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girlactionfigure · 3 years

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There is a popular quote that circulates every once in a while that reads “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.”

This individual holds a special place in my heart and also the hearts of many long-time Peace Page followers, who found this page after reading a simple story which mentioned her and which became one of the most popular posts on the Peace Page. Her name is Harriet Glickman, she is the teacher who decided to write a letter to Charles Schulz and ask him if he could create a black character on his Peanuts comic strip - that character would become Franklin, one of the first black characters in a popular comic strip. Harriet Glickman passed away Friday morning, March 27, 2020, at her home in Sherman Oaks. She was 93. Her passing was reported by a Peanuts-based website, which quoted a personal friend who said, her passing was "peaceful, in her sleep" and that the former schoolteacher had been "well prepared for this." They say representation matters, and Franklin, even though he was a fictional character, was noticed by many who did not feel they were being represented enough during those days. The original Peace Page post started: "On July 31, 1968, a young, black man was reading the newspaper when he saw something that he had never seen before. With tears in his eyes, he started running and screaming throughout the house, calling for his mom. He would show his mom, and, she would gasp, seeing something she thought she would never see in her lifetime. Throughout the nation, there were similar reactions. "What they saw was Franklin Armstrong's first appearance on the iconic comic strip "Peanuts." Although Charles Schulz deserves the accolades and credit for having the courage to create Franklin and standing by him when he started receiving racist demands to remove him, it was all started by a school teacher who decided to write a simple letter. "Harriet has a very interesting place in history," according to The LAist. "In 1968, she wrote to 'Peanuts' creator Charles Schulz asking him to do something remarkable at the time: integrate his famous comic strip." "Harriet Glickman was a white, 42-year-old suburban Los Angeles school teacher and mother raising three children when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968," according to the Press Telegram. According to NPR, she wrote, “Since the death of Martin Luther King, 'I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help change those conditions in our society which led to the assassination and which contribute to the vast sea of misunderstanding, hate, fear and violence.'” Glickman decided to write a letter to Schulz, not knowing whether he would actually read it or even whether he would receive the letter. Glickman was especially aware of the power of comics among the young. “And my feeling at the time was that I realized that black kids and white kids never saw themselves [depicted] together in the classroom,” she said in the Washington Post. She hoped this would bring the country together and show people of color that they are not excluded from American society. At the time, Schulz, the creator of the enormously popular “Peanuts” comic strip, was already being "published in hundreds of newspapers around the United States reaching nearly 100 million readers," according to the Press Telegram. Surprisingly, Schulz did respond, but wasn't sure whether it would be right, coming from him, he didn't want to make matters worse, he felt that it may sound condescending to people of color. Glickman persisted, however, continuing her correspondence with Schulz, even having black friends write to Schulz and explain to him what it would mean to them. She told Schulz that "the gentleness of the [Peanuts would be] 'the perfect setting' for such representation," according to CBR. “I am well aware of the very long and tortuous road ahead,” she added. “I’m sure one doesn’t make radical changes in so important an institution without a lot of shock waves from syndicates, clients, etc. You have, however, a stature and reputation which can withstand a great deal.” This conversation would continue until one day, Schulz told Glickman to check her newspaper on July 31, 1968. On that date, the cartoon, as created by Schulz, shows Charlie Brown meeting a new character, named Franklin. Other than his color, Franklin was just an ordinary kid who befriends and helps Charlie Brown. In a speech at American University of Health Sciences in Signal Hill, California in 2018, talking to a group of children and adults, Glickman said, the 1960s in the United States was “a time long before any of you were born, a time when not everyone was understanding of other people, when young African Americans couldn’t go to the same beach as white children and when schools were separate.” According to the Press Telegram, the Rev. Gregory Johnson, co-founder of American University of Health Sciences who invited Glickman to the event, said he wanted her to know what a profound effect her action with Schulz had on him. “I appreciate so much what you did in improving relations. I wouldn’t be here without you,” he said. Glickman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and lived in Chicago before moving to Southern California and a job in the Burbank School District and eventually UCLA before retiring. Glickman explained in previous interviews that her parents were "concerned about others, and the values that they instilled in us about caring for and appreciating everyone of all colors and backgrounds — this is what we knew when we were growing up, that you cared about other people . . . And so, during the years, we were very aware of the issues of racism and civil rights in this country [when] black people had to sit at the back of the bus, black people couldn’t sit in the same seats in the restaurants that you could sit . . . Every day I would see, or read, about black children trying to get into school and seeing crowds of white people standing around spitting at them or yelling at them . . . and the beatings and the dogs and the hosings and the courage of so many people in that time." Glickman, according to The LAist, said someone once commented to her that "‘It took courage [to do what she did, to make a stand].’ I said, ’No it didn’t, it didn’t take courage for me to sit in Sherman Oaks in my comfortable home with my three children and type a letter.'" "Courage," she said, "was little Ruby Bridges, the little girl who integrated a school in the south who had to come with the National Guard with people spitting at her and yelling at her and throwing things at her and the parents who drew their children out. That was courage." Because of Glickman, because of Schulz, people around the world were introduced to a little boy named Franklin, and even today, when Franklin is mentioned, fond memories are evoked, such as those like the young, black man, who with tears in his eyes, started running and screaming throughout the house because he was introduced to Franklin for the first time. Barbara Brandon-Croft, the first African American woman to have a nationally syndicated comic strip in the mainstream press, was 10 years old in 1968, said, “I remember feeling affirmed by seeing Franklin in ‘Peanuts.’ ‘There’s a little black kid! Thank goodness! We do matter.’" When the Peace Page first shared its story about Franklin's birth, one Peace Page reader commented, "I normally don't comment on Facebook but I feel compelled to now. As a black child growing up in the 70's and 80's U grew up in mostly white neighborhoods. One of the most difficult things at that time is my sense of where I belonged in the world. I didn't have anybody in my position i could relate to on TV or in the movies. Then I started reading Peanut cartoons and I met Franklin and I saw myself for once. As a character, Franklin was so important to me I named my third son after him. thank you . . . for helping me find my place." That Peace Page story has now reached 22,498,877 people, receiving 2,091,450 reactions. It has inspired an Upworthy article and has been shared all over the world, including by media companies in Australia and Italy. When the Peace Page contacted the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, one of the representatives said that Glickman regularly visited the museum and she was fondly called "Franklin's Mom." When she saw that Peace Page post, she commented on the Peace Page, "It's always a joy for me to share the Franklin story. I consider him my fourth child and he is very much loved." In the speech in 2018 at American University of Health Sciences, she told the audience that it still “feels like yesterday [when Franklin was introduced].” She said some things have changed, but others have not. “We still have so many problems on how we see each other,” she said in an article by the Press Telegram. She told the children: “You can make a difference in making the world a better place. When you see something that makes you feel angry or upset, don’t just complain, do something about it. And remember that we all care for each other; we’re all the same loving, caring people.” She then autographed a book introducing Franklin to Charlie Brown, “Nice to Meet You, Franklin!” and urged each youngster “to make a difference.” Thank you, Harriet Glickman, also, for making a difference and making the world a better place. [Photo courtesy of CBR]

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

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justforbooks · 3 years

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Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. was born on February 12, 1939. He was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author. He was best known as a member of the Doors from 1965 to 1973, which he co-founded with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison.

Manzarek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Doors. He was a co-founding member of Nite City from 1977 to 1978, and of Manzarek–Krieger from 2001 until his death in 2013. USA Today defined him as "one of the best keyboardists ever".

Raymond Daniel Manczarek Jr. was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. He was born to Helena (1918–2012) and Raymond Manczarek Sr. (1914–1987), and was of Polish descent.

In 1956, he matriculated at DePaul University, where he played piano in his fraternity's jazz band (the Beta Pi Mu Combo), participated in intramural football, served as treasurer of the Speech Club, and organized a charity concert with Sonny Rollins and Dave Brubeck. He graduated from the University's College of Commerce with a degree in economics in 1960.

In the fall of 1961, Manzarek briefly enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Unable to acclimate to the curriculum, he transferred to the Department of Motion Pictures, Television and Radio as a graduate student before dropping out altogether after breaking up with a girlfriend. Although he attempted to enlist in the Army Signal Corps as a camera operator, he was instead assigned to the highly selective Army Security Agency as a prospective intelligence analyst.

Manzarek married fellow UCLA alumna Dorothy Aiko Fujikawa in Los Angeles on December 21, 1967, with Jim Morrison and his longtime companion, Pamela Courson, as witnesses. Manzarek and Fujikawa remained married until his death. They had a son, Pablo born on August 31, 1973, and three grandchildren. In the early 1970s, the Manzareks divided their time between an apartment in West Hollywood, California, and a small penthouse on New York City's Upper West Side. They subsequently resided in Beverly Hills, California (including ten years in a house on Rodeo Drive) for several decades. For the last decade of his life, Manzarek and his wife lived in a refurbished farmhouse near Vichy Springs, California in the Napa Valley.

In March 2013, Manzarek was diagnosed with a rare cancer called cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and traveled to Germany for special treatment. During that time he reconciled with Densmore, and he spoke to Krieger before his death. He also performed a private concert for his doctors and nurses. Manzarek was "feeling better" until it took a turn for the worse according to his manager. On May 20, 2013, Manzarek died at a hospital in Rosenheim, Germany, at the age of 74. His body was cremated. Krieger said, "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today. I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him." Densmore said, "There was no keyboard player on the planet more appropriate to support Jim Morrison's words. Ray, I felt totally in sync with you musically. It was like we were of one mind, holding down the foundation for Robby and Jim to float on top of. I will miss my musical brother."

Greg Harris, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said in reaction to Manzarek's death that "The world of rock 'n' roll lost one of its greats with the passing of Ray Manzarek." Harris also said that "he was instrumental in shaping one of the most influential, controversial and revolutionary groups of the '60s. Such memorable tracks as 'Light My Fire', 'People Are Strange' and 'Hello, I Love You' – to name but a few – owe much to Manzarek's innovative playing."

On February 12, 2016, at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, Densmore and Krieger reunited for the first time in 15 years to perform in tribute to Manzarek and benefit Stand Up to Cancer. That day would have been Manzarek's 77th birthday. The night featured Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the band X, Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots' Robert DeLeo, Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins, Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara and Andrew Watt, among others.

In April 2018, the film Break On Thru: A Celebration of Ray Manzarek and the Doors premiered at the 2018 Asbury Park Music & Film Festival. The film highlights the 2016 concert in honor of what would have been Manzarek's 77th birthday, and new footage and interviews. The film won the APMFF Best Film Feature Award at the festival.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Ray Manzarek #Famous Birthdays

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honkytonkdyke · 4 years

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Hi! I'm frankly disturbed by the lack of general Olivier Armstrong/reader I can find cuz damn, yes ma'am 😍 Could you help a buddy out? 🖤

thank you so much for the request, anon! i’ve been meaning to writing something with Olivier for quite a while now, and you gave me an excuse to do so. note: i made two versions of this, the first version is a gender neutral reader and that will be underneath the cut, while the ao3 version linked will be female!reader. i wrote the original in female reader, so if you want the full effect, i suggest ao3.

mulling over coffee with company ~ also on ao3

“Are you cold, Lieutenant?” General Armstrong asked and noted your trembling hands as you stepped with her onto a balcony and overlooked the snowy hills rising and falling around the border of Briggs. Her sword was sheathed by her hip, and she let her hand rest against the hilt.

You shook your head and shoved your hands in your pockets. “Nothing I’m not used to, General.” You looked at her with a light smile. The intensity of her features had fallen as it grew later into the evening. In the lantern lights of the terrace and the moonlight beaming from the sky, her deep-set, tired cerulean eyes were apparent as you studied her face.

“You are staring, Lieutenant,” Olivier said and broke you from your gaze, locking her eyes with your own. “Permission to speak freely, if you have something to say.”

Your eyes widened. “No, sir. I don’t,” you returned and scorned the prying words on your tongue.

Olivier appeared shocked, and her breath hitched ever so slightly as her lips parted. “Are you sure, Lieutenant?” she asked, letting her composure drop for a moment.

You faltered and swallowed. “You just seem more,” you paused, and gave an ahem, “tired than usual, General. I couldn’t help but notice how your eyes look underneath the lower lights. And of course, the moonlight. It’s a full one tonight.”

“Oh,” Olivier said and looked up to the sky. “It is.” She ignored your statements about her appearance and returned to her hardened expression.

There was silence between you and her for a long moment, and you wondered if you had struck a nerve, the things you said a bit too forward for her liking. But as always, she was unreadable, and her gaze was fixed on the moon.

“Lieutenant,” Olivier spoke, letting her hands fall tightly by her side. “Let me invite you to my quarters for the remainder of the evening. I won’t keep you long.”

You nodded as heat rushed to your cheeks. “Yes, sir,” you said with a salute.

Olivier shook her head and spun on her heel, her waist-length blond hair swishing through the air as she whirled around.

You followed her promptly and wondered why it was she would ask you to her quarters at such an hour. It was likely a simple reason, to mull over coffee with company until the night ended. But there was a part of you that, as you watched her strut with high shoulders after the moment of failed collectedness by Olivier, she might be requesting you for something less professional.

Not that you minded, though, because you would be lying if you said you weren’t attracted to the general in a less than acceptable manner. She was a stunning woman in the least of words, and often, just as you did on the balcony, you found yourself reveling in her demanding atmosphere, picturing what it would be like to be under a different extent of her command. That vision of Olivier was what guided you off to sleep some nights, though you wouldn’t admit it.

You continued to follow her as she took you through her office, hanging her heavy black jacket by the door of her room.

“Leave your jacket on the rack,” she told and opened the door to her quarters, signaling for you to go inside. “I have access to heating.”

You nodded and placed the jacket on the hook, across from her own. You stepped into her living area as she flipped on the lights and let the door fall shut behind the both of you.

Olivier relaxed her shoulders and eased over to the far side of the room, where a fresh pot of coffee had just been brewed. She took two mugs from the collection on her bookshelf and poured you both a mug full.

“Take a seat, Second Lieutenant,” Olivier said after handing you the mug and watched her with wide eyes.

You pointed to the chair at her desk. “Is that alright?”

“Of course,” she answered and sat on her bed, cooling her coffee with a breath before taking a sip.

You sat in the chair and faced Olivier as her slender fingers wrapped around the mug as she brought it to her lips and gulped the beverage down with a heavy exhale.

“Like a deer in headlights,” she muttered under her breath and set the mug on her bedside table. Olivier then met your eyes. “You aren’t in trouble, Lieutenant.”

Your chest relaxed in relief, but you were still puzzled by her actions. “Then why did you bring me here, General?”

“I like your company, and I didn’t think you should be in the cold this late,” Olivier answered, discarding her Amestrian military jacket on the bed. “You can’t lie to me, Lieutenant.”

Your cheeks went red at her words. “Look where we are,” you rebutted, “It’s nothing I can’t handle. You shouldn’t worry about me, General. I’m just another soldier beneath your command.”

Her nonchalant expression shifted to something closer to concern, with hints of anger in her eyes, and the general straightened in her seat.

“Do not say such a thing, Lieutenant,” Olivier declared, her voice stern as she bore her eyes into yours. “You are not just another soldier, nor have you ever been! You are the only one underneath my command that is worth multiple tens of your fellow men.” She rose from her seat on the bed and stepped towards you.

“You would not be in my bedroom if it wasn’t for your status as a one of the highest regarded in my eyes. Do not ever think of yourself as simply another one of my men, or-” a pause, she took a grip on your jacket “-another soldier.” The final words of her statement were spoken with a bitter taste on her tongue as she glared in your eyes. But her eyes softened as she let go of your jacket and let out a heavy exhale.

You stood from your chair and eased to Olivier, but she refused to meet your eyes. Her statement, and her apprehensiveness about your response, explained why it was she brought you here in the first place. You were proud to be more than just another soldier to her, but you knew you, by her outburst, that you meant even more than that to her.

“General,” you whispered and brought your hand to her cheek, and the warmness of her skin radiated under your touch.

She let out a shaky breath as she finally leaned into your hand and met your eyes. She shook her head.

“Forgive me for my outburst,” she spoke, her low but voice returned to its regular intensity. She took a step forward and closed the gap between you and her. “But you mustn’t disregard what I said.”

Your breath hitched. “I won’t, sir.”

“No.” She pursed her lips at the honorific and set her arm against your waist. “You are to call me Olivier from now on.”

You weren’t sure how to respond, afraid your lips might go for hers during your attempt to speak. So you nodded, with wide eyes gazing into hers. You watched her eyes fall to your lips as she carded her fingers through your hair with the hand that didn’t have a hold on your hip.

Olivier broke and crashed her lips against yours, settling the suffocating tension as she would with her sword. She kissed you deeply, with the intensity and desire of a woman who’s previous physical release had been in years prior to her current circumstance and the taste of coffee on her tongue. She lifted you by your thighs and set you on her desk, not once breaking the lock on your lips.

You returned this fervent need for her and kissed her with the passion rivaling her own as you continued to hold her jaw tightly in your hand, rhythmically stroking her cheek with your thumb. Even from above your layered uniform, the pressure with which her fingers pushed into your waist seemed enough to bruise, increased doubly with the use of both hands as she fought for leverage while kissing you.

“Olivier,” you groaned softly, parting from her lips for air.

Her eyes were half-lidded and low and through rose-tinted cheeks and the fondness in her expression, it was exhaustion that flooded her face, echoing her appearance on the balcony. Olivier sighed and kissed you once more, quick with her action. She released your hips from her grasp and rubbed them gently.

“I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

You shook your head. “If I need bruises and I need ice, I’ll come to you.”

Olivier extended her hand to help you step down from her desk. “If you need anything in the night, come to me.”

“Of course.” You steadied on your feet and smiled, easing to the door of her bedroom. “You try and get some rest tonight, alright? Can’t let the Northern Wall of Briggs fall.”

Olivier nodded with a hint of a smile on her face. “Goodnight, Lieutenant.”

#olivier mira armstrong #olivier mira armstrong x reader #olivier mira armstrong fanfic #vadetakesarequest #vadesmasterlist

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fls8729 · 3 years

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Biden shows little desire to reverse Trump's Cuba policies

The Biden administration’s first major move on Cuba is the strongest signal yet it has little appetite to reverse Trump-era policies toward the island nation.

The State Department this past week listed Cuba as among those “not cooperating fully with United States antiterrorism efforts,” renewing a determination first made in 2020.

For those in favor of normalizing U.S. ties with Cuba, the move was seen as a purely political decision, but one that suggests the Biden administration may continue with the hardline approach taken by former President Trump.

“It’s a political determination, and a signal they’re trying to give the right wing that they’re going to stick with the status quo,” said Fulton Armstrong, an American University professor and director of Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council during the Clinton administration.

“These determinations are B-O-G-U-S,” he added, criticizing the State Department for offering little insight into what factored into its decision.

The determination was made under the Arms Export Control Act, which requires a report every May listing countries barred from defense exports and sales with the U.S. Obama had removed Cuba from the list in 2015.

But the statute is also one of the three laws weighed when adding countries to the state sponsors of terrorism list — something Trump added Cuba to in the final days of his presidency.

While the Biden team has pledged to review Trump’s state sponsor of terror listing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in March that “a Cuba policy shift is not currently among President Biden’s top priorities.”

To Cubans, the latest determination looks like a continuation of the Trump era.

“The U.S. changed presidents, but it’s more of the same,” Alejandro Gil Fernández, Cuba’s deputy prime minister and top economic policy minister, wrote on Twitter.

The State Department said the decision was made after “a review of a country's overall level of cooperation in our efforts to fight terrorism, taking into account our counterterrorism objectives with that country, and a realistic assessment of its capabilities.”

Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela are among the other countries on the list.

The decision earned praise from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has blasted Cuba for remaining close with Venezuela. He called the move “a positive step that follows four productive years of the Trump Administration’s efforts to end Havana’s destructive and destabilizing efforts.”

But others see little fodder for the determination beyond Cuba agreeing to let Colombian National Liberation Army members stay in the country after negotiations it hosted on behalf of the nation in 2018 fell apart, and the Colombian government refused safe passage for the group to return.

“It's hard to have cooperation on counterterrorism or anything else if you're not talking with one another,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) a longtime proponent of normalizing ties with Cuba, told The Hill, noting the limited diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“And it's hard to get cooperation when the United States has not moved forward with any kind of genuine reengagement with Cuba,” he added.

The hesitancy to do anything similar to the Obama-era thawing of Cuban relations follows significant losses for Democrats in Florida. Trump won the state in November, while Democrats also lost two South Florida districts in an election that underscored the party’s struggles to win over more Latino voters.

The designation is the latest move from an administration that has publicly sought to distance itself from the Obama administration — not its predecessor — when it comes to Cuba.

“Joe Biden is not Barack Obama on policy toward Cuba,” Juan Gonzalez, senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council, told CNN en Español in April.

Geoff Thale, president of the Washington Office on Latin America, described Cuba and Venezuela as the center of the GOP’s successful messaging in Florida before they gained the two House seats in November, including the district encompassing Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.

“It wasn't really saying, ‘You don't want to end the embargo on Cuba,’ it was a campaign that said ‘Democrats are all socialists and socialism will ruin your life.’ And is that a wild distortion of Democrats’ policies and the Democratic party? Yes, it is. But as a media hit it was fairly effective,” he said.

“The easy answer is to say, ‘We won't do anything about Cuba or Venezuela, and if we do, we’ll do it as quietly as possible,’ ” he said.

But Thale doesn’t think that’s the smart strategy.

“Say ‘We are making challenges in Cuba policy, and those changes actually benefit Cubans in America and their families in Cuba that will overtime lead to greater freedom in Cuba,’ ” he said.

“[Democrats] will probably get painted as socialists no matter what they do, so it seems to me they need to think smarter about what they can do on strategy,” he added.

But some see Biden’s approach toward Cuba as part of a broader strategy of taking a tough stance on other communist countries.

“They are returning to the Cold War with practically everyone — with Russia, with China, with Cuba — and I don’t know that that is very smart right now,” said Carlos Alzugaray, a former Cuban diplomat and ambassador.

“But he won’t admit the Obama option is the only option. Because what other option is there? Continue pressuring the government of Cuba? First, that doesn't get done what you think it gets done,” he said, arguing that Cubans are not going to overthrow their government because of the U.S. embargo, which has been in place in some form since 1958.

“But secondly, it makes the United States look bad. It makes the U.S. look mean and vindictive with a small neighbor.”

Still, not all proponents of normalizing ties are worried the carryover determination means the U.S. policy toward Cuba has been settled.

“I’m choosing to look at this as not that big of a deal,” McGovern said. “My understanding is there is a review going on in the administration of what our Cuba policy should be. And my hope is that if it is done objectively and rationally, he will conclude that we need to reengage.”

But Armstrong said the lack of an appetite to reverse even on the Arms Control Export Act list doesn’t signal an administration seriously considering sweeping change.

Sunday shows preview: Bombing in Kabul delivers blow to evacuation... Hurricane Ida could strengthen to Category 4 before hitting US

At the Cuba Communist Party’s eighth party congress in April, the nation for the first time established a government without a single Castro on its roster. Still, the theme was “continuidad,” a nod to continuity of its plans to slowly loosen the government’s grip on the economy as Raúl Castro stepped down from his post.

“There is more continuidad on Cuba policy in Washington than there is in Havana,” Armstrong said.

“They’ve continued the Trump policy without public debate, without evidence, and without the normal government processes of looking at the facts.”

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chroniclesofamber · 5 years

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THE CHRONICLES OF AMBER & History Lessons

It should be obvious that writers, composers, painters and all artists respond to the time in which they live, and that this is reflected in their art. And it should also come as no surprise that some material is more strongly influenced by the historical moment than other art. All this is at least as true for Roger Zelazny and his idolized Chronicles of Amber — perhaps somewhat more so, given that these five books in no small way chart a complete decade.

NINE PRINCES IN AMBER (1970)

History: Pieces of the first book saw print as early as 1967. It appears Zelazny worked on the book here and there for three years or more until its publication in 1970. Still looming over the political landscape of the time was the assassination of John F. Kennedy years earlier, which had led to the Johnson “great society” era and from there to Nixon’s struggles with China, the Soviet Union and the Vietnam War. Just as influential was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as that of Robert Kennedy. The 1960s were dominated by these issues, the Cold War and threat of nuclear annihilation, the rise of the counter-culture and protest movements, the Beatles and Woodstock, and the first landing of men on the Moon.

As someone familiar with Jungian psychology and Frazer’s Golden Bough, Zelazny saw a way to harness the interregnum turmoil of the Sixties while incorporating the ritual of “the Killing of the King.” (Conspiriologists left and right — politically, and otherwise — have long adhered to the notion that it was not a coincidence that this particular killing of the king had been carried out in accordance with ancient ritual.) The King of Amber is missing or deceased. Factions have quickly aligned to jockey for the best position to take advantage of the power vacuum. That a conspiracy to remove both the king and Corwin is uncovered, a few books later, also mirrors the deaths of the Kennedys. Our hero, already in a state of confusion over his own identity and situation, is thrust into the midst of this power-struggle and — like Armstrong and Aldrin aboard the Eagle — soon finds himself visiting another world.

Lesson: Corwin charges in somewhat blindly, and is literally blinded (and imprisoned) as a result. When he miraculously regains both his sight and his freedom, he vows that patience and planning will guide him going forward and that, this time, he will prevail and take his rightful place in Amber. He also learns that what drives you, what you want, has a lot to say about who you are.

Journey: He starts out being held against his will in a hospital, recovering from broken legs and near-drowning from a car accident. By the end of the book, he is recuperating from years of blindness and imprisonment under much better circumstances in a remote lighthouse while cared for by an old friend. When he leaves the lighthouse, no one tries to thwart his departure (he is voluntarily assisted, in point of fact), he knows exactly who he is and what he wants, and has a clear idea of his objective and how to achieve it.

THE GUNS OF AVALON (1972)

History: Two years pass, eventful ones. No shortage of natural disasters — major cholera epidemics in Istanbul and Slovakia; avalanches in France and Peru; earthquakes in Tonghai, Gediz, Burdur, Bingöl, Peru and elsewhere destroy cities and kill thousands; Mount Etna erupts; Montreal is buried by the blizzard dubbed La Tempête du Siècle; the Odisha cyclone overtakes the Bay of Bengal and claims 10,000 lives; 50 tornadoes tear through Louisiana and Mississippi; floods put Bangladesh and eastern Bengal underwater; the Bhola cyclone wipes out half a million people. But the real disasters turn out to be man-made, so much so that this period could easily be described by the phrase “state of emergency.” The Apollo 13 mission fails, though the astronauts survive and the summer of 1971 sees a rover rolling across the surface of the Moon. Oil-price instability and Nixon taking the dollar off the gold standard together signal economic and energy crises yet-to-come, but the real instability is social, political and military. Coups and assassinations become commonplace as former colonial possessions are granted independence.

Keyword: Napalm. Bombs, terrorism, murder and violence, state-sanctioned and otherwise, plague the United Kingdom due to resistance to British rule in Northern Ireland. American incursions into Laos and Cambodia fuel growing anti-war sentiment. The publication of the Pentagon Papers and the COINTELPRO documents stolen from FBI offices in Pennsylvania, news images of the Kent State shootings, and revelations of the My Lai Massacre throw gasoline onto the fire: 150,000 protest the Vietnam War in San Francisco on the same day that half a million march on Washington, D.C. 60% of Americans oppose American troops in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the ashes of Hitler, Eva Braun, and the Goebbels family are scattered in East Germany’s Biederitz River. Echoing all this, Zelazny pulls from the Grail quest an idea which unites the chaos reflected in the natural and human worlds in a single image — the Wasteland — and gives it the form of the Black Road, which Corwin discovers runs all the way to the outskirts of his beloved Amber.

Lesson: Corwin struggles with his commitment to his system of values as demonic beings and foreign-imposed dictatorship threaten the shadow world Lorraine and Amber herself. With some reluctance, he risks his own neck for a place lost to him long ago, and abandons his scheme to turn his troops and guns against Amber when the kingdom seems on the brink of falling to an enemy coming in strength. He understands the necessity to adapt to changing conditions and to remain flexible while pursuing his goals.

Journey: Corwin intends to sail straight to Avalon but gets lost in his very own Wood of Error, so that a spontaneous choice leads him instead into the hell of Lorraine, its Goat, and the citadel at the heart of the Black Circle. Toward the end of the book he is again diverted from his course in that his original mission, to exact vengeance on his brother Eric and seize the throne, is set aside when he comes upon the creatures of the Black Road at Amber’s gates. Just as he set out seeking gunpowder in Avalon but found something else along the way — the knight errant he once was long ago — he marches to Amber to find that the regicide he believed he desired was not what he would ultimately want or choose to do.

Vietnam and the 1970s

The tide had definitely turned against U.S. participation in the Vietnam War by the first years of the decade. Nixon, having seen Johnson’s presidency founder and meet an early end due to the war, initiated a draw-down of forces. Australia and New Zealand pulled out of the war in 1971. By the end of that same year, American ground forces had been withdrawn from the war effort, though involvement would drag on a few more years.

Britain, though victorious after World War I, had been left depleted and weary of war — brutal trench warfare had cost the nation more than a million lives. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 more or less marked the beginning of the Vietnam War in the minds of Americans, when U.S. troop strength went from 23,000 to 184,000. It had therefore gone on longer than World War I and wound up costing approximately 60,000 American lives. In America a fatigue had taken hold which was not so different from what post-Great War Britain had known.

Zelazny may have been responding to the mood of the times when portraying the enormity and senselessness of the losses witnessed, and caused, by Corwin and other princes of Amber.

From the first book:

“…ten thousand men dead in a plains battle with centaurs, five thousand lost in an earthquake of frightening proportions, fifteen hundred dead of a whirlwind plague that swept the camps, nineteen thousand dead or missing in action as they passed through the jungles of a place I didn’t recognize, when the napalm fell upon them from the strange buzzing things that passed overhead, six thousand deserting in a place that looked like the heaven they had been promised, five hundred unaccounted for as they crossed a sand flat where a mushroom cloud burned and towered beside them, eighty-six hundred gone as they moved through a valley of suddenly militant machines that rolled forward on treads and fired fires, eight hundred sick and abandoned, two hundred dead from flash floods, fifty-four dying of duels among themselves, three hundred dead from eating poisonous native fruits, a thousand slain in a massive stampede of buffalo-like creatures, seventy-three gone when their tents caught fire, fifteen hundred carried away by the floods, two thousand slain by the winds that came down from the blue hills.”

What tends to jump out from that passage (especially to readers harkening back to the ’70s):

(1) napalm dropped from aircraft on troops moving through jungles below results in a number of casualties far higher than deaths from any other cause;

(2) immediately after thousands depart for paradise, their desertion is contrasted with the hell of the detonation of a nuclear weapon;

(3) aside from deaths due to centaurs, war machines, nuclear warfare and napalm, natural disasters are responsible for the mass losses of life, yet the total taken by disaster is still dwarfed by the number slain in combat.

There is not much other commentary on war in the series. The subject of warfare is largely confined to the first two books. But there is this from the end of the sixth chapter of Nine Princes in Amber:

“As I stood on a hilltop and the evening began around me, it seemed as if I looked out over every camp I had ever stood within, stretching on and on over the miles and the centuries without end. I suddenly felt tears come into my eyes, for the men who are not like the lords of Amber, living but a brief span and passing into dust, that so many of them must meet their ends upon the battlefields of the world.”

[…to be continued in a future post…]

#the chronicles of amber #roger zelazny #vietnam war #chronicles of amber #nine princes in amber

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mermaidsirennikita · 5 years

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What do you think about GOT losing both writing and directing and basically winning only two awards? Isn’t it kinda humiliating for the show like this?

I mean, idk if it’s as humiliating as the general hype over the backlash to season 8? But it definitely was a rebuke from the voters imo. Like. They couldn’t resist giving one of the biggest television phenoms of all time one last series drama... And listen, GoT undoubtedly did change the landscape of TV and TV people will ALWAYS be kissing its ass for that.

But everyone knew that they didn’t deserve it. The body of work that was season 8 did not deserve Best Drama. So. There was the rebuke that came in writing and directing. Now, I’ve never seen Ozark--my mom loves it, and it generally seems to be well-reviewed though also kind of a poor man’s Breaking Bad. However, Best Directing for an episode of television, tbh, isn’t quite the same as “best directing for X film”. Because TV is more long-form, though the directing for individual episodes can stand out--I’m thinking of the hype over shots in the Haunting of Hill House or some of the shit they did in season 1 of True Detective--it typically, I would say, is more of an extra laurel for a an already-admired TV show. That’s what it would have been for GoT, kind of in the sense that the Battle of the Bastards accolades were for season 6. Writing, because most dramas today are serialized, is about a single episode but it’s more linked to the solidity of the show as a whole. A single amazingly written episode will still be flawed if the rest of the show sucks because that episode has to link to the shitty episodes.

Back to why I think the winners won. I think Bateman won in part because he not only directs the show but stars in it and it seems to be his baby and he’s been around on the scene forever and people love it when a comedy man goes dramatic, so I think that was a big pat on the back for him. Armstrong winning for Succession, imo, was more a signal of the next wave. Before GoT was winning everything, Breaking Bad and Mad Men won everything. I think that the writing win was evidence that HBO pushed hard for Succession, while also giving their dying baby its dues, and the voters LOVE Succession. I mean, I’m a fucking stan so I’m biased--but seeing as Succession s1 is largely seen as a show that started of good but not great and became great in the second half and has been completely outshone by season 2.... 2020 is gonna be that show’s fucking time. It’s gonna be a Mad Men/Breaking Bad “this show kinda coasted as an admired series and then blew the fuck up due to critical acclaim” story.

#Anonymous

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years

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Stress, Picard Prequel & E-Scooters

Here we come, washing over the net, getting happiest looks from everyone we know. Hey hey it’s the Nerds! We are back once again with a brand new episode for your entertainment pleasure. This week we have another fun filled episode for you, and we promise not to sing. First up the Professor continues his series on Game Developers with a lot of information on some funding support that is available. We also look at the negative side of crowd funding with the keyboard warriors and trolls being their useless selves. So if you are interested in becoming a games developer and have been listening in on the rest of the series you are sure to find this helpful and interesting.

Next up we urge you to grab yourselves a cup of Earl Grey, hot, and prepare for some awesome news from the Star Trek universe. There is news that some Picard prequel comics and novels are on the way. At present we aren’t expecting to see a young Picard running around the vineyards in France breaking hearts with the wind blowing through his hair. That sounded like bad fan fiction, sorry. Anyway we are certainly looking forward to this fabulous news material.

Buck has word that e-scooters are not as green friendly as is first suggested. That’s right, Buck is unhappy with the misperception of those zippy little shared e-scooters littering up the city. Apparently a study has shown some data that questions their usage, let alone the materials used in the manufacture of the various components. Then there is the issue of the scooters ending up in water ways. That’s right, some idiots are throwing e-scooters into rivers, creeks, lakes and other various waterways. Some people are seriously troubling in the level of stupid they present to the world.

Next as usual we have the various shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, events of interest and the games we are currently playing, minus one host who was abducted. Was it by aliens, the CIA or someone else we may have insulted? You will have to listen to find out who; then we think we will see who comes up with the most interesting answer. Let us know what you think. As always, stay safe, take care, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

EPISODE NOTES:

The Stress of funding - https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1157298020691644416?s=09

Picard prequel comics and novels revealed – https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/star-trek-picard-prequel-novel-and-comics-on-the-way/

Shared E-scooters - https://phys.org/news/2019-08-e-scooters-green-options.html

Games currently playing

Buck

– Company of heroes 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/231430/Company_of_Heroes_2/

Professor

– They Are Billions - https://store.steampowered.com/app/644930/They_Are_Billions/

– DOTA 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/570/Dota_2/

Other topics discussed

Epic Games Store exclusivity helps Phoenix Point achieve 191% return

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/1999-11-30-epic-games-store-exclusivity-helps-phoenix-point-achieve-191-percent-return

Epic Games will fund the cost of Kickstarter refunds for Epic-exclusives

- https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-07-03-epic-games-will-fund-the-cost-of-kickstarter-refunds-for-epic-exclusives

Video games blamed for shootings

- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/sports/trump-violent-video-games-studies.html

International Game Developers Association defend industry following President Trump's accusations against "gruesome and grisly video games"

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-08-06-igda-igdaf-issues-statement-on-weekend-shootings-in-the-us

Ooblets dev received thousands of "hateful, threatening messages"

- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-08-05-ooblets-dev-received-thousands-of-hateful-threatening-messages-over-epic-exclusivity

Steam takes down Devotion

- https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18239937/taiwanese-horror-game-devotion-gone-steam-removed-winnie-the-pooh-meme-china

Screen Queensland Announces Successful Recipients of the 2018-19 Game Development and Marketing Investment Program

- https://screenqueensland.com.au/news/on-screen/screen-queensland-announces-successful-recipients-of-the-2018-19-game-development-and-marketing-investment-program/

Applications now open for the Game Development and Marketing Investment Program 2019

- https://screenqueensland.com.au/news/on-screen/applications-now-open-for-the-game-development-and-marketing-investment-program-2019/

Screen Queensland (SQ) are inviting applications from Queensland game developers seeking finance for games with a global audience. Applications open – finance for games

- https://screenqueensland.com.au/news/apply-now/applications-open-finance-for-games/?utm_source=Social%20Media&utm_medium=Organic&utm_campaign=GamesFinance19Rd2

Brisbane International Game Developers Association (brIGDA)

- http://www.igdabrisbane.org/

Una Mcormack (British-Irish academic and novelist)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Una_McCormack

Star Trek's Jeri Ryan Had A Hard Time Finding Seven's Voice for Picard

- https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/08/star-treks-jeri-ryan-had-a-hard-time-finding-sevens-voice-for-picard/

Jeri Ryan in Seven of Nine costume

- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0a/SevenofNine.jpg

Star Trek: Voyager (1995 Star Trek series)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Voyager

Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek character)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Janeway

Star Trek: Nemesis (2003 film)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Nemesis

Lead–crime hypothesis (proposed link between elevated blood lead levels in children and increased rates of crime)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead–crime_hypothesis

Huffing: Getting a high from aerosol cans

- https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/teens-risk-death-huffing-cans-of-deodorant/news-story/595989e970947a6f6d33537c56b1d653

Submerged Share Scooters Out of The Water

- https://www.pedestrian.tv/tech/share-scooters-water/

Lime scooter helmets

- https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/183700245006_/Lime-Scooter-Helmet-NEW-Size-XL-EXTRA-LARGE.jpg

Elvis Lives (TNC podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/elvislivespodcast

Shoutouts

5 Aug 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed. - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-electric-traffic-signal-installed

5 Aug 1966 - Beatles release single "Yellow Submarine" with "Eleanor Rigby" in UK - https://www.beatlesbible.com/1966/08/05/uk-single-eleanor-rigby-yellow-submarine/

5 Aug 1936 - American athlete Jesse Owens wins 200m in world record time (20.7), his 3rd gold medal of the Berlin Olympics - https://www.olympic.org/news/jesse-owens-completes-the-hat-trick-with-200m-win

5 Aug 2010 - Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine, located in the Atacama Desert 45 kilometres north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men, trapped 700 meters underground and 5 kilometres from the mine's entrance via spiralling underground ramps, were rescued after 69 days. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Copiapó_mining_accident

Remembrances

4/5 Aug 1962 - Marilyn Monroe, American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s and was emblematic of the era's changing attitudes towards sexuality. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2018). More than half a century later, she continues to be a major popular culture icon. Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with substance abuse, depression, and anxiety. Her second and third marriages, to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller, were highly publicized and both ended in divorce. She died from overdose of barbiturates at the age of 36 in Los Angeles, California. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe

4 Aug 2019 - Stu Rosen, American voice director and voice actor. Rosen voice directed many cartoons and commercials for television, including Fraggle Rock, the first episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), Biker Mice from Mars and many more. Other such shows soon followed: Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men,Spiderman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series directed by Andrea Romano and Phantom 2040 also directed by Rosen. He died from cancer at the age of 80 in Los Alamitos, California. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Rosen

5 Aug 2000 - Alec Guinness, English actor. He is known for his six collaborations with David Lean: Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations, Fagin in Oliver Twist, Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai, Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia, General Yevgraf Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago, and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India. He is also known for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy; for the original film, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards. Guinness won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award. In 1959, he was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in 1980 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 1989. He died from liver cancer at the age of 86 in Midhurst,West Sussex - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Guinness

Famous birthdays

5 Aug 1862 - Joseph Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show as the "Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital after he met Frederick Treves, subsequently becoming well known in London society. He was born in Leicester - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Merrick

5 Aug 1930 - Neil Armstrong, American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who was the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also anaval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon, and the next day they spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the mission's command module (CM). When Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, he famously said: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, and Armstrong and his former crewmates received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2009. He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong

5 Aug 1889 - Conrad Aiken, American writer, whose work includes poetry,short stories,novels, a play, and an autobiography. Aiken wrote or edited more than 51 books, the first of which was published in 1914, two years after his graduation from Harvard. His work includes novels, short stories (The Collected Short Stories appeared in 1961), criticism, autobiography, and poetry. He was born in Savannah, Georgia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Aiken

Events of Interest

5 Aug 1888 – Bertha Benz was the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance, rigorously field testing the patent Motorwagen, inventing brake pads and solving several engineering issues during the 65 mile trip. That trip occurred in early August 1888, as the entrepreneurial lady took her sons Eugen and Richard, fifteen and fourteen years old, respectively, on a ride from Mannheim through Heidelberg, and Wiesloch, to her maternal hometown of Pforzheim. As well as being the driver, Benz acted as mechanic on the drive, cleaning the carburettor with her hat pin and using a garter to insulate wire. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen

5 Aug 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping. - https://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/houdinis-last-stunt/

5 Aug 1930 – S. A. Andrée’s balloon polar expedition of 1897 was aimed to cross over the North Pole in 43 hours in a hydrogen balloon then journey on to land thanks to the financial support of the Swedish King Oscar II and Alfred Nobel. Andrée’s balloon lost much of its steering capabilities just after launch when a number of drag ropes fell from the craft and ballast sand was thrown overboard. The remaining ropes could be seen trailing in the water till the balloon vanished out of sight. And that was the last anyone heard or saw of the trio for more than 30 years. Discovery came on the 5th August 1930 when the Norwegian Bratvaag expedition found remains on White Island, on the Svalbard archipelago, of a headless body, disturbed by polar bears propped up against a rock. Further investigations by a journalist revealed the bodies of both his companions and diaries detailing much of their ordeal. A camera was also found, and 93 eerie negatives developed of their tragic journey. The remains of the expedition were brought home to Stockholm to a grand procession, where they were feted as national heroes. - https://www.onthisday.com/articles/strange-story-of-the-balloon-expedition-to-the-north-pole

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamated

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrS

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094

RSS - http://www.thatsnotcanonproductions.com/topshelfnerdspodcast?format=rss

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chalabrun · 5 years

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little red corvette, ch. 2

Word Count: 1,786 Pairing: Charliebee Rating: G Warnings: None Summary: It’s been almost a full year since Charlie and Bumblebee have seen each other. This isn’t how they expected it would go.

( READ ON AO3 )

“Wait, so let me get this straight: Bee’s been gone for ten months, and now you have the autobot equivalent of a military brat?”

Charlie blinked in disbelief at Agent Burns, blushing darkly when he phrased it that way. She hadn’t thought she’d be back at McKinnon Air Force Base, if ever due to the partially bad memories made here, but it was the only place she could think of that could temporary house Little Red safely while she worked through just what she’d have to do to make this all work.

They peered in unison over the railing on the catwalk that encompassed the combined armory and garage, Little Red himself down below merrily waving his hand like a baton to the crispy strains of Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood’. Ron would definitely be able to appreciate the Bot’s choice in music, that was for sure. James himself quirked a brow, hand on his hip with the other leaned on the railing.

“I...guess?” she agreed uncertainly, smiling sheepishly up at the man. “Just...can we keep him safe here, for now? I really don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“Yeah, no kidding, kid,” Burns agreed resolutely, casting a pointed look at her. “You know, you’re gonna have to tell the Autobots eventually. And that includes the kid’s baby daddy.”

“Do you really have to phrase it like that? I mean...it’s not like we did anything!” Charlie protested, finding it harder and harder to get used to the idea. Even if she was protective of Red. So, in a way, Burns was right. That didn’t make it any less awkward to hear, though!

“Well, whatever you did checked off everything on the list in their culture.” Glancing at Charlie and her fuming sense of mortification, he patted the brunette’s shoulder. “Just...sit tight, kid. I’ll get us some coffee while we deal with this new headache.” Catching Red’s gaze, the Transformer enthusiastically waved at the man. “Why don’t you spend some time with your kid? You know, bond a little?”

At Charlie’s audible huff, James chuckled and the young woman glared daggers into his retreating back. He was right, though. For better or worse, he was her son and they still had the issue of telling Bee even if the notion made her feel tense.

‘Hi mom!” Red chirped in greeting, happily twitching along to the rhythm of Louis Armstrong’s jazz numbers. At least it was better than droning silence. “Are we going to see dad soon?”

It hurt how much he reminded her of Bee. That alone made her heart smart. God, she really missed him, didn’t she? “Mom? Why do you look so sad? Did I say something bad?” Red queried anxiously, earning a startled look.

Unable to help herself, Charlie seized Red’s neck in a hug. She shook her head vehemently. “No, you didn’t. You’ve done nothing bad, alright? And you never will.” At that, Red embraced her back and it was stark how different the two Transformers were: Bee had a scent like stardust and ozone and evaporating rain on blacktop. Red smelled of motor oil and the ocean breeze. He really was of her, wasn’t he?

It made the prospect of a reunion all the more of a twist in the gut.

Their warm embrace was interrupted by Red suddenly shuddering tensely, parts rattling. “Mom, there’s something bad coming. Mom, can we go?” Red whined desperately, titian gaze wide and worried.

Charlie touched his cheek in concern. “Red, what do you mean?”

“The signal I-I sent out, I don’t think it was him! It was probably someone who sounded like him a-and--Mom, I’m scared! It’s coming! I don’t wanna be taken away!”

“Red, no one’s taking you away, but-- Alright, we’ll go. We’ll go where they can’t find us, okay? I promise.” She gave a wan smile of reassurance, Little Red nodding shakily and leaving Charlie to open the giant garage door while leaving the Transformer to transform.

Once it was fully opened, the pair sped off and into the unknown.

The hours seemed to pass like minutes Bumblebee was speeding down Nevada’s highways so dazedly fast. Thankfully only encountering the odd passersby that was given little reaction time in seeing a speeding Camaro drive blisteringly fast past them and with little regard. While likely wondering what those drivers had seen, the Autobot was too otherwise preoccupied.

The thought alone of Charlie possibly being in danger because of vengeful Decepticons always had braced Bumblebee with a lodge of concern, constantly wondering how she was doing--even making some covert drive-bys in Brighton Falls disguised as various different, yellowed cars to ascertain this for himself.

Making sure the girl who had his spark was still alive to have it.

Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in all its firetruck red glory came as a crippling relief to the Autobot upon sighting it, slowing down considerably and tinting his windows enough so that no one would see inside of the car’s cab and question it. Tracing the signal, it diverted from the neighborhood Charlie lived and what’s more, he could sense something sentient sharing the rogue Transformer.

Or rather, someone.

This incited truer panic in Bumblebee as he realized they were speeding down a lonely stretch of road, someplace idyllic and along the coastline, but also extremely isolated and strategically sound to where no one could find her if harm befell her.

He didn’t have a second to lose.

“Wow, this place is so much prettier when there aren’t a ton of people here.” Winds scoured the cliff-side where Little Red and Charlie stood admiring the ocean throwing itself in whitewashed waves against stone. Charlie couldn’t help but be in awe of the might of the Pacific, marveling at it silently and even Red seemed speechless.

That was until Red sensed something was wrong.

“Mom, it’s coming. Please get behind me.” Charlie jumped when she heard the clangor of his arm transfiguring into an enormous cannon that dwarfed even Bee’s, a black visor blurring his orange optics despite how Red wasn’t much larger than Bumblebee.

“Wait, who?”

Before she could stop him, Red grew uncharacteristically quiet from his usual, upbeat self and fired two warning shots on the road, flinching at the wide radius of scarlet electricity that crackled on the roadside while the telltale screeching of tires swerving the epicenters of the blasts made Charlie’s face go white again.

“Mom, get down!” Charlie didn’t have time to react again as Red moved her behind him with his free hand, genuflecting to disperse the kickback of his weapon while Charlie squatted and tucked her head in even while a familiar voice sounded and summoned that ache all over again.

“Who are you? Identify yourself!” was called in myriad tones and jumping dialects, the audible and wavering radiation of Bee’s own arm cannon manifesting into place.

“Shouldn’t I ask you the same thing?” Red spat back, keeping his firearm steady. “I’m just trying to keep my mom safe!”

When Charlie peeked through the gaps in Red’s guard, she saw Bumblebee’s own weapon lower in disbelief. When she gingerly stepped out from Red’s protection and into the stalemate, the Autobot’s visor retracted and his antennae perked hopefully at the sight of her.

That was until Little Red snatched her by one of his arms and held her protectively to his chest, cannon roaring to threatening life again and trained on Bee while the Autobot mirrored the motion reflectively.

“Red, put me down! Bee, it’s okay! He’s not with them!” Charlie cried out in protest, dangling awkwardly off the ground while flailing her legs a little.

“I’m not, but what about him?” Red shouted at Bumblebee, not lowering his weapon in the slightest. “How do we know we can trust him?”

Charlie’s head hung, but Bumblebee himself picked up the slack. “I’m an Autobot, not one of the Decepticons. And...Charlie’s my friend.” Those bright blue orbs honed on Charlie, the brunette lifting her gaze and looking hopefully towards Bumblebee. “My designation is B-127, or...Bumblebee. It’s the name Charlie gave me.”

Now it was Little Red’s turn to be shocked. His arm disengaged and resigned itself to its proper form, lowering Charlie carefully to the ground in tandem. “Wait, so--you’re my dad?”

”...Dad?” Bee uttered a soft, uncertain chirp.

Red only persisted while Charlie grew more and more mortified, wishing a hole would just swallow her up. “Yeah,” Red continued with a vigorous nod. “I think when she and gramps were fixing me up, some of the Allspark became mixed up. You know, when parts of it fell to Earth long time ago? It transformed me, but nothing really happened. Not until you came along, dad. Your spark made me come to life.”

“I’m...a dad? And Charlie’s...” Bee’s antennae drooped, a hand holding his face as though that revelation would start leaking from the mad notion of it.

Well, that was one way of reuniting. Charlie folded her arms and gave Red a pleading look. “Hey Red, you mind if me and Bee talk alone for a bit? We won’t be long, promise.” Red nodded without a second thought, transforming into the familiar red corvette that made Bee balk in recognition of, rolling away to wait at the base of the hill. It had been his unofficial “roommate” last year, after all.

Once Little Red was well out of earshot, Charlie sucked in a breath and begun spieling. “Bee, look--I’m really sorry, I would’ve told you, but--I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. I mean, you’re one of my best friends and coming back to this--” she trailed off, glancing down the hill where Red was waiting, the din of muffled swing jazz able to heard from where they were. ”...You’re one of my closest friends. I don’t want things to be weird between us because of it.”

What she said was completely reasonable, but every word felt like a punch in the gut to Bee. Even if she didn’t understand, while there were many ways for Cybertonians to be made, the method that seemed apparent to Little Red’s making required love to work.

And not just the kind of love between friends. That wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Staring blankly at the horizon, Bumblebee did his damnest to remain stoic, it felt as though someone had poured rust at his core and told him to live with it despite how much it hurt. His antennae tucked sadly against his carapace, trying to avert Charlie’s gaze so she couldn’t see how crushed he was. How completely devastated he felt.

Even though he should be happy. She said he was one of his closest friends, and that should have been enough. Friends could still love one another, after all. And he knew the others would be thrilled. Creating offspring was a painfully rare feat, and with the Autobots’ numbers in freefall as much as they’d been since the civil war had begun, Red’s addition to their ranks would be a boon. Optimus had been like a father to him and would be overjoyed to have new student to take under his wing. Especially one of the first to be born of Earth.

Yet, it’d been hard not to fall in love with Charlie. Not after how far she’d gone to protect, befriend, and fight for his cause and had expected nothing in return.

Bee shook his head slowly. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t think things will be weird; not any weirder considering the circumstances we met in.” That was met with a smile and laugh from Charlie, making his core jolt with affection for her. “We’ll make it through this, too. Even if we have to wing it.”

Charlie pocketed her hands in her short-sleeved jacket, smiling appreciatively of the view. “Yeah, I know we will,” she said, so full of light and confidence. “Anyways, wanna head back to the base? Burns promised me a cup of Joe and he’s supposed to deliver. Also, I call shotgun!”

He wished he could accept this as easily as she did. But, Bee couldn’t. Not now, not ever.

#Charlie watson #bumblebee #transformers #charliebee #charbee #my writing

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sarahmcmenomy · 5 years

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Tarot Reflections Playlist

I’ve been working on this for longer than I should probably admit, but I finally finished my complete Tarot Playlist! I’ve chosen one song for each card of the 78-card RWS Tarot deck. In the spirit of the little white book, I have excerpted a line or two from each song to justify its association with its chosen card. Each suit has its own musical themes, and some of the songs were chosen to invoke the elemental association of the suit. The Court Cards get their own playlist because it can double as an astrological playlist. There are also a few sillier songs picked primarily for humor value (though hopefully still in keeping with the theme of the song). What follows is a complete index, so you can easily listen to whichever parts of the playlist you want to or browse the whole thing.

Entire Playlist

Major Arcana

Wands

Cups

Swords

Pentacles

Court Cards

Major Arcana

0. The Fool: “The Wanderer” by U2, The Edge, and Johnny Cash

“I went out there in search of experience, to taste and to touch and to feel as much as a man can before he repents.”

1. The Magician: “I am the Mercury” by Jimmie Spheeris

“For I am the mercury, the light of the morning, looking for shelter in this thunder and this rain. And you, like some windmill, weave light where it's storming, and love, like a potion for the hunger and the pain. Let it rain...”

2. The High Priestess: “Witch” by The Bird and the Bee

“Yes, I am a carnival, a house of mirrors... and I will con you. And all my tricks and all my magic will keep you dizzy with desire...”

3. The Empress: “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall

“Her face is a map of the world, is a map of the world... You can see she's a beautiful girl, she's a beautiful girl... And everything around her is a silver pool of light; The people who surround her feel the benefit of it... It makes you calm.”

4. The Emperor: “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay

“I used to rule the world; seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning, I sleep alone, sweep the streets I used to own. I used to roll the dice, feel the fear in my enemy's eyes, listen as the crowd would sing... Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!“

5. The Hierophant: “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers

“He said, ‘Son, I've made a life out of readin’ people's faces, knowin’ what the cards were by the way they held their eyes. So if you don't mind me sayin’, I can see you’re out of aces. For a taste of your whiskey, I’ll give you some advice.’”

6. The Lovers: “Dance Me to the End of Love” by Leonard Cohen

“Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on; dance me very tenderly and dance me very long. We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above... dance me to the end of love.”

7. The Chariot: “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen

“I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky! Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity. I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva, I'm gonna go, go, go! There's no stopping me!”

8. Strength: “Roar” by Katy Perry

“I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire, 'cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar, louder, louder than a lion, 'cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!”

9. The Hermit: “Building a Mystery” by Sarah McLachlan

“You live in a church where you sleep with voodoo dolls, and you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls... You wear sandals in the snow, and a smile that won't wash away. Can you look out the window without your shadow getting in the way?”

10. The Wheel of Fortune: “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” by the Byrds

“To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn) and a time to every purpose, under heaven...”

11. Justice: “Botched Execution” by Shovels and Rope

“I gotta find a friend, someone to tell I didn't do it, but my picture's in the paper and there's no way that I can prove it... and the body's in the closet 'cause I never got to move it... Now the neighbor's kids are talking sayin' everybody knew it... All my little seeds have grown... Sooner, later, come back home...”

12. The Hanged Man: “Philosophy” by Ben Folds Five

“Won't you look up at the skyline, at the mortar, block, and glass, and check out the reflections in my eyes. See they always used to be there, even when this all was grass, and I sang and danced about a high-rise. And you were laughing at my helmet hat... Laughing at my torch...”

13. Death: “End of the Line” by The Traveling Wilburys

“Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove. Well it's all right, if you got someone to love. Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine. Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line.”

14. Temperance: “Under Pressure” by Queen

“Turned away from it all like a blind man. Sat on a fence, but it don't work. Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn... Why, why, why? Love, love, love, love, love... Insanity laughs, under pressure we're breaking.”

15. The Devil: “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones

“Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints, as heads is tails... Just call me Lucifer, 'cause I'm in need of some restraint.”

16. The Tower: “The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning” by the Smashing Pumpkins

“The sewers belch me up; the heavens spit me out. From Ether's tragic I am born again, and now I'm with you now, inside your world of wow, to move in desires made of deadly pretense, ‘til the end times begin.”

17. The Star: “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree

“Listen as your day unfolds, challenge what the future holds. Try and keep your head up to the sky.”

18. The Moon: “Hope Eyrie” by Leslie Fish

“But we who feel the weight of the wheel, when winter falls over our world, can hope for tomorrow and raise our eyes to a silver moon in the open skies and a single flag unfurled. For the Eagle has landed; tell your children when. Time won't drive us down to dust again.”

19. The Sun: “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream

“I'm with you my love, the light's shining through on you. Yes, I'm with you my love, it's the morning and just we two. I'll stay with you darling now, I'll stay with you till my seas are dried up... I've been waiting so long, to be where I'm going, in the sunshine of your love.”

20. Judgement: “Ring the Bells” by James

“Ring, ring the bells! Wake the town! Everyone is sleeping. Shout at the crowd! Wake them up! This anger's deeper than sleep! Got to keep awake to what is happening, I can't see a thing through my ambition, I no longer feel my God is watching over me. Got to tell the world we've all been dreaming, this is not the end, a new beginning... I no longer feel my God is watching over me.”

21. The World: “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

“The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky, are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands, saying, ‘how do you do.’ They're really saying, ‘I love you.’ I hear babies crying, I watch them grow... they'll learn much more than I'll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

Wands

1. The Ace of Wands: “Spark” by the Bird and the Bee

“Tell me a tale, something with fire, to break from the sorrows. To break through the dirt, piles of earth, to see where the sun goes... What if I stopped just for a while to see if I'm closer? Still half the night, just for a while to see where the sun goes, oh, oh, oh...”

2. The Two of Wands: "First We Take Manhattan” by Leonard Cohen

“I'm guided by a signal in the heavens. I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin. I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons... First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.”

3. The Three of Wands: “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars

“Oh every time I close my eyes... I see my name in shining lights... Yeah, a different city every night, oh right, I swear, the world better prepare for when I'm a billionaire.”

4. The Four of Wands: “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles

“Say my name, sun shines through the rain... A whole life so lonely, and then you come and ease the pain. I don't want to lose this feeling, oh... Close your eyes, give me your hand. Do you feel my heart beating? Do you understand? Do you feel the same? Am I only dreaming? Or is this burning an eternal flame?“

5. The Five of Wands: “The Ultimate Showdown” by Lemon Demon

“This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny: good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see... and only one will survive: I wonder who it will be? This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny.”

6. The Six of Wands: “We are the Champions” by Queen

“We are the champions, my friends, and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end! We are the champions! We are the champions! No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions of the world!”

7. The Seven of Wands: “Uprising” by Muse

“Rise up and take the power back. It's time that the fat cats had a heart attack, you know that their time is coming to an end. We have to unify and watch our flag ascend.”

8. The Eight of Wands: “Fast as you Can” by Fiona Apple

“I let the beast in and then I even tried forgiving him, but it's too soon. So I'll fight again, again, again, again, again and for a little while more, I'll soar the uneven wind, complain and blame the sterile land.”

9. The Nine of Wands: “Conquest of Spaces” by Woodkid

“I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces expanding between you and me... Come with the night, the science of fighting, the forces of gravity...”

10. The Ten of Wands: “Running up that Hill” by Kate Bush

“And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, and I'd get him to swap our places, be running up that road, be running up that hill, be running up that building...”

Cups

1. The Ace of Cups: “Quiet” by Milck

“But no one knows me, no one ever will, if I don't say something, if I just lie still. Would I be that monster, scare them all away, if I let them hear what I have to say? I can't keep quiet.”

2. The Two of Cups: “Bus Stop” by The Hollies

“Every morning I would see her waiting at the stop. Sometimes she'd shop, and she would show me what she'd bought. Other people stared as if we were both quite insane... Someday my name and hers are going to be the same.”

3. The Three of Cups: “The Cult of Dionysus” by The Orion Experience

“I'm feeling devious, you're looking glamorous... let's get mischievous... and polyamorous. Wine and women and wonderful vices... Welcome to the cult of Dionysus!”

4. The Four of Cups: “High by the Beach” by Lana del Rey

“I don't wanna do this anymore, it's so surreal. I can't survive if this is all that's real... All I wanna do is get high by the beach, get high by the beach, get high...”

5. The Five of Cups: “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” by The Pet Shop Boys

“I bought you drinks, I brought you flowers. I read you books and talked for hours... Every day, so many drinks, such pretty flowers. So tell me, what have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?”

6. The Six of Cups: “In My Life” by The Beatles

“There are places I'll remember, all my life, though some have changed... Some forever, not for better. Some have gone and some remain...”

7. The Seven of Cups: “Which Will” by Nick Drake

“Which do you dance for? Which makes you shine? Which will you choose now, if you won't choose mine?”

8. The Eight of Cups: “Go West” by The Pet Shop Boys

“(Go West) Life is peaceful there, (go West!) in the open air, (go West!) where the skies are blue... (go West!) This is what we're gonna do.”

9. The Nine of Cups: “No Surprises” by Radiohead

“Such a pretty house... and such a pretty garden... No alarms and no surprises, no alarms and no surprises, no alarms and no surprises, please...”

10. The Ten of Cups: “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog

“Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection... the lovers, the dreamers and me.”

Swords

1. The Ace of Swords: “One” by U2

“You say love is a temple, love is a higher law... Love is a temple, love is a higher law. You ask me of me to enter, but then you make me crawl, and I can't keep holding on to what you got, 'cause all you got is hurt.”

2. The Two of Swords: “I Can’t Decide” by The Scissor Sisters

“I can't decide whether you should live or die... Oh, you'll probably go to heaven; please don't hang your head and cry...”

3. The Three of Swords: “The Killing Type” by Amanda Palmer

"I would kill to make you feel. I don't mean kill someone for real. I couldn't do that, it is wrong... But I can say it in a song.”

4. The Four of Swords: “Take it Easy” by The Eagles

“Take it easy, take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. Lighten up while you still can, don't even try to understand, just find a place make your stand. Take it easy.”

5. The Five of Swords: “Young Men Dead” by the Black Angels

“Run for the hills, pick up your feet and let's go. We did our jobs, pick up speed now, let’s move. The trees can't grow without the sun in their eyes, and we can't live if we're too afraid to die.”

6. The Six of Swords: “I Will Survive” by Cake

“At first I was afraid, I was petrified. I kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. But then I spent so many nights just thinking how you'd done me wrong. I grew strong; I learned how to get along.”

7. The Seven of Swords: “Sabotage” by The Beastie Boys

“I can't stand it, I know you planned it! I'mma set it straight, this Watergate. I can't stand rockin' when I'm in here, 'cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear. So while you sit back and wonder why I got this fuckin' thorn in my side, oh my god, it's a mirage! I'm tellin' y'all, it's sabotage.”

8. The Eight of Swords: “Whipping Post” by the Allman Brothers Band

“Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel, like I been tied to the whippin' post, tied to the whippin' post, tied to the whippin' post. Good Lord, I feel like I'm dyin'.”

9. The Nine of Swords: “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums” by A Perfect Circle

“Don't fret, precious, I'm here. Step away from the window, and go back to sleep... safe from pain, and truth, and choice... and other poison devils. See, they don't give a fuck about you, like I do. Count lies like sheep, like sheep, like sheep, like sheep, like sheep, like sheep...”

10. The Ten of Swords: “Hurt” by Johnny Cash

“I hurt myself today to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real. The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything. What have I become, my sweetest friend? Everyone I know goes away in the end.”

Pentacles

1. The Ace of Pentacles: “Dime” by Cake

“I'm a dime, I'm fine, and I shine. I'm freshly minted. I am determined not to be dented by a car or by a plane or anything not yet invented...”

2. The Two of Pentacles: “Down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel

“Did you think that your feet had been bound by what gravity brings to the ground? Did you feel you were tricked by the future you picked? Well, come on down. All these rules don't apply when you're high in the sky, so come on down, come on down.”

3. The Three of Pentacles: “With a Little Help from My Friends” by Joe Cocker

“What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song, I will try not to sing out of key.”

4. The Four of Pentacles: “This is the Life” by “Weird Al” Yankovic

“They say that money corrupts you, but I can't really tell... I got the whole world at my feet, and I think it's pretty swell.”

5. The Five of Pentacles: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones

“No, you can't always get what you want... You can't always get what you want... You can't always get what you want... But if you try sometimes, you find, you get what you need.”

6. The Six of Pentacles: “Rent” by The Pet Shop Boys

“We never ever argue, we never calculate the currency we've spent... I love you, you pay my rent “

7. The Seven of Pentacles: “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

“I took my love, I took it down, climbed a mountain and I turned around. And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills ‘til the landslide brought me down.”

8. The Eight of Pentacles: “The Weaver” by Steeleye Span

“The loom goes click and the loom goes clack; the shuttle flies forward and then flies back. The weaver's so bent that he's like to crack... such a wearisome trade is the weaver.”

9. The Nine of Pentacles: “My Way” by Frank Sinatra

“I've loved, I've laughed and cried. I've had my fill, my share of losing. And now, as tears subside, I find it all, all so amusing... To think I did all that, and may I say, not in a shy way... oh no, no, not me. I did it my way.”

10. The Ten of Pentacles: “Monument” by Röyskopp and Robyn

“This will be my monument. This will be a beacon when I'm gone, gone, gone... When I'm gone, gone, gone... When I'm gone... So that when that moment comes, I can say I did it all with love, love, love... All with love, love, love... All with love.”

Court Cards

Wands

1. The Page of Wands: “The Arsonist’s Lullaby” by Hozier

“All you have is your fire, and the place you need to reach. Don't you ever tame your demons, but always keep 'em on a leash.”

2. The Knight of Wands (Sagittarius, the Archer): “Portrait of the Knight of Wands” by Suzanne Vega

“His mood was melancholy, his attitude severe. His inner burden weighed upon him mightily.”

3. The Queen of Wands (Aries, the Ram): “The Queen of Hollywood” by the Corrs

“She's never gonna be like the one before. She read it in her stars that there's something more. No matter what it takes, no matter how she breaks...”

4. The King of Wands (Leo, the Lion): “King and Lionheart” by Of Monsters and Men

“And as the world comes to an end, I'll be here to hold your hand, 'cause you're my king and I'm your lion-heart.”

Cups

1. The Page of Cups: “The Salmon Dance” by The Chemical Brothers

“Hello, boys and girls, my name is Fat Lip, and this is my friend, Sammy the Salmon! Today we're gonna teach you some fun facts about salmon and a brand new dance.”

2. The Knight of Cups (Pisces, the Fishes): “Knight of Noir” by Susanne Sundfor

“I can't go back again and lock the door. In the dead of night I hear her call out for more. I want to be stung by the stars, I gave her my soul and my heart, and now I am a slave.”

3. The Queen of Cups (Cancer, the Crab): “The Queen and I” by Gym Class Heroes

“I love it how she breaths booze in the morning... and it’s so sexy how she can't remember last night... I made the fatal mistake of letting her drink again. But who the hell am I to tell her how to live her life?”

4. The King of Cups (Scorpio, the Scorpion): “Sea King” by Eisley

“Sea King, Sea king, can't you see that you're so silly? Sea King, I know things, and without love you won't get far...”

[Honorable mention: Franz Schubert’s rendition of Goethe’s “Der Koenig in Thule” is probably the ultimate King of Cups song, but it felt too different in musical style -- and language -- to include in this playlist. Still, it’s gorgeous, and the lyrics are perfect.]

Swords

1. The Page of Swords: “The Sword and the Pen” by Regina Spektor

“What if the sword kills the pen? What if the god kills the man? And if he does it with love, well then, it's death from above, and death from above is still a death...”

2. The Knight of Swords (Gemini, the Twins): “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse

“No one's going to take me alive. Time has come to make things right. You and I must fight for our rights. You and I must fight to survive.”

3. The Queen of Swords (Libra, the Scales): “My Snow White Queen” by Evanescence

“You belong to me, my snow white queen... There's nowhere to run, so let's just get it over.”

4. The King of Swords (Aquarius, the Water Bearer): “The Idiot Kings” by Soul Coughing

“Batting in the light, my reptile-lidded eyes. And all this strung end to end, is wider than the mind.”

Pentacles

1. The Page of Pentacles: “Sweet Child” by Pentangle

“You've been working so hard all day, won't you take your rest? You've been driving my blues away, now it is my turn. Come fly beneath my wings, sweet child it may not be for long.”

2. The Knight of Pentacles (Virgo, the Virgin): “Knights of Malta” by Smashing Pumpkins

“Where omens scar your door... Like a harvest we're bound and set for war... But no soldier comes...”

3. The Queen of Pentacles (Capricorn, the Goat): "Dreaming of the Queen” by The Pet Shop Boys

“Then carriages arrived... We stood and said goodbye. Diana dried her eyes and looked surprised, for I was in the nude. The old Queen disapproved, but people laughed and asked for autographs.”

4. The King of Pentacles (Taurus, the Bull): “A Farewell to Kings” by Rush

“Cities full of hatred, fear and lies, withered hearts, and cruel, tormented eyes... Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise, beating down the multitude, and scoffing at the wise. Whoa, can't we raise our eyes and make a start? Can't we find the minds to lead us closer to the heart?”

Giant shout-out to the Tarot Nerds Facebook Group for inspiring me. You are the best.

#tarot #playlist #tarot playlist

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magicbats · 3 months

Text

it's been a minute since the last signal hill update! if you're curious about the hood i recommend checking out the hood directory.

when editing the rest of round 3 i realized just how many babies were born or aged into toddlers, and how that's pretty much the only content i have for the rest of the round. so i decided to just compile them all so we can speed through.

here are some of the new babies of generation 2 - alex dunn (mikey & josie's son), adam fletcher (daniel's son), johnny armstrong (alien baby born to carter & tina), anya lee (born last round to bianca & nisha), and the larson kiddos, mars and his new baby sister kira (aj & markus' kids)

NOW we should be back on track, lmao. more screenshots from this round below the cut just so they exist somewhere, but i'm really ready to get to round 4.

dunn household, round 3 — josie and mikey shacked up last round, and now they have baby alex, who was a happy little accident.

fletcher household, round 3 — i spent the entire round balancing around baby adam. arhan was at work 90% of the time, so daniel took on a lot of the caretaking duties.

lee household, round 3 — over at the lee household, we just have seth and anya being cute babies. i think seth aged up on the final day of the round but you'll see him in round 4!

armstrong household, round 3 — i really took zero screenshots of the armstrongs this round lol. carter got abducted again, almost immediately after johnny was born. this will be baby #3, for those keeping track.

larson household, round 3 — aj and markus moved into a new house after mars was born, and found out aj was pregnant again shortly after moving in. the new house is a bit empty for now, but with mars aging up to a toddler, and baby kira arriving, it'll feel cramped soon enough.

and we're off to round 4! :)

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etvisitors-blog · 6 years

Video

youtube

Movie: PREDATOR

Year: 1987

The Predator film series is a science fiction action horror franchise based on a race of fictional extraterrestrials created by Jim Thomas and John Thomas. Produced by 20th Century Fox, the series started in 1987 with the film Predator.

Predator (1987)

An elite paramilitary rescue team, led by Major “Dutch” is on a covert operation in Central America when they encounter an alien who hunts them for sport. From the outer reaches of space to the backwoods of southern Georgia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before. And only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biology professor can prevent the end of the human race. Since this is the beginning of the story, we posted a video about this movie.

Predator 2 (1990)

In 1997, a different Predator arrives in Los Angeles and begins hunting violent gang members, drawing the attention of the local police force. The creature itself is in turn being hunted by a secretive government task-force seeking to capture it for study.

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

The film follows a group of archaeologists assembled by billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland for an expedition near the Antarctic to investigate a mysterious heat signal. Weyland hopes to claim the find for himself, and his group discovers a pyramid below the surface of a whaling station. Hieroglyphs and sculptures reveal that the pyramid is a hunting ground for young Predators who kill Aliens as a rite of passage. The humans are caught in the middle of a battle between the two species and attempt to prevent the Aliens from reaching the surface.

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Following the events of the previous film, a Predator ship leaves Earth carrying Alien facehuggers, and the body of Scar, the Predator that defeated the Alien Queen. A chestburster with traits of both species erupts from Scar’s body. It quickly matures into an adult Predalien, makes its way onto a scout ship that is then detached from the Mothership, and starts killing the Predators on board. A Predator’s weapon punctures the hull and the scout ship crashes in the forest outside of Gunnison, Colorado, injuring or killing most of the Predators.

The Predalien and several facehuggers escape, implanting embryos into a nearby father and son who are out hunting in the forest, as well as several homeless people that live in the sewers. An injured Predator sends a distress signal before being killed by the Predalien. On the Predator homeworld, a skilled veteran Predator, Wolf, receives the signal and takes it upon himself to travel to Earth to hunt and kill the Aliens.

Predators (2010)

The film follows an ensemble cast of characters including Royce (Adrien Brody), a mercenary who appears in an unidentified jungle among other murderers and otherwise undesirable people. They find that they have been abducted and placed on a planet which acts as a game reserve for two warring tribes of extraterrestrial killers, and actively look for a way to return to Earth.

The Predator (2018)

A Predator ship crash-lands on Earth. Army Ranger sniper Quinn McKenna and his team are attacked by the Predator on a hostage retrieval mission. McKenna incapacitates the Predator and has its armor mailed off. At the behest of government agent Will Traeger, he is captured and held for examination. Traeger also takes the Predator to a lab for experimentation and observation, recruiting evolutionary biologist Casey Bracket to study it. The Predator awakes, breaks out of its bonds, kills lab workers, but spares Bracket before leaving.

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haiwei-12 · 3 years