#Elder Law Center Victoria | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yakumtsaki · 2 years ago

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Well things were nice and calm for one entire update, but don’t worry, we’re back to normal AS AIDEN CHEATS ON SANDY WITH JENNICOR TRICOU. AIDEN WHY. YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH 3 BOLTS

-C̴A̵N̵'̸T R̷E̷S̴I̸S̵T T̴H̸E V̵A̶M̶P G̴I̸L̸F🧟

OH MY GOD

-H̶O̵W C̸O̶U̷L̶D Y̸O̵U̵ ̶A̵I̸D̴E̵N, I̴ G̷AV̴E U̸P M̷Y L̴I̸F̴E A̶S A̷ C̷R̶Y̶P̴T S̸E̷R̵V̶A̴N̵T F̸O̴R̶ T̶H̷I̶S🧟‍♀️

Bro I can’t. I try to unlag our lot by marrying Sugar off, he cheats on his wife. I try to unlag our lot by marrying Sandy off, she gets cheated on. Not to be self-centered but WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME

-Welcome back Sandy, the bathrooms need cleaning! -G̷O̷O̵D̴ T̵O̴ ̴B̸E̴ B̴A̶C̴K🧟‍♀️

UGH

-Don’t worry bitch, I’m about to help with the lag once I take this final dump!

-Nice! About time I fuck outta here, see you stupid assholes never!

DOBRONEGA NO

-Tell Cyn that I love her and my children that I hate them!

-NOOOOO DOBRIE NOOOO HOW AM I GONNA LIVE WITHOUT YOU💗

Poor Cyn was devastated, she cried for days, her and Dobronega really had a Victoria/Victor pet soulmate thing going💔 RIP Dobronega, I’ll miss you so much💔

Because I wasn’t upset enough, the goddamn cleanbot had the worst meltdown yet, look at this shit:

FML. Sophito you have maxed mechanical, feel like taking a crack at fixing this??

-No thanks, I’d much rather play the piano and risk actual death by flies!

Thank God we have iVan around here because you people are USELESS.

Case in point. The military uniform is killing me.

-𝙿𝙰𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚃𝙸𝙲. 𝙸𝙵 𝙲𝚈𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙷𝙰𝙳 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙲𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙼𝙴 𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚈 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝚂𝚄𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙾𝚁 𝙼𝙴𝚃𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙲 𝙱𝙻𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚂.

Bartholomew’s amazing 1 nice point is starting to reveal itself, this kid is a NIGHTMARE.

-Come on, Barth, concentrate! You’re four, you need to learn how to speak! -GOO GOO >:(

Bartholomew straight up exhausted Sophie so I had to send in reinforcements.

-Alright, listen here, Bratolomew, I have enough disappointing family members, so learn to talk or Mr. Teddy loses his head. -FINE, YOU WIN, GEEZER

Felina returns from her first day of school, runs to hug Sophito (I’ll never get used to what good parents him and Liz are)-

-and brings with her Spice! Sugar has actually been a really good dad other than you know, destroying his marriage for no reason, while Spice was a toddler I always invited Sug over to hang out with his bebe so they have a good relationship. Now that Spice is a kid we can invite him over to our lot!

Awwwww❤️ God Sugar I’m still SO PISSED AT YOU FOR THE CLAIRE DIVORCE

Jojo is on his last legs (screaming crying throwing up) so I fulfil his wish to re-become a werewolf-

-BUT APPARENTLY HE HAD A SIMULTANEOUS FEAR OF BECOMING ONE TOO. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. WILL YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND

-NO.

Here we go again, YOU’RE CURED. LAST TIME JOJO, I MEAN IT

-It’s ok, I’ve made up my mind..

-..a face this stunning should not be covered in fur!

No comment!

-OH MY GOD MY NEAT POINTS CAN’T TAKE THIS MESS -MINE NEITHER I’M LOSING MY MIND -IF ONLY iVAN OR SANDY WERE HERE TO CLEAN -EXACTLY, WE’RE TOO GOOD FOR IT

Un.real.

OH HELL YA, GET IT. Once we hit half a mil we’re moving to an even bigger, laggier mansion!

-Omg you guys, isn’t so funny how all 3 of you have worked most of your lives and I got a job as an elder and make more than you? Huhu!🌸

-Seriously, it’s totally crazy how my earnings have eclipsed yours! I mean look at Sophie, worked and worked to top the law career and for what?💗 -So I can represent myself in your murder trial. -Huhu looks like you guys are having your toast with a side of envy! Don’t even get me started on Shajar, mayor by 25 because she was running unopposed! Boy my life is FINALLY perfect!🌸

-HI WHAT THE HECK💗 -That’s right Cyneswith, I’m here to replace Aiden and Jack Do as your obligatory psycho spurned lover! I’m gonna barge in here daily to catch you cheating on me with your husband!

OH MY GOD GINGER SHEA JOHNSTON GTFO WHEN WILL THIS STOP

Awww❤️

Awwwwww❤️

Aww- SUGAR WHY IS THE GIRL YOU CHEATED ON JESSICA WITH HERE

-What do you think, Barth, time for ole’ uncle Sugar to get married again?

YA IT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT

I don’t know if you guys realize how long I’ve been trying to get Sandy on top of the culinary career, it’s RIDIC. This is the hardest time I’ve had with a career since Wyatt, Sandy WTF

-P̸E̸O̵P̸LE D̸I̵S̷C̴R̶IM̵I̶N̷A̵T̴E A̴G̷A̴I̴N̵S̸T Z̸O̷M̷B̷I̸E C̷O̷O̴K̸S̴! S̷O̷M̵E̷O̸N̷E F̵I̵N̷DS Y̵O̷U̸R E̷Y̵E I̴N T̷H̸E̴I̵R S̴O̷U̵P̸ O̵N̷C̷E-🧟‍♀️

OK MOVING ON

-Alright Felina, seeing as science is your one true hobby, your father is useless, and I have one day left on this wretched planet, it’s time for me to teach you the secrets of repairing iVan! -But I don’t wanna learn to repair that stupid robot, huhu!🌸 -ALRIGHT THE HUHUING STOPS NOW. Write this down: “To repair iVan you turn off his killmode switch-” which of course I’ve always left on.. -Ok.. -“and reassure him you love him and he’s a good boy, but if he doesn’t calm down you’re turning him into car parts”.

Oh wow, super scientific!

It’s Bartholomew’s birthday from which I have no pics because iVan almost killed us again..

-𝙸 𝙲𝙰𝙽'𝚃 𝙱𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚅𝙴 𝙼𝚈 𝙻𝙴𝙶 𝙸𝚂 𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝙰 𝚂𝙲𝙷𝙾𝙾𝙻 𝙱𝚄𝚂. -Believe it, buddy!

..and here he is with his glorious Ti-Ning nose! Boy did that toddlerhood cuteness of yours disappear.

-We get the face we deserve!

At least you’re self-aware!

Felina brought Cyan, June and Lakshmi’s bb with her from school! It’s so nice that all our lil cousins we’ll go to college with are showing up❤️

-Swan soooooooooong......... So loooooooong, shitty family, so looooooooooong..............🎵

It’s time😭😭😭

-Hello, old friend. Have you come for me? -I HAVE BEEN WALKING BY YOUR SIDE FOR A LONG TIME💀 -That I know. -ARE YOU PREPARED💀 -You have no idea.

SHAJAR DO YOU FUCKING MIND

OH MY GOD SHAJAR SERIOUSLY GET OUT OF THE FRAME

-It’s alright, it’s only appropriate that Shajar disappoint me one last time. So long, family! And truly, it’s been SO LONG. I’m going to find Wyatt now, but don’t worry, my spirit will always be with you, judging, lecturing, and making you soil yourselves.

-WAAAAAAAAH -WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH -HEY-YO SHAJ! -HEY-YO!

OH MY. FRANCES

-DADDY NO!!!!

OH WOW LOOK WHO WOKE UP. Shajar seriously ffs even for you this was unreal. Jojo left money to absolutely everyone, even Don! Charitable king💔

Frankly, I don’t even know what to say about Jojo, like I try to keep things lighthearted but I teared up when he died. I loved Jojo since he aged up into the snootiest Mr. Darcy toddler of all time, he was one of my favorite sims ever, he had so much personality, he was so much fun to play, and despite being pure evil he really did love his family and always tried to shame them into not being losers. Most of all, he loved Wyatt, with whom he’s now reunited❤️ RIP Jojo, I’ll miss you terribly-

-but clearly your spirit will live on. ABSOLUTELY NOT, SOPHITO

#long post #gen 4 #ts2

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dybdahlsvisitportugalspainfrance · 1 year ago

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Exploring Northern Spain (modified)

I am writing this on the evening of September 22 from our last destination of this planned trip, Oviedo, Spain. We have two days here before we leave for a trip with Annie & Carl to Brittany, France. I'm afraid my social life has gotten in the way of my journaling - so tonight I'm staying in and writing. It is NOT like I am cloistered though, we are in the center of the city and currently a marching band is passing our hotel. Mark is trying to figure out if this is just a Friday event or a pre-football event. Real Oviedo is playing Langroe tomorrow - and I know y'all know this is NOT pointy ball football but the real thing. Anyway it is awesome.

This is pretty much our route with mini variations as we have veered off to see this or that amazing thing. Today we went went through Picos de Europa National Park. We are in España Verde (Green Spain) and it is simply beautiful. Here is a bigger shot of our route. Our eastern most point was San Sebastian or Donostia as it is called in the Basque language. That is what I will talk about today.

Sept 19, 2023

San Sebastian or Donostia

What an absolutely gorgeous place!!

This beach is protected on 3 sides by land (the beach is like a clam shell) and people swim here year round - although this is the North Atlantic. This place was was Queen Isabella II can 3 times a year to bathe to address her skin condition. Now - I'm going out on a limb here - but truly she bathed ONLY 3 times a year. I'm guessing had she bathed - let's just say once a month or every other week - or gods forbid DAILY - her skin condition would have gone away. But that is just me...

This might be a good time to talk about the Spanish Royals. Let me just say - What the hell?

Spain has a constitutional monarchy - like Great Britain. But there are a few differences.

Before the death of Franco, he had hand-picked his successor someone who would carry on his vision of Spain as a deeply conservative Catholic country, and thought he had found that person in Juan Carlos I, a member of the Spanish royal family. (His grandmother was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.) In 1969, he named Juan Carlos as his successor, certain that the future king would keep Spain on its authoritarian path. But Franco badly misjudged his chosen successor. After the dictator’s death, Juan Carlos turned out to be a reformer. The constitution was rewritten, Spain transitioned to a democratic system, and elections were held soon after. Due to lots of issues Juan Carlos 1 - decided that this dictator of a Catholic nation was not really his gig - so he decided to be king instead and slowly transitioned the country to democracy. But even after passing laws saying every person was equal under the law EXCEPT the king, he realized he was not going to be free for long - so June 19, 2014, he abdicated while he had a parliament that was pro-monachy and would accept his son Felipe as king. Felipe is King and Juan Carlos is in exile - without the queen - who has had it with his shenanigans.

And the photo below is the queen and crown princess congratulation the women of the Spanish team after winning the World Cup this year. ( Notice - no kissing here)

With no male heir, Leonor, Princess of Asturias born 31 October 2005) is the heir presumptive to the throne of Spain as the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

FYI - we are in the region (think state) of Asturian tonight. Just like the crown prince/princess of Great Britain is the Prince of Wales - in Spain the crown prince/princess is the Prince/Princess of Asturia

Enough about that. Back to San Sebastian or Donostia .

After Queen Isabella II decided it was "fashionable" to bathe, the trend was established and the who's who of money followed. It became all that - AND a bag of chips - so many historical figures dipped their toes in the water. People like Leon Trotsky and Mata Hari come to mind.

This town is know for its food and I could not fail to mention the Txokos, or private male gastronomic societies that characterize Basque culinary culture. These men cooking clubs are now accepting women - but they are forbidden to enter the kitchen. Sounds like something I would like.

If you can get an invitation you can expect to enjoy things like bacalau (salt cod) with browned garlic olive oil emulsion and piperade (basque pepper sauce), kokotxas (cheeks of hake fish), langoustine with serrano ham, and hard cider in the company of the other men who are members of the society.

We had these items in different restaurants but no doubt the men's club food would have been better.

This city has had some tragedies. It was a hot bed of fighting during the Civil War

From the city's website:

"31st August of the year eighteen thirteen – a date marked in red in the history of San Sebastián. On that day, blood and fire tainted the streets of our city, raising it to the ground. A huge civilian tragedy to which this building bore witness.

These were the years of the Peninsula War that pitched Spain against France. San Sebastián was under the control of the French army at that time. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, which had become involved in the war to support Spain, had started to gain the upper hand over Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. In the summer of that year, English troops, backed up by Portuguese soldiers, besieged the city of San Sebastián. On the morning of 31st August, troops led by General Sir Thomas Graham, who was acting on orders from the Duke of Wellington, managed to breach the defences and enter the city. The French troops, who were completely overcome, withdraw to Mt. Urgull, seeking to protect themselves inside the La Mota castle.

The locals endured a succession of unmentionable atrocities. Under the pretext that San Sebastián sympathised with French interests, English soldiers fired their guns the whole day at balconies and windows, gained access to houses and seized everything of value. The vandalism and looting spread throughout all the streets, houses and churches. As in all wars, many women were raped, and hundreds of locals were shot dead: children, the elderly…. nobody was safe. Ultimately, they set fire to the whole city.

The huge fire reduced practically all houses to cinders in the old city. This building, below (San Sebastion Cathedral) is one of the few that remained standing and is the only one to maintain the façades and construction elements typical of the time."

Not much remained. The city was built back in standard at-the-time construction so the old town looks pretty uniform today. I was however intrigued by this:

This is the city square and during the Franco times, these homes faced the bull fighting arena. You may own your home - but the city owned your balcony and for event - like a bullfight - the city sold tickets to your balcony. Hmmmm..

We loved this place and enjoyed every minute there including this beach art. Sadly it will be gone in about 5 hours. But for now, it was awesome.

I snapped a picture of this guy in a store window:

¡Eguberri on! (Happy Christmas in Basque)

This is Olentzero

Some historians believe Olentzero's origins can be traced back to pre-Christian Navarre and are linked to pagan winter solstice traditions, although the character was later adapted to conform with Catholic rituals

The story goes that Olentzero began his life as an abandoned infant who is found by a fairy godmother.

After bestowing the child with the gifts of “strength, courage, and love," the fairy leaves him with a childless couple who raise him as their own in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Olentzero whittles wooden toys and at Christmas comes down from the mountains to the villages to distribute his crafts among the children.

Then one day as he is taking the gifts to a nearby town he passes a house that is engulfed in flames and charges in to save all the children inside. After performing this heroic deed, however, he perishes in the flames.

But his fairy godmother grants him eternal life so that he can continue to make toys for all the Basque children.

So - a couple of things: Olentzero has been cleaned up a bit over the years. Now he is a pipe-smoking jolly drunk filled with love. But 100 years ago, he would come to your house and leave a gift IF you had been good BUT if you had been bad - he would slit your throat. Talk about some motivation to mind to your parents - hey?

This character and the celebration that welcomed him were banned under Franco's rule. Catholicism was required so only the "approved" Catholic way of celebration Christmas were allowed. Below is a photo from 1930 Pre-Franco times:

Did you know that under Franco rule parents had to name their children Franco approved names? And no Basque names made the list. If you were on the Franco team - times were good (unless you pissed him off). On the side against Franco - not so good.

After lunch we headed back to Bilbao for our afternoon at the Guggenheim Museum. But you already know about that - so tomorrow I will write about Castro Urdiales and Santander. Loving Northern Spain.

Stay tuned.

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wazafam · 4 years ago

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The American black comedy crime thriller A Simple Favor was released in 2018, and its cast members in it are extremely recognizable. The film, directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay written by Jessica Sharzer, is a suspenseful story based on the 2017 novel of the same name, written by Darcey Bell. The movie stars Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in the main roles, among other notable actors in supporting roles. The plot centers on a small-town video blogger who attempts to solve the mystery behind her friend's disappearance.

A Simple Favor was released by Lionsgate, and the movie garnered critical praise upon its theatrical release. Most critics praised the chemistry of the ensemble cast, and also wrote enthusiastically about the movie's shocking plot twists and turns. The film ended up making $5.9 million on its first day alone, and grossed a total of $97 million worldwide, on a budget of only $20 million.

Related: The Equalizer 2021 Cast & Character Guide

Indeed, the movie has an impressive cast led by its main stars, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, and Linda Cardellini are some of the supporting cast members, as well as Jean Smart, Rupert friend, Eric Johnson, and Dustin Milligan, among other actors.

Blake Lively takes on the role of Emily Nelson, Hope McLanden, and Faith McLanden in A Simple Favor, and her character's life is the most interesting part of the film. Viewers know Lively from teen movies The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Accepted, Simon Says, and other early-aughts flicks. Later, she appeared in movies ranging from New York, I Love You to The Town to superhero flick Green Lantern, which she starred in alongside her future husband Ryan Reynolds. In more recent years, Lively has appeared in The Age of Adaline, The Shallows, Café Society, and All I See Is You.

Following her success with A Simple Favor, Lively starred in the movie The Rhythm Section in 2020 alongside actors Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown. The movie follows a grieving woman who goes on a destructive path for revenge after learning that the plane crash that killed her family was actually a terrorist attack. To date, that is Lively's most recent role. From 2007 - 2012, of course, Lively starred as Serena van Der Woodsen in the hit show Gossip Girl, for which she won several accolades.

Like Lively, actress Anna Kendrick, who portrays Stephanie Smothers in A Simple Favor, has been working in Hollywood for several years. She first became a familiar face for her role as Jessica Stanley in the Twilight movies. Following the franchise's end, Kendrick began to take on different roles. She played Natalie Keener in Up In The Air, Janet Taylor in End of Watch and voiced Courtney Babock in ParaNorman. In 2012, Kendrick reached full stardom for playing Becca Mitchell in the popular movie Pitch Perfect. After that, Kendrick appeared in a slew of movies from 2013 until A Simple Favor in 2018, including What to Expect When You're Expecting, Drinking Buddies, Cake, Into the Woods, the two Pitch Perfect sequels, and The Accountant. She also appeared in the movies Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and voiced a character in Trolls.

Related: The Shallows Behind The Scenes: How Filming Injured Blake Lively

Following her turn as Stephanie in A Simple Favor, Kendrick played Kendra Glack in the 2019 movie The Day Shall Come and portrayed Noelle Kringle in the holiday movie Noelle, released the same year. She also reprised her role in Trolls for the movie's 2020 sequel.

Andre Rannells, who plays Darren in A Simple Favor, began his career in television. He voiced characters on children's shows, like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, as a kid, and the early aughts also saw his break into theater. He had numerous roles on the stage, and in 2011 played Elder Kevin Price in The Book of Mormon as an original cast member. From 2014 - 2018, he also had roles in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hamilton, Falsettos, and The Boys in the Band.

Related: Disney+ & HBO Max Already Have One Thing In Common: Anna Kendrick

Rannells became a familiar face on the screen when he joined the cast of Girls from 2012 - 2017, playing Elijah Krantz in 35 episodes. This role led him to other television parts, including Bryan Collins in The New Normal and Frazier H. Wingo in The Knick, as well as guest appearances in hit shows like How I Met Your Mother and Glee. He also had voice roles in the shows Sofia the First, Welcome to the Wayne, and Vampirina. Most notably, in 2017 Rannells joined the cast of Big Mouth. He continues to play that role into 2021, as well as continues to make occasional guest appearances on other shows. In terms of film — Rannell's most recent roles were in the 2020 films The Boys in the Band, The Prom, and The Stand In. And before appearing in 2018's A Simple Favor, he had parts in 2016's Why Him? and 2015's The Intern.

Linda Cardellini plays the part of Diana Hyland in A Simple Favor. Cardellini first became a household name in 1999, when she starred as Lindsay Weir in the cult television series Freaks and Geeks. That wasn't her first time in a series, though; throughout the late 1990s, she appeared in shows like Bone Chillers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Clueless, Step by Step, Promised Land, Kenan & Kel, and Boy Meets World, among other programs.

Post-Freaks and Geeks, Cardellini continued her career in TV, appearing as Samantha Taggart in ER as Bliss Goode and Shelly in The Goode Family. She also had turns in popular shows like Gravity Falls, Mad Men, and New Girl, and took on the serious role of Meg Rayburn in 2015 for 33 episodes of Bloodline. In 2019, Cardellini began portraying Judy Hale in the Netflix series Dead to Me, opposite Christina Applegate.

Related: Why Freaks and Geeks Was Cancelled After One Season

Of course, many movie watchers know Cardellini's likeness from feature films. She appeared as Chutney Wyndham in Legally Blonde, and famously portrayed Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo and its sequel. Cardellini also had parts in Brokeback Mountain, The Lazarus Project, Kill the Irishman, and Daddy's Home and its sequel. Superhero movie fans know Cardellini as Laura Barton, the wife of Clint Barton aka Hawkeye in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Endgame. And Cardellini has also starred in critically acclaimed films like Green Book, in which she played Dolores. In 2020, Cardellini portrayed Mae Capone in the movie Capone.

Actor Henry Golding portrays Sean Townsend in A Simple Favor. Golding has been a presenter on BBC's The Travel Show since 2014. Today's movie watchers primarily know him for playing the role of Nick Young in the hit 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians, for which he won a Teen Choice Award. He also took on the role of Tom in the recent 2019 romantic-comedy holiday flick Last Christmas. Some lesser-known movies Townsend has appeared in include Pisau Cukur, Monsoon, and The Gentlemen. His most recent project is Snake Eyes, which is in post-production. In addition to being a longtime host on BBC's travel show, Golding has hosted shows including Football Crazy, Welcome to the Railworld Japan, and Surviving Borneo.

Jean Smart, who played Margaret McLanden in A Simple Favor, is most known for playing Lana Gardner on the NBC sitcom Frasier - a role for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards. She started her impressive acting career in both film and television in the late 1970s. Some of the notable movies she's appeared in include Piaf, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, Snow Day, Sweet Home Alabama, Garden State, Life As We Know It, The Accountant, and, most recently, Superintelligence.

Related: Blake Lively & Michiel Huisman Talk 'Age of Adaline' Science, Harrison Ford & More

Smart has also appeared in television shows other than Fraiser throughout her career. She voiced Helen Ventrix in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, played Sally Brewton in three episodes of Scarlett, and played Elinore "Ellie" Walker for 13 episodes of High Society. She also gained recognition for playing Martha Logan, the First Lady, in the show 24, and for portraying Regina Newly in 35 episodes of Samantha Who?

Smart was in numerous other television series up until her turn in A Simple Favor, and also appeared in small guest roles in popular shows like Halt and Catch Fire and The McCarthys. In more recent years, Smart portrayed Floyd Gerhardt in Fargo and Melanie Bird in Legion, as well as Arlane Hart in Dirty John, Mimi in Arrested Development, and series regular Agent Laurie Blake in Watchmen.

Rupert Friend played Dennis Nylon in A Simple Favor. The actor began his career with the 2004 movie The Libertine. He first became a familiar face when he took on the role of Mr. Wickham in Pride & Prejudice. Throughout the early aughts he had several other significant roles, including Sandy Mardell in Outlaw and Demetrius in The Last Legion, as well as Lt. Kurt Kotler in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Prince Albert in The Young Victoria.

Related: Bridgerton: Every Pride And Prejudice Easter Egg & Reference

TV-wise, Friend is most known for portraying the character Peter Quinn in 58 episodes of Homeland. For his performance as Peter, Friend was nominated for numerous accolades. He also appeared in other shows since the end of Homeland, including Dream Corp, LLC, Strange Angel, and, most recently, Anatomy of a Scandal.

Eric Johnson as Davis: played Flash Gordon on the eponymous 2007 - 2008 television series, as well as Whintey Fordman on the show Smallville and Jack Hyde in the Fifty Shades franchise, among other roles.

Dustin Milligan as Chris: played Ethan Ward on the teen drama show 90210. Most recently, of course, the majority of television watchers know him as Ted Mullens from Schitt's Creek.

Bashir Salahuddin as Detective Summervile: appeared in the movies Snatched and Gringo, and since then has been in Marriage Story and The 24th. He's also known as a writer on Maya and Marty and for portraying Keith Bang on GLOW and Office Goodnight on South Side.

Kelly McCormack as Stacy: known for playing Zeph in the sci-fi show Killyjoys and for playing Betty Anne on the show Letterkenny. Most recently, she wrote, produced, and starred in the feature film Sugar Daddy.

Sarah Baker as Maryanne Chelkowsky: was previously in the movies The Campaign and Mascots, as well as shows like The Kominsky Method and Louie.

Melissa O'Neil as Beth: first gained fame for winning the third season of Canadian Idol in 2005. She's also known for her roles as Two/Rebecca/Portia Lin on the sci-fi series Dark Matter and as Officer Lucy Chen on the police drama show The Rookie.

Of course, viewers have probably seen these listed stars in other movies and TV shows, too. This is a non-exhaustive list of the films and shows that they are most likely recognized from. When all of these actors came together to work on 2018's A Simple Favor, it was a notable project. The movie was praised for its ensemble effort and continues to gain traction among movie watchers today.

Next: A Simple Favor Ending: Disappearance Reveal & The Many Twists Explained

A Simple Favor Cast Guide: Where You Recognize The Actors From from https://ift.tt/37f1O1L

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bountyofbeads · 5 years ago

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ukrainian-leaders-feel-trapped-between-warring-washington-factions/2019/09/21/f0ff90ac-dbf1-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

“The ultimate beneficiary of all this story is Russia,” said Daria Kaleniuk, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a clean-governance organization in Kiev.

Already, some Ukrainians worry that Zelensky may have offered too much to Trump’s team.

Ukrainian leaders feel trapped between warring Washington factions

By Michael Birnbaum and David L. Stern | Published September 21, 2019 9:32 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted September 22, 2019 10:40 AM ET |

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian leaders are trapped in the middle of a very Washington firefight, facing mounting pressure from President Trump and his allies to investigate the son of political rival Joe Biden, and are searching for a way to escape.

They could give in to Trump’s demand to open an inquiry into the Ukrainian business dealings of Hunter Biden and risk the anger of Democrats and others for engaging in what those interests would see as interference in the 2020 elections. Or the Ukrainians could defy Trump and face the wrath of a president who had frozen $250 million of crucial military assistance for mysterious reasons before releasing it earlier this month.

Either way, they risk cracking the bipartisan consensus that has firmly supported Ukraine against Russia since 2014, when the Kremlin annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region and stoked war in Ukraine’s east. If Ukraine becomes associated with one U.S. political party or the other, it could jeopardize ties with its most important security backer.

“It’s a diplomatic disaster for our relations with the United States,” said Alyona Getmanchuk, the director of the New Europe Center, a Kiev-based foreign policy think tank. “I don’t know what could be the way out of this story.”

The predicament could come to a head Wednesday, when Trump is to sit down, for the first time, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Zelensky has sought the meeting for months, seeing it as a way to demonstrate U.S. support for a country that is still fighting a war in its east and enduring Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Trump has been reluctant, and he pressed Zelensky about Biden in a July phone conversation that is the subject of an extraordinary intelligence community whistleblower complaint.

In an interview with Ukrainian television station Hromadske that aired on Saturday, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko denied that Trump had pressured Zelensky during the phone call.

“I know what the conversation was about, and I think there was no pressure,” he said. “There was talk, conversations are different, leaders have the right to discuss any problems that exist. This conversation was long, friendly, and it touched on a lot of questions, including those requiring serious answers.”

Diplomats, politicians and analysts inside and outside Ukraine said Saturday that Ukraine was in a precarious position.

“Really couldn’t get worse” for Kiev, said a senior European diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid aggravating the situation.

Zelensky — who until recently was a comedian with no political experience — will have to tread carefully. A misstep could further inflame the situation in Washington, costing Ukraine its ties either to Republican or Democratic lawmakers.

Since Trump has embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin and questioned both NATO and the reasons to support Ukraine, the bipartisan backing for the country in Congress has come to represent the main U.S. security guarantee for Kiev. If that were eroded, Ukraine could be in an especially dangerous position.

“Our vital interest is to ensure and to protect and to strengthen the bipartisan support for Ukraine,” said Danylo Lubkivsky, a former Ukrainian deputy foreign minister. “This is not all about Ukraine. Don’t impose some domestic issues, problems on Ukraine, while Ukraine fights against Russia’s aggression and struggles for its independence and freedom.”

Trump’s freeze on Ukraine aid draws new scrutiny amid push for Biden investigation

Zelensky is also talking about meeting with Putin as well as with the leaders of France and Germany in the coming weeks to try to hammer out a settlement to the conflict that is in its fifth year. That makes the uproar in Washington especially unsettling, because it weakens Ukraine’s negotiating position.

Zelensky has been more open to Russia than his predecessor, negotiating a major prisoner swap with the Kremlin in addition to suggesting discussions with Putin.

“The ultimate beneficiary of all this story is Russia,” said Daria Kaleniuk, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a clean-governance organization in Kiev.

Already, some Ukrainians worry that Zelensky may have offered too much to Trump’s team.

“Just stay away from it. It is not our story. There is nothing to gain, there is lots to lose,” said Victoria Voytsitska, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who was swept into office in 2014 in a wave of Western-oriented activists who entered politics after the political upheavals that year.

Using an investigation “as a tool to say we’re reopening this to provide a benefit, leverage to a particular candidate, would be a mistake,” she said.

Days after the July phone conversation between Trump and Zelensky, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani followed up with an in-person meeting with Andriy Yermak, a top Zelensky aide, in Madrid, Giuliani said. Giuliani said that he met with Yermak to suggest two matters for investigation and that Yermak indicated the Ukrainians were open to pursuing the investigations. Yermak did not respond to a request for comment.

How Trump and Giuliani pressured Ukraine to investigate the president’s rivals

The first matter concerned allegations that Ukraine’s government colluded with Democrats in 2016 to try to derail Trump’s presidential bid.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, the release of a ledger documenting millions of dollars of off-books payments from the former Ukrainian government to Paul Manafort helped lead to Manafort’s ouster as Trump’s campaign chairman. Manafort had been a consultant to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-friendly leader who was forced to resign in 2014.

Giuliani said that the release of that information was part of a coordinated campaign by the Ukrainian government to help Democrats. He offered no evidence.

Serhiy Leshchenko, the Ukrainian lawmaker who revealed the ledger, says he released the information to try to fight corruption in Ukraine, not intervene in U.S. politics.

The second matter raised by Giuliani involved a probe of the Ukrainian gas tycoon who put Hunter Biden on the board of his company Burisma.

In 2016, then-Vice President Biden demanded the ouster of Ukraine’s top law enforcement official, Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.

Trump and Giuliani have accused the elder Biden of pushing for Shokin’s dismissal to protect Hunter Biden from an investigation into Burisma.

But it is unclear how seriously Shokin was pursuing Burisma at the time he was forced out. Diplomats said at the time that Shokin’s ouster was tied to Western worries about corruption in Ukraine’s justice system. Washington’s concerns were widely shared by Ukraine’s European partners, and they embraced Shokin’s departure.

“The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, want to stay as far away as possible from the Joe Biden demand that the Ukrainian Government fire a prosecutor who was investigating his son,” Trump wrote Saturday on Twitter.

Biden said Saturday that he had never spoken with his son about his business in Ukraine and accused Trump of “doing this because he knows I will beat him like a drum.”

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undisclosed-desires-nz · 7 years ago

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The Greatest Gift of All - My Matthew & Mary Secret Santa Contribution

Hi!! I’m your Secret Santa. Thanks so much for your patience. I had a family member hospitalized and have had to finish my Matthew and Mary story at breakneck speed. I do hope you like it. I won’t post here until you let me know you’ve read it. Will post on Fan Fiction page after Christmas.

The Greatest Gift of All

Christmas Eve, 1923

Lady Edith Crawley, the second born daughter to the Earl and Countess of Grantham, gripped the top rung of the wooden ladder she was perched on tightly as she bent sideways and stretched to place one of her favorite ornaments on the massive Christmas tree. Imported from Germany, the exquisite triangular piece she held in her hands was crafted with metal wire and hand blown mercury glass that was beaded into garland, framing two delicate glass bells that hung from the center in two tiers.

Returning to her original position on the ladder, Edith straightened and eyed the ornament she held in her hand appreciatively for a long moment, hanging it on a wide branch. Though relatively confident she had chosen the perfect spot on the Norwegian fir to showcase its beauty, she sought the opinion of her brother-in-law, who had so far given her excellent advice from his stationary position in the Great Hall, hanging back just far enough to take in the entire tree.

“Matthew, what do you think? Should I move it a bit to the right or should I leave it?”

Hearing someone clear their throat behind her, Edith turned her head and found her elder sister standing in the space Matthew had occupied for the last twenty minutes.

“I think it looks perfect exactly where it is,” Mary responded on behalf of her spouse.

Edith nodded and smiled, “I’m glad you think so.” Then surveying the room quickly, she added, “…but where did Matthew run off to? He was here a few seconds ago and seemed to be enjoying his mission in making the final call on the ornament placement.”

“I have no doubt he was, but I have found that he is unable to stay away from what he enjoys most for more than an hour or so. How long has he been helping you decorate the tree?”

“About that,” Edith replied, with a quizzical look on her face.

“I see …Well then, I suspect he is in the nursery as it is near the time Victoria is put down for her nap. In all likelihood, Matthew has dismissed Nanny Dale and is holding our daughter in his arms, singing her a lullaby at this very moment.”

Grinning atop her perch in spite of losing her assistant, Edith declared, She is blessed to have him…and so are you, But you know that already.”

Mary nodded, uncharacteristically in full agreement with her sister. Then she excused herself to join her husband and their second child, as she, too, found she could not stay away from the nursery for too long.

Reaching the first landing on her way to the Gallery and the bedrooms, she heard Edith enlisting Mrs. Hughes to fill Matthew’s vacant spot. Then the sound of his melodious voice filling the stairwell drowned out all others. It halted her ascent as she paused to imagine the scene she would soon witness and her eyes became misty.

Doing her best to compose herself, she blinked a few times to ward off tears that were threatening and took a long deep breath. Her sister’s words rang in her ears as she exhaled it and she took the remaining steps with alacrity.

“Blessed, indeed.”

Reaching her destination, Mary opened the door to the nursery that Victoria shared with her brother George and their cousin Sybbie, her late sister Sybil and Tom Branson’s daughter. At once, she found her imagination had not done the scene she conjured in her mind justice.

Though she had expected to find Matthew singing their daughter to sleep, the sight of him ensconced in the mahogany rocker with Victoria nestled against him nearly did her in.

The two-month old had with one tiny hand wrapped around her father’s index finger, her blue eyes locked with his. The sight touched her so deeply, that it stopped her dead in her tracks.

The knowledge that this time last year she had believed him dead and buried and now he sat before her holding their second child overwhelmed her, bringing fresh tears to her eyes that she could not forestall this time. As they trickled down her face, she silently berated herself for not having a handkerchief when she needed it most.

Whether it was a draft from the hallway that made its way through the now open door or Mary’s sniffling that caught his attention, Matthew stopped serenading Victoria and turned his head toward the entrance to the room. Finding his wife dabbing madly at her glistening face, the joyous expression that was planted on his own turned quickly to alarm and he began to rise from his seat.

Half way out of the chair, he asked anxiously, “Darling, what is wrong?”

Mary motioned for him to sit back down and he did, although his face still was creased with worry.

“I’m absolutely fine, darling,” she said with conviction. “It seems my hormones are still a bit out of whack since my pregnancy. That’s all. The sight of you singing to the baby just moved me to tears.” Then pointing to her face with both hands, she continued, “Rest assured that they are tears of joy, not sorrow. Now, you must stop worrying before you upset Victoria.”

At that, Matthew smiled and reached out his hand to her, an invitation to join him and their second child as he returned his gaze to Victoria. He noticed quickly that the smile that had graced her face moments earlier was now gone and he quickly heeded Mary’s words.

“All is well, little one,” he assured the infant as he gently tapped her button nose with his index finger. He then took hold of Mary’s hand, now in reach, and told their daughter, “Your Mama has come to sing to you and she has the voice of an angel. You are quite lucky.”

Victoria’s cherry colored lips rose upward and then she blew a tiny bubble with her saliva.

Matthew chuckled and then set his sights on Mary, who now stood beside him with a broad smile upon her face as she gazed lovingly upon their second child, and said softly, “As am I.”

…

Victoria slept soundly in the bassinet that had at one time or another held every child born and raised at Downton. Over the years, the color and style of the bedding had varied depending on the sex of the baby nestled in it; the current pale pink and white eyelet lace predominant until Matthew and Mary’s son George was born. Then the frilly border was replaced with a plain linen binding and color of the bedding switched to that of the future Earl of Grantham’s eyes – both of theirs.

Matthew and Mary stood silently side by side, watching their two month old daughter’s chest rise and fall, the two of them smiling in unison as the baby’s heart shaped mouth sucked on an imaginary nipple.

“How did you manage to get rid of Nanny Dale?” Mary whispered in a tone just loud enough for Matthew to hear.

He ginned mischievously at her before returning his eyes to Victoria and replying, “I tied her up, gagged her, and locked her in the closet.”

At that Mary covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh that bubbled up too quickly for her to stifle it. Then she poked her husband in the side with her elbow.

“Seriously, darling….How did you manage to dissuade the nanny from performing her duties this time? “

Matthew hung his head sheepishly and bit his lip in order to quell his own amusement. Then he replied in as serious a tone as he could muster, “I convinced Sybbie and George to harangue her until she would take them down to the kitchen to get a cookie, or perhaps two, from Mrs. Patmore.”

Returning his eyes to the baby, he saw Mary glaring at him in his peripheral vision and added, “I assure you that neither of them needed much encouragement to come to my aid. They were both were willing and eager to oblige me.”

Mary rolled her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Victoria needs to bond with her nanny so that when you and I are not available to her, she still will feel at ease,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument. “I know that intellectually you are in full agreement with me but have instead chosen to let your emotions rule your behavior. If I didn’t know better, I would swear you had an American ancestor somewhere down the line.”

Raising his eyebrows in mock horror, Matthew shot back, “Ouch!!! Knowing your feelings regarding American sentimentality, that stings.”

Then looking back at their daughter, who now displayed an angelic smile, he nodded in Mary’s direction.

“I’m sorry, darling. I do know she needs to become accustomed to Nanny Dale and though it won’t be easy for me to curtail my visits to the nursery, I promise to do my best to stop interfering with her.”

Seeing the resignation and sadness on Matthew’s face made Mary’s heart ache. She hated seeing him this way and quickly moved closer to comfort him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I’m not suggesting that you stay away often when she is bathed or put down for a nap”, she clarified. “Victoria would miss you terribly…and knowing first hand how that feels….,” Mary choked out, remembering exactly how she had yearned for him when he was gone. “Well, suffice to say I would move heaven and earth to prevent her from that heartache.

She looked up and found him smiling broadly at her and in the next second, planted a kiss on her head as he vowed, “You have my word that I will do whatever is necessary to do what is in Victoria’s best interest.”

He didn’t have to say it as Mary already knew he would. Since he had been back at Downton, he had proved to be an outstanding father to George and she knew he would follow suit with their daughter.

She took his hand then and leading him toward the door suggested the two of them might take a short nap, raising one of her eyebrows so that her underlying invitation would be interpreted correctly.

Matthew’s mood improved considerably upon hearing her offer and a mischievous smile formed on his lips as he quickly nodded.

They stopped once they stepped out into the hallway that led to their own bedroom, both turning their heads in unison to take one last look at the newest member of the Crawley family and wishing her sweet dreams.

Christmas Day, 1923

Having lived at Downton Abbey her entire life, Mary had become accustomed to the exquisite beauty and grandeur that surrounded her on a daily basis; a sight that left many who saw it in awe. Yet even she could not remain unaffected by it at Christmas, when Downton was decked out in all its glory.

It was almost as if the décor of the house was planned with that particular holiday in mind as the majority of Downton’s furnishings, draperies and carpets bore the traditional red, green and gold hues widely on display that special day.

Lovely garlands graced the banisters leading down from the Gallery to the Great Hall. Poinsettias, Christmas roses, holly and ivy wove throughout the evergreen boughs with large festive bows entwined around the creation every few feet.

Mistletoe hung in the archway of more than one door, tradition dictating that the lucky or unlucky as the case may be pair who found themselves standing beneath it to kiss.

As Mary reached the first landing on her way down to the library where the Crawleys would exchange their gifts, she paused to take in the massive tree with all its trimmings. Hundreds of ornaments in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors hung in perfect harmony on its wide branches along with strands of silver tinsel that sparkled in the glow of the fairy lights that wound around the entire tree.

There must be thousands of them, she thought as she stood mesmerized by the sight before her, unable to take her eyes off the incandescent roping for a long moment as she found the spirit of Christmas washing over her. Then recalling she was already late for the festivities at hand, she blinked and took the next set of steps down to the main floor.

Not surprisingly, Mary was the last of the family to arrive in the drawing room and was welcomed warmly by her mother as soon as she spotted her.

“You’ve arrived just in time, darling,” Cora said without a trace of sarcasm. “This one is for you,” she added, passing a small box wrapped in festive red and green striped paper to her.

Mary returned her Mama’s smile and nodded thanks, instantly recognizing the handwriting on the card as Matthew’s. Spotting him standing near the piano chatting with their brother-in-law Tom, she called out to him.

Ordinarily, she would have not have interrupted the two men’s conversation, as it warmed her heart to see their camaraderie since Matthew’s return. Tom and Matthew had developed a strong friendship, akin to that of brothers since the day he served as best man at their wedding. He took the news of his death hard, especially coming on the heels of losing his wife, Sybil, her youngest sister in childbirth less than two year’s earlier.

However she felt compelled to interrupt the two men now as she had a special gift she had been itching to give her husband since the moment she picked it up in Ripon the day before and could wait no longer.

Fortunately she didn’t have to as Matthew crossed the room quickly upon hearing her voice, a broad smile on his face as he took in her appearance. He greatly appreciated the deep green velvet that hugged her curves, the color contrasting beautifully with his wife’s alabaster skin. Her cheeks, still flushed from their recent escapades enhanced the natural beauty of her face.

At Mary’s insistence, he had left her in her lady’s maid Anna’s capable hands 15 minute’s earlier to join the family as she was running a bit behind. Having arrived before she did, he had born the brunt of the family’s displeasure regarding his wife’s late arrival with pleasure, offering each of the Crawleys a mea culpa on Mary’s behalf. Even the Dowager Countess’s sarcastic rebuke rolled off his skin as he was still basking in the afterglow of his and Mary’s lovemaking.

“Thank you for representing us both in my absence,” she said, kissing his cheek. “No doubt you got an earful.”

Matthew smiled, “Your Papa and Mama didn’t make much of a fuss. Tom was grateful that you were late as we had some estate matters to discuss and there wasn’t a peep out of Edith. I gather decorating the tree yesterday took the wind out of her sails. I’m not at all certain she will be able to keep her eyes open during the “game” later this evening. She appears quite done in. In fact, the only one who complained was your grandmother and I didn’t mind. Our lovely interlude was worth her wrath and more.”

“Mary…Mary…here is another one for you,” her mother called out, standing next to a table with a pile of neatly wrapped gifts stacked by order of their size. “Come now, darling…You can chat with Matthew later…I’m in dire need of a cup of tea and won’t be able to have it until these gifts are distributed.”

“In a second, Mama,” she hissed. “I would like to open Matthew’s gift first.”

For the second time, she cursed herself for not having a handkerchief on hand as she opened the golden locket he had given her and found a miniature portrait of George and Victoria side by side.

“Darling, this is perfect. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said, kissing his cheek before she asked him to help her with the clasp so that she could wear it.

She turned to face Matthew and looked down at the locket, smiling at the images of their offspring before she closed it. Then hearing her mother’s whine from across the room, she raised her eyebrows before giving his arm a gentle squeeze and calling out, “Coming, Mama.”

….

Lifting a crisp white linen square with an Irish lace border from its box, Mary smiled, “Thank you, Edith. Your choice of a gift for me is spot on as I have put off replenishing my supply of handkerchiefs and am in short supply. In fact I was just telling Anna the other day how much I…" Then as the penny dropped, she added, ��It seems I must also thank her for relaying my need to you.”

Edith nodded, “I’m glad that I’ve given you something you will make use of,” before tearing the wrapping off the rectangular box in her own hands.

Tom moved closer to his sister-in-law as she opened his gift, his facial expression a bit apprehensive until he caught sight of her ogling the leather gloves he had chosen for her with glee.

“I find they enhance your grip on the steering wheel greatly,” he said standing over Edith’s shoulder.

“It still astounds me that you enjoy driving so much,” Mary interjected. “However, I give you a great deal of credit for sticking with your lessons until you mastered it…You, too, Tom, for being such a wonderful teacher.”

Edith and the Crawley’s erstwhile driver bowed their heads in thanks, the both of them knowing Mary’s compliments were not given lightly. The two then took a walk down memory lane, recounting some of the more humorous experiences they shared the first few times Edith sat behind the wheel.

The Countess of Grantham continued handing out presents – a hat sporting a peacock feather to her niece Rose, a box of Cuban cigars to her husband, a beige shawl with a black border to her sister-in-law Rosamund and book of Irish fairy tales to her son-in-law, Tom. The gift special as she and Robert had searched high and low for it, knowing how much he enjoyed reading to Sybbie at bed time.

The Dowager Countess and Isobel were deeply touched upon receiving a lovely framed family portrait of Matthew, Mary and the children, his mother pulling both of them into an embrace and going on excitedly having the perfect spot to display it in the drawing room at Crawley House.

Finally handing her resurrected son-in-law the last two items on the table, Cora was finally able to take her seat and a long sip of the tea she had been pining for.

Both were rectangular in shape with one much larger than the other and tied together with a wide, red velvet bow. By process of elimination, Matthew knew before looking at the card that the gifts were from Mary and he smiled at her.

She placed her tea cup on the side table to her right and rose from her spot beside her grandmother, making her way to Matthew as he pulled the ribbon loose and laid the long strand on the now empty table.

“I hope you like them,” she said, her eyes filled with anticipation as she was clearly eager for him to get on with it.

“No doubt that I will,” he replied, quickly removing the wrapping off the smaller box and opening it.

Inside was a pocket camera, labeled as such since it fit perfectly in a man’s vest pocket. It was all the rage since the Eastman Kodak company had exported their latest invention to Europe from headquarters in New York.

“Darling, this is wonderful,” Matthew declared, planting a quick kiss on Mary’s cheek.

Then peering through the camera at those huddled around him, he added joyfully, “I look forward to taking an unprecedented number of photographs of the children, which I feel certain we will cherish as they grow.”

Knowing that he had began recording daily events in a journal when he was an amnesiac living in London to ensure they were not forgotten, Mary was keenly aware of the value Matthew placed on the preservation of memories. It was what planted the idea in her head of giving him the camera. He would now have a visual journal to look back on.

“I assumed you would be quite prolific in that regard,” she replied. Then looking at the larger box he now held, she added, “Hence my second gift.”

Matthew smiled at her again as he pulled a leather bound photograph album out of its container, noticing quickly that the cover had “The Crawley Family” emblazoned across it in large gold type.

Deeply touched by Mary’s thoughtfulness, he placed the album down and pulled her into his arms. “Your gifts are perfect, darling.” he whispered in her ear. “I will treasure them always.” He stepped back then and taking both of her hands in his, he added, “As I do you and our children.”

At that, the Earl of Grantham cleared his throat while his wife reached for one of the handkerchiefs from the box that lay open nearby and dabbed her eyes with it.

“I think it is safe to say that Mary has won out this year in choosing the best gift. Robert announced. “Bravo, my dear.”

Hearing her father’s proclamation, she turned to him and shot back, “No, Papa. I must disagree. My husband’s gift surpasses mine by far.” Then seeing all eyes fix on her locket, she shook her head back and forth. “No, this is lovely, but it isn’t the gift I’m speaking of. That one was given to me nearly a year ago when Matthew returned to Downton and our life together. That was and will always remain the greatest gift of all.”

At her urging, Cora passed Mary’s box of handkerchiefs to Edith, who in turn handed it to Matthew’s mother. The Dowager Countess nodded, tapping her cane on the floor to indicate she was in harmony with her granddaughter’s proclamation.

“Here…here, I could not agree more, Mary.” her father cried out. Then he bellowed, “Happy Christmas to you all. I cannot imagine a happier one.”

Mary couldn’t either as she found herself once again wrapped in her loving husband’s arms.

The greatest gift, indeed.

Wishing you a Happy Holiday!

MsMenna

#mm secret santa 2017 #mary x matthew #matthew crawley #lady mary crawley #submission

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msmenna · 7 years ago

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Meet Victoria Crawley, Matthew and Mary’s latest addition, and celebrate Christmas at Downton Abbey with the entire family.

Excerpt from “The Greatest Gift of All”.

Christmas Eve, 1923

Returning to her original position on the ladder, Edith straightened and eyed the ornament for a long moment as it dangled on the wide branch that was now its home. Though relatively confident she had chosen the perfect spot on the Norwegian fir to showcase the ornament's beauty, she sought the opinion of her brother-in-law, who had so far proved to be quite helpful from his position in the Great Hall, just far back enough to view the entire tree.

"Matthew, what do you think? Should I move it a bit to the right or should I leave it?"

Hearing someone clear their throat behind her, Edith turned her head and was surprised to find her elder sister standing in the space Matthew had occupied.

"I think it looks perfect exactly where it is," Mary responded on behalf of her spouse.

Edith nodded and smiled, "I'm glad you think so…" Then surveying the room quickly, she added, "…but where did Matthew run off to? He was here a few moments ago and seemed to be enjoying his mission in making the final call on the ornament placement."

"I have no doubt that he was, but I have found that he is unable to stay away from what he enjoys the most for more than an hour or so," she offered by way of explanation. Then after a short pause, asked, "How long has he been helping you decorate the tree?"

"About that," Edith replied, with a quizzical look on her face.

"I see …Well then, I suspect he is in the nursery as it is near the time Victoria is put down for her nap. In all likelihood, Matthew has dismissed Nanny Dale and is holding our daughter in his arms, singing her a lullaby at this very moment."

. READ the rest here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12775184/1/The-Greatest-Gift-of-All

#VictoriaCrawley #downton abbey #matthew and mary crawley #msmenna fanfiction

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sciencespies · 5 years ago

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68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

https://sciencespies.com/news/68-cultural-historical-and-scientific-collections-you-can-explore-online/

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

SMITHSONIANMAG.COM | March 23, 2020, 8 a.m.

As efforts to contain the effects of the COVID-19 crisis ramp up, millions of people around the globe are social distancing and self-quarantining themselves in their own homes. To support those in search of diversion from the relentless news cycle, Smithsonian magazine has compiled a collection of 68 online culture, history and science collections you can browse from the comfort of your living room. Whether you’re in the mood to virtually explore ancient Rome, read past presidents’ personal papers or download coloring pages from dozens of international cultural institutions, this roundup has you covered. Listings are bolded and organized by field. (See Smithsonian’s lists of museums you can virtually visit, ways to virtually experience the Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian educational resources for additional inspiration.)

History

This map of Paris highlights women’s cultural contributions to the French capital.

(Screenshot via Parisian Matrimony)

History lovers may not be able to tour the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the British Museum or the Hermitage in person, but digital history resources spanning time periods, continents and countless topics can provide some respite from these travel woes.

Step back in time via Ancient Athens 3-D or Rome Reborn, then cross the Mediterranean into Egypt for an in-depth look at the famed Nefertiti bust. Other immersive historical offerings include a virtual reality museum featuring five shipwrecked vessels; the Heritage on Edge portal, which tracks climate change’s impact on five Unesco World Heritage Sites; a 3-D digital rendering of Japan’s Shuri Castle, which was ravaged by fire in October 2019; a 3-D scan of the bullets that killed President John F. Kennedy; Below the Surface, a multimedia project that traces Amsterdam’s history through excavated artifacts; and a Sketchfab collection of around 1,700 open-access cultural heritage models, from the Abraham Lincoln Mills life mask to the entrance gates of Ireland’s Menlo Castle and a Scottish boat-building school.

Interactive maps are another option for individuals seeking higher-tech experiences. Google Earth’s Celebrating Indigenous Languages platform spotlights dialects at risk of disappearing, while Parisian Matrimony tracks women’s cultural contributions to the French capital. Mapping the Gay Guides, a newly launched public history initiative, draws on more than 30,000 listings compiled between 1965 and 1980 to visualize American queer spaces’ evolution over time.

Those with more macabre tastes may want to peruse the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, a tool that visualizes thousands of sites linked with Scotland’s 16th- and 17th-century witch hunts, or the London Medieval Murder Map, which catalogs 142 brutal 14th-century homicides. (In one particularly colorful incident, a man named John de Eddeworth avenged his murdered brother by stabbing the killer “five times with his sword, three times on the back of his head, once on the left side, and once under his left ear.”) Lower-tech maps, including the Library of Congress’ collection of 38,234 digitized travelogues and English king George III’s recently digitized private library of more than 55,000 maps, charts, prints and manuals, are also available.

Civil War map of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia

(Library of Congress)

In the realm of information-heavy databases, highlights range from an index of searchable records that sheds light on New York’s ties to slavery to the Digital Panopticon’s descriptions of 75,688 Victorian-era convicts’ tattoos and the Getty’s archive of 6,000 photos from the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. Troves of digitized documents, meanwhile, run the gamut from historic Mexican cookbooks to a 15th-century British manners book that warns children against picking “thyne errys” and “thy nostrellys,” 155 Persian language texts spanning nearly 1,000 years, one million pages of 16th- through 20th-century content formerly deemed obscene, and the famed Dead Sea Scrolls.

Those hoping to read more personal narratives can check out photographs, prints and papers related to Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert; the only surviving Arabic slave narrative written in the U.S.; and papers penned by such prominent politicians as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton. Other public figures whose private lives endure in the digital sphere include civil rights activist Rosa Parks, baseball star Babe Ruth, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and explorer David Livingstone (as recorded in the diary of his chief attendant, Jacob Wainwright).

After Roger Fenton, Prince Albert, May 1854, 1889 copy of the original

(Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019)

John Singer Sargent, Frederick Law Olmsted, 1895

(Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Arts and Culture

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942

(Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago)

In recent years, museums have increasingly turned to digitization as a tool for widening access to their collections. Among the major cultural institutions with digitized—and often open access—offerings are the Smithsonian, which released 2.8 million images into the public domain earlier this year; Paris Musées, which oversees 14 major museums in France’s capital; nonprofit organization Art U.K.; the Art Institute of Chicago; Taiwan’s National Palace Museum; the Metropolitan Museum of the Art; the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Getty; the Wellcome Library; the Museum of New Zealand; and the Uffizi Galleries. Examples of artworks, artifacts and texts available for download include British psychiatric institutions’ 18th- through 20th-century records, Vincent van Gogh’s The Bedroom and Han dynasty jades.

In addition to digitizing broader collections, many museums have curated archives dedicated to specific topics: The Kunsthaus Zürich has an extensive trove of Dada documents that defy the movement’s long-held association with ephemerality, while the Delaware Art Museum has a portal of papers associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Illinois State University’s Milner Library offers a digital collection dedicated to the history of circus. The San Francisco-based Letterform Archive has a digital archive of typographical artifacts. And Chicago’s Newberry Library provides online access to more than 200,000 images documenting the history of early America and westward expansion, including watercolors and colored pencil drawings by 19th- and 20th-century Lakota children.

The portal allows users to narrow down search results by “design-specific” terms, as well as geographic, chronological parameters.

(Courtesy of Letterform Archive)

Two giants of the digital cultural sphere—Google Arts & Culture and the Library of Congress—are each home to a dizzying number of virtual resources. The former offers experiences covering 3,000 years of fashion, Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s unseen masterpieces, Latino culture in the U.S., Banksy’s most famous murals, Vermeer’s surviving paintings, armor through the ages, Easter Island and many more topics. The latter has, among others, collections of rare children’s books, Taiwanese watercolors and Chinese texts, braille sheet music, travel posters, presidential portraits, baseball cards, and images of cats and dogs. See the library’s database of digital collections for a more exhaustive overview.

The virtual museum features seven rooms focused on themes such as correspondence, music and flirtation.

(Pocket Gallery / Google Arts & Culture)

Other out-of-the-box ideas include using an app that guides readers through Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales; downloading free coloring pages compiled during the annual #ColorOurCollections campaign—offerings range from a zany 1920s advertisement for butter to medical drawings, book illustrations and a wartime nurse recruitment poster; or reading the New York Public Library’s interactive Insta Novel versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.

Aubrey Beardsley’s illustration for Salome by Oscar Wilde

(Courtesy of the British Library)

The NYPL’s Insta Novels are available via Instagram.

(Courtesy of the New York Public Library)

Another option for individuals with ample time on their hands is transcribing historical documents and data. The Smithsonian Transcription Center is always looking for volunteers to log field notes, diaries, ledgers, manuscripts and biodiversity specimen labels. Other offerings include the Library of Congress’ By the People project, which asks users to transcribe collections related to women’s suffrage, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln and Spanish law; the Newberry Library’s Transcribing Faith portal, which seeks volunteers eager to analyze early modern manuscripts; and the Citizen Archivist, which asks participants to tag, transcribe and add comments to the National Archives’ records.

Science

The blue-throated barbet, illustrated here in 1871, is native to southern Asia.

(Courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library)

Flowers, fungi and fauna abound in digitized renderings of the natural world. The open-access Biodiversity Heritage Library, for instance, highlights more than 150,000 illustrations ranging from animal sketches to historical diagrams and botanical studies; the Watercolor World, a portal created to serve as a “visual record of a pre-photography planet,” showcases more than 80,000 paintings of landscapes, seascapes, buildings, animals, plants, ordinary people and historical events.

Maria Sibylla Merian, Untitled (Toucan), 1701–1705

Other digital science resources include an interactive map that lets users plug in their address to see how it’s changed over the past 750 million years, a collection of unsettling sounds from outer space, Cambridge University’s Isaac Newton papers, Charles Darwin’s manuscripts, hundreds of case files written by a pair of 17th-century astrologers and physicians, a map that visualizes all 21 successful moon landings, and a medical pop-up book dating to the 17th century.

#News

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harryandmeghan0-blog · 6 years ago

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Prince Harry and Meghan's royal baby: Everything we know so far - USA TODAY

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/prince-harry-and-meghans-royal-baby-everything-we-know-so-far-usa-today/

Prince Harry and Meghan's royal baby: Everything we know so far - USA TODAY

Kensington Palace confirmed the royal baby news and announced that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is expecting to deliver in the spring of 2019. She and Prince Harry wed in May. USA TODAY

Duchess Meghan of Sussex with Prince Harry greeted crowds during a visit to Birkenhead in northwest England, Jan. 14, 2019.

(Photo: Charlotte Graham/AP)

Royalty is proving fruitful these days: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s news Monday that they expect a baby in the spring means another new cousin will join Queen Elizabeth II’s growing gaggle of great-grandchildren.

Soon, there will be eight little royals to delight the 92-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, 97.

The news was announced by Kensington Palace just as Harry and Meghan were arriving to start their Down Under tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

This baby is going to be historic, says Victoria Arbiter, daughter of a former royal press secretary, who is now CNN’s royals contributor.

“There’s no question he or she is going to be gorgeous and adorable, half-American and of mixed-race heritage, so what a time to be witnesses to the royal family and history,” Arbiter says. “It does reflect on modern society: History is being made with this baby.”

What do we know so far?

When is the baby arriving?

Until January, the due date for the Sussex baby was vague: Sometime in “the spring,” the palace said. On Jan. 14, during a day trip with Harry to Birkenhead near Liverpool in northwest England. Meghan was chatty during a walkabout, greeting scores of fans while cradling her prominent belly.

In conversations with some of them, she let slip that she is six months along and that the baby is due in April and that, like Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge during their pregnancies, they don’t know the baby’s gender.

“We asked her how her pregnancy was going and she said she was six months and she tapped her tummy,” Carla Gandy told People magazine’s reporter on the scene.

In this image from video, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex arrive in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 15, 2018, a day before they start a 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.

(Photo: AP)

ITV News reported Meghan talked of her due date with another woman, Eileen Ashurst, who told the outlet Meghan said the newest royal baby is expected in April.

And Angel Midgley told the BBC that Meghan said the couple is waiting until the baby is born to learn if it’s a boy or girl.

Kensington Palace declined to comment on any of this to USA TODAY, but it’s probably safe to mark your calendars.

Who are the baby’s royal cousins?

The baby will be first cousin to Prince George, 5; Princess Charlotte, 3; and baby Prince Louis of Cambridge, almost 9 months, the children of uncle Prince William and Duchess Kate.

Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank in wedding photos taken in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle with some of the queen’s great-grandchildren as bridesmaids and page boys: From left, back row: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Theodora Williams, Isla Phillips, Louis De Givenchy. Front row, Mia Tindall, Savannah Phillips and Maud Windsor.

(Photo: Alex Bramall/Buckingham Palace via AP)

The baby’s four second cousins include Mia Tindall, 4, and Lena Tindall, who was born in June to Harry’s cousin, Zara Phillips Tindall (the queen’s eldest granddaughter), and her husband Mike Tindall.

Also: Savannah Phillips, 7, and Isla Phillips, 6, the daughters of Zara’s brother, Peter Phillips, also Harry’s cousin and the queen’s eldest grandson. Both Zara and Peter are the children of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

And Princess Eugenie of York, 28, the queen’s granddaughter and Harry’s cousin who married Jack Brooksbank on Friday, might be expected to produce royal great-grandchild Number 9 in the near future, too. That baby also would be a second cousin to Harry and Meghan’s baby.

No morning sickness for Meghan?

Duchess Meghan of Sussex visits University of Chichester’s Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to Sussex on Oct. 3, 2018 in Bognor Regis, England.

(Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

She just turned 37, so doctors consider this a “geriatric” pregnancy (when mom is over age 35) with a higher risk for miscarriage and other complications.

“Most geriatric pregnancies end up with a great outcome (healthy mom and baby) as long as there is a close monitoring in the prenatal period and during the pregnancy,” says Zaher Merhi, an ob-gyn doctor and director of research and development in IVF Technologies at New Hope Fertility Center in New York.

Still, it appears Meghan is not suffering from the acute morning sickness syndrome that felled her sister-in-law, Duchess Kate, during the early months of her three pregnancies.

Thus, Meghan was able to endure a long overseas flight to Australia before embarking on a grueling two weeks of traveling to public engagements in the Southern Hemisphere, where high temperatures can be expected.

Like Kate, Meghan is slim and she doesn’t show much of a baby bump in early stages. On Oct. 3, she wore a dark green leather skirt during an engagement; there wasn’t even a hint of a pregnancy.

That didn’t stop Twitter from speculating on what Meghan wore to Eugenie’s wedding: a loose-fitting, navy Givenchy coat, which could have hidden a baby bump.

Will the new baby be called a prince or princess? Something else?

Betting on whether the new little royal will be a boy or girl commenced immediately in Britain, where they bet on anything having to do with royals. More interesting is the question of whether the baby will be officially titled a prince or princess.

The simple answer is it’s up to the queen. It also matters how far the child is to the throne. This baby will be 7th in line, just behind Harry, who is 6th in line, so he or she is unlikely to ever be crowned.

More: Where does the new prince fit in the line for the throne?

In hindsight, we’d really like to know what Harry was telling his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the wedding of his cousin, Princess Eugenie, on Oct. 12.

(Photo: AARON CHOWN, AFP/Getty Images)

The rules on titles and “style” were last established by the queen’s grandfather, King George V, in 1917: They dictate that an HRH and title of prince or princess would be confined to children of the sovereign and the children of sons of the sovereign.

“The grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes,” the rules say.

So Prince George, as eldest son of the elder son of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and thus third in line to the throne, got the prince title. But the queen also bestowed it on Princess Charlotte, 4th in line, and baby Prince Louis, 5th in line.

If the queen decides the first Sussex baby will not be styled prince or princess, the baby, if a boy, would likely take one of Harry’s lesser titles, such as Earl of Dumbarton, that he received from the queen on the morning of his wedding along with royal Duke of Sussex.

Arbiter says the baby’s grandfather, future King Charles III, might want to ensure that all his grandchildren have titles, since they are likely to carry out public duties when they are older and their granddad is on the throne.

“This is a decision not to be taken lightly, which is one reason why there has been no decision announced as yet,” Arbiter says. “I think this is going to be decided by the queen, Prince Charles and Meghan and Harry together.”

Who comes after Harry and Meghan’s baby? See more of the line of succession

The baby will have an unprecedented ancestry for the royal family.

The baby will be one-quarter African-American, thanks to Meghan, whose father is white and whose mother is African-American. There’s never been an acknowledged part-African baby born into the royal family – or even an American baby.

Meghan is believed to be the first royal bride with African-American ancestry to join the family, although some scholars insist that 18th-century King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, had African ancestry many generations back before she was born in 1744 in Germany. And the Windsors all descend from one of their sons.

Nevertheless, it would be a first in the modern era, and would likely boost the family’s popularity with its growing minority populations in the U.K. and in the Commonwealth, where Harry and Meghan will play an important role.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex greet well wishers during their visit to Chichester, England, Oct. 3, 2018.

(Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AP)

MORE: Pregnant celebrities 2019: Who’s due, baby bump pics and gender reveals

Will the baby be a British citizen, an American citizen or both?

The baby will likely be born in London at St. Mary’s Hospital so for sure he or she will be a citizen of the United Kingdom, especially as a member of the British royal family.

But Meghan, as an American awaiting U.K. citizenship, could also pass on her U.S. citizenship to her baby – unless she renounces her citizenship for tax purposes after she receives her U.K. citizenship and before the baby is born.

If not, Meghan could ensure the baby has dual citizenship by applying for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad before the child’s 18th birthday. The State Department recommends parents apply for the CRBA as soon as possible after the child’s birth.

According to American rules, once the child reaches 18, he or she may choose either citizenship or keep both.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expecting a baby, and many are asking if the baby could have red hair. Buzz60’s Keri Lumm explains the possibility. Buzz60

Will the baby have red hair like Prince Harry’s?

The gene for red hair in humans is recessive, meaning generally you can have red hair only by getting two red-hair genes, one each from your parents. A brown gene combined with a red gene usually produces brown hair, because brown is usually the dominant gene.

British bookies seem to believe that if Harry, seen here with Princess Diana just before his third birthday in 1987, has a daughter, she may be named after her late grandmother. But her name is more likely to be passed down than the Spencer gene for red hair.

(Photo: JOHN REDMAN, AP)

Red hair runs in Harry’s family: The Earls of Spencer, the family of his mother, Princess Diana, had lots of “gingers,” as they call it in Britain. Diana’s father, brother and one of her sisters had or have hair like Harry’s.

It’s possible that somewhere in Meghan’s genetic makeup there might be a gene for red hair from one of her ancestors, but the likelihood of it turning up in Meghan and then combining with Harry’s gene to produce another ginger prince is small.

John H. McDonald, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Delaware, says the basic genetics we learned in high school is either wrong or oversimplified. He says it is possible, for instance, for two brown-haired parents to produce a redhead child – such as himself – because inheritance involves multiple factors besides genes.

“Human traits are more complicated than the simple recessive model we learned,” McDonald says. “I would say it wouldn’t be a shocking surprise (if the royal baby had red hair). My guess is there’s a 5 to 10 percent chance but it makes a big difference if her European ancestors were from, say, Ireland (vs.) Greece.”

What will the baby’s name be?

Again, let’s go to the bookies. BetVictor, a leading European online betting company, put the name Diana as the 6-to-1 favorite if it’s a girl, said spokesman Charlie McCann.

Diana, for Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, is also one of the middle names of Princess Charlotte, Harry’s niece.

“We make Diana our 6/1 favorite with Charles and Elizabeth next best at 12/1,” McCann said. “We have seen a bit of interest in both Alexander and Alexandra since this morning, although it will not be until the New Year before the market (heats) up as speculation intensifies over the name and gender of the baby.”

More: Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry are expecting their first child in the spring

More: ‘Best news ever!’: Twitter reacts to Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy

More: Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry arrive in Australia for official visit, Invictus Games

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newstfionline · 3 years ago

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Friday, June 18, 2021

Heat wave grips US West amid fear of a new, hotter normal (AP) An unusually early and long-lasting heat wave brought more triple-digit temperatures Wednesday to a large swath of the U.S. West, raising concerns that such extreme weather could become the new normal amid a decades-long drought. Phoenix, which is seeing some of the highest temperatures this week, tied a record for the second day in a row when it reached 115 degrees (46 Celsius) Wednesday and was expected to hit 117 (47 Celsius) each of the next two days, the National Weather Service said. Scientists who study drought and climate change say that people living in the American West can expect to see more of the same in the coming years. “Heat waves are getting worse in the West because the soil is so dry” from the region’s megadrought, said Park Williams, a University of California, Los Angeles, climate and fire scientist who has calculated that soil in the western half of the nation is the driest it has been since 1895. “We could have two, three, four, five of these heat waves before the end of the summer.”

As coronavirus recedes, colds and common viruses are back—especially among children (Washington Post) Gina and Rob Domaoal’s infant son was in day care for three months last year before the coronavirus shut it down. By the time Eli returned to a child-care center in early June, he had been all but quarantined for 15 months, so unaccustomed to being around other children that when they took him to a playground earlier this spring, he hung back at the edge and watched. Eli had been back in day care for five days when the 20-month-old on Saturday suddenly had no interest in playing with his favorite trucks. He spiked a 102-degree fever. Tests showed Eli was infected with two viruses at once: a rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, and parainfluenza, another respiratory illness that can be more serious. Such feverish children in the Atlanta area are part of a pattern of viral infections that pediatricians, infectious-disease specialists and epidemiologists have noticed cropping up this spring in the United States, especially in the South. These common viruses are showing up at a distinctly uncommon time of year—and sometimes with uncommon virulence among children whose immune systems did not begin building up familiarity with them while the pandemic kept people isolated at home. The CDC said in a statement Wednesday that it expects respiratory viruses to circulate more widely as people relax coronavirus avoidance strategies and schools and workplaces return to operating in person.

Millions fear eviction as US housing crisis worsens (AP) More than 4 million people say they fear being evicted or foreclosed upon in the coming months, just as two studies released Wednesday found that the nation’s housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic. The studies come as a federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of the month. The moratorium has kept many tenants owing back rent housed. Making matters worse, the tens of billions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance that was supposed to solve the problem has not reached most tenants. The housing crisis, the studies found, risks widening the gap between Black, Latino and white households, as well as putting homeownership out of the reach of lower-income Americans.

Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday (AP) The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. The House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk, and he is expected to sign it into law. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas—two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. That was also about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states. It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Construction deficiencies behind deadly Mexico City subway collapse, report finds (CNN) Construction flaws led to the collapse of a Mexico City subway line that killed 26 people and left dozens injured last month, according to the preliminary findings of an independent probe released by the city government on Wednesday. The investigation, carried out by Norwegian risk management firm DNV, suggests that deficient welding of metal studs, which apparently were not well connected to steel beams supporting a concrete slab and the elevated train rails, was among a number of issues that contributed to the May 4 incident. The report said missing metal studs in some sections of the structure, different kinds of concrete used for the slab and unfinished or badly welded joints were some of the other factors that caused the raised railway to buckle, sending two subway carriages plummeting to the streets below. Mexico City’s subway system is one of the busiest in the world. Line 12, also known as the “Golden Line,” spans 25.1 kilometers (15.6 miles) and features 20 stations. It was touted as one of the most expensive and ambitious public works projects in Mexican history when it was inaugurated in October 2012. But, in the years since, it has become a symbol of Mexico’s social ills and challenges from corruption to impunity, inequality to negligence.

Brazilians Grow Unhappy and Angry as Inequality Hits Record (Bloomberg) Brazilians haven’t felt so bad in 15 years as social inequality hits record levels, with the pandemic hurting the job market and causing a large income drop for the poorest. Brazilians’ average income per capita fell to 995 reais ($195) in the first quarter, the lowest in a decade and 11.3% less than the same period in 2020, according to research released by the Fundacao Getulio Vargas business school, or FGV, on Monday. The most vulnerable Brazilians have been the hardest hit, the data show: the poorest 40% of the country lost 20.81% of their income last year.

HK’s Apple Daily newsroom raided by 500 officers over national security law (Reuters) Five hundred Hong Kong police officers sifted through reporters’ computers and notebooks at pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily on Thursday, the first case in which authorities have cited media articles as potentially violating the national security law. Around dawn, police arrested five executives of the newspaper, and officers were later seen sitting at computers in the newsroom after entering with a warrant to seize journalistic materials, including from reporters’ phones and laptops. The raid is the latest blow to media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the tabloid’s owner and a staunch Beijing critic, whose assets have been frozen under the security law and who is serving prison sentences for taking part in illegal assemblies. In comments raising further alarm over media freedoms in Hong Kong, Security Secretary John Lee described the newsroom as a “crime scene” and said the operation was aimed at those who use reporting as a “tool to endanger” national security.

Japan announces easing of virus emergency ahead of Olympics (AP) Japan on Thursday announced the easing of a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and six other areas from next week, with new daily cases falling just as the country begins final preparations for the Olympics starting in just over a month. Japan has been struggling since late March to slow a wave of infections propelled by more contagious variants, with new daily cases soaring above 7,000 at one point and seriously ill patients straining hospitals in Tokyo, Osaka and other metropolitan areas. New cases have since subsided significantly, paving the way for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to downgrade the state of emergency when it expires on Sunday to less stringent measures. The new measures will last until July 11—just 12 days before the Olympics.

Floods in Australia sent spiders scrambling for dry land. A town is now covered in webs. (Washington Post) An Australian region has been caught in webs of thousands of spiders after severe floods that have forced people—and arachnids—to find drier land. The region of Gippsland in Victoria has been whipped by 77-mph winds and torrential rain storms since last week, killing two residents and forcing some to evacuate, Yahoo News Australia reported. The spiders are part of what looks like a biblical plague of critters to hit Australia this year after droughts and floods that have unleashed hordes of mice chewing their way across agricultural areas, leaving devastated crops in their wake. The massive mouse infestation has some Aussies worried that snakes looking for prey could follow the rodents in coming months, but for now some residents in eastern Victoria can enjoy the silky trails of their spider friends. Ken Walker, a senior curator of entomology at the Melbourne Museum, told the Guardian that the countless numbers of webs appear about once a year and that the phenomenon is beautiful.

Israelis Wonder When or Whether Netanyahu Will Exit Official Residence (NYT) The paparazzi eagerly snap shots of random moving trucks in the vicinity of the prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem. Political cartoonists are portraying Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s former prime minister, his wife, Sara, and their elder son, Yair, as squatters. And suspicions that Mr. Netanyahu might be reluctant to leave the stately home where he has lived for the past 12 years were bolstered this week when he hosted Nikki Haley, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations, at the official residence as if he were still running the show. Unlike in Washington, there is no set time by which an outgoing Israeli premier must move out and hand the house over to the victor and it can often take weeks, though it’s not as if the Netanyahu family has nowhere to go. Among their private residences is a home in the seaside town of Caesarea. The Netanyahus have lived continuously in the residence since Mr. Netanyahu was elected 12 years ago, in 2009. He served an earlier term of three years, from 1996 to 1999. That time, it took six weeks for the family to leave the residence.

#headlines #news

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wilsonmarshall · 5 months ago

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newsnigeria · 5 years ago

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Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/breaking-news/history-of-oshodi-eko-lagos/

History Of Oshodi, Eko (Lagos)

The history of Lagos cannot be complete without making reference to the exploits of the legendary Chief Balogun Landuji Oshodi Tapa. For those who are not in the know, Oshodi Tapa was a little boy from the North (Nupe descent) who was about to be loaded onto a Portuguese ship as another sold slave. With his parents already murdered, he escaped and sought refuge in Oba of Lagos palace.

Oba Eshinlokun (Kosoko’s father) took him in and raised him like one of his own princes under Fagbemi. He was fairly successful in trade and was able to acquire his own slaves.

Some years later, one of the Portuguese merchants, a friend of King Eshilokun, asked the king to let two of his children accompany him to Portugal and he promised to bring them back. The King was very wary of this offer and he thought instead of risking the lives of any of his own children, he would offer two people loyal to him. Hence he chose Oshodi and Dada Antonio to go with the Portuguese merchant.

While the King thought he was protecting the interests of his own children, he was in fact denying them an opportunity that would have benefited them more in the future.

Oshodi and Dada Antonio went with the Portuguese merchant to America and they were later returned to the King after many years.

On arrival from America, Oshodi was employed by Messrs. G. L. Gaiser as a Commission Agent and Toll Collector. With the arrival of the ships of the Portuguese merchants, business flourished, and Oshodi’s commissions from sales increased and he eventually became a rich man. Oshodi never forgot the hands that fed him, so to speak; he continued to be loyal to the King and was made a chief solely responsible for looking after the King’s wives. He was the only one who could go into the Queen’s apartment to oversee repairs, if the need arose.

After the death of King Eshinlokun, Chief Oshodi remained loyal to his children. He particularly cast his lot with Idewu Ojulari who succeeded his father. After the reign of Chief Idewu Ojulari, Kosoko, a son of Oshinlokun, was said to be the rightful heir to the throne, but he was an enemy of Chief Eletu Odibo, whose duty was to install and crown any new king. It was said at the time, that young Prince Kosoko had seduced Eletu Odibo’s would-be wife. In retaliation, Eletu Odibo used his powerful position to crown Oluwole as the next King of Lagos in 1836.

Kosoko and other descendants of King Eshilokun were not satisfied with the decision

and were ready to show their resentment. They waged a war against King Oluwole and Chief Eletu Odibo. Kosoko and his warriors invaded Isale-Eko. The battle was fierce and prolonged but ended with victory on the side of the king’s army. Kosoko fled to Whydah, realizing the consequences of his action.

When King Oluwole died, Akitoye was crowned in 1841 as the next King of Lagos.

Conscious of the right of Kosoko to the throne, Akitoye justly decided to search for Kosoko his nephew, who had taken refuge in Whydah. He believed that he must enjoy his patronage while on the throne. Akitoye organized a search party under the command of bold and gallant Chief Oshodi. The rapidity with which the party achieved its success was directly related to the military might of Chief Oshodi.

Kosoko finally returned to Lagos with Chief Oshodi in a vessel belonging to a merchant called, Domingo.

Henceforth, Chief Oshodi worked to maintain peace between Kosoko and Akintoye, and eventually brought the two together on terms. The peace effort was thwarted by Chief Eletu Odibo who had employed all the persuasive words he could, to dissuade King Akitoye from bringing Kosoko back to Lagos. He believed that Lagoswould not contain the two of them. For a while, he did all he could to create conflicts between them, but later left Lagos for exile in Badagry.

When a war broke out between King Akitoye and Kosoko, Chief Oshodi loyally pitched his tent with Kosoko, the son of Eshilokun, through thick and thin. Akitoye asked Eletu Odibo to return to Lagos with his warriors to fight on his side. Akitoye’s men led by Eletu Odibo were soundly defeated. Eletu Odibo was captured in an ambush and killed.

With the death of Eletu Odibo, the elders advised Akitoye to escape to his mother’s town in Abeokuta. When Kosoko heard about the plan, he detailed his war chief, Oshodi, to lay ambush for Akitoye, kill him, and bring his head before him. Akitoye was in fact caught by Oshodi in the Agboyi waters, but instead of killing him, he paid homage to him and his Lord and prayed for his safe journey and safe return.

Chief Oshodi returned to report to Kosoko that Akitoye had escaped by the use of a powerful charm which put them all to sleep when he was passing. Historians were not able to assign any reason for the treatment which Oshodi gave Akitoye when in fact he was on orders to bring his head to Kosoko. In 1845, Kosoko defeated Akitoye and ascended the throne. In the meantime, Chief Oshodi remained Kosoko’s “Abagbon” war chief.

While in exile, Akitoye appealed to the British Government for help to restore him to his throne. A war broke out; the British started to bombard Lagos, setting the town on fire. Kosoko’s defense under the command of Chief Oshodi was effective and modern by the international standard of the time. After nine days of consecutive serious military actions, the British fleet unleashed excessive gun power which resulted in the defeat of Kosoko’s fleet. Under this unfavorable condition, Kosoko had to flee to Epe with Chief Oshodi and his warriors on the night of the13th of August 1853.

Akitoye was brought back to Lagos by the British Consul and was restored as the King of Lagos. Akitoye died on the 2nd of September 1853, about two weeks after Kosoko and his men had fled. In the afternoon of September 3rd, 1853, his son, Dosunmu was formally installed as the King of Lagos.

Although the war seemed to have ended with Kosoko in exile, there were sporadic raids on Lagos from Epe; disturbing the peace and trade of the island. The raids caused the British Consul Campbell, the Elders, and White Cap chiefs of Lagos, to initiate a move to reconcile the warring royal relatives.

On the 26th of January 1854, a peace conference, historically known as Langbasa meeting, was held at Agbekin (Palaver Island) about four months after King Dosunmu’s coronation. The British Consul’s party included the Commander of HMS Plato with other officers under his command, and Kosoko’s party which included Chief Oshodi Tapa and Chief Onisemo Adeburusi of Epe. They came without Kosoko in about sixty canoes each containing forty men. King Dosunmu was represented by several white cap chiefs and war chiefs.

At the opening of this remarkable conference, the Epe people, led by Chief Oshodi Tapa expressed their strong desire to return to Lagos a to the British Consul and be at peace with their friends and relatives. Chief Oshodi proposed that Kosoko be allowed to return to Lagos and live as a private person.

The proposal was not agreeable to the Consul on the basis that two Kings could not rein in Lagos. As an appeasement, Chief Oshodi was offered to return alone as the Consul for the people of Epe, but he declined the offer and insisted on Kosoko’s return from exile. Several years later in 1862, Kosoko was allowed back to Lagoswith his war chief, after signing a peace treaty negotiated with the British Consul by Chief Oshodi.

Governor Glover was very grateful for Chief Oshodi’s contributions to peace inLagos.

On their arrival to Lagos, Governor Glover sought permission from Aromire to give part of Epetedo to Chief Oshodi. For himself, his family, his followers, and servants who returned with him from Epe, he held the area under the native customary law of land tenure, subject to the native system of the devolution of land.

The palace of Oshodi is located in the center of the area of land in Epetedo. The area is uniquely laid out into 21 compounds. Four of these compounds; Oshodi, Akinyemi, Ewumi, and Alagbede courts belong exclusively to Chief Balogun Oshodi’s extended family.

For the most notable and extraordinary role of Chief Oshodi in the restoration of peace to Lagos and his contribution to the Government of Lagos, he was presented by Governor Glover on the Lagos Race Course grounds with a sword from Mr. Cardwell, the Secretary of State to the British Government. The sword was inscribed “presented by the Government of Queen Victoria to Chief Tapa in commemoration of the loyal services rendered by him to the Government of Lagos”

With his background of having been to America, Oshodi did not miss the opportunity to educate his children. He solicited Governor Glover to educate one of his children in England. This child later assumed the surname of Oshodi-Glover.

Chief Balogun Oshodi Tapa died on 2nd of July1868 about six years after his return from exile in Epe, leaving forty six surviving children. His body was laid to rest at the center of Oshodi Street in Epetedo, Lagos. The descendants of Chief Oshodi constructed an imposing edifice at his burial site, as a monument to the memory of the renowned warlord, peacemaker, and statesman. This monument has been classified as a historic site by the Lagos State Government.

#oshodi

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dalaznews-blog · 6 years ago

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Program combats ageism by having students live with seniors

http://dalaznews.com/news/us/program-combats-ageism-by-having-students-live-with-seniors/

WALLINGFORD, Conn. – Victoria Kozar, like many college students, accomplished a single distinct of her really very best excellent close friends though in college.

The now 23-calendar year-preceding, who attended Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, claims she and Beth lived in the really very same creating and spent hrs speaking about every thing from boyfriends to baking.

Her other close friends are generally astonished when they come across out that Beth Eichelman is 91 a extended time outdated.

"I will not refer to her as like, my aged close pal Beth," she explained. "She's not like yet another grandma. She's just a single of the ladies."

Kozar, of New Milford, was amongst the 1st pupils to take element in Quinnipiac's Learners-In-Residence Technique, which had her reside via her senior year in 2016-17, at Masonicare at Ashlar Village, a retirement regional neighborhood in Wallingford.

Intergenerational understanding is not truly new. There are dozens of courses across the nation that have opened assisted dwelling facilities on campus or presented senior citizens receive to faculty lecture rooms. But only a couple of, this sort of as Quinnipiac, in reality have the generations reside alongside a single yet another.

The strategy of the application is to tear down generational stereotypes, battle ageism and introduce students to possibility of occupations performing the job with the elderly.

On Friday, Ashlar Village welcomed Cathleen Dacey, a regulation college student. Dacey has her private condominium there and will provide at minimum eight hrs of help every single and every single 7 days in trade for housing.

"I am genuinely interested in elder law and I find that the most successful way to help all these guys and girls is to be with them to hear to them," claimed Dacey, 23. "So I am hopeful that this yr, I will find out about their life, but also how to help them."

Kozar, who is applying to skilled health-related educational institutions, claimed the strategy assisted steer her towards a job in geriatrics. She helped run a jewelry producing club and baking class at the center. Residents would query her for aid with computer tablets and technologies.

"It really is pleasant to have any person seem in who's younger, who is lively, who smiles, who talks to us," reported 85-year-old resident Clarisse Miessau, who wore a Quinnipiac University T-shirt Friday to welcome Dacey. "Which is what they have completed for us."

Kozar explained she and the other learners get just as significantly, if not significantly a lot more, from the plan via living heritage lessons. Numerous of the girls at the centre, she explained, had distinguished professions — in science and medicine — breaking down barriers that she is now capable to stroll by implies of. All of them, she reported, are pleased to share their stories and capabilities.

"This position was a lot more complete of each day living than many of my university lecture rooms," she claimed. "My other buddies wished to commit significantly a lot more time there than wherever else."

The expertise encouraged her to begin out an group, "Old Close close friends and New," which brought other Quinnipiac students to the middle.

John Morgan, a university spokesman, stated is turning out to be crystal clear via the higher instruction regional neighborhood that the aged are an untapped beneficial resource. He claimed the up coming phase may possibly probably be to have a Masonciare resident are living in a university dorm.

In Ohio, learners from the Cleveland Institute of Music, have been dwelling at the Judson Manor retirement household offered that 2010.

Kristina Kuprevicius, the center's director of marketing and marketing and advertising, reported the arrangement offers a created-in viewers for the college students and welcome conversation with the young era for the seniors.

"Amongst the two generations, there is a excellent deal of comradery that begins off to make, simply because as a single distinct resident explained to me, 'We you ought to not have baggage with every single other,'" she explained. "Pupils can speak to individuals about distinct challenges and how they ought to truly respond to their moms and dads, and the seniors are saved up to day by the pupils."

Kozar pointed out the students have realized that the aged are not necessarily frail and the older inhabitants have discovered that Millennials normally are not basically self-absorbed, she stated.

J.P. Venoit, the primary govt of Masonicare, pointed out when they grew to turn out to be integrated in the Quinnipiac strategy, he assumed the pupils would arrive in, do their demanded operate with the elderly and invest the rest of the time in their rooms studying.

"That has not been the case," he stated. "They are not probably by way of the motions. The have create into entirely engaged. That has been the thrilling element. It is turned out to be a small one thing significantly far much better, a excellent deal a lot more than we deemed it would be."

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investmart007 · 6 years ago

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WALLINGFORD, Conn | Program combats ageism by having students live with seniors

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/Pke05u

WALLINGFORD, Conn | Program combats ageism by having students live with seniors

WALLINGFORD, Conn— Victoria Kozar, like many students, met one of her best friends while in college.

The now 23-year-old, who attended Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, says she and Beth lived in the same building and spent hours talking about everything from boyfriends to baking.

Her other friends are usually surprised when they find out that Beth Eichelman is 91 years old.

“I don’t refer to her as like, my elderly friend Beth,” she said. “She’s not like another grandma. She’s just one of the girls.”

Kozar, of New Milford, was among the first students to participate in Quinnipiac’s Students-In-Residence Program, which had her live during her senior year in 2016-17, at Masonicare at Ashlar Village, a retirement community in Wallingford.

Intergenerational learning isn’t new. There are dozens of programs across the nation that have opened assisted living facilities on campus or given senior citizens access to college classrooms. But only a few, such as Quinnipiac, actually have the generations live together.

The idea of the program is to tear down generational stereotypes, combat ageism and introduce students to possibility of careers working with the elderly.

On Friday, Ashlar Village welcomed Cathleen Dacey, a law student.

Dacey has her own apartment there and will provide at least eight hours of service each week in exchange for housing.

“I’m really interested in elder law and I find that the best way to help those people is to be with them to listen to them,” said Dacey, 23. “So I’m hopeful that this year, I’ll learn about their lives, but also how to help them.”

Kozar, who is applying to medical schools, said the program helped steer her toward a career in geriatrics. She helped run a jewelry making club and baking class at the center. Residents would ask her for help with computer tablets and technology.

“It’s nice to have someone come in who’s young, who is vibrant, who smiles, who talks to us,” said 85-year-old resident Clarisse Miessau,

who wore a Quinnipiac University T-shirt Friday to welcome Dacey.

“That’s what they have done for us.”

Kozar said she and the other students get just as much, if not more, from the program through living history lessons. Several of the women at the center, she said, had distinguished careers — in science and medicine — breaking down barriers that she is now able to walk through. All of them, she said, are happy to share their stories and expertise.

“This place was more full of life than many of my college classrooms,” she said. “My other friends wanted to spend more time there than anywhere else.”

The experience inspired her to start an organization, “Old Friends and New,” which brought other Quinnipiac students to the center.

John Morgan, a university spokesman, said is becoming clear throughout the higher education community that the elderly are an untapped resource. He said the next step may be to have a Masonciare resident live in a university dorm.

In Ohio, students from the Cleveland Institute of Music, have been living at the Judson Manor retirement home since 2010.

Kristina Kuprevicius, the center’s director of marketing, said the arrangement provides a built-in audience for the students and welcome interaction with the younger generation for the seniors.

“Between the two generations, there is a lot of comradery that starts to build, because as one resident told me, ‘We don’t have baggage with each other,'” she said. “Students can ask residents about certain issues and how they should react to their parents, and the seniors are kept up to date by the students.”

Kozar said the students have learned that the elderly aren’t necessarily frail and the older residents have learned that Millennials aren’t necessarily self-absorbed, she said.

J.P. Venoit, the chief executive of Masonicare, said when they became involved in the Quinnipiac program, he assumed the students would come in, do their required work with the elderly and spend the rest of the time in their rooms studying.

“That hasn’t been the case,” he said. “They aren’t going through the motions. The have become fully engaged. That has been the interesting part. It’s turned out to be something much better, much more than we thought it would be.”

By PAT EATON-ROBB , Associated Press

#attended quinnipiac university #beth eichelman #beth lived #college classrooms #combat ageism #elderly friend beth #generations live #law student #masonicare #participate #spent hours talking #TodayNews #Wallingford

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topmixtrends · 6 years ago

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GROUNDBREAKING NEW feminist books like Roxane Gay’s Not That Bad and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dear Ijeawele proffer strategies for navigating Trump’s America, and bookshelves are stocked with volumes celebrating high-achieving female rulebreakers, like Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding’s Nasty Women and Anne Helen Petersen’s Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud. But in 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality (Harper Perennial), journalist Allison Yarrow takes a step back, seeking to account for how we got to a place where Americans elected a confessed sexual predator and women are still, nearly a half century after Roe v. Wade, fighting for ownership of their bodies.

Yarrow argues that we laid the foundation for our current cultural moment 20 years ago, during the golden hour before we succumbed to internet culture. Despite massive potential in the ’90s for women to claim agency at work and at home, Yarrow reveals that “the decade was marked by a shocking, accelerating effort to subordinate them.” Women who gained too much power, or got too angry, sexual, or ambitious, ended up reviled by American culture. Yarrow painstakingly revisits the stories of figures like Tonya Harding, Monica Lewinsky, Anita Hill, Janet Reno, and Nicole Brown Simpson, offering deft reinterpretations of the subtext that rendered them controversial in their own moment. Yarrow coins the term “bitchification,” the formula that “reduced women to their sexual function in order to thwart their progress.” Bitchification, as Yarrow theorizes it, is a socio-cultural process by which a woman makes headlines, breaks patriarchal mores, is judged by her sexuality, and sees her credibility and reputation shattered. 90s Bitch presents a convincing case that women lost political, cultural, and sexual power grabs in the last decade of the 20th century, shaping the gender inequality we’re still experiencing today.

As a ’90s kid myself, I recall that the way we treated the women mentioned above — like punch lines, rather than human beings — never sat well with me, though I couldn’t say why at the time. Like many of Yarrow’s readers, I absorbed stories like Hill’s and Lewinsky’s before I’d embraced “feminism,” a term that conjured unshaven legs and bra burning in a decade that glorified the hyper-feminine girly girl. Now I know why I squirmed: those attacks didn’t just target powerful and misbehaving “bitches” in the public eye, they targeted all women.

“Bitchification” may be a new idea, but “bitch” isn’t. Yarrow reminds us that the term has long been “the worst invective hurled at women.” Etymologists trace the origins of “bitch” to Artemis, the Greek goddess of chastity who could transform into a dog and was seen as secretly begging for sex. “From its very conception,” Yarrow explains, “‘bitch’ was a verbal weapon designed to restrain and silence women and strip them of their power.” By 1811, the word was codified in an English dictionary as a greater insult than “whore,” and by 1987, two chart-topping rappers centered the term. Public Enemy released “Sophisticated Bitch,” while N.W.A. dropped “A Bitch Iz a Bitch,” which characterized bitches as money-grubbing sex fiends who could “eat shit and die.” Over the years, women have attempted to reclaim the epithet, and Yarrow observes that “what was once a derogation is now seen as an appellation of empowerment and sisterhood.” Millennial women might jokingly refer to their “resting bitch face,” ironically embrace the label “basic bitch” — and the fashion and lifestyle implications that come with it — or don the title “boss bitch,” to signal career ambition and independence. Earlier generations started the trend, though. Meredith Brooks’s 1997 hit “Bitch” left radio stations debating whether to bleep out the word, since Brooks used it not as a slur but to signify strength and power. And a 1985 record dispute led to Madonna famously saying, “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, OK.” Still, Yarrow argues that attempts to use the word to capture the multiplicity of female identity will be feeble if we don’t face how the moniker still “degrades, disparages, and disenfranchises.”

Yarrow is a skillful scene setter, and unpacks trends that objectified women’s bodies, making it easy for bitchification to take root. The ’90s saw the rise of the human Barbie doll ideal, memorably celebrated and critiqued in Aqua’s 1997 hit single “Barbie Girl,” and driven by stars like Pamela Anderson and Anna Nicole Smith, whom the media (and not just tabloids) characterized as breasts, personified. Yarrow cites a story in The Economist claiming that with Smith’s breasts, “a girl from nowhere […] could do anything.” But Smith’s body was also her undoing. She began to “swell and then shrink over the years, making her a target” for cruel media scrutiny. When she died, Smith “was ceaselessly mocked for pursuing love and self-esteem from the outside in, even though it was exactly what society had instructed her to do.” This bait-and-switch tactic, which penalizes women for playing to the feminist ideal and for opting out, crops up throughout 90s Bitch.

Yarrow shows that fat-shaming was standard for fictional characters on primetime TV, too. Monica Geller of Friends fights to live down her history as “fat Monica,” while the 90210 pilot shows Steve taunting Kelly for her nose job, asking if she’ll turn to liposuction or a tummy tuck next. Yarrow posits it’s no coincidence that plastic surgery rates skyrocketed, teen diet programs abounded, and Victoria’s Secret boomed as women tried to fit the new model of beauty: “bionic, breasty, and blonde.” They were promised that “this was achievable through consumption: buy this diet or this underwear to make men want to sleep with you, because being desired by men is the path to self-esteem, power, and love.” In other words, success for American women was still about attracting male attention, but now they could achieve this success at the mall or on the operating table.

To further complicate the landscape, abstinence-only sex education made girls gatekeepers, and laid the onus of preventing STD transmission and unplanned pregnancies on them. “Boys were encouraged and even pressured to pursue sex (with girls and girls only),” writes Yarrow, while girls were “blamed and shamed for sexual consequences.” It was a lose-lose situation. Girls were taught to fear sex “in school and society, and by elders and peers,” but this advice was at direct odds with what they “were sold about sex” on TV and in magazines. It was under these conditions, Yarrow asserts, that the pattern of bitchification could take hold. If “society values female bodies primarily for their function and consumption,” it’s easy to shift the conversation away from their skills and qualifications. This reinforced the message that when women posed a threat to men, they’d be trivialized and knocked out of power. Girls waiting in the ranks learned there wasn’t a place for them.

Yarrow shows that, while the recipe was always the same, bitchification came in popular flavors, like femme fatale and frigid old maid. Much of 90s Bitch is smartly organized around unpacking these labels, with chapters on how women were punished for being too sexual, cold, angry, unfeminine, or simply too competent. To demonstrate, Yarrow opens the vault of high-profile cases that were either too hot or too cold. Anita Hill, to detail one example, was simply “too cold” to be credible in her case against Clarence Thomas. In 1991, she testified against Thomas’s appointment to the Supreme Court, citing the years of sexual harassment she suffered as his subordinate. Yarrow conjures the “indelible image of Hill sitting alone behind a microphone, testifying opposite fourteen white male senators performing their disbelief on behalf of disbelieving men everywhere.” They seemed bent on bitchifying Hill, a lawyer and academic. Senator Howell Heflin asked Hill if she was a “scorned woman” with a “martyr complex” and “militant attitude.” Rather than focus on her testimony, they attacked her character, labeling her desperate for male attention. A law school classmate “detailed how Hill couldn’t stomach men rejecting her.” Hill was pegged an erotomaniac and paid with her career; she relocated to Oklahoma to escape Justice Thomas’s advances, taking a job at a barely accredited institution, while Thomas still sits on the Supreme Court. Hill was punished for speaking up, and is remembered as a controversy rather than a flag bearer.

Yarrow doesn’t have to dig through right-wing sources to reveal the rampant sexism and double standards that plagued women during the ’90s, often in ways that we continue to experience today. Her research shows that the liberal bastions publishing #MeToo exposés and touting body positivity today were as culpable as the tabloids in the pre-millenium period. A New Yorker article quipped that before the Clinton affair, Monica Lewinsky’s “only other serious interest in life was dieting.” The New York Times’s Maureen Dowd called Lewinsky “too tubby to be in the high school in-crowd,” ditsy, and “pathetically adolescent,” mockingly referring to her relationship with the president as “way unique.” Dowd won a Pulitzer for her coverage. Lewinsky is only now beginning to shed the stigma she has lived with for two decades.

Even women who weren’t sexual at all could be lambasted. Yarrow traces how ruthlessly Janet Reno, the first woman attorney general, was maligned for being unfeminine. Reno, a tall, single lawyer with cropped hair, “lacked the feminine qualities and life choices typical for women, and the run-of-the-mill sexism wouldn’t work.” Instead of an ice queen or dangerous seductress, she was “a man in women’s clothes.” On Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell implied he did Reno a favor when he played her straight in “Janet Reno’s Dance Party,” because she seemed so asexual. “Ferrell said he wouldn’t have crafted such a sketch if Reno was a ‘normal woman.’”

Conditions were even worse for women of color. Yarrow flags how concepts like the “damaged girl” trope told the story of straight white women who turned to cutting to cope with unachievable body standards. But, it left out LGBTQ women and immigrants whose self-injury might stem from other pressures, like the experience of navigating gender identity or being a first-generation American. Women of color were more likely to be perceived as dangerous than their white peers. “Unless it could be commoditized, like Alanis Morissette on the cover of Rolling Stone, public brashness and anger was unacceptable for women in the 90s, mostly because it was feared,” Yarrow explains. “Black women’s anger was feared even more.” Yarrow shows how this played out for TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who was vilified in the media for setting fire to the house she shared with NFL player Andre Rison. That Rison abused her before the blaze is usually left out; the press played up the spectacle and deemed her out of control. Further, Yarrow shows how, while white women like prosecutor Marcia Clark were attacked for being working mothers, black women were conversely ridiculed for not finding jobs: “While white mothers who worked […] were pilloried for appearing to shirk domestic and motherhood duties, unemployed or underemployed black mothers were shamed for failing to work and staying home with their kids.” For women of color, the trap of bitchification was doubly complicated, and the long-term effects of those damaging narratives and roadblocks to success are still playing out today.

The best moments in the 90s Bitch are when Yarrow swivels away from the archives to reflect on her own participation in the cultural process of bitchification. Here’s how she evaluates her teenage response to Fiona Apple’s hit music video “Criminal,” which featured an emaciated, 19-year-old Apple writhing on the floor of a house party, sarcastically confessing to mistreating men:

I was Apple’s target demographic, yet I absorbed the critiques of her and parroted them myself […] I was sold and bought into what Apple was rejecting — beauty, sexuality, and even personality shaped and policed by men. Apple’s attempt to undermine the “perfect girl” aesthetic — shaming the gaze, spilling her guts, and starving her flesh from her frame — threatened the affable, obedient, perfect-girl archetype that my peers and I were trying so hard to mirror. […] Apple was “damaged goods” — something I longed not to be. She upset me. Now I realize that was exactly the point.

That’s the real power of 90s Bitch — it looks beyond the gender war many girls didn’t realize they were fighting to show how they were implicated in their own submission.

Even worse, girls were promised a solution that turned out to be a mirage as “self-esteem” became the buzzword of the day. “We were told to ‘have’ self-esteem and, if we didn’t have it, to ‘get’ it,” Yarrow writes, “but nobody told us precisely how.” That’s where marketing stepped in. Brands promised women and girls that they could perfect their bodies and purchase confidence. Stores like Limited Too might have touted Girl Power but they diluted the movement into “a shopping spree.” Embracing girly fashions may have felt like freedom — “Choice, after all, was a feminist plank” — but Yarrow argues that we’re still paying for the loss of true empowerment.

There are statistics to back up this claim. Millennial women hold more bachelor’s degrees than men, yet they haven’t achieved workplace equality. Women’s median hourly wage is up — but it’s still only 84 percent of men’s — and they are still hired and promoted less frequently than male counterparts. Teen pregnancies have dropped, but maternal mortality rates have risen, and the United States remains one of the only developed nations without mandatory paid parental leave. While the current round of elections witnesses the entrance of female candidates in greater numbers than before, Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election “delivered an undeniable blow to American women.” In light of bitchification culture, Trump’s election was a natural development, Yarrow argues, being as he is a reflection of “the blatant and lewd sexism woven into the fabric of our society finally emerged unabashed in a modern presidential campaign, and in the White House itself.”

For those pining for simpler times, Yarrow’s 90s Bitch is an uncomfortable read and a reminder that widespread sexism and misogyny aren’t new problems — and that the solutions won’t be easy. The good news is that we can use Yarrow’s framework to reevaluate the stories we tell and the narratives we accept about women who step outside the prescribed lines of female success. In doing so, we can set aside some of our ’90s nostalgia and work toward a future of gender parity.

Randle Browning is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Her book reviews and essays have appeared in LARB, The Brooklyn Rail, Electric Literature, and elsewhere.

The post The Bitchified Decade We’re Still Paying For appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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zkvtasha2365-blog · 7 years ago

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The majority of his time is currently spent building companies that will definitely create a positive difference in the world and partnering with Pure Unite as well as organizations it has incubated, like The Elders, The Carbon War Room, The B Staff, Ocean Unite and Branson Facility from Entrepreneurship He additionally offers on the Global Compensation on Drug Plan and also assists sea preservation along with the Sea Elders. This year's celebration raised a enormous $ 58,000 in support of Trainee Nutrition Programs in Halton! Lecturer Bob Metcalfe The internet is actually a peripheral nervous system for humankind, one our team have built our own selves. The Institute conducts an undergraduate slight in American Research studies and also an interdisciplinary grad plan in Specialist Editing and enhancing; this also is actually associated with the United States Viewpoint monitor from the Division of Philosophy's expert's program. DALLAS, Texas - (July 24, 2017) - The Dallas Independent University Area will certainly discuss a four-year give with Large Thought an educational not-for-profit that collaborates out-of-school-time imaginative discovering programs for Dallas pupils. I have a great number of stories from providers helped by advisors that absolutely transformed the trail from that provider. Sunshine 24 Sept, Leeds Town Hall, Victoria Hall Phase, 16:00 -16:50, totally free entry along with Sunday/Weekend convention successfully pass, Every ages, but please note: Idea Bubble carries out not control board information.

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