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jucyfruit · 2 months

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Phoebe Bridgers. Julien Baker. Lucy Dacus. What happens when three of the most talented solo singer-songwriters of a generation get together? You get something disarmingly funny, haunting, queer, something sui generis. Plus the best love song playlist ever. Meet The Band— a.k.a. boygenius.

From left: CHOPOVA LOWENA fringe denim jacket. PAOLINA RUSSO bodice mini dress and knit top. CHOPOVA LOWENA zip cardigan and fuzzy skirt; FALKE tights.

Nicolaia Rips: How are you guys? You’re all individually at home hanging?

Lucy Dacus: Phoebe and I both just got back from, what, five weeks of being away or more. I’m jet-lagged. I was sleepy at 7 p.m. and I had a friend come over and kind of push me until 10 p.m. so I wouldn’t fall asleep while the sun was out.

Nicolaia Rips: How’s tour?

Lucy Dacus: The tour, like, all of it has been awesome. Our next show is Boston. Right? Or is it New Haven? I don’t know. (Julien pops into the zoom, just the tip of her baseball hat as she slowly emerges into frame.)

Julien Baker: My phone died and then I just...Hi, I’m here now.

Nicolaia Rips: If boygenius was a family who’s the middle child, who’s the eldest?

Phoebe Bridgers: Am I the youngest?

LD: No!

JB: No. You’re not youngest! I’m youngest.

LD: Julien’s youngest.

PB: You also are literally the youngest.

LD: Is it boring to say that it’s just how the ages are? Me and Phoebe are both older sisters to younger brothers and Julian is an only child. I think you’re big sis Phoebe. Big brother. Big sis was weird.

PB: My brother calls me sis to give me the ick. He’s like, I love how they do it on TV. They’re always like, “what’s up, sis?” Who the fuck calls their sister that?

NR: The film [directed by Kristen Stewart]. The record. Can you talk about the finality of “The.” What other “The” would you want to do in the future?

LD: The amusement park, uh, the strip club...

JB: The musical!

PB: It’s cool because we wouldn’t do that in our solo work. I think it just highlights the specialness of the time. Like we’re setting out to make the boygenius things right now.

LD: It’s also acknowledging a bit of hype, which is fun because we’re members of the boygenius fandom ourselves. So, people asking for the record, we’re able to give them the record.

NR: What makes something a boygenius song versus a solo?

LD: At least for me, context changes what I write about, and how I write. So, we just decided to be each other’s context for a couple years. It’s not some big secret, we chose to do this, to devote space and time.

NR: Your music feels so vulnerable yet there’s always this play. How do you feel your senses of humor factor into your work?

PB: It’s silly. We kind of enable each other. I feel like there have been several times where I’m like, am I allowed to write this? And the boys were like, yeah, obviously.

NR: What’s on the essential boygenius book list? The Book Club?

LD: Myth of Sisyphus.

PB: Stop!

LD: What are books that we’ve all read? Like Carmen Maria Machado, both of her books. The Sympathizer, we all loved. Letters to a Young Poet.

JB: I’ve heard y’all reference a lot and it’s nice to feel like ideas, instead of slipping into like a landfill or whatever, get recycled to me. I don’t know, I just like hearing y’all talk about books that I haven’t read too.

PB: That’s my main experience. I’m always the one that did not read the thing. I read way more because of this band which is so tight.

JB: I feel like you’re always reading essays on some lane of art and I’m just like, dang, all I read was a graphic novel and Sartre again.

LD: Sartre again. Y’all have podcasts. I’m completely out for the podcast conversation.

JB: Phoebe got me into podcasts. I used to just be like, it’s not radio, I don’t understand it. All the podcasts I listen to are just things [Phoebe] told me to listen to —99 PI, Hidden Brain.

PB: I do not have the strength to have thoughts when I’m doing things.

NR: I was listening to My Favorite Murder a while ago and was like, wait a second. Is that Phoebe Bridgers??

PB: I felt so nervous. I think that’s the last time I had actual stage fright.

LD: Is that the one where you say, “yeah, me and my friend Lucy kissed” and then everyone freaked out?

PB: Now, no one could possibly get freaked out by us kissing. It’s just part of it. “I went to a Boygenius show and Julien and Phoebe or Lucy and Phoebe kissed.”

JB: There’s a picture of me and Lucy and my mom asked if it was the guitarist from Muna because I think she saw one picture of me and Joe [Maskin] kissing and thinks we’re dating. Mom, you’re on Twitter? Like she’s following me? I felt love.

From left: S.S. Daley monogram tailored jacket. JEAN PAUL GAULTIER vintage top courtesy of Haut Archive. SIMONE ROCHA cotton stripe pointed collar shirt; JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN wool stripe jacket.

NR: Who are your favorite unsung girl geniuses of history?

LD: Nick Drake’s mom, Molly Drake. She is an incredible poet and songwriter and pianist. They re-released a collection of her works recently. You can hear how Nick Drake was obviously inspired by her as her kid.

PB: Emily Bronte’s brother.

LD: We went to the Bronte mansion. Mansion. I just mixed up the Biltmore Mansion and the Bronte house because we also...

PB: We love to go to old places that people lived in.

LD: It’s like we’re trying to get haunted. We all showed up upset to the Bronte Museum and then in the first room they were like, “here’s the couch where Emily Bronte died of tuberculosis at age 30.” Now

whenever we’re all upset and it’s hard to get out of, we call it Brontitis. Emily and Anne had a brother named Branwell. Branwell Bronte who was a great artist. But he was underappreciated and wished he could be more like his sisters. (Phoebe has been roaming her house for the entire interview, white blonde hair streaming behind her, angles the camera down at a pug sitting alone on a large baroque couch.)

PB: Maxine Bridgers.

LD: I think Maxine’s pretty sung. She’s not unsung at all.

JB: Maxine’s sung.

NR: What were you about to say?

JB: Hilma af Klint. But obviously things come in tides of awareness. Something that’s unsung to me doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unsung in fine visual art.

PB: She was unsung in her life.

JB: But that was a choice, right? She was like, don’t publish anything or show my work until fifty years after my death.

PB: So sick.

NR: Going back to this haunting thing. Have you ever been haunted?

LD: We’ve been talking about this. Unclear.

JB: I was haunted! I was haunted!

LD: Julien was haunted.

JB: I was haunted. It was...demon. I don’t think it was a ghost.

LD: I have witnessed haunting but personally, I’m a clean vessel.

JB: What the fuck. This [interview] is so...

PB: My dating life in my early fucking twenties for sure was haunted.

LD: Are we just calling abuse haunting now? Ok. Well, I was haunted when I was in my early twenties too. (They all laugh.)

PB: Born haunted, dude,

JB: Born haunted just took me by surprise.

LD: That’s generational trauma babe.

JB: I had an apartment with bad vibes.

LD: Julien had an apartment where someone was murdered and rolled up in a carpet and put in a closet.

PB: Wait, was that the apartment that I was in? Yo? OK. UM. (Immediate chattering over each other.)

LD: How have we not talked about this? Julien recently said that she was told [about the murder] upon moving in and was like, bet, I’ll just be here.

PB: That does not surprise me.

LD: And then all that shit went down and you didn’t move. I can’t believe it.

JB: Let me tell you how metaphorical this shit was. Basically, they [realtors] just painted some stuff a hip color of green and put a pool in and doubled the rent. And I was like, okay, I’ll mime being an adult and pay way too much money for this apartment in the right part of town, to be the right kind of person, with all my cool East Nashville friends or whatever. And it was just full of murder and history. I did not have a good time there and I was all alone. That place had bad vibes. Top to bottom.

LD: Bad vibes is the most, like, inane way you could say what was happening in that apartment.

From left: CHOPOVA LOWENA dress. RAVE REVIEW fleece jacket; stylist's own BURBERRY vintage pants. SIMONE ROCHA nylon single breasted car coat; GUCCI shirt.

JB: Before I’d only ever lived in houses like on a yoga mat or with five other people who were in six different bands. Moving there and being like, nice a dishwasher, and it was this spot where somebody had been like, “I think there’s a murder” and the cops came and were like, no murder here. But there was! He was just rolled up in a carpet, and then the cops came back because of the smell and then they were like, oh, there was a murder. Anyway, that’s where I lived.

LD: You got way more info than you bargained for with that question.

NR: I don’t know how to transition here, wow. Do you feel like you’re optimists or pessimists?

LD: I’m an optimist.

NR: Didn’t sound very convincing.

LD: I’m the devil’s advocate for the best-case scenario. I don’t think it’s gonna be like that, but I might as well petition for it.

JB: I would like to say I am a present tense pessimist and a future optimist. I’m like, let’s not make light of how much it sucks right now. It does not help the situation to say, “it could always be worse” or to say, “it’s not that bad.” I’m an optimist when I’m with you guys. Like, this is a pretty sick day we’re living,

LD: Our whole Europe tour was awesome. And then we all had one terrible day.

PB: That is so true. I was like, this day isn’t hell, this is actually my usual self on tour. We had one day like that in our whole time together this year. (Phoebe cleans the crust out of her dog’s nose.)

NR: Are you cleaning your dog’s nose?

PB: She’s been with her grandma and her nose fold is so full of crust. I can’t believe it.

LD: I love her. I want her to come sneeze on me.

(Now Julien shows her dog who’s “camera shy.” Lucy sings, “I love you” to both dogs.)

NR: What’s your ultimate love song?

LD: I have a lot of answers. I Went To The Store One Day by Father John Misty. I think that’s a great song. There’s a compilation of love songs of Nina Simone. A lot of perfect love songs on that.

PB: For You by Laura Marling is a great song.

JB: I’m trying to think of an answer that isn’t Options by Pedro the Lion.

PB: That’s not a love song, dude.

LD: We’re not accepting that answer anymore.

JB: That’s 100% a love song.

LD: Don’t say that. I have a playlist called “Perfect Love Song”. Who Knows Where The Time Goes by Nina Simone. I Need Your Love So Bad by Irma Thomas. Dance Song by Dijon. P.S. I Love You by Billie Holiday. I Love You Always Forever, Donna Lewis. Bless the Telephone, Serpentwithfeet does a great cover.

From top: S.S. DALEY monogram tailored jacket and pleated skirt. JEAN PAUL GAULTIER vintage top courtesy of Haut Archive. SIMONE ROCHA cotton stripe pointed collar shirt; JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN wool stripe jacket.

NR: Are you specific with playlist names?

LD: No, I’ll make the playlist name and then I’ll wait for the songs.

PB: I agree and then I’m curating forever.

LD: Never finished, always growing. It’s more of a catalog or an archive than a playlist that I would send to somebody. It’s a research tool.

JB: I have a playlist called “Queerly Specific” that’s all about coming out from a place of being in love. All songs about that. Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens. The one where he kisses his friend.

PB: My mom banned it from the house. She was like do not play the cancer song ever again.

LD: Reservations by Wilco. Modern Romance by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

JB: Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod by The Mountain Goats. Do you know that tune?

PB: No.

JB: Oh, ok. It’s a good one. They have a lot of good love songs because they’re like little vignettes of like living with a person and all the little intricate weirdo shit they do, which is what I ultimately think comprises a lot of love. Just checking out somebody’s weirdo shit.

(As we sign off, Phoebe nods, “Bye, Boys.”)

Makeup Tabitha Thomas / Hair Linnéa Nordberg / Set Design Julia Dias / Casting Greg Krelenstein / Production CEBE Studi

11/3/23

(x)(x)(x)

#boygenius #julien baker #lucy dacus #phoebe bridgers #hommegirls #2023 #november 2023 #interviews #bts #video #archival

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rabbitcruiser · 1 year

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The United States adopted The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem on March 3, 1931.

National Anthem Day

In the early years of the republic, there were a few popular patriotic songs, such as "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail Columbia," but there was no national anthem. Today we celebrate the "The Star-Spangled Banner," which became the official national anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931. The song was inspired by a real flag and events that took place surrounding it.

The War of 1812 began in June of 1812. The United States achieved some early victories, but after France and Napoleon were defeated at Waterloo in April of 1814, the British were able to focus more on the war in the United States. After invading Washington D.C. and setting fire to The White House and Capitol in August, the British turned their attention to Baltimore, Maryland.

On September 13, Baltimore's Fort McHenry withstood a 25-hour bombardment from the British Royal Navy. Early on the morning of September 14, soldiers hoisted a large (30 x 42 feet) American flag over the fort. At the time, Francis Scott Key, an attorney who worked in Washington D.C., was on a ship in the harbor of Baltimore. He had been working to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured in an earlier battle. Although he was able to secure Beanes' release, the Americans were told they could not leave until the bombardment was over. As Key saw the flag wave over the fort, he wrote the first verse of what would become "The Star-Spangled Banner." At the time he named it "Defense of Fort M'Henry."

Sometime shortly thereafter, Key wrote three more verses. (Today just the first verse is commonly sung, with the fourth verse sometimes being used at formal occasions.) The verses were issued on a broadside by a local printer on September 17, and they were printed in two Baltimore newspapers, the Baltimore Patriot and The American, on September 20. The words were then printed by more papers along the East Coast.

Key set the verses to the tune of an English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven" (also known as "The Anacreontic Song"), which was written in 1775 by John Stafford Smith and originally performed by the Anacreontic Society, a gentlemen's club in England. The song eventually became popular in the United States. Its subject, Anacreon, was an ancient Greek poet known for loving wine. Key had previously used the tune to accompany verses he had written in 1805 about American naval victories in the Barbary War. In fact, some of the wording he had used in the verses for that war were similar in nature to those in "Defense of Fort M'Henry." By one account, it was Key's brother-in-law who noticed the new verses fit the same melody, and convinced him to use it again. In October, Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang gave the first public performance of the song, and the following month the song appeared in print under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the first time.

The song gained in prominence following the Civil War, because it was about the flag and the flag was increasing as a symbol of national unity at the time. It became a staple of Fourth of July celebrations and other patriotic events. In the 1890s, the U.S. military began using it for ceremonies. In particular, it became the song of the Navy's flag raisings.

Woodrow Wilson signed an order in 1916 to make "The Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem, but it did not become the official anthem until Congress passed a law fifteen years later. Wilson also asked the Bureau of Education to standardize the song, as there were a few different versions at the time. Five musicians worked on the song, including John Philip Sousa. The new version was first performed on December 5, 1917.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" made its major-sporting-event debut on September 5, 1918, at Chicago's Comiskey Park, during the first game of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. The United States was in World War I at the time, and there was some added emotion in the air because a bombing had taken place the day before at the Chicago Federal Building. A military band played the song during the seventh-inning stretch, and players and fans saluted. The song soon began being sung at other baseball stadiums, and then spread to other sports.

On April 15, 1929, Rep. John Linthicum (D-Md.) introduced a bill to make "The Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem. He had previously introduced such a bill four times before, going all the way back to 1918. As part of his district was in Baltimore, some thought that he was pushing for the bill for himself and for his district more than he was doing it for patriotism and the country. The bill eventually got a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, and Linthicum presented them with a petition with 5 million signatures, which had been organized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He also presented them with resolutions and letters from 150 organizations and messages of support from 25 governors. The House approved the bill on April 21, 1930, and the Senate did on March 3, 1931. President Herbert Hoover signed it the same day and the "Star-Spangled Banner" became the official national anthem of the United States.

Although it has largely been looked upon as a patriotic song about freedom, it has not been without controversy. Key owned slaves for many years, including at the time when he wrote the song, which includes the line "the land of the free." He eventually freed his slaves, and his position was that slaves should return back to Africa. In recent times, some have used the song to protest racial injustice, by staying seated or kneeling when the anthem is played at sporting events. They have seen this as a patriotic gesture, while others have seen it as quite the opposite.

And what became of the actual star-spangled banner that the song was written about? The flag had been sewn by Mary Pickersgill with the help of a few others. After the battle, it was given to George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry. He died a handful of years later and his widow, Louisa, received it. It stayed in the family for many years and was rarely seen. In 1878, the Armistead's grandson, Eben Appleton, inherited the flag. He allowed it to be displayed at Baltimore's sesquicentennial in 1880, but then put it in a safety deposit box because he wanted to preserve its condition. He loaned it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1907, and donated it permanently to them in 1912, with the request that it be on display for the public. In the late 1990s, a preservation project was undertaken. The flag can be visited today at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

How to Observe National Anthem Day

There are many ways to celebrate the day:

Read, memorize, and sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Visit the original Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History.

Visit the home where the flag was sewn.

Explore Fort McHenry, where the flag once flew.

Read a book about the "Star-Spangled Banner," such as Marc Ferris' Star-Spangled Banner: The Unlikely Story of America's National Anthem or Marc Leepson's What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life.

Watch a documentary about "The Star-Spangled Banner," or watch a video about the Star-Spangled Banner exhibit.

Watch or listen to noteworthy renditions of the "Star-Spangled Banner."

If you are not from the United States, find out if your country has a national anthem, and learn about it and its history.

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wyrmfedgrave · 5 months

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Pics: Bert Terhune related notes.

1. Mary Virginia Haws, Bert's mom was a writer of novels, travelogues, memoirs, domestic manuals, etiquette booklets & cookbooks.

2. Cover of 1 of her house 'running' books.

3. Who doesn't recognize a Lassie poster? This being for 1 of her many movies.

4 & 5. Covers of some of Bert's many works.

6. At least 1 of Bert's short stories focused on the danger that spies & assassins posed to General George Washington.

7. Poster for the "Ogre" TV movie, with a great tagline!

8. Bust of Cleisthenes, the Father of Athenian democracy.

9. Bust of Alexander Pope, the English poet, translator & satirist on society & politics.

10. John Dryden painting, an earlier English poet, literary critic, translator, satirist & playwright.

Notes (on yesterday's post):

1. The Adventurers Club of NY was a private men's club founded in 1912 by one A. Hoffman.

Its main functions were monthly dinners & a weekly lunch.

Their main rule was that "No one talks about Fight Club!"

There's complete silence on most of their activities.

Yet, for a secretive group, they certainly went out of their way to announce their events.

First, they published The Adventurer, a monthly newsletter that ran until 1960!

Then they had a weekly radio show, the Gold Seat Associates, where club members spoke of the most exciting moment of their lives.

The Adventurers Club finally faded out during the 1970s.

2. Lassie is the star of an American TV series (1954 to 1973) & several movies.

'She' (actually male dogs were used!) is a smart & fearless collie living in a Virginia farm with her companions - human or otherwise.

Later in the show, Lassie worked with forest rangers - out in the wilderness!

There's also an animated series that brought Lassie's heroic acts into the 2000s.

Lassie's latest film came out in 2022...

3. Mary V. Haws wrote several novels set in the southern states before the Civil War, which began in 1861.

(But, this was actually only after many decades of rising tensions - mostly on the subject of slavery.

It only ended after 4 years & some 610,000+ deaths!!)

Haws completed her last book at the age of 88 - while she was quite blind!

4. Other books by Bert Terhune are: "World's Great Events", "Famous American Indians", "Wonder Woman in History", "Around the World in 30 Days" & "Superwomen."

5. Scribblers are people who write for hire or as a hobby. Usually, scribblers worked for newspapers & magazines.

It's just that readers don't actually like their articles!

6. The American Revolution lasted from 1775 to 1783. Its causes were British taxes, the Boston Massacre & the Intolerable Acts.

Only 45% of colonists supported this war - as it forced neighbors against each other!

In Ben Franklin's case, it permanently tore his family apart...

7. Don't know why Lovecraft equates the famous folk he mentioned with ogres - except for Bonaparte, maybe.

Ogres are hideous looking, human eating giants from fairy tales & folk- lore.

It's no better in slang, as it describes "a person who's monstrously ugly, cruel or barbarous."

(Shrek they are not!)

Ogre comes to us thru France. But, it's actually from Etruscan (ancient north Italian nation & language) "Orcus", God of the Dead & punisher of oath- breakers.

8. "Where freedom 1st arose..."

A. This would be ancient Athens, in Greece on 508 BC. That's when Cleisthenes 1st set up a democratic government there.

(But, Howard could be referring to the American Revolution again.)

B. In that case, Congress did approve in becoming independent on July 2nd, 1776, thru the Lee Resolution.

We now celebrate when our politicians started signing the official Declaration of Independence, on July the 4th.

But, it took some time before all of the congressmen actually did so...

England didn't really 'recognize' our victory until the Paris Treaty of 1783!

Even then, Britain tried to 'reacquire' its 13 colonies during the War of 1812...

9. HPL seemed aware of his writing limits.

His evoking of imagery & emotion rested upon his skill at following strict poetic structures & his own aesthetic taste.

Lovecraft thought it more important to be formally correct, rather than to be creatively interesting.

10. As to Howard's personal writing style, it's actually his own copying of the forms of A. Pope & J. Dryden.

Pope was 1 of the most prominent writers of the 1700s.

Dryden was the 1st Poet Laureate of England & is chiefly responsible for introducing heroic couplets & the triplet into English poetic structures...

END.

#hpl output #history #adult lovecraft #notes #Lassie #american revolution #american civil war #democracy #ogre #english poets

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lindsaywesker · 7 months

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Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day.

Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

A zoilist is someone who gains pleasure from finding fault.

15% of Americans own no books, and 20% own fewer than 10.

It is only illegal to eat human flesh in one of the 50 US states, Idaho.

Research has shown that people are happiest at 7:26pm on Saturday evening.

92% of people type things into Google to see if they spelled them correctly.

In 2003, a Coca-Cola employee was fired because he was drinking Pepsi on the job.

In 1979, British politician Terry Dicks lost an election to his competitor Michael Cocks.

Lonely people take longer, hotter showers to replace the warmth they lack socially or emotionally.

In 2015, an aquarium in Vancouver gave their one-eyed rockfish a false eye because he was being bullied.

You can fail a drugs test if you eat too much food with poppy seeds in it. Your urine would show as having morphine in.

At Two Oceans Pass, Wyoming, a mountain stream splits into two: one flows into the Atlantic, the other into the Pacific.

A five-year-old boy who went missing from his home in Alabama for 13 years was found when he tried to apply to college.

According to The Economist, Boston, Massachusetts is the best prepared city in the United States for a zombie invasion.

The ‘your mother’ insult is found in nearly all cultures and is as old as humanity itself, with examples in Shakespeare and the Bible.

In 2004, the USA delivered $12 billion in one hundred dollar bills weighing 363 tonnes to Iraq. Nobody knows where it has gone.

In some European countries, they have parking spaces solely for women. They are usually in heavily lit areas, close to petrol stations etc.

In 1956, Vyacheslav Ivanov won an Olympic rowing medal only to drop it in the lake while celebrating his win. He dived in but never found it.

In 2015, a Manchester man began graffitiing giant penises onto potholes so that the city would fix them faster. He was nicknamed 'Wanksy'.

French club FC Thionville will play an away fixture in New Caledonia in the South Pacific as part of the French Football Cup, a round trip of 19,883 miles.

In the 16th century, codpieces were so big they were used as pockets where men were said to carry handkerchiefs, purses, ballads, bottles, pistols and oranges.

Andy Warhol would often go into hair salons to get his wig cut. Then next month, he would come back to the salon in a longer wig and act like his wig had grown.

If you play the tenth song on Weird Al Yankovic’s album ‘Bad Hair Day’ in reverse, you will hear, “Wow, you must have an awful lot of free time on your hands.”

In his application for a professorship at Trinity College Dublin, the Irish poet and future Nobel laureate W.B. Yeats misspelt the word ‘professorship’. He didn’t get the job.

The scent of freshly mowed grass is the lawn actually trying to save itself from injury. Plants release a number of organic compounds called green leaf volatiles. When plants are injured, these emissions increase like crazy.

In 1988, a woman named Jean Terese Keating disappeared while awaiting trial for drunkenly killing a woman in a car crash. She was arrested 15 years later after bragging at a bar about having gotten away with the crime.

In the 19th century, the phrase ‘Newcastle hospitality’ meant either ‘roasting a friend to death’ (subjecting someone to ‘a severe gibing and bantering’) or ‘killing a person with kindness’ (not allowing someone to leave the room until they fell dead-drunk under the table.)

Scottish man Angus Barbieri fasted for 392 days, from June 14, 1965, to July 11, 1966. He lived on tea, coffee, soda water and vitamins while living at home in Tayport, Scotland, and frequently visited Maryfield Hospital for medical evaluation. He lost 276 pounds and set a record for the length of a fast.

Nas listed his then 7-year-old daughter, Destiny Jones, as an Executive Producer on his fifth studio album ‘Stillmatic’, so she will always receive royalty checks from the album. Nas' album, Stillmatic, was released on December 18th, 2001. It sold over 342,600 copies in its first week of release and peaked at No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

Sanju Bhagat's stomach was so swollen he looked nine months pregnant, and his breathing was so bad that he was rushed to hospital. Doctors suspected his enlarged abdomen was a tumor until they opened him up and found that he'd been carrying around his absorbed twin for 36 years. This condition is known as ‘fetus in fetu’. One twin absorbs the other but will continue to leech nutrients from the host.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #new blog #lockdown #coronavirus #books #weekend #democracy

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sims-your-way · 1 year

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Influential Black Women in History Framed Portraits

Black History Month Special. Set of framed portraits featuring just a handful of amazing influential Black women throughout history.

I was inspired to make this after watching The Watcher’s Puppet History episode on Bessie Coleman. Watch it for yourself here. I was both angry and sad that I had never heard of this woman at all - ever. So I decided to make this portrait set featuring Black women who did extraordinary things that I don’t think the majority of people have ever heard of. This is why I didn’t include more well-known figures such as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, or Michelle Obama - everybody knows who they are and I wanted to broadened everyone’s knowledge just as mine was when I did my research. The only woman here that I knew of was Marsha P. Johnson.

Here’s a list of the women in these portraits: Phillis Wheatley (1753 - 1784) Fannie Barrier Williams (1855 - 1944) Maria 'Molly' Baldwin (1856 - 1922) Lillian Parker Thomas (1866 - 1917) Madam C.J. Walker (1867 - 1919) Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 - 1955) Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879 - 1961) Lyda D. Newman (about 1885 - unknown) Bessie Coleman (1892-1926) Daisy Bates (1914 - 1999) Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915 - 1973) Katherine Johnson (1918 - 2020) Shirley Chisholm (1924 - 2005) Audre Lorde (1934 - 1992) Claudette Colvin (1939 - present) Angela Davis (1944 - present) Marsha P. Johnson (1945 - 1992) Mae Jemison (1956 - present)

To learn more about these women, click the “Keep Reading” below.

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Phillis Wheatley (1753 - 1784) Taken from her native Gambia, she was brought to Boston in the mid-18th century and enslaved to the family of John Wheatley as a domestic. Aware of her intelligence, the Wheatley's taught her how to read and write. She eventually became a well-known poet in both New England and England, with her work "An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of that Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ, the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield," celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. (Chicago Tribune)

Fannie Barrier Williams (1855 - 1944) She was an influential educator and activist who was a staunch advocate for freed slaves in the South. She spoke at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, expressing her concern over the lack of Blacks on the Board of Control for that cultural event. She helped found organizations such as the National League of Colored Women, the National Association of Colored Women, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She also supported women's suffrage and in 1907, was the only African-American chosen to eulogize Susan B. Anthony at the 1907 National American Women Suffrage Association convention. (Chicago Tribune)

Maria 'Molly' Baldwin (1856 - 1922) She was a teacher and civic leader in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She became master of the Agassiz School, a public school for middle-class white children, in 1916. She was one of only two women masters in Cambridge schools and the only African-American in New England with that distinction. During Baldwin's tenure, the Agassiz School was considered one of the best in Cambridge. The 12 teachers who served under her were all white. (Chicago Tribune)

Lillian Parker Thomas (1866 - 1917) She gained a reputation as an effective collaborator and organizer while working as a journalist for the Indianapolis News, where she was the first African-American to write a regular column. Thomas used her contacts and influence at the newspaper to further the cause of racial equality. She was also involved in the founding of the Woman's Improvement Club, which helped African-Americans get health care. (Chicago Tribune)

Madam C.J. Walker (1867 - 1919) Before Mary Kay, there was Madam C.J. Walker. Walker is widely regarded as one of the first ever self-made American female millionaires. She created hair-care solutions and remedies with Black women in mind and sold them door-to-door. She eventually created a brand people recognized, widely manufactured her products, and hired 40,000 ambassadors since the company's inception to help her sell her products. (Teen Vogue)

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 - 1955) After struggling to go to school and working on a plantation to help support her family, she became an educator and, in 1904, founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Institute for Girls. Her educational activism and leadership set her up to be a political activist. She went on to found the National Council of Negro Women, and worked in Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, where she served as the informal "race leader at large." (Teen Vogue)

Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879 - 1961) Born to former slaves in Virginia, she was a leading educator, feminist, and suffragist in the Washington, D.C., area. After she was rebuffed for a teaching job in the Washington, D.C., school system, Burroughs founded a school for girls and women, the National Training School for Women and Girls, in 1909. She served as the school's president until her death in 1961. (Chicago Tribune)

Lyda D. Newman (about 1885 - unknown) She gravitated toward a career involving the hair-care industry. Newman got a patent for her invention, the first synthetic hairbrush, in 1898. Her innovation allowed for easier access to the bristles in order to clean out the brush. In addition, she introduced synthetic bristles. Before her invention, brushes used animal hair, such as a boar’s. Her invention made brushing long locks a more hygienic process. (Teen Vogue)

Bessie Coleman (1892 - 1926) She was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license and was the first Black person to earn an international pilot's license. She then became a high-profile pilot doing notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States. She was popularly known as “Queen Bess” and “Brave Bessie”, and hoped to start a school for African-American fliers. Her pioneering role was an inspiration to early pilots and to the African-American and Native American communities. (Wikipedia)

Daisy Bates (1914 - 1999) She an American civil rights activist, publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957. As the leader of the NAACP branch in Arkansas, Bates guided and advised the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they attempted to enroll in 1957 at Little Rock Central High School, a previously all-white institution. (PBS)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915 - 1973) She is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Her flamboyance, skill, and showmanship on the newly electrified guitar played a vital role in the conception of Rock & Roll as a genre of music. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton. Tharpe was a pioneer in her guitar technique; she was among the first popular recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, presaging the rise of electric blues. Her guitar-playing technique had a profound influence on the development of British blues in the 1960s. (PBS)

Katherine Johnson (1918 - 2020) She was profiled in the film “Hidden Figures” as a NASA mathematician whose trajectory calculations helped astronaut Alan Shepard become the first American in space. Her skills were crucial in calculating orbital equations that led to the success of astronaut John Glenn’s Friendship 7 mission in which he orbited the Earth successfully. Johnson also was a pathfinder in her native West Virginia, where she was among the first African-Americans to integrate West Virginia University. (Chicago Tribune)

Shirley Chisholm (1924 - 2005) She made history by being the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. She served as a representative from New York for 14 years, advocating for early education and child welfare policies. She eventually ran for president as a Democrat in the 1972 race, becoming the first Black candidate to run for a major party nomination. Chisholm's infamous campaign slogan was “unbought and unbossed." She was also one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971, as well as the Congressional Women's Caucus in 1977. (Teen Vogue)

Audre Lorde (1934 - 1992) This lesbian, Black, female poet’s 1973 collection, “From a Land Where Other People Live”, was nominated for a National Book Award and increased America’s awareness of intersectionality of race, gender, and class that can put particular groups at a disadvantage or lead to discrimination. Lorde’s identity shaped her speeches and writings about the struggles of women, Black people, and the LGBTQ community. (Teen Vogue)

Claudette Colvin (1939 - present) Though we've all heard the story of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, most of us don't know that Colvin did the same thing — nine months before Parks did. She was only 15 at the time, and was one of the first Black activists to openly challenge the law. (Teen Vogue)

Angela Davis (1944 - present) She was a major activist in the late 1960s and early '70s. Profoundly affected by her childhood in the segregated city of Birmingham, Alabama, she joined the Communist Party and became an affiliate of the Black Panthers as a young woman, and ran as the Communist vice-presidential candidate in 1980 and 1984. She was arrested, tried, and acquitted for her role in a Black Panther courtroom shootout. She went on to have a distinguished academic career at institutions including Pomona College, Rutgers, and Vassar, and has remained politically active. (Chicago Tribune)

Marsha P. Johnson (1945 - 1992) She was a Black transgender woman and activist most known for her involvement with the Stonewall Inn riots — a 1969 uprising against police brutality by New York City's LGBTQ community. Johnson went on to become a prominent voice in the fight for LGBTQ equality and was an activist during the 1980s AIDS epidemic. (Teen Vogue)

Mae Jemison (1956 - present) She was the first Black woman admitted to the astronaut training program, in 1987. In 1992, she became the first Black woman to fly to space on the space shuttle Endeavour. (Teen Vogue)

#black history month #sims 4 #custom content #sims 4 cc

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lboogie1906 · 2 years

Photo

William Stanley Beaumont Braithwaite (December 6, 1878 – June 8, 1962) was an African-American writer, poet, literary critic, anthologist, and publisher. His work as a critic and anthologist was widely praised and important in the development of East Coast poetry styles in the early 20th century. At the age of 12, upon the death of his father, he was forced to quit school to support his family. When he was aged 15 he was apprenticed to a typesetter for the Boston publisher, Ginn & Co., where he discovered an affinity for lyric poetry and began to write his poems. After early publications in periodicals, he published his first collection of 63 poems, Lyrics of Life and Love in 1904. From 1901 to 1902, he served as an editor of the Boston-published Colored American Magazine. By 1906 he had been accepted as a member of the prestigious Boston Authors Club. From 1905 to 1931 he wrote for The Boston Evening Transcript, contributing columns about contemporary poets and an annual survey of the field. He wrote articles, reviews, and poetry for many other periodicals and journals, including the Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, New York Times, The New Republic, The Crisis, Opportunity, and Colored American Magazine. He began publishing anthologies on the poetry of various periods, such as the Georgian and Elizabethan eras. In 1918 he was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl0vmEwOqAF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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brookston · 10 months

Text

Holidays 9.10

Holidays

Alpaca Day

Amerindian Heritage Day (Guyana)

Blame It On the Large Hadron Collider Day

Children’s Day (Honduras)

Crayfish Day (French Republic)

Day of the Homeland (Germany)

Dia del Nino (Children’s Day; Honduras)

Festival of the Poets (Japan)

Godsall Day (Day of Rest in Southern Outer Tibet)

Grandparents’ & Family Caregivers’ Day (Florida)

Harvest Home Nibbling Contest (Gremlins)

Heritage Open Days begin (UK)

International Creepy Boston Dynamics Robotic Horse Day

International Gynaecological Awareness Day

International Make-Up Day

National Acid Attack Awareness Day (Nepal)

National American Indian/Alaska Native Hope for Life Day

National Anti-Junk Light Day

National Day (Gibraltar)

National Mamablogger Day (Netherlands)

National Sewerage Day (Japan)

National Stick a Fork Up Your Nose Day

Old-Timers Day

Puyallup Fair begins (Washington)

St. George’s Caye Day (Belize)

Scapegoat Day

Sew Be It Day (a.k.a. Sewing Machine Day)

Stop Junk Light Day

Swap Ideas Day

Take Goofy Pictures Day

Teacher's Day (China)

Top Up Day

White Balloon Day

World Suicide Prevention Day (UN)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Buy a Regular Drink Day

International Canned Cocktail Day

International Vegan Butterbeeer Day

National Hot Dog Day [also 3.30 & mid-July]

National Port Wine Day

TV Dinner Day

2nd Sunday in September

Auditor's Day (Scientology) [2nd Sunday]

Day of the Homeland (Germany) [2nd Sunday]

Grandparent's Day (Canada) [Sunday after 1st Monday]

Great Procession of Tournai (Belgium) [2nd Sunday]

Hug Your Hound Day [2nd Sunday]

Joust of the Quintana: La Rivincita (The Rematch; Italy) [2nd or 3rd Sunday, Pt. 1 in July]

National Bilby Day (Australia) [2nd Sunday]

National Dementia Carers Day (UK) [2nd Sunday]

National Education Sunday (UK) [2nd Sunday]

National Firefighters’ Memorial Day (Canada) [2nd Sunday]

National Pet Memorial Day [2nd Sunday]

PBC (Primary Biliary Cholangitis) Awareness Day [2nd Sunday]

Racial Justice Sunday [2nd Sunday]

Sustainable House Day [2nd Sunday]

Vanavanemate Päev (Estonia) [2nd Sunday]

Independence Days

Gibraltar National Day (Referendum of 1967)

Juclandia (Declared; 2001) [unrecognized]

Schwanensee (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Albatross Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Alexander Crummell (Episcopal Church)

Aubert (Christian; Saint)

Beaverinne (Muppetism)

Chico Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Chuseok (Korean Harvest Festival) [15th Day of 8th Lunar Moon]

Edmund James Peck (Anglican Church of Canada)

Finian (a.k.a. Winin; Christian; Saint)

Ganesh Chaturthi (Hinduism)

Karma Puja (Jharkhand, India)

Lope de Vega (Positivist; Saint)

Marianne von Werefkin (Artology)

Media Aestas VIII (Pagan)

Nemesianus, Felix, Lucius, another Felix, Litteus, Polianus, Victor, Jader, and Dativus, Bishops and their companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Nicholas of Tolentino (Christian; Saint)

Pulcheria (Christian; Saint)

Salvius, Bishop of Albi (Christian; Saint)

Theodard of Maastricht (Christian; Saint)

Thomas Tsugi, Charles Spinola, and Great Martyrs of Nagasaki (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fatal Day (Pagan) [18 of 24]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [23 of 30]

Premieres

Blue of Noon, by Georges Bataille (Novel; 1935)

Bullwinkle Takes the Wheel or The Bum Steer (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 212; 1963)

Brand New Day (a.k.a. Bran New Day; Film; 2010)

Cracked Ice (WB MM Cartoon; 1938)

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV Series; 1990)

Gunsmoke (TV Show; 1955)

Hellraiser (Film; 1987)

It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (TV Series’ 1986)

Good Old Boys, by Randy Newman (Album; 1974)

The Joy Luck Club (Film; 1993)

King Neptune (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

The Lone Ranger (Animated Filmation TV Series; 1966)

My Little Pony (Animated TV Series; 2010)

Nightmare Alley,by William Lindsay Gresham (Novel; 1946)

The Orville (TV Series; 2017)

Our Song, by Taylor Swift (Song; 2007)

Pluto’s Fledgling (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

The Saint’s Getaway, by Leslie Charteris (Novel; 1933) [Saint #10]

Scooby-Doo! And the Spooky Scarecrow (WB Animated Film; 2013)

Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana (Song; 1991)

The Spirit of Seventy Sex (Adult Film; 1976)

Test for Echo, by Rush (Album; 1996)

Thunderstruck, by AC/DC (Song; 1990)

The Tick (Animated TV Series; 1994)

Topsy Turvy or Emit Yvrut Yspot (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 211; 1963)

True Romance (Film; 1993)

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talking’ About Him?) (Documentary Film; 2010)

The X-Files (TV Series; 1993)

You’re Too Careless with Your Kisses! (WB MM Cartoon; 1932)

Today’s Name Days

Carlo, Diethard, Isabella, Nikolaus (Austria)

Izabela, Nikola, Sebastijan (Croatia)

Irma (Czech Republic)

Buchardt (Denmark)

Lembe, Lembi, Lemme, Lemmi (Estonia)

Kaleva, Kalevi (Finland)

Inès (France)

Carlo, Diethard, Isabella, Niels (Germany)

Ersatz, Erastos, Kilmentini, Klimis, Minodora, Mitrodora, Nymfodora, Poulcgeria (Greece)

Hunor, Nikolett (Hungary)

Nicola (Italy)

Albertīne, Jausma (Latvia)

Girmintė, Konstancija, Kostė, Mikalojus, Tautgirdas (Lithuania)

Tor, Tord (Norway)

Aldona, Łukasz, Mikołaj, Mścibor, Pulcheria (Poland)

Oleg (Slovakia)

Nicolás (Spain)

Tord, Turid (Sweden)

Anabel, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Arnie, Arnold, Arnolda, Arnoldo, Porter, Pulcheria (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 253 of 2024; 112 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 36 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 6 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 26 (Xin-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 24 Elul 5783

Islamic: 24 Safar 1445

J Cal: 13 Aki; Sixday [13 of 30]

Julian: 28 August 2023

Moon: 16%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 1 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Lope de Vega]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 81 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 20 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Shakespeare (The Modern Drama) [Month 10 of 13; Positivist]

#calendar #Holidays

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brookstonalmanac · 10 months

Text

Holidays 9.10

Holidays

Alpaca Day

Amerindian Heritage Day (Guyana)

Blame It On the Large Hadron Collider Day

Children’s Day (Honduras)

Crayfish Day (French Republic)

Day of the Homeland (Germany)

Dia del Nino (Children’s Day; Honduras)

Festival of the Poets (Japan)

Godsall Day (Day of Rest in Southern Outer Tibet)

Grandparents’ & Family Caregivers’ Day (Florida)

Harvest Home Nibbling Contest (Gremlins)

Heritage Open Days begin (UK)

International Creepy Boston Dynamics Robotic Horse Day

International Gynaecological Awareness Day

International Make-Up Day

National Acid Attack Awareness Day (Nepal)

National American Indian/Alaska Native Hope for Life Day

National Anti-Junk Light Day

National Day (Gibraltar)

National Mamablogger Day (Netherlands)

National Sewerage Day (Japan)

National Stick a Fork Up Your Nose Day

Old-Timers Day

Puyallup Fair begins (Washington)

St. George’s Caye Day (Belize)

Scapegoat Day

Sew Be It Day (a.k.a. Sewing Machine Day)

Stop Junk Light Day

Swap Ideas Day

Take Goofy Pictures Day

Teacher's Day (China)

Top Up Day

White Balloon Day

World Suicide Prevention Day (UN)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Buy a Regular Drink Day

International Canned Cocktail Day

International Vegan Butterbeeer Day

National Hot Dog Day [also 3.30 & mid-July]

National Port Wine Day

TV Dinner Day

2nd Sunday in September

Auditor's Day (Scientology) [2nd Sunday]

Day of the Homeland (Germany) [2nd Sunday]

Grandparent's Day (Canada) [Sunday after 1st Monday]

Great Procession of Tournai (Belgium) [2nd Sunday]

Hug Your Hound Day [2nd Sunday]

Joust of the Quintana: La Rivincita (The Rematch; Italy) [2nd or 3rd Sunday, Pt. 1 in July]

National Bilby Day (Australia) [2nd Sunday]

National Dementia Carers Day (UK) [2nd Sunday]

National Education Sunday (UK) [2nd Sunday]

National Firefighters’ Memorial Day (Canada) [2nd Sunday]

National Pet Memorial Day [2nd Sunday]

PBC (Primary Biliary Cholangitis) Awareness Day [2nd Sunday]

Racial Justice Sunday [2nd Sunday]

Sustainable House Day [2nd Sunday]

Vanavanemate Päev (Estonia) [2nd Sunday]

Independence Days

Gibraltar National Day (Referendum of 1967)

Juclandia (Declared; 2001) [unrecognized]

Schwanensee (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Albatross Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Alexander Crummell (Episcopal Church)

Aubert (Christian; Saint)

Beaverinne (Muppetism)

Chico Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Chuseok (Korean Harvest Festival) [15th Day of 8th Lunar Moon]

Edmund James Peck (Anglican Church of Canada)

Finian (a.k.a. Winin; Christian; Saint)

Ganesh Chaturthi (Hinduism)

Karma Puja (Jharkhand, India)

Lope de Vega (Positivist; Saint)

Marianne von Werefkin (Artology)

Media Aestas VIII (Pagan)

Nemesianus, Felix, Lucius, another Felix, Litteus, Polianus, Victor, Jader, and Dativus, Bishops and their companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Nicholas of Tolentino (Christian; Saint)

Pulcheria (Christian; Saint)

Salvius, Bishop of Albi (Christian; Saint)

Theodard of Maastricht (Christian; Saint)

Thomas Tsugi, Charles Spinola, and Great Martyrs of Nagasaki (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fatal Day (Pagan) [18 of 24]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [23 of 30]

Premieres

Blue of Noon, by Georges Bataille (Novel; 1935)

Bullwinkle Takes the Wheel or The Bum Steer (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 212; 1963)

Brand New Day (a.k.a. Bran New Day; Film; 2010)

Cracked Ice (WB MM Cartoon; 1938)

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV Series; 1990)

Gunsmoke (TV Show; 1955)

Hellraiser (Film; 1987)

It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (TV Series’ 1986)

Good Old Boys, by Randy Newman (Album; 1974)

The Joy Luck Club (Film; 1993)

King Neptune (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

The Lone Ranger (Animated Filmation TV Series; 1966)

My Little Pony (Animated TV Series; 2010)

Nightmare Alley,by William Lindsay Gresham (Novel; 1946)

The Orville (TV Series; 2017)

Our Song, by Taylor Swift (Song; 2007)

Pluto’s Fledgling (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

The Saint’s Getaway, by Leslie Charteris (Novel; 1933) [Saint #10]

Scooby-Doo! And the Spooky Scarecrow (WB Animated Film; 2013)

Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana (Song; 1991)

The Spirit of Seventy Sex (Adult Film; 1976)

Test for Echo, by Rush (Album; 1996)

Thunderstruck, by AC/DC (Song; 1990)

The Tick (Animated TV Series; 1994)

Topsy Turvy or Emit Yvrut Yspot (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 211; 1963)

True Romance (Film; 1993)

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talking’ About Him?) (Documentary Film; 2010)

The X-Files (TV Series; 1993)

You’re Too Careless with Your Kisses! (WB MM Cartoon; 1932)

Today’s Name Days

Carlo, Diethard, Isabella, Nikolaus (Austria)

Izabela, Nikola, Sebastijan (Croatia)

Irma (Czech Republic)

Buchardt (Denmark)

Lembe, Lembi, Lemme, Lemmi (Estonia)

Kaleva, Kalevi (Finland)

Inès (France)

Carlo, Diethard, Isabella, Niels (Germany)

Ersatz, Erastos, Kilmentini, Klimis, Minodora, Mitrodora, Nymfodora, Poulcgeria (Greece)

Hunor, Nikolett (Hungary)

Nicola (Italy)

Albertīne, Jausma (Latvia)

Girmintė, Konstancija, Kostė, Mikalojus, Tautgirdas (Lithuania)

Tor, Tord (Norway)

Aldona, Łukasz, Mikołaj, Mścibor, Pulcheria (Poland)

Oleg (Slovakia)

Nicolás (Spain)

Tord, Turid (Sweden)

Anabel, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Arnie, Arnold, Arnolda, Arnoldo, Porter, Pulcheria (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 253 of 2024; 112 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 36 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 6 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 26 (Xin-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 24 Elul 5783

Islamic: 24 Safar 1445

J Cal: 13 Aki; Sixday [13 of 30]

Julian: 28 August 2023

Moon: 16%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 1 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Lope de Vega]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 81 of 94)

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 20 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Shakespeare (The Modern Drama) [Month 10 of 13; Positivist]

#Holidays

0 notes

elmergrowspoetry · 11 months

Text

I've got words caught in the back of my throat like a bad cough

Words I forgot I knew

Got words I ain't slurred in years

Poems spitting back all the times I spat lyrical

Waxed poetical

Words I wish I'd said

I got words yall

Words that start with L

Lowell

Lover

Learned

Lessons

Leaving

Lowell

Words I found in Boston

On the common

In the garden

Words that were educated down my throat with a silver spoon paid for with sleepless nights Anxiety attacks and friends that don't text back anymore

Got words like

Mature

Matriculation

Messy

Merde

"Mad black poet" who quit going to open mics in a city that listens with closed ears. Institutions that insinuate intensity instantaneously.

I learned I was never angry only wanting

Found words for that feeling in New York

While putting eggs in a basket

Resuscitation a reaction of Rythm

Running relentlessly

Felt like I only got 3 days worth of words before I had to wake up

So I stopped sleeping altogether

Stayed up searching for words in the night

In clubs where all words were laws scribbled in Brooklyn bathroom stalls

Words that brought me home wherever I was

#poem #art #write #poetry #elmergrowspoems #poets #poetscommunity #creative wrting #boston #new york #memories #growth #reflection #spoken word #prose

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sylviaplathink · 2 years

Photo

Today marks the 59th anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s death! RIP!

(27 October 1932, Boston, USA – 11 February 1963, London, UK)

That is why I would like to finally share my own Sylvia Plath inspired tattoo!

After posting more than 1,000 tattoos on my tumblr and insta for more than 11 years, I finally followed Plath’s advice to “Wear your heart on your skin in this life.” and I finally welcomed myself to the “Sylvia Plath Ink” club last year! Done at the most magical place https://www.auratattooreykjavik.com/ in Iceland by the very talented tattoo artist Anna.

I know it’s maybe not the most obvious choice for a Sylvia Plath inspired tattoo, but it refers to the epitaph on her grave that reads: “Even amidst fierce flames the golden lotus can be planted.” Her husband, Ted Hughes, used to recite it to her when she was feeling particularly low. Initially, the quote was believed to come from the Hindu scriptures Bhagavad Gītā, however it is from the novel “Journey to the West”, often simply known as “Monkey”, written by the 16th century Chinese novelist and poet Wu Cheng'en. In Eastern traditions, the lotus flower symbolizes enlightenment, purity, rebirth, and triumph over obstacles. It grows naturally in ponds and starts out rooted deep in mud. In order to blossom, it must make its way through the murky water until it finally breaks the surface to emerge and bloom in the sun, beautiful and whole. For me, it also symbolizes strength: the lotus can be planted “amidst fierce flames”, it can grow through mud. #sylviaplath #aurareykjavik #sylviaplathink #sylviaplathquote #sylviaplathtattoo #johnnypanicandthebibleofdreams #fifteendollareagle #plathian #lotustattoo #lotusflower #lotusflowertattoo #finelinetattoo #vegantattoo #plath #tedhughes

#sylvia plath #tattoos #epitaph #aura tattoo reykjavik #iceland #reykjavik #leg tattoo #ankle tattoo #sylviaplath #literary tattoos #lotus flower #lotus tattoo #my own #loving sylvia plath

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rabbitcruiser · 4 months

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The United States adopted The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem on March 3, 1931.

National Anthem Day

How to Observe National Anthem Day

There are many ways to celebrate the day:

Read, memorize, and sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Visit the original Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History.

Visit the home where the flag was sewn.

Explore Fort McHenry, where the flag once flew.

Watch a documentary about "The Star-Spangled Banner," or watch a video about the Star-Spangled Banner exhibit.

Watch or listen to noteworthy renditions of the "Star-Spangled Banner."

If you are not from the United States, find out if your country has a national anthem, and learn about it and its history.

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onestowatch · 3 years

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The Top 21 Artists to Watch in 2021

In a world where the only universal certainty seems to be opening every email with “hope you’re doing well,” the only other surefire guarantee is that there will continue to be new music worth discovering. And, we figured with the start of a new year, what better way to say to spend the waking hours of 2021 than introduce you to a few of the artists we currently have a close eye on. Often genreless and belonging to Gen Z, these are the 21 artists we are watching in 2021.

spill tab

youtube

Where to Start: “Calvaire”

In her breakout single “Calvaire,” spill tab sings in French over an intoxicating backbeat. The effect is akin to a spell, ushering into existence something inherently danceable and transfixing, like an Angèle B-side finding new life as a Billie Eilish cut. It is a standout moment that would be followed by similar standout moments in the form of a series of varied singles, culminating in spill tab’s debut EP, Oatmilk. Short and sweet, the four-song collection holds all the promise of a 2021 artist to watch.

Joesef

youtube

Where to Start: “The Sun Is Up Forever”

Emerging from the fog of Glasgow, Scotland, Joesef’s marriage of heartbreak, desire, regret, hope, and sublime joy is nothing short of intoxicating. Immediately making an impression with his tender, heartfelt croon, the Glasgow artist’s songs soon give way to emotionally rife personal recollections–some beautiful in their understated minimalism, some breathtaking in their expansive scope. Whatever the setting, the result is always the same–a passionate, shared moment you will not be forgetting anytime soon.

brakence

youtube

Where to Start: “dropout”

Self-described as “self-care punk,” brakence effortlessly pairs the unmatched energy of punk with an impressive showing of vulnerability. While the past few years saw the Ohio native experiment over a range of singles and on his debut album, 2020 was without a doubt the year he found his sound in the noteworthy punk2. Blending Midwest emo, trap production, hip-hop, and alternative, brakence’s sophomore effort is a masterclass in infectious emotional catharsis.

Mustafa

youtube

Where to Start: “Stay Alive”

Few artists embody the sentiment of music as poetry as emphatically as Mustafa. First leaving a mark with 2020’s “Stay Alive,” Mustafa introduced himself to the world with a breathtaking, earth-shattering ballad rife with impassioned emotional imagery. Soft-spoken but never lacking for impact, the poet, activist, filmmaker, and songwriter brings to life the lived realities of Toronto’s Regent Park, a public housing project that shaped Mustafa into the once in a lifetime artist he is today.

Holly Humberstone

youtube

Where to Start: “Falling Asleep At The Wheel”

In her 2020 debut EP, Falling Asleep at the Wheel, Holly Humberstone proves herself a master at crafting a palpable atmosphere. Rife with emotional highs and cathartic lows, all backed by Humberstone’s magnetic and graceful songwriting, the British artist lays her heart on her sleeve and in turn lays the groundwork for a debut offering poised to stand the test of time. It is no mere hyperbole to say that Humberstone is an artist to watch out for not only in 2021 but in the years to come.

AG Club

youtube

Where to Start: “Memphis”

The initial comparison of AG Club to collectives like BROCKHAMPTON and A$AP may be an easy one to draw, but a single listen tells another story. While the genreless Bay Area collective may radiate the same rapturous energy of the aforementioned groups, AG Club is clearly riding high on their own wavelength. Aiming to make hip-hop but not as you know it, the idiosyncratic collective made their vision clear with the release of 2020’s Halfway Off the Porch, an electrifying amalgamation of disparate genres, sights, sounds, and moods.

347aidan

youtube

Where to Start: “Dancing in My Room”

Euphoric, difficult to perfectly define, and haphazardly brilliant, aidan347 embodies the adventurousness and inventiveness of Gen Z. The project of 17-year-old Aidan Fuller, the Cambridge, Ontario native has spent the past five years making music. Yet at the beginning of 2020, the Cambridge artist had less than three thousand monthly listeners; now, that number sits well above five million. A testament to 347aidan’s tenacity, his devoted fanbase, and the power of a TikTok-fueled viral hit–arriving in the form of “Dancing in My Room”–it really feels we are only witnessing the prologue of what’s to come.

Frances Forever

youtube

Where to Start: “Space Girl”

When thinking of music’s future stars, what better place to look than to the galactic, lovelorn musings of Frances Forever. Making less of a splash and more of a tidal wave with the release of “Space Girl” late last year, the Boston bedroom artist’s ode to intergalactic love has been rapidly climbing the TikTok and indie charts. Now signed to Mom+Pop records, Frances Forever is more than ready to shoot for the stars and beyond in 2021.

Hope Tala

youtube

Where to Start: “Lovestained”

Hope Tala is impossible to ignore. A West Londoner to her core, the UK singer-songwriter finds inspiration in everything from ‘90s movies, classic literature, to the constantly changing world around her. Transforming what feels like a lifetime, and some, of inspiration into an undeniably spellbinding fusion of R&B and bossa nova, Hope Tala’s musings of daydreams, heartache, and fear are the sort ready to define a generation’s ails, joys, and mundane triumphs and anxieties. Universal in scope yet deeply personal, Hope Tala is without doubt an artist to keep your eye on in 2021.

youtube

Where to Start: “Take Me Your Heart Is”

Q, much like his name, is an anomaly. Releasing one album a year since 2018, the ineffable soul and R&B artist has somehow coasted under the radar in spite of releasing some of the most breathtaking music out there. And with the release of 2020’s The Shave Experiment, Q feels like he’s finally stepping into the much-deserved limelight. Leading with the striking “Take Me Your Heart Is,” Q brought to life a nostalgic, hyper-emotive track sure to stop you in your tracks. Hopefully, it’s one of many to come.

Claire Rosinkranz

youtube

Where to Start: “Backyard Boy”

16-year-old Claire Rosinkranz has been making music for the better part of her life, and 2020 was the year that scribbling down lyrics and helping her father compose music for TV shows and ad jingles paid off in a major way. The California native’s single, “Backyard Boy,” taken from her debut EP, BeVerly Hills BoYfRiEnd, soon became a TikTok hit, racking up over 80 million streams to date, on Spotify alone. If there are two things to look out for in 2021, make sure it’s your mental wellbeing and Claire’s euphoric self-dubbed “alternative-blues-pop.”

KennyHoopla

youtube

Where to Start: “how will i rest in peace if i'm buried by a highway?//”

KennyHoopla is nothing if not electrifying. The alternative, punk, and ‘80s new wave-evoking artist moves through each track with a sense of world-ending hunger, jumping from one ensuing mosh pit to the next. It is a balancing act of new wave nostalgia and genuine inventive alternative that results in a maelstrom of palpable excitement. To best experience this cathartic form of self-expression firsthand, look no further than his debut EP, last year’s how will i rest in peace if i'm buried by a highway?//. No one is quite making music like KennyHoopla, in 2021 or beyond.

MICHELLE

youtube

Where to Start: “THE BOTTOM”

New York collective MICHELLE deftly imbues the sincerity of soul and R&B into a uniquely tender pop outlook, and the result is nothing short of infectious. The project of six predominantly queer POC individuals, the group originally earned widespread critical acclaim for their 2018 album HEATWAVE, but it was arguably their subsequent signing with Atlantic Records last year that has them set to be one of 2021’s most promising acts. Quickly making the most of their newfound major label status, MICHELLE released “Sunrise,” the sonic equivalent of the first rays of light breaking through the clouds, signaling the end of a rainy day. It’s safe to say the future is looking bright for MICHELLE.

glaive

youtube

Where to Start: “eyesore”

Few artists define and defy the label of hyperpop as readily as glaive. Falling somewhere between 100 gecs and the second coming of mid-2000s pop punk, the newly-signed Interscope artist released his major debut label EP, cypress grove, earlier this year. Yet before finding a home at Interscope, glaive’s official discography only stretched back as far as 2020. Making the most of a year we all would rather soon forget, the 15-year-old wunderkind showcased to the world a continual musical evolution that is looking to only further pick up steam in the coming year.

Claud

youtube

Where to Start: “Wish You Were Gay”

From opening for Clairo to releasing a steady stream of resonant singles, Claud has spent the last couple of years making a name for themselves in the indie music world, but 2020 saw arguably their biggest breakthrough moment yet. With the release of “Gold,” Claud became the first artist signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records. Arriving as the first taste of their upcoming debut album, Super Monster, 2021 is looking absolutely golden for Claud. And not to mention the fact they recently started a band with Clairo and friends.

María Isabel

youtube

Where to Start: “The 1”

Where has María Isabel been all our lives? First making herself known with the release of “The 1,” an ode to long-distance relationships, which soon became more prophetic than we ever could have imagined, the debut single served as lovely an introduction as they come. Thankfully, we would not have to wait too long to hear more dreamlike R&B from María, who graced us with her debut EP, Stuck in the Sky shortly thereafter. Uniquely heartfelt and velvety smooth, María’s voice is just the thing to carry you through 2021.

Remi Wolf

youtube

Where to Start: “Photo ID”

The past couple of years have seen avant-garde pop wunderkind Remi Wolf test the waters with one out of this world single after another, and 2020 felt like the year everything finally fell into place. Arriving on the Bay Area native’s sophomore album, I’m Allergic To Dogs!, “Photo ID,” and its unafraid, in your face anti pop mentality cemented itself as a surefire hit, and TikTok soon took notice. Serving as a testament to Remi Wolf’s mainstream appeal in spite of her outsider approach, “Photo ID” merely set the stage for what is to come.

PawPaw Rod

youtube

Where to Start: “HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS”

PawPaw Rod may be the only artist on this list with only one single to their name, but in no way does that disqualify him from being an artist to watch in 2021. Releasing his debut single, “HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS,” out into the ether, the Los Angeles artist immediately landed on something special. Blending elements of hip-hop, funk, and alternative under a mellow, syrupy flow, PawPaw Rod wasted no time in setting himself apart from the pack. And with godmode–the same development company that brought us Yaeji, Channel Tres, LoveLeo, and more–it is safe to say that this is only the beginning.

Evann Mcintosh

youtube

Where to Start: “WIYULD”

In her dreamlike take on alternative R&B, Evann Mcintosh attempts to capture the turbulent act of coming-of-age. At times delicate to the touch and at times emanating a self-assured confidence well beyond her 16 years of age, Evann Mcintosh’s 2019 debut album, MOJO, laid the groundwork for an act whose promise knows no bounds. It was a promise she made good on during the tail end of 2020, with the release of singles “WIYULD” and “BULL$HIT.” Showing off two different sides of her continued musical growth, 2021 has us all the more excited for what Evann has in store.

Serena Isioma

youtube

Where to Start: “Sensitive”

In her breakout single, “Sensitive,” Serena Isioma fuses modern-day R&B and woozy indie pop with reckless abandon. The outcome is a song that not only sounds quite unlike anything else out there, but one whose own vibe seems to shift and evolve from one moment to the next. It is an electrifying opening moment that begins to define the Isioma’s artistry and her debut EP, Sensitive. The first of two EPs the Chicago-based artist would release in 2020, it is hard not to feel like Isioma is already in the process of creating a one-of-a-kind discography.

Blu DeTiger

youtube

Where to Start: “Figure It Out”

Whether you know her as the touring bassist for acts like FLETCHER and Caroline Polachek or as the TikTok famous bassist, the fact of the matter is that Blu DeTiger is an artist you need to know. A bassist since age seven and crowned the “coolest DJ around” by Vogue, the New York native’s music skirts the realms of funk, indie, and dance. Unmistakable, nonchalantly cool, and unsurprisingly bass-heavy, you deserve doing yourself the favor of diving headfirst into Blu DeTiger’s music. Just be sure to come up for air, when you’re ready.

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lboogie1906 · 2 years

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Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an actress. She is known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Third Watch and Empire, and the films Boyz n the Hood, Friday, Love Jones, Soul Food, In Too Deep, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, and Are We There Yet?. She was born in Brooklyn to Talita Long, a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry Long, a high school teacher, and poet. Her older sister is an actress and comedian known as Sommore. She has two children. Her earliest role was in The B.R.A.T. Patrol. Her first notable role on television was a three-year contract role as Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on Guiding Light. She portrayed Kat from 1991 to 1994. She played Brandi in Boyz n the Hood. The film excited her, who was doing her "first real movie role". It helped her build her confidence as an actress. "It introduced me to the world in a way that it was okay for me to be who I am and still find success," she added. "I didn’t have to conform to anything." From 1994 to 1995, she played Will Smith's girlfriend and fiancée Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In 2003, she joined the cast of Third Watch, where she played NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe, continuing until the series finale in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, she appeared on Everwood and appeared on Boston Legal during its 2006–2007 season. She starred in Big Shots from 2007–2008. In 2016, she was cast in a recurring role for Empire. She acquired the role of Giuliana, a Las Vegas club owner. She appeared in the 2013 film The Best Man Holiday, reprising her role from the original 1999 film. She contributes her time to the Sterling Children's Home in Barbados as a motivational speaker. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CkWClQRL6nq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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ssa-dg · 4 years

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Undercover Part 1

part 1, part 2

Overview: the BAU has gone undercover to find a potential unsub who has been drugging, raping and murdering women. It own becomes a potential victim. Having to play her part to catch the bad guy, you go to the party all dressed up and dance with a potential murderer all while pretending he is someone else, Spencer Reid.

TW: drugs, rape (it is mentioned how the unsub rapes his victims. the reader is drugged and the unsub takes advantage of her being drugged and begins to take off her dress), murder, sex, adult themes. if these types of things are triggering for you please don’t read. I’m just a average person who tried their best to not cause people to be upset. If this is problematic I’m sorry I didn’t mean for it to be and will take it down.

Relationship: Spencer Reid x (female)reader

word count: 3,384

Author’s note: so this is my first ever Criminal Minds story. If it garners enough attention I will do more parts (honestly even if it doesn’t I probably will lol) PSA: I have never been under the influence of MDMA and honestly I don’t judge if people who do it consensually and safely (which is harder said then done). this is how I imagine it to be like to be on it. Also I like writing and I like sharing my writing because all of the great fan fics that cause me happiness, if I can cause that reaction just to one person that’s enough for me

You would do anything to save the world. Maybe it was a hero complex, maybe it was some form of glory seeking, or maybe it was the only way you knew how to fill the dark abyss you felt when you did nothing of importance. Being a part of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, helped with that. Being on the team gave you everything you needed, a family and a way to save others. Maybe saying you love your job isn’t the correct way to explain your emotions but you knew no better way. Although you wish a job like this wasn’t necessary and didn’t even exist, it did.

Your team meant the world to you and you would contribute almost in any way to help find an unknown subject. So when Penelope Garcia was able to connect the killings in New York City to some private “rich people” clubs, her and the team created a plan to infiltrate.

The victimology was specific. It was all rich young women ranging from the ages 19-30 who just moved into the city to find themselves.

The profile was an easy one to figure out. He was obviously a troubled young white male who was probably an heir of some sort. He was richer than what most people think is rich. He usually meets the victim at a high society social event. Then he’d take them to a more exclusive social event. After that he would drug them with MDMA, rape and kill them.

It was hard for the BAU to get much out of the enclosed and tight group of New York’s most elite families. So going undercover at an event where the unsub could potentially hunt for prey was what made most sense. Your jobs was to observe the women and men there and try to see if any of you could fish out the unsub.

They had done it in the past but usually they did their best work by watching and observing. So here the team was, their second night in a row all dolled up in fancy cocktail dresses at some art gallery. Tara Lewis and Luke Alves stood around a table pretending to talk to each other as they observed potential victims. Jennifer Jareau, Spencer Reid, and Matt Simmons stood at another end of the room checking for the potential unsub, while your unit chief, Emily Prentiss, and you were pretending to be alone at the event eavesdropping on rich families. You listened to those around you while also scanning the room looking for potential young white men talking to lone young women. “Ten o’clock to the creepy face painting,” you heard Alvez say in your small earpiece. You calmly turned pretending to look at the other art pieces and saw a white male in his mid-thirties walking up to a female. He placed his hand on her low back as he leaned in to talk to her. Emily being the closest nearby out of you two, moved closer acting like she was going for some hors d’oeuvres. “That’s not him. He’s too drunk. I can smell all the alcohol he has consumed. He would need to be smoother than that,” Emily whispered as she took a sip of her glass. That’s how most of the night went. We followed and stared at people who might be the unsub and then filed them out. You felt yourself losing hope. You hated this part of the job. The one that made you feel like the profile was wrong and you all would have to start over, which there was never time to start over. Someone could die. That’s when you felt a hand touch the small of your back, your body tensed up immediately. “Relax,” he whispered in your ear. But you didn’t need to force it, because when you turned to look at the person who touched you, you were met with the face of beauty and your body instantly relaxed. You knew this was a dangerous reaction, as would probably many of Ted Bundy’s victims.

The man before you had slicked back short dark hair, bright blue eyes, strong symmetry in his facial features, and strong cheek and jaw bones. He smiled wickedly at you, causing you to intake a sharp breath. It was so sinister but also so beautiful. It wasn’t the most beautiful smile you’d ever seen, no that was reserved for your teammate, best friend, and love of your life (even if he didn’t know it) Spencer Reid. Now, Spencer’s smile was one you could get lost in. You refocused yourself to the beautiful man in front of you. “They say the artist intended for this particular piece to show trauma while he was drinking. His other pieces are other emotions on different drugs,” his deep voice rattled through your ears. You wanted to unwrap yourself from this man’s embrace. How dare he touch you like that without your permission. “Play along,” Luke spoke as he saw a scowl beginning to form on your lips, “he could be the unsub.” You smoothed the scowl into a smile. “It doesn’t look like it depicts trauma,” you responded dumbly. The man before you cocked his head to the side giving you a lopsided smile. “I guess it all depends on how someone experiences trauma,” the smile now wicked, and scarier. A shiver went up your spine. “Are you cold?” He asked, noticing it, while looking you up and down like he could devour you. “No,” your voice came out scratchy as your throat went dry. You cleared it politely. “Just thinking-” “About your own trauma?” He asked. You could hear the fake tone of concern. That snapped you out of your fear. The pictures of all the murdered women that brought the BAU to this case flashed before your eyes. “Maybe,” the smile you plastered on your face was a one you knew he wanted, a sad smile. You were going to play this role like it’s no one's business because you were here to catch a bad guy and if flirting with a creep got you there then so be it. He leaned in closer to your ear, “my name is Alistair Constantine,” you immediately recognized the name. It was on the list of potential unsubs for the profile. His family’s money was old, going back to the revolutionary war. The family seemed to always be updating with the times and never losing that money. You leaned into his other ear and introduced yourself.

Spencer’s hands were clutched at his side as he watched you interact with the Constantine boy. He felt in his gut at this moment, Alastair was the unsub. The way he was looking at you, it was like you were a quest to conquer. Spencer knew he couldn’t just come up, break you two apart and blow the whole investigation but boy did he want to.

Alastair paraded you around the room. Every now and then he would talk to fellow members of the society. It took everything in you to pretend that you didn’t want to beat his ass right then and there. You were always an imaginative kid growing up so you blocked out the gruesome pictures of the crime scenes and instead pretended this was your life a young New York woman getting special treatment from a handsome man. It was easier to fit the rom-com role then what was actually happening. Alistair stopped in front of a painting that was particularly psychedelic looking with bright pastel colors. “This is my favorite piece by the artist. This was when he was on Ecstasy. Look at the happiness and distorted-ness to the art. It’s amazing,” he gushed. It would have been odd that he picked this particular painting to attach too, but it was a strong tie to the method of his killings. “Humankind cannot bear very much of reality,” you spoke out, breaking Spencer from his thoughts about if they had enough information to convict Alistair for the murders. Alistair looked at you funny, not understanding why you would say that. “T. S. Eliot” you told Alistair while Spencer whispered it at the same time. a ghost of a smile playing on your lips when you heard Spencer’s voice. “It’s what I think of when I look at this art. T. S. Eliot is one of my favorite poets,” you blushed at your admission. It felt like for a second, with having just heard Spencer’s voice, that you were talking to him instead of Alistair. Spencer was now looking straight at you two. His eyes held bewilderment, he has known you for years and you never once mentioned this, and he knew you knew this was something he cared about.

“Indeed,” Alistair yawned.

The next 30 minutes was you telling him how you’d grown up in Boston, Massachusetts, that you had no close relatives anymore, and how when your parents died their life savings all went to you (all of it true), the lie came when it was to talk about why you moved to New York City, what you wanted to do with your life etc. And he ate it up every second. You played the roll of being the lonely damsel in a big city trying to find the answer to life. You were his ideal victim and you knew that he didn’t even question how perfect you were.

The night ended with an invite to the society’s ball tomorrow night, and Prentiss fed your ear a fake address for Alistair to send a car to tomorrow. You ordered an Uber to the address where Emily said they’ll pick you up to not seem suspicious in case Alistair sent someone to follow you. Once at the address the FBI’s SUV pulled up and you got in. It was Spencer who picked you up, which was unusual, as he never liked driving. You climbed onto the passenger seat and saw his knuckles were white from the strength of his grip on the steering wheel. It didn’t take a profiler to know Spencer was mad. “Spencer, are you alright?” You approached with a soft whisper. There was a pause of silence, Spencer calculating if he should be honest. He eventually gave into the truth as he knew that he couldn’t hide it from you. “No,” he growled, the anger in his voice causing you to jump in surprise. “No, I am not okay. That man is a murderer and he was holding you in his arm! You two were practically dancing around the room in there. We have put you in danger and now, now you are his next target, his next victim!” he hit the wheel in anger. You had never seen Spencer this angry before. Most times when Spencer got angry, he got smart and he used his logic to fight but now he sounded emotional. “Spencer,” you raised your voice, “I am not a victim, I’m an agent. I will do what it takes to protect others. Just like you.” In anger Spencer swerved the car to the side and put it in park. “Dammit, You don’t get it,” he yelled and turned towards you. “If he is our unsub, which we both know he is, I’ve run the calculations and the risk is too high for you,” his hands flying everywhere in gestures, “There are too many dependent variables. There isn’t enough for us to control. The probability of you getting hurt or,” he stopped to collect himself, and in a quieter voice said, “or worse, it’s too high. I’ve run the math.” Now that sounded more like the Spencer you knew. A soft smile crept onto your lips, then you quickly neutralized your face, in hopes he wouldn’t see the way his concern for you made you feel. And You couldn’t do that to yourself. You couldn’t let yourself feel happiness when Spencer showed you affection, because it eventually just leads to heart break. Subconsciously, you turned more towards him in your seat, “In your math is there probability that we get this guy and he never gets the opportunity to hurt another woman again?” You asked. Spencer gave you a pained look like he knew where you were going. You countered that look with one that told him to answer the question. He let out a heavy sigh, “yes. There is that possibility.” You smiled at him knowing you won the argument, “That settles it then.”

With everyone back in the small conference room at the police station, the conversation began about what to do tomorrow. No one was pleased that one of their own is now the target but there was truth that the situation was now more in the BAU’s control than before. Everyone also believed in you. They knew the risk and that scared them but also you are a Special Advisory Agent for a reason. Relief did not fill you but neither did dread, when you thought of the plan. You were doing the right thing. It didn’t matter if you were going to put yourself in danger.

Spencer kept pressing the heel of his hands into his eyes. Something that happened when he started to get headaches and you could guess this headache was caused by stress. As the rest of the team started packing up, you stared at your best friend hurting over the stress you were causing. You took a seat next to Spencer. He was still wearing his suit from the party. “We are going to be okay tomorrow,” you comforted him. He looked up at you, “I’m not worried about all of us, I’m worried about you,” he confessed. Once again, you knew these words shouldn’t have an effect on you like they did, but it did and this time there was something that felt hidden behind those words, something more. “I trust you not to let anything happen to me,” You countered and placed your hand on his forearm to comfort him. You looked in his eyes and tried to let him know that there is more than just trust there.

The day of the ball, you got ready in the police station bathroom. It wasn’t exactly how you imagined to be getting ready for your first ball in New York City. You’d rather be wearing this gown for other reasons than going undercover to catch a murderer rapist. The Givenchy dress Garcia picked out was gorgeous (as you instructed her to get a designer to fit in the crowd and you would float the bill). It was a long evening dress in blue and green with a gradient-effect. The top had long puffed sleeves, deep V-neckline, and waist accentuated with smooth lamé and long flared skirt. You put your hair up in a loose low bun. The makeup you did was a smooth eye with long flair eyeliner. You put a heavy amount of glow highlighter on your cheek bones and collar bones to accentuate the deep v cut the dress.

You felt ridiculous walking out of the bathroom into the police station wearing your dress. But the way Spencer looked at you was something powerful and intoxicating, making you forget your embarrassment. You strode up to him. A small smile played on your lips looking up at him. You saw him also smiling at you “You’re almost as tall as me,” he blurted out. You let out a small laugh, “‘I guess that’s what heels will do,” you smiled looking down at your feet. Spencer felt ridiculous that’s what he said. He should have told you how amazing you looked or how your beauty felt like the sun- always pulling him in and having his thoughts orbit around you. But he wasn’t good with voicing his feelings (especially in a room with his colleagues).

“We are going to have Officer Melinda Jackson drive you over to the apartment, And stake out the car. She’ll be on the radio the whole time till you are in range with us. We will be at the Capitale when you get there.” Emily disclosed as she strapped on a microphone and earpiece.

You stepped out of the car with your head held high even though your anxiety was on another level. “i’m here,” you whispered. “We are here too,” Tara responded. Everyone disclosed where each one was to you. The venue was massive and beautiful. The ceiling was tall with ornate decorations. The lighting was a bright orangish glow. As you examined the room, checking each point of your team, you also saw Alistair. He was at the bar with what looked like to be a group of his friends. Spencer not too far behind them. You walked towards Alistair but kept your eyes on Spencer. He took your breath away dressed in a tux and his hair slicked back like he used to when he was younger. It felt like your heart was lit on fire just by looking at him all dressed up. He was staring at you intensely. It wasn’t that the world stopped the moment your eyes met his, but it was more like everything else just didn’t matter. You knew you’d have to look away soon to not give away anything but you took him in for just one more second. “You look amazing,” you heard a voice next to you say. You turned to see the ever good looking Alistair. He wore a navy 3 piece suite with a large Gucci tag on the sleeve, and a large Gucci flower pinned on his chest. You gave him a soft smile and returned his compliment. “I want to introduce you to my family. Their approval means everything,” he offered you his arm. You took it tentatively, Spencer watched him lead you away, and he pondered on Alistair’s odd statement about family approval.

Alistair’s family was everything you’d expect. They were proper and pompous. However they liked you, a lot. You fell right into the role you had to play. You stood there laughing and engaged in the conversation with his mom and cousin.

“Shall we dance?” Alistair asked, giving you his hand, as your conversation with his sister came to an end. You nodded and let him take you to the dance floor.

He spun you out and brought you back in close to start the dancing. You gave him a bright smile at his eccentric action. You closed your eyes and let your mind pretend it was Spencer holding you. You followed his lead as he twirled you both around the dance floor. “Stop dancing, we can’t see you,” Spencer frantically said into your ear piece. You snapped your eyes open. Taking in that you were on a secluded corner of the dance floor by an exit door. “You are special. My family, They like you” Alistair said with a sense of manic to it. “you aren’t like the others,” he admitted. His voice sounded different. It was sinister with a tinge of adoration. He pulled you close, so close that his fingers dug into your hand and back. You felt like your brain was freezing up in fear. How many times had you been in fear inducing situations and why did your brain pick now to not work. “you’re hurting me,” you groaned trying to pull yourself away. “Where are you” JJ yelled but then you felt mist hit you, and your mind begin to make things fuzzy, “the left corner, the spray…in the flower,” you breathed out, hoping the team could hear you. You heard a rattle of commands to your co-workers from Emily. Then it went black.

Spencer rushed through the crowd to find you but by the time he got to the corner you told him you were at, you were gone. “She’s not here,” Spencer panicked into the ear piece. “I just saw a black Tesla leave, license plate delta, alpha, hotel nine, one, two ” Luke informed them. “Call and ask them to run it”, Rossi said urgently. “on it,” Luke replied. “JJ and Reid, go talk to the mom and sister, Tara and Matt split up and talk to his friends and the other family members. They have to know where they are,” Emily demanded

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