#17 Martie 2023

[ciochinaflorin]

76 I 2023. STÂNCILE ASCUNSE SAU OAMENII CARE SE FURIȘEAZĂ [Iuda 1.4, 12 I 2 Timotei 3.4-6 I Ioan 18.19–20]

76 I 2023. STÂNCILE ASCUNSE SAU OAMENII CARE SE FURIȘEAZĂ I Podcast I Pasaje Biblice : Iuda 1 : 4, 12 I II Timotei 3 : 4 – 6 I Ioan 18 : 19 – 20 I Meditaţii din Cuvânt I Cezareea I Reşiţa I 17 Martie 2023 I Creștinul adevărat lucrează pe față și nu are nimic de ascuns. Un credincios care se furișează, care se ascunde trebuie să fie un avertisment viu pentru adevărații creștini. El face parte din…

[cheriboms]

doctober day 7: family

aka 3 brothers just hangin out ^_^

bonus (dedicated to all of the older siblings who got outgrown):

[densi-mber]

A/N: Takes place between the fight and plane scenes in “A Line in the Sand”.

***

I’d Change it All

“What you’re saying to me is that if I don’t leave my job, you are leaving me.”

“That’s not fair and that’s not what I said.”

“That’s exactly what you said to me!”

He shouldn’t have said anything. He should have waited until the case was over, when they weren’t so stressed, when Mosley wasn’t set on destroying everything in her path to get her son back.

There were so many things he should have done differently.

Deeks pulls into the driveway, turning off the ignition, and resists the urge to smash his fist through the driver’s window. After he’d been summarily escorted from NCIS premises, he’d been too shocked to do anything other than go home.

His shock has settled into regret, and anger. Anger at himself. And Kensi. He can’t believe that she thinks so little of him and didn’t give him a chance to explain himself.

If he’d only had a few more minutes before Mosley had him forcibly removed, he could have reasoned with her. Could’ve explained that he never truly meant to give Kensi an ultimatum. He could have straightened things out.

Or maybe it wouldn’t have made any difference.

He drags himself inside, needing to move, but not sure what to do. If he goes anywhere near NCIS property, he wouldn’t put it above Mosley to have him arrested.

As he walks in the living room, Deeks’ eye catches on one of their engagement pictures. He’s holding Kensi in his arms, and they’re both grinning as they stare into one another’s eyes. His breath hitches, and he feels himself begin to spiral at the reality that he may be losing all of this. He might have already lost it, and a wave of grief hits him.

With a shaking hand, he grabs his phone, and taps out a text, asking Kensi to call him. It appears underneath her last message to him, something about grabbing takeout if they got the chance. He paces around the house, straightening random items to keep his mind from completely derailing.

When half an hours passes without a response, he dials Kensi’s number. It immediately goes to voicemail, and he pinches the bridge of his noise, and he inhales shallowing. “Hey Kens, I know you don’t want to hear from me right now, but I can’t leave things like this. Not if you’re going to Mexico. Please—“ he clears his throat. “Please call me back.”

Closing his eyes, he sinks to the floor.

***

Deeks is still awake when the sun rises the next morning. Kensi hadn’t responded to his call or any of his texts. In the light of day, his anger and disbelief has settled into a sort of resignation.

Even if Kensi and he are over, there’s no way he’s letting her go to Mexico without him.

Grabbing his phone again, he calls Bates’ direct line.

“Sir, I need a favor,” he says.

At least he’ll see Kensi one more time.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The true post-cyberpunk hero is a noir forensic accountant

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TOMORROW (Apr 17) in CHICAGO, then Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

I was reared on cyberpunk fiction, I ended up spending 25 years at my EFF day-job working at the weird edge of tech and human rights, even as I wrote sf that tried to fuse my love of cyberpunk with my urgent, lifelong struggle over who computers do things for and who they do them to.

That makes me an official "post-cyberpunk" writer (TM). Don't take my word for it: I'm in the canon:

https://tachyonpublications.com/product/rewired-the-post-cyberpunk-anthology-2/

One of the editors of that "post-cyberpunk" anthology was John Kessel, who is, not coincidentally, the first writer to expose me to the power of literary criticism to change the way I felt about a novel, both as a writer and a reader:

https://locusmag.com/2012/05/cory-doctorow-a-prose-by-any-other-name/

It was Kessel's 2004 Foundation essay, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality," that helped me understand litcrit. Kessel expertly surfaces the subtext of Card's Ender's Game and connects it to Card's politics. In so doing, he completely reframed how I felt about a book I'd read several times and had considered a favorite:

https://johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website/creating-the-innocent-killer

This is a head-spinning experience for a reader, but it's even wilder to experience it as a writer. Thankfully, the majority of literary criticism about my work has been positive, but even then, discovering something that's clearly present in one of my novels, but which I didn't consciously include, is a (very pleasant!) mind-fuck.

A recent example: Blair Fix's review of my 2023 novel Red Team Blues which he calls "an anti-finance finance thriller":

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/05/13/red-team-blues-cory-doctorows-anti-finance-thriller/

Fix – a radical economist – perfectly captures the correspondence between my hero, the forensic accountant Martin Hench, and the heroes of noir detective novels. Namely, that a noir detective is a kind of unlicensed policeman, going to the places the cops can't go, asking the questions the cops can't ask, and thus solving the crimes the cops can't solve. What makes this noir is what happens next: the private dick realizes that these were places the cops didn't want to go, questions the cops didn't want to ask and crimes the cops didn't want to solve ("It's Chinatown, Jake").

Marty Hench – a forensic accountant who finds the money that has been disappeared through the cells in cleverly constructed spreadsheets – is an unlicensed tax inspector. He's finding the money the IRS can't find – only to be reminded, time and again, that this is money the IRS chooses not to find.

This is how the tax authorities work, after all. Anyone who followed the coverage of the big finance leaks knows that the most shocking revelation they contain is how stupid the ruses of the ultra-wealthy are. The IRS could prevent that tax-fraud, they just choose not to. Not for nothing, I call the Martin Hench books "Panama Papers fanfic."

I've read plenty of noir fiction and I'm a long-term finance-leaks obsessive, but until I read Fix's article, it never occurred to me that a forensic accountant was actually squarely within the noir tradition. Hench's perfect noir fit is either a happy accident or the result of a subconscious intuition that I didn't know I had until Fix put his finger on it.

The second Hench novel is The Bezzle. It's been out since February, and I'm still touring with it (Chicago tonight! Then Turin, Marin County, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, etc). It's paying off – the book's a national bestseller.

Writing in his newsletter, Henry Farrell connects Fix's observation to one of his own, about the nature of "hackers" and their role in cyberpunk (and post-cyberpunk) fiction:

https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-accountant-as-cyberpunk-hero

Farrell cites Bruce Schneier's 2023 book, A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules and How to Bend Them Back:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/06/trickster-makes-the-world/

Schneier, a security expert, broadens the category of "hacker" to include anyone who studies systems with an eye to finding and exploiting their defects. Under this definition, the more fearsome hackers are "working for a hedge fund, finding a loophole in financial regulations that lets her siphon extra profits out of the system." Hackers work in corporate offices, or as government lobbyists.

As Henry says, hacking isn't intrinsically countercultural ("Most of the hacking you might care about is done by boring seeming people in boring seeming clothes"). Hacking reinforces – rather than undermining power asymmetries ("The rich have far more resources to figure out how to gimmick the rules"). We are mostly not the hackers – we are the hacked.

For Henry, Marty Hench is a hacker (the rare hacker that works for the good guys), even though "he doesn’t wear mirrorshades or get wasted chatting to bartenders with Soviet military-surplus mechanical arms." He's a gun for hire, that most traditional of cyberpunk heroes, and while he doesn't stand against the system, he's not for it, either.

Henry's pinning down something I've been circling around for nearly 30 years: the idea that though "the street finds its own use for things," Wall Street and Madison Avenue are among the streets that might find those uses:

https://craphound.com/nonfic/street.html

Henry also connects Martin Hench to Marcus Yallow, the hero of my YA Little Brother series. I have tried to make this connection myself, opining that while Marcus is a character who is fighting to save an internet that he loves, Marty is living in the ashes of the internet he lost:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/07/dont-curb-your-enthusiasm/

But Henry's Marty-as-hacker notion surfaces a far more interesting connection between the two characters. Marcus is a vehicle for conveying the excitement and power of hacking to young readers, while Marty is a vessel for older readers who know the stark terror of being hacked, by the sadistic wolves who're coming for all of us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I44L1pzi4gk

Both Marcus and Marty are explainers, as am I. Some people say that exposition makes for bad narrative. Those people are wrong:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

"Explaining" makes for great fiction. As Maria Farrell writes in her Crooked Timber review of The Bezzle, the secret sauce of some of the best novels is "information about how things work. Things like locks, rifles, security systems":

https://crookedtimber.org/2024/03/06/the-bezzle/

Where these things are integrated into the story's "reason and urgency," they become "specialist knowledge [that] cuts new paths to move through the world." Hacking, in other words.

This is a theme Paul Di Filippo picked up on in his review of The Bezzle for Locus:

https://locusmag.com/2024/04/paul-di-filippo-reviews-the-bezzle-by-cory-doctorow/

Heinlein was always known—and always came across in his writings—as The Man Who Knew How the World Worked. Doctorow delivers the same sense of putting yourself in the hands of a fellow who has peered behind Oz’s curtain. When he fills you in lucidly about some arcane bit of economics or computer tech or social media scam, you feel, first, that you understand it completely and, second, that you can trust Doctorow’s analysis and insights.

Knowledge is power, and so expository fiction that delivers news you can use is novel that makes you more powerful – powerful enough to resist the hackers who want to hack you.

Henry and I were both friends of Aaron Swartz, and the Little Brother books are closely connected to Aaron, who helped me with Homeland, the second volume, and wrote a great afterword for it (Schneier wrote an afterword for the first book). That book – and Aaron's afterword – has radicalized a gratifying number of principled technologists. I know, because I meet them when I tour, and because they send me emails. I like to think that these hackers are part of Aaron's legacy.

Henry argues that the Hench books are "purpose-designed to inspire a thousand Max Schrems – people who are probably past their teenage years, have some grounding in the relevant professions, and really want to see things change."

(Schrems is the Austrian privacy activist who, as a law student, set in motion the events that led to the passage of the EU's General Data Privacy Regulation:)

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/15/out-here-everything-hurts/#noyb

Henry points out that William Gibson's Neuromancer doesn't mention the word "internet" – rather, Gibson coined the term cyberspace, which, as Henry says, is "more ‘capitalism’ than ‘computerized information'… If you really want to penetrate the system, you need to really grasp what money is and what it does."

Maria also wrote one of my all-time favorite reviews of Red Team Blues, also for Crooked Timber:

https://crookedtimber.org/2023/05/11/when-crypto-meant-cryptography/

In it, she compares Hench to Dickens' Bleak House, but for the modern tech world:

You put the book down feeling it’s not just a fascinating, enjoyable novel, but a document of how Silicon Valley’s very own 1% live and a teeming, energy-emitting snapshot of a critical moment on Earth.

All my life, I've written to find out what's going on in my own head. It's a remarkably effective technique. But it's only recently that I've come to appreciate that reading what other people write about my writing can reveal things that I can't see.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/17/panama-papers-fanfic/#the-1337est-h4x0rs

Image: Frédéric Poirot (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/1057613629 CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[labyrinthofstreams]

Jewish musicians of the 1960s

✡︎ Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941)

✡︎ Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein; May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015)

✡︎ Leonard Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016)

✡︎ Barbra Streisand (born April 24, 1942)

✡︎ Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald; January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018) and Jorma Kaukonen (born December 23, 1940) of Jefferson Airplane

✡︎ Robby Krieger (born January 8, 1946) of The Doors

✡︎ Paul Simon (born October 13, 1941) and Art Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) of Simon & Garfunkel

✡︎ Phil Ochs (December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976)

✡︎ Cass Elliot (born Ellen Naomi Cohen; September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974) of The Mamas & The Papas

✡︎ Mary (December 28, 1948 – January 19, 2024) and Elizabeth Weiss (born November 27, 1946) of The Shangri-Las

✡︎ Neil Diamond (born January 24, 1941)

✡︎ Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951)

✡︎ Robbie Robertson (born Jaime Royal Robertson; July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) of The Band

✡︎ Gary Hirsh (March 9, 1940 – August 17, 2021), Barry Melton (born June 14, 1947), Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942), and David Cohen (born August 4, 1942) of Country Joe and the Fish

✡︎ Manfred Mann (born Manfred Sepse Lubowitz; October 21, 1940)

[future-boi]

Doctober 2023 prompt #17: Einstein

But where's the lie??? Marty isn't lying, Biff! 😂😂😂

Inspo for this prompt: Yeah, I could've drawn Einie, but I kinda wanted to make it the sarcastic use of 'Einstein' ... cuz its funnier. Don't worry, I'll be drawing Einie in a future prompt 😁

I actually really really liked drawing Biff's hair here. I feel like I struggled a lot before, but I'm liking this design for him. Which is good cuz I'm planning to draw him again for a future prompt

[bg-sparrow]

mcfly july 2023 || day 25 Timebomb

xv.

Marty squirmed when his evil counterpart dropped the watch in his lap.

“We’re on the same side of the mirror,” No Pines Marty said. “Every clock you’ve laid eyes on has been counting down to the moment you become me.”

Marty froze. They were all digital; he wouldn’t notice the seconds winding backward.

Restaurant – 12:56.

Bank – 9:17. 

(He wasn’t seeing things when it changed to 9:16; he thought part of the “8” was burned out.)

Microwave – 2:00.

 Now – 00:01:15.

“I’ll never be you,” Marty spat. “You let the Doc die.”

“No,” No Pines Marty admonished with a chuckle. “You did.”

[47burlm]

“A Painter Passing Through”

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. CC OOnt (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s ] He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and was known internationally as a folk-rock legend. Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings said, "His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness."[

Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965—and "Black Day in July", about the 1967 Detroit riot, brought him wide recognition in the 1960s. Canadian chart success with his own recordings began in 1962 with the No. 3 hit "(Remember Me) I'm the One", followed by recognition and charting abroad in the 1970s. He topped the US Hot 100 or Adult Contemporary (AC) chart with the hits "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974); "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), and had many other hits that appeared in the top 40.

Several of Lightfoot's albums achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally. His songs have been recorded by artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Harry Belafonte, the Grateful Dead, Olivia Newton-John, and Jim Croce.[9][10] The Guess Who recorded a song called "Lightfoot" on their 1968 album Wheatfield Soul; the lyrics contain many Lightfoot song titles.

[filmnoirfoundation]

ASK EDDIE November 9 2023

FNF prez Eddie Muller responds to film noir fan questions fielded by the Foundation's Director of Communications Anne Hockens. In this episode, we discuss, A WOMAN’S FACE, DECEPTION, CRY VENGEANCE, proto-noirs, the prevalence of the amnesia trope in film noir, and more. We wind with a discussion of film noir posters. Sorry folks, no cats this week.   Want your question answered in a future episode? We solicit questions from our email subscribers in our monthly newsletters. Sign up for free at https://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/signup.html Everyone who signs up on our email list and contributes $20 or more to the Film Noir Foundation receives the digital version of NOIR CITY Magazine for a year. Donate here: https://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/contribute.html 

This week’s questions:    

1. When you do Grand Lake intro and outro shoots, what kind of crew do you have or is it self-inflicted? —Jay and Connie, Ann Arbor    

2. I have heard you mention several times on your show that were plans to make a film version of Dashiell Hammett's book RED HARVEST. But you also added that this film was never made for various reasons. Does a screenplay of that film exist and can it be purchased? —Loren, Chicago    

3. Can you think of an actor/actress with a noir performance that surprised you given the films or TV you had seen them in before? —Ryan from Rhode Island    

4.  It seems that many classic noir actors and actresses were able to parlay their fame into popular TV series in the 1950s and '60's.  Do either of you have a favorite TV show in that regard? —Joe, Redondo Beach CA    

5. Before film noir became a thing in the 1940s, there were other films that had strong noir elements, either in style or content or both. What are some of the best and/or most influential proto-noirs? —Kathleen from Chicago    

6. I just recently saw A WOMAN'S FACE. I thought it was excellent and Ms. Crawford was superb in the role of Anna Holm.  Eddie, would you consider it a film noir and if so, would you consider showing it on NOIR ALLEY? —Richard, New York    

7. I just watched DECEPTION (1946) for the first time. What an amazing film with the main performances by Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, but especially from Claude Rains. I wanted to know your thoughts on the film, but especially the ending. For me, it was a total letdown. —Marty, Fond du Lac, WI    

8. What are your favorite noir movies that use amnesia as a major plot device? Why did it become so popular? —Ciao, Andy    

9. After reading Sharon Knolle's article "Hard Luck Dogs: How Animals Reveal The Tender Heart of Noir" in Noir City issue 17. One of my favorite dog cameos is a dachshund that wanders into a shot and appears to be begging the camera operator for a snack in CRY VENGEANCE. I was wondering if you might have some insights or thoughts on this fun noir film.  Any info would be greatly appreciated. —James in Atlanta    

10. Film noir movie posters are great to look at. All the ones I’ve come across seem to have pulp influences.  What started that? Was it pulp paperbacks or magazines? We’re all noir movie posters of the time (40’s and 50’s) generally the same in this regard or were there any more subtle styles? Eddie: I remember you mentioning that you purchased a bunch of old movie posters. Which turned out to be your favorite? —Steve in Exeter New Hampshire

[paradise-bi-the-dashboard-lightt]

Back To The Future | West End | August 17, 2023 | Evening | NFT Until August 31

CAST: Elliott Evans (alt. Marty McFly), Corry English (Doc Brown), Oliver Nicholas (George McFly), Sarah Goggin (Lorraine Baines), Jay Perry (Goldie Wilson), Jordan Pearson (Biff Tannen), Sophie Naglik (Jennifer Parker), Lee Ormsby (Strickland), Rhodri Watkins (Dave McFly), Patricia Wilkins (Linda McFly), Georgia Tapp (Clocktower Woman), Alexander Day (s/w) NOTES: its-all-green's master. NFT Until August 31. 3rd show & 2nd day for the new cast. Elliott is just incredible as Marty.

Tracked

[alex-a-fans]

Inspired by alot of people, I'm making an BTTF Au MasterList!!!

These are all my Au's, some have no content whatsoever. Good luck reading all of this, and thank you for the support!

Created: 2023-04-24

Last updated: 2023-11-28

Steven universe au

Our favorite duo - gems. First made as an au for "Friends thought timelines" Collab.

Meeting.

Fanfic.

Art: (on my deleted tumblr, so its just the reblogs):

Collab with Unk!

Blue Tiger Eye (Doc and Marty fusion)

Hell Valley doc doctober day 22 "Newspaper"

"Marty won" doctober day 15 "Victory"

"Broken Mirror" doctober day 17 "Mirror image"

"Jules and Verne" (SCRAPPED IDEA) doctober day 10 "Origin"

"Training" Doctober day 8 "Fight"

"Fliddlstyx Gem Marty amongst many other Marty Aus"

Thank you @bg-sparrow for reblogging most of them!!!!

New ones:

Doc and Jules

Mojave Turquoise

Over the garden wall bttf au

A silly au inspired by doc and woodsman sharing a voice actor.

A summary is that it is Verne's and Jules fever dream (they are so sick they share a dream), who take place of Wirt and Greg.

During the dream, they encounter many characters that remind them of the people they know.

The school teacher - Clara (also a Brown... Coincidence? I THINK NOT) with that comes to the relationship of the school teacher and Jimmy Brown. Well, The school teacher reminded me of Clara after Doc told the truth about him being a time traveler.

Woodsman - another doc reference, this time just the voice and more of nature of his. Also made a post of them on my deleted tumblr.

Woodsman's daughter - MARTY.

Beatrice - my and my friends oc Emerson, who's backstory is that she left her family at a young age.

Art:

2022 McFly July: woodsman and doc switch (REBLOG)

HP BTTF

Browns and McFly's in Hogwarts! Before the battle of Hogwarts.

Ravenclaw - Doc, Jules, Clara.

Gryffindor - Verne, Marty.

Slytherin - Lorraine (I don't know why!)

Hufflepuff - George.

Wish granter doc

Inspired by Aladdin. It is in the name. But Marty finds him and does not make the brightest wishes, and tries to impress Jennifer and Needles to prove he is not a chicken.

Alien doc au

Inspired by the animated series episode "My pops an alien". And the concept of doc being an alien being taken literally.

Species

Info on doc

First apearence

Sticker

Request of his favorite food

Hell Valley AU

Dancey dance.

Ramble

Alien Verne!

Depressing pov:)

Alteration Au.

Future au + Villian au

"The story follows now-47-year-old Marty who seems to have his life together, it couldn't be better if he was honest. A famous star with a family that he loved. Dreams came true for him. But will the past come back to bite him? Or will it not only affect him but his family and reputation?"

playlist

Future au

(Mine and my friends)

Set in 2015, with Emma and Evan being Verne's kids, Caleb being adopted Jules kid.

Jules is a teacher and Verne is a writer/artist.

The kids get along with Marlene and Marty Jr very well.

Evan Brown

Clara Witch Au

again, it's in the name, inspired by the animated series episode "Witchcraft". Marty finds out about her being a witch first during bttf 3 and tries to warn doc, who of course, does not listen. Marty also thinks that Clara used some sort of Love potion and so he becomes a protective bestie.

Time Lord doc Au

again, the name. BUT. He lives in Clock Tower and Marty goes there as a dare. There were rumors of it being haunted, but you know. Marty is not a chicken, does what the rumors say to do (like a mini ritual). At first the Time Lord seems irratated and annoyed. But he seems cool :')

Very steampunk-y

REDRAW

Actually, I can expand on any of these, just ask away! Thank you for reading all of this!!!!

[alain-keler]

Jeudi 29 juin 2023.

  Dans un journal, côté photos il faut faire des choix. C’est la raison qui m’a amené en novembre 2011 à créer ce journal, ayant été souvent trop frustré des choix des directeurs artistiques qui suivaient de trop près les articles de leurs rédacteurs. Il y a néanmoins eu une période ou le magazine l’Express faisait en sorte que photographe et rédacteur racontaient chacun leur histoire, celle du rédacteur étant journalistique et celle du photographe  plus personnelle. Géo pendant la période qui vit Jean-Luc Marty comme rédacteur en chef  adopta la même méthode, au moins sur certaines histoires.

   Je suis allé à Nanterre pour la marche blanche qui faisait suite à l’horrible mort d’un jeune, Nahel âgé de 17 ans, tué à bout portant par un policier lors d’un contrôle. Je ne reviendrais pas sur les faits, radios, télévisions, journaux ont tous commenté cette terrible  affaire, mais je parlerais de mon choix photographique  aujourd’hui.

 Comme tous les photographes présents, nous n’avons pas été bien accueillis. L’ambiance était houleuse pour se tasser après le départ de la marche  jusqu’à l’arrivée place de la préfecture à Nanterre. J’ai donc photographié la mère de Nahel, sa grand-mère  et  sans doute de ses amis qui défilaient en tête de la marche. Monté sur un pont qui surplombait le chemin de la marche j’ai pu mesurer et photographier, comme tout le monde, la longueur imposante du défilé de jeunes et moins jeunes venus rendre un dernier hommage à Nahel.

  Mais la photo que j’ai choisie a été prise à la fin d’affrontements entre la police et les jeunes. Du haut de mon espèce de promontoire, je surplombais, d’abord de loin, puis de plus prêt au fur et a mesure de l’avancée de la police, les manifestants qui reculaient sous les coups de boutoir des grenades lacrymogènes. S’en suivit une espèce de chorégraphie entre vélo, grenades touchant terre, trottoirs, parapluie (sans doute une perche) etc…

Ma conclusion :  je suis un photographe libre !

[andrewmoocow]

Little Homeworld Life chapter 17: Little Homeworld Idol (originally published on April 17, 2023)

AN: I have to admit, I'm not that much of a songwriter in the sense that I don't write many original songs. I usually prefer to make themed parodies of existing songs, like a parody of You'll Be Back from Hamilton themed around The Terminator! That said, Steven Universe has some amazing songs and I really hope to capture the spirit of Aivi and Surasshu's compositions in the songs you shall hear, er, read today. I'll try my best here, please give me the benefit of the doubt.

Synopsis: The Gems hold a talent competition.

Cast:

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Tiger's Eye

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Volleyball

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Jon Wurster as Marty

T-Pain as Sam Galley

Gal Gadot as Desert Glass

Willa Holland as Albite

Maddie Ziegler as Serpentine

Courtenay Taylor as Beryl

Billie Eilish as Turquoise

Featuring Tim Gunn as Tristan Wheeler

With RuPaul as Willie McCarthy

Christian Slater as Brock Ridley

And Emily King as Kunzite

--

"Welcome one and all to our very first Little Homeworld Idol!" Bismuth's voice declared as spotlights shined on the Beach-A-Palooza stage. "We got ourselves an impressive roster of singers here tonight, but first, let us get introduced to our judges!"

"First off, we have the Broadway sensation and star of classics like Death of a Salesman, Angels in America, and Cats, Brock Ridley!" A scruffy, long-nosed man in a red knit cap with a five o'clock shadow sat at the judges' stand with his legs kicked up on the table.

"Thank you, thank you, everybody." Brock Ridley thanked his adoring fans of humans and Gems. "This was not how I'd expect to spend my day, but I'll take what I can get."

"Next up is the fashion model, reality show host, and gender-nonconforming icon, Willie McCarthy!" A handsome and bald dark-skinned man dressed in an extravagant suit started blowing kisses to his fans.

"Pleasure to be here, my friends." Willie said as they struck a pose for his fans. "And be sure to catch my lifestyle reality series What A Drag, Wednesday nights on The DW!"

"Next up, it's famous fashion designer, animal rights activist, and academic Tristan Wheeler!" The spotlights shined next on an aged fellow in a black suit and glasses, who politely waved to the audience.

"Good evening, everybody." Tristan Wheeler greeted the viewers while straightening his suit. "Let's have a good clean competition, shall we?"

"And for our final judge, we have…." Bismuth announced before her showmanship faltered in absolute confusion. "Marty?! How did he get here?!"

"Hey, sorry I'm late, everybody!" Marty exclaimed as he pulled up a steel chair to sit beside the judges. "I just flew in from Keystone and my arms sure are tired!"

"Who let him here?" Pearl asked as the Crystal Gems and Sam Galley stood backstage.

"Hey, don't forget who's sponsoring this event!" Marty yelled before turning on one of the monitors to read, "LITTLE HOMEWORLD IDOL, BROUGHT TO YOU BY COOKIE CAT. HE'S THE PET FOR YOUR TUMMY!"

"I was the guy who organized this event! How did I not see that?!" Sam exclaimed at the monitor. Further backstage, the Rutile Rebels had gathered for Black Rutile's latest scheme.

"This is utterly genius! Thanks to my genius manipulations, I have convinced that talent agent to put this shlock together and make the Crystal Gems believe this was all his idea! Humans love competition, which should be a perfect excuse to gather more supporters!" Black Rutile proclaimed eagerly. "And naturally, we should also be performing our own song."

"What are you suggesting, my Rutile?" Holly Blue asked.

"Cat, hand me your phone." Black Rutile commanded the feline-like former attorney as she was handed Cat's smartphone and presented her minions with social media threads galore. "In my extensive research of the social media sites these humans love so much, it seems that the musicians that are lusted after the most are Korean boy bands and male pop stars." Scrolling through more posts, Black Rutile saw many ways for people to express their adoration of these celebrities. "Usually, they express their worship of these young men through writing fanfiction of real people or making what they call "fan-cams" of them."

"Wait, you can write fanfiction about real people?" Eyeball asked confusedly. "But aren't they, you know, real?"

"Exactly, but apparently, that doesn't matter to them." Black Rutile replied. "More to the point, that is why we shall emulate these performers for our act and earn ourselves the most applause when it is time for us to perform. Afterward, we shall reap the rewards and drown in how many new followers we gain!"

"Oh, that is utterly splendid!" Aquamarine cheered and clapped at her master's brilliant idea. "This might be one of your best plans yet, my Rutile!"

"Yes, yes, I am a genius. I'm well aware of that." Black Rutile blushed cutely. "Now then, get to work on preparing our act!"

--

"So, who are you guys betting on to win this?" Tiger's Eye asked as she sat down in the audience with Desert Glass, Albite, Serpentine, and Beryl. "I'm personally placing my money on Lapis!"

"Ooh, a duet between Amethyst and Jasper." Desert Glass replied with interest. "I wonder how utterly chaotic it will be."

"I'd like to see what Black Rutile has planned." Albite added. "I think I heard she has something big planned!"

"They got a special surprise performance at the end! I want to know who it is!" Beryl cheered excitedly.

"Good evening everyone, and welcome to Little Homeworld Idol." Garnet announced as she stood on stage. "Tonight, we are going to have Gems demonstrate their musical skills to see who is the most talented, judged by a panel of experts. And Marty."

"I've always wondered about the musical talents of extraterrestrials." Willie stated as the first performers took to the stage. "Okay, you two, give us some names. We're wasting daylight here!"

"My name is Amethyst, this is Jasper, and we're gonna sing a little sibling duet!" Amethyst announced while holding out a cane for Jasper to take. "Hit it, sis!"

"Understood." Jasper obeyed before smashing a hole in the stage.

"No, I meant to hit the music, as in turn it on." Amethyst corrected the orange Gem.

"You know, you could've just said "Turn on the music" instead." Jasper replied before she turned on a jazzy, big-band tune. "You know, Amethyst, being so small really gives you a leg up on the world!"

"Oh, you bet, sistah!" Amethyst proclaimed before she started singing while spinning her cane. "A little guy like me can see what others can't see! Yet being so tall makes you want to have a ball!"

"You may be a total shrimp, but you have lots of heart!" Jasper added. "But I'd be nothing if we were apart!"

"The two of us, so different, yet also so alike!" the two quartzes sang harmoniously while forming a kickline. "Someone better call the shop, because we'd like a bike! We want a bike!"

"Yeah, if I could be anything," Amethyst declared. "In this great big world we call home."

"The only thing I wouldn't be is forever alone!" Jasper added. "Alone, alone, alone, alone!"

"Just you and me against the world!" Amethyst kept singing. "Just the two of us, my girl!"

"Big or small, we'd still have it all!" Jasper and Amethyst concluded. "Big or small, we'd still have it all!" The two took a bow, followed by the crowd going wild.

"Hey, you weren't half bad there." Amethyst said to Jasper. "A little rusty, but you really carried this song."

"I made up most of these lyrics on the spot. Bear with me here." Jasper whispered back.

"Okay, I'm not that much into big band stuff, and it seemed a little short," Brock gave his honest thoughts on the song. "but hey, you two seem to be in good harmony, so you have my vote."

"What a touching affirmation of a sibling bond!" Willie sniffled with joy. "Plus, I love the jazz setup too!"

"Indeed, a very original composition." Tristan agreed with Willie. "Though I must admit, I was definitely hoping for me of you together. You make a really good duet."

"Eh, I've seen better sideshow attractions." Marty rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Thank you, thank you! We'll be here all night!" Amethyst laughed. "Hey, if you want more, we'd happily take requests!"

"Okay, Amethyst, that's enough." Pearl grumbled before she dragged Amethyst away with a stage crook.

"Hey, wait up!" Jasper yelled as she raced after Amethyst, causing the audience to laugh.

--

"And next up on our list of performers, we have Lapis Lazuli coming onto the stage with a powerful number of her own!" Pearl announced to the audience's excitement.

"Hey, didn't she nearly kill hundreds of people?" Marty complained about the round of applause Lapis was receiving as she, Peridot, Laz, Zuli, and a Flower Buddy got up on stage. "Why is everyone cheering for a psychotic murderer?!"

"I'd watch my tone if I were you." Pearl scolded Marty. "Security!" At Pearl's command, Marty's chair was picked up by White Topaz with Marty still sitting in it and tossed into the air.

"I wonder how far he can go." White Topaz mused to herself as Marty was sent flying and screaming into the air, only to fall to the ground with a loud clatter, his chair smashing against his body. "Wow, pretty high up."

"Too bad that didn't kill me." Marty grumbled before Lapis began to speak.

"Hi, everybody. You may know me as Lapis." Lapis introduced herself. "Now, this is a song I've already sung before because I was in a really dark place in life. But now that I finally know where I am in the universe, I think it could use a little rewrite. Peridot, if you please."

"With pleasure." Peridot said as she tapped on her tablet, and it started playing music for Lapis to sing to. "I believe in you, my water witch."

"It all felt to me so lovely, those bluest skies above me." Lapis began singing, with her two fellow Lapides providing backing vocals. "Those funny feelings that I felt once I had met you. I wanted to leave for a while. I didn't want to smile. So many colors I wish that I had known. But now I find myself sitting on that distant shore. I'm no longer alone."

"Dang, she's good." Amethyst complimented Lapis's singing when she saw Jasper shedding a few tears. "Wait, Jasper, are you crying?" she asked the bigger Gem in confusion. "I thought you two didn't get along once upon a time."

"I'm not crying; I'm sweating a watery discharge through my eyes." Jasper lied through her teeth to try hiding how moved she was by how far Lapis had come.

"Then I saw the colors fading, the gentleness of light escaping. Shadows of my fear invading, have I seen this all before?!" Lapis continued her song. "I knew! There was something deep residing, a terror deep inside me. I once understood how you could've been so bold. But now I find myself smiling on that distant shore. I'm no longer alone."

The crowd began going wild as Lapis took a bow, and then Peridot raced up and hugged her, causing the two to fuse into Turquoise. "Thank you, thank you! I'm so happy to be singing for you all today." Turquoise announced. "I couldn't have asked for a more adoring audience."

"Wow, I'm normally not one for being overemotional, but I think I started crying on the inside." Brock proclaimed. "How about you boys?" Rather than giving a proper answer, Willie was so moved to tears that he was crying his eyes out. "Okay, Willie's out for the count. Wheeler, your two cents?"

"Music is often an expression of one's troubled emotions, and Miss Lazuli's number is no different." Tristan analyzed what he had just heard. "You can truly feel how emotionally damaged she once was through song alone, and how she is taking slow but crucial steps in recovering from whatever struggles she suffered in life."

"Couldn't agree more." Willie agreed, finally getting a word between breaks from crying so much. "Bravo Lapis, bravo!"

"Oh please, you're all too kind." Turquoise blushed with delight at all the adoration showered upon her, while Marty sulked his way backstage with a few broken bones after getting crushed by his chair. "Hey, who wants an encore?!"

"Ooh, gonna need to call in a hospital soon." Marty groaned, rubbing his aching neck while spotting Black Rutile preparing for her number in front of a vanity mirror. "Hey, Black Rutile! You're Black Rutile, right?!"

"Yes, that is me." Black Rutile said, turning around to show off her white pop star-inspired outfit. "And you are?"

"It's me, Marty! I chatted with you on Yatter!" Marty introduced himself. "Don't you remember?"

"Ah yes, Morty!" Black Rutile immediately remembered, albeit getting Marty's name wrong, much to his chagrin. "My apologies for not recognizing you; I've just been so busy planning my revenge and researching ways to unleash a being of pure chaos and mayhem unto the world."

"Sorry, what?" Marty quietly answered.

"Nothing." Black Rutile fibbed. "So, what can you offer me? And make it quick; I'm on in five!"

"I only wish to join you in your revenge on the Crystal Gems because I go way back with Steven's family." Marty revealed. "I was once his dad's manager up until he decided to ditch me for that big pink harlot on the beach, and then his son made my son disown me before I was chased out of town because everybody hated my Guacola so much!"

"Wait, Guacola?" Black Rutile asked. "Wasn't that the disgusting drink some moron got sued for after some catering incident? It was all over the news a few months ago!"

"Oh, of course, you'd bring that up." Marty grumbled in embarrassment. "Listen, you're starting that whole movement against the Crystal Gems, right? Well, tell you what, I have some industry friends who'll help you get all the funding you need for whatever you have planned. You with me?" He extended a welcoming hand to the Rutile. "Come on, let's shake on it."

"I like the way you think." Black Rutile smiled eagerly as she shook Marty's hand. "Maybe in exchange, I can help you get back at Steven's old man too."

"Oh, Black Rutile, we're due out on stage!" Holly Blue called for Black Rutile as she, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Cat's Eye, and the Rubies marched onstage in similar outfits to their boss. "Don't keep us waiting by talking to that human!"

"I'll introduce you to my friends here later." Black Rutile stated as she turned around and followed her subordinates to the limelight. "Right now, it's showtime."

--

"Ladies and Gems, we have a pretty special show for you tonight." Sam Galley announced to the audience, the spotlight shining on him being the only source of light on the stage. "Our next performer believes that this song could possibly change lives. Well, I'll be the judge of that." He gave a light chuckle. "And now, for your listening pleasure, I give you Black Rutile and the Rebels."

As Sam left the spotlight, an electropop started playing as the light began shining on Black Rutile, striking a provocative pose before she began to sing. "I hate all this peace and love; I pray to the stars above. You all thought I was done. No, I'm not; I really hate you!" she began, cuing the Rutile Rebels to start acting as her backup dancers. "I hate your oppression; I'm trapped in depression; my shame is all because of you! You think you're still the good guys?"

Although Black Rutile composed a very well-made song, the audience was slightly unnerved by her message as the chorus began. "I am far smarter and far stronger thanks to the sands of time! I just wanted to reign supreme; why is that a crime? I list everyone I hate, and you're at the front of the line. I'm always plotting, so you should've thought twice!"

"Oh!" the Rutile Rebels yelled.

"Look at what I just did! Look at what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did!" Black Rutile continued, strutting closer to the audience and giving them a domineering glare. "Look at what I just-Ooh, look at what I just did! Look at what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did!"

The second verse soon began, just as ominous and taunting as the last. "I want to see you all squirm, to see everything you love burn." Black Rutile declared. "You punished me for doing what's right, threw me here without letting me fight."

"What?!" Black Rutile's backup singers yelled.

"Homeworld moves on every day without drama, drama! But not for me, because I only want to give you karma!" Black Rutile added, further creeping out her captive audience with her lyrics and gyrating. "And as the universe turns, well, one thing's for sure, I may have got mine, but I'll give you yours!"

Once again, the chorus emphasized how Black Rutile loved boasting about her superiority and how she had the skills and infamy to back up her claims. "I am far smarter and far stronger thanks to the sands of time! I just wanted to reign supreme; why is that a crime? I list everyone I hate, and you're at the front of the line. I'm always plotting, so you should've thought twice!"

"Ooh!" the backup repeated.

"Look at what I just did! Look at what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did! Look at what I just-Ooh, look at what I just did! Look at what I just did!" Black Rutile proclaimed while presenting video footage of her previous exploits. "Take a look and see what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did!"

"I don't trust anybody, but everybody trusts me. I'll play the lead role in your scariest dream. I don't trust anybody, but everybody trusts me. I'll play the lead role in your scariest dream." Black Rutile repeated as part of the bridge. "I don't trust anybody, but everybody trusts me. I'll play the lead role in your scariest dream. I don't trust anybody, but everybody trusts me. I'll play the lead role in your scariest dream!"

"I am far smarter and far stronger thanks to the sands of time! I just wanted to reign supreme, why is that a crime?" Black Rutile sang while the song began to reach its conclusion. "I list everyone I hate, and you're at the front of the line. I'm always plotting, so you should've thought twice!"

"Ooh!" Black Rutile's backup sounded out one last time.

"Look at what I just did! Look at what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did! Look at what I just-"Black Rutile cried. "Ooh, look at what I just did! Look at what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did! Take a look and see what I just did!"

"I'm sorry, Black Rutile can't come to the phone right now." Black Rutile smirked as the song finished. "Why?"

"Because you're dead!" the other Rutile Rebels added with an evil laugh.

"Should we be concerned about that?" Volleyball whispered to Desert Glass in the audience.

"Worst case scenario, she's plotting to kill us all." Desert Glass replied plainly, freaking everyone out with her dark sense of humor.

"Okay, that is clearly ripping off another song!" Brock exclaimed. "But given what I heard about you, I wouldn't be surprised you'd sing something like this. Still, we got a huge red flag here."

"Oh, this is more than just a red flag!" Willie disagreed with Brock's statement. "We're looking at an electric red flag here!"

"Some compelling and meaningful lyrics, though I have a sinking feeling this might be an excuse to spread propaganda." Tristan commented on the song he had just heard.

"Why yes, that is exactly my point!" Black Rutile announced. "When I first heard that song, I felt so connected to the feelings of revenge and hatred in its lyrics. It just screamed me!"

"Of course, that's why she wanted to perform." White Topaz frowned in disappointment. "But at least she's still a terrific singer."

"That alone is worth listening to her." Jasper agreed with her girlfriend while the Rutile Rebels walked backstage, where Marty awaited them.

"Black Rutile, my buddy!" Marty cheerfully greeted his new Gem friend. "So, how was the performance, bubala?"

"First off, do not call me a bub!" Black Rutile scolded Marty. "Second, I think you might be trivializing some Earth religion for your own benefit. And third, the performance was amazing. I'm so happy to have seen all my hard work get the respect it deserves."

"Wonderful, because I got great news!" Marty exclaimed before presenting a video of Black Rutile's song posted on Yatter that was quickly going viral. "You're an Internet sensation now! And check it out; this #BlackRutileWasRight hashtag is everywhere!"

"Excellent, just as I had planned." Black Rutile sneered evilly while steepling her fingers together. "I simply must find a way to meet all these new followers."

"Trust me, babe. The Internet can allow you to do anything." Marty assured his new business partner. "We'll find a way soon."

--

The show continued with more Gems stepping up to the stage to perform. Some of the quartzes put on a barbershop quartet, Teal Zircon played an 80s heavy metal song, Nephrite and her crew did opera, Monazite became a one-Gem band, Diaspore sang a romantic duet with Dumortierite, and Snowflake, Bixbite, and Larimar did a standup comedy routine. The show began to close, but there was still one contestant yet to put on their act.

"Well, we surely had fun, everyone, but unfortunately, we'll have to put an end to this soon!" Sam Galley announced, to the disappointment of the audience. "But don't get too unhappy, because our last competitor is sure to impress! Please welcome to the stage, the moment you've all been waiting for, Kunzite!"

While the audience started cheering, the Crystal Gems and the Rutile Rebels all stared blankly at a short blue Gem with a purple gem poking out of her head who wore a bubble-like coat. "I'm sorry," Black Rutile said. "who is this?!"

"I think I remember her." Garnet stated. "She was a corrupted Gem I fought once before putting her in the Burning Room. I may have forgotten her name, though."

"Hi, everybody, my name's Kunzite." The Gem introduced herself. "You may or may not have seen me a lot, but that's because I'm a bit of a shut-in and don't really get out much."

"So that explains why we barely recognize her!" Amethyst declared.

"For my song, I'm just performing a cover of a song I keep hearing on the radio, and I really liked how much the singer sounded like me for some reason," Kunzite explained while picking up a guitar and a radio. "I hope you all enjoy." Setting down the radio and pushing play on some easy-listening music, Kunzite started strumming her guitar as her song began. "Just a little time. Just a little something else instead. Just a little time. Just a little something up ahead."

"Hey, I've heard this before!" Amethyst said, nodding to the beat of the song.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Black Rutile grimaced. "She literally stole my idea!"

"I'm dreaming of being... being... being... Being human..." Kunzite continued singing. "Just a little time. Just a little something that I need. Just a little time. Just a little feeling gaining speed. I'm dreaming of going... going... going... Going somewhere and... Being... being... being... Being human." Kunzite put her guitar down and awkwardly prepared to leave when she stopped playing, only to be stopped by the crowd going wild. "Oh my, you really liked my song that much?!"

"Dang straight, you did the original version justice!" Brock smiled widely. "It's almost like you were her!"

"Agreed!" Willie exclaimed. "So beautiful!"

"I think we might have a winner here." Tristan concurred with the other judges, much to Black Rutile's anger.

"What's impressive?! I've been ripping off a song my whole act!" Black Rutile yelled as she stormed towards the victorious Kunzite and slapped her so hard, Kunzite fell to the ground. "This whole thing was rigged to humiliate me, wasn't it?!"

"Black Rutile, calm down!" Garnet yelled at the Rutile. "Just accept that sometimes, there will always be someone better than you! If it makes you feel better, we'll let you have second place."

"Besides, look at all the attention you've gotten!" Marty added, showing Black Rutile that her followers were still growing by the dozens, which was all she needed now to be satisfied with her work.

"I see. Good enough." Black Rutile's tune changed entirely as she walked off the stage. "Come my thralls; we have much to do!"

"I suppose we shall continue our indoctrination of the masses?" Aquamarine asked evilly while the Rutile Rebels, now joined by Marty, followed their fearless leader.

"Quit reading my mind." Black Rutile responded.

--

As the Crystal Gems helped take down the stage as the show ended, the judges took some time to exchange some friendly conversations before they went back to their respective celebrity lives. "So boys, up for a few drinks later?" Willie asked Brock and Tristan. "I know of a good place in Dover with such amazing service!"

"Eh, I got time to kill before flying back to Empire City." Brock agreed to the queer fashion model's offer. "Hey, I know we shared this thought earlier, but Black Rutile is definitely all kinds of messed up, right?"

"I believe I've seen her many times before." Tristan stated. "She made headlines for her numerous crimes against humanity and her trial not too long ago."

"We made a good choice not naming her the winner." Brock declared. "Otherwise, she'd have let it go to her head and, I don't know, use it to take over the world or something!"

"Like that will ever happen." Willie laughed. "So, still up for drinks?"

"Yes." Brock and Tristan declared as one before the three judges left Beach City behind.

--

Well, we had our fun for now, but next time we'll be getting back to more serious territory. On the next Little Homeworld Life, more new Gems will be introduced and it'll be up to us to decide if they're friend or foe! In addition, the Crystal Gems will start questioning their own actions and maybe start slowly falling apart. I'm sure you'll find that very exciting. Catch you next time!

[bm2ab]

Arrivals & Departures 17 November 1938 – 01 May 2023 Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr.

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. CC OOnt  was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and his songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned musical artists. Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings said, "His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness."

Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965—and "Black Day in July", about the 1967 Detroit riot, brought him wide recognition in the 1960s. Canadian chart success with his own recordings began in 1962 with the No. 3 hit "(Remember Me) I'm the One", followed by recognition and charting abroad in the 1970s. He topped the US Hot 100 or Adult Contemporary (AC) chart with the hits "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974); "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), and had many other hits that appeared in the top 40.

Several of Lightfoot's albums achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally. His songs have been recorded by many notable artists. The Guess Who recorded a song called "Lightfoot" on their 1968 album Wheatfield Soul; the lyrics contain many Lightfoot song titles.

Robbie Robertson of the Band described Lightfoot as "a national treasure". Bob Dylan, also a Lightfoot fan, called him one of his favourite songwriters and said, "I can't think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don't like. Every time I hear a song of his, it's like I wish it would last forever.... Lightfoot became a mentor for a long time. I think he probably still is to this day". Lightfoot was a featured musical performer at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta and has received numerous honours and awards.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Red Team Blues Chapter One, part two

My next novel, Red Team Blues, comes out on April 25. It’s an “anti-finance finance thriller,” a read-it-in-one-sitting thriller about a 67-year-old forensic accountant who gets embroiled in a deadly and violent cryptocurrency heist:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/18/cursed-are-the-sausagemakers/#henched

To whet your appetite for it, I’m serializing chapter one, where we meet Marty Hench, and get introduced to the one last job that he needs to do to finish his 40 year career as Silicon Valley’s best high-tech forensic accountant.

Today, I’m publishing part two. Here’s the previous installment:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/17/have-you-tried-not-spying/#unsalted-hash

Here’s where US readers can pre-order the book:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

Here’s pre-orders for Canadians:

https://services.raincoast.com/scripts/b2b.wsc/featured?hh_isbn=9781250865847&ht_orig_from=raincoast

And for readers in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/red-team-blues-cory-doctorow/7225998?ean=9781804547755

And now, here’s today’s serial installment:

The Camino Real had excellent security, as well as all the amenities: a pool, a gym, and a set of spring-­loaded seismic dampers set deep into the bedrock that turned the whole place into a bouncy castle whenever the San Andreas Fault got a touch of indigestion.

It was steps to California Avenue and five Michelin-star restaurants — ­one with three stars, two with two — ­and it cost him eight million, plus furnishings, which Sethu oversaw, going all in on Danish woods for a midcentury modern feel that went great with the rooftop garden that came with the penthouse unit. Sethu got him interested in trying all that Michelin star food, a far cry from ramen and slightly irregular breakfast cereals, and from there, it was the chefs’ tables, and then the private cooking classes, and then a major reno to the penthouse to fit it out with a kitchen that would have made Heston Blumenthal gasp and twirl.

They spent the month that the renos took in an exclusive lodge near a slightly active Costa Rican volcano, checking out the bromeliads and howler monkeys. He came back bronzed and fit from all that volcano hiking and became one of the great chefs of the new aristocracy, even pulling out the old alt.gourmand posts from the prehistory of Usenet. I don’t know when they became a couple, but I imagine it was a natural thing. Danny had a big heart, and he’d loved Galit with all of it, and with Galit gone and Danny still around, his heart wasn’t going to sit idly. Sethu is beautiful and brilliant and good at what she does, and those were all the traits that attracted Danny to Galit in the first place. The Camino Real’s security gave me the twice-­over and then emitted me. The elevator doors gave a sophisticated sigh and welcomed me in, and the buttonless panel lit up PH, and my blood pooled a little in my feet as I attained liftoff.

Danny looked at least ten years younger than the last time I’d seen him, craggy but handsome, and the pounds he’d put on had only filled him out so he wasn’t such an ectomorphic scarecrow. He’d definitely been hitting the kettlebells, too, and his tight Japanese tee clung just enough that I could see he’d gotten some definition in his pecs and biceps. That’s hard muscle to acquire once you hit your fifties. Someone had been making Danny put in his reps.

Danny’s an intense guy who believed so fiercely in the significance and beauty and urgency of cryptography that he could easily captivate a roomful of people with an impromptu lecture on the subject, and he would not relinquish that hold until they all had to leave. He wasn’t a bore, but he wasn’t exactly normal, and yet as far as I knew, everyone who’d ever become personally acquainted with him liked him. A lot.

“Well, you don’t look like a man who got through a prix fixe at the Palmier. Even with the flights, you shouldn’t be that bilious, Mart. What’d you do, stop for Oreos on the way back to your double-­wide?”

I let this pour over me as he showed me into the foyer and I shucked my scuffed old loafers, the ones I saved for personal days when I didn’t have to impress a client. “First of all, Lazer, the Unsalted Hash is a forty-­foot, state-­of-­the-­art touring bus with seven feet of internal clearance, an induction range, a deep freeze, and a sound system that can set off car alarms for a block. It is not a double-­wide.

“Secondly, the Palmier was great, and I didn’t get the prix fixe — ­I got a taster at the chef’s table with a friend, and we stayed up later than we should have, and I still managed to drag myself here for a business conference at this unholy hour. I’m running on three hours’ sleep and digesting a good three-­ thousand-­calorie dinner, is all.

“Finally, I don’t stop for Oreos, ever. I have a supply of 1995-­vintage Hydroxes in one of the deep freezes. The original recipe contains all those great trans fats that make for excellent long-­term frozen flavor and texture retention. I would offer you a package, but I won’t, because they are mine, and I treasure them beyond all reason and plan to make my stash last until I can no longer consume solid food, whereupon I plan to consume the balance in smoothie form.”

He took my shoes and tossed them into a closet and slammed the door, making a face, then burst out laughing and grabbed me in a bear hug that reminded me of those new biceps of his. “Man, it’s good to see you, Marty. Come in, come in. We’ll go out onto the roof.”

I got a quick tour of a lot of teak and curves and angles, like a set dresser had been given an unlimited budget to decorate the boss’s office on a midcentury period drama. Then he opened a sliding door out onto the roof-­deck, which had some very nice landscaping and potted shrubs, a meandering stream patrolled by fat koi and fed by a two-­foot waterfall, some comfortable-­ looking and elegant teak loungers, and Sethu.

She had an easel set up and was painting in oils, an impressionistic landscape of Palo Alto’s nimbified one-­family houses and dinky main street. It was a couple of billion dollars’ worth of real estate dressed up as middle-­class houses from the same midcentury dreamland as the furnishings in the living room. She turned and saw us and narrowed her eyes, just a tiny amount, before cleaning her brushes and hanging up her smock on the easel’s corner.

“Hi, hon,” she said. “This must be your friend Mr. Hench.” Danny beamed at her, an expression I remembered from his most successful demos, that prideful look he got when his code performed some miracle. “Marty, I don’t know if you ever met Sethu, back in the old days.”

“I don’t know that we were ever introduced properly,” I said. She’d let me in, once or twice, when I’d come by to see if I could pull Danny out of his tailspin. But she’d been his PA then.

“Well, in that case, Sethuramani Lazer, meet Martin Hench. Marty, meet Sethu.”

I’m pretty sure my facial expression didn’t change when he dropped that last name on me. I’d already noticed the rock on her finger, of course — ­a bachelor of my age and experience takes note of these things automatically, without conscious intervention. I’m pretty sure what Danny said next was that same pride speaking, not a failure of my poker face.

“Married her last year. Or rather, she married me, despite being significantly out of my league.”

“Lucky fella,” I said. “Congrats to both of you.”

He got us settled into loungers, and Sethu mentioned that she was going in for lemonade and offered us some. She brought it out in sweating tall glasses with silicone straws and then went back to her easel, far enough away that it wouldn’t seem odd not to include her in our conversation.

I sipped as Danny scrolled his phone for a moment, double-­checked his notes, and took Sethu in. She was beautiful, of course, but I’d known that since I’d first met her at the door of that teardown that Danny had settled into as his final resting place. Now, though, she had the kind of haircut that some very bright topiarist had charged her at least a thousand bucks for, and with it, the kind of poise I associate with very beautiful, very accomplished women who are also very, very rich. Something in the posture, a kind of deep relaxation that you rarely see. Having a very deep cash buffer can give a woman the same tranquility as any middling specimen of manhood gets for free, the liberation from casual predation that men don’t even notice.

Danny put his phone down at last. “So I hear you did some work recently? Bonwick. Rearden Factoring?”

I nodded. “Yeah, Brian and I did some business, but it’s not the kind of thing I can discuss. You know that. He lost something, I found it, and I made him whole.” He snorted. “Marty, you don’t make people whole. Your commission still twenty-­five percent?”

“It is,” I said. “And I still don’t charge anything to take a job, not even expenses or a retainer. I take the risk, I get the reward. That’s a proposition I think you probably relate to.”

“I’m familiar with the general idea.” He looked around at his penthouse garden, his beautiful young wife, his view of the strivers of Palo Alto and their Leave It to Beaver houses, all a testament to his willingness to take all the risk and his unwillingness to share his rewards. “You ever take payment in crypto?”

“I prefer fiat” — ­this being the cutesy word that crypto weirdos use for real money — ­“I have smart accountants who keep my tax bite down to a manageable slice, and I’ve got no other reason to accept distributed sudoku puzzles in lieu of greenbacks.”

“Very funny,” he said. Cryptocurrency hustlers hate it when you point out that the whole blockchain emits billions of tons of CO2 to help repeatedly compute pointless mathematical puzzles. “You’re familiar with how crypto works, though, right?”

“Danny, I love you like a brother, but I hope I’m not about to get a sales pitch for Trustlesscoin.” The only sour note in the previous night’s dinner had been a couple of bros at the chef’s table who spent the first hour talking about smart contracts. It was a hazard of any public space in SV, and I accepted it with good grace, but I wouldn’t tolerate it in private places. Life is too short.

“No pitch, but I just want to make sure you’re up to speed for what I’m going to tell you next. Forensic accounting is one thing, but when you throw in crypto, it’s a whole different world.”

Later this week (Apr 20/21), I’m speaking in Chicago at the Stigler Center’s Antitrust and Competition Conference.

This weekend (Apr 22/23), I’m at the LA Times Festival of Books.

[Image ID: A squared-off version of Will Staehle's cover for the Macmillan edition of 'Red Team Blues.']

[lucky-bucky-boy]

My uncle passed away suddenly and out family is scrambling to find the means for a funeral. If anyone can donate, even if its only a dollar or two, here's the link to the gofundme