#Christian Saunders

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage 4x5- "The Hot Potato Job"

[dismaltouch]

ships for lauren 2.0

[paranormaltheatrekid]

Starkid members typecasts

Jon Matteson - marketable plushie

Mariah Rose Faith - girl who loves her phone

Lauren Lopez - the most powerful woman you’ve ever seen or little boy

Dylan Saunders - dad

Joey Richter - nerdy protagonist or powerful villain

Curt Mega - Dumbass (affectionate)

Kim Whalen - powerful magic user or christian mother

Bryce Charles - The coolest person you’ve ever seen

Jeff Blim - CHAOS

[rickybaby]

We keep talking about media literacy, but it's actually something very difficult to put into practice in this very overcrowded F1 media ecosystem, especially for new fans. I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of reliable sources to hopefully make this year's silly season easier to navigate.

Publications

Auto Motor und Sport (more commonly known as AMuS) - the German publication is arguably considered as the most reliable source for F1 news. Most other publications will very often quote AMuS as source.

Speedcafe.com - Australia's foremost motorsport website. Mat Coch, their F1 editor, has access to Daniel's management and was one of the first people to seek clarification from Daniel's team when the rumour that he would be replaced by Miami first cropped up.

Other reliable publications: Autosport, Motorsport, PlanetF1 (caution to be advised with PlanetF1 because very often, it just quotes sources like AMuS or tends to have a lot of clickbait articles), BBC F1.

Journalists

Chris Medland - Chris is a freelance journalist with permanent FIA accreditation. He usually writes for RACER.COM. In my opinion, he is the most reliable from the whole cohort of journalists on twitter. He may not always be the one to break a story, but if he tweets out about a rumour or story, this is pretty much confirmation that the rumour or story is true.

Nate Saunders - Nate writes for ESPN F1 and is generally considered to be the Ricciardo camp mouthpiece. However, this does not necessarily mean he is, at all times, privy to insider information from Daniel's camp. Look out for him quoting 'sources close to ...'

Thomas Maher - Thomas writes for PlanetF1 and while PlanetF1 is not the most reliable of publications, I think Thomas is a good source to follow on twitter as he is pretty good at reaching out to his sources in the paddock when it comes to seeking clarification on a rumour.

Erik Van Haren - the Dutch journalist writes for the Telegraaf. He has the reputation of being close to the Max & Jos Verstappen camp and was the first one to break the Christian Horner SH story. Therefore, anything he writes about Max or Red Bull can be more or less be relied upon.

Albert Fabrega - he is a longstanding reporter with great technical expertise and is considered as the go-to source for the Spanish/ Spanish-speaking drivers, especially Alonso. Though, caution to be exercised after the whole 'I cannot believe what I have just been told' thing he pulled last year.

Lawrence Barretto - Lawrence is a presenter for F1. He is one of my favourites in the paddock and from time to time, he will have some insider information when it comes to Daniel. He was the first one to report on Daniel's best lap at the Silverstone being good enough for the front row.

F1 Pundits

There is a whole host of characters who act as commentators or guests across a variety of international broadcasts over a race weekend (or some of them just hang around the paddock). Think Martin Brundle, Crofty, Karun Chandhok, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan, Ralf Schumacher ...

Their opinions are invariably given a lot of weight by virtue of most of them being former drivers or World Champions, but fact remains that many of them have no insight into what's actually happening within a team. However, that being said, a few of them still have close relationships with some of the teams, for e.g., David Coulthard with Red Bull or Mika Hakkinen with McLaren and whatever they say about these teams could potentially be relied upon.

Caution ⚠️

Joe Saward - Joe is rather notoriously known for his Green Notebook column on his blog. The column is supposedly meant to provide titillating insider information about F1, but it more often ends up being a regurgitation of the rumours that have been floating around that week. He has more misses than hits when it comes to rumours and anything he says needs to be taken with a generous dose of skepticism.

Will Buxton - if you see Will tweet something out, please lock your phone and walk away. This is not to say Will doesn't know what's happening in the sport - after all, he was the first one to give any indication of the Lewis to Ferrari story, but he is too committed to playing the game of shit-stirrer for engagement. The unfortunate thing is, we're all too human and we all invariably for his game and we end up going into a downward spiral of 'what does he mean???' when he tweets something out...

[wrishwrosh]

hey, i find your posts about historical fiction pretty interesting, do you have any recs?

anon this is the most beautiful and validating ask i have ever received. absolutely of COURSE I have recs. not gonna be a lot of deep cuts on this list but i love all of these books and occasionally books do receive awards and acclaim because they are good. in no particular order:

the cromwell trilogy by hilary mantel. of course i gotta start with the og. it’s 40 million pages on the tudor court and the english reformation and it will fundamentally change you as a person and a reader

(sub rec: the giant, o’brien by hilary mantel. in many ways a much shorter thematic companion to the cromwell trilogy imo. about stories and death and embodiment and the historical record and 18th century ireland. if you loved the trilogy, read this to experience hils playing with her own theories about historical fiction. if you are intimidated by the trilogy, read this first to get a taste of her prose style and her approach to the genre. either way please read all four novels ok thanks)

lincoln in the bardo by george saunders. the book that got me back into historical fiction as an adult. american history as narrated by a bunch of weird ghosts and abraham lincoln. chaotic and lovely and morbid.

the everlasting by katy simpson smith. rome through the ages as seen by a medici princess, a gay death-obsessed monk, and an early christian martyr. really historically grounded writing about religion and power, and also narrated with interjections from god’s ex boyfriend satan. smith is a trained historian and her prose slaps

(sub rec: free men by katy simpson smith. only a sub rec bc i read it a long time ago and my memory of it is imperfect but i loved it in 2017ish. about three men in the woods in the post revolutionary american south and by virtue of being about masculinity is actually about women. smith did her phd in antebellum southern femininity and motherhood iirc so this book is LOCKED IN to those perspectives)

a mercy by toni morrison. explores the dissolution of a household in 17th century new york. very different place and time than a lot of morrison’s bigger novels but just as mean and beautiful

(sub rec: beloved by toni morrison. a sub rec bc im pretty sure everyone has already read beloved but perhaps consider reading it again? histfic ghost story abt how the past is always here and will never go away and loves you and hates you and is trying to kill you)

an artist of the floating world by kazuo ishiguro. my bestie sir kazuo likes to explore the past through characters who, for one reason or another (amnesia, dementia, being a little baby robot who was just born yesterday, etc), are unable to fully comprehend their surroundings. this one is about post-wwii japan as understood by an elderly supporter of the imperial regime

(sub rec: remains of the day by kazuo ishiguro. same conceit as above except this time the elderly collaborator is incapable of reckoning with the slow collapse of the system that sheltered him due to britishness.)

the pull of the stars by emma donoghue. donoghue is a strong researcher and all of her novels are super grounded in their place and time without getting so caught up in it they turn into textbooks. i picked this one bc it is a wwi lesbian love story about childbirth that made me cry so hard i almost threw up on a plane but i recommend all her histfic published after 2010. before that she was still finding her stride.

days without end by sebastian barry. this one is hard to read and to rec bc it is about the us army’s policy of genocide against native americans in the 19th century west as told by an irish cavalry soldier. it is grim and violent and miserable and also so beautiful it makes me cry about every three pages. first time i read it i was genuinely inconsolable for two days afterwards.

this post is long as hell so HONORABLE MENTIONS: the amazing adventures of kavalier & clay by michael chabon, the western wind by samantha harvey, golden hill by frances spufford, barkskins by annie proulx, postcards by annie proulx, most things annie proulx has written but i feel like i talk about her too much, the view from castle rock by alice munro, the name of the rose by umberto eco, tracks by louise erdrich

[dmfromtheblacklagoon]

I've been craving a Stardew Valley show or short film, and this is who I would cast for each of the characters!

Please concernedape I need some sort of show regarding these babies I love them so much.

Wizard: Matt Berry (Laszlo Cravensworth, WWDITS)

Gus: Marco Barricelli (Massimo, Luca)

Lewis: William Dafoe (That weird guy that's in everything)

Willy: Tom Waits (Musician and entertainer)

Pierre: John Corbett (Chris Stevens, Northern Exposure)

Harvey: John Mulaney (My skrimblo)

Elliot: Christian Bale (Howl, Howl's Moving Castle english dub)

Gunther: Les Claypool (Lead bassist and vocals of Primus)

Linus: Ian Mckellen (Gandalf, LotR)

Abigail: Olivia Olsen (Marceline, Adventure Time)

Vincent: Collin Dean (Gregory, Over the Garden Wall)

Jas: Kyla Kowalewski (Anais, Amazing World of Gumball)

Jodi: Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks, Jimmy Neutron)

Alex: Keanu Reeves (Theodore Logan, Bill and Ted)

Sam: Alex Winter (Bill S. Preston, Bill and Ted)

Sebastian: Aaron Dismuke (Tamaki Amajiki, BNHA, english dub)

Shane: Pedro Pascal (He just plays tired single caretakers so well)

Maru: Heidi Hynden Walch (Princess Bubblegum, Adventure Time)

Emily: Sarah-Nichole Robles (Luz, The Owl House)

Leah: Vico Ortiz (Jim, OFMD)

Marnie: Dolly Parton :]

Penny: Theresa Gallagher (Nichole, Amazing World of Gumball)

Morris: Bo Burnham (Capitalist goblin go brrr lmao)

Haley: Rachel McAdams (Regina George, Mean Girls original)

Robin: Kimberly Brooks (Jasper, Steven Universe)

Caroline: Deedee Magno (Pearl, Steven Universe)

Evelyn: Jennifer Saunders (Ms. Spink, Coraline)

George: Dan Castellanetta (Abe/Grampa Simpson)

Kent: Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn, LotR)

Mr. Qi: Keith David (Cat from Coraline, Husk from Hazbin Hotel)

Sandy: Wendie Malick (Edalyn, the Owl House)

Leo: Kwesi Boakye (Darwin, Amazing world of Gumball)

Krobus: Alex Hirsch (Only suitable voice for him)

Let me know if you would like more stuff like this later on! Enjoy folks :D

[static-blossoms]

My stupid ass Mouthwashing OCs /affectionate

Fran Delgado - A constantly on edge and meticulous co-pilot for the freighter called “Sleipnir.” Also a devout Christian who may or may not have the occasional existential crisis or two. Not exactly the best at handling conflict. (They/them)

Kenneth “Kenny” Dean - The captain of the “Sleipnir” freighter, Kenneth (or Kenny as he insists to be called), is an older man who was once a model with a “bad boy” aesthetic during his younger years. Despite having long since moved on from his modeling career and his older age, Kenny still finds great enjoyment in receiving attention regarding his appearance and his past. (He/him)

Eleanor Saunders - A well experienced nurse (not for Pony Express, just for a regular hospital) who likes to spend her days sitting out on her porch and smoking a cigarette. She often hides her loneliness, and frankly a lot of her emotions, behind a mask of apathy and dismissal. She’s also my version of Swansea’s wife. She misses her husband Tails. She misses him a lot. (She/her)

Adrian Khorkina - A forensic scientist with a stern and no nonsense attitude, who can be very intimidating to others. Pretty strong as well, enough to easily carry someone over his shoulder with ease. Is the older brother of Anya, with her also being one of the only people he drops his intimidating persona around. He misses his sister Tails. He misses her a lot. (He/they)

[wordshaveteeth]

2024, you are leaving too soon!

I managed to read thirty books this year (I am counting The Regeneration Trilogy as three books, because, well, it IS three books - I just happened to read a copy that combined them into one physical book).

Similar to 2023, half of my book diet was nonfiction reads (and half again were about writing). I experimented a lot, chose prize winners and longlisters and read a couple of recommended books.

Q&A is under the cut ✂️

The Best One

Imperfect Garden: The Legacy of Humanism - Tzvetan Todorov

This was difficult to decide because a couple captured me for lots of different reasons. But, given my state of mind and the state of the world, Todorov’s Imperfect Garden lifted me. Sometimes when you look at humanity on a global scale it’s hard to be optimistic about where we’re heading. But this book reminded me about my humanist values and that there are more ways to view the world: a mandala seen from height is a blur, but up close is a kaleidoscope of colour. As individuals we are autonomous but with each other in view, we can arrange ourselves to make beautiful art. We should never forget that.

The Surprising One

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

This is my second year of reviewing my reading list, and just like last year my surprising read was one I never would have picked for myself and never heard of. This time, it was a work colleague who recommended it, then I convinced my work book club to read it. I've been complaining about not have a woman author whose work I would read no matter what, and I think I've found her. Clarke did something incredible with this book: she picked me right up out of my own reality and supplanted me in Piranesi's strange world of Statues and Halls, and made something frightening utterly wonderful. I fell in love with Piranesi's world, his innocent joy of it, the ease with which he lives within in it because he respects its Power and Knowing (so glad they're turning it into a movie). But as I discussed in my work book club, was his world so very different from ours?

The Not So Great One

The Gospel According to the New World - Maryse Condé

I almost didn’t include this category, such was the calibre of books this year. But I’m forcing myself because it’s important to talk about. Maryse Condé’s The Gospel According to the New World was difficult for me but I think that may have been part of its point. Putting aside the storyline that loosely follows Christian tellings of Jesus (I drew hard on Sunday School memories to keep up), the world she paints and the culture she paints is so removed from my own experience that I had trouble connecting to it. But this is the rub, right? People like to see themselves and their experiences in the books they read, which can make it awfully difficult for minority writers to get a leg up. I haven’t written Condé off; I just think this wasn’t the best book of hers to start with. She died in April this year but left an incredible legacy, so I have plenty more to choose from. Feel free to drop me a recommendation!

The Best One About Writing

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain - George Saunders

Hands down, one hundred percent my favourite of the year. Reading short stories and then walking through them with Saunders was a fun game: I’d read them, figure out what I liked and what I thought the story was about, and then see how much lined up with the author. I was absolutely chuffed when we had the same favourite passage in one of them! They (the ever elusive they) say that reading improves writing and this book proves it. I highly recommend this to any writers who are looking to deepen their enjoyment of the written word, or who are looking to become more ‘literary’ in their craft.

[garadinervi]

Mode d'emploi. Suivre les instructions de l'artiste, Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg (MAMCS), Strasbourg, 2024

Exhibition: October 6, 2024 – February 16, 2025

Authors: Philippe Bettinelli, Clémentine Hébrard, Béatrice Josse, Sara Martinetti, Anna Millers, Hans Ulrich Obrist

Graphic Design: E+K – Élise Gay & Kévin Donnot

Artists: Kader Attia, Alice Aycock, Ismaïl Bahri, Robert Barry, Taysir Batniji, Cathy Berberian, Samuel Bernier, Andreas Bhend, Michel Blazy, George Brecht, Marc Buchy, Daniel Buren, John Cage, Cornelius Cardew, Claire Fontaine, Claude Closky, Grégoire d’Ablon, Latifa Echakhch, Morton Feldman, Esther Ferrer, Alicia Framis, Yona Friedman, Dora García, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Hans Haacke, Mona Hatoum, James Hennessey, Dick Higgins, Carsten Höller, Fabrice Hyber, IKHÉA©SERVICES, Florence Jung, Kapwani Kiwanga, Alison Knowles, Takehisa Kosugi, Jean-Noël Lafargue, Tarek Lakhrissi, Larva Labs, Joshua Leon, La Monte Young, Louise Lawler, Sol LeWitt, Annea Lockwood, Christian Marclay, Marianne Mispelaëre, Vera Molnár, Claire Morel, Bruce Nauman, Roman Ondák, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Victor Papanek, Pratchaya Phinthong, Benoît Piéron, Terry Riley, Claude Rutault, Matthieu Saladin, James Saunders, Scratch Orchestra, Mieko Shiomi, Wadada Leo Smith, James Tenney, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Endre Tót, Capucine Vandebrouck, Lawrence Weiner, Ian Wilson, Erwin Wurm

«La conception graphique, assurée par le studio E+K – Élise Gay & Kévin Donnot, utilise des programmes informatiques pour générer chaque exemplaire du livre, rendant chaque copie unique : les graphistes ont en effet programmé une série d’instructions pour chaque œuvre, créant des schémas abstraits permettant d’imaginer une « activation » de chaque œuvre, différente pour chacun des 800 exemplaires imprimés. Chaque copie du livre devient donc une activation du protocole du livre, offrant 800 variations uniques de schémas pour les 50 œuvres présentées.»

[neil-neil-orange-peel]

I love reading your asks, so I wanted to ask you if you had any favorite female characters from Rik and Ade projects?

Helloooo! Thank you, that's so sweet. ❤️ Let's see... I'm going to single out some TYO characters specifically and then talk more generally. This post is absolutely going to become a big, incoherent mess. 😂

Sue from Sociology is my favourite minor TYO character. Don't get me wrong, I love Helen the Murderess too, but there's something that draws me to Sue. To be fair, I'm just seriously weak for Jennifer Saunders in general, and she's basically done up as a female Rick here, if Rick was actually cool. I like inserting her into fanfic sometimes (okay, once... but I have plans). She's very much a background character for the majority of Interesting, but Interesting itself is one of the first (and only, possibly the only?) time there are lots of women in a TYO scene at once, even if they're not getting to do much. Shout out to Dawn's Christian who gets crushed by the gigantic sandwich too, of course! (As an aside, I find it funny that both Jennifer and Dawn got to strangle/smother Mike on the sofa on different occasions.)

Vyvyan's mum. Pauline Melville pops up a couple of other times in TYO as well, and she's just very good whenever she does. I believe she gave French & Saunders a bit of guidance when they were all on the standup circuit. Vyv's mum is a great character because she's just SO awful. Let female characters be awful! She's so spiky and sharp in every way, and she's probably the only semi-developed female character who appears on the show. I think letting the audience meet her gives Vyvyan a bit of texture and depth - sure, we could imagine any family background for any of them, but we're being told THIS HERE is Vyvyan's. Poor Vyv. Pauline Melville herself, of course, is a prize-winning writer now! The dream.

The devil and her condemned soul is one of my favourite TYO cutaway segments. The condemned soul is Helen Atkinson-Wood, who is most well-known for playing Mrs Miggins in Blackadder the Third. She also has a small role in the Comic Strip episode Consuela (and possibly others, but I looked up the cast list to that one yonks ago because it's my favourite). I wonder if Lise wrote this sketch, considering the subject matter. Either way, Dawn and Helen's delivery is great, especially the faux discrete way Dawn says "period pains". I hope it put stuffy men's heckles up.

Aside from TYO, Jen and Dawn were often the only female presence in the Comic Strip episodes, particularly the earlier ones. Of the first two series, Dawn wrote Summer School and Jen wrote Slags - neither were standout episodes of their series, the kind often recalled today, but with Slags especially, the female characters within them were given more agency and stake in the plot than usual. Jen played five different characters in Happy Families in 1985 - a little gem written by Ben and also starring Ade.

I'd like to give a little shout out to Helen Lederer, who popped up a lot in Rik and Ade's - and French & Saunders' - comic output, while never really being given her own opportunity to shine on TV. Oh, and I'd also like to give a shout out to Marsha Fitzalan, who played Sarah B'Stard in The New Statesman - she did such a good job of playing an intensely flawed, funny female character. There are countless male characters who are basically terrible people - I mean, Alan B'Stard for one - and it's vital women are also allowed to be that awful in comedy.

Comedy has always been a pretty male sphere. Even these days, there are definitely still men Ricky Gervais who believe women can't be funny. Misogyny is still massively prevalent in society. Male comics attract female attention; female comics attract male abuse. That's a simplification and generalisation, of course, but it's broadly true. And I don't see younger generations of men getting better with this, to be honest. Actually, I see them getting worse (thanks, Andrew Tate). Sorry to be all doom and gloom!

When Rik and Ade started out in comedy, women getting to play characters other than wives or the like - that is, straight characters and caricatures there largely for the male characters to bounce off of for their laughs - was still uncommon. Despite the existence of successful female comics across the pond like Lucille Ball, and beloved 1970s sitcom The Good Life having a main cast split evenly gender-wise (I know Richard Briers technically had first credit, but Penelope Keith as Margo Leadbetter was absolutely the funniest of the four of them), there was a genuine belief that women couldn't (and maybe shouldn't) be doing comedy.

Women like Victoria Wood were pushing boundaries in important ways around the time of the alternative comedy boom by writing specifically about women (and, quite often, northern women - which I personally think is important, since Last of the Summer Wine had such a chokehold on portraying almost all of its female characters as ostensibly the same). Her sitcom dinnerladies was both melancholic and hilarious. Her sketch shows and other comic output, quite often featuring Julie Walters (her friend and muse), Celia Imrie, and many others, were all written entirely by her. She was also a gifted pianist and wrote several comic songs.

All of this is to say, Victoria Wood definitely helped pave the way for French & Saunders. She even referred to herself as an alternative comedian in her material. But honestly, I don't think it was until much later that women stopped being regularly restricted to straight roles in comedies created by men (which, of course, most comedies were). This was part of why Absolutely Fabulous, written by Jen, was such a breath of fresh air in the 1990s. For once, every single major character was a woman - men were the scarcity! And Jen has mentioned before that producers would constantly pressure her to write more roles for men. Meanwhile, we can observe that Girls on Top (dubbed the female TYO, which is... sort of true and sort of not), which Dawn and Jen starred in with Ruby Wax and Tracey Ullman in the 1980s, isn't very well-known today. I'm not 100% sure how well it was received at the time, but clearly it wasn't as popular as TYO had been before it. Ruby Wax and Tracey Ullman have both also had successful careers in comedy, but I'd argue that's mainly thanks (particularly in Tracy's case) to opportunities in America.

So I'm not saying women never got to be the funny (also I'm just talking about the UK), but the fact is: if your comedy has a completely/majority male cast, with women only popping up in supporting roles or in guest appearances, it's obvious which characters are going to be better developed, more beloved, and just funnier. I mean, even the Vicar of Dibley, which was obviously written for Dawn and showcases her comic prowess, features a supporting cast of funny men (there was also Emma Chambers as Alice and Liz Smith as Leticia - before she was killed off - but the women were outnumbered by the men). I get that this perhaps fits with the idea of a tiny, slightly backwards village in Oxfordshire - and the fact Geraldine was a female vicar shocking these men was very important to the premise - but still.

We know certain men just REALLY struggle at writing women, too, so they've either done a really bad job or just avoided trying altogether. I do have an example for this, but I don't want to name them since I do love the show they created - it's just, y'know, writing women is definitely not their strong suit! And I'm really not trying to poo poo any shows here by pointing this out. I'm just making observations. All of these comedies I'm referencing here are very old now.

So! To get back to where I started with this!

I love that Lise Mayer was one of the writers of The Young Ones. In some ways, the fact one of the writers was a woman feels pretty incredible for 1982. At the same time, though, it's not surprising that she's often the forgotten one when people talk about who wrote TYO.

Rik and Ade were/are feminists, and it obviously wasn't their fault as individuals that comedy was so male - comedy was also restrictive in other ways before them. In terms of social class and political attitudes, they were definitely something refreshing and new. That said, it wouldn't be until later, with people like Caroline Aherne (who really changed the fundamentals of the sitcom genre with The Royle Family), that working class voices who weren't fucking Bernard Manning actually got some notice in comedy. And I've not even mentioned race in this ramble. If comedy was male, it was even more pale. There were comedies starring black and Asian comics in the 1980s and 1990s that started to break through - The Lenny Henry Show, Chef!, Desmond's, The Real McCoy, Goodness Gracious Me - but there's no denying BAME people, BAME women especially, have had to struggle a lot for a voice in comedy. Comedy is more diverse today than it was 40 years ago. There has been progress. But it's absolutely still male dominated, and still very white, at the top.

Rik was pegged as the golden boy of the alternative comedy movement, and he was and is undoubtedly remembered for so many different comedies. But in terms of pure success and fame? Actually, I think Dawn and Jen have been the standouts of their cohort. I don't think anyone would've predicted this 40 odd years ago - I mean, Christ, Rik had to speak up just to ensure they got equal pay at The Comic Strip. The boys were given their chance to shine first, there's no doubt about that. But it was Dawn and Jen who were the subjects of a BBC documentary last Christmas.

...Maybe there is hope for funny women, after all.

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage 4x5- "The Hot Potato Job"

[taumont]

My list of books I wish to have read by the end of the year:

Quiet Days in Clichy -- Henry Miller

La petite vertu -- James Hadley Chase

Breakfast of Champions -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Call at Corazon -- Paul Bowles

Solaris -- Stanislaw Lem

Slaughterhouse-Five -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The Savage Detectives -- Roberto Bolano

La Boutique Obscure: 124 Dreams -- Georges Perec

Mon corps pour me guérir: décodage psychobiologique des maladies -- Christian Flèche

A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living -- Joseph Campbell

Speak, Memory -- Vladimir Nabokov

Supreme Influence: Change Your Life with the Power of the Language You Use -- Niurka

The Journey and the Guide: A practical course in Enlightment -- Maitreyabandhu

Egon Schiele: Drawings and Water-colours -- Egon Schiele, Erwin Mitsch

Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears -- Pema Chodron

Rumi Revealed: Selected Poems from the Divan of Shams -- Rassouli

Confessions of an Art Addict -- Peggy Guggenheim

The Executioner's Song -- Norman Mailer

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead -- Olga Tokarczuk

Flights -- Olga Tokarczuk

America -- Jean Baudrillard

Too Much and Not the Mood: Essays -- Durga Chew-Bose

I Had Nowhere to Go -- Jonas Mekas

Francesca Woodman -- Marco Pierini

Yves Klein -- Hannah Weitmeier

Dune (Dune #1) -- Frank Herbert

Oreillers d'herbes -- Natsume Soseki

Les Choses humaines -- Karine Tuil

The Energy of Slaves: Poems -- Leonard Cohen

Selected Writings - Antonin Artaud

The Sisters Brothers -- Patrick deWitt

Pastoralia -- George Saunders

Signs Preceding the End of the World -- Yuri Herrera

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley -- Peter Guralnick

Break, Blow, Burn -- Camille Paglia

Voyage au bout de la nuit -- Louis-Ferdinand Céline

Philip K. Dick: In His Own Words -- Philip K. Dick

Autobiography of a Yogi -- Paramahansa Yogananda

A Confederacy of Dunces -- John Kennedy Toole

Babel -- Patti Smith

Keith Haring Journals -- Keith Haring

Foam of the Daze -- Boris Vian

Inherent Vice -- Thomas Pynchon

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 -- Goran Olsso

Le Diable au Corps -- Raymond Radiguet

Bluets -- Maggie Nelson

Girl, Woman, Other -- Bernardine Evaristo

Devenir un ange -- Francesca Woodman

Faithfull: An Autobiography -- Marianne Faithfull

The Master and Margarita -- Mikhail Bulgakov

Eve's Hollywood - Eve Babitz

In Watermelon Sugar -- Richard Brautigan

[mistressemmedi]

May sorry for the incoming rant but the latest nate saunders article is idk but i really don't like how daniel's camp is trying to frame some stuff. First of all, his best lap time (completely ignoring the tyre, the conditions and the fact that it was not quali yk it was just him hanging out on the track by himself lol) was not enough for the front row but again Nate repeats this which made me think it was daniel's side that started this rumor at the first place. Apparently Christian has never wanted Nyck at the first place and after he called Marko to inform him about Daniel's "impressive" times, Marko just casually called Nyck's manager and fired him. Just like that. But Nyck's manager "tipping off" some Dutch journalists "forced" redbull into announce Daniel "fairly sharply" while the desire was to announce it later this week. Like idk him talking about the issue in here being red bull being forced to announce the news "fairly sharply" but not someone losing his job over a phone call is little bit wtf. 

Then he goes on about that Nyck was told he had time until Zandvoort in August but that soon became austria/silverstone but he does not explain why the timeline is brought forward (and this is the first time i read about this). And at the end he mentions the "mixed" opinions about Nyck in the paddock as "some say he was difficult to work with, some say the opposite" and continues on how he wasn't a typical rookie per se. (Ofc we aren't gonna hear every paddock rumor but this is again the first time i read this rumor about Nyck.)

Idk if i am making out a big deal of it and obviously Daniel isn't guilty or anything in here but how his side is trying to make it seem like the decision was already gonna be made in silverstone and he was hard to work with so they chose daniel seems more like they are trying to get rid of some of the backlash because the truth is someone lost his job over a phone call without even an explaination. Also when you consider the difference between the treatments Nyck got from Redbull and Daniel got from Mclaren and  how all they played was the mental health back then, idk the whole piece is just a huge ick to me. 

But i think the main point is Daniel is aiming to beat Yuki and he accepted the alpha tauri seat hoping the rbr seat. If he performs decently i don't think we are gonna see checo in rbr in 2024 bc especially horner is backing daniel up. 

I genuinely think one has a higher chance to win the lottery than to understand what's happening behind the scenes at RBR.

Listen. I'll admit that on a business level I kinda understand - you hire a guy with certain expectations, he doesn't meet the expectations, he is fired. But I do find a bit (a lot) unfair the fact that it does sound like the guy was not given the support/tools necessary to succeed (allegedly). I mean, when Yuki had his initial flop era as a rookie, Alphatauri moved him to Faenza to work closely with the team to improve his results. And it worked! I don't think the same courtesy was extended to Nyck. So yeah, on a personal level it reeeeally sucks.

I do feel like that RBR is trying so hard to justify their decision by hyping up Daniel. "Look guys! Dan's timing is sooo great, we had no other option. We totally are not villains" 👹 I do hope Daniel lives up to the expectations because if he flops after all of this, the second hand embarrassment may skyrocket me to the moon.

And also, yes. Checo should sleep with one eye open and his lawyer on speed dial.

[sameoldways]

💳 ˑ          ⸂    𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒!         ও

         ↷         born   into   and   continuing   black   excellence   ˑ atl .

ayra starr's   lookalike    SIERRA   KESSE    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   21   ˑ   pre-law student   .

jalen hurts'   lookalike    ZAYVIAN   MCCLELLAND    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   25   ˑ   pilot   .

ja morant or polo g's   lookalike    KEYSHAWN   DUNKLEY    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   24   ˑ   medical student   .*

renee downer's   lookalike    AALIYAH   DUNKLEY    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   21   ˑ   nursing student / ceo of hair company   .*

shai gilgeous-alexander's   lookalike    MALCOLM   KESSE    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   25   ˑ   ceo of tech startup   .

🏁 ˑ          ⸂    𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄!         ও

         ↷         street   racing   &   heist   crew   ˑ la .

damson idris'   lookalike    KAMERON   MOSLEY    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   32   ˑ   shop manager / mastermind   .

iamkaylanicole or jamilla strand's   lookalike    MAYA   VAUGHN    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   31   ˑ   auto shop secretary / daughter of owner   .*

jayson tatum's   lookalike    ROMEO   GUIDRY    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   26   ˑ   car mechanic / race host   .*

kaliii's   lookalike    RAVYN   HAYES    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   23   ˑ   marketing student / flag girl   .*

michael yerger's   lookalike    CAIN   WILSON-DAVIS    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   25   ˑ   underground fighter   .

raye or kehlani's   lookalike    BAMBI   FRANKLIN    ( she   /   they )   ˑ   26   ˑ   tire technician / cat burglar   .

ryan manick's   lookalike    JUDE   BABIC    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   22   ˑ   car mechanic / safe cracker   .

zarruecos's   lookalike    ANGELO   CARABALI   RODRIGUEZ    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   25   ˑ   hacker / online systems manger   .

🐚 ˑ          ⸂    𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒, 𝐁𝐔𝐌𝐒 & 𝐁𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐒!         ও

         ↷         reality   tv   show   ˑ miami .

alexa tiziani's   lookalike    SNOH   SACCONE    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   23   ˑ   content creator   .

dominic fike's   lookalike    BASIL   FRANCOIS    ( he   /   they )   ˑ   27   ˑ   lifeguard / smoothie shop worker   .

caroline hu's   lookalike    WINNIE   MAN    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   23   ˑ   tennis player   .

lucas white smith's   lookalike    BRIAR   CRUISE    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   23   ˑ   pro surfer   .

madison beer's   lookalike    ANALISE   KNIGHT    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   25   ˑ   beautician   .

rucheewawo or lola tung's   lookalike    ALINA   MAHTO    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   24   ˑ   resort concierge   .

alex   fitzalan's   lookalike    OZZI   MONTGOMERY    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   27   ˑ   business   student   /   actor   .

🎧 ˑ          ⸂    𝐊𝟒𝐘!         ও

         ↷         pop   /   r&b   inspired   girl   group   ˑ nyc .

alexa tiziani's   lookalike    PENELOPE   ALLEGRO    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   23   ˑ   singer   .

indiyah polak   or   monaleo's   lookalike    COVENTINA   INGRAM    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   25   ˑ   singer   .*

leah halton's   lookalike    GRACE   SUTTON    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   23   ˑ   singer   .

michelle domingos'   lookalike    CINNAMON   SAUNDERS    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   26   ˑ   singer   .

shai gilgeous-alexander's   lookalike    JAWAUN   GLASPIE    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   25   ˑ   stylist   .

sofia jamora's   lookalike    SHYANN   RHODES    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   26   ˑ   manager   .

🎸 ˑ          ⸂    𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄!         ও

         ↷         rising   rock   band   ˑ london .

christian yu's   lookalike    VANCE   FENG    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   33   ˑ   manager   .

brayden bradshaw's   lookalike    SERGIO   KATZ    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   26   ˑ   drummer   .

dominic fike's   lookalike    BOOKER   BAUTISTA    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   26   ˑ   lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist   .

helena busch or jasmin hoppe's   lookalike    SIMI   AMARIN    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   25   ˑ   vocalist / keyboardist   .

isabelle mathers'   lookalike    GWENDOLYN   BAILEY    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   25   ˑ   videographer / social media manager   .

maggie lindemann'   lookalike    INDY   SCHAFER    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   26   ˑ   groupie / friend of the band   .

ryan manick's   lookalike    RAINER   HORVAT    ( he   /   they )   ˑ   22   ˑ lead guitarist   .

sab quesada's   lookalike    ALMA   GUERRERO    ( she   /   they )   ˑ   22   ˑ   bassist   .

🪩 ˑ          ⸂   𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃!         ও

         ↷         notorious   nightclub   ˑ hou .

manny jacinto's   lookalike    REMY   SANTOS   MENDOZA    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   35   ˑ   chef   .

tyler lepley's   lookalike    TAHJ   MILLER,   JR.    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   37   ˑ  owner   .

kaden hammond's   lookalike    ORION   BELFORD    ( he   /   him )   ˑ   24   ˑ   bouncer   .

india westbrooks'   lookalike    GIANNA   AMES    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   28   ˑ   bartender   .

mariah the scientist's   lookalike    CRYSTAL   HOBBS    ( she   /   her )   ˑ   26   ˑ   waitress / bottle girl   .

[malorydaily]

The idea that Merlin enacts divine providence in setting Arthur on the throne is underlined by an emphasis on the observation of Christian ritual, often added by Malory. Thus Uther swears on the four Gospels (I.2, 8), the child is christened by ‘an holy man’ (I.3–5, 11), and Uther’s death is placed as God’s will. In promising that Uther will authorise Arthur to take the throne, Merlin associates himself with God, ‘God and I shalle make hym to speke’ (I.3–5, 11), and later assures the Archbishop of Canterbury that Jesus will ‘shewe somme myracle’ at Christmas (I.3–5, 12).

The episode of the sword in the stone thus seems divinely authorised, miracle rather than magic, and Arthur’s right is proven once again at the feast days of Candlemas and Pentecost. The light that shines like thirty torches from Excalibur (I.9, 19) functions as the king-light does in Havelok, and the later gift of the sword from the Lady of the Lake affirms the idea of Arthur as approved king. Again, the episode is carefully orchestrated by Merlin, who also advises of the protective virtue of the scabbard.

– Corinne Saunders, Magic and the Supernatural in Medieval English Romance

[burlveneer-music]

Mama Terra - The Summoned

We're very excited to present the debut album from Mama Terra - 'The Summoned', out 7 July, 2023. Signed following a tip-off from Christian Bragg of Jazz FM, Mama Terra is the brainchild of Glaswegian pianist and composer Marco Cafolla who wrote and demoed The Summoned during lockdown. Playing piano and bass keys, he used hip hop and modern American Jazz drummer samples to create a rhythm section. Wanting to add an authentic N.Y.C. vibe to the album, the stems were sent to Orangefish Studio in Brooklyn, NYC where Derek Neivergelt (Terrance Blanchard) played upright bass and engineered the sessions along with Evan Pazner (Lee Fields) on drums, with guest trumpet solos from Jeremy Pelt (‘The Summoned’ and ‘A Mind Supreme’). These parts were all recorded live directly to tape with no edits. Thereafter, Marco and his fellow Glasgow-based musicians – co-bandleader Konrad Wiszniewski, saxophones and flute; Mikey Owers, trombone; Cameron Jay, flugelhorn; and vocalist Rachel Lightbody – recorded their parts along to the N.Y.C. stems at Glo Worm Studios, Glasgow with Ross Saunders engineering and Marco producing, before mixing the album. It was then mastered by Dave Collins (D’Angelo - Black Messiah). The Summoned is a conceptual journey through life and the universe. Throughout the album soprano vocalist Rachel Lightbody adds exquisite lead lines and counter-melodies.