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conradscrime · 1 year

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The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

May 11, 2023

The Mary Celeste ship was built in Spencer’s Island, Nova Scotia and was launched under British registration as Amazon on May 18, 1861. On the registration documents the ship was 99.3 feet long, 25.5 feet broad, with a depth of 11.7 feet.

She had previously been in a wreck in Cape Breton and was very damaged. In November 1868, a man named Richard W. Haines, from New York paid $1,750 (US) for the wrecked ship and spent $8,825 to restore it. In December 1868, the ship was registered to the Collector of the Port of New York as an American vessel under the name, Mary Celeste. Haines also became the captain of her.

In October 1869, the ship was seized from Haines and sold to a New York consortium. For at least three years there is no record of Mary Celeste’s trading activities. In 1872, she underwent a refit that cost $10,000 and her size was increased, and the new captain’s name was Benjamin Spooner Briggs.

In October 1872, Briggs, his wife, and infant daughter took Mary Celeste on her first voyage, after her New York refit, to Genoa, Italy. Briggs had left his school aged son behind to be taken care of by his grandmother.

Briggs chose the crew for the voyage himself, including first mate Albert G. Richardson, second mate Andrew Gilling, 25 years old, the steward was Edward William Head, and four seamen who were German from the Frisian Islands: brothers Volkert and Boz Lorenzen, Arian Martens, and Gottlieb Goudschaal. Briggs and his wife were extremely satisfied with the crew.

On October 20, 1872, Briggs went to Pier 50 on the East River in New York City to supervise the ship loading 1,701 barrels of alcohol. Briggs’ wife and infant joined him a week later.

On Tuesday, November 5, 1872, Mary Celeste left Pier 50 and went into New York Harbor. The weather was uncertain, so they waited for better conditions. After two days, the weather was good enough to begin the voyage, and so Mary Celeste sailed into the Atlantic.

A Canadian ship, Dei Gratia was nearby in Hoboken, New Jersey, waiting on cargo before they set sail. The Captain, David Morehouse, and first mate Oliver Deveau were Nova Scotians who were highly experienced. It was even rumoured that Captain Morehouse and Briggs were friends and had dined together the night before Mary Celeste departed, however the evidence of this comes from Morehouses’ widow 50 years after the event.

Dei Gratia departed for Gibraltar on November 15, 1872, following the same route as Mary Celeste had seven days earlier.

On December 4, 1872, between the Azores and the coast of Portugal, Captain Morehouse on the Dei Gratia was made aware that there was a vessel heading unsteadily towards them about 6 miles away. The ship appeared to be making erratic movements, leading Morehouse to believe something must be wrong.

Captain Morehouse noticed there was nobody on deck when the ship came closer, and they were receiving no replies from their signals. Captain Morehouse sent Deveau and his second mate John Wright in a boat to investigate the strange vessel.

The two men discovered that this vessel was indeed the Mary Celeste, as the name was on her stern, so they climbed onto the ship and found that it had been completely deserted; there was not one person around. The sails were partly set and in poor condition, some were completely missing and a lot of the rigging had been damaged, with ropes hanging over the sides. The ship had a single lifeboat that was missing. The binnacle that had the ship’s compass in it was out of place and the glass cover was broken.

There was 3.5 feet of water in the hold, however that was not suspicious for a ship of that size. A makeshift sounding rod which measures the water in the hold was found abandoned on the deck.

The Mary Celestes’ daily log was in the mate’s cabin, and the final entry date had been at 8 am on November 25, nine days before the ship was discovered. The position was recorded to be about 400 nautical miles from the point where Dei Gratia had found her.

Deveau reported that the inside of the cabin had been wet and untidy from water that had come in through doorways and skylights, however it was mostly in order. There were personal items scattered in Captain Briggs’ cabin, however most of the ship’s papers were missing, along with navigational instruments.

There was no obvious signs of fire or violence, and there was no food prepared or being prepared. It appeared that there had been an orderly departure from the Mary Celeste, the crew using the missing lifeboat.

Captain Morehouse decided to bring Mary Celeste to Gibraltar, which was 600 nautical miles away. Under maritime law, a salvor could get a decent amount of money of a rescued vessel and cargo.

Morehouse divided his crew, and sent 3 members on the Mary Celeste, which he and four other members stayed on the Dei Gratia; however this meant that each ship was very under crewed. Dei Gratia arrived at Gibraltar on December 12, while Mary Celeste arrived the next day due to fog.

The salvage court hearings began on December 17, 1872, Captain Morehouse had written to his wife that he believed he would be paid well for the Mary Celeste salvage. Testimony from Deveau and Wright convinced the court that a crime had been committed, foul play was involved.

On December 23, 1872, there was an examination of Mary Celeste, which reported that there were cuts on each side of the bow, caused by what they thought a sharp instrument. There was also what appeared to be possible traces of blood on Captain Briggs’ sword.

The report stated that the ship did not appear to have been struck by heavy weather, or been involved in a collision. A group of Royal Naval captains also examined the ship and said the cuts on the bow seemed to be caused deliberately. There was also stains on one of the ship’s rails that might have been blood, with a deep mark possibly caused by an axe.

On January 22, 1873, the reports from the court hearings were sent to the Board of Trade in London, with Frederick Solly-Flood, the Attorney General of Gibraltar concluded that the crew on the Dei Gratia had wanted to steal the alcohol on the Mary Celeste, and murdered Captain Briggs’ and his crew in a drunken frenzy. Flood believed that Captain Morehouse and his men were hiding something, that the daily log of where the Mary Celeste had been had been doctored. Flood did not believe that the ship could have travelled 400 nautical miles while being uncrewed.

It was discovered that what appeared to be “blood stains” were in fact not blood, which setback Flood’s theory of murder. Another blow was when Captain Shufeldt of the US Navy reported the marks on the bow were not man-made, but came from natural actions of the sea.

There was nothing concrete, so Flood had to release the Mary Celeste from the court’s jurisdiction on February 25, 1873. The salvage payment was decided on April 8, 1873, the award was about one-fifth of the total value of ship and cargo, far lower than what was expected.

While Flood’s theories of murder were not very convincing, there was still suspicion that the ship had met foul play of some sort. Some believed that Briggs and Morehouse were involved together, wanting the money, but it doesn’t make sense that they would have planned such an attention drawing event. Others also comment that if Briggs wanted to disappear permanently he wouldn’t of left his young son behind with his mother.

Some believed the Mary Celeste was attacked by Riffian pirates who were active off the coast of Morocco in the 1870′s, however this has been largely dismissed because pirates would have looted the ship, yet the captain’s personal possessions were found; some which had significant value.

A New York insurance appraiser named Arthur N. Putman, was a leading investigator in sea mysteries in the early 20th century. He proposed a lifeboat theory, stating that only one single lifeboat had been missing, the rope had been cut, not untied, which meant that when the Mary Celeste was abandoned, it happened very quickly.

There was multiple times in the ship’s logs where it was mentioned there was ominous rumbling and small explosions from the hold. Putman believed that the alcohol on ship gave off explosive gas and one day there was a more intense explosion of this. A sailor perhaps went below deck with a light or a lit cigar which set off fumes causing an explosion that was violent enough to blow off the top covering on the hatch, explaining why it was found in an unusual position. Putman believes Briggs and the crew were in a panic and piled into one lifeboat, abandoning Mary Celeste.

Deveau, who was one of the men who examined the abandoned ship on sea, proposed that Briggs abandoned the ship after false sounding, there might of been a malfunction of the pumps or another mishap, giving the impression the ship was taking on water at a rapid pace, the crew might have assumed the ship was in danger of sinking.

Mary Celeste made her way to Genoa, and then left on June 26, 1873. She arrived in New York on September 19, 1873. Due to the Gibraltar hearings and newspaper stories she became quite unpopular, nobody wanted her. In February 1874, Mary Celeste was sold at a considerable loss to a partnership of New York businessmen.

Mary Celeste sailed mainly in the West Indian and Indian Ocean routes, but was losing a lot of money. In February 1879, her captain was a man named Edgar Tuthill, who had fallen ill. Tuthill died and some believed the ship was cursed, as he was the third captain who had died prematurely.

In August 1884, a new captain named Gilman C. Parker took on the ship. On January 3, 1885, Mary Celeste approached a large coral reef, the Rochelois Bank, where she purposely ran into it, ripping out the bottom and wrecking her beyond repair. The crew then rowed themselves ashore, and sold what was left of the cargo for $500.

In July 1885, Parker and his shippers were tried in Boston for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, with Parker also being charged with “wilfully casting away the ship” which was known as barratry, which you could be sentenced to death for.

On August 15, 1885, the jury could not agree on a verdict. Instead of having another trial, which cost a lot of money, the judge negotiated an arrangement where Parker and his crew withdrew their insurance claims and repaid what they got. The barratry charge was deferred and Parker was set free, though his reputation was ruined.

Parker died in poverty three months later, one of the co-defendants went mad and another ended his life. This further caused people to believe Mary Celeste was cursed.

At Spencer’s Island, Mary Celeste and her lost crew are commemorated by a monument, and by a memorial outdoor cinema built in the shape of the vessel’s hull. The fate of the crew of the Mary Celeste have never been discovered, and over 150 years later, it is unlikely we will ever discover the truth.

#mystery #unsolved #UNSOLVED MYSTERIES #unsolved crime #unsolved case #ship #vessel #true crime #Crime #sail #mary #celeste

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twwpress · 9 months

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Weekly Press Briefing #56: July 16th - July 22nd

Sorry for the technical difficulties: tumblr's new post editor hates us apparently, but we love you and we are glad to be baaaaack! Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from July 16 - July 22, 2023! Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing!

Challenges/Prompts:

No challenges or prompts that we know of this week. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from July 16 - July 22.

Allison Janney posted graphics and photos of herself in SAG-AFTRA gear and on the picket line in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike: 1 | 2 | 3

Amy Landecker posted photos of herself with Brad and his daughter on the SAG-AFTRA picket lines.

Bradley Whitford posted a photo of himself with his daughter and his wife Amy on the SAG-AFTRA picket lines.

Dule Hill posted a photo of himself and his wife Jazmyn out with other actors on the SAG-AFTRA picket lines.

Janel Moloney posted photos from her vacation in Brazil, including a selfie and photos of the Caiman Ecological Refuge.

Josh Malina posted a video of himself in support of other SAG-AFTRA strikers from the picket lines.

Marlee Matlin posted a video of herself at a Chicago Cubs game calling for the use of captions at Wrigley Field.

Marlee Matlin posted photos of herself and her son Tyler in celebration of his 21st birthday (and also a photo of how Gen Z celebrates).

Mary McCormack posted a photo of herself with Beth Ostrosky Stern, her Private Parts co-star Howard Stern’s wife.

Peter James Smith posted a photo of a residual check for $0.00 that he received in 2015 in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Richard Schiff posted photos of himself and his wife at a restaurant in Italy.

Rob Lowe posted a throwback photo from the 80s of himself with George Michael and Demi Moore.

Rob Lowe posted a photo of his wife in celebration of their anniversary.

Edits/Artwork:

TWW x #Barbie [Josh x Donna] by @kennyharperz [PHOTO EDIT] #joshdonna: i just want to see you shine by @anidalakins [VIDEO EDIT] #joshdonna: come on baby come on over, let me be the one to show you by @iheldontoyou (twitter) / @sweetsouldhavernas (tumblr) [EDIT GIF SET]

Miscellaneous:

Happy birthday to Twitter user @schwifts!

Editors’ Choice:

Dear Readers, This week’s theme is epistolary fiction, or stories that are told in the form of letters, notes, messages, emails, or other written communication. We’ve also included some fics that are centered around correspondence, even if they are not only in letter form. If you want more, you can find stories we weren’t able to include this time under the Epistolary and Letters tags on AO3!

24 Post-Its by isquinnabel for miss_slipslop | Rated G | Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | Complete | The last of Ainsley's cookie stash mysteriously vanishes.

dear donna by swancharmings | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Josh tries to find the words.

The Inscription by sempreinsieme | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Donnatella, As you may have noticed, this is not a pair of skis. A peek inside the front cover of The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing.

With or Without You by kiss_me_cassie | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Sleight of hand and twist of fate; On a bed of nails she makes me wait [Ed. Note: This is a story told in emails]

People Underestimate the Value of a Good Deputy by raedbarde | Rated T | Sam Seaborn/Toby Ziegler | Complete | An unsent letter from the Seaborn files: being Toby Ziegler's deputy has its own rewards

An Open Letter to the Man Who Loves Him Next From the Man Who Loved Him First by Lily_Padd_23 | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete | Josh writes a letter. Just in case.

for you i would ruin myself a million little times by crossingdelancey | Rated M | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete | She’s in love with him, and he knows that well. He knows this from across the country, and when she kisses Danny Concannon, she’s kissing Toby Ziegler. They write letters, because emails are too easy. Too impersonal, and too traceable. She’s always been a writer. Not in the way Toby writes; eloquent and neat, but in scribbles and post-it notes and reminders to pick up oat milk. Danny hangs over her when she’s writing emails, but when she’s pressed into the side of the couch scribbling with a biro, he leaves it alone. —— the letters across the country, and the moments in between

Please hold for a reblog with this week's fics coming in the next minute or two - it seems we have run up against the maximum length for a tumblr post and tumblr is no longer letting us post the newsletter in full in one post! We know it's a bit of a hassle, and we apologize. If you happen to be a tumblr wizards and know of ways we can troubleshoot us, please send us a message! Thank you! This week's fics incoming:

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tyriongirl · 1 year

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Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this son of York; And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths, Our bruised arms hung up for monuments, Our stern alarums chang’d to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim-visaged war hath smooth’d his wrinkled front: And now, instead of mounting barded steeds To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber, To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I, that am not shap’d for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass; I, that am rudely stamp’d, and want love’s majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph; I, that am curtail’d of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling Nature, Deformed, unfinish’d, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up – And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me, as I halt by them – Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to spy my shadow in the sun, And descant on mine own deformity. And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain, And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, To set my brother Clarence and the King In deadly hate, the one against the other: And if King Edward be as true and just As I am subtle, false and treacherous, This day should Clarence closely be mew’d up, About a prophecy, which says that ‘G’ Of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be – Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here Clarence comes.

- Richard III, Act I Scene I

#richard iii #tyrion lannister #this is for easy access when i'm trying to proof his lines directly mirror the play #mine

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spudlanyon · 2 years

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for my purposes, the referenced texts E.M. Forster made in his book, The Aspects of the Novel.

William George Clark. Gazpacho: Or Summer Months in Spain. —. Peloponnesus: Notes of Study and Travel. —. The Works of William Shakespeare - Cambridge Edition. —. The Present Dangers of the Church of England. John Bunyan. The Pilgrim's Progress. Walter Pater. Marius the Epicurean. Edward John Trelawny. Adventures of a Younger Son. Daniel Defoe. A Journal of the Plague Year. —. Robinson Crusoe. —. Moll Flanders. Max Beerbohm. Zuleika Dobson. Samuel Johnson. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. James Joyce. Ulysses. —. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. William Henry Hudson. Green Mansions. Herman Melville. Moby Dick. —. "Billy Budd". Elizabeth Gaskell. Cranford (followed by My Lady Ludlow, and Mr. Harrison's Confessions). Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre. —. Shirley. —. Villette. Sir Walter Scott. The Heart of Midlothian (part of the Waverley Novels). —. The Antiquary (part of the Waverley Novels). —. The Bride of Lammermoor (part of the Waverley Novels). George Meredith. The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. —. The Egoist. —. Evan Harrington. —. The Adventures of Harry Richmond. —. Beauchamp's Career. Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace. Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov. William Shakespeare. King Lear. Henry Fielding. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. —. Joseph Andrews. Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The Blue Lagoon (part of a trilogy; followed by The Garden of God and The Gates of Morning). Clayton Meeker Hamilton. Materials and Methods of Fiction. George Eliot. The Mill on the Floss. —. Adam Bede. Robert Louis Stevenson. The Master of Ballantrae. Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The Last Days of Pompeii. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations. —. Our Mutual Friend. —. Bleak House. Laurence Stern. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Virginia Woolf. To the Lighthouse. T. S. Eliot. The Sacred Wood.

One Thousand and One Nights. Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights. Charles Percy Sanger. The Structure of Wuthering Heights. Johan David Wyss. The Swiss Family Robinson. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love. Arnold Bennett. The Old Wives' Tale. Anthony Trollope. The Last Chronicle of Barset. Jane Austen. Emma. —. Mansfield Park. —. Persuasion. H. G. Wells. Tono-Bungay. —. Boon. Gustave Flaubert. Madame Bovary. Percy Lubbock. The Craft of Fiction. —. Roman Pictures. André Gide. The Counterfeiters. Homer. Odyssey. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native. —. The Dynasts. —. Jude the Obscure. Anton Chekhov. The Cherry Orchard. Oliver Goldsmith. The Vicar of Wakefield. David Garnett. Lady Into Fox. Alexander Pope. The Rape of the Lock. Norman Matson. Flecker's Magic. Samuel Richardson. Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. Anatole France. Thaïs. Henry James. The Ambassadors. —. The Spoils of Poynton. —. Portrait of a Lady. —. What Maisie Knew. —. The Wings of the Dove. Jean Racine. Plays.

I. A. Richards.

#bibliography #e. m. forster #aspects of the novel

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agrpress-blog · 3 months

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Trent’anni fa moriva l'attore americano, interprete di film quali Il giardino della violenza e L’uomo di Alcatraz di John Frankenheimer, Il promontorio della paura di Jack Lee Thompson, La battaglia dei giganti di Ken Annakin, La vita corre sul filo e Joe Bass l’implacabile di Sydney Pollack, Quella sporca dozzina di Robert Aldrich, I guerrieri di Brian G. Hutton, Città violenta di Sergio Sollima, Una ragione per vivere e una per morire di Tonino Valerii, Operazione Siegfried di Peter Duffell, e noto per la serie tv poliziesca Kojak. Nato a Garden City - nello stato di New York - nel gennaio 1922 da genitori emigrati dalla Grecia, dopo aver combattuto durante la Seconda guerra mondiale si laurea in Psicologia. Giornalista dell’Abc, arriva alla recitazione in tv alla fine degli anni Cinquanta. Al cinema esordisce due/tre anni dopo. E’ un tenente di polizia in Il giardino della violenza (1961) di John Frankenheimer, con Burt Lancaster, un detenuto amico di B. Lancaster nel carcerario L’uomo di Alcatraz (1962), anch’esso di J. Frankenheimer, tratto dal libro di Tom Gaddis The Birdman of Alcatraz ed interpretato anche da Karl Malden, un detective nel thriller Il promontorio della paura (1962) di Jack Lee Thompson, con Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen e Martin Balsam, un militare in La battaglia dei giganti (1965) di Ken Annakin, con Henry Fonda e Robert Shaw, un folle fanatico nel celebre Quella sporca dozzina (1967) di Robert Aldrich, con Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Webber e George Kennedy, il capo dei banditi nel western Joe Bass l’impacabile (1968) di Sydney Pollack, con B. Lancaster e Ossie Davis, un militare in I guerrieri(1970) di Brain G. Hutton, con Clint Eastwood e D. Sutherland. Tuttavia, il vero successo arriverà solo in televisione, come protagonista della celebre serie poliziesca Kojak (1973-78, oltre novanta episodi). A partire da fine anni Settanta/inizio Ottanta lavora soprattutto per il piccolo schermo. Fra gli altri film ricordiamo Gangster contro gangster (1961) di Burt Balaban, La pelle che scotta (1962) di David Swift, Il piede più lungo (1963) di Frank Tashlin, Il granduca e Mister Pimm (1963) di D. Swift, con Glenn Ford, Johnny Cool, messaggero di morte (1963) di William Asher, Squadra d’emergenza(1964) di John Rich, A braccia aperte (1965) di Jack Lee Thompson, Gengis Khan il conquistatore (1965) di Henry Levin, La vita corre sul filo (1965) di Sydney Pollack (al suo esordio alla regia), Con le spalle al muro (1968) di Brian G. Hutton, Buonasera signora Campbell (1968) di Melvin Frank, Assassination Bureau (1969) di Basil Dearden, L’oro di MacKenna (1969) di J. L. Thompson, con Gregory Peck e Omar Sharif, Gangster tuttofare (1969) di Jim O’ Connolly, Bruciatelo vivo! (1969) di Nathan Juran, Agente 007 - Al servizio segreto di Sua Maestà (1969) di Peter R. Hunt, Una città chiamata bastarda (1971) di Robert Parrish, Il piccione d’argilla (1971) di Lane Slate e Tom Stern, I tre del mazzo selvaggio (1972) e Horror Express (1972) di Eugenio Martin, Operazione Siegrid (1975) di Peter Duffell, Killer Commando - Per un pugno di diamanti (1976) di Val Guest, Capricorn One (1977) di Peter Hyams, Amici e nemici (1979) di George Pan Cosmatos, L’inferno sommerso(1979) di Irwin Allen, Ecco il film dei Muppet (1979) di James Frawley, Border Crossing (1980) di Christopher Leitch, La truffa (1982) di Matt Cimber, Lacorsa più pazza d’America n. 2 (1984) di Hal Needham, Ipnosi morbosa (1994) di Fred Olen Ray, Backfire! (1995) di A. Dean Bell, uscito postumo. All’inizio degli anni Settanta lavora anche in Italia, diretto da registi come Sergio Sollima - Città violenta (1970) -, Alberto De Martino - L’assassino... è al telefono (1972), I familiari delle vittime non saranno avvertiti (1972) -, Sergio Corbucci - La banda J. & S. - Cronaca criminale del Far West (1972) -, Tonino Valerii

- Una ragione per vivere e una per morire (1972), con Bud Spencer e James Coburn -, Alfredo Leone - Lisa e il diavolo (1972) -, Silvio Narizzano - Senza ragione (1973). Fa anche un’esperienza dietro alla macchina da presa, dirigendo (e interpretando) Al di là della ragione (1977), con Diana Muldaur.Attivo anche in televisione, è apparso in vari film tv - Morte sui binari (1973) di Herchel Daugherty, La legge di Hellinger (1981) di Leo Penn, Donna di cuori (1984) di Rod Holcomb, Quella sporca dozzina - Missione mortale(1987) e Quella sporca dozzina - Missione nei Balcani (1988) di Lee H. Katzin, Hollywood Detective (1989) di Kevin Connor - ed in alcuni episodi di serie e miniserie - oltre al già citato Kojak, anche in Ai confini della realtà (1961), Indirizzo permanente (1963), Dakota (1963), La legge di Burke (1963-65, tre episodi), Gli inafferrabili (1964), L’ora di Hitchcock (1964), Bonanza (1965), I giorni diBryan (1965), Il virginiano (1966), Il transatlantico della paura(1979) di Douglas Heynes, Alcatraz (1980) di Paul Krasny, Il brivido dell’imprevisto (1981), Love Boat (1985

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holmesandyoyofanblog · 8 months

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2021 Interview with John Schuck

I found an interview with John Schuck dated Aug. 9, 2021 on "Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast". I transcribed the parts related to "Holmes & Yoyo" below, but can listen to the whole interview at this link:

1:07:41

Gilbert Gottfried: Now-- Now we can't be nice to you any longer.

Frank Santopadre: Uh-oh.

GG: Talk to us about "Holmes and Yoyo".

FS: Also created by Leonard Stern!

John Schuck: Created by Leonard Stern… Well, it wasn't… [laughs] I must say…

[GG and FS laugh]

JS: All right guys, it was a crap show. Come on…

[GG and FS laugh]

JS: It was well-intended. It was an-- It was an attempt by Leonard to get back to two-man comedy like Abbott and Costello.

FS: Mm-hmm.

JS: I mean, you name your duo. Of course, it never turned out to be that. But several interesting things happened. The craftspeople that could make something funny no longer existed in Hollywood. For instance, if you wanted to take a phone and water squirt and some guy pours water in at one end it comes out and hits them-- the other guy in the face-- those gags, they didn't know how to recreate.

FS: How interesting.

JS: Um, we had a-- a radio that was supp-- I forget what it was. Um, and I remembered that it was-- it couldn't-- it couldn't do that-- there were a number of things… I'm-- I'm babbling here… um, maybe that was one of the problems with the show. But, we worked hard at it. John Astin directed most of them. We re-- we did a lot of naughty things. We rewrote, uh, Richard Shull, a wonderful actor, um, and an interesting man. Uh, we worked 18, 19-hour days for that show, and it just was definitely a dud. Interestingly enough, the previews for it were shown on ABC during the Super Bowl, and so, for our first night, we had the highest-rated show [chuckles] of the year!

[GG laughs]

FS: Oh, interesting!

JS: An-- And it went quickly down.

[GG laughs]

JS: I mean, by today's standards, with so many s-- We-- We went down like from a 22 to 16, you know.

FS: I always thought of it as Leonard trying to take Dick Gautier's Hymie the Robot from "Get Smart" and spin it off into-- into his own series.

JS: Uh yeah… no?…

FS: Although, you had th-- "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Man--

JS: no

FS: Uh, "Woman" were going strong at that time, so--

JS: That's right.

FS: You could understand the thinking.

JS: I also think we made a-- and here I had my-- my argument with Leonard.

[clearing throat]

JS: In the pilot… uh, there's an accident and I'm-- I fall apart on the street and, as a result, Dick Shull knows that I'm a robot. And I said that should never have happened. He shouldn't know that I'm, uh, a robot that way there's much more conflict about why can't I act like normal people and blah, blah, blah and all that kind of stuff. But, um, it-- it was what it was, and we did our 18 shows and… uh, I did have the honor that year, though, with it of being the first actor to be on two tele-- national television series on two different Networks.

FS: There you go! Oh, "McMillan & Wife" and "Holmes & Yoyo".

JS: Right.

FS: Very good. You know, we joke about it because it's easy to-- it's easy to poke fun at-- at-- at-- shows--

JS: I joke about it.

FS: Yeah, of course!

[GG laughs]

FS: But you-- you have to applaud Stern for trying to bring back that kind of classic comedy form to prime time.

JS: Yeah. And you know, we never made a pilot for it. [clears throat] Uh, Jackie Cooper directed the-- we had a-- a scene and Jackie Cooper directed it, and we went up into Sid Sheinberg's office and moved all his furniture away, and Dick and I did the scene. And on the basis of that performance, he-- he let the show go on the air. So, we never made a pilot which was unusual.

FS: Why did the r-- Why did the android have a Russian name?

[laugh]

FS: Why was he Yo…yo…

JS: Gregor Yoyonovich?

FS: Yoyonovich.

[GG laughs]

FS: Why wasn't he just "Yoyo"?

JS: I dunno. They couldn't find a Scandinavian one?

[laughter]

[projector starting up sound effect]

[The "Holmes & Yoyo" opening credits play.]

[Polaroid ejecting sound. Brass music sting]

Capt. Sedford: You've got four partners in the hospital! Come on, Alex! You're a good cop!

Alex: By the way, who's my new partner?

[Sounds of Polaroid ejection, typing, and typewriting bell]

Narrator Paraphrasing Dr. Babcock: We call him Yoyo. He weighs 427 pounds. He's a completely mobile computer specially programmed for police work.

Capt. Sedford: Is he indestructible?

Narrator: We think so.

Capt. Sedford: Send in Holmes.

[peppy funk theme music]

Narrator: This is top secret. No one, including Holmes, must know his identity.

Yoyo: Alex, no! Don't!

Alex: You're not a person!

Yoyo: You're not going to tell them?

Alex: In my book, you got the makings of a good cop. That's what I put in my report.

[music]

[laughter]

FS: One episode was directed by, uh, Jack Arnold. I don't know if--

JS: Yes.

FS: --you'd remember this, Gilbert, the director of "Creature from the Black Lagoon", "Incredible Shrinking Man", and "Tarantula".

1:51:28

FS: By the way, Richard Shull-- I was talking to John, by the way, who, uh, who starred with Richard Shull in "Holmes & Yoyo"-- By the way, you worked with Richard Shull and Richard Stahl.

JS: Yep.

FS: But possibly not Richard Schaal--

JS: No.

FS: --who was married to Valerie Harper…

JS: To Valerie, yeah.

FS: Okay, okay but there you go. But he told me, what? He was a throwback who drove a car from the '40s? Richard-- Richard Shull?

JS: He-- He and his wife, Marilyn, lived in the '40s.

[FS laughs. GG laughs.]

JS: They bought u-- all their clothes from the '40s. It's-- it's various stores. He would write only with a-- a fountain pen. He had a 1940 Chevy or something. A Buick or Chevy. He had-- He was a railroad aficionado, and he owned his own railroad car.

FS: Wow!

JS: And for the opening gift, uh, because he knew of my affection for, as a kid, of-- of taking the train from Buffalo, New York to New York-- to New Jersey to see my grandparents, and I had remarked on the-- on this doeskin type, uh, blankets that they used to have, he gave me one of those blankets numbered so you could find out where it came from. Which compartment on which-- which train.

FS: That's cool.

JS: Very thoughtful, but he was-- he was eccentric. And their-- their house was all, um, from the '40s. All their furniture. Everything.

FS: He was like a-- sort of a-- a-- a-- a curmudgeonly actor. A little bit like a Matthau.

JS: Yes.

FS: In some ways.

JS: Yes, he had this wonderful, unusual, mobile rubbery face, and, uh, very distinctive and--

FS: Loved him!

JS: Um, he was doing a Neil Simon play, went home between shows in New York, and never c-- you know, the break, never came back.

FS: Oh.

GG: Ohh.

JS: It was a bit of a shock. I hate to end this on such a downer but…

FS: All right then, sing us a little more from "Annie".

#holmes and yoyo #holmes & yoyo #70s tv shows #1970s tv #retro scifi #1970s #john schuck #retro science fiction #sitcom #robots #scifi comedy #70s tv series #70s sitcoms #70s tv #70s television #actor interviews #character actors #richard b shull #obscure media

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manibolly · 2 years

Text

youtube

Speech: “Now is the winter of our discontent”

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

(from Richard III, spoken by Gloucester)

Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;

Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;

Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,

Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.

Grim-visaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;

And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds

To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,

He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber

To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.

But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,

Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;

I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty

To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;

I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,

Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,

Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time

Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,

And that so lamely and unfashionable

That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;

Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,

Have no delight to pass away the time,

Unless to spy my shadow in the sun

And descant on mine own deformity:

And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,

To entertain these fair well-spoken days,

I am determined to prove a villain

And hate the idle pleasures of these days.

Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,

By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,

To set my brother Clarence and the king

In deadly hate the one against the other:

And if King Edward be as true and just

As I am subtle, false and treacherous,

This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up,

About a prophecy, which says that 'G'

Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be.

Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here

Clarence comes.

#now is the winter of our discontent #chunkymark #Youtube

0 notes

buckybarnesthehotshot · 4 years

Text

you’re always right (ransom drysdale x reader)

main masterlist

summary: Y/N’s a self-made woman and Ransom somehow convinces her to play his girlfriend for one night.

word count: 3061

warnings: mentions of alcohol, misogynistic comments, swearing (duh it’s ransom), ransom being kinda OOC n this not being proofread (oh god)

prompts: 11. "We're not done yet." & 5. Pretending to date.

A/N: Yes this is my first time writing about ransom, but what better way to do it than through @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817‘s August writing challenge (advanced happy birthday y’alls)

“Oh, come on, y/n! You owe me after that time I pretended to be your boyfriend at that nightclub,” Ransom huffed, pulling an eye roll from the h/c-haired girl.

“That was different! I didn’t introduce you to my family, I made you help me get rid of a chatty creep,” y/n pointed out, also earning an eye roll from Ransom.

“Yeah, but you owe me! I didn’t get laid that night because every other girl in the club knew I was your boyfriend,” Ransom pleaded. He really wanted y/n to be there to help him smite the rest of his family.

“What are you trying to prove to your whack-job of a family, huh? And why do I have to pretend to be your girlfriend; I’m sure introducing a friend to them would come as a shock to them anyways,” y/n chuckled, earning a scoff from Ransom.

“Because they think I have commitment issues. If I tell them I’ve had a steady girlfriend for a whole damn year, and that you’re not just some sort of bimbo, they’ll lose their shit!” Ransom exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he imagined the faces of shock that would be painted on his family’s face.

“If I do this, I get to borrow that sweater you love so much any time I want to,” Y/N smirked proudly. Ransom’s eyed narrowed, barely recalling the last time Y/N got her hands on his beloved sweater.

“Why do you need my sweater? You’ve got the money to get yourself your own sweater for fuck’s sake!” Ransom huffed in annoyance.

“Because I know for a damn fact that you’ve had that sweater since we were in college together. It’s worn out and it’s cozy so I want it,” y/n pointed out, pulling a groan from Ransom. For years, y/n’s been his only friend as he was hers. He knew that if she wanted something, she was getting it one way or another.

“Fine. I’m picking you up at 7 on Friday. If you aren’t dressed by then, I’m ditching you,” Ransom scoffed, taking a swig from his beer bottle.

“We both know you can’t just ditch me, Drysdale. We both know you intend to fuck with your family by having me show up with you,” y/n chuckled, downing a shot.

“I hate that you’re always so fucking right, l/n. Jesus, you know me better than my shit-eating family does,” Random chuckled. y/n and Ransom had that dynamic between them ever since they met at that frat party in college. They were both intelligent in their own right, but whenever they were around each other, that intelligence went to shit while they drank together in whatever run-down bar they could find.

“Shouldn’t we come up with a backstory real quick before we get piss drunk?” y/n suggested, stirring the clear liquid in her glass.

“We could stick to the ‘we met in college’ bit, but we should cut out the part where we stayed friends. There is no way in hell they’re finding out about half the shit we’ve been through. We met again last year, in a bar like this, and it was love at first sight then—” Ransom went on, only to be cut off by y/n.

“They won’t believe that shit, Drysdale. Who the fuck would think you’d believe in ‘love at first sight’? Tell them you saw me, didn’t recognize me, you wanted to bang me, but then I invited you out for food then you took me to your place, but since we were piss drunk, we didn’t fuck. It was then you realized you knew me and that I was the CEO of L/N Motors and you tried using the fact that we slept together to get a job for once,” y/n winked, downing down another shot of tequila.

“How’d we start the dating part?” Ransom’s brows furrowed in confusion, a small nod of acceptance to her previous input pulling along.

“That part is up to you, Drysdale,” y/n shrugged.

“Well, I started working for your company after you gave me a job remembering how much of a smart asshole I was in college and decided I’d be a good assistant to help with your schedule. I ended up inviting you out for dinner and we talked and we hit it off,” Ransom finished the story, smirking proudly.

“I like how in this lovely made up story of ours, you got a job,” y/n giggled, clinking her glass against Ransom’s bottle before downing down her fourth—well, she wasn’t so sure of that—shot of the night.

Four days after that night in the bar, y/n found herself in her bedroom scrambling to find the perfect dress to show the Thrombey-Drysdale clan that she was one hell of a woman. After years of Ransom’s complaining about his family, it was embedded in y/n’s mind how much he hated his family. She hated her own the same way, after all.

As she struggled to clasp her necklace around her neck, a knock came at the door. She groaned, pulling small chain off her neck and bolting to the door. She swung the door open to reveal Ransom Drysdale, an annoyed expression on his face as usual.

“You ready?” Ransom raised a brow, taking in y/n’s appearance.

“Wait let me get my purse,” y/n rushed around her spacious apartment in search of her purse.

“You mean this one?” Ransom questioned, an annoyed expression painted on his face as he pulled y/n’s beige purse off her coat rack. y/n nodded, snatching her purse away and stashing her necklace in it.

She nodded to Ransom, a motion they both knew meant they were ready to go, and she twisted her keys through the door, locking it. In a comfortable silence, they took the elevator down to the parking basement and getting into Ransom’s beloved beamer and riding off in silence.

“God, how the fuck does your car not have a light?” Y/N cursed, reaching on the roof of the car in search for a light.

“I don’t kno—oh wait, it’s because I don’t fucking need one,” Ransom smiled, satisfied with his own answer. Y/N rolled her eyes and huffed; this was going to be a long night.

The car came to a halt and y/n pushed the car door open, and getting off, her boots sinking into the mud. Ransom wordlessly led y/n to the front porch and knocked on the tall wooden door, his brows furrowing as he watched her struggle to clasp her necklace.

“Jesus, it can’t be that hard,” Ransom scoffed, taking the clasps of the necklace in his own hands and locking them together.

“Ransom, I see you brought a friend,” a woman commented as the door swung open. Ransom released the chain, letting it hang off y/n’s neck, and nodded quietly before speaking.

“I did tell you I was bringing someone this time, didn’t I?” Ransom rolled his eyes in annoyance as he moved past Linda and walked y/n into the house.

“Well, aren’t you even going to introduce us?” Linda raised a brow, her gaze moving from Ransom to y/n.

“This is y/n, she’s my girlfriend,” Ransom casually shrugged, earning a loud fit of laughter from Walt. Ransom turned to him with a harsh glare, warning Walt to watch his next words. Ignoring Ransom’s glare, Walt spoke.

“Oh great, another fling,” Walt rolled his eyes.

“Well, I wasn’t aware flings often lasted a year,” y/n feigned shock before facing her boyfriend, “Do flings usually last this long?”

“I don’t think so, no,” Ransom smirked, watching the expressions of shock forming on his family’s face.

“Bullshit. Ransom can’t keep a girl for shit,” Jacob scoffed at the sight of Ransom’s hand wrapped around y/n’s, “You must be pretty stupid to have stuck around this long.”

“I like to think of myself as an intelligent woman. I mean seriously; millionaire at twenty-five, the cover of Forbes at twenty-eight, and skyscrapers with my name engraved onto them,” y/n smirked to herself, listing all her favorite accolades.

“y/n? y/n l/n the CEO of l/n motors? I wrote a research paper about you one time in class!” Meg exclaimed, staring at y/n in awe.

“If she’s so great, why’s she with Ransom of all people?” Jacob rolled his eyes at Meg’s excitement.

“Why not?” y/n shrugged, leaning against Ransom’s shoulder. This was a show they were both putting on and they were selling it.

“Well, I don’t know if you noticed or anything but Ransom is a trust fund brat,” Walt spat, almost chuckling at the sight of y/n’s “cluelessness”.

“Yes, and? Walt, buddy, please don’t question my decisions,” y/n chuckled before a stern image found its way to her face.

“You run l/n motors, right? When did your dad decide to step down as CEO?” Richard questioned, a condescending look on his face.

“I built the company from the ground up, Mr. Drysdale,” y/n chuckled, shaking her head. Damn, Ransom was right. His family was already getting onto her nerves.

“That’s impossible. Women don’t work with cars, kid. Come on, did your dad build the company up from the ground and hand everything to you?” Richard raised a brow, as if to pull an answer from y/n.

“My dad was a mechanic. I went to college with Ransom, then I went to business school to work on my career,” y/n admitted, her grip tightening on Ransom’s hand. He stroked his thumb over her fist; one of the ways he knew he could keep y/n from snapping at his family—not that he would’ve cared, though.

“Alright, that’s it, enough with the questions. y/n runs her company the way she wants to and that’s what makes her successful. If you have anything to say about that, you can eat shit,” Ransom smiled, dragging y/n away from the door and into the dining area where Harlan seemed to be waiting for them.

“Ransom, when you told us you were bringing someone, I didn’t think you’d follow through,” Harlan chuckled, motioning for Ransom and y/n to take a seat at the table.

“Well, surprise?” Ransom shrugged, taking his seat near Harlan and letting y/n take the seat next to him.

“And you aren’t even going to introduce her?” Harlan raised a brow at Ransom.

“Grandad, this is y/n l/n. y/n, this is my grandad,” Ransom deadpanned as y/n smiled warmly, holding her hand out for Harlan to shake. Harlan smiled; at least Ransom was in good hands, that was for sure.

“How’d you meet Ransom?” Harlan questioned.

“The first time or the time that led to us actually dating?” y/n raised a brow as she questioned Harlan. He chuckled, not expecting there to be more to the story then ‘we met in a bar and I wanted to tap that’ like how Ransom’s usual stories of his conquests went.

“I think it would be wise to tell me about the first time you met. I want to see if I could predict what happened next,” Harlan requested, earning a nod from y/n before she began explaining the messy story of how her path crossed that od Ransom Drysdale’s.

“We had a class together in college. His ass acted like he knew everything about the subject when in reality, he knew absolutely nothing. We were seatmates and he tried bribing me for the answers to a test. I didn’t give him the answers but he did end up inviting me to this frat party, it sucked, but there was booze so it was tolerable. I never saw Ransom again until a year ago,” y/n chuckled, easily slipping in a lie or two into her story.

“And I’m guessing you had a college reunion last year?” Harlan raised a brow, facing Ransom.

“Reunion’s in three months, actually,” Ransom shook his head, smirking as Harlan’s brows furrowed in concentration. Finally, he found another way to challenge his grandfather besides playing Go.

“Mutual friends?” Harlan inquired. Ransom chuckled to himself knowing he and y/n didn’t have any other friends besides each other.

“Try again. This time, think about the most Ransom thing you can,” Ransom urged on, pulling a chuckle from y/n. The most “Ransom” thing she can’t think of wasn’t exactly something she wanted to discuss with Ransom’s grandfather.

“I hate to say this, but are you an adult entertainer?” Harlan’s brows furrowed. y/n, ignoring the fact that Harlan thought she was an adult entertainer, broke out in a fit of laughter which left her wheezing.

“That’s a little too Ransom, Mr. Thrombey,” y/n chuckled.

“Well, how exactly did you reunite?” Harlan questioned.

“She was hot, I wanted to bang her, we were piss drunk, so we went out for food first. By the time we got to my place, we just passed out,” Ransom chuckled, his fingers intertwining with y/n’s.

“And there’s the Ransom I know,” Harlan rolled his eyes jokingly, chuckling at Ransom’s story.

“Well, I bet there’s something I’m going to tell you that you weren’t expecting from me,” Ransom smirked, getting ready to break the news of his ‘job’ to Harlan.

“More surprises? You’ve changed since the last time I’ve seen you,” Harlan chuckled proudly. He didn’t expect Ransom to go through much change since the last time he’d seen him. The news of Ransom’s relationship was definitely a welcome surprise.

“I got a job at y/n’s company. Figured I couldn’t keep riding off your name. Not anymore,” Ransom smiled. A little part of him regretted lying to his grandfather upon seeing the proud expression on Harlan’s face. He expected his family to be shocked by the news, yes, but he didn’t quite expect Harlan to be as proud as he was.

“Finally, someone’s making something of their life without me. I’m proud of you, Ransom,” Harlan smiled, patting Ransom on the back. y/n felt Ransom’s hand squeeze hers a little tighter; she knew he wasn’t used to getting this kind of attention from Harlan. Most of the time, the pair only ever argued with each other.

“Yeah. Making something of myself like you would’ve wanted me to do,” Ransom smiled nervously. y/n noticed the look of uneasiness on his face and knew she had to do something.

“Ransom, I’m kind of hungry, can you go with me to get some food?” y/n questioned, earning a look of relief from Ransom. Shockingly, he didn’t know how much more of Harlan’s undeserved praise he could take.

“Thanks for that,” Ransom whispered as they walked on over to the table where all the food was being served.

“Maybe you should get an actual job. Maybe you wouldn’t feel as bad as you’re feeling right now, Drysdale,” y/n chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“As if you’d actually trust me enough to keep a position in your company. I know how you get when it comes to your company. You’re a stone-cold bitch,” Ransom chuckled, remembering the one time he decided to drop by y/n’s office for a visit; there was a lot of screaming.

“At least being a bitch gets me places with my business. Where’s your bitchiness taking you, Drysdale?” y/n raised a brow at him.

“It got me you, didn’t it?” Ransom’s tone softened, making it clear that this conversation they were about to have was different from their usual bickering.

“I know I’m the best person in your life, but you’ve got to admit that bar was pretty low,” y/n chuckled nervously, averting her gaze. As much as y/n didn’t want t admit it, Ransom’s little comment made her heart flutter, but she knew flirtatious comments were something that came naturally to the playboy.

“But not everyone has someone who makes them want to be a better person,” Ransom smiled, his blue eyes piercing into y/n’s e/c ones.

“I make you want to be better?” y/n’s eyes widened at his confession. In all the years she’d known Ransom, she didn’t expect him to say that somebody made him want to do better.

“Well, yeah, you’re this amazing successful woman who worked for everything she has, while I’m a fucking sleaze. I realized I need to make a change in my life to even be worthy enough to be in your presence. I even began writing my first book,” Ransom admitted shyly, running a hand through his hair.

“You don’t have to do anything to be worthy of my presence. I know I’m amazing, but you don’t have to live up to anything, Ransom,” y/n smiled warmly.

“y/n it’s not just that. I like you. A damn lot, and that thought terrifies me because we both know damn well that you deserve better,” Ransom exhaled, his words hitting y/n hard.

“Can we not talk about this here? We can talk on the way home or something, just not now and not here,” y/n shook her head, her voice shaky. For the longest time, she harbored feelings for Ransom; she was caught by surprise when she was told those feelings were reciprocated.

“We’re not done yet. We’re going to talk about this, and we’re going to talk about this now,” Ransom growled, his hand still holding onto y/n’s.

“Ransom, please. This? It’s all shocking to me. We’re supposed to be this perfect couple, Ransom. I know how important this is to you,” y/n frowned.

“We can still be the couple, but for real this time. Yes, putting on this front for my family’s important, but this,” he stopped to motion between them, “is more important to me than everyone else in this bullshit house.”

“Ransom—”

“y/n please, I need to know how you feel. Right here, right now,” Ransom pleaded.

“I like you, okay? I like you a shit ton and it fucking scares me because I don’t want to lose you in my fucking life, Ransom,” y/n admitted, her hands shaking. The expression of nervousness on Ransom’s face changed to that of shock. He wasn’t exactly expecting that reaction from y/n.

He shook off that feeling of shock and wrapped his arms around y/n’s frame. She immediately melted into his touch and that’s how they stayed for a moment.

“I can’t believe you even doubted their relationship, Walt. Just look at how sweet those two are,” Joni’s voice came from behind them and y/n chuckled into Ransom’s sweater, holding onto him closely.

TAGLIST: @spatium-viatorem / @sxphiiwrld / @strangersstranger /

#ransom drysdale #ransom x you #ransom drysdale x #ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale x you #ransom drysdale imagine #ransom drysdale x y/n #ransom thrombey one shot #ransom thrombey imagine #ransom thrombey x reader #ransom drysdale fluff #ransom drysdale oneshot #knives out #knives out imagine #knives out oneshot #shamelesshoesforchris

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picassobabyblog · 3 years

Text

5 NBA Players That Drugs Derailed Their Career

Chris Washburn

Washburn was one of six players drafted in the 1986 NBA draft that had substance abuse problems. At 6’11 and 230lbs, Washburn was very similar to a young Chris Webber, minus the handles. Washburn thrived at NC State and was seen as one of the most athletically gifted big men available in a long time. Washburn was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and was officially out of the NBA in just two-and-half years. David Stern served Washburn with a lifetime ban after failing three separate drug tests. Post NBA life has not been kind to the former big man, he has spent a lot of time homeless and living in abandoned buildings while also spending time in jail. Washburn has been labeled one of the biggest draft busts of all time.

Michael Beasley

Michael Beasley should be in the NBA, the end. Beasley for the most part has worn out his chances of being on an NBA team. As of right now, the Blazers it seems to be giving Beasley one last shot. At 32, the Blazers are giving him a shot at being a part of their summer league team. Michael Beasley at 32 should not be trying to secure a spot on a summer league team with undrafted rookies. Beasley at this point should have averaged 20 and 8 for his career and been an NBA All-Star. Beasley faced a lot of off the court issues, so it was more than just drugs that derailed his career. Its a tragic story for a player that has a lot of offensive weapons and also was a decent rebounder.

Larry Sanders

Sanders was on his way to being a formidable big man when two marijuana suspensions forced his exit from the NBA. Prior to the suspensions, Sanders had signed a $44 million dollar deal (peanuts compared to what players averaging doubles doubles are getting today) and was averaging 10 points and 10 boards per game. Although he did say he was retiring and never playing in the NBA again, Sanders returned two years later and was picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played in just five games with Cavs before getting demoted to the G-League. Sanders didn’t have much success and had been cited as having “on and off the court difficulties”. Had drugs not gotten in the way, Sanders skills fit the need of many NBA teams today. Many teams would have definitely offered big bucks to someone crashing the boards and guarding the paint like he did.

Richard Dumas

For those of you who have never heard the name Richard Dumas, Richard Dumas was a 90s small forward best known for playing along side Charles Barkley in the 1993 NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls. Dumas had excelled that finals series and offered the Suns a spark in the open court and also was a great defensive threat. Dumas averaged 15 and 5 that season and appeared to have a bright future with lots of upside. Dumas would fail a number of drug tests and was out of the NBA in just two years. Since then Dumas spent years overseas and bouncing around the minor leagues. Without drugs and with the right team, Dumas could have become the second or third option on a playoff team.

Len Bias

We saved the best for last. You knew after seeing the headline that he was going to be on the list somewhere. Former University of Maryland and Boston Celtic to never officially wear the uniform, power forward Len Bias. Len Bias is the biggest what-if in NBA history. Bigger than what could have been if Grant Hill not been injured. Bigger than what Tracey McGrady could have been had he not been injured. Bigger than what if streetball legend Earl Manigault could made the NBA. What could have become of Len Bias had he not succumb to drugs? Could he have been top 10 ever? Could he have been better than Michael Jordan? Could he have been the best player in the NBA? Reality is we will never know, but most likely Bias would have won a few titles with the Boston Celtics and most likely ended up a hall of famer.

#nba #nba basketball #nikebasketball #len bias #milwaukee bucks #michael Beasley #nba finals #boston celtics #celticsnation #nike #golden state warriors #losangeles #lakersnation #lakeshow #portland trail blazers

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mr-craig · 4 years

Audio

Shakespeare Appreciation Week Day Four: Villains Day

Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains. Whether he was one of history’s villains remains a contentious issue. I recently read Josephine Tey’s wonderful 1951 novel The Daughter of Time, in which a detective, convalescing with a broken leg, investigates the validity of our received wisdom regarding Richard.

Also, as a disabled man myself, the long history of abled actors portraying Richard’s disability in bizarre and grotesque manners is rather troubling. To my knowledge, Mat Fraser is the first disabled actor to be cast in the role for a major production, certainly in the UK. Sadly I haven’t seen his performance. (EDIT: Thanks to @shredsandpatches for letting me know that Peter Dinklage has also played Richard III in NYC.)

It’s also frustrating that one of the only famously disabled characters in the history of theatre is an abject villain - a fantastically compelling villain, but a villain nonetheless! But while you could view his deformity as an outward sign of his inner evil (a common trope in fictional villains even today), Shakespeare also shows Richard’s villainy to be in part inspired by the cruel treatment he receives because of his physical ‘othering’. Like Shylock said: “Thou call'dst me dog before thou hadst a cause, but since I am a dog, beware my fangs.”

Anyway, today I took a shot at the famous opening soliloquy. I didn’t have much privacy to record, so this first take will have to suffice. Not my best, but you get the idea.

Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this son of York; And all the clouds that lowered upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths, Our bruisèd arms hung up for monuments, Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front, And now, instead of mounting barbèd steeds To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass; I, that am rudely stamped, and want love's majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph; I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling Nature, Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them-- Why I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to see my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity. And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determinèd to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, By drunk prophecies, libels, and dreams, To set my brother Clarence and the king In deadly hate the one against the other; And if King Edward be as true and just As I am subtle, false, and treacherous, This day should Clarence closely be mewed up About a prophecy which says that "G" Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be. Dive, thoughts, down to my soul -- here Clarence comes!

#Shakespeare #Shakespeare Appreciation Week #theplaysthething2020 #harry-leroy #Richard III

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youngdreamer3214 · 4 years

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Could you do prompt 17 where Speedy and Raven get into a fight and like you can continue from there, I’m a big Raven fan too

Assume Standard Disclaimer Tumblr Prompt #17. “Just leave me alone."

Thank you for requesting. I hope you enjoy reading this. Please read and review.

You can request from my PROMPT LIST.

Warning - Hurt/Comfort, teeny-tiny fluff.

Speedy + Raven Pairing

“I said get out.”

A certain violet haired empath yelled; anger in her voice but hurt and pain coursing through every cell of her body.

“No, Raven…just hear me out, please.” The red headed man, the cause of her pain and anger pleaded with the said woman.

He expected anger aimed towards him, he was waiting for it, he knew he deserved it but he didn’t expect a humorless laugh to be aimed towards him. His head snapped towards her direction and what he saw broke his heart.

The girl he loved more than anything, the one who made his life worth living was standing there, tears flowing down her beautiful amethyst eyes expressing all their pain and heartbreak while she chuckled humorlessly.

“It’s funny isn’t it, n-not fourteen hours ago I-I was asking for you to do the same thing.”

He pinched his eyes shut in regret, mentally cursing himself for his own stupidity which might just cost himself the best thing that ever happened in his life.

“But you didn’t…you d-didn’t even g-give me a chance to e-explain myself.”

His eyes, if possible, shut even tighter as he recalled the worst mistake of his life and the events that led up to it.

The wind blew with powerful passion outside, almost mirroring the one he felt for a certain enchantress who was laying next to him, he looked at the windy day outside and sighed wanting nothing more than to spend the day in bed with the woman he hoped that he would one day call wife.

He smiled remembering how unexpectedly he had met her, almost three years since the titans disbanded.

They had met unexpectedly one day in Star city where he had left his superhero identity behind and was working as a business man and learning the ropes from his mentor, Oliver Queen or Green Arrow to one day handle the Queen Enterprises.

He was sitting in a restaurant he frequented waiting for the cheque to arrive when he saw someone similar, someone who had just met in passing, someone who had always intrigued him but he never pursued that interest. He saw her.

She looked absolutely stunning, her dark hair cascading down her bare shoulders in waves, looking so smooth that his hands were itching to run through them; while her figure accentuated by the enticing black dress she was wearing, but what drew his most was her face, her amethyst gems glistening with the emotion he remembers always seeing in her eyes while her face remained stoic, her light pink blush and her red pouty lips which could make any man lose control.

She was sitting there, on one of the bar stools talking to a tall red head who he realized was another fellow titan, Starfire. He saw them both engaging in a conversation, or more like Kori, or Starfire as he had known her was talking while a dark haired woman was listening attentively when suddenly Kori’s phone rang and Kori excused herself saying that it was Richard and she will be back in a moment.

The tempting woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath to sooth her mind and slowly opened her eyes and started looking for the maître-d’ when she suddenly saw a man dressed impeccably in a tailcoat black tuxedo with a blank but a little stern expression on his face, his hands were behind him as he made his rounds around the restaurant; when Raven stopped him.

“Hi..uh, I’m on the list.” Raven said looking at his impassive face with one of her one as well, she shifted her eyes to his badge and got to know that his name was ‘Arthur’.

“Name?” he asked with a slight tinge of British accent. “Raven Roth.” The brunette answered. He looked at the list he was apparently holding behind him in his hands, no expression displayed on his face when he turned back to her and said “You are not on the list.”

“Uh what? It should be there…check again please.” Raven asked in surprise, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as her brows furrowed and the dark haired beauty got up from the bar stool to look for her name in the last.

“Oh here it is.” Raven said pointing towards a name in the list. The butler just raised an eyebrow, face still blank and said “That name, Kori Anders.”

“Yeah, I am with her…Raven Roth and Kori Anders.” Raven tried to explain but he was having none of this as he said in a tight voice “Your name needs to be on the list or have to accompany the person whose name is on the list.”

Raven sighed and rubbed her brow in irritation, she wondered how long it would take for Kori to come back, but before her irritation could grow a smooth masculine voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Raven.”

Raven turned and saw a handsome, red headed man sitting in his chair, he had the perfect olive skin and was very well built, she observed as she saw him raise his hand, (his biceps were bulging because of the movement, she noted) getting both hers and Arthur’s attention as he continued “Raven Roth.” He got up from his seat and she observed that he was tall also as he gestured to the seat in front of him saying “Raven, over here….Arthur she is with me.”

He saw a chance and took it, but he was surprised to see that she couldn’t recognize him. But he couldn’t blame her; if it wasn’t for her distinctive amethyst eyes he also might not have recognized her.

“Very well then.” Arthur remarked his face still void of any emotion as he looked at both of them again with almost knowing eyes and walked away. She started walking towards the man.

Raven, confused from the man’s behavior, she let her empathy flow and felt a familiar aura but she just couldn’t place her finger on it so she asked “Uh, do I know you?”

The supposed stranger’s face contorted into fake pain as he clutched his heart dramatically “Oh, how you wound me Rae, I thought that you would recognize this handsome face but oh well, you have always been immune to my insanely good looks and hair.”

With that remark, things started to add up. Someone who called her ‘Rae’ has to be someone from her titan days and with that narcissistic personality it could be only one. Oh how did she not recognize him?

“Roy?” she asked. And he grinned that wolfish smile of his at her reply and said “The one and only.”

He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt her snuggling closer to his warmth and grinned, thanking his stars every day for making them meet again.

Destiny drew her to him and he was never going to let go.

He turned on his side, wrapping his other arm around her and drawing her impossibly closer to his body and started peppering her cheeks with kisses. His body radiating love which made the empath smile in her sleep as she lost herself in his affections.

Their love had blossomed slowly, with both of them making effort to nurture it, helping it grow with time and patience. And now almost a year later since that fateful reunion, she was here in his bed, in his arms and in his life.

He slowly free himself from her grasp before hovering over her and waking her up with his loving kisses on her neck and face. He grinned when he saw her eyes open and her amethyst pools shining with desire.

He grabbed the comforter and pulled it over their heads and captured her mouth with his, enveloping both with passion and desire which they felt for each other.

Making this morning a good one.

After a couple of hours, the handsome red headed man was adjusting his tie as he looked at the still sleeping empath, grinning at his thoughts of wearing her out. He slowly approached her and sat on the bed, adjusting his suit jacket before gently running his hands through her soft hair.

The empath was sleeping on her side, hugging his pillow to her bare form; he mentally groaned at how tantalizing she looked and how he wished he could have stayed with her but unfortunately today he had a very important meeting, for which he also had to check on the details once again.

He leaned down and softly pecked her lips and then her forehead, softly muttering “I’ll see you soon, love.” He got up from the bed, giving another glance to her sleeping form before he picked up the comforter and covered his girlfriend’s form with it.

He couldn’t chance anyone else seeing her like this, he was a very possessive man when it came to her and it appeased him to know that he was the only one who she has been with and he would make sure that he would remain the only one.

He made his way out of the room, walking towards the other female who owned his heart, he entered her room, knowing that should be sleeping in as she always does until someone comes and wakes her up.

Silently he made his way towards his daughter, the symbol of his whirlwind romance with a villain, Lian. Her name and her eyes hinting towards her birth mother, Jade or better known as Cheshire’s origins and roots. Other than that she was a mini Roy, with that fiery hair and charming smile.

Jade had given up her rights on their daughter as soon as she was born, with Roy raising her on his own with help and guidance from his friends and his adoptive family.

She was the most important part of his life, his first priority so that’s why he held his breathe when he introduced Raven to her; knowing that if they didn’t get along then he won’t pursue his interest in the dark beauty.

But he was pleasantly surprised when Raven, who was not known for being soft had Lian enamoured with her after one meeting and slowly they both developed a mother- daughter bond. He still remembered how his usually stoic girlfriend cried on his chest when Lian first called her mom, on her second birthday.

He approached his daughter and kissed her forehead softly and tucked her in her comforter again before walking towards the exit with light footsteps, turning once again to look at his daughter making sure that she was sleeping comfortably

The day seemed to pass slowly, work was taking more time than he anticipated and he was dead tired by the time he reached home. He stretched his shoulders slightly while walking inside his mansion, wanting nothing more than to sleep.

He was greeted with unusual silence and he furrowed his eyebrows as he decided to investigate the cause of it. He approached his daughter’s room only to find it empty, the crease on his forehead deepening.

He quickly reached his room and found them there. Lian was laying on the bed sleeping while Raven tended to her. He rushed to his daughter and sat beside her bed, placing a hand on her forehead, checking for temperature only to find it normal.

Anything could have happened to her, he thought as worry for his daughter enveloped his entire being. He turned to Raven and asked in concern “What happened to her? Is she okay?”

The empath bit her lip nervously, an ominous feeling coming over her but she steeled herself and told him “She accidentally slipped in the garden and hit her head.”

“What! How did that happen? Was nobody watching her?” he said in anger.

She nervously, feeling his anger narrated the events which took place in the afternoon, how she and Lian were playing in the garden, how she got a call from her assistant and how while her attention was diverted the mini Roy was running and how she slipped and she was late to catch her. She added softly that she had healed her and was now sleeping.

She admitted ashamed, feeling like a sorry excuse of a mother to the little sleeping girl; she cursed herself for not paying more attention or for attending that call and these feelings only deepened when she saw Roy’s jaw ticked in anger.

Before she could say anything she saw him get up and walk towards her and roughly pull her up to a standing position with her arm in his tight grip as he led her out of the room with a roughness she had never seen or experienced.

Roy’s mind was clouded the stress of the day and his worry for his daughter clouding his judgement and putting rest to any rational thought his mind could form. He led her away from his sleeping daughter and roughly pulled his hand away from her.

“How could you?” He said his voice full of anger.

Before she could say anything he added, his usual loving eyes glaring at her “You were supposed to be watching her.”

“I-I was-s.” She muttered but that only added fuel to anger burning inside him. He could feel his heart explode as his feelings seeped through every pour on his body.

“If you were then how did she get hurt!” he yelled at her and she flinched, a part of him regretting everything he was saying but he was unable to stop. His frustration bubbling up to surface and now finally exploding.

At her.

But before she could defend herself he yelled in anger “I knew it…I just knew it. You weren’t fit to be a mother.” She stared at him like she had been slapped and his heart begged him to stop saying something he would definitely regret later but his mind was too far lost in anger to stop. Her eyes dilated at his anger and he could tell she was just along her breaking point. He was dancing with the line once again only this time he couldn't find the strength to stop. He soothing voice called out to him one last time, begging him to come back to her.

“It was my fault for trusting a demon with my daughter, I was a fool to think that could be maternal or even care about somebody…” she winced at his words but it was his next line which broke her “…I forgot how heartless you can be.” A tear slipped down her cheek shaking Roy back to reality. The weight of her emotions pressed on him so hard that he found it hard to breath. His harsh words hung in the air like venom eating away everything he had built with her.

Her gaze bore into his soul burning him with every passing second. Finally his mind caught up to his mouth and he couldn't help but gasp, "Rae, I didn't mean-that wasn't-I-" His words jumbled on his tongue forcing him to sound as stupid as he felt.

He watched helplessly as she summoned her powers and teleported away from him. He was forced to watch her body slide down into her portal, taking her away from the situation he had created. It was as if in slow motion, her gaze never left his, even with tears running down her face her eyes burned into his taking whatever sanity he had left. Just like that she was gone.

“Just leave me alone.” She said in a low voice but still effectively snapping him out of his thoughts, his words had hurt more than any wound she had sustained in any fight. She had trusted him with her insecurities and he had broken that trust by throwing all of that in her face in a fit of rage.

His eyes widened, guilt and regret in every pour of his body; no, he couldn’t let her go, not because of his stupidity, because of his misplaced anger.

“Raven, please anything but that. I am so sorry I said all that to you and I have no excuse for that but please forgive me.” He pleaded but her resolve was unrelenting.

“You really hurt m-me Roy.” She said softly and he hung his head in shame muttering a small ‘I know’.

He walked towards her and gently turned her around and his heart broke when he looked at her, tears stained her delicate face while her eyes held hurt. He gently wiped her tears away and said with determination “I will do anything to make you forgive me and I promise that this is the last time you will cry because of me.”

She sniffled but didn’t say anything to which he gently cupped her face, making her look in his baby blue eyes as he confessed “I love you Raven, and I’m sorry.” More tears came in her eyes as she hugged him, wetting his shirt while he soothingly ran his hands through her soft hair, determined to make good on his promise.

#teen titans #speedyrae #speedy #raven #royrae #roy harper #raven roth #fluff #hurt #comfort

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 3 years

Text

Faith Yen interviewed by Caleb Maupin

youtube

Twitter: www.twitter.com/faithy3n Instagram: www.instagram.com/faithy3n

“I was 18 when I got kicked out of HQ. I was 19 when I started breaking rules but was still mentally in. I was 25 when I realized I was completely mentally out and had a Neo in the Matrix panic attack.”

Faith Yen Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC2eGLsbToZ5so4VVpRuJPw

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Shamanism is at the heart of Sun Myung Moon’s church

Sun Myung Moon organization activities in Central & South America

The Dark Side of True World Foods – owned by the Moonies

Sushi and Rev. Moon – Chicago Tribune special 2006

Sun Myung Moon could have spent a second spell in a US jail in 2007 – for encouraging poaching baby leopard sharks

United States Congressional investigation of Moon’s organization

Gifts of Deceit: Sun Myung Moon and Koreagate – Robert Boettcher

Moon Church human trafficking is despicable

The Moon Church schism explained

‘Will they let us live?’ Inside Xinjiang, survivors of China’s internment camps speak – Los Angeles Times Dec 17, 2020

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Cult Indoctrination – and the Road to Recovery

Contents

1. VIDEO: Why do people join cults? – Janja Lalich 2. PODCAST: The Cult Vault – Introduction to the Study of Cults by Kaycee 3. VIDEO: The BITE model of Steve Hassan / The Influence Continuum 4. Father Kent Burtner on manipulation of the emotions by the UC 5. VIDEO: Terror, Love and Brainwashing ft. Alexandra Stein 6. Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Thought Reform 7. VIDEO: The Wrong Way Home . An analysis of Dr Arthur J. Deikman’s book on cult behavior 8. Cult Indoctrination through Psychological Manipulation by Professor Kimiaki Nishida 9. Towards a Demystified and Disinterested Scientific Theory of Brainwashing (extracts) by Benjamin Zablocki 10. Psyching Out the Cults’ Collective Mania by Louis Jolyon West and Richard Delgado 11. Book: Take Back Your Life by Janja Lalich and Madeleine Tobias (2009) 12. VIDEO: Paul Morantz on Cults, Thought Reform, Coercive Persuasion and Confession 13. PODCAST: Ford Greene, Attorney and former UC member, on Sun Myung Moon 14. VIDEO: Steve Hassan interviewed by Chris Shelton 15. VIDEO: Conformity by TheraminTrees 16. VIDEO: Instruction Manual for Life by TheraminTrees 17. The Social Organization of Recruitment in the Unification Church – PDF by David Frank Taylor, M.A., July 1978, Sociology 18. Mind Control: Psychological Reality Or Mindless Rhetoric? by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D., President, American Psychological Association 19. Socialization techniques through which Moon church members were able to influence by Geri-Ann Galanti, Ph.D. 20. VIDEO: Recovery from RTS (Religious Trauma Syndrome) by Marlene Winell 21. VIDEO: ICSA – After the cult 22. “How do you know I’m not the world’s worst con man or swindler?” – Sun Myung Moon 23. VIDEO: What Is A Cult? CuriosityStream 24. VIDEO: The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion by Kristin Neff 25. Bibliography

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6. Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Thought Reform

“I wish to suggest a set of criteria against which any environment may be judged — a basis for answering the ever-recurring question: “Isn’t this just like ‘brainwashing’?” – Robert Jay Lifton

“Ideological Totalism” is Chapter 22 of Robert Jay Lifton’s book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of ‘brainwashing’ in China

Dr. Lifton, a psychiatrist and author, has studied the psychology of extremism for decades. He is renowned for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of war and political violence and for his theory of thought reform. Lifton testified at the 1976 bank robbery trial of Patty Hearst about the theory of “coercive persuasion.”

His theories — including the often-referred to 8 criteria described below — are used and expanded upon by many cult experts.

First published in 1961, his book was reprinted in 1989 by the University of North Carolina Press. From Chapter 22:

8 CRITERIA AGAINST WHICH ANY ENVIRONMENT MAY BE JUDGED:

Milieu Control – The control of information and communication.

Mystical Manipulation – The manipulation of experiences that appear spontaneous but in fact were planned and orchestrated.

The Demand for Purity – The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection.

The Cult of Confession – Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group.

The Sacred Science – The group’s doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute.

Loading the Language – The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand.

Doctrine over person – The member’s personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.

The Dispensing of existence – The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not.

Eight Conditions of Thought Reform as presented in  Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, Chapter 22.

1. Milieu Control The most basic feature of the thought reform environment, the psychological current upon which all else depends, is the control of human communication. Through this milieu control the totalist environment seeks to establish domain over not only the individual’s communication with the outside (all that he sees and hears, reads and writes, experiences, and expresses), but also — in its penetration of his inner life — over what we may speak of as his communication with himself. It creates an atmosphere uncomfortably reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984…. (Page 420.) Purposeful limitation of all forms of communication with outside world.

The control of human communication through environment control.

The cult doesn’t just control communication between people, it also controls people’s communication with themselves, in their own minds.

2. Mystical Manipulation The inevitable next step after milieu control is extensive personal manipulation. This manipulation assumes a no-holds-barred character, and uses every possible device at the milieu’s command, no matter how bizarre or painful. Initiated from above, it seeks to provoke specific patterns of behavior and emotion in such a way that these will appear to have arisen spontaneously from within the environment. This element of planned spontaneity, directed as it is by an ostensibly omniscient group, must assume, for the manipulated, a near-mystical quality. (Page 422.) Potential convert is convinced of the higher purpose within the special group.

Everyone is manipulating everyone, under the belief that it advances the “ultimate purpose.”

Experiences are engineered to appear to be spontaneous, when, in fact, they are contrived to have a deliberate effect.

People mistakenly attribute their experiences to spiritual causes when, in fact, they are concocted by human beings.

3. The Demand for Purity The experiential world is sharply divided into the pure and the impure, into the absolutely good and the absolutely evil. The good and the pure are of course those ideas, feelings, and actions which are consistent with the totalist ideology and policy; anything else is apt to be relegated to the bad and the impure. Nothing human is immune from the flood of stern moral judgements. (Page 423.) The philosophical assumption underlying this demand is that absolute purity is attainable, and that anything done to anyone in the name of this purity is ultimately moral.

The cult demands Self-sanctification through Purity.

Only by pushing toward perfection, as the group views goodness, will the recruit be able to contribute.

The demand for purity creates a guilty milieu and a shaming milieu by holding up standards of perfection that no human being can attain.

People are punished and learn to punish themselves for not living up to the group’s ideals.

4. The Cult of Confession Closely related to the demand for absolute purity is an obsession with personal confession. Confession is carried beyond its ordinary religious, legal, and therapeutic expressions to the point of becoming a cult in itself. (Page 425.) Public confessional periods are used to get members to verbalize and discuss their innermost fears and anxieties as well as past imperfections.

The environment demands that personal boundaries are destroyed and that every thought, feeling, or action that does not conform with the group’s rules be confessed.

Members have little or no privacy, physically or mentally.

5. Aura of Sacred Science The totalist milieu maintains an aura of sacredness around its basic dogma, holding it out as an ultimate moral vision for the ordering of human existence. This sacredness is evident in the prohibition (whether or not explicit) against the questioning of basic assumptions, and in the reverence which is demanded for the originators of the Word, the present bearers of the Word, and the Word itself. While thus transcending ordinary concerns of logic, however, the milieu at the same time makes an exaggerated claim of airtight logic, of absolute “scientific” precision. Thus the ultimate moral vision becomes an ultimate science; and the man who dares to criticize it, or to harbor even unspoken alternative ideas, becomes not only immoral and irreverent, but also “unscientific”. In this way, the philosopher kings of modern ideological totalism reinforce their authority by claiming to share in the rich and respected heritage of natural science. (Pages 427-428.) The cult advances the idea that the cult’s laws, rules and regulations are absolute and, therefore, to be followed automatically.

The group’s belief is that their dogma is absolutely scientific and morally true.

No alternative viewpoint is allowed.

No questioning of the dogma is permitted.

6. Loading the Language The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. [Slogans] The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. The cult invents a new vocabulary, giving well-known words special new meanings, making them into trite clichés. The clichés become “ultimate terms”, either “god terms”, representative of ultimate good, or “devil terms”, representative of ultimate evil. Totalist language, then, is repetitiously centered on all-encompassing jargon, prematurely abstract, highly categorical, relentlessly judging, and to anyone but its most devoted advocate, deadly dull: the language of non-thought. (Page 429.)

Controlling words helps to control people’s thoughts.

The group uses black-or-white thinking and thought-terminating clichés.

The special words constrict rather than expand human understanding.

Non-members cannot simply comprehend what cult members are talking about.

7. Doctrine over Person Another characteristic feature of ideological totalism: the subordination of human experience to the claims of doctrine. (Page 430.) Past experience and values are invalid if they conflict with the new cult morality.

The value of individuals is insignificant when compared to the value of the group.

Past historical events are retrospectively altered, wholly rewritten, or ignored to make them consistent with doctrinal logic.

No matter what a person experiences, it is belief in the dogma which is important.

Group belief supersedes individual conscience and integrity.

8. Dispensed Existence The totalist environment draws a sharp line between those whose right to existence can be recognized, and those who possess no such right. Lifton gave a Communist example: In thought reform, as in Chinese Communist practice generally, the world is divided into “the people” (defined as “the working class, the peasant class, the petite bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie”), and “the reactionaries” or “the lackies of imperialism” (defined as “the landlord class, the bureaucratic capitalist class, and the KMT reactionaries and their henchmen”). (Page 433.)

The group decides who has a right to exist and who does not.

The group has an elitist world view — a sharp line is drawn by cult between those who have been saved, chosen, etc., (the cult members) and those who are lost, in the dark, etc., (the rest of the world).

Former members are seen as “weak,” “lost,” “evil,” and “the enemy”.

The cult insists that there is no legitimate alternative to membership in the cult.

The full text of Chapter 22 appears HERE courtesy of Dr. Robert Jay Lifton.

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The Cult Vault #1, 3 and 45: Introduction and The Unification Church

This Introduction to the study of cults is excellent and helpful for understanding #3 and #45.

#Faith Yen #Moonies #indoctrination #undue influence

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