#terry pastor

[anotherdayinbliss]

David Bowie by Hunky Dory album artwork designer Terry Pastor

[the-cricket-chirps]

Photograph: Brian Ward, recolored by illustrator Terry Pastor

David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

1972

[addictedgallery]

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[mywingsareonwheels]

“And sin, young man, is when you treat people like things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that –”

“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes –”

“But they starts with thinking about people as things…”

(Granny Weatherwax, to Pastor Mightily Oats, Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett.)

[reddy-reads]

Hasn't worked

[robinlynnemabin]

Pastor Terry K. Anderson accepted Christ as his personal Savior during his youth and was baptized at the Greater True Light Baptist Church in Eunice, Louisiana. ... Anderson became the fourth pastor of Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church and preached his first sermon as pastor on December 30, 1990 Pastor Terry K Anderson and Lily Grove Our Mission: Exalting the Savior, Equipping the Saints, & Evangelizing the Sinner. At Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church, we believe that God’s mandate to make disciples is our greatest privilege and responsibility. We are therefore committed to fulfilling our purpose through worship, fellowship, ministry, outreach, and Christian education. Our goal is to evangelize the unsaved, foster spiritual maturity, and make every member a minister.  

[treeroutes]

what's up ! non-exhaustive list of stories featuring weird plants :

The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham

The Night of the Triffids, Simon Clark

In the Tall Grass, Stephen King and Joe Hill

The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig', William Hope Hodgson

The Man Whom the Trees Loved, Algernon Blackwood

The Red Tree, Caitlín R. Kiernan

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer

The Willows, Algernon Blackwood

The Nature of Balance, Tim Lebbon

'Bloom', John Langan

The Ruins, Scott Smith

The Wise Friend, Ramsey Campbell

'The Green Man of Freetown', The Envious Nothing : A Collection of Literary Ruins, Curtis M. Lawson

The Beauty, Aliya Whiteley

The Ash-Tree, M.R. James

Canavan's Backyard, J.P. Brennan

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Jack Finney

The Hollow Places, T. Kingfisher

'Reaching for Ruins', Crow Shine, Alan Baxter

'Vortex of Horror', Gaylord Sabatini

Hothouse, Brian W. Aldiss

Vaster than Empires and More Slow, Ursula K. Le Guin

Odd Attachment, Ian M. Banks

Deathworld #1, Harry Harrison

The Bridge, John Skipp and Craig Spector

'The Garden of Paris', Eric Williams

Apartment Building E, Malachi King

The Seed from the Sepulchre, Clark Ashton Smith

Rappaccini's Daughter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Nursery, Lewis Mallory

The Other Side of the Mountain, Michel Bernanos

The Vegetarian, Han Kang

Sisyphean, Dempow Torishima

The Root Witch, Debra Castaneda

Semiosis, Sue Burke

The Wolf in Winter, Charlie Parker #12, John Connolly

Perennials, Bryce Gibson

Relic, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Gwen, in Green, Hugh Zachary

The Voice in the Night, William Hope Hodgson

Ordinary Horror, David Searcy

The Family Tree, Sheri S. Tepper

The Book of Koli, Rampart Trilogy #1, M.R. Carey

Seeders, A.J. Colucci

Concrete Jungle, Brett McBean

The Plant, Stephen King

Anthologies/collections :

The Roots of Evil: Weird Stories of Supernatural Plants, edited by Michel Parry

Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology, edited by A.R. Ward

Roots of Evil: Beyond the Secret Life of Plants, edited by Carlos Cassaba

The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Sylvan Dread: Tales of Pastoral Darkness, Richard Gavin

Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic, edited by Daisy Butcher

Weird Woods: Tales From the Haunted Forests of Britain, edited by John Miller

'But fungi aren't plants' :

The Fungus, Harry Adam Knight

Growing Things and Other Stories, Paul Tremblay

The Girl with All the Gifts, M.R. Carey

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Fruiting Bodies, and Other Fungi, Brian Lumley

'The Black Mould', The Age of Decayed Futurity, Mark Samuels

What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher

The House Without a Summer, DeAnna Knippling

Mungwort, James Noll

Fungi, edited by Orrin Grey and Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Trouble with Lichen, John Wyndham

Notes :

all links lead to the goodreads page of the book, mostly because i like to look at book cover art ;

list features authors/books that i love (T. Kingfisher, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Ursula K. Le Guin, the collections from the British Library Tales of the Weird, etc.), but also a few that i don't like and some that i have not yet read ;

if upon seeing that list the first novel you check out is by Stephen King's you have not understood the assignment ;

not all of those are strictly horror stories, some are 100% science fiction (Brian W. Aldiss' Hothouse for instance).

[ballinandcantgetup452]

Terry McGinnis is the only person who can be the next Batman

I don't normally make hard statements like this. I typically hate it when somebody makes hard statements like this, but hear me out.

No prior Batfamily character can be the next Batman. I'll keep it brief and explain why going person by person (obvious headcanon warning)

Dick is definitely a likelier candidate than most. He can cover for Batman if the need ever arises. But I believe that Dick Grayson hates the idea of actually becoming Batman. He can play the role. He was a circus kid and he's got the heart of a theatre kid, he can play the role all day long. But he was the first. He arguably saw Batman at his natural worst. He and Alfred, anyways. I'm going to drop some OP lore to further elaborate. My dad's a pastor. He's a really good pastor. He's a good man, and he may be an ass, but that's because I know him as "dad". For YEARS, people would tell me that I was just like him, and for a long time, I wanted to be him. It's what boys do when their dad is at the very least decent. But, as I got older, I saw the tapestry and saw the flaws. I saw how tired being a pastor made my dad. I saw how much of his life being a pastor was taking up. I would never tell my dad to stop being a pastor, because that's him. That's his calling; and if he was anything else, then he'd be a soulless, husk of a man. But I've seen what being a pastor does to you, and I don't want that. I want to be better than that. Dick Grayson has seen what The Batman does to a person. He's seen Bruce do things that Dick would never do, and the idea of being the next Batman is something that got soured to him. And it definitely doesn't help that that's what a lot of people used to do to him. So yeah, traumadumping aside, Dick would never STAY Batman. Even if he doesn't know it.

I honestly think it's best if Jason stays as far away from the idea of The Batman legacy as possible. Jason's at the best possible spot right now. He's taken his trauma and has turned it into his empowerment. I don't care what Three Jokers says, that's dumb. Joker's an ass, we don't listen to him. ESPECIALLY if he's swapped out his gun for a crowbar and has a no-kill rule, Jason could be Red Hood until he's 90 and it'll be narratively fulfilling.

Tim is one I see get thrown around a lot. However, I believe that The Batman would absolutely DESTROY him and he would be too stubborn to acknowledge it. One common denominator I believe every Robin goes through is the realization of "oh wow, Bruce is not okay" and trying to be better than that. While I do believe that Tim went through that, I also believe that Tim is arrogant enough to believe that he's better than that. Even putting all of the "alternate Tim evil gun toting Batman" futures aside, I think that Tim is obsessive enough as is. Giving him the mantle of The Batman would cause him to obsess even more to be like Bruce thus causing ANOTHER evil gun toting alternate future Batman. Tim is best as Red Robin. An independent agent that can go well with ANY Batman to keep them on the straight and narrow.

Babs is best as Oracle. No I will not be elaborating. If you want her to be Batgirl, then say that she can Batgirl every once and a while but doing it stresses out the microchip in her back.

Steph is best as Spoiler. She backdoored her way into the Batfamily by being competent enough as Spoiler. I honestly wish that she could be like Batwoman and establish herself as Batfamily adjacent and have her own supporting cast and such. If she does have one, then I'm sorry. Cassie is kind of a blind spot.

Sadly, Cassandra Cain, Duke Thomas, and Harper Row are even bigger blindspots of mine. From what I've seen of them, I can't think of any reasons they couldn't be Batman. However, I can't think of any reasons why they especially should be Batman.

Damian Wayne is my personal vote for becoming the next Batman out of everybody pre established. Not for any birthright reasons. That's dumb. Admittedly, DCeased really turned me on to the idea. I think that the idea of Damian being the child raised by Bruce that turned out the best is a really good idea. In retrospect, I guess the idea of birthright is technically why I'm choosing Damian. BUT, understand I'm doing it with the caveat that Damian is fully developed as a person and as a character. That is the END of his arc.

HOWEVER, Terry McGinnis takes the cake for me in terms of Batman successor. This is going off of the idea that he isn't a Bruce clone. I don't know how canon we've made that, but canon is relative, so I'm saying it's not for the sake of argument. Terry is an outsider. He has no baggage with the idea of The Batman. He's just a guy working through some grief with The Batman being used as a vehicle. He doesn't know any of the Bruceisms. He never had to explain to his friends that his dad is crazy and he's sorry he made contingency plans for all of them. Terry McGinnis gets to make Batman his own. And, luckily, he gets to have a fully realized Bruce to guide him along the way. I also think that it opens so much more story potential. It's essentially a soft reboot for The Batman as an idea. Everybody else can be out doing their own thing. But I think this works in the same way that Miguel O'Hara can ALSO be Spider-Man. I believe that every intimate Batfamily member would follow Bruce's footsteps by making Batman an UNHEALTHY obsession. Terry would be different, he'd lead the pack by turning The Batman into something HEALTHY.

Or maybe I don't read enough comics and all my interpretations are super surface level. Let me know. I'm willing to be wrong.

[scurvgirl]

Okay so @mickeysgaymom and @auds-and-evens made this excellent post about Mickey's perception of how or why someone is gay and it got me thinking about Ian in season 8 (I'm currently sick so I apologize if my thoughts aren't entirely coherent). also tw for references for 3x06

Terry tries to turn Mickey straight and Ian witnesses that horrible ordeal. We talk a lot about Mickey's trauma with it, and we should because fucking hell, but Ian was also traumatized. He was powerless to help Mickey get assaulted. Later, in Season 5, we see Ian become extremely reactive towards homophobic preaching at a funeral and is only calmed by Mickey. Yeah he was in the middle of an episode, but those feelings and the event of being triggered is still rooted in his experiences.

In Season 8, Ian doesn't have Mickey and is getting more and more exposed to homophobic rhetoric from pastors and preachers and whatnot and now I think it was massively triggering for him. He's working to save teens from homophobic conversion, conversion that he witnessed the love of his life go through, when they were teens. And there is no Mickey there to reassure him he's okay, he survived, he's right there. It's just Ian. And as far as we know, the only other person who knows what happened in 3x06 who could help Ian is Lip - and Lip is so wrapped up in his own shit. Ian is so alone that entire season, triggered and going into a manic episode.

Anyways, I just had this thought of how this must be a huge trigger for Ian and oh my god our boys need so much therapy just from that episode alone.

[mywifeleftme]

327: XTC // Black Sea

Black Sea XTC 1980, Virgin

XTC’s discography has a very organic flow to it. Andy and Colin’s voices aside, it’d be tough to guess the same band was behind the albums that bookended their career (convulsive 1978 New Wave speedball White Music and the lavishly arranged psych pop of the turn of the century Apple Venus tandem), but if you follow the band over time, from one album to the next there are few radical departures. Each link in the chain contains elements of the record that precedes it and the one that follows it. Still, you can clearly divide their discography between their early years as a hard-touring New Wave act and their second act as a pastoral psych pop studio project—and, in that light, the albums that straddle that transition (today’s album, Black Sea, and 1982’s English Settlement) could be considered the “definitive” XTC records.

It’s easy to forget what a spectacular live act XTC were in their early days, something like a combination of ‘60s bubblegum, Devo, the Residents, and Wire, but with cardio that would’ve put most of those acts to shame. As a guitarist, Andy Partridge scorned anything that smacked of blues, slashing out hiccupy riffs way up the neck, hurling himself into head-spinning rhythms that often wouldn’t be out of place on a Fugazi record (if he didn’t have such a sweet tooth). He surrounded himself with collaborators whose ability as players was such that they were able to make their own marks on the band’s sound despite Partridge’s dictatorial tendencies—not only minority songwriter and exceptionally melodic bassist Colin Moulding, but ultimate utility man Dave Gregory (who flitted with ease from lead guitar to keys) and their gem of a drummer Terry Chambers, a non-writing / arranging member who would be lost when the band’s studio transition reduced him to a glorified session man. Chambers was an absolute machine, and many of the band’s most memorable early statements rely on his power and precision behind the kit.

Black Sea is their last record to be dominated by the quirky sound-over-sense rhythm workouts on which they built their name, and they go out with a bang: “Rocket from a Bottle,” “Burning with Optimism’s Flames,” and especially “Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)” are fine reminders that new wave was as much Body as Head music, while the tribal stomp of “Travels in Nihilon” feels like a hint at what XTC would’ve sounded like as some kind of Swindon krautrock band. But the songs that are best remembered from this one are those first stirrings of their burgeoning reinvention as basically the attention deficit disorder Kinks.

By his own admission, Colin Moulding’s early songwriting efforts had aped Partridge’s style, but here it seems Partridge was inspired by Moulding’s sardonic kitchen sink satire “Making Plans for Nigel” (from the previous year's Drums and Wires). “Respectable Street” reads almost like Partridge proving to himself he can write his own “Nigel,” while the chiming psychedelic pop of “Towers of London” scales its social commentary to the Empire itself. His finest moment though is “No Language in Our Lungs,” one of the band’s first genuinely emotional statements. The wordy lyric is typically “clever” (“I would have made this instrumental / but the words got in the way”) yet it captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by the intensity of…well, a feeling. The credit lies mostly with its arrangement, which heaves and stumbles behind Andy’s inconsolable howl like someone dragging their feet in exhaustion.

Black Sea usually sits somewhere between third and fifth in my personal XTC rankings, but it’d be the place I recommend a new fan start with the band (or would be, were the record available on streaming services). Between Andy’s peculiar voice and a smartass quality that can get a little cloying, XTC’s not for everyone—but for those on the wavelength, their catalogue is one of the greatest of the rock era.

320/365

Bonus

For the hell of it, my personal XTC discog rankings.

Skylarking English Settlement Black Sea White Music Drums and Wires Apple Venus Volume 1 Go 2 Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) Oranges & Lemons Mummer Nonsuch The Big Express

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Sneak Peak to Solar Opposites in: Mighty Solars Issue #1: “A Mighty Solar”

artwork by @caramelflavoredcrayons

Korvo approaches Terry down the wedding hall as he smiles at his beloved Terry. Phoebe smiles at the two aliens as Jesse started to shed a few tears.

Pastor Philip: Do you, Terry Wearspreada, promise to love Korvo, to honor and keep him safe in sickness and in all health, for as long as you both shall live?

Terry: I do.

Pastor Philip: And do you Korvo? Take Terry as your loving husband? To keep him safe in sickness and in health?

Korvo: I do. softly nuzzles Terry’s forehead with his Terry, on this day, there is never anyway I would say. I promise, no matter what happens, I won’t let anyone or anything come in our way.

Terry: And Korvy, I vow to let anyone or anything harm you too. Because, you’re my man and always will be.

Pastor Philip: And by the power invested in God, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss the groom.

Terry and Korvo kiss as the wedding bells chime. Phoebe smiles in tears of joy at her friends’ happiness, Jesse smiles, Yumyulack just gagged and the Pupa started crying in happiness. Korvo and Terry then dance away as the sunsets. Music in this scene:

Five months later…

Korvo and Terry were sleeping in their bed as Korvo opens his eyes softly and smiles at Terry, who is still asleep. Korvo kisses Terry on the forehead. Suddenly, a crash is heard. Terry whines.

Korvo: quietly Don’t worry darling, I’ll be right back.

Korvo heads up to his lab. He searches up the crash and finds out it is a meteorite. That belongs to a dark lord from space.

Korvo: What the heck is a meteorite doing here on Earth-4? Better warn everyone tomorrow morning.

[anotherdayinbliss]

Hunky Dory LP cover, RCA Records, 1971. Black-and-white photo by Brian Ward, color-tinted with airbrush by Terry Pastor.

[transbookoftheday]

Let Me Out by Emmett Nahil and George Williams

A face-off with the devil! From writer Emmett Nahil (Leatherwood) and illustrator George Williams (Croc and Roll) comes a riveting queer horror story set against the backdrop of an outbreak of "satanic panic" sweeping the New Jersey suburbs in 1979.

When Pastor Holley's wife, Kelly, is found murdered, FBI agent Garrett takes on the case with local New Jersey Sheriff Mullen. Together they start drumming up a convenient satanic-flavored scapegoat to cover up their own crimes of murder and experimentation. That scapegoat comes in the form of four friends: Mitch, Terri, Lupe, and Jackson. The punks, the queers, and the outcasts. Soon the group becomes the prime suspects of Kelly's murder. Now on the run from Garrett and Mullen, the group finds themselves in the midst of a deal with the devil themself.

[addictedgallery]

Secret Confessions: Formeto x Pastor

"It's not a confession if no one reads it. It's just an unshared secret." ~ Colleen Hoover, Author

The Formento x Pastor collaboration is a marvellous marriage between Terry Pastor's pop art and the romantic and otherworldly photography of Formento & Formento.

Join us in the confessional for a marvellous journey where photography meets pop art.

Read more...

[vro0m]

vro0m's rewatch - 188/332

2016 Abu Dhabi GP

Alright people it's time for the heartbreak. Lewis is on pole again. It's the 4th time in a row. 

Simon says Ricciardo said if he was Lewis he'd try to back Nico up. Brundle claims Lewis has been playing psychological games since that Thursday and then he corrects himself and says basically for the last few races given how dominant he's been (how is that playing games lol). Here's the issue. Lewis doesn't only need to win to get the title, he also needs Nico to not be on the podium. So by that logic he effectively has to play games. Here's the top 10 on the grid then : Lewis, Nico, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Seb, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Alonso and Massa.

Lewis says all he can do is make sure he's prepared to the best of his ability but also anything can happen. She asks him how he felt getting up that morning and he says amazing but he's won on days he's felt bad, and on days he's felt good, and lost on both as well. He feels blessed to have another beautiful day, to be fit and healthy. He feels great. 

Nico is not wearing his fireproof shirt under his opened suit. It's a weird sight I wasn't prepared for. He feels good as well. 

Of course we're getting a double interview as well. Lewis starts by saying his goal was always to be in Formula 1 and be recognized as one of the best (that's interesting to hear, I feel like he's been a bit more coy about that lately) as Ayrton was. 

Nico says he's proud of his season, it was one of his best in F1. Loads of race wins and loads of special moments. He says the turning point was the races around Japan, Singapore. Great moments for him, he says.

We hear again Lewis’ reaction on radio when his engine caught on fire in Malaysia. He says he had already pushed the radio button and he was feeling what he was feeling and so it was his natural reaction. He didn't know the radio was on, he says. He says there were trying times during the year. 

Nico says he's sure his family has helped him do even better this year because it's put things into perspective because family is the most important thing in the world and not racing, and he's just arrived at the track happier. 

Lewis says every year you're faced with negative things that happen in your life and you can't dwell on it, you need to turn it around (I'm filtering them because they annoy me but he's already said ‘whilst’ like half a dozen times in this interview). He thinks this year the things he's had to turn around have been bigger and greater than in the past. 

Okay so I didn't think it was relevant so I didn't write it down but every answer is prompted by some kind of title (like Lewis’ last was “balls of negativity” and Nico's was “perspective”). This one is “Uncle Terry & the moral victor” and it's weird enough that I think I need to mention it. Lewis says he never heard a champion say he was the “moral victor” (he does air quotes) “that's just ridiculous you know?” What is this even about lol. He says he doesn't know if he's ever heard anyone say that, then he says his uncle Terry does “when we play golf and he loses”. He says he knows what he holds in his heart, what he's worked for, what he and his guys have worked for, what they have achieved as a team etc. He knows what they've earned. They'll all hold it in their hearts and know what they've earned and whether they've deserved it or not. 

Nico says he's sure he's gonna get Keke’s usual SMS words of wisdom, that usually are “pedal to the metal this weekend”. He's not coming, he prefers to stay in front of his three screens to have an oversight of everything, and his peace and quiet. 

Lewis says greatness can't be denied always forever which. What. Are you. Saying. Dude. Greatness ultimately eventually shines. Alright. You sound like a cult pastor my man but it's okay. 

They're talking about waking up for the race now. Lewis says 2007 was freaking horrible for him. 2008, pretty horrible. He's learnt to try to focus on the things he can control. What he can control is making sure he's quickest in every session, get the pole position, and get out ahead. Those are the things he can personally influence, so that's all he focuses on. The things that happen around him and the overall result he can't do anything about. 

Nico says he wants to win the race and end on a high. It's worked for him all season and brought him in this position, he's not gonna change now, he's gonna stick with what he's doing. 

That's it. 

Toto says he can feel the tension and the drivers have been told to be sportsmanlike and that backing each other up into the RedBulls might mean successful undercuts for them and it would be a risk especially to Lewis who can't afford not to win. He says what he would least like to see happen is a technical problem on either car because we want the fight to happen on track. 

We hear Ricciardo’s car had a bit of an issue through the night but is fixed. 

It's time for the race. It's Massa's last start (is it though) and maybe Jenson’s (it is). Formation lap. The top 10 is on ultrasofts, except for the RedBulls who are on supersofts. 

Carmen is there which is very cute. It's funny because at the time I'm watching this it was just her birthday and Lewis’ posted that photo of them both in the elevator and she absolutely hasn't aged one second. 

And they are racing! 

Both Mercs get a decent start, as do the Ferraris. Daniel seems slow off the line, he's almost in a red sandwich. Both he and Seb lock up in the first corner. OH AND VERSTAPPEN SPINS! He manages to get going again but he's dead last. The Force Indias are battling each other. Oh and there's yellow flags in sector 2 and 3…then only in sector 2. What is it? It's cleared. At the end of the first lap we got Lewis, Nico, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Seb, Perez, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Massa and Valtteri. Verstappen has already gained 3 places and is up in 19th. Magnussen is getting a new nose. I guess he was the cause of these yellow flags. For now, the top 5 are within DRS range of each other, but of course DRS isn't available yet. And now it is. Max is battling Grosjean in a stressful way. Grosjean stays ahead, weirdly. Then he gets overtaken. Valtteri overtook Massa as well. On the replays we see Max spun because of a contact with Hulkenberg. Max overtakes Kvyat for P13. Magnussen has to retire his car. Lewis is still hovering right on the limit of Nico's DRS range. Or vice versa. I never know how to describe it. Valtteri has reported issues with the car and let Massa back ahead. He's told to come into the pits to check and that they won't retire. Lewis sets fastest lap after fastest lap. And he pits. It's so early but well, that's what happens when you're on ultrasofts. He gets the softs. The Ferraris are responding straight away, with Raikkonen pitting as well. It's not a great stop for Lewis, 3.6, he got held up because Raikkonen was coming in. 3.0 for Raikkonen. Alonso and Palmer pit as well. Nasr. Nico is called in. Lewis is out right in front of Max who's chasing relentlessly. Oh and again! Nico is also held up, also because of a Ferrari! Crazy. But that's good for Lewis. 4.8. Hulkenberg pits as well. Massa. Kvyat. Nico is out behind Max! Raikkonen is getting close to him. And Bottas is out of the race after all. Ricciardo pits from the lead. Perez from P3. 

It's lap 10 but we're gonna wait a minute to check the order because of all the pit stops. Ricciardo is out right behind Raikkonen and by that I mean basically on his rear wing. Nico is told they're making Verstappen slow on purpose and he needs to get past. Let's see. It's Lewis back in the lead, Max +1.4, Nico +0.7, Raikkonen +0.8, Ricciardo +0.09 lol, Seb +1.5, Jenson +5.0, Hulkenberg +1.7, Grosjean +1.9, and Perez +0.6. Ricciardo attacks Raikkonen but can't make it yet. Nico is attacking Max as well. Max stays ahead as well! He hasn't pitted yet, mind you, so it won't last, but they're trying to get Ricciardo ahead. He's still stuck behind Raikkonen though. Nico is told not to take risks with Verstappen and that he did the right thing. I thought he needed to overtake lol. Take all the risks. (I say like I don't already know the outcome.) Shortly after he's also told to look after his front right tyre. Perez overtakes Jenson for P8. OH and moments later Jenson is in the grass? What happened. Something is wrong with the steering. Is that how his career ends? It's sad. Yeah it's a failure. On the replays you can see something breaking and his front right tyre suddenly takes a weird angle and stops turning. It's over for him. He gets acclaimed by the public though. His mom hugs him with tears in her eyes. I love having dads and moms in the paddock they're always adorable (except for Jos who's a piece of shit obvi). Max is told this is all they need right now and he's doing an excellent job and just to keep it clean. He's still slowing Nico down. Ricciardo is still stuck behind Raikkonen. He answers he's losing the rear tyres a bit. Makes sense because he's on softs and hasn't pitted yet. Oh and that's a slooow Kvyat stopping by the side of the track in sector 2. Yellow flags of course. On another replay we see Jenson’s failure is from riding a kerb. Lewis says there's a lot of sliding on these tyres. The yellow flags are cleared and the DRS is available again. We see Kvyat get on a bike. Not a motor bike. Like. A bike. A mountain bike maybe. Oh lol. Just as he starts going there's a dude getting there on a moped. He stops for Kvyat who just keeps going after waving at him. And the dude makes the international hand gesture for “what.” You know the one. Alonso overtakes Grosjean to get in the points. Lewis is told the sliding comes from cool temperatures front and rear and is told to just be careful, “we're not going to grain them.” Nico is still within less than a second of Max but he's just waiting for him to pit. Ricciardo has made no progress. Oh and just as I write it down, that's Daniel ahead of Raikkonen lol. Oh no it's not. He went wide. Raikkonen got the position back. Meanwhile Seb is now 0.1 off Daniel. That's a bad mistake. 

It's lap 20. Lewis, Max +4.3, Nico +0.7, Raikkonen +3.1, Ricciardo +1.1, Seb +0.6, Hulkenberg +8.2, Perez +2.0, Massa +10.7, Alonso +5.8. Nico is told it's critical that they “start passing” Verstappen. Meanwhile Max reports it's getting more difficult but he doesn't think they should box. Nico makes an attempt, but Max doesn't yield and they almost make contact at the exit of the corner. Max stays ahead, but Nico has more grip out of the corner and overtakes him on the next straight. He's told to “catch the back of Lewis”. Max says his tyres are a bit more damaged now, but he's still told to stay out. Then he pits. Nico is told the next three laps are gonna be critical, they think Verstappen is going to the end. He's closing on Lewis bit by bit. And Ricciardo is pitting. Raikkonen pits in response. It works in favour of RBR, both of their drivers are ahead of him. Verstappen attacks and overtakes Perez for P5. Ricciardo overtakes Perez for P6. Oh but Perez comes back at him. He can't do it. Raikkonen is really close behind. Perez pits, so he's free. Lewis is called in. Good stop. Nico is called in. It might be close with Max. 

It's lap 30. It was a quick stop. He's out ahead of Max. At the moment it's Seb in the lead then, Lewis +7.6, Nico +2.5, Max +4.0 (not that close then lol), Ricciardo +2.1, Raikkonen +4.2, Massa +10.3, Alonso +2.8, Hulkenberg +4.3, and Perez +3.8. Nico is closing quickly on Lewis now. 1.2. Lmao. That's the weirdest message I've heard from Bono yet : “Question: Just wondering why you’re so slow? Currently unsafe to Vettel.” A bit later he asks how's this pace and he's told they'd be happy with a 45.3. Hulkenberg overtakes Alonso for P7. Perez attacks him for P8. Lewis asks what position he's in and he's told currently P2. Perez overtakes Alonso. Seb says his tyres are really falling off now. There's been contact between two backmarkers and there's a bit of debris on the track. Seb is pitting. 

Lap 40. It's not fascinating. Lewis, Nico +1.2, Max +3.0, Daniel +2.5, Raikkonen +8.3, Seb +1.5 is very fast on his new tyres, Hulkenberg +20.0, Perez +2.0, Massa +10.8, Alonso +16.1. Lewis is hitting traffic. Seb overtakes his teammate. Lewis : “You need to give me times of other cars, please.” Nico is about a second away from Lewis now and just as we've seen them race each other and Max who was lapping them, Palmer and Sainz made contact and are both off track now. Joining back. No interruption. Seb is very very fast. Bono told Lewis he's the threat currently. Sainz has issues after his collision. Gearbox. He's stopping I think. He's just going very slow now. Yellow flags. Sainz has stopped. Lewis is less than a second away from Nico. “OK Lewis really need to pick up the pace. Need high 44s. Vettel imminent threat.” What's happening with him? It feels weird that he's not pushing. Maybe he's trying to get Nico under threat but it also puts him under threat so… Idk watching him go, these messages, it feels very unfamiliar. Palmer gets a 5 sec penalty for the collision with Sainz.

10 laps to go. Seb caught up with the RedBulls. He overtakes Ricciardo. Bono is getting serious, now : “OK Lewis this is an instruction. We need 45.1 for the win.” But Lewis knows where he's standing : “I suggest you guys let us race.” We now hear a message from Nico that's happened before that. “This is really slow pace so maybe at some point invert the cars and if by the end of the race Lewis is still second I’ll let him by again. I know that’s a really stupid request but this is really slow at the moment. He’s doing exactly… he’s quick in sector one so it’s difficult for me.” What “he's doing exactly” is being slow in the parts of the track without DRS and speeding up in the part where Nico could overtake. He knows what he's doing. He's playing games. Nico knows. The team knows. Everybody knows. Max is told to try to get Nico's DRS. He's 1.9 away. Seb 1.5 further. 1.7 and 0.9. Seb is ready to attack. Not this lap. Max is told he's within 2 or 3 tenths of DRS. Ted says Lewis is rinsing the Mercedes pit wall’s nerves. Nico apparently has been on radio again saying “consider doing something” but why would they? As it is he's still winning the championship. There's no reason to sacrifice Lewis’ very very tiny chance is there? There's only 5 laps to go. “What can they do?” Ted says. “Hamilton is a mercenary!” He says Anthony Hamilton himself told him that :  “He is a mercenary and he'll do anything to win.” Seb overtakes Max, half a second away from Nico. “Lewis this is Paddy.” Oh-ho. “We need you to pick up the pace to win this race. This is an instruction.” I'm laughing so much right now. Lewis doesn't give one single fuck. “Paddy I am actually in the lead right now I’m quite comfortable here,” is his answer. He's ignoring them. They are so exhausted on this pit wall. He's got nothing to lose really, does he? It's not graceful but it is racing. It doesn't matter anyway, Seb is 1.7 away. He's not gonna catch up. 3 laps to go. Nico has been told they can afford P3 if it comes down to it but they can't afford damage to the car. Seb is closing actually lol. This is crazy. 2 laps to go. “Right now I’m losing the world championship so I’m really not bothered if I’m going to win or lose this race,” Lewis says, prompted by another message from the team. Seb attacks Nico but doesn't make it. It's the final lap. “Remember you only need P3.” 

It's over. 

Lewis wins the race, but Nico is champion of the world. He's doing donuts on the grid like there's no tomorrow (and there isn't). He's not going to Parc fermé. He's out of his car right there. Kissing the car. Lewis is hugging his mom.

Nico and Lewis also shake hands and hug and the team rejoice.

Niki doesn't really wanna comment on Lewis’ “antics” (as Ted says) before talking to Lewis. Ted insists. Niki again avoids answering, saying it worked out but only just. The team is carrying Nico and chanting his name. 

Seb congratulates Nico with a genuine smile on his face. Alonso also hugs him. Grosjean is genuinely elated. Massa is there as well. Wehrlein. Crazy. I've never seen so many drivers come congratulate a winner I think. 

Oh god. In the cool down room Nico LIFTS UP FUCKING BERNIE ECCLESTONE. Careful that's an antique right there. Herbie reminds him he needs to get weighed. Lewis looks okay. We don't see him much but he's chatting with Seb and Bernie, I think about his “antics”.

Nico's race engineer gets there and he's very emotional and it's cute. “You've done it!” he says with a strangled voice after they hug hard. 

I've been wondering this whole race when Nico decided to leave. Did he already know? Or at least was he already thinking about it or not yet? Because iirc he announced his retirement very shortly after right? I'll look it up once we're done here. (I have an answer, I’ll get to it at the end of the review.)

It's a long time in this cool down room. After talking for a while with Lewis, Seb talks to Nico in German. They're taking a photo with Ecclestone. Nico is holding Lewis’ shoulder, Lewis is not holding Nico back. After a few clicks he moves away, just beat earlier than the others. Awkwardly. 

Podium. Honestly Lewis is not happy but I've seen him handle himself worse than that with lower stakes, so. Good on him? Nico is emotional now. Lewis raises his trophy to his mom. 

He says he feels great, he thanks everybody who came out. Points out the British flags, gets a real roar out of the crowd. He thanks his family for the support and his team for doing a great job. He says he never would have thought when he joined them that he'd have so many wins. He's really smiling. “And a big congratulation to Nico of course,” he adds after a bit. He almost forgot I think. “His first world championship. Good job man.” They shake hands.

Oh my god this is extremely cringe : they shook hands in front of DC who's conducting the interviews so he then gets out of the way and suggests they do it again and it's just no. You ruined it. Anyway they do it again and hug and it's horrible now. It wasn’t great to begin with.

Nico says he really didn't enjoy the last laps. He dedicates his win to his wife and their daughter and his wife immediately starts crying (in French we have a phrase “fondre en larmes” - melting into tears, which would apply well there). He says he'll thank everybody else later but it's unreal. Oh. DC brings up his dad and that's when he loses it. He says he's very proud he's achieved the same feat and he thinks he's gonna be there in about half an hour and his voice breaks. I thought his dad was back home?! Did they surprise him this way? He stutters. He says he's excited to see him. His eyes well up. He can't talk anymore. He's shaking his head while DC moves to Seb. 

Seb also starts by congratulating Nico who seems dazed now. He says something when Seb gets back to it and Lewis is smiling. 

DC gets back to Lewis, weirdly, and asks him how he feels. He says he did everything he could these last 4 races and that's all he could ask of himself so he's gonna celebrate with everyone that night. “You can't win them all,” he says. He says he had a lot of problems during the year and that's why he's in this position but he's still thankful for all the success and the ups and downs they had as a team. 

Nico is barely keeping it together. He says he also wants to congratulate Lewis oh god now I'm getting emotional as well for his great season, great competitor, massively quick always, they're looking in each other's eyes. “So congrats, always tough to beat you.”

Then he turns to the team and tells them to turn the music on because he's coming. He can't wait to see his mom, he says. She's coming with his dad. 

And that's it. Ohhhhh they're going back to the cool down room and Angela is there and hugs Lewis tight.

Nico is trying to take a photo with a selfie stick and he also invites Seb to join. Meanwhile Paddy also doesn't wanna comment on Lewis ignoring instructions. He says “We weren't driving the car.” and pretending like it might just have been the pace of the car. It wasn't. Even Lewis didn't pretend like it was. But do go on and defend your guy, it's also part of the job. “It did present some challenges,” he says very euphemistically. He also praises Ferrari’s strategy. It was a dramatic ending. Johnny critiques the calls they made on radio saying they were trying to stop the racing and taking away his chance at the championship like I was saying at the time. Paddy says their main objective is always to win the race and they didn't like the look of that red car coming through. Johnny insists it's dictating the race, whatever the driver can do to try and win the championship he's gonna do, and they were trying to stop that. Paddy says it's what makes F1 exciting in a way : the unavoidable conflict between what a team wants and what the individual drivers want (you always always have to do better than your teammate essay, anyone? Lol). He's still trying to talk but we're watching Nico and his relatives jump in a circle singing so yeah. They're distracted. Hill asks how Paddy thinks Nico compares in the pantheon. He says first of all he's very very happy for Nico. Nico had, at least at that point, the highest number of F1 wins without a championship. Paddy says (and God the little man is saying so many true things that day) that championships are about sustaining the energy and the commitment and nerve throughout a season. (And that's how Lewis breaks his teammates btw as we mentioned in the essay, his ability to maintain.) 

Nico has escaped the garage and is walking through the paddock with Vivian. I think he's looking for his dad who's supposed to arrive. 

Toto is ready to talk. He says Lewis had two choices. He could disappear in the distance and show that he's the best racing driver or back up. Hill argues that's all Lewis could do, and he created a great race for them. Toto says that's how he feels as a racing driver, as compared to how he felt as a team principal, and that's why he didn't intervene. He says Horner suggested this earlier in the week and so maybe Lewis was following Horner’s instructions. Johnny asks the same thing he asked Paddy : why did they get involved? Toto says if they let them go with no rules they'd be winning fewer races and they'd lose championships. He says their philosophy all year was they wouldn't interfere as long as they had a guaranteed race win. And there was a situation there where they might have lost it. He says the question is whether him ignoring them sets a precedent for the future. But now they're celebrating basically. Oh right. There's new regs for 2017. Toto says they're happy about it. They weren't initially when they were decided but that made them competitive and they've been developing for 2017 for a long time. 

We see a moment from the press conf. Lewis insists again Nico didn't have reliability issues like he did. “That's why we sit in this position right now.” Then he gets a grip and says he did a fantastic job and congratulation etc. But well that sounds empty now doesn't it lol. “And I look forward to fighting with him next year.” But you won't though. He later says he never felt like he might lose the race. He's not very clear and they didn't let us hear the question but he says “their” thought process was clear and I think he's talking about the instructions. He kind of refuses to comment. 

Anyway. Lewis interview. He says he did everything he could, fought to the end for the fans and the people who turned up to support him. He thanks everyone. He seems relaxed. She asks if he's disappointed the team gave him instructions. High pitched hum that he does when he's thinking of whether to say it as it is or give a diplomatic answer, I think. He chuckles and shakes his head. “It is what it is,” he says with a smile.

She asks if it's his hardest season. He says he's been in a similar position in 2007 and it was much harder, losing it. Having the experience helps a lot, he says.

Certain things happened along the way, he shrugs, and all he could do was his best and he truly believes he did so he can go out and enjoy himself now.

She asks if he lost the title or if Nico won it. He says he doesn't want to take anything from Nico (but you keep doing it my love lol everytime you say you're in this position because of the reliability issues) he says he did a great job. Last question about 2017 and he says he thinks it'd be great to have other teams challenge them. It'd be interesting and good for the fans. He's not convinced the new rules are great ones but he hopes he's proven wrong. 

Wait. Nico's mom is there and it's not the same woman I saw earlier. Was it his MIL? Whatever. She just kissed Brundle on the cheek like he's his own lol. She says they don't talk about Formula 1, it's a family rule, and that Keke is hiding. 

In his interview Seb says you can't take anything away from Nico sometimes circumstances are for you sometimes not but that's part of it. He also understood why Lewis did what he did. He’s right about both things.

We hear from Lewis again. He sees for the nth fucking time congrats to Nico he drove well and he did everything he could and bla bla bla. He says he had to try because there was no point in leading the race and then coming second in the championship. He says he's excited to see what they're gonna have to say to him I think? They have a sound issue. Oh yeah that's what he said. Brundle asks if they might pull him into the office and say we've told you some things and you didn't listen. And Lewis says he's looking forward to it and laughs. “You got some answers already ready for if?” – “Yyyep.” They agree again he had to try and destabilise Nico’s race and Lewis says he did everything he could with the opportunities he had, he never gave up with the ups and downs in the season. He says Nico is gonna enjoy this, winning a championship is an amazing feeling and he doesn't wanna take anything away from him. He did absolutely everything he had to do this season. He hopes they both have cars that work well so they can fight again next year. He's happy and grateful with the wins he had, 12 poles and 10 wins. Grateful for the guys who've worked so hard to give them such a car. He's looking forward to keep working for them in the future. He's talking about drinking tequila. 

In his interview Nico says the race was so so so intense. The team telling him it was critical, “critical” he repeats, to pass Max for the world championship “Jesus ! And then Max, you know, of all people.” He scoffs, “oh you don't uh, no, you n–, no, no.” He says at the end Lewis was backing him into everyone because that was “the chance he was trying to use, and he did it really really well because there was no chance for me to overtake him at the same time because he was pushing in sector 1.” He says the others were coming and Vettel with more grip and it was horrendous. (He's all over the place as he speaks, understandably.) He says he's mostly relieved that it's over. He's happy and can't wait to celebrate. His best friends are here. He thanks people for supporting him. She says they were biting their nails. He rolls his eyes, sighs, facepalms.

The level of tension and stress he was holding and the visible relief and exhaustion are really impressive. “It's not possible to explain the intensity,” he says. He's just repeating again and again how horrible it was. And exclaiming as he recalls how horrible it was. I've never seen a champion so distraught over his own title race I think lmao. He's putting hands on his face. It's like he's recalling a nightmare. He says he couldn't let Seb past because “Crazy Max was after that so can't let anybody past.” Then she says it's intense relief and has he talked to his dad and he says no. “I haven't seen my dad. I hope he's okay.” He's dead serious and looks concerned. Also I've rarely seen a champion smile so little. “I'm a bit worried about him. Cause I think that must have been pretty intense,” he chuckles now. Her last question is whether he'll take the number 1 next year. As soon as he hears he starts moving away and avoids eye contact. “I don't know, let's see.” 

They take the photo. Then Lewis leaves. I think Nico did the same thing in 2015 but more discreetly. Nico and Vivian get drowned in champagne and cameras. It always looks so stressful. 

Ted's notebook starts in the paddock with Jenson. Ted says he's sorry about the suspension that was weird and see you next year. Jenson stares at him. “Is that as good as the notebook gets?” Ted says it gets much worse and how did he know he was doing the notebook. Jenson says he just said so. “Oh yeah,” Ted says. “So I did, so I did.” Jenson asks the camera man to turn around. “Why does (someone's name I didn't get)‘s wife have a firesuit on, why does Britney have your firesuit on?” – “Because why not?” Jenson says. “We're stealing them.” He points out he's actually still wearing his race suit. Ted sniffs him. He says it's not his race suit it doesn't smell of sweat. Jenson says he only did 12 laps. He says his notebook is “relatively interesting, sometimes.” He grabs his mic. “More importantly this one is king. IT'S JB’S NOTEBOOK! Here we are there's a guy called Ted, over here, mister Kravitz, Lenny’s brother from what I've heard. We're here in the pitlane, great win for–” He turns to Ted. “It was Nico wasn't it, the one?” Ted's like well Nico won the championship yeah. “Great win for Nico, we didn't watch the end of the race but fantastic for him and his family,” Jenson keeps going, “especially mini Nico, it's sad for Lewis, you know for me Lewis did a great job all year. Look at the last few races, you know, he won every race, Nico's been just behind him, so it's a shame for him he's had reliability issues. Malaysia he's lost 28 points to Nico Rosberg so uh. It's hurting him right now, I'm sure, it's like a stake in the heart, but next year he's gonna come back, he's gonna win his fourth world title. So yeah. All is good in Abu Dhabi we're gonna go and have some fun. And Ted's not going with because he's bOOOOring. He's all formula one and stats and stuff like that. But anyway I'll leave you with him. JB signing out.”

Oh. So. Okay. When Brundle interviewed Lewis he referred to Lewis wanting to quit after Spain. And Lewis said it was private stuff and in the past. I didn't mention it because I didn't know what he was talking about. Now Ted explains that the rumour is that in the midst of all the consequences of them colliding in Spain, Lewis said he'd quit. He said he wouldn't drive anymore this season. The team got a bit panicky. He says at the time everybody was a bit weirded out by Wehrlein being called to drive for Mercedes during a test session they did I think for new tyres (I did mention in some review that Merc was interested in Wehrlein). And then they accepted Nico's plea to get a two year contract instead of a one year contract. 

Lewis also said during the press conference he didn't do anything unfair, he controlled the pace and that's within the rules. Which. Again as I said : it’s not graceful but it’s racing.

Okay, so that’s it for the broadcast. But now let’s talk about Nico’s retirement. So I asked around and I found sources. Here he says he decided to quit "two metres after the line in Abu Dhabi.” It was officially announced 5 days later. Here he says he was scared to tell Toto to his face so he waited until they were done with the PR thing in Malaysia and told him on the phone. Just think about all the time in this review I mentioned people telling him “next year” and he just dodged or seemed emotional and he already knew. It’s intense.

He said he couldn’t maintain the intensity it took to beat Lewis and he’d accomplished his dream of being World Champion and that was enough for him. He says it was to the point he gave up cycling so he’d lose just a bit of leg muscles and according to him that’s how he got pole in Japan. His helmet was black because he got rid of the 80g of paint it took to make it another colour. He wore socks to his ankles rather than knees so they would weigh 5g less. I mean that’s madness.

Lewis was uhhhh. Kind of a dick about it, unsurprisingly. He said : “This is the first time he’s won in 18 years, hence why it was not a surprise that he decided to stop. He’s also got a family to focus on, and wants more children, and Formula 1 takes so much of your time. Will I miss the rivalry? Of course. It’s going to be very, very strange and it will be sad not to have him in the team next year. The sport will miss him and I wish him all the best. Of course it is a shame that he won’t allow me to take it [the title] back or fight to take it back but that is his choice and I respect his decision: go out on top while you can.”

And I think it’s an important thing to finish on. Because a lot of people have said (I mean I’ve just read it in one of the articles I’ve read for this conclusion) that Nico won the battle but Lewis won the war because Nico basically gave up. I myself have alluded to this in the “Lewis breaks his teammates essay”. Lewis did break Nico. I mean Nico says pretty plainly that he was unable (but maybe more importantly unwilling) to keep putting so much effort into beating Lewis. But Lewis didn’t win the war, Nico did. Because Lewis never got to beat him again. As I said at some other point, Nico will always have won against someone he perceived as better than him, and Lewis will always have lost to someone who he saw as not as good as he is. And Nico robbed him of a chance to set things right in his mind. In the story of their rivalry, the last thing that happened is, and will forever be : Nico won. And that’s Nico’s everlasting victory.

[reddy-reads]

Nope