#8 per mille

[pier-carlo-universe]

La politica al bivio: finanziamenti raddoppiati senza consenso diretto. Un nuovo sistema di contributo forzoso allarga il finanziamento ai partiti politici italiani

Un emendamento controverso al Senato

Un emendamento controverso al Senato Dal 2024, oltre 30 milioni di italiani potrebbero finanziare i partiti politici senza un’esplicita indicazione nella loro dichiarazione dei redditi. È quanto prevede un emendamento presentato da Partito Democratico e Alleanza Verdi-Sinistra, in discussione al Senato. La proposta modifica il sistema di finanziamento della politica, introducendo un contributo…

[shallowseeker]

And yeah, it sucks, and Dean was cruel and murderous and dehumanizing, but on the other hand, 14 days isn't very long.

And yet, at 14 days, things were already starting to repair and heal with Jack just a little bit, even before Cas came back.

(I've seen it said that this didn't occur till after Cas came back, but in 13x04, Jack's behavior and personality are what began to thaw Dean out and, per the script, "put chinks in his armor.”)

///

Interestingly, even back in 13x02, Dean’s body language doesn't match his words. Here it reads as "move behind me."

///

By the end of 13x04, Dean and Jack are tentatively starting to like each other. They're even a little bit alike in this scene:

*THEM: not looking directly at each other as they say HEY awkwardly*

Jack: Hey.

*Dean, doing the same thing*

This is also maybe the first time Dean calls Jack by his name? (I'd have to check, but I think so.)

*Dean’s eyes flitting around nervously*

Dean: “You did good today (pause) Jack”

Yeah, I think you can make a well-argued case for something-something “conditional love.”

But given the Kelly-Cas brainwashing and everything else that came before, I’d say it’s not unreasonable for Jack to like having established trust. To have earned trust.

Earning trust is important in all relationships, not necessarily always an evil “conditional” thing.

///

Then Dean goes and apologizes to Sam, saying that he was out of line during the therapy session and that he's sorry for being a dick lately.

It's sweet, but also, no one is being very empathetic to Dean and his losses. But I think by this point in Dean's life, Dean's not really expecting that either.

He’s only able to get that support from one person in his life right now: Jody Mills. (13x03) Which is part of why he felt comfy taking the case with her, I think.

Later in this scene, in a break with his past tendencies, Dean will actually try to rely on Sam:

///

DEAN: And he tapped his power and saved our asses, so that's a win.

Sam was right about one thing, though. It wasn't Jack’s powers that impressed Dean, or even being saved. It was the effort.

(Jack's personality was already thawing Dean, too.)

///

The rest of the scene is sweet. Dean tries to see Sam's perspective, and Sam tries to see Dean's.

It's a trading of strength and hope, which is how real families are, too. Our strength and resilience wax and wane, and we share our burdens, but we try to share our hope, too.

This is a rare occasion: Dean is trying to share a burden; he lets Sam know how bad it really is.

(Dundundun! Ellen Harvelle would be proud.)

Dean is accepting that Sam isn't going to get there on his own. So he spells out his despair for him. The Cas of it all.

And Sam seems to get that it’s a Cas thing. That's clear in his behavior in the next episode. And Sam wants to be there for Dean, I don't think that's a lie, but…

Sam ALWAYS wants Dean to tell him stuff like this, to talk out the big stuff. But one of Sam’s hopes is that talking things out will fix them.

(Classic Type-A kinda mentality.)

But THIS? Cas’s death isn't fixable, not quite as nebulous as the mom-in-Apocalypse-World-problem is. (In fact, I wouldn't put it past Sam to have been up all night researching, finding NO way to get Cas back. Alternatively, the constant casework could represent just utter denial.)

Anyhoo, Sam's grieving the losses too, but Dean is different. And unfortunately for Sam, John Winchester's grief was so horrendous and frightening that seeing Dean's, uh, particular kind of grief triggers Sam's panic response.

Just look at Sam’s face here.

SAM's BRAIN: brrrrrrrr RED ALERT brrrrr RED ALERT

*Meanwhile*

///

Next episode (13x05):

We find Sam in a state of near-panic. Just look at that face:

And actually, looking at Sam's D8> here…

..I think it's possible that he TOTALLY knew what the PB&J stuff was about, and his brain went into a meat grinder of:

OH NO FUCK NO NO NOT THIS--I RECOGNIZE THIS. THIS KIND OF GRIEF RUINED MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!111

{8[

Don't Grieve in Front of Me Dean (analysis)

Don't Grieve in Front of Me Dean Redux (s7 analysis)

///

So.

Sam finds a case about best friends. Makes you wonder what he was googling to find it...

And Sam’s distress surrounding the case is interesting, because he is behaving so DIFFERENTLY than he was in 13x02 and 13x03:

Dean: *cue surprise*

Dean is weirded out. Maybe he figured Sam would let him take a real break, or maybe it's just that the timing of Sam’s suggestion of leaving Jack behind feels weird now.

They’ve switched places.

Dean was eager to leave Jack in 13x03, and Sam was the one insisting on them staying with Jack to help him “learn to control his powers.”

Now, in about two weeks’ time, Sam’s like—“Jack has TV! We’ll put up extra warding! It’ll be fiiiine!”

Dean’s brain, probably: Hmmm. Sam is trying to cheer me up, but wow are these about-faces on what's bad parenting and what's good parenting kinda fucked up.

///

And at the end of the episode, Dean tries again to tell Sam just how bad it is (mirroring Mary's willingness to offer up “not being okay” in s12):

And Sam is pretty much at sea.

[the-trinket-witch]

Wait...THERE'S 400 OF YOU NOW?? Time for a raffle, then!

A lot of yall like TWST Stuff, but something I don't see a lot of are Overblot designs. Granted, not every OC is going to Overblot. But for those that do, I wanna help design them and give them some pizzaz. But not just a REGULAR Overblot with a phantom and neat lil design. I'm talking "Takebayashi's 'The Conception' fanbook" Overblot Monsters.

PRIZE:

Four (4) Winners will be randomly selected to receive a colored, partially rendered sketch of A TWST OC of theirs.

SO, TO ENTER:

-Must be Following me (New follows are OK) -Reblog and Like this post to enter (Allowing 4 reblogs per account to prevent spam) -SFW Only (Just listing this as a precaution) -One (1) TWST OC per winner -DMs must be open on Tumblr for me to contact the winners. If winners are unable to respond 24hrs after contact, another winner will be selected

DATES THIS RAFFLE IS RUNNING FROM:

July 17, 2024 (17/7/24) - Aug. 1, 2024 (1/8/24) My hope is that I'll have enough time to work on these to start posting around October for Spooky Season

I can't say thank you enough, y'all ;w; Again, This has been one of the most welcoming and engaging fandoms I've got to interact with in a long time.

TAGLIST:

@ceruleancattail @squidwen @thecosmicjackalope @vaporvipermedia@writing-heiress

@oya-oya-okay @k-looking-glass-house @thehollowwriter @rainesol @cyn-write

@heartscrypt @honey-milk-depresso @br3adtoasty @jackiecronefield @ruggiethethuggie

@hoboyherewego @achy-boo @oreoskys @oseathepebble @oathofoaks

@tunabesimpin @hamstergal @fumikomiyasaki@valse-a-mille-temps

@hallowed-delights @kimikitti @plutos-hell @thetwstwildcard @atwstedstory

@comingyourlugubriousness @ice-cweam-sod4 @twst-the-night-away @nammanarin @scint1llat3

[19burstraat]

Random SOC Trivia I Gathered On My Reread

I'll be using this for fics, but it's fun just to read!

Jesper does not hold alcohol well (though this is according to Kaz, who is not exactly impartial)

Wijnstraat, Nemstraat, Havenstraat, Ammberstraat are all street names if you want em

Van Eck has been involved in trying to clean up the Barrel; pious. (Allegedly pious, I doubt he really is)

1/5 Van Eck (or general Kerch trading?) vessels are lost at sea

Kaz arrested three times at ten, twice at eleven, once at fourteen. Does stints in jail but it does not say prison (ppl assume he's been to Hellgate / another prison but I don't think so. He'd never have shut the fuck up about it if he had; I assume the Stadhall Jail)

Kaz's cane is lead-lined. I wasn't sure if this was canon or fanon

Kaz runs book on prize fights, horses, and chance games. Floor boss at crow club since fifteen-ish. Youngest to run a betting shop and has doubled the profits.

Gambling halls: Treasure Chest, Golden Bend, Weddell's Riverboat, Silver Garter

West Stave brothels: The Blue Iris, The Forge, The Obscura, the Willow Switch, the House of Snow

Van Aakster is the widow mercher who sees Nina to ease his grief

Inej likes orange cakes in white paper

Black Tips tattoo is a hand with first and second fingers cut at the knuckle, Razorgulls is 5 birds in wedge formation

Nina Jesper and Kaz definitely all have the crow and cup; the others don't

Jordie seems to like books

ridderspel and spijker are arcade games

Bilge, clams, and wet stone smell in the Barrel (per Retvenko)

Kaz definitely is partial to dogs; Smeet's hounds and the grey dog the Hertzoon household had, the windup dogs, the metaphors. He loves a dog metaphor sorry ur not real babycakes you'd have loved thematic web weaving posts

Geldspin is the cotton mill in Zierfoort, Firma Allerbest is a cannery. Both in Alys' name

Wylan was 8 when Marya 'died'

the black veil tomb is carved like an ancient cargo ship

3 flying fish on a grave: government. Palm trees and snakes: spices.

Inej's mother braids her hair with orange ribbons (colour of persimmons)

University a series of buildings built around the Boekcanal and joined by Speaker's Bridge (where people debate and/or drink). Boeksplein four libraries built around a central courtyard and the Scholar's Fountain

Shipping container at third harbour is a Liddie hideout; Jam Tart House is an old hotel near the slat that the Razorgulls use

Long scar across Kaz's right knuckle

Violating contracts and interfering with the market can get you hanged in Kerch; same sentences as for murder (this is. Insane)

Haskell holds court with his mates at the Fair Weather Inn every week

Belendt is the second oldest Kerch city and sits on the Droombeld River

Jesper was 7 when Aditi died

Inej has an uncle (who seems to have some sort of ringmaster role) and cousins; Hanzi and Asha

Kaz convinced a locksmith in Klokstraat that he was the son of a wealthy merchant who highly valued his collection of priceless snuffboxes, and that's how he knows what locks the rich are using

Hubrecht Mohren, Master Thief of Pijl, who Kaz doesn't appear to think much of; one of Haskell's old cronies

Martin Van Eck, Wylan's great great grandfather, was a ship's captain, brought back a big shipment of spices from Eames Chin and started the Van Eck fortune

Kaz and Jesper (+ other Dregs boys) taught Inej to fight

Kaz and Jordie are from a town near Lij, as per the 'Johannus Rietveld' exposition, but Lij is seemingly the closest major city/county so it's easier to just say they're from Lij lol

The last time the Council of Tides appeared in public was 25 years prior to CK

Kaz found Filip running a monte game on Kelstraat; he also got the clerks who turned over fake info, the fake attorney, the man who gave them free hot chocolate

The spelling of Zentzbridge lapses to Zentsbridge, not sure which is right or if they're actually separate bridges or if there's a lot of wrong quotes floating around lol

Dryden house symbol is the golden wheat sheaf bound with a blue ribbon; Van Eck is the red laurel but we knew that

Kaz taught himself finance and gambling hall rules

Church of Barter roof is copper and long has turned green

Church of Barter built around the First Forge / The Mortar, which is a flat lump of rock that's supposedly Ghezen's altar

Ghezendaal Hospital is. Idk. a hospital. Just thought ppl might want the name

[octuscle]

Howdy, Support! I'm a 22yo twink working at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere. Only good part about my job is uh..."servicing" the passing truckers. One of 'em is a real beast of a man; late thirties, tall, burly and hairy, with a big, solid beer/roid gut that's always straining against his filthy tanktop. Everytime he stops by, we have a beer shotgun contest right in front of everyone. Loser blows the winner in the stalls. I normally enjoy losing (not that I have a choice), but this time, I want him to meet his match...literally! I want to drink him under the table, and with each beer I down, I want to feel my gut grow heavier and larger as my work clothes turn into a stained tanktop and I gradually transform into a hulking, hairy trucker that stinks of sweat, just like him. I've programmed all the relevant settings for height, muscle, hair, BO, attitude and clothing, but I just realized I don't know how to sync the transformation to an event trigger like shotgunning the beers, much less on how to make it gradual! Please help me, he's due today!

I love challenges… First of all, I'll add one more skill to your traits. "Stable up to 3.5 per mille". I don't know how much your crush can take. But now you've got a damn good chance of drinking the guy under the table. However, you should manage at least 2.0 per mille. Because your transformation will take place in parallel with your blood alcohol level. Linear, until you have reached 2.0 per mille. At 2.0 per mille, the transformation is complete.

It's around 8 p.m. when your buddy finally comes in the door. Like you said: a beast of a man. The fist bump he gives you almost breaks your forearm bones. Beast of a man? You're miles or 2.0 per mille away from that. You are cute. But a twink. Not a man.

The regulars know what to expect. They chant "Booze! Booze! Booze!" One of them shouts that you're in desperate need of a protein shot. The others roar. Your buddy orders 20 cans of beer. He shouts to his colleagues that there will definitely be some left for them. He looks at you, winks and licks his lips. He has no idea.

The first can of beer. It really hits you. 0.3 per mille. One seventh of your way gone in one go. You feel a bit dizzy. You've been king of the highway for two years now. Well, maybe prince of the highway. You haven't put much weight on your ribs yet. But the good food at the truck stops and the hard work loading your truck are already having a bit of an effect. Your arms are no longer as thin as twigs.

The second beer. It didn't go quite so quickly. You have to burp loudly. Your buddy follows your example. 0.56 per mille. You've been driving your 7.5-ton baby through the countryside for over three and a half years. Does you good. Not as skinny as you used to be. You look healthy. Maybe a little red in the face. Drunk.

After the third beer you have over 0.8 per mille. Another burp. You need a piss. You stand with your legs apart in front of the urinal to avoid peeing on your boots. You take out your cheesy beauty from your dirty jockstraps. And empty your bulging bladder. Wash your hands? That's for twinks. You simply wipe your hands on your dirty Wranglers.

Janet brings you some onion rings with your beer. Good idea. After the toilet break, you finish your fourth beer almost in one go. Your buddy has noticeable problems. Your blood alcohol level is over 1.0 per mille. This competition between you and your colleague has been going on for about seven years. In the trucker scene, your competitions are small highlights. As soon as it is clear when and where you will next get drunk under the table and then disappear to the stalls, new routes are planned. Service stations know that you'll bring in good sales and are keen to host the competition. There used to be a lot of betting on winning and losing. Your buddy has been unbeaten for seven years. There's not much betting anymore. The odds on you winning are huge. But nobody expects that anyway.

The next beer. At 1.26 per mille, you start to falter. Your buddy weighs a few more kilograms than your 100. Maybe you're already a little over 100 - you broke that magic barrier a few weeks ago on your 30th birthday. Eat, work hard and lift iron in the evening. That shapes your body. And beer. Lots of beer. To the delight of the audience, you interrupt your drinking contest for a short burping contest. The landlord actually has a device to measure the volume. You lose. That's clear. You lack the resonance body…

The next beer is a big miss for both you and your buddy. Your dirty tank tops are now wet from the beer. But that was a quick round of drinking, so it happens. You feel a bit dizzy. Your buddy is already looking extremely glassy-eyed. A murmur goes round the room. Should you really stand a chance?

After the seventh beer, you both have to go for a piss. Shit, why are you doing this to yourselves? So that one of you can blow the other? You do that as often as you can see each other anyway. And luckily your paths cross from time to time. "Dude, has your beast grown?" slurs your buddy as you stand swaying in front of the urinals and can no longer aim and hit the target very well. "You bet your life, get ready for a lot, bro," you slur back. "And now give me a kiss, I can't wait any longer."

You're too drunk to remember to turn your caps backwards. You push his cap off his head and it falls into a puddle of urine. Damn, it's seen worse. You stagger back to your beer cans. After the eighth beer, your first goal is achieved. 2.0 per mille blood alcohol. Spread over a proud 120 kilograms of your 35-year-old body. A passionate trucker for 13 years. Your 36-ton beast is basically your home and your family. Hehehe, there are a few other people in the family too. Mike here next to you, for example. You rip open the ninth can and empty it almost at record speed. Shit, you're going to be sick. Mike opens the can, takes a sip. And stumbles towards the toilet. He can't reach the toilet bowl. But at least he throws up in the sink.

When he comes back, he looks at you with glazed eyes. He falls to his knees in front of you to the loud roar of the audience and tries to open your trousers with his drunken head. You have to laugh. "Not here, not now, Buddie" You pull him up. Let him sober up a bit first. You should both enjoy the moment when he sucks you off for the first time!

[angelap3]

Ecco i motivi per cui è bello essere Liguri: ❤

1. Avere mare e monti a distanza di 30 minuti, forse anche meno.

2. Non conoscere il concetto di nebbia.

3. La “focaccia” calda a tutte le ore.

4. La cucina ligure , che riesce ad essere ricca con quasi niente.

5. “Belìn”, questo nostro intercalare onesto, melodioso e mai volgare.

6. Le fessure blu cobalto del cielo tra le case dei “caruggi”. (I vicoli).

7. La colazione “alla ligure” con la “fugassa” (Focaccia) pucciata nel caffelatte.

8. Gli autobus che si inerpicano anche sulle strade più assurde.

9. Un gatto che scruta il mondo dalla fessura di una persiana verde.

10. Poter fare il bagno in mare ad ottobre come se fosse la cosa più normale del mondo.

11. Il “pesto”, che ci offendiamo se gli altri lo copiano, anche se sappiamo benissimo che oramai lo fanno cani e porci.

12. Salire in 10 minuti per "bricchi” (Montagne attorno alle nostre città ) e trovarsi fuori dal mondo.

13. Salire in 10 minuti per “bricchi” e trovarsi dentro una calda osteria.

14. I veri liguri....Quelli che “una parola è poco, ma due sono già troppe!"

15. I veri liguri , così “chiusi” e così grandi di cuore.

16. Sentire i nostri vecchi parlare in dialetto e riuscire a capire quello che dicono (più o meno).

17. Tirare fuori il cappotto dall’armadio solo poche settimane all’anno.

18. Prendere in giro i “padani” per le code che si devono sorbire in autostrada per raggiungerci.

19. La spruzzata di neve a gennaio che paralizza la città e fa subito chiudere le scuole di ogni ordine e grado nemmeno vivessimo al Polo Nord.

20. Il “mugugno”, (Lamentarsi) che almeno questo non costa nulla.

21. Il “mugugno” che è diventato il nostro sport preferito.

22. Il misto “torte di verdura” servito in trattoria.

23. La “farinata”..... semplicemente geniale!

24. Ammirare la città dall’alto quando si torna a casa con l’aereo.

25. Leggere 10 gradi sul termometro nelle mattine d’inverno e mugugnare che “fa freddo”.

26. Leggere 10 gradi sul termometro nelle mattine d’inverno, arrivare a 20 gradi a mezzogiorno, e mugugnare che “fa caldo”.

27. Trovarsi in qualunque punto della nostra città e pensare che viviamo nella città più bella del Mondo, anche quando per mille motivi ci fa “arraggià” (Arrabbiare)

[et3rnauta]

Se avete cinque minuti, leggete fino alla fine questo articolo. Astutillo Malgioglio, per gli amici Tito, era il portiere di riserva dell’Inter di Trapattoni, quella dello scudetto dei record. Nel 1987 lo andai ad intervistare per Il Giorno, il quotidiano per cui allora lavoravo, a Piacenza. Avevo saputo che Malgioglio, allora 29enne, aveva aperto vicino a casa una palestra per la rieducazione motoria dei bambini cerebrolesi; aveva chiamato la struttura ERA 77 (acronimo di Elena, il nome della figlia nata appunto nel 1977, di Raffaella, la moglie, e di Astutillo) e coadiuvato dalla moglie prestava questo servizio gratuitamente mettendo a disposizione tutto il suo tempo libero. Per questa intervista vinsi un premio a Como, che mi venne consegnato da Pierluigi Marzorati, il campione della Pallacanestro Cantù, somma che girai immediatamente all’Unicef. Malgioglio mi raccontò cose bellissime e bruttissime. Cose vere. Mi raccontò che stava facendo tutto questo da 7-8 anni ma a fari spenti, quasi in incognito: perché non era buona cosa, per come andavano le cose nel mondo del pallone, che un calciatore professionista si distraesse con pensieri (o attività) inutili o bizzarre come, appunto, aiutare il prossimo. A meno di non incontrare sulla propria strada due persone come Nils Liedholm e Sven Goran Eriksson, come capitò a Tito nei due anni alla Roma dall’83 all’85, che convinsero Dino Viola a mettere a disposizione di Malgioglio, nel tempo libero, la palestra di Trigoria, per permettergli di fare anche a Roma quel che aveva cominciato a fare a Piacenza. Mi raccontò che l’Associazione Calciatori, sul suo giornale, aveva aperto una sottoscrizione tra tutti gli iscritti (gli oltre mille calciatori di serie A, serie B, serie C1 e serie C2) per raccogliere fondi a favore dell’attività di Tito; e che alla fine il ricavato era stato di 700 mila lire, che con un certo imbarazzo l’AIC aveva provveduto a fargli avere. Mi raccontò, soprattutto, che un giorno alla Pinetina Jurgen Klinsmann lo aveva avvicinato e gli aveva chiesto come mai finiti gli allenamenti lo vedesse andarsene, sempre, così di fretta a Piacenza. Tito gli aveva spiegato il perché e Klinsmann gli aveva detto: domani vengo con te, voglio vedere con i miei occhi quello che fai. Klinsmann mantenne la promessa. Salì sul maggiolino scassato di Malgioglio, andò con lui a Piacenza, passo l’intero pomeriggio a guardare Tito assistere i bambini cerebrolesi. Poi, prima di risalire sul maggiolino per farsi riportare a Milano, sfilò di tasca il libretto degli assegni e senza dire una parola scrisse 70 milioni (settanta milioni), staccò l’assegno e lo consegnò al compagno. Aveva gli occhi lucidi. Come quelli di Malgioglio". [Paolo Ziliani da Il Fatto Quotidiano]

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 8/20/2024

a little light this week bc i had a fairly wretched week, medically speaking

listening

hozier's nobody's soldier would have been on every 8tracks mix for every character. THEEEEE blorbo song of all time to the point i am already annoyed at the thought of seeing it on every spotify mix. fuckin owns tho. very fun mod sixties heist taste to the horn arrangement

-

reading

thank you philip.

polished off the Marauders (2019-2022) comics. i liked the first volume way more than these three-- they didn't quite deliver the same quality of art or swashbuckles-per-minute. also this was probably not a great choice for someone who has forgotten what little she once knew about the xmen, even though they came at the beginning of a reboot.

why did i read these? mostly bc they were readily available or with short wait times at my library and my bestie is making me watch all the xmen movies. a girl gets curious about comic books sometimes

surprisingly, i came across this one from the Pocket integration on the firefox new tabs

McDonald likens the functions of Spotify to Google Maps. “Google Maps doesn’t do the exploration for me, but it’s helpful if I go somewhere,” he says. Rather than taking us on guided tours, it provides the tools for us to navigate somewhere new. Much as it shows us what’s nearby and how to get there, and flags notable landmarks others have visited, Spotify helps us access most music, lists global listening trends, and introduces us to artists similar to those we already know. But it’s communities that help us home in on a destination Spotify can help us explore.

part two of breaking down infamous academic paper mill Hindawi and why it was bought by Wiley anyway bc they did seemingly no due diligence, bc as a whole they do very little actual work in the publishing process.

i have included a very long quote bc it is one of only two things that made me genuinely laugh out loud this week (the other was phil unsticking a claw from the couch by backflipping herself out)

One issue of Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing from 2022, edited mostly by Hamurabi Gamboa Rosales, took an average of about 20 days to go from initial submission to revision submission. This is not unlikely, it’s impossible. The easiest way to explain this is with an analogy. Say there’s a pothole outside your house, and you call the council. You tell them ‘there’s a big hole in the road outside my house!’ The person at the other end, rather than tiredly telling you to fill out a form - which is what councils do all over the world, in my experience - instead yells ‘MOTHER OF GOD! WE’RE RIGHT ON IT!’ Twenty minutes later, a bitumen truck comes HURTLING around the corner of your street at full send, with the road workers hanging out the back of it, the driver leaning on the horn and yelling ‘GET OUT OF THE WAY! POTHOLE!’ They pull up outside your house, and you see the brakes go hot. But the guys don’t even wait for it to stop, they jump off while it’s slowing down, and they grab pry bars and a burner and a kettle of bitumen, and they start hammering out the edges, pour the bitumen and start slamming it with hammers almost at the same time. In about six minutes, the hole is filled and flattened, and they admire their work for about four hundred milliseconds and SCREAM off the way they came. No sooner has the truck disappeared, then your phone rings - and it’s the council worker from before. ‘POTHOLE! *pant* *pant* FIXED! Happy to be of service!’ *click* That’s how likely the entire editorial process taking 20 days is.

-

watching

i don't understand why the third xmen movie isn't named x cubed. it extremely is not their last stand there are like a dozen more movies to go. gun to my head i could not tell you what happened in this one. whatsherface did look good as hell though

and now for the movie i actually want to talk about, Monkey Man (2024, dir. Patel). imdb says:

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systematically victimize the poor and powerless.

i am so so so lucky that my favorite kind of fight scene — fast, brutal, right spaces with improvised weapons-- is fashionable. pour it DIRECTLY into my open mouth

i think i generally agree with a broad sweep of reviewers here when i tell you that this movie is gorgeous and grossnasty at the same time, there are a lot of ideas that aren't all quite resolved, and i am much more interested in why it has a hell of a lot of ideas (part of why they don't all get resolved).

patel's first movie, it feels very much like a movie of someone who isn't sure they'll be able to do another one, so throw everything you've got in here. a sort of famously rocky production and shoestring budget, but you would not know it. the club scenes are especially dripping in glitz and, like many stage productions, have a lot of clever editing and strategic deployment of mirrors and repeats. there's a fight scene with hanging mirrors near the end where the mirrors can't have been more than fifty bucks each but it looks SO fucking sick.

i am much more willing to go to bat for this movie and ignore some of the rough edges bc it is so refreshingly earnest, and despite the style references, is very focused on being its own thing. at some points it's going to feel like The Matrix (1999, dir. the Wachowskis) bc every movie made in a post- The Matrix (1999, dir. the Wachowskis) world is going to feel a little bit like The Matrix (1999, dir. the Wachowskis). or like when the above gif happened in the movie it did not make me want to turn it off and go watch the first john wick.

people who live in india or are part of the diaspora are a little cranky about the political parties of the film, which had to be neutered for release. while i don't think i would have grasped all the nuances even if we did have the original cut, i think it's likely some of the characters would have resolved a little cleaner if that original intent was still there.

why did i watch this? i think patel is easily as hot as tumblr darling mifune. while drafting this post i got distracted sooooooo many times trying to pick the perfect gif. some of them are too hot!!!

-

playing

fallow week

-

making

just stayin alive! just livin the fuckin dream!!!

[thatscarletflycatcher]

A while ago we were discussing the possibility of Gaskell de-radicalizing in the interim between Mary Barton (1848) and North and South (1854), and in that occasion I argued that the conditions between the settings of both novels had undergone significant change; that MB was nominally set in the late 30s, but that much of what it references is early 30s; and that in those 20-25 years, legislation and unions had changed in significant ways.

(I'd also add that, because of a series of factors, the 50s and the 60s were times of relative prosperity, specially when it came to the cost of living for the working class; part of the death of Chartism is due to this)

At the time I had the certainty of knowing very specific points, but not having the time to source them. As I have now crossed one of them in my thesis reading, here you have it:

Between other things:

The Factory Act of 1833:

Children (ages 9–12) are limited to 48 hours per week.

Children under 9 were not allowed to be employed in factories, except in silk mills.

Children under 18 must not work at night (i.e. after 8.30 p.m. and before 5.30 a.m.)

Children (ages 9–13) must not work more than 8 hours with an hour lunch break. (Employers could (and it was envisaged they would) operate a 'relay system' with two shifts of children between them covering the permitting working day; adult millworkers therefore being 'enabled' to work a 15-hour day)

Children (ages 9–13) could only be employed if they had a schoolmaster's certificate that the previous week they had two hours of education per day

Children (ages 14–18) must not work more than 12 hours a day with an hour lunch break.

Provided for routine inspections of factories and set up a Factory Inspectorate (subordinate to the Home Office) to carry out such inspections, with the right to demand entry and the authority to act as a magistrate.

The Factory Act of 1844:

Children 9–13 years could work for 9 hours a day with a lunch break.

Ages must be verified by surgeons.

Women and young people now worked the same number of hours. They could work for no more than 12 hours a day during the week, including one and a half hours for meals, and 9 hours on Sundays. They must all take their meals at the same time and could not do so in the workroom

Time-keeping to be by a public clock approved by an inspector

Some classes of machinery: every fly-wheel directly connected with the steam engine or water-wheel or other mechanical power, whether in the engine-house or not, and every part of a steam engine and water-wheel, and every hoist or teagle,[m] near to which children or young persons are liable to pass or be employed, and all parts of the mill-gearing (this included power shafts) in a factory were to be "securely fenced."

Children and women were not to clean moving machinery.

Accidental death must be reported to a surgeon and investigated; the result of the investigation to be reported to a factory inspector.

Factory owners must wash factories with lime every fourteen months.

Thorough records must be kept regarding the provisions of the Act and shown to the inspector on demand.

An abstract of the amended Act must be hung up in the factory so as to be easily read, and show (amongst other things) names and addresses of the inspector and sub-inspector of the district, the certifying surgeon, the times for beginning and ending work, the amount of time and time of day for meals.

Factory inspectors no longer had the powers of JPs but (as before 1833) millowners, their fathers, brothers and sons were all debarred (if magistrates) from hearing Factory Act cases.

The Factory Act of 1847 reduced the work day to 10 hours for women and children, and the one from 1850 made it so that those hours could only be worked between 6a.m. and 6.p.m., or 7a.m. to 7p.m., and that all work should end on Saturday at 2p.m.

This applied to textile factories (which are the ones Gaskell's novels are concerned with) and was later extended to all factory work in 1867. There were other acts as the century progressed; the working conditions of a mill labourer were very different in 1874 from those in 1835.

It is also worth noting that, because children did jobs adults couldn't, the reduction of their work day also affected the duration of men's work days, even if those weren't reached by those first-half of the 19th century acts.

[allycryz]

Kinktober 2023

Each week has 10 kinks and 8 story prompts

Customize however you want: use just the kinks, just the prompts, mix and match lists, do one fic for the month, one per week, one per day, etc.

For randomization, use a d10 and/or d8 to make your picks

Live text of prompts below the cut!

Week 1

Kinks

1. Caning

2. Anonymous Sex

3. Lingerie

4. Shibari

5. Degradation Kink

6. Orgasm Denial

7. Breeding Kink

8. Masochism

9. Threesome

10. Foot Job

Story Prompts

1. An unexpected message

2. A heated duel

3. A coming storm

4. A mysterious melody

5. A simple favor

6. A sudden heat wave

7. A single wish

8. A cataclysmic bargain

Week 2

Kinks

1. Intercrural

2. Pony Play

3. Abrasion

4. Role Play

5. Sparring Sex

6. Sensation Play

7. Multiple Penetration

8. Voyeurism

9. Pregnancy Kink

10. Tentacles

Story Prompts

1. Revenge served cold

2. An axe to grind

3. Biting the bullet

4. Caught red-handed

5. Dressed to kill

6. Nipped in the bud

7. Over a barrel

8. Wolf at the door

Week 3

Kinks

1. Chastity Devices

2. Face Fucking

3. Consensual Non-consent

4. Phone Sex

5. Period Sex

6. Uniform Kink

7. Sex Dolls/Automatons

8. Food Play

9. Camming

10. Fisting

Story Prompts

1. Running into danger

2. Facing your fears

3. Coming to terms

4. Making a point

5. Learning the ropes

6. Fixing the past

7. Denying the truth

8. Claiming the win

Week 4

Kinks

1. Strap-on

2. Immobility

3. Blindfolds

4. Transactional Sex

5. Breathplay

6. Praise Kink

7. Lactation

8. Sadism

9. Biting

10. Free Use

Story Prompts

1. A hidden motive

2. A cherished dream

3. A final chance

4. A shocking admission

5. A bitter goodbye

6. A stolen moment

7. A chance for peace

8. A strange pact

Week 5

Kinks

1. Knotting

2. Phobophilia

3. Stygiophilia

4. Claws

5. Blood Play

6. Oviposition

7. Slime

8. Possession

9. Spectrophilia

10. Claustrophilia

Story Prompts

1. The closed gallery

2. The labyrinthine basement

3. The majestic ballroom

4. The fog-soaked cabin

5. The forgotten altar

6. The sky-high hotel

7. The moonlit cornfield

8. The abandoned mill

[firewalker]

La mia classifica dei numeri 0-9

Qual è il vostro numero preferito? Ecco la mia classifica.

Primo posto

Sette. 7. Guardate che bello, elegante, slanciato. Inoltre, il riferimento all'infanzia è obbligatorio (anche se, a mio parere, i disegnatori dovrebbero fare pace tra loro: le quattro cicatrici sugli addominali dovrebbero essere più ravvicinate e le tre in alto più basse. Cfr: il primo combattimento con Shin)

Secondo posto

Quattro. 4. Anche questo bello, slanciato, anche se nei vari siti è scritto in quella bizzarra maniera invece di

Terzo posto

Tre. 3. Il numero perfetto, è il primo numero primo dispari, assume molti significati religiosi. Si potrebbe dire che ha due pance (due gobbe... le gobbe, i tondini e le pance nei numeri non mi piacciono), ma è un numero troppo importante per scalare di posizione

Quarto posto

Uno. 1. L'unico numero naturale che non è né primo né composto. Al quarto posto perché è un solitario, ma senza l'uno non si comincia nulla, quindi va bene metterlo in alto in classifica.

Quinto posto

Cinque. 5. Ha la pancia, ma una delle sue rappresentazioni gli vale la metà della classifica

Praticamente è un 4 che circonda un 1, che sono numeri buoni, quindi finisce per essere il numero panciuto più accettabile (salvo il 3) e si merita il quinto posto

Sesto posto

Otto. 8. Doppio tondino, non va bene. Si salva perché è 2³, ovvero i primi due numeri primi elevati l'uno all'altro. Quindi risulta curioso.

Settimo posto

Due. 2. Niente pance o tondini (più o meno), ma è un numero antipatico. Non è completo come il numero perfetto e non è particolare come il numero solitario. È una via di mezzo. È il primo numero primo - e l'unico pari -, quindi qualcosa vale. Perché sotto all'8? Perché l'8 è più bello.

Ottavo posto

Nove. 9. Pancia. Rilevante. Brutto. Dispari, può essere visto come 5+4, che sono due numeri da prima metà classifica... ma di suo non dice molto

Nono posto

Sei. 6. Come fate a sopportarlo? Io quando lo vedo piango.

Decimo posto

Zero. 0. Un numero formato solo da un tondino. Non è accettabile. Non vale niente. (tutti numeri uno, ma senza di me come fate a far dieci, a far cento, a far mille miliardi - M. Masini: Zero)

[nineteeneighty4]

La settimana era partita nel migliore dei modi e si è rivelata uno scherzo del destino. Stamani decido di comprare un cornetto per colazione , pago -col mio borsellino nero carbonella - e mi incammino verso l’auto. All’improvviso -nel traffico delle 8:00am -mi salta in mente di controllare una carta , frugo in borsa , scosto l’agenda , il cellulare, la penna le chiavi di casa e il resto, ma non trovo il portafoglio. Presa dal panico faccio inversione di marcia per raggiungere nuovamente il bar dall’altra parte della città ed entro in un loop di disperazione perché mi accorgo che le strade sono tutte bloccate dal traffico. Ho trascorso mezz’ora nell’ oblio immaginando lo stipendio del mese che non avrei visto e i documenti dispersi chissà dove , poi è cambiato tutto. La borsa è caduta durante il tragitto e per terra ,proprio sul tappetino lato passeggero, ho intravisto -nero come la pece- il maledetto che si era preso gioco di me. In un eccesso di gioia ho quindi svoltato e iniziato a guidare in stile “Crudelia De Mon”. E nulla ora sono qui, in attesa del capo, con l’ansia a mille senza capirne il motivo.

[thunderstomm]

HWLR- Car Count (with graphs!)

A look at how many times each car is chosen in Hot Wheels Let's Race, both overall and per character! Over the last two days, I did a full-series re-watch, and counted each time every character chooses a car to drive, whether they drove it or not, and if they ever switched cars during the episode (and if so, to what).

While the overall data looks at cars both chosen and driven, individual character data only looks at cars chosen. If a car was driven, but was not chosen originally, it will not be counted for the "cars chosen" category.

The data also goes through how many times a character gets to drive during the series (this is out of 30 possible times), how many cars overall are chosen across the series, how many unique cars are chosen across the series, the top 5 cars overall for the series, and the top 3 cars for each of the six campers.

THE OVERALL COUNT

Across all 30 episodes of Hot Wheels Let's Race, cars are chosen or drove a total of 182 times. The series features 45 unique cars across its run.

The most chosen car across the show is the Baja Jump Truck (13 times), with the Mach Speeder (8 Times) in second, and the GT-Scorcher, Rocketfire and Twin Mill (7 times each) tied for third.

Fourth and fifth place also result in ties, with the Rodger Dodger, Shark Bite, Street Wiener, and Tricera-Truck (6 times each) in fourth, and the Aristo-Rat, Buns of Steel, Gotta Go, Mad Manga, Mountain Mauler, Power Surge, Roller Toaster, Sand-Ivore, Skull Crusher, and Veloci-Racer (5 times each) in fifth.

Individual character data under the cut!

COOP

Coop drives in all 30 episodes of HWLR, being one of two characters to do so. He drives the highest amount of unique cars, being 19. Coop's most-chosen car, surprising no-one, is the GT-Scorcher (7 times), with the Mach Speeder (4 times) in second, and the Rocketfire (3 times) in third.

SPARK

Spark drives in 29 out of 30 episodes, and is tied for the lowest number of unique cars chosen, at 14. Spark's most-chosen car is a tie, between the Rodger Dodger and Tooligan (4 times each), with both second and third also resulting in ties, having the Roller Toaster and Shark Bite (3 times each) in second, and the 2-Tuff, Mach Speeder, Mountain Mauler, Power Surge, and Veloci-Racer (2 times each) in third.

MAC

Mac drives in all 30 episodes of HWLR, being the only character other than Coop to do so. He is tied with Spark for the lowest number of unique cars chosen, at 14. Mac's most-chosen car is the Baja Jump Truck (9 times), with the Sand-Ivore (4 times) in second, and the Gotta Go (3 times) in third. He is the character to have chosen a singular car the most times, having chosen the Baja Jump Truck more times than any other character has chose any other car.

BRIGHTS

Brights drives in 27 out of 30 episodes, and has the second-highest amount of unique cars chosen, at 18. Brights' most-chosen car is a tie, between the Aristo-Rat and Street Wiener (3 times each), with second and third place both also resulting in ties, with the Car-De-Asada, Donut Drifter, Glory Chaser, Power Surge, and Tricera-Truck (2 times each) in second. Due to Brights' high variety of unique chosen cars, but lower driving numbers when compared to other characters, all of the cars in third place were driven a total of one time each.

AXLE

Axle drives in 23 out of 30 episodes, tied with one other character, and has a total of 16 unique cars chosen across the series, also a tie between another character. Axle's most-chosen car is the Skull Crusher (4 times), with the Veloci-Racer (3 times) in second, and a tie between the Glory Chaser, Madfast, and Rocketfire (2 times each) for third.

SIDECAR

Sidecar drives in 23 out of 30 episodes, being tied with Axle. He has a total of 16 unique cars chosen across the series, also tied with Axle. Sidecar's most-chosen car is the Mad Manga (4 times), with the 2-Tuff (3 times) in second, and a tie between the Mountain Mauler, Rip Rod, and Tricera-Truck (2 times each) for third.

HOW OFTEN DO OTHER CHARACTERS DRIVE?

Outside of the main six racers, Dash drives the most times, doing so in 5 out of 30 episodes. Cruise drives in 4 out of 30 episodes, and any other characters counted (Striker Spoiler, Prof. Rearview and the self-driving Bone Shaker) only drive in one.

CONCLUSION

All of this data is subject to change, once season 3 airs (presumably) the last 10 segments, and more data is added to the mix! Maybe I'll update this once it does happen, for a more concrete overall look at the series. If there's anything else you want to know that can reasonably be found using the data I have collected, feel free to ask! I'm also happy to share a read-only copy of all of the spreadsheets I used to collect the information, if you would like to take a look, or gather your own information to add on! As always, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have!

Now... go buy a Baja Jump Truck, it seems like they really want you to.

[occhietti]

Alcune cose da ricordare per vivere meglio:

1 - Guardare sempre oltre le apparenze: non è tutto oro quel che luccica.

2 - Una bella emozione vale sempre più di cento pensieri.

3 - Essere gentili, sorridere ed essere grati.

4 - Guardare ogni cosa da diverse prospettive, cercando sempre il lato positivo di ogni cosa.

5 - Accettare il cambiamento e le imperfezioni, perchè la perfezione non esiste.

6 - Anche il più piccolo dei gesti vale più di mille parole.

7 - Mettersi sempre nei panni degli altri, cercare di conoscere e di capire, senza mai giudicare.

8 - Amarsi e amare...

- Agostino Degas

[pizzettauniversale]

Ciao pizz, ho una domanda da farti

Premessa: vivo in una casa in affitto con due coinquiline, di cui una ha 60 anni, è quasi certamente alcolizzata, da una serie di segnali che ho captato, e violenta. Ha atteggiamenti da bulla, sclera e intimidisce gli altri se io e l'altra osiamo contestarla, evito di raccontarti come mi ha messo le mani addosso (e mi hanno convinta a non denunciarla). L'altra è una tipa di 30 anni piena di problemi, egoista e ossessiva e francamente inutile nel risolvere situazioni simili, dato che ha cercato di stringere amicizia con me solo per lamentarsi dei suoi cazzi senza effettivamente risolverli e avere qualcuno che la aiutasse in caso di crisi, ma subito pronta a voltare le spalle.

La vecchia stronza, dopo un periodo di calma, si è risvegliata, ma dato che mi sono rotta ho deciso di andarmene (prima non potevo/volevo per vari motivi, ma adesso basta). Ergo, volevo chiederti consigli su come "divertirmi" prima di andar via definitivamente (i.e. modi alternativi di usare lo spazzolino).

Grazie mille se risponderai 💕

1- spazzolino nel cesso

2- pisci nello shampoo, balsamo e bagnoschiuma

3- crema depilatoria nel balsamo

4- fai scongelare la loro roba dal congelatore poi la rimetti dentro e la ricongeli soprattutto la carne

5- colorante nella vaschetta del detersivo mentre c’è la loro lavatrice

6- pulirsi il culo con l’asciugamano con cui si asciugano la faccia

7- vestiti a stendere giù per strada ups è stato il vento forte

8- ultimo giorno prima che te ne vai, la ciliegina sulla torta: spazzatura sparsa per tutta casa poi chiudi la porta

Successo assicurato

[puuta-heinaa]

Joker Out -sweater series Post 1 Post 2 Post 3 Post 4

Happy Carpe diem's birthday!

As promised, here's the chart now that I've finished the yoke! The four rows I added on the go (20, 22, 29, 31) are now part of the chart, so no need to knit any row twice. I did alter the most annoying cloud rows slightly.

There's "colours only" chart at the end of this post.

What you'll need:

Technique Ladderback jacquard/invisible stranding technique is a MUST, and honestly it makes following the chart easier as well! If you don't feel like learning it, you might want to mark the blue lines with stitch markers. Here's an EXCELLENT video of the technique in Finnish, it's very visual + auto-translated subtitles seemed to work reasonably well, so it might work even for non-Finnish speaking people! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtapBYocY80&t

Yarn I'm using Drops Alaska, 17s/10cm in color 15 and 58 and 3. It is widely available and affordable yarn. It's not soft but it's not worst either, somewhere around 29-33 microns I'd say.

In reality I'm using Drops Nepal 0501 for the grey, as I was going to use Nepal in the first place as it is a lovely yarn!!!! I'd say around 25-27 microns, and 35% alpaca, makes even warmer sweater! Colours are sold out in most places in Jan and Feb as it's always on big sale in Nov-Dec, but 6790 or 1709 would work for blue, and 2923 for the yellow.

I used one skein of grey, 1(2) skeins of yellow and as I'm making a crop version like I always do, about 8 skeins of main colour. If you want a regular sweater, you'll need 10-12 skeins of blue depending on your height.

Friendly reminder to check your local shepherd's and local mills' yarns before buying Drops, if that is something you financially can afford.

Needles 5 mm needles. I've recenlty fallen in love with addi's unicorn needles. They're easy for the hands as they are slightly shaped. No need to grip hard = more knitting time per day! And they're pretty! You want to use lacquered or metallic needles for this yarn, you will struggle with bamboo needles.

Some adjustments The chart is not scaled. It's one size. It makes size M/L. The widest part of the yoke is 150 cm, and I'm aiming for 100-105cm for the body. If you need a bigger sweater, use yarn that has 15 or 12 s/10cm and bigger needles, or add a few (blue) stitches on each side of the chart. If you need a smaller sweater, use yarn that has 18-20 s/10 cm and smaller needles. Do some math before choosing your yarn. And please swatch!! It's boring and annoying but you will thank yourself later.

+ stitch markers (you can use yarn loops)

I'll write up the whole pattern once I have energy to do that. I started with 86 stitches, knit rib for 5 rows, placed the stitch markers (17,17,17,17,18), did some shaping for the neck (5 short rows with 42 stitches in total) and moved on to the chart. 1-2 rows with just blue to cast off the ladders, and then I'll move on to sleeves. I don't promise my pattern will be any clearer than these quick notes right here, but if you know someone who knits or have already knit few sweaters, these should give you a decent starting point.

OK ON TO THE CHARTS.

One with only the colours. The numbers on the cloud are upside down when you're knitting, but they still help somewhat (I had put them in the same table/layer with the colours, and couldn't hide them easily, so we'll just have to live with them.)

Dark grey boxes are stitches that don't exist yet, but where will be a stitch later on on the chart. You add the stitches on rows where the boxes turn white.

And the second; what you might want to embroider on the suns and clouds as finishing touches.

And yoke part of the sweater for those who hadn't yet seen it yet and didn't click the links: