#Russian Library Records

[trevlad-sounds]

Mystery Ramsgate Community

29.12.2024

There Is Another System – Affres de la Mort (Live) – 00:00 Scott Campbell – Centering – 04:48 HAWKSMOOR – Solstice Alignment – 09:04 Folclore Impressionista – Fox Likes the Sun – 10:29 Her Majesty’s Coroner for Wirral – dont wake the kids luv x – 10:49 Concretism – Beach – 14:54 Field Lines Cartographer – Shining Ramshorn Snail – 16:18 Folclore Impressionista – The Problem Of Symmetry – 25:27 The Hardy Tree – All the Hours – 28:39 HAWKSMOOR – Methods of Dreaming – 47:51 THE DANDELION SET & ALAN MOORE – Memoir Of A Black Spider – 51:35 Gustavo Jobim – 1.00 am deckard zapping tv channels – 54:11 The Overload – Low Flying Aircraft – 59:23 The Overload – Gated Community – 01:01:52 Vic Mars – Plastic trees – 01:04:19 Town & County – Intercity House – 01:07:39 Aural Design – Light and movement – 01:10:52 Mike Dickinson – Return To Love – 01:12:16 30 Door Key – Mistery & Imagination – 01:15:48 The Focus Group – Salty Sun Tales – 01:17:55

[the-californicationist]

he opens the mail

Captain Price opens a package, thinking it’s intel, but it’s a sex pollen. The only cure? Your pussy, apparently.

Warning: sex pollen tropes, extremely dubious consent, attempt at satire?, angry john price

“We’re never going to make this deadline. Laswell’s gonna kill me,” you complained, burying your head in the pile of envelopes and packages strewn over your desk. 

“Did this to yourself, lass. Shoulda been keepin’ up with intel duty. Wee bit at a time, ‘s what I say,” Soap patted you on the shoulder, feigning pity. 

You spent hours combing through the documents, and by the time everyone had gone to bed, your fingers were covered in paper cuts, and your vision was blurry from squinting at the poorly scrawled Cyrillic words. 

You thought you were alone, and as you stood up to stretch and refill your coffee mug, Captain Price opened up the office door, scaring you half to death. 

“Oh, hey Corporal,” he smiled and then furrowed his brow, “What are you still doing here?”

You sighed, pointing to the piles of documents,

“Laswell’s intel backlog. I’m the only one with a Level 3 linguistics cert for Russian, so here I am. Gonna be an all-nighter.”

He closed the door and sat down across from your seat, digging into the pile, 

“I’m Level 3. Let’s finish it.”

“Captain, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’ve got more important things…”

Price shook his head, taking off his hat and hanging it on the chair back,

“Nah, tha’s alright, love. I’ll help ya. Get us a tea, yeah?”

You knew how he took his tea, and you hated that you did. Secretly, you were obsessed with him. He was always around, smelling like balsam wood and tobacco, looking like a gladiator, huge and capable in the most masculine way. It was hard to concentrate when he was nearby. Now that he had offered to help, you had to grin and bear it. 

You worked together for a while, chatting, even laughing. It was nice. You had so much in common, the conversation flowed easily, and you found yourself much more at ease. Finally, three packages remained. You opened the first one and found little more than phone records for a local library. Unhelpful to say the least. Price opened a water bill, and he recognized the address of a recent Konni base location. Any intel at this point felt like a celebration. Then, the final box. 

“Go on then. Show us the ending,” he smiled, handing it to you. 

“Couldn’t take the joy of ripping up the last letter, Captain. Be my guest,” you smiled. 

He chuckled, tearing into the envelope. In a flash, bright pink powder sprayed him directly in the eyes, and he writhed in pain, pinching them shut, his whole body going stiff. 

“Fuck me!” He shouted. 

“Hang on,” you ran over to the sink in the kitchenette, “Here’s some water. Get that shit out of your eyes.”

“Don’t,” he moved away from you like you were on fire, “Don’t touch me. Might be contagious.”

Your chest was rising and falling with your labored breathing, and you were immediately worried. You reached for your phone and called Laswell.

“Laswell, Price got anthraxed by one of the intel letters. What do you want us to do?”

She gasped, 

“What? Shit. I’m on my way.”

She hung up on you. You watched Price slowly try to open his eyes. They were stained hot pink from the powder. 

“You alright?” You asked him. 

“Yeah, love,” he sighed, “Doesn’t hurt anymore. Feeling strange though. Laswell said she’s coming?”

You nodded,

“Yeah, just in case.”

He nodded, running his hand along the inside of his collar. The captain was sweaty and a little pale. 

“Captain, are you okay?”

“Mmm, no,” he shook his head, “Something’s not right, love.”

He stood and went to the sink, washing as much of the powder off as he could. You moved away from him and stationed yourself across the room, praying for Laswell to hurry. 

Price was in a bad way. He took off his shirt, and he was still dripping with beads of sweat. You tried not to stare, but his temperature wasn’t the only thing heating up. His huge cock was making a prominent tent in his pants, but he was in too much pain to bother hiding it. You felt yourself blushing, and you willed yourself to pull it together. 

“…fuckin’ hell,” his hand went to his crotch to squeeze his length, trying to find some relief, “Sorry, love.”

“It’s okay,” you said politely, trying to breathe normally, but feeling the slick rush melt between your legs. 

“It’s makin’ me…feel…bloody hell. I can’t hold it off. Can…can you…? No! No, what the fuck am I sayin’? No,” he shook his head, rubbing his hands down his face, hot and very bothered. 

You inched closer to him,

“If I haven’t been affected yet, I’m sure it’s okay. How should I help you?”

“No! No, stay back. I’m not…I can’t think straight. My mind’s got one thing on it,” he shoved his hands beyond his zipper and began to jerk himself off, his dick making lurid noises with his hand. 

You hated seeing him so helpless. You moved to his side,

“Cap, it’s okay. Let me help you.”

His hand was around your throat in milliseconds. Price shoved you against the wall and began to kiss your mouth, furiously laving his tongue against yours. 

“No, no, no,” he whispered through his kisses, not bothering to pull away as he spoke his lamentations. 

You made the mistake of putting your hands on his chest to steady yourself. He moaned, trembling beneath your touch,

“Ahh, careful.”

“Sorry,” you pulled your hands away, still trapped in his firm grip around your neck, “did I hurt you?”

“No, doesn’t hurt.”

He said it in a way that darkly implied your touch was igniting a different kind of fire. You put your hands back where they were, and his eyes shot open, piercing through yours with a lustful rage. Unexpectedly, he ripped off your shirt and lay you down on the black leather couch in the corner of the office. He crushed you with his weight, kissing you deeply. 

Then, your phone rang. He didn’t allow you to pause, so it went to voicemail. It rang again. You were getting just as hot as he was, and you weren’t that interested in who was looking for you in the middle of the night. Until, however, the door to the office burst wide open and Laswell and Gaz burst through it. 

Price snarled. You’d never heard a man make that noise before. Laswell put her hands on her hips while Gaz tried to shield his face in shock. Laswell rubbed her forehead, frustrated,

“Are his eyes pink, Corporal?”

You escaped his jaws for a moment, 

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s a sex drug. Forces the user to fornicate as it is only passed through the body in seminal fluid, dissolving in the heat of another person’s body. Are you volunteering here? What happened?”

Her tone was so matter of fact, it was a little humorous, if Price’s length wasn’t rutting against you in earnest, you might've laughed. You tried to explain as much as he would allow,

“Got too close… just… happened. How…” you moaned as Price pulled down the strap of your bra and helped himself to your nipple, “How did you know?”

She sighed, typing something into her datapad,

“Checked the incident log from this afternoon. Four more cases of this have popped up in intel collections. Gonna have to screen for it next time.”

She turned to walk out of the office with Gaz, and you called after her,

“Hey, wait! How long does it - oh, fuck… how long does it last?”

Laswell had the audacity to smirk at you, raising her eyebrows and cutting her eyes at Price’s swollen cock, lolling out of his pants, scraping itself against you. 

“Eight hours. Looks like you’re in for a rough night, Corporal. Maybe next time you’ll be more careful.”

Part 2

[johnwickb1tsch]

Everyone is sending GIF requests, so, here is mine. Hint: Jealous John? (Though I doubt this man can ever be jealous but...whatever comes to your genius brain)

Thanks!

@sweetwolfcupcake SWEEETS!!!!! I loved this prompt SO MUCH!!! You're such a genius. *kisses your head* I hope you like this! 💗💗💗

Bodyguard!John Wick x Shy!Curvy!Fem!Student!Reader

⚠warnings: threat of noncon (not John), mention of parental death

For the record, you didn’t mean to fall in love with John Wick. But he was nothing like the other goons your father had tasked with guarding you before.  Wick was tall, and handsome, and had the soulful eyes of a poet. You know he’s dangerous; he can kill a man 30 ways with a pencil (the men of your father’s Bratva will not shut up about it) but he seems so…gentle. And the thing that really proved your undoing?

That good looking bastard was bookish, and it did something inconceivable to your lit major brain. Ever your dark shadow, you spent countless late nights in the library together, and so many Saturday afternoons browsing the used bookshops, combing for treasures. He would rescue the books that looked better fit for the waste bin, taking them to repair. Maybe he was there to protect you, for your father had many unsavory enemies, but it was easy to forget when John discussed with you the finer points of the Bloomsbury Set or the themes of Anna Karenina.  

Maybe your father assigned John to you because he was one of the few gangsters around in his brigata one could trust to guard a relatively innocent young lady–that didn’t mean John was safe from you. You just couldn’t help yourself; you’d like to plead insanity, your honor, the night you finally broke and tried to kiss him, while he was helping you with your homework for Russian Lit 301. 

How stupid you felt, how utterly pathetic, when he’d very kindly dislodged you from his so soft mouth, looking at you with pity in his sad dark eyes. “You know…we can’t do this,” he told you.

Mortified, you’d fled to your room and cried, knowing you are the most ridiculous human being on the face of the earth.

What were you thinking?

You are nothing like the tall, ethereal creatures that populate the clubs where Wick frequents with your father. You are shy, and curvy, and frankly…a nerd. An old soul, your father would say fondly, but you know he is just being kind.

You’re not sure how you got it into your head, that you were going to make Wick sorry. You’ve never been one for going out, but you decide to give it a whirl, wanting to be anyone but yourself. You decide to go to the Red Circle, to hang out with the other Bratva brats who care way more about clubbing and clothes and who’s fucking who, than classes at NYU. 

At first you really hate it–but after a few shots of vodka, it’s not so bad. John has to hang back, keeping an eye on you but not interacting with your friends. He’s scary good at lurking in the shadows, but you know he’s keeping an eye on every move you make. Maybe that’s why you let Alexsei kiss you, the son of a semi-friendly loan shark who works in proximity with your father. You don’t really like him, if you’re being honest. But he’s not totally hideous–and he’s there–and John will have to watch it all. 

You and Alex start to have a thing. It’s no big deal. Something to do, on the summer break from your studies. You invite him over to watch a movie, knowing you’ll have the house to yourself. Your father is always at his office doing business, your idiotic brother is always out getting into trouble with his khuligan friends, and your mother…is dead, God rest her poor soul. 

You can tell Alex is a little drunk, when he shows up at your door. He’s very handsy, when you settle in on the couch to watch the latest mindless action flick, his pick. It’s ok, until he tries to unbutton your pants.

You have a secret. 

You’re 21, nearly graduated from university–and you’re still a virgin. 

This is not a thing you intend to give to Alexsei Plushenko. You don’t even really like the way he touches you.

“Stop, Alex.”

“Don’t be scared,” he tries to coax you. “This will be fun.”

“No,” you say. “Let’s just…”

He covers your mouth with his, shutting you up, his heavy body pinning you on the couch. “Don’t be such a stuck up bitch.” His groping fingers squeeze your breast clumsily, painfully, before fumbling with your jeans again. You try to push him off, but he’s heavy, and strong.

Suddenly, he is yanked from you like he weighs nothing at all. You hardly recognize what is happening at first, until you hear the sound of flesh striking flesh. John is on him, his iron fist meeting the younger man’s face. 

“John! Stop!” 

Wick looks up at you, meeting your eyes in a primal lock of stares–your heart drops and soars again, as you feel as though you’ve stumbled on a wolf over his kill, and the wildest thing?

You get the inkling that wolf is jealous. 

“Don’t hurt him anymore,” you say, your voice barely above a whisper. A beating will make some complications for your father. A death? Could mean war.

Wick punches the handsy young man one more time, his eyes never leaving yours, before hauling Alex up by the collar and frog marching him out the front door, tossing him down the concrete steps of your home.

John finds you waiting for him in the marble foyer, his eyes wild, his knuckles torn. You don’t even know what to say. 

“What did you even see in him?” he finally demands, clearly annoyed.

“He wasn’t you,” you answer without thinking.

Wick steps up to you, toe to toe, so that you have to crane your neck to meet his eyes. His hair has broken free from its slicked back style, tendrils in his eyes.

He’s never looked more beautiful, your savage savior.

“You’re trying to get me killed.”

You shake your head, the very thought anathema to you. You are transfixed, unable to look away, unable to think. “You’re too precious to me,” you admit, and screw your eyes shut the moment you admit it, a spear of mortification piercing you from your heart to your stupid, aching, cunt.

“Milaya…” 

It’s the sweetest thing he’s ever said to you.

Your eyes drop to his knuckles, torn open in his defense of you. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Not to me.” You don’t know where you get the courage, to take his hand, and lead him up to your room. You can hardly believe it, that he actually follows you. In your ensuite bathroom you dab at his knuckles with a washcloth, slather him with ointment and plaster him with bandaids. You run out of sober flesh colored ones, so the last cut gets a Disney bandage, Ariel and sea-flowers decorating this severe man’s knuckles. 

He lets you do all this, watching you intensely with those dark eyes you’re certain can see into your soul. You stand too close–and he lets you, this haunted man who watches over you day and night. Your whole life you have never wanted for anything, your father’s money buying you all your heart could possibly desire.

Until now.

You find it hard to meet his eyes, zeroing in on a spot of blood on his stark white dress shirt. 

“Y/n.” With a gentle knuckle under your chin he turns your gaze up to his again. “You are too smart, and too beautiful, to be wasting your time with a fuckboy like Alexsei Plushenko.”

The first part you already knew. The second, from this man’s lips? Your knees nearly collapse out from under you, a flood of excitement and dread coursing through your system. You almost can’t stand it–it’s like being burned alive, and your native shyness rears with a vengeance. 

You try to flee, back to the safety of your room, and your books, your imaginary lives that can’t really hurt you–but he catches your hand. His grip is not hard, but it is enough to stop you dead in your tracks. 

“Y/n…” He’s pleading with you, but you don’t understand what he’s asking you. 

“You said you don’t want me, John…” you say, still unable to meet his eyes. “So let me go.” 

He answers by pulling you against him, the solid line of his torso a brick wall beneath the hand you raise to catch yourself. But bricks are not warm, like the flesh beneath his designer clothes. You can feel the wires in your brain sizzling, the synapses simply melting down. Your heart is Chernoble waiting to happen. 

“I didn’t say that.” 

“You said–”

“I said, ‘We can’t.’ Not, that ‘I don’t want you.’”

You almost cannot breathe, your heart attempting to beat out of your chest, a ringing in your ears that drowns out all else. There is nothing, nothing, in this world you’ve wanted more, than to hear those words from this man. But now that he’s standing before you, against you, holding you–you cannot move. You do not know what to do. 

He solves this problem by cupping your cheek in his big hand–God, how you’ve noticed those hands–and then he is pressing his mouth to yours, gentle at first, but then…hungry. As though John Wick has been starving, for you, and it’s all you can do just to stand there and take it without melting into a puddle on the floor. His arms wrap around your back, holding you, lifting you to your tiptoes as he devours you. When at last he pulls back you are left seeing stars, struck utterly speechless with your hands on his broad shoulders. 

“Tell me to stop,” he raggedly demands, his eyes boring down into yours. 

Finally, you find your courage, meeting his stare. “I don’t want you to stop,” you whisper. 

“Good. Because I don’t think I can.” He kisses you again, just as hungrily as the first time, his arm an iron band around your waist and his fingers sneaking up into your hair. That’s your kryptonite: your hair, and blithely you know he can do anything and everything he wants to you now.  

Your father is a bad man, but you have not had a bad life. You have never known hunger, or true physical pain. He has protected you from the violence of his world. He has played things smart enough that not even the FBI can touch you, even though they absolutely know what he is and where your family gets its money. Despite all this, you have been dying inside, a slow, withering demise, until John Wick’s lips touched yours. He is the life-giving rain over the desert; your heart is a field of wildflowers erupting in a superbloom. 

This time, he leads you, in between kissing you, to the loveseat at the foot of your bed. He sits, and only when he tries to pull you into his lap do you resist. “John…I’m too…much,” you insist, conscious of your generous flesh and what it would be like to set that on top of him, afraid he’ll be horrified. 

However, he just scoffs at you, grabbing you up anyway and guiding you down. For a moment you are weightless–he knows how to upset a person’s balance, how to use their weight against them to put them on the floor. This time he uses it to put you on him. You’re not exactly proud of it, but the ease with which he utterly manhandles you makes your long-neglected lady parts sing with desire. 

“You are perfect, dietka,” he insists, pulling you closer with hands on your round behind, “And I am very strong.” For the first time in you can’t remember how long–he smiles at you. That beautiful half smile with a sparkle in his dark eyes that takes your breath away–you love him so much it hurts. 

This time you don’t feel so shy, about kissing him. You feel like your bones are filled with butterflies, and you both moan and giggle as you do your best to devour each other from the mouth down. Aside from an appreciative squeeze of your thighs bracketing his hips, he doesn’t try to seduce you, even though you know you absolutely would have given him anything he asked you for. He is content, just to kiss you, for this night at least, and oh. He’s good at it too. 

You decide you would burn down the world, for one more kiss from John Wick.  

Later you find yourself snuggled in your bed with John, fully clothed, your head on his shoulder as he toys with the fine hairs at the back of your neck. His touch is heaven, and with your legs twined with his it’s hard not to squirm and writhe against his muscled thigh like a horny little gremlin. 

Later, you tell yourself. It can wait for later. 

Like maybe, tomorrow. 

“We’ll have to be careful,” he warns you. “If your father…” 

If your father found out, the best thing that could happen to John is getting fired. 

“I won’t let you get hurt,” you promise, kissing his bearded cheek, praying you’re telling the truth.

He chuckles at this; a deep sound you feel more than hear. “I thought that was my job?”

“You know what I mean.” 

“I know.” He looks down at you with a tenderness that curls your toes. “It would be worth it, for you.” 

Your heart has suddenly decided it would like to take up residence in your throat–permanently.

“Oh, John…”  

He kisses you again, a soft brush of lips that renders you weightless. This is how you die: it’s almost too much to stand, this impossibly full feeling in your chest. Then he narrows his eyes at you playfully. “You have been driving me mad, you little minx. I wanted to kill everyone who so much as looked at you in the Circle.” 

You snort at the thought–you do not understand, really, that he could absolutely do it too. 

“Not to worry. I think the library is more my speed.” He rests his head against yours with a small, contented sigh. “Mine too,” he admits. The smell of old books around you is a soothing balm to you both. 

You know small bits of his past. Morsels he has sprinkled, here and there in the conversations you have had. You know he did not have an easy childhood. You know that this life was not really his choice. Even less so than most, who move and work in the Underworld. 

“If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?” you ask. 

He lifts an eyebrow at you. “I’m liking New York, at the moment,” he tells you with an affectionate squeeze. 

“Oh come on.” 

“Fine. I like Paris a lot.” 

“Hmm,” you answer, but what you think, is: Done.  You will have the opportunity to arrange to study abroad soon, and you think a trip away from the Tarasov territory might do you both some good.

Surely Papachka wouldn’t deprive you of your most trusted bodyguard?

[teeth--thief]

Google Drive full of book PDFs about Chernobyl

Link to the Google Drive if you don't want to click the title: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kscKFciW6almJA8p-0sUQPO3c0A4AQYe

Note: It will be updated regularly - for as long as I'll be able to find/get new things =) So far I've compiled 41 books in three languages.

Just to repeat what I said in the first post: I'm open to any requests or suggestions or even PDFs themselves, if someone wants to share theirs from their collection. Message me, send me an ask, throw a rock through my window - whatever you prefer, just please, do it yourself because I'm too scared to message anyone, thanks. No fiction - that's the only rule. Any language is welcome - if you want me to look for a certain book in the language of your choice, I'll do that. If you have a book in language other than English, I'd love to add it to the Drive! If you have a better version of whatever PDF I've already got, then I'd be more than happy to do a swap.

Now, some of my reasoning, if anyone's interested: first of all, I think it's important for everyone to be able to access stuff like this. Think of it as a library, minus the "give these back" part. Secondly, I get soooo mad when people are like haha, found this super rare, basically impossible to find, very expensive book! ...I shall now keep it exclusively to myself. Ma'am, you're ruining the vibe and stalling everyone's hobby research but I guess you do you...

List of all the books (under the cut):

In English:

Voices from Chernobyl - Alexievich S.

Chernobyl Reactor Accident - Source Term

Chernobyl - Insight from the Inside - Dr. Chernousenko V.M.

How It Was - Dyatlov A.S.

(ENG+RUS) Chernobyl Booklet

Chernobyl: The Devastation, Destruction and Consequences of the World’s Worst Radiation Accident - Fitzgerald I.

Final Warning. The Legacy of Chernobyl - Gale R.P.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster - Higginbotham A.

INSAG-1

INSAG-7

Interesting Chernobyl - 100 Symbols

From Chernobyl To Fukushima - Karpan N.

Manual for Survival. A Chernobyl Guide to the Future - Kate Brown

Chernobyl. Confessions of a Reporter - Kostin I.

The Politics of Invisibility. Public Knowledge about Radiation Health Effects after Chernobyl - Kuchinskaya O.

Memories - Kupnyi A.

Chernobyl 01:23:40 - The Incredible True Story of the World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster - Leatherbarrow A.

Chernobyl Notebook - Medvedev G.

No Breathing Room - Medvedev G.

Chernobyl Record - The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe - Mould R. F.

Wormwood Forest - A Natural History of Chernobyl - Mycio M.

Life Exposed: Biological Citizens After Chernobyl - Petryna A.

Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy - Plokhy S.

Ablaze - Story of Chernobyl - Read P.P.

Producing Power: The Pre-Chernobyl History of the Soviet Nuclear Industry - Schmid S. D.

Chernobyl: A Documentary Story - Shcherbak I.

The Vienna Report

Chernobyl - Crime Without Punishment - Yaroshinskaya A.A.

In Russian:

Chernobyl: Kak eto bylo. Preduprezhdeni - Kopchinsky, Steinberg

Chernobyl. Tak eto bylo. Vzglyad Iznutri - Voznyak Ya. Troitskiy N.

Лучевая болезнь человека (очерки) - Гуськова А.К., Байсоголов Г.Д.

Чернобыль. Как это было - Дятлов А.С.

Чернобыль: 30 лет спустя - Кравчук Н.В.

Живы - Купный А.

Чернобыль - Щербак Ю.

(ONLY Pages 367-383) Чернобыль, 10 лет спустя. Неизбежность или случайность?

KGB files - pre and post accident (includes additional information in Ukrainian)

In Polish: 

Jak to było - Diatłov A.S.

Czarnobyl - Plokhy S.

Czarnobyl - Sekuła P.

Katastrofa w Czarnobylu - Sekuła P.

Czarnobyl. Od katastrofy do procesu - Siwiński W.

[glowettee]

studying like spencer hastings: a guide by mindy on becoming rosewood's top student 📚 (pll mini-series part 1)

hey loves! mindy here with an in-depth guide on how to truly embody spencer hastings' iconic study methods. i completely watched all 7 seasons of pretty little liars with my mother when the show first came out, it gives me so much nostalgia now, and i'm currently binge-watching it again. i decided to make a post based on spencer hastings and how she aces the "study icon" in the show. let's actually get into the mind of our favorite overachieving hastings sister and her actual study habits from the show.

spencer's signature study locations

the hastings' barn (her perfect study sanctuary)

the brew (corner table with coffee always)

rosewood high library (usually after hours)

her bedroom desk (facing the dilaurentis house)

hastings family kitchen island (late night cramming spot)

the hastings family pressure approach

spencer's drive comes from:

competing with melissa's academic record

maintaining the hastings family reputation

being top of every class

getting into upenn (her family legacy)

running for academic decathlon

spencer's actual study routine (as seen in pll)

morning routine:

field hockey practice at dawn

review notes during breakfast

morning newspaper with coffee

quiz herself while getting ready

arrive early to help teachers

study techniques we see spencer use:

reciting french verbs while stress-cleaning

creating murder boards (but make it academic)

using her photographic memory skills

studying while on the elliptical

recording herself reading notes

spencer-specific organization methods

her iconic planner system:

color-coded by subject and priority

sticky tabs for important deadlines

cross-referencing system

weekly, monthly, and semester goals

extracurricular schedule integration

the hastings approach to academic competition

remember when spencer:

joined academic decathlon despite drama

competed against mona

studied russian history all night

memorized entire poems

practiced debate skills with melissa

spencer's stress management (what we should and shouldn't copy)

healthy habits:

stress baking

field hockey as outlet

piano playing breaks

organizing when anxious

intense research sessions

things to avoid:

pushing herself to exhaustion

skipping meals for studying

letting competition consume you

isolating from friends

spencer's actual study materials (seen throughout pll)

her desk essentials:

leather-bound planners

monogrammed notebooks

post-it notes everywhere

family laptop

classic literature collection

ap study guides

debate team materials

newspaper clippings

french dictionaries

spencer's unique study methods

specific techniques we see her use:

creating conspiracy theory boards for subjects

turning historical events into mystery cases

debating with herself in the mirror

teaching aria and emily to boost understanding

writing perfect notes during crisis moments

the hastings time management system

how spencer balances:

field hockey team captain duties

maintaining perfect grades

student government

russian history club

debate team

family obligations

solving mysteries (kidding… kind of)

spencer's power moves

signature spencer habits:

correcting teachers (iconic but maybe don't)

knowing answers before questions are finished

having backup assignments ready

keeping extra credit work on hand

maintaining perfect attendance despite being threatened by a mysterious stalker

spencer hastings didn't become valedictorian by accident. her intense dedication, although sometimes extreme, shows us the importance of commitment and passion in academics. just remember to balance it better than she did!

sending you all the hastings determination minus the hastings family drama! ✨

xoxo, mindy

[ohsoromanov]

It is generally believed that Grand Duchess Anastasia destroyed all her diary entries in 1917, when the Imperial Family was imprisoned in Tobolsk. Nicholas wrote in his journal that once a new commandant had arrived to oversee their detention, "the children imagined that he was going to perform a search... and they burned all their letters, and Marie and Anastasia even burned their diaries."

However, in the collection of the Palace Libraries of the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library, an album belonging to the youngest daughter of the last Russian emperor was found, presented to her by her parents in 1912 for her birthday.

The 450-page album is a beautifully designed gift edition from 1895 with quatrains of Russian poetry selected for each day of the annual cycle. Records and autographs of Anastasia, her friends and acquaintances, and members of the friendly royal family are scattered across hundreds of pages. Anastasia began writing in it on her birthday, June 5, 1912. The last records date back to November 1917.

The poetic component of the album gives a clear idea of its role in the formation of the personality of the youngest Grand Duchess. And the texts can be considered as a textbook, through which Anastasia grew up – playing, studying, and learning through play. It was this album that she dreamed of when she wrote to her mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, in 1910:

"For my birthday, I would like to get toy combs [for my dolls], a writing machine, an icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker, some outfit, an album for pasting pictures, then an even larger bed that Maria had in Crimea. I want a real dog, a used paper basket when I write a book or something else… Another book in which you can write small plays for children that you can present." [x]

[blueiscoool]

The Hunt for Ukraine’s Stolen Artworks

For Ukrainians, more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war isn’t just being fought in the trenches. It’s in the museums, and in the cultural heritage they seek to preserve.

Amid the continuing onslaught, the country’s historical centers — which, one could argue, hold the cultural identity of Ukraine — have struggled. Heritage sites have been damaged; museums have been looted; artifacts have been stolen. And these catastrophes aren’t random — legal experts and historians claim Russia intentionally targets artistic and cultural sites as a way to eradicate Ukrainian identity.

“Even if we have an advantage on the battlefield, but they destroy all our museums, burn all our books, will we be able to remain Ukrainian?” asked Halyna Chyzhyk, a legal expert working to protect Ukraine’s remaining cultural sites. “What will we have left?”

Politically, Ukraine has also seen its largest ally, the US, see-saw from backing its cause to diplomatically aligning with Russia, as US President Donald Trump attempts to rush a peace deal. Meanwhile, Russia has continued its offensive, launching its largest drone attack of the last three years on the eve of the war’s anniversary.

Still, Ukrainian art historians and museum directors are doing everything they can to retrieve stolen works and protect what remains.

As of January, UNESCO has verified damage to 476 cultural properties — ranging from cathedrals to museums, monuments and libraries. The Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab puts the toll higher, telling CNN that in its 128 expeditions it has “reliably documented more than 1,200 damaged cultural heritage sites and cultural infrastructure” across the country. As Chyzhyk, and countless cultural industry experts have said, many sites have been directly targeted and destroyed by Russian forces, not just collateral damage.

Death-defying evacuations

As the war grinds on, historians and museum workers have begun taking evacuation measures into their own hands.

Historian Leonid Marushchak, co-founder of NGO Museum Open for Renovation, has evacuated almost 2 million artifacts — paintings, sculptures and so on — as Russian forces continue to target and desolate museums around the country.

Among the evacuated exhibits was a stone sculpture of a lion, which may be up to 1,000 years old. It was stored at a museum in Bakhmut, a town captured by Russians after heavy fighting that lasted for more than six months.

“I couldn’t sleep because of this lion,” Marushchak said. “When the city was almost destroyed and even museum walls were falling down, we went there to get that lion out.”

For many historians and museums, documenting the destruction is a significant part of the restoration process. Crimes have to be recorded while there are still traces of them, said Vasyl Rozhko, founder of the Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab.

As an example, he used a church built in the 1860s in the northern village of Vyazivka, which sustained some damage in the attacks in 2022 and collapsed less than a year later. The team made a 3D model of the church, and later a laser scan. But while deciding how exactly to save the structure, the church collapsed. The only thing left was that 3D model, Rozhko said.

“Some objects can stand (after damage) but some cannot,” he added. “And if we don’t document and record them, we won’t even know what to save.”

For others, preservation looks a little different. At the Khanenko Museum in Kyiv, one of the biggest art museums in the country, director Yulia Vaganova and her team have determined that the only way to save the collection — comprised primarily of art from other Western European countries, not Ukraine — is to show it.

Sometimes, that means transferring the artwork to other museums in Europe. In 2023, for protection, Vaganova transferred 16 works to the Louvre, which briefly showcased five of them as an exhibit. At the Royal Castle in Warsaw, 37 works from the Khanenko are also on display.

“In the museum, we asked ourselves: What should we do? And who are we as a museum? What is our work during the war? And if we were just a storage facility, we would probably just have to close down,” Vaganova said. “But a museum is always broader than just preserving works.”

Show of support

Still, showcasing an exhibit is different now than before the invasion. Every two weeks, curators select one small item from the collection and show it for one day, before packing it up and moving it back to safety. For a museum housing 25,000 works, presenting just a single item is a downsize. But it also gives the curators a chance to highlight something that may have gone overlooked before the invasion. And the audience has responded.

“You can see how much people miss the collection. You can see how longingly and sometimes tenderly they appreciate that the museum is open, that they can come here,” Vaganova said. “There is a lot of support, warmth and tenderness in this, but also fragility.”

At any point, she explains, the museum can be targeted. Their collections are vulnerable, and the team may not be able to secure everything. Even for a museum of mostly international works, its existence is part of Ukrainian heritage, Vaganova said.

‘I sat on the floor in the empty storage rooms and cried’

Other museum bosses are still on a mission to retrieve tens of thousands of artifacts stolen early on in the full-scale invasion.

A few months before February 24, 2022, founder of the Kherson Art Museum Alina Dotsenko and her team happened to have packed away the site’s entire collection, to prepare for restoration work on the building.

But seven months later, in October 2022, a different kind of invasion occurred. Groups of museum workers from Russian-occupied Crimea found out about the hidden collection and loaded about 10,000 of the museum’s artifacts and works into trucks and drove them away.

Weeks later, after Kherson was liberated by the Ukrainian army, Dotsenko visited the once-full and methodized storage facilities. There were only empty racks left.

“I’m not touchy,” Dotsenko says, recalling the moment from years prior. “But I just slid down the wall, sat on the floor in the empty storage rooms, and just cried.”

Just like that, the Kherson museum’s once robust collection dwindled to just about 3,000 artifacts.

Dotsenko tracked down some of the works thanks to pictures from a journalist showing the same trucks unloading at a museum in Crimea. When Dotsenko and her team claimed theft, the Crimean museum said it was “trying to preserve the collection,” Dotsenko said.

Dotsenko still has the documents detailing the Kherson museum’s stock. Those records have allowed her and her team to uncover exactly what and how much was taken. They’ve hidden the remaining collection and helped open criminal cases for the rest, she said, but there’s little else she can do.

“We are working for this every day,” Dotsenko said. “And I don’t know how it will end.”

Such retrieval attempts aren’t just a way to preserve valuable history. In some ways, the aim is to preserve Ukraine itself.

In 2022, the historic home of Hryhorii Skovoroda — a famous Ukrainian poet and philosopher — was destroyed in a missile strike, along with the museum of his work. The home, located in a tiny village and not nearby any obvious military targets, has been considered an act of cultural vandalism.

Recalling that attack, Chyzhyk said these offenses are of “great symbolic importance.” The goal doesn’t seem to be any particular monument or structure, she said. Instead, the goal is seemingly destroying as many historical and cultural artifacts as possible, even the ones that only matter to small communities. Even if they can’t kill the people, Chyzhyk said, they can kill the very things that make them Ukrainian.

An impossible task

However, fully protecting any of the artwork is impossible, said Vaganova. You can’t just move a museum from the east, which borders Russia, to the west. There aren’t huge storage facilities; no bunkers with doors big enough for thousands of priceless art to be contained. Wherever you store the art, she said, it could still be bombed.

Even if a museum diligently evacuates its work, there can still be damage, added Rozhko. Some of them aren’t packed well or accounted for; there can also be deterioration.

“Often, such evacuation can be even more harmful than being in the occupied territory,” he said.

In short: There’s no correct answer; no handbook dictating the exact right way to preserve an entire country’s cultural history. If you hide the works, like Dotsenko, they can be found and stolen. If you evacuate them, they can be damaged. If you leave them, they could be destroyed.

“There is no right solution to this case at all. It simply does not exist,” said Vaganova. “And this is, of course, the nightmare of every museum director.”

By Leah Asmelash 

[cc-nadama]

A Modern Retelling of Viktor

Author’s Note: This style of writing is not representative of my usual work. These are my notes for what I imagine is a modern portrayal of Viktor. In addition, it serves as an outline for future stories I may write that are set in this au. Below, you will find my thoughts and headcanons on the subject.

Expected Content: There are no sexual imagery depicted in this work. However, there are themes of obsession, unhealthy working habits, stalking, and quite possibly, a hint of yandere Viktor.

Pairing: There are multiple relationships mentioned/implied in this work. I will certainly explore my options, perhaps even create poly pairings. However, the main course includes: Viktor x reader, Jayce x Viktor, and Jayce x Mel.

———

Viktor Petrov

— AN OVERVIEW

When he received a scholarship and admittance to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Viktor traveled to the United States on a student visa. He is currently majoring in Engineering and Applied Science, with a minor in aerospace engineering.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Viktor is fluent in three languages: Czech, English, and Russian. He had never traveled outside Europe before, so his first months in the States were filled with homesickness. Luckily, there was a place a little ways away from campus that serves decent bramboráky and trdelník. It’s a bit overpriced, but it helped ease his heart when he missed home.

Everyone who knows Viktor swears he is a genius. One look at his GPA and any Asian mother would weep and wish her kid was like him (totally not based on personal experience).

Once he finishes his education at Caltech, Viktor will most likely look for a job at NASA. He aspires to specialize in robotics and work with other complicated machinery—especially if it is space-related.

Viktor lives a few miles away from campus. Jayce Talis, his charismatic roommate, is also a student at the university. He has the same major and classes as Viktor, so they are often together on and off campus.

— PERSONALITY

Viktor is an introvert, but he is not unfriendly. He will engage in class and interact with the other students, but he chooses to keep friendships minimal. It is his choice to be alone, not his lack of socialization. Well, at least that’s what he tells himself to sleep easier at night.

Naturally, Viktor has a rational and objective mind. When he speaks, it is very articulated and blunt, never withholding an ounce of sarcasm when allowed. Oftentimes, people view him as an insensitive or callous man—though it’s mainly because he keeps his emotions checked.

He has a strong work ethic. Viktor is the kind of student to work on a project five months earlier. Almost always, the man is seen in the library studying until midnight, replaying his recordings from the latest lecture to add to his notes.

Speaking of notes, Viktor is a stickler for notes. Even with his unreadable handwriting, it remains meticulous and detailed. He even draws diagrams! Because of this, many of his classmates would borrow his notes—only to learn that they could barely make out a word, let alone a phrase.

When Viktor feels especially sociable, he loves to engage others in spirited debates. He loves a good challenge, specifically if it tests his intellect and reasoning. Whatever the topic is—from scientific to philosophical—Viktor always has a stance. He has an aura of subtle confidence, self-assured in his ways but not to the point of egotism.

In simpler terms, Viktor has Type A tendencies with a 5w4 on the enneagram and an INTJ on the Myers-Briggs

— FLAWS

It is difficult for him to maintain a relationship—platonic or romantic. Oftentimes, Viktor believes it is implausible for someone to like him as a person. He has experienced rejection plenty of times before, so he feels it necessary to end a relationship before it blossoms, fearing that the other person already hates him or is only with him for undisclosed intentions. Although Viktor hates irrationality, he still has irrational fears based from past experiences.

If there is one flaw he is often in conflict with, it’s his discipline. He may be a genius, but Viktor still has trouble setting his limitations. It is an obsessive need that overtakes him—an inkling he cannot exactly ignore. If he feels compelled to work later into the night, he will. If he feels he needs ten shots of espresso, he will buy and drink it. If he feels he has a crush on a certain student, he most likely would… stalk them.

Oftentimes, if left unchecked, his ambitions would blind him. Due to his obsessive tendencies, Viktor would pour all his attention into work and research, neglecting his state of being. If he ever took a break, it was most likely because he was starving, parched, or needed to use the bathroom. Still, it could take days, even weeks, before he returns to sanity and society.

— RELATIONSHIPS

JAYCE TALIS: If they weren’t roommates, Viktor would have never befriended him. Everyone on campus knows Jayce—he is a literal social butterfly—always liked by most students and teachers. Still, Jayce remains a constant in his life. They have partnered on several projects and received stellar reviews. It is obvious that the two of them are great friends. Viktor would never admit it, but Jayce is one of the few people in his life that he actually likes and trusts.

PROFESSOR HEIMERDINGER: Even if the professor won’t say it, everyone knows that Viktor is his favorite. He goes out of his way to support him, always wanting to know what wonderful contraption he has built as of late.

MEL MEDARDA: Initially, only acquaintances, Viktor and Mel later became friends due to their relationship with Jayce. After hours, Mel would drop by the apartment and hang out with Jayce while also displaying an interest in Viktor and his studies. Their relationship is more akin to a sibling relationship, like an older sister and a kid brother.

READER: Another student in Caltech who takes the same classes as him. Within a matter of days, Viktor became infatuated with you. Every time you entered the lecture hall, you could see the man stiffen in his seat—blankly staring at you then embarrassingly looking away. It was sweet, knowing that you had caught his attention. Not many of your classmates could say the same thing. Viktor was quiet during class, only speaking unless spoken to or if he was keen on answering a question. Yet, it came as a surprise to you when you received a single rose on your doorstep—you never told anyone about your address.

— INTERESTS

Even as a kid, Viktor loved Star Trek. He dreamt about the plausibility of interstellar travel and the intricacies of warp drive. He spent nights imagining himself working in the engineering deck and tinkering with transporters. Almost single-handedly, the franchise inspired him to become an engineer—to work with the complexities of science and invent something anew. If he had to pick a character as his favorite, Viktor would select—without a doubt—Lieutenant Commander Data. His ongoing arc of seeking human connection in spite of his inability to understand human emotion—was what endeared Viktor. In many ways, he had the same troubles as the android. People viewed him differently because of his disability and brilliance. Like Data, their uniqueness was both a gift and a curse.

If he has no plans for the weekend, Viktor would spend his day playing chess against himself or Jayce. Naturally, they would take turns being white, often forgoing the use of a timer—unless they were feeling competitive that day—and play a few games while talking about life. If Viktor was playing white, he often opens with a pawn on e4 and then implements the first moves of the Spanish Opening (knight on f3 and bishop on b5). If Viktor was playing black, he would use the Tarrasch Variation of the French Defense, with 1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nd2 c5. Although it is not exactly aggressive, Viktor focuses more on positional play.

(I am not a chess player, but I watched a few videos from GothamChess and live feeds from Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura for research)

His taste in music varies on his mood. However, Viktor favors the classical and contemporary genres the most. He is especially fond of composers such as Tchaikovsky and Chopin, and jazz musicians such as Stan Getz and David Benoit. He does experiment with other genres, but faithfully, he returns to his favorites after a long day in the laboratory.

———

[tarisilmarwen]

RobStar Week, Day 7 - Playlist

(Last one! I had fun with this. Set sometime during the Titans' long road trip chasing the Brotherhood of Evil. IDK when exactly but this is an underexplored time period in fanfics so I thought it would be fun to set one in it. And yes, all the songs referenced were on my own ipod RobStar playlist.

Enjoy!)

---

Starfire's taste in music was... eclectic, to say the least.

Her interests ran the gamut from basic pop starlet to the screechiest of death metal bands (which she claimed reminded her of the "great musicians of the Tolothian Praxxus") and, it sometimes seemed, everything in between. She even, somehow, had music from other planets. Robin had absolutely no idea how she had obtained a recording of her favorite childhood Gorka pipes band, nor how she had digitized said recording into MP3 format and gotten it onto the same ipod holding the Becky Wilder TV soundtrack and Rachel Tanner's latest album. Frankly the shuffle felt a little bit like playing Russian Roulette.

So Robin sympathized a little with Beast Boy when the song changed, once again going from one genre to something diametrically opposite, causing the changeling to clutch his temples and throwing his head back with a groan.

"Can't you stick to one genre?!" he complained. "I'm getting whiplash from these mood changes!"

Starfire turned to glare at him where he was squashed in-between Robin and Raven, in the middle of the backseat of the T-car.

"Whoever has shotgun seat decides the music," she reminded him, her voice unusually clipped and irritated. "Those were the rules you set. And I am also the only one who has music in my collection that you all enjoy," she pointed out.

There were mumbled noises from Cyborg and Raven as they conceded some agreement.

Starfire sighed, pushing hair out of her face tiredly as she lifted her ipod, plugged into the T-car's music system via aux cable.

"I only wish this were better organized," she said. "I can never find anything I am looking for in this library. It is impossible to scroll through to the songs I know we can all tolerate." She skimmed down the songlist, the ipod clicking and clicking and clicking as it proceeded down the endless track names.

"Oh that's easy to fix, just make a couple playlists," Cyborg suggested, flexing his hands a bit on the steering wheel as he signaled to begin passing a semi.

Starfire looked up from her scrolling, face an expression of blank confusion.

"A... what?" she asked.

Robin straightened and scooted forward a little bit in his seat. "Here, I'll show you," he offered. He reached between the driver's seat and shotgun with an outstretched palm.

Hesitant but curious, Starfire paused playback on her ipod and disconnected it from the aux cable, handing it over.

Now Robin leaned down, bending almost in half as he searched near his feet, the seatbelt digging sharply into his shoulder. After a moment of fumbling in his bad he slid out his red laptop and propped it open on his knees, also fishing for a USB cord.

Within minutes he had the music player open to Starfire's extensive library and was clicking through artists and genres, trying to tap very carefully on his mousepad with the vibrations of the car. She watched him fiddle for a few moments, eyes inquisitive, hand curling around the side of her seat.

Robin concentrated, his brows pinching cutely until he gave a nod of satisfaction. Turning the computer around he showed her what he was doing.

"Right, so, see here, where I've basically added a folder to the device storage?" he asked, leaning forward, trying to stretch to show her.

Beast Boy held back a complaint as he was pushed against Raven by the gesture. Starfire nodded in rapt attention.

Robin pointed to the screen as he demonstrated. "So you take any song that you want to go on the list and just kind of... drag it over from the wider library."

He clicked and pulled one of the Gorka pipes tracks to the new playlist, then clicked to open it.

Starfire gasped in delight, grabbing up both sides of Robin's laptop and bringing the device up closer to her face.

"Oh this will make things so much easier!" she cried.

Robin smiled and pointed over to the sidebar. "And see how you can name it pretty much anything you want? You can basically put any number of songs on the new list—"

"—And then they can share a common theme!" Starfire interrupted in conclusion.

"Exactly! You can do love songs, songs that make you happy, work-out songs..." Robin started listing.

"Songs to listen to while rocking it out at the club," added Beast Boy.

"Songs to set the mood with your date," Cyborg put in, grinning. "Lotta R&B on mine for that one."

"Ew," Beast Boy said, wrinkling his nose.

Cyborg shot him an offended look. "Don't be hatin' until you try it."

"What about you, Raven?" Starfire asked back, interrupting the brewing argument. "What kind of playlist would you suggest?"

"Songs to make you contemplate the existential dread of the universe and your own role in it and wonder if you really are as small and insignificant as you seem or if you just need a sandwich," came Raven's monotone contribution.

...

There a long awkward silence at that, and the boys blinked at Raven in concern and mild alarm.

"That is... oddly specific," was Starfire's inadequate response.

Raven shrugged. "Are we pulling over soon?" she asked towards the driver's seat. "I'm hungry."

Cyborg glanced at the next billboard. "Shakes n' Steaks coming up on our right?" he offered.

The empath waved dismissively. "Sure."

"Aw man!" Beast Boy complained. "Not the Shakes n' Steaks! You know they put meat chunks in the salads?! Who does that?!"

Robin nudged Starfire's arm as the debate on their food stop continued, whispering under Cyborg and Beast Boy's arguing. "Why don't you keep playing around with that for a while?" he offered kindly.

She nodded once, vigorously, mouthing a 'thank you' as she turned around.

-TT-

One pit stop later—Beast Boy wound up outvoted and sullenly resigned himself to picking chicken bits out of his caesar salad—Starfire finally emerged from her meticulous organizing and dismissed herself to the bathroom.

She unplugged her ipod, but left it on the table by his laptop, easily accessible.

Robin slurped through his straw, his eyes falling across it. He set his cup down and stared at the lit screen, mildly curious.

Glancing around as if to check for unfriendly eyes, Robin let his hand snake over to Starfire's place and slid the ipod into his palm, picking it up surreptitiously.

He paid a quick peek at the new playlists in Starfire's library. Sure enough she had "Tamaran" as a category, and "Dancing Music", and "To Cheer Raven Up" and a couple others. He had to smile and chuckle a bit at that last one.

His amusement was drowned out by confusion as he spotted on that read:

"Me and Robin"

He stared at the title for a long moment, visibly wondering, then his curiosity compelled him beyond his reason and he clicked to open it.

His eyes read off the titles as they scrolled alphabetically, slowly widening with realization.

"All You Wanted", "A Thousand Miles", "A Thousand Years"...

Wait a minute, his brain kicked in.

These were all love songs.

Suddenly feeling like he was doing something he very much shouldn't, Robin quickly set the ipod back down in its former spot, heat rising to his face as he was confronted with the knowledge that Starfire his Not Girlfriend (they still hadn't quite figured that out although after the whole alien planet stranded thing they at least both acknowledged they had feelings for each other) had been picking out songs that she felt defined 'them'.

Like an actual girlfriend would.

Hoo boy he hoped he wasn't going to have to clear up another misunderstanding.

-TT-

He was still nervous while he waited his turn to pile into the backseat, after Cyborg's annoyed, "Yo! If we want to make it to Atlanta before nightfall you better get your butts back in the T-car!" shout had cut short their lunch.

Starfire claimed shotgun again, much to Beast Boy's whining and complaining, but Raven picked him up with her telekinesis and stuffed him into the backseat ahead of her and shut the door, pointedly going around the other side and leaving Robin standing there awkwardly with Starfire.

The princess handed him his laptop back.

"Thank you for the usage of it," she said. "I believe I have arranged things to my liking."

There was something coy in her words, and her grin was a little too... knowing.

Robin coughed and tugged at his collar and rubbed his neck, tapping a steel-toed shoe. "Yeah, well... good. Good, that's... I'm glad."

"All right, enough committee meeting," grumbled Cyborg, ending the moment with a pointed shove to Robin's shoulder. "Get in the damn car, I gotta fill her up."

The moment the door was open Beast Boy popped out again. "At least lemme have the window seat this time!" he yelled, and Robin found himself jostled and bumped as he was shoved none-too-gracefully into the car and squashed into the narrow middle seat, pushed right up against Raven on one side and Beast Boy on the other.

Raven tried to pull her elbows in closer and failed.

"This isn't uncomfortable at all," she said dryly.

Robin had no reply, no real thoughts of any kind really, because as soon as she was comfortably seated and Cyborg was turning the key in the ignition, she looked back straight at him with a wry grin and pressed play on her once-again-connected ipod.

And when the first song off 'their' playlist started, Robin's throat closed with a pitiful embarrassed squeak and he turned a very bright red.

[theanticool]

Libraries and Adult Lonliness

As we all know, making friends as adults is hard. And while the internet has made it easier to make friends with people around the world, actually meeting people you can meet with on a regular basis and just hang out with us tough. The common answer to meeting new people is to find people who are interested in the same stuff as you. As such, finding places to meet new people who may have similar interests to you is important. And that’s why I think the library is a great resource!

As a children’s librarian, one of the things I try to point out to parents when they come in to sign their kids up for the library is that we offer adult programs too. Obviously we have book clubs - my library has 4 different book clubs for people who read different types of books. I’ve posted about it before with knitting/crochet circles. But for people who have or want to explore different interests, and meet new people via that new interest, you may want to check your local library to see their programming. For example:

Hiking: Many libraries offer things like hiking kits. These can be things such as maps for local trails, hiking sticks, a water resistant backpack, binoculars, bird guides, and the like. But some libraries having hiking clubs, such as the Poughkeepsie Public Library Distruct in NY.

Language Learning: Many libraries have access to language learning platforms such as Rosetta Stone or Mango Languages. But many other have dedicated classes where adults can come and learn languages. If you’re in L.A. county, the public library offers classes in beginner Russian, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Armenian, etc!

Music: there are many libraries that have maker spaces where you can go and record music. There’s one in the Newark Library and at a branch of the Brooklyn library. There are also ones that allow you to check out instruments. But there are also ones where you can receive free music lessons, such as the Dallas Public Library (this program was online during the pandemic but is now also offered in person!)

I could keep going.

Singing, dancing, theater, yoga, sketch comedy, creative writing, RC Cars, foraging, cemetery tour groups, jewelry making, baking, woodworking, painting, etc. If you have a niche interest or would like to get into a niche interest, there is a chance your library has had or will have a program about it. And if you’re looking to meet new people, it is a great place to start.

[trevlad-sounds]

Kaleidoscope Palm Fever 16.12.2024

Bono / Burattini – The Ballroom – 00:00 Gribbles – Starlight – 03:21 Lorenzo Montanà – Screen 007 – 07:21 The Odd Pattern – Every Cloud Is Black – 14:27 Pulselovers – In the Marsh – 17:09 Retep Folo – Galena – 20:24 Cate Brooks – Blue Chip Fever – 22:23 Makoto – Kaleidoscope – 25:20 Pabellón Sintético – 500 metros – 31:40 Four Tet – Three Drums – 34:58 Sam Prekop – Palm – 42:10 Yves Malone – Isolated, They Flee Towards the Dark – 43:36 Ogle – Alienation – 47:59 gribbles – Mind The Cat – 49:15

[mariacallous]

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on Nov. 18 that a riot control agent known as CS has been used in Ukraine, as evidence mounts that Russia has scaled up its attacks using chemical weapons in recent months.

The United Nations watchdog OPCW's first confirmation about the tear gas usage comes as Russia has intensified its use of chemical agents since the beginning of the year to advance forward across Ukraine's front line.

Russian drones throw gas grenades into dugouts or trenches in an attempt to force Ukrainian soldiers out into the open field, making them easy prey for drone or artillery attacks.

The U.S. and the U.K. have confirmed Russia's deployment of chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers, slapping sanctions on Russia's troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense, their chief, Russian Defense Ministry scientific centers, and companies involved.

The Ukrainian military has reported that it recorded over 4,600 cases of Russia using gas attacks on the battlefield since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, including 323 incidents in November.

Without naming Russia nor directly confronting Moscow for violating the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW said that samples from both the grenade and the soil sample retrieved from a September incident at a specific trench "contained the riot control agent 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile, known as CS."

While often used to disperse riots and considered nonlethal, the OPCW says that tear gas, including CS, is "considered chemical weapons if used as a method of warfare."

The samples — which underwent separate testing in two OPCW-designated laboratories — were collected from a trench "located along the confrontation lines with the opposing troops" in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, according to the report.

The OPCW said in the Nov. 18 report that the watchdog's Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, "expressed grave concern over the findings."

"All 193 OPCW Member States, including the Russian Federation and Ukraine, have committed never to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer or use chemical weapons," Arias said.

He stressed that the parties have declared that "any use of chemical weapons is totally unacceptable and would violate the legal norms and standards of the international community."

Earlier in May, OPCW said that Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of deploying chemical weapons, but "the information provided to the Organization so far by both sides, together with the information available to the Secretariat, is insufficiently substantiated."

Kyiv's rising concerns over unidentified gas

While Russia's usage of chemical agents has slightly decreased since August, when 447 cases were recorded by the Ukrainian military within a month, Kyiv has been concerned about unidentified gas being deployed against its soldiers.

Lacking "hundreds" of complex detectors that cost $100,000 to $600,000 to identify the chemicals used by Russian troops, the Ukrainian military has struggled to name the new or mixed types of gas to find a solution on how to protect its personnel, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk told the Kyiv Independent in October.

Of the 323 recorded cases of Russia's chemical attacks in October, all except 15 incidents were "unidentified," according to Vlasiuk from the Support Forces' Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Command, a branch of the army responsible for inspecting chemical warfare.

The officer said that Ukraine struggled to identify the new types of gas because it lacked sophisticated high-end detector technology to diagnose beyond the few prototypes in its library — which includes CS, CN, chloropicrin, and ammonia.

It is often very difficult to send specialists to the front line for evidence collection, as it would mean risking their lives by having them walk kilometers to reach the positions. And when soldiers come under gas attacks, gathering the remains of the grenades used is usually not the priority.

The concerns over the unidentified gas come as dozens of Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by the Kyiv Independent across the front over the summer acknowledged their lack of preparedness to face chemical warfare. Many said they were only given the poor quality Soviet-era gas masks and that they do not take it to positions because they are skeptical of its effectiveness.

Often, comparing the danger of chemical agents to KAB guided-aerial bombs, artillery, and precise FPV drones, the infantrymen interviewed often downplayed the threat of gas — arguing that they had more chance of being killed or wounded by conventional arms.

At least three Ukrainian soldiers died from Russia's gas attacks, and almost 2,100 soldiers sought medical care after such incidents, according to the Support Forces. Many more could have gone unrecorded.

[kaimukiwahine]

I have finally pledge to the Patreon. There is now a giant Russian cop in my steam library. Here's how my experience went:

First run: got lost, did an accidental bribe, fed him a lot of food only to accidentally make him sad because what's reading, drowned, and got hunted and got stuck.

Second run: got lost again (i'm basically Zoro One Piece), got written down on record a lot, got his forgiveness only to make him super depressed because of one gift, fed him his favorite thing twice, and quietly listened to his inner thoughts as the timer ran down.

Very fun, very much enjoyed.

[innumerable-stars]

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun Promo Post

(written by Zdenka)

Summary The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a set of two narrative poems by Tolkien based on stories from Norse mythology: Völsungakviða en nýja (The New Lay of the Völsungs) and Guðrúnarkviða en nýja (The New Lay of Gudrún). Despite their Norse titles, these poems are in English, composed in alliterative verse.

Like The Silmarillion, "The New Lay of the Völsungs" begins with the creation of the world. It then follows the descent of the legendary Völsung family, ending with Sigurd the Dragonslayer. The poem recounts Sigurd's heroic deeds and the complicated entanglements of oaths, love, and betrayal that develop between Sigurd, the former Valkyrie Brynhild, the warrior lord Gunnar, and Gunnar's sister Gudrún.

"The New Lay of Gudrún" continues the story of Gudrún after Sigurd's murder: her grief for Sigurd, her second marriage to Atli (a mythologized version of Attila the Hun), the trap Atli lays for Gudrún's brothers, and the terrible fate of Atli and Gudrún's children.

Why Should I Check Out This Canon? It's a dramatic story of heroism, torn loyalties, fate, love, and hatred! If you enjoy those themes in Tolkien's other works, you'll find them here too.

If you've enjoyed Norse myths or other versions of the Sigurd story, you might also like this one.

If you liked Tolkien's poetry in The Lord of the Rings or the Lays of Beleriand, here's another hoard of it. He makes writing alliterative verse look easy.

You also get a look at some of the sources for Tolkien's Middle-earth works. I don't mean only the plot elements that have been noted by many literary critics, such as the similarities of Túrin's dragon-slaying adventure to Sigurd's. Having these legends in Tolkien's own words can help show the connections he made in his own mind between Norse legend and his Legendarium. Taking just one stanza as an example:

The Gods gathered on golden thrones, of doom and death deeply pondered, how fate should be fended, their foes vanquished, their labour healed, light rekindled.

That sounds a lot like the Valar in the Silmarillion, doesn't it? And there are plenty more resemblances to find.

Where Can I Get This? Your local bookstore or library, or the Internet Archive.

What Fanworks Already Exist? There is one work in Russian on AO3, a fic cross-tagged with the Silmarillion; I don't know Russian, but it seems to be a darker take on the Beren and Lúthien story. (The AO3 tag is here.)

One work from b2mem here, a recording of four stanzas from "The New Lay of the Völsungs" set to music and sung. Full Disclosure: This one is by me.

In other words, if you want to create fanworks for this, the field is wide open!

[harrisonarchive]

On February 15, 2001, George Harrison took part in two web chats (with Yahoo and MSN).

George: “May God bless you all. Don't forget to say all you prayers tonight. Be good little souls. Lots of Love! George. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)”

The full chat transcripts under the "read more" cut.

Yahoo! Chat Transcript
 George Harrison 02/15/01 ChatYahoo_Lisa: Welcome to Yahoo! Chat ChatYahoo_Lisa: We are here with George Harrison george_harrison_live: Hello! george_harrison_live: It's nice to be here! george_harrison_live: It's my first time on a computer... I'm pretty illiterate :) yahoomusic asks: What made you decide to re-issue All Things Must Pass now? george_harrison_live: It's the 30th anniversary and I'm in the process of remastering my entire catalog george_harrison_live: Which I want to get back into the stores george_harrison_live: So we started with that one george_harrison_live: and hopefully during the year george_harrison_live: We'll be able to come with the next batch and so on george_harrison_live: So that everything I have ever done will be available. morvyon asks: George, are you planning a new studio album? george_harrison_live: Yeah. george_harrison_live: I hope to put out a new studio album george_harrison_live: Possibly in November george_harrison_live: and I have at the moment many songs in various states of completion george_harrison_live: Possibly 35 songs that I have been working on over the years. yahoomusic asks: Do you surf the internet much? What types of things do you do online? george_harrison_live: No, I never surf george_harrison_live: I don't know the password. willowy_blonde asks: Hi, my boyfriend wants to know, he's a musician what's your fave electric guitar and do you still have "Rocky" your '61 fender strat? george_harrison_live: Hello willowy blonde! george_harrison_live: I still have Rocky! george_harrison_live: and he can be seen at Cyril's rare guitar shop on allthingsmustpass.com timbarwick asks: Will you be releasing Living in the Material World in a remastered/extra tracks version? george_harrison_live: Well, as I said before george_harrison_live: That will be the next one to be remastered george_harrison_live: I have to get into my tape library to find out if there are any alternate versions of anything. silbeat asks: Hi George! Glad to hear from you again! Are you planning to do any live performances? If so, where would you like to play? (Please include Argentina!!!). With love from Argentina. Sole, Mara, Silvi, Vale, Gilda, Ale, Sami and Graciela. george_harrison_live: Hello Argentina! :) george_harrison_live: At the moment I have no plans for live performances george_harrison_live: If I do later, I will certainly come to Argentina rbortega2001 asks: What did you think of Bob Dylan getting nominated for an Oscar? george_harrison_live: I think he should win it! george_harrison_live: I think he should win ALL the Oscars george_harrison_live: all the Tonys george_harrison_live: all the Grammys pcpalmiere asks: How has The Rutles influenced your career? george_harrison_live: I got all my ideas from The Rutles! george_harrison_live: particularly the 12-string Rickenbacker and slide guitar styles I got from Stig O'Hara. george_harrison_live: I met him once and he is a super chap. oldmanalex asks: Hello from Russia, George! Russian fans invite you to play in Moscow! Can you tell, will the Traveling Wilburys reform? Are there any plans to record something with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne? george_harrison_live: Thank you Russian fans! george_harrison_live: I'll be there after Argentina! nattyrobbo asks: Hi George! I'm Natalie, an 18 y.o. girl from Australia, and I'm a HUGE fan. Any hints for a budding guitarist??? george_harrison_live: Yes. george_harrison_live: Buy a ukulele! mike_n_tex asks: George, do you ever see a reunion tour with you and Paul and Ringo? george_harrison_live: Stranger things have happened. flatcat65 asks: George, Which version of My Sweet Lord do you like best, your original or the new version? george_harrison_live: I like the new version better. george_harrison_live: Because it's new! george_harrison_live: and I like Sam Brown singing it. ChatYahoo_Lisa: Why did you re-visit it? george_harrison_live: At the time, the song was so popular and also so controversial that the most important thing about it for me was that it george_harrison_live: in it's small way george_harrison_live: conjured up a touch of spirituality george_harrison_live: something we are very short of... ChristopherClause asks: Hi George! Christopher here! Thank you for being such an inspiration! What was it like working with Phil Spector? Although I can hear his influence, your "influence" and leadership in the production is clear. God bless you, George! george_harrison_live: Phil Spector was prob the greatest producer from the 60s and it was good to work with him because I needed some assistance in the control box. george_harrison_live: Phil is very funny george_harrison_live: loveable george_harrison_live: we love him :) mebissy asks: I have several teenage friends who've just discovered All Things Must Pass. They were wondering about radio airplay. I explained that this was a re-mastered, etc. album - a re-release essentially. They, however (as do I) feel the music is just as cool as it was when you first released the work. Wouldn't it be great if a single was selected and the whole cycle could start again? george_harrison_live: It's nice to know that teenagers find All Things Must Pass *cool* george_harrison_live: As far as a single goes, george_harrison_live: I suppose that's really up to Capitol Records george_harrison_live: I have no objection! melissay1 asks: Hi, Mr. Harrison, how do you feel about the Beatles 1 album being top of the charts? george_harrison_live: It's very nice george_harrison_live: It's also nice that young children seem to be hearing it for the first time george_harrison_live: and I think as an alternative form of music for today george_harrison_live: it has its place alongside all this other stuff. captainwombat_2000 asks: Out of curiosity, why the garden gnomes on All Things Must Pass? george_harrison_live: Originally, when we took the photo george_harrison_live: I had these old Bavarian gnomes george_harrison_live: which I thought I would put there george_harrison_live: like kinda... John, Paul, George and Ringo george_harrison_live: gnomes are very popular in Europe george_harrison_live: and these gnomes were made in about 1860 george_harrison_live: so, while building the website george_harrison_live: the gnomes just seemed to get into it and we just couldn't stop them! gearfabasitwere asks: Is Indian music still a big infuence on your music? george_harrison_live: Yes! ChatYahoo_Lisa: anything particular? george_harrison_live: Check out U. Srinivas a South Indian electric mandolin player george_harrison_live: eat your heart out Van Halen! moosefalva101 asks: Following the incident at your house on Dec. 1999 has your outlook on life changed at all? george_harrison_live: Yes and no george_harrison_live: Adi Shankara an Indian historical, spiritual, groovy-type person once said george_harrison_live: "Life is fragile, like a raindrop on a lotus leaf." george_harrison_live: and you better believe it! Nicole_Paul asks: I am curious about your website and the way the cover photo is altered by adding roads and urban development to the picture. Does that symbolize anything? george_harrison_live: Yes. george_harrison_live: It symbolizes that our world is being concreted over. Haven't you noticed? bluejeanbaby42001 asks: George, you have quite a reputation as a gardener...What are some of your "pride & joy" plants? Love, Dianne george_harrison_live: Well, for the cooler climates (as in England) george_harrison_live: The current trend is definitely toward Miscanthus george_harrison_live: You'll find many lovely varieties george_harrison_live: try the Zebrensis and also the Malepartis george_harrison_live: However, george_harrison_live: if you're gardening in the tropics george_harrison_live: I think you'll find a lovely little ginger called Kahili :P a_t_m98 asks: Mr. Harrison.. what is the opening chord you used for "A Hard Days Night"? george_harrison_live: It is F with a G on top (on the 12-string) george_harrison_live: But you'll have to ask Paul about the bass note to get the proper story. hari_girl asks: What do you think of Eminem's grammy nomination? george_harrison_live: What's Eminem? george_harrison_live: Aren't they choclates or something? beatles_lvr asks: You started the "band aid" movement; who would you help today? Love you George!! george_harrison_live: Bob Geldof! Moyette asks: What did you record with Bill Wyman last month? george_harrison_live: :) An old Ketty Lester song called "Love Letters" sharonconcannon2000 asks: Why was "I Live For You" left out of the original mix? (I think it's lovely, thank you for putting out at last!) george_harrison_live: I didn't think that we had got a good enough take on it. george_harrison_live: Except for Pete Drake, the pedal steel guitar player. george_harrison_live: At that time, I had so many other tracks as well, george_harrison_live: so we just left it off. george_harrison_live: It did need patching up george_harrison_live: in the drum department. pcpalmiere asks: How close are you to releasing that boxed set of unreleased songs and demos you talked about in Billboard some time back? george_harrison_live: Well, hopefully during this year I should at least get out a new album and all the other boxes of unreleased demos could possibly follow in 18 months. I'm trying to get everything that has ever been done out there. It'll just take a little time. nikolaidisgm asks: George, what do you miss most about John Lennon? george_harrison_live: John Lennon. michaelcalcina asks: George: In the Anthology book, you talk about the unwound G string. What is that? I play guitar and I'm not sure what you're talking about. george_harrison_live: It's one of those little things that goes up your butt so that people can't see your pantylines. george_harrison_live: No, It's actually a 3rd string that doesn't have a winding around it. spongeweed70508 asks: Does Paul still piss you off (tell us the truth) george_harrison_live: Scan not a friend with a microscopic glass -- You know his faults -- Then let his foibles pass. george_harrison_live: Old Victorian Proverb. george_harrison_live: I'm sure there's enough about me that pisses him off, but I think we have now grown old enough to realize george_harrison_live: that we're both pretty damn cute! incantataa asks: Mr. Harrison, I was wondering if you might tell us a bit about your ideas on love. Romantic love, that is. I recall you having written some of the Beatles' most beatiful love songs. It would be interesting to hear how your religious attitudes have impacted your beliefs concerning romanticism. george_harrison_live: Well, the lover that we miss is actually God. george_harrison_live: The beauty that you see within each other is actually God. george_harrison_live: So, Krishna was the greatest romanticist. He had girlfriends on every corner! george_harrison_live: I can't seperate the two -- a beautiful girl is the divine mother, a beautiful man is the manifestation of potential. fabzzy asks: You're joking in a most Pythonistic manner tonight George.., it's great to hear you online!!! george_harrison_live: PISS OFF!! george_harrison_live: You nosy bastard! i_arcos asks: Is it true that you recorded "Homeward Bound" with P. Simon? george_harrison_live: I recorded that with Paul Simon on Saturday Night Live back in 1853. tnntxx asks: George, given the drug experimentation of the 60's, how do you feel about the legalitzation of pot? george_harrison_live: Well, I saw someone on TV last night pulling out huge loads of pot out of various fields in California. My feeling is... george_harrison_live: as long as you can go into a store and buy george_harrison_live: whiskey george_harrison_live: bourbon george_harrison_live: and all the rest of it george_harrison_live: then, a little grass is nothing. george_harrison_live: the authorities are just causing the price to be high -- 'scuse the pun. ckeavenyuk asks: Have you any tips to budding songwiters? Do you, as John apparantly advised you stick at it until you have finished it. george_harrison_live: Try and write some melodies. And some words that mean something. george_harrison_live: It is true that if you are on a roll, then it's best to finish it in one go. george_harrison_live: That's what Johnny said. kdtash asks: Any chance that the Dark Horse material, esp. Shankar Family and Friends will be released on CD? george_harrison_live: Well, along with my own catalog of records george_harrison_live: the other Dark Horse records george_harrison_live: hopefully will be finding a new home george_harrison_live: and coming out on CDs (remastered) sometime in the future. mp0071999 asks: Hey George will you be ever be back on Yahoo? george_harrison_live: Possibly. It's pretty painless for me. kyntire2001 asks: Happy Birthday (a little early). During your recent Internet video promoting All Things Must Pass, you pointed to an engraving on the back of your guitar. What did the engraving say? george_harrison_live: It's a Maclaren strat and it had a metal chassis number plate on the back. george_harrison_live: Thank you all! george_harrison_live: May God bless you all. george_harrison_live: Don't forget to say all your prayers tonight. george_harrison_live: Be good little souls. george_harrison_live: Lots of Love! george_harrison_live: George. george_harrison_live: :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) ChatYahoo_Lisa: Thank you sooo much for joining us....pretty please come back soon! george_harrison_live: Check out allthingsmustpass.com. george_harrison_live: for further entertainment! ChatYahoo_Lisa: Bye everyone!

MSN chat transcript - George Harrison, February 15, 2001

DishDiva : Welcome to MSN Live! Today we are pleased to welcome George Harrison to MSN. DishDiva : Please join me in welcoming Mr. George Harrison to MSN Live! DishDiva : Today we will be talking with George Harrison about the re-release of "All Things Must Pass." DishDiva : George, welcome to MSN Live! George_Harrison_Live : Hello, good evening! George_Harrison_Live : How's your father! How's your uncle? DishDiva : George, the Internet was not a part of your promotion last time around for "All Things Must Pass." What part does the Internet play in promotion for "ALL Things Must Pass" now? George_Harrison_Live : I suppose the fact that it is just like this and everyone is listening.It eliminates the time of someone printing up a Newspaper. DishDiva : SR says: Is it true that you were really asked to join the beatles because you knew all the chords to "Twenty Flight Rock"? George_Harrison_Live : No! Paul knew "Twenty Flight Rock" but I did too. DishDiva : Spockmiester55 Asks: What is the difference between the old and new release if any? George_Harrison_Live : The new release is remastered and is much much better to the record that existed up until now and it has five bonus tracks on it. It also has new packaging. DishDiva : Sherwood Asks: Will your other past releases receive the deluxe treatment as "Pass" did? George_Harrison_Live : It depends really. They will all be remastered. Whether the artwork will change, I don't know. It depends what we feel at the time and what the record company feels at the time. DishDiva : alina says: Do you remember how you felt making "All Things Must Pass"? DishDiva : jerryfender Asks: Don't you miss the old packaging with albums vs CD's? All Things Must Pass was great because even the box was huge! George_Harrison_Live : Twelve inch square artwork gets you more scope and greater impact.Those days the album cover used to be part of the overall package. It seems to become less important because it is smaller and not so many people are interested in the artwork. DishDiva : doodah says: Where were you spiritually then when you wrote the lyrics for "My Sweet Lord", and where are you now spritually, have you grown? George_Harrison_Live : Somebody said a very famous Indian saint said "if there is a God, we must see him. And if there is a soul we must perceive it." In the West they still argue if God really exists. Basically, I am in the same place. The song really came from Swami Vivekananda. DishDiva : iluvgeorge says: Will you be touring? George_Harrison_Live : At the moment, no. DishDiva : lidbaby says: Any musicians you like right now? George_Harrison_Live : Hoagy Carmichael. There are many, many, many musicians. DishDiva : babe says: Is most of what's been written about you pure rubbish? Is there any one book that's more accurate than any other? George_Harrison_Live : The one that is the most accurate is "The Beatles" by the Beatles. When a book is written by someone who doesn't like you, it may not be very good. DishDiva : WildingTangent Asks: Are you still writing and recording songs? How would your style of music these days? George_Harrison_Live : I am still doing that, yes. Hopefully, there will be one coming out at the end of the year. DishDiva : tedsblues Asks: Re: recording...analog or digital? George_Harrison_Live : I have always recorded analog except when I was in a live concert. Generally, I record on analog but I hear that digital these days are getting better. The bandwidth is getting better. DishDiva : arainyfriday Asks: Looking back, how do you view your book "I, Me, Mine"? If it were to be re-released, would you make changes based on perspective you have gained over the years? George_Harrison_Live : It was ok for the time. I thought it was well made. It was an excuse to have a nice leather book like the Bible.
 DishDiva : liam0241 Asks: What was the inspiration for the song 'Run of the Mill' George_Harrison_Live : There was an expression that came from Yorkshire where they made fabric. Run of the mill just means average. I was using that phrase more or less, because, the Beatles were just splitting up. I don't know if they had that expression in America. DishDiva : sasha says: Hi Mr. Harrison. My dad and I like your site. Did you do it? George_Harrison_Live : I am not a technician. But I sat with people from Radical Media. They came to my house and set up the computers. The technicians did it and I kept thinking of ideas.I didn't have a concept of what a website was and I still don't understand the concept. I wanted to see little people poking each other with sticks much like Monty Python. DishDiva : You can check out George Harrison's website at http://www.allthingsmustpass.com DishDiva : rico Asks: What do you wish you could do, that you have'nt done already? George_Harrison_Live : Dematerialize my body. DishDiva : OKRichH says: I consider this a great priviledge to chat with you. Was the recording of "All Things Must Pass" a fulfilling outlet for you? George_Harrison_Live : Yeah, at the time it was very fulfilling- a chance to do a record of my own material. DishDiva : Brit says: What's the most popular misconception about you that people have? George_Harrison_Live : That I am serious. Pisces are depicted as two fish going in opposite directions. Many people do not see the humorous side. It is just as big! DishDiva : Beat says: Are you interested in all in the different sounds that electronics can add to guitar sounds, or are you more of a 'back to basics' advocate? George_Harrison_Live : More of back to basics. I really like the sounds they had in the 50's. Now you just buy something and plug it in. You can sound like Jimi Hendrix or whoever and everyone sounds the same. DishDiva : jediprincess00 Asks: what would you like to say to the younger generation that looks up to you? George_Harrison_Live : Try to realize what the purpose of being in a body is. There is only one purpose really and that is what you have to try to not forget. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? DishDiva : George, it has been a pleasur having you as our guest tonight! George_Harrison_Live : Lots of love and kevlar to everyone! George_Harrison_Live : It has been nice talking to you. Please enjoy the website! Ask_Questions_Live : The preceding is ( c ) 2001 MSN Live Thanks to our guest, hosts and to everyone that came to today's chat! Please remember that due to the number of questions received, it was not possible for our guest to answer each one individually. Thanks for coming to MSNLive! DishDiva : Again, you can check out George Harrison's website at http://www.allthingsmustpass.com DishDiva : You can also pick up the re-release, including, "My Sweet Lord" online at http://eshop.msn.com DishDiva : The transcript of tonight's very special event will be available later at http://chat.msn.com/msnlive

[starriri]

Similarities of Murder On Orient Express / Calais Coach to Danganronpa Despair Time

So like. Hi. I’m Starri. And uh. I’m not very much of a theorist but a few days ago i began to read Agatha Christie’s Murder on Orient Express, also known as Murder in the Calais Coach in America. I’d been searching for a copy for a while until i finally found one from my local library.

For the record, I’ve only been able to read half of the book so far (i have to put it on hold to finish another book which i need to return soon (i can’t renew it as someone wants it)), so I’ll most likely make an updated post that elaborates more on it.

Murder on Orient Express has been mentioned a few times in the DRDT franchise, most notably being in Min’s execution as the last question (Who wrote Murder in the Calais Coach?). A page of it also appears in the Literature Girl Insane (fun fact ive been calling it nonsense literature girl the whole time smh i’m a fake vocaloid fan i’m sorry) MV.

In fact, Agatha Christie herself has been mentioned multiple times in the story. For example, in chapter one, Teruko mentions her (although her name is considerably censored)

This also reveals that Teruko reads mystery novels (slay!!) which I think is pretty neat lol

For the record, Strychnine isn’t used in Murder on Orient Express, but it’s used on one Agatha Christie’s earlier mystery novels, that being The Mysterious Affair At Styles. I actually haven’t read that yet though since I can’t find a copy myself.

She is also, of course mentioned in the Literature Girl Insane credits. Although the original vocaloid MV has mentioned a ton of Authors (eg. Dazai Osamu, Kaiji Motohiro) that do appear in the DRDT ver, Agatha Christie does not appear in the original vocaloid MV whatsoever, meaning that she has been added deliberately, along with Lewis Carroll (i haven’t read alice in wonderland because i’m a little dipshit sorry i can’t do anything with him) and possibly a few others.

To be honest I do think Agatha Christie herself is somewhat related to the plot, along with other books of hers that aren’t Orient Express.

But I digress. My main topic here is how Murder on Orient Express has similarities to DRDT. Even if I’ve only read half, there’s a few similarities I can find:

1. There are 16 passengers aboard the train

In the novel, there are multiple compartments, however, in the main one, there are 16 people. You know what else has 16 people?? The danganronpa series, mainly, which includes DRDT.

2. The victim has somewhat ulterior motives/secrets

The man who died is revealed to be a murderer, who has changed his name to avoid being identified. At the beginning of the story he asks Poirot/The protagonist to protect him from someone who has been targeting him, which Poirot declines.

How is this similar to DRDT? Well, firstly, Xander, like the victim, died mainly because of their own actions. Xander died attempting to kill Teruko, while the victim died because he was a scumbag that killed. It’s quite far fetched but. Yeah.

3. ‘Charles Cuevas Motive’ and the Handkerchief

The handkerchief from the novel has been embroidered with the letter H. However, H in russian is N. Do you see where I’m going?

In the story, the handkerchief is revealed to belong to a russian woman by the name Natalia because of this.

In DRDT, ‘Charles Cuevas Motive’ or C CU MO is misread as 3MOC until Rose tells everyone to turn the disc.

Both stories have a sort of misreading of possible evidence that end up being clarified after a while.

4. People fainting after seeing blood

In both stories, someone faints from seeing blood: Charles after seeing Teruko on the ground, and Mrs Hubbard (a character) after finding a bloodied knife in her purse (?). Mrs Hubbard says that, just like Charles, it’s due to her fear of blood.

This one I’m almost sure is somewhat referencing the novel.

The end (because i’m stupid and haven’t read the whole book)

Ultimately there’s probably more similarities that I’ve overlooked (there’s most likely something to do with the ‘woman in the scarlet kimono’ ) so I promise to update this soon. But for now. uh. toodles

If anything, i think the references to Orient Express only go as far to the end up Chapter one. I think chapter 2 might be centric to another Agatha Christie book (i have a few theories on which one but like. i’ve only read 6.) so yay i guess

also if someone has already done a theory on this certain topic i’m sorry jd dkdbdjbdks