#Boston Fire Department

[larryshapiro]

Boston FD Rescue 2 - evolution of recent apparatus

[gemthegerm]

happy 4th of july to this image the official boston fire department made and posted to twitter like 3 years ago. i will not let it die.

[boombox-fuckboy]

May 3rd is Bandcamp Friday, which means artists on Bandcamp get more out of your purchases. Why not support some of your favourite fiction podcasters, and get some crisp audio in the process?

Fiction Podcasts

Anamnesis (Full Audio Drama + Soundtrack)

Awake

Camlann (Season 1)

The Dungeon Economic Model (The Complete Series)

Folxlore (Part 1 • Part 2)

Generation Crossing

Inn Between (Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3)

Old Gods of Appalachia (Season 1 • Season 3)

Sidequesting (Season 1 • Season 2)

The Tower (Part I • Part II • Part III)

What Will Be Here

Podcast Specials

The Deca Tapes (Puzzle Box)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Halloween Special)

Leaving Corvat (TEMPLE OF SLEEP)

Welcome To Night Vale (Live Shows: Condos • The Debate • The Librarian • The Investigators • Ghost Stories • All Hail • A Spy in the Desert • The Haunting of Night Vale)

Where The Stars Fell (The Christmas Chronicle)

Music From Podcasts

The Adventure Zone

Aftershocks (Soundtrack)

Alice Isn't Dead (Music From)

All My Fantasy Children

Among The Stars and Bones (OST)

ars PARADOXICA (When I'm Not Here • Electric River (End Theme))

The Ballard of Anne & Mary (Soundtrack)

The Big Loop (OST: FML • The Fugue )

Camlann (Keep the Fires Burning: The Original Soundtrack)

The Deca Tapes (OST)

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio (OST: Season One • Season Two)

Dreamboy (Silent Night, Holy Night)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Royal Musical Accompaniment • Chill Beats to Build Profitable Dungeons To)

Eeler's Choice (OST)

The Fall of the House of Sunshine

Folxlore (Music To Dance With Your Inner Demons To)

Friends At The Table

Gospels of the Flood (Soundtrack)

Greater Boston (Soundtrack, Seasons 1-3)

The Grotto (Soundtrack)

Hello From The Hallowoods (Starcrossed Gods OST)

It Makes A Sound (Wim Farros: The Attic Tape)

Kane and Feels (OST: Volume 1 • Volume 2)

Lake Clarity (OST)

Leaving Corvat (Re-mastered soundtrack)

Liars & Leeches

The Lost Cat Podcast (Musical Features)

Malevolent

Midnight Radio (OST)

Mockery Manor (The Music Of: Season One • Season Two • Season Three • A Midwinter Night's Dream)

Neoscum

Nowhere, On Air

Old Gods of Appalachia (What is Sung Under The Mountain Vol. 1 • The Land Unknown (Theme) • The Bride • Familiar & Beloved)

Our Fair City

The Pasithea Powder (Theme • Mary Ann • Odysseus)

The Penumbra Podcast

The Polybius Conspiracy (OST)

Re: Dracula (Concept Album)

ROGUEMAKER (Soundtrack)

Rogue Runners (OST)

Skyjacks (Call of the Sky)

Station Blue (OST)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

This Planet Needs a Name (Albums: The Nameless Songs - Landing - Growing - Shifting)

The Tower (Original Score: Part I • Part II • Part III)

Unplaced (Soundtrack)

Unseen (Soundtrack)

Where The Stars Fell

WOE.BEGONE

Wolf 359 (OST: Volume One • Volume Two • Volume Three)

Zero Hours

2024 Bandcamp Friday Dates

May 3rd

September 6th

October 4th

December 6th

[lacommunarde]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/us/politics/biden-commutes-37-death-sentences.html

Holy shit! He did it! Biden did it!

Dated: Dec 23, 2024

Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences Ahead of Trump’s Plan to Resume Federal Executions

Those affected by the president’s action on Monday are still subject to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Three men will remain on federal death row.

President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row, sparing the lives of 37 men just a month before Donald J. Trump will return to the Oval Office with a promise to restart federal executions. Those affected by Mr. Biden’s action, all of whom were convicted of murder, will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole instead of facing execution. Only three men, who each carried out notorious mass killings, will remain on federal death row.

The president campaigned in 2020 on ending the federal death penalty. Although proposed legislation to that effect failed to advance in Congress during his administration, Mr. Biden directed the Justice Department to issue a moratorium on federal executions. Thirteen prisoners on federal death row were put to death during Mr. Trump’s first term.

I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level,” Mr. Biden said in a statement on Monday. “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”

Mr. Biden said the commutations were consistent with the standard he has imposed for halting executions “in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Mr. Biden said.

The White House released statements of support from faith leaders, civil rights groups and law enforcement officials, as well as from friends and family members of those killed by men on death row.

"Putting to death the person who killed my police partner and best friend would have brought me no peace,” said Donnie Oliverio, a retired police officer, who alluded to Mr. Biden’s being Catholic. “The president has done what is right here, and what is consistent with the faith he and I share.” His partner, Bryan S. Hurst, was shot and killed while on duty by Daryl Lawrence during an attempted bank robbery in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Lawrence was sentenced to death in 2006.

Of the 37 men whose sentences were commuted, 15 are white, 15 are Black, six are Latino and one is Asian. They were sentenced in 16 states, including three that have abolished the death penalty. Nine are on death row because they were convicted of killing fellow federal prisoners.

The three men who can still face federal execution are Robert D. Bowers, 52, who in 2018 gunned down 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; Dylann Roof, 30, the white supremacist who in 2015 opened fire on Black parishioners at a church in Charleston, S.C., killing nine people; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 31, one of the two brothers who carried out the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013 that killed three and maimed more than a dozen others.

Rest of article at link below:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/us/politics/biden-commutes-37-death-sentences.html?unlocked_article_code=1.jk4.cDXI.-ATuwJ3HvdW-&smid=url-share

[sanguinesmi1e]

In need of serotonin, so please enjoy Chapter 1 of my Sugar Baby Danny who talks to himself in ghost speak with a side of Dick has the obol coin which allows him to hear ghosts.

Midnight Snack (2650 words) by Sanguine_Smile Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Danny Phantom, Nightwing (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Danny Fenton/Dick Grayson Characters: Danny Fenton, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Batfamily Members (DCU), Jazz Fenton, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Boston Brand Additional Tags: sex worker danny fenton, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Danny Fenton is a Little Shit, nightwing can hear the dead, nightwing can talk to the dead, Good Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, because they really do try, even if they're very bad at it, kind of a corpse AU, But only if you squint, Sugar Baby AU, DC Stands for Disregard Canon, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Misunderstandings, Identity Shenanigans, Tags May Change

Summary: Dick should probably not have burned his bridges in quite such a spectacular fashion. Screaming “FUCK YOU ALL YOU CORRUPT MOTHERFUCKERS!!! YOU’RE ALL GONNA BURN IN HELL AND I’M GONNA ROAST MARSHMALLOWS OVER YOUR BURNING FLESH WHILE YOU DO IT!!!” while stripping to his boxers and then setting his police uniform on fire in the street in front of the Bludhaven PD station was probably going to look really suspicious when the exposé about the systemic racism, extortion, bribery, and multitudinous other issues in the Bludhaven police force is the Daily Planet’s headline news on Sunday. Really, he should probably have waited until after the article came out and pretended that he was leaving the force because of the revelations.

Or: Dick quits the police force in spectacular fashion and wakes up the next day with a hangover and a (un)dead escort in his bed. He decides fake dating said not-actually-a-corpse is the best way out of his predicament.

Or: Danny moonlights as an escort to pay his college tuition. He just woke up to a client discussing plans to dispose of his body. Now he's pretty sure the Waynes are a crime family to rival Falcone and Maroni, but with a way better PR department.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

If Elon Musk’s week were a Tesla, it would be the one parked outside a dealership in Oregon — the one with bullet holes in the windshield, a Molotov cocktail smoldering underneath, and the word "NAZI" scrawled across its hood. That’s not an exaggeration; that’s just Musk’s ego finally colliding with reality at high speed.

The man who once promised to colonize Mars now seems content burning down Earth. As Musk prances around Washington in his new role as Trump’s favorite government hatchet man, his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has turned out to be less about saving tax dollars and more about gutting everything that remotely resembles structure or accountability. Federal employees? Fired. Foreign aid programs? Slashed. Amtrak? Musk’s been eyeballing that one like a cat stalking a goldfish bowl.

Naturally, people aren’t happy. And when Elon Musk pisses off the public, they respond with a fury that makes Mad Max look like a yoga retreat.

TESLA GOES UP IN FLAMES — LITERALLY

This week alone, a Tesla dealership in Oregon was riddled with bullets like someone mistook it for a Wild West saloon. In Boston, a Tesla charging station was torched in what police believe was deliberate arson. In Colorado, someone planted a Molotov cocktail near a Tesla dealership. Over in France, a dozen Teslas were reduced to smoking husks outside a dealership near Toulouse. If Musk’s vision for the future was electric cars in every driveway, he probably didn’t imagine half of them looking like props from a Michael Bay movie.

In Manhattan’s West Village, protesters flooded a Tesla showroom chanting, "Nobody voted for Elon Musk!" — a fair point, since the only ballot Musk ever seemed interested in was whatever half-baked Twitter poll he was running to justify his latest tantrum. Six people were arrested after demonstrators stormed the showroom, with one unlucky soul charged with resisting arrest and obstructing government administration.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, one protester decided to skip the firebombs and go the arts-and-crafts route: he plastered stickers of Musk’s face on several Teslas — an act Musk angrily declared was "vandalism." Which is rich, coming from a man whose entire career is essentially high-speed vandalism of logic, decency, and common sense.

MUSK’S “MARTYR” ACT FALLS FLAT

Naturally, Musk reacted to all this chaos with the grace of a raccoon cornered in a dumpster. He claimed on X that ActBlue-funded leftist groups were behind the violence. Never mind that Forbes found zero evidence to support that claim — Elon’s approach to facts is about as precise as his driving instructions for Tesla Autopilot.

The man’s spent so much time in right-wing echo chambers that he now sees George Soros lurking behind every broken window and paint can. According to Musk’s logic, protesters torching cars across multiple continents are all part of some vast conspiracy to... make him look bad? No need, Elon — you’re doing that just fine on your own.

WHEN EVEN TESLA OWNERS ARE EMBARRASSED

The backlash isn’t just limited to Molotov cocktails and spray paint. Tesla owners — the very people who once bragged about their sleek, zero-emission status symbols — are now dumping their cars just to distance themselves from Musk’s political dumpster fire.

“I’m sort of embarrassed to be seen in that car now,” one former Tesla owner told The New York Times before trading in his Model S.

Imagine spending fifty grand on a car only to feel like you’re cruising down the street in a MAGA parade float. For years, Tesla owners took pride in driving the car of the future — now they’re just trying to avoid being seen in public like they’re piloting a clown car through town.

THE KING OF COLLAPSE

Musk’s descent into unhinged paranoia has turned his once-vaunted empire into a bonfire. His crusade against “woke culture” has driven his businesses into chaos. His obsession with control has gutted Twitter, slashed Tesla’s reputation, and made DOGE a bureaucratic joke.

The man’s ego is writing checks reality can’t cash. His cars are getting torched, his employees are fleeing DOGE like rats from a sinking ship, and his credibility is burning faster than a Tesla Supercharger station in Boston.

Elon Musk wanted to be humanity’s savior — the genius billionaire who would drag us into a brighter tomorrow. Instead, he's become the guy with too much money, too little sense, and a talent for turning everything he touches into scorched wreckage.

(Fear and Loathing Closer to the Edge)

[theweirdwideweb]

Would you recommend living in Minneapolis compared to other cities? I’ve considered moving there but I’m not sure.

Overall I'm a big fan of living in Minneapolis. It's a decent place to be. I've only lived in Boston before so I can't really compare it to other cities exactly, but--

Living in Minneapolis

Pros

$15/hr minimum wage

Rent is slightly less absurd than other cities.

Gay capital of the upper midwest

Cool music scene

Far left politics

Small city, but big enough to do something every night.

Polite culture.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity including large Somali, Hmong, and Native American populations

State government is decent, which is incredible by current standards

Only natural disasters are tornados. No hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, etc. Tornados are rare.

Rare location that will actually benefit from global warming in the next 50 years

OK public transit

Sells alcohol on Sundays now

Cool accent

Cons

Minneapolis Police Department

Worst racial education gap in the country

Homeless encampments everywhere that the police just bulldoze

"Minnesota Nice" -- politeness masquerading as warmth, but often results in passive aggressiveness

Notoriously difficult to make friends. I've heard this from so many transplants.

Overly cautious drivers.

Brutal Weather

[larryshapiro]

Boston FD Rescue 2 at Fenway Park

[maxenceandrebisset]

NHL for rookies || pt. 1

Basic knowledge of hockey and its rules is expected going into this.

══════════════════════════════════════════

Overview of this part:

Teams - history, the Original six, important staff members

League structure - conferences, divisions

Season structure - preseason, regular season, mention of the playoffs (will be a separate post)

Organizational structure - the Board of Governors & the commissioner

══════════════════════════════════════════

NHL or the National Hockey League is the most esteemed professional ice hockey league in the world, founded more than one hundred years ago in 1917.

It belongs to the "Big Four" leagues — NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL — which are the most prominent and wealthiest professional sports leagues in the US and Canada.

══════════════════════════════════════════

TEAMS

Currently, there are 32 teams — 25 in the US and 7 in Canada.

In the beginning (1917) though, there were only two — Montreal and Toronto.

After Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and New York Rangers joined in the 1920s, they formed what is to this day known as Original Six.

They served as the league's only teams for 25 seasons until further expansion happened.

To this day, the Original Six has the most combined Stanley Cup titles in the league.

They are among the most valuable teams in the NHL, as well as the most scrutinized and harshly judged by the public and experts.

Generally, it is considered a privilege to play for any of the Original Six teams (even though they haven't belonged to the most successful ones for a while).

══════════════════════════════════════════

Important staff members in the teams' structures — aside from the coaching staff:

GM (general manager) is the person who:

hires, fires, and supervises the head and assistant coaches, scouts, and all other hockey operations staff members

negotiates contracts with players and their agents or their current teams

responsible for acquiring and trading players

oversees the drafting process

calls up or sends down players to/from the AHL

manages the salary cap

President of the Hockey Operations:

above the GM in the organizational structure — oversees him

serves as a buffer between the GM and the team owner — ensures the hockey department aligns with the ownership's vision

can veto the GM on decisions

sets long-term direction — rebuilding...

handles high-level negotiations and disputes

.

.

.

Scouts — two types - amateur and professional:

Amateur scouts evaluate young, draft-eligible players in junior, college, and international leagues.

Their goal is to identify future NHL talents

Because of that, they travel extensively all over the world.

Their task is to put together a profile of young players that talks about the player's skating, hockey IQ, skill, and potential.

They also interview players, coaches, and families to evaluate the kid's character.

Professional scouts evaluate players already in pro hockey (NHL, AHL, European leagues).

They help with trades, free-agent signings, and call-ups.

Their job is to analyze players on other teams and find trade targets — players that would fit the specifics the team is currently looking for.

Provide reports on players the team may face in the upcoming games.

Tracks team's own minor-league prospect for potential call-ups.

══════════════════════════════════════════

LEAGUE STRUCTURE

The teams are divided into TWO CONFERENCES, based on the geographical positions — Eastern and Western.

Each conference is then further divided into TWO DIVISIONS.

The Eastern Conference has Metropolitan and Atlantic divisions.

The Western Conference has Central and Pacific divisions.

══════════════════════════════════════════

The map of the NHL divisions.

══════════════════════════════════════════

STRUCTURE OF THE SEASON

The NHL season is divided into:

A preseason (that covers September and early October) includes...

Development camp and prospect tournaments that feature prospects the teams have drafted (both signed and unsigned), as well as specifically invited players from any other hockey league who haven't been drafted or signed by any NHL team yet but whom the teams are interested in.

Training camp begins in mid-to-late September.

The team invites and evaluates around 50 players to put together their roster for the follow-up season and begin the training.

Even the players who are considered stable members of the roster attend this camp and are expected to prove themselves to the coaches.

Primarily it is for the young prospects who have the potential to make the team to show up and convince the coaches that they deserve a spot on the roster & for the new additions (traded players) to show their abilities and how they click or not with the new team.

It is followed by 6-8 exhibition not-for-the-record games that allow the coaches to evaluate their choice of the roster for the following season by seeing it play a game against other teams.

══════════════════════════════════════════

A regular season (till mid-April)

Predefined schedule — since 2021 the regular season consists of 82 games, out of which half is at home and half on the road.

To be precise, 26 out of those games they play against the teams from their division; 24 against the teams from the teams from the other division of their conference; and 32 remaining against every team in the other conference — two (home and road) against every team.

2 points are awarded for a win, 1 point for losing in overtime or a shootout, 0 points for a loss in regulation.

══════════════════════════════════════════

The playoffs (from April to the beginning of June)

Details will be explained in another part as there are a lot of important details that need to be said and explained.

══════════════════════════════════════════

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The ruling and governing body of the NHL is the Board of Governors.

Each team appoints a Governer — usually, it's the owner of the club — and two alternates.

The board establishes the policies of the league, concerns itself with the salary caps for member clubs, approves purchase/sale/relocation of a team, hires/fires the commissioner, and others.

It meets twice per year in June and December.

The chief executive of the league holds the title of the commissioner.

He leads the negotiations on behalf of the league and appoints officials for all games.

The position was established in 1993 and it has yet to experience a change as it still is Gary Bettman who is not a very well loved person among fans.

If you're asking why he's still the commissioner, it's because he made the owners of the clubs filthy rich back in the day (still does) and works primarily for them (not us, the fans) — satisfying all of their needs, and taking most of the bullets for them.

And since the owners of the clubs are mostly old filthily rich men, you can't expect progressive thinking from them, including a fair rotation on the spot of the commissioner — because what if there came someone who would go against them, right?

══════════════════════════════════════════

What to expect in the future parts:

Draft explained

Playoffs explained

Salary cap and contracts explained

How taxes nowadays make some teams more lucrative than others

Rebuilds explained

...and many more

══════════════════════════════════════════

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a Freedom of Information Act request that aims to reveal more about the sea life-saving work impeded by Trump’s mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The filing with NOAA seeks job descriptions and workplans of those fired by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. NOAA’s rapid loss of experts is crippling the agency’s ability to protect marine species such as critically endangered whales, sharks, sea turtles and corals.

“The incredible ocean animals that Americans adore are in serious danger as Musk plays power games with hard-working marine scientists,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. “Unbelievably, they fired an orca-saving employee of the year, and the public deserves to know what other animals, marine sanctuaries and conservation programs are paying the price for DOGE’s cuts. Getting rid of the experts carrying out important conservation work has devastating and unlawful consequences for both wildlife and people.”

The sweeping DOGE cuts are already hampering agencies’ mandates, though many of the precise harms are unknown.

According to news reports and social media posts, DOGE has fired at least 700 NOAA employees and previously gave buyouts to around 170. Among the many fired experts are the orca-saving employee of the year and the director of an ocean acidification program, both in Washington, a fisheries management specialist assessing salmon stocks in Alaska, a scallop fishery observer in Massachusetts, a meteorologist at the NOAA National Weather Service’s Boston office, an aviating “hurricane hunter” in Florida, and scientists and science communicators around the country.

The agency is also reportedly disbanding two committees related to marine protection: the Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Advisory Committee and the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

NOAA Fisheries is responsible for safeguarding and stewarding the marine species and protected areas off the coasts of the United States. It has jurisdiction over 165 endangered and threatened species, including blue whales, Oceanic whitetip sharks, Chinook salmon, green sea turtles and several species of corals.

[boombox-fuckboy]

2025 Bandcamp Friday Fiction Podcast Catalogue

Bandcamp Friday means artists on Bandcamp get more out of your purchases. Support your favourite fiction podcasters and get some crisp audio in the process.

Dates

(Starts at midnight, runs all day)

Friday, March 7th (UTC-08:00)

Friday, May 2nd (UTC-07:00)

Friday, August 1st (UTC-07:00)

Friday, September 5th (UTC-07:00)

Friday, October 3rd (UTC-07:00)

Friday, December 5th (UTC-08:00)

Fiction Podcasts

Anamnesis (Full Audio Drama + Soundtrack)

Awake (Full Show)

Camlann (Season 1)

The Dungeon Economic Model (The Complete Series)

Folxlore (Part 1 • Part 2)

Generation Crossing (Full Narrative Album)

Inn Between (Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3)

Old Gods of Appalachia (Season 1 • Season 3)

Sidequesting (Season 1 • Season 2)

The Tower (Part I • Part II • Part III)

What Will Be Here

Podcast Specials

The Deca Tapes (Puzzle Box)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Halloween Special)

Leaving Corvat (TEMPLE OF SLEEP)

Welcome To Night Vale (Live Shows: Condos • The Debate • The Librarian • The Investigators • Ghost Stories • All Hail • A Spy in the Desert • The Haunting of Night Vale)

Where The Stars Fell (The Christmas Chronicle)

Podcast Music

The Adventure Zone

Aftershocks (Soundtrack)

Alice Isn't Dead (Music From)

All My Fantasy Children

Among The Stars and Bones (OST)

ars PARADOXICA (When I'm Not Here • Electric River (End Theme))

The Ballard of Anne & Mary (Soundtrack)

The Big Loop (OST: FML • The Fugue )

Camlann (Keep the Fires Burning: The Original Soundtrack)

The Deca Tapes (OST)

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio (OST: Season One • Season Two)

Dreamboy (Silent Night, Holy Night)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Royal Musical Accompaniment • Chill Beats to Build Profitable Dungeons To)

Eeler's Choice (OST)

The Fall of the House of Sunshine

Folxlore (Music To Dance With Your Inner Demons To)

Friends At The Table

Gospels of the Flood (Soundtrack)

Greater Boston (Soundtrack, Seasons 1-3)

The Grotto (Soundtrack)

Hello From The Hallowoods (Starcrossed Gods OST)

It Makes A Sound (Wim Farros: The Attic Tape)

Kane and Feels (OST: Volume 1 • Volume 2)

Lake Clarity (OST)

Leaving Corvat (Re-mastered soundtrack)

Liars & Leeches

The Lost Cat Podcast (Musical Features)

Malevolent

Midnight Radio (OST)

Mockery Manor (The Music Of: Season One • Season Two • Season Three • A Midwinter Night's Dream)

Neoscum

Nowhere, On Air

Old Gods of Appalachia (What is Sung Under The Mountain Vol. 1 • The Land Unknown (Theme) • The Bride • Familiar & Beloved)

Our Fair City

The Pasithea Powder (Theme • Mary Ann • Odysseus)

The Penumbra Podcast

The Polybius Conspiracy (OST)

Re: Dracula (Concept Album)

ROGUEMAKER (Soundtrack)

Rogue Runners (OST)

Skyjacks (Call of the Sky)

Station Blue (OST)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

This Planet Needs a Name (Albums: The Nameless Songs - Landing - Growing - Shifting)

The Tower (Original Score: Part I • Part II • Part III)

Unplaced (Soundtrack)

Unseen (Soundtrack)

Where The Stars Fell

WOE.BEGONE

Wolf 359 (OST: Volume One • Volume Two • Volume Three)

Zero Hours

Additions encouraged.

[brightlotusmoon]

According to a report in the Boston Herald, fired civil servants are busy applying for unemployment checks and using the medical benefits still available to them to load up on medications while at the same time getting tepid support on the home front.

As the report notes, "Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste."

24-year-old Luke Tobin, who was axed from his job working for the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho confessed, "I’ve been treated as a public enemy by the government and now it’s bleeding into my own family."

During his interview, Tobin added some relatives believe his dismissal is what needs to happen "to make the government great again” before adding, "They can’t separate their ideology and their politics from supporting their own family and their own loved ones.”

Kristin Jenn, who was on the verge of starting her job with the Forest Service, claimed she has faced the same lack of sympathy.

"My life is disintegrating because I can’t work in my chosen field,” the 47-year-old living in Austin explained. “Lump on top of that no support from family – it hits you very hard.”

Jenn noted that her mother, a federal employee herself, still supports Trump.

“She has somehow been convinced that public servants are a parasite and unproductive even though she was a public servant,” she pointed out.

The report states, "Eric Anderson, 48, of Chicago, was still absorbing the shock of being fired from his National Parks Service job as a biological science technician when he came across his aunt’s social media post celebrating the DOGE cuts. The gist, Anderson said, was, 'Man, it sure is great seeing all this waste being knocked off,'" which led him to angrily complain, "Do you think I’m a waste? There are a lot of people out there that are hurting right now that are not a waste.”

Riley Rackliffe, who was employed as aquatic ecologist at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, was advised by a friend who texted him, "Hey, I’m sorry you lost your job but I think we really need to cut out some of this waste in the government, he added, "He basically said, ’We’ve got to do this. We’ve got to rip off the Band-Aid.'"

Addressing the president who is ultimately responsible for the mass firings, he continued, "It’s really hurtful for the president to insinuate that you don’t exist or that your job consisted of sitting at home doing nothing and cashing the paycheck. I’d like to see him sifting through spiny naiad in 120-degree weather looking for parasitic snails. He’s the one that goes golfing on the government dime. I don’t even know how to golf.”

[cottoncandytrafficcones]

10 Cool Jewish Women from Modern Day: Part 4 as a Shabbat treat

Siona Benjamin, an author and artist. Born in Mumbai, she is an Indian-American artist living in New York City. Born to a Bene Israel family, she was brought up in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim India. Her work has been featured in a variety of media including The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. Most of her work figures women, including Miriam, Rachel, Leah, and Esther, and often features Indian themes and clothing. She is the illustrator of children's books On a Chariot of Fire, The Blue Butterfly of Cochin, and I am Hava, as well as the semi-biographical Growing Up Jewish in India.

Becky Albertalli, an American author and former psychologist. Raised in a Reform Jewish household, she has a BA and a PhD in psychology. In her practice, she specialized in working with Queer youth. Her first book, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, was published in 2015. She came out as bisexual in an essay in 2020. She has received acclaim from several reviewers. One of her books was named a Stonewall Honor Book.

Rabbanit Sally Mayer, Rosh Midrasha at Mideshet Lindenbaum, as well as a teacher of Talmud and Halcha. She has worked as an editor for the new Korean translation of the Talmud. Born in America, she chaired the Talmud Department and Israel Guidance center for Ma'ayanot. She holds a BA from Stern and an MA in Medieval Jewish History from YU.

Aly Raisman, a retired American artistic gymnast and two time Olympian who participated in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games, winning gold and bronze medals, as well as the 2011 and 2015 World Championships, where she won bronze and gold medals. Born in Boston, she takes pride in being a member of the Jewish community. She was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for coming forward as a victim of sexual abuse, and has participated in a documentary about it. She finished fourth place in season sixteen of Dancing With the Stars, and has worked to empower women.

Tali Golergant, an Israeli-born Luxembourgish singer, songwriter, actress, and vocal coach who represented Luxembourg in Eurovision 2024. Born to a Peruvian Jewish father and an Israeli mother, she lived in several countries including Chile and Argentina before settling in Luxembourg. She began playing the piano at 7, and singing and acting at 12; she is fluent in Hebrew, Spanish, French, and English.

Marissa Avram, the first Thai soldier to serve in the IDF. Born to an Israeli father and a Thai mother who converted, she has an MA in Counter-Terrorism, Intelligence and Cybersecurity from Reichman University.

Alysa Stanton, American Reform rabbi and the first African American female rabbi and the first African American rabbi to lead a majority-Ashkenazi congregation. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she converted to Judaism at 24. She earned a BA in psychology and an MA in education from Colorado State University, and used to be a psychotherapist.

Alison Levine, a Canadian boccia competitor and Paralympic athlete. Diagnosed with idiopathic muscular dystrophy as a teenager, she threw boccia for the first time in 2012. She made her Paralympic debut in 2016, and won her first gold medal at the Montreal World Open in 2019. She has won medals in both singles and pairs boccia.

Dalila Bela, a Canadian-American actress of English, French, Brazilian, Panamanian and Spanish ancestry. She is publicly bisexual. Appearing in her first commercial at age five, she is known for her work as an actress in Anne With an E.

Leigh Bardugo, an Israeli born author known for the Grishaverse. Of Sephardic, Russian Jewish and Lithuanian Jewish heritage, she graduated with a BA in English from Yale. She had published several books, including ones with Jewish protagonists.

[tkachuktkaching]

Tkachuk has ‘really special’ day bringing Stanley Cup home to St. Louis

Panthers forward visits first responders, children’s hospital with famed trophy

ST. LOUIS -- Matthew Tkachuk remembers visiting family in Boston, the first stop usually being the North End fire department where his grandfather, John Tkachuk, was the chief.

“We’d ride the pole, try the hat on, sometimes we’d go for a ride even though I don’t know if that’s allowed,” the Florida Panthers forward said with a laugh on Thursday. “It was super cool and anytime I see firemen, on duty or off, I always make sure to go say ‘Hi’.”

And when Tkachuk had his day with the Stanley Cup on Thursday, the Brentwood Fire Department, located about 15 minutes west of his hometown of St. Louis in Brentwood, Missouri, was one of the stops he definitely had to make.

It was an enjoyable day for Tkachuk, who had 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) in 71 regular-season games and 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Panthers win their first Cup championship last month.

His time with the Cup actually began Wednesday, when he took it to lunch at Grassi’s Ristorante in Frontenac, Missouri, about 15 minutes west of St. Louis.

On Thursday he brought the Cup to his elementary school, Villa Duchesne in St. Louis, the St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the Brentwood police and fire departments.

“It’s been amazing," he said. "I’m trying to have that little mix of fitting everything I want possible in, but also want to enjoy it with those who are close to me. It’s been awesome so far and I’m sure the day’s going to continue to be awesome.”

There was no riding on the pole at the fire department this time, but Tkachuk did try on a fireman’s hat, saying that “it was a little snug. I’ve got a big head, but it was good.” He also took photos with the firemen and their families, displaying the Cup in the department and outside in front of one of the fire trucks.

Brentwood assistant fire chief Ed Beirne said when he told his staff that Tkachuk would be coming by with the Cup, “I didn’t think their eyes and mouths could open any wider.

“It’s an honor for us to actually be considered,” said Beirne, whose grandson, Faris, was placed in the Cup for one of the photos.

“Although we know the Tkachuk family is part of Brentwood, growing up around here, this is a massive effort to win the Cup. For them to remember and humble us by sharing his day with the Cup, I know he gets it for a short amount of time, but to share that time with us and then bring a lot of joy to the staff and family we were able to assemble, that is what’s really special about public safety and the NHL in general. It’s a family sport. All of us have played it, it’s a family, and this is a testament to that.”

When Tkachuk brought the Cup to the police department, he was joined by his immediate family, including brother Brady, captain of the Ottawa Senators, and father Keith, the former NHL forward who had 1,065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) in 1,201 games with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Atlanta Thrashers and St. Louis Blues.

Brady was catching up with Matthew after some early-morning training.

“I can’t just be riding his coattails. Have to prepare for next season,” Brady said with a laugh.

“This is our childhood dream, just to see it up close and personal, to see how happy and genuinely excited and fulfilled and satisfied Matthew is, it’s amazing to see. It’s been awesome to see, and it’s definitely created that burning desire for me to provide that for my family and friends, too.”

Matthew took photos with individual officers and staff members, who were hesitant as they approached the Cup.

“Anybody that knows anything about hockey knows the Cup is sacred, so we’re scared to touch it,” Brentwood police chief Joseph Spiess Jr. said.

“The Tkachuk family has a strong presence in Brentwood. Not only do we get to protect them, but we get to share in their celebration, so it’s cool for us. Most of the people in this building are huge fans, sports generally, but hockey in particular.”

When the Vegas Golden Knights won the Cup in 2023, it marked the first time that names were engraved on the Cup prior to players and staff getting their respective days with it. It was something Matthew appreciated.

“It’s really special for my family. Years and years and years of hockey in our blood and for grandparents and extended family that come to my house and see that Tkachuk name on the Cup there, it’s truly such a special thing,” Matthew said.

The family had its own time with the Cup by midday Thursday. After bringing home some barbecue, Brady and Keith, along with Matthew’s sister, Taryn, mom Chantal and his fiancée, Ellie Connell, took turns taking a sip of beer out of it.

Tkachuk had already spent some quality time with the Cup. He and a few Panthers teammates brought it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 25, the day after they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. That day, they brought it to the Elbo Room, a bar near the beach, and Tkachuk carried the Cup into the Atlantic Ocean.

But there’s something special about bringing it back to your hometown.

“It hasn’t sunk in,” Keith said. “It’s been so much fun watching Matthew with the Cup with other people. That means more than winning, so it’s so cool. We’re pretty proud. He’s been around, grew up here, wants to be a part of it and he took it everywhere. Everybody’s loving it. We’re loving it.”

via nhl.com

Photos © Tracey Myers

[cinnamongorll]

a fragile line - chapter 1

read on ao3! (111k words) | next chapter | masterlist

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female OC

Story summary: three years ago, Juliet escaped her father's religious survivor camp, ending up in the Boston QZ. Juliet created a life for herself in Boston, desperate to forget the trauma of her upbringing. One day, Juliet arrives home to find a mysterious letter which forces her to return to her home town. Juliet can't travel the harsh post-apocalyptic landscape alone, so she enlists the help of the grumpy and, at times, frightening man she works alongside: Joel Miller.

Tags: extreme slow burn, age gap, older man/younger woman, protective joel, jealous joel, hurt/comfort, pov third person, mutual pining, angst, sexual tension, friends to lovers, canon-typical violence, feral joel, parental abuse.

Word count: 2k

Chapter 1: ‘Marked for Death’

Death coated the back of Juliet’s throat.

This was not unusual. The aroma of rot and decomposition was commonplace in the body disposal department of the Boston QZ. However, if Juliet could actually taste it simmering on her tongue, it meant one thing: she needed a new mask. 

The threadbare fabric tied tight around her nose and mouth was singed earlier in the day when her shift partner tossed a body, with more force than necessary, into the large fire pit in the middle of the square. A few wayward sparks had settled on her mask, gradually burning through the cheap material. 

Juliet often wondered how the sickly sweet smell of decay could still remain when fire and smoke cleansed the air.

It didn’t surprise her, though: death always lingered. 

It was hour eight of her usual Tuesday shift. One more hour and Juliet could collect her ration cards, find her way to the nearest fabric stall then drag herself back to her tiny apartment. Exhaustion weighed heavy on her today, settling in her bones and restricting her movements. Her shift followed a pattern: walk to the loading truck, pick up a body, place it in the fire and try not to look as the skin blackened and blistered. 

The same task, the same people, every week, every month and every year of her residence in the Boston QZ. Every day was a repeat of the previous but she was safe and she was hidden, which was all she could hope for. 

More bodies, more fire and her shift was over. Another day completed. Juliet used the stained fabric of her t-shirt to wipe the ash from her hands and forehead as she joined the ration queue. She was in line behind Joel Miller, a man who had worked at body disposal as long as she had, probably longer actually.

Tall, with broad shoulders and dark brown hair speckled with grey and ash, Joel Miller towered above her with more than his height. He was impressive, intimidating. Juliet watched as he stretched his neck to the side and wiped the sweat beading on his skin, his shoulders were tight, his stance solid. 

Joel had a presence difficult to ignore, being around him always felt like the air had a little less oxygen, as though he took up a bit more space than everyone else. He didn’t talk much, or ever really, just a few grunts and hard instructions grumbled under his breath to whoever was partnered with him on shift. 

Juliet found herself drawn to Joel, despite their lack of interactions. Her eyes would follow his movements as they worked, observing his cool indifference as he performed their grim duty. She would notice him around the QZ, too. He was a ghostly presence, often found haunting street corners and disappearing in a blink of an eye. 

Juliet knew little about Joel, only that he sold drugs to her weird neighbour who had drunkenly offered her some while attempting to break into her apartment the other night. She added another lock to her door after that.

“Next!” barked the ration officer, shaking Juliet from her thoughts. 

She took a step forward and watched as Joel disappeared around the corner, shuffling ration cards in his smoke covered hands. Juliet wondered if he, too, had grown entirely numb to their gruesome occupation.

Juliet wondered if something worse, something more ghastly, haunted his daily life. 

After collecting her ration cards and buying a new mask, Juliet made her way home to her crumbling one bedroom apartment. Home was perhaps a strong word, what with its peeling twenty-year wallpaper, mould stained ceilings and less than ideal neighbours. But it was her’s. 

Turning the corner onto her street, Juliet’s eyes landed on a hunched form on the front step of her building. Juliet let out a sigh, quickened her steps and forced a smile onto her face. Margaret was waiting for her.

Margaret was her eighty-five year old neighbour who lived on the bottom floor of their building. She enjoyed long conversations, hard liquor, and gossiping about the inner workings of her neighbour's lives. 

“Juliet!” Margaret gasped out.

“Hi, Margaret,” Juliet called as she approached, her plastered smile beginning to falter as Margaret struggled to stand.

Juliet moved to hold the woman’s frail arms, she was frantic, her hands grasping at Juliet’s shoulders, desperate to gain her full attention.

“No, you must listen,” Margaret began, before doubling over, releasing a series of strangled coughs and gasps.

“Someone,” she coughed. “Someone was here…” croaked Margaret while pointing her shaking hand behind her, towards the door. 

“What? Who?” Juliet asked, she had never seen Margaret so panicked before. 

“Oh it was awful,” Margaret began, once again clutching Juliet’s arms, her arthritic fingers formed in a vice-like grip. 

“I was knitting at my dining table, working on my sweater… I must show you Juliet, it’s looking so wonderful, I used…”

“Stay focused,” Juliet interrupted, her voice soft and pleading. “What happened?”

“Yes! So, then I heard what sounded like someone marching through the hallway,” Margaret continued, her words quick and tense. 

“I knew it wasn’t yourself or Kenny because you were both working. So I got up and looked out my peep-hole.” Margaret’s voice had grown quieter, now almost a whisper.

“And I watched as two men with dark jackets walked past my door and headed upstairs”

“Next thing I know, I hear this horrendous crash. Now, I know it must have been bad because I could hear it! And you know how terrible my hearing is.”

Shock covered Juliet’s features, their apartment building had always been quiet, always lucky to avoid the crime raging the Boston QZ. 

“Did you see them leave?” Juliet asked, her voice urgent.

“Yes, thank god,” Margaret answered. “But dear… I think it was your apartment they went into, and by the sound of it, they surely broke down the door.”

Fuck, Juliet thought. Her heart now feverishly pumping the familiar blaze of fear throughout her body. “Stay here,” Juliet ordered, her voice hard as she moved to release her arms from the old woman’s grip. “I’ll go check it out.”

“Please be careful,” Margaret urged, clasping her hands together in a silent prayer. 

Stepping into the building, Juliet paused, listening. So familiar with the hum of her neighbours’ usual routines, Juliet could recognise any foreign noise. But no sound was unusual, nothing was amiss… that she could hear anyway. 

Feeling somewhat certain no strangers were lurking in the building, ready to emerge from a dark corner and grab her, Juliet decided to keep moving.

Climbing the steps to the first floor, her body was on high alert; any weariness from her gruelling shift was gone, adrenaline now coated her muscles. Only a sharp, steady focus remained. 

Reaching her apartment, Juliet stopped, her feet frozen. The door lay open with three of her four locks fractured, surrounded by splintered wood and chipped paint. The fourth lock lay on the floor by her feet, where it must have fallen after being brutally pried from the door. Juliet felt a sinking feeling deep in her gut. Each lock had become an emblem of her security in the Boston QZ. Now they were shattered. A stark reminder that her safety was never guaranteed. 

Juliet reached out, her fingers grazing the fractured wood as she gingerly pushed the door all the way open, moving into her apartment. A deep breath and a long exhale later, Juliet stood in her dining area, eyes now locked on a piece of folded paper on her kitchen table. 

She moved closer, Juliet’s body had lost its stamina, her limbs weighed her down. Each step towards the yellowed piece of paper was like wading through dark, chilled water. 

When she was close enough to recognise the handwriting, everything stilled. The air, the room, her beating heart… all slowing around her. A chorus of no, no, no, no, no, surged through her mind, spiralling inward, forming a shield around the memories threatening to resurface at the sight of that familiar scrawl. 

One hand gripped the edge of the table, tangled in the tablecloth, while the other tentatively lifted the paper. ‘My sweet Juliet’ it read in writing she knew so intimately it could have been etched on her heart. Carved with a sharp, brutal knife. 

A high pitched ringing enveloped her mind, numbing all sound apart from the echo of her shallow breaths. Juliet’s ash caked fingernails traced the edge of the worn paper, she pulled it apart to reveal a message: 

‘Juliet, 

How does it feel living so far from home? Surrounded by strangers. 

I admit I was shocked that night you left, I wondered what more you could desire, out in the wasteland of our world, that I had not provided you with? I imagine you have come to the conclusion, by now, that there is nothing else worth living for than the love of our lord. You see, I have eyes and ears in places you could never imagine. My men know the power of our lord and live with his blessing every day. I sent these men to find you, Juliet. I sent them to bring you this message. 

I have your friend Ethan in my care now, he has taken your place until you return to me. I have every hope that will be soon my dear, Juliet. He, too, screams when the judgement of our lord is upon him.  

Travel safely; the lord does not bless the sinners of this earth, 

Your father.’  

Ethan… No.  

Three years, three blissful years only focused on her own survival, liberated from the torture of her childhood. She left Ethan behind, she thought he would be safe. She was wrong, so very wrong.

Why, though, had her father waited so long to find her? To threaten her with Ethan’s safety? His life? She must have hidden well, burrowed herself so deep in the mundane of everyday QZ life, that even her father’s men, dotted about the country, had not found her for three years. 

Yet now her nameless existence had come to an end, slaughtered in a matter of seconds. Juliet’s hand clenched, crushing the paper within her palm. 

She had to go back. For Ethan, she would go back. 

The thought alone made her choke on her breath, gasping for air in the silent room.

Experience had taught her not to take her father’s threats lightly. 

Her journey to Boston was monstrous. Juliet witnessed sights which forever scarred the insides of her eyelids, appearing before her on dark and sleepless nights. Could she travel that distance again? Alone? Knowing what’s out there? No… she would die and so would Ethan. 

Juliet stumbled to her moth-eaten couch and sank into the decaying cushions. She reached her shaking hands to her eyes and pressed her fingers to her eyelids, pushing harder until only a dark nothingness remained. Her life in the Boston QZ was over…for Ethan she would return to the man who haunted her every step, his existence always reminding her she would never be fully free. 

Reluctance acceptance washed over her. For Ethan she would return to her prison, almost assuredly never to escape again. 

Removing her hands from her eyes, Juliet released a trembling sigh. Accepting her powerlessness brought a distance from her emotions. The thought of Ethan and the immediacy of the situation had started to drown out her terror and regret, leaving behind a cold numbness. 

In her emotionless stupor, Juliet started to plan her way out of the QZ.

A loose floorboard hid a map and a variety of makeshift weapons, including a switchblade which Juliet liked to keep sharp. Both were now on the coffee-table before her, Juliet hunched over the map tracing her journey with the tip of her blade.

There was one problem she couldn’t solve: this was not a journey she could make alone. Juliet survived her journey to Boston on sheer luck and willpower. She would risk her own life, but not Ethan’s. She had to get there alive.

Her blade stilled, its tip pierced through the rough paper into the hardwood table. Juliet’s racing thoughts had settled on the one person she knew had both spent a significant amount of time outside of the QZ and had a route out…

Joel Miller. 

Fuck.

[sealedintime]

The 1897 Amoskeag steam-powered fire engine of the Boston Fire Department. Weighing in at over 17,000 pounds. Boston, Massachusetts, 1919.