#just graduated from being a Roughneck

[imagionary]

From a dream I had last night about a moment from Misty's past I guess

[idaclarke]

{ MAIKA MONROE, 23, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER } Is that IDA CLARKE? A SENIOR originally from SEVIERVILLE TN, they decided to come to Ogden College to study ANTHROPOLOGY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES on a ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP. They’re THE SIREN on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance.

hung my cotton dress on rested wire...

NAME: ida may clarke NICKNAME: a few of her siblings call her everything by using ‘ida’ to describe her (ida crook, ida stupid etc), her meemaw calls her trouble BIRTHDAY: april 3, 2001 ZODIAC: aries sun, taurus moon, aquarius rising SEXUALITY: no label (pansexual) RELIGION: christian (pentecostal)  THREE POSITIVE TRAITS: charming, adventurous, decisive THREE NEGATIVE TRAITS: judgmental, cruel, dishonest THREE SKILLS: skilled hunter, can pick a lock, petty theft ENNEAGRAM: 4w5 MYERS-BRIGGS: enfj EXTRACURRICULARS: senior class board, debate team, president of tri-delta, acapella group, feminists at ogden

AESTHETIC: beat up cowgirl boots, too short slip dresses, glossy lips, messy braids, diet cheerwine cans, overalls, glittery eyelids, smudged mascara, running water, creaking wooden floors, faded home-made blankets

CHARACTER INSPO: jennifer check (jennifer’s body), tyra collette (friday night lights), ramona vega (hustlers), alison dilaurentis (pretty little liars), audrey horne (twin peaks), irina (boy parts), rebekah mikaelson (the vampire diaries), queen ravenna (snow white),

LIKES: cherry lollipops, warm summer afternoons, gossip, running through the woods, deep kisses, annotated books, wool socks, black nail polish, biscuits and gravy, dolly parton, knitting DISLIKES: rude comments, dishonesty, running out of perfume, early mornings, mosquitos, cold weather, off-brand dr. pepper, vegan substitutes, people who dislike country music

FAVORITE MOVIES/TV: fleabag, the oa, it’s always sunny in philadelphia, the l word, coraline, how to get away with murder, midsommer, yellowstone, pearl, suspira, the little hours FAVORITE BOOKS: wuthering heights, history of madness, circe, ninth house, s., boy parts, bunny, if we were villains, a secret history of witches, a certain hunger FAVORITE ARTISTS: ethel cain, the 1975, miranda lambert, dolly parton, the chicks, hozier, florence + the machine, paris paloma, chapell roan

FAMILY: maternal meemaw - jolene phillips (patricia clarkson) mother - mary-anne clarke (charlize theron) father - david clarke (billy burke) sisters - doris hutchinson (teresa palmer), maureen cardin (carlson young), ethel clarke (lily-rose depp), jana clarke (freya allen) brothers - levi clarke (george mackay), calvin clarke (will poulter), beau clarke (skyler gisondo), john clarke (jack dylan grazer), wayne clarke (jacob tremblay), micah clarke (christian convery)

pinterest here, playlist here.

JUST A CRAZY ROUGHNECKS DAUGHTER:

life isn’t much of anything when you’re the middle of 11 kids. on the farm it was early to rise and early to bed, everyone had a chore and unfortunately doris, the eldest of the kids, was given childcare duty more often than not. but the perk of being the middle of 11, is the ability to disappear. her father only cared about three (four) things; god, farm, family, whiskey. her mother followed a similar path and well...granny jo wasn’t the best idol according to her mother. and so ida decided to carve her own way in the world.

you see, the thing about being number six of eleven means you get exactly zero attention. and so you go seeking your attention elsewhere. and ida found that attention in the arms of bobby perkins. she was fourteen, him seventeen, and ida was smitten from day one. he talked her up, picked her up at the bonfires when she snuck out of the house, and promised that he would take her away from eastern tennessee. and then she graduated at 17 (a year early because to everyone’s surprise ida was actually quite intelligent), and took her to the majestic land that was florida.

living in a trailer park as bobby developed a bit of a following with his promise of love and freedom, and god-fearing community, ida realized just how much she liked the spotlight. she liked when people fawned over her, when they showered her with affection, and when they believed the words that left her mouth. it was easy work for her, talking to people, making them feel heard, inviting them in to the group. this was what she was made for.

but bobby didn’t like it. he didn’t like that others started to love ida more than him, that she would say something in opposition to him. always sweetly, always veiled as compliments and adoration for him. and so he came up with the plan to dump her, to leave her stranded, to get her away from his life, his goals.

and then suddenly ida was back on her parents front porch, saying she’d been accepted at ogden with a full ride, that bobby was still in florida and she had no idea what happened to him. and then she kissed her mother and father goodbye and moved to new hampshire for her future.

JUMPED HEADFIRST INTO THE WATER:

starting college as a freshman at twenty came with a whole list of questions. she answered them easily, she needed time between high school and college to get some real world experience. she wanted to travel, to work and save her money, but she always knew she would go, and that ogden was the place.

and then a year later greer started, and ida zeroed in on her. she was perfect for ida’s ego, for her life to befriend such a golden girl. to whisper words of wisdom. but soon greer, either seeing through ida’s facade or just over it altogether, gave ida the cold shoulder.

but she was undeterred, continuing on her merry way but always keeping an eye on the campus golden girl. she laughed when others needed the comedic boost, gave out compliments to those who needed it, and offered her support as needed. but it just isn’t enough is it?

BAPTIZED AWAY MY SINS:  

looking forward, ida is hoping to continue to apply herself. charming anyone and everyone she can, collecting people in her pocket for when she needs them, making loyal friends and followers. currently she’s applying to master and phd programs, including the one at ogden, to continue her studies. and she’s keeping her eye out for the golden girl, curious to her disappearance, though a bit thrilled in the mystery. ida would never turn down the drama, and is not above going the extra mile when she’s a bit bored.

GREER:

ida entered college at age 20, with too much real-world experience it seemed. everyone was so boring at ogden, making problems out of nothing, feeding each other’s egos. and yet, ida knew what she could tap into while she was there, the wealth, the connections, the power. everything she needed, what she had never had. and enter greer, a beautiful eager girl with everything ida needed, everything she wanted to be. and so she quickly took to her side, hoping to offer friendship, advice, to mold her into the person that ida needed her to be. and it seemed to work for a while, greer maintaining her own self but still ida could clearly see her influences. until it stopped completely, greer icing her out of her life in one fell swoop. and in less than a year, ida went from building her empire and future on poor little greer, back to nothing. still she kept her tabs on greer, and she knew greer did the same. they acted polite and kind in public, a weird relationship of knowing each other but not really. ida played it off, acting as if greer was but a younger sibling to her. but to everyone else it was just an odd friendship that didn’t survive the test of time in college, nothing more and nothing less.

THE SIREN:

she pulls you in with her sweetness, but only when it’s too late do you realize her true colors. like sirens drown the sailors, ida isn’t afraid to take-down anyone she feels deserves it. Whether it is valid or not. she doesn’t care who it is, and sometimes she does it just for fun. breaking the hearts of boys and girls, dragging people's names through the mud, spreading a rumor to take them down completely. whatever it takes, she’ll do it. for her safety, for her entertainment, it doesn’t matter much to her. but even now, four years later at ogden, people haven’t seemed to really pick up on it. let’s face it, she won’t hesitate to push you in front of a bus, and will quite successfully convince you it had been an accident and she had been trying to save you from the bus.

extra: 

previous tasks here

has a small shitty stick-and-poke tattoo of a cowboy hat just above her left elbow 

has a small altar in her room decorated with random items that don’t make much sense to the outsider: a deer antler, a picture of a boy (bobby), a jar of ash, a few random stones, a small jar of honey, a jack daniels shooter

[angelenohq]

in the city of angels.

NAME: Asha Dean FACE CLAIM: Chloe Bailey AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 25 & April 17th, 1997 HOMETOWN: Atlanta, Georgia TIME IN LOS ANGELES: Two years NEIGHBORHOOD: Santa Monica OCCUPATION: Exotic dancer, OnlyFans model, waitress

biography.

trigger warning: abortion

Born to Eric Dean, a well known film director, and Jasmine Dean, a retired model, Asha Dean is the eldest of the Dean children with a younger sister following three years behind her. Being the oldest, Asha had first born privileges - being that her parents were still trying to figure it all out. So, she got away with quite a bit and of course, was spoiled endlessly. She, and her sister, were Eric and Jasmine’s pride and joy.

Growing up, Asha lived a life of luxury in Atlanta, going to all the best schools, training in dance, piano, and voice, competing in beauty pageants and the like. She was what many in the ‘A’ would call black royalty. Not actually royal of course but in the circles she ran in, she was that girl and she lived for it.

Then as those rebellious teenage years hit things took a turn. She was of course still that girl but she was now that girl with raging hormones. And being the girl everyone wanted to either be or be with, she had her options when it came to a dating pool. Unfortunately for her parents though, Asha didn’t like the suit wearing, classy, upstanding boys from her private school. Nope. She liked the roughnecks, the bad boys, the guys with the motorcycle and tattoos.

And that’s exactly who she fell for. Everything her parents hated. He was a little older, tall, handsome, tatted up, and drove a Camaro. Oh, to say she was swooning was an understatement. She fell and she fell hard. So hard, that at 17 she got pregnant. Her parents were furious with her. They forced her to break up with her boyfriend and they quietly handled the situation. However, that wasn’t enough.

Right after graduation, they put her out. Disowned. She was on her own and had to fend for herself. At this point, her ex-boyfriend was long gone but luckily, she was able to stay with a friend for a few months as she figured things out. Figuring things out turned into OnlyFans really quickly. No, she wasn’t doing full on porn or anything. She was just modeling in the skimpiest outfits you could think of. And it worked. She was making a killing.

After a while, she made a few friends from OnlyFans and learned that on top of the website, a lot of them were also working as exotic dancers. Pft. She could do that in her sleep. She was trained in ballet, tap, hip-hop, modern, and contemporary. Shaking her ass and doing tricks on a pole was light work. Or so she thought. It was actually much harder than she ever imagined. It took training and actual skill. Real strength. But over time, she learned and actually got really good at it.

So, that was her life now. She didn’t speak to her parents much, if at all, but she was still in secret contact with her little sister. That’s one thing her parents couldn’t take away from her. The connection she and her mini-me had.

After a few years, Asha decided that she was ready for a fresh start. She wanted to rid herself of that scarlet letter and just start anew where no one knew her. What better place than Los Angeles. It was bustling constantly and so full of life and character. It was a place where she was a nobody and she could change the narrative. She moved to the city and found a nice little apartment in Santa Monica and settled in. After a few months, she got situated at a new club to dance and found her footing. She also got a job on the side working as a waitress. Now, two years later, she’s applied to UCLA to finally get her MBA in Business Administration because she has dreams of opening up her very own dance studio one day.

[the--blackdahlia]

Armageddon Chapter 11 (Dean x Reader)

Title: Armageddon Chapter 11

Summary:  Space. The Final Frontier. But for Dean Winchester, space was the last place he thought he would ever go. His family life isn’t perfect, his job isn’t ideal, but he has (Y/n), the woman he loves. Sam Winchester never thought his life would turn out the way it did. He is divorced, alone, and his brother most likely hates him. Working for NASA was not going to be easy. But, when a threat to the earth has him calling on his family for help, what can he do? can Sam and Dean push past his family issues to keep the Earth spinning another day? Based on the movie of the same name.

Pairings: Dean x Reader; Sam x Jessica

Warnings For this Chapter: Angst, language

Song for this chapter is Unwell by Matchbox 20.

Check out my Patreon for more!!

Dean ran around looking for Sam. It wasn’t until he heard the sounds of a punching bag being hit and Sam’s familiar voice. Dean slowly walked in, seeing his younger brother beating the crap out of the bag. Dean placed his hand on Sam shoulder and ducked when Sam tried to punch him.

“Whoa! Easy tiger it’s just me.” Dean held his hands up in surrender. “I have never seen you blow up at dad like that.” He shook his head, “I thought I was the one that was supposed to butt heads with dad.”  

“I’m just tired of him,” He hit the bag. “Treating me like,” He hit the bag again. “A damn child!” The bag came back and tried to hit him, but Dean slowed it down.

“Dad’s are like that sometimes,” Dean muttered. “Besides, he’s been worried about you since the day you were born… I mean… you were really tiny man.” Dean tried to ease his brother’s pain. “He was always scared he would break you.”

“Sometimes I wish he would’ve…” Sam grumbled under his breath. “I’m really okay Dean. This punching bag just had it coming.” He smirked a little.

“Sam… you let me handle dad ok?” Dean shook his head, “I’ve been dealing with his damn attitude since I was 14 and we fought about him not taking us to the rig anymore.” Dean smiled at the memory. “Hey… You remember when we first met (Y/n) and her Dad? Maybe not because you were about maybe four?”

“Uh, no.” Sam said, looking at him. “I don’t remember a lot from our childhood honestly.”

Dean chuckled, “Well, you and I were playing outside and I was trying to help you build a ramp for us to race our cars on… and this little sassy thing comes over, puts her hands on her hips and says. ‘I’m (Y/n) and I can play with cars better that you.’ So she crosses her arms and I look at her and go, ‘no one’s arguing here tom boy.’ That was a big mistake,” Dean stopped to look at Sam. “You walked up to her and gave her this death glare after she knocked me on my ass with a right hook. So she looks down at you and say’s ‘what are you looking at pipsqueak.’ and you just ran inside.”

Dean remembered what his dad had said about Sam having an accident on the rig. He looked down at the ground sadly. Maybe Sam didn’t remember some of the good times they had with mom. He and Sam had a lot of good memories with their mom when their dad had been deployed before the tornado.

“So, anyway… Mom comes out and I get in trouble for calling her a tom boy and she gets in trouble for punching me and I have no idea how it happened but we ended up friends.” Dean brushed of the rest of the story. “I fell in love with her the minute she knocked me on my ass… anyway… I want you to be my best man.” Dean breathed.

“Really?” Sam asked. “You...you want me to be your best man?”

“Who better than my brother to stand by my side while I marry my best friend?” Dean smiled.

“I thought you’d want Benny…” Sam said, shuffling around.

“Benny, is my best guy friend, But you are my brother… you are the most important person besides (Y/n) in my life.”  Dean pulled Sam in for a hug. “I’m sorry Sammy… I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”

“How...how much do you know?” Sam asked nervously.

“Dad told me about what happened graduation day,” Dean whispered. “Why didn’t you call me, Sammy?” Dean’s voice broke, “you were going through the worst part of your life and you didn’t call me.”

“Because you were going through the best part of yours and I didn’t want to ruin it for you. But I guess I did anyway, didn’t I.” He sighed. “I’m sorry Dean.”

“You are my brother Sam,” Dean held Sam’s face in his hands. “No matter what, I will always stop what I’m doing for you… you’re my baby brother Sammy. Not even dad, can keep me away from you, got it?” Dean hugged Sam again. “So, what do you say best man, you going to give me a good bachelor party?” Dean gave Sam a gentle punch.

“Yeah, yeah. Ash can jump out of a giant cake.” Sam laughed. “I got you man.”

“All right, enough of the chick flick moment, let’s go find (Y/n) pipsqueak,” Dean gave his shoulder a pat before walking away.  

“I always wanted the white car,” Sam started. “A...a Camaro. A 1968 Camaro. And you didn’t want to share. And mom told you to share and you told her you did. And (Y/n) was so nice and gave me one. And told me to kick your butt.” Sam smiled. “That car was magical. It was so fast.”

Dean paused and turned around, “What did you say?”

“Sorry, I thought I had a memory. But I’m probably just imagining things.” Sam shrugged it off.

“That’s how it happened, that’s exactly what happened.” Dean smiled. “Come on, before Ash decides to streak in front of the cameras.”

John had stayed in the shadows listening to the brothers bond. He closed his eyes, he only hoped it wouldn’t be too late to fix things before they left for the mission.

************

Director Rufus Turned stood at the podium as the press conference began. He already looked annoyed as he looked down at his speech.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press,” he began, “As you know approximately 4 days ago, the east coast was bombarded with small meteorites that had come into our atmosphere.” He cleared his throat and looked at Bobby. “We were then alerted to an object that was headed our way. Our scientists worked quickly to determine the threat and how long it would take to get here.”  

As Rufus spoke, (Y/n) could feel a wave of nausea hit her. She rushed to the nearest trash can and emptied the contents of her stomach. She hated this, she felt horrible, her mood was all over the place, and worse of all she was scared she was going to lose the love of her life. She closed her eyes as she continued  to throw up into the trash can. She thought Dean had rushed over to help only to find John helping her hold her hair.

“Thanks,” She muttered as she took a napkin from her purse and wiped her mouth clean.

“Dean would’ve been here, but he can’t leave from up there.” John told her. “How far along are you?”

“They said three months,” she whispered, “Don’t tell Dean… at least not until he comes back.”

“I’m not going to be the one to tell him. But, don’t you think you should tell him before?” John asked, rubbing her back to help calm her down.

“If I tell him now, he won’t go,” she muttered. “You know how he gets John, and he needs to do this.”

“Okay, okay.” John sighed. He looked at his boys standing there. As he watched them, he felt something off. Like a disturbance in the force almost. He just wasn’t sure if the bad feeling he had was directed at Dean or at Sam.

“Why do you hate the idea of Dean being with me John?” (Y/n) shook her head. “He has been trying so… hard, to please you and make him proud.”

“I don’t hate the idea of you and Dean together.” John sighed. “I just wanted him to be better than a damn roughneck. And you deserve better than that too.”

“You could have fooled me, John. Dean loves working in the rig, because he saw how much it helped your family.” (Y/N) shook her head. “Dean is far more than a ‘roughneck.’ Besides, my dad was one and you are too. What’s so bad about it?”

“Look at me (Y/n).” John said. “I’m a grumpy old widower. Why would anyone want to marry something like this? I don’t want that for you. And I don’t want Dean to become me.”

(Y/n) punched John on the shoulder, “Why are you Winchesters so damn self hating and stubborn?” she placed her hand on her hips. “You are grumpy because you want to be John, you were never grumpy until Mary passed away in that tornado,” she reminded him. “Dean is nothing like you and you know it.” She glared at him, “all he wants to know is that you are proud of him and his accomplishments John, that’s all.”

“I am so damn proud of him.” John sighed. “I want to fix things with him.” He closed his eyes for a second. “And as for my grumpiness, I lost the love of my life and I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye…”

“John… you know, when mom died… my dad said that I can say goodbye and she would hear me because the wind can carry our voices to wherever that are.” she stood close to him. “Just, don’t forget to talk to your son’s before it’s too late.” (Y/n) hesitated to hug him, wondering if it would be ok.

“Come here kid.” He swept her up in a big hug. “I’m sorry about everything. And I’m going to make it right for you guys.” He smiled.

“Better call Crowley then, see if you can get Dean out of transferring.” She muttered. “I really don’t want to work for the sleeze bag. He creeps me out.”

“I’ll tell him he can’t take my co-president away from me.” John said. It hit (Y/n) then. Co-president. John was promoting Dean.

“What?” She gasped, “John, you can’t mean….”

“I can. And I mean, who better to run the company after I’m gone? I’m one cheeseburger away from a heart attack.” John laughed. “I want Dean to run it. I trust him with it. And I trust you to keep him in line.” He smiled at her.

“Oh trust me, I can keep him in line… knocked him on his ass when we first met.” (Y/n) laughed at the memory.

“I remember that,” John laughed. “I think you were Sam’s hero for awhile.”

“Thank you… I know dad dying wasn’t easy on you.” she whispered.

“Your dad was like a brother to me.” John told her. “I loved him the way Dean loves Sam. And if it wouldn’t have been for him, I’d probably be dead.” John hugged her again.

“I know… I know,” she kissed his cheek, “remember not a word to Dean about the baby.”

“Cross my heart.” John said. They turned to look back at the press conference as it started coming to an end. They answered the last few questions and the guys were released to have one last night of freedom.

*********

San Antonio

Ashton was playing with his small cars on the floor when he looked up at the TV.

“Look Mommy! Daddy’s on the V.V!!!!” He gave a happy clap.

Jessica looked at the TV. there lined up with Dean, stood Sam being introduced as part of the team that was going up into space. She gave a gasp as her words floated into her head. The coffee mug she was holding slipped from her grasp, smashing on the floor.

**********

After the conference…

Ash slapped Dean on his back, “What do you say you leave the ball and chain at home and join me in a night of debauchery?”

“Nah man. You have fun catching every STD in Texas.” Dean laughed. “I think I’m just going to have a nice, relaxing dinner.” He noticed Benny walking away with a fishing pole and tackle box. “Hey man, where you going?”

“Night fishing,” He smiled, “might as well try and catch something before the big day tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Have fun.” Dean smiled at him. Dean looked around for Sam, and saw him heading towards his office. (Y/n) walked over and held Dean’s hand.

“Where’s Sam going?” Dean asked.

“He said he needed to do something, but Dean… I don’t want to leave him alone.” (Y/n) hugged him tightly, “There’s something going on and he isn’t talking.”

“Well, there is a nice pub around here that says he’s coming with us and having dinner.” Dean told her. “Come on, let’s go get him.”

Sam pulled a bottle of whiskey out of his bottom drawer. He didn’t drink it often. But right now, he just wanted a quiet drink in his dark office, away from everyone and everything. The picture of Ashton he had on his table brought tears to his eyes, and he had to make it lay down so he couldn’t feel the heartbreak anymore. Dean knocked on the door.

“Sammy?” He called. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Sam said, putting the bottle back in his drawer as Dean opened the door. “What’s up?”

“Let’s go out to eat, you, me, and (Y/n). We can hang out like we used to.” Dean smiled, “It’s been a while and I think we should try and hang out again.” Dean walked up to his Desk and played with the vampire bobble head. His hand reached for the fallen picture of Ashton. Picking it up he smiled. “The kid looks so much like you…” He noticed his master thesis on the desk. “I guess it’s not that great huh.” he pointed to his thesis.

“Uh, actually, it’s great.” Sam told him. “So great in fact that we’re using it to destroy the asteroid.” Sam offered him a small smile. “And I did this so no one can say you ripped off your thesis.” He slid the envelope with Dean’s name on it towards his brother. “Go ahead, open it.”

Dean took the envelope, “Sammy… you... “ he looked at the heading. “This is from the patent office. You patented my bomb for me?” His voice broke. Before Sam could say anything Dean walked around the desk and hugged Sam tightly.

“You’re not mad that I interfered?” Sam asked, a little surprised by the hug.

“Sammy, I am grateful you did this… I mean… thank you!” Dean wasn’t sure what to say. “Come on, (Y/n)’s hungry and she can get cranky when she doesn’t eat.”

“I don’t want to intrude on your guys’ thing…” Sam said. (Y/n) popped her head around the corner then.

“You’re going and that’s final Pipsqueak!” she growled, “I want meat and fries! So get the lead out!”

“Geez she’s bossy when she’s hungry,” Sam sighed. “And I’m not Pipsqueak anymore! I’m bigger than you are!” He followed them out of the complex to someplace to eat.

“You are always going to be Pipsqueak to me Sammy!” She said as she ruffled his hair and ran away before he could retaliate.

“Dean is the only one that I allow to call me Sammy (Y/n/n)!” Sam yelled out. “You better hold on to her Dean… Don’t let what happened to Jessica and me happen to you.” Sam gave his brother a sad smile.  

“I’m not letting her go.” Dean smiled. “And plus, I only want to use you as a best man once.” He laughed.

“You’re so hilarious!” Sam yelled at him, his sad smile breaking into a genuine one.

Reaching a small pub outside of the complex, Dean raised his eyebrow at (Y/n) when she ordered water to drink.

“What?” She said when he looked at her.

“You always have a beer when we go to places like this.” Dean said. “You don’t want one tonight?”

“I don’t want the headache tomorrow,” she covered, “Ohhhhh, the 10lbs burger looks good,” she tried to change the subject. But she never really ate anything bigger than six.

“You...you want a 10 pound burger?” Dean asked, a little confused. “Honey, are you okay?”

“I’m just extra hungry, Ok? I mean I can eat a 10 lbs burger, or would you rather I starve?” She raised her eyebrow at Dean while crossing her arms.

“What? No! I was just uh….I hope it tastes good?” He looked over at Sam for help.

Sam just shrugged and ordered some sliders. He wasn’t extremely hunger, but he knew if he didn’t eat, it would be a very miserable mission tomorrow. He picked at his food while Dean watched (Y/n) eat hers, a little amazed.

“So, I guess after everything, you guys are going back to Austin?” Sam asked, eating a fry.

“No… I mean yeah to pack for Louisiana, I guess.” Dean gave Sam a sad smile. “I mean I have the Job at McLeod waiting for me. I think (Y/n) would be starting there too, so…”

“O-oh…” Sam said. “I turned down a transfer to Cape Canaveral a few weeks ago.”

“I thought you wanted to work at the main launch site?”  (Y/n) asked.

“I didn’t want to leave my family behind.” Sam sighed. “I don’t have anyone in Florida. But it sounds that soon I won’t have anyone in Texas either.”

“You’ll have Dad and Ashton, Sam… you’ll still have family.” Dean reasoned. “We’ll get to come and visit.”

“Guess you’re right,” Sam got up. “I need to get back to the office. I have a lot of things to do before the launch tomorrow.”

“Sam wait…” Sam was out the door before Dean could stop him.

Forever Tags:  @anathewierdo @dekahg @marvel-af-imagines @feelmyroarrrr @nanie5 @imboredsueme @gemini0410 @aiaranradnay @babypink224221 @mogaruke @xxwarhawk @sandlee44 @shatteredabby @caswinchester2000 @supernaturalwincestsblog @lauravic @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @teller258316

Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles Tags: @queenslandlover-93 @screechingartisancashbailiff @strab0 @maaryisafangirl @deathofmissjackson @hellabrothers @fandom-princess-forevermore @x-waywardaf-x @webcraft4eveh @deansgirl-1968 @2dead2function @horrorpxnk @luciathewinchestergirl @sheris532 @bobasheebaby @bella-ca @akshi8278

Supernatural Tags:  @bandobsession98 @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @fangirlsencyclopaediaofweirdness @ilovetardis @missihart23 @cloudyskylines @flamencodiva @sams-serialkiller-fetish @theas-bedtime-stories @huntingfreewill @ocholove @princessofthefandomrealm

Armageddon  Tags: @thefaithfulwriter

[penniesforthestorm]

Heaven’s Gate (1980)

***Disclosure: I watched the 154-minute theatrical cut, on a laptop, which feels like a disservice, but it was on Hulu and my curiosity got the better of me.

If, like me, you read a lot of film criticism, eventually, you’ll run into a discussion or a mention of Heaven’s Gate. What you glean from this context is something along these lines: this film ruined Michael Cimino’s career, bankrupted United Artists, marked the end of New Hollywood, and it’s way too long. (I’ve ranked these items in order of their relative objectivity.) For some, all of this would be a turn-off. For me, though, it only made me more curious, especially once I saw one or two mentions of it being a ‘flawed masterpiece’. I’m always intrigued by a big, wild artistic swing, even or perhaps especially if it’s close to a disaster. Lynch’s Dune, Apocalypse Now, High Plains Drifter-- I could go on. So when I decided to watch Heaven’s Gate, my main intent was to try and meet it on its own terms, using the same central questions I bring to any movie: What do I think the director is trying to do, do I think they succeed, and why or why not?

From the opening notes of the overture, I was immediately intrigued. The film’s score, composed by David Mansfield, is not the kind of triumphant, vaguely Teutonic classical theme we might associate with a John Ford Western. Nor is it a twangy fiddle-and-banjo affair. Instead, it has a distinctly Eastern European flavor, with plucked strings and minor tonalities. As it turns out, this is kind of the key to the whole film-- it’s not really a Western at all. It’s more like an epic Russian novel that just happens to take place on the American frontier. Through this lens, the massive scope of the project suddenly makes a lot more sense.

The score has a less abstract significance, as well-- Heaven’s Gate is set in 1890, when immigration to the U.S. from Eastern Europe was reaching its peak. Most of the film’s ‘population’, as it were, are Czech, Bulgarian, and Polish immigrants, who are targets of the nastiest kinds of nativist suspicion-- routinely named as ‘anarchists’ and accused of (among other things) having too many children. A private stockman’s association in Wyoming, headed by the oily Mr. Frank Canton (Sam Waterston, putting his talent for WASP-y, patrician disdain to excellent use), has effectively declared war on a particularly fractious county, alleging that its inhabitants routinely traffic in stolen cattle.

Before we get there, though, we’re treated to a dream. The film opens on an imposing stone edifice, shrouded in summer-morning mist, and pans down to reveal a young man in a fine suit, running pell-mell across the dewy courtyard. He soon meets up with a crowd of his fellows, a roistering band of black-clad youths (following behind an actual band playing the chorus of “Battle Hymn of the Republic”). It’s commencement, Harvard, 1870. Pretty girls wave from windows and giggle behind their lace gloves. The class speaker, named as W.C. Irvine (John Hurt) makes a show of astonishment on his way to the podium. Later, in the soft evening light, the graduates and their sweethearts twirl on the lawn to “The Blue Danube Waltz”. The camera twirls, too, bowing in and out from the circle of voluminous skirts. Our latecomer from the morning, who has been addressed as James (Kris Kristofferson), takes the arm of a lovely blonde, and they laugh in mutual delight. Quite suddenly, the dancing turns into a spirited brawl, with a few gallant punches thrown. Our young heroes are shown finally gathered together, noses bloody but eyes bright, facing toward a future in which they will help to civilize their vast nation. Or some such thing.

The film then flashes forward to a muddy yard outside a log cabin, where a cow has been butchered, its innards being excavated by the butcher and his family. Then the shadow of a hat creeps up along the bottom of the white sheet serving as an improvised wall. The butcher calls out, and takes a bullet to the head in response. Framed through the rip in the sheet is an elegant young man in dandyish grey (Christopher Walken). Later, we find out his name-- Nicholas Champion. He is an enforcer for the Association, referred to as a traitor by one of the men he apprehends. Meanwhile James, now Sheriff Averill, disembarks the train at the local station, and right away, we sense something is amiss. As he walks into the general store, a roughnecked man studiously avoids his eyes. Another man is examining a knife for sale, and the camera lingers on the bright flash of the blade.

This is the essence of Heaven’s Gate-- its focus is, overwhelmingly, on the visual details. The cinematographer is Vilmos Zsigmond (McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Deer Hunter, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and the color palette reminded me of the autochrome process used in some early photography-- lots of deep brown, grey, green, and purple. Smoke and mist and haze frequently drift over the scenery. Most of the film was shot on location in Glacier National Park in northern Montana, which made it deeply moving for me-- the bright turquoise hue of the lakes, the abundant wildflowers, the craggy mountain peaks. There’s another dance, introduced by a debonair young fiddler on roller skates (the film’s composer, David Mansfield)-- and then when the assembled citizens join in, we see that everyone’s on roller skates! It is kind of absurd, but in a thrilling way, at least for the majority of the runtime.

Unfortunately, however, this focus on setting the scene does lead to some neglect of the characters. It’s no fault of the actors. Kristofferson’s ramblin’-man grace is perfectly suited to the role of James Averill, Southern scion trying genuinely to be a figure of decency in the world. Walken’s striking, nervy energy animates the ambitious Nicholas Champion, who is increasingly unsure which side he wants to be on. John Hurt makes an entire three-course meal out of too little screentime-- going from W.C. Irvine, Harvard class clown, to being addressed contemptuously by Waterston as “Billy”, a sozzled, tragic cynic. Isabelle Huppert brings a fascinating steeliness to Ella Watson, the local madame who knows her business and knows it well. But (at least in this cut) those one-sentence summaries are about all the character development we get, and it’s a shame, because there are a lot of intriguing threads here.

Still, I came away from Heaven’s Gate feeling like I’d seen something important. It’s passionately made and often magnificent-- the first half is just one brilliant sequence after another. Sure, it staggers under its own weight a little bit, but it’s attempting the type of load one rarely sees. Someday I’ll have to hunt down a Director’s Cut (I know there are a few versions out there) and see it on a big screen. I know it’ll be worth it.

[westakoasta]

P-MINUS - 2019

Where are you from? And what’s your first memories linked to hip hop?

I’ve lived all over - Belgium, Germany, Ohio, Missouri, the Virgin Islands, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles.  But I spent the most years, including high school and college, in Missouri, so I feel like that’s where “I’m from.”  I first remember hearing hip hop while living on St. Thomas (in the Virgin Islands) and the three songs that started me on this journey were “I Need Love,” by LL Cool J, “You Be Illin’” by Run-DMC and “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys.  I must have heard them on the radio, so that would have been 1987 - the year of my hip hop birth.  In 1988, I moved back to Missouri and a neighbor of mine had a ton of rap tapes so I’d borrow his tapes all the time or listen to them in his car on the drive to school.  I believe that the first tape I ever bought was Schooly D’s “Smoke Some Kill” (1988).

What got you started with Atak Distribution, how and when did it begin?

Fast forward to 1994 - I had graduated from college, where I had been the Hip Hop Director at the school’s radio station, and moved to San Francisco where I began an internship at Gavin, a music magazine that curated Top 40 lists for radio programmers.  Somehow through that job, I met DJ Stef (editor of the Vinyl Exchange) and started writing record reviews for her.  And on one fateful day, I received a copy of Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” tape for review and I thought it was the freshest thing in the world and in 1996 I officially became an underground hip hop junkie.

Were you a hardcore music collector before you started Atak?

Before Atak, I had a decent cd and record collection, full of ‘90s “golden era” major label releases, but hardly any tapes and barely anything considered “indie” or “underground.”  Back then I wasn’t a collector, just a music fan, because all this incredible music was just sitting at the record stores for $12.99.  I shopped a lot at Amoeba and Rasputin’s and a few other smaller stores in the Bay area, plus a few record labels and artists would send me promos for review.

How did you choose what would be in your catalog? How did you make contacts with the artists?

Starting with Sacred Hoop, I was certain that this amazing group wasn’t getting the exposure it deserved, so the seeds of Atak were first planted.  I then started soliciting for more submissions through the Vinyl Exchange and some other Bay area rap magazines, such as 4080.  I think that the Hoop started spreading the word, too, because I soon started getting tapes from the likes of FTA, Megabusive, San Francisco Street Music, Jedi Knights Circle, 99th Demention and others from the South Bay and SF.  Somewhere in there, I met up with the Mystic Journeymen, bought some tapes from them, and was eventually exposed to Berkeley and Oakland artists such as the Living Legends, Hobo Junction, Zion-I and Illa Dapted.  If I liked your tape, it would get in the Atak catalog.  The first printed mail-order catalog had 12 tapes in it and the very first tape sold was Mystik Journeymen’s “Escape Forever” on August 10th, 1996.

Was the mail-order a full time job or did you have other occupations (studies, other job?)?

During the first few years I had several jobs: the Gavin internship became a paid job, I worked at a grocery store and then later at a vegetarian cafe.  Eventually, since my rent was cheap and I was starting to sell more music, I was able to do Atak full-time.  All the storage and shipping was done out of my bedroom.

Did you have many overseas/international customers and what role did that play in the business?

It looks like I started getting my first international orders (from Finland!) in 1997.  I don’t know how they found out about Atak, but they were serious fans of West Coast underground so word spreads fast amongst those folks.  Fans in Finland, Australia, Canada and Japan were my strongest supporters, with a few folks in France and Germany, too.  This was before I started selling online, so these folks were trusting me with their cash and money orders and I will be forever indebted to them.  Through these customers, I was exposed to international hip hop and eventually started selling music from the likes of Ceebrolistics, the Sebutones, mcenroe, Mary Joy Recordings, Muphin and the Hilltop Hoods.

What was the « peak » year in terms of sales and in terms of quality of music?

After a year or so of mailing out catalogs and setting up tables of merchandise at shows, Atak finally got online with the help of one of my earliest customers, Todd (aka Vic aka Celph Titled), who was extremely active on hip hop message boards, and he really helped spread the word around the U.S. and the world, so Atak started getting more non-Bay area music in the catalog and I started getting  orders from everywhere.  I think that the music quality was strong start to finish.  I was listening to everything before I put it in the catalog, and if it wasn’t dope, it didn’t get in.

Did you ever wanted to make Atak a bigger thing, like UGHH or such?

There was a time in which I would have loved for Atak to get really big, because it was all so much fun - all the shows, meeting the artists, hearing a ton of new music, even the packing and shipping was fun for me.  But in hindsight, it is clear that I was better at being a huge fan of the music rather than being a savvy businessperson.  At the point in which digital music started taking off, I didn’t have the technical knowhow to adjust accordingly, and a big part of me still simply loved selling physical copies.  As a fan, I didn’t want everything to go digital, but as a businessperson I should have dived in headfirst to keep up with the other big websites.  I admired what the other sites were doing, and what friends like Shane (aka Kegs) was doing with Below the Surface - putting out records, putting on shows, opening a brick-and-mortar storefront.  But part of me liked keeping things small and simple, but that clearly pushed me into smaller and more obscure corner of the online hip hop biz and eventually bumped me out of it altogether.

You did some cd-r reissues as well as a couple of mix-cds. Any temptation of launching a proper record label (as in: « new release, no reissue ») at some point?

I’d been wanting FOREVER to start a label and put out records!  I made a feeble attempt to put out an Atak compilation in the late ‘90s, full of all the folks that were in my catalog at the time.  I was able to get maybe 7-10 crews over to my house one night to talk about it, but since I had no idea how to really put it all together, I ended up getting one original song, from Nitrous Ox, out of that great big idea.  More recently, I’ve been hoping to help folks put out releases but nothing has materialized just yet.  Nowadays almost everyone is really good at getting this stuff done themselves, so I’m happy that they are taking control of their destinies and getting their music out to the world.

Can you give us your personal Top 5 favorites in your sale catalog? Also one that you think was dope and didn’t have the recognition it deserved?

In no particular order, I’ll list a few of my favorites, but I’m obligated to mention Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” (aka “Sacred Hoop” aka “Runny Poop”) first since that tape inspired everything.  I was also thrilled to be able to pick up indie music from the Hieroglyphics (“Hiero Oldies”)and Saafir (Hobo Junction’s “Limited Edition Compilation”) since I was such a fan of their major label stuff.  I really liked Red Tide’s “Rogue MCs” tape.  Disflex6’s self-titled debut (aka “1984”) was great.  The Kracken’s “Abstract & Cognac” left me wanting much more.  The Sebutones’ “50/50 Where It Counts” blew my mind!  Early stuff Dose One and Why? showed me that hip hop had no boundaries.  This is an extremely abbreviated favorites list - as I look back through my old catalogs, I realize that I loved them all.  It was all so new and so fresh and I think these artists all deserved more recognition than they got.  I’m glad that I could help expose them a bit but I wish I could have done a lot more.

Did you developed friendship with artists/crews over those years and do you have interesting stories/ anecdotes linked to that?

My anecdotal memory is terrible so I’ve sadly forgotten a ton of great stories, fantastic show moments and hilarious conversations.  Looking back, I should have kept a journal or taken a million photographs, because we all had so much fun and did so much back then.  But, luckily for me, I’ve been able to keep in touch with a few of my very favorite people, emcees Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop/Grand Invincible) and Roughneck Jihad (Third Sight), and producer Deeskee (who has probably produced more songs in the Atak catalog than anyone else).  And luckily for everyone else, all three of these guys are still making incredible music, more than 20 years after giving me tapes to review.  A few weeks ago I got to hang out with The Grouch for a bit and he gave me a copy of his “F...the Dumb” double vinyl, 20 years after I first sold that tape in the catalog.

Why (and when) did you stopped Atak?

Atak started to slow down around 2004.  I had recently moved from the Bay area down to Los Angeles, gotten married, bought a house, and started another job that was able to pay the bills more reliably.  I was still getting orders and submissions from new artists, but wasn’t able to give Atak the focus it required to really push new artists and releases.  I didn’t have time to go to many shows anymore, and all my hip hop buddies were still up in the Bay.  I had ambitions to reboot the website, but then my web host got hacked and I had to shut down the site...and then I never got it back online.  I eventually moved my inventory onto some other online platforms and kept selling, but for the most part, Atak was done.  I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to the artists who submitted music around this time.  I was getting some great music but just didn’t have juice to do anything with it.

Any thoughts on the evolution of hip hop? What about the the come back of the cassette? Is it possible that Atak would make a comeback in the future, in some form or another?

Tough question, because I don’t keep up with much truly “underground” music anymore, so I really hope that there are a ton of dope kids putting out dope music out there, and I’m sure there are plenty of them.  I love 90’s hip hop so much, both major label and my Atak stuff, that that is what I still listen to the most, digging in my records, tapes and cds or bumping music in my car.  I agree with most true heads that a lot of today’s hip hop is junk, and though I’m happy to see rappers get big and make money, I’d much rather that it be good, original and compelling hip hop.  I’m stoked to see everyone buying and releasing tapes again, because of my love for the physical copy (though I agree that a free or cheap digital download is an essential part of that sale).  And in regards to Atak’s great big comeback, I don’t think it will happen - it would require too much time and energy to do it right.  But if I can still help out a few people, promote a few records, maybe even sell a few for my old pals, I’m happy to contribute.

A specific question from the homie Age: do you still want to reissue that Hi-State album?

I bugged my man Mr. E about that tape FOREVER and at least he finally put it up on Bandcamp (https://eightarrow.bandcamp.com/album/hi-state-project-demos-n-shit-vol-1) and we chatted about putting out a cassette reissue.  I’m sure he wouldn’t have much trouble selling a short run of 100 tapes, so I’ll remind him about it.  But I’m happy that fans can at least take a listen or buy it online.

What do you think was the most special in the 90's underground scene, and do you believe something like that would ever happen again?

I’ve never really tried to analyze that scene, but in retrospect, I bet that a lot of these emcees, producers and deejays were inspired by all the incredible major label releases that kept pouring out in that decade.  So much quality hip hop was coming out and it was easy to see on “Yo! MTV Raps” and BET and the good stuff was even getting on the radio!  It was everywhere and it was so damn good!  I’m sure that these kids just wanted to be a part of that magical time, and a lot of the underground music was super fresh, too, because it wasn’t easy to make beats and put out cds - they had to commit to it and create a whole scene and they had to be dope to do it.  Granted, I’m a old nostalgic rap dude now, but I don’t think the major or the underground scene will ever be that saturated with fantastically innovative, powerful, creative and inspired hip hop.  Nowadays there isn’t enough inspiration in the scene for there to be an onslaught of great new hip hop like there was for me back in the days.  There will always be a lucky few who can inspire themselves to be original and make great music, and hopefully these kids will get a chance to be heard.

Interview conducted by Kaliyuga Pro & Pseudzero with a bonus cameo by Age, february 2019.

[identity-stunt]

Meet the Creators of IDENTITY STUNT Part II

Juancho Velez

Color Artist - Volume 1, Issues #2-#4

Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Juancho Velez always knew he wanted to be part of the comic book industry, which led him to The Kubert school. During his three years studying cartooning and graphic design, he was naturally exposed to comic book coloring. Due to the fact that being a colorist was also a way to make it to the “big league” publishers, along with professional and artist growth, he decided to pursue his career as a Colorist. It's now been over six years of great learning -- and published color work -- with clients such as: Aspen Comics, Darby Pop, IDW, Chapter House, 7G Lab Colombia, Zenescope, and DC Comics...and hopefully many more!

Follow Juancho on social media:

deviantART |

Tim Brown

Color Artist - Volume 1, Issues #1-#2

Tim Brown was born in back in '95, and is new to the comic scene. Growing up as a kid, he loved drawing, and comics. When he was 17, he jumped into comic coloring, and very quickly decided to focus on that. Over the last few years, he's been studying and teaching himself to look at the world around him, and portray that in comics. Catch his work on KISS vs The Army of Darkness from Dynamite Entertainment! Tim currently resides in a small town in British Columbia, just left of nowhere. When he's not practicing his art, he's enjoys playing pool, video games and writing this terribly short bio.

Follow Tim on social media:

Twitter | Tumblr | Facebook | deviantART

Patrik Mock

Color Art - Volume 2

Patrik Mock is a freelance graphic designer living in Berlin with his dachshund hybrid Mamush.

He started coloring comics with Nightingale and the Finchfor Dub Comics in 2015, followed by 2 issues of Worst Day Ever from Luke Stone Studios. For Markosia, he's colored issues of No Romance, Alpha Gods, and Hero 9-to-5. He's currently working on the next issues of your favorite comic, Identity Stunt!!

Right now, he is probably walking the dog.

You can check out more of Patrik's color art at: https://patrikmock.wixsite.com/mocks-color

A.J. Scherkenbach

Letterer - Volume 1, Issues #2-#4

A.J. Scherkenbach is a letterer, graphic designer, writer and filmmaker. Born and raised in San Diego, California, A.J. joined the Army as an Infantry Soldier, traveled the world, lived the adventure and retired 20 years later. He went straight to school, Platt College of San Diego, after and earned his AA in Graphic Design and BA in Video Media. He wrote and lettered Sweet Lullaby and he letters Slate & Ashe.

A.J. now resides back in San Diego but travels to Los Angeles often to either work on films as a writer, director, producer and occasionally actor. In his free time he reads, watches to many movies and TV, and spends as much time with his family and friends. One day he plans on being successful.

Follow A.J. on social media:

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Michael Hoffert

Letterer - Volume 2

In Michael's own words:

"I've always wanted to make comic books, but went to school for technical theatre and designs instead. Once I graduated, as a way to make money, I got a job as a mail carrier for the USPS.

Several years ago I finally got one of my short comic book stories drawn, but I didn't have anybody to letter it. Instead of trying to find someone, or have it be done with sub-par lettering, I decided to teach myself lettering. I used several tutorial videos and websites that offer the rules and design tips for comic book lettering and found that I was actually pretty good at it.

I then got recommended for a job lettering an online comic by a friend, which I promptly took and used those pages to hone my craft even farther. Since then I have lettered over 100 pages in various styles, learning something new with each project.

My goal is to use this skill to letter independent comics for people, and earn enough money so that I can get back to getting my own comics made."

Follow Michael on social media:

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Jeff Kline

Script Editor - Volume 1

For nearly two decades, Jeff Kline has been one of the fortunate few “genre nerds” able to move freely between prime-time and daytime television, motion pictures and the Web, and the East and West Coasts.

As both Writer and Showrunner, Kline has been responsible for more than 40 animated and live-action series and pilots. Currently, he is an Executive Producer and co-developer of TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE, a follow up to his previous project, the multiple Daytime Emmy® Award-winning CG series TRANSFORMERS: PRIME.

Over the past few years, Kline also co-developed and Executive Produced both TRANSFORMERS: RESCUE BOTS and G.I. JOE: RENEGADES for Hasbro Studios and The Hub as part of an exclusive multi-year pact.

Previously, Kline has been Showrunner on a slew of fan-fave animated series including JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES (Kids WB), MEN IN BLACK: THE ANIMATED SERIES (Kids WB), ROUGHNECKS: THE STARSHIP TROOPERS CHRONICLES (Syndicated), BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT (Fox Kids), and GODZILLA: THE SERIES (Fox Kids).

Paul Baumeister

Script Editor - Volume 2

From ThePullbox.com: "What can be said about Paul that hasn’t been said? Well, he’s not a fan of the “introduce yourself” bio page, but he is a team player who actually kinda likes talking about himself in the third person. Paul has been reading comics of all kinds since he was old enough to do so without drooling all over the pages. He’s been through all of the mainstream, has had a few favorites, and has developed a huge appreciation of the indies. Don’t bother asking about a “Top 10” because it’s never going to be the same list twice. Writing for thePullbox for the last couple years has been a blast, and has served as a great outlet for Paul’s incessant need to talk about the comics he really likes"...including Identity Stunt! Follow Paul on social media:

Twitter  |  Instagram

Renae Geerlings

Managing Editor - Volume 1

After getting a degree in theatre and moving to Los Angeles, Renae Geerlings was hired by David Wohl at Top Cow Productions as a lowly editorial assistant in 1997.  In 2006, after almost 10 years of climbing the ranks, she ended her tenure there as Editor in Chief. She has continued to freelance as a comic book editor/consultant with many companies including Darby Pop Publishing, Spark Unlimited, IP Factory, and Radical Publishing.

Follow Renae on social media: Twitter   |   Instagram

Sam Moyerman

Story and Script Assist - Volume 1

Sam Moyerman is a longtime comic book fan and reader who has long been involved as a critic and editorialist, first for Broken Frontier and then for Mightyville, for over a decade.  He has been involved as a writer and editor for Cave Drawing Ink, penning a story in their Rise of the Outlanders Anthology book and also as an editor for future anthologies and as an assistant editor for the successfully Kickstartered Grave Soldiers.  In his spare time he is also an award winning international volleyball coach, which also isn’t even his real job.  He lives in Ardmore, PA with his wife Elizabeth and their menagerie of animals.

Follow Sam on social media: Twitter |  Tumblr  | Instagram

👊🏼

#ABeatdownIsComing

[birchleo1-blog]

The 1894 Aspell & Co. Building - 151 Hudson Street

On July 1, 1823 Helen Lispenard Stewart was married to James Watson Webb in the mansion of her father, Alexander L. Stewart.  The three-and-a-half story Federal-style mansion sat at the southwest corner of Hudson and Hubert Streets.  Directly behind it was a two-story brick stable.

By the outbreak of the Civil War the days of wealthy homeowners and fashionable gatherings in the neighborhood were nearly a memory.

As late as 1937 altered houses similar to the Stewart mansion survived along Hudson Street one block south.  from the collection of the New York Public Library

By the 1890's the Stewart mansion had become a seedy rooming house, occupied by dockworkers and other rowdies.  Among those was longshoreman William Goonan and his wife, and William Cleary, another dockworker.

On Saturday night, March 24, 1894 Cleary began drinking.  It would be the last time the roughneck got drunk.  At around 1:00 in the morning he was in Goonan's room and the two got into a vicious fight after Cleary claimed "that he was the best man along the docks."

According to The Evening World, "Goonan disputed Cleary's claim and the two men clinched.  They rolled out of the room into the hallway and down a flight of stairs.  On the landing below a big pool of blood tells that a fearful fight took place there."

Roused by the noisy affray, a boy ran from the house and called Policeman Schoenfield.  When the officer arrived he found Cleary stabbed in the face and neck and Goonan with a knife in his fist.  The Evening World reported "Goonan, who was also badly beaten in the fight, was committed to the Tombs without bail."

The old mansion was soon gone.  It had been purchased a year earlier, on April 14, 1893, by Joseph H. Bearns, who owned several properties in the area.  The principal in the liquor importing firm Joseph H. Bearns & Co., he had hired architect Julius Kastner to design a five-story loft building on the opposite corner of the block, at No. 10 Hubert Street, two years earlier.  In fact, the two had worked on similar projects since the 1880's.  They would collaborate again for No. 151 Hudson Street.

Kastner's completed structure was similar to several of his other designs for Bearns.  A handsome, industrial take on Romanesque Revival, it was faced in yellow Roman brick and trimmed in brownstone and red sandstone.  Designed in four parts separated by brownstone cornices, it exhibited expected husky Romanesque Revival elements like undressed bandcourses, lusty medieval-style carvings, arched openings at the top floor.  But Kastner softened the  design with the use of bullnosed bricks which rounded the corners.  While he could have saved Bearns money with terra cotta decorations, he opted for carved ornaments throughout and executed the complex cornice in stone.

The rounded edges soften the overall appearance of the building.  Note the spiraled corner detailing of the top floor.  The stone elements that drip like stalactites from the cornice are somewhat hidden today behind metal sheathing. 

As the building rose, Aspell & Co. was operating from Nos. 314-316 Greenwich Street.  The wholesale grocery dealers embarked on an unusual marketing scheme that year.  It opened a new department that offered certain items at wholesale prices to individual shoppers--a savings of up to 50 percent.

An advertisement on August 19, 1894 promised the housekeeper that on top of the savings, she could have "the goods delivered free of charge in or out of the city" (foreshadowing by more than a century retail giants like Amazon).  There was "a full line of staple and fancy groceries and wines, etc., also table delicacies suitable for city, country or seaside use."

New-York Tribune, November 13, 1895 (copyright expired)

Before the turn of the century Aspell & Co. had moved into No. 151 Hudson Street.  It shared the building with the Cincinnati-based S. A. Sloman Co.  Samuel A Sloman had made a drastic change to his family's business a few years earlier--from trading in furs to the manufacture of liquor.

Since the mid-1890's he marketed his Diamond Wedding Whiskey as a remedy rather than an intoxicant.  His ads promised it "invigorates feeble constitutions, renews life and arrests disease."  Others said it restored "power and suppleness to the muscles, warmth and richness for the blood."

This ad promised the whiskey was "invaluable to nursing mothers."  original resource unknown

Apparently the military bought into the restorative powers of Diamond Wedding Whiskey, for in 1900 both S. A. Sloman & Co. and Aspell & Co. were bidding on contracts with the U.S. Navy.

Three years later the directors of Aspell & Company agreed to dissolve the corporation.  It was replaced at No. 151 Hudson Street by Wm. A. Leggett & Co., wholesale grocers and dealers in condensed milk.  William Leggett had established his company in 1870.

In January 1908 Joseph H. Bearns leased the entire building to Bennett, Day & Co. "for a long term of years."  Wm. A. Leggett & Co. was allowed to stay on as a sub-tenant.

There was no long a Bennett in Bennett, Day & Co.  The wholesale grocery business was owned by husband-and-wife partners Henry Mason Day and Emily Garnett Day.  The Virginians had come to New York in 1874 and opened a dried fruit and nut business.  The New-York Tribune noted decades later that for "many years [Day] imported whole crops of fruits from Brazil and other countries and disposed of them to wholesalers in this country."

The Days were prosperous and maintained a summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut, where Henry moored his yacht.  But Henry's health had begun failing by the time his company leased the Hudson Street building.  He had essentially retired in 1903, spending most of his time in Europe, California and Florida because of his ill health.  On January 18 1909, a year after signing the lease, he died at the age of 58.

About the time of Day's death William A. Leggett suffered an attack of bronchitis.  His condition did not improve and a year later, in September 1910, he succumbed at the age of 81.

Kastner's attention to detail included delightful miniature Romanesque Revival columns incorporated into the upper portion of the cast iron storefront.

Although his death brought an end to Wm. A. Leggett & Co.; Bennett, Day & Co. continued under the control of Emily Day and her son, Lee Garnett Day.  Lee was, perhaps, less interested in the wholesale grocery business than in adventure.

On December 25, 1914 The New York Times noted that he had graduated from Yale University in 1911 and "has hunted big game from India, and recently returned from a trip of five months' exploration in Brazil."  The purpose of the article was to announce he was setting off on yet another expedition, this time "to explore unknown parts of the South American jungles under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum of Chicago."  Day personally managed and financed the extensive undertaking.

Day told the reporter "Not a specimen of the mammal or of bird life has ever been obtained there.  Should we be successful in getting specimens some of them at least should prove to be of value to the collections of the museums because of their rarity."

Bennett, Day & Co. remained at No. 151 through 1917, before moving to No. 165 Hudson Street.  That year Simon W. Greenbaum & Co. was incorporated by Simon and his brother, H. M. Greenbaum, and J. Socoloff to import and export peas and beans."  In February 1918 the firm leased the Hudson Street building.

The Produce District edged up against the wholesale shoe district.  As the years passed shoe merchants pushed out the grocery dealers in some areas of Tribeca.   When Simon W. Greenbaum & Co. signed the lease on No. 151, the O'Sullivan Heel Company was operating from nearby No. 131 Hudson Street.  By 1922 they had taken over the Greenbaum lease.

Founded by James and Humphrey O'Sullivan in August 1899, the firm manufactured replacement heels for men's shoes.  It marketed its rubber heels as being less jarring than the more common leather versions.  An advertisement in 1922 explained "One of the chief causes of fatigue is the strain of standing--the jar of walking on hard floors and pavements."  The hard leather heels gave no relief and "ordinary rubber heels are little better."  But as in the Goldilocks story, O'Sullivan's Safety Cushion Heels "combine just the right toughness for long hard wear with the greatest amount of springiness."

The Evening World, June 12, 1922 (copyright expired)

In 1908 author William Richard Cutter wrote "Countless imitators, in all countries, have paid their sincerest flattery, by their unscrupulous attempts to foist upon the public, their imitations of rubber heels, and the inevitable results, that none have been, as yet, successful, each claiming for his own to be as good as the 'O'Sullivan'--'The Standard'--the yard stick of the rubber heel industry."

O'Sullivan Rubber Co. was still in the building in 1950 when the Bearns estate sold No. 151 "to an investor," as reported by The Times on March 1.  The article noted that it was the last of Bearns's many properties to be sold and that the "sale was the first involving the property in fifty-seven years."

At the time the Tribeca renaissance was still a few decades away.  The first signs of change would come in 1980 when the ground floor became home to Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant.  The New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton approved, saying "Huge napkin-size crepes are the eating implements in which are wrapped curried stews such as the doro watt, and minchet abesh wott.  Kitfo, a raw ground beef specialty is a personal favorite."

Sheba made way for Thai House Cafe in early 1987.  Six months after its opening New York Magazine said "This is food you'd expect to find in a Thai home, carefully cooked and tamely spiced."  The restaurant remained in the space at least through 1991.

In the meantime the building had experienced cinematic exposure when it posed as the Hotel Broslin in the 1982 film Basket Case.  A large neon sign was hung from the fire escape for the outside shots of the fictitious hotel.

Although a Certificate of Occupancy for the commodious loft dwellings at No. 151 was not officially rendered until 2010; the building had become residential decades earlier.  In 1992 Birnbaum's New York, written by Stephen and Alexandra Mayes Birnbaum noted "Only the most urban personalities tend to live in TriBeCa--Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and Martin Scorsese are among the pack who have lived in converted lofts at 151 Hudson Street."

The building stretches back to No. 2 Hubert Street, where the Stewarts' two-story stables once stood.

Meticulously restored, the facade of Julius Hastner's 1894 structure is essentially unchanged.  Its three-color design stands out among its neighbors in the constantly-evolving Tribeca neighborhood.

photographs by the author

Source: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-1894-aspell-co-building-151-hudson.html

[asasggson]

Making Hole

I have been working on a problem lately, trying to create a verse that I feel can become a pretty good piece of work, but it is mighty slow going. The disparate parts are not coming out in a coherent order as they will appear in the finished work, but that is not unusual for me; I always trim and place things as they need to go. This one, though, is being just plumb obstinate, staying out of reach, hiding in the crevices and around the bends of my mind. I got to thinking of it as a metaphor of drilling down into the earth to find a pocket of gas to be loosed and piped away or a pool of crude which could be pumped out, collected and refined into a useful product. All that took me back to the summer of 1969.

 I had just graduated from high school and had been accepted for the freshman class at the University of Houston fall semester. My brother James, ten years my senior, was well into what would be a long and storied career in the Texas oil field. He convinced me that I best could earn my needed funds for college by working as a roughneck while living with him. It was a good plan. He got me hired on as the worm on a drilling rig making a hole outside the little community of Box Church. Willard Bell was the driller, his son (Carl?) was throwing the chain, James was in the derrick and I was in the worm corner on the back-up tongs. There was another hand, the motorman, but I can’t remember his name. We were into pretty good rock; can’t remember the name of the formation – maybe cotton valley – in which we were drilling. Our whole task out there was ‘making hole,’ and it was mighty slow going, a diamond bit in the hole, turning slow and maybe adding only one stand of pipe in a shift. We were the morning tour (pronounced ‘tower’ in one syllable), 11:00 pm – 7:00am. Ostensibly, I was working out there just to earn college money, but I did realize James was campaigning to convince me to change my major from English to petroleum engineering, and having experience on the floor of a drilling rig would stand me in good stead. I could appreciate the thought, but I played with words, not numbers.

 When we brought the well in, we had to bleed off gas through a pipe that extended from the blow-out preventers and ported out over a mud-pit, until all the drilling fluids had been blown out and only pure gas was coming out. A bucket of lighted diesel fuel hung at the end of the pipe as a crude pilot light. There was enough pressure blowing that gas out that there was a thirty foot flame roaring out. One night it was very overcast, a low cloud cover reflecting the light of  that long flame. That, with the roar, was attracting all sorts of attention from the local folks. Several times that night folks came driving down the board road to see just what was going on. They could see the derrick still standing with all lights on, so it could not be a blow-out.

  So that is where I find myself tonight; the pipe vibrating like a tuning fork from all the pressure blowing through it, the bucket of diesel dancing on the end of it, sometimes just vagrant drilling mud or salt water blowing out over the burning diesel, sometimes a long burn of gas, alternating, until all but the gas is blown out and the valve can be shut and it called a producing well.

[edgarwseidel]

Finding an Entry Level Oil field Job

Finding an entry level oil field job has been hard

During the recent crash, finding an entry level oil field job has been more difficult than during usual times. This has certainly been the case for new industry entrants, but has also affected people at all stages of their career. Many people with decades of experience have struggled to find suitable positions for their education, experience and skill set. We won’t go into the price details of the 2014-2018 oil crash here, as most will be aware.

It’s worth mentioning that the exploration and activity crash has been more pronounced than the oil price crash. It’s of course new drilling activity that filters through to job opportunities, regardless of the price of oil. Price and activity relationships can be complex.

What we saw during the recent crash, is that some job positions became very scarce, since they were least needed. For example, with exploration spend at the lowest levels for decades, an exploration geologist will be in less demand than a production geologist.

Stepping down the ladder…

A problem that affected a larger number of people, was the increase in relocation of current staff, and the stepping down of job roles.

Rather than finishing a contract in a particular area while hiring in another, companies felt more obliged to relocate their current staff. This made it harder than usual to get your ‘foot in the door’ of a new company.

As the global workforce dropped by the hundreds of thousands, many workers were faced with a tough choice… Doing a lower level job that they did earlier in their career, or take a chance on whether they could find a similar position at all.

These factors made it extremely hard to find an entry level oil field job. In fact, entering the industry at any level became hard. Petroleum Engineers, Petrophysicists and similar degree bearing candidates found it hard to get back into the field at their recent level.

With ex-superintendents taking supervisor roles, senior drilling engineers taking drilling engineer assistant roles and so on, what happened at the bottom of the ladder? Income as a roustabout or floorhand might still be attractive to someone who had previously stepped up to driller, rather than facing unemployment.

Oil & gas job prospects are improving around the world

Now that profits are starting to flow, and drilling activity is starting to increase, now is a good time to publish a few guidelines on entering the oil field. On most rigs, the number of well paid, highly respected workers that ‘worked their way up from the bottom’ is not so different to those with graduate and postgraduate degrees.

If you’re the type of person that has the energy, character and mettle to be an oil field linchpin, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to prove it. If you can just get on the rig in the first place…

Here are a few tips to help you in your entry level oil & gas job search

Remember that you’re not up against statistics or guidelines… You’re up against the other candidates for each position. The employment decisions are made by people, and as long as there’s no exclusion in the job advert that would deem you unqualified, you have a chance. Don’t bother applying for roles that ask for specific experience, certificates or education as you’ll be wasting everyone’s time. Even before applying, imagine how you’ll position yourself as the best person for the job.

There are a few jobs that don’t require any experience and are true entry level jobs. For offshore work, a roustabout is truly entry level. For land drilling, floorhand is a good entry level job choice. Bear in mind that while no experience is required, someone that does have experience might be a preferred choice by an employer. This is especially the case for offshore work that is more dangerous, and has a higher drop-out rate for new entrants.

If you have work experience in a different industry that would be an asset in oil and gas, play on it. For example there are many ex-military personnel that move to the oil and gas industry after they leave. There are lots of parallels, (e.g. excitement, adventure, camaraderie) and many skills cross over. If you were a mechanic, welder or medic, there might be a position waiting for you in the oil industry that’s above entry level.

If you’re prepared to relocate, finding an entry level oil field job is a near certainty. Even during the recent crash, some areas still thrived. (For example, some of the US land based shale and tight play areas that seemed to steam through most of it). Broaden your horizons globally and you’ll certainly find an entry level job. You might need to think a couple of years down the line, as your initial assignment might not make total sense (especially to your family and friends).

Whatever your position, keep networking, volunteering and going the extra mile. It’s these people who end up working their way up the ladder. You can start with these skills even before you’ve got your first job in the oil industry. We have social media, local clubs and associations and industry meet-ups, exhibitions and events. Behave respectfully and don’t bug anyone for a job, and one day someone might offer you a better one than the one you have right now.

Another way of getting noticed by the people that count is to start working with them in a non oilfield role. For example, you could work as a security guard or in the canteen, then wait for an opportunity to pitch people. It might be better to befriend them first, before you ask a favor. It’s these tactile/soft skills that will keep you moving up the ladder later on.

Get any certification that is realistic to obtain. Don’t spend thousands on HUET training when you’re unemployed, but see what courses and certifications you can get. These will help your CV, and knowledge of the industry in general. Someone who made the effort to better themselves off their own back is likely to stand out among other non-qualified people.

Visit rigs and contact local recruiters in the areas where you see news reports of jobs being available. The majority of positions are advertised, and applied for electronically. A bright eyed go-getter approaching in person has a better chance of being noticed. Don’t travel too far, and visit every possibility, but a personal visit might be the key to unlock the door. Typing ‘entry level oil field jobs near me’ into the internet search bar won’t be helpful if you live in an area that’s far away from the action!

Search for, and set up job alerts only for roles that accept non-experienced people.

Here are a few to get you started:

Roustabout

Floorhand

Site Laborer

Roughneck

Well Service

Welders assistant

Mechanics helper

There are probably at least 20-30 of these ‘keywords’ that might lead you to your next oil field job.

How did we do? Can you think of any other advice to give to people looking to start their career in the oil field, or on the rigs? Extra suggestions in the comments section will be much appreciated!

The post Finding an Entry Level Oil field Job appeared first on Drillers.

from Updates About Oil And Gas https://drillers.com/finding-an-entry-level-oil-field-job/

[petroleumcoursesrawalpindi-blog]

Oil Rig Job Descriptions Plus More Great Information

The oil rig job description most people imagine is manual labor and getting dirty, yet there are many wonderful opportunities involved as well...which should be taken into account as you weigh your career choices. Most importantly, if you are un-skilled or have no formal training in a trade and are at least 18 years of age the oil industry could be your best choice so enroll in Oil and gas courses in rawalpindi islamabad pakistan.

Not many career paths invite high-school drop-outs to work for double what college graduates make after 4 years of education. Of course, you can't just saunter on-board a rig without being scrutinized at all. Because oil rig job descriptions require you to be physically fit and able-bodied, an exam will determine whether or not you can handle the demands of oil life. But before you even apply, it's crucial to know your options and advancement potential prior to getting on board.

Entry level oil rig job descriptions on a drill or deck crew include cleaning, painting, tool maintenance, and assisting superiors need certification from oil and gas courses in rawalpindi. The term used for a completely "green" hire is Roustabout. If you've had some experience in field drilling, you might be hired on as a Roughneck, who has more involvement in actual drilling operations. Also, if you do have a college degree in Chemistry, you might be hired in the mud room - but some knowledge of oil is required. Onshore welders, mechanics, electricians and painters can fit many entry level oil rig job descriptions as well, if you are honest about your prior experience.

Further up the chain of command are the Roughnecks, Crane Operators, Pumpmen, Derrickmen and Drillers. These job descriptions define key players in an oil rig operation. If you start out as a Roustabout, you'll have the option of moving up into a Roughneck's spot or, if your specialty is on deck, you might assist the Crane Operator, finally filling his/her position at a later date on the same rig or a different one.

All crew members work similar schedules, no matter their job description, that normally involve 12 hour days with three breaks throughout the day. Also, you will be working 14 days straight with no vacation. After that two weeks though, you'll be able to enjoy 14 days off wherever you decide to go!

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