#Kelly watches justified

[gingerwerk]

no ones doing a bestie catch up convo like them

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Cyd Charisse (The Bandwagon, Brigadoon, Singin’ in the Rain)—LEGS LEGS LEGS I would sell my soul for the legs of Cyd Charisse - she oozed style and glamour and sex appeal!! And she could DANCE! She was dancing next to the greats - Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire but they are never who you're looking at because why would you when you can look at her. I will only sit through too long ballet breaks for her. If there was any woman who you could call sex on legs it was her. These dances are everything to meeee (she comes in at the minute mark) and this dance too of course is iconic. In the words of Fred Astaire 'When you've danced with Cyd Charisse you stay danced with'

Suchitra Sen (Harano Sur, Chaowa Pawa)—Suchitra Sen! She had a 25-year career in Bengali films, and was at the height of popularity for a solid two decades as half of the wildly beloved pair of Uttam-Suchitra, who were practically the entire romantic genre of Bengali films by themselves. She acted in literary adaptations, romantic comedies, (melo)dramas and inspired-by-current-events films. She was the first Indian actress to receive an international award at the Moscow International Film Festival. In 1978, after the release of her last film (a box-office flop) she pulled a Garbo and put herself out of the public eye completely. She made no appearances, gave no interviews, refused awards, all of it. She didn't even show up for her daughter's or grand-daughters' debuts! She was taken for funerary rites in a covered hearse! The glamour! The mystery! That blinding smile!

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Suchitra Sen:

Not to take away from her costars in Devdas (1955), but the great Indian cinematic tradition of Tragic Romantic Yearning would not, I argue, be what it is without Suchitra Sen's performance in that film. I root for things to turn out better for her every time, even though I know how things are going to go.

A Bengali cinema icon. Liked crows (per Gulzar, "It was an astonishing sight. The crows used to pick at the grapes from her hand").

Linked gifset

She once rejected Raj Kapoor's movie offer (one of the most successful actor and director at the time). She was quoted saying, “In men, I don’t look for beauty. I look for intelligence and sharp conversations. I had refused Raj Kapoor’s offer almost immediately. He came to my residence offering a lead role and, as I took my seat, he suddenly sat near my foot and offered me a bouquet of roses while offering the role. I rejected the offer. I did not like his personality. The way he behaved – sitting near my foot – did not befit a man.”

Legendary poet, lyricist, director and writer Gulzaar had this to say about her "Glad that my ‘Sir’—that’s what I call her— got the Dada Saheb Phalke award during her lifetime. Contrary to people’s perceptions, Suchitra Sen is an extremely warm and very very friendly person. I adore and respect her. But she has the right to choose her friends. Surely she’s justified in keeping away from every Tom, Dick and Harry. She’s the only example of such quiet dignity in show-biz. That’s why the media compares her with Great Garbo. Suchitra Sen is my Sir. I’ll explain. During the shooting of Aandhi she started calling me Sir. Everyone in Kolkata calls her Madame. Since I’m her junior I requested her not to call me Sir. But she insisted. (We always converse in Bengali). So I call her Sir and she calls me Sir.”

Linked musical number [won't let me display embedded for some reason]

Cyd:

Photos do not do Cyd Charisse justice, unfortunately, because she is at her hottest while dancing, which she was exquisitely good at. Just go watch her first number in Singin' in the Rain, in that green dress; nothing I could say here will be more convincing that that.

She had amazing legs, and she knew how to use them! You probably know her best from the dream sequence in Singin' In The Rain. She was such a stunning dancer, and all her dance scenes are hard to look away from.

Dancing in the Dark clip:

She's an amazing dancer and my favorite from the period. Here's her and Fred Astaire in the Band Wagon:

I just like a woman who's there to be really incredibly good at dancing.

One of the most talented female dancers in Hollywood history, but what sets her apart from other competitors for that title is that she...umm...well let's be blunt, she was the dancer who put sex into it. The one who said "Hey, you know that A+ leg tone that naturally develops from doing this for a living? Why don't I let people see that? Like at every opportunity?" She reportedly insured her legs for five million dollars after hitting it big, which just goes to show that fame makes you crazy. It should have been ten million.

Arguably the Best female dancer of her time, she supposedly insured her legs for $5 million dollars. Stole the show whenever she had a dance number, even if she went uncredited. Musicals started to go out of fashion so unfortunately she didn't have as many big roles as she should have, but those she did are unforgettable. The Broadway Melody number in Singin' in the Rain - the green dress!

She could pirouette in pointes or tear it up in taps. Fred Astaire called her "beautiful dynamite" and wrote, "That Cyd! When you've danced with her you stay danced with." Gene Kelly partnered with her three times. Her legs were (reportedly) insured for $5 million in 1952 ($57.8 million in 2024 dollars)! Everyone in this poll will be iconic, but for raw physical grace, Cyd is up there with the best.

Legs for days, beautiful dancer in the most iconic scenes of Singin in the Rain. She's glorious. As some guys sung to her in It's Always fair weather, 'baby you knock me out!'

Incredibly, Cyd Charisse only started learning to dance as a rehab exercise to strengthen her body after a childhood bout of polio. She was in high demand as a dance partner, Fred Astaire called her beautiful dynamite and said "When you've danced with her, you stayed danced with". She was one of a few leading ladies to dance with both Astaire and Kelly, declaring them both delicious. Kelly apparently was stronger, while Astaire was more coordinated. She also said her husband would always know who she had been dancing with because Kelly left her bruised, while Astaire didn't leave a mark. She's better known for her dance numbers today, but she was a leading lady in her time! Her Scottish accent in Brigadoon leaves a lot to be desired, but compared to the other actors in the movie, it's almost good. She appeared in The Harvey Girls alongside Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury in her first speaking role, but she really burst onto the scene with Singin' in the Rain and her infamous Broadway Melody Ballet number with Gene Kelly (no one could handle a length of fabric like Cyd Charisse). She was brought in because Debbie Reynolds wasn't really a dancer and Kelly was notoriously a stickler about his Vision. After that she starred opposite Astaire in The Band Wagon, which was a bit of a flop but created some enduringly incredible dance numbers. She went on to star in a number of MGM movies, and was one of the last of the Studio era stars to remain on contract. Since we've got up to 1970, I'm including her opening routine in The Silencers (1966) to show just how long she was making a splash - she's into her 40s here and still a siren:

and of course, the iconic Broadway Melody Ballet -

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Kelly Betts

People can’t see my disability from the outside. I worry that in this current political climate and with the new law, it may not end at the comments and harassment I already face.

On Thursday, officials in Nassau County, New York, where I live, signed a mask ban into law, one of the first of its kind in the country. And while to most healthy adults it doesn’t mean much, to those with serious health conditions, like me, it makes getting out into the world a lot harder.

The ban was touted by lawmakers as a public safety measure after reported antisemitic incidents and protests at various New York universities, many involving people wearing masks. Those who violate the new law face a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. And while there are exemptions for people with religious and medical reasons, it’s not dealing with the law that I’m afraid of. It’s dealing with the “citizen cops” of the world who will be using their discretion to enforce it.

I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in February 2023. It’s a fast-growing type of blood cancer. I underwent more than five rounds of chemotherapy, and the following July, thanks to an amazingly generous donor, I had a stem cell transplant, something I knew nothing about until I got sick. I was given some of the most powerful chemotherapies to kill my old immune system and any remaining cancer cells. Then I was given my donor’s stem cells to help build a brand-new immune system.

There are a lot of risks that come along with the transplant, especially in the early stages as the stem cells are engrafting and you have no immune system. The first 100 days are the riskiest, and you must watch everything from what you eat to how it’s prepared, and most of all the people around you. Your body is starting from scratch, so you have almost no immunities. Any vaccinations you’ve had over your lifetime have been wiped out. For the last year since my transplant, my immune system has slowly been getting stronger. But building a new immune system takes years, and I have a long way to go. So, wearing my face mask whenever I go out is essential.

That brings me back to the new law. I wear a medic alert bracelet and would hope that showing it to the police, should it ever become an issue, would be enough. But that’s not guaranteed, because anyone can just order one. Would I be forced to show up in court to prove my medical condition to a judge? And what cost and time could that take, all to protect my health? And what about my family or people who act as caregivers, who don’t technically have medical conditions of their own, but still wear masks to protect me? Would there be an exemption for them?

Most of all, I worry about those who have strong feelings against masks. As we know, many people read headlines and not always the full story. And just reading most of the headlines, all someone will know is that there’s a mask ban in Nassau County. Even at the height of my illness, with no hair and really looking like I had cancer, I still got comments like “Covid is over” or “that’s not protecting you.” And while the few comments hurt, especially while I was battling for my life, I could shake them off. I had a bigger fight ahead of me.

Now, healthier with hair again and 43 years old, the comments continue. But I worry that in this current political climate and with the new law, it may not end at that. People can’t see my disability from the outside. It’s been hard to get back out in the world, as many can relate to after going through a global pandemic. Even being as careful as I am and just starting to let my guard down a little in outdoor settings, I caught Covid. And it took my body and immune system down hard. Luckily, I’m recovering and back to wearing my mask diligently, even outdoors.

I want to be able to return to my normal life. And go out with friends, see a Broadway show, and one day get back to my office in the city. But now with New York City considering passing its own mask ban, I don’t know when I would feel safe enough to do that. Is this law really protecting the masses?

[sleepynegress]

A COMPREHENSIVE & AUTHENTIC UHURA LOVE/HISTORY POST

The above is where Roddenberry 1st employed Nichelle Nichols [click to watch the full clip]. It was a military show based on Roddenberry's own experiences, the episode is called To Set it Right (I highly suggest reading the wiki article about it).

You should note two other actors, whom he later pegged for Star Trek are in the episode.

They dated briefly and then became good friends way before Trek came about.

Miss Nichols was already an accomplished singer and dancer who performed regularly w/ Billy Eckstine and Duke Ellington

Roddenberry's 1st show, The Lieutenant, was canceled/pulled from the air before these scenes bluntly dealing with racism could air (there's blackface as punishment for the racists at the end of the show, in a case of 'he 'a little confused but got the spirit' for the times, so tw)

He created Star Trek to try to soften the blow of all the social messaging he wanted to insert from his military experience. Star Trek was basically, a submarine drama placed in a sci-fi setting. He made it diverse on purpose because the military helped him travel and serve with all kinds of people. Roddenberry was inspired by that.

Uhura was the first person to read for Spock and in fact, helped to shape the character with her reading and based many of the traits of Uhura (formerly Uhuru) on Spock.

She was basically a glorified secretary. She played the part with poise, joy, and the 60's style womanism she got to play out for those times... Everything from her mini-skirt (which Nichelle herself called very comfortable) to her smile, and teasing lines, and quips were about her playing "big" in a small role. She made every moment, every look, every line, and movement count:

Roddenberry cracked jokes about the fact that the network never figured out that Uhura was fourth in command.

Nichelle was the only main cast member who was not salaried. She was paid by the hour. This attempt at marginalization actually resulted in her being the highest paid at times, because of the long hours.

Nichelle was not let in the front entrance at times, her fan-mail was kept from her, and she grew frustrated with the constant cutting of her scenes, lines and storylines. This is why she justifiably attempted to leave. The bigots in production did not like her being there (and if we're being real, were it not for Janice Rand's actress Grace Lee Whitney having gone through so much and thus losing her job in the 1st season...Uhura might have had even LESS presence)

The lost context in MLK convincing her to stay was that YES she was minimized and could make more money and be more fulfilled on broadway, but her symbolism and presence meant so much at a time when Black women weren't on TV unless as a racist caricature cleaning a house, and even that was rare...that she stayed.

One of her best allies was DeForest Kelly, who threatened to quit if they fired Nichelle. George Takei was her absolute best friend on the show and in life (she served as his Best Woman at his wedding).

There was an unfilmed episode in which Uhura and Deforest would have played reverse roles in "racial dynamics" on a planet they visit

Spock and Uhura were originally supposed to kiss in the alien mind control episode, but Shatner demanded to do so for the publiicity.

Her work to recruit marginalized people as astronauts, as in personally going to colleges and talking to candidates after the show is a staggering achievement that arguably is the most potent of any castmember in any of the Trek series post-show. Sally Ride, Guy Bluford (she personally recruited the 1st woman and 1st black astronaut), Mae Jemison (the 1st black woman credits her for inspiring her to become an astronaut).

Uhura did finally command the ship in the animated series. She would not have gotten to voice the role, but for Leonard Nimoy making it an obligation that all the original actors voice their parts for him to come on.

Scotty and Uhura in the film was definitely a pair the spares situation, in which both were the leftover senior citizens with the writers just going "why not?"

it was beyond insulting and she did protest about the scene where she's bumbling through a giant translation book to speak to klingons for laughs in trek 5 ...but her best moment IMO is her pulling a gun on the young ensign in the transporter room in Trek 3...sadly her ONLY scene in the damn movie.

Miss Saldana got to play to MANY corrections in JJ Abrams rebooted Trek, from being amazing at languages to having an actual life & love, to confidently turning down Kirk at every turn.

FUN FACT!! Both JJ and Bob Orci both expressed disappointed shock that the love story between Spock & Uhura got more hatred from fans than BLOWING UP PLANET VULCAN.

another FUN FACT!! The love story between Spock & Uhura is what grabbed the old school Star Wars fan (JJ Abrams) enough to come aboard to direct. Yep. JJ ships Spock & Uhura.

Zoe's iteration became the 1st version of Uhura to speak confidently in Klingon

Celia Rose Gooding becoming Uhura brings around a lot of Uhura's qualities full circle, IMO. As she is also from theatre (like Nichelle) and has a beautiful singing voice as well as the charm. Zoe's iteration was sharper, and much more protective, professional, & mature, about her life and love.

Celia Rose has the youthful curiousity and stars in her eyes and had vulnerability from her first intro... I loved the eagerness the crew showed to being in her orbit, seeing the glow of her talent and being drawn to that, to have a part in nurturing that.

As I've said... Celia IMO has the most dazzling smile, giant warm brown eyes, fantastic curves, and an energy that feels essentially Uhura, & that is all light, joy, a bit of uncertainty, -from the light singing (!) and the growth to her joy in discovery... I'd love to see her writing move away from serving and be more about her wants needs and growing in friendships/loves.

But Celia is a gift and is perfectly cast.

Essentially Uhura = femininity, graceful carriage, gorgeous smile, excellence in engineering and translation (canon!), ability to sing and play the Vulcan lyre, sharp womanist wit, love for her U.S. of African-Kenyan culture and being beloved by all crew...

When Miss Celia hummed those gorgeous notes to the alien entity on that comet?? That Solidified that she IS Uhura IMO.

I 100% think they fucked up by killing Hemmer, because that mentor-mentee relationship was giving marginalized coming together and bonding over everybody else's bullshit and I was here for it...it was giving me Data and Geordi updated...and since then, IMO they've lost track and given us the same kinda backwards wingwoman role BS, that people who like to pretend to be her fan shoehorn her into.

...but I have high hopes that they'll course-correct.

All this to say ALL OF THE ABOVE is Uhura and anyone calling her ugly, bossy, pushy, annoying, whatever is just sad little hater who doesn't know wtf they are talking about.

[doctorgirlsblog]

Merz Prinzessin vs. Dutch Lion

Part 1: She-devil

Warnings: throughout the series, there are mentions of cheating, explicite sex scenes (+18) and swearing.

P.S. Hope you guys like the first part, feel free to leave your opinions in the comments 👀

Many more parts coming soon 🫶🏻

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Miss Wolff, the conference starts in 40 minutes." Aria groaned upon hearing her name being called, a sweet reminder of the upcoming press conference ahead of the new season. In her rookie year, all she heard were whispers about how she had secured her place on the Mercedes team because of her father, especially after Lewis retired at the end of 2022. She made no attempt to justify the rumors; she knew her worth and talent. Instead, she let her performance on the track do the talking.

That's how she earned the nickname "Mercedes Princess," a title that garnered both admiration and secret resentment. She didn't mind the attention, though. However, she silenced all the naysayers by finishing 2nd in the Drivers' Championship that same year, surpassing Charles, who landed in 3rd place, almost 70 points behind her. This year, however, she would be driving as the team's first driver, with George as her teammate. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought of posible win this year, of wiping that Red Bull golden boy's smile off his face when she finally overtook him and snatched his dream in Abu Dhabi.

Ever since their karting days, the two could not stand each other. Always trying to beat each other, pushing the other off the track, laughing when the other failed. Still, their whole lives, they were there, growing up together, side by side, watching each other, learning all the little tricks the other liked to pull.

Max envied the girl. She was talented, yes, but besides that, she had everything he didn't: a supportive family behind her, the support and unconditional love Totto provided for his little girl even when she failed, and somehow, wherever she went, everyone loved her instantly. Her looks worked in her favor. Sometimes, when he was alone, he thought of her and wondered if he could be friends with the girl if it weren't for his dad.

Still, she didn't acknowledge any of it, and for his own sake and that of his father, he couldn't either.

Max had to work hard for it all. He never had it easy, with his dad trying to build a champion. He still doesn’t. But he learned to cope with it, mostly. Kelly being there helped a lot. Her love helped a lot. So he locked himself in the peace and security she brought. It was a safe place, with no risks being taken.

But somehow, when it came back to that German devil—and somehow it always did—he was still that little boy looking for approval all over again.

Little Aria did feel some kind of pain seeing him alone on the track in his cart in the pouring rain while she sat in her dad's lap in the warmth, drinking hot chocolate. But as soon as those feelings came, they went away; they had to because he was her rival—competition. She couldn't care for a rival. So she didn't. Or at least, that's what she had convinced herself of all those years ago. Instead, she settled for bickering and teasing, riling the boy up just for fun and challenges.

It surely didn't change over the years.

"Ari, you coming?" George's voice pulled her out of her thoughts as he opened the door of her driver's room. "Yeah. I'll be there in five."

Of course, he had to be there at the same time. Just her luck. And, of course, the only available seat was next to him. He watched her with a smile on his face. Her stomach turned at it, and she was already counting the fees she would likely have to pay if she turned away and walked out. It didn't help that her PR, Elena, was watching her, silently challenging her to do something. And the poor girl already puts up with so much from her.

So, she sat, politely answered all the questions, smiled like the golden girl of the team that she was, and ignored the sweet smell of perfume emanating from her left side. She didn't care. It didn't even smell that good.

"Max, one last question for you," said the reporter, pulling Aria from her thoughts. "What is your opinion on Wolff challenging you for the title this year?" Her head snapped up at the question, and she looked at him questioningly.

And then he laughed. He fucking laughed. "Well, I'm quite confident in the car and the team. Preseason testing went great, so yes, I would say I'm going for the fourth title this year. Time will tell, but yes, I mean, someone has to get silver too. May the best win." And then he looked at her, a smirk plastered on his face.

She saw red. In that exact moment, she came up with ten different ways to kill him and make it look like an accident. But she maintained her stoic façade, not giving any reaction. Instead, she smiled. Softly, cunningly, all while digging the heel of her foot into his under the table. He winced at the contact, glaring at her angrily. She smiled again. The journalists had already begun packing up after the last question to Max, and George also got up and left, but the staring match between the two was still ongoing.

"Du kleine Arschloch!" - she whispered - yelled at him. (you little asshole!)

"You seem to forget that I do speak German, Aria." Her name rolled off his tongue for the first time this year. It surely didn't cause her heart to skip a beat. Not a chance. Not him.

"Well good for you then. You understand that you are an asshole in both of them. You refused to even acknowledge me as the competition!"

"Now, now, don't be so hard on yourself. Second place is a good place to be." He kept smiling at her, provoking her even further. But she, deciding on being mature again, did what any pissed-off mature person would do. She decided to make him crumble and prove him wrong once and for all. She made a silent promise to herself that she would bring him to his knees.

"Okay then. If you're so sure of yourself, Verstappen, we will talk before Bahrain. I do have a proposition for the reigning world champ." A cunning smirk was plastered on her red lips as she looked up at him. Damn the height difference.

"What for?" - asked Max, looking at her sharp features, not allowing his eyes to wander.

"You'll find out when the time is right, Liebchen. I do have some errands to run. Say hi to sweet Kelly for me." Her nails grazed along his arm for a split second before she pulled her hand away.

He lost his previous train of thought. Her touch was brief, almost nonexistent, yet she managed to throw his brain out the window with it.

"Wait, what ar-.." he didn't get to finish his sentence because she had already turned her back on him and started walking.

Max kept staring at her receding form. The girl was a menace, and nobody seemed to notice except for him. Yet, she didn't seem to care about teasing anyone else. Other drivers on the grid adored the girl.

He scoffed and, shaking his head, went to get his things and drive back to the hotel.

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

What Max didn’t expect was a certain someone coming into his dreams that night. As he woke up, sweaty and out of breath, running his hands through his hair, like she had done minutes earlier in his dream, he realized one thing.

He was upmost und uterrly fucked.

And Aria Wolff was the reason, all over again.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

you wanna know something that i’ve realized?

most debbie haters stopped actually paying attention to her storyline around season 5-10. because a lot of the takes i’ve seen about her are so stupid because they don’t make any sense, and they could have only been made by someone who begrudgingly watched the scenes and really didn’t give a rats ass.

and so by season 10, when she has a whole redemption arc going on, it’s not taken into account because people are so brainwashed by all of these takes such as, “she’s the worst gallagher”, or, “she’d abandon franny”, or even worse things that i don’t want to even bother getting into.

and then, we get to season 11, and it becomes rather obvious that people haven’t been paying attention. it’s literally like someone taking an exam having never taken the class that the exam is for and not knowing what they’re talking about at all.

because yes, season 5 debbie had some… issues, she was on another level, and season 6 debbie was stubborn, season 7 debbie was confused and closed off, season 8 debbie was vain, season 9 debbie was, well, into kelly; but all of the characters had dark points and the thing is, almost all of them redeem themselves! and you all allow this for every character (*cough* lip *cough*) except for debbie.

season 10 debbie managed the bills and finances at ninteen WHILE taking care of a four year old, she scammed good money for herself and her family, she fought for her daughter and found a clever way to keep her (while getting money from the government), she bought tami and lip an rv, she saved ian and mickey’s wedding, and overall was just great (don’t even get me started on julia because i’ve got into it before, she wasn’t supposed to be villainized in that storyline but she was because y’all didn’t pay attention).

season 11 debbie is struggling. she just got arrested and i’m pretty sure was sent to jail, because of this, her career struggles, she tries to make everything perfect for her daughter but worries she’s failing when nobody comes to franny’s party because of her + lip calls her a terrible mother for a MISUNDERSTANDING, she tries to get money, HER house is being destroyed by lip gallagher and her entire family turns on her, she and her girlfriend break up and she relives her trauma, she dates someone incredibly toxic, and i could literally go on and on about how sad her ending was. she got fucked over. however, she tries for her daughter and goes out of her way to make her daughter happy even when she’s struggling, she has her own business, and she fights for her house.

i know that debbie fucks up a lot, but you don’t get to diminish her entire character if you don’t get it. if you aren’t able to understand her trauma and why she acted the way she did you don’t get to talk, sorry not sorry.

like, you can tell when someone hasn’t been paying attention based on if they think she’ll go to texas. when she heard about texas, she looked like she didn’t want to go. she was hesitant. she delivered an entire monologue about why she wouldn’t ever leave her kid, and it was evident throughout that entire season, yet y’all think she would just jump into that truck and leave franny behind?? no! plus, the deal was franny AND debbie, not just debbie. i get that you want galladads to just scoop up franny but sorry, debbie would never let that slide. they’re her uncles, not her dads.

and if you can’t explain who heidi or peppa are, you can’t talk. if you can’t understand that what matty did was grooming, you can’t talk. if you think that she has a low iq, you can’t talk. if you think that she hates fiona, you can’t talk. if you think that she’d leave franny, YOU CAN’T TALK.

the show explains her character, it’s not like all of her actions aren’t justifiable, like, they give you reasons why she does it and she makes up for her actions but you all just ignore it. it pisses me the fuck off.

[outsideratheart]

5 “I hate Christmas shopping.” - “I love Christmas shopping!” with chloe kelly.

There are only a few things you truly hate in life and shopping is one of them. You will happily do it online but in person, that is something you avoid.

“What do you mean you haven’t done your shopping?” Chloe shouts from the living room of your apartment.

“I didn’t need to. I found presents for you and your family and mine aren’t coming until the 28th hence why I am going out today”

To you it was simple and you worked better under pressure but by the look on your girlfriend’s face doing your Christmas shopping on Boxing Day isn’t the best idea.

The look on Chloe’s face is very familiar. It’s the one she gives you when you go in for a bad tackle or when you argue with the ref. It tells you that you are wrong and she is right.

“And it’s cheaper!” Your attempt at justifying your decision doesn’t work.

“It’s the Boxing Day sales idiot of course it cheaper. It’s also going to be busy and let me guess you want to go to Trafford centre”

“Yes, I do. If we go there then we don’t need to go anywhere else”

“Who said anything about we? I already have your family’s presents”

“Perfect! We can just add my name to the tag”

“Y/N your parents are flying all the way from Australia to spend New Years in London with us, the least you can do it buy them a gift” you go to interrupt but Chloe holds her hand up “and no, you are not getting them gift cards”

“Fine but please come with me” you give her your best puppy dog eyes knowing that they have never failed you in the past.

“Go get ready” Chloe pushes towards your bedroom.

“You’ll come with me?” your turn around excitedly.

“I can never say no to those eyes”

“The eyes Chica, they never lie” you quote one of your favourite films.

“That doesn’t even make sense. Now go” Chloe playfully smack your bum.

“I don’t care. I’ve always wanted to say it”

A couple of hours later and you are half way round the Trafford centre and it’s no surprise to you that your good mood soon soured when you entered the shopping centre. Chloe on the other hand seemed to be in her element and proved this by picking out most of your families gifts only including you when she needed your credit card at the checkout desk. Chloe had put you on pay duty and bag carrying duty.

After a quick food break and dropping the first load of presents back the car, Chloe is ready to hit the ground floor shops.

In your eyes you were done. Every family member that was visiting had a present, some had two yet Chloe kept telling you that you needed more.

“I hate Christmas Shopping” you were fully aware that you sounded like a child but you didn’t care. Your mood was worsening and your patience was running very thin.

Then you notice the shop that Chloe is pulling you into. Victoria’s Secret. More importantly into the lingerie department.

You watch her try several pieces on and you even get to pick some out. When you leave the shop you are in a much better mood.

“I love Christmas Shopping” you joke as you walk back to the car.

[ananke-xiii]

"family feud" is one of those spn episodes that just anger me because, thematically, everything is there in plain sight, maybe even too much, and it could be something really good (kelly, mary, rowena, three mothers, their sons and oceans of disappointment in between).

but no... we get super shitty exposition, retcons after retcons (why did they erase Atropos, her bigger and stronger sisters and her Destiny's Book, whyyyyy *cries in despair*), ketch being the creep he is, not to mention that poor fiona duncan's excrutiating story is used as a means to justify the belated manpain of a minor and forgettable character... grrr i hate it, i thought that, maybe, upon rewatching it I could find something salvageable but no...

the only good thing is rowena's last line:

"I'm your mother, dear. Who better to crush your shriveled heart?"

watching s12 is exactly like that meme of the italian football player saying "sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit" lol.

[homosexuhauls]

Did any UK radfems catch "Gender Wars" on Channel 4?

Non-UK link here (I just found the link on twitter, no idea who this person is or what their politics are)

It was a pretty surface level look at the gender ideology debate, primarily focusing on Dr. Kathleen Stock's experience within the academic world, and on those who have disagreed with or protested against her. There was talk of male violence, "trans women are women", single-sex spaces (limited mostly to bathroom chat and a brief mention of rape/domestic violence shelters, which was frustrating) and freedom of speech, but no mention of statistics, women's sports, Mermaids/Tavistock/ROGD, the "cotton ceiling", same sex healthcare provision, and a whole other host of things I'm forgetting. I understand that the documentary had to limit the issues discussed, but I think they overlooked some of the higher priority conflicting needs/interests in favour of the flashier or more digestible conversations.

I'm glad that Dr. Stock, Julie Bindel and Linda Bellos* were the high-profile "TERFs" featured in the documentary. It's nice seeing the focus taken away from demagogues like Kellie-Jay Keen (aka Posie Parker). Homophobia is at the heart of gender identity ideology, so it makes sense to centre parts of the gender critical discussion around the lesbian perspective.

Some of the trans participants (Dr. Finn Mackay and Stephen Whittle afaik) in the documentary have claimed to have been misled regarding the context of their interviews. The former tweeted about not being informed that the documentary would focus on Dr. Kathleen Stock, and said that had this been made clear, the invitation to appear would not have been accepted. I won't defend Channel 4 for using deceptive journalistic practices, but I was glad to hear their perspectives as two female trans people - the documentary was otherwise very male-centric on the trans side.

There was a very painful moment to watch in the documentary, as a debate about the right to cause offence, held at Cambridge Union, was used by one of the participants to make personal attacks on Dr. Stock's character. She was visibly affected by this, but made it clear that she would defend any opponent's right to argue against her. I think she came off very admirably here, showing herself to be consistent in her principles (belief in free speech) but also not hiding her emotional response to baseless insults.

A final noteworthy observation is that all of the trans interviewees made constant reference to the belief that Dr. Stock's views (or any gender critical views) are putting trans people's lives at risk. In their eyes, it's the inherent and apparently lethal danger that gender criticism poses, which justifies all manner of tactics used in the name of trans rights. This isn't new to me, or to radblr, but I think it will shock some of the offline crowd, considering Dr. Stock made multiple references to trans people absolutely needing ongoing legal protection.

Overall, I think Channel 4 have created a very balanced, very superficial introduction to gender identity ideology and its feminist critiques. Drawing a clear line in the sand between gender critical feminism and conservative transphobia will likely anger both conservatives themselves and those who conflate the two groups. But I found it really refreshing.

*Linda Bellos only featured very briefly at the end, and I absolutely wish we could've heard more from her.

Cambridge Union - "We have the right to offend" - full debate

[deuterosapiens]

Started Heartsong. No significant progress, but it's like almost two in the morning, so I'm allowed. This is mostly just me reporting to the Pack.

So this one's Robbie's story. Great. Excellent. I'm going to cry a lot, right? I'm going to regret how much of Book One I spent being afraid this little dork would betray the Pack, aren't I?

I'm only like fifty pages in, and about to pass-out, but it feels necessary to basically scream at the top of my digital lungs that I've stopped being lazy (interpret that lie properly as: deeply, cowardicely, afraid) about starting this book.

Not too tired to note have notes, though:

So, Robbie has issues. Deep-seated trauma. Gasp. Whoever would have guessed that a Green Creek Protagonist would basically have Joy locked in a box at the bottom of a chasm if they were an Inside Out character.

So, this minor Virginia Pack has an Omega, which, I mean, we knew the infection corrupting wolves' tethers wasn't exactly a recent development, just one Alpha Bitch Hughes hid from eveeyone. Still, I've had Brodie for like fifteen minutes now, and I'm deeply concerned for him.

No one likes Robbie. Shocking.

Ezra seems like such a cool guy. His death will bring me sadness. I'm sorry: surrogate father to a character without a family. He will either die, or betray Robbie. I've read a book before. Evidence indicates I might have read at least two. None of this bodes well for him.

So it's twice now in fifty pages that someone has attempted to romance Robbie. This tells me three things: my sweet child here is absolutely hot as balls and clueless about it; he hasn't grasped yet that he might be gay; he is undeniably clueless when someone is flirting eith him. We are talking Legoshi levels of cluelessness.

I'm going to acknowledge the weird nightmare stuff, the creepy lullaby stuff, and Robbie's relationship with his deceased mother, but I'm not going to speculate on what any of this might be about. Robbie's inability to properly control his wolf is interesting, and I'm sure a certain incredibly confused Bennett will do a lot of the heavy lifting in him sorting that out.

Holy hell, do I look forward to Kelly and Robbie's incredibly awkward courting. I'm especially looking forward to seeing how Robbie justifies his really weird flirting with Ox in Book One to himself. Being the viewpoint character means I get to watch that cringiness from behind the curtains, as it were.

Anyhwa, it's good to be back to the world of sexually confused werewolf boys. Good to have something that doesn't insist on dragging me into a techno-existential crisis to fall back on.

[gingerwerk]

Raylan and arlo’s relationship always and will forever have me climbing the walls. (Specifically in s4)

The way raylan so confidently and so easily tells arlo he’s probably gonna get murdered in prison any day now and he’ll be happy when he gets the call, as if they’re having a conversation about literally anything else. How when arlo Does in fact get stabbed in prison raylan goes to his deathbed and asks him to Please tell him who tf drew Thompson is so that his granddaughter can hear stories about how her grandfather wasn’t actually Just a son of a bitch (raylan in his last interaction with his father covertly asking if he ever actually was anything besides a piece of shit, if he actually had something of a heart, if on his fucking Deathbed would he do literally anything for him just Once) but instead arlos dying words to his only child are to kiss his ass. Raylan getting the call that arlo died and he gets upset when Art tries to insinuate they had a relationship to be upset over but the second he’s alone you can see that beat up and confused kid in his eyes because why the Fuck is he actually kind of upset right now?

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rachel Paula Abrahamson at NBC News:

Openly gay actor Maulik Pancholy was disinvited from speaking at a middle school anti-bullying assembly after concerns were raised about his political activism and what two school board members called his “lifestyle.” Pancholy’s scheduled appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was unanimously overturned by the district’s school board in a public meeting on April 15.  “If you research this individual, he labels himself as an activist, he is proud of his lifestyle and I don’t think that should be imposed upon our students at any age,” board member Bud Shaffner said at the meeting.  Trisha Comstock, a former parent at the school, started a Change.org petition to reinstate the empathy and anti-bullying assembly. “What happened is homophobic. Anyone can go and watch the meeting,” Comstack tells TODAY.com. “This board is close to causing some real harm.”

Why was Maulik Pancholy disinvited?

Board member Kelly Potteiger raised concerns that Pancholy, 50, would discuss his children’s book “The Best at It,” which is about a gay Indian American boy. “It’s not discriminating against his lifestyle — that’s his choice,” Potteiger said in the meeting. “But it’s him speaking about it.” Pancholy played the character Jonathan, Alex Baldwin’s devoted assistant, in the sitcom “30 Rock,” and also voiced the character Baljeet in “Phineas and Ferb.” Pancholy’s presentation on anti-bullying at Mountain View Middle School was canceled by an 8-0 vote. TODAY.com has reached out to Pancholy for comment. Brooke Ryerson, an LGBTQ high school sophomore, attended Mountain View Middle School. Ryerson and her mom plan to express their disappointment at the next board meeting on May 6. 

“It was going to be an assembly about empathy and anti-bullying,” Ryerson, 16, tells TODAY.com. “But that doesn’t matter to the board. They want to silence us in any way they can.” The “us” that Ryerson is referring to is the gay community.  “They’re sending that message that they don’t want our identities in the school,” Ryerson says. “I’m lucky that I have such accepting friends and family, but it’s gotta be devastating for the kids who don’t and now feel even more like they’re not wanted somewhere.”

The cowardly Cumberland Valley School District school board in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania voted to cancel gay 30 Rock actor Maulik Pancholy's appearance at a middle school anti-bullying assembly, with 2 of its board members using the homophobic "lifestyle" canard to justify canceling Pancholy's address to middle schoolers.

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: School board cancels anti-bullying talk by gay actor because of his “lifestyle”

[mrsaltieri-real]

Top 5 Tim characters ranked?

I’ve been waiting for this one!

1: Kelly (The Girl Next Door, 2004)

Actual loml. First Tim character I found and fell in love with when I was far too young to have watched the movie. Slutty scumbag porn director??? Uhhh, YES.

2: Mickey Altieri (Scream 2, 1997)

Shouldn’t come as much as surprise other than the fact he’s below Kelly by like, a minuscule amount. Hot serial killing psychopath? Sign me tf up for more, he NEEDS to play that kind of role again. Was my whole awakening.

3: Joel Hammond (Santa Clarita Diet, 2017-2019)

God, I fucking love him. Best male-wife ever, dilfy, hot, supportive Timothy Olyphant role where he still kills people? But them people are nazis and racists? Yes please.

4: Todd Gaines (Go, 1999)

Fuck me sideways till my face falls off. Him wearing a stupid Santa hat while shirtless? I’m not a Christmas gal but if he was Santa I’d let him come down my fucking chimney. Cunt drug dealer with no redeeming qualities? YUM-MY.

5: Nick Bennett (A Perfect Getaway, 2009)

I love him, I love this fucking movie. You see his bare ass which defo helps. He’s so hot, so badass, such a good partner in this movie and I just absolutely love him as Nicko. Sweet angel ex military babe.

Honourable mentions:

Hollywood Jack (A Man Apart, 2003) (MOAAAAANS)

Fritz Messing (Catch and Release, 2006)

Cobb Vanth (The Mandalorian, TBOBF, 2020 and 2022) and Raylan Givens (Justified, 2010-2015 and 2023) Yummy marshals.

[melt-into-the-night]

I haven’t put in my two cents about Kelly Monaco yet so I’ll do it now I guess lol.

I love the character of Sam. I started watching not long after she first entered the canvas and I was a fan straight away. I loved her ride or die love of Jason and how bad ass and resourceful she was when they were in fight or flight mode. I loved JaSam. I loved her villain era when they broke up the first time, and I loved the relationship Lucky and Sam formed and how it went from a toxic rebound to make their previous significant others squirm to a real loving relationship where we got to see them bring the best out of each other, and I love that it was really the first road to a much more independent Sam. As much as I loved Jason and Sam, the first time round she really had no life outside of him. So it was nice to see her becoming a PI, finding a friendship with Maxie, and building her relationships with Alexis, Kristina and Molly and really becoming a family unit, and that her and Jason reunited only when all of that was established. It was a refreshing new take on their relationship and my favorite version of it. And when Jason died the first time, I liked when she found loved with Patrick, I liked her chemistry with Billy Miller’s Jason, though not gonna lie, it got weird when other Jason came back, he became Drew with Jason’s memories still in tact and she stayed with him for a while only to go back to Jason again. And of course when they broke them up again, and the show put her with Dante, I loved their potential and thought she has good chemistry with Dante too.

All of that said, I think there are two elephants in the room that people aren’t talking about enough. The first being that something changed in Kelly the second Billy Miller got let go from the show, it’s like her heart wasn’t in it anymore. The fiery bad ass personality that we seen in Sam up until then was no longer shining through, even when they put JaSam back together. It just wasn’t the same. People can and have speculated that she sabotaged the JaSam relationship, maybe had no interest in working with Steve because she blamed Billy’s firing on Steve wanting his role back. Whether it’s true or not doesn’t really matter cause at the end of the day, any viewer could see she didn’t seem all that invested any more after he left. Maybe Billy passing away a few years later factored in as well. Who knows.

The second elephant in the room is that the writing for Sam when the show bothers to even write for her has been absolutely abysmal as well. The bizarre wishy/washy way they treat her interactions with Jason since he came back has been giving me whiplash. And just generally speaking, they really stripped away all the things that made Sam, Sam. Her fearlessness, her ride or die attitude for her significant other, the passion for her work as a PI, having her be a mom that doesn’t trust or teach her kids to be prepared for anything instead of the cool mom she could have been that teaches her kids survival skills in a crisis and to be resourceful and to pay attention to their surroundings and trusting that they will grow up to be just fine no matter what kind of life they choose to live…like watching Sam has become a train wreck with what appears to be no desire to fix it.

I can’t even justify them keeping her on at this point, even if the petitions work it’s not like the writing will get any better, and with Kelly barely giving anything to the show in the last decade, I also can’t see her even wanting to come back knowing the people in charge don’t want her there. If anything the writing would just get worse out of spite.

[noreligionisgood]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/opinion/hulk-hogan-vance-harris.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

The Democratic Party must join the battle for the hearts and minds of young men. It matters not just for this election, though the vast and growing gender gap means that disaffected men could hand Donald Trump the presidency. It matters for how we mentor young men, and it matters for how we view masculinity itself.

And yes, the Democrats can do it. Within the Kamala Harris coalition, there are men who can show a better way.

If you ever wondered whether the Republican Party sees itself as the party of men, I’d invite you to rewatch the last night of the Republican National Convention. Prime time featured a rousing speech by the wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, a song by Kid Rock and a speech by Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship — all as warm-up acts before Trump delivered his acceptance speech. Republican manliness was the capstone of the convention.

But what kind of men were featured? They’re all rich and powerful, and as a longtime fan of professional wrestling, I loved watching Hogan as a kid, but none of them are the kind of man I’d want my son to be. White was caught on video slapping his wife. Kid Rock has his own checkered past, including a sex tape and an assault charge related to a fight in a Nashville strip club. Hogan faced his own sex scandal after he had a bizarre sexual relationship with a woman who was married to one of his close friends, a radio host who goes by “Bubba the Love Sponge.”

We know all about Trump, but it’s worth remembering some of his worst moments — including a jury finding that he was liable for sexual abuse, his defamation of his sex-abuse victim, the “Access Hollywood” tape and the countless examples of his cruelly insulting the women he so plainly hates.

JD Vance is different. No one should denigrate his personal story. He has overcome great adversity, served his country honorably as a Marine and, by all accounts, is a good husband and father. But he now wears Trumpist masculinity like an ill-fitting suit. Last week, he was justifiably attacked for a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson in which he declared that the country is run, “via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies.” He identified Harris (who has two stepchildren) as just the kind of person he was talking about.

For a brief period last week, I thought Harris might answer the Trumpists with a man who puts to shame every person who took the stage that Thursday night. She was reportedly considering Adm. William McRaven — a Navy SEAL, a former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and one of the key architects of Operation Neptune Spear, the mission to kill Osama bin Laden — as a potential running mate.

He quickly pulled himself out of consideration, saying that “there are far better candidates” for the position. Politically, he’s probably right. Realpolitik requires picking a politician who can help carry key swing states, but McRaven still matters. His ideas matter. His comportment and bearing matter. What he says matters. And Democrats should embrace McRaven’s conception of how to live as a direct contradiction of Trumpist masculinity.

It’s not just McRaven, of course. There are other good and brave men who’ve rejected MAGA. Whether I’m speaking of Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, or Mark Hertling, my former division commander in Iraq, who is a Biden appointee to the American Battle Monuments Commission and a leading proponent of Ukraine’s cause, or James Mattis, a former secretary of defense who did his best to serve Trump honorably but could not abide Trump’s disloyalty to our allies.

But I highlight McRaven for a reason; he has perfectly articulated how to attack MAGA masculinity. Ten years ago, he gave one of the most powerful commencement speeches in recent American history. He addressed the graduates of the University of Texas, Austin, and three YouTube versions have racked up more than 70 million views combined.

It’s known — oddly enough — as the “Make Your Bed” speech. While it wasn’t aimed only at men, every person who forwarded it to me was a man. It appealed to universal values, but it connected with men I know at a deep and profound level.

McRaven draws on his SEAL training to teach students how to change the world. It begins with the small things, like accomplishing that tiny first task of making your bed, because “if you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right.”

Each new principle is rooted in his experience, including “If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not by the size of their flippers.” Here’s one that’s particularly salient in the face of Trumpist bullying: “If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.”

The address builds to a conclusion that is alien to Trumpist masculinity: “Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when the times are the toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never ever give up — if you do these things, the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today.”

You can see the contrast. Trumpist masculinity is rooted in grievance and anger. McRaven’s message centers on honor and courage.

There’s a seductive quality to Trump’s masculinity. Grievance is a form of counterfeit purpose, and anger is a form of counterfeit courage. For a time, your grievance can give you a mission — fighting the hated foe. And when you’re in the midst of an online temper tantrum, taking on all comers in your social media feed, you can feel a little bit brave, even if all you’re doing is tapping out vitriolic posts from the safety and comfort of your couch.

When you center masculinity on grievance and anger rather than honor and courage, you attract men like Hogan and Kid Rock and White. Worse, that is how you mold the men in your movement, including men like Vance.

Many conservatives rightly decry the way in which parts of the far left tend to use the words “straight white male” as a virtual epithet, as if there were something inherently suspect in the identities of tens of millions of men and boys. And if men feel that Democrats are hostile to them, they’ll go where they feel wanted, the gender gap will become a gender canyon, and more men will embrace Trumpism because that’s just what men do.

But that’s the masculine equivalent of a sugar high. For solid food, look not to Hulk Hogan. Look to William McRaven. It’s often said, and I generally agree, that politics is downstream of culture, but we also cannot ignore the cultural power of our politicians. We aren’t simply electing women and men; we’re electing role models, and Trump has unquestionably been a role model for countless men. He has molded not just the policies but also the ethos of the Republican Party. But America’s men need different role models and a different ethos.

I’m not the only person who sees this need. At The Atlantic, my friend Tom Nichols (who’s also written about the dangers of Trumpist masculinity) argues that men like Kelly, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina also offer better models for men than Trump, and Nichols is right.

But let’s return for the moment to the Navy SEAL who served his country for decades, who helped kill one of America’s deadliest foes and who declared to American college graduates, “You must have compassion. You must ache for the poor and disenfranchised. You must fear for the vulnerable. You must weep for the ill and infirm. You must pray for those who are without hope. You must be kind to the less fortunate.”

When I heard those words, I thought: That’s the message American men need to hear. That’s a message the American people need to hear.

This might sound strange, but I wonder if Democrats should answer the Republican men’s night with a men’s night of their own — a night that features heroes instead of bullies and showmen, a night that answers the Republican appeal to men’s basest instincts with an appeal to their highest ideals.

When Vance says, “Our people hate the right people,” that’s the language of grievance and anger. But there’s a better way for men — for all of us. It’s rooted in honor, courage and love. Or as McRaven put it, “For what hero gives so much of themselves without caring for those they are trying to save?”

[shesnake]

janet and rebrov's whole deal makes me crazy because what ARE they owed when they knew the risks and yet in the end they still went through unspeakable pain and it can't be their fault so who is there to answer to that? how do you conceptualize the fact that it might be no one's fault in the face of what they went through? like i'm just thinking about how janet and rebrov have been in this gig for forever and janet may have trusted her crew but archie tells her straight off that maybe she can't? not because they don't want to save her but because maybe they won't be able to. also what do you think of janet building the detonator and telling george that she's not ending the world because she's not the one pushing the button? janet's pov on time loops is so fascinating to me because she knows intimately the pain of going back and yet she doesn't minimize the personal pain of losing someone and having the power to stop their death. she removes herself from the responsibility of erasing thousands of lives in a similar way that wes removes herself from erasing janet's son. because in a way isn't that what the lazarus project will do anyway? i also have lots of thoughts on the way rebrov betrays shiv but ultimately it's all about the mental hoops everyone has to jump through to justify their actions and their pain, and what they do when they can't anymore, and who they choose to blame

yessss to all of that also yeah I talked a bit about how lazarus was kind of a forced family for all of them but Janet and Dennis are actually insaneeeeeeee in the way they did carve out their own family like the way they both develop their own contacts within other intelligence agencies because they don't know if they'll always be able to trust lazarus, the codes they decided together because they grew to never trust anyone except each other. their separation is interesting to me in that they both seem to want the same thing for extinction but they also have a child (watch utopia 2013 by dennis kelly) and Janet adopts the stay-at-home mum role which is ironically what she'd initially wanted just Not Like This. she's made a life for herself and her daughter (who is also loop conscious!! poor kid) where the resets can't hurt them too badly. I think her building the detonator and saying it's george's responsibility is like her and dennis separating tbh like Dennis is the detonator she technically has no control over but she certainly wouldn't mind if something exploded