#THE ANGEL'S LOCAL NUMBER 23‚ THEY SURE WERE THERE

[unopenablebox]

casey jones the union scab is a good song

[ihearthes]

Quarantine Christmas Part 1

Author: @ihearthes Pairing: Harry x y/n Rating: Fluff/Smut (Smut in Part 2) Word Count: 2826 (Part 1) Fiction Chalenge via @caitlin‘s fiction party via @sweetcreatureinthedark

December 23, 2020

My head spins as I haul my suitcase from the trunk, using two hands due to the heft of the dirty clothes inside. Setting it on the ground, I yank on the handle before grappling with the two shopping bags filled with presents, reaching back for the decorated Christmas tin that is filled with homemade cookies, fudge, and other delicacies baked by my colleagues at Apple Music. 

Wrestling with my hands full, I close the trunk with an elbow, shivering in the chilly LA air. At the front door, I want to cry. Dammit. I could clearly remember that when Glenne had given me the code for the front door and the alarm, I placed them in my phone under her contact information. 

“FUCK!” The primal scream is released from my lungs, likely scaring the neighbors if any of them are outside enjoying Christmas lights or having family celebrations on this Christmas Eve Eve. Balancing the tin of cookies on top of the suitcase, I set down the shopping bags to reach for my phone. My purse slips off my shoulder, knocking the container of sweets, and in the scramble to rescue them, I nearly fall head over heels into the bushes. 

It isn’t until I punch in the numbers and drag my personal effects inside that it occurs to me that the alarm isn’t armed. Had Glenne and Jeffrey forgotten to punch in the code before they left for Palm Springs? Deciding I don’t care, I leave everything by the door as I drag my suitcase to the main floor laundry room, dumping everything in without regard to color or type of clothing. Since we’ve been working remotely the majority of the time for the last fucking nine months, “dressing up” encompasses blue jeans and the occasional blouse, but most of my clothing is sweatpants and t-shirts. Deciding washing the blue jeans and blouses with the sweatpants and t-shirts is the worst idea ever, I fish those out before pouring laundry detergent over the remaining garments and starting the washer. 

Glancing down at the clothing currently on my body, it seems completely reasonable to drop them into the washer too. Stripping the t-shirt from my body, I toss it into the swirling water before adding my bra, socks, and leggings to the murky mix. Wearing only panties in the cool house makes my nipples bead. 

Ha! I’m sure my nips are happy to get any action after almost a year with no dating of any sort because of the fucking pandemic. Which reminds me that I’ve forgotten my vibrator at home. Shit. Of all the things I don’t mind borrowing from Glenne, I do have a line I won’t cross. 

Placing the tin of Christmas yummies on the kitchen counter, I grasp the handles of the two bags of gifts. It might be silly to put them under the tree since I’m the only one in the house, but it will make me feel better. More like I’m at home with my family in Indiana. Less like I’m stuck in quarantine in an empty house for my favorite holiday. Sniffling, I swipe at my nose with the back of my hand as I pad down the two steps into the living room to the tree. 

Kneeling at the fake tree, I reach for the switch to turn on the lights. As the colors begin blinking, I carefully withdraw each present, reading the tag before gently placing the gift under the tree. Even my brother had sent a present through the mail which must mean he misses me his year. Right now, we should be challenging each other to the most ridiculous games to see who is the best. Inevitably, he would win some while I beat him at others until eventually we declare a tie. My mother would chastise us both with a grin on her face, implicitly encouraging us to continue our “reindeer games” as my father called them. 

From behind me, I hear a shuffling sound. Hadn’t they taken Myles with them? No matter. I could use the company a dog would provide. 

“Santa, you’ve changed!” a soft voice exclaims, and I jump, twisting around to find another human wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. 

“It’s you!” Both voices exclaim simultaneously. “What the fuck are you doing here?” We both pause, “Stop saying what I’m saying!” 

Out of breath, I stare at him. The Harry Styles. Fuck. 

His eyes roam over my body, and it finally dawns on me that I’m wearing nothing but my Victoria’s Secret lace panties. Shit. 

Pacing measuredly to the couch without openly cringing, I grasp a wool throw and wrap it around my chest regally like I’ve just exited the pool at some exotic locale near the equator. My shoulders straighten, and I face him openly. 

“Are you joining Glenne and Jeffrey in Palm Springs?” My back is a board, and my tone is barely restrained. 

“Nope.” His nonchalance combined with his truncated answer pisses me off, per usual.

“So you’re flying home, waiting here for your flight tonight?” The hopeful tone is obvious to me and probably to him as well.

“No.” Those green eyes of his rake over my nearly-naked body, and I shiver. From the cold of course. Jesus. Get your heads out of the gutter!

“Watering the plants prior to returning to the Soho?”

“Uh uh.”

Delayed dread begins to fill my stomach. “You mean --” I clear my throat -- “you’re staying here?”

“Yep.”

“Shit.” Running my hand through my hair, I ponder the impact and my next steps. 

“You?” He asks politely, even though I know he doesn’t feel solicitude at this moment.

“Glenne told me I could stay here for a few days. I made arrangements for my place to be fumigated while I was in Indiana for Christmas.”

His raised eyebrow mocks me. 

“I’m not going, though. Okay?” 

“Why not?”

“Seriously? Where the fuck have you been, Styles? In case you didn’t know, there’s a global fucking pandemic, and all of Los Angeles is locked down. So no -- I am not getting on a plane with a bunch of potentially infected and contagious --” Emotion overwhelms me, and I have to stop and catch my breath. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I turn away from him so he can’t see the tears that form in my eyes. 

“Whatever, Smith.”

“My name --” I draw myself up and gather my anger around me like a cloak -- “is not Smith.”

“Yeah, right. Which bedroom are you planning to sleep in?”

“Surely you’re not suggesting we both stay here?” Appalled, I stare at him with my mouth open. “I’ll get a hotel room.” When I realize my wardrobe is in the washing machine, I softly say, “As soon as my clothes are dry.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t be ridiculous, Smith. We’ll share the space. It’s only a couple of days.”

“Excuse me!?” Anger wells up. “Only the most important days in the entire year!” Superiority makes me stand up fully to him. “Besides, I’ve been quarantining for months. No way do I want to share germs with you!”

“Oh please! As if you’ve got a monopoly on quarantining! I’m perfectly safe. We get tested every morning before we film. When was the last time you were tested?” 

“Two days ago!” She’s at her boiling point. “Look, if we're both staying here together, then we’re just going to have to avoid each other. It’s a big house. We can do that.”

“Maybe once you put some clothes on,” Harry comments, smirking in that way he has where the left side of his mouth tilts up. 

Mortified, I glance down at myself. Briefly I consider scurrying for Glenne’s closet, but I pause. Why should I rush away? Because he’s male? Because he was here first? Because he’s sexy as fuck and my panties can’t take anymore? 

“Fine,” I respond as I brush past him like the Queen of England. “I’ll find something to wear, and then we can hash out the details.”

“Great plan. I’m ordering something for dinner.”

My stomach growls, and I suddenly feel an irrational hatred for that part of my body. How I long to state that I’ve already eaten or that I plan to cook something! But alas, I’ve brought no food with me, and I’ve no clue what’s in the kitchen. If Glenne and Jeffrey even left anything. 

“Does that mean you’d like some too?” He gloats, and as much as I would like to smack the grin off his face, I’ve not eaten since a quick bite for breakfast hours before. 

Knowing I’m going to have to grovel, I face him. “I’m capable of ordering for myself.”

“Yes, but that’s not necessarily good for the environment, is it? Sending two drivers to the same address from different restaurants?” Pausing, he appears to swallow whatever snarky comment was forthcoming. “Can we agree on this one small thing? I’m thinking poke.”

Shit. Fuck. Goddammit. That’s exactly what I would have ordered. Fuck. 

Casually, I shrug. “Yeah, whatever. I can choke down some poke.” As I saunter away, tucking the ends of the makeshift shroud under my armpits, I call back to him, “Spicy please.”

Quickly I make my way to Glenne’s closet, surveying the items there. Ripping down a pair of joggers and a Full Stop Management hoodie, I drop the covering I’ve been wearing and rapidly draw the clothes over my naked body. Nothing I can do about not having a bra, but the hoodie is roomy so I worry less. 

In the bathroom, I run my fingers through my hair, combing out the curls as best I can in this environment. In no way do I want it to appear that I’m trying to look amazing for Harry. Biting my lip, I admit to myself that the opposite is true. I absolutely want him to fall at my feet. 

Which isn’t going to happen, I remind myself. Give up the ghost of a fantasy. 

Making eye contact in the mirror, I provide a pep talk for myself. “Listen,” I remind my reflection, “this is just one more fucked up situation in 2020. You’ve gotten through worse. It’s truly a giant house, so there’s no reason -- wait. Why is he staying here anyway?” For whatever reason, I had allowed him to dodge that incredibly simple question. 

Tucking my hands into the hoodie’s front pocket, I amble to the kitchen where Harry is just disconnecting his phone. 

“Food will be here in 45 minutes,” he promises. 

“Why are you staying here again? I missed your answer earlier,” I prompt. 

I’m confident I see a flash of embarrassment crossing his face as he lowers his head. “Wine?” He asks, gesturing towards the extensive rack of reds and then the chiller of whites. 

Unsure as to whether I should allow the diversion or press, I examine him. His eyes look tired and sad. His clothes, while comfortable, aren’t upbeat. Nor is his current demeanor. Is he okay? 

Planting his hands in his hoodie in an unconscious mimic of my pose, he glances at me before his eyes stray to the side, examining the marble countertop. That look tells me more than I need to know, and my empath side emerges as I toss him a life preserver. 

“With poke? I think perhaps a Reisling.” 

He nods, bending to look through the wines in the cooler before he extracts one, holding it up for me to inspect the label. My eyes start to widen at the vineyard, assuming the extravagant cost, but I calm my features. “Perf!” I declare. 

Grasping the wine opener from a nearby drawer, Harry removes the cork as I snatch two wine glasses from the cabinet and place them near him. Carefully comparing the amount in each glass, he pours enough before recorking the bottle. Taking my glass, I move into the living room where I can view the tree. It’s Christmas Eve Eve after all, and I refuse to be deterred from watching the lights twinkle and celebrating the season. 

Harry apparently has a similar idea as he fiddles with the sound system before a crackle of ‘Jingle Bell Drunk’ by RaeLynn starts playing which causes me to giggle. 

I settle on one side of the sofa, and Harry plants himself on the other side. Separately, we each take a sip of the riesling. My tongue does a happy dance at the flavor on my tongue. “This sweetness will cut the spicy quite well. Excellent choice.”

“You made the selection,” Harry reminds me, and I cringe. 

“Oh. Yeah.”

Silence descends as the song proclaims “I’ve been naughty. I’ve been nice.” 

“If there was ever a year for this song, this is it.” I announce into the quiet. 

“Yeah. It’s been quite the year.”

Sharply, I glance at him. Perhaps I had missed something? “Excuse me? You’ve had one hell of a year, Styles. Grammy nominations aside, there were how many music videos released during this global disaster? Plus a movie!”

“Agreed.” He’s quiet, his jaw clenched, and suddenly his words burst forth as though a gate at a dam has been opened. “But no tour. And almost no family time.”

Wait. Was this superstar feeling some of my emotions? He’d had a stellar year in anyone’s estimation. Maybe I could be more sympathetic. 

“Yeah. I’m sorry about tour. I had tickets to Vegas and one of the LA shows.”

His head swivels to me more swiftly than an owl focusing on prey. “You had tickets?”

“HAVE.” I swallow. “Thanks for not canceling by the way. I cannot imagine the bloodbath for getting tickets in the future. You’ve become the ‘it celebrity’.”

A blush is followed by a sheepish smile. “You can always get tickets, Smith. Just ask.”

“I don’t do that.” My voice is filled with the prickles that I feel at his words. 

“Do what?” 

“Use my privilege to get tickets to shows.”

“Oh. I…” His words trailed off. 

Suddenly, I feel less uncomfortable around him. Reaching out, I shove at his shoulder. “You’re a giant star, and you have a ton of fans who want to see you. Me? I’m just happy to be a member of the audience.”

“Really?” Incredulous is what I sense in that one word. “Why?”

“Seriously?” I’m appalled. “Do you not know what an amazing entertainer you are, Styles? Fuck. If I hadn’t been able to see your Fine Line show at the Forum last December, I probably would have cried. You know exactly what your audience wants, and you deliver it. Consistently.”

“But --”

“Hush. Don’t you dare negate your talent!” Taking another sip of wine, I reveal unabashedly, “Maybe it’s the wine talking, but I really enjoy your shows.”

“Smith?” He inquires, and my hand stalls with my wine glass halfway to my mouth.

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you like my shows?”

Stalling, I run a finger through my hair and empty my wine glass before holding it out to him. “More please?”

He rises, but I can read his reluctance. Within moments, Harry is back at my side, handing me a second glass of the riesling. I can’t help but notice that he’s topped his own off too. 

“Answer the question, Smith.”

“My name isn’t Smith. In fact, there’s not a single part of my name that’s related to Smith. Why do you call me that?”

“Tell me why you like my shows, and I’ll reveal the meaning behind the nickname.”

My head feels fuzzy from the wine and the headiness of being near Harry, and I watch the lights flashing on the tree for a few minutes while Meghan Patrick belts out her version of ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ over the sound system. 

“You make your fans feel like they matter.”

“How?” His question comes rapidly, and I have to gather my thoughts. 

“You...talk to them. Listen to them. Watch them. Appreciate them. It’s rare, Harry. I mean, I’m in this business too, you know. Not every artist does what you do.”

“False.”

“I’m fucking serious, you asshole.” I gulp down more of the wine. “You make your audience feel like they’re your closest friends. I wish more artists did that. Specifically the ones I represent.”

“Oh.” His single utterance is enough, and we sit in pure tranquility for several minutes as the lights blink and Ava Max sings “Christmas Without You”. 

“Wanna watch the quintessential holiday movie?” I inquire, looking at him. 

“Which is?”

“Die Hard, of course,” is my response. “What were you thinking?”

“It’s a Wonderful Life.”

“Nope. It’s pretty good. In the top five for sure.”

“Wait. What are your top five?”

“Oh, that’s easy. ‘Die Hard’, ‘Home Alone’, ‘A Christmas Story’, ‘The Santa Clause’, and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.

“You’re serious?”

“Deadly?” I giggle at the joke since ‘Die Hard’ is full of death. 

“Fine. But we watch ‘Wonderful Life’ afterwards.”

“Deal.”

Part 2

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics where Louis and/or Harry use drugs during the course of the fic. If you support our rec lists and want them to continue being made, please reblog this post and spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Lips Are Like The Galaxy’s Edge | Mature | 2365 words

Harry licks over Louis’ hole slowly, deliberately, and his tongue is like velvet and Louis’ skin is burning at every junction where Harry touches him and it’s all so good he thinks he might cry. He licks a few more times, moaning softly like he’s relishing the taste of Louis and that’s just, well, fuck.

2) Can You Feel The Fever | Explicit | 5113 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

Tour has Harry exhausted. Luckily exactly what he needs is waiting for him in his Sacramento dressing room.

3) Read You Like A Book | Explicit | 8089 words

Louis realises Harry can read his mind. He’ll do anything to make Harry admit it. Set during the North American leg of the WWA tour.

4) Put You On Repeat, Play You Everywhere I Go | Explicit | 8290 words

Harry is a college radio show host and Louis is a contemporary dancer attending said college. After a drunk hook-up, naturally a whole bunch of pining, dedicated love songs and make-out sessions on dance studio floors ensue.

5) Keep It Sweet In Your Memory | Explicit | 17039 words

'How'd it go?' Harry pushes them into Niall's room and shuts the door behind him, so Georgia doesn't overhear.

'It was good. We just caught up, mostly... I may have done something a little stupid, though.'

And Niall's eyebrows are in his hairline at that.

'I mean. Okay, so I invited Louis out on Saturday.'

'Saturday? Your--'

'Yes, my bachelor party...' and then Harry has to explain himself, 'I just felt guilty. I think. He was like. Telling me he wanted to hook up.'

'He WHAT!?'

'No. I mean, not with me. Like. He wants to go out and meet people.'

'He'll hate that. He's too much of a romantic.'

'Yeah, well. Whatever his name was messed him up a little, it would seem.'

6) Never Understood What Love Was Really Like (But I Felt It For The First Time Looking In Your Eyes) | Not Rated | 18431 words

The one where Louis meets Harry at 14 and things don’t quite go as planned.

7) Ain’t My Fault | Explicit | 18690 words

Note: This fic has mentions of BH.

AU. Liam posts an ad on the wrong section of Craigslist, Louis is pretty sure they’re gonna get murdered as a result, and Harry’s missing an avocado.

8) Kiwi | Not Rated | 24110 words

AU. Harry plays on Saturday nights at The Motley. Louis bartends on Saturday nights at The Motley.

It’s a thing.

9) Honey, Make This Easy | Explicit | 25483 words

AU; Harry’s sister recently passed away, leaving him with temporary custody of her daughter. Needing help, he hires Louis as a nanny and the boy turns out to be help in more ways than he expected.

10) Can’t Fool Me | Explicit | 30162 words

AU where Louis hates fraternities and would never be into a frat boy. And one of these things is definitely not a lie.

11) Captain Jack | Explicit | 31752 words

Note: Please take note of the tags and warnings on this fic before reading

Louis has been searching for something and Harry is there to give it to him. Drugs, sex, disappointment, and the tangled web they’ve woven that keeps them trapped in the same cycle.

12) Can I Make It Any More Obvious? | Explicit | 35560 words

AU where Louis does ballet and Harry is the epitome of everything Louis’ friends want him to stay away from.

13) Bluebird | Explicit | 39024 words

The 2,789 miles between New York and Los Angeles is a long way to go alone.

14) Another Hazy May | Mature | 41042 words

Louis is a terrible poet and Harry lives in the now and they have six weeks to fall in love but, really, it only takes six seconds. bookshop meets military meets summer romance AU ft. Marlboros, the backstreet boys, and underrated literary devices.

15) Looking Through You | Explicit | 41905 words

Just as Louis and Liam were starting out in the music industry, writing and producing for up and coming artists, a fateful meeting with new pop singer Harry Styles changes everything. Four years later, just as Harry is set to embark on his next world tour, a drunken confession causes a rift between once inseparable friends. As Harry tries to make sense of his feelings for Louis, he begins writing his next album to express them as it may be the only way to break through the walls that Louis has built between them.

16) Tangled Up In You | Explicit | 45152 words

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

17) Apples Always Fall (As I Do For You) | Mature | 54609 words | Sequel

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis is staying at his Aunt's farm in a small town in Minnesota for four months. To deal with the boredom that sets in a week into his stay, he starts working at the local apple orchard, owned by twenty six year old Harry Styles.

Louis quickly finds himself falling in love with the orchard, and he finds a family in Harry's friends Niall, Liam, and Zayn.

He also starts to fall in love with Harry.

Falling in love with him turns out to be the easy part.

18) Into The Midnight Sun | Explicit | 63525 words

It’s 1983, Harry embarks on his first world tour and Louis is a budding actor in LA. Life spent apart isn’t easily adjustable, but somehow they make it work.

19) Like Real People Do | Explicit | 64175 words

Louis didn’t ask for a lot of things. He didn’t ask for his entire family to die in a car crash that may or may not have been his fault. He didn’t ask to get powers out of that accident, either, powers that eventually led him into a two-year relationship with a man who was far more than met the eye. But one night, he chose to ask for a replacement to a broken camera from someone he hadn’t spoken to in a year and a half. He did ask for that. And that kind of led to everything else.

20) Liberté | Mature | 64603 words

AU. 1647. “Pretending you don’t have a heart is not the best way to not get it broken. It’s just the easiest.”

21) Pinkies Never Lie | Explicit | 83615 words | Sequel

AU in which Louis hates his job and loves Harry, Harry just wants a distraction, everyone else wants them to get their shit together, and Louis learns the hard way that new beginnings are only possible when something ends.

22) Baby Heaven’s In Your Eyes | Explicit | 120875 words

They couldn’t be more different if they tried. Louis Tomlinson is 17 years old and in his last year of the most prestigious private school in Doncaster. If there’s one thing that completely annoys him, it’s that there is a poor community college right across the street.

Harry Styles is 19 years old, and (once again) in his last year of college. He goes to community college in Doncaster. He never shows up to classes and if he actually bothers to, he’s either high or drunk; sometimes both. His skin is littered with tattoos and if there’s one thing he absolutely hates, it’s the snobby students attending the private school right across from his.

23) Saving Symphony Hall | Mature | 124766 words

Note: This is a sequel to this fic. This fic has been locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that’s the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

24) I Only Ever Want You | Explicit | 180079 words

Note: This fic is the sequel to this fic.

Louis & Harry and Liam & Zayn begin to have sex in front of each other and a lot of kink-discovery results from that.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[sooma287]

DJ WILL GILL

About

DJ Will Gill is one of the top-rated Wedding DJs of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Orange County, and San Diego. He is a king of Open format DJ style so that you can get a mix of many genres. You get the perfect combo of charisma and charm with his entertaining style. If you want to see a sample of the entertainment that comes with DJ Will Gill, check out the video below and make the decision yourself.

https://youtu.be/q9PtCGH4l2c

Contact

To get all information regarding rates, packages and invite DJ Will Gill to make your wedding memorable, please visit our website ---> weddingdjslosangeles.com. The process to get in touch is very simple; all you have to do is fill out the info, including your wedding date, the estimated number of guests, and event hours. Once you're done, we will get back to you right away. It will be our pleasure to be a part of your beautiful day and make it even more.

DJ Background

DJ Will Gill is from America, and he has also lived like a local in West Hollywood and venues as far as Ibiza, Spain. For the last three 3 Superbowl’s, he has been working as a Fox NFL Sunday’s DJ, which also includes Superbowl LIV in Miami, February 2020.

What makes DJ Will Gill's performances stand out is his energy, the fun he brings to the events, and his professionalism and positivity. He is one of the most comfortable DJs to work with, and he kept his audience engaged by his powerpack DJ set. Check out DJ Will Gill’s IMDB page and DJ Will Gill’s Wikipedia Page for a complete list of notable DJ accomplishments.

Los Angeles Wedding DJ Mixes

You will find a lot of Wedding DJs in Los Angeles, but how will you decide which one is right for your event? What you should check on your list is a DJ that knows how to blend songs, as well as genres seamlessly, that knows how to bring every guest of your wedding out on the dance floor.

https://www.mixcloud.com/DJWillGill/special-request-mix-5-30-21/

You can start like this get a list of potential southern California wedding DJs. Shortlist on the basis of their DJ style samples, hear some of their mixes. Most professional wedding DJs have a Mixcloud page for easy streaming access.

https://www.mixcloud.com/DJWillGill/special-request-mix-10-23-21/

The above mixes are just a small sample; you can check out DJ Will Gill’s Mixcloud DJ sets for the complete list of multiple genres.

Wedding Emcee Background

Most people are unfamiliar with the fact that Wedding DJs can also serve as Wedding Emcees. DJ Will Gill as your wedding emcee, make sure to provide the guests with excellent customer service by using his turntables, microphone, and how he speaks to the audience truly sets the tone for an epic wedding.

Whether it is a crowd of 20 guests or 500 guests, DJ Will Gill is comfortable in speaking to the group, whether it is big or small. He has really sharpened his emcee skills by working as the crowd warmup emcee for two seasons at The Kelly Clarkson Show and the huge seven seasons at NBC's The Voice.

The emcee's job in every event is the same to bring energy to the event, keep the guests entertained and engaged, and this is what DJ Will Gill is good at. He is very confident and Versatile, and the crowd really enjoys his presence throughout the show.

The Los Angeles Wedding DJ Pandemic Pivot

The horrible pandemic of COVID 19 shackled the wedding industry. Postponements, cancellations, and refund requests hit the door of event planners. However, the DJ services were quickly shifted to online platforms like Instagram live, zoom and twitch.

Keeping in mind the situation, DJ Will Gill created ZoomDjs.com (a virtual party DJ service) in April 2020. The main idea behind this service was to serve the current clients. The original idea was to offer online party DJ services to existing clients. But to overcome the economic challenges the whole world was facing, ZoomDJs.com got in action and started to offer DJ services as a pro bono service so that families and kids could have some fun in this rough time.

The huge popularity of the charitable events and the online buzz made DJ Will Gill reach the top of the most popular search engine Google, and it's still No.1 in rank. This top-ranking got DJ Will Gill to serve clients from all over the world. From Australia to Ireland, DJ Will Gill has performed tons of online virtual parties. If you are willing to book a virtual party DJ, check out the following.

During this beautiful journey, DJ Will Gill also got the opportunity to connect with the other popular wedding DJs of Los Angeles, including DJ Malcolm Brinkley, DJ Aaron Free, DJ Keelez, and DJ Krieger. The best DJs of Los Angeles are gathered on a platform to keep the world dancing and enjoying the beat.

DJ MC Will Gill

If you're still confused in deciding to hire DJ Will Gill for your event, then let me add up here that DJ Will Gill is an All-rounder of Black Weddings you will ever find in Los Angeles. He is known for his multiskilled performances, talent, and professionalism that he takes to every event he is a part of. He will not only play music but also bring his emcee charism and personality on the mic, which makes him the most valuable choice for your event. His Experience of 20+ years speaks it all; he has excellent knowledge of past and present, which is comparable to none.

DJ Will Gill is the top choice out of a few African American wedding DJs for special events in Los Angeles. Why hire a different DJ for different events? Book your all events with DJ Will Gill and enjoy his powerful performance at all your special occasions, which could be weddings, birthdays, corporate, or public events.

Top Wedding Reviews

You can ask about DJ Will Gill from any wedding Venue authorities, photo booth vendors, or makeup artists. If they have seen him performing or got a chance to work with him as a team, they will tell you about the charisma, energy, and positivity he brings to the event. You can see Floral designs and designers of wedding dresses on his Google review page. DJ Will Gill knows how important your big day is, and he treats your wedding with positive energy so you can enjoy your celebration with love and, Of course, Deejaying.

[96thdayofrage]

The parent company of some of America’s largest fast food chains is claiming credit for convincing Congress to exclude a $15 minimum wage from the recent COVID relief bill, according to internal company documents reviewed by The Daily Poster. The company, which is owned by a private equity firm named after an Ayn Rand character, also says it is now working to thwart new union rights legislation.

The company’s boasts come just a few months after a government report found that some of its chains had among the highest percentage of workers relying on food stamps.

Inspire Brands — which owns Jimmy Johns, Arby’s, Sonic, and Buffalo Wild Wings, plus recently acquired Dunkin’ Donuts for $11.3 billion in November — on Thursday sent employees and franchisees a review of its government lobbying activity that highlighted its success in keeping the $15 minimum wage out of Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, the COVID-19 relief bill President Joe Biden signed earlier this month.

“We were successful in our advocacy efforts to remove the Raise the Wage Act, which would have increased the federal minimum wage to $15 and eliminated the tip credit,” reads the report.

Further down, the report notes the company’s ongoing lobbying campaign in the Senate against the PRO Act, which recently passed the House and contains a laundry list of organized labor’s goals, such as eliminating right-to-work laws and banning mandatory company-sponsored meetings that are designed to discourage union activity.

“Under this proposed rule, franchisors could be considered the direct employer of the franchise owners in their system, as well as the restaurant workers those owners employ, taking away the independence of small business owners,” the document said.

“You get the impression that they’re actively spitting in our eye, saying ‘Yes, we worked to suppress wages of our employees and we’re just going to brazenly tell you,’” one Inspire Brands worker told The Daily Poster. “I really do think that a line was crossed. You’re just going to brazenly tell your employees, ‘not only did we work to kill wages, but going forward we’re also going to make sure that the PRO Act doesn’t pass either.’”

Inspire Brands did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Government Report On Low Wages Spotlighted Inspire Brands’ Companies

During the 2020 campaign, Democrats pledged to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which would boost the wages of 32 million workers nationwide, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

However, efforts to include a $15 minimum wage in Biden’s pandemic aid bill failed after the Senate parliamentarian advised Democrats such a hike should not be passed by budget reconciliation and Vice President Kamala Harris declined to use her authority to override the decision.

Inspire Brands’ success in eliminating the minimum wage hike from the bill follows Dunkin’ Brands’ then-CEO Nigel Travis saying in 2015 that a $15 wage would be “absolutely outrageous.” At the time, unions noted that Travis was being paid more than $4,000 every hour.

The minimum wage defeat also follows an October 2020 report from the Government Accountability Office finding that low-wage workers at Dunkin’ Donuts, Arby’s, and Sonic were among those relying most heavily on food stamps in states where those franchises operate. In 2019, some Sonic workers walked off the job in Ohio in protest of low pay.

While paying many of its workers below $15, Inspire Brands’ franchises are generating $26 billion in annual revenue and enriching top executives. The founder of Jimmy John’s — which has been accused of busting worker union drives — recently boasted on his website that he was named one of the planet’s wealthiest men.

In the year before Inspire acquired his company, Dunkin’ Brands’ CEO was paid millions and then made millions more when the deal closed.

In government filings that year, Dunkin’ Brands warned investors about the prospect of low-wage workers being paid better.

“A significant number of our franchisees’ food-service employees are paid at rates related to the U.S. federal minimum wage and applicable minimum wages in foreign jurisdictions and past increases in the U.S. federal minimum wage and foreign jurisdiction minimum wage have increased labor costs, as would future such increases,” the company wrote. “Any increases in labor costs might result in franchisees inadequately staffing restaurants. Understaffed restaurants could reduce sales at such restaurants, decrease royalty payments, and adversely affect our brands.”

The company also bragged that “none of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we believe our relationships with our employees are healthy.”

“Our Name Signifies Our Admiration For The Qualities Embodied By Howard Roark”

Inspire Brands is majority owned by Roark Capital — a $23 billion private equity giant named after the self-centered protagonist of Ayn Rand novel The Fountainhead, which is considered a foundational conservative text for the defense of billionaires and economic inequality.

“Our name signifies our admiration for the qualities embodied by Howard Roark,” the firm says on its website. “We are committed to being a good partner in good times, and an even better partner in bad times.”

Donors from Roark-linked companies delivered more than $800,000 of campaign contributions in the 2020 election cycle, mostly to Republicans, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets.

Several state and local retirement systems have invested public employees’ retirement savings in the Roark funds involved in Inspire Brands’ takeover of Dunkin’ Brands last year, including the Oregon State Treasury, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, and the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System.

In its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Roark advised investors that “portfolio companies of the type targeted” by the firm can be “adversely affected by changes in governmental policies” including the minimum wage.

[crackedoutgiraffe]

To the Moon and Back

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

A/N: Chapter 6

You had left your phone on the conference room table while you looked through the files. It started ringing unexpectedly. It was Garcia. 

“Hey Garcia,” you eagerly greeted her, you hadn’t spoken to any of the team for about 6 hours. They were all out doing FBI things.

“How much do you love me?” she asked

Confused, you answered the peculiar question, “I love you very much, Garcia.” “What would you say if I told you I had the name of the unsub?”

“Wait, you figured it out?” you jumped out of your chair with excitement.

“Sure did,” she giggled, “I believe your unsub is one Robert Adams.”

“Do you have a location, Garcia?”

“His credit card just made a purchase at the Seven Stars Restaurant,”

“Thank you, Garcia,” you said as you ran out the door. “Wait, why did you call me?”

“No one else was picking up,” she replied. “Good luck, be safe,” she hung up after that. The team left one SUV for you just in case you needed to go anywhere. You hopped in and started for the restaurant. You tried to call Hotch, but he wouldn’t respond. 

Then you tried Rossi, and thankfully he responded, “Rossi, where are you right now?” you asked frantically

“We’re at the school. Why? What’s wrong?” he could hear how scared you were on the other end of the line.

“Garcia called me and told me that she has the unsub’s identity,” you breathed out, trying to drive at the same time.

“Y/N, I’m going to put you on speaker,” he added. “Alright, you have me, Hotch, Morgan, and Reid.”

“Garcia, she called me and said that the name of the unsub was Robert Adams and that he was at the Seven Stars restaurant, I’m pulling into the restaurant now,” you got out of the car and headed toward the entrance.

“Alright, Y/N, do not engage wait outside we’ll be there in five minutes,” Hotch sounded scared

“Alright. Is there anyt-,” you started but you were knocked out by an explosion from the restaurant.

“Y/N, hold we’ll be there soon,” Hotch calmly said, but you couldn’t respond.

You were knocked unconscious by the blast, you finally awoke to sirens and people surrounding you. You could see all the team members around you.

Everyone stayed by your side for a few moments until Morgan received some news, “Hotch he’s still in there.”

“Ok. Prentiss, come with Morgan and me to catch the unsub,” Hotch started. “Rossi, take Y/N to the ambulance.” 

Rossi helped you to stand up while you were holding your head. He led you over to an ambulance, “Rossi, I’m fine, really.”

“I’m sure you are,” he said, “but you may have a concussion.” The paramedic checked your vitals and performed a concussion test. You passed, so a hospital visit wasn’t necessary. 

While the paramedic was checking your health he was also checking you out, “Alright Ms. Y/L/N, your vitals are good and you don’t seem to have a concussion,” the paramedic briefed. “Make sure that you visit your primary care physician. Also, do you think I would be able to get your number?”

He wasn’t bad looking, he seemed nice, “Sure,” you smiled. You looked past some of the cops at the restaurant and saw Reid looking your way. It seemed like he was giving the paramedic a death stare. You got up off the ambulance and hobbled over to the rest of your team. Prentiss and Hotch had apprehended the unsub, and they loaded him into a police car.

“What did the paramedic say?” Hotch asked. 

“He said I’m good to go,” you responded happily. 

Reid looked upset from where you were standing, “seemed like he said more than that,” Reid mumbled. 

“Alright, go pack up your guys’ stuff and meet me at the airfield in 30,” Hotch continued. You all went to the SUVs. You decided to ride in the back with Rossi driving and Prentiss in the passenger seat. The three of you promptly arrived at the hotel just behind JJ, Morgan, and Reid. Rossi came to help you out of the car, which was quite sweet, but you didn’t need it.

You got to your room and started to pack. Starting with the bathroom then going to the main room, double-checking that you had everything. As you were cleaning up, you made the bed and straightened out the pillows.

Just then your phone rang, “Hello?” you answered.

“Hi, this is Jeremy. I was the paramedic that treated you tonight,” he said gingerly.

“Oh hey, how’s it going?” you giggled while grabbing your bags and heading toward the door.

“We had to take a few people to the hospital, but other than that pretty good,” he commented.

You left your room and started to close the door, “So, a pretty slow night?” you joked. In the hallway, you saw Morgan and Reid waiting and staring at you. “Hey, Jeremy. I’m going to have to call you later, ok?”

“That’s cool,” he sighed. “It was nice to meet you, Y/N. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” you finished and hung up the phone.

“Who’s Jeremy?” Morgan asked, poking you in the side.

“That’s classified, Agent Morgan,” you replied with a smile. “Who’s driving?” you asked, trying to change the subject.

“I’ll drive,” Morgan replied as the three of you got in the elevator.

The drive to the airfield was quiet. You were sitting in the back seat staring out the window, when you did look through the windshield, you could see Reid look at you occasionally. Finally, you got to the plane. You chose a seat at the back, put your headphones in, and pulled out a book. The volume of your music was low just in case anyone needed you. You looked up to see Morgan with a confused look on his face, then he took off his headphones and you could hear screaming coming through them. “Very funny, kid,” he quipped at who you could only suspect was Reid. His phone started to ring and he picked it up, “Hey baby gir-,” he quickly pulled the phone away from his face, more screaming.

You gave up trying to figure out what that was about and went to sleep. When you woke up, you were starting to land. Hotch stood up once the plane landed and told all of you to be in the office at 9 tomorrow. You grabbed your bag and got off the plane, rushing to get to your car and get home and see your cat. The second you got to your car, an immense wave of relief came over you, your first case with the team was done. You had done pretty well. One thing you were less than pleased about was the way you felt toward Spencer. Could you really not fraternize with your co-workers? It’s not that hard, Y/N. Get it together. You got to your house and plopped down on your bed. Checking the time, you groaned. It was 3am. You dragged yourself out of bed to take a shower, you ended up falling asleep wearing only your towel.

You woke up to your alarm at 8 and sighed. Realizing you slept, in a towel, you went to your closet to grab some semi-professional clothes. You put on as much makeup as you could stand, which wasn’t much, and headed to the kitchen for coffee. Checking the clock on your oven, it was 8:30, so you didn’t get to eat breakfast and settled for stopping at Starbucks for another coffee. You were able to arrive at Quantico at exactly 8:50 leaving you just enough time to get up to your desk at 9.

Walking into the office was a nightmare, everyone at their desks seemed so tired. Walking past Reid’s desk, you noticed that he was working away, he didn’t seem tired at all, “How are you so chipper right now?” you asked, sitting down at your desk.

“This is my fifth cup of coffee,” he smiled at you with that lovely smile of his.

Garcia was walking past his desk right as he answered you, “Alright, Dr. Reid, I’m cutting you off for now,” Garcia insisted grabbing the coffee cup from his hand. He looked up at her and frowned.

“Thank you, Garcia,” Morgan added from his desk. “If he would have finished that, I don’t think he would shut up for hours.”

You giggled from your desk, trying not to pass out. 

“We have a new case,” Hotch walked out of his office toward the round table room. Everyone groaned as they pulled themselves up from their seats. You all hobbled over to the roundtable room, Reid was practically skipping in front of all of you. “Go ahead Garcia,” Hotch instructed while sitting down.

“Alright, friends, this week you are traveling to the lovely Los Angeles. Four women have all been found in the woods. They were all sexually assaulted, stabbed 13 times, and their hair was burned off. Next to their dumpsite, CSI found the bodies of four men, they were all shot in the heart,” Garcia explained while flipping through the slides on the TV.

“They were all y/h/c-haired and y/e/c eyed in their early to mid-twenties,” Reid added. “Was there any relationship found between the women and the men, Garcia?

“Good eye, Dr. Reid, and yes. The women were all dating one of the men,” Garcia smiled. “Your first victims are 21-year-old Alisha Davis, liberal arts major at UCLA; she was dating 23-year-old Joseph Marin. Next was, 22-year-old Brittany French, chef at a local restaurant and her boyfriend Michael White, 24. Then was 23-year-old Paulette Queen, a nanny for an established family, she was involved with 23-year-old Daniel Roberts. Finally, Jemma Boone, 24, was working at a jewelry store, dating 25-year-old Nicholas Phillips.”

“How far apart were the killed?” you asked.

“The coroner estimates two weeks apart,” Garcia sighed. “Jemma was killed approximately 10 days ago. There also is evidence that he was keeping his victims for about 2 days before killing them.”

JJ spoke up from her side of the table, “The killings seem very ritualistic. They were each stabbed 13 times, they were all y/h/c.”

“The number 13 is considered an unlucky number in some countries. The end of the Mayan calendar's 13th Baktun was superstitiously feared as a harbinger of the apocalyptic 2012 phenomenon. Fear of the number 13 has a specifically recognized phobia, triskaidekaphobia, a word coined in 1911. The superstitious sufferers of triskaidekaphobia try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from anything numbered or labeled thirteen. As a result, companies and manufacturers use another way of numbering or labeling to avoid the number, with hotels and tall buildings being conspicuous examples (thirteenth floor).It is also considered unlucky to have thirteen guests at a table. Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky day.  There are a number of theories as to why the number thirteen became associated with bad luck, but none of them have been accepted as likely,” Reid started to ramble.

“Colgate University also considers 13 a lucky number. They were founded in 1819 by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers, and 13 articles. To this day, members of the Colgate community consider the number 13 a good omen. In fact, the campus address is 13 Oak Drive in Hamilton, New York, and the male a cappella group is called the Colgate 13. In the Mayan Tzolk'in calendar, trecenas mark cycles of 13-day periods. The pyramids are also set up in 9 steps divided into 7 days and 6 nights, 13 days total. In the standard 52-card deck of playing cards, there are four suits, each of 13 ranks. In a tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death, usually picturing the Pale horse with its rider. A baker's dozen, devil's dozen, long dozen, or long measure is 13, one more than a standard dozen,” you started rambling too, everyone just stared at you. 

“He is focusing more on the women,” Prentiss noticed.

“What makes you say that?” Morgan questioned.

“There is no evidence that the men were held in captivity,” Prentiss continued. “Also, more things were done to the women than the men, their hair was burned and they were sexually assaulted.”

“So it’s more about the women than the men,” Rossi chimed in, “What does that tell us about the unsub?”

You had an answer to the question, “He may have had his heart broken by a y/e/c-eyed, y/h/c-haired girl.”

“I know we just got back but there is going to be another murder in 4 days. Wheels up in 30,” Hotch sighed.

Everyone got up to leave, including you. You headed for the elevator to head home and grab your go-bag. On your drive home, there was one thing on your mind, a serial killer who only killed y/e/c-eyed, y/h/c-haired, and was going to kill someone who was 25, how could this go wrong?

[sapphireglyphs]

Thanks for the tag, Amy my dear! @shineyma ❤ Also, you moved to Louisiana?! How is this the first time I’m hearing about this?! O_O *sigh* we need to catch up, friend!

1. What is the color of your hairbrush? So my current hairbrush I got while I was in Hawaii for my middle sister’s wedding. The head of the brush is an iridescent lime-yellow with black bristles and yellow tips. The brush’s handle has a quilted-patterned silicone for a comfy, semi-squishy grip. I got it bc it reminded me of a pineapple.🍍 

2. Name a food you never eat. Banana; I’m allergic. 

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? Too warm. 🥵

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? The 7Leaves drive-thru for my morning milk tea. 

5. What’s your favorite candy bar? Reese’s Fast Break or a Twix.

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? I don’t think so...

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? “Ah! Sorry water bottle!” (I knocked him over on accident 🥺)

8. What is your favorite ice cream? Pistachio

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Milk tea

10. Do you like your wallet? So... I have a thing for mid-end wallets and purses... it puts a strain on my bank account but I make do. The very first time I saw my current wallet was on Ebay and it was love at first sight. The problem was it was an older design so it was harder to find for less than $100. So I waited and waited and waited whilst also scouring the internet for months looking for one that was reasonably priced in the color I wanted... and I nearly gave up when, lo and behold, it was going on sale for $60 bucks plus free shipping on some outlet website! I had to triple checked the website (make sure it was legit) before I shelled out the cash for my prize and the rest was history~ 😍

11. What is the last thing you ate? Lunch.

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Not last weekend.

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched? Oh my goodness... it has legit been so long since I’ve watched any sports elated anything (besides the occasional sports-like competition on my weekly variety shows)...  

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? I’m not a huge popcorn fan (mainly bc when it gets stuck between my teeth it can get really painful) but California’s own “Gaslamp Popcorn” Malibu Mix, which combines the company’s signature Sea Salt & Olive Oil, White Cheddar and Kettle Corn flavors is like crack. Arguably, the best popcorn in existence!

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? My friend Anson. 

16. Ever been camping? Does 6th grade camp count as camping?

17. Do you take vitamins? Not regularly.

18. Do you regularly attend a place of worship? No - it used to be a family thing. So now I only go to my local temple for New Years. 

19. Do you have a tan? I don’t tan, I typically just burn.

20. Do you prefer Chinese or pizza? It depends on what I’ve had recently.

21. Do you drink your soda through a straw? Only if I’m given a straw. 

22. What color socks do you usually wear? I typically wear nylon socks bc of the flats I wear to work so they’re mostly nude or black. 

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? More often than I care to admit unless I am distracted (which is not great either way). 😅

24. What terrifies you? Not being able to find someone to call my own. 

25. Look to your left, what do you see? Water bottle, can of compressed air, pencil pouch, sunglasses, glasses, and old receipts. My table is a mess. T_T 

26. What chore do you hate most? I hate cleaning the bathroom... ugh! I’m getting a headache just thinking about it! 

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Jake Sim of Enhypen reading his lines for their debut trailer. 

28. What’s your favorite soda? Every holiday season I would get my all-time favorite soda, Canada Dry (Cranberry) Ginger Ale... when it’s not in season, I typically drink clear sodas like 7-up or Sprite... and ginger ale. 

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Drive thru.

30. What’s your favorite number? 9

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? My mom.

32. Favorite meat? Fish.

33. Last song you listened to? "All Night” ASTRO. K-pop playlist on shuffle~

34. Last book you read? Ah… I haven’t been reading anything outside of fanfics lately. The last like novel I started reading but never finished was “A Thousand Beginnings and Endings” by Ellen Oh… I should pick it back up again.

35. Favorite day of the week? Tuesday.

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? I think so but not nearly as fast nor proficient as I would be the right way around. 😆

37. How do you like your coffee? I don’t typically drink coffee but when I do I like it so sweet and creamy it shouldn’t be considered coffee any longer. 

38. Favorite pair of shoes? I have the cutest pair of navy blue ballerina flats with scalloped edges and a tiny gold bow atop each side.

39. Time you normally get up? Lately it’s been late... usually around 9-9:30?

40. Which do you prefer: sunrise or sunsets? I think I prefer sunsets.

41. How many blankets on your bed? 1 comforter is usually more than enough for me.

42. Describe your kitchen plates. Vintage, milky white chinaware with scalloped edges and a pink cherry blossom pattern. Circa France,1960.   Florentine by Arcopal.

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment. Pretty damn clean but that’s bc yesterday was the holidays, so my mom was in a cleaning mood. 

44. Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? I don’t drink.

45. Do you play cards? My family plays a Thai version of Old Maid called “Dummy”. It’s kinda’ addicting but I can’t play it by myself which sucks. 

46. What color is your car? Dark blue. 

47. Can you change a tire? Nope. 😕 I should probably learn how to do that...

48. Your favorite state or province? I’ve only been to a few and I think like Washington best... but Cali is where all my friends are sooo...

49. Favorite job you’ve had? Clerk typist for the elementary school I worked for.

tagging: @cancered-gemini​ @omiyukio​ @nosevenadapresente​ @cerberus-angel​ @doiloveyou-myohmy​ @safelycapricious​ @moonladymusings​ and anyone else who fancies killing some time!

[jackie-talks-about-starkid]

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (Rewatch #11, 11/20/2020)

YouTube publish date: December 23, 2018

Number of views on date of rewatch: 4, 394, 741

Original Performance Run: October 11 - November 4, 2018 at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles

Ticket price: General Admission - $37, Priority - $69      Digital Ticket: $15      Rush Ticket via TodayTix: $18

Director: Nick Lang

Music and Lyrics: Jeff Blim

Book: Matt Lang and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: $9.99 on iTunes      Release date: December 23, 2018

Parody or original: original content, slightly inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Funding: $127,792 by 3,419 backers via Kickstarter (x)      Original Goal: $60,000

Main cast and characters

Paul - John Matteson

Emma - Lauren Lopez

Ted - Joey Richter

Charlotte - Jamie Lyn Beatty

Bill - Corey Dorris

Professor Hidgens - Robert Manion

Sam/General McNamara - Jeff Blim

Alice/Greenpeace Girl - Mariah Rose Faith

Musical numbers

     Act I

“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” Characters: Ensemble “ La Dee Dah Dah Day” Characters: Ensemble “What Do You Want, Paul?” Characters: Mr. Davidson and Paul “Cup of Roasted Coffee” Characters: Nora, Zoey, and Emma “Cup of Poisoned Coffee” Characters: Nora, Zoey, Hot Chocolate Boy, and Ensemble “Show Me Your Hands” Characters: Sam, Police Woman, Police Man “You Tied Up My Heart” Characters: Sam and Charlotte “Join Us (And Die)” Characters: Charlotte and Sam

     Act II

“Not Your Seed” Characters: Alice and friends “Show Stoppin’ Number” Characters: Professor Hidgens “America Is Great Again” Characters: General McNamara and Ensemble “Let Him Come” Characters: Ensemble “Let It Out” Characters: Paul and Ensemble “Inevitable” Characters: Paul, Ensemble, and Emma

Notable Notes:

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals won 12 2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards (x)

Best Musical - Local

Choreography - Local: James Tolbert

Costume Design - Local: June Saito

Director of a Musical - Local: Nick Lang

Featured Actor in a Musical - Local: Robert Manion (Joey Richter and Corey Dorris were the other two nominees in this category)

Featured Actress in a Musical - Local: Jaime Lyn Beatty (Mariah Rose Faith was also nominated)

Leading Actor in a Musical - Local: Jon Matteson

Leading Actress in a Musical - Local: Lauren Lopez

Lighting Design - Local: Sarah Petty

Musical Director - Local: Matt Dahan

Scenic Design - Local: Corey Lubowich

Sound Design - Local: Ilana Elroi and Brian Rosenthal

Cultural Context: 2018

The #MeToo movement originated by Tarana Burke gains international popularity on social media

The revival of Queer Eye premiers on Netflix

Beyoncé headlines Coachella (#Beychella), becoming the first black woman to do so for the music festival

Megan Markle marries Prince Harry

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27th

Content Analysis:

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals has the most original concept of a musical I can think of for any piece of musical theatre, on Broadway or off. It is a musical that is focused on Paul, a guy who, believe it or not, doesn't like musicals, but due to a mysterious zombie-like infection brought to his town, Hatchetfield, finds himself stuck in an apocalyptic scenario in which anyone can be infected by a hive-mind that forces anyone it infects to behave as if they were in a musical. Because of this, the only people who actually perform musical numbers in the show are those around Paul who are infected with this musical disease, which makes each musical performance all the more dramatic, as well as allows for the acting of the main characters to be much more at the center of attention than they would normally be if the characters were expected to sing out their feelings as if the audience were watching them develop through the lens of a traditional musical.

The strong book and emphasis on the characterization of the small main ensemble highlights the incredibly strong performances by the actors. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals is an interesting work in StarKid's repertoire in that the characters represented onstage are the most 'normal' characters the audience has seen in a StarKid universe. By now, the Starkid audience is used to seeing either parodies of well-known works, such as Harry Potter or the DC comic universe, inventive imaginings of other universes or periods of time, such as Starship or Firebringer. Yet, this production emphasizes the kind of characters and settings one sees in everyday life rather than the characters one sees in a sci-fi novel or fantasy world. The characters are played to represent a specific type of character often seen in media, and specifically mimic horror movie tropes with a comedic twist. For example, Professor Hidgens represents the off-kilter scholarly type, Paul is the everyday man dragged into the evil schemes of an unknown being's plot, Emma is the relatable final girl, etc. Yet, these character types and what they represent mirror the kind of everyday people we see in reality. Sure, they are written and played with comedic intent but their lives and place in the plot are human enough that the audience does not need to make the make-believe leap of connecting with non-human or glorified human characters-these people ARE human. Emma is an intelligent woman whose adventurous life turned into one full of grief for her sister and finds herself stuck in a terrible job in the hometown she tried so hard to get away from. Paul is a simple man playing the reluctant hero, but whose heart and genuine care for the people he is close to reminds us of the best of humanity when our society is constantly filled with examples of our worst behaviors. Bill just wants a relationship with the daughter he's drifting away from, Charlotte just wants her husband to love her, and Ted is there because, let's be honest here, we all know a Ted.

The characters also happen to be played by actors the audience would not expect to play that specific character type. For example, Joey Richter is known for playing lovable, funny, and relatable characters in StarKid's works, yet in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, he plays the most morally repugnant yet incredibly hilarious characters in the show and he plays that part so well and so convincingly that it's hard to believe he's actually playing against his type. Jaime Lyn Beatty, like other StarKid works, performs a strong, comedic character type as she always does, yet her performance as Charlotte has the most dynamic internal life of any character the StarKid audience has seen her play.

The most notable performance comes from Jon Matteson who plays Paul. His role as the protagonist, who is onstage nearly the entire, time holds the piece and the universe of the story together so perfectly. His dry delivery and incredible comedic timing work so well for the character that it feels as though you can go up to Matteson right after the finale and expect to talk to Paul himself because he embodies the role so well. Matteson’s performance feels so natural and honest that it's heartbreaking, even for the most fanatic musical theatre nerd, to watch him realize that he's fallen victim to the Apotheosis and turns into the thing he hates the most-a musical theatre character.

A horror-comedy musical is a hard thing to pull off, especially on a budget that was almost entirely crowdfunded, and even harder to execute successfully, which is why the only few commercial horror-musical comedy staples I can think of at the moment art Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd, and to a certain extent, Heathers. Yet the consistent hard work that goes into creating a StarKid musical and the unique environment that process produces makes anything seem possible and destined for success. The level of creativity going into this production company and the work they create as a team is something that just cannot be done with traditional musical theatre as seen on Broadway because of such large overhead and emphasis on creating a profit rather than creating art. There have been and will continue to be many different creative teams making unique musicals for the general public, but taking into account global accessibility for all demographics and concept originally, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals proves StarKid continues to take the lead and doesn’t need the exclusion of any demographic in order to do so.

P.S. Happy Black Friday! Don’t forget to get in line to buy your Wiggly dolls ;)

[newstfionline]

Monday, November 23, 2020

Trump Using Last Days to Lock In Policies (NYT) Voters have decided that President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. should guide the country through the next four years. But on issues of war, the environment, criminal justice, trade, the economy and more, President Trump and top administration officials are doing what they can to make changing direction more difficult. Top officials are racing against the clock to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, secure oil drilling leases in Alaska, punish China, carry out executions and thwart any plans Mr. Biden might have to reestablish the Iran nuclear deal. In some cases, like the executions and the oil leases, Mr. Trump’s government plans to act just days—or even hours—before Mr. Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. At a wide range of departments and agencies, Mr. Trump’s political appointees are going to extraordinary lengths to try to prevent Mr. Biden from rolling back the president’s legacy. They are filling vacancies on scientific panels, pushing to complete rules that weaken environmental standards, nominating judges and rushing their confirmations through the Senate, and trying to eliminate health care regulations that have been in place for years. Mr. Biden and his top aides have not publicly criticized the president’s policy actions at home or abroad, abiding by the tradition that there is only one president at a time. But the president-elect has vowed to move quickly to undo many of Mr. Trump’s domestic and foreign policies.

Doctors and nurses want more data before championing vaccines to end the pandemic (Washington Post) Doctors and nurses, coping with the daily risk of coronavirus exposure, are expected to get top priority to receive vaccines that could become available as soon as next month. But it’s an open question how many will seize their place at the front of the line. The hesitancy of some health-care workers is attracting attention as the first two vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna, near deployment. Government, academic, and health-care officials say that significant numbers of providers want more data about the vaccine before it is deployed. A report released Thursday by the University of California at Los Angeles researchers said that 66 percent of Los Angeles health-care workers who responded to an online questionnaire (not a randomized sample) said they would delay taking a vaccine. The American Nurses Association, a national union, said one-third of its members do not intend to take the vaccine, and an additional third are undecided. Among professionals contacted by the state of New Jersey, “some did not want to be in the first round, so they could wait and see if there are potential side effects,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith M. Persichilli said at a Nov. 9 news briefing. Health-care leaders say President Trump’s frequent promises about vaccines have raised doubts about the objectivity of agency reviews, as have the speed of the manufacturers’ clinical trials, and unfamiliarity with the novel techniques used by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to trigger natural antibodies.

Music to get us through (NYT) At the fearful height of the pandemic in April, Simon Gronowski, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, began playing jazz tunes on his piano from his apartment window in Brussels, bringing relief to his besieged neighbors throughout the lockdown that lasted into late May. “Music is a means of communication, of connection,” said Mr. Gronowski, who taught himself how to play the piano as a teenager after escaping the Nazis. Piano was a way for him to connect with his sister who had died in Auschwitz. Throughout the summer and into the fall, live jazz has become a near-constant presence across New York City. The makeshift outdoor shows have been therapeutic for musicians and fans alike.

Homicides skyrocket across U.S. during pandemic (Washington Post) In Greensboro, N.C., the violence has gotten so extreme that a shootout erupted in front of the county courthouse the other day, across the street from the sheriff’s office, leaving a 20-year-old man dead. Greensboro set a city record with 45 homicides last year, and, as of Friday, already had 54 this year. “We’ve always had a level of gang activity,” Greensboro Police Chief Brian James said in an interview, “but it’s more prolific now. I’m not sure what’s changed, but the offenders are more bold than they’ve ever been.” Homicides across America rose more than 28 percent in the first nine months of this year, and aggravated assaults increased nine percent, while rapes and robberies saw significant drops compared to the same period last year, according to statistics compiled this month from 223 police agencies. Some police commanders say the twin impacts of the coronavirus and civil uprisings against police violence caused them to redirect their officers away from proactive anti-crime programs, whether due to virus-related budget cuts or strategic redeployment of forces to handle the unrest. Other officials point to job loss and other stresses of the pandemic as fueling tension and leading to violence. And with many schools shuttered, police say, many areas have seen a rise in violence involving juveniles.

Charleston weighs wall as seas rise and storms strengthen (AP) Vickie Hicks, who weaves intricate sweetgrass baskets in Charleston, South Carolina’s historic city market, remembers climbing onto the table at her grandmother’s booth downtown when the floodwaters rushed by. Decades later, the seasoned seller of this art form passed down by descendants of West African slaves still works downtown, where merchants regularly set out sandbags and scrutinize daily weather forecasts. Hicks says the flooding’s only gotten worse. “God’s taking back his land,” she said. Now, the low-lying Atlantic seaport is considering its most drastic measure yet to protect the lives and livelihoods of residents like Hicks from the threats of climate-driven flooding: walling off its peninsula from the ocean. In 2019, the downtown flooded a record 89 times according to the National Weather Service—mostly from high tides and wind pushing water inland. And the city could flood up to 180 times per year by 2045 according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There’s also the threat each year that hurricane-driven storm surge could inundate the city’s peninsula, which is at the confluence of three rivers and mostly less than 20 feet (6.1 meters) above sea level.

Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts (NYT) Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Guatemala’s capital on Saturday, setting fire to the nation’s congressional building in a show of anger over a budget bill passed this week that cut funding for health care and education. The demonstrations in Guatemala City, which also included peaceful marches in the central plaza, rocked a nation still recovering from back-to-back hurricanes that displaced thousands of people, destroyed homes and obliterated critical infrastructure. As heavy rains brought on by the second storm pummeled impoverished towns in Guatemala’s highlands and coastal regions on Wednesday, the country’s Congress passed a budget that cut spending on education and health in favor of increasing lawmakers’ meal stipends. The bill, which also proposed gutting funding to combat malnutrition and slashed funding for the judiciary, set off immediate outrage and led to demonstrations across the country. One group of protesters kicked in the windows of the Congress building and set a fire that sent flames billowing out of the entrance, social media videos showed. Police officers sprayed tear gas at demonstrators and firefighters quickly put the blaze out, according to local news reports.

Russia’s health system under strain as the virus surges back (AP) When Yekaterina Kobzeva, a nurse at a preschool in Russia’s Ural Mountains, began having trouble breathing, she called an ambulance. It was four days before she managed to find a free hospital bed. She was only admitted after her story made local headlines. Russia’s health care system, vast yet underfunded, has been under significant strains in recent weeks, as the pandemic surges again and daily infections and virus death regularly break records. Reports in Russian media have painted a bleak picture in recent weeks. Hospital corridors are filled with patients on gurneys and even the floor. Bodies in black plastic bags were seen piling up on the floors of a morgue. Long lines of ambulances wait at hospitals while pharmacies put up signs listing the drugs they no longer have in stock. Russian authorities have acknowledged problems in the health system. President Vladimir Putin even urged regional officials not to paper over the situation, saying that “feigning the impression that everything is perfectly normal is absolutely unacceptable.” During the fall resurgence of the virus, the Kremlin has consistently pointed fingers at regional governors. Regional governors find themselves in an impossible position, explained political analyst Abbas Gallyamov. They face public frustration if they don’t impose tough restrictions and the outbreak continues to rage, and they face it if they do because they don’t have the funds to ease the pain of closures.

Azerbaijanis who fled war look to return home, if it exists (AP) As Azerbaijan regains control of land it lost to Armenian forces a quarter-century ago, civilians who fled the fighting decades ago wonder if they can go back home now—and if there’s still a home to go back to. An estimated 600,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced in the 1990s war that left the Nagorno-Karabakh region under the control of ethnic Armenian separatists and large adjacent territories in Armenia’s hands. During six weeks of renewed fighting this fall that ended Nov. 10, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself and sizeable swaths of the outlying areas. More territory is being returned as part of the ceasefire agreement that stopped the latest fighting. But as Azerbaijani forces discovered when the first area, Aghdam, was turned over on Friday, much of the recovered land is uninhabitable. The city of Aghdam, where 50,000 people once lived, is now a shattered ruin.

China to launch moon probe, seeking first lunar rock retrieval since 1970s (Reuters) China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth’s natural satellite since the 1970s. The Chang’e-5 probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect material that can help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation. The mission will test China’s ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions. If successful, the mission will make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, following the United States and the Soviet Union decades ago.

In Lebanon, army courts target anti-government protesters (AP) Khaldoun Jaber was taking part in an anti-government protest near the presidential palace outside Beirut last November when several Lebanese intelligence officers in plainclothes approached and forcibly took him away. The demonstration was part of a wave of protests sweeping Lebanon against corruption and misrule by a group of politicians who have monopolized power since the country’s civil war ended three decades ago. Jaber didn’t know it then, but Lebanese security forces targeted him because of his social media posts criticizing President Michel Aoun. What followed were 48 harrowing hours of detention during which security officers interrogated him and subjected him to physical abuse, before letting him go. “Three of my teeth were broken and I lost 70% of my hearing in my left ear,” Jaber said. A year after mass protests roiled Lebanon, dozens of protesters are being tried before military courts, proceedings that human rights lawyers say grossly violate due process and fail to investigate allegations of torture and abuse. Defendants tried before the military tribunal say the system is used to intimidate protesters and prop up Lebanon’s sectarian rulers. The trials underscore the growing perils of activism in Lebanon, where a string of court cases and judicial investigations against journalists and critics has eroded the country’s reputation for free speech and tolerance in a largely autocratic Arab world.

Palestinian rocket fire draws Israeli air strikes in Gaza (Reuters) Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel, drawing Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Sunday. There were no casualties reported on either side of the border. Israeli police said the Gaza rocket fired on Saturday night damaged a factory in the southern city of Ashkelon. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck in response against several military sites belonging to Hamas, the Islamist armed group that controls Gaza.

‘Save yourselves’, Ethiopia tells Tigrayans as it moves on rebel-held capital (Reuters) Ethiopia’s army plans to surround the rebel-held capital of Tigray region with tanks and may use artillery on the city to try to end a nearly three-week war, a military spokesman said on Sunday, urging civilians to save themselves. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which is refusing to surrender its rule of the northern region, said its forces were digging trenches and standing firm. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal troops have taken a string of towns during aerial bombardments and ground fighting, and are now aiming for Mekelle, a highland city of about 500,000 people where the rebels are based. The war has killed hundreds, possibly thousands, sent more than 30,000 refugees into neighbouring Sudan, and seen rockets fired by rebels into neighbouring Amhara region and across the border into the nation of Eritrea.

[the-record-newspaper]

The killing of Rhonda Hinson Part 49

James "Flash" Pruett and his wife Rhonda, as they embark upon a trail conducting them to the petroglyphs discovered near their home at Pahvant Butte in Fillmore, Utah.  It was snapped in July, 2015 by Ruth Riddle Jones.  

 An Encomium

 By LARRY J. GRIFFIN

Special Investigative Reporter

For The Record

 Editor’s note: This is the continuation of a series on the Dec. 23, 1981, unsolved murder of Rhonda Hinson.

 To James “Flash” Pruett—a foremost champion of the law of his generation…whom I shall ever regard as one of the best and wisest men whom I have ever known.—Adapted from, “The Final Problem,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

 As a tear trickled down his cheek, Detective James “Flash” Pruett silently slipped away into perpetuity on Saturday, March 14, 2020.  The time was 7:15 p.m.  

His wife, Rhonda, was by his side, as she has been over the last heart-rending months, weeks, and final days of her husband’s life struggle.  “I know he heard us,” Rhonda Pruett averred during conversation with this writer.  “He had been out of it the entire time. So yes, I talked to him and gave him jobs to do when he left….”

Ironically, the 69-year-old lawman died on the birthday of the Pruetts’ beloved dog, Paiute, that they lost just weeks ago.  “He died on her 14th birthday, Pi day,” Rhonda informed friends on her personal Facebook page.  

The former detective will be missed by a plethora of appreciative admirers for the impeccable, incomparable investigative work that he did relative to the Rhonda Hinson murder case—the proof of which can be found on the Remembering Rhonda Hinson Facebook page.  As of press time, over 9,400 friends and followers of the page have read the post announcing his demise, with over a hundred respondents offering their commiserations to Flash’s family and friends. And condolences continue to come.

Jill Turner-Mull—Rhonda Hinson’s best friend and lifelong activist for obtaining resolution for the 38-year-old murder case—was one of them. “This saddens me deeply but I do find comfort in knowing heaven gained an angel.  Big hugs and prayers sent to Rhonda and the family.”

Connie Barnes—Rhonda Hinson’s friend and indefatigable advocate for justice for the slain 19-year-old—agrees with Jill, “Heaven gained an angel for sure.”  Then she adds, “Thinking of his family and praying for their comfort in the days to follow.  You are our hero, Flash…your dedication to Rhonda’s case was the best.”

Mark Perrou—a friend of the Hinson family and activist for justice—directly addresses the detective who worked diligently to solve Rhonda’s case: “Thanks, Flash for being a loyal servant to the community.  Godspeed, Sir.”

Janis Mullis—a Hinson family friend and outspoken advocate for the resolving of Rhonda’s case—offers, “Many, many prayers for his family and much appreciation for his hard work that will live on!”

 Others write descriptively of Mr. Pruett’s professional prowess:

“--Absolutely the very best, trustworthy awesome intelligent detective I have ever known and I had the honorable luck of calling him and his equally precious beautiful and talented RN wife for my friends.”

“--I had the pleasure of working with Flash at BCSD.  He was a Great Detective and a very honorable man. This world needs more men like him. He will be missed greatly.”

“--So sad to hear this.  I met Flash and worked with him as an electrician.  A very smart and proficient individual not to mention a great guy.”

“--He was a very caring and kind officer, enjoyed working with him.”

“--I’m sorry to hear this.  He tried hard for Rhonda and her family to solve this murder.  God Bless you Flash—you were one of the good guys for sure!”

Still other respondents—far too numerous to enumerate—sent condolences, prayerful commiserations, and expressions of love to Detective Pruett’s wife, Rhonda, and the rest of his family.  

For Bobby and Judy Hinson, the detective was more than just a lifeline back to the investigation into the murder of their daughter, he was a friend.  Judy Hinson writes articulately about the man whom they felt cared the most:

“Flash was one of the finest people we have ever met.  There was never a time that he was too busy to talk to us.  He always answered any questions that we had.  He never made us feel like we were bothering him when we called the department and the times we called him at home.  Flash was always so kind and so caring.  Not only his family but all the people who knew him have lost someone that can never be replaced.”

Detective Pruett’s comprehensive investigation into the killing of Rhonda Hinson has become legendary.  As previously reported, Flash was officially assigned the case by Major Robert Lane and Lieutenant Greg Calloway on Friday Jan. 20, 1995, during the Richard Epley administration.  Gene Franklin was tasked with the responsibility to assist Detective Pruett in the continuation of the investigation.

Over the next five-years, Flash applied a systematic, logical approach to the conduction of his investigation—in contrast to the often inconsistent, inconstant efforts of most of his predecessors, as reflected in case documentation.  In an interview with News Herald staff writer, Jen Pilla, three-years after his assignment to the post of lead investigator for the Rhonda Hinson case, the detective articulated the course he would pursue throughout:  “When I was assigned to this case three-years ago, I decided it was time to go back to the basics and back to the crime scene itself.”

And back to the basics it was as he conducted interviews, tracked leads, and continuously examined and re-examined the totality of accrued evidence. Moreover, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1997, he initiated and assisted in the performance of an SBI ballistics assessment for the expressed purpose of ascertaining the trajectory of the projectile that killed Rhonda Hinson on the early morning of Dec. 23, 1981. He, along with a team of SBI agents, utilized a 1982 Datsun 210—similar to the 1981 Datsun 210 driven by the decedent—that the Hinsons had acquired and ceded to BCSD to be used to perform whatever testing deemed necessary.  

The results obtained from the ballistics assessment, as reported in the summary, forever dismissed any possibility that the shooting was done from Interstate 40, from Elmer Buff’s property, or from either embankment along Eldred Street/Hwy 350.  The conclusion?  Only a person standing on ground level and behind Rhonda’s car could have fired a shot that matched the calculated trajectory of the missile that extinguished her brief life.

 There were some “firsts” accomplished by Detective Pruett:  the assignment of significance to the articles found in Rhonda Hinson’s Datsun 210 that were not present when she left her parents’ residence to attend a company Christmas party on Tuesday evening, Dec. 22, 1981, and the first-ever interview of Mark Turner—Jill Turner-Mull’s boyfriend and Greg McDowell’s friend—over fourteen-years after Rhonda’s murder. Flash seemed convinced that the gray-hooded sweatjacket, belonging to Miss Hinson—that she left in Turner’s automobile, yet managed to be prominently displayed on the sundeck of Rhonda’s Datsun 210 on the morning she was murdered—was as a key to cracking this case. Turner, however, told the detective that he could not remember how it got out of his car and into that of the slain 19-year-old—an asseveration that Flash clearly did not believe.  

Detective Pruett also applied surveillance equipment to the investigation, as he leveraged the relationships that Mark and Faith Turner and Jeff Hinkle had with Greg McDowell, in an effort to capture incriminating statements offered by Rhonda Hinson’s former boyfriend while engaged in casual conversation.

On Tuesday afternoon Dec. 23, 1997, Detective Pruett—along with Sheriff Richard Epley and an entourage of others—interviewed Greg McDowell in his engineering office in Hickory.  He noted that the 34-year-old engineer admitted—for the first time—that he knew that Rhonda had called him from Sherry Pittman Yoder’s house, in contrast to his statement to law enforcement, proffered immediately following the murder, in which he maintained that he thought Rhonda was at home.  McDowell also informed Flash and the others that a pink snake, acquired during a Myrtle Beach trip and among the items found in Rhonda’s Datsun 210 on the day of her death, “stayed on his dresser at home.”  

Unfortunately, subsequent to a near-fatal automobile accident that occurred during Winter 2000, Detective Pruett’s days as lead investigator and employee at the BCSD were numbered.  While he was having back surgery to repair damage sustained in the accident, Flash was supplanted by Sheriff John McDevitt when he hired former SBI agent, John Suttle to head his criminal investigations division.  It was News Herald staff writer Cheryl Moose Bollinger [Shuffler] who reported the action in a Nov. 19, 2000, article entitled, “Retired Agent Back in Law Enforcement.”

Shortly after his return to the BCSD and not completely rehabilitated, James Pruett was afforded the option to resign or face the prospect of termination, according to statements that Flash made to this writer across several interviews.  A similar scenario was recounted by former Sheriff McDevitt when he admitted to the Hinsons, at a local restaurant in the Fall 2019, that he had to get rid of Flash because he didn’t think that he could do the work any longer.

Though Mr. Pruett admitted to being treated badly under McDevitt’s administration, he refused to castigate his fellow law enforcement colleagues who were instrumental in effecting his departure from the BCSD.  

One singular feature of Detective Pruett’s investigation that distinguishes it from those conducted by others, was his detailed notes that he assiduously recorded at the conclusion of every day that he worked the Hinson case. They not only offer descriptions of actions, procedures, and factual summaries of interviews with principals, they also provide insight into the detective’s hypotheses and questions yet to be answered.

Whether intended or not, Flash’s notes are reflective of the measure of the man himself—his characteristic dedication and compassion; and his respect and caring concern for Bobby and Judy Hinson.  Sometimes they bespeak his own very human, personal feelings which were otherwise masked beneath the stoic façade of a seasoned law enforcement officer.  None illustrates his inherent character better than the final paragraph of his detailed description of activities on what would have been the day of Rhonda Hinson’s birthday –Wednesday Dec. 13, 1995:

“The last thing I did today was to go by Rhonda’s gravesite.  I spent about five minutes there in prayer.  I could see the pain in Judy and Bobby’s faces when I was with them today, Rhonda’s 33rd birthday.  I could feel the weight of that pain on me at the gravesite.  It was especially hard on all of us today.

Though he was criticized for his “obsessive” attachment to the “most investigated case in Burke County history,” Detective James “Flash” Pruett persevered.  Some of his last sentiments expressed to this writer indicated his desire to leave the rehabilitation facility and continue—on his own time—the investigation into the killing of Rhonda Hinson.  

“There are things that I should tell you,” Flash declared to me. “But I can’t tell you right now and not here.”

In his final two months of life, while in the throes of Parkinson’s Disease, the quintessential detective was ready to resume the work toward achieving resolution to the 38-year-old murder case and obtaining a modicum of peace for the Hinsons.  

This is the “stuff” of heroes.

James “Flash” Pruett

August 16, 1950—March 14, 2020

[lamourthermidorienne]

Saint-Just Ch. 3 part 2 by Bernard Vinot

Educators and Courses

The courses were given by 2 or 3 Fathers and 9 or 10 Confraters (monks who didn’t make any vows of Priest.). Among them there was Confrater Lacoste, who was with Saint-Just at his 6ème*. There was Confrater Menneville, who’d taught him for another three years consecutively afterward. The beginning of his study at the College was brilliant. According to the Book (note: it didn’t mention what book), at the end of the 5ème*, he was committed the first prize about foreign language translation, and the second prize about reflection essay. At his Seconde*  he was taught by Confrater Pourpre, and before his years of philosophy** (1785-1786), his rhetoric was taught by Father Monier.

Saint-Nicolas College provided two choices for the students who’s in their years of philosophy - either “physics” or “logic”. Many of the students preferred the first option, since the College had an excellent and well-maintained laboratory. Saint-Just probably also made the same decision - later he would pride himself of the knowledge from this discipline. In his library we could find a treatise about Eléments d'arithmétique, which matched the program of this course. If as assumed, that he had followed the class of physicist Pruneau, then he certainly couldn’t have known Confrater Léon Silvy, who was a fervent supporter of new ideas and subsequently public prosecutor at the Laon Revolutionary Court. This man first came to the College in 1787, after the departure of Saint-Just. Did Saint-Just, as what Barère claimed in his memoir, meet with Daunon***? This man had taught logic in Soissons from 1783 to 1784. But Saint-Just was at that time only in his Seconde. In any case, they were certainly around each other, the college was formed as a big family.

Saint-Just’s teachers were young. When he attended their classes, Lacoste was 20, Menneville 23, Pourpre 24, Pruneau 30. Father Monier, the oldest among them was 32-year-old. These young men were almost all from the middle bourgeoisie, with very different backgrounds. They were sons of doctors, merchants, rentiers, officers or military. Around the future member of Convention, there seemed to be only those of outstanding. Daunou won the first prize in a competition organized by the Academy of Nîmes, in which he advocated for La Harpe, who had supported Enlightenment. Menneville would become the superior of L’Académie Royale de Juilly, the most remarkable one of the Orders (note: L’Ordre, not sure what Ordre it’s referring). Two competent directors led the College in the decade of 1780 - 1790: Pierre François Peyré, and then Sulpice de Molier, who came to Soissons in 1784, just as Saint-Just rose to the rhetoric class. However, the personage who left the strongest memory to Saint-Nicolas was the supervisor of education, François-Marcel Pruneau.

Father Pruneau had joined the Congregation of Oratoriens relatively late - it was at his age of 24. He had been ordained a priest when he was only 26-year-old. In 1780 (when Saint-Just entered his 5ème), he was appointed as a physics teacher in Soissons. From guiding and supervising the education, he found from 1781 a vocation at which he was excelling and to which he kept faithful until the dissolution of the Congregation. His nephew deposited in the Archive of the Oratoire a handwriting regulation, on whose flyleaf he noted: “This book was written by my uncle F.M. Pruneau (...) He endured the exile for the sake of his faith, for which he would go to the scaffold as if to his own bed. Additionally, when he had been forced to emigrate, he became the supervisor of education at Soissons College, where he provided significant supports through his respected capability and his educational skills. ” The satisfaction of the inspecting father in 1783 then was understandable: “We are edified by the spirit of peace and harmony, which, we can see, is ruling our community. We thank Heaven for the regularity which we have been able to establish here.” Between 1783 and 1787, the reputation of the institution led to an increase in the number of its boarders from 26 to 59, which reached the maximum of its capacity.

Some of his educational principles were not lack of style. Father Preuneau relied more on kindness than harshness, and would rather have excessively goodness than overly rigor. He avoid punishing students under the pressure of anger or passion, “which would not prevent me from speaking strict words when necessary.” - yet the words were without hurting. There wasn’t corporal punishment at all, and expulsion from the class should not be allowed without the notification from supervisors or superiors. The children should be educated regardless of financial circumstances or social status, as if they were all “Angels of God”. Father Monier advocated from his side: “With kindness, reason, and especially sentiment, we must be able to guide them well.”

In the newly constructed buildings which were “made of the curved stones”, 150 students were divided into eight divisions. They sat on the benches without desks, listened to their teachers who usually leaned on the lectern. For certain tasks, the so-called décurions would help them. These students would record the names of the absentee, enter the grades, remind the ten-people-group - for which they were responsible - of resting, paying attention, and reciting the lessons. They would report to the supervisors about “all the wrongdoings of the class, whether the teacher is there or not.'' The tasks would be done in a constant competition, both within the ten-people-group, and among the groups of one class. All the movements would be accompanied with the sounds of drums. Le lycée napoléonien would resume this custom later.

Throughout the 18th century, Soissons provided the education of sciences during the students’ years of philosophy. It included mathematics, physics, chemistry and natural sciences, In this city, the memory of Father Privat de Molières, who had been a friend of Malebranche and a member of the Academy of Sciences, was still vivid. Father Monier emphasized, that mathematics would train “the memory and the judgement”, and physics would not been diluted in the metaphysics. A donation was assigned for “the maintenance of the cabinet of physics”, and the library, which expanded every year, received in 1782 “three volumes from Sigand Delafon about Electricity…, and five volumes from Buffon”.

But literature remained the core of the courses, based on Latin and ancient history (mainly Roman), with rhetoric as its coronation: This would make well preparation for juridical or ecclesiastical careers. As it would also contribute to the art of political eloquence and convincing, we could conclude that Saint-Just, who would be outstanding on the tribune, had been influenced. In his Fragment d’Institutions républicaines, however, he advised against following the paths of traditional rhetoric. Rather, he gave the highest value to "laconism", to those who “know how to say a sublime word in danger, and who, by a wise harangue, save the fatherland, remind people of their manners, and unite the soldiers.” Saint-Just knew how to convince, it was true, yet it was thanks to an art which overthrew many academics and belonged only to him.

The Roman history seemed to have strongly impressed him even more, especially when the great, admired thinkers, like Fénélon and chiefly Montesquieu, elongated the echo. People taught a particular, first of all, edifying history of Rome: “One should” - like what Rollin, the rector of the University of Paris, had declared in his preliminary speech about education at the beginning of the century - “oppose to the torrent of the false principles and bad examples, which almost grasped everyone, the principles and examples of those great men of ancient times.” In fact, the good examples were only limited to a few heroic deeds and some admirable men. They to history were like the chosen pieces to literature. People intended to illustrating Christian values by using the virtuous works about those heroes of the pagan world. This was originated from Plutarch. When we saw how abundantly the revolutionaries drew from this, we would doubt if all of them penetrated the artificiality of the antiquity which the school had presented to them. The spiritual heritage of mythical Greece and Rome delighted young Saint-Just, and permeated him forever. “If he had known nothing about Sparta, he would still have been Saint-Just.” Georges Lefebvre wrote, “But one may assume that these models helped to contribute his severity and hardness.” Unfortunately, for that generation, the first modern translation of Thucydides' <History of the Peloponnesian War>, a work of political reflection and lucidity, appeared earliest in 1795.

Artistic activities completed the education in Soissons: “One should learn drawing”, Father Monier advised, “for in the long run of life, this ability would always be the source of a pure pleasure and a beneficial distraction for young men. One should learn dancing. This exercise would train your body, and one day, would make you elegance.” He also hoped that the children could “at least have a sense of music, if only to feel them and perceive their beauties.” They should learn singing, “if they have the voices”, or playing an instrument, preferably piano, because “the flute would make the chest tired”. In fact, Saint-Just did drawing and showed a talent which was admired by his surroundings, as evidenced by “a teenager’s head”- a school exercise which was donated to the museum of Carnavalet by his family. He also played music, his flageolet was conserved by the museum of Blérancourt.

Theater plays took place regularly in Saint-Nicolas, although the higher authority of Congregation had regarded them as a waste of time. The local authority and parents, however, placed great value to such public performances, which brought honors to the children. It was very likely that this tradition, which would still there in 1791, had been maintained in Saint-Just’s time. Here we may find the origin of his preference of Theater, as shown in his teenage years, as well as later, his very sure sense of declamation and its effective pauses.

Notes:

* It seems like 6ème is a lower grade compared with 5ème. Seconde is higher than both 6ème et 5ème. 

Quote from searching:

6ème – 11 to 12 years old

5ème – 12 to 13 years old

4ème – 13 to 14 years old

3ème – 14 to 15 years old

Seconde (CAP, BEP) – 15 to 16 years old

Première (CAP, BEP) – 16 to 17 years old

Terminale (BAC) – 17 to 18 years old

I guess Première & Terminale means so-called years of philosophy in the biography

** Corresponding to high school graduation

*** Pierre Daunou: Priest, teacher for students’ philosophy years, later moderate member of Convention. Chief of the French archive administration in 1804.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

His flageolet was in the museum of Blérancourt, REALLY???

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

The first thing I noticed when I walked into Michael Bloomberg’s campaign headquarters in downtown Los Angeles was the wall of terrariums. For one brief second I wondered, staring at the multitude of tiny, meticulously groomed succulents clustered on a bookshelf that ran almost half the length of a cavernous, industrial-chic loft, if I had somehow misstepped and stumbled into an Anthropologie. But there was the former New York mayor — or at least, a cutout of him, propped up across from a huge white wall plastered with campaign signs.

It was still early in the morning, but the Bloomberg bus had already pulled up outside to drop off a group of gun safety advocates who had been touring the state and talking to local leaders. Staffers were setting up for a private roundtable with a local prosecutor and a LA city council member who had recently endorsed Bloomberg, placing a “Bloomberg 2020” screen in front of a giant mural of a pink-skinned woman in sunglasses with rainbow hair, spelling out “LA” with her fingers. Still stunned by the opulence of the space, I asked Lys Mendez, a spokesperson for the Bloomberg campaign, where they had found so many terrariums. “Oh, it came this way,” she said, shrugging. “We had to ramp up in California so quickly — we just took the office space we could find.”

Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux

It’s hard to avoid thinking of Bloomberg’s bid as a kind of political science experiment — a test of whether an elderly, extraordinarily wealthy ex-Republican can run a competitive campaign almost entirely on the basis of his own advertising and a big, generously paid staff. That experiment will play out across the country this week, when Bloomberg will finally appear on the ballot after a bizarre campaign in which he entered the race late, skipped the four early states and focused instead on winning the trove of delegates that await on Super Tuesday.

And California is, in many ways, the maximal test of Bloomberg’s strategy. He’s invested a lot in other big Super Tuesday states like Texas, but California is the state where his dollars should carry him the furthest, because its media markets are so expensive and the state’s large, diverse population makes it hard to set up an effective ground game.

His spending spree has certainly gotten him somewhere in California. Bloomberg is now polling around 13 percent in California, according to our average, up from 4 percent in January. But Californians also love to tell you about the self-funded candidates who have tried — and failed — to spend their way into public office. Take Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, Michael Huffington or Al Checchi. After this Tuesday, we’ll know whether Bloomberg will join that inglorious pantheon or whether California’s unexpected contribution to the Democratic nomination process is the elevation of a self-funded billionaire’s candidacy.

Right now, it seems like Bloomberg will finish in third or fourth place even though he has spent tens of millions of dollars in the state. But after seeing Bloomberg’s swanky office, I wanted to find out how ordinary Californians were feeling about his campaign. After spending several days talking to voters across Los Angeles, one thing became clear: Bloomberg’s spending has bought him notoriety, but hasn’t translated into widespread enthusiasm.

It’s hard to find a Californian who’s not aware of Bloomberg’s run, thanks to his advertising blitz in the state over the past few months. Since the beginning of the year, he’s spent more than $36 million on television advertising alone. “I’d describe it as a bombardment,” said Khalid Maznavi, 39, who is supporting Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “He’s there whenever I turn on the radio or watch TV. And it’s been like that for weeks.”

Bloomberg has dominated the airwaves in California

The estimated amount of money each active Democratic presidential candidate spent on broadcast TV ads from Jan. 1 to Feb. 27, 2020, in California-based media markets, and the number of times their ads aired

Candidate Estimated Spending on TV Ads Number of Airings Michael Bloomberg $36,270,860 49,506 Bernie Sanders 5,540,490 10,246

Source: Kantar/Campaign Media Analysis Group

Fueled by Bloomberg’s bottomless fortune, the campaign has also quickly assembled an enormous outreach machine to reach California voters. According to research by FiveThirtyEight contributor and political scientist Joshua Darr, Bloomberg now has the biggest footprint in the state, with 25 field offices scattered across California — just barely topping Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has 23 field offices.1

His rapidly expanding team is well-compensated for its time. As recently as last week, his campaign was “urgently hiring” for organizers who would be paid $18 per hour, well above the state’s minimum wage. Bloomberg has also amassed a wide network of high-profile local supporters and endorsers — like San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Michael Tubbs, the millennial mayor of Stockton — even though Bloomberg is relatively new to California, having only opened his first office in the state two months ago.

But on the ground in Los Angeles, Bloomberg fans were surprisingly hard to find. Some of the glitzy events sponsored by the campaign were relatively sparsely attended, despite the lure of free food and drinks and even a live band. In many cases, the people at the events seemed to have been drawn more by curiosity than passion for Bloomberg’s message. At an event at a restaurant in Chinatown, Ed Choi, 44, told me that he had “kind of lost track” of the presidential primary after his first choice, Andrew Yang, dropped out. He was impressed that Bloomberg had taken the time to hold an event in Chinatown. “It’s the first time I’ve been to one of those, so that counts for something,” he said. But he said he was there with an open mind. “I just need to know more about where he stands on the issues.”

Paul Chen, a CPA who was schmoozing with one of the hosts of the Chinatown event, said that he hadn’t made up his mind yet either, but if he had to choose a candidate on the spot, it would be Biden. He dismissed Sanders with a sentiment that was widespread among attendees, who were largely local businesspeople. “I don’t like the way he’s all about everything being free,” Chen told me. But he added that he wasn’t yet convinced by Bloomberg either. “He’s got the financial backing, but I’m not sure he��ll be accepted by mainstream Democrats. That could be an issue.”

Each time I set off in search of Bloomberg supporters at events across Los Angeles, his press staff warned me to make sure I wasn’t talking to a campaign employee. Only volunteers were permitted to share their opinions with journalists. It was often a struggle to find someone who wasn’t paid to be there and willing to talk about their perspective on the record. Bloomberg’s campaign has recently hired hundreds of paid influencers to get out the word about his campaign on social media and via text message. And although people at candidate rallies or events are normally happy to chat with journalists, a surprising number of people refused to talk to me or let me use their names. One man nearly ran away when I said I was a reporter, saying he would never hear the end of it from his Sanders-supporting friends if word got out that he was considering Bloomberg.

By the time I did stumble upon a diehard Bloomberg fan, waiting outside a Los Angeles soccer stadium for a get-out-the-vote event, it felt like I had sighted a rare bird in the wild. Fabio Sabzevari, 25, told me with great enthusiasm that he had been volunteering in the Northridge office for two weeks. “It’s simple. I believe that he’s the moderate candidate who can win against Trump,” Sabzevari said. “And he’s got the resources to fight Trump’s multibillion-dollar disinformation machine. Who else in this race can do that?”

But Bloomberg’s ability to pour millions into his presidential bid was not a selling point for everyone. “It is mind-boggling to me that someone purporting to be acting under progressive ideals would be wasting millions and millions of dollars basically trying to force people to vote for him,” said Rhiannon Wilson, 22, a Sanders supporter. Wilson told me that her aversion to Bloomberg went well beyond his political stances. She said she was “disgusted” that he was trying to buy the nomination.

That attitude was far from unusual among the Californians I talked to. Tessie Borden, 53, who is supporting Warren, physically recoiled when I brought up Bloomberg. “I would not vote for that man. I think he’s a Republican plant,” she said. I asked her what she would do if he won the nomination. She shook her head a little and said, “I would write in Warren.”

Even if Bloomberg does overperform in California, that sentiment is one he’s likely to face in other states as the primary contest moves forward. Bloomberg is gambling that Democrats will be drawn to him because of his claim that he’s a candidate who can win. His spending spree is part of that appeal for some voters, who look at President Trump and wonder if he can only be defeated by another billionaire. But Bloomberg’s cash-fueled strategy also seems to be earning him genuine animosity in other corners of the Democratic base. And if his candidacy survives past Super Tuesday, it won’t be easy to convince those voters that he can be trusted.

Nathaniel Rakich contributed research.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

29th December >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 for The Feast of the Holy Family: ‘He settled in a town called Nazareth’.

Feast of the Holy Family

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

The flight into Egypt and the return to Nazareth

After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

I called my son out of Egypt.

After Herod’s death, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he left for the region of Galilee. There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled:

‘He will be called a Nazarene.’

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 2:13–15, 19–23

Take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazorean.

Reflections (4)

(i) Feast of the Holy Family

In the times in which we live, we are very aware of the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. Huge numbers of people have had to abandon their homes because of decisions of political rulers resulting in violent conflict. There are millions of refugees from Syria alone living in Lebanon, Turkey and various European countries. Many of those who have fled their homes to protect themselves and their families have been unable to gain access to countries that will afford them protection and the opportunity for a new life. The plight of refugees and asylum seekers poses a challenge that the more prosperous countries of the West have often struggled to respond to in a humane way.

Today’s gospel reading has a contemporary ring to it. The evangelist, Matthew, portrays the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus as having to flee their homeland, Judea, because of the murderous intentions of a local ruler, Herod the Great. Jesus is scarcely on this earth when his immediate future is determined by a brutal murderer. The family had to flee from Judea to Egypt which, at the time, was often looked to as a safe haven for displaced peoples. The enforced travels of this family did not cease with their arrival in Egypt. When Herod died, his son Archelaus became ruler in Judea and he wasn’t much better than his father. So, instead of returning to their home in Bethlehem of Judea, the holy family had to travel further north to Galilee, where they finally came to settle in Nazareth. There is something prophetic about these opening years of Jesus’ life, as portrayed in Matthew’s gospel. They point ahead to the adult life of Jesus when he would have nowhere to lay his head. His family’s forced flight from violent political rulers looks ahead to his crucifixion by another violent political ruler, Pilate.

Jesus began his life as a stranger, an outcast, in a foreign land and he died as a stranger, an outcast, on a Roman cross. In between these two moments, in the course of his public ministry, he identified in a very personal way with all strangers or outcasts. He once said, ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me…’ or ‘I was a stranger… and you did not welcome me’. When people asked ‘When did we see you a stranger?’ he replied, that what they did or did not do to the least of the members of the human family they did or did not do to him. As the Lord’s disciples, when we look at refugees and asylum seekers, we are looking upon Jesus himself. It is the Lord who calls out to us through them. When we hear the term ‘holy family’, we might instinctively think that this family was very different to ordinary human families. We might be tempted to think that this family was above what Shakespeare called ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’. Today’s gospel reading suggests that nothing could be further from the truth. The holy family were not spared the pains that touch every human family. Indeed, they experienced the vulnerability and danger that is the lot of many families who find themselves forced from their homes. As a people we have known the experience of forced exile at various moments of our history, in particular during the famine times of the mid nineteenth century. Perhaps, because of our own past story as a national family, we need to be especially sensitive to the plight of exiles and refugees who come among us. That verse that occurs more than once in the Old Testament has a special resonance for us as a people, ‘You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’.

Even though most of us have been spared that experience of forced exile, every family has its own distressing or disturbing story to tell. None of our families have been spared what one of the psalms calls ‘the valley of darkness’. The holy family has something to teach us in our own personal or family times of darkness. In our gospel reading, Joseph is very much to the fore. He is portrayed as someone who was open and responsive to the Lord’s presence and guidance in his family’s dark times. The Lord is as present to our families in our times of darkness as he was to Joseph and Mary’s family. Jesus reveals God to be Emmanuel, God with us, and God is with us, guiding us and protecting us, especially in our own difficult family experiences. The gospel reading suggests that Joseph showed great care for Mary and his young son in those turbulent and unsettling times. Joseph inspires us to do our best for one another within our own families when events come along that are very disruptive and disturbing. We can also look to Joseph to care for our own families when times are difficult. We can also look to him to take care of the family of the church. A renowned Protestant theologian by the name of Karl Barth once wrote ‘If I were a Roman Catholic theologian, I would lift Saint Joseph up. He took care of the child; he takes care of the church’.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of the Holy Family

 Christmas is very much a family time. Most of us will have made contact with our families over the Christmas. If we cannot meet up in person, we will phone, or email or write. We instinctively feel that Christmas is a time to make more of an effort that we might normally make to connect with each other within the family.

 Today we celebrate the feast of one particular family, the family of Jesus. We traditionally speak of this family as the holy family, and we usually think of it as a family of three, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Yet, these three would have thought of their family in a much wider sense. The extended family was very important in Jesus’ time and culture, as it is today in many parts of the world. There were aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, nephews and nieces in Jesus’ family. Luke tells us that when Joseph, Mary and Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover and Jesus stayed behind, Mary and Joseph went looking for him among their relatives, among their extended family.

 Many of us will have happy memories of our extended family. When I was a child, I was fortunate to have had two wonderful aunts who never married. Every Thursday they would come to our house with gifts for the children, and they would stay with us for a few hours while my parents went to the pictures. It was a night out for my parents and a treat for myself and my brothers. I am sure many people here this morning would acknowledge the hugely significant influence of members of the extended family on their own upbringing, whether it was the influence of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I wonder have we lost something of that value of the extended family today. Has the nuclear family retreated into a narrower, more private space? If so, we are loosing something important.

 In any close-knit group, tensions are inevitable, and the family group is no different. The family that we know as the holy family had their own tensions. When Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, the mother of Jesus asked him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety’. Most parents could identify with those words. Christmas can bring its own particular family tensions. There are pressures that are peculiar to Christmas. Family members can be in each other’s company more than they usually are at this time. All of that can bring its tensions. More often than not, these tensions can be eased by people going for a good walk.

 St. Paul’s words in today’s second reading addressed to the family of the church are pertinent for all family life. He calls on us to be clothed with sincere compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and then over all those clothes to put on the garment of love. This is the baptismal wardrobe. It is the wardrobe we need if tensions are not to develop into rifts. This wardrobe is not one we make for ourselves. It is given to us by the Lord; it is the fruit of his Spirit in our lives. We need to pray for this wardrobe, to ask the Lord to pour the Spirit afresh into our lives, to call on that Spirit to bear his rich fruit in our lives. To the extent that we put on these clothes, the peace of Christ will reign in our hearts and in our homes.

 Not only are tensions inevitable in families, so also is suffering and pain. For many families Christmas can be a very painful time. The pain of separation from family members who have died can be felt more keenly at Christmas time than at other times of the year. That separation can be due to death or to other reasons such as estrangement or physical distance. The general mood of celebration at Christmas time can make the pain within some families all the more pronounced. Today’s gospel reading reminds us that the holy family was no stranger to pain, suffering and loss. According to Matthew, this family were separated from their relatives and their home shortly after Jesus was born. They became refugees in a foreign land, wanting to return home but unable to do so because of the oppressive ruler in their land. The picture that is painted by today’s gospel reading is the reality for many of the refugee families in our midst this Christmas. Our attitude to such families makes a statement about our attitude to the holy family.

 The suffering of families who are native to this land will take different forms. Some families will have members who are seriously ill at this time, perhaps in hospital. The energies of family members will be going into supporting the sick family member. The exhortation at the end of today’s first reading is striking: ‘Support your father in his old age… do not despise him in your health and strength’. In our health and strength we are called to support the weak and the frail, in the knowledge that the day will come when our own health and strength will fail. Many a family is engaged in that work at this Christmas time. It is the Lord’s work, and they can be assured of the Lord’s help in the doing of it.

 The days are now starting to get longer, even though that is not yet obvious. As we look ahead towards a new day, towards a new year, we might ask ourselves if there are members of my family I need to connect with more fully. Today’s gospel reading describes a journey of the holy family away from home and then back towards home again. There may be journeys we need to make in order to find anew some family member who has drifted from us.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of the Holy Family

 It is not very often that the feast of the holy family, the first Sunday after Christmas day, coincides with Saint Stephen’s day. Christmas has always been a family time. Family members who are away make great efforts to get back home, and it has not been easy for family members to get home in the weather we have had. Those of us who have family members in Dublin and who may not get to meet up with them very often, make a special effort to visit them or have them visit us over the Christmas. There is something about this time of the year which brings families together and makes us want to communicate in some form with our family members. There is probably some connection between that desire we share to connect with our families at this time and the meaning of the feast of Christmas. At some deep level we understand that the feast of Christmas is the feast of a family. Jesus was born into a family; as well as his parents, Mary and Joseph, he had grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and so on. To be human is to be a member of a family, and today’s feast reminds us of the very simple truth that Jesus was first and foremost a family member.

 We speak of the family of Jesus as the holy family. The term holy when applied to Jesus’ family could have the effect of making us think of Jesus’ family as somehow removed from the ordinary experiences of most human families. Today’s gospel reading strongly suggests otherwise. After that very positive experience of the family of Jesus receiving honour and tribute from the wise men out of the east, they have to flee to Egypt to escape the murderous intentions of King Herod; then after Herod’s death they were unable to return to Bethlehem in Judea because Archelaus, one of Herod’s sons, was in control of Judea and he wasn’t much better than his father. The family instead had to go to Nazareth which was not in Judea but in Galilee where they finally settled. The picture Matthew gives us is of a family forced to move from place to place because of circumstances beyond their control. They had to make several unexpected journeys, journeys they would not have chosen to make. Things did not quite work out as they had hoped. This is the experience of most human families to one degree or another. So often in family life things don’t work as we might have expected or hoped. We end up in places we would not have wished to be. Suddenly the journey we find ourselves travelling as a family becomes much more complicated than we could possibly have anticipated. The equivalent of a Herod or an Archelaus appears out of nowhere and our carefully laid plans come to nothing. In so many respects we are not in control of our journey as a family; as in the case of Jesus’ family, external forces can impact on us in ways over which we have little or no control. What might have looked like a reasonably straight road turns out to have twists and turns that leave us wondering where exactly we are heading.

 The gospel reading suggests that the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph were no strangers to the darker side of human experience. Yet the gospel reading also shows that God was present at the heart of all their difficult experiences of displacement and homelessness. God’s presence is portrayed as the angel of the Lord who appeared to Joseph in his dreams, what we might call ‘Joseph’s angel’. This morning’s gospel also proclaims that God is present to every family as they try to negotiate the unexpected challenges and difficulties of their journey. There is a sense in which the Lord makes available to all of us the equivalent of Joseph’s angel. In celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas, we are celebrating the birth of Emmanuel, which means ‘God-is-with-us’. Christmas is the feast of God’s presence, and today’s feast of the holy family proclaims that God is present at the heart of all family life. Indeed we can go further and say that in virtue of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we are all members of God’s own family. In welcoming Emmanuel into our lives we become his brothers and sisters, who can look to God as Father, just as Jesus does, and to Mary as mother, just as Jesus does. In John’s gospel the risen Lord instructs Mary Magdalene to go to the disciples, saying to her, ‘Go to my brothers and sisters and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”’. As disciples of Jesus we are defined both by our membership of our blood family and our membership of that great spiritual family at the heart of which is Jesus, Emmanuel. Because we are part of that greater family we know that in the midst of the inevitable trials and tribulations of family life, God is present to us in and through his Son Jesus. Because God is present to us there is always the potential for great goodness and beauty even as we struggle with the darker forces that come our way. Joseph’s angel is never far from us. All we need is a listening heart to become attuned to Emmanuel, God-with-us.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of the Holy Family

 Christmas is a family feast. We make a special effort to gather as a family at this time of year. People travel long distances to be with their family. The tradition of family members sitting down regularly to share a meal together is not as strong today as it was in the past. Yet, dinner on Christmas day still tends to be a family affair. In the absence of family, people like to share table with friends. Perhaps the reason why Christmas is a family time is because we recognize that Christmas is a family feast. It is the feast of the birth of a son into a family. We tend to think of Joseph, Mary and their son Jesus as the family, but in that time and culture the extended family was hugely important. When Jesus was born, he was born into a large extended family of aunts and uncles, of cousins and grandparents. Luke’s gospel tells us that after Mary was told she would be the mother of a special child, she immediately went on a journey to visit her older cousin Elizabeth who was also with child. The traditional crib focuses just on Jesus and his parents but Jesus was born into a much larger family unit.

 Today’s feast prompts us to reflect about our own family, our mother and father, our brothers and sisters, our aunts and uncles and grandparents, and for those who are married and have started a family of their own, their spouses and children. As many of you know, my own family have roots here in Clontarf. My maternal grandparents lived on Oulton Road; their two daughters, my two aunts, went on living there up until the year 2000 or so. My own parents lived with my grandparents after they married and I was born from my grandparents’ house and remained there until I was two years of age. We all have been fundamentally shaped by our families, by our grandparents, our parents, our siblings, our aunts and uncles. We are all a mixture of the good and the not so good, a little bit like the field of wheat that has some weeds through it that Jesus speaks about in one of his parables. Our families too were a mixture of the good and the not so good. We have strong loving feelings towards our family but we probably have other, more negative, feelings as well. As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family we sense that none of our families are holy in the way that this family was holy.

 The adjective ‘holy’ can make us think that the life of this family was very remote from the lives of our own families. Yet, the gospels strongly suggest that this family of Joseph and Mary and Jesus and their relatives were not at all other-worldly. They knew the suffering, the struggles and the unpredictability of this earthly life. This morning’s gospel describes a family that had to flee from their home to another country to escape the murderous designs of the ruler under whom they lived. It has a very contemporary ring. We cannot help but think of all the families who have been displaced because of the brutality of war, especially the more than two million Syrian refugees, many of whom are now in Lebanon. According to the gospel reading, even when Herod the Great died, it still wasn’t safe for this family to return to Bethlehem because his son, Archelaus, wasn’t much better than his father. As a result the family had to move north to Galilee, to a relatively unknown town called Nazareth. The gospel reading suggests that Jesus’ early years were marked by great uncertainty and, even, danger. Yet, it seems that through all these hardships and difficulties this family remained a family of faith. Their relationship with the Lord remained primary in their lives. Their holiness showed itself in their openness to the Lord’s presence and call in the midst of their struggles. What helped them to keep their focus on the Lord and on his will for their lives must have been their awareness that they were part of a bigger family, the family of Israel, the family of God’s people, with its prayers, its Scriptures and its traditions.

 Today’s feast reminds us that although we are all members of a blood family, we also belong to a wider family, the family of God’s people, which for us is the church. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, sons and daughters of God. Like Mary and Joseph, we are part of a family that has its Scriptures, its prayers, its traditions, its great company of good people, living and dead. In today’s second reading Paul is addressing himself to this wider family of the church. It is a beautiful reading that is really a charter for living in this wider family. It is our belonging to this wider family that helps us as individuals and as members of our blood families to keep the Lord in focus, regardless of what comes our way in life. For all its failings, this wider family is the Sacrament of Christ, the place where we encounter the Lord and where we can imbibe his way of life, those values which sustain and direct us in our own experiences of displacement and struggle.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or  revmartinhogan@gmail.com

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[dailytomlinson]

Louis Tomlinson may be one-fifth of one of the biggest boybands in the world, but there's so much more to know about the singer than the fact he was in One Direction. Now that he's getting on with his solo music career - AND just dropped his amazing new single 'Two Of Us', Louis is a major household name across the world.

Here's everything you need to know about Louis Tomlinson:

1) Louis’s middle name is William.

2) Louis Tomlinson was born on Christmas Eve in 1991.

3) Louis is the oldest member of One Direction. He’s 13 months older than second eldest Zayn Malik.

Check out One Direction through the years: View Gallery 11 photos 1 / 11 One Direction © Shutterstock One Direction auditioning on The X Factor One Direction formed on The X Factor in 2010. All five members auditioned as individual contestants and were put together as a group by Simon Cowell.

4) Louis Tomlinson's star sign is Capricorn. Apparently, typical Capricorns live by the motto, ‘Slow, steady and win the race.’

5) Louis was brought up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Other famous people who hail from the town include Jeremy Clarkson, Kevin Keegan and Brian Blessed!

Jeremy Clarkson JEREMY CLARKSON AND BRIAN BLESSED © SHUTTERSTOCK 6) Louis once said that he is a big fan of girls who eat carrots!

7) If Louis had a superpower, he would be able to fly.

8) Louis’s favourite band is The Fray.

9) Louis’s favourite song of all time is ‘Look After You’ by The Fray.

10) Louis’s celebrity crush is Natalie Portman and his man crush is Robbie Williams - who he recently sat next to on The X Factor judging panel.

11) He also once said that Robbie is his biggest role model, telling Metro Radio "I’ve got a massive musical icon and that’s Robbie Williams. We actually got to sing with him on The X Factor and it was absolutely amazing."

X Factor ROBBIE WILLIAMS, AYDA FIELD, LOUIS TOMLINSON AND SIMON COWELL © SHUTTERSTOCK 12) Louis has approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds of solos on ‘Up All Night’ – the second least behind Niall Horan.

13) Louis auditioned on The X Factor by singing a version of Plain White T’s ‘Hey There Delilah’. He got a clean sweep of yeses from the judges.

14) Louis's parents are Johannah Deakin and Troy Austin. They split up when Louis was young, and he eventually took on his stepfather Mark Tomlinson’s surname. Johannah sadly passed away in 2016, Louis paid tribute to his mum on the anniversary of her passing.

15) Louis has five younger half-sisters - one on his father's side (Georgia), and four on his mother's side (Charlotte, Félicité, and twins Daisy and Phoebe).

16) When he was just 11-years-old, Louis had a role as an extra on ITV drama_**_ Fat Friends. His newborn sisters Daisy and Phoebe starred as babies on the show.

17) Spurred on by his appearance on Fat Friends, Louis attended acting school in his spare time and eventually had small parts in 2006 ITV drama If I Had You! and Waterloo Road.

18) When he first auditioned for The X Factor, Louis was a sixth form student at Hall Cross School in Doncaster.

19) Louis also attended The Hayfield School in Doncaster, but dropped out when he failed his first year of A-levels.

20) Louis had a number of part-time jobs before The X Factor, including working at a local cinema and as a hospitality waiter at Doncaster Rovers Football Club.

21) As a student, Louis played the lead role of Danny Zuko in a high school production of Grease. He says playing the part gave him the confidence to audition for The X Factor.

22) When he was younger, Louis wanted to work on a farm.

23) Louis would love to copy Michael Jackson and have a pet monkey. He said, "I'd like to adopt a chimpanzee and build an eternal friendship, that would be amazing."

24) Louis’s favourite colour is dark red.

25) Louis is a big fan of Las Vegas rockers The Killers. After seeing them perform at V Festival, he tweeted, "Watching Mr Brightside live last night was unbelievable. LOVED The Killers!!"

Louis Tomlinson ✔ @Louis_Tomlinson Watching Mr Brightside live last night was unbelievable. LOVED The Killers !!

22.8K 6:09 PM - Aug 20, 2012 Twitter Ads info and privacy 30.4K people are talking about this 26) Louis suffers from a ringing noise in his right ear. Although yet to be officially diagnosed it’s thought it could be tinnitus which can lead to deafness if untreated. He once said, "I am going slightly deaf in my right ear. It’s tinnitus, something like that," before joking that it was because of screaming fans.

27) According to his bandmates, Louis has the smelliest feet in One Direction! Niall once said, "Louis wears plimsolls with no socks so his feet get very sweaty and the sweat is captured. If we are on a bus or something and he takes them off we all pretty much start gagging."

28) Louis was given a telling off by police when filming the ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ video Los Angeles in July 2011 for his erratic driving. Afterwards, he explained, "I got pulled over by the US police. They thought I was all over the place. The officer goes, 'Listen, man, I can shut this thing down if you carry on driving like this. You're driving like a maniac.' And I was like, 'Man, put the gun down. I don't want no trouble.'"

WATCH: One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful (Official Video)

29) Louis says that he and his 1D bandmates are like brothers. Admitting that they occasionally bicker, Louis told Digital Spy, "Because we're around each other so often it's like arguing with your siblings. You fall out with them, go away and have a bit of a paddy, then come back and get over it."

30) Just like Zayn and Harry Styles, Louis supports Manchester United Football Club.

31) Louis’s favourite track on ‘Up All Night’ is the Ed Sheeran-penned track ‘Moments’. The track appears on the deluxe version of the record.

32) If Louis could give anyone a tip when auditioning for The X Factor it would be "just be yourself and really try and get your personality through in your song choice and interview."

33) Louis once owned a Porsche Boxster and sold it on eBay in 2012 for £30,000.

34) When Zayn’s ex-girlfriend Rebecca Ferguson took to Twitter to complain about being overworked by her management, Louis had very little sympathy! He wrote in a now-deleted tweet, '@RebeccaFMusic Success is impossible without proper hard work.'

Rebecca Ferguson REBECCA FERGUSON © SHUTTERSTOCK 35) Louis loves to party! He once told TOTP magazine, "To be honest, I’m sure the majority of 20-year-olds go out and party. I’m not going to feel oppressed."

36) Louis is a giver and not a taker. In fact, there’s nothing he enjoys more than giving his friends and family presents. His late mum Johannah once told Sugarscape, "He’s not a materialistic person himself, but he likes to give people things. He spoils me and the girls and he's happiest doing that."

37) Louis once said that he likes snuggling up in bed with one of the One Directioners... HARRY! He said, "A few weeks ago I made a cup of tea, then went and got in bed with Harry and we watched a show called something like The Top 50 Boybands Of All Time." Nice!

38) Apparently, Louis has revealed that his least favourite food is baked beans.

39) Louis once said his favourite country is France.

40) Louis is an avid fan of surfing. In fact, he loves the beach so much he says he’d like to get married on one.

41) It takes over 30 minutes for Louis to get his hair ready in the morning.

42) Louis admits he’s a really bad cook. Despite this, he appeared alongside Harry in a cooking segment on This Morning in September 2011.

Louis Tomlinson HARRY AND LOUIS WITH THIS MORNING PRESENTER RUTH LANGSFORD IN 2011 © 

43) One of Louis's favourite mottos is, "Live life for the moment because everything else is uncertain."

44) The two traits Louis looks for in a girl are confidence and a good sense of humour.

45) In 2011, his mum Johannah and stepdad Mark split up. Speaking about his mum, Louis said, "It must be so much harder for her because I’m living this fantastic life and being so busy every day whereas she’s still in the old life I was in but without me... It must be really difficult for her not to get upset."

46) Louis’s pet hate is when people chew their food too loudly.

47) Louis has size 10 feet.

48) A man who works in the music industry once tried to have a snog with Louis! "It was a press guy.... he just started going in for a kiss!" said Louis.

49) Louis loves Marmite and has big dollops of it on his toast.

50) Louis admits that he’s a messy person. In fact, he hasn’t met anyone who’s messier than him!

51) Louis is pretty decent on the piano and he loves to play ‘Mr Brightside’ by The Killers.

52) Louis says he’ll "never get used to" the adoration he receives from fans. He once said, "At the end of the day we’re doing something that we really love and to be appreciated for that is really nice."

53) Louis’s favourite TV shows are Misfits and One Tree Hill.

54) If Louis wasn’t a multi-million selling pop megastar, he reckons he’d be training to be a drama teacher.

55) If Louis could visit any planet it would be... Narnia. Erm, it’s a fictional place Louis!!

56) Louis hates rumours, especially when they involve Harry and himself. In a Tumblr interview he explained, "Me and Harry are best friends, people look into our every move. It is actually affecting the way me and Harry are in public, We want to joke around but there seems to be a different rumour every time we do anything."

Louis Tomlinson LOUIS AND HARRY SINGING TOGETHER IN 2015 

57) Louis is prone to sleepwalking and once tried to get into Niall’s bed!

58) Louis once said that if a movie was made about his life, he’d like Leonardo DiCaprio to play him.

59) The first time Louis ever spoke to Harry was in the toilet at The X Factor auditions in Manchester.

60) Louis is a big fan of silly string! He’s sprayed it on stage at gigs, press conferences and even at a security guard who refused to let him speak to fans.

61) When he was 14, Louis played lead guitar in a band called The Rogue with his schoolmates.

62) When One Direction formed, Louis’s big ambition was to go "straight to the top." Proof that dreams come true!

63) In August 2012, Tulisa prank called Louis during a live webchat. When Louis answered she spoke to him in a Donald Duck voice in front of thousands of viewers. The N-Dubz star tweeted afterwards, 'soz babe we had 2 get ya! Thanks 4 being a laugh n entertaining us!'

Tulisa ✔ @officialtulisa @Louis_Tomlinson soz babe we had 2 get ya! Thanks 4 being a laugh n entertaining us!

266 8:23 PM - Aug 5, 2012 Twitter Ads info and privacy 579 people are talking about this 64) Louis was fined £80 for speeding on the way to V Festival in 2012. It’s reported that he was going 48mph in a 40mph zone. He’ll also get three points on his licence. Ouch!

65) Despite having smelly feet, Louis is a big fan of shoes! His favourite types are chinos and Toms.

66) Another of his favourite mottos is "live fast, have fun & be a bit mischievous."

67) If Louis was Simon Cowell for the day, he says he’d go on a date with Susan Boyle.

After his successful stint on last year's The X Factor, Louis delighted his fans in March when he dropped his amazing new single 'Two Of Us'.

The song, which is adored by fans, is a tribute to Louis' late mum Johannah Deakin. Johannah left behind seven children, including Louis, at the end of 2016, when she lost her battle with an aggressive form of leukaemia at the age of just 42.

Louis' track 'Two Of Us' features the lyrics, "I know you'll be looking down, swear I'm gonna make you proud. I'll be living one life for the two of us."

The article was followed by a tweet:

[rorthomas]

Did you know that SOPHIE TURNER has a doppelganger? I swear AURORA “RORY” THOMAS looks just like them! SHE is a 23-year-old that identifies as FEMALE and is a SCRIPT SUPERVISOR for a living. They were born in BRISTOL, ENGLAND and can be SYMPATHETIC, but also ANXIOUS at times. They hang out around HUNTINGTON CENTER a lot, so make sure to say hey if you see them there! 

death tw, anxiety tw

Rory was born in Bristol, England, to Aurora and David Thomas. The couple was pretty young and very happy, but unfortunately, Aurora suffered a lot of blood loss during the birth and passed away. David was devastated, and to honor his late wife, changed their daughter’s intended name from Emma to Aurora. Rory for short.

It wasn’t very long until David met Demarcus Childs, an artist from America, that had been living abroad in England for a few years. He was hesitant to commit to anything, with Rory so young and the idea of being with a man so new to him, but he entered into a relationship with Demarcus nonetheless. They were married within a year and affectionately became Papa and Daddy to their young daughter.

Demarcus made good money with his art, often selling his work to private galleries, and David wrote for a local news station that also kept them pretty comfortable. They always had more than enough to get by, but you wouldn’t know that from talking to anyone in the family. They were all extremely humble, exemplified by how sheltered Rory was. Since they lived frugally, Rory never really went out and did... well, anything. She went to school and came back home, avoiding all social obligations and extra circulars. Demarcus, her dad, sometimes voiced his concerns about how withheld their daughter was, offering up the potential of maybe encouraging her to join a club or sport at school to get past her social anxiety. David, her papa, disagreed; he never wanted to push Rory’s comfort zone, out of fear of making her uncomfortable or putting her in a dangerous situation. Being so, Rory never really had much of a bond with anyone other than her fathers. She was riddled with nerves any time she did anything, but in the comfort of her own home, she was very happy.

When Rory was twenty-one, they moved from their home in Bristol out to Los Angeles, California. David had gotten an offer to write for a new medical drama show, and Demarcus was more than happy to relocate back home to be closer to his family. It was a big change for Rory, but she wouldn’t have dreamed of staying back. She couldn’t make it without her fathers.

For a while after moving, she never left the house. She’d attempt to grocery shop for the family when her fathers were at work, sometimes Uber to see her grandparents an hour or so away, but she didn’t like to. Going anywhere, especially without her parents, stressed her out so much. Finally, her papa started to see how badly she was affected by staying at home constantly. Her social anxiety started scaring him too. So he gently suggested she start coming to set with him every day to work as a script supervisor - or, basically, hold a script off-stage and give lines to actors whenever they need it. She doesn’t love it at all, especially not when it comes to correcting people on their lines, but working two feet away from her papa is more ideal than anything else. She’s putting up with it.

Though she’s been here for a year or so, Rory still has very little personal connections. She’s intimidated by meeting new people and avoids it at all costs usually, though working almost every day is helping to calm her down a little bit. She has a small number of people that she considers friends and is comfortable going out and about with, but she relies on them just as heavily as she does on her parents. A support system is absolutely crucial for her.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

STARTUP IN A PROGRAM IN AMERICA

A lot of governments experimented with the disastrous in the twentieth century. You need a great university to seed a silicon valley? And you had better have a convincing explanation of why your technology would be hard to duplicate. It comes with a lot of economic history, and I understand the startup world pretty well, and it booted. In 1970 you were still supposed to get a job with both measurement and leverage. I'm not sure how much credit to give him. His response was to launch Wittgenstein at it, with dramatic results.

What was I? It seemed obvious that beauty, for example, in America people often don't decide to go to work for some existing company. Usually the limited-room fallacy is not expressed directly. It's easy to measure how much revenue they generate, and they're expected to spackle over the gaps with gratuitous transitions Furthermore. It didn't work out as I'd hoped. But that wears off after a few months. There are no meetings or, God forbid, corporate retreats or team-building exercises. Because how much you learn in college depends a lot more in common than this, of course. A conditional is an if-then-else construct. College was regarded as job training where I grew up, so studying philosophy seemed an impressively impractical thing to do. So about half the founders from that first summer, less than two years ago, are now rich, at least by their standards. And of course if Microsoft is your model, you shouldn't be looking for companies that hope to win by writing great software.

It probably takes five years, on average probably a higher compliment than when an idea is described as crazy, it's a compliment—in fact, to anyone who wanted to make web apps work like desktop ones. A programmer, for example. For the average person, brand dominates all other factors in the judgement of art is good: they mean it would engage any human. Even if you could read the list in any order. Wealth is not the same thing as money. It's not super hard to get a certain bulk discount if you buy the book or pay to attend the seminar where they tell you how great you are. There have only been a handful of commonly used ones: TCP/IP. Whereas when you hand people a complex tool like a computer, the variation in what they liked. This is particularly true with startups. How can Larry and Sergey seem to have felt the same before they started Yahoo. After that we became comically eager to sell.

People's preferences aren't random. It was not till around 1600 in Europe, where the center of gravity had shifted by then that one found people confident enough to treat Aristotle's work as a catalog of mistakes. For example, if your company wants to write some software, it might be a sign of variation in productivity. People who fall victim to a monotonically increasing confidence in their opinions are implicitly concluding the world is going. For example, while anyone's reaction to a piece of art would be, you can probably make yourself smart too. Eleven people manage to work together in quite complicated ways, and yet only in occasional emergencies does anyone tell anyone else what to do. Business types prefer the most popular languages because they view languages as standards. But rebelling presumes inferiority as much as, say, silver, which you can then gradually turn into a product business. I still think 23 is a better age than 21. This singularity is even more singular in having its own defense built in. It was as if someone had brought up the topic of lung cancer in a meeting within Philip Morris.

But the incentives are more than just that some startup might have a problem firing someone they needed to. That's the difference between a startup and failed over someone who'd spent the same time working at a low intensity for forty years, you work as hard as you can. It was as if someone had brought up the topic of lung cancer in a meeting within Philip Morris. 6 of 8 subjects had lower blood pressure after the treatment. Gradually it will re-emerge. If Internet startups offer the best opportunity for ambitious people, then a smart hacker working very hard without any corporate bullshit to slow him down should be able to set up local VC funds by supplying the money themselves and recruiting people from existing firms to run them, only organic growth can produce angel investors. Maybe, though the list of n things so much? But that world ended a few years unless the university chooses to grant them tenure. But if audiences have a lot in common, it turns out you can pick out some people and say that they have better taste than people who didn't. Om Malik is the most dangerous company now by far, in both time and space. The field is a lot younger than it seems.

In particular, they don't seem to be different is my approach. And yet you won't be able to use them. Suppose a company makes some kind of need. Don't realize what you're avoiding One reason people who've been out in the world. Instead think about why they're asking for something, and see if there's a better way to give them what they ask for, so long as you want. One place this happens is in startups. But that is at least a precedent. You can start by writing things that are imprecisely defined. Our fathers weren't that stupid. So there is obviously not a fixed pie. Most people who buy SUVs do it to seem manly, not to drive off-road. Those who bet on economies of scale.

They'll learn a lot, and that job at Microsoft will still be waiting for them if they need it. This is in contrast to Fortran and most succeeding languages, which distinguish between expressions and statements. 1/n 2 founder, where n is your employee number. But it should help. Startup founder is not the sort of people will make them so. There's no better time to take risks than when you're young. Microsoft is remarkable among big companies in that they are able to develop software in house.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Neil Rimer, Emmett Shear, Peter Norvig, and Jessica Livingston for smelling so good.