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stillsolo · 7 years

Note

♡ + luke

♡ sibling+ sea + dancing + freedomSend me ♡ + a word, and I’ll write a headcanon( drabble ). [ not accepting ]( . here’s 2.7k of bittersweet romantic angst for my otp ily @tatooinelight | @techniiciian

A murmur rippled through the crowd, disrupting Han’s blank staring at the ground. He followed their gaze to the entrance of the center building where Astri had appeared, her silhouette outlined by the flaring backdrop of a dying sun.

Strapped to her lower right thigh was the ceremonial clan dagger that his family had salvaged from the war early on, glinting brightly against the navy blue of her evening gown, perfectly matching the colorful beads slung to her shoulders. Without a doubt, it was the last of the remaining daggers that represented their rank as nobles of Corellia.

With his back rested against a tent beam, Han shifted where he stood, then peered down at his own dagger, rather uncomfortable with parading around anything that disclosed his aristocratic background.

So rooted in denying his bloodline, Han had made no mistake, and argued with Elka until he was breathless, cross-eyed furious, and just about ready to jump ship out of sheer frustration. Fierce loyalty to Corellia and its traditions permitted little room for Elka to understand Han’s viewpoint yet, she’d fallen lenient anyhow.

Han hadn’t bothered to dwell on the reasons why she’d proven merciful and allowed Han to don attire that didn’t remind him of his time spent serving the imperial ranks. Instead of a pressed Corellian uniform, Han delighted in the comfort of a cream-colored tunic and dark trousers. Thin and loose, ideal for the weather this evening.

Across the distance of several meters, their eyes met briefly, and Astri beamed like when she was no larger than a baby krahbu. The memory pulled a small smile from Han. Following a sideways glance informed him, Luke had his eyes on her too, probably just as impressed a rough tomboy such as she cleaned up so well. It was true; Astri was glowing.

Few words could describe a moment like this, where Han could swear Corel must’ve blessed them, what with how light began circling her slim form like a halo — a single cheer exploded.

The crowd erupted in high spirits and joyous laughter, music following Astri’s rallying holler, unsheathed clan dagger held high in the air as their symbol of hope, stirring the hearts of many.

After a moment’s pause, Han joined them.

Luke faced the horizon to watch the mess of barnacled rocks forming the coastline begin to fade in the distance. With the final vestiges of daylight failing, twilight began to beckon at the stars. Like a dream, Luke thought. The holo-images he’d studied in his youth couldn’t come close to this—not now, not when he felt as though he could simply reach out and touch the endless welkin with the tips of his fingers.

Absorbed in his private musings, he didn’t hear the tell-tale crunch of leaves behind him.

❝I wouldn’t stand so close to that Teljan tree, Skywalker. A raptor-wasp colony has nested in her branches.❞

Instinctively, Luke tipped his head back, then grimaced at the buzzing hive hung barely two meters above his head. He swallowed and backed up slowly, so as to not alarm the deadly insects. Out of everything Han had taught Luke while residing on Corellia, the man hadn’t failed to always express a single rule above all: no sudden movements.

❝I … I didn’t see it.❞ Luke flung a haunted look over his shoulder once he was far enough away and moved to stand next to Elka who had her arms crossed, seemingly entranced by her home world’s beauty as Luke had been.

Gentle winds caressing their faces, Luke pondered why wasn’t Elka at the center of the celebration, where she belonged.

As if she’d heard him, Elka chuckled. ❝It’s dinnertime. The banquet will begin as soon as we arrive.❞ Elka tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled, her amber hues twinkling. ❝We can’t begin without you.❞

❝Psst. Sit with me.❞

Luke blinked in confusion. Disorientated by the firelight, he had trouble locating the whispered voice until he felt a gentle tug on his tunic. It was the girl from before. Upon Luke’s second hesitation, she yanked his tunic harder than before.

❝Ah, all right.❞

Luke surrendered and moved to sit cross-legged beside her, clear apprehension jerking the corner of his mouth when he noticed Han sat beside her, and he’d wedged his way between them.

Before he could ask if he had permission to sit here, Luke spotted the many fresh fruits and berries gathered into bowls. Attention duly captured, Luke was quick to note the placement, an arrangement made to encircle the large radius of firelight. This was for sharing.

Always eager to taste any bits of non-synthesized food, Luke plucked a cloudberry from the nearest bowl.

❝Psst.❞

Luke turned to the girl again and saw in her big brown eyes, the slightest glint of amusement. Though he couldn’t see for himself, Luke knew for a fact that Han was grinning.

Were all Corellians like this?

❝Not yet.❞

❝Oh,❞ Luke blew out a winded laugh, setting the fruit back. ❝Sorry.❞

❝My brothers and sisters of Corellia,❞ Elka emerged from the shadows, her voice was strong as she moved gracefully through the assembling crowd, pausing only to ruffle the hair of young children.

Han flattened his palms behind him, his long legs spreading wide over the decorative rug as he weighed his odds of escaping a long, rather unnecessary speech for a drink. Burning suns, Han knew what was coming. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away just yet.

Even as his gut twisted and clenched, warning him that this was it, Han waited patiently, familiarized with preconceived notions coiled tightly in his belly, anticipating an instance such as this. He turned to Elka as she rounded the blaze, a knowing look fell his way. For a fleeting second, she smiled at him, and Han understood he’d long been discovered.

So, Elka knew Han had been looking for such signs as well.

❝Let us give thanks for this bountiful food. And let us also give thanks for the presence … of this brave, young man, whom we honor here tonight.❞

Many eyes followed to where Elka had gestured. Murmurs swept amidst the Corellisi.

Just as jarred, if not more, Luke shook his head with vehemence then dropped his chin. Gripped by a vicious shame and unable to meet the clan leader’s gaze, Luke’s stomach sank at the frenetic whispers buzzed around him. ❝Please, Madame, I wish you wouldn’t. I’ve — I’ve done nothing in my life worth honoring.❞

From where he sat, Han narrowed his eyes at the blatant humility. Quite the far cry from the Imperial Prince he’d encountered months ago, and many a time before that; He straightened up, listening carefully.

Without a stirring of wonder, Elka flashed a look to Han and saw that he as well, recognized within blue eyes, Luke’s honesty, seeing it for what it truly was. She broadcasted a jovial smile. If Luke’s return had surprised her, she didn’t let on.

❝First, you rescue my little Han from The Death Star.❞ Han scowled deeply when Elka crossed the distance to ruffle his hair, his protests falling wordless. ❝Then, you defend my youngest sisters from ekster bandits … You think that is nothing?❞

Luke’s gaze fell again.

Elka leaned down, her cool fingertips ghosting over blond fringe as the firelight flickered wildly. Beside them, Luke could see in the corner of his eye, Astri’s blue gown sparkling like the night sky behind her.

I don’t deserve this.

❝It seems you do not know what is worthy of honor.❞

Even after hours into the festival, the people continued their dance, every movement full of poetry. The line of dancers advanced, then retreated, pirouetted; their arms waving from side to side above their heads, holding up bright pieces of cloth, etched with the symbols of fallen Corellian clans above their heads, honoring them after death. Swaying, colorful garments fluttered behind them and their eyes continued to flash, highlighted by the firelight.

A strange thrill swept him when a much older, larger clan member swung Han his way, her rambunctious laughter barely audible in all the commotion. Han met his eyes with a coaxing grin, his hand extending towards Luke before he dropped completely from Luke’s line of sight, the fast-moving bunch shrouding him from view.

❝Han!❞

Ultimately lost to the boisterous thrum of drums and flutes scaling to their crescendo, Luke sucked in a sharp, short breath and stepped forward, alarmed. Seconds had elapsed before Luke spotted Han again, cradled in sturdy arms, Han was grinning sheepishly at the large woman who’d dipped him. Drawing back, Luke laughed breathlessly.

Once Han untangled himself and thoroughly glad he was still in one piece by the end of it, he hollered to Luke. ❝Dance with me!❞

Luke shook his head vehemently, prompt to mouth, ‘No’.

Han beckoned wordlessly, repeating cajoling gestures to no avail. Luke had raised his hands to emphasize his decline, but Han was a crack of lightning, a profound force rippling the ground, surging right up into Luke’s bone marrow. Like liquidized energy pouring from the inside out, gone again in a leap of a heartbeat, and he blinked against the moment’s disorientation, blue eyes widening in the face of Han curling his arm around his waist, hauling him forward and into the crowd.

❝But I don’t — but I don’t know how!❞

Luke stood stiff as a board when Han managed to drag him to the center ring. Curious stares from a dozen or more strangers registered as merely minor information, Luke’s sole attention centered on where Han’s arm remained coiled around his waist and the warm hand clamped to his.

At the touch of warm breath to his ear, Luke straightened his back instinctively, hearing Han’s voice as he’d never heard it before. Like dark velvet.

❝Relax.❞

It’d taken some time to work Luke out of that austere posture, his unyielding form at last mollified by the encouraging shouts and whoops of approval going off around them.

❝See? ‘Knew you could do it.❞ Han murmured and caught hold of Luke’s waist again when he’d strayed too far for Han’s taste, tugging him nearer. The music’s insistent beat merged with the textures of wind and sand and firelight, clapping hands synchronized to the frantic cadence of blood beating against their ribs, their chests pressing tightly together.

Luke was panting, though a ghost of a smile began to shadow his lips. He touched his hand to Han’s cheek, thumb sweeping over rough stubble, a query phrased in touch. Words had clogged his throat.

Do you see it too? What we could have — all that we could be.

Han gently lifted Luke’s hand and placed it down over his heart in an answer.

A held breath burned up inside Luke’s chest.

Reality had offset the moment the hard glitter appeared in Han’s eyes, his expression unreadable as he slowly leaned down to brush a kiss against Luke’s mouth.

I’m sorry.

Standing at the cliff side, Luke was adrift, moorless in the rhythm of the sea beating through his blood and bones. A cold breeze filled him, and he tasted salt on his tongue as white spray whipped all about him, feeling as frightened as he was enthralled by Corellia’s oceans.

War hadn’t touched this part of the capital, but as the three moons rose to cast light all around, the hard tracks of time and decay were visible everywhere. Regardless, the scenery drew him back time and again, even after the girls had found him twice and towed him back to the bonfire.

Far in the depths of the Corellian night, he felt the tide shift, water turning to follow the moons back to shore. As fate would have it, Luke didn’t wait long. The unmistakable crunch of leaves began another time, the stride falling long, and was nothing like the rapid drumming of little children’s feet.

Luke felt a hand on his shoulder and moved up on their own accord. Touching came so easy now. As if tonight had unfurled a new channel between them.

❝Back here again, huh?❞

❝I like it here.❞ Luke responded without so much as an affirming glance to Han. His arms had crossed tightly over his chest, hope ported without reason, and now there was little choice but to hold on to it fiercely, faltering at the leap of contingency.

❝Then stay — here, with me.❞

When no answer came, Han fell silent, staring past him to where the water met the dark sky.

Han tossed up a hand. ❝Should’ve seen it coming from a mile ‘way. The way Elka’s looked at me lately, made it obvious,❞ he said slowly, his eyes averted. ❝She approves, y’know.❞

And when Han’s head rose, the look on Luke’s face slammed it all home again. Rejection, atop flickering disbelief, a quickening of loss that shoved the sand under Han’s bare feet.

Hells, the kid was doing it again — filling to the brim with such fears and doubt; his past, haunting him.

❝You don’t know what you’re asking for.❞

The inevitable consequence of seizing a destiny not meant for him.

All he wanted was to keep Luke with him, for now, so long as he’d want it too. Come hell or high water —

❝I want you. Not an Imperial Prince. Just the man I’ve gotten to know for the past few months.❞

❝This isn’t my path to take.❞

❝Your life is your own. You always have a choice.❞

❝I don’t.❞ Luke raised a hand and touched the force inhibitor buried in the skin of his neck, his thumb rubbing gently over the knob. ❝I can’t wear this forever.❞

❝It’ll kill you, won’t it?❞

❝Yes. I programmed it to.❞ Luke nodded. His head lifted slowly, and his voice was but a whisper. ❝And when the power source fails, it will detonate on its own.❞

❝You didn’t tell me.❞ Han swallowed sharply against misdirected anger. Brittle as glass, the truth came to probe his will, testing boundaries he’d never thought of.

❝But you’d guessed right.❞

❝Why?❞

More of a demand than a question. But Han needed this more than anything.

❝Suicide was never an option. Palpatine’s will to keep me alive forbade even the thought; my father defied death before because of him. Once the inhibitor took away his influence on me, I — I didn’t know if I could do it myself. I wanted a means to an end; an ultimatum.❞

It had carried in his voice, the mark of some long-term inner battle, and it clawed fiercely at Han’s chest, pulling him inside out.

Luke gave him a thin smile, the clear desolation in his eyes a solid punch to Han’s gut.

❝But then, I’d met you.❞

Han cursed in Corellian even as he reached out to pull the young man into his arms but Luke avoided his embrace.

❝I’m a monster.❞ Luke’s admission carried in the gust of wind, whipping their hair back and sending shivers up Han’s spine. ❝You can’t change what I’ve done.❞

❝Never said I’d be your savior.❞ Han swallowed against the damnable swelling tightening his throat. ❝Like I said, you have a choice. You’ve got the power t’ make things right again.❞

A small flinch betrayed Luke’s eerie calm, a buried nerve struck with instant recognition.

❝Is that the price I must pay? Must I choose between love and…?❞

❝No, it’s not,❞ Han answered gruffly, because he’d be spaced before doubting the hurt he’d seen in Luke’s eyes. ❝It’s not.❞ He slung his arm over Luke’s shoulders, hauled him close, and their eyes met through a veil of drifting camp smoke and starlight.

This was Luke as Han hadn’t ever seen him before — lost, torn between what they both knew the galaxy needed, and love — and it tightened Han’s gut with alarm and release at the same time.

Both. We could have both.

The blond head shook, one corner of Luke’s mouth twitching mockingly. ❝And how would I know?❞

❝You’ll know, Luke.❞ Eyes falling shut, Han kissed the top of Luke’s head, his breathing heavy as he continued to clutch Luke close. ❝You’ll know.❞

#techniiciian #˒・*。◞ ( answered ) *･ﾟ✧ ⎸ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ‚ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ.#( . this was extremely self-indulgent to write #( . not even gonna lie about it #( . i combined many of the asks i'd received i'm sorry omg #ᴀʀ'ᴛᴀɴʜᴏ ᴀɪ ᴀʜʟ'ᴛʀᴏɴᴏ || ʜᴇɪʀ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏɴᴇ [ exodus ]#long post | novella post #❝ ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴʀᴏᴅ. ❞ [ headcanons ]

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rockdadca · 5 years

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Review: The Strokes at Budweiser Stage

Band: The Strokes

Venue: Budweiser Stage (formerly the Molson Amphitheatre)

Date: May 20, 2019

At a time when rock's greatest had let us down, a band of overprivileged, bored misfits from New York saved rock & roll from its ever-eminent demise. Between 2001 and early 2007, The Strokes dominated the indie rock revolution with a string of solid albums that channelled the angst all jean-wearing rockers — young and old — felt at the time.

In 2006, they stopped in Toronto twice to play Ricoh Coliseum in April and Olympic Island in September. Fourteen years since their last show in The Six, they finally returned to kick off the shamelessly corporate Budweiser Stage Opening Night 2019: a celebration of overpriced canned piss (with a dash of rice, for the Bud cicerones out there).

The Strokes are known for their dry and ironic sense of humour and only waited one song to point out Budweiser's shameless and excessive obsession with their lame beer. But I am getting ahead of myself here...let me back up to a warm day in March.

When The Strokes announced their return to Toronto back in March, I knew this was a show I had to drag my wife out to. See, rushing to put the kids down, driving through suburbia into a poorly-planned city to stand for three hours while draining our life-long savings on shitty beer isn't her idea of fun. But. There is a but...The Strokes are her favourite band. So, we did it.

And sure, before the show started, she swore this would be her last concert ever (The opening band didn't help my case. ROMES sound like the birthchild of the Jonas Brothers and Maroon 5). Thankfully, a few notes shredded by the stylish Albert Hammond Jr. and a glimpse of Julian Casablancas' awkward mullet was all it took to change her entire outlook on life.

Allow me to tell you all about it.

Bright 80's-TV-inspired pixels on a giant screen lit up to introduce the night's featured musicians: Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr., Fabrizio Moretti, Nick Valensi and Nikolai Fraiture performing as "The Strokes." Very quickly the retro screen was replaced by even brighter strobe lights, and the explosive riffs of "Heart in a Cage" overloaded the speakers of the ageing venue.

The first five songs would have been enough to allow the casual fan to die happy. Typically a song reserved for the encore, "You Only Live Once" was the second song of the night. That was followed by "Ize of the World," "The Modern Age," and "Hard to Explain."

Speaking of which, I do find it hard to explain why the next song on the setlist ("Happy Ending") was the one everyone chose to go to the bathroom when the one that followed was..."Meet Me In The Bathroom." One would have thunk that the lyrics of the latter would prompt the beer drinkers to run to the bushes.

The trend of hits (sprinkled with a dash of rarities and a cover) continued. Standouts included the anthemic "What Ever Happened?," "Reptilia" (first time played in 5 years) and of course, "Last Nite."

Let's backtrack a little. Earlier in the show, Julian told the story of their experience at the Raptors game the night before. As Nikolai, Fab and Nick were Instagramming pictures of themselves enjoying the jaw-clenching game of ball, Julian was assuring Albert that the last five minutes of any basketball game are the only ones that matter. But when they showed up to the Scotiabank Are three minutes before the game ended, security reprimanded their tardiness by not allowing them in.

Julian dedicated "New York City Cops" to those security guards.

I only bring this up to illustrate the sort of banter that intertwined in the performance. Awkwardly delivered critiques of corporate greed (Budweiser! Get the hint!) and stories of misguided assumptions about basketball balanced the near-perfect delivery of the nineteen songs.

I may have also decided to bring it up to insert my own rent-a-cop story. Security was more relaxed than usual at the venue (or perhaps they were busy managing the first cannabis-friendly show at Budweiser Stage), so instead of hearing about the show second-hand from our general admission section at the very back of the venue, we enjoyed it from the comfort of a nook closer to the stage. In the past, that sort of defiance would result in constant requests from security to return to the back. But last nite they didn't say anything.

The crowd was what you would expect from almost any Toronto show, apologetically enthusiastic — frozen at times. But this time they had an excuse to be frozen, as the temperatures were nearing the ungodly range that night.

The encore was short but dance-worthy: "Is This It" and "Someday."

And with a sky glittering with fireworks, Marissa and I held hands as we walked a thousand miles to the car, reflecting on my wife's self-proclaimed last show on earth (until Belle and Sebastian in the summer. She forgot about that one.). In my opinion, the night was perfect. Well worth the $150.

Setlist

Heart in a Cage

You Only Live Once

Ize of the World

The Modern Age

Hard to Explain

Happy Ending

Meet Me in the Bathroom

I Can't Win

On the Other Side

Reptilia

New York City Cops

What Ever Happened?

12:51

A Little Respect (Cover)

Razorblade

Soma

Last Nite

Is This It

Someday

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silverutahraptor · 2 years

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dinotopia au

I hate you for this,,,

"Clever girl," Izuna croons at the raptor perched on his arm, digging her claws into the thick leather arm guard he's wearing for this exact purpose. She's preening, showing off her shining feathers. "The cleverest, smartest, most precious girl ever–"

"... Izuna," his brother asks from behind him, voice flat, "did you get your pack to steal more sunstones?!"

Izuna winks at his lady—and the captive audience of the rest of his pack, spread out in the surrounding foliage, no doubt waiting to see if they can get a compliment as well—and turns around to face his brother, carefully resisting the urge to pat his pocket with the incriminating stone. "Me? Them? Oh, we would never! We were just practising running messages again."

Susanoo, looming up behind Madara like she usually does, lowers her massive head to snort into Izuna's face. "Little hatchling," she says, deep voice reverbrating and sending a shiver down Izuna's spine as it usually does. She's magnificent—deadly—terrifying in her own right, but hearing her speak will always add that extra bit of impressiveness. "Little mischiefmaker. Don't lie."

Izuna eyes the gleaming rows of teeth right in front of him and then goes on his tiptoes to smile up at his brother's companion. "My lady," he starts, armed with the surety of being the only other human besides Madara who she'll deign to speak to, on account of him being Madara's little brother, which somehow makes him her hatchling. (Don't ask). "I did not get them to steal sunstones—they decided that on their own." He reaches out to pick a bit of leftover meat out from between teeth as long as his hand. Before he can decide what to do with it, the raptor still perched on his other arm snaps her head forward to snatch it right from his fingers. Well, if she wants to eat that...

"Hmmm." Susanoo tilts her head sideways to growl warningly at the raptors assembled behind him. They scatter with high-pitched squeaks. Even the one on his arm deserts him, the little traitor.

Madara has crossed his arms and is raising his eyebrows. Or he's raising the visible one. Who knows what goes on behind the curtain of hair over the other side of his face.

Izuna sighs and moves to scratch at Susanoo's nostril. "There was another large Senju shipment going through the Basin," he tells his brother quietly. "They won't notice a few missing stones."

"We can hardly offer them peace if you keep stealing shit."

Izuna frowns. "If they're rejecting peace over a few stolen trinkets that we need a lot more than they do..."

Susanoo hums. "You lot do need to eat an inconvenient amount of plants, and those will only grow here with the stones." She gives Izuna an affectionate headbutt before she straightens up again, which means he stumbles back several steps and would've fallen over if Madara hadn't grabbed his arm. "You two should talk through that peace proposal." She exchanges a glance with Madara before turning to leave, probably to chastise Izuna's pack some more.

Izuna mouthes "yes, mom" at her back.

Madara slaps the back of his head, hand staying to tousle his hair and ruining a perfectly good braid while doing so. "Come on, then. And hand it over."

Izuna sighs.

#raptor speaks #prompt raptor hours #celebration prompt raptor hours #ask #naruto #naruto founders #uchiha izuna #uchiha madara #my writing #my fanfic #dinotopia #dinosaurs #just to be clear i did NOT look up anything #this is entirely made out of vague memories from like 15+ years ago #anyway.#Madara is bonded to a talking T. rex #i don't care about dinotopia canon he just has a talkign one okay #yes the T. rex is female yes she's called Susanoo #hashirama is bonded to some sort of titanosaur of course #tobirama either gets a mosasaurus #or he's a skybax rider #i find the mosasaurus way funnier though #deadly but absolutely useless on land #Izuna has an entire pack of velociraptors in scientifically accurate sizes #(they will still kill you of course)#(and steal all your shit)#also i have no idea what's the plot here i just. izuna raptor shenanigans and madara t. rex things okay

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227snewfacebookfries · 6 years

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227's™ Facebook Fries!¡' (aka YouTube Chili' NBA) #Nike'Spicy'Tunes Trending News! Los Angeles Chili' Lakers Mix! Kareem Chili' Abdul-Jabbar! Ann Chili' Curry Warned NBC of Spicy' Sex Harassment Claim Against Matt Chili' Lauer (Report) #Walmart'Spicy'T

Former “Today Show” co-host Ann Curry warned NBC executives about Matt Lauer’s sexual misconduct in 2012, the Washington Post reported Thursday. In her first interview since Lauer’s ouster from the network last fall, Curry told the Post that she was prompted to act after a female staffer came to her in tears. The staffer told Curry that she was “sexually harassed physically” by Lauer. “She was afraid of losing her job… I believed her,” Curry told the paper. “I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women.” NBC said there was no record of the warning in Lauer’s file, and it is not clear that any action was taken. The previous executive team at NBC News, not the current regime, was overseeing the department at the time. Curry, who left the network the same year after 15 years on the show, told the Post there was “pervasive verbal sexual harassment” at NBC. The Post story alleges that her allegations were consistent with a much broader pattern of harassment at the network stretching back to the 1990s. The story alleges that NBC executives often dismissed such claims or were slow to respond. Variety also reported on Thursday about an allegation against former “Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw. Linda Vester, a former war correspondent for the network, alleges that Brokaw tries to kiss her against her will twice, and showed up to her hotel uninvited, in the 1990s. Vester was also interviewed at length for the Post, and backed up her claims to both publications with contemporaneous journal entries. Brokaw denied the allegations in a statement, saying he made “no romantic overtures” toward Vester in two brief meetings. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/ann-curry-warned-nbc-of-sex-harassment-claim-against-matt-lauer-report/ar-AAwp0uA

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motleymoose · 8 years

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Maybe You Should Listen

Challenge: @notnaturalanahi 's Ana's 600 Crack Celebration

Prompt: "This is why you wear long sleeves."

Characters: Gabriel x Gender Neutral Friend!Reader, Sam Winchester

Words: ~950

Warnings: Slight crude humor, slight crude language (no sailor language in this one, surprisingly!)

Summary: Sometimes listening to humans in a good idea.

A/N: This is my first Gabriel fic, hope you enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated!

*gif not mine

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What, exactly, are you doing?"

Gabriel finished lacing his boots before looking up. "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm getting ready to go riding with my favorite hunter!" He stood, hands on hips and chest stuck out, giving me a crooked smirk.

"Not like that, you're not," I scoffed as I tied a bandana around my neck, checking to make sure it fit snugly over my nose and mouth. "Those four-wheelers go in excess of 60 miles an hour. Do you really want to have all that exposed skin hit by flying debris?"

Shrugging at his simple t-shirt and jeans, Gabriel snapped his goggles into place. "Eh, what's the worst that could happen?" ........... The trail wended its way through the pasture, taking us under looming cottonwoods and over gurgling creeks. I was surprised at how well Gabriel was keeping up with me; he had confessed he never had experience with anything that had to be manually shifted.

Stopping under an impressive elm tree that marked the start of the untilled field of corn stubble, I killed the engine and waited patiently for the archangel to make his way up the low hillside. It took him a few minutes, but he finally made it, pulling up alongside me and fumbling with the killswitch.

Gesturing at a terrace in the distance, I set down the rules. "Okay, first off, the finish line will be the top of that terrace. Secondly, no cheating with your angel mojo."

Orneriness gleamed in his eyes. "I wouldn't call it cheating, per se. More like evening the odds."

"No mojo, period." I arched an eyebrow. "If you don't think you can handle that beast between your legs, feel free to walk home."

"Oh, I can handle this beast, alright. And that goes for the four-wheeler as well." He winked before wiggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and continued. "Three, watch out for holes and gopher hills. That'll flip you off of your ATV faster than you can say 'Twinkie." Rubbing the back of my neck, I thought for a moment. "That should be it. Let's see what these babies can do!" I straddled my lime green Banshee, preparing to start it again when a thought hit me. "Oh, and don't get yourself killed."

Gabriel thudded a fist on his chest. "Hey, I'm an archangel. This puny machine isn't going to hurt me." ............... "Where the hell have you been?!" Sam jumped up from the table, rushing over to help me drag Gabriel into the bunker. He knew we were going to be gone all afternoon, but it was well after dark by the time we got home.

Pulling out a chair, Sam guided the limping angel to it while I went to the sink and began filling a pan with water. "We went for a ride on the four-wheelers, and somebody decided he wasn't going to listen to me."

Wincing, Gabriel leaned forward and placed his arms gingerly on the table. "Yeah, well, you could have warned me that there was going to be a freaking badger in that hole."

"How was I to know?" I spat, slamming the pan onto the table and splashing water everywhere. "I wasn't trying to show off by surfing on a Raptor! Who the hell did you think was going to steer that thing once you stood up?"

Sam had retreated to the doorway, unsure if he was suppose to laugh or to help. Clearing his throat, he gestured towards a cabinet. "Y/N... do you want me to, uh, get some rags or something?"

Gabriel grimaced as I rubbed the gashes on his left arm a little too vigorously. "Thanks, Sam. That'd be swell." Inspecting my handiwork, I began concentrating on the right arm, removing splinters and clumps of dirt. "I shouldn't have to tell you this, but this is why you wear long sleeves. Especially if you decide to pick a fight with an angry mama badger."

Entering the room just then, Sam gaped at Gabriel in disbelief. "You... you fought a badger?"

The angel gritted his teeth. "I wouldn't have had to if the damn thing stayed in her burrow!"

My anger melted as I recalled the look on the archangel's smug face when he realized the badger wasn't going to move out of the way of the oncoming Yamaha. Snorting gleefully, I tossed the rag back into the pan and began wrapping Gabriel's arms with gauze. "You should have seen it, Sam. He shifted into a fully-clothed badger, with little pants and everything!"

Grumbling something about not having time to think about his looks while fighting, Gabriel hunched up and crossed his arms, finding out too late that the move was a bad idea. "She jumped from of her hole out of spite. What was I suppose to do, let her get away with it?"

Shaking his head, Sam roared with laughter, clutching the edge of the table. "I can't believe it! Turning into a freaking badger." Wiping his eyes, he caught his breath, and looked at me eagerly. "You got pictures, right?"

"And video." I finished tying off the last bandage and pulled out my phone. "Do you want to start where he went ass-over-head off the four-wheeler, or do you want to jump right into him getting his butt whooped by a woodland creature?"

With a pout, Gabriel got up, stomping out of the room as he shouted over his shoulder, "I'm not talking to you guys anymore!"

Ignoring him, Sam and I flipped through the photos I had gotten. "You know, Y/N," Sam chuckled as he looked at my phone, "he makes a pretty cute badger."

#Ana's 600 crack challenge #notnaturalanahi #Gabriel x reader #gender neutral reader #supernatural #supernatural fanfic #spn #spn fanfic #fanfiction #moose fic #platonic reader #crack

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teeky185 · 5 years

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(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is getting what he wants for the nation’s birthday: a celebration featuring fireworks, fighter jets and tanks that makes him the center of attention.Trump will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Thursday evening, remaking the capital’s July 4th festivities into a display of military might mixed with presidential politics. The White House said Trump’s message won’t be political -- Trump is calling the speech a “Salute to America” -- but it comes as the 2020 campaign is heating up.“Today, we come together as one nation,” Trump said in an excerpt of his speech released by the White House. “We celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend our flag -- the brave men and women of the United States military!”The city hosted a parade earlier in the day before the evening program on the National Mall, which is scheduled to include flyovers by fighter jets, bombers and even Air Force One, and the Trump speech.Trump has promised the “show of a lifetime,” but it may not go entirely the president’s way. Afternoon rains and forecasts of scattered thunderstorms prompted a flash-flood watch alert. And some aides privately fear crowds won’t meet the president’s expectations -- evoking his 2017 inauguration.Protesters have a permit to display an inflatable version of the president that depicts him as a baby in a diaper with small hands. A similar blimp has greeted Trump on trips to London, but the Washington version won’t be allowed to leave the ground. The protesters deflated their blimp on Thursday as storms threatened the area.Rebranded CelebrationTrump is effectively rebranding a celebration that attracts thousands of families to watch the fireworks but almost never includes presidential speeches on the Mall. Critics say his revisions risk turning Washington’s July 4th into a de-facto Trump rally that’s likely to draw counter-protests.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in a speech in Iowa Thursday that for Trump, the event was “designed more to stroke his ego than celebrate American ideals.”“Donald Trump is incapable of celebrating what makes America great -- because he doesn’t get it,” the former vice president said in prepared remarks.The White House rejected the idea that the celebration would be political. Trump told reporters on Monday that the event will be “about this country and it’s a salute to America.” He said he hoped for a large turnout. Asked if he could give a speech to all Americans, Trump replied: “I think so, I think I’ve reached most Americans.” He went on to criticize Democrats on health care and taxes.Military ParadeTrump conceived the event after his plans for a military parade on Veterans Day were stymied by complaints from local officials about the cost. The president has been enamored of the idea of a Washington celebration with a military component since attending the 2017 Bastille Day parade in Paris, which included an aerial display, thousands of marching soldiers and hundreds of military vehicles.Trump’s remarks are expected to last roughly half an hour, an administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. His speech will celebrate America’s independence, the flag and the military, the official added.Trump will reserve space for special guests -- the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee have received tickets, while the Department of Defense, with 5,000 tickets of its own, will send several top officials, including Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper.Federal law bars political fundraising in government buildings or rooms where officials perform their duties, but doesn’t restrict presidents from inviting deep-pocketed donors to the White House or official events.The fireworks generally last about 15 minutes but this year will span 35 minutes after a donation by two pyrotechnic companies valued at $750,000. Because of the flyovers, the Federal Aviation Administration will suspend commercial air traffic at Reagan National Airport near Washington for the first time during a July 4th celebration. The FAA said flights would be affected again during the fireworks display.Abrams TanksThe Defense Department said Tuesday that it would provide a pair of M1A2 Abrams tanks and two M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles for the event. They were delivered on flatbed trucks ahead of Thursday’s event, to avoid damaging streets.There will be several flyovers, including by the Navy’s Blue Angels flight team. The air show will also include Air Force One, a Marine One presidential helicopter, two F-35 fighter jets, two F-22 Raptors, two F/A-18 Hornets, a B2 bomber and four Apache helicopters.The event also is renewing a long-simmering feud with local officials in Washington. The city has said it’s still owed about $7 million from costs associated with Trump’s inauguration but the administration official said the District hasn’t asked for funds from upcoming federal budgets.Trump said Wednesday on Twitter that the cost of the event “will be very little compared to what it is worth,” while the administration official earlier declined to say how bill would be covered. Norton said Trump is “doubling up, tripling up on what he owes the District of Columbia.”Presidential RemarksWhile some of Trump’s predecessors have spoken on or around July 4th, they haven’t done it in quite the same way.Barack Obama delivered annual Independence Day remarks from the White House. Ronald Reagan gave a “Star Spangled Salute to America” speech at the Jefferson Memorial, near the Lincoln Memorial, in 1987, but did so on the morning of July 3.Richard Nixon recorded an address that played at the July 4, 1970, celebrations, which were marked by protests over the Vietnam War. Harry S. Truman spoke at the Washington Monument on July 4, 1951, 175 years after the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.Not all presidents’ attempts to celebrate July 4 have gone smoothly. In 1845, President James K. Polk hosted fireworks at the White House. With thousands of people gathered to watch, some of the rockets were accidentally fired into the crowd. At least one person was killed.(Updates with speech exerpt in third paragraph.)\--With assistance from Margaret Talev, Bill Allison, Tony Capaccio and Jennifer Epstein.To contact the reporters on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at [email protected];Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at [email protected], Justin Blum, Scott LanmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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wealthbronze59-blog · 6 years

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The LARB Ball NBA Roundtable

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

With the NBA season in full swing, I reached out to Theresa Runstedtler (Associate Professor of History at American University) and Yago Colás (Professor of English at Oberlin College), sports scholars with expertise (and books in progress) about the pro game, to discuss the state of the league today and its history. Moving between on- and off-court issues, and from the 1970s to our expectations for the new season, the conversation takes up topics including LeBron’s move west, NBA vs. NFL politics, race and power, the basketball version of “moneyball,” the league’s embrace of gambling, and the past and future of business-minded player-celebrities. How long can Golden State’s stranglehold on the league last? Will big data analytics sap the game of its pleasing uncertainty? Can a new generation of players, coaches, and owners steer the league to a more politically progressive place? And for those interested as much in reading about the sport as watching the games, stick around to the end for book recommendations. Enjoy! – BRJ

Brian Jacobson: Let’s start broadly: what story lines—on or off the court—most interest you as the NBA season kicks off?

Theresa Runstedtler: I’m interested to see what happens as LeBron James makes his transition from the Cavaliers to the Lakers. Will he continue to be vilified for his lack of loyalty and individual career ambitions? I’m also interested to see what happens with Vince Carter’s year with the Hawks. I was part of the Raptors organization during his first season in 1998. To hear him talked about as the “old guy” at 41 years of age is amusing to me (and tells me I’m getting old too). I guess even though I haven’t lived in Toronto for 17 years, I’m still a Raptors fan at heart. I’m curious to see whether the addition of Kawhi Leonard will improve or hurt the team’s chemistry on the court. #WetheNorth

Yago Colás: I share Theresa’s interest in LeBron’s move to the West, but for slightly different reasons. I’ve lived half an hour from Cleveland for the last seven years, and my sense is that, at least in this region, fans wish LeBron well. They are grateful for the 2016 championship, and recognize all he does (and will surely continue to do) for the area. As the mother of one of the youngsters participating in the LeBron James Family Foundation educational initiative told Howard Bryant on the radio program Only a Game, “I don’t care where he works.”

I am interested, however, to see how LeBron responds to his changed competitive circumstances. He now has a young team around him and will be facing the much deeper Western Conference. Will the Lakers make the playoffs? If they struggle early (they are 2-3 as I write), will they add a superstar? What will Kobe’s legendary legion of insane fans do to LeBron if LA is horrible? On the other hand, if they do make the playoffs, how deep a run can they make? And, as a massive LeBron fan, OH MY GOD, what if they beat the Thunder, Rockets and Warriors to get to the finals and then beat the Celtics or the Raptors?!! LeBron will have become, as Obi Wan once said, “more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

The other interesting story emerging from LeBron’s move to the Lakers is what will happen in the East now that the roadblock to the Finals named LeBron James has been removed. Toronto or Boston should be ready to come out of the East, but will they? Will the young Sixers continue their ascent? As I write, Toronto is undefeated (congrats Theresa!), but the other unbeaten teams in the East are Milwaukee and Detroit! Of course, it’s early, but with so many exciting and talented young players distributed on different teams, I think the Eastern conference could be very exciting.

A week or so into the season, the one league-wide trend that has caught my eye is the marked uptick in both scoring and pace (meaning: possessions per game) this season. Though it’s early in the season, both figures are on pace to easily set historic high marks and observers have attributed this to the convergence of a number of factors, one of which is NBA officials calling defensive fouls away from the ball more closely, which obviously works to the offense’s advantage, especially given the penchant in today’s NBA for Warriors-esque action away from the ball. It’ll be interesting to see if this early offensive explosion prompts any effective defensive adjustments, provokes any kind of backlash among fans and, if so, any kind of adjustments from the League.

Finally, at a personal level, I’m always interested to see how my former University of Michigan students fare as they adjust to the demands of pro ball. As the season opened, former students of mine were playing for Brooklyn (Caris LeVert), the Knicks (Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr.), the Pistons (Glenn Robinson III), the Trailblazers (Nik Stauskas), and the Lakers (Moe Wagner). Having gotten to know these hard-working players when they were just 18 year old freshman with big NBA dreams, I’m happy to see that they have all stuck with it and are beginning, each in their own way, to make a mark.

BRJ: I too am interested in Lebron’s move and how a single player can shape so many storylines. Here in Boston, where I spend part of my time, the Celtics still appear to be built for long-term success, but the reintegration of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward hasn’t been as seamless as fans might have hoped. Will that allow Toronto, finally, to get to the finals (and perhaps even keep Kawhi from packing his bags for LA next summer)? Or will this be the year the 76ers move from process to product? (*paging Markelle Fultz’s jump shot*)

I guess we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the Jimmy Butler situation (fiasco?) in Minnesota, which represents fairly well, I think, the internal and individual tensions—among players, coaches, and management—that PR-minded teams and agents usually do so well to keep out of the spotlight—but that sports journalists, when given the opportunity, just can’t seem to get enough of.

But in the interest of other stories, I want to shift directions now to talk about the politics of the NBA, especially in comparison to the NFL, which was covered in the column last month. The NFL, and especially its owners and commissioner, have (rightly, I think) been denounced for their conservative politics and failure to respond to Donald Trump’s comments about and implicit threats against players kneeling during the anthem. In contrast, some critics see the NBA as a progressive league, with younger, more liberal owners and both players and coaches who have spoken out against Trump, racial injustice, and other political issues without receiving the kind of backlash as Colin Kaepernick or Eric Reid. Is this a fair contrast? If so, how do we account for the NBA’s comparative progressive politics—or at least the impression of it?

TR: When I tell people I’m working on a project about race and professional basketball in the 1970s, they often take the opportunity to tell me that the NBA is “so much more progressive” than any other professional sports league. I think that there is some truth to this statement when you compare the NBA to the NFL. However, something about this idea that the NBA is racially progressive doesn’t sit well with me–and it doesn’t really hold water when I look at the demonization and disciplining of both black players and black style over the decades. I think that if the NBA is progressive at all, it is because they have to be. In other words, since the 1970s the majority of the players have been black, and the NBPA has had many black leaders. The global audience of basketball has become increasingly multicultural and multiracial. It is not good business to be overtly racist. That said, the NBA has been very clever about how to depoliticize and aestheticize blackness for the sake of profitability, while also containing and managing its mix of danger and respectability for its corporate partners and white fans.

YC: I absolutely agree with Theresa’s more sober view of the NBA’s much-celebrated political progressiveness. Sure, it looks great compared to the NFL, but that’s not saying much. The NBA’s racial containment strategies (e.g. the dress code), especially under former commissioner David Stern, from the late 70s through the 2000s were real and must be kept in mind. (Readers might be interested in Todd Boyd’s Young, Black, Rich & Famous, David Leonard’s After Artest and Jeffrey Lane’s Under the Boards for accounts of these dynamics.)

At the same time, I wouldn’t underestimate the power of NBA players. The NBA is a much smaller league than the NFL, and one in which individual stars have a much greater impact (not just on competitive outcomes, but on financial outcomes, and on the culture surrounding the league). I sense that over the past eight years, the players have begun to experiment with exercising the power they have. Some of these experiments have involved internal power differentials within the league (like LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh “usurping” team formation powers that had always resided with GM’s and owners) or the NBPA resisting the use of biometric devices in game play, others have involved the manifestations of racism within the NBA (the Chris Paul-led reaction to the Donald Sterling case in 2015), and of course many have involved players acting or speaking out against police lethality against black men, transphobia, Donald Trump, or just racism more generally.

I also think it’s important to note that 1) there is nothing politically retrograde in the NBA that is not also to be found in American society and 2) I’m wary of the general expectation that professional athletes have some sort of unique responsibility, different than any of the rest of us, to make the world more free and more just.

BRJ: As your answers make clear, even if the NBA is comparatively more progressive than the NFL today—which, as Yago says, is hardly a rousing endorsement—no doubt it remains an institution with a history of racism and front offices dominated by just as many white men as the NFL. Last year, Draymond Green accused one of these men, New York Knicks owner James Dolan, of having a “slave master mentality.” Meanwhile, a recent investigation into sexual harassment by former Dallas Mavericks president and CEO Terdema Ussery revealed “a corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior,” followed just weeks ago by another report about sexual harassment by a Mavericks team photographer. What do these kinds of reports tell us about the league’s progressive claims?

TR: These incidents are hardly surprising to me. Racism and sexism are very much alive and well in professional basketball. All we need to do is look at someone like the LA Clippers’ former owner Donald Sterling to see that team owners (behind closed doors) still view their majority-black players as mere pawns (if not property) who are there to earn them money. Also, I was a dancer for the Toronto Raptors back in the late 1990s and can attest that aspects of toxic masculinity pervaded the league from bottom to top. That said, I don’t think there is anything exceptional about the NBA in this regard. Big-time sports leagues are all complicit in the production of anti-blackness and toxic masculinity. At the same time, they also reflect and reinforce the racism and sexism of society at large.

YC: Of course, I agree. But what do we mean by “the League” when we talk about its politics. Are we talking about the Commissioner? The various owners? The legal corporation? The players? The superstar players? The NBPA? I think we get different answers depending on who we are talking about. And, as I say, for me personally the most interesting political phenomenon over the past decade has been the increasing autonomy players are showing. I’m very curious to see what the immediate and long-term effects of this will be.

The work I did to write Ball Don’t Lie! taught me that the whatever the League administrators and owners and their corporate partners, and even some more conservative fans may want, the players make the game and it is a game that is at its most essential level on the court about getting free. I wouldn’t underestimate the cultural and political power of a group of young wealth, influential black men with a strong sense of shared interests and collective responsibility who have spent most of their lives dedicated to the embodied practice of getting free.

BRJ: It has become a common refrain that the NBA is a year-round league, with fans just as, if not more, interested in what’s happening off the court as on it—whether in free agency or the constant rumor mill about which player wants to play on which team, not to mention off-court politics and the players’ various entanglements in non-sports work. For those who love the game itself, this might seem like a sad state of affairs, but it also brings into focus something critics of course know: that the game itself is just the beginning. My question is this: is there actually anything new about the “year-round” nature of the league, or are we just more attentive to what happens beyond the games? If it is different, what has prompted the change?

TR: I don’t think there is anything particularly new about year-round reporting on the NBA and its players; however, the volume of reporting has definitely increased. I think there are a number of reasons for the uptick in coverage. Firstly, before the advent of the ABA and the players’ victory in removing the option clause as a condition of the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, there simply wasn’t as much player movement to report. (The option clause meant that a team retained the rights to a player even after the expiration of his contract. Thus, the team had full control over when a player could be re-signed, traded, or released.) Free agency has added another storyline to the sports news cycle. Since the expansion of professional basketball in the 1970s, publications have reported on players’ non-sports work—particularly the charitable, mentorship kind—because the league wanted to improve its public image. On the flipside, the press also has covered basketball players’ misdeeds, crimes, etc.—especially those of black players. However, changes to the media industry landscape have ramped up this coverage. With the move to a segmented marketplace of growing numbers of niche publications/networks, on both traditional and internet media, there is now a constant demand for more and more content. I suppose this kind of coverage might be dismaying to basketball “purists,” but it has long been part of the game.

YC: I agree with everything Theresa has said here: it’s not new, though factors like free agency and transformations in the mediascape around the game have definitely fueled an expansion in the volume of coverage and interest around both off-court and off-season happenings. My own current research (see below) is on the effect of quantification and big data analytics on the sport (i.e. the hoops version of “moneyball”) and I’ve found that this issue of year-round coverage is one of the areas of the sport’s culture impacted by the phenomenon. As in other areas of American society, big data analytics in the NBA has the explicit aim of maximizing competitive and financial efficiency. I suspect that fans and journalists know a great deal more about the financial side of the sport than they previously did and that, together with the player assessment data available to fans through the media today, it’s easier to generate (and publish) opinions about off-seasons transactions.

BRJ: It seems to me that part of the reason the league garners so much coverage beyond the games has to do with the celebrity power of today’s NBA stars, and probably no more so than LeBron. This summer, his foundation launched the “I Promise” school in Akron. Meanwhile, as many journalists have noted, his move to Los Angeles to join the Lakers seems to have as much to do with media production ambitions and life after basketball as NBA ambitions. And of course LeBron isn’t alone: we could say something similar about Kevin Durant’s move to Golden State and his ties with the Bay area startup scene, or about Russell Westbrook’s turns through the fashion world, or about Dwayne Wade’s wine business. What can we expect of the new NBA celebrities who have their sights set on personal brands and long-term non-basketball franchises? NBA players have long been spokesmen and some have gone into politics. Is the new generation—with its enormous salaries and business acumen—any different?

TR: I think the scale of their wealth and fame is certainly different. However, I was doing some reading in a 1970s-era publication called Black Sports a couple of weeks ago, which suggests that this idea of player-businessman is not so new. (Black Sports was the first major sporting publication to specifically target black readers from 1971 to 1978.) There was a monthly feature called “Taking Care of Business” that featured former professional athletes who translated their success in sports to success in the corporate world or as entrepreneurs. I think there has long been the expectation, particularly among black athletes, that they should parlay their sporting achievements into wealth and an elevated socio-economic status. When I was part of the Raptors organization back in the late 1990s, I also recall many of the players talking about side-hustles/hobbies that they hoped to turn into full-fledged businesses upon retirement. However, I do think that the players nowadays have much more access to contacts and capital to launch their own companies. What’s also interesting is the emergence of second-generation NBA stars such as Steph Curry (father Dell Curry played in the league from 1986-2002). They have an even better sense of how to work the business of basketball to their own advantage.

BRJ: Can you imagine any of today’s players going into politics? Is Lebron gearing up for a presidential run?

TR: Perhaps. Hey, if Donald Trump managed to become president, a former basketball player certainly can.

BRJ: Let’s talk more about the game itself. Even readers who don’t follow sports are likely to be familiar with the “moneyball” phenomenon that hit baseball with the publication of Michael Lewis’s book fifteen years ago in July. Has the “analytics revolution” shaped the NBA in similar ways?

TR: Obviously, some aspects of data analysis have contributed to the success of teams like the Golden State Warriors. How can one deny that the strategy of taking more three-point shots has been a good one for the Curry and the Warriors? However, I want to think about the analytics revolution in light of the ongoing negotiation of power between team owners and the players. I know that proponents of the data analytics revolution have tended to scoff at naysayers like Charles Barkley, casting them as less-evolved luddites who are simply suspicious of change. I’m no Barkley fan, but I’m wondering if part of this critique has to do with fears about the players losing control over the game. It seems as if the rise of data analytics has the potential to shift the balance of power more so in favor of the team owners, potentially taking away the autonomy and creativity of the players in practicing their craft. As Yago asks in Ball Don’t Lie, who makes the game? The league and the team owners or the players? Also, what about the invasiveness of the statistics garnered from trackers that some players now have to wear? What is the bodily autonomy of the athlete in this case? Data can be used as a means for increased surveillance, discipline, and punishment. I also wonder if the data analytics revolution may change the character of the game. What is the end goal of the game? Is it the efficiency of scoring? Is it creative, entertaining play? Are these incompatible? I’m not sure, but they’re definitely things to think about. Basketball, much like soccer, is one of the few professional team sports that encourages free-flowing play. How will data analytics impact this aspect of the game? It suggests a potential move away from the ethics and aesthetics of black streetball that have come to define modern basketball. I’m not sure this is a good thing.

YC: As I said above, I’m writing a book called Numbers Don’t Lie! Counting and What Counts in the Culture of Basketball (forthcoming from University of Nebraska Press) to explore the question of the impact of basketball analytics on NBA play and culture. It’s played out a little differently than in baseball simply because in the NBA, the use of advanced statistical methods, enabled in part by computing power, to discern hidden patterns (which was what baseball’s moneyball was about) has coincided with the use of very sophisticated digital data production technologies (such as Second Spectrum’s optical tracking cameras, installed in every NBA arena, and which capture the movement of the ball and all ten players 25 times per second, thus delivering 800,000 data points to each franchise every game) so that basketball analytics is, at this point, essentially big data analytics.

The most obvious and frequently noted impact is the continued rise of the three-point shot in response to the statistical insight that it’s greater point value, given the skills and patterns of play prevailing in the league, make it a more efficient scoring play than many two-point shots. Another major trend that is still unfolding involves the use of wearables and other kinds of biometric technologies. Currently these can only be used in training and practice. Players understandably may want to know all they can about their bodies, their tendencies, and their futures. But the use of these devices should occasion serious discussion about the ethical and political implications related to quantification, surveillance, and the use of predictive algorithms in situations (like the NBA) where power differential exists.

However, as fascinating and powerful as basketball analytics are, and as important as the political and ethical questions raised by them are, I find myself personally even more compelled by a possibly more esoteric question raised by these techniques and technologies. Let me put it to your readers this way. Nobody argues that the purpose of analytics is to minimize risk by maximizing the capacity to forecast future outcomes. In other words, when owners and GMs use the data to project career arcs for players and correlate those with financial cost-benefit analyses, when coaches use the data to make decisions about matchups and rotations, and when players use the data to make tactical and technical decisions, they are all hoping that they will not be surprised.

Now, speaking for myself, most (not all, but most) of the delight I derive from watching basketball comes from being surprised. The wonder and awe, the beauty and grace and power, that I experience when I watch basketball play depends, at least in part, on players and teams doing unexpected (and even probabilistically unadvisable) things. I feel pretty sure that chance, randomness and surprise will continue to play a role in the NBA, but I wonder how that role will change with the continued expansion and advance of various kinds of predictive technologies. The predictability of the Warriors’ dominance of the league over the past four seasons (2016 is the exception that proves this rule) may be interpreted as a sign of this.

To wit, here is a slide from a lecture I recently gave to members of International Association for the Philosophy of Sport.

Just sayin.

BRJ: The risk that probability and big data could take some of the fun out of the game by limiting surprise rings true to me. To wit, the conventional wisdom about Golden State seems to be that they can only lose in the unlikely event that one of their stars gets injured. That’s hardly the kind of surprise eagerly awaited by most fans. At the same time, one might rightly argue that the pleasure also comes from watching the game at its finest, and what could be finer than the Warriors offense? This, at least, was the argument many of Kevin Durant’s supporters made about his decision to boost this juggernaut by joining the already great team he couldn’t quite defeat.

The other argument might be that enough chance will always remain, especially for the casual fan. After all, even the best shooting teams—currently the New Orleans Pelicans(?!)—only make 50% of their shots, and so, one might argue, any play could always go either way (if you’re wondering, Pelicans star Anthony Davis is shooting over 59% after 3 games). And perhaps part of the fun is simply the work of calculating the odds—and betting on them. Earlier this month the Mavericks, following something of this logic, hired a former professional gambler as “director of quantitative research and development.” This follows the announcement, back in September, that the NBA had entered an agreement with sportsbook provider MGM Resorts, now the league’s “official gaming partner.” What does this official sanctioning of gambling signal about the league’s future ambitions? Can you see any long-term consequences for the game itself?

YC: The NBA, in its earliest years, benefited enormously from the disrepute that befell college basketball in the early 1950s as a result of the CCNY game-fixing scandal. So I certainly expect that the League will do everything possible to avoid anything like that occurring. But as my comment above suggests, everybody involved in the NBA (from owners, to GMs, to coaches, to players) are all already essentially gamblers and already using quantitative data to inform their bets. Because of this, I see the official sanctioning of gambling more like the simple addition of another revenue stream rather than some sea change in the nature of the sport.

TR: I agree with Yago. It seems like a move to create another revenue stream. Nevertheless, this discussion makes me think back to the blackballing of Connie Hawkins for nearly a decade for his suspected ties to gambling ring leader, Jack Molinas. (Molinas ran a game-fixing operation.) Because of these unsubstantiated claims, Hawkins’ was first blackballed from the NCAA and then from the NBA, which nearly destroyed his chances of playing professional basketball. Forced to play in the ABL, ABA, and for the Harlem Globetrotters, Hawkins finally sued and won a settlement from the NBA in 1969. However, by then, his best playing days were over. Against the backdrop of this move to incorporate gambling, Hawkins’ story is all the more tragic.

BRJ: Thinking more about the NBA’s future and its relationship with college athletics, last week the New York Times reported that top high school recruit Darius Bazley, having already decommitted from Syracuse to sign with the NBA’s development league (the “G League”) has now opted instead to sign a deal with New Balance that will pay him $1 million to be an intern next year while he waits to meet the minimum age requirement (19) to enter the league. This is just the latest in a long struggle over when players should be allowed to enter the league—and what role the scandal-prone NCAA should play in the development of amateur athletes. Where do you see this debate going? Is the NBA headed for a system more like Major League Baseball’s minor league? This gets us away from the NBA, but what might this mean for the college game?

TR: At face value, the age minimum strikes me as paternalistic and unjust. Moreover, I can’t help but see the age minimum rule as part of the gentlemen’s agreement between the NBA and the NCAA to preserve the interests of both leagues. For a long time, the NBA needed the NCAA and its stars and player rivalries in order to capture their fans as college players moved on to the professional game. At the same time, the NCAA relies on being the proven path to the NBA in order to replenish its talent pools and suppress labor costs. In the course of doing research covering from the 1970s to the present, I’ve found that the critiques of the NCAA acting as the NBA’s defacto farm system have been very consistent over the decades. (i.e. the academics for NCAA basketball players are a sham, the “student-athletes” involved in Division I basketball are amateur only in name, the players are being exploited, the punishments of the players are draconian while the NCAA and its teams wash their hands of any culpability of rule violations, etc.) I don’t think it would be bad thing to disrupt this gentlemen’s agreement between two organizations that act as monopolies (Taylor Branch even called the NCAA a cartel). This is what happened back in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the advent of the ABA (the NBA’s rival league from 1967-1976) and then with Spencer Haywood v. NBA (1971), which struck down the league rule that a team could not draft a player until four years after his high school graduation. Thanks to these and other disruptions of the monopolistic control of the NCAA and NBA, the players were eventually able to use their position of increased power to end the option clause. I’m not really much of a prognosticator, but rules violations are endemic to the NCAA system, so I’m not terribly sentimental about it losing some of its control over the fates of players. I think that the fact that it has survived the way it has for so long has something to with the racial makeup of the players. People don’t care; they just want to be entertained regardless of what it is doing to the players.

YC: Theresa, again, is right on the mark as far as my experience (personal and scholarly) with these issues goes. She’s also wiser than I in refraining from prognostication. But what the hell: there are so many leaks in the NCAA boat right now that I have a hard time imagining its current D1 basketball model functioning too much longer into the future. On the one hand, college athletes seem to me to be growing in their awareness of their economic power and in their willingness to exercise that power as leverage (e.g. Missouri football), while on the other hand, the recurrent scandals and generally unsavory air of corruption and racialized exploitation surrounding the NCAA I think is already spurring (and is likely to continue to prompt) various individuals and organizations (even simply entrepreneurially motivated) to imagine and attempt to implement competitive models of sub-NBA caliber basketball play. One of the most interesting of these to me is the HB league, an initiative to create a national college basketball league that would compensate the college students who played in it beyond simply covering the costs of attendance . I like it because it addresses the racist dimensions of the current situation, acknowledges the importance of the financial piece (not only to players but to investors in any viable alternative to the NCAA), and seems to be trying to value education.

BRJ: We’ll have much more to say about the NCAA in future LARB Ball pieces, but I share your sense that D1 basketball needs to change.

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to talk with me. A couple of quick questions to end: Yago’s inevitability slide aside, can anyone unseat the Warriors—or, put another way, when and how does this reign end? And for those interested in tracing some of the issues we’ve discussed in more depth, what basketball books—aside from your own, of course—should we be reading, or anticipating, this fall?

YC: I don’t see anyone knocking off the Warriors this season (barring, as you mentioned, Brian, a major injury to a member of the core). But after this season, KD is a free agent, and there’s already lots of talk of him moving on to new challenges. But even if that doesn’t happen, time, eventually catches up with every great team (such as the Spurs currently). Players age, their skills diminish even if only slightly, they become more vulnerable to minor injuries and fatigue, and in the meantime, a new cadre of young players is on the rise who are themselves exhibiting new combinations of size, athletic ability and skill that may, eventually, make the on-court innovations of Curry & Co. seem routine.

As for book recommendations, my gosh, there are so many great, thoughtful books inspired by by basketball. One of my favorites is Aram Goudsouzian’s riveting biography of Bill Russell, King of the Court, which gives a superb account not only of Russell himself, but of the overlapping contexts of sport, American society, and race that shaped Russell and that he also helped to transform in the 50s and 60s. In a different vein, the pioneering works by the FreeDarko blogging collective (The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac and The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History) are great introductions both to basketball and to the innovative creative writing that has emerged around the game in the past 15 years. I’m looking forward to Theresa’s work on the 70s, but in the meantime, I think that historian Adam Criblez’ Tall Tales and Short Shorts: Dr. J, Pistol Pete, and the Birth of the Modern NBA gives an excellent account of that pivotal decade, perhaps paired with Halberstam’s The Breaks of the Game. Boyd’s and Lane’s books that I mentioned above do an excellent job tracing the complicated intersections of race, class, and culture converging on hoops in the 80s and 90s. Among the most recent works, I think that Jonathan Abrams Boys Among Men (on the prep-to-pro generation) is not only thoroughly reported, but very beautifully written. It may in some ways be a bit outdated, but your readers might appreciate this more extensive list of my favorite basketball books that I posted a few summers ago on my blog.

TR: There is always a human element to the game, so you never know what is going to happen. As I said before, I’m not much of a fortune teller, but bodies fail, minds get side-tracked, and unforeseen circumstances are always in the wings.

As for books, I agree with Yago’s selections. A few that I would add are Sam Smith’s book on the Oscar Robertson et al v. NBA suit, Hard Labor: The Battle that Birthed the Billion-Dollar NBA, John Feinstein’s, The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, And the Fight that Changed Basketball Forever, and David J. Leonard’s After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness. My own book, tentatively titled, Black Ball: Rethinking the “Dark Ages” of Professional Basketball, is still very much a work in progress. According to popular memory, the NBA struggled during the seventies because it was too black, too violent, and too drug-infested for its majority-white audience. Black Ball critiques this declension story. It explores how professional basketball emerged as a site for public debates over black politics and culture in the late twentieth-century United States, as African American athletes not only became the demographic majority (approximately 75 percent of the players), but fought for more control over their labor. I also explore how black players changed the aesthetics and rules of the game, infusing it with the style and ethics of urban black streetball. This underlying tension played out in the form of numerous “crises” throughout the decade—over not just on-court violence and drug abuse, but also the league’s monopoly status, the option clause, and the slam dunk—as NBA league executives and team owners tried to figure out how best to market and monetize a sport now dominated by African American players. It promises to shed light on this relatively understudied era that gave rise to the modern NBA.

Source: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/larb-ball-nba-roundtable/

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twentysomethinginorlando · 7 years

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71 Reasons Universal Should Build Their Own Avatar Land

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/universal-needs-avatar/

71 Reasons Universal Should Build Their Own Avatar Land

I have long said that Nickelodeon must not like money, because they had a potential gold mine on their hands with the Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra series. I know from experience that Universal likes money, so they should pounce on said potential gold mine and build an Avatar Land of their own. I have a list of 71 reasons why.

It would make Disney and their Pandora: the World of Avatar and blue people very angry. Has anyone noticed the logo has almost the same font used on all the episode titles?

Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra have HUGE fan bases. The original series premiered in 2005, Korra concluded in 2014 and the fandom is still going strong.

When the Nucleus Art Gallery held a show dedicated to art from shows, the line wrapped around the building for hours with people camping over night for limited edition art prints. I was out there for four hours before we got in.

The vast majority of people waiting for said art show were in full cosplay, so events like the Harry Potter Celebration could be possible.

Republic City would fit in perfectly as a new island in Universal’s Islands of Adventure. It could easily replace the outdated Lost Continent or Toon Lagoon.

Universal has had many partnerships with Nickelodeon in the past. Spongebob and Dora the Explorer currently appear as characters in the parks and in the parade even though they do not have rides.

Universal’s greatest success has been The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Nothing is going to top that, but bringing in another outside, in depth world, could do almost as well.

Legend of Korra’s poor ratings were due to Nickelodeon constantly moving the show’s timeslot around, poor marketing (they literally aired season three with about a weeks notice), and general mishandling of the show. Once it went to digital, the numbers skyrocketed.

Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra appeal to all ages. The original series was aimed at boys seven-ten, and I was a thirteen year old girl when I started watching. I was a member of several online fan sites, and I had in depth discussions with people twice my age. I had a professor in college that watched both series with her sons!

This would be Nick’s opportunity to make up for the travesty of the Last Failbender.

Universal needs something with a vast source to pull from for a new land or ride, with opportunities for fans to find their favorite things that were never available before.

Incorporating the Republic City Spirit Portal could also allow guests to step into the Spirit World either on a ride or as part of the land itself.

Universal would have much more creative control and be able to branch out more than they did with the Wizarding World because they would not need the creators’ sign off on every little detail.

As stated previously, Nickelodeon clearly does not like money, so Universal could probably get the rights pretty cheaply.

By focusing on just one area of the Avatar world there would be plenty of material into future expansion if Universal wanted to incorporate it into whatever they’re doing with all that land they purchased. Much like the two Wizarding World lands, there could be a Republic City land and a land dedicated to the original series.

Despite being off the air, there is still new content being created. There are comics coming, slowly but surely, so the fandom can keep growing but they are not dependent on movie sequels.

All of Avatar: the Last Airbender and the first three seasons of Legend of Korra are on Amazon Prime video for easy viewing both for Universal’s research purposes and for people to become acquainted with the world.

My mother has only seen a handful of the episodes start to finish, and she would understand a theme park land based around it with no explanation. I guarantee there are more parents who can do the same.

At one point, a Nickelodeon executive even said Avatar could become their Harry Potter! I agree with you! WHY DID YOU RUIN IT WITH THAT AWFUL MOVIE??

There are already theme park rides that have been built based on the series. One is the central ride to Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America called Avatar Airbender and another similar ride exists at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England. Kings Island previously had one as well before removing all of their Nickelodeon rides.

Nickelodeon Universe. Photo from Theme Park Review.

Fun fact: Avatar: the Last Airbender was the first show to beat Spongebob for the Kids’ Choice Awards for best cartoon in TEN YEARS. It was never nominated again and is the only show to beat the demonic yellow cube.

This would be the one thing that would get me to renew my annual pass with Universal, or get a new one I guess since mine has been expired so long. I think it would do the same for other people.

The best thing about Universal’s Diagon Alley is that you truly step into another world. The high buildings of Republic City would allow for that same effect once again.

Universal clearly wants to continue to grow. New intellectual properties is what they do best. I love Skull Island: Reign of Kong, but it’s a D Ticket attraction at best. Mummy is the only Universal branded ride I would consider an E ticket in addition to Hulk, Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts. Maybe Ripsaw. Maybe.

Avatar and Korra actually have more villains to pull from than Harry Potter does. Rather than having the dementors show up LITERALLY EVERYWHERE you could have Equalist chi blockers, Evil Spirits, Firebender soldiers, the Red Lotus members, Fire Lord Ozai, Azula, Kuvira and her metalbenders, or the Colossus.

For anyone who hasn’t seen the shows, all you need is a preshow for one of the rides that states the opening narration from either series and you perfectly have enough of an understanding to enjoy the ride.

Instead of Houses, people would have elements to choose from, prompting a variety of different apparel options to sell.

Guests could also choose merchandise representing their favorite pro-bending teams.

Instead of interactive wands, there could be interactive gloves or bracelets that would allow guests to set off bending effects instead of spell effects.

There is a wide variety of original creatures to make plush versions of. When The Legend of Korra plush were originally released, they sold out almost immediately and were extremely hard to track down.

Kids could get temporary airbender tattoos or Kyoshi Warrior face paint.

Toy versions of Aang’s staff, Korra’s staff, Zuko’s swords, Jet’s swords, Sokka’s sword, Suki’s fans and Asami’s glove would sell incredibly well.

Once Upon a Tee, TeeFury, Ript Apparel, and other similar sites frequently release shirts based on both series and they sell incredibly well.

Searching “Korra” on Etsy brings up 939 results, searching “Avatar: the Last Airbender” brings up 1,300 results. Clearly there is a market, and that’s just handmade stuff.

Distant Horizon has been hosting an Avatar pumpkin carving contest for TWELVE YEARS.

A merchandise line of toys would do well. The only reason the original Avatar toys sold badly was mistakes made on Matel’s part. They refused to release any of the female characters, and instead chose to focus on alternate versions of male characters in outfits that were never in the show, or on minor characters that appeared only once.

They could sell bending scrolls.

Getting your name written in traditional Chinese characters would be a great souvenir.

They could sell pai sho sets.

A pro-bending stunt show could easily become a new, updated combination of The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Stunt Show and Poseidon’s Fury.

A Spider-man style ride could take guests through Republic City with Team Avatar chasing down Equalists from Book One or dodging spirits and vines, and trying to stop the Colossus from Book Four.

The series style of blending 2D and 3D animation would work perfectly for simulator 3D rides, which is Universal’s wheelhouse.

They could literally make any ride they wanted and present it as Varrick’s newest invention and guests are test piloting it. “ZHU LI, DO THE THING!”

Using the technology of the Raptor Encounter, a flying bison encounter or even a dragon would be possible.

A flying bison aerial carousel, think like Dumbo, would make a terrific family friendly, all ages ride. Islands of Adventure is badly in need of rides without height requirements.

Germany’s Movie Park has a different style of hang gliding attraction.

Movie Land. Photo from Theme Parks of England.

The Aang statue would make a nice addition to the Universal sky line.

Many of the voice actors from both series frequently attend fan events and would be able to reprise their roles.

Unlike the Wizarding World, the aging of the actors would have little effect on the ability to produce more content since it would be all animation.

They could do a metalbending zip line attraction and charge for it as an upgraded experience.

The Jasmine Dragon would make an excellent new restaurant and tea shop.

The score is amazing and would lend itself very well to a theme park environment, and the Track Team would probably return to produce new music.

Omashu slides, anyone?

Penguin sledding flume ride.

Ember Island Players stage show. I’m just saying.

Superman style roller coaster with airbender gliders.

Korra was the first non-heterosexual main character in western animation, as the series concludes with her forming a relationship with Asami. That forward thinking and representation is something the world needs. There was nothing explicit or outright stated about it, and there wouldn’t have to be in a theme park either, but it would be a great first step.

Avatar_Mom is submitting the Avatar Fan Panel to San Diego Comic Con for 2017, for a show that’s been off the air for almost ten years. Fans still show up, at the price of missing other cool SDCC things.

An Avatar Fan Convention has been discussed online and is rumored to be in the works.

The cast and crew behind the show still care and want to be involved. At the Nucleus Art Gallery show, only the creators were confirmed to be there. I encountered Seychelle Gabriel, the voice of Asami, Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of Tarrlok and all the animals on the show, Cora Baker, Dee’s daughter and the voice of young Korra, and Giancarlo Volpe, one of the series directors. So that would eliminate the problem they’ve had with Harry Potter actors not wanting to return.

I have cosplayed Korra at Disney on multiple occasions and Universal on one, each time I have been recognized by Cast Members/Team Members and guests, and have been asked for photos. People recognize the character and get excited. Even people who have never seen the show know it’s Avatar.

I have interacted in character with Disney characters and they got it, and it was pretty much the greatest thing ever.

Unlike blue people Avatar, Korra and Avatar: the Last Airbender have had a lasting presence in pop culture. Even Failbender is better remembered for how terrible it was. “Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked,” is more quoted than anything from that movie.

Verrickland!

Avatar has its own canonical holiday that could be celebrated, Avatar Day is on April 28th as established by the air date of the episode “Avatar Day”.

There are a total of five artbooks with in depth world information to draw from.

Steampunk is all the rage right now and Republic City’s steampunk elements would attract people for photography opportunities.

Avatar: the Last Airbender featured a main character who used her disability to become one of the most powerful benders in the world, and featured a recurring character in a wheelchair.

The Legend of Korra also showed a main character getting critically injured and seeing the character recover from that.

An overturned cabbage cart would be a spectacular photo opportunity.

At the very least, it would have a bigger fan base than Jimmy Fallon.

Korra screenshot from Piandao.org.

#avatar #universal #Theme Parks

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