#source: the simpsons hit and run

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Eda: “Sorry, Luz, I can’t sell booze to a minor. It ain’t right.”

Luz: “I’m here to buy fireworks.”

Eda: “Oh hell yeah!”

[totally-correct-shenanigans]

Sly: You're spying on Paris with your black vans and surveillance cameras!

Dimitri: Black vans? Hmm... aren't they connected with some sort of 'pizziola' concern?

Sly: WHAAAAAAT?! They were only pizza vans??? I'm a class five idiot!

[missathlete31]

Nowhere To Run Chapter 2

Chapter 1 Here:  https://www.tumblr.com/missathlete31/711886634060300288/nowhere-to-run-chapter-1?source=share

Jake leaves the Hangars after his confrontation with Maverick and Rooster only to find new people he has to answer to.

Jake couldn't even see straight as he stormed out of the hangar and headed for the locker room. He knew he should be feeling some kind of remorse, he basically ruined his entire career in there today but something in his stomach also felt freer. It didn't matter if the others didn't agree or hadn't backed him up, Jake stood up for himself in that room. He shared his true thoughts for once in his life, consequences be damned and that was a powerful feeling, regardless of how lonely it also left him.

So lost in his thoughts was he that Jake didn't realize he was being followed until a voice called out his name in a tone that meant it wasn't the first time he had tried. Jake whirled around on his heels to come face to face with both Admiral Simpson and Admiral Bates, the two men looking at him with unreadable expressions.

"Lieutenant Seresin, finally," Simpson added for good measure, "we'd like to have a talk with you, join us in my office." It wasn't explicably an order but Jake knew he had no choice in the matter. He gave a nod and then stepped aside to let the two men walk ahead of him, himself bringing up the rear. As they headed back to the Admin building Jake noticed the proximity to the hangars, a sinking burst of anxiety hitting his gut at the thought that either of the Admirals could have heard his eruption from before.

They continued their walk in silence, Warlock looking back to make sure he was still following only once while Simpson never bothered to turn. When they arrived inside the office Jake moved to stand at attention, his nerves frayed to pieces from going through one emotional confrontation and facing yet another.

"At ease Lieutenant" Cyclone took his seat in his chair, Bates moving to lean against a filing cabinet behind him leaving Jake to stand at parade rest facing them both. They all watched each other in silence for a moment before Admiral Simpson cleared his throat and turned to the file on his desk. "Lieutenant when I received your decline to Captain Mitchell's squadron, I'll admit I was extremely surprised," he looked up, making eye contact with Jake, "I had presumed you would have wanted nothing more than to stay with this new team, especially," his eyes narrowed, "after your dedication for getting everyone back safely."

Jake was never given permission on the carrier to take off that day. Instead he radioed Hondo privately after being denied authorization to supply support for a third time, knowing Maverick's right hand man would want to send help just as much as he did. Hondo covered his take off from the control room end but Jake was tasked with convincing the ground crew to go along with it as well. Luckily for Hangman, there were a few men who he hadn't managed to piss off too much during his stint in the Navy and they were more than eager to help his cause. After Jake took off he had Cyclone barking in his comms asking what the hell he was thinking but no one ordered him back. Jake was able to fly like a bat out of hell and save the two pilots with no time to spare.

Once the dust had settled on the tarmac and Rooster and Maverick were safe in medical, Jake expected the reprimand and court-martial to happen fairly quickly. Instead, he was called in to see the two Admirals, similar to how he was now, and told in no uncertain terms that he was never to disobey direct orders like that again, results or reasoning be damned. But then that was it. There was no other disciplinary action. Jake wanted to question why everyone was just going to let it go but he knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, he just chalked it up as another one of Maverick’s miracles.

Admiral Bates gave a faint cough, no doubt noticing how Jake had been lost to his own thoughts for a moment and the Lieutenant snapped back to attention. Cyclone looked up from his paperwork, "When you gave no indication about returning to the Vigilantes either, I was concerned that perhaps the mission had taken a deeper toll on you than was first thought. We both" Simpson nodded towards Admiral Bates, "were concerned that you might be having a hard time finding your place in the air again."

Jake blanched in surprise, not expecting the conversation to go this way nor the worry from both his CO's, "I-I'm fine Sir-s" he stuttered the fear of being court-martial disappearing with the new anxiety of being benched, "Psych cleared me-"

Simpson's hand paused the rest of his words, the older man looking displeased, "I don't think we need to get into how Psych only looks for certain key phrases, do we?" He waited until Jake shook his head before continuing, "Regardless of what they deemed, I'm asking you now, how are you coping Lieutenant Seresin?"

Hangman felt his back lock up a bit straighter, willing himself to look the part of a professional that he wasn't entirely feeling on the inside, "I'm fine Sir."

Simpson spared a glance to Bates who gave what amounted to an amused expression. Jake watched as the two admirals seemed to have a silent conversation before both turned to eye him once more. Simpson tapped the file on his desk with his pointer finger, "So no hesitation? I tell you to get back into a plane today or a deployment tomorrow..." he trailed off waiting for Jake to finish.

"I'm ready Sir. No hesitation."

"And your sleep schedule? Your diet?"

"All fine" the blonde could feel his shoulders rising, waiting for the trick in the line of questioning.

"Your temperament?"

As though if he wished hard enough he could make it true, Jake nodded his head, "fine, Sir. Normal."

Admiral Simpson's face tilted as though in thought, "And that confrontation in the Hangar just now, am I supposed to take that as you being 'fine' and 'normal'?"

The Lieutenant fought the urge to lower his eyes. He knew he was right in his suspicions, the Admirals were clearly in earshot of his outburst. "You heard it Sir?"

Cyclone leaned back in his chair, his fingers woven together and resting upon his sternum, "it was hard not to Lieutenant," his steely green eyes boring into Jake's own, "the sound in Hangars carry much more than the lecture room."

Jake couldn't help but hear the hidden warning in his CO's words, no doubt his last altercation with Rooster in the classroom before the mission had also found its way to Cyclone's ears. The blonde sighed softly, "I apologize Sir" he looked to Bates and inclined his head as well, "and to you as well Sir. My actions today were unprofessional and emotional. I understand your concern for my mental well-being after a situation like that but let me assure you that it will never happen again. I fully intend to go back to Captain Mitchell and apologize for my behavior-"

But like the hardass he was known for being Admiral Simpson cut in during the middle of Jake's apology and threw the younger pilot off his game once more. "I didn't call you in here to apologize for what happened before Lieutenant" the man drawled with a stone face.

Hangman couldn't contain his surprise, "you didn't Sir?"

"No" the older man paused, building tension in the room, "I brought you in here to discuss your future. There is a position here at Top Gun, that we" he nodded to Bates once more, "would like to offer to you."

Jake felt like his brain was moving in slow motion, clearly having heard wrong, "I'm sorry, did you say a position Sir?"

Bates' amused expression was there once more as he nodded, "Yes Lieutenant, an instructor position."

"You want me-" he looked between the two Admirals in shock, "to be an instructor? Sirs, I- I thought I was being dishonorably discharged. I was insubordinate to my CO, I almost started a fight with a teammate in the hangar back there and that wasn't even the first time that almost happened." Jake stumbled on his words, "I- I disobeyed your direct orders during the mission."

"All true Lieutenant and all were writeable offenses-" Cyclone sighed heavily, as though pained to say his next words, "if they were reported."

Now Jake knew he had to have heard wrong, there was no way that all of those incidents could have been overlooked. His voice dripped with desperation as he waited for Cyclone or Warlock to put him out of his misery and tell him the truth. That this was all some big farce and he really was being discharged. "Sir, I-" he shook his head, "I don't understand-" he offered weakly.

Simpson seemed to take pity and moved to explain, "Seresin, your actions during the mission were not held against you, as I was hoping you could have surmised due to the fact that no disciplinary hearings were held. While you will never disobey my orders like that again," Simpson gave the younger man a very pointed stare, "you did save Captain Mitchell and Lieutenant Bradshaw that day, and with not a moment to spare. In that rare situation, your bravery, skill, and to be quite frank, your outcome, helped to sway the decision to not conduct any formal hearing."

"He means you did a good job and proved him wrong" Bates explained from the back with mirth. It earned him a look from Simpson that had sent many pilots packing, but the eldest man in the room merely smiled back, more than accustomed to the high ranking Admiral's attitudes.

Cyclone turned back to Jake, annoyance still in his eyes, " As for your confrontations both past and present with Rooster and Maverick, Lieutenant, those also have not been reported. Nor if I'm being honest do I feel the need to report them now." He ignored the shell-shock expression on Hangman's face and kept talking, "When Captain Mitchell was instructed to speak to you about your decision on whether or not you wanted to join the squadron it was assumed he would be having the discussion in private. Although I do think that was his initial intention, the fact of the matter is, that Captain Mitchell cornered you in there. It was-" he paused as though thinking of how best to phrase his next thought, "understandable of how you reacted."

"Sir, with all due respect I-" Jake swallowed roughly, cursing his emotions and his brain for being all over the place today, "this is a surprise" he final settled on, "I thought- well- I wasn't expecting a job offer."

"You don't think you would be a good instructor?"

Jake lowered his eyes, "I'm not particularly known for my team-building expertise Sir" he answered honestly.

"That's true" Admiral Simpson didn't mince words, "but your service record speaks for itself in terms of your skills. You're the only active Naval pilot besides Maverick with confirmed kills. Your mission logs are filled with examples of your valor, talent, and bravery. Your insight would be very welcomed in training the new class of aviators."

Jake stayed silent, his mind racing as he attempted to wrap his head around this proposal. Teaching at Top Gun was an exceptional offer for him. He would be stateside permanently, a chance to fly everyday without the constraints of deployments. He also could train pilots that were just like him, the best of the best, and teach them how to use their skills and also their confidence to their advantage. Being at Top Gun meant promotions, maybe even one right when he accepted which for Jake, who dreamed of being an Admiral one day, was an amazing prospect.

But there were also negatives. Deployment could suck when you were on a bad carrier but Jake also thrived best in high risk environments. He knew himself, he would get bored of the same thing day after day. While Jake would love to teach like Captain Mitchell did for their course, he knew he would have to keep a strict regime for Simpson to continue to take a chance with him. Jake knew one day teaching would be the only step to forward his career but right now, he still had other options. He also, shamefully, knew he needed to make a bigger name of himself in the Naval World. Two confirmed kills were great and all but he was passed over for the biggest mission conducted in his lifetime. He couldn't let that happen again, which meant staying on as a pilot, and though he wished it could have been with the Daggers (most likely the choice of squadron to perform such missions), Jake would have to make it count every time he was up in the air with the Vigilantes.

The last and most deciding factor though, was that the Dagger squad was to stay reporting at Top Gun which meant Jake's days would be spent trying to teach young hot shots as they drooled out the window of their classroom with their eyes bulged watching the Daggers come in from training. Hangman knew his ego wasn't going to be able to handle that.

He looked back up, suddenly embarrassed that both Admiral Simpson and Admiral Bates had sat patiently and quietly as Jake thought it through. The Lieutenant straightened his back and gave himself a moment to compose himself. "Sirs" Jake began trying to sound confident and decisive, "first I want to thank you for your offer, it's more than I deserve, truly."

"But you're declining it" Simpson finished for him, with absolutely no preamble.

Jake nodded meekly, "I am Sir. I- I don't think I'm done in the skies just yet. I would like to go back to my squadron, the Vigilantes" as he continued talking, Hangman felt his self-assurance grow, his belief in his words ringing true, "I would like to serve a few more deployments before I believe I could contribute in the classroom like I would want to."

The room fell noiseless again, both Admirals merely staring their Lieutenant down. Jake refused to even fidget, facing this silent firing squad head on. Finally, after what felt like hours but was merely seconds, Admiral Simpson nodded his head in acquiescence. "Alright Lieutenant, if you're sure?"

"I am Sir."

There was a hint of something in Cyclone's eye that Jake couldn't help but notice. A tug of a smile also crossed the older man's face, "Then Seresin I'll get the paperwork started. You'll still be stuck around here for a few more days while everything is finalized but you should hopefully be shipping out in a week if I had to guess." Simpson rose from his chair, Hangman straightening at the sight. "We will be sorry to lose you here," the Admiral shared softly, "but I can't say it doesn't make me a little proud to see you getting back out there."

Jake blinked his green eyes in perplexity, " Sir?"

Cyclone offered a hand, "you're a great pilot Lieutenant, and you have a bright future. The classroom is there for when you're ready but for now, get back to the skies."

"Thank you Sir" Jake reached forward and the two men shook heartily, before Bates stepped forward for his own turn.

Once finished, Hangman gave them both a final salute before turning on his heels and heading for the door. Just as he was ready to leave Simpson's voice stopped him once more.

"And Lieutenant" the man called, waiting until Jake turned around to continue his sentence, "for what it's worth, you would have been my pick for the mission."

The blonde nodded in concession, but Beau wasn't finished, "but Captain Mitchell was correct."

Jake paused, his brow furrowed, "I don't think I understand Sir."

Cyclone met his eye, "Captain Mitchell was wrong in choosing Bradshaw but making you spare was his redeeming factor. All of you pilots had the abilities and the skills to accomplish that mission. It's why you were chosen after all." He paused, deciding his words carefully, "but none of those other pilots, hell no other pilot that I know of could have done what you did Seresin. Disobeying orders, reaching supersonic to get there, taking the shot with no hesitation, saving Captain Mitchell and Lieutenant Bradshaw, it was no easy feat. You should be proud son, we both are."

If his eyes looked a little glossy, Jake would forever blame the sunshine streaming from the windows, but he couldn't help his emotions when he stuttered through one final thank you before leaving the office. There were very few people in his life that had ever told Jake they were proud of him, but having Admiral Simpson be one of them made Jake feel more pride than he could ever remember feeling before.

He turned down the hallway, his mind and body still reeling from the past hour's rollercoaster of events before his good mood soured quickly at the picture of Phoenix standing along the sidewalk outside the Admin Doors. She looked as though she were waiting for Hangman especially with the anger on her face and the way she paced the walkway; a sure sign she was prepping for a fight. When she noticed Jake walking towards her, Natasha hurried up the path, her fist tightening with her stride, "we need to talk" she announced roughly, in the usual way the woman asserted her dominance around a bunch of alpha males.

There was a moment when Jake was going to decline or even ignore the other pilot but he knew that he had said a lot of things in the Hangar today and being a coward and not owning up to it did him no favors. Instead he inclined his head towards once of the benches out in the afternoon sun and waited until Natasha started walking first before he followed; he knew better than to leave his back unprotected to an angry Trace.

When they both sat down, Jake prepared himself, ready for an onslaught of words intending to wound and insults intending to sting. Natasha, never one to disappoint, started the conversation though not with the daggers Jake was expecting. "Why?" she questioned him instead, moving to meet Jake's eyes, "why did you have to do it?"

The blonde man looked down, not per say in embarrassment but more as though a scolded child. "It needed to be said" he offered back softly.

Natasha closed her eyes, facing back forward, "it wasn't the place to do it- to say those things-"

"I didn't plan on it. Maverick came in and I just-" he shook his head, "I reacted."

"Your reaction is going to cost us our team-"

"It's not our team" Jake shot back, "Maverick is setting it up to be his team."

Nat scowled, "Your pissing contest with Rooster is getting old-"

"As is your steadfast loyalty" Hangman moved to stand but Natasha reached a hand out and brought him back down in his seat. When he gave a squawk of indignation, she merely rolled her eyes, "we aren't done" she told him none-too gently.

"I'm not sitting through your lectures-"

"I'm not-" she shook her head, her bun bobbing a bit in the motion, "I'm not here to lecture."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm not sure to be honest." Her words were tight, measured, clearly she was as uncomfortable as him with the whole conversation, "I thought it was to yell at you, I want to yell at you" she admitted, "I want to hate you and say that everything you said in that room was because you were jealous you were only picked as Dagger spare" Phoenix sighed heavily, her whole body deflating as the breath left her, "but I can't."

He couldn't stop his smug grimace, "so you admit that I was right."

"I admit you brought up good points" she conceded instead, "but the way that it was done-"

"You mean Maverick trying to goad me into admitting why I turned down being on the squad-"

"He didn't-" Phoenix tried to cut in but Jake refused to let her, continuing his argument. "Or you mean the way that I let everything out in there and not one of you had the balls to agree with me when you knew" he could hear his voice rising with his temper, the second time today that anger was getting the better of the blonde pilot, "you knew I was right."

"Jake-"

"But you're scared to hurt Rooster," he waved his hand despondently, "everyone is always so afraid to hurt poor little Rooster but guess what?" He met her gaze, "He's a grown ass man Natasha and a Naval Pilot, he controls not only his own life but others as well. He should be able to handle some disappointment, he should be able to handle hearing the truth. Everything I said in that room was right today, Maverick was wrong, too busy making up for some slight a decade ago-"

"He pulled his papers" Nat offered up quietly, though Jake was still able to hear it. She rolled her neck like it hurt to let such a secret go, "Mav pulled his papers to the academy."

Jake couldn't contain the sneer from his voice, "that's it? That's what caused this stupid feud?"

"It set him back four years-"

"And he still made it!" the blonde argued back just as quick, "he still became a pilot, still became a Top Gun grad, still is one of the best of the best. Who cares that he didn't go to the academy-"

"It's easy for us to say" Phoenix spoke sharply, "we both got in-"

"No" Hangman corrected, "it's easy for us to say because neither of us would have pulled a temper tantrum like Rooster. We would have made it to this level like he did but appreciated it more. Not pulled some dumbass cobra move that should have got him kicked out, acted pissy to a CO that would have been a court-martial to any man not related to him, or walked around like the world was only cruel to him. You think we all didn't have some setback in life?" he questioned, noticing that Nat refused to meet his eye, "was your trip here all sunshine and rainbows?"

"Of course not-"

"Exactly but you didn't let it stop you. You didn't let it control you. You didn't sit around like a mopey two year old until you got your way. Every single one of us have worked our asses off to be here, through the academy or not, don't cheapen it because it's not some conventional sob story like Rooster's."

Natasha opened her mouth to respond before closing quickly, knowing the other man was right. Instead she looked up towards the sun, the sounds of planes taking off in the distance releasing a calm in both pilots and bringing their tempers back to neutral. Jake felt suddenly tired without his anger, his emotions depleting his energy at an alarming pace for the normally in-control man, and he moved once more to leave. This time the hand on his arm was gentler, though it grounded him back to the bench just the same. "Bradley doesn't want to lose the Daggers" Phoenix whispered so softly that Hangman had to lean closer to hear, "he doesn't want to lose Maverick. It's the only family he has left."

"And that's fine" Jake told her, meaning each word, "he can have you all. But not me."The dark haired woman shook her head, "He won't get any of us now."

He looked back at her with furrowed brows, "what does that mean?"

"The others are already talking, I think they are going to drop out too."

He knew it wasn't the time to spike the football but Jake couldn't help the feeling of validation, "because I was right" he supplied waiting for Nat to agree. When she didn't reply he nudge her, "because I was-"

"Of course you were right" she finally admitted, shifting her head the long way to look back at Jake, "you were right about everything. About Rooster being out there, about almost getting Payback and Fanboy killed, about wasting the flares. Everyone in that room knew it but you shouting it to the rooftops sent it over the edge and then-" she cut off sharply.

"And then?" Jake pushed.

"Bradley got upset and stormed out" she informed him, "Maverick chased after him and dismissed us all for the day. I think it showed the others how things might be if we become this team."

"That Maverick will always dictate to Rooster first."

"Yes" she whispered."

And how Maverick will always put Rooster's feelings as priority."

"Yes" she nodded again.

"And if it came down to it, he would chose Rooster, to fly, to lead, to do anything, regardless of whether or not it makes the most sense or if it puts anyone else in danger."

She didn't speak the word this time, only nodding. Suddenly her face contorted and her lips wobbled and Jake was struck with the realization that Nat was trying her hardest not to cry in front of him. Feeling guilty for goading her, he slowly moved his hand to grip her own, seeing her eyes snap down and staring at their interlocked grips. "I'm sorry Nat" he whispered softly, "but I'm glad the group won't happen. You're an amazing pilot but sitting in Rooster's shadow, being his hype man and his buffer from the real world, it's going to ruin you. If it doesn't get you killed first."

A tear glistened in Nat's eye but she didn't move to wipe it, "He's my best friend Jake" she matched his whispers, the two most vocal members of their team now reduced to shushed words, "you're telling me you wouldn't do the same for Coyote?"

Jake couldn't help but think about Javy, his best friend, his brother, the only person in the world who was always on his side. Even today, he knew that if he had let him, Javy would have fought everyone in the room for Jake and not even blinked an eye. But Jake loved Javy too much to let him go down in flames with him. He made Coyote promise that morning when he sent in his decline to the Dagger Squad that the other man wouldn't change his mind for him, wouldn't give up an amazing opportunity for Jake. "I'd die for Javy in a second" Jake admitted to the woman, "I'd never fly again, I'd give up my wings for him. But I would never hold him back from anything. I want the best for him more than I want the best for me. The same goes for you" he told her, ignoring her shocked gasp at his words, "you're the best of the best Phoenix, don't let anyone, especially Bradley Bradshaw, stop you from rising from your ashes." He gripped her hand with a comforting squeeze before taking a risk and pressing a gentle kiss to the woman's cheek. Natasha let out a wet sob but didn't push him away only looking up when Hangman finally stood. 

"Jake-" she began but he shook his head to stop her.

"It's Bagman to you" he told her, grinning when a tiny smile graced her lips. "I'll see you in the skies Trace."

She nodded in agreement, finally letting him go, "you got it Bagman."

With one final smile, Jake turned back towards the locker room building, feeling once again, free.

[short-wooloo]

According to the handful of people who have seen the film, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which released Friday, includes a Transformer named Memetron who turns into a self-driving Tesla and immediately hits a young child.

“We got into work one morning to find that Elon Musk had spent the whole night tweeting ‘Why no Tesla Transformers?’ at us,” said Paramount executive Marissa Lang.

“We had to explain to him that the movie was set before the events of the first one — before Teslas became popular. There’s no Tesla character in the franchise. Then later, he drove a dump-truck full of money up to the studio and we agreed to put Memetron in the movie. He named the character himself.”

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) was reportedly shocked when members saw the first cut of the movie.

“It was a baffling choice. The rather bloody effects of the self-driving Tesla running into the child’s body were, in a word, nauseating,” said MPAA worker Trish Morgansson in response to Memetron’s intro, which includes the gruesome death of a five-year-old.

“But ultimately, I just had to tell myself: this is like a documentary. This is what would actually happen if a self-driving Tesla were to plow into a young child at a crosswalk. Honestly, it’s the best Transformers movie yet!”

Those who have seen the film also reported that Memetron is played by Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself.

Although Musk is not a professional actor, the tech billionaire has made appearances in TV shows like The Simpsons, Rick and Morty and Saturday Night Live, as well as a cameo in the film Iron Man 2. According to sources from within Paramount, the “Beast” from the title Transformers: Rise of the Beasts may even refer to Musk himself.

Despite this, producers confirmed he will not appear again in the franchise.

This is likely as a result of the scene in which Memetron is brutally killed by an exploding battery about fifteen minutes into his screen time.

[dishearteningmediocrity]

In this festive season, enjoy this review of the Hull Little Theatre’s 1927 Christmas play, featuring Colin Clive in several roles quite different from those he would become famous for playing. From the Hull Daily Mail, published December 27, 1927. Transcript follows; apologies for the long text post but the article is very difficult to read in the clipping.

Feast of Fun and Fancy

“A Christmas Party” at the Little Theatre

All that a child could dream about the festive season is incorporated into “A Christmas Party,” which was produced at the Little Theatre, Hull, on Christmas Eve for a fortnight’s run. It is a charming show, brilliantly produced, and the work attached to the preparation of its innumerable delights must have been enormous. From the kiddies’ point of view the whole conception of the piece gives unalloyed delight, while the adult spectators will derive interested pleasure in watching the versatile efforts of artists usually associated with dark tragedy or subtle comedy. Personally, I found the show a thoroughly delightful entertainment, and the revival of the old Harlequinade (played by Colin Clive as Joey and Frederick Piper as Pantaloon) was a particular cause for enjoyment. The two actors, who emerged from a giant Christmas cracker, clowned their way through the second half of the programme with rare style, and their patter song about the Little Theater personalities was remarkably clever.

Contrary to custom this Christman party is not a pre-arranged one. It is the sudden thought of two children--Christopher and Evangeline--who are confined to their room with an attack of measles. Unable to join in the round of festivities themselves, they invite Santa Claus and the inhabitants of the toy cupboard to an impromptu party, and the result is absolutely amazing. Father Christmas makes a dramatic entry, in traditional fashion, and then the fun begins, waxing “furioser and furioser,” until it is time for everyone to go home. Patricia Bradfield, the clever young actress who was such a “hit” last season, makes a welcome return to play the part of Evangeline, while Merle Tottenham, another capable artist, acts skilfuly as the little boy. They sing and dance with charm, and their work has the requisite ingenuousness. As the host and hostess, they have a lot to do, particularly at the brilliantly arranged supper table, when the dolls become somewhat peevish and the Golliwog finds the lemonade going to his head. Father Christmas, splendidly played by Richard Fisher, also has to help to keep matters smooth.

Many of the people appeared in several characters. Edith Sharpe was a good-humoured, but garrulous Irish nurse, and a bold Robin Hood, and her songs were warmly applauded. As Anthony Rowley, the frog who would a-wooing go, Colin Clive was most engaging, and his energy as a Jack-in-a-Box was a source of wonder. Frederick Piper made a fine King Cole, and also a splendid toy soldier. In the latter character, Mr. Piper, in conjunction with Peggy Smith, who made an attractive doll, gave us an amusing dance, which was heartily encored. When the Three Blind Mice came in it took Colin Clive all his time to hold back the Cat, which Peter Taylor Smith played most convincingly. This actor took also the part of Mr. Noah and had a good partner in Millicent Jones, who sang in a pleasing fashion. The importation of a conjurer from China caused great excitement, and James Hudson executed some clever illusions which were greatly appreciated. The following also had interesting and amusing parts: Eva Jeafferson, Hilda Whatmore, Gwen Sibley, Ursula Granville, and Barry Barnes, while the following pupils of the Hull School of Music had small parts, and presented some skilful dances: Jessie Selle, Nancy Shores, Marjorie Simpson, Enid Grantham, Audrey Appleton, and Arthur Burrell.

The musical accompaniments were played by Mr. Dennis Boocock with rare sympathy and skill. --C.E.R.

[ramrodd]

Who Sen. JD Vance is, and why he was chosen as Donald Trump's running mate

COMMENTARY:

J.D. Vance is typical of the sort of right wing ass hole the Navy reliably produce since the days of when John Paul Jones was the biggest swinging dick in the room, He's a clone of Ron DeSantis and his politics has evolved from his association with Steve Bannon to the national populism of George Lincoln Rockwell, That's why he got the job, He and Trump are the Poster Boys for the white supremacist agenda of Project 2025, going back to Skull and Bones at Yale in 1960, There was a reason why Gore Vidal assumed William F. Buckley was a closeted queer, Its very Greek, in a Pauline Theology kind of way, A source of the moral confusion evident in the thinking of Pro-Life women is the fact that is denied almost universally in the American Christian community that Paul is as queer as a South Beach drag queen, Hie and Timothy are joined in a Greek ritual bonding that amounts to marriage. One of the metrics that indicates that all academics are totally clueless as to Paul's homosexuality is the consensus that Paul didn't write 1 & 2 Timothy because the idiom shifts so far from Romans. That's the point: Romans was written on the basis of being submitted for peer review in Rome while the Timothies are like John and Abigale in correspondence, The Timothies are closer to Paul's authentic voice of anything outside of Acts.   Because of solo scriptura and the critical historic analysis of Post Modern Historic Deconstruction, they cannot discern the contrast between the asexual misogamy  of Peter to the intimate sensuality of John to the Joe "Just the facts, Ma'am" Friday of Luke to the oral sex of Paul, As a consequence, most white supremacists, associated with the gun culture tend to associate phallic eroticism with manliness in a YMCA/Bett Midler at the Continental Baths kind of way, Anyway, it causes a cognitive dissonance that is reconciled by the MAGA community by sexual arousal, And Paul's Epistles do that to women, So, that's what they are counting on with J.D. Vance, I mean, it is clear that Gym Jordan was getting blow jobs from Dr. Strauss on a regular basis, which is why he is always int shirt sleaves: Jordan associates sex with power and power with all things Project 2025, Now, it so happens that Real Clear Politics has identified itself to me as part of Project 2025, they are like The Simpsons of FOX TV: Fascism can seem to be kool if Conservatives like Tucker Carlson can weave some Simpsons and Seinfeld into their disinformation. The rabid right wing in media have been given the perfect storm of Jake Tapper bedwetters in Media and the anybody but Biden Boomer Democrats who want to dictate how the torch of Camelot will be passed to who, And, just for the record, I think this assassination attempt was a Project 2025 false flag like the Russian Nazification Oligarchs employ in Britain to isolate Putin, This guy was not shooting at Trump, but just shooting, It may have been a statement if he focused on the teleprompter, but Trump was hit by shrapnel for a teleprompter and not wings in the ear, As I understand the trajectory of the bullets, Trump actually turned his head slightly just before he reacted to his ear and presented a far cleaner shot at the back of his head than just an instant before, But the fragment came from a different direction, Why that building was outside the security cordon is inexplicable, It only require one more gun to deny that roof to the shooter. I mean, how that guy could not have been noticed by the pros on the field is likewise inexplicable. I mean, JFK ordered them to keep the bubble top off the Lincoln, And no left wingers were in a position to have anything to do with that roof. False flag.

[7grandmel]

Todays Raft: 01:44 PM - 01/04/2024

Chronicler's Raft

Season 7 Ridden on: The Year of Grand Dad Sound Selection [Side B]

Raft by COCONABE

This sorta goes back to what I was saying on those rips using Simpsons Hit & Run and South Park N64 music: This rip is using a song from a browser-based Bionicle game from 2001. The ONLY other rip on the channel using this game as a source was *also* by COCONABE, so I can only assume he has some sort of nostalgic attachment to this completely-forgotten game tied to a now long gone franchise.

And I love that! I don't know what this rip is referencing directly but I love that Raft Ride is letting obscure shit like this live on. Love to see it.

[hackernewsrobot]

The Simpsons Hit and Run leaked source code

https://github.com/Svxy/The-Simpsons-Hit-and-Run

[cssmoon]

Gta san andreas 50 save game

It looks like Rockstar Games have ensured the early days of the beginning of the end of its company after the disastrous GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition launch. GC: Perhaps you’re not counting more minor glitches, because that certainly doesn’t match with our experience. I have played for hours and had one glitch, so I don’t know whether there’s some rabid bandwagon jumping going on here. I played the original and, for me, this is just spruced up enough without deviating away from the original game. I am a 50-something gamer so think that I have a few miles under my belt, but I don’t know whether I am alone in this but I am loving GTA. PS: The car handling in the GTA trilogy is perfect, and I won’t have a bad word said about it. I saw a video once of a guy doing the same thing with The Simpsons: Hit & Run and he didn’t even have the source code.

I am amazed that you can port an entire game do a different engine 20 years after it was originally made. I read somewhere that it actually uses the Unreal Engine now. They really should have put in some haze. The only major problems I’ve encountered are severe stutters during checkpoint races, and the weird way you can see the whole map from a plane.

I see many people are unhappy at the quality of the games I can only speak for San Andreas but I think they have just the right amount of graphical and gameplay improvements. It does seem rather a big mistake not to have allowed you to buy them for £20 each. Then add in that San Andreas was on Game Pass, it makes it £50-60 for just the two other games. Though it was mainly Vice City I wanted to play, I thought £50-60 (depending on console) was a bit too much money for this collection. Just writing in to say I really am enjoying GTA: San Andreas on my Xbox One X via Game Pass. We haven’t seen the show, but we can only assume he doesn’t do the accent. GC: Charles Martinet is the voice of Mario, for those who don’t know. It is skewed towards the American market, but it really is great. Narrated by Charles Martinet, it’s a six-part series charting the history of video games. If there’s anybody here who hasn’t watched it yet (probably not many) it really is a must see. OK, this isn’t new but I’m just watching High Score on Netflix again and enjoying it just as much second time around as I did last year. GC: We did, but we always have to give precedence to more time sensitive Reader’s Feature. PS: Did you get my Reader’s Feature on my time with Dark Souls 3? Was really hoping to see that and hear what others thought. It also works well for storing Xbox One games and running them off the external hard drive, keeping the space clear on the SSD. While not perfect, as some games can take a while to swap over, it is still far quicker than downloading a game from scratch. I then just use the move function to swap about as required. Games I am playing regularly are stored on the internal and things I might want to return to but don’t want the long download time for are stored on the external drive. I use a standard 2TB hard drive to complement my internal SSD drive. I would like to respond to Tim’s letter in Friday’s inbox. It’s insulting to gamers, the original developers, and the games themselves. But these low rent rehashes of classic games have got to stop. If a company wants to take the time and make a high quality remaster or remake, something like Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 5, then fine, sounds great. People talk about Rockstar losing their reputation but even Nintendo has been at it, with the ultra lazy Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation. The GTA one is both lazy and broken! Seriously, companies have got to stop this. I mean, at least the remaster of Skyrim is only lazy.

I don’t especially want to have a go at Bethesda either, or at least not them anymore than others, especially Rockstar.

[luna--dragon]

Grime: Sorry Sasha, I just can't give booze to a minor. It's not right.

Sasha: Actually, I'm here to get fireworks.

Grime: Oh, hell yeah! What colors?

[totally-correct-shenanigans]

Sly: Dimitri is spying on everybody! We've got to follow him.

Carmelita: Not now, Sly! A new violent video game has hit the streets, and we need to get rid of it before it warps any children with its bloops and bleeps.

Sly: But that game sounds awesome!

Carmelita: And therefore should be destroyed!

Sly: I guess…

[incorrectbensler]

Ayanna: If you’re going to go undercover, you’ll need a disguise.

Elliot: You mean like an eyepatch?

Ayanna: Hey, good one! If we could afford a disguise like that, I wouldn’t be getting paid in potato chip coupons.

[incorrectbarbiequotes]

Bertie: Erika, you’ll be late for work! And today’s your workplace evaluation with Madame Carp!

Erika: Oh no! She’ll find my scorpion farm!

Erika: Then where will my scorpions live?!

[incorrectocquotations]

Character A: If you’re going to go undercover, you’ll need a disguise.

Character B: You mean like an eyepatch?

Character A: Hey, good one! If we could afford a disguise like that, I wouldn’t be getting paid in potato chip coupons.

(submitted by pawdle-wawdle)

[incorrectlooneytunesquotes]

Bugsy, you know that cooler I gave you for your birthday?  Well, Porky wants it back.

Daffy Duck