#16 Arlington bag

[newestcool]

The Kikka Leather Bag from the 16 Arlington f/w 2022 rtw collection Creative Director Marco Capaldo Fashion Editor/Stylist Georgia Pendlebury Newest Cool

[cecilysass]

Shine On (7/16)

Read on AO3 | Tagging @today-in-fic

Chapter 7: Across the Parking Lot

Stern’s Bakery Arlington, Virginia February 22, 2015 3:30 pm

Inside, the bakery is warm and smells of yeast and vanilla. It’s an old-fashioned looking place, with chrome tables, a glass counter and specials hand-written on a chalkboard. An older man is sweeping as they come inside, and he gives them a friendly nod. He leans his broom against the wall and walks behind the counter, seeming to anticipate their order.

“Why don’t you grab a place to sit, Scully? I’ll order for us,” Mulder suggests, although they’re the only customers, so there are plenty of tables. He lowers his voice for the benefit of the employee. “Doesn’t seem like this is the type of place to have lattes though.”

“I’ll just have coffee,” Scully says, as she turns for a table. Mulder doesn’t like the wooden expression that is still plastered across her face. She’s not acting like herself.

“Good afternoon,” the man says. He’s got thinning gray hair and an impish smile. “Welcome to Stern’s. You should try the doughnuts.”

“Thanks,” Mulder says. He’s eyeing the pastries in the case. It’s late in the day, so they’re pretty picked over, but he’s tempted anyway. “Two coffees, two of those maple doughnuts please. No—three. Three doughnuts.” He turns around and looks at Scully, who is sitting at a table next to the window, watching the car across the lot. He lowers his voice. “And… do you have a cake? Like a birthday cake? Chocolate maybe?”

“Of course,” the man says jovially. “We have chocolate birthday cake. Would you like something in particular written on it?”

Mulder frowns. “Sure.” He picks up a pen on the counter and writes “Happy birthday, Scully” on a napkin. “Can you do that?”

“No problem. Piece of cake.”

Mulder acknowledges the corny joke with a lukewarm smile. “When you’re done, can you just box it up so I can take it with me?”

“Of course.” The man leans forward conspiratorially. “Smart idea, picking up the wife a cake.”

Mulder shrugs. “It wasn’t mine.”

Before coming into the bakery, Mulder had walked back to the car to hand Jackson his coat. He knew it’d be cold in the car with the engine off, and he might need an extra layer. Scully had walked ahead, and Mulder knew she was upset. He couldn’t help but worry about it, even though he was dimly aware Jackson could be reading his thoughts.

“We can’t stay long,” Mulder had said to Jackson, tossing him the coat. Jackson spread it over him like a blanket. “If you get too cold, come find us.”

“Yeah,” Jackson had said blearily, as though that wasn’t very likely.

“I’m sorry you’re not feeling well,” Mulder had added.

“Get a cake,” Jackson had mumbled, flopping down, his eyes already closed.

“A cake?”

“Birthday cake.” Jackson, opening his eyes a sliver, gestured a little in the direction Scully walked in. “It’s a bakery, right?”

Mulder had been surprised. “Right.”

“She was hoping you were surprising her for her birthday. She was hoping you called her because of that. Not bringing her a long lost kid.”

The words appear in Mulder’s mind from nowhere. She imagined reservations at a restaurant.

Mulder leaned over to meet Jackson’s barely cracked open eyes. He spoke very deliberately. “I don’t believe for one second that you saw in Scully’s mind … any disappointment. No fucking way.”

Jackson had stared back at him a second. Those green eyes that could see right into you. Literally.

Then he lay his head down and closed his eyes again.

Now, as Mulder carries two hot coffees and a bag of doughnuts back to their table, he can’t help but marvel at the idea that Scully might have been hoping he would surprise her for her birthday. What could that possibly mean? They aren’t together. Spending time together, celebrating birthday dinners together—that definitely isn’t what she acts like she wants from him. What does that imply? Is she holding things back? Is he maybe not getting the full picture?

It’s not really the most important issue right now, Mulder supposes, but it’s on his mind. And possibly Jackson’s, too, if Mulder dwells on it too long.

“Coffee,” he announces to Scully as he places her cup down in front of her. “With cream. And here is your nasty sweetener.”

“Thank you,” she says, stilted, pulling the cup and the small yellow packets of sweetener towards her.

“I got you a doughnut,” Mulder says as he sits across from her. “They’re maple. They look really good.”

He withdraws his own doughnut from the bag with a piece of butcher paper, then holds the bag out towards Scully invitingly. She stares at it blankly.

“No, thank you,” she says.

He shrugs, and takes a big bite of his. It is good, yeasty, light and chewy, with a generous slathering of maple glaze.

“So,” he says, through his mouth of doughnut. “There are a couple of things I need to fill you in on.”

“How did he find you?” Scully asks. “How did he know to come to you?”

“That’s one of them,” Mulder says, chewing. “It seems that someone helped him find me, but he won’t say who.”

“What?” Scully sits up like a rocket, and Mulder knows her well enough to be able to observe the muscles in her neck and shoulders tensing. “Mulder—”

“I know,” Mulder says, nodding. “I know. It scares the shit out of me, too. It means someone knows who he is, someone likely knows what he can do, and someone knows his connection to us.”

“We’ve got to make him tell us,” Scully insists. “It’s too important. He can’t keep it a secret.”

Mulder takes another bite of his doughnut and regards her skeptically. “Do you remember being thirteen, Scully? It’s not as easy as ordering him around.”

“But Mulder, this is a life or death—”

“You don’t make kids that age do anything.”

Scully stops, then seems to slowly deflate. “You’re right,” she says mechanically. “You’re right.” Her shoulders slump. “Especially if you aren’t really their parents.” She grips her coffee tight, and her eyes drift back out toward the parking lot.

Her defeated expression makes Mulder want to punch a wall. Once again he’s awash in the same old corrosive feelings about William: guilt, regret, heartbreak. The same feelings that he knows all too well can take him down, make him give up entirely.

But he can’t do that now, can he? The kid is here. He needs him right now. At his Agent Mulder sharpest.

He looks at Scully tentatively, wondering how to coax her back to her sharpest, too.

“You know,” he says to her. “It sounds like he had good parents. Like they did a pretty good job.”

Her eyes lock back on him. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” he says. He thinks of Jackson’s eyes, the feeling of warmth when describing his dad’s woodworking and his mom’s preschool. “He was loved. He felt loved.”

Scully stares back at him, and he waits, watching her eyes well up with glassy tears. He knows that Scully crying is an act that needs to be given its own space, an act that can neither be rushed or stopped. He reaches forward and envelops her hand in his.

“That’s so… I’m glad,” Scully says, her voice barely more than a whisper. She picks up a paper napkin with the Stern’s logo on it and dabs her eyes with the hand that isn’t holding Mulder’s. “But they were murdered, Mulder. What if the people that murdered them are the same people that brought him to you? What if they have an agenda we don’t understand? And what will become of him now? He’ll have so much trauma.”

“Well…” Mulder finds he can’t quite speak aloud his little fantasy, that Jackson might come live in his house, at least some of the time. That he might get to be a dad to a teenage boy, at least a little, and help him heal. That Scully might get to know her son, too. He knows it’s probably childish and unrealistic, and he isn’t sure of the effect of sharing it with Scully. “I don’t know,” he finishes. “But he has us now. We can watch out for him. I think we need to, given the unknowns.”

“You said you were certain he wouldn’t run off,” Scully says, releasing his hand, tilting her head and scowling. She knows him well enough to know where there is more to find out. “What else is there you haven’t told me?”

“Yeah,” Mulder says. He takes his last bite of doughnut, nodding slowly. “There is another thing.” He takes a swig of his coffee, considers his words carefully. “The telepathy I experienced, after I touched the artifact back in 1999… it seems to be back. In some form. Around him.”

Scully stares at him. “What are you saying? You’re reading thoughts?”

“Not everyone’s thoughts,” Mulder says. “Not like before. Just his. And not just his thoughts, but his feelings, too.”

Scully seems to be speechless.

“At first I thought it was my imagination,” Mulder says. “I thought since he was reading minds, I was remembering what that was like. And you know, I was trying to imagine what he was feeling. How scared he was. How overwhelmed, by all this big emotional stuff he was having to deal with. But then I started to understand. It wasn’t my imagination, and it wasn’t just empathy. I’m definitely hearing flashes of what he’s thinking, and feeling what he’s feeling. At least sometimes.”

“Have you… told him this?”

“No,” Mulder says. “No, but I’m going to have to. Obviously. Hard to keep secrets from a mindreader.”

Scully’s lips draw together tightly. With a jerk she tugs on the bag of doughnuts and fishes one out. She starts violently ripping off pieces and eating them. “And you’re not feeling sick, Mulder? Your head isn’t hurting?”

“No,” Mulder says. “Not like before. Not at all.” He watches her anxiously devour the doughnut. “I’m not as good at it as he is. For me, it’s just every once and a while. I think I’m feeling it when it’s especially intense for him.”

“Give me examples.”

“Well, I was just … he was walking upstairs in the house. Up to the guest room. And it just appeared in my head, his thought: I wonder what it would have been like to grow up here.”

She stops chewing, her eyes wide. “He thought that?”

“Yeah,” Mulder says.

Her lip trembles again. She places the doughnut back on top of the paper bag, looks down at it.

“Scully,” he says. He reaches out for her hand again, but she slides it away.

“So he can read my thoughts and feelings, and you can read his,” Scully says in a rough voice. “And I’m in the dark.”

“Scully,” he tries again.

“No,” she says shortly. “No. I know I’m being ridiculous.”

“It’s only natural for you to feel—”

“No. Forget it.” She shakes her head, smooths back her hair, and she seems to transform before his eyes into the respected doctor at Our Lady of Sorrows. “We need to pay attention to you, how you’re feeling,” Scully says, all business. “The last time you had this ability, it didn’t end well.”

“It doesn’t feel like that now.”

“Don’t hold anything back from me,” she says firmly. “If you’re in pain, speak up.”

“I will,” Mulder promises.

“Why does he have that effect on you?” Scully wonders.

“I don’t know,” Mulder says. “I’ve been thinking about it.”

“He didn’t when he was a baby.”

“Or maybe he did,” Mulder says gently, “and I didn’t notice. When we were all together, he was so small, and everything was so emotionally intense. I might not have realized that his feelings weren’t my own or that I wasn’t simply guessing what he wanted.”

And I wasn’t around long enough to really find out, Mulder thinks. He can tell the same thought is passing through Scully’s mind, because her eyes drop again.

They’re both quiet a moment.

“We should contact Skinner about how his parents’ case will be investigated,” Scully says. “Hopefully he can get the Bureau to look into it. We need to make sure there is someone we can trust on it. And if we can, it would be good to get access to the local law enforcement’s notes on the case.”

“We’d be able to get more access as F.B.I. agents,” Mulder points out.

Scully regards him warily, sipping her coffee. “What are you saying, exactly?”

“We could ask to be reinstated.”

“On the X-files?”

“Sure,” Mulder says, “or anywhere. So we can be back in the game. Find out what we need to know. It would also give us more reason to hold Jackson in our custody.”

He’d expected Scully to scoff at the idea, but to his surprise, she doesn’t. She nods slowly, picking up another piece of doughnut and nibbling at it.

“It’s a possibility,” she says, after a moment’s deliberation. “We’d have to talk to Skinner and see what he thinks.” She looks sideways at him. “And we’d be partners?”

“I can’t imagine a new partner would put up with you, Scully,” Mulder says, shaking his head in mock disapproval. “You’re very eccentric.”

To his great relief, she smiles a little. He can’t believe that she’s even entertaining the notion at all: of going back to the FBI, of going back to the X-files, of possibly being partners again. His heart aches to think of it. He’ll never be able to keep these kinds of thoughts under wraps from Jackson.

“When we finish our coffee, let’s take him back to the house,” Scully says. “Maybe we can call Skinner there.”

Mulder nods. “Agreed.” His eyes study her. She’s gazing out the window again absently, looking towards the car, her long hair winding around her face. She looks like a woman in an Italian fresco, pensive and luminous, he thinks with a lump in his throat. He’s never known anyone more beautiful.

“Mulder,” she says, her voice wobbly, still staring outside, “is he …okay? From what you’ve seen?”

He considers how to answer the question. “He’s a good kid. He has good instincts, I think,” he says. “But he’s hurting. Grieving. Scared. And thinking about you and me—what we mean in his life—is a big bunch of extra shit to deal with.”

“Especially me,” she says softly.

“Especially you,” he agrees. “But that’s in part because he’s thought about you for a long time, Scully. He’s seen you before—in visions.”

She looks at him again, surprised. “What kind of visions?”

“You’re going to have to ask him. But he mentioned you calling out for him.”

He sees her react, pulling back slightly. She takes a sip of her coffee, nodding stiffly.

“Are you okay, Scully?”

“I’ve had dreams like that before,” she comments. “I wonder if he was seeing my dreams.”

“Maybe he was,” Mulder says in wonder. And the curious part of his brain can’t help but give that some thought, because what a fascinating thing: that Scully’s dreams would be picked up by a telepathic biological son all the way across the continent like a ham radio.

“I wish I’d had regular visions of him,” she says. She turns again to look out the window. “All those years… I would have liked to have seen him in my dreams. Gotten updates.”

He knows she would have. He knows it intimately: the sting of her longing for William, her bottomless regret.

His instinct is to climb around to sit next to her, to put his arm around her to comfort her, but he doesn’t know if she wants that from him anymore. He wishes she would ask.

He wishes she would say his name and pull his arm around her and rest her cheek against his chest. He wishes she would let him hold her for an hour, for longer, for all night. He wishes he could read her mind.

***

In the car, Jackson is breathing in, counting to four, holding for seven, breathing out. He tries to do it exactly like his therapist said, but he knows this probably isn’t the kind of mental distress his therapist had in mind.

He presses his eyes shut and tries to quiet down his shine. If he wanted to, he knows he could shine into their thoughts with no problem—the bakery isn’t that far away—but he has no desire to. He wants quiet. He wants peace.

Even so, it’s not entirely quiet and peaceful in the car. There are steady low level emissions of emotion from Scully even from across the parking lot. A constant background hum of anxiety and tension.

Jackson understands anxiety, obviously. The part of him that’s teetering on adulthood understands why she is anxious. He can even sort of sympathize. The part of him that’s still a little kid can’t help but wish she felt more … joy.

Isn’t she happy at all to see him? Mulder said she had really wanted to for a long time. But instead, every emotion she has about him—every thought, every memory—is twisted up with a kind of pain Jackson can’t even comprehend. He knows her life has been difficult; he has seen enough in her memories and Mulder’s to grasp that.

He just wishes she could somehow see him separate from all the sadness.

He sits up on the seat, Mulder’s coat tucked around his legs. He knows he needs help. He just hopes he can get it.

He massages his own temples with his fingers and tries again to relax, clear his mind.

Hey. Hey. Are you there?

He tries to project his thoughts outward in the way she taught him, thinking of them like they were radio waves.

You told me to check in. I’m checking in.

He wonders if there will be any sign whether this is working. He pauses a moment, and only hears a horn honking somewhere on the street behind him. Of course not. A sign would be too easy.

I need help. I’ve done everything you’ve said. I haven’t told them anything. But I need your help.

He waits, clearing his mind again to prepare, to make room for any response. He listens to the sounds of the busy road, to engines whirring past, tires screeching. Dimly his shine is aware of minds in each of the cars, busily going about their lives.

There isn’t an answer.

Are you getting this? Are you there?

I need help, Rose.

Rose?

He curls back down on the seat under the coat, frustrated. Maybe she can’t talk right away. Maybe the answer will come later.

He closes his eyes and enjoys the relative quiet, listening only to the sound of his own inhale and exhale.

Even in the stillness, from across the parking lot he feels the continuous thrum of Scully’s worry, a low droning buzz like a bee hive.

As he breathes in and out, he realizes it’s not just her worry he’s feeling. It’s shot through with something else, some different emotion. Something deep and fierce and glowing hot. Something he suspects must be the way Scully loves.

***

[miusejournal]

LONDON FASHION WEEK (fall 2022)

- MIUSE VIEW COLUMN

Diesel by Glenn Martens

Glenn Martens, the man that can do it all. From his latest collection for Y-project this Paris fashion week to his debut couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier and now his absolutely stunning fall ready to wear show for Diesel which includes 70 looks total. Glenn Martens has proven you can be a creative director of many fashion houses and execute it beautifully and tastefully. This entire season Martens has been eating up the runways with spectacular looks. It's almost unreal. If there is anything I take from these past seasons, it’s that Glenn Martens is an overachiever and has proven you can in fact be a creative director for other houses and still pull off each show you produce without sacrificing one brena soft the other. Diesel’s latest Fall/ Winter 2022 collection is the comeback of wildly fun and creative. Miu Miu has the micro mini skirts down pace but Diese prefers the extra large belted skirt which is chef's kiss. With the return of the Y2K movement and the actual looks themselves being pop, edgy and youthful, Martens is reclaiming that momentum with Diesel once had which in turn I believe will make the brands revival even more special. The upcycled layered binding and the distressing of deadstick Diesel T-shirt jerseys into the fraying and fragmenting of the ling skirts and oversized jeans and pants was also something more within this collection. I also loved the extraterrestrial aspect of the looks. As each of the models walked down they were covers entirely in body paint that belted seamlessly into the clothes which I thought was absolutely insane but creative. It felt very refreshing to see Martens work and his vision come alive within Diesel. Even down to the set design and having massive inflatable dolls posed in provocative ways. It felt like a call back to the early 2000s and how alternative that era was, even down to the first look of the show which was a tiny denim bra top with distressed faded jeans. Martens can do denim like no other and I especially loved the different experimentations that was done with it and how it is somewhat of a full circle moment as Diesel has always been synonymous with denim. Another thing that I especially loved was the use of the Diesel logo. From the duffle bag and logo embroidered belted skirts and pants, the comeback of Diesel is going to be strong this time around. And I honestly am trying to get my hands on anything Diesel as I know it will be the IT brand this year.

Simone Rocha

Through the lore of the dark loom that always seems to filter through Simone Rocha’s clothes this latest fall 2022 collection is just that. This collection takes inspiration from an old Irish fable called the “Children of Lir���. In this tale the children become swans for nine hundred years, across three different lakes. And when they come back to human form, they pass away. This particular tale is from the pst Christianisation period that mixes elements of magic and messaging of Christian faith bringing freedom from suffering. Ultimately this tale was translated beautifully throughout the collection. From the embroidery of the two paired swans on the semi sheer tabard, the buoyancy of the skirts and the balaclavas embellished in crystals making the models almost lol like birds, this collection was a tale of tales that was cutely odd in a Simone Rocha type of way. I love that as Simone Rocha is telling this old Irish tale she is still sticking to her own tale with her biker jackets, voluminous coats, big skirts, transparent voile lace-trimmed dresses layered over other dresses and the chunky platform shoes that were spotted with many of the looks. This collection was absolutely stunning and something out of the ordinary which I loved. It was satisfyingly strange but astounding.

16 Arlington

16.Arlington I had just discovered the brand just last year and with the news back in November of the passing of one half of 16.arlington, Federica “Kikka” Cavenati, it was very sad to hear the news and I myself thought that the brand would take some time and step back during this fashion season. However, with the gracious and admirable Marco Capaldo, he has proven that he is determined to keep 16.arlignton life alive and well lit. In honor of Federica “Kikka” Cavenati, this fall 2022 collection is the momentum that kept Capaldo determined as he maintained an unbreakable bond with creativity. With 16.arlignton’s brand being known for its exuberance and dance floor ready sequins dresses I was looking forward to see what Capaldo would present for this new collection just after the passing of Cavenati. Capaldo took his morning process and turned it into something so beautiful and magical. With Swarovski crystals appearing on the edges of blazers and floor length gowns, to the subtle shimmering of skirts, the crystals almost acted as tears marked by Capaldo. I also loved how the feathers, which are familiar with the brand, were dampened to mimic the wet look effect which I think was beautifully crafted and showcased Capaldo’s emotions when creating this collection. This collection was very light toned and has hints of 90s minimalism, even down to the makeup which was very light and frost like. This collection as a whole was very beautiful and Capaldo executed it beautifully. It served as a testament to Capaldo and Cavenati’s love for fashion and their special dynamic that will forever live on. This Fall 2022 collection was an absolutely stunning tribute that couldn’t be done any other way.

Nensi Dojaka

Since late 2019 early 2020, up until now I have always been a fan of Nensi Dojaka’s work and what she creates. So when she won the LVMH prize I was not surprised. Her work has always spoken for itself, she is radiant with a hint of subtle eroticism that I think really makes her and her brand more discerning than likely others. She has a way of taking the female body and capturing it in such a beautiful, well crafted way. So when this collection appeared on the runway I was very pleased to see her extend this in such a prolific way. This collection, like her others, is the capturing of a woman's body in many different forms and shapes. From curvy to standard model types, Dojaka once again proved that she is an amazing designer. What I loved the most with this collection was her mix of her lingerie aesthetics with tailored suit pants and jackets, in addition to a combination of knits and cut out bras and array of straps. It is very reminiscent of Dojaka's distinctive look of complex stay of sheer, straps and cut out bras. It was nice to see her conquer anew. There were leather pieces which I absolutely loved. The leather skirt in look six worn by model Mila Van Der Horst, with the side cutouts and straps was absolutely gorgeous and I would love it for myself. In addition, I liked that Dojaka incorporated puffer jackets as it is something material wise that she has never presented so it was nice to see take on padded fabrics, as well as knits. I love knitwear and I especially love it when it’s made by Nensi Dojaka. I think her incorporating these new styles and materials speaks into her longevity as a brand itself. Dojaka is in demand and I think being able to show different facets of your creativity is something that simply makes me believe she will be here for a long time to come.

(Mar. 2, 2022)

[theorangelifeofriley]

Honolulu: Pearl Harbor, Punchbowl

July 24, 2021

We were to meet our driver at 8am this morning for our day at Pearl Harbor and the Punchbowl. There was much confusion about what to pack, since Pearl Harbor doesn’t allow bags at all – except maybe a small clear sandwich bag. I brought my home made wristlet – made out of a clear sandwich bag and some duck tape. We all packed things in my little wristlet for the day.

We got down to the little sitting area next to the pull-through driveway and our group was congregated with our guide for the day, Olav. Olav told us that we didn’t actually have anywhere to be until 1:30pm, so we had some time to make sure that we all had what we needed. And also that he would be with us all day and we’d be in the same car all day. He also strongly recommended hats and water bottles. We made several trips back up to the room to grab things. We also learned that Olav is unvaccinated, doesn’t believe in COVID-19, and is a staunch Republican who believes in his “Constitutional rights.” He is also an incredible font of knowledge about Pearl Harbor, and only occasionally threw in some of his slanted views. There is no way I’m going to be able to capture, or remember, all the information he told us – it was a continuous stream of knowledge for about 8 hours.

Eventually, we had all of our stuff, and we walked to the 15-passenger van, parked on the street behind the hotel. After we got settled, Olav took off through the city to the Punchbowl. The Punchbowl is a volcanic crater in the hills surrounding Honolulu. The center is a bowl – the crater – and they punched a hole through one of the crater’s rims to allow entry into the bowl. Hence the name – Punchbowl. Inside the Punchbowl is a national cemetery. There’s a monument at the end of it, and on the steps up to the monument is where Hawai’i holds memorial services for Veteran’s Day and Dec. 7. We’re not allowed to get out inside the Punchbowl, but we can drive through. Lining the driveway in the Punchbowl are Banyan trees donated to the US from China. China was our ally during World War II, and we helped to defeat the Japanese who had invaded and were conquering China. There are 48 trees, which represent the 48 states at the time of World War II. They’re beautiful trees that have been groomed to prevent additional roots from taking root.

The area is quiet and calm, and beautiful. There are no traditional white headstones like in Arlington. Instead, the headstones are flat. They used to be white wooden crosses but were changed to flat stone headstones to respect other religions – and allow for easier maintenance.

From the Punchbowl, we drove to Pearl Harbor, and to the USS Missouri BB 63, which is now a museum. As we drove through the city, Olav pointed out a neighborhood that burned when a bomb went astray on Dec. 7, 1941. He also described in detail what happened on Dec. 7, 1941 – the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. We learned about the SS Cynthia Olson which was sank en route from the mainland and Honolulu by a Japanese submarine on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. The passenger ship was carrying two soldiers to Honolulu but was a passenger ship. There’s a photo of the Cynthia Olson as it was sinking taken by a Japanese soldier on the submarine. The Cynthia Olson got a may day call out, and another passenger ship heard the call. That second passenger ship confiscated all the passenger’s binoculars and assigned watch duty to the passengers. When that ship landed, the USA government confiscated all of their radio records and logs. Olav believes the records were confiscated because they show the time of the Cynthia Olson’s may day call. If that call happened before the bombing at Pearl Harbor, but was ignored, it would look very bad for the US military command.

As we entered the Pearl Harbor base, we drove to a parking lot and Olav left us to get an officer who cam back and searched our van for bags. Once that was done, we drove over the bridge to Ford Island and the USS Missouri BB-63. BB-63 stands for Battle Boat 63 – the 63rd battleship the US built. This is necessary because there have been four USS Missouri’s. The current USS Missouri is a submarine that was also docked at Pearl Harbor today. Of course you can’t call it BS-63 (battleship 63) – so battle boat 63 it is. The BB-63 was the last battleship built in the world, the most powerful, and the last one to retire. It was launched during World War II, saw battle in the Battle of Okinawa, was where the Instrument of Surrender was signed by the Japanese to officially end World War II, served in the Korean War, was decommissioned in the 60s, then refitted in the 80s, saw duty in Desert Storm, before finally being retired in the early 90s, then being made into a museum. Its parked in Battleship Row – where all the Battleships were anchored on Dec. 7.

Olav told us a lot about how the Pacific Fleet came to be in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 – but then he seemed to contradict himself. The first story was that FDR ordered the Pacific Fleet to all be at Pearl Harbor as a “show of strength” to deter the Japanese. The Admiral of the Pacific Fleet thought this was stupid, because normally the Pacific Fleet rotated between several locations, and there was not enough of a supply chain, let alone docking berths, to allow the entire fleet to be in Pearl Harbor. He resisted, basically told FDR he was dumb, and lost his job. He had worked on the supply line, though, and worked on the docking situation too – which is how Battleship Row came to be.

As he told this story, I gathered that the next Admiral did as FDR wished and assembled the entire Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. Olav made a point to say that FDR ignored the military advisors, and his Admiral, and all their knowledge to demand the fleet be in Pearl Harbor. Later, he told us that every year, the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet was required to inspect the fleet in Pearl Harbor. This always occurred on the Monday after the first Sunday in December. In 1941, that was Dec. 8. The Fleet was required to report to Pearl Harbor 24 -48 hours in advance of the inspection. Which then means that the fleet was assembled in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 in preparation for the inspection on Dec. 8 – which doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with FDR.

The deck of the Mighty Mo is covered in teak, which they did to preserve the steel deck, to lower the temperature inside the boat, and to provide a natural nonslip surface. The teak on the deck has been replaced three times, all using different processes. One time they messed up trying to save money by putting 1 inch of Douglas Fir below 1 inch of team (instead of 2 inches of teak) – not realizing that Douglas Fir rots faster than teak.

During WWII, the Missouri was attacked by a Kamikaze, which was captured perfectly on camera. We saw the place where the Kamikaze’s wing impacted with the Missouri. We also saw footprints on the deck where our personnel stood as they buried the Kamikaze pilot at sea as directed by the Missouri’s captain.

We toured the inside of the ship, which was interesting. They had several displays with stuff from the Missouri, the history of the Missouri, remnants from the Kamikaze attack, etc. We walked through the galley, the kitchens, the offices – including the dental office – the food lines, including the donut shop, the fast food line, and the Truman line, so called because the Truman family visited and used that food line. There were crew quarters everywhere – berths stacked 3 high, and each sailor’s locker. The kitchens were crazy – the appliances were huge, and they had everything you could want! Well, all the kitchen toys you could want. The Missouri was the first ship to have a network of interconnected computers which they called MO-Net. This was all before the internet was created. The inside of the Missouri was extensive – it seemed to go on and on. We saw throughout the ship ammunition chutes. And a couple of places that would be vulnerable to armor piercing rounds which can pierce through 16” of steel – so these areas were outfitted with 17” think steel. The guns on the ship were huge and could take out a target 25 miles away. The guns had to be fired over the water, because the rounds were fired at twice the speed of sound, and the concussion would tear the ship apart if the guns were fired over the ship. Missouri, the state, was responsible for providing the fancy silverware and place settings – which is interesting. There was a great map that showed where all of the different USS Missouris served. We saw the Chief’s lounge, and the Captain’s lounge, which was also used as a war room, and the tables can be used as operating tables in a pinch. It was a great insight into what the ship would have looked like while it was in service.

When we were finished touring the inside of the boat, we went to the deck, and then to the Quarter Deck. On the Mighty Mo, the Quarter Deck has been renamed the Surrender Deck, because it was where the Japanese surrendered to the Allied Forces to end World War II. Olav told a story about how MacArthur stepped out of the navigation bridge to walk down to the Quarter Deck but noticed that the Japanese contingent hadn’t arrived yet. So he went back inside, saying, “I’m not going to wait for them. They will wait for me.” He also told us that the British brought a fancy table they wanted to use for the signing, but the papers they were signing were too large to fit on the table. The Missouri’s Captain ordered a seaman to grab a folding table from the ship, and they used that. One of the Japanese had a false leg, and as he was coming up to sign the papers, he stumbled and hit one of the legs of the folding table. The crew, who knew it was a folding table, held their breath for the rest of the ceremony – hoping that the table didn’t collapse. (It didn’t.)

On the Surrender Deck, there is a plaque where the table was and the documents were signed. There’s also a display with replicas of the documents. On the replicas, you can see that the Canadian representative signed on the wrong line on the first document. There’s a picture of someone making sure that he signed on the correct line on the second copy!

They’ve positioned the Missouri so that the bow of the battleship points to the bow of the USS Arizona. The ship that started the US involvement in WWII and the ship where WWII ended pointing to each other.

We finished on the Missouri, went to the gift shop, got some Dole Whip, and then drove to the Pearl Harbor Memorial area for lunch. Lunch was at a permanent food truck outside, and was decent, although Meg and Marie didn’t like their nachos or hot dog. After lunch, we went to watch a 20-minute movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, before making our way to the ferry to the USS Arizona Memorial.

Olav detailed how the attack happened but of course I’m not going to remember everything. There were three waves of attacks – the dive bombers, the torpedoes, and the other type of bombers. Eek. They came from different directions, and in two separate waves. There were about… or over?... 300 planes in total. The battle lasted for 2 hours. Most all of the ships that were sunk were eventually retrieved and put back into service, except for the Arizona, the Oklahoma, and the Utah. The Japanese adjusted bombs? Or torpedoes? With an additional fin that allowed them to fun in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor and hit Battleship row. I think Olav also indicated that the aerial bombers were not the ones that caused the most damage, generally – it was the torpedoes.

The ride out to the memorial was quick – the warnings about not misbehaving on an active Navy boat were almost as long as the ride itself. Once the ferry docks, we disembarked, and headed back to the back room. The memorial itself is a white concrete building. The architect was a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps and wanted to build the memorial to remember the lives that were spent to save and free so many across the world, including in the concentration camps. The structure is a loose U-shape. The low point in the middle represents initial defeat at Pearl Harbor. The inclines on either side represent the slow climb to victory in Europe and the slow climb to victory in the Pacific. There are seven cut outs along either side and the top, which were for structural integrity, but have later been said to represent a 21-gun salute. The structure is situated across the middle of the sunken USS Arizona – the ship heaviest hit by the attack on Dec. 7. 1,177 seamen were lost with the Arizona and never recovered. Another 41 of the survivors, or relatives of those lost, have chosen to be interred in the Arizona.

As soon as I set foot on the dock, I smelled the oil or gasoline from the wreck. You could see it on the water, too. There is oil still leaking from the ship and will continue to leak for decades more. There were a lot of people at the memorial, but it was mostly quiet, as is fitting. We walked right back to the room where the names of those buried here are displayed. It’s made of the same marble as the headstones in Arlington. The room is beautiful but somber.

Just outside of that room is a hole in the floor of the structure that is situated over a part of the ship. I didn’t see much there. Outside, on either end of the structure, there are two white buoys that represent where the bow and the stern of the ship are. There are also pieces of the ship, like the gun turrets, and the flag staff, that are still sticking out above the water. It was a moving experience.

After the ferry back to the main site, we went and toured the USS Bowfin – a retired submarine that is only 27’ in circumference. It was tiny, and holy cow does it seem miserable to have served on it. They call it the Silent Service – the work of the submarines. The Bowfin was launched on Dec. 7, 1942, and was therefore nicknamed The Pearl Harbor Avenger. The kitchen was tiny, and only had minimal toys. Olav tells us that the food was cooked on the mainland, frozen, and placed in the submarine’s freezers.

The worst thing was hot bunking. There were only 36 bunks on board the submarine, but about 86 sailors on board. So they rotated beds – multiple people shared a bed. With the temperatures on the submarine running in the 90s or 100s, the beds were wet with the other guy’s sweat. Yuck.

The doorways between the areas of the ship were so small and short too! It was a workout to squat and contort myself through the doorways.

After the Bowfin, we drove back to the city Olav was kind enough to drive us to Costco. This Costco is the busiest on in America. I didn’t go in, but the parking lot was crazy! Anne, Aimee, and Marie went in to get food for the next few days, and they did a great job! Then, it was back to the hotel, and our time with Olav was over. He is a knowledgeable, talkative tour guide to be sure!

Back in the room, some of us split up for naps and downtime until dinner at 6:30. Rileys, Drew, and Todd stayed at our place to watch the Olympics and drink the 5th of rum we bought the night before. Todd made us a whole series of frozen drinks that were great, and did the job! We had a raucous good time watching Men’s Street Skateboarding, where the athletes wiped out more than they landed tricks. It was brutal!

We had tacos for dinner, and continued watching the Olympics, and the activity on the ocean. From our view from the living room and our balcony, we can see all the hundreds of surfers always hanging out on the water, and the couple that actually make surfing runs. There’s a lot of boat traffic, including a lot of boats that go out to watch the sunset. There’s also a surprising number of large cargo ships that travel pretty close to this beach. It was a great time tonight!

[camsbig24-blog]

24 Adventures For Üs

1.) Scooter around the National Mall (I seriously cannot believe you have not gone scootering in D.C....)

2.) Walk around The Wharf, (EPI PEN REQUIRED). 

3.) Great Falls Picnic so I can have my #1 & #2 views at the same time, (you already know which order that is)

4.) ARTECHOUSE - definitely tried to take you here when we first started talking lol, but I still really want to see some cool art and visuals w you :-)

5.) WOODBRIDGE AIR & SPACE MUSEUM - I def know we are both HYPE about this one...... so YA

6.) AND ALSO EVERY OTHER MUSEUM IN D.C. - ummmmmMMMM obviouslyyyyyyy DUH. ~Natural History Museum (DINOSAURS), Art History Museum, Air & Space D.C., African American Museum, etcccccccc. 

7.) Take a boat out in Alexandria Pier - Okay so like.... SUPER cute area with cobblestone streets, oil lamps from the 1800′s, and good BREWS n’ VIEWS.

8.) Adopt YOSIF together. - I think this would be a great step in learning responsibility as a couple, a.k.a. how to NOT kill a fish by neglecting it for 3+ weeks. 

9.) You + Me + Yosif hit up a sketchy Middle Eastern Hookah lounge and chain smoke for a couple hours!! (Step #8 Required First). 

10.) Stargazing - either in PA or VA, we’ll find a nice lookout spot and just stare into the sky forever :,) (or each other) 

11.) THROW A FEW BANDS AT MGM GRAND (only OK with gambling because i know i’m lucky if i have ü) - So this is a 2 parter - MGM is the super boujee casino that is ~sometimes~ very entertaining to go to after a few drinks BUT it is also super close to National Harbour, which is a cute area with a huge ferris wheel and beach area that has such pretty views of DC. 

12.) SHAMSHIRY - Ok this one p much speaks for itself.... I am really only inviting you because you know how to pronounce my orders, obiv, but yeah... we goin to SHIRY when this CORONINY is OVEr. 

13.) PLAN a TRIP :) - This literally could be from planning a trip to NYC to JAPAN - I want to travel and see the world with you so my bags are ready to be packed no matter where the destination is :-) as long as its with you!

14.) Catch a sick(tchami) artist at ECHOSTAGE - I’ve been looking since the last time I went for something you’d potentially like, but as soon as RONA is over, we should definitely catch a cool show down there if we find an artist we like. Pretty cool area :) 

15.) Tysons $hopppppping - we both know this has been a priority. Need to cop the matching Juicy velvet tracksuits so we can lounge in early 2000′s $wag

16.) Catch a NATS gamee??! - not sure how much you like baseball, but thinking about going to a stadium on a sunny summer day wearing jerseys and holding beers and hot dogs while watching AMERICAN SPORTS sounds entertaining!! 

17.) Sur La Table Cooking Class! - There is a cute little shop near my apartment that offers cooking classes and I think it would be super fun to fuck up a wine ‘n’ dine cooking class where we both just laugh the entire time while REAL adults are there to learn!! Ok, but we will actually learn new recipes to cook each other, so its a win-win :) 

18.) TOP GOLF - I know you have definitely mentioned doing this and I couldn’t agree more. Let’s both see how badly we can throw a Golf club across an entire stadium WHILE getting LIT off bottomless Vodka Sodas :))))))))

19.) Arcade Night d(-_-)b - There is a cute arcade plaza being built in Crystal City currently, and I know cOroNa time is just f*cking everything up right now, but I want to take you and spend all the $$$ in the world to win the Jackpot when it is completed :) (even though i already have it hehe). 

20.) Wine Tasting - So there is this wine vineyard called Hiddencroft Vineyards, which is actually closer to Reston than Arlington :) apparently its a very beautiful area and I seems like a perfect spot to take a beautiful girl - and ~sample some reds and whites~

21.) LUCKY STRIKE BOWLING IN D.C. (Better than Big Bowl) 

22.) Go to POV Rooftop Lounge TOGETHER - Best views of the city right???? 

23.) Do a proper Brunch - Ok, i’m talking bottomless from 11 am - 4 pm, including a Brunch Crawl to all of Georgetown’s FINEST brunch locations for the finest 1/2 Persian Drunks to ever exist :))))

24.) And Last but NOT LEAST: SPA NIGHT - Quite arguably the easiest thing on the list, but also, the one we are most likely to do first since we are still in Quarantine!! Just a day where you can sit back, relax, and I can trim your 2 foot long pinky toe nail. Face masks, moisturizers, champagne, you name it!! 

[bloodandfire-kennyhickeyfanfic]

Chapter 12 - Welcome To The Machine

Arizona State, October 16 1994

"No, you've got to be fucking kidding me!" Kenny exclaims as we stand outside the tour bus on a long stretch of Highway, somewhere between Phoenix and Tuscon Arizona. It was mid afternoon and the bright Arizona sun was beating down as the tour bus driver - Mike - attempts to flag someone down for some help. The bus of course decided to breakdown, the ball bearings of the front tires apparently seized causing the bus to lock up completely on the highway. We were all just perfectly fine drinking and hanging out when there was this huge thrust forward and the driver had to steer us off to the side of the highway. I fucking thought we like hit someone or something but no, it's just the stupid bus. Fuck sakes!

"Ok, look guys... I'm just gonna head back and see if there is a gas station or something. I'm gonna have to call someone for help, so Andi, here... take the bus keys and I'll be back," Mike says pulling out the keys from his pocket. He was incredibly tall and really built, I almost didn't picture him as a bus driver at all.

"Wait...what do you want me to do with the keys?" I ask taking the keys from him and flipping my curls out of my face.

"Just keep 'em for now, but I'll be back guys, I swear," Mike says and turns off to walk down the highway. I stood there in the hot Arizona sun looking down at the keys in my hand and turn around to see Kenny, and Johnny leaning against the bus having a smoke, Peter turning around and heading back up into the bus and Josh was still up in his bunk on the bus sleeping off his hangover.

"What the fuck are we gonna do now?" Johnny asks taking a drag of his smoke.

"I uh, guess we just wait," I say as I walk up to Kenny and Johnny and I glance back at Mike as he walks farther away from us.

"Fuck... it's always something," Kenny says as he takes a drag of his cigarette and looks down at himself, his jet black curls gently blowing in the breeze.

"We just better not miss the show man. All our gear shows up and we're nowhere to be found... how the hell would we explain that?" Johnny says, his tone slightly frustrated.

"Don't worry, we'll make it..." I say trying to sound hopeful as Kenny glances at me exhaling a cloud of smoke.

*6 Hours Later*

"I thought you said we would make it," Kenny smirks at me with a sarcastic tone as we sit up on the bus waiting for Mike. It was now dark out and here we are still sitting on the side of the highway with a broken down bus and 4 guys who are all annoyed at me somehow because I apparently was the one who broke the bus.

"It's not my fault Mike hasn't come back yet," I say in a flatly as I sit across from Kenny on the couch.

"No but it is your fault for letting him go with the fucking change because now we have no way to call anyone for help," Kenny says angered.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know he had all the change? I've never had to carry change on me because usually we have a fucking working bus, it's not my fault,"

"Oh so you're going to bring up how it was soooo much better working for Soundgarden cause they had better working equipment,"

"Excuse me?! When did I ever bring up Soundgarden... all I said was that I've never had to deal with a broken down bus before!" I shoot back at Kenny, my anger clearly revealed at this point.

"First fucking time for everything right?!"

"Ok, look yelling at me is not going to get us there any faster alright, just fucking chill," I say as I loosen the laces to my Doc Martens and avoiding his eyes altogether. I'm really not in the mood to

"Chill? Really? Just fucking chill she says," Kenny chuckles sarcastically and I look over at him completely pissed with him.

"Well what the fuck am I supposed to do? Get out underneath the bus and fix it myself?!" I yell back at him.

Now, I'm really pissed.

"Hey guys, stop ok... look we're all a little tired and hungry lets just relax ok," Johnny says as he walks up from the back lounge area of the bus. Suddenly there were some bright flashing lights that could be seen out of the windshield up at the front and get up off the couch quickly to run out and see Mike in the passenger side of the large tow truck pulling up in front of the bus.

"Oh my god, what the fuck took so long?" I ask as Mike steps out of the passenger side of the tow truck.

"It took forever to find a gas station and then when I finally was able to get a hold of a tow truck, it was already dark. I'm sorry guys, we got help but you missed your set though," Mike says.

"Yea no shit," Kenny says as the tow truck guys get to working on the front of the bus.

"I uh, got a hold of Jerry and he's sending the equipment bus to pick you all up so it might be a little longer of a wait but at least you'll be able to make it to Tuscon and get to a hotel," Mike explains.

"Ok... thank you Mike," I say relieved at the fact that we don't have to sleep on the bus on the side of the highway.

*****

Not long after, we were finally picked up by the equipment bus and stuffed all our luggage as best we could into the bus, then made our way into Tuscon and checked into a hotel. Since there were only two rooms available, Peter, Josh and Johnny decided to all share one which left Kenny and I with the other. Once we reached our room and we set our bags down by the door, I threw my leather jacket on the chair and immediately began to peel off my Dead Kennedy's tank top, tossing it on to the floor and then sit myself down on the bed to unlace my Doc Marten's.

Kenny and I haven't said one word to each other since we were yelling at each other back on the broken down bus and I wasn't in the mood to argue anymore. I just wanted this day to be over. As I set my boots aside, Kenny sets his leather jacket on the chair and watches me as I unbuckle my belt and peel off my ripped jeans.

"I'm going in for a quick shower," I say quietly as I step out of my jeans. Kenny still says nothing though I can feel his eyes follow me as I make my way into the small hotel bathroom in just my black thong panties and lacy black bra. I close the door and start up the shower as I examine myself in the mirror while I wait for the water to warm up.

I hate fighting. We don't fight all the time, actually really hardly ever at all, but when we do... fuck I wish it just wouldn't happen at all. I know it's just because we're all so exhausted and cranky and sleeping on a bus with 4 boys all the fucking time is starting to drive me insane. But this is what I signed up for. This is what I do. I could handle it when I was on the road with Soundgarden so I sure as hell can handle it with Type O and Pantera.

I step into the shower stall and let the warm water run over my body. Damn this feels amazing. After a couple of minutes I hear the bathroom door open.

"Can I come in?" Kenny asks.

"Yea," I say quietly as I close my eyes to let the water run over my head. I hear him open the shower curtain and he quickly closes it as I wipe the water from my face to open my eyes to look at him. He glances over my body and then back up to my eyes and I could just tell that he was sorry for yelling at me. I offer a half smile and he gives me a cute little smirk and touches his forehead to mine, the water now washing over him, soaking his dark curls that splayed across his chest.

"Well that was... fun," He says and I smirk.

"Yea I love it when the bus breaks down and shit gets all fucked up, and we end up fighting. I don't know about you but I'm ready to do that all over again," I joke and Kenny starts laughing.

"I'm sorry baby," He says sweetly.

"Me too," I say.

"You know what the best part about fighting is?" He says low and raspy as he glances at me under his brow.

"What?" I ask with his hands moving to my hips and around to my lower back. My hands rest on his biceps, feeling him flex a little as he presses my body to his, letting the water wash over us.

"Making up," He says and presses his lips to mine and I couldn't help but melt in his arms as his tongue swipes across my bottom lip. His tongue begins to play with mine as I reach up and lace my fingers through his wet curls, pressing my chest to his as he wraps his arms around me.

Arlington Texas,  October 31 1994

"What the.... seriously Peter...?" Kenny exclaims as he picks his guitar from the guitar rack backstage. Peter decided to have some drunken fun and spray painted Kenny's Gibson SG completely black.

"What?" Peter says flatly as he walks over to him.

"We go on in like fucking 15 minutes and you spray my guitar with black spray paint?! It's all over the strings, the pickups... Peter what the fuck?!" Kenny exclaims sounding incredibly mad as I try desperately to not laugh as Peter looks at him taking a swig of his bottle of wine.

"It'll sound better that way, I promise," Peter jokes. They are constantly pulling pranks on each other and this is probably the best prank Peter has pulled on Kenny. Little does Peter know, Kenny fucked around with his bass earlier so really Kenny shouldn't be the one complaining. Peter just doesn't even know it yet.

"It's not even fucking dry yet," Kenny says as he takes his guitar and sets it down on the back bench that's behind the stage and starts to re-string his guitar.

"Baby, do you need - "

"Nope I don't need any help, just leave me... fuck," Kenny cuts me off still clearly annoyed but I couldn't help giggling because it was just so funny. Kenny shoots me a look and I just throw up my hands and try not to let him see me laugh as I walk away.

*20 Minutes later*

Once everyone was on stage and just as soon as Peter goes to pluck the first chord of Black No 1, it was the worst sound I had ever heard come out of a bass. I wish I could describe it. The only way I could think to describe it is like a huge fart or something, I don't know but it was fucking hilarious. As I stand off stage by Kenny's Mesa Boogie amp stack, Kenny, who was covered in black spray paint still, his forearms and hands still black from his guitar, shoots me a glance like he knew that would happen and starts laughing as I shake my head at him.

"Well since my bass is fucked I'm just going to stand here until someone can give me a proper working bass," Peter's voice booms into the mic and the crowd starts to go crazy, some laughing but mostly 'booing'.

"John, can you get him his bass?" I ask as I run back behind Johnny's drum kit where Peter's bass tech guy which is really Kenny's guitar tech guy as well stood behind, trying to string up another bass.

"I'm working on it," John says as he quickly threads the strings passed the pick ups and through the bridge of Peter's back up bass. Once John finishes stringing the bass and with the crowd's 'booing' becoming even louder, he runs out on stage and hands Peter a new bass and the crowd starts to cheer. I take my place back by Kenny's amps and take a long sip of my Jack and Coke.

Oh my God these boys are a handful.

Las Vegas Nevada, December 4  1994

"Kenny, no seriously... what are you doing!?" I ask half laughing as I stand back stage at the Thomas and Mack Center. It was the last show of the tour and the crowd was going insane as different members of the road crew were whizzing by me trying to understand just what was happening.

"Ooooh baby, I'm gettin' 'em I swear," Kenny laughs maniacally as he grabs a bottle of mustard from the buffet table and steps back up to the stage grabbing me by my hip and pulling me into him and pressing his lips to mine. It caught me off guard at fist and I giggle against his lips but then he begins to move his lips with mine and I reach up and lace my fingers through his messy dark curls that flowed passed his shoulders and suck his beautiful bottom lip.

He then pulls away from me just as fast as he pulled me into him, then laughs as he runs out on to the stage with the bottle of mustard while Peter and Josh throw more toilet paper rolls out into the crowd. Dime and Phil who were also on stage, Dime still trying to play a few riffs from his guitar, become covered in toilet paper while the crowed continues to go insane.

I have never see so much toilet paper being thrown and as I stand there watching the spectacle, more members of Type O's crew whir passed me to try to stop them. It was pure craziness, seeing Kenny squirt the bottle of mustard all over Dime with Dime laughing like a crazy man with his guitar, picking a bottle of ketchup that somehow got on stage and squirting it right back at Kenny.

"Andi!!!" I hear Johnny scream my name from somewhere behind me and as I turn around, he squirts me with a bottle of ketchup all over my chest and laughs.

"The Fuck?!" I exclaim completely surprised and look down to see my Black Sabbath shirt covered in the red sticky, vinegary sauce.

"Oh shit!" Johnny laughs as I immediately run at him and try to get the ketchup bottle from him. This is insane. Completely utterly fucking insane but so much fucking fun at the same time. Johnny manages to get away from me as he is pretty fucking quick and I run over to the buffet table looking for another bottle of ketchup or mustard, really anything just to get him back. Once I grab the bottle and run back to the steps of the stage, Johnny was already out on stage fucking around with everyone else.

The chaos ensued and I could see the whole stage covered in toilet paper, food, spit, various alcoholic substances as everyone just lets their aggression out. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, let alone be a part of. It was fucking amazing!

[djbcadventures]

Networking in the Capital City: January/February 2019

It’s a NEW Year!  It is time to start fresh with ideas in the new year to grow your business, expand your contacts, or simply to look for a better opportunity.  January and February are prime with events around town to get you started on the right foot.

Included here are events from networking groups, and the Bexley, Franklinton, Tri-Village, Gahanna, Westerville, Worthington, Hilliard, and Dublin Chambers of Commerce.

JANUARY

January 8 - DANG Meetup (6PM; Dublin Entrepreneurial Center: 565 Metro Place South, Dublin; https://www.meetup.com/Dublin-Area-Networking-Group/) (Bus - # 33 to Dublin Metro)

January 9 - Canal Winchester State of the City Networking Lunch (11:30AM; Oakview Dermatology: 22 S. Trine St., Canal Winchester; http://www.canalwinchester.com)  - Whitehall Area Luncheon - “Networking in the New Year” with Frank Agin (11:30AM; Priority Designs: 100 S. Hamilton Rd., Whitehall; http://www.whitehallareachamber.org) (Bus - # 10 or 24)

January 10 - Tri-Village Luncheon (11:30AM; HighBank Distillery: 1051 Goodale Blvd., Grandview Heights; http://www.chamberpartnership.org) (Closest Buses - # 3, 22, or 31) - GETDOT Alumni Networking Night (5PM; Yabo’s Tacos: 5242 Cemetery Rd., Hilliard; http://www.getdotnetworking.org) (Bus - # 21 or 32)

January 11 - Coffee With a Cause (7:30AM; Rev1 Ventures: 1275 Kinnear Rd., Northwest Columbus; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 31)

January 12 - Livingston Avenue Area Commission (LAVA-C) Annual Meeting (10AM; Ann Isaly Wolfe Education Center: Rooms ED 137 & 138: 575 S. 18th St., South Side; http://www.livingstonave.com)  (Closest Bus - # 1) - Free Press Second Saturday Salon (6:30PM; Columbus Free Press: 1021 E. Broad St., Olde Towne East; http://www.columbusfreepress.com) (Bus - # 10)

January 15 - What’s NEW on LinkedIn? (6:30PM; Improving Enterprises: 1 Easton Oval, Suite 175, Easton; http://www.columbusama.org) (Closest Bus - # 7, 23, or 32)

January 16 - Dublin Women in Business Luncheon (11:30AM; LaScala: 4199 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  - Bexley Area Networking Lunch (12:30PM; JCC Columbus: 1125 College Ave., Berwick; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) (Bus - # 1) - NextGen Dublin Winter Social (5:30PM; The Rail: 5839 Frantz Rd., Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) (Bus - # 21) - Entrepreneurs and Innovators (6PM; North High Brewing: 1288 N. High St., Short North; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 1 or 2)

January 17 - Franklinton Luncheon (11:30AM; Jubilee Museum: 57 S. Grubb St., Franklinton; http://www.franklintonboardoftrade.org) (Bus - # 10 or 12) - Gahanna Chamber Annual Meeting (11:30AM; LaNavona: 154 N. Hamilton Rd., Gahanna; http://www.gahannaareachamber.com) (Bus - # 24) - Westerville Business After Hours (5:30PM; The Middlefield Banking Company: 17 N. State St., Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com) 

January 18 - Creative Mornings Columbus: Surreal (8:30AM; Columbus Museum of Art: 480 E. Broad St., Discovery District; https://creativemornings.com/cities/clb) (Bus - # 10) - Hilliard Chamber Networking Lunch with Special Guest Chris Borja (11:30AM; Heritage Golf Club: 3525 Heritage Club Drive, Hilliard; http://www.hilliardchamber.org) (Closest Bus - # 32)

January 22 - CYP Conversations and Coffee (7:30AM; Crimson Cup Innovation Lab: 700 Alum Creek Drive, Near East Side; http://www.cypclub.com) (Closest Bus - # 2 or 11) - Network Dublin Business Breakfast (7:30AM; Alten-Cresttek: 565 Metro Place South, Suite 420, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) (Bus - # 33 to Metro Place) - Bexley Women in Business (6PM; Piccadilly: 2501 E. Main St., Bexley; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) (Bus - # 2)

January 23 - Diversity Chamber (6:30PM; Pat & Gracie’s: 340 E. Gay St., Discovery District; https://diversitycolumbus.org) (Bus - # 7, 10, or 11)

January 24 - CYP Leadership Luncheon: Making Connections In The New Year (11:30AM; Alumni Hall, Ross Auditorium at Franklin University: 301 E. Rich St., Discovery District; http://www.cypclub.com) (Closest Bus - # 2, 7, or 11) - Networking Cocktail Hour (5:30PM; DogTap Museum: 96 Gender Rd., Canal Winchester; http://www.canalwinchester.com)  - Westerville YP Speed Networking (5:30PM; The Pointe at Polaris: 8900 Lyra Drive, Polaris; http://www.westervillechamber.com) (Closest Bus - # 2L) - Worthington Business After Hours (5:30PM; Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center: 777 Evening St., Worthington; http://www.worthington.org) (Closest Bus - # 2L) 

January 25 - Breakfast with Columbus Business First (7AM; Columbus School for Girls: 65 S. Drexel Ave., Bexley; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) (Bus - # 10) - Stonewall Columbus LGBTQ Career Fair (10AM; Stonewall Columbus: 1160 N. High St., Short North; http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org) (Bus - # 1 or 2) 

January 26 - Stonewall Columbus LGBTQ Career Fair (10AM; Stonewall Columbus: 1160 N. High St., Short North; http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org) (Bus - # 1 or 2)

January 28 - Combined Chambers Expo (4:30PM; Embassy Suites Dublin: 5100 Upper Metro Place, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org, http://www.hilliardchamber.org, or http://www.westervillechamber.com) (Bus - # 33 to Metro Place) - Upper Arlington State of the Community (6:30PM; Upper Arlington Municipal Services Building: 3600 Tremont Rd., Upper Arlington; http://www.upperarlingtonoh.gov) (Bus - # 1 Kenny/Livingston) 

January 30 - Tri-Village Women in Business (5:30PM; Lupo: 2124 Arlington Ave., Upper Arlington; http://www.chamberpartnership.org) 

January 31 - Dublin YP Lunch Bunch (11:30AM; The Chiller: 7001 Dublin Park Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  - State of the City - Columbus (5:30PM; Columbus East High School: 1500 E. Broad St., Woodland Park; http://www.columbus.gov) (Bus - # 10) 

FEBRUARY

February 1 - Gahanna Economic Forecast Breakfast (7AM; Creekside Plaza: 101 Mill St., Suite 300, Gahanna; http://www.gahanna.gov) (Closest Bus - # 24 & 25) (RSVP - January 25) - Coffee With a Cause - Hunger Panel (7:30AM; Rev1 Local Ventures: 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 31) CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER - Whitehall Career Fair (3:30PM; Whitehall-Yearling High School: 675 S. Yearling Rd., Whitehall; http://www.whitehallareachamber.org) CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

February 5 - Bexley Business Breakfast - Lynda.com 101 (8AM; Market District Kitchen and Bar: 2250 E. Main St., Bexley; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) (Bus - # 2) - Dublin Young Professionals Common Grounds (9AM; Barry’s Bagels: 5760 Frantz Rd., Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) (Bus - # 21) - DANG Meetup (6PM; Dublin Entrepreneurial Center: 565 Metro Place South, Dublin; https://www.meetup.com/Dublin-Area-Networking-Group/) (Bus - # 33 to Dublin Metro)

February 6 - CYP Networking Night (6-8PM; HPE Polaris: 1500 Polaris Parkway, Upper Level, Polaris; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 2L)

February 7 - GETDOT Networking (5PM; The Golf Club of Dublin: 5805 Eiterman Rd., Dublin; http://www.getdotnetworking.org)  - News and Brews (5PM; BrewDog: 1175 N. High St., Short North; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com (Bus - # 1 or 2) - AMA First Thursdays (5:30PM; Juniper: 580 N. 4th St., Short North; http://www.columbusama.org) 

February 9 - Free Press Second Saturday Salon (6:30PM; The Columbus Free Press: 1021 E. Broad St., Olde Towne East; http://www.columbusfreepress.com) (Bus - # 10)

February 12 - Dublin Business After-Hours (5:30PM; Columbus Marriott Northwest: 5605 Paul G. Blazer Parkway, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) (Closest Bus - # 21) 

February 13 - Diversity Columbus (6:30PM; Alzheimer’s Association - Central Ohio Chapter: 1379 Dublin Rd., Grandview; https://diversitycolumbus.org)

February 14 - The Big Game Ad Review: Innovators, Winners, and Losers (11:30AM; Franklin University Alumni Hall: 301 E. Rich St., Discovery District; http://www.columbusama.org) (Bus - # 2, 7, or 11)  - Tri-Village Luncheon (11:30AM; Old Bag of Nails Upper Arlington: 2102 Tremont Center, Upper Arlington; http://www.chamberpartnership.org) 

February 15 - Creative Mornings Columbus: Symmetry (8:30AM; Land-Grant Brewing Company: 424 W. Town St., Franklinton; https://creativemornings.com/cities/clb) (Closest Bus - # 10, due to construction re-routes on Rich Street)

February 19 - CYP Conversations and Coffee (7:30AM; Crimson Cup Innovation Lab: 700 Alum Creek Drive, Near East Side; http://www.cypclub.com) (Closest Bus - # 2 or 11) - Parsons Area Merchants Happy Hour (5PM; Jimmy Luka’s Bar and Deli: 701 Parsons Ave., South Side; http://www.parsonsarea.com) (Bus - # 4 or 8P) - WANG (Westerville Area Networking Group) Social (6PM; Renaissance Columbus Westerville/Polaris: 409 Altair Parkway, Westerville; Website Not Given) (Bus - CMAX)  

February 20 - Dublin Women in Business Luncheon (11:30AM; LaScala: 4199 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  (Bus - # 33) - Bexley Networking Lunch (12:30PM; Block’s Bagels: 3012 E. Broad St., Eastmoor; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) (Bus - # 10) - Entrepreneurs and Innovators (6PM; North High Brewing: 1288 N. High St., Short North; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 1 or 2)

February 21 - Gahanna Women in Business Breakfast (7:30AM; Mount Carmel East, Siegel Center, Building 3: 5975 E. Broad St., Far East Columbus; http://www.gahannaareachamber.com) (Bus - # 10) - TedX Columbus Salon (6:30PM; The Idea Foundry: 421 W. State St., Franklinton; http://www.tedxcolumbus.com) (Closest Bus - # 10 or 12) 

February 22 - Breakfast with Columbus Business First (7AM; Navigator Management Partners: 1400 Goodale Boulevard, Grandview Heights; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) 

February 26 - City of Dublin Economic Forecast Breakfast (7:30AM; OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital: 7500 Hospital Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  - St. John Professional Development Day (12PM; St.John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; https://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com/) (Bus - # 1 or 22) - Experience Columbus “Make It Columbus” Expo (3PM; COSI: 333 W. Broad St., Franklinton; http://www.experiencecolumbus.com) (Bus - # 3, 6, 9, 10, or 12)

February 27 - Westerville YP Breakfast (7:30AM; Ohio Health - Westerville Medical Campus: 300 Polaris Parkway, Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com) (Bus - CMAX or 2L)

February 28 - Tri-Village Lunch with Us and Learn About Podcasting (11:30AM; Tri-Village Chamber: 2011 Riverside Drive - Lower Level, Upper Arlington; http://chamberpartnership.org) (NOTE - Attendance is LIMITED to 12) - Celebrate Clintonville (6PM; Clintonville Woman’s Club: 3951 N. High St., Clintonville; http://www.clintonvillechamber.com) (Bus - # 2 or 2L)

March 1 - Coffee With a Cause (7:30AM; Rev1 Local Ventures: 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 31)

[upstatetruecrime]

Kendall Francois AKA “Stinky” Show Notes and Transcript for Upstate True Crime Podcast

Young Life

Born 7/26/71

1/20/75 when he was 4 parents moved to 99 Fulton Ave in n Poughkeepsie NY Which is 70mi north of NYC. Where they will stay for the rest of his life.

Ages 5-12 was bullied by students at Arlington Middle School (it’s now closed permanently according to Google.) For his weight and height.

When he’s 13 & 14 he starts to play sports and joins the wrestling team for Arlington High School. It’s at this time he starts to fit in or feel like he fits in. 

He graduates from high school, joins the army and is stationed I. Honolulu HI. But then returns home after being discharged from the army, and attends Duchess county Community College. 

He was discharged for being obese - *it’s sad that no one could help him with his weight.* I’m not sure of anyone tried.

He then gets a job as a janitor/ custodian for Arlington School district  but quickly gets promoted to hall and detention monitor 

So he was just manning the halls making sure all the kids were in class. It’s scary to think that he was so close to children after we find out who he really was

For some reason, he makes the decision to start killing women.

*

(WENDY MYERS)

October 24, 1996 (Kendall is 25)he picks up 30 year old sex worker Wendy Meyer’s. They negotiate a price and then had sex. During sex Kendall gets angry thinking that Wendy ripped him off. So he strangled her until her hyoid bone broke and she died. After, he washed her body and put her in a black garbage bag and put her body in the attic of his parents home. 

2 days later on the 26th Wendy’s boyfriend reported her missing. she was also known to the police. 

GINA BARONE

On November 29th Gina Barone and her boyfriend Richie get into a fight while driving. The argument got bad so she told him to let her out of the car and then told him to get lost. So he drove away, but when he came back she was gone. 

*

Needing a fix, Kendall picked her up, and she did know him so she wasn’t afraid he was a regular client. They agreed on a price and he drove to a secluded parking lot, according to Kendall she started to say things to make him mad, so he choked her until she died. He then took her back to his house and hid her body under his mattress for THREE months.And then put her in his attic.

*

On December 9th Gina Barone is reported missing by her mother Patricia after Richie tells Patricia she is missing. This is the first time Patricia meets Gina’s boyfriend. 

Gina had a good child hood despite the fact that her father wanted no part of being a father. Her mother was like, “that’s fine I can be both and raised Gina by herself. Gina was a great little girl and in Patricia’s words, “lovely.” Unfortunately when Gina turned 15 she fell in with the wrong kids and was negatively influenced, this is when her drug use started.

By the next year, when Gina was 16 she had dropped out of school and became too much for her mother to handle. Patricia would start finding her daughter on the streets, but it’s not clear at what age Gina started sex work. When Gina turned 21 Patricia told her she was going to move into a smaller one bedroom apartment. Gina told her mother that, that was fine and she would go live with her boyfriend. 

Unfortunately the relationship didn’t work out for Gina so she bounced around from various homes from ages 21 - 24. At 26 Gina had a little baby girl named Nicole, Gina loved her so much but because of her drug use was unable to care for her. So Patricia ended up raising Nicole. 

Fast forward to Gina’s disappearance, detective K. Skip Mannain of the Poughkeepsie Police Department, was in charge of Gina’s case. So of course they looked at Gina’s boyfriend Richie first. And he wasn’t a stranger to law enforcement, but he was only ever charged with crimes like theft or selling drugs, in the documentary that I watched they called him a, “street guy.” But he was also on and off on drugs, Det. Mannain  said when he was off drug he was a nice guy but on them he was different. After investigating him they cleared him of any involvement. 

Cathy Marsh

Two days later on November 31st his thirst to kill is getting stronger. This day he brings his mother to work at the Hudson River Psychiatric Hospital (so ironic) and after dropping her off he goes off looking for another victim. Francois finds sex worker Cathy Marsh, they again negotiate a price and he brings her to his home. And guess what happens? He chokes and kills her, then washes her body before putting it in a black trash bag.

Look up  why killers wash a body after killing the victim

I looked up why killers especially serial killers wash the bodies of their victims and found in a thesis called Male Serial Killers and Criminal Profiling Process by Jennifer R. Phillips from Eastern Illinois University: 

“All serial killers make some sort of response upon seeing the reality of death ("The Split Reality of Murder", 1985). Some cover the body, wash wounds, or respond in a way that demonstrates remorse or concern for the victim. Other killers either hide or bury the victim's body to keep the murder secret, thus remaining in control of the situation”

They pulled into a parking lot but as they did that, a guy comes running out of a gas station yelling for the detectives saying a woman has just been raped.  The woman who was raped was sex worker Christine Salah. Another source says her name was Diane Franco, but i’ll just use the name I saw in the documentary. 

*

She was crying and had severe bruising especially around her neck. At first she was reluctant to talk to police because she thought she had a warrant, and i’m sure because of her job as a sex worker. But the detectives assured her that she was not in any trouble. But they kept asking who did that to her, she yelled out, “It was that big Stinky fucker Kendall.” 

*

Her story was, That she was picked up in the morning and he drove her to his house. They had sex multiple times but he got mad when he finally had to pay her, That is when he started to strangle her. While he strangled her she was able to talk him out of killing her and to take her yo get cigarettes. And he did, but when he got close to the gas station she ran out of his car into the station and never came back out. That is also the same time the detectives spotted him. wow Fate!

*

Christine was the break in the case that they needed. On September 1st, 1998 with her statement an arrest warrant was issued for Kendall he was brought in.  Kendall spoke refusing a lawyer and admitted to assaulting Christine. He  said he did get upset but then calmed down, and that he was only trying to give her a ride into town, but she ran away.

*

The detectives then told him that they were getting a search warrant for his house, Kendall was shocked and just told them to give him all the pictured of the missing sex workers and the head prosecutor. According to Detective Mannain he said Kendall was flipping through the photos like he was looking at a family album. He then confessed to all the women he killed, by pointing to the photo’s and saying, “killed her, killed her…”  He also explains how he killed each woman without any emotion.

*

Police are now thinking they are going to be searching the woods and city for the bodies, but Kendall tells them the bodies are in the crawl space of his house. New York State Police, City of Poughkeepsie police and Town of Poughkeepsie police all went to the house where Kendall lived. They all surrounded the house before going to the door with a search warrant. The entire family was taken to the police station for questioning,

*

When searching the house with hazmat suites on, it smelled so bad that the smell of decomposition just blended in with all the other smells. They searched the attic and they found decomposing bodies. 

*

The investigation on the house lasted for 29 days, looking on the outside and inside and combing through like and archeological dig. But the house was so dirty that if you leaned on the wall there would be a film of dirt left on your clothing along with a stench. There were even animal feces on the floor, what the fuck!!.

*

In the Attic they found 5 bodies, three bodies are found together wrapped in plastic, one of them Kendall started to dismember one of them. Another body is found in a child’s pool, and the fifth body was found in a can. One of the officers had to leave the scene because the smell of the body in the can was so bad.

*

They then checked the crawl space where they found three bodies of the most recent women who went missing. It took three days to find all the bodies and transport them for an autopsy.

*

While all this was happening Detective Mannain went to visit Gina Barron’s mother, to let her know that they might have found Gina’s body in the house, but wouldn’t know until the medical examiner identified her. 

*

The 8th body found was unknown,  she was a 34 year old woman who moved to Poughkeepsie 6 months prior to gong missing, and she was also a sex worker. But was the only one who wasn’t reported missing. Her name was Audrey Puglisi.

*

Michelle Eason  was not among the bodies found nor did Kendall say that she was one of his victims. 

  From September 2nd to the 5th all the bodies were removed from the house and kept for 2 weeks for further investigation. 

On September 4th he is indicted in Dutches County Court House for the murder of Catina Newmaster. And has the nerve to enter a Not Guilty Plea. 

On October 13th 1998 he is formally charged with 8 counts of 1st degree murder, 8 counts of 2nd degree murder and one count of attempted assault.

While in Jail he tests positive for HIV 

And on August 7th 2000 he confess to all the crimes in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and is sentenced to life w/o the possibility of parole. Although back then HIV was almost a definite killer. 

irritating though he becomes a welder and is paid $30 a week, I have an issue with someone like him being able to have any privileges.  Him along with so many others should jus be put into a dark hole and be able to live just exist. 

In one of the articles that I read from psychologists from Radford University, they wrote this about him and its verbatim:

Kendall Francois is an individual that does not display the characteristics one would normally expect of serial killers. While most serial killers are white males, Francois is an African-American, making him very unique. When examining his childhood, it is interesting to see that there is no detectable history of abuse, head injuries or brain abnormalities. However, this did not guarantee a wonderful childhood for Francois, as he grew up impoverished and did not enjoy the comfort of a large group of peers while in school. Children would make fun of him and ridicule him for his large size at such a young age. In addition to lacking criteria that is commonplace to many serial killers, Francois was also not involved in any of the components of the triad of a killer as he grew up. There were no known instances of animal torture, bed wetting, or fire setting. Although common criteria is lacking, something triggered psychologically in Francois on October 24, 1996, the date of his first kill. Whatever it was that caused Francois to kill a prostitute on that day replicated inside the mind of Francois seven more times. The tragic result was the murder of eight prostitutes by this unique and bizarre killer. There are a variety of factors that may have been influential in triggering the multiple killings committed by Francois. The large man, physically unattractive, demonstrated hostile aggression on numerous occasions. His body odor and lack of hygiene contributed to the ridicule he faced in school. It was not the only time he would experience ridicule however, as many of the prostitutes that he killed had made fun of or ridiculed Francois just prior to their very own death. It is hard to determine what the final event in Francois’ life was that drove him to commit eight murders. Nonetheless, the African-American serial killer, with mixed components of organized and disorganized killing, is a very different and unique type of serial killer.

[livinginlandmarketing]

Here are the restaurants and other food facilities that Riverside County Department of Environmental Health inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between Sept. 17 and 23, 2021. If no reopening date is mentioned, the department had not listed that facility as reopened as of this publication.

The Kickin’ Crab, 482 N. Main St. Suite 102, Corona

Closed: Sept. 21

Grade: 82/B, failing

Reason: Failing an inspection while on probation. The inspector visited in response to a complaint about inadequate handwashing and saw four employees commit handwashing violations, including one who didn’t wash after touching their own buttock and another who handled money, dirty dishes, a phone and a computer. The inspector noted this is a chronic problem at the restaurant. Among other violations, there were numerous dead clams and mussels stored with living shellfish, a manager didn’t know proper hot holding temperatures and said dirty dishes are stored on the drainboard of the food-prep sink, a cook didn’t know how often equipment should be washed and a server didn’t have their long hair restrained. The restaurant was placed on probation a year ago after failing three inspections in just over a year. This is the second time since then that it’s failed an inspection and had its permit revoked. To reopen again, it would have to correct violations and purchase a new permit.

Chuck Wagon Bar & Grill, 1353 W. 6th St., Corona

Closed: Sept. 21

Grade: Not graded (most recent was 91/A on Aug. 25)

Reason: Cockroach infestation. The inspector visited in response to a cockroach complaint and found live and dead roaches on equipment at the cook line, as well as roach activity in the front food-prep area, dishwashing area, front waiting station and front bar area.

Non-closure inspections of note

Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had significant issues.

Chef K, at 31757 Temecula Parkway Suite A in Temecula, was inspected Sept. 23 in response to a foodborne illness complaint. It received a failing grade of 74/C with one critical violation. Cooked calamari and rice weren’t cooling down fast enough to be safe and were being stored in plastic grocery bags. Among the 16 other violations, there was mold in the ice machine, raw beef and raw chicken were in the same container, an employee didn’t wash hands after wiping sweat from his face, egg rolls were at an unsafe temperature, frozen beef wasn’t being thawed properly, some utensils were dirty and the inspector noted “heavy grease and overall filth” on all cook-line equipment. This was the restaurant’s fourth C grade since 2016; the most recent was in February 2019.

5 Stars Pho, at 4950 La Sierra Ave. Suite 2 in Riverside, was inspected Sept. 22 and received a failing grade of 80/B with two critical violations. A strainer holding tripe was stored on top of a trash can, and the tripe was in direct contact with garbage. Also, three employees failed to wash hands, including one who’d been pushing down garbage. Among the 10 other violations, some egg rolls and rice were at unsafe temperatures, a container of soup was on the floor and cooking equipment needed cleaning.

Yum Yum Donut Shop, at 3247 Arlington Ave. in Riverside, was inspected Sept. 22 and received a failing grade of 81/B with two critical violations. Sandwiches, wraps, salads, beverages and pastries were at unsafe temperatures in a display case that was impounded for not keeping cold. Also, dishes were being washed without sanitizer. Among the nine other violations, an employee didn’t wash hands, there was mildew in the ice machine and other equipment had food residue debris. Last time an inspector came, in January, the shop was briefly closed for not having hot water.

Frice, at 1299 University Ave. Suite 104E in Riverside, was inspected Sept. 22 and received a failing grade of 81/B with one critical violation. The inspector found several rodent droppings and noted that the restaurant’s last pest-control invoice was from March 2020. The restaurant was told to contact pest control right away and start getting monthly service. Among the 11 other violations, employees weren’t washing hands, some raw eggs were at room temperature, most food in the refrigerator was uncovered and the inspector said the facility was extremely dirty and required a major cleaning. The restaurant had been closed for a few days in March because of a rodent infestation; because of its repeated issues, it now faces an administrative hearing.

Related Articles

Roaches, broken pipe: Restaurant closures, inspections in San Bernardino County, Sept. 10-16

Roaches, fire damage, no hot water: Restaurant closures, inspections in Riverside County, Sept. 9-16

Rodents, broken fridges, water issues: Restaurant closures, inspections in Riverside County, Sept. 2-9

Cockroaches, no hot water: Restaurant closures, inspections in San Bernardino County, Sept. 2-9

Cockroaches, water issues: Restaurant closures, inspections in Riverside County, Aug. 27-Sept. 2

About this list

This list is published online on Fridays. Any updates as restaurants are reopened will be included in next week’s list.

All food facilities in the county are routinely inspected to ensure they meet health codes. A facility loses four points for each critical violation — and may have to close if the violation can’t be corrected immediately — and one or two points for minor violations. An A grade (90 to 100 points) is passing. Grades of B (80 to 89 points) and C (79 or below) are failing and typically require the proprietor to make improvements and be re-inspected.

For more information on inspections of these or any restaurants in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To submit a health complaint about a restaurant, go to www.rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-782-2968 after-hours.

Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here.

-on September 24, 2021 at 06:52AM by Nikie Johnson

[jennmapp]

My Top 10 Summer 2018 Essentials

The Hot List

Can you believe it's already mid-July? 

Between launching my first book - Clothes the Deal: The Guide For Transformative Personal Style - and leaving my job to start a closet coaching business, traveling for clients, styling Author Incubator Red Carpet launches, an overnight wedding, more than a few parties and plenty of family travel -  summer 2018 has been especially swift.

All that activity has provided a lot of practice styling, packing, repacking and refining my summer outfit skills all while staying true to core philosophy: Less = more, grooming is paramount and self care key.

Here are my top 10 hacks to help you do just that. 

My Top 10 Summer 2018 Essentials 

#1 Strapless Bra Alternative:

Ladies. I cannot say enough about the life changing magic of Bring It Up Breast Shapers (known as "Sticky Boobies" in my house). I've been a fan of adhesive bras for years but since I discovered this product in March, Bring It Up Breast Shapers have officially replaced Nu Bra as my go to solution under tank tops, spaghetti straps and strapless tops and dresses. I recommend them to all my clients and am currently waiting for my 4th set to arrive from Amazon. You can re-use a pair up to 25 times with proper maintenance (or in my case, no maintenance) and the manufacturer claims they can hold their own on bra sizes up to 36-38 DDD.

#2 Easy Outfit Formula: Madewell Audio Tank Top + Madewell Pull On Shorts

In May I bought a Madewell Audio Tank in ripe persimmon (orangish red) and a pair of Madewell Pull On Shorts in army green and was so pleased with the fit of this combo that I bought another tank in ivory and two more pairs of pull on shorts in black and chambray. My beach trip last week confirmed that this easy to accessorize, easy to wear combo is the perfect summer outfit formula. With three more family vacays to go between now and Labor Day, you will definitely see plenty more variations of this look.

#3 Ultimate Add A Layer: Subtle Luxury Pool to Party Kimono

Summer is all about lightweight, double duty outfit solutions. The name of this Pool to Party Kimono by Subtle Luxury says it all. I've worn this (multiple times) over the Madewell relaxed casual outfit formula above as a going out outfit and over my actual bathing suit at the beach and pool. It's light, luxurious and, at now on sale for $29.99, looks a lot more expensive than the price tag.

#4 Perfect Pop: Organic Hoops + Layering Necklace + Novelty Ring

The lightweight theme continues with this gold tone accessory combination that seems to work with every summer outfit: ADMK organic double hoop earrings (from Covet Boutique in Arlington, VA), Madewell layering necklace (gifted from client), Madewell Looker ring and a gold hammered cuff (gifted from client).

I love how this delicate costume vignette layers beautifully over my forever jewelry and is still light enough to support bolder pieces like my Hermes cuff and still not feel like I'm wearing 100 different accessories.

#5 Forget Flops: Birkenstock Gizeh Birko-Flor T-Strap Sandals

Admittedly, I was the first person to bemoan the return of this ubiquitous '90s norm core sandal.

I was wrong: Birks are life.

Now my feet cringe at the sight of an arch enemy flip flop and with this pair in trend forward metallic leather (mine are rose gold) I am hard pressed to find a reason not to wear them ALL OF THE TIME. 

#6 Fake Tan Plan: Tan Towel Self Tan Towelette Plus + Body Glow BB Cream

My secret to not looking like a city girl at the beach - Tan Towel. In the week leading up to any skin bearing activity, I run a Tan Towel self tanning towelette over dry, clean skin once a day, followed by a generous serving of Tan Towel Body Glow BB Cream (which smells amazing, if you can believe it). Literally everyone asks where I got my tan. Like, literally, everyone.

Just don't forget to wash your hands.

#7 Impact Sandal: Cecelia New York Hibiscus Sandal

I love nothing more than a statement neutral and nothing says summer like a huge flower on your foot. When I am not in my Birkenstocks, I am finding a reason to wear these beautiful shoes by Cecelia New York. If nude isn't your thing, they also come in pink and snakeskin. Worth every penny.

 #8 Lash Blast: Rodan + Fields Lash Boost + Glossier Lash Slick Mascara

With pool plunges, humidity and lots of travel, summer begs for a lighter makeup bag. My solution? Focus on lashes. Initially I was incredulous about R+F Lash Boost but after asking so many girlfriends how their lashes got so long I invested in a tube (and yes, at $150, it is an investment). After two weeks my eye lashes were noticeably longer and now, four months in, all I need is a quick swipe of super natural Glossier Lash Slick (also recommended by a client) for a luscious lash look that doesn't need a lot of extra makeup.

#9 Cannabidiol Calm: Charlotte's Web Hemp Extract Oil

This summer I left a stable career of 16 years to risk the house on a capsule wardrobe coaching dream. Chill #AF? Um, no. But after I heard about the calming benefits of CBD oil on That's So Retrograde (one of my favorite podcasts), I bought a bottle and was delighted to discover a few drops of Charlotte's Web Hemp Extract Oil under the tongue 2-3 times a day really does calm my nerves - and it's amazing for cramps, restful sleep and gracefully flying cross country with two children under six. And yes, it's 100% legal.

#10 Sun Savvy: Rodan + Fields Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Sunscreen

Last but not least - the best beauty advice I ever followed was printed in Allure Magazine in early 2001 - if you want to look younger and live longer, wear SPF 30+ religiously every single day, regardless of weather or season. Almost two decades later I've amped my minimal coverage to SPF 50 and keep a bottle of Rodan + Fields Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Sunscreen in my beach bag for frequent re-applications. 

What's In Your Beach Bag, Baby?

Share your summer staples (or just stop by to peep my daily FB lives and capsule fashion inspo) on the Tiny Closet Survival Guide Facebook Group. 

Looking for an easy digital beach read guaranteed to change your perspective on what it takes to cement personal style? Download a free copy of my new book Clothes the Deal: The Guide For Transformative Personal Style. Can't wait to hear what you think!

Be the Bright!

xoxo

Jenn

[itvplus]

UIL NEWS: UIL Football State Championships Information

AUSTIN, Texas — The 2020 UIL Football State Championships for Conference 5A-6A will take place Jan. 15-16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

School pre-sale tickets will be available from Sunday, January 10 at 12:00 p.m. until Monday, January 11 at 12:00 p.m. You must have a code from a participating school. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public Monday, January 11 at 1:00 p.m.

https://ryanwhiteconference.hrsa.gov/uil-football-state-championships-ryan-vs-cedar-park-live-on-texas-state-championships/

https://ryanwhiteconference.hrsa.gov/uil-football-state-championships-aledo-vs-crosby-live-on-texas-state-championships/

https://ryanwhiteconference.hrsa.gov/uil-football-state-championships-aledo-vs-crosby-live-on-texas-state-championships/

https://ryanwhiteconference.hrsa.gov/uil-football-state-championships-ryan-vs-cedar-park-live-on-texas-state-championships/

UIL Football State Championships

AT&T Stadium, Arlington

Friday, January 15, 2021

Conference 5A Division II – Aledo (12-1) vs. Crosby (12-3) – 1:00 p.m. Buy Tickets

Conference 5A Division I – Denton Ryan (14-0) vs. Cedar Park (13-0) – 7:00 p.m. Buy Tickets

Saturday, January 16, 2021 Conference 6A Division II – Cedar Hill (12-1) vs. Katy (13-1) – 1:00 p.m. Buy Tickets

Conference 6A Division I – Southlake Carroll (12-1) vs. Austin Westlake (13-0) – 7:00 p.m. Buy Tickets

*Note tickets are good for only one game. The stadium will be cleared between each contest.

For ticket and stadium guidelines visit the Fan Information Page on the UIL Website.Media Credentials

To request media credentials for the UIL Football State Championships, please submit an online media credential request form which can be found on the UIL website at https://www.uiltexas.org/form/media-credentials/request.php?sport=football by the media credential deadline, 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13. REQUESTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY DEADLINE FOR THE EVENT. LATE REQUESTS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED DUE TO COVID-19 CAPACITY LIMITATIONS.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of media credentials issued will be limited and credentials will be issued per game for this year. Please refer to the UIL Football State Championship Media Policy on the UIL website for media credential guidelines. Media credentials may only be picked up on game days at the AT&T Stadium North Ticket Office.

Face Coverings All guests at AT&T Stadium will be REQUIRED to wear a face covering at all times (including stadium parking lots), except when they are actively eating or drinking. For full AT&T Stadium health & safety guidelines, please visit their Safe Stadium information page.

AT&T Stadium Bag Policy

The AT&T Stadium Bag Policy will be in effect during all UIL Football State Championship games. This policy states that fans cannot bring any purse, bag or container larger than a small clutch bag. Prohibited items include: binocular cases, briefcases, camera bags, cinch bags, diaper bags, fanny packs and seat cushions. Fans may bring clear bags including a clear tote that does not exceed 12x6x12 inches or a clear one-gallon re-sealable storage bag. More information can be found at the following link: https://attstadium.com/stadium-info/bags/

UIL Football State Championship Games Telecast Schedule (January 15-16)

All UIL State Championship games will be televised on either Fox Sports Southwest or Fox Sports Southwest Plus. All games can also be found on the Fox Sports Go App.

For more broadcast information of the UIL Football State Championship, please visit the UIL website at https://www.uiltexas.org/football/state/football-state-championships-broadcast-information

Crosby scored more than 60 points three times during the playoffs, including a wild 62-61 semifinal victory over Liberty Hill. It averaged more than 400 yards per all games, almost evenly divided between the pass (215) and run (197). The Cougars' clear offensive standout trio are quarterback Deniquez Dunn (2,530 total yards, 37 total touchdowns), running back-quarterback Reggie Branch (3,188 total yards, 36 touchdowns) and wide receiver Jaylen Herman (65 catches, 1,262 yards, 14 touchdowns). All are seniors and have carried the Cougars during certain parts of the season.

Defensively, Crosby linebackers McCoy Casey (127 tackles) and Trevon King (113 tackles) get the job done.

Casey, King and Co. will have their work cut out slowing down the Bearcats, who scored at least 45 in all five playoff games, including 77-6 over Hillcrest.

Senior running back Demarco Roberts was the star in a 55-28 semifinal win over Rider (Wichita Falls) with 155 yards rushing and four touchdowns. But the team's go-to star is 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver Jo Jo Earle, the state's No. 10 senior recruit according to 247Sports. He's headed to Alabama and the Crimson Tide have a history of recruiting very gifted wide receivers.

In two seasons heading into his senior year, Earle hauled in 149 passes for 2,691 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also rushed for 695 yards and 14 more scores, meaning head coach Tim Buchanan likes to get him the ball.

Aledo, like always, would much prefer to get out in front and grind the ball on the ground. Besides Earle, Aledo has another top recruit in 6-foot, 180-pound junior safety Bryan Allen, who has already committed to LSU.

Aledo and Crosby haven't met in at least 16 seasons.

https://www.thewyco.com/news/texas-high-school-football-central-state-championship-schedule-previews-predictions-and-more-15-01-2021

https://www.guest-articles.com/advertising/hoping-to-catch-the-uil-football-state-championships-on-fox-15-01-2021

[dipulb3]

2021 GMC Yukon Denali first drive review: From luxury pretender to legitimate contender

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/2021-gmc-yukon-denali-first-drive-review-from-luxury-pretender-to-legitimate-contender-4/

2021 GMC Yukon Denali first drive review: From luxury pretender to legitimate contender

From the blue-collar Chevy Tahoe to the stately Cadillac Escalade to the GMC Yukon in between, General Motors’ family of large, truck-based SUVs has been a huge seller over the years. Despite their popularity, these vehicles have not necessarily been the most premium, versatile or passenger friendly, though these shortcomings — and others — have been addressed for 2021. Thanks to a much-needed redesign, the GMC Yukon Denali has been transformed from a luxury pretender into a legitimate contender. 

Independence day 

Arguably, the single most important change made to these full-size family-haulers is the addition of an independent rear suspension, something rivals like the Ford Expedition have had for decades. Ditching the old live axle allowed engineers to add significant amounts of passenger and cargo space, but that’s not the only reason why it’s more capacious. For 2021, the Yukon has grown. Its wheelbase is up by nearly five inches and the body has been extended by more than six.   

Altogether, these changes get you a whopping 66% more room behind the third-row seat. Indeed, it is usefully spacious back there, roomy enough to house a couple pieces of rollaboard luggage or a whole mess of grocery bags. With everything folded flat, there’s now just shy of 123 cubic feet of junk-hauling capacity, a cavernous amount of room that actually makes the standard Yukon more capacious and an Expedition Max, the extended-length model that competes with the even bigger Yukon XL. 

Augmenting that independent rear, this GMC offers several different suspension setups. Coil springs with passive dampers support lower-tier models, but magnetic-ride shocks are also offered with coil springs. The top-shelf arrangement, however, features four-corner air bladders and those fancy magnetic dampers, which is what my Denali tester has. 

Unfortunately, ride quality isn’t as good as you might expect. Even with fancy shocks and air bags this vehicle feels unnecessarily stiff and plodding, likely due to the massive 22-inch wheels. Going over bumps, you still get some body-on-frame jiggles, but live-axle shimmies have been exorcised. The Yukon’s ass-end remains as planted as a fully grown oak tree, even when driven over nasty washboard surfaces. Body roll in corners is minimal and the steering is serviceable. 

There is an absolute ton of space back here.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

As they should be, this vehicle’s front chairs are hospitable for hours at a stretch, plus they’re heated and ventilated. But at long last, the Yukon’s rear seats offer plenty of comfort, too. 

With their lower cushions roughly chair-height above the floor, the second-row buckets are backside friendly and plenty adjustable. But thanks to that independent rear suspension, even the third-row is downright coddling, something you could never say about the outgoing Yukon’s rear-most bench, which was a no-grown-man’s land. Adults relegated to steerage in the 2021 model will have little to complain about as there’s plenty of support and loads of headroom and legroom. 

Interior improvements   

Setting the Denali apart from lesser Yukons and the Chevrolet Tahoe is a special interior and I’m not just talking about color and trim. The dashboard design is actually different, with unique air vents and a neatly integrated 10.2-inch multimedia display instead of a more freestanding screen of the same size. 

Not bad, GMC, not bad at all.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

GM infotainment systems have been killing it lately and this one is superb. It boots up almost instantly when you start the engine and it responds with immediacy. There’s no lag or stutters while swiping through menus or zooming in or out on the map. Aside from outstanding performance, this multimedia array is clearly laid out and exceptionally easy to use. 

Integrated navigation is standard in Denali models but optional on lower-end Yukons. Across the range, support for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is included, though SLT, AT4 and Denali models also come with a wireless charging pad at no extra charge (no pun intended).

Justifying its premium pricing, this GMC’s cabin is attractive and loaded with quality materials. Two kinds of leather are used, one with a fine grain and another that’s much rougher looking. At first, I thought the coarse cow hide seemed a bit crude, like elephant skin or something, but I’ve grown to like it because it’s used sparingly and provides a nice bit of contrast. 

Matching that leather, this Yukon’s various switches and dials look nice and feel high in quality. Even the dashboard-mounted electronic shifter is an unexpected winner. Comprised of buttons and toggles, it looks fiddly, but it’s easy to reach and intuitive. About the only thing that’s cheap feeling in the new Yukon is the windshield-wiper/turn-signal stalk, which, in typical GM fashion, is as rubbery as overcooked chicken.   

Life-sized adults will now comfortably fit in the Yukon’s third-row seat.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

A pair of 12.6-inch second-row entertainment displays are included in the pricey $11,180 Yukon Denali Ultimate Package, which also bundles features like those 22-inch wheels, power-retractable running boards, four-corner air suspension and adaptive cruise control. Crisp and responsive, these touchscreens make it easy for passengers to consume their favorite media, plus they even have access to the vehicle’s navigation system so they can put a destination in for the driver.   

In case you needed yet another screen in your life, Yukon Denalis also feature a 15-inch multicolor head-up display. It’s super legible, even in sunlight, and it’s easy to adjust the positioning and brightness via a few dedicated buttons on the dashboard.

A mostly pleasant drive 

Three engines will be available in the new Yukon. A 355-horsepower, 5.3-liter V8 serves base duty while a 6.2-liter unit is optional, though standard on Denalis. Smooth running and quiet, that big-ish-block V8 packs a punch, 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque to be exact. 

Both gasoline engines are available right now, but before the end of the year, GM’s excellent 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six diesel found in the Silverado and Sierra half-ton trucks will also be offered in the Yukon, which could be a gamechanger. No matter the engine, a 10-speed automatic transmission is standard equipment. 

Eight-cylinder engines are just lovely, and the Yukon’s 6.2-liter unit is a delight, both smooth and powerful.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

Underway, this new Yukon’s performance is excellent. My tester’s 6.2-liter V8 is silken and plenty potent, though I do wish it had a bit of exhaust rumble, because it sounds like, well, pretty much nothing. As for the transmission, it’s just as delightful, shifting smartly and seamlessly. But it’s kind of funny, with so many gears it sometimes feels like a continuously variable transmission because the RPM drop following each upshift is miniscule. 

According to the EPA, this Yukon Denali should deliver 14 miles per gallon in city driving and 19 on the highway. Combined, it’s rated at a scowl-inducing 16 mpg. Fortunately, in real-world, mixed driving I’ve managed to beat that figure, averaging around 18, which isn’t quite as frightening. 

Being the size of a Navy destroyer and weighing more than 5,800 pounds in four-wheel-drive Denali trim, you can’t expect this SUV to have cat-like reflexes. It’s undeniably big and heavy, but it doesn’t feel quite as enormous as it actually is. Making my tester a touch easier to manage is a host of adjustable camera angles, which give you a 360-degree view of the vehicle, plus parking sensors and a rear-view camera mirror.   

As you might expect, the new Yukon offers plenty of driver aids. Things like automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection and automatic high beams are all standard. Denali models are also graced with blind-spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, but curiously, things like that camera mirror and adaptive cruise control are optional. Really, they should be standard at the price GMC is charging. 

Your land yacht awaits.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

A luxury price tag 

So, how much do they want for a 2021 Yukon? Well, a base, rear-wheel-drive SLE model starts around $52,000, which is a totally reasonable figure. In fact, depending on trim, prices have either remained the same as last year or crept up slightly, by not more than $700. But in comparison, my tester rolled off the assembly line in Arlington, Texas with a window sticker of $83,420, including $1,295 in destination charges. That’s a lot of scratch, very similar to a lower-end Mercedes-Benz GLS or Lincoln Navigator, vehicles this GMC actually has some chance of competing with now. 

With additional interior room, greater refinement and more tech, the new Yukon Denali is better than ever. If you’ve got deep pockets and like what you see, check your local GMC dealership, because they’re available right now.

[djbcadventures]

March/April 2020 Networking Calendar

**EDIT: MARCH 12, 2020** **We are closely monitoring cancellations of events due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus Pandemic Outbreak.  They will be edited in, as soon as there is confirmation from the source.  We will keep you posted. - Bryan**

Virtual Hiring Events through Ohio Means Jobs - https://www.omjcfc.org/virtual-events

Leap Forward with Your Business and Your Network This Spring!  Here are some networking events near you in the Columbus area. (Bus - # ) - On Bus Line $ - Cost < $ 15 $$ - Cost is $ 15-30 $$$ - Cost > $ 30

March 2020

March 3 - Tri-Village Morning Perk (8AM; Class Acts - CA Backspace: 1266 Virginia Ave., 5th by Northwest; http://chamberpartnership.org) (Bus - # 3) - Connected: Dublin/DANG (6PM; The DEC: 565 Metro Place South, Dublin; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) (Bus - # 33)

March 5 - News & Brews With Columbus Business First (5PM; Olentangy River Brewing Company: 303 Green Meadows Drive South, Lewis Center; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) $$ - Connected: Upper Arlington (6PM; CoHatch - The Overlook: 1733 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) (Bus - # 3) 

March 6 - CYP Cares Coffee With a Cause: Women’s Empowerment (7:30AM; M+A Architects: 775 Yard St., Suite 325; Grandview Heights; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 3, 13, 22, or 31) - SOLD OUT!!!!

March 9 - Hilliard State of the City (6PM; City Hall: 3800 Municipal Way, Hilliard; http://www.hilliardohio.gov) (Bus - # 21 or 32) 

March 10 - Westerville Quarterly Luncheon: The State of Healthcare (11:15AM; Crowne Plaza Columbus North: 6500 Doubletree Avenue, Northland; http://www.westervillechamber.com) $$ - Northland Business Luncheon (11:30AM; 1900 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., Northland; http://www.nabacolumbus.org) (Bus - # 8 or 35) $$ - Bexley Women in Business (6PM; Piccadilly: 2501 E. Main St., Bexley; http://www.bexleyareachamber.com) (Bus - # 2)

March 11 - Taste of Grove City (5PM; South-Western Career Academy: 4750 Big Run South Rd., Grove City; http://www.gcchamber.org) CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Whitehall State of the City (5:30PM; Wasserstrom: 4500 E. Broad St., Whitehall; http://www.whitehall.oh-us) CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - CYP Member Mixer (6PM; Value City Easton: 3740 Easton Market, Easton; http://www.cypclub.com) (Bus - # 34) $ - Diversity Columbus with Columbus Business First (6PM; Stonewall Columbus: 1160 N. High St., Short North; http://www.diversitycolumbus.org) (Bus - # 1, 2, 5, or 102*) (* - 102 stops at High & 5th) 

March 12 - Tri-Village Monthly Luncheon (11:30AM; Hofbrauhaus Columbus: 800 Goodale Blvd., Grandview Heights; http://chamberpartnership.org) (Bus - # 3, 22, or 31) $$ - Dublin State of the Community (6PM; The Exchange at Bridge Park: 6520 Riverside Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinohiousa.gov) CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Westerville State of the Community (6PM; The Point: 60 Collegeview Rd., Westerville; http://www.westerville.org) CANCELLED due to Coronavirus

March 13 - Charitable Roundtable (11:30AM; The Gahanna Sanctuary: 82 N. High St., Gahanna; http://www.charitableroundtable.com) (Bus - # 25) (Moved from Westminster-Thurber due to the Coronavirus) 

March 14 - Second Saturday Salon (6:30PM; The Columbus Free Press: 1021 E. Broad St., Olde Towne East; http://www.columbusfreepress.com) CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

March 17 - Primary Election!!! (6:30AM to 7:29PM; Your Neighborhood Polling Location; http://vote.franklincountyohio.gov or http://www.sos.state.oh.us)  - CYP Coffee Talk: Job Search Tips (7:30AM; Crimson Cup Innovation Lab: 700 Alum Creek Drive, Near East Side; http://www.cypclub.com) - POSTPONED due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Polaris (6PM; CoHatch - The Pub, Your Personal Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) 

March 18 - Dublin Women in Business Lunch (11:30AM; The Club at Tartan Fields: 8070 Tartan Fields Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Bexley Networking Luncheon (Noon; The Old Bag of Nails: 18 N. Nelson Rd., Near East Side; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Worthington (6PM; CoHatch - The Library, Your Personal Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) 

March 19 - Gahanna State of the City (5:30PM; The EDGE Innovation Hub: 1140 Gahanna Parkway, Gahanna; http://www.gahanna.gov) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Westerville Business After Hours (5:30PM; Art Van Furniture: 1551 Gemini Place, NOW at CoHatch: The Pub - 1554 Polaris Parkway, Polaris; http://www.westervillechamber.com) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Delaware (6PM; CoHatch - The Newsstand,YOUR Personal Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com)  - CSCA Presents Tito Melega (6:30PM; Gateway Film Center: 1550 N. High St., University District; http://www.cscarts.org) - PPD due to the Coronavirus - Young Professionals Thirdsday Networking (6:30PM; Location TBD, Grove City; http://www.gcchamber.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

March 20 - Breakfast with Columbus Business First (7AM; Whitehall Community Park YMCA: 402 N. Hamilton Rd., Whitehall; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com)  - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Creative Mornings: Identity (8:30AM; CCAD Design Studio: 390 E. Broad St., Discovery District; https://creativemornings.com/cities/clb) - MAY be CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

March 25 - Small Office/Home Office Networking (5PM; Winans’ Chocolate: 1125 Yard St., Grandview Heights; http://chamberpartnership.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - CYP Club Speed Networking (5:30PM; Serendipity Labs: 886 N. High St., 4th Floor, Short North; http://www.cypclub.com) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

March 26 - Network Dublin! (7:30AM; Sleep Number: 6465 Sawmill Rd., Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  POSTPONED due to the Coronavirus

March 27 - Creative Mornings Columbus (8:30AM; Your Personal Computer; https://creativemornings.com/cities/clb) (Limited to the first 100 participants in Zoom)

April 2020

April 1 - Connected: Easton (6PM; Your Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) - ONLINE ONLY

April 2 - Grow Your Business With Purpose (7:30AM; Gerber Office: 580 N. 4th St., Suite 400, Short North; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Upper Arlington (6PM; Your Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) - MOVED to ONLINE ONLY

April 3 - Coffee With a Cause: Diversity & Inclusion Part 1, The LGBT Community (7:30AM; M+A Architects: 775 Yard St., Suite 325, Grandview Heights; http://www.cypclub.com) - PPD due to the Coronavirus - Rise + Design - Social Media (9AM; Video Chat; http://rise.design; LIMITED number of “SEATS” available) - MOVED to ONLINE due to the Coronavirus - Charitable Roundtable (11:30AM; The Gahanna Sanctuary: 82 N. High St., Gahanna Zoom Chat; http://www.charitableroundtable.com) (Date Change due to Good Friday on April 10) -  MOVED to ONLINE due to the Coronavirus

April 7 - Tri-Village Morning Perk (8AM; Brush Crazy: 1299 Bethel Rd., Northwest Columbus; http://chamberpartnership.org) - CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Dublin YP Coffee and Connections (9AM; Barry’s Bagels: 5760 Frantz Rd., Dublin Your Computer; http://www.dublinchamber.org) - MOVED to Video Chat due to Coronavirus - Dublin Area Networking Group/Connected Dublin (6PM; Your Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) - MOVED to ONLINE ONLY

April 8 - Grow Your Business Expo (2PM; Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center: 100 Green Meadows Drive South, Lewis Center; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Small Business Bootcamp: Developing a Business Plan (5:30PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; http://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com) (Bus - # 1 or 22) - PPD due to the Coronavirus

April 9 - Tri-Village Monthly Luncheon (11:30AM; LUPO: 2124 Arlington Ave., Upper Arlington; http://chamberpartnership.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

April 10 - CYP Club Virtual Lunch & Learn: Social Distancing and Mental Wellness (Noon; Your Computer; http://www.cypclub.com) 

April 11 - Second Saturday Salon (6:30PM; http://www.columbusfreepress.com) - CANCELLED DUE TO The Coronavirus

April 15 - Tax Day!  Get ‘em filed and done! - MOVED to JULY 15!! -  Dublin Women in Business Lunch (11:30AM; The Club at Tartan Fields: 8070 Tartan Fields Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org)  - PPD due to the Coronavirus - Bexley Networking Luncheon (Noon; Location TBD; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) - MAY BE CANCELLED - Small Business Bootcamp: Insurance (5:30PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; http://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com) (Bus - # 1 or 22) - PPD due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Worthington (6PM; Your Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) - MOVED TO ONLINE ONLY

April 16 - Westerville Business After Hours (5:30PM; BMI Federal Credit Union: 543 N. Cleveland Ave., Westerville; http://www.westervillechamber.com) -  PPD due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Delaware (6PM; Your Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) - MOVED TO ONLINE ONLY - CSCA Presents (6:30PM; Gateway Film Center: 1550 N. High St., University District; http://www.cscarts.org) - PPD due to the Coronavirus

April 17 - Breakfast with Columbus Business First (7AM; HighBank Distillery: 1051 Goodale Blvd., Grandview Heights; http://www.columbusbusinessfirst.com)  - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Creative Mornings Columbus: Purpose (8:30AM; Location TBD; https://creativemornings.com/cities/clb) - MAY BE CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

April 20 - Grove City YP Thirdsday Networking (6:30PM; Zassy’s Tap Room: 3490 Broadway, Grove City; http://www.gcchamber.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

April 21 - Dublin Business After Hours (5:30PM; The Club at Tartan Fields: 8070 Tartan Fields Drive, Dublin; http://www.dublinchamber.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Connected: Polaris (6PM; Your Computer; http://www.connectednetworkinggroup.com) - MOVED to ONLINE ONLY

April 22 - Westerville YP Breakfast with a Leader (7:30AM; Location TBD; http://www.westervillechamber.com) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus - Small Business Bootcamp: Loans and Grants (5:30PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; http://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com) (Bus - # 1 or 22) - PPD due to the Coronavirus

April 24 - Bexley Business Breakfast (Time & Location TBD; http://www.bexleyareachamber.org) - CANCELLED due to the Coronavirus

April 27 - Columbus YP Week Kickoff (5:30PM; Polaris Fashion Place, Polaris; http://www.cypclub.com) - PPD to AUGUST due to Coronavirus

April 29 - Small Business Bootcamp: Marketing & Social Media (5:30PM; St. John Learning Center: 640 S. Ohio Ave., Old Oaks; http://stjohnlearning.wordpress.com) (Bus - # 1 or 22) - PPD due to the Coronavirus  

April 30 - NetworkDublin! (7:30AM; Peters Photography: 6990 State Route 161, Dublin/Plain City; http://www.dublinchamber.org) - MAY BE PPD due to COVID-19 - Columbus YP Week Volunteer Expo (5:30PM; Dave and Buster’s Hilliard: 3665 Park Mill Run Drive, Hilliard; http://www.cypclub.com) - PPD to AUGUST due to Coronavirus

May 1 - Coffee With a Cause: Diversity & Inclusion Part 2, Minority Issues (7:30AM; M+A Architects: 775 Yard St., Suite 325, Grandview Heights; http://www.cypclub.com) - PPD due to the Coronavirus  

Virtual Hiring Events through Ohio Means Jobs - https://www.omjcfc.org/virtual-events

Now this is not all of the events.  There are other organizations and groups that are not open to the public, but only to their members or clients.  This post will be updated through April 30, 2020 to include events that were scheduled after the initial deadline, or events that were cancelled/postponed due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus Pandemic.

[margiehasson]

HARVEY NICHOLS // HOLIDAY SEASON FASHION

It’s November, and that means the holidays are right around the corner! The holiday season is one the best times of year for fashion – providing the perfect excuse to get glammed up, make a statement, and dress to impress. Through vibrant color to sparkle and shine, there are tons of ways to make the colder months just a bit more fun!

Since Harvey Nichols first opened in Knightsbridge in 1831, the brand has been internationally renowned for its expertly edited fashion and cutting-edge designer brands – including some of my favorites like 16 Arlington, RIXO, BOYY, and Zimmermann. This British retailer is famous for their incredible collections of ready-to-wear, accessories, and shoes, as well as their edited fashion point of view and beauty merchandise. This holiday season, I’m proud to partner with them to bring you an exclusive offer just in time for the holidays: 15% off of fashion items! From 11/6 – 11/9, use code ATLANTICPACIFICHN15 for 15% off of party wear (some exclusions apply, please see terms and conditions at harverynichols.com). P.S. – orders under $800 are tax free and orders over $250 qualify for free shipping!

Shop my holiday green look below, plus a collage of festive favorites, and see the Harvey Nichols party wear edit here.

Dress: 16Arlington (shop more mean green party favorites below). Bag: Boyy Bag.

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  The post HARVEY NICHOLS // HOLIDAY SEASON FASHION appeared first on Atlantic-Pacific.

HARVEY NICHOLS // HOLIDAY SEASON FASHION published first on https://lenacharms.tumblr.com/

[newstfionline]

The kindness of strangers

By Allison Klein, Washington Post, November 13, 2017

We asked readers to submit stories of a time a stranger performed an act so unexpectedly kind that it stayed with them. Here are some of the most poignant ones, in honor of World Kindness Day today.

“I’m free Saturday.” About a week ago, I moved from our five-bedroom house into an apartment in an adult living community. Somehow, I managed to whittle down our family’s belongings so they fit in my small bedroom-plus-den apartment.

But boxes were the main furnishings at first. I badly mangled my knee last year and wearing a brace and using a walker made it very difficult to move things around.

Next Day Blinds sent out a salesperson to help me select and measure for blinds. She couldn’t help but notice my problems unpacking. Before leaving, she said, “I’m free Saturday. Why don’t I come out and help?”

And she did. My blinds were installed on a Tuesday and on Saturday, she returned. Like a whirlwind, she got my living room looking like a real living room. She moved furniture, hung pictures and helped me find places for other furnishings. She even went to Target and bought me some hangers and other small items, and wouldn’t let me reimburse her.

It feels so good to know I can have people over now without being embarrassed.

I have been the recipient of many acts of random kindness in my life. They challenge me to always be grateful and to pass on the kindnesses.--Lucy Sotar, 76, Arlington, Va.

“Please don’t pick this flower!” My kindergartner, Stig, has a flower that he planted by the front stairs of our house that was sadly picked twice in a row by someone who was careless or mean or too young to know better.

It really broke his heart because each time it started to regrow, he’d watch its progress excitedly, only to come home and find it picked right after it bloomed.

I was fuming with rage inside that anyone could be that mean-spirited, and that I would have to try to find a way to soothe him over something we couldn’t fix.

So when we saw that it was about to bloom a third time about a week ago, I decided to make a little sign: “Please don’t pick this flower! It belongs to a little boy who loves it and takes care of it. Thanks!”

It was a Saturday morning when my husband opened the front door to find a book and a card addressed “For the little boy who takes care of the flower” neatly tied with twine.

Inside the card was a message from a neighbor we didn’t know saying that she remembered the book from her childhood and thought Stig would like it, too. The story was about a man who brings joy to a city with a single potted flower. Perfect.

I can’t stop smiling that this one little orange flower has gone out and inspired multiplying joy and kindness.--Jody Pratt, 43, Washington

“I tried not to cry with gratitude.” About 20 years ago, when I was a single mother in San Jose, I was running a few minutes behind schedule to drop my toddler off at child care and get to work when the light rail train showed up before I could buy a ticket.

Clutching my daughter in one arm and a diaper bag in the other, I made a dash for the train, hoping no one would be checking for tickets that day. Boarding the car, I found myself in the midst of a throng of convention-goers.

To my chagrin, an officer got on at the next stop and asked for tickets. He went down one side of the car, and I nervously thought about how much trouble I’d be in if he asked me for a ticket.

Just then, a young man seated in front of me (from who knows where) showed the officer his ticket and then slipped it to me when the officer had his back to us. I tried not to cry with gratitude.

Later, I overheard the convention-goer whisper to his friends that he saw me running for the train with the baby with no time to buy a ticket. I thanked him profusely before I got off.--Jessica Savin, 49, Clovis, Calif.

“I’ve been there before.” I was at the drugstore to buy groceries for my family recently. To my dismay, when I got to the checkout counter, my debit card was declined.

Sheepishly, I took out my two boxes of garbage bags and asked her how much the bill would be without them. Before the clerk even had a chance to remove the items, a very pleasant woman behind me said, “No, I will pay for them,” and gave me $20 to cover them.

Again I tried my card, hoping there would be enough in my account this time, and again it did not work, so I put back my coffee creamer. Again, the woman spoke up and said: “I’ll pay for that, too.”

I was very embarrassed at this point and prayed my card would work to cover the rest of my bill. Again, it was declined. I apologized to the line that had formed, thanked the women who had helped me and told the clerk that I would need to put my order back.

The woman who had helped the previous two times spoke up and said: “Here is my credit card. I’ve been there before.”

I was totally flabbergasted! My entire bill came to $95, and she paid the entire bill.

I have never been on the receiving end of this amount of generosity. For those who believe there is little good left in the world, I beg to differ because one generous stranger can truly make a difference.--Karin Heimel-Heck, 51, Dover, Pa.

“Where to?” Lugging my suitcase across Ottawa’s airport in 2012, the handle snapped off and the suitcase fell to the floor. I tried lifting the case and my tote landed on the floor, too.

I was sure I would I miss my flight when a man appeared at my side. He had red hair, blue eyes and looked about 25. “Let me help,” he said smiling. His smile was so welcoming that I smiled back.

He tossed my suitcase over his left shoulder, put the tote bag on his right and the handle in his pocket and said, “Where to?”

“Gate 27,” I said, stunned.

He grabbed his bag and we were off.

At the gate, my was flight was delayed. Relieved, I reached for the suitcase, but he said, “I’ll ask about tape for the handle.”

He returned saying the agent would check with maintenance for help. Surprisingly, the agent returned with duct tape, and the man taped the handle to the suitcase.

Boarding started, and it dawned on me that he may not have been on the same flight. “Is this your flight?” I asked. “No, my flight’s Gate 12,” he responded.

Gate 12 was at the opposite end of the airport. I felt terrible, but he reassured me. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it,” he said.

My boarding group was called, so I give him a grateful hug, “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he replied.

Boarding pass scanned, I turned back and we waved to each other. As the plane pulled back from the gate, I realized I never got his name.--Frances Baldwin, 56, Chevy Chase

A Paris pickpocket. When I was an exchange student in Paris, age 19, I was pickpocketed my first night there and my wallet was stolen.

In the wallet was my driver’s license, money and photos--among them my favorite photo of my father, who died when I was 13, and my favorite photo of my sister, who died when I was 16.

The pickpocketer had obviously taken the money and thrown my wallet in a trash can in the metro station.

But some kind Parisian saw my wallet in the trash and also the photos in there. I wonder if they somehow sensed how precious these images were to the owner of the wallet.

This person turned the wallet in to the American Embassy, and the embassy mailed it back to the U.S. My photos and driver’s license were waiting for me when I returned home. I cried then, and I tear up again now, realizing that a total stranger took time out of their day to do a favor for a person they would never meet, or who could never thank them.--Sharon Loy, 48, Sedona, Ariz.

“You are cool.” One day a person from my school went around just saying good things about people they passed in the hall.

When he said “you are cool” to me and my friend right before class, it made me feel appreciated and made the class a lot more fun, all because of one compliment given to me by someone I barely knew.

I think this small, tiny act made such a big difference because no one had ever done that before and it was such a surprise to me. I felt like I should say the same thing to someone else soon.

Right after he said it, I replied and said the same thing about him. My friend and I both said it made us feel so special and appreciated. When we got to class, we were smiling and it seemed like we didn’t have a care in the world, but also like we were happy to be there, which is a rarity, but never mind that.

When we went to our seats and began class, I was happy. I was actually happy to be at school and in class. All because of one comment, one simple comment.--Lily Bair, 12, Santa Fe, N.M.

[kentonramsey]

Refinery29 Loves…What To See & Shop This Week

Welcome to Refinery29 Loves, our weekly bulletin where you'll find the best things to shop and see in fashion right now. In the best of fashion this week, Givenchy re-issues it's iconic Antigona handbag to celebrate the accessory's 10th birthday, Copenhagen label TEKLA launches sleepwear, and Gucci's new photo book features portraits on the streets of Rome.

TEKLA Launches Unisex Sleepwear If you don't already have a long wishlist of pieces from Copenhagen-based Tekla, you certainly will now. The label, founded by Charlie Hedin in 2017, caters to all the aesthete's sleep, bath and daily life needs, from from pastel-hued percale bedding to '70s-striped combed cotton towels. Now giving us precisely zero reasons to leave bed, Tekla has launched a unisex sleepwear range, produced in Portugal and made from 100% cotton. Coming in both striped and solid colour ways, ranging from sizes XS-XL, the shirts, trousers and shorts are super cosy and as classic as they are contemporary. We'll take the lot! Tekla sleepwear, from £85, is available now. Tekla Sleepwear Shirt, $, available at Tekla Tekla Sleepwear Trousers, $, available at Tekla Tekla Sleepwear Shorts, $, available at Tekla

Gucci Publishes Art Book Beaten & Blown By The Wind Beaten & Blown By The Wind is the latest stroke of artistic genius to come from Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. The limited edition art book is comprised of street portraits of a host of diverse characters wearing Gucci's Pre-Fall 2020 collection, taken in Rome by photographer Bruce Gilden. Shot in high contrast black and white, both the city and its citizens is portrayed in a dark and brooding mood. “We share the same passion for faces and an obsession with expressions, personalities and looks," Michele says of Bruce. "I am a great collector of portraits because the human figure is central to me." The book is a collector's item for Gucci and photography fans alike. Beaten & Blown By The Wind, £175, is available now. Gucci Bruce Gilden Beaten & Blown by the Wind, $, available at IDEA

Creatives 4 Systematic Change Raffle Oh how we love a fashion raffle, especially one that raises money for causes we care about. Creatives 4 Systematic Change has invited artists and designers from around the world to donate items and experiences, from clothes and accessories to prints and candlesticks, for a raffle raising money for organisations that amplify and empower the Black trans community. You can enter as many times as you like for $5 or $10 to win pieces from the likes of 16 Arlington and Edwin Mohney, with 85% money raised going towards The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, The Okra Project, and For The Gworls, with the other 15% going towards grants for Black creatives across the industry. Get entering, people! Enter the Creatives 4 Systematic Change raffle before 4th July.

Givenchy Celebrates 10 Year of Antigona Bag To celebrate the 10th birthday of its now-iconic Antigona handbag, Givenchy has relaunched the classic accessory in new styles and colour ways. Favoured by everyone from Beyoncé and Rihanna to Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow, the Antigona 2.0 now comes in an ultra soft, slouchy leather, while the classic tote is also available in smaller sizes to be worn cross-body. It Bag status if ever there was one. Givenchy's Antigona handbag, from £450, is available now.

Birdsong Launches Living Wage Face Masks Lockdown may be easing but it's still as vital as ever to wear a face masks in public. Thankfully, our favourite sustainable and ethical label Birdsong has got us (literally) covered. Coming in two styles, one reading 'Optimist,' (just the message we need right now) and the other in various prints, all the brand's masks are made in breathable, hard-wearing and eco-friendly TENCEL™ by Birdsong's seamstresses for the living wage. Masks with a conscience? Yes, please. Birdsong's masks, from £14, are available now. Birdsong Living Wage Embroidered Optimist Face Masks, $, available at Birdsong Birdsong Living Wage Zero Waste Face Masks in Tencel, $, available at Birdsong

Pitchback Playback at Browns East We've got the Glastonbury blues bad, but there's still reason to celebrate music despite a cancelled festival season. Browns East recently re-opened its doors and to bring a little musical joy to our lives, the retailer has paired up with Pitchblack Playback, to give customers the ultimate the immersive sound experience. Playing records from The Cure to Christine and The Queens in a private pitch black, socially-distanced sound-amplifying room, you can enjoy the closest thing to a gig without the crowds. Book a Pitchblack Playback at Browns East here.

JW Anderson x YOOX Shopping online in 2020 may be second nature but 20 years ago YOOX was a pioneer in the e-commerce space, delivering brands from across the globe to our door. To celebrate its anniversary, the retailer has partnered with London Fashion Week's boy wonder JW Anderson on a capsule collection that celebrates all things British. In 2011 the designer was one of the first participants in YOOX's The Next Talents showcase, so the partnership comes full circle. The collection is brimming with the aesthetic DNA we've grown to love JW Anderson for: felt slip-on mules, corduroy trench coats and striped shirting are particular highlights. JW Anderson x YOOX, from £292.50, is available now. JW Anderson X Yoox Open-toe Mules, $, available at Yoox JW Anderson X Yoox Across-body Bag, $, available at Yoox JW Anderson X Yoox Striped Shirt, $, available at Yoox

Allbirds Launches Underwear Our favourite sustainable footwear and accessories label, Allbirds has announced a very exciting move into underwear. The brand is utilising its fabric technology and planet-friendly innovation to bring us a debut collection full of minimalist pieces in neutral tones. Made from regenerative and natural materials featuring Allbirds' patented super yarn Trino™, a blend of eucalyptus tree fibres, ZQ-certified merino wool and a dash of elastane, the pieces are as comfy as they are eco-conscious. With boxer brief, brief, shortie, thong and bralette styles to choose from, in sizes XS-XXL, your underwear drawer is about to look a hell of a lot cooler. Allbirds underwear, from £15, is available now. Allbirds Women's Trino™ Shortie, $, available at Allbirds Allbirds Women's Trino™ Bralette, $, available at Allbirds Allbirds Women's Trino™ Thong, $, available at Allbirds

Gucci Celebrates Sustainable Collection With New Campaign Alessandro Michele's AW20 campaign saw him get creative in lockdown by shooting models at home, dancing on rooftops and brushing their teeth in bathrooms. Gucci's Pre-Fall 2020 campaign then celebrated nature, featuring woodland creatures among the clothing. Now the brand has enlisted a star-studded cast, including Jane Fonda, Lil Nas X and King Princess, to celebrate its sustainable collection. Gucci Off The Grid uses only recycled, organic, bio-based and sustainably sourced materials like metal-free tanned leather, recycled polyester thread, recycled brass and solvent-free adhesives, plus 100% regenerated nylon created using ECONYL yarn recycled from pre- and post-consumer waste. Shot in a treehouse structure by Harmony Korine, it's our escape-the-city fantasy come to life. Gucci's Off The Grid collection, from £175, is available now. Gucci Off The Grid Card Case, $, available at Gucci Gucci Off The Grid Backpack, $, available at Gucci Gucci Off The Grid Belt Bag, $, available at Gucci

Priya Ahluwalia Launches Photobook Jalebi Priya Ahluwalia's eponymous label is a cult favourite on London's fashion scene, bringing deadstock and vintage fabric back to life via new pieces inspired by her multifaceted upbringing. Following on from the success of her first book, Sweet Lassi, which focused on sustainability and heritage after a 2017 family trip to Nigeria, Jalebi explores what it means to be a young person of mixed heritage in contemporary Britain. Family photos sit beside shots of life in Southall, a place Ahluwalia regularly visited growing up, and words from her nana on the dual experiences of India and Britain. A VR exhibition presenting Jalebi can be found at Digital London Fashion Week but we're investing in the photobook, a collector's buy if ever there was one. Priya Ahluwalia's Photobook Jalebi, £35, is available now. Ahluwalia Jalebi, $, available at Ahluwalia

Gucci Launches Equilibrium Instagram Alessandro Michele's platform Gucci Equilibrium is a digital space for the Italian luxury brand to outline positive change for both its consumers and the planet. From Gucci's sustainability strategy to its pledge to combat racism, the hub has the answers to all the questions you might be asking a luxury fashion house seeking to hold itself to account right now. This month, the brand launched the Equilibrium Instagram account, making all this information more accessible, and published its Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) for 2019, revealing that it reduced its environmental impact by 21% from the year before. Positive change: we love to see it. You can follow Gucci Equilibrium here and here.

Fenty Launches Release 6-20 Rihanna's ready-to-wear label Fenty is treating us to not one but three drops across June, "celebrating the creativity, hope and spirit of youth". Drop one of Release 6-20 came last week and is inspired by the aesthetic of youth movements from '90s subculture, referencing baggy rave silhouettes, grunge tie-dye and hoodies. The collection, whose campaign is captured by London-based photographer Lea Colombo, is top of our June wish list. Fenty Release 6-20, from £180, is available now. Fenty Printed Wrap Skirt, $, available at Fenty Fenty Long Sleeve Printed T-Shirt "Immigrant", $, available at Fenty Fenty Denim Baggy Pants with Slits, $, available at Fenty

Kitri Launches Pre-Order Service With COVID-19 forcing the fashion industry to stop, take stock and rethink how it can reduce its environmental impact, positive change is coming. Kitri, one of our favourite London labels, has introduced a pre-order function for its summer 2020 collection in a bid to minimise waste, reduce surplus stock and "create an equilibrium between supply and demand". New pieces will be released in very limited runs, allowing the brand to gauge consumer demand without overproducing; once the initial run has sold out, the product will be sold on a pre-order basis. Hurray for brands looking to sustainable futures. Kitri's summer collection, from £75, is available to pre-order now. Kitri Gretchen Floral Print Smocked Top, $, available at Kitri Kitri Margot Green Check Midi Dress, $, available at Kitri Kitri Rose Coral Linen Top, $, available at Kitri

Whistles Drops Its Summer 2020 Collection From banana, cherry and lemon-printed dresses to airy linen jumpsuits, coordinated swimwear and beach cover-ups, Whistles' new summer collection may have been designed with beach strolls and sun-soaked swims in mind but coronavirus had other ideas. We may not be hitting a holiday high any time soon but the collection, all easy-breezy silhouettes in fresh and fruit shades, will look just as great at a socially distanced picnic as it would beside a pool. Whistles summer 2020 collection, from £25, is available now. Whistles English Garden Flippy Skirt, $, available at Whistles Whistles Lattice Print Trouser, $, available at Whistles Whistles Romantic Floral Rachael Dress, $, available at Whistles

Colville Hosts Face Masks Charity Auction Colville, the luxury brand founded by Molly Molloy and Lucinda Chambers, has collaborated with the Fashion Illustration Gallery to invite some of the world's best fashion illustrators and contemporary artists to create handmade face masks. The calico cloth was donated by The Cloth Shop, Maria Londono handcrafted the artists' work in the Colville studio and the resulting masks will be auctioned online from 12th to 21st June, with 100% of the proceeds going to Hope and Homes for Children. We particularly love this piece by Jordi Labanda. The Colville x FIG face mask auction takes place online until 21st June, with bids starting at £100.

ba&sh x Reebok Collaboration If lockdown has had you doing countless Zoom yoga sessions and at-home HIIT classes, we bet – like us – you're looking at your holey tee and ancient leggings with fresh eyes and wanting to up your activewear game. Fear not, because ba&sh has collaborated with Reebok on a capsule collection inspired by the movement of dance. Starting at £45, the collection includes supportive bras and sweat-wicking leggings, and the campaign features one of Beyoncé’s long-term backing dancers, Hajiba Fahmy. ba&sh x Reebok, from £45, is available now. Ba&sh x Reebok Redy, $, available at Ba&sh Ba&sh x Reebok Freestyle, $, available at Ba&sh Ba&sh x Reebok Railey, $, available at Ba&sh

Aurora James Launches 15 Percent Pledge Aurora James, founder of Brooklyn-based label Brother Vellies, which works with artisans from Nairobi to New York to produce sustainable ready-to-wear, has launched a campaign to fight for economic equality. 15 Percent Pledge is calling on major retailers from Sephora to Shopbop to give 15% of their 'shelf space' to Black-owned businesses, on the premise that Black people account for 15% of the American population. The campaign's Instagram page, created last week, has amassed 18.6k followers already and is asking people to sign the petition to effect real change across fashion, beauty, lifestyle and many other business sectors. Let's hope UK retailers take note and invest in more Black-owned companies, too. Sign the 15 Percent Pledge here.

FANGIRL Drops 'Shake It Don't Snake It' Collection FANGIRL, founded by Rani Patel Williams back in January, is a gender-neutral handheld fan and T-shirt label inspired by Black club culture, LGBTQIA+ club culture and the diaspora. The latest drop, Shake It Don't Snake It, featuring snake-print fans in colours taken from the outfits seen in Jamaican dancehalls, is your answer to staying cool in a heatwave. In two colourways, printed on recyclable paper and made from biodegradable wood, the fans also come with a matching face filter to take your selfies to the next level. FANGIRL is also donating all profits from its Black & Boujee collection to Black Lives Matter UK for the duration of June, so while you're shopping for fans, cop a tee and support the cause, too. The Shake It Don't Snake It fans, £24.99, and Black & Boujee collection, from £24.99, are available now. FanGirl Black and Boujee Fan, $, available at FanGirl FanGirl Black and Boujee T-Shirt, $, available at FanGirl FanGirl Shake It Don't Snake It, $, available at FanGirl

ROOP launches Black Lives Matter Lucky Dip Known for its covetable vintage fabric handbags, Instagram favourite ROOP continues to cause a stir online with its sell-out sustainable collections. However, this week might be your chance to finally get your hands on one of ROOP's amazing pieces through a prize draw raising funds for charities that support Black communities. With over 50 other fashion brands involved in the initiative, the lucky dip - just £2 a ticket! - gives you the chance to win clothes and accessories while supporting invaluable organisations like Runnymede Trust and Reclaim the Block. Make sure to purchase your ticket by June 22nd to be in with a chance of winning. The Black Lives Matter Lucky Dip, £2, is available to enter here.

The BFC Launches 'Great British Designer Face Coverings' Project With lockdown slowly easing and the news that face coverings will be mandatory on public transport, wearing a face mask is more vital than ever (although we hope you are already doing so in public to protect those more vulnerable than you). There's a host of great offerings online, from Etsy to Rixo, and now the British Fashion Council has partnered with Bags of Ethics to create sustainable, reusable and breathable non-medical face masks. Six British designers – Halpern, Liam Hodges, Mulberry, RAEBURN, Rixo and Julien Macdonald – have designed the masks, and 100% of the profits will be split between NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal, the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund and Wings of Hope Children’s Charity. Available from the BFC, plus retailers like John Lewis & Partners and ASOS, the masks are priced at £15 for three. The BFC x Bags of Ethics masks, £15 for three, are available now. Julien Macdonald Great British Designer Face Coverings, $, available at Bags Of Ethics Mulberry Great British Designer Face Coverings, $, available at Bags Of Ethics

PANGAIA Launches 'Ocean' Collection PANGAIA, the sustainable and gender-neutral company driven by materials science to engineer innovative fashion fabrics, has long been a cult favourite of conscious consumers everywhere. Today, for World Oceans Day, the brand has launched a capsule of products inspired by the deep blue sea. Made up of hoodies, trackies, T-shirts, sweatshirts and shorts, expect the label's signature minimalist aesthetic in colours inspired by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Using 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton and environmentally friendly dyes, it's a guilt-free way to show love for the big blue. The Ocean collection, from £69, is available now. Pangaia Organic Cotton Long Sleeve Crop T-Shirt, $, available at Pangaia Pangaia Organic Cotton Shorts, $, available at Pangaia Pangaia Organic Cotton Crop T-Shirt, $, available at Pangaia

Prayers and Plans Launches First Luxury Loungewear Collection If you're anything like us, you haven't changed out of your PJs since lockdown began in March. If your holey and coffee-stained co-ord just isn't cutting it anymore, may we introduce Prayers and Plans, the luxury loungewear label founded by Amaka Ikpeazu. Each piece in the brand's first collection, Hope, which includes silk robes, pyjama sets and eye masks, is embroidered with the words "The Best Is Yet To Come" – a reminder Ikpeazu feels is particularly needed right now. Made using natural fibres and plant-based dyes, the collection comes in classic hues that are made to last. Five percent of every purchase made goes towards Solar Sister, an organisation that trains and supports women to deliver clean energy to rural communities across the African continent. The Hope collection, from £30, is available now. Prayers & Plans Pearl-White Silk Shorts, $, available at Prayers & Plans Prayers & Plans Midnight-Blue Silk Sleep Mask, $, available at Prayers & Plans Prayers & Plans Rose-Gold ELLA Silk Set, $, available at Prayers & Plans

Whistles x L.F.Markey Collaboration Whistles has been throwing up some fantastic collaborations of late – you might remember its partnerships with Mlouye and by FAR – and the newest team-up with London-based luxury basics brand L.F.Markey does not disappoint. Recognising that our only wardrobe requirement right now is comfort-first, the collection, made up of no-brainer boilersuits, loose-legged trousers and easy-breezy shirts, is perfect for at-home dressing. Coming in a summer-ready palette of blush pink, pale blue and ivory, the 16 styles start at £55. Our favourites? The could-be-PJs button-down tops and the pink canvas trainers, perfect for your sun-soaked weekend walks. Whistles x L.F.Markey, from £55, is available now. Whistles LF Markey Felton Shirt, $, available at Whistles Whistles LF Markey Harley Trainer, $, available at Whistles Whistles LF Markey Puff Sleeve Jacket, $, available at Whistles

Kitri Launches Accessories If you’re anything like us, you’re not making much effort in the clothes department but, thanks to Zoom calls with colleagues and loved ones, your accessories game has stepped up. Putting on an uncomfortable dress when WFH just isn’t cutting it, but adorning your ears, neckline and hair with pretty-as-they-come jewels? That we can manage. Kitri, one of our favourite London labels, has launched accessories and we’re thrilled. From pearl-drop gold hoops to marbled resin hair slides, they’ll amp up any virtual hangout. Kitri’s accessories, from £11, are available now. Kitri Mint Wavy Hair Clip, $, available at Kitri Kitri Pearl Back Small Hoop Earrings, $, available at Kitri Kitri Pastel Butterfly Hair Clips, $, available at Kitri

Rejina Pyo Unisex Collection We remember the excitement we felt at London Fashion Week last September when we saw male models walk down Rejina Pyo’s catwalk in clothes we’d love to wear. Pyo launched her unisex collection for SS20 and the ‘70s sunset hues and Palm Beach prints of the relaxed tailoring and workwear-inspired pieces that the designer has become known and loved for made us long for a summer holiday. Sure, we won’t be hitting a far-flung coast anytime soon but the bowling shirts and board shorts work just as well for park frolics. We’re styling ours oversized – split the cost and wardrobe share with your boyfriend/brother/friend. Rejina Pyo’s unisex collection, from £145, is available now. Rejina Pyo, REJINAPYO Rhys T-shirt Cotton Jersey Mint Blue + Green - UNISEX, $, available at Rejina Pyo REJINAPYO Leo Shirt Camel Mix, $, available at Rejina Pyo REJINAPYO Marley Shorts Linen Print Hawaiian Khaki - UNISEX, $, available at Rejina Pyo

Astrid & Miyu Launches Vintage Collection We’ve got a growing collection of Astrid & Miyu pieces thanks to the London label offering the perfect balance of statement but simple jewellery. Following on from donating 100% of the profits from its Rainbow collection to Women’s Aid, the brand has launched its vintage-inspired collection, all classic gold chains, thick hoops and chunky signet rings. Priced from £39, it’s the perfect dose of nostalgia for your jewellery box.  Astrid & Miyu’s Vintage Collection, from £39, is available now. Astrid & Miyu Rope Charm Hoops in Gold, $, available at Astrid & Miyu Astrid & Miyu Rope Chain Bracelet in Gold, $, available at Astrid & Miyu Astrid & Miyu Rope Signet Ring in Gold, $, available at Astrid & Miyu

M MISSONI x YOOX We caught up with Margherita Missoni as she took the helm at M MISSONI back in 2019, bringing a fresh and youthful spin on her family’s legacy of colour and print. Now, in the brand’s first collaboration since she became creative director, M MISSONI has dropped a collection in partnership with Italian retailer YOOX. A sunny summer capsule comprising 11 pieces of mood-boosting colour, our favourite picks are the slogan tees and space-dye separates. Starting at £59, it’s your chance to get an affordable slice of Missoni’s legendary cacophony of colour. The M MISSONI x YOOX collaboration, from £59, is available now. M MISSONI X YOOX Jumpsuit/One Piece, $, available at Yoox M MISSONI X YOOX T-shirt, $, available at Yoox M MISSONI X YOOX Casual Trouser, $, available at Yoox

Sézane Launches Lifestyle Our favourite French ready-to-wear label Sézane has long provided contemporary takes on classic pieces – think Jane Birkin-inspired flared denim, romantic blouses and high-quality leather accessories – but its launch into the lifestyle space this month has us pumped. The brand’s beauty essentials include vegetable wax candles, fragrance, body and hand creams and lip balms. The ultimate collection to turn your rented bathroom into a Parisian paradise.  Sézane’s lifestyle collection, from £10, is available now. Sézane Body Cream, $, available at Sézane Sézane Lip Balm, $, available at Sézane Sézane The Sézane Candle, $, available at Sézane

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