#kathy shields

[fieriframes]

[THE OWNERS ARE PAUL AND KATHY SHIELDS.]

[donnahinkleystaceytroy]

[awildtei]

I know this is not new information, but I've seen a fresh wave of people confused about what the fuck Andrew planned to do as a 5'0 man with a knife against the literal mafia, so.

I think the fact that neither Neil nor Kevin lost their faith in Andrew’s ability to protect them after he was attacked by Drake (unable to stand his ground against a single man with a bottle, let alone the Yakuza/Nathan with their guns) is the best proof we have that the deal was never about physical protection. This is confirmed by the way Neil never expects Andrew to save him from his father, in fact cuts him loose before Baltimore as soon as danger is truly near.

Andrew is a pretty self-aware character, and he wouldn't make promises he knows he can't possibly see through, so I think he knows what Kevin and Neil also know: what they need from him, and thus what he promises, is not physical protection.

To Kevin, he promises safety from the Moriyamas, and the way we see him enact that safety (at Kathy's show, at the banquet) shows exactly what it's about: when Riko starts getting into your head, when he makes you doubt yourself, makes you think maybe you should go back to Evermore, I won't let you. I will get you away from him, I will treat him like he's just some dude to remind you that you can face him without kneeling. I will be your spine until you find your own, I will stand my ground for you until you can do it yourself.

That's why the scene when Kevin gets to the dorm with his tattoo and Andrew's eyes show so much feeling is huge not just for Kevin but for Andrew: because that was the whole point of their deal, Kevin has found his spine, Andrew bought him the space and time to do it.

To Neil, he promises safety from the people hunting him down, and that means: I will give you something to build a life around (keys, drives to nightly exy practices, someone to lean on, someone who will listen without flinching). When you feel like running, I will be someone you can call to come pick you up. When you forget, I will remind you who you are: Neil Abram Josten.

Andrew stands between Kevin and Riko and between Neil and his father not as an impenetrable wall but as an obstacle in their vision: not shield but focal point.

(Makes me think of that scene in The Haunting of Hill House, Hugh holding Steven's neck to keep him from looking at the ghosts, saying, Look at me, just look at me, keep your eyes on me. That's what Andrew’s constantly doing --even literally, when Kevin is spiralling after Wymack tells the team about the district change and Andrew makes him look away from his broken hand and up at him).

[iridescentprose]

Danny x reader insert—The Bikeriders

summary; in which your perception about Danny begins to change.

warning(s); none just fluff

author's note: thanks for voting in my last poll! expect more fics to come!

The first punch was thrown about an hour after the picnic started.

Of course a little blood and a couple of loose teeth on the ground didn't bother you when you were watching the Vandals from a distance alongside their wives.

Unfortunately, you were a little too close for comfort this time when the first punch was thrown and Kathy, Gail, and Betty were nowhere in sight.

Scrambling from the wooden picnic table, you sidestepped two drunken bikers tussling with Johnny on the ground. The two assailants wore colors you didn't recognize.

"You dumb pieces of—"

A breeze of nicotine rushed past you, making you stumble. His slew of insults got lost in the sound of violent grunts that took place behind you.

You opened your mouth to tell Benny to watch it, but you quickly shut up, knowing that your words would get lost in the wind as he headed straight for Johnny's rescue.

You couldn't have been more grateful for leaving your secluded spot at the picnic table just in time for Benny to tackle one of the bikers on top of Johnny, and throw him onto the wooden surface. Thankfully, you turned your head just in time to hear Benny's knuckles crack against the man's nose.

"Y/N!"

You lifted your head upwards, narrowly missing Wahoo and Corky as they drunkenly ran past you to help Benny—who was most likely getting himself killed because of his recklessness. You shielded your eyes from the sun and sprinted towards the voice that called out your name.

By the time you reached the pickup truck, Danny had his hand extended towards you. You took it, and he carefully pulled you up onto the bed of the truck, sweat sprinkling his forehead. Once he was sure you caught your footing, he released your hand and you took a seat on the blanket that was sprawled beneath you.

"I didn't know you liked seeing 'em fight up close," Danny joked, readjusting the strap of his camera around his neck. He pointed the silver lens at the mob that was now forming around the area where you were once sitting.

"I don't," you said, eyes going to the side of his face and then to the commotion from afar. You brushed the dirt and loose pieces of grass from your palms before sitting on the side of your knees folded under you.

Although you didn't care much for any of those Vandals, you only stuck around because the Wives were the only friends you truly had. The only thing setting you apart from them was the fact that you weren't married to one of those brutes in a matching leather jacket. (You weren't married at all, to be frank.) But this fact didn't bother you. In fact, you had no intention of ever wanting to marry a Vandal for the sake of them either getting killed on their bike or cut by somebody's knife. You simply enjoyed their company because it was must better than being alone.

But your dislike for some of the Vandals didn't outweigh your distrust for Danny.

Perhaps it was his probing questions towards you and your friends, or that invasive rectangular box with a lens that hung around his neck. Regardless, you didn't trust him fully. Either that, or he intrigued you and you didn't want to admit it entirely to yourself.

"How come you're not out there helpin' them?" You asked in between the clicks of his camera. "Don't know how to fight?"

You knew the answer to this, but you just wanted to shake off the embarrassment of nearly getting in the middle of a breakout fight.

"I'm not much of a fighter," he said with a chuckle, a look of amusement passing over his features. "I prefer to be behind the camera instead of in front of it."

"Well, I prefer there not be a camera in the first place."

"Is that why you won't let me take a picture of you, Y/N?"

You turned to look at him, your cheeks getting warmer than the sun beating down on you both. He was looking straight ahead, seemingly satisfied with the pictures of sweaty, bloody men rolling around in the dirt. He grinned when he finally looked at you. "You're camera shy. Is that why you won't let me take your picture?"

"I'm not shy. I just don't like my picture taken, that's all," you said, defensively.

"Well, do you like taking the pictures?" He got off his knees and sat next to you, removing the camera from around his neck.

You shuffled, putting a bit of distance between you. "I've never tried." You shrugged carelessly, finding this conversation to be pointless and ridiculous.

"Maybe you'll like being behind the camera, then."

Before you could respond, Danny placed his camera in your lap. "You look through that little square there," he said, pointing to the back of the camera, "and make sure it aligns just right. Then you pull this lever back and press that button at the top to take the picture."

You looked down at the camera in your hands before looking at Danny with a lifted brow.

He chuckled softly. "Come on, try it." He took the strap of the camera and carefully draped it around your neck, his fingers lightly brushing the little hairs there. Quietly, he demonstrated on how to hold it up to your face and you reluctantly mimicked his movements. "Now, just find something interesting."

You took a breath and let your eyes sweep over the picnic. The fight had settled down and the boys were separating to their own corners. Some went to wrap their arms around their wives as if they had won the battle. The beers were flying left and right and the bikes were roaring in the distance. Perceptively, you panned the camera all the way around until you landed on the photographer himself. He was busy tinkering with his portable microphone.

At the sound of the click, he looked up as if surprised to be the subject of your aperture.

"How does it feel to be the one in front of the camera?" You grinned, playfully.

"Still nothing compared to being behind it," He smiled back before hopping off the bed of the truck. "But since you took my picture, you know what that means, right?"

He offered his hand to help you down. He slid off the truck with his ease and released his hand before smoothing out your shirt.

"What?" you asked, removing the camera from around your neck and handing it to him.

"That I get to take a picture of you" he insisted, kindly. "Just one, I promise. If that's okay."

You crossed your arms as if to mull it over before rolling your eyes. "Fine. Just one. But I don't know how to pose or anything."

"Just be you," he said, setting down his portable microphone. He put the camera around his neck and lifted it up to his face, waiting to take your picture.

You sighed and hoisted yourself on the tail-end of the bed of the truck. You crossed your legs and set your hands in your lap. Just as you were about to look directly at the camera, Betty had called your name from afar, waving you over. The camera clicked as you looked over Danny's shoulder as the group migrated to a small bonfire.

"Perfect," Danny said, looking down at his camera. He glanced behind him as the group formed before looking back at you. "You look great."

You hopped off the truck. "But I wasn't ready," you said with a slight laugh, knowing he had caught you off guard just as you had done him. "I wasn't even looking."

"The most beautiful pictures are the candid ones, Y/N." His smile lingered before he bent down and picked up his equipment. Slowly he turned to join the rest of the group surrounding a small fire.

It took you a moment as the butterflies in your stomach began to flutter about. The smile on your face stuck like glue and all of sudden you were unsure of what to do with your hands.

That Danny...he sure was somethin'.

[mindibindi]

Sometimes Things Just Work Out

Re-watching season 24 of SVU and some shippy themes emerged post-"Blood Out" that I haven't seen commented on, at least on here. So as we all know, Blood Out (24.12) gives us this telling moment:

The VERY NEXT EPISODE, "Intersection" (24.13) opens with a pretty extended proposal scene for what is just the teaser. The couple is played by two very appealing actors who get to establish their history and exchange cute banter, and there are some definite Bensler undertones:

New York is also Elliot and Olivia's city, bringing them together the first time around to fight crime and reuniting them more recently. Their entire relationship has taken place within the city limits. Without it, Elliot might still be back in Italy (or Queens) with Kathy and Olivia would be a single mom with a solid career and 5-star therapy routine. You might think the comparison is a stretch....UNTIL Josh with the cute topknot turns to his wisecracking gf and says she taught him the most important lesson of his life, which is:

Josh proposes, Emma joyfully accepts. But in the car ride home, there is a touch of sadness to their happy moment as Emma invokes her recently deceased sister. In EO terms, this loss could be said to reflect the shadow of Serena Benson, who never got to watch her daughter marry, settle down and have a family with the love of her life. Emma also worries about losing her engagement ring, which she of course does, when disaster quite literally hits them.

I won't go into the crime, which is horrific, but Emma and Josh's reactions are also reflective of Olivia and Elliot. Olivia meets with Emma a couple of times, noting that they seem to love each other very much and assuring Emma that she and Josh will get through this trauma. At their second meet, they discuss the fact that Josh has ghosted Emma and SVU, which...I dunno about anyone else, but that sounds pretty fucking Elliot Stabler to me. Speaking about the loss of Emma's sister, Olivia fills in the blanks with this:

...which is interesting. It implies that Olivia has used that enormous, unhealed wound of Elliot's departure to dwarf and diminish subsequent traumas and, in particular, her assault at the hands of William Lewis. Much like she used her mother's neglect and ultimate abandonment to shield her from feeling the impact of the many professional and personal wounds she experienced during her tenure as Elliot's partner. By using these deep personal wounds, inflicted by the two people most important to her, most loved and formative, she can shield herself from incoming hurts that are less personal, less predictable and less familiar. If so, if holding onto those familiar, formative wounds acts for Olivia as some kind of strange protection, that simultaneously honours those she loves most, then that would explain her resistance to letting go of the hurt Elliot caused when he walked away. Hence, her not being ready for a relationship after two plus decades.

While Emma refuses to give in to the trauma of her attack, Josh, much like Elliot falls into self-pity and self-blame, distancing himself from his fiance:

This whole ep gives "Paternity" vibes, since the couple are hit in much the same way that Olivia and Kathy were, triggering Elliot's chronic catholic guilt. And as the case continues, there's a whole web of marital affairs, because we're working on a theme here. Another EO parallel emerges with Bruno's marriage breakup. After visiting his ex, it's revealed that he drunk-dialled her, only not really cos he wasn't drunk. You know, kind of like Elliot showing up drugged to Olivia's apartment to spill his long withheld, deeply smitten guts. Bruno knows the fault is his and holds out hope for a reconciliation, to which, Liv gives a qualified maybe:

So...Olivia believes in love when it's new and fresh, even believes love can survive massive trauma. Buuuuut she isn't quite so sure of how to change directions on a love that has been heading in one direction for a long time.

The case concludes with a tense confrontation between a cheating wife and her rapist husband: bitter accusations and droll comments ensue. But the happy couple from the beginning survive their trauma and vow to protect one another from then on. The lost engagement ring is returned to Emma (analogous perhaps to the compass necklace that will no doubt return to Olivia at some meaningful point in time). It is at this point that Liv tells them:

Well. That's quite the pivot.

Oh, but wait, Benson ain't done being hopeful about mending fractured relationships yet. Because then she turns to Bruno, who admits that (like Elliot) he wasn't unfaithful (to Olivia). He was just unreachable, unavailable, avoidant. It wasn't a lack of feeling. It was just a lack of action, a lack of courage. Olivia's reply echoes the hope Bruno expressed earlier:

All of this is highly suggestive of Liv either consciously or unconsciously working through what happened at the end of "Blood Out" with Elliot, her questioning her words to him and mulling over his reply. It reflects EO's recent history of fracture and hesitant attempts at mending, despite their counter-productive coping strategies. That last line certainly suggests that she wants to be won back by the love of her life, even if she isn't too sure how to let go of the hurt she's used as a shield for ten plus years. Her changing comments throughout the episode suggest she does believe in love, she believes it can survive the worst traumas imaginable. She has absolute conviction in the possibility, the right even, of victims, survivors and even detectives she barely knows to pursue love and healing, reconciliation and fulfillment. The question is whether she believes in that possibility as strongly for herself and Elliot Stabler.

[homonationalist]

At present, it is standard among practically all communities to fête the family as a bastion of relative safety from state persecution and market coercion, and as a space for nurturing subordinated cultural practices, languages, and traditions. But this is not enough of a reason to spare the family. Frustratedly, Hazel Carby stressed the fact (for the benefit of her white sisters) that many racially, economically, and patriarchally oppressed people cleave proudly and fervently to the family. She was right; nevertheless, as Kathi Weeks puts it: “the model of the nuclear family that has served subordinated groups as a fence against the state, society and capital is the very same white, settler, bourgeois, heterosexual, and patriarchal institution that was imposed by the state, society, and capital on the formerly enslaved, indigenous peoples, and waves of immigrants, all of whom continue to be at once in need of its meagre protections and marginalized by its legacies and prescriptions” (emphasis mine). The family is a shield that human beings have taken up, quite rightly, to survive a war. If we cannot countenance ever putting down that shield, perhaps we have forgotten that the war does not have to go on forever.

This is why Paul Gilroy remarked in his 1993 essay “It’s A Family Affair,” “even the best of this discourse of the familialization of politics is still a problem.” Gilroy is grappling with the reality that, in the United Kingdom as in the United States, the state’s constant disrespect of the Black home and transgression of Black households’ boundaries, as well as its disproportionate removal of Black children into the foster-care industry, understandably inspires an urgent anti-racist politics of “familialization” in defense of Black families. Both the British and American netherworlds of supposedly “broken” homes (milieus that are then exoticized, and seen as efflorescing creatively against all odds), have posed an obstinate threat to the legitimacy of the family regime simply by existing, Gilroy suggests. The paradox is that the “broken” remnant sustains the bourgeois regime insofar as it supplies the culture, inspiration, and oftentimes the surrogate care labor that allows the white household to imagine itself as whole. As a dialectician, “I want to have it both ways,” writes Gilroy, closing out his essay. “I want to be able to valorize what we can recover, but also to cite the disastrous consequences that follow when the family supplies the only symbols of political agency we can find in the culture and the only object upon which that agency can be seen to operate. Let us remind ourselves that there are other possibilities.

There are other possibilities! Traces of the desire for them can be found in Toni Cade (later Toni Cade Bambara)’s anthology The Black Woman, published in America in 1970, not long after the publication of the US labor secretariat’s “Moynihan report,” The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. The open season on the Black Matriarch was in full swing. And certainly not all of the anthology’s feminists, in their valiant effort to beat back societal anti-maternal sentiment (matrophobia) and the hatred of Black women specifically (more recently known as “misogynoir”), make the additional step of criticizing familism within their Black communities. But one or two contributors do flatly reject the notion that the family could ever be a part of Black (collective human) liberation. Kay Lindsey, in her piece “The Black Woman as a Woman,” lays out her analysis that: “If all white institutions with the exception of the family were destroyed, the state could also rise again, but Black rather than white.” In other words: the only way to ensure the destruction of the patriarchal state is for the institution of the family to be destroyed. “And I mean destroyed,” echoes the feminist women’s health center representative Pat Parker in 1980, in a speech she delivered at ¡Basta! Women’s Conference on Imperialism and Third World War in Oakland, California. Parker speaks in the name of The Black Women’s Revolutionary Council, among other organizations, and her wide- ranging statement (which addresses imperialism, the Klan, and movement- building) purposively ends with the family: “As long as women are bound by the nuclear family structure we cannot effectively move toward revolution. And if women don’t move, it will not happen.” The left, along with women especially of the upper and middle classes, “must give up ... undying loyalty to the nuclear family,” Parker charges. It is “the basic unit of capitalism and in order for us to move to revolution it has to be destroyed.”

Forty years later, the British writer Lola Olufemi is among those reminding us that there are other possibilities: “abolishing the family...” she tweets, “that’s light work. You’re crying over whether or not Engels said it when it’s been focal to black studies/black feminism for decades.” For Olufemi as for Parker and Lindsey, abolishing marriage, private property, white supremacy, and capitalism are projects that cannot be disentangled from one another. She is no lone voice, either. Annie Olaloku-Teriba, a British scholar of “Blackness” in theory and history, is another contemporary exponent of the rich Black family-abolitionist tradition Olufemi names. In 2021, Olaloku-Teriba surprised and unsettled some of her followers by publishing a thread animated by a commitment to the overthrow of “familial relations” as a key goal of her antipatriarchal socialism. These posts point to the striking absence of the child from contemporary theorizations of patriarchal domesticity, and criticize radicals’ reluctance to call mothers who “violently discipline [Black] boys into masculinity” patriarchal. “The adult/child relation is as central to patriarchy as ‘man’/‘woman,’” Olaloku-Teriba affirms: “The domination of the boy by the woman is a very routine and potent expression of patriarchal power.” These observations reopen horizons. What would it mean for Black caregivers (of all genders) not to fear the absence of family in the lives of Black children? What would it mean not to need the Black family?

Sophie Lewis in “Abolish Which Family?” from Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation, 2022.

[barbiebutgayer]

Celebrities who are supporting Isr*el-

#boycotthollywood 🇵🇸

Gal Gadot

Mayim Bialik

Madonna

Baby Israel, I mean, Ariel

Adam Sandler

Brett Gelman

Bob Odenkirk

Amy Schumer

Floyd Mayweather

Jerry Seinfeld

Jamie Lee Curtis

Chris Pine

Mark Hamill

Howie Mandel

George Lopez

Ryan Murphy

Noah Schnapp

Millie Bobby Brown

Justin Bieber

Hailey Bieber

Florence Pugh

Natalie Portman

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Jack Black

Jeremy Shada

Liev Schreiber

Selena Gomez

Kris Jenner

Kim Kardashian

Kylie Jenner

Scooter Braun

Micheal Rapaport

Montana Tucker

James Maslow

U2

Emily Austin

Gregg Sulkin

Barbra Streisand

Nathaniel Buzolic

Ronen Rubinstein

Isla Fisher

Yael Grobglas

Sofia Richie

Ashley Tisdale

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Nina Dobrev

Andy Cohen

Mindy Kaling

Blake Lively

Ryan Reynolds

Dwayne Johnson

Kathy Griffin

Debra Messing

Timothée Chalamet

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Tom Brady

Mark Zuckerberg

Alec Baldwin

Jordan Peele

LeBron James

Rosie O’Donald

Tyler Perry

Gwyneth Paltrow

Chris Rock

Bradley Cooper

Justin Timberlake

Jon Hamm

Judd Apatow

Julianna Margulies

Karlie Kloss

Katy Perry

Orlando Bloom

Olivia Wilde

Brooke Shields

Tiffany Haddish

Will Ferrell

James Corden

Courteney Cox

Diane Von Furstenberg

Ben Savage

Josh Peck

Ivanka Trump

Van Jones

Leonardo DiCaprio

Quentin Tarantino

Casey Neistat

Ethan Klein

Hila Klein

Moses Hacmon

Trisha Paytas

Drew Barrymore

Caroline D'Amore

and these are only some, there’s so many more people :(

[gatheringbones]

[“Many landlords were part-timers: machinists or preachers or police officers who came to own property almost by accident (through inheritance, say) and saw real estate as a side gig. But the last forty years had witnessed the professionalization of property management. Since 1970, the number of people primarily employed as property managers had more than quadrupled. As more landlords began buying more property and thinking of themselves primarily as landlords (instead of people who happened to own the unit downstairs), professional associations proliferated, and with them support services, accreditations, training materials, and financial instruments. According to the Library of Congress, only three books offering apartment-management advice were published between 1951 and 1975. Between 1976 and 2014, the number rose to 215. Even if most landlords in a given city did not consider themselves “professionals,” housing had become a business.

The evening’s speaker was Ken Shields, from the Self Storage Brokers of America. After selling his insurance company, Shields had begun looking for a way to get into real estate. He started out with rooming houses, which meant he started out renting mainly to poor single men. “Very nice cash flow. But I no longer have them.” The room chuckled. “I made some good money, and I mean, I love to get money, but I’m still just as happy not running around and dealing with some of these dregs of society who live in rooming houses.”Sherrena, who owned a couple of rooming houses, laughed along with the room. Then Shields found self-storage. “It’s got the residual incomes of an apartment building, but,” he lowered his voice, squinted, “you don’t have the people. You just got their stuff!…This is the sweetest spot in the whole American economy. A receptacle for an enormous cascade of money.”

The landlords loved Ken Shields, even if he did live in Illinois. When he finished his speech, the room broke into applause. The RING president, a mustached man with a full pouch for a stomach, stood up clapping. When there wasn’t a speaker, he often organized round robins. One such evening, a woman from Lead and Asbestos Information Center, Inc., had started off by announcing, “There is money to be made on lead,” to a room of landlords who more often lost money trying to abate it. One landlord asked whether he would have to report the presence of asbestos to the city or the tenants if he tested for it. “No, you don’t,” the woman had said.

The conversation moved on and someone else had asked about garnishing wages. A lawyer informed the room that a landlord was allowed to garnish a tenant’s bank account and up to 20 percent of his or her income, but the last $1,000 was exempt. And welfare recipients were off-limits.

“How about intercepting their tax refund?” Sherrena had asked.

The lawyer looked a bit stunned. “Noooo, only the government can do that.”

Sherrena already knew that. She had looked into it before. Her question wasn’t a question; it was a message to Eric, Mark, Kathy, and everyone else in the room that she would do almost anything to get the rent. Many white landlords knew money could be made in the inner city, where property was cheap, but the thought of collecting payments on the North Side, let alone passing out eviction notices, made them nervous. Sherrena wanted them to know that she could help.”]

matthew desmond, from evicted: poverty and profit in the american city, 2016

[ladyorlandodream]

SPOILERS on hacks if you haven't seen the season 3 finale … … this episode actually demonstrates how selfish Deborah is; on the other hand, she grew up in an extremely chauvinist world and it is her shield to think that she cannot depend on others and use people, Fortunately, Kathy first and Ava later helped her understand the situation. The first leaves her, realising that her sister is a toxic presence; despite the love between sisters, Kathy rightly wants to feel good, and Deborah is not a healthy person. Ava, after, the speech that she gave her while crying, was on point. However, I don't think that Ava would ever say anything about Deborah's quickie because Ava isn't that evil…I believe that she made this move to put Deborah back in her place and to make her understand not to underestimate her and not to treat her like a little girl…so, bravo to Ava!

[thehours2002]

thursday night tv reflections

hacks

this season is miles better than season 2 but i feel like season 3 is losing steam vis a vis symbols etc. like season 1 was a dense text TM, you know? beginning of season 3 felt like oh maybe we're cooking with gas again because of the tom cruise cake but i think it's petered out again

j. smith-cameron most beautiful woman alive

one thing that occurred to me re: kathy is that like... none of the bad stuff kathy mentioned deborah doing compared to deborah intentionally barely missing hitting her with her car in season 1. remember that?!

last week i was thinking about how marcus is the character who has really been dealt the worst blow in terms of screen time and development as the show has continued. he feels like an afterthought now compared to how integrated he was in season 1

elsbeth

since laura benanti didn't do it, can she like, come back again and murder someone for real in season two?

andre de shields i love you

i love elsbeth tascioni and i love this cute little show but in terms of the season wide arc.... it was SO busted. wagner ends up not being even a little bit guilty (boring). then he blames elsbeth for him being investigated, for like? no reason? it takes one speech from elsbeth and a vague conversation with celetano to get elsbeth integrated into the department. boring. extremely little conflict.

but seriously. this show is light and fun, but can we turn up the angst like 20%? can there at least be some interesting narrative twists and turns to get elsbeth to remain in new york? we don't even really know what her new title is lol

I <3 DONNELLY

i love gonzo getting to go out on errands with elsbeth <3

oh yeah almost forgot elsbeth just happens to have seen laura benanti's sports illustrated swimsuit spread. as someone who had some revelations of my own paging through my dad's sport's illustrated swimsuit issue.... extremely lesbian behavior

under the bridge (a day late)

archie panjabi most beautiful woman alive

i was thinking that lily gladstone reminds me a little bit of gandolfini the way she emotes soooo much with her eyes. she's fucking amazing

was kelly ellard really this much of a psycho?

[simder-talia-blog]

(not so) SIMSTOBER Day 17 - Hallowed Grounds

Inspired by American Horror Story Season 6: Roanoke, Kathy Bates, playing Agnes Mary Winstead, playing The Butcher.

"I am the queen of every hive. I am the fire on every hill. I am the shield over every head. I am the spear of battle. Who but I am both the tree and the lightning that strikes it?"

@notsosimstober @simblreenofficial

[jartita-me-teneis]

"No podía ir a ninguna parte. Me jalaron el cabello y me arrancaron la ropa varias veces. Hasta el día de hoy, la gente aún me reconoce. Todavía estoy luchando contra la imagen que tengo de 'La Laguna Azul' (1980)".

El concepto original del director de "La Laguna Azul", Randall Kleiser, era que los dos personajes adultos actuaran toda la película desnudos, lo que asustó a muchos actores (incluyendo a Jennifer Jason Leigh, que fue la primera opción para el papel femenino principal).

Después de que Leigh rechazara el proyecto, los productores le ofrecieron el papel a Diane Lane y a Willie Aames después de hacerles pruebas de pantalla juntos en México, donde Lane estaba filmando un western... pero la pareja discutió la desnudez juntos después de que se fuera el equipo y llamaron unos días después para decir que tampoco harían la película.

Con el rodaje a punto de comenzar en cuestión de días, el desesperado director aceptó dejar que Brooke Shields hiciera la película principalmente vestida, con una doble de cuerpo empleada para las escenas de desnudez. Con eso resuelto, el director de casting volvió a las miles de cintas de audición que habían grabado durante el curso de un año y decidió que Christopher Atkins estaría bien si se hacía una permanente en el cabello para verse más salvaje.

Shields tenía 14 años cuando apareció en la película. Todas sus escenas de desnudez fueron realizadas por la coordinadora de dobles de la película, Kathy Troutt, de 32 años. Shields hizo muchas de sus escenas topless con el cabello pegado a los pechos. Atkins tenía 18 años cuando se filmó la película y él realizó sus propias escenas de desnudez (que incluían una breve desnudez frontal).

"Déjame decirte algo: si estás en una isla durante tres meses y medio y estás a cuatro horas y media en bote del almacén más cercano, y no hay nadie más que 30 miembros del equipo en la isla, te garantizo que estarías corriendo sin ropa".

Después de ver la película, John Gibbons, un herpetólogo (científico de reptiles) de la Universidad del Pacífico Sur, se dio cuenta de que las iguanas que aparecían en la película eran una especie distinta que los científicos nunca antes habían visto ni documentado. Posteriormente, Gibbons visitó Nanuya Levu, la isla de Fiji donde se hizo la película, y nombró a la especie como la Iguana Crestada de Fiji.

[jungle-angel]

Life is Beautiful (Miles Miller x Reader)

Summary: Every Artist has his or her muse

Everybody who knew your husband, knew that he had a creative mind that no one else could ever really match. Every day it seemed like his hands were drawing something new whether it was with pencils, pens, charcoal sticks or block crayons he had made from beeswax. 

You saw for yourself one day just how deep his artistic mind went, when you and him were going through old sketchbooks he had stowed away since he was in middle school. You were amazed at how well he could draw, the pages filled with colorful landscapes, still-lifes of animals in their natural habitat or at the Indianapolis zoo. Your favorite had been one he had secretly done as Otis and Kathy danced away on the front porch of their old house, each and every motion captured so perfectly, you thought for sure they would dance right off the page. 

Another favorite of yours had been the circus performers, each one more lifelike than the last. You could almost see it jumping right off the pages, every animal, dancer, stunt artist and performer in the midst of an act that almost moved you to tears. It was so perfect, so innocent and full of wonder that you wished there had been a story to go with it. 

Yet when you opened the next set, you were saddened by much of what you saw. Black and white sketches of soldiers, Vietnamese civilians, some with children and others who were elderly, war weary medics who had just about had enough and one of a little Hmong girl who had been so eager to show Miles her new school dress. 

“Not even three days later, the communists came through and raided the village,” Miles explained sadly. “Only the children in the village survived, including her.” 

You were once again near to tears the more you looked through the sketchbooks labeled “Vietnam: ‘66-68″. Miles told you every story he could remember, his chin wobbling, his voice quavering and his eyes stinging with tears as he recalled those frightening two years. By the time you went through them all, you were holding each other, the both of you a sobbing mess, but forever grateful that the two of you had come together in the years during and after. 

You both rifled through more, many of them from the land that Otis and Kathy owned just outside of Bozeman. You were once again in awe of Miles’s pictures of cowboys, Native Americans, birds and animals all native to the Yellowstone region. Your favorite out of that bunch had been the portrait of Otis astride a horse, his eyes shielded by the black cowboy hat on his head and ready to rope in a bull. 

Miles hadn’t had the opportunity to show or tell you just yet about his latest creations. He desperately wanted it to be a surprise and to see the look on your face when it was all done. 

That spring and summer he watched you, very carefully trying to add in the little details that only his eyes could see. He smiled as you looked out into the grassy meadow, the summer air hot but comfortable, the skirts of your sundress swaying against your knees. You sat perched comfortably on a flat topped rock, caressing your bump which seemed to grow bigger and bigger with every day that passed. You couldn’t see it from the distance, but the expression of pure love on Miles’s face at that very moment would have had you swooning. 

The very next day, when you walked into the finished room that would eventually become Benny’s, you gasped. All of the pictures of the forest animals and the circus pictures, had been framed and hung on the walls thanks to Miles and your father-in-law. You would have fainted had Miles not been there to keep you steady on your already wobbly feet. 

It’s not long before a new set of sketchbooks and watercolor books are filled with images of you and Benny, you his beautiful mother, and Miles all holding him, kissing his cheeks or the precious little baby asleep in his crib. Even as he grows and starts walking, running and babbling, Miles never fails to create these beautiful images with his own hand. 

And it’s in this way that he knows, despite all he’s been through, that life is still beautiful. 

[reasoningdaily]

Rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet and injuring her three years ago.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford’s decision followed an unusually long hearing that stretched into a second day and included seven people answering questions from Lanez’s attorneys, mostly about his childhood and charitable work as well as his struggle with the death of his mother when he was 11. A jail chaplain said Lanez hosts a daily moment of prayer on his jail floor that has lessened tensions and sets him far apart from the 15,000 other inmates he’s met over the years.

Lanez spoke for several minutes, asking Herriford to not send him to prison. He called Megan “someone I still care for dearly to this day” regardless of what she may think of him. He said “the victim’s my friend.” He talked about bonding with her over the loss of their mothers.

“We both lost our mothers. We would sit there and drink, and drink until we got numb,” he said.

Lanez’s lawyers also submitted 76 character reference letters from friends, family and other supporters. The writers include singer Iggy Azalea, a police chief and a state representative from Missouri, and a doctor who treated Lanez for hair loss.

In a written statement read aloud in court, Megan said she struggled with whether to attend in person, and her absence should not be seen as anything other than her preserving her mental well being. She said since Tory Lanez her, “I’ve not experienced a single day of peace,” Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta read aloud.

Megan said mercy is for people who show remorse, and Lanez has shown none. She thanked the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for their support and said she wants Lanez’s sentence to be a message for every woman who’s a victim of violence.

“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma. He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul,” Megan said.

“He lied to anyone that would listen and paid bloggers to disseminate false information about the case on social media. He released music videos and songs to damage my character and continue his crusade,” she continued. “At first, he tried to deny the shooting ever happened. Then, he attempted to place the blame on my former best friend. In his tantrum of lies, he’s blamed the system, blamed the press and, as of late, he’s using his childhood trauma to shield himself and avoid culpability.”

She that Lanez “must be forced to face the full consequences of his heinous actions and face justice.”

Lanez continues to maintain his innocence. His lawyers argued he has an alcohol-use disorder because of post-traumatic stress disorder and an anxiety disorder, and they asked he be released from jail on probation and to a residential substance abuse program.

Herriford questioned where the nexus is between the crime and Lanez’s alcohol-use disorder if he’s still denying shooting Megan. “Your client at no time indicates he actually shot the victim,” Herriford said told Lanez’s lead lawyer, Jose Baez.

“What is he alleging he did as a result of alcohol-use disorder if he didn’t do anything?” Herriford asked. “What did the doctor conclude he did as a result of alcohol use? It’s very unclear.”

Baez said “yelling” and the “argument that went back and forth in the car.”

Baez said “there were lots of decisions that transpired” to escalate the situation.

“It wasn’t a pretty situation. It wasn’t that young man's finest moment,” Baez said of Lanez.

Herriford’s unusual decision to allow questions meant it took three hours to get through the people who spoke on Monday. He also allowed Lanez’s lawyers to re-open their questioning of two speakers on Tuesday.

The speakers included a jail chaplain who said Lanez has helped bring peace to his restricted cell floor through a daily prayer call that brings everyone together at 9 p.m. and a mental health specialist who said Lanez has post-traumatic stress order and an anxiety order that underlays his alcohol-use order.

Deputy District Attorney Alex Bott said Lanez was almost 29 when he shot Megan, and he had no prior reports of alcohol problems. Video of his arrest shows him walking without stumbling, Bott said, and his attempts to bribe Kelsey Harris and Megan show someone in control of his actions. He said the shooting “was an act of misogyny towards Megan.”

Bott said Lanez will “say whatever it takes to avoid accountability" and "is talking out of both sides of his mouth" by claiming alcoholism and a mental disorder but also saying he's a role model for his son.

Stephanie Herring, program director of Home Sentencing, said Lanez is a great candidate for her program, and she’s available to pick him up from jail and take him there immediately. She said she believes anyone with a substance abuse disorder must first have a mental health disorder, and Lanez qualifies. 

The sentencing ends a three-year-old case that sparked contentious debate online, propelled by what prosecutors described as a “campaign of misinformation” waged by Lanez against Megan. 

Lanez was arrested on a gun charge shortly after the July 12, 2020, shooting in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills. He and Megan were leaving reality star Kylie Jenner’s home with Megan’s friend Kelsey Nicole Harris when an argument broke out and Megan exited the Escalade on Nichols Canyon Road barefoot and in her bikini. She testified in trial that she heard Lanez say “Dance, bitch!” before he opened fire. 

Megan initially denied being shot, instead telling police she’d stepped on glass, despite needing surgery to remove bullet fragments in her feet. She told investigators four days later that Lanez had shot her. He was charged in August 2020 and remained free on bail until September 2022, when he was placed on house arrest after allegedly assaulting singer August Alsina in Chicago. He was jailed after the jury convicted him Dec. 23 of first-degree assault with a firearm, negligent discharge of a firearm and possession of a concealed and unregistered firearm in a vehicle.

Judge Herriford rejected his motion for new trial in May, and the state appellate court then rejected an unusual request to remove the judge from the case or order him to grant a new trial. 

Megan, meanwhile, became more publicly active, throwing out the first pitch at the Houston Rockets home opener, posting more on social media and headlining concerts such as the L.A. Pride Festival in June and the Essence Festival in New Orleans in July. She opened up about the shooting in an Elle cover story in April, saying, “For years, my attacker tried to leverage social media to take away my power.”

“Imagine how it feels to be called a liar every day? Especially from a person who was once part of your inner circle,” Megan said.

[buckybarnesss]

anyone else remember david strickland from suddenly susan? you know the four season sitcom starring brooke shields, kathy griffin and judd nelson from the late 90s?

i think of david quite frequently actually but that's neither here nor there really. nine year old me was going through it that year and his death stuck with me (also fuck andy dick forever).

but the whole reason i posted this is because i randomly thought of the scene where his character todd dances with nestor carbonell's character and i feel like this explains like at least 10 things about myself.

[mthguy]

Blast from the Past!

The Go-Go's were an American all-female rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals, Gina Schock on drums, Kathy Valentine on bass, and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar. They are widely considered the most successful all-female rock band of all time.

The GoGos sing "Our Lips Are Sealed."

"Can you hear them? They talk about us Telling lies Well, that's no surprise

Can you see them? See right through them They have no shield No secrets to reveal

Doesn't matter what they say In the jealous games people play Hey, hey, hey Our lips are sealed

There's a weapon That we must use In our defense Silence

When you look at them Look right through them That's when they'll disappear That's when we'll be feared

It doesn't matter what they say In the jealous games people play Hey, hey, hey Our lips are sealed

Pay no mind to what they say It doesn't matter anyway Hey, hey, hey Our lips are sealed

Hush, my darling Don't you cry Quiet angel Forget their lies

Can you hear them? They talk about us Telling lies Well, that's no surprise

Can you see them? See right through them They have no shield No secrets to reveal

Doesn't matter what they say In the jealous games people play Hey, hey, hey Our lips are sealed

Pay no mind to what they say It doesn't matter anyway Hey, hey, hey Our lips are sealed Our lips are sealed Oh, our lips are sealed."