#like. i was looking at them pics from the tennis date just this morning. them ones where joris is live slug reacting at piarles

[singsweetmelodies]

thats charles' trainer, andrea ferrari w him on the pic ;) but yea the caption is ON POINT omg :D

oh my god i'm so sorry bahahahaha 🤣🤣🤣😭 i keep forgetting who in charles' entourage is who, bcs to be perfectly honest with you, they all look a bit the same (not as pretty as charles 😔)

[tabloidtoc]

OK, September 7

Cover Story -- Cher’s dream wedding at 74 

Page 1: Big Pic -- Katy Perry got dolled up in an array of funky ensembles to promote her song What Makes a Woman

Page 2: Contents 

Page 3: Contents 

Page 4: Melissa McCarthy thriving at 50 -- after her milestone birthday Melissa’s opening up about how she overcame hardships to come out on top 

Page 5: For years Prince William and wife Duchess Kate Middleton have watched from the sidelines as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have dominated headlines but the couple are finally ready to tell their side of the story in a sit-down TV interview -- it won’t be a scandalous interview but it will certainly right a few wrongs and misconceptions 

Page 6: As Drew Barrymore gears up for her talk show premiere she’s counting on her famous friends to bring in more viewers, as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West struggle to keep their marriage afloat Caitlyn Jenner has been sending them well-wishes but Kim would rather Caitlyn just keep her lips zipped -- Kim’s told everyone to keep their opinions to themselves while she works through this crisis one-on-one with Kanye but Cait’s been sounding off and telling anyone who’ll listen how she believes he’s gotten a raw deal, Chrishell Stause is out to destroy ex Justin Hartley’s reputation and his new romance with Sofia Pernas -- Chrishell is bitter and is calling out Justin as a liar and a cheater and telling friends that his new girlfriend should be careful

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars sparkle in champagne hues -- Elizabeth Chambers, Angela Bassett, Kim Kardashian West 

Page 11: Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Thandie Newton vs. Georgia May Jagger 

Page 16 -- News in Photos -- Cara Santana celebrated her birthday on the beach in Malibu 

Page 18: Rita Ora vacationing in Corfu in Greece, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his daughters Jasmine and Tiana, Pete Wentz plays tennis 

Page 20: Nick Barrotta got in a workout while shooting scenes for The Oval, Ireland Baldwin spent the day at the beach with her uncle Stephen Baldwin 

Page 21: Sofia Richie paddleboarding, Alessandra Ambrosio playing volleyball, Gavin Rossdale takes a shirtless stroll on the beach 

Page 23: RHOBH star Brandi Glanville helping wash a friend’s car, Adam Sandler shooting hoops on the street 

Page 24: Inside My Home -- Brittany Snow’s selling her home in Studio City for $2.7 million 

Page 26: The Property Brothers double baby joy -- Drew Scott and his wife Linda Phan are finally expecting and his twin Jonathan Scott’s girlfriend Zooey Deschanel is also pregnant 

Page 27: Ben Affleck is being kept on a tight leash by girlfriend Ana de Armas as she wants to know where Ben goes and who he’s with at all times and she gave him a 9 p.m. sharp curfew, Rachael Ray and husband John Cusimano have found a silver lining in the wake of their devastating house fire as it made them appreciate what really matters most is each other so for their 15th anniversary they’re going to renew their vows with a few added words inspired by what they’ve learned in the aftermath of this tragedy, Bindi Irwin and husband Chandler Powell already have themselves a cash cow in their unborn child because the demand for an interview with Bindi and Chandler about their pregnancy news is huge right now and they’ve learned from her mom Terri Irwin that cashing in at the right time is key plus they could really use some extra money right now since the family business Australia Zoo isn’t doing so well 

Page 28: Ever since Melanie Griffith got word that ex Antonio Banderas had tested positive for Covid-19 she has made it her mission to help nurse him back to health by calling at all hours and texting him with tons of advice to keep his strength up and although Antonio appreciates her acts of kindness his girlfriend Nicole Kimpel feels the two are getting too close for comfort especially since she’s been at his side throughout the ordeal, while the rest of the world is in chaos Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are keeping cool calm and collected as they dote on daughter Raddix and Cameron is looking for answers about how to raise a child in these crazy times and she’s found crystals and psychics to be so helpful, Love Bites -- Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are expecting baby no. 3, Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson split, Jesse Metcalfe and Corin Jamie Lee Clark are dating 

Page 29: Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp ended their on-off romance last October and John moved on with Jamie Sherrill but lately Meg has been blowing up John’s phone and he’s happily answering -- Meg’s recent move to Montecito in California brought her closer to John who’s been in L.A. a lot more since that’s where Jamie’s skincare business is -- John thinks Jamie is a lovely lady but he and Meg are soulmates and it’s a matter of when not if they’ll get back together 

Page 30: Cover Story -- Cher is getting married -- the legendary star is set to stay I Do to her 27-year-old rocker beau 

Page 34: Lifestyles of the Young and Famous -- the plush and pampered lives of billion-dollar celebrity kids -- North West, Emme Muniz 

Page 35: Blue Ivy Carter, Harper Beckham, Princess Charlotte 

Page 36: Louis Bullock, Penelope Disick, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt 

Page 37: Moroccan and Monroe Cannon, Apple Martin, Mom Knows Best -- a few of the best mommas in Hollywood -- Jennifer Garner, Reese Witherspoon, Gwen Stefani 

Page 38: Interview -- Selena Gomez dishes it out 

Page 40: How Cindy Crawford stays in tip-top shape 

Page 41: Like Mother, Like Daughter -- Kaia Gerber is a chip off the old block in the health and wellness department 

Page 44: Style Week -- Megan Thee Stallion is Revlon’s new face 

Page 46: Run errands in style with a superchic totally sleek tiny phone purse -- Zoey Deutch 

Page 47: 5 minutes with Tiffani Thiessen 

Page 48: Fashion -- the classic post earring gets a bold and stylish upgrade -- Margot Robbie 

Page 50: Beauty -- beauty booty from around the world 

Page 52: Entertainment 

Page 53: Fall TV preview, Q&A with Mister E 

Page 58: Buzz -- in living color -- these stars recently transformed their dresses -- Jesse Williams goes blue, Lady Gaga in green called Ocean Blonde, Jim Parsons goes blond 

Page 59: Emily Ratajkowski goes blonde, Sarah Hyland goes red, Faith Hill goes pink, Joe Jonas goes platinum, Ariel Winter goes blonde, Gigi Hadid goes darker, Kaia Gerber goes pink 

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Olivia Colman on portraying Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown, Andy Cohen on which Real Housewives he’d trust to babysit his son Ben, Angelina Jolie on quarantining with her six kids, Luke Bryan roasting pal Blake Shelton 

Page 61: Adele responding to a fan who asked when she’d be releasing her next album, Jennifer Aniston on playing a celebrity news anchor on The Morning Show, David Arquette on teaming up with ex Courteney Cox for Scream 5, Kelly Ripa to daughter Lola on her habit of stealing her mom’s crop tops 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Virgo Zendaya turned 24 on September 1 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Olivia Culpo

[laylabahiti]

HSHQTASK005: A REFLECTION 

i originally posted this task in march 2017, so almost 3 years ago (wow). i already regret looking at this old one lmao

001. name / age / pronouns

2017: xee / twenty / she, her 2020: xee / twenty-three / she, her — fun fact, mine and evy’s bdays are 2 days apart #taurussquad

002. which character(s) do you play?

2017: my complicated af beaN layla. idek what’s going on with her at this point. 2020: i’m screaming i can’t believe i thought 2017 layla was complicated. i had no idea what was to come. i picked up biel not long after that. also had katalina aka brucey’s wifey n i miss her. juliana is a fairly recent addition and, i’m about to spill the beans, a glücksburg is coming.

003. nationality / ethnicity / timezone

2017: american / lots of white european and the other half o’ me is ashkenazi jewish / right now i’m back and forth between pst and mst. homeland is mst though. 2020: obvs nothing has changed except no more back and forth with timezones. strictly mst now.

004. tell us a bit about your  home state.

2017: it’s the first day of spring and we almost reached 100 degrees F :’) we don’t really have autumn or spring here tho. it’s either hot as balls summer or frozen. no in between. like, as soon as temps get below 70 F people break out their jackets. 2020: welcome to the desert, “it’s a dry heat”

005.  favourite color / fruit / season

2017: green / honeydew melon / spring 2020: still green and all its shades / tbh idk how i chose a fave fruit bc i raaarely eat it but bananas and watermelon too / “spring”

006. favourite books + writer whose writing style you admire the most

2017: this isn’t a fair question smh. i have too many titles and names going through my head at once to answer this. 2020: still no fave so i’m just gonna answer this with what i’m currently reading. it’s called suffer strong and it popped up on my insta feed last week (big brother is listening and they know i’m a stressed mf) cheese moment: i admire all ur writing styles :~)

007. what kinda music do you listen to + any fave bands / musicians

2017: listen to a lil bit of everything. these ‘favorite’ questions are difficult for me to answer 2020: same answer tho i grew up listening to the eagles so they hold a special place in my heart n soul. i get to go see them in a couple months (hopefully w my dad) and i’m v excited

008. what are you doing for a living / what are you studying?

2017: lmAO well rn i work in the kitchen of a gas station (sah classy). 2020: went from working in the store to working in corporate *finger guns* apparently i never said what i was studying but i was still in school then. justice studies with a minor in military leadership and certifications in human rights and socio-legal studies. then i studied astrophysics with minors in cyber intel + security and math for a semester, but i didn’t want any more debt ajskdf

009. what’s your dream occupation?

2017: IDK but it has to involve happiness and a nice salary. i have to feed my zoo somehow. 2020: what r dreams lmao

010. relationship status

2017: single then. single now. single forever. 2020: every time i think about putting myself out there, something happens. i don’t have time to date atm

011. coffee, tea or hot chocolate?

2017: it depends on the weather. if it’s cold i’ll have hot chocolate. i usually drink tea at meals whenever though. 2020: i blame my work for all the coffee i drink now, but still all of the above. 

012. dream holiday destination?

2017: santorini 2020: honestmeme....where the hell did i pull santorini from. idk i was supposed to go to iceland for study abroad last year but yknow i withdrew from the university. i still wanna go tho

013. the thing you’re most proud about yourself

2017: not afraid to stand up for myself + others 2020: young me made it sound noble but honestly i’ll put ppl in their place, i don’t have patience anymore jakdas. but tbh right now i guess it’s my perseverance? life has been shitty for a few months but u gotta keep on truckin’

014. tell us a bit about your family!

2017: goD they’re nuts. i’m the middle child out of all my siblings but the youngest on my dad’s side. large age gaps are common, like half my sisters are old enough to be my mom. lots of grand babies and great grand babies. when we’re all together (like this past weekend) it’s ….wild. communication is v poor too. i only have one brother out of my eight siblings, and all those siblings are only half-related to me. at 5′5 i’m one of the tallest in the fam which says a lot. 2020: they’re still nuts n i don’t speak to my mother anymore. i should probs add that my parents have been divorced since i was a few months old so she hasn’t been in the pic for a while. even when she had custody of me jaksldf find me ron howard i’ll give him the rights to my life story

015. how long have you known your closest friend?

2017: three years. 2020: we’re going on 6 years jaksdf i’ll be maid of honor in her wedding this year. i also have another friend that i failed to mention last time but we’ve been close for 9 years (jfc)

016. superpower you’d like to have?

2017: invisibility 2020: mind reading so i know who’s Fake jaklsdjf

017. celebrity you’d like to meet?

2017: john stamos ?? idk i never really thought about it. i’ve met michael phelps though!! 2020: ig i’ll stick with stamos?? ooh or steve carrell or jennifer aniston. 

018. guilty pleasures

2017: chocolate and french fries. i love love love french fries. 2020: now my guilty pleasure is dr. pepper bc i cut it out of my diet.

019. pet peeves

2017: mouth noises (misophonia). people talking over each other and not listeninG. lowkey people leaving the toilet seat up or leaving toilet paper in the toilet like…just flush again. 2020: i really went off on tp huh?? another pet peeve is people committing to something then backing out/flaking without a heads up

020. do you have any hobbies?

2017: sports !!! i’m a grade a heaux for sports. tennis, archery, golf. anything that doesn’t require lots of muscle ya feel. one of my ~hobbies~ i guess is organizing things. i have multiple planners and use them all daily. 2020: i miss how sporty n active i was jkasdf this is my hobby.

021. where would you like to live in the future?

2017: i would looooooove to live in san diego but i’ll probs be stuck in the desert drylands. 2020: tbh i was looking into memphis homes bc it’s cheap compared to here but i don’t really care where i end up. just want a place of my own yknow

022. tell us a story about a thing that recently happened to you! it can be a funny, scary, sad story, your pick!

2017: redacted bc it was college angst lmao and not pretty 2020: i found out this morning that my cell phone # is somehow linked to some random guy a few miles away and idk how to fix it online. got some texts today and yesterday this one guy called me 6 times back to back while i was on the phone with someone else. i guess that’s another pet peeve of mine, pls leave a message if it’s important jaklsdf

[holycowbrowniekitty]

23.5 Japan Player profile: Tokugawa Kazuya p.90-91

And here’s Tokugawa as well!

My translations can all be found here. 

p. 90

Tokugawa Kazuya

A dreadful aura surrounds him like a trapdoor, as he appears like Asura. Workign hard until the point of blood, in order to fullfill his promise to Han, he vows to bring rightneousness throughout the world, and stakes his life on the battleground.

"I bet my life on this match"

U17Wcup Japan Representatives 2 hser Birthday: 27/07 (Leo) Bloodgroup: AB Family: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Older sister Hobby: Snowboarding, Yachting Favorite phrase: To see what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice Favorite color: Ultramarine Favorite food: Japanese cuisine (especially Natto), Protein Favorite book: The Analects of Confucius Favorite type: Doesn't think about it Favorite Date spot: Auckland's yacht harbor Most wanted thing right now: Wet suit Bad at: Carbonated drinks Skills outside of tennis: Waking up early/fast, Can do a handstand on his fingers Daily habit during the camp: Early morning run Length: 189 cm Weight: 71 kg Dominant Hand: Left Skills: Hitting 10 balls, Black hole, Premonition (not a skill), Howling, Sechster Sinn, Asura's divine path Playstyle:  All rounder Racket: BRIDGESTONE X-BLADE FORCE 3.15 MID PLUS Shoes: Prince PROHOLD TOUR IV CG DPSZC4

(Pic: Tokugawa telling Yukimura it's going to be a slice lob) When his concentration reaches its limits during the match, he can predict the balls with his "Premonition"!

(Pic: Tokugawa hitting Black hole) Before hitting the ball he swings and shaves off space with his "Black Hole".

p. 91

The oath he took for rightneousness pierces his heart. Having his self esteem crushed as a former elite, the persistance and resolution has rebound in his heart. He does everything to fullfill his debt to Oni and Irie. Tokugawa is burning with a quiet fighting spirit towards the opponents from all around the world.

(Pic: Tokugawa in Asura's aura) Tokugawa stepped in Asura's Divine Path. By resolutely putting his life on stake, he gets wrapped up completely in a gushing aura…!

(Pic: Tokugawa assisting Yukimura) He hits "Black Hole" to protect Yukimura whose 5 senses had been stolen. Even if it's a serious fight, he will never abandon his chivalrous spirit.

(Pic: Tokugawa crying) After Tokugawa was completely defeated by Byodoin, both his body and spirit were in shambles. Because of this frustration, he was able to awaken the sleeping and hungy spirit.

Enduring unspeakable hardships, the Han of Asura who is prepared to take on everything!!

Belongings inspection by Irie Kanata Travel bag Laundry detergent He carries them with us since he washes our clothes, even if he looks quite stern when folding our garments. Tokugawa-kun sometimes looks like a mother in law…just kidding.

Tenipedia: Marui He still keeps in touch with the people he flirted with. He exchanged email adresses with a pushy girl, and he frequently gets bombarded with mail. But he always replies. How honest. (TL note: Don't shoot me if this is wrong)

Messages to Tokugawa!

Echizen: By the way, I forgot to say something. Thanks for protecting me from destruction at the camp.

Amane: I see, yachting is your hobby. If you want to go yachting in the summer, yacht better come to Chiba….pf. (TL note: If you want to go yachting in the summer, come to Chiba's beach)

Yukimura: The ability resonance with Tokugawa-san was a valuable experience. I will continue to improve my Sechster Sinn.

Byoudoin: He said he wanted a world filled with righteousness. Then show me, fool…

[brown-rice]

Tagged by @cafe-et-tiramisu for the “Truths Tag” thing  (*・∀-)☆  

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you respond with truths about you and choose 25 people to be tagged.

Tagging @transbakugoukatsuki @rmxstudiojd @leetaliel @kronchip @disney-princess-izuku @bean-paste-man @maytheamazing if you wanna do it.

I wrote so much OTL

Last:

Drink: Earl grey tea + milk

Phone Call: My sister telling me she was outside w/ my boba and food

Text Message: From my new friend Dean asking for help on the lab and about watching Violet Evergarden

Song you listened to: Kyouran Hey Kids!! - The Oral Cigarettes

Time you cried: Uhhhhh Tuesday morning having a meltdown over my midterms :^)

Have you ever:

Dated someone twice: If cheesy middle school romances count, then yeah 

Been cheated on: Hmm, no even tho we were together all but in name

Kissed someone and regretted it: OML YEAH FUCK THAT GUY FROM AX 

Lost someone special: Oh yep, last year I lost a lot of close friends b/c we’d just grown too far apart and they didn’t care about me anymore

Been depressed: /sweats nervously

Been drunk and thrown up: During fam reveal, I went too hard and overdid it, but was also proud b/c my limit is higher than I thought it would be KEK

In the past year have you:

Made a new friend: I made quite a few chill friends from the server and have slowly been making friends here and there at school!

Fallen out of love: I think so, I was in love w/ my childhood friend for a long amount of time, but I feel alright about it now 

Met someone who changed you?: I don’t think I’ve met just one person who changed me since the “me” now is a culmination of my experiences/interactions w/ a lot of people

Found out who your true friends are: Sort of, although a little unfortunately haha. I’m thankful for those that did stick by me, but it resulted in me realizing that some people I thought would be a “true friend” were just taking advantage of me. srry im still a little salty/bitter abt this but im working thru it

Found out someone was talking about you: Yeah? Past hs me would have been really mad about it, but current me doesn’t care enough lol

General:

How many people on tumblr do you know in real life?: I know quite a few friends from band and high school, my server friends (who I’ve seen in pics or have heard in calls), and mutuals I’ve messaged

Do you have any pets?: YES I LOVE MY DOG HACHI, we also have a lot of fish in tanks and the koi pond back home. By extension, my roommate’s cat Sake is pretty much my cat now huehueh

Do you want to change your name?: Nope, I’ve never been much fixated on it besides how long my full name is

What time did you wake up this morning?: I technically didn’t sleep since I was studying for my ochem midterm and i got my ass handed to me in test form anyway

What were you doing last night?: procrastinating, lab hw, and studying for ochem

Name something you cannot wait for: On a smaller scale: AX. Long term: I just wanna be out of school, in a job that I kinda like and is stable enough so that I can commission all my friends and finally have a place of my own that I can decorate and call home without feeling lonely or suffocated 

Have you ever talked to a person named Tom?: My brother-in-law’s name is Tom haha

What’s getting on your nerves right now?: Mainly classes and school since I still feel wrong about my career path, I had to drop a class, and my anal chem lab is frustrating the shit out of me. I miss cc

Blood type: I’m pretty sure it’s O+, but it could be O-

Nickname: Besides “Steph,” I’ve had a lot of nicknames over the years. Memorable ones are Stephie/Stephy, Steve, Vending Machine, Beanie Head, and “mom.” Neko and Mocha told me to add “daddy” and I die a little inside

Relationship status: Single and don’t really care to mingle LMAO

Zodiac sign: Ox and Cancer w/ Gemini ascendant 

Pronouns: She/her, but don’t mind they/them

Favorite show: If we’re talking actual TV then Friends, B99, ATLA, Chopped, Voltron, Gravity Falls, and Danny Phantom. If it’s anime then /sweats as I look at all these shows 

College: Transfer student from Mt. Sac now going to UCSD and i wanna mcfuckin die ayyy lmao

Hair color: It’s dark brown/black w/ light brown where the sun hits

Do you have a crush on someone?: Currently no, but I am low key flirting with Dean oops

What do you like about yourself?: Maybe the fact that it’s very hard to make me legit mad, but beyond that /sweats profusely

Firsts:

First surgery: Unless wisdom teeth removal counts, none yet

First Piercing: My mom got my ears pierced when I was like 1

First sport you joined: I think I took karate for a little in 4th grade?? I joined tennis and marching band at the same time officially in 8th grade

First vacation: Hmmm, I think I remember one of the first things we did when we came to America was go to Disneyland

First pair of sneakers: Oddly enough I remember my little slip-on Sketchers that were purple and white with pink, purple, and blue flowers

Right now:

Eating: Dino nuggets /w bbq sauce, and I might make some noodles b/c I’m still so hungry oml

Drinking: A fresh cup of early grey + milk

Listening to: Whatever’s playing in the DJ booth, which is Reach You - Sako Tomohisa

Want kids?: At some point yeah, I’m also pretty sure I’m gonna adopt at least 1 kid whether I have my own or not

Get married?: Maybe. That’s a problem for future me, but if I happen to meet someone(s) good for me, then sure

Career: After bouncing around a bit, I think I’ve settled into chemistry for forensics w/ specialization in pharmacology and toxicology. It still doesn’t feel quite right to me, but it’s the best I’ve got

Which is better?:

Lips or eyes?: Eyes, since I think eye contact can tell you a lot about a person

Hugs or kisses?: Hugs, but I’m big on personal space and barely accept hugs from even my closest friends, plus there’s some weird belief that I don’t like hugs?? and idk where that came from

Shorter or taller: I oddly like being the shortest person in a group?? So I prefer if people are taller than me

Troublemaker or hesitant: Troublemaker, I really can’t stand it when people are super hesitant or can’t make decisions. I’m rly tired of having to make decisions all the time

Romantic or spontaneous: Both, but I think I lean a little more towards spontaneity since I’m a person who likes careful planning. Romance is whatever for me, so I’d rather have someone push me to be a little more spontaneous

Sensitive or loud: A balance of both would be preferable, but if I had to pick, then loud. I’m a lot more introverted than I was before and prefer if people are a little more extroverted than I am but have a level of chill where silences are comfortable

Hookup or relationship?: Relationship. I don’t really do hookups. I know I could, and I’ve been asked to before, but I’m not really big on sex

Have you ever:

Kissed a stranger: Technically AX boy counts b/c I met him 2 days before we made out lmao

Drank hard liquor: Yeah, but I’m not super big on drinking and just enjoy a smirnoff ice/mike’s hard every so often

Lost contacts/glasses: Nope, surprisingly I haven’t lost my glasses yet

Sex on first date: Likely never, they’d have to be someone who I mesh with super well for that to happen

Broken someone’s heart: A few yeah. Apparently I broke my friend’s roommate so bad that every time he’d drink he’d just talk about how I was the one who got away

Been arrested: Not yet

Turned someone down: /sweats Yeah, a lot. I don’t mean this in a bragging way, because I always feel ridiculously bad about it, but my friends joke about me being “unattainable” and a heart-breaker all the time _(:3」∠)_

Fallen for a friend: I’ve only ever fallen for close friends oops

Do you believe:

In yourself?: Not at all

Love at first sight?: I think it’s out there, just not for me

[the-record-newspaper]

The Killing of Rhonda Hinson Part 17

The 1981 East Burke Senior Picture of Greg McDowell...On the right, Greg McDowell as he is today.  The first photo comes from the East Burke Yearbook; the second from his profile pic found on his engineering company's website.

  By LARRY J. GRIFFIN

Special Investigative Reporter

For The Record

 “These articles are full of lies.  They are a personal attack on me, my son and daughter.” — Written by Rev. Dr. Charles McDowell, U.S. Army Retired, and sent to Record Editor Jerry Lankford on July 2, 2019

 The guest register from the Dec. 24, 1981 viewing of newly-slain Rhonda Hinson—furnished by Kirksey’s Funeral Home—reads like a Who’s Who compendium of her family, friends, acquaintances, and a few law officers.  

Some of the names—37 and a half years later—have been altered through matrimonial contract and appear in other installments of the story:

Rhonda Lowman [classmate]; Revonda Turner and Jenny Turner [Jill’s mother and sister respectively]; Harvey McDowell [East Burke Senior Class President and friend of Greg McDowell]; Jill Temple [classmate]; neighbor Rachel McBrayer [Sarah’s mother] and Sarah McBrayer Rowe; Mr. and Mrs. Bill Holland; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Barlow [the Hinsons’ best friends]; Bill and Tonya Benge [Hickory Steel]; Sherry Pittman [Yoder of Hickory Steel]; Mrs. C. R. Pittman [Sherry’s mother]; Donald Gilbert [Ronda dated him prior to Greg]; Rhonda S. Childers [classmate]; Rick Steiner [Rhonda’s tennis partner in mixed doubles]; Don and Sandra Colson [Don was Rhonda’s supervisor at Hickory Steel.]; Jean Harris [tennis partner]; Mr. and Mrs. Larry Nichols [classmate]; Charlene Clements and her brother, Greg McDowell [both of whom signed the registry twice]; Martha F. Hinson [Rhonda’s grandmother]; Imogene and Don McGee [Don worked at Hickory Steel; he and his wife sent a condolence letter to the Hinsons subsequent to Rhonda’s murder.]; Eddie and Renee’ Perrou [from whom the Hinsons purchased their Hillcrest home]; Celia Heavner and Winfield Abee [classmates]; Mr. and Mrs. Wayne A, Chapman; John McDevitt [BCSO]; Rev. Robert K. Round [who visited the Hinsons later on December 23rd at Charles McDowell’s request]; Rev. and Mrs. Charles McDowell; Jill Turner [Mull]; Mark Turner; Greg McDowell and Sister Charlene Clements [ for a second time]; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Turner [Mark’s parents]; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Glazebrooks [Neighbor who saw Rhonda walking to I-40 the morning before she was killed]; and a number of Rhonda’s “Price” cousins—from either North or South Carolina.

Sixteen signatures separate those of Greg McDowell—the second time he signed the register—and high school classmate and subsequent pallbearer, Ron Lail.  And over 37-years later, Mr. Lail remembered a brief encounter between him and his classmate, Greg McDowell, on the campus of North Carolina State University during the Fall, 1981—not too long before the killing of Rhonda Hinson.

“I saw Greg one day while I was walking across campus.  He was walking toward me.  There was a young woman walking beside him as he approached me. At first, I thought that maybe the two were walking together; but, as he got closer to me, the girl walked on ahead. Greg stopped to talk to me.  It wasn’t a very long conversation — 35 or 40 seconds.  I asked him how things were going, and then asked how Rhonda was doing.  I knew they had been dating each other for some time. He said, ‘I am actually seeing someone else.’  Well that statement surprised me; but, I didn’t ask what he meant by it, of course. I thought maybe they had had an argument and a breakup.  To tell you the truth, I can only recall seeing Greg a couple of times while at State; and, I can’t say for sure he was walking with that young woman I saw; but, I will never forget what he told me that day when I asked him about Rhonda.”

The ostensible dubious status of his relationship with Rhonda notwithstanding, Greg McDowell was approached by law enforcement and polygraphed within a week of his girlfriend’s murder.  In a couple recorded conversations, Father Charles McDowell recounted details of the first and subsequent polygraphs administered to his son:

“…Greg volunteered to take the polygraph because he wanted to get it out of the way.  Then they said it might not have been valid, because he could have been on drugs…or could beat it.”

Mr. McDowell was accurate in his statement.  According to a couple case file notes, the first polygraph administered to his son rendered an “inconclusive result” — indicating that there was not sufficient data to ascertain whether the examinee was being truthful or deceptive.  

An article published on the Public Agency Training Council (PATC), cites some factors contributing to an “inconclusive” result — included are…“improper question formulation based on bad case facts. The lack of fear by the examinee of getting caught in a lie is sometimes a reason for this result. The issue of little or no consequences is another contributing factor.”

Investigators blamed the Hinsons.  “They told us that our insistence that a polygraph be administered to Greg immediately was the cause of the ‘inconclusive” result,’ Judy and Bobby Hinson recalled during a face-to-face interview this past weekend. “During the week following Rhonda’s death, we were just trying to cope with our loss — we weren’t thinking of anything else and certainly didn’t talk to anyone in law enforcement about administering a lie-detector test to Greg.”

The PATC article also avers that an “inconclusive” opinion is generally rendered in about 6 percent to 10 percent of cases, usually requiring a second test.

In his daily recapitulative notes, Detective James “Flash” Pruett wrote that, “Greg failed the polygraph the first time….”  Regardless of the “inconclusive” or “failed” result of the first, a second polygraph was planned.  

Reverend McDowell voiced his opposition to another test in a June 28, 1982 interview with SBI Special Agent John Suttle and Detective Steve Whisenant of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office at his residence.  Both officers went to talk with McDowell “…concerning the possibilities of his taking a polygraph test to corroborate his son’s statement and to corroborate also his statement.  Mr. McDowell indicated that due to his being a preacher and that his wife and his word about his son’s whereabouts at the time of the murder should be sufficient…He would not take a polygraph test nor would he agree to go along with letting his son be re-examined on a polygraph…,” the summary read.  

Over the objection of his father, Greg McDowell was approached by investigators on Oct. 29, 1982 at 10 a.m., while in school at N.C. State.  In a couple recorded conversations with Judy — one at the Hinson’s Hillcrest residence and a second via telephone — Charles McDowell recalled that October day:

“The police jerked Greg up, out of school and polygraphed him. Steve Whisenant said his experts tell him it has to be done without the person knowing because you can take things to beat it…They went and dragged him out of class and embarrassed him and took him off….”

Detective Lieutenant Steve Whisenant reported that during the October interview — conducted in the university’s security office in Raleigh — Greg McDowell advised that he could not provide any further information than he had earlier regarding his girlfriend’s death.  He maintained that he believed that the person who killed Rhonda could possibly have been someone that wanted the job that she landed at Hickory Steel.  

But the 19-year-old did agree to submit to a second polygraph examination at the SBI Office — more than 10 months after the killing of Rhonda Hinson.  At noon on the same day, Assistant Supervisor [Charles] Whitman administered the test; upon completion, he concluded that “…McDowell was being truthful in regards to him not having any involvement in the death of his girlfriend, Rhonda Annette Hinson.”  

Detective Pruett acknowledged in his concluding notes that Greg, “…showed no deception in the second time. I might add, the second time was more on Greg’s turf and away from the crime location.”  

On Nov. 5, 1982, — seven days after Greg McDowell’s second polygraph — Detective Lieutenant Whisenant received a letter from Attorney Steve B. Settlemyer indicating that he had been retained by the Charles McDowell family to represent them in the matter of Rhonda Hinson’s investigation.  He insisted that any investigator wishing to contact the McDowells should do so through him.  

Pastor McDowell initially refused to submit to a polygraph assessment at the hands of authorities. In a Feb. 9, 1984 conversation between him and Judy, conducted at the Hinson residence, the elder McDowell declared:

“I will not take a polygraph to please Steve’s superiors. That is what Steve says I would be doing.  Steve said Greg ruled out the whole family when he took a polygraph, anyway.”

In a subsequent recorded phone conversation with Ms. Hinson, heard by this writer this past weekend at the Hinson residence, Mr. McDowell provided additional explanation for his refusal to submit to a lie-detector test:

“…They asked me about it, and I said, ‘Look, why should I take one when you say it’s not even valid.  I know I’m innocent; to you it doesn’t mean anything; so, why should I take it’ ...The polygraph is not valid. People have been accused and it show they have lied when they haven’t.  They don’t even allow them in court.  And my lawyer said they would polygraph half the people in Burke County if you would let them.  I even thought one time about going out to a private [indecipherable] and saying here are the results if you want them.  But big deal, what does this prove—nothing…”

However, the Reverend Dr. McDowell did relent and finally acceded to being polygraphed.  According to case file notes, “…It was eventually learned that his greatest resistance to the test after the murder was probably a result of his having an illicit affair while he was pastoring [Wilkies Grove] Baptist Church.  He also [previously] stated at that time that the word of he and his wife should be good enough to clear their son.”

Charles McDowell’s polygraph was conducted in 1994.

  Editor’s Note:  Both Charles and Greg McDowell have been issued repeated invitations to comment on the details contained in stories in which they prominently appear. To date, neither has accepted the invitations to go on record.  Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant was contacted by this writer in March of this year subsequent to a meeting between himself, the Hinsons, and three detectives.  Mr. Whisenant’s standard response concluded with this statement reflective of his willingness to collaborate to bring resolution to this case: “BCSO will be happy to share any public information regarding this ongoing investigation and receive any information that you have that could be useful in bringing justice in this case….Thank you, Steve.”

[daleisgreat]

30 Years of GamBoy: How I persevered through the 90s with Nintendo's green-and-black portable as my best friend!

Over the past couple weeks social media has been buzzing with tributes and testimonials for the legacy of the GameBoy on its 30th anniversary of its Japan launch and fast approaching North American launch in 1989. There was also that pic a couple weeks ago of Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson playing linked two player Tetris that went viral that sent waves of nostalgia down my spine! Like countless other 90s kids I had a devout affection for the GameBoy’s (and its 1998 Color update) enduring legacy into 2001 when its true successor, the GameBoy Advance launched. So it is time to lay out my history with the little gray brick that could, but before I do I would be remiss if I were not to point you towards someone who has been doing phenomenal work chronicling the GameBoy’s history first. Retronauts host, Jeremy Parish has been painstakingly crafting videos detailing every GameBoy release for America and Japan in chronological order and currently is nearing the end of covering games released through 1990. So if you want to catch up and find out about the early hits and likely a plethora of titles you have never heard of before, then click here to dive in.

Unlike a lot of the excellent retrospectives I have been reading these past couple of weeks, minus a couple exceptions, I did not play that many of the AAA GameBoy titles from Nintendo. I was a sucker for licenses from my favorite sports leagues and watered down ports of the latest console games as you will later read about. It was not until I much later got the Official GameBoy Player’s Guide with my first Nintendo Power subscription a few years after I got a GameBoy that I realized what were the key titles for the system. However even after re-reading that bible of GameBoy knowledge multiple times I was adamant on avoiding the powerhouse first party titles like Super Mario Land, Metroid II, Link’s Awakening and Donkey Kong in favor for eye-blinking double take titles you will discover in a bit. My childhood preference of games went against the grain to say the least. With that out of the way, let us flashback to 1993…. I remember begging my parents for a GameBoy for Christmas in 1993 when I was 10. I cannot specifically remember why, but after ruminating about it I pinpointed it down to the fact in 1993 I still had a NES and my parents understandably did not want to budge on dropping $200 for the 16-bit upgrade. The GameBoy was at its height of its popularity at this time and advertisements for the green and black handheld dominated my Saturday morning cartoon lineup. The GameBoy launched at $90 in 1989 so by 1993 I think it was going for around $70 which seemed like a much more realistic sell to my folks at being my one-and-only ‘Santa’ gift for Christmas.

Also around this time I was going through serious pro-wrestling withdrawal. From about 1988 until early 1993 I was an avid WWF kiddo. Big Bossman and The Rockers were my favorites, and I have fond memories of braving the classrooms of Catholic school with my Big Bossman tennis shoes. However, growing up with three other siblings who detested the squared circle made it a battle for control of the household’s sole television. Eventually, the numbers game caught up and I got so use to being bullied out of getting my weekly then-WWF fix that I went nearly three years from early ’93 until late ’95 not watching my favorites on the airwaves. The only other way at that time for me to get my dose of wrestling at home was in the mostly mediocre-to-horrible wrestling games on NES. I played far too many hours of duds like Wrestlemania and Steel Cage Challenge than any kid should have, and double that for the decent at best grapplers on the system like Pro Wrestling and Tecmo World Wrestling. Enter 1993 and Royal Rumble for the Super Nintendo and Genesis. I lost track at the number of times I would play that game setup on free play at store kiosks. I was dazzled by Royal Rumble’s superior 16-bit graphics and standout feature, the Royal Rumble match that saw up to six wrestlers in the ring at once trying to throw everyone out and subsequently replaced with a fresh combatant until the game went through its entire 12-man roster. It seemed as close as it was going to get at the time to the insanely awesome Rumble match in one of my all-time favorite arcade games, WWF WrestleFest. Being able to participate in the chaos of the Royal Rumble match with a controller after endless hours of only one-on-one and tag team matches on various NES games was mind-blowing to 10-year old Dale. All the gaming magazines at the time were echoed my sentiments and gushed with glowing reviews which only served to exacerbate my demand.

Again I pleaded for a SNES and a copy of Royal Rumble for Christmas and again I was denied courtesy of its tall asking price. It was then I went with the aforementioned plan b for the GameBoy. Also hitting NES and GameBoy in 1993 was WWF King of the Ring. King of the Ring sported inferior 8-bit graphics and had a smaller roster of wrestlers and no awesome Royal Rumble match to play, but it did have the not-so-great King of the Ring tournament to play which was only a series of one-on-one matches, but most importantly it would be portable and I could play it anywhere and not have to worry about battling for control of the TV with my siblings to play it. Looking back now those were the catalysts to relentlessly ask my parents for the GameBoy. Growing up with divorced parents meant celebrating most holidays and birthdays twice. I got to celebrate Christmas first with my dad a few days before the actual date of Christmas and was elated to unwrap and discover my very own GameBoy with a copy of its killer-app, Tetris! Over the next couple of days I played an un-healthy amount of Tetris. ‘Gee, if this block-puzzle game I barely heard of before is this awesome, imagine how good the wrestling game would be’ naïve me daydreamed of at the time. However, before I could get to that moment, something unexpected and terrible transpired! On Christmas Eve I was with my family that night going to church for its annual Christmas Eve dinner gathering. To get through the night of being with my family I brought my new electronic best friend with me and snuck in as much Tetris as I could between bites. After we wrapped up and my family got back into the car to go back home my GameBoy was not as snugly tucked into my pocket as I thought and as I shut the car door my GameBoy slid out of my pocket and collided with the blunt force of me shutting the door onto it. As you can see in the screenshot here, the incident caused about 95% of the screen to get cracked and impossible to see and I balled my eyes out that entire night. Kids, do not bring your GameBoy to church or God will strike down upon you when least expected!

To make matters worse on Christmas morning the next day I opened up a copy of WWF King of the Ring for GameBoy from Santa. I plugged it into my cracked GameBoy and was stunned to see it still worked and played the music and it would display the miniscule amount of graphics that were possible in the tiny corners of the GameBoy screen that were not damaged. I must have begged my parents for days to see if they could get the GameBoy replaced or returned or something. I feel horrible now for how irritating I must have been at that time. To my surprise, my mom came through a week or two later and got me a new GameBoy. Once again I was thrilled and beyond belief of how those past couple weeks played out, but from then on I was extra careful with my GameBoy and to this day I still own both my busted and replacement brick GameBoys. For a few months all I had was Tetris and King of the Ring. I loved Tetris and even found a classmate to link up and play two player with a few times and it remains in my GameBoy library to this day! However, even with my childhood adoration for wrestling I could tell King of the Ring would be nothing more than a middling wrestling game and nothing compared to its 16-bit brethren (though it did have some rocking wrestler chiptune entrance themes). At this point a few months into 1994 our local videogame shop was a place called Tiger Play, which was essentially a modern day GameStop that bought, sold and traded new and used games. It was the same store where I persistently requested to put Royal Rumble for play in its kiosk to the chagrin of the employees. I have no idea how they tolerated me back then. I decided it was time to part ways with King of the Ring and trade it in for something else.

In early 1994 Mortal Kombat fever was running wild with the sequel dominating arcades and the home release being super popular with all my classmates. Mortal Kombat did not come out for NES, but it did for GameBoy and the now much wiser 11-year old Dale thought the GameBoy version would be just as good as the SNES, but only not in color and was thrilled to hear Tiger Play would happily do a straight-up trade of King of the Ring for Mortal Kombat. Right away I could tell something was not right to discover it was missing Johnny Cage from its roster and it ran a significantly slower framerate. I still remember having to ever--so—slowly--like--this input the button sequences for the special moves in order to get them to work. Even worse, facing Shang Tsung on there was super cheap because he would automatically cast a projectile when one input away from pulling off a special move so I had to learn to beat him without special moves which took forever, but I eventually pulled it off. The GameBoy version of MK did have one thing going for it over the rest and that would be it was the only version of MK that let you play as Goro! Goro was unstoppable, but even with that trump card, the handheld MK was pretty lousy, but I forced myself to get some enjoyment out of it before marching back to Tiger Play a few months later and trading MK in for Bo Jackson: Baseball and Football. Turns out ‘Bo Knows…’ how to endorse subpar sports game, but the sports nut in me played that to death for a couple years because Tiger Play closed its doors around this time and it would be a few years until our town got another videogame store. After that brief flirtation with trading games in I would only receive two games a year for GameBoy from 1994 through 1998 shortly before I got my first job and could afford my own games then. At that period in my life those two games a year meant everything to me. As hinted above, I was still drawn towards games based on my favorite licenses at that point and Bart vs. the Juggernauts was one of my early games I received as a present. The mini-game collection featured a lot of hair-pulling cheap controls, but I forced myself to stick with it and lit up when it became one of the first games I ever finished. A much better game I got as a present that I also finished was Donkey Kong Land. I have no idea how Rare was able to get graphics that seemed somewhat comparable to the SNES Donkey Kong Country, but I remember loving playing it, but being bummed at its lackluster ending of only ‘congratulations’ with no accompanying DK crew victory graphic. At least Bart vs. the Juggernauts had a wicked ending with Bart getting rewarded with his very own ‘Truck-a-Saurus.’

I learned my lesson from Bo Jackson and MK to do my research for better games on the GameBoy….actually no because I kept asking for more fighting and sports games for Christmas and birthdays, but at least getting varying degrees of better ones this time. The original NFL Quarterback Club on GameBoy I had a ton of fun with. It only featured the ‘Quarterback Club’ mini-games, but no actual game of football that was playable in its console versions. That was not a problem though as me and my siblings had a surprising amount of fun alternating back-and-forth with the various QB drill mini-games available and I could not help but crack up that my sister only played as Jim Kelley because of how close it sounded to ‘Jim Carrey’ who was wildly popular in the mid-90s. NFL Quarterback Club ‘96 was only actual football and no mini-games, but that was fine because it featured a far better handheld rendition of football compared to Bo Jackson and even a season mode with password save option! Yes, I still have my passwords saved inside the instruction manual. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents: MLB is an awesome port of the SNES original and blew away the baseball from Bo Jackson. It had a battery-save season mode along with the ability to trade players with no restrictions so I created my team of all-stars and rocked through an entire season throughout many family car rides. Mortal Kombat II is a huge upgrade from the first portable version, and while it also had a scaled back roster it did feature more precise gameplay, more friendly controls to pull off special moves and fatalities and a stable framerate resulting in me not trading this one away and playing it way too much.

That wraps up all the games I got as gifts and by the time I got my first job the GameBoy Color hit the market so I eagerly picked that up. There were a couple classmates over the years I met where we borrowed games to each other. I did not discover many new gems that way as most kids were also picking up the dreck of LJN licensed games and I could one can only tolerate so much out of WWF RAW, Fist of the North Star and Home Alone on GameBoy before getting out of the game borrowing market. I managed not to get swept up in PokeFever as I was just a couple years older than that targeted demographic. I did pick up Pokemon Blue shortly after its release after reading about the hype for it and got a little ways into it before my younger brother noticed me playing it and asked to borrow it around the time it was blowing up with younger kids so I did not mind letting him hold onto it until it for his GameBoy until he remembered to give it back to me about ten years later. Since the GameBoy Color was only on the market for a few years I will not meander on as long about it. With that said, the GameBoy Color far surpassed the meek GameBoy in every way with the exception of not having a backlit screen. Other than that, it was smaller, fit more comfortably in my pocket, took two less batteries and well….the addition of color! Yes, I picked up a few too many sports and wrestling games on it again that were mediocre at best, but I did have a lot of fun with some enhanced NES re-releases on there with Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, the first three Dragon Warrior games and Micro Machines 1 & 2: Twin Turbo. For original titles my favorites were Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. For people familiar with the recent Golf Story on Switch Mario Golf is a lot like that where it is a sports-RPG hybrid where it has a fairly in-depth narrative at attending a golf/tennis academy to become the best player and being able to take lessons and play mini-games to level-up and prepare for the tournaments. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe had a lot of fun extras and even a two player competitive mode to see who can finish a stage first that I absolutely ate up.

A couple years ago some unearthly thing got me craving the basic, watered down platformers that dominated GameBoy and I hunted down the five Turok games released for GameBoy platforms and I played through the entirety of the first one on the original GameBoy and had a somewhat decent time with it. I did not play it on the actual GameBoy, mind you but instead on my TV courtesy of the Retron 5. I should mention I am a proud owner of the Super GameBoy, GameBoy Player and Retron 5 which made it convenient to bust out these portable games at a much friendlier resolution and not have to worry about the GameBoy’s non-backlit screen. In honor of the 30th anniversary last week I popped in the GameBoy Color version of Turok 2 and played a couple levels into it. For as weak and watered down most handheld versions of console games were, there was something about it that kept me coming back to them. The GameBoy helped me through my childhood, too many family trip car rides to count and several summers on a farm. I probably had an unorthodox library of games for my GameBoy compared to the average owner who probably owned a majority of vastly superior games released by Nintendo, Capcom and Konami. What can I say, I was too young to realize what to ask my folks for. No matter how strong or weak each game wound up, I made sure to get the absolute most out of each game. Thank you Nintendo for releasing and supporting the GameBoy well after you should have throughout the 90s and enabling me to enjoy games anywhere! Thank you to everyone who got through this indulging my childhood memories of portable gaming with me! I hope you all have just as many great childhood handheld system gaming memories as I did whether it was on GameBoy, GameGear or later generations like GBA, PSP, DS, mobile, etc.