#russian cup 2020

[figureskatingcostumes]

Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Guerreiro's free dance costumes at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup and 2021 Russian Championships. They skated to Survivor (originally by Destiny's Child but covered by 2WEI).

(Sources: 1, 2 and 3)

[starscelly]

What are your most important hockey movies? (Or media in general) I am trying to watch more stuff that is out of my known bubble. Thanks

i fear i'm Pretty Basic when it comes to general hockey media but 1000000% recommend watching and reading "the russian five"!!!! i held out on doing it for so long bc i knew it would drive me insane and i was Right. so goooood. the editing of it is also really engaging and fun off the bat if ur someone who normally doesn't get caught up in like. Doc Style Things (me)

i think "red army" is also a good companion watch for after that!!! for more of a view of What russian hockey was like at the time

(i have reading "larionov" and watching "cold war on ice" and "ice-breaker: the 72 summit series" on my List for other possible good companions if ur interested in the soviet hockey of it all but i havent gotten to those yet so can't Personally Vouch)

also ik ur a stars fan but if u have never seen it.... come weep at the dallas stars "we're not going home" (2020) bubble cup run youtube unlisted doc with me.... please... my most important hockey media

"untold: crimes and penalties" is a fun doc on netflix abt a minor league team that was a. very violent b. owned by someone who's first line in their wikipedia says he is a convicted felon and associate of a crime family. but ran by his son! who was clueless in every way! pretty interesting

and then a bit more of a time commitment than the others because its a whole Show but. junior league is a russian drama that follows a team with a new coach trying to make the junior league so they can keep playing as like a career and all their interpersonal Dramas and Romance but Also Hockey As Well. There's 6 seasons but not all of it is available in english (yet! hopefully) .... use the link if inch rested its the only english version beyond early 1st season but keep it Hush Hush as the last channel that was uploading them like a year ago got taken down dlkfjsdl

i'm also assuming you've seen/know of shoresy but if u have not. that's less of a time commitment bc its newer and also a jared keeso show so. Shorter Episodes By A Lot. funny! silly! underdogs!!!!

and then if u enjoy Romance i did rlly like "the cutting edge" (even tho there's not. much hockey if we're being real) and the book "icebreaker" BY A.L. GRAZIADEI. THE GAY ONE. not the Other One.

and i think that's all i got in me??? i hope this helped!!! i feel like i'm definitely forgetting some but. if anyone else has any other recommendations or further Thoughts please feel free to add to this/reply with them!!!!! <3

[myshkafs]

ON NATIONALITY SWITCHES, AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION:

Recently as of maybe a few months ago, we've seen two Russian athletes switch nationality in the span of 2 weeks. Sofya Samodelkina switches to Kazakhstan, and Sofya Titova switches to Armenia for the upcoming season.

Is this the first time we've seen Russian girls switch nationalities? No. Will it be the last? Definitely not. However, it is the first time that students of such a high profile coach (Evgeni Plushenko) and coaching team (Angels of Plushenko) have switched, and the first time that 2 have switched in such quick succession.

There have been rumours about Samo's switch since august of last year, so this isn't so surprising. She ranked 11th at RusNats, and was not a top skater at her time at CSKA, before she was kicked, so it makes sense for her to want to switch out. She was relatively competitive in the JGP back when Russia was still eligible for intl. starts, and was pretty decent on the junior circuit, including a silver medal at the 2021 Russian Junior Cup Final and Gold at the same event in 2020, along with some 4th place finishes at Russian juniors Nationals, 2 JGP medals (bronze at Rostelkom and 3rd in Slovenia) and a win at the 21-22 Denis Ten memorial.

When she graduated to Senior level, though, it just. Stagnated. We've known for a while that Russia's oversaturation alongside the biased judging makes it impossible for any up and coming talents to succeed, where the Eteri bonus holds so much weight. Samo finished 11th at both RusNats and the Russian GPF, and her only medals of the season came from her performances at the GP stages, where she came second at the 2nd stage Velvet Season, where her only competitors were Adeliya Petrosyan, Veronika Yametova, and a, at the time, struggling Alexandra Trusova who was fighting through injury and a lack of motivation. She then won the Volga Pirouette Stage, which again, her only competition at that event was Sasha, who wasn't landing any Ultra-C where Samo had a 3A.

All in all, her level of performance just was not enough to get her to that place of success she needed to be at, and with Russia's ban from intl. sport, it was only looking like it would get worse, despite her improvements from switching to AOP full time late last year. Samo, who had stated before that she wished Beijing would be postponed because she knew it was her only shot at going to the olympics, is grasping at straws to stay competitive, and it just so happened that her mother was born in Kazakhstan, making her eligible for citizenship by descent.

For her, I completely understand where this has come from. She will be an eligible senior when she returns to the international stage, and has the technical ability to blow people like Kaori Sakamoto and Loena Hendrickx out of the water. Is it worth is? 100%. She'll be able to get back out there, potentially stake her claim for some senior titles she wouldn't win under Russia, like National Championships and Four continents.

I think Kazakhstan would also be relatively grateful for the heightened exposure her fanbase would bring to the domestic Kazakh events, and hopefully she'd be able to contribute to building that domestic sport up by earning them places on the international start that they lost in womens ever since the departure of Elizabet Tursynbaeva. The problem here stems in that I feel Samo and other girls who defect to other federations will be in for a rude awakening when they don't get the inflated scores they were getting under the Russian flag, and that it may be harder for them to bridge the gap between them and skaters like Kaori and the Japanese who are so strong in their components.

Back when the season was in full swing, we saw how AOP athletes suffered from the underscoring in place of the Eteri girls getting inflated scores. We saw, in 22-23, Sasha's components drop and her STSQ and spins falling for lvl 4 to 3. Sofia Muravieva is a great example. Mura had the scores to best Kamila and Akatieva in the SP, but was rarely given them.

And so Plushenko made his ultimatum to the federation: Continue devaluing his athletes, continue to give them scores less than what they deserve, and they will jump ship, and compete for a federation that wants them. I found this interesting, because we all know Plushenko has quite the reputation for being loud mouthed, and a Patriot??? It made no sense that he would actively encourage his athletes to leave the Russian federation, and so I thought originally it was all hot air. This combined with that Samo's nationality switch had been whispered about BEFORE Plushenko even said anything.

And then Titova. She has no discernible ties to Armenia that I could find, so the switch seems odd. But again, she's not the most competitive, and in a world where the Russian juniors are arguably MORE competitive than their senior counterparts,,, its ruthless. If she wanted any chance at being competitive, she'd have to switch. The timing was smart, she's ineligible for seniors right now, but will be able to make a name for herself outside of Russia on the international stage having never competed outside RUS before, as an armenian skater, and can build up titles and respect in both division. Most people will be unaware she was even tied to RUSFED at any point. She has an abundance of time to wrack up titles and earn Armenia more placements.

My only concern is, is Russia prepared to lose more athletes? We've seen two in the space of 2 weeks defect, and all I can say is, will there be more? Will Plushenko encourage his juniors to look outside of Russia when they cannot compete with Eteri's students and Russian judging? And is Russia prepared to lose more and more athletes the longer they're banned from international sport?

Even from the perspective of Ice Dance, they had the departure of Smolkin/Davis to Georgia, using Eteri's Georgian Citizenship to justify Diana's switch in nationality, and her marriage to Gleb to cement it, and the pair of Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakmanin to Armenia.

In the world of Ice Dance, sure, this isn't a big loss, but Diana and Gleb abandoning Russia altogether and training in US/Canada could be foreshadowing, along with departures such as Samo and Titova, of the future of RUSFED and what this means for their development. The oversaturation and the blatant corruption is discouraging athletes, driving them away from not only the sport, but their country. And if the Federation doesn't make changes soon, they're in danger of seeing this worsen, and the potential for a collapse of this integral part of their sports economy, as more and more athletes decide to leave.

And the potential for success if they choose this route is already being proven. Sofya Samo had just within the last 2 weeks won the Summer Championships of Kazakhstan with a healthy 20 point margin between herself and second place Sofia Farafonova. And while Samo, on a clean slate will have to wait to build up her ranking to go to any major comps, she'll most likely be in the running for a national title by the end of 2024. Titova, likewise, will most likely be in the running for an Junior title in Armenia, and potentially a senior one if she is eligible.

Athletes are seeing the appeal in leaving for success in an easier climate, than sticking around to be mistreated by judges and beaten by 12 year olds with 3As and Quads. And RUSFED has tp recognise now, with so many departures over this last season, that they have a problem.

Now, do I necessarily think it's ethical to allow athletes to leave like this? If they have dual citizenship, sure. If not, and other countries are offering them citizenship to skate for them, then it becomes more tricky. I recognise the trouble that Ice dancers and Pairs face to find partners, but for singles, where the only benefit is to become more competitive, especially in a climate where the Russians are trying to outmaneuver a ban,,, especially when those athletes go on to still live and train in Russia and only visit the countries they compete in to well, compete, it becomes a lot harder to say whether its right or not. On one hand, those athletes have the ability to provide more opportunities for domestic athletes if they do well, but on the other hand, they're also taking opportunities from domestic athletes on principle, and for many domestic athletes who have worked hard, it will feel like a slap in the face to have a Russian athlete waltz in a snatch up all the titles they've worked for for years, under veryyy different conditions and with less resources.

And the ban, although many complain, must be upheld. (On that, though, I will talk more in depth in another post about my thoughts.)

All in all, the switches will be interesting to observe, and we'll see what happens as the season progresses, if any more athletes decide to make the decision to leave.

[elenitrack]

Anna Shcherbakova 🇷🇺

2020 Russian Cup (Syzran)

[cdaae]

Why Am I Like This- Phantom Collector Edition

I’m a completionist and an obsessive so I need all the different versions of a thing so here’s a list of where I’m at right now. I wish I could say that I was anywhere near done but there’s always more phantom stuff to collect

Books

Gaston Leroux x51(This includes all 6 English translations, 8 different languages, and three levels of French)

Gaston Leroux signed by Broadway Cast

The Underground’s of the Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Bathtub

Night of the Phantom

Embrace the Night

Lessons from the Phantom of the Opera

Song of a Maiden

Madrigal

Phantom

Unmasqued

Phantom of Manhattan

Ruinsong

Roseblood

Beyond the Masque

Chanson de L’Ange

Sing Me Forgotten

The Angel of the Opera

The Phoenix of the Opera

The Phantom’s Opera

The Phantom of Paris

The Phantom’s Apprentice

Where Dreams Descend

The Phantom Cat of the Opera

Phantom Pop Up Book

George Perry’s Complete Phantom of the Opera

Phantoms of the Opera

The Trap Door Maker

Phantom Graphic Novel x2

The Phantom Cooks

2004 Companion

Geronimo Stilton

Thea Stilton

My Phantom

Phantoms in the Night

Phantom of Pemberly

Phantom of the Auditorium

Behind the Phantom’s Mask

The Phantom Returns

Phantom erotica

Book cassette

Souvenir edition OLC

Emoji of the opera

Phantom 2020

Phantom Phantasia

Songbird

The Phantom’s Lullaby

Phantom of the Little Russian Theatre

Masked Love

Treasures of Egypt

Victory

Venetian Romance

Susannah’s Secret

The Man in the Shadows

Love in the Spotlight

Let the Dream Begin

A Phantom’s Promise

Destiny’s Curse

Phantom by David Bischoff

Mini Leroux

L’Opera de Paris

Paris National Opera

Palais Garnier

Peeping Duck Gang

Out of the Darness

L’Opera De Paris Coulisses etc secrets du Garnier

Claude Rains Book

Movies/CDs/Media

Lon Chaney

Claude Rains x2

Herbert Lom x2

Phantom of Hollywood

Schell

Robert Englund

Charles Dance

David Staller

Julian Sands

2004 x17 (English x2, French x3 Germanx2, Greek, Spanish, Italian, limited(English and German), deluxe, and Ultimate, Special, Collectors(English and French)

Angel of Music

25th Anniversary

Love Never Dies

A Monster in Paris

Phantom of the Grindhouse

Anthony Mann

Phantom of the Theatre

Unmasking the Masterpiece

Love on Safari

Faust

1987 Cartoon(dvd & VHS)

Mystery Legends Phantom Game x2

2004 digital press kit(English and French)

OLC (cassette & CD)

CDs x59

Phantom of the Paradise Record

OLC small record(wywsha&motn)

Long box cd

Long box 2004

2004 VHS

Movie/book set

Long box OLC cassettes

Karaoke cassettes

Highlight cassettes

Robert Englund VHS

For Your Consideration 2004

Book casettes

Stage Fright

Props/Signed/Similar

Love Never Dies audience gift notebook

1992 tour Auction book prop

Jerry Mitchell signed LND after party invite

Phantoms Note from BWay x2

Don Juan Music from BWay x1 1/2

Ticket to 25th Anniversary Party

Majestic Theatre Phantom Barricade Cover

Photo cards, signed x16

Signed LOBs x2

Robert Englund autograph

Laird Mackintosh autograph

BWay 29th anniversary cast gift beanie

KAV’s dressing gown shoes

Manager’s BWay newspaper prop x4

Cast board name placards x3(2 BWay one Vegas)

Reopening cookies x2

London 35th anniversary rose petals and card

Il Muto page boy stockings

OBC cast member costume gloves

Printed cast member email

Cast made calendars 2006 and 2007

Full cast signed poster with Hugh

Signed trading card

Signed Michael Crawford Face mask

Signed Crawford Article

Signed 35 Poster

Signed Mask

Scrap of Christine’s wedding dress

Scrap of phantoms suit

10th anniversary invite

Opera glasses cast gift

Magazines

24/7 Magazine featuring Crivello

NYC City Guide 2014 & 2016

TODAY featuring Vegas

What’s On Vegas

Time Out New York

German LND

Theater Week 1988

In Theater 1998

Casino Player Magazine

Fate Magazine

Broadway Spotlight

Other

Megstine notebook

Mugs x7

Cups x5

Water Bottle

Ornaments x5

Phantom harmonica

Red death figure

Lon Chaney figure

Phantom Nutcracker

Phantom and Christine Barbies

Tote bag x4

Phantom creamer tops, complete set

Postcards x6

LOBs x2

Magnet x5

Stickers x12

Phantom Cat sticker set

Chibi phantom sticker set

Angel patch

Greeting cards x2

Posters x5

Art print

Calendar

Ramin based doll

Phantom doll + Ayesha

Snerik

Pen

Mardi Gras coin

Felt Raoul and Erik

Francœur bean

Small hand painted canvas

25th Anniversary limited edition boxed set

Canada gift bag

Mexico phone card

Japanese train card x2

Trading card

Lon Chaney money

Lon Chaney stamp

Pencil

Phone case

Gift bag

Japanese posters x6

Herbert Lom ad stamp

Complete LND London draft script

Blanket

Operetta

34th Anniversary blank playbill sticker sheets

Goosebumps pen

Goosebumps magnet

Goosebumps stickers x9

Bendyfigs phantom

German postcard

Angel of Music coffee

Where Dreams Descend popcorn holder

Raoul and Christine art print

Large paper bag

1994 calendar

Ireland phone card

Movie screening invite

German something?

Frame

Vegas key card

Angel of music bear

Tea towels x2

Mask sticker

Blockbuster card

Phantom press invite

Mini 2004 scrapbook

Playing cards

Assorted Japanese 2004 film memorabilia(10 pieces)

2004 film poster and booklet

1999 ticket info

2023 newspaper clippings

Gingerbread ornament

Aussie keychain

Phantom/Christine blanket

2011 wall calendar

2012 wall calendar

2013 wall calendar

Angel ornament

Universal Erik doll

Sarah/Steve Ad

1993 calendar

2004 Mylar

1995 calendar

Italy confetti

Crawford ornament

Halloween figure

Matchbox

Soap?

Heart frame

Jewelry

Pins x11

Charm bracelet

Necklace x2

Key chains x14

Replica Ring

Hair bow x2

Think of Me hair clips

Jewelry pouch

Music Boxes

Square black jewelry music box

Il Muto

Limited Edition boat scene

Boat Scene

Phantom and Christine wedding

Porcelain signs x2

Limited edition mirror scene

Mirror scene

Mirror

Limited edition MotN

Red Death

Throne water globe

Music water globe

Phantom w/ stick water globe

Rooftop water globe

Russian egg(?)

Mirror scene water globe

Phantom w/ stick

Phantom in throne

Monkey music box

Limited edition Jack in the box

Boat scene water globe(broken globe)

Russian egg (?? Missing top)

Small music box(no music)

Universal Phantom and Christine

Phantom and Christine with Marni

Opera House

Phantom Automata

Madame Alexander Christine Doll

Broken Mirror

Erik and Christine porcelain figure

Music pedestal

Clothing

Socks

Glow in the dark boxers

Night shirt

Phantom BWay x2

Sydney Harbour shirt

Christine dressing gown VTC

Peacock dress

US tour grey shirt

Christmas Sweatshirt

Toronto shirt

Candy of the Opera

1988 mask shirt

Phantom of the Opry shirt

New York shirt

Mask sweatshirt

Ghost Red Death Shirt

35th anniversary shirt

Italy shirt

Programs/Playbills/ETC

Loose understudy slips x14

Ticket stubs x11

Newspaper clippings

Mini flyers x6

Flyers x40

Ken Hill souvenir program

2004 film souvenir program

ALW souvenir programs x49

BWAY playbills x63

Signed playbills x12

Tour playbills x20

London programs x18

YK phantom playbill

World tour playbill

Melbourne playbill

Robert Englund film souvenir program

Italy program

Sweden program

Music Books

ALW piano x3(easy, intermediate, expert)

2004 film

YK phantom

LND London

I can honestly say this may not even be everything because sometimes I forget to add new acquisitions to the list. If there’s anything on the list you wanna see pics of, I’m happy to share!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

I met Raqib Naik, a journalist who had fled his native India, at a coffee shop in suburban Maryland. We sat at the same metal table where he once discussed the prospect of his assassination with FBI agents.

Naik is a Muslim from Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state. In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the state’s longstanding self-determination rights and temporarily imposed martial law. Indian officials arbitrarily detained thousands of Kashmiris, including many journalists. Through it all, Naik did his best to convey the reality in Kashmir to the outside world — a firsthand account of what was really going on in what’s often termed “the world’s largest democracy.” On August 15, 10 days after the crackdown in Kashmir began, Naik received the first of three visits from Indian military intelligence officers who interrogated him about his reporting. The harassment forced him underground; he eventually fled to the United States in the summer of 2020. But Modi wouldn’t let him go that easily. In September 2020, an Indian military official sent Naik a message saying “i have invited your father for a cup of tea.” In November 2020, a second intelligence officer said he too had contacted Naik’s father, vowing that he and Naik would “meet in person” even though Naik had moved to America. While traveling in another country in June 2022, Naik received an anonymous text message saying “you are being tracked and will be prosecuted.” He flew back to the US as quickly as possible.  [...]

India’s plot against America

I have spent the past several months investigating stories like Naik’s: critics of India who say the Indian government has reached across the Pacific Ocean to harass them on American soil. 

Interviews with political figures, experts, and activists revealed a sustained campaign where Narendra Modi’s government threatens American citizens and permanent residents who dare speak out on the declining state of the country’s democracy. This campaign has not been described publicly until now because many people in the community  — even prominent ones — are too afraid to talk about it. (The Indian government did not respond to repeated and detailed requests for comment.)  India’s efforts include a handful of high-profile incidents, most notably an assassination plot against American and Canadian activists. But more commonly, India engages in subtle forms of harassment that fly under the public radar. An American charity leader who spoke out on Indian human rights violations saw his Indian employees arrested en masse. An American journalist who worked on a documentary about India was put on a travel blacklist and deported. An American historian who studies 17th-century India received so many death threats that she could no longer speak without security. Even a member of Congress — and vocal critic of the Modi regime — said she was concerned about being banned from visiting her Indian parents.

[...]

And while Russian involvement in the 2016 election swayed few votes, there’s good reason to believe India’s campaign is working as intended — muting stateside criticism of India’s autocratic turn under Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

An American academic warned me that they couldn’t speak openly about India out of concern for family. An American think tank expert described numerous examples of censorship and self-censorship at prominent US institutions. These two sources, and many others, would only share their personal stories with me anonymously. All were concerned about the consequences for their careers, their loved ones, or even themselves — and they weren’t alone. “Indian Americans who are against the BJP, or oppose the BJP, have been intimidated and as a result routinely engage in self-censorship. I have heard them say as much to me,” says John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “There are prominent Indian American intellectuals, writers, [and] celebrities who simply will not speak out against Modi because they are afraid that by doing so they will subject themselves to a torrent of online abuse and even death threats.” As a result, one of the most important developments of our time — Modi pushing the world’s largest democracy toward an authoritarian future — is receiving far less scrutiny in the United States than it should, especially at a time when Modi is running for a historic third term. 

India’s willingness to go after critics outside its borders — a practice political scientists call “transnational repression” — is a symptom of this democratic decline. Most sources told me that Indian harassment of Americans began in earnest after Modi took office in 2014, with most reported incidents happening in the past several years (when the prime minister became more aggressively authoritarian at home). Modi, a member of a prominent Hindu supremacist group since he was 8 years old, seems to believe he can act on the world stage in the same way he behaves at home. Despite the brazenness of India’s campaign — attacking Americans at home in a way that only the world’s worst authoritarian governments would dare — the Biden administration is putting little pressure on Modi to change his ways. Judging New Delhi too important in the fight against China, the US government has adopted its own unstated policy of avoiding fights with India over human rights and democracy. [...]

Modi’s “new India”

India was founded in 1947 as a secular democracy, with formal equality of all citizens enshrined in its constitution. But even before then, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had begun laying the groundwork for an alternative Hindu nationalist state. Narendra Modi has been a part of this fight since 1958, when he first got involved in his town’s RSS branch.

The RSS’s ideology, called Hindutva, holds that India must be a state principally for Hindus. It treats non-Hindus, especially Muslims, as foreign imports at best and invading forces at worst. The BJP is the RSS’s political wing, and it has worked extensively to bring the Indian state in line with Hindutva principles.  Making this dream into reality has been the purpose of Modi’s political career. Since becoming prime minister, he’s proven remarkably adept at it. The revocation of Kashmir’s autonomous status, and the subsequent crackdown that swept up Raqib Naik, is just one of many Hindutva victories during his tenure.  His government recently inaugurated a major new Hindu temple in the city of Ayodhya, on the site of a mosque that was torn down by an RSS-aligned mob in 1992. It passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, a law that, among other things, set up discriminatory immigration rules for Muslims. In states across the country, local BJP governments have passed laws restricting interfaith marriage between Hindus and Muslims.

Vox exposes India’s siccing of Americans critical of its authoritarian turn under PM Narendra Modi.

[theniftycat]

Chapter 1 of my original novel

Straight from the presses!

1,5k words.

Yakutsk is a city that's too lazy to pursue you. It's defined by its winter that lasts from October to April, the coldest winter that you can experience while living in a settlement called "a city". Yakutsk won't swallow you whole, it has nothing to entice you with. All it does is gradually chip away at your humanity, slowly freezing you whole, making sure that one day you will just lie down in the snow and give yourself away.

All people can do in Yakutsk is build walls. Add more and more layers, separate themselves from the outside world with stones and furs. They decorate their shelters, create spaces that feel alive even when nothing outside can survive. Each home is like an airtight cell decorated with fairy lights and fake flowers.

But if the walls aren't strong enough, the cold will get to you. A broken gas heater will kill you. A feeling of unease in winter will freeze you from the inside.

Our story isn't about Yakutsk in winter, it's about avoiding it.

***

Comfortable. That's what her life was. She had a small apartment with one bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room that she turned into a library full of books in Russian and English, and DVDs in the same languages.

It was the library where she spent most of her days now. Both her work and her hobbies took their places in it. She didn't mind, she even preferred working at home, it was easy to get used to. She wasn't looking forward to needing to go outside daily once the quarantine got lifted, dirty roads with uneven pavements and cold dry air didn't entice her. However, she missed seeing her students in the flesh, it was hard reading lectures via zoom and even giving them exams online. Them possibly cheating didn't bother her much, but she thought that a lot was missed because she couldn't see their full emotions and they couldn't see hers.

Being an English literature university professor in 2020 was both a challenge and a relief for her.

Now it was June and she was used to working from home. She wished she could go for a walk, the weather was amazing as it usually was in early June, but she didn't want to risk running into someone she knew, so she only went out to visit a nearby shop or the post office where she received new books every month. She'd order them after getting her salary. Not too many books these days, their prices grew each year and her salary didn't.

Marfa Alekseyevna, as most people called her, was 35. She had short black hair and wore black rimmed glasses. Her clothes were usually black or dark, she only wore skirts when she was required to. People found her unapproachable and she liked it that way. The only connections she fostered were with her favourite authors, mostly dead, and with her colleagues from various universities who she spoke to on Facebook and Twitter.

She was checking everything before tomorrow's exam when she heard her doorbell ring. Leaving her work and an unfinished cup of tea with cinnamon, she rushed towards the door and put on a mask.

"Who's there?" she asked without sounding very friendly.

"Hi! Marfa, it's me, Luka!" the voice from behind the door answered.

"Luka? Aren't you in Moscow?"

"Obviously, not! Open the door already!"

She opened the door. Her younger brother, a 27 year old tall Yakut man, was standing behind it, but he wasn't alone. Next to him was standing a young woman, seemingly Russian, with light hair and sad eyes that she was trying to hide behind a polite smile. She wasn't tall, there was nothing very special about her. Just a girl. And a guy next to her. Almost a perfect couple in how unremarkable they were.

"This is Vera, my fiancee! Vera, meet Marfa, one of my favourite people in the world! Almost a favourite sister of mine!" introduced them Luka in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner.

Vera nodded with an even politer smile and said:

"Nice to meet you."

Marfa wasn't smiling, she was doing her best not to frown.

"Likewise. Sorry, what? What do you mean, fiancee?"

"Didn't you study linguistics in university?" retorted Luka.

"This isn't funny. What do you think you're doing showing up here, without telling me you'd come, bringing a fiancee you never even told me about? I thought you were in Moscow! Why aren't you two even wearing masks?"

"Marfa! Let us in already!" Luka went inside and took Vera with him. "Won't you even give us some tea? I haven't seen you in ages!" he pulled Marfa towards him and hugged her.

"I didn't want to take off my mask, but--" Vera started.

"Look, we're not gonna give you covid, okay?"

Marfa sighed. She was glad to see Luka and wanted to know what it all meant, but talking on the threshold wasn't a good idea.

"Okay. Put on these slippers and go wash your hands. I'll put a kettle on."

Five minutes later Luka brought an office chair to the kitchen and sat down beside Vera. The kitchen only had two chairs, everything in the apartment screamed that guests weren't frequent here.

Marfa poured them all some tea and sat down at her normal place, the one that had a place-mat and condiments that were lined in front of it.

"So, what is going on?" she asked.

"We're getting married in August, so we came here, to do it with the family present, as it should be, and I'm going to live with our parents, but Vera has nowhere to stay, could you please let her stay here?"

"Excuse me? What?"

"I'd take her with me, but I need to prepare them to meet her, and she needs to self isolate for a couple of weeks, and you have a plenty of space, so it works!"

"Are you out of your mind? Do parents know about it? And what do you mean--"

"I told them I was coming home for summer, yeah! I missed our house, it's so nice in the summer. But I told you, I need to prepare them. It will take some time."

"Okay, Luka, I see that you're out of your mind. You're mad. What even is happening? Why are you here?"

"I told you! Vera will live with you for a couple of weeks!"

"Are there no hotels in Yakutsk? Was there a projectile meteor strike while I wasn't looking?"

"Are you mad this time? There's a quarantine! Living in a hotel is bloody miserable! She wouldn't be able to go outside and stuff! Besides, I'm trying to save money for the wedding, I don't wanna splurge thousands on a hotel. I mean, have you seen the prices for all-inclusive?"

"Does my home look like an all-inclusive hotel?"

"No, but I'd pay you! So, surely, you could arrange some bed and breakfast here. How does a thousand per day sound?"

Marfa thought for a second.

"Alright. And how long will she be here?"

"A couple of weeks at least. Maybe a bit more. Depends on how our parents will take it."

"Luka… I know that you're the youngest one. But you should at least try thinking sometimes. This isn't how things are done." Marfa shook her head. "Vera. Are you okay with that?"

Vera, who was looking at her cup and slowly eating a dry cookie, flinched a bit.

"Me? Yes, yes, it's absolutely fine by me."

"But you don't even know me, are you okay with living with me for at least two weeks?"

"Well, knowing your brother, I think we'll get on just fine!" her smile was almost convincingly hopeful.

"I… Hm… Luka, will you still pay me if she runs away?"

"Oh, she won't!" Luka laughed.

"I won't run away!" Vera also laughed.

"Don't you scare her away, alright, Marfa?" Luka said wagging his finger.

"I don't think it will be necessary…" said Marfa thinking that whatever their relationship was, it would never work. She found Vera more and more suspicious because of how subdued her reactions to everything were.

"I won't run away," repeated Vera without any particular emotion.

"Okay, will you send me a selfie from here with a news site front-page every morning?" asked Luka and kissed her on the cheek. He tried to pass it off as a joke, but something was off.

"I will!"

"And that's when I'll send you another crisp one, deal, Marfa?"

"I wish I was dealing with adults…" Marfa couldn't find a reason to refuse them. They already broke her quarantine and a thousand a day sounded very well. Maybe she'd have a chance to get to know Vera better and see if their relationship really was something substantial. If it wasn't, well, there was a chance to end the entire charade. "Okay. Deal."

"I'll go fetch her bags and some groceries I got for you two!" said Luka while shaking Marfa's hand, and then he left.

-----------------------------------------------

I'll be using British and American words interchangeably, because I'm neither.

Tagging people who showed interest:

@general-sleepy

@icryyoumercy

@gowan43

@simuran

@skyborneveggie

@andorianimpostor

@mzannthropik

@jackymedan

@aziraphalesangel

If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, interact with this post in any way!

[crucifycorii]

more lore of kori cuz i can't sleep

my cousin broke my arm twice and now my elbow curves to the right instead of being straight

i studied russian for a brief moment in early 2020 but never continued to study it

i was obsessed with Mario when i was 5-8

i found out about cuphead through casino cups and i found babtqftim through cuphead and i found batim through babtqftim (what did i type)

[magicofsimplestories]

Disclaimer: MANY letters to follow 😇🤓

1.

Okay, it’s time to tell you my big secret, guys. I’m a Potterhead 😃 I read the books and watched the movies (in both English and my mother tongue) countless times. I have a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin scarfs, a cauldron cup and a snitch (I honestly tried to buy Draco’s wand last September but they ran out of them at the shop 🥲). I attended Tom Felton’s meet and greet when he visited my city. And finally, I’ve been writing HP fan-fiction since my teenage years. I’ve never published any of my “pieces of art” anywhere, so the things that I’ve finally decided to share with you here are hell of exclusive 😎

The “Hold on” is particularly dear to me not only because it’s one of the few things that I’ve actually finished, but also because the 2009-2012 version of it shows an enormous progress of my writing skill. It started as a never-ending dialogue, and it developed into a story with a study of characters’ depth and an attempt to reflect on the magic world of Harry Potter beyond the borders of the books and the movies. 

The 2020 pandemic year gave me a lot of time and chances to reflect on the past, present and future, on life and death, on love, friendship, devotion, freedom, peace. That scary year of unprecedented uncertainty surprisingly helped me to get back to many things that I haven’t been doing for quite a while before covid, including writing. I tried to go on with a couple of my originals but my soul was constantly demanding something magic. And that’s where I decided that the time for reviewing the “Hold on” story has finally come. 

The English adaptation that I’m still working on differs from the original in Russian. It certainly has many twists that I invented back in 2010s. However, it goes deeper in exploring the characters, it broadens the Malfoy-side story from the original J.K. Rowling books and it contains a large part on the Irish magic society that plays a very important role in the development of the general storyline of the “Hold on”. 

I’m not sure that my Tumblr/Simblr blog is a proper place for sharing an over-300 pages draft (roughly 1/3 of the planned size). However, if some of you would like to read it I will consider making a Wattpad/Fanfiction.net page or whatever to publish it for you 😇

Today I wanna show you the Sim versions of some of the main characters of the “Hold on”. Hopefully, they will win over your hearts as they did over mine 😍 Please, welcome, the Lynches. 

Jason Lynch, the headmaster of Limerick, the Irish School of Magic. His wife Brie (or Brianne), Potions teacher at Limerick. And their daughter Demi (Demetria), a talented potion maker and a big lover of muggle rock.

The Lynch Manor (under cut) is an ancient Irish country home outside Dublin that Jason inherited from his parents. 

The sims and the manor are made by me, and I’m hell of proud of myself 😂😃

Next Sneak

[figureskatingcostumes]

Petr Gumennik skating to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata for his short program at stage 2 of the 2020 Russian Cup and the 2021 Russian Nationals.

(Sources: 1, 2 and 3)

[beardedmrbean]

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Members of Russia's Pussy Riot band were detained on Sunday after trying to storm the pitch at the World Cup final in Qatar to protest the war in Ukraine, the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the oppression of women in Iran, activists said.

According to the Cinema for Peace Foundation, a Berlin-based charity that focuses on humanitarian and environmental issues, security detained member Nika Nikulshina, an associate of the protest group, Peter Verzilov, and a Ukrainian member of Pussy Riot.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

The activists were stopped by security forces before they could invade the pitch, Cinema for Peace said in a statement.

Jaka Bizilj, founder of the Cinema for Peace Foundation, told Reuters that Verzilov told him that he was pulled back by security forces seconds before entering the pitch.

"When I texted with Peter he was in police detention," Bizilj said.

Verzilov, one of Russia's best known human rights activists and the publisher of independent media outlet Mediazona, has been placed by Moscow on its wanted list.

Navalny, the most prominent domestic critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a strong opponent of the war in Ukraine, is serving prison terms totalling 11-1/2 years for fraud, contempt of court and parole violations, all of which he rejects as trumped-up charges.

Iran's clerical rulers have faced the biggest protests in years since September when 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police who enforce strict dress codes.

The 2018 World Cup final in Moscow was briefly interrupted when Pussy Riot activists, including Verzilov, burst onto the pitch to draw attention to human rights abuses in Russia before being hauled off by stewards.

Cinema for Peace evacuated Verzilov after the 2018 World Cup in Moscow for treatment for alleged poisoning. The foundation also brought Navalny in 2020 from Russia to Berlin for life-saving treatment after his poisoning.

[voskhozhdeniye]

CNET reporter Jackson Ryan published an article last month describing how ChatGPT, an AI that can generate human-sounding text, would affect journalists and the news industry: “ChatGPT Is a Stunning AI, but Human Jobs Are Safe (for Now).”

“It definitely can’t do the job of a journalist,” Ryan wrote of ChatGPT. “To say so diminishes the act of journalism itself.

The article said AI isn’t coming for journalists’ jobs just yet, but the very publication that ran Ryan’s article has been quietly publishing articles written by AI since November, according to Futurism and online marketer Gael Breton. The AI-written CNET articles bear the byline CNET Money Staff which is identified on the outlet’s website as “AI Content published under this author byline is generated using automation technology.”

CNET did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.

The first article written by CNET Money Staff was published on November 11 with the headline, “What is a credit card charge-off?” Since then, the news site has published 73 AI-generated articles, but the outlet says on its website that a team of editors is involved in the content “from ideation to publication. Ensuring that the information we publish and the recommendations we make are accurate, credible, and helpful to you is a defining responsibility for what we do.”

The outlet says they will continue to publish each article with “editorial integrity” and says, “Accuracy, independence, and authority remain key principles of our editorial guidelines.”

The most recent versions of consumer-facing artificial intelligence have taken the tech community by storm with their ability to write passable essays, articles, and computer code in seconds, though the quality varies, and ChatGPT has been banned from several high-profile forums. CNET is not the first news outlet to utilize AI technology, as the Associated Press has boasted of being “one of the first news organizations to leverage artificial intelligence,” since 2015, according to its website. “Today, we use machine learning along key points in our value chain, including gathering, producing, and distributing the news,” the site reads. It’s not clear whether the AP uses AI to write the stories themselves.

Other major news outlets have incorporated AI technology into their work,with the Washington Post announcing it was using AI to provide live updates for the 2020 Presidential election on its podcasts. The goal, the outlet said, was to keep listeners up-to-date during the steady stream of election-based news that would be coming out.

The question of whether AI is supplanting jobs is yet to be answered. Ryan wrote that ChatGPT’s inability to understand or read emotion makes it useless in the context of journalism. ChatGPT, he says, doesn’t have the ability to describe the feelings seen on a player’s face when they win the World Cup, or talk to Ukrainians about how the Russian Invasion has changed their lives, and would definitely have “no hope of covering Musk’s takeover of Twitter.”

Although CNET is now using an AI-generated tool to write its explainers, as Ryan puts it, “it’s no arbiter of truth, and it just can’t read the room.”

[seelestia]

hi bae ‼️ i would love to be part of your matchmaking event, and congrats on 1k !!

My personality kinda bland ngl,, but I'm part of an archery club, and I also fence and skate! Winter is my favourite season. My mom is Chinese and Russian and my dad is Korean. I know five languages, and my favourite colour is lilac. I finished RCM examinations of violin and piano up to level 10 (regretfully)

My love languages (i think lol i havent taken them since 2020) are quality time and acts of service 😩

And i'm an ENFP :^}

Congratulations again, and thank u sm for ur godsend writing. Ur fics and everything make me a better person 🙏🏻

thank you so much for choosing 1-800-SEELEETIA's speed matchmaking services! the keyword: dulcet is inserted . . . congratulations, your result is successfully unlocked! [ submissions are closed, event post. ]

lia's note: the fear i felt when i saw such a talented anon in my inbox (/lh) and ty, it means a lot to know that my works contribute to your growth as a person hfjejksek mwah <3

「 YOUR MATCH IS . . . ZHONGLI! 」

How humble, but there is no need to sell yourself so short; even a so-called bland tea is a cup of tea, regardless. ZHONGLI finds your broad field of expertise to be something worth noting; if experience were in the form of jewels that adorn you, then you'd have easily shone the brightest in the room.

Many people recognize ZHONGLI for his knowledge that seems to stretch as far and wide as the oceans on Teyvat (oh, how people exaggerate these days but he digresses). But knowing by theory is a different matter compared to having hands that play, which is exactly why he enjoys having a chat with you.

You may even get to witness a side to him that has rarely been seen; to see ZHONGLI inquiring someone and not the other way around? What a sight indeed. Well, he is quite impressed by your range of skills, so curiosity is only second nature.

True, ZHONGLI may not be as physically active as you are. He has always been someone who prefers to observe from afar — but isn't that just perfect? His presence brings comfort that is akin to a lover waiting for you at home, always there to welcome you back after a long day of hardwork.

「 RUNNER-UPS: Childe, Albedo. 」

[22003191artstudioiiib]

Week Nine

Next works plan:

Paint more cans (green multiple lights in checker arrangement, a desktop screen with apps on it), maybe make them textured designs?

Make other physical manifestations of the digital objects (clay, etc)

Paint another room on a bigger or a square canvas

Simon Morris

We move through life... perceiving: art education; chair idea; painting with friend; in the community.

- We move through life... perceiving ~ exhibition

- exhibited in NZ, Australia, UK, Germany and Asia

- addresses the acr of painting as a meditation on time, materiality, process and poetics

- the exhibition is a composite exhibition of abstract paintings, photopaintings, drawings, titles, photography, ceramics and structures.

- informed by a deep study of western, eastern and local art practices in particular the role of abstraction as a contemplative means of reflecting on realities and perception

- abstraction for us is not purist, nor modernist endpoint but sits amid the complexity of the world

- diverse/complex, a slow viewing, a journey

- metre and a half between each work roughly, alternating artists works

- 3 cups, 2020-2024, foraged clay, island bay.

- bringing the form loosely with painting, allowing the two forms to meet in one space

- both focus attention and the body in direct experience

- using a leach kick wheel, red for energy, pale green for calmness, clay is blended with foraged material for texture, feel and colour

- formed, fired and left in a simple unglazed state

- a surprise for malovich, russian, photograph of a meerkat behind a black canvas

- titles were written at the time of install on masking tape placed beside the works

- when two colours become one, emerged from a residency at Headlands Center for the Art in San francisco

- expanded experience of time, while filtering new surroundings

- experience translated into constantly shifting time structures and the direct engagement with colour as it transforms in painting from one house to another

- transferring between pots of paint, one brush, two colours, repetition and acceptance of variation

- the time of the painting meets the time of the world

- some of the paintings were on trolleys, paintings don't have to stay still

- spiral time, 2024, ink paper and wood

- a brush releases ink around and around diluting and stretching the stroke. a gesture of similar repeating action accumulating into a single form, slowly.

- seeing and looking, photograph of David's dog

- his titles are like little bits of poetry, rather than writing a list of titles, he arranged in a poetic manner

- hedi love poem to life, contacts and value 2, content, extract from a lecture called wasting time, titles without the artwork

- oxide on mind, 2024, acrylic painting on canvas

- walking drawing - noticing kawakawa, 2024, ink on paper and wood. a response to walking through the ridges and coastlines of island bay, while walking we relax into a steady rhythm, created in the time and space within the studio space

- living room, 2013, Simon Morris and Brenda Sullivan, enjoy public art gallery

- group architects, first house, 1949

- the chair: the story of design and making in aotearoa. object space 2023, Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, curated by Kim Paton

- Josephine Jelicich, wood school fellowship, centre for furniture craftsmanship, Maine US

- Allan Wild, 1952, first house chair

- Anagama firing, 2023, frost and fire pottery, mapua

- Fulbright New Zealand scholarship

[rmfantasysetpieces1]

Thank saint garrincha for alex song. It is rare to find an honest player. 1st, he left to Barca for MONEY!!! so many players talk about how they loved the team they followed him. Get out of here. You left for the money. And there is nothing wrong with leaving for the money , but it should be nothing wrong leaving for the money anywhere, any confederation, any league. Second, all of these agents and entourages and "family" members, never help guide these players spent their money better... ahhhh

THE ARTiCLE

'I left Arsenal for the money – I knew I wouldn’t play but I didn’t think twice about leaving' Alex Song had only one thing in mind when Barcelona came in to sign him from Arsenal - and it certainly wasn't how many minutes he'd be playing in their star-studded side

Arsene Wenger the Arsenal manager chats to Alex Song during an Arsenal pre season training session on July 20, 2005

ByDan Burnham Senior Sports Reporter 13:09, 9 Sep 2024

Regular game time at Arsenal wasn't enough for Alex Song - who "didn't give a f***" about warming Barcelona's bench to become a millionaire.

Song, who celebrates his 37th birthday today (September 9), had been with the Gunners since 2005, first signing on loan aged just 17 and going on to make 205 appearances across all competitions under Arsene Wenger. He was a reliable defensive midfielder for their French boss, making him one of the first names on the teamsheet.

His Premier League form attracted attention from the Catalan giants, who made a £15million offer for his services in the summer of 2012. At the time, Barca boasted their star-studded midfield of Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

So Song was under no illusions he'd be anything but a back-up option used primarily from the bench and in cup competitions. But that was of no concern to him, "not thinking twice" before putting pen to paper on a five-year deal which earned him a reported pay rise from £55,000-a-week to £70k.

Recalling the moment while on an Instagram live with fellow Cameroonian and NBA star Pascal Siakam in 2020, he said: “When Barcelona offered me a contract, and I saw how much I would earn, I didn't think twice.

"I felt my wife and children should have comfortable lives once my career is over. I met Barca's sporting director, and he told me I would not get to play many games, but I didn't give a f*** – I knew that now I would become a millionaire."

Song had been on good money at Arsenal, earning £15k-a-week in just his first contract. But the lavish lifestyle he led in the English capital drained his earnings.

He detailed one costly purchase in particular - buying the same car as Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, which he returned within two months due to how much it was costing him in petrol.

"Most footballers live beyond their means. I was at Arsenal for eight years but only began to earn a good living in the last four," Song admitted.

"That was because my salary went up a lot -- but also because I came to realise what a waster I was. During my entire time at Arsenal, I couldn't even save £100,000, while people thought I must be a millionaire."

He'd spend just two seasons playing for Barca before returning to London for two loan spells with West Ham, departing permanently in 2016 to join Russian club Rubin Kazan. Song went on to also represent Swiss side Sion and Arta Solar 7 in Djibouti before retiring last November.

URL https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-transfer-alex-song-barcelona-33627318

#rmsoccer

[sa7abnews]

Argentinian soccer star applies for Russian passport

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/argentinian-soccer-star-applies-for-russian-passport/

Argentinian soccer star applies for Russian passport

Benjamin Garre has signed a contract with Russia’s Krylia Sovetov for three and a half years

Argentinian professional soccer player Benjamin Garre has declared his intention to apply for Russian citizenship just months after signing a contract with the Krylia Sovetov club based in the Russian city of Samara. The 22-year-old left winger first told the club’s director, Sergey Kornilenko, about his plans, the Match TV sports channel reported this week. In an interview with Match, Garre confirmed his intention. “I might spend many years in this country. I’ve only been here a month, but I’m already feeling great!” he said. “I want to get a [Russian] passport, and I am ready to spend many years in Russia,” he added. Last week, his agent, Emilio Champion, told Match TV that he was helping the player get all the necessary documents for Russian citizenship. “We are still gathering all the necessary papers… That will take some time to fulfill all the [Russian] government requirements,” Champion said. Earlier, Champion also explained that Garre was likely to give up his Argentinian citizenship to get the Russian passport. Garre is the grandson of the 1986 FIFA World Cup winner, Oscar Garre, and has represented Argentina at junior level, winning bronze at the 2015 U15 South American Championship.

READ MORE: Action movie icon says he’s ‘million percent’ Russian

In 2018, the player signed with the English club Manchester City. In 2020, he returned to Argentina and joined Racing Club de Avellaneda before moving to Club Atletico Huracan on loan. In January, Garre moved to Krylia Sovetov Samara on a €1.75 million ($1.92 million) transfer.