In America's two-hundred year history, the tricks for winning elections have evolved. Political spending is greater than ever, and so are the barriers to contend. 

Corporations pay money to advertise a voice and reach new audiences, however; to have a political voice, the FEC (Federal Election Commission) has stated laws requiring "Paid for by" disclaimers in its Special Notices on Political Ads and Solicitations brochure.   

Many businesses such as Facebook are now flagging political ads and are requiring everything questionable to have a disclaimer and come from a verified account. This raises the quality of contributors, but it also becomes more difficult for independent organizations to even have a voice.

While money can always be funneled through others to hide an agenda's trail, a disclaimer is not even required for items that according to the brochure, "cannot be conveniently printed (for example, pens, bumper stickers, campaign pins, campaign buttons and similar small items) or where its display is not practicable (for example, wearing apparel, water towers and skywriting)."

With hot topics, politics can steal the spotlight and distract from the real issues, emphasizing what captivates attention, and bringing the conversation into a candidate's desired territory. Facts can get twisted and over time be argued to an oblivion where the truth is lost.  

Political messages can also appear in less obvious forms -- cities, counties, and districts are targeted; from local clubs, events, and even churches -- countless sponsors push politics using algorithms, big data, demographics, and other technologies. Television stations program content to satisfy political messages. Party ideologies play on internal conflicts and tear apart families/communities, friends and neighbors cannot be trusted because beneath the surface, everything might be about revolution.

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During recent months, anticipation tremendously grew for August 30, 2019 -- the date the first episode of the Carnival Row series debuts on Amazon Prime Video. Its Google knowledge panel now reads the description, "A human detective and a fairy rekindle a dangerous affair in a Victorian fantasy world; the city's uneasy peace collapses when a string of murders reveals an unimaginable monster."

While the reality of the show is too much for many to resist, people will only have to wait a few more days to experience it for themselves. Including elements of action, romance, and suspense, and seemingly created/inspired by bits, pieces, and concepts from different authors, stories, myths, and legends, its theme aims to entertain the extremely popular audience labeled as fantasy/science-fiction.

Even though Carnival Row hasn't yet aired, websites have started publishing articles and reviews. With other services such as Netflix running competing fantasy/science-fiction (aka Neo-Noir) TV shows, some which premiere the same day -- not saying in this case that they are necessarily, but it leads to wonder how often closely involved business parties are actually the ones behind leaving the passionate consumer reviews and writing the articles which steer people's behaviors and purchases. 

Juliane Klein, writer for German website Citizen Z in a review for Carnival Row said, "production designers and idea developers have done a good job... Rather, [instead of more vampires and zombies] they had concentrated on far more mystical beings."  A dangerous mix of humans, fairies, centaurs, and other races makes Carnival Row a melting pot surrounding Burgue-area locals avoid. In this fantasy world, tension, distrust, and suspense follows on a mystery to hunt down an active serial-killer. On social media, countless people post and tweet their reasons for why they are excited about the show -- "High fantasy elements brought into a Sherlock Holmes style detective drama just fills a niche I didn't know I was void of..." "This is dark, adult, epic fantasy at its best!" 

Those at Amazon Prime Video must be enjoying the series a lot, because they renewed it for a second season before the first season even started airing. Cara Delevingne, with a starring role in the show, has a talent for finding unique projects in which to give incredible character and personality -- she has a growing list of movie, modeling, music, and television accomplishments -- she has recently acted as Crassie Cassie in Her Smell (2019), an alternative/punk rock drummer (and guitarist). Delevingne also played Laureline in sci-fi smash Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017). According to Cheatsheet's Carnival Row article written by Fred Topel, for Carnival Row, Cara has put extra time into the character of Vignette Stonemoss to give her the right feel and appearance -- from choreographing fight-scenes, to walking specific ways so her character's wings look the most natural -- including the feelings and limited movements while wings are corseted down and restricted, because rather than using the wings for flying, according Topel, "she hides them most of the time to blend in on the streets of The Burgue."

Co-star and one of the series producers, Orlando Bloom is no stranger to the fantasy scene either -- his debut acting roles were the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and the Pirates of the Carribean movies, but his involvement in Carnival Row series is also a major acting plus -- it gives the audience a chance to see Orlando (Rycroft Philostrate) as a different character than that of his typical methods in major past roles (elf, pirate, etc). Instead as a recently-commissioned police detective, the change adds mystery to his character, because he might act differently from how everyone is expecting. In an interview with TODAY, Bloom draws connections between Carnival Row and current events. Klein of Citizen Z also said about the countless topics the show discusses, "many of them, despite being embedded in the fantasy genre, are more relevant and relevant in our real world than you can imagine." Executive producer Travis Beacham, in a TVLine interview, used the word, "messy," to describe the war-torn Carnival Row world, and compared it to the real world.

Delevingne agreed in a recent Parade article, “this is one of the most amazing ways to look at something that people don’t want to talk about, like immigration or refugees. It’s hard to swallow because it’s the treatment of people that is just unthinkable. It’s crazy, it’s horrible, it’s disgusting and it’s hard to get a conversation to continue because people would rather be ignorant to it.” Parade also said about the show having a voice, "that is one of the reasons she really wanted to be a part of the project, because the show is a platform to open conversations on a serious subject, while still entertaining."

Carnival Row might be the next exciting show everyone is hoping to find -- streaming goes active in just a few days -- on Friday, August 30, check for Carnival Row at Amazon Prime Video. In the meantime, get introduced and watch its free bonus content. 

Entertainment seekers, music fans, artists, mallrats, consumers, tourists, and residents of Portland, Oregon here is some exciting news up your alley! Lloyd Center Mall's website now states that the 'Live Nation Music Venue will be opening in 2020.' The venue will be located on the third floor of the old Nordstrom building. The box office will be on the first floor and will include lounging and dining options.

So who is Live Nation and how cool are they? Live Nation is the world's leading live entertainment company. With Live Nation you can expect professional state of the art lighting, sound, big name artists, and staff making it a full music industry concert experience.
Not only is Portland getting a world-class concert venue, but the city could also be getting their own legendary House of Blues. In 2017, Willamette Week reported, "According to a liquor license application filed with the OLCC, the venue will be located inside Lloyd Center, Live Nation owns over 100 clubs and amphitheaters internationally, including the House of Blues chain. Though the venue is listed as "Rose City Music Hall" on the OLCC application, the LLC name is "HOB Entertainment," suggesting it could be branded as a House of Blues." 

The venue, lounge, and dining are all among a new renovation to transform the old Nordstrom side of the mall into an entertainment wing. The second floor of the Nordstrom's building is set to have an entertainment arcade restaurant like Dave and Buster's. Upon several visits to the mall I have noticed it to be very empty of people, numerous vacant stores and vacant restaurants in the food court that are unnoccupied by businesses. In this day and age it appears that more people are just shopping online instead of mall browsing. This entertainment wing could be what Lloyd Center needs to bring a new crowd. Let's see what happens! Stay tuned for more information on this story as it develops.

To control American news, statistics suggest that journalists are not usually killed; they are suppressed. It has taken months to bring this article, and the impact of its message is dampened and discredited.

Last September (2018), we explained how Reporters Without Borders - RSF (Reporters Sans Frontières)’ reported on the United States that its press freedom index was in 45th place globally. The 2018 team based out of Paris, France seemingly determined that killing American journalists does not silence the press, so powerful influencers virtually strip other parties of their right to report. 2018 RSF said, “US press freedom, enshrined in the First Amendment to the 1787 constitution, has been under increasing attack over the past few years, and the first year of President Donald J. Trump's presidency has fostered further decline in journalists' right to report."  They also said, “he (Trump) has declared the press an enemy of the American people in a series of verbal attacks toward journalists, attempted to block White House access to multiple media outlets, and routinely uses the term 'fake news' in retaliation for critical reporting. He has even called for revoking certain media outlets’ broadcasting licenses” -- using fear to control opinions and determine the news' path. 

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker brings increased awareness to how American press freedom has been limited, "journalists in the United States face hostility from local and federal governments, along with a number of legal threats to themselves and their sources." The site's, "About," section also includes examples that interfere with press freedom such as -- journalists fear of facing legal charges, or "reporters being stopped at the U.S. border or asked to hand over their electronics."

RSF has updated its United States' press freedom profile and stated, "press freedom has continued to decline in the second year of President Donald Trump’s presidency," which has dropped 3 places, now to only be the world's 48th most free. For record time periods, journalists have been repreatedly denied access to briefings and public events. In response to increased the tension -- "at least one White House correspondent has hired private security for fear of their life after receiving death threats, and newsrooms throughout the country have been plagued by bomb threats and were the recipients of other potentially dangerous packages, prompting journalism organizations to reconsider the security of their staffs in a uniquely hostile environment." 

To distract the public and control perceptions, boss-fearing reporting/programming has become sensational, suppressed, disproportionate, and most pleasing to superiors.

Stay tuned to Ascendents.net News! 

"I suggest you think twice."

Carnival Row is an upcoming American neo-noir fantasy web television series created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham that is set to premiere in 2019 on Amazon Video.

On its list of most anticipated shows premiering in 2019, Zimbio said that in this series, the streaming service (Amazon Prime) appears to have Orlando Bloom (Rycroft Philostrate) starring opposite of Cara Delevingne (Vignette Stonemoss), "guiding an eight-episode straight-to-series drama. Carnival Row is a fantasy noir that's set in a neo- Victorian city where mythical creatures, who have fled their war-torn homelands, have gathered." The article continued outlining the series -- "tensions arise between citizens and the ever-growing immigrant population. Ultimately, things reach a boiling point when a string of unsolved murders push public unrest and threaten peace."

Deadline reported, "Delevingne will play Vignette Stonemoss, a faerish refugee who flees her war-torn homeland to come to the Burgue, where she must contend not only with rampant human prejudice against her kind, but with the secrets that have followed her to this new land." It also said production started in fall 2018, in Prague.

In an article on MSN, a caption along with a video showing behind the scenes footage for the series has outlined a special twist -- "as a serial killer preys on mystical creatures in a dark futuristic city, a detective on the case becomes the prime suspect in the murders."

This was repeated on the series' IMDB page that also has more complete cast and writer information. 

Watch a Carnival Row behind the scenes video (Ascendents.net or YouTube) from the YouTube channel, First Look.