#English Second Language Training NY

[freshdotdaily]

A lot of y'all know I been obsessed with Rammellzee for a hot second now. I don't have the crazy obsession y'all have w/ Basqiuat, or Andy Warhol. But of that downtown scene, I reaaaally loved Haring as a yute dem and I really fucked with A. Charles just off seeing their work publicly all around me.

But once I found Ramm, it was another revelation. A convergence of a lot of shit I like wrapped in one enigmatic weirdo artist's ideas to pick apart and break down. Bruh, this nigga straddles genius and mental illness in a wild way. There's a touch of Rammellzee in MF DOOM.

One of the reasons I liked the young rapper Wiki when I found him in 2012, (outside of this video) is because him/his crew "Ratking" refers to "Letter Racers". I instantly thought, "yo, this kid is tapped in!".

Also, I'm guilty for really obsessing over late 80's and 90's era NYC culture. Y'all wasn't outside, but there's just something super ill about that downtown time/space that incubated so much of our culture from my hometown. Alex Corporan (of Supreme's OG crew) summed it thusly: "The ‘90s in NYC lands as the last of the epic, raw, untouchable, unstoppable, fearless times for life. You're unable to replicate the experience of what was happening in New York during this time. Skateboarding, music, nightlife, art, fashion... you name it! 2000-2004 held onto that energy for a bit, but from 1990-1999 you grew up real fast and experienced shit in light speed."

Anyways, NY Times did a piece I wanna hit y'all with. I sprinkled in some video/links/pics for razzle-dazzle. Long live Rammellzee! In the late nineteen-seventies, the sociologist Nathan Glazer had grown weary of riding New York’s graffiti-covered subways. The names of young vandals, who identified themselves as “writers” rather than as artists, were everywhere—inside, outside, sometimes stretching across multiple train cars. Glazer didn’t know who these writers were, or whether their transgressive spirit ever manifested itself in violent crimes, but that didn’t matter. The daily confrontation with graffiti suggested a city under siege. “The signs of official failure are everywhere,” he wrote in an influential 1979 essay. Graffiti, with its casual anarchy and cryptic syntax, offered glimpses into a “world of uncontrollable predators.” In the nineties, Glazer’s essay would help inspire the concept of “broken windows” policing—a theory that preserving the appearance of calm, orderly neighborhoods can foster peace and civility.

Graffiti has always had this kind of metaphorical power. It is somehow more than art or destruction (even though it is both), and it prompts awe or dread, depending on your tolerance for disorder. For every Glazer, there were romantics like Norman Mailer, who had written the text for a book of photographs elevating graffiti to the status of “faith.” From his perspective, graffiti forced the upper crust to reckon with the names and the fugitive dreams of a forgotten underclass: “You hit your name and maybe something in the whole scheme of the system gives a death rattle.”

Few people understood and internalized this power as deeply as the artist, rapper, and theoretician Rammellzee (which he styled as The ramm:ell:zee). He believed that his time in the train yards and the tunnels of New York gave him a vision for how to destroy and rebuild our world. He was born in 1960 and grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens. His birth name is a closely guarded secret; he legally changed it to his artistic tag in 1979. (He also insisted that The ramm:ell:zee was an “equation,” not a name.) Little is known about his youth, aside from passing aspirations to study dentistry (he was good with his hands) and to be a model (in a 1980 catalogue, he is identified as Mcrammellzee).

Ramm—as he became known—believed that language enforced discipline, and that whoever controlled it could steer people’s thoughts and imaginations. His hope wasn’t to replace English; he wanted to annihilate it from the inside out. His generation grew up after urban flight had devastated New York’s finances and infrastructure. Ramm channelled the chaos into a spectacular personal mythology, drawn from philology, astrophysics, and medieval history. He was obsessed with a story of Gothic monks whose lettering grew so ornate that the bishops found it unreadable and banned the technique. The monks’ work wasn’t so different from the increasingly abstract styles of graffiti writing, which turned a name into something mysterious and unrecognizable. Ramm developed a philosophy, Gothic Futurism, and an artistic approach that he called Ikonoklast Panzerism: “Ikonoklast” because he was a “symbol destroyer,” abolishing age-old standards of language and meaning; “Panzer” because this symbolic warfare involved arming all the letters of the alphabet, so that they might liberate themselves. He lived these ideas through his art and his music, and by being part of the hip-hop scene during its infancy.

In 1983, Rammellzee and a rapper named K-Rob went to visit the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Though Ramm and Basquiat were friends, they were also rivals. Ramm would later say that Basquiat wasn’t a “dream artist”—he didn’t so much radiate visions outward as take things in like a “sponge,” learning about genius from books. He and Ramm once bet on who could most convincingly parody the other’s work. (Ramm claimed not only that he won but that Basquiat’s art dealer, who wasn’t in on their ruse, told Basquiat that “his” work was the best he had ever done.)

That night, Basquiat invited Ramm and K-Rob to record a song he’d written. Ramm, who had rapped in the movie “Wild Style,” was already known for his unique nasal sneer. (He called it his “gangster duck” style.) The two men looked at Basquiat’s elementary rhymes, laughed, and tossed them in the trash. Instead, they made up their own lyrics—a brilliant, surreal tale of a kid (the earnest, bemused K-Rob) who’s on his way home and a hectoring pimp (Ramm) who tries to tempt him toward the dark side. Basquiat called the song “Beat Bop,” and paid for it to be produced; he painted the vinyl single’s cover art himself. The song was murky and strange, like a spiky funk jam slowed to a sinister crawl. In the background, someone tunes a violin. There’s so much echo and reverb on the track that it sounds like an attempt at time travel.

In the eighties, graffiti gained acceptance in the art world. Despite Ramm’s charisma, the intensity of his work and his stubborn, erratic personality kept him on the movement’s fringes. Where Basquiat and Keith Haring seemed shy showmen, Ramm came across as a nutty professor. His early paintings took inspiration from the psychedelia of comic books and science fantasy, with mazy train tracks running across cosmic reliefs. His palette was attuned to the era’s anxieties about nuclear war and nuclear waste. The colors were bright and garish, suggesting a box of neon highlighters run amok.

Rammellzee created and wore full-body suits of armor that he called “Garbage Gods.”

Photograph by Mari Horiuchi / courtesy Red Bull Arts New York and the Rammellzee Estate

In the mid-eighties, he began rendering these ideas in 3-D. He made sculptures that evoked the fossilized remains of twentieth-century life: newspaper clippings, key rings, chain links, and other junk, floating in an epoxy ooze. The most remarkable works were his “Garbage Gods,” full-body suits of armor, some of which weighed more than a hundred pounds. They look like junk-yard Transformers doing samurai cosplay. His most famous character, the Gasholeer, was outfitted with a small flamethrower.

Ramm’s art, thought, and music are the subject of the exhibition “ramm∑llz∑∑: Racing for Thunder,” at Red Bull Arts New York.

Befitting the popular drink’s own sense of iconoclasm, “Racing” bathes in Ramm’s frenzied, free-associative, and occasionally overwhelming energy. There are his early canvases and sculptures, along with flyers, business cards, manifestos, and patent applications. A small theatre screens previously unseen videos of Ramm rapping at nightclubs. The most impressive part of the survey is a floor devoted to his “Garbage Gods” and “Letter Racers”—skateboards representing each letter of the alphabet, armed with makeshift rockets, screwdrivers, and blades.

Throughout the exhibition, you can hear moments from Ramm’s lectures on Gothic Futurism—a thrilling jumble of street-corner hustling and technical language, all “parsecs,” “integers,” “aerodynamics.” As I was examining a collection of hand-painted watches, I kept hearing Ramm pause as he reached the end of a long disquisition on ecological catastrophe and graffiti-as-warfare, and then bark, “Next slide!”

In early May, the Red Bull Music Festival staged a Ramm-inspired concert to mark the opening of the art show. Ramm had continued to make music after “Beat Bop,” never wavering from his philosophies, just declaring them against increasingly turbulent, industrial-sounding backdrops. The eclecticism of the bill spoke to his wandering ear, and ranged from the terse hardcore of Show Me the Body to the wise-ass raps of Wiki. K-Rob, wearing a T-shirt featuring a mushroom and the words “I’m a Fun Guy,” reprised his verse from “Beat Bop,” grinning the whole way through. Gio Escobar, the leader of the deft punk-jazz band Standing on the Corner, dedicated a song to a late friend. The departed are everywhere around us, he said, as a groove emerged from the band’s dubbed-out chaos. “And they’re waiting.”

As hip-hop and art changed, as graffiti vanished from New York’s trains and walls, Ramm delved further into his own private cosmos—namely, the enormous loft in Tribeca where he lived, which he called the Battle Station. His obscurity wasn’t a choice. In the early eighties, he offered to send the U.S. military some of the intelligence he had gathered for national defense. (It declined.) In 1985, he wrote an opera, “The Requiem of Gothic Futurism.” In the nineties, he tried to promote his ideas by producing a comic book and a board game. He thought that toy manufacturers might want to mass-produce his “Garbage Gods” models.

He was the first artist to collaborate with the streetwear brand Supreme.

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There was a series of infomercial-like videos to seed interest in “Alpha’s Bet,” an epic movie that he hoped would finally resolve the narrative arc of his extended universe.

By the time Rammellzee died, in 2010, after a long illness, New York City had been completely remade by mayoral administrations that took broken-windows policing as gospel. The Battle Station became condos.

The Internet has made it easy to take what the culture provides you and rearrange it in some novel, cheeky way. It’s much more difficult to build an entirely new world—to abide by an ethical vision with a ferocity that requires you to break all the rules. I was surprised by how moved I felt standing underneath Ramm’s “Letter Racers” and studying the textures of the “Garbage Gods.” To see their meticulous handiwork up close was to believe that Ramm’s far-flung theories, his mashup of quantum physics and “slanguage,” made sense as an outsider’s survival strategy. I noticed all the discarded fragments of city life—bulbs and screws, a billiard ball, a doll’s head, old fan blades and turn-signal signs, visors stacked to look like pill bugs. His commitment was total. These are works of devotion.

This is where Ramm wanted to live—at the edge of comprehensibility, but in a way that invited others to wonder. Cities are filled with strangers who possess an unnerving energy, who hail us with stories, songs, and poems. Ramm was one of these. In an interview filmed in the aughts, Ramm sheds light on his everyday life. Sometimes, he says, he’ll be walking down the street or sitting at a bar, and people will just look at him. And sometimes they’ll come up to him and ask, “Who are you?” He’s explaining all this while wearing one of his “Garbage God” masks. You notice his paunch, the warm crackle of his voice at rest. “I’m just an average Joe,” he says, and he sounds like he believes it. 

♦Published in the print edition of the May 28, 2018, issue, with the headline “Graffiti Prophet.”

[theembcnetwork]

Counterparts Presents - Christine Blanchette - from THE EMBC TV NETWORK on Vimeo.

runwithit.ca/

Christine Blanchette is an energetic and enthusiastic host and producer turning her passion for running and everything fitness into a career. Her show Run With It is broadcast monthly and airs daily on Novus TV (TELUS), Healthy Living Network, Optik TV, and her YouTube channel. Christine's other show on Novus (TELUS) TV and YouTube channel is The Closing Act, which profiles musicians, and other movers and shakers in the entertainment industry. Both shows are now live streaming on ZondraTV Network.

Interviewing health and fitness professionals, athletes, and celebrities on everything from proper nutrition to training for marathons, Christine brings the best experts in the industry to keep you informed and inspired. She is a nationally published health and fitness/lifestyle writer. She writes a weekly column in Quebec’s second largest English language newspaper, The Sherbrooke Record and freelances for other notable publications. Christine is a regular contributor for Livid Magazine, NY City, and has written stories for The Seattle Times, The Vancouver Sun, Snowshoe Magazine, Canadian Running, and OptiMYz magazine. When she isn't busy hosting and writing she is a running instructor at the University of British Columbia.

counterpartsshow.com

[aboutacecareer]

English Second Language in NY

Want to improve your English fluency? Ace Institute of Technology can help! Our English second language course in NY is designed to help non-native speakers learn how to speak, write, listen, and read English fluently. Enroll today!

[bm2ab]

Arrivals & Departures 12 December 1943 - 08 October 2022 Diane M. Peck

Diane M. Peck passed away peacefully in Greenwich, CT on Saturday, October 8th, with her children and brother by her side.

Diane was born on December 12, 1943, in Port Chester, NY, the daughter of Rudolph and Mildred (Dianis) Hroziencik. Diane was predeceased by her beloved husband of 55 years, T. Carl Peck. She will be greatly missed by her older brothers Rudy Hroziencik Jr. and William Hroziencik, their families, and the many nieces, nephews, and extended family of the Hrozienciks and Pecks.

Diane grew up in Byram, CT, where she was raised as a proud member of the Slovak community and attended St. Paul's Lutheran Church. She attended New Lebanon Elementary School and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1961. Diane went on to earn a degree from Berkeley Secretarial School and worked at IBM for several years before taking time off to raise a family. Upon returning to work, Diane was a Legal Secretary at the law firm of St. John, Park and Scott for many years. Later, she transitioned to the corporate world where she was an Executive Secretary at both AMAX and GE Capital.

On April 23, 1966, Diane married the love of her life, Thomas "Carl" Peck, and moved to Greenwich, CT. Diane was the proud mother to their son Tim (and wife Kelly) of Old Greenwich, and daughter, Karen (and husband Scott) Brady of Morris, CT. Known to almost all who knew her as "Nana", one of Diane's favorite pastimes was sharing stories about her seven beloved grandchildren: Matthew, Riley and Samantha Brady and Tim Jr., Elizabeth, Davies and Emma Peck. She loved to cook them meatloaf, knit them sweaters and blankets and give them treats they weren't allowed at home.

Diane was an avid reader and shared her love of reading with many. She volunteered in town, teaching English as a Second Language, helping many adults learn to read and write. She was also a Reading Champion volunteer with Greenwich Public Schools and thoroughly enjoyed her many hours with the young students at Glenville School.

Diane loved to travel. She toured Europe extensively in her early twenties with her friends. Then, together with her husband Carl, she traveled at every opportunity in her retirement years. They visited all 50 states, much of Canada, and several Caribbean islands. They never found a lazy river they didn't love. They particularly enjoyed discovering as many National Parks as possible in their travels. Even though her directions were often difficult to follow, Carl drove Diane on many wonderful adventures. They were never happier than when they were together.

Diane has truly cherished her life-long friendships. Her weekly lunches with kindergarten, high school, and work friends, shopping trips, and detailed reviews of every Hallmark movie truly comforted and sustained her, particularly in the year since Carl's passing. Diane was a strong, intelligent, and talented woman. She was a devoted "Nana" and will be truly missed by all. Her family takes comfort in the fact that she and Carl are now together again.

The family wishes to thank the amazing Doctors, Nurses, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care Staff at Greenwich Hospital, especially Dr. M. Sung Lee and his team.

A wake will be held Friday evening, October 14th from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at Castiglione's Funeral Home, 544 Old Post Rd #3, Greenwich, CT. There will be a memorial service, also at the funeral home, on Saturday, October 15th at 10:00 a.m. with burial immediately following at Putnam Cemetery, Greenwich, CT.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Peck Family Fund for Volunteer Firefighter Education and Training, established in Carl and Diane's name, at the Glenville Volunteer Fire Company, 266 Glenville Road, Greenwich, CT 06830. Diane also asked that you please consider donating blood through the American Red Cross if you are able.

[chail]

Group Name:MAKB

Company: P Nation

Concept: Dark/hard core

Number of members: 4

Fandom Name:Make

Debut song: Red moon (KARD)

Debut Album Name: Killer

Members:

Choi Misung/최 미승-Korean (Busan)

(19- 2002년에 1월 3일/January 3rd, 2002)

(Stage name-Misung)

Zodiac sign:Capricorn

Blood type-O+

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Misung had said when she was a trainee that she had always wanted to be a singer and this was her only chance at being one. She only knows Korean, she doesn't learn languages much, but she tries her best at everything she does. Her favorite color is purple, she has two dogs (Lana and Sabor). Misung is an only child but she wishes to have at least one sibling. Her ideal type is "Someone who likes the same things as me and can relate to me as well".(Lead female vocalist, sub dancer, visual)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

jonah Ying-Chinese (Hong Kong) (19-October 31st, 2002) (Stage name-Jonah)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He is well known for how hot he looks and how scary his aura really is. He is one out of second place-100% out of a 5% Ratio of people who were except in SM.He knows almost every language other than Zulu, French and Mongolian.(Lead male vocalist, Lead Dancer, Sing Thinker, Translator)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kadawanpan Ahi Nigbangidam/กาดาวันปันมีนิคบันกิดัม-Thai (Bangkok) (20-March 25th, 2002) (Stage name-Ahla)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahla moved to Korea when she was 15 and she trained when she was 17.She is flaunt in 4 languages (Thai, English, Korean and Mandarin). She got famous when she posted a mukbang video with her brother Juni from KT1417 , when people found out about her they wanted to know if she could sing, and yes she can so she auditioned and got in. (Lead female rapper, Main visual, Leader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaeshuah Young/ 재슈아 영-American/South Korean(Queensbury, NY) (20,April 6th, 2001) (stage name-jaesuh)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was a regular high shook that had a gift that he really wanted to show off, so he auditioned in NYC and passed the first round and then passed the rest, and now he is here in MAKB. He was a trainee with Jonah Ying and he is so happy that they were chosen to be in the same group. (Main Visual, Lead male rapper,The cook)

[earnestly-endlessly]

Do you mind doing a list of your favourite modern AUs? A mix is powered and non-powered fics is okay :) TY!

I'm so sorry how late I am with this, but here’s my looooong list of my favourite modern AUs. I hope that you like this list and can find some fics in there that you haven’t read before. Enjoy!

*******

Cherik Modern AU Fic Recs 

Sprich Mit Mir | Talk To Me – dreamweavers

Summary: When Charles meets Erik on a midnight train to London, it’s like all of his Christmases and birthdays have come at once – until Erik opens his mouth, and reveals he cannot speak a word of English.

It isn’t easy to pursue a relationship with someone you need to play Pictionary with just to chat to, but with a little help from Charles’ telepathy, the two language-barrier lovers are determined to make it work.

Come as you are – scarlettblush

Summary: Hospital AU. The one where Charles unknowingly woos a coma patient with Pride and Prejudice. Years later, they meet again.

The Man on the Train – Sophia_Bee

Summary: Charles is heading home from a shift at the busy emergency department of the urban hospital where he works as a nurse. He meets Dr. Erik Lehnsherr on the train, who is clearly interested in Charles, but Charles has a rule. He does not date doctors. Not at all. Never, ever ever. But he does shake his ass at Erik, which might be his downfall.

Eyes on Fire – Black_Betty

Summary: Every once in a while, fashion tycoon Emma Frost invites her favourite male models over to entertain her. And by "entertain", I mean she makes them have kinky consensual sex in front of her....Emma never touches herself when she watches, but she always has a glass of wine with her. Emma likes it best when they eventually forget that she's watching.

Charles and Erik meet each other through Emma...

(I've taken some liberties with the prompt, but all the sex is still there, and it's wholly consensual...and gradually, becomes more than just sex...)

Paper Monsters – Clocks

Summary: Fill for this prompt: Charles meets Erik Lehnsherr, his favorite novelist of all time at a coffee shop, but doesn't know it's him, and Erik just criticizes his own writing in front of his biggest fan.

Order Up - ikeracity

Summary: Charles has a terrible habit of multitasking, and that is probably why he absentmindedly tells the pizza man that he loves him when hanging up. Then the pizza man says it back. And Charles is pretty much smitten from there.

Some Things Are Meant To Be – Ikeracity

Summary: Erik is a famous singer. Charles is a closeted fan. When Raven drags him to Erik's concert, the last thing Charles expects is for Erik to single him out of the crowd, for Erik to look right at him as he sings. And the last, last thing he expects is for Erik to personally serenade him and pull him on stage and kiss him senseless, because some things are meant to be and Erik knows it.

Rumor Mill – Ikeracity

Summary: Erik is the grumpiest, most foul tempered worker at Stark industries. His grumpiness is the stuff of legends. So it's obviously the talk of the office when Erik is being made to go to the company party and he's bringing his husband. There's rumors flying round about how much of a masochist or equally antisocial bastard Erik's husband must be to put up with him. Others think he must be a meek mouse perhaps bullied by Erik.

What they weren't expecting was the confident, charming, adorable and unbelievably nice Charles that turns up on Erik's arm. What they certainly weren't expecting was how much Erik obviously adores his husband and how happy he is to let others see this.

Serendipity – humanveil

Summary: Charles sends a text to the wrong number.

[10:22 AM]

Can we meet for coffee? I just got dumped.

[10:30 AM]

I think you've got the wrong number.

[10:31 AM]

Unless you make a habit of texting people you don't know about this sort of thing?

A Nice Boy (The Family Matters Edition) – pocky_slash

Summary: Erik's not sure whether the problem is that he doesn't want his parents to meet Charles or that he doesn't want Charles to meet his parents. Either way, he never invites Charles to brunch. Why should he? It's not like they're dating.

Frosted Hearts – aesc, palalife

Summary: Emma Frost has 99 problems, but a date ain't one. Specifically, she has no time to play the dating game--which is fine with her, because she'd much rather run it instead. From a set of sleek, silver and white offices on Fifth Avenue and with her trusty, stylish, and silent partner Janos Quested, Emma has built Frosted Hearts into New York City's premiere dating service, built on the principle that money, and a sufficiently rigorous psionic scan, can, in fact, buy you love.

Somewhere in Frosted Hearts's server is one Charles Xavier, genius and geneticist, with the kind of nicely-starched good looks that sell well on brochures for New England prep schools. He's also a telepath who's decided to give up pursuing serious relationships and instead spend his thirties doing what he should have done as a teenager: have a lot of sex with random people. Fortunately for him, Erik Lehnsherr, metallokinetic and engineering executive, has absolutely no time in his heart or his schedule for anything more serious than... well, absolutely nothing romantic at all.

Work/Life Balance – pocky_slash

Summary: As teens, Charles was the star of a super popular tween/teen television show and Erik was his best friend. As adults, they're a frighteningly domestic married couple and Alex, Darwin, and Sean are Erik's nosy co-workers.

Impulse Decisions – listerinezero

Summary: Erik wakes up in Las Vegas with a hell of a hangover, a telepath in his bed, and a ring on his finger. Now what?

Fools Rush In – LoveSupreme

Summary: Erik owns a cafe on the edge of campus and accidentally starts maybe-stalking a Biology Professor there.

The Proper Care of Actors – afrocurl, Clear_Liqueur, Clocks, Etherei

Summary: Erik is an A-list action star who is notoriously difficult to work with, until the day he gets cast alongside Charles Xavier, rom-com darling who can charm the pants off movie audiences the world over and apparently even one Erik Lehnsherr. The paparazzi catch them out and about soon enough, and their real-life Hollywood movie romance becomes instant tabloid fodder.

In the Bleak Midwinter – keire_ke

Summary: It is not easy to find out, well into the second decade of the twenty-first century, that your mother arranged a marriage for you. It is even less easy to convince her that you have no interest in the very fertile Magda, she of the wide hips and lustrous auburn hair. Fortunately, with a good friend at his side over the holiday weekend, Erik is sure he will prevail.

Curve Fitting – kianspo

Summary: The weird thing is, Charles always introduces Raven as his sister, but he never calls Erik his brother. Erik would be bothered, except he prefers not to think of Charles as his brother, either. He can’t figure it out for four years, and then suddenly he can.

Or. A non-powered AU in which Sharon Xavier never remarries, and Charles 'adopts' not only Raven, but Erik too.

Right Person, Wrong Time – PoppyX

Summary: "TL;DR Charles is an insecure high school student who loses his virginity to the right person at the wrong time, and Erik makes it up to him in a romantic manner."

Favorite Mistake by endingthemes

Summary: Charles Xavier doesn’t think anything of it when he sneaks out without even saying goodbye to his latest one-night stand. What he doesn’t expect is to walk into his new position in the Xavier Industries marketing department and find that his latest hook-up is now his new boss.

I ♥ NY (It’s My Friends I’m Not Sure Of) by oddegg

Summary: For a 1stclass-kink meme promp: Erik is a single, successful man who likes quick sex with no strings attached. Then, he meets college professor Charles and it's love at first sight, at least for him. Charles, who heard of Erik's notorious ways, wants nothing to do with him besides being friends. Cue Erik bending over backwards to steal Charles' heart.

From Westminster With Love - thehoyden

Summary: NATO intelligence says there’s an omega-class telepath who sleeps under Westminster. Major Erik Lehnsherr is about to find out the truth for himself.

Accidentally Welcome to the Rest of Your Lives by kianspo

Summary: Non-powered college AU. Erik and Charles have nothing in common until they end up having sex at someone's party. They don't have much in common after that, either, but find each other a hard habit to quit.

irreconcilable differences (make for surprisingly good bedfellows) – pocky_slash

Summary: Tonight on The Evening Report with Malcolm Stevens, noted geneticist and mutant equality proponent Dr. Charles Xavier faces off with the infamous mutant rights activist Magneto in a live televised debate over the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act.

(At least, if they can stop flirting long enough to stay on topic.)

Mutually Beneficial Transaction – Pookaseraph

Summary: In his sophomore year at Columbia University, Erik, feeling slowly strangled by his mounting college debt, places an add on a sugar daddies website. He doesn't know exactly what to expect from it, but when he's contacted by a man named Charles who seems less creepy than the other people who have responded to his profile, he decides to give it a shot. Charles is nothing like what he expected, and Erik finds himself slowly falling in love with his sugar daddy while trying to find out exactly what caused this amazing guy to buy his emotional and sexual intimacy when he clearly deserves so much more than that.

Made To Be Broken - Yahtzee

Summary: Charles makes a New Year's Resolution: “No more straight men,” Charles repeated as he began scrolling through the apartment directory for Emma’s name. “No more futility. No more pointless hoping and heartbreak. In 2013, I never want to hear the words ‘exception,’ ‘experimenting’ or ‘phase.’ If, God forbid, I hear ‘bicurious’ even once, I may take a hostage.”

Then he goes into the party, and Erik is there.

Anarchy In The U.K. – Yahtzee

Summary: "Good God, Erik thought. The Prince of Wales is gay."

Charles lives in the unceasing glare of the public spotlight, yet keeps his sexual orientation a closely held secret, afraid he could lose his throne and force his deeply troubled younger sister into a role that would crush her. Erik, journalist and world traveler, has been a loner most of his life; he has little patience for closet cases. But a chance meeting in Kenya brings these two opposites together and sets in motion a love affair that will challenge the British monarchy -- and their most deeply held beliefs about who they are, and who they should be.

An Ideal Grace – afrocurl

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr is a visiting professor at Columbia University, as well as an acclaimed and award winning poet. Charles Xavier is a lead researcher with the Genetics Department who is well on his way to tenure. But what happens when Charles has to cancel a class because half his students abandon him in favour of a mysterious new English Lit professor? Naturally he ends up sitting in in the class, where Professor Lehnsherr mistakes him for a student. It's really too bad Erik has such a strict policy against dating students. It's also too bad Erik doesn't seem to know how to use Google.

An absence which could not be more there – aesc

Summary: He prepared to shift another half-step over to the Current Events section (which would, of course, enrage him) when the teaser positioned by the model's left elbow caught his eye: DATING WHILE TELEPATHIC: WHY I DON'T DO IT.

rooms/shares – pocky_slash

Summary: Erik is single, working a cube job he hates, letting his master's degree in mutant studies collect dust, and living on his best friend's couch. When she kicks him out, he's forced to trawl Craigslist for the least-offensive rooming option within his meagre budget. He never expects a response from the persnickety, high maintenance ad he replies to as a joke, but it's possible this too-nice apartment and mysteriously absent roommate might be the answer to all four of his problems.

Heli Cases –Black_Betty

Summary: "Heli Cases" is a program on PBS whose aim is to educate on the rapidly increasing occurrence of genetic mutation in the general populous by breaking the complex science down into palatable, easy to digest pieces.

It is also the only thing that helps Erik get his fussy daughter to fall asleep.

(Featuring Dadneto, baby Lorna and the struggles of single fatherhood, and Charles as the host of a late night show about genetics.)

Simple and Uncomplicated – Pookaseraph

Summary: Erik and Charles had been fuck buddies for some, but when Charles is in an accident he figured their relationship would be over. Erik's visit to his bedside in the hospital changes his assumptions even as he has trouble believing Erik is sincere.

Guilty by Association – Regann

Summary: While investigating the homicide of a John Doe who he suspects might've been murdered while working the streets as a prostitute, Detective Erik Lehnsherr finds an unexpected ally in a hooker named Charles who seems as determined as he to solve the case. As they become more deeply involved both with the case and each other, there's just one thing that Charles neglects to mention -- that he's really an investigative journalist, one quickly convinced that what they're dealing with is more than simple murder. cop!Erik, fake-hooker-slash-reporter!Charles, Modern AU.

This Is Not Comedy – baehj2915

Summary: Written for amarriageoftrueminds' prompt for a Cherik version of Louis CK's tangent about the fuckability of Ewan McGregor.

Naturally the similarities end there. I made this about Erik's full on public lust-filled gay revelation, and the chaos that spirals from there.

Politico – cygnaut

Summary: Modern Genosha Politics AU. In which Erik is l'enfant terrible of the mutant National Assembly, and his staff just wants to get him laid.

Conspiracy of Kisses –  Alaceron

Summary: Seven-year-old Erik needs to keep his telepathic best friend Charles from finding out that he wants to kiss him. But that's okay, because he has a plan - he'll put on a tinfoil hat.

The Pretender – Clocks

Summary: Charles is sick of having his best friend Erik drop to one knee and fake-propose to him in restaurants, just to score a free dessert. He doesn’t know which is worse: the complete embarrassment, or the likelihood that Erik doesn’t mean a word of it.

Bound – FuryRed

Summary: Is there anything worse than someone else’s wedding? Well, perhaps your sister’s wedding- where the groom just has to invite his boss and that man just happens to be your ex-boyfriend; a person you had an extremely passionate and tumultuous relationship with that ended badly.

Charles hadn’t seen Erik for a year by the time Raven had told him about the wedding. He wasn’t looking forward to the occasion, particularly when Raven explained that they would be celebrating the event with a two-week extravaganza at a luxury hotel, meaning that Charles would be forced to spend a whole fortnight with the man who he’d given everything to; the man who had ultimately broken his heart…

Lonesome On the Shelf – ikeracity

Summary: After three years of marriage, Charles has to admit that his relationship with Erik has significantly cooled off. These days, they're barely ever home at the same time and it seems like every conversation they have turns into an argument. Charles misses the way they used to be, misses the spontaneous dinner parties and the surprise morning sex and the wake up calls in the early mornings to catch the sunrise. But it's going to take two of them to fix this marriage, and some days, it seems as if all Erik wants is to be rid of him.

A fic about rekindling marriage.

Math Reasons – pearl_o, pocky_slash

Summary: "Mom says Erik always knows what he wants, it just sometimes takes him a little while to actually realize it," Ruth said.

Charles fell in love with Erik the first night they met, the first week of freshman year. Two years of friendship, adventures, arguments, hijinks, secrets, and summer visits later, Erik is starting to catch up.

Melted Ice Cream and Macaroni Art – pocky_slash

Summary: Everybody likes Charles. Nobody likes Erik. And that's really the source of Erik's doubts. Also, there's ice cream and a baby.

Watch Your Back – swoopswoop

Summary: Bodyguard AU where Erik is overly protective and things aren't as simple as they seem.

Dress Your Family in Plaid and Skinny Jeans – cygnaut

Summary: Erik and Charles meet at the mutant playgroup/parenting support circle and they instantly hit it off. And so do their kids, Lorna and David.

Continue firm and constant – aesc

Summary: Moira hasn't seen her old partner in saving the world from threats human and intergalactic, Erik Lehnsherr, for a few years. When she finally does see him again, she finds a man different from the one who's been with her down in the dark and the dirt and the blood... or maybe he isn't so different after all.

cradles you and connects you to everything – pocky_slash

Summary: Charles and Erik spend a chilly November afternoon in Manhattan doing not much at all. Also, there are cupcakes, chess, and Feelings.

[mymarvelbunch]

Different Roads... Same Destination: Prologue

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader (established)

Summary: When the Avengers went back in time to get the Infinity Stones, new timelines were created. By not delivering them back to their exact same spots, you and Steve created major changes in those timelines. What happened? (Non-American!Reader)

This is a sequel to “Be Your Own Hero”. I highly recommend you read it first, since it features many major changes in canon that are addressed here.

Notes: Y/N = your (first) name; Y/Co = your home country; Y/Ci = your home city; Y/N/L = your native language (to be ignored in case you speak English).

Masterlist

Prologue

2024

You and Steve have been married for six months, and things couldn’t be better. Your relationship was based on mutual love, respect and admiration, which led to few fights, all resolved quickly. Never go to bed without speaking to each other was one of the first rules you two agreed upon; you heard enough of marriages that ended due to lack of communication to know how big of an issue that could be.

You had finished your residency program not long ago, and were thriving as a psychiatrist. Many people contacted you thanks to your past as ‘honorary Avenger’ (a title coined by Stark and made popular by Romanov). Steve also made good money as artist; the online marketing courses you did together helped a lot.

You would visit the Avengers every now and then, usually using Strange and Wong’s portals. The Stark family moved back to New York and settled in the Avengers compound; Morgan seemed to be as smart as her parents. Natasha had tried living with the Bartons, but soon realized she was a urban person and went back to NY, becoming Morgan’s ‘Aunt Tasha’. Bruce became a college professor, teaching regularly at Columbia and giving lectures across US. Clint retired for good, but stayed working as a professional archer, training young people who aspired to get in the Olympics.

Thor married Sif, passed the crown to Loki and Valkyrie, and left Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy. The couple often visited, though, usually with Nebula, who was still Morgan’s favorite aunt. Carol settled in New Orleans, but often left for missions when the Guardians call her. Rhodey stayed on military service, and Sam kept running VA meetings. Wakanda was prospering, as always, and Princess Shuri often went to NYC to work with Tony on projects. Strange and Wong often got busy training new wizards, though Strange went back to medical practice to earn more money for the Sanctum.

Bucky officially joined the Avengers, and stayed at the compound with the Starks, Natasha, Wanda, the newly-rebuilt Vision, Rhodey, Sam and Peter Parker (who favored Columbia over MIT for college). Nick Fury and Maria Hill also lived there, where they started rebuilding SHIELD. Morgan was beyond excited to have so many people in her new home.

Scott, your first ally in US, married Hope shortly before you married Steve, and was going to be a father again. He went to New York for a baby shower at the compound, and, of course, you and Steve went too.

Somehow, while talking with Bucky and Natasha, the subject of time travel was brought up - more specifically, the fact that Steve went to 1945 to rescue his other self from the ice. “I wonder what that other punk did with his life”, Bucky said.

“I wonder that too”, Steve replied. “I gave him a lot of instructions. Wouldn’t be surprised if he missed something.”

“Do you think we can see it? Like, go to that timeline and see what he did?”

Steve glanced at you. Oh, right. You were the one who knew most about time travel. “It’s a possibility. We’d have to ask Strange and Wong, though. I have no practice in the Mystic Arts, only theoretical knowledge.” As much as the Master in Y/Ci offered to give you formal training, you declined, having no interest in becoming a sorcerer. You still remembered most of your studies from 2020-2021, though.

Without saying a word, Natasha stood up from the couch and approached Strange, who was having a drink. After a brief exchange, she whistled and clapped, getting everyone’s attention. “Movie time, guys! And you will love our picks for today!”

Strange rolled his eyes and sighed, but you smiled anyway. Everyone gathered around the couch you were sitting on, assuming the movie would play on TV. Instead, Strange came to their view and explained.

“Some people here”, he started, looking pointedly at the four of you, “wanted to know what happened in the alternate timelines that were created in the quest to retrieve the Infinity Stones. Although I got considerably weaker after the physical destruction of the Time Stone, Wong and I still have enough power to fulfill such a request.” Then he properly turned to you. “How many timelines?”

You and Steve exchanged glances. After a couple seconds, he answered, “Five.”

Behind you, many voiced their excitement over the prospect of watching the timelines. Sighing, Strange called Wong and sat on the floor. After some silent meditation of their part, something similar to a portal opened, but, instead of showing another place, it showed another time period.

“That’s 2012″, Steve whispered. You leaned forward.

~~

Hey, I’m back! This story has been growing on me

If you don’t know or don’t remember what timelines the Avengers are going to see, here’s a recap:

Mind and Space Stones were retrieved in 2012, right after the Battle of New York, by Steve, Natasha, Clint and Scott. Steve and Reader delivered the Tesseract back, but hid the Mind Stone;

Time Stone was retrieved in 2017, from Strange, by Tony and Rhodey. Steve and Reader gave it back safely;

Soul and Reality Stones were retrieved in 2018, by Carol, Thor and Valkyrie, who battled Thanos in Titan. Steve and Reader left both Stones in Vormir, fully aware that the Reality Stone would no be acquired by whatever sacrifice made to get the Soul Stone (whose return prompted Gamora’s revival);

Power Stone was retrieved in 2014 at Morag by Nebula and Reader. It was buried under the sand at the same planet;

Last, but not least, as mentioned above, Steve went back to 1945 and rescued his past self, giving him instructions to change many canon events in order to create a happier timeline for everyone.

Next parts will mostly feature a narration of these timelines, with brief intermissions. See you soon!

[theliqht]

Why You Should Spend More Time Thinking About best portable keyboard

How are they undertaking this?

They're accessing MOOCs, or Massive Open On the internet Courses. Although platforms have been readily available from elite colleges like MIT and Stanford for nearly ten years, open up-source classes keep on to expand in number and popularity. Now, even some local community colleges like Wake Technical School,Positioned outside Raleigh, NC, gives MOOCs to a world viewers. This increasing availability usually means You can find now an incredible a number of programs accessible to any individual with an Connection to the internet, regardless of spot.

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Some MOOCs are intended to be taken for awareness gained, but a lot of systems also present you with a certificate of completion through websites like Coursera.org. Certificates of completion--that are diverse from system credits--typically Value close to $50. Economic help is offered for those who qualify.

Motives to think about a MOOC

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Discover (or relearn) a language without spending a dime. Not only can you're taking a international language program for free via MOOCs, but because of classes taught at international universities, you can also coach your ear by Hearing native speakers. Have a program taught in the language you need to find out and stick to together using English subtitles. The second method is a great way to effectively double your Discovering, but only works if you already have at least an intermediate grasp from the language.

If learning A further language isn't higher on the to-do listing, possibly it should be: In 2017, New American Economic climate documented employer demand for bilingual personnel a lot more than doubled due to the fact 2010. This need carries on to develop. Most effective languages to review? Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

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Keep to the links in the following paragraphs For more info on lots of MOOC courses. MOOCs are also offered by means of several different academic platforms, which includes Coursera, Udemy, and edX. But MOOCs can be accessed directly by means of Just about every university, and can be found through the use of the next Google search limiting syntax entered into your google search bar:

web page:edu MOOC topic

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Joyful MOOCing!

"Millennials," "Era Y," "The Peter Pan Technology" - they go by many names and had been born roughly between 1980 and 2000.They can be the technology that grew up with smartphones, rear-dealing with cameras, internet etc. They had been at a tender and vulnerable age when Harry Potter to start with took his traveling classes on his magical broom, if they witnessed the great fall of the dual Towers of Globe Trade Centre in Ny city on 9/11. The millennials grew up during the period of mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic mail, text-messaging, mp3 gamers, handheld movie game products, WhatsApp, Facebook/Instagram, YouTube Films, web browsing and what not.

A person this kind of millennial who knocked my socks off was this young girl named Anushka, a teenager in her early twenties. Her white t-shirt with "MILLENNIAL" in large, black, Daring letters just caught our speedy interest and we couldn't halt thinking of her Special Expertise Presentation, below at Nirmiti Academy. The Do-it-yourself (Do It Oneself) Craft was her one of a kind talent. She represented a young confront of the millennials. Additionally, it was her presentation that spoke extra of her like a millennial. She was a real go-getter when it came to current her exceptional talent in a singular way. We could see her beaming with delight and happiness to showcase her exceptional talent to Other people. She was so thrilled that she was talking a mile a minute. She had a great deal to mention about this and she could go on and on and retain us glued to her presentation. The millennials like Anushka and a lot of Many others are enthusiastic to work on points which desire them. Concurrently, I could also see her remaining not able to smile and present herself Fortunately. Long gone will be the times for your millennials wherever they come to feel present and luxuriate in their surroundings. These are the technology who experience the regular need for virtual notice which potential customers them to overshare their life and moments on social websites or go inward in deep conscience to find themselves. This leaves them unconnected Using the Bodily entire world about them.

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They are aware that points is usually effortlessly located on the internet by way of their very own unbiased action. They can be the technology that offers and prosper on information at finger "click on". In a very planet of open up usage of understanding, it can make little feeling to depend on the classroom being a Discussion board for that transfer of knowledge.

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Though These are the foremost workforce of the companies currently, they don't believe in lifelong employment. Lifelong determination is often a fairy tale for that millennials. They always jump from on work to a different as they are constantly in search of some thing new and superior. These large expectations grow to be their downfall and tends to make them significantly less economically stable than their dad and mom.

Millennials are listed here to stay! They're younger, bright and energetic and they ARE the longer term. They are great property which the world will have to harness and use. They are the generation which is revolutionizing the world. They may be the budding leaders of tomorrow. They undertake know-how and stimulus in precisely the same breadth. This technology can also be a collaborative and social era that features a focus on knowledge and building their information as a result of numerous sorts of medium to find out the answers. It can be for that educator like us to deliver an arena for engagement and discovery together with become a content expert and mentor. It is actually for Mastering System providers like Nirmiti Academy to offer an explorative and experiential experience and bring out their genuine opportunity in life and at work. It is this transformational journey that we at Nirmiti Academy sit up for each day to understand, unlearn and relearn with these youthful and magical technology - the Millennials!

[aboutacecareer]

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[nasa]

Meet Our New Flight Directors!

We just hired six new flight directors to join a unique group of individuals who lead human spaceflights from mission control at our Johnson Space Center in Houston.

A flight director manages all human spaceflight missions and related test flights, including International Space Station missions, integration of new American-made commercial spacecraft and developing plans for future Orion missions to the Moon and beyond. 

Only 97 people have served as flight directors, or are in training to do so, in the 50-plus years of human spaceflight. That’s fewer than the over 300 astronauts! We talked with the new class about their upcoming transitions, how to keep calm in stressful situations, the importance of human spaceflight and how to best learn from past mistakes. Here’s what they had to say…

Allison Bollinger

Allison is from Lancaster, Ohio and received a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University. She wanted to work at NASA for as long as she can remember. “I was four-and-a-half when Challenger happened,” she said. “It was my first childhood memory.” Something in her clicked that day. “After, when people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said an astronaut.” 

By high school a slight fear of heights, a propensity for motion sickness and an aptitude for engineering shifted her goal a bit. She didn’t want to be an astronaut. “I wanted to train astronauts,” she said. Allison has most recently worked at our Neutral Buoyancy Lab managing the daily operations of the 40-ft-deep pool the astronauts use for spacewalk training! She admits she’ll miss “the smell of chlorine each day. Coming to work at one of the world’s largest pools and training astronauts is an incredible job,” she says. But she’s excited to be back in mission control, where in a previous role she guided astronauts through spacewalks. 

She’s had to make some tough calls over the years. So we asked her if she had any tips for when something… isn’t going as planned. She said, “It’s so easy to think the sky is falling. Take a second to take a deep breath, and then you’ll realize it’s not as bad as you thought.”

Adi Boulos

Adi is from Chicago, Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. He joined us in 2008 as a member of the very first group of flight controllers that specialize in data handling and communications and tracking systems aboard the space station. 

Most recently he served as the group lead in the Avionics Trainee group, which he loved. “I was managing newer folks just coming to NASA from college and getting to become flight controllers,” he said. “I will miss getting to mentor them from day one.” But he’s excited to start his new role alongside some familiar faces already in mission control. “It’s a great group of people,” he said of his fellow 2018 flight director class. “The six of us, we mesh well together, and we are all from very diverse backgrounds.” 

As someone who has spent most of his career supporting human spaceflight and cargo missions from mission control, we asked him why human spaceflight is so important. He had a practical take. “It allows us to solve problems we didn’t know we had,” he said. “For example, when we went to the moon, we had to solve all kinds of problems on how to keep humans alive for long-duration flights in space which directly impacts how we live on the ground. All of the new technology we develop for living in space, we also use on the ground.”

Marcos Flores

Marcos is from Caguas, Puerto Rico and earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico and an MS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University. Spanish is his first language; English is his second. 

The first time he came to the Continental US was on a trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as a kid! “I always knew I wanted to work for NASA,” he said. “And I knew I wanted to be an engineer because I liked to break things to try to figure out how they worked.” He joined us in 2010 as an intern in a robotics laboratory working on conceptual designs for an experimental, autonomous land rover. He later transitioned to the space station flight control team, where he has led various projects, including major software transitions, spacewalks and commercial cargo missions! 

He shares his new coworkers’ thoughts on the practical aspects of human spaceflight and believes it’s an expression of our “drive to explore” and our “innate need to know the world and the universe better.” But for him, “It’s more about answering the fundamental questions of where we come from and where we’re headed.”

Pooja Jesrani

Pooja graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. She began at NASA in 2007 as a flight controller responsible for the motion control system of the International Space Station. She currently works as a Capsule Communicator, talking with the astronauts on the space station, and on integration with the Boeing Starliner commercial crew spacecraft. 

She has a two-year-old daughter, and she’s passionate about motherhood, art, fashion, baking, international travel and, of course, her timing as a new flight director! “Not only have we been doing International Space Station operations continuously, and we will continue to do that, but we are about to launch U.S. crewed vehicles off of U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle in 2011. Exploration is ramping up and taking us back to the moon!” she said.” “By the time we get certified, a lot of the things we will get to do will be next-gen.”  

We asked her if she had any advice for aspiring flight directors who might want to support such missions down the road. “Work hard every day,” she said. “Every day is an interview. And get a mentor. Or multiple mentors. Having mentorship while you progress through your career is very important, and they really help guide you in the right direction.”

Paul Konyha

Paul was born in Manhasset, NY, and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University, a Master’s of Military Operational Arts and Science from Air University, and an MS in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California. He began his career as an officer in the United States Air Force in 1996 and authored the Air Force’s certification guide detailing the process through which new industry launch vehicles (including SpaceX’s Falcon 9) gain approval to launch Department of Defense (DoD) payloads. 

As a self-described “Star Wars kid,” he has always loved space and, of course, NASA! After retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2016, Paul joined Johnson Space Center as the Deputy Director of the DoD Space Test Program Human Spaceflight Payloads Office. He’s had a rich career in some pretty high-stakes roles. We asked him for advice on handling stress and recovering from life’s occasional setbacks. “For me, it’s about taking a deep breath, focusing on the data and trying not to what if too much,” he said. “Realize that mistakes are going to happen. Be mentally prepared to know that at some point it’s going to happen—you’re going to have to do that self-reflection to understand what you could’ve done better and how you’ll fix it in the future. That constant process of evaluation and self-reflection will help you get through it.”

Rebecca Wingfield

Rebecca is from Princeton, Kentucky and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and an MS in Systems Engineering from the University of Houston, Clear Lake. She joined us in 2007 as a flight controller responsible for maintenance, repairs and hardware installations aboard the space station. 

Since then, she’s worked as a capsule communicator for the space station and commercial crew programs and on training astronauts. She’s dedicated her career to human spaceflight and has a special appreciation for the program’s long-term benefits. “As our human race advances and we change our planet in lots of different ways, we may eventually need to get off of it,” she said. “There’s no way to do that until we explore a way to do it safely and effectively for mass numbers of people. And to do that, you have to start with one person.” We asked her if there are any misconceptions about flight directors. She responded, “While they are often steely-eyed missile men and women, and they can be rough around the edges, they are also very good mentors and teachers. They’re very much engaged in bringing up the next generation of flight controllers for NASA.”

Congrats to these folks on leading the future of human spaceflight! 

You can learn more about each of them HERE. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[jazzinseoul]

Storytime: My Awkward Almost-Romance with My Language Partner

I’m currently on an Amtrak train from NYC -DC, and looking out the window has me feeling angsty and nostalgic.  Plus, being that I have 3.5 hours to kill, now seemed like the perfect time to recount the awkward almost-romance I had with my former Korean language partner. It’s been almost 4 years since this series of unfortunate events happened, and yet it still feels like just yesterday I was making a fool of myself.

PSA WARNING: LONG AND CRINGEY TOWARDS THE END

…

BACKGROUND INFO

It was the fall of my sophomore year of college.  Around mid-September, my Korean professor announced to the class that a coordinator from the Korea WEST program had contacted her about wanting to connect program scholars with our class to do language exchange. At first, not a single person in the class raised their hand. We were all still beginners and could barely communicate anything past basic phrases like “Where is the bathroom?” But eventually, a few of us were guilt-tripped into agreement.

My soon-to-be language partner contacted me via email a few days later, and we agreed to meet at a coffee shop near my university. Before then, we began texting over Kakao Talk. Back then, my Korean skills were even worse than they are now. He would literally send a two-sentence message and it would take me 10 minutes to respond because I was having to look up every other word in my Korean dictionary app. (God Bless You, Naver). Luckily, we were able to converse fairly easy in English when we actually met in person.

To be honest, my first impression of him was pretty neutral. He seemed kind of nerdy but kind. I think we talked for maybe an hour, mostly about my vast knowledge of Korean media and pop culture which seemed to both surprise him and entertain him. Regardless, I was just glad we had something to talk about. Especially since in our previous email this boy had been  wanting to discuss the history of Chinese-Korean relations (what?)

Anyways, it was casual and fun even though quite awkward at times. Afterwards, we agreed to meet every Friday once I’d finished classes. And that’s when things kinda began to take off…I guess.

SURPRISE: I CAUGHT FEELINGS

Being a cancer means that I’m constantly in my feelings, and unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to trigger said feelings. I think it was around the second or third meeting that said feelings were caught. We had met at a coffee shop, per usual. But this time he offered to walk me back to my apartment which wasn’t far from where we had been talking. The sidewalks in the neighborhood were tiny and riddled with signs about parking violations and traffic rules. That being said, it was difficult for us to both stay walking next to each other and I had to keep walking around the signs that stood annoyingly in the middle of the sidewalk. For some reason, he noticed and suggested that we switch sides so that I was no longer inconvenienced. He also used his arm to shield me from oncoming traffic as we crossed the street.

Now any normal person would think that this is just a person with basic human decency and manners. My sensitive ass, on the other hand, was ready to get married right then and there…lol. From that day on, he was in my head 24/7. Friday became my favorite day of the week. I constantly looked at my phone for messages from him. Each time I heard that squeaky Kakao notification, my heart began beating wildly. In other words, I was sick y’all.  Also, each time we met, he insisted on paying for my coffee. I was so shook each time he offered, and it made me like him even more (silly…I know).

It didn’t help that our conversations had gone from lasting one hour to three-four hours at a time. His English was already pretty good (he’d studied abroad in England before) so our time together was mostly to help my Korean.  So I’d bring my Korean books, which he’d help me with for awhile before our conversations somehow got onto some more interesting topic. We would literally just sit at a coffee shop and talk about everything.

In October, I changed my profile picture on Kakao  (I had just got box braids and was feeling myself.) He sent me a message saying that  he noticed that I changed my pic and that I looked pretty. When I tell you a bitch was on the floor. Oh my god. But having never dated in my entire nineteen years of existence, I didn’t know how to respond and quickly changed the topic even though I was screaming on the inside.

SUDDEN DEPARTURE/ A PRECIOUS BITCH

By November, pretty much my entire Korean class had all stopped talking to their language partners except for me. But I knew our time together was coming to an end. Korea WEST scholars were only in the city for six months to attend a language school. In December they were all supposed to move to NY and participate in an internship related to their college major.

But a little before Thanksgiving, I suddenly received a message from him one night after we had met. It read something along the lines off:

“I have bad news. My internship has been moved up and I’m leaving for New York in like a week. We were having so much fun at the coffee shop that I didn’t have the heart to tell you then…etc.”

When I tell you I was heartbroken, y’all. Now to be clear, we had never crossed any lines. We hadn’t done anything that could really be interpreted as romantic. But we had spent a lot of time together and developed a very special friendship.  So, we agreed to meet one last time before he left.

Many things were said, but the highlights were:

“To me, our relationship is very precious.” (His words not mine.)

“In Buddhism, it talks about how people are tied together by ropes. And I feel like the rope between us is very strong.” (Shut the front door.)

“Will you come to NY to visit me?” (BIIIIIITTTTCCHHH)

He walked me back to my apartment and we hugged. After that I didn’t see him for around three months. And that’s when I fucked up.

MEETING (AGAIN) AND DUMBASS DECISIONS

Distance does what it always does and we talked infrequently. I never went to see him in NY, mostly because I was broke and could barely afford paying to my laundry, let alone a bus ticket. He had talked about wanting to come into town for the annual cherry blossom festival. He finally set a date to come down, and in the weeks leading to his arrival we began talking often again.

Honestly, back then I don’t remember much of what was said because he was talking in Korean more and I didn’t understand many of the things that were said—especially when they were ambiguous in nature. Plus, my Korean wasn’t good enough to understand the nuances of the language. So anytime he said something that I thought could be flirty I doubted my interpretation. My self image back then was terrible and I just couldn’t believe that a Korean man could be interested in a chubby, black girl like myself. I was the polar opposite of the Korean standard beauty. Plus, I had a history of one-sided crushes. And felt that this wasn’t going to be any different.

Anyways, he came back into town and we met, spending basically the entire day together. First we went to a coffee shop. Then we went to an art museum. Next we went to the cherry blossom festival. The weather was fantastic so we stopped on a bench and ate chocolate he had brought me; plus, fed some random squirrel that had taken a liking to us. Afterwards we walked for about 20-30 minutes back in the direction of my campus. We grabbed dinner at a random spot, and that’s when things began to get awkward. I’m not sure exactly why. By then, we had spent at least 6 hours together and conversation had been flowing easily. But suddenly we were each saying nothing and both began scrolling on our phones.

Afterwards, we continued walking unintentionally in the direction of my apartment which is near a movie theater. He began to hint at wanting to see a movie, but I was so overwhelmed by nerves and butterflies and awkwardness that I just pretended I didn’t hear him and began speed-walking to my apartment. And then, suddenly, I was at my front door. (GAWD)

He waved bye to me and quickly walked away.

And that was the end. Well…kind of until we met again 6 months later in Seoul.

Moral of the story is…I’m dumb. If you agree, please like, comment, and subscribe.

[frcmashes]

 In  LAS VEGAS, NV I found EMRYS CROSS, a child with the ability of TELEKINESIS / TELEKINETIC BLASTS. At first HE came off as STANDOFFISH but they also seemed RESOURCEFUL. I was unable to procure the child, as an adult, they should resemble SAM CLAFLIN.  ( c, she/her )

hey hi hello everyone!  back at it again with a new muse.  this is my trash son, emrys/rhys, and i hope you guys like him skgshsgss.  hmu here or on discord if you want to plot !!

       TW: description of war, PTSD, description of violence, alcoholism. 

&. basics

full name: emrys arlo cross

nicknames: rhys, cross

age: 29

sexuality:  bisexual

relationship status: single

date of birth: october 1

place of birth:  reno, NV

gender & species: cismale, enhanced humanoid(?)

current location:  brooklyn, ny

&. more basic info

languages: english, french, spanish.

religion: christian - united

education: high school diploma, 12 weeks at the police academy, 1 year EMT-B training. 

military service: 3 years active duty, 2 years desk duty.  

occupation: personal security / paramedic / EMT

drinks, smokes, & drugs: no, yes, no.

&. personality

zodiac sign: ( references: one, two ) libra

mbti: ( reference link ) intj

likes:  breakfast for dinner, pokemon go, board games, trashy romance novels, game of thrones, motorcycles, crossword puzzles.

dislikes:  city driving, the bar scene, city traffic, jaywalking, ebooks, coffee, sour candy. 

bad habits:  neurotic over-analyzing

secret talent:  he can recite the entire ‘ to be or not to be ‘ monologue from hamlet 

hobbies: restoring classic cars, doing puzzles. 

fears: persecution, loss of loved ones, discovery of his abilities on a broad scale.

five positive traits: determined, honest, loyal, resourceful & strong-willed.

five negative traits: standoffish, reserved, indecisive, stubborn.

other mentionable details:   rhys is a recovering alcoholic.  he has been sober for about a year. he went through AA and attributes his sobriety to the program. 

&. appearance

tattoos: n/a

piercings: n/a

faceclaim: sam claflin

&. family information

parent names: sarah & serena cross ( birth mom: arlo cross )

parent relationship:  rhys is close to all of his mothers.  his birth mother arlo was 18 years old when she gave birth to him.  as such, her older sister sarah ( and her wife serena ) legally adopted him.  he was raised by all three women, though his birth mother was more of an aunt figure than a mother. 

sibling names:  he has a younger half sister and a half brother.  his sister is 8 years younger than him, and his brother is 6 years younger.  

sibling relationship: rhys tried to stay in contact with his siblings, even when life took him out of NV, but it wasn’t always easy.  the three siblings are closer now that they’re adults but as kids they weren’t the closest. 

other relevant relative: uncle ( arlo’s husband ), and a sister-in-law ( married to his younger brother )

children: n/a

significant other / spouse: n/a

pets: n/a

&. biography

        emrys was born on the rainiest day of the season.  his mother was at home, watching television, when he arrived.  to say the cross family were shocked would have been an understatement.  since arlo was only 18 years old, her older sister sarah ( + her wife serena ) agreed to adopt the baby.  arlo knew she wanted kids, knew she felt some sort of love for this baby that had been placed in her arms, but at 18 she knew that she wasn’t ready.  so serena and sarah moved in nearby, arlo played the role of doting aunt, and the three ladies raised emrys — or rhys, as he preferred to be called — to be the strong, loving, and kind person he turned out to be.  

     at 18 years old, rhys surprised his entire family by announcing his intention to enlist in the army.  when the twin towers fell in 2001, rhys could remember the way his stomach plummeted.  seeing such devastation on US soil, seeing a country in ruin, stuck with him even at a young age.  he joined ROTC in high school and eventually went on to enlist in the army.  he made it through basic training and was deployed in iraq for 2 years before an injury saw him medevaced home.  he spent the greater part of the next year recovering from a blast that had nearly killed him when his convoy was attacked.  as one of the only survivors, rhys lived with a lot of survivor’s guilt and struggled to find his place.  he finished out his desk duty and left the army on good terms.  he was officially diagnosed with PTSD and made the choice to move away from nevada to start over.

     so here’s the thing about rhys’ powers.  they didn’t manifest until late in life.  like, very late.  there were a few moments when he was younger that strange things happened, things he couldn’t explain, but when he TRIED to replicate what had happened ?  nothing.  it was only when pieces of shrapnel were about to rip through his face that he was able to throw his hands up, the pieces halting in mid-air as he was thrown through the window of their military vehicle.  his back was ripped to shreds, pain nearly suffocating him.  but he was alive.  he was alive, and they were dead.  somehow, he’d managed to stop the shrapnel from hitting him, long enough to crawl out of the wreckage and the line of fire.  it was there, on his stomach, that he wondered if this was god’s mercy or god’s wrath.  he’d been given the ability to save himself, but not to save the others.  it was too late for them.  it didn’t seem fair.  

     but new york was a fresh start.  new york didn’t remind him of the funerals, of flags handed over to grieving families while his own rejoiced that he was alive.  he’d survived, but alive wasn’t something he necessarily felt.  new york was an opportunity to do things better;  to be better.  so he decided to figure out what the FUCK these powers were and how he could use them to help people.  he enrolled in the police academy but ended up leaving the program.  it was more politics than he wanted to deal with and he knew there were more efficient ways he could use his powers - and his skills - to help people.  he ended up taking a temporary job as personal security for a tech guru and ended up enjoying the job so much he deferred education for over a year.  then he scaled back to part-time while he studied to be an EMT and completed the training program.  currently he is a paramedic / EMT in new york and has an apartment in brooklyn.  i say he has an apartment  but he spends most of his time working, at the gym, or picking up extra shifts and hours as part of ariella bellefleur’s personal security team.

      when the academy called, at first rhys thought it was a joke.  of course he’d read the news articles, knew about the umbrella academy, but he’d never thought for a second that HE might be one of them. sure, he had powers, and over the years he’d finally figured out how to control them, but the idea that there were 42 people out there who were just like him? it seemed insane.  seeing it in person was even more insane, honestly.  if he hadn’t seen the other 42 with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.  seeing as he already lived in the city it hasn’t been uncommon to see him stopping by the academy just to take a look behind the curtain.  he imagines its what people would feel if they sat on the iron throne;  a part of something bigger, something that just might be kind of wonderful. 

[psitrend]

Interview with Glass Artist Meng Du

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2020/06/10/interview-with-glass-artist-meng-du/

Interview with Glass Artist Meng Du

She is a glass artist that captures with her artworks untouchable moments that she would not like to forget.

Meng Du graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts’s Graphic Design department, Beijing, fell in love with glass after seeing Chihuly’s exhibition and moved to the U.S.A. for M.A. in Glass Making at Rochester Institute of Technology. In June 2016, she had her first solo exhibition in New York. The same year, she won an Honorable Mention for The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa in Kanazawa, Japan. In 2018 she got a solo exhibition at Shanghai Museum of Glass, as the youngest artist whoever has a solo show there. This year she won the 2018 Saxe Emerging Artist Award at 48th Glass Art Society Conference, Venice, Italy. She has been teaching as the Adjunct Faculty at the Central Academy of Fine Arts since 2016. Her work has continued to exhibit in China, Europe, and in the United States. She recently has participated in Mind the Gap, a group show about different generations of female Chinese Contemporary Artists at Delaware Museum of Contemporary Art, and had her recent second solo show in New York, Meng Du: Embers, at the Fou Gallery.

Official site | Fou Gallery

I was very impressed by your “Artist statement”. Can you tell us how this affirmation of yours leads you to choose the path of art glassmaking? Can you tell us about your beginnings?

While I was working on my thesis project in my senior year in college, I was the only student in my studio who chose to collaborate with my hands more than software. I engraved all my printing wax plates myself, and hand-printed every single page of my design with a “low-tech” stencil printer I found on Taobao. All of my failures and unexpected surprises pushed me to continue exploring. Since then I found I am very interested in all kinds of process which are related to practicing with my hands and time. My first trip to the United States introduced me to many amazing museums and galleries. It was the first time I found glass could be introduced as an art language in a museum setting. Soon after I returned to China, I began to look up for the graduate programs in glass in the states and that’s how my path got to lead to RIT which located in Rochester, NY.

Ripple © Meng Du

How long did it take you to learn? Did you find any difficulties that made you ask if it was your right path, during your training?

For kiln-working and cold-working techniques, it took me about a year to feel comfortable working by myself. For glass blowing, it took me a very long time, almost three years, to get used to the heat and feel more confident working in the hot shop. Besides broken glass and failed experiments piled up in my studio space, cuts and blisters were my good working buddies too. Not even mention about my poor English skills at the beginning of my graduate study, which made it extra harder to make little progress in my study. It was a rough year, to be honest, but I am very proud that I survived. Of course, I question myself a lot every once in a while, even today. Glass has many unique characteristics, challenging and unpredictable, sometimes it could really give me a headache, but after all, it’s an amazing journey to get to know the nature of this incredible material little by little.

There is a quiet beauty in the moment that triggers personal memories. I am interested in preserving memories and keeping a record of them so they do not fade over time. I also want to show memories in decay, as a way of memorializing them and showing the process of their slow disappearance from our consciousness. Collecting and drawing found objects are the ways I record my life. With a natural instinct to extract meaning from narrative, I also find these activities to be the inspiration of my work. I incorporate the drawings and illustrations, which come from my personal life experience into the surface treatment and imaging techniques of glass. To represent the nostalgic feeling and memories of certain times and places that I do not want to let go of.” – Meng Du

Place © Meng Du

What fascinates you most about the various steps in glass processing? What feelings did you experience when you finished your first creation?

To be able to shape the glass with temperature and time, I believe that’s the most fascinating parts about working with glass. As I mentioned in the previous question, my English was broken when I just started grad school. When I had difficulties to express myself verbally, it forced me to learn how to express myself visually. And I felt so relieved after finishing my first work.

Not only because I finally made it, but also the work was helping me telling the stories about myself.

Meng Du, I Hope Everything is Fine with You, 2019. Glass, copper foil, 8.1 x 0.2 x 6.1 inches. Photograph by Peichao Lin © Meng Du, courtesy Fou Gallery

Unlike other art forms, glass is a substance that you can’t touch with your hands when you are working with it. Can you tell us about your relationship with the material?

Under most of the circumstances, to be able to manipulate glass when it’s hot, tools are very necessary. But before practicing how to use the tools, observation is more essential during the learning process to me. A good eye helps me to understand the logic behind every step: the temperature charts, gravity, and all the details that affect my work…etc. Gradually, tools become part of my body, as an extension of my gestures and movement. Then everything starts to flow smoothly. The state of glass could be changed between liquidity and solidity depending on the temperature. It is such a magical material that shows the nature of sensitiveness, fragility, yet at the same time, it could also be strong and powerful. It balances itself. I see the glass as a good friend and a life mentor, who enlightens me in every way about life. Most importantly, glass introduces me to embrace things in a more equilibrious way.

The sadness, fear and even hope that has always existed there, intertwined and fleeting. The narrative glass pieces not only record the artist’s life experience, but also portray a sophisticated, but the refreshing world through the various shining forms of glass.

Meng Du blowing glass at Shanghai Museum of Glass. Photography by Eugene Neduv © Meng Du, courtesy Fou Gallery

While the material is a liquid, and then it turns into a solid, it’s like a sort of magic. What are the main difficulties in making artwork with glass?

To learn the whole working theory of glass, I need to run lots of tests and spend thousands of hours in the shops for practice. It’s a very time-consuming process that requires patience. I can’t guarantee every day is a good day. Things may go wrong at any moment, sometimes it could be frustrating when I have to look at my work blow up in front of my face after hours of hard work. It could be difficult to deal with, and it takes some time to get used to it for sure. And that’s how I learned when I need to take things easy and give some space to myself and glass. Usually, things get a lot better after taking a break from the studio. Stay calm then try it one more time!

Meng Du, Love, 2019. Glass, copper foil, 6.5 x 0.2 x 5.7 inches. Photograph by Peichao Lin. © Meng Du, courtesy Fou Gallery

Your work requires precision. Do you reflect on the processing techniques? Have you ever felt worried about possible dangers during work processing?

I do. I am not very good at social. That’s probably why I found myself very comfortable working by myself in the kiln shop, which requires lots of patience and time, taking forever to go through all the process… Above all, I could touch the clay and plaster and most of the materials for sculpting. It’s a “beginner-friendly” technique for me in my earlier studio practice. While I am working in the kiln shop, it also gives me enough time to think before moving to the next step. I got injured pretty frequently when I was a beginner (…Ouch!). I then became very cautious and always stayed alert from the potential false manipulations. Not being hurt is also considered being professional, isn’t it?

Her glassworks contains something hidden and mysterious inside. They are touchable fantasies from the artist’s personal memories.

Breathing © Meng Du

Glass transmits dainty, fragility but also solidity and protection. From your artworks, we can see transparency, clarity, a point of view, new and unusual. Do these characteristics represent you? What do you want to communicate with those who approach your artworks?

Yes, I believe so. When the light passing through glass, it may be translated into all kinds of emotions. To me, it’s the most touching part of working with glass. And it is probably why my works are so subtle and narrative. That one blink could be represented as time or soul, or it could certainly be anything… Every viewer has a different background with a unique perspective about the world, which may help them to follow that shining moment and recall their memories or stories about the past.

I see my works as “windows”. And I hope the viewers could see through the glass as an observer, or look into the eyes of themselves from the reflection on the mirror.

Meng Du is blowing glass at Shanghai Museum of Glass, 2019. Photograph by Xinglin Yin ©Meng Du, courtesy Shanghai Museum of Glass

You realize diverse explorations of art with glass. Your works range from painting, sculpture to installation. What else might surprise those who probably don’t know the art of the glass?

Thank you! I don’t know the answer yet… hmm… Today the technology is blurring the boundaries of all kinds of media. The way how people work with glass has been changing in the past decades as well. For example, instead of drawing on glass sheets with enamels by hand, we can now silk-print high-temperature enamels or glass powder on the sheets then fuse them to show the patterns in different layers.

I am always curious about how glass could collaborate with other materials or techniques for more possibilities. It’s exactly what’s I am moving towards.

Glass can break or shatter if subjected to relatively small changes or bumps. Even people during life are facing this issue.

Flashback Recall © Meng Du

You have had several professional experiences in different parts of the world (Latvia, Lithuania, UK, Italy, NY). Have these experiences influenced and changed your artistic philosophy and the way you see glass making?

2018 was a special year. I had four trips to Europe in the second half of the year, which was quite unusual for me. Before I returned to China in 2016, I barely knew any artists from Europe or have seen people working in the studios outside of the states. These trips not only widen my world but introduced me so many talented artists and educators and even the random people I met through the journey. It was so fascinating to visit various studios and programs, to learn how people work in the shops in different areas. Sometimes language is not working that well since English is both our second language, but it’s totally fine because we could always share with the same language of glass~ isn’t it amazing? I didn’t get much chance to see stain-glass windows in the Cathedrals or churches when I was living in the states. Therefore, when I was in Europe, I was very glad that I finally got a chance to look at them so closely. When the colorful shadows painted on the floor through the glass, the whole space was filled with a marvelous atmosphere which is hard to express orally. And I believe they did influence me in my future works like the Letter series and Ripple series that I showed at the FOU gallery.

Mail © Meng Du

What did it mean to you to have your solo exhibition at the Shanghai Museum of Glass, as the youngest artist whoever has a solo show?

A momentous mark in my career. It was a very very big deal to me when I got the official invitation from SHMoG. And I appreciate the opportunity to work with them and to learn from them through one and half a year of the exhibition preparation process. With their help, my works were more open to the public but personal, plus, I completed my first large installation with sound.

I am very happy about how the result turned out.

Embrace © Meng Du

Embrace © Meng Du

You are a female glassmaker working in a traditional industry that had a predominant space for males. What do you think are the most important skills in this profession? Have you seen the number of women increase, during your years of activity?

Persistence, traveling and embracing the difficulties. Yes, a lot! Artists, curators, and galleries staff, most of the people I work with are brilliant females in this field. In 2017, I was the TA for Aya Oki’s class at Pilchuck school of glass (WA). Throughout the whole summer, there were 6 sessions of workshops and every session had different professional gaffer teams for assisting visiting artists for their works. I remembered we were all very proud that it was a girl-power year~ All the gaffers chosen for the summer sessions were female glass blowers, which was super awesome! I also visited Japan quite often in the past three years. I did residencies at Aichi University of Education for two times in both 2017 and 2019. Most of the students in the class were girls too. And there are similar situations in the glass programs in China too. 70-80% present of students are girls. I am truly looking forward to seeing more female Chinese young glass artists showing worldwide in the future!

Photos courtesy of Meng Du and Fou Gallery

#FouGallery, #GlassArt

[fan-think]

Second part translation of a french podcast with Timothée Chalamet

Second looooong part. But better than the first one in my opinion

Once again my english is not perfect AND his french is not perfect either so the meaning of some sentences might seem weird. Sorry for that.

A: Timothée Chalamet this morning, a few days from the Oscars where he is nominated for his role in CMBYN, the movie is released in France at the same time as Lady Bird of Greta Gerwig

T: Oh yeah, that’s true they are released at the same time here.

A: Yes, and France discovers you, you are French American. What is the most french in you? T: Supporter of Saint-Etienne (the soccer team)

A: And where and how did you discover France?

T: My father is french, I spend my summers there so I didn’t “discover” France, it’s since I’m a conscious person, since I’m a human, France is a part of my life.

A: You speak french…

T: At home, in New York, while growing up my father, he was speaking to me in french I would answer in french and in english, here today it’s the first day I’m back in France since a very long time so once again I apologize for those listening, I do a lot of mistakes

A: That’s fine

T: Like grammatical mistakes, “le” supposed to be “la” and conversely.

A: What memories do you have of your summers spend in France? T: Honestly, it’s a lot like CMBYN. Spending time without internet pressure, showbusiness pressure…

A: Was is a source of inspiration?

T: Yes absolutely. Above all the breakfast scene in the movie where we all eat together, the kind of life that is not so stressful, without pressure, just slow and relax. A: What is interesting in this movie, which is a feelings/sensations movies like you where almost saying is also that you speak english, french and italian in it. How is it to switch from one language to the other for you?

T: Italian was not as interesting for me than english and french because I don’t speak italian, so acting in a language you don’t speak is like giving yourself to the universe hands and you hope it’s going to be alright. I loved acting in french because I was feeling less pressured (the meaning is blurry here), because in english the words are so close to me, I think I lose some awareness of what is said in the scene. While in french the words are more powerful, it’s not the mother tongue.

A: And personality changes too

T: Yes, in french I’m less confident, because there is more insecurities.

A: At least this movie what a place to learn because you also learned how to play the piano and guitar, I even think seen you play bass in Lady Bird, what is left today from this learning of music?

T: No, it’s one of the great gift of acting but when you have the obligation to learn something for a movie like learning how to play the piano or speak italian, it’s useful during the movie but once the movie is over… there is no reason to continue.

A: Somehow, speaking of music, apparently you rap..

T: (laughing) No I retired.

A: You’re not gonna get away like this. What kind of rap inspires you? We receive a lot of rappers here.

T: Really?

A: Yeah

T: Really? I love hip-hop but it wasn’t an inspiration for cmbyn…

A: And french rap?

T: In french there is Booba (laughing again, he is not a great rapper), everyone is gonna turn off the radio now

A: No, when we grow up in NY in 2000’s, what do we listen to?

T: Lot of Eminem. The first album I bought was Get Rich or Die Tryin’ by 50 Cent and I bought an explicit version and my sister was like Why are you buying the explicit version? My sister who lives in Paris, who’s an incredible actress, and maybe she is listening right now so if you’re listening Pauline, I love you and thank you for being the best sister in the world

A: We’re close to 100% cuteness right now. And about Mary J Blige she is nominated in best supporting role and best music for -

T: Mudbouhb ! Oh shit !! I did see the supporting actress but- I, that is great!

A: So if you’re together on the red carpet what song would you-

T: It already happened, watch the video at the SAG awards

A: Well for now, let’s listen to her, Family Affair

(the song plays)

A: Cham cham cham, Chalamet! And not Chamalet or chamallow

T: The most common mistake is Chamalet

A: See how we are (people in general) wanting to make french stars more french than they really are… but at the same time we are right, those curly hair, those green eyes, delicate features, this teen beauty, this nonchalance, he has a green sweater and a small necklace under a grey tee-shirt, nominated at the Oscars for Best actor for (talks about the movie) What importance do you give to the body in a role?

T: It depends on the movie. For CMBYN there was a big blessing while doing this movie is that… it’s filmed a lot in wide shots so it’s a bit like a show or a play meaning it’s not the close up or intellectual dialogues that tell the story but more a physical dialogue between the characters. And it was the same for Greta Gerwig because it gives more to the acting performance as well.

A: And what kind of exercises do you give to your body to play a character? So prepare yourself to see how your character moves?

T: I’m gonna answer just like Edie Falco, an amazing actress. She answered to a classmate when we were 15, she said, “I don’t know but I do”.

A: Do we have to be comfortable with our body to play a character?

T: Yes and no. I can think of very funny performances in the US and in France too like Louis Defunès who are not by definition comfortable with their body

A: But they knew how to move

T: But my mother was a dancer so I was fortunate to spend time in dance classes while growing up, watching classes my mother gave.

A: I also ask you this question because CMBYN is not empty of sensuality. I think of one epic scene, magnificent, incredible scene where the young hero masturbate with a peach, how do we approach such a scene?

T: I hope people know I’m serious when I say that the prescription for an actor is to play with most sincerity possible, and wondering how such a scene would really happen

A: Because you studied acting. Is this the lesson you remember and always keep in mind when you play? To give the truth?

T: Yes and I hope it’s not a cliché but it’s mostly with Marlon Brando in the 70s, well A Streetcar Named Desire was the first one, he also changed acting rules because it was not anymore showing emotion but living emotion( hard to translate to make sens here)then Meryl Streep worked with voice coaches then Matthew McConaughey lose weight, so now you have the prescription to make all those kind of exercices.

A: Why did you want to be an actor actually?

T: I don’t know if it’s a bad answer but I just couldn’t not do it.

A: Was there a scene in particular you think of ? You talk a lot about The Master

T: It’s the best contemporary acting I’ve seen in a movie and I’m sure I’m naif now but the scene where Joaquin Pheonix is interrogated and he is asked not to blink and i’m not even gonna try to describe the scene because you just have to watch it. Other formative scene is the scene between Christian bale and The Joker in The Dark Knight in the interrogation room once again

A: You have something with interrogation scene.

T: (laughting) Yes exactly.

(We hear The Master scene I think)

T: What’s great in scenes in an interrogation room is that it’s almost like an acting exercise because it’s often people across a table who are forced to look at each other and communicate with just one look.

A: French movies who inspired/trained you?

T: Yes, La Grande Vadrouille, Les 400 coups, Lol, La Boom, La Vie d’Adèle (Blue Is the Warmest Colour);

T: Your favorite french movie?

A: Maybe La Boom because I saw this movie with a french girl I liked a lot

T: See what the cinema is all about… Thank you so much for coming here.

A: Thanks for having me, thank you for everybody listening wondering who’s this guy that can’t speak french

[astralgloss]

im a curious meanie so 1-134 muhahaha you get to relive the hell i just went through

etab i haTE U

1: Name

my name is marit lol but please just keep it mar

2: Age

i am 17 but i’ll b 18 in 2 months!!!!

3: 3 Fears

the dark, complete and utter loneliness, and clowns

4: 3 things I love

books, forest fruit tea, the sound of rain

5: 4 turns on

a nice smile that reaches the eyes, a nice smell, having a dog ngl, a soft touch

6: 4 turns off

extreme arrogance, insisting to pay for my meal if i want to pay bc its “what a man should do”, forcing lifestyles on me, not caring about my interests

7: My best friend

she does have tumblr but idk it but hey demi if u ever see this ur the bomb.com

8: Sexual orientation

im bi fam

9: My best first date

my bf and i went to amsterdam to go shopping and he followed me everywhere (even the bookshop even though he hates books) and idk i just love him it was a nice day

10: How tall am I

im 1,65m or 5′4″ but i can and will kick ur ass

11: What do I miss

nothing really??

12: What time was I born

ok so i asked my mom and she said i was born on a tuesday at exactly 12pm but i bet she’s lying

13: Favorite color

yellow!! im basic!!

14: Do I have a crush

well i sure hope so @ boyfriend

15: Favorite quote

to the stars who listen, and the dreams that are answered

16: Favorite place

my bf’s house tbh, specifically his bed

17: Favorite food

pizza, specifically the hot chicken one from ny pizza

18: Do I use sarcasm

nah fam (ofc i do im a little shit)

19: What am I listening to right now

god is a woman by ariana grande

20: First thing I notice in new person

how they look at other people when those people don’t notice it

21: Shoe size

38/39 idk the other size lol sorry 

22: Eye color

its blue but it changes with my mood (oh my god im so sorry im kidding please don’t hate me)

23: Hair color

im a blondie

24: Favorite style of clothing

sth casual but also a bit towards the punkish style, but i also rlly love looking tiny and soft and cute lol

25: Ever done a prank call?

ok so there’s this hotline for kids who have troubles with their parents and families but it was a shit hotline tbh so once i called it up with my friends pretending i was crying and the man on the phone asked me what was wrong so i told him that all my friends had fire type pokemon and i only had grass type pokemon and they kept beating me and i didnt know what to do and then man was so confused it was funny af

27: Meaning behind my URL

idk man i wanted a name that could b easy to remember and i was inspired by ridgeport tbh

28: Favorite movie

the perks of being a wallflower

29: Favorite song

Fav song atm is anything from p!atd's newest album and my fav song of all time is probably train of consequences by megadeth

30: Favorite band

megadeth lol

31: How I feel right now

pretty good but also annoyed bc i have to go to work in half an hour :(

32: Someone I love

my bf

33: My current relationship status

if u guys havent noticed by now im taken

34: My relationship with my parents

p ok

35: Favorite holiday

halloween/christmas

36: Tattoos and piercing i have

I have my ears pierced and thats it lol

37: Tattoos and piercing i want

i rlly want a few bookish related tattoos, like a tiny raven, a little lightning bolt, and the city of velaris and then i also rlly want a sleeve tbh but imma be a teacher and idk if i can :/ about piercings: i rlly want a helix or tragus and maybe get second holes in my hearlobes

38: The reason I joined Tumblr

ok so ive been on tumblr for about 5 years and initially it was bc i was Depressed™ and then about a year ago i found out about simblr and i was hooked

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?

tbh i dont even talk to him anymore i dont rlly care about him in any way

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?

yes bih

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?

hes my bf so yea lol

42: When did I last hold hands?

wednesday

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

about 45 minutes bc im lazy and i keep getting distracted

44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?

nope

45: Where am I right now?

in bed lol

46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

either my bf or my best friend

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

depends on where i am

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

mom

49: Am I excited for anything?

tbh moving out but thats gonna take a few more years

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

*insert bf here*

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?

every time im at work lol

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?

wednesday

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

lol bye

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

nope

55: What is something I disliked about today?

the fact that i have to work a day shift instead of an evening shift

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

my internet friends tbh it’d be cool to meet all the people from my bookish discord or from @booptherat​‘s discord

57: What do I think about most?

what book i should read next

58: What’s my strangest talent?

i can finish a book in about 4 hours

59: Do I have any strange phobias?

not rlly? i hate the whole asmr thing tho ew

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind lol

61: What was the last lie I told?

i dont remember tbh

62: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

neither lol

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

look im not saying that believing that we’re the only living species in the entire universe is narcissistic, but it is. also dont fuck with ghosts

64: Do I believe in magic?

hell yes

65: Do I believe in luck?

hell yes

66: What’s the weather like right now?

idk probably cloudy and windy

67: What was the last book I’ve read?

fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury 

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?

nah not rlly

69: Do I have any nicknames?

i guess mar?

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

when i was 2 i fell from sth and slammed the corner of my eye onto the corner of a table and i couldve been blind but thank god im not

71: Do I spend money or save it?

both 

72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue?

yup

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feet from me?

post it notes

74: Favorite animal?

doggg

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

reading lol

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?

idk man

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

i gotta feeling by the black eyed peas lol

78: How can you win my heart?

give me a samoyed and a 1000 books

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

“a boss ass bitch”

80: What is my favorite word?

fuck?

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr

@cubersims​ @imvikai​ @ridgeport​ @cowplant-pizza​ @bloomlet​ @tiptoptab​

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

spend fiddies, pet kitties, hold tiddies

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?

not that i know of lol

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

the power to choose whatever power i want at any moment

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

“do you like working here?”

86: What is my current desktop picture?

its an august background from @emmastudies​

87: Had sex?

yes

88: Bought condoms?

no

89: Gotten pregnant?

no

90: Failed a class?

yes

91: Kissed a boy?

yup, i’ve been kissing my bf for about 2,5 years now lol

92: Kissed a girl?

yup, i’m living the bisexual dream lol

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

yes

94: Had job?

yes, im working at a movie theater right now!!

95: Left the house without my wallet?

tbh all the time now that i can pay with my phone

96: Bullied someone on the internet?

yea i used to but that was when i was 12 and i’d like to say that i’ve grown a lot in the past 5 years

97: Had sex in public?

nope

98: Played on a sports team?

yes

99: Smoked weed?

nope, even though i live like 20 minutes away from amsterdam lol

100: Did drugs?

nope

101: Smoked cigarettes?

nope

102: Drank alcohol?

yupppp, i love me some raspberry cider

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?

nope

104: Been overweight?

nope

105: Been underweight?

nope

106: Been to a wedding?

yup

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?

lol all the time tbh

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?

yup

109: Been outside my home country?

yup, however never outside of europe tho

110: Gotten my heart broken?

a few times

111: Been to a professional sports game?

yess, i saw the dutch female volleyball team once!

112: Broken a bone?

nope

113: Cut myself?

yes

114: Been to prom?

we dont do prom in the netherlands lol

115: Been in airplane?

yes

116: Fly by helicopter?

nope

117: What concerts have I been to?

k3 (only dutchies and belgians remember this), one direction, megadeth, and ed sheeran

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

yupp

119: Learned another language?

i mean im from the netherlands and im fluent in english thanks to myself

120: Wore make up?

yuppp

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?

yes

122: Had oral sex?

lol yes

123: Dyed my hair?

nope

124: Voted in a presidential election?

not old enough to vote :(

125: Rode in an ambulance?

nope

126: Had a surgery?

nope

127: Met someone famous?

nope

128: Stalked someone on a social network?

nope

129: Peed outside?

a few times lol

130: Been fishing?

nope

131: Helped with charity?

yep

132: Been rejected by a crush?

a few times

133: Broken a mirror?

lol yes

134: What do I want for birthday?

some books, money, cake, more books, makeup

[studiosamuelfoundation]

STUDIO SAMUEL CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL 2021

Second Annual Virtual Event on October 10 Shines a Light on 

Studio Samuel’s Training for Tomorrow Class of 2021!

studiosamuel.org/idg2021

[New York, NY – October 7, 2021] New York/Addis Ababa-based NGO and non-profit organization Studio Samuel, which empowers girls in Ethiopia to reach their potential through education and employable skills, is participating in International Day of the Girl (October 11), for the tenth year, with its second global event. The virtual celebration will shine a light on Studio Samuel’s Class of 2021, with 100 girls completing the two-year Training for Tomorrow program this year. Esteemed journalist, activist and organizer Hannah Joy Gebresilassie is hosting the International Day of the Girl event on Sunday, October 10, 8pm East Africa Time / 5pm BST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. 

Studio Samuel’s event and the organization’s mission run parallel to UNICEF’s International Day of the Girl theme “Digital Generation, Our Generation,” which calls for bolder solutions to gender inequality at a time when girls are more likely to be cut off from internet access at home. UNICEF cites that “the gender gap for global internet users grew from 11% in 2013 to 17% in 2019. In the world’s least developed countries, it hovers around 43%.” Moreover, girls are less likely to gain access to tech-related skills and jobs. 

Studio Samuel is dedicated to breaking down barriers that have created inequity and exclusion for generations, and its Training for Tomorrow curriculum is modeled around employable skills, including coding coursework first incorporated in the Training for Tomorrow Computer Lab in 2016. Now in 2021, the organization is in its first phase of launching the Studio Samuel Language Lab. Said graduating  student Beiment, “My favorite class at Studio Samuel is Computer Lab because I plan to be a software engineer.”

Over a time when educators around the world have had to be resourceful with access to coursework due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Studio Samuel brought the Language Lab to life through its Youth Ambassador Imogen, based in Jurien Bay, Australia, who has been speaking weekly via Zoom with Studio Samuel student Nobel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The exchange opened up as a way to bring English language skills to students through digital reading lessons. Nobel and Imogen are now forever friends, sharing their cultures, local news and plenty of joy and laughter. With proof of concept, the next phase of the Language Lab will bring on more university-attending female youth leaders to provide digital literacy components and impact more students. During the Studio Samuel International Day of the Girl virtual event, Imogen and Nobel will speak to UNICEF’s theme “Digital Generation, Our Generation,” and will illustrate their experience with staying connected, growing and learning during the global pandemic. Additionally, Imogen will be featured with the International Day of the Girl organization’s Girls Speak Out programming, which will be played at a girl-led roundtable discussion with UN representatives and partners on “Closing the Digital Divide to Accelerate Opportunity.” 

Studio Samuel’s event also will see special guests giving recognition to students, including Studio Samuel's Global Ambassador, multi-faceted artist, and Founder of The White Feather Foundation, Julian Lennon, who will narrate a student’s poem illustrating her first-hand account with child labor, further raising awareness for the importance of girls having access to education. Adds philanthropist Kennedy Odede of SHOFCO, “Studio Samuel has developed a comprehensive program for girls in Ethiopia and  their work is just amazing. Their program operates in a sustainable way to take these girls out of poverty so they can have a successful life.”

The goal of Studio Samuel’s International Day of the Girl event is to provide the incoming class of 100 students with tuition ($1,000/year per student for the two-year program) through its Studio Samuel Girls’ Scholarship Fund. Studio Samuel is inspired by the formation of a global community that is connected to its students in Ethiopia; impacting a girl impacts humanity, extending beyond geographical borders.

Said Melkam Eshetu, Gender Expert at Woreda Office of Women’s and Children’s Affairs, “Studio Samuel has made a big impact on our community through its curriculum. Unemployment is a big problem in Ethiopia. Studio Samuel is minimizing the jobless in our community because of its training for women and girls. And they have provided life-saving assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Studio Samuel is the first and main organization that contributes to big change in our community, and for this reason we have awarded the organization with the Certificate of Acknowledgement and Appreciation on two different occasions. We are very grateful for this work.”  

Said Tamara Horton, Studio Samuel Founder/Executive Director of the organization’s activity and alignment with International Day of the Girl, “Our local actions have a global impact. This past year, we’ve seen how connected our world is and if we’re going to succeed as a community, a nation, a global economy…women must have equity in the digital world.

Since 2012, October 11 has been marked as International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. Studio Samuel supports education, fosters employable skills and contributes to the global movement through the ripple effect around the girls in its program. 

Studio Samuel is grateful for its International Day of the Girl event sponsors, The Midtown Group and Grayson Sky.