#wisdom marts

[unopenablebox]

whats the best vegetarian spicy instant ramen/instant noodle. 🌸 is on a quest

[oldpoet56]

A Few Things For Us To Think About ( #1705 )

A Few Things For Us To Think About ( #1705 )   1.) If we the people of the world buy anything that is made in China, we are idiots! 2.) I do realize that if we the people do #1,Wal-Mart stock will fall through the floor! 3.) Any money that anyone sends to China will come back as bullets against them! 4.) Most of the things that ruin a humans sleep are financial! 5.) We must learn to stay calm in…

[gringadano]

[fortunatelylori]

A defense of Eloise Bridgerton and her friendship with Penelope Featherington

I should probably start this post by pointing out the fact that I’m not the biggest Eloise fan out there. In fact Eloise has consistently annoyed me for two seasons straight with her I’m “not like other girls” shtick and the writers using her as a prop for modern feminist talking points. 

Mostly what I disliked about Eloise was the bluntness and lack of charm used to put across the themes of women’s role in recency society and the lack of options for girls not interested in playing the marriage mart mind games. 

Jane Austen, for example, makes many of the same points regarding women in her novels but instead of beating us over the head with it, she uses wit, eloquence and wisdom to get her points across. 

But, above all, I disliked just how self involved Eloise was, what a major chip on her shoulder she had. She’s a privileged girl from an immensely powerful and rich family that spends her days whining and being dismissive of everyone around her. 

She spends most of season 1 picking fights with Daphne for no reason and the second season making fun of Colin and running around town like a chicken without a head not so much because she wants to find out who Lady Whistledown is but because she’s bored and wants something to do (something other than talking to men potentially interested in marrying her because she’s gay she’s not like other girls). 

Even as I’m writing this, I’m questioning whether I’m even the right person to defend Eloise because, as you can clearly tell, I don’t much care for her. But I do think Polin and Penelope fans are really misjudging Eloise and wanting to make her the villain of season 3 due to her resentment towards Penelope and her anger at the Polin engagement.

So I guess I have to be the hero without a cape in this instance. 

Here it goes …

It’s very easy to look at the friendship between Eloise and Penelope in season 1 and 2 and conclude that Eloise has always been a bad friend to Penelope. After all, almost every scene they have together is about Eloise, her interests and passions, her frustrations at the ton and the marriage mart, her inability to fit in with societal expectations, her quest to find out the identity of Lady Whistledown etc, etc. There’s almost never room for Penelope to even get a word in because Eloise talks and talks and keeps on talking. 

But I’d like to put forth another interpretation and say that perhaps this dynamic in the relationship isn’t all on Eloise. That it’s Penelope herself that prefers it that way. That she’d much rather talk about Eloise and her issues than to reveal anything truly meaningful or vulnerable about herself. 

A scene that supports this theory is the scene they have in season 2, episode 1: 

This is about as open and vulnerable Penelope ever is with Eloise and in this scene we can observe several things: 

Despite her being more open than usual, Penelope is still lying to Eloise. She talks about how she enjoys being a wallflower because she can have all the fun without the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight. In reality we know Penelope would love to be in the spotlight but is frightened of being rejected. She’s not having fun hugging the wall at all and yet she’s unable to share that with her friend. 

As soon as Penelope opens up, albeit only partially, Eloise is quick to notice that, despite pretending not to enjoy the balls and the marriage mart, Penelope actually likes all of these things. This shows not only that she knows Penelope pretty well (as well as Penelope herself will allow Eloise to know her) but that, despite disagreeing on the topic, she’s supportive of Penelope and listens to her. 

It’s also worth comparing the way Eloise behaves with Penelope vs. the way she behaves with Cressida in season 3. 

Cressida and Eloise’s relationship is much more balanced and equal because Cressida stands up for herself, pushes back at Eloise when she needs to (like explaining why she needs to marry Lord Debling despite not being compatible) or when Eloise accuses her of telling everyone about Colin helping Penelope find a husband. 

And Eloise learns to adjust. She becomes a more supportive friend, sharing her knowledge of birds so that Cressida can impress Lord Debling, making conversation with him when Cressida doesn’t know what to say and coming to her house to visit her and offer support. 

My point is: Eloise is not perfect. She’s self involved and dismissive of things she isn’t personally interested in but is willing to put in the work for a friend if said friend is honest with her about what they need from their friendship. 

Which leads us back to Penelope. Eloise is the most meaningful relationship in her life (Colin is as well but that’s a much more fraught relationship for Penelope because she wants to be lovers not friends) and yet she refuses to share the two most important aspects of her life with her friend: her love for Colin and her being Lady Whistledown. 

Let’s leave Colin to the side for now because Eloise being his sister complicates matters as far as Penelope telling her she’s in love with him. 

But why doesn’t she tell Eloise about Lady Whistledown? Particularly in season 1, when she’s just starting to write the scandal sheet. She has no idea where Lady Whistledown will even lead, if she’ll keep going etc. She’s basically doing it because she’s a writer and she wants to have fun talking about the society she knows so well. 

So why not share the fun with her friend? It’s pretty clear Eloise doesn’t even know Penelope is a writer and hasn’t seen anything she ever wrote before Lady Whistledown because, otherwise, she’d know it was Penelope doing it. 

Also let’s not forget that, in season 1, Eloise was Lady Whitledown’s number 1 fan. She can’t stop talking about how amazing and brilliant she is. 

And yet Penelope says nothing. She’d rather grin proudly behind Eloise’s back than go: “Actually this woman you like so much … I am she. She is me.”

She again fails to do it in season 2, despite knowing that Eloise helped her in escaping the queen’s men at the end of season 1. 

And then the worst part of their friendship begins as the pressure from the queen mounts and Eloise is more and more determined to find out the identity of Lady Whistledown. Penelope chooses to gaslight and manipulate Eloise for weeks.

It’s not just Eloise’s relationship with Theo and her attending political meetings that put her in harm’s way and eventually forces Lady Whistledown to write about her in order for the Queen to stop suspecting Eloise. It’s Penelope’s refusal to be honest with her friend. 

Penelope is so determined to keep Eloise in the dark that even at the end of season 2, when she walks into her bedroom and sees Eloise, she still tries to gaslight her one last time. 

Penelope: You’ve been reading too much Whistledown. Her voice is echoing in your head. 

Penelope is stuck in a pattern of toxic behavior because that’s what she’s learned to do from her family. She cannot be honest about Lady Whistledown or anything truly meaningful, despite how hard it is for her to remain isolated and in the shadows: 

Penelope: You have no idea how horrible it has felt to keep this from you! From everyone! For so long. 

It’s no wonder that, in their fight scene, Eloise tells her: 

Eloise: I do not even know you. 

That’s because Penelope herself has made it so that the people closest to her, Eloise and Colin, don’t actually know the real her. She’s given each of them what she thought they wanted and needed (she’s very similar to Colin in that way) but not enough of the real her.

So when the Lady Whistledown revelation happens, there’s nothing for Eloise to fall back on in order to try and understand Penelope. 

All of a sudden her best friend feels like a stranger. A stranger that has exposed her intimate affairs to the whole world and who tells her this: 

Penelope: At least I did something. All you ever do is talk about doing something. You have all of these great ambitions, these great plans but I am the one who actually did something great and you can’t stand it, can you? 

Now, because we, as the audience, are privy to Penelope’s inner world and we know just how riddled with low self-esteem she is and how she’s used to those closest to her being dismissive of her or her achievements, it’s easy for us to see that Penelope tells Eloise this in anger. Particularly after Eloise tells her:

Eloise: I look at you now and all I feel is pity for you. Sequestered here, in this very room, writing your secret little scandal sheet, tarnishing everyone in town all because you are too afraid to stand up for yourself in reality. You are something else, Penelope. An insipid wallflower, indeed. 

Eloise’s words hit too close to home. Too close to the reality of Penelope’s isolation and fear of being alone and abandoned so she hurts Eloise back the only way she can. By pointing to the fact that despite talking and talking endlessly about all the great things women, and she in particular, could be doing, Eloise isn’t actually doing anything. 

Basically, these two manage to hurt each other worse than anyone else could because they’re best friends, because they know each other and what makes the other one tick. 

But from Eloise’s perspective? In this moment, where she’s been betrayed by her best friend? Well, Penelope doesn’t feel like a friend at all. She feels like someone who got close to her only to exploit her so she could write a scandal sheet and make money off of her misery: 

Eloise: This was personal. 

Penelope: Eloise, I’m so sorry. I was only trying to protect you. 

Eloise: Is that what you were doing? By writing about me in your latest sheet? By telling the entire world about things I trusted you with? [...] The only person you were interested in saving was yourself. All so you could keep making money at the cost to everyone else. At a cost to Miss Thompson. To my brother. To my entire family. To your entire family. [...] All because of your self serving manipulations. 

Which brings us to Eloise’s reaction to the closeness between Colin and Penelope and the announcement of their engagement. 

To Eloise’s credit, since their fight, she’s tried her hardest to be an adult and not punish Penelope more than she needs to. She’s very hurt by what her friend did and she can’t trust her but she also doesn’t want to hurt Pen.

She’s kept the Lady Whistledown secret and refuses to tell Colin why their friendship fell apart because she doesn’t want Penelope to lose the one friend she still has. 

She also misses Penelope which is why she ends up telling Cressida about Colin helping her find a husband. She���s trying to figure out what’s going on with her friend and the only way Eloise knows how to figure stuff out is by talking … and talking … and talking … in full earshot of everyone at the ball. 

But despite all of this, as far as she knows, Penelope is still the girl that divulged her secrets, ruined Marina Thompson’s reputation and hurt Colin, not only by revealing Marina’s pregnancy but by taking cheap shots at him only weeks before her brother waltzes into the Bridgerton drawing room to announce he’s engaged to Penelope Featherington. 

What kind of sister would Eloise be if she wasn’t angry at Penelope for that? If she didn’t want Colin to find out the truth as soon as possible? 

Personally, I think she’s showing real restraint. She cares so much about Penelope that she’s not dragging her brother into the study the moment she hears the engagement news to tell him that he’s about to marry the dreaded Lady Whistledown. 

Which brings us back to my earlier point: Penelope never trusted Eloise enough to tell her she was in love with Colin. Maybe if Eloise knew that Penelope has had a crush on Colin since she was 10 years old, she might be able to understand this engagement better. 

But from her viewpoint, all she’s likely to see is that Colin is an impulsive romantic who once again has gotten engaged to a girl who is lying to him and using him to avoid social ostracization. 

I know that by the end of the season Eloise and Penelope will have mended their relationship and they will go back to being the besties we know they are.

But what I would love to see in part 2 of the season is Penelope actually being brave and honest with the two people that she loves most in the world. Not just about her being Lady Whistledown but about the reasons why she became Lady Whistledown. It’s only by her decision to be vulnerable and open that she can actually mend her relationship with Eloise. 

Friendships aren’t just about being there for your friend, about listening and giving them what you think they need but also about allowing your friend to be there for you. To allow them to truly know you: your fears, your sadness, your hopes and dreams. That’s the only way for a friendship to thrive.

[azuzulira]

Tl;Dr: Don't judge the game just because of its art, especially before it actually comes out.

Tbh, the discourse surrounding Echoes of Wisdom reminds me A LOT of the discourse that surrounded Wind Waker before its release. Like, there's always discourse about a Zelda game between its announcement and release (Zelda Cycle in full action) but like, one of the two main topics of discourse is that the game has a cute/silly art style some people dislike, and that's going to prevent it from being a serious game.

Which just seems like a stupid argument to me since it's literally the same argument that Wind Waker faced (you know, that game where Link's sister was kidnapped, he joined a pirate crew, the entire former land of Hyrule got flooded, and Link ended the game by stabbing Ganondorf through the head).

And also, people are acting like even the more serious Zelda games (which, there's a spectrum, but even the silliest Zelda games are still fun and praise worthy) haven't had goofs or gaffs or silly bits. Do I need to remind everyone about Tingle? About how he debuted in arguably the most serious Zelda game, Majora's Mask? Or how about Malo Mart in Twilight Princess?

But do you know what it actually means, that it's using the same art style and engine as the Link's Awakening remake? It means they have had more time to work on other parts of the game. They didn't have to build it from scratch. Much like how they built Tears of the Kingdom off Breath of the Wild, or Majora's Mask off Ocarina of Time. So, I don't know, but it feels like the precedent here seems like this will be a fairly solid game, by most objective measures.

[george-mullner-mailbox]

grandpa george spare us some words of wisdom

it is okay to steal from joja mart.

[writingsofwesteros]

https://www.tumblr.com/writingsofwesteros/757363388405989376/httpswwwtumblrcomwritingsofwesteros757350202?source=share

If there's one thing Nora's gonna do, it's handle businesssss-

"In return for the supply of extra grain and meat sent through the ports at Oldtown and Lannisport, and House Martell's allegiance to your brother as the rightful King, you offer me a marital alliance between my youngest girl and your nephew, the Prince Maelor." Nora nodded. "Indeed. You would also have the support of my family's dragons should ever you need them, you only need call upon us." Prince Qoren folded his arms and chuckled, "And what of you? Which lord or prince will hold your hand in marriage?" She sipped her wine. "My hand is not yet on the mart, My Prince." "By order of whom?" He asked. "King Aegon....or your brother the Hand?" Nora smirked. "Both of them." Prince Qoren set his chalice down, saying, "Tis' a pity that in Westeros they do not always see a woman's true value- for if you were a Dornishwoman, rest assured you would be elevated as befits your clear wisdom." "I always knew Dornish men were great flatters," She replied.

That very afternoon she mounted Cannibal, and began the flight to King's Landing, a parchment with House Martell's seal stamped on it secured in Cannibal's saddle bag. That evening in the Red Keep Aemond and Aegon sat watching Jaehaera play with her dolls as Helaena watched her crickets in their little cages. "When will Aunty Nora come back?" Jaehaera asked her father. "Soon, sweetling." Aegon said, as he set down his chalice. "The dragon brings the sun as it takes flight." Helaena whispers softly. Moments later, the familiar screech of the Cannibal pierced the air, and the guards flew into a commotion as they shouted, "Dragon!" Aemond and Aegon flew onto their feet as Aemond instructed Helaena to stay back inside- he could never be too safe, not after Jaehaerys. He and Aegon ran out as Aegon shouted, "Halt!" As the guards were preparing defence. He and Aemond watched as the Cannibal landed nearby outside the city. He and Aemond mounted two horses and rode through the streets to where their sister usually kept her dragon. As they approached, they could see Cannibal's chilling green eyes on them, and he growled- even Aemond himself was hesitant to approach the Cannibal too close. Nora slid down her dragon and approached her brothers, her silver curls windblown as she smiled, saying, "Missed me?" Aegon pulled her close and kissed her deeply, murmuring, "You were gone for too long." Aemond pulled her to him, kissing her with equal fervour, as she said between kisses, "I was gone but a few days." "Your King commanded no more than a week." Aegon grumbled as she mounted Aemond's horse. "Well I'm here now, My King. I shall be sure to seek absolution from My King and his Hand tonight." She hummed as they rode back.

Helly has already put Jaehaera to sleep and is waiting in Nora's chambers, her hair loose in her robe- her brothers were not the only ones who had missed her.

!!!!!!

oh she is good, she really is their diplomatic weapon

(imagine her going to Winterfell..Aegon is not happy about such a thing)

Helaena looking so glorious here; so beautiful. Nora did not make the first; her sister's soft lips were soon upon her and she could not stop her hands moving down that silky hair of hers

[olympic-paris]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more …

August 21

1872 – Aubrey Beardsley (d.1898), born in Brighton to a genteel but nearly destitute family , was a musical and artistic prodigy as a child who went on in his short life to become a highly original and influential illustrator, one of the greatest of the Symbolists.

He was educated at the Bristol Grammar School and later, with the encouragement of Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones, attended night classes at the Westminster School of Art. Although he absorbed a number of influences, including that of the Pre-Raphaelites, Beardsley was largely self-taught.

In 1892, the young artist received his first commission, an invitation to illustrate an edition of Thomas Malory's Morte D'arthur for the publisher J M Dent. The assignment entailed over 300 illustrations and chapter heads, which the artist executed in a mock-medieval, Pre-Raphaelite style.

In 1893, as he was working on the Dent commission, he met Oscar Wilde, with whom he would be associated for the rest of his life, at least in the public's imagination. Beardsley was invited by Wilde's publisher to illustrate the English edition of Salomè. When it was published in 1894, both the play and the witty, provocative - blatantly erotic - illustrations created a sensation. His most famous erotic illustrations were on themes of history and mythology, including Wilde's Salomè and his (very homoerotic) illustrations for Lysistrata.

That same year Beardsley became famous as the art editor of The Yellow Book, a new arts and letters periodical. Although Wilde never actually contributed to the magazine, it was widely assumed to be an organ for the aesthetic ideas that the playwright espoused. Beardsley's stunning black-and-white drawings, title-pages, and covers helped make the new quarterly a great success. But The Yellow Book also quickly became a site of the fin de siècle culture wars, a target of moralists concerned about the influence of the decadent movement on English society and art. One detractor described Beardsley's designs for the periodical as 'Diseased, weird, macabre, and sinister.'

In the context of the growing notoriety of Wilde and his circle, this may be seen as an attack on the newly visible homosexual subculture that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. The culture wars culminated in Wilde's prosecution and conviction for gross indecency in 1895. One casualty of the reaction triggered by the Wilde trials of 1895 was Beardsley himself. He was summarily fired from his job as art editor of The Yellow Book. He had been too closely associated with Wilde for the publisher's comfort and his art too erotic and perverse for the new mood of conformity prompted by Wilde's conviction.

Beardsley however continued to find work as an illustrator and created many more beautiful illustrations. Unfortunately, Beardsley had been plagued by ill-health and bouts of tuberculosis since childhood and he died in the South of France, where he had gone in search of a better climate for his increasingly frail health. He was just 25.

Considering the brevity of his life, Beardsley's achievement is astonishing. A highly original creator, he transformed the art of illustration and profoundly influenced artists of his own and subsequent generations.

1935 – Playwright Mart Crowley saw his first play, The Boys in the Band, become a huge off-Broadway hit that was later adapted as a motion picture. Although a groundbreaking representation of gay men, The Boys in the Band is now considered somewhat controversial, partly for the attitudes of the characters and partly for its now anachronistic setting in the age before AIDS.

Crowley is a son of the South. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on August 21, 1935, he used his familiarity with the culture and his personal experience to inform his writing. Crowley's childhood was not a happy one. His father, a tavern-keeper, was an alcoholic, and his mother, who was addicted to both drugs and alcohol, eventually had to spend considerable time in mental institutions. For a respite from his miserable home life, the young Crowley frequented the local movie theater. After graduating from a Catholic boys' high school in Vicksburg, Crowley enrolled at Catholic University in Washington, D. C.

When he received his degree in theater in 1957, he went to New York, where he became a production assistant to director Elia Kazan on the film Splendor in the Grass, based on the play by William Inge. Crowley became friends with the film's star, Natalie Wood, who encouraged him to go to Hollywood to pursue a career in screenwriting. Crowley succeeded in writing a script that was slated for production, but the project was cancelled at the last moment.

Other disappointments followed. Crowley wrote the pilot episode for a television series that was to star Bette Davis, but the show was never produced. Next he got a screenwriting job at Paramount, but was soon fired.

After these setbacks Crowley was house-sitting for a friend when he wrote a play about a group of gay men. A friend brought the work to the attention of producer Richard Barr, who ran the Playwrights' Unit with Edward Albee. They agreed to put it on in a workshop in January 1968, and Crowley burst onto the literary scene with his best-known work, The Boys in the Band. It opened off-Broadway in April and ran for over a thousand performances. The play was made into a film directed by William Friedkin in 1970.

The Boys in the Band is a groundbreaking work that uses both humor and melodrama to offer a look at the lives of a group of openly gay men. Queer audiences welcomed it when it appeared, but over the years it became controversial. Objections centered on traits of various characters that critics felt perpetuated negative stereotypes—self-loathing, flamboyance, and promiscuity. Rather than offering an upbeat, positive look at the gay subculture, it presented a depressing snapshot of individuals tormented by internalized homophobia.

Set at a birthday party in New York, The Boys in the Band introduced audiences to a number of gay men with different attitudes and backgrounds. The birthday celebrant is Jewish, one of the guests African-American. Another guest is thoroughly campy and brings a hustler dressed as a cowboy as a birthday gift. The guests also include a couple, one of whom is a divorced father of three. The pair, though committed to each other, are arguing over whether their relationship needs to be exclusive. At the center of the piece is the host, Michael, the character with whom Crowley most strongly identifies. The cynical and pessimistic Michael has been the focus of many who became detractors of the play in later years. His most famous line, "You show me a happy homosexual, and I'll show you a gay corpse," has often been quoted to indicate the character's self-loathing, and sometimes to indict Crowley for his negative depiction of the period's gay subculture.

Crowley, however, has strongly defended his play, calling it a period piece—from an era before both Stonewall and the AIDS epidemic. He stated in 1996 that the play's "self-deprecating humor was born out of a low self-esteem, if you will; from a sense of what the times told you about yourself." He said that he understood "the need for positive images" and pointed out that "the lovers in the play, Hank and Larry, make a most positive statement about commitment to each other" at the end of the piece. He also called the "flaming and incendiary" character Emory "very positive" because "he never hides who he is, and that's a very brave thing to do."

Certainly, it is true that even today it is difficult for glbtq people to grow up in America without internalizing the homophobic attitudes of the larger society. That would have been even more true for the characters in Crowley's play, most of whom grew up in the 1950s, a decade in which homosexuals were routinely abused and their self-esteem systematically attacked. Rather than dismissed for presenting a politically incorrect view of gay men, The Boys in the Band should be respected for calling attention to the destructive effects of the pervasive societal homophobia with which gay people in the period before Stonewall had to cope.

During the 1970s Crowley lived off his money from The Boys in the Band. He stated in 1996 that he "was just running around the world, drinking too much" at the time, and so his funds were dwindling by the end of the decade. In 1979 Crowley's friend Natalie Wood and her husband, Robert Wagner, helped Crowley get a job as head writer for the television show in which they starred, Hart to Hart. When the producer abruptly quit, Crowley replaced him and remained in that post until 1983. Crowley then returned to work as a screenwriter. "I have original movie scripts in the files of every major studio in Hollywood," he declared in 1993. Although he was successful in selling them, none has ever been produced.

Crowley's stage play, For Reasons That Remain Unclear, dealt with the theme of sexual abuse of a student by a Catholic priest. Crowley has stated that the story is a fictionalized version of his own experience. The play was first presented at the Olney Theatre in Maryland. It was optioned for a year, but the production was soon abandoned. The play has since been performed in a few regional theaters.

The Boys in the Band was revived in New York in 1996 to mostly favorable reviews and had a respectable run. By the time of the revival Crowley had already let it be known that he was planning a sequel. It was not until 2002, however, that The Men from the Boys premiered in San Francisco.

The setting for the sequel is the same New York City apartment that was the site of the birthday party in The Boys in the Band. This time it is the venue for a wake for Larry, who has died of pancreatic cancer. Seven of the nine original characters return, and three younger ones have been added.

While reviewers generally found the play entertaining and pointed to some wickedly witty lines by Crowley, they were somewhat disappointed by the lack of evolution of the characters. Critic Dennis Harvey commented that they "end up defined mostly by the degree to which they've resisted 35 years of social and potential personal change."

While Crowley has never been able to recapture the success and acclaim that he had with his debut play, he deserves honor for having blazed the trail for subsequent gay-themed theater with The Boys in the Band.

1962 – The adult porn "actor" Jeff Stryker , who has starred in bisexual, gay, and straight adult films, was born on this date. Born Charles Casper Peyton in Carmi, Illinois, he currently lives in California.

Jeff Stryker is primarily known as a performer in gay pornography films, although Jamie Loves Jeff was one of the biggest selling heterosexual adult movies of all time for its producer, Vivid Entertainment. He describes himself (in a somewhat joking fashion) as sexually "universal". He has also said, "I don't define myself as anything."

He also tried his hand at other acting, starring in a 1989 Italian-produced horror movie called After Death (Revenge of the Zombies), in which he was credited as Chuck Peyton, and was seen in other movies such as Can I Be Your Bratwurst Please? and Dirty Love.

~~

The "Jeff Stryker Cock and Balls," a dildo fashioned from a cast of his penis, is widely sold in sex stores. The sex toy was billed as the "first dildo ever manufactured using an exact mold of a celebrity's body part", and reportedly is the best selling item of its kind. A licensed line of Jeff Stryker products is available: calendars, playing cards, T-shirts, greeting cards, Stryker Lube and the Jeff Stryker Action Figure (below).

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1970 – On this date Huey Newton, the leader of the Black Panthers, publicly stated his "solidarity" with the "Gay Power" movement in a speech where he said, "a person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants."

1984 – Robin de Jesús is an American film and theater actor of Puerto Rican descent. He has received Tony Award nominations for his roles in In the Heights, La Cage aux Folles, and The Boys in the Band.

His first major role was as Michael in the independent film Camp (2003), where he plays a gay teen who gets beat up for wearing drag to his prom. While the film went relatively unnoticed in the mainstream, it gained a cult following among musical theater fans and teens who connected to the outcast theme.

He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Sonny in the 2008 Broadway musical In the Heights, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. In 2010, he joined the revival cast of La Cage aux Folles as Jacob, the sassy housekeeper, which earned him his second Tony Award nomination in the Featured Actor category. De Jesús played the role of Boq in the Broadway production of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre. In 2019, he received a third Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for his role of Emory in The Boys in the Band. He recreated the role for the 2020 film adaptation produced for Netflix.

In 2021, Jesús played Michael in the musical drama tick, tick... BOOM!.

Robin is gay and speaks to young audiences about fully accepting oneself.

2002 – Twenty lesbian and gay survivors whose partners died in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were told they would receive workers’ compensation under a new state law.

[faithrainee]

Peter B is totally the Spider Gangs' designated driver. No, they don't drink, they're kids, but Peter B definitely offers to be their chaperone anywhere and anytime. Absolutely not are they going to Noir's dimension without him, who knows what gangster shenanigans go on in that time period! Hanging out in Miguel's dimension?? With the flying cars?? And the shit pizza there, hell no. He's keeping his 7 kids safe, especially safe from trash food, shaking my head.

If Peter ever met Rio Morales he'd probably really like her because she's such a loving and caring mother, however! I think him and her would have VERY different opinions on food. Rio is definitely the "Hay comida en casa!" Mom. She's got the arroz y frijoles negros y platanitos ready and you better not bring food home.

Peter is definitely more of a "I have a gallon of milk in the fridge, so Cuban sandwich down the street will have to do." Though he'd get better after ITSV when he starts taking better care of himself. More food in the fridge, actual food, actual vegetables, maybe a couple bananas and apples in a platter by the sink. After MJ gets back with him he for sure learns some recipes to cook for her.

He probably buys himself one of those on-the-go smoothie machines from CHEIN and takes it to Spider HQ and Miles yells at him about not buying from a fast-fashion company and Peter, millennial ass, goes, "But its a smoothie maker! For five dollars! Watch!" And he turns the thing on and it breaks on its first use as expected.

Miles for sure invites him to his place, maybe Rio wants to meet him. Peter's all nervous, they're gonna hate him for sure, he still isn't completely put together yet, he's trying his best! Miles is like no, you HAVE to come, you're the chaperone, that's what chaperones do, they meet the parents. So Peter goes, of course going to get a dessert from Mal-mart, he can't show up empty handed. He asks Miles what's his parent's favorite dessert so he can get it and Miles is like, "Hm, uh, Dominican cake or tres leches!"

No tres leches at Mal-mart, so Peter goes to the little spanish bakery on the corner and gets two cakes because what's the difference? And of course Rio shows him how to make the "so good!" sofrito she made. No he doesn't know what Sazon is, yes Jefferson tells him about his favorite barbeque sauce and hot sauces, he's a dad now, he has to know. Just Peter having adult friends that share their wisdom about parenthood with him and male him feel less alone.

[bookclub4m]

Episode 196 - Battle of the Books 2024: One Book One Podcast

This episode we’re giving our book pitches for our Battle of the Books 2023! Each of us has picked one title that we think we should all read and discuss and you get to vote for which one it is! Will we read Trust Kids!: Stories on Youth Autonomy and Confronting Adult Supremacy edited by carla joy bergman, The Seep by Chana Porter, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher, or Inheritance: a Pick-the-path Experience by Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis, and Medina Hahn? You decide! 

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

What Book Should We Read?

Trust Kids!: Stories on Youth Autonomy and Confronting Adult Supremacy edited by carla joy bergman

The Seep by Chana Porter

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher

Inheritance: a Pick-the-path Experience by Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis, and Medina Hahn

Our Long Lists

Jam

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Anna

Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

Meghan

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

Matthew

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

Podcast Episodes

Episode 058 - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Episode 079 - Which Book Should We Read?

Episode 083 - The Fifth Season

Episode 103 - Battle of the Books 2020

Episode 107 - Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Episode 130 - Battle of the Books 2021

Episode 134 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Episode 154 - Book pitches

Episode 159 - Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart

Episode 179 - Battle of the Books 2023

Episode 183 - One Book One Podcast: Upright Women Wanted

Links, Articles, and Things

One City One Book (Wikipedia)

Canada Reads (Wikipedia)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

INHERITANCE - a "pick-the-path" teaser (YouTube)

Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience - trailer (YouTube)

Inheritance - interview with the playwrights (YouTube)

22 Nature/Outdoor Non-Fiction by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez

Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy

Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors by Carolyn Finney

Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham

The Urban Birder by David Lindo

Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors by Rue Mapp

Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles

The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors by James Edward Mills

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, illustrated by Fumi Nakamura

Heartbeat of the Earth: A Handbook on Connecting Children to Nature through Indigenous Teachings by Launa Purcell

Trace: Memory, History, Race and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy

A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars by Erin Sharkey

A Short History of the Blockade: Giant Beavers, Diplomacy and Regeneration in Nishnaabewin by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks by Mark David Spence

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui

Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World by Rae Wynn-Grant

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Vote for which we should read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on July 2nd we’ll be discussing the genre of Law/Legal Non-Fiction!

Then on Tuesday, August 6th we’ll be talking about the romance genres of Yaoi and Danmei!

[1five1two]

But the state of public morality was

universally at a low ebb. The growth and

diffusion of luxury had engendered exorbi-

tant speculation. In the commercial world,

crash succeeded crash ; and godless wor-

shippers of Mammon were snatched from

banquets and opera-boxes to the Bank-

ruptcy Court, or Penitentiary, till the “ pro-

bity of the British merchant," long proverbial, became a jest.

Literature was at a low ebb. In the

sunshine of universal education, millions

of ephemeral writers had sprung to light.

But as the over- dressing of a parterre pro-

duces leaves instead of blossoms, in the

multitude of our authors was anything but

wisdom. Popular poets seemed to aspire to

the strait waistcoat, rather than the tunic

of Apollo ; and for works of fiction,

readers were so hard to find, that novels

were served up to them, in portions,

illustrated by pictures, like slices of un-

wholesome Twelfth- cake, enhanced by " Cha-racters." One or two remarkable historians and discerning critics stood high above the crowd. But the faces of the latter were as closely veiled as that of the Diana of

the Ephesians ; while the former, like

the statues of great men usually set

up in England, were so bespattered with

mud by hands profane, that their lineaments were scarcely distinguishable.

The arts, too, were under a cloud. The

most popular artist was a first-rate painter

of third-class subjects . In portrait, a few

feeble-handed amateurs had pushed the

R.A.s from their stools ; while the pictures

best adapted to the size of English houses

and predilections of English minds, were

perverted by mannerism and affectation.

For this, we were indebted to the rhapsodies

of a writer whose eloquence, gaudy as the

promiscuous overflow of a colourbox, had

burst like a deluge over the public taste ; an

explosion of verbosity, full of foam and fury,

signifying nothing, or worse than nothing

Of sculptors, the less said the better.

When a public monument was in request,

a foreigner was sure to be selected for its

execution ; and the tomb of a British Prin-

cess, bespoken by a British Queen, bore on

the plinth the name of an alien !

Pictorial art, of inferior character, as dif-

fused by wood-cuts and photographs, had

obtained great popular influence. It

was formerly proverbial that " those who

run may read." But people who travel at

railroad speed, are only able to instruct

themselves by pictures. The two most

popular journals- ( for the Times '

more than a newspaper-one of the un-

anointed sovereigns of modern Europe, ) were

' Punch ' and the Illustrated News.

But though the wit of the one and intelligence

of the other was eminently remarkable,

few readers perused more than the plates.

High art enjoyed of course its fits and

starts of patronage, as well as low. The

rich and great took a craze for refining the

mind of the nation, instead of preparing it

for refinement ; and away went the lords

and millionnaires to work, sewing their

Honiton sprigs upon hopsack. The Indus-

trial Exhibition of 1851, projected chiefly

with a view to the improvement of our

manufactures, having fully succeeded in a

mercantile and moral point of view, it

seemed impossible to have enough of a good

thing ; and lo ! the miraculous structure

of the Crystal Palace, which had no fault

but that in summer it could not keep out the

sun, or in winter the rain, was both per-

petuated and emulated-a mart for the busy

idleness of lounging London. When, like all

overgrowths, this monstrous excrescence of

civilisation began to languish, even the

patronage of the Court was propitiated with

a view to invigorate its decline.

From 'The Comet'. By a Anonymous Tartar. 1857.

[dailyfigures]

Miku Martes!!!

omg ok bilingual slay.......thank you for your wisdom anon