#milestones 1991

[hockeytown-gifs]

Vladdy & Nick’s 1st  game  -  Wings @ ‘Hawks  -  Oct. 3, 1991

[bops-fandom-wowie]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 500 likes!

Dang

And it was on my post thinking about how forte could convince people to come to his side

[girlactionfigure]

henmazzig

Not all heroes wear capes, but Judge Seburinde sure is. In a dissenting opinion, Uganda’s Judge Julia Sebutinde highlighted the many flaws in the ruling of the International Court of Justice, putting the entire institution to shame. Judge Julia Sebutinde, born in Uganda, initially worked for the Ministry of Justice in Uganda. In 1990, she advanced her education with a Master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh.  After graduating in 1991, Julia worked for the Ministry of Commonwealth in the UK and then joined the Ministry of Justice in the Republic of Namibia before being appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Uganda in 1996. In this role, she led several high-profile corruption inquiries into government departments, including the Ugandan Police, the Uganda People’s Defence Force, and the Uganda Revenue Authority, earning significant recognition for her contributions to justice in Uganda. In 2005, Julia was seconded to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, established by the UN to prosecute violations of humanitarian law during the Sierra Leone civil war.  She served as the presiding judge in the landmark prosecution of Liberian President James Taylor, who was found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2012.  Her exemplary work in international justice earned her an honorary LLD from the University of Edinburgh in 2009. In 2011, Julia achieved a historic milestone by being elected to a judicial seat on the International Court of Justice, becoming the first African woman to serve on the court, where she continues to contribute to global justice. Thank you Judge Seburined, for standing up for justice.

H/T @scartale-an-undertale-au

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Whitney Houston - I Have Nothing 1993

"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992). The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, and produced by Foster.

After the back-to-back successes of Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and "I'm Every Woman", "I Have Nothing" became yet another hit, peaking at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. Houston established another historic milestone in Billboard chart history with the three singles off the soundtrack, becoming the first artist to have three songs inside the top 11 of the Hot 100 chart in the same week since the chart began using Broadcast Data System and SoundScan data in 1991. The song also became a hit on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, with a number four peak, and a number-one peak on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Internationally, the song reached number one in Canada, the top five in Ireland and the UK, the top ten in Denmark and Portugal, and peaked within the top forty in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

"I Have Nothing" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 65th Annual Academy Awards in 1993. David Foster and Linda Thompson were nominated for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for the song at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards. Foster and Thompson received the award for Most Performed Song from a Film for the song at the 10th BMI Film & Television Awards in 1994. The song was also nominated for Best R&B Single, Female at the 8th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in 1994.

"I Have Nothing" received a total of 72,7% yes votes!

[contemplatingoutlander]

Earth passed a feared global warming milestone Friday, at least briefly

The planet marked an ominous milestone Friday: The first day global warmth crossed a threshold, if only briefly, that climate scientists have warned could have calamitous consequences. Preliminary data show global temperatures averaged more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above a historic norm, from a time before humans started consuming fossil fuels and emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases. That does not mean efforts to limit global warming have failed — yet. Temperatures would have to surpass the 2-degree benchmark for months and years at a time before scientists consider it breached. But it’s a striking reminder that the climate is moving into uncharted territory. Friday marked the first time that everyday fluctuations around global temperature norms, which have been steadily increasing for decades, swung the planet beyond the dangerous threshold. It occurs after months of record warmth that have stunned many scientists, defying some expectations of how quickly temperatures would accelerate this year. “I think while we should not read too much into a single day above 2C (or 1.5C for that matter) it’s a startling sign nonetheless of the level of extreme global temperatures we are experiencing in 2023,” Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist with Stripe and Berkeley Earth, said in a message to The Washington Post. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, said Sunday on the social media platform X that Friday’s global temperatures were 1.17C (2.1F) above the 1991-2020 average, a record-setting margin. Given how much human-caused warming had occurred by that period, that means Friday’s average global temperature was 2.06C (3.7F) above a preindustrial reference period, 1850-1900, she said.

Is it finally time for the world to take climate change seriously?

[techtimechronicles24]

🇺🇸 Step back in time to 1986 and witness the dawn of a revolutionary device—the IBM PC Convertible. As one of the earliest portable computers, the PC Convertible marked a significant milestone in the evolution of American personal computing, offering newfound mobility and versatility to professionals and enthusiasts alike.

💻 The IBM PC Convertible represented IBM's inaugural foray into creating a portable version of its iconic PC line. It was the first laptop-style computer following the luggable IBM Portable, and notably introduced the 3½-inch floppy disk format to the IBM product line. Featuring a clamshell design this groundbreaking device set the stage for future generations of laptops. Its compact form factor and relatively lightweight made it a practical choice for on-the-go computing—a novel concept at the time.

⌨️ Unlike earlier portable computers that required external keyboards, the PC Convertible boasted a built-in keyboard, enhancing its usability and convenience.

👉 The PC Convertible came in three models: PC Convertible, PC Convertible Model 2, and Model 3. The latter two were released in October 1987 and are primarily distinguished by their LCD panels. The original Convertible used a non-backlit panel, which was considered difficult to read. The Model 2 lacked a backlight as well but upgraded to an improved supertwist panel, while the Model 3 included a backlight.

🖥️ Equipped with an innovative flip-up monochrome, CGA-compatible LCD screen, the PC Convertible offered a crisp display for viewing documents and running applications—a revolutionary feature for its time.

💾 Powered by an Intel 80C88 CPU, the PC Convertible came with built-in storage options, including 256 KB of RAM (expandable to 640 KB) and dual 720 KB 3.5-inch floppy drives, enabling users to store and access data with ease. It also featured serial and parallel ports for connecting peripherals.

🔋 Despite its modest battery life by today's standards, the PC Convertible offered respectable uptime, allowing users to work on the go without being tethered to a power source. Weighing just over 12 pounds and featuring a built-in carrying handle, the PC Convertible's battery was rated for 10 hours.

🌟 The IBM PC Convertible was succeeded in 1991 by the PS/2 L40 SX, and in Japan by the IBM Personal System/55note, the predecessor to the ThinkPad. The IBM PC Convertible left an indelible mark on the history of computing, paving the way for the modern laptops we use today. Its innovative design and practical features demonstrated the potential of portable computing, inspiring subsequent advancements in mobile technology.

[kulturegroupie]

There were rumours that Page and Plant weren’t talking in the late 80s/early 90s...

“I suppose that’s true. I mean I played on The Honeydrippers album, I was talking to him, I talked to him since ‘The Sea Of Love’. You know, we are great friends. I mean that it was like a marriage. Like Jagger and Richards, Lennon and McCartney, myself and Robert. When you start from the beginning and you look back at many milestones... I hope people don’t take it the wrong way when I say it was like a marriage but it was”

— Jimmy Page, 1991

[timetrek24]

🇺🇲 Explore the Fascinating Fusion of Timekeeping and Communication: Unveiling the Pioneering Motorola and Timex Wristwatch-Pagers that Revolutionized Wearable Technology in the 1990s.

🤝 In 1990, Motorola Inc. made its first attempt to enter the market of electronic wristwatches with a built-in pager (similar devices at the same time were already produced by the Japanese companies Seiko and Casio). The device was called "Motorola Wrist Wach Pager". Since 1991, further production of the devices has been carried out jointly with the Timex Group Corporation under the name "The Timex Tracer Wrist Watch Pager".

👉 Since 1998, further development of the line of electronic watches with the participation of Motorola Inc. and Timex Group was associated with the high-tech "Timex Beepwear Datalink" series. These devices also continued the concept of wristwatch-pagers, but with the integration of the well-known Datalink data transmission platform, which integrates with desktop computer software.

➡️ The Datalink line was introduced in 1994 and was developed in conjunction with Microsoft Corporation as an alternative to conventional PDAs with added attributes such as water resistance and ease of programming. Taken together, all this made it possible to use the “Beepwear Datalink” watch as a full-fledged electronic organizer.

📟 The Beepwear Pager Watch epitomized the convergence of traditional wristwatches with cutting-edge communication capabilities. Introduced in the late 1990s, this innovative device redefined the concept of wearable tech, offering users unparalleled convenience and connectivity on the go.

📞 Equipped with pager functionality, the Beepwear Pager Watch allowed users to receive important notifications and messages directly on their wrist, eliminating the need for separate communication devices. With its sleek and compact design, it seamlessly integrated into everyday life, providing instant access to critical information wherever you went.

⌚️ Beyond its communication features, the Beepwear Pager Watch retained the timeless appeal of a classic timepiece, boasting a stylish and durable design that stood the test of time. With its reliable quartz movement and rugged construction, it was built to withstand the rigors of daily wear, ensuring longevity and reliability for its users.

⚙️ The "Beepware" series, as a joint product of the efforts of Timex Group and Motorola Inc. was patented, and the production of the devices was carried out by the newly created joint company "Beepwear Paging Products". The clock operated in the 900 MHz band. FLEX time was also used, which, if supported by the operator, could synchronize the clock time with the network time, and also automatically adjust to the owner's time zone.

🚀 The launch of the Timex Motorola Beepwear Pager Watch marked a significant milestone in the evolution of wearable technology, showcasing the potential for seamless integration of communication and timekeeping functions in a single device. As one of the pioneering products in this category, it paved the way for future innovations in the wearable tech industry, inspiring a new generation of smartwatches and wearable devices.

💔 However, already in 2002, Motorola Inc. was forced to carry out internal restructuring, including ceasing production and support of its own pagers.

💫 Today, the legacy of the Timex Motorola Beepwear Pager Watch lives on, remembered as a trailblazer in the realm of wearable technology. While newer devices may offer more advanced features, the Beepwear Pager Watch remains a symbol of innovation and ingenuity, reminding us of the transformative power of technology in shaping our lives.

[frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers]

Disney 100 ✨🏰🤍

Wishing you all a happy new year and to Disney, a belated 100th anniversary! 🎉

To celebrate Disney’s century milestone, I created an illustration based on 100 of Disney’s most known and loved characters from their respective movies/ series. I’ve included all the ones I’ve known and feel are generally popular but I’m sorry if your personal favourites aren’t here.

This has been in the works for almost four months now but due to many delays I couldn’t finish it on time. So here it finally is!

Out of all these range characters, the hardest to draw was the Cars. I’m not used to drawing cars so I’m not generally good at them (yet). Some of these may look simple and easy to draw but trust me, they’re not 😂.

With drawing the characters and the background, I like to be accurate with the respective style it’s drawn/ animated in and the colours too. But also I wanted to also simplify the 3D ones and add a little depth using shadow to the 2D ones. For example some of these films would have a desaturated grainy effect to it and I wanted to keep that. But finally after months of working on it, it’s completed and I’m happy with it! ✨.

Please, please do check it out on Instagram too:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zahra Sarfraz (@artofzahrasarfraz)

If this link doesn't work, my username is @/artofzafrasarfraz - it's where I put all my drawings up on. Please do share on stories and comment. Much appreciated 🥹🫶🏼🤍

All the 100 characters featured in this piece are listed below:

1927: Trolley Troubles / Oswald The Lucky Rabbit (2022): Oswald

1937: Snow White: Snow White and the Evil Queen

1941: Dumbo: Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse

1942: Bambi: Thumper and Bambi

1943: Private Pluto: Chip and Dale

1944: The Lion King: (Child) Simba

1949: Pinocchio: Pinocchio

1950: Cinderella: Cinderella

1951: Alice In Wonderland: Alice, Cheshire cat and Mad Hatter

1953: Peter Pan: Peter Pan and Tinker Bell

1959: Sleeping Beauty: Aurora and Maleficent

1963: The Sword in the Stone: Arthur Pendragon

1964: Mary Poppins: Mary Poppins

1967: 101 Dalmatians: Cruella De Vil and Patch | Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo

1970: Aristocats: Toulouse, Marie and Berlioz

1973: Robin Hood: Robin Hood

1977: The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh: Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin

1989: The Little Mermaid: Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian and Ursula

1991: Beauty And The Beast: Belle

1992: Aladdin: Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie

1993: Steamboat Willie/ Mickey Mouse Series: Mickey & Minnie Mouse | Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellingtion

1995: Lady and the Tramp: Lady & Tramp | Toy Story: Woody and Buzz Light-year | Pocahontas: Pocahontas

1997: Hercules: Hercules & Megara

1998: Mulan: Mulan | A Bug's Life: Flik

2000: The Emperor's New Groove: Kuzco

2001: Monsters Inc: Sulley, Mike and Mary Gibbs aka Boo

2002: Lilo & Stitch: Lilo and Stitch

2003: Finding Nemo: Nemo and Dory

2004: The Incredibles - Helen Parr aka Elastic girl, Robert (Rob) Parr aka Mr. Incredible, Jack-Jack Parr and Edna Mode

2006: Cars: Lighting McQueen and Tow Mater

2007: Enchanted: Giselle Phillip

2008: WALL - E: Wall-E & Eve | Phineas and Ferb: Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher

2009: The Princess and the Frog: Tiana | UP: Carl Fredricksen and Dug

2010: Tangled: Rapunzel & Flynn Ryder aka Eugene Fitzherbert and Pascal

2012: BRAVE: Merida | Wreck-It Ralph: Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz

2013: Frozen: Elsa, Anna and Olaf

2014: Big Hero Six: Baymax

2015: Inside Out: Joy and Sadness

2016: Moana: Moana | Zootopia (2016): Nick Wilde & Judith (Judy) Laverne Hopps

2017: COCO: Miguel Rivera

2020: Soul: Joe and 22

2021: Luca: Luca | Encanto: Mirabel and Isabella Mardigal | Raya And The Last Dragon: Raya

2022: Red Panda: Mei Lee aka the Red Panda

2023: Elemental: Ember Lumen & Wade Ripple | Wish: Asha and Star

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

March 18th is the birthday of acclaimed American novelist, poet, and short-story writer John Updike (1932-2009). Updike was inspired to become a writer by his mother’s attempts to get published during his childhood and recalled fondly the memory of her writing desk with all its admirable equipment. By his early twenties, Updike had published a poem in the New Yorker as well as a collection of poetry with Harper & Brothers. His early successes went on to spur a prolific and varied career that included being one of only four writers to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once in 1982 and 1991. 

To mark what would have been Updike’s 92nd birthday, we’re sharing his signed limited-edition chapbook Five Poems. Published in 1980 by Bits Press out of Cleveland, Ohio, Five Poems is letterpress printed in an edition of 185 copies with a hand-sewn binding and a clever rebus cover drawn by Updike.  

Read other Milestone Monday posts here! 

See other rebus examples within our collection here! 

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

[cherrylng]

100 Albums To Understand Muse - Part 8 [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

MEW Frengers (2003) World debut of the Danish band, boasting melancholic melodies, the transparent high tone voice of Jonas Biele and guitars that, like Muse, grew up on The Smashing Pumpkins and the Pixies. Their latest release, 'No More Stories…….' succeeds in building a dynamic world with a more progressive experimental spirit. -S

MILES DAVIS Pangaea (1975) A masterpiece of the so-called ‘electric period’ of the 1970s. If you think it's ‘jazz’, you'll be surprised. Basically, the cool and sophisticated worldview of this album is the opposite of that of the passionate Muse, but I think there are similarities in the ‘once in a lifetime’ energy that pervades the band's live performances. -M

MONIQUE HAAS Debussy : Suite Bergamasque / Deux Arabesques / Children's Corner (1995) Debussy is a composer that all piano players have a keen interest in. The images that emerge from his poetic melodies are simple, yet they have an impressionistic intensity that leaves a strong impression on the listener's heart. He is also one of Matthew's favourite composers. Enjoy the limpid sound with no ill effects. -M

MY BLOODY VALENTINE Loveless (1991) The second album from MBV, led by roaring guitar master Kevin Shields, and a milestone in shoegaze, still influencing everything from acoustic to neo-shoegaze. Whispering vocals float gently between walls of dissonant, layered guitar noise. It will leave the listener in a trance and lead them into a dreamlike world. -I

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE The Black Parade (2006) US alternative punk band that recognises a variety of influences from Queen to punk. The band made their breakthrough in Japan with this album. Muse toured the US with this album in 2007 as a frontliner. When Muse took the stage at Wembley Stadium in the UK a few months later, they fronted the band in return. -H

NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN God Fodder (1991) A prime example of the ‘gleeful rock’ that dominated the UK indie scene in the early 90s. The first album, featuring snarling twin basses, blistering fuzz guitars, danceable driving beats and sweet and sour melodies, was a #4 hit in the UK. In their heyday, the three Muse members were in secondary school and Matthew's first gig was with the Neds. -I

NEW ORDER Low-Life (1985) Formed by the remaining members of Joy Division after Ian Curtis (vo) committed suicide. The band's melodious bass was a distinctive feature, and it swallowed techno, disco and later house, and used synths extensively. The killer 80s synth-pop tune 2 shines with its piercing uppercut. -I

NINA SIMONE I Put A Spell On You (1965) A classic album from the Philips era by a singer-songwriter who transcended genres such as jazz-blues and R&B. Muse covered ‘Feeling Good’, a standard that has been taken up by many different faces, but Matthew was introduced to it by Nina's version. The title track featuring Screaming Jay Hawkins is also full of atmosphere. -S

Translator's Note: [presses on a single G5 piano key in a half note]

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Eighteen (Part 2)

There are no family photos on the walls of this house, which is entirely different to my home. My mother framed everything, because I was the only child, and therefore everything I did and every milestone I achieved was wonderful and amazing. There’s a photo of me, eight and smiling on the day of my first communion that has pride of place on the mantelpiece next to my parents wedding photos, as though my first reception of the body of Christ (a wafer) was as important as their vow to each other. I was cute back then, but it’s easy to track my progression from cute child to awkward teenager by simply following the path of photos on the wall above the television, where I am immortalised forever in my school uniform, picture day after picture day, year after year until they mercifully stopped taking them at the end of primary school and I was free to duck away and hide my braces and acne from any and all cameras.

There are no such records in the Turner house. There are no notches on the door frames that measured the growth of the children, no ancient crayon drawings still stuck to the fridge, or, for the extra special ones, framed on the wall where visitors can see them. There’s no sad, punctured football in the back garden, or Ribena stain on the carpet, and I can’t see what’s inside the cupboard under the stairs, but I guarantee there’s no outsized roller skates or fad toy from Christmas 2002 stuffed in there either. This house is like somebody opened an interior design magazine and bought everything on the page.

Jude climbs on a chair to reach a box, way up high on the very top of a bookcase.  He settles next to me on the sofa and lifts the lid without any of the reverence or intentionality I feel it deserves, and hauls out a handful of photographs. 

“There are before me.” He says, and I don’t care about those ones. His mother is very beautiful, and when she’s young even more so, but Collette Turner is of about as much interest to me as I am to her. When he hands them to me I just leave them on the coffee table and poke my fingers around in the box with him until we find the ones from November 1991. 

“There I am.” He says, and rightly so, there he is. A tiny baby screaming in his mother’s arms as she, looking like a child herself stares bemusedly down at the pink, squirming thing in her arms. “Apparently all I did was make noise.” He says. “Nothing has changed there. I also wasn’t cute.”

“You weren’t.” I agree, but I like the photo anyway. Even in these first minutes of his life there’s something furious and uncompromising about him, all clenched fists and red face. He’s so tiny. My heart swells for him. 

“I did get cute though.” He says, putting another photo into my hands of him at maybe two years old, wearing nothing but a nappy and a pair of cowboy boots. He’s standing on wobbly little legs on some dirt path, while sandstone pillars and jagged rock formations soar up into the sky behind him. It’s the kind of landscape that you only see in cartoons. 

“Did you see the road runner when you were there?” I deadpan. 

He smirks. “That’s Bryce Canyon. My great aunt brought me along on a trip with her kids. I think I was two.” He flips it over to where Sept. ‘93 is scrawled in blue biro. “Almost two. Her kids were in college at that point. I think there’s photos of us all.” He has a quick shuffle through the stack and withdraws several more from Utah, mostly of him being held, or cuddled or kissed on his chubby cheeks by four twenty somethings who look like extras from Seinfeld. Looking at their faces, their patterned jumpers, their floppy haircuts brings back a sense-memory of what it felt like to exist in the nineties. That pervasive smell of cigarettes and the old, brown plastic ashtray on my uncle’s table. The cuffs of light wash jeans and the creases in my cousin’s white sneakers as I tied and untied his shoelaces beneath the kitchen table, and Paul Simon’s Obvious Child, and our old TV that spit out white noise and wobbled until someone banged it with their fist to set it right again. I feel as affectionate towards those snippets of memory as I do about this tiny, cowboy boot wearing Jude, perched high on his cousin’s shoulders.

“Is that your great aunt?” I wonder, pointing to a ruddy cheeked woman in her early forties that crouches down with her arms around him at the base of a sandstone pillar. 

“Yes, Maureen.” he’s mentioned her before in passing. I know that her husband was in the military, and that they lived all over the world for years. When he retired they settled in New Mexico, and she and her family were in the picture a lot when Jude was a child.

“When’s the last time you saw her?” 

“When I was fifteen, but it’s not always easy to find the time anymore. She calls me every Christmas and on my birthday, and sometimes she sends me gifts.” He brushes his thumb thoughtfully over the photo. “You know, I miss her. She was kind of like my other-mother for a while.”

“Maybe you should go and visit again.”

“Yeah, I’d really like to.” He digs through the box and pulls out a more recent one of them both from 2007. They’re standing in her kitchen with their arms around each other, and she’s short and round, and he’s so tall and gangly with a wooden beaded necklace on, and they both have the biggest smiles. “Maybe I’ll go in the autumn.”

“Definitely! I think that’d be amazing.”

“It’s just weird because it’s hard to know where I’m going to be then, you know? Now that I’m graduating from college I’ll have to, like, look for a job.” He says it like it’s a dirty word, and there is the tiniest twinge of anxiety in my belly.

“Something will work out.” I say passively. I’ve tried not to think about what’s going to happen after college, and whether or not he’ll decide to move back to Ireland again once he finishes his final project. We’ve just avoided the conversation, even though sometimes during our long talks we bring us right up to the knife’s edge of it before we stealthily change the subject, but I soon have to acknowledge the elephant in the room, and it’s that we don’t know where he’ll be in six months. We don’t know what things might look like between us, and neither of us knows yet what he wants. 

“Yeah, definitely.” He says hopefully, and I take the photo of him and Maureen so that I can take a closer look. 

“2007.” I murmur. “You were so dreamy. I wish you’d seen what I looked like in 2007, it’d be like a jump scare.”

He chuckles. “No way, Evie.”

“I had cystic acne and braces,” I confess. “I was so ugly.”

“You haven’t even brushed up against ugly in your entire life. And I had braces once too, believe it or not.”

“Oh I’d believe it.” I feast myself on the view of his immaculate teeth. “Did your dad do that?”

“He did, and funny you should mention him, because he’ll probably be home soon. Do you want to endure an awkward, socially inept conversation with him or do you want me to take you home?”

“Oof, tough choice.” 

Jude takes all of the photos from my lap and from the table and taps them gently into formation before stacking them back into the box where they’ll no doubt sit there unbothered for another few months or years, dusty and forgotten atop the bookcase. 

“Let’s get moving.” 

Jude’s car idles outside my apartment for half an hour, because every time I try to get out I look over my shoulder at him and feel compelled to kiss him goodbye, just one more time. 

“Jesus Christ, you’re a great kisser.” I say as his lips slide from my mouth to the curve of my jaw, and his fingers caress the nape of my neck. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“Back of my hand.” He murmurs. “Glad you’ve noticed, I’ve actually never kissed a girl before.”

“Oh shut up.” I snicker. 

“You know, if you think I’m good with my mouth you should see what else I can do with it.”

I breathe out a laugh, and my body shivers so intensely from head to toe that I have to twist out of his grip. This is full-on dirty talk. I don’t know how to do that. I should probably give him a slow, seductive smile and say something like “Well why don’t you come upstairs and show me?” But I obviously don’t. I say “Oh.” and then laugh way too loudly which completely dissolves the sexual vibe and he goes from looking flirtatious to amused. “What?”

“I mean, you can come in if you like, I know I owe you one but full disclosure I haven’t shaved in days.”

“Are you trying to lure me in with handjobs and hairy legs?”

“Feeling enticed?”

“You bet.”

I lean back against the passenger door and wrap my arms around myself. “Well, whatever you want to do is fine.”

His expression is funny as he takes me in, my body language, the metre of space I’ve managed to carve between us, and his eyebrow twitches sceptically. “I don’t want things that you don’t. You know that?”

I nod. 

“When you want me to come in, I’ll come in, but you don’t have to do things for me just because you think you owe me.”

“I will want to.” I say. “Just later.”

“Well lucky for you I’m busy the next while. I’m in the last weeks of my thesis and I really need to buckle down, so if we’re fooling around it will probably not do wonders for my concentration.”

I pout. “But I’ll still see you?”

“Of course, I’ll always make time for you.” He pulls me into him by my wrists and kisses me one last time, and I’m starting to  wonder how I’ll ever be expected to kiss another man again when he pulls away from me. “It’s time for you to get out of my car. I’m wasting diesel.” He teasingly shoves me away and I scramble for the handle and scurry out onto dark streets wet with rain as he springs forward to smack my arse.  

“Later, alligator.” He says, and I shut the door behind me with a thunk. 

Beginning // Prev // Next

[tinyreviews]

Writing Tips: The Road Genre

A road genre story, often referred to as a road trip story, involves characters embarking on a journey, usually by road.

Why Write a Road Story?

Built-in Structure: Road stories inherently come with a built-in structure - the journey itself. This structure provides a natural progression, allowing you to organize the narrative around the various stops or milestones during the trip.

Dynamic Settings: The ever-changing locations during a journey offer a diverse range of settings, making it easier to keep the story visually interesting. This diversity can stimulate creativity and prevent monotony.

Character Interactions: On a road trip, the main character usually meets interesting secondary characters, have intense character interactions, foster relationships and encounter conflicts.

Conflict and Resolution: The journey can introduce a series of challenges and solutions, providing a straightforward way to drive the plot forward. 

Common Tropes in Road Stories:

Mismatched Companions: Characters with contrasting personalities or backgrounds forced to travel together, creating opportunities for humor, conflict, and personal growth.

Quest or Mission: The journey serves a larger purpose, such as a quest or mission, giving the characters a clear objective and a sense of direction.

Unexpected Encounters: Chance encounters with strangers, both helpful and antagonistic, contribute to the unpredictability of the journey.

Self-Discovery: Characters often embark on a road trip to find themselves or escape their current circumstances, leading to profound moments of self-discovery.

Examples of Road Stories(they are reviewed here on Tiny Reviews as well):

1999 The Straight Story:

Alvin is an elderly World War II veteran who embarks on a journey to resolve an outstanding relationship issue.

Along the journey, he meets diverse and captivating characters, as we learn more about Alvin’s own life and history.

2018 Green Book:

A racist white man escorts a distinguish black pianist in the Deep South.

The contrasting characters undergo significant growth and development.

2004 Sideways:

Miles and Jack take a road trip to Santa Barbara County wine country to celebrate Jack's upcoming wedding.

They go through a series of situation that threaten to upturn the upcoming wedding. We are faced with the tension as to whether the wedding will take place.

1991 Thelma and Louise:

Two friends commit murder in the heat of the moment and go on the run.

They go through a series of increasingly drastic crimes until only one option is left.

2005 Broken Flowers:

Don goes on a road trip to find the mystery writer of the letter that states he has a son. Tension: Does Don really have a son and are they going to meet?

He meets various old flames and their families, and recounts their histories.

To me, a good road story is the quintessential story. One where the main character overcomes great personal struggle, in addition to finishing a physical journey. The greatest example is probably Frodo’s journey in Lord Of The Rings.

This is part of my Writing Tips series. I publish writing tips to this blog.

[duhragonball]

In all honesty, while I do miss Super Saiyan "first times" being emotional beats, a lot of fans forget Goten did it by accident and Trunks did it because he felt like it. Like what, was Goten that angry at Chi Chi during their sparing match? Was Trunks' jealousy of Goten going super saiyan equal to Vegeta's self-loathing during the time skip before the Androids Saga? At least with Caulifla there's an in-universe explanation that honestly makes sense for her character. She's not the type to explode with rage and Cabba's not the type to antagonize her. Rather, she's adept enough at fighting to recognize that all she has to do is emulate the feeling of the transformation to attain it and skilled enough to do it by force. She basically skips the awakening part to get right to the "do it at will" stage which is perfect buildup for her as a rival of sorts for Goku.

I think what really bothered the Caulifla haters (besides their misogyny) was that she said the quiet part out loud.

The dirty little secret about the Super Saiyan form was that it was never this ancient and mystic power of destiny, but a quirk of Saiyan biology that almost anyone could replicate if they knew what steps to follow. The reason Vegeta, Trunks, and Gohan all pulled it off in such a short span of time was that they had a living Super Saiyan as a reference, and they had the motivation to work at it.

By the time Cabba showed up, it was considered a big twist that he couldn't turn Super Saiyan. That's how cliche the form had become. So when Cabba learns it very quickly, it's mostly because we need him to get "caught up" in a hurry. And Caulifla and Kale were even stronger than he was before he learned the form, so it only makes sense that they would get the hang of it quickly as well.

But their transformations weren't treated like this big dramatic moment that turns the tide of the story. That's because Super Saiyan was no longer a major milestone, but also because we'd already seen it done several times by several other characters. The gimmick with Caulifla and Kale was that they were prodigies, diamonds in the rough who were suddenly tapping into their hidden potential. Could they improve enough, quickly enough, to become a threat in the tournament?

The thing fans have to accept is that Super Saiyan isn't the be-all and end-all of this franchise. That's why we have Super Saiyan 2, 3, 4, God, and Blue, along with Ultra Intinct, Beast, and all of the other advanced forms that have cropped up along the way. And the bad guys have always been able to keep pace, so calling each new level "unearned" is pointless.

We could say that Caulifla deconstructed the whole concept, except Vegeta already did it when he first transformed in 1991.

One page. One page is all it takes to undermine whatever legend or superstition is still attached to the Super Saiyan form. This is the third character we've seen use the form, but Krillin still hung onto the idea that a Super Saiyan had to at least be a good guy. But Vegeta informs him that he simply trained and trained until he hit a wall and his frustration pushed his body over the threshold. But Vegeta still clings to the idea of a "Saiyan Messiah", even though he just demonstrated that there's nothing special about this. You don't need to be a mythical hero, or a man of destiny, or even a nice person. You just need talent and effort, and maybe some luck.

The U6 Saiyans just did a speedrun of Vegeta's process, and that may irritate fans, except that the U6 Saiyans were far, far more powerful than Vegeta was in the Androids Saga. Cabba and Vegeta fought evenly in their base forms, and that was the same "Saiyan Beyond God" level seen in Resurrection F. They were already capable of the transformation; they just needed someone to tell them it was a thing.

[lboogie1906]

Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. He adopted a variety of musical directions in a five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz.

Born in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, he left to study at the Juilliard School, before dropping out and making his professional debut as a member of saxophonist Charlie Parker’s bebop quintet. He recorded the Birth of the Cool sessions for Capitol Records, which were instrumental to the development of cool jazz. He recorded some of the earliest hard bop music while on Prestige Records. After a widely acclaimed comeback performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, he signed a long-term contract with Columbia Records and recorded the album ‘Round About Midnight. It was his first work with saxophonist John Coltrane and bassist Paul Chambers, key members of the sextet he led. He alternated between orchestral jazz collaborations with arranger Gil Evans, such as the Spanish-influenced Sketches of Spain, and band recordings, such as Milestones and Kind of Blue. The latter recording remains one of the most popular jazz albums of all time, having sold over five million copies in the US. He married Cicely Tyson (1981–1989), Betty Davis (1968–1969), and Frances Taylor Davis (1959–1968). He had four children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[harperthomas]

Here is Harper. She is 33, a mother of one 7 year old and profoundly deaf. Harper uses ASL and does not use much speech. She can lip read to an extent and uses technology to support communication. She is Courtney's sister and has lived locally for 5 years.

Name: Harper Simpson Faceclaim: Sandra Mae Frank Gender & Pronouns: cisfemale she/her Age: 33 Birthday: 20/07/1991 Place of birth: North Carolina Occupation: owner of Belle Blossoms Neighborhood: Cresthill Meadows Time since arriving in Kismet Harbor: 5 years

Full Biography:

Harper Thomas was born premature, so small she could almost fit in the palm of your hand. She was a fighter though, even from that first day. She spent the first four months of her life in the NICU before finally being allowed home where she was smothered with attention. Her developmental milestones were delayed but she progressed along them as expected for a baby born so early. All seemed fine until Harper was three and her parents noticed that she wasn't responding to her name as easily. A hearing test showed that she had less than 50% of her hearing and as time went on and it continued to fade. By the age of 5 Harper was clinically profoundly deaf.

As soon as they realised that her hearing was only going to decline her parents set about learning what to do. Doctors suggested cochlear implants and speech therapy but they sought out opinions from deaf adults and what they heard was the complete opposite. They decided to do a mixture, saying no to surgery but enrolling Harper in speech therapy whilst also learning ASL as an entire family. The children picked it up the quickest but her parents worked hard, wanting to do whatever was best for their daughter.

Harper could talk but as time went on she chose not to use her voice, relying predominantly on ASL. Her parents were worried that she would feel alone in the world so they sought out a deaf community to surround their daughter with. She went to a general elementary school but for middle school she was moved to a deaf program where she didn't have to just rely on a translator for every lesson.

During a work experience placement Harper fell in love with flower arranging, it was quiet and peaceful but she could tell a story without saying a word. She got herself a job at a local shop in her hometown, it wasn't a huge paycheck but it was enough and they put in the few accomodations that Harper requested.

In ASL Harper was loud and charismatic, she was silly and joyful, but when she had to rely on lip reading and technology she never quite felt like herself. That was probably why when she was in her twenties and she met Harry, a CODA who could sign fluently she immediately picked him as her person. They moved fast, settling into an easy routine, comfortable with one another. They were in love, or at least Harper thought so at the time, but nothing is ever that easy.

When Harper was 25 she became pregnant with her daughter Willow. Becoming a mother wasn't exactly planned but Harper took to it naturally, though there were some challenges to being the deaf parent to a hearing child. Willow didn't always understand that Harper needed her to sign, but as the years went on the little girl became pretty good at adapting. 5 years ago they up and moved to Kismet Harbour, they did it for Harry's job but when they moved to town they found that Belle Blossoms was up for sale, it really felt kismet, he got his new job and Harper took on ownership of the shop, her dream job.

4 years ago Harper met a friend who would come to change her life. It started innocent, just close friends who enjoyed spending time with one another. However over time it became more than that, it was never physical but Harper fell in love with her, and that's when she realised that what she had with Harry wasn't love, it was just friendship.

About nine months ago Harper cut ties, worried that she was crossing a line, blowing up her family over a dream. Willow needed stability, she needed two parents and things with Harry were fine, they were happy, they just didn't have that spark. Harry noticed the change in his wife though and eventually it all came out. Harry was angry but he couldn't stay angry, he loved Harper too much for that. They decided to amicably part ways, deciding on shared custody in an attempt to make things as easy for Willow as possible. Now Harper is 5 months into divorce proceedings and she has no idea what to do next.

Wanted Connections:

Best Friend: This person would've known Harper for at least a year or two. They'd also have to know how to sign, either before they met Harper or because they met Harper. Parent Friends: Harper has a 7 year old daughter called Willow so she needs her parent support group for sure. Flirationships: Harper has been separated for 5 months now and is starting to explore what that means. Signing Friends: If you know ASL Harper will instantly love you. Regulars: Harper owns the flower shop so it'd be nice to have some regulars.