#best boxing clubs bronxs

[lavena]

Tmnt headcannons and a psa for those like 3 toxic ppl

87

- Raph can get the highest flips pit of all his brothers

-Leo found out how to make the brushes used for Kanji n such for fun and will sometimes make wallpaper with his favorite quotes

-donnie breaks the fabric of the universe at least once a week and no one is surprised

- mikeys accent is fake, he actually has a Bronx accent, he just liked the sufer persona so much he decided to commit

90s

-Leo got the go ninja go song stuck in his head for years

-Raph is the best break dancer and will go to clubs with his brother sometimes

-Donnie will sometimes escape to scap yards for hours on end just tearing appliances apart

-mikey has anger issues, as seen by him beating the shit out of a punching bag in the deleted scene (April's drawing of mikey)

2003

-leo will get "the batman" voice whenever he is stressed

- mikey has night terrors

-Raph knits

-dons guilty pleasure is Celtic sings (tir na nog, teir abhaile riu)

2007 (dint mind me leading this tf up)

- raph learned Spanish because one of the kids he met on the street as Nightwatcher spoke it and raph wanted to be able to talk to the kid and make sure he ls alright

Leo get vivid nightmares after the Winters debacle

-mikey after working as cowabunga carl has nightmares

- Raph got shot when he first started being a vigilante

-don and mike are twins

- Dons tech support leaves him more sarcastic than ever, which is really funny for his brothers, but leo gets whiplash for the first bit after he gets home

-don holds a grudge against raph and leo, and sometimes their father but never enough for it to affect their family

- Leo got really good at hiding in the shadows to the point he scares the shit out of raph in the mornings

-raph started watching tellanovellas with their father after his nightwatcher thing

-mike will bake custom cakes for his cowabunga carl gigs for an extra price, at first it wasn't very successful but then word spread that they were the best goddamn cakes around and people started to ask for cakes even if they didn't have a kids birthday. Let's just say having a turtle at your quinces or receptions became an inside joke.

-don and mike are up at the crack of dawn, mike cause he likes to bake the cakes the day of so they don't dry out and the frosting doesn't get the weird hard bits after refrigerating and don because he needs to inject coffee and acetometaphin into his veins to deal with these stupid fcuking people

-leo had to use an automatic rifle once in the jungle and he vows to never again

-raph and Casey spent one too many times out till the break of dawn, Casey almost got fired, but raph and him made up a story, put on voices and treachcoats all that jazz. Now Caseys boss thinks he has ties with the mafia... it gets really runny when April finds out and chases them down

-don and mike spend mornings listening to lowkey but hyping songs to get ready in the morning " a boy named pluto" mainly because don can't handel anything loud and mike will cry if the song doesn't have some kind of sway to it

- Raph became the nightwatcher after witnessing the og guys death, poor guys traumatized

2012

- mikey is the best at disappearing, but only after don invested the egg shell smoke bombs

- Leo voice box was permenatly damaged when he was attacked b4 the farm house arc, it gets really bad when he is stressed

- Raph after the whole brainworm thing (is that cannon or fannon, im like 70% sure it's cannon but idk) gets really spooked around insects and worms, especially if he can hear them moving

- Donnie got a chem set for Christmas from his brother, but he knows they really just stole stuff from nycu, he loves it

2018

- Raph gets sad sometimes that he isn't smaller cause he wants to be help, his brother make sure to give him a really big group hug, doesn't solve anything but he knows he is loved

- Mikey spray paints, it started with the sewer walls, but now he does abandon buildings too

- Donnie built himself the best noise canceling headphones, and then built all his brothers pairs because they kept asking to borrow them

- Leo ugly laughts at the fnaf sb freddy memes, all of them, it makes everyone who hears it wheeze

2023

- Leo is so goddamn anxiety ridden, this poor boy

- Finally a raph that does violent right, yeah it might (read deffo will in hs) end up bad, but never for his brother, cause he protects them with that violence and anger

- Don definitely learned how to speak Korean so he could watch k-pop interviews as they aired

- Mikey is a natural at martial arts

That's all I got for now, but quick psa

There has been a bit of toxicity regarding raph fans, like 3 of them. Everyone else is great, so for anyone experiencing hate from those people like @theunicorncomic-blog and @incorrect-2003-tmnt-quotes ( like people are being toxic to them not that they are toxic) along with anyone else experiencing toxicity from the 3 Raph fans

I am so sorry, I know it can be stressful and they seem to like to target things that are personal. So just remember it doesn't matter who your favorite is, it doesn’t matter if you hate a character, we are tmnt. We are TMNT and we love our ninja boys, and we always will. Embrace the new iterations, learn of the old, no matter what it will bring you joy to see our boys out n about getting love.

Spread love and affection, and ignore those who are violent without reason.

And for those like 3 toxic raph fans, I get that you are upset about people disliking raph or feeling like his personality is costing other characters, but something to remeber is that, we love raph, he is a great character, what we are upset about is that the writers make him "angry, strong, rule breaker" and nothing else, they don't let him grow, they don't let him experience, for example the other characters start out as this. " Mr. Rules, Ninja, Leader by name only" and then let him grow to " leader through experience, kind, and willing to risk it all for his family" another " know it all, annoyed, non confrontational" and let him grow to " empathetic, strong willed, smart" they allow the other characters to grow, while sticking with their base. So the Raph we want to see at the end of a series is " willing to do anything to protect, strength through family, and angry at injustice" we can see it be set up in 07 and 03, but the others leave him as an angry, violent jerk who is funny mind due, but non the less we are left wanting more from someone who tends to be one of the more focused on characters.

TLDR, we are upset that Raph suffers as a character from lack of mobility, in a main position he has the options to, but the writers don't give it to him, and by doing so it costs the other characters. So stop being toxic and giving your character a bad rap by using slurs against the people who have different views from you. Just remember there is way more good than there is bad, don't let these 3 ruin things for everyone else or warp your view of others

[styafiya-blog]

You Asked for Things to Do in Nyc this Summer,—and Here's What We Recommend

In this week's blog post, I choose to share some interesting information about my street summer time in America and Jamaica. Queens Brooklyn Bronx Manhattan I'm going to share with you a little bit of my teenage life, coming from the Jamaican islands which hold different cultures of all types of nations. You will have to change your way of movement. Learn more about the big city. I love music most of my teen life. I go wherever it is happening. Backyard parties and indoor clubs were my play ground. This was the time before the big internet and social media. The police did not understand that we were smoking cannabis and drinking. Many people were out in the party. If you will see women dancing with men. No smartphone was around. We had home phones and call boxes. We set a time and meet up to party the next morning.

New York City Caribbean party night I talk it live. I remember taking an African American woman and asking her for a dance. She did not know how to move to the base of the beats. I noticed they grew to love the dancehall reggae music over the years. They learned how we Jamaicans talked and how we vibe. Big respect to all my Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Manhattan women who love the sound of reggae. Summertime here in New York is my best time to see women show off their bodies. If you play your game right, you might find yourself in love with an American woman or another natural beauty nation.

when you are in New York City. Running around when the sun comes up in the summer, if you are into going to sea, do a search on Google. If you choose to go, be on your best behavior and follow the rule.

Summertime dating and meeting women in New York I like taking a woman to a reggae stage show if they are not Jamaican. I introduce them to Jerk Chicken, Roots drinks, and real high grades. Sometimes road trips are fun to do if the money is right, or you can just take the train or drive to Manhattan on forty-second street, where you have a Boardway live show. outdoor movie clubs life, however you choose it, is up to you.

[five-miles-over]

Heyyyy I saw you take requests for Willie, I'm so happy!!! we really lack fics with him. Could you please write an imagine (or HC ) about Willie needing comfort, he feels lonely, perhaps rejected and judged by most people around him and reader comfort him pretty please? can be pure fluff or end nsfw. Thank you so much and I really love your writing <3

Hi, @darknessisafriend ! Thank you so much for your request and your compliments (and thank you for your patience as well). I’m starting to enjoy writing for Willie, and I’d love to do it more often. Hope you like this fic, my friend :)

The Light Blinking at the End of the Tunnel

Pairing: Willie Gutierrez x Reader

Warnings: swearing, mentions of violence, references to the film The Yards.

"I suppose you want to ask me why I killed him,"

You lowered your eyes while Willie took a large bite of a pizza slice, chewing slowly and glaring. Almost as if he dared you to say something back to him, knowing fully well that you weren't expecting him to get so defensive all of a sudden. The surprise was clear in your body language - the shortness of your breath, the partition of your lips, and the way your eyebrows curved - that you'd never even thought about how dangerous his past could possibly be.

———————————————————————————————————

Ever since the blackout a few months ago, when you'd accidentally knocked on Willie's door to borrow some candles, he had become your closest confidante, possibly your only ally in your new neighborhood situated the shady heart of the Bronx.

The two of you bumped into each other again in the hallway another morning after that fateful night. That time, you exchanged phone numbers and promised again to hang out sometime. At the time, you told yourself that he was just saying those things to be nice to you, that he couldn't really be serious about spending more time with you.

Much to your surprise, Willie showed up at your door the next Friday with a bottle of your favorite liquor - the one he saw you drinking when he came over to your place during the blackout - and a pack of beer for himself. From the scent of his breath, you could already tell that he'd already had a drink or two before coming over, but who cared? You had to give him points for the liquid courage.

After to let him inside, you and Willie spent the entire night talking, ranting about your horrible jobs, and laughing at the world. And soon enough, it became a tradition for you to spend Friday nights together. Even thought Willie eventually gained the zeal to go clubbing and try new places with strangers around town, you both had an implicit agreement to keep Friday nights reserved for each other.

And so today, like any other Friday night, you came over to his place carrying a box of pizza and some garlic bread with dipping sauces. That was always the arrangement between the two of you. Since you didn't have much to spend, one of you would always bring the food while the other brought the alcohol. It didn't matter who was hosting.

"Come on in." He joyfully opened the door, saying your name as if it were one of his favorite words or the way that a game show host would announce the winner. Willie hugged you tight, trying not to damage the food, humming contentedly. "Rough week?"

You nodded, entering his apartment. You had just begun telling him about your dreary week at the office when someone knocked at Willie's door. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." He quickly told you before answering.

From the corner of your eye, you could see Willie and a man of almost equal height talking about something important. The smile that greeted you disappeared faster than the man could state the words 'New York Police Department', and Willie's eyebrows seemed to furrow with each word the man said after that.The man continued to inform Willie of something in a hushed tone, and curtly left when he was done.

"Who was that?" You asked absent-mindedly, turning to face Willie after he closed the door.

"No one. Could you maybe keep the fries on the table over there?"

You raised you eyebrow, wondering if he might've been referring to the garlic bread instead. "Willie…I didn't order any fries."

"Well maybe you should have!" Willie yelled.

Startled by his sudden raise in voice, you swallowed and went back to unboxing the food. "If you want fries, I'll go over to the place in Erben Avenue."

"No, it's too late. Just…forget this fucking thing ever happened."

Not wanting to push the matter any further, you put the food out as normal and began to help yourself. And Willie brought out the liquor he'd promised to get for the both of you. As the sun began to set, you tried to make small talk with him, asking about his week and whether his bathroom sink finally stopped leaking.

He answered you with short,  almost one-word answers. You didn't have to be a psychic to realize that he was still thinking about what happened earlier with the man. Normally, you would've tried your best to brush the whole thing off, but it was alarming to see your typically-enthusiastic, extroverted friend talk in short sentences. It had gone so far that Willie was barely looking you in the eye, almost as if he were speaking to the pizza instead of you.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you again. Who the hell was that guy?" You inquired with a hint of exasperation, "Because he seemed to take your tongue with him."

"You saw his uniform." He snapped back. "He was a policeman."

"What was he doing here?"

"That's none of your business. It's my apartment, and I can have whomever the fuck I want."

"Right." You sarcastically retorted, "Because it's your apartment, you just decided to invite a policeman over."

With a scoff, Willie took a large bite of pizza. "It's my parole officer." He muttered begrudgingly through a mouthful of dough and sauce. "That's not a damn policeman."

"You have a parole officer…" You did your best not to gasp loudly. Having a parole officer usually meant that a someone had a criminal record, possibly a heavy one.

"Yeah. Did some time years ago." Willie tried to remain casual as he confessed to you.

"What did you do…if I may ask?"

"Murder." He bit into his slice again, taking his time chewing and swallowing before speaking. "I suppose you want to ask me why I killed him,"

It was definitely tempting to try and get more information out of him. Whom did he kill? Was it family, was it a friend, was it a stranger? Could it be…could it be a former neighbor, one who lived in the place you live now?

Instead, you took a cue from his downcast, green eyes and his unprecedented silence. With a deep breath, you quietly responded to his statement. "No…I actually don't want to know why."

Taking it as a sign you  were pretty much done with him, Willie finished his pizza slice and stood up to open the door for you. When you asked him what he was doing, he told you that nobody like you should be in the same room as a murderer. That you were a decent person with a bright future ahead of you, deserving of much better than a convict for company.

You stood your ground and protested, saying that you weren't going to leave. Willie continued to persuade you to leave, saying that leaving him would be the best thing for you. And you still refused.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He punched the crumbling wall and cursed your name while a little blood trickled from his knuckles. "I just fucking told you that I'm a murderer…and you still can't take a fucking hint?!"

"Because you're my friend!" Slamming Willie's door, it was your turn to yell now. "You're my friend…"

He blinked in disbelief at your declaration, completely taken aback by this turn of events. "You see?!" Willie repeated, addressing your name. "You see your problem?! You see too much good. You fucking still see good, and that's why you've got to go. You've got to go before you get hurt."

"Willie…"

Telling you to shut up, Willie turned away from you. With his back facing the door, he ran a hand through his thick, jet-black hair and muttered under his breath that he killed a rail yard master with a pocketknife and his girlfriend with brute force. The second case was a complete accident, but it left him completely alone.

"After she died, her stepfather - my boss - cut me off." His eyes began to sting with tears as he slumped onto the couch. "None of his guys offered to bail me out or vouch for me…I got out on parole after five years because I was good. I was good to the guards and all, not causing trouble or shit like the others. But…nobody 'xcept for my high school friend offered to get in touch with me or talk to me. I was pretty much alone, and thrown out here."

You gently placed a hand on his shoulder, sitting carefully near him. "Thanks for sharing with me, Willie," you whispered. "I…it really means a lot to me."

"I could hurt you too."

"Yeah…but you haven't." And it was the truth. Since you'd met him, Willie had been nothing but warm and loyal to you. Outside of your usual Friday night hang-outs,  he always said 'hi' whenever you passed by in the hallway, he offered to plunge your toilet when there was water trouble, and even taught you to haggle with the electricians when they tried to charge you too much to fix a bad outlet. He was like your 'knight in shining armor', always trying to help you and expecting nothing in return.

Sometimes, you even thought about asking him out on a date, maybe to see if something more could happen between the two of you. The only reason you hesitated for months to make a move was because of how good-looking and charming he seemed. There was no way that a guy like him could be available. None of the cute guys usually were.

"There's good in you, Willie. I've seen it for myself," You confided, rubbing circles on his back. "You told me yourself that it was good behavior that got you out of prison after five years. And I'm sure lots of others will see how good you are on the inside, just like I do."

"You don't have to be nice to me." He sniffed, giving you a tired glance.

"No, I don't,"You admitted. "But I want to be nice to you. Because you're nice to me." Closing your eyes, you wrapped your arms around Willie and inhaled the scent of fabric softener from his shirt. In return, he held your arms and accepted your hug.

"You're seriously the best thing in this goddamn place." Willie muttered with a sigh.

"You too, Willie." The two of you remained silent before he offered to let you spend the night, and maybe watch a movie after dinner was over.

"Fine," you agreed, promising to leave early so as not to give him trouble in the morning.

The truth was, after seeing how calm and accepting you were about his past, Willie wouldn't have minded you staying over until noon the next day...maybe even inviting you to have dinner with him again, somewhere nicer where the two of you could treat yourselves.

But all that was a bit far ahead. Right now, all Willie wanted was to enjoy the fact that there really was a light blinking at the end of the long, dark tunnel…and that he could see it sitting next to him on the couch.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic: 04 Mar 2020 (Brokered conventions, the Siege of Gondor, ICE risk-assessment whitebox, Chinese covid censorship, America's national immunocompromise)

Today's links

A brokered convention will produce a powerless presidency: Transformative change requires a movement, not a plan.

What the Siege of Gondor teaches us about medieval warfare: 40,000 riveting words from Roman military historian Bret Deveraux.

ICE's risk assessment algorithm only ever recommends detention: NYCLU suing to force them to admit what we've all figured out.

Probing China's Covid-19 censorship: Outstanding work from Citizen Lab.

America is uniquely at risk from coronavirus: 77 million un- and underinsured people.

This day in history:

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

I'm coming to Kelowna, BC tomorrow! I'll be at the library from 6-8PM with my book Radicalized for the CBC's Canada Reads. It's free, but you need to RSVP (and most of the seats are gone, so act quick).

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-radio-presents-in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-96154415445

A brokered convention will produce a powerless presidency (permalink)

Hoping for a brokered convention is basically saying, "Hey, go fuck yourself" to every doorknocker and phone canvasser in your base. It says, "Let's not use votes to choose the candidate. You little people were for show. We choose our leaders by gathering the people who matter in smoke-filled rooms."

Any candidate hoping to enact a transformative program from the presidency is going to need a powerful, motivated base to whip establishment Dems into order: "I want to do it, now make me do it." Jettisoning the idea that your supporters get you nominated is the most demoralizing thing I can imagine, short of shutting off the server your organizers used to get you elected as soon as they succeed (looking at you, Barack Obama).

It's pure technocratic hubris, the kind of thing that turns promising wonks into figureheads who accomplish nothing. Saving America from plutocracy and white nationalism requires a movement, not a savior with a plan.

What the Siege of Gondor teaches us about medieval warfare (permalink)

Last spring, Roman military historian Bret Devereaux published over 40,000 words of analysis of the Siege of Gondor as depicted in Peter Jackson's Return of the King. It is by far the best use of fiction as a tool for teaching history that I've ever read.

It's in 6 parts, broken down by themes. By far my favorite section was the opener, on the logistics of sieges. I am a quartermaster by temperament, and the logistic of moving 200,000 orcs (plus trolls, elephants, siege engines, etc) is FASCINATING.

https://acoup.blog/2019/05/10/collections-the-siege-of-gondor/

"The road the orcs are on allows them to march five abreast, meaning there are 40,000 such rows. Giving each orc four feet of space on the march, that would mean the army alone stretches 30 miles down a single road. At that length, the tail end of the army would not even be able to leave camp before the front of the army had finished marching for the day." (!!)

The section on the siege's opener, part II, is likewise fascinating and contains some great craft notes.

https://acoup.blog/2019/05/17/collections-the-siege-of-gondor-part-ii-these-beacons-are-liiiiiiit/

"LOTR doesn't rely – as so much fiction does – on the 'good guys' making stupid mistake after stupid mistake in order to create tension. Instead, Gondor executes its plans admirably, and yet it is so outmatched in military might that it remains in peril."

Part III is more in the weeds on weapons and tactics. It gets into some really gnarly deep nerd stuff about the immediate preamble to a siege that I loved.

https://acoup.blog/2019/05/24/collections-the-siege-of-gondor-part-iii-having-fun-storming-the-city/

"The paths the siege towers will take must be cleared and leveled (even a slight grade will tip them over). Earthwork cover for the approach on the gate should be set up, along with obstructions to prevent the army within the city from advancing at an inopportune moment. In assaulting a fortified city with a large army, the spade is often the most important weapon. Even building a ramp right up the enemy walls to enter the city was a common and successful tactic, if the assaulting army had enough labor to do it quickly enough."

My favorite part of the section on calvary charge was the notable absence of NCOs in the orc ranks, maintaining discipline.

https://acoup.blog/2019/05/31/collections-the-siege-of-gondor-part-iv-the-cavalry-arrives/

"The orc general, Gothmog has to push through the ranks and reorder his infantry, while the orcs stare dumbfounded at the new threat. This is a task that should have been taken up by a hundred-hundred NCOs up and down the line, which speaks to problems of command structure."

By far the most intensely geeky section is in Part V, which deals with the math for calculating whether the trolls could possibly heft the hammers that deal the damage that we see.

https://acoup.blog/2019/06/07/collections-the-siege-of-gondor-part-v-just-flailing-about-flails/

"If a troll really is around 9 times as strong as a strong man, we might figure that a troll sledgehammer might be something like 81kg, and a troll warhammer only 5.76 – 13.59kg. Wildly short of the massive clubs and hammers the trolls wield in these scenes."

ICE's risk assessment algorithm only ever recommends detention (permalink)

The New York Civil Liberties Union and Bronx Defenders have filed suit against ICE, trying to force it to respond to a FOIA request about risk assessment algorithm that has put people in detention 97% of the time.

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/02/ice-algorithm-bias-detention-aclu-lawsuit/

The algorithm was tweaked after the 2016 election (prior to then, it only recommended detention for 53% of cases), and by classifying virtually everyone it evaluates as a public safety risk, it violates the law's requirement of "individualized determinations" for detentions.

People in immigration detention have yet to see a judge or be found guilty. They can be locked up for weeks or months, and detention can cost them their jobs — or even their children. The Trump administration has exponentially increased the number of immigration arrests; coupled with automatic detention-by-algorithm, this has put thousands of New Yorkers in harm's way.

Investigative journalists and activists have previously shown that the algorithm was changed to eliminate all possible outcomes (bond, release, etc), so that it could only recommend detention. So the problem here isn't the usual one of not knowing how the black-box works. We know exactly how it works. You ask it, "Should this person be detained?" and it says "Yes."

"The no-release policy is particularly tough on people with disabilities or health problems. 'This practice of widespread detention is both cruel and needless.'"

Probing China's Covid-19 censorship (permalink)

Citizen Lab's new report on Chinese coronavirus censorship is outstanding. By decompiling the YY client (which stores blacklist words on the client-side) and probing Wechat (which uses server-side blacklisting), they build up a detailed picture of Chinese epidemiological censorship.

https://citizenlab.ca/2020/03/censored-contagion-how-information-on-the-coronavirus-is-managed-on-chinese-social-media/

Most importantly, they demonstrate how the Cyberspace Administration of China's threat of "thematic inspections" of platforms to ensure coronavirus censorship led to indiscriminate blocking of vital public health information.

It's "authoritarian blindness" in the making, "where people too scared to tell the autocrat the hard truths makes it impossible for the autocrat to set policy that reflects reality"

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/24/pluralist-your-daily-link-dose-24-feb-2020/#thatswhatxisaid

"Censorship of COVID-19 content started at early stages of the outbreak and continued to expand blocking a wide range of speech, from criticism of the government to officially sanctioned facts and information."

By contrast, the sheer volume of "sarcastic homonyms or word play related to COVID-19" that appear on the blacklist are really a testament to the ingenuity and spirit of Chinese netizens.

"A number of these keyword combinations are critical (e.g., "亲自 [+] 皇上," by someone + emperor), criticizing the central leadership's inability or inaction in dealing with COVID-19 ("习近平 [+] 形式主义 [+] 防疫," Xi Jinping + formalism + epidemic prevention). Many of them refer to leadership in a neutral way (e.g., "肺炎 [+] 李克强 [+] 武汉 [+] 总理 [+] 北京," Pneumonia + Li Keqiang + Wuhan + Premier + Beijing)."

America is uniquely at risk from coronavirus (permalink)

Among rich countries, the USA is uniquely vulnerable to coronavirus. Thanks to its title to "by far the worst system among rich countries, it is much worse than that of many poorer countries when it comes to confronting a fast-moving epidemic."

https://theweek.com/articles-amp/899359/why-america-vulnerable-coronavirus

The US has 77m un/underinsured people. "and the vicious, right-wing ideology of the Republican Party has wrecked the government's ability to manage crises of any kind, " with "unqualified cronies" running important agencies.

"Now they are resorting to the only thing they know how to do really well — lying, concocting conspiracy theories and blaming Democrats and the media for any bad news. It does not bode well."

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago EFF is hiring a new IP lawyer https://web.archive.org/web/20050307005314/http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/2005/03/04/ip_attorneys_eff_wants_you.php (the ad that led to the hiring of Corynne McSherry!)

#10yrsago Guardian column on LibDem proposal to block web-lockers https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/mar/04/web-lockers-digital-economy-liberal-democrats-wrong

#1yrago Fox News was always partisan, but now it is rudderless and "anti-democratic" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house

#1yrago Leaked memo suggests that Google has not really canceled its censored, spying Chinese search tool https://theintercept.com/2019/03/04/google-ongoing-project-dragonfly/

#1yrago Terra Nullius: Grifters, settler colonialism and "intellectual property" https://locusmag.com/2019/03/cory-doctorow-terra-nullius/

#1yrago Tim Maughan's Infinite Detail: a debut sf novel about counterculture, resistance, and the post-internet apocalypse https://boingboing.net/2019/03/04/gnu-slash-apocalypse.html

#1yrago Financialization is wearing out its welcome https://www.ft.com/content/a9f13afc-3c3d-11e9-b856-5404d3811663

#1yrago How the patent office's lax standards gave Elizabeth Holmes the BS patents she needed to defraud investors and patients https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/theranos-how-a-broken-patent-system-sustained-its-decade-long-deception/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/), Slashdot (https://slashdot.org/) and Kottke (Kottke).

Hugo nominators! My story "Unauthorized Bread" is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Canada Reads Kelowna: March 5, 6PM, Kelowna Library, 1380 Ellis Street, with CBC's Sarah Penton https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-radio-presents-in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-96154415445

Currently writing: I just finished a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel now, though the timing is going to depend on another pending commission (I've been solicited by an NGO) to write a short story set in the world's prehistory.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: Disasters Don't Have to End in Dystopias: https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/01/disasters-dont-have-to-end-in-dystopias/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.

[momentofmemory]

fictober - day sixteen

Prompt #16: “Listen. No, really listen.”

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Netflix Marvel (Daredevil) 

Rating: T

Warnings: Sensory Overload, Explosions

Characters: Peter Parker & Matt Murdock

Words: 2279

Author’s Note: set somewhere between spider-man: homecoming and avengers: infinity war (but after DD s3). this was not meant to be as long as it is and i guess maybe i’m writing more of them now?? only time will tell…

>>I Hear, Said the Blind Man

A sword comes flying out of nowhere at his head, and Peter thinks that is this is exactly why he should never leave Queens.

The great thing about being a superhero in New York City is that the city is arguably huge, but patrolling never feels like it because of the sheer number of vigilantes in the area. Queens is his, but Harlem belongs to some guy called Luke Cage, the aptly named Brooklynite has, well, Brooklyn, and the Bronx has—

…Does the Bronx have anyone, actually?

Peter backflips mid-thought to avoid getting skewered by another very pointy sword, then launches himself at the ceiling as it’s immediately followed by a blast from the alien guns he’s been tracking all month.

Hell’s Kitchen is technically Daredevil’s place, and he knows the guy’s pretty territorial but he didn’t exactly have a way of contacting him, so.

Field trip.

“Do you even have a license for these?” Peter fires his web-shooters at the closest gun-wielding ninja, yanking the contraption away and slamming its wielder into one of the supports. “I know you guys are like, two hundred years out of date, but the DA tends to be pretty strict on enforcing unauthorized carry laws.”

Peter takes advantage of his perch in the rafters to remove the power core from the gun, then chucks the useless shell at its previous owner. A warning blares at the base of Peter’s skull, and he lurches to the side just in time to avoid a throwing star aimed for his chest.

“Okay, I get it, I get it, no one likes unsolicited legal advice.”

Peter’s hand snaps out and wraps around the wrist of the ninja trying to sneak up on him. “I’m not a fan of unsolicited murder, either!”

The ninjas are definitely way more skilled than he is, but what Peter lacks in finesse he makes up for in raw strength. He sidesteps the ninja’s sword (man, these guys are quiet), then throws him forcefully over his shoulder and into the last ninja.

They both go down and stay down.

Peter hops down to floor and dusts himself off—rafters are always disgusting—and nudges one of the fallen ninjas with his toe. There’s no sign of consciousness, so he slides around the black-clad figure to check on the box the guns were packed in. He peeks over the edge of the crate and notes only one is missing—the one he’d already disarmed. He breathes a sigh of relief.

“Score one for the Queens kid,” Peter says, webbing the last gun and snapping it to his outstretched hand. “I hope you enjoyed the show but I will not be here all night, because some of us have calculus tests to study for.”

Peter slips his phone out of its hidden pocket, and is just about to call the police when his sixth sense lights up his entire spine. He whirls around just in time to see at least twelve more ninjas slip into the warehouse.

He’s surrounded.

“Listen guys,” he says, ignoring the warnings Karen’s blaring into his feed, “if this is your idea of a surprise party I gotta say, you need to work on your presenta—”

Peter’s cut off when a ninja materializes beside him, and he barely gets the gun up in time to block his opponent’s attack. He flinches when the blade still goes more than three-fourths of the way through the metal casing.

He shoves the man using more of his super strength than he’d normally be comfortable with, and the ninja flies across the room and lands in a soundless heap. “Not to go full nineties, but I knew I should have stayed home today.”

That’s the last quip or takedown Peter manages to pull off, because while he’d done pretty well against five ninjas, he is no match for a dozen. Peter tries his best to make offensive moves when he can, but for the most part he’s caught in an endless cycle of successful and slightly less successful dodging. He’s further handicapped by the fact that he’s trying to stay in the vicinity of the weapons container, certain that the second he loses sight of it, it’ll be gone. After the fifth sword swipe he’d failed to entirely avoid, Peter thinks maybe he should give up on that part.

In that moment, two things happen.

First, a red and black billy club comes flying from the rooftop and incapacitates the ninja about to turn Peter into a shish kabob, and Peter thinks holy shit I’m going to meet Daredevil.

Second, said ninja’s sword is redirected towards the weapons crate and slices clean through one of the power cores, and Peter thinks holy shit I’m going to die.

Then Peter’s world explodes.

Or at least, Peter’s pretty sure that’s what happens, because he doesn’t have any other explanation for how he goes from fighting for his life in a warehouse to leaning against a chimney on a rooftop.

“You all right?”

Peter turns his head towards the voice, but everything feels muted, like that one time the Vulture dropped him into a lake. Or like that one time the Vulture nearly got them both blown up.

That last one’s probably more relevant.

Peter starts to yank his mask off in an attempt to breathe easier before he remembers he’s not alone. Instead, he blinks a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus. Slowly, the blurry shape in front of him materializes into the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

Then everything else materializes, too.

He doesn’t feel any injuries from the explosion per se, the suit having protected him from the brunt of it, but it’s wreaked absolute havoc on his senses. Sound comes rushing in as his accelerated healing repairs the damage to his eardrums, and it’s too much, too fast, too loud.

“Karen, turn the—turn the dampeners on,” he gasps.

He sees hears feels Daredevil tense across from him, but he doesn’t have the brain capacity to figure out reason for the Devil’s reaction.

“I’m sorry, Peter. The settings for limited sensory deprivation are not available at the moment.”

The blood drains from Peter’s face, and his already high-pitched voice jumps an entire octave. “What do you mean not available?”

“Some of my systems appear to have been damaged in the explosion. The suit will require manual repair in order to bring them back online.”

“Spider-Man?” Daredevil’s voice is too loud, too close.

Peter waves a hand in front of him, trying to get him and all the noise associated with him to go away.

“Your blood pressure appears to be spiking, Peter. Do you require assistance?”

Peter squeezes his eyes shut. “No, I’m fine Karen, I just—I—shit.”

It’s childish, and dammit Peter wanted to make a cool first impression on another superhero for once, but instead he presses his hands over his ears and whines because it’s just so much and it’s everywhere and it’s—it’s—

It’s his heartbeat thumping wildly out of control in his chest—

It’s the crunch of gravel under Daredevil’s feet—

It’s the wind skipping across the roof and over the air conditioning units—

It’s the cat stalking a mouse on the street below; the man rifling through the garbage; the hurried footsteps of late night traffic; tourists with cameras, car horns honking, brakes squealing, engines backfiring, locals yelling, sirens wailing; the sound of his breathing, the leather in the Devil’s costume, the drip of a drainpipe, the drip, the drip, the DRIP—

Daredevil squats down in front of him and Peter’s head jerks up.

“Can you hear me?”

Peter bites his lip so hard it bleeds, because he’s pretty sure Daredevil is whispering but it sounds like it’s being shouted through an air horn. “That’s—that’s kind of the problem, Mr. Daredevil, sir, I’m really sorry—”

“It’s okay.” The cat hisses on the street, and Daredevil lowers his voice even further. “Can you listen?”

Peter thumps his head against the chimney, because he just said that’s all he can do right now and the cat’s just caught that mouse and—

“No,” Daredevil says, interrupting his spiral. “Really listen.”

Shit, does he have mind reading powers?

“Pick one sound and listen to that.” The Devil keeps talking, and somehow Peter hears him over the rest of the noise. “It’s okay if you still hear the others—but only listen to one.”

Peter slowly lowers his hands from his ears and tries, but there’s just so many of them.

A window slams shut two buildings over at the same time Daredevil clears his throat. “There’s a grandfather clock with a second hand that skips every third tick, in an apartment building four blocks from here.”

Four blocks what the hell—

“I uh—I can’t go quite that far,” Peter stammers, cautiously opening an eye. “But there’s a drainpipe across the street that keeps dripping.”

Daredevil tilts his head to the side, then smiles. “In front of Dahlia’s Flower Shop.”

“I guess so.” Peter closes his eyes again.

Peter hears Daredevil back away from him, just a few feet, to keep from crowding him. “Tell me about it.”

His concentration slips when a tourist stops in the middle of the sidewalk and someone starts berating them. “It’s… a drainpipe?”

“Is it metal? Concrete? Plastic?” Daredevil takes out his billy-club and rotates it between his hands. “What does the way it echoes sound like?”

Peter searches the dripping noise out and tries to focus on the water and the wind.

“…Metal,” he decides.

“Is the water fresh, or dirty?”

Peter doesn’t know how to distinguish between the two at first, but then he imagines the way dirty water sloughs through pipes as opposed to the way clean water glides, and when he realizes he can isolate the smell, too, he says, “Dirty.”

“And how high is the pipe when the water drops out?”

Peter listens to the water separating at the mouth of the pipe, waits for how long it takes for the splash as it hits the ground. “…Two feet?”

“Good.” The smile is still in the Devil’s voice. “Last question: what is the water landing on.”

Peter tilts his head in the same way Daredevil had, and strains his hearing to pick up as much detail as he can. The water coming out of the drainpipe feels hard, like the metal encasing it, but when it lands the splash is muted—like it’s sliding to a stop instead of hitting a flat surface. There’s also an almost bouncy quality to it, so it must be something that’s not rigid—something delicate, or fragile.

He remembers what Daredevil had said about the shop the pipe was connected to, and his eyes fly open with a grin.

“Flowers!”

Daredevil nods and sits back against one of the air conditioning units. Peter keeps listening to the sound, wondering what else he can figure out about it.

After a few minutes, Daredevil slides his billy-club back into its holder. “How’s your hearing?”

“Wha—?” Peter jerks his attention back to Daredevil, and suddenly realizes the world has gone back to sounding like Normal-New-York, instead of Acid-Trip-New-York. His eyes widen.

“Whoa, thanks! It normally takes forever to go back to normal when this happens. How’d you learn to do that?”

“Not in any way I’d recommend,” he says, propping his elbow up on his knee and letting his hand hang down. “Now, at the risk of sounding needlessly overbearing, what’re you doing in my city on a school night?”

“Oh, uh, well I didn’t really mean to come all the way out here, but I’ve been trying to track down this weapon’s deal for like a month and—” Peter chokes as he registers the end of Daredevil’s sentence. “Wait, school night? Why would uh, why would that matter?”

“It’s your heartbeat. Too fast to be an adult’s.”

“I was panicking!”

“And your voice?”

“…Also panicking!” He clears his throat and attempts to drop a half step. “Not that I am anymore. Because I’m a superhero. Adult. Adult superhero.”

“Hearing people’s heartbeats also means I can tell when they’re lying.”

Peter freezes, then drops his head into his hands. “Shit.”

“Are you old enough to say that?”

Peter’s indignant. “Yes!” Then he pauses. “Wait, if we’re here does that mean the ninja guys got away?”

Daredevil shrugs. “The blast took out all of the weapons. The Hand wasn’t interested in sticking around after that.”

“The Hand?”

“…Stick to Queens, kid.”

Peter flinches and draws his knees in to his chest, which probably doesn’t help his image, but. He’s really tired of being a disappointment.

Daredevil gets to his feet and for a second, Peter thinks he’s just going to leave him. Then a gloved hand appears in front of his face.

Peter looks up in surprise.

“You’ve got talent, Spider-Man,” he says, and Peter notices he doesn’t remove the man part.

“Really?” Peter’s mood lifts almost instantaneously. “I mean—yeah, yeah of course. Talent. You too.”

Daredevil shakes his head, but pulls Peter to his feet without commenting on his exuberance. “Give me a call if you hear anything else about weapons—or ninjas—in Hell’s Kitchen. Maybe we can work something out next time.”

“Whoa,” Peter breathes, his feet rooted to the ground as Daredevil walks away. Daredevil’s already reached the edge of the roof before an important thought occurs to him. “Hey, wait, I don’t have your number!”

Daredevil smirks. “You don’t need one.”

With that, the vigilante flips off the roof to the next building, and disappears behind its slope. Peter stares at nothing, and wonders if he should try to chase him down.

Then Peter hears water dripping out of a drainpipe, and thinks four blocks down.

Peter grins.

[madmirrormaiden]

Over the years, whether it was on my own or through role play sessions, I have started to form an idea of what Doblo City (and Walterland) will be like.

I suppose Doblo City will be something like a mish-mash of Portland and the Bronx, with brown-orange colours during the day and purplish-grey tones at night.

Walterland is more pastel, with whites, pinks, yellows, and lavender ruling the scene particularly during the daytime. Both places are connected via a train ride of at least an hour or so.

For Doblo City, I have imagined a few prominent places:

Mack’s Smicky-Smacks - This was mentioned in Maya’s thoughts prior to her first meeting with Blue, then called Clive Chanson. This is Doblo City’s most popular fast-food chain, kinda like MacDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Denny’s, etc.

Other than fast food, Mack’s Smicky-Smacks also makes and sells their own confectionery...which may or may not be a good thing. Their apparent best-seller in this department is a foot-long chocolate-covered cylindrical wafer stuffed with marshmallows, melted caramel, and peanut butter. (I forgot the name, or maybe I did not give it one lol)

Glitter Cafe - This was mentioned in a role-played first meeting with Miguel and @smashingmirrcrs’s Ivrene where they visited another of Miguel’s favourite eateries - a cupcake cafe. While their wide variety of cupcake flavours have made Glitter Cafe a cult favourite in Doblo City’s food scene, the cafe’s selling point comes from what’s on the ceiling - the suspended aerial dancers.

Glitter Cafe has a high ceiling, so they took advantage of that by hiring aerialists to dress up like fairies and perform for cafe patrons while suspended from the ceiling. Of course, to maintain such a novelty ambience, patrons will have to fish out a little more than usual for a Glitter Cafe cupcake. Call it daylight robbery, call it a USP, whatever you fancy.

Confectionery Castle - A well-renowned candy franchise in Doblo City. You step in, and the only other thing you see other than the cashier is the rows and rows of stocked-up candy. The high runners behind this business are as filthy rich as the extensive range of confectionery they carry.

Which makes any Confectionery Castle outlet a good place for Jamboree to go all Robin Hood on, as mentioned in a thread with @rpstandsforroyalpigeon’s Grimm. After all, candy should be given to everyone, not just kept in a box.

Super SXXX - Just your run-of-the-mill hole-in-the-wall adult toy store. First mentioned in a thread between Jamboree and @alone-with-company’s Olivier; where Jamboree decides to break in and then intimidate Olivier with a bunny-shaped vibrator. No penetration was involved.

Star Sign (working name) - I can thank Hazbin Hotel’s ‘Addict’ MV for this burst of inspiration; this is the strip club Blue works at on some nights. I was thinking that maybe Doblo City can have a few themed strip clubs, just like what Portland has...so I heard.

Star Sign is themed around astrology, horoscopes, star signs, the zodiac, all that. So it has a mostly neon blue and black colour palette with galaxy and constellation motifs emblazoned everywhere. The club prides itself on being unisex and diverse, with dancers and workers from all genders and various walks of life. It is mostly a ‘topless bar’ with full nudity only between 12 midnight to two in the morning. Normal operating hours are from 9pm onwards.

The USP of Star Sign is not the toned bodies of the dancers or the nearly exclusive full frontal nudity - all dancers wear masquerade masks, giving them an air of mystery that keeps patrons coming back for more. The masks are designed after astrological signs, and so are the stage names. A certain dancer who calls themselves Pisces is one of the stand-out performers; club goers have gathered around the stage many times just to hear this dancer sing along to their performance set.

OOC Fun fact: When I went to Seattle last year, I managed to also visit Portland, the supposed strip club state. Visited only one strip club - Club Rouge. Spent only an hour there since I had to rush back to Seattle but that hour was worth it. I actually wanted to go back again this year, but yeah, no thanks to COVID-19.

[skippyv20]

Hi Skippy! December 23rd, was my Dad’s birthday. He would have been 82. It was also his Dad’s birthday. He used to say he didn’t like it because he would only get one present for Christmas and his birthday. His parents were from Hungary. My grandmother came over to the US to stay the summer with her oldest sister when she was 12. The ship she was to sail home could not guarantee her safety so she was forced to stay here. When my grandfather was 19 he came home from fighting in the war and his village was gone. His family had gone to America. He worked as a waiter in a fine restaurant in Budapest and jumped ship to come to Ellis Island. They met later in life. My grandpa opened two fine restaurants in NYC. Irving Berlin sang there. He used to talk and smoke cigarettes with Albert Einstein outside because there was no one who spoke German in Einstein’s building. It was the depression and they lost everything and had my dad. Grandpa worked very hard and payed every penny back. He became a country club manager. He was dapper and a true gentleman. People called him the diplomat. He drank manhattans and smoked camel unfiltered cigarettes. They did not teach my dad to speak Hungarian because they thought he was American he should speak English; they also wanted to be able to talk amongst themselves in front of him at the dinner table. When my dad graduated from high school they asked him if he would like a record player or a television. He picked a record player and would play jazz music in their Bronx apartment which his parents thought was scandalous as they only only listened to classical music; except when my grandpa would play his “gypsy music” as my grandma called it. My father took 3rd and 4th grade in one year and skipped 7th due to a move to New Hampshire for three years where he was in a ski tournament and went back for his hat that had fallen off, so he came in second. Haha. That is a famous story in the family. My mom included it in a shadow box she made for his birthday one year. She used cotton for the snow and had a little hat on the hill. He was an alter boy and went to an all boys high school in the Bronx. His parents thought you have to be either a doctor, lawyer or engineer. He did not want to be any of those professions but he chose chemical engineering. So he went to Lehigh in Bethlehem, PA at the time an all boys school. He was the youngest boy on campus at 16 years old. In his sophomore year he fell asleep in class and his professor called his father and said “..your son will never be a chemical engineer.” At that time Lehigh had just started offering a business degree and so that’s what he pursued. His father didn’t talk to him for a year after that. My dad was a very honorable, friendly and kind man. He always said he was a loner but my mom brought him out. They had a wonderful marriage and loved each other very much. He was an only child and told my mom he wanted 4 children. He had 4 children; me and my three younger brothers. He was a wonderful father and grandfather to us all. He made sure to include us in his life and make time for us. He would always listen and offer good advice. He was never daunted by a problem. He was always writing notes and gathering information. He loved his family, his dogs, music, traveling and learning. He was curious and opinionated. He had a very deep voice and was 6’4. He was a gentle giant and we all loved him very much. He was my best friend. Thank you, Skippy for having birthday days and this opportunity to share my tribute to my Dad and Grandpa. Love to you and yours. 🌲

Thank YOU for sharing this wonderful story of your amazing father!  He sounds amazing!  What a history.  I am touched beyond words, that you shared this here with us all!  Thank you, love to you and yours!  Happy Heavenly Birthday to your Dad/Grandpa!🙏🏻🥳❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[puertoricanflagsup]

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Mike Tyson remembers Boricua Trainer Nelson Cuevas. Nelson was my best friends Cachito trainer at the Apollo Boxing Club/Gym in the Bronx..... Reposted from @miketyson We lost one of the best people in the boxing world. Nelson Cuevas died from complications with Corona Virus. I had my first amateur fight at his Apollo Gym. He use to be one of Cus’ fighters when he was younger. When Cus had his Catskill fighters come down the Bronx to his gym, he protected us so fiercely. I remember us kids would be so excited because when we had an exciting fight he would buy us soda and a mini hotdog in a biscuit because he knew we didn’t have money. It was the best years of my life being around Cuevas and watching the Puerto Rican fighters. They were such showman. I tried to personify their machismo showmanship. People that knew Nelson knew he was nobody to fuck with. I love and respect him so much. Being around him during my amateur career was the best time of my life. Rest In Peace. End of an Era. #NelsonCuevasRIP #boxinglegend @puertoricanflagsup - #regrann #PrFlagsUp #puertoricanflagsup #boricua #NuyoRican #puertorico #pr #bronx #nyc #Boxing https://www.instagram.com/p/CCBkIbKJy-N/?igshid=t78vlw1iauzx

[gcttis]

NAME            :  Lucrezia Anna Maria Ortiz Mendoza

NICKNAMES :  Lu, Lulu, Zia, Zee

AGE               : Twenty-nine

BIRTH DATE  : August Fourth

HOMETOWN : Bronx, NY

ZODIAC         : Leo

AFFILIATION  :  Unaffiliated ( diablos )

JOB                :  Paralegal

SEXUALITY    :  Bisexual

STATUS          :  Single

RELIGION      :  Catholic, non-practicing

RECORD        : Speeding tickets

POSITIVES     : Clever, adaptable, independent, witty, compassionate, organized, protective

NEGATIVES    : Vindictive, reactive, impulsive, fiery, impatient, opinionated

INSPIRED BY : Haley James Scott, Buffy Summers, Lexie Grey, Rory Gilmore, Elle Woods, Fran Fine

okay so LU. lu lu lu … where dom was born & raised in the world of her dad’s club, lu didn’t even know it existed until she was like thirteen

her mother and lobo had a bit of a troubled relationship. xiomara guerrero wanted the old lady spot, the top spot in the club for a woman not on a harley but lobo was not that kinda guy so he let a five months pregnant xio walk out of his life and all the way to new york city

there, she settled into her grandmother’s two bedroom apartment in the bronx and got herself a job at a dentist office. she would end up working there to this day. she had lu and, despite being pissed at him, she allowed lobo to come see his youngest daughter. he’d ride up every summer to visit her. they were short visits, never more than a weekend but they were enough to leave an impression on lu

she recognized that her father was this big guy and that the other kids in the neighborhood were never mean to her out of fear she’d call him up to beat them up. she kinda liked that power, it was convenient.

the one spring break she did spend in newton was when she was eleven and she loved it but she couldn’t stay, not with her mother breathing down her neck. the coolest people in the world to her were her father and of course, her big sister cam.

still though, her mother and her abuela were her best friends so she figured she’d deal with it for now. she could always leave at eighteen right?

lu was always really good in school, getting straight a’s every semester and not really having a truly rebellious phase. her mother had a second night job by this point and her abuela was always fast asleep by eight at this point so they just let lu do as she pleased which meant she’d freely come & go ━━ the fact that she got such good grades & never got into trouble definitely helped her case.

she applied for rice university early in her senior year and got accepted almost immediately. at that point, she’d spent as many of her breaks down in newton with her dad, cam, and the diablos. she loved it there beyond words.

college time came around and she spent her freshman & sophomore years on campus but was in newton every sunday for dinner & ice cream. her mother comes down for xmas every year and they all spend a nice couple weeks together

she had no desire to join the diablos but after graduating and expressing interest in pursuing a career in law, she took on a job as a paralegal in houston while living in newton. years later, she’s still working that job and just trying to get her life together really. 

she got into a sorta bad relationship with some guy who was also hooking up with her half sister and upon finding this out, she’s sort of withdrawn herself. it was only made worse by cami’s accident but now that her sister is doing better, lu has made it a point to avoid either clubs like the plague which is easier said than done but wtvr

fun facts! she has a small apartment where she lives with her tabby cat, sammy. lu has this old baby blue bronco convertible that she loves more than anything. she speaks spanish fluently and has a slight new york accent but it’s not super noticeable except on certain words. when she gets sad, she watches the nanny which she has the box sets of. lu hasn’t had a relationship since she graduated college, five years ago. her favorite band is fleetwood mac but her favorite artist is selena and she will cry her eyes out watching the movie every single time.

[lcyalty]

i don’t feel like making a joke to break the ice so here’s one of my favorite tiktoks: https://vm.tiktok.com/s1rSS5/ . anyways, hiii, fed admin sabrina here :) time to check off the introductory personality checklist: i’m 20, a leo, a slytherin, a woc, a pre-law major on the east coast, uhhhh harry styles and marvel trash, i play over 10 instruments, i prefer the thigh over the chicken breast, and i’m really happy u all r here and joined my little creation :’) smack that read more to learn abt my children daisy moretti and jude valentine so we can plot !!

                                                             DAISY MORETTI.                                                  pinterest: https://pin.it/7unKPi8                                                                     the basics: full name: daisy mia moretti | hometown: the bronx, new york | zodiac: aries | orientation: bisexual | employment status: intern on the news broadcasts floor | positive traits: social, determined, hardworking, attentive, confident, smart | negative traits: rude, irresponsible, cunning, cutthroat, insensitive, selfish

the backstory:

here’s the best way i can describe daisy: take the love for fashion and luxury of carrie bradshaw and cher horowitz, mix it with the power and intensity of olivia pope, and add in all the meanness of every single rude, b*tchy person you can think of. that’s her.

daisy was born to a huge italian family who all had odd jobs; her dad specialized in fixing the batteries on smoke detectors. her mom ran the laundromat down the street. a lot of her uncles owned car detailing businesses and she had a couple of older cousins who were janitors or low-level staff members at the local middle schools. while her family was fine with this, because hey, it paid the bills, daisy, who had always had expensive tastes from the start, turned her nose at it all.

she, unsurprisingly, became the first in her family to make it past high school. daisy did absolutely every major, resume-boosting thing while she was in school, because she learned very quickly that she liked power and being better than others. there was something she loved about coming home from school and getting to brag about her debate team win while her cousins could only nod. 

she was great at school, and she made sure everyone knew. she did mock trial, debate, sga -- she even joined the environmental club just for the clout. and then one of the people in her model un group said she should run for president one day.

it made sense. daisy likes power, she likes bossing people around and always being right, and she doesn’t take shit from anyone. she’d be a fantastic fucking president. so, naturally, after finishing college and pushing through an internship she didn’t really like just so she could have another bullet point on her resume, daisy applied for an internship at masters international. she knew she’d get the gig, obviously.

daisy loves fashion and luxury. she spends majority of her money on vintage chanel tweed matching sets to wear into the office, she has red bottoms that give her four extra inches of height, and her foundation costs over a hundred dollars. you’d think she’d want to be on the floors that deal with vogue and help organize new york fashion week, but that’s not going to get her a presidency, duh. daisy interns on the floors that handle the news broadcasts so she gets firsthand knowledge on all the shit, political or otherwise, that goes down in the country.

i would love to type more but i don’t want to hint at anything that points to her secret, so i’m going to explain a little more about daisy’s personality

she’s so, so controlling and bossy. she wants to be the absolute best at everything, and the shining star of it all. daisy’s definitely an attention hog, and she’ll bust her ass on her work to make sure she’s better than everyone else on the floor with her. 

daisy’s very picky about who she hangs out with. as a future presidential candidate, optics are very important, obviously. she only surrounds herself with people she deems to be good for her image, and she’ll gladly let you know that she thinks you’re too shitty to be around. she cares a lot about how she appears to other people, you know.

daisy is selfish and rude, and truly doesn’t care if she hurts someone’s feelings. she speaks her mind and has absolutely no filter -- which gets her into a lot of trouble, i’m sure you can imagine. 

wanted connections:

enemies: if you need a bad guy or work rival in your character’s life, i wholly volunteer miss daisy moretti as that bad guy. it’s not hard for her to make enemies when you consider her personality.

ex: please please give me an angsty ex plot filled with depth and all the details. there’s gotta’ be a reason why daisy wants to be not only the first female president, but also the first president without a spouse, after all.

hookups: listen. she has needs.

                                                            JUDE VALENTINE.                                                   pinterest: https://pin.it/1dfK9dE                                                                 the basics: full name: jude lee valentine | hometown: tuscaloosa, alabama | zodiac: gemini | orientation: heterosexual | employment status: corporate attorney for masters international | positive traits: friendly, warm, sociable, extroverted, smart, witty, energetic | negative traits: compulsive, secretive, disloyal, impulsive, ignorant, desensitized

the backstory:

picture it with me: a ranch. nice pale green shutters and a huge yard. there’s cows in this picture, too, and horses. there might even be goats. there’s a tractor by the two ford trucks, a dog sleeping on the porch, and not another house for another twenty minute drive. this is what jude valentine is used to. he’s a country boy from alabama, equipped with the southern accent and everything. yes, he has a pair of cowboy boots. yes, he brought them to new york with him. yes, he pronounces creek as ‘crick’.

jude is a very sweet boy. he was quarterback in high school, got good grades, and every sunday he went to church with his family because Bible Belt things. homeboy is named after a book in the Bible. he’s all about southern manners and hospitality, about treating people kindly and always putting others first, and he always keeps his morals in check. or, he used to.

when you’re home it’s hard to stray away from what you’re used to. the same held true for jude in college, because even though he went to u of alabama (can you hear him yelling roll tide), he was still in his home state so he felt those morals still stuck with him. but then he applied for law school and got a full ride to nyu law, and whew, the Temptation

‘cuz you see, jude was always a sweetie pie. he still is! in high school he was super popular because he was tall and cute and athletic but funny and brought extra biscuits from home to hand out in homeroom. i’m not gonna lie, he’s charming af. he’s smooth and he has good jokes. the girls loved him but the little sh*t had a purity ring.

but then he got to nyc for law school and let me tell you. alabama is not close at all to manhattan, now is it. jude was fine the first couple of weeks, just worked on his case briefs in his shoe box of a starter apartment... but the women. homeboy started sleeping around a LOT after a while. y’know wet dreamz by j cole where he’s like haven’t been inside p*ssy since i came out one? yeah, that was jude until ny, and he’s very much still like that

is jude still the sweetest, nicest guy ever? yes. is jude still the type of guy to knock on your office door and ask if you want to walk to get coffee with him even though you guys have probably never met? yes. is jude the first guy on the dance floor when there’s a midnight party on the rooftop? yes. is jude the type of guy who’ll fuck with you and say no, he only listens to music made by a spoon and a blade of grass if you think he only listens to country music? yes. but he also has slept with at least twenty different interns and employees at the office, so.

he also dabbles in the occasional little pill when he’s got eight depositions to write up before tomorrow but he was too busy screwing some chick the night before. he first did this in law school. but we don’t worry about that.

stop it, i know what you’re thinking: sabrina, come on. so he sleeps around, okay. what’s the big deal about that?

here’s the big deal: he’s engaged.

lil (i say lil but he’s 6’3” while i’m only 5’0”, so lemme stfu) cupcake jude is a cheater. he’s got a whole fiancée and yet he still sleeps with other women, and each time he’s like no, okay, that was the last time for real, but then there’s a new intern at the office and the higher ups always throw the new people at him because he knows how to make people feel comfortable, and his country accent is cute and refreshing among all the new york bs, and the whole attorney thing certainly isn’t a negative, and, well. he gets tempted. and afterwards he always tells the girl okay, please, can this stay between us.

u wouldn’t know he’s engaged either bc it’s not like he’s wearing the engagement ring, now is he

i’m staying hush on daisy’s secret but jude’s is that he’s cheating on his significant other with people in the office. is he still a nice guy? heck yeah, but also, you have to be a certain kind of messed up to keep cheating on your s/o and just not tell them. that’s a lotttt of lying you’re just comfortable with. oh, what’s that? you’re threatening to tell his fiancée that you two slept together because you think she deserves to know? well. he’d hate having to do it, but... jude’s not above knocking someone down if it means his secret stays hidden.

wanted connections:

hookups: literally i will take as many hookup plots i can get. doesn’t matter if they’re an intern or an employee; jude will sleep w them and then make them promise not to tell anyone in the office afterwards because “wE’rE nOt sUpPoSeD tO sLeEp wItH cOwOrKeRs” but we all know why he wants to keep it under wraps. this also doesn’t have to be an only connection; he can be friends w someone but also hook up w them on the low too

fiancée: this one is huge for me so pls pls message me if ur seriously interested in this plot and we’ll talk !!

friends: this one is so easy bc jude will literally make conversation with a chair. he’s super sociable and fun and approachable and he loves making friends !! give me some ppl he can pester during lunch break and throw balled up pieces of paper at

best friend: he’s gotta have that one person that he just clicks really, really well with. jude talks to everyone and he’s super friendly but this person is his confidant. he goes to them w almost all of his problems and rants to them and asks for advice and likes to just be around this person. trusts them w his entire life. hmuuuuu :)

ex: listen. we all need a good ex plot and this person is probably the only one in the office jude isn’t bringing a complimentary donut to

sister: jude has a younger sister and honestly she was gonna be a npc but the idea of him looking out for her at the office and getting all (ง•̀_•́)ง when ppl r mean to her is smth i reeeeally like. or maybe they actually don’t get along that well and bicker a lot but there’s still that underlying hey i’ve got your back. you piece of shit. type feel going on !!

[miamivice2006inhindi-blog]

Miami Vice (2006) Hindi Dubbed Download BluRay 720p GDrive

Miami Vice (2006) Full Movie In Hindi Dubbed 720p HD Free Download Google Drive Link, Miami Vice Hollywood Movie Watch Online In Hindi Dubbed Dual Audio

IMBD Score: 6.0/10 Language: Hindi Miami Vice (2006) R | 2h 14min | Action, Crime, Thriller | 28 July 2006 (USA) Director: Michael Mann Writers: Michael Mann, Anthony Yerkovich (TV series) Stars: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Li Gong

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Story: Ricardo Tubbs is urbane and dead smart. He lives with Bronx-born Intel analyst Trudy, as they work undercover transporting drug loads into South Florida to identify a group responsible for three murders. Sonny Crockett [to the untrained eye, his presentation may seem unorthodox, but procedurally, he is sound] is charismatic and flirtatious until 

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Miami had a very different film, with a few exceptions like Michael Mann's "The Dark Knight Returns." 

Before the film's release, Mann's hugely successful return to a successful hyper-colored cop show filled audiences and critics with images of alligators and pastels in the months leading up to its release. Anticipation built, and we were treated to "Miami Vice," loosely rooted in a television series in which Mann himself served as executive producer. Colin Farrell and Jaime Foxx were to take on the roles of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. 

The pair are tasked with going undercover to uncover and dismantle the international drug cartels responsible. Crockett and Tubbs make contact with Yero, the head of a powerful drug cartel that has long been active in Haiti and Central America. Chinese and Cuban businesswoman, who manages the outfit's finances, meet the two policemen and earn the grudging trust of Yeros. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx play the drug detectives who are on the trail of the Latin American drug ring and are begged by Colin Farrell's Jamie Foxx as the drug detective who is on the trail of him. 

Universal Pictures considered keeping the film at PG-13 level to maximize audience appeal, but the big screen Miami Vice has to take the gloves off. It's a lot bloodier and sexier than Miami, with man unleashing colossal firepower in the R-rated movie's rampage and showing some steamy love scenes. This is what critics and audiences think they can see when they watch the film with the help of director Michael Mann and his directorial debut. 

Miami Vice has already suffered from a hard-partying star and an obsessive director accused of blowing up budgets and alienating colleagues - workers with an undefined vision. 

In 2013, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of the A.V. Club raved that "Miami Vice looks like no other movie. Miami Vice marks the return of the indifferent box office bomb, but this time it's a much better film. There's not much rock'n "roll, either, and his film doesn't have a single pastel in it. 

The film was shot in a dark, whispering, technocratic underworld where the languid, sensual beauty of Miami is a distant memory. It unfolds in a darker, whispering underworld of technocrats, in which all the leisurely, seductive pleasures of its predecessor Miami Vice are now so enmeshed in a cool, succinct minimalism that it is almost unrecognisable. 

Still, only a fool would expect a filmmaker of Michael Mann's caliber to deliver a sequel to the groundbreaking series that made his name. Even when the film has us gripped, we scratch our heads in disbelief. Mann has grabbed the audience by the right and made us curious to know what's next. 

Characteristically, regardless of the exposure, Mann immerses us in the thicket of his world, and the tone of the entire film is set in a short space of time. A dazzling kaleidoscopic nightclub scene finds a Crockett involved in a sting that has already gone disastrously wrong. The lower abdomen is perfumed with a mixture of 80s gangster movies and modern thrillers. While the plot of the film seems hilariously old-fashioned, we can still remember how Miami Vice turned television upside down in the 1980s, as The Sopranos did decades later. In Miami Vice, by contrast, we have a couple of friends who, apart from a love interest, are so similar that no tension can arise between them.

The problem is that Foxx doesn't have much to do, as Ricardo loves his girlfriend but isn't fooled, and while Sonny goes home for an extended love test, Ricardo spends much of his time waiting. The role of the vengeful sexy cop is well cast, and Gong Li, who plays Isabella's drug dealer, manages to overcome the stereotypes inherent in her role. It's hard not to be disappointed by the performance of Michael Caine as the titular cop, a man with a penchant for violence, but he does the role well. 

Where the two Miami detectives got the money for such a lavish lifestyle, nobody knows, but Crocket drives a Ferrari and Caine a Mercedes - Benz, while Ricardo and Isabella Ferrari drive Ferraris. 

As my colleague Roger Friedman of FOXNews.com noted in a column earlier this week, Mann has done his best to distance the film from the TV series he created, even omitting the Grammy-winning theme song. The actors do an excellent job of recreating on television the characters that made Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas famous for television, and avoiding the pitfalls of so many other TV series that have been filmed. But the best thing about Miami Vice is that it has a lot to do with the real life of the two Miami detectives, as far as one is concerned, but it is observable.

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[pauladchnd2c]

Clean White.

Best Settings for White Background Photography: Having more light on a white background than on your subject is the key to creating a pure white background. The background must be at  f11 (brighter than the subject).It is also important to take your exposure meter reading from your subject. Do the background first. Use the spot meter setting on your camera to ensure you are only making a reading from your subject. Photographing a portrait you will want the person’s face to be well exposed. Take a spot meter reading from your subject’s face. Check if you have your setting correct for your subject to be well exposed, at f8. Most Common Problems With White Background Photography: Placing your subject too close to the background during a photo shoot is the main problem.This can cause the subject to cast shadows onto the background. It can also mean spill light from the background affects your subject. You might be working in a small photo studio or room. This means you won’t have enough space between your subject and background.Placing lights in front of your subject will cause shadow to be cast on the background. Tips: 1 . Use a solid white background to eliminate distractions. 2. Use sunlight as your background. 3. Use a flash on the background. 4. Don’t over, over/underexpose the background.

Photographers Research.

David Bailey.

Graduating from being an assistant with fashion photographerJohn French in 1959, Bailey began the 1960s with a contract with Vogue to become the decade's iconic chronicler with two defining portrait publications David Bailey's box of pin-ups (1965) and Goodbye Baby and Amen (1969). They focussed on a new social order that evolved from the decade of change.

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Richard Avedon.

Avedon was born and lived in New York City. His interest in photography began at an early age, and he joined the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) camera club when he was twelve years old. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he co-edited the school’s literary magazine, The Magpie, with James Baldwin. He was named Poet Laureate of New York City High Schools in 1941. 

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[ardentmuse]

Hello, may I request a male ship for HP, Marvel & Kingsman (if that's alright to ask for all three), please & thank you. I hope the length is alright, if not send me a message in the chat box and let me know. I’m putting it in a link to the tumblr blog with my personality description, I hope it works . LINK - The first part is shortintrovertships(.) tumblr(.) (com) (without the parentheses). Take as much time as you need, I know I asked for a lot, so I don’t mind being patient & waiting.

Hi Dear! Thanks for the super-thorough self-summary! You basically get a love story for all different stage of your life (teens, early 20s, late 20s) so we’re living some fun fantasies today :)

Lover: Peter Parker

Best Friend: Michelle (MJ)

Place of Origin: Earth, Bronx USA

Occupation: Student, Bio-med interests

Partner / Team Affiliation: Peter and Tony (and Avengers by proxy)

Powers / Abilities: N/A, just a lovely human

Equipment: Do books count?

Hobby: Video games

Peter was incredibly nervous to start another school year, specifically he was quite nervous about keeping his Spidey secret and balancing classwork with his new responsibilities. The only thing keeping him sane was that he was going to be in most of his classes with Ned and he was taking a new bio-med elective that had keep quite excited.

But when Peter arrived at the course, he was surprised to see so few faces he knew. Ned hadn’t signed up, but he had expected at least Michelle to take it. But as he looked around the room, he felt rather alone. The only open seat was sharing a lab table with you, a new transfer student coming in from a magnet school in the Bronx.

Peter took the seat and introduced himself, albeit quite awkwardly. He muttered a little under his breath at how strange he was behaving, but he couldn’t help it. You were clearly smart and quite attractive. He watched as you pulled out a variety of colored pens, each of which you organized at the top of your desk, and a lab notebook with tabs ready to go. Your level of precision and detail let him know you were going to be the perfect study partner.

Pretty soon, you were spending quite a bit of time in the library working together. For months, you were just studious work partners, pleasant and amiable but nothing more. Honestly, Peter liked being able to just be himself without any pressure to put on a cool facade for you. But one day, he had mentioned a video game he was currently playing that was only tangentially related to the problem you were working through. You immediately lit up and began rambling about your love of the game. Peter felt the warmth of your smile seep into his veins. Your passion was contagious. He invited you over to play with him, which you accepted. And Peter knew then that he had stepped in a sinkhole. A curious, friendly, excitable, easy-to-be-around attractive girl who shared his love of video games? How he hadn’t seen you as his dream girl before that moment seemed ridiculous now, but his crush hit him full and hard from that moment onward.

Aunt May was all over you when you arrived for your “date”. She was so excited to see Peter have a new friend, especially a female one. She made you dinner, asked a lot of questions about your family, another topic that had you passionate and smiling, and as a result had Peter blushing, your spirit having that sort of impact on him. May saw and made herself scarce so Peter wouldn’t be embarrassed.

As you played in his room, you were laughing and teasing each other. Peter was trying his best to be flirty but you were not processing it. Together, you were able to conquer the big boss that Peter had been struggling with for week. He lifted you up and spun you around in celebrating. And when he set you back down, you couldn’t pull your gaze from each other. With a hand on your cheek, he leaned down and kissed you. It was a quick peck, and Peter was a blushing, foolish mess afterwards and you were too. Both so embarrassed, you decided to watch a movie to keep from having to look at each other. Instead, Peter set you between his legs, your head leaning back against his chest as he reclined on his bed. You both fell asleep long before the second act of the movie. And when May came in to ask if you needed an escort home, she let you sleep, leaving the door open and calling your parents so they wouldn’t worry.

When Peter awoke with you still in his arms, he was the happiest he’d ever been. He watched you in your sleep with a smile on his face. And when you awoke, he immediately asked if you’d be his girlfriend.

Dating Peter was always enjoyable. He was a source of excitement, was incredibly supportive emotionally, and was the king of compliments. You’ve never felt more loved than you have as Peter’s girlfriend. You learned about Spider-Man on accident. Aunt May had invited you over for dinner as a surprise for Peter’s birthday, and you had been waiting in his room for him to come home when he snuck into the window clad in his suit. He had been nervous as to how you would respond, but you were honestly just so proud that he would sacrifice himself for the good for others. And so Spidey dates also became a thing, him swinging you around the city to rooftops with the best views. And May and Tony loved more than anything how much you encouraged Peter to be his best and try his hardest in all things.

Lover: Sirius Black

Best Friend: Molly Weasley

House: Hufflepuff

Family: McKinnon

Favorite Subject: Charms

Clubs / Accolades: Order of the Phoenix

Job: Misuse of Muggle Artefacts at MoM

Patronus: Hippopotamus

Sirius Black had always been a creature of great mystery to you. You had been a first year when he was a seventh and never knew each other. And then he went off to Azkaban and the reputation took hold. He was the biggest criminal in the wizarding world and you honestly avoided thinking about him and all the harm he caused. Your entire family had been murdered by death eaters so of course you avoided thinking upon the subject.

When you finished your years at Hogwarts, you joined the Ministry of Magic Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department. Arthur Weasley was your boss and mentor. And given that you had lost much of your family during the war, he often invited you to dinner at his house among his wife and children. They didn’t have much but they were always hospitable and generous. You quickly grew to love them all, bringing over a side dish every Sunday as you crashed their family get together and often babysitting the little ones.

When the war broke out in earnest, you immediately joined the efforts of the Order of the Phoenix. You were not about to let any family get torn apart the way yours had been. And that was how you met Sirius Black. At first you had been scared, given his reputation, but meeting Sirius Black was much different than you expected. You had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place with Ginny, bringing in the latest groceries as Molly prepares a meal for that night’s meeting. And who was standing at the door to greet you but a handsome man with shaggy black hair and piercing grey eyes, a little gaunt but still strong and commanding in stature. He was striking in a much better way than you thought. He took a bag from each of you and showed you the home. He was chipper and gregarious, kind and thoughtful. You found yourself easily forgetting the reputation and simply enjoying the man for whom he was.

Many meetings allowed you to get to know each other and you became cordial acquaintances. A few times you awoke on a couch in the living room with a blanket you hadn’t had on you when you fell asleep or a cup of tea warm and waiting. You knew it was Sirius’s doing, but he never said a word.

You developed romantic feelings for the man the first time you saw him interact with Harry. He was clearly a good father figure to the boy, so gentle and honest, determined to do right by him. He was to Harry what you were to Ginny, the non-parent parent, the trustworthy, honest, reliable adult companion. Sirius was a gentle, sweet, understanding man under his highly cultivated exterior.

You had taken down Bellatrix during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, saving Sirius’s life, he knew. That night as you helped him heal his wounds, he told you how much he admired you and how scared he had been of losing you. The honesty was so refreshing, and you somehow found yourself in his arms, clinging to each other and crying for the all the loss you were sure was able to come.

And thus your relationship began. It was hard dating amidst the war, but you found comfort in each other. Long nights spent talking kept you both sane and missions were taken together, both of you fighting hard to protect the other. You married just before things got really bad, the Weasleys, Remus, and Tonks in attendance. And when you fell pregnant, Sirius sent you away, determined to keep you and his child safe as long as he could. You already had a target on your back and a baby would only make it worse. And when you learned of the fate of the Lupins, you were secretly glad for the few months along.

A few weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, you returned to England and gave birth to a son, whom Sirius asked rather sheepishly if he could be named Remus. In the years following, Remus gained a few siblings, all of whom Harry treated like his brothers and sisters. Molly was incredibly excited to provide all the parenting advice she could, a new brood of Blacks who supported the rights of muggle-borns to begin to repair the poor reputation generations before had cultivated.

Lover: Harry Hart

Best Friend: Merlin

Mentor: Arthur

Code Name: Vivien

Specialty: Onboarding

Dog: Dachshund

What you did before Kingsman Statesman: Translator

Vacation / Honeymoon: Singapore and other foodie destinations

When Harry Hart joined Kingsman, you had the privilege of leading his on-boarding. Your primary work with Kingsman was training and recruitment, and so every new agent that came through the door spent a few weeks with you, learning the ropes, meeting the teams, receiving their initial assignments. Harry had been just another part of your job, albeit a nice one, but nothing more. Pretty soon he was out in the field and you were back at your desk job, nothing different in your life other than the occasional smile from the attractive man as he walked by your office to go about his meetings.

That was until a particular mission required someone who could speak Japanese colloquially. Harry was the primary on the mission, coming in as a British investor in hopes of doing business with the target. But he needed a translator to come with him, particularly one that could hold their own in the field. Arthur had practically begged you to go and you hesitantly agreed. The field was not your favorite, but you understood when your skills were necessary.

For the two weeks, Harry spent every evening at your desk, working with you to prep for the mission. He was kind and generous, always bringing you a coffee or tea so you could keep your focus, consistently answering your questions and including you in all his important decision making. He treated you like a partner, a true partner, and you found yourself eager to go out into the field for the first time since your recruitment.

During the initial meeting, the target was a little too forward with you, handsy and flirtatious, making you incredibly uncomfortable. Harry was quick to react, pulling you to him and kissing your forehead, asking the man if he would kindly stop hitting on his wife. And thus all your plans were out the window and the next week you would have to spend posing as happy and in love. But honestly, it wasn’t that hard. Holding Harry’s hand, sitting a little closer, sharing hushed whispers and gentle kisses, it all seemed so natural after the past few weeks you had spent working late into the night. Come day five, you were unsure of what the two of you were actually faking.

When you returned to headquarters, you had no reason to interact anymore. A week went by without you seeing each other. But soon your boss informed you that Harry had requested that he have involvement in the next recruitment round. And the following day, Harry showed up at your desk after lunch, a drink for you in hand, and you began working again late into the night. A few days before recruits were to arrive, Harry kissed you as you worked together to prep their sleeping quarters and after the recruitment round was complete, he took you to his favorite restaurant in his hometown, the next night to see your favorite play, then his favorite gardens, and on and on it went until you married on the grounds of the Kingsman estate.

Field work became more difficult when you decided to start a family but Harry enjoyed being a father more than anything in the world. And your children were insanely well-traveled and cultured, Harry often inviting you out to whatever destination he was in once the dangerous work was over.

[birthofhiphop]

New Post has been published on https://www.birthofhiphop.com/5-graffiti-hip-hop-art-pages-and-artists-to-follow-for-major-inspiration/

5 Graffiti Hip Hop Art Pages and Artists To Follow for Major Inspiration

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Although widely synonymous with rap music, hip hop is much more than the popular tunes you listen to in a club. The full-on cultural movement that started in the 1970s Bronx is about style, art, dance, and philosophy depicting nothing else but life. The lack of economic opportunity and rising crime rates and poverty in the neighborhood compelled people, the ’70s Bronx youth created their form of creative cultural expression that gave rise to four pillars of hip hop:

DEEJAYING: making music using DJ mixers, turntables, and record players

RAPPING: rhythmic vocal rhyming style

GRAFFITI PAINTING: “graf” or “writing”

BREAK DANCING: an athletic dance style that involves immense styling and attitude

Street art and graffiti hip hop art is one such form of expression in hip hop that is wildly popular for pretty obvious reasons-

It’s highly accessible, unlike a contemporary art piece hidden in a tent or a white cube

It uses a vast range of vivid colors

It’s easy to interpret figuratively

Its bold, brave, and heavily inspired by society

With technology breaching and penetrating our society, it has become easier for fans and hip-hop art enthusiasts to learn about some hidden gems of the graffiti art world. In this blog, we talk about some rising creators and Instagram pages who are taking this urban art form above and beyond to inspire your feed:

SARA ERENTHAL

This street artist has been turning heads with her signature red-lipped self-portraits based in Brooklyn, New York. One of her prominent showcases was her solo show at FiveMyles Gallery in Brooklyn. If you have been in the Brooklyn areas, chances are you must have come across her creative invasions of urban space over cardboard boxes and trash cans to abandoned furniture and curb mattresses.

Instagram Link: @SaraErenthalart

PHILLY GRAFFITI CHANNEL

The Philly Graffiti Channel is a massive archive of over 25k+ posts of contemporary Philly wall writing and graffiti hip-hop art. Carrying a vast range of quick throw-ups to elaborate, vibrant pieces, the online network highlights Philly graffiti writers’ immense diversity and impeccable skills.

Instagram Link: @Phillygraffchannel

DEEDEE

Going by the public name, Deedee was here; Deedee is yet another notable Brooklyn, New York-based artist popular for her unique style of bright collages featuring female subjects while depicting her inspiration from Banksy. Her signature is to add her artistry to poster advertisements found in the streets. One notable work is her contribution to Art Relief for Direct Relief for Puerto Rico.

Instagram Link: @Deedeewashere

ANT CARVER

Best known for his portraits of colorful abstracts of Londoners while fusing street-art elements with conventional techniques of oil and spray-paint works, this Hackney Wick-based graffiti artist also sells his print editions online with an Instagram following of 17,000+. One of his notable works would be Paradise at the Hoxton Basement.

Instagram Link: @Antcarver

For more info related to hip-hop culture and tips on how to become a hip-hop artist, signup or register with us for news, projects, showcases, and other updates.

[thotyssey]

On Point With: DJ Ted Bishop Nieves

The newly-anointed Mr. Fire Island Bear 2018 is actually a veteran nightlifer and DJ in this city, breaking through during the days of ball houses and big clubs. He shares a bit of his history with Thotyssey, and hints at some amazing stuff to come.

Thotyssey: Ted, hello! Happy Pride! And of course, a big congrats on winning Mr. Fire Island Bear at Cherry’s on the Bay this past weekend! 

DJ Ted Bishop Nieves: Thank you so much, Jim.

How good did that win feel? It really felt amazing to win. I'll be honest, I'm still in a bit of shock. It was really quite a surprise for me to be entering the contest, and it blew my mind when I won. It was an amazing rush of joy that I really can't describe.

Have you done contests before this one?

My first "contest" was actually just a few weeks ago during the Urban Bear street festival run by Robert Valin and his Urban Bear team. They had their first ever Mr. Urban Bear Contest, and I had enough liquor in me to give me the bravery to enter. I ended up winning on the strength of my lip sync performance, lol! That contest, of course, was all in good fun and I enjoyed that immensely.

And now look at you, you’re a pageant queen! How did the Fire Island Bear contest go... what was required of you?

It was pretty intense. The first part of the contest actually took place several hours before the event at Cherry's. Each of the contestants who signed up ahead of time sat with the judges for a pretty intense Q&A.

After that we had the event at Cherry's, and there we had to present two outfits: a "bar night" look followed by a fetish outfit. That was pretty amazing and difficult. I'm sometimes very shy, and had a hard time getting up the courage to go up there. Once I dd though, there was no going back.

So the bear world--and nightlife in general--knows you best as a DJ, which we’ll get to a bit. But first, let’s start at the beginning: where’s your  hometown, and what were you into growing up?

I was born and raised here in the South Bronx, where I was surrounded by a lot of loud family and friends! Many of them were loud because they were musicians, so I developed a love of music pretty early on. And that was really what I was into as a kid: music.

The kids I grew up with in the neighborhood all played together after school, and most of the day during the summer. I was the one who always had the boom box with him, playing the loud music as we played handball, slugs, red light / green light, or all the other games a lot of us played as kids.

What were you listening to?

Back then I loved it all. My sister introduced me to disco, but I also listened to rock, country, and just about any other genre that was showcased on Kasey Kasem's American Top 40 radio show. Haha! Do people still know that existed?

I bet they don’t!

How did you discover nightlife?

I was probably about 16 years-old, and like a lot of kids in the Bronx I decided to get working papers, and had worked a few jobs around my immediate neighborhood... stock boy, and stuff like that. But at 16, I got a job at Alexander’s department store. One day while riding the train, I caught an older man checking me out, and he got off at the same stop as I. We started speaking, and he told me about a place called the Pier. He asked if I wanted to check it out. I said yes, and we exchanged numbers and we stayed in touch.  

That Friday after work, he picked me up for what I thought would be my first date with a man, but turned into my first class in NYC nightlife and drag and voguing and houses. That night I got the education of a lifetime, and he told me we'd do it again the following night.

That next night, instead of the Pier, we went to the legendary Tracks Nightclub on 19th Street. I stepped foot into that club, and it felt like I was home.That began my love affair with NYC's gay nightlife.

Over the years, I would be able to experience The Saint, Red Zone, The Copacabana, The World, Mars, my favorite of all time Sound Factory, and The Roxy. These places were my home, and I felt connected to them like nothing else.

Were you voguing yourself, and turning lewks?

Ha! No, I never did master voguing, and was very shy back then. Never tried to draw too much attention to myself. But the LEWKS my friends would turn! Gurrrrrl. They were epic! Especially at Red Zone and The Tunnel.

Did you have a favorite Ball House?

Well, ALL the houses knew how to turn it in their own way. They all had it going on, so I wouldn't say I had a favorite house. However, you were always guaranteed crazy heights of entertainment when the Magnifiques, Aviances and Extravaganzas were in attendance at Sound Factory.

Is the new show Pose accurate in its portrayal of that time, from what little has aired so far?

I would say that yes, it's quite accurate as far as depicting the scene and the struggles of the people who were part of it.  It's really quite spot on.

How did you ultimately get into DJing?

So, DJing started when I was pretty young. It's actually the reason I started working as a kid; I wanted to buy my own DJ equipment, and I did. I started teaching myself around 15-16, but it wasn't until my late 30's that I grew the balls to try and do something with it outside of it being a hobby.

Did you ever try using a DJ moniker before deciding to just go by your (presumably) actual name?

My real name is Ted Nieves. I decided to use “DJ Bishop” back in the 90s, when the X-Men introduced this character named Bishop, who absorbed energy and converted it into concussive force. I've always felt that a DJ absorbs the energy from the crowd and turns it back to them as concussive beats, so it seemed appropriate. Later on, as I started working, I added it to my own name in order to help spread my brand.

As of right now, what do you enjoy spinning most when given the freedom to do whatever?

Oooh. I'm seriously feeling my Afro and tech house vibes when left to my own devices. Those beats just get right under your skin, and drive your hips into madness.

What have been some highlights for you, or major moments, DJing venues in this city over the years? 

Oh, that's a really hard question... but I think that I can narrow it down a bit! The first major milestone for me was when G Lounge asked me to be part of their now legendary DiLF party, promoted by Mark Lander and Franco DiLuzio. 

Next would be getting to be part of the team of DJs that work with NYC promoters Antonio Cedeno and Shane Tate. It's always an honor to be listed as a part of their teams. Also, being a part of the Fire Island Bear Weekend has been amazing. I've played the opening party two years in a row, and loved every minute of it.  

Finally, now being able to have my own party in partnership with John-John Punki (Mr. Eagle 2017) at Rockbar. Those are really some of my proudest moments.

Did you ever think the bear scene would become as huge as it is today?

Yes. The bear community was built out of a need for acceptance. The level of shaming and prejudice in the gay community has always been really bad. We're all aware that, often, the oppressed become the oppressors. Well, it is certainly true in the gay community. We are oppressed, so we need to oppress those who are larger than we think they should be, or skinnier than we think they should be, or who have a different color skin than we find attractive... and it goes on and on.

That doesn't mean, of course, that it's always love and light within the Bear Community. But I have certainly experienced more love and acceptance here than I have in the other aspects of gay life that I've experienced.

And with that said, that is why I believed from the beginning it would be a growing community. Who doesn't want to walk into a room of people that all look different, and not feel like they are judging you? Man, that's heaven right there.

Okay, that brings us to the gigs. First off, there’s the Pride edition of Soaked at Rockbar in the West Village on Friday, June 15. John-John appears,  J. Rios and Matty B. host, Viva Vidalia performs, and dudes in underwear get wet for our entertainment. This monthly has been a huge success for Rockbar!

This is actually my debut with the Soaked team, so I'm super excited about it. What makes it even more special is that there is a full upgrade of the sound system at Rockbar that [manager] Jason Romas and I worked on. It's going to be the official unveiling of that, and I can't wait to blow people's socks off with that sound.

And you'll be back with John-John at Rockbar for your actual monthly, Purgatory, on June 28th! Hey, why aren''t we calling it FURgatory?

LOL, we had originally wanted to use a different name, but had to change it at the last minute. “Purgatory” was whet we came up with because that sounded sexy and naughty, and it kinda stuck. But maybe we should put it to a vote and see if people would like us to change it to FUR-gatory.  What do you think?

Either works! What's the scene like?

It's a really fun vibe. The party takes place right after RuPaul’s Drag Race, so people are really happy (usually) and very chatty after the show. We like to carry that vibe over, and slowly make it sexier. I bring a blend of pop, house, and EDM to the event, and I keep it sexy with our gogo dancers. We've had awesome response to the event, and are excited to continue and see how it goes.

And tell us about (r)Evolution at the Hangar, also in the West Village. It looks that venue is trying to have more defined nights there (named parties, established DJs, some drag, etc).

Yes. (r)Evolution Saturdays at The Hangar was born out of them wanting to have a legit, full-on house music event that catered to the classic house heads, and the new kids that are still discovering what real house music is. DJ Mando and myself talked about it, and determined the sounds we wanted. We worked with management to come up with an official name for the event to start branding it, and breathe new life into this NYC gay nightlife fixture. 

There are a few plans to really begin fleshing out some other nights as well. As you know, the Hangar has been a haven for many of our brothers and sisters of color for decades now, and yet so many people don't even know about it. I mean, can you believe that this coming Pride march, they will be celebrating 25 years of service to our community?

Amazing! 

So, anything else coming up for you?

Well, along with Soaked and (r)Evolution this week, I have Purgatory next. And Pride Sunday is a double-header for me playing at Rebar from 2-9pm for their annual Pride celebration, followed by The Hangar's Annual Pride and 25th Year anniversary celebration. So, it's a jam-packed June for me.

Nice! Enjoy the gigs! Okay, last question: What should a young, new DJ do when trying to make a career in this business?

Work hard and promote yourself.  No one will believe you if you don't believe it yourself.

Thanks, Ted!

DJ Ted Bishop Nieves spins weekly Saturdays at The Hangar NYC (10pm), and last Thursdays at Rockbar for Purgatory (10pm). Check Thotyssey’s calendar for all his scheduled gigs, and follow DJ Ted on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

On Point Archives

[zedesirebox2018-blog]

My Cultural Identity

             Myself. Defined as “I” or “me personally.” I would have to say that I usually hate starting off papers with the definition of a word, I think it’s rather cliché.

However, as I sit here writing a paper that intends to uncover some more of my own cultural identity, I find the definition of the word myself rather fitting.

I am me. I am a single human being distinct from a group, class, or family. Yet, I would be nothing without the influences of said family, groups, and classifications. My existence is rooted in my cultural history, and my identity is entrenched in my experience with this world. Throughout this paper I intend to unearth definitely not all, but race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status as three of the main facets of my constantly evolving identity.

The first impressions of my cultural identity appear in my race. The first impressions being what others see, and what I see when I look in the mirror. Honestly, sometimes I find it a little confusing, probably as others do too, since being mixed race doesn’t make it as easy to categorize a person. Being mixed race I find myself feeling category-less­ but in the best way possible. I think people always want to tell you where you should be, but sometimes I don’t really see myself anywhere, and I think that that is totally okay. I look at myself and I see tan skin, brown, curly hair, large, brown eyes, and an athletic thin body. I see my father’s skin color in mine, his athletic legs, his passion for music and artistic things. I see my mother’s lips, her eyebrows, her boldness, and her strength.

Do I see my father’s Puerto Rican blood running through me? My mother’s Guyanese blood? I know I have it and that it pulses through my body. I can see it in my features because I can see my parents in myself.

           My father was born and raised in the Bronx in New York by his two parents. His parents were born in Puerto Rico and came to the United States to start a family. They spoke Spanish in their home, and he grew up in one of the poorest areas in New York City, minutes from Spanish Harlem. My mother immigrated to the United States when she was 7 years old from Guyana, in South America, with her father and three brothers. Just like my Dad, she grew up in one of the poorest areas in New York City.

           While I grew up both of my parents spoke English and Spanish. My dad would always have us listen to music that he grew up listening to, and would share with my siblings and I stories of his childhood. When holidays came around, that would mean lots and lots of food. Dinner on Christmas or various other holidays always meant a Puerto Rican feast with arroz con gandules, plantains, yucca, pernil (roast pork), and pollo asado.

My mom would talk about what it was like being a child in South America, and the struggles she had when they first came to America. She would talk about eating daahl, roti, and curry and I could hear her Guyanese accent when she spoke on the phone with relatives or when family came to visit.

           My parents wanted us to be aware and accepting and worldly when it came to understanding culture. They showed us the aspects of theirs, and encouraged us to always be accepting of others. However, my parents never made me feel like I had to choose between Puerto Rican and Guyanese. They never me feel like both of my races were so salient and that I needed to very strongly identify with both or either…and that is what I think it means to be mixed race.

Poston’s Biracial Identity Development Model shows the steps of identifying oneself with finding personal identity, then choice of group categorization, then enmeshment and denial, then appreciation of multiple identities and exploration of heritages, and finally the integration and valuing of a multicultural identity. Ethnically I identify with Puerto Rican, Guyanese, and white culture. My ancestors are from Puerto Rico and from Guyana, and as I described earlier, I grew up with aspects of these cultures in my life. Racially I am clearly not white (just based off of what I look like) so I consider myself to be mixed race. I grew up around mostly white people, living in a nice area, going to a good school, having the opportunity to play whatever sport I wanted to, and being able to go through most parts of my life without people assuming things about me because of my race.

However, I still know what it feels like to have someone refer to a Puerto Rican person as a spic and those words are still very hurtful to me. I’ve had people tell me that my curly hair isn’t professional enough, and that I need to straighten it. I’ve had people see me at first glance and assume white, and then furrow their brows when they attempt to read my Spanish-sounding last name. I’ve had people deliberately question where the “brown” came from when they see my mom and me, because although she is South American she has pale skin and I am tan. Being biracial, I find it is not where I identify myself that I struggle with, it is with people wanting to tell me where I should be.

Continuing to look at the Biracial Identity Development Model, I believe I am still within the first step of finding my personal identity, and I attribute this to the fact that my mixed race identity is made salient depending on the situation I am in. Being at a school like Cal Poly, people have asked me “what are you?” Since most of my life and even now I have been around majority white people, I think when I was younger I really tried to categorize myself as white, because identifying with my Puerto Rican and Guyanese culture wasn’t as important to me. But, as I’ve gotten older, it has become more important to me. This is because as I evolve, and become a person that I myself love, trying to speak Spanish better, listening to more Latin music with my parents, and thinking about how their stories relate to my own life story has become more important to me.

I don’t think I ever truly denied my biracial identity, as the third step of Poston’s model describes, but I think I definitely used to choose to be unaware of it. Finally, as the last two steps describe I believe I am still on my quest of exploring my heritage and integrating my identity as my own. My biracial identity is something that can’t be put into a box, even though people truly wish they could put it there.

In another aspect of Hay’s Addressing Model, gender is something I find crucial to my identity. Being a woman means that gender-based issues and encountering sexism is something that is and always will be part my life. I grew up with a mother who is an Emergency Medicine Physician, and who is now the Chief of Medicine at her hospital. Even now, people who have met my mom automatically assume she is a nurse because she is a woman, and I find that completely intolerable.  To say that I grew up with an incredibly strong and driven woman as my role model isn’t saying enough. She has been working since before I was born, and before I was born my parents made the decision together that my dad would leave his job as an accountant in New York City and stay at home to take care of the family that he knew my mother wanted.

For all of my life, my mother has worked while my dad has stayed at home. That kind of family dynamic is the opposite of most families in the United States, but it is something I believe has played an unbelievably huge role in shaping who I am today. I’ve grown up watching a woman pursue her career goals while being an attentive and supportive mother, while having a father who has supported her nonetheless, and been the most loving, and incredible father without his manliness being threatened by having his wife working.

I’ve grown up with independence being encouraged, with both of my parents encouraging me to strive for any career, and that I should never, ever, settle. I am a woman and my post-graduate goal is to go to Dental School and do oral surgery. Having a goal like that would never be possible without having a family that has shown me that I should never allow being a woman to be a barrier to achieving my goals. Through my twenty years of life so far I’ve learned that not only do men view women as less, but so do other women, and the only way to break from it is by encouraging and empowering each other. I know that I will have job interviews where people will make decisions based off of how I look, and no matter how hard I try people will always see being a doctor as a male dominated career, but even with that I will not stop persisting.

I’ve discussed my family throughout this paper and the tremendous impact they’ve had in shaping me into the person I am today. The life they have provided me with is the last facet of the Hay’s Addressing Model I am uncovering throughout this paper. My socioeconomic status has provided me with so many opportunities that have made me unbelievably lucky. Growing up with a mother who is a doctor, I am very humbled to be living this comfortable life I have. Furthermore, and knowing how my parents grew up compared to where they are now and what they have given me, I am humbled even more.

I grew up with privilege.

I attended the best public schools in the areas we were living in at the time. I played multiple club sports such as soccer, volleyball, and track and field because my parents could afford it, and now I sit here at an out of state university because of my upbringing. My parents believed it was crucial for me to leave Arizona and attend a good university in a beautiful state, so they did everything they could to make it happen and here I am. My socioeconomic status has enabled me to travel, which has increased my cultural understanding, and this again is privilege.

On one of the first days of class we were asked to write down things that we identify our self as. Looking back at that list, I see that I wrote down mostly characteristics, like “athletic, caring, hard-working, loving, smart”, and a few identities like “a woman, a daughter, and a sister.” I didn’t write down my race or my ethnic identity, because of the privilege I have those aspects of myself weren’t especially salient to me in that moment, but as I grow, they are becoming more important. Being a woman my middle name is persistence, and with the privilege I have been given because of my family’s socioeconomic status I intend to make the most out of the life I have been given, because the future ­is female. I am a mixed race woman who’s race is Puerto Rican, is Guyanese, and ­is White because that is the culture I have grown up with.

I am still taking steps in my cultural identity development. They are small and big steps. It is by not trying to hide some of race by straightening my hair on weekends, or maybe even doing the 23 and me test so I can learn even more about my background, and by doing my part as a human to understand, accept, and enjoy my own life and the lives of those around me.