#East Forsyth

[sportscarolinamonthly]

The Nest with East Forsyth HC Todd Willert - Season 6 Ep 12 - Tues Oct 29th 2024

Hosted by Rod Funderburk, recorded live from J Peppers every Tuesday in season. East Forsyth moves to 9-0 with a convincing 54-7 win over cross town rival Glenn. Next up for the Eagles, the CPC crown is at stake in the regular season finale vs 7-2 West Forsyth in Kernersville. Winner gets a high seed in the West 4A State Playoffs Guests include DE Cody Brown and DT Brian Godfrey Part of the…

[reasonsforhope]

The loss of life and impact on the communities in Helene’s path is unfathomable — and both the immediate and long-term needs are vast. 

If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you want to help and care about making a difference for those who’ve been impacted by Hurricane Helene.

You’re in the right place. When we see tragedy like this happen in the news, it’s important to not tune it out. Instead, pay attention and truly feel the heartbreak of it — t​​hen, look for and be inspired by the people stepping in to help, and use that energy to make a difference ourselves.

Looking for the helpers

Instead of turning away from tragic events like the devastation from Hurricane Helene — we look closer for people stepping in using what they have, where they are, to make a difference for others.

Inspired by Mister Rogers’ famous quote, we call them the “helpers,” — and they’re usually found wherever there’s bad news in the world. Hurricane Helene is no different. Here are some people, businesses, and organizations helping right now:

Chef José Andrés and ​World Central Kitchen teams are serving thousands of meals to communities in need — from Mexico, and the Big Bend of Florida, and into Appalachia.

Volunteer pilots with the Port City Aviators Flying Club are flying supplies to storm victims in western North Carolina.

The national Disaster Distress Helpline is providing free multilingual crisis counseling to those in need.

Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization that supports food & beverage workers in crisis, is providing financial support for groceries, medical bills, lost wages, and more.

Volunteers with veteran-led disaster response organization Team Rubicon are on the ground in Greenwood, South Carolina clearing roads of trees and debris.

A local library branch in Asheville, North Carolina served as a hub for community members in need of internet service.

Workers at Waffle House were “unlikely heroes” providing food to people in need.

A local Fox News correspondent stopped his live broadcast to help rescue a woman trapped in her car in rising floodwaters.

Emergency response teams rescued more than 50 staff, patients, and caregivers from the roof of a hospital in Erwin, Tennessee.

The SPCA of Brevard rescued 20 animals from Hurricane Helene’s path — and it’s now helping them get adopted.

‍

How to make a difference

After we’ve allowed ourselves to feel the weight of the pain and heartbreak associated with bad news, and look for hope and helpers in the midst of it — we always have the opportunity to join in and make a difference, too. 

Here are some ways to help — whether you’re local or far away:

Donate to national organizations 

Here are just a few large-scale organizations that have helpers on the ground in the region.

American Red Cross

World Central Kitchen

Feeding America

United Way

Salvation Army

CARE

Donate to local organizations

Local organizations, recovery funds, and mutual aid groups have been deployed across the states impacted by Helene. Find donation links and updates below:

All States:

GoFundMe Hub for Hurricane Helene Relief

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

Southeast Climate & Energy Network

Convoy of Hope

Appalachia Funders Network

Americares

Organizing Resilience

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

Tennessee:

East Tennessee Foundation

First Aid Collective Knoxville

RISE Erwin

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

North Carolina:

North Carolina Community Foundation

Hearts With Hands

Manna Foodbank

BeLoved Asheville

Foothills Food Hub

Haywood Christian Ministry

Samaritan’s Purse

Forsyth Humane Society

Hope Mill

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Volunteer locally

Organizations in the affected area are seeking volunteers to help distribute resources and support crucial aid efforts. While many of us are not local to the region, those who are nearby are encouraged to join in a myriad of volunteer opportunities.

(Note: If you aren't in the area, the best way you can help is by supporting local efforts with a donation. Keeping roads clear for rescue crews and local relief agents is vital in maintaining safety in these already devastated regions).

For local volunteers, check out:

World Central Kitchen

Operation BBQ Relief

Marco Patriots

Operation Airdrop

Baptists on Mission

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Contact your elected officials and ask them to take climate action

Climate scientists agree, the intensity and extent of the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene was made worse by climate change. 

While we can’t go back in time and burn less fossil fuels — we can make a difference now to secure a safer future and prevent future climate disasters. 

In addition to talking about how this disaster is connected to climate change in our own conversations and holding media outlets accountable for how they talk about climate change — this is a great time to tell your elected officials that you want them to take meaningful climate action.

We’re making incredible progress in the U.S. and globally in reducing emissions, but we need to work even faster — and incorporate climate mitigation efforts into our plans — to limit the most severe impacts of global warming.

[eddieredmayneargentinablog]

Eddie Redmayne as The Jackal. (© 2023 Carnival Film & Television Limited)

What To Expect From The Day Of The Jackal.

By Olivia Emily, for Country& Town House, October 10th, 2024.

Perhaps Hollywood’s shiniest star of the 2010s – starring in the likes of My Week With Marilyn (2011), Les Misérables (2012), The Theory of Everything (2014) and The Danish Girl (2015) – Eddie Redmayne takes on a role unlike any of his others in The Day of the Jackal: an assassin. Here’s exactly what to expect from Sky’s brand new thriller.

The Day Of The Jackal: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

In the works since 2022, Sky’s flagship series this autumn is this star-studded series. Written by Ronan Bennett and directed by Brian Kirk, Eddie Redmayne has been attached to the project as an executive producer since the very beginning, with the actor describing the original book as ‘reconceived and contemporised with a new target’ for the series. In March 2023, it was confirmed Redmayne would star in the title role, too.

What Is The Day Of The Jackal About?

The Day of the Jackal is a political thriller centring on a ruthless British assassin and the intelligence officer tasked with capturing him. Sky’s synopsis reads: ‘An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch) who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake. The series also stars Úrsula Corberó as Nuria, someone at the heart of The Jackal’s personal life, unaware of who he truly is.’

Where Was It Filmed?

The Day of the Jackal was filmed across Europe in 2023, beginning in Budapest in June, before moving to Vienna in July. As autumn drew in, it was over to Croatia, with filming taking place in Rijeka, Pag, Dubrovnik and the Istrian region.

What Is It Based On?

The Day of the Jackal is based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel of the same name. Critically and commercially acclaimed, Forsyth’s plot whisks us back to 1962 and begins with paramilitary terrorist organisation OAS’s real conspiracy to assassinate Charles de Gaulle, the President of France. In the book, the Jackal is tasked with the job. Forsyth’s novel was an instant bestseller – perhaps because it was published less than a year after the real de Gaulle actually died (of an aneurysm; he wasn’t assassinated). Sky’s series, however, moves the action to contemporary Britain.

If you recognise the plot, that’s because this isn’t the first time The Day of the Jackal has been adapted for the screen: in 1973, Edward Fox portrayed the Jackal in the book’s first film treatment, before Bruce Willis took on the role in the 1997 remake which re-set the action in the US, with the First Lady the assassination target

The Cast

Eddie Redmayne as The Jackal

Lashana Lynch as Bianca

Úrsula Corberó as Nuria

Charles Dance as Timothy Winthorp

Richard Dormer as Norman

Chukwudi Iwuji as Osita Halcrow

Lia Williams as Isabel Kirby

Khalid Abdalla as Ulle Dag Charles

Eleanor Matsuura as Zina Jansone

Jonjo O’Neill as Edward Carver

Sule Rimi as Paul Pullman

What Is A Jackal?

‘Jackal’ is the assassin’s codename in The Day of the Jackal. So what is a ‘jackal’? In the wild, a jackal is a canine mammal, smaller than a wolf but bigger than a fox. Found in Africa, the Middle East, Southeastern Europe and western and south Asia, jackals are opportunistic omnivores and predators of small to medium sized animals and, like foxes, typically hunt and scavenge at dawn and dusk. In conversation, however, to call someone a jackal is to describe them as cunning, dishonest and treacherous – and someone who performs base deeds for another.

How Many Episodes In The Day Of The Jackal?

The Day of the Jackal is a 10-part series, with each episode running for 60 minutes.

Release Date

Episode 1 of The Day of the Jackal will air on Sky Atlantic on Thursday 7 November 2024, and the following episodes will air weekly on Thursdays. The release schedule is as follows:

7 November

14 November

21 November

28 November

5 December

12 December

19 December

26 December

2 January

9 January

Once they have aired on Sky Atlantic, episodes will be available for catch up on NOW.

Over in the US, The Day of the Jackal will launch with the first five episodes on Peacock on 14 November, followed by weekly episodes until a double finale on 12 December.

Source:

[brokehorrorfan]

Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Torn Curtain, Topaz, and Frenzy will be released on 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray and Digital) on October 31 via Universal. They’ll be available both individually and in The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection: Volume 3 box set.

Rope is a 1948 thriller written by Arthur Laurents, based on the 1929 play by Patrick Hamilton. James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger star.

The Man Who Knew Too Much is a 1956 thriller written by John Michael Hayes. James Stewart and Doris Day star.

Torn Curtain is a 1966 spy thriller written by Brian Moore. Paul Newman and Julie Andrews star.

Topaz is a 1969 spy thriller written by Samuel A. Taylor, based on the 1967 novel by Leon Uris. Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, and John Forsythe star.

Frenzy is a 1972 thriller written by Anthony Shaffer, based on a 1966 novel by Arthur La Bern. Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, and Barry Foster star.

The films have each been restored in 4K and presented with HDR. Special features are listed below, where you can also see the artwork for the standalone releases.

Rope special features:

Rope Unleashed

Production photographs

Theatrical trailer

Two friends (Farley Granger and John Dall) strangle a classmate for intellectual thrills and then proceed to throw a party for the victim's family and friends—with the body stuffed inside the trunk they use for a buffet table. As the killers turn the conversation to committing the "perfect murder," their former teacher (James Stewart) becomes increasingly suspicious that his students have turned his intellectual theories into brutal reality.

The Man Who Knew Too Much special features:

The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much

Saving The Man Who Knew Too Much

Production photographs

Theatrical trailer

Re-release trailer

Original multi-directional audio

While vacationing in Morocco, Ben and Jo McKenna (James Stewart and Doris Day) are suddenly immersed in a dangerous situation after a French spy dies in Ben's arms. Discovering that their son has been kidnapped and taken to England, the McKennas are caught up in a nightmare of espionage, assassinations and terror. Soon, all of their lives hang in the balance as they draw closer to the truth that leads to a chilling climax in London's famous Royal Albert Hall.

Torn Curtain special features:

Torn Curtain Rising

Scenes scored by Bernard Herrmann

Production photographs

Theatrical trailer

World-famous scientist Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) and his fiancée/assistant, Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews), travel to Copenhagen for a physics conference. When Sarah mistakenly intercepts a message meant for Armstrong, she believes that he is secretly defecting to East Germany. As Armstrong goes undercover to learn top-secret information, the couple find themselves running for their lives from the enemy agents.

Topaz special features:

Topaz Appreciation by film critic Leonard Maltin

Alternate endings

Storyboards: The Mendozas

Production photographs

Theatrical trailer

Responding to rumors of Russian missiles and a NATO spy called Topaz, an American CIA agent (John Forsythe) hires French operative Devereaux (Frederick Stafford) to investigate in Cuba. In Havana, Devereaux's investigation becomes dangerous, leaving behind a wake of shaken governments, murder, betrayal and suicide.

Frenzy special features:

The Story of Frenzy

Production photographs

Theatrical trailer

A serial criminal known as the "Necktie Murderer" has the police on red alert and the trail is leading to an innocent man who must now elude the law and prove his innocence by finding the real murderer.

Pre-order The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection: Volume 3.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Basic - Seuffert Bandshell, Queens, New York, September 14, 2024

Just a couple months back, but a lifetime ago – BASIC in Queens! These bandshell shows organized the mighty Oneida always look so fun. But for those of us not out on the east coast, the terrific EricPH / NYC Taper recording will suffice.

Basic, in case you missed it, released their debut LP recently; it's a killer collection of lean/mean grooves, Chris Forsyth's ever-adventurous guitar work slicing and dicing atop Nick Millevoi's baritone guitar and Mikel Patrick Avery's propulsive percussion and electronics.

Millevoi, however, isn't touring with Basic, and the great Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, Eleventh Dream Day, Black Duck, etc) is filling his shoes, bringing his own distinctive flavor to the proceedings. The trio is hitting the road in the upcoming weeks — if this tape is any indication, you've gotta go see them.

Photo: Christopher Bruno

[sl-vega]

✧The Wonderful World of Sveltana✧

✧Sveltana✧-The world that ✧STARWARD✧ takes place in. A world rich in culture and history, said to be protected by a goddess that watches over them from the stars.

✧Yamazukara✧-An empire in the South-East of Sveltana. With an Emperor ruling over it's vast lands and a Shogun presiding over the military affairs. Yamazukara is known for it's military prowess and beautiful cherry blossoms, which is where it namesake is derived from.

✧Alvena✧- A Republic in the southeast of Sveltana. Known for it's technological advancements and advanced society, many well-known inventors and scholars originate from Alvena. Unlike other major nations in Sveltana, Alvena bows to no King and instead elects two consuls every two years and has a large Senate made out of both nobles and commoners alike.

✧Forsythia✧- A kingdom in the East. Forsythia's name is derived from the word Forsyth, meaning "man of peace". True to it's name, Forsythia has mantained good relations with all of it's neighbours and hasn't been touched by any major wars in the past three centuries. It is known for it's beautiful art and gorgeous flower fields

✧Moroz✧-A distant land in the far north of Sveltana. It is prone to harsh blizzards and has a freezing climate. Unlike the rest of world, the people there do not worship Sveltana's Goddess. Rather, they have their own deity, the goddess Shiva. Moroz is closed off from the rest of Sveltana, which has allowed them to preserve an untouched culture for over a millennia

✧Khepra✧-The Kingdom of Khepra is in the Southwest of Sveltana. Khepra has a desert climate and is home to a variety of exotic animals. While they have a pantheon of their own deities, they still have the utmost respect for Sveltana's goddess. Despite it's burning weather conditions, Khepra is an incredibly popular place for tourists. Khepra's citizen's are known for their kind demeanor, and their kingdom has it's own distinct and wonderful culture.

✧Althea✧-The Althean Empire is one of the oldest standing political powers in Sveltana. It neighbours Alvena due to their shared history. Alvena was once part of Althea before a rebellion 5 centuries ago. The two are on good terms currently, though certain citizens believe that Althea should still have full control over Alvena. Althea is also incredibly religous, there are many temples and shrines dedicated to Sveltana's goddess and several festivals and ceremonies dedicated to her. Althea and Moroz aren't on good terms due to this, Althea claims that Moroz worships a false god. The two haven't sided once in all of Sveltana's history.

✧Astria✧-An ancient kingdom that has fallen eras ago due to an unknown tragedy. It is said that Astria was in the very center of ancient Sveltana, and that it was favoured by the goddess, thought not much is known about it, supposed remnants of Astrian culture are scattered all over Sveltana. It is said that descendants of Astria's royal lineage are born with special powers given to them by Sveltana's goddess. Rumour has it that many experiments were conducted to replicate this power. It is said that only one has ever succeeded

[readerbookclub]

Hello everyone! A new month is approaching so I'm back with another list. This time, it's a collection of fairytale retellings! Hope you like it :)

As always, please remember to vote using the link at the end of the post. And now, onto the books...

Bryony and Roses, by T. Kingfisher

Bryony and her sisters have come down in the world. Their merchant father died trying to reclaim his fortune and left them to eke out a living in a village far from their home in the city.

But when Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments. Is the Beast that lives there her captor, or a fellow prisoner? Is the house her enemy or her ally? And why are roses blooming out of season in the courtyard?

Armed only with gardening shears and her wits, Bryony must untangle the secrets of the house before she—or the Beast—are swallowed by them.

Deerskin, by Robin McKinley

As Princess Lissla Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her beauty she is the image of her dead mother, the queen. But this likeness forces her to flee from her father's lust and madness; and in the pain and horror of that flight she forgets who she is and what it is she flees from: forgets almost everything but the love and loyalty of her dog, Ash, who accompanies her. But a chance encounter on the road leads to a job in another king's kennels, where the prince finds himself falling in love with the new kennel maid . . . and one day he tells her of a princess named Lissla Lissar, who had a dog named Ash.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, Edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman

Sixteen extraordinary authors—including New York Times bestsellers Melissa de la Cruz, Renée Ahdieh, and Julie Kagawa—reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate. This exquisite paperback anthology includes an original bonus story from Ellen Oh. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called A Thousand Beginnings and Endings a “must-read.”

A mountain loses her heart. Two sisters transform into birds to escape captivity. A young man learns the true meaning of sacrifice. A young woman takes up her mother’s mantle and leads the dead to their final resting place.

Bestselling and award-winning authors explore the timeless themes of East and South Asian lore in sixteen original stories that will appeal to every reader. From fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge, these stories will beguile readers from start to finish.

All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother, by Danielle Teller

We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?

As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, a woman who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. But what unfolds is not the princess's history. The tale Agnes recounts is her own.

A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice at Aviceford Manor when she is just ten years old. Alone, friendless, and burdened with a grueling workload, Agnes carves a place for herself in this cold place that is home to Sir Emont Vis-de-Loup, a melancholic and capricious drunkard.

Using her wits and ingenuity, Agnes eventually escapes and makes her way toward a hopeful future, serving as a housemaid for the powerful Abbess Elfilda. But life once again holds unexpected, sometimes heartbreaking twists that lead Agnes back to Aviceford Manor, where she becomes nursemaid to Ella, Emont's sensitive, otherworldly daughter. Though she cares for Ella, Agnes struggles to love this child, who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, ultimately, the celebrated princess who embodies all our unattainable fantasies.

Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth

The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

After Margherita's father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Vote for our next book here.

[justforbooks]

The actor Brigit Forsyth, who has died aged 83, made her name as Thelma in the BBC television series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? One critic described Thelma as so prim that she could turn the lifting of a lace curtain into an art form.

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’s creation, which ran from 1973 to 1974, was the sequel to the popular 1960s sitcom The Likely Lads, which starred Rodney Bewes and James Bolam as Bob Ferris and Terry Collier, two single north-east England factory workers who share a flat and the same interests – women, drink and football.

Thelma Chambers was brought in as a girlfriend for the upwardly mobile Bob, now in the white-collar class with a house, car and annual holiday on the Costa Brava, scoffed at by Terry, who clings on to his working-class roots. Thelma and Bob were married halfway through the two series of the show.

“Up until then, I had done a lot of drama on telly,” said Forsyth. “If I wasn’t being murdered, I was murdering somebody or I was a disturbed art teacher. I was playing quite a lot of deranged people, so comedy was a nice change.”

She created laughs again with the sitcom Sharon and Elsie (1984-85), in which she co-starred as the middle-class Elsie Beecroft alongside Janette Beverley as the more down-to-earth Sharon Wilkes, two employees in a greetings card manufacturing company.

But Forsyth’s own favourite television part was Francine Pratt in Playing the Field (1998-2002), the on- and off-pitch women’s football drama created by Kay Mellor. Her character, who hates the game, is married to the Castlefield Blues’ sponsor, played by Ricky Tomlinson, and keeps him happy in return for designer clothes and other luxuries.

“I have never played awful glamour before,” she said. “I had a blond wig, six-inch heels, makeup and my bosom hitched up high.”

Forsyth was born in Malton, North Yorkshire, to Scottish parents, Anne (nee Forsyth), an artist, and Frank Connell, an architect and town planner, and brought up in Edinburgh. She was mesmerised by Stanley Baxter’s performances as a pantomime dame at the city’s King’s theatre and, aged 18, landed her own first lead role, as Sarat Carn, on her way to the gallows, in Charlotte Hastings’s play Bonaventure with the Makars amateur drama group.

But when she left St George’s school, Edinburgh, her parents insisted she learn a skill, so she trained as a secretary. After a couple of jobs, she headed for London and Rada (1958-60), where she won the Emile Littler prize.

She began her professional career back in Edinburgh with the Gateway theatre company (1960-61) before moving on to the Theatre Royal, Lincoln (1961-62) and the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone (1962). With other actors already named Brigit McConnell and Bridget O’Connell, she changed her professional name to Forsyth on her return to Lincoln in 1962.

At the Edinburgh festival three years later, she played one of the witches in a headline-making production of Macbeth. “That show caused an absolute uproar because they wanted the witches to have the bodies of young girls and the faces of old women, and they wanted us to have our top half naked,” Forsyth recalled. “But the Earl of Harewood, who was running the EIF at the time, said ‘No’. So they put nipple caps on us, which looked absolutely disgusting – and they used to drop off each night. It was absolutely hysterical.”

Later, in the West End, Forsyth played Annie in The Norman Conquests (Globe, now Gielgud, and Apollo theatres, 1974-76) and Dusa in the feminist play Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi (Mayfair theatre, 1976-77). She put her TV breakthrough down to cutting her hair short. “It proved a tremendously lucky omen,” she said.

That break came with Adam Smith (1972), in which she played the younger daughter of the title character, a Scottish minister (Andrew Keir). The director, Brian Mills, then worked with Forsyth on the psychological thriller Holly (1972), when she took the part of a young art teacher kidnapped by a mentally unstable student. Forsyth and Mills married in 1976.

Television roles kept on coming. She was Veronica, one of the product-promotion team, in The Glamour Girls (1980-82), Harriet in the inter-generational sitcom Tom, Dick and Harriet (1982-83), and Helen Yeldham, a hotelier, in the 1989 series of Boon.

There were also appearances in soap opera: as GP Judith Vincent in The Practice (1985-86); Babs Fanshawe, Ken Barlow’s escort agency date who dies of a heart attack, in a 1998 Coronation Street episode; Delphine LaClair, a sales rep for a French company interested in buying Rodney Blackstock’s vineyards, for two short runs in Emmerdale (2005 and 2006); Cressida, mother of the millionaire Nate Tenbury-Newent, in Hollyoaks in 2013; and three roles in Doctors between 2000 and 2012.

Forsyth also played the miserable Madge, who frustrates her sister Mavis’s attempts at a relationship with Granville, in the sitcom sequel Still Open All Hours (2013-19).

A cellist from the age of nine, Forsyth starred as the real-life virtuoso Beatrice Harrison in a 2004 tour of The Cello and the Nightingale. Also on tour, she was a remarkably believable Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (2000) and played Marie in Calendar Girls (2008). “I’m Mrs Frosty-Knickers, the one who doesn’t approve of it all.”

In 2017, she played a terminally ill musician in the stage comedy Killing Time, written by her daughter, Zoe Mills, who acted alongside her. At the time, Forsyth revealed that her maternal grandfather, a GP in Yorkshire, had helped dying patients to end their lives. Declaring herself a supporter of euthanasia, she said: “He bumped off probably loads of people with doses of morphine.”

In 1999, Forsyth separated from her husband, but they remained friends until his death in 2006. She is survived by their children, Ben and Zoe.

🔔 Brigit Forsyth (Brigit Dorothea Connell), actor, born 28 July 1940; died 1 December 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actress Sandra Voe born on Shetland on 6th 1936.

Other than the fact she was born on Shetland, where her father owned a fishing factory, there is little I can tell you about Sandra’s early life. However she has been a very busy lady, appearing in many TV shows over the past 50 odd years Voe began her on screen career in 1966, appearing in an episode of Dr. Finlay’s Casebook.

Her shows in the 70’s include Coronation Street, Emmerdale Farm, Within These Walls and Sounding Brass, during the 80’s on TV and film, Bread or Blood, The Practice, Open all Hours and Local Hero, the 90’s saw her in the brilliant Takin’ Over the Asylum, which seems to crop up in a few of our anniversaries and another regular show on my posts Taggart, over into the 21st century and oor Sandra was still working hard, the pick of 15 different shows and films were Playing the Field, Midsomer Murders, Foyles War, and of course Monarch of the Glen .In 1993 she was also in the gritty film Naked, which also starred Ewan Bremner, Spud in the Trainspotting films.In the past 8 years Sandra Voe, now in her 70’s shows no sign of slowing down, Holby City, Howards end, in 2013, inevitably she turned up in her home Islands on the superb Shetland. Just this year Sandra has chalked up a couple of appearances on the hit series, Vikings as a witch

As well as the many, many TV and film roles she has also been a regular treading the boards at some of the top Theatres, including Sheffield Crucible, Leicester Phoenix, Leicester Haymarket, Oxford Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, Manchester Royal Exchange, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, Bloomsbury, Hampstead, Lyric Hammersmith, Almeida, Bush, Shared Experience, RNT, Royal Court and Ambassadors.

Her daughter, Candida Doyle, was keyboard player with the '90s British pop band Pulp, her son, Magnus Doyle, was Pulp's drummer. Sandra was last on our screens in the very good mini-series Trigonometry.

Recently Sandra has been reliving her Local Hero experience when she makes a return trip to the north-east for the 40th anniversary of the film. She has teamed up with fellow actors Jimmy Yuill, Jonathan Watson and Tam Dean Burn and met school children from Banff Academy and Fraserburgh Academy.

Sandra said: “It’s wonderful to be coming back. The place and the community is conjured up so well by Bill Forsyth that you really believe it.”

[viridescent-lance]

a kiss in the rain filled with the foreboding bittersweetness of a goodbye / a kiss to convince the other to stay

-

They've only just stepped outside, and Python's shirt is already soaked enough to start clinging to his shoulders. He reaches for Forsyth's arm, dragging him back beneath the supports of the watchtower at the edge of camp. From there it's easy to tuck himself close, to press in and taste the rainwater on Forsyth's lips.

"Are you sure you can't wait 'til this blows over? The castle will be just as shorthanded if you get washed away on the ride back, y'know..."

It feels as if the weather itself objects to their parting. Forsyth's horse whinnies its displeasure at the downpour, and his cloak's waterproof status is put to the test. Python's lips are warm in the rain, beckon him to return, to stay a little longer. It would be easy to spend just one more day; Sir Clive would understand with the weather, and he is quite generous with the time he gives Forsyth at the outpost.

It is all the more reason Forsyth must discipline himself, though.

"Instability in the east has ramped up, lately. With Lady Clair's recent injury and Lukas being occupied at the recent border, I am needed." The thing they don't tell you about knighthood, especially at the level Forsyth has achieved, is how much responsibility one has. He is lucky to have the time he does share with Python, and he knows it. "I know the weather here well enough to have confidence in my safety."

And yet he doesn't let go of Python's hand. Not yet.

(Why couldn't he have just accepted the knighthood? He could have done what he does here within the safety of the Capital, or in closer proximity. He wants to say this, but he can't sour their departure.)

What he can do is kiss Python again, though, as the thunder booms and the wind rages. Perhaps the weather will worsen as they share this embrace, and he can pretend they won't be parted for a little while longer.

[sportscarolinamonthly]

East Forsyth Dominates RJ Reynolds, 61-14

In a dominant performance on October 19, 2024, the East Forsyth Eagles defeated the R.J. Reynolds Demons with a convincing 61-14 victory. The Eagles showcased their offensive prowess early and maintained a relentless pace throughout the game. Quarterback Bryce Baker had an outstanding game, completing 20 of 26 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, achieving an impressive completion rate of…

[satans-helper]

Reaching for Stardust - Part VII

Read Looking For Space here // Playlists here // Read on Wattpad

Word Count: ~4100

Warnings: none, really, unless you count conflict & slight sexual content

I'm very nervous to post this chapter, honestly (well, I've been nervous to post this entire fic lol). Writing conflict is something I often find challenging, particularly in fan fiction when it doesn't take much to accidentally yank the reader out of the story. But it's been a while since these two got into some emotional hard times and I hope you'll appreciate how it will go <3

---

On our third and final day in Savannah, we were walking through the cool morning air with iced coffees in hand somewhat aimlessly. I felt perfectly at ease among the charming townhouses and apartments, pale moss hanging from the giant oak trees, squares of historical plaques and statues that lined the streets and the soft blue sky. But there was a silent beckoning to return home, too. That wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling when a trip was winding down–as much as I didn’t want to leave, I also was ready to return to familiarity and guaranteed comfort. Nevertheless, I wasn’t wishing for our last day and night to fly by–quite the opposite. I wanted it to move as slowly as the breeze and the clouds above. 

Josh’s hand was in mine as we walked and when half my coffee was gone, I felt more of an urgency in his steps and his grasp as we headed east back to Forsyth Park. He was on the quieter side again though I was as well, feeling content to be lost in the vivid imagery that I was trying to commit to eternal memory when I wasn’t able to snap a million pictures. We breezed past the fountain and the trees and artists selling their own colorful prints and rogue musicians, then crossed the street and I looked up from watching a little lizard scuttle into some bushes to see an impressive white building, as old and as full of character as everything else in the city, in front of me.

“SCAD, right?” I remarked, flipping through the blips of Google that I could remember and tying that information to the architecture.

“Yeah, SCAD. Bad acronym, I think,” Josh said, holding my hand tighter as we walked around the perimeter. 

“It’s small.” I took note of how busy it appeared to be despite its modest size–people were bustling in and out of the doors we were walking past in that end-of-the-semester rush that I didn’t miss in the slightest. I looked at Josh then, curious: “Why are we here?” 

“Let’s keep walking,” Josh said, carrying me onward with a swing of his arm and more speed to his steps. “Although, there is something I need to talk to you about.”

Josh had never begun a sentence with those words–they sounded foreign and awkward coming from him, too formal and weirdly foreboding. The strange moment made my heart skip a beat and I felt the same sort of dread and fear I’d felt before our flight return, something dangerous telling me to get ready, but I wasn’t prepared for whatever was coming. I waited for Josh to continue, not willing–and not feeling particularly able–to speak first.

He led us away from the school. “There’s one additional reason why I chose Savannah for this trip in addition to genuinely wanting to explore this new place with the love of my life,” Josh began, and instead of his touch keeping me from tensing up, my body began to grow tight and stiff while we walked. He paused his words until we reached a park bench, but he didn’t let me hand go as we sat down. 

Now I was dying to know. “What?” 

Josh looked up, his perfect profile aligned with the sky. “I had a job interview with SCAD right before I booked this trip, so I thought we should come down here and see the city for ourselves. See if it would be the right fit.” He turned to me, placing my hand on his knee. “I’m so, so sorry for not telling you when all of this was happening, darling. I sent out the application sort of on a whim–I didn’t truly expect them to reach out. But when they did, it felt like a chance I had to take.”

I was trying to put the missing pieces together in my mind, body recoiling in horror as all the inklings, suspicions and fears I’d felt prior to the trip became one tangled web. “So you–you wanted us to come here to see if we’d want to live here?” 

“Only possibly. If we don’t–”

“Wait, wait,” I interrupted and took my hand away. “Did you get the job?”

Josh looked crushed; I was sure that I felt worse. “I’m not sure yet.”

There were so many other things I wanted to ask–did he really want to move? He really wanted to live in Savannah? Was he really ready to leave all our friends and family? Was this the whole reason he’d wanted to wait to buy a house? Had he been planning on a new job and relocation for months? But the only thing I could bring myself to voice was, “I really wish you’d told me.” 

“I know. I know, mama, I’m so sorry,” Josh said, intuitive enough to not touch me at all though I was certain he was fighting every instinct to do just that. “We’ve never had any secrets. I’m not sure I can explain why I kept these secrets and apologizing doesn’t make up for it but I really am sorry. My mind was going too quickly throughout all of this and I let it all get away from me–from you. That wasn’t fair. But I love you and we’re not going to do anything until we decide together.”

I looked down at the sidewalk, into the dirt and grass popping up through a jagged crack. “It seems like you already made a few decisions on your own.” I wished that I were angry about all of it–anger seemed like it would be easier to deal with. Instead, I just felt hurt. Josh had never betrayed my trust like this before. The secret trip being motivated by nothing more than love and whimsy was tainted. The worst thing of all was how I was made to learn that he was more than capable of keeping secrets from me for longer than I ever thought would have been possible. 

“I know it seems that way. I decided to apply and I decided to go ahead with the interview. Anything else–that’s both of us.” Josh sighed; I still wasn’t looking at him. “I realized very quickly that I need to talk things through with you, always. I should have done that from the beginning. I can't make these decisions on my own. I hope you believe that.”

I could feel tears welling in my eyes and I wanted to just walk off, walk away from all this and pretend it wasn’t happening, while another part of me wanted to reach out in desperation, to grab hold of everything he was and everything we were before it turned to dust. “Is that why you keep pushing for us to get married?” I dared to ask. That question scared the hell out of me. “Because you wanted to like, lock it down so I couldn’t–”

Josh reached for my hand and I let him take it. “No, no, that’s not why. I’ve wanted to marry you since we first met. That will always be the truth.” 

I smiled a little despite the tears, but the curving of my lips made the tears start to fall. I laughed, feeling stupid, still feeling hurt, feeling lost and wanting Josh to make me feel secure again. “I know. I wanna marry you, too.” I squeezed his hand in mine and wiped tears away with the other before Josh could do it for me. “But you won’t buy a house in Michigan–do you really want to move to Savannah?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I would go anywhere with you, including back home and staying there if that’s what you want.”

“But that’s not what you want.” 

“I want us to be together. Wherever that is isn’t nearly as important as just that–the two of us.” Then, Josh inched closer and reached up to gently wipe tears from my cheeks and I helplessly, instinctively laughed again. 

“I like it here, Josh,” I told him. “I really do. But I can’t imagine living here. I like where we live now. I like being close to all our people. And it doesn’t matter where Jake, Danny and Sam go–they’ll always come home and that's our home.” 

Josh nodded. “I know. That’s true.” He scrubbed one hand over his face. “I know you know I try not to let it bother me, but the truth is, I miss my brothers just the same. When the sadness about missing them–and the way things were–wouldn’t stop, I thought, well, why can’t we have our own whole new, little adventure, too? What’s stopping us from leaving?”

I sniffled. “Instead of moving, we really could just be touring groupies. Or roadies. Whatever.” I was trying to make light of it all, not having expected that sort of confession from Josh. I could read him, sure, and anyone who knew him in the slightest would be able to discern he missed the three guys who lit up his world, but still. Hearing it after months and months of watching him try to just zip through those feelings was intense and I knew how he felt too deeply. I added, “I miss them too, Josh. So much.” 

I was glad that Josh laughed. “We need a home base. We need a place they can visit us at, stay with us. Wreak havoc. Get on the neighbor’s bad sides.” He leaned into me playfully. “It doesn’t have to be here.” 

I looked around at where “here” was–the new little adventure that I still couldn’t envision as a potential home. “Well, the interview must have been good if we’re already here.” 

“I’d say it did go well. But like I said–and this is the truth–they haven’t followed up with an offer or denial yet,” Josh assured me, laying his tear-stained hand atop mine. “I felt like I dug a deeper and deeper hole for myself. I really did want to go away with you–take another vacation and have fun–but then I felt like really being here was the only way I could find the words.” He turned my hand over and laced our fingers together. “You just say the word, darling, and we won’t do it. Offer or not.”

“It’d be a huge change. Do you not want to have any real winter anymore?” I asked, wondering if that was a draw. The idea of warm, easy winter months was appealing, I couldn’t deny that. But perpetually, I wasn’t so sure about that, no matter how good it might be. Some of my most favorite moments between us had actually happened in swirling snow.

“Oh, on the contrary,” Josh said, smiling for the first time since we’d begun this conversation. “I was thinking about a winter wedding.”

  “Really?” That perked me up. “Or just to align with this new job?”

Josh smirked and put his arm around me. “They might tell me to fuck off for all I know. But really, yes–a winter wedding. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Even with the delightful times throughout the cold months, we both eventually struggled through the long, dreary, dark winters of the Midwest–maybe a wedding full of sparkling white, silver and blue would help us see it through for the years to come. I could see it. 

“It would be,” I agreed, wiping away the last remnants of tears. Had this sequence of events happened even a year ago, I was sure my instinct to run away and retreat would have reared its head with full force; now though, the security and unwavering love I felt from and for Josh was enough to keep me there, sitting on that park bench with his hand in mine and my confused, sore heart already on its way to healing. 

“I should have married you a long time ago,” I said, meaning it with every fiber of my being. What had I ever been waiting for? What was there ever to be afraid of? The secret Josh had harbored began to feel less and less consequential–he was always going to be by my side, and vice versa, no matter where the universe took us. And I knew whatever we decided would be what we decided. 

Josh smiled and traced my knuckles with his thumb. “Yes, you should have and I should have told you about this job the second I saw the posting for it. Lessons learned. Better late than never, hmm?”

I leaned back, turning my face toward the sky, and sighed. “Sure, of course. Jesus, Josh. Now there’s so much to think about.”

“Let’s not think about any of it right now. Let’s think about what we want to do for the rest of today.” 

I blinked up at the clouds. “I want to eat something delicious.”

“We can do that.”

“I want to drink copious amounts of alcohol.”

Josh giggled. “Absolutely.”

“I kind of want to punish you for being bad.”

A surprised, excited laugh. “Oh! Well, I imagine we can do that, too.”

I sighed, looking back down at the ground. My heart still felt a little heavy, but my mind was clearing with each exchanged word. “I love how excited you get about things,” I told him, meeting his gaze, catching the sunlight sparkle in his pupils. “I love how you never stop moving, body and mind. But I like to feel like I’m right there with you.”

“You are.” Josh brought my hand to press against his chest. “Always.”

I moved it down to try and feel his heartbeat. “You know, we’ve talked about getting married so much, I really don’t know if the proposal will even be a surprise. You say otherwise, but–”

“Don’t say that,” Josh said with a little laugh. “It will be. I promise. I’ll just throw myself off a cliff or into the ocean if it falls flat.”

The house from the estate sale returned to my mind and I felt tense again, guilty for harboring my own little secret, though I had to admit to myself that my intentions behind keeping it weren’t quite as scary as Josh’s. “I have to tell you something, too,” I said, clearing my throat as if I were about to make a big speech, but really I was just trying to work the rest of the crying out of my body. “I actually kind of forgot about it while we were here. But you know that necklace I just gave you for your birthday?”

Josh reached up to touch the pendant. “Yes.”

“Okay, so, I got it from that estate sale that was happening like 15 minutes away from our place. I mentioned that to you.” I could hear myself talking too quickly, excited and nervous to finally relay the full experience of that event. “But what I didn’t tell you is that the actual house is going up for sale soon and I told the woman, the daughter of the owner who passed, that I’d be interested. She said she’d call me when she actually puts the house on the market.” 

Josh smiled, genuine and big, and my heart’s heavy weight began to dissipate again. “Really? What’s it like?” 

“It’s really cute. The outside needs some work,” I told him, trying to remember all of it. “But the inside looks pretty good. Some new paint would help for sure, and if we did look at it, we’d need to really look, but–yeah. I liked it. It felt like a real home.”

“Alright, so let’s look at it when it goes up,” Josh said, taking both of my hands in his. 

“Really? You want to?”

“Absolutely, my darling. I got so caught up in the mere idea of this SCAD job that I don’t think I could see the forest for the trees.” He scooted in closer across the bench, locking our fingers together. “I never meant to make you feel like I was putting your wishes on hold. I want it all–to marry you and to have a home and everything that happens after. The little pieces are just that–little pieces.” 

I needed to be sure so I asked, “So your heart isn’t completely set on Savannah? Because if you really want this job–and you get an offer–and you want to live here, I’m not going to discount it right away. Okay?”

Josh shook his head. “My heart is set on us being together and being happy. Truthfully, I’m not so sure I could live here either. It’s not calling to me in that way. But I love it here nonetheless and I am so glad you came with me on the journey.”

Over dinner Josh filled me in on more details. The job at SCAD did pay more than his current job, which was the biggest thing I had to consider, though it seemed to be the least important thing to him. Josh had never been all that motivated by money–he was truly in his field for the experience. He loved teaching and mentoring, loved the history of film, the ins and outs of the craft and he loved learning and creating more than anything. He told me more about how he hadn’t really thought about moving until Jake, Danny and Sam moved themselves, and how he thought about Detroit because the thought of being away from Jake wasn’t something he wanted to deal with yet, but when their band started to tour more, Josh felt almost rebellious about it. He was happy for their success, of course, and wanted to see them grow, but he felt like some of his own roots had been torn from the ground and figured setting up more roots of his–and our own–elsewhere might be a way to cope. 

That was when he sort of, kind of, as he said, started looking around at other jobs. He thought my own desire for adventure would fuel whatever we decided, though right after he applied for the SCAD job, he realized that my own version of adventure wouldn’t really involve moving away. Josh said he knew how much I loved where we lived and how I wanted to be close to everyone we loved, and he almost didn’t go through with the interview but went for it anyway, then felt so wrapped up in his self-made sequence of events and subsequent fear–something he seldom had to face–that he didn’t know how to tell me. But he really did want to see this place for himself, recognizing that he couldn’t move somewhere without exploring it first, and he was leaning away from Savannah being a new home. 

That reassured me even more–I really did love our small hometown in a way I’d never loved anyplace else. I loved the four seasons, how the lush greenery exploded after the spring rain came and the sun graced us after another harsh, dreary winter; the hot summers that were so short we had to hold onto every day of extended daytime as if it were the last; the brilliant autumn when slants of sunlight cast warm spells over the changing leaves. I loved the trails we walked together and I loved the Kroger that was just a few minutes away from our apartment; I loved being so close to my sister, to my parents, to Josh’s parents, to Danny’s parents, to everyone we treasured; I loved that abandoned barn that had helped to begin my relationship with Josh and the vast, deep sky that hung above it, housing millions of stars that felt closer to earth when we were really home.   

We were tipsy again as the night was dwindling to a close and the twilight hours were inching near us. Back at the airbnb, Josh and I shared the last of the wine from the night before; once it was finally gone, we were pulling each other’s clothes off to trade for the sheets on the bed. I climbed over Josh and grabbed his wrists, pinning them over his head. He looked delighted at that, his toothy smile gleaming in the cool, low light while his eyes sparkled, staring into my own. 

“No more secrets,” I said, bringing my face close to his. “From either of us. Okay?”

Josh nodded. “No more secrets,” he echoed, then stuck his tongue out. 

I ducked and swiped my own tongue over his bottom lip. “Good.” I freed one wrist and ran my hand down his arm, squeezing his bicep before I felt the warmth of his chest beneath my palm. “You really scared me, Josh.”

He gave an exaggerated yet earnest frown. “I’m sorry, mama,” he said, lifting his hand to my face, running his fingers through the hair at my temple. “That was not my intention whatsoever.” 

“I know,” I assured him. I mirrored his action, cupping his cheek with my hand, then traced the shell of his ear with my fingertips before I ran them through his hair. He was practically purring then, a soft, low rumble from his chest while he kept staring into my eyes. With anyone else, the level of eye contact Josh demanded would have been exceptionally uncomfortable; with him, it made me feel like we were the only two people in the universe. 

Josh’s hand wandered down to my hips. “You should take these off,” he said, tugging at the waistband of my underwear. “Then take mine off, too.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be making requests,” I said with a chuckle, then an uncontrolled giggle burst from me when he tickled the inside of my thigh. I clamped my legs harder around him and grabbed that hand away, pinning it over his head once more. “No, no tickling either. That’s not fair.”

Josh turned his head to the side and sighed dramatically. “Fine, fine. Whatever gets you on my cock faster.”

I laughed loud and sharp, not expecting such casual, flippant dirty talk. I let his wrists go so I could slide down and away, leaving him with his arms extended after me; I grabbed his own underwear and yanked the fabric away from his body and his erection sprang free. In my tipsy state, with my mind still clinging to scraps of fear, I gawked at his nude form, so free and beautiful that it felt insane in that moment that he was there with me at all. But he was. 

I wasn’t going to let the worst parts of myself creep up any further–I freed myself of my bra and panties before Josh could say or do anything, then I was on top of him again, collecting his face in my hands so I could kiss his soft, sensuous mouth. Even his little mustache and beard combo were soft thanks to the oils and moisturizers he diligently used, though I giggled again when he began kissing my neck and the hair tickled my skin. 

“I really hate when you feel far away from me,” I said as Josh reached one hand down, grabbing my ass in encouragement. I laid my fingers over his jaw, making him meet my gaze. “Even if it doesn’t happen very often.” 

“I could never be far away from you,” Josh replied, sincerity dripping from the words even with his buzzed slur. He giggled and added, “I could be on the other side of the world and I still wouldn’t be far.” 

I huffed when his hand moved between us, his effort to try and fully connect us sending a shiver up my spine. “I’d just follow you.”

Josh’s wild, wine-drenched smile appeared on his face. “You would?”

“Duh.” I kissed him again, slow and sweet. “No question.” 

With that, I lifted my hips and took him in; Josh hugged me snugly around my waist as he lifted his hips in return and I braced my hands on his shoulders. A brief blip of the memory of our first time together appeared to me and I caught my breath in my chest, recognizing that, in this moment, it felt so similar. The vulnerability and exposure of our first time was long gone, but the special something that drew us to one another so viscerally was still there–an invisible string that wrapped us together and tied the knot. Josh still looked at and touched me with the same reverence he’d had then; I tried to reciprocate with gentle strokes over his face, looking down at him and still able to see the bursting bundle of stars I’d fallen so madly in love with so quickly that it’d been an aching pain to come to terms with. 

Now, it was so easy to love Josh and to show the entire world how much I did, no matter how small that world was.

---

Tagging: @jjwasneverhere @colorstreammind

LMK if you wanna be tagged in my fics here (or DM me!)

[fitzrove]

How many have you read?

The IDC estimates that most people will only read 2 books out of the 25 listed below. Reblog this and tag with how many titles you've read.

1 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

2 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

3 I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

4 Emmy - Ruth Boswell

5 The Wild Swans - HC Andersen

6 Phantom - Susan Kay

7 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

8 Maskerade - Terry Pratchett

9 Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild, Vol. 6: Ungarn - Rudolf Crown Prince of Austria

10 You & Your Cat. The Ultimate Guide to Cats, their Health, Care and Behaviour - David Taylor

11 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

12 The Phantom of Manhattan - Frederick Forsyth

13 Ulysses - James Joyce

14 The Epic of Gilgamesh

15 A Journey in the East - Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria

16 Tenshi no Hitsugi: Ave Maria (Angel's Coffin) - You Higuri

17 My Sister The Vampire: Fangtastic! - Sienna Mercer

18 Love and Death in Vienna: The Story of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Mary Vetsera - Bunny Paine-Clemes

19 Flights of Angels - Fitz Rove

20 The Magician's Nephew - CS Lewis

21 Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-century Europe - Hayden White

22 Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

23 Future Documentation Chapter One, Limited Edition - Máté Kamarás (little booklet)

24 Otavan ISO Musiikkitietosanakirja: Hakemisto (I use this as a mouse pad)

25 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

[thepaladincosplays]

Please enlighten us with more details about the Fosters. 👀

Oooohoohoohoo, you don't know how juicy of a question that is~

Now I will say that the story of the Fosters is, by in large, far darker than the fanfics I've written in the past. Theirs is not a happy story nor is it really intended to be. I haven't released bios yet only because I wanted to gauge opinions from y'all before releasing anything major about them because, well, there's not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for them.

But, here's some extra info for y'all that isn't quite as dark as the rest of their story!

All of Lady Helena's children were adopted by her within the span of a month, which she was able to do thanks to the right amount of money going into the right hands for her to pull such an impossible thing off. Daphne was six (6) and the first child adopted; Tobias was eight (8) and the second to be adopted; Friederich was six (6) and the third adopted; Virginia was four (4) and the fourth adopted; Jasmine was seven (7) and the fifth adopted; Nina was barely over a year old and the sixth adopted; and, finally, Seto was a little over two (2) when he was the last child adopted.

The children all live in different rooms, on different floors, in the different wings in Foster Manor. Friederich sleeps on the third floor of the mansion library; Nina sleeps on the second floor of the West Wing of Foster Manor; Daphne sleeps on the second floor of the East Wing while Seto sleeps on the third; Tobias sleeps on the fourth floor of the North Wing while Virginia sleeps on the third floor and Jasmine the second.

The children all attend their town's prestigious private school, Lion Bay Academy, and usually change out of their school uniforms the instant they get home.

Despite the fact they're all supposed to sleep in different rooms, growing up (and even to the present day) they would get together in one of their rooms to have a sleepover together so they could have some sibling time outside of school and dinner.

All of the kids, except for Nina, are wary of Lady Helena's personal servant and majordomo, Forsythe. They all have good reason to be wary so they try to keep conversations brief and to the point with the old man.

The order of oldest to youngest goes as is: Tobias (18), Jasmine (17), Friederich (16), Daphne (16, younger by a few months), Virginia (14), Seto (12), and Nina (11).

Let me know if you guys want me to post their bios! Just remember, this is gonna be far darker than other things I've written before.

[muffinworry]

Roman Republic Reading List

@hortensius : Hope this is helpful!

Comprehensive Exam, Major Field: Roman History, c. 400-100                        

Preliminary Reading List--Updated

General

Rosenstein, Rome and the Mediterranean (2012) [general survey]

Steel, End of the Roman Republic (2012) [general survey]

Flower, Roman Republics (2010)

Lomas, Roman Italy 338 BC-AD 200 (this is a sourcebook with introductory discussions)

Farney/Bradley, Peoples of Ancient Italy (2017) (a reference handbook)

Early Republic

Cornell, Beginnings of Rome (1996)

Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome (2006)

Armstrong, War and Society in Early Rome (2016)

Lomas, Rise of Rome (2018)

Smith, The Roman Clan (2009)

Armstrong, War and Society in Early Rome: From Warlords to Generals (2016)

Raaflaub (ed), Social Struggle in Archaic Rome, 2nd ed. (2008)* [edited volume with a lot of good chapters, especially Raaflaub, Cornell, Richard, Mitchell, Lindferski]

Terrenato, The early Roman expansion into Italy. Elite negotiation and family agendas (2019)

Middle Republic: Imperialism

Earlier period

Hölkeskamp, “Conquest, competition and consensus: Roman expansion in Italy and the rise of the nobilitas,” Historia 42 (1993) 12-39

Raaflaub, "Born to be Wolves? Origins of Roman Imperialism," in E. Harris & R. W. Wallace (eds.), Transitions to Empire in the Graeco-Roman World, 360-146 B.C. (1996) 273-314.

Terrenato, Early Roman Expansion into Italy (2019)

Fronda, Between Rome and Carthage (2011)

Motives, nature of Roman Expansion (the “Harris debate”)

Harris, War and Imperialism in Republican Rome (1979)

North, Development of Roman Imperialism (review of Harris), JRS 71 (1981) 1-9

Sherwin-White, Rome the Aggressor? (review of Harris), JRS 70 (1980) 177-181

Rich, Fear Greed and Glory: the Causes of Roman War Making in the Middle Republic, in Rich/Shipley, War and Society in the Roman World (1995) 38-68

Eckstein, Senate and General (1987)

Eckstein, Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War, and the Rise of Rome (2007)

Griffin, “Iure Plectimur. The Roman Critique of Roman Imperialism.” In Brennan and Flower (eds) East & West. Papers in Ancient History Presented to Glenn W. Bowersock (2008) [gives insight into why Roman historians give speeches to enemies of Rome, which could tie into presentation of captives]

Riggsby, Caesar in Gaul and Rome: War of Words (2021)

Provincialization, also response to Harris

Richardson, Hispaniae (1989)

Gruen, Hellenistic World and Coming of Rome (1986)

Kallett-Marx, Hegemony to Empire (1996)

Diaz Fernandez, Provinces and Provincial Command in republican Rome (2021)

Roman Political Culture (middle and late RP, and the democracy question)

Feig Vishnia, State, Society, and Popular Leaders in Mid-Republican Rome (2011) [possibly get rid of one of the older Gracchi treatments]

Hölkeskamp, Reconstructing the Roman Republic (2010)

Hölkeskamp, “The Roman Republic : government of the people, by the people, for the people ?,” Scripta Classical Israeilica 19 (2000) 203-223

Munzer, Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families (trans. 1999, orig. 1920)

Hopkins, Death and Renewal (1985) pp. 31-119

Lintott, Democracy in the Middle Republic

North, “Democratic Politics in Republican Rome,” Past & Present 126 (1990) 3-21

Millar, Crowd in Republican Rome (2002)

Millar, Political Character of the Classical Roman Republic, JRS 74 (1984) 1-19

Morstein-Marx, Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republican (2007)

North, Politics and Aristocracy in the Roman Republic, Classical Philology 85 (1990) 277-287

Lintott, Violence in Republican Rome (1999)                           

Wiseman, New Men in the Roman Senate (1972)

Archaeology/Topography and politics:

Davies, Architecture and Politics in Republican Rome (2017)

Russell, The Politics of Public Space in Republican Rome (2015)

Roman magistracies

Brennan Praetorship in the Republic (2000)

Beck, Duplá, jehnem Pina Polo (eds), Consuls and Res Publica: Holding High Office in the Roman Republic (2011)

Pina Polo, Quaestorship, Quaesorship in the Roman Republic (2019)

Wilson, Dictator: Evolutionof the Roman Dictatorship (2021)

Roman Religion/Religion and Politics

Beard, North and Price, Religions of Rome v. 1 and v. 2

Orlin, Temples, Religion and Politics

Rosenstein, Imperatores Victi

Gruen, Studies in Greek Culture and Roman Policy (various chapters on Magna Mater an Bacchanalia)

Stek, Cult Places and Cultural Change in Republican Italy

Beard, Roman Triumph (??)

Pedilla Peralta, Divine Institutions: Religions and Community in the Middle Republic (2020)

J. Mackay, Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion (2022)

Glinister, “Reconsidering ‘Religious Romanization’” YClS 33 (2006) 10-33

Diluzio, A Place at the Altar (2017) [on priestesses]

Middle Republic: Second Century/Lead-up to the Gracchi

Hopkins, Conquerors and Slaves (1981), esp. pp. 1-95

Rosenstein, Rome at War (2004)

Cornell, Hannibal’s Legacy: the effect of the Hannibal War on Italy, in Cornell/Rankov/Sabin, Second Punic War: a Reappraisal (1996)

Stockton, the Gracchi (1979) [older, “standard” treatment]

Earl, Tiberius Gracchus a Study in Politics (1963) [another old one; consult some of the reviews, e.g Brunt in Gnomon, Scullard in JRS, Crake in Phoenix)

Toynbee, Hannibal’s Legacy: the Hannibalic War’s Effects of Roman Life (1965) [very long; minimally understand the arguments and read reviews]

Brunt, Roman Manpower 225BC-AD14 (1971, republ. 1987) [very long]

There is a fair amount of archaeological work on second-century BC Italy.

Roman Italy, Romanization, Roman conquest of Italy:

Keay/Terrenato, Italy and the West (2001), just part 1 on the republic

Dench, From barbarians to new men: Greek, Roman, and modern perceptions of peoples from the central Apennines (1995)

Lomas, Rome and the Western Greeks (1993)

Bradley, Ancient Umbria: Stated Culture and Identity (2001)

Terrenato, Romanization of Italy: Global Acculturation or Cultural Bricolage, in Theoretical Roman Archaeology (1997) 20-27

Terrenato, Tam Firmum Municipium: the Romanization of Volaterrae and its Cultural Implications, JRS 88 (1998) 94-114

Terrenato, Early Roman Expansion into Italy (2019) [listed above]

Fronda, Between Rome and Carthage (2010) (intro section only)

Roselaar (ed), Processes of Integration and Identity Formation in the Roman Republic (2012) [lots of great chapters, especially by Roth, Rosenstein, Roselaar, Lomas, Patterson]

De Giorgi, Cosa and the Colonial Landscape of Colonial Italy (2019)

David, La Romanisation de l’Italie (1994) [= The Roman Conquest of Italy (1996)]

Glinister, “Reconsidering ‘Religious Romanization’” YClS 33 (2006) 10-33

Roth, Styling Romanization (2007)


Salmon, The Making of Roman Italy (1982)

Roman-Italian elite connections

Patterson, “Contact, Cooperation and Conflict in Pre-Social War Italy,” in Roselaar, 215-226

Patterson, “The Relationship of the Italian ruling Classes with Rome,” in Jehne/Pfeilschifter, Herrschaft und Integration? Rom und Italien in republikanischer Zeit (2006) 139-153.

Terrenato, "Tam firmum municipium: the Romanization of Volaterrae and its cultural implication" JRS 99  (1998) 94-114.

Wiseman, New Men in the Roman Senate

Late Republic: the Italian Question and the Social War

Brunt, “Italian Aims at the Time of the Social War,” JRS 55 (1965) 90-109

Dart, The 'Italian Constitution' in the Social War: A Reassessment (91 to 88 BCE) Historia 58 (2009), 215-224

Pobjoy, “The First Italia,” in Herring and Lomas, The Emergence of State Identities in Italy 187-211

Mouritsen, Italian Unification (1998)

Keaveney, Rome and the Unification of Italy, 2nd ed. (2005)

Howarth, Rome, the Italians, and the Land, Historia 48 (1999) 282-300

Nagle, “An Allied View of the Social War,” AJA 77 (1973) 367-78


Dart, The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE: A History of the Italian Insurgency against the Roman Republic (2014)

Late Republic: From Sulla to the Fall of Republic

Gruen, Last Generation of the Roman Republic, revised (1995) plus read reviews since this was not well received.

Piacentin, Financial Penalties in the Roman Republic (2022)

Taylor, Party Politics in the Age of Caesar (outdated: find reviews to understand the main arguments)

Morstein-Marx, Mass Oratory and Political power in the Late Republic (2008)

Rosillo Lopez, Political conversations in Late Republican Rome (2021)

Rosenblitt, Rome after Sulla (2019)

Pina Polo, The triumviral period: civil war, political crisis and socioeconomic transformations (2020)

Lintott, Violence in Republican Rome (1999)

Kelly, A History of Exile in the Roman Republic (2006)

Riggsby, Crime and Community in Ciceronian Rome (1999)

Augustus’ ‘Revolution’

Syme, Roman Revolution (1939) (a classic)

Raflaub/Toher (eds), Between Republic and Empire (1993)* [edited volume, excellent introductory chapter by Galsterer, plus other good historical chapters: Meier, Eder, Luce, Gruen]

Zanker, Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (1990)* (another classic)

Roman Military

Pfeilschifter, “The allies in the Republican army and the Romanization of Italy,” in Roth and Keller, Roman by Integration: Dimensions of Group Identity in Material Culture and Text (2007) 27-42

Jessica Clark. Triumph in Defeat: Military Loss and the Roman Republic. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2014

Rosenstein, Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocratic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic (1990)

Keppie, Making of the Roman Army: from Republic to Empire (1998) [survey introduction]

Goldsworthy, Roman Army at War 100BC-AD 200 (1998)

Armstrong and Fronda (eds), Romans at War: Soldiers, Citizens and Society in Republican Rome (2020)

Daly, Cannae: Experience of battle in the Second Punic War (2003)

Slavery and Captives (starter bibliography)

Hopkins, Conquerers and Slaves (1981)

S. Joshel, Slavery in the Roman World (2010)

K. Bradley, Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World, 140-70BC (1989)

K. Bradley, Slaves and masters in the Roman empire. A study in social control (1989)

K. Bradley, Slavery and society at Rome (1994)

K. Huemoeller, “Captivity for all ?: slave status and prisoners of war in the Roman Republic,” TAPA 115 (2021)

Henige, “He came, He Saw, We counted: the Historiography and Demography of Caesar's Gallic Numbers,” Annales de démographie historique (1998)

Lowe, "Prisoners, Guards, and Chains in Plautus, Captivi" AJP (1991)

Marshall, The Stagecraft and Performance of Roman Comedy (2006)

Richlin, Slave Theater in the Roman Republic (2017)

Scheidel, "Human Mobility in Roman Italy II: the Slave Population,” JRS (2005)

Scheidel and Harper, "Roman Slavery and the Idea of Slave Society" in Lenski/Cameron (eds) What Is a Slave Society (2018)

Scheidel, "The Roman Slave Supply" in Bradley/Cartledge (eds) Cambridge World History of Slavery (2011)

Thalmann, "Versions of Slavery in the Captivi of Plautus" Ramus (1996)

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Basic - Union Transfer, Philadelphia, Pennsylviania, November 6, 2023

The trio known as Basic — Nick Millevoi, Mikel Patrick Avery and Chris Forsyth — has been playing sporadic shows for about a year now I think; they just finished up a quick east coast run with White Denim last week. No official releases yet, but knowing how awesome these three musicians are, I had to check out some of the live stuff. It does not disappoint!

Basic is lean and mean, with Millevoi providing menacing baritone guitar hooks, Avery laying down immoveable beats (accompanied by metronomic drum machine rhythms) and Forsyth locking in/freaking out over the top. There's a little 75 Dollar Bill in the band's DNA, mixed in with the Robert Quine / Fred Maher LP from whence Basic got its name. In other words, it rules.

At Union Transfer, Millevoi, Avery and Forsyth (I'd hire that law firm) were opening for the ever-mighty Tortoise — so let's check out the Tortoise tape, too! Why the fuck not! It's been a little while since we've heard any new material from the legendary Chicago band (they'll always be a Chicago band, no matter where they all live), but that's OK. They have a deep/wide catalog to draw from, and quite honestly, they may sound better than ever in 2023. Just check out the set-closing "Crest" here and revel in the pure majesty of Tortoise!