#i was going to talk about some of the. others who almost made this list--teague martin !!!--w great regret but this is already so long

[deathlonging]

ooh your other posts reminded me. top 5 dishonored characters and why? and you can't pick Billie (or Meagan. heh). sorry

evil evil evil (i love the challenge)

first corvooooo alive dead guy of all time <3 no one does being haunted by grief and seeking revenge quite like him since hamlet sorry but its TRUE ! his water motif in dh1.....delicious. and hes even in love with his city that possessed him by force. whats more to ask

2. delilah who should've been n.1 were it not for the pesky attribute of grief corvo carries so well. delilahs is even better in a way for being anger......i hate dh2 so much for portraying her reign as hollow and devastating for dunwall that woman ran the brigmore witches better than the navy !!! and her wife runs the karnacan witches association smooth and cold with HER iron fist !!!! you're telling me she'd drop the ball on actually being good at what she believes is her birthright when she's prepared for it all her life......curious case of misogyny. also she's literally immortal to me if daud doesn't kill her in brigmore (and canonically he does not. canon is a platter feast w which im being selective) she's never giving up control over her section of the void and her goal is to become the outsider (with breanna as her link to earth) once she's peaked and bored <3 now im crafting an entirely different story concept but it did just dawn on me that about 1.5 missions into dh2 i realized emily was the villain. and they weren't even going to make her funny about it.

3. MINDY i am forever and ever thinking about her fucking emily and then making her go fetch her lovers corpse forever mulling over her relationship with paolo forever obsessed with the monster in the hull scene where she holds the lighter at her hip and makes meagan bend down to light her cigarette <333 woman of all time. also one of the most attractive dh characters only close 2nd to meagan....

4. samuel <3 the way he's corvo's conscience in dh1 when everything's been ripped away from him.....samcorvo real 2 ME !!!!

5. lady boyle specifically the version that invites corvo up to her room and although most of further characterization comes from the excellent (abandoned </3) fic death bone and song by laguz i maintain they're right about most of it. even if i would never write those characters that way their lady boyle (esma) is incredibly consistent and only made me like her all the more

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

No Stones Unturned: Keith Richards

Keith Richards’ interest in the guitar began at a very early age due to his grandfather. Gus Dupree had been a jazz musician during the big band era, who actually toured with a group called Gus Dupree and the Boys in Britain. His interest in the guitar began when his grandfather placed the guitar on a shelf out of reach of the young Richards. He made a deal with the young child that if he could reach the guitar, then he could play it. In interviews, Richards talks about using all kinds of boxes, cushions, chairs in order to get that guitar, His grandfather began to teach him very basic guitar lessons. The first song that he ever learned was “Malagueña,” a Spanish song. He was able to keep the guitar, but his father a war veteran who have been injured at Normandy did not share his son’s musical enthusiasm. Speaking of his father, upon his death Richards was given his ashes, which led to another humorous story about the guitarist. He said in an interview that he actually smoked his father‘s ashes.

Keith Richards attended Wentworth Primary School until 1954 with fellow classmate Mick Jagger. He also lived as his neighbor until family moves separated the two. The pair met again by chance years later on a train when Richards admired an album Jagger was holding. At the time, the latter attended the London School of Economics. He had sent away for Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry albums by mail to Chess Records in Chicago. They immediately bonded over their love of music. Soon after, they formed a band with mutual acquaintance Dick Taylor called Little Boy Blue. A few years ago, a recording for that very short-lived group was discovered and eventually put up for auction. An anonymous person purchased the recording, who turned out to be none other than Mick Jagger. The band folded when Brian Jones approached Mick Jagger about joining his blues group. This led Jagger to bring Richards along to the Bricklayer’s Pub to meet anyone else interested. Here they met Ian Stuart. The Rolling Stones were officially formed.

As previously discussed, a couple of key observations can be made about Richards and the band. First of all, unlike other bands that revolve around the rhythm of the drummer, the Rolling Stones has their tempo always set by Richards. They look to him in order to determine how fast or how slow they should be playing. On stage, this makes him more of the unquestioned leader as far as the music goes. Off stage, that role has alternated between him and Jagger, but now the singer runs everything. The other thing to be noted is that just like Ron Wood and Brian Jones each guitarist like Richards plays both rhythm and lead sometimes within the same song. This guitar weaving was developed by him and Brian Jones, but it is the talent of Richards that allows this to work so seamlessly. Actually, if you were describe his guitar playing overall you would notice that it stands out as in no way flamboyant or showing off. His solos get right to the heart of the matter, but you never see him venture off like his contemporaries Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton. Another quality of his guitar playing emerges in the acoustic guitar. He believe that playing acoustic was the key to maintaining his excellence as a guitar player. Certain songs like “Street Fighting Man” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” were actually originally recorded with acoustic guitar, then placed in a tape recorder and overdubbed using a louder speaker. In 1967-1968, he began to experiment with what are called open tunings. I will try not to get too technical here, but his inspiration for it was how a banjo is tuned. This became a trademark of the guitar sound in later years most notably the 1970’s like “Honky Tonk Women.” Vocally, Richards has sung on almost every Rolling Stones studio album with background vocals. He is also occasionally sung tracks on his own with the most notable one being “Happy” on Exile on Main Street in 1972. The song entered the regular concert set list, which led the band to have Richards sing one or two songs at every concert from then on. Another notable track was on Voodoo Lounge entitled “The Worst.” At a young age, As a student he stood out as an excellent singer in the choir, but when adolescence hit his voice changed, which led him to concentrate more on guitar from then on.

Jagger and Richards began their songwriting collaboration beginning with Andrew Oldham Loog coming on board as their manager. Coincidently, it was Oldham that told Richards to drop the S from his name for a time. A few years later he would add it back. Their first top ten hit was actually not for the band, but Gene Pitney. Another hit was “As Tears Go By” featuring Marianne Faithfull. Their first hit featuring the band emerged with “The Last Time” in 1965. Their major breakthrough came with the song “Satisfaction,” which included a famous riff Richards would later say came to him in his sleep. One of the qualities of their songwriting comes in the sheer variety including r and b, folk, reggae, disco, psychedelic, country, funk, and punk. Unlike other bands of the era, as popular music changed, so did The Rolling Stones. The basic process of the pair actually writing a song usually started with Keith producing the first chords and harmony. Mick would then complete the song with lyrics and a bridge. For the longest time, Mick would have to wait for Keith to create the music before he could start in on the track. This became the case with the recording of Exile on Main Street as he alternated between music and shooting up heroin.

Keith Richards has been active as a producer for the better part of his career, as well. Since 1974, he and Jagger have been credited as the producers of every studio album the band has made. The duo also has contributed as a producer for other artists working alongside other producers. For those albums, the pair are usually listed as the Glimmer Twins, which writers will sometimes refer to them in general. Some of the notable artists that Richards has produced for include Aretha Franklin, Ronnie Spector, Johnny Johnson, and a band signed to their record label, Kracker. In 1987, Richards formed the band the X-Pensive Winos as a solo project, which led to the release of the album, Talk Is Cheap. The album would go on to attain a gold status, and it still sells consistently to this day. The reason for the solo project came about because at the time of Jagger was increasingly interested in pursuing a solo album. This stood out as a time referred to in the band as World War III as Jager and Richards had a monumental fight in endangering the very existence of the band. An interesting sidenote to all of this was the band first originated for the Chuck Berry tribute film, Hail Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll. They would release a second album in 1992 entitled, Main Offender, while Richard‘s most recent release as a solo artist came in 2015, Crosseyed Heart.

As popular culture can attest, Richards has a reputation well deserved for his drug use. The interesting thing about it is that he fundamentally embraces that reputation. He has been arrested on drug busts at least five times throughout his career. The most famous one being at his Redlands estate in England in 1967 along with Mick Jagger. The bust cemented the reputation as the bad boys of rock and roll as well. Surprisingly or perhaps not, he has only served time in jail for the first bust. He was subsequently arrested twice in 1973, 1977, and 1978. Yet, one must know that for the Redlands arrest, which in retrospect was completely overblown by the authorities and the media; he only served one day in jail. As previously noted, he was arrested in Toronto in 1977 for heroin possession. At the time, they were planned to charge him with trafficking, which represented a fairly serious charge. His visa was confiscated, so Richards had to remain in Toronto for at least two months until the case came to trial. Thankfully for the guitarist the charge was reduced to possession. He was finally allowed to leave Canada to travel to United States on a medical visa in order to be treated for heroin addiction. For the most part, his use of heroin has always been the number one contributing factor to his legal problems. This final bust was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back when it came to his heroin use. The legal troubles from this caused such an inconvenience in his life along with court ordered heroin addiction treatment led him to being able to stay clean since 1978. Since that time, he has only used cannabis and alcohol, but never in moderation at times because that would just not be his style.

As previously stated, his decision to get clean in 1978 led to the end of his relationship with Anita Pallenberg. As that relationship was going downhill, he met model Patti Hansen in 1978, who the guitarist would marry in 1983. They have two daughters together born in 1985 and 1986. He wrote a children’s book about his grandfather introducing him to the guitar co-written by one of his daughters, Theodora in 2014. Her participation in the project made it all the more meaningful because she was actually named for the grandfather.

Actor Johnny Depp, who played Captain Jack Sparrow in the popular Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise previously stated that Richards was partially the inspiration for the character. He utilized a few of his mannerisms for the films. As life will sometimes meet art, the Rolling Stones guitarist actually appeared in the third and fourth films of the franchise. The name of his character was Captain Edward Teague. Coincidently, the other influence Depp used for the character was the Warner Bros. cartoon, Pepe Le Pew. These influences that were mentioned by Depp did raise concerns among Disney executives at first because they did not represent the wholesome image of their brand.

Growing up, Keith Richards was hugely influenced by a few notable artists. One of the first emerged in Elvis Presley in the mid-1950’s. The interesting thing about his admiration for Elvis came in the fact that Presley‘s guitarist Scotty Moore was probably much more influential than the king himself. Richards has stated previously that he listened to Elvis records more for the band, not just the singer. The second influence was Chuck Berry, who he later performed on the same bill with early in his career. This led to a funny story looking back, but maybe not so funny at the time. The Rolling Stones guitarist had picked up Berry’s guitar while he was out of the room. Berry came back seeing Richards holding his guitar, then promptly punched him in the face. He told him that nobody ever touches his guitar. Years later Richards would participate in the Chuck Berry tribute film Hail Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll, so time had healed those wounds apparently. The final influence emerged in many of the blues artists of the day, but if you had to name one it would have been Muddy Waters. The famed blues musician emerged as a giant influence on the band from creating their name to the music that they played. Richards played live with him a few times leading to a lifelong friendship. In 1982, in a BBC interview he was asked if the Rolling Stones could keep going for another 20 years. He answered that it is entirely possible using the example of Muddy Waters still performing and looking vibrant on stage at 80.

Keith Richards currently has three residences including ones in England, Connecticut, and Jamaica. The residence in England is actually the same house, the Redlands estate, where he and Mick Jagger were arrested for drugs in 1967. At home, his favorite dish to eat is shepherd’s pie. In his 2010 autobiography, he actually devoted a paragraph on the best way to cook this very British dish. The drummer from the band, the Stereophonics, once told a story that he had accidentally eaten some shepherd’s pie meant for Richards. He was immediately confronted by him, but no punches were thrown. If the guitarist is not working on any music, one thing that may surprise some people comes in the fact that he likes to read books. Although he never attended college, Richards reads quite a bit with a preference for history. He would say in an interview that if he had not become a musician, then he probably would have been a librarian. During his days of using heroin, he once said that he really regretted the fact that it prevented him from doing things like going to a movie or reading a book. Funny guy.

[thegreatwhiteferret]

I was tagged by: @its-reddie-bitch (Thanks for this by the way, Elle. 85 fucking questions...Jesus. Lmao ❤️❤️❤️ )

1. last drink?: Venti Soy Blonde Latte from Starbucks because I am a basic white bitch

2: last phone call?: My older sister when I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

3. last text message?: “Can I use your card for Starbucks?” Because I am a poor ass basic white bitch.

4. last song you listened to?: Rainbow by Kesha (Gets me in the feels every time)

5. last time you cried?: Mmmmmmmm last night or the early hours of today...

6. dated someone twice?: Noppppppppppppppe. Thank fucking God.

7. kissed someone and regretted it: I don’t think so.

8. been cheated on?: We weren’t “exclusive” so...but I’d fucking say that it still felt like it.

9. lost someone special?: So so many.

10. been depressed?: Severely for the majority of my life. (In case y’all hadn’t figured out that I’m an anxious and depressed mess)

11. gotten drunk and thrown up?: OH MY GOD. Only twice that I can think of, but one was really bad. Sour blue raspberry Smirnoff vodka and Titos vodka, and I filled like a full tumbler glass with that and chugged it...because why the fuck not? I’ll tell you why not, I ruined a $2,500 cowhide rug...fuck.

fave colors

12. Fluorescent Pink- Basic white bitch with Barbie tendencies.

13. Tiffany Blue- See above reasoning

14. Anything Pastel Ever

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends?: Yes, but I also lost a shit ton.

16. fallen out of love?: Hahahahaha. No romantic interactions at all in the past year so...not possible.

17. laughed until you cried?: All the time. That wine drinking Pennywise was the last thing that made me do this.

18. found out someone was talking about you?: Yes, and that bitch is lucky I had enough self control to not throw hands with her.

19. met someone who changed you?: Yes. (For better and for worse)

20. found out who your friends are?: In the hardest way possible.

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list?: Nope, and we can leave it that way.

general:

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl?: All of them.

23. do you have any pets?: My furry baby who is actually an alien like Stitch dog, Pippa. (But I also have my sister’s dog with me right now)

24. do you want to change your name?: Nah, I’m good.

25. what did you do for your last birthday?: Went for dinner with my family and tried to keep myself together.

26. what time did you wake up today?: Erhmmmmmm 10:30 ish, but I laid in bed with the dogs until almost 12. It was glorious.

27. what were you doing at midnight last night?: Finishing the latest chapter of I Will Try To Fix You so I could post it and watching Bloodline (legit only for Owen Teague...don’t judge me.)

28. what is something that you can’t wait for?: Things to get better...?

30. what are you listening to right now?: Someone You Like by The Girls and The Dreamcatcher 

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom?: Yup.

32. something getting on your nerves?: What doesn’t get on my nerves would be a shorter list. What irks me more than anything is people being assholes to other people because their ideals don’t match. No one is fucking asking you to engage in a poly relationship or marry your same gender so fuck off! Gahhhhh.

33. most visited website?: Tumblr (But if Google Docs counts (14 tabs open Jesus) then that’s close behind and so is Ao3).

34. hair color?: Bleached white blonde with horrendous roots. I sooooo want to do something drastic to it though, 

35. long or short hair: It’s shoulder length so whatever that is.

36. do you have a crush on someone?: A real life person? No. Celebrities? Hilary fucking Knight always and forever. People on this site? ...Maybeeeeeee.

37. what do you like about yourself?: This is a really hard question. I guess I’m an alright writer and I genuinely like helping people. 

38. want any piercings: I have quite a few, but I have my eye on a few for the future. 

39. blood type: O+

40. nicknames: Meg, Megs, Meggie, Mefge (Typo from Wii that will never cease to haunt me!), Texas...really freaking boring I guess.

41. relationship status: Single AF...by choice, not my choice, but a choice.

42. zodiac: Libra 

43. pronouns: She/Her

44. fave tv show: Golden Girls (and a million others, I watch a lot of TV tbh)

45. tattoos: I have a list of 14 that I want when I have money.

46. right or left handed: Right

47. ever had surgery: I’ve had sinus surgery and gastric related surgery so far. There will be more in the future I am sure.

48 . piercings: Two lobes each ear, industrial, rook, conch, and tragus. (Nips, belly button, and something else in the future hopefully)

49. sport: HOCKEY, ALL DAY EVERY DAY BABY!!! 

50. vacation: I haven’t been on one in years. I am dying to go to Disney and London.

51. trainers: Converse Chuck Taylors

more general

52. eating: Salad but I want to make a mug cookie...

53. drinking: Still working on that Latte

54. im about to watch: I’m watching some British family cook off show with my mom and sister on Netflix.

55. waiting for: Better days, they better be coming quickly.

56. want: To actually be motivated enough to quickly finish the 14 requests I have!!! Hahahaha, that’s why it’s a want and not a possibility. 

57. get married? YES PLEASE! But I think someone has to actually be able to tolerate me for this to happen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

58. career: I quit my original dream career and now I am going back to school for nursing. It was toxic and I needed a change.

59. hugs or kisses: ALL OF THE PHYSICAL AFFECTION PLEASE!

60. lips or eyes: Eyes. Oh my God, EYES.

61. shorter or taller: ¿Por que no los dos?

62. older or younger: I don’t care as long as they are at least 18...sounds bad but whatever.

63. nice arms or stomach: Uhmmmm either?

64.  hookup or relationship: Relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant: It depends on the situation.

66. kissed a stranger: Not yet, but I would.

67. drank hard liquor: Pretty much all I drink because I am allergic to beer and do not like wine. I actually owe my sister six shots of fireball, so that’s going to happen and I will be on the floor...

68. lost glasses: All the fucking time and then I can’t find them because I’m blind! Endless struggle.

69. turned someone down: Yes...and ghosted people too.

70. sex on the first date: SURE. Why the fuck not??

71. broken someones heart: I don’t think so.

72. had your heart broken: Yes, and at the time I thought I would never recover, but I’m still kicking bitches.

73. been arrested: No.

74. cried when someone died: So so so so so so so so much. 

75. fallen for a friend: Yes, multiple times, and they were awful decisions!

do you believe in…

76. yourself: No. Unfortunately. It’s a struggle, but I promise that I am going to get help very soon and work on this. I’m just very very hard on myself and don’t like when I’m not perfect. 😕😕😕

77. miracles: Maybe...

78. love at first sight: Nope. Infatuation of lust at first sight? Yes. Love? No, I don’t think it’s something to play around with and it has to grow.

79. santa clause: I CAN HEAR THE BELLS!!!!

80. kiss on a first date: I mean I already said why not to sex on the first date, so kissing is mild.

81. angels: I don’t know. Angels I’m not sure about, but I do believe in spirits and things of that nature.

82. best friend’s name: Can I say my dog? Is that pathetic? Pippa is my ride or die, guys.

83. eye color: Blue

84. fave movie: Inglorious Basterds, IT, and Rise of the Guardians in no specific order, because I am indecisive and can’t choose.

85. fave actor: I can’t choose one! Taron Egerton, Michael B. Jordan, and Evan Peters are high on my list though.

I have no idea who has already been tagged so I’m just going to throw some names out... @billbenbev @milagric @theriodiaries @demianhill @dannybriereisaliferuiner @valiantlydeepestdinosaur And literally anyone else who wants to do this!

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Shayna Jacked Up

VERY different year this for once, which is good 

Usually we have a couple frontrunners out on top who almost make everyone from like third or fifth down redundant.

Not so this year. Top is clearly top, but not $1.50 with the bookies. The favourite has only just got into the top four, yet without its best defender. Third place is a wildcard at its best, and is there still something valuable out of fifth through seventh to come? Every chance.

All to play for.

  1.       Trent Dumont first up this week. Monday night on Channel Nine he spoke about his mental health battles. “Sometimes I still struggle to speak about it, but I was really flat. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

 “I called off all 21st birthday celebrations and closed off myself to everyone in those times. I did think about potentially what it would be like if I wasn’t around anymore, would I be doing everyone a favour? I never put it into action, but I definitely had thoughts about potentially suicide.”

 This issue ain’t going away, we had Majak last year and now we have just another typical 24-year-old talking about something that 200 Australians attempt every day. It ain’t going away.

 Keep talking.

 2.       Melbourne. Deplorable. Look at their close games. One point win to Gold Coast. Yes, a two point loss to Adelaide in the NT but two five point wins over Hawthorn and Carlton. Imagine if they were 2-16. So could have easily been. And it’s nothing to do with injuries. Aside from not being able to start numbers off the square anymore tactically, there’s no other real difference. Damming stat, St Kilda looked so much better than them on Saturday and were a year younger on average and a whole lot more inexperienced. Dees have to try and top up and go for it, otherwise, maybe like the Pies, it’s almost clean out start again time. Deplorable.

3.       Tom Lynch wasn’t a top 50 player in the comp for a while, maybe he might just prove that he is before year’s end. Certainly capable of being the best key forward in the game, no doubt.

4.       How bad was that Crows camp last summer? 2016 they went 16-6, 2017 they made the Grand Final after going 15-6-1, so it wasn’t a year out of the box. Last year 12-10, but 12th, and now 9-9 and just hanging on to 8th.

5.       Rumblings the Crows would part with Don Pyke. I can sort of get it. He clearly has, not so much lost the players, but good players are not playing well under him anymore. Rory Sloane doesn’t fear opposition coaches, nor does Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts is droppable, Brodie Smith was a weapon, now he is far less – you really get the sense, sadly for Pykey, that the chemistry between coach and optimising his talent has gone.

6.       Rhyce Shaw wins the North job. Good. But not great. The three wins he had from his first four that got him the job, Richmond when they lost three in a row without any fit players, Gold Coast, and Collingwood which looking back from where we are now – ‘so what’? Is he an upgrade on Scott, absolutely, is he the answer and gets North their fifth flag, almost certainly not. They did try and tempt Horse and Simo, to be fair.

7.       David Teague, if anything he is more compelling than Shaw. Why? What the players are doing for him. There is no more loved coach in the comp by his playing group than Teaguey. Could have easily won seven straight. I think with the talent on that list, and whatever momentum you call this, you almost need to give him first rights. Let him ‘caretaker’ into next year, so to speak.

8.       So Brad Scott then, well, some say he is a fool for going early. No dice. Leaving so soon into the year he got a bigger break from football than otherwise, plus, whilst he was positioning himself for a role in 2020 he ultimately appears to miss out on, the fall-back is that he gets his full payout from North which is over $700k. Laughing. Mind you, I reckon he’ll have a footy role next year anyway, not as a senior man, but think developmental or football department head of, something like that.

9.       Jake Niall made a great point about how the Tigers got their injury issues out of the way whereas the Pies’ timing is awful. Richmond is basically fully fit again outside of Rance, Collingwood’s just getting worse. In four weeks Richmond’s going to be unbackable for a second flag in three years, Collingwood needs to hope with some form and fitness it can be regain half a chance of winning an elimination final.

10.   Mind you, Pies yes, this is a bad spot and the injuries need review, but even though the current slide precedes a lack of player availability lets go back to the Giants game two weeks ago. When the Pies got it back to four goals, ‘had’ they gotten up and won, regardless of the Tigers result they’d still be second or third favourite for the flag. Small margins here. And whilst they were vastly different games, Richmond won last Friday by 32 points, the equivalent late-season blockbuster last year, Richmond won by 28 points. Don’t get me wrong, don’t jump on the Maggies, but let’s not forget, yesterday was still July, still a ways to go here folks.

11.   That said, Richmond still wins the flag for mine. We know the bit about beating Geelong first final to make a prelim, or somehow getting Geelong in a prelim going the other way. But, the only potential banana skin comes up if they were finish fourth, beat Geelong, get the week off straight into the prelim final. Meanwhile, West Coast beat Brisbane first week, the Lions get the double chance semi final at home. They would be play the winner of Essendon, Collingwood, who could get enormous belief by winning that elimination final and would fancy themselves then the next week. If the Bombers, for example, then topple the Lions they’d then get a date with Richmond in a prelim. The Tigers, playing one game in four weeks basically, are sitting ducks to a fellow big Melbourne club racing at them like, I don’t know, the Pies did last year. That elongated theory aside, Richmond’s home.

12.   Hawks are going to miss the finals, and they should not be. Losing to Brisbane in Tassie, alongside the failures to Melbourne in Round 7 and Saints in Round 4 will cost them eighth, where they’d be good enough to compete. Injuries, transitioning list, all that aside, this team has beaten Geelong, Collingwood, GWS and lost to the Eagles by a kick in a thunderstorm, they’re worthy. Or should be, anyway.

13.   Some swimming before the Ashes. How’s about the hot bed of mess that was. It does sound like there is something plausible about the suspect supplements that young Shayna has got herself in trouble with, but that’s neither here nor there, diligence doesn’t care for youthful slip ups. But the Swimming Australia leadership, namely Leigh Russell who was a mental health coach last time I checked, has failed here. Yes the anti-doping process is harsh, but you kind of feel Jack’s copped it worse off the back of it.

14.   And yes, Mack Horton makes his stance but then Jack gets done, bad look perhaps. But mind you, Horton was protesting Sun being there in the first place with a WADA appeal pending, at least with Jack once her results were declared she was sent home, it was a more cut and dry situation. I think we should be happy to still point fingers elsewhere providing we accept that we’re not immune whether you’re a systematic cheat or a blasphemous professional.

15.   Right, the cricket, only a couple hours away. Bancroft over Harris seems contentious but a couple reasons why they went with the Sandgroper sander. Being right-handed helped, if we went Harris six of the top five are all lefties, and that’s just too much. Especially too in an opening pair it is better to have left and right. But also there’s a fear on Harris outside of ‘Shield conditions’. He looked ok in the test summer, but didn’t blow anyone away. And if you’re a good batsman in Australian conditions against State bowlers, you can cash in. Bancroft has had a couple better moments, for Australia A but also for Australia, but too recently for Durham, where he has shown maybe his skills and toughness go up that extra level. That will be key against Anderson and Broad with Duke balls in English conditions.

16.   Jimmy Pattinson, what a story. He had a back like Stephen Hawking only five minutes ago and now he is bustling and breathing fire with Duke in hand and will definitely get some LBW’s. Remember, last summer at home, six tests, not one quickie got a leg before. Pattinson is going to be beating the bat and hitting lots of pads and lots of poles, no question. Castles should go a-flying. Great story.

17.   Now, Pete Siddle, he is the other one, might even get a go too tonight. Why? Well the answer lies with Tim Murtagh. Who? He is the ‘not-quick’ Irish seamer who took five for bugger all at Lords last week in the first innings against England. Bowls a very tidy, tight, nagging length and gets a little wobble off the seam, which on our decks gets you smacked, but in England with some cloud cover you’re unplayable. If 38-year-old Murtagh can get Michelle Pfeiffer’s at Lord’s, imagine what Siddle might be able to do somewhere. Will play.

18.   England’s top order is the key. We said in the World Cup the lower order was their Achilles heel and early on it was, but back end of the tournament Roy and Bairstow got going and they deservedly won the World Cup. Ashes, red ball, it’s the opposite. The top order is their weakness which is not where you’d want it. At least in one-day cricket when Roy and Bairstow get going they protect the middle order, in test cricket it’s going to go wrong from the start. Joe Root does not want to bat three, at all, not one bit – but such is their issues at the top he is. He will probably still bat well, but if doesn’t, they could be four for not much and that is a problem they can’t afford too often needing to win something like three of the five tests.

19.   Predictions? Nah dunno, I know that because it’s later in their summer, in fact I think two tests will be in their autumn maybe, there is every chance we draw a test due to rain interruptions. So the Poms will need a 3-1 result to get the urn back, or 2-1 if we lose two tests to weather. I reckon Australia wins at least one test, and if the batting is ok at worst, good at least, then that’s probably two wins and the urn is retained. But India nobbled our batting at home, it’s now Anderson and Broad and over there. Might come down to Warner and Smith, they go ok, we win, they miss and the batting still is a problem, we don’t, England does the World Cup-Ashes double.

20.   Lastly, A-League got some good news, Channel Ten will air two games a round this year on the main channel, which is a great result in all honesty. However, kind of trumped later in the week when the NBL announced its SBS-ESPN deal, which sees every afternoon game on SBS (three plus games a round), and all primetime games on ESPN, away from the Fox Sports channels. That would not be cheap, big leap of faith by ESPN. Larry Kestelman runs that sport as well as the FFA tries to bury its sport into the ground.

[treykrimsin]

Thoughts on Free Comic Book Day 2018

Since 2012, I’ve been a part of the large attendance of Acme Comics’ Free Comic Book Day festivities. I got to the line as early as I could on a number of occasions and stood in line to be one of the first hundred or two to get a bag of free comics. After I got in, I would shop inside the store and pick up the books from my pull list. If I planned to stay the day, I would get one free sketch from one of the artists attending the event at one of the other participating stores in the strip. Later, I’d get something to eat at one of the restaurants in the strip and go back to the store to hang out before I finally went home. I would be tired, but I would be elated in the fact that the day was well spent with like-minded people who love the medium of comic books. This year was different. Much different.  The last year had been quite tumultuous for a number or reasons. The sister store, Acme Comics Presents, had closed at the end of last year. Much of the merchandise sold there moved to the main store. Over the last two years, the faces of Acme had changed as well. Old, familiar faces changed to new, somewhat familiar faces These changes weighed heavy on the overall mood of the store environment, but as does many things, time and a little help heals all wounds. Personally, pondering upon the prospect of this year’s FCBD became bittersweet. For the last two years, I was joined by someone who I thought was a good friend and her two kids. We’d stand in line, the kids looking in stores and I’d crack jokes. My lady friend would roll her eyes at my weird, yet funny comments. Everyone had a great time, especially me. I had grown fond of those three people, especially the kids’ mother. This year would be the first year that I would be without their company since the fall out. I looked forward to be in line and enjoy the day’s festivities, but to be able to share that experience with someone I deeply cared about still weighed a bit on my mind. As they say, things change. Last year, the collection to the comic book series I created with Kev Lyerly, The Adventures of Teague: Retail Specialist finally came out after a two-year delay. After talking to Jermaine Exum, the manager at Acme Comics, Teague found a place on the shelves of the store’s independent section. Four out of the initial five copies sold, much to my utter surprise and helped boost my morale. Hearing how well the book sold in the store gave me a great deal of pride. The promotion and hard work were paying off again. Interest was growing again for the book. I began writing more seriously again. Things slowly picked back up to a momentum I had not experienced in at least two years. Then, I got a PM from Jermaine on my Twitter account. He asked me if Kev and I would be interested in showcasing our book and art for Acme’s Free Comic Book Day event. Without hesitation, I said yes, but had to check with Kev on his availability. I immediately switched screens on my computer to Facebook and sent a message. Kev checked his schedule, pondered over it a moment, and said yes. We were in. Ecstatic would be the closest word I could use to describe how I felt about the opportunity presented to us. I started shopping for comics at Acme around 2004. I first attended a FCBD event at Acme in 2010 (I could be wrong about that. I’m not sure). Through the development of Teague, I thought about the prospects of putting a comic book I wrote inside Acme’s walls and being behind a table to promote the book. Now the opportunity to do so was presented to me. I was ready.  But it almost didn’t happen.  Some changes were made to that week’s schedule and I was slated to work that Saturday. My mood fell as if it were on a cliff and the cliff was destroyed by a rocket missile, the rock crumbling beneath me. I went to my store manager, who made the new schedule, and told him about putting in for this day months ago and I was booked to be at this event. He said he would fix the issue and get back with me. This put a big damper on my and Kev’s plans. Kev debated on cancelling, but I told him if I could not do it, he could. This would give him an new audience to showcase to. I did tell him that I would be there one way or another, though. On Monday, I reminded my boss about the schedule and he would work on it. Later that day, he told me that I would get Saturday off (much to my relief), but I would have to work a long Thursday. I told him that was fine with me and I thought “as long as I have Free Comic Book day off, damnit!” Once that was cleared up, the anticipation built. Flash forward to Friday afternoon. Kev picked me up from my house and we were off to Greensboro to set up our table at Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery. The owners of Smallcakes were gracious enough to host all the artists who would be attending the event since Acme didn’t have the room to hold all the artists. (We could have sat on top of the back issues...Nah!) We got to the shopping center early and walked to Smallcakes first. Kev and I spoke to the owner of the place after noticing nothing had been set up yet. Keep in mind we were early. So we traversed to Acme and gave them a hand with the set up. Kev and I brought a few chairs from the store to Smallcakes as Acme’s staff were putting up the tables. Once the basic set up was done, it was time to put up our wares. Kev and I set up the bookmark wire stand, the prints, his portfolio, and the Teague trades. All was set for Saturday.

The actual day started a little slow, only because people had to get their free comics first. Around 10:20, people came to Smallcakes and checked out everyone’s table set-ups. People flocked to a few tables like Brian Richardson’s, who usually has a ton of Disney characters which is popular with a lot of kids. Griff Person, who was positioned across from us, had one person immediately stay at his table for almost an hour. We soon got some of the foot traffic and people were snatching up bookmarks. I had a few people look at the book, one or two even peeking inside, but no takers. Despite the lack of sales on my part, I greeted numerous people and helped Kev keep up his half of the table. Spirits continued to be high.  I eventually sold one copy of Teague to a long time Acme customer. She and I talked for at least an hour about books, comic stores, and personal relationships. After signing the book, she started talking with Kev about a mutual acquaintance and I ventured through Smallcakes, looking at the art from the other vendors. I spoke with artists like Colby Ziglar, Brian Richardson, Merryn Kepchar, and another good friend, Rickie Hopkins. We both talked about what has happened in our lives and how it’s affected us personally and professionally. Miscommunication on both sides, especially mine, halted a project I had written and he started art on. Now we’re both re-energized and wiling to get this project back on track. Rickie surprised me twice on this day. First, he gave me a page of the Capital Punishment story we did for Grayhaven Comics in 2015. Then, Rickie did a quick sketch of my character Teague. Surprised and flattered described my feelings on receiving such gifts. Now, I have to find a way to repay him by getting work done on our project in one form or another. After 5pm, Kev and I took down our displays, packed the car, and headed to Acme for a brief visit. We both obtained a bag of free comics and I picked up my stack of comics from my pull box. We talked briefly with a few of the artists and some of the attendants to the event. All seemed to have had a great day. I spoke to Jermaine at the counter and told him how our day went. He was pleased to hear how great a time Kev and I had. As we arrived back in Thomasville, Both Kev and I took time to relax, eat, and bask in the good vibes we had joking around with each other, playing a little music before the day ended, and talking blaxploitation flims with Jody Merriman after I played Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly.  Overall, what a day it was. For me, this was a bit of a milestone for me. I credit Acme Comics and its manager Jermaine Exum in part for getting me seriously interested in comic books again and for piquing my interest in writing comic books. Over the years, I’ve seen the community he’s built at Acme and I have enjoyed being a part of it whenever I stepped through the door. This Free Comic Book Day was proof of how the Acme Comics community nurtures the creativity, the drive, and the interest of creators and fans alike. This sense of community was clearly noted by Kev, who has been jaded by other comic book retailers over the years. He left Acme that day impressed by the nurturing and supportive environment Jermaine and his staff create on Free Comic Book Day.  I personally have to thank Jermaine, Austin, Pete, Ryce, and the rest of the Acme Comics staff who took a chance to carry The Adventures of Teague and giving it support. I also thank them for giving me and Kev the opportunity to promote ourselves, our art and books, and to be around such a positive environment. The comics community can be callous, unappreciative, and unsupportive at times. It’s good to know there still are places a comics creator can go and feel a sense of belonging and love for comics, especially on Free Comic Book Day.

[auburnfamilynews]

Quite a few AU targets plan to go public with their decisions this month.

August is going to be a very busy month for recruiting. Unfortunately, I am not so sure Auburn is going to end up on the positive side of many of these decisions. Here’s who is expected to commit in the coming weeks

3* LB Rosendo Louis - August 16th

4* DE Azeez Ojulari - August 17th

3* CB Jamari Brown - August 17th (247 is having some glitches which is why he shows up as 2*)

4* WR Kearis Jackson - August 19th

4* RB Asa Martin - August 24th

I feel pretty confident in saying that Auburn is probably not the pick for any of those guys. Louis is trending to Florida State right now, though I am not 100% sure if he would be take for the Tigers as of this moment. I could be wrong and that could obviously change. Ojulari is a top AU target but that seems to be shaping into a Dawgs/Gators battle with UGA looking like the team to beat. Brown landed an Auburn offer recently but it sounds like he might not be a take just yet as the Tigers are being patient at cornerback. Kentucky looks like it will be the pick. It would be the shock of the year so far if Kearis Jackson didn’t pick UGA. That means the only prospect that looks like Auburn has a legitimate shot to get would be Asa Martin but there seem to be a whole lot of confidence coming out of the Alabama side which never bodes well for Auburn.

Then there’s the news that’s already happened. 3* DB Juanyeh Thomas chose the Yellow Jackets earlier this week but that isn’t a huge surprise as AU has filled up at safety recently. Auburn’s other top RB target, 4* Dameon Pierce, surprised everyone by committing to Florida. It was thought to be an AU/UF battle but many thought the decision wouldn’t come until after the season. However, the Gators are on a tear right now on the trail and stayed hot by getting Pierce on board. Add in 4* DT Coynis Miller now pushing his decision back after visiting Florida, along with some buzz that 3* DE Andres Fox might be trending LSU and it just seems like the big August dreamed up earlier this summer isn’t going to happen....

Fun article so far right? Well don’t worry it’s not all bad. I do think there are two guys Auburn could get on board before kickoff. They are two familiar names that have been on commit watch for sometime now but it seems like they might finally be narrowing in on a decision: 4* WR Matthew Hill and 4* Buck Richard Jibunor.

Yes I know, I have been hyping Hill committing to AU since basically I started covering recruiting for this site but he has said recently a decision is likely to come in the next two to three weeks. It appears the battle is down to Auburn, Alabama and South Carolina. Make no mistake, the Tide would love to have Hill but I get the impression they are running #3 right now. The main challenger is South Carolina who seem to have sold Hill hard on the opportunity to play early. However, it still looks like the Tigers are the team to beat and should hopefully get some good news in the near future.

Jibunor on the other hand, might not commit in August but he could in early September. He’s made it known he wants to take a few more visits before making the final call, most notably to Florida who is becoming increasingly annoying to deal with on the recruiting trail. He’s made it clear though that one school continues to stick out to him and it sounds like many think that school is Auburn. For Auburn, landing Hill and Jibunor before kickoff against Georgia Southern would be a great way to head into the 2017 season. A season that has the opportunity to be special which in turn could help this 2018 recruiting class turn into something special as well.

2019 Ranking Updates

Yes you read that right. I am about to talk some about prospects that won’t see a collegiate football field for two years. But recruiting starts early people!

Rivals released their first rankings for the 2019 season this past week. Auburn’s only commit, 4* WR George Pickens, debuted at #131 making him the 22nd ranked wide receiver and 6th ranked player in the state of Alabama. That’s pretty darn good for a guy that has seen limited varsity snaps in his career. A strong junior year should see the AU commit rise even higher in future rankings.

Here are ten names to file away for next year’s recruiting class that made it into Rivals first 2019 rankings:

#4 - 5* WR Jadon Haselwood (UGA Commit) - He’s currently committed to the Dawgs but has said in the past he still plans on taking his visits. If Auburn can both land Justin Fields and demonstrate a renewed passing game, that recruitment could get interesting.

#8 - 5* C Clay Webb - You don’t often seen centers given five stars and ranked in the top 10 but Webb is not your usual center prospect. The Oxford, AL native has been dominant in camps this summer and has been on Auburn’s radar since he was an 8th grader. Unfortunately, Alabama seems to be trending in his recruitment.

#19 - 4* LB Owen Pappoe - There’s no doubt who is #1 on Travis Williams’s want list for 2019. Pappoe was the first ever rising sophomore to participate in The Opening Finals and hold scholarship offers from pretty much everywhere.

#41 - 4* QB Bo Nix - That last name should be familiar to AU fans. Patrick Nix’s son is expected to be one of the top QB targets in the 2019 class. I think he has a shot to end up a 5* prospect in next year’s class.

#76 - 4* LB King Mwikuta - Mwikuta has been very honest about the fact that Alabama is his leader. But he’s also made it clear that AU has a real shot to land him considering he plans to visit for almost every home game he can get to this fall. A big year on the field could help the Tigers land the Troup County stud.

#78 - 4* OT Amari Kight - The state of Alabama is loaded at OL in 2019. Kight joins Alabama commit Pierce Quick and Clay Webb in the top 100. Just like Webb, Alabama appears to be the favorite right now to land the 6’6” 300 lb monster out of Maylene, AL.

#125 - 4* ATH Mark Antony-Richards - Miami is the apparent favorite for Richards as his older brother, Ahmmon Richards, signed with the Hurricanes over the Tigers in 2016. However, Antony-Richards had a lot of positive things to say about the Tigers on a recent visit and might not be a lock to follow his brother.

#144 - 4* RB John Emery - Every year there is a RB that jumps to the top of my want list. Devan Barrett was that guy two years ago and this year it was Ohio State commit Master Teague. Emery is my guy in 2019. The Louisiana native is one of the smoothest runners I have ever seen coming out of high school and will be a top RB target for plenty of big time schools. LSU looks to be the early favorite.

#188 - 4* WR Ramel Keyton - You might not find a WR prospect with better hands than Keyton. The 6’2” 180 lb wideout from Marietta, GA is already garnering plenty of interest from SEC schools, including Auburn.

#221 - 4* DE Mohamoud Diabete - Here we go again. Seems like every year there is a player local to Auburn that the Tigers are battling the Tide to keep home, a battle AU often loses. Can Auburn change that trend in 2019 with Auburn High School’s Diabete?

War Eagle!

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[auburnfamilynews]

Auburn is after a 2nd quarterback in the 2018 class and have set their sights on current Penn State commit 5* Justin Fields.

It hasn’t always been clear exactly how many quarterbacks Auburn plans on taking in the 2018 class. For most of this cycle, the thought has been one quarterback and possibly an athlete who would get a shot at QB but could change positions if needed. However, it became clear Saturday that Auburn will in fact pursue two quarterbacks in this class when this happened:

Blessed to have received an offer from Auburn University!! #WarEagle http://pic.twitter.com/5TZxwYAfNj

— Justin Fields (@justnfields) April 29, 2017

That is current Penn State commit 5* QB Justin Fields. You don’t offer 5* QBs committed to other schools if you aren’t in the market for a quarterback yourself. Obviously the first question then is how does this affect 4* Joey Gatewood who has been committed to Auburn since December 2015. According to Benjamin Wolk over at SECCountry, Gatewood was made well aware of the fact that Auburn would want another QB in this class and the staff apparently has promised to stay in constant communication with him about possible offers and who they are pursuing.

So why a second quarterback? Well first off the Tigers entered spring practice with six guys at that spot and are down to four already after Tyler Queen transferred to West Georgia and John Franklin III moved to WR. That would still mean Auburn should have five guys on roster next year at that position counting Gatewood but I suspect Auburn’s QB attrition isn’t over yet. Chances are good one of Jarrett Stidham, Sean White or Woody Barrett will not be on Auburn’s roster in 2018. If Stidham is the hero we have all been waiting for then he will more than likely make a jump to the NFL after the 2017 season. If not or he just decides to stick around for at least two seasons then chances are good Sean White would look to pursue opportunities elsewhere as a graduate transfer considering he has already proven he can be successful in the SEC. Finally, with Malik Willis’s impressive spring there’s a chance Woody Barrett will find himself at the bottom of the depth chart in 2017 and with more QB talent coming in next season, he might decide to look for better opportunities elsewhere.

Bottom line is after the last two seasons, you can bet Gus Malzahn does not want to be shorthanded at the QB spot. If Gatewood is ok with a second QB in this class then Auburn has a chance to really solidify this position for the future. Especially if that 2nd QB ends up being Justin Fields who Auburn feels like they have a legitimate shot at despite his longtime commitment to Penn State. Also watch out for guys like 4* Gerry Bohanon, 3* Jarren Williams, 3* James Foster, Cordell Littlejohn, and a wildcard name I am throwing in, Demarcus Irons. The hunt for a second quarterback will be an interesting storyline to follow in the 2018 cycle.

Offers

Justin Fields wasn’t the only prospect to land an offer this week, far from it. I said before that you should expect plenty of offers to start flying out during the evaluation period when coaches can hit the road, well that’s exactly what happened this week. By my count the Auburn coaching staff sent out 15 offers with 10 of them going to 2019 & 2020 recruits. Chances are good that I might have even missed a few or more have gone out since this post was submitted. Here’s who, as of right now, I know has received an Auburn offer this past week.

3* S Charlie Thomas - Thomas is only rated by 247 right now but that will change. He’s a great athlete who pulls double duty for his team playing WR and S but his future at the next level is on defense. Great tackler with a nice frame and great speed. Expect Auburn to be a player in his recruitment.

3* CB JaKorey Hawkins - Read/heard a lot of hype about this kid but had not watched his film until he landed an AU offer last night. I get the excitement. Hawkins is a 6’0” almost 190 lb CB with great instincts, elite speed and is a strong tackler. I suspect this kid’s recruitment is really going to take off in the next few months.

3* DE Patrick Joyner Jr (FSU Commit) - Joyner was one of FIVE South Dade players AU offered yesterday. He’s currently committed to the Noles so it will be interesting to see if AU becomes a player or not.

3* TE Chris Carter Jr (USF Commit) - Another TE offer is out and this one is to a big bodied athlete out of South Dade High School in Homestead, FL. The Tigers would like to sign at least one TE this class and Carter is a guy to watch moving forward.

3* CB DJ Ivey (MIA Commit) - Ivey is, you guessed it, another South Dade talent. He’s a very long armed DB with potential to be a 6’1” 190-200 lb CB at the next level. Currently he is committed to the Canes.

2019 WR Frank Ladson Jr (UF Commit) - Ladson is another big bodied WR that the Tigers seem to be coveting more recently. He’s 6’4” 170 lbs with great hands and some sky high potential. The big man is an early commit to the Gators.

2019 ATH Tyrique Stevenson (UF Commit) - The final South Dade offer went out to Stevenson who is also a current Florida commit. Stevenson could end up at WR or CB at the next level but my guess is he plays CB with his skillset.

2019 WR Marcus Washington - Auburn also offered a trio of players out of Trinity Catholic in St. Louis, MO. Washington makes it all look so easy and effortless while embarrassing DBs and scoring TDs. This kid is going to be a highly coveted recruit in next year’s class.

2019 ATH Isaiah Williams - Williams plays QB for Trinity Catholic but will probably end up at WR at the next level. Human joystick is an overused way of describing players but I don’t think there’s a better way of explaining how this kid plays. Elite athlete that will be recruited by every major power in the country next year.

2019 LB Shammond Cooper - This Trinity Catholic team is absolutely loaded. Cooper is a fun LB to watch on film. He diagnosis plays quickly and can fly to the ball. Expect a lot of teams to be visiting this school over the next year and half.

2019 WR Ramel Keyton - This kid might have the best hands in the 2019 class. He doesn’t have elite speed or size but he has enough of both to match with his elite catching ability to be a big time prospect. He’s one of my early favorites of the 2019 class.

2019 WR Trey Knox - Knox is teammates with 2018 AU RB target Master Teague so expect AU’s coaching staff to make plenty of visits to Murfreesboro over the next 2 seasons. He’s a big bodied WR that is hard to bring down and uses his size well to shield off defenders and score TDs.

2019 DT Ishmael Sopsher - Good chance this kid ends up the #1 OVR player in the country in the 2019 class. 6’4” 305 lb monster up front that can slide out and play end or cause havoc at DT. I believe LSU and Alabama are the early favorites.

2020 RB Jaylan Knighton - I believe AU is his first Power 5 offer though not 100% sure on that. Obviously offering a kid that is a rising sophomore means the staff sees some serious potential in this kid.

2020 DT McKinnley Jackson - Jackson was a terror last year as a freshman at George County in Lucedale, MS. Ole Miss and Auburn have both jumped into the race early.

Other News

247’s Keith Niebuhr put together a list of the best bets to join the 2018 class. He also has another slideshow up detailing every player AU has offered with a note on their recruitment.

I have written a bunch about Auburn’s DT recruiting this year and have talked about a number of instate guys AU could pursue. Well there is another name to add to the list in 3* Allen Love who Auburn is checking out today.

Auburn still leads for 4* LB Zakoby McClain. He appears to be one of Travis Williams’s top targets in the 2018 class.

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