#Alex Mae career

[cheriladycl01]

Hi!

Could you please write something for whichever f1 driver you want with a reader who's a children's books illustrator and author? Maybe they get to know each other because his niece is obsessed with her books and he took her to one of her events.

I'd like to see how the grid and the media would react to someone so bubbly, kind, and creative!

Thnx!! <3

My sunshine - Lewis Hamilton x ChildrensAuthor! Reader

Plot: Lewis comes home to find his niece and nephew obsessed with one lady’s books! Little did he know you’d end up being his whole future!

“What you reading there?” Lewis asked as he grabbed some fruit from the fridge and started to cut it up. Babysitting was one of his favourite free time activities.

“MAE THE MAGICIAN” they both yell at him, making him pause cutting the fruit. He knew his niece really enjoyed reading but to see his nephew so excited about this book was odd.

“Mmmm what’s it about?” Lewis asks as he starts to make little snack boxes for the two, ready to take them out to the park.

“This girl called Mae, and she helps Gaia and George using her Magic tricks, she’s funny” the girl describes to her favourite Uncle.

“Woah, what kind of magic tricks does she do?” He asks.

“She makes sure their homework is complete and their beds are made for when their mum gets home!” His nephew explains.

“Oh and then this book is good to. Can we show you our library uncle Lewis” his nephew begs looking up at him with those puppy dog eyes that he couldn’t say no too!

He follows them up, being taken to one of the smaller bedrooms that was being used as as playroom/ library. There was an expanse of books, but what caught his eye was how many of the same author there were.

It was the same one as the book they were reading from earlier. It seemed she had lots of kids books varying in ages from very young, basically just pictures books, to a series of books which reminded him of the Rainbow Magic Series that his brothers girlfriend had read when she was younger.

They all had titles of careers with a matching name. Both boys and girls.

Alex the Astrologist

Bianca the Brain Surgeon

Colin the Conductor

Daisy the Dragon Tamer

Ethan the Ecologist

Freya the F1 Driver

Who?

That intrigued him.

“Have you guys read all of these?” He asks with wide eyes.

“Of course! She’s the best! Our favourite” one of them exclaims as they re-order books that had been misplaced.

“Which ones your favourite?” He asks his nephew.

“She wrote one about me! Called Kaiden the Karate Master” he exclaims making chopping actions with his hands.

“And you?” He asks Willow.

“She wrote one about me to called Willow the Writer” she says shoving the book at him happily to which he looks through looking at all the cute little illustrations to which he later researched that they were actually drawn by the author as well.

Upon doing further research and trying to get some of her latest books on pre-order he went down a rabbit hole, finding her instagram which was incredibly cozy and just what he expected from an author.

There was a few posts of her charity work and what she did around her community. The links led him to her official website where she had her various charities, an about her page that he couldn’t help but browse but he also saw a part where it showed up and coming events.

“Willow? Kaiden? How would you feel about going to meet Y/N Y/L/N, maybe get a few books signed?” He asks the next morning, wondering whether that would be something they were into.

“YES!” They’d both screamed.

He sent you a DM on Instagram explaining that he was planning on bringing his niece and nephew to your book signing in London. You replied immediately which shocked him, explaining you’d be more than happy to do a private signing afterwards for him and his family and how you were a huge fan of his.

At the book signing.

You were pretty exhausted after the public signing and needed to have a break and just grab a drink where your throat was on fire for talking as much as you had.

But within the hour you were ready to see Lewis and his niece and nephew. They were so polite to you when you stood up to greet them and what shocked Lewis even more is how easily you communicated to the younger kids.. It was like second nature to you how you used your hands to basically animate everything you say to make you seem so youthful and energetic.

“Hi I’m Lewis and this is Willow and Kaiden” he introduced and from after that he was insanely smitten with you, everything you did he would watch with wide eyes.

You spent the time interacting with the kids and signing the copious amounts of books that they had bought for you to sign. You also talked to them about upcoming stuff that they would enjoy where they had really liked your career series for young children.

“Hey I know you might think this is a little soon but I’d really like to take you out some time, for dinner” he asked one his sibling had taken the kids outside to the car say that he could ask you some more personal questions. They ranged from what you enjoyed to how you got into writing children’s books specifically.”

“Well, I think I would really like that, I don’t think I’ve ever been out on a proper date” she smiles looking down and blushing lightly at the comment.

”Never been on a proper date, I’ll have to treat you right then?” he smirks looking over you.

“Where would we go?” You ask politely starting to collect the books left over from the signing.

“Out to a restaurant or a movie, maybe a picnic at some point when it’s warmer the weather isn’t great right now” he says stepping closer to her.

After the book signing you and Lewis went on dates, lots of them and to say his niece and nephew were excited was an understatement you would randomly turn up to family events and they’d start to get your books early and not published Waterstones versions that normally were gifted to them.

“Baby I really want you to come to a race with me, I want to show you off to everyone there and how cute you are. I bet the grid will love you just as much as I do. Actually scrap that, that’s impossible” he smiles and you can’t help but giggle.

“Of course I’ll come with you Lew” you smile leaning across him and kissing his check, before gripping his hands and holding them.

“You ready to meet everyone?” He asks with that soft chocolaty voice that could make you melt.

“I think so, I’m just kind of nervous what they’ll think” you say a light blush forming into your face wondering if you’d embarrass yourself on camera, or if they’d ask you questions … it was hard.

“Well, for the record I know they’ll love you. You want a run down?” And you of course nod wanting to know as much as possible.

“Well, there’s my teammate Charles who you’ll probably meet first in the garage. You’ll love his girlfriend Alex she’s a diamond and you’ll talk about fashion no doubt!” He grins and you not trying to take in the names knowing more are to come.

He talks about his ex team-mates George and Valtteri and how you’d get on with both of them pretty well. He also knew Lando and Daniel would love you, as you all had very similar bubbly people personality’s.

He was excited to show you off to not just them but everyone, you weren’t like the other Hollywood Stars and actresses you were just so … normal? NOT that he would ever describe you as that, because that almost felt like an insult to you.

“Are you nervous baby?” He asks looking over to you as he pulls into the paddock.

“A little, I’ve never been around this many people here before” you say looking over to him, grabbing onto his hand on the gear stick.

“You’ll be fine, and you’ll finally get to watch me in my job. I love watching you write and draw but I want you to see what I do” he nods and you smile, loving this side of Lewis.

He had this intimacy that you’d never experienced with anyone else. Little things he appreciated knowing that you’d never had with anyone else.

You walked through the paddock together scanning your little pass on the thing seeing an awful picture of you come up that Lewis must have submitted.

“Lewis what the hell!” You asked gazing at the picture he’d chosen.

“What! I love that photo of you!” He smiles happily gazing at you looking at the picture that slowly disappears.

“Come on, let’s get you to the garage so you can get familiar with everything” he smiles a hand sneaking round your waist as he guides you through the bustling paddock.

When you enter Ferrari Garage your greeted by all the mechanics, a lot of them with young children knowing exactly who you are and wanting pictures to show their kids when they got home.

Charles and Alexandra greeted you only 30 minutes later and you and Alex got along great, taking Roscoe and Leo for walks around the paddock while she tried to help you adjust to all the hustle and bustle of life in motorsport.

“So how long have you and Lewis been together now?” Alex asked with a small polite smile.

“Oh! It feels like forever! He’s only been so sweet and like to me” you grin, your voice getting louder and louder as you talk about Lewis. Alex notices and can’t help but smile at how you’re talking about Lewis.

After meeting Alex and Charles the next people you ended up meeting was Lando and Oscar. Lewis had asked you to grab his water bottle from the car which he’d left behind and you got lost on your way back the two McLaren drivers immediately noticing and recognising you.

They helped you back to the garage just as they were being called for the race and that they needed to get into the car.

Then next thing you knew as you were watching Lewis come round a corner, a little drift as skidded in the gravel but caught himself well enough that it didn’t lessen his time too much.

Then you were casted on the TV screens and you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

You gave a polite little wave and grin to the camera before it panned off of you and back onto the race.

“And that’s Y/N Y/L/N she’s the current partner of Lewis Hamilton and she’s a very well known author of children’s books, ones that actually my own children read and I just know they are going to be kicking their feet that I got to meet her today” the commentator offers with a little chuckle.

“Yeah what did you think of her?” The other commentator for Sky Sports asks.

“Ah she’s just so sweet, she wouldn’t stop talking about her writing and I was more than happy to listen and she was so polite and happy and god’s I want her in the paddock more often, she’s such a little ray of sunshine”

After all the excitement, you had this energy around you that you couldn’t describe and it gave you loads of writing juices. You got home to the hotel that night and you wrote down all your ideas, sat in Lewis lap.

You knew for sure you’d be coming back to way more races and you’d been missing out!

Taglist:

@littlebitchsposts @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Taskmaster New Year’s Treat was more fun than I’d expected, same as it was last year. This was largely down to Kojey Radical, it’s always fun when you get proper Taskmaster fans on the show. He made me laugh several times. The inclusion of an underage minor was pretty odd, and I wasn’t sure it was a good idea (especially since they’ve just created a special Taskmaster all for the children), but then the child actor turned out to actually be quite fun. He was good on the podcast, too.

I think it helped that the tasks themselves were really funny. I enjoyed season 16 a lot, but some of the tasks were a bit lackluster (they really need to slow down on the “do some other distracting thing at the same time as doing the regular task”, they get diminishing returns after a while), and I thought all the tasks in the latest NYT were great. I sort of see why they’d save the funnier tasks for an NYT episode, when the contestants aren’t comedians so there has to be more humour in the format. But also, I’d love to see them give the tasks with the most comedic potential to the people who extract comedic potential on a professional basis.

I’d enjoy a Champion of Champions: NYT edition once they’ve been doing this for five years. Though I guess the point of NYT is to get people who are too important to commit to more than one episode, and even the regular Taskmaster hasn’t been able to get all its champions make their schedules line up for a COC, so presumably getting the extra special celebrity stars from NYT free on the same day would be a challenge.

I’ve come around on that COC thing, by the way. I was really annoyed when I first read about Mae not participating, to the point where I didn’t even make a post about it because I knew how annoyed I was was too disproportionate to the situation to be worth posting. Not just because I really really like Mae Martin and was looking forward to seeing them, though of course there’s that. I was annoyed because it compromises the integrity of the competition of Taskmaster, if you can just throw anyone in there. Look, Alex, a large amount of my enjoyment of your show and/or general mental health is riding on me being able to maintain the suspension of disbelief, and view Taskmaster as a genuine competition. If you start admitting that they’re just a bunch of performance artists trying to make room in their schedules for this TV gig (no, come on, surely the Taskmaster contestants don’t get paid, they do it for the love of the game), the curtain starts to slip and it all falls apart.

In frustration, I said to a friend that this ruins the sporting aspect of Taskmaster, because it’s not like a sport will have a championship with a qualifier, and then just let someone else in because the date doesn’t work for one of the people who won their qualifier. But as soon as I said this, I realized: Yes they do. That’s exactly what they do. That’s why important qualifiers have challenge rounds at the end between the second and third place finishers, to determine the true alternate. Because if the winner gets an injury or a career in the States or some shit and can’t go to the championship, the alternate goes in their place. Kiell Smith-Bynoe was the second-place finisher in Taskmaster season 15, and is therefore the legitimate alternate, so it’s all fine! Integrity restored! I go back to maintaining my belief that Taskmaster functions as a genuine sport (I can come out of the delusion long enough to admit to knowing the reality on a Tumblr post – the disbelief that I can really never stop suspending is in the idea that genuine sports are also just made up and their results only matter because we’ve all collectively agreed to pretend that they do, no one’s allowed to talk about that (except Andy Zaltzman, who’s got some good material on the subject and is actually quite funny when he talks about that)).

And by the way, I’d like to state again that I hate the idea that it’s a (North) American thing to watch panel shows like they’re actual competitions. If I didn’t know much about British culture, I might believe that it’s just us North Americans who have this toxic competitiveness so entrenched in society that it comes up in even our entertainment TV shows, and the British are more enlightened about it. But I have heard the British cultural references. I have heard how wildly, blindingly competitive they get about something that we in North America consider a children’s game called soccer. And even aside from how deeply they get into (sort of) real sports, you can’t tell me that British people don’t get overly competitive about things that are not sports, treating them like they are a sport. I’ve heard how British people talk about pub quizzes, and darts, and snooker. We all like a good competition to distract us from the things with genuine meaning in the world! And I have chosen Taskmaster.

Anyway, when I decided to just view the Kiell situation as sending in the legitimate alternate, I got over my existential disappointment at pulling the curtain back on the realities of Taskmaster, and became only annoyed about not getting to see Mae Martin, whom I like. But that’s not so bad, because Kiell is fun too. And I think it’ll be a good episode. I can’t wait to see Dara O’Brien and Sarah Kendall up against each other, I think that’ll be an interesting matchup. Sophie Duker is a strong contender too. I think my money might be on Sarah Kendall to win, but I might be blinded by my large crush on her.

[inthesimmunityempire]

Meet :: Alex "LEXXA" Serine Browne

~ Biography ~

Alex 'LEXXA' Serine Browne. Born in Sunset Valley on June 10, 1972.  She is the eldest daughter and second born to David and Kaline Browne. Her family tree includes grandparents Michael and June Browne on her mother's side and Jason and Joyce Thompson on her father's side. She is the second of 10 children. Her siblings are, (1) True ‘T.K.’ Kole (2) Alex ‘Lexxa’ Serine (3) Valerie Reneé, (4) Javon Kingston (5) Jennie Mae, (6) Raymond Jaimes (7) Kayleigh ‘K.J.’ June (8) Jhené Aalea (9) Krissy Tia (10) Amierra Lei. Despite their modest beginnings, her grandparents and father worked tirelessly to support their large family, managing to provide a comfortable lifestyle. Alex's mom was a stay-at-home mother who did work from home 3 days a week. Though Alex's father was often absent due to work, he made an effort to spend weekends with the kids. Her mother received help from their grandparents and older siblings, creating a supportive environment. Alex was especially close to her older brother, True, but they drifted apart in adulthood. True pursued his dream of becoming a firefighter and distanced himself from the family after getting married and moving away, a decision that deeply affected Alex. When she turned 18, Alex decided to carve her own path, longing for fame as an actress and singer while dreaming of having a family of five. Despite facing discouraging news about her chances of having biological children, Alex remained determined. She considered adoption and planned to adopt all her future kids. Working at a grocery store during high school, she always envisioned a life beyond that. However, her family encouraged her to pursue a more "realistic" career, suggesting she become a doctor or police officer instead. But Alex was resolute, embodying the determination that ran in her family. 

The year was 1989. Alex was 16 years old and her younger sister, Valerie, was 14 years old and they decided to brand themselves as a duo group and devised a plan - with no backup options— to become singers. It was all or nothing. They began making videos recording them singing covers of timeless classics and the videos were shot and edited by their uncle and eldest brother, True. He and his household moved back to Sunset Valley and he came back into the picture to help them with their dreams. Through their uncle, who had some music industry connections, he was able to send them out to various music execs and the videos circulated quite fast. Their uncle left his and the girls parents contact info on the card he sent with the video CDs and within a few months, they got a call back from a few music labels with a once in a lifetime opportunity to fly (at the labels expense) out to Starlight Shores and audition in person for the music execs. Alex’s parents didn’t think it would go this far but they decided to risk it, they both took off work, and flew with the girls to Starlight Shores. They stayed in a fancy hotel, with all expenses paid through the label and they auditioned all that week. They got to show the label execs their talent of singing and dancing and auditioned their very own single that they wrote together called, ARROW, along with a few covers of hit songs from their childhood. The execs were so impressed and they got signed within that week, went to the studio to perfect their vocals and the single was released within 3 months - a music video was included and they began working on their debut album. 

The girls made their duo group name, ALERIE, because the ‘A’ was from Alex since she was the oldest and ‘LERIE’, was from vaLERIE’s name. The single ARROW blew up over radio waves and they released their second single, SAVING, 2 months later. That blew up even more that they released their third and final single (before their debut album), FEATHER. The label wanted to “strike while the iron was hot” and keep their momentum going and so their debut album was in full effect. 

Alerie had a unique sound. It was a blend of neo soul, alternative R&B, and dark hip hop. At the time, this sound was quite unique and was heavily liked by the media. It was impressive to know that they were so young with such powerful voices. Alex is often described as having a more powerful, textured voice while Valerie's is considered lighter and sweeter, blending beautifully in their harmonies. Both showcase impressive vocal agility and range, particularly within the neo-soul style they are known for. 

Within a year, since their debut single, Arrow was released, Alerie began traveling the world promoting their debut album, GARDEN. They also debuted 2 joint singles - GARDEN OF EDEN (INTRO) / FLOWERS IN THE WINDOW & ALL ROSES HAVE THORNS / WILDFLOWER (4 songs they mixed together) ,  for the 12 track album. The album was symbolic of growing up as a teeanger and detailed the struggles and lessons learned thus far. It was symbolic through the functions of how various flowers grow and die and how a garden is created. Where not everyone is the exact same but everyone has the potential to grow beautifully, despite their upbringing. The album did exceptionally well in the media and was a new sound and theme for music at the time. Alerie was heavy on harmonies, which became their staple. The girls' were praised for their melodic live performances, along with interviews, which made them popular almost overnight.

 Along with all the press releases and the promotions for the album, the girls decided to begin working on their second album which was released the following year, 1990, entitled, HOME RESIDES IN ME. They chose that title due to them trying to find comfort with their new lifestyle and trying to grow up all at the same time. They released a total of 4 singles for the album. 2 singles were released in the latter half of 1989 - TURNING THE PAGES OF YOUTH / GROWING PAINS & LEAVING THE NEST and the other 2 were released in the beginning of 1990 - ME, MYSELF, & I & YOUNG FOREVER - with the album to follow which had 25 tracks. This album kept the same theme as the last, but was a bit more detailed and added their perspectives of becoming themselves while being famous.  The album included voicemails from their family.  It was highly relatable to teenagers and even to the adults who hadn’t had the words to express their experiences of teenage hood.

In the beginning half of 1991, Alerie continued working hard and began the process for their 3rd and 4th studio albums and released 3 singles for the 3rd album - LOVE IS A LOSING GAME, HEALING FROM HEARTBREAK (FEATURING NORMANI KINGSLEY), TAKE CARE (FEATURING RAVYN ALLEN) / LOVE LASTS BETTER. By May of 1991, they released their 3rd studio album, THE ART OF LETTING GO. It did incredibly well and had a more mature sound than people were used to. Alerie was determined to have their music grow with them.  This album had the same sounds as before but with the surprising addition of jazz tones and audio clips from various singers from the 60s-80s. This album earned them 3 Grammy nominations -which one they won and was highly acclaimed.

 In the latter half of 1991, they released 4 more singles  - STRONGER THAN THE CHAINS THAT BROKE ME (FEAT. YOUTH GROUP OF KINGESTOWN), FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE (ALEX SOLO), CLOUDS (VALERIE SOLO), & WARRIOR (FEAT. JEWEL TRUSTE) - for their 4th studio album - PLAGUED WITH MANY SORROWS. The more fame, the more the girls were experiencing hardships and had a lot of issues in their personal life and decided to talk about some of them on this album. By this time, Alex was 18 years old and Valerie was 16 years old. They wanted their music to again detail their past experiences, the good, bad, and indifferent, while yet detailing their lucrative growth and maturity. This album earned them several Grammys - all of which they won - and launched their fame to new heights. Based off of their last album, they became a household name but with this album, launched them various TV appearances and by this time, their entire family moved to Bridgeport and they continued making a name for themselves. Alex decided that while living out ehr dreams, she wanted to include her dreams of having a family of her own, and while finding a partner was a bit harder to find, due to her own personal guards of people being disingenuous, she was more comfortable having kids around and decided to adopt a 3 year old little girl named Raine Jae Tearman. She loved her name and only changed her last name to theirs - Browne. Since her entire family, including her older brother and his household were all in Bridgeport, there was more than enough help to raise Raine.

By this time, Alex was focused on herself and Raine. She was also still growing into adulthood and wanted to continue living out her childhood dreams. However while Valerie was also enjoying the incredible success they had gained, she also wanted to start looking for love and creating a life for herself. Yes she was only 16 years old, but her parents allowed them to date, of course it would be heavily monitored. And she became torn between slowing down on wanting to make music and stop and fall in love. While all of this was going on, the girls’ worked behind the scenes on other career related projects and their 5th and final album - unbeknownst to the public.  

By 1993, Alerie had their 5th album finished  - SYMPHONY - along with the music videos, pre-recorded interviews, and live shows. The album originally has 28 tracks and their deluxe version has 41 tracks. This album was another catalyst to their success which earned them the most awards of their careers together. They won various Grammys and other musical awards for this movie themed mixed concept and personal album. They conjoined their album and world tour and ended this album promo on an extremely high note, before the media could speculate. After its release, they announced that this was their last album together and they “would have to disband for personal reasons for the Browne family.” When the tour ended, the girls’ sent videos to various news channels and they broadcasted them thanking the world for their love but due to personal family issues, they would be resigning as a duo group and go their separate ways and seek new business ventures. What the media didn’t want to announce was that Valerie was pregnant , at 16 years old, and they continued to have her do all she physically did before the bump started to show and it was obvious. This shocked the world and was a bit of a disappointment to fans all around the world. Valerie decided to stay living with her parents and everyone in the family helped raise her daughter, Kallie Annaline Browne-Hardsen. When she turned 19 years old, she moved out of her parents home and into a house with her fathers child, Kameryn Hardsen and their 3 year old baby girl, Kallie. (that’s just a bit of foreshadowing.)

Meanwhile, LEXXA was determined to continue on and create a lane for herself as an independent artist. She made a new name for herself, LEXXA, (I’ll be referring to her using this name from now on) and decided to take 2 years off as well; she trained and prepared for the big transition of becoming an independent artist. She had to decide on what type of music she wanted to make, what image she wanted to present, and train her mind and body to perform as a solo artist. As opposed to sharing the notes and songs with her sister, she would now have to carry the show entirely by herself. It was a huge change for her but she wanted to execute it as flawlessly as possible. Her and Valerie went completely 2 different ways. LEXXA decided to continue pursuing her singing and acting career and becoming a mogul in the business industry to create a foundation of wealth for herself, her family and generations to come, starting with Raine. And Valerie chose to get out of the limelight, focus on her household, get married and go to college and get a plethora of knowledge, degrees and licenses. (more foreshadowing - she became a licensed Cosmetologist and Esthetician along with getting her Doctorates degree in internal medicine and science degree).

**** yes, I know these pics are of Chloe & Halle Bailey (shoutout to the legends - ungodly hour is one of the best albums ever!!!!!!) but I always have blueprints, as I call 'em, of my sims in human form....my sims don't look exactly like their human forms, but I just need a reference.... and I have a few versions of my sims in human form....as you'll see all versions of my sim, like Chloe is the young teenage/adult reference for LEXXA and Halle is the young teenage/adult reference for Valerie but as they get older, I have different people who represent them at their different stages/ages in life. I hope this makes sense......also, these pics are in order of the girls' teenage career and are taken from their photoshoots. (it ties in with the storyline)

[aangussca]

Gallery visit: MOMA (6.7.24) - PART 2

Alex Katz's Seasons series (oil paint on linen)

Row 1: Spring (2023)

Row 2: Summer 21 (2023), Autumn 5 (2022), Winter Tree 1 (2023)

Description: "The four monumental paintings featured in this installation chronicle the changing of the seasons, from the vibrant colors of spring, summer, and fall to the stark palette of winter. Paintings of trees have figured prominently in Alex Katz's work from the outset of his career; he first developed an interest in landscapes while studying at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Maine, in 1949-50. The works on display here belong to a new series of more than one hundred paintings Katz created in his New York studio beginning in 2022. Katz draws inspiration from his immediate surroundings, whether a lone tree encountered on Houston Street on his way home from the cinema or the lush landscape of Maine, where the artist has spent his summers since 1954. In many instances, he omits the horizon lines that are typical of traditional landscape painting a decision that, when paired with the large scale of his works, produces the illusion of environments with no clear beginning or end. The sensation of color is what I wanted," says Katz. "It's the sensation of seeing." Alex Katz: Seasons celebrates the artist's ever-evolving approach to interpreting the natural world. These days, he often begins with photographs shot on his phone or small painted sketches, which he subsequently transforms into large-scale compositions Working intuitively, he paints at a high speed and frequently completes an entire painting within a single morning. He cheerfully describes this all-or-nothing process as "Hold your breath and hope for the best.""

Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny's The Honeycomb Vase "Made by Bees" (2006, beeswax with timelapse short film (53 secs))

Description: "Forty thousand honeybees were introduced into a vase-shaped scaffold where, layer by layer, they built a vase-shaped hive. Each vase from this series takes from two to ten days, depending on the weather, season, and size of the bee colony; this example took one week. The process, which the designer calls "slow prototyping," ideally brings a natural phenomenon full circle: a vessel holds flowers that nourish the production of future objects, made by providing a safe habitat for the makers - the bees - in an environment of diminishing options. In reality, however, true understanding of what other species might want or gain from collaborating with humans remains remote."

Row 1: Donald Moffett's Call the White House (1990, silver dye bleach transparency and aluminium light box), Meret Oppenheim's Object (1936, fur-covered cup, saucer and spoon)

Row 2: Leonora Carrington's And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur (1953, oil paint on canvas), Mario Cravo Neto's Criança Voodoo (Voodoo Child) (1990, gelatin silver photographic print), Lee Bontecou's Untitled (1961, welded steel, canvas, fabric, rawhide, copper wire and soot)

Row 3: Amalia Pica's Venn Diagrams (Under the Spotlight) (2011, spotlights and motion sensors), Gilbert Baker's Rainbow Flag (1978, nylon flag), Mae-ling Lokko, Tom Roland and Haorong Lee's Handprints (2023, tiles made of mycelium and hemp)

[xtruss]

How US Changes To 'Noncompete Agreements’ And Overtime Pay Could Affect Workers

— By Cathy Bussewitz and Mae Anderson | Tuesday April 23, 2024 | Associated Press

The Federal Trade Commission Building is seen, Jan. 28, 2015, in Washington. U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by the FTC on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, though the rule seems sure to be challenged in court. AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

New York (AP) — For millions of American workers, the federal government took two actions this week that could bestow potentially far-reaching benefits.

In one move, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban noncompete agreements, which bar millions of workers from leaving their employers to join a competitor or start a rival business for a specific period of time. The FTC’s move, which is already being challenged in court, would mean that such employees could apply for jobs they weren’t previously eligible to seek.

In a second move, the Biden administration finalized a rule that will make millions more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. The rule significantly raises the salary level that workers could earn and still qualify for overtime.

The new rules don’t take effect immediately. And they won’t benefit everyone. So what exactly would these rules mean for America’s workers?

WHAT IS A NONCOMPETE AGREEMENT?

Noncompete agreements, which employers have deployed with greater frequency in recent years, limit an employee’s ability to jump ship for a rival company or start a competing business for a stated period of time. The idea is to prevent employees from taking a company’s trade secrets, job leads or sales relationships to a direct competitor, who could immediately capitalize on them.

Many industries use noncompete agreements, often among their salespeople, said Paul Lopez, managing partner at Tripp Scott, a Florida law firm that has handled more than 100 cases involving noncompete clauses.

“They’re the ones out there generating leads and sales,” Lopez said. “The last thing you as a business will want is for that person to go over to your competition and do the same thing.”

WHO IS TYPICALLY SUBJECT TO THESE AGREEMENTS?

People may assume that noncompete agreements apply only to high-level executives in the technology or finance industries. But many lower-level workers are subject to the restrictions as well. The rules vary by state.

In Florida, one medical sales worker was barred by his employer from joining a competitor for 10 years — and once he left his job, was unemployed for more than five years, said Stefanie Camfield, assistant general counsel with Engage PEO, a Florida company that handles human resources for small and medium-sized businesses.

“He was able to find another sales position in a completely different industry,” Camfield said. “But the learning curve was there, so he wasn’t making the same amount of money.”

In another case, a company in the optical industry that had hired a sales associate was informed by his former employer that it intended to enforce a noncompete agreement. So the optical company terminated the employee, Camfield said.

“They thought they had a qualified sales associate hired and ready to get to work, and all of a sudden now they’re back to square one.”

WHY BAN NONCOMPETE AGREEMENTS?

Some view noncompete agreements as harmful and unfair to workers by limiting their mobility. Career opportunities are often more attractive outside an employee’s current workplace. And with restrictions on the type of work they can do for a competitor, it can be hard to shift into a more suitable or lucrative position.

Many hiring managers, after all, most value job candidates who already have a certain level of experience in the same industry.

“A noncompete would unilaterally ban someone from getting exactly the kind of job that it’s reasonable to want,” said Jennifer Tosti-Kharas, a professor of organizational behavior at Babson College in Massachusetts. “To cut people off from that is overly paternalistic. It’s using a really blunt instrument to limit people’s mobility, when in reality there are other legal mechanisms to prevent trade secrets being disclosed.”

A hiring sign is displayed in Riverwoods, III., Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The Biden administration has finalized a new rule set to make millions of more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay in the U.S. The move marks the largest expansion in federal overtime eligibility seen in decades. AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M SUBJECT TO A NONCOMPETE?

People are sometimes surprised to learn that they’re bound by such an agreement. They might not even find out until after they’ve left for a new job, and their former employer intervenes and causes them to be fired.

“When you join a company, you’re so focused on the opportunity in front of you, you might not be thinking about what’s that next jump,” Tosti-Kharas said.

Experts suggest that employees consult their human resources department about any noncompete agreements that might exist. If a workplace doesn’t have an HR department, an employee should ask a lawyer for the company.

ARE TRADE SECRETS NOW LIKELY TO BE SPILLED?

There are still laws on the books that protect companies’ trade secrets. The FTC decision doesn’t change that.

And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission, calling its decision a dangerous precedent for government micromanagement of business. Lawsuits could delay any implementation of the FTC’s new rule, potentially for years.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEW OVERTIME RULES?

Starting July 1, employers of all sizes will be required pay overtime — time and a half salary after 40 hours a week — to salaried workers who make less than $43,888 a year in certain executive, administrative and professional roles. That cap will then rise to $58,656 by the start of 2025. Previously, the cap was $35,568.

WHO QUALIFIES?

The Labor Department estimates that 4 million salaried workers who weren’t previously eligible will qualify. Some occupations, though, including teachers, doctors and lawyers are not eligible for overtime pay and thus are not affected by the change. And some states, like California and New York, already have salary thresholds that exceed the federal level.

WHAT’S THE REACTION SO FAR?

Predictably, groups that represent companies have lined up against the new rule. Conversely, worker groups are applauding it as a necessary and long-overdue change.

The National Retail Federation argued that the new rules “curtail retailers’ ability to offer the most flexible, generous and tailored benefits packages to lower-level exempt employees across the industry.”

It also asserted that the new rules don’t give employers adequate time to make the changes needed. And it complained that the inclusion of automatic increases “exceeds the Department’s legal authority and oversteps longstanding Fair Labor Standards Act and Administrative Procedure Act principles.”

On the social media site X, the AFL-CIO labor organization said the rules will “restore and extend overtime protections for hard-working Americans.”

WILL THE CHANGES BE CHALLENGED IN COURT?

Almost certainly so. A 2016 effort by the Obama administration was scuttled in court just days before it was set to take effect. Because the new overtime rules won’t take effect until July 1, groups have time to study the ruling before mounting a challenge.

“I would expect there will be some legal challenges,” said Ted Hollis, a partner at the law firm Quarles & Brady. “When the Obama administration published its proposed rule in 2016, that was almost immediately challenged in court.”

HOW SHOULD BUSINESSES PREPARE FOR THIS?

Companies of all sizes will have to reclassify workers who will now qualify for overtime pay — and make sure they track hours and pay them properly.

Another option is to raise employees’ salaries so they would remain exempt from overtime. But employers should keep in mind that two more increases are coming under the new timetable.

They’ll also have to determine how they will budget for the extra pay for overtime. Small businesses will have the toughest time.

“Some are going to have to cut workers,” Hollis said. “Others will have to cut hours from existing workers.

“Some are going to have to raise prices, and some probably won’t be able to figure out a way to make it economically work and wind up having to shut down, unfortunately.”

[laresearchette]

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES? STAGED (BritBox)

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT RENOVATION 911 (Premiering on March 29 on HGTV Canada at 9:00pm)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

NETFLIX CANADA INUYASHA (Seasons 4 - 5) MAE MARTIN: SAP

NHL HOCKEY   (SNOntario/SNEast/SN1) 7:00pm: Predators vs. Bruins (TSN2) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Flyers (SNPacific) 8:00pm: Canucks vs. Blues (SNWest) 9:00pm: Kings vs. Flames (SN1/SNEast/SNOntario) 10:00pm: Oilers vs. Knights (TSN3) 10:30pm: Jets vs. Sharks

NBA BASKETBALL (SN Now) 7:00pm: Celtics vs. Wizards (TSN/TSN4) 7:30pm: Heat vs. Raptors (TSN/TSN4) 10:00pm: Pelicans vs. Warriors

BIG BROTHER CANADA (Global) 7:00pm

CANADIAN FILM FEST (Super Channel Fuse) 7:00pm: BABYSITTER:  After a sexist joke goes viral, Cedric loses his job and embarks on a therapeutic journey to free himself from sexism and misogyny. He and his girlfriend hire a mysterious and liberated babysitter to help shake things up.

9:00pm: STREAMS FLOW FROM A RIVER: A freak snowstorm traps a dysfunctional Chinese Canadian family together in their rural Albertan hometown, forcing them to confront the events a decade prior that tore them all apart.

CHUCK AND THE FIRST PEOPLES' KITCHEN (APTN) 7:30pm: Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation , SK: Chuck travels to the prairies to hunt one of the region's most emblematic animals, the elk; he joins the Yuzicapi family, who have been hunting elk for decades and have turned it into a tradition.

22 MINUTES (CBC) 8:00pm (SEASON FINALE): Another year in the can! 22 Minutes wraps its historic 30th season with lots of laughs and a special appearance by David Suzuki.

CANADA'S GOT TALENT (City TV) 8:00pm: The magic - and auditions - continue, as judges Howie Mandel, Lilly Singh, Trish Stratus and Kardinal Offishall, together with host Lindsay Ell welcome a new group of performers.

MARY MAKES IT EASY (CTV Life) 8:00pm: Back to the BBQ

KARENA AND KASEY'S FOREIGN FLAVOURS (APTN) 8:00pm: Thailand

OUTBACK OPAL HUNTERS (Discovery Canada) 8:00pm: The Bishop has his faith tested by a new partner, a freak storm threatens a truckload of paydirt for the Cheals, and new team the Geran Gang race a late season start.

WILD ROSE VET (Cottage Life) 8:00pm/8:30pm: A defenestrated kitty needs a new home, a cat named Bella has mouth issues which may or may not be cancer, and Dr. Savannah takes a trip to the Siksika first nation to run a spay/neuter clinic to help control the pet population. In Episode Two, a cat named Louis requires major leg surgery, a Kunekune pig named Crumbfoot needs emergency X-rays, and Savannah heads out to conduct a wild horse study, looking at how horses treat their own parasites through a process known as Zoopharmacognosy.

SON OF A CRITCH (CBC) 8:30pm (SEASON FINALE): Mark is excited for Halley’s Comet but the magic is lost when he learns Fox is moving. Meanwhile, a new restaurant being built near the Critch house threatens to change the family forever.

WORKIN' MOMS (CBC) 9:00pm (SERIES FINALE):  In the series finale, Kate searches for the magic, Anne learns to let go, Sloane honours her priorities, Jenny course corrects, and Val makes amends.

HUDSON & REX (City TV) 9:00pm: Rex seeks help from Detective Sidney Scott to save his stranded and injured friends.

SWEET REVENGE: A HANNAH SWENSEN MYSTERY (CTV Life) 9:00pm:  As Hannah and Mike balance their personal lives and busy careers, a murder at a 24-hour gym complicates their wedding plans.

CASUAL (CBC) 9:30pm: Alex and Emmy have a foursome. Laura discovers Valerie as been seeing Michael and moves out.

LUXE FOR LESS (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): The team looks to update the first floor of a couple's yellow-painted nightmare using design hacks to find the perfect balance of saving versus splurging.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES: ULTIMATE GIRLS TRIP (Slice) 10:00pm/11:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): The Housewives land in Thailand for the trip of a lifetime, but sunny skies give way to bad weather when Heather confronts her issues with Whitney; Heather's insensitive comment about Leah's drinking turns the women against her.  In Episode Two, the  second day in Thailand starts with a visit to an elephant sanctuary that leaves the women feeling bonded and relaxed; Candiace's shady dinner and an off-the-cuff remark threaten to throw the whole trip into chaos.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Josie Long actually won the second of the two live editions of Taskmaster, participated in both as I’m pretty sure the only woman both times, so if anyone should have an inherent claim to a coveted Taskmaster spot, it’s her. I would love to see her on there, she’d be great. She can do happy and enthusiastic and angry and argumentative seemingly at the same time. Also she’d bring in the intelligence and perfectionism and I want to hear her get mad during a task and lash out by calling Alex Horne a landlord and a scab.

Anyway, things about the original list behind a link, because it’s one thing to make my own posts so long they take over other people’s dashboards, I’ll try not to do that with someone else’s.

I like this list! I think I agree with everyone on it besides Jaimie Laing, but that’s just my intense bias against reality TV combined with a bit of bias against anyone who’s that upper class, the fact is that every time he’s been on a panel show he’s been bright and entertaining and he’d probably be a lot of fun on Taskmaster.

I like that your list looks different than it would have a few months ago, because it would have had Ivo Graham on it but he’s been crossed off. Same for me - Frankie Boyle and Mae Martin were two major ones on my list so the season 15 lineup struck some gold for me. But since I got into this show when it was nine seasons in, most seasons have knocked at least one person off my dream contestant list. I remember when I first read the newly-announced season 11 lineup, I was at my parents’ house, and I yelled “Yes!” so loudly at the sight of Lee Mack’s name that I startled my dad and his cat. Alan Davies and Victoria Coren-Mitchell, especially VCM, were major dream contestants for me before they got cast. Fern Brady and Sarah Millican were high on my list before season 14. I do like that most of the people we talk about in these lists probably will end up doing it at some point - they’ll get through them all, if we just give it time. All but Sean Lock, who will forever remain the greatest “What could have been” in Taskmaster history.

Anyway, I think your list is great. Agreed very, very strongly about Adam Hills and DO’D. Adam has built a career on being intensely competitive about absolutely everything, I’m actually very surprised he hasn’t done it yet because he seems tailor-made for it. He would find a way to work his prosthetic leg into every single task and he’d have the time of his life in the process.

And DO’D seems like another one who was made for it. His main things are that he plays the plastic keyboard and is really into sports, particularly cycling but also other ones, especially the more offbeat sports, he likes to go on about the triple jump. He could incorporate all of that into so many tasks. He’d be perfect.

I know what you mean about David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade being the sort of obvious cliche things to put on this list, but they’re on there for a reason. I think David Mitchell would never do it; he’s said he wouldn’t do it, and he’s hosted the knockoff version on Dave so that really seems like throwing his lot in with the other side. Though I’m not sure that thought process makes sense, as I assume the few Outsiders players who haven’t been on Taskmaster will end up on there someday (there is no way Taskmaster goes more than two or three more seasons without featuring Maisie Adam). And Frankie Boyle also said he wouldn’t do it, so you never know.

I used to be a bit annoyed about seeing Richard Ayoade on everyone’s dream Taskmaster constant list, until I saw Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and decided that actually, I’m very interested in seeing how many more layers to that guy Taskmaster could uncover. Also Question Team showed off that his dry humour works ridiculously well in the panel show environment.

Agreed hugely about Susan Calman. She’d be a ray of sunshine and a bringer of despair and a cracker of fire in equal measure. That’s all you really want on Taskmaster, I guess.

Harriet Kemsley I’d not thought of before but you’re absolutely right. Her first Hypothetical episode is way up there for the hardest I have ever laughed at any panel show. And the thing that allowed her to be so funny was the format that let her act stuff out and improvise, in a way that Taskmaster obviously also creates. I like her on other shows, she was funny on Catsdown and things like that, but elevated to breathtakingly hilarious on Hypothetical. By which I mean I remember watching that episode for the first time and being concerned because I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. I want Taskmaster to spend ten whole episodes putting her in similar situations.

Miles Jupp would be great. I think he’d be fun in the tasks, but I can imagine his studio banter being top level. He hosted The News Quiz for several years and got really good at quick responses in discussions about the pointlessness of whatever was going on. And he’s used to going back and forth with Frankie Boyle on New World Order, so I’m sure he could handle Greg. 

Looking at your list at the bottom, I don’t know why I’d never thought of Ahir Shah on Taskmaster before, but you’re absolutely right and that would be brilliant. He’s become one of my favourite panel show people, he has this combination of cynical and argumentative energy that would be perfect on Taskmaster.

Cariad Lloyd would be good too, with the improv background. And Huge Davies, but they’d have to let him wear the massive keyboard during all the tasks.

...Sorry for sort of taking your post over, but I really liked it. While I’m here, I’m going to say my ultimate dream contestant would be Andy Zaltzman, I know that one’s not hugely likely but I think it could be possible. Sandi Toksvig as well, her doing it also doesn’t seem all that likely but it could happen (for the opposite reason - I fear that Andy Zaltzman might be too small for the show and Toksvig might be too big for it - figuratively only, of course, on a more literal level she may be too small to reach the tasks but that's a solvable issue). But Frankie Boyle doing it means I think pretty much everyone’s on the table.

You know who else would be good? John Robins. I’m not sure Taskmaster has featured enough properly, genuinely self-loathing comedians. They had Jon Richardson, but they got him right after he got married, a few years earlier is when you’d get the real self-loathing Richardson. But I think you’d have that out of John Robins now. And he already has experience doing silly things with Alex, as it's my understanding that for some reason they play golf on YouTube.

Anyway, thanks for writing all that, I enjoyed reading it.

Taskmaster Dream Contestants

Whenever people bring up their dream contestants, a few names always rattle around in my head, but I've never actually sat down and wrote out a proper list until today.

I should mention that Ivo Graham would be on this list if I wrote it several months ago, and I'm incredibly hyped to see what disastrous things he gets himself into during S15.

David O'Doherty

I mean, if you've been following my blog at all, this should be a no-brainer. He's a perfect mix of silly, wholesome, and weird that would be perfect for the show, with a hint of athleticism as well. And he hangs out with lots of TM-related people like Alex Horne, Tim Key, Rose Matafeo, Dara O Briain, and others to the point whether I question why he hasn't been on already. Only time will tell whether he becomes one of the fandom's beloved "old men." (A term I use loosely since he's in his 40s.)

Rob Brydon

I'll admit I only know him from Would I Lie To You and his Brydon & podcast (I haven't seen his stuff with Steve Coogan), but Rob seems like the type of contestant who isn't afraid to get into humiliating situations, while also having that combative banter side that Greg would waste no time trying to put down. And I guarantee you he'll try to squeeze in an impression whenever he can.

Susan Calman

Whenever I see Susan in the lineup on a panel show, I already know I'm gonna enjoy it. Her enthusiasm is insanely infectious, and I just know she'll want to throw herself head first into any task she'll get. Her QI episodes are legendary, and the way she can steer the entire room towards the weirdest situations has made me cry laughing numerous times. And she also seems to have a sweeter side to her that will surely make her a fan favorite.

Harriet Kemsley

There's a specific clip I saw of Harriet Kemsley on Hypothetical that was just pure insanity, and made me go "yeah, she's gonna be great on Taskmaster." Unfortunately the clip isn't accessible on US YouTube anymore for some reason, so you're gonna have to take my word for it. Between that one wild Hypothetical appearance, and her appearances on Catsdown and Guessable, Harriet is sure to be among the "chaotic" contestants, bursting with nervous energy. Something tells me that she'll also torment Alex during the tasks. Think Bridget Christie on TM but x20 at least.

Adam Hills

Can you believe I nearly forgot to include Adam Hills on this list? He's always a joy to watch on The Last Leg, and just appears to be a great human all around. He's athletic and has a great competitive spirit, but also very down to earth. Oh, and he's also hilarious and witty, and I bet he'll bring some level of sass to the studio portions of the show, with maybe a joke or two about his leg thrown in there.

Henry Paker

A bit of a left-field choice, but anyone who listens to the Three Bean Salad podcast (which also features Mike Wozniak) would agree that Henry is an odd man. His tangents on the podcast are legendary, and happen so often that someone actually calculated the speaking time between all three podcast hosts, determining Henry spoke over 10x longer than the others. His Wikipedia page sorta reads like a press release, and says Ivo Graham once called Henry's 2010 show the "funniest stand up he's ever seen." I could see him reaching Ardal or Bob levels of absurdity on the show.

Miles Jupp

I don't really know much about Miles' comedy outside of his appearances on Catsdown, but every time I see him show up during the introductions, I already know it's gonna be a great watch. His chemistry with Sean Lock (who would have easily been included on this list if things were different) was always a treat to watch, and I could watch them shoot the shit for hours on that show and not get bored.

Jamie Laing

This might be a controversial choice, since I've seen lots of people call him irritating. I know Jamie has his roots in reality TV (which I haven't watched), but the instances in which he's rubbed shoulders with comedians have really warmed me to the idea of seeing him on Taskmaster. Watching him be "confident" on House of Games despite being absolute shit at the quizzes is the perfect attitude I'd want in a Taskmaster contestant, and the comedian interviews he's done on his Private Parts podcast were excellent, and shows he already has great rapport with more established comics.

Richard Ayoade and David Mitchell

Both of these are cliche answers to the question "who do you want to see on Taskmaster," but they're brought up often for a reason: it would make for amazing television. A prevailing notion that's repeated when the prospect of Richard on TM is mentioned is that he "has a persona that he wouldn't want to break." This might also be true for David, but the joy of Taskmaster is how the show pushes back against personas and presents comedians for who they are, rather than how they would necessarily prefer to be seen. The idea of David having a breakdown over a silly, inconsequential task given to him would be the stuff of dreams, and I could already see Richard starting a task saying "I wouldn't want to do that," before immersing himself in the weirdness presented to him. Will they ever go on TM? Probably not. Do I still want it to happen? For sure. Listen, if VCM could agree, so could her husband.

And as a bonus, here's a list of comedians I don't know as much about aside from brief appearances on shows or podcasts, but have impressed me enough to want them on TM:

Jayde Adams

Cariad Lloyd

Darren Harriot

Ahir Shah

Sam Simons

Huge Davies

Nick Helm

[ao3feed-royai]

Down and Out, but Still Here

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/BiJI0xq

by ace_lesbian_writer

Roy Mustang works as a private investigator far out of the way of politics. But when a general hires his services to find a family heirloom and the person who stole it, that peace might just disappear. Now Roy has to balance the highest paying job or his career while he tries to get a date with the most beautiful (and suspicious) woman he's met.

Or Roy's a detective with pining employees, Riza's a barista taking care of her two little brothers, and they're both willing to do whatever it takes to get the highest possible paycheck.

Words: 4067, Chapters: 1/10, Language: English

Fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes, Jean Havoc, Rebecca Catalina, Vato Falman, Edward Elric, Olivier Mira Armstrong, Alex Louis Armstrong, Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist), Gracia Hughes, Kain Fuery, Sheska | Sciezka, Alphonse Elric, Hakuro (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye & Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang, Jean Havoc & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Rebecca Catalina/Jean Havoc, Edward Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Alphonse Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Olivier Mira Armstrong & Roy Mustang

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, detective roy mustang, coffee shop AU, Romance, Family, Big sis Riza, Mutual Pining, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Edward Elric Is A Little Shit

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/BiJI0xq

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

So to Recap Double Izumi AU

Izumi Curtis is Female Midoriya Izuku

Maes Hughes is Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic

Roy Mustang is Todoroki Shouto

Riza Hawkeye is Yaoyorozu Momo

Edward Elric is Izumi Kouta

Alphonse Elric is [Aizawa] Eri

Winry Rockbell is Hatsume Mei

Alex Armstrong is Togata Mirio

Olivier Armstrong is Usagiyama Rumi | Mirko

Ling Yao is Takami Keigo | Hawks

Greed is Dabi | Todoroki Touya

Lan Fan is Female Tokoyami Fumikage

Mei Chang is Female Monoma Neito

Past Ships are Canon FMA and One-Sided RoyMaes

Pre-Established Ships are EraserMic

Probably Canon Endgame Ships are IiShinDeku and TodoMomo | RoyAi

Potential Canon Endgame Ships are DabiHawks | GreedLing and MonoToko | LanMei ?

And Alphonse is Nonbinary since he spent a decent percentage of his teenage years is a suit of armor and became disconnected from his gender and his body.

Most of this? Yes!

Except for DabiHawks and maybe TodoMomo.

This is solely due to me just NOT shipping GreedLing. It's not my thing. I fully imagine them in this very queer platonic relationship that's both healthy and not because they shared a body for the longest time. Neither are into each other because it's shades of: yeah I would date myself but no that's to weird with you. They are codependent/independent and it is a MESS. So yeah- DabiHawks doesn't happen because they both go: ewww but also because at least one of them knows it would be a terrible idea. Way to much shit there.

As for TodoMomo... I dunno? I never really shipped RoyAi or TodoMomo so now I'm like: what are my headcanons for them?

Personally, I do think that Roy is bisexual with a small crush on Maes that he never addressed cause Gracia. And I also think he and Riza were in a co-dependent relationship that was mostly Queer Platonic. Maybe there was a little less platonic stuff going on but at the end of the day there were power dynamics. Both career wise... and the fact Riza held a gun ready to take him down if needed. Which can be a very hot thing to write, don't get me wrong, but like... would either be willing to go there?

Then there's the fact Riza's dad was Roy's teacher, and she gave him flame alchemy which led to his fame in the war. I bet both carry so much bitterness and guilt about it, plus disgust at each other and themselves with it.

So... I think that similarly with Greed/Ling, there's to much baggage in their way for them to have a romantic relationship. I can see both marrying and having kids later on as more of a 'buisness' thing but an actuall relationship? No.

[ao3feed-fma]

this slope is treacherous

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/zw2ZXUp

by QueenIsabelle

When Berthold Hawkeye decides to run for governor of the East, his daughter, Riza, is less than pleased, especially when he forces her to put her journalism career on hold to be his office manager. But when Roy Mustang, Berthold's old apprentice, signs on to be his campaign manager, bringing with him a whole cast of characters from his time in Central, Riza thinks that the next year and a half might be manageable. Working closely together, Riza and Roy do their best to run a smooth campaign for Berthold; unfortunately, the slope between friends and lovers is a treacherous one, and the fall might have scandalous consequences.

Words: 2097, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Vato Falman, Kain Fuery, Gracia Hughes, Berthold Hawkeye, Olivier Mira Armstrong, Alex Louis Armstrong, Rebecca Catalina, Grumman (Fullmetal Alchemist), Chris "Madam Christmas" Mustang, Vanessa (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye & Roy Mustang, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang, Rebecca Catalina/Jean Havoc

Additional Tags: Royai - Freeform, Election AU, Team Mustang - Freeform, Fluff, Reunions, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Berthold is running for governor, Roy is the campaign manager, Riza is the one holding everything together, Friends to Lovers

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/zw2ZXUp

[disneytva]

‘The Owl House’: It’s a Hoot!

You would never think that the dark art of 15th century Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch would serve as the inspiration for a children’s cartoon. Well, thanks to Dana Terrace and her wild imagination, the strange creatures conjured by the European painter have found their way in the new Disney Channel series The Owl House. The show, which debuts in January, and is already in production of its second season, follows the adventures of a young teenage girl named Luz who decides to pursue her dreams of becoming a witch after she stumbles into a strange realm, inhabited by feisty witch Eda and her tiny warrior friend King.

Terrace, a former director on DuckTales and storyboard artist on Gravity Falls, recalls starting to collect her notes and images and putting together her pitch for the story back in 2015. Then, she finally began pitching her story about a young girl who becomes a witch’s apprentice only a few months after she started directing DuckTales.

“Many of the characters have barely changed since then,” recalls Terrace. “I knew I wanted an older witch mentor figure and a young optimistic girl who was the main character, who learns and grows throughout the show. There’s also this trickster little jerk character named King (voiced by Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch).”

The setting for The Owl House changed a little bit since its early days. Terrace says for a brief time, she was toying with the idea of the whole show being set after the young character dies, so that the Owl House is all set in the afterlife. What really had a clear impact on her work is the work of artists such as Bosch, John Bauer, Remedios Varos and the puppetry of Jim Henson.

Real-Life Models

In addition to the crazy creatures of Bosch and religious illuminated manuscripts, Terrace found inspiration in some of the familiar elements in her life as well. “I have always wanted to tell a story about a rough-around-the-edges mother figure, based off of my aunt, nana and mother who raised me,” she recalls.

Terrace says the show’s central character Luz evolved from late-night conversations she used to have with her former roommate roommate and close college friend. “We were both dorks together,” she recalls. “We tried to cut our own hair and it never worked out. We didn’t have many friends. So, in a way, Luz bubbled out of our conversations. When I told her that I was going to base the main character on her, she said, ‘Yes , but you’ll have to make her Dominican.’ So that’s what happened. Luz now also works on the show as a storyboard artist and consultant, and I get to work with my best friend every day.”

As a young girl, Terrace used sneak into the living room to watch cartoons and copy what she liked in her flip books. Her love for shows such as The Simpsons, Pokémon, The PowerPuff Girls and Studio Ghibli movies finally lead her to study animation at School of Visual Arts in New York and make her way out to L.A. to pursue a career in the animation business. Her first big break happened when someone discovered her art blog and sent her a storyboarding test, which led to her landing a job at Gravity Falls and opened other doors as well.

During her big pitch to Disney, Terrace says she was a bit worried to mention Bosch and his odd, evil creatures, but to her surprise, one of the executive’s response was, “Heck, yeah!” “They have been nothing more than enthusiastic and helpful from day one,” she notes.

After spending a good year writing and making the pilot, Terrace began building her production team in 2018. Art director Ricky Cometa and supervising producer Stephen Sandoval also joined the Disney TV Animation production. At capacity, the show has about 50 staffers as part of its pre-production crew, and an overall count of 120 including the overseas teams at Sunwoo, Rough Draft and Sugarcube in Korea. We’ve been very fortunate to work with all of them,” says Terrace. “They’ve made the show really, really spark.” 

The Owl House has attracted a top-notch list of vocal talent as well, including Wendie Malick as Eda, Hirsch as King and Sarah-Nicole Robles as Luz. Among the guest star lineup for the show’s first season are Matthew Rhys, Isabella Rossellini, Tati Gabrielle, Issac Ryan Brown, Mae Whitman, Bumper Robinson and Parvesh Cheena. Terrace points out that having a sterling class led by Malick has been a real treat. “Our witch could have been a very hard character to cast, because we wanted to have sass and energy, and Wendie was absolutely perfect. She came in with all her talent and experience, and my first instinct was ‘You don’t need any direction. Do whatever you want to do because you are amazing!”

She also mentions that she knew Alex Hirsch was going to end up playing the little sidekick King. “I used to hear him pitch when I worked on Gravity Falls. I knew that he can bring a lot to the characters he plays. He would also give me some helpful advice about running his own show and working at Disney.”

Art director Ricky Cometa (Steven Universe, Costume Quest) says he was swept away by Terrace’s wild ideas and spectacular imagery, things that were not usually seen in children’s animation. “The second she came in and said, ‘I want you to read this show bible. The first thing that caught my eye was ‘Bosch and the demon world?’ I very much needed help to figure out what this world looks like. We had this blank canvas and there was a lot of religious iconography. I knew we were going to push the boundaries. I mean we are doing the demon realm on the Disney Channel? You bet I’m in!” 

Cometa points out that it was clear that they needed to balance the darker aspects of the witch’s world with the more light-hearted and fun components of Luz’s comical adventures. “At first, I wasn’t sure how dark we could have made the world this world that Luz jumps into initially. We had to make clear decisions about when the story needed to be scary— when do we highlight the darker moments versus when the story is lighthearted and welcoming. It was all about finding that right balance of warmth and spookiness.”

Terrace agrees. “If we made everything super scary and spooky — which is something I’m not afraid of, scaring my audience — but if we made everything the same color, then the scary parts and the day-to-day light-hearted parts wouldn’t have popped. We needed that contrast for writing purposes.”

Amazingly enough, Terrace is only the fourth woman to solely create and run an animated series for Disney — following in the footsteps of Sue Rose (Pepper Ann), Chris Nee (Doc McStuffins) and Daron Nefcy (Star vs. The Forces of Evil). She says one of her biggest challenges on the show was going through the learning process to run a writer’s room, which includes four other writers and a writer’s assistant. “Before this show I had always written and drawn my own comics and cartoons, but this was the first time I had written scripts professionally. Learning the process of writing scripts and learning to run a writers’ room was probably the biggest challenge for me. Luckily, I was with a team of talented writers, and we all kind of learned together. Most of that team has carried on to the second season, and we’re very excited to keep writing together.

As the show begins its run on Disney Channel, Terrace says that ultimately she hopes audiences will be entertained by Luz’s world and her off-the-wall adventures. “There are so many different kinds of animated shows out there and so many traditional and streaming services, that I don’t think it’s possible to have a gigantic blowout hit anymore. At the end of the day, no matter how much stuff is out there, stories with interesting core characters and relatable, understandable stories will shine through.”

Art director Ricky Cometa (Steven Universe, Costume Quest) says he was swept away by Terrace’s wild ideas and spectacular imagery, things that were not usually seen in children’s animation. “The second she came in and said, ‘I want you to read this show bible. The first thing that caught my eye was ‘Bosch and the demon world?’ I very much needed help to figure out what this world looks like. We had this blank canvas and there was a lot of religious iconography. I knew we were going to push the boundaries. I mean we are doing the demon realm on the Disney Channel? You bet I’m in!”

[akishapayuyo]

Panunuring Pampelikula

The Four Sisters Before The Wedding

Pamagat: The Four Sisters Before The Wedding

Direktor: Mae Cruz-Alviar

       Tauhan: 

               Charlie Dizon as Theodora Grace "Teddie" Salazar

               Alexa Ilacad as Roberta Olivia "Bobbie" Salazar

               Gillian Vicencio as Alexandra Camille "Alex" Salazar

               Belle Mariano as Gabriella Sophia "Gabbie" Salazar

               Enchong Dee as Carlos Jose "CJ/RebReb" Salazar

Banghay ng Pelikula:

               Habang si CJ ay nasa Singapore para sa isang Science Seminar, ang mga ate niyang naiwan sa Pilipinas nadiskubre na ang kanilang tatay na si Caloy, na baka niloloko niya ang kanilang nanay. Para malaman nila ang totoo, sila ay humanap ng isang private investiagtor para matulungan silang imbestigahan at ayusin ang kanilang pamilya, sadyang ang kanilang problema lang ay ang pera.

               Ang mga babae ay naghanap ng kani-kanilang trabaho para pondohan ang imbestigador para maayos ang lahat. Si Teddie ay naging tutor, si Gabbie ay gumawa ng mga pastries at iba’t ibang pagakin, si Alex ay pinagpatuloy ang kanyang film career, at si Bobbie ay nagdadalawang-isip kung tatanggapin niya ang scholarship na inaalok sakanya sa New York, ngunit hindi ito kaya bayaran ng kanyang Pamilya.

              Habang ang mga ate ni CJ ay naghihirap para sa pag-iimbestiga, di nila namamalayan na nasisira ang relasyon nilang magkakapatid dahil sa problema ng kanilang pamilya.

Tema: 

Ang Four Sisters Before The Wedding ay nagpapakita na walang perpektong pamilya sa mundo. 

Minsan kailangan tulungan ang isa’t isa.

Kailangan natin matuto kung paano tanggapin ang ating pagkakamali.

Alamin ang buong storya bago umaksyon.

Ang kailangan ng pamilya para maging matatag ay pagmamahal, tiwala, at pagpupursigi.

Pamagat: Maayos ang pamagat. Ito ay direkta ngunit hindi mo masasabi kung ano ba ang totoong balangkas ng istorya.

Genre: Family/Drama/Komedya

Pagganap ng mga Tauhan: 

Maganda kung paano umarte ang mga karakter sakanilang mga tungkulin. Si Belle Mariano o si Gabbie Salazar ang nakakuha ng attention ko dahil napakanatural ang kanyang pag-arte.

Diyalago: Maayos ang diyalago ng pelikula. Hindi sobra, hindi kulang. Bagay na bagay ang sinabi ng bawat karakter dahil ito ay sumasang-ayon talaga sa kanilang mga ugali.

Direktor: Hindi ko masyado kilala ang direktor pero dahil natuwa ako sa pelikula. Masasabi ko na mahusay at magaling magdikerta ng pelikula si Mae Cruz-Alviar.

Sinematograpiya: Ito ay maayos, napakasimple pero maganda rin. Kitang kita kung gaano naghihirap ang mga kapatid. Naipapakita ang lungkot at pagdudusa sa mga effects at angulo ng bawat eksena. 

[blackkudos]

Robert Hooks

Robert Hooks (born Bobby Dean Hooks, April 18, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and activist. He is most recognizable to the public for his more than 100 roles in films, television, and stage. Most famously, Hooks, along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, founded The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). The NEC is credited with the launch of the careers of many major black artists of all disciplines, while creating a body of performance literature over the last thirty years, providing the backbone of African-American theatrical classics. Additionally, Hooks is the sole founder of two significant black theatre companies: the D.C. Black Repertory Company, and New York's Group Theatre Workshop.

Biography

Early life

The youngest of five children, Hooks was born in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C. to Mae Bertha (née Ward), a seamstress, and Edward Hooks who had moved from Rocky Mount, North Carolina with their four other children, Bernice, Caroleigh, Charles Edward "Charlie", and James Walter "Jimmy". Named Bobby Dean Hooks at birth, Robert was their first child born "up-north" and the first to be born in a hospital. His father, Edward, died in a work accident on the railroad in 1939.

Hooks attended Stevens Elementary School. In 1945, at the insistence of his sister Bernice who was doing community arts outreach for youngsters at Francis Junior High School, he performed the lead in his first play, The Pirates of Penzance, at the age of nine. From the ages of 6 to 12, Bobby Dean journeyed with his siblings to Lucama, North Carolina to work the tobacco fields for his uncle's sharecropping farm as a way to help earn money for the coming school year in D.C.

In 1954, just as Brown vs. Board of Education was being implemented in the north, he moved to Philadelphia to be with his mother, her second husband, and his half-sister, Safia Abdullah (née Sharon Dickerson). Hooks experienced his first integrated school experience at West Philadelphia High School. Hooks soon joined the drama club and began acting in plays by William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett. He was graduated in 1956, passing on a scholarship to Temple University in order to pursue a career as a stage actor at the Bessie V. Hicks School of Theatre (alongside Charles Dierkop and Bruce Dern, with whom he second-acted plays doing their pre-Broadway tryouts in Philadelphia) while working at Browning King, a men's tailor shop at Fourteenth and Chestnut streets.

Career

Having trained at the Bessie V. Smith School of Theatre in Philadelphia, and after seeing A Raisin in the Sun in its Philadelphia tryout in February 1959, Hooks moved to New York to pursue acting. In April 1960, as Bobby Dean Hooks, he made his Broadway debut in A Raisin in the Sun replacing Louis Gossett, Jr. who would be doing the film version. He then continued to do its national tour. He then stepped into the Broadway production of A Taste of Honey, replacing Billy Dee Williams; then repeating the same national tour trajectory as he had done for "Raisin..." the previous year. In early 1962 he next appeared as the lead in Jean Genet's The Blacks, replacing James Earl Jones as the male lead, leaving briefly that same year to appear on Broadway again in Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright before stepping back into the lead role in The Blacks in 1963. He then returned to Broadway, first in Ballad for Bimshire and then in the short-lived 1964 David Merrick revival of The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Any More (as a character created by Tennessee Williams for this revival) and starring Tallulah Bankhead and Tab Hunter in his only stage performance. Immediately thereafter, in March 24, 1964 he originated the role of Clay in Amiri Baraka's Dutchman. With this play, on the advice of Roscoe Lee Brown, Hooks became known as, Robert Hooks. He also originated roles on the New York stage in Where's Daddy? for which he won the Theatre World Award and he was nominated for Best Male Lead in a Musical for Hallelujah Baby while he was simultaneously starring in David Susskind's N.Y.P.D.—the first African American lead on a television drama.

In 1968 Hooks was the host of the new public affairs television program, Like It Is.

Hooks was nominated for a Tony for his lead role in the musical, Hallelujah, Baby!, has received both the Pioneer Award and the NAACP Image Award for Lifetime Achievement, and has been inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. He also won an Emmy for his PBS special, Voices of Our People.

Significant roles for which Hooks is known include Reeve Scott in Hurry Sundown (1967), Mr. T. in the blaxploitation film Trouble Man (1972), grandpa Gene Donovan in the comedy Seventeen Again (2000), and Fleet Admiral Morrow in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). He also appeared on television in an episode of the NBC crime drama series The Eddie Capra Mysteries in 1978 and portrayed Doctor Walcott in the 1980s television series Dynasty.

Activism

Arts and Culture

In 1964, as a result of a speaking engagement at the Chelsea Civil Rights Committee (then connected to the Hudson Guild Settlement House) he founded The Group Theatre Workshop (GTW), a tuition-free environment for disadvantaged urban teens who expressed a desire to explore acting. Among the instructors were Barbara Ann Teer, Frances Foster, Hal DeWindt, Lonne Elder III, and Ronnie Mack. Alumni include Antonio Fargas, Hattie Winston, and Daphne Maxwell Reid.

The Group Theatre Workshop was folded into the tuition-free training arm of the The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) founded in 1967 with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone with a $1.3 million grant from the Ford Foundation under the auspices of W. McNeil Lowry.

From 1969-1972, Hooks served as an original board member of Black Academy of Arts and Letters (BAAL) (located in New York) alongside C. Eric Lincoln, President; John O. Killens, Alvin F. Poussaint, and Charles White. Chartered by the State of New York, BAAL's mission was to bring together Black artists and scholars from around the world. Additional members included: Julian Adderley, Alvin Ailey, Margaret Walker, James Baldwin, Imamu Baraka, Romare Bearden, Harry Belafonte, Lerone Bennett, Arna Bontemps, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee Davis, St. Clair Drake, Ernest Dunbar, Katherine Dunham, Lonne Elder III, Duke Ellington, Alex Haley, Ruth Inge Hardison, Vertis Hayes, Chester Himes, Lena Horne, Jacob Lawrence, Elma Lewis, Henry Lewis, Paule Marshall, Donald McKayle, Arthur Mitchell, Frederick O’Neal, Gordon Parks, Sidney Poitier, Benjamin Quarles, Lloyd Richards, Lucille D. Roberts, and Nina Simone.

In response to the violence in his home town of Washington, D.C. in the wake of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, and aided by a small grant from the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Hooks took a leave of absence from the Negro Ensemble Company to create The D.C. Black Repertory Company (DCBRC, 1970-1981). As Founder and Executive Director, the DCBRC was intended as a further exploration of the ability of the arts to create healing. The a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock was created and developed within its workshop process.

The Inner Voices (Lorton Prison arts training program, 1971) proved to be a result of the beneficial effect of the DCBRC in the D.C. area. In response to a direct plea from an inmate, Rhozier "Roach" Brown, who was serving a life sentence in Lorton, Hooks' D.C. Black Repertory Company structured the first prison-based arts program in the United States. While it is the norm now, it was then a revolutionary attempt at rehabilitation through the arts. Eventually The Inner Voices performed more than 500 times in other prisons, including a Christmas special entitled, "Holidays, Hollowdays." Due to Roach's work, President Gerald Ford commuted his sentence on Christmas Day, 1975.

His relocation to the West Coast redirected Hooks' approach to parity in the arts with his involvement with The Bay Area Multicultural Arts Initiative (1988) as a board member and grant facilitator-judge. Funded by monies from a unique coalition made up of the San Francisco Foundation (a community foundation); Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, and The National Endowment for the Arts, the function of this organization was the funding of deserving local multicultural arts organizations.

In 1992, Hooks co-founded (with writer Lonne Elder III) Arts in Action. Located in South Central Los Angeles, this was a film and television training center established to guide individuals who aspired to careers in film production. It formulated strategies and training for securing entry-level jobs. Courses included: career development workshops; pre-production and production for film and television; creative problem solving in production management; directing for stage and screen—principles and practices; also the craft of assistant directors, script supervisor, technicians, wardrobe, make-up, etc.

The Negro Ensemble Company of Los Angeles (NEC-LA) (1994-1997) was created because so many New York members and original members had relocated to the west coast. Hooks, as founder and executive director enlisted alumni from his New York Negro Ensemble Company to serve as board members: Denise Nicholas, Denzel Washington, James Earl Jones, Laurence Fishburne, Richard Roundtree, Samuel L. Jackson. NEC-LA's goal was to be a new and innovative multi-ethnic cultural project that strived to achieve the community effectiveness and professional success of its parent organization.

Personal life

Hooks is the father of actor, television and film director Kevin Hooks. He married Lorrie Gay Marlow (actress, author, artist) on June 15, 2008. Previously, he was married to Yvonne Hickman and Rosie Lee Hooks.

Awards

1966 - Theatre World Award (1965–66 ) for "Where's Daddy?" (The Billy Rose Theatre)

1979 - American Black Achievement Award - Ebony Magazine

1982 - Emmy Award for Producing (1982) Voices of Our People: In Celebration of Black Poetry (KCET-TV/PBS)

1966 - Tony Nomination, Lead Role in a Musical for Hallelujah, Baby

1985 - Inducted into The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, recipient Oscar Micheaux Award (1985)

1986 - March 2nd declared Robert Hooks Day by the City of Los Angeles, Mayor Tom Bradley

1987 - Excellence in Advertising and Communications to Black Communities from CEBA (Excellence in Advertising and Communications to Black Communities)

2000 - Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa honorary degree, Bowie State University

2000 - May 25th declared Robert Hooks Day in Washington, D.C.

2005 - Beverly Hills/Hollywood Chapter NAACP Image Award for Lifetime Achievement

2005 - Beverly Hills/Hollywood Chapter NAACP Trailblazer Award to the Negro Ensemble Company

2005 - Trailblazer Award – City of Los Angeles

2006 - The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL), Lifetime Achievement Award (Dallas)

2007 - The Black Theatre Alliance Awards / Lifetime Achievement Award

2015 - Living Legend Award (2015) National Black Theatre Festival

2018 - October 18th proclaimed Robert Hooks Day by Mayor Muriel Bowser, Washington, D.C.

2018 - Hooks is entered into The Congressional Record by the Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, September 4, 2018, Vol. 164

2018 - Visionary Founder and Creator Award - D.C. Black Repertory Company on its 47th anniversary

Acting Credits

Film

Sweet Love, Bitter (1967) .... Keel Robinson

Hurry Sundown (1967) .... Reeve Scott

Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970) .... Chicken

Carter's Army (1970) .... Lt. Edward Wallace

Trouble Man (1972) .... Mr. T

Aaron Loves Angela (1975) .... Beau

Airport '77 (1977) .... Eddie

Fast-Walking (1982) .... William Galliot

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) .... Admiral Morrow

Passenger 57 (1992) .... Dwight Henderson

Posse (1993) .... King David

Fled (1996) .... Lt. Clark

[haitilegends]

🎥 JOSEPHINE BAKER SINGS "HAITI" in the film "ZOU ZOU" (1934)

https://youtu.be/-wMaSGMOnr8

🎶 JOSEPHINE BAKER: "HAITI, C'EST TOI MON SEUL PARADIS !" - JOSEPHINE BAKER

https://youtu.be/hk0KlgAAE2Y

#Biography: http://www.nathanielturner.com/josephinebaker.htm

"Josephine Baker (1906-1975)—born Freda Josephine Carson in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906 Carrie McDonald and vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson—became probably the most famous woman in #France, if not in the entire world, for her performances on stage as a dancer as well as her fight against the Nazis to liberate France and her love of orphan children.

In the 1920s her comic yet sensual stage presence took #Europe by storm. Known as the "Black Venus," she was lavished with gifts. She maintained her celebrity status until her death in 1975. #American #racism however prevented her from being fully appreciated in the United States, the place of her birth.

Her mother Carrie, abandoned shortly after Josephine's birth, was reduced to a washerwoman in order to care for herself and her daughter. #Josephine also grew up cleaning the houses of and caring for the children of wealthy white families.

And independent #woman, Josephine married four times first to Willie Wells (very brief), them to American Willie Baker in 192, Frenchman Jean Lion in 1937 (through whom she became a French citizen) and French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon in 1947 (who was with her when she adopted 12 children).

In 1919, Josephine toured the US with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers. She also eventually appeared in Eubie Blake's Shuffle Along. Her comic antics in this production gained her a reputation. As a member of La Revue Nègre, Josephine captivated the #Parisian audience with her dance partner Joe Alex with the Danse Sauvage; boldly dressed in a feather skirt with uninhibited movements, she worked the audience into a frenzy and became a Parisian sensation.

Josephine later starred in La Folie du Jour at the Follies-Bergère Theater, draped in a costume of 16 bananas strung into a skirt. In the early 30s she starred in two movies Zou-Zou and Princess Tam-Tam. Josephine baker was probably the most photographed woman of her times, probably more so than Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford.

Her returned to the US in the Ziegfield Follies was an emotional downturn. One editorialist of the NY Times referred to her as a "Negro wench." Josephine returned to Paris and those who loved her.

During World War II, Josephine performed for French troops and worked uncover smuggling secret documents. She was also a sub-lieutenant in the #Women's Auxiliary Air Force and was thereafter awarded the Medal of the Resistance with Rosette and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government for hard work and dedication.

Her returns to the US in the 50s and 60s were not fully the disaster of twenty years earlier. She renewed her vigor in fighting American racism and engaged pro-segregationist Walter Winchell. In 1951, the NAACP named May 20, Josephine Baker Day.

Josephine also participated in the 1963 March on Washington, and later that year gave a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall for the NAACP, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). She received a standing ovation before her performance began

At a performance April 8, 1975 at the Bobino Theater in Paris, celebrities such as Princess Grace of Monaco and Sophia Loren came to see the 68-year-old Josephine perform a medley of routines from her 50 year career. Days later, however, Josephine slipped into a coma and died from a cerebral hemorrhage at 5 a.m. on April 12.

With more than 20,000 people crowding the streets of Paris, the French government honored Josephine Baker with a 21-gun salute, making Josephine Baker the first American woman buried in France with military honors. Her gravesite is in the Cimetiére de #Monaco, Monaco." http://www.nathanielturner.com/josephinebaker.htm

🎥 Watch "The Josephine Baker Story (1991)" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/UBAOtibUpH0

___________________________

Joséphine Baker - #Biographie

http://www.jesuismort.com/biographie_celebrite_chercher/biographie-josephine_baker-1442.php

Josephine Baker est née le 3 juin 1906 à Saint Louis, grande ville du Midwest, située dans l'Etat du Missouri, aux Etats-Unis. Elle est la fille de Carrie Mac Donald et d'Eddie Carson. De sa mère, Josephine hérita son corps, de son père son énergie. Artistes, ses parents avaient monté ensemble un numéro de chant et de danse.Un an après la naissance de Josephine, Eddie Carson quitta Carrie. Par la suite, Carrie eut trois autres enfants : Richard, Margaret et Willie Mae. Elle entretenait la famille en faisant des lessives. Elle traitait ses enfants avec une grande sévérité. Le froid, la puanteur, les punaises et les rats furent les compagnons d'enfance de Josephine. Pour Carrie, les enfants ne devaient pas être une charge : il fallait donc que Josephine travaille. Elle fut placée dans la maison d'une blanche à huit ans.

Maltraitée, elle se réfugia chez sa grand-mère et sa tante Elvara. En 1917, une importante émeute raciale éclata à Saint Louis : trente neuf noirs furent tués et plusieurs milliers laissés sans abri. Josephine n'oublia jamais ce jour-là. A partir de 1918, elle vécut dans une maison plus décente que la précédente avec sa mère et improvisa un théâtre dans la cave, où elle laissait libre cours à sa fantaisie.

Josephine avait appris à danser dans les rues, dans les cours et dans les maisons du Saint Louis noir. Les pas nouveaux s'y répandaient rapidement. La danse des jambes en caoutchouc, qu'elle développera plus tard sur les scènes parisiennes, correspondait à des mouvements bien connus aux Etats-Unis par les danseurs de jazz des années vingt. A treize ans, Josephine avait assimilé un immense répertoire de mouvements. Ce qui paraissait une spontanéité chez elle cachait en fin de compte des années de pratique quotidienne.

Après avoir quitté le foyer familial et être devenue serveuse, elle se maria avec Willie Wells. Elle se joignit bientôt à un groupe de musiciens de rue, le Jones Family Band, qui se produisait à Saint Louis. Un jour qu'y jouait une troupe en tournée, les Dixie Steppers, le directeur engagea les Jones pour combler le vide de l'entracte. Et c'est ainsi que Josephine parut pour la première fois sur une scène. Pourtant, Josephine n'était pas alors à proprement parler une "sensation" : à treize ans, elle était trop maigre pour paraître à côté des autres danseuses de la troupe. Mais le directeur des Dixie Steppers l'engagea, au titre d'habilleuse, et elle quitta ainsi Saint Louis.

La tournée de la troupe à travers le Sud fut pour Josephine la première véritable école. Dans le Sud, la troupe alla jusqu'à la Nouvelle-Orléans, et dans le Nord, jusqu'à Philadelphie où Josephine épousa Willie Baker, son second mari. En avril 1921, Josephine jouait au Gibson Theater de Philadelphie avec les Dixie Steppers. Elle avait finalement réussi à entrer dans le corps de ballet, remplaçant une danseuse qui s'était blessée. Elle jouait le rôle de la girl comique, qui, en bout de file, ne faisait rien comme les autres. C'est à cette époque qu'elle fit la rencontre de Noble Sissle, l'un des créateurs de "Shuffle Along", la grande comédie musicale de l'époque, composée et interprétée par des noirs. Sissle semblait intéressé par le talent de Josephine mais son âge le fit reculer : elle avait à peine quinze ans. Déçue, Josephine décida de tenter sa chance à New York.

A New York, elle se fit à nouveau engager au titre d'habilleuse, mais pour la revue "Shuffle Along". Elle apprit alors tous les chants, toutes les danses, et lorsqu'une girl tomba malade, ce fut elle qui la remplaça. Sur scène, elle semblait déchaînée ; elle louchait, elle grimaçait. Elle ne tarda pas à se faire connaître, devenant une attraction à part entière. Sissle et Blake, les inséparables créateurs du spectacle, prirent conscience du petit phénomène qu'était Josephine. Ils lui annoncèrent donc qu'elle intégrerait la troupe principale à l'été 1922. Sissle et Blake firent de Josephine leur protégée particulière. Pendant plus d'un an, la troupe de "Shuffle Along" tourna à travers l'Amérique. Josephine était désormais reconnue comme artiste et gagnait bien sa vie.

Après "Shuffle Along", Josephine enchaîna presque immédiatement avec le nouveau spectacle de Sissle et Blake, "The Chocolate Dandies", en 1924. Elle avait maintenant l'un des rôles principaux. La plupart du temps, elle louchait et répétait les bouffoneries qui l'avaient fait connaître. Mais elle portait aussi une robe élégante de satin blanc fendue sur le côté. Une fois fini "The Chocolate Dandies", Josephine alla au Plantation Club, une copie du Cotton Club, à Broadway. LIRE LA SUITE http://www.jesuismort.com/biographie_celebrite_chercher/biograph

Joséphine Baker - Biographie http://www.www.dutempsdescerisesauxfeuillesmortes.net/fiches_bio/baker_josephine/baker_josephine.htm

THe Journal of #American History (Josephine Baker & Haiti)

https://books.google.com/books?id=3DJNCiC-mWgC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=josephine+baker+in+haiti&source=bl&ots=ZlOQa8dAol&sig=XN_lEH52eJXtnyVbX68drVbv2yI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CD4Q6AEwCWoVChMI4Kzp3J_mxgIVgpINCh0HagKE#v=onepage&q=josephine%20baker%20in%20haiti&f=false

September 29, 2015 - http://haitilegends.tumblr.com/post/130419116688/watch-josephine-baker-haiti-cest-toi-mon

#HAITI☆#LEGENDS #JosephineBaker #Repost #iamgabrisan #journeedelafemme #moisdelafamme #womeninMusic