#2017 week 48

[isawken]

this is Total Time in Car. train trips don't count. do not count time spent in hotels. if you slept in your car you can put those hours towards your total tho. doesn't matter if you were the one driving or were just a passenger. and put in the tags where you went :)

[zef-zef]

Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Oren Ambarchi - Be careful of this word "New" With it's glittering trap from: Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Oren Ambarchi - I Wonder If You Noticed "I'm Sorry" Is Such a Lovely Sound It Keeps Things From Getting Worse (Black Truffle, 2016)

[macrolit]

By Elisabeth Egan May 18, 2024

“You’d be shocked by how many books have women chained in basements,” Reese Witherspoon said. “I know it happens in the world. I don’t want to read a book about it.”

Nor does she want to read an academic treatise, or a 700-page novel about a tree.

Sitting in her office in Nashville, occasionally dipping into a box of takeout nachos, Witherspoon talked about what she does like to read — and what she looks for in a selection for Reese’s Book Club, which she referred to in a crisp third person.

“It needs to be optimistic,” Witherspoon said. “It needs to be shareable. Do you close this book and say, ‘I know exactly who I want to give it to?’”

But, first and foremost, she wants books by women, with women at the center of the action who save themselves. “Because that’s what women do,” she said. “No one’s coming to save us.”

Witherspoon, 48, has now been a presence in the book world for a decade. Her productions of novels like “Big Little Lies,” “Little Fires Everywhere” and “The Last Thing He Told Me” are foundations of the binge-watching canon. Her book club picks reliably land on the best-seller list for weeks, months or, in the case of “Where the Crawdads Sing,” years. In 2023, print sales for the club’s selections outpaced those of Oprah’s Book Club and Read With Jenna, according to Circana Bookscan, adding up to 2.3 million copies sold.

So how did an actor who dropped out of college (fine, Stanford) become one of the most influential people in an industry known for being intractable and slightly tweedy?

It started with Witherspoon’s frustration over the film industry’s skimpy representation of women onscreen — especially seasoned, strong, smart, brave, mysterious, complicated and, yes, dangerous women.

“When I was about 34, I stopped reading interesting scripts,” she said.

Witherspoon had already made a name for herself with “Election,” “Legally Blonde” and “Walk the Line.” But, by 2010, Hollywood was in flux: Streaming services were gaining traction. DVDs were following VHS tapes to the land of forgotten technology.

“When there’s a big economic shift in the media business, it’s not the superhero movies or independent films we lose out on,” Witherspoon said. “It’s the middle, which is usually where women live. The family drama. The romantic comedy. So I decided to fund a company to make those kinds of movies.”

In 2012, she started the production company Pacific Standard with Bruna Papandrea. Its first projects were film adaptations of books: “Gone Girl” and “Wild,” which both opened in theaters in 2014.

Growing up in Nashville, Witherspoon knew the value of a library card. She caught the bug early, she said, from her grandmother, Dorothea Draper Witherspoon, who taught first grade and devoured Danielle Steel novels in a “big cozy lounger” while sipping iced tea from a glass “with a little paper towel wrapped around it.”

This attention to detail is a smoke signal of sorts: Witherspoon is a person of words.

When she was in high school, Witherspoon stayed after class to badger her English teacher — Margaret Renkl, now a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times — about books that weren’t part of the curriculum. When Witherspoon first moved to Los Angeles, books helped prepare her for the “chaos” of filmmaking; “The Making of the African Queen” by Katharine Hepburn was a particular favorite.

So it made sense that, as soon as Witherspoon joined Instagram, she started sharing book recommendations. Authors were tickled and readers shopped accordingly. In 2017, Witherspoon made it official: Reese’s Book Club became a part of her new company, Hello Sunshine.

The timing was fortuitous, according to Pamela Dorman, senior vice president and publisher of Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, who edited the club’s inaugural pick, “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.” “The book world needed something to help boost sales in a new way,” she said.

Reese’s Book Club was that something: “Eleanor Oliphant” spent 85 weeks on the paperback best-seller list. The club’s second pick, “The Alice Network,” spent nearly four months on the weekly best-seller lists and two months on the audio list. Its third, “The Lying Game,” spent 18 weeks on the weekly lists.

“There’s nothing better than getting that phone call,” added Dorman, who has now edited two more Reese’s Book Club selections.

Kiley Reid’s debut novel, “Such a Fun Age,” got the nod in January 2020. She said, “When I was on book tour, a lot of women would tell me, ‘I haven’t read a book in four years, but I trust Reese.’” Four years later, on tour for her second novel, “Come and Get It,” Reid met women who were reading 100 books a year.

Witherspoon tapped into a sweet spot between literary and commercial fiction, with a few essay collections and memoirs sprinkled in. She turned out to be the literary equivalent of a fit model — a reliable bellwether for readers in search of intelligent, discussion-worthy fare, hold the Proust. She wanted to help narrow down the choices for busy readers, she said, “to bring the book club out of your grandma’s living room and online.”

She added: “The unexpected piece of it all was the economic impact on these authors’ lives.”

One writer became the first person in her family to own a home. “She texted me a picture of the key,” Witherspoon said. “I burst into tears.”

Witherspoon considers a handful of books each month. Submissions from publishers are culled by a small group that includes Sarah Harden, chief executive of Hello Sunshine; Gretchen Schreiber, manager of books (her original title was “bookworm”); and Jon Baker, whose team at Baker Literary Scouting scours the market for promising manuscripts.

Not only is Witherspoon focused on stories by women — “the Bechdel test writ large,” Baker said — but also, “Nothing makes her happier than getting something out in the world that you might not see otherwise.”

When transgender rights were in the headlines in 2018, the club chose “This Is How It Always Is,” Laurie Frankel’s novel about a family grappling with related issues in the petri dish of their own home. “We track the long tail of our book club picks and this one, without fail, continues to sell,” Baker said.

Witherspoon’s early readers look for a balance of voices, backgrounds and experiences. They also pay attention to the calendar. “Everyone knows December and May are the busiest months for women,” Harden said, referring to the mad rush of the holidays and the end of the school year. “You don’t want to read a literary doorstop then. What do you want to read on summer break? What do you want to read in January?”

Occasionally the group chooses a book that isn’t brand-new, as with the club’s April pick, “The Most Fun We Ever Had,” from 2019. When Claire Lombardo learned that her almost-five-year-old novel had been anointed, she thought there had been a mistake; after all, her new book, “Same As it Ever Was,” is coming out next month. “It’s wild,” Lombardo said. “It’s not something that I was expecting.”

Sales of “The Most Fun We Ever Had” increased by 10,000 percent after the announcement, according to Doubleday. Within the first two weeks, 27,000 copies were sold. The book has been optioned by Hello Sunshine.

Witherspoon preferred not to elaborate on a few subjects: competition with other top-shelf book clubs (“We try not to pick the same books”); the lone author who declined to be part of hers (“I have a lot of respect for her clarity”); and the 2025 book she’s already called dibs on (“You can’t imagine that Edith Wharton or Graham Greene didn’t write it”).

But she was eager to set the record straight on two fronts. Her team doesn’t get the rights to every book — “It’s just how the cookie crumbles,” she said — and, Reese’s Book Club doesn’t make money off sales of its picks. Earnings come from brand collaborations and affiliate revenue.

This is true of all celebrity book clubs. An endorsement from one of them is a free shot of publicity, but one might argue that Reese’s Book Club does a bit more for its books and authors than most. Not only does it promote each book from hardcover to paperback, it supports authors in subsequent phases of their careers.

Take Reid, for instance. More than three years after Reese’s Book Club picked her first novel, it hosted a cover reveal for “Come and Get It,” which came out in January. This isn’t the same as a yellow seal on the cover, but it’s still a spotlight with the potential to be seen by the club’s 2.9 million Instagram followers.

“I definitely felt like I was joining a very large community,” Reid said.

“Alum” writers tend to stay connected with one another via social media, swapping woot woots and advice. They’re also invited to participate in Hello Sunshine events and Lit Up, a mentorship program for underrepresented writers. Participants get editing and coaching from Reese’s Book Club authors, plus a marketing commitment from the club when their manuscripts are submitted to agents and editors.

“I describe publishing and where we sit in terms of being on a river,” Schreiber said. “We’re downstream; we’re looking at what they’re picking. Lit Up gave us the ability to look upstream and say, ‘We’d like to make a change here.’”

The first Lit Up-incubated novel, “Time and Time Again” by Chatham Greenfield, is coming out from Bloomsbury YA in July. Five more fellows have announced the sales of their books.

As Reese’s Book Club approaches a milestone — the 100th pick, to be announced in September — it continues to adapt to changes in the market. Print sales for club selections peaked at five million in 2020, and they’ve softened since then, according to Circana Bookscan. In 2021, Candle Media, a Blackstone-backed media company, bought Hello Sunshine for $900 million. Witherspoon is a member of Candle Media’s board. She is currently co-producing a “Legally Blonde” prequel series for Amazon Prime Video.

This month, Reese’s Book Club will unveil an exclusive audio partnership with Apple, allowing readers to find all the picks in one place on the Apple Books app. “I want people to stop saying, ‘I didn’t really read it, I just listened,’” Witherspoon said. “Stop that. If you listened, you read it. There’s no right way to absorb a book.”

She feels that Hollywood has changed over the years: “Consumers are more discerning about wanting to hear stories that are generated by a woman.”

Even as she’s looking forward, Witherspoon remembers her grandmother, the one who set her on this path.

“Somebody came up to me at the gym the other day and he said” — here she put on a gentle Southern drawl — “‘I’m going to tell you something I bet you didn’t hear today.’ And he goes, ‘Your grandma taught me how to read.’”

Another smoke signal, and a reminder of what lives on.

[joeys-babe]

Joey B Imagines: Rocky Mountain Way*

————————————————————————-

Summary: Flashback. You take Joe on a trip with your family to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It was an annual trip your family took every year when you were a kid, and this year, you took your boyfriend Joe for the first time.

Warnings: Smut, fluff

Pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

Imagine universe: Just the Two of Us

————————————————————————-

December 4, 2023

(y/n’s pov)

Today, Joe and I were leaving for Colorado with my family.

My parents have been taking me and my two brothers on this yearly trip our whole lives, and this year was my first time taking Joe.

I was the oldest of my two brothers, being 27.

The middle sibling, Tanner, was 21.

The youngest, Harrison, was 18.

Harrison was a senior in high school and had a girlfriend, but he wasn't allowed to take her with us on our Colorado trip.

Tanner was bringing his fiance, Lucy, though. They had been dating since the 8th grade, and Tanner knew from the beginning she was the one. He just wanted to wait to propose till they could celebrate their engagement with drinking.

As soon as they were both 21, he proposed.

Crazy that my little brother got engaged before me, but I know Joe is taking his time. It’ll happen eventually, I hope.

Lucy had been coming on the Colorado trip with us since they graduated high school. My parents found her and Tanner mature enough to share a room.

When Joe found this out, he was slightly offended as to why he hadn't been invited to come.

I had to break it to him that he had been invited every year since we started dating at twenty years old.

And that I had declined the offer from my parents before even asking him.

Joe was annoyed, confused, and a little hurt. He thought it was because I didn't want him there.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

The real reason I didn't want to bring Joe? Sex.

When I told him, Joe laughed at my reasoning, but it was a genuine worry.

Since we started dating in 2017, Joe and I have pretty much, at least, had one round of sex a day.

Of course, there were some days missed since then because life got in the way or we were too tired at the end of the day, but it slowly became a part of our daily routine as a couple.

Why would this be a problem, though? Why would this make me decline an invitation for my boyfriend to go on vacation with me and my family?

I’m not comfortable having intercourse under the same roof as my family.

There were no problems for me if it was under the same roof as strangers or friends, like quickies in an event bathroom or a friend’s bedroom at a get-together. It was purely just my family.

The thought of my parents hearing me make a sound or the headboard of the bed hitting the wall… made me want to puke.

Eventually, though, I gave in to Joe and told him he could go with us this year.

My only stipulation? No sex the entire trip.

Joe happily agreed, saying he could go a week without it, but here we were…

Day two, and Joe was lying in bed next to me, complaining of unresolved horniness.

“Baby, please. We can be super quiet, and you can ride me so the bed doesn't move that much…” - Joe

“Convincing, but no. You knew what you were getting yourself into when I agreed to let you come.” - you

“I know, but I was way in over my head. It's been 48 hours, and I already can’t stop thinking about sex.” - Joe

“Typical man.” - you mumbled

“You don’t feel it?” - Joe

“Feel what?” - you

I asked in a slightly apprehensive manner, hoping he wouldn't just say “My dick”.

“Slightly deprived?” - Joe

“Baby, you're not being deprived… but, no I don't. It feels a little weird going two days without it since it’s become a part of our routine, but no I don't feel deprived.” - you

“Yeah. Maybe I am just a typical man.” - Joe

He rolled over to where his back was facing me, and I started to get worried that he might think I was mad at him.

Reaching out to rub his muscular back with my hand, I scooted closer to him and laid my chin on his shoulder.

“I shouldn't have said that earlier. I'm sorry, Joey.” - you

“It's okay, I guess. Goodnight.” - Joe

“Goodnight, Joe. I love you.” - you

I leaned my head over to place a kiss in the crook of his neck, and Joe laced his fingers with mine of the hand that was lying on his stomach.

“I love you too.” - Joe yawned

——

December 9, 2023

It was the day before Joe’s birthday and the last day of the trip.

When we woke up this morning, everyone was gone already, probably already at the slopes.

Surprisingly, Joe had gone snowboarding with us every day and he was pretty good at it too.

It wasn't too surprising, though, because Joe Burrow doesn't half-ass anything.

That includes the snowball fight that broke out between us while we were snowboarding yesterday.

I had jokingly thrown a snowball at Joe while we were discussing which path to take, and it unleashed a whole war.

Joe didn't hold back or go uneasy on me. He was throwing them pretty much as hard as he could, football-style, and I ended up on the ground.

In the end, Joe lay in the snow next to me, and we made a no-snowball-fight truce for the rest of the trip.

My family would be in the mountains for a few more hours, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding.

So Joe and I had the cabin to ourselves for the majority of the day.

After eating breakfast while cuddling up on the huge couch, Joe asked me what we should do with our alone time.

“Wanna get in the hot tub? We can drink some champagne and just relax.” - you

“Sounds amazing.” - Joe

Joe leaned into me and pressed a kiss to my lips before we hopped off of the couch and went to our room to change into our swimming clothes.

I went out onto the deck first because Joe had to stay back for a second to use the bathroom.

It was absolutely freezing outside so I immediately hopped into the hot tub and cranked the heat on.

A few minutes later, Joe came running out onto the porch with champagne and two glass flutes for us.

“Holy fuck, it's cold!” - Joe ran

Laughing at his little run, Joe launched himself into the hot tub, his big body making the water splash over the sides.

“Joe!” - you laughed

“Sorry…” - Joe gave you a sheepish smile

Joe got settled next to me and gently grabbed my legs to drape them over his lap.

“May I interest you in some champagne?” - Joe

“You may.” - you giggled

He handed me both of the flutes and uncorked the champagne. My eyes lingered on his sexy, veiny hands.

After pouring the bubbly liquid into the glasses, Joe stood up and moved to the other side of the hot tub to put the bottle on the table.

I couldn't help but stare at my boyfriend’s trained, muscular body. His toned torso and built chest looked even more appealing as the beads of water ran over them.

When Joe turned around, I felt a flutter in my stomach… and in other places as the defined muscles in his back flexed.

“Lookin’ good, Joey.” - you purred

Joe settled back down in his spot and sent a flirty wink my way, those big hands finding my thighs to place them in his lap yet again.

We clinked our glasses together and took a sip, Joe resting his hand on the inside of my thigh.

“I love you.” - you

“I love you too.” - Joe grinned

I ran one of my hands up Joe’s torso before keeping it against his chest.

“Since no one’s around… wanna make out?” - you

Joe laughed at my forward question but nodded his head before leaning forward to kiss me.

The kisses were feverish and rough. Joe’s tongue slid into my mouth and tangled with mine.

Eventually, Joe pulled me onto his lap and gently grasped my hips to start moving me on him.

It didn't take long for me to feel Joe get hard in his swim shorts, and I broke away from his lips.

Joe’s usual pink lips were red and wet with my saliva, and he looked so hot like this.

“I need you.” - you

“Take me then.” - Joe

I reached down to palm Joe through his shorts, relishing in his groan before moving the waistband away from his stomach.

Joe’s erection immediately sprang out of his shorts, and he winced at the feeling of the hot water around his cock.

Feeling the need to hurry, I maneuvered myself to hover over top of Joe and sank onto him.

He slapped a hand over his mouth to stop any loud sounds from leaving his mouth. Joe wasn't usually loud during sex, but after a week without it, I wasn't surprised when he muffled a loud moan.

“Take your hand off.” - you

“I- don't wanna be loud.” - Joe

“It's hot, I promise.” - you

I gently took his hand off of his mouth and started moving on him.

The expression on his face told me that he wasn't going to last very long, and I decided to do something that I'd never done.

“You’re not allowed to come till I say you can, okay Joe?” - you

“Fuck… okay.” - Joe groaned

Joe’s dick twitched inside me when I said that. He must like it when I take charge.

“You feel so good.” - you moaned

“Missed you, baby.” - Joe

He buried his head into my neck and moaned lowly, I could tell he was feeling self-conscious about being louder.

“I love it when you moan… so hot.” - you

After moaning myself, Joe removed his head from my neck and looked at me with an appreciative smile.

“Really?” - Joe

Just after he asked that, his cock bottomed out, and the tip brushed against my cervix, causing us both to moan.

“See? So damn hot.” - you

My walls squeezed his length and Joe finally felt confident enough to moan louder… and fuck.

“Joey, oh god!” - you

“Shit, I'm close.” - Joe groaned

“Don’t come yet.” - you

Joe nodded his head but a couple of minutes later, he couldn't wait any longer.

“Please? Can I come?” - Joe

“Not yet, wait, Joe- fuck.” - you

With every movement of my hips, Joe whimpered. I could tell he was starting to get overstimulated but I wanted to finish at the same time.

“Baby, please.” - Joe whimpered

“Just a little longer.” - you moaned

“Shit!” - Joe grunted

I started moving faster, and Joe was writhing beneath me. He was biting his bottom lip so hard that I was surprised that he hadn't drawn blood yet.

Shakily, Joe moved his hand towards where we were connected and circled over my clit with his thumb.

“Mmm. Shit, baby.” - you moaned

Joe was panting in my ear and his cock continuously throbbed deep inside me.

Feeling myself getting closer to my release, I slammed my lips against Joe’s and started hotly making out.

After a few seconds of kissing, I slowly broke away from him, pulling his lower lips between my teeth before letting go.

“Come for me.” - you

Almost immediately Joe grabbed my hips and slammed his entire length as deep as it could get.

“Fuck, y/n!” - Joe moaned loudly

Just as he was shooting his load deep inside, I came around his length, and we moaned into each other’s mouths.

Joe hunched over into my chest, his head falling onto my shoulder. I rubbed over his back to comfort him.

“You okay, Joey?” - you

I kissed his temple sweetly, and when he didn't answer I pulled his head away from my shoulder.

“Mhm. Think I passed out for a sec.” - Joe mumbled

“I kinda got carried away.” - you giggled

“S’all good. It was kinda hot.” - Joe

“Yeah?” - you

“Yeah.” - Joe cuddled back into your neck

——

An hour later, we had taken a shower that Joe almost fell asleep twice during and were now cuddled up on the couch.

Joe lay on top of me, his head buried in my chest as I simultaneously played with his hair and rubbed his back.

He had fallen asleep right after I started the movie.

I giggled when I thought back to what he told me right before falling asleep.

“Shit, I'm so tired after that, but I think it's safe to say that Rocky Mountain Way is the best sex we've had. We seriously need to buy a hot tub for the house.” - Joe

Of course, this man is already thinking about sex again.

“Is the jacuzzi bathtub not enough?” - you laughed

“Uh-huh.” - Joe

“I'll start looking for one.” - you

“Good. Love you, bab-” - Joe

I waited for him to finish his sentence, and when he didn't I went to look down at him.

Before I could, though, little snores filled the air.

Laughing to myself as I pressed a kiss to his forehead, I shook my head looking down at his sleeping face.

I'm so glad I finally decided to take him with me.

————————————————————————-

Authors note: idk what to say really.

Request included in this fic;

[seoul-bros]

Jikook Week 48 Complete (05/11 -12/11/2024)

Their 48th week in the military is now complete. Wow only four weeks left before they will have completed a whole year as soldiers. Today we are looking back at this week in 2018.

Award season was underway in South Korea and BTS attended the MGA Award show on the 06/11. It was an action packed evening and BTS went home with six awards: 🏆Best Male Dance, 🏆Best Male Group, 🏆Genie Music Popularity, 🏆Best Digital Album, 🏆Best Artist of the Year, 🏆Best Producer and 🏆Best Choreographer

It was a special night for JK, a long time fan of Charlie Puth, (remember he and Jimin covered We don't talk anymore beautifully for Festa 2017) that evening he got to appear on stage with him.

All his hyungs, including a very proud and excited Jimin, were watching from the wings.

Jimin was breathtaking that night and.......

....Jikook were relaxed and affectionate.

BTS were flying high and Jimin took the time to thank ARMY for their support in making it such a successful night.

"It was an amazing day, as it was my first time winning so many awards in one day. I sincerely thank all the ARMYs who cheered me on, and above all, this is my first popularity award since my debut. I sincerely congratulate our ARMYs. This award is yours thank you."

Post Date: 12/11/2024

[thoughtportal]

This story is a Kite, a special category dedicated to first-person reports that rely heavily on a writer’s first-hand observations and experiences. Read more about why PJP uses this category here.

Well before Luigi Mangione became a temporary resident here at State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, he and the crime he is alleged to have committed were topics of speculation among the prison population.

Through the prison grapevine, I learned that Mangione was being held in D-Rear, or the rear of D Block, a part of the prison where death row prisoners used to be housed.

Rather than the orange jumpsuit that is standard issue in here, he was wearing a “turtle suit,” a blue padded getup used primarily for prisoners vulnerable to committing self-harm. 

Every time he was escorted from his cell, D Block got locked down. During lockdowns, all prisoner movement is prohibited.

Luigi Mangione was incarcerated at SCI Huntingdon for close to two weeks in December, before being transported to New York. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

Within 48 hours of Mangione’s arrival here, cable and broadcast news had set up shop outside the prison. That evening, Ashleigh Banfield, the host of NewsNation’s “Banfield” show, placed a curious kind of spotlight on this prison. 

During that nighttime interview, Banfield realized the prisoners on E Block were watching her show when they shouted and blinked their ceiling lights in response to the conversation she was having from the studio with Alex Caprariello, her reporting colleague in the field. So she started posing questions directly to the prisoners, who responded both vocally out of their windows and visually with their cell lights.

I haven’t heard voices here raised in such raucous unison since 2018, when the Philadelphia Eagles won the 2017 Super Bowl. Though it was hard for Caprariello to hear anyone shouting from C Block, where I live, I suppose people relished the moment to have a voice. 

The day after the NewsNation “interview” with E Block aired, the prison’s deputy superintendent threatened everyone in the unit, particularly the guys on the street-facing side, with time in the hole if they yelled from their cell or blinked their lights for the media again.

You’ll notice in subsequent NewsNation interviews outside E Block that guys were still vocal, just not so much with the lights, to avoid being traced back to a particular cell. The deputy superintendent’s threat was all the act-right motivation they needed. Freedom of speech suppressed? Check.

Mangione’s notoriety likely softened the amount of oppression the guards here would usually dispense because they wanted something from him. They wanted stories to share with coworkers and friends and family. Everyone wanted a piece of the biggest crime story in the nation.

Now, nearly 2,000 of us are part of that story. No matter what, Mangione is and will forever be an SCI Huntingdon alumnus. His brothers here will intently follow his case as it moves forward through the criminal justice system, all the while telling anyone who’ll listen, if it had been them, what they would have done to keep from getting arrested in the first place.

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

[ganxiously]

I may be able to provide some help for the flying stuff.

Yes, the FAA has regulations limiting the flight time and duty period for commercial passenger operations, flight instruction and fractional ownership operations (basically private jet clubs like NetJets).

Services provided by Air Ops like search and rescue, aerial firefighting count as part of general aviation, hence not subjected to FAA rest requirements.

Crew fatigue is a danger to flight safety whether you're a commercial pilot or not, so it's up to individual agencies to set their own duty time limit. According to this interview with a real LAFD pilot, they work a traditional 24/48 firefighter shift schedule, and there's no hard limit set up for maximum hours per flight, but they try keeping it under 6 hours for the initial phase. If the mission is expected to last much longer, they'll start calling more people in (probably why Tommy had to leave the bachelor party) and enter crew rotation. After their first 6 hours, they'll have a rest period, from 4-8 hours, before they can go into the air for another 4 hours, rinse and repeat, until the fire is out. For those large scale campaigns, crew members can be on duty for consecutive days.

For typical operations though, while your department might advise against working back-to-back shifts for 48 hours straight, it's absolutely not against any regulation. You're likely spending most of your shift on the ground on a regular day anyway.

It's not the US, and it's a special case, but air crews of the Air Greenland search and rescue unit work a whopping 2-week shift schedule. Yes, one shift lasts for 2 weeks, 24/7. It's up to individual member to decide if they're fit for flight or if they need rest.

They once worked 12 hours a day for nearly a week to evacuate the residents of a settlement afflicted by a tsunami in 2017.

Source: Vertical Mag

More information on how Tommy's shift schedule could work. The interview mentioned is 4 years old so I'm not sure if they have changed to follow the Kelley schedule now like the rest of LAFD but it should give you a better idea about how things would work at Harbour station

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

A good read for those interested in antimicrobial stewardship, a growing issue especially since the beginning of the pandemic.

A population-based study in Ontario found a higher prevalence and risk of concomitant bacterial infection in patients infected with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) compared with SARS-CoV-2, researchers reported this week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

But the risk of bacterial infections in COVID-19 patients was substantially elevated after 48 hours compared with the other viruses.

Using datasets from Ontario Laboratories Information System, a team led by researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto investigated the prevalence of concomitant bacterial infections in patients with lab-confirmed influenza A and B (FLUA and FLUB) and RSV from 2017 through 2019 and SARS-CoV-2 from 2020 through 2021. They also examined whether risk factors, such as patient characteristics, are associated with differential risks of concomitant bacterial infection. Concomitant infections were classified into coinfection (–2 to +2 days from viral infection) and secondary infection (more than 2 days after viral infection).

Among the 885,004 respiratory viral infections observed during the study period, 4,230 (0.5%) were associated with concomitant bacterial infections, which were found in 422 of 8,891 (4.7%) FLUB patients, 861 of 22,313 (3.9%) FLUA patients, 428 of 12,744 (3.4%) RSV patients, and 2,519 of 841,026 (0.3%) COVID-19 patients. The most prevalent species causing concomitant bacterial infection were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Higher risk of secondary infection with SARS-CoV-2 After adjusting for covariates, the odds ratio for bacterial infection was 1.69 (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.48 to 1.93) for FLUA, 2.30 (95%CI, 1.97 to 2.69) for FLUB, and 1.56 (95%CI, 1.33 to 1.82) for RSV compared with SARS-CoV-2. Stratified analysis revealed that while the adjusted odds of bacterial co-infection were lower for SARS-CoV-2, odds of secondary bacterial infection with SARS-CoV-2 were higher than FLUA, FLUB, and RSV.

The study authors say the findings have important implications for antimicrobial stewardship.

"Antimicrobial prescribing is common in patients with COVID-19 which can adversely impact antimicrobial resistance," they wrote. "However, early empiric prescribing in non-critically ill patients is not justified given the relatively low risk of co-infection. Such findings should be considered to support judicious prescribing decisions in patients with suspected or proven COVID-19."

[russianperioddrama]

Welcome to the Russian Period Dramas Bracket everyone! The order of things will look something like this:

Polls will start posting tomorrow. One group (A, B, C, D) will be posted per day, starting with Group A. Polls will run for a week. Once all polls for a round close, polls for the following round will begin posting within 24-48 hours (depending on mod availability). You may send in asks with “propaganda” if you wish.

Round 1 matches are listed out below for a full text version. Note that titles are listed in the format: English tittle (official/”official”* or translated) | transliterated title. (*There are occasionally some variations in what is the “official” English title. I tried my best here, usually prioritizing what is used by a major streaming service or wiki).

GROUP A

Ekaterina: The Rise of Catherin the Great | Ekaterina (2014) vs. Pushkin: the Last Duel | Pushkin: Poslednyaya duel (2006)

The Barber of Siberia | Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (1998) vs. Tchaikovsky's wife | Zhena Chaikovskogo (2022)

The Duelist | Duelyant (2016) vs. Life of a Mistress | Volnaya gramota (2018)

Catherine the Great | Velikaya (2015) vs. Poor Nastya | Bednaya Nastya (2023)

Detective Anna | Anna – detectiv (2016) vs. Gardes-marines Ahead! | Gardemariny, vperyod! (1988)

Bloody Lady | Krovavaya Barinya (2018) vs. Institute For Noble Maidens | Institut blagorodnykh devits (2010)

Union of Salvation | Soyuz spaseniya (2019) vs. Star of Captivating Happiness | Zvezda plenitelnogo schastya (1975)

Russian Ark | Russkiy kovcheg (2002) vs. Poor Poor Paul | Bednyy bednyy Pavel (2003)

GROUP B

The Silver Skates | Serebryanyy konki (2020) vs. Sins of Our Fathers | Grekhi ottsov (2004)

Bezsonov (2019) vs. Voskresensky (2021)

Sunstroke  | Solnechnyy Udar (2014) vs. The Fall of the Empire | Gibel imperii (2005)

Matilda (2017) vs. Gloomy River | Ugryum-reka(2021)

The Road To Calvary  | Hozhdenie po mukam (2017) vs. How the Steel Was Tempered | Kak zakalyalas stal (1973)

Admiral (2008) vs. Quiet Flows the Don | Tikhiy Don (2015)

Morphine | Morphiy (2008) vs. Battalion | Batalyon (2015)

Rasputin | Grigoriy R (2014) vs. Christmas Trees 1914 | Yolki 1914 (2014)

GROUP  C

War and Peace | Voyna I mir (1966) vs. The Queen of Spades | Pikovaya dama (1982)

Pechorin (2011) vs. A Hero of Our Time | Geroy nashego vremeni  (2006)

Eugene Onegin | Yevgeny Onegin (1959) vs. A Cruel Romance | Zhestokiy romans (1984)

Gogol (2017) vs. The Idiot | Idiot (2003)

Anna Karenina: Vronsky’s Story | Anna Karenina. Istoriya Vronskogo (2017) vs. Anna Karenina (2009)

Crime and Punishment | Prestuplenie i nakazanie (2007) vs. Brothers Karamazov | Bratya Karamazovy (2009)

Fathers and Sons | Ottsy i deti (2008) vs. Lady Into Lassie | Baryshnya krestyanka (1995)

Two Women | Dve zhenshchiny (2014) vs. The Emperor’s Love | Lyubov imperatora (2003)

GROUP D

Sophia (2016) vs. The Youth of Peter the Great | Yunost Petra (1980)

Furious | Legenda o Kolovrate (2017) vs. Alexander: The Neva Battle | Aleksandr. Nevskaya bitva (2008)

Viking (2016) vs. Iron Lord | Yaroslav: Tysyachu let nazad (2010)

The Terrible | Groznyy (2020) vs. Tsar (2009)

Godunov (2018) vs. Schism | Raskol (2011)

Land of Legends | Serdtse Parmy (2022) vs. Golden Horde | Zolotaya Orda (2018)

Conquest | Tobol (2019) vs. Secrets of the Palace Revolutions | Tayny dvortsovykh perevorotov (2000)

Elizabeth | Elizaveta (2022) vs. Cathedral | Sobor (2021)

[druidx]

Her Countenance was Light - Chapter 50

CW: None AO3 ; Chapters: 01. 10. 20. 30. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49 Tag list (ask for +/-): @aquadestinyswriting, @hannah-heartstrings, @jacqueswriteblrlibrary, @babyblueetbaemonster @mr-orion

Her last week in the city flashes by in a torrent of arguments, which is not how she would have wished it.

She argues with her mother about what essential items are needed; Oakrose insists her eldest daughter needs to take a dozen things that Elo is quite happy to give away. She has to console her siblings, especially the younger ones, that this won't be forever – although it may seem like it to their young minds – and she will be back before they know it. She argues with Clayrmantle about her duties while in Iceland, and with Strucker about what her reports must contain, and then the two of them argue with each other, while the newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer looks on in bafflement. Elo walks away from that animated discussion with orders for weekly reports and a reminder – as if she could ever forget – that she is a representative for the city, so for the love of all that's good and holy she must stay out of Trouble. She promises to write the reports. Then there are arguments with Aster and Bonerot, discussions on how to manage this new partnership, with Farren put in place as a backstop to assure them Snotgrut will not turn into Icemight. And finally, she argues with Cobbleskater that she doesn't mind that he'll be Farren's temporary partner; he's done it before and she has faith he can do it again. He just has to remember he's an officer too, not a secretary, and not to let the others push him around. Yates and Monday jokingly argue about who gets her stationery, so Elo sweeps it all into a box and takes it down to the Supply Sergeant, before taking them out for one last round on her.

The only person Elo manages not to argue with – much – is Farren. After a frankly ludicrous amount of bottom-shelf booze, they have an earnest conversation about how they're both feeling. Elo opens up about exactly what Evie meant to her and finally allows herself to openly grieve her friend. Farren, for his part, accepts that despite how much he hates the idea of losing her again, right now a break from the city is something Elo needs.

After that, there's very little to do. Elo's already wrapped up her affairs and packing her footlocker hardly takes a day; she's acquired surprisingly little in the years she's been home. She has no need to worry about transport – that's being provided by Drakemar – and Elo finds herself itching to be away already.

When the morning of her departure comes, Elo stands on the breezy dock, her life in the crate at her feet, surrounded by those she cares about. She has to remind herself to be patient with all the tears and hugs and last-minute gifts; has to remind herself to absorb all the handshakes and advice and farewell kisses. A year is not a long time – but she knows in a week or so, when the novelty wears off and the homesickness sets in, these will be the moments she clings to. Still – her skin tingles and her heart thrums with anticipation. She feels coiled tight, a sprinter waiting for the starter pistol. Farren laughs and captures her animate hands as she tells him about the lands of ice and fire. Her mother smiles indulgently at the sparkle in her eyes and the way she twitches every few seconds to check on the approaching barge. There are more kisses, more hugs, more tears as her handler chivvies her onto the waiting barge and then she is waving to the receding dots of kith and kin.

It is not that she wishes to be rid of them, not that at all. It is only that the call of the road is strong – and she is fervid to see where it leads.

Fin

–––

Afterword

This story was originally written for National Novel Writing Month 2017, close to the end of the two worst years of my life. Since then things have gotten a lot better for me, which may be part of why I felt I could finally look back and edit this with some objectivity.

Finishing and publishing this story feels like closing a chapter of my life. Like I can finally stop looking over my shoulder at what happened then, and instead look forward, at what's going to happen next.

Thank you for reading. Health, wealth, and happiness to you, friend.

[fangirl-erdariel]

The King of the Tower of the Moon masterpost

It is the year 3399 of the Second Age. Isildur with his family has survived the Fall of Númenor, and together with his father Elendil and his brother Anárion has founded the realms of Arnor and Gondor in Middle-Earth. The horrors experienced in Númenor have been left behind, and Isildur’s life has settled into its tracks in Ithilien, where preparations for the celebration of his son Elendur’s 100th birthday are currently underway. Everyone believes Sauron to have perished in the Fall of Númenor, but one day this belief will prove wrong. Isildur, Anárion, and Elendil must go to war in defence of their new homeland. The elves come to the aid of the dúnedain, and so begins the War of the Last Alliance, at the end of which Sauron will lose his Ring, never to regain it.

I'm honestly mostly doing this to procrastinate on editing the next chapter (I really don't like editing lol, it's tedious and annoying and requires so much thinking), but here's a list of all the chapter titles of the King of the Tower of the Moon, a longfic about Isildur and his family that I am translating to English!

The fic was originally in Finnish, and posted by Mithrellas with the title Kuun Tornin kuningas, first on a Finnish LOTR fanfic site in 2014-2016, and then on Ao3 in 2017-2018. My translation is of the version posted on Ao3

I may add other information to this post if and when I think of something about the fic that's relevant to mention, but for now, this will be only a list of the chapters, with links to each one that has been posted so far; currently I add new chapters about once every two weeks. Most recent update was on 19.1.2025

Please note that the translations of the titles for some of the as-yet unpublished chapters may change in the future, if I come up with more satisfying translations for them

Chapters:

1 - Servant of the Moon 2 - Unexpected Guests 3 - The White Tree 4 - Cockerels 5 - The Ball * 6 - The White Queen * 7 - Call of the Sea 8 - Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost 9 - In the Hall of the Mountain-King 10 - Miruvor 11 - Turning Points 12 - Theatre of Life 13 - Northmen 14 - Fresh Blood 15 - Sunshine in a Galenas-meadow 16 - The King’s Squire 17 - Lunar Eclipse 18 - Flames of Doom 19 - Under the Shadow 20 - The Oathbreakers 21 - A Woman from the Past 22 - Prodigal Sons 23 - Conflict 24 - Elostirion 25 - Gil-galad 26 - Surprises 27 - Friend from a Distant Land 28 - The Alliance 29 - The Heir 30 - The Council 31 - Lôminzil 32 - The Farewell 33 - The Brown Lands 34 - First of Many 35 - Vengeance 36 - His Father’s Son 37 - Separate Roads 38 - Eiliant 39 - The Wounded 40 - A Surprise Guest 41 - Solar Eclipse 42 - Weregild 43 - Riddles 44 - The Tower of the Sun 45 - A New Journey 46 - Holy Mountain 47 - The Promise 48 - The Last March 49 - The Departure of the King 50 - The Lonely Ones 51 - Cousin 52 - The Widow Queen 53 - A Light from the Shadows Shall Spring

* = the translation for this chapter is finished and more or less in a state where it can be posted

[genopaint]

A little late but we got week 48 coming to you RIGHT NOW!!

As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily

And read more info on each of them below the cut

Daily Dragon #336 - Text Dragon

As we approach the end of the challenge I probably SHOULD use each day a little more wisely and make cool dragons... But I'm lying in bed, cut me some slack okay??? I promise I'll get to good dragons tomorrow

Can you make out the dragon here????

Daily Dragon #337 - Ramesses Ragnarok

Thank you to everyone for voting!! That's it for November, we're now in the final month of the Daily Dragon Challenge!!

Here's the results:

Ramesses Ragnarok - 5 Votes Yggdrasil - 4 Votes Bagel - 3 Votes Jet Dragoon - 3 Votes Goalbold - 2 Votes Shoreline Dragon - 1 Vote Mephistopheles the Malicious One - 1 Vote

Much to no ones surprise, the most popular ones were the ones that got the most votes lol. I'll confess, Ramesses, Yggdrasil, and Bagel were also my favorites this month! With Yggdrasil being my #1 probably. It's a really old OC so I'm happy people still like him!

It's time! The last month of the challenge! As I said before, I do plan on finishing this up and I already know how I'm gonna end it. There will be one last vote at the end of December so I hope you all enjoy the last 30 or so dragons in store for you!!

Daily Dragon #338 - Komodo Dragon

One more real world dragon before the challenge is done! The other real world dragons were both bugs, but I gotta include at least one real world reptile! Komodos are so cool!

Daily Dragon #339 - Yeouiju

I've done both dragons that appear in Smash and a Guilty Gear dragon. It would just feel wrong to not do one from my other all time favorite fighting game series: Killer Instinct! So here's the Dragon Spirit within Kim Wu, Yeouiju!!

I guess he's a bit more of an obscure pick, originally I was gonna do Kim Wu herself but... she's not EXACTLY a dragon, even in a technical way like Sheeva. She just USES a dragon. So it didn't feel right. But I will, one day, draw Kim Wu once again. Mark my words.

Daily Dragon #340 - Plasdra

Like Firegon, Watyrm, Windvyrn, and Earthsaur, the Plasdra is a dragon often given to young tamers at the start of their journeys. However, it's a much rarer species, controlling plasma and lightning. Very few are given this creature first pick.

Daily Dragon #341 - Nocturnal Wyvern

These bat dragons are actually a bit larger than you may think. Most coming up to the waist of an averagely sized human. Despite that, they don't eat human meat, so no worries! But they can eat massive bug monsters impressively quickly!

My sibling has been suggesting themes for dragons that whole year and I've only tackled one or two so far. So here's one more for you, shout outs to my sibling

Daily Dragon #342 - Polaris Dragon

The Lord of Infinite Starshine. It's believed to leave the stars behind as it flies through the empty night sky. It sleeps in an egg at the center of the galaxy, every few centuries it awakens and builds new constellations!

This is a redraw of a dragon I did in 2017 apparently!! I can't believe it's been that long! I tried to unify the color scheme a little bit more, and I hope the redesign still looks cool :)

[foxes-that-run]

End game

Like all Ed features, End Game is Haylor. (Ed, the O.G. Haylor MVP) it was written a few weeks after HS1 was released. Unlike other Rep songs that were revisited and have Joe references, even when they started before they met. In fact the film clip is overtly Haylor. (below) in the BTS (at 1:55) Taylor’s gets text with a scrabble move, she considers, says it is a 'tight game' and decides to leave the other player suspended. Ed blushes.

When OOTW was released Harry’s IG went B&W for 2 years until he started solo promo, apart from a few scrabble boards (in screaming colour) I have a theory he & Taylor played remotely which is why they are colour and she included this.

Here’s some footage of Joe playing scrabble. ….oh sorry, wait, that’s Harry Styles: fan of Scrabble and texting T Swift. Look at her here in the reputation book with the players names covered.. I wonder why lol

Timeline

Ed Sheeran said he wrote his part in a hotel room in New York. He told Audacy that he went to her RI home and heard Rep then the next day wrote it in a hotel in NY. 14 July 2017. (2 months after HS1’s release) (He was also at Taylors NY Apartment 7 March)

I was playing Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, she has a place in Rhode Island, which isn't too far so she hits me up I go around. She plays me what turned out to be Reputation and End Game and I was like man this is I really like, can I do a verse can I like do a rap verse and she was like yeah for sure. So the next day i kind of I remember I was in bed and sort of woke up and i got my laptop out but the song just looped it and I wrote wrote this verse and I went in with max martin who she did the song with and recorded it and then future the verse and then Taylor wrote a verse and then yeah we shot we shot a video".

Film Clip

The film clip is less subtle in being Haylor, it takes place in:

Miami, where HS and TS hung out at Courtney Cox's house

Tokyo, where HS went on a 1D break as his first trip overseas without the band

London, where Ed, HS and Joe all live.

Haylor Easter eggs:

0:04 the ferris wheel looks like the winding wheel.

0:21 she is a passenger in a car at night

0:44 she wears a very Harry Gucci Jumpsuit

0:48 there is a polaroid

1:10 she is a single kitten mother, except Olivia is in her Rep Era lol

1:20 the 1989 Rolling Stone shoot, now in the dark with fireworks.

2:09 Taylor 'A' Swift wears an "A" shirt see: Harry's A tattoo. (When asked Harry said "uh... for my mum" which Louis said "No it's not not it's for a mystery blonde" (2:40)

2:39 she wears the Red/WANGBT hat and cane. She also wears the jacket from her red rolling stone cover.

3:13 there are 2 white bird statues that look like his chest tattoos.

3.30 she references the 1D One Thing MV bus scene

3:43 she visits this kebab shop, a similar one with a made up but similar name is in the 1D midnight memories MV. This tik tok is also about this being an ex’s kebab shop

Lyrics

I wanna be your endgame, endgame Big reputation, big reputation Ooh, you and me, we got big reputations, ah And you heard about me, ooh I got some big enemies (yeah) Big reputation, big reputation Ooh, you and me, we'd be a big conversation, ah

HS and TS have both had big reputations as long as they’ve know each other. Now both A-listers dating is a much bigger conversation than one dating anyone else. Her enemies of Scooter and the Kanye are relevant to the music industry.

I don't wanna touch you (I don't wanna be) Just another ex-love (you don't wanna see) I don't wanna miss you (I don't wanna miss you) Like the other girls do

New Years Day Taylor sings “Please don't ever become a stranger, Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere”.

I don't wanna hurt you (I just wanna be) Drinkin' on a beach with (you all over me)

Harry Styles Debut was released May 2017, 6 months before Rep. Harry told Radio 1 he had played it for Ed earlier. The album lays out a lot of hurt between them Taylor may not have known about in that detail. Drinking, beaches and being all over each other are solid Haylor themes, see Video.

I hit you like, "Bang" We tried to forget it, but we just couldn't

Haylor hit like a bang, they met in march, were together almost immediately, he had multiple tattoos that reference her by May and they both had new albums with songs they still perform about each other by October and November. Toe were friends for a long time first and were not yet public.

Reputation precedes me, they told you I'm crazy I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me And I can't let you go, your handprint's on my soul It's like your eyes are liquor, it's like your body is gold You've been calling my bluff on all my usual tricks So here's the truth from my red lips

There’s a lot of Haylor references here:

They told you I was crazy, I swear I don’t love the drama is a reference to 1989’s Blank Space

I can’t let you go, Handprints on my soul fits is a theme in 1989, MMIH, Stockholm syndrome, ready for it?, Harry’s House.

The truth from my red lips refers to Style, Two Ghosts and other lip related lyrics.

Finally Taylor uses gold to describe HS in Gold Rush: “Everybody wants you, But I don't like a gold rush, What must it be like, to grow up that beautiful?”

[carlyyyyxbishhop]

Love me like I haven't changed // Shayne Topp // 1

Okay so hi, long time smosh fan lmao. I used to write stuff for bands back in like 2014-2017 but I stopped for some reason. Recently I kinda wanted to get back into it... so I started writing this. Idk if you'd count this as a fanfic because idk how long its gonna be.

Tbh I got an idea and just started writing so I'm gonna post parts 1 and 2 tonight. Lemme know if I should continue writing because I'm slightly hesitant.

part one // Kate

I bounced my right leg anxiously, out of habit I guess. The waiting room was a sterile white, littered with magazines and children’s toys. But I’ll never forget the smell, funny that. It smelt like pure vomit, there’s no other way to describe it.

I stared at the poster on the wall in front of me, it said something stupid like keep hanging on. I rolled my eyes and looked toward the reception desk. A woman was sitting filing her nails with her airpods in, obviously making great use of company time. I looked to my right as a door opened. 

“Kate?” He called out into the room as if I wasn’t the only person sitting in the waiting area. I stood, flashing him a small smile, before following him into the small room. To say the office was small was an understatement. I took it in quickly before finding a chair in the corner near the window.

“Hi Kate, I’m Charlie. It’s nice to meet you.” He started as he sat across from me. I cleared my throat before I spoke, not realising I hadn’t spoken a full sentence in over 48 hours.

“Hi, nice to meet you too.” I watched as he grabbed a small notepad from the table beside him.

“Kate, I know your mother was adamant that you come to therapy but if you’re not ready you don’t have to be here. I just want to let you know that before we start.” He looks over at me, he can probably already sense I’m hesitant.

“No it’s fine, if I don’t come to the appointments she’ll keep harassing me until I do.” He nodded slightly and wrote something on his notepad.

“Okay well, just know you can back out at any time,” He offered a smile that I returned, “So, uhh, if you don’t mind could you tell me a bit about yourself?”

“What, like my job and stuff?”

“Well if that’s what you want to talk about, then yes we can start with that.” I think for a second.

“Do your clients usually go straight into their traumas?” He furrowed his eyebrows at the question.

“Not particularly,” He starts, “Usually they start with simple things to get us started.”

“Oh right,” I say slightly embarrassed, “I’ve never been to therapy before if you can’t tell.” He smiled.

“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, some hobbies, work… maybe friends?” He offers some starting topics.

“Well, I’m 29 and I’m currently on mental health leave from my job. Mostly because I stopped going to work about 3 weeks ago and stopped answering their calls. Eventually they called my mother because she’s my emergency contact and she made up some bullshit about my Dad dying.” I slightly rambled.

“Did you stop going to work because of your father?” He asked hesitantly, almost trying to predict the reason.

“No, he died years ago. I just kind of lost interest in life when my ex left.” I gulp down the ball in my throat and reach for my water bottle as a distraction.

“Oh right, your ex… was he a big part of your life?” He looks down at his notepad as he makes some notes.

I laugh slightly, “I guess you could say that, we were together for five years.”

“Wow, that’s quite a long time. It’s normal to be upset when going through a breakup.” He tries to reason.

“Is it normal to lay in bed for weeks after a breakup?” I try to find the novelty in it.

“In extreme cases… yes. It can be perfectly normal to have a negative reaction when someone breaks up with you.” I tense slightly at his words.

“See,” I gulp down another lump in my throat, “He didn’t break up with me… he left me.”

“Right… and do you know why he did.” I laugh slightly and look toward the window.

“Yes.” I say shortly, holding back the tears threatening to spill.

“Did you want to talk about it?” He asked, almost unsure if he should. I shook my head no.

“Okay, well why don’t you tell me about him?” He asked.

“What do you want to know?” I looked back toward him and tucked my legs under myself, getting more comfortable on the lounge chair.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

[forshesajollygoodfellow]

Tagged by @wellntruly to share my top 9 new-to-me films of 2024. I might be a little late on this, but I think its fine to share year end lists until at least the end of January.

This wasn't a big film year for me, I only watched 48 films-- I hope to make watching new (to me) films more of a priority in 2025!

My Top Films of 2024 (in no particular order)

The Wicker Man (1973)

A film I was afraid to watch for years because my brain is a little weird about horror as a genre. So glad I didn't let that stop me from seeing this! The score?? Everything.

Psycho (1960)

Another entry in the too-chicken-to-watch canon! This film reminds me of The Graduate in the sense that one scene in the film (the most shocking/salacious) is treated a synecdoche for the whole piece and that doesn't do the whole film justice. Anthony Perkins I'm so sorry babe I didn't know you out here giving an unsettling exposed nerve of a performance.

Yentl (1983)

Listen, if I had watched this film when I was 16 I would have made it my entire personality for at least two years. All baby Willow wanted in life was to be a cross-dressing scholar boy having intense feelings about a gorgeous classmate/intellectual sparring partner. I'm not there any more, but this has to make the list. for her.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

So glad I watched this after going on a dive into 60s music because I don't think I would have loved it quite as much a couple of years ago. Feed me Seymour!

Rye Lane (2023).

Love a romcom, love a two-hander, love a simple story done well. Charming little film that I've found myself recommending to a lot of people.

American Fiction (2023)

Came for the satire about the publishing industry, stayed for the excellently acted family drama. Thank you to Cord Jefferson for using his Oscars platform to call for more small and mid sized films in Hollywood.

Woman of the Year (1942)

The debut of the Tracy/Hepburn power couple, Katherine Hepburn pulling out her under-utilized talent for slapstick, and shockingly progressive gender roles. Count me in.

Tick, Tick... BOOM! (2021)

Maybe the best film musical since Chicago? This should not work as well as it does but oh boy does it WORK. Mr. Miranda I don't know why you are not getting your laurels as a director.

Faces Places (2017)

Thanks to Tarra for giving me the push to finally get into Agnes Varda! Gosh this is a beautiful film. One of those that you carry around with you for weeks after you've seen it. It's about age and friendship and art and work and community and it's absolutely lovely without being at all schmaltzy or trite. If this were a ranked list, it would be number one.

[theharpermovieblog]

#HARPERSMOVIECOLLECTION

2024 MOVIE LIST

www.tumblr.com/theharpermovieblog

1. X (2022)

2. The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)

3. The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964)

4. One Armed Boxer (1972)

5. Master Of The Flying Guillotine (1976)

6. Road House (1989)

7. Asteroid City (2023)

8.Mission Impossible (1996)

9. Strawberry Mansion (2021)

10. Event Horizon (1997)

11. Septic Man (2013)

12. The Punisher (1989)

13. Dragonslayer (1981)

14. Sweet Home (1989)

15. Stephen King's The Night Flier (1997)

JOHN CARPENTER MARATHON

16. John Carpenter's Vampires (1998)

17. John Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness (1987)

18. Dark Star (1974)

19. Geostorm (2017)

20. Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

21. Suitable Flesh (2023)

22. Saltburn (2023)

23. Videodrome (1983)

24. Short film triple feature

•Rabbits Moon (1972)

•Premonitions Following An Evil

Deed (1995)

•Curve (2016)

25. Strangers On A Train (1951)

26. Hardcore Henry (2015)

27. Alligator (1980)

28. Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf (1966)

29. Mindwarp (1992)

30. Severed Ties (1992)

31. The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017)

32. The Wolf House (2018)

33. Kuso (2017)

STEPHEN KING THEATRICAL MOVIE WEEK

34. Needful Things (1993)

35. The Dark Half (1993)

35. Creepshow (1982)

STEPHEN KING TV WEEK

36. The Tommyknockers (1993)

37. Quicksilver Highway (1997)

38. Storm Of The Century (1999)

39. Dream Scenario (2023)

40. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

41. Dark City (1998)

FUCKED UP MOVIE WEEK

42. Ichi The Killer (2001)

43. We Are The Flesh (2016)

42. Possession (1981)

43. Messiah Of Evil (1973)

44. Double Impact (1991)

45. The Mask (1994)

DAVID LYNCH WEEK

46. The Grandmother (1969)

47. Blue Velvet (1986)

48. Inland Empire (2006)

49. Late Night With The Devil (2023)

50. Alone In The Dark (1982)

51. In A Glass Cage (1986)

52. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)

53. Death Proof (2007)

54. Night Of The Comet (1984)

RUTGER HAUER DOUBLE FEATURE

55. Surviving The Game (1994)

56. Flesh+Blood (1985)

57. After Blue (2021)

58. Dunkirk (2017)

59. Mortal Kombat (1995)

60. Barfly (1987)

61. The Innkeepers (2001)

62. Deathdream (1974)

63. Piranha (1978)

QUEER HORROR WEEK

64. Interview With The Vampire (1994)

65. Knife+Heart (2018)

66. Cat People (1942)

67. High Plains Drifter (1973)

68. Dr. Caligari (1989)

69. Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future (1985)

70. Southern Comfort (1981)

71. Curse 2: The Bite (1989)

72. Liquid Sky (1982)

73. Runaway Train (1985)

74. Logan's Run (1976)

75. A Face In The Crowd (1957)

1980's COMEDY WEEK

76. The Naked Gun (1988)

77. Better Off Dead (1985)

79. Vibes (1988)

PHANTASM SEQUEL WEEK

80. Phantasm 3: Lord Of The Dead (1994)

81. Phantasm 4: Oblivion (1998)

82. Phantasm 5: Ravager (2016)

83. Stopmotion (2023)

84. Men (2022)

85. She Is Conann (2023)

86. The City Of Lost Children (1994)

87. Etheria Film Night (2024)

88. Doom Asylum (1987)

89. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

90. The Sadness (2021)

91. Jaws (1975)

92. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

93. Alien: Romulus (2024)

94. CRITTERS FOUR IN ONE REVIEW

•Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)

•Critters 3 (1991)

•Critters 4 (1992)

•Critters Attack (2019)

95. Poor Things (2023)

96. The Masque Of The Red Death (1964)

97. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

98. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

99. Cemetery Man (1994)

100. War Of The Gargantuas (1966)

101. Kinds Of Kindness (2024)

102. Man Bites Dog (1992)

103. An American Werewolf In London (1981)

MAD MAX MARATHON

104. Mad Max (1979)

105. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

106. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

107. Longlegs (2024)

108. In A Violent Nature (2024)

109. Sleepwalkers (1992)

110. Black Moon (1975)

111. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

112. American Mary (2012)

113. Dracula (1931)

114. Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky (1991)

115. Castle Freak (1995)

116. Miller's Crossing (1990)

117. Night Of The Creeps (1986)

118. On The Waterfront (1954)

BONUS FILM

119. Hundreds Of Beavers (2022)

112. Crimes Of The Future (1970)

121. Dark Night Of The Scarecrow (1981)

122. Nosferatu (1920)

123. The Thief Of Bagdad (1924)

124. Ghosts Of Mars (2001)

125. Hellraiser (1987)

126. High Sierra (1941)

127. Phantasm (1979)

128. Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)

129. I, Tonya (2017)

130. The Long Good Friday (1980)

131. Nosferatu (2024)

132. The Substance (2024)

FINAL MOVIE OF 2024

133. Hour Of The Wolf (1968)