#Beverley Adams

[tudorblogger]

Monthly Reading Summary – September 2024

[noel-fielding-web-page]

[x]

This hat...

I just rewatched the most my favorite episode NMTB! After the Sutin episode (S25E04) I become Noel’s fan! 

What a beautiful concidence! xxx 

[fuckyeah-jessicabiel]

Deep dive #2: Jessica Biel’s relationships timeline and all the interconnections

| Adam LaVorgna | Chris Evans | Justin Timberlake |

Disclaimer: This is done for fun. No hate, no drama, just some Hollyweirdness. It’s not a detailed timeline but more like key moments with some fun or surprising connections and anecdotes (to me at least). It’s just not possible to do one boyfriend timeline without mentionning another one. No famous people won’t be mentionned, neither most tabloids speculations. People already twist things, so it can’t be worse (right?). And please don’t judge my english.

Spring 1997: During the interview with All-Stars Magazine, 15 years old JessicaBiel shared that she only had two "sort of" boyfriends, both of whom were 17.

All-stars: In real life, do you ever date older guys? Jessica: I don’t really date very many people. I’ve had two boyfriends kind of! Both of them have been 17, so they’re usually older.

Spring 1998: 16 years old Jessica Biel is filming her second movie “I’ll be Home for Christmas” with Jonathan Taylor Thomas in Alberta and Vancouver, Canada. She met Adam LaVorgna who play the bad boy Eddie, they start dating while filming the movie. Even thought Adam is not very well known, he has been acting since he is 10. Nsync’s christmas song was used during the end credit of the movie. FYI The movie is available on Disney+.

"I knew when I first met [Jessica] there was something there. We did a movie together called I'll Be Home for Christmas. As soon as I saw her, I thought I'm definitely going to date this girl. There's no way she's getting away from me. It'll be three years in April." - Teen Magazine, March 2001

April 1, 1999: On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jessica said that Adam Lavorgna was her first real boyfriend. She said he is very smart and go to Avon Old Farms high school in Connecticut.

“First guy named Adam, oh oh trouble trouble” - Jay Leno

August 12, 1999: Jessica Biel and Adam Lavorgna did their first red carpet together at Barry Watson’s movie premiere "Teaching Mrs.Tingle". From what I have seen, it was Adam’s first red carpet of his career.

Fall 1999: 7th Heaven producers were looking for an actor to play Jessica’s character Mary Camden boyfriend and asked her if she had any suggestion. She suggested her then boyfriend Adam. His first appearance as Robbie Palmer in 7th Heaven was in season 4, Episode 10 aired on November 29, 1999. When the producers first called his team, they refused it without talking to Adam. He had to call them to tell them to accept it. He didn’t care for the show but just wanted to be with Jessica and make easy money. Adam shared that story on the Worst Ever Podcast in 2019.

January 2000: Lance Bass from Nsync guest-starred in 7th Heaven as Rick Palmer (Adam LaVorgna character’s brother). He appeared in season 4 episode 13 that aired on January 30, 2000.

I have a friend who worked for a publicist for some of the actors on The WB, such as [”7th Heaven” star] Beverley Mitchell and the people from ”Popular.” So I was having dinner with her and Beverley, and Beverley was talking about how she wanted a boyfriend this season, and I said, ”I’ll do it!” and she was like, ”Okay!” Source: Entertainment Weekly, January 2000

So of course while filming that episode Jessica was asked by Enews about Nsync. She said she knew about them but don’t own any of their CDs and they shared their differents experiences.

“Hum but I mean cool, I guess” - Jessica Biel about NSYNC

And also Justin Timberlakeand the Nsync guys watching that 7th Heaven episode during a MTV interview.

March 2000: Jessica did the scandalous Gear Magazine photoshoot. (She quickly regretted doing that photoshoot and shared how horrible the experience was). Adam was not happy about it. There were some tensions between them while she was spending time with the interviewer.

During the time I spent with her, the Boyfriend (whom she asks not to name) is constant presence, though he’s more than 3,000 miles away in Boston. What he thinks  and how he’ll react take up a large portion of Jesse’s thoughts. He’s nervous at her being perceived as sex idol, and having a writer from men’s magazine spend several days with her is not helping. Over the course of those days, the phone keeps ringing - the Boyfriend - and it’s stressing her. [...] Jesse and I are supposed to hook up the first night I'm in L.A., and I wait for the phone to ring at my hotel room. It never does. [...] The next morning, we talk on the phone. It turns out Jesse had a big fight with the Boyfriend on the phone, and, no longer able to deal, she went to her friend's house and spent the night. And her cell batteries died because she'd been talking to him so long, and I'd given her my wrong cell number and…" Really, I wasn't trying to blow you off. Everything went wrong last night. Please don't think that I'm just some Hollywood jerk," she pleads. [...] She fields another call from her beau. It's an agitated conversation, and when she hangs up the air is very still. Jesse has a tendency to become quite serious - she says she thinks way too much and it's suddenly uncomfortable between us. He told her he's unhappy with the situation and doesn't want to talk to her until the writer is gone.The phone rings again. It's the Boyfriend - he's being a jerk, he tells her. Go ahead and have a great interview.Jesse smiles and the tension is gone. "That's so fucking cool of him." Gear Magazine, March 2000

Summer 2000: When it was time for Jessica to leave the show to attend college on the East Coast with Adam (Jessica at Tufts University and Adam at Boston College), the producers of 7th Heaven contacted Adam and offered him a regular role for Season 5. Adam agreed, dropped out of college to be in Los Angeles for filming, while Jessica, who needed a break, still went to college in Massachusetts.

With hindsight, Adam regretted accepting the offer because now he feels like the producers asked him to comeback for season 5 to hit back at Jessica for leaving the show. Jessica was still working on the show during her school break, only appeared in few episodes and her scenes were very brief. Contrary to what was said in the medias, Jessica was never fired from the show. Aaron Spelling made it clear she still had 2 years left in her contract. They destroyed her character thought.

(Read the deep dive about the photoshoot and Jessica Biel leaving the show here)

2000(?): Jessica Biel, Adam LaVorgna, Chris Evans and a group of friends attend a party all together!!

April 2001: Jessica Biel and Adam LaVorgna did a photoshoot together for Movieline Magazine. They denied dating. Adam revealed in the Worst Ever podcast in 2019 that their PR told them to deny they were dating. (off topic: When I was a kid I had the green dress picture as poster from one of my teen mag)

August 12, 2001: Jessica Biel and Adam LaVorgna did their last red carpet together at The Teen Choice Awards. 7th Heaven won best drama award that day. Adam missed the moment they went on stage, and Barry asked where is he?

August 22, 2001: Adam attended Jessica’s movie premiere “Summer Catch” but they didn’t take pictures together.

October 5, 2001: The Enquirer is reporting that Adam LaVorgna went to Promises rehab in Malibu for cocaine and Vicodin addiction.

The Enquirer is reporting that Jessica Biel's boyfriend and 7th Heaven co-star [Adam LaVorgna] checked himself into Promises rehab in Malibu after Jessica and the show's producers both gave the cocaine and Vicodin addict  an ultimatum. An insider told the taboid, "The cocaine and pills drastically  changed his demeanor." After the two talked him into rehab, he appears greatful as the friend added, "Right now he's thanking God for Jessica and the show's  producers. They saved his livelihood - and his life." Source: Jessica Biel Fansite

Adam revealed in the Worst Ever Podcast in 2019, he started drinking at 10/11yo and had Opioid addiction (and then maybe doing heroin, I didn’t understand exactly what he said). He went to rehab multiple times and the first two times were paid by 7th Heaven producer, Aaron Spelling.

In the interviews with Elle Magazine and Cosmopolitan in 2005, Jessica mentioned, without explicitly stating his name, that the relationship was not healthy. Also mentionned in the London (2005) movie behind the scene.

Everybody’s gone throught a relationship that’s not healthy for you. When I was 16, I cried my eyes out to Elvis’ “Cant’ Help Falling in Love” because I felt so in love that my heart was breaking apart.  Elle Magazine, 2005

He was lying to me and accusing me of cheating—but then I realized he was the one cheating. He was putting it on me and making me feel like shit... But then three years later, I was still with him. And then it finally just smacked me in the face and I was like I’m done. I’m over it. Cosmopolitan, 2005

October 10, 2001: Jessica Biel and Chris Evans did their first red carpet appearance at the wrap party of her movie “The Rules of Attraction”. Unless I'm wrong, Chris’ first red carpet of his career were also with Jessica. There is no information about how they met. In the interview with Animal Fair on January 2003, it is mentionned they were friends before dating. In Chris' workout video for Not Another Teen Movie, you can see Jessica in January 2002 commenting on the evolution of his body after filming the movie. They were not dating yet when he did the movie.

Jessica was back full time to L.A after one year at Tufts University. She did another semester later in 2002.

Jessica is still under her 7th Heaven contract and is working daily with Adam LaVorgna on season 6. 7th Heaven showrunner who was still holding grudge against her, made Mary desperate to win Robbie back while he keep rejecting her.

Before writing this post, I didn’t realize that it seems like Jessica and Adam never lived in the same state until they broke up.

Somehow Adam and Chris built a strong friendship for over 20 years. Adam was Chris plus-one at the 2016 Golden Globes. 💁‍♀️

November 11, 2002: The last 7th Heaven episode starring Adam aired, season 7 episode 8. There were no official explanation of why Adam left, neither off screen nor on screen at that time. Adam later revealed in a interview with belief.net that the Hollywood life (easy money, barely working, drugs, partying) is not for him, he is unable to control him and left California for the East Coast. Neither Jessica, nor the cast ever mentionned his addiction.

Jessica’s initial contract being over after season 6, only apperared in 5 out of 22 episodes of season 7. They had only 2 episodes in common.

2002: Jessica and Chris shared the way they feel about their relationship

How is it dealing with a long-distance relationship? Well it’s not easy but I think we both feel really secure in our relationship and we’re making it happen. But it’s always tough. Source: Atnzone, 2002

His favorite way to relax: Hanging out with my girlfriend as much as possible. She's an amazing person. Source: Unknow interview, 2002

January 31, 2003: Jessica Biel attended Justin Timberlake 22nd birthday party with Beverley Mitchell, her future husband Michael and a friend. Justin’s exes Br*tn*y Sp*ars and Alyssa Milano were also there. (Random fact: Adam and Alyssa families are very close, Adam call her “his cousin”)

Beverley Mitchell used to hang out a lot with the Nsync guys in the early 2000s. She participated at many of their Challenge For The Children charity events in Miami from 2000 to 2005. David Gallagher also took part of it. Beverley became pretty close to the guys. Joey Fatone also attended her wedding in Italy in 2008, and she was often seen with Lance Bass. Beverley shared during a recent podcast  with Lance Bass (@ 56min)  that she asked Jessica multiple times to come to thoses events and that she is unlike them actually good at basketball but she always refused.

During a podcast with Tia Mowry, Beverley revealed that Jessica used to tease her for hanging out with Nsync. Tia also shared a story about a Teen People party she was with Jessica where Nsync were performing. Beverley also mentionned that strange moment Justin’s mom asked her about Jessica at the 2007 Golden Globes.

October 2003: Jessica Biel and Chris Evans filmed the movie “Cellular” in Santa Monica, Callifornia. The director of the movie, David R. Ellis, asked Chris to ask Jessica to play the small girlfriend role. He also revealed they had broken up after filming the movie but were back together during the press tour for the movie.

Interviewer: They are still dating? Ellis: They were dating when we made the film and then they took a little break and now they're [back]. She's here. She was just here for lunch with Chris. Now they're back together. They just took a little hiatus.

Interviewer: At the time, was it just a coincidence that she was cast? Ellis: No. What happened was I knew Chris was going out with her, and I said, "Why don't you show this to Jess and see what she thinks. If she'd like to come do it, you guys could do something together, it'd be cute." Unknow interview, 2004

November 2003 to February 2004: Jessica Biel is training and then filming the caothic Blade: Trinity in Vancouver, Canada with Ryan Reynolds and kind of with Wesley Snipes.

From Febuary to June 2004: Jessica Biel is filming Stealth with Jamie Foxx and Josh Lucas in Australia and Thailand.

January 27, 2004: At the Perfect Score movie premiere, Chris Evans confirmed their break up (unknow source)

June 30, 2004: Jessica Biel and Chris Evans confirmed back together. They were pictured together in Santa Monica.

September 2004: During press tour of Cellular, Chris shared that they decided to be more low key and how hurtful it could be to read about heartache in magazines.

Evans says he and Biel, whom he describes as "such a sweet girl," have agreed to keep their dating private. "Relationships are difficult," he says. "All that emotion and pain. I can't imagine opening a magazine and reading about my heartache at the newsstand. I said, 'Let's not be seen at clubs being loud and obnoxious. Let's not go to premieres or parties. Let's not get our picture taken.' She's all for it." New York Daily News

(Jessica is a teen star and yet has never been seen being loud and obnoxious at club in the last 25 years)

January 2005: Even thought Chris Evans said it’s a bad idea to work with your girlfriend, Jessica and Chris worked again together in the movie “London”.

“Just don’t do it” - Chris Evans about on set love after filming Cellular

During the interview with Allure in 2009, she is asked to comment about a picture from "London" with Chris.

JB: "That was the beginning of the sex scene in the movie." ALLURE: "Old boyfriend?" JB: "Yes." [rolls her eyes] "You know how it is...."

July 2005: In the July issue of Cosmopolitan, Jessica Biel denied rumors that she and Chris Evans were engaged but they do talk about it.

Interviewer: Do the two of you ever talk about getting married? JB: We always talk about it. We both want to be married, and we both want to have children. But we’re not engaged, so the rumors are false…so far.

On July 6, Jessica attended Chris’ Fantastic Four movie premiere in NYC

March 2006: Jessica Biel and Chris Evans are pictured together for the last time as a couple while walking Jessica’s newley adopted pitbull Tina.

June 30 2006: Wenn.com reports that Jessica Biel and Chris Evans broke up.

Jessica Biel and Chris Evans have called it quits after dating for more than two years, according to media reports in the US... Evans, who starred in Fantastic Four, is currently filming The Nanny Diaries with Scarlett Johansson. A source tells the US edition of OK! magazine that Evans has recently been spotted out in New York City with brunette public relations executive. Meanwhile 24-year-old Biel has been in Los Angeles filming Next with Nicolas Cage.            

October 2006 : Life & Style Weekly reports that Jessica is seeing Adam Levine. They have never been seen together or ever talked about each other. Zero detail about how or where they met. Sound 100% bullshit.

November 6, 2006: TMZ spotted Jessica walking her dog with Zach Braff. Yep that was before she eat him (it’s a Bojack Horseman reference). They never talked about each other and have never been spotted together after that.

November 28, 2006: People reports that Jessica and Derek Jeter are cozying up all over Las Vegas. They also have been spotted together at Social Hollywood on Nov. 15.

December 7, 2006: According US weekly and In Touch, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake were at Social Hollywood. It is kind of confirmed by Justin on his book.

When I met Jess, it was undeniable how beautiful she is. We were at a surprise party in Hollywood at a speakeasy kind of a bar, a private club, and we were standing around in a group of people. I made some sort of sarcastic comment, really dry. Nobody got it except her. She laughed, and I noticed, all of a sudden, and in the way where you wonder if a person’s like you, if they have a very dry, dark sense of humor, too. We talked that night. The DJ played “Lucky Star,” and we danced. And then she was gone. I didn’t ask for her number. It wasn’t the time. From Justin Timberlake book, Hindsight

End of December 2006/Begining of January 2007: Scarlett Johansson is filming the music video What Goes Around with Justin Timberlake.

From January 1 to January 5, 2007: Jessica is pictured with Derek Jeter in Puerto Rico for the first and the last time. They have not been spotted together after that.

January 5, 2007: Gossip site reports that Scarlett Johansson and Justin Timberlake were seen chatting away at his movie "Alpha Dog" party.

January 8, 2007: Perez Hilton reports on his blog that Jessica Biel was at Justin Timberlake first show of his Futusex/Lovesound tour. Confirmed again on his book released in 2018.

My first show for the FutureSex/LoveSounds tour was in San Diego. A friend who also knew Jess was going to come to the show, and she asked me, “What if I was to bring a certain somebody?” I said, “I could be into that.” Patience may not be my strong suit but, apparently, playing coy is. My friend brought her to the show. They were with a whole crew of girls, and they all came into the dressing room and hung out. After the show, they were going to go back to LA, and I was going on to Anaheim. I asked them if they wanted to come with me. “I’ll give you a ride, you can come on my bus. If you want …” And they did. Jess and I talked the whole way up, joking around. Before she got off the tour bus, I said, “Can I have your number?” That was when we started talking on the phone. We didn’t date at first. For about two weeks, we talked on the phone, because I was on tour.

Then the Golden Globes came up, and that’s when we planned on seeing each other. From that moment on, we started dating. We were both still seeing other people, keeping « ourselves safe from getting hurt, from really putting ourselves out there. It took a bit for both of us to admit to ourselves that we were really, really that into each other.

From Justin Timberlake book, Hindsight

January 11, 2007: Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz confirmed tabloids speculations and released a break up statement via People. There were already rumors of Justin and Cameron break up. Pagesix reported that Justin spent the new year at Kate Hudson party and Cameron with her family in Vail, Colorado.

January 15, 2007: Golden Globes Night! Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, both presenters that night, see each other for the first time since his San Diego show as planned and got flirty. They were just not expecting 35yo Cameron Diaz public tantrum!

Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz, who announced last week that they’d split up, got into a heated argument at Prince’s Golden Globes afterparty early Tuesday morning. The exes, who’d chatted politely during the awards ceremony and even shared laughs at InStyle’s annual afterparty, hit the rough patch in their officially amicable breakup at a wee-hours bash hosted by the singer at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. According to witnesses, Timberlake was chatting with actress Jessica Biel when Diaz approached. Biel stepped away, and the former couple had a serious exchange. Diaz walked away, Timberlake followed, and the two were soon spotted engaged in an intense 40-minute face-off in a side room. Diaz reemerged looking composed, but not before Timberlake held his head in his hands and, says a witness, “slammed his fist (down) into a cabinet.” Source: People.com

The pair was continuing the touchy-feely flirtation begun earlier that night at the Creative Artists Agency-sponsored bash at Sunset Towers. And his ex-girlfriend Cameron Diaz couldn’t help but stare. “Cameron was across the room giving them the evil eye,” says a party source. “It was like high school.”  “All of a sudden she just lost it,” says one of the many witnesses to the tantrum of Diaz. “She came up and started yelling at Jessica.” According to a witness, Biel, 24, stepped away, leaving Diaz, 34, to unleash her fury on Timberlake, 25, who moved with her into a hallway. Says a guest, “First she started saying all these nasty things to him about Jessica like, ‘What is she? Your new f—king girlfriend? Look at her!’ And then she insinuated things about other guys that Jessica has been with.” The tirade went on for 45 minutes, until Barrymore finally intervened. Source: US weekly

No pictures of them together were published at that time. Years later, this picture will be shared

January 18, 2007: TMZ reports that Cameron Diaz is in Hawai with Kelly Slater. US Weekly mentionned that she flew there the next day of Golden Globes.

January 25, 2007: Jessica is spotted at the Sundance Film Festival.

People.comJustin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have been spotted chilling, flirting and snowboarding lately – but don’t peg them as a new couple just yet, sources say in the new issue of PEOPLE. Earlier this month, Timberlake invited Biel and a few friends to hang backstage at his concert in San Diego, and the pair were spotted snowboarding together with a group of buddies at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 25. - People.com

Still no pictures of them together.

February 2, 2007: Ryan Reynolds and Alanis Morissette reps confirmed they ended their engagement to People.com

February 5, 2007: During the superbowl week, People.com reports that Justin, Scarlett and Joey Fatone arrived together at a party in Miami. They didn’t appear romantic according the source.

February 11, 2007: Justin attended the Grammy Awards as a performer and Scarlett as a presenter. On the red carpet, she adressed the rumors “We have a lot of friends in common, and it’s always good to see him”. Source: People

February 26, 2007: After GQ magazine Oscar party, Jessica Biel and Blade Trinity co-star Ryan Reynolds have a dinner with a group of people at Astro Burger in West Hollywood, including their PR, Meredith.

March 5, 2007: During the fashion week, Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson are seen shopping together in Paris, France. Jessica and Scarlett have known each other since they are teens. They did a photoshoot together for Teen People Magazine in 1998.

Jessica and Scarlett have always been friendly with each other over the years (Hitchcock movie premiere 2012, Oscars 2017 with JT)

March 9, 2007:  MTV reports that Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds were seen having a dinner at Santa Monica’s Balabu that week. The pictures seems to have disappear from internet.

April 9, 2007: People reports that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds spend the week end together

April 2007: Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake decide to be exclusive. Justin’s 1st US leg tour ended on March 29, 2007. They spend a month together and they decide to be exclusive before touring Europe from April 24 to July 10. His world tour ended in December 2007.

« When I came back from tour, we spent a month together. After that, I said, “I really want to be exclusive.” And, somehow, she said, “So do I.” It was crazy, because I was about to leave for Europe for three months. Two weeks later, I came back to LA to see her. Then she flew back to Europe with me, and we spent two weeks on the road together. We were going to different cities, having a ball, with room service and pay-per-view and great dinners. And Scrabble. We’ve had a lot of unforgettable times. From Justin Timberlake book, Hindsight

"At one point, we decided we were going to be exclusive. It was that moment; we had that conversation, and literally the next day he was like, 'OK, I'm going to Europe for six months. And I was thinking to myself, What are you doing? You're going to get your heart broken. This guy is the biggest ... whatever he is, and-are you nuts? You're so crazy. But he's just not that person."  Jessica Biel on Marie Claire, 2017

May 2007: In the may issue of Seventeen, Scarlett Johansson while doing promo for her movie The Nanny Diaries (also starring Chris) talked about the rumors linked to her and Jessica.

“We live in a world today where if two people are single – and one’s a guy and one’s a girl and they’re both famous – you’re going to be linked with somebody; If it’s somebody one week, it’s going to be somebody else the next week. It’s either me or Jessica Biel.” Source: People

Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz attend the premiere of the movie Shrek 3 and are doing promo for it.

May 13, 2007: Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake officially confirmed, they are pictured together for the first time in Manchester, UK. Jessica joined him during his tour.

July 7, 2007: Jessica Biel and Chris Evans who broke up a year before attended the wedding of a friend in Santa Barbara, California. It doesn’t seem to be someone from the industry, there were no other celebrity. Jessica explained on the Late show of Jay Leno that paparazzi followed her from her Brentwood house and she had to negociate with them. She posed for them in exchange of them leaving and stop bothering the wedding.

June 2008:  Intouch reports that Jessica Biel is moving with Justin Timberlake in his Hollywood Hills house but she will still keep her Brentwood house. She was rarely seen around Brentwood after this.

July 11, 2008: Eonline reports that Jessica, Justin and Chris were all at the opening of the nightclub Kress in Los Angeles but didn’t interact.

Justin Timberlake and girlfriend Jessica Biel made a rare public outing, complete with public displays of affection Friday night in Hollywood at the official opening of Kress, which was crawling with celebs. Timberlake and Biel arrived around 11:30 p.m. at the four-floor club on Hollywood Blvd., where a reserved cabana on the roof deck awaited them. "They're very happy, and very much together," an onlooker told E! We're sure that was evident to Chris Evans, Biel's ex-boyfriend (they dated from 2001-2005). The Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm circled the roof all night, avoiding his ex. "They didn't interact. Chris just wandered around by himself, looking for a table to sit at," the source adds.

September 2008: People reports that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds wed in Canada

October 12, 2008: Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake did their first official  public appearance at Barack Obama rally in Las Vegas, Nevada.

December 10, 2008: Justin and Jessica did their first event together at the Make The Difference Network’s holiday party to benefit Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Make The Difference Network (MTDN) is a social networking website founded by Jessica’s family in 2005 focused on connecting nonprofit organizations (kind of like Gofundme for nonprofit organizations before Gofundme existed but without fees).

January 12, 2009: Justin and Jessica were having dinner at Yatai Asian Tapas Bar when Br*tn*y Sp*ars came in with her mother. They didn’t interact, she left 30 minutes later. Jessica and Justin left shortly after.

May 2009: Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake did their first red carpet as a couple at the Met Gala. It was pretty unexpected because Justin never did red carpet with Cameron during their 4 years relationship. Anna Wintour co-chaired that year Met Gala with Justin.

Febuary 2010: On the february issue of Vogue Magazine, Jessica shares how she feels about all the tabloids speculations.

It’s definitely been weird and sort of bizarre to deal with. But you have to have a sense of humor about the whole thing. Honestly, I look at a magazine and they know more than I do. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t feel the need to clear anything up. It’s the most precious thing that I have in my life, and I care about it so much that I don’t care about what anyone says or thinks. I have just not addressed it in any real way, and I’m not going to. It’s mine. And I really like that about it.

March 2010: Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz are filming the movie Bad Teacher...

February 28, 2011, Jessica and Justin are spotted at Bowling in Studio City with his mother, Lynn.

March 10, 2011: After many years of never ending rumors, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake reps confirms to People.com that they have broken up.

Reps for the couple released a statement Thursday, confirming the split: “Addressing the media speculation regarding Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake’s relationship, we are confirming that they mutually have decided to part ways. The two remain friends and continue to hold the highest level of love and respect for each other.”

Again after the break up, Jessica is pretty busy.

April and May 2011: Jessica is filming Playing for Keeps with Gerard Butler in Louisiana 

June to September 2011: Jessica is filming Total Recall with Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale in Toronto, Canada.

June 2011: In the June issue of Vanity Fair , Justin talks about Jessica.

"She is the single-handedly most significant person in my life. In my 30 years, she is the most special person, OK?

So I protect it, and until somebody shows me what would be more fulfilling at this point, that's what I have to do. I would rather not talk about her, because it's hurtful for me. It's unfortunate that even though you make the effort to say something, which I tried on for size, people do what they want to do.

I don't want to say much more, because I have to protect things that are dear to me—for instance, her."

June 2, 2011: Jessica is seen on Motorcycle Ride with Gerard Butler. Their reps tell People they are just friends.

Meanwhile Justin is spotted hanging out with Ashley Olsen. Justin reps denies the rumors of dating to People, he is hanging out with “a group of friends”. Estee Stanley, Jessica and Ashley’s stylist and close friend, was with them. (On this one you will have to believe me i saw all of them in one video with other people leaving a restaurant and hotel, I can’t post the source).

In May 2012, Jessica shared on social media the RAW backpack that Ashley Olsen gifted to her.

June 03, 2011: Enews reports that Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake reunited at his best friend Trace Ayala girlfriend pregancy party but were just friendly.

Bumping into an ex at a mutual friend's party can be awkward for most of us. But not for Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, who attended the same party on Thursday afternoon in Brentwood. According to a source, the former couple was more than civil at the celebration..."There was no PDA, but they were talking to each other for awhile," a source tells us. "They ate and sat next to each other." But did it look like the onetime twosome were rekindling their relationship? Not exactly. The exes arrived and left the soiree, which was a celebration for J.T.'s friend and business partner's Trace Ayala's expectant girlfriend, separately.

They did kiss before departing, but it wasn't the romantic type of smooch.

July 3, 2011: US Weekly reports that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel were spotted at the Black Hoof restaurant in Toronto where Jessica is filming Total Recall

August 2011: Multiple twitter sightings of them in NYC

August 28, 2011: Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake confirmed back together, they are pictured riding bike in Toronto where Jessica is still filming Total Recall.

October 30, 2011: A unknow actor posted on twitter a halloween picture of him with Jessica Biel and Chris Evans. Jessica is dressed as a Kardashian and Chris as ...a thug...

December 23, 2011: A twitter user reports that Justin Timberlake proposed to Jessica Biel at the top of a mountain in Montana. He got the information from their ski instructor friend (not posting his tweet because he is not a public person). Justin and Jessica are known to do heli-snowboarding which would explain why they had an instructor with them. They didn’t confirmed or denied at the moment.

March 8, 2012: Jessica Biel is seen wearing her engagement ring for the first time.

May 7, 2012: Jessica Biel joins Twitter and Instagram

May 24, 2012: Chris Evans joins Twitter

August 2012: Jessica’s Brentwood house is sold.

October 19, 2012: Jessica and Justin tied the knot at the Borgo Egnazia resort in the south of Italy. Jessica was wearing a custom petal pink Giambattista Valli Haute Couture gown.

October 21, 2012: Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake flown to Tanzania for a honeymoon amongst the wildlife.

May 2013: Chris bought an house in the same street as Justin and Jessica.

In his interview with Hollywood Reporter in 2019, Chris mentionned that “he thinks” Justin Timberlake lives around here. The little shady interviewer doesn’t believe that he doesn’t know that Jessica also live there.

He keeps it closer to the vest about other people. He mentions in passing that Justin Timberlake lives around here — “I think” — without mentioning that Timberlake lives around here with his wife, Jessica Biel, who was once Evans’ girlfriend.

March 2, 2014: Jessica Biel took a picture with Chris Evans’ brother, Scott Evans, at the 2014 Oscar party.

September 27, 2014: Jessica Biel who is very well known for being fit is seen with a little belly at the beach in Hawaii.

October 14, 2014: For the first time, Justin shared a picture of them on social media during the New Zealand stop of his 20/20 Experience world tour.

April 8, 2015: They welcome their first son Silas Randall Timberlake. 12 days later Justin shared his first picture on Instagram. After few months, they stopped sharing his face.

July 2020: They welcome their second son Phineas Timberlake. They were able to “hide” her pregnancy because of covid lockdown. They never shared pictures showing his face.

[jonathanpongratz]

Library Title Picks - January 2022

Library Title Picks – January 2022

  Howdy Book Wranglers! Are y’all ready for more book huntin’? I sure am! Alright, here’s the gist. Every month my library lets me choose three titles to purchase physical copies of. It’s a great way to support my fellow authors and read their works for free, don’t you agree? Okay, so my picks for January 2023 didn’t veer from my preferred genre of horror, but this time I shopped by cover. Each…

[pronoun-fucker]

IN 1986, Sophie Ottaway was born with a very rare condition which required immediate surgery.

Cloacal exstrophy happens when the organs in the abdomen do not form correctly in the womb, resulting in babies born with organs such as the bladder or intestines outside the body.

Doctors had to operate to save her life.

Sophie was actually a boy, with a tiny, damaged penis but healthy testes.

But doctors advised Sophie’s parents that their baby’s male ­genitalia should be removed to avoid further complications.

The baby had to be registered by the following day, which meant they had to decide whether to tick male or female on the form.

Sophie’s parents Karen and John followed the surgeons’ advice.

“They were told not to tell me,” says Sophie, a warm and friendly 37-year-old who has since fully forgiven her parents for their decision.

“We are very close,” she tells me, “despite going through some rocky times in the past.”

Life changed for Sophie, who grew up in Beverley, East Yorks, when she was 22 years old and visiting her GP surgery for tonsilitis.

She says: “I saw on the computer screen that I had XY chromosomes, had been castrated hours after birth, and an incision was made where a vagina would be.”

Although Sophie exploded at her parents in the moment, she buried her feelings about it all until 13 years later when, hospitalised during a Covid lockdown, it was discovered she had developed sepsis that had ended up in her intestines.

‘I went into 13 years of absolute denial’

This was what led her to decide to speak out.

Sophie was already aware that many children and young people were being groomed in gender ideology, persuaded to take puberty blockers, then set on a medical pathway for life.

She says: “At age 11, as I approached puberty, they put me on oestrogen because there’s no ovaries, and no testes to produce testosterone.

“This is what doctors are doing now to kids who wish to change gender — putting them on blockers.”

It was a lie when Sophie was told she had to take oestrogen for life because her ovaries had been removed at birth as a result of damage.

Sophie was born biologically male. “So obviously there were never any ovaries,” she says wryly.

She adds: “The time to tell me and try to get informed consent was at the point we introduced the endocrinologist. This is the time puberty blockers are being offered to kids, so I make that connection with what’s happening today.”

When feminists and others critical of the medicalisation of children with gender dysphoria have said that these drugs and interventions are harmful, we are often labelled bigots. But Sophie is speaking from personal experience, in the hope that she will be listened to rather than dismissed and vilified.

About five years ago, Sophie chose to stop taking the hormones, because “I was adamant that many problems in my life were being caused by them.

“I was about 4st heavier than I am now, and I wasn’t eating badly. I was having bladder pain beyond belief.

“I had fatigue and was quite angry a lot of the time.”

By then, Sophie had been taking oestrogen for 20 years, and decided enough was enough. She was told she should keep taking it because it was for bone density, to which she replied that she would have regular bone scans.

Sophie had no choice but to go on oestrogen, because the doctors prescribed it to her as a child — but surely she should be listened to when she warns of the effects cross-sex hormones have on the body?

Now that she no longer takes it, all her symptoms have improved.

She says: “We’re selling this idea of perfection in the guise of changing gender. You’ve got all of these problems and might be struggling because you don’t fit in at school, or because you like boys’ toys and you’re a girl, or vice versa. As someone who knows all about decisions made under time pressure and who has paid the price, Sophie’s understanding of the sales pitch being made to children before puberty is crystal clear.

She says: “You’ve got a sale based on a time pressure.

“We’re going to push you through this for the puberty blockers, we’re going to make that sale.”

Keen to stress that there is a big difference between a girl behaving “like a boy”, wearing boys’ clothes and haircuts, Sophie adds: “Puberty blockers are a different level to how we dress and which toys we favour.”

The idea being sold is that gender reassignment is the answer to all your problems, but Sophie says: “What you get is genital mutilation, castration, and a lifetime of dangerous hormones, which was my experience.”

As she points out: “Children can’t vote, they can’t drink, can’t drive.

“But you can choose to do something life-changing.”

Sophie hopes that by speaking out and telling her unvarnished truth, some children — and parents — might make a different choice.

She says that when she found out that she’d been born male, “I obviously knew I had urological problems, and I knew that I had no vagina because of the surgeries.

“I didn’t address it at that point. I was 22, in second year at university.

“I had a plan of my life. And dealing with this monstrosity was not in the plan. I got up the next day and went to university.

“I still had the same connection with my friends. I was still the ­person I was 24 hours ago.

“But I went into 13 years of ­absolute denial.”

She never told anyone about it, not even close friends.

‘When I came out of hospital I was raging’

Then, during the pandemic, Sophie found herself in hospital a couple of times, and it all came crashing down.

She recalls: “They thought it was a kidney infection, but they couldn’t get to the bottom of it.

“When I was born they had fashioned some female genitalia. Brown putrid fluid starting leaking out of the hole and it would not stop.

“I presented at the hospital and I had to tell them for the first time about what had happened to me.”

When doctors examined her, they saw that there was something very wrong.

It turned out there was a mass in her abdomen, which was the neovagina — inserted when she was a baby — and left to rot.

Sophie says: “I found out from my mum that they had inserted it when I was two days old, and that one day it popped out and was found in my nappy.”

Surgeons replaced it during a later operation, sealed it up, and left it, which is why it led to sepsis many years later.

“No one had been told it had been put back in,” says Sophie.

Up until this point she had thought that the surgeon had simply operated to save her life — “which he did, but he also did a hell of a lot of other stuff that was unnecessary.”

What’s more, the doctors failed to do something that was necessary — namely, address the complex urological problems that have plagued Sophie all her life.

She says this “is one of the things that has the biggest effect on having any kind of intimate relationship. And yet the one thing that they could have fixed is my incontinence.”

She tells me: “When I came out of hospital, I was raging at that point.”

And she thought that by speaking out, she might be able to help those who think they are in the wrong body.

Sophie says: “A lot of them are being groomed to feel that way or question those thoughts in the first place by the school and the system and the media. Those kids need help.”

A much better solution, she argues, would be to divert funding currently being used for puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and surgery and ­allocate it to children’s mental health services and counselling.

Sophie says: “We can work with that person to find out why they are feeling like this.

“Then, maybe when they become an adult, they might be mature enough to be properly informed and consent to any changes to the outer body.

“It is often assumed I am transgender, but I really don’t like labels. I am just Sophie.

Poised for a backlash from the more extreme trans activists, Sophie makes it clear that she respects any adult’s decision to choose that path — so long as they are properly informed.

But she is clear that this is never appropriate for children.

“I don’t want this to happen to any other baby born with this condition,” she says.

“We have to find better ways to support kids to live in the body they are born with.”

Link | Archived Link

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in March 2024 🌈

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Shift: A Memoir of Identity and Other Illusions - Penny Guisinger 🧡 Tempting Olivia - Clare Ashton 💛 Monilinia - Free Mints 💚 Guillaume - Aurora Dimitre 💙 The Marble Queen - Anna Kopp & Gabrielle Kari 💜 The Baker & the Bard - Fern Haught ❤️ Rainbow! - Sunny & Gloom 🧡 The Safe Zone - Amy Marsden 💛 The Weavers of Alamaxa - Hadeer Elsbai 💙 The No-Girlfriend Rule - Christen Randall 💜 A Different Kind of Brave by Lee Wind 🌈 Cirque du Slay - Rob Osler ❤️ Wizard’s Debt - Niranjan 🧡 One Last Breath - Ginny Myers Sain 💛 Nothing Special - Katie Cook 💚 I Feel Awful, Thanks - Lara Pickle 💙 The Tower - Flora Carr 💜 Be the Sea - Clara Ward ❤️ What Grows in the Dark - Jaq Evans 🧡 Heirs of Bone and Sea - Kay Adams 💛 The Haunting of Velkwood - Gwendolyn Kiste 💙 Thunder Song - Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe 💜 Mona of the Manor - Armistead Maupin 🌈 Like Happiness - Ursula Villarreal-Moura

❤️ Ellipses - Vanessa Lawrence 🧡 Saint, Sorrow, Sinner - Freydís Moon 💛 Blood & Brujas - Mikayla D. Hornedo 💚 Infinity Kings - Adam Silvera 💙 Really Cute People - Markus Harwood-Jones 💜 How You Were Born - Kate Cayley ❤️ These Bodies Between Us - Sarah Van Name 🧡 Icarus - K. Ancrum 💛 The Emperor and the Endless Palace - Justinian Huang 💙 How Not to Date an Angel - Lana Kole 💜 Enemy Colours - R.M. Olson 🌈 Broken Parts Included - Alyson Root

❤️ Who's Afraid of Gender? - Judith Butler 🧡 The Duke’s Cowboy - Andrew Grey 💛 The Secret Something - Emily Wright 💚 Colstead & Andie - Olivia Janae 💙 Play It Again, Ma’am - Sienna Waters 💜 Love Is…? - K.J. Wrights ❤️ Welcome to Forever - Nathan Tavares 🧡 Just Another Epic Love Poem - Parisa Akhbari 💛 The Phoenix Bride - Natasha Siegel 💙 These Letters End in Tears - Musih Tedji Xaviere 💜 Truly Home - J.J. Hale 🌈 Monster Mixer - Robin Jo Margaret

❤️ The House of Hidden Meanings - RuPaul 🧡 Promised to the Queen - Barbara Winkes 💛 A Conclave of Crimson - Nicole Eigener & Beverley Lee 💚 A Hunt of Blood and Iron - Cara Nox 💙 The Fealty of Monsters - Ladz 💜 Ariel Crashes a Train - Olivia A. Cole ❤️ Those Beyond the Wall - Micaiah Johnson 🧡 Dancing Toward Stardust - Julia Underwood 💛 Heir to Dreams & Darkness - Ben Alderson 💙 Comet Cruise - Niska Morrow 💜 Dead Girls Walking - Sami Ellis 🌈 Blackout - Carlos E. Rivera

❤️ Monster Crush - Erin Ellie Franey 🧡 Blessed Water - Margot Douaihy 💛 These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart - Izzy Wasserstein 💚 Kiss of Seduction - Rawnie Sabor 💙 Sunbringer - Hannah Kaner 💜 Evacuation to Love - C.A. Popovich ❤️ Sin - Brooke Matthews 🧡 Falls from Grace - Ruby Landers 💛 Lean in to Love - Catherine Lane 💙 A Small Apocalypse - Laura Chow Reeve 💜 Cascade Failure - L.M. Sagas 🌈 The Mars House - Natasha Pulley

❤️ All This Time - Sage Donnell 🧡 The Romance Lovers Book Club - MA Binfield 💛 View from the Top - Morgan Adams 💚 Number Call - Nagisa Furuya 💙 Crossing Bridges - Chelsey Lynford 💜 The Boyfriend Subscription - Steven Salvatore ❤️ Love the World or Get Killed Trying - Alvina Chamberland 🧡 Synthetic Sea - Franklyn S. Newton 💛 The Prince & His Stolen Groom - J.E. Ridge 💙 Chrysalis and Requiem - Quinton Li 💜 Where Sleeping Girls Lie - Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 🌈 A Botanical Daughter - Noah Medlock

❤️ Wednesday Nights - by Donna Jay 🧡 The Woods All Black - Lee Mandelo 💛 Song of the Huntress - Lucy Holland 💚 Rainbow Black - Maggie Thrash 💙 Spirits & Sunflowers - A.D. Armistead & Austin Daniel 💜 Floating Hotel - Grace Curtis ❤️ Far From Camelot - Rylee Hale 🧡 This Way to Change - Jezz Chung 💛 Mexican Bird - Luis Lopez-Maldonado 💙 Android Affection: Unveiling - Beau Van Dalen 💜 Welcome to the Damned - Astraea Long 🌈 She Came for Blood - Darva Green

❤️ Cover Story - Rachel Lacey 🧡 The Poisons We Drink - Bethany Baptiste 💛 The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist - Sophie Gonzales 💚 In Walked Trouble - Dana Hawkins 💙 Never Leave, Never Lie - Thea Verdone 💜 Guardian: Zhen Hun - Priest ❤️ All the World Beside - Garrard Conley 🧡 Rainbows, Unicorns, and Triangles - Jessica Kingsley Publishers 💛 The Feast Makers - H.A. Clarke 💙 Synthetic Sea - Franklyn S. Newton 💜 All the Painted Stars - Emma Denny 🌈 A Hard Sell - Jennifer Moffatt

[javelinbk]

Happy 25th Birthday to this iconic video

Outside - George Michael. Released 19th October 1998

The song was Michael's first single since his arrest for engaging in a lewd act six months earlier by an undercover police officer in the public lavatory of the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverley Hills, California– an incident that prompted him to declare his homosexuality, which had been rumoured for some years but never publicly confirmed.

Michael disparaged the incident in the lyrics, claiming he wanted an alfresco sex life because he was bored with lovemaking behind closed doors. Reference to the Beverly Hills affair came with the line: "I'd service the community, but I already have, you see" (he was sentenced to 80 hours of community service for the offense) and direct samples of radio reports of his arrest.

In a 2004 interview with Adam Mattera for UK magazine Attitude, Michael reflected: "I felt that lightening the stigma around cruising was the most immediately beneficial thing I could do. I know for a fact that when I was 16, 17, when I started cruising, that watching the Outside video would have taken some of the weight off my shoulders."

[andiatas]

Royal(ish) Reads: Jul-Sep 2024

Note: Some of the following links are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission on every purchase. This does not affect the price you pay. Also note that all titles mentioned are written by historians, researchers, or scholars. Only in rare cases are featured titles not written by someone with training in historical research.

For more book recommendations like in this post, you can follow my blog & Instagram

The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey by Beverley Adams (published Aug. 30, 2024) // All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil by Stephen Alford (published Jul. 4, 2024) // Dancing With Diana: A Memoir by Anne Allan (published Sep. 10, 2024)

Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor by Nathen Amin (published Jul. 15, 2024) // Planning the Murder of Anne Boleyn by Caroline Angus (published Aug. 30, 2024) // The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill (new paperback version published Sep. 26, 2024)

The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome: A History of the Ptolemies by Guy de la Bedoyere (published Sep. 10, 2024) // Richard Beauchamp: Medieval England's Greatest Knight by David Brindley (new paperback version published Aug. 29, 2024) // A Voyage Around the Queen by Craig Brown (published Aug. 29, 2024)

Henry III: Reform, Rebellion, Civil War, Settlement, 1258-1272 by David Carpenter (new paperback version published Sep. 24, 2024) // Stuart Spouses: A Compendium of Consorts from James I of Scotland to Queen Anne of Great Britain by Heather R. Darsie (published Sep. 30, 2024) // Prince Eugene of Savoy: A Genius for War Against Louis XIV and the Ottoman Empire by James Falkner (published Aug. 30, 2024)

Normal Women: From the Number One Bestselling Author Comes 900 Years of Women Making History by Philippa Gregory (new paperback version published Sep. 26, 2024) // The Romanovs: Imperial Russia and Ruling the Empire, 1613-1917 by Professor Lindsey Hughes, Professor Erika Monahan (2nd edition published Sep. 19, 2024) // Lady Pamela: My Mother's Extraordinary Years as Daughter to the Viceroy of India, Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen, and Wife of David Hicks by India Hicks (published Sep. 3, 2024)

Hannibal and Scipio: Parallel Lives by Simon Hornblower (published Sep. 26, 2024) // Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief by Ronald Hutton (published Aug. 27, 2024) // Catherine, the Princess of Wales: The Biography by Robert Jobson (published Aug. 1, 2024)

Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King by Dan Jones (published Sep. 12, 2024) // Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor by Valentine Low (new paperback version published Sep. 17, 2024) // Kings & Queens: The Real Lives of the English Monarchs by Ann MacMillan, Peter Snow (new paperback version published Sep. 12, 2024)

The Romanovs Under House Arrest: The Russian Revolution and A Royal Family’s Imprisonment in their Palace by Mickey Mayhew (published Aug. 30, 2024) // Queen Victoria's Favourite Granddaughter: Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the Most Consequential Royal You Never Knew by Ilana D. Miller (published Aug. 19, 2024) // Cooking and the Crown: Royal recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III by Tom Parker Bowles (published Sep. 26, 2024)

Pure Wit: The Revolutionary Life of Margaret Cavendish by Francesca Peacock (new paperback version published Sep. 12, 2024) // Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty by Adam Pennington (Sep. 30, 2024) // Everyday Life in Tudor London: Life in the City of Thomas Cromwell, William Shakespeare & Anne Boleyn by Stephen Porter (new paperback version published Aug. 15, 2024)

Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman's Astonishing Life of Seduction, Intrigue and Power by Sonia Purnell (published Sep. 19, 2024) // The Secret Diary of Queen Camilla by Hilary Rose (published Sep. 26, 2024) // Adventures in Time: Heroes: The Box Set by Dominic Sandbrook (published Aug. 29, 2024)

Adventures in Time: Heroines: The Box Set by Dominic Sandbrook (published Aug. 29, 2024) // Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint by Professor Peter Sarris (new paperback version published Sep. 12, 2024) // Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age by Kathleen Sheppard (published Aug. 19, 2024)

Marriage, Tudor Style: Love, Hate & Scandal by Sylvia Barbara Soberton (published Jul. 29, 2024) // A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women by Emma Southon (new paperback version published Jul. 4, 2024) // A Rome of One's Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire by Emma Southon (new paperback version published Sep. 17, 2024)

Cleopatra: The Woman Behind the Stories by Alexandra Stewart and Hannah Peck (published Aug. 15, 2024) // The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I by Steven Veerapen (new paperback version published Sep. 5, 2024) // The King's Loot: The Greatest Royal Jewellery Heist in History by Richard Wallace (published Aug. 8, 2024)

The Beaumonts: Kings of Jerusalem by Kathryn Warner (published Sep. 30, 2024) // Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China by Jack Weatherford (published Sep. 26, 2024) // Ravenous: A Life of Barbara Villiers, Charles II's Most Infamous Mistress by Andrea Zuvich (published Jul. 30, 2024)

[morbidology]

On the 2nd of March, 2010, Russell Bohling, 18, left him home in Bempton, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He planned on driving to Bishop Burton College in Beverley where he was studying bricklaying. It’s not known if Russell ever made it to college or not that day but after leaving his home, he vanished. Russell’s car was discovered around 45 miles away at Bempton Cliffs, a popular suicide spot. Inside the car was a parking ticket that had been purchased at 11:30AM on the day he disappeared.

Humberside Police were widely criticised for their efforts to search for Russell. During the initial search, The Humberside Fire and Rescue Service used heat sensitive cameras to search the RAF bunker beside Bempton Cliffs which would be completely ineffective if Russell was deceased. Moreover, it would take police another three months until they started to interview potential witnesses. “We accuse Humberside Police of failing our son and betraying the trust of the family and the public,” said Russell’s father, Roger. Humberside Police were quick to determine that Russell had most likely committed suicide.

Russel’s family have long. believed that something much more sinister happened and that finding his body is the only way to end their heartache. They are adamant that Russell would not have committed suicide and that he was not unhappy whatsoever. Roger, said he believes that somebody convinced Russell to skip class and instead drive to Bempton Cliffs and that Russell couldn’t have planned the diversion from college as he didn’t know his father was going to let him take the car until minutes before he left the family home. Roger also said that the car must have been filled up with patrol along that way but that Russell’s debit card had not been used and he had very little cash on him.

As for the motivation, Roger believes that Russell was killed in a botched abduction after telling somebody that he was scheduled to give £300,000 from his father to set up his own business. “We have never received a ransom note and I admit it’s pure speculation. But Russell had had asthma and if there was an attempt to restrain him, it could have brought on an attack and it may have gone horribly wrong,” said Roger. Something else the family have also considered is that there was an occult element to the abduction. Russell stated that he researched RAF Bempton and discovered that it was used by a witches coven.

To this day, Russell Bohling still remains missing.

[justforbooks]

The actor Brigit Forsyth, who has died aged 83, made her name as Thelma in the BBC television series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? One critic described Thelma as so prim that she could turn the lifting of a lace curtain into an art form.

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’s creation, which ran from 1973 to 1974, was the sequel to the popular 1960s sitcom The Likely Lads, which starred Rodney Bewes and James Bolam as Bob Ferris and Terry Collier, two single north-east England factory workers who share a flat and the same interests – women, drink and football.

Thelma Chambers was brought in as a girlfriend for the upwardly mobile Bob, now in the white-collar class with a house, car and annual holiday on the Costa Brava, scoffed at by Terry, who clings on to his working-class roots. Thelma and Bob were married halfway through the two series of the show.

“Up until then, I had done a lot of drama on telly,” said Forsyth. “If I wasn’t being murdered, I was murdering somebody or I was a disturbed art teacher. I was playing quite a lot of deranged people, so comedy was a nice change.”

She created laughs again with the sitcom Sharon and Elsie (1984-85), in which she co-starred as the middle-class Elsie Beecroft alongside Janette Beverley as the more down-to-earth Sharon Wilkes, two employees in a greetings card manufacturing company.

But Forsyth’s own favourite television part was Francine Pratt in Playing the Field (1998-2002), the on- and off-pitch women’s football drama created by Kay Mellor. Her character, who hates the game, is married to the Castlefield Blues’ sponsor, played by Ricky Tomlinson, and keeps him happy in return for designer clothes and other luxuries.

“I have never played awful glamour before,” she said. “I had a blond wig, six-inch heels, makeup and my bosom hitched up high.”

Forsyth was born in Malton, North Yorkshire, to Scottish parents, Anne (nee Forsyth), an artist, and Frank Connell, an architect and town planner, and brought up in Edinburgh. She was mesmerised by Stanley Baxter’s performances as a pantomime dame at the city’s King’s theatre and, aged 18, landed her own first lead role, as Sarat Carn, on her way to the gallows, in Charlotte Hastings’s play Bonaventure with the Makars amateur drama group.

But when she left St George’s school, Edinburgh, her parents insisted she learn a skill, so she trained as a secretary. After a couple of jobs, she headed for London and Rada (1958-60), where she won the Emile Littler prize.

She began her professional career back in Edinburgh with the Gateway theatre company (1960-61) before moving on to the Theatre Royal, Lincoln (1961-62) and the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone (1962). With other actors already named Brigit McConnell and Bridget O’Connell, she changed her professional name to Forsyth on her return to Lincoln in 1962.

At the Edinburgh festival three years later, she played one of the witches in a headline-making production of Macbeth. “That show caused an absolute uproar because they wanted the witches to have the bodies of young girls and the faces of old women, and they wanted us to have our top half naked,” Forsyth recalled. “But the Earl of Harewood, who was running the EIF at the time, said ‘No’. So they put nipple caps on us, which looked absolutely disgusting – and they used to drop off each night. It was absolutely hysterical.”

Later, in the West End, Forsyth played Annie in The Norman Conquests (Globe, now Gielgud, and Apollo theatres, 1974-76) and Dusa in the feminist play Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi (Mayfair theatre, 1976-77). She put her TV breakthrough down to cutting her hair short. “It proved a tremendously lucky omen,” she said.

That break came with Adam Smith (1972), in which she played the younger daughter of the title character, a Scottish minister (Andrew Keir). The director, Brian Mills, then worked with Forsyth on the psychological thriller Holly (1972), when she took the part of a young art teacher kidnapped by a mentally unstable student. Forsyth and Mills married in 1976.

Television roles kept on coming. She was Veronica, one of the product-promotion team, in The Glamour Girls (1980-82), Harriet in the inter-generational sitcom Tom, Dick and Harriet (1982-83), and Helen Yeldham, a hotelier, in the 1989 series of Boon.

There were also appearances in soap opera: as GP Judith Vincent in The Practice (1985-86); Babs Fanshawe, Ken Barlow’s escort agency date who dies of a heart attack, in a 1998 Coronation Street episode; Delphine LaClair, a sales rep for a French company interested in buying Rodney Blackstock’s vineyards, for two short runs in Emmerdale (2005 and 2006); Cressida, mother of the millionaire Nate Tenbury-Newent, in Hollyoaks in 2013; and three roles in Doctors between 2000 and 2012.

Forsyth also played the miserable Madge, who frustrates her sister Mavis’s attempts at a relationship with Granville, in the sitcom sequel Still Open All Hours (2013-19).

A cellist from the age of nine, Forsyth starred as the real-life virtuoso Beatrice Harrison in a 2004 tour of The Cello and the Nightingale. Also on tour, she was a remarkably believable Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (2000) and played Marie in Calendar Girls (2008). “I’m Mrs Frosty-Knickers, the one who doesn’t approve of it all.”

In 2017, she played a terminally ill musician in the stage comedy Killing Time, written by her daughter, Zoe Mills, who acted alongside her. At the time, Forsyth revealed that her maternal grandfather, a GP in Yorkshire, had helped dying patients to end their lives. Declaring herself a supporter of euthanasia, she said: “He bumped off probably loads of people with doses of morphine.”

In 1999, Forsyth separated from her husband, but they remained friends until his death in 2006. She is survived by their children, Ben and Zoe.

🔔 Brigit Forsyth (Brigit Dorothea Connell), actor, born 28 July 1940; died 1 December 2023

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

[tudorblogger]

Guest Post - Beverley Adams on Lady Jane Grey

Today I’m delighted to welcome the lovely Beverley Adams to the blog! Beverley’s upcoming book is ‘The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey’ so I asked her what I wanted to know, and some more general research questions. Beverley has previously written on Edith Rigby, Ada Lovelace, and Margaret Douglas, so a varied back catalogue, though focusing on female history and biographies! Hello Beverley, can…

[noel-fielding-web-page]

How do you think? After changing channel will Never Mind The Buzzcocks stop using "sutin" joke?

This joke is eternal classic! Who would thought that a banal troll could make a whole part in history of the show :) Adam Buxton could be amazing host

Talking about sutin it's impossible to ignore this moment:

Also, I have noticed that someone mentioned it in urban dictionary:

Sutin

Slang for something. In 2011 it was recently made famous on a British TV show called "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" in the next lines round.

"DIS GUY MUST BE A ALIEN OR SUTIN"

I think that if the joke was really great since first time, then it will be great forever :)

[medium-observation]

November Release

Beetlejuice - First US National Tour

October 31, 2023 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Justin Collette (Beetlejuice), Isabella Esler (Lydia Deetz), Megan McGinnis (Barbara Maitland), Will Burton (Adam Maitland), Jesse Sharp (Charles Deetz), Kate Marilley (Delia Deetz), Lexie Dorsett Sharp (u/s Miss Argentina), Abe Goldfarb (Otho), Brian Vaughn (Maxie Dean), Kris Roberts (Maxine Dean/Juno), Jackera Davis (Girl Scout), Lee N Price (Ensemble), Eric Anthony Johnson (s/w Ensemble), Haley Fish (Ensemble), Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua (Ensemble), Sean McManus (Ensemble), Katie Lombardo (s/w Ensemble), Trevor Michael Schmidt (Ensemble), Corben Williams (Ensemble)

Notes:

Good capture of Halloween! This was filmed on the aisle so you can see some people getting up and walking around at times. LOTS of latecomers during ready set I had to get up to let people into the row, so there is no video there. The guy in front of me wouldn't stop moving so his head can come in and out of frame at times but it's always worked around.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2024

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1KLh

Video is $20

Mean Girls - Second US National Tour (Non-Equity)

October 26, 2023 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Natalie Shaw (Cady Heron), Maya Petropoulos (Regina George), Kristen Amanda Smith (Gretchen Wieners), MaryRose Brendel (Karen Smith), Alexys Morera (Janis Sarkisian), Ethan Jih-Cook (Damian Hubbard), Joseph Torres (Aaron Samuels), Shawn Mathews (Kevin Gnapoor), Kristen Seggio (Mrs. Heron/Ms. Norbury/Mrs. George), Justin Phillips (Principal Duvall), Justin O'Brien (Mr. Heron), Justin O'Brien (Coach Carr/Glen Coco/Math Moderator), Thalia Atallah (Dawn Schweitzer), Victoria Mesa (Lizzie Therman/Caroline Krafft), Lucas Hallauer (Tyler Kimble), Jonah Nash (Christian Wiggins), Mikey Corey Hassel (Shane Oman), Oshie Mellon (Sophie Kawachi), Megan Arseneau (s/w Caitlyn Caussin), Brandon Moreno (Jason Weems), Tyler Jung (Marwan Jitla), Reagan Kennedy (Taylor Wedell), Joi D. McCoy (Rachel Hamilton)

Notes:

Nice Capture of the new non-equity tour! There can be a head in the way at some points but it's worked around well. The video can be somewhat grainy at times due to how far I was + how dark the show was. Overall a great video of this incredible cast.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2024

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1e1L

Video is $20

Come From Away - Second US National Tour (Non-Equity)

October 30, 2023 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Addison Garner (Beverley/Annette & others), Shawn W. Smith (Kevin T./Garth & others), Andrew Hendrick (Claude & others), Danny Arnold (Oz & others), Hannah Kato (Janice & others), Trey DeLuna (Kevin J./Ali & others), Stanton Morales (Nick/Doug & others), Molly Samson (Diane & others), Candace Alyssa Rhodes (Hannah & others), Kristin Litzenberg (Beulah & others), Kathleen Cameron (Bonnie & others), Jason Tyler Smith (Bob & others)

Notes:

Incredible capture of the new non-equity tour. No obstruction, very little washout in wideshots. Overall a perfect video of a great new cast.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2024

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1DyY

Video is $20

Videos can be purchased through me at

mediumobservationtrading@gmail.com

[starkiddreamcasting]

there's a part of my brain that swears you've already done this, but nothing came up on tumblr search so sorry in advance if you've done this casting before. but could you do a dreamcast of the mad ones?

Apologies for how late this is but here is the Starkid dreamcast for The Mad Ones! I'll admit I knew nothing about this show before diving into this dreamcast but I enjoyed it overall. I'm trying to keep on schedule this month (at last a little bit) so I hope you enjoy.

Mariah Rose Faith as Sam

Bryce Charles as Kelly

Jamie Burns as Beverly

Will Branner as Adam

Understudies: Jaime Lyn Beatty (Beverley), Angela Giarratana (Sam, Kelly), Davis Hamilton (Adam)

Make sure to leave any show suggestions or any questions on my casting choices so I can explain them.

[1000-year-old-virgin]

Books I’ve Read In 2023

So, these are all the books I read in 2023. I usually finish about 8 books a year if I'm lucky.

1. Feral creatures - Kira Jane Buxton

The second installment in Buxton's animal lead dystopian future series. I had fun reading this book and chuckled numerous times while reading it.

2. The Queens of Innis Lear - Tessa Gratton

A medieval styled fantasy novel with strong Black/Bi-Racial female main characters plus some trans representation.

3. Twenty Trillion Leagues Under The Sea - Adam Roberts

A delightfully strange fantasy novel that makes you want to keep reading.

4. Lord of the White Hell: Book Two - Ginn Hale

The conclusion of Hale's LGBTQ+ protagonist lead fantasy series.

5. Journey to Jo'burg a South African Story - Beverley Naidoo

An excellent book that brings the reader back to the unpleasant Apartheid era of South Africa. Reading this book brought out a lot of sad and angry emotions but it was worth the read.

6. The Sister of reckoning (The Good Luck Girls, 2) - Charlotte Nicole Davis

The second part of the Good Luck Girls series that I read last year. Great book filled with empowering female characters. Plus some trans representation as well. My only complaint about this book is that it seems to have concluded the series and I would've liked another book before the series ended.

7. Shadow Fallen: A Dream-Hunter Novel - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Apparently this book is part of a series but I didn't know that when I picked it up. Great book and it's kind of a stand alone book as I didn't read any of the previous series entries and fully understood and enjoyed the story.

8. Moon Witch, Spider King - James Marlon

This is the second part to Marlon Jame's dark African themed fantasy series. I picked this book up looking for an entirely new story but instead we essentially get the first book repackaged from another characters perspective.