#EID 2022

[salman-bloch]

WHAT is Mehndi Design art?Latest Design2024.Mehndi Designs is a paste made from the leaves of the henna plant, scientifically known as Lawsonia inermis. It is apply on the skin in intricate patterns, leaving behind a reddish-brown stain

[magazinepk]

Erum Khan Atractive Festive Wear Collection 2023 For Eid

[opencommunion]

Palestinians from several of the displaced communities described the same pattern to +972: Israeli settlers arrive with their herds and prevent them from grazing on land where Palestinians have grazed for decades; then armed settlers would proceed to harass them day and night, even entering houses, without the army or police intervening. Everyone described the same, overwhelming feelings of fear and distress under the shadow of these settler invasions. “It’s like 1948,” said Mohammed Hussein, a resident of Ein Samia — invoking the year of the Nakba (“catastrophe”) and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland during Israel’s establishment. According to the Palestinian residents, the situation grew worse following the establishment and growth of several grazing settler outposts in the area in recent years; settler violence and further expansion also noticeably escalated since the current Israeli government, led by extremist far-right parties, was sworn in last December. ... The Israeli authorities, along with the settlers, have played a central role in the displacement. For years, the occupation apparatus has banned the Palestinian communities from construction; demolished their homes; denied them connection to water and electricity; stopped them from paving roads; issued demolition orders for schools built with funds from the European Union; established and recognized Jewish settlements; and, of course, stood by during settler violence.  ... “We have always been under occupation, in a prison with checkpoints, but now we live in a prison van,” said Ali Abu al-Kabash, 60, sitting in a tent he had set up in an open area across the Allon Road. Abu al-Kabash, who is originally from a-Samu, near Hebron, moved to the Ramallah area in the 1980s, and to the area near Ras a-Tin in 1995. “Before the [last] election, the settlers would run away if there were a few of us [facing them]. Today, they attack because the government is with them. The police, the army, and the Shin Bet are all with them,” he added. “For 25 years we lived a normal life,” Abu al-Kabash continued. “In recent years, the settlers came and established two outposts [Micah’s Farm and Malachei HaShalom]. They blocked the road between us and Ein al-Rashash, and the one that goes down toward Fasayil. We would herd in the area, but they came to us in the name of the government and the Civil Administration and said that the land belongs to the settlers. They brought sheep to eat the food we grew for our sheep … They enter houses, sometimes with many soldiers, taking photos, even when there are girls, women, and old men present.” According to Abu al-Kabash, the violence increased after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in May. “They park at the entrance of the homes. Some of them are under 12 years old, under the age of criminal responsibility. They go in, look in the refrigerator, or at our phones. What can we do? They want Area C for Israel, to take control of the land through the settlers, but without war. But where will we go? The occupation is everywhere.” Ras a-Tin, which neighbors al-Qabun, was subjected to similar harassment and severe violence by settlers. On the day its residents fled, in July 2022, Ahmad Kaabna, the mukhtar of Ras a-Tin — who died suddenly in early August at age 60 — told a group of activists: “The settlers frightened the women, the children — everyone. They came to the homes at night in groups of 10-15 people … the army with them. If you talk to them and say ‘get away, get out of here,’ they call the army or the police, who come and arrest the young [Palestinians].”

[chadfallout76podcast]

THE VOICES OF FALLOUT PERFORM!

ENCORE BROADCAST FOR CHARITY 🔥🔥🔥

This Friday, December 22nd at 4PM ET join us for an encore, remastered, remixed broadcast of our 2022 all star special for Fallout For Hope!

chadfallout76podcast - Twitch

An all-star cast of actors and actresses, the voices of Fallout video games and beyond, assemble for "A Fallout Christmas Story" to benefit StJude Children's Research Hospital.

SPECIAL GUESTS:

With Paul Eiding, Wes Johnson, Pete Hines, Jan Johns, Jon St. John, Danny Shorago, Ellen McLain, John Patrick Lowrie, Peter Jessop, Chip Joslin, B Lobley.

WITH:

Alexander Luthor, Dr. Mark Hauswirth, David Volkmar, Shredz from the El Gato Pub, Matt Bartlett, Clint Winberry, Kevin Chenard and Kenneth Vigue

[vincents-dishwasher-fish]

Drew the princesses for last Eid🕯️💫

And also and older painting from 2022

[falasteen7urrah]

HAPPY BDS NEWS!!!!

A happy eid for all the Muslims out there and I’d love to share this happy news !

Samsung Next, the innovation arm of the technology giant Samsung, announced that it will shut down its operations in Israel as it will change its work model and move all of its activities in Israel overseas.

And furthermore, in 2023, investment in Israeli tech firms plummeted by 56% compared to 2022.

I could not be happier to share this, people think that’s lol the protesting and the boycotting does nothing and literally stfu mf. McDonalds bought all their restaurants in Israhell and Starbucks fucking sucks and more and more colleges in America are divesting from Israeshithole.

I took a little hiatus because I’ve been trying to pick up my life from whatever has been left from evacuated with basically just my life, but I couldn’t miss sharing another BDS W!!

[opalsoap]

Android 17 hcs bc he's my character now, not Toriyama's 😛

He's Turkish + Chinese (I actually debated Egyptian too, but he can have a mixed parent for that)

Y'all he is literally Muslim, we celebrate Eid together duh

He loves rock music the most

He can play guitar and saxophone – drums somewhat, but he kinda sucks, sorry babes </3 (he's learning its okay)

He literally told me he loves sharks, otter, and deer !!

Owns a motorcycle

Lapis also can surf and play basketball very well !

Ranger Lapis knows how to cook ! Before that, not so much :(

GUYS ITS SO OBVIOUS HES A DINOSAUR NERD JUST LIKE ME FR !!!! His favs are triceratops and spinosaurus & we love to debate on who has better favs (me obvi)

17 goes overboard on chocolate when it comes to, well, anything (when we go to fro yo chains, all his toppings are chocolate related)

Still on the subject of chocolate, he loves Reese's

Loves sour food and candy :D

Also loves Chinese food, especially things to do with noodles

Lapis likes cowboy and country stuff bc of me (Texan yeehaw) and Android 13, his Red Ribbon brother (17 and I own a lot of cowboy hats btw)

He doesn't have a canon birthday, so my friend (she's the one who showed me the drawing below teehee) came up with March 10, his creation day !

He sooo short circuits or malfunctions when he's embarrassed/flustered (what a cutie)

He's bisexual

He does paint his nails, but doesn't like the bright or obnoxious colors

He literally wears eyeliner, have y'all seen Lapis in DBS ? Idc if that's the style or whatever, it's eyeliner

Also !! 17 cannot draw well, but he makes silly little doodles to put up in his room like this one:

HEHSUDH he drew us getting married back in December 2022 AHIDJS he's so cute ♡

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

There is also a border with Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. And, lest anyone forget, there is a maze of underground tunnels one recently-freed Israeli hostage calls "Lower Gaza" which presents numerous illegal exit opportunities.

As Ari Zivotofsky observes in the Jerusalem Post, a September 19, 2023, episode of the Palestinian television show Emigration claimed that, "in the past 15 years a quarter of a million young Palestinians left for abroad." In 2022, over 15,000 of them who lived abroad (having apparently escaped the "prison") willingly returned to it to celebrate the feast of Eid al-Adha.

This is not how prisons work.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has been running a series on "Gaza Before October 7" refuting the "concentration camp" and "open-air prison" claims with pictures and videos. The first two episodes follow Palestinian "influencer" Yousef Alhelou as he travels around Gaza, showing off the top spots for tourists, including a gold market. Subsequent episodes include an Al-Jazeera feature of the economic boom in Gaza, Turkish television reports on the markets of Gaza, and various Arab media outlets covering the many sporting events in Gaza.

Hamas propagandists argue that Gazans are denied goods and services they are entitled to because of Israel's "land, water, and sea blockade," but Israel only blocks weapons from entering Gaza. Even after October 7, Israel has continued to supply electricity, food, and medicine.

What the "pro-Palestine" luminaries will never admit is that Israel has been forced into controlling Gaza's ports by the long history of weapons shipped there. In 2001, two vessels, the Calypso and the Santorini, were seized with weapons destined for Palestinian terrorists, and in 2002, a Palestinian ship called the Karine A was seized with 50 tons of Iranian weapons destined for Gaza. Since then, Israel has acted to prevent further shipments of weapons from reaching Gaza by sea. In 2007, after Hamas took over Gaza completely, Israel imposed an inspections regime and began more aggressively searching ships for smuggled weapons. Food and medicine are not prevented from entering Gaza.

Poor access to healthcare is another complaint about life in the Gaza "open-air prison." In April 2023, the Jerusalem-based anti-Israel activist group B'Tselem faulted Israel for preventing Palestinians from leaving Gaza in order to be treated in Israeli hospitals. But Israel treats plenty of Palestinians. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh sends his entire family to Israel for medical care. In 2013 his 1-year-old granddaughter was treated in an Israeli hospital; in 2014 his daughter was treated at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital and his mother-in-law was treated at Jerusalem's Augusta Victoria Hospital; in 2021 his niece was treated at Ichilov Hospital. Just this month, it was reported that Haniyeh's grandniece was being treated at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva. But why should any Gazans be treated in Israeli hospitals? There are 36 hospitals in Gaza, many of which are run by foreign nations (Indonesia, Turkey, Jordan, European countries) serving a population of around 2 million.

Of course, hospitals in Gaza are dual-purpose buildings, offering both healthcare and camouflage for the entrances to Hamas's elaborate subterranean infrastructure. An IDF spokesman said that "Hamas systematically built the Indonesian Hospital to disguise its underground terror infrastructure." The Al-Shifa hospital, where IDF soldiers found a stash of rifles, ammunition, and ballistic vests, also sits atop a major tunnel junction. IDF soldiers recently found unopened boxes of medicine for Israeli hostages at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

If Gaza is a prison, Hamas is the jailer.

[cinematic-literature]

Syk pike (2022) by Kristoffer Borgli

Book title: Syk pike by Signe Eide

[magazinepk]

MARIA B Heritage Collection 2023 For Eid-Ul-Fitr

[currymanganese]

"About the Blogger" Meme

Thanks to @all-inmoderation @bioloyg & @imliterallyjustablackgirl for tagging me! ❤️

Star Sign(s):

Sagittarius Sun, Virgo Moon, Pisces Rising <- What does it all mean? No idea! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Holidays:

Eid, Divali & Christmas <- Not for religious considerations, I associate them with having lots of delicious food, which is precious to me. 🤰🏽

Last Meal:

A slice of pawpaw (papaya), stew chicken, black eyed peas, white rice and sorrel juice. <- #grateful thanks mom 😔

Current Favorite Musician:

Khruangbin because Mark, Laura and DJ are all super talented and disciplined musicians, but also because I want the band's lead guitarist, Mark Speer and the bassist, Laura Lee, but especially Mark Speer, in ways that would shock and alarm you, like IDK anything about his personal life, but I think I'd combust if I met him. Mark if you're reading this that smut chapter in my songfic WIP was only possible because I just know you're good with your-[GUNSHOTS] <- He's not reading this, finish the meme! 😤

Last Music Listened To:

Total Control by The Motels for a The Bear meta post that I did and Hope Tala's "All My Girl's Like To Fight' from my small playlist of songs that I headcanon that Syd and Carmy from The Bear (2022) listen to. The playlist serves as a writing aid for me because regardless of the actual musical tastes of Syd and Carmy in the show's canon, this is a small sample of what the two of them like to listen to as I've characterized them in my fic.

Last Movie Watched:

Precious (2009) I was traumatizing myself and [SPOILERS]

Carmen Berzatto in my WIP fic, because Syd insults him using a gif from the movie and Carmy ends up watching this film so he'd understand the reference because he is a loser and is obsessed with his totally platonic coworker and he wants to know everything about her. 😔

Last TV Show Watched:

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, @devisrina convinced me, but I haven't finished watching it yet and I'm not to sure when I'll resume because The Bear and Sydcarmy still have me in thrall. 😔

Last Book/Fic Finished:

Last book finished, Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Last fic finished.....I shan't say - I'll describe it though - it was a seedy, sketchy, funny, smutty, crack ship one shot gag fic on AO3. I'm ashamed of myself, some of those words in that fic were in The Bible, but chile........anyways. Moving on!

Last Book/Fic Abandoned:

Last book I stopped reading - Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson - Dalinar Kholin, you stupid cunt, why do you always-[GUNSHOTS] <-Girl walk away from the book if it's stressing you that bad, c'mon now - the fictional character's dumb decisions can't hurt you. I'm actually planning on finishing it someday, but I watched The Bear when I was a quarter of the way through the book and now I am totally useless for almost everything else.

Currently Reading:

Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappe, get a free ebook copy of it here while you can. Also the Gaza Diary by Ziad, a 35 year old Palestinian man.

Last Thing Researched for Art/Writing/Hyperfixation:

High blood pressure and pregnancy, and maternity leave in the US of A, and before that CBT case studies and CPTSD and ADHD, and before that meningitis and sepsis. <- All for my current Sydcarmy WIP.

Favorite Online Fandom Memory:

The day Richonne went canon, or rather that era. <- Love it when racists suffer, schadenfreude can be something so personal. 🥴

Favorite Old Fandom You Wish Would Drag You Back In/Have A Resurgence:

I want Star Wars and BNHA to be good, but alas....Next question. <- Anyways these franchise/series are making money hand over fist still, nobody cares if I never care about them again, but I do love the ship Inko Midoriya/All Might from BNHA and I ship UkaTake from Haikyuu!! <- I had a lot of fun in that niche marketplace for a time.

Favorite Thing You Enjoy That Never Had an Active or Big "Fandom" but You Wish It Did:

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery FUCKS severely - I'm glad that it got a boost on here with The Blue Castle Book Club. Ms. Montgomery put her whole pussy into that book, every single cell and I relate to the book's protagonist, Valancy, quite a lot.

Also, The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner has a smallish, but fairly active following on Tumblr, but it deserves the energy that is devoted to some more popular YA fantasy/historical novel series. <- All of these books are re-readable af, 10/10 no notes.

Tempting Project You're Trying to Reign In/Don't Have Time For:

No such thing because I am unemployed. <- have mercy on me O God! It's been the first year of my adult life that I haven't been in university or running myself through the gristmill of capital and I feel trapped and anxious and fed the fuck up. I hate it here, goddamn!

Sorry to end on such a bummer of a note, but thank you for reading if you've read this far and please, regardless of if you were tagged, play along if you can! I've seen a lot of my mutuals tagged in these things before, so apologies if you've already done this, but*

@vacationship @anxietycroissant @bulabujalam @tvfantic87 @devisrina @dreadfuldevotee @mod-doodles <- please come back to me, Mod, darling, I miss you! 🥲 @jub-jub @pureseasalt <- bestie I miss you too! @ashluvsu4ever @cchickki @parrradiseeee @margaery-bonaparte-said-so @seleneofthejungle @prowitchazel @gardenianoire @artemis0404 @polymorphposting @hauntedstrawberrygiver @justabovewater20 @monetbonet @sab-teraa @agoodworkerdoes @melfinawins @melaninerd @iwantadecentblogname @persephonelovesbooks @november-rising @yannaryartside @bitchqueenofthebitchsquad @waywarddeee @myelegieseulogizeme @paddington22017 @ruethrills @techliche @erins-quinn @sydcarmyfan @lunasink @perkedelktg @couldbemaybe @msmoiraine @darkostudios-blog @angelica4equity @theonlyamazingtazmin @mswyrr @chansoooo1-blog

*pretends all of your blog names rhyme with pikachu*, I choose you!

[sheishine]

「桃蛸とリュウグウノツカイ」 Peach Octopus and Oarfish (2022) ******************** 12/7から始まる大阪の @ranbushop さんの10周年スペシャルイ��ントに参加させて頂きます。 私は、蛸の標本作品4点と、パンチニードル壁掛け2点を出品します。ビニールステッカーセットもあります。 こちらは招待状をお持ちの方のみご入店できる限定イベントとなります。 ご招待状に限りはあるようですが、ご希望の方はぜひranbuさんまでお問合わせしてみて下さい！ http://blog.ranbu-hp.com/?eid=1498 Special Thanks event「Petit four・ranbu」 2022年12月7日(水)-11日(日)　ranbu 2F #hinemizushima #oarfish #ranbu #exhibition #art #craft #fibreart #octopus #softsculpture #水島ひね #展覧会 #展示会 #アート #タコ #リュウグウノツカイ https://www.instagram.com/p/ClkOHtkp-cc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[divinum-pacis]

2022: People gather outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. [Vincent Thian/AP Photo]

[kodiescove]

How did you come to Islam?

I am glad you asked!

So the year is 2018/2019, there abouts.

I made my first Muslim friend!

I found this out by asking the most terrible question I've ever asked anyone ever "hey since you have x name, does that mean you're Muslim.?"

He said yes. He was SUPER chill about me being like innocently racist. I still cringe about this exchange. I am currently cringing typing this all out.

But I was like 19/20, and racial etiquette was new to me.

Now, I knew nothing, and I mean NOTHING about Islam.

For quite a few years, it was just something my super cool "got me through my abusive relationship" online best friend practiced.

Iiiiiinnnnnnn 2022? Around there.

I was at Michael's, the crafts store, and there were these GORGEOUS stickers for Ramadan. I immediately sent a picture of them to him talking about how beautiful they were, lamenting about how I'd love to get them, but that would be cultural appropriation. I think he said it would be fine if I got them, but I still didn't get them, it didn't feel right because at the time I wasn't Muslim(obviously.)

Sometime later, it's Christmas and I'm in one of my "I need to start a business or else I'm always going to be in poverty" moods. Don't ask me why this was a thing, because I very clearly cannot produce enough of anything to run a business. Anyways. I'm thinking about making Christmas cards and then my brain goes "Well what if I make something for Muslims? I don't want to leave them out of things."

So I message my friend, asking if that would be okay.

He explains that Islam doesn't have a winter holiday like Christmas, that Muslims go off a lunar calendar and he tells me about Ramadan.

And I'm like "mhm. Okay. What's Ramadan?"

And so I spent the literal rest of the night (literally HOURS) researching Ramadan and Eid. I read THE ENTIRE wiki page for both /including/ the parts that explain the different ways different countries and regions celebrate Ramadan and Eid.

Fall 2023 I find out that what I thought was an Indian take out restaurant (because I get curry there don't hate me I was told it was an Indian place) was acting, specifically, a HALAL restaurant and I'm like "mhm. Okay. So what does that mean?"

And again, I spend hours on Google with those drop down "similar questions" just learning a little bit about Islam.

And like through these experiences I learn a basic principle that I have embodied since becoming Muslim "Islam is a religion of love and peace"

Come to 2024.

I think February. Really wanna say February. My sense of time and time keeping is really bad.

But it's the beginning of the year. I'm having a real ROUGH time of it. I'm having intrusive thoughts of self harm. I'm constantly being triggered by Tumblr because of the I/P conflict. I'm constantly triggered by trumblr because of talks of transphobia of kinds. I'm triggered by Tumblr because of the porn. My best friend is increasingly becoming a bad friend. IM NOT COPING. To the point I was hospitalized twice, and should have been a third time (thanks Brylin for never calling me back for that admission)

And through it all, I'm praying to the universe. I'm like, I'm lost, I'm suffering, I need some guidance. Please someone, anyone, give me a sign.

And there was this feeling.... this VERY distinct feeling. It was in my chest and in my belly. I can't really describe it other than light and energy radiating. Like a pulling feeling. It felt like a calling. And something inside me kept saying "turn to Islam. Turn to Allah."

I was apprehensive at first. Yknow, being a pagan witch at the time and all. It felt... well, why would Allah be calling to me.? I'm a pagan witch!

But I don't know. I won't lie and say I never found comfort in being pagan. But there's something.... different in Islam. I can sit and listen to the Quran and crochet and I just feel... at peace. I can watch videos discussing Islam and the thoughts usually racing in my head just... stop. I'm fascinated by Islamic history in a way that other periods in history haven't fascinated, /and I say this as someone who loves history/.

I will admit, there's part of me that doesn't feel good enough for Allah, for Islam. But then I remember how many times the Quran says "Allah is the most forgiving, the most merciful" and that's... that's what I need. Someone to forgive the parts of me that can't keep up because of my disability, and is understanding (see, merciful) for all the things I am not.

So tldr: basically I had a friend who started my interested and then Allah answered my prayers.

[lo-diehards]

2024-25 Premiere Review: Can the Law & Order Franchise Deliver?

I’m going to jump right in and be up front with this, Law & Order: Organized Crime really showed up and showed out on NBC with it’s truncated season due to the strikes that occurred a season prior. The ratings however disagreed, which prompted NBC and Wolf Entertainment to strike a deal to move the newest L&O procedural fully to the streaming service, Peacock. It is where first-run new episodes of OC will air, likely as an entire season drop as the show is currently in production on it’s 5th season. Likely 2025.

Meanwhile where does that leave the broadcast network L&O shows? Still remaining where they are on the network. SVU is approaching yet another record-breaking season – the 26th season – and the mothership reboot is now going into it’s 4th season, 24 seasons in total of the flagship formula. So where do these 2 shows stand? Right now, teeter tottering is one way to describe it. Click below for my breakdown. Potential spoilers below.

Here’s the breakdown:

Law & Order

Last season, the original reboot saw quite a bit of change for an entire season basically. 13 episodes. Jeffrey Donovan (Det. Frank Cosgrove) and the series parted ways before the season even began production. Donovan was replaced by Veep co-star, Reid Scott (Det. Vincent Riley). Long time star, Sam Waterston (DA Jack McCoy) chose to depart after doing over 400 episodes total of the series, not including his appearances on other spinoffs. Tony Goldwyn (DA Nicholas Baxter) replaced Waterston. After production on the end of the season, it was announced Camryn Manheim (Lt. Kate Dixon) departed the series, to pursue other projects. Manheim is replaced by Maura Tierney as Lt. Jessica Brady. All this change is just the cast.

Meanwhile Rick Eid basically has departed the FBI franchise on CBS to put his sole focus on Law & Order. Last season’s opening was very weak with a politically charged episode that did not do the series and the characters justice at all. Over the course of last season, there were some uptick in the quality of the storytelling, something the show has struggled in since it’s reintroduction back in 2022.

“Catch and Kill”

POTENTIAL SPOILERS: (Written by: Rick Eid & Art Alamo. Directed by: Eriq La Salle) A ripped-from-the-headlines premiere that eerily resembles Sean “Diddy” Combs’ hotel assault on Cassie Ventura. Diddy is in current events for a whole lot more now than just assault. The victim in the case a Brooklyn prosecutor who is murdered, through the course of the investigation it’s discovered that she was a victim of domestic violence. This case a very personal one for ADA Sam Maroun (Odelya Halevi) due to her sister being a domestic violence victim, who was murdered and the guy who did it was not brought to justice, something that clearly drives Maroun as a prosecutor.

Odelya Halevi stole the show, hands down. Her performance was out of this world, it’s not strong emotion we’ve seen from a main character since season 20. The case clearly was affecting her character Maroun, to the point DA Baxter told ADA Price (Hugh Dancy) that Maroun needed to ‘control her emotions’. This line rubbed me the wrong way, because when men get overly emotional, there isn’t a call-out for them to tamp down on their feelings or to dismiss them for bigger picture optics. However Price’s explanation to Baxter on why Maroun was emotional kind of renders a response to his statement, Baxter’s demeanor clearly changed when Price disclosed it about her murdered sister not getting justice.

One thing that irked me, and no, it’s not Brady (Tierney) coming in strong, most new characters come into these shows this way. Why is it so hard to write characters out who will not appear on screen? Understandably Brady may or may not have known what happened to Dixon, but to shut down any concerns from the detectives about her? It’s struck me as unprofessional of someone in her role as a leader. But then the text messages Riley got from Dixon don’t exactly help. She just up and quits the force to go to Miami with her son? She didn’t transfer to Miami PD? And it seems uncharacteristic to me of Dixon to pull “an Irish goodbye” and not have a heartfelt goodbye to Riley and Shaw. I mean I get it if Camryn didn’t/couldn’t appear on screen but they could have wrote it in a way that suggested Shaw and Riley got to say goodbye to her. Just seemed kind of cold to me.

All in all, “Catch and Kill” is a much better improvement over last season’s opening episode. A solid story from the headlines, even if it’s literally still unfolding. The story didn’t inject political undertones other than the occasional liberal jab or conservative stereotype. They focused on the crime, I could have used some more focus on the legal aspect of it all, the back-and-forth between the prosecution and the defense with the law. However Odelya Halevi’s performance definitely more than compensates for the lack of that, she really brought this episode home and you can’t help but feel bad for her (and her sister) while also wanting “rich bastards” who break the law, to get what’s coming to them. Great to see Nolan Price supporting her too, I’m still struggling with trying to get who he is as a prosecutor because sometimes he just seems to be a straight-laced lawyer with no tick, no “rizz” (charisma) as the kids say these days. However I liked seeing him consoling his partner and keeping her from throwing away her career. Hope the writers don’t throw away this storyline, we definitely need to see where this takes Maroun through the course of this season, and maybe even her career.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Last season, SVU didn’t see much officially in the way of cast changes, but Lord knows that the majority of 25th landmark season was a dud. To be fully transparent in my opinion, I feel creatively SVU seems to have stalled since David Graziano has taken the helm. The revolving door on the main and recurring casts don’t help it either. Kelli Giddish’s firing back in season 24 has put the series in a vulnerable position. Other than Mariska Hargitay and Ice T (Olivia Benson and Odafin Tutuola), you don’t really have enough veteran support to sustain the police portions of the show anymore. Why is Captain Benson [still] doing hands-on with these investigations on a regular basis?  Peter Scanavino’s ADA Carisi is very underutilized and legal/court scenes seem to be repetitive. We haven’t really seen the legal side in play in a substantial way since season 21 in my view. Kind of like the original reboot, SVU falls short on a lot of the legal back-and-forth these days. It’s never been the driving force of the series, which remains Hargitay’s Benson, however the legal side helps weave the episodes together. Besides, it is LAW & ORDER: SVU. Velasco (Octavio Pisano) is written as a filler character. This character’s development stopped in season 23 to me. In season 24 the 2-3 storylines that centered Velsaco all fell short, one especially due to Molly Burnett (Det. Grace Muncy) departing the show.

This season: Kevin Kane (Det. Terry Bruno) and Juliana Aidén Martinez (Det. Kate Silva) join the cast. Kelli Giddish is set to recur this season, Rollins rejoining in NYPD’s Intelligence Unit.

“Fractured”

POTENTIAL SPOILERS: (Written by: David Graziano & Julie Martin. Directed by: Norberto Barba). The case was a pretty cut-and-dry case a young woman is killed after having a threesome. She was basically killed out of jealousy by a fourth friend. This episode wasn’t horrible, it basically was a by-the-numbers scripted episode as far as the case is concerned. Truthfully I lost interest about mid-way into the episode. I wish the writers would have put some focus on the substance of why “people/students hate the police right now” because that was the repeated message within the episode but it wasn’t extrapolated enough throughout… where is the why? We have a lot of current events that play into that, I wish they would have deep dived more into this portion, it might have made the overall story more captivating. I would have loved to see some “Fin insight” or even some Carisi insight regarding the state of how both law enforcement and even the criminal justice system itself are perceived these days. Lost opportunity here.

However speaking of Carisi, Peter Scanavino truly brought the premiere home and deserves the callout and his roses. Defendants cracking under pressure and blurting out and confessing on the stand is nothing new to the Law & Order world, it sometimes even happens in the real world. But Carisi/Peter was truly captivating to watch, it had a familiar feeling of ADAs either Cabot or Barba (Stephanie March, Raul Esparza) pushing to get the defendants to slip-up and tell the sordid truth. “You’re not my professor! You’re not my father!” Carisi responds in that matter-of-fact tone “No, I’m not,” that honestly left no further argument. The SVU writers – like the mothership writers – need to put some focus and energy into the legal side of the series. That’s where Benson also is losing a partnership with, and her relationship with Carisi [should be] just as close as hers with Cabot or Barba. We don’t see much of Benson and the ADA going up against the legality, it’s basically “deal with whoever ‘Carisi’s boss’ is and then go to trial.” Where are the legal arguments, precedence with case law, back and forth with the defense in motions or pre-trial hearings, the trial prep itself?

And speaking of Carisi’s bosses… another lost opportunity went by the last 2 seasons as we never saw Carisi interact with District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), I hope with Tony Goldwyn (Nick Baxter) on board mothership, we can get him to crossover with SVU. Behind the scenes and in interviews both Tony and Mariska have expressed wanting each other to appear and/or direct episodes on each other’s shows – Mariska actually appears on mothership this upcoming Thursday, Oct. 10 w/ Elizabeth Marvel as Defense Attoreny Rita Calhoun – we shall see what this season can/will hopefully deliver on that front. Fans definitely want it.

In closing: both of the season premieres gave great performances from our cast members who are portraying our assistant district attorneys; especially Odelya Halevi and Peter Scanavino. “Catch and Kill” had that original mothership run feel to it, something I hope the writers will continue to strive for. According to show runner/EP Rick Eid, he is going to put some focus on character driven storylines this season, let’s see where it takes us. So far so good. SVU was very solid, I was expecting more character driven from them for the premiere, maybe here’s to them exploring more as the season goes on, especially as it concerns the newest additions to the cast. I want SVU to focus on the stories, not on the record-breaking. Sometimes it feels like episodes are scripted just to “put one more in the can.” That’s all fine and dandy, but make it count, and make it matter. After 25 seasons, the audience (many of whom are victims/survivors of sexual assault) still deserve that.

[muhtesemz]

A worker makes embroidery stitches to decorate clothes for the upcoming Islamic Eid-al-Fitr festival at his workplace in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 11, 2022. (Photo by Salim/Xinhua)