#miles copeland

[strathshepard]

I.R.S. Records logo. One of my favorite record labels in the '80s.

[whatisonthemoon]

Machine Guns Near the Church of Scientology’s Int Base or Gold Base

Ex-Scientologist Mark Headley confirmed that there are men with machine guns near the Int Base but these aren’t Scientologists, but the U.S. Government. Apparently there is some sort of secret project or base right next to Scientology’s Int Base. 

It is odd how this is seen as coincidental by a lot of them. Miles Copeland Jr. had claimed that the CIA and Scientology had a strong relationship, as well as with the MRA. 

Some, like the late Ed Coffman, believed that the Unification Church inherited the MRA’s mission and CIA support as Frank Buchman passed in 1961. 

[northwestofinsanity]

I’m estimating this backstage picture took place ten seconds before chaos

[myvinylplaylist]

The Lords Of The New Church: The Method To Our Madness (1984)

I.R.S. records

[sourchinmusic]

Pictures that do something to me pt.1

[beardedmrbean]

Cory Lee has visited 40 countries on seven continents, and yet the Georgia native has never explored Cloudland Canyon State Park, about 20 minutes from his home. His wheelchair was tough enough for the trip to Antarctica but not for the rugged terrain in his backyard.

Lee’s circumstances changed Friday, when Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation unveiled a fleet of all-terrain power wheelchairs for rent at 11 state parks and outdoorsy destinations, including Cloudland Canyon. The Action Trackchair models are equipped with tank-like tracks capable of traversing rocks, roots, streams and sand; clearing fallen trees; plowing through tall grass and tackling uphill climbs.

“I’ll finally be able to go on these trails for the first time in my life,” said the 32-year-old travel blogger, who shares his adventures on Curb Free with Cory Lee. “The trails are off-limits in my regular wheelchair.”

Georgia is one of the latest states to provide the Land Rover of wheelchairs to outdoor enthusiasts with mobility issues.

In 2017, Colorado Parks and Wildlife launched its Staunton State Park Track-Chair Program, which provides free adaptive equipment, though guests must pay the $10 entrance fee. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has placed off-road track chairs in nearly a dozen parks, including Muskegon State Park. In 2018, Lee reserved a chair at the park that boasts three miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake. “It allowed me to have so much independence on the sand,” he said.

Mobility FTW

[genderkoolaid]

Do you mind giving a list of the transmasc artists in that sp*tify playlist, I wanna listen to transmasc artists but I hate sp*tify soooooo much

Sure! I wouldn't use spotify if I didn't have a cracked version of premium, it truly is fucking awful lmao.

I'm adding specific songs of theirs I like because I know other people also find it easier to get into an artist if they are recc'd a specific song. Also the artist bandcamp when applicable:

Dreamer Isioma / Sunset Drive + Dumb In Love With You

Tobre / FTMLOVE

Joe Stevens / Daughterson

Anjimile / Baby No More + Animal

Jake Edwards / Holy

saint hills / Lavender

Athens Boy Choir / Fagette + Tranny Got Pack

Malaika Mfalme / Good Man

Art Project / Gender Nightmare + Enemy Estrogen + Pretty boy

Miles McKenna / Boys Will Be Boys

Schmekel (and all the jewish tboys cheer) / FTM at the DMV

Skylar Kergil / Brothers

First Ever Boys / Guts + Friends Who Kiss

Mavi Phoenix / Aventura

Ryan Cassata / boy on boy

Beverly Glenn-Copeland / La Vita + People Of The Loon + Africa Calling (love his music so much. it makes me feel the same way bell hooks writing does)

Zann Foth / Hindsight Cinema

Dazey and the Scouts / Sweet Cis Teen

Saint Wellesley / Captain, Oh Captain!

Freddie Lewis / Best Dressed Ex + Bell Jar

Mal Blum / Things Still Left to Say

Dump Him / Pretty Like a Boy

Ezra Michel / I'm a Faggot I'm a Dyke

Jay Page / Invincible + Am I Here

The Oozes / Bitchboy + Ultrasound (consider donating to one of the band member's top surgery fund as well!)

Grumpster (ty anon for reccing them!) / Roots + Growing Pains

[layce2015]

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

Fallen Idols

Masterlist pt 1

Masterlist pt 2

*(y/n)'s POV*

"So, what's with this job?" Sam asked Dean as we drive down the long empty road. "Dude suffers a head-on collision in a parked car? I'd say that's worth checking out." Dean said. "Yeah, definitely, uh, but, uh, we got bigger problems, don't you think?" I asked Dean, curiously. "I'm sure the apocalypse'll still be there when we get back." Dean said and I shake my head.

"Right, yeah, but I mean, if—if the Colt is really out there somewhere—" Sam said but Dean shakes his head. "Hey, we've been looking for three weeks, we got bupkis." Dean said. "Okay. But Dean...I mean, if we're gonna—ice the Devil—" Sam said, a bit cautious, but Dean yells. "This is what we're doing! Okay? End of discussion."

Sam looks away and sighs. "It's just that this is our first real case, back at it together. You know, I, I think we oughta ease into it, put the training wheels back on." Dean said. "So you think I need training wheels." Sam said, questioning. "No, 'we'. 'We' need training wheels, you, me and (y/n). As a team. Okay?" Dean said and Sam nods. "Okay." he said.

"Man, I really want this to be a fresh start, you know? For all of us." Dean said and we all look at each other before Sam nods again. "Okay." Sam said.

Canton, Ohio

The boys and I, wearing suits, show our FBI badges to the sheriff once we enter his office. "Agents Bonham, Page and Copeland." Dean said and the sheriff shakes our hands. "Rick Carnegie. Good to know ya. So you're here on account of Cal Hawkins' death?" he asked us. "That's right." Sam said.

"Well, 'fraid you came a long way for nothing. We already booked the guy that did it." Rick said and the boys and I frown at each other. "I'm sorry; who do you think did it?" I asked him.

Rick takes us to the interview room and has us watching a video. "Cal? Is something wrong?" a guy asked as he comes up to Cal, only to see his head smashed into the windshield. "Oh my God, Cal. Cal!" the guy shouts, frantically, and the video cuts to static. Rick shakes his head, then switches off the TV and drops the remote on the table and turns to us.

"Sicko taped his own handiwork." Rick tells us and we give him a look of confusion. "I don't follow." Sam said. "It was Jim Grossman that killed Cal." Rick said. "Wait, what?" Dean asked. "Well, he was the only one on the scene for miles." Rick said. "They were best friends." I pointed out.

"Most violent crimes are committed by someone close to the victim." Rick said. "And how exactly did Jim slam Cal into a windshield with all the force of an eighty-mile-per-hour crash?" Dean asked him and Rick blinks. "Drugs, maybe?" he suggests, weakly, and Dean raises his eyebrows.

"Look, you know this ain't brain surgery! Whatever it looks like, that's what it usually is. It's simple." Rick said. "Simple. Right." I said, a bit of sarcasm in my voice, then I glance over at the boys. "Right. Um, if you don't mind, we'd like to speak to Jim Grossman anyway." Sam asked.

Later, Jim sits at a table, across from Sam, as Dean and I stand behind Sam. "I was in the house when it happened, I didn't even see it." Jim explains.  "For argument's sake, say we believe you." Dean said. "Why would you? The cops didn't." Jim grumbles. "Well we're not your typical cops." I said. "Please, just tell us what you saw." Sam pleads and Jim sighs before he speaks again.

"It's not what I saw, it's what I heard. Tires squealing, glass breaking." he said and he sighs again. "It was the car that did it." he said and I raise my eyebrows. "The car?" Sam asked, confused "I mean, I heard about the curse, but, I just thought it was a load of crap." Jim said.

"Curse, what do you—what do you mean, curse?" Dean asked. "The car. Little Bastard." Jim said and my jaw drops. "Li—Little Bastard? As in the Little Bastard?" I asked, astonished. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, uh, what's Little Bastard?" Sam asked as he turns to us. "It's James Dean's car. It's the one he was killed in." Dean said.

"Yeah, that's the one. Cal had been looking for it for years. I mean, hell, we both had. But he found it first." Jim said and Dean leans closer to Sam. "Oh, we are definitely checking this out." he whispers.

Dean walks around and inspects Little Bastard with awe, careful not to touch, and honestly I was admiring the car as well. The windshield was bloodstained and had a piece missing where Cal's head was. "So, what, this is, like, Christine?" Sam asked and Dean and I shake our heads.

"Christine is fiction. This—This is real." Dean said. "Okay. Enlighten me." Sam said and I roll my eyes. "Well after James Dean died, his mechanic bought the wreckage, and he fixed it up. And it repaid him by...Falling on him." I explained. "And Tony McHenry was killed when it locked up on the racetrack. I mean, death follows this car around like exhaust. Nobody touches it and comes away in one piece." Dean added and Sam hums at this.

"Then, in nineteen-seventy, it vanished off the back of a truck. Nobody's ever seen it since." I said and Sam nods as Dean continues to look at the car. "I'm telling you, guys, if this—if this car is Little Bastard, I will bet you dollars to donuts it's what killed the guy." Dean said.

"So how do we find out?" Sam asked. "Cal matched the VIN number, but the only real way to know is the engine number." Dean replied and Sam nods. "I'm guessing the engine number—?" Sam asked, trailing the on the question.  "On the engine. Yeah." I said then we take our jackets off and the boys had their sleeves rolled, all of us staring at Little Bastard with trepidation.

"You want me or (y/n) to do it?" Sam asked Dean. "No..No, no, I've—I've got it." Dean said then he starts to address Little Bastard. "Okay, baby. I'm not gonna hurt you, so...don't hurt me." he said and he lies down on a roller board with a pencil in his mouth, then rolls himself under the car.

He was under there for a bit and I could've sworn i heard the car shudder. Sam then kneels down to look at Dean. "Need a flashlight?" Sam asked him. "No. Don't...do anything, just go away." I hear Dean say, which he sounded a bit startled.

"You—uh, okay." Sam asked. "Don't speak. All right? In fact, don't even look at her, she might not like it." Dean said and Sam stands back up. He looks over at me and huffs out a breath while I shrug.

Then Dean slides out from under the car, exhaling deeply, then stands up quickly. He composes himself, then hands Sam the number. "Find out who owned it. Not just the last owner, you gotta take it all the way back to nineteen-fifty-five." Dean tells him. "That's a lot of research." Sam said to him. "Well, (y/n) can help you." Dean said and he walks away.

It took us a few hours, but Sam and I were able to track down the history of the car. Dean hadn't returned so I called him. "Hey, sweetheart." Dean answered. "Hey. Took us a while, but we traced all the car's previous owners." I said then I put him on speaker so Sam could hear.

"Any of 'em die bloody?" Dean asked. "Nope. In fact—" I said but then I heard the sound of someone playing pool. "Dean, are you in a bar?" I asked him. "No, I—I'm—I'm in a restaurant." Dean said then I hear a female voice say. "Here's your beer."

"Thanks." Dean said and Sam and I share a look, which made Sam smile a bit. "That happens to have a bar." Dean adds. "We've been working our asses off here." Sam said. "Hey, world's smallest violin, pal, I spent the afternoon up Christine's skirt. I needed a drink." Dean said. "Actually, you didn't." I said.

"Meaning?" Dean asked. "The car's first owner was a cardiologist in Philadelphia; drove it 'til he died in nineteen-seventy-two." Sam said. "So you're saying?" Dean asked. "That Porsche is not, nor has it ever been, James Dean's car. It's a fake Little Bastard." I said. 

"Well then what was it that killed the guy?" Dean asked. "Good question." Sam said as I scratch my head. 

The next day, the boys and I enter the home of a Mr Hill as we heard he was murdered. We entered the office area to see Rick and a forensic squad inside and Rick was giving orders. "I want you to use a, a fine-tooth comb. The evidence is here, we just gotta find it." Rick ordered.

"Heard you got another weird one." Dean said and Rick turns to us. "Uh, well, it's a—it's a little strange on the surface, I admit, but, uh...you know, once you—you look at the facts..." he stammers. "William Hill died from a gunshot wound to the head. No gun, no gunpowder, no bullet." Sam said as Rick looks at us, worried.

"Nope. Nothing strange about that." I said, shrugging, with sarcasm. "Well there's gotta be a reasonable explanation. There always is." Rick said. "Well what's your reasonable explanation?" Dean asked him. Rick looks around cautiously for a moment and whispers. "Professional killer."

"Come again?" Sam asked. "Well, CIA, NSA, one o' them trained assassins, like in Michael Clayton." Rick said and the boys and I gape at him. "Right." Dean said then he looks over at me and Sam. "You're welcome to look around, but—but these guys don't leave fingerprints." Rick tells us.

"Mind if we talk with the witness?" Sam asked him. "Be my guest. She's not making any sense! And she's not making any sense in Spanish either." Rick said and I nod, slowly. "Right." I said.

We walk out and see Consuela sitting on a wooden bench, wrapped in a blanket, talking to an officer and sobbing. "No puedo vivir aquí. Necesito mi familia. Me voy ahora. Me voy a la casa. No—me voy a la casa en El Salvador ahora." she cries to the officer as we walk up to her.

"Consuela Alvarez?" Dean asked. "Yes?" she asked as she raises her head to us. "FBI." Dean said as we show her our badges then the officers leave. "Now, uh, you said you saw something in the professor's house. Right? Something in the window?" Dean asked her.

"Estaba sacando la basura. Imiré por la ventana y vi al hombre que mató al Señor Hill!" She explains and Sam kneels in front of her. "Uh, Señora Alvarez. Cálmese, por favor. Uh—" Sam said the he looks at us, thinking. "Uh, díganos lo que vio?" He asked and Dean and I grin. "Nice." said Dean. "Freshman Spanish." Sam said, shrugging, then he turns back to Consuela.

"Era alto. Muy alto. Y llevaba el abrigo negro largo y tenía bigotes." She said and Sam glances between me, Dean and Consuela as he translates. "Okay, uh, a tall man, very tall. With a long black coat and a—" he said then he gestures at his chin. "A beard?" he asked and Consuela nods. "Beard." he said.

"Y un sombrero." Consuela adds. "Dude was wearing a sombrero?" Dean asked. "Uh, a hat, not a—a—" Sam said as he gestures near his head. "No, no, no, un sombrero alto." she said. "A tall hat?" Sam asked. "Oh, like a top hat." I said and Consuela nods. "Un sombrero alto." She said and she gestures above her head. "Muy alto!" she said.

"What, you mean like a—like a stovepipe hat." Dean said as he imitates her gesture. "Sí." she said. "Oh yeah, like Abraham Lincoln." I said and Sam shrugs while Consuela starts sobbing again. "Sí. El Presidente Lincoln." she said and the boys and I trade confused looks.

"Abraham Lincoln kill Mister Hill!" she cries and Dean hums. "S-so I go home now?" she asked us. "Uh, sí. Gracias." Sam said. "Gracias." Dean and I said and Sam turns and frowns at us as Consuela walks away.

The three of us sit at the table of our motel room, Sam on his laptop and Dean on a new laptop while I was flipping through John's journal. "Whoa." Dean said and Sam and I turn to him. "What?" we asked as Dean does something on his laptop then he picks it up and turns it around for me and Sam to see. "It's a freeze-frame from Jim Grossman's video." he said and Sam and I look at it and we see a chrome car wheel were a figure of a person in a red jacket was reflected off of it

"Am I crazy, or does that look like James Dean?" Dean asked. "Well, you're crazy, regardless, but yeah that looks like James Dean." I said and Dean glares at me and I give him a smile. "I love you." I said and he shakes his head. "Yeah, yeah..." he grumbles as he sets the laptop back in front of himself.

"So we got Abraham Lincoln, and James Dean?" Dean asked and Sam frowns. "Famous ghosts?" Dean asked. "Maybe." Sam said. "Well that's just silly." I said. "No, actually, uh, there is a ton of lore on famous ghosts. More than the, you know, not-famous kinds. I'm actually surprised we haven't run into one before." Sam said.

"Yeah, but now we got two of 'em? Two extremely pissed-off ghosts?" I said. "Who are apparently ganking their fans." Sam said. "What do you mean?" Dean asked as Sam reads off the webpage on his laptop  "Professor Hill was a Civil War nut. He dug Lincoln." Sam said. "And Cal must've been a James Dean freak. He spent seventeen years of his life tracking down the guy's car." Dean said and Sam raises his eyebrows, knowingly.

"So you're saying we've got two super-famous, super-pissed-off ghosts killing their...super-fans?" I asked and Sam shrugs. "That's what it looks like." Sam said. "Well, that is muchos loco." Dean grumbles and Sam grins. "Muy." Sam said and Dean and I look up. "Not muchos." Sam corrects Dean.

"Yeah, well, the big question is, what the hell are they doing here?" I asked. "Yeah. Ghosts usually haunt the places they live. I mean, I, I get Abraham Lincoln at the White House—" Sam said. "And James Dean at a race track, but...what the hell are they doing in Canton?" Dean asked and I shrug.

Later, Sam was working on his laptop while I brought a couple cans of soda for me and Dean and we were drinking from it when Sam stops typing and frowns. "You gotta be kidding me." Sam said. "What?" Dean and I asked and we walk over and read the screen. "Oh God." I muttered. "You gotta be kidding me." Dean said.

Sometime later, Dean, Sam and I walk through the wax museum, checking out the figures. Sam and I walk past John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, then I stop at Abraham Lincoln. Dean frowns at Gandhi. "Dude, he's short." Dean said as he gestures at Gandhi.

"Hey. Gandhi was a great man." Sam said. "Yeah, for a Smurf." Dean snarks just as the owner comes down the stairs at a half-jog, slightly out of breath. He is wearing a leather jacket.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, this is our busiest time of the year." he said and Dean looks around at the empty rooms. "This is busy?" he asked. "Well, not right now, but it's early." the owner said. "It's four-thirty." Dean points out and the owner ignores him.

"So, what can I do for you?" he asked. "Uh, well, we are writing a piece for Travel Magazine." Sam said. "Yeah, on how, uh, totally non-sucky wax museums are." Dean adds and I roll my eyes. "That's fantastic. A little press, just what we need." the owner said. "Great. Well we're interested in a few of your exhibits, specifically Abraham Lincoln and, uh, James Dean." I said. "Two of our most popular displays." the owner said.

"Oh yeah? So they bring in a lot of visitors?" Sam asked. "Yeah, we have our regulars." the owner replied. "I don't suppose that, uh, William Hill and Cal Hawkins were regulars, were they?" Dean. Asked and the owner nods. "As a matter of fact, they were. Yeah, I heard what happened to them. It's tragic, just tragic. Oh—you—that's not gonna be in the article, is it?" he asked us.

"No. No, no. 'Course not." Sam assures the owner. "You know, I gotta tell you, that—that Lincoln is so lifelike, I mean, you—I mean, you can just imagine him moving around. You ever see anything like that?" Dean asked and the owner frowns. "Uh...no." he said. "No?" Dean asked.

"Well, um, is there anything you could think of that would make your museum...unusual? You know, for the article?" I asked him. "Well, I'll say. There isn't another place like us, not anywhere." the owner replied. "How so?" Dean asked.

"Well, for one, that's Honest Abe's real hat." the owner said as he points to Lincoln. "It is?" I asked. "Almost like his remains." Dean mutters and looks pointedly at me and Sam. The owner frowns. "Uh...I guess?" he said and Dean grins.

"You wouldn't happen to have any of James Dean's personal effects, would you?" I asked the owner. "Ooh, yeah. Got his keychain. We got a bunch of stuff, uh, Gandhi's bifocals, FDR's iron lung. This." he said and he indicates the leather jacket he's wearing. 

"And who did that belong to?" Sam asked him. "The Fonz. Seasons two through four!" he said and he does a double thumbs-up, grinning. "That is pretty cool. You're lucky an old friend of mine isn't here with us. She'd be trying to buy that jacket off of you. Hugh Fonzie fan, she is." I said and the owner smiles.

"This? This is nothing. I've been working on a new collection of figures. Stuff that'll really wow the kids." He said. "The kids?" Dean asked. "Yeah, Gen Y." the owner said and Dean nods. "Computer games, cell phones, sexting." The owner said and I raise my eyebrows.

"They're just fads. I'm gonna make wax museums hip again." He said and he grins and gives his double thumbs-up again. Dean chuckles and Sam and I return the thumbs-up.

Sam opens the trunk of the Impala, and we take out a couple of shotguns and load them with shells of rock salt, then put the loaded shotgun back in and Sam closes the lid. We go back into our room and see Dean talking on his cell phone, facing away from the door.

"Yeah, Abraham Lincoln and James Dean, can you believe that? ...Why so kill-crazy? Ah, maybe the apocalypse has got 'em all hot and bothered. Yeah, well, we all know whose fault that is. ...Well I'm sorry, but it's true." Dean said and I sigh as Sam frowns then pushes the door shut, causing Dean to spin around.

"I'll call you later. Bye." he said into the phone and hangs up and turns to us. "What's going on?" I asked him, folding my arms. "Did you two get the trunk packed up?" he asked. "Yeah, trunk's packed. Who was on the phone?" Sam asked.  "Bobby." Dean said. "And?" I asked and Dean shakes his head.

"Nothing." Dean said and I roll my eyes and glare at him. "So we're just gonna pretend I didn't hear what I just heard?" Sam asked and Dean shrugs. "Pretend or don't pretend. Whatever floats your boat." Dean said. "This was supposed to be a fresh start, Dean." Sam said as Dean picks up his jacket.

"Well, this is about as fresh as it gets. Now are we going or not?" Dean said and I look over at Dean as he walks pass me. "Dean..." I said, warningly. He stares at me then goes to the door, opens it and leaves. Sam and I watch him go and Sam sighs.

"I'm sorry, Sam." I said. "No, it's fine..." he mutters and I place a hand on his shoulder. "All I can say is...just give him time...I know it sucks but...that's all I can say..." I said and I go to the door and open it, Sam follows close behind me as we leave.

We walk through the museum, past Gandhi. Dean approaches Lincoln and takes off his hat as Sam fetches a metal trash can and I look around the room. I turn around to find Dean wearing Lincoln's hat. "Check it out." he said then he lowers his voice, imitating Lincoln. "Four score and seven years ago, I had a funny hat." he said

"Dean." Sam said, exasperated, as he turns to him and I shake my head. Sam sighs and puts the trash can down, holding his hand out for the hat. "We can't have any fun with this?" Dean asked and he takes the hat off and tosses it into the trash can.

"Let's just torch the objects, torch the ghosts, get outta here. Okay?" I said and Dean nods. "I'll go grab East of Eden's keychain." he said and he walks into the next room. Sam and I scan the room. I look at Lincoln, then narrow my eyes and lean in closer. Then the double doors Dean went through slam shut, making me and Sam spin around.

"Dean?" Sam and I call out as we go over to the doors, shotgun in hand. "Dean?" we call out again as we try the door handles but the doors won't budge. Then I notice our breathes condensing in front of us and we spin around, shotgun held at the ready.

Sam and I look from Lincoln to Gandhi and back again as we creep forward slowly. Sam and I hear a creak to our left and we turn. The shotguns flies out of our hands. Defenseless, we stand still for a second then I see Gandhi leaping onto Sam's back.

"Sam!" I shouted as Gandhi wraps his arms around Sam's neck but Sam slams him into the wall and Gandhi falls off. "Go grab his glasses!" Sam shouts to me as Gandhi gets up and they circle around each other while I run to Gandhi's wax figure. 

I grab the glasses as Gandhi starts to strangle Sam and I run to the trash bin. At that moment, Dean bursts through the double doors. "Dean!" Sam said as I throw the glasses into the trash bin with the other items. "Is that Gandhi?" Dean asked. "Yeah!" Sam said. "Dude, he's squirrelly." Dean said as I squirt lighter fluid on them and finally light them on fire with a match. Gandhi disappears, and Sam gasps for air.

I run over to Sam and kneel down next to him, to check him over. "You okay?" I asked and he nods. "You couldn't have been a fan of someone cool?" Dean asked and Sam and I stare at him. "Really? Gandhi?" Dean asked and I shake my head.

Dean grabs his shirts out of a drawer and shoves them in his bag after we made our way back to the motel. "Ready to blow this joint?" Dean asked us as I pack up my stuff. Sam comes out of the bathroom, zipping up his toiletries bag. "Guys, didn't it strike you as strange the way Gandhi just...vanished?" Sam asked.

"Strange how?" Dean asked. "No screaming, no big flame-out, I mean, that isn't the way ghosts usually go." Sam said and I think this over. He's actually right, it was different. "Still, (y/n) torched, he vanished." Dean said. "Yeah, but I—" Sam sighs. "Also, I feel like he was...trying to take a bite out of me."

"A bite?" I asked, confused. "Yeah, like he was hungry. But the thing is, Gandhi—or, the real Gandhi—he was a—" Sam stops and looks a bit embarrassed. "A what?" Dean and I asked and Sam hesitates. "Spit it out." Dean said, annoyed. "He was a fruitarian." Sam said and we stare at him then Dean laughs.

"Let me get this straight. Your, uh, ultimate hero was not only a short man in diapers, but he was also a fruitarian?" Dean asked. "That's not the point." Sam said, exasperated. "That is good. That is—even for you, that is good." Dean said. "Look, I'm just saying, I'm not so sure this thing is over." Sam said and Dean spreads his arms. "It was a ghost. It was a weirdly super-charged fruitarian ghost, but it was still a ghost. Now let's go." Dean said as he picks up his bag.

"So first you drag me into town, and now you're dragging me back out." Sam said, annoyed. "You ain't steering this boat. Let's go, chop chop." Dean said and he walks towards the door. "You know, this isn't gonna work." Sam said and Dean stops and turns.

"What isn't?" Dean asked. "Us. You, me, (y/n), together, I—I thought it could, but it can't." Sam said and I frown at Sam. "You're the one that wanted back in, chief." Dean said. "And you're the one who called me back in." Sam argued. "I still think we got some trust building to do." said Dean and Sam sighs.

"How long am I gonna be on double-secret probation?" Sam asked and Dean shrugs. "Till I say so." Dean said and I scoff. "Dean..." I said, exasperated, then Sam speaks up again. "Look. I know what I did. What I've done. And I am trying to climb out of that hole, I am, but you're not making it any easier." he tells Dean.

"So what am I supposed to do, just let you off the hook?" Dean asked. "No. You can think whatever you want. I deserve it, and worse. Hell, you'll never punish me as much as I'm punishing myself, but the point is, if we're gonna be a team, you and I—it has to be a two-way street." Sam explains.

"So we just go back to the way we were before?" Dean asked, suspiciously. "No, because we were never that way before. Before didn't work." Sam said and Dean and I frown. "How do you think we got here?" Sam asked and Dean narrows his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. "Dean, one of the reasons I went off with Ruby...was to get away from you." Sam said and this caught me off guard. "What?" Dean said, just as shocked. "It made me feel strong. Like I wasn't your kid brother." Sam said.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Dean asked. "No, it's my fault. All I'm saying is that, if we're gonna do this, we have to do it different, we can't just fall into the same rut." Sam said and Dean shakes his head. "What do you want me to do?" Dean asked. "You're gonna have to let me grow up, for starters." Sam said as Dean's cellphone rings. 

He stares at Sam, then puts his bag down and answers it. "Yeah?" he answered and he looks to Sam then away again. Sam and I share a look and I give him a look of pity and said, quietly. "I'm so sorry." Sam shakes his head. "It's ok. Don't be." He said while Dean continued to talk on the phone.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." He said then he hangs up. "I guess you were right about this not being over." Dean said as he looks at Sam.

The boys and I, in suits, make our way back to the sheriff's office and see Rick sitting at his desk. "Sheriff Carnegie?" Sam said and he looks up at us. "Sheriff, what happened?" Dean asked and Rick looked stunned.

"I, uh, uh..." he stammers as he shrugs and shakes his head. "I don't know!" he said and he leads us to the interview room where two young women are sitting at the table, crying. We walk in. "Excuse us, girls. Hi, we're with the FBI." I said as we walk in. "Can you tell us what happened?" Sam asked them.

"It was horrible!" One girl said. "Way horrible." the other girl said. "What was horrible?" I asked them. "I thought she'd be nice!" the first girl said as her friend looks at her. "I still can't believe it." she said, distressed. 

"Believe what?" Dean asked them. "She took Danielle!" the second girl exclaims. "Who?" Dean asked and the girls look at each other. "It's okay, you're safe, just, tell us. Who took your friend?" Sam asked. "It was...Paris Hilton." The first girl said and the boys and I share a confused look.

"Sorry?" I asked them as I turn to them. "She looked really good, though." the second girl said. "Skinny!" the first girl adds. "Skinny and fast." said the second girl. "What—wait—huh?" Dean asked, completely confused.

"Uh, um...where did they go?" Sam asked them and the first girl shakes her head. "We don't know." the first girl said. "They just vanished." the second girl said. "Would you excuse us for just a minute?" Dean said to them and we walk back to the doorway and speak just above a whisper.

"Paris Hilton's not dead as far as we know, right?" Dean asked. "Pretty sure, no." Sam said. "Which means it's not a—" Dean said and I finish his sentence. "Ghost. No." I said.

"So, what? Paris Hilton is a homicidal maniac—" Dean asked. "Or we missed something." Sam said and I sigh. "What do you wanna do?" I asked them.

Now in blue scrubs, I was looking through Cal's file and read through the notes. I frown when I find something pretty odd. Minutes later, I pull out Cal's body from the freezer and use a scalpel to cut open Cal's chest, then push my gloved hand inside. There is a squelch and I close my eyes and breath out. "That's right." I groan, frowning. 

I pull my hand out, fingers covered in blood, and hold up two small round things. "What the hell?" I muttered, confused.

Back in my suit, I come out of the building to meet up with the boys, shaking my head and sigh. "I can't believe I missed it." I said as they stand up and walk with me back to the Impala. "Missed what?" Dean asked me. "Went back over the other two vics. There was blood loss. Major." I explained.  "Oh, well, being a gory smear will do that to you." Dean said, sarcastically. "No, I—I mean more blood loss than a—a car crash or a head wound should cause, almost like it—" I said. "Something's feeding." Sam said and I nod and point. "Exactly." I said.

"Awesome." Dean mutters. "And then—" i said as I take out a plastic bag. "There were these." I said and the boys look at the bag, which contains these two round seeds. Dean picks up the corner to inspect them closer, Sam leans in to inspect as well.

"What are those, seeds?" Sam asked me. "Yeah. They were in both vics' bellies." I said and Dean takes his hand off the bag quickly. "I hope you washed your hands." Dean said and I give him a seriously? look. Then I raise my hand and wipe my fingers across his face and he recoils at this. "Agh, damn it, (y/n)." Dean said and I laugh at him as Sam takes the bag to look at the seeds.

"They're unlike any seed I've ever seen before, Dean." Sam said as he looks at the bag. "Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any geekier." Dean said then he pats Sam on the shoulder and gets into the Impala.

Back at the motel, Sam is on his laptop again, the seeds out of their bag and sitting on the table next to him. Dean and I were sitting on the bed using our own laptops. "Yahtzee." Sam said and we look over at him. "What?" Dean and I asked.

"The seeds aren't from around here. In fact, they're not from any tree or plant in the country." Sam said. "Where are they from?" Dean asked. "Eastern Europe. From a forest in the Balkans, which is not even there anymore. It was chopped down, like, thirty years ago." Sam explained.

"So?" Dean and I said. "So, local legend has it that the forest was guarded by a pagan god whose name was Leshi. Um, a mischievous god, could take on infinite forms—" Sam said. "And let me guess. He liked to munch on his fans." I said and Sam chuckles. "Yep. Could be appeased only with the blood from his worshippers. It would drain 'em, then stuff their stomachs with the seeds." he said and we get up and go over to Sam.

"So how's he doing it? What, he touches James Dean's keychain and then morphs into James Dean?" Dean asked. "Hm. It's as good a guess as any." Sam said. "Yeah, well, whatever. How do we kill him?" I asked. "Says here to chop off his head with an iron axe." Sam said and Dean nods. "All right. Let's go gank ourselves a Paris Hilton." I said

That night, we enter the museum, Dean carrying an axe and Sam and I with flashlights. We walk past the now hatless Abraham Lincoln wax model then we split up and search separate rooms. I come across a door with signs on it reading "Sorry for the inconvenience, CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS" and "DANGER DO NOT ENTER".

I whistle and Dean and Sam meet up with me. We break the latch and open the door, pushing through a plastic sheet to find a room decorated like a clearing in the woods, with a path leading up the middle to a white house with a wax figure of a man in a suit standing on the front porch.

I notice a young woman, who must be Danielle, standing next to a tree and tied by her wrists to it. "Hey." I said as I run over and check her pulse. "She alive?" Dean asked me. "Yeah. Barely." I said then the axe flies out of Dean's hand and embeds itself in a tree on the other side of the path.

Dean spins around to find Paris Hilton; this must be the Leshi. She grins and punches Dean multiple times in the face, sending him to the ground, then she punches Sam, knocking him down. She flips her hair as I lunge at her, but she shoves me and sends me flying across the room. I collide with the front wall of the house and fall to the ground, unconscious.

*3rd Person POV*

Dean shakes his head and looks up to see the Leshi standing over him. "Awesome." she said and she raises her stiletto-clad foot and stomps on Dean's face. 

Later, the Lezhi sits on a tree stump near the house with another tree stump serving as a table next to her. Laid on it are various knives; she picks one up and begins filing her nails, causing small sparks. Dean, (y/n) and Sam are tied to three trees side-by-side, in the same fashion as Danielle. They wake up one after the other and struggle for a second before they realize where they are.

"Oh. I'm so glad you're awake for this. This is gonna be huge." Leshi said as the trio look at each other. "Super. Yeah, I wouldn't wanna miss it." Dean said, sarcastically, as he pulls at his ropes discreetly. "I mean, I've been stuffing myself with fast food lately. So it's nice to do the ritual right. Prepare a nice, slow meal for a change." Leshi said.

"Just like the good old days, huh?" Sam asked and Leshi chuckles. "You have no idea. People adored me. They used to throw themselves at me, with smiles on their faces." she said. "Yeah, I guess these days nobody gives a flying crap about some backwoods forest god, huh?" (y/n) sneers and Leshi stops filing her nails with a threatening glare.

"No. Not since they cut down my forest and built a Yugo plant." she growls. "March of progress, sister." Dean said and Leshi files her nails a few more times. "For years now, I've been wandering. Hungry. Scared. Scrounging for scraps. So not sexy." she said as Dean makes a face.

"But then, the best thing ever happened." Leshi said then she puts the knife down. "Someone tripped the apocalypse. And I thought, what the hell, I'm tired of watching what I eat. I wanna pig out. So I found this little place. It's awesome. Adoring fans stroll right in the door." she said. "Yeah. But they're not your fans." Sam said.

"So? They worship Lincoln, Gandhi, Hilton...whatever. I'll take what I can get." Leshi said, shrugging. "You know, I gotta tell you, you are not the first god we've met, but you are...the nuttiest." (y/n) said and Leshi scoffs. "No, you, you people, you're the crazy ones. You used to worship gods. But this?" she said as she indicates her Paris Hilton disguise.

"This is what passes for idolatry? Celebrities? What have they got besides small dogs and spray tans?" she asked and Sam frowns while Dean and (y/n) raise their eyebrows, nodding. "You people used to have old-time religion. Now you have Us Weekly." Leshi said. "I don't know, I'm more of a Penthouse Forum man myself." Dean said as he winks then clicks his tongue at Leshi.

She gets up and stalks over to him. "Maybe, but...there's still a lot of yummy meat on those bones, boy." she said. "Well I hate to break it to you, sister, but, uh...you can't eat me. See, I'm not a Paris Hilton BFF. I've never even seen House of Wax." Dean said and Sam looks at Dean, frowning. 

cNo. But I can totally read your mind, Dean. I know who your hero is. Your daddy. Am I right?" Leshi asked and Dean doesn't reply. She smirks and walks over to the tree with the axe embedded in it.

When her back is turned, Dean and (y/n) pull at their ropes. "And this belonged to him. Didn't it? Poor little Dean. All you ever wanted was to be loved by your idol. One distant father figure, coming right up." Leshi said and she goes to touch the axe when Dean finally pulls his wrist free of the ropes. He sprints across the clearing and tackles the Leshi to the floor.

Sam pulls desperately at his ropes as the Leshi manages to kneel on top of Dean and punches him repeatedly in the face. (y/n) pulls free then tackles the Leshi and the two fight. Sam finally pulls free and dashes over the clearing. Dean gets up and throws the Leshi off of (y/n) as Sam pulls the axe from the tree.

Dean and (y/n) move away as Sam brings the axe down five times on the Leshi's neck. Her head rolls free of her body and Sam pants in exertion, his face covered in blood. Dean goes over to (y/n) and helps her up on her feet. As she gets on her feet, she starts to laugh at him and he holds up a finger while Sam grins.

"Not a word." Dean warns her. "Dude. You just got whaled on by Paris Hilton!" Sam said and Dean turns to him. "Shut up." he growls and (y/n) warps her arms around his middle. "Aww, my poor, big, strong man, getting beating up by a petite reality star." She said, in a mocking tone. Dean growls under his breath while Sam and (y/n) laughs.

​​*(y/n)'s POV*

The next morning, the boys and I, carrying our bags, walk to the Impala while Dean is talking on his cell phone. "Uh-huh. All right. Thank you." Dean said and he hangs up. "Sheriff Carnegie. Danielle's gonna be all right. She's sworn off The Simple Life, but other than that—" Dean said. "Glad she's okay." Sam said and I nod. "Me too." I said.

"It gets better. Sheriff's putting out an APB on Paris Hilton." Dean chuckles. "That oughta be good." I giggle as Dean takes out his keys and opens the trunk of the Impala and we put our bags inside. Then Dean turns to Sam.

"Hey, listen, I was thinking about what you said yesterday. About me keeping too tight of a leash on you." He said and Sam looks at him. "Hell, maybe you're right. I mean, look, I'm not exactly Mister Innocent in this whole mess either, you know. I did break the first seal." Dean said. "You didn't know." Sam said, trying to assure him. "Yeah, well, neither did you." Dean said and Sam looks down.

"I'm not saying demon blood was a great way to go, but, you did kill Lilith." Dean said to him. "And start the apocalypse." Sam said. "Which neither of us saw coming, I mean, who'd have thought killing Lilith would've been a bad thing?" I asked and the boys shrug as if to say good point.

"Point is, I was so worried about watching your every move that I didn't see what it was actually doing to you." Dean said as he looks over at Sam. "So, for that I'm sorry." he said and Sam nods. "Thanks." he said and Dean closes the trunk and takes the keys.

"So where do we go from here?" I asked them. "They way I see it, we got one shot at surviving this." Sam said. "What's that?" Dean asked. "Maybe I am on deck for the devil, maybe same with you and Michael, maybe same with (y/n) and Ariel, maybe there's no changing that." Sam said. "Well that's encouraging." Dean said. "But, we can stop wringing our hands over it. We gotta just grab onto whatever's in front of us, kick its ass, and go down fighting." Sam said and Dean considers this, then nods.

"I can get on board with that." he said and I nod. "Same here." I said and Sam nods. "Okay. But we're gonna have to do it on the same level." Sam said and Dean grins slightly. "You got it." he said and Sam nods again.

"I say we get the hell outta here." I said and Sam smiles. "Hell yeah." Sam said and we turn to go to their respective sides of the car, but Dean stops and looks down at the keys.

"Hey." Dean calls out and Sam turns around, then Dean holds out the keys. "You wanna drive?" he asked and Sam looks down at the keys. "You sure?" Sam asked him. "Yeah, I could, uh...I could use a nap." Dean said and Sam smiles a little and Dean hands him the keys.

Sam smiles and we get into the Impala and head out.

@rach5ive @kitsun369 @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester @ellie-andthemachine

[tailschannel]

Android and macOS ports, new soundtrack released in final content update for Sonic Triple Trouble fan game

The fan-led development to reimagine the classic Game Gear title in the style of the Mega Drive era has released its final content update late Friday.

Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit, a project by TailsChannel.com contributor Noah Copeland, launched its long-awaited ports for Android and macOS to complement the PC release, in addition to a slew of quality-of-life updates and a brand new original soundtrack.

Included features

Here's what to expect in the fan-made platformer, according to the official notes:

New stage layouts, enemies, and gimmicks,

Race against time in 3D Special Stages,

Compete against friends in Competition Mode,

SEGA Mega Drive-accurate colours and sound; over 60 tracks featuring John Tay and Dv2,

Switch between Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower in real-time,

Wide variety of gamepad controller support,

Play in modern 16:9 or retro 4:3,

Available in ten languages.

Fans can download the Triple Trouble remake via GameJolt.

[lonestarbattleship]

"The Finest Hour" by Mark Karvon link

"In the lore of the US Navy, the saga of Fletcher Class destroyer, USS Johnston is legendary for its part in the Battle off Samar during the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf On October 25, 1944.

During the operation to liberate the Philippines, the small naval task force, Taffy 3, was left to provide cover for the invading US Army. The force was made up of 5 light escort carriers and 6 destroyers and destroyer escorts screening for them.

Unbeknownst to the men of Taffy 3, a large Japanese force consisting of 23 ships was headed their way in a surprise attack. The force consisted of 4 battleships (including the largest battleship ever built - Yamato), 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 11 destroyers.

Taffy 3 was badly outnumbered and very much outgunned. It was up to the destroyers and destroyer escorts to protect the carriers at all costs otherwise the marines on the beach would be vulnerable. The ships began laying down a heavy smoke screen. Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans captained the Johnston. Being of Native American ancestry, Lt Commander Evans had the warrior's spirit. He led his ship alone straight into the teeth of the much superior enemy. As the Johnston turned into the oncoming enemy some say he spoke these words over the ship's intercom, "A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." (Some sources credit the latter part of this dramatic announcement tot LCDR Robert Copeland of the Samuel B Roberts).

Johnston dodged shell from the enemy battle cruisers until she could get close enough to hit back. as soon as the range closed to ten miles, Johnston scored damaging hits on the heavy cruiser Kumano. During her five-minute sprint into torpedo range, Johnston fired over 200 rounds at the enemy. She launched all ten of her torpedoes and retired behind a heavy smoke screen. At least one of the torpedoes found the Kumano and blew the bow off the cruiser forcing it to withdraw from the battle.

Johnston did not get away unscathed however and she took three hits from 14 inch shells as well as three from 6 inch shells which destroyed the bridge causing many casualties and Lt Commander Evans to lose 2 fingers and covering him in shrapnel which shredded his shirt. The ship was mangled badly, with dead and dying sailors strewn across her bloody decks.The bridge was rendered useless so Lt Commander Evans went to the aft steering column to conn the ship.

About this time, three of the other ships from Tafffy 3, Destroyers Hoel and Heermen and the destroyer escort Samuel B Roberts, made their charges towards the Japanese fleet. As they went by the Johnston they could see shirtless Lt Commander Evans salute them from the aft steering column as they went by.

After making repairs, Johnston rejoined the fight. The ship fought several duels with much larger ships giving all she could but taking severe damage. Eventually she was surrounded by 7 enemy destroyers and pounded mercilessly. Lt Commander Evans gave the order to abandon ship. He was never heard from again.

Along with Johnston, Hoel, Heermen and Samuel B Roberts were equally fierce during the battle. The Japanese were under the impression they were up against much larger ships in the cruiser class. Aircraft from the carriers also enjoined the fight. Some of the aircraft were not properly armed to attack ships but the heroic pilots still feigned attack to force the unknowing enemy to fire upon them thereby diverting attention from the surface ships. The ferocity of the attack from Taffy 3 sunk or crippled the heavy cruisers Chōkai, Kumano, and Chikuma. This seemingly convinced to the Japanese that they were engaging major fleet units rather than escort carriers and destroyers and the fleet withdrew.

Lt Commander Evans was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day. My depiction of the legendary USS Johnston depicts the ship as she charges towards the enemy during her first attack that fateful day.

Prints are available through my website www.markkarvon.com."

[punk-chicken-radio]

the one...

one thing before we start today....

this was the one and only playlist we actually had finished. 'someone' is falling down on his job, and i mean, i can understand. @theoldsmelly has been busy building one building for cats.

so when it came time to peruse our library to see what there was to choose from....well....

if there is one thing to know about both smelly and myself, it's that we both actively avoid anything resembling work until we absolutely have to. and we are both prone to procrastinating finishing the multitude of playlists we have started until it's imperative to do so because we have nothing to play for you. we are of one mind about a lot of this stuff. simpatico. aligned. some might say two of a kind sharing one brain cell.

anyway. there is really only one thing left to do.

as you may have guessed, today's songs all feature the single, the singular, the only, the lone, the very exclusive one. quite a few about the only one, a few less numerally ones, but every single one handpicked by your hosts....

you know what's next....no counting involved today.

love (miles copeland came up in the book) axiomatic and the old (ALABAMA) smelly

[taylorhawkins]

"If I was to not know Taylor and go see his band play in a club, I would approach him after the show and say, 'How much do you charge for lessons?'" enthuses Grohl. "He's 50,000 times a better drummer than me."

Forget Dolly the Sheep: Hawkins seems like he's a clone of Grohl, only three years younger. With his mop of dirty-blond hair and goatee, Hawkins is looking kind of Skeet-like himself, and he's as skinny, antic, and hyperkinetic as Dave, maybe even more so. "I can't wait to go on tour so I can see if Taylor ever sleeps," laughs Grohl. Besides the ability to play like John Bonham, Stephen Perkins, or his idol, Stewart Copeland, Hawkins brings his own, surfer-influenced dialect to the Foo mix: a sample glossary includes "winger" (complainer), "Hessian" (hick, redneck, unsophisticated, burnout), and "flobe" ("when you fuck something up," says Hawkins, "like, if you've floundered, you're a flobe"). "He's the whitest Southern California surf kid I know," opines Smear.

Hailing from Laguna Beach, about 50 miles south of L.A. in Orange County, Hawkins just spent a year and nine months of constant touring in Morissette's backing band, which offered excellent preparation for the Foos' six hours of nightly rehearsal overseen by General Grohl. "You have to be an athlete to play these drum parts," says Hawkins. "I play really hard, and that's the key to playing drums for Dave Grohl-you've got to beat the shit out of the drums." [x]

[scotianostra]

January 31st marks 70 years since the sinking of MV Princess Victoria with the loss of 134 lives.

Built in 1946 by Wm Denny & Bros, Dumbarton, The Princess Victoria was one of the earliest roll-on, roll-off ferries to go into service.

British Railways used the ferry on the crossing from Stranraer in Scotland to Larne and was the first purpose-built ferry of her kind to operate in British coastal waters. 

The short crossing from Scotland was made on a stormy morning. The sinking of Princess Victoria occurred during a severe storm that also caused the North Sea Flood of 1953, claiming 531 fatalities in the UK alone, although this was the worst single incident in that storm.

Sadly, no women or children on board nor the Captain survived with just 44 people escaping the tragic incident that occurred off the Co Down coast, which is often regarded as "a generation's Titanic".

The wreckage can still be found lying at the bottom of the Irish Sea, northeast of the Copeland Islands.

Commemorations are held annually in Larne as many of the victims were from Northern Ireland and many families from the area are said to have been affected by the incident.

There were 128 passengers and 49 crew thought to be onboard, but just 44 – all men, survived.  Perhaps most tragically, two lifeboats with survivors inside were destroyed in the storm.  One of the lifeboats which was the carrying women and children crashed against the side of the ship, resulting in all of its occupants being thrown into the icy waters with none of them surviving.  The other lifeboat was overcome by the waves and flooded resulting in it sinking.

Of the 44 survivors, some 33 were rescued by the Donaghadee Lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly  The final resting place of the Princess Victoria, was just 5 miles North East of Copeland Island, near Donagadee itself.  The Sir Samuel Kelly now occupies a plot in the carpark behind Donaghadee harbour, but is fenced off and unfortunately in an increasing state of disrepair.  7 people were rescued by the destroyer HMS Contest, while a further 2 were rescued by the Portpatrick lifeboat Jeannie Spiers which was the last vessel to arrive.

Rescue efforts were hugely hampered by the storm and by the fact that until just a few minutes before her sinking, the Princess Victoria was radioing her position as being off the coast of Scotland.  Only once the coast of Northern Ireland was visible to those onboard were rescue vessels sent to the correct area.  As soon as it was clear that the vessel was close to Belfast Lough, 4 vessels (the cattleship  Lairdsmore, the trawler Eastcotes, the coastal oil tanker Pass of Drumochter, and the coastal cargo ship Orchy) which were sheltering from the storm in Belfast Lough rushed to the vessels aid.  Unfortunately, due to the ferocity of the weather, they were unable to get close enough to rescue survivors from the lifeboats without risking damaging the lifeboats themselves.  However, they were able to shelter the survivors from the worst of the storm.  Importantly, Eastcotes was the first vessel to accurately broadcast the position of the stricken vessel.

Despite being the biggest single loss of life in UK waters during peacetime, the Princess Victoria disaster is almost unknown outside of Scotland and Northern Ireland.  There are memorials at Stranraer, Portpatrick, Donaghadee, and Larne however.    This is an annual memorial event organised by the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes MV Princess Victoria Lodge in conjunction with Mid & East Antrim Borough Council.

You can read much more on this all but forgotten tragedy here https://www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/things-to-do/causeway-coastal-route/mv-princess-victoria

[beardedmrbean]

A small-town Alabama mayor died apparently by suicide just days after a conservative news site published pictures of him allegedly wearing women's clothes and makeup, officials said Sunday.

Smiths Station Mayor F.L. "Bubba" Copeland, who was also a pastor at First Baptist Church of Phenix City, fatally shot himself and was pronounced dead at 5:01 p.m. CT Friday, Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton told NBC News in a statement.

An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

Thank you all for your prayers and expressions of sympathy and support," First Baptist Church said in a statement Saturday. "First and foremost, we ask that you keep Pastor Bubba Copeland’s family in your prayers today, and in the days ahead."

Copeland died two days after the 1819 News published a story with photos of the mayor donning women’s clothes and makeup.

Copeland was best known for leading his town through a tornado that killed 23 people in eastern Alabama in 2019.

"I am so saddened at the death of my friend Mayor Bubba Copeland," Jones said. "He was a good man and a great mayor who led the small town of Smith Station through the tough times of a devastating tornado a few years ago."

Then-President Donald Trump visited damaged communities, and Jones said Copeland played a vital role in communicating the region's needs to the White House.

"I toured the destruction with him, helped him navigate the FEMA recovery efforts and made sure that he was able to plead his case directly to President Trump," Jones said.

The city of Smiths Station, about 80 miles east of Montgomery, Alabama’s capital, near the Georgia border, has a population of about 5,400 people.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support _________________________________

[therecordchanger62279]

11 NEW PLAYLISTS

A few months ago, I did a post with 163 playlists I’d created for my iTunes program. Since then I’ve added 11 more, so I thought it was time for an update. Number of songs on each list follows the title in parentheses.

1969 (131) For some time now, I’ve been wanting to create year-by-year playlists of my favorite singles. I think 1969 was the best year in the history of recorded music, so that seemed a logical place to begin. A Billboard book of Top Chart Hits from this year was indispensable.

1970 (153) More hits from the first year of what was Rock and Pop’s best decade. A Billboard reference book is, again, a must.

Dylan ’75-’76 (74) Bob Dylan’s 1974 tour with The Band seemed to kickstart a renaissance period for him that carried him through 1976. This playlist begins with the January ’75 release of Blood on The Tracks, and follows with The Basement Tapes released in June of that year. The Rolling Thunder Revue live shows from Volume 5 of The Bootleg Series is next, followed by the Desire album released in January ’76, and finishes with the second leg, and final shows with the Rolling Thunder band in Spring of ‘76 captured on the Hard Rain album.

Gram Parsons (90) Gram Parsons influence on Rock is so pervasive that he deserves his own playlist. I don’t have his International Submarine Band recordings. If I get them eventually, they’ll lead off this playlist. Instead, I begin with the original version of The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. Parsons joined the band, and took them in a Country direction that had them playing The Grand Ole Opry at one point. But Parsons left the band before the album was issued, and Roger McGuinn wiped Parsons’ lead vocals from the tracks that featured them, and replaced them with his own. But The Byrds boxed set had the originals in it, so I simply reconstructed it, and that’s what I used here. That’s followed with all of Parson’s recordings with The Flying Burrito Brothers. Parsons first solo LP, GP follows that. I used a live album called Fallen Angels Live 1973 next which was done after that album was recorded. Grievous Angel, Parsons’ last album released in 1974 closes his portion of the playlist. You can end it there, but I have a CD titled Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons that features 13 tracks by musicians who were influenced or worked with Parsons including Emmylou Harris, Chris Hillman, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, and many more. The remaining track belongs to Eagles whose Bernie Leadon wrote a tribute to Parsons released on their 1974 On the Border album titled “My Man.”

I.R.S. (103) Miles Copeland’s legendary I.R.S. Records was a player in the indie label sweepstakes that surfaced during the years of the New Wave in the late 1970s. Among the bands who recorded for or were connected to the label were R.E.M., The Go-Go’s, The Police, English Beat, Lords of the New Church, Spirit, Black Sabbath, Human Switchboard, The Alarm, The Bangles, The Animals, General Public, Timbuk 3, Concrete Blonde, The Fleshtones, dB’s and more. This diversity is one of the label’s trademarks, and makes for a great playlist.

Joan Jett (135) I’ve been a fan of Jett’s since The Runaways days, and I have quite a few of her albums, but I’ve neglected her in recent years, so I thought a playlist was in order. I also used to be in her fan club because the fan club occasionally issued some rarities on CD – which makes this playlist special, and comprehensive. It begins with 9 tracks Jett wrote or co-wrote, and recorded with her first band The Runaways. Following that are some early recordings before she signed with Neil Bogart’s Boardwalk label. These appeared on the fan club release 1979. Next up is Flashback, another rarities collection from the fan club. From there it’s Bad Reputation, I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll, Album, and Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – all on MCA. Her next album Up Your Alley was her debut for Columbia. Pure and Simple follows that. I used three tracks from the Fetish compilation not available elsewhere, and two more rarities from Fit To Be Tied, a Greatest Hits collection. The playlist closes with her 2006 set, Sinner. That’s 30 years of Joan Jett altogether.

The Rolling Stones ’75-’77 (95) Bob Dylan’s 1974 tour with The Band was one I followed in the pages of Rolling Stone magazine, and that’s where I got the Rock journalism bug. I followed Dylan from then on, and 1975 - ’76 was a great 18 months for Dylan. The memories of that are what lead me to create the Dylan playlist above. But at the same time, The Rolling Stones were prepping for a Tour of the Americas, as they named it. But things didn’t get off to a great start. Guitarist Mick Taylor announced he was quitting the band just weeks before the tour was to begin. The band brought The Faces’ Ronnie Wood in to fill the void, and put off the job of getting a permanent replacement until after the tour. With no new material ready, the band’s label issued Made in The Shade, a 10 track hits collection drawn from their four previous albums. The Stones incorporated most of that record into their live set, and hit the road. In the meantime, Abkco issued a collection of outtakes titled Metamorphosis in an effort to cash in on the tour. So, the new albums competed in the marketplace while the band played on. With a new guitarist aboard, the shows were sloppy, and critics were merciless. They were also ignored. The tour did record business, and when the band got off the road they began the audition process for a new guitarist, and they cut the Black & Blue album after settling on Ron Wood as a permanent member.

     A European tour was booked beginning in Spring of ’76. Love You Live, issued in 1977 drew tracks from both The Tour of Americas, and the European leg in addition to a live set the group played at the El Macombo club in Toronto, Canada. While there, guitarist Keith Richards was busted for drugs, and the band was out of commission until his legal troubles were settled.

     The release of a live set from the Tour of the Americas, and the complete El Macombo set along with Love You Live, and the two studio albums paint the picture of two years in the life of The Rolling Stones from June of ’75 to March of ’77. The playlist brings it all back.

Santana ’72-’73 (23) Caravanserai, Santana’s fourth album released in 1972 marked a new direction for both the band and its namesake. Following the completion of Santana III, Carlos Santana began playing with drummer Buddy Miles for a tour. They released a live album in June of ’72. At the end of that month, the Santana band played a show for the closing of Bill Graham’s Fillmore, after which Carlos Santana began recording with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. Caranvanserai was released in October, and the Love Devotion & Surrender sessions began in late ’72, and finished in early ’73. That album was released in Spring of ‘73. The live record with Buddy Miles, two tracks from that Fillmore performance, issued on Fillmore: The Last Days, followed by the studio record with McLaughlin track the guitarist’s path, and that’s what on this playlist.

Santana ’73-’74 (44) Picking up from where the last playlist left off, we have the next Santana group album, Welcome. That’s followed by a Japanese tour issued as Lotus which captures two different Santana bands in concert. And to finish 1973, and this playlist we have the studio album Borboletta. By the time Santana would surface again in 1976 with Amigos, the band he’d had would, once again, have new members, and a new sound.

Stiff (57) One of the great indie labels from England’s Punk era, the Stiff catalog is a difficult one to organize. It was primarily a singles label. And collecting the noteworthy ones for a playlist can be daunting. I needed help from Google, and you have to be careful which tracks to use. Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Graham Parker were all on Stiff, but none of them for very long. Ian Dury, Rachel Sweet, Madness and a few others had longer tenures. Dr. Feelgood, The Pogues, Kirsty MacColl, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Ian Gomm, The Adverts, The Damned, and Any Trouble also made noteworthy contributions. Not an easy playlist to compile, but the music is all great, and well worth the effort.

UK Underground (241) After Psychedelia washed Pop away in the UK in the late 60s, there was a period of transition to what became known as Progressive Rock. I named this playlist UK Underground because it chronicles a number of lesser-known bands and labels from what was a very interesting period in the history of British Rock. There are a number of label compilations from the Harvest (A Breath of Fresh Air), Vertigo (Time Machine), Charisma (Refugees), Polydor (Spirit of Joy) and Island (Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal) imprints that, combined with one covering the Ladbroke Grove scene (Cries From The Midnight Circus) along with early tracks from Yes (Yes and Time and a Word), Giles, Giles & Fripp (The Cheerful Insanity of), Pink Floyd (Piper At The Gates of Dawn), and The Moody Blues (selected tracks from Time Traveller), give an excellent overview of a time in British Rock when the landscape was changing. It all fits together well, and nicely covers the years 1968-1974. Bands like Hawkwind, Hatfield & The North, Caravan, Bodast, Tomorrow, Strawbs, and Soft Machine will also add variety and depth.

You can ask Spotify to make you a playlist, but it’s more fun, and makes a better playlist if you do it yourself.

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Today’s compilation:

These People Are Nuts! 1989 New Wave / Punk Rock / Alternative Rock / College Rock / Post-Punk / Power Pop / Ska

Here's a nice retrospective rundown of one of the greatest and most eclectic indie labels of the 1980s: I.R.S. Records, which was headquartered in the US, but had a whole lot of UK bands on its roster too. Founded in 1979 by a guy named Miles Copeland, I.R.S. started out primarily as a punk outfit, but as new wave proceeded to develop, it sunk its teeth firmly into that movement too, landing a bunch of acts along the way whose material was considered to be strange, zany, quirky, and campy, like Oingo Boingo and Timbuk 3.

But between all the acts that ultimately end up lending to this album's title being These People Are Nuts! are a bunch of bands who aren't considered to be all that weird too, like The Police, The Go Go's, Buzzcocks, R.E.M., and Fine Young Cannibals. So, what we really have here is a nice blend of genuinely good punk and alternarock with straight-up enjoyably silly and irony-laden new wave.

But this album that celebrates I.R.S.' tenth-year anniversary actually opens with a song that predates the label's existence entirely: it's the B-side of the debut record by the band that Miles Copeland's brother, Stewart, happened to play drums for: "Nothing Achieving," by The Police, a terrific classic rock-punk tune that was released in 1977 on another one of Miles' labels he had founded beforehand, Illegal Records.

And another great tune from those pre-I.R.S. days comes courtesy of a little-known band called The Electric Chairs, who, at the time, were fronted by a performer named Wayne County, who now goes by Jayne County. County is someone who holds the honor of being rock music's first openly trans vocalist, and she ended up working with a lot of famous people throughout her career, including David Bowie. Plus, she was also at the Stonewall Riots. So, she's an absolute legend, to say the least, and her band's punk song, "Thunder," which predates her publicly identifying as a woman, was released on Illegal in 1979.

Also, have you ever wondered where the great Fatboy Slim derived his stage name from? Well, it probably came from Maryland's Root Boy Slim, a brilliant and eccentric rabble-rouser who went to Yale and then came back on homecoming weekend the year after he had graduated and got kicked out and permanently banned from his frat house by none other than future war criminal president George W. Bush himself. His song, "Dare to Be Fat," kinda-sorta answers the question of, "what if Frank Zappa was a black blues-rocker?"

And there's a bunch of other songs from this compilation I could write about too, like The Go Go's’ "We Got the Beat," a landmark new wave tune that convinced the group to head towards a sound that was more new wave than punk; or the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love," which presented a pretty perfect mix of late 70s punk rock and power pop; or Fine Young Cannibals' debut single, "Johnny Come Home," which showed the world this band's signature mix of rock and ska, along with Roland Gift's uniquely satisfying and tender voice.

But I think I'm gonna dedicate a few sentences to a deeply misunderstood song instead: "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades," by Timbuk 3. If you've ever heard this top-20 mid-80s hit before, then there's a pretty solid chance that you're among the many people who think of it as quite possibly the dorkiest song that the new wave era ever spat out.

I mean, peep this refrain if you're not familiar:

I'm doing alright Getting good grades The future's so bright I gotta wear shades

Now, is it possible that this song was made in a sort of tongue-in-cheek backlashing kind of way in response to all the live fast-die hard, sex-drugs-and-rock n' roll music that was going around back then? Sure, I guess so. But the song wasn't even really so much as that. It was more about the banality of contributing to an evil system and feeling as though you were on the right path. See, "I Gotta Wear Shades" is told from the perspective of a young nuclear scientist at the height of the Cold War, and that brightness in the future he refers to is actually referencing the potential detonation of the nukes that he's been working on. It's a really cleverly-made song that became a pretty big hit, but people never really seemed to understand the message that was behind it. It certainly wasn't a song to celebrate strait-laced, apple-polishing nerds.

So, there you have it: a nice and varied set of songs from a transcontinental indie label that played a big role in shaping new wave, punk, and alternative rock through its first ten years and change. There wasn't really any other label that was quite like I.R.S. Records. A lot of names that would end up defining eras and styles, along with some real kooks too.

Highlights:

The Police - "Nothing Achieving" The Go-Go's - "We Got the Beat" Wayne County & The Electric Chairs - "Thunder" Root Boy Slim - "Dare to Be Fat" Buzzcocks - "Ever Fallen in Love?" Wall of Voodoo - "Mexican Radio" R.E.M. - "Superman" Doctor and the Medics - "Spirit in the Sky" Timbuk 3 - "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" Fine Young Cannibals - "Johnny Come Home" Concrete Blonde - "It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out"