#1920s beach scene

[mayamidnightmelody]

Art of Bill Medcalf

William Edward (Bill) Medcalf (1920 - 2005)

Bill Medcalf was totally ahead of his time with his pin-up art! 😍 Like, imagine these super cute paintings from back in the day that are still iconic AF today! He was all about capturing these bombshell babes in their element, rockin' those retro vibes like nobody else. His style was on point, blending realism with a touch of fantasy, making you wish you could step into those scenes! 🎨

Each painting by Medcalf is like a glimpse into this fantasy world where everything's glamorous and sassy. His babes are always so confident and playful, showing off those killer curves and making you go, "Wow!" He had this knack for detail, every brushstroke making these gals look alive and full of personality. 🌟

One thing you can't miss about Medcalf's work is how he nailed those vintage vibes. Think about it: those retro hairstyles, the fashion that's now back in trend, and those smoldering expressions that say, "I know I'm hot." It's like stepping into a time machine where beauty standards were all about class and sass! 💃

His drawing style? Flawless. The way he could capture the human form, especially the female figure, was legendary. Smooth lines, delicate shading, and colors that pop like they're straight out of a modern fashion mag. It's like he painted these pin-ups to be timeless, always keeping them fresh and relevant. 🖌️

And let's not forget the themes he explored! From beach babes soaking up the sun to sultry sirens lounging in luxurious settings, Medcalf covered it all. He knew how to make art that speaks to your soul and your sense of style, no matter what decade you're in. 😎

Even today, Medcalf's paintings are poppin' on social media and inspiring new artists. People are still vibing with his style because it's not just about the beauty, it's about the attitude. His work is like a mood board for confidence and self-expression, reminding us to own our uniqueness and flaunt it! 🌈

So yeah, Bill Medcalf wasn't just an artist. He was a vibe curator, a trendsetter of his time, and a total legend in the pin-up scene. His legacy lives on through every cheeky smile and every perfectly painted eyelash. Cheers to keeping art spicy and iconic! 🎉

[safedistancefrombeingsmart]

😵🥵 This is not okay, Sir!

Err, I mean- Martin was spotted filming in Bristol again, for The Seven Dials Mystery. Without the moustache.

It was Mr Freeman who was spotted taking part in filming of a scene on the road in Bristol. Taking the wheel of a 1920s vehicle, he drove down the street towards a green screen before stepping out.

There is also a video (link in content source), but I am currently on the beach and it won't load. 😎

[silver-screen-divas]

Remembering silent film star, NORMA TALMADGE

One of the most popular stars of the 1920s, she was the oldest of the three Talmadge sisters, Constance and Natalie being the other two, who were also in the movies.

Talmadge first made films for Vitagraph Studios in NYC, making over 250 movies for them. She made movies for Triangle then formed her own company, the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation.

Moving to Hollywood in 1922, Talmadge became one of the highest paid actresses of the 1920s, earning $10,000 a week, almost $200,000 today.

When sound movies came on the scene, Talmadge made two of them - both Pre-Code films, in 1929 and 1930. Those were her last ones. She retired and distanced herself from the trappings of Hollywood.

Norma Talmadge died in 1957 at the age of 63.

PHOTOS, clockwise from left ~

* Norma Talmadge, long after her retirement, at the Sea Spray Beach Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Photo by Bert Morgan, c. 1950.

* Norma (L), with her sister Constance; photo by Albert Witzel, 1922.

* PR photo.

* Talmadge in “The Woman Disputed”, 1928.

[mxopifex]

A Fanfic Writer's Guide to Writing Fanart Prompts

So it came up while chatting with some other members of a fandom gift exchange that some of the writers felt less comfortable writing prompts for recieving fanart gifts and I thought I'd try and make a guide to help out since I do both fanart and fanfic.

The stumbling blocks as I understood them were: 1) not knowing what you like in fanart, 2) not knowing how to articulate what you like (which is probably more related to the first item than you think), and 3) worrying that all your prompts are too narrative. Imma do my best to address those, but if you have other questions feel free to drop me a line. I want to help.

I call this a guide, but it's more of a series of questions to ask yourself than a how to, or rather this is a how to think about and understand what you want to ask for type guide. A good prompt doesn't need to (and maybe shouldn't) touch on every issue I bring up here. The goal is to make the person who is making your gift feel confident that they can make something you like, not to tell them exactly what to do.

What to do if you are worried that you make all your prompts too narrative heavy:

First, relax. Fanart often carries a narrative component. You can reasonably prompt something that might involve a bit of visual storytelling. That said, the amount of story you can get in a single image is much smaller than the amount you can pack into even a modest 1k short story. Imagine a single scene you might like to see; the kind you love when it pops up in a fic. "I'd like to see the blorbos on a beach vacation" or "I'd like to see character A treating character B's wounds." You can further abstract this to things like "a cozy domestic scene" or "being flirty."

Some Prompt Prompts for if you are feeling stuck on what to ask for

Tropes! Many tropes work in a fanart setting. The ones that don't are the ones that need a bit more narrative behind them to make sense. It might be tricky to convey Fake Dating with a single image, but Hurt/Comfort or Only One Bed is very doable.

AUs! Want to let the artist play dress up with the blorbos? See what they'd look like as the socialite guests in a 1920s Agatha Christy style murder mystery? or just ask for something more general like a fairy tale setting or modern au.

Set the mood! What's the vibe you like best about this character or coupling? Do you want something dark and broody? More lighthearted and comedic? Tender and romantic?

Style! While I don't advise requesting something in the vein of a specific artist's style (the person making your gift has their own style) talking about styles of art that you like can help them understand what's visually appealing to you. So mentioning like "a moody film noir type setting" or "overwrought flowery romance like in shojo manga" isn't horrible, as long as you leave the artist room to bring their own sensibilities into the picture.

Poses! Want that bridal carry? Sharing an umbrella? Something that emphasizes a height difference? Don't go too hog wild with details "and their left pinky at a thirty degree angle..." but if you wanna see someone getting dipped on the dance floor, go ahead and ask for it.

Two final thoughts. First, just like with fic prompts you want to have a couple different ones in your ask. Every artist has things they feel more or less comfortable with, and giving a few options helps to make sure that there's at least one that they can work with. Particularly if you have a more complex prompt, it would be good to also have one that's simpler or more open to interpretation. Second, check in with yourself to see if you have any art specific DNWs.Maybe you can handle written descriptions of blood but not visual depictions or maybe the character has that one outfit that you think is butt ugly. Either way make sure you are clear about it in your prompt.

[nightcatssketchbook]

I’m actually making this for Instagram- I don’t think I have my OC art on here anymore. But I’m posting it in case anyone would want it for their own use!

OC Outfit Drawing Meme

I wanted to make my own ask meme, inspired by @abra-ka-dammit’s. Send in an emoji and one (or more? 👀) of my OCs and I’ll draw them in the corresponding outfit.

☀️ What they’d wear on a hot day

🍁 What they’d wear on a cool day

❄️ What they’d wear on a snowy day

🌱 What they’d wear in nice weather

☂️ What they’d wear on a rainy day

👞 What they’d wear to a formal event

😴 What they’d wear to sleep

🩱 What they’d wear to the beach or pool

🛋️ What they’d wear on a lazy day at home

💼 What they wear to work (if they don’t work, what they’d wear for their dream job or hobby)

⁉️ In an outfit that’s not their typical style

🥾 In a hiking/camping outfit

💄 In a super fancy outfit

🎭 In another OC’s outfit

📺 In a cartoon/anime/film character’s outfit

👾 In a video game character’s outfit

☕️ Wearing a hoodie

💃 Wearing a dress/skirt

✂️ Wearing a crop top/ripped jeans

✏️ In light/dark academia attire

🍄 In cottagecore attire

💀 In emo/goth/scene attire

AUs

🎃 OC as a classic Halloween monster (ex. vampire, werewolf, zombie, etc.)

🐴 OC as a cowboy

🏴‍☠️ OC as a pirate

💥 OC as a superhero

🐟 OC as a mermaid

🦋 OC as a fairy/with wings

🗡️ OC in a high fantasy world

🚷 OC in an apocalypse/dystopia

🤖 OC in a cyberpunk/futuristic/sci-fi setting

⚙️ OC in a steampunk setting

Time Periods

🎩 In the 1890-1900s

👗 In the 1920-30s

👔 In the 1940-50s

🛹 In the 1980-90s

📱 In the 2000-10s

[ufoandmermaid]

Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty Marion McDonald (1904-1956)

"Enacting a scene from Hamlet" on a California beach while photographed by George Cannons. Marion appeared in mostly short comedies from 1920 until her retirement from the screen in 1927.

[fionamccall]

Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 - Tate Britain

This was an ambitious exhibition, trying to cover the variety of women's professional art over four centuries. Each artist only had 2-3 paintings, which did make it difficult to assess their work, and for some, like Louise Jopling and Laura Knight, I would have loved to see a more substantive exhibition. These were some I liked:

Joanna Mary Wells, Thou Bird of God (1861) - title taken from a Browning poem

Elizabeth Butler, Calling the Roll After an Engagement, Crimea (1874) - quite a daring feat for a woman to do a large-scale history painting on a military subject, and quite an original and moving idea for a composition.

Louise Jopling, Through the Looking Glass (1875), fascinating that she chose this title for her self-portrait, only four years after the publication of the book. Is she commenting on the role of a female artist as a kind of fantastical, unreal creature?

Helen Allingham, Feeding the Fowls (1889-90) - my Mum loved these kind of idealised paintings of the countryside - this is what I would call a Milly Molly Mandy cottage (also one of my Mum's favourite children's books) - you come across lots of them unexpectedly where I live in Hampshire.

Emma Barton, The Soul of the Rose (1910) - there were some lovely early photographs in the exhibition but they really deserved an exhibition of their own.

There were some beautiful flower paintings in the exhibition (something women were allowed to excel in) - this is by Mary Moser (1744-1819)

I failed to note down who this Victorian sculpture was by, but it is rather fine.

Laura Knight, At the Edge of the Cliff (1917) - last(ish) but not least, Laura Knight really does deserve her own exhibition, her work was so interesting, and varied throughout her lifetime, from beach scenes, to theatre, circus and ballet themes to, of course, her portraits of women workers in World War II. I love the confident pose of the girl - just the sort of pose I'm usually shown in pictures of when I was a child - if there was a pile of rocks to get to the top of or a wall to be climbed, I was there. Recently saw a picture of my Mum as a child on top of a wall, which was a surprise given her later levels of inactivity, so perhaps the genes come from her - my son is a great wall climber so he's obviously inherited them.

Finally, an extraordinary feminist image to end on, Maria Cosway (1759-1838), The Duchess of Devonshire as Cynthia.

Overall, you do get a sense from the exhibition of the ways in which women's outsider position as artists allowed them to have an original eye.

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Behind the famous bookstore in Paris, Shakespeare and Company, were a lesbian owner Sylvia Beach and her lover Adrienne Monnier.

The bookshop Shakespeare and Company has been at the heart of the Paris literary scene for decades, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. It was set up by American Sylvia Beach who, along with her partner Adrienne Monnier, ran the store until World War II.

…

Down the street on rue de l'Odéon was another bookstore, La Maison des Amis des Livres.

Its owner Adrienne Monnier was Sylvia's partner. Their love story was said to have begun when Sylvia's hat blew away in the wind on rue de l'Odéon, and Adrienne chased after it. 'J'aime beaucoup l'Amérique,' declared Adrienne, to which Sylvia replied, 'J'aime beaucoup la France.' They were a couple for 36 years until Adrienné's death in 1955.

Sylvia was also the publisher of James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”

[whitepolaris]

Elmer McCurdy, the Outlaw Who Wouldn't Give Up

Gather 'round my children, and I'll tell a tale of woe About a famous cowboy outlaw who lived a hundred years ago . . . A hundred hears have come and gone since he spoke his final words. I'm not afraid to die and leave behind this rotten world. So go and pull the lever hangman, now my race on Earth is run. And he thought his life was ended but it had only just begun. -Brian Dewan, The Cowboy Outlaw

Imagine this: It's 1973 and Steve Austin, a fictional astronaut, is a man barely alive. Now it's 1911: Elmer J. McCurdy, an outlaw-very, very dead! Who would have thought these two show biz personalities would ever meet up?

In 1976, while Lee Majors played the role of astronaut Steve Austin on television's Six Million Dollar Man, the show's film crew found the mummified body of outlaw Elmer McCurdy as they were setting up for a shoot.

The crew was filming in Long Beach, California, at a funhouse called Laugh in the Dark. The place contained the regular spook-show decor, including wax figures, ghosts, and fake skeletons. While setting up at the location, the producer noticed a neon orange wax figure hanging from a makeshift gallows and asked one of the crew to take it down. He didn't like the way it looked in the scene.

The stagehand grabbed at the wax dummy's left arm, only to have it come off, revealing a human bone sticking out from its shoulder. Medical examiners and forensic investigators determined that the wax figure was actually a mummified body-and that it had been show by a .32 caliber bullet manufactured between 1830 and 1920. Upon further examination, investigators found in the mummy's mouth a 1924 penny and a ticket from the Museum of Crime in Los Angeles. The ticket helped police identify the body as that of outlaw Emler McCurdy, and the many roads he had taken in life-and afterward-that had led him to that Long Beach funhouse.

McCurdy had joined a few outlaw gangs and killed a few people, then he planned on robbing a Missouri Pacific train that supposedly was carrying a safe containing more than $1,000. On October 6, 1911, he robbed the train in Oklahoma, but when he opened the safe, he discovered it was the wrong train. Only $46 was inside. But he did manage to find a shipment of whiskey instead.

Heading to the Oklahoma farmlands a few days later, drunk and tired, McCurdy stopped at a farmhouse and fell asleep in the hayloft. A three-man posse that was tracking the outlaw trapped McCurdy and began firing. After an hour, a farmhand was asked to go inside the barn and tell McCurdy to surrender. The outlaw refused, telling the farmhand, "They can go to the devil." The barn was shot up, and McCurdy was discovered dead soon afterward.

His body was taken to a funeral home In Pawhuska, Oklahoma, but he was never identified, and no one claimed the corpse. The undertaker embalmed him with arsenic, (a does seven hundred times greater than we used in Egyptian mummies) and came up with a very entrepreneurial idea: Since the deceased looked very well preserved, and very stiff all dressed up in his last gun fightin' suit, he named the corpse "The Bandit That Wouldn't Give Up," and for a nickel, he would let the citizens of Pawhuska view it. The nickels were dropped into the mummy's mouth, later to be retrieved by the undertaker.

The mummy was on view for more than five years, and the undertaker refused many offers from carnivals and sideshows for his bandit corpse to use in their traveling freak shows. The nickel-swallowing mummy became a regular attraction for the funeral home in Pawhuska.

One day two men showed up at the funeral home claiming to be cousins of the mummy, and the undertaker had no choice but to give up the stiff to his next of kin for a proper burial. The two men turned out to be sideshow promoters who traveled around Texas, using McCurdy as, you guessed it, The Bandit That Wouldn't Give Up.

After Texas, the McCurdy mummy traveled around the country, often showing up at amusement parks, lying around in an open coffin in an L.A. wax museum, and-believe it or not-being used as a prop in low-budget films. He was known sometimes as "The Thousand Year Old Man." After a while, his body was coated with wax to help preserve it during his many road trips. His greatest tour was in the 1930s with Louis S. Sonney, a sheriff who acquired McCurdy for his traveling Wild West show.

Elmer was shuffled as collateral from one sideshow to another and eventually faded into obscurity. No one knows exactly how Elmer ended up at the defunct Laugh in the Dark funhouse in Long Beach, but when he was identified as McCurdy, medical examiners used a little-known method called "medical superimposition." Known photos of McCurdy were overlaid with x-rays of the mummy's face. From this they made a positive ID.

McCurdy was given a proper funeral in Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma, in 1977 and was buried in the same cemetery as such notorious figures as Wild Bill Doolin (of the Doolin-Dalton Gang) and Tom Capers, in Oklahoma's only Boot Hill (a.k.a gunslinger cemetery). The town residents gave old Elmer the full treatment: a parade ride to the cemetery in Wild West gear.

With his California show-biz days now behind him, McCurdy was certain to never again be a "ramblin' man:" The Oklahoma state coroner ordered two cubic yards of cement to be poured into McCurdy's grave.

[girlactionfigure]

At 102, Benjamin Ferencz is the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials. Born on March 11, 1920 to a Jewish family in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania, Ben Ferencz moved with his family to America when he was ten months old. After graduating Harvard Law School in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. As a member of an artillery battalion, Ferencz landed on the beaches of Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was later transferred to a newly created War Crimes Branch and tasked with collecting evidence of Nazi brutality. As part of his efforts, he joined the forces that liberated a number of concentration camps, including Buchenwald and Mauthausen. When asked about the haunting scenes he witnessed, Ferencz states that he “had peered into hell.” While scouring Nazi offices and archives in Berlin with researchers, he collected indisputable evidence, including the actual death registries. Soon after, Ferencz was assigned as Chief prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen Case, in which 22 members of Himmler’s Einsatzgruppen death squads were charged with murdering over a million Jewish men, women, and children. All 22 defendants were convicted and 13 were sentenced to death. Who could have imagined that this 27-year-old’s first case would be what many call the biggest murder trial in history!

Contributor: Jill Goltzer

Humans of Judaism

[denimbex1986]

'Sixty years is a long time for any TV show to be on the air. For a show to deliver quality episodes over the course of six decades is basically a miracle. But Doctor Who, the BBC’s long-running TV series, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, has managed to make great sci-fi TV across the decades.

Since the premiere of the very first serial, “An Unearthly Child,” on Nov. 23, 1963, Doctor Who has tested the limits of what sci-fi TV can achieve — and shown just how much can be done with tin foil, a plunger, and a dream...

60. “THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET/THE SATAN PIT”

The Doctor fights the Devil on a planet orbiting a black hole — you won’t get a better elevator pitch than that. But “The Impossible Planet” two-parter is more than a family-friendly riff on Event Horizon; this claustrophobic space adventure is a barnburner that finds time to muse on spirituality and religion while delivering some extra-spooky possession scenes and one of the best new monsters of Doctor Who. — Hoai-Tran Bui

51. “GRIDLOCK”

Despite his reputation for campy high jinks, Russell T. Davies is perhaps one of the most cynical Doctor Who writers, frequently depicting humanity as doomed to repeat its mistakes. “Gridlock” is the perfect marriage of both of Davies’ comedic and cynical tendencies: a weird sci-fi episode about a planet perpetually stuck in traffic, through which the Doctor must navigate cat people, nudists, and killer crabs. But all of this is a thin veneer for the tragic fate that humanity has dealt itself. — Hoai-Tran Bui

48. “SOUND OF DRUMS/LAST OF THE TIMELORDS

Season 3 is when Doctor Who realized it could deliver season finales that actually had ramifications. There’s an entire year in between these two episodes where The Master, in the form of Prime Minister Harold Saxon, has ruled over the Earth introducing it to an alien species known as the Toclafane. There are grandfather paradoxes, callbacks, and the Doctor’s most underrated companion, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), making a decision for herself — each the shot in the arm the show needed to grow to new heights. — Dais Johnston

47. “THE UNICORN AND THE WASP”

When the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), Donna (Catherine Tate), and Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) end up in a whodunit episode, the only thing that makes the proceeding even more fun is the presence of a massive alien wasp. Come for the hilarious 1920s romp, but stay for some of the funniest David Tennant-Catherine Tate comedy in the entire show. — Ryan Britt

41. “THE STOLEN EARTH/JOURNEY’S END

As Shakespeare said, “Journeys end with lovers meeting,” but for every meeting in the Season 4 two-part finale, there’s a goodbye. There are happy moments (the TARDIS being piloted by multiple pilots as intended, The DoctorDonna), sad moments (Donna having her memory erased, the beach farewell with Rose), and, because it’s Doctor Who, baffling moments (Martha is married to Mickey now, I guess). — Dais Johnston

39. “THE END OF TIME”

It simply does not get more epic than “The End of Time.” The two-part special sent off David Tennant in the only way it could: by pulling out all the stops and leaning hard on the nostalgia. The Time Lords are back, The Master is back, and the best sci-fi trope ever gets employed: an ominous prophecy that reads “he will knock four times.” The conclusion is a farewell tour for the 10th Doctor that had us all bawling. Little did we know he would be back before we knew it. — Dais Johnston

34. “ARMY OF GHOSTS/DOOMSDAY”

The Doctor’s two biggest enemies, the Daleks and the Cybermen, both invade Earth in this two-parter that brings a parallel Earth front and center. While the plot is thrilling, this episode will always be remembered for its final scene, the goodbye between Rose Tyler and The Doctor as Rose is forced to live in the parallel Earth to save the world. — Dais Johnston

23. “TURN LEFT”

“Turn Left” may as well be titled “It’s a Wonderful Regeneration,” as it explores an alternate world where Donna Noble never met the Doctor and he died during the events of “Runaway Bride,” when they first met. The dystopia the world falls to is fascinating to watch, fitting in observations of fascism in between alternate-reality high jinks. — Dais Johnston

19. “THE FIRES OF POMPEII”

“The Fires of Pompeii” is one of the most influential episodes of Doctor Who, not for the plot but for the cast. Peter Capaldi, best known as the 12th Doctor, plays an Ancient Roman patriarch. Karen Gillan, best known as Amy Pond, plays a mystical cult member. But this episode is a masterclass in one of the series’ most tenuous conceits: that sometimes, a moment is fixed in time and you end up in Pompeii on Volcano Day, unable to change anything. — Dais Johnston

18. “THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE”

Basically, the episode that solidified Steven Moffat as one of the great modern writers of Doctor Who. From the first moment, in which Madame de Pompadour calls for the Doctor’s help, to the final revelation of what the clockwork robots really want, this episode is flawless modern Who. And yes, especially that part where the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) pretends to be drunk. — Ryan Britt

16. “HUMAN NATURE/FAMILY OF BLOOD

The monsters are secondary to the fascinating ethical dilemma “Human Nature/Family of Blood” presents: Is a human being real if he’s just a collection of false memories? Featuring one of David Tennant’s best performances, this two-parter endears us so quickly to its period drama setting that when the Doctor Who sci-fi finally enters the story, it feels as tragic as John Smith’s fate. — Hoai-Tran Bui

9. “MIDNIGHT”

Doctor Who does its best Stephen King with “Midnight,” an episode where the Doctor fights an unseen monster that possesses a passenger, causing her to repeat every word the others say. Despite its blowhard stock characters and claustrophobic setting, “Midnight” is one of Doctor Who’s most terrifying hours, and Davies’ most sparse and tensely staged script. — Hoai-Tran Bui

8. “THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR”

Steven Moffat pulled off a bit of a miracle with “The Day of the Doctor,” the 50th-anniversary special that saw the 10th and 11th Doctors meeting a newly invented Doctor played by John Hurt. But despite its big ambitions (the Time War onscreen for the first time!) and obligations to the show (Tom Baker’s cameo!), “The Day of the Doctor” manages to be a rip-roaring, fully satisfying adventure all of its own. — Hoai-Tran Bui

7. “THE WATERS OF MARS

What happens when the fun-loving Doctor goes too far? With “The Waters of Mars,” David Tennant proves his Doctor was a hero on the edge of becoming a villain, depending on who was watching. This brilliant twist of perspective is a high point in Tennant’s era, and Lindsay Duncan’s guest performance as Adelaide Brooke brings the Doctor down to Mars. — Ryan Britt

4. “SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY/FOREST OF THE DEAD

“Hey, who turned out the lights?!” Moffat turns another primal fear (why are we afraid of the dark?) into one of the show’s most terrifying monsters with the shadow-dwelling Vashta Nerada. But the “Silence in the Library” two-parter doesn’t excel just because of its spooky, abstract monsters; it’s the episode’s dealings with transhumanism and star-crossed love (along with the introduction of Alex Kingston’s scene-stealing River Song) that elevate it to one of the show’s greatest achievements. — Hoai-Tran Bui

2. “BLINK”

Inventing a new Doctor Who monster is hard. But this unforgettable Steven Moffat episode forced us all to fear old statues everywhere. A flawless episode with a pristine presentation of paradox at its core, “Blink” makes time-travel fiction look easy. The guest cast is perfect, especially Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow. Also, no other episode on this list created an instantly popular and enduring Doctor Who catchphrase: wibbly wobbly timey wimey! — Ryan Britt...'

[rfsnyder]

1920'S STYLE BEACH SCENE

[jpdoingart]

Masterlist

Some of my original work is available to buy as prints here. If you are interested in having any of the work you see here made available to have as a print, feel free to ask. It's easy to arrange! 😊

You can also access the full visual archive of my posts here.

Fanart

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Alexios: Bow Study || Bright Colours || On Holidays || Head Studies Brasidas: Collection || In ‘Spartan Scene.’ || Wreathed in Gold I || Being Woken || At the Beach || Like a Saint || Like a French girl? || Black and White || Wreathed in Gold II || Head Studies || Watching the Wrestling || Contemplation || Pomegranate Nikolaos Thaletas: Thaletas || Head Studies Herodianos: Character Design Ship: Thalexios - Beneath the Trees || Fic Cover: Love Me in Storms || Tender Ship: Alexidas - Collection || Trying New Things || A Private Moment || Stormy Seas || Forehead Kisses || On Holidays || A Shady Spot || PFPs || Brasideia 2023 || Oof Ship: Alexithenes: One Night in Athens Ship: Herodietas - Painting

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Male Eivor: Armour Study collection || Armour Study 1 || Armour Study 2 || Head study Ubba Ragnarsson: Collection Ship: Ubba x male Eivor: Collection || An Intent Look Sunniva Ivarr & Halfdan Ragnarsson

Other Media:

Hades (Game): Ares: Collection || Modern Ares Ship: Thanares Ship: Zagares - In Elysium The Sandman: Dream of the Endless (Trapped) Pyre (Game): Volfred Sandalwood

Original Characters

Roman:

Hand of Fortuna (published novel): Lartia || Lartia tipsy Gates of Janus (WIP novel): Titus Lartius || Titus Lartius and Juventa

Spartan:

The Good Spartan (fanfic, on AO3): Antidas: Collection || Scene - Panel One || Pose Studies || Smiling || Redesign (w/ short hair) Adimantos: Collection || Pose Studies || Relaxing Bardas

Hollow Lakedaimon (WIP novel): Eukleidas

Spartan Scenes: In the Gym || It Started with a Thwack || The Palaestra (Trad media) || WIP The Gymnasium || Training the Horses || Adimantos, Brasidas, Antidas

Ancient art redraws:  Spartans Hunting Boar ||

Other:

Arity (WIP novel) : Jimmy || Two Portraits The Artist (WIP novel): Fred || Agricultural Worker (1920's) Lief & Ember (Minecraft OCs) : Sleeping || Lief portrait Colour Studies: Man in Sea || Sadulaev (Olympic Wrestler)

Art of Things Other than People

Colourful Things: Colourful eggs || Egg = Olive? || Colourful Things ||Trees || Flowers in the Clouds || Olive Tree || More Colourful Things|| Symbolic self-portrait ||

Realism: Landscapes: Ancient World (sketches) || Sparta ||

[somediyprojects]

Designs from Cross Stitch Gold magazine:

Butterfly cushion by Lesley Teare, #155

Spring Cottage by Carol Thornton, #155

British Birds by Durene Jones, #155

Baby Bunting by Maria Diaz, #155

Easter Chicks by Fiona Baker, #155

Father’s Day Cards by Fiona Baker, #156

Feather Cushion by Jenny Barton, #156

1920s Beach Scene by Jenny Barton, #156

Farm Animals by Durene Jones, #156

Summer Castle by Carol Thornton, #156

[bookwyrmshoard]

Partners in Crime, by Agatha Christie

A charming husband-and-wife crime-solving team

It’s been several years since the events of The Secret Adversary (which you should really read first.) Tommy and Tuppence are now happily married, but Tuppence is bored with her day-to-day life. Luckily for the intrepid duo, Her Majesty’s Government has detained one Mr. Blunt, head of a private investigation agency, on charges of espionage. Tommy’s boss, Mr. Carter, asks the couple to run the detective agency for a few months in an effort identify Blunt’s contacts and confederates. This framework sets the stage for a number of short mysteries which Tommy and Tuppence try to solve in the style of popular mysteries of the day, from Dr. Thornton to Christie’s own Hercule Poirot. The puzzles range from missing items to unbreakable alibis to murder; all bear the unmistakeable stamp of a Christie mystery, usually with a characteristic twist or surprise solution.

I love Tommy and Tuppence and their enthusiastic servant/office boy, Alfred, but I admit that Partners in Crime, while both fun and entertaining, is not as exciting as The Secret Adversary. Due in part to the short-story format, it’s hard to build up tension over the entire book. There’s also very little character development, but Tommy and Tuppence are both so engaging that it hardly matters.

I sometimes wish Christie had written more full-length mysteries about the Beresfords in their younger years. The next book in the series, N or M?, takes place when the couple are middle-aged empty-nesters, and while it’s very good, I miss the more carefree 1920s-era Tommy and Tuppence.

TV adaptations

Partners in Crime, the 1983–84 LWT series starring Francesca Annis and James Warwick, is remarkably faithful to the books. It begins with The Secret Adversary in several parts, then adapts some of the best of the short mysteries from Partners in Crime. Annis and Warwick are very convincing as Tuppence and Tommy despite being a trifle old for the roles, and their chemistry together is just about perfect. Reece Dinsdale steals almost every scene he appears in as the eager but not always sensible Alfred.

I have not yet seen the 2015 series of the same name, so I can’t speak to its quality, but judging from the episode descriptions, it’s not nearly as faithful to the source material. For one thing, they skipped the stories in Partners in Crime (the book) entirely, even though that’s the series title, choosing instead to cover The Secret Adversary and N or M? over the course of three episodes each. It’s an odd choice, since the first book involves (among other things) a missing draft treaty in the aftermath of World War I, while N or M? centers around the search for Nazi spies in a British beach-resort town during World War II.

[oathkeeperoxas]

director's cut ask thingy! here is a star ⭐. speak to me. I am lying on the floor admiring you as you speak (I can't insert the meme here but if you know the one, imagine that)

Thank you lasagna, I will now start the rant... XD

So much of my writing at the moment is unpublished or in wip stage augh I wanna talk about it all so bad... but until then I'll speak to cheesecake since there's a lot of behind the scenes content there that no one has asked me about 🤔

Firstly, all the locations in this fic are real and are portrayed as closely to real life as possible - I made sure to stare out the window on the way to work to observe what the environment was like at this time of year on the train line, and I've eaten all the food that Cody and Obi-Wan share. The two bubble tea orders at the start of the fic (brown sugar and peach/passionfruit black tea with coconut jelly and popping pearls) are my two preferred bubble tea orders, depending on what mood I'm in. Cody's astonishment is MY astonishment as to how many bubble tea shops are on George Street these days... and literally they're all different chains too, who knew that there were so many options out there.

Sydney's tram network was recently completed, and it's not a bad way to get around the city if you're just moving around the CBD. Obi-Wan's tourist energy comes from all the classic tourist traps around Sydney, including the QVB and the Harbour Bridge (and Australia's golden beaches 😂).

I've done the Bridgeclimb (you can see their website here) and it was a present that I did on my birthday too actually, and it was really fun! I had a good day to do it, and it was neat to get that type of view on the Harbour Bridge, which I've only ever driven across beforehand. I gave Cody and Obi-Wan that experience along with some of the fun facts that our guide told us while we climbed, as well as the strange feeling of being in the guts of the bridge while hundreds of cars pass over your head/around you as you climb up the ladders. It's so strange to think that they were building all that so long ago (it's nearly 100 years old!!) and it's still standing and serving Sydney's traffic. I'm very glad the guy who designed it made it 8 lanes even in the 1920s, VERY good foresight demonstrated there LMAO

The callout to the Chinese Gardens are also from my personal experience of going there as a kid - my dad really loves them, and I'm fond of them and their giant koi ponds myself. And finally, the star of the fic - the cheesecake!! I had to put off writing this until I got my hands on the cheesecake from Uncle Tetsu's that new-anon and thegreencarousel were insisting that I try, but that research was definitely worth it 😤 I would definitely rec these cheesecakes.

I (unfortunately) do not live in Richmond, but I've visited a friend who lives in the general area there often enough that everything to do with Richmond should also be accurate 🤔

The collar with the heart charm is also-- okay I'll stop speaking now 😂😂😂