#August Watkins

[goldpilot22]

WAIT YOU HAVE LAB KIDS ;__; TELL ME EVERYTHING

OK OK SO. tysm for the ask and sorry for taking so long to answer this oopsies I got distracted badly. (redesigned a few of the labkids and then wanted to redesign the rest of them and then forgor) also this is gonna be a bit messy on account of it is 2 am woopsies. and also uhhh warning for lotsa body horror type stuff and fucked up science things and also most of it is kind of a metaphor for how the education system fails some kids?

ok so. the Hopkins Demonology Lab is trying to create artificial demons. for... reasons. what demons are, though, is pretty fuckin' weird - they're basically like. things that look like some kind of animal or other on the outside just with red eyes, but have the ability to 'evert' or turn themselves inside out and basically go bodyhorror gore monster mode. this is generally a big risk to the whole "bodily integrity and not dying" thing, so demons are generally regarded as pests because they tend to cause problems and then die about it. the bigger ones can cause more problems and are worse at dying, but in general they're just an inconvenience. the lab is trying to change that. specifically, it's trying to create human demons. although, creating them isn't the hard part- creating ones that don't die is the hard part. because the lab demonkids are humans, they're better at putting their bodies back together, but because they're artificially created, things have a tendency to go wrong anyway...

ok and here are some of the characters:

first the ones I don't got (regular) art of (I have some art of them but it's either gore, body horror, or outdated, and I'll put it under a readmore at the bottom of the post)

Oliver Izolde: formerly a regular human, who volunteered to get experimented on for... some reason. probably so he could pay his rent. he's one of the most successful experiments there. and also a huge bully to a lot of the less successful ones, especially Emery.

August Watkins: another one in Oliver's group. possibly an orphan who joined the experiments because it was better than his current life. they regret this very much now! this is because he learned something that Dr. Hopkins didn't want anyone finding out, and she made sure they're incapable of telling anyone. and then decided to do more experiments on them since it was too much of a risk to keep letting them leave the facility. he's basically incapable of using his demon powers because he is very squeamish and faints instantly on the sight of his own internals.

Miles Landon: not an experiment, she's a lab assistant... but they relate more to the experiments than to their bosses. on account of their bosses are, not the nicest exactly.

ok and now ones I do have art of!

Nashville Hopkins: no one's entirely sure what this guy's deal is. he's in his own experimental group separate from both the former-regular-human ones and the fully artificial ones. some of the other experiments (and Miles) wonder if Nash might be Dr. Hopkins' son, but she maintains plausible deniability about that since he doesn't look like her aside from their hair color, and he needed a last name in order to have an official identity and stuff. and that's because he's actually allowed to be out and about, since his powers are fully under control. (that's because he wears a sort of power restricting collar. he'd sort of explode without it so he don't mind.) he often runs errands for the lab, does Dr. Hopkins' grocery shopping, etc.

Enzo: one of the artificial demon kids. he's like 8 when stuff starts going wrong... he starts struggling to complete his exercises, moving less, etc. the 'doctors' at the lab (they do not have medical degrees) brush this off as him just being lazy, but actually his body is destabilizing. while that's all going down, he's besties with Elodie so they get put in the same containment area together.

Elodie: another artificial demonkid, also about 8. like Enzo, she's starting to destabilize. she's also one of the more relatively successful experiments, and gets pushed to try to strengthen her powers more. this is painful for her and she's stressed all the time, which gets brushed off as her just being angry/defiant.

Emery: one of the more... sort of successful artificial ones. they're 19 and haven't destabilized yet, but they also can't fully evert, only partially (and they have a tendency to make eyes where they really shouldn't, unintentionally.) they're one of Dr. Hopkins' favorites, but are kind of not a fan of this because she thinks they're just too stupid to distrust her like most of the others do. (they're autistic and she's terrible.) they help with the younger experiment kids, basically helping them do their exercises, making sure they eat, helping Miles secretly teach them how to read, etc. they're also 6'4 and built like a brick shithouse so the Doc likes to have them around to... help intimidate auditors or whoever else comes around to pry into her business. not that she needs the help!

after Enzo and Elodie both completely destabilize on the same day, causing serious damage to the facility, Emery loses the last remnants of their trust in the 'doctors', and pretty soon after that they escape the place with Miles' help. (Miles also lies to their bosses and says she don't know what happened.)

they're the true protagonist of RETW! they're a member of Gavin's party, and like him they're a "hero" which means basically wandering do-gooder... they help people out, fix things, etc. in comparison to Gavin who's uh. a demonslayer. things don't go too great there but not in the way you'd think. here's them post-escape. they got a sword almost the size of their self

oh and then some time later this kid joins the party... they're like 10 ish, they have Problems, Emery recognizes them, and they keep changing what they say their name is... sometimes Elodie and sometimes Enzo.

ok and now here's the more gorey arts! warning for body horror of various sorts, eye horror?, mouth gore, and a little bit of boob

August and Dr. Hopkins

Emery (cursed pre untwinkification design) and Oliver

Emery (cursed twink version again) and Dr. Harwell (I didn't mention her in this post oopsies. she's Dr. Hopkins' subordinate, and seemingly meaner than her boss but the bar is a lot higher than she realizes. they sorta have a good cop bad cop dynamic sometimes. also doc harwell has a crush on doc hopkins because I love evil woman yuri. and divorce. doc hopkins is extremely divorced. the divorce is plot relevant. im going on a tangent)

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Evolution of a Legend: The Ford GT40's Origins in the Mustang-I

Before partnering with Lola on the GT Mk6 in August 1963, Ford's vision for the GT40 was heavily influenced by the sleek design of the Mustang-I. The prototype Ford GT's exterior was essentially based on the Mustang-I, showcasing a striking resemblance between the two. Notice the date on the picture.

As the project progressed, Ford opted to merge the best of both worlds. They took the redesigned Lola GT Mk6 chassis and wrapped the Mustang-I-inspired body around it, ultimately giving birth to the iconic Ford GT40. This fusion of design and engineering expertise would go on to create a racing legend.

TIMELINE:

October 7, 1962 - Mustang at Watkins Glen

October 20, 1962 - Mustang at Laguna Seca

October 26, 1962 - Lola Mk6 showed up incomplete at the London Car Show

January 1963 - Lola Mk6 first shown at UK Olympia Racing Car Show. Showed up three days late and incomplete

Feb 1963 - Enzo Ferrari sends Ford an offer

May 11, 1963 - The silver Mk6 was the first MK6 GT to be raced, entering two races in May of 1963

May 22, 1963 - Ferrari backed out of deal w/Ford

June 1963 - High Performance and Special Models Operation Unit was formed and a basic design was made

June 12, 1963 - GT Program book, circulated internally on June 12th, just 21 days after Ferrari ended deal

June 19, 1963 - the first GT40 clay model is photographed

July 1963 - Advanced Concept Department- Special Vehicle Activity (SVA) was formed

July 1963 - initially models were wind tunnel tested

July 4, 1963 - HFII was planning to be in Maranello signing a $10 million contract with Enzo Ferrari that would give Ford Motor Co. half the Italian sports car manufacturer

July 12, 1963 - full size clay model is pictured next to Corvette and Jaguar

July 17, 1963 - The decision to go with a european firm was approved

July 1963 - a selection of vendors was made by the end of July

August 1963 - a workshop was established in Broadley’s garage in Bromley, south of London

August 1963 - two Lola Mk6 were tested by Ford till early November

September 1963 - FAV opens in Slough, England

September 1963 - the center of activity was therefo removed from Dearborn to England, together with a nucleus of Ford engineers, car layouts, power pack components and full-size models.

October 4, 1963 - a Ford GT clay model is photographed outside at Ford's Design Studio in Dearborn

Oct 1963 - Design engineers were sent to England in mid October

October 23, 1963 - a Ford GT body is photographed outside with a Ford stripe on the rocker

Nov 1963 - The final shape models were sent to England in early November

Nov 1963 - Component testing was completed by the end of November

March 16, 1964 - first gt40 delivered

April 1st, 1964 the first prototype Ford GT was completed and photographed. The first 12 "prototype" vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 to GT-112. Production GT40s Mk I and Mk II began with GT40P/1000.

April 15 , 1964 - GT40 time trials in Le Mans in mid-April,

After disappointing race results, the engineering team was moved in 1964 to Dearborn, Michigan, USA, to design and build cars by its advanced developer, Kar Kraft.

[demifiendrsa]

Batman: Caped Crusader - Official Trailer 

Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on August 1, 2024.

Poster

Cast

Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne / Batman

Diedrich Bader as Harvey Dent / Two-Face

Michelle C. Bonilla

Krystal Joy Brown

Jamie Chung as Harley Quinn

John DiMaggio

Dan Donohue

Minnie Driver

Mckenna Grace

Tom Kenny

Christina Ricci as Catwoman

Reid Scott

Toby Stephens

Eric Morgan Stuart

Jason Watkins

Gary Anthony Williams

Paul Scheer

David Krumholtz

Haley Joel Osment

Synopsis

Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the BATMAN. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.

[coimbrabertone]

The Story of Penske Cars: the Last American Team to Win in Formula One.

A bit of a pop-up blogpost but I'm going down a bit of a rabbit hole researching Penske Cars, and it's not particularly productive towards anything I'm currently writing, so I might as well turn it into a blogpost. So, here is the story of Penske Cars, the British arm of Team Penske.

Our story begins with Englishman Len Terry, a car designer who had brief stints with Aston Martin, ERA, Hart, Lotus, and Gilby from the late 50s to the early 60s before being rehired by Lotus to work on their Indianapolis 500 efforts.

Terry designed the Lotus 29, which finished 2nd and 7th at Indy in 1963 in the hands of Jim Clark and Dan Gurney. The Lotus 29 would race again at the August race in Milwaukee, and this time they finished 1st and 3rd, respectively.

The 1964 Lotus 34 would suffer a tyre failure 47 laps into the Indy 500, putting Clark out of the race. The team would soon pull Gurney from the race as well on safety grounds, only managing 24th and 17th, respectively.

Parnelli Jones would later win at Milwaukee and Trenton in the 34.

Len Terry would then design the Lotus 38 with which Jim Clark would win the 1965 Indianapolis 500 - with a Wood Brothers pit crew doing two fuel stops, leading to Wood Brothers running a Jim Clark throwback at Darlington later this year - however, he'd leave Lotus before the car ever ran.

That's because Terry joined Dan Gurney's Anglo-American Racers, to design the Eagle Mk.1.

In the hands of Dan Gurney and paired with a 3.0L Weslake V12 engine, this car would win the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix.

Terry would go from one V12 powered F1 car to another, as his next project was the BRM P126, which would get a best result of 2nd courtesy of Richard Atwood at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix.

Terry would freelance on a few sports car and saloon car projects, however, he would then embark on making his own F5000 cars, the Ledas.

The first Leda, the LT20, was driven by Mac Daghorn in 1970 and entered by a Porsche dealership called Malaya Garage. It operated out of a shop in Poole, England.

The LT25 followed in 1971, then in 1972, New Zealander Graham McRae took over driving duties with the LT27. Over the course of the year, McRae would take more and more control over the project, first renaming his car the GM1, then buying out Malaya Garage, and by July 1st, Len Terry was out as well.

The operation became McRae Cars Ltd., racing out of a shop on Balena Close in the Poole suburb of Creekmoor.

They would contest the Rothmans European F5000 Championship.

This operation would race through 1972 and 1973, with McRae winning twice at Brands Hatch, once at Silverstone, once at Nivelles, and once at Oulton Park to finish third in 1972, before dropping to just one win in 1973 at Mallory Park, all the way down in 14th in the standings.

Thus, in January 1974, Graham McRae would sell his race shop to Roger Penske, who would establish his F1 base here.

The Penske PC1 would be built over the spring and summer of 1974 before making its debut in the North American leg at the end of the season, racing in the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport and then the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in the hands of Penske stalwart Mark Donohue.

The PC1 was due to be the team's full-time car for 1975, however, after only scoring two points - both in Sweden - the PC1 was withdrawn, and a March 751 customer car was run in the interim while its replacement was being developed.

Donohue immediately matched the PC1's 5rh place finish at Sweden by finishing 5th in the British Grand Prix, but two races later at the fearsome Osterreichring, Donohue would have his fatal accident.

Donohue's March blew a tyre and went out of control into turn one, the Hella-Licht Kurve - hitting the barrier hard and hitting his head on a post, either for the safety fence or for a sponsorship billboard. A track marshal was killed, while Donohue initially appeared to be fine, however, he'd go to the hospital in Graz the next day due to a splitting headache.

At the hospital, they realized Donohue had a brain hemorrhage from the accident.

He would die on August 19th, 1975.

Penske would return to F1 at the United States Grand Prix at season end, with John Watson intending to debut the PC3, only to have to fall back on the PC1 due to some teething issues. He would not score any points, but ninth was still considered a respectable enough result for Watson to land the job for 1976.

The PC3 would begin the 1976 season, running the first six races and scoring a fifth at South Africa, before being replaced by the PC4.

The PC4 was an instant improvement, with Watson scoring back-to-back podiums in France and Britain before winning the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, triumphing at the very same track that Penske had faced such a tragedy at the year prior.

Penske would finish the season 5th with 20 points, however, they would also pull out of Formula One at the end of the season to focus on Indycar.

It was not, however, the end of Penske Cars.

First was that customer teams kept running Penske chassis, first with ATS and Interscope taking over the PC4 for the 1977 season, then with Rebaque.

Yes, Mexican F1 driver Hector Rebaque spent a few years driving for Hesketh and then in privateer Lotus entries, however, for the end of the 1979 season, Rebaque commissioned Penske to build him a car, the HR100, which attempted to run the final three races of the season, without much success.

Next is that when Penske concentrated on Indycar, he also had Penske Cars use all that F1 experience and English racing expertise to build him his own Indycar chassis, the PC5.

The PC5 would make its debut late in the 1977 season, with Tom Sneva running it on the big ovals like Michigan, Texas World Speedway, and Ontario, as well as the season finale at Phoenix.

The PC5 would give Sneva a pole and a fourth place at Michigan, a fifth at TWS, and a third in Ontario, contributing to his 1977 championship.

Mario Andretti would also run the PC5 in Michigan during his partial season campaign.

The PC6 would replace it for 1978, with Sneva in one car while Mario and Rick Mears split the other. Andretti would win at Trenton, Rick Mears would make the most of this part-time opportunity by winning at Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Brands Hatch, while Tom Sneva would, rather impressively, win the USAC championship without winning a single race.

Consistency pays off, huh?

Rick Mears and Bobby Unser would take over duties in 1979 as Mario reduced his Indycar commitments to try and help Lotus regain ground in F1, and this was a dominant lineup. Rick Mears would win his first of four Indy 500s and a championship, while Bobby Unser won an impressive six wins.

Penske would slip a little in 1980, but they'd rebound with Mears winning back-to-back championships in 1981 and 1982, whilst in 1983, that honor went to Bobby's younger brother Al.

No championships in 1984, but Rick would win his second Indy 500, however...this win did not come with a Penske chassis.

The Penske PC-12 struggled in Long Beach and Phoenix, with both cars retiring in both races, thus...Penske switched to a set of Adrian Newey-designed March 84Cs for Indianapolis, and that was rewarded with a win for Mears, but it was the first of a number of stumbles for the Penske chassis program.

Penske used a March 85C for all of 1985, and with Rick Mears still recovering from breaking his legs at Sanair at the end of 1984, Danny Sullivan was brought into the team. Danny would spin and win at Indianapolis, whilst Al Unser pipped his own son to the championship by a single point.

Penske Cars would attempt to return in 1986, buoyed by Roger's investment into Ilmor Engineering to produce a Chevrolet-badged engine to go with the car, however, both of Penske's wins that season - Meadowlands and Cleveland - came courtesy of Danny Sullivan in a March-Cosworth.

The Penske PC-16 was used much more seriously in 1987, however, their biggest success that year was winning Indianapolis, and Al Unser did that with a year-old March 86C and the Cosworth engine to match.

The Chevrolet did get its first win in 1987, courtesy of Rick Mears at Pocono, but even that was in the back of a March.

At this point, however, Penske Cars was serious about returning to the forefront, therefore, they moved into an expanded facility on Factory Road, now closer to Upton than Poole. Here, Penske Cars would crank out some legendary cars like the PC-17 that swept the front row at Indianapolis, the PC-23 with its "Beast" engine, and Penske's final car, the 1999 PC-27B.

1988 through 1994 probably marks the golden age of the Penske Cars program, however, because a Penske chassis and a Chevrolet-Ilmor engine was the way to go for those years.

'88? Rick Mears wins the 500 and Danny Sullivan wins the title.

'89? Emerson Fittipaldi wins the 500 and the title in a Patrick Racing customer Penske-Chevrolet while Rick Mears comes second.

'90? Arguably the weakest link, but you still have Emerson Fittipaldi, Danny Sullivan, and Rick Mears now all on the same team, each of them won races, and this began the Marlboro era of Penske Racing.

'91? Rick Mears wins his record-equaling fourth Indy 500.

'92? Emerson wins four races while Mears splits time with a young Canadian hotshot by the name of Paul Tracy.

'93? Mears has retired, but Emerson wins three races including the Indy 500 whilst Tracy wins five races. They finish second and third in the standings to Nigel Mansell.

'94? Chevy is gone, but Al Unser Jr. is in, and Little Al wins eight races on his way to the championship. These races include the Indy 500, where a 3.43L pushrod engine is created to abuse a loophole in the regulations, and with Mercedes-Benz badging it, Penske is fast but unreliable. Still, Al Unser Jr. wins the Indianapolis 500.

For 1995, Mercedes-Benz takes over badging the Ilmor engines full-time, but the Mercedes-Benz era never quite lived up to the same success. Emerson and Little Al were bumped out of the 500. Little Al put on a title challenge as well, but it wasn't enough to stop Jacques Villeneuve.

1996 went winless, 1997 brought three wins in a row for Paul Tracy but still they failed to win the championship. 1998 would go even worse as Tracy left for Team Green and was replaced with Andre Ribeiro.

Then 1999 was a confusing and tragedy filled season as Penske put Al Unser Jr. in for the full season, but his teammate was sporadic at best. Tarso Marques did a few races, Alex Barron did one, whilst Gonzalo Rodriguez did Detroit and then was going to do more races when he died in a crash at Laguna Seca, suffering a basilar skull fracture.

All the while Penske was switching between its PC-27B and a Lola 99/00.

As if losing Rodriguez wasn't bad enough, Penske signed Greg Moore for 2000, only for the Canadian to spin out at the final race in Fontana, bounce across the grass, bounced over an across road which sent the car flying at an angle, and then it hit a concrete wall at that angle. This ripped the car in half, and the cockpit half bounced across the grass some more before coming to a rest upside down. He was pronounced dead at 1:20pm.

For 2000, Penske would run Brazilians GIl de Ferran and Helio Castroneves, both of them in Reynard 2Kis. Penske Cars continued, however, as these Reynards used many bespoke cars, leading to them earning the nickname "Renske."

Penske Cars would continue into the IRL era, seeing Helio and Gil pick up Indy 500 wins of their own, however, in 2006, Penske Cars was shutdown.

This was the same year that Penske left its longtime Indycar base in Reading, Pennsylvania to consolidate its operations in Mooresville, North Carolina, where its NASCAR team had already been based. This process was only exacerbated due to massive floods in Pennsylvania during the summer of 2006.

Thus, from 1974 to 2006, this has been the entire history of Penske Cars.

This blogpost turned out a little longer than expected, so how about we just pretend that this was posted on Monday and was the main blog for this coming week, huh?

[batmannotes]

Poster & 1st Trailer For Batman: Caped Crusader

Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the BATMAN. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.

Starring Hamish Linklater as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and featuring a star-studded ensemble cast including: Christina Ricci, Jamie Chung, Diedrich Bader, Minnie Driver, Mckenna Grace, Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, Tom Kenny, Jason Watkins, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment and Toby Stephens. From the minds of executive producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm, season one of Batman: Caped Crusader arrives August 1 on Amazon Prime Video.

Premieres August 1 on Amazon Prime Video

[frederikvesti]

Katherine Legge’s NASCAR schedule:

• April 19th: Rockingham, Xfinity

• April 26th: Talladega, Xfinity

• May 3: Texas, Xfinity

• May 24th: Charlotte, Xfinity

• May 31st: Nashville, Xfinity

• June 15th: Mexico City, Cup

• June 27th: Atlanta, Xfinity

• July 6th: Chicago, Cup

• July 13th: Sonoma, Cup

• July 26th: IMS, Xfinity

• August 10th: Watkins Glen, Cup

• August 17th: Richmond, Cup

(source: NBC Sports)

[doamarierose-honoka]

Batman is back with a vengeance. Three years after HBO Max and Cartoon Network first announced Batman: Caped Crusader — the adult-oriented animated series that was eventually canceled by the since-renamed Max streaming service, only to then be picked up at Prime Video — the new Batman TV show is about to hit the small screen. Set in 1940s Gotham City, Caped Crusader is described as "a reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens" of executive producers Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond), Matt Reeves (The Batman and The Penguin), and J.J. Abrams (Alias and Lost).

"We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City," Timm, Reeves, and Abrams said when announcing the series in 2021. "The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman's noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world."

Below, ComicBook is shining the Bat-Signal on everything we know so far about Batman: Caped Crusader, including the voice cast, release date, and the rogues who will populate the first solo Batman animated series in more than a decade.

Where Can I Watch Batman: Caped Crusader?

To watch Batman: Caped Crusader on Amazon's Prime Video, you'll need either a Prime Video subscription ($8.99 per month with ads, or $11.98/mo for ad-free) or an Amazon Prime membership ($14.99 per month with Prime Video ads, or $17.98/mo with ad-free Prime Video).

Batman: Caped Crusader Release Date

All episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere Thursday, August 1st, on Amazon Prime Video.

How Many Episodes Is Batman: Caped Crusader?

Batman: Caped Crusader season 1 consists of 10 episodes. In 2023, Prime Video announced a two-season order for the new series.

What Is Batman: Caped Crusader About?

The official description: "Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human — the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications."

Who Voices Batman in the Batman: Caped Crusader Cast?

The Batman: Caped Crusader voice cast includes Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) in the title role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets) as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Jamie Chung (Gotham) as Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel, and Diedrich Bader — a DC veteran whose credits include episodes of Batman Beyond, 2006's The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and the Max adult animated series Harley Quinn — as Two-Face/Harvey Dent.

Announced cast members in as-yet-unrevealed roles include Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), Reid Scott (Venom), Dan Donohue (For All Mankind), Gary Anthony Williams (Hailey's on It!), Jason Watkins (The Crown), John DiMaggio (Futurama), Krystal Joy Brown (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), Michelle C. Bonilla (9-1-1: Lone Star), Eric Morgan Stuart (Fallout 4), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), and Minnie Driver (The Witcher: Blood Origin).

Batman: Caped Crusader Villains

A cast announcement video revealed Linklater's Batman voice and the Dark Knight's rogue's gallery: The Penguin, Catwoman, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, the pyromaniac Firebug, Natalia Knight (in the comics, a reformed career criminal with photosensitive skin known as Nocturna, the mistress of the night), the phantom criminal called Gentleman Ghost, and Clayface (the Golden Age Clayface of the 1940s was Basil Karlo, a once-famous character actor and makeup expert turned costumed killer). Caped Crusader reimagines Dr. Harleen Quinzel as Asian American — and Bruce Wayne's psychologist. Here, her alter-ego as the jester-costumed Harley Quinn is independent from the Joker, who is noticeably absent from the roundup of Batman characters.

Batman: Caped Crusader Characters

Batman – A cold, remorseless avenger of evil, seemingly more machine than man. Forged in the fire of tragedy, every fiber of his being is dedicated to the eradication of crime. (The Batman suit is influenced by the character's earliest appearances in Detective Comics, by creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, with longer, narrow ears, a collared cape, and with black gloves rather than the original purple.)

Bruce Wayne - To the public at large, Bruce Wayne is a shallow dilettante, apparently wasting his parents' vast fortune on frivolous pursuits and hedonistic pleasures. In fact, he's an elaborate facade, carefully constructed to divert attention from his activities as Batman.

Selina Kyle / "Catwoman" – Selena Kyle is a blithe and pampered heiress whose family lost their fortune after her father was imprisoned for embezzlement. Despite having the silver spoon yanked from her mouth, Selina refuses to quit living in the lap of luxury and becomes Catwoman as a "fun" way to maintain her lavish lifestyle.

Dr. Harleen Quinzel / "Harley Quinn" – Despite a personable and bubbly demeanor, Dr. Harleen Quinzel is a brilliant psychiatrist who treats some of Gotham's elite. However, as Harley Quinn, she is a different person, entirely. A creepy, quiet, calculating menace who secretly dispenses her twisted justice to the truly despicable among her elite clientele.

Commissioner Jim Gordon – Former beat cop close to retirement, Gordon was hired to play along with the corrupt system and run out the clock till he can draw a pension. But they've sorely underestimated Jim Gordon. His unassailable character brings him into conflict with dirty cops and crooked politicians, alike. Not to mention, he has to reckon with a deranged vigilante beating up Gotham's criminals.

Clayface – Thanks to his "unique" facial features, screen actor Basil Karlo has been forever typecast as a B-movie heavy. Frustrated by the limitations his appearance put on both his career and personal life (he fell hopelessly in love with his co-star), Karlo turned to an experimental serum that promised to change his face. However, not only does this serum ultimately disfigure his face, but it ruptures the last of his sanity – creating the tragic, vengeance seeking villain, Clayface.

Batman: Caped Crusader Creators

Batman: Caped Crusader comes from Warner Bros. Animation (My Adventures with Superman, Bat-Family), Abrams' Bad Robot Productions (Lovecraft Country, the Star Trek films) and Reeves' 6th & Idaho (2022's The Batman, The Batman – Part II). Along with Abrams, Reeves and Timm, Batman: Caped Crusader executive producers include head writer Ed Brubaker (DC's Batman comic, Gotham Central), James Tucker (Justice League Unlimited), Daniel Pipski (The Penguin), Rachel Rusch Rich (Castle Rock), and Sam Register (Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One and Part Two).

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today - January 19 th, 1985 - Queen Story!

Queen in Rio to perform at the 'Rock in Rio Festival', Brazil, Barra da Tijuca, during 'Works!' Tour - August '84/May '85

- Second night in Rio

🔸At 2 am Queen take the stage again at the Rock In 'Rio festival' in front of an estimated crowd of between 250 and 300,000 spectators

🔸300,000 people a night have been listening to 90 hours of music over 10 days at a custom built arena nestling in the mountains at Barra Da Tijuca.

The place is 250,000 square metres in size and about the length of a small airport. It’s not your usual site with tacky old hamburger stands either. There’s a shopping centre with more than 30 shops, a fast food centre including the world’s largest McDonalds, a fully equipped hospital and flush toilets and showers.

You could land a jumbo jet on the stage, which is 21,000 sq feet in size with revolving sections to move equipment around. Twenty tons of lighting equipment with 160,000lbs of sound equipment belting out 500,000 watts of power have been flown in. The arena has its own electric sub station.

Rock in Rio should play to 3,000,000 people beating the Guinness Book of Records champion, Watkins Glenn festival in 1973, which could only manage 600,000.

It all beats confession and a few Hail Marys in church on Sunday, so the local clergy have issued a statement condemning the event, saying it will corrupt the nation’s youth. The Government is backing the Church and the official censor nearly succeeded in banning anyone under 18 going to the concert.

Rock In Rio is costing around 11 million dollars to stage. It’s the brainchild of Brazilian advertising man Roberto Medina and he wants to make it an annual event

➡️ Extract from January 1985

- Record Mirror

Blame it on Rio

by Robin Smith

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Does any sinner know more about Tom Quinn? by u/Nervous-Spinach2046

Does any sinner know more about Tom Quinn? Tom Quinn is the new Scooobie, that much we know. But what makes a 68-year-old published author so desperate for money that he would willingly blow up his reputation and shill for TOW and the ginger whinger? Is he a sugar all along?I’ve never heard of him before. After a bit of googling, and here’s what I’ve found:He’s published six books on the BRF, and one is in the pipeline:Backstairs Billy (2015) – about the Queen Mum’s most trusted pageMrs Keppel (2016) – about King Edward VII’s mistress Alice Keppel, who is also Queen Camilla’s great grandmotherThe Reluctant Billionaire (2018) - about Gerald Grosvenor, Sixth Duke of Westminster (father of the current duke, Hugh)Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle (2020)Scandals of the Royal Palaces: An Intimate Memoir of Royals Behaving Badly (2021)Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family (2023)Upcoming: Yes Ma'am: Upstairs Downstairs in the British Royal Family (August 2024)He is very prolific, and writes a lot about behind-the-scenes of the RF. I must say, if he weren’t such a sugar now, I would very much like to read some of his books, especially 1, 6, 7.From a bio I found on him on publisher Hachette’s website, he has spent 20 years talking to people in domestic service to learn about their lives. He’s also written a few bios of people who worked as servants. This is very interesting to me.Before he started writing about the RF, he’s written about a wide range of topics:fishing, eccentrics, long walks, railways, early aviation and the First World War, as well as the children’s author and illustrator Denys Watkins-Pitchford (better known as BB).(Source) He was the author of the ��Strangest” series of books, and the editor of two magazines: The Countryman and Country Landowner’s Magazine. He also regularly appeared on British TV to talk about eccentrics, London history, and the RF.He had a blog, which only has three entries, all from 2021. From one of the entries we can see he has at least one son, who was studying to become a lawyer.What gives an inkling of his Markle sympathies is the cover of the Kensington Palace book: the most famous inhabitant of KP in the 20th century was undoubtedly Diana, Princess of Wales; the most famous in the century before that, was Queen Victoria before she came to the throne. Her mother has even named the set of rules governing Victoria’s upbringing The Kensington System. For the 21st century, I would say it would be William and Catherine, the current PPOW. But Quinn had this on the cover of his KP book:https://ift.tt/Slhq8y1 lived in Nott Cott in the KP grounds for, what, 5 minutes? Complaining the whole time, about the size, low ceiling, the name etc, of a piece of prime real estate in Central London? For free? (I assume H’s rent was paid by Charles). Not at all representative of such an illustrious palace.And then his last book, Gilded Youth, has this cover:https://ift.tt/VBAfq7J? Why not use either of these?Getty ImagesGetty ImagesI think it must be his solid background that made him a prime choice for the new UK PR “guru” to hire as the new Scooobie. Seemed less biased. But the shilling is so transparent. It’s rather sad to see him become a mouthpiece for the Harkles, although the bias was already there.Does anyone know more about him? post link: https://ift.tt/ZEbRmid author: Nervous-Spinach2046 submitted: May 30, 2024 at 12:38PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[lboogie1906]

Sergeant First Class Perry James Henry Watkins (August 20, 1948 - March 13, 1996) was the only openly gay person discharged from the Army with full honors after serving almost two decades. He had to fight for this distinction, suing the Army after being forced out because of his sexual orientation. The case went to the SCOTUS.

He was born in Joplin, Missouri, the son of Ola Watkins, a nurse. He moved with his family as a teenager and attended Tacoma Lincoln High School, where he was open about being gay. He studied dance and won speech tournaments. In August 1967, he was living in Germany where his stepfather was serving in the military when he was drafted and at his initial examination told an Army psychiatrist he was gay. During his induction examination in May 1968, he stated that he was homosexual when asked, but the doctor still categorized him as “qualified for military service”. He did not take any legal action or protest being drafted.

During the Vietnam War, he received his draft summons. He marked “yes” on his inductee questionnaire when asked about “homosexual tendencies.” The Army responded by sending him to a psychiatrist who interrogated him about his sexuality but asked if he had a problem serving his country. He answered, “No problem.” His military career as an openly gay man began in May 1968. He tried to leave the military due to his sexual orientation after hearing that the Army dismissed several white gay peers for that reason. The military denied his’ requests. He surmised that the primary reason for this differential treatment was his race.

That the Army had earlier accepted his sexual orientation early in his career and removed him for it, became the center of his nine-year legal challenge, which was decided in 1990 by the SCOTUS. The Court rejected the Army’s argument and ordered him to be reinstated with back pay, retirement benefits, and retroactive promotion to Sergeant First Class. He was honorably discharged in 1990. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[captain-price-unofficially]

WWII. Siege of Tobruk, Libya. c August 1941. Privates William Goodgame, Gordon Watkins and Charles Stening (front to rear), from the 2/10th Battalion, 7th Division (Australia), in the salient. Goodgame and Watkins were both killed at Buna, Papua New Guinea, on Christmas Eve 1942.

[erasure-picnic]

You may have thought the PSB vs. Erasure series was over - but there’s more! I collected some tidbits that either couldn’t fit in the original series, or that I’d found after the last post. So here’s part 5!

After Erasure released their debut album, Clarke was asked in an interview if he thought the radio wouldn't play Erasure because their genre (synthpop) wasn't in fashion anymore. He disagreed, citing PSB as an example of a synthpop band who were doing well. Source: Melody Maker, May 31, 1986.

In August 1991, PSB did a stint as radio DJs on BBC Radio One, playing a surprisingly wide variety of artists. There were only two artists they wouldn’t play: Deacon Blue…and Erasure. (However, one of the songs they played–a 20-minute megamix by 808 State–sampled “Just Can’t Get Enough”, a song written by Vince Clarke!) Source: Literally, Nov. 1991.

Speaking to Outrage in 1992, Bell called PSB “snooty” and said they censored their interviews in the UK. Source: Outrage [Australia], Jan. 1992.

In 1994, Neil Tennant claimed that PSB weren't a 'perv' pop duo– “that’s more like Erasure.” (A decade earlier, in his career at Smash Hits, Tennant had coined the term ‘pervy synth duo’ to refer to Eurythmics.) Source: Vox, Jan. 1, 1994.

Bell described PSB as "swishy and camp" in a 1995 interview. Source: ICON, Dec. 1995.

In 2000, the unofficial Erasure site erasure.org reported that the “official” Erasure website, erasure.co.uk, was redirecting to the PSB website. However, it wasn’t the official site. The domain owner for erasure.co.uk had failed to sell the domain to the Erasure Information Service (EIS) for £10,000. After being rejected, he stole the designs and content from the EIS and reproduced them on his own site. When the EIS asked him to properly source his content, he decided to redirect his page to PSB’s site instead.

Ian “H” Watkins from the band Steps once told Neil Tennant that his brother had seen one of their gigs in Wales. Eventually, he realized it was Erasure. Tennant was “not impressed”. Source: NME, Nov. 2020.

In 2019, Bell went back on his word–he told journalist Steve Pafford that Erasure and PSB WERE rivals! Source: Stevepafford.com, Jun. 5, 2020.

[scotianostra]

On December 4th 1937 cartoon character Desperate Dan first appeared in the Dandy comic. on it's launch day.

The face of Desperate Dan was sketched out as Dudley Watkins sat at his desk in Dundee, combining inspiration from the Wild West and English polismen.

The artist originally saw his cartoon character as an outlaw and gave him a stubbly lantern-jaw, the strength to lift a cow with one hand, and an appetite for cow pie, complete with horns. But as the anti-hero of the Dandy caught the imagination of thousands of young readers, Watkins evolved his persona into a champion of the underdog.

Dan made his appearance in the first issue of the Dandy on December 4th 1937. He survived until the comic closed in 2012, reappearing in a short-lived app.

He was just one of many comic book characters which Watkins created for Thomson’s Dundee publishing house. The success was huge, and Oor Wullie and The Broons, written in broad Scots, soon followed and became an essential part of school bairn’s lives.

A devout Christian, Watkins lived in a substantial house in a village near Dundee. It was his ambition to adapt the whole Bible into illustrated format, but that dream was never realised.

On the morning of August 20th, 1969, his wife found him at his desk, a half-finished Desperate Dan strip on his desk. He had died of a heart attack. His strips Oor Wullie, The Broons, Desperate Dan and Lord Snooty continue to be popular to this day.

In a 2006 BBC documentary marking 70 years of Oor Wullie, it was claimed that, due to his frequent mocking of Axis leaders in his comics before and during World War II, Watkins’ name was on a list of enemies of the Third Reich.

The final printed edition of The Dandy was issued on 4 December 2012, the comic’s 75th anniversary, after sales slumped to 8,000 a week. On the same day, The Dandy relaunched as an online comic, The Digital Dandy, appearing on the Dandy website and in the Dandy App. The digital relaunch was not successful and the comic ended just six months later.

[carnutzphoto]

1948 Tasco - Prototype

Taken at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum - August 2023

A group of investors wanted to build a suitable American sports car for a European type racing event to be held at Watkins Glen, New York. Gordon Buehrig was part of the group of investors, and he also performed the design work. He oversaw the production of this single prototype vehicle. The aluminum body was built by the Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pennsylvania. It was the first car in the world with a T-top roof, an idea that Gordon Buehrig patented. He later sued General Motors for infringement when the 1968 Corvette came out with a T-top roof. The front fenders of the Tasco are made of fiberglass and the roof panels are Plexiglas. The name Tasco stands for “The American Sports Car Company”. SPECIFICATIONS Model: Prototype Wheelbase: 110 inches Engine: Mercury V-8 Transmission: Three speed manual Displacement: 239 cubic inches Horsepower: 150

[clubhoops]

Back in August, South Carolina women’s basketball player Ashlyn Watkins faced serious legal trouble when she was arrested on charges of assault, battery, and kidnapping. Reports revealed that Watkins’ trial was scheduled for October, and she was released on a $30,000 personal recognizance bond shortly after her arrest.

Now, there’s a new update. Lulu Kesin from the Greenville News reported on November 5 that the charges against Watkins have been dismissed. Kesin’s report states, “According to the public index, both charges list the deposition as ‘Dismissed Not Indicted’ on Nov. 1 but give no details.”

Since her arrest, Watkins has been suspended from all team activities, and while the Greenville News has reached out to the team for a comment, there’s been no response as of yet. It’s still unclear if or when we’ll see Watkins return to the court for the Gamecocks.

[musingsofmonica]

August 2023 Diverse Reads

August 2023 Diverse Reads

•”Happiness Falls” by Angie Kim, August 29, Hogarth Press, Literary Mystery 

•”Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare” by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, August 29, Bloomsbury Publishing, Short Story Collection — Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology (Hawaiian Identify) 

•”The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride, Riverhead Books, Historical

•”Family Lore” by Elizabeth Acevedo, August 1, Ecco Press, Literary/Magical Realism

“A Council of Dolls” by Mona Susan Power, August 7, Mariner Books, Literary — Coming of Age/Native American & Aboriginal/Magical Realism

•”Tomb Sweeping: Stories” by Alexandra Chang, August 8, Ecco Press, Short Story Collection — Asian American  

•”The End of August” by Yu Miri, Translated by Morgan Giles, August 1, Riverhead Books, Historical/Saga 

•”Holler, Child: Stories” by Latoya Watkins, August 29, Tiny Reparations Books, Short Story Collection — African American  

•”Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Cañas, August 15, Berkley Books, Gothic Thriller/Horror/Suspense 

•”Las Madres” by Esmeralda Santiago, August 1, 

Knopf Publishing Group, Literary

•”Daughters of Latin America: An International Anthology of Writing by Latine Women” by Sandra Guzman, August 15, Amistad Press, Anthology — American: Hispanic & Latino

•”Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls” by Kai Cheng Thom, August 01, Dual Press,  Nonfiction/Poetry/Motivation

•”The Art of Scandal” by Regina Black, August 1, Grand Central Publishing, Romance

•”Her Radiant Curse” by Elizabeth Lim, August 29, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, Fantasy/Fairy Tales/Folklore 

•”The Apology” by Jimin Han, August 1, Little Brown and Company, Family Saga/Magical Realism

•”The Water Outlaws” by S. L. Huang, August 22, Tordotcom, Fantasy

•”The Queen of the Valley” by Lorena Hughes, August 22, Kensington Publishing, Historical

•”I Will Greet the Sun Again” by Khashayar J. Khabushani, August 1, Hogarth Press, Contemporary — Coming of Age/LGBTQ+/Muslim

•”The Peach Seed” by Anita Gail Jones, August 1, Henry Holt & Company, Literary 

•”Lush Lives” by J. Vanessa Lyon, August 1, Roxane Gay Books, Literary

Happy Reading!

Mo✌️