#900 years later I publish this

[little-elena]

From Stefan

"This is so cute. Princess peach smoothie banana rama is in good hands I promise!!"

[the-fandom-is-now-my-life]

Hi 👋🏻 are you taking requests for the creators child AU.

Could the child be Alhaitham's or maybe Diluc's.

Thank you

The creator had

Such a smart child

WC: ~900

This feels more like a collection of head cannons but enjoy!

I believe Nahida would be able to dull the hit to the archons enough for them to not have a public outbreak like in other scenarios, so most of the gossip around is from people of sumeru.

“Stop speaking like that of the acting great sage! The matra will get you punished if they hear you talking like that”

“I'm not claiming anything! I'm just saying it's weird how much time he spent around them”

“They were reviewing the structure of the akademiya”

“Sure, and my wife and I were just studying so many years ago”

“Profesor…”

"that is why my daughter was finishing highschool when we both published our thesis. We were 38 but you get the point"

"professor please... Stop..."

It has been a running rumor for a few months, but nobody really believes it, the stone faced great sage and their welcoming grace? No, never, impossible. There are scholars attempting to refute it but their attempts are short-lived as a few months later you settle back in sumeru, and your lazyly hanging robe you wear now is pushed slightly forward around the abdomen, just enough for it to be an untold fact.

“Why am I returning? I guess it just felt right, given everything” slowly after the theory took traction.

On the later months the baby gets calm whenever he is read books, the kicking stopping for as long as anyone recited paragraphs of dense knowledge, it was a common occurrence for you to tag along thesis defenses, something that professors enjoyed the opportunity of chat you up and students suddenly put delays because of sickness on masse.

“I wonder why they are all so nervous to defend their statement! I don't even ask them questions for them to be scared of me!”

“I think regardless of what you did or didn't do any of them would be at ease”

“And I heard they sit through thesis defenses and lectures because the child is calm hearing long speeches”

“I heard that too! I even heard that once they summoned one of the great sages to read a book so they could fall asleep”

“Really! Could it be…” the teen girl looks at her friend mischievously “great sage al haitham?” Making her friend look away feigning not knowing.

°•°

“I'm extremely sorry for calling you so late, Haitham” you lay on your bed, back flush against the wall. The covers on your lap make little to cover the almost watermelon sized bump “I attempted to read to see if he calmed down on his own but when I stop he starts kicking up a storm”

Alhaitham drags your vanity stool to your bedside, a soft creaking sound coming from the friction between the woods. He just hums as he skims the bookshelf “don't fret so much, it's only natural for me to do this” his fingers dance softly caressing the spines of various books ranging from Inazuma novellas to published investigation on bird care “what has been working best? Early language dictionary? Transcripts of old manuscripts?”

“alchemical botany has been doing alright”

“great, it's coming out to be a spantamad or amurta. I'm sure Tighnari and Cyno will be elated with the news” he rolls his eyes and pulls out a leather bound book with vine engraving.

“Aww, is someone jealous?”

“I'm just saying that something like ‘development of runic language during the last 300 years’ might be more interesting” you just snicker “weren't you attempting to sleep? Close your eyes”

You side down the pillows with a smile on your lips “fine, if you don't want to read alchemical botany why don't you use the white book?” as he glances over he read the simple title ‘weight distribution in columns depending on materials’ and sighs heavily.

“Spantamad might not be so bad.”

There is a small whisper in the last few months that the child could be meant to be one of the great sages but the matra keeps it down when someone starts with it.

When he is born Alhaitham reads to his son some of the books he kept from his parents.

The one year old is perched on his lap, leaning against one of his arms while they both look at the book, one of them reading attentively the words and explaining some concepts while the other is attempting to fall asleep.

“I doubt he is truly listening to you”

“You would be surprised by how much the biology faculty showed children can learn before school”

“I believe they meant before the 5 years mark, not 6 months”

Maybe even wants you to do something similar, it could be an essay, thesis or even storybook but he would want it to have some banter between you two or little comments like “it's good that you remembered to spell correctly postganglionic fibers, I don't have to correct you anymore”

He uses kaveh as an underpaid nanny just plopping the toddler on his lap and leaving without saying a word. He does stop when his son's drawings start to feature more houses and structures than people.

“Are we sure he is mine?”

“For the sixth time, yes. He is a carbon copy of you”

When your baby grows he is the smartest of his class, reciting everything his father read to him since before his birth, even if he refuses to acknowledge it al haitham is really proud of his son and his little shelf with math Olympics medals or the certificate he got from the first place in a writing competition.

Even then the moment your son turns 18 and has to decide what branch he wants to go into is the hardest week of his life, dreading the possibility of another architect in his life. He is quite happy when he choses spantamad, even if he would have like him to go for haravatat.

[copperbadge]

Ahahaha, so The Royals And The Ramblers will be available for sale tomorrow and thus I'm working on prepping the Omnibus Volume II for later publication; it'll contain Twelve Points, the Short Stories, and Royals/Ramblers.

I've been iffy about what all to include, especially since by my math the book would end up 900 pages long if I kept all three books. However, I tried reducing the font size from 12 (comfortable, actually on the large side for many books) to 11 (still mostly comfortable, but not quite as easy to read, I say as someone over forty) and that dropped over 100 pages off the book.

I was mostly concerned with price, plus whether or not people would be able to hold the damn thing, but it turns out it's really good that I dropped the size, because Lulu actually has a limit -- its 6x9" paperbacks (the size of all the previous books) can't be printed with more than 800 pages.

Currently the omnibus is 798 pages.

Phew.

Anyway, not sure when the omnibus will actually be published yet, but it'll be this year -- probably in a couple of months, unless something super drastic happens. And then once it's put to bed I can focus more attention on Simon and his novel, which so far I've been able to work on in fits and starts, but nothing super solid the way most of the others have been. It has helped greatly that I decided to write from his love interest's point of view fairly early, she's really pushing things along nicely.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Steve Contorno at CNN:

Donald Trump has lately made clear he wants little to do with Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president that has attracted considerable blowback in his race for the White House. “I have no idea who is behind it,” the former president recently claimed on social media. Many people Trump knows quite well are behind it. Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term published by the Heritage Foundation. Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff. In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, a CNN review found, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and contributors to “Mandate for Leadership,” the project’s extensive manifesto for overhauling the executive branch.

Dozens more who staffed Trump’s government hold positions with conservative groups advising Project 2025, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and longtime adviser Stephen Miller. These groups also include several lawyers deeply involved in Trump’s attempts to remain in power, such as his impeachment attorney Jay Sekulow and two of the legal architects of his failed bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Cleta Mitchell and John Eastman. To quantify the scope of the involvement from Trump’s orbit, CNN reviewed online biographies, LinkedIn profiles and news clippings for more than 1,000 people listed on published directories for the 110 organizations on Project 2025’s advisory board, as well as the 200-plus names credited with working on “Mandate for Leadership.”

Overall, CNN found nearly 240 people with ties to both Project 2025 and to Trump, covering nearly every aspect of his time in politics and the White House – from day-to-day foot soldiers in Washington to the highest levels of his government. The number is likely higher because many individuals’ online résumés were not available. In addition to people who worked directly for Trump, others who participated in Project 2025 were appointed by the former president to independent positions. For instance, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr authored an entire chapter of proposed changes to his agency, and Lisa Correnti, an anti-abortion advocate Trump appointed as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, is among the contributors. Several people involved in Project 2025 didn’t serve in the Trump administration but were influential in shaping his first term. One example is former US Attorney Brett Tolman, a leading force behind the former president’s criminal justice reform law who later helped arrange a pardon for Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law. Tolman is listed as a contributor to “Mandate for Leadership.”

The extensive overlap between Project 2025 and Trump’s universe of allies, advisers and former staff complicates his efforts to distance himself from the work. Trump’s campaign has sought for months to make clear that Project 2025 doesn’t speak for them amid an intensifying push by President Joe Biden and Democrats to tie the Republican standard bearer to the playbook’s more controversial policies.

[...]

Heritage plan becomes a political headache

Behind Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation, a 51-year-old conservative organization that aligned itself with Trump not long after his 2016 victory. Heritage is led by Kevin Roberts, a Trump ally whom the former president praised as “doing an unbelievable job” on a February night when they shared the same stage. Heritage conceived Project 2025 to begin planning so a Republican president could hit the ground running after the election. One of its priorities is creating a roadmap for the first 180 days of the new administration to quickly reorient every federal agency around its conservative vision. Described on its website as “a movement-wide effort guided by the conservative cause to address and reform the failings of big government and an undemocratic administrative state,” Project 2025 also aims to recruit and train thousands of people loyal to the conservative movement to fill federal government positions.

[...]

Vast network of Trump allies

However, Trump’s attempts to distance himself from Project 2025 have already encountered credibility challenges. The person overseeing Project 2025, Paul Dans, was a top official in Trump’s White House who has previously said he hopes to work for his former boss again. Shortly after Trump’s Truth Social post last week, Democrats noted a recruitment video for Project 2025 features a Trump campaign spokeswoman. On Tuesday, the Biden campaign posted dozens of examples of connections between Trump and Project 2025. CNN’s review of Project 2025’s contributors also demonstrated the breadth of Trump’s reach through the upper ranks of the vast network of organizations working to move the country in a conservative direction – from women’s groups and Christian colleges to conservative think tanks in Texas, Alabama and Mississippi. New organizations centered around Trump’s political movement, his conspiracy theories around his electoral defeats and his first-term policies are deeply involved in Project 2025 as well. One of the advisory groups, America First Legal, was started by Miller, a key player in forming Trump’s immigration agenda. Another is the Center for Renewing America, founded by Russ Vought, former acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, who wrote for Project 2025 a detailed blueprint for consolidating executive power. Vought recently oversaw the Republican Party committee that drafted the new platform heavily influenced by Trump.

In addition to Vought, two other former Trump Cabinet secretaries wrote chapters for “Mandate for Leadership”: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller. Three more former department heads – National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, acting Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury and acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella – are listed as contributors.

CNN reports that at least 140 people who worked for Donald Trump’s administration are involved in The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. This should put an end to the nonsensical lie that Trump “know[s] nothing about Project 2025.”

See Also:

MMFA: Trump and his allies are denying any association to Project 2025 and its architects. History speaks for itself.

[cleolinda]

Varney the Vampire: Chapter 1

[I originally posted a shorter recap of this chapter on Livejournal, on December 7, 2010. If you'd like to just read the original, less serious version of the recap, that's here.]

[Content note: I'll talk about this a bit later, but, heads up: this opening chapter describes an assault that’s more vivid than I remembered. That's the second half of the recap.]

I'm not actually going to rewrite all my Varney posts like this, but I'd like to talk not just about the way James Malcolm Rymer wrote the chapter, but also the way I recapped it 12+ years ago.

First off, I don't think I gave Rymer enough credit for the atmosphere of the opening; maybe I just appreciate it more after struggling through some of the filler chapters. I did give him some credit, noting that there are 900 words of gothic effectiveness before anything actually happens—I'll quote the very beginning at some length so you can get a feel for what the next 230+ chapters are like:

The solemn tones of an old cathedral clock have announced midnight -- the air is thick and heavy -- a strange, death-like stillness pervades all nature. Like the ominous calm which precedes some more than usually terrific outbreak of the elements, they seem to have paused even in their ordinary fluctuations, to gather a terrific strength for the great effort. A faint peal of thunder now comes from far off. Like a signal gun for the battle of the winds to begin, it appeared to awaken them from their lethargy, and one awful, warring hurricane swept over a whole city, producing more devastation in the four or five minutes it lasted, than would a half century of ordinary phenomena.

It was as if some giant had blown upon some toy town, and scattered many of the buildings before the hot blast of his terrific breath; for as suddenly as that blast of wind had come did it cease, and all was as still and calm as before.

Sleepers awakened, and thought that what they had heard must be the confused chimera of a dream. They trembled and turned to sleep again.

I summarized this as:

The lightning! The thunder! Ominous calm! The buildings scatter like toy houses! O THE STORMY STORMINESS OF THE STORM. And then the hail starts up, at which point I started laughing, because… hail. Sexy, sexy, stormy hail. Oh the hailiness of the hail, the stormy sexy chunks of ice hailing on your head, yea, unto a mild concussion. In conclusion: hail.

I had some interesting expectations here about gothic atmosphere, or perhaps just the vampire genre itself, necessarily being "sexy." You do see some eroticism in a vampire story like "La Morte amoreuse" (1836), but—remember how I mentioned the cottage industry built on Polidori's "The Vampyre," which ultimately results in Varney the Vampire as a sort of parody? There's no Erotic Biting in any of that. Biting of any nature happens off-page in "The Vampyre," and to my knowledge, Ruthven doesn't manage to bite anyone in spinoffs like The Bride of the Isles. At the time Varney was first published (1845-1847), I don't know if people were expecting scenes like—well, what's about to happen next.

Enter Flora:

And now we meet Our Heroine, Flora Bannerworth, an aptly-named maiden who is "young and beautiful as a spring morning," bare shoulder, sculpted ivory bosom, teeth of pearl, moaning in her sleep, a flood of loosed tresses, so on and so forth. Wind, rain, sexy hail, 600 words, FLASH OF LIGHTNING! SHRIEK!

Okay, I clearly expected the heroine to be eroticized, and I was at least right about that:

The bed in that old chamber is occupied. A creature formed in all fashions of loveliness lies in a half sleep upon that ancient couch -- a girl young and beautiful as a spring morning. Her long hair has escaped from its confinement and streams over the blackened coverings of the bedstead; she has been restless in her sleep, for the clothing of the bed is in much confusion. One arm is over her head, the other hangs nearly off the side of the bed near to which she lies. A neck and bosom that would have formed a study for the rarest sculptor that ever Providence gave genius to, were half disclosed. [...]

Oh, what a world of witchery was in that mouth, slightly parted, and exhibiting within the pearly teeth that glistened even in the faint light that came from that bay window. How sweetly the long silken eyelashes lay upon the cheek. Now she moves, and one shoulder is entirely visible -- whiter, fairer than the spotless clothing of the bed on which she lies, is the smooth skin of that fair creature, just budding into womanhood, and in that transition state which presents to us all the charms of the girl -- almost of the child, with the more matured beauty and gentleness of advancing years.

Y'all.

I had read a lot of Victorian literature by 2010—took graduate classes, even—and was too jaded to be as fazed by this quasi-Lolita mess as I maybe should have been. I remember reading this and thinking, "Yeah, that's standard. Goes on a bit, though."

Having established Flora Bannerworth, Victorian Lolita (she's the only person with any sense for several chapters, don't hold it against her), the story starts to ramp up. Flora sees "a figure tall and gaunt, endeavouring from the outside to unclasp the window" in the next flash of lightning. She's not sure what she really saw; it turns out that the literary point of the hail is that she can't tell if the sound she's hearing is ice raining down on her gothic mansion or vampire fingernails trying to claw the window open. And like, who thinks "Obviously, a vampire is trying to get in"? She saw it so clearly, and yet, storm, darkness, hail, she could just as easily explain it away—how did Ann Radcliffe differentiate terror from horror? Basically, terror is the dreadful lead-up and horror is the shocking revelation? So we switch here from the horror of OH SHIT VAMPIRE AT THE WINDOW back to the dread of waiting to find out what it really was.

Around this point in the original post, I pointed out that there are four elements you might see in a vampire story: the Appearance of the Vampire; the Attack of the Vampire; the Victim's Consumptive Suffering; and the eventual Destruction of the Vampire. You see these pretty reliably in Dracula, for example; you see them subverted in Interview with the Vampire, where the vampire is eventually destroyed by fellow vampires, but then it turns out he wasn't, and he goes on to be vampire king and see Jesus and mess around with the Devil and Atlantis is involved, idk I didn't keep up with those books after the one with the body-thieving. In this particular chapter of Varney, we get the first two elements, and they are honestly very effective: "Frozen with horror!" I said. "Heart beating wildly! The strange reddish light from a burning mill in the distance! The vampyre's nails clattering against the glass as it seeks to open the latch! She tries to scream but cannot to move, but cannot! Her cries for help are but hoarse whispers that no one can hear!" And then:

(I want you to remember Lord Ruthven's "dead grey eyes" here:)

The figure turns half round, and the light falls upon its face. It is perfectly white perfectly bloodless. The eyes look like polished tin; the lips are drawn back, and the principal feature next to those dreadful eyes is the teeth the fearful looking teeth projecting like those of some wild animal, hideously, glaringly white, and fang-like.

(Sidebar: This is apparently the first appearance of the word "fang" in vampire literature.)

It approaches the bed with a strange, gliding movement. It clashes together the long nails that literally appear to hang from the finger ends. No sound comes from its lips. [...] The glance of a serpent could not have produced a greater effect upon her than did the fixed gaze of those awful, metallic-looking eyes that were bent down on her face. Crouching down so that the gigantic height was lost, and the horrible, protruding white face was the most prominent object, came on the figure. What was it? what did it want there? what made it look so hideous so unlike an inhabitant of the earth, and yet be on it?

Here I am, making a very good point while being gleefully insensitive:

Panting, repulsion, heaving bosoms, etc. And then begins the slow agony of Flora oozing across the bed in her attempt to escape. Hair streaming (slowly) across the pillows, covers dragging (slowly) behind her, until she gets one foot (slowly) onto the floor. This is one of the few times the paid-per-word aspect works in Varney's favor—it has the endless creep of a nightmare, so let's take a moment to bask in a brief ray of quality. Undaunted by effective writing, the vampyre reaches her and drags her by the hair back onto the bed; "Heaven granted her then power" to scream her head off. And thus follows the most awesome sentence I have yet seen in gothic literature:

With a plunge he seizes her neck in his fang-like teeth a gush of blood, and a hideous sucking noise follows. The girl has swooned, and the vampyre is at his hideous repast!

My Hideous Repast is totally the name of my new goth band.

And that was the end of my commentary on the chapter.

I'm torn here because I do think the writing in general is entertainingly overblown, and I do think "my hideous repast" is funny in the abstract. But what I don't understand—not to bring the room down, but I feel like it should be pointed out: when I started recapping Varney the Vampire back in 2010, I completely missed the fact that this opening scene is describing a sexual(ized) assault. Some readers might be really, really uncomfortable with this scene. Why did I not see this?

I came here to have fun and that would not have been fun?

I was approaching the serial from the assumption that it's silly and melodramatic, so anything that happened also would be?

This cover illustration did not exactly set me up to take it seriously?

I was so used to the ravishment fantasies of gothic/vampire media that it didn't strike me as something unpleasant or unusual to read?

It was 2010 and we didn't necessarily question problematic angles as thoroughly as we do now, even though I was already critiquing Twilight in 2008 so that's kind of a bullshit excuse?

I still think the melodramatic writing is pretty funny in places and I'm not sure how I feel about myself for that?

I think at least some of my reaction actually does come from writing about Twilight from 2008 onwards. It was a vampire story that had a marked lack of Erotic Biting scenes, to the point where director Catherine Hardwicke had to add one to the movie: Bella's fainting-couch fantasy of Edward as a classically gothic vampire, which apparently involves shoe-polish hair.

The mood 15 years ago (!) was, some people loved a twinkling repressed sparklepire insisting he mustn't touch his high-school ladylove, he mustn't! but he must!!, and other people were big mad about it. Reading Varney, it felt refreshing to go back to a "traditional" story and say, see, there is bloodshed and it's not sparklewashed and tame, that is what real vampiring looks like. And somewhere along the way, I think I lost sight of the fact that Twilight, for all its many faults, at least involves someone who enthusiastically consents to being bitten. Like, Bella as would-be victim consents when Edward doesn't; the big tension of the series is that Bella is always throwing herself at a hungry vampire who keeps running away from her.

Hey, you might say, in the midst of a cultural moment when everyone’s going wild over the bizarrely chaste story of a teenage girl and her guilt-ridden goody-two-shoes vampire boyfriend,

remember when vampires were actually scary and forced themselves on their victims?

wait what do you mean that's not great

By “not great,” I don’t mean that vampire villains are Problematic™ and should be banned from fiction. I'm saying, that's the point, that it's villainous to force a vampire bite on someone; that's what the horror of the situation is about. That said, one of the unique holds that vampires have on audiences is the moment when “force” becomes ambiguous—ambiguous for the characters, but when we consent, as readers and viewers, to seek out that ambiguity. Like, I’m here for vampires because of that, the psychodrama is the whole point for me; it’s not because I like watching people get chewed on. That ambiguity holds an audience-proxy tension between “I don’t want this” and “but I do want this.”

Case in point, Dracula attacking Mina in the original text: Mina is horrified to find that she’s compelled to submit despite herself (“strangely enough, I did not want to hinder him”), although that scene is heavily weighted towards “I don’t want this”—towards horror. A story like “Carmilla” has Laura feeling confused, conflicted, unsure of what’s even been happening behind the veil of her dreams: Do I want this? What am I even wanting? “Whatever it might be, my soul acquiesced in it”: more of a balance between want and not-want. Whereas Bella immediately wants to be bitten, end of, and spends three books chasing a vampire who is agog at how little she cares for her own life. It's... some kind of tension, for sure.

Thousands of words have been written about how this tension is tied to societal sexual repression, of course. And as the decades went on, as sexual mores loosened throughout the twentieth century and beyond, writers and filmmakers started saying, “Oh, the vampire’s bite is enjoyable and it doesn’t turn you immediately into a vampire, have fun.” (The U.S. seems to be moving politically back towards repression, which makes me wonder how vampire media might change soon.) And this is why Twilight feels like a metaphor for literal chastity: there are immediate consequences for being so much as nicked by a fang, and so all the eroticism is dialed down to teenage makeouts.

And so, in 2010, I was so busy enjoying the literary contrast between Twilight and a book where vampires actually bite people that I lost sight of the fact that what happens to Flora is a particularly cruel and vivid assault. I mean, getting dragged by her hair, Jesus Christ, why was I not more disturbed by that?

What this then makes me ask, though, is how did readers in 1847 take this?

Who was this written for?

Readers who would identify most with Varney—attacking Flora, which is awful, but the action as written is extremely callous?

Readers who would identify most with Flora—being attacked, which suggests a "horror is a safe roller coaster" framing?

Readers who wouldn't really identify with either of them, but instead might picture it as a stage play?

Given that Polidori's Lord Ruthven set off a "vampire craze" onstage, I lean towards the third option. It takes a certain bystander detachment to read this scene and not think of its reality—to empathize—at all. And my "lmao this is so silly" is, in fact, a form of detachment. But all three of those options are possible, all at once.

So: is this opening chapter intended to be funny? (Subsequent chapters are far more intentionally humorous, and I had doubled back to recap this after reading ahead.) Are we meant to laugh, or is the outdated style only unintentionally funny now?

Is it satirizing earlier vampire literature/theater on purpose?

Is humor a way of making it easier to read a scene like this?

Is it not a good thing, really to make a scene of assault "easier to read"?

Did I, a reader who would identify with Flora, need it to be easier to read?

Is it okay to have multiple, conflicting reactions to something?

The only answer I have is "Yes," to that last question. And the only thing I know to do with conflicting feelings about media is to accept them and say, as a data point: here they are. There’s a level to this first chapter that I completely did not grasp 12-13 years ago, when I was 30+ entire years old, and I'm still not sure why that is.

I do think Varney the Vampire is frequently pretty funny; weirdly, the subsequent chapters read like a parody of Dracula if everyone in Dracula except one (1) heroine was completely useless, 50 years before that book was even written. Flora might be the victim in this chapter, but she is not the butt of the jokes. But I guess what we need to think about is—if this book is meant to be parody, why is it funny, who is it making fun of at any given point, and what purpose does that serve?

At this point, the antiquated style is what’s funny to me, and I’m making fun of Rymer. Did Rymer intend his readers to find the opening chapter funny? Maybe not: I think he intended it, certainly, to be titillating, even exploitative—and I was aware of that, but maybe not enough.

We'll resume with Varney trying to get over a garden wall. It will be a shorter, lighter post.

[justforbooks]

In 2015 James Rebanks published the bestselling The Shepherd’s Life, a seasonal account of a year in the life of a small-scale sheep farmer in Cumbria. He wanted, he said, to put “the working-class nobodies – our people – back into the books”. In one of the most unforgettable sections, he recalls the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease that ravaged the UK in 2001. A “contiguous cull” required all sheep within three kilometres of a known outbreak to be slaughtered. Rebanks watched as the animals he had bred and raised were shot, one after the other. “When the last wagon had gone, I went into the barn … sat down in the shadows, held my head in my hands and sobbed.”

Foot-and-mouth devastated Cumbria, wiping out the livestock and livelihoods of nearly 900 farms. That devastation sits at the heart of The Borrowed Hills, Scott Preston’s blistering debut novel. Preston was a boy when the epidemic hit. Like Rebanks, he grew up in the Lake District, where his father was a dry stone waller. He too was frustrated that nothing he read told the story of the land and the people he grew up with in a way he recognised. The Borrowed Hills is an explosive bid to right that wrong.

Steve Elliman is the son of a tenant farmer in a fictional fold of the fells called Curdale Valley. When his father falls ill he chucks in his job as a lorry driver and goes home to help. The smallholding is “scarce a thumbprint” on the valley and rapidly falling into disrepair. Their flock of just 200 sheep live wild on the open fells 1,000 feet up, “higher than where the flycatchers and doves roosted in cragfolds, and higher than where falcons nested watching their dinner below”. When rumours of foot-and-mouth start to spread, Steve isolates the sheep but he cannot save them. The sickness has taken hold at a neighbouring farm and orders are clear. Every animal must be eliminated.

The massacre that follows is unsparing in its matter-of-fact violence. Steve’s first-person narrative is written in his distinctive Cumbrian voice, a vernacular stripped to its bones that encompasses stark prose and sudden startling flashes of poetry. Rifle muzzles are “placed between [the sheep’s] ears and the bullets lined along their backs so each bang stayed inside their heads”. The sheep panic. The squaddies sent to dispatch them panic in their turn. The result is half Tarantino and half pitch-black northern realism, an absurdist horror that slides under the skin and lodges deep.

Later Steve fetches up on his neighbour William Herne’s farm, where the outbreak is rumoured to have started. The sheep that William tried to hide out in the fells have been seen from a police helicopter and gunned down from the sky. The fires incinerating the dead animals burn day and night for a week. “We had burned through everything, even what we’d no right to, rubbed out the stars and hid the moon, and if the night sky wasn’t already black we’d have had a good go at making it.” When the job is finished Steve leaves the valley and goes back to driving lorries, but something in him has changed. He can’t stay away. When he finally returns, William has a plan to get back on his feet, a plan that will push both men into a spiralling nightmare of violence and bloodshed.

Despite the wild beauty of the landscape, there is something claustrophobic about Preston’s novel: the tyranny of a place that demands relentless back-breaking labour and will never pay back what is given. Steve and William’s increasingly feverish venture is not a quest for new frontiers but a frantic struggle to claw back a life that was already falling apart. “That’s what I like about you farm lads,” a man tells Steve. “Know what it is to raise something to be killed.” But like the slaughter of foot-and-mouth, the violence that enmeshes the two men is not heroic. It is ugly and senseless and it destroys lives. It offers no redemption. The best one can hope for is the restoration of a precarious equilibrium, a return to the harsh hardscrabble of before.

This is a sucker-punch of a novel, a viscerally vivid portrait of desperation, edged with knife-sharp black humour and shot through with moments of startling beauty, but there is little hope in it. Angry as it was, Rebanks’s book was a love letter to Cumbria. The connection to the land goes just as deep here, but, bound to a place that demands so much in return for so little, it is a more dysfunctional relationship.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[thingsilikealex99a]

The Marilyn Monroe Archives for Sunday 10/15.

------------------------------------------

In 1949, a cash-strapped, jobless Marilyn Monroe posed nude for pinup photographer Tom Kelley in exchange for the $50 she needed to make a car payment. The shoot lasted two hours and Monroe had made Kelley promise she'd look unrecognizable in the photos. Kelley retained all rights to the images and later sold them for $900 to the Western Lithograph Co. and they were published as part of the "Golden Dreams" pinup calendar series.

Four years later, one of the photos from the shoot...

… was seen by aspiring publisher Hugh Hefner, and he paid Western Lithograph $500 for publication rights. The image ran as the centerfold in the inaugural issue of Playboy as the "sweetheart of the month" in December 1953. The rest is history.

Marilyn never actually posed for Playboy and never actually met Hefner.

A story. I remember a calendar with the iconic image hanging in the barbershop where my parents took me for one of my early haircuts (I was about 4 I think) and it caught my eye. My Mom noticed me noticing it, and after some whispers and giggles, the barber took it down. Too late!

[mariacallous]

Teitel Brothers, the 105-year-old Italian provisions store on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, is not Italian at all. In fact, Teitels is the only existing store in the Bronx’s Little Italy, the real Little Italy, with Jewish roots.

Arthur Avenue is a gem in New York City��s cultural and culinary crown. It’s authentically Italian with your selection of paneterie, pasticcerie, salumerie, and pescherie —food stores that specialize in one type of product: bread, pastry, meat, and fish. As customers bustle through stores you can even hear the Italian “buona giornata!” Have a good day! 

At the corner of Arthur Avenue and 186th Street, also named Teitel Brothers Avenue, is the eponymous store. Outside is an eye-catching, colorful display of pastas, olive oils, and the best-priced Rao’s tomato sauce in all of New York City. If you don’t look down, which is easy to do when taking in the hanging prosciutto di Parma above and the olive bar to your right, you will miss the Jewish history right below your feet. At the entrance to the store is a Star of David mosaic.

I sat down with Eddie Teitel, one of three brothers who runs the family owned shop with their father, Gilbert, to find out how Jewish immigrants from Austria built a successful Italian grocery store. 

Unlike most Jewish immigrants who assimilated to New York’s Lower East Side in the early 20th century, Jacob and Morris Teitel, tailors from Austria, arrived in 1912 and headed north to the Italian neighborhood of Arthur Avenue. In 1915, they opened Teitel Brothers, importing high quality provisions from a country they had never visited. Jacob and Morris learned to speak Italian before they spoke English. 

In the 1930s, as fascism and anti-Semitism continued to rise in Europe, the Teitel Brother’s landlord warned them, “If people knew you were Jews, nobody would shop here.” A week later, they installed the Star of David mosaic so everyone who crossed the threshold knew they were Jews. “It took a lot of courage to do something like that,” Eddie remarked.

While Teitel Brothers was not the only Jewish merchant on Arthur Avenue, it is the only Jewish store in the neighborhood that exists today. Why did Teitel outlive the other Jewish stores? According to Eddie, “We’re the first ones here in the morning. We start at a quarter to five and we work hard. We’re one of the last stores to close up and we have a great product.”

It’s true. Teitels is the Wonka factory of Italian provisions. Two thousand products mask the walls of the 900-square foot corner store. In Teitels’ 105 year history, much of their inventory has remained constant, but if their customers want something they don’t have, they will order it. For example, as more immigrants from Albania and Yugoslavia have moved to the neighborhood, Teitels has added feta and phyllo dough to their shelves.

Eddie is the first Teitel in the third-generation business to visit Italy. Every other year, he attends the Food Show in Modena, takes tours of olive oil factories in Spoleto, and sees where their Romano cheese is made in Nepi. 

Before Eddie traveled to Italy, one way Teitels would find new products was through salesmen. Eddie tells a story of a persistent salesman whose cousin from Sicily made a delicious olive oil. Eddie and his brothers liked the olive oil so much that when their uncle passed away, they bought the exclusive rights and named it “Don Luigi” in his honor. In 2001, The New York Times praised the Don Luigi extra virgin olive oil as being “the perfect expression” of Sicilian olives and “a bargain worth seeking out.” After the article was published, Teitels sold out in three days.

When Eddie travels to Italy, he brings back the best of Italian provisions, and also the European hospitality, which he describes as “second to none.” It helps that Eddie has known many of his customers since he was ten years old, when he started helping his father in the shop. 

Each generation of Teitels have brought something new. The first generation opened the store. The second opened the wholesale business. When the third generation took over, there was one truck and now there are eight. Jean, the oldest brother who was a merchant marine, applies his discipline to keep their warehouse across the street in order. Michael, the middle brother and a chef of 35 years, loves to share recipes with people who come in. As for the next generation? Eddie’s son, who was recently bar mitzvahed, helps in the store on the weekends. Before he joins the family business full-time, his father will make sure he has a college education. 

This past February, Teitel Brothers was honored by the New York City Department of Small Businesses as one of ten century-old establishments across the five boroughs that have proven to be a permanent neighborhood fixture between 1878 and 1920, along with the famous appetizing spot, Russ & Daughters. 

Teitel Brothers is more than a store. It is a glimpse into the history of Jewish New Yorkers, the discrimination they faced, and their resistance to such hate — all preserved in cans of tomato sauce, aged salami, and an almost century-old mosaic.

[dudeshusband]

Ship: Mike x Joe Ricco

Words: 900

Description: Mike brings Ricco lunch at work.

Warnings: none!

Joe would be in his office at lunchtime. Mike had made sure of that. Ever since they'd been going out, they wanted to bring him a homemade lunch. They'd prepped some cilantro lime salad and sandwiches the night before so they could easily come to his law building from their job at the paper. 

They walked into his office and were greeted by Jamison, his secretary. They'd heard quite a bit about her but had never met her. 

Jamison was a woman about Mike's age, maybe slightly younger. She had short brown hair that was parted in the middle and surrounded her head, a bit like a long pageboy. She smiled professionally as Mike approached. 

“Hello, miss,” she said, which stung a little. “It's Mr. Ricco’s lunch hour but I can make you an appointment.” 

Mike lifted the bag they were holding. “That's exactly what I'm here for.” 

Jamison eyed Mike's flared slacks and furrowed her eyebrows. “You don't look like a delivery boy.” 

Mike chuckled. “No, I write the political commentary section of The Chronicle. Occasionally I publish short stories. I've been in a few publications. I'm hoping for The Atlantic next.” 

“Ambitious,” Jamison said. “So then-” A lightbulb went on in her head. “You're the person he's dating? You're Mike?” 

“Yep! That's me. Nice to meet you.” 

“How old are you?” she asked. 

Mike sighed. “Why does everyone ask that? I finished my English doctorate three years ago.” 

“You're my age?” she asked, then cringed. “Ricco’s old. He's probably my dad’s age.” 

“If we're done judging me, I'm going to have lunch with my boyfriend.” 

Mike attempted to walk past but Jamison stopped them. 

“Oh, I'm not judging! I'm just surprised,” Jamison said. “It's good to see him happy. He's been alone as long as I've worked for him. Maybe he'll stay out of my love life now and stop being such a busybody.” 

Mike chuckled. “He told me he was trying to get you a boyfriend. Any success?” 

“Maybe,” she said, stressing the y. “He was right about Markham anyway.” 

“What's up with old Italians and the matchmaking?” Mike joked. “We were set up by Nino and Angela. They'd been setting him up on a bunch of dates he didn't want.” 

“What a hypocrite!” Jamison exclaimed. “Doesn't like it when people do it to him but does it to everybody else.” 

“Well, see you later,” Mike said, and walked into Joe's office. 

“Hi,” Mike said. “Lunch is here. I got held up by a very confused Jamison. You didn't tell her I was coming?” 

“No, I forgot.” 

“You didn't tell her what I look like? How old I am?” 

“It didn't seem relevant.” 

Mike laughed. “She's probably still in an advanced state of shock out there. Wondering how you pulled such a pretty young thing.” 

He rolled his eyes. “You're not so young.” 

“I'm decrepit in women's years, don't you know? Dry as dust!” 

Joe busted up laughing at that. 

They added dramatically, “Like an overripe lemon!” 

He shook his head fondly. “Come here.” 

Mike set the bag down on a chair and approached his desk. They leaned in. 

Joe gave them a gentle kiss hello. 

“Not quite dry yet,” he said. 

Mike gave him a quick peck back. “You're getting there.” 

“Hm, I don't know. I sure drive you crazy.” 

There was no denying that. 

“Shut up and eat one of these sandwiches.” 

Mike grabbed out a pastrami for him and a veggie for themselves. 

“There's salad too,” Mike said. “Cilantro lime. It's really good.” 

“It probably is, if you made it,” he said. 

Mike smiled. 

“Are you busy for the rest of the day?” Mike asked. 

“Oh, there's this case and that case,” he said. “Why? Are you planning on playing hooky?” 

Mike smiled. “Oh, no. I have to get back to the paper and write my thoughts about the latest White House sex scandal. Riveting stuff.” 

“The readers like it,” he said. 

Mike looked up from their sandwich. “How would you know?” 

“Oh. People like to talk. People think you're funny. Right, but funny.” 

“Well. That's good.” 

“I found one of your short stories in one of those little literature journals,” he said. “You're good.” 

“I didn't know you read literary journals.” 

“I don't.” 

“Oh.” 

“You should try to aim higher,” he said. “Some big paper.” 

“The Atlantic and the New Yorker keep rejecting me,” Mike said. “But that's understandable because only 0.00067 percent of people get into those.” 

“You'll get in,” he said. “They'd be stupid not to at some point.” 

“Thank you.” 

After a while, both finished their lunch. Mike sipped their green tea as slowly as they could. 

“Don't you have that sex scandal to write about?” Joe asked. 

Mike sighed. “I'm trying to pretend I have all the time in the world.” They took his hand from across the table. “What if I want to stay here?” 

“I'll have to kick you out,” Joe said, lightheartedly. “I can't enable you slacking.” 

Mike did their best pleading eyes. “Just once? We could just go walk the dock together?” 

“I'll see you after work,” he said. “The dock’ll still be there. Along with the stars.” 

“Well,” Mike sighed. “I tried. Have a good rest of your day.” 

“Good luck on that commentary,” he replied. 

“I'm not leaving without a kiss goodbye,” Mike said. 

They kissed him for as long as they could. 

“You taste like pastrami and mustard,” they said with a giggle. 

“Go, go,” he said, waving them towards the door. 

“I'm going, I'm going! It's almost like you want me to leave!” 

Joe shook his head. “See you later.” 

“If you're lucky.” 

“See you later,” he repeated. 

Mike gave him one last smile, then left his office. They hurried downstairs and across the dock. They were 15 minutes over their lunch hour. 

[nitpickrider]

Hey, what's the stopping point for your big Action Comics read? And once it'S done, will you go back and read every issue of Superman 1939 from the start?

It would probably be good to put my process on paper for people who ask, at the very least I can link back to it. In answer to the questions asked: 904 and no. And I will explain both in depth. Point 1.) For my methods, a "volume" counts as the continuous publication of a comic over a contiguous point in time. I count retroactive numbering that jumps back to a previous volume as actually a NEW volume that needs to wait its turn. For example, my current read through of Captain America is stopping at issue 454 because that was when Volume 1 ended continuous numbering and only returned at issue 600 several years later. For Action Comics that number is #904, which is the last issue that was published before the New 52 relaunch reset the numbering. That is when my read along will come to an end and I usually try to write a retrospective post reflecting on what I read (What the FUCK I'm going to write in summation of 900 comics, hell if I know) Point 2.) This entire account is an outgrowth of me intentionally scheduling my reading of comics to make sure I don't excuse my way out of ever doing it. As such I want to spread my wings a little when I get the chance. I don't have an official list of what I'm going to read in what order. Instead I use the Random Page function on either the Marvel or DC wiki to see what I will be reading next. Once I have concluded Action Comics or Captain America I will randomize to a new volume that I will then do a read through of. As such I cannot guarantee to anyone that I will read anything, anywhere, basically ever. It's literally in the hands of a random number generator. You can like it, or you can not but it works for me and as such that's how this is going to work. Captain America is wrapping up in the next several days at MOST so some new Marvel content should be coming across your feed any day now. Don't worry though, I'm only currently at #242/904 in Action Comics, Superman-posting is not going anywhere on my blog for the next several YEARS at least and statistically it won't be long before I land on another Marvel long runner, might just be a few shorter series or miniseries in between. Try to enjoy the ride, I know I am :)

[finnlongman]

Hello, I'm the anon that asked about the Diarmuid and Grainne tale before and you gave such a great answer that I felt like it was safe to maybe send you an ask again? I've read more into the Ulster and Fenian tales and also came across the comparison between Diarmuid/ Grainne and Tristan/Isolde (a lot actually). Does that hold any evidence? Did the Tristan take evolve from Diarmuids story? I was thinking about maybe it up on JSTOR but you're definitely the less intimidating option. Have a great day

So, with the huge caveat that I am not a specialist in fíanaigecht material and also not an expert on Tristan material, this question did come at the only time when I might be able to answer it, because I literally read an article today about this topic. Having said that, I am still extremely not an expert!

First of all, I will say that this has definitely been a topic of discussion in academic scholarship on these texts. What the current consensus is on whether one text is drawing on the other, I can be less confident asserting, because I haven't read a lot of the scholarship on this topic. Although I'm not working on this topic directly, I'm currently looking substantially at the relationship between Arthurian romances and Early Modern* Irish texts (a category to which Diarmait & Gráinne belongs, although I'm working on the Ulster Cycle, so it's not in my corpus), so it's probably something I'll find myself coming back to. It's a very muddy area though -- although Arthurian scholars are often very ready to attribute details to the "Celtic" origins of a story and therefore imply that any similarities mean an Irish or Welsh text is the original blueprint, in this case, the surviving texts are late enough that you get a lot of influence coming back in from French and English sources via the Anglo-Normans and Ireland's general literary contact with the outside world.

When looking for articles on this kind of topic, JSTOR may be able to help, but I tend to find it's a bit limited for Irish material because so many articles and chapters in our field haven't been digitised. Which is a huge disadvantage. However, there are a few ways around this, at least in terms of identifying material (not so much getting access to it). I ran a search for tristan on BILL, the Bibliography of Irish Language & Literature, to see what had been published on the topic recently (but not super recently because BILL tends to be a few years behind with recent publications).

From there, I found Marie-Luise Theuerkauf's 2017 article in The Matter of Britain in Medieval Ireland: reassessments (Irish Texts Society Subsidiary Series 29, ed. John Carey): 'Tristan and early modern Irish romances: James Carney’s Ur-Tristan revisited.' This is a useful place to start. At least, it's where I started while reading today!

In this article, she discusses James Carney's controversial attempts (in the 1950s) to reconstruct an insular "ur-text" of the Tristan story that would have served as the source for later texts. In this study, Carney identifies a number of Irish texts that share motifs with Tristan stories, among them Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne. TDG probably dates to the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries, although the earliest manuscript of the text is from the seventeenth century. However, Carney believed that the original story underlying it dated to around 900, and therefore he can count it among his early, pre-Tristan texts.

It's true that there were definitely earlier versions of the story, since the (descriptive) title of one is found in tale lists: "The Elopement of Gráinne with Diarmaid". The text itself is lost, though, so we only have the title. Theuerkauf notes that "this proves that the love triangle story of Diarmaid, Gráinne and Fionn was known at a date anterior to the earliest Continental Tristan texts, we cannot automatically assume that the Aithed Gráinne story in exactly the same way as the Tóruigheacht does." In other words, a lot of the very specific motifs and similarities that the two texts share might be later, so which direction the influence is in becomes very muddy -- does Tristan get it from Diarmaid, or the other way around? Or do they both draw on a shared source? Or are they coincidental/more general folklore motifs from a common stock?

Theuerkauf cautions: "While it may be tempting to focus on the similarities which exist between the Tóruigheacht and Tristan, this focus has tended to lead to an over-simplification of the nature of the source material" and comments that although they're "very much alike in theme, they are often very different in execution or intent". She finishes by concluding that Carney is wrong about most things, if not everything, and introduces for consideration another 15th-century Irish text with close correspondences to the Tristan stories.

Another scholar who has worked on the relationship between the Tristan stories and the Irish material is Raymond J. Cormier. His article "Open Contrast: Tristan and Diarmaid" in Speculum 51/4 is available on JSTOR. I haven't read this one myself yet, but it looks based on Theuerkauf's citations that he tends to be quite critical of the connections between the two; among his criticisms is the fact that the late date of the surviving Irish texts means influences can enter directly from the French material, so shared motifs don't necessarily mean shared sources or Irish origins for those details.

He's also written about connections between Tristan narratives and the Naoise/Deirdre story, so looking at the love triangle motif in another Irish text. I haven't read this article yet, but it's here, if it's of interest (not sure if paywalled or not, sorry, I'm on institutional WiFi right now so it's bypassing all of that!)

Another article that looks valuable on this topic is Joseph Falaky Nagy, "Tristanic, Fenian, and lovers’ leaps" in Diasa díograise: aistí i gcuimhne ar Mháirtín Ó Briain (2009). Unfortunately, I can tell you nothing about this article because this book is not available to me. I have actually just requested that my library buy it because a couple of the other articles in there are relevant to me, but that means I can't advise on its contents yet!

Nagy has another article on the topic, 'The Celtic "Love Triangle" Revisited', in An XIV Comhdháil Idirnáisiúnta sa Léann Ceilteach, Maigh Nuad 2011: Imeachtaí (Dublin, 2015). Again, I have not read this one (although it looks like my library does actually have it), but it's also cited in Theuerkauf's article and sounds like it could be helpful.

I don't know if this answered your question at all, as I feel like the general vibe of what I just gave you was "ehh well they're definitely similar but the question is Why they're similar and that's more complicated" (ain't that always the way). But hopefully it might give you some sources to follow up on. I'm sorry I can't provide direct links to more of these -- the lack of open access and digitised scholarship in this field is a challenge.

*A point of terminology just to clarify in case anyone was confused: 13th-14th century may not sound "Early Modern" if you're used to thinking in purely historical terms, but linguistically, when it comes to Irish material this label tends to start from about 1300 (and obviously, being found in 17th century manuscripts positions this tale more solidly in the early modern period anyway).

[agnesmontague]

I'm sending you this ask now on the caleb maupin thing because I WILL forget to ask you later but I'm curious about your playlist <3

oh god right. thank you i forgot about this. come one, come all, to hear the ballad of caleb maupin.

quick summary: caleb maupin is a disgraced former(?) cult leader and former journalist for Russia Times who touted himself as a huge figure in the american communist sphere. for a few years he led a group of young (i cannot stress enough; these were 19-24 y/os, all younger than himself) tankie-ass communists where they repeated extremely wack talking points that often were complete undisguised antisemitism, transphobia, and outright sexually conservative bullshit all under the name of "materialism" or whatever the fuck. he also published several books containing these ideas, priced at ridiculous numbers (one of them hewed close to $1k) so that no one outside his circle could actually read them and call him out on his takes; more on this later.

in november 2022 his victims within this cult masquerading as a communist center published a medium post calling him out for abuse of various natures, including emotional, financial, and sexual. these accusations are made extremely credible by the inclusion of actual screenshots of phone conversations with maupin, which got the post taken down from medium as this goes against their policies. a link to the archived version will be below.

anyway, onto the videos:

Fake Materialism for Real Transphobes by Thought Slime - this is how i learned about CM for the first time. TS goes after CM for platforming a known terf and gormlessly nodding along as she spouts the usual transphobic nonsense. this will kick off a feud between the two that is largely one-sided on CM's part, who develops the biggest hate-boner for what he calls "the CIA-funded breadtube left".

Abandoning counter-revolutionary SLIME and adopting Maupin-thought! by Thought Slime - TS's response video to an absolutely shitheaded response from CM to the first video above.

Thought Slime takes a bite out of Maupin's Way (Borgar Kang will never die) by The Serfs - TS along with her friend The Serfs do a reaction stream to CM's reaction video. just a fun chill time exposing CM and how deeply shallow and poor his class analysis is.

Caleb Maupin has DESTROYED us, we must now resign. Featuring The Serfs by Thought Slime - TS and The Serfs respond once again to this now very funny feud that seems to have sprouted, debunking CM's points.

The War Crime Liker Convention- Cringe Corner ft. Sophie from Mars by Thought Slime - TS and her friend Sophie from Mars watch the event archive from CM's political club conference. one of my favorite videos from this entire affair bc it shows just how uncharismatic and yet influential CM has managed to become among this group of similar-minded, and i hate to say this, fools.

Reading Caleb Maupin's "Satan At The Fountainhead" with Thoughtslime, We're In Hell & That Jess by Sophie from Mars - a group of friends read the CM book that i mentioned above, which was priced at $900 so that no one else would buy and read it. why would he do this? well, if watching the entire 3-hour video is daunting for you (though i recommend it highly; the three friends reading it are hilarious), PLEASE jump to 2:04:02 and just watch that part. in the words of sophie: "he FUCKING said it!!!!!! he fucking said..... IT!!!!!"

Conspiracy on the Left by Sophie from Mars - not directly related to CM for its entirety, but this is a very good video essay about how the left is just as prone to conspiracy-laced thinking and manipulation as right-wingers or QAnoners. she also mentions CM towards the end as a case study.

Caleb Maupin’s Former Comrades Speak Out, His Abuses Must Stop! - the medium post by CM's victims exposing him.

Caleb Maupin exposed for abuses and cult manipulation tactics by Sophie from Mars - this is the stream where sophie reads through and reacts to the medium article above.

Pinko & Mildred watch Caleb Maupin addressing the allegations by Sophie from Mars - after scrubbing his entire twitter and social media presences, CM makes a comeback video. it is, in two words, fucking incredible. TS and sophie (here seen in her clown persona, "pinko", which she adopts to bring levity to patently absurd situations like this one) watch through and react to it; it's one of the funniest videos ive ever seen on this topic tbh.

if you scroll through the related videos or run a search, you'll also find gems from The Serfs about CM and more videos from Sophie reading through CM's books; i haven't included them in this list as they're less directly relevant to CM's run as a cult leader, but they're all very fun imo and good to have on in the background when you're doing chores or working. it's a wild ride, generally. merry rubbernecking to you all

[usafphantom2]

Piloting the F-35 can make pilots look 'as if they were 100 years old', says test pilot

“It's like an 800-pound gorilla sitting on your chest,” a pilot said at a Lockheed Martin webinar.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 06/18/2023 - 19:25 in Military

U.S. test pilots described the challenges of flying one of the most advanced warplanes in the world, the F-35 fighter, in a recent discussion in a webinar organized by Lockheed Martin.

Tony "Brick" Wilson, an F-35 test pilot for the American defense company that previously served in the U.S. Navy, described the "g forces" - or gravitational force - he must deal with when piloting U.S. high-tech fighters.

“It's like an 800-pound gorilla sitting on your chest,” Wilson said earlier this month, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Tony “Brick” Wilson.

The "dogfight" of aircraft against aircraft is like a full-body workout and "you're finished" in the end, Wilson added.

Monessa "Siren" Balzhiser, another test pilot of the company's F-35, also addressed the "g forces" in the discussion.

An average roller coaster pulls about three to four "g forces," said Balzhiser, who, before joining Lockheed, served in the U.S. Air Force.

“For a g-force, think about your weight. Therefore, if you weighed 100 pounds, pulling 9 g, you would be pulling 900 pounds of force on a person's body. Imagine so much pressure on your body. It takes a lot of training and special training," Balzhiser said.

F-35

After a mission, "the pilots leave looking to be 100 years old," she added.

Later, Wilson was asked about the distance the jets could fly, according to The Jerusalem Post, and he described the different fuel levels available in each variant of the jet.

An F-35A carries 18,000 pounds of fuel, the F-35B carries about 13,000 pounds of fuel and the F-35C carries almost 20,000 pounds of fuel, the test pilot said.

Monessa “Siren” Balzhiser.

Generally, on missions, pilots do not fly more than “500 to 700 nautical miles, perform a mission and then travel back” to the base, Wilson said.

In the webinar, Balzhiser said that what she values most in warplanes is “the amount of information and situational awareness that the F-35 gave me compared to the F-16”.

The F-16 has three separate screens and monitors, with each screen connected to a specific sensor," she told The Jerusalem Post. "The pilots needed to merge the sensor into their brain to get the information, think about it and come up with a solution. The large graphic display of the F-35 does this, provides this situational awareness faster than I was able to do on the F-16."

F-35 test pilot Chris "Worm" Spinelli spent 24 years in the Air Force piloting fighters such as the F-22 and F-16 before joining Lockheed. He told me that F-35 technology gives pilots a whole new understanding of where they are in the air in relation to an enemy - something that determines life or death in air-to-air combat.

Chris “Worm” Spinelli.

"In an air-to-air confrontation, with a fourth-generation fighter, you are shooting and then maneuvering to help survive a subsequent attack from the enemy aircraft and I can tell you personally, based on my own combat experiences in the Raptor F-22 and F-16, it was very frustrating to try to see. Honestly, you never see [the enemy aircraft] or know what's going on," Spinelli said.

Spinelli said that the F-35 generates a totally different "Air Tactics" or "mental model" image for pilots who need to know their surroundings in the air war.

Tags: Military AviationF-35 Lightning IILockheed Martin

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work around the world of aviation.

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Robert Tracinski at The UnPopulist:

Project 2025 is a governing blueprint prepared by the Heritage Foundation, one of the right’s most prominent intellectual organs, to ensure that an incoming Trump administration can count on personnel unshakably loyal to Trump to execute an agenda that fully reflects MAGA priorities. For much of the year, Project 2025 has been a controversial campaign issue: The Biden and then Harris campaigns tried to tie Trump to this unpopular and vaguely sinister-sounding plan, while the former president repeatedly tried to disavow all knowledge. Elon Musk, who is now Trump’s second-biggest financial donor, even suggested earlier this week that “Project 2025 is just QAnon for lefties,” implying that concerns over Project 2025 are equivalent to the far-right conspiracy theory that a network of Satanist cannibal pedophiles is behind opposition to Trump.

Yet the origins of Project 2025 are all out in the open. At a Heritage Foundation dinner in April 2022, Donald Trump acknowledged the crucial role that the conservative organization would be expected to play in the years that followed: “The critical job of institutions such as Heritage is to lay the groundwork, and Heritage does such an incredible job of that. ... [T]hey’re going to ... detail plans for exactly what our movement will do ... when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.” A year later, Heritage did just that when it published its 900-page policy document outlining a vision for a second Trump presidency. “Large portions” of that document, according to a New York Times analysis published last week, “were written by longtime Trump loyalists who were advisers to Mr. Trump during his first term.” And the connections between MAGA and Heritage go well beyond Project 2025’s origins: Trump’s pick for vice president, JD Vance, has written the foreword for Heritage President—and Project 2025’s architect—Kevin Roberts’ forthcoming book on “taking back Washington to save America.” To understand this connection, let’s establish some context.

An Administration in Exile

Donald Trump has repeatedly complained that he was prevented from doing what he really wanted in his first term. He blames the “deep state” of entrenched lower-level bureaucrats, but it was also the “shallow state”—his own direct appointees, including aides and cabinet officers—who watered down, slow-walked, and sometimes overtly resisted Trump’s urges, usually out of moral or legal concerns. For example, when Trump tried to shake down a foreign leader for political favors, he was ratted out by non-political members of the national security services who understood their loyalty to be to the United States, not to Trump personally. This led to his first impeachment.

Trump and his supporters complained bitterly about this “disloyalty” and insisted that the president should have unlimited ability to set the U.S. government’s agenda for whatever personal reason of his own. In effect, they felt he should be an elected autocrat. Russell Vought, Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget and a key figure in the development of Project 2025, summed up the problem: “We had people, appointees, that were not on board with the president’s viewpoint. ... I don’t think that will be the occurrence again.” Heritage set out to make sure the next administration would be staffed only by loyalists. In fact, this is precisely what big DC think tanks like the Heritage Foundation exist to do. They provide an administration in waiting, where political appointees in the executive branch—secretaries and under-secretaries and deputy under-secretaries—can find a refuge in exile, so to speak, while the other party is in power. Then, when it’s the incoming administration’s turn to govern, these institutions serve up a ready reserve of political appointees.

Heritage did unusually well in 2017 at placing their people within the Trump administration, and they have since adopted the goal of “institutionalizing Trumpism.”

[...]

A Punitive Agenda

What is that agenda? The sheer breadth of Heritage’s 900-page document detailing Project 2025 is possibly its best protection, since it allows Heritage’s Kevin Roberts to talk about it in vague generalities that make it sound eminently reasonable, knowing that it’s unlikely the average person will ever read any of it for himself. But the substance of Project 2025 is more insidious than has been widely reported.

[...] Let’s stipulate that even if this is Trump’s blueprint, he may not be able to implement all of it, particularly given his mercurial style of leadership. But in this regard, personnel is policy in another sense: Trump is likely to rely on Heritage people for the day-to-day running of his administration, and they will keep pursuing this agenda even when his attention wanders—because they see increasing Trump’s power as a way to increase their power. The specific abuses of government power envisioned in Project 2025 are less important than this attempt to stack the federal bureaucracy with pliant loyalists. Trump once publicly praised Heritage for the role he expected it to play in paving the way for a future Trump administration free from the constraints imposed by personnel loyal first and foremost to the Constitution. Project 2025 was instead designed to achieve Trump’s goal of making the entire apparatus of the U.S. government responsive to his personal whims. Many Trump supporters argue—conveniently forgetting small matters like Covid and Jan. 6—that his first administration was not a disaster despite all the dire warnings. To the extent that his first administration was not worse, it is because he was largely stymied in imposing his will by men of conscience. A study of how the “shallow state” of first-term Trump appointees blunted his worst urges lists one of their main motives: “appointees saw themselves as constitutional guardians or the ‘adults in the room’ who could protect the country from Trump's potentially unwise or illegal directives.” Project 2025 is an attempt to ensure there will be no such “constitutional guardians” the next time.

The regressive Project 2025 agenda from Heritage will guide a 2nd Donald Trump term, even though Trump has claimed to “disavow” it.

[tailwindpets]

The Silent Hero of Dog Recovery – Dog Knee Braces

Picture this: You're at the park with your dog, watching them dash across the grass, tail wagging, joy written all over their face. Suddenly, they limp, yelp, and slow down. Your heart sinks as you realize something is wrong. After a visit to the vet, you hear those dreaded words—your dog has a torn ACL, or maybe it's a luxating patella. Surgery might be the first thing on your mind, but what if I told you that a knee brace could be just as crucial, if not more so, in your dog's recovery? Enter the unsung hero in dog rehabilitation: the dog knee brace.

The Role of Knee Braces in Canine Recovery

When we think of post-surgery recovery or injury management for dogs, the focus often rests heavily on medications and rehabilitation exercises. However, the use of dog knee braces is becoming increasingly popular, especially for conditions like anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and luxating patella. Braces offer a non-invasive solution that complements surgeries and sometimes even eliminates the need for them.

According to a study published in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine, nearly 85% of dogs with ACL injuries experience significant improvement in mobility with the use of a custom-fit dog knee brace. What’s more, in cases where surgery isn't an option due to a dog’s age or health, knee braces provide an invaluable alternative, improving quality of life without the risks of anesthesia or long recovery periods.

Why Your Dog Might Need a Knee Brace

There’s a misconception that knee braces for dogs are only useful after surgery, but the truth is far broader. For active dogs prone to injuries, older dogs with degenerative joint disease, or those with congenital conditions like luxating patella, knee braces offer both prevention and treatment. The brace stabilizes the knee joint, reducing pain and inflammation while promoting healing.

Take Buddy, for example, a 7-year-old Golden Retriever who was diagnosed with a partially torn ACL. Surgery was recommended, but Buddy’s owner decided to try a knee brace first. Within weeks of consistent wear, Buddy showed noticeable improvement. His limp reduced, and he was back to his usual walks—though maybe not running full speed yet. Buddy’s story is one of many where a dog brace worked alongside physical therapy to avoid surgery altogether.

Beyond the Basics: The Lesser-Known Benefits of Dog Knee Braces

What many dog owners in the USA might not realize is how knee braces can improve muscle recovery and alignment post-injury. It’s not just about keeping the knee stable—it’s about supporting the surrounding muscles that weaken during injury or surgery recovery. A well-fitted brace reduces strain on these muscles, enabling them to regain strength without further injury.

According to veterinary experts, dog knee braces also help with long-term joint health. One lesser-known fact is that braces can aid in preventing arthritis from developing in the injured joint. Given that arthritis affects 20% of dogs over the age of one in the U.S., using braces early on can potentially stave off painful joint conditions later in life.

Stats and Facts: How Common Are Dog Knee Issues?

ACL injuries are particularly common in dogs, especially in large breeds like Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and Rottweilers. Statistics show that nearly 5% of all dogs will suffer an ACL tear at some point in their lives. Additionally, smaller dogs often face luxating patella issues, with breeds like Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, and Boston Terriers being particularly at risk.

Surgeries for ACL tears can cost upwards of $3,500 to $5,000, a significant burden for many pet owners. However, a custom dog knee brace, which typically ranges from $150 to $900, offers a much more affordable option that’s gaining traction. In fact, the demand for custom dog braces has surged by 40% in the past five years as more pet owners recognize their potential benefits.

How to Choose the Right Knee Brace for Your Dog

When choosing a knee brace for dogs, it’s essential to ensure that the fit is right. A poorly fitted brace can do more harm than good. Custom-made braces, while more expensive, are worth the investment, especially for severe injuries or long-term use. Look for braces made from breathable materials that provide flexibility while maintaining joint stability. The key is to balance support and comfort so your dog remains mobile and happy.

Many companies now offer adjustable braces designed to grow with your dog, or in cases of degenerative conditions, to adjust as your dog's needs change over time. It's also crucial to consult your vet before purchasing a dog brace to ensure it’s the right choice for your pet's specific condition.

Conclusion: The Silent Hero of Recovery

In the world of dog health, knee braces may not get the same spotlight as surgeries or medications, but their benefits are undeniable. Whether used as a preventative measure, a post-surgery aid, or a stand-alone treatment, dog knee braces offer a unique, effective solution for injury recovery. So, the next time you notice your dog struggling with mobility, remember the silent hero—because sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most powerful.

Sources:

Journal of Veterinary Medicine – Study on ACL injuries and knee braces in dogs.

American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) – ACL tear prevalence and treatment options.

Veterinary Orthopedic Society – Insights on the use of braces in canine arthritis prevention.

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

An eccentric German princess who evolved from a 1980s punk style icon to a conservative Catholic known for hobnobbing with far-right figures said on Monday that she hosted Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and his wife at her castle during a July 2023 music festival.

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis also told The New York Times that she viewed the justice as “a hero.”

“He is pro-life in a time where the majority follows the culture of death,” she wrote in a text exchange with The Times. She then typed a skull emoji, adding, “Christians believe in life. The Zeitgeist is nihilistic and believes in destruction.”

The 64-year-old princess said that Justice Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, are her “friends” and that after her castle festivities, the three attended the opening of the Bayreuth Festival, the world’s premier venue for the performance of Wagner’s operas.

The details of the princess’s gift and the justice’s travels emerged after Justice Alito listed a $900 gift of concert tickets on his annual financial disclosure form, which was released late last week. The disclosure has prompted a new round of scrutiny of the justices, who have been in the spotlight after a series of revelations that some of them — most notably Justice Clarence Thomas — failed to report lavish gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors.

Justice Alito was the focus of a ProPublica report for failing to disclose a private jet flight paid for by a conservative billionaire who later had cases before the court. The jet trip was part of a luxury salmon-fishing vacation. Justice Alito, in an opinion columnin The Wall Street Journal before the article was published, maintained that he did not have a conflict in accepting the “hospitality” and that he was not obligated to disclose the trip.

Justice Alito has also been the focus of attention in recent months after The Times revealed that provocative flags flew outside the Alitos’ properties. Those included an upside-down American flagthat Trump loyalists had adopted to challenge President Biden’s 2020 electoral win flying outside the justice’s residence in the weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Last summer, an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which had been carried by Jan. 6 rioters and is now a symbol for a more Christian-minded government, was on display at the justice’s beach house.

Princess Gloria, who was once nicknamed “Princess TNT” for her explosive personality, has in recent years courted controversy in both the United States and Europe as a central figure among traditionalist Roman Catholics opposed to Pope Francis. Her 500-room Bavarian castle in Regensburg, St. Emmeram Palace, home to an annual music festival, has also been floated by the longtime Trump ally Stephen K. Bannon as a potential “Gladiator School” for the theological and media training of traditionalist conservative Catholics hostile to Francis.

Princess Gloria did not respond to other questions posed to her, including how long she has known the justice and his wife, whether she paid for other parts of the Alitos’ travel, including transportation, and whether she has given the justice other gifts in the past.

Justice Alito did not respond to requests for comment.

More details have emerged about the justice’s trip to the princess’s castle, including an interview with him by Christian Eckl, the editor in chief of a newspaper in Regensburg, who recognized the justice from reporting in The Times about the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion in the case.)

In the 32-second video, Justice Alito, with a beard and wearing a dark pinstriped blazer, spoke to an off-camera interviewer. The justice said the castle, seen in the background, was “amazing” and that he was looking forward to going to the Bayreuth Festival to see Wagner’s operas.

“I will enjoy it,” Justice Alito said. “A friend of mine has waited his whole life to get tickets to go, and so it’s quite a privilege to be able to go.”

Justice Alito did not say in the video which friend he was referring to, and he did not disclose any additional names on his annual financial form.

Mr. Eckl, who also spoke with the princess about her gift to the justice, described the festival as a mixture of classical music, jazz and rock. He said Elton John had performed there in a previous year.

A schedule for the July 2023 festival in Regensburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site built during the Roman Empire, featured an eclectic lineup, including a performance of Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute,” a children’s musical about “Germany’s most famous and cheeky little witch,” a Michael Jackson tribute show and an act called the “Earth, Wind & Fire Experience.”

Mr. Eckl also described controversies around the festival because the princess had invited “many right-wing guests.”

The New York Times

By Abbie VanSickle and Philip Kaleta

Reporting from Washington

Sept. 9, 2024

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/09/us/politics/german-princess-alito-castle-visit.html