multi-faceted system, and a core generalship. You need all the branches working with one another. And, you need to maybe not take over the world, because that's a horrible idea and very difficult. It also helps if you don't waste money and time killing all the Jews and Poles, etc. as you're losing the war. That's just illogical. Then again: the Nazis are not very logical, even Hitler as logical as he was at times. The failed invasion of Russia was also a major issue, but was likely not as big an issue as the other combined factors, actually!
Part Four: Good Generalship
Speaking of generals and the failure of Hitler's leadership, for a more stable evil empire -- or for your other faction/'good guys', you might want to look to America during WWII. Not perfect, of course, and I cannot defend all of its choices or systems or reasoning, but it's certainly one of the best systems that we saw (and there is every indication that America's generalship and army leadership has only become worse since 1945). I also recall some stories of the Navy having some major struggles, too, and just overall downfall of its culture and traditions (begininng as ealry as the 1970s). For example, drinking mostly died out in the Navy by the 1990s, and so the bars were shut down on bases, etc.
One problem with this was the lack of 'telling story' (as they say). This is when the men would meet in the bar, tell stories of war, of the great heroes -- get inspired, and wiser, with any luck. Not sure how widespread this is, but the storytelling and social meeting element of this seems to come back somewhat since then. This is just one example of something deeply important to sailors, and you remove such at your own risk. You need to 'tell story', you need to be inspired, you need to have naval heroes to look up to. The same logic applies to the soldiers of the Army, too.
It's almost like the soul was ripped out of the American military in the 1950s, and it has struggled to put it back in ever since.
So, what did the generalship of WWII look like? What can we learn from it? Well, we have to turn to one George C. Marshall. But, first, let's go back to 1939. America had a standing army of about 200,000 men: pretty standard for peacetime. Very small. By 1945, Marshall stood down a force of over 10 million. Beginning around 1942, America went from a fairly minor military power with relatively little spending, to the greatest military power in the world -- likely, in history.
It all began in WWI, as it turns out. In the first place, the Americans shifted to a more European system by this time, which largely remained through WWII. This is where they got their division system from, and all their numbering systems and such.
Despite popular belief, the Nazi military was not great, logistically speaking. They were good, and tried very hard to fight dozens of nations at once, and deal with tens of millions of people -- but their systems and talent were just not up to the task. It's often noted that the Nazis could not even out-do the Polish counter-intelligence by 1940!
The U.S. military, on the other hand, was elegant beyond measure. You can get a sense of this via its Navy, paying close attention to its ID system, almost impossible turn-over of Victory ships, and its battleships and otherwise major vessels. These are iconic for a reason, and still command and defend the waters of the world today (along with the British submarines and others).
Well, it's worth noting that the Americans were actually fighting for freedom, not just food or world control, like the Nazis and German citizens were. The Americans were also not really forced into battle, unlike the Germans. On top of this, the Americans -- largely thanks to Marshall -- had a profound merit-based system. Nazi Germany, on the other hand, was so racially biased as to be almost self-defeating. Often, for example, high-ranking civil positions, such as a factory chief, would be a Nazi member, regardless of his abilities. On the other hand, if a great worker looked 'too Jewish' he would never be hired (this was mostly done by photo ID, and was understood via big noses and otherwise features).
Although America had its own major racial issues at this time, and was not wonderfully fond of Jews, it had enough wisdom and goodness to primarily focus on merit and ability.
Returning again to WWI for a moment, Marshall himself noted that there was a complete failure of the system. It had hardly moved on for over 100 years (which is to be imagined, as a military system innately requires stability and a lack of change). But, this was too much... the world was changing, and the military was not. Marshall had the wisdom and ability to fix this during WWII as Chief of Staff with extreme power and focus. First of all, he outright fired any general or otherwise not up to the task of WWII. Not even joking. He literally walked up to them, and fired them on the spot. He fired them if they were (a) too old; (b) too aggressive; (c) not aggressive enough; and/or (d) too illogical/stupid.
He would entirely remove them, or relocate them to other positions, where they were either of use, or out of the way.
So, by 1942, Marshall rallied for great action from America, and began his process of re-shaping the American generalship. He did so across a few dimensions. First of all, he understood that America was not Prussia or France or England. He understood that America had its own values and rituals: he lent into that and used it. This was the birth of the American military we see today, to the degree that it's functional and proper. Most of all, this bled down the ranks, to the soldier himself. This is where we get the 'cocky, arrogant American soldier' from. This actually began as a very good thing, showing supreme faith, bravery, and optimism. He made it really easy for us... he wrote a list! I do love a good list...
The four qualities (well, really, about seven) a good general or leader requires, according to Marshall, circa 1920 (in a letter). Clearly, written just after WWI and everything he saw therein:

• Optimism
• Bravery and dutifulness
• Extreme loyalty
• Hopefulness and resolve

Note: An added bit of interest might be that we can blame Marshall for why America has a 'General of the Army' instead of a 'field marshal' (like Europe, etc.). They thought it would be unthinkable to have a 'Marshal Marshall', so by luck of the gods, his name was entirely the wrong name for the job when it came time, in late-1944, for the first ever modern rank of 'marshal', or General of the Army). This is a five-star rank, just above general (full general/four-star general).
(In theory, the six-star general rank would be 'General of the Armies' (plural), though this rank no longer exists in any real sense, though it does apply to Washington, since 1976. In a German context, this is 'Reichsmarschall' (Reich Marshal; which applied to Goring only), one rank above 'field marshal' -- which is also known as 'marshal', 'general field marshal', or 'field marshal general'. Interestingly, Hitler had wanted Goring to take command, if anything should happen to him. But, Goring asked Hitler directly for command towards the end of the war, which made Hitler so angry as to call for his death. I guess, he hurt Hitler's ego, to say the least.)

Getting the right of entry to high-quality healthcare is an essential right of each character, irrespective of in which they stay or their socioeconomic fame. Unfortunately, in many components of the sector, along with India, getting admission to healthcare offerings is restricted or non-existent, specifically in rural regions. Recognizing this issue, the TDP government of Andhra Pradesh, under the management of leader Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, released the 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa' application, a mobile healthcare unit initiative that goals to offer quality healthcare offerings to the underprivileged and underserved sections of society.
The 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa program is a fleet of mobile healthcare devices which can be prepared with modern-day medical facilities and staffed with certified medical specialists. Those devices are designed to reach faraway villages in which healthcare facilities are restrained or non-existent and offer clinical remedies and services to the villagers. This system has been a success in offering healthcare services to lots of humans in far-off villages, who formerly had no get admission to scientific facilities. The scientific professionals on board the devices are qualified medical doctors, nurses, and another medical team of workers, who are skilled to offer number one healthcare services, diagnose ailments, and prescribe drug treatments. N Chandrababu Naidu said it is the major TDP scheme implemented in the health sector.
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The achievement of TDP Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa application is a testament to the TDP government's commitment to imparting first-rate healthcare offerings to every character, irrespective of their area or socioeconomic popularity. This system has furnished a ray of desire for people in faraway areas who have been previously deprived of primary healthcare centres. This system has also been beneficial in decreasing the weight on the prevailing healthcare facilities, allowing for better allocation of assets and progressed services.
Moreover, the 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa program has contributed notably to attaining the Sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United International locations. One of the primary desires of the SDGs is to make certain proper fitness and properly-being for all. By means of imparting the best healthcare offerings to people living in far-off regions, the 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa' program is contributing to reaching this intention. For the more latest news of the Telugu Desam Political Party and for live updates visit the official TDP website.
In end, the 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa' is a superb initiative taken by means of the TDP government of Andhra Pradesh under the N Chandrababu Naidu ruling to provide healthcare services to the ones living in far-flung areas. The program has been successful in attaining out to the underserved and underprivileged sections of society and imparting them with excellent healthcare services. This system has also been useful in lowering the load on the present healthcare facilities in the country. It's miles a step closer to ensuring that every individual has access to nice healthcare services, no matter where they stay. This system is a remarkable example of how governments can take proactive steps to improve the lives of their residents by presenting important services which are frequently left out. With the 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikitsa', the TDP government have taken a great step toward enhancing the healthcare centres inside the nation and ensuring that every person

We often hear the question: "Is Player X good enough to be the best player on a championship team?"
Less often, you hear: "Is Player Y good enough to be the second best player on a championship team?"
It's time to give these second bananas their due. We're going through the 2000s and ranking each SECOND best player on the title teams. Their values vary -- some were merely good starters, some were All-Stars, and some were arguably top 5 players in the entire league.
Ranking them isn't easy, but we're going to keep a few caveats in mind.
--- We're ranking based on the second banana's play during the course of THAT SEASON -- not their careers overall.
--- Statistics will be important, but not the be-all and end-all. After all, there's a big difference between stats from 2003 and stats from 2023. As a result, we may often defer to season accolades like "All-Star" or "All-NBA."
With all that said, here are my rankings, but feel free to disagree and explain your own ranks below.

THE BEST (title-winning) SECOND BANANAS of the 2000s

(23) Tyson Chandler, 2011 Dallas Mavericks
The 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks were probably the most unlikely champion of the 2000s, with Dirk Nowitzki and a cast of older veterans who were seemingly on the decline. At the time, Jason Kidd was 37, Caron Butler was 30, Shawn Marion was 32, and Peja Stojakovic was 33.
You can make the case for Jason Terry to be the second banana here. Terry averaged 15.8 points off the bench for the Mavs that year, which is more impressive when you consider the context. (teams averaged 99.6 PPG then, 114.7 PPG now). Terry also pumped his numbers up to 18.0 PPG in their stunning upset over Miami in the Finals.
Still, we'll give the slight nod to Tyson Chandler as the teams' second most impactful player overall. Chandler finished 2nd team All-Defense and his strong playoff showing helped spearhead his DPOY campaign the following season (for the Knicks). Either way -- whether you give the nod to Chandler, Terry, or Kidd -- this would rank at the bottom of our list. None of those players was flirting with All-Star status.
(22) Tony Parker, 2003 San Antonio Spurs
The Parisian Torpedo will be a frequent contributor to this list -- logging a record-setting 3 "second banana" awards for his contributions to the Spurs' incredible run.
Naturally, his first would be his least impactful. Back in 2002-03, Tony Parker was still only 20 years old and in his second season in the league. Still, he was probably their second best player after a prime Tim Duncan. He averaged 15.5 points and 5.3 assists (solid numbers for the era) and held his own against Jason Kidd in the Finals. Parker wouldn't be considered a star yet though -- his first All-Star appearance came three years later.
(21) Andrew Wiggins, 2022 Golden State Warriors
Golden State's title last year was their biggest surprise run, fueled by Steph Curry and a solid-but-unspectacular supporting cast. Among them, you could debate the virtues and flaws of the second bananas -- Draymond Green struggled offensively, Jordan Poole struggled defensively, Klay Thompson missed significant time coming back from injury.
Of that group, I'd suggest Andrew Wiggins was their most well-rounded and consistent second banana. He averaged 17.2 PPG and even made the All-Star team. Better yet, he became a "winning player." He scored more efficiently (39.3% from 3) and played better defense -- particularly in the Finals. That said, Wiggins was probably on the level of a "good starter" more than a typical All-Star. For that reason, we'll rank him below a few others who didn't make the All-Star team.
(20) Tony Parker, 2005 San Antonio Spurs
Tony Parker re-emerges on our list and climbs even higher now in his age-22 season. He still didn't make the All-Star team, but he upped his numbers to 16.6 points and 6.1 assists per game. Again, we have to remember that these averages look better when you factor in the points "inflation" of today. Overall, we'll give him a slight edge over rising Manu Ginobili (who averaged 16.0 PPG off the bench that year), although it's debatable. Of the two, Ginobili played better in the Finals against Detroit. Still, whether it's Parker or Ginobili, the second banana would rank around this same range.
(19) Kyle Lowry, 2019 Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors finally broke through when they rented mercenary Kawhi Leonard for the year, but Leonard was backed up by a very strong supporting cast overall.
Among them, we're giving a slight nod to the old dog Kyle Lowry (then 32) over the rising star Pascal Siakam. Lowry felt like more of the heartbeat to the team. The numbers don't jump off the page (14.2 PPG), but he was a strong two-way player who averaged 8.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
(18) Khris Middleton, 2021 Milwaukee Bucks
We have another second banana debate here, although we're leaning to Khris Middleton over Jrue Holiday. It's easy for our memory to get foggy now that Middleton has struggled post injury, but he was a very good starter before that. He averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game (not far behind Jrue Holiday's 6.1).
While the 29-year-old Middleton didn't make the All-Star team this season, he was an All-Star caliber player; in fact, he made the team both the prior year and the year after.
(17) Chauncey Billups, 2004 Detroit Pistons
We're giving the primary "star" designation to Ben Wallace here. While "Big Ben" only averaged 9.5 PPG, his defense was the Pistons' biggest differentiator. In 2003-04, Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year and even finished 7th in MVP voting.
Among the other starters, we're giving the nod to Chauncey Billups over Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. Hamilton had the slight edge in scoring (17.6 PPG to 16.9 PPG), but Billups led the team with 5.7 assists per game and tended to be their go-to guy offensively when need be. Sure enough, "Mr. Big Shot" would go on to win Finals MVP.
(16) Tony Parker, 2007 San Antonio Spurs
As Tim Duncan aged, Tony Parker got better and better. His best second banana season would come in 2006-07. Now age 24, Parker averaged 18.6 points and 5.5 assists per game and made the All-Star team. He shot less threes and relied more on his ability to drive and convert in the paint. He shot 52.0% from the field overall.
In the Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers had no answer for Parker's scoring. He whipped them to the tune of 24.5 points per game (shooting 56.8% from the field in the process). Parker would win Finals MVP for his part in the sweep.
(15) Kawhi Leonard, 2014 San Antonio Spurs
For their last title, the San Antonio Spurs were more the sum of their parts than any one true star. Tim Duncan was 37, Manu Ginobili was 36. Tony Parker had probably graduated from second banana to their marquee player -- he was their leading scorer and lone All-Star that season.
After him, we'll call Kawhi Leonard their next best player. While Leonard wasn't a big name or big scorer yet (averaging 12.8 PPG), he still had a massive impact on winning. He was an efficient offensive player (shooting 52.2% from the field) and an excellent defender. The raw stats suggest that Leonard should be lower than this, but the advanced stats suggest he was already an elite player. Overall, his BPM of +5.0 led the team. We'll make the playoffs the tiebreaker, where Leonard stepped up his scoring and won Finals MVP. If you want to consider him the team's best player this year (which feels like a bit of revisionist history), Parker would rank around this same range.
(14) Kyrie Irving, 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers
Young Kyrie Irving (then 23) also gets a boost for his excellent playoff performance. In the Finals, Irving exploded for 27.1 points per game and helped the Cavs defeat the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
If you look at his 2015-16 as a whole, it gets harder to rank Irving much higher than this. He didn't play that great in the regular season; in fact, it may have been the worst of his career. He only played 53 games, only shot 32.1% from 3 (a career low), and only averaged 4.7 assists (also a career low). He also missed the All-Star game. In terms of peak performance, Irving was an excellent second banana (particularly for LeBron James), but if we gauge this exercise season-by-season he'd rank around middle of the pack.
(13) Pau Gasol, 2009 Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant rightfully gets the lion's share of credit for the Lakers' repeat from 2009-10, but history may forget how good Pau Gasol was when he arrived from Memphis to help out the cause.
Right in the thick of his prime at age 28, Gasol averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. His size, skill, and basketball IQ made him the perfect mind meld with Bryant. All in all, Gasol made the All-Star team and even cracked 3rd team All-NBA. He's the first "All-NBA" sidekick we've registered so far, which explains his lofty ranking.
(12) Pau Gasol, 2010 Los Angeles Lakers
The following year, Pau Gasol was arguably even better. He started to control the paint even more, registering 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Once again, he made the All-Star team and 3rd team All-NBA. Between Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom off the bench -- this Lakers unit may have had the best frontcourt depth in the 2000s.
(11) Shaquille O'Neal, 2006 Miami Heat
When Shaquille O'Neal first arrived from L.A., he immediately assumed the mantle of the star of the Miami Heat. That first year, he even finished 2nd in MVP voting.
However, by the next year (2005-06), Dwyane Wade had usurped that mantle. Now 33, O'Neal shifted into more of a supporting role. He still had a major impact -- averaging 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks -- but became more of a second option as Wade tore up the playoffs. He appeared to slow down as the season wore on -- averaging just 13.7 PPG in the Finals.
Still, O'Neal's accolades this season rank highly -- he was an All-Star and 1st team All-NBA performer. For that reason, we're going to put him above some of the 3rd team All-NBA sidekicks. Still, you can argue against that as O'Neal was more on the level of a Pau Gasol than a true superstar at this point.
(10) Klay Thompson, 2015 Golden State Warriors
When we think about "sidekicks," you immediately think of someone with the skill set of Klay Thompson (then age 24). He took "3 and D" to the extreme -- nailing 43.9% from deep and contributing 1.9 "stocks" on the other end (1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks).
Like Pau Gasol, Klay Thompson made the All-Star and made 3rd team All-NBA that season. In fact, he even made an appearance on an MVP ballot and finished 10th overall in the voting. For a clear "sidekick," that's an impressive feat.
(9) Paul Pierce, 2008 Boston Celtics
Back in 2007-08, Danny Ainge wasn't cobbling together a team of a star + supporting sidekicks -- he was combining three stars who had gotten used to being "the man" in their previous stops. New arrival Kevin Garnett assumed the role as the alpha dog -- averaging 18.8 PPG, playing excellent defense, and finishing third in MVP voting.
Meanwhile, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen played the role of overqualified "Robins." Pierce averaged 19.6 points to lead the team, shooting 39.2% from three. Like our previous second bananas, he made the All-Star team and the 3rd team All-NBA. You also got the sense there was more in the tank when need be, as illustrated by his averaging 21.8 points and 6.3 assists in the Finals en route to Finals MVP.
(8) Dwyane Wade, 2013 Miami Heat
As we jump back and forth through time like a Chris Nolan movie, it may be hard to keep track of the ups and downs of these superstars. For this spot, we're talking about the Dwyane Wade of the "Heatles" days. In 2013, Wade was 31 years old, maybe a step past his prime, and a clear second banana to LeBron James.
Still, even in that role, Wade had a massive impact. In the regular season, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks. While he may have to take a backseat to LeBron James offensively, he utilized his athleticism to be a wrecking ball on the defensive end. Overall, he finished as an All-Star, 3rd team All-NBA, and even landed in 10th place in MVP voting.
(7) Kobe Bryant, 2000 Los Angeles Lakers
Again, let's pay attention to the timeline here. In the first three-peat of the Shaq and Kobe days, Kobe Bryant was only 21 years old and not at the peak of his powers. Make no mistake -- this was the Shaq Show early on. In the Finals, O'Neal averaged 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds (more boards than Bryant had points with 15.6 PPG).
Despite that, Bryant was clearly a star player in his own right. He averaged numbers similar to 2013 Wade -- 22.5 points and 1.6 steals per game. He made the All-Star game, 1st team All-Defense, and 2nd team All-NBA, accolades that put him in this lofty spot on our rankings.
(6) Dwyane Wade, 2012 Miami Heat
We're toggling back to Dwyane Wade now -- in the year prior to our 8th place spot. In the Heatles' first title (and Wade's second overall), he was still 30 years old and arguably still in his prime. He averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 assists, and even better defensive numbers -- 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
For his efforts, he was named to the All-Star team and to the 3rd team All-NBA. He also cracked the MVP voting again, finishing in 10th place once more. We're going to give him a slight edge on Kobe's first title year, but the two would be razor tight; they were both clearly top 10 players in the league at the time.
(5) Anthony Davis, 2020 Los Angeles Lakers
Say what you want about the COVID year, the bubble, and the "Mickey Mouse" championship, but Anthony Davis was a friggin' beast back in 2019-20. He averaged 26.1 points per game, keyed by his ability to get to the line and convert (84.6% shooting on 8.5 FTA per game). He caught fire in the playoffs, averaging a team-high 27.7 PPG with a 66.5% true shooting percentage.
Davis's defensive impact is what sets him apart from most other second bananas. He averaged 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, earning 1st team All-Defense and nearly winning DPOY. Overall, he made the All-Star team, 1st team All-NBA, and finished 6th in MVP voting. In terms of season accolades, that would be the best on our list so far.
(4) Kobe Bryant, 2001 Los Angeles Lakers
If 1999-2000 Kobe Bryant was still developing, he looked like a finished product by 2000-01. Now age 22, he was a dominant player on both ends. He averaged 28.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and made 2nd team All-Defense. Overall, this version of Bryant finished 2nd team All-NBA and finished 9th in MVP voting. That ranking would have probably been even higher had he not missed some time in the regular season (only 68 games played).
Looking back, you could see where some of the tension between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal may have stemmed from. After all, it's not easy for a kid who put up 29-7-6 in the playoffs to accept being second banana forever.
(3) Kobe Bryant, 2002 Los Angeles Lakers
In the final year of the Lakers' three-peat, the 23-year-old Kobe Bryant had not only established himself as a superstar, but as one of the best players in the entire league. The numbers don't jump off the page -- 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists -- but we have to adjust for the era and the role he played.
The league clearly knew his value. He made the All-Star team, 2nd team All-Defense, 1st team All-NBA, and finished 5th in MVP voting (two spots behind Shaquille O'Neal). He'd jump even higher the next year, overtaking O'Neal as the leading scorer (30.0 PPG) and the leading MVP candidate (3rd overall).
(2) Steph Curry, 2018 Golden State Warriors
Finally, we answered the question that had stumped basketball analysts for years: what would happen if you added a superstar to a team that won 73 games the year prior? Turns out, they'd be pretty good.
For our exercise, the bigger challenge is determining who the "second banana" would be between two recent MVPs Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. I'm going to split the difference and say it was Curry's team the first year (when KD coincidentally missed 20 games) and then got handed over to Durant the following year (when Curry missed 30 games).
Through that lens, we're going to study Curry in that second season. Still only 29, Curry was still squarely in his prime. He averaged 26.4 PPG on a sparkling 67.5% true shooting percentage. Even though he missed 31 regular season games, he still finished 3rd team All-NBA and 10th in MVP voting. You could even argue that he was the most impactful player in the NBA at the time. After all, he had won back-to-back MVPs a few seasons prior.
(1) Kevin Durant, 2017 Golden State Warriors
If we're calling Kevin Durant the "second banana" for the first year in Golden State, he'd rank as the best two-way sidekick in the 2000s. Remember, we're not debating "Kobe vs. Durant" in terms of career achievement here; we're ranking their single-season efforts in a supporting role. Unlike some of our other stars (like a young Kobe), Durant was squarely in his prime at age 28.
In the regular season, he averaged 25.1 PPG on stone-cold efficiency (65% true shooting). Also, outside of Oklahoma City's super-sized lineup, he showcased his ability to protect the rim as well -- blocking 1.6 shots per game. Despite missing 20 games in the regular season, he still finished 2nd team All-NBA.
More than that, Durant demonstrated his true upside in the playoffs and Finals. Matched up with LeBron James and a historically-underrated Cavs team, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 blocks on godly shooting splits of 56-47-93 (a 69.8% true shooting). Durant was arguably the best player in the NBA that year -- and would be top 3 at minimum. For that reason, he ranks at our top spot.
follow up: where would Jamal Murray or Bam Adebayo rank?
This year's Finals may not be Adam Silver's dream, but it's a great one for this exercise. We rarely see a clearer "second banana" in the hierarchy like Jamal Murray for Denver or Bam Adebayo for Miami.
Ranking them among the second bananas would be a more difficult task. Coming back from injury, Murray didn't have a great regular season. He's still never made the All-Star team. Still, his ability to raise his game in the playoffs and make tough shots does feel reminiscent of young Kyrie Irving during that Cavs title run.
Alternatively, Adebayo has a great case as a two-way stud. He's not the type of "back you down" big that some people want him to be, but he can still score in the mid-range, he's an underrated passer, and he's obviously an exceptional and switchable defender. He made the All-Star team and second team All-Defense this year. Among our second bananas, he reminds me most of Pau Gasol during the Lakers run.

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1. Barking Dog Luncheonette: This casual eatery on the Upper East Side welcomes dogs and even provides a doggy menu.
2. Shake Shack: This famous burger joint has dog-friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup can relax while you enjoy a delicious burger and shake.
3. The Wilson: Located in Chelsea, this stylish restaurant has a dog-friendly outdoor patio and serves a variety of dishes from brunch to dinner.
4. Fetch Bar & Grill: This unique spot in the Lower East Side is specifically designed for dogs and their owners, offering a full-service bar and a menu for both humans and dogs.

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I live in Renens, a small city next to Lausanne. Until last year, Romandie Energie took care of my electricity bill and I was paying about 130 CHF per 3 months. I thought it was kinda expensive - I live alone in a 2.5-room apartment (50m2), I don't work from home, I love sports so after getting off work I usually hit a climbing gym/run/swim/cycle, and on weekends I'm either in the mountains or at my boyfriend's place (in another city). Thus basically what I do at home are simple meal prep/showesleep/house chores. However since I also trust the overall Swiss system/facility, I just thought it was because my apartment is old and the electricity operation is not efficient. (Most of my friends got a bill with a much lower cost)
This year the company was changed, so now it's not Romandie Energie anymore, but SIE. Recently I got the bill for Jan-March, and it only charged 40 CHF! Okay, it's great that I only need to pay that amount, but on the other hand, I wonder how it is possible. I even heard that the price could increase this year just like several countries that had to increase the electricity price. Was I getting overcharged before?