#Alexandra Miller

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Dragon Cave

Example of artist's worldbuilding in The Elder Scrolls: Online

Worldbuilding by Alexandra Miller

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Princess Alexandra von Furstenberg || Chanel

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Alexandra Miller : l'artiste sort son premier EP Sweetest Morning

L’artiste Alexandra Miller présente son premier projet solo Sweetest Morning. C’est le premier EP de l’artiste, sorti le 30 juin 2023. Le site Ma Musique Communautaire vous en dit plus sur cette nouveauté musicale dans l’article suivant. Continue reading Untitled

[assortedmelons]

Celebrity Melons

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

Fantasy, historical fiction, mythology, retelling, adult

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

Endorsement from submitter: "Utterly hilarious romp. No actual sex, but somehow hornier than 90% of books with actual sex in them that I have read."

Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Araşti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Araşti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who’s got his eyes on Avra’s every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more important, they’ll be legends.

Fantasy, humor, adventure, secondary world, queernorm, adult

[dcminions]

ALEXANDRA DADDARIO as HEATHER MILLER. in texas chainsaw 3d.

[lgbtqreads]

Exclusive Cover Reveal: We Mostly Come Out at Night ed. by Rob Costello

Today on the site, I’m delighted to be revealing the cover of We Mostly Came Out at Night, a YA anthology edited by Rob Costello and releasing from Running Press Books on May 21, 2024 that’s the perfect intro to spooky season! Here’s the gist: An empowering cross-genre YA anthology that explores what it means to be a monster, exclusively highlighting trans and queer authors who offer new tales…

[theflixdiaryproject]

"no. no, I actually broke up with you because you don't look like a guy." - Simon

Love, Simon tells the story of Simon Spier (Nick Robinson), a high school student who has yet to come out as gay. living in the suburbs, Simon leads a seemingly normal life, with supportive friends and a loving family. he’s been communicating with a fellow student named Blue online, but their secret relationship is now complicated when Simon’s private messages are exposed.

read my review below (may contain spoilers):

watched July 28th, 2024 on netflix

I expected a cute, fun teen rom-com from Love, Simon but what I got is something much deeper. this movie is full of emotions that really catch me off guard. I grin.. I laugh.. I cry.. and sometimes it can feels like a punch to the gut. even though I don’t see myself as part of the LGBTQ+ community, I still feel connected to Simon’s journey. this movie is not just about being gay; it’s also brings a subtle message to everyone who feels trapped and wants to break free to show the world their true selves. I really really love how this movie handles the coming-out theme. Simon’s struggle feels so relatable. it’s like something everyone can understand, even if the details of the story are different for us. the way Simon balances his secret online relationship with his real life is both thrilling and heartbreaking. it makes me think of my own online friends, the ones who truly get me, unlike some people around me. sometimes, people you’ve never met can know you better than your own family.

Simon’s secret online relationship is a big part of the story, and it’s beautifully done. his anonymous friendship with Blue feels authentic and sweet. it’s the kind of connection that probably will make you believe in people again, if you've lost it. watching Simon figure out these emotions while hiding such a big part of himself feels so raw and honest. the family dynamic in this movie is also really nice. Simon’s parents (played by Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel) are great, and they stay in the background. this is important because it lets the story focus on Simon. they don’t steal the spotlight, and I appreciate that. they’re there to support Simon, not to take over the movie. it feels very balanced. by the time the movie ends, I’m filled with so many feelings. Love, Simon hits me the right way. it’s authentic and refreshing, especially in the teen romance genre. it doesn’t try too hard, but it’s powerful in its simplicity. it shows that coming out, love, and figuring out who you are doesn’t have to be over-the-top to feel real. whether you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community or not, this movie is worth watching.

final verdict: I think it was okay/watchable

maturity rating: 13+ genre: comedy, drama, romance duration: 1h 50m (110 mins) country of origin: USA language: English screenplay: Greg Berlanti, Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger based on: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda novel by Becky Albertalli major cast: Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Logan Miller, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Keiynan Lonsdale

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Don Moynihan at Can We Still Govern?:

For those who don’t know much about government, the idea of Elon Musk as a serious tech guy who could shake up how the public sector work was appealing. Even people who do know a lot about government were hopeful.

Such hopes now look naive. Musk is not just ignorant about what government does, he chooses to celebrate and make decisions based on that ignorance, defaulting to accusations of fraud to explain things he does not want to understand. He is not interested in fixing government, but in destroying key parts of government, and that takes no great skill. This is not just a point about competing political philosophies, but about state capacity, and specifically tech skills in government. Musk is not just destroying core government functions, he is also destroying the actual tech capacity of government. Because there are, in fact, skilled technologists who work in government. They are not enough of them, and they lacked power to make big changes. They worked mostly in the US Digital Service and 18F, both created in 2014 after the failure of healthcare.gov. And now they are mostly gone. All 18F employees were fired as part of the ongoing Reductions in Force. The US Digital Service no longer exists. It is now the US DOGE Service. It also has seen about 40 people laid off, and 21 employees resigned last week, leaving around 40 experienced employees left.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of the two units: USDS offered support and guidance to agencies, but could not dictate a governmentwide approach on most issues. In times of crisis, or when a President prioritized a policy outcome dependent on digital innovations, it could play a more prominent role, serving as a de facto firefighter for digital governance. The General Services Administration set up its own digital consultancy team, 18F in 2014. This team’s mission is to work with agencies to “[transform] the way the federal government builds and buys digital services.” 18F was a cost recoverable office, meaning that they charge partner agencies for their work rather than being funded directly through a congressional appropriation. Both organizations use similar managerial technologies, which includes agile, iterative design, a user-centric approach, a reliance on data-driven decision making, directly managing relationships with vendors, favoring open-source solutions, the prioritization of platform models, and a flatter organizational culture. USDS and 18F represented a hopeful trend for American government: embedding serious tech skills inside the bureaucracy, rather than relying on private vendors. They care about public services, and represented the most visible public sector manifestation of “civic tech” in government. [...]

DOGE is a step backwards for government tech talent

Musk’s team saw USDS as an an existing shell they could occupy that seemed nominally aligned with goal of modernizing government. A former USDS official, Amy Gleason, had worked for one of the DOGE team, Brad Smith in the private sector, and returned to USDS on the understanding she was helping the Trump transition team. Gleason became the official DOGE administrator last week, though of course no-one believes this to be the reality. She also tried to get the USDS to hire some of the staff who had already signed on to work for DOGE. None made the cut. They did not advertise their connection with Musk, and so their rejections were not clouded by political bias. Their applications failed because they were not qualified. [...] The point is that Musk isn’t bringing in incredible 10X coders to replace bureaucrats. The best evidence we have is that they would not have been hired into a tech role under normal circumstances. The people who could not make it at USDS were hired at DOGE staff because of their personal and professional connections to Musk, and their ideological commitment for downsizing government. This was a poor fit with the existing employees at 18F and the US Digital Service, who believed that technology could be used to make government work better, not to cut its core tasks. [...] The Trump administration does not care about the loss of this talent. Katie Miller, the DOGE spokesperson, posted this about the resignation of USDS officials. Miller does not explain how fully remote workers posted “trans flags” (or rainbow flags for the rest of us). But she herself is representative of DOGE. She has no tech skills, which is fine for a PR person. Her husband, Stephen Miller, has been described as the “Prime Minister” aiding Musk. Musk had previously given Miller’s political groups $50 million dollars. These are the people running tech in government now. (One more fun fact about Katie Miller: According to Wikipedia, she destroyed “hundreds of copies of the school's newspaper, after it endorsed an opposing student government candidate.”)

DOGE’s cuts have harmed skilled technology needed to run government functions.

[erebusvincent]

I recently rediscovered that I have this pretty nice collection of autographs. I know I have a couple more of Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, my favorite actors, framed. Xena, Stargate Atlantis, and Prison Break (just season one) are some of my favorite shows so it’s a real treat to find these.

I also have 44 of Antony Starr and some pretty sweet ones of Gal Gadot, Christopher Meloni, and Mariska Hargitay, but I remembered those so it’s not an exciting discovery.

After a couple of decades of collecting, you don’t even remember what you have anymore.

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Swamp

Example of artist's worldbuilding in The Elder Scrolls: Online

Worldbuilding by Alexandra Miller

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LOVE, SIMON 2018

You are still you, Simon. You are still the same son who I love to tease and who your father depends on for just about everything. And you're the same brother who always complements his sister on her food, even when it sucks. You get to exhale now, Simon. You get to be more you than you have been in... in a very long time. You deserve everything you want.

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Alexandra Miller : l'artiste sort le clip officiel « Dance With Me »

L’artiste Alexandra Miller vient de sortir ce vendredi 5 mai 2023 le clip officiel « Dance With Me ». C’est le deuxième extrait du premier EP Sweeting Morning attendu également pour cette année. Le site Ma Musique Communautaire vous en dit plus sur cette nouveauté musicale dans l’article suivant. Continue reading Untitled

[theslasherbabe]

𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝘿𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤 𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙚 (2013)

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May - Songbird, 2020