#GOLD 2018 wednesday business

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

I will be curious to read the vituperative denials of the validity of this article's analysis, which is pasted below the cutoff:

“Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” That question, first posed by Ronald Reagan in a 1980 presidential-campaign debate with Jimmy Carter, has become the quintessential political question about the economy. And most Americans today, it seems, would say their answer is no. In a new survey by Bankrate published on Wednesday, only 21 percent of those surveyed said their financial situation had improved since Joe Biden was elected president in 2020, against 50 percent who said it had gotten worse. That echoed the results of an ABC News/Washington Post poll from September, in which 44 percent of those surveyed said they were worse off financially since Biden’s election. And in a New York Times/Siena College poll released last week, 53 percent of registered voters said that Biden’s policies had hurt them personally.

As has been much commented on (including by me), this gloom is striking when contrasted with the actual performance of the U.S. economy, which grew at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the most recent quarter, and which has seen unemployment holding below 4 percent for more than 18 months. But the downbeat mood is perhaps even more striking when contrasted with the picture offered by the Federal Reserve’s recently released Survey of Consumer

The survey provides an in-depth analysis of the financial condition of American households, conducted for the Fed by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Published every three years, it’s the proverbial gold standard of household research. The latest survey looked at Americans’ net worth as of mid-to-late 2022 and Americans’ income in 2021, comparing them with equivalent data from three years earlier. It found that despite the severe disruption to the economy caused by the pandemic and the recovery from it, Americans across the spectrum saw their incomes and wealth rise over the survey period.

The rise in median household net worth was the most notable improvement: It jumped by 37 percent from 2019 to 2022, rising to $192,000. (All numbers are adjusted for inflation.) Americans in every income bracket saw substantial gains, with the biggest gains registered by people in the middle and upper-middle brackets, which suggests that a slight narrowing of wealth inequality occurred during this time. In particular, Black and Latino households saw their median net worth rise faster than white households did—though the racial wealth gap is so wide that it narrowed only slightly as a result of this change.

A big driver of this increase was the rising value of people’s homes—and a higher percentage of Americans owned homes in 2022 than did in 2019. But households’ financial position improved in other ways too. The amount of money that the median household had in bank accounts and retirement accounts rose substantially. The percentage of Americans owning stocks directly (that is, not in retirement accounts) jumped by more than a third, from about 15 to 21 percent. The percentage of Americans with retirement accounts went from 50.5 to 54.3 percent, a notable improvement. And a fifth of Americans reported owning a business, the highest proportion since the survey began in its current form (in 1989).

Americans also reduced their debt loads during the pandemic. The median credit-card balance dropped by 14 percent, and the share of people with car loans fell. More significantly still, Americans’ median debt-to-asset, debt-to-income, and debt-payment-to-income ratios all fell, meaning that U.S. households had lower debt burdens, on average, in 2022 than they’d had three years earlier.

The gains in real income (in this case, measured from 2018 to 2021) were small—median household income rose 3 percent, with every income bracket seeing gains. But that was better than one might have expected, given that this period included a pandemic-induced recession and only a single year of recovery.

The picture the survey paints, then, is one of American households not only weathering the pandemic in surprisingly good shape, but ultimately also emerging from it in better financial shape than they were going in. And that, in turn, points to the effect of the U.S. policy response to the crisis: Stimulus payments, enhanced unemployment benefits, the child-care tax credit, and the moratorium on student-loan payments boosted household income and balance sheets, helping people pay down debt and increase their savings. In the process, these policies mildly narrowed inequality.

The U.S. government’s aggressive response to the pandemic, including Biden’s stimulus spending, also helped the job market recover all its pandemic-related losses—and add millions of jobs on top. The resulting tight labor market has been a huge boon to lower-wage workers. In fact, because the Fed survey’s income data end in 2021, it understates the income gains for the bottom half of the workforce, and the shrinking income inequality they’ve produced.

Hourly wages for production and nonsupervisory workers (who make up about 80 percent of the American workforce) rose 4.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023, for instance, ahead of the pace of inflation. And this was not anomalous: Arindrajit Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, crunched the numbers and found that real wages for that same sector of workers are not just higher than they were in 2019, but are now roughly where they would have been if we’d continued on the upward pre-pandemic trend.

The reason for this is simple: Low unemployment has translated into higher wages. As a recent working paper by Dube, David Autor, and Annie McGrew shows, the tight labor markets of the past few years have given lower-wage workers more bargaining power than in the past, leading to a compression in the wage gap between higher-paid and lower-paid workers. Of course, that gap is still immense, but the three scholars found that the wage gains for lower-paid workers have rolled back about a quarter of the rise in inequality that has occurred since the 1980s.

So what should we take away from the Survey of Consumer Finances data, and from Dube, Autor, and McGrew’s work? Not that everything is fine, but that public policy and macroeconomic management matter a lot. Enhanced unemployment benefits, the child-care tax credit, the stimulus payments—these things materially improved the lives of Americans and helped set the economy up for a strong recovery. If the policy response had been less aggressive, the U.S. economy would be in worse shape now. This is something you can see by looking at Europe, where economies are growing far more slowly and unemployment is higher, while inflation is no lower.

Key to this story is the fact that lower-wage workers in particular would be worse off, because they have been among the chief beneficiaries of the low unemployment created by the robust recovery. It’s a useful reminder that stagnant wages are not an inevitable result of American capitalism: When labor markets are tight, and employers have to compete with one another for employees, workers get paid more.

So, even allowing for the high inflation we saw in 2022, no one could really look at the U.S. economy today and say that the policy choices of the past three years made us poorer. Yet that, of course, is precisely how many Americans feel.

Although that pessimism does not bode well for Biden’s reelection prospects, the real problem with it is even more far-reaching: If voters think that policies that helped them actually hurt them, that makes it much less likely that politicians will embrace similar policies in the future. The U.S. got a lot right in its macroeconomic approach over the past three years. Too bad that voters think it got so much wrong.

[abovethemists]

Love Makes Us Sick - Chapter 7

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6]

Read it on AO3

A/N: The last time I updated this fic, OUAT had just gone off the air. The last time I updated this fic, no one had ever heard of COVID 19 because it didn’t exist. It was a simpler time. It was 2018. Nothing is ever abandoned, y’all, I’m just slow as fuck. 

Summary: Rumple accompanies Belle to her first sonogram. 

*

The wait until Thursday morning seemed to go by in the blink of an eye and also interminably slowly. Rumple had marked the appointment on the calendar in his kitchen, glancing at it every morning before leaving for the shop. Wednesday evening he stayed awake all night, sitting in the living room with nothing but the voices in his head for company. It was impossible to sleep when something so life changing was happening to him. 

Until Belle’s announcement, he hadn’t given much thought to being a father again. Bae’s death was still so raw, a chunk of his heart forever missing, never to return. When Belle had left him six months ago it seemed an impossibility that they would ever be in this position. And yet here they were, expecting a baby. Was there enough of him left to be a decent father? Gods, he hoped so. 

Thursday morning dawned bright and sunny and Rumple faced it with bleary-eyed exhaustion, the kind not born from lack of sleep but rather general weariness. There was excitement in his chest, but it was tempered by fear and worry and doubt. Nervousness too, at the idea of seeing Belle as much as anything else. 

He hadn’t seen her again since that morning in his shop. Things had been almost civil between them at their last meeting and he didn’t want to risk a run in where things went sour and he was disinvited from the doctor’s appointment. He felt if they focused on their child, perhaps they could learn to be amicable in their split. They both wanted what was best for their baby. At least on that one thing they would always agree. 

The walk to his shop was almost annoyingly perfect. The sky was a cloudless blue, a light breeze was blowing in from the bay, the birds were singing and the rhododendrons growing outside his father-in-law’s shop were in full bloom. Spring was alive and well, chasing away the last chill of winter. Everything was growing and changing, rebirth following decay. 

Perhaps, if he’d been in a better frame of mind, Rumplestiltskin would have seen the weather as a harbinger of hope. Perhaps the worst was behind them and this baby would bring renewal, an end to the months of uncertainty and pain. 

But the anxiety in Rumple’s chest left no room for hope. Instead he felt an ominous sense of dread. If he screwed up now, he had so much more to lose. He would not, could not, mess up again like he had with Bae. He had a chance to do things right this time, and he was terrified he would squander his second chance at fatherhood, just as he had done with his second chance at true love. 

Standing behind the counter of his shop in silence was driving him mad so he stomped off to his workroom in the back, looking around for something to busy his hands with. He couldn’t be alone with his thoughts, the panic rising in him longing to be unleashed either in a burst of magic energy likely to level Main Street or, more likely, by smashing something with his old gold handled cane. 

He gripped his hands into fists to keep from lashing out, settling instead for sitting behind his work bench where various bits and bobbles were scattered. He’d been patching an antique opera cape the other day, thread and scissors still laying out, and he grabbed hold of the garment, seeing what he could do to improve it. His self imposed project only took a few minutes and then he was restlessly looking for something else to do. There was a small round stand mirror sitting on the workbench and Gold caught his reflection in it. He’d never been fond of the way he looked. Becoming the Dark One had almost been a relief. His scaled skin, reptilian eyes, and dark nails were so different from the man that had always stared back at him from his reflection. His Dark One form was ugly and strange but at least it was interesting, arresting, no one overlooked him. He’d spent his mortal life being entirely invisible and he stared hard at his reflection now, at the same pathetic little man he’d been so long ago. His dark hair was going gray at the temples as it had been centuries ago, the aging process never progressing. His brown eyes were a little too large for his face, his nose long and pointed and his face too thin. The worry lines around his eyes were the same, prematurely marking his face after a lifetime spent unsure of where his next meal would come from. What had Belle ever seen in him? The imp was preferable to this. Even the length of his hair hadn’t changed in centuries. 

His eyes fell from his reflection to the scissors on the table, and like a man possessed he grabbed them up. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had taken the scissors to his hair, chopping off one of the long locks. He looked back at his reflection in surprise, before glancing down at the chunk of dark hair littering his desk. 

The panic bubbled up even more, and his hands trembled as he took the scissors back to his hair, cutting and evening it out. A few minutes later, he threw the scissors back down on the table, taking in the final result of his tantrum. 

His hair was a total hack job. 

Rumple ran a hand over the shorter locks, feeling utterly ridiculous. It was uneven, and sticking up at odd angles. He looked like someone had taken a weed whacker to his head and he had to imagine even that would have been preferable to what he had done. What had he done? He was supposed to meet up with Belle in an hour and he was going to look like this? 

She would know, recognize in an instant, that he was spiraling. She would surely draw away from him again, knowing his volatile mental state could only be a harbinger of doom for their growing family. With one stupid outburst he would bring his entire future relationship with his child to a grinding halt. 

Belatedly, he remembered that despite appearances, he was still the Dark One. He had magic, and magic could fix almost anything. A wave of his hand had his hair looking like he’d freshly come from the barber and he gave a sigh of relief, his hands still shaking slightly. He supposed he could just as easily return it to its previous state, but he restrained himself. He had ended his relationship, such as it was, with Belle. Even going so far as to cancel his monthly rental of the room at Granny’s. They were expecting a child. Everything between them would change now. It felt right to show it on his person. He was embarking on a new journey now. He may have lost Belle forever, but they would raise this child right. He could do this.

He had no other choice. 

*

Belle was already sitting in the waiting room outside the OBGYN office when Rumple arrived forty-five minutes later. She was looking as lovely as ever in a pretty blue dress and soft gray cardigan, her eyes cast down and staring at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She didn’t even look at him as he approached, sitting down in the chair next to her.

“Rumple,” she said, her voice surprised as she glanced up at him. Her eyes went straight to his hair before settling on his face again, but she didn’t mention the change. “You came.” 

“Of course,” he returned. “I said I would.” 

She just nodded, giving him a tight smile. 

They sat there for a long moment in silence. Rumple could feel Belle’s eyes on him, feel the question burning on her tongue. 

“It seemed time for a change,” he said by way of explanation, heading her off. He didn’t particularly want to talk about his morning tantrum. 

“Oh,” Belle said, her blue eyes widening. “Well, it looks nice. Very handsome.” 

Rumple swallowed, his throat suddenly too dry and wished Belle would avert her eyes somewhere else. 

“Not that you weren’t handsome before too,” she continued awkwardly. “But it’s nice. It suits you.” 

“Thank you,” he said, quietly, his eyes on the patterned tile floor beneath his feet. 

Belle must have sensed that he wasn’t open to more conversation on the topic because she changed her tactic. 

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” 

Rumple snorted out a laugh. 

“The weather, Belle?” he said, glancing aside at her. “Really?” 

Belle let out a giggle. 

“Well, I don’t know. It seemed like a safe topic of conversation.” 

Rumple shook his head. “Is this who we are now?” 

“It doesn’t have to be,” Belle countered, placing her hand over his. Rumple stared down at her small pale hand against his own. She was so tiny, so delicate, but strong too. Strong enough to survive him. He hadn’t yet managed to destroy her like he had every other person who had ever loved him. She was resilient. 

“Rumple, why did you cut your hair?” she asked softly. 

He sighed, wondering where to begin. They needed to be honest if they were going to raise a child together. If he couldn’t share his innermost fears with Belle, who could he? 

“I…” 

“Mrs. Gold,” a nurse interrupted, stepping out into the waiting room. “We’re ready for you.” 

Rumple felt his heart flutter in his chest and tamped it down just as quickly. They were still technically married. Her name was still Mrs. Gold. It didn’t mean anything. 

Belle nodded, standing up and Rumple followed after her awkwardly, staying a pace behind her. 

He kept a respectful distance as Belle was weighed and her vitals taken. He felt out of place, standing there holding her purse and trying not to listen to any of her private medical information. He supposed it did concern him. Belle’s health now directly impacted the health of their child. But he didn’t want to be an imposition. He didn’t want to do anything that would dissuade Belle from including him in these visits going forward. 

Eventually they were ushered into a small, dimly lit room. There was a large, beige reclining exam chair covered in white protective paper in the middle of the room and Belle hopped up on it without being told. There was an air of nervous excitement about her as the nurse helped her lean back and pulled her dress up about her ribcage, placing a towel across her bottom half for modesty. There was an uncomfortable looking plastic chair shoved into the corner of the room and Rumple settled himself in it, still clutching Belle’s purse in his lap, and trying to make himself as small and unobtrusive as possible. 

The door cracked open again as the nurse was spreading some sort of clear jelly across Belle’s still flat belly. 

“Ah, the Gold’s,” Dr. Whale said, shutting the door closed with a push of his foot and spreading his arms wide. “Congratulations.” 

“Thank you,” Belle said with a small duck of her head. 

Whale turned toward Rumple and pulled up short, his blond eyebrows rising. 

“Nice haircut!” he enthused. For a wild moment, Rumple was afraid he was going to reach down and ruffle his hair, but the good doctor restrained himself. 

“Don’t,” he said shortly. 

“No, I’m serious,” Whale continued. “It looks great. I always thought the old look was too Enchanted Forest for this modern world. You know I just made a change myself.” 

Whale pointed to his own head where, upon second glance, Rumple realized it was a few shades blonder than usual. He didn’t feel the need to comment on it however and after a moment Whale dropped his finger, letting out an awkward cough as he rounded the end of Belle’s exam table. 

“Belle, how have you been feeling?” 

“Good,” Belle said with a nod. “A little nausea but nothing too bad.” 

“Great,” he said, patting her on the knee. 

Rumple ground his teeth together at the simple motion. He wasn’t a jealous man, not really. In a perfect world, Belle would move on from him, find someone worthy of loving her. But Whale was not that person. 

“Don’t you have any colleagues who could handle this?” he asked between gritted teeth. 

Whale’s hand dropped from Belle’s knee as he turned to look back at Rumplestiltskin. 

“I assure you, I’m very qualified,” Whale said with what he probably thought was a winning smile. “I was trusted enough to deliver Snow White and Prince Charming’s little bundle of joy.” 

“Oh, the little bundle of joy who was almost immediately kidnapped from his delivery room?” 

“That was not the fault of myself or this hospital!” Whale exclaimed. 

“Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence though,” Rumple said with a sneer.  

“Hey, I’m the only doctor in this town who didn’t get their qualifications from a curse,” Whale pointed out. 

“Yes and what did you use those qualifications for again?” Rumple asked. “Raising the undead as unholy abominations? Hardly something to brag about, Victor.”

“Okay!” Belle butted in. “Can we stop this ridiculous argument and focus on me for a second? I’m pregnant, remember?” 

Whale turned back to Belle. 

“Of course,” he said, suddenly all professional efficiency. He took a white wand shaped apparatus from the nurse and placed it against Belle’s abdomen. An image flickered to life on a television screen mounted to the wall. 

And then, there it was, their child. The little bean shaped thing had an obvious head that made up most of its size, stumpy little arms and legs sprouted from a tiny little body. It moved slightly, those little arms waving. 

Rumple had never seen anything like it. There certainly wasn’t the technology for this sort of thing when Milah had been pregnant with Bae and even if there had been, he’d missed her pregnancy entirely on the front lines of the Ogres War. 

He felt a surge of protectiveness for the little thing. The child would grow quickly, making their way into the world in a few short months. He could provide for them in ways he only could have dreamed of with Bae. This child would want for nothing, and they would have a mother who loved them unconditionally, something he couldn’t provide Baelfire with no matter how he’d wished it. 

He felt tears stinging his eyes, and he blinked them away rapidly. He would not cry in front of Whale of all people. 

“There’s your little pride and joy,” Whale said, moving the wand around on Belle’s stomach and showing different angles. “Heartbeat is 167, nice and strong.” 

He tapped a couple of keys on a keyboard next to Belle’s bed and a line showed up on the screen, measuring the fetus from root to tip. “Baby is measuring at 8 weeks 6 days, that sound about right?” 

Belle didn’t say anything and Rumple tore his eyes away from the image of his child to focus on its mother. Tears were streaming silently down Belle’s cheeks as she stared at the screen. He was out of his chair and at her side in a moment.

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t cry,” he said, patting her shoulder awkwardly, forgetting his own tears. “Please.” 

Belle shook her head, grabbing on to his hand on her shoulder with both of hers. “They’re happy tears for once. That’s our baby, Rumple.” 

Belle didn’t let go of his hand for the rest of the appointment and Rumple was so distracted by it that he barely paid attention to the various instructions Whale gave them. Before he knew it, they were being given a print out of sonogram photos of the baby and ushered to the front desk where Belle made another appointment for in a month’s time.  

They made their way out into the parking lot together, Rumple staring down at the sonogram photo of their child in his hands. They would be a whole person someday soon. In a few short months Belle would deliver a beautiful baby. He might even get to be present for the birth, if he played his cards right. But then Belle would take the child home with her, and he’d be lucky to get the occasional weekend. 

A pit formed in his stomach, a black hole sucking the happiness of the last hour away into nothingness. 

“Well, thank you for coming,” Belle said, pulling him back to the present. 

“Of course,” he said, placing the sonogram photo carefully in his jacket pocket and looking up at Belle. “Whatever you need from me.” 

Belle nodded again and Rumple marveled that this was possibly the longest they’d gone in each other's company without raising their voices since the day they met. 

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Belle said with a shake of her head. “I’ve read a few books on childbirth and childrearing, but none of it can prepare you for the reality of it all.”

“I didn’t have any books,” Rumple returned. “We made do. Baelfire was a happy, healthy child despite the world he was growing up in. This baby has a massive head start. Electricity, running water, no ogres.” 

Belle huffed a little laugh. 

“If not for the ogres, this child wouldn’t exist. We’d never have met if they weren’t invading my father’s kingdom.” 

“No, we would have,” Rumple said confidently. At Belle’s look of confusion he continued. “Fate and destiny have ways of coming together, no matter how we fight them.” 

Belle’s lips parted prettily, her eyes shimmering in the full spring sunlight. She was so unbelievably beautiful. 

“And what is our fate, Rumplestiltskin?” she asked. “If you believe it’s already been determined.” 

Rumple shook his head. “My powers of foresight never worked very well in my own life. I certainly never saw you coming.” 

“Would you have run if you did?”

Yes was the simple answer. Belle was a complication he hadn’t planned for, a distraction from his life’s work of finding Baelfire. He was glad he hadn’t seen her coming. He would never want to lose what they had, even if it was over for good now. He would never want to lose the love he had for her, or their unborn child.

“Move back home,” he blurted out, before letting out a huff of awkward laughter. He really hadn’t meant to say that out loud. 

Belle’s eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?” 

He had an out. He could tell her to forget about it. He could tell her she’d misheard him. They could continue as usual. 

He didn’t want that. 

“Move back home,” he repeated, slower and more clearly, so Belle could not mistake what he had said. 

It was Belle’s turn for awkward laughter. 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said with a shake of her head. “We’re not ready for that. I’m not ready for that.” 

“You can have the guest suite,” he countered. “You don’t ever have to see me if you don’t want to. Lord knows the house is big enough. But you wouldn’t be alone. I’d be there in case of emergencies. Or even just to cook you regular meals. Offer a foot rub, if you need it.” 

He gave a pointed look to her footwear, her usual four inch heels improving her diminutive height from downright tiny to merely petite. 

“Well if you’re offering foot rubs…” Belle trailed off with a wry twist of her lips. 

“Anything you need Belle,” he said with a nod. “It’s yours.” 

Belle bit her lip, still looking unsure. 

“You’ll need help once the baby arrives,” he continued. “Who better for midnight feedings and diaper changes than someone who doesn’t need sleep?” 

“I…I’ll think about it,” Belle agreed, kicking her foot against the pavement. “I can’t deny that some help would be nice. But…” she trailed off. 

“But what?” Rumple prompted. 

“Our relationship,” she said, her voice shaking slightly. “We haven’t exactly had a clean break as evident by my current condition and I don’t know if muddying the lines further is for the best.” 

Of course. She was worried that cohabitating might lead to reconciliation. They still loved each other, had admitted as much repeatedly. He couldn’t deny it was his fervent wish. But Rumple had no expectations of Belle ever being his wife again in anything more than name. He certainly wouldn’t push it on her. 

“As I said, it’s a big house. You never have to see me if that’s what you wish.” 

“I want to see you,” she said in a quiet voice. “That’s the problem. I trust you more than I trust myself, in that regard at least.” 

He reached for her hand, holding it loosely so she could pull back if she wanted to. She didn’t. 

“Belle, I love you,” he said, as sure of the words as he always was. “And I love our baby. I just want what’s best for you both.” 

She looked up at him with those wide, blue eyes, so clear he could fall into them and drown forever in their depths. 

“I know,” she assured him, squeezing his fingers with her own. “I just wish I knew what that was.” 

Rumple stayed silent, watching Belle deliberate. He wasn’t a hopeful man by nature, but Belle hadn’t rejected the idea flat out. That alone was a mark in his favor. 

“Can I think about it?” she asked. “Before I make a decision.”

“Of course,” Rumple agreed, dropping her hand. “Take all the time you need, Belle.”

He drove back to the shop feeling better than he had in days. After taking up residence behind the counter, he pulled the sonogram photo from his pocket once more. He stared at the silhouette of their child, tracing the little figure with his fingertip. 

“Don’t worry, little one,” he said with a wistful smile. “Papa will fix everything.”

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[arizonawaterandfirerestoration]

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[nodramapossible]

Wednesday, November 13 — What’s in Your Closet?

First Day at Middleton High School (Freshmen Year 2016) Kim was nervous about her first day at high school but she didn't let anyone else know it. She chose to wear the dress last minute as she still couldn't decide the night before which was unlike her. She had bought that dress

Crime Fighting Outfit (2016) Kim wanted something simple to wear when fighting crime which is why she decided on a simple black cropped top and green cargo trousers paired with her black converse. It was simple but efficient.

Middleton High Cheerleader Outfit (2016-2020) Kim decided to try out for the Middleton High Cheerleader Squad and wasn't surprised when she got in. A few of the girls were complaining about the colours but she didn't mind the purple and orange top and skirt with the yellow pom poms. She just loved showing off her school spirit!

Career Day (Sophomore Year 2017) Kim was excited about Career Day because she knew what she wanted to do since she was little and that was to go into law enforcement. She wanted something that was smart but casual to show she wasn't trying too hard to impress which is why she opted for a simple top, blazer and a pair of jeans paired with her doc martens.

Take Your Child to Work Day (Junior Year 2018) Kim was excited about take your child to work day because her parents had very cool jobs in her opinion. Her mom was an amazing neurosurgeon and her dad was a rocket scientist. She wore a simple white top and black jeans with a nice coat paired with her white converse.

Valentine's Party (Senior Year 2019) Kim was excited about the Valentine's Party as she managed to finally get a date with the most popular guy, Nate Collins in school. Sure, she wasn't superficial like that but it was hard not to be when the most swoon worthy guy had asked her out. She decided to wear a nice pink flowery wrap over dress with her black heels. She paired this outfit with silver jewellery (necklace, bracelet and earrings).

Prom Dress (Senior Year 2019) Kim was excited about Prom as Nate Collins had asked her out yet again. There was nothing serious between them considering graduation was upon them but it was still nice to spend the night with someone you liked. She chose a black dress with gold flowers on it to tie in with the theme of Enchanted Forest. She wore her black heels with this and silver jewellery (necklace, bracelet and earrings).

Middleton University Interview (2019) Kim was actually not nervous for her interview because she had this feeling she was going to get in no matter what. Not that it was a given but the fact that both her parents had graduated from the same university, well her chances had doubled already. She wore a nice blue coat with a white jumper and black leather skirt which she paired with black knee high boots which she borrowed from her Aunt Cora. She was going for a simple but smart look to show she meant business but not trying too hard to impress, she knew she would anyway so no point in overselling it.

Bridesmaid Dress for Aunt Cora's Wedding (2020) Kim couldn't believe her Aunt Cora had asked her to be a bridesmaid but she was excited about it even if she didn't like the dress that much. She liked the way it sat on her and the fact the skirt twirled when you were spinning and dancing but the colour was definitely not Kim's cup of coffee and that was okay. She was doing this for her Aunt Cora and that's all that mattered, making sure she was happy on her day.

Black High Tops Converse Kim's wardrobe would not be complete without a pair of black converse. She will be found wearing these 80% of the time and the only time she doesn't wear them is if it's snowing. She will find a way to style each outfit to wear her converse even if it's not these ones. She's been through so many black pairs that she's lost count.

White Low Converse Kim loves her converse so of course she has to have a pair of white converse. She bought herself these ones after her first pay from Club Banana.

Halloween Converse Kim got these as a present from her Aunt Cora for her birthday and she has treasured them since then. She has tried her best to keep them clean and not wore in as the rest of her converse which has proved difficult at times. She just loves them and doesn't want to ruin them.

Green Flower Converse Kim got these as a gift from her brothers for graduating Middleton University. She was surprised at how kind and thoughtful her brothers were being but she assumed it might also be them going to miss her when she moves to Swynlake.

Doc Martens Kim bought her first pair of Doc Martens as a treat for passing all her classes at the end of her Sophomore Year. She went for a classic black pair and still has them to this date. She hasn't yet had to replace them but they are getting there.

Black Classic Heels Kim got her first pair of heels when she was sixteen and had her first prom. Her mom went shopping with her and bought them for Kim. She hasn't wore them that much over the last eight years so they aren't wore in that much. She usually only wears them for special occasions and parties.

[greensparty]

Talking with Fred Armisen

This marks only the second time (I hope not the last) that I have had the chance to interview an SNL alum (the first was Siobhan Fallon Hogan). Mr. Fred Armisen joined SNL in 2002 and ended his run in 2013, but he's made a number of appearances since then and even hosted in 2016. He has had a very unique career in that he began as a musician, drumming for the Chicago punk band Trenchmouth, and then got into comedy, which lead to SNL. As a cast member he brought musical elements to many sketches he was in. He garnered a lot of attention by becoming a cast member doing an impression of a sitting president when he played President Obama during the first Obama term. Beyond SNL, he has appeared in a number of films and TV shows both big and small, notably Wednesday, Eurotrip, Band Aid, and a number of Kevin Smith films (including Clerks III). He made a big swing as an actor on the limited series Forever, where he and Maya Rudolph play a married couple in the afterlife. He's also made Comedy Gold with TV's Portlandia (IFC 2011-2018) and Documentary Now! (IFC 2015-2022). In addition to his acting, he is the musical director and sometimes band leader on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Mr. Armisen still does comedy tours and he is going to be in Boston at the Wilbur Theatre on August 15. I recently spoke to him via zoom and he was just as cool and nice as I hoped.

promo poster for Fred Armisen's current comedy tour

Me: You have had such a fascinating career, unlike anyone else in SNL history. You began as a musician and then evolved into comedy and acting. At this point in your career, do you consider yourself to be a musician who does comedy? Or a comedian who does music? Or basically both?

FA: I feel like I'm a comedian who does music. Because comedian is where I really found my footing. Even when I do music, it's in the comedy genre. It's all parody and impressions and stuff like that. So there's not enough music in my artistic life to really call myself a musician first. Although music is a gigantic part of my comedy, I'd say comedian is my vocation.

Me: You have this show coming up at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston. You're no stranger to Boston. Just last year you were here to host the Zildjian 400th Anniversary Concert. Do you enjoy playing Boston?

FA: I love playing Boston! It's been a part of my touring life since I was in a band. When I was in Trenchmouth we used to play The Middle East. Always had a great time there! And then doing stand-up, I played Boston Calling [in 2019] and I really loved that show. I can't think of a show I did here that was less than spectacular. It's always been really really fun! You know, Boston looks so cool. Even though it's a little hard for me to find parking and stuff, I do like that it looks a little like England. It's set up like London a little bit. That's always exciting to me.

Me: At this point and time in your career, do you enjoy mixing it up by filming a TV show or movie and then going out on the road and doing some live shows?

FA: Oh I love it. I really give me an eclectic lifestyle. Like I'll do a fancy TV show for Netflix, and then I'll do a record store show where I do punk rock covers for like 100 people or a stand-up show at a theater. Then some weird movie. I love jumping around, it really makes me feel like I'm in many different aspects of show business. I love show business! I love performing, I love comedy, I love music. It's a weird thing. I've been doing it for a while now and I'm way into it. Like even a soundcheck is fun and thrilling for me. I'm just into it, I love doing it.

Armisen and some of his many SNL characters

Me: Looking at SNL history, there's always been musical sketches, i.e. Wayne's World performing with Aerosmith, The Blues Brothers, the list goes on and on. But looking at your run at SNL so many of the characters you played were musicians, i.e. Fericito, part of Garth and Kat, and Ian Rubbish to name a few. Do you feel like your style of comedy which included music was really embraced and supported when you started on SNL?

FA: Oh, in a big way. Right down to my audition, which was Fericito, who's like a Tito Puente kind of character. All throughout my run there I used music as a framework around the characters that I did. The show was really supportive of that. Some of the sketches were abstract like The Blue Jean Committee, these really weird ideas that the show was very supportive of. And we played the music live so they really wanted to make sure the sound was good. They - the show - put a lot of work into it.

The other thing I want to say about it is, it's what I grew up on. I grew up on SNL. I always loved SNL, I worshipped SNL. All of the stuff I did was because of the stuff I watched on SNL. I knew it would fit somehow, because of Candy Slice (Gilda Radner's character that was kind of like a version of Patti Smith), and I was a little kid, but I understood and wanted to be whatever that was. She just sang a song, there was really no joke to it. Eddie Murphy did one where he was this reggae singer [Tyrone Green] at an Elks Club and that idea of a performer somewhere that isn't the right place to play. Then, of course, Wayne's World. Even Sprockets had it to a certain degree, like when they're all dancing and stuff, that had a big effect on me. I didn't even know Mike Myers personally or anything but I could tell that it was influenced by Kraftwerk. And then it turned out it was influenced by Kraftwerk. So all the way though I really lived for what SNL was all about when it came to fake bands.

Me: Let's talk about Portlandia, the comedy you co-created and starred in for IFC. I actually worked for AMC Networks (the entertainment company that owns AMC, IFC, We and Sundance Channel) when Portlandia premiered in 2011. You could really tell early on that the show was catching on. I have to ask, did you have a favorite sketch you did on Portlandia?

FA: I loved doing Portlandia, which was also an extension of band stuff. Carrie [Brownstein] is from the band Sleater-Kinney, who are my favorite band so to do a show with Carrie is the best! My favorite sketch - we had these characters who were like these goth characters. Not even goth, more like death metal / goth mix of the two. Where our faces were painted with dark circles around our eyes. It was kind of scary. One time we did one where we were going to the beach, but no one's aware because we had these flowy robes and we see Glenn Danzig who says "sometimes in order to have fun you have to look a little lame". So the sketch had a real point to it and I liked doing those characters.

early TV ad for Portlandia

Me: I got to cover Sleater-Kinney's concert in Boston earlier this year. I said in my review and I'll say this now, that it is so ironic that the masses know Carrie Brownstein for her acting and Portlandia versus Sleater-Kinney.

FA: Yeah, it's such a funny thing. I guess there's a few people who know both. But I feel like over the last ten or fifteen years, it seems like there are a lot of people who do multiple types of entertainment. Like something just happened where you would see Jane Lynch hosting a game show and then also in a well-reviewed movie or TV show. A good example is Questlove is like that, where he's a bandleader, but at the same time he's an Academy Award winning director. So it fits that Carrie is known for Sleater-Kinney and Portlandia. She's a director too by the way!

Me: I, myself, am a documentarian. We both have a mutual friend in Scott Crawford, who directed Salad Days, which you were interviewed for. That doc and my doc Life on the V: The Story of V66 were on the festival circuit at the same time playing similar festivals and we both have the same distributor as well. Do you think the experience you've had being interviewed for documentaries was something you brought to Documentary Now!, where you were lampooning not just popular documentaries but the tropes of documentary filmmakers as well?

FA: Wow, that's an interesting question. [pauses] I never thought about it, but now that you mention it, it does feel very separate. Because when I'm interviewed for documentaries, I just try to help the documentary itself. What can I say in an interview that's on the subject matter. Where can I contribute to it without trying to make it into too much of a big deal. Like one thing I do is I always try to keep it concise. Just so I'm not lingering and talking about a band forever, keep it quick. With Documentary Now! it's almost like we're making fun of something that already exists. So they haven't crossed over yet, but they are very separate things. I feel like "let me do a good job being interviewed for this documentary" and the other is "okay, how can we parody this documentary that already exists".

Going back to what you said about working for AMC, that was an exciting time. I remember things were starting to happen on cable. Shows are starting to happen. A whole new world of shows. I remember The Walking Dead was so gigantic on AMC. To me, that felt like the first big show that really made networks re-think what they were doing. They had serious numbers, it was like there was a real pull audience out there.

Armisen in Documentary Now!'s "Final Transmission" parody of Stop Making Sense

Me: Absolutely. I was there during the run of The Walking Dead and Mad Men on AMC and then IFC making a name for themselves with alt-comedy with Portlandia. It was really an exciting time when I was there. But, I think it's very cool that with IFC's Portlandia and Documentary Now! they are very different, but your voice is very much there in both. I do need to ask one quick question about Documentary Now!: I am a lifelong Jonathan Demme fanatic and I was curious if you ever heard from Demme or the Talking Heads about the Stop Making Sense parody?

FA: Oh yeah. I've talked to David Byrne about it. Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth helped do a promo for our version of Stop Making Sense, the Test Pattern. So we've mixed our worlds together. David [Bryne] knows about it, he's very familiar with Test Pattern. I have some friends who worked on American Utopia, David Byrne's Broadway show, and just as a joke he said he didn't have anyone as an understudy, so he was like "well, Fred can do it" as a joke. We're very much in touch about that. With Jonathan Demme, I never spoke to him but I would think he would know that we did it out of love. We just wanted to re-create what that was.

I remember when that movie came out. Boy, I loved that movie so much. That movie also used to keep re-coming out. It was always playing at the artsy movie theaters. So you'd go to the movies and there'd be some Terry Gilliam or Monty Python movie playing and then Stop Making Sense. But I went to that original tour for Speaking in Tongues, I remember seeing that show live. Talking Heads and David Byrne will always be a huge influence on me!

Me: In 2015, I was at a film festival, actually Salad Days was at that same festival as well. And they had a big anniversary screening of Stop Making Sense. It was an amazing sound system, a great venue. The entire audience was on their feet dancing and singing along the whole time. I later read that that was what their intention was for the documentary.

FA: Yeah and it worked. The screenings they've had this year, same thing. People dancing all the way through. We're so used to, I grew up later on MTV so we're so used to everything being so edited down. It's pretty wild to sit through Stop Making Sense and it's a full song, then another full song - you can't help but dance. It actually does become a concert.

Armisen's Ian Rubbish sits down with members of The Clash in this LOL short The Clash: The Last Gang in Town

During our interview, Mr. Armisen took notice of my CD collection in the background behind me and asked about my collection and he briefly talked about his love of physical media. As our interview was ending, I thanked him and joked that next time he should check out my CD collection. He said "I'm glad you have it on your screen. Because there's a lot happening in politics and none of the candidates are talking about how we should be proud of our CD collections. We need to come to a time in our lives where we're displaying them. We all have CDs somewhere." I laughed and said "I think they need to court the CD vote". He laughed and I said "Wow - I just made you laugh, I'm so proud of myself" and he replied "That was a real laugh too by the way". I've had some cool celebrity encounters, but knowing I got to make Fred Armisen laugh is definitely pretty high on my list of coolest celebrity encounters ever!

For info on Fred Armisen

For info on his show at Wilbur Theatre on August 15

[brookston]

Holidays 3.15

Holidays

Birkebeinerrennet (Norway)

Bolsonaro Day (Brazil)

Brutus Day

Buzzard Day (Hinckley, Ohio)

Camp Fire Day

Constitution Day (Belarus)

Denzel Crocker Day

Digital Learning Day

Dumbstruck Day

1848 Revolution Day (Hungary)

Escalator Day

Et tu, Brute? Day

Everything You Think Is Wrong Day

International Blackadder Status Day

International Boss's Day Off

International Day Against Police Brutality (UN)

International Day of Action Against Canadian Seal Slaughter

International Day to Combat Islamophobia

International Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day (a.k.a. EATAPETA Day)

International Hypatia Day

International Redefining Wealth Day

International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day

I've Got An Offer You Can't Refuse Day

J.J. Roberts’ Day (Liberia)

Kiss Donald Recognition Day (UK)

Las Fallas (Spain)

Lifeboat Day

Maine Statehood Day (#23; 1820)

Michael Scott’s Birthday (The Office)

National Ag Day (a.k.a. Agriculture Day)

National Brutus Day

National Cancer Critical Nurse Specialist Day (UK)

National Kansas Day

National Penis Day (Japan)

National Shoe the World Day

National VO (Voice Over) Day

Open Minded Husband's Day

Planting Ceremony of the Kikuyu (Kenya)

Prey Day

Rude Awakenings Day

Swallowing Awareness Day

315 Day

True Confessions Day

Turkey Buzzards Day

Voice Over Day

World Consumer Rights Day

World Contact Day

World Day of Action Against Seal Hunting

World Delirium Day

World Essential Workers Day

World MAP Day

World Speech Day

Youth Day (Palau)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Espresso Martini Day

National Drink Maple Syrup Straight from the Bottle Day

National Egg Cream Day

National Peanut Lovers' Day

National Pears Helene Day

Pears Helene Day

3rd Wednesday in March

Kick Butts Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Carry Out Day (a.k.a. Carry Out Wednesday) [3rd Wednesday]

National Dietician’s Day (Canada) [3rd Wednesday]

National SBDC Day [3rd Wednesday]

Small Business Development Day [3rd Wednesday]

Independence Days

New Orchard (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Veronia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Woodshire (a.k.a. Duchy of Woodshire; Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Aardvark Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Abraham, Hermit of Mesopotamia, and his niece, Mary (Christian; Saints)

Bacchanalia (Ancient Rome)

Cicero (Positivist; Saint)

Clement Mary Hofbauer (Christian; Saint)

Ed Wood Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Feast of Anna Perenna (Ancient Rome)

Hilaria a.k.a. Cybele’s day; Pagan)

Hōnen Matsuri (Prosperous Year; Japan)

Ides of March (Ancient Rome)

Leatherwing Bat (Muppetism)

Leocritia of Cordova (Christian; Saint)

Longinus (Christian; Saint)

Louise de Marillac (Christian; Saint)

Marduk's Festival (Ancient Mesopotamia)

Mi-Carême (Mid-Lent; Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin)

Rhea (Greek Goddess of the Earth)

Season of Discord begins (Discordian)

Zachary (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Ides of March (Caesar assassinated; Ancient Rome)

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [14 of 37]

Premieres

Destroyer, by KISS (Album; 1976)

Eight is Enough (TV Series; 1977)

Forbidden Planet (Film; 1956)

From Up on Poppy Hill (Animated Studio Ghibli Film; 2013)

The Godfather (Film; 1972)

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy (Novel; 1997)

Gold Diggers of 1935 (Film; 1935)

Ice Age (Animated Film; 2002)

Jack-Jack Attack (Pixar Cartoon; 1940)

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (Film; 2013)

Love, Death & Robots (Animated Anthology TV Series; 2019)

My Fair Lady (Broadway Musical; 1956)

My Little Chickadee (Film; 1940)

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (Film; 2019)

Pictures At An Exhibition, by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Concert Film; 1973)

The Riveter (Disney Cartoon; 1940)

Robot Carnival (Animated Film; 1991)

Sh-Boom, recorded by The Chords (Song; 1954)

She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith (Play; 1773)

Spring Breakers (Film; 2013)

Three’s Company (TV Series; 1977)

To Pimp a Butterfly, by Kendrick Lamar (Album; 2015)

Wonder Park (Animated Film; 2019)

Y tu Mamá También (Film; 2002)

Today’s Name Days

Clemens, Klemens, Luise, Maria (Austria)

Veljko, Vjekoslav, Zaharija (Croatia)

Ida (Czech Republic)

Zacharias (Denmark)

Valev, Valvik, Valvo (Estonia)

Risto (Finland)

Louise (France)

Siemens, Louise (Germany)

Agapios (Greece)

Kristóf (Hungary)

Luisa, Mauro (Italy)

Amalda, Amilda, Longins, Ulrika (Latvia)

Klemensas, Lionginas, Tautas, Tautgintė (Lithuania)

Chris, Christel, Christer (Norway)

Gościmir, Heloiza, Klemens, Krzysztof, Longinus, Ludwika (Poland)

Agapie (Romania)

Svetlana (Slovakia)

César, Luisa, Madrona, Raimundo (Spain)

Christel, Kristoffer (Sweden)

Eloise, Lois, Louella, Louisa, Louise, Luella, Luisa, Lulu (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 74 of 2023; 291 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 11 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Nuin (Ash) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Yi-Mao), Day 24 (Ren-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 22 Adar 5783

Islamic: 22 Sha’ban 1444

J Cal: 13 Ver; Sixday [13 of 30]

Julian: 2 March 2023

Moon: 42%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 18 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Cicero]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 85 of 90)

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 24 of 29)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 3.15

Holidays

Birkebeinerrennet (Norway)

Bolsonaro Day (Brazil)

Brutus Day

Buzzard Day (Hinckley, Ohio)

Camp Fire Day

Constitution Day (Belarus)

Denzel Crocker Day

Digital Learning Day

Dumbstruck Day

1848 Revolution Day (Hungary)

Escalator Day

Et tu, Brute? Day

Everything You Think Is Wrong Day

International Blackadder Status Day

International Boss's Day Off

International Day Against Police Brutality (UN)

International Day of Action Against Canadian Seal Slaughter

International Day to Combat Islamophobia

International Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day (a.k.a. EATAPETA Day)

International Hypatia Day

International Redefining Wealth Day

International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day

I've Got An Offer You Can't Refuse Day

J.J. Roberts’ Day (Liberia)

Kiss Donald Recognition Day (UK)

Las Fallas (Spain)

Lifeboat Day

Maine Statehood Day (#23; 1820)

Michael Scott’s Birthday (The Office)

National Ag Day (a.k.a. Agriculture Day)

National Brutus Day

National Cancer Critical Nurse Specialist Day (UK)

National Kansas Day

National Penis Day (Japan)

National Shoe the World Day

National VO (Voice Over) Day

Open Minded Husband's Day

Planting Ceremony of the Kikuyu (Kenya)

Prey Day

Rude Awakenings Day

Swallowing Awareness Day

315 Day

True Confessions Day

Turkey Buzzards Day

Voice Over Day

World Consumer Rights Day

World Contact Day

World Day of Action Against Seal Hunting

World Delirium Day

World Essential Workers Day

World MAP Day

World Speech Day

Youth Day (Palau)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Espresso Martini Day

National Drink Maple Syrup Straight from the Bottle Day

National Egg Cream Day

National Peanut Lovers' Day

National Pears Helene Day

Pears Helene Day

3rd Wednesday in March

Kick Butts Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Carry Out Day (a.k.a. Carry Out Wednesday) [3rd Wednesday]

National Dietician’s Day (Canada) [3rd Wednesday]

National SBDC Day [3rd Wednesday]

Small Business Development Day [3rd Wednesday]

Independence Days

New Orchard (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Veronia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Woodshire (a.k.a. Duchy of Woodshire; Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Aardvark Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Abraham, Hermit of Mesopotamia, and his niece, Mary (Christian; Saints)

Bacchanalia (Ancient Rome)

Cicero (Positivist; Saint)

Clement Mary Hofbauer (Christian; Saint)

Ed Wood Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Feast of Anna Perenna (Ancient Rome)

Hilaria a.k.a. Cybele’s day; Pagan)

Hōnen Matsuri (Prosperous Year; Japan)

Ides of March (Ancient Rome)

Leatherwing Bat (Muppetism)

Leocritia of Cordova (Christian; Saint)

Longinus (Christian; Saint)

Louise de Marillac (Christian; Saint)

Marduk's Festival (Ancient Mesopotamia)

Mi-Carême (Mid-Lent; Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin)

Rhea (Greek Goddess of the Earth)

Season of Discord begins (Discordian)

Zachary (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Ides of March (Caesar assassinated; Ancient Rome)

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [14 of 37]

Premieres

Destroyer, by KISS (Album; 1976)

Eight is Enough (TV Series; 1977)

Forbidden Planet (Film; 1956)

From Up on Poppy Hill (Animated Studio Ghibli Film; 2013)

The Godfather (Film; 1972)

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy (Novel; 1997)

Gold Diggers of 1935 (Film; 1935)

Ice Age (Animated Film; 2002)

Jack-Jack Attack (Pixar Cartoon; 1940)

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (Film; 2013)

Love, Death & Robots (Animated Anthology TV Series; 2019)

My Fair Lady (Broadway Musical; 1956)

My Little Chickadee (Film; 1940)

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (Film; 2019)

Pictures At An Exhibition, by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Concert Film; 1973)

The Riveter (Disney Cartoon; 1940)

Robot Carnival (Animated Film; 1991)

Sh-Boom, recorded by The Chords (Song; 1954)

She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith (Play; 1773)

Spring Breakers (Film; 2013)

Three’s Company (TV Series; 1977)

To Pimp a Butterfly, by Kendrick Lamar (Album; 2015)

Wonder Park (Animated Film; 2019)

Y tu Mamá También (Film; 2002)

Today’s Name Days

Clemens, Klemens, Luise, Maria (Austria)

Veljko, Vjekoslav, Zaharija (Croatia)

Ida (Czech Republic)

Zacharias (Denmark)

Valev, Valvik, Valvo (Estonia)

Risto (Finland)

Louise (France)

Siemens, Louise (Germany)

Agapios (Greece)

Kristóf (Hungary)

Luisa, Mauro (Italy)

Amalda, Amilda, Longins, Ulrika (Latvia)

Klemensas, Lionginas, Tautas, Tautgintė (Lithuania)

Chris, Christel, Christer (Norway)

Gościmir, Heloiza, Klemens, Krzysztof, Longinus, Ludwika (Poland)

Agapie (Romania)

Svetlana (Slovakia)

César, Luisa, Madrona, Raimundo (Spain)

Christel, Kristoffer (Sweden)

Eloise, Lois, Louella, Louisa, Louise, Luella, Luisa, Lulu (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 74 of 2023; 291 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 11 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Nuin (Ash) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Yi-Mao), Day 24 (Ren-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 22 Adar 5783

Islamic: 22 Sha’ban 1444

J Cal: 13 Ver; Sixday [13 of 30]

Julian: 2 March 2023

Moon: 42%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 18 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Cicero]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 85 of 90)

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 24 of 29)

[atlanticcanada]

Hockey fans say world juniors are a success despite recent scandals

Capping off a year that saw Hockey Canada mired in scandal over its handling of sexual assault allegations, the world junior hockey championship in Halifax and Moncton, N.B., opened last month under a cloud.

But as it comes to an end Thursday night with a final pitting Canada against Czechia, fans and businesses in both cities say the tournament has been a resounding success, with packed stands, thrilling on-ice performances and an influx of visitors.

Fans interviewed before Wednesday's semifinal between Sweden and Czechia said the tournament has been a blast.

Teannah McMullen, 19, and Nicole Patterson, 21, have attended every tournament and pre-tournament game in Halifax.

They have tickets to Thursday's bronze medal match between the USA and Sweden, and the gold medal final. Canada defeated the United States in their semifinal Wednesday night.

"It has been just amazing," McMullen said. "We watch everything. It's been an experience like I couldn't even imagine."

Patterson said the calibre of hockey and the energy of the crowds have been incredible.

"You don't see any empty seats, even when Canada isn't playing," she said.

Gordie Plagenz, from Saint John, N.B., travelled to Halifax for the week to attend the games. He said seeing Team Canada superstar Connor Bedard in action has been particularly exciting and that "the atmosphere here in downtown Halifax is crazy."

When asked how Hockey Canada's year of scandal has affected the tournament, Plagenz said, "you can't paint people with the same brush. We're just here to enjoy the junior hockey that we have here and now."

McMullen and Patterson said they were thrilled when they found out Halifax would co-host the yearly tournament.

"Hockey is what we love … and it's in our city," McMullen said, adding that the two planned to see all the games as soon as they heard the tournament would be coming to Halifax.

"We get to see some of the very best players that are coming up who will be drafted soon. And we get to see some players that we see all year round," McMullen said, in reference to some players with the Halifax Mooseheads -- of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League -- who are taking part in the world junior tournament.

Ahead of the tournament, some fans said their excitement was accompanied by tough conversations about Hockey Canada`s handling of sexual assault allegations.

The national hockey governing body has been mired in controversy for months after it was revealed in May that it settled a lawsuit with a woman who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by several members of the 2018 world junior team.

Then in July, Halifax Regional Police began investigating allegations that members of the 2003 team sexually assaulted a woman and filmed the attack during that year's tournament.

None of the allegations has been proven in court and no charges have been laid.

Hockey Canada executives in July revealed that they had paid out $8.9 million in sexual abuse settlements since 1989, excluding the 2018 deal. The organization elected a new board of directors on Dec. 17 and is still searching for a new chief executive officer.

The previous board resigned and president and CEO Scott Smith was ousted as a result of the controversies.

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage has said the board and CEO resignations were overdue. In a recent interview, he said the "dramatic" leadership change "cleared the way for the mayor of Moncton and myself to focus on the hockey and on the benefits that come to our two cities."

The benefits of the tournament to Halifax and Moncton restaurants have been significant, says industry group Restaurants Canada.

"One (restaurant) operator summed up what I'm hearing from both cities, that is that this feels like the height of the tourism season in August, but in January -- which is our slowest time of the year," Richard Alexander, Atlantic vice-president of Restaurants Canada, said in an interview.

"So it has been fantastic for the industry."

Hockey Canada spokesperson Spencer Sharkey said in an email that more than 280,000 seats have been sold for this year's world junior championship, with an average attendance for tournament games of 8,610 in Halifax and 5,550 in Moncton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/aRISVoj

[virtchandmoir]

the_atelier_collective: 📣KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT! ⁠ ⁠ Dedication. Perseverance. Rebuilding. Resilience. ⁠ And the key to it all? MINDSET. And our next inspiring speaker epitomizes exactly what it means to have the mindset of a champion!⁠ ⁠ We are absolutely thrilled to announce Olympic gold medalist TESSA VIRTUE as one of our KEYNOTE SPEAKERS at The Atelier: Digital 2020, taking place on June 17th, 2020! ✨✨✨⁠ ⁠ Tessa [@tessavirtue17] is a true Canadian icon with accolades that span nearly 15 years. In PyeongChang 2018, Tessa and her ice dance partner, Scott Moir, became the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history (!!!) with five career medals – three gold and two silver.⁠ ⁠ Tessa and Scott first captured the hearts of Canadians when the pair had one of the most memorable performances in Vancouver 2010 becoming both the first North Americans and youngest ice dancers to be crowned Olympic Champions.⁠ ⁠ Following her double gold-medal performance in PyeongChang 2018, Tessa co-created the Thank You Canada Tour, which visited the small towns that are usually flown over with bigger skating shows, as a way to say thank you for the support that these communities had shown throughout their careers. ⁠ ⁠ Now retired from ice dance, Tessa continues to be a strong advocate for female empowerment and works closely with FitSpirit, ­­­­­­­an organization whose mission is to raise public awareness around the problem of declining participation in sport among pre-teen and teenage girls.⁠ ⁠ An ambitious academic, Tessa is set to begin her MBA at the Smith School of Business and channel her entrepreneurial spirit into her next role: CEO.⁠ ⁠ Well, wow. What can we say other than we CANNOT WAIT to have Tessa take our virtual stage this June and share her wisdom 👏⁠ ⁠ Early access tickets launch @ 10:00am EST on Wednesday, May 13th to email subscribers ONLY (Public on sale @ 10:00am EST on Thursday, May 14th). There are a limited number of VIP Digital Tickets (including The Atelier Experience Box) so make sure you are on the list!⁠ ⁠ Stay tuned as we keep the exciting announcements coming! 📣⁠ ⁠ #theateliercollective

[famedexclusivearchive]

[ARTICLE] BC, DIMENSIONS, AND GOLD STAR ANNOUNCED AS SPONSORS OF SEOUL SPRING FESTIVAL

The Seoul Spring Festival was announced earlier in the year by the local government as a city-wide event taking place from March 30th to April 5th. The city of Seoul will be hosting a number of events over the course of the week, as will private businesses.

Recently, it was announced that entertainment companies BC Entertainment, Dimensions Entertainment, and Gold Star Media will all be sponsoring the festival in part and the idols on each company’s roster will be performing at one of two concerts hosted during the run of the festival. Tickets to the live concert events will cost ₩30000 each and fans unable to attend the live event can access an official live stream of both concerts for ₩15000.

ADMIN NOTES:

The time has come for our next drop event! In something of a spiritual successor to our 2018 Busan Summer Festival event, this is a week-long event in-’verse with several different varied opportunities for interactions.

Everyone under the three companies will be required to participate in their respective concert part of the festival barring extenuating circumstances such as major injury or illness. It must be cleared with the admin if you want your muse to have a plot that will keep them from participating in that portion of this event. Public activities for the event as well as the Pink Party are entirely optional both in and out of character, while the other private and semi-private activities (the cocktail party, the art exhibition, and the charity gala) will be considered optional out of character, but you’re welcome to say your muse was forced to attend by management in-character for the sake of interactions.

Activities marked “semi-private” will be open to only a select guest list, not the public, but some press may be present. Activities marked “private” will be open to a very select guest list and no press will be present.

EVENT DETAILS:

The Seoul Spring Festival takes place in-universe from March 30th to April 5th.

A number of events will take place in Seoul over the span of the week, from fun public events designed to heighten everyone’s spirits to exclusive, private events only the country’s most in-demand citizens such as celebrities and the wealthy have access to. As sponsors of the event, all three companies have allowed their idols some leeway in their schedules to participate in the festival even in their down time.

Muses will have a variety of required schedules throughout the week, but in their downtime, they’re also allowed to spend some time at the festival on their own as long as they follow the normal rules of staying on their best behavior in public. Any music shows taking place on the days of the festival can be assumed to either not interfere with what can be done that day or will be pre-recorded at a more convenient in the morning.

Outside of scheduled events, during the week of the festival, there will be sales at local shops and restaurants and smaller, special spring-themed events at cafes and parks.

The beginning and end of the festival will each be marked with a concert, for which each performer will be dressed in colors and cuts to suit the spring season. The concert set lists and styling can be found HERE.

CHOICE ACTIVITIES:

There are open events on the schedule listed below open to individual muses. This Google Form has been set up for muns to submit for the activity of their choice. At the time of posting, this will be open to one muse per mun only. All spots will be first come-first served from the time the event post goes up since choice activities will not have major career effects.

Keep in mind that canonically, companies would have final say in where their idols are scheduled, so you can request activities that your muse wouldn’t enjoy doing! These are completely optional, but can give you situations to write solos or threads about.

OVERALL:

In game, this event takes place Monday, March 30, to Sunday, April 5, but threads and other posts for this event may be started from Monday, March 23, at the time this post goes up, to Sunday, April 19, at 11:59PM EDT. Threads may be continued past the end date if needed, but must be started before then. Non-event related interactions may of course be conducted during this time as well.

NOTE: All posts related to the event should be tagged #fmdseoulspring.

SCHEDULE:

MONDAY - MARCH 30TH

9AM-11:45AM: Mini solo fan-signs (up to 30 fans each) at COEX Mall in Gangnam, Seoul.

9AM-9:30AM: Open.

9:45AM-10:15AM: Open.

10:30AM-11AM: Open

11:15AM-11:45AM: Open.

**2PM-5PM - Seoul Spring Festival Day Concert in Songpa, Seoul

2 MCs: @fmdxhaeun & @fmdhajin - cannot be performing during this concert.

Performing artists: BC Soloist 1, Dimensions Soloist 3, Gal.actic, Gold Star Soloist 3, Dimensions Soloist 2, Aria, Lucid, Unity, BEE, Fuse, CHARM, WISH, Origin [SETLIST]

4 solo or collab performance slots: @durifmd, @fmdtaeyong & two open spots - must have released at least two points claim songs at the time of the concert; the muse(s) can perform up to two songs.

TUESDAY - MARCH 31ST

12PM-1PM - Casual S/S fashion show, designs done by local fashion design students in Mapo, Seoul.

4 runway models: @fmdxyoungjoo, @fmdjynx & two open.

2PM-3PM - Formal S/S fashion show, designs done by local fashion design students in Mapo, Seoul.

4 runway models: @fmdchanmi, @fmdhyejung, & two open.

**5PM-9PM - Cocktail party and red carpet hosted by Vogue Korea and sponsored by Dior in Gangnam, Seoul. [semi-private event]

Attendance open to all muses.

WEDNESDAY - APRIL 1ST

1PM-4PM - K-Pop Cover Contest in Mapo, Seoul.

3 MCs: @fmdjaein, @dawonfmd & @fmddaisuke.

5 surprise special cover performances: @fmdtaejin, @fmdminah, @fmdxlux, @fmdnara, & one open. - idols will surprise the fans participating in the contest by giving unannounced cover performances themselves. performances can be vocal, rap, or dance, and may be done solo or as a duo. the song does not have to be an idol song or even a korean song, but must be family-friendly.

**6PM-10PM: Contemporary art exhibition opening at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul in Jongno, Seoul. [semi-private event, exhibition theme: “new life”] 

Attendance open to all muses.

THURSDAY - APRIL 2ND

9AM-11AM: Cherry blossom photo shoot for a spring/summer wedding line on Ewha Women’s University Campus in Seodaemun, Seoul. (concept references)

3 womenswear models: @fmdbyul & two open.

3 menswear models: @fmdjiseok, @fmdyunki & @fmdsamsoo.

**10PM-3AM- Pink Party at a high-end bar and lounge in Yongsan, Seoul. [private event, dress code: pink and white.]

Attendance open to all muses.

FRIDAY - APRIL 3RD

9AM-11:45AM: Mini solo fan-signs (up to 30 fans each) at COEX Mall in Gangnam, Seoul

9AM-9:30AM: @fmdboram

9:45AM-10:15AM: Open.

10:30AM-11AM: Open

11:15AM-11:45AM: Open.

**All day - Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival in Songpa, Seoul.

Attendance open to all muses.

**11AM-6PM - Food tasting festival in Mapo, Seoul.

Attendance open to all muses - will feature discount food stalls from popular restaurants and cafes.

SATURDAY - APRIL 4TH

**All day - Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival in Songpa, Seoul.

Attendance open to all muses.

**7PM-11PM - Charity gala at Seoul Botanic Park in Gangseo, Seoul. [private event]

Attendance open to all muses.

SUNDAY - APRIL 5TH

**All day - Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival in Songpa, Seoul.

Attendance open to all muses.

**8PM-11PM - Seoul Spring Festival After Sunset Concert in Gangnam, Seoul.

2 MCs: @fmdsophie & @fmdmaverick . - cannot be performing during this concert.

Performing artists: Femme Fatale, Gold Star Soloist 2, MARS, 7ROPHY, Element, Silhouette, Alien, Dimensions Soloist 1, Decipher, Lipstick, Impulse, Knight, Gold Star Soloist 1  [SETLIST]

4 solo or collab performance slots: @fmdjoosung. @eunahfmd, @fmdsooyeon & one open - must have released at least two points claim songs at the time of the concert; the muse(s) can perform up to two songs.

POINTS AVAILABLE:

As with all events, there are special points up for grabs.

INTERACTIONS: Having an event thread with a starter and at least three replies (starter ▻ partner reply  ▻ op reply  ▻ partner reply) by the end of the event is worth 2 points. This is valid for up to ten threads.

INTERACTIONS: Having an event thread with someone your muse has never had a thread with before is worth 1 additional point for each thread for up to ten threads.

INTERACTIONS: Posting an open starter for the event is worth 2 points. This counts for up to one open thread starter (not a text/sms post) per character and does not count toward the monthly limit. To be a truly open starter, this should not take place during an individual choice activity or one of the two concerts.

SOLO: Writing a self-para related to spring in some way is worth 3 points not counting toward your monthly total. There are a lot of ways to interpret this prompt — it can take place during this event, or it can be about an important moment that happened in the spring in your muse’s past, or it can just be about their feelings about spring or something they like to do during the season!

If anything in this post is unclear or you have any questions, please feel free to contact the admin. Please like this post to let me know you read it.

[superparadise-ghost]

The Ghosts Can Sing, and They Ache to be Heard

hi!

this is available on ao3 if you’d like to read it there, I’d probably recommend that. you can bookmark it there!

this might be for you if you: like Drew Tanaka, wish Drew Tanaka got a redemption arc, like Halloween stories, like a hypothetical friendship between Drew Tanaka and Will Solace, uhhh like Drew Tanaka

this is probably not for you if: you do not like Drew Tanaka, in which case I respect your decision but also why

Description: "Ghosts can't sing."

But Drew is beginning to doubt that sentence. And she's beginning to doubt her memories of Silena Beauregard.

Or, Drew Tanaka keeps coming back to the same Halloween costume, despite how much she thinks she hates it, and she keeps hearing somebody sing Silena's old, favourite song, without anybody actually being there to sing such a melody...

Chapter: 1/6

Ghosts Can’t Sing

“Ghosts can’t sing. They don’t have any breath left, so they don’t have a voice.”

Drew doesn’t look up from her laptop at Lacy Liou’s argument. She’s too busy browsing mindlessly through Halloween costumes. She isn’t going to be buying one (she stitches fabric by hand every October), but she’s searching for inspiration.

One image shows a bad replica of Veronica Sawyer. Drew frowns thoughtfully, and jots Veronica, or Heather D? on her notepad. It sits beneath black swan.

“It’s a story, Lacy.” Piper Mclean’s voice sounds exasperated, tired. The distinct sound of a coin hitting wood rings in Drew’s ears. Piper curses. “Fuck. Now I can’t find it! That was a whole two dollars!”

“Maybe next time, don’t launch it at the ceiling,” Mitchell Plums suggests.

Drew’s cursor hovers over a picture of a doll costume. She purses her lips. She went as a doll two years ago, but… maybe she can pull it off again?

She scribbles the idea down.

“Anyway, Lacy, it’s a made-up story. Leo told me it. Haven’t you ever heard of ghost stories?” Drew finally looks up, feeling her neck creak with pain, to see Piper crawling around the floor, hands running over the wooden panels to feel for a coin.

“It’s a dumb story,” Lacy mumbles. She’s sitting on her bunk, legs dangling seven feet off the ground, kicking her feet back and forth slowly. Drew thinks her outfit is a little too Mean Girls for the year 2018—a pink-and-white chequered skirt, a pink turtleneck, a pink cap and white, appropriately-lacy socks.

“All ghost stories are dumb, Lace,” Drew says, closing her laptop. Her notepad is full enough that Drew can now make a comparison. “Especially any Leo Valdez tells.”

“Hey!” Piper pokes her head out from beneath her bed. “He may be an idiot, but he’s my idiot best friend. And the story wasn’t that dumb. Right, Mitch?”

Mitchell stays quiet, and Drew can see him pretending he can’t hear the girls bickering.

“So, I wasn’t listening.” Drew tucks her laptop beneath her bed and ignores Piper’s comment of ‘to nobody’s surprise’. “What was the story?”

“I can’t be bothered to repeat it now,” Piper sighs. “The main idea is that there’s this boy, and his brother, who always sang some song, dies in a car crash. And the boy lives his life in mourning and one day, while he’s in the shower, he hears a muffled singing. He gets out of the shower to look, nobody’s there. It happens a few more times until this guy just fucking rips open the shower curtains to see who it is, and it’s the ghost of his brother.”

“Spooky,” Drew drawls, and smirks. Piper rolls her eyes.

“Well, if you want to yell at someone for the story, go talk to Leo,” she says, sitting up on her knees, a dusty coin in her hand. “Ha! I found it after all. Suck on that, Fates.”

“Yeah, actually, I might go do that,” Drew says. She swings her legs off the bed and stands up, stretching. Her red Chuck Taylors thud on the floor. Piper blanches.

“Wait, what? Hold on, Drew, wait, I was kidding, I—”

“Bye, love!” Drew makes sure her red skirt swishes when she turns around—it’s a habit. “If Leo isn’t at dinner, you know why!”

She exits the cabin as Piper yells, Lacy snorts with laughter and Mitchell gasps.

The day is… fine, Drew supposes. There’s little cloud cover, and the sun is just sitting over the horizon, ready to set, dying the sky a golden shade of orange. There’s a breeze, but it’s only just cold enough to separate the weather from a Spring day. Birds are chirping somewhere in the woods, and if Drew strains to hear over kids squealing and Sherman Yang bellowing for a fight, she can hear the water nymphs gossiping.

But Drew’s never been a fan of Autumn. She much prefers Summer, when she can jump into the lake with her clothes on and nobody will whisper that’s not a very preppy thing to do behind her back. When she doesn’t have to bother with wearing a sweater, and wondering what time she’ll have to shed it, and when she’ll have to pull it back on.

Oh, well. She’s not Zeus.

Drew looks around camp. She’s not going to go make fun of Leo—she never was. She just wanted to go outside before it got too cold to do so in a skirt. But now, she’s not too sure where to go. Perhaps she can just go for a walk around camp, listening for some rumours she can either debunk or pull to the surface. Or she can head to the archery range, watch Bella Swarchovski practise her shooting (the girl had some biceps, Drew wasn’t ashamed to admit she thought she was cute). Maybe she could even pick up a spear and train for a bit, run the stick through some dummies.

Her eyes drift to the big house, where somebody’s blaring The 1975 so loudly it hurts to even try and think over it.

She knows who’s in there, making such a ruckus. She might as well go convince him to turn it down.

Drew feels dry leaves skate on her calves as she wipes her feet on the doormat of the big house. They feel like the breath of a vampire—dry and coarse. She shudders, and walks inside.

The music is ten times louder now, and she can see the culprit. Honestly, to not see him would require absolutely no vision; nobody can miss a mop of curly blond hair, or a six-foot figure that dances like he can’t even walk, or a bright orange set of scrubs. Drew almost wishes she wasn’t even friends with this boy.

“WILL!” She screams to be heard over the music. Will Solace doesn’t seem to hear. He continues to jump around while cutting bandages, which, Drew presumes, is totally not proper safety protocol. “WILL SOLACE!”

Finally, Will freezes, and turns around. In one hand, he holds a pair of scissors, open and very sharp. In the other, a roll of bandages. A paper sticker with his name in messy handwriting, spelled with three Ls, is stuck to the pocket of his scrubs. He grins, and waves at Drew.

“Hey Drew!” He shouts. “What’s up?”

“Your music volume? Turn it down, dude!”

Will’s eyebrows scrunch together in a way Drew may have once found endearing and attractive. He dials the volume knob on his old radio to the left and bites his lip sheepishly.

“Better?” He asks. Drew chuckles.

“So much better. Now I can hear myself think.”

Will’s blue eyes convey too many emotions for Drew to keep up with. They’re always like that—they swirl and flicker like stars, matching the constellations of freckles all over his skin. He sets down the bandages and scissors and beckons Drew over.

“So what brings you to the infirmary? Other than the music, I mean.” Will prods a cupboard door shut with his foot. Drew wanders forward, picking up a framed polaroid photo on her way.

It’s a photo from last year’s Halloween party, hosted by the Aphrodite cabin, as usual. Drew’s wearing an elaborate fae costume she’d designed from scratch, all detailed and shimmery gold. She’s rather proud of that costume.

On the left of past-Drew, Will has one arm around Nico di Angelo, and one around Lou Ellen Blackstone. He grins with horribly fake vampire teeth, a set to go with his costume. To Drew’s right, Cecil Markowitz is wearing a crown made of glowsticks and sticking out his tongue.

“We need a better photo this year,” Drew says, setting the phot back down and turning back to Will, who nods cheerfully.

“Oh, yeah. I have a much better costume this year, and I’ve even convinced Nico to dress up. I hope your cabin can make the party as good as ever.”

“We’ll go above and beyond, Solace,” Drew promises, falling into a spinning chair and using her toes to push herself around. “As long as you guys can get a good playlist. Can I know your costume?”

“You cannot!” Will snips one last bandage and collapses on a cot, sprawled out like some long-ass octopus. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Shame.” Drew twirls her hair between her fingers, watches as the sun sends glowing, faint rays through the window and Will subconsciously absorbs it into his skin. His eyes seem to glow a little brighter. “I was going to ask for help on what I should go as.”

“I can still help!” Will exclaims. Drew tries not to laugh at the excitement in his voice. “Look, do you have a list? Because I already came up with some ideas, like, what about the girl from The Ring?”

“Samara?”

“Yeah, her! Or Edna, from The Incredibles.”

“I’m not going as her!” Drew bursts, watching Will cackle. “I’m way too tall!”

“I know, I know, I was kidding.” Will gulps down some water from a glass next to the cot. “In all seriousness, though, do you have any ideas?”

“Um…” Drew screws up her nose and tries to think back to her notepad. It’s only been a few minutes ago that she’d looked at it, but her ADHD makes her memory about as good as a goldfish’s. “Well, I know Veronica Sawyer was on it. Or Heather Duke. And, um… Wednesday Addams?”

Will nods sensibly, like he’s in the middle of a meeting, and drums his fingers on his knees to the tune of whatever song is playing now. Drew knows for sure that a black swan ballet dancer was on there, but for some reason, she feels hesitant to s it. Perhaps it’s because that had always been something Silena had suggested she’d go as when she grew older.

The comment has always bothered Drew—the black swan was the villain of Swan Lake’s story, the one who pushed Odette to her death. It wasn’t fair that Silena always saw Drew as the villain, the ‘bad girl’ who’s only motive was lust.

It especially wasn’t fair that Silena turned out to be the traitor, the sister who got so many killed. The sister who always dressed as the white swan.

And yet… the pull of the black swan costume is strong. Drew hates how appealing the idea of going in such a costume is.

“I think Veronica’s a good idea,” Will finally says, snapping Drew from her bitter memories. “I mean, her side of the story is much creepier and more disturbing than Duke’s.”

“Mhm.” Drew is only half listening. And Duke is the villain. “And, like, there’s a whole list. We’ll give it a look-over tomorrow?”

It’s a question. Lately, Will’s been pretty busy looking after his little sister, Tess, who has influenza. And, of course, he’s always on dates with Nico.

“Yeah, come and meet me at archery range at about noon!” Will glances outside, and Drew follows his gaze. The sun has finally set—time for dinner. Time to go help Piper wrangle their siblings.

“Will do.” Drew stands up and blows a kiss to Will, who pretends to catch it and grins. “See you tomorrow, love. Tell Tess I hope she gets better soon.”

When Drew arrives back at the Aphrodite cabin, her siblings are lined up, chatting about Halloween and the pumpkins they’ll carve and the costumes they’ll wear. Drew tells Piper she’ll catch up to them at the dining pavilion, if she wants to take them all now. Piper nods and herds everybody outside, leaving Drew alone with her notebook in hand.

She hesitates, but once she starts to scratch out black swan, she can’t stop. She scribbles furiously, feeling her heart clench and not stopping until she rips the paper with a harsh hiss.

[trojantoast]

Heartlines - Zutara Week 2018  Day One - First Kiss

“Oh what a thing to choose

But, no

In some way I’m there with you 

up against the wall

on a Wednesday afternoon 

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand”

- “Heartlines” by Florence + The Machine

#zutaraweek

@zutaraweek

There comes a certain point in every housewarming party for someone in their mid twenties that a threshold is crossed. After that threshold is crossed there can be no turning back. At this particular housewarming party, that threshold was kissing games with an empty bottle of alcohol.

Katara stared at Sokka, who held the bottle of firewhisky aloft.

“Everyone in a circle on the floor.” he commanded with an authority that was not a far cry from the tone he used on the Day of Black Sun.

“Sokka, what are you doing.” Katara rubbed her temples, she had already had far too much to drink and a game of spin the bottle with this crowd did not sound appealing in the least. One person in their little party was her brother, the other was her brother’s wife, one was the avatar and her ex boyfriend, one was the greatest earthbender on the planet who Katara wasn't sure had brushed her teeth in the last year,another was pink clad acrobat and her kyoshi warrior girlfriend  and Zuko.

Katara glanced around the room, no one else seemed to have a problem with this except her. Well, and Zuko, who Katara was pretty sure hadn’t heard the beginning of the conversation and looked very confused.

“Sokka are sure this is a good idea.” the waterbender eyed her very drunk brother.

Katara stumbled forward as a hand slapped her back. “It's fine Sugar Queen, it'll be fun.” Toph gave her a wide grin and Katara grimaced. Katara wasn't so sure.

“So how do you play this.” Aang inquired innocently. The group had gathered on a mat on the floor of Sokka and Suki’s new home on Kyoshi island,  in a loose circle with the whiskey bottle on its side in the middle of them.

“Well, young, naive twinkle toes, this game is called Ten Minutes in the Lower Ring.” Toph started confidently she leaned back on a couch behind her, one leg resting on the other’s knee and her head tilted back.

“No,” interjected Ty Lee. “I thought it was Eight Minutes by The Docks.”

“Wait, I thought it was called Six Minutes in The House.”

Katara heard a groan next to her and she turned to see Zuko pinching the bridge of his nose. “What are you all talking about? I've never heard of any of these games.”  

    “Yeah I'm confused too.” Aang looked around the circle.

    Suki chuckled. “ Well Aang, and Zuko, on Kyoshi we call it Seven Minutes in Paradise, spin the bottle is another name for it, those other names reference to the pleasures one experiences in a harem.” she said it so nonchalantly Katara couldn't help but smile.

“What is this game?!” Aang's shocked voice made Katara out-right giggle.

“Well,” Suki continued, “its a kissing game, one person spins an empty bottle and they have to spend seven minutes in a room alone with whoever it lands on. Alone, as in,… making out.”

Katara didn't like how Aang’s eyes immediately turned to her, she looked away. They had only broken up afew months ago, it had been a very long (and painful) relationship for her.

“In the South Pole we called it Seven Minutes by the Fire.” Sokka said out of the blue. His bravado had faded a tad and now he shamelessly stared at Suki.

This was so weird.

“ lets stop blabbing and get to playing.” Toph chimed in. Zuko groaned again.

    It was katara’s turn first and she found that her heart beat quickly as she considered her options. The only person that it wouldn't be incredibly painful to spend seven minutes with was probably Zuko and Ty Lee’s girlfriend (Katara was pretty sure her name was Nim Mae). Nim Mae wouldn't be too bad because Katara didn't know her and Katara could easily purge the incident from her alcohol hazed mind, and Zuko, well, Zuko was complicated.

    Katara rested her fingertips on the cool glass and gave it a spin. For a moment the room was silent as the bottle spun but Katara’s heart began to hammer as it slowed, finally it came to a rest between Aang and Zuko. Katara wanted to crawl in a whole and never come out. But seemingly of its own accord the bottle shifted over to Zuko and the room let out a sigh of relief. Except for Zuko, he inhaled deeply and a blush rose up his neck.

    “Up and at em you two, the bottle’s word is law.” Toph said almost to cheerily.

Katara looked over at Zuko who’s dark hair was a little mussed up and his gold eyes burned, he gave her a small smile.

    “The bottles word is law.” Katara repeated.

    Zuko and Katara found themselves in a small closet off one of the main hallways. The only thing in it was a bucket collecting leaking water from the roof. The room was quickly filled with their body heat and Katara could smell Zuko from her position leaning on the back wall.

He smelled really good, like spices. He leaned up against the door frame.

“So have you ever played this before.” Zuko asked awkwardly. Everything about the past fifteen minutes was incredibly awkward.

“No have you?”

“Nope”

“So do we just…?”

“Yep.”

There was a beat of silence where Katara worked up her courage and she crossed the foot of space between them meeting his lips.

When their mouths met, energy coursed through her body; hot and heavy. They broke away after first contact and there was another beat of silence as they both reflected on the threshold they had just crossed. Things would never be the same after this seven minutes in the closet.

Their lips met again.

This time more passionate. Zuko pressed Katara against the wall lifting her up on her toes. She threw her leg over his knee and straddled his thigh. She felt his hands roam up her sides as her tongue sneaked into his mouth. Her gut churned and Zuko braced himself with one elbow above her head. Katara tilted her head a little and she felt Zuko’s teeth brush her lip. They separated another time to catch their breath. The waterbender and the Firelord’s chests heaved in rhythm. Katara saw his eyes glint in the darkness. He brought his head closer until his heavy breathe was on her neck.

“Why have we never done this before.” Zuko murmured. Something light fluttered around in Katara’s chest. She pressed her mouth to the exposed skin above his collar as Zuko began to kiss her neck.

“I don't know.” Katara said, an uncontrollable smile spreading across her face. “But we sure were stupid”

    Toph couldn't help but grin as she sat in the circle back in the living room, listening in to the two’s “little moment”. She would tell Katara later that the bottle cap was metal.

So I'm finally able to contribute to Zutara week! barely. I’ve had a really long week and my life has been super busy but here I am. an hour late to the first day of ZK week. but I hope you all enjoyed and I'm already working on tomorrows prompt (Letters)

[ruairidhbrown]

It’s Been A While.

Hello everyone.  It has been a long time since my lazy old Dad has written anything but he said it was something to do with being busy at work.  Anyway a lot has happened since the last blog so this is a bit of an update of the last couple of years or so, along with some of the best pictures.

I am still racing with Special Olympics Scotland West but I have also raced in my first UCI sanctioned World Championships and have changed cycling clubs to one in East Kilbride, St Christophers Cycling Club.

So where did I leave off?  That’s right, just before the first collarbone break.  Yes, the first!

I had started 2016 as part of Scottish Cycling’s iDevelop programme and was enjoying training and racing in the Scottish Cycling Track League each Wednesday night at Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.  I had just competed in my first road race of the season in the Velo29 Crits at the Croft motor racing circuit in the north of England, had raced well in the Cat4 race and was looking forward to the next one.  I had also taken a couple of wins in the C group at Track League and everything was going well until I hit the deck one Wednesday and broke my right collarbone.

So that was me sidelined for six weeks.  It wasn’t all bad as I got to go to work with Dad and did a couple of cool things whilst laid up.  It is true what they say – chicks dig scars.

After crashing I was a bit out of sorts and lost a bit of confidence so there wasn’t really much racing for the rest of the year, just a few local road races and time trials.  I had a good weekend at the Special Olympics National Competition at Tameside in July, winning three gold medals and recording a personal best time in the 10k Time Trial.

There was no Track League that winter for me.  I didn’t feel confident enough but also coming into a new season a year older meant I was no longer a Junior and the cost of entries went up quite a bit.  Busy old Dad was away on a lot of Wednsedays as well so getting to and from the Velodrome wasn’t easy.

As 2017 started I knew I would be competing in the Special Olympics GB National Games in Sheffield.  This is the big four yearly competition held by SOGB, so from that point of view was important.  It would also be a gauge for those athletes who wanted to be selected for the SO World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

There was, however, another opportunity that was coming together.  SOSW coach Tom A’Hara and my Dad had been trying to get the UK Sports Association to support an entry into the INAS World Cycling Championships before but in 2017 it was taking place in Assen in Netherlands and Tom knew the people on the organizing committee of the whole event.  It was down to Tom therefore that myself and fellow SO athlete Keira Byland were invited to take part as guest riders in what would be my first ever UCI sanctioned World Championships at the end of July, one week before the SO National Games.

It was a great event and I met some of the riders I had raced against at the last SO World Games in Los Angeles.  The INAS event is an elite level competition for ID athletes so there was no Divisioning and I was up against former World Champions and some of the best riders in the world at my level.

It was pretty last minute when the invitations came through and I hadn’t really been doing any racing or training in preparation for the event.  The first event was a 7.6km Individual Time Trial.  I finished eighth, less than a minute from a podium place so I was really happy with that result.

Keira and I then took part in the Team Time Trial, but as a mixed team we wouldn’t be classified, it was really just to allow us to gain some experience.  The next day was the main road race, 53.6km of a flat, open, windy course around the village of Gieten near Assen.  In the first lap of the circuit I chased a lot and tried to get into a break with a Dutch rider but I really should have saved my energy as on the next lap there was a crash at the back of the field and we lost three or four riders from the race, I got dropped in the cross wind and was struggling to stay in touch.  However, I kept chasing and as we came round with one lap to go the bunch had eased off and I managed to get back on.

Lars de Jong from Belgium made a jump as we headed out round the last lap and no one chased.  He rode away to win the race and the rainbow jersey of World Champion.  I kept going but was completely done by the end, finishing eighth again, 3:51 down on Lars.

The following week I headed to Sheffield with the Scotland West team for the SO National National Games.  We raced on a 1km circuit at Forge Valley school.  It was similar to Tameside where I have raced before but wasn’t quite as flat.  The competition was more or less the same as previous years at Tameside, apart from a couple of new riders, so I knew what to expect.  The Time Trial was tough as it was a bit windy on the day but the road races were pretty steady and I was really happy to once again come away with three gold medals.

With the prospect of competing in the INAS World Championships in 2018 I had to start training harder and racing in Track League again to keep progressing over the winter.  My Dad contacted Scottish Cycling to ask about some support as UK Sports Association require their athletes to be supported by the Governing Body and part of a performance pathway.  This is difficult for me as my disability doesn’t meet any of the current UCI or Paralympic classifications and on the whole the NGB and their funding partners refuse to support me.  Scottish Cycling, however, very kindly invited me to be included in the Junior and U23 iDevelop pathway again.  I had taken part in this two years ago so I knew what to expect.  In the end I didn’t expect things to be exactly the same.

Part of the plan was to get racing in Track League again.  I registered for the 2017/18 series and went along to race on the first week a little nervous but looking forward to it.  Racing in the C group again I was two races into the night and feeling much more confident.  However, as we went to start the last race of the night I was riding round the apron when someone in their wisdom tried to go onto the racing line by going straight up the banking, only to come straight back down again and cause a pile up, with me at the bottom, with another broken collarbone.  This time on the left side so at least I now have a matching pair.

It meant that training and racing over the winter had to stop for a while yet again.   I soon got back on the turbo trainer but decided that Track League was not necessarily the best place to race.  

I had raced at the first event when the velodrome opened in 2013 and learnt to ride and race with the fantastic input from the youth coaches in the west of Scotland.  It therefore really annoys me to see older men thinking that they have nothing to learn, and their lack of skill and experience causing accidents on the track that could easily be avoided.

So, for racing, I ended up doing something I said I would never do again after a cold, hard day at Callendar Park a few years ago and I entered the last three cyclocross races of the season.  Whilst they were pretty tough going, in the end I enjoyed them and they fitted in well to my training.

Over the winter I also took the step to join St Chrostopher’s Cycling Club in East Kilbride.  I am now racing in their distinctive colours and so far have done a number of cross races, time trials and road races.

At the start of 2018 I had great news.  I had been selected again to race for Great Britain at the Special Olympics Games World Games, this time in Abu Dhabi in 2019.  Shortly after that news I found out I had also been selected for the Great Britain team to compete in the INAS European Games and cycling World Championships that were to be held in Paris that July.

Scottish Cycling had been a big help again in the winter, including me in the iDevelop performance programme.  That gave me a good fitness base ahead of the races in Paris.  In the 10km TT I recorded a personal best and finished seventh overall, sixth in the European Games.  The road race was much closer however.  We raced over a 3.5km circuit in a 60km race.  I was a lot more confident this year and was in the front group until just over two laps to go when the eventual winner broke away.  The rest of the little bunch I was in started to break up and I couldn’t match the pace in what was the longest race I had ever done to that point.  I managed to sprint home in seventh, over a minute behind the winners, and again sixth in the European competition.

August 2018 took us to Stirling and the Special Olympics GB Anniversary Games.  This competition was mostly against the same riders I had raced in Sheffield the year before but there was a team from Belgium with a really good rider in my races.  

My time trial race was hard as we raced on an athletics running track and the surface was really sticky. In the end my Great Britain team mate Daniel won the gold medal and I won silver for the Scotland West team.  I was disappointed not to win the race but I was really happy for Daniel to win the gold medal.  The road races were pretty tough and really tactical.  The rider from Belgium was always there but really just sitting in and waiting for the sprint and we ended up with a group of four, together till the last lap.  In both the 15 and 25km races I made the perfect moves and was really really happy to win gold in both.

Now the focus turns to 2019. I am only six weeks away from going to the SO World Games in Abu Dhabi.  I have been training really hard, again with Scottish Cycling, and I can only hope I am as strong as I can be for races so early in the season.  I don’t know who I will be competing against but I can only go there and try my hardest.  Because I have been to a European and World Games before, and also competing at INAS World Championships, this may well be my last international Special Olympics Games so I am determined to try and win a gold medal.

It is also time to put myself forward for selection for the INAS Global Games and Cycling World Championships that will take place in October this year in Brisbane, Australia.  It will have some track cycling so I will need to get some training in at the Velodrome if I am selected, but no Track League.  Being at the end of our season at home I should be able to get a full summer of training and racing in to try to improve on my results from the last two years. Like all racing cyclists it is a dream to wear a rainbow jersey so I need to keep working hard.

There has been a lot going on and the one thing that many people don’t realize is that we; Special Olympics Scotland West, my family and friends have to fund raise for all of the costs for these competitions.  My Dad worked it out and since the Special Olympics European Games in 2014 when have had to raise around £10,000 just in entry costs for the major Games.  That doesn’t include the cost of my bike and kit and racing and training at home.  If I race in Australia in 2019, that will be another huge expense.  I have to thank everyone who has helped us financially along the way but most of all my mum and dad (you can tell he is writing this for me) who shoulder most of the costs.  I have a great collection of medals, many wonderful memories and made so many friends across the world, and yet I still have a lot more I want to achieve.

Old Paw Broon has been told to keep this page up to date now so in the coming months you will be able to watch and read all about the Games in Abu Dhabi and hopefully further competitions later in the year.

[kipperclothiers]

3 Ways to Give the Gift of Kipper, 2018 Edition

‘Tis the season for style. And, by that, we mean it’s a time to dress well (think of all those holiday parties between now and the New Year), and to give the gift of good taste – whether for the person developing their fashion legs or already off running. In any case, turn to Kipper Clothiers for the finest suiting, seasonal accessories, and plenty of gift opportunities.

 Get your Kipper holiday shopping started with promo code GIFTED48. Enter code GIFTED48 for:

15% Off all Holiday Collections

Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off Site Wide at Kipper SF

Sale starts now, and ends Wednesday night – 2 days only!

How can you give the gift of Kipper?

1. A Custom Suit for the Holidays and Every Occasion After

Whether it’s for yourself or the sharply dressing person in your life, a suit just isn’t the same when it’s out of a box.

A custom suit, by contrast, is ready to go for this holiday season and plenty of work and formal events in 2019. This year, when you purchase one of our 4 custom suit holiday packages, we will not only mail the card to redeem your package but also a little gift for that special someone to unwrap for the holiday. 

To make the experience even more special, Kipper has exclusive appointments around the holiday reserved for clients redeeming their purchase.

But, be sure to purchase by Dec. 20th to receive the gift by Dec. 23rd.

What options do you have?

Classic Collection

Call it “Suiting 101” – or an introduction to your very first custom suit. Just like your college English lit class, Kipper’s basics stick to the classics. Whether grey, navy, or black is more your style, the result is ready to make an impression in an interview, take you to prom, or stand out at graduation.

Texture Collection

Holiday parties, here you come! Whether that’s a New Year’s Eve bash, late-winter wedding reception, or something corporate and moderately casual, our Textures – to excuse the pun – perfectly suit the occasion. Stand out, in good taste, with checks, plaids, windowpanes, and more boundary-pushing prints.

Palette Collection

If you could cross the fashion cliché “pop of color” with an impeccably cut suit, our Palette Collection would be the hybrid. For the trend-dabbling statement maker or for someone wanting a non-traditional tuxedo, these solid, saturated ensembles further covering waistcoats and blazers always turn heads.

Flannel/Tweed Collection

How does your suit say “cold weather”? When the temperatures dip, don’t always resort to puffers, parkas, and sweaters. Rather, flannels and tweed, for their thicker, somewhat warmth-retaining composition, transition your typically adventurous style for the chillier months ahead.

2. Accessorizing with Kipper SF

Suits are your canvas, but accessories are the details giving your look that distinctive, finishing touch. Our sister site Kipper SF touches on the full range of possibilities.

The Standards

Whether for you or that special someone in your life, a menswear classic often makes a solid starting point for developing your fashion personality. Where to begin? How about with Gold Plated Knot Cufflinks, matching Tux Studs and Cufflinks, or a timeless Wool Flannel Tie?

Something Quirky and Eccentric

There are style novices, and then, there are aficionados ready to blaze a new trail. The latter has already discovered and established their tastes, and it’s up to everyone else to catch up. While particular and occasionally difficult to shop for, this natty dresser is always looking for the one piece – perhaps a patterned shirt, catchy shoes, or an otherwise out-there accessory – that keeps them standing out from the pack.

That’s where Kipper SF’s selection comes in. We’ve got cufflinks that satisfy your need for speed, a collar chain that’s just as seasonal as eggnog, and a brooch that’s already in bloom for spring. Shop these and plenty more gifts between $15 and $100.

3. A Gift Certificate for (Nearly) Limitless Style Possibilities

When someone’s style can’t be pinned down, that’s where a gift card comes in. Available from $25 to $1,000, in increments of $25, our gift certificates don’t expire, have no processing fees, and, best of all, let that fashionable person in your life select whatever they want – a custom suit, a better-fitting dress shirt, or an accessory (or two) right in line with their tastes. Keep in mind that physical gift certificates take up to 5 business days to ship, and digital gift certificates are available upon request.