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first the ones I don't got (regular) art of (I have some art of them but it's either gore, body horror, or outdated, and I'll put it under a readmore at the bottom of the post)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

[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.

[neil-gaiman]

Hi Neil. I hope this is ok. I don't mean to be disrespectful to anybody. I was looking at the bus when Crowley and Aziraphale go back to London. It has a sign on the side that I was expecting was an ad for something, but instead it reads: "Private William Watkins 8th Batallion The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment 21st August 1916" I was a little curious and found out he was a real person who died in action at the Battle of the Somme. So I guess my question is whether there is a GO connection somewhere or not at all and maybe it just came with the bus

The sign came with the bus.

[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

[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.

[diabolus1exmachina]

Lola T70 MKIII Coupe  (1 of 9) 

The Lola T70 was produced between 1965 to 1969, conceived by Eric Broadley of Lola Cars and honed by John Surtees with the intention of manufacturing a V-8 race car to attract sales from the United States.This Lola T70 Mk III, Chassis number SL73/111, was supplied to the Swedish driver Yngve Rosqvist on 2 June 1967. Rosqvist would field the T70 in five Swedish races; winning two, finishing second in one, placing third in one, and being disqualified in another. It would claim one last Swedish victory on 4 August 1968, driven by Per Brandström. In 1968, the T70’s first American race was the SCCA National in Kent, Washington, with Ed Leslie behind the wheel. The car would compete in three other SCCA races, failing to finish due to mechanical issues.In 1972 the Lola was sold to Ron Southern and fielded in a three-hour endurance race at Laguna Seca, retiring due to losing the gearbox drain plug. Later that year, Southern raced at a SCCA National Race, taking second place. Barry Blackmore purchased the car in 1985, rebodying it to a Mk IIIB coupe. In 1989, Blackmore sold the car to Monte Shallet. Shallet received an invitation to race at the 1989 GT40 Reunion at Watkins Glen. The car was driven to victory by Monte Shallet and Mark Simpson as number "77" as they competed against ten Ford GT40s. SL73/111 today is presented in red, the colour it sported when first driven by Rosqvist, but has the addition of a central white stripe. The T70 is powered by a Chevrolet small-block V-8 fuelled by four Weber 48 IDAs. It retains the five-speed Hewland L.G. 600 transaxle gearbox. 

[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

[self-made-cages]

Morgan's 2023 Reading List ✨📚 

Jan 2: Truly Madly Guilty - Liane Moriarty (1 star)

Jan 4: True Biz - Sara Nović (4.5 stars)

Jan 15: Spare - Prince Harry (4 stars)

Jan 20: Blood of Olympus - Rick Riordan (re-read) (3 stars)

Jan 23: This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub (3.5 stars)

Jan 25: The Last Thing He Told Me - Laura Dave (3.5 stars)

Feb 2: Beartown - Fredrik Backman (5 stars)

Feb 5: The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes (4 stars)

Feb 6: The Final Gambit - Jennifer Lynn Barnes (3.5 stars)

Feb 19: Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting - Clare Pooley (4 stars)

Feb 19: The Unsinkable Greta James - Jennifer E. Smith (2.5 stars)

Feb 28: Where’d You Go, Bernadette? - Maria Semple (5 stars)

Mar 15: A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas (4 stars)

Mar 20: A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas (5 stars)

Mar 23: A Court of Wings and Ruin - Sarah J. Maas (4 stars)

Mar 25: The Quarantine Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot (2.5 stars)

Mar 26: A Court of Frost and Starlight - Sarah J. Maas (4 stars)

Mar 31: The Mutual Friend - Carter Bays (4 stars)

April 5: From Blood and Ash - Jennifer L. Armentrout (3.5 stars)

April 9: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire - Jennifer L. Armentrout (4.5 stars)

April 15: The Crown of Gilded Bones - Jennifer L. Armentrout (3 stars)

April 19: The War of Two Queens -Jennifer l Armentrout (3 stars)

April 23: The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams (3 stars)

April 30: Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus (5 stars)

May 6: Happy Place - Emily Henry (4.5 stars)

May 10: Everything Beautiful in Its Time - Jenna Bush Hager (not rating)

May 13: Well Met - Jen DeLuca (3 stars)

May 21: The Last Mrs. Parrish - Liv Constantine (2.5 stars)

May 25: The Displacements - Bruce Holsinger (4 stars)

May 27: Rock the Boat - Beck Dorey-Stein (4.5 stars)

May 31: Damn Few - Rorke Denver (not rating)

June 14: A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J. Maas (2 stars)

June 25: Prisoners of Geography - Tim Marshall (not rating)

June 27: A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas (reread)

July 2: Pineapple Street - Jenny Jackson (4 stars)

July 5: Once More With Feeling - Elissa Sussman (2 stars)

July 13: It All Comes Down to This - Therese Anne Fowler (3.5 stars)

July 15: Mad Honey - Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan (4 stars)

July 27: The Secret History - Donna Tart (3 stars)

July 29: The Comeback Summer - Ali Brady (4 stars)

July 30: The It Girl - Ruth Ware (4 stars)

August 5: The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (4 stars)

August 6: Educated - Tara Westover (not rating)

August 9: The First 90 Days - Michael D. Watkins (not rating)

August 11: This is How it Always Is - Laurie Frankel (5 stars)

August 20: Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver (4.5 stars)

August 27: A Soul of Ash and Blood - Jennifer L. Armentrout (1.5 stars)

August 30: The Alice Network - Kate Quinn (3.5 stars)

September 4: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab (4.5 stars)

September 15: This Is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (4 stars)

September 17: Hotel Laguna - Nicola Harrison (2 stars)

September 24: We're All Adults Here - Emma Straub (5 stars)

September 26: A Bend in the Road - Nicholas Sparks (1.5 stars)

October 5: The Celebrants - Steven Rowley (2.5 stars)

October 8: Anxious People - Fredrik Backman (3.5 stars)

October 9: Born a Crime - Trevor Noah (not rating)

October 14: The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer (4 stars)

October 16: Counting the Cost - Jill Duggar (not rating)

October 18: Love and Other Words - Christina Lauren (2.5 stars)

October 22: Rules of Civility - Amor Towles (4 stars)

October 29: Maybe You Should Talk To Someone - Lori Gottlieb (not rating)

October 30: Troublemaker - Leah Remini (not rating)

November 2: Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen (3.5 stars)

November 7: Good Girl Complex - Elle Kennedy (1.5 stars)

November 23: Modern Lovers - Emma Straub (2 stars)

November 25: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros (3.5 stars)

December 3: Daisy Jones and The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid (2.5 stars)

December 6: Know My Name - Chanel Miller (not rating)

December 10: Girl in the Blue Coat - Monica Hesse (2.5 stars)

December 15: The Circus Train - Anita Parikh (2 stars)

December 20: Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow (not rating)

December 22: Today Will Be Different - Maria Semple (4 stars)

December 27: Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros (4.5 stars)

December 29: Vampire Academy - Michelle Mead (1 star)

December 30: Percy Jackson: The Chalice of the Gods - Rick Riordan (5 stars)

[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✌️