#honestly harvey is so all encompassing

[fatherfuneral]

sometimes i'll make the mistake of thinking about harvey in public and then all of a sudden my legs buckle and i have to sit down before the overwhelming wave of love for that little pixelated man consumes me whole.

[youremyheaven]

Random Astrology Observations

Moon in the 1h is often talked about like 🥺🥺wears their heart on their sleeve🥹🥹uwu softie way but tbh Moon in 1h can make someone incredibly manipulative, they know just what to say and when to say it and know how to work their audience, this is perhaps why this placement is found in the charts of soooo many successful actors. ex: Leonardo DiCaprio, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Cavill, Charlie Chaplin, Priyanka Chopra, Antonio Banderas, Brendan Fraser, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Padelecki, Val Kilmer, Adrien Brody etc

I think this is a very manipulative placement, again manipulation is not in and of itself a bad thing, its what we use it for that matters. Some people completely lack the ability to manipulate at all (they don't have Moon influence)

2. Debilitated placements point to unconventional intelligence & wisdom in that area. I feel like they've cracked the code . They struggle a lot but when they triumph it's magic

3. I've mentioned this in other posts but many notorious sex offenders have Venus influence. Actions of this sort, as well as criticizing others' beauty, not taking care of yourself/surroundings, being shabby or disorderly in general are all things that harm your Venus. Abusing someone is the quickest way to ruin your Venus, you start corroding and that ugliness begins to manifest on the outside.

Ex: Harvey Weinstein looks like a cartoonish villain

4. As I explore the astrology content put out by others across different platforms, I've seen how the nature of the take themselves are so specific and unique to the person making them. Claire Nakti has a tendency imo to focus heavily on romance, sex and women's sexual behaviour and what sort of men they attract.

Going through her website, it's obvious that she's deeply immersed in occult & esoteric philosophy (all of which ties together with vedic astrology, philosophy, Buddhism etc because I truly believe that spiritual truths are universal and different schools of thought/religion/culture/mythology express these same truths in their own way with a LOT of recurring patterns) and Carl Jung as well.

It's studying Jung that helped me understand that what we see or draw from something is a reflection of who we are. As a beginner to vedic astrology, I initially believed Claire's one dimensional portrayal to be the all encompassing truth of a nakshatra until I started doing my own reading and research.

The things I talk about or the patterns I find are a reflection of me and I get a lot of asks about why I don't do xyz nak and honestly it's not as simple as doing research for an essay for uni, you kind of have to have a gnosis or innate knowing of its themes, something to base your search off of. And different naks call to me at different points. I come across content that describes certain naks in lights i could've never imagined which is to say that gnosis or inner knowing is an important aspect of studying anything esoteric, it kind of has to be revealed to you and what you see, what you can discern is a reflection of you.

5. you have to have a strong Rahu to discern patterns and similarities because Rahu is maya/illusion and a well-placed Rahu will allow you to see through those patterns/illusions. it will be very hard for someone without a strong Rahu to find similarities or common tropes, patterns, themes etc. Seeing through the veil or fog is Rahuvian.

6. Claire Nakti made a video about Venusian men where she said they were the ideal type of man and tbh that just confirmed my suspicion that she's Moon dominant because I think Moon dominant people are attracted to Venusians but in my humble opinion both Venusian men and Moon dominant men are some of the most batshit crazy people (manipulative and controlling at the least, psychopathic at worst) basically men who have a lot of Yin tend to be psychotic

7. I've noticed that Revati people tend to speak in a very verbose way. Nigella Lawson, Revati Moon is a really good example. Obviously other placements will also impact speech

8. Moon dominant people hate it when others share sob stories. They're the type to have the least amount of empathy for others and will either react in a neutral way or like they don't understand why you're saying this stuff at all. They're bored by other people's mundane problems and make it known as well. Not people you want to open up to.

My former friend was this way, I once cried in front of her and she showed zero emotion and didn't even try to comfort me lol

9. The way others treat us is the way we treat others. ik this is a basic take but karma is cause and effect. if you're dismissive of others feelings, other people will be dismissive of yours. what you do is what will be done unto you. Its so crazy to see how people who've been treated like shit by their friends will turn around and treat other people like shit. this is sooo basic but genuinely dont do anything to others that you dont want done to you.

[shelassos]

“ it’s over. you lost. ” (nolan! nolan! nolan! nolan!)

It has always been her sacred duty to protect the world.

But at some point, the definition of what that world encompassed shifted. Her heart grew larger, but her world smaller. It became about him, her Bruce, and returning to his arms. All the while, Diana let Chaos run wild in this new universe that would never be her home, hiding away in the cave with technology and hoping for a miracle that, honestly, might never come to be. She became complicit. Perhaps something worse than that. So lost in her own suffering, she forgot that this, too, is a world worthy of protection.

Because what is her prison is this Bruce's home.

And she had allowed it to be defiled in the worst of ways.

She once promised herself she would never return to the shadows. Yet she had done just that, hadn't she? Sulking in the dark while this Bruce was forced to make a cruel, impossible decision. Harvey or Rachel?

If Diana had been there, if she had paid attention, perhaps they would both still have breath. But she hadn't been there. She hadn't paid attention. She had let him fight his enemies and face his battles like they were nothing more than storylines in a fictional movie. Because this world hadn't been real to her.

She's been wrong. Worse. She's been selfish. No more inaction. No more.

She faces the clown, and soon finds her powers to be faulty. Her patrons have never existed in this world, and as such their gifts struggle to flow through her. But Diana has never been defined by the blessings of others. And she knows this clown. Has met him in another lifetime. His brand of hatred is the same. Nothing special.

She matches his wicked grin with one of her own.

❛ Oh. If you think this is over, then I don't believe you have ever met a woman like me before. ❜

[sxveme-2]

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Edited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Thirteen: The One With the Aftermath

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 1937

    "He did what!?" Gen and Rose's high-pitched squeals vibrated through the cellphone, resulting in Lily dropping it from her hands in surprise. Lily had broken the news to the two about the actions taken by Mr. James Buchanan Barnes just hours before in her kitchen. The way his calloused hand and cool prosthetic rested against her pale cheeks, holding her face as though it were a fine piece of china that would break if he applied too much pressure. Followed by the pressing of his petal-soft lips to her own, creating undeniable friction between the two not even Lily's deflective tendencies could deny. All over a cup of coffee.

"Okay woah, let's relax there," Lily sighed while finishing zipping up the flower-patterned muted coral skirt she had slid on above her white lace tank top. Her hand gripped onto a cropped red cardigan that hit just below the waist of the high-cut skirt. A cute and simple outfit that encompassed the true aesthetic of Lily Osborne. One that the girls on the phone disapproved of. Speaking of which, "It was just a kiss...it doesn't mean anything, right?"

Two conflicting parts of Lily seemed to have been raging war in her mind. On one hand, she prayed and hoped that the kiss meant nothing to him. That it was simply a heat of the moment sort of thing. The tension and adrenaline of the night had welled to a head in Bucky and he made an impulsive decision that didn't mean anything. It was just a kiss. Nothing more. Nothing less. But on the other hand, Lily secretly wished that the kiss was out of some sort of romantic feeling. That he had kissed her because the slight crush that Lily had on the man out of time was reciprocated. And that he felt the same way that she did. But honestly, she wouldn't believe that if someone wrote it in the sky out of the smoke from a plane. Mostly because she herself didn't believe it was even remotely possible. A guy like that liking a girl like her? It was a cliche trope but she never thought in her wildest dreams he would even look at her in a way like that.

"You should totally ask him," Rose chimed in, seemingly shooing someone away. Lily had figured the two were sitting in the kitchen at Gen's cafe, munching on pastries as they awaited even more juicy gossip from Lily. But they would be sadly disappointed because the kiss was really the only news that Lily had. But it wouldn't stop them from hoping, "He seems like an honest guy. He already kissed you and you kissed back, what's the worst that could happen?"

After a few more minutes of back and forth between the three girls, Lily hung up her phone to focus on fixing the mop of golden hair atop her head. It was only 9 o'clock in the morning, and after the events that had transpired the night before, Lily didn't expect to see Hunter come in to her room or down to the main floor for another while. Bucky, however, Lily didn't know if he was wandering around her home, or if he had taken off somehow. If the avengers sent someone to pick him up or something. But, after leaving the soft curls be and dancing across her shoulders, Lily would soon come to learn that answer to her confusion before.

Sitting at the birchwood dinner table sat Bucky Barnes and Lily's son plowing down on some frosted flakes while laughing over something. Lily stood on the landing of the stairs, heart growing even larger than it already was. It felt as though the beating organ inside of her may explode at the drop of a hat if she kept staring at the beautiful moment in front of her. A beaming smile on her son’s youthful face and a mirrored one on the stubble-covered and worn face of the Winter Soldier. Neither boy had spotted the blonde staring longingly at them from the staircase, and she prayed silently that they didn't. Instead, she slid her phone out of her skirt pocket and took a quick picture, wanting to relive the moment a million times over if she could.

"Mom!" Hunter exclaimed when Lily's feet hit the bottom of the stairs finally. He shot from his chair and curled his slim arms around the waist of his mother. Lily smiled gently as she bent down to rest a kiss on his forehead before turning to the older man who too seemed to watch in bliss at the interaction. A similar expression to the one Lily wore just moments ago.

"Morning buddy, didn't expect to see you awake right now." the blonde smiled after Hunter released her from his grip and returned to his seat. She bent down to pick up Joey's dish, the dog's ears perking up from the mat in front of the door to the backyard. After she filled up the dog’s food and gave him his morning kisses, Lily found herself sitting at the table across from the brunette man that had stayed in her guest bedroom the night before, "Frosted flakes this morning, hm? I thought these were only for Saturday breakfasts and your birthday?"

"I pulled them out, they were the first thing I saw when I opened the pantry, I hope that's okay." His timid voice radiated across the table towards Lily, causing her eyes to shift from her son over to the rugged man that sat across from her at the table. A faint grin spread along her slightly puffed features caused by her morning rise. For a second, their eyes met and the world melted away as it always seemed to do when they met iris's. Something that Lily was sure she wouldn't be able to get used to.

-----

Not too long after all three had completed their breakfast, Lily had to excuse herself. She had a duty to call her lawyer today and set up a review of her and Scott's custody agreement. There was no way in hell after that stunt occurred, Scott would be keeping partial custody of their son. He left Hunter home alone with a clearly lousy babysitter, as well as he had lied to mary about who her child was left in the hands of. Everything about the situation was already unnerving for Lily. One part in particular that just stuck in her mind like it had been superglued, was the fact Hunter had said that the person attempting to break into Scott's apartment, or at least get his attention, was there specifically for Scott. Not just to play a heinous joke or commit a petty crime. No, they were looking for Scott Harvey specifically. And that one part did not sit well with Lily.

But instead, she had a New York-level lawyer to handle.

"Lily! it's been ages since you've called. what can I do for you today love?" the man's raspy voice echoed through the phone she held to her ear.

Carter Evanson was the man that helped Lily through the roughest parts of her divorce. Kept her sane through the entire process alongside Rose and Gen. She had been so thankful for his kind words of encouragement as she would recount the numerous emotional trauma stories she had faced in her marriage to Scott. How he hadn't touched her in ages. How whenever he came home he was drunk and always smelled of another woman's perfume. But Lily never decided to look further into these things back then. He had made her believe that nothing she did would ever make her good enough. He was the best she would get. No other man would want a woman who already had a kid and a divorce under her belt. Scott Harvey had manipulated Lily into believing she was less worthy of just about anything in the world, and she continued to believe it to this day.

But Carter's kind voice created a sense of comfort throughout the whole divorce process. Always encouraging her and remind her how good of an idea this was. That everything would work out for her. How she was strong enough to get through it without chickening out like she always seemed to do. Whether it was his warm and energetic voice that would constantly play in the back of her mind when sitting down at Scott's lawyer’s table, writing out their custody agreement as well as their splitting of assets. And because of him, the divorce became final and the majority of assets and custody landed in the a-line skirt-covered lap of Lily Osborne.

"Hey Carter, I need to set up an appointment with Scott to redo the entire custody agreement. Something happened and Hunter cannot go back there- oh I'm getting another call," Lily continued, clearing her throat after placing the lawyer on hold and answering the call, "Doctor Lily Osborne."

"Ms. Osborne? This is sergeant Harrison, we just interviewed the man who attempted to break into your ex-husband's apartment last night and uh...we need you to come into the station. Right now if possible." the police officer explained, his voice reverberating through the front of her mind, setting off her heart into a mile a minute race.

-----

Arriving at the LAPD station, or more specifically, the 88th precinct, Lily rushed through and up the elevator and up towards where they had instructed Lily to go. She had to apparently see the culprit, so after convincing Bucky to watch the young boy that is Hunter Osborne, she arrived at the precinct in a rush. The moment she heard the elevator ding, she ran out in a rush and past the small gate that blocked off the desks from the public. She saw the Sergeant she spoke to on the phone and let her ballet flat-clad feet rush forward.

"Ms. Osborne, thank you for getting here so fast." the large man sighed, neck-craning down to look at the small blonde that had rushed through, "here, come with me." Sergeant Harrison sighed softly while leading the young doctor towards the interview room.

He walked her through the doors that kept them separate from the criminal that sat in front of the two-way mirror. The moment that Lily spotted the man in front of her, the young girl had to furrow her eyebrows together. The mop of blonde hair atop the man’s head screamed at Lily in a violent signal that there was something very wrong here. The way his shoulder slouched and the fact that she was unable to see his face because of his hunched posture. She figured he was too embarrassed or ashamed to even look at himself in the mirror that the police officer and Lily looked through. But his body type, his hair, the bracelet that sat on his hand looked so familiar to Lily.

"Alright sir please state your name quickly so we can get this show started." a woman's voice sighed as she entered the room that was blocked off from Lily's presence. She was a breathtaking beauty and it almost took Lily back before she reminded herself that was not exactly what she was here for. To be honest, she wasn't 100% sure why she was actually here.

A screeching behind her caught the blonde’s attention. The Sergeant that had brought her in had pushed a chair up behind her, gesturing her to sit. Saying a quick remark about how she may need to with what she was about to learn. It caused her heart to set off into such a quick beat that she was worried it may explode inside of her chest. Whatever was about to happen clearly wasn't good news for Lily. So she sat and waited. And almost threw up.

"My name is Cedar Osborne."

[suitsuitsuits]

am i still alive?

SPOILERS AHEAD

HOLY. SHIT. 

After 8 years of patiently waiting, i really can’t believe the last minute of 8x16 ended up being everything i had been asking for ever since that whole “that’s why i love ya, donna. you get me.” moment from the freaking pilot. i don’t even know who i am anymore without the bitterness and the resentment that usually comes after every season finale. 

but let’s break the beauty of this episode down, shall we? and by “this episode” i only really mean “the last 2 minutes” but you probably knew that already 

The attention to deal is fucking amazing. we have:

Harvey not just running, but hauling ass to get to Donna. I guess when you wait 13 years to realize who the love of your life is you don’t really wanna wait around

“Love is Mystical” playing in the background, because the sheer force of harvey and donna’s love for each other surpasses anything that could be encompassed in a sweet and romantic song

Donna fucking stepping back to challenge him to devour him. oh my god i almost blacked out when she did that what a fucking QUEEN

THAT KISS!!!! AT THE CRESCENDO OF THE SONG!! and that little “heeeey~” in the background! such an overused hypeman tactic but i don’t even care

“do you feel the same” literally every molecule of my body cheered when sarah rafferty went from overwhelmed to seductive in 0.02 seconds , HELL YEAH HE FEELS THE SAME

harvey pushing donna backwards onto that table (WIDEN THAT SHOT DAMN IT WE WANNA SEE THE HANDS). that is straight up fanfiction material

o m f g  the way he just attacks her clavicle... like...farewell my ovaries. we always knew harvey had a kink for donna’s neck but should we have been able to see that right now. ALSO DONNA I SEE YOU BLISSED OUT “i didn’t feel anything when i kissed you” uh huh honey sure 

donna untying his tie. so iconic 

donna fucking scratching her hands down his back like um??? are we supposed to survive this 

YES DONNA GUIDE YOUR MAN’S HANDS

THE HS OF THE CUFF OF THE SHIRT OF THE MAN WHO IS ALL OVER DONNA YESSSSSSSS

i am so happy they look so hot together kissing :) 

was that boob touch really necessary omg we are all already dying here

what the FUCK is that GRIND jesus !!!!! AND THAT LEG CURLING UP AGAINST HIS ASS

also gabriel has a really nice ass

death is actually in the form of harvey and donna intertwining hands. it should be illegal to induce this many emotions from your audience when they’re watching you on TV

the height difference!!! the fact their noses are still touching when they break away from the kiss!!!!

i just personally love how donna’s leading him . i know it’s her apartment and everything but still. she is so in her element in this entire fucking scene and i couldn’t be more fucking proud

anyways. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!! i’ve probably watched this video like 100 times and i’m honestly feeling so blessed. our years of suffering has paid off and this is 100% what we deserved. pop by my inbox if you want to mutually freak out. and someone give me a good mkv to mp4 converter so i can post a clip here!!!

SAY IT WITH ME: DARVEY IS CANON!!!!!!!!!!

[crazyassmurdererwall]

Author asks

Rules: answer these questions and tag five other fic writers to do the same.

I was tagged by @novemberhush. Thanks, friend!

Author Name: crazyassmurdererwall and smartalli

Fandoms You Write For: Derek x Stiles (Teen Wolf) and Harvey x Mike (Suits) currently, and I have previously written for Puckleberry (Glee), Supernatural (Gen fic), and Roswell. I should say I have one or more ideas for other fandoms that I might write one day, but since I have yet to do so, I won’t say I write for those fandoms yet. 

Where You Post: tumblr and AO3

Most Popular One-Shot: stuck in reverse, a Sterek fic.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: The last time I wrote multi-chapter fics was when I was writing for the Roswell fandom many moons ago. They’re not really my jam. That’s not to say I won’t write one in the future, I guess. 

Favourite Story You Wrote: I don’t have one? They’re all precious to me in their own way.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: All of them, probably, which seems like a cop out but isn’t. I’m always anxious that other people might find something they love, something to take with them in what I write when they leave my stories. 

How Do You Pick Your Titles: Song titles, my friends. They almost always come from a song title. stuck in reverse came from the Coldplay song Fix You because Stiles is quite literally trying to help Derek fix himself (stuck in reverse, and the tears come streaming down your face when you lose something you can’t replace, when you love someone but it goes to waste, could it be worse? lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and i will try to fix you), don’t know what i’m supposed to do (haunted by the ghost of you) came from the Lord Huron song The Night We Met, which was part of the cadre of about 6 songs I listened to when I wrote it. Lord Huron had just the right atmosphere in their music, and it got me in the right frame of mind to write the fic, plus the title speaks to exactly how Stiles is feeling. the thrill of hope is a line from the Christmas song O Holy Night!, which is my bff’s @tattooedsiren favorite xmas song, and also pulls a theme from the story. 

But sometimes they’re not from songs, like little boy lost, which is named that way for the obvious reason (the fic starts with a little lost boy), but also because it encompasses some other lost boys: Derek and Jackson, who both finally come home. Or Big Days, which is named for the Big Days in our lives, like Thanksgiving, and how they carry their own sort of weight which can be a lot to carry when you miss someone you love. Or the crowds went wild, which is a Harvey x Mike baseball!au, and is named for a common phrase that sportswriters and announcers use when someone does something great. Or Crescendo, which is a music and lyrics inspired au, and describes the path of the story which grows and grows, but also the path of Harvey and Mike.

I would say most of the time these days I look to a song first, but sometimes a title just comes to me. (Big Days was like that, and I have others that I’ve started prelim writing on that are like that.)

Do You Outline: For longer stories yes, but it’s usually fairly basic. I’ll outline inside the fic doc, separating brief descriptions of what needs to happen in a scene with plus signs and then delete them as I come to them.

How Many Of Your Stories Are Complete: Everything I’ve got posted is complete, except for some Roswell stories from back in the day from before I understood how I operated as a writer. I never write multi-chapter stories these days, but if I were, it wouldn’t be posted until it was complete because I’d never finish it otherwise.

In-Progress: I think there’s about 5 ideas I’m throwing around in my mind, which are developed to some degree. But I’m hoping to write one fic in particular before Halloween, which will be (hopefully!) short. (But knowing me, that’s not all that likely.)

Coming Soon: Hopefully that Halloween fic, otherwise who knows which idea will stick next?

Do You Accept Prompts: If it suits me and the kind of thing I write, then I’m always open to them. But they might take a long time to get written - if at all! - so that’s something the prompter should keep in mind.

Upcoming Story You’re the Most Excited For: Honestly the one I’m most excited for is usually the one that gets written first, but I have one I’ve nicknamed The Mage Trials that I’m pretty jazzed to write, along with a Christmas fic, and perhaps a follow-up to Big Days where Peter joins them for Thanksgiving the next year (if I can make that one work).

I tag @tattooedsiren, @cinematicnomad, @elysiumwaits, @bellakitse, @areiton.

[fuckyeahevanrwood]

Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriguez and Other Stars Take Aim at TV’s Patriarchy: ‘There’s No Going Back’

It’s a different day for Hollywood, and for our culture. From the time allegations of sexual misbehavior rained down on mogul Harvey Weinstein last October, this business and many others have been rocked by revelations and allegations, and by a sense that the time is long overdue to afford women equal respect and equal opportunities rather than treating them like commodities.

In this climate — with hashtags like #MeToo and organizations like Time’s Up working to affect real change — TheWrap convened seven television actresses to discuss what they’ve experienced in their careers, what they’ve seen in the last nine months and where they’d like things to go from here.

TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman and Beatrice Verhoeven asked the questions; Zazie Beetz from “Atlanta,” Alison Brie from “GLOW,” Rachel Brosnahan from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Claire Foy from “The Crown,” Gina Rodriguez from “Jane the Virgin,” Yara Shahidi from “black-ish” and “grown-ish” and Evan Rachel Wood from “Westworld” answered them.

What does it feel like for all of you at this particular moment in time, with everything that has happened over the last eight or nine months? Are you mindful of the politics going on around you in Hollywood and in the wider world?

ALISON BRIE Well, there’s no way to ignore what’s going on in our industry these days. That’s why I feel lucky and grateful to be working on a feminist show where we have female showrunners, so many women on the crew and six out of 10 of our directors are women.

That’s something about “GLOW” that I find really amazing and fascinating: We have a cast of 14 women in Season 1, 15 women in Season 2, of all shapes and sizes and ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. They’re interesting, in-depth characters. Their lives revolve around things other than men and being single.

I was talking yesterday with Gillian Jacobs from “Love” about how different it can be shooting a romantic scene when you’re working with a female director. You’re more involved with the way you’re being commodified on the show, which is helpful.

YARA SHAHIDI It’s extremely powerful and inspiring to turn on the TV and see Issa Rae on the show she created, to see Laverne Cox, to see all these women leading shows. Whether it’s cable or [broadcast] television, I feel like we are seeing a difference, and I think it’s partially because the audience is now expecting it. But we’re not nearly there yet.

We are seeing more shows — like Rachel’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — about female awakening.

RACHEL BROSNAHAN At its core, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is a story about a woman finding a voice that she didn’t know she had. And that becomes more and more relevant every single day. We’re seeing so many different groups of people in the country finding their voices.

It’s not something that I was necessarily aware of as we were making it, but it’s a huge gift to play this fully realized, completely three-dimensional, complicated, flawed woman.

SHAHIDI We’re definitely seeing more complex roles. It’s less about saying that a character has to be this beautiful, perfect role model who handles it all. If anything, it’s been about making them realer, more complex or more unique. So rather than saying this woman has to be the universal woman, we can deal in specificity. When we add that layer of detail, you can only gain when you’re talking about human complexity.

BRIE What’s great about what’s happening right now is that these stories for women are being told, and I feel like there’s no going back. If I read a script about a woman who can’t get a man, or two women fighting over a guy, I’m just so bored.

EVAN RACHEL WOOD I think everybody’s a little bored by that.

ZAZIE BEETZ For so many years, people were like, “Everybody can identify with a white man lead.” There wasn’t even a thought of, “Oh, someone can identify with a woman as well and not be a woman?” That’s insane.

Many of your shows now feel increasingly timely and resonant precisely because of what’s happening in Hollywood and in society.

WOOD We started “Westworld” before this movement happened, but when people say, “Oh, it’s so timely now, it’s crazy how synced-up it is,” we always say, “No, it’s timeless.” This has always been an issue, but we’re just paying more attention and listening in a different way now. So it seems more relevant.

And it was strange doing Season 2, because it’s all about the uprising and the reckoning, and the women — even though they’re not technically women, they’re machines — coming into their power and realizing who they are.

CLAIRE FOY I think it’s really interesting, the conversations that people are having. A year ago, would TheWrap be having an all-female cover talking about women being empowered? It’s because of a very few brave people got together and put themselves on the line. And then all of a sudden everybody came out of the woodwork and said, “I just realized I can stand up for myself.”

I have learned so much from other women about what they’ve experienced.

GINA RODRIGUEZ I’d love to jump in on that, because I think Time’s Up was created from the response from the American farmworkers — 700 women got together and wrote a letter to the women in Hollywood. This is such a difficult conversation because there’s no way we can encompass everything: This is hours and months and years and history and hundreds of years of domesticated mentalities.

But I believe that the culture for women, if we’re going to specifically speak about that all over the world, is a social norm. We created it and we can change it. But it would take a collective effort to do that.

WOOD We get pitted against each other sometimes, and I think what we’ve realized, which is part of the theme of today, is that we’re stronger together. It’s a slogan, but it’s also very true.

BROSNAHAN One of the coolest things about doing things like this is that we get to spend time together and know each other as peers, and that makes it easier to lift each other up and be each other’s champions and be on the same team. Because previously, there was usually room for one woman in a group of men.

Now, there has been a shift. I’ve been walking into a lot of rooms recently with both men and women where they’re saying, “Do you want to do other things? Do you want to write? Direct? Produce?” I’d never been asked that question before and I hadn’t thought about it much, but now I’m thinking about it and going, “Yeah, I do want to do all those things!”

RODRIGUEZ I produce my own projects because I really got tired of being told, “They don’t think you are this enough.” And I was like, “Who is they?” I need to be they. So I just made sure that I was the they so that I can tell them, “No, I don’t think that’s correct.”

As a young girl, I knew how affected I was by the lack of color on screen. I knew how much I gravitated towards the little bit that we did have that represented our culture. I understand that the lack of history of Latino culture in schools adds to dropout rates. I love that Claire plays one of the most important women in history, but there are so many more that we haven’t seen yet because people don’t even share it in schools. I’m all about doing my own stuff, making my own projects.

Claire, you were the subject of a real furor recently when it was revealed that you made less money than your co-star Matt Smith in the first season of “The Crown,” even though you had a bigger role. It came as a shock…

FOY It’s that unspoken thing. Actors don’t talk with each other about how much they are paid. But we all knew. And now something good has got to come out of all the shame and the embarrassment and the talking about my worth in comparison to one of my best friends.

WOOD I have never been paid the same as my male counterparts. I’m just now to the point where I’m getting paid the same as my male co-stars [on “Westworld”].

BROSNAHAN Really? I’m mad for you but also happy for you now that you’re there.

WOOD I was married to an actor for years and he always got paid more than me, and I actually worked more. And I was like, “I’ll just take what I can get, I’m just happy to be here.”

BROSNAHAN That’s a huge part of the equal-pay conversation, because women are brought up with this idea that there are 100 more of us who could step in at any given moment. So it’s hard to speak up for yourself, because you feel like you could lose it. And honestly in the past, you could.

RODRIGUEZ They do that to us from the start of our careers. Take our power away. I feel like that’s happened to me from the jump. “That’s fine, we have a bunch of people who could step right in.” You diminish someone’s self worth and it’s up to them to believe it or not. I’ve had that from the beginning.

BEETZ It’s about, are you being valued in the same way? Are they seeing you as an asset in the same way that they are seeing your counterpart?

FOY Our industry works on a quote system. You get a quote for one job and it will be used in your next job. It’s across the board, and it’s relatively fair in that sense.

The way it doesn’t work is because if there aren’t leads of people of different races or different genders, then they’re not going to be given the opportunity to ever get their quote up, because they will never be given that lead. And if they do get that lead and they don’t have the same quote as their counterparts because they haven’t had the opportunity before, then I genuinely believe it’s the responsibility of the people who are in charge of making those decisions to pay that person not according to their quote but according to what their part is. That is the only way it will ever make it right.

One of my friends is an Indian actress, and she’s never going to get a high enough quote because when has there been a lead part for an Indian actress? It just has to happen by someone making the decision. It has to be a directive, it has to be something that people just do. Because you want to be paid equally for the work that you do, and for your investment in that which will make a lot of other people very wealthy.

So it’s time to be outspoken and stand up for yourself.

FOY It’s not even about being outspoken. It’s just about saying, “These are the facts!”

RODRIGUEZ That’s what it is. It’s like, a woman does it and she’s being craaaaazy. A man does it, it’s logic. We gotta stop talking about it that way. It’s not about being outspoken, it’s about laying the truth down.

WOOD I’ve been working for 25 years, and the people with money are still men. You’re pitching projects about women to a room full of older white men with money who aren’t necessarily creative types. Those rooms need to change. They need to be more diverse and have more women, more people of color, more everything.

BROSNAHAN It’s hard when there’s one group at the top making all the decisions and controlling all the money. People in positions of power need to look like what the world looks like, so that the art we’re making reflects the world we live in and the world we aspire to live in.

[teenageread]

Review: The Uninhabitable Earth

Synopsis:

It is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible. In California, wildfires now rage year-round, destroying thousands of homes. Across the US, "500-year" storms pummel communities month after month, and floods displace tens of millions annually.

This is only a preview of the changes to come. And they are coming fast. Without a revolution in how billions of humans conduct their lives, parts of the Earth could become close to uninhabitable, and other parts horrifically inhospitable, as soon as the end of this century.

In his travelogue of our near future, David Wallace-Wells brings into stark relief the climate troubles that await--food shortages, refugee emergencies, and other crises that will reshape the globe. But the world will be remade by warming in more profound ways as well, transforming our politics, our culture, our relationship to technology, and our sense of history. It will be all-encompassing, shaping and distorting nearly every aspect of human life as it is lived today.

Like An Inconvenient Truth and Silent Spring before it, The Uninhabitable Earth is both a meditation on the devastation we have brought upon ourselves and an impassioned call to action. For just as the world was brought to the brink of catastrophe within the span of a lifetime, the responsibility to avoid it now belongs to a single generation

Plot:

This book is not about science, but the experiences everyone is going to face as the planet warms, creating unpredictable weather, higher and harder droughts, and seeing 500-year storms every year. When people think of climate change, they think of the sea level rising, a change in the climate, and often the worst conditions happening to those in the developing countries. What they do not think of is the 2018 California fires, 2017 Hurricane Harvey and 2017 Hurricane Maria, or in Cape Town in South Africa when the entire city did not have access to freshwater. David Wallace-Wells is not an environmentalist, nor are they a scientist, but as a reporter, they have noticed the trends in how the climate is changing, and after years of research publish their findings in this novel - allowing everyone to know how bad things are getting for the climate. With no solutions, but only the facts, Wallace-Wells will take you through the steps of climate change, of what is actually happening to the planet, what the economy, politicians, and technology are going to do about it, and where Wallace-Wells claim themselves to be optimistic, it is hard to keep your own faith as Wallace-Wells leads you down this dark depression path of the fire, droughts, storms, and deaths. Lots of unnecessary deaths.  

 Thoughts:  

Honestly one of the best climate change books I have ever read. David Wallace-Wells did their research, as this novel takes you through the steps of climate change, from the start, 12 things climate change is going to affect, and then a kaleidoscope of topics going into capitalism, politics, technology and how that can either save us or kill us when it comes to the planet. If you are a denier, this book will make you believe beyond a doubt that climate change is real. With easier writing, you can kind of tell Wallace-Wells is not a scientist but a journalist, as his writing was catching but relies on others reports and papers rather than making their own assumptions. Which is fair, as there is so much research out there, that Wallace-Wells connecting the dots makes this book accessible for anyone and not just those in the science community.  Divided into three parts, what makes this book exceptional is part two titled “Chaos” Here, Wallace-Wells dives into twelve topics that climate change will affect, giving readers the data and predictions on what is going to happen. Where often climate scientists say climate change is going to affect everything, or name a system like air, ocean, or weather, here Wallace-Wells give those a name of “Hunger”, “Economic Collapse” and “Freshwater Drain”, as each branch of chaos is described. Also given that Wallace-Wells is not a scientist, but someone who knows their stuff, this book does not give you creative solutions or make you feel like things are going to be okay. Wallace-Wells spits the facts that we are in trouble, there is no simple solution, and gets prepared for the chaos that is about to happen. This book is not for the fright of heart as Wallace-Wells does not hold any punches. Instead, this book is for those who need a wake-up call, or a fresh source of climate anxiety, as this novel is well-deserving of its title “this generation's Silent Spring”, and a high recommendation for those planning on living.

Read more reviews: Goodreads

Buy the book: Amazon

[theinstantblog]

Why be “Religious?”

I tried to think of some parable or analogy that would best express the situation of religion in modern society. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) in Either/Or and Harvey Cox (b. 1929) in The Secular City both point to the parable of a clown being mocked off stage after a failed attempt to warn the audience of a fire which erupted backstage. They dismiss the warning and proceed to laugh at the clown and his “misfortune.” And so, modernity, “the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits, who believe that it is a joke” (Oden 1978, 3).

The idea behind the parable suggests that the clown represents the contemporary theologian; strutting about in his makeup and clothes, no real danger or urgency behind what he is saying. Amidst the theologian’s “seriousness” and “urgency,” the public still knows better that he is all that he is – just a clown (Ratzinger 2000, 39-42). What makes this parable (and others like it) so significant is that it prompts us to ask ourselves not merely “Am I apart of the applauding audience?” but rather “What is the condition of man?”

What does it mean to be a man? What does man’s world consist of? What is man’s relation to other things (the universe, other people, etc.)? While these questions do not immediately prompt an irreligious person to spew a “religious answer” for them, they by all means demand an answer. 

In my experience, these are the sort of questions which the general public (Christians included!) disregard as needless exercises in abstract thought. However, at the same time, there are some who recognize the legitimacy of these questions, but only in the realm of “individual human lives, human creativity, human interactions, and human institutions” (Nagel 2010, 7).

Atheism Today

Let’s flip the conversation a little bit and move on to disbelief in religion. Typically, whenever I personally encounter disbelief it’s expressed by someone in an irreverent or sarcastic tone, which I later will interject and ask what they meant by the claim (if, of course, the statement was directed towards me or I am otherwise involved in the conversation; I am not interested in being a dog that jumps on anti-religious remarks when I am not welcome). To my surprise, this takes place almost %100 of the time in my workplace – never anywhere else.

I make jokes quite often that restaurants (I myself have worked three restaurants in a three years time – I rather prefer working restaurants than retail or elsewhere) are perhaps the most godless places on earth because of the “down-time” chatter that takes place. What I noticed over time is that I was up against people and experiences that 

I was not prepared to address as a Christian at such and such time. The intellectual objections that were raised against my beliefs were never exactly the problem, but being burdened by these people’s situations was what caused the real problems for me. The lack of joylessness, the lack of passion and child-likeness, the pride and despair that I was more interested in addressing than the incorrect beliefs which these people held.

Now, what these people would often try to explain to me (implicitly, sometimes) is that they know better to invest time and belief in things which they were taught to believe growing up. Hence, they emphasize a religion which is directed toward personal spirituality rather than a dogmatic faith that points to right belief and right practice. 

Religion in their eyes is a spontaneous event which they take up at the moment of existential insight; not a spirituality that is based in realism (i.e., best accounts for the totality of one’s being in reality). The great teacher Abraham Heschel, speaking of Kierkegaard and faith, once wrote:

Kierkegaard expressed his repudiation of a smooth transition to new concepts through meditation, or of the arrival at new concepts by a progressive process of thought. Faith is attained, not by continuous and gradual approximations, but by a resolution of the will. (Heschel 2004, 185).

Understood in this light, the questions I mentioned before are not to be intended as meditations for the unbelieving mind in themselves. That is, like Heschel mentioned, to adopt these questions into one’s worldview and gradually, through various approximations, come to religion arm’s wide open. These questions are in a sense like sign posts, giving one the appropriate directions for “take off,” and which, if answered honestly and openly, will lead one to a “religious temperament” if not the Lord Himself.

However, atheism today takes these questions for granted. Like Socrates in ancient Greece, the people of Athens when upon further questioning of their most fundamental beliefs, they rebelled and reacted offensively against Socrates. 

When their ignorance began to surface – and not just ignorance of X and Y but ignorance of themselves – this would later come back and cost Socrates his life. The same could be said for Jesus, who instead of searching for the wisest of men was looking for “fishers of men,” (cf. Matt. 4:19) and also for an authentic religion that was oriented towards love; love towards God, oneself and ones neighbor.

Atheism Continued

A modern account of atheism may perhaps look to the famous philosophical triad: Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Karl Marx (typically scholars will throw in Ludwig Feuerbach as a candidate for “important atheists”). Friedrich Nietzsche, who lived from 1844 to 1900, constructed a “passionate criticism” of Christianity which would live on and resurrect (somewhat superficially) in later mid 20th-century Protestant circles (see “Death of God” movement).

Sigmund Freud’s critique of the “god concept” would surmount a psychological criticism for belief in God, and Marx’s society involves a conception of religion which views it as a hindrance (“opium”) for social revolution among the lower working class.

Later we come across an interesting, but highly influential literary group of atheists who express their skepticism and secularism in (more or less) their political activism as well as on the pages of their best literary works. Here I have in mind books like Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit, Albert Camus’ The Plague, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and so forth. For Camus, the greatest struggle for human existence is death. Otherwise better put, the fact of death shows man’s existence to be meaningless. Man must rebel against this “ultimate negation” by putting before himself a series of deliberate choices that constantly challenge his vain circumstances. We must be free, says Camus.

More contemporaneously, the so-called “new atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, Victor Stenger, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and others, pose a new radically-defensive position against religion. These atheists are unique in that they move to a new critique of religion never before precedented in religious thought: religion is not only delusional (Freud and Dawkins), but it is in fact socially harmful or “poisonous” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris all affirm this).

But again, what do any of these men have to say about what it means to be a man? Plenty, to be sure. However, where these men differ from their religious counterparts is the realism I had mentioned earlier. That is to say, whatever critiques may be offered for adopting religious belief one must consider the totality of what it is they are rejecting. To remember, Christianity is realism.

The religious outlook combines truth and spirituality in a totally encompassing way. We are talking about the infinite hole that fills the hearts of men, the laboring and filling of this hole with one pleasure after another and never being satisfied. We do not only mean emotional or spiritual satisfaction but also a robust intellect satisfaction. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2).

I doubt very seriously, friend or reader, that your disbelief is the result of a series of humble reflections that treat the question of man’s nature seriously and honestly. An honest seeking of God will not leave one “floating along the ocean of nihilism” with the “salt water of doubt constantly entering the mouth.” 

God has told Moses, if you remember, “I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (Exodus 33:23). In this life we are only given glimpses of the Divine. Yet, the Apostle Paul has encouraged us with the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/celebrities-begin-supporting-donald-trump-seeing/

Celebrities begin supporting Donald Trump: What are they seeing?

Is it time to give Donald Trump a chance? This is something that I’ve been hearing a lot lately. Celebrities have really been pushing this notion, and it’s one that I find hard to wrap my head around for various reasons. My reservations have a lot more to do with than just the obvious- he’s a misogynist bigot. They go far beyond what Trump inherently stands for and encompass everything from what he plans to do with this country to how he conducts “business.” If you haven’t gathered already, I don’t have much faith in the man.

But everyone, it seems, is saying to give him a chance. Nicole Kidman has said, “Give him a chance.” Zoe Saldana has said Trump is being bullied and now, those within the black community that many people look to for some kind of guidance are echoing the same thing? There are only a few famous folks who’s influence hold any weight with me and right now the ones who seemingly are having a chance of heart when it comes to Trump aren’t the ones I look to for effective advice.

The latest celebrity to jump on the “give him a chance” wagon is Steve Harvey. The entertainer has come under fire for a couple controversial things within the past week. People have called him a racist because he dissed Asian men by insinuating that they are not attractive during a segment on his talk show. That got folks riled up, but that’s not the news story that have members of the black community finally seeking to trade him for a white person. It’s his meeting with Donald Trump that has people up in arms. Now if it were almost any other black man meeting with the soon to be president (except Ray Lewis, Herman Cain, Denis Rodman, Terrell Owens… mmmm, the list is actually longer than I thought), maybe the gesture would hold more credibility. But Harvey has long been seen as an opportunist, which makes the meeting all the more side-eye worthy. Let me explain.

Harvey has his hands in everything, which communicates to me that he is about his money. His talk show, radio show, Family Feud, his books, his movies, his clothing line; the man’s portfolio is as diversified as it gets. I am not knocking him for that. Nonetheless, he does not come to mind when I think of black people who advocate for black people. Black people have bought into his brand that spans giving advice to women, talking about relationships and pretty much positioning himself as a kind of “love doctor.” But when it comes to matters that affect us on a civil and social level, not many of us see him as an activist. Thus, his meeting with Trump feels more like a publicity tactic to get people of color to calm down and say, “Oh well maybe The Donald isn’t so bad.” I honestly don’t see it for anything more than that.

https://twitter.com/IAmSteveHarvey/status/820007199917375489

The comedian turned talk show host, turned game show host, turned, well, everything, said about his meeting with Trump,

“Our president (Obama) asked that all of us sit down and talk to one another in order to move our country forward. The transition teams on both sides asked me to meet and I’m glad I did… I walked away feeling like I had just talked with a man who genuinely wants to make a difference in this area. I feel that something really great could come out of this… I would sit with him anytime.”

Here’s the thing, at this point in the juncture, Donald Trump and the group of people he has surrounded himself with has shown me nothing that warrants my support. The issues that are important to me- healthcare, national security, women’s rights and civil rights, have already taken major hits and the man hasn’t even been sworn in yet. My Pisces nature leans toward giving people the benefit of the doubt, but it is also the same zodiac inclinations that give me an instinct that I have come to trust, totally. That intuition is telling me to “Stay vigilant and don’t be fooled. Trump isn’t for me.”

Vigilance is the key word here. For those of us who remain on the fence about the president-elect and who have chosen to maintain our stance against what many are calling an “illegitimate presidency,” the most effective thing to do is keep our eyes wide open and make as much noise as we can. There have already been some shady things happening, namely the change in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that has and or will negatively affected tens of millions of Americans. And it all went down while most of us were sound asleep. With that, going into the next four years of this presidential term, the Commander in Chief is not the only person whom we must keep accountable. We can’t cower or ignorantly believe it’ll all be fine. Action is what will make it all be fine.

We live in a time that calls for a different kind of group of constituents. I don’t see anyone in power working for the best interests of the people so we have to be our own advocates right now. We cannot let up on these “public servants.”

When it comes down to it, once a person has given you a reason not to trust them, it takes a lot to change that. Donald Trump continues to show behaviors that make me ashamed of our political system. Until he rectifies his actions and conducts himself in a way worthy of the noble office he now holds, I see no reason to call him my president or to encourage anyone else to do so.

Support, like trust, is earned.

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