#Christoper Square

[scopophilic1997]

scopOphilic_micromessaging_1009 - scopOphilic1997 presents a new micro-messaging series: small, subtle, and often unintentional messages we send and receive verbally and non-verbally.

HAPPY PRIDE WEEKEND IN NYC!

[beatlesgrl]

Here have a little fic I wrote. I could be persuaded to continue but for now!

It doesn’t happen because of some near death experience. Eddie sometimes wished that he came to that realization during some insane call. Maybe a fire where the floor gave out and one of them fell a couple stories. Or they’re dangling from a cliff and they have to save each other. It would probably be less embarrassing. 

He didn’t want to die or anything, just maybe it wouldn't be as boring as it actually was.

No, he doesn’t realize he was in love with Buck because of anything like that. He realized it on a boring Tuesday afternoon. 

Buck and Eddie were in his living room, talking through the logistics of getting Christopher home from Texas. Thank God Eddie didn’t move to Texas, apparently he just needed to wait out Chris’s stubbornness to avoid telling him about his parents. He wanted to come home as soon as he could, but as he was in the middle of the school year, it was all about when to move him so he didn’t miss a lot of classes. 

There was a ring at the door, and Eddie looked up confused. “Buck did you invite anyone else over?” 

Buck was running to the door but replied, “Nope! Buuuuut-” He opened the door and picked something up, “-I knew this would be a late night sooo....”

The smell of spices and warmth filled the living room, and he recognized the logo on the bag. “You got us Mexican?” 

Buck smiled as he came back to the couch, “Yeah from that mom and pop place around the corner!” He started unloading the smell, and the waft of it hit Eddie square in the nose, “I knew we’d be here for a while and we didn’t really eat before our shift ended.” He got up and headed to the kitchen, probably to grab some plates and forks.

“I love this place...” Eddie stated, then sighed, “If only they had-”

“Your abuela’s guacamole?” Buck finished, and like magic he produced what he knew was an old tupperware container from his kitchen. “Made it yesterday while you were napping. Surprised you didn’t see it earlier Eds.” He sat next to him and gave him a fork. 

Eddie stared at him. “You-you made my abuela’s guacamole? How’d you even know the recipe?” 

Buck shrugged, “She sent it to me a while back, something about making sure you need to keep the tradition alive somehow.” He dished himself some guacamole as well as the enchiladas, and started eating. Like he didn’t just somehow have his abuela’s guacamole recipe. Her sacred recipe. 

Eddie would know. Shannon would always point out that it was how she knew she wasn’t accepted into the family. She would ask abuela every other month for that recipe, and every other month she would say no, or somehow forget, or insist she sent it already. Eddie asked her once why she wouldn’t send it to Shannon, and she would always insist that only family can have it. 

Somehow, though, Buck got her recipe with no fuss. His best friend was able to get something Shannon could never get. 

And just like that, everything started to click in his head. 

Buck is Chris’s legal guardian if anything were to happen to Eddie.

Buck yanked him under the fire engine when he was shot, risking his life to get Eddie to safety. 

Buck, taking blood thinners, searching LA for Christoper after the tsunami. 

Buck.

Oh my God.

“I-uh.” 

How does one go back to normal once you realize that you’ve been in love with your best friend this whole time?

[steve-rogers-new-york]

Ragamuffin Day

From roughly 1870 into the 1930s, Ragamuffin Day was a popular event for New York children. While present elsewhere in America, it appears to have been strongest in New York City. It was held on Thanksgiving Day, before being superseded by Halloween in the mid-20th century.

The day’s events involved children dressing like beggars or cross-dressing, wearing their parent’s oversized clothing and rags, painting their faces and wearing masks. In their garb, they would go door-to-door asking "Anything for Thanksgiving?" in hopes of candy, pennies, or other snacks. Over time, the outfits expanded to include costumes including sailors, bandits and popular characters. You can see how this migrated into the Halloween traditions we have today. Other activities also took place, like parades with the sounding of horns, bells and rattles; and the throwing of confetti and flour on passers-by. This quote from a 1902 New York Times articles pains a very vibrant picture:

“…from early morning to late evening thousands of children roamed in ragamuffin costume, blowing horns, throwing harmless missiles and playing at begging. The practice of dressing up as ragamuffins seems to be growing among the city children each Thanksgiving Day, and the parents of many seem to take an interest in the displays, judging by the great variety in fantastic costumes which the children wear.”

The occasion was not popular among adults, who disliked being “annoyed by children” on Thanksgiving Day, and many news articles called for an end to it in 1930. Resistance had been taking place since the Mid-1920s though, with the likes of the Madison Square Boys Club holding Thanksgiving Parades and carrying sign stating “American Boys Don’t Beg.” While it persisted in some areas into the 1940s, and even 1950s, it widely fell out of favour by the mid-1930s with the growing displeasure from adults. In their place, Thanksgiving Parades were grown to discourage ragamuffin activities and fill the void.

So, would your boys have taken part?

Yes. I am almost certain they would have, though whether their parents would have approved is completely up to your judgement, it looks like it was a mixed bag of annoyed, disapproving, and enthusiastic adults. They are both the perfect age for when this was popular and it was well established in New York. For reference, by the looks of it the typical age for children taking part were 5 to 12-ish, and Steve would have been, say, 10-years-old in 1928 (MCU) / 1930 (Comics). He would have had the majority of his childhood seeing these activities. Would the boys be surprised by modern Halloween and Thanksgiving? I don’t thinks so. Ragamuffin activities were winding up in their early and late teens, so they would have seen it on the way out and the growth of more Thanksgiving focused celebrations.  On the topic of Halloween, for all the info on the history of Halloween in America, pinning down the start of different element is proving challenging and I need to spend more time on it before giving any definite answers. But at the very least, the activities of todays Halloween would have been familiar and comparable with Ragamuffin activities, and some Halloween activities did exist in their time, so I don’t think they’d be surprised by it.

If you want more in the topic, my full research notes on all topics are available for all $3+ Patreon patrons!

Image Sources

Children on steps, 4th St, 1933 | Source Children by Subway entrance, Christoper St, 1933 | Source Children w/ Kings Beer sign, St. Lukes St, 1933 | Source “Schools Move to...” Brooklyn Daily Eagle Article, 1931 | Source “Try to Discourage...” Brooklyn Daily Eagle Article, 1931 | Source Two Boys w/ top-hat, Hudson & Perry St, 1933 | Source Three Children, Bleecker St, 1933 | Source *Photos by Percy Loomis Sperr

This post has been sponsored by my much loved and long-time Patreon supporter Joanna Daniels. She and I would like to dedicate the post to the loving memory of her mother Joan Daniels. She will be sorely missed.

[ Support SRNY through Patreon and Ko-Fi ] And join us on Discord for fun conversation! I also have an Etsy with up-cycled nerdy crafts

[psychothrillcologne]

CLAUS BACHOR spinnin' NACHTAKTIV @ 674.fm Cologne 09-05-2020 Still no new "Post-Corona" club life in Germany! And so there is only one more recourse to one of the many 674.fm radio broadcasts hosted by Psycho Thrill Cologne. It doesn't always have to be the obvious peak-time tracks that make the sweat drip from the ceiling in the club. In his mix for the NACHTAKTIV collective in Cologne, Claus Bachor deliberately uses the category of tracks that DJs and vinyl nerds often only discovered for themselves at the second attempt and then made a club hit. Tracks that are no less hypnotic and just as natural at the end of the day, mesmerizing and hypnotizing every dancer and continue to do so. The following 27 vinyl club classics from 1994-2003 all turn out to be timeless in their own way, like "4evr young", simply efficient on today's floor. TRACK LISTING 01 CHRISTOPER JUST: Dobuito [ B2-track from “House 2” Cheap 12CHEAP 045 A 12” | 2004 ] 02 MEGALON [LAGGY PANTELLI & ZENO MESSIS]: Incantation [ B-side from “Semblance / Incantation” Plink Plonk Plk-003 UK Promo/WL-12” | 1993 ] 03 DEEPCHORD [ROD MODELL]: Electromagnetic Dowsing (The Final Step) _ Mike Huckaby remix 3 [ C-side from “E.D. (The Final Step)” SYNTH 001-C US ss Promo/BL-12” / Record Time | 2005 ] 04 DEEPCHORD: Electromagnetic Dowsing _ Mike Huckaby remix 2 [ B-side from “Electromagnetic Dowsing” SYNTH 001 US Promo/WL-12” / Record Time | 2005 ] 05 SHAKE [ANTHONY SHAKIR]: Breathe Deeper [ B-side from “Iconoclastic Diaries” Frictional Recordings FRCT-002 / Record Time Promo-WL-12” | 1995 ] 06 SUNRISE SOCIETY [ANDY SMITH & SIMON DONOHUE]: Astral Travel _ Sterac Remix [ B-side from “Matter” Pacific Records fic-010 UK Promo/WL-12” | 1997 ] 07 ACID SCOUT [RICHARD BARTZ]: Balance [ A-side from “Balance EP” Disko B DB-022 Promo/GRE-12” / EFA | 1994 ] 08 BILLY DALLESANDRO: Ocean Theme [ B-side from “Liquid Stimulationz” Force Inc. Music Works FIM-225 Promo/WL12” | 2002 ] 09 SYQUEST [DAMON WILD]: Centecon [ B1-track from “Freeforms EP” Synewave SW-008 Promo/WL-12” | 1995 ] 10 AUSGANG II [STEVE STOLL]: Untitled A [ A-side from “The Journey Continues ...” Synewave SW-006 UD Promo/WL-12” | 1994 ] 11 DAMON WILD & STEVE STOLL: Feed The Machine [ A-side from V.A. “New York To Midwest” Analog Records USA Analog-7 US Promo/WL-12” | 1994 ] 12 PLANET GONG [DYLAN HERMELIJN]: Phase Shiftin' [ B2-track from “The Love I Lost” Djax-Up-Beats DJAX-UP-311 Promo-12” | 1999 ] 13 DJ BOOM [Charles Webster & Matthew Herbert]: Kinda Kickin' [ Phonography GRAPH-05 UK ss Promo-12” | 1999 ] 14 PLANET GONG: Hurt Me, Hurt Me! [ A1-track from “The Love I Lost” Djax-Up-Beats DJAX-UP-311 Promo-12” | 1999 ] 15 EQUINOX [DAN WILD & PETER DEMARCO]: Into The Battle _ Joey Beltram Remix [ “Into The Battle J.B.Remix” Synewave SW-038 US ss Promo/WL-12” | 1998 ] 16 JOEL MULL: Untitled B2 [ B2-track from “Code Red 05” CODE RED 05 SWE 12” | 1998 ] 17 TITONTON DUVANTE: Inuendo _ Rue East (Mark Broom & Dave Hill) Remix [ B1-track from “Voyeurism Remix” STARBABY 002 US Promo/WL-12” | 1999 ] 18 AUBREY [ALLEN SAEI]: Stressed Squares [ A1-track from “Stressed Squares” Solid Groove SG-021 UK 12” | 2000 ] 19 JEFF MILLS: B2F-7 [ B2-track from “From The 21st Pt. 2” Axis AX-019 FV Promo/BL-12” | 2004 ] 20 ROBERT HOOD: Who Taught You Math? [ C1-track from “Point Blank” Peacefrog Records PFG-027LP UK 2x12” | 2002 ] 21 JEFF MILLS: Clark [ A1-track from “From The 21st Pt. 2” Axis AX-019 FV Promo/BL-12” | 2004 ] 22 MARK AMBROSE: Looney Rotator [ A2-track from “Stressed Squares” Solid Groove SG-021 UK 12” | 2000 ] 23 UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE: Sweat Electric _ Vocal [ A-side from “Sweat Electric” Somewhere In Detroit S.I.D.-001 / Submerge US 12” | 1994 ] 24 UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE: Lunar Rhythms [ A-side from “Soundpictures EP” Somewhere In Detroit S.I.D.-003 / Submerge US 12” | 1995 ] 25 M.I.A. feat. TEK BROTHERS [Ray7/ Raphael Merriweathers Jr. & André Womack]: All I See [ A-side from “All I See / Experiment 7” Local 3000 L-3000-5 / Submerge US 12” | 2003 ] 26 BRANDON CALLOWAY: Jit Beat #1 [ A-side from

“Jit Beats” Local 3000 L-3000-4 / Submerge US 12” | 2003 ] 27 THE FREAKAZOIDS [KEVIN LANCASTER, LEE COOMBS, NICK SLATER]: What Is A Dub? [ B-side from “What Is A DJ?” Zoid Recordings ZOID-006 UK Promo/WL-12” | 2000 ] All about Claus Bachor/ Psycho Thrill Cologne

[lamaisongaga]

              LADY GAGA AT THE MTV VMAS 2020 PART I

Lady Gaga was obviously the best dressed of the night at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and she had not one, not two, but NINE different looks throughout the show.

She was the big winner of the night, taking home four awards including “Artist of the Year” and “Song of the Year”. She also was presented with the first-ever Tricon Award and she gave a powerful speech about the difficult year we’re all going through.

Styling by Nicola Formichetti and Marta Del Rio with assistance of Katrina Ld, Candace Lawrence, Garrett Ives and Juliana. Tailoring by Samuel Ososki, Alex Navarro and Conrad Muscarella. Makeup by Sarah Tanno-Stewart using Haus Laboratories, hair by Frederic Aspiras using Joico and nails by Miho Okawara. This is just the first part of our VMAs series, so let’s delve!

Because of the pandemic, every star had to have their own white carpet either at their home or studio of choice. And Gaga made sure she was the brightest of ‘em all!

She took us to space in this otherworldly AREA Fall/Winter 2020 couture metallic silver quilted heart-shaped parka which she accessorized with a custom Conrad Muscarella clear glass helmet.

Let’s get to the jewelry shall we? Gaga dripped in diamonds, starting off with this custom Edward Avedis petite sine wave gold diamond necklace.

All of her rings, diamond bangle and diamond curb link white gold bracelet are signed by jewelry designer Dena Kemp, a new name in her closet!

One of her rings is this square-cut emerald with diamond frame and band.

Enjoy thise close-up of her Miho Okawara grey & teal ombré stiletto nails!

The look was completed with the Pleaser Beyond-1020 black faux leather platform ankle boots, which she wore almost throughout the entire show.

We have officially landed on planet Chromatica.

Gaga looked absolutely stunning when taking the award for “Best Collaboration” in this stunning ombré technicolor fringed body sculpture, custom-made for her by the incomparable Iris van Herpen who collaborated with artist Davy Evans.

She matched it with her Pleaser boots and a custom Cecilio Castrillo pink leather muzzle mask.

My absolute favorite look of the night is this Christoper John Rogers Fall/Winter 2020 Baja Blast emerald-green silk taffeta pannier ball skirt and cropped blouse which I’ve been eyeing ever since seeing it at New York Fashion Week!

A new designer on the map is San Francisco-based Lance Victor Moore, who specializes in all kinds of Steampunk-inspired accessories. He was responsible for this insane crimson leather harness mask with dramatic studded horns.

Gaga also wore some Dena Kemp earrings and House of Emmanuele’s Tribalism crystal and venus pearl statement necklace.

Gaga’s Sirenia bangle was signed by jeweler German Kabirski.

A naturally shaped and impactful bangle is crowned with a pale green amethyst. Black rhodium has been shaped to create an organic circle. Delicate gold details join them together in their raw beauty for the wearer to share.

The Italian-American songstress also rocked a bunch of gold rings by Lillian Shalom!

She went for the Da Vinci armor ring, Galileo armor ring, Dalí midi finger tip ring and Alta ring.

Next, Gaga came to collect her award for “Artist of the Year”, looking like a vision in silver and white in a full look from Valentino’s “Of Grace and Light” Fall/Winter 2020 Haute Couture collection, a show like no other: intensely beautiful white dresses blown into full or intensely elongated shapes by Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, then wildly colored with projections of digital patterns by SHOWStudio photographer and film-maker, Nick Knight.

Her ensemble included a yaaards long white tulle and organdy coat, and a silver sequin-embroidered second-skin catsuit.

The silver metal mesh mask, she wore gracefully, is a bespoke creation by Prêt-à-Couture label Maison Met! Her jewelry is by Dena Kemp.

Our girl completed the look with a custom white faux leather version of these Pleaser Xtreme-1020 platform booties.

As the first winner of the “Tricon” award, Gaga took the stage in a custom Candice Cuoco metallic liquid chrome ruffled winged train coat, which she paired with her Valentino catsuit, Maison Met mask and incredible Manuel Albarran silver metal choker and bra.

Her avant-garde Jellyfish sculpted chrome steel mask, she styled as a crown, is another custom creation by Lance Victor Moore.

Gaga was dripping in Lillian Shalom jewelry! She wore her Da Vinci armor ring, Voltaire pearl armor ring, Galileo armor ring, Lux and Saturnus orbital rings, Khepri ring and Vita ring.

Click here to read the second part!

[mercycjones]

When I First Saw You

INVOLVED: Mercedes Jones, Christopher Jones, Samuel Evans LOCATION: University of Miami; Miami, Florida TIME FRAME: Flashback NOTES: Samuel is tutored by Mercedes brother Christoper. 

Samuel scanned the page.  “Just give me one easy one.” He mumbled trying to at least work through one problem without needing help. Scratching at his lower lip he shook his head in disdain.  “I give up.” He snapped the pencil in half and threw the pencil to the rough, burgundy, library carpet floor.   “I don’t get it. Show me again.” He asked looking to his new tutor, Christopher Jones.  

Christopher observed the boy quietly, he wandered to himself how someone so good at a sport that subsequently involved numbers couldn’t solve them. He licked his lips and looked back down at the problem he just worked on his own sheet of paper. He looked back up as the man retaliated against the problem. “Okay” he said, nodding his head, he wrote out the problem again. “It’s simple,” he said with reason. “You have to stop overthinking it” he suggested as he showed the man slowly step by step the problem and it’s solution again. “Got it?” He said quietly. 

Samuel watched Christopher go through the problem once again. “Okay.” He said, nodding slowly.  Not for the first time he cursed being poor and the Georgia school system.  Unable to decide which was more at fault for his lack of sound education. He growled low under his breath.  “Stop… Pause, hold up.” He told the man waving his hand in surrender.  “Give me a second.  My brain is overloaded.” He laid his head on top of the paper and exhaled out a heavy sigh.  “How did you get so good at this stuff.” He asked, trying to change the subject for a minute. 

Looking over at the man again, his head low Christopher shrugged his shoulders a bit. “I guess it comes a little natural for me” he breathed, not sure how to really answer that. He assumed all the private schools and tutors over the years helped too, but he wasn’t one to mention those things. “What’s your grade right now?” He asked the guy. 

“I wish that was me right now.” Samuel said, sitting up slumping in the chair.  “Everything is just slipping away from me.” He was exhausted. In earnest it was his new position as starting Quarterback that had his mind completely clogged.  He chuckled, “Right now, I have a ‘D’.  If I don’t pass this next test.  That's going to be my ass.  I can’t have any of this affecting my scholarship.” He said, admitting what he would never under any other circumstance.  A weakness and being shit broke all at the same  time. 

Christopher sat his pencil down and he sat, hands in his lap. As the man went on to paint the obvious picture he’d already imagine he nodded his head. Christopher looked down at the work before Samuel and then at the man again. “I could…” he started “do the work for you” he breathed without much thought. His eyes leave Sam to see his sister approaching them both. 

Mercedes walked up to Christopher in one of the many study areas on campus. Her hands holding her backpack straps, she said “hey, I thought we could grab lunch when… you guys finish?” Questionably. Her eyes never really moved towards the well known guy she knew her brother was tutoring. 

Samuel twisted his head, and raised his eyebrow.  He’d be lying if the idea of cheating hadn’t entered his mind.  Hell, he had done so in other classes.  He bit his lip and sighed, opening his mouth to give the man his answer, however before he could say a word a woman approached. Samuel smirked.  Samuel closed his books and began shoving them in his backpack. “I could eat.” He said quickly.  “I mean… I don’t want to interrupt a lover’s luncheon.” He said, steady packing.  “But a quick bite might be just what I need to get my mind back on track.” 

Christopher looked at Mercedes and nodded his head before he furrowed his brows at Samuel. Before he could speak, his non to silent sister beat him to it, of course.

Mercedes slowly looked at the man that spoke up, as he gathered his things she looked at her brother and then the thin man again. “This is my brother” she corrected, with a little venom laced in her quick response. Men repulsed her more so now than ever before. And this one, she could see, would make her sick most. “Which is who I was talking to, however if you insist. I suppose you are welcomed” she said, voice proper and straight forward. She looked back down at her brother slowly, ignoring the man’s existent once more. 

Samuel slowed his packing, looking up at the woman as she spoke. Both eyebrows moved up his forehead and stayed there for a moment as he decided what to say next.  “Sister…” He repeated and nodded, absorbing the stinging lashes from her tongue.  “Despite the tone.  I’ll accept your generosity. Thank you.” He said, getting to his feet. Brushing his hand down over his jeans. He extended it as he shouldered his pack.  “I’m Sam. And you are?” 

Christopher nodded his head and said “yeah” knowingly as he stood several feet tall. He grabbed his bag and balled his piece of paper up. “This is my baby sister, Mercedes” he gestured. “She’s a Med student here," he told Samuel. It were to imply Mercedes being out of his league though he was sure Samuel wouldn’t be stupid enough to attempt anything with his sister. 

Mercedes looked over at Samuel again “tone?” She questioned, before she looked at her brother. “Hm” she said simply. Her brother introduced her and she rolled her eyes gently “hardly a baby, and it’s just a year’s difference” she said smiling up at her brother. 

Samuel let his hand drop, now using it to rub his over other arm dramatically with a small shiver for good measure.  “Mhm, tone…” He stressed.   “The arctic kind.” He added with a  chuckle.  The respectful haze of girlfriend terrority dissipated as both siblings confirmed their relation to each other. He took the woman in as the two bantered.  She was  exceptionally short, feisty.  With a doll’s face, complete with a button nose and full lips that seemed more created than naturally occurring. “Baby is big brother speak.  Which means don’t you even think about it.” Sam informed the girl, eyes finally moving back to his tutor.  “I got a set of sisters myself. One older and the other younger. ‘Baby’ is a dude code for she is protected.  Keep your hands and everything else to yourself. My older sister threatened to kill me for telling her ‘fiance’ that i was older when i met him. In my defence I didn't trust him.”  

Christopher smirked at Mercedes “either way” he told Mercedes easily. As Samuel spoke he nodded his head at him, so the guy knew good. As he assumed Samuel wouldn’t be foolish when it came to his sister. 

Mercedes looked at Samuel allowing him to speak, spilling his thoughts and when he was finished she said “Christopher knows he has nothing to worry about” cryptically. “Besides, I handle myself” she smiled wickedly at the man before she said “come on” to her brother more so. “I’m hungry” she said cutely to him as she began to retreat back into the direction she came. 

Samuel chuckled.  The girl had no idea how the minds of men worked but he’d let it slide. He raised his eyebrow at Mercedes' response, but shrugged it off.  If she thought so… Then breathing became hard to do. There were very few perfect things in life and in the space of two seconds Mercedes Jones had shown him two.  The woman had the most perfect lips he’d ever seen and now… Sweet baby Jesus.  She had an ass handcrafted by God. He stood transfixed for a moment, face scrunched, ‘God damn’ he mumbled, shaking his head.  He’d never considered himself an ass man, but this was something to be worshipped. After hanging back longer than need be, he had to jog quickly to catch up with the pair. He coughed, clearing his throat needlessly,.”So pre-med and pre-law you guys are a parents dream team.” He said idly as they made their way to the cafe, trying hard to keep his eyes off Mercedes ass. 

Christopher chuckled, shaking his head and he moved behind his sister knowing Samuel would follow suit. At his words he looked back at him nodding his head “yeah” he told him exiting the room and moving for the building exit next. 

Mercedes looked to the milky skinned man and pursed her lips a bit, a slight chuckle leaving her. “Yeah, well. We are the youngest. We are just following in the footsteps of our other 5” she told him easily. “Our siblings laid the foundation” she sighed with a shrug. She opened the door and walked out the building, holding it for her brother. 

Samuel slowed, utterly stunned.  “And I thought my parents were busy.” He said, shaking his head as he moved out of the building behind Christopher. “There are five of us. I have an older brother and sister, -twins.  And a younger sister and brother that are only about 2 years apart.  So you guys are the babies in the family? You two aren’t twins are you?”  

Christopher could agree with his sister, they would have been squared if they didn’t go to school for something that was deemed ‘practical’. “We are adopted” he spoke softly, jumping over that hurdle. “Then mother had another kid, our younger sister, after we were added to the household” he clarified. 

Mercedes nodded her head “we are a year apart” she responded to him, tone light. “We have 3 older brothers, and two older sisters. Us, and then Bella” she mentioned. “She’s a year younger than me,” she told him. 

Samuel adjusted the strap to his bag, turning his head, leaning in to catch what Christpher said. He mouthed the word adopted having to read the man’s lip more than actually hearing the words as they move through the courtyard. “I see.” He told the pair a broad smile coming to his face.  “Alright Jeffery.” He said, playfully mocking Christopher. “Household” He said, doing a pretty good Jeffery from the Fresh Prince impersonation. “Dude you're so formal.” He added lighting the mood a bit.  “That’s cool though, how you all push each other.  I’m on my  younger sister and brother all the time about grades and going to college. I want to build a legacy in our family. Like you guys. If I graduated I’ll be the first in my family to get a college education. That's the other reason I try to keep my grades up.” He  shook his head as if coming from out of a cloud. 

Christopher looked at Samuel “Jeffery?” He questioned, confused. “Who is that?” He asked him. “Formal?” He repeated back to the guy looking over at his sister for some understanding. “I’m sorry, I believe I am a little confused,” he said. “Us going to college wasn’t an option. My father was an Attorney. He believes strongly in education and quite frankly, they showed us a lifestyle we otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford without one and an amazingly well paying job”.

Mercedes tilted her head “formal?” She too said with her brother. “I don’t see the relation” she replied to Samuel. “Christopher and I often compete GPA wise. It does help motivationally. Right now I’m at a 3.8” she chuckled “Christopher has me beat but not for long” she said, bumping the man gently with her shoulder. 

Samuel raised an eyebrow, trying to decide if they were joking or being honest in their confusion. He looked back and forth between the pair, “The Fresh Prince.  Now this is a story all about how…” He rapped, trying to jog fruitlessly to jog their memories.  He puffed out a big breath, “Nevermind.”  At Christoper’s complete explanation, it became clear.  Money… funny how something so small could make such a big difference. A hint of self consciousness slid up Samuel’s back.  Whatever their financial situation.  They were both here at UM that had to mean something. “Right now I’m just hoping for a solid 2.5” He told the pair honestly.  “Hopefully Christopher can get me there.” 

Christopher looked at the man and nodded slowly, he still was clueless. “We just have to practice it as much as you do with football” he responded.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen that” she said seriously as she said Ickes hair behind her ear. Mercedes looked at him, his GPA wasn’t a shocker, she knew plenty of people in his predicament: they just weren’t on the football team nor the quarterback. Interesting.

Samuel nodded his head at Mercedes, eyes stretched with a  sarcastic, 'yes I know' evident on his face.  He was dealing with a pair of nerds the likes he has never met before.  He'd let it slide, Christopher seemed cool and Mercedes was cute.  "we'll see." He told Chris, skeptical of even his own ability.  "So if you two don't watch television, what do you do besides study?" He asked, reaching out pulling the door open holding it for Mercedes to pass through. 

Mercedes looked at Samuel again and said “plenty of things” with a chuckle. “I horseback ride, we like to play chess,” she listed. 

Christopher butted in “polo” as an additive “golf, poker” he shrugged lightly. 

“Skiing, snowboarding, dad has a boat so we fish a lot as a family” Mercedes said to the man honestly. 

The list of extracurricular activities did nothing but confirm what Samuel already knew. The pair were absolute nerds. Despite that fact, he was drawn to Mercedes laughter. There was something in the quality that made him want to hear her laugh all the time. His eyes stretched wide, “Horseback riding, chess and polo. No offence but you two are whiter than me.  I was playing but my lunch is truly on you two.”

Christopher looked at Samuel and he shook his head a bit with a smirk. “Oh really?” he asked him jokingly. “We hadn’t noticed,” he told him amused. 

“Or well rounded, depends on who you ask” Mercedes replied back to Samuel. She squinted a little at him before she chuckled again, “yeah sure” she said “you should have a meal plan like us” she tested, her glue gliding over her lips gently. The woman moved to decide what she would desire to eat today. 

Samuel grinned, looking around the cafe.  The chatter of dozens of people and clinking trays all mixing into the sound of campus life.  “Do you think I’m lying?  I’ve mucked out a few barns but I was never allowed to ride.”  He said, following the pair.  “What? Are you reneging?” He said, rolling his neck. “Ms. Jones… Ms. Jones… Ms. Jones.  Don’t do a brother like that.” 

“Reneging?” Mercedes asked with a raised brow “I don’t remember committing” she told him as she surveyed the choices. “I am getting pizza Chris” she told him easily as she moved for that line. 

Christopher looked at Samuel and shook his head again, “where are you from again?” he asked the guy. At his sister's words he nodded his head “okay” he told her as he looked at the selection. 

“I’m from Georgia.” Samuel shrugged, “A place called Coffee county. It’s south of Savannah. -true be told it’s closer to Jacksonville.  What about you guess?” He sucked his teeth, “See how woman do you? Miss you offered me lunch.” He chuckled.  Holding up two fingers to the attendant who shook her head and offered Samuel a familiar smile. “Are you behaving today? On second thought don’t answer that.  I can already tell the answer is no.” She said, as she made two plates, one with a slice of pizza for Mercedes and the second with two huge slices of supreme pizza on another plate for Samuel.

taChristopher nodded his head at Samuel and said “we are from Dallas” easily. He decided he wanted a burger and fries, he reached into his pack pocket for his I.D. 

Mercedes grabbed her lanyard and held her I.D in her hand as she looked to the woman. She gave Samuel a sly glance out of the corner of her eye before she watched him and the woman. As she made them plates, she raised a brow at her “um” she said, glancing between the two. “Can I have two slices?” she asked, holding up two fingers. Had the woman not been cheesing in Samuel’s face so hard she would have given her the chance to say. 

Samuel whistled.  “I would have never guessed.  You two gave me Atlanta vibes.” Samuel grinned cheekily.  “Oh yeah of little faith.” He winked, moving up to take the plate.  “I would ask how you’re doing today. But as always I see you are fine.” The lunch attendant's face was on fire with the ear to ear grin she currently wore. Without much acknowledgement, she added a slice of pizza to Mercedes’ plate and passed in along.  “Did you want anything else? The pasta is good today.” She asked, focusing on the blond.  “Nah.  I better not. I need to watch my waistline.” He chuckled, rubbing his waist with his free hand.   

Christopher moved in line to grab his meal and he looked over at his sister curiously. 

Mercedes watched the woman and she narrowed her eyes at her a bit before she grabbed the plate “thank you” she said with a bit of an attitude. She rolled her eyes at the interaction and moved to grab a drink to go with her meal. 

The attendant glanced at Mercedes, then smiled kindly in spite of her attitude.  “You have a nice day!” She said waving at the girl. “Thank you, Darlin.” Samuel said, voicing oozing with southern charm, he winked at the woman as he moved off behind Mercedes. “Hey, I see a table over there with some of my friends.” he pointed out as they moved towards the cashier. 

Christopher grabbed his burger and fries, then moved to grab himself a soda to compliment it. He moved to the register to pay for his meal looking towards his sister again. 

Mercedes grabbed a coke and then raised a brow looking towards Samuel. “Your friends?” she repeated with a chuckle, what made him think that she or Christopher wanted to hang with his friends? She moved in the line to check out and said nothing more as she stood a person apart from her brother. 

“Yes, my friends.  Why do you sound so surprised?” Samuel asked, towering over the girl as she got her drink.  He opted for a bottle of water and got in line right behind Mercedes. A coveted spot as nearly every man in line behind the woman, snuck, glances at her ass.  Samuel shook his head, a pained expression on his face. Sweet little baby Jesus, -in a manger. He thought. Taking full advantage of the time he had to fully appreciate the woman’s assets. 

“Nope,” Mercedes said in a quick response to him, right to the point as she moved up in line. When it was time for her to pay she swiped her ID card and followed behind her brother. “See you” she said to Sam, as she went along to find a table with her brother. Hopefully Samuel would choose to sit with other people and she no longer had to be bothered. 

Chilly.. Samuel thought, listening to the one word respond coming from the little, thick woman in front of him. His smile was slow and broad. He glazed back toward the lunch attendant girl, and snickered.  “Later Ms. Jones” Samuel said, a shit eating grin on his face, he slapped Christoper on the back. “You’re sister…” He shook his head. Opting not to finish his sentence. “I’ll catch you after lunch.” He said, moving off towards his friends, trying hard not to look towards the mysterious thick woman. 

Christopher looked to Samuel with raised brows, yeah the guy was in for a rude awakening messing with his sister. For more reasons than one honestly. “Alright” he said nevertheless as he moved behind his sister for whatever table she was leading them.

[medicalspacelakeworth23]

Medical Space Lake Worth - A medical office building near Lake Worth Beach sold for $12.61 million. Palm Beach MOB LLC, managed by Steven P. Wathen in Hilliard, Ohio, sold the 31,847-square-foot medical office at 7408 Lake Worth Road to PrimeMed Lake Worth LLC, managed by Christoper Montello, the president of Aventura-based PrimeMed Manager Corp. TD Bank provided an $8.83 million mortgage to the buyer.

[invisiblemotor]

Claude Bragdon’s cubic vision of the New Jerusalem: ‘“and the city [the New Jerusalem] lieth four square, and the length is as large as the breadth.” Somehow the New Jerusalem was a cube in which all our small lives were layered together.’- Claude Bragdon and Christoper G. White in Other Worlds

[christinedwyer]

top 5 scenic designs ! (theatre)

Ho boy.

Once on this Island (Revival) - I don’t think I even have to say anything I mean the designers took inspo from Haiti and natural disaster, made the discarded divine, built a stage that was truly ingrained by nature and faith and that was both atmospheric and functional.

Wicked - I really appreciate the nods to the book with the time-dragon, the constant shifting of gears, and industrialized fantasy - making it seem like the whole tale is playing out within the clock itself.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - I know this isn’t a musical but you just said theatre and honestly given that the book is from Christoper’s POV I love that the designers helped the stage really look and feel like Christopher’s world and help the audience immerse themselves in his experience of the story.

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 - um just fuck me up with the immersive staging, plus those comet chandeliers were breathtaking and helped blend the way the show was both period and modern so seamlessly. 

Carousel (Revival) - I mean that ocean backdrop with the little shining squares and the boats, ugh, amazing. That carousel piece that comes down??? Nice.

Honorable Mention to Billy Elliot because the way they set moves between all the differnet locations in the show and manages to merge locations in time and space in a way that just makes sense and echoes the chaos ensuing really sets up the gritty nature of the environment but also allows for the choreography to move in the space excellently. 

[shadowtearling]

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel 

Narrators:

Andy Secombe Eric Meyers Laurel Lefkow Charlie Anson Liza Ross William Hope Christoper Ragland Katharine Mangold Adna Sablyich

Summary:

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected. But some can never stop searching for answers. Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

My Thoughts:

This is a fantastic audiobook, an especially great choice for those who want to venture into this medium of reading. 

Some background information: this book is told through a series of files (interviews, transcripts, news articles, journal logs), the main one being the interview format. In most of the files, there is this unnamed interviewer who talks to several different characters, all of whom have a distinct voice/personality that the audiobook helped shine a light on. 

The voice acting is GREAT. There are points in which a character screams, and the narrator actually committed to that. Furthermore, since this book is told mainly through interviews, it is often a conversation between two people. The narrators (all of them) did an awesome job at making it feel as though it were an actual conversation. I would liken the experience of listening to this to that of listening to a podcast. 

If you want to read this book, I do highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It is really easy to get lost in who is being interviewed as the characters in writing sound similar to each other. There’s also just a lot of characters to keep track of. The various voice actors really helped not only distinguish characters but ADD to the characterization. Sarcastic and cynical Kara Resnik SOUNDS exactly that on audio. The mystery man has a deep voice, perfect for blackmailing. The accents are well done, subtle but believable enough. There’s a character who stutters a lot (better in audio than in text). 

I listened at about 2.10x speed, which was fast enough to get through the book but slow enough that I still understood. I did have to stop a few times whenever scientific jargon was being thrown around and physically reread those portions. However, that was not as big an issue for me because the concepts get explained (the interviewer mystery man asks for clarification a lot of the time). 

Thanks for reading :-)

[nightmare-afton-cosplay]

Harvey Weinstein Started Selling His Real Estate About Six Months Before His Downfall

Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein began selling off personal real estate about six months before the publication of two articles that enumerated a flood of sexual-misconduct allegations against him, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of property records and people familiar with the transactions.

The purge resulted in the sale of six homes by Mr. Weinstein between October 2017 and April 2018 for an estimated total of $55.9 million. Another one of his homes is for sale. And in April 2019, he sold a commercial office space he owned with his brother and Weinstein Co. co-founder Robert. Robert Weinstein didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Leslie Cohen closed on her purchase of one of Mr. Weinstein’s Connecticut homes just three days before the publication of a New York Times article detailing his alleged sexual misconduct. She said that when she saw the article, she was upset and felt “deceived” that no one involved in the transaction warned her what was about to happen. Agents involved in the deal said they didn’t know about the article.

Mr. Weinstein is scheduled to go on criminal trial in New York on Sept. 9. Prosecutors have accused him of raping a woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on another woman in 2006. Mr. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and has denied all accusations of nonconsensual sex. His lawyers are negotiating an approximately $45 million settlement that would resolve sexual-misconduct lawsuits against Mr. Weinstein.

The residential sales yielded an estimated $17.8 million more than the purchase prices paid by Mr. Weinstein, according to public records. The commercial office space brought $5 million more than the price the Weinstein brothers paid. The home Ms. Cohen bought in October 2017 sold for almost twice what Mr. Weinstein paid for it. But his Amagansett home, which he listed in April 2017, sold in November 2017 at a $1.65 million loss. Two of Mr. Weinstein’s residential properties and the commercial office condo sold for below market value, according to local agents, but combined, they still garnered a hefty return for Mr. Weinstein.

Such a flurry of sales isn’t unprecedented, especially following a death, divorce or bankruptcy, said Andrew S. Whiteley, an agent at William Raveis. But Mr. Weinstein’s move to sell so many properties is much rarer. “I’ve never seen anyone do that,” said Christoper Riccio, a New York-based real-estate agent.

A spokesman for Mr. Weinstein declined to comment on any of his specific real-estate transactions and said, “This is nothing other than Harvey Weinstein consolidating his property ownership to help make his divorce settlement a smoother matter, and to pay his legal counsel.”

Here is a timeline of the sale of Mr. Weinstein’s properties and of some of his legal and business complications.

———

Hamptons family home

realtor.com

April 2, 2017—LISTED

Property: Hamptons family home

Location: Amagansett, N.Y.

List Price: $12.8 million

Purchased: $11.65 million in 2014 with then-wife Georgina Chapman, co-founder of the fashion label Marchesa. Ms. Chapman didn’t respond to requests for comment.

What: 7 bedrooms, 9,000 square feet, 2 acres, swimming pool, water frontage on Gardiners Bay, movie theater

———

Harvey Weinstein and his now-deceased mother, Miriam.

Catherine McGann/Getty Images

April 12, 2017—LISTED

Property: Minute Man Hill home

Location: Westport, Conn.

Purchased: $825,000 in 1995. Mr. Weinstein purchased the home for his now-deceased mother, Miriam (pictured above), according to people familiar with the purchase.

List price: $2.25 million

What: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,000 square feet, half an acre, Midcentury Modern

———

April 24, 2017—PRICE CUT

Property: Minute Man Hill home

Price: Reduced to $1.995 million from $2.25 million

———

West Hollywood condo

realtor.com

July 5, 2017—LISTED

Property: West Hollywood condo

Location: Granville Towers

List Price: $999,000

Purchased: $910,000 in 2015 for daughter Lily, who goes by the name Remy. Ms. Weinstein couldn’t be reached for comment.

What: 2 bedrooms, 1,100 square feet

Note: At the time the property was listed, it was being rented by actress Jennifer Hudson, said Scott Gorelick, of Compass, the eventual buyer’s agent. Ms. Hudson’s representatives didn’t respond to a request for comment.

———

July 27, 2017—PRICE CUT

Property: Hamptons family home

Price: Reduced to $12.4 million from $12.8 million

———

September 9, 2017—PRICE CUT

Property: Minute Man Hill

Price: Reduced to $1.795 million from $1.995 million

———

October 2, 2017—SOLD

Property: Minute Man Hill

List Price: $1.795 million

Sold for: About $1.6 million

Purchased: $825,000 in 1995

Profit (All profit figures are before fees, commissions and profit-sharing with other property owners): $775,000. According to court documents, Mr. Weinstein shared the proceeds of the sale with his first wife, Eve Chilton. Mr. Weinstein and Ms. Chilton, his former assistant, were married from 1987 to 2004 and have three children. Ms. Chilton couldn’t be reached for comment.

Buyer: Leslie Cohen, a Westport designer and developer

“I don’t know if I would have bought it at all,” said Ms. Cohen, who closed on the purchase three days before the New York Times article was published.

Fate of the home: Ms. Cohen sold it in June 2018 for $1.425 million to the next-door neighbors, New York physician Arturo Constantiner and his wife, Caren Constantiner. Dr. Constantiner said their decision to purchase the house wasn’t impacted by Mr. Weinstein’s prior ownership of the property, but he thought Ms. Cohen paid too much for it. According to Westport building permits, the Constantiners demolished the home in the fall of 2018. The lot is vacant.

———

October 5, 2017

The New York Times article is published.

The article “came as a surprise to everybody, including us. Everybody took a deep breath and thought, ‘I hope we can move this,’” said Beate V. Moore, Sotheby’s International Realty, one of the listing agents for Mr. Weinstein’s Hamptons family home.

———

October 8, 2017

Weinstein Co.’s board of directors fires Mr. Weinstein. He retains his ownership equity.

———

October 10, 2017

The New Yorker publishes an article detailing additional allegations against Mr. Weinstein.

The same day, Ms. Chapman announces she is leaving Mr. Weinstein. The couple, who have two children, eventually agreed on a $20 million divorce settlement.

———

October 13, 2017

Property: Hamptons family home

Mr. Weinstein takes the home off the market, but Ms. Moore and the Sotheby’s team continue to market it privately, according to Ms. Moore.

———

November 15, 2017—SOLD

Property: Hamptons family home

Sold for: $10 million

List price: $12.4 million

Purchased: $11.65 million in 2014

Loss: $1.65 million

Buyer: Taisho Holdings LLC. Ms. Moore declined to identify the buyers behind the entity, but said some potential buyers were worried about being dragged into the headlines. “Some people will just say, ‘I’m walking away from this,’” said Ms. Moore.

———

Harvey Weinstein’s beachfront property in Westport, CT

February 2, 2018—SOLD

Property: Westport, Conn., family home

Location: Beachside Avenue

Sold for: $16 million

List price: N/A, off-market sale

Purchased: Two adjoining parcels for $8.25 million in two separate transactions in 1994 and 2000 with Mr. Weinstein’s first wife, Ms. Chilton

Profit: $7.75 million

What: 8 bedrooms in main house, plus two additional homes, 6 acres, main house renovated in mid-1990s for roughly $1.2 million, movie theater.

Mr. Weinstein kept the property in the divorce from Ms. Chilton and married Ms. Chapman there in 2007, with a fireworks display launched from a barge on Long Island Sound. In 2012, the couple held a fundraiser on the property for President Barack Obama’s re-election.

Buyer: Andrew Bentley, who owns at least two other homes on Beachside Avenue. He didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Fate of the home: The terms of the deal allowed Mr. Weinstein to continue living on the property until February 2019, Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers said in court. Mr. Bentley has applied to demolish all three structures on the property. As of late July, the two smaller structures had been torn down, but the main house was still standing. Andrew S. Whiteley, of William Raveis, a local broker who wasn’t involved in the sale, says he has spoken with Mr. Bentley about his plans, which are to resell the lots with either one or two spec houses on them.

“It isn’t what modern buyers are looking for. There is probably some stigma to owning Harvey’s house,” said Mr. Whiteley, on why the homes are being demolished.

———

March 19, 2018

Weinstein Co. files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

———

Harvey Weinstein’s West Village home

March 19, 2018—SOLD

Property: West Village townhouse

Location: Manhattan

Sold for: $25.6 million

List Price: N/A, off-market sale

Purchased: $14.95 million in 2006

Profit: $10.65 million

What: Single-family townhouse, 5,000 square feet, 5 stories

Buyer: Andrew Marks, son of Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management, and his wife, CNN reporter Rachel Crane. The couple declined to comment through a spokesman.

Fate of the home: Under renovation

The scandal “didn’t hurt the price at all. When you have such a prime piece of real estate, someone’s gonna do it,” said Christopher Riccio, a real-estate agent who wasn’t involved in the deal but has sold a number of West Village townhouses. Few, he said, have ever sold for more than $25 million.

———

March 30, 2018—SOLD

Property: West Hollywood condo

Sold for: $940,000 to Colton Thorn, a Los Angeles interior designer, who will use it as an office and studio, according to Mr. Gorelick of Compass, the buyer’s agent. Mr. Thorn didn’t respond to requests for comment.

List price: $999,000.

Purchased: $910,000 in 2015

Profit: $30,000. Mr. Gorelick said he and his client didn’t know who the seller was until the deal was already in escrow, at which point Mr. Weinstein asked Mr. Gorelick through an attorney to accept a reduced commission. Mr. Gorelick refused, he said.

———

April 3, 2018—SOLD

Property: Los Angeles home

List price: N/A, off-market sale

Sold for: $1.8 million

Purchased: $1.55 million in 2015 for daughter Lily, according to people familiar with the home

Profit: $250,000

What: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,400 square feet, fireplace, stenciled beams, 1920s Tudor

Buyer: Jessica Natali, an attorney at Live Nation Entertainment . Ms. Natali declined to comment.

“From 2015 to 2018, [Los Angeles] had tremendous appreciation, and I’m not sure he got all of it,”said Mauricio Umansky, a broker with the Agency in Los Angeles, who wasn’t involved in the sale.

———

May 25, 2018

Mr. Weinstein is arrested in New York, charged with rape, and released on a $1 million cash bail. The judge allows him to continue living at the Westport estate and travel between there and New York, providing he surrender his passport and wear an ankle bracelet. Mr. Weinstein pleaded not guilty.

———

July 13, 2018

Weinstein Co. ceases business operations.

———

August 2018—LISTED

Property: Commercial condo

Location: Greenwich Street, Tribeca, Manhattan

List price: $10 million

Purchased: $1.1 million in 1989 by Mr. Weinstein and his brother Robert

What: 6,000 square feet, third floor of red brick loft building which had been used as Mr. Weinstein’s office. It was also named as the site of an alleged 2004 assault in a criminal complaint filed against Mr. Weinstein. His lawyers denied the allegation at the time, and the charge related to the 2004 allegation was later dropped.

The building is home of Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Grill and the office of the Tribeca Film Festival.

———

April 10, 2019—SOLD

Property: Commercial condo

Sold for: $6.1 million. The purchase price was about $710 a square foot, lower than the average commercial condo price in Tribeca of around $1,000, according to Michael Rudder, agent for Cape Advisors, the buyers.

List price: $7.9 million

Purchased: $1.1 million in 1989

Profit: $5 million

Buyer: Cape Advisors, a New York-based development and investment firm

Fate of the property: Cape Advisors is renovating it to use as its headquarters.

“People are turned off by anything to do with [Mr. Weinstein],” said Mr. Rudder. The buyer “almost didn’t want to do the deal because of this.”

———

May 8, 2019—LISTED

Property: Beverly Grove home

Location: Los Angeles

List price: $2.3 million

Purchased: $1.76 million in 2014

What: 2,600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, built in the 1920s.

Fate of the property: The price was cut to $2.2 million.

———

May 14, 2019

Weinstein Co. converts its bankruptcy filing from chapter 11 to chapter 7 liquidation.

Total profit before fees, commissions and profit-sharing with other property owners: $22.8 Million

—Additional reporting from Corinne Ramey and Jonathan Randles.

The post Harvey Weinstein Started Selling His Real Estate About Six Months Before His Downfall appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/harvey-weinstein-started-selling-his-real-estate-about-six-months-before-his-downfall/

[stoweboyd]

Douthat, Mounk, and the Fate of France

Yascha Mounk is perhaps one of the most eloquent defenders of ‘liberal democracy’, and he’s concerned with the rise of populist ‘right wing’ parties and leaders, like Trump, Le Pen, and Orbán. However, where he and many others seem to stub their toe is the right versus left dimension, which he and others are blinded by.

In his attempted takedown of Ross Douthat, who has opened a can of worms by trying to drive a reassessment of Le Pen as a populist nationalist, Mounk fails to really make a dent, and instead, simply marshals the ‘metropolitan’ talking points that others (like Sylvie Kauffman) have made recently. Mounk starts by praising Douthat for being able to pose alternative ways of looking at what’s going on, but in his efforts to see Le Pen as part of tectonic realignment at the foundation of political order, Younk says Douthat has gone too far:

Yascha Mounk, No, There Is No Case For Le Pen

That changed [his regard for Douthat] when Douthat penned his latest column, in which he puts his considerable skills in the service of defending the indefensible: the election of a post-fascist who presents a clear and present danger to ethnic and religious minorities in France.

Younk is focused on the threat to the established order that Le Pen represents, and his arguments are principally with her parties continued alignment with a fascist and xenophobic history in her party, and, it must be said, in France as a nation. France is the nation of Vichy, too, and not just De Gaulle. He argues that her policies on issues of the public square -- like women wearing headscarves in public -- are slightly more draconian that those of Sarkozy. But this election is not about headscarves, or even anti-islamism: it’s about globalism.

Mounk’s counter to Douthat never really touches on the deep changes going on, the realignment of politics away from right versus left toward the new up/down split, between the ‘open society’ stance of globalist urban elite (Macron in France, Clinton in the US), and the ‘closed society’ of nationalist working class in flyover country (Le Pen and Mélenchon n France, Trump in the US, May in the UK).

When you unthread the xenophobia and cryptofascism from the closed society arguments, what is left is a coherent political response to the deep problems of our time, a rejection of the globalist hypercapitalism that has led to huge inequality of income and opportunity across the industrialized world, and across Europe. It is a rejection of the transfer of political and economic control to technocratic EU functionaries in Brussels, and immigration policies that favor immigrants over natives.

In Douthat’s Op-Ed piece today, when responding to Mounk and others who have attacked him for acknowledging Le Pen’s position in this realignment, he mentions Christopher Caldwell’s recent article on Christophe Guilluy as the best characterization of what is actually going on in France, and I agree. I wrote about this last week (see Christoper Caldwell, The French, Coming Apart). 

Guilluy says that the workings of globalization have left no room for the marginalized working class of France, and the traditional rivalry/collusion of the two wings of the neoliberal globalist ‘party’ -- center right versus center left -- has failed to include the interests of those on the periphery, out in the hinterlands away from the knowledge workers in the major metropolitian areas. So the Socialists and Republicans are out of the running, rejected by what looks like ‘extremists’ when viewed in the old left-versus-right perspective. But the realignment has already happened, and is blindsiding those stuck in the right-versus-left mindset, like Mounk, and he attacks Douthat (not one of my favorite people) for ‘defending the indefensible’. However, Douthat is attempting to shift to the new paradigm, discussing open versus closed societies, suggesting that the anti-globalist, anti-elite, marginalized Left Behinds have a case. And they have to pick someone to make that case. They have to follow someone, after all.

Denying the legitimacy of the Left Behind’s grievances led to a Trump victory in the US and Brexit in the UK, and it could lead to an upset of the established order in France, if not in this election, then in the next.

Meanwhile, the other extremist, Mélenchon can’t bring himself to support Macron, because to do so is to deny the primacy of the antiglobalist agenda, and to place the aspirations of the elite above the needs of the Left Behinds. Unlike Sanders' support for Clinton, in the US, which pissed off many of his most ardent followers.

So, where will the center of gravity fall in France?

[mqhntios]

Sleeping Giants Audiobooks Downloads

Get now >> Sleeping Giants Audiobooks Downloads

Sleeping Giants Audiobooks Downloads

An electrifying debut in the tradition of Michael Crichton, World War Z, and The Martian, Sleeping Giants is a thriller fueled by an earthshaking mystery-and a fight to control a gargantuan power. A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved-its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected. But some can never stop searching for answers. Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand's code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What's clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history's most perplexing discovery-and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction? Cast of Narrators: Andy Secombe Eric Meyers Laurel Lefkow Charlie Anson Liza Ross William Hope Christoper Ragland Katharine Mangold Adna Sablyich Sleeping Giants Audiobooks Downloads

[juditmiltz]

Versace-inspired Fort Lauderdale home asks $27.5M

The seller of the seven-bedroom Fort Lauderdale home designed Casa Casuarina in Miami Beach

The two-story home of the designer behind Casa Casuarina—known as the Versace Mansion in South Beach—is on the market.

Katia Bates is selling her house for $27.5 million with her husband, Tom.

While the Fort Lauderdale waterfront property does not include furniture as part of its asking price, it’s difficult to miss the stunning 18th and 19th century home decor.

The home has some of the same Venetian designs as the Versace mansion—soaring ceilings, stenciled wall plasters, marble floors, antique sconces and chandeliers, and mural ceilings inspired by Italian palaces.

The living room gives a full view of New River.

The seven-bedroom, twelve-and-a-half bathroom home has a guest house that includes a kitchen, family room, and two master bedrooms.

The 12,500 square feet home that’s next door to Las Olas Boulevard includes an office, a courtyard, bar, and gym. Other perks include two master closets, laundry room, club room, and library.

A tenant can park her boat at the dock or host a BBQ in the outdoor grilling area.

The annual estate tax for the property is $36,202. The property listing is by agents Christoper Wands, Pietro Balmonte, and Chad Carroll of Doulgas Elliman.

524 Isla of Capri Drive, Fort Lauderdale [Douglas Elliman]

from Curbed Miami - All https://miami.curbed.com/2018/4/16/17225598/versace-inspired-fort-lauderdale-home-asks-27-5m-casa-casuarina-miami-beach via IFTTT

[nicolesrollins]

Versace-inspired Fort Lauderdale home asks $27.5M

The seller of the seven-bedroom Fort Lauderdale home designed Casa Casuarina in Miami Beach

The two-story home of the designer behind Casa Casuarina—known as the Versace Mansion in South Beach—is on the market.

Katia Bates is selling her house for $27.5 million with her husband, Tom.

While the Fort Lauderdale waterfront property does not include furniture as part of its asking price, it’s difficult to miss the stunning 18th and 19th century home decor.

The home has some of the same Venetian designs as the Versace mansion—soaring ceilings, stenciled wall plasters, marble floors, antique sconces and chandeliers, and mural ceilings inspired by Italian palaces.

The living room gives a full view of New River.

The seven-bedroom, twelve-and-a-half bathroom home has a guest house that includes a kitchen, family room, and two master bedrooms.

The 12,500 square feet home that’s next door to Las Olas Boulevard includes an office, a courtyard, bar, and gym. Other perks include two master closets, laundry room, club room, and library.

A tenant can park her boat at the dock or host a BBQ in the outdoor grilling area.

The annual estate tax for the property is $36,202. The property listing is by agents Christoper Wands, Pietro Balmonte, and Chad Carroll of Doulgas Elliman.

524 Isla of Capri Drive, Fort Lauderdale [Douglas Elliman]

from The Real Deal Miami & Real Estate News News | & Curbed Miami - All https://miami.curbed.com/2018/4/16/17225598/versace-inspired-fort-lauderdale-home-asks-27-5m-casa-casuarina-miami-beach via IFTTT

[walterfrodriguez]

Versace-inspired Fort Lauderdale home asks $27.5M

The seller of the seven-bedroom Fort Lauderdale home designed Casa Casuarina in Miami Beach

The two-story home of the designer behind Casa Casuarina—known as the Versace Mansion in South Beach—is on the market.

Katia Bates is selling her house for $27.5 million with her husband, Tom.

While the Fort Lauderdale waterfront property does not include furniture as part of its asking price, it’s difficult to miss the stunning 18th and 19th century home decor.

The home has some of the same Venetian designs as the Versace mansion—soaring ceilings, stenciled wall plasters, marble floors, antique sconces and chandeliers, and mural ceilings inspired by Italian palaces.

The living room gives a full view of New River.

The seven-bedroom, twelve-and-a-half bathroom home has a guest house that includes a kitchen, family room, and two master bedrooms.

The 12,500 square feet home that’s next door to Las Olas Boulevard includes an office, a courtyard, bar, and gym. Other perks include two master closets, laundry room, club room, and library.

A tenant can park her boat at the dock or host a BBQ in the outdoor grilling area.

The annual estate tax for the property is $36,202. The property listing is by agents Christoper Wands, Pietro Balmonte, and Chad Carroll of Doulgas Elliman.

524 Isla of Capri Drive, Fort Lauderdale [Douglas Elliman]

from The Real Deal Miami & Real Estate News News | & Curbed Miami - All https://miami.curbed.com/2018/4/16/17225598/versace-inspired-fort-lauderdale-home-asks-27-5m-casa-casuarina-miami-beach via IFTTT