#and also Oswald and Boyd

[jestierabbit]

Gyro “Gadget Man” Gearloose

[spykarp]

Meet some of my Lackadaisy OCs that have no relation to the Lackadaisy plot, theres:

Scarlet Redd (black n white cat): nepo baby from a radio company, who’s madly in love with a cat who’s already married

and Rosaline Boyd (white cat): an oc i made before i realized Lacey was a white and BLONDE cat, who’s a script writer who works for the Redd families radio company, who’s already married and confused as to why another woman loves her

i also have:

Christopher Fischer (brown tabby): boot legger by night plumber by day who’s absolutely in love with his plumber coworker, Oswald, but is content with just admiring from afar because he’s sure Oswald isn’t gay. would kill a man for Oswald

and Oswald Boyd (white cat): thinks that he thinks that Christopher is just a really good friend but can’t tell the difference between liking someone as a friend or romantically. also he doesn’t realize that 2 men can love each other. hed kill a man for chris tho

[threewaywithdelusion]

Levels of being canonically gay:

Character is undeniably gay in the text (Captain Jack Harkness, Oberyn Martell, Klaus Hargreeves, Colin Hughes, Clare Devlin, Max from Black Sails)

Character is explicitly gay but some people will miss it (Will Byers, Keeley Jones until season 3)

Character does gay things and feels no need to process their sexuality about it (anyone Russell T. Davies has ever written, Tony Stonem, Cassie Ainsworth, book Daenerys, Rhaenyra?)

The character doesn’t know if they’re gay, I don’t know if they’re gay, but we’re both wondering about it (Karma Ashcroft from Faking It. This category was created solely for her)

Character is gay by Word of God (Albus Dumbledore, maybe Matt Boyd from AFTG)

Character is gay only in off-handed jokes (Eleanor from The Good Place, Clara Oswald, Stiles Stilinski, Lily Aldrin)

Character reads as queer to queer audiences, whether or not author intended it that way or accidentally borrowed queer-coded tropes (Black Sails’s Jack Rackham, Michel for the original run of Gilmore Girls, Jamie Tartt, Jaime Lannister, Dean Winchester, Susie Myerson (LISTEN, I’M ON SEASON 2 SO JUST ROLL WITH IT)

Why Does He Describe Men That Way (Jon Snow talking about how pretty Satin is while literally in the middle of battle)

Character is gay only through intentional queer-baiting (i don’t have the balls to fill this one in, but you’re definitely thinking of one)

*Note: these levels aren’t perfect. Some characters fit into multiple categories, depending on your interpretation or what point in the story arc something happened. Stiles Stilinski could belong in at least 3 of these categories.

There’s also the people who are imperfectly queer. Willow Rosenberg calls herself a lesbian, but had meaningful romantic relationships with men and possibly would have been bisexual in a show written more recently.

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Gary Lewis, born 30th November 1957.

Born and raised in Easterhouse, Glasgow Lewis seems an unlikely actor, he has had jobs as a roadsweeper and librarian, his brother, a teacher encouraged him to do more and he became in his own words a “voracious” reader, this pushed him into wanting to become an actor at the age of 32.

It was a chance meeting with fellow Scot, Peter Mullan that gave him his break, he joined the regular “in house” actors in Ken Loach films, starring with Mullan in My Name is Joe and Robert Carlyle in Carla’s song he was in good company to learn.He had a cracking role in Peter Mullan’s film Orphans, with one of my favourite lines, “She’s not heavy, she’s my mother”

Lewis won the best actor award for the part at the Gijón International Film Festival in 1998.I think most of you will remember Gary Lewis playing coal miner Jackie Elliot, father to the films title role Billy Elliot. I sometimes feel like I m repeating myself when noting the CV’s of these actors, Taggart, Rab C Nesbitt, Rebus were early shows for Lewis, while Stonemouth and In Plain Sight are more recent.

Then there is of course Outlander. Gary Lewis appeared in the first two seasons of the hit show, based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon playing, Colum MacKenzie, laird of the MacKenzie family and Uncle to Jamie Fraser. Colum died in the season finale 2 finale Hail Mary. Of Outlander he says,

“The fan base is extremely passionate. It is strange because I live in Scotland and Outlander isn’t massive here to the extent it is in Australia, America and Canada. There are fans all over the world.”

The past few years have been busy for Gary, he managed to snap up an appearance in the final series of Still Game, as well the movie, The Vanishing, teaming up again with Peter Mullan and last weeks birthday boy Gerard Butler. He has also been in  His Dark Materials, Rig 45, It’s a Sin, Vigil and series 3 of The Bay. 

IMDB has Gary, along with Billy Boyd and  Sharleen Spiteri to star in a film, set in Glasgow called I Feel Fine, however I think the project has stalled as it has been at the “announced” stage for several years now. Gary is also to play Roald Amundsen in the film  North Pole: 90° North. 

Gary ia also in a new Scottish feature film, Stella, about a German Jewish refugee who finds herself working in a stately Home in Dumfries and Galloway belonging to aristocratic supporters of fascist leader Oswald Mosely. The film, from what I can gather is not on general release yet, but has already won international Best Drama award at the Melech Tel-Aviv International Film Festival where it had its world premiere this month.

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

Changing Cleopatra's Nose

One of my idols Stephen Jay Gould wondered what would have happened if it had been raining instead of sunny when the earth came into existence? Thus began the theory of determinism which claims that history by and large is a series of accidents.

Gould was riffing on Blaise Pascal who famously stated "If Cleopatra's nose had been shorter, the entire history of the world would have been changed."

This all fits into my predisposition towards possibility thinking. In possibility thinking we ask 'what if' rather than 'what' or 'why..

We can't go back and change Cleopatra's nose but we can change the prevalent image of Cleopatra as depicted by Elizabeth Taylor. When Taylor was offered the role, she laughingly requested the unheard of salary of a million dollars to take the role.

Twentieth century Fox turned down that request. They had several other candidates in mind. Fox offered the job to the leading actresses of the day who they believed could do the job less expensively. Those actresses included Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Shirley McClain and if they really wanted to save money Tuesday Weld.

They all turned down the job. Fox re-offered the role to Taylor for the mill but Taylor wanted more so she asked for the mill plus 10% of the films profits. She didn't think the studio would agree.

Fox agreed and the rest is Hollywood cultural history.

But wait.....

Something happened in the interim.

When Elizabeth heard that Marilyn Monroe was next in line for the job, Elizabeth contacted Marlyn and said that she could have the role if she wanted it but it was too late.

Marilyn passed.

Interesting.

So now we are left to wondering what would have happened if Marilyn would have accepted the role. The ramifications are profound but I'll leave those for another day but here's a couple.

Marilyn might not have got involved with JFK. JFK might not have gone to Dallas. MM might not have been murdered. Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby would be unknown. Johnson might not have become President and mismanaged the situation in Viet Nam etc.

That's just for starters.

Yeah but how to imagine Marilyn as the queen of the Nile. One thing for pretty sure is that Cleo wasn't blonde and pale skinned

No problem.

Dye her Marilyn's hair black and darken her complexion.

Marilyn always wanted to be taken seriously as an actress but her trademark blonde hair ( which of course wasn't her natural hair color) had led her to the objectification and stereotype of the dumb blonde who wasn't as dumb as the stereotype might suggest but still kind of a joke.

She would get a chance to show off her acting chops.

Fox also considered Brando for Marc Antony as he had played him in Julius Caesar.

Stephen Boyd, still hot after his performance as Messala in Ben Hur was offered the job but delays in production forced him to give up the role.

Back to Marilyn with the Marc Antony job still open. Marilyn learns that Brando is in the mix.

Marilyn accepts the offer from Fox.

Liz never becomes Cleopatra.

Now on top of the dark hair and complexion let's fix Marilyn up with some Egyptian style makeup.

She was the right height for the job based on Taylor. Both Liz and MM were five foot three. Both were statuesque.

So now we have Brando and Monroe in Cleopatra.

Liz never meets Burton.

Le scandale never happens.

Yeah, Marilyn was an insurance risk but as it turned out Liz was a health nightmare. She missed 40 days of shooting at a studio cost of $175,000 a day.

Yeah Marilyn was habitually late but so was Elizabeth.

The studio went bankrupt.

Let's imagine Marilyn as Cleo.

The movie itself would have cost less to make, saving the studio.

With both Brando and Monroe on their game, the finished product might have become the critical and popular success that the studio imagined.

We would have a different version of Cleopatra.

But aside from that, nothing much would have changed.

Except my life and everybody else's.

[neil-gaiman]

Why Patton Oswald.

Also, why is he the only American in the show? (Aside from Mark Hammill)

We were told we could only have Americans in the show if they were Patton or Mark. That was why we made eg Boyd Holbrook and Jill Winternitz and Mason Alexander Park and John Cameron Mitchell do those ridiculous accents.

[stmaryslibraryios]

Three Bullets by R.J. Ellory - Review

For those of us who are of an age, we all remember what we were doing or where we were when we heard that JFK had been assassinated in November 1963. For whatever reason, even across the Atlantic in GB it had an effect on us. But what if he wasn’t shot, what if the shooter missed or was too late? What if JFK went on as president of USA and was running for a second term in office? This is the basis of this book.

A bullet was found on the floor in a room in the Texas School Book Depository on Elm Street, Dallas, the day the Presidents motorcade went past. JFK, his brother Robert who was Attorney General, and his cabinet were pushing to raise his popularity as he was going for a second term of office. But some of JFK’s personal life were making things a little difficult.

1950’s, Mitch Newman, a freelance journalist and his girlfriend/fiancée Jean Boyd also a journalist in DC had their future mapped out, they thought. But one day Mitch breaks Jeans heart as he tells her he has to go to Korea to report on the war, he felt it was his duty to take photographs to show the world what was going on.

Jean tells him she won’t wait and won’t forgive him if he goes but he feels it is his destiny, his chance to be a great war correspondent.

In less than a year he has returned home a broken man. He writes letters to Jean, to explain how sorry he was for going but Jean doesn’t acknowledge any of his letters and Jean has moved on, moved away from her childhood home, following her career in journalism.

1964, over 10 years have passed since Mitch has seen Jean but he has never forgotten her. Then one evening he gets a phone call from Alice, Jeans mother, telling him that Jean has died, committed suicide. Her mother is distraught, her daughter seemed happy and was working on something which had taken her to Dallas over the past few months. Mitch is also distraught as he wonders if it was his fault she committed suicide, had he stayed they would have been married with a family and happy. He decides to find out what Jean was working on to try and make sense of what drove her to suicide.

He finds himself being followed, Jeans apartment is searched by people alleging to be from the police or the newspaper she worked for. But he won’t give up. The more he digs he finds a trail which leads him to Dallas, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, JFK and a conspiracy. He also believes Jean was possibly writing and had found evidence of political corruption.....Two other women associated with the president, who Jean was trying to trace, end up committing suicide and Mitch thinks that it is too much of a coincidence.

It’s a well balanced book with parts being told as if you were part of the staff of the White House and parts with Mitch pursuing the events and a little of their past. I enjoyed this well researched story this trip down memory lane with historical events and names, some of which I hadn’t been aware. The 'House of Camelot' idealism that the Kennedy's created with JFK as captain of an unsinkable ship. The elegance and poise of Jackie, the First Lady (the American Lady Diana) – giving the impression of a perfect family living like royalty in the White House.

a clever mix of real people and events, fictional characters and fictional events, and some threads which are probably based on theories and suspicions about JFK, which add to the enjoyment of the book. Good characters and a cleverly constructed conspiracy story.

Review by Lindy

[tophthedaydreamer]

hey, uh, just throwin’ it out there

I’d be glad to do some color palette character requests, mostly because I’m bad at choosing which char I wanna draw next, lol

soooo I have a list of characters I like to draw, you can pick one you want from said list or just suggest a new one! remember to also include which palette you want the character in :D

Important! I will NOT draw mecha, or NSFW characters!!!!! You CAN suggest your oc, but only if they are age appropriate!

here’s the magical list of characters (under the cut)

= Vocaloid =

Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin/Len, Megurine Luka, Meiko, Gumi, V4 Flower, Fukase, Piko, and Oliver

= Invader Zim =

Zim, Gir, Dib, Gaz, and Tak

= DuckTales =

Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby, Lena, Boyd, Violet, and Della

= Toons =

Mickey, Minnie, Oswald, Ortensia, Fanny, Bendy, Cuphead, Mugman, Felix, and Betty Boop 

= Steven Universe =

Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Ruby, Sapphire, Peridot, Lapis, Connie, Lars, Sadie, Stevonnie, Pink Pearl/Volleyball, Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl, Padparadscha, Sardonyx, Smoky Quartz, Rainbow 2.0, Pink Diamond, and Spinel.

= The Beatles =

John, Paul, George, and Ringo

= Moomin =

Snufkin, Little My, Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, Moominmama, Moominpapa, and The Joxter

= Sonic the Hedgehog =

Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Sally, Nicole, Bunnie, Cream, Blaze, Fiona, and Mina (probably more but I keep forgetting)

= Horror =

The Grady Twins, Chucky, Ring Girl/Samara, Jason, and Freddy

= My Little Pony (G4 and G3) =

Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, Derpy, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Minty, Thistle Whistle, Wisteria, and Lily Lightly.

= Care Bears =

Funshine, Cheer, Grumpy, Good Luck, Share, Tenderheart, Wish, Bedtime, Wonderheart, True Heart, and Noble Heart.

[nsula]

40th Folk Festival spotlights rich, diverse culture of Louisiana

By Dr. Shane Rasmussen

Photos by Chris Reich, NSU Photo Services

 NATCHITOCHES – The audience at the 40th annual Natchitoches-Northwestern State University Folk Festival held on July 26-27 was entertained and educated about the rich and diverse cultural offerings of the state. The Festival featured traditional Louisiana foods, Kidfest activities, music, traditional crafts, narrative sessions, musical informances, and cultural exhibits. This year’s Festival theme “Vive la Louisiane!” was a great success, with a very happy audience.

 The Festival opened with a rousing dance, beginning with Cajun dance lessons, followed by Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue, and the night closed out with Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band. Side stage performances included Natchitoches gospel group Joyful Sounds, 50 Man Machine, which includes NSU faculty Paul Forsyth, Collier Hyams, and Oliver Molina, and an open jam with Max & Marcy, Ed Huey, and Cane Mutiny.

 Saturday’s events included performances in Prather Coliseum by 50 Man Machine, Creole la la with Goldman Thibodeaux and the Lawtell Playboys, the Louisiane Vintage Dancers, Brandy Roberts, the Rayo Brothers, Tab Benoit, Jamie Berzas & the Cajun Tradition Band, the Stewart Family and Friends Bluegrass Band, line dance lessons by the Cajun French Music Association Dance Troupe, the Canneci N’de Band of Lipan Apache, zydeco dance lessons by Avila Kahey, Wayne & Same Ol’ 2 Step, Hardrick Rivers and the Rivers Revue Band, Celtic Music with the Kitchen Session of Baton Rouge and a jam session with Max and Marcy.

 In addition to stage performances there were narrative sessions and music informances, including conversations about American songwriting, culture & costumes of 19th century Louisiana, Tab Benoit’s The Voice of the Wetlands Fondoution, and the musical journey of Vanessa Niemann (aka Gal Holiday). Also featured was a music informance by Tab Benoit. Outdoor activities included demonstrations by the Central Louisiana Dutch Oven Cookers, the Red River Smiths, the Southern Stock Dog Association, and Wash Day, presented by the West Baton Rouge Museum. This year the Festival continued a series of free workshops for Festival attendees. Festival goers attended a Cajun accordion workshop by Jamie Berzas and Bruce Daigrepont.

 The annual Louisiana State Fiddle Championship was also held on Saturday in the Magale Recital Hall as part of the Festival. Fiddle Championship judges included Steve Birdwell, Steve Harper, Henry Hemple, and Clancey Stewart. The new Louisiana Grand Champion is Ron Yule of DeRidder. Second place winner was Joe Suchanek of Merryville, with Owen Meche of Arnauldville placing third. Meche also took first place in the 21 and under championship division.

Suchanek took first in the 60 and up championship division, with Yule coming in second, Birgit Murphy of Opelousas in third, Mark Young of Balise in fourth, Wilfred Luttrell of DeRidder in fifth, and Ron Pace of Alexandria in sixth. Luttrell and Yule also took first place in the twin fiddles competition.

 As the new Louisiana State Fiddle champion, Yule also performed on the main stage in Prather Coliseum. Dr. Lisa Abney managed the fiddle championship. Dr. Susan Roach from Louisiana Tech University emceed the championship.

 Four musicians and a renowned filé maker were inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Center’s Hall of Master Folk Artists. Inductees included Louisiana Music Hall of Famer Tab Benoit, who also served as honorary Festival Chair, Cajun musicians Jamie Berzas and Bruce Daigrepont, filé maker John Oswald Colson, and country singer Vanessa Niemann.

Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center, led the induction ceremony, assisted by State Representative Kenny Cox and Dustin Fuqua, Chief of Resource Management at Cane River Creole National Historical Park. In addition, the honorary award of Folklife Angel was given to long-time Festival crew chief James Christopher Callahan, an NSU alumnus.

In addition to 4 book signings and 8 exhibits by such groups as state parks and archives, over 70 craftspeople displayed their traditional work on Saturday. These craftspeople demonstrated and discussed their work with the Festival patrons. Craftspeople displayed accordion making, beadwork, baskets, Czech Pysanky eggs, filé making, flintknapping, folk art, knives, music instruments, quilting, pottery, spinning & weaving, tatting, walking sticks, whittling and needlework, wood carving, and more. 8 food vendors provided a cornucopia of traditional Louisiana foods to the Festival audience.

 Support for the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship and the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival was provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council.

Much needed support also came from generous sponsorships from Acme Refrigeration of Baton Rouge, C&H Precision Machining, Chili’s, City Bank & Trust, the City of Natchitoches, Cleco, John Clifton Conine, Atty; CP-Tel, Domino’s Pizza, the Donut Hole, El Patron, Family Medical Clinic, Grayson’s Barbecue, Hardee’s, the Harrington Law Firm, D. Michael Hayes, Atty; JB & M Enterprises, Jeanne’s Country Garden, La Capitol Federal Credit Union, McCain Auto Supply, Jason O. Methvin, Atty; Morning Star Donuts, the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, NSU Men’s Basketball, the Pioneer Pub, Pizza Hut, Raising Cane’s, Ronnie’s Auto Glass, Save A Lot, Sonny’s Donuts, Southern Classic Chicken, Natchitoches Super 1 Foods 604 and 613, TOTO, Inc; Trailboss, UniFirst, Walmart, Waste Connections, and Weaver Brothers Land & Timber. In addition, numerous newspapers, online venues, and radio and TV stations assisted the Festival by generously printing articles, airing interviews, free promotional PSAs, and/or participating in on-air ticket giveaways.

 The success of the Festival was made possible due to the many volunteers from NSU’s faculty and staff, who gave generously of their time and talents. The Louisiana Folklife Center is grateful to Phyllis Allison, David Antilley, Kay Cavanaugh, Corieana Ceasar, Jason Church, Sherrie Davis, Matt DeFord, Christine Dorribo, Michael Doty, Bruce Dyjack, Alexis Finnie, Ashlee Grayson, Charlotte Grayson, Dr. Hiram F. “Pete” Gregory, Dr. Greg Handel, Wesley Harrell, Jackie Hawkins, Diana Hill, Kristie Hilton, Carla Howell, Leah Jackson, Dr. J. Ereck Jarvis, Melissa Kelly, Suzanne Kucera, Dr. Chris Maggio, Barbara Marr, Terri Marshall, Coach Mike McConathy, Byron McKinney, Valerie Meadows, Gwendolyn Meshell, Dr. Jim Mischler, Melinda Parnell, Julie Powell, Kathy Pylant, Charles Rachal, Chris Reich, Stephanie Stanton, Bethany Straub, Anna Vaughn, Randi Washington, Mary Linn Wernet, David West, Taylor Whitehead, Emily Windham, Dale Wohletz, and Sharon Wolff. NSU students included Francisco Ballestas-Sayas, Caleb Callender, Makayla Fisher, Valentina Herazo-Alvarez, and Ina Sthapit. NSU alumni included Michael Cain, Michael Taylor Dick, Hammond Lake, Greg Lloid, De’Andrea Sanders, and Daniel Thiels. Many thanks are due to the Louisiana Folklife Center staff, including administrative coordinator Shelia Thompson, student workers Macey Boyd, Jalima Diaz, Heather Jones, Caitlin Martin, and Taylor Nichols, and graduate assistants James Harrison and Erica McGeisey.

 Thanks also go out to Andy Adkins, Myranda Adkins, Alexandria Arens, Robert D. Bennett, Jennae Biddiscombe, Rebecca Blankenbaker, Derek Boyt, Erin Boyt, Melanie Braquet, Sherry Byers, the Central Louisiana Dutch Oven Cookers, Don Choate, Jr., Catherine Cooper, Hailie Coutee, Helen Dalme, Cameron Davis, Eli Dyjack, Sheila Dyle, Adam Edwards, Justin French, Jennifer Gallien, Reagan Guillory, Grace Hardy, Dr. Don Hatley, Sue Hatley, Lani Hilton, Ed Huey, Peter Jones, Leonard King, Michael King, Abagael Kinney, Dan Martin, Deron McDaniel, Ivan McDaniel, Charity McKinney, Sheila Ogle, Sara Parnell, Kimberly Perry, Audrey Rasmussen, Gidget Rasmussen, Susan Rasmussen, Wyatt Rasmussen, the Red River Sanitors, Sukrit San, Rick Seale, Lorie Speer, Lori Tate, Margaret Thompson, Sara Vaughn, Emily Ware, Briton Welch, Justice Welch, Shirley Winslow, and the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center trustees and officers Derek Booker and Larry Willis.

 Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau staff members included Arlene Gould, Kelli West, NSU students Anne Cummins and Megan Palmer, and NSU alumna Heather Dougan.

Special thanks go to Craig Routh for his generous permission to use his painting, Dixieland Jazz Fleur-de-Lis, for the Festival t-shirt.

[ericfruits]

Britain’s political and social fabric is under unusual strain

Bagehot Britain’s political and social fabric is under unusual strain

The county is becoming mad, bad and dangerous

THE BRITISH like to think that they have a genius for defusing conflicts. France’s road to democracy lay through the Revolution and the Terror; Britain’s through the Great Reform Act. Germany and Italy had Hitler and Mussolini. Britain had Oswald Mosley, who signed his political death warrant as soon as he donned a black shirt and took to walking oddly. In China and Russia Communism resulted in the loss of millions of lives. In Britain it caused a few misguided souls to waste their lives flogging copies of the Morning Star.

Yet this illusion is born of a short-sighted view of history and geography. On the island of Ireland British citizens have only just stopped murdering each other for sectarian reasons. Peace is a recent phenomenon on the British mainland, too. In the 17th century the Civil War claimed the lives of a higher proportion of men than did the first world war. The 18th century saw an epidemic of riots and public drunkenness. Boyd Hilton’s volume of the Oxford History of England covering the years from 1783 to 1846 is entitled “A Mad, Bad and Dangerous People?”.

Britain has enjoyed a stable couple of centuries not because the British people are a naturally pacific lot but because of a uniquely successful political settlement that prioritised compromise over conflict and assimilation over exclusion. The traditional ruling class had a genius for co-opting new social forces. Thomas Macaulay, the great historian of Britain’s peaceable settlement, proclaimed that the country’s aristocracy was the most democratic and its democracy the most aristocratic in the world. Its institutions have a genius for co-opting and civilising political divisions. The weekly Punch and Judy show that is prime minister’s question time may be tedious, but it beats fighting in the streets.

Yet this settlement is beginning to fray. One of the stablest countries in Europe has become one of the most unpredictable. The box of surprises that produced Brexit may well lead to Scottish independence before the decade is out. France used to be the nation of street protests, but during the height of the Brexit frenzy Parliament Square was permanently occupied and the forces of Remain put 600,000 people on the streets. The British now hate their political elites with continental fervour. A ComRes poll in 2018 revealed that 81% of the respondents, and 91% of Leave voters, felt most politicians didn’t take into account the view of ordinary people. The country’s disparate parts are also growing sick of each other, as the Scottish independence movement produces an aggressive English counter-reaction.

There is no shortage of explanations for these growing tensions. Left-wingers blame de-industrialisation for creating a dangerously unbalanced country one corner of which is much richer than the rest. Traditional conservatives blame popular capitalism: the masses want instant gratification and the elites can’t be bothered to uphold cultural standards. (George Walden’s recently republished “New Elites: A Career in the Masses” expounds this case brilliantly.) But two developments have contributed most.

The first is the rise of identity politics. “Brexitland”, a new book by Maria Sobolewska and Robert Ford, argues that British politics, which used to be organised around class, has since the 1960s reordered itself around identity. “Identity liberals” are university graduates who pride themselves on their “open-minded” attitudes to immigration and ethnic minorities. “Identity conservatives” are older voters (who grew up when only 3% of people went to university) and people who left school with few qualifications; their economic interests do not always coincide, but they share a pride in Britain’s traditional culture, they bristle at attempts to marginalise it and they set the tone of Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party.

Identity politics, which seeks to drive a wedge between “us” and “them”, is far more explosive than class politics: you can compromise over the division of the economic pie but not over the core of your being. Brexit demonstrated this painfully. Enlightened liberals, even less tolerant than cultural conservatives, behaved like middle-class passengers forced to sit next to a working-class hen party on an overcrowded Ryanair flight. And neither side could resist the temptation to taunt the other. David Lammy, a Labour MP, likened the Eurosceptic European Reform Group to the “Nazis” before correcting himself and saying that the comparison was not strong enough. Plenty of issues, from Scottish independence to historical monuments, are susceptible to that sort of treatment.

The second disruptive force, closely related to the first, is the rise of the meritocracy. In his prophetic book of that name Michael Young argued that meritocrats believe that they owe their positions to nothing but their own merit, while the unsuccessful either lash out against the system or turn in on themselves in despair. The six-fold expansion of the universities has deepened the divide. Britain’s education system is now a giant sieve that selects the university-bound half of the population, depositing them in big cities, and lets the rest fall where they may, feeling unrepresented in Parliament or the media. White school-leavers are a particularly marginalised and volatile group, whose ranks are swelled by a new problem that Young didn’t anticipate. Many of those who get a university education feel cheated by it, for rather than offering admission to the cognitive elite, it may lead only to a pile of debt and a future labouring in the “precariat”. History suggests that the overeducated and underemployed are political tinder, as both the Bolsheviks and the Nazis demonstrated.

This might sound overexcited: the British system survived the 1930s not only intact but enhanced. The Conservative Party has done a good job of absorbing the raw energies of populism. The Labour Party is moving back to the centre after Jeremy Corbyn’s insurgency. But Brexit and the pandemic are further discrediting the political class while shrinking the economy. The numbers of “mad, bad and dangerous” people are growing. The country’s rulers need to think more seriously about how to civilise them. ■

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Mad, bad and dangerous"

https://ift.tt/3o4u2mC

[classicfilmfan64]

I really remember seeing their stuff for sale, in the 70s, in stores. I always wanted a movie projector, as a kid, but we never had one. This was a successful film company, for a long time. Most of the Movie reels you could buy were short films.

WIKIPEDIA: 'Castle Films (known as Universal 8 from 1977) was a film distributor founded in California by former newsreel cameraman Eugene W. Castle (1897–1960) in 1924. The company pioneered the production and distribution of films for home projection. Castle Films originally produced business and advertising films. By 1931 it had moved its principal office to New York City. In 1937, Castle branched out into 8 mm and 16 mm home movies, buying newsreel footage and old theatrical films for home use. Castle's first home movie was a newsreel of the Hindenburg explosion. That same year, Castle launched his "News Parade" series, a year-in-review newsreel; travelogues followed in 1938. Castle also released sports films, animal adventures, and "old time" movies. The films were sold at camera shops, in department stores, and by mail-order catalog. Castle Films were extensively advertised in national magazines.

Castle obtained home-movie rights to cartoons from several animation studios, including Terrytoons (1938), Ub Iwerks (1941), and Walter Lantz Productions (1947). During World War II it produced numerous documentary and training films for the U.S. armed services. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Castle released a series of 16 mm "Music Albums" assembled from the Soundies musical shorts, combining three 3-minute songs into each nine-minute subject. Castle Films distributed two dozen Christmas subjects over two decades, the first being Christmas-time in Toyland (released in 1939) and the last The First Christmas (in 1959). The perennial in this category was The Night Before Christmas, a live-action dramatization of the poem; this 1946 release remained in print for 26 years. 

In 1947, United World Films, Inc., the non-theatrical division of Universal Pictures, purchased a majority stake in Castle Films. Castle subsequently became a Universal subsidiary, drawing upon the studio's library of vintage films (with Abbott and Costello, W. C. Fields, Boris Karloff, James Stewart, etc.). The merger with Universal also brought to Castle the Walter Lantz cartoons with Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, Oswald Rabbit, and Chilly Willy. In the 1950s, Castle released a highly successful series of Hopalong Cassidy excerpts, licensed from the series' star William Boyd. When Universal was purchased by MCA Inc. in 1962, Castle also gained access to the pre-1950 Paramount Pictures sound feature films owned by MCA's TV division, releasing sequences from Cecil B. DeMille's spectaculars and Marx Brothers comedies, among other Paramount titles.

 Newsreels edited from NASA footage of U.S. space flights were timely in the 1960s. Castle's most popular series was its line of science-fiction and horror films, many featuring the Universal Classic Monsters Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Invisible Man. The series launched in 1957 and grew to 30 titles. 

Castle Films changed its name to Universal 8 in 1977 and experimented with longer-length films, but the era of home video brought an end to Universal's home-movie enterprise in 1984. Universal 8 dealt mostly in excerpts, but Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (founded in 1980) offered feature films in their entirety on videotape. Collectors abandoned the excerpts in favor of the complete movies. The largest U.S. competitor of Castle Films was Official Films until rival movie studios entered the marketplace, including Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers and United Artists (under the Ken Films brand name), and 20th Century-Fox.'

[hickorycreekrp-blog]

CONGRATULATIONS! The following applications have been accepted. You each have 48 hours (unless you’ve spoken to us about extending) to send in your account! Reminder that dash interactions will not start until we officially open on Friday, but you are welcome to message each other and plot and all of that fun stuff. If you didn’t get an application in, don’t fret. We will be doing another round of acceptances tomorrow, then a third acceptance before we open on Friday!

SIDE NOTE: Holy CRAP we never thought we would get 39 applications bringing our opening character total to 44 (so far), let alone accept EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!! These characters are all phenomenal and we can’t wait to see them in play. 

SIDE SIDE NOTE: We had a record number of people ask to make changes to their apps after they submitted so please make sure everything below is correct and also read over your bio when it’s posted!

ABBY // ANDROMEDA LACROIX (30, Alexandra Park)

AMY // JAMES KINGSTON (24, Henry Cavill)

ANDREW // JOSHUA WILDER (28, Mehcad Brooks)

ANNIE // CHARLOTTE BENOIT (28, Phoebe Tonkin)

ASHA // KILLIAN O’DARE (34, Boyd Holbrook)

ASPEN // WILLOW TATE (24, Danielle Campbell)

BECCA // DAISY HARRIS (27, Lucy Hale)

CAM // VINCENT HAYWOOD (36, Ryan Gosling)

CORAL // VERONICA ZAYYAN (31,  Sofia Boutella)

DANI // ANGELO SYKES (21,  C.Leechaiyapornkul)

DESI // TOBIAS BENSON (25, Dominic Sherwood)

ELIZABETH // ETHAN ROMANO (24, Matthew Daddario)

FRAN // VIVIAN ROTHSCHILD (27, Amber Heard)

GEORGIA // MICHAEL YANCY (32, DJ Cotrona)

GUPPY // TEDDY PENDLETON-OSWALD IV (25, A.Elgort)

HERMIA // WINNIE JENNINGS (46, Mädchen Amick)

IZZIE // TESSA FITZGERALD (28, Nina Dobrev)

JAYLA // NADIA CARMICHAEL (23, Karrueche Tran)

JEN // (ANNALISE STRATFORD (26, Adelaide Kane)

JESS // MATILDA CARTER (28, Emily Bett Rickards)

KERA // CHARLIE McGREGGOR (50, Jeffrey D. Morgan)

KITTY // KYLE HENDRIX (27, Gal Gadot)

LACI // WALTER CASON (23, Blake Jenner)

LEAH // KEZIAH MERRICK (25, Zoe Kravitz)

LIV // LYDIA PALMER (19, Amandla Stenberg)

LUNA // MEREDITH WILSON (27, Lily Collins)

MEL // EVA ROBERTSON (18, Josefine Pettersen)

MADDIE // LUCILLE DANIELS (25, Candice Patton)

MEAGAN // YEON A OH (29, Jamie Chung)

MIMI // PEARL RICHARDSON (26, Emeraude Toubia)

MONI // ARTHUR PENNYSWORTH (32, Chris Hemsworth)

NAE // SIMONE DUNN (25, Amber Riley)

NAZ // MAGNOLIA SAWYER (28, Troian Bellisario)

NICOLE // KATRINA PRESTON (27, Jenna Coleman)

NIX // REMINGTON AINSWORTH (28, Luke Mitchell)

NOVA // SEBASTIAN MORALES (22, Alberto Rosende)

SAY // WILLIAM CAVENDISH (30, Sam Clafin)

SHAY // ATLAS LANDRY (27, Alicia Vikander)

STEPH // ROSS NOBLE (25, Richard Madden)

TORI // PALOMA VAN DUNSEN (24, Kylie Bunbury)

[trans-and-baby-names]

hi it's jordan- i'd like some more names! maybe some that are unusual, not too generic trans names, but not hippy dippy, if you get me, thank you!!

I tried to include names I don’t think are too common but are also not often trans name suggestions. I’m not sure I know exactly what you are looking for but I hope I’m on the right track with some of them! AbrahamAngelo AnthonyArturoBoydBryce Cain/KaneClarkFergus Frances/FrancisGroverHutchKeithOttoMagnusMarcelMarshall MatteoMauriceOswaldRichardRufus TuckerWallaceWalter

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Well .. my feeling grumpy and miserable and a little under the weather when I wrote my post last Sunday evening developed into full blown cold/flu symptoms by Monday morning. All over aches, a fever by Monday night and a lovely annoying, keep me up all night cough from Tuesday onwards. Needless to say it did not make me feel any less grumpy. I battled through at work all week but it has had a knock on impact on reading as I had only finished one book by Friday. One! It was a good one though …

Because of the cold and my general crappiness, I have really done nothing all week. I picked up one book from Netgalley – Come a Little Closer, the upcoming release from Rachel Abbott, and nothing much book post wise either. Lovely early delivery from Waterstones with my copy of The Gathering Dark by James Oswald arriving a whole five days before publication day but nowt else. Aside from that I may have preordered a few titles, as you do. The Choice by Jake Cross; The Last Thing I Saw by Alex Sinclair; Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen; Absolution by Paul E Hardisty; The Ice Swimmer by Kjell Ola Dahl; We Were The Salt Of The Sea by Roxanne Bouchard; and Ten Year Stretch by Various authors.

See. Proof I was ill … Still am. I read a book this past weekend which nearly suffocated me. Thank god I had tissues …

Books I Have Read

The Legacy – Yrsa Sigurdardottir

The first in an exciting new series from the author of THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel.

The murder was meant as a punishment – but what sin could justify the method?

The only person who might have answers is the victim’s seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she’s not talking.

Newly promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja and the Children’s House for their expertise with traumatised young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn’t best pleased. But she’s determined to keep little Margret safe.

It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues: warnings in text messages, sums scribbled on bits of paper, numbers broadcast on the radio. He’s telling a dark and secret story – but how can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next?

Wow. This book makes you look at household objects in a whole new light. A little gruesome with a very dark undertone, I actually loved it and can’t wait to read more in the series. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the book as part of the blog tour for the paperback release at the end of the month but you can purchase your own copy here.

…

Little Liar – Clare Boyd

The perfect family… or the perfect lie?

To the outside world, Gemma Bradley has it all – a doting husband, high-flying career and two delightful kids – but inside the four walls of her tastefully renovated home, she is a mother at her wits’ end who has given too many last warnings and counted to ten too many times.

When a child’s scream pierces the night, Gemma’s neighbour does what anyone would do: she calls the police. She wants to make sure that Rosie, the little girl next door, is safe.

Gemma knows she hasn’t done anything wrong, but the more she fights to defend the family she loves, the more her flawless life begins to crumble around her. Is the carefully guarded secret she’s been keeping suddenly in danger of breaking free? 

When Rosie disappears, Gemma thinks she only has herself to blame. That is, until she discovers that Rosie has been keeping dark secrets of her own in a pink plastic diary.  

Distraught and terrified, Gemma doesn’t know where to turn. The only thing she knows is that her daughter’s life is in danger…

Little Liar is a heart-in-your-mouth psychological thriller about the people we choose to trust and the secrets we keep behind closed doors. If you loved The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl or anything by B.A. Paris you’ll be totally and utterly gripped. 

Gah. So many things in this book made my blood boil but you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out why. Making quite a compelling case for living in a very remote house in the county this examines the damage that suspicions can do when back up by one big ‘little’ lie. You can pre-order a copy of the book here.

…

We Own The Sky – Luke Allnutt

A story about love, loss and finding hope-against all odds.

Rob Coates can’t believe his luck. There is Anna, his incredible wife, and most precious of all, Jack, their son, who makes every day an extraordinary adventure. Rob feels like he’s won the lottery of life. Or rather-he did. Until the day it all changes when Anna becomes convinced there is something wrong with Jack.

Now Rob sleepwalks through his days, unable to bridge the gulf that separates him from his wife, his son and the business of living. But he’s determined to come to terms with what’s happened-and find a way back to life, and forgiveness. We Own the Sky will resonate with anyone who has ever suffered loss or experienced great love. Luke Allnutt shows that the journey from hope to despair and back is never as simple as we think, and that even the most thoroughly broken heart can learn to beat again.

Oh my life. This is it. The book that nearly killed me. Breathing has been hard enough but when you are also crying buckets. Such a moving and emotive tale of two parents struggling to cope with a tragic diagnosis for their beloved son Jack, this book will break your heart. Stunning book. You can purchase a copy here. My review will be up in early Feb as part of the tour. As long as I’ve recovered enough emotionally to write it.

…

Assassins Retribution – Rachel Amphlett

Who spies on the spies?

The net is closing in on Eva and her team, now on the warpath and seeking revenge.

Old alliances are tested, new enemies are exposed, and somehow Eva has to stop a madman unleashing a weapon of terrifying consequences upon an unsuspecting population.

The clock is ticking…

The English Spy Mysteries is a new concept by acclaimed crime thriller author, Rachel Amphlett. Combining fast-paced thrilling reads with episodic delivery in the vein of TV shows 24, Alias, and Spooks, series 1 is a must-read for fans of Robert Ludlum, Vince Flynn, and James Patterson.

The final part of the series, full of action, intrigue, double crossing and tension. Pretty tidy all round really. My review will be out tomorrow, the book can be purchase here.

…

So that’s it. In spite of feeling grumpy and ill, I managed a full week of posts this past week. Glad I’m cutting back 😉

#BlogTour: An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth

BlogTour: The Start of Something Wonderful by Jane Lambert

Review: Assassins Vengeance by Rachel Amphlett

#BlogTour: Vanishing Girls by Lisa Regan

#BlogTour: The Feed by Nick Clark Windo

#BlogTour: The Cover Up by Marnie Riches

#BlogTour: The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd

The week ahead is a little slower with only one blog tour and a few reviews. Join me on Thursday when I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Lucy Dawson’s The Daughter. I’ll also have a couple of cover reveals later on today.

Bit of a fun evening planned on Wednesday, but more on that next week. Hopefully by then I’ll have stopped coughing quite so much.

Have a great week all

Jen

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 21/01/18 Well .. my feeling grumpy and miserable and a little under the weather when I wrote my post last Sunday evening developed into full blown cold/flu symptoms by Monday morning.

[taylerluranios-blog]

Rules/Characters/People 0.01

Ok!So!I am new to tumblr,shocking,I know.But I always have ideas for book I never finish,so I thought I’d do imagines.If you want to request something,feel free!

Rules- Not much,just not um…yea no rules!Yes,I will wright smut.And yes there will be gore.I also do alphabetical,which most people don’t.

People : Mark Fischbach - markiplier

Sean McLoughlin - jacksepticeye

Ethan - crankgameplays

Tyler - (stonefaced Tyler)

Felix (last name I can not spell) - pewdiepie Daniel Howell - danisnotonfire

Philip Lester - amazingphil

Shane Dawson - shane

Marzia - cutiepie

Amy - Mark’s girlfriend.(I actually love them together!)

And all the people that play the characters.

Characters:

Gotham ; Jerome Valeska(before or after death,do not care.)

Edward Nygma

Oswald Cobblepot

Selina Kyle/Cat

Alfred Pennyworth

Harvey Bullock

Jim Gordon

Commissioner Sarah Essen

Commissioner Nathaniel Barnes

Barbra Kean

Kristen Kringle

Fish Mooney

Poison Ivy

Tabitha Galavan

Leslie Thompkins

Butch Gilzean

Teen Wolf(not caught up,still 2 season behind) ; Stiles Stilinksi

Lydia Martin

Scott McCall

Issac Layhey

Malia Hale-Tate

Liam Allison Argent

Derek Hale

Peter Hale

Boyd

Erika

American Horror Story ; ALL CHARACTERS!ALL SEASONS!

Game Of Thrones(show) ; ALL CHARACTERS!ALL SEASONS!

Supernatural ; ALL CHARACTERS!ALL SEASONS!

The Walking Dead ; (Few seasons behind)ALL CHARACTERS!

Scream MTV: ALL CHARACTERS

Movies ; The Maze Runner ; ALL CHARACTERS!ALL MOVIES!

[itsworn]

Gallery: 1970s Drag Racing Through the Lens of Dave Kommel

Dave Kommel fell in love with drag racing in 1960 as a 10-year-old reading about Don Garlits in Hot Rod Magazine. He went to his first race in Union Grove, WI, in 1966 and started shooting trackside, mainly on the west coast, in 1972 through the ’70s until forming Auto Imagery in 1979 with Richard Shute. From 1980 through 2013, he traveled the country shooting NHRA, IHRA, IDBA, ProStar, various independent drag races and a little bit of NASCAR. Now retired, Dave still shoots races that catch his fancy and has begun scanning his extensive cache of slides and negatives from the 1970s.

Don Carlton in the “Motown Missile” Pro Stock Barracuda at the 1972 Winternationals. Carlton was one of the stars of the early days of Pro Stock, but lost his life in a crash while testing in 1977.

Pat Foster in Barry Setzer’s Vega Funny Car at OCIR in 1972. With Setzer’s money and Foster’s expertise with the clutch, this car was always a serious contender for low e.t. and top speed.

Walt Rhoades (near lane) and Carl Olson side by side at the 1972 Bakersfield March Meet. At the time, the March Meet was biggest independent drag race in the country and annually drew very large fields of Top Fuel dragsters from every corner of the country.

Willie Borsch in the Marcellus & Borsch “Winged Express” AA/FA at the 1972 Bakersfield March Meet. Willie passed away in 1991, but the iconic roadster is still thrilling crowds today driven by Mike Boyd.

“Wild Wilfred” Boutilier’s BB/FC at Irwindale in 1974. Wilfred was one of the early hitters in Pro Comp and owns the distinction of making the first 6-second alcohol funny car pass.

Although best known as a crew chief and tuner on many top teams, Lee Beard also drove dragsters and funny cars in the 1970s. Here, he is running Top Fuel at Salt Lake City in 1975.

Leroy Chadderton in the Chadderton & Okazaki Vega Funny Car at the 1975 Bakersfield March Meet. Chadderton was best known as a fuel altered pilot, but also drove several funny cars, including Roland Leong’s “Hawaiian”.

Don Waite’s big-block Chevy-powered A/Altereds were a fixture in Division Competition Eliminator wars for many years. This shot is at the Sacramento points race in 1975.

James Warren at Irwindale in 1975. Known as the “Ridge Route Terrors”, James and partner Roger Coburn were one of the top teams on the west coast for a number of years.

Don Prudhomme and Ed McCulloch square off in the Funny Car final at the 1976 Winternationals. Prudhomme took the win, 6.26 to 6.36 to earn his second straight Winternationals title.

Lee Hunter heats the tires in his Mustang II Pro Stock at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1976. Hunter was a player in the west coast Pro Stock wars from the ‘70s into the mid-80’s.

Chassis builder Davey Uyehara in the Oswald & Uyehara “Kamikaze” Monza Funny Car at Fremont in 1976. Uyehara was known as “The World’s Oldest Living Kamikaze Pilot”.

Cal Jackson in the Jackson Bros. “High Heaven” AA/FA at OCIR in 1976. The Jacksons regularly made the trek from Denver to SoCal and Tucson to compete with the west coast Fuel Altered contingent.

John Force at the 1977 PRO Winternationals at Beeline Dragway in Phoenix. At this point in time, Force was still struggling just to qualify and who could have guessed what the future held for him?

Tony Nancy’s “Revelliner” Top Fuel dragster at OCIR in 1977. Tony’s cars were always among the best looking out there and usually very competitive.

Lee Lebaron in “The Savage” AA/FA at Irwindale in 1977. The late ‘60s through the mid-‘70s were the heydays of Fuel Altered action in SoCal and by 1977, the altereds were on the downside and being squeezed out by Funny Cars.

Before there was such a thing as Super Gas, Pro Gas was alive and well at Sacramento Raceway running on a 9.50 index. Dave Riolo (seen here at Sacramento in 1977) was one of the early players in Pro Gas and a 9.50 doorslammer was pretty fast for that era.

Gary Cornwall in Ed Wilson’s “Battle Born” Top Fuel dragster at OCIR in 1977.

Bob Johnson in Johnson & Novak E/Stock ’69 Mustang convertible at the 1977 Salt Lake City point race.

John Lingenfelter running B/Econo Altered in Comp Eliminator at the 1977 Winston Finals at Ontario Motor Speedway. This car was previously Bob Glidden’s Pro Stock ride during the 1976 season.

Dale Armstrong’s AA/DA Pro Comp entry at Fremont in 1978. Dale was one of the great innovators in the sport and very successful as both a driver and crew chief.

Daniel Cyr running A/Econo Altered at the 1978 Fallnationals in Seattle. Cyr’s Cobra was actually Chevy-powered.

Once upon a time, Funny Cars did long crowd-pleasing burnouts. “240 Gordie” Bonin smoking the tires at the 1978 Fallnationals in Seattle.

Dennis Baca at the 1978 Winston Finals at Ontario Motor Speedway. Baca was known as “The Carpetbagger” because he owned a carpet and flooring company in northern California.

Bill Shrewsberry’s “Berry Wagon” wheelstander sponsored by Knott’s Berry Farm at OCIR in 1978.

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