#also Bates and Anna are the best

[sir-griswold-of-macelwain]

OK so I think the only way for season 7 to work is if there's a substantial timeskip. I don't necessarily mean "let's go straight to 1940 and have WW2", but at least eight years or so. Have the grandkids be teenagers (well the three eldest anyway). Not as old as Rose, so it gives us another kind of storyline, but old enough to start taking their place in society while still being outside of it.

Give us Mary feeling anxious over George's incoming coming of age and the fact she'll have to rule over the estate with him since I'm pretty sure he owes like half of it. Give us Lucy doing her best to keep Sybbie in check but it's hard, man, it's super hard, to control a teenage girl who's not your daughter but also is. Give us Edith juggling the magazine and the marchioness title as well as she can, perhaps planning to hand the magazine over to Marigold when she becomes an adult, since it was Gregson's. Heck, give us Marigold learning who she is!!! Give us Johnny Bates and Caroline Talbot friendship. Give us Talbot & Branson motors news! Have they gone into production now? Are they still car salesmen? What about a secret, seventh grandchild? After all, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that Mary, Edith or Lucy would have become pregnant again during the timeskip!

Give us the Three oldest grandkids start getting involved in politics! once Robert dies, it's George who will have a seat in Parliament! Sybbie literally can't not have a political opinion of some sort, with her heredity, or make her not give tuppence about politics and Tom being despaired by it! And for the absolutely cruel, dramatic irony, have Marigold be the one (there's always one in series happening during the rise of fascism) who's seduced by the fascist ideals! And then discover her bio dad was killed by brownshirts! And then have a crisis!

Give us Atticus and Rose coming back from America, perhaps because Lord Sinderby died and Atticus inherited the title! Give us Atticus and Rose with more children born in the mean time! Give us Robert being convinced there won't be a war and Cora not being so sure, and give us Daisy who runs for the local elections as a joke and becomes Downton's first labour party mayor! Give us Anna Bates being trained by Mrs Hughes to take her place when she retires (she can't afford to retire because of her sister, sure, but what about the B&B she opened with Carson? give us news of that, too!!).

Anyway i'm starting to ramble about everything i hope will happen instead of just things I think would make it a good set up but also I'm cautiously optimistic while also being super thrilled it's happenign!!!!

[manderleyfire]

hey! may i ask an expert! do you know any tv couples with a proper age gap? but like in a realistic non-vampire-robot-zombie-bullshit way? there's lots of cinema examles that i love A Perfect Murder, Autumn in New York, In the Line of Fire and many many old hollywood ones but i struggle to find a HEALTHY tv age gap representation!

hi to you, too!

i thought to start with ‘succession’ but you capslocked ‘healthy’, lol (mad men’s joan x roger is also out for the same reason, i guess)

the most realistic example that comes to my mind is anna and bates from bates motel from ‘downton abbey’? but from what I remember, they are as boring as beans. (i try to recollect some other costume tv dramas for reasons (for like some obvious historical esp premodern europe historical reasons) but im failing at doing so, lol. only ‘detective anna’ is there in my corner! it’s a silly supernatural mystery drama about a bright rich young girl, who’s using her power as a medium to help a sophisticated world-weary sassy detective solve crimes! it’s utterly soap-y but wonderful, tbh)

the only proper ship that has it all — the chemistry, the right pace, the development, the ups and downs of having a romantic relationship with a big difference in age — is mark and lexie from ‘greys anatomy’; hands down the best plot twist-y couple who organically became one of the lead ships of the show.

but unfortunately an age gap ship rarely happens to be a main couple? and even if they are, it’s 99% temporarily just to help to prop up the lead pair/love interest? (richard x monica from ‘friends’ for example (btw they ARE one the ‘healthiest’ age gap tv representation, if you ask me); or deb x special agent what’s his name from ‘dexter’). the B plot couples sometimes are superior to the A plot couples for sure, but i can’t recall a fitting example in our case.

however the ao3 exists for a reason & that’s why i can’t pass by skye x coulson from ‘agents of shield’ (even if they are considered as ‘canon divergence’ by the main audience not me tho); if abc wasn’t a bunch of chickens we would’ve had not only a masterfully written zombie x alien super spies crazy in love dynamic but also the most remarkable age gap representation that’s ever graced television. but but but 🥲

[burningvelvet]

I love the Romantics (esp 2nd gen) and was wondering where you learn more about them outside an academic setting?

I am by no means an expert, but I will try to answer by using stuff that has helped me!

For books, I highly recommend Young Romantics: The Shelleys, Byron and Other Tangled Lives by Daisy Hay as an introduction to the second generation Romantics. My only complaint is that it leaves out a ton of entertaining stuff imo, but it’s meant to be brief. It isn’t available for free anywhere afaik, but it’s very worth buying. It gives an overview of the movement & explains how all the key figures are interrelated in a very clever way. For biographies imo the best on Byron is Byron: a Portrait by Marchand, most agree the best on Shelley is Shelley: The Pursuit by Richard Holmes, most agree the best on Mary is Miranda Seymour’s Mary Shelley, & the best on Keats is (more arguably?) John Keats by Walter Jackson Bates. For critical analysis on the works, it’s best to research on a case-by-case basis (there are literally thousands of books & papers analyzing Frankenstein… I shudder to think of attempting to read even half of them).

This link to the BARS Blog "Romanticism: online resources list" -- https://www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=2900 -- is a fantastic resource list by Dr. Anna Mercer who is an important Romanticist. She wrote a work called The Collaborative Literary Relationship of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (2019) which is also one of my favorites & I highly highly recommend it as well.

Other good resource guides: 1 University of Texas at Arlington Romantic Resources under the internet & lib headings https://libguides.uta.edu/romantic/resources 2 Jack Lynch of Rutgers Romantic resources list https://jacklynch.net/Lit/romantic.html 3 Uni of Pittsburgh Romantic research guide under the links heading https://pitt.libguides.com/romanticism/links 4 Queen's Uni Romantic research guide https://guides.library.queensu.ca/engl340/websites

Having access to databases and libraries really helps, but those are academic (unless you have a public library—if so, pls use it). If I’m researching a broad topic I sometimes start through Wikipedia & go from there, searching for what information I need by “phrase searching” on Google.

IMPORTANT ADVICE: this will all feel very overwhelming and confusing at first! I highly suggest just picking a work or a writer, finding something that really interests you, then learn more about it/them if you’d like, & just continue from there as a starting point. For me: I knew a *little* about these writers, and I’ve always loved Frankenstein, but I didn’t start any heavy Romantic research until I read Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by Lord Byron, specifically Canto III, which is considered one of his best works and one of the key Romantic works in general. It really shook me to my core. I believe I discovered it from the Wikipedia page on the “Byronic Hero” concept (which stemmed from Childe Harold). I really just went down the rabbit hole from there… and I don’t know how I got here…

Good luck on your journey, and thx for the ask!

Btw — despite being an English Lit major, I haven’t actually studied Romanticism in any of my classes sadly! I just haven’t had the opportunity or it hasn’t come up; my program is mainly based on modern topics though, and so most of us only get to take a few historical classes. But my research on this has been independent. The first gen Romantics have been briefly discussed in one or two of my classes, and Frankenstein has featured in a lot of my classes, but that’s in a league of it’s own really—it’s one of the very few classic novels that most Americans are familiar with tbh!

[angelswing236]

"We can't do this on our own."

Fictober 2023

Category: Fanfiction

Fandom: Downton Abbey

‘Oh, my goodness,’ Anna said, her hand going to her mouth as she stared at the body on the bed. ‘He’s… he’s dead. He’s really dead.’

‘Yes. I told you he was,’ Mary said, standing beside her maid, also staring at Pamuk’s body, lying exactly where and how she left him when she ran upstairs to get Anna.

‘I know, but… well, I hoped…’

‘What? That he would resurrect like Jesus?’

‘No. That you were wrong.’ Anna swallowed, unable to rip her eyes from the body. ‘What do we do?’

‘We have to move him. We have to take him back to his own room,’ Mary said, not taking even one step closer to the dead man in her bed.

Anna shivered, unwilling to touch him.

‘Right. Well. Let’s… let’s see if we can’t get him between us,’ Mary said stoutly, mustering up her courage.

‘But he’s…’

‘What?’

‘Naked,’ Anna said, wrinkling her nose.

‘Well, yes.’

‘I’ve never seen a naked man before. Let alone touched one,’ Anna confessed.

‘Well, I don’t think he’ll mind you touching him. Not now. And probably not before, come to think of it,’ Mary snapped, anxiety getting the better of her.

‘Still, milady. It doesn't seem right,’ Anna pressed, deeply reluctant to touch the late Mr Pamuk.

‘Well, we can wrap him in a sheet or something! But we must move him, Anna! And we have to do it now!’ Mary hissed, not relishing the task herself. ‘Please! I need your help!’

Anna set her jaw, deciding it was best just to get on with it and not think about it. ‘Right, let’s do it then.’

Gratitude flooding through her, Mary walked up to the bed, girding her loins to deal with the situation.

‘Let’s try and turn him over.’

Anna nodded, coming to stand beside her.

Mary put her hand on the corpse’s shoulder and pushed gently. Mr Pamuk did not budge, not even an inch. She looked up at Anna helplessly.

‘Push him harder,’ Anna said, reaching for his arm, flinching at the feel of flesh that already felt cool to the touch. Don’t panic, she told herself, trying to quell the feeling of revulsion. It’s just because he’s naked on a cold night in March, that’s all.

Mary pushed again at his shoulder as Anna lifted the arm draped over the side of the bed.

Mr Pamuk wobbled a bit and then faceplanted onto the bed, his wide, open eyes staring sightlessly at the wall.

‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God! He’s so heavy!’ Mary whispered, panic edging into her voice. ‘How are we going to get him all the way over to the Bachelor’s Corridor if we can’t even turn him over?’

Anna bit her lip. ‘We can’t. We can’t do this on our own. We have to get help.’

‘Help? Who on earth can we get to help us, Anna?’ Mary squawked, her heart thumping at the thought of more people knowing her shame.

‘There must be someone. Think.’

‘I don’t know! I don’t know!’

‘Your sisters?’

‘No! Absolutely not. Sybil’s too young and Edith… Edith would lord it over me for the rest of my days on this earth and I simply couldn’t bear that,’ Mary replied, firmly. ‘What about Gwen?’

Anna shook her head. ‘No, Gwen’s going to have to cover for me if I’m falling asleep throughout the day tomorrow. We can’t both be absent.’

‘Who else then?’

‘What about… Mr Carson?’

‘No. Carson… no. He would… no,’ Mary replied, adamant about that.

‘Mrs Hughes? She’s very practical,’ Anna suggested, thinking aloud.

Mary shook her head. ‘I think she’d feel honour bound to tell my parents.’

‘I’m not sure that she would, milady.’

‘No, I can’t risk it.’

‘Well, who then? I can’t go into the men’s side of the servants’ quarters, so I can’t rouse any of them to help us. Anyway, I’m not sure who I’d trust besides perhaps Mr Bates. I wouldn’t trust Thomas. And William would not be able to keep it a secret.’

‘I wish my Aunt Rosamund was here. She’d be steely enough to help us move a corpse,’ Mary said, absolutely sure that her aunt had the backbone to do such a thing.

‘But she’s not here, is she?’ Anna said, trying to rein in her impatience. ‘So, who else?’

Mary closed her eyes, a realisation settling on her that made her want to vomit. ‘There is one person.’

‘Who?’

‘My mother,’ Mary said quietly, opening her eyes and looking directly at Anna.

‘Her ladyship?’ Anna questioned in disbelief. ‘But… I thought you said you didn’t want your parents to know.’

‘Think about it, Anna. She will do whatever she has to to keep this from being discovered. The scandal would ruin me, perhaps even ruin the family name, too. She will help us because she has to.’

‘But…’

‘What?’

‘She’s so slight.’

‘She’s stronger than she looks. I think between the three of us, we could move him.’

‘Well, if you think so,’ Anna said doubtfully, unable to imagine the elegant Countess of Grantham hoicking a dead body across her home in the middle of the night.

Mary sighed, her hand going to her forehead. ‘I think it’s our only choice.’

‘Do you want me to go and fetch her?’ Anna offered.

‘No, you stay here. It has to be me who goes in and wakes her. I can only hope that Papa is either sleeping in his dressing room tonight or he is sound asleep.’ Mary gave her maid a wry look. ‘Wish me luck.’

‘Good luck, milady.’

Squaring her shoulders, Mary headed for the door, preparing to confess her sins to her mother and beg for her help.

Behind her, Anna cast a wary look at the corpse lying on the bed, its arm still dangling off it, determined to stay as far away from it as she could before she had to touch it again. She only hoped her ladyship said yes to helping them.

[moderndayamymarch]

ranking downton abbey characters:

edith’s newspaper man- died punching nazis, can’t get more iconic than that

2. rose- flapper icon!! best fashion sense, married a cute jewish man, living my dream life

3. cora’s family- PLAYED BY SHIRLEY MACLAINE AND PAUL GIAMATTI, move over england the twentieth-century is america’s time to shine, it’s just funny that the family acts like they’re so above the americans but they’re the only reason y'all still have a house, like you hate us until you want our money

4. maggie smith- 1900s lucille bluth

5. thomas- often diva a down, i love a good schemer, only one real enough to call out the class divide

6. tom- HE’D BE HIGHER BUT THE WRITERS HAD HIM SELL OUT HIS SOCIALIST, IRISH NATIONALIST IDEAS IN EXCHANGE FOR BECOMING A COG IN THE WHEEL OF BRITISH ARISTOCRACY AND SPOKESPERSON FOR CAPITALISM. why. let my man burn down symbols of imperialism. i was in love with him season 1 and 2 but after? as joyce would say he became a jester at the court of his masters.

7. sybil- feminist icon, she would’ve stopped tom’s whole arc if she’d lived

8. mrs. hughes- she’s the only one keeping these ppl alive, bad bitch, also only servant aware that this is a job in the end and while she respects her employers she doesn’t worship the ground they walk on

9. matthew- he was cool, is the reason the rich people know what a weekend is, mary’s best love interest and I miss him

10. cora- american dollar princess!!

11. bertie- i love that he’s like toby from the office but if toby was the one promoted to corporate (not ryan). like a w for dull, normal people everywhere! (not an insult this is most everyone)

12. matthew’s mom- she could be a bit much at times and a bit of a nancy pelosi kinda progressive! like the family rolled their eyes at her but she was the only one of them actually doing anything useful for society so i’m not a hater. also i love her friendship with queen maggie smith

13. edith- the best scene of the whole show is the one where she finally called mary a bitch.

14. the cook- she’s cool

15. the dad (what actually is his name?)- he’s such a dumbass, walking example of why we shouldn’t give money/land/power because you’re related to someone, i did like the scene where he vomits up blood in the middle of dinner like finally something interesting

16. anna- stand up girl. be your own individual person

17. carson- ugh

18. mary’s second husband (henry?)- the male version of the horse girl: car guy

19. mary- a bitch but she often ate I fear (except the time she was cold/uncaring and MADE JOKES about newspaper man being killed by the nazis… it’s giving melania when she wore that “i don’t care, do you” jacket. like the man died standing up against what will be a fascist regime. what exactly have you done? )

20. daisy- just annoying

21. bates- i hate this man. he is a sanctimonious, sydney carton wannabe who makes his wife’s assault ABOUT HIM. to the point that her main concern after it happens is that he doesn’t find out to avoid him getting angry. and when he does find out, he broods. he thinks he’s better than everyone and i hate him so much. like in the first season when he refuses to say why he was arrested for stealing silver because of virtue or whatever, like who gives a fuck, just tell em it was your wife. that’s how i know this show isn’t about americans. we have no problem throwing someone under the bus to save our job. americans are nothing if not the prioritization of self-interest/individualism in the name of retaining power in the marketplace.

[jonjonjovi]

What songs remind YOU 🫵 of Sam/your favorite spn characters? I would love to hear your picks/takes on them!!!

Hi I meant to answer this one million years ago and then I forgot sorry!!!

Literally every song I listen to reminds me of Sam rn :(( the brainrot is real

But specifically lately:

Worst Case Kid by Tommy Lefroy

This is the first song I ever added to my Sam playlist :)

The line “I’ve been staring down the barrel of another life” !!!!

Idk just everything about this song I feel like it fits him so well

House Song by Searows

Especially the line “Something is rotten inside of me/ I have to find it and/ Cut it out/ Cut it out” like that’s him!!! That’s Sam!!!

Something Greater by Anna Bates

I feel like this song is literally so perfect for Sam and his complicated relationship with God / his father / the idea of a higher power and what an ultimate judgment of right and wrong would mean for his own character

Especially the chorus reminds me of his reaction whenever Dean criticizes him for still believing in God/something good

I’ve also been listening to Mitski for the first time lately and trying to find which of her songs match the best with each of tfw, so far I think Sam is I Don’t Smoke, Dean is I’m Your Man, Cas is I Bet On Losing Dogs, and Jack is My Love Mine All Mine

Anyways thank u for listening to my ramblings I love talking about music and my hyperfixation characters :)))

[dogmotifz]

Begging you, please, tell us more of your downton abbey thoughts. I want to hear about psychological horror abbey

Some VERY disjointed thoughts on psychological horror abbey:

- the plot of the story would very roughly be around downton as a classic Gothic Mansion, with all the suffocating psuedo-incestous family/work life that these stories entail

- Mary is the upper class aspect, Anna is the working class, and Tom is the person moving between the two worlds, acting mostly as a lower class man but able to force himself to act "civilized" when then family demands it

- All three of them are trapped in their positions; Mary as the eldest daughter can't leave the family or eschew marriage in any meaningful way, Anna obviously can't leave her class position as a servant and is considered "part of the family" by the crawlys and so can't leave them. Tom has a bit more freedom than them, as a man, but as an Irish national and a socialist he's severely limited by how much he's able to challenge the family's desires to keep him in the house with sybbie

- also as is typical in a gothic-adjacent horror: someone becoming "part of the family" (as happens to some of the servants, tom, etc) is less of an acceptance and much more of a smothering and a removal of what makes the person an individual

- In the new story I think it'd work best if all of the [borderline] sexual violence (mary & pamuk, anna & green, tom & edna, along with daisy & william (more on this below)) were narratively earlier-- maybe the new show starts in s4 and the mary&pamuk/daisy&william situations are flashbacks/implied?

- The Mary/Matthew romance is less of a "real" romance and more of a coerced marriage, drawn up between Matthew and Cora to keep the secret of Pamuk's rape of Mary/death within the family

- [john] bates' desire for revenge becomes less "noble man defending his wife" and more "completely average and normal man taking a violation of his wife's autonomy as a violation of his marriage and his exclusive right to her body." (Sidenote: I think this is what the show is actually doing and not noticing it. lol.)

- I honestly can't believe I left daisy out of the original post. I don't think she's exactly a victim of sexual violence, but I do think that being coerced into dating and then marrying william while he's on his deathbed must have done fascinating things to her mind. (I also think this aspect of her life is handled much better by the show as it is than Anna/Mary/Tom's subplots, but whatever.)

- I think in this au either a) William survives, and Daisy is forced into a loveless marriage and motherhood with him, technically able to divorce him but discouraged from doing so on all sides because "it would break his heart," or b) William dies, and Daisy is [either literally or psychologically] haunted by him for the rest of the show, convinced that she's damned to hell for lying to a man on his deathbed

- one thing that's present in the current show that I think could very quickly become horror is the relative isolation of the abbey. the whole crawly family runs the town but outside of the hospital scenes in the early eps and some fair scenes, we see incredibly little of the townspeople that the family rules over.

- I can picture the townsfolk fervently avoiding any discussion/news of the abbey, preferring to keep to themselves, which is noble when they're being lorded over by robert but not when Anna comes into town the day after her rape and none of the townsfolk will meet her eye

- I have very little idea of how the story would really end, but I WILL say I'm only like 50% joking with the posts about daisy burning down the house with everyone in it

[beth-march]

Oh I would love to hear your opinions on Downton Abbey if you want to share them! <3

Given that I shared specifically controversial opinions last time, I’ll talk about my more positive views, now.

Anna, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Patmore are my favourite characters! Anna is particularly special to me, what with how unfailingly kind, sunny and hardworking she is, but never at the expense of her sensibility or assertiveness. There’s so much depth to her goodness considering its purity and its perseverance across a series that frequently disservices her, and a very tragic backstory that I deeply wish had been delved into more. I could write dissertations about her, she’s my princess, I adore her.

Mrs Hughes is obviously incredible. She’s the glue holding the household together and she’s never been wrong a day in her life, she’s so effortlessly graceful and generally superior. Mrs Patmore is absolutely hilarious, so witty and, again, right about everything, I’m just delighted every time she’s on screen. Never mind when the two of them - or, better yet, the three of them - are all together!

The romances are top tier. Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes are beautiful in ways that I’m not sure I’ve even fully comprehended - the slow burn, the wars they lived through together, the strength they drew in each other across literal decades as co-leaders of staff, as friends. The wrangling that was required of personalities, of significant differences in opinion, in order for them both to admit to their feelings. Anna and Mr Bates are one of my favourite fictional couples of all time. Here is this man who carries nothing but regret and unhappiness, whose life has been ruled by his mistakes, and he’s been granted another chance at peace and he wants to use it to be a better person. The last thing he’s expecting is to fall in love. But then he meets Anna, and she’s so kind to him, so gentle with him, from the very beginning, and it’s a friendship untouched by ulterior motives, untouched by darkness, because these things don’t exist in Anna’s world, and she’s inviting him to stay there. Their yearning stage is pure perfection, and it leads to such a payoff, once they’re married and Bates can be honest about just how obsessed with her he is, just how little he cares about anything else.

Mr Molesley and Miss Baxter are adorable too - both as individuals and as a couple.

As for upstairs - I’m not unique in that I love Sybil best of the daughters. I love Robert and his Labradors and I love Isobel and Violet. I also love Matthew and Tom Branson, and as far as I’m concerned they’re still brothers-in-law and the Crawleys were untouched by untimely deaths, beyond the Titanic and the war. Oh, and maybe Mr Gregson, because I love Bertie.

It’s so lovely to see you in my inbox! I’ve missed talking to you. Thank you so much for asking me, I’m so happy to have an excuse to gush about my ships and characters 💗

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Do You Like How I Write YOUR Character?

I really want to be working on…well, anything, really…but my brain has decided we're going to think about anything except writing, so I'm going to try and appease it in hopes of at least getting a couple of sentences on…anything. Preferably the Fan Novel, but I will take literally anything!

So.

One of the biggest bugbears of my writing is that in order to know how I'm doing, I need to rely on people's comments, and while that works wonderfully for some things, it doesn't always tell me how I'm doing with characterization. Getting the characters as close to canon as physically possible and writing them in a manner that appeals to their fans, whether I personally like them or not, is very important to me, and it's not easy to do, especially when I'm writing from the PoV of a character who doesn't like them.

For example - I personally like Carson and the Batses, but I write almost exclusively from Thomas's point of view, and let's be honest: Thomas has issues there. So while I'm generally writing those characters at perhaps their most human, I'm not writing them at their best. Does this come across as an honest portrayal of canon relationships or as authorial bias? It's really hard to tell.

For starters, I don't know how many other fans of these characters are even reading, because so many Thomas fans openly hate them and will cheerfully bash the hell out of them in their fiction! That's a turn off. I don't care how many people want to lecture me about how 'everyone does stuff like that' and 'it's not disrespectful as long as you announce you're doing it' (which most people don't) and how 'it's just our interpretation of canon', I have straight up set otherwise lovely stories down and walked away because of character bastardization. I tend to shy away particularly from Anna/Bates (and since the second movie Thomas/Richard) fanfiction because of it, and I know I'm not alone in that. That automatically means I'm not reaching people who are technically part of my intended audience 'cause other people have been disrespectful and nasty (and that there are Anna/Bates/Carson fans who aren't reaching me for the same reason).

It also increases the likelihood that people I am reaching aren't reading the story as intended, because they see me as a 'Thomas fan' and therefore read all of the Carson/Bates parts in the worst possible light. I could write them being nothing but reasonable and people would assume they're supposed to be read as out of line. I know for fact that other Thomas fans who don't like Carson and the Batses read it that way, because they leave comments that make it clear that they're reading it that way! But are the actual Carson and Bates fans reading it that way? Are they reading at all? I don't know.

One of my biggest regrets with the Downton Court Christmas Special is that no one seems to have noticed that the account of 'the gag gift' changes depending on who's PoV we're in. I really was quite careful with that.

Ironically the character I do know about is Jimmy. Why is this ironic? Because he's one of the few Downton residents I dislike. It's not that he's a terrible, drunken rapist who kicks puppies and eats babies on toast for breakfast. He's not like that at all! He's a basically good insecure, overly sexed twenty something raised in a homophobic society that says that men his age should be trying to get it on with any person his class or lower who is moderately attractive, has breasts and a pulse! There's nothing inherently wrong with it, it just happens to clash with my personality and leave me wanting to bonk him over the head with a two-by-four. Repeatedly. That's all. And it's certainly doesn't reflect poorly on his fans that they can love him despite the inherit flaws of being him. The boy's well written, well acted, and deserves fans! And those fans deserve my respect and having me try to write him as true to character as I can when I write him. So I do, and those fans read and tell me that I've done a good job, and boy howdy are those some of the best comments I get! Ever! Nothing says 'you've done your job and done it well and we appreciate it' as one of my friendly Jimmy loving mutuals popping by and going 'Yup! That's our boy!' Because I love you guys and I want to write things that appeal to you and that do Your Character justice, even if I want to biff him over the head.

So if you've not been reading my stuff because I'm clearly a Thomas fan and that must mean my work is full of your favorite character being bashed, please, know that I'm not that kind of writer and, if you like Thomas but generally not his fans, if you could swing by and tell me how you think I've done with your characters, well. I'd appreciate it is all.

…I would also advise maybe not reading the comments. That can get dicey.

[neroushalvaus]

Quick question, which "you" do Thomas and Philip use in Finnish? I need the answer. For science.

You say "quick question" like that's an option. But yeah, they use the informal you.

(note that this time these subtitles are provided by our national public broadcasting company, this is tax payer money making sure we get the best subs possible)

When they are in front of other people, Thomas uses the formal you and Philip uses the informal you.

Usually it's safe to say that if one were to use someone's first name (with no titles) when speaking to them, one would also use the informal you. That's why Philip uses the informal one with Thomas from the start, since Thomas is a footman and is always called by the first name. This is also why Philip uses the formal you with all of the Crawleys, he isn't on the first name basis with any of them. So yeah, this implies Thomas and Philip are very close and if Thomas were to call Philip something, he'd use his first name. There are exceptions to this rule, for example the subtitles for the most part make Anna use the informal "you" for Bates after they marry even though she still calls him "Mr Bates".

Later on, when Thomas is promoted to valet and is known as "Barrow" upstairs and "Mr Barrow" downstairs, he should technically be addressed with the formal you all the time by everyone (good for him). For example, when speaking with Jimmy, Jimmy uses the formal you and Thomas uses the informal you.

So it is kind of simple, the formal you is a sign of respect or it means there is a certain distance between the speakers. And that means you get to do some really cool things with it if you want to.

For example, when Thomas is Robert's valet, he should get addressed with the formal you all the time, but when O'Brien steals the shirts and Robert is irritated, the subtitles have him addressing him with the informal you. I believe Thomas is the most "mis-you'd" person in the Abbey, matching well with how he is also often called "Thomas" when he should be called Barrow or Mr Barrow. On the flip side, when Jimmy says Thomas is "a real pal", he switches to the informal you as well, matching with him using Thomas's first name, and in that scene the switch serves to show that they're friends.

I'm sorry, you were only asking about the best worst boys and I gave you an essay, I've recorded these episodes so I was ready to come bearing screenshots... Hope you're fine with this answer too!

[yelena-bellova]

I agree that tv ask game is perfect for Friday night 😍😍😍😍

hmm. how about you do Downton abbey?

And I end up doing it on Saturday morning hahaha

1: Favorite episode and why

I can’t remember where it is in s2, but I love the one where Sybil finally confesses she loves Tom.

2: Funniest/crackiest/it’s-terrible-but-I-still-love-it episode/scene

Anything with Maggie Smith was hilarious. I love the scene (I think in s5 or 6?) where Violet is ill and Isobel’s been nursing her back to health and they’re playing cards and she’s absolutely exhausted by all of Isobel’s attention but carries on.

3: It’s-terrible-and-I-hate it episode/scene

Okay, I hate the episode where Sybil dies, but it is an incredibly emotional episode. The acting alone is breathtaking, but I hardly ever watch it because it makes me cry.

4: Best episode/scene for my favorite character

Sybil remains my favorite and I love the scene where she’s desperately trying to find some purpose and is baking cakes in the kitchen and just completely failing.

5: Best episode/scene for my favorite ship

When Tom and Sybil run away and get caught and Sybil goes back to Downton, but she promises Tom she’s still going to marry him. Absolutely gets me every time.

6: Best episode/scene for a particular supporting character

Anyone who knows me knows that I can’t stand Lily James, but I do love the scene in what I believe is the finale where Rose takes Robert to see Cora speaking at the hospital, I believe? It was a moment where you could tell Rose had matured, which was desperately needed lol.

7: Best episode/scene for a character I don’t usually like

Not gonna lie, I wasn’t the biggest Daisy fan, but I loved when she and Mr. Mason finally had lunch and they started to develop that relationship after William’s death.

8: Most visually beautiful or interesting episode/scene

I adore the scene in the first movie (yes, I’m jumping screens lol) where Carson and Mrs. Hughes are walking home and the camera pulls back to reveal the whole house. I also love the scene where Edith is walking in the morning and the sun is just rising so perfectly.

9: Most emotionally affecting episode/scene

Either Sybil’s death or William’s death.

10: Most powerful use of music in an episode/scene

The score to the whole show was just magnificent. My favorite has always been Love and the Hunter, which plays primarily in 1x02 (might be 1x03) when Mary’s hunting with Mr. Pamuk and Evelyn Napier.

11: Episode/scene that changed my perspective on the show

I think the s1 finale was a game changer for me because it showed just how serious of a place we were going in the next season. Yes, it’s a show about tea and dresses and petty little problems, but once it started handling the war, it took a whole different turn.

12: Episode/scene where the acting stands out

I cannot remember the episode but the scene where Anna and Bates finally talk about Anna being r**** was just…some of the best acting they’d ever done.

13: Overall best-written episode

I really don’t think I can pick just one episode. I think s3 was the most well-written season, though.

[spurgie-cousin]

I forgot about Covid too... she has had so many health issues.... :( -

I lean more towards Derrick because Jessa is still very close to the family and besides Anna, seems to be the female closest to still being in it, minus the pants.  -

We all pick our poison and find ways to rationalize things to make them ok in our mind. We speed but only so far over, you know... I guess it isn't physically putting on make up so it is "ok"? -

She does look like she could be a Kenna, lol. -

Tiffany showed a negative pregnancy test in the video of them going to meet Kenna.... also DONT KISS THE NEWBORN!!! -

Thanks and I like lists too, lol

(submission)

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

Ya poor gal, all the Bates girls really seem to have a rough go of it when it comes to health and pregnancies. -

We will see! I've thought Ben was going to be a dark horse in this race for a long time lol, I personally think they're both playing the long game with Jessa's family. Jessa hasn't made the dramatic changes that maybe Jill has but she has made some and I feel like has very purposefully avoided talking about them (and maybe others) publicly. Plus again, Jill and Derick just really weren't around Jinger at this time physically. -

Oh yea I'm 100% sure Tboni can rationalize that in her own mind even if I can't lol. It's like with Jill R, she takes the bible so literally in every area except the parts talking about looks and vanity and I'm desperate to know how she rationalizes that in her head. I got a little peek into in her book and it's just as confusing as I expected (yes those videos are still coming) -

Right?? -

That makes me feel like all the baby mentions are because they are going to very publicly try to have a baby. Which I guess I shouldn't be surprised just with Lawson being who he is, but that's kind of unprecedented (and personal) I don't think I've ever followed a fundie who openly tried for a baby and took us on the ~*journey*~ with them. Also yes DON'T kiss newborns keep your germ-y mouths away from brand new babies, not just Tiffany but everyone!!! Stop it -

Lists are the best.

[barris-ftw]

Downton Abbey Ramble

Yet another fandom I'm awfully late to, but at least this one is actually still alive, so I decided to share my general thoughts. I've recently binged all of Downton Abbey and honestly it was better than I expected (Even though by series 4 I had lost all care about the upper class characters and their stories tbh. I ended up only caring about Cora because she's a sweetheart. And I still cared about Mary I guess.) I never thought it would be up my street, and I won't lie - in the later series I did skip quite a few scenes that bored me to get to the stories I actually cared about, but on the whole, I enjoyed it. Somehow.

I don't really know where to put Tom, but if he counts as an upper class by the end of the series then he's probably my favourite. Everyone says Thomas is the character who changed the most over the series but I think Tom is right up there with him. I mean he goes from being a chauffeur with the role of Sybil's love interest, and the angriest chap at the table having republican rants about Ireland, to being a calm and kind mediator, accepting the Crawley family as his own family after Sybil's death. (Btw I also loved Sybil how dare they kill off the best of the Crawley sisters.) I enjoyed how they didn't make Tom's change an easy one, he had doubts right until the end, even going to America to find a new life elsewhere, just to finally realise that even if he is different, Downton is his home now. He's a symbol of there not having to be such a divide between upper and lower class, he acts as the bridge between them, coming to understand people from both backgrounds and the challenges they face. Also I love that he becomes Lord Grantham's new adopted son after Matthew's passing (and bloody hell that was a shock weren't it). The only thing I wish they did a bit more was build more of a friendship between him and Thomas. Even if he doesn't understand Thomas' struggles with his sexuality, he'd understand Thomas' struggles with his class, and I wish there was at least one scene where Tom talks things through and tells Thomas he understands why it might feel humiliating to serve him, but they don't have to be enemies. Them forgetting about their differences and being bros at Thirsk is probably what brought this on. Besides Thomas needed more friends.

When it comes to the servants though, it's one of the best found-family tropes I've seen on TV, and I love em all tbh. Mrs Hughes being everyone's mom is wonderful she's so sweet. And her and Carson getting together was the best marriage proposal in the whole series istg. I loved the mother-daughter relationship between Mrs Patmore and Daisy, I even missed Gwen after she left, I didn't care much for the housemaids that came after her (Edna is a creep, leave my man Tom alone). But for all those who stay, each character has their differences, each one is flawed in some way and I love them for that.

Except the Bates', that is - they are flawless and yet I still love them. One of my favourite plotlines was theirs. And their music. Everything they go through is bloody heartbreaking, they're by far my favourite couple in the series because they're both so goddamn sweet and kind and perfect for eachother. It's not exactly a feat of writing or character arcs - I mean of everyone, these guys probably change the least, it's only their trauma throughout the series that changes them (such as Anna being more depressed and guarded after you-know-what, but eventually she recovers and she's still the same old Anna - just more worn and world-weary). The experiences they go through is so unlucky and a result of huge coincidence, but tbh the acting is what makes it with these two, as well as the music. I fell in love with these characters from the end of series one (even though at first it felt a bit fast but I quickly realised that falling-for-someone-very-quickly is a huge trope of the series so I had to get used to it) and I still loved them by the end. A beautiful story tbh, I'm so glad they got their happy ending.

In fact, everyone got a happy ending. And that's great.

Everyone, that is, except Thomas.

I'm gonna talk more about Thomas (And other characters he's more involved with like O'brien, Phyllis, Jimmy, etc.) in another blog because this one would get too long otherwise.

Still I hope you enjoyed my ramble. I will post a part 2 soon enough. Feel free to share thoughts of your own because honestly I'm just dying to talk to someone about this bloomin series.

[cabbxges-and-kings]

honorhearted asked : 10 (absent) - character you wish was in the show? 27 (appear) - favorite character look? 186 (fate) - if you could change the fate of any of the historical figures in turn, would you? how would it change? 324 (incorrect) - do historical inaccuracies bother you? if so, which ones bothered you the most?

turn (amc) asks pt. 3. / @honorhearted​ -- accepting

10 (absent) - character you wish was in the show?

       Lydia Barnett, but no one in turn is prepared for that. Oh god I’m not sure honestly! I wish we had a snippet of Nathan Hale and how that could’ve connected more with the spy ring since he was the first Patriot spy (to my knowledge) and it could’ve played more into the Ben & Rogers feud (that went nowhere). Since he was involved in Ben’s best friend’s death & then he used his dead brother to try to lure him. I do wish we saw more of Ann Bates because I really liked her voice and looking into her, she seemed pretty interesting.

       I do wish we perhaps saw Emily Geiger, a teenage girl who ate a coded message when in British captivity. She had a small role in the American Revolution, but it would’ve been interesting to see. 

27 (appear) - favorite character look?

       No one is really coming to mind on specific looks, but I like Anna’s, Philomena’s, & Peggy’s dresses.

186 (fate) - if you could change the fate of any of the historical figures in turn, would you? how would it change?

       Maybe Peggy’s? Or Anna’s? (Based on turn lore, not the real historical component). Anna has a way better life than Peggy, just with their marriages alone, but I think they both deal with this not being what they would’ve chosen. Like their lives are out of their hands and they can’t really make it their own? (Which obviously doesn’t help with how little rights women had anyway). Like I want these two to have a life they want and what they would’ve chosen. I would also say this for Abe, but even if it’s not what he wanted, I think Abe has a better life and more choices to make it his own than Anna and Peggy do.

324 (incorrect) - do historical inaccuracies bother you? if so, which ones bothered you the most?

       Not really? It depends, I suppose. I’ve seen snippets of the one new Jane Austen show, I’m not sure what it’s called, but it just looks so weird to me how some of the characters will have their hair down and their hairstyles are so modernized? Like that really takes me out of my immersion? I have been thinking of getting into Reign, too, but the dresses and the hair also seem so strange to me. Reign is mostly a drama show, and while I can find enjoyment in the more fantasy-esque vibe and making it their own, I think I still like a resemblance of historical accuracy even if the writing is far from accurate of a person’s life. For turn, I don’t really have any issues. I think I get more annoyed by inconsistent writing, honestly.

       I do kind of wish turn took more inspiration from Historical!Abe, because I think the fandom would’ve liked him way, way more.

[fundiepredictions]

Which Duggar daughter in law do u think had the best wedding dress? Anna, Lauren, Kendra, Katey, Hannah. Have i missed anyone? Can u put the dresses in order ... best to least

Thanks for your ask, but a hard one. Not because I like all of them but mostly because none of them is really my dress (if I would get married, hopefully, someday).

But here is the rundown.

Hannah Wissmann Duggar

I don't really like the sleeves but the rest of the dress is more like my taste.

2. Lauren Swanson Duggar

Some my found it boring except for the shape of the dress. She was the first Duggar/Bates bride (If I remember correctly) to choose something more fitting. But I think the plain white is more my taste.

3. Abbie Burnett Duggar

The sparkle dress of Abbie is prefect for her. I don't think I'm that sparkling but who knows there will be something sparkling on my dress someday.

4. Katey Nakatsu Duggar

I don't like the layers but I do like the top.

5. Kendra Caldwell Duggar

Kendra had even more layers so I even more dislike it.

6. Claire Spivey Duggar

Also layers... and with lace. Not my kind of thing.

7. Anna Keller Duggar

I feel sorry for Anna. Using the dress from your sister and your (crapy) husband tearing the train on the big day. It's boring and doesn't fit her very well. Please Anna, leave Josh, find someone better and get a better weddingdress.

[newagesispage]

                                                                         MAY       2024 

THE RIB PAGE 

***** 

The Bible is one of the worst books ever. -Brian Cox 

***** 

In the footsteps of former Mayors, Rob Riggle, Jane Lynch and David Hasselhoff, the new Mayor of Funner, California is Martin Short. 

***** 

The Game Show network is bringing back Tic Tac Dough? 

***** 

The Feds plan to reclassify Marijuana from schedule 1 to schedule 3. Just legalise! 

***** 

Sherri! and Will Trent have been renewed for season 3. ** The Talk was cancelled. CSI: Vegas and So Help me Todd were also canned. 

***** 

Days Alert: It was sad to see Jamie Martin (Tate) leave to continue his college experience. It is a brave and smart thing to do. It is just a shame because he seemed a perfect fit. I was sort of hoping they would replace Holly and not Tate. Now that they have replaced Jamie with Leo Howard however, Holly and Tate seem more like a couple. The other Tate just seemed wrong with Holly. ** Will Stephen Schnetzer come back as Julie’s brother? ** I will miss Wendy and Tripp , they are one of the best couples. It would have been nice to focus on her tech skills more. Please bring back Li from the dead and pair him with Kristen. ** Melissa reeves is filming as Jennifer. Hooray!! **  

***** 

It seems that CBS daytime will bring us The Gates with a mostly black cast. 

***** 

Snowflake? Yes, I’ve heard this term. I think sociopaths use it to discredit the notion of empathy. -John Cleese 

***** 

The U.S. voted to ban Tik Tok or sell within a year. Tik Tok is banned in China just like Facebook and X are. Tik Tok has a partial or total ban in Afghanistan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Netherlands, Somalia, Pakistan, Norway, Taiwan, U.K., New Zealand and Nepal. 

***** 

There is a new Doc coming: Spacey Unmasked 

***** 

The new horror thriller, Weapons will star Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. ** Rosemary’s Baby will have a prequel with Julia Garner. The film. Apartment 7A, will take us to 1965 NYC and what happened in Guy and Rose’s apartment before they got there. 

***** 

Nicole Kidman was honored for lifetime achievement from the AFI. 

***** 

The next chapter of Monsters from Ryan Murphy will concentrate on Lyle and Eric Menendez. The cast includes Javier Bardem, Chloe Sevigny, Cooper Koch and Nicholas Chavez. 

***** 

The Met Gala will be Monday, May 6. The theme will be Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion that refers to treasured garments in the museum’s collection. The 3 sub themes are land, sea and sky. The dress code is The Garden of Time with co-chairs Bad Bunny, J Lo, Zendaya and Chris Hemsworth along with Anna Wintour. 

***** 

May 31 will bring us Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Eugene Levy, Betsy Sodaro, Beverly D’Angelo, Diane Keaton and Dennis Haysbert in Summer Camp. 

***** 

Jodie Foster got her feet and hands in cement on April 19. 

***** 

Wouldn’t it help the police to have a room full of armchair detectives (ID watchers) to look into cases for them? 

***** 

Les Moonves was fined $15,000 for obtaining secret intel on the LAPD sexual assault investigation. 

***** 

Jefferson Airplane got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

***** 

Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Minnesota was arrested on suspicion of first- degree burglary. 

***** 

Yeezy porn? His spiritual fans seem upset. 

***** 

Wynona Judd’s daughter, Grace was arrested for soliciting prostitution, indecent exposure and obstructing governmental operations in Alabama. She was previously arrested years earlier for meth and leaving a recovery program, violating an order of protection and restraining order and violating parole. 

***** 

Mike Johnson reauthorized FISA. Trump said no to this at first but changed his mind. ** The house and now the Senate have finally ok’d the $95 bil aid program for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Weapons are already in Ukraine. ** Iran launched an attack on Israel. They said this was retaliation for an air strike earlier in April on Damascus. Israel hit back. 

***** 

The Daytime Emmy noms are here. The usual suspects are up for best Drama. Days also got noms for technical direction, camerawork and casting. Tamara Braun and Eric Martsolf were nominated for best leads. Linsey Godfrey, A Martinez, Wally Kurth and Emily O’Brien were nominated in the supporting category. Oh no.. One more reason to keep O’Brien around. Bring back Jen Lilley!! Dick Van Dyke got an Emmy nod for playing John Black’s long lost Father. He is the oldest nominee.** Variety and the Hollywood Reporter both got noms. Valerie Bertinelli got 4 noms. The 51st Emmy’s will air on CBS on June 7. 

***** 

Woody Allen is innocent. -Bill Maher. How does someone call an innocent child a liar? 

***** 

Tesla recalled about 4,000 cyber trucks. 

***** 

Creamy Coconut Dr. Pepper? ** Sour patch Oreo? 

***** 

I can’t believe there is not a permanent host for the Daily show yet. It is fun watching Desi, Ronnie and Jordan work together. They had a wonderful political/ eclipse bit that was priceless. 

***** 

It happens in war. -Netanyahu ** About 100 journalists have been killed in Gaza. Most foreign writers can’t even get in there, it is not allowed. That is so fucking wrong! ** We are in a crisis of leadership. - Christian Amanpour ** Think of all we could achieve if we didn’t have to put up with the right wing show pony shenanigans. ** I can’t believe it but I actually saw a Washington Week which hardly mentioned trump at all. It is sad that it had to be about war. 

***** 

Aubrey Plaza is said to be the star of John Waters new flick, Liarmouth. 

***** 

A body was found on Pottstown Rd. in Peoria, il. Allen Schimmelpfennig had already been convicted last year for the murder of Gabriel Cook but now they have the body. Allen got 80 years. 

***** 

Churchill Downs was found to have no blame in the death of multiple horses after an investigation. It is time for the 150th Kentucky Derby, the longest running sporting event in U.S. history. 

***** 

April 27 brought us the White House Correspondent’s dinner with Colin Jost. The guest list included Molly Ringwald, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jon Hamm, Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitlyn Jenner, Quavo, Andrew Mccarthy, Rufus Sewell and J.B. Pritzker. Journalist Eugene Daniels was the best dressed of the night! Kelly O’Donnell celebrated 30 years at CBS. Colin Jost, the longest running SNL anchor and Joe Biden made great speeches. I think my favorite joke of the night was about Rupert Murdoch stepping down from Fox. Jost jokes that he didn���t know there could be a step down from Fox. I noticed that Jost said, “Lara Trump is here” and there was one Woo! And silence. 

***** 

Ok.. Gotta admit the Wiig/ Target commercials are a no brainer and they are cute! 

***** 

Taylor Swift is the first singer to reach billionaire status. Others on the list include Dick Wolf and Magic Johnson. ** Swift’s new offering is The Tortured poet’s department. 

***** 

We’re often led to believe migration is a drain on the country’s resources, but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant. Apple is the world’s most profitable company, it pays over $7bil in taxes-and it only exists because the US allowed in a young man from Homs. -Banksy / 2016 

***** 

Jay Leno has filed for conservatorship over his wife Mavis who has dementia. 

***** 

Florida might legalize weed. That state really goes both ways. 

***** 

Thank you, Fox News for bringing such awareness to Trans Visibility Day!! 

***** 

Conan was on the Tonight show which should have been huge and it was. But everybody was talking about Conan on Hot ones where he was fucking drinking hot sauce and giving it all he had!! ** Conan’s HBO offering, Conan Must Go is here and it is fucking hilarious, of course! 

***** 

No Doubt reunited at Coachella!! 

***** 

I like a messy bed. -Johnny Cash in Five minutes to Live. 

***** 

Donald Glover will put out 2 last albums from Childish Gambino. 

***** 

Josh Gad will direct Paul Walter Hauser in a biopic about Chris Farley. 

***** 

Parents are an awful problem these days, aren’t they? - Edward G. Robinson in Vice Squad 

***** 

I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions and not upon our circumstances. -Martha Washington 

***** 

Truth Social made a big splash on the Nasdaq exchange in March when it went public. By April 1st, though share prices tumbled after investors learned of last year’s net loss of more than $52 mil. The revenue was about $4mil. The company statement: Trump media and technology group has historically incurred operating losses and negative cash flows from operating activities. TMTG expects to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows from operating activities for the for seeable future, as it works to expand its user base, attracting more platform partners and advertisers. 

***** 

Fight Truth decay. - Unknown 

***** 

I hope these morons that drag fake Bidens behind a truck or whatever it is they come up with are getting the same treatment as Kathy Griffin did. One picture of a fake head brought all kinds of destruction upon her. Fair is fair. 

***** 

A doc has shed light on Drake Bell, Nickelodeon and the abuse of young performers. Quiet on Set is about the dark side of show biz. 20 years ago many people sent letters supporting the convicted sex offender, Brian Peck. The unsealed docs showed support from Taran Killam, Alan Thicke and James Marsden, among others. Bell himself was accused of inappropriate behavior. The NY Times published details that turned out to be false after an investigation. The NY Times retracted and Bell pled guilty and was given probation and community service. 

***** 

Colin Allred is running against Ted Cruz. His advice to young people: You wouldn’t want your Grandparents to pick your playlist for the next 6 years so why would you let them pick your Senator? 

***** 

Caitlin Clark is all the rage. Big deals are brewing all over the place! She signed for $28 mil. With Nike. 

**** 

Roanoke, Il closed its only real grocery store, the IGA, with 3 days notice. 

***** 

Oh Mary! Is moving from off Broadway. Cole Escola will have 12 weeks at the Lyceum in NY from July 11- Sept. 15. Yeow!!!!! 

***** 

Ron Howard has a new Doc: Jim Henson: Idea Man will be out May 31. 

***** 

Tupac Shakur’s estate is threatening to sue Drake for using his AI voice. 

***** 

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher are divorcing. 

***** 

Stamps are going up to 73 cents. Still a bargain! 

***** 

O.J. Simpson is dead. ** If I Did It went to #1 on Amazon. 

***** 

Only about 5% of plastic is actually recycled. 

***** 

Let’s all take a lesson from Houston and work on this homeless problem. The Houston coalition for the homeless started the Way Home in 2012 which has brought down homelessness in the city 63%. ** The Stones started their tour in Houston on April 28. ** Check out the mini doc, From London to Shanghai which highlights their 2006 trip to China. ** And now Illinois is investing $123 mil in resources to address homelessness. 

***** 

Amber Ruffin is co producing The Wiz with Wayne Brady. 

***** 

Newt Gingrich was on Fox bitching about how Biden being in office has reduced the size of the Filet o Fish at McDonalds. 

***** 

Joseph Gatt has sued the City of L.A., the LAPD, and the DA over false pedophile charges for $40 mil. The suit states that the Depuy D.A. held personal bias and animosity and publicly branded him a serial pedophile using fabricated evidence. 

***** 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced their inductees which includes Big Mama Thornton, Cher, Dionne Warwick, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe called Quest, Jimmy Buffett, Kool and the Gang, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, MC5 and Norman Whitfield. The Ahmet Ertegun award goes to Suzanne de Passe. 

***** 

Earthquakes reportedly hit Taiwan, New York and New Jersey. 

***** 

The Upshaws came back on April 18. 

***** 

What the Fuck is Tennessee talking about with vaccine in foods? 

***** 

Patrick Mahones Sr. has been indicted on felony drunk driving in Texas. He was charged with driving while intoxicated for a third time. 

***** 

George Santos dropped out of his next election bid after raising $0. 

***** 

I wish the Three Amigos would make a serious record. Their voices blend so well together. 

***** 

So, back in the day a loose girl was called a chippie. Should a loose dude be called a dippie? 

***** 

Rep. Danny Davis in Illinois and a Foster Care bill is helping kids keep their SS and death benefits from lost parents. 

***** 

Let people eat! It is time to stop helping Israel so much. 

***** 

Jantay Porter is banned for life in the NBA. 

***** 

The Kennedy family officially endorsed Biden. 

***** 

Bill HB5395 passed the Illinois House. The bill aims to ban junk insurance plans, end unchecked rate increases for large group insurance companies and improve network adequacy for patients and ban ‘step or fail first’ therapies in which insurance companies require patients to try and fail alternative medications before covering doctors recommended prescriptions. 

***** 

Lee Hee Tae tried so hard to put on a sex fest in South Korea. There were protests, venue changes, complaints and then the porn stars started backing out because of all the trouble. With just 24 hours to go, the event was cancelled. 

***** 

The Senate ended their impeachment of Homeland’s Alejandro Mayorkas. 

***** 

Maulik Pancholy was going to make an appearance at Mountain View middle school in Pennsylvania. The school board cancelled due to his political activism and lifestyle. He wrote 2 children’s books and is openly gay. 

***** 

While in NY, did Trump visit an adult store that sells Trump dildos? ** Trump is getting a $1.2 bil bonus from Truth Social? 

***** 

Trumpworld: The mainstream is officially calling it a cult! ** So, Trump got a loan from a repo guy, Hankey, the King of sub -prime car loans!!!! The man said, “I heard he needed a loan and that’s what we do.” ** Trump just loves being in court. Now, he has sued 2 Trump media co- founders to void their stock in the company. ** NY Judge Juan Merchan has rejected Trumps plea to delay the hush $ trial. Jury selection began April 15. The Fox idiots are running stats on the jury. It has to be torture to Trump to sit quietly while everybody else talks. A man set himself on fire in a park near the courthouse. Will this be counted as another Scary Clown tragedy?  It really was not about him, just the exposure, it seems. Maxwell Azzarello of Fla. Believed a world government was operating a Ponzi scheme. ** Trump media stock dropped 50% since it began trading. When will he ever be tired of looking like a fool? ** Sebastian Stan will play Trump on screen. ** Eric and Don Jr. Have been positioned as the transition team when Trump wins. At this point, are his family the only people who want positions with the man?? ** The RNC says they have lawyers and poll workers in 81 states.? 

***** 

The Marines have a shortage of camo uniforms. 

***** 

Look for Eminem’s new album this summer, The death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace). 

***** 

Biden is working on the airlines to refund late flights, no wifi and lost luggage. The President was also interviewed by Howard Stern. 

***** 

Look for Sugar with Anna Gunn, Colin Farell and James Cromwell. 

***** 

There is a 1864 law everyone was talking about, on the books in Arizona. The age of consent then was 10? Idaho says no to abortion. The Supreme Court took a look at a Hospitals responsibility in these cases. ** Trump says that people are not only having abortions but 9 month executions. What? ** The women in this country are now 2nd class citizens. The extent of your human rights depends on your gender and the state you live in. It does not seem like a very UNITED States. The Arizona house voted to repeal. ** Word is that the RNC wants the other republicans running for lower offices to give Trump 5% from their campaigns. **  

***** 

Arizona sent down indictments for Mark Meadows, Boris Epshteyn and 16 others relating to the 2020 election interference. The felonies include conspiracy, fraud, forgery and Trump is an unindicted co- conspirator. 

***** 

U.S. fertility rates fell to a record low. We have the fewest babies born in the U.S. since 1979.  

***** 

Sexual assault news: Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was thrown out on a technicality. They will retry but he is still in prison for a 2022 rape. ** Gerard Depardieu was questioned on the 29th about 2 allegations of sexual assault from 2014 and 2021. A rapw case from 2020 is still open. He has previously been accused by more than a dozen women. 

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For the first time, Dan Rather was on CBS Sunday Morning after 18 years. 

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The Tony award noms are out and include Leslie Odom Jr., Jeremy Strong, Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Dorian Harewood, Eddie Redmayne, Daniell Radcliffe,, Sky Lakota- Lynch, Bebe Neuwirth, Hell’s Kitchen, The Who’s Tommy, Illinoise and Suffs. 

***** 

A watchdog group is looking into campaign finance trouble with a Ted Cruz Superpak. 

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Tina Fey and Steve Carell will star in Four Seasons. 

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New Jersey wrestling coach and trainer, Alec Donovan was charged with distributing child porn and given 7 years in prison. 

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Hooray for Ncuti Gatwa as the new Dr. Who. There couldn’t be a better choice. 

***** 

If we don’t understand religion, we’re going to miss our chance to improve the world in the 21st century. - Dan Dennett 

***** 

R.I.P. Barbara Rush, Dan Dennett, war victims, Carl Scott, Faith Ringgold, Whitey Herzog, Carl Erskine, Sir Andrew Davis, Robert Macneil, Meg Bennett, Terry Carter, Central Kitchen Workers, Eleanor Coppola, Cole Brings plenty, Mike pinder, Donald M. Payne, Terry Anderson, Mandisa Hunaley, Oklahoma tornado victims, C.J. Snare, Marla Adams, Robert Cavalli, Maryse Conde, Samantha Davis, Rico Wade, Sydney Mall victims, Lori and George Schappell, Lynne Reid Banks, Gaetano Pesce, John Barth, Chris Durang, Chance Perdomo, Dicky Betts and Joe Flaherty.