#Cadillac Arena

[jeanie-g]

Did you say PROMPTS?!?!

If they’re still open then JackNico and cemeteries?

Or if that doesn’t strike your fancy then JackNico and spices?

hey!! for your viewing pleasure...

[#46] cemeteries

(slightly nsfw, tw: period-typical homophobia, mentions/fears of homophobic violence)

Nico's car screeches to a halt before the iron gates of the town cemetery, on a little passage that used to be an access road for the funeral procession, but is now overgrown with weeds and the low-hanging branches of untamed trees.

It also happens to be the perfect hiding spot for car sex.

Nico turns off the ignition, and it takes all of four seconds for Jack to leap out of the passenger seat and into his lap, hands tugging on the lapels of his letterman. He's still in his Huskies jersey that’s a size too big, and Nico is trying to be normal about it.

It's routine, to come here after a win at home, but the novelty hasn't worn off in the slightest. Probably because Jack is the one he's bringing here.

"God, that trick play," Jack says, already slightly out of breath. "I wanted to run onto the field and blow you at the 40 yard line."

Nico chuckles. "Something tells me that'd get flagged."

Jack ignores him, eyes shifting between his eyes and his mouth. "You did so good, babe, making that pass, winning the game for us."

Nico pokes out his tongue. "I thought you didn't like sports."

Jack smiles. "I don't like football, but I like you."

Nico boos. “That was bad. Absolute cheddar.”

Jack rolls his eyes. “Oh, just fucking kiss me, Heisman."

And Nico does, grabbing Jack’s chin and bringing his head down to capture his lips. He can taste the salt from the popcorn he was eating in the stands. Jack wouldn't tell him where he was sitting, (not like Nico would've been able to spot him in a 70,000 capacity arena anyway), but just knowing that he was there meant the world to him.

Being a football prodigy with a full ride to U-Dub has its perks, but it isn't all cake and ice cream. Not when you're a gay football prodigy carrying the expectations that you're gonna be in the NFL someday. Even in a progressive place like Seattle, gay and football do not mix. Nico knows it wouldn't go over well if he came out. Being a lonely, closeted virgin made that pretty easy, though. If Nico never met a guy he'd like to date, then he'd never have a problem.

But then he met Jack. Loud, charming, beautiful Jack, who caught Nico's attention immediately in an acting class he tried as an elective and ended up dropping. He didn't drop Jack though, couldn't resist him when he'd cornered Nico in an empty hallway and asked him out point blank (which started as outwardly innocent drinks at the campus pub, and ended with Nico getting his dick sucked for the first time and coming all over Jack's tee shirt).

That was six months ago, and Nico can finally admit to himself that he might just be falling in love. Amazingly, it's not as scary as he thought it'd be.

But it’s 1996, and people suck, which means they have to get creative when hooking up. Nico’s got two roommates who beg off half their classes to sleep or play PC games, and Jack lives with his parents and little brother, who have a house basically down the street from campus. Besides dingy, single serve bar bathrooms (where aforementioned head was given) or the odd motel room that makes Nico paranoid, there aren’t many places they can go.

So, they spend a lot of time in Nico's car, a black 1989 Cadillac Eldorado his dad surprised him with for his 18th birthday. When Nico dreamed about owning his own car, he never envisioned washing come stains out of the bench, but when it's the only place you can have safe sex with your boyfriend, it sort of becomes the default. His car, in the dead of night, tucked into the bushes outside the all-but-abandoned cemetery.

And he’ll admit it, it can get creepy—there is a reason this place isn’t frequented, after all—but when his reward is Jack in front of him, moaning his name and sporting red marks all along his jaw, he can say it’s well worth it.

Nico breaks from Jack's lips to kiss down his neck, Jack moaning like a dream above him. He's already hard in his jeans, pent up on adrenaline from the win and Jack in his lap, and he can feel Jack's interest nudging at his belly. Nico's in paradise—a hot, pleasant haze pervading his head like a high. It’s like he’s in a trance, kissing down Jack’s collarbone.

A knock on the window shatters that, making them both jump right out of their skin. Ice shoots up Nico's spine, and they both go still.

“What the hell was that?” Jack asks, whole body rigid. “Is someone there?”

Nico says nothing, too terrified to even move. Did someone follow them here? Was it one of his teammates? What if it’s the police? Can they get arrested?! Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Nico,” Jack whispers, and he sounds so scared. Immediately, stories come to mind—ones Jack has told him about getting caught with another guy before. All the bruises and black eyes whose origins he had to lie to his parents about.

That breaks Nico out of his funk. Cop or not, if someone wants to lay a fucking finger on Jack, they’ll have to through U-Dub’s star quarterback first. Nico cranks his window down a crack, but when he looks through the brush and into the semi-darkness, no one's there—just the little light coming from the moon.

Hesitantly, he cranks it further, and when there’s still no sign of life, sticks his head out the window. He looks around, and it’s just as quiet as it was when they got there.

“They could be hiding, Neeks.”

“I don’t hear any rustling, though. With this much brush around us…”

Jack sighs. “We should just go.”

He makes to get out of Nico’s lap, but Nico gently grabs his hip.

“No, hold on. Hold on." He exhales, rolling it over in his head. "We’re miles from any houses, and no one is just walking around cemeteries at 10 o’clock. And if someone was following us, we would’ve heard their car and seen their lights.” Nico runs his hands down Jack’s arms to soothe him. “It was probably, like, an acorn hitting the car. Or a bird.”

Jack seems to mull this over. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I’m just..."

“No, no need to apologize, love. We’re okay.”

Jack exhales, bringing a hand to Nico’s cheek. He slowly leans in to kiss him, and Nico kisses him back, sweet and soothing.

It takes a few minutes for the both of them to settle down from the spook, but eventually things get heated again, Jack shifting in Nico’s lap to grind his hips down on Nico’s thigh.

"Do you have stuff?" Jack asks between panting breaths.

"Yeah, in my bag," Nico says, removing a hand from Jack's hair and leaning forward to root around in his gym duffel on the floor of the passenger seat. Jack mutters absolute filth into his ear while he does, enough to make a porn star blush.

After several seconds, though, Nico can't find the travel bottle of lube—just his sweaty gym clothes, his half-empty Kool Rider, and a pack of gum.

"Shit," he says, sitting back in his seat. "I don't have it."

"What?"

Nico does some mental cataloguing. "Must've left it in my room."

"Oh," Jack says, clearly disappointed.

Before Nico'd had sex, he assumed no one ever really wanted to bottom, that it was the short end of the wishbone—just a chore. It was Jack who educated him on the wonders of the male prostate, taking Nico's cock so many different ways that it made Nico's head spin. Jack'd even topped him a couple times, leading to some of the most vivid and intense orgasms of his life.

That being said, Jack loves to ride Nico, and he gets impatient and bitchy when he doesn't get his way—but there's still plenty they can do with what they have. Nico intends to demonstrate, snaking a hand down the front of Jack's jeans, when another knock on the window makes them both scream.

Jack shrinks back, flopping onto the passenger seat and hugging himself. "Okay, what the fuck was that?!" he cries.

And Nico doesn't know. Looking out the window, and craning his ear against it, there's still nothing. And while the sound before could be attributed to nonthreatening objects, as he had theorized, this knock was distinctly human fist-sounding.

"That's it," Nico says, sitting up and angling towards the door. He doesn't know what's going on, but someone is clearly messing with them—quietly making their way in and out of the brush and hiding before they can see who they are. Hell, it could even be an animal.

Jack reaches forward to grab him. "Nico, no! We don't know who's out there!"

"Well, whoever or whatever it is can't jerk us around. Here." He twists to reach into the backseat, retrieving the miniature baseball bat he keeps there. "This'll teach 'em."

Jack swallows, but lets go. "Be safe, okay?"

With a quick exhale, Nico unlocks the door and pulls the handle, poising his bat as he gets out of the car. He closes the door behind him, protecting Jack inside, and paws his way out of the brush.

"Alright!" Nico shouts. "Who's the funny guy, eh?"

No voices echo. Only crickets. Nico swallows and ventures out, checking under the car and behind trees. Nothing. Either their interloper is a ninja or they're both going insane.

As Nico stands, hands on his hips, contemplating what to do next, he can't deny the eerie atmosphere surrounding him. The longer he stands there, the more suffocated he feels, like the air itself is closing in on him. Something cold passes by his neck, making his hairs stand on end. He reaches back to touch it. Then he makes eye contact with one of the dilapidated stone gargoyles peering over the top of the iron gates.

Maybe Jack's right. Maybe they should just leave. Interloper or not, he's starting to get the creeps. But when he turns and takes a step, his foot makes contact with something small. He moves his shoe, and bends down, shining the flashlight. He squints his eyes.

"What the fuck?"

It's a brand new, still shrink-wrapped bottle of lube.

Was that...there before? It doesn't look weathered, or even slightly dirty. Like someone just picked it up right off the shelf and placed it for Nico's shoe to find. Hesitantly, and to see if his eyes aren't deceiving him, maybe, he picks it up. His neck goes cold again, making him shiver through three layers of clothing.

He drops it, and the feeling fades. What?

He leaves it on the ground and heads back to the car, opening the door and sliding back into his seat.

"So?" Jack asks eagerly. "What was it?"

Nico shakes his head. "I dunno, there was... lube on the ground? Outside of the car."

"Huh? Lube?"

Nico nods. "It wasn't there when I stepped out, I swear." It's silent for a moment, and then Jack starts laughing. Nico turns to him, surprised. He thought it'd freak him out, but...

At the sight of Jack in a fit of hysterics, the sheer oddity of the situation falls on Nico. Strange knocks on the window with no signs of anyone around, temperature drops, an object appearing right when they needed it, all at the sight of a definitely haunted cemetery?

Nico's not one to think supernatural first and foremost, but if he didn't know any better...

"D'you think," Jack gets out between gasps for air. "D'you think some ghosts are trying to help us fuck?"

Nico doesn't think Jack's honestly posing the question, but suddenly he wants to be anywhere but here.

"I'm not sticking around here long enough to find out."

Nico grabs his keys from the center console and starts the ignition, and without much more fanfare, they're headed back towards campus. The spook was enough of a boner kill, but looking at Jack still smiling to himself in the passenger seat, hair all mussed and pretty...

He doesn't think it'll be that difficult to pick up right where they left off.

(In a bed, preferably.)

[rpfofficial]

i love sex

[fappellmoan]

ohhhhhhh this is juicy…

[forthegothicheroine]

Oh hey, as long as I have my Stephen Hunter collection nearby, let me pull from another of his negative reviews, this one of the 1998 Godzilla. The theme of this review is that the movie is trying to have it both ways in the worst way, trying to counterbalance ugly 50s ideas with ugly 90s ideas. This culminates, naturally, in the movie’s overall theme:

The prime idea of the fifties monster movie- and of fifties America- can barely be expressed now, so retrograde and slimy has it come to seem. But let us say it loud and clear: that man shall have supremacy over the Earth, its birds, beasts and fishes. It was, we believed and this Godzilla advances, our Earth. This is what I admire about this film- like Independence Day, it really gives you what it promises. Big intruder comes into the house; we kill it. Hooray, huzzah, way to go! Mess with us and die. If you want to run, you’ll only die tired...Emmerich pretends he believes [in environmentalism] and he makes all the right sounds, particularly by making certain the movie is devoid of white male authority figures who might seem to take pleasure in making the kill. But he pulls the trigger anyway. Talk about having a cake and eating it, too!

One thing that lets him get away with such apostasy is a nineties idea, and it makes the film distinctly different from a fifties film: it has no subtext. The greatest monster movies of the fifties- including all the Harryhausen work and the original Toho production- used the monster as a symbol of nature given scaled, puckered, or glisteny flesh; massive claws; and jaws the size of Cadillacs, come to punish us for fracturing the atom and learning how to destroy the planet. That may have been something of a fig leaf for a genre of movies that really took pleasure in the most primitive of cinema spectacle, the pure nihilism of destruction. Nevertheless it gave the movies a cloak of intellectual respectability, and in an era where critiques of our nuclear deterrent were not present in the arenas of public discussion, it might have seemed almost subversive. 

But Emmerich and Devlin keep their Godzilla distinctly meaning-free. At no point is the beast weighted with significance; he’s just a big beast. The end fo the Cold War has taken the sting out of bomb fear, but they don’t bother to make him a symbol of pollution or ozone depletion or deforestation or any of the other cosmic ills that we have unleashed upon ourselves. He’s just a big old green lizard with a prognathous jaw and glittery eyes. That way, secretly, we can enjoy the movie’s deepest and most subversive pleasure: Like the boys at the end of Lord of the Flies, we can, in our hearts, chant “KILL THE BEAST!” without remorse.

[elvis1970s]

Following on from a two-week Las Vegas engagement in March, Elvis kicked off his first arena tour in six months at Macon (GA) Coliseum, on April 24th, 1975. Part of the show was recorded at the soundboard and bootlegged.

There was huge local excitement about Elvis coming to town. One local paper reported that Elvis' entourage included twenty bodyguards, and they had booked out the entire top floor of the local Hilton, the transport arrangements having included a large private jet, blue and yellow Cadillac limousines and a chartered greyhound coach. Hotel staff told the paper that Elvis nearly took a tumble on a slippery floor while accessing the hotel through the kitchen, but took it in good humour.

The Macon Telegraph reported;

"…Elvis Presley, who has been selling out auditoriums and arenas for 20 years, did it again in Macon Thursday night before a crowd of 10,242 persons, who travelled from all over the Southeast to hear the legendary performer sing…At 9.40 p.m, Presley walked up the eight steps leading to the five foot high, 32 by 40 foot stage and the overflow crowd burst into yells, tears, screams and roaring applause…The performer immediately began singing See See Rider, which was followed by I Got A Woman. He paused after these two numbers and introduced himself to the elated crowd as Johnny Cash. That drew a tremendous round of laughter and applause…Presley, wearing a blue suit with silver sequins, followed those songs with 15 others, including such favourites as Love Me, Burning Love and Let Me Be There…Presley left the stage amidst thundering applause and thrilled fans who stretched over the balcony trying to touch the performer…"

It’s an interesting set-list, with the emphasis on more contemporary material. This mix is a little different with piano dominating in the rock numbers, and actually overpowering the vocal in some parts.

The tour extended through to May 7th, and included a benefit show in Jackson for victims of a recent Tornado in McComb, MS.

[lyrics365]

California

California en el barrio los dos Cuantas tardes soñamos con ir En un cadillac cruzando el país Arena en la piel y un verano que no tuviera fin California “The sumer of love” Que nos tuvo colgados de allí Tu guitarra y yo cantándole rock and roll Asi eramos 1992 Te oi decir ahora o nunca tantas veces de verdad Yo te grite con toda el alma esta es la oportunidad Pero nunca subimos al…

[the-kiss-museum-news]

November 19, 1975

Details: Traverse City, MI 🇺🇸 Glacier Arena Promoter: Steve Glantz Productions Other act(s): Styx (opener) Reported audience: 5,800 **SOLD-OUT Reported gross: $28,200

Notes: - KISS's equipment blew out and the band reportedly only managed three songs following Styx's set at this concert. According to press reports, while Styx was performing their final song an electrical short caused $12,000 of damage to amps, speakers, and lighting. Requiring $35,000 worth of refunds! - The management of the Dome later blamed KISS for the short-circuit that ended the show, but also installed an upgraded electrical system to power concert backlines. However, the issues affecting the venue were more serious, since the event was dangerously over-sold for the venue. - The official capacity was 4,154 seats, though the facilities could only handle a maximum 2,451 person capacity at the time. The state fire marshal limited the venue's capacity to that latter figure following the show. Initially there were plans to reschedule the show, but the facilities issues caused the ultimate cancellation. - The whole situation, plus police seizures of "$1,300 of illegal drugs and paraphernalia from the fans" during the concert beg the question that the "short" might have been seen as a convenient way out of a potentially dangerous situation. No concerts were held at this venue until June 1976 when REO Speedwagon came to town with Head First. - Cadillac High School Coach Jim Neff attended this show. (www.kissconcerthistory.com) November 18, 1975 Port Huron, MI McMorran Place Arena

courtesy: edward przydzial - editors desk

[snkrfnd]

Last night I took cold medicine before bed bc I've been fighting a terrible cough.

My dream started with avoiding a serial killer dressed as a sports team animal mascot to finding a stage in an outdoor arena and picking up a guitar. In my dream history, I had previously been in an end-credits song of a movie as a child with Lil Nas X (in reality im old enough to be his mom). So when I picked up this guitar, parallel universe Lil Nas X appeared and transported me to his parallel universe. He drove a Cadillac convertible and took me to an outdoor market. I needed basic necessities because I wasn't from this universe. I remember digging through a barrel of donated shoes to find some size 11W similar to the dockers I wear to work in real life. The dream ended with a 2 hour graduate level finance exam. I began flickering between the parallel universes in a way that made the question on the exams change as soon as I answered it. So essentially every answer was wrong because I answered a different set of questions.

I woke up so pissed because my brain, in giving me parallel universe Lil Nas X, only gave me worn out work shoes and test anxiety instead of flying cars and unicorns.

[laresearchette]

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES? CHILD STAR (Disney + Star) ANNIHILATION (Paramount+ Canada) THE LOUD HOUSE: THE REALLY LOUD HOUSE (Paramount+ Canada) NÖTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME: THE UNCENSORED STORY OF ’80S HAIR METAL (Paramount+ Canada) STOP-LOSS (Paramount+ Canada) CAUGHT IN THE ACT: UNFAITHFUL (MTV Canada) 9:00pm STOPPING THE STEAL (HBO Canada) 9:00pm HIGH POTENTIAL (CTV) 10:00pm AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: AARON HERNANDEZ (FX Canada) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT? SIN CITY TOW (Premiering on September 18 on Discovery Channel Canada at 9:00pm) 30 FOR 30: STOLEN GOLD (Premiering on September 20 on TSN3 at 8:00pm) DANCING WITH THE STARS (Premiering on September 21 on City TV at 8:00pm)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA CIVIL WAR

DISNEY + STAR CHILD STAR DANCING WITH THE STARS (Season 33, premiere episode @ 8pm ET/ 5pm PT)

NETFLIX CANADA CULINARY CLASS WARS (KR) LIVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE WITH TYLER HENRY

MLB BASEBALL (SN1) 6:30pm: Dodgers vs. Marlins (SN Now) 6:30pm: Giants vs. Orioles (SN) 7:30pm: Jays vs. Rangers (TSN3/TSN5) Orioles vs. Red Sox (SN1) 9:30pm: Yankees vs. Mariners

WNBA BASKETBALL (TSN2/TSN4) 7:00pm: Lynx vs. Sun

CHUCK AND THE FIRST PEOPLES' KITCHEN (APTN) 7:00pm: Chuck visits Metepenagiag to fish for striped bass; he meets Stephen Paul, a local fisherman and guide; they catch two striped bass and gather fiddleheads.

2024 EVEREST NORTH AMERICA CURLING CLUB WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP (TSN5) 8:00pm: USA vs. Canada

DANA WHITE'S CONTENDER SERIES (SN360) 8:00pm

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (CBC) 8:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE)

TOP GEAR AMERICA (Discovery Velocity) 8:30pm/9:15pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Dax, Rob and Jethro call on the spirit of Evel Knievel to determine if 200 mph is a reasonable and prudent speed limit for a Bugatti, a Lamborghini and a Ford GT; Rob dispels an urban myth about his first car, a Ford Pinto. In Episode Two, while in Carmel, Calif., Dax, Rob and Jethro build three prototype Jaguars that are destined to appeal to the American buyer; Jethro heads to the desert in a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, where he discovers an icon in the making.

CBC WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL (CBC) 9:00pm: Hosted by Pete Zedlacher with performances by Matt Falk, Danish Anwar, Jess Salomon, Martha Chaves, Nitish Sahkuja, Ryan Williams.

LITTLE BIG COMMUNITY (APTN) 9:00pm: The Warm Springs people have thrived in Oregon's high desert for millennia; Elke and Jefferson are reconnecting with their ancestral lands and fighting for their rights to preserve their way of life linked to the Columbia River.

SLAG WARS (Out TV) 9:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Rebecca and Sophie search for the next LGBTQ+ icon.

A GOOD GAME (APTN) 10:30pm: The Anishinaabe community of Fort William First Nation has a beautiful arena. With two ice surfaces, this complex is bustling with activity and John discovers it's the people behind the scenes that make it all come together.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Another week, gone. Life seems to be flying by at an accelerated pace and I’m not fond of it.

I continue my React Native and TypeScript work, at work. I’m refactoring a bit of UI code to be shared in the project. It’s been a good experience. I’m definitely a fish out of water but making progress.

We’ll see what next week brings.

Hope you enjoy the links.

Alex Butler • UPI

Katie Ledecky left swimming rival Ariarne Titmus in her wicked wake, revving through the La Defense Arena pool waters toward a record ninth Olympic gold medal with another 800-meter freestyle victory Saturday in Paris.

YAY KATIE! 🇺🇸

Jay Famiglietti • The New York Times

The Central Valley of California supplies a quarter of the food on the nation’s dinner tables. But beneath this image of plenty and abundance, a crisis is brewing — an invisible one, under our feet — and it is not limited to California.

One quarter of the food on the nations table. That’s a big deal.

The big challenge moving forward is how do we get enough water to the Central Valley to continue to raise all those fruits and vegetables to feed everyone?

Yet again, we ignore climate change at our own peril.

Herb Sutter

That’s a great question. Cppreference is correct, and for all class types the answer is simple: The object is initialized on line 1 by having its default constructor called.

But (and you knew a “but” was coming), for a local object of a fundamental built-in type like int, the answer is… more elaborate. And that’s why Sam is asking, because Sam knows that the language has kind of loose about initializing such local objects, for historical reasons that made sense at the time.

Of course Mr. Sutter goes into great depth to explain how the declaration int a; is handled by the C++ compiler (how it’s supposed to be handled according to the standard.)

Remember C is a subset of C++. That was intentionally part of the goal at the time. To get folks to adopt C++ all the C code that had been written needed to continue working.

So, what does that mean for int a; in the question?

It means that declaration doesn’t really initialize a. It just gets whatever value is at that address. Let’s say there was a string represented by the memory now assigned to that declaration and the string began with the letter the ASCII letter ‘a’. Any guess what the value of ‘a’ would be? It would be 97.

In other words, ‘a’ is random.

Mike Masnick • Techdirt

I am excited to announce that I am joining the board of Bluesky, where I will be providing advice and guidance to the company to help it achieve its vision of a more open, more competitive, more decentralized online world.

This is surprising in a good way but I wish we didn’t have two competing decentralized protocols for the social web. It’s fine, I suppose, but having Blusky and Mastodon work with each other would be amazing. Threads still hasn’t delivered full integration with Mastodon, but Micro.blog has, WordPress has achieved some integration points, and Ghost is working on theirs. Tumblr would also be a nice addition but it’s now in a “keep the lights on” mode.

More Fediverse integration, not less.

Bradley Brownell • Jalopnik

Michael Andretti’s denied attempt to join the Formula 1 grid has been granted a DOJ investigation. American firm Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1 Group, denied Andretti Global’s entry to F1 earlier this year. The denial by F1, following a six-month review of the team’s application, which included a commitment from General Motors, claimed that it didn’t believe Andretti could field a competitive car in the series.

This has been a bit frustrating to watch. I would love to see another American company on the grid and I’d really love to see Guenther Steiner in charge of it! 😃

It would also put an American manufactured power unit on the grid from Cadillac. 👍🏼

Nadine Yousif and Michelle Fleury • BBC News

A US judge has ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on online searches and related advertising.

This is going to ripple throughout the industry. Does Apple lose their $20 billion fee from Google to be the preferred search engine? I guess we’ll find out.

Stephen Moore

Every friend I have with a job that involves picking up something heavier than a laptop more than twice a week eventually finds a way to slip something like this into conversation: “Bro,1[1] you don’t work hard. I just worked a 4700-hour week digging a tunnel under Mordor with a screwdriver.”

They have a point. Mordor sucks, and it’s certainly more physically taxing to dig a tunnel than poke at a keyboard unless you’re an ant. But, for the sake of the argument, can we agree that stress and insanity are bad things? Awesome. Welcome to programming.

Programming is definitely part science part insanity. I spend my days agonizing over coding choices, bouncing between feeling kind of smart to feeling a complete idiot.

It’s just the way, at least for me. 😃

Hanaa' Tameez • Nieman Journalism Lab

MTV pulled down MTV News in June. After Deadspin was sold, many of its archives temporarily disappeared. This week, Flaming Hydra reported that The Awl’s archives are gone. And those examples are just from the past couple of months; in 2021, the authors of a Reynolds Journalism Institute report found that just 7 out of 24 newsrooms they interviewed were fully preserving their news content.

This is kind of sad, isn’t it? Journalists losing their work because a publication shuts down.

Then we had the recent kerfuffle with TUAW where someone purchased the site and content, ran it through and AI, and republished all the content under the original authors names with different profile pictures. That’s slimy.

It’s no wonder authors are backing up their own work. I certainly would and do. I have 23 years of blog posts.

Simon Willison

It’s amusing to see Apple using “please” in their prompts, and politely requesting of the model: “Do not hallucinate. Do not make up factual information.”

This is an interesting piece. Go read how Apple is approaching AI. I love their prompts including words like “please” and “do not hallucinate.” Classic! 🤣

Charlie Savage • The New York Times

A bipartisan American Bar Association task force is calling on lawyers across the country to do more to help protect democracy ahead of the 2024 election, warning in a statement to be delivered Friday at the group’s annual meeting in Chicago that the nation faces a serious threat in “rising authoritarianism.”

If Trump loses in November the country needs to be prepared for all kinds of slimy efforts to take the election for themselves.

I have no clue what they’re going to do, but it’s coming.

Nikita Shukla • earth.org

Generative AI has very quickly been adopted across various sectors. However, this has led to increased global electricity consumption that is only predicted to increase further as the technology expands, with many tech companies already at risk of defaulting on their net-zero commitments.

This is a new type of arms race between the big players. They have to do it but they’re not going to make money from it for a long time and oh by the way they’re going to strain the crap out of our power grid. Why? Shareholder value. So while your power is out and you’re baking in the heat of summer or the cold of winter they’ll be happily churning out their next iteration of a fancy pachinko game that isn’t really intelligent, it’s just a super fancy decision tree being jammed into everything because AI.

Each and every AI company should be regulated and be required to generate two times the power they consume, at no cost to the consumer, to offset their consumption. Darned digital vampires.

Stephanie Apstein • Sports Illustrated

U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village

It’s amazing what a country can do for their citizenry, isn’t it? Healthcare for all, I say! Some things need to be done for the good of society. Healthy, educated, people are an amazing thing. It will allow us to invent and solve big problems. It’s good all around, in my opinion.

[vrianch]

tracklist

Azul Azul - La Bomba - El Sapo  

Diego Bertie - Que Difícil Es Amar - Fuego Azul  

Nek - Laura no està - Nek (spanish version)  

The Reflex - Rock With You [The Reflex Revision] - Million Sellers Vol.4  

Christian Meier - Carreteras Mojadas - No Me Acuerdo Quién Fui  

Counting Crows - Mr. Jones - August and Everything After  

JAMIROQUAI - Cosmic girl (Dj Shaggy) 120 b  

Spin Doctors - Two Princes - NOW 100 Hits: Classic Rock  

The Cardigans - My Favourite Game - Now That's What I Call Music! 41  

No Doubt - Don't Speak - Now That's What I Call Music! Vol.36 CD1  

UB&O - Genio Del Dub (Control Machete Remix By UB&O) - Mexican Sessions  

Cristian Castro - No Podras - Agua Nueva  

Ole Ole - La chica yeyé - 1990  

Arena Hash - Y Es Que Sucede Así - Ah Ah Ah  

Luna Verde - Ay Que Calor - Pop  

Los Fantasmas del Caribe - Muchacha Triste - Lo Mejor de Los Fantasmas del caribe  

Chayanne - Provócame - Grandes Exitos  

Magneto - Vuela, Vuela (Voyage, Voyage) - Vuela Vuela  

New Kids On The Block - Step by Step - Step By Step  

Lucero - Autocontrol - Solo Pienso En Ti  

Vilma Palma e Vampiros - Fondo Profundo - Fondo Profundo  

Garibaldi - Que Te la Pongo - Grandes Éxitos  

Two Man Sound - Coco Loco - Samba Megamix  

Celia Cruz - La Negra Tiene Tumbao - La Negra Tiene Tumbao  

Azul Azul - La Bomba - El Sapo  

Miki Gonzalez - El Mar - Grandes Éxitos  

Menudo - Yo Quiero Bailar Reggae - Imagínate...  

El General/Anayka - Rica y Apretadita (feat. Anayka) - Serie 2000  

Lisa M - Menealo - No Lo Derrumbes Album Lp Vinyl  

El General - Funkete - Originales  

Cafe Tacuba - Abm - No Controles  

Culture Club & Boy George - I'll Tumble 4 Ya - Hit Collection  

Jon Secada - Otro Día Más Sin Verte - Jon Secada  

New Kids On The Block - Tonight - Greatest Hits Of The Millennium: 90s (Vol. 1 CD1)  

Michael Jackson - Jam - Dangerous  

ILLYA KURYAKI _ THE VALDERRAMAS - Abarajame [The Play Mix] - Peru BPM  

Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time - ...Baby One More Time  

Madonna - Dm - Notting Really Matters - Ray Of Light  

Madonna - Fever (Edit One)  

Jordy - Dur Dur d'être bébé ! - Pochette Surprise (Remastered 2023)  

Daft Punk - Around The World - Homework  

Michael Jackson - Thriller (Steve Aoki Midnight Hour Remix) - Thriller (Steve Aoki Midnight Hour Remix)  

Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Greatest Ever Car Songs  

Roxette - Joyride - Joyride  

Roxette - The Look - Smooth FM Feel Good Favourites  

2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This - Electrónica de Oro  

2 Unlimited - Bbm - Twilight Zone - Hits Unlimited  

Dr. Alban - Am - It's My Life (Original Version) - Greatest Hits Disc 1  

Proyecto Uno - Brinca - Todo el Mundo!  

Proyecto Uno - El Tiburón - Latin Pulse 2000  

Dj Primera - Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - Mal Bicho [Dj Primera Remix Re Master]  

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - El Genio del Dub (Siambretta Hereje Version) - La Luz del Ritmo  

Dr. Alban - No Coke - Hello Afrika  

Pato Banton - Go Pato - The Best Of Pato Banton  

El General - Te Ves Buena - Estas Buena  

Natusha - Meneito - Remix - Re Mix  

Ace of Base - Happy Nation - The Sign  

Ace of Base - The Sign - The Sign  

Abm - Tu Pun Pun - Abm  

Reel 2 Real - I Like To Move It (MOOMBAHTON MIX) - X-Mix Urban Series 200  

Garibaldi - Que Te la Pongo - Grandes Éxitos  

Natusha - Lambada (Dj Flack Lambada)  

Shakira - Ciega, Sordomuda - Donde Estan Los Ladrones  

The Sacados - Hablándole a la Pared - Contra Attacan  

Pablo Ruiz - La Malagueña - Océano  

The Sacados - Ritmo de la Noche (Classic Version) - Superexitos Vol. 2  

Los Melódicos - Mi Corazón - La Orquesta Que Impone El Ritmo  

Pedro Suárez-Vértiz - Me Estoy Enamorando - Póntelo en la Lengua  

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - El Matador - 20 Grandes Exitos  

Michael Jackson - Black or White - Dangerous  

Chayanne - Provócame - Provócame  

Loco Mía - Loco Vox - Grandes Éxitos  

Miguel Mateos - Tira Para Arriba - Zas  

Café Tacvba - Como te extraño mi amor - Avalancha de éxitos  

Control Machete - ¿Comprendes, Mendes? - Mucho Barato  

Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas - Coolo - Amores Perros CD1  

Jedward feat Vanilla Ice - Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) - Now That's What I Call Music! #75 (CD1)  

Britney Spears - (You Drive Me) Crazy - ...Baby One More Time  

Pedro Suárez-Vértiz - Los Globos del Cielo - Póntelo en la Lengua  

Los Del Rio - Macarena - River Re-Mix - Fiesta Macarena  

Natusha - 100 MENEITO - [lCIXRemixe$]  

Los Pericos - Párate Y Mira - Pampas Reggae  

Maná - Como Te Deseo - ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Niños?  

Vico C - Bomba Para Afincar - VICO-C Digital Collection 1987-2007  

Vilma Palma e Vampiros - Fondo Profundo - Fondo Profundo  

Miami Sound Machine - Conga! - The Very Best Of Gloria Estefan (English Version)  

Ilegales - La Morena - Ilegales  

Juan Luis Guerra - Women del Callao (Spanish/English) - Romance Rosa  

Juan Luis Guerra y 4.40 - Las Avispas - Coleccion Cristiana  

Los Auténticos Decadentes - Los Piratas - Cualquiera Puede Cantar  

El Gato DJ - Mueve la colita - Remastered - Regreso al futuro  

LATIN LOVER - 134 - DECADANCE [DJ JOFERS TECHNO PERUANO]  

Twenty 4 Seven - Slave To The Music [ NOPARAK ]19'' 7  

Chimo Bayo - Asi Me Gusta - Sonido De Valencia - 1990 - 1999  

Faithless - God Is A DJ - Forever Faithless  

Fatboy Slim - Star 69 - Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars  

EMF - D - Children - Schubert Dip  

Underworld - Born Slippy (Nuxx) - 1992 - 2012

[motorsportverso]

Programação dias 8-12\05

Quarta-feira-08\05

04:00-WRC-Portugal-Shakedown-Youtube

15:00-WRC-Portugal-SS1-Sportv4 Portugal

Sexta-feira-10\05

04:00-WRC-Portugal-SS2-Sportv4

05:30-WRC-Portugal-SS3-Sportv4

05:50-Fia WEC-SPA-FP3-Youtube

07:30-WRC-Portugal-SS4-Sportv4

08:30-WRC-Portugal-SS5-Sportv4

09:35-Fia WEC-SPA-Qualyfing-Youtube

10:00-WRC-Portugal-SS6-Sportv4 Portugal

10:00-Fomula E-Berlin-FP1-Youtube

10:30-Rally X Nordic-Etapa 1-Tierp Arena-Youtube

10:50-WRC-Portugal-SS7-Sportv4 Portugal

12:00-WRC-Portugal-SS8-Sportv4 Portugal

14:00-WRC-Portugal-SS9-Sportv4 Portugal

20:00-S.O.S-Rio Grande do Sul-Esports-TCR-Youtube

21:30-S.O.S-Rio Grande do Sul-Esports-GT3-Youtube

Sabado-11\05

03:45-Monaco Historic Gran-Prix-Quayfing-parte 1-Youtube

07:30-Rally X Nordic-Tierp Arena-Etapa 2-Youtube

07:30-Mitsubishi Cup-Velocita-Youtube\Bandsports

07:30-Fia WEC-SPA-Youtube\Bandplay

09:25-Monaco Historic Gran-Prix-Quayfing-parte 2-Youtube

10:00-Mitsubishi Cup-Velocita-Youtube\Bandsports(etapa em andamento)

10:00-Formula E-Berlin-Race 1\corrida 1-Youtube\Bandplay\Bandsports

11:00-Endurance Brasil-Interlagos-Youtube\Bandsports

20:00-IMSA-Laguna Seca-Qualyfing-IMSA.TV\Youtube

Brasileiros na pista

Fia WEC:Augusto Farfus(BMW M4 GT3 #31), Nicolas Costa(Mclaren 720s GT3 #59)

IMSA:Pipo Derani(Cadillac V Series #31), Felipe Nasr(Porsche 963 #7)

Formula E:Lucas Di Grassi(ABT Cupra), Sergio Sette Camara(ERT)

E1 Series:Team Brasil

GT Open:Allan Khodair\Marcelo Hahn(Ferrari 296 GT3 #16)

WRC:Gabriel Morales(Ford Fiesta Rally 3(navegador)

[4x4enginespecialists]

How Does The Fuel Efficiency Of The Range Rover 2.0 Engine Compare To Its Competitors?

Introduction

In the realm of luxury SUVs, the Range Rover has long reigned supreme, embodying a blend of opulence, off-road prowess, and commanding presence on the road. However, as environmental concerns and fuel efficiency become increasingly significant factors in consumer decision-making, the question arises: how does the fuel efficiency of the Range Rover, particularly with its 2.0 engine, stack up against its competitors? We delves into a comprehensive comparison, examining the fuel efficiency of the Range Rover 2.0 engine in relation to its rivals in the luxury SUV segment.

The Rise of the Luxury SUV Segment

The luxury SUV segment has witnessed a remarkable surge in popularity over the past few decades. Once dominated by sedans and sports cars, consumers now gravitate towards SUVs for their spacious interiors, elevated driving position, and versatility. This shift in preference has prompted luxury automakers to invest heavily in developing SUV offerings that combine lavish amenities with formidable performance.

The Iconic Range Rover Legacy

Few vehicles command as much reverence and admiration as the Range Rover. Since its inception in 1970, this British marque has epitomized luxury and refinement while retaining its legendary off-road capabilities. The Range Rover's timeless design, sumptuous interiors, and unmatched prestige have solidified its status as a symbol of automotive excellence.

Introducing the Range Rover 2.0 Engine

In response to evolving market demands and stringent emissions regulations, Land Rover introduced the Range Rover 2.0 engine—a smaller, more fuel-efficient powerplant designed to complement the vehicle's luxurious demeanor. Despite its reduced displacement, this turbocharged four-cylinder engine promises respectable performance without compromising on the brand's hallmark refinement.

Competitors in the Luxury SUV Arena

The luxury SUV landscape is crowded with formidable contenders vying for the attention of discerning buyers. From German stalwarts like Mercedes-Benz and BMW to American icons such as Cadillac and Lincoln, the competition is fierce. Each brand brings its unique blend of style, technology, and performance to the table, making for an intriguing comparison with the Range Rover. You can get the best information about the range rover engine here at the https://4x4enginespecialists.co.uk/ .

Fuel Efficiency: A Key Consideration

As concerns over climate change and sustainability mount, fuel efficiency has emerged as a crucial consideration for prospective car buyers. While luxury SUVs are not typically associated with frugality at the pump, advancements in engine technology and lightweight construction have enabled manufacturers to deliver more economical options without compromising on performance or comfort.

Evaluating Fuel Efficiency Metrics

When assessing the fuel efficiency of vehicles, several metrics come into play. The most common measure is miles per gallon (MPG), which indicates the distance a vehicle can travel on a gallon of fuel. However, factors such as driving conditions, terrain, and driving style can influence real-world fuel consumption, necessitating a comprehensive evaluation to provide meaningful comparisons.

Performance vs. Efficiency: Striking the Balance

Luxury SUV buyers often face a dilemma: prioritize performance or opt for improved fuel efficiency. While traditional wisdom dictates that larger engines deliver superior power, advancements in turbocharging and hybridization have blurred the lines between performance and efficiency. The challenge for automakers lies in striking the right balance to cater to diverse customer preferences.

The Future of Luxury SUVs

As automakers continue to innovate and adapt to evolving market trends, the future of luxury SUVs looks promising. From electrification and autonomous driving capabilities to sustainable materials and connected features, tomorrow's luxury SUVs promise to redefine the driving experience while addressing environmental concerns. The Range Rover, with its storied legacy and commitment to innovation, is poised to lead the charge into this exciting new era.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the fuel efficiency of the Range Rover 2.0 engine holds its own against competitors in the luxury SUV segment, offering a compelling blend of performance, refinement, and economy. While traditional metrics may favor larger-displacement engines, the Range Rover demonstrates that downsizing need not entail compromises in luxury or capability. As consumers increasingly prioritize sustainability and efficiency, the Range Rover stands as a beacon of innovation, embodying the ethos of luxury without excess. In a landscape defined by change, the Range Rover remains steadfast in its commitment to excellence, ensuring its continued relevance and allure for generations to come. Read the full article

[c-40]

A-T-4 081 Whodini Escape

Historian JayQuan talks about things you'd hear 'around the way' music familiar to your ear but you didn't necessarily knowing what they were. Because I turned 10-years-old in 1984 unless it broke into the charts a lot of hip hop and electro was like that but I clearly remember Escape by Whodini

Escape was the first hip hop album to enter the US top 40. Run DMCs debut album and Escape both have a claim to first hip hop album to be certified platinum in the US. It was a commercial success and is considered a classic

The album was recorded at Battery Studios in London and engineered by Willesden Dodger, Nigel Green

“Whodini came to America as an import," lead writer Jalil explained to JayQuan in a 2005 interview. “Our recording home Jive/Zomba was based in Europe, and that’s where we recorded. They had SSL boards (Solid State Logic mixing consoles) long before the states. That’s the reason why it sounds so good when people sample “Friends."

Like Kurtis Blow, Whodini were represented by Rush Management

Mr. Magic introduced Jalil to mogul, promoter and manager Russell Simmons, and Simmons introduced him to Larry Smith in the legendary Disco Fever night club, and that meeting would eventually give birth to the Whodini sound.

This introduction was a few years before Larry Smith would produce Whodini. I've read several slightly different accounts from Jalil but in each one Larry Smith agrees to produce because American health care is so backwards. Initially Jive hired Larry Smith and Russell Simmons but Simmons couldn't make the recording session. I've mentioned Larry Smith a lot, he's in Orange Krush the band who backed Kurtis Blow from the get go, him name is on writing and production credits for a lot of great hip hop from this era, including Run DMCs first two albums

Jalil says that multi-instrumentalist and producer Larry Smith wasn’t initially impressed with Whodini’s output up until the time of their initial meeting. An accident where one of Larry’s guitar players “Sliced off a couple of fingers” servicing an automobile put Larry into a position where he needed funds, so he invited Jalil over to check out some music. “5 Minutes of Funk” was one of the first songs that Jalil heard in this batch of music (Ja says that "5 Minutes of Funk" originally contained a Rock guitar bassline). Jalil also had a beat in his head that he had been beating on his mattress trying to bring to some sort of fruition. When Larry heard Jalil’s initial idea, he replied “That’s would take three different kick drums," to which Jalil replied “Thats what i'm hearing.” That beat would become “Friends," and along with “5 Minutes of Funk” would be the lead single from Escape.

Larry Smith who would produce or be a producer on four of Whodini's six albums. Produced Run DMCs first two albums

A month before the release of Escape, Whodini along with Run-DMC, Kurtis Blow, Fat Boys, and Newcleus embarked on the Swatch Watch Fresh Fest Tour across the US. There had been an earlier Sugarhill Revue Tour with artists from that label and there had been the New York City Rap Tour across Europe in 1982 but if we ignore those Fresh Fest was the first hip hop arena tour - some consider it to be the greatest hip hop tour of all time

Friends

Five Minutes Of Funk

Freaks Come Out At Night the video features footage from Fresh Fest

Big Mouth "Big Mouth" was a cautionary tale for those who spread rumors, and don't know when to shut up. "I used to get angry and all uptight, but you can say what you want, just spell my name right," Ecstasy raps. Musically "Big Mouth" is one of the few times that Larry Smith produced a nearly all drum machine track for Whodini. One of the genius elements of Larry's production was that he crafted very melodic pieces for Whodini, while supplying Run-D.M.C. with mostly beats. Music critic Tom Terrell says that "Larry envisioned Whodini as the Cadillac Seville to Run-D.M.C's Electra 225 hooptie."

Look out for Run and Jam Master Jay in the video

All quotes from https://rockthebells.com/articles/classic-albums-escape-whodini/

[esonetwork]

The Iron Claw - Soul Forge Podcast 311

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/the-iron-claw/

The Iron Claw - Soul Forge Podcast 311

The Iron Claw tells the story of the professional wrestling family, the Von Erichs. Shawn and Leah just saw this film in theatres, and are here to share their thoughts on the movie, and recall their wrestling memories.

Of the two, Leah is a bigger fan of wrestling than Shawn. She has met many professional wrestlers. One time, Shawn saw Hulk Hogan walking up some stairs. The bulk of Shawn’s wrestling knowledge is from the mid-1980s to about 1991. Leah has had much more interaction in the world of wrestling, including going on a wrestling inspired cruise.

The Iron Claw starts in the nineteen-sixties, when Fritz, a struggling wrestler, splurges on a Cadillac to foster an illusion of success, while imbuing his two young sons, Kevin and David, with a gospel of fanatical self-reliance that’s also an imperative to be the ���toughest” and the “strongest.” The movie’s protagonist, and its occasional narrator, is the grownup Kevin, the family’s oldest surviving son. Kevin’s older brother, Jack, Jr., died in an accident at the age of six. Jack’s death is one of the key reversals that shadows the family, leading to the pervasive, publicity-fuelled notion—one that the Von Erichs take grimly seriously—of a family curse. The heart of the drama begins in 1979, when Kevin is making a name for himself in the ring—namely, the Sportatorium, a small Dallas arena that Fritz owns and operates. “We loved wrestling,” Kevin reminisces in voice-over, and it shows, even as the rest of the movie depicts how that love was lost, along with many of the people he loved.

“The Iron Claw” is as exuberant as it is mournful, and the high spirits of performance and achievement are inseparable from the price that they exact. Kevin is disciplined, focussed, and grounded; he’s a vigorous and enthusiastic performer, leaping from the ropes, raging, slamming, punching, and putting on a show with the maneuver—the skull-squeezing Iron Claw—that made his father famous. But for Fritz it isn’t enough that Kevin is locally successful; Fritz, who believes that he was wrongly denied the sport’s heavyweight championship, lives for the day that one of his four sons—and, indeed, preferably all of them, in succession—will win that belt. 

Fritz’s pecking order is far more than merely professional. Because his very identity—as his family’s protector, the redeemer of its name and the breaker of its curse—is bound to the prospect of his sons’ successes in the ring, his professional favor is also a paternal popularity contest. At the breakfast table, Fritz unabashedly announces his ranking of his four living sons, adding that the ranking “can always change.” The young men, ranging from adulthood to adolescence, are competing, above all, for their father’s love.

This week’s podcast promo: Earth Station Trek

[marica-ya]

Cuarto año de pandemia disque vienen los fabulosos cadillacs y suicide tendencies y warpaint y yo quiero que me saquen cargando del maldito itchimbia porque me acuerdo de cuando tenía 16 e ibamos a parchar a hanguear a tomar al quitofest juntos pero ahora el Danilo está muerto nuestro país siendo saqueado y todos los castillos de arena que construimos son para verlos un día y reir y llorar y tomar y hacerse verga alrededor de ellos porque solo nos tenemos a nosotros por un tiempo. Nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana pero hoy hacemos cosas buenas.