#( connection. / && john sullivan. )

[thedevotionaltour]

Daredevil #19 - "Alone-- Against the Underworld!" (June 1966)

Written by Stan Lee Art by John Romita Sr. (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks)

[thelostsullivans]

NPCs YOU’LL PROBABLY SEE MENTIONED ‘ROUND THESE PARTS

ROBERT “POPS” SULLIVAN. Luke, Bullet, Frankie, and Reggie's grandfather. City councilman in NYC; connections with mob members while he touts that he’s ‘tough on crime’; adopted Frankie and Bullet in their later teens; didn’t approve of his son Kelly’s marriage to Bullet's mother Florence, so he doesn’t approve of Bullet. Just used her for sympathy. Favors Frankie over Bullet ( most of the time ) and doesn't know about Luke and Reggie ( yet ).

JOHN SULLIVAN. Frankie's father and uncle to Bullet, Reggie, and Luke. Eldest son of Robert. Fuck up, but not as big as Kelly. Currently incarcerated in New York.

KELLY SULLIVAN. Father of Luke, Bullet, and Reggie. Only knows for certain about Bullet. General criminal, currently incarcerated in New York, but getting released soon. Asshole.

FLORENCE ( nee DARCY ) SULLIVAN. Mother of Bullet and estranged wife of Kelly. Con artist and thief. Currently incarcerated in New Mexico. Turned Kelly in to get immunity in an unrelated case.

RIVA DARCY. Maternal aunt of Bullet. Looks out for her when she's in town. Personal hero of the younger redhead. Hates the Sullivans. Tried to adopt Bullet when her sister was thrown in the clink until Robert got in her way.

MICHAEL “MIKEY” SULLIVAN. Younger brother of Frankie. Perished in an auto accident. Honestly was Frankie’s heart; they loved that kid. It’s difficult for Frankie to speak of Mikey now, but if they do, it’s all glowing.

DONNY WILSON. Grown ass married man with kids / Ranch hand. Had no business messing around with Bullet at the age she was when they did. Ran out of town when people began to suspect things. Bullet calls him her first love, but that ain't it.

LILAH BECKWITH. Bullet considers her her first girlfriend, though she was Frankie's at the time. Broke Bullet's heart and really just pissed Frankie off.

SARA JAKOB. The one who got away for Frankie. They have a tattoo of her name in a heart on their chest and they refuse to get it removed. Very, very sore subject.

------------------ ...to be continued...

[posttexasstressdisorder]

They killed our Jesus: A Lament for Generation Jones

Two things happened in 1980 that would ensure the iron grip of the fascist state would (first slowly, then quickly), tighten on the entirety of the nation's populace from that moment forward: Ronald fucking Reagan was installed as president, and a CIA-psyop'd Christian Nationalist shot and killed John Lennon.

Those two things are connected.

First let's look at exactly who "Generation Jones" encompasses, and specific moments in the generational timeline that defined our future. The wiki page is actually quite good. Here's an excerpt that really hits it on the head:

"The name "Generation Jones" has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a "keeping up with the Joneses" competitiveness and the slang word "jones" or "jonesing", meaning a yearning or craving.[17][18][19] Pontell suggests that Jonesers inherited an optimistic outlook as children in the 1960s, but were then confronted with a different reality as they entered the workforce during Reaganomics and the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, which ushered in a long period of mass unemployment. Mortgage interest rates increased to above 12 percent in the mid-eighties,[20] making it virtually impossible to buy a house on a single income. De-industrialization arrived in full force in the mid-late 1970s and 1980s; wages would be stagnant for decades, and 401Ks replaced pensions, leaving them with a certain abiding "jonesing" quality for the more prosperous days of the past.

Generation Jones is noted for coming of age after a huge swath of their older brothers and sisters in the earlier portion of the Baby Boomer population had; thus, many note that there was a paucity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to older Boomers. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness and "jonesing" for the level of doting and affluence granted to older Boomers but denied to them.[21]"

That sets the stage, for the most part. I was four when JFK was shot on TV. I was a wide-eyed, open-eared five year old when The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan and The Supremes were on the radio. I was ten when we landed on the moon, and I wanted to be a hippie at Woodstock at eleven. "Basketball Jones" came out when I was 12...I jonesed for a telescope because SPACE and got one from that great maker of fine telescopes, KMart.

Generationally, we jonesed to be ten years older, so we could have had all the cool shit THEY had. They had The Beatles, and we had the solo Beatles, they had Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane, and we had the fucking BeeGees and disco. It's like we, as a generation, were fated to live The K-Mart Knockoff of Life, instead of the bright, shiny Brand Name One all our older brothers and sisters got.

MUSIC and SCIENCE were EVERYTHING to us as kids/teens...the Eshittification Of Music truly began in 1973, and proceeded through SynthPop Hell in the '80s. Rock and Roll heroes became hairdos with guitars. The rock heroes of the '60s were getting married and having kids and baking bread. AM Radio ceased to be something you listened to for music...it began to replace music with strident, screaming hate voices that would eventually engulf all of AM Radio 24/7/365.

We were continually thwarted most of the way from our young adulthood on, blatantly from the moments in 1980 that the vile Ronald Reagan and the core operatives of evil for the next 50 years took over, and then the moment of what I call "Our Generational Wounding", the murder of John Lennon.

Back in '66, John had inflamed all the grandpas of todays magats by saying (truthfully) that with teens, The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Beatle hate became a Very Big Thing in Bumfuck South Texas. Record burnings, merchandise burnings, book burnings, all were commonplace. A very palpable, and very specifically "Anti-Beatle" hate got instilled in a lot of kids/teens at that point, so anything to do with the Beatles was taboo for "good people" (read Southern Baptists) to like.

That, of course, made me love them that much more, and to follow their paths from their breakup forward with 'bated breath, buying every 45 they put out, trying to save pennies up to buy their albums.

John was the radical hippie, the one who wanted peace, the one with the weirdo wife, the one who held a "Bed-In" for peace. In a very fundamental-to-our-generation way, John Lennon was OUR "Jesus".

Richard Nixon (president from '68 to '74) HATED him.

In 1971, there was a true mass consciousness that incorporated us along with our older siblings, a musical mass consciousness. I became aware of many things in 1969, specifically fall of '69, so I was experiencing all this in real-time, as it happened. When the news that The Beatles officially broke up came across the AM radiowaves in May of '70, it was A. Very. Big. Deal. Everyone watched everything they did from that point on with GREAT interest.

George put out "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life" (first record I ever bought), John put out "Instant Karma", "Mother", then "Power To The People", then "Imagine". Ringo put out "It Don't Come Easy", and Paul & Linda had "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey". EVERYBODY was a "post-breakup Beatle critic", panning Paul's very first solo 45 "Another Day", "Uncle Albert" was the followup. This band called Badfinger that sounded suspiciously like The Beatles appeared on American radio, and would make 1972 one of the final "Golden Years" of AM Rock Radio.

In 1970 we heard about this Elton John guy, by the end of '72, I was playing as many of his songs on the piano as I could figure out. My favorite album was (still is) "Madman Across The Water". When "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" came out in '73, a very noticeable shift was occuring.

Pop became much less political. It softened. It mellowed. It grew its hair long and lived in the country, learned how to grow potatoes and play the mandolin, making Country Rock the one lasting "legacy" of our sad sub-generation. By the time I graduated HS in May of '77, it was all there was on the radio, besides....disco. Oof.

One of my first TV memories was JFK getting shot. That was the Generational Wounding of our older brothers and sisters. When Mark Chapman (a Christian nationalist who changed the words of "Imagine" to "Imagine there's no John Lennon") shot John in December of 1980, it was the 2 in the 1-2 PUNCH done to our OUR generation. The first, of course, being the installing of Reagan and the evil Evangelical influence beginning in earnest.

It also began the buildup of the "Holy War" radical right, and an utter denial and clampdown of "hippie", of "counterculture" in general began, ensuring that John's vision of world peace would never come true, at least not on their watch. They had, effectively, killed OUR Jesus, along with our chances of the kind of security our older sibs got in spades. It also marked the unholy marriage of the evangelicals and the republican apparatus.

When Reagan got elected by virtue of the vile Newt Gingrich's 'Southern Strategy', a clampdown in earnest on the very SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE of our generation's incredible want and need, our collective JONESING for world peace began. Richard Nixon had planted the seeds. Nixon hated John Lennon with a passion. After Reagan was elected, I firmly believe Chapman was "activated" and they killed John as a Christmas present to Nixon.

It was after that, when the dream of a scientific future began to die, as well. When we were in high school, SCIENCE WAS EVERYTHING, so we wanted to be some kind of scientist "when we grew up".

I dealt with four years of college, majored in Biology, and in early 1981 realized my dream of being a Forest Ranger in Yosemite or some other national park somewhere, living in a cabin, giving talks to visitors about the biology aspects of the park....all that went POOF, almost instantaneously. My degree would get me nowhere, so I left before the end of that year and started working in record stores.

I was effectively the Cusack character in the movie about record stores, but it led to a dead end. Record stores weren't all that glamorous, and yes, the pay was dogshit. I tried working in record stores for the love of the music, while trying to BE a musician in a town FILLED OVER FLOWING with musicians, but that was quickly shat on by the beginning shrieks of late-stage capitalism.

It was like working in the record stores was my trying to keep holding onto the dream, our generation's dream...John's dream of world peace (along with my dream of being a working musician) died a pitiful death by the end of 1986.

What followed was nothing but a series of Jobs I Hated, and the beginnings of the true Jonesing for the life we'd been promised, because we didn't get the raises, the pensions, the house, the car, boat and camper, none of that shit for us. A life of being a low-paid, no-insurance drub, destined to be a life-long renter, unless a financial miracle happens.

So when people ask why we (as a generation) hate Ronald Reagan so much, let's just say I'm with Bugs on this one.

[ftmtftm]

ftmtftm's reading (and watching) list

So I've been putting this list together to help people understand my beliefs and also to expand their own. This is a list of theorists, poets, authors, artists, and people that I often source from whose works have deeply impacted my framework of the world. I hope someone else can find them useful as well.

I've included several videos because I know how inaccessible academic text can be, but I do encourage you to read the text if you're able and seek out copies of books listed at your local libraries or independent book sellers/second hand book shops! When I could not find a PDF for a written work I have added Thrift Books links. Also double check the Internet Archive, Trans Reads, and The Anarchist Library for more readings!!

If any of these links break please let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix them. I'll be adding to this list as time goes on as currently these are just the books I can see on my bookshelf and videos I could remember I've seen before!

3.4.2024 - This list is slightly outdated in that there are several authors and works I need to add. Please seach the names James Baldwin and Audre Lorde or simply my reading list tag on my blog for additional resources.

Theory

Kimberlé Crenshaw:

Critial Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed The Movement - thrift books

Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color - PDF

The Urgency of Intersectionality - video

Kimberlé Crenshaw Intersectionality is NOT identity - video exerpt from her WOW keynote speech

Angela Davis:

Angela Davis Criticizes "Mainstream Feminism" / Bourgeois Feminism - video

Angela Davis What it means to be a Revolutionary (1972 Interview) - video

Roxane Gay:

Bad Feminist: Essays - Internet Archive

Roxane Gay: Confessions of a bad feminist - video

Roxane Gay, Feminism and Difficult Women - video

bell hooks:

Feminism is for Everybody - PDF

The Will to Change - Internet Archive / audio book - YouTube

All About Love - PDF / audio book - YouTube

Teaching to Transgress PDF / audio book - YouTube

Speaking Freely: bell hooks - video

bell hooks & john a. powell: Belonging Through Connection (Othering & Belonging Conference 2015) - video

bell hooks & Gloria Steinem at Eugene Lang College - video (intro ends 7:24)

Emi Koyama:

The Transfeminist Manifesto - PDF

Ijeoma Oluo:

So You Want to Talk About Race - thrift books

Ijeoma Oluo Talks at Google - video

Public Presentation with Ijeoma Olua - video

History / Journals

P. Carl:

Becoming a Man - thrift books

Library Labyrinth Live Presents: P. Carl Becoming a Man - video (intro ends approx. 3:20)

P. Carl Prologue UCCS - video (audio quality poor)

Keith Haring:

Journals - PDF

Keith Haring Documentary - video

Keith Haring On The Fence - video

Jack Lowery:

It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic - thrift books

Susan Stryker:

Transgender History - PDF

Transitions, with Susan Stryker - podcast - YouTube

Lou Sullivan:

We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan 1961-1991 - trans reads

Trans Oral History: Meeting Lou Sullivan - video

A series of video interviews with Lou - playlist

Fiction / Poetry

Chinua Achebe:

Things Fall Apart (novel) - PDF

I'm trying hard to not add too much of my own commentary to this post but personally I really think it's helpful to read Things Fall Apart in theoretical conversation with The Will to Change by bell hooks and in direct conversation with one of the works it was written in response to, The Heart of Darkness

Arundhati Roy:

The God of Small Things (novel) - thrift books

Arundhati Roy talks about her life and views on the world - video

Warsan Shire:

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (poetry collection) - thrift books

Warsan Shire reads her poetry - video

Zadie Smith:

White Teeth (novel) - Internet Archive

White Teeth (4 part Real Drama adaptation) - videos

Zadie Smith Interview: On Bad Girls, Good Guys and the Complicated Midlife - video

A Conversation with Zadie Smith - video

Pamela Sneed:

Funeral Diva (poetry and prose collection) - thrift books

Pamela Sneed Discusses "Funeral Diva" - video

I offer you a secret meme for your time (with books I still need to add to this list):

[icarusbetide]

connection between wartime administration & federalist-lean?

There's an argument that wartime service and experiencing Congress' failures firsthand as Washington's aide de camp pushed Hamilton further into the ideals that would later be seen as Federalist: a national instead of state outlook, a permanent military power, and a strong, efficient government.

I was wondering if that argument can be applied on a broader scale: is there an overall connection between revolutionary wartime administration and federalist-leaning political beliefs?

I'm by no means qualified but for my own curiosity's sake, I tried to find the political inclinations of former leaders in the war as well as members of Washington's family, who arguably should have seen the same inefficiencies as Hamilton.

Major Generals:

Washington: Tried very hard to be nonpartisan, but pretty federalist when all's said and done. Especially in 2nd term as president and in last years of life Horatio Gates: Supported Jefferson's presidency, so assuming he was leaning Democratic-Republican? Henry Knox: Federalist Philip Schuyler: Federalist William Alexander, Lord Stirling: Not sure John Sullivan: Federalist, led drive in New Hampshire for Constitution's ratification Thomas Mifflin: Federalist according to Wikipedia (was also aide to GW from June to August 1775) Arthur St. Clair: Federalist. Governor of Northwest Territory, removed by Jefferson in 1802 due to political party differences. Benjamin Lincoln: Federalist, strong policies and presence in Massachusetts Thomas Conway: Unreliable source says Federalist William Moultrie: Some sites say Federalist but he had falling out with Washington because of his pro-French actions towards Genet. Possibly nonpartisan.

Washington's family (Aides, Culper, Life Guard. If they died before we can quantify as "Federalist", then not included):

Note: I tried to include length of service and timeline, arguably important (there during Valley Forge or good period?), but it's difficult in consideration of leave and such. Used Wikipedia's dates.

Edmund Randolph (August - November 75): Wiki says Federalist but I know enough about him that he was often the swinging vote in Washington's cabinet, and that he didn't sign the Constitution because he thought it too strong. Tench Tilghman (August 76 - June 80 | June 80 - Nov 83): Died in 1786. I shouldn't include him but raise a glass for our hardworking Tilghman. Robert Harrison (Nov 75 - May 76 | Military Sec May 76 - 81): Died in 1790. Wikipedia says Federalist. John Fitzgerald (Nov 76 - July 78): Couldn't find John Walker (Feb - March 77): Unreliable source says Federalist Samuel Blachley Webb (June 76 - Jan 77): Couldn't find William Grayson (Assistant Sec. July - August 76 | Aide August 76 - Jan 77): Leader of Anti-Federalist faction with Mason, Monroe, etc. died in 1790 Alexander Contee Hanson Sr. (Assistant Sec. June - Sep 76): Federalist according to Wiki Alexander Hamilton (March 77 - April 81): Is this even a question? Stephen Moylan (March 76 - June 76 | Sept. 76 - Jan 77): "Firm Federalist" according to Founders Online James McHenry (May 78 - August 80): Federalist, GW's Secretary of War in 2nd term when cabinet members were much more partisan. Richard Kidder Meade (March 77 - November 80): Couldn't find. I know that he was very close with Hamilton, which makes me think it possible that their politics had some similarities? But entirely speculation. Hodijah Baylies (May 82 - Dec 83): Federalist. According to Founders Online, Gallatin was advised against Baylies because he was a "decided and we believe a sentimental federalist”. David Cobb (June 81 - Jan 83 | June 83 - Dec 83): Wiki says Federalist Peregrine Fitzhugh (July 81 - Oct 81): Not sure if same Peregrine Fitzhugh, but in a letter to Jefferson in 1807, said: "It is true I have been called a Federalist, and feel a pride in being so: but my Federalism is firmed in those principles which dictated the correct and memorable declaration that we were all Federalists all republicans" William Stephens Smith (July 81 - June 82): Federalist (member of Congress as Federalist in 1812) David Humphreys (June 80 - Dec 83): Federalist. He was part of the Hartford Wits and wrote the poem The Anarchiad. "In 1802, Thomas Jefferson...decided to replace Humphreys...Historians speculate that Humphreys's closeness to the Federalist Party motivated Jefferson’s decisions." from Mt. Vernon Richard Varick (Aide & Priv Sec May 81 - Dec 83): Apparently Federalist and later mayor of New York Benjamin Walker (Jan 82 - Dec 83): Federalist, elected to Congress as Federalist

Caleb Gibbs (May 76 - Dec 80): Couldn't find Nathaniel Sackett: Couldn't find Benjamin Tallmadge (1778 - 1783): Federalist, part of minority in Congress during Jefferson & Madison administrations

Other aides who might've had administrative work, although I'm not sure:

Aaron Burr: Very short run with Washington, and Israel Putnam's aide. Technically Democratic-Republican, but some historians have noted his politics did not always align with a party.

James Monroe: Aide to Stirling, Republican-Democratic

Concerns:

First concern: I'm not sure if the other major generals' aides would see as much administrative work directly with Congress as Washington's aides. I'm under the impression that other generals would report to Washington, than Congress, but I'm not sure.

Second concern: I also want to add that other factors would have most definitely played a role, such as familial and economic interests, which may or may not have been influenced by the war. Still, I thought it would be an interesting exercise.

Third concern: A lot of this is very shallow research as I did not have the time or energy to really dig into all of them. Please let me know if there is any inaccurate information (even Federalist or Democratic Republican is a very broad term and I'm sure their beliefs varied).

Please let me know if you see any inaccurate information, or anyone/some branch I did not consider!

[sirenjose]

Character Relations Thoughts/Theories

Part 1 - Character Relations

(Wrote everything down for reference from looking around, as I didn't have everything unlocked myself and had trouble finding images anywhere. Also, when I say "Unknown connection" that just is to symbolize the ? relations, not that we literally don't know, as we do know some answers to those, like Arthur Byer's connection to Hastur is likely them being the same person in a sense in game 6.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 0

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ada

Employee to Father Duke

“Colleagues” with Lorraine (who Emily “advised”)

Daughter to Dr. Mesmer

Cooperated with Orpheus

Couple with Emil

Unknown connection to Helena

Emil

Unknown connection to “Roy”

Couple with Ada

Helena

“Saved” Galatea, who has affection for Helana

Daughter to John Adams

Student to Sullivan, who hired by John Adams

Sullivan is “pen pals” with Orpheus

Unknown connection to “Roy” and Ada

Galatea

has “affection” for Helena

employed to Orpheus

Orpheus?

Unknown connection to Roy, who has an unknown connection to Emil

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jack

Interviewed by Keigan

“Murdered” Keigan

Sheriff “doubts” him

Student of James Whistler

Philip

Siblings with Christina

“Mistook” Belinda as Christina

Christine and Belinda “replaced”?

“Appreciates” Jack

Keigan

“Interviewed” Jack who “murdered” her

Siblings with Harold Nicholas Keogh

Aunt and Niece to Bessie

“Murdered” Dr. Mesmer

Edmund Reed, Sheriff

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 3 (Andrew/Antonio/Sangria/Polun)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sangria

“Lady”

Andrew

“Buried” Sangria, Antonio, and Polun

“Employed” to Percy, who was “resurrected” by Burke

“Backstabbed” Mr. Marshall

Antonio

“Vigilant” of Sangria and Andrew, who “buried” Antonio

“Affection” for Polun

“Avoiding” Princess, who “confined” Antonio

“Fantasizing” about “Demon”

Polun

“Jealous” of “Catherine”

“Invited” by Max

Antonio has “affection” for Polun

“Buried” by Andrew

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 3 (Aesop/Victor/Annie/Ganji)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Annie

Daughter to Wendy Lester

“Murdered” by Aesop

Aesop

“Foster son” to Jerry Carl

“Murdered” Annie and Ganji

“Targeted” Victor

Ganji

“Dominated” by Lord Elgin, who Ganji is “disgusted” with

“Murdered” by Aesop

Victor

“Acquaintances” with Wick

“Targeted” by Aesop

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 4

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kreacher

He “betrayed” Emma, who “hates” him

He abused Robbie and Dolores

Worked for Father Duke

“Disapproves” Freddy, who “hates” Kreacher

“Despises” Emily

“Hates” Mr. Macallan

Emma

“Helped” by Orpheus

Daughter to Martha Remington and Leo

Sought help from Emily, who “sympathized” with Emma

“Hates” Father Duke, who “abused” her

“Hates” Freddy

“Hates” Kreacher, who “betrayed” her

Freddy

“Cooperated” with Dr. Mesmer

“Investigating” Emily

“Lovers” with Martha Remington

“Deceived” Leo, who “hates” him

Emma “hates” him

“Hostile” to Kreacher, who is “hostile” to him

Emily

Martha Remington was a “medical accident”

“Advised” Lorraine Miller

“Despises” Kreacher

“Sympathizes” with Emma, who “sought help” from her

“Investigated” by Freddy

Leo

Married Martha Remington, father to Emma

“Hates” Father Duke

“Hates” Freddy, who “deceived” him

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 5

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Vera

Sister to Vera Nair

“Influenced” Kevin

“Ex-collaborator” with Jose

“Vigilant” of Edgar

“Hostile” to Patricia, who “sacrificed” her

Kevin

“Mourning” Angelina, daughter of Cherokee Chietain

“Guilt” towards Cherokee Chieftan (about daughter and lying), who is “Friendly” to Kevin

“Influenced” by Vera and Jose

“Friendly” to Edgar

“Protective” of Patricia

Patricia

Foster daughter to Mary

“Sacrificed” Vera, who was “hostile” to Patricia

Jose, “ex-collaborator with Vera, is “hostile” to Patricia

“Sacrificed” Edgar

“Faith” in Papa Legba, who has “contracted” Patricia

“Protected” by Kevin

Edgar

“Friendly” to Kevin

Ella is his sibling

“Influenced by” Jose

Vera is “vigilant” with him

Sarai was his tutor, who he “murdered”

“Sacrificed” by Patricia

Jose

Son of “Old Baden”

Old Baden “traded” with Lord Melbourne

Lord Melbourne is the “sponsor” of Sam Bourbon

“Drinking buddies” with Sam Bourbon

“Searched” for Wu Chang (umbrella)

“Ex-collaborator” with Vera

“Influenced” Edgar

“Hostile” to Patricia

“Influenced” Kevin

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 6a

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grace

Unknown connection to Arthur Byers and Fiona

Hastur

Unknown connection to Arthur Byers and Yidhra

Yidhra

Unknown connection to Darren, Fiona, and Hastur

Fiona

“Vigilant” of Arthur Byers, who “charmed” Fiona

Unknown connection to Yidhra

Commissioned by Volcker Berglund, brother of Darren Berglund

Investigating Luchino, who “deceived” Fiona

Unknown connection to Grace

Luchino

“Deceived” Fiona, who is investigating Luchino

Colleagues with Duquein Thompson

Unknown connection to Arthur Byers

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 6b

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Luchino

Eli “vigilant” of Luchino

Unknown connection to Demi

Demi

Unknown connection to Luchino

“Step siblings” to Sam Bourbon

Unknown connection to Eli

“Framed” Martha, who is “Scheming” against (?) Demi

Unknown connection To Miles, Spouse to Michiko, who Martha “deceived”

Michiko

Unknown connection to Eugene

Unknown connection to Martha, who “deceived” Miles

Miles’ “spouse”

Miles Donald

Martha Behamfil

Unknown connection to Michiko, who is the Spouse of Miles

“Deceived” Miles, who has an unknown connection to Demi

“Scheming” against (?) Demi, who “framed” Martha

Apprentice to Evelyn Mora

Eli

Unknown connection to Luchino

“Engaged” to Gertrude Vandergaw

Unknown connection to Demi

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Violetta

“Tolerates” Joker, who is “hostile” to Violetta

“Acquired” by Bernard

“Influenced” Margaretha

Murro and Mike “sympathize” with Violetta

Employed by Max

“Rescued” by Tracy

Margaretha

“Influenced” Violetta

Eugene Hayward and Marjorie Hayward are her Uncle and Aunt

“Fears” Mike, who is “disgusted” by Margaretha

Murro is “vigilant” of Margaretha

“Relies” on Sergi, who “controls” Margaretha

Joker “murdered” Sergi, who has an unknown connection/arrow to Joker

“Exploited” Joker, who “adores” Margaretha

Joker

“Adores” Margaretha, who “exploited” Joker

Arthur Russel “investigated” Margaretha and Joker

Arthur Russel “commissioned” Mike, who “doubts” Joker

“Hostile” to Violetta

Son of Gwynplaine and Thea

Mike

“Sympathizes” with Violetta

“Disgusted” by Margaretha, who “fears” Mike

“Adopted” by Bernard Morton Jr, Uncle of Murro Morton

“Assisted” in Murro’s escape

Arthur Russel is “pursuing” Murro, who “trusts” Mike

“Employed” by Arthur Russel

Arthur is “investigating” Joker

Murro

“Vigilant” of Joker and Margaretha

“Sympathizes” with Violetta

Nephew of Bernard Morton Jr., who “adopted” Mike

“Trusts” Mike, who “assisted in his escape”

Arthur Russel “commissioned” Mike and is Naib’s employer, who “murdered” Murro

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 9

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Servais

Apprentice to John who Servais “murdered”

“Doubted” by Kurt and Naib, who “murdered” Servais

“Searched” for Murro

William “witnessed” Servais murder John

William

“Witnessed” Servais murder John

Kurt showed William “kindness”

“Trusts” Naib, who “exploited” William

“Punished” by Bane

Bane

“Employed” by Mr. and Mrs. DeRoss

“Punished” Naib and William

“Colleague” with Burke

“Companion” to Black Nose

Kurt

“Doubted” Servais

“Murdered” by Naib

“Searched” for Murro

“Cared for” by Lorraine, employee of Father Duke, who “disapproved” of Kurt

“Kind” to WIlliam

Naib

Murdered Servais, Kurt, and Murro

“Doubted” by Servais

Employed to Arthur Russel

“Punished” by Bane

“Exploited” William, who “trusted” Naib

(Murro)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 10

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Luca

Son of Herman Balsa

“Malice” to Charles

“Alert” against Tracy, who is also “alert” with him

Student of Alva

Tracy

“Alert” against Luca, who is also “alert” with her

“Unusually trusted” by Charles

“Curious” of Bonbon

Being “surveyed” (watched) by Burke and Bonbon

Daughter of Irene Reznik and Mark Reznik, who is “curious” of Carl Taplin, who watched (surveillance) Mark

Charles (sorry I didn't have his character relations page)

Bonbon

“Invented” by Burke, who’s employed to Mr. and Mrs. DeRoss

Watching Tracy, who is “curious” of Bonbon

Burke

“Invented” Bonbon,

Employed by Mr. and Mrs. DeRoss

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game ? (maybe 11?)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alva

“Close friends” with Herman Balsa, who was a student of Professor Kaiser with Alva

Herman is the father of Luca, who is Alva’s student

“Shares the same faith” as Ann

Luca (same as in Game 10)

Ann

“Shares the same faith” as Alva

Relative of Laura

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Game

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Orpheus

“Cautious” of Melly, who’s “cautious” of Orpheus

Unknown connection to Sam and Frederick

“Investigating” Alice, who “suspects” Orpehus

Unknown connection to Norton, Burke, and Bane

Mary

Unknown connection to Mary Kreiburg

Mary Kreiburg is a “distant relative” of Frederick

Amalia Kreiburg is the mother of Frederick, who is also a “distant relative” of Mary Kreiburg

Mary Kreiburg’s spouse is Manus de Capet

Frederick

Son of Amalia Kreiburg, who is distant relatives to Mary Kreiburg (as is Frederick)

Unknown connection to Orpheus

Alice “doubts” Frederick

Alice

“Suspects” Orpheus, who is “investigating” Alice

“Curious” about Melly, who is “curious” about Alice

“Defect” from(?) Lord Melbourne

“Vigilant” of Norton

Unknown connection to Burke, Bane, and Evelyn

“Doubts” Frederick

Melly

“Cautious” of Orpheus, who’s also cautious of Melly

“Curious” about Alice, who’s also curious of Melly

“Vigilant” of Norton

Unknown connection to Sam Bourbon

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not Yet Confirmed (what game they're in)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Qi Shiyi (maybe game 1, if she brings Wu's umbrella, it needs to be at the manor before Jose aka game 5)

“Close Friend” of Tang Si

Evelyn Mora

Mentor to Martha

Lily (maybe game 1 or a game close to final?)

Matthias

Florain

Robbie

Joseph (maybe Final Game?)

Brother to Claude

Percy

Employer to Andrew

Ithaqua (maybe game 6 with Fiona/Hastur?)

Ivy

Jeffrey (maybe game 3 with Antonio/Andrew?)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2 - Points of Interest

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Roy", who is mentioned with the game 0 group and has some type of connections between them and Helena, Emil, and Orpheus/Novelist

Sullivan's "pen pal" is confirmed to be "Novelist" aka Orpheus

Philip involved in game 2

"Mistook" Belinda as Christina, and whatever is meant by "Replaced" (between Christina and Belinda)

Keigan "murdered" Dr. Mesmer (that name is listed in the relations as being Ada's father

Andrew "buried" Sangria, Antonio, and Polun

Polun's connection to "Max" who "invited" Polun

Emma was "helped" by Orpheus

Patricia "sacrificed" only Vera and Edgar

Jose was "drinking buddies" with Sam, who is "sponsored" by Lord Melbourne/Vilhelm

Grace and Yidhra are involved in game 6a with Hastur, Fiona, and Luchino

Luchino "deceived" Fiona

Demi "framed" Martha, who was "scheming" against Demi

Demi is "step siblings" with Sam (shared either a Father or Mother? Likely Mother?)

Demi is connected to Miles somehow

Martha "deceived" Miles

Joker is only listed as "hostile" to Violetta, doesn't mention "murder" unlike elsewhere when a character is killed (same about Norton)

Margaretha is "exploiting" Joker

Tracy “rescued” Violetta (likely being the mechanic who gave Violetta her prosthetics in Violetta’s backstory)

Melly has some connection to Sam

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3 - Thoughts/Theories

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Roy” is not mentioned anywhere that I’m aware of (though a “Roy” is mentioned in Mary’s letters, but I think this is someone else?). I did wonder, even though we know “Orpheus” is apparently involved in game 0, if Roy could be 0-1-0 if it isn’t “Orpheus”. Helena’s 3rd letter, as most experiment letters, should be written by Orpheus as a record of his “experiments”, so it’d be odd if he’s talking about himself as 0-1-0. We know from Helena’s letter that No. 0-1-0 had "multiple tests" done on them before “interventions in stages” on Helena, as well as 0-1-0 is someone Helena considered an "ally".

I’m confused about it saying Philip “mistook” Belinda as Christina. Nowhere in his letters or deductions does he say the name, though it does in his relations page. Her name was first revealed in a Q&A, where they said Philip “forgot the name of the woman on his shoulder, he only knows that she is his sister”. Well, based on his 2nd letter, he does call her “Belinda”, unless he’d already forgotten and this was what he thought her name was. I assume that body is still “Christina” but he just forgot what her real name was, which… is really saying something about Philip if he doesn’t even remember his sibling’s name. I doubt that the body wasn’t actually Christina’s but instead someone else with the name “Belinda”, but this definitely leaves me more uncertain than I’d like. Or another possibility is the figure on his shoulder is just a wax creation (not actually his sister’s body) and his sister’s been gone long enough (and he’s traumatized enough) where he either repressed the memories of his sister or has forgotten, with the wax figure on his shoulder his constant reminder of simply the fact his sister was taken from him and he needs to avenge her. And due to his forgetting, he’s named the wax figure on his shoulder “Belinda”.

I’m assuming Keigan killed Dr. Mesmer sometime after her discussion with Bessie, her niece and had married to her brother Harold Nicholas Keogh. We learn Bessie was unsatisfied with the marriage, and he wasn’t even accompanying her to the doctor despite her pregnancy. Keigan learns due to Bessie that Harold has a substantially larger than normal savings account than he should have based on his monthly income. We further learn Harold was involved with Dr. Mesmer, who had paid Harold for helping “resolve baseless accusations” against him. Based on what we know of Keigan from her backstory, deductions, and trailer, it isn’t unreasonable to say she decided to deal with Dr. Mesmer similar to how she dealt with her brother due to the threat they posed to Bessie.

Antonio’s game has 5 people mentioned in the letters, but the relations page only shows 4. We know that 3-0-1 is Andrew and Antonio is 3-1-3. We know Antonio felt “affecton” for Polun, and Antonio’s 3rd letter mentions he showed “affability” to 3-?-2 and 3-1-5. We know from Polun’s letter that he was likely affected by drugs during their “feast” based on the mention of feeling “dizzy”, and Antonio’s 3rd letter mentions 3-?-2 felt the effects of the drugged wine (and Polun’s 2nd letter does mention wine). Therefore, Polun is likely 3-?-2. As for Sangria, we know he felt “vigilant” towards her.

As for 3-1-4 and 3-1-5:

we know 3-1-4 was:  “consistently polite” to Andrew, had a “shared attitude towards faith” with Andrew, had “superior communication and expressive abilities” but their past experiences hindered their ability to establish meaningful connections with others and were too “absorbed in their pursuit of friendship and salvation” causing a lack of awareness of their surroundings and made them be manipulated by 3-1-5 and utilized his familiarity with the mansion to start an arson under the stage and cause 3-1-4’s demise. Also, 3-1-4 was effected by the drugs with polun

while 3-1-5 was “adept at disguising their true intentions”, “skilled at sensing others’ emotions” which he used to form a “temporary alliance” with Andrew, “subtle manipulations” of 3-1-4, had hostile feelings towards Andrew, and “spun lies” praising Andrew’s work (façade via acting) and determined Andrew’s “fate” in the “temple”. Also, 3-1-5 was affable with Antonio

My best guess is 3-1-4 may be Sangria, who we know was “buried” by Andrew as well as Sangria is someone tied to a “stage” and “fire”. She would also fit as someone who would be “polite” and good at “communication” and interest in “faith” and “salvation. This would leave 3-1-5. Considering this game has a lot to do with “acting skills” and performance, I wonder if 3-1-5 could be the Goatman, Jeffrey (and with his connection to animals, I could see him being good at sensing others’ emotions and due to the performances he had to put on potentially good at hiding his “true intentions”).

Max “invited” Polun. I assume this was likely after they left St. Catherine’s theater. We have no knowledge of whether Polun spent any time at Max’s freakshow, but as they seemed focused on finding their parents and the wording of “invited”, I assume they declined the invitation.

I have no idea how Emma was helped by Orpheus. We still haven’t figured out the truth behind Emma’s 4th letter, which seems to happen after her game (with Freddy, Kreacher, and Emily). Her “new friends” are aware of their memories being tampered with and warn her to secretly keep a record of everything. It’s possible Orpheus “helped” her to reunite with Leo via that invitation with the Thistle. Or it’s possible he did something during her actual game. We aren’t sure.

Regarding Game 5, we seem to have confirmed the only 2 that were “sacrificed” were Edgar and Vera. We know Kevin drank the drug and as a result didn’t participate in the game at all. Jose, based on Wu Chang’s 3rd letter and the latter half of Jose’s 3rd letter did seem to participate in the game (especially with Jose’s letter implying the manor owner “treasured” the opportunity to use Jose in his experiment and thus wouldn’t want to miss out, thus why he was willing to stop the experiment if it looked like Jose wouldn’t make it). We have no knowledge then of Jose’s or Patricia’s fates. Jose mentions finding the umbrella in the garden, where it still is during the final game. This is seemingly after the game and Vera and Edgar, who he references in his 4th letter, are already gone and he seems to be getting ready to leave. Patricia’s 4th letter doesn’t leave us with any potential hints as to what happened, though the way Jose seems to have made it through the game, yet only mentions Edgar and Vera, I wonder if something happened to her during the game, potentially something caused by Wu Chang if Jose was influenced by him.

Sam being "drinking buddies" with Jose... The only place Sam is referenced is in Jose’s 2nd letter in reference to the signature on his father’s ledger of goods the day Joaquin Baden vanished. We know Jose was drank both to help him sleep (due to his trouble with panic attacks/night terrors) and other times that led to him “missing the tide” and not boarding the ship. We know from his background in the relations page that he was delayed at Liverpool the day his father vanished. It may not be true, but what if he was drinking with Sam that day in Liverpool, or something else with Sam? Especially if Sam signed off on the ledger of goods for that voyage. It’s also curious how it specifically states Jose was in Liverpool that day. If he was just drinking normally, they didn’t have to specify. He could just drink anywhere, but it gives a specific location. So there’s a good chance there’s a reason for it, and as Sam is tied to Joaquin’s disappearance, it's possible Sam could’ve been with Jose that day too. Maybe Sam was even the person Jose’s father asked in Jose’s deduction 8 to help fix Jose essentially, even if it meant Jose wouldn’t “remember how to be a good man”. I don’t know if Sam would’ve been the person to leave that “spiritual anchor” via deep hypnosis referenced in Jose’s 3rd letter, but we don’t know nearly enough about Sam to be completely certain.

It makes sense for Grace and Yidhra to appear in the game with the supernatural theme and taking place at Lakeside. So far, we know Fiona is 6-1-3, Luchino is 6-1-4, and Hastur aka Arthur Byers is likely 6-0-5. This leaves 6-1-1, 6-1-2, and 6-1-6. The only info we have is 6-1-2 lost their life in an “unfortunate accident” and was replaced by 6-1-6, as well as Luchino was the only one not to vanish after the game. So, there’s not enough info to argue that Grace and Yidhra aren’t possible. Though, as we know 6 individuals are involved in this experiment, that does mean there’s 1 other person we don’t know of in this game. My best guess at this time is that it could be Ithaqua. As for Luchino’s deceit against Fiona, I assume this ties to how her 3rd letter says she “missed a crucial piece of ‘divine insight’” to lose her chance to escape.

Regarding Martha “deceiving” Miles, we do know from Michiko’s 2nd letter that she supposedly was helping him find the “keepsake” of Michiko’s (likely the hatpin) he was looking for, and then in Michiko’s 3rd letter, he mentioned Martha should’ve arrived at the manor 3 days ago yet there has been no news of her. Miles does get the hatpin at the manor, so that leaves the question of how exactly she “deceived” him. It’s possible it had to do with he didn’t know who Martha actually was, or she potentially deceived him to lead him to the manor (possibly lying about the keepsake being auctioned off or something, I’m not sure).

I have 0 idea though how Demi is possibly connected to Miles, unless it’s because Miles may end up being in that game with her, Martha, Eli, and Luchino (though only 4 individuals are referenced in the letters for that game so far). We do know Miles is confirmed to be in some game due to Michiko’s 3rd letter, just not which one yet.

Demi “framing” Martha, I wonder if that could relate to why Luchino believed Martha was the “liar” that would cause the final “tragedy”. This is then what leads to a “tragedy” between her and Luchino, which could relate to Demi’s 3rd letter talking about not bothering to discern truth from lies (which is the issue with Martha in this game as she first lied than was truthful, leading to confusion about her) and instead decided to “destroy” truth and lies, aka Martha herself potentially. As for the scheming, it’s possible Martha schemed because of being “framed” by Demi, unless Martha was planning something before Demi “framed” her. There’s not enough info to be certain.

I have 0 idea how Sam may be connected to Melly. The 1 possibility is from Melly’s 3rd letter, which is an “investigation record”, yet it’s not written by Orpheus considering the author specifically references him (“From this, I learned she knew Mr. Orpheus for many years before coming to the manor and was full of praise toward him”). So the author is someone who knows Orpheus at least (as well as Norton based on the mention of him further in) and this person knows Melly came to Oletus Manor, so it’s potentially someone who could be at the manor during that time? Especially as they comment on Melly’s fear of Orpheus being even stronger than her fear of Norton. Which is curious as I wonder if that implies he’s somehow monitoring the Final Game.

[burningexeter]

Here's a fairly solid amount of all the different kinds of media that I think both can fit well in and could share the same universe as Sam Raimi's gloriously bonkers and beautifully insane Evil Dead Trilogy, as well as its sequel television series Ash Vs. Evil Dead, which you can both read and see below for yourself:

• Paramount Pictures' Friday The 13th Series (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 & Freddy Vs. Jason)

• New Line Cinema's A Nightmare On Elm Street Series (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & Freddy Vs. Jason)

• Wes Craven's The People Under The Stairs

• John Carpenter's Big Trouble In Little China

• Robert Zemeckis' Death Becomes Her

• John Fawcett's Ginger Snaps

— Brett Sullivan's Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed

• Joel Schumacher's Flatliners (1990)

• Remedy Entertainment's Connected Universe

• Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn

• Julius Avery's Overlord (2018)

• Joe Cornish's Attack The Block (2011)

• Michael Dougherty's Trick r Treat & Krampus

• Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man (2020)

• Bernard Rose's Candyman (1992)

— Bill Condon's Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh

— Nia DaCosta's Candyman (2021)

• David Yarovesky's Nightbooks (2021)

• Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed

• Dean Parisot's Galaxy Quest

• Chuck Russell's The Mask (1994)

• Gore Verbinski's Rango (2011)

• Don Bluth's The Secret Of NIMH (1982)

• David Lowery's Pete's Dragon (2016)

• Stephen Sommers' The Jungle Book (1994)

• Lloyd Goldfine's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 — the first five seasons)

• Stephen Hopkins' Judgment Night

and

• Andrew Davis' Under Siege (because why not)

[mywifeleftme]

THE END

Stats

I'm a bit of a goon for stats and lists, so as I close the book on this project, here are a few highlights.

Total word count: 181,231 Average review length: 497 words Longest review: 1,761 words (138: Various Artists // Experiments in Destiny) Shortest review: 131 words (303: Alice Coltrane // Journey in Satchidananda) Most reviewed decade: 1970s (110) Firstest review: Various Artists // Keep on Truckin' (1) Lastest review: Patti Smith // Horses (365) Middlest review: [TIE] Sandy Denny & the Strawbs // All Our Own Work (177) & Various Artists // The Paths of Pain: The CAIFE Label, Quito, 1960–68 (178) Age: 37 Wives left: 0

Twelve of my favourites

1: Various Artists // Keep on Truckin': How a series of TV commercials made Americans crazy for novelty truck driving songs.

32: The Who // Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy: A free, online personality quiz.

59: Nass El Ghiwane // Nass El Ghiwane: Moroccan legends, quibbling about hype stickers, and the gift of trances.

90: Joe Coleman // Infernal Machine: Exploring a well-remunerated "Outsider artist" and his fixation on serial killers (feat. the craziest picture disc I've ever seen).

92: Aquariana // Aquariana: Your introduction to Father Yod and the Source Family cult, plus some weirdo piano ballads.

179: Elvis Presley // The Sun Collection: I asked 17 of my friends (and my grandma) for their opinions on Elvis.

199: Zero Kama // Zero Kama: In 1983, Austrian Psychic TV-devotee Zoe DeWitt snuck into a charnel house and scavenged a pile of human bones, which she then fashioned into musical instruments. This is the music that resulted.

209: Rob Hertner // Bucky's Heartaches: I research a private press country record by a Texan expat in London, and unearth his life as a crackpot political figure in Britain and connections to a terrorist militia group.

227: Jim Sullivan // U.F.O.: A guide to six lesser-known private press folkies, prepared with the assistance of antiquarian D. John Christie.

256: Maria Tănase // I: Romania's answer to Edith Piaf, and a figure much in need of rediscovery.

270: Purple Mountains // Purple Mountains: On David Berman's last work, and writing through pain.

319: Gilbert Bécaud // Incroyablement: A lovestruck fool, but no dummy. Some thoughts on an irrepressible chansonnier.

These are so stupid

Blogs tagged "this is so stupid"

[dearestcorrespondence]

John Church Hamilton to unknown, New York, [January 12, 1824]

Dear Sir: In the proceedings of the Senate, I yesterday ob served the Report of the Committee of Foreign Relations on the Petition of Francis Henderson Jr. In the course of my inquiries I have had an opportunity of forming an opinion of the services of Lieut. Col. Laurens and of the estimation in which he was held by the family of the Commander in chief, which entitles him, beyond all question to the first rank among the young men of the revolution. During his immediate attendance at headquarters he was, with Col. Hamilton always selected to perform the most delicate offices of his station, and was entrusted with Gen. Washington's most secret confidences, and, from the period of the arrival of C D'Estaing, until the close of the campaign of 1781, in the communications with the officers of our ally, the aids derived from him were invaluable. His military career has left behind him an uninterrupted blaze of glory. Sent forward to R Island, by Gen W. to superintend the conduct of affairs in that quarter until Gen. Greene took the command; to Col. Laurens is principally attributed the reconciliation of D'Estaing, who had been offended by Gen. Sullivan's indiscretion, which excited the most serious apprehensions as to its effect on our ally. His gallantry on this occasion was so conspicuous that he received from Congress a vote of thanks and a tender of a commission of Colonel, which he declined from delicacy to his brother aids. At Monmouth where every member of Gen. W's family seemed to contend, not only for their country but for their personal reputation, as connected with their chief, he participated in all the exposure of the day and, in the controversy between W. & Lee which agitated the camp and Congress, such was his devotion to the former that, late in the year, he invited Gen. Lee to a rencontre, who, after receiving a slight wound, made an explanation equally honorable to himself and satisfactory to his antagonist.

On the invasion of Georgia in '79, Co' L. hastened to Carolina. Here he was conspicuous in preparing for the expected invasion. In order to aid the councils of the State, he was elected a member of their Legisla ture where he used every arg to call out the militia and forward the black levies which he had begun to recruit. On the arrival of Gen. Lincoln, he immedi ately joined him; was present in the storm of Savannah, and such was his chivalry, that, after the retreat was sounded, and the troops had fallen back, he continued on, in the direction of the enemy's fire until C D'Es taing, who was himself wounded, pointed him out to Lincoln, who ordered him to draw off a detachment in order to remove him from the field.

The misfortune of that day menacing the most alarming consequences, Laurens rode express to Philadelphia, in order to urge succours to the Southern Army. Here he received a new mark of confidence; being elected by Congress Secretary to the Minister at Versailles- a situation which he peremptorily declined (though sought for by the most conspicuous names in the country)_ in order to rejoin the army, and was at last induced to accept, on an intimation “that there was no other individual on whom the two parties in congress could unite.” Circumstances having occurred to render his departure on this service unnecessary, he hastened from Philadelphia and arrived in sufficient season to take part in the defence of Charleston, where I presume, he was taken prisoner_ (this fact I have to learn). The most important incident, however, of his life and that having the most immediate relation to the claim before you, is his mission as Envoy to France in Feby. 1781. The magnitude of his services on this occasion are matters of history, but among many inte resting incidents connected with this event there is one which may not be before the public. Vergennes was opposed to any open interference on our behalf at the outset of the quarrel, and always continued adverse to our independence. In this spirit he presented every obstacle in the way of Col. Laurens negotiation,_ Wearied by these delays L. obtained an interview with him, and after a warm expostulation, characteristic of his noble spirit, he broke from him_ prepared a memorial to the king, and, waiting upon him in the succeeding levée, regardless of the etiquette of the court, handed it to Louis in person. This decisive bearing although it excited great astonishment, was followed by the happiest effects. On the succeeding day the ministers contended with each other in their zeal to promote his views, and he returned here in sufficient season to aid us in a most critical posture of our affairs. (The money obtained by Laurens was deposited in the Bank of N. A. and sustained the financial operations of Mr. Morris until the signature of the provisional treaty). Laurens arrived in Boston, in Sept. 1781, and he immediately joined the army and in the storm of the Redout on the night of the 14th Oct, which was the closing scene of my father's service, L. who, with a body of picked men, was detached by him to take the enemy in reverse and intercept their retreat, entered the works among the foremost and made prisoner the commanding officer. As a compliment to his gallantry and in reference to the capture of Charleston, he with the Viscount De Noailles, was appointed a commissioner to settle the terms of the capitulation. (Signed) John C. Hamilton.

[the-forest-library]

September 2022 Reads

Swordheart - T. Kingfisher

Ten Thousand Stitches - Olivia Atwater

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance - For Meadows

Kismet - Lauren Blakely

The Sweetest Connection - Denise Williams

Do You Take This Man - Denise Williams

How to Love Your Neighbor - Sophie Sullivan

Lucy on the Wild Side - Kerry Rea

The Holiday Trap - Roan Parrish

The Most Likely Club - Elyssa Friesland

Nothing More to Tell - Karen M. McManus

How to Survive Your Murder - Danielle Valentine

Vengeful - V.E. Schwab

All of Us Villains - Amanda Foody

Babel - R.F. Kuang

Carrie Soto is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Just by Looking at Him - Ryan O’Connell

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken

Striking Distance - Sarah Rees Brennan

Fence Vol 1 - C.S. Pacat

Fence Vol 2 - C.S. Pacat

Fence Vol 3 - C.S. Pacat

Hark! A Vagrant - Kate Beaton

Step Aside, Pops - Kate Beaton

Sweaterweather - Sara Varon

Spinning - Tillie Walden

Lore Olympus - Rachel Smythe

If You Find a Unicorn, It is Not Yours to Keep - DJ Corchin

Coven - Jennifer Dugan

Unretouchable - Sofia Szamosi

American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang

Fun Home - Alison Bechdel

And Now I Spill the Family Secrets - Margaret Kimball

How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You - Matthew Inman

When Life Gives You Pears - Jeannie Gaffigan

Nine Nasty Words - John McWhorter

Resilient - Rick Hanson

Ask Me About My Uterus - Abby Norman

That Sounds So Good - Carla Lalli Music

Unbelievably Vegan - Charity Morgan

Bold = Highly Recommend Italics = Worth It Crossed out = Nope

Thoughts:

Lots of really decent reads this month, but the standout is once again Olivia Atwater. I think I enjoyed Ten Thousand Stitches even more than Half a Soul. Just delightful. 

I also read a bunch of graphic novels while I was recovering from surgery and finally got around to reading some that have been on my TBR forever. 

Goodreads Goal: 311/350

2017 Reads | 2018 Reads | 2019 Reads | 2020 Reads | 2021 Reads |

2022 Reads

[vvatchword]

I Feel Salty

When I don't feel terribly creative--and I haven't, lately--I work on the BioShock: Rapture journal.

Guys, why is this so fucking bad. It's forcing me to come up with words for why it's so bad. Like it's not just bad in terms of characterization or plot, it's conceptually bonkers.

First is the setup: a series of what are essentially short stories. They're barely connected to each other and are always summaries. It's like they're placeholders detailing where a dozen chapters of plot should go. Because they are summaries, there is absolutely no tension whatsoever. All the problems have essentially been solved--we've skipped past them to these little peaceful islands. Long story short: there is never any tension or excitement.

Second is the characterization. Absolutely wretched. I don't think John Shirley has ever met a human being in his life. Bit characters are cardboard cutouts. Major characters have no internal worlds worth speaking of. Why is Frank Fontaine grifting? Idk he just grifts. Why is Andrew Ryan doing what he does? idk he's just Andrew Ryan. And we shouldn't start on poor Bill McDonagh.

Speaking of McDonagh: the fucking dialogue. Either it's info-dumping or it's full of absurd words. Nobody is a person, everyone is a weird stereotype. I think Shirley was attempting camp but he managed to blow straight past that into the garbage. (I'm a little terrified of how he'll make the non-white characters speak lol)

Third is the fucking prose. Oh my fucking christ it's so embarrassing. Shirley does not trust you to be able to infer from his sentences, so he will explain himself at length, sometimes two or even three times over. Shirley is primarily a visual person; he can't conceptualize intangibles; he can't just discuss an idea. He is firmly rooted in terra firma. Every now and then he tries to be smart and utters complete nonsense.

Bill McDonagh was riding an elevator up to the top of the Andrew Ryan Arms—but he felt like he was sinking under the sea.

Fourth is the research. Shirley does not research big processes, but bit information, which is kind of a problem. He doesn't know how the US government could stop Andrew Ryan from shipping giant building parts out--or why they'd even care--but he'll spend time telling you about boxing in 1946.

Fifth is scene setups. So let me share with you a paragraph from my journal regarding Chapter 2:

Sullivan tries to shake a G-man, fails, and doesn’t care because it doesn’t matter. He shows up at a ship containing building materials for Rapture, meets Greavy, and they lecture each other back and forth about subjects they should already know to summarize a bunch of events we should have seen. As an afterthought, Sullivan tells Greavy he showed up in person to confirm the time the ship leaves instead of calling because the phones are probably tapped. Sullivan will leave before the ship leaves so he won’t actually know the time to confirm with his boss. This particular ship is one of multiple ships and represents only one of multiple shipments—there’s nothing remarkably special about it. They’re not in any danger in any way and there’s nothing the USA can do legally to stop them, a fact they confirm multiple times. End scene.

It's a nothingburger. Absolutely nothing happens in this that's worth writing about. The G-man can't do anything, the USA can't do anything, nobody's going to do anything. There's no tension. This scene solely exists for the sake of dumping exposition. We don't get to see the act of building the city itself.

I am definitely learning something from reading this book but mostly it's about what not to do, and I hate it. If I didn't want to keep it around for fanfiction purposes, I would throw it in a woodchipper.

[world-cinema-research]

The Beatles Touching Down on American Soil: A Hard Day's Night Short Essay

By: Jillian Arnold

“We know how to behave! We've had lessons.”

“A Hard Day’s Night” is a fun and slapstick humor movie that allows fans to have a deeper dive into the Beatles, more personal side rather than professional, and shows a different, boyish wonder side of them.

The plot of this movie consists of a routine event that the stars of the Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, deal with in their stardom. It shows the stars running away from their obsessive fans to play a live concert along with other side quests such as Ringo going to jail, John criticizing the TV Director, George being mistaken as an actor, and Paul McCartney taking care of his grandfather. It shows that the Beatles had good time management in their professional life in their personal life and it shows that the stars were human like their fans, but also made their fans laugh with their hilarious plot.

A trailer for the movie, A Hard Day’s Night. Just this trailer shows the highs and lows of fame; affecting thousands of your fans with music but also never getting time away from thousands of fans. This clip shows a compilation of the members of the Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, running away from obsessed fans. 

 The film is well received by audience members and has earned an 89% acceptance rate in an audience score and a 98% with the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. Although it is not as well known as other classic films, it is an important one in our history and just shows that sometimes all we need is a little humor in our lives. The film was also loved by fans because it came out during the peak of the Beatles' careers when they had thousands upon thousands of fans. This movie has been nominated for three awards, which just shows how good and popular a movie it is.

Ironically, a huge event that happened the year the movie was released was when the Beatles came to America. On February 7th, 1964, the Beatles touched down on American soil before they made their live U.S. debut on the Ed Sullivan Show two days later. At the time, the Beatles were huge in the UK and were so famous, so then performing in America made them huge as well in the States. They were one of the first bands to have popular music in the States from other countries, which contributed to the Beatlemania happening in the UK and the States. 

Here is a scene from the movie, starring George Harrison. The scene is about George being mistaken as an actor auditioning for a TV show. The humor in the scene allows fans to connect with the scene and love the actor even more.

The film was shot using a cinéma vérité style, which is a French film movement of the 1960s that showed people in everyday situations with authentic dialogue and naturalness of action. I think this style of film shooting was done because they wanted the fans to see the authenticity of how the band acted and wanted them to see that they were real people just like them also since this film had some of the biggest music stars at the time in it, it brought popularity to the French film movement since so many many people watch the movie because of their favorite stars. 

This film is both conventional and unconventional. It is conventional because it stars the Beatles and their feature film debut when they were at their peak of fandom. It is unconventional due to the documentary style of filming and it being filmed in black-and-white since colored films were the norm in films at the time.

Here's a poster of the film. Its bright colors and fun letters attract people’s eyes to the movie, making people want to see it. It also shows the iconic faces and hair of the stars of the movie, which people also recognize and love.

This film allowed fans to connect even deeper with their favorite music stars, who will be forever known for all time. It also allowed the band to reach out to their fans by providing them with laughter and fun. Overall, it is a fun and classic movie that everyone should watch, especially huge fans of the Beatles.

"Now you'll like these. You'll really dig them. They're fab and all the other pimply hyperboles."

[midchelle]

Thank you @raylangivins for tagging mwahhh kisses :)))

How many works do you have on ao3?

A humble 6.

What's your total ao3 word count?

34,148, would be 90,571 if I hadn't orphaned a fic a while back.

What fandoms do you write for?

It's currently the Beatles, but I used to write some other stuff. YA series. Let's not get into it.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

oh, what a night! - Paul's not looking at John, he’s watching his fingers follow the line of John’s clavicle to his shoulder. “Not going to sleep, then?” “No.” John swallows, feels the dexie scrape down his oesophagus. “Was rather hoping for an encore, myself.” Obertauern, February 1965

Sorry Girls, He's Married - The morning after the Ed Sullivan Show, John is in a strange mood. Cyn is asleep. Paul makes a bad choice || New York City, February 1964 (Added a summary to this a while ago because I remembered it just didn't have one lol)

the late, great, johnny ace - 1981. Paul is making an album.

my brother's keeper - There is a certain clinical satisfaction in seeing just how bad things can get || Chicago, August 1966

you and i have memories - Over the years, John has had many way-out ideas, but fucking off to California and having his memory wiped is certainly a novel one, even for him. (2/5)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yeah I try to! I'm kind of a boomer when it comes to AO3 functionality, so sometimes I miss a few of them, but they're always super appreciated and I try to make sure that I show that.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably tell me all my love's in vain. The actual situation in johnny ace is much, much angstier, but the ending has a bit of hope, at least.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

oh, what a night! Absolutely zero conflict throughout.

Do you get hate on fics?

I had one person be irritating in the comments of a fic, but otherwise everyone's been lovely.

Do you write smut?

yeah

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't yet, might after I read the Marianne Faithfull/Edie Sedgwick bios that have been sitting on my desk for ages.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Someone could've stolen something I posted on Wattpad/ff.net and I wouldn't even know at this point because I can't get into the accounts.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Think someone on ff.net offered to translate the now orphaned fic a while ago. Can't recall what language.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I'm open to doing it should the muse strike us simultaneously.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

this dynamic <33

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I had an idea for a Twilight fic some time ago that I never finished because I didn't know enough about Twilight, but it was a pretty good concept. I might use it for original fiction sometime, I dunno.

What are your writing strengths?

I dunno, you tell me. Descriptions, jokes, bad vibes, idk.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I hate writing the connective tissue bits between scenes, which is why most of my longer fics are in vignette form, and I get fed up of the fic if I've been working on it for a while, so my endings tend to be a bit lazier. Also, I'm not very good at plot. I'm mostly a vibes-based writer.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It's usually pretty easy to get around, especially if the character themselves doesn't speak the language. One of my biggest pet peeves in fiction in general is the egregious use of recognizable foreign words to show the audience they're speaking another language when everything else is in English. Don't be doing that.

First fandom you wrote for?

Percy Jackson, I think. Self insert ofc, never posted anywhere.

Favorite fic you've written?

Doing the opposite of the way parents pic their favourite child and saying whichever was the last one.

tagging (no pressure!): @aquarianshift @boshemians @eveepe

[gtunesmiff]

Don’t worry about style

Austin Kleon ||  Tuesday, April 4, 2023

“Don’t worry about style. It will be expressed no matter what you do. Style is part of the way your brain is wired.” —Luke Sullivan

“I never went out of my way to invent a style. I haven’t got a style — I just draw and it’s that way.” —Ralph Steadman

“The problem with art today: the artist believes he must find a style (or a schtick really) and defend it with his life. And if all the schticks are already taken, he must pull one out of his ass. He must find one, invent one, fabricate one, for he can be nothing if he cannot be original.” —Eddie Campbell

“‘One of the problems for the great modern dancers is that they developed their own style,’ which led to an overuse of the same muscle sets. A body needs balance and, as it ages, different ways to build strength and stamina.” —Twyla Tharp

“Style is a capitalist invention. It’s a trademark. It’s very useful in the world of commerce to have a good trademark, but it wasn’t my first concern. I got restless…” —Art Spiegelman

“Self-plagiarism is style.” —Alfred Hitchcock

“The way to professional accomplishment: you have to demonstrate that you know something unique, that you can repeat, over, and over and over until ultimately you lose interest in it… The model for personal development is antithetical to the model for professional success….Whenever Picasso learned how to do something he abandoned it.” —Milton Glaser

“In our current cult of originality, the pressure is to have a personal style as soon as possible, and the classroom environments often have this mentality as well. Everyone is freaking out: “What’s my style? What’s my thing?” It’s too much too fast. This race for originality has, over the years, spread from that future-goal timeline to just after college to (now) inside college itself. A safety zone no longer exists.” —Dash Shaw

“When I talk to young composers, I tell them, I know that you’re all worried about finding your voice. Actually you’re going to find your voice. By the time you’re 30, you’ll find it. But that’s not the problem. The problem is getting rid of it.” —Philip Glass

“Don’t worry about a style. It will creep up on you and eventually you will have to undo it in order to go further.” —Gary Panter

“Style is selection. These things all exist in the world. We don’t invent anything, but we do look around and go towards the things that connect with something within us.” —John Patrick Shanley

12. “Artists; you do know, don’t you, That your mistakes are your style.” —Jerry Saltz

13. “I always think of style as something that’s the distance between what you want something to look like, and what your hand and brain make it look like unintentionally. And there’s quite a gap there, and there’s some interesting stuff in that gap.” —Daniel Clowes

14. “Originality, personality, or style can neither be encouraged nor prevented. Forget the matter.” —Lou Harrison

“Comments about style sound strange to me. ‘You work in this style or that style.’ As if you had a choice in the matter. What you’re doing is trying to stay alive! And continue! And not die! What you want is an experience of making something that you haven’t seen before.” —Philip Guston

“You heard the style / I think you missed the point” —Beastie Boys

“Punk was not a style of music. It was the state of your mind.” —Mike Watt

“Your style comes out of your attitude — what kind of a person you are, your personality, how you see things.” —Elmore Leonard

“A writer’s personality is his manner of being in the world: his writing style is the unavoidable trace of that manner. When you understand style in these terms, you don’t think of it as merely a matter of fanciful syntax, or as the flamboyant icing atop a plain literary cake, nor as the uncontrollable result of some mysterious velocity coiled within language itself. Rather, you see style as a personal necessity, as the only possible expression of a particular human consciousness. Style is a writer’s way of telling the truth.” —Zadie Smith

“After 40 years, what I came to care about most was not style, but the breath of life.” —William Maxwell

[kwebtv]

The Legend of Lizzie Borden - ABC - February 10, 1975

Historical Drama

Running Time: 96 minutes

Stars:

Elizabeth Montgomery as Lizzie Borden

Fionnula Flanagan as Bridget Sullivan

Ed Flanders as Hosea M. Knowlton

Katherine Helmond as Emma Borden

Don Porter as George D. Robinson

Fritz Weaver as Andrew Borden

Bonnie Bartlett as Sylvia Knowlton

John Beal as Dr. Bowen

Helen Craig as Abby Borden

Alan Hewitt as Mayor Coughlin

Gail Kobe as Alice Russell

Hayden Rorke as Julien Ralph

Amzie Strickland as Adelaide Churchill

Robert Symonds as Andrew Jennings

Elizabeth Montgomery and Lizzie Borden were sixth cousins once removed, both descending from 17th-century Massachusetts resident, John Luther. Rhonda McClure, the genealogist who documented the Montgomery-Borden Connection, said, "I wonder How Elizabeth would have felt if she knew she was playing her own cousin." (Wikipedia)

[philleegirl]

Lovetober22 Fics - COMPLETED!

The Stats:

Fics: 31

Words: 48100

Fandoms: 13 

Pairings: 21

The Fandoms:

Death in Paradise

Shetland

The Brokenwood Mysteries

Midsomer Murders

Murder in Provence

MASH

Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators

New Bloods

Ghosts

Our Flag Means Death

Queens of Mystery

Father Brown

Lewis

Prompts and Fics:

Full moon - the lovely moon is playing just for you - Death in Paradise - Neville Parker/Colin Babcock

Ghosts - Of Reed Warblers, Cloud Gazing, and Butterflies -  Ghosts - Patrick Butcher/The Captain

Cozy - Warm and Safe and Loved - Shetland - Alan Killick/Donnie/Alison McIntosh

Carnivals - The Carnival at Badger's Drift - Midsomer Murders - John Barnaby/Sarah Barnaby, Cully Barnaby/Gavin Troy

Sweater - Suited Hearts - Shetland - Jimmy Perez/Duncan Hunter

Harvest - Your Love of Grapes - The Brokenwood Mysteries - Jared Morehu/Mike Shepard

Storm - some people can find peace in the middle of a hurricane - Death in Paradise -  Neville Parker/Colin Babcock

Leaves - Fall Foliage - MASH - BJ Hunnicutt/“Hawkeye” Pierce 

Blood - A Blue Ford Tourneo Connect and the Aftermath - New Blood - Rash Sayyad/Stefan Kowolski

Soup - Refines the Appetite  - The Brokenwood Mysteries - Kristin Sims/Dr. Carlton

Costume - Of Codpieces and Corduroy -  Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators - Sebastian Brudenell/Rory Harrison

Scary movies -  Small Handed Hearts -  Shetland - Jimmy Perez/Duncan Hunter

Spooky -  Love, Murder and Disembodied Voices -  Ghosts and  Shetland  - Patrick Butcher/The Captain, Jimmy Perez/Duncan Hunter

Candy -  Commercial Street Confection -  Shetland - Cassie Perez/Alex Grant

Warm -  Bébè -  Murder in Provence - Hélène Paulik/Sylvie

Bat -  A Peerie Nathusius’ Pipistrelle -  Shetland - Billy McCabe/OMC Felix Davie

Fog -  The Young Perez-Hunter's Buy the Lodberries -  Shetland - Jimmy Perez/Duncan Hunter

Vines -  In Vines Veritas - Lewis - James Hathaway/Robert Lewis's Son

Stargazing -  Stargazing with Old Friends -  Patrick Butcher/The Captain, Patrick Butcher & The Captain & Kitty

Nightmare -  Succubus Hearts -  Shetland - Jimmy Perez/Duncan Hunter

Pie -  Provençale Quiche -  Murder in Provence - Hélène Paulik/Sylvie

Candle -  The Light Remains - Father Brown - Sidney Carter/Inspector Sullivan

Mysterious call -  It's an Enigma to Some - The Brokenwood Mysteries - Kristin Sims/Dr. Carlton, Daniel Chalmers & Kristin Sims

Warm -  Tropical Heat -  Shetland and Death in Paradise - Jimmy Perez/Duncan Hunter

Mask -  Don't Hide Your Love Behind a Hardened Mask -  Our Flag Means Death - Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet

Scream -  Cat and Wolfe Games - Queens of Mystery - Cat Stone/Isabella Wolfe

Spider -  Hero's Reward - New Blood - Rash Sayyad/Stefan Kowolski

Latte -  Tabloid Truths and Lies -  Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators - Sebastian Brudenell/Rory Harrison

Fire -  Als een feniks uit as gerezen -  Shetland - Billy McCabe/OMC Felix Davie

Cold -  The Cold, Dark Winter Won't Last Forever -  Lewis - James Hathaway/Robert Lewis's Son, Laura Hobson/Robbie Lewis

Halloween -  Just a Literary Device -  New Blood - Rash Sayyad/Stefan Kowolski