#Georgia Production companies

[opencommunion]

"The story of  'John Doe 1' of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is tucked in a lawsuit filed five years ago against several U.S. tech companies, including Tesla, the world’s largest electric vehicle producer. In a country where the earth hides its treasures beneath its surface, those who chip away at its bounty pay an unfair price. As a pre-teen, his family could no longer afford to pay his $6 monthly school fee, leaving him with one option: a life working underground in a tunnel, digging for cobalt rocks.  But soon after he began working for roughly two U.S. dollars per day, the child was buried alive under the rubble of a collapsed mine tunnel. His body was never recovered. 

The nation, fractured by war, disease, and famine, has seen more than 6 million people die since the mid-1990s, making the conflict the deadliest since World War II. But, in recent years, the death and destruction have been aided by the growing number of electric vehicles humming down American streets. In 2022, the U.S., the world’s third-largest importer of cobalt, spent nearly $525 million on the mineral, much of which came from the Congo.

As America’s dependence on the Congo has grown, Black-led labor and environmental organizers here in the U.S. have worked to build a transnational solidarity movement. Activists also say that the inequities faced in the Congo relate to those that Black Americans experience. And thanks in part to social media, the desire to better understand what’s happening in the Congo has grown in the past 10 years. In some ways, the Black Lives Matter movement first took root in the Congo after the uprising in Ferguson in 2014, advocates say. And since the murder of George Floyd and the outrage over the Gaza war, there has been an uptick in Congolese and Black American groups working on solidarity campaigns.

Throughout it all, the inequities faced by Congolese people and Black Americans show how the supply chain highlights similar patterns of exploitation and disenfranchisement. ... While the American South has picked up about two-thirds of the electric vehicle production jobs, Black workers there are more likely to work in non-unionized warehouses, receiving less pay and protections. The White House has also failed to share data that definitively proves whether Black workers are receiving these jobs, rather than them just being placed near Black communities. 'Automakers are moving their EV manufacturing and operations to the South in hopes of exploiting low labor costs and making higher profits,' explained Yterenickia Bell, an at-large council member in Clarkston, Georgia, last year. While Georgia has been targeted for investment by the Biden administration, workers are 'refusing to stand idly by and let them repeat a cycle that harms Black communities and working families.'

... Of the 255,000 Congolese mining for cobalt, 40,000 are children. They are not only exposed to physical threats but environmental ones. Cobalt mining pollutes critical water sources, plus the air and land. It is linked to respiratory illnesses, food insecurity, and violence. Still, in March, a U.S. court ruled on the case, finding that American companies could not be held liable for child labor in the Congo, even as they helped intensify the prevalence. ... Recently, the push for mining in the Congo has reached new heights because of a rift in China-U.S. relations regarding EV production. Earlier this month, the Biden administration issued a 100% tariff on Chinese-produced EVs to deter their purchase in the U.S. Currently, China owns about 80% of the legal mines in the Congo, but tens of thousands of Congolese work in 'artisanal' mines outside these facilities, where there are no rules or regulations, and where the U.S. gets much of its cobalt imports.  'Cobalt mining is the slave farm perfected,' wrote Siddharth Kara last year in the award-winning investigative book Cobalt Red: How The Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives. 'It is a system of absolute exploitation for absolute profit.' While it is the world’s richest country in terms of wealth from natural resources, Congo is among the poorest in terms of life outcomes. Of the 201 countries recognized by the World Bank Group, it has the 191st lowest life expectancy."

[frankbelloriley]

A family group chat suggested each one of buys 10 powerball lotto tickets because it’s at a billion, and I accidentally got the wrong one 🥴

[madamlaydebug]

HOW MANY OF YOU KNEW THIS ABOUT BROTHER WESLEY?!

Snipes formed a production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television.

AMEN RA PRODUCTIONS PRODUCED ALL OF THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL (AND LUCRATIVE) BLADE MOVIES

Snipes has been training in martial arts since age 12, earning a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido.

In the late 1990s, Snipes and his brother started a security firm called the Royal Guard of Amen-Ra, dedicated to providing VIPs with bodyguards trained in law enforcement and martial arts. In 1996, the first film produced by Amen Ra productions was A Great And Mighty Walk – Dr. John Henrik Clarke, in which Snipes narrated.

In 2000, the business was investigated for alleged ties to the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. It emerged that Snipes had spotted 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land with the intention to buy and use for his business academy, which were close to the compound in Putnam County, Georgia. Both Snipes' business and the groups used Egyptian motifs as their symbols. Ultimately, Snipes and his brother did not buy the land, instead establishing their company in Florida, Antigua, and Africa.

Snipes, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam in 1978, but left Islam in 1988. During a 1991 interview, Snipes said "[Islam made] me more conscious of what African people have accomplished, of my self-worth, [and gave] me some self-dignity."

[what-shitfuckery-is-this-ew]

BOYCOTTING FOR PALESTINE

The Official BDS Boycott Targets

Campaigns

Block the boat: End maritime arms transfer to Israel

Ban Apartheid Israel from Sports (FIFA, Olympics)

Consumer Boycotts - a complete boycott of these brands

Disney (SPECIFICALLY MARVEL)

Intel

Axa

Puma

Carrefour

HP

Cevron

Caltex

Israeli produce

Re/max

Ahava

Texaco

Siemens

Sodastream

Intel

Organic Boycott Targets - boycotts not initiated by BDS but still complete boycott of these brands

Macdonald's

Dominos

Papa Johns

Burger King

Pizza Hut

Wix

Divestments and exclusion - pressure governments, institutions, investment funds, city councils, etc. to exclude from procurement contracts and investments and to divest from these

Elbit Systems

CAF

Volvo

CAT

Barclays

JCB

HD Hyundai

TKH Security

HikVision

Pressure - boycotts when reasonable alternatives exist, as well as lobbying, peaceful disruptions, and social media pressure.

Google

Amazon

AirBnb

Booking.Com

Expedia

Teva

Here are some companies that strongly support Israel (but are not Boycott targets). There is no ethical consumption under capitalism and boycotting is a political strategy - not a moral one. If you did try to boycott every supporter of Israel you would struggle to survive because every major company supports Israel (as a result of attempting to keep the US economy afloat), that being said, the ones that are being boycotted by masses and not already on the organic boycott list are coloured red.

5 Star Chocolate

7Days

7Up

Apple

Arsenal FC

ALDO

Arket

Axe

Accenture

Ariel

Adidas

ActionIQ

Aquafina

Amika

AccuWeather

Activia

Adobe

Aesop

Azrieli Group

American Eagle

Amway Corp

Axel Springer

American Airlines

American Express

Atlassian

AdeS

Aquarius

Ayataka

Audi

Barqs

Bain & Company

Bayer

Bank Leumi

Bank Hapoalim

BCG (Boston Consulting Group)

Biotherm

Bershka

Bloomberg

BMW

Boeing

Booz Allen Hamilton

Burberry

Bath & Body Works

Bosch

Bristol Myers Squibb

Capri Holdings

Costa

Carita Paris

CareTrust REIT

Caterpillar

Coach

Cappy

Caudalie

CeraVe

Check Point Software Technologies

Cerelac

Chanel

Chapman and Cutler

Channel

Cheerios

Cheetos

Chevron

Chips Ahoy!

Christina Aguilera

Citi Bank

Carrefour

Codral

Cosco

Canada Dry

Citi

Clal Insurance Enterprises

Clean & Clear

Clearblue

Clinique

Champion

Club Social

Coca Cola

Coffee Mate

Colgate

Comcast

Compass

Caesars

Conde Nast

Cooley LLP

Costco

Côte d’Or

Crest

CV Starr

CyberArk Software

Cytokinetics

Crayola

Cra Z Art

Daimler

Dr Pepper

Del Valle

Daim

Doctor Pepper

Dasani

Doritos

Daz

Dior

Dell

Deloitte

Delta Air Lines

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Telekom

DHL Group

David Off

Disney

DLA Piper

Domestos

Domino’s

Douglas Elliman

Downy

Duane Morris LLP

Dreft Baby Detergent & Laundry Products

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream

eBay

Edelman

Eli Lilly

Evian

Empyrean

Ericsson

Endeavor

EPAM Systems

Estee Lauder

Elbit Systems

EY

Forbes

Facebook

Fairlife

Fanta

First International Bank of Israel

Fiverr

Funyuns

Fuze

Fox News

Fritos

Fox Corp

Gatorade

Gamida Cell

GE

Glamglow

General Catalyst

General Motors

Georgia

Gold Peak

Genesys

Goldman Sachs

Grandma’s Cookies

Garnier

Guess

Greenberg Traurig

Guerlain

Givenchy

H&M

Hadiklaim

Huggies

Hanes

HSBC

Head & Shoulders

Hersheys

Herbert Smith Freehills

Hewlett Packard

Hasbro

Hyundai

Henkel

Harel Insurance Investment & Financial Services

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HubSpot

Huntsman Corp

IBM

Innocent

Insight Partners

Inditex Group

IT Cosmetics

Instacart

Intermedia

Interpublic Group

Instagram

ICL Group

Intuit

Jazwares

Jefferies

John Lewis

JP Morgan Chase

Jaguar

Johnson & Johnson

JPMorgan

Kenon Holdings

Kate Spade

Kirks’

Kinley Water

KKR

KFC

KKW Cosmetics

Kurkure

Keebler

Kolynos

Kaufland

Kevita

Knorr

KPMG

Lemonade

Lidl

Loblaws

Levi Strauss

Louis Vuitton

Life Water

Levi’s

Levi’s Strauss

LinkedIn

Land Rover

L’Oréal

Lego

Levissima

Live Nation Entertainment

Lufthansa

La Roche-Posay

Lipton

Major League Baseball

Manpower Group

Marriott

Marsh McLennan

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Mastercard

Mattel

Minute Maid

Monster

Monki

Mainz FC

Mellow Yellow

Mountain Dew

Migdal Insurance

Marks & Spencer

Mirinda

McDermott Will & Emery

Motorola

McKinsey

Merck

Michael Kors

Mizrahi Tefahot Bank

Merck KGaA

Micheal Kors

Milkybar

Maybelline

Mount Franklin

Meta

MeUndies

Mattle

Microsoft

Munchies

Miranda

Morgan Lewis

Moroccanoil

Morgan Stanley

MRC

Nasdaq

Naughty Dog

Nivea

Next

NOS

Nabisco

Nutter Butter

No Frills

National Basketball Association

National Geographic

Nintendo

New Balance

Nutella

Newtons

NVIDIA

Netflix

Nescafe

Nestle

Nesquick

Nike

Nussbeisser

Oreo

Oral B

Old spice

Oysho

Omeprazole

Oceanspray

Opodo

P&G (Procter and Gamble)

Pampers

Pull & Bear

Pepsi

Pfizer

Popeyes

Parker Pens

Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Pizza Hut

Powerade

Purina

Phoenix Holdings

Propel

Ponds

Pure Leaf Green Tea

Power Action Wipes

PwC

Prada

Perry Ellis

Prada Eyewear

Pringles

Payoneer

Procter & Gamble

Purelife

Pureology

Quaker Oats

Reddit

Royal Bank of Canada

Ruffles

Revlon

Ralph Lauren

Ritz

Rolls Royce

Royal

S.Pellegrino

Sabra Hummus

Sabre

Sony

SAP

Simply

Smart Water

Sprite

Schwabe

Shell

Soda Stream

Siemens

StreamElements

Schweppes

Sunsilk

Signal

Skittles

Smart Food

Sobe

Smarties

Sephora

Sam’s Club

Superbus

Samsung

Sodastream

Sunkist

Scotiabank

Sour Patch Kids

Starbucks

Sadaf

Stride

Subway

Tang

Tate’s Bake Shop

The Body Shop

Tesco

Twitch

The Ordinary

Tim Hortons

Tostitos

Timberland

Topo Chico

Tapestry

Tropicana

Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries

Turbos

Tom Ford

Taco Bell

Triscuit

TUC

Twix

Tottenham Hotspurs

Twisties

Tripadvisor

Uber

Uber Eats

Urban Decay

Upfield

Unilever

Vicks

Victoria’s Secret

V8

Vaseline

Vitaminwater

Volkswagen

Volvo

Walmart

Wegmans

WhatsApp

Waitrose

Woolworths

Wheat Thins

Walkers

Warner Brothers

Warner Chilcot

Warner Music

Wells Fargo

Winston & Strawn

WingStreet

Wissotzky Tea

WWE

Wheel Washing Powder

Wrigley Company

YouTube

Yvel

Yum Brands

Ziyad

Zara

Zim Shipping

Ziff Davis

[feminist-space]

Article by Fortesa Latifi:

"Being the child of an influencer, Vanessa tells me, was the equivalent of having a full-time job—and then some. She remembers late nights in which the family recorded and rerecorded videos until her mother considered them perfect and days when creating content for the blog stretched into her homeschooling time. If she expressed her unease, she was told the family needed her. “It was like after this next campaign, maybe we could have more time to relax. And then it would never happen,” she says. She was around 10 years old when she realized her life was different from that of other children. When she went to other kids’ houses, she was surprised by how they lived. “I felt strange that they didn’t have to work on social media or blog posts, or constantly pose for pictures or videos,” she says. “I realized they didn’t have to worry about their family's financial situation or contribute to it.”

Vanessa, who requested anonymity to speak freely about her family dynamics, says she helped create content for huge companies like Huggies and Hasbro when her mom landed endorsement deals. When she reached puberty and began menstruating, her mother had her do sponsored posts for sanitary pads. “It was so mortifying,” she says. “I just felt like I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.”

Being part of an influencer family changed everything about her life, Vanessa says. “Sometimes I didn’t know where the separation was between what was real and what was curated for social media.” And her mother’s online presence indelibly warped their relationship. “Being an influencer kid turned my relationship with my mom into more of an employer-employee relationship than a parent-child one,” she says. “Once you cross the line from being family to being coworkers, you can’t really go back.”

...

Khanbalinov has had zero new offers since he took his kids offline. “When we were showing our kids, brands were rolling in left and right—clothing companies, apps, paper towel companies, food brands. They all wanted us to work with them,” he says. “Once we stopped, we reached out to the brands we had lined up and 99 percent of them dropped out because they wanted kids to showcase their products. And I fought back, like, you guys are a paper towel company—why do you need a kid selling your stuff?”

The law has woefully lagged behind the culture here, but there’s signs that policymakers might finally be catching up. In 2023, in addition to Illinois, three other states—New York, Washington State, and New Jersey—proposed bills to protect influencer kids. Contrast that with the flurry of legislative activity in just the first two months of 2024. Seven more states—Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, California, Arizona, Minnesota—have introduced similar legislation. Some of the bills are going one step further to protect the privacy of the kids featured in this content. In some states, proposed legislation would include a clause that borrows from a European legal doctrine known as the “right to be forgotten”—it would allow someone who was featured in content when they were a child to request that platforms permanently delete those posts. None of the current legislation introduced, however, would outright bar the practice of featuring minors in monetized content.

...

The movement on this issue was glacial for years, but it finally feels like the ice has thawed. Much of that progress is thanks to activists like Cam Barrett (she/they), a 25-year-old creator (@softscorpio) who uses TikTok to talk about her experience of being overshared in their childhood and adolescence. Barrett doesn’t go by her legal name anymore because of the online history it’s tied to. “I love my legal name,” Barrett tells me. “I just don’t love the digital footprint attached to it.” Last year, Barrett testified in front of the Washington State legislature as a proponent of a bill to protect influencer kids. This year, they testified again—this time, in front of the Maryland legislature.

“As a former content kid myself, I know what it’s like to grow up with a digital footprint I never asked for,” Barrett told the Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee in February. “As my mom posted to the world my first-ever menstrual cycle, as she posted to the world the intimate details about me being adopted, her platform grew and I had no say in what was posted.” And yet, Cam says her activism has been healing.

For Cam and other influencer children, getting a paycheck won’t give them back what they lost—a normal childhood unobstructed by the cameras pushed into their faces. But it could be the beginning of some version of restitution. “My friends say I’m fighting for little Cam,” she tells me. “It feels very healing because I didn’t have anyone to fight for me as a kid.”"

Read the full article here: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a60125272/sharenting-parenting-influencer-cost-children/

[secondbeatsongs]

Hello! I'm Julie from Cariona and I just want to ask if you're interested in doing ads/promotions here on Tumblr? If yes, how much do you charge per reblog?

For proof of legitimate promotions, you can check @catchymemes, @sulfatto, @isnt, and many others.

Website for reference: http://cariona.com Over 200 five star Facebook reviews: https://www.facebook.com/carionaproducts/reviews

Please feel free to respond here or reach out to us on marketing@cariona.com for more details! Thank you once again and have a great week!

absolutely fascinating that you decided to send this as an ask, when you also DM'd me. unfortunately, you may realize that this was a mistake - you see, asks can be responded to publicly.

so, allow me to respond:

hi, Julie! I'd never heard about Cariona before, so I decided to go poking around, and I learned something!

well, I learned a few things, actually. from your site, Cariona seems to be a small business that sells reusable menstrual products. and while I will never advertise a product that I haven't used, there's nothing wrong with wanting people to promote your company.

I have, however, found a few problems.

the first thing I found was this post by @crafiet from May 12th of last year, saying that shortly after making a purchase on your website, her debit card info was leaked, and used to make facebook ad purchases.

it seems that at least back then, your payment system was insecure. I'm really hoping you've fixed that, because. yikes.

and when I messaged crafiet to ask if it was okay if I linked to her post, she also mentioned that even though your website says you ship from Georgia, her package came shipped from China, and took a long time to arrive.

that's pretty sketchy.

the next thing I found was some folks talking about receiving cards with their orders that have a QR code on them with the words "Scan For God's Message To You", and that on the other side, have this bible verse:

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. Psalm 63:1

fun fact! that's from the King James Version (which I have a lot of thoughts about, but I'm not going to get into that right now).

additional fun fact! that particular psalm is from that time David fled to the wilderness because Jonathan's dad was trying to kill him.

and that's why I have to talk about the verses that follow it:

(ID in alt text; link to the NIV version if you want it)

so...are we like 100% sure it's god that David is thinking about here? because...I mean...that's pretty horny, right? and all of this while on the run from his boyfriend's dad?

I'm not saying anything, but like...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

it's a weird verse to choose for this, that's all.

anyway, back to you, Cariona: after seeing people talking about the bible verse cards, I decided to poke around your website more, and allll the way at the bottom of it, finally found your "About Us" page, which ends with this:

...look. there's nothing inherently wrong with being christian. but to say "we do not wish to impose any beliefs on our customers", and to then put bible verse cards in people's orders? that's sneaky, and I don't like it.

I also think it's a bit sneaky that you've flagged your tumblr account as pro-trans on shinigami eyes. at least, I assume you flagged it yourselves, because I didn't find a single post on your blog that mentions trans issues.

(though you have, entertainingly, reblogged some stranger things fanart, and a castiel cat cosplay)

and while your website uses very gender-neutral language, your "About Us" page doesn't say anything about being inclusive of trans people, just that you don't "discriminate against anyone who has a different belief than ours."

unfortunately, that's not good enough for me. I have this sneaking suspicion that "trans people are the gender they say they are" counts as a "different belief".

lastly, since you say on your website that people can message you asking about your faith, I had a friend do that!

baptists. you're baptists, which is a pretty conservative denomination.

and according to you, part of that 10% you donate goes to your local churches, and some missionaries. who are also probably baptists.

so.

in the end, I just...don't trust you? I don't trust that the 10% you're donating is going to organizations that aren't homophobic or transphobic. I don't believe that you're not trying to impose your beliefs on others, because that's what you're obviously doing. I mean, your "About Me" says that one of the reasons you built this company is to spread the gospel.

and I especially don't like it that you reached out to me (an openly queer person) for promotion without mentioning that you're an evangelical company.

so to answer your question, Julie: no. I am not interested in doing ads or promotions for you on tumblr. and honestly, you probably picked the wrong website for this kind of thing.

[alldancersaretalented]

Dancers attending P21 Intensive

??

Olivia Elise Victoria Nikolovva

AM Dance

Aurora Monroe

Ale Mancillas Dance Studio

Balbina Cueva

Allegro Performing Arts Academy

Arina Bryzgunova Bella Verbera-Hernandez

Aspirations Dance Company

Lola Nelms

Avanti Dance Company

Hayden Goren Eva Graziano Mia Menji Kaylee Randeniya Rosie Zahoul Sans Blair Tennant

Capitol Dance Company

Malia ?

Center Stage Performing Arts

Tommie Milazzo

Club Dance Studio

Brooklyn Besch Emma Kleve Claire Pistor

Dance Alliance of Camarillo

Shiloh Lark Farrah ?

Dance Dimensions Performic Arts Center

Victoria Safahi Serena Wilcox

DanceDynamicsLV

Lyla Haider

Dance Collective DC

Janelle Liu

Dance Edge Studios

Antonia Zanin

Dance Magic Performic Company

Savannah Lee

Dance Makers of Atlanta

Nola Paulina

Danceology

Ella Bustillos Hudson Hensley Ella Nani Knight Ella Koehnen Soleil Lynch Aria McCrea Cheyenne Ringerman Sydney Swinehart

Dance Republic

Graisyn Clare

Dansé Escuela de Danza

Alexa Ahumada Marielisa Portillo Isabella Trabucco

DC Dance Factory

Pay Lynch

Dolce Dance Studio

Brixtyn Cappo

École de dance Louise

Léonie Macorig

Edge Studios

Sienna ? Aria Giusti

Encore ELite

Leona Zariel

Epic Motion Dance Studio

Maria Sofia Rodríguez Mia Sofia Covarrubias Tinoco

Essence of Dance

Ava Killam Makena Killam Briar ?

Eternal Dance Company

Maddie Kronenberg

Evoke Dance Movement

Emmy Claire

Evolution Dance

Scarlett O'Neil

Evolve Dance Center

Maria Belen Salido

Evolve Dance Centre

Izabella Modarresi

Excel Performing Arts

Emma Sheff

Fusion Dance Omaha

Gigi Murray

Glass House Dance

Eden Cui

Groove Studios WA

Kaiden Koths Abby Mae

Hart Academy of Dance

Lydon Thach

Havilah Dance Company

Caitlyn Marie Malea Jade Moore

Inferno Dance Co

Maizie Smith

Instyle Dance Company

Jacilynn Mar

Janet Dunstans Dance Academy

Adeline Glenn

K2 Studios

Neriah Karmann Lennon Reign Jessica Sutton

Larkin Dance Studio

Matinly Conrad Palmer Petier

Legacy Dance Productions

Sophie Boonstra Paisley Clarke

Legacy Studio of Performing Arts

Brynne Smith

McKinley School of Dance

Teodora Narancic

Murrieta Dance Project

Khloe Cabrera Gracie Gilroy

N10 Dance Studio

Claire Avonne Kingston Madison Ng

No Limits Dance Academy

Ayanna Voulgaris

Nor Cal Dance Arts

Aria Davi Aubrey Paz Olyvia Reza

North Calgary Dance Centre

Ellie Blakley Georgia Blakley

OCPAA

Libby Haye

Onstage Dance Center - Los Alamitos

Adalyn Nicole

Pave San Diego

Eleanor Bullock Aryanna La Fontaine Cooper

Pave School of the Arts

Sofia Cuevas Stella Fisk Livi Matson

Perception Dance

Mabel James

Project 21

Ellie Anbarden Olivia Armstrong Lilly Barajas Sienna Carlston Kami Couch Katie Couch Kenzie Couch Airi Dela Cruz Stella Eberts Gracyn French Regan Gerena Richie Granese Mady Kim Brooklyn Ladia Leilani Lawlor Chloe Mirabel Savanna Musman Madelyn Nasu Avery Reyes Berkeley Scifres Bristyn Scifres Sara Von Rotz Leighton Werner

Project 520 Dance Studio

Adelynn ? Karli Heim Sasha Muratalieva

Queen City Dance

Annabel Speck

Seattle Storm Dance Troupe

Claire Clark

Shooting Stars Dance Studio

Karsyn Hernandez Malani Maliya

Stars Dance Studio

Hannah Burak Catherine Clayton Fabiana Pierleoni Elie Rabin

Starstruck Performing Arts Center KS

Kinley Winn

Steps Dance Center

Emmie Pitt

Studio Fusion

Harley Gross Juliet Anne Wydo

The Collaborative

Addison Cullather

The Company Space

Piper Perusse Stella Marcordes Vivian Marcordes

TheCREW

Isabella Tamayo

The Dance Collective DC

Eva Rogachevsky Quincy Thomas

The Dance Collective MD

Lyla Urban

The Dance Company of Los Gatos

Scarlett Blu Chloe Rose

The Vision Dance Alliance

Emily Polis

Utah Ballet Festival

Ruby Taylor

West Coast Dance Complex

Mila Barnett

Xtreme Dance Studio

Jocelyn Longroy

YYC Dance Project

Kinsley Oykhman

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Evelyn Preer

Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was an African American pioneering screen and stage actress, and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood during the late-1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the Black community as "The First Lady of the Screen."

She was the first Black actress to earn celebrity and popularity. She appeared in ground-breaking films and stage productions, such as the first play by a black playwright to be produced on Broadway, and the first New York–style production with a black cast in California in 1928, in a revival of a play adapted from Somerset Maugham's Rain.

Evelyn Jarvis was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 26, 1896. After her father, Frank, died prematurely, she moved with her mother, Blanche, and her three other siblings to Chicago, Illinois. She completed grammar school and high school in Chicago. Her early experiences in vaudeville and "street preaching" with her mother are what jump-started her acting career. Preer married Frank Preer on January 16, 1915, in Chicago.

At the age of 23, Preer's first film role was in Oscar Micheaux's 1919 debut film The Homesteader, in which she played Orlean. Preer was promoted by Micheaux as his leading actress with a steady tour of personal appearances and a publicity campaign, she was one of the first African American women to become a star to the black community. She also acted in Micheaux's Within Our Gates (1920), in which she plays Sylvia Landry, a teacher who needs to raise money to save her school. Still from the 1919 Oscar Micheaux film Within Our Gates.

In 1920, Preer joined The Lafayette Players a theatrical stock company in Chicago that was founded in 1915 by Anita Bush, a pioneering stage and film actress known as “The Little Mother of Black Drama". Bush and her troupe toured the US to bring legitimate theatre to black audiences at a time when theaters were racially segregated by law in the South, and often by custom in the North and the interest of vaudeville was fading. The Lafayette Players brought drama to black audiences, which caused it to flourish until its end during the Great Depression.

She continued her career by starring in 19 films. Micheaux developed many of his subsequent films to showcase Preer's versatility. These included The Brute (1920), The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921), Deceit (1923), Birthright (1924), The Devil’s Disciple (1926), The Conjure Woman (1926) and The Spider's Web (1926). Preer had her talkie debut in the race musical Georgia Rose (1930). In 1931, she performed with Sylvia Sidney in the film Ladies of the Big House. Her final film performance was as Lola, a prostitute, in Josef von Sternberg's 1932 film Blonde Venus, with Cary Grant and Marlene Dietrich. Preer was lauded by both the black and white press for her ability to continually succeed in ever more challenging roles, "...her roles ran the gamut from villain to heroine an attribute that many black actresses who worked in Hollywood cinema history did not have the privilege or luxury to enjoy." Only her film by Micheaux and three shorts survive. She was known for refusing to play roles that she believed demeaned African Americans.

By the mid-1920s, Preer began garnering attention from the white press, and she began to appear in crossover films and stage parts. In 1923, she acted in the Ethiopian Art Theatre's production of The Chip Woman's Fortune by Willis Richardson. This was the first dramatic play by an African-American playwright to be produced on Broadway, and it lasted two weeks. She met her second husband, Edward Thompson, when they were both acting with the Lafayette Players in Chicago. They married February 4, 1924, in Williamson County, Tennessee. In 1926, Preer appeared on Broadway in David Belasco’s production of Lulu Belle. Preer supported and understudied Lenore Ulric in the leading role of Edward Sheldon's drama of a Harlem prostitute. She garnered acclaim in Sadie Thompson in a West Coast revival of Somerset Maugham’s play about a fallen woman.

She rejoined the Lafayette Players for that production in their first show in Los Angeles at the Lincoln Center. Under the leadership of Robert Levy, Preer and her colleagues performed in the first New York–style play featuring black players to be produced in California. That year, she also appeared in Rain, a play adapted from Maugham's short story by the same name.

Preer also sang in cabaret and musical theater where she was occasionally backed by such diverse musicians as Duke Ellington and Red Nichols early in their careers. Preer was regarded by many as the greatest actress of her time.

Developing post-childbirth complications, Preer died of pneumonia on November 17, 1932, in Los Angeles at the age of 36. Her husband continued as a popular leading man and "heavy" in numerous race films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and died in 1960.

Their daughter Edeve Thompson converted to Catholicism as a teenager. She later entered the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg, Indiana, where she became known as Sister Francesca Thompson, O.S.F., and became an academic, teaching at both Marian University in Indiana and Fordham University in New York City.

Still from the 1919 Oscar Micheaux film Within Our Gates.

[30sims4ever]

30+ Sims4Ever Save File

30+ Sims4Ever is a group of adults aged 30 and up. The group was created back in May at the request of a Redditor. The group has taken off since then with 165 members with the anticipation of more leading up to the drop of our save file.

We are looking to release 4 worlds as early as December 1st and as late as December 31st:

Willow Creek

Magnolia Promenade

Newcrest

San Sequoia

Willow Creek (Heavily inspired by Georgia)

Lore:

The biggest industry left in Willow Creek is tourism, and even that is beginning to fade. Desperate to revitalise the city, the mayor relaxes several local restrictions to allow more fishing, and restart the previously decommissioned riverboats. Meanwhile, he heavily advertises to the movie industry, leading to a surge in movie tourism after a major period drama is filmed there. Overall, the plan works, and Willow Creek begins to distinguish itself as a destination, but the costs are high. The historic downtown area is cleaned up but also gentrified, and many workers can’t afford to live nearby, being pushed to the outskirts of Newcrest. The fishing and riverboats have brought in tourists but also gangs of environmental protesters, angry at the pollution and habitat destruction. But hey, the money has been good, and construction on the mayor’s new estate has finally finished.

Newcrest - 90's Time Capsule (Heavily inspired by Maine)

Lore:

Newcrest has a reputation as a quiet bedroom community. The schools in the area are some of the best in the country for beginning and intermediate education. One such school is Newcrest Charter, a well-funded private school. The reputation is glossy on the outside but there are cracks.  The police chief and Charter administrator have a deal to keep both their kids out of trouble - one with the law and one with their grades.

Mayor Azalea Simmons is oblivious to this scheme, and likely any others in the world. Unlike her surrounding politicians, Azalea doesn’t get wrapped up in legislating mumbo jumbo, she’s too busy keeping Newcrest affordable, and pleasant to live in. Which in her mind means - keeping it 1996 forever.

Magnolia Promenade (Heavily mixed with Georgia & Maine)

Lore:

Many of the buildings in Magnolia Promenade are old. Once historic structures like schools, warehouses, and homes, many have been converted into businesses. Maerina Walsh owns one such business in the prestigious shopping district - a quaint bed and breakfast. She has a reputation as an absolute nightmare of a boss. It's said to be lucky if she fires you on the first day, as she punishes others with impossible or gruelingly menial tasks. There is a longstanding rumor among locals that the ghost of an employee she once locked in the basement now haunts the establishment, though older residents say the ghost dates back to the original building. Maerina is well aware of the rumors but hasn’t disputed them, because as many people as they scare off, they also attract potential customers looking to catch a sight of the ghost.

San Sequoia (Heavily inspired by San Francisco)

Lore:

Ricky Pyler has grown San Sequoia into a major contender in the pharmaceutical and medical fields. Many large companies, production facilities, and conventions have relocated to the city, bringing a boom to the economy. Pharmaceutical companies have manipulated development deals, health information, and begun to illegally dump their waste in the river that runs downstream to Willow Creek. Zara Marquez, has been a nurse in San Sequoia for decades. She’s noticed an uptick in certain illnesses that are symptoms of this pollution which has brought her to run for Mayor herself. Another campaign opponent comes onto the scene in the form of Caleb Vargas - a rather young man from the business sector. Nobody really knows who he is, but he is extremely and strangely well funded. In reality he’s starting to bribe and bankroll many of Ricky’s old contacts with the intention of using them for his own devices

The contributors to this save file are as follows:

mstyBL95

s0pran0d1va

Nowheregirl94

Kylynara

Rieche

sabrinaakayy

whiskyrick

phronetiq

sparkersims

Tatselk

prncssHermione88

southernpeach

*More contributors will be added to this in the coming months as we update as we have left lots open for monthly challenges to our discord memebrs. If you are over the age of 30 and would like to be apart of our save file please join our discord server here: https://discord.gg/3552rQ7r

Important to note:

As we move closer to the deadline for the release of the save file a release of which simmers worked on which lot will be released

A list of all expansions, game, stuff and kit packs will be released advising what was used for the save file. There are no pack restrictions for contributors

All townies will have base game outfits so that no single townie is walking around partially naked

All townies have been assigned careers, children have grades and everyone has a relationship with their current houehold and others

Ghosts will be available in game

Townies will be added to clubs

Newcrest is a 90's time capsule

All lots that have additional structures were built in mind that if the structure differed from the lot type it would not impact the overall gameplay. (this means that a lot set as a Resturant with a resturant and movie theatre does not impact the overall function of the lot)

All lots have been game play tested

There will be a tool mod version of this game

Any simmers who are not comfortable downloading a tray file or those playing on console will be able to follow a legend to download from the gallery to upload lots and families

What to Expect in the coming months:

As we move closer to deadlines we will have more members submit. From the time members submit the lot is play tested by a second person to ensure that everything functions correctly and the lot has met minimum requirements. Once that is completed we have the file upload to the save.

Streetview pictures

Pictures of the lots

Picture and bio of the contributors

Lot details - Member, traits and pictures

World map overview filled in

Townie pictures and global lore

A list of all packs used in the save file

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

AMC Picks Up Captain Nemo Origin Series ‘Nautilus’ From Disney, Plans to Air Show in 2024

The Captain Nemo origin story series “Nautilus” lives on, with AMC Networks licensing the U.S. and Canadian linear and streaming rights to the live-action series from Disney Entertainment.

The 10-episode show was originally slated to air on Disney+, but it was announced back in August that the show was not going forward at the streamer as part of a wide-ranging cost cutting initiative at the Mouse House.

AMC and AMC+ will now air the show as a special television event in 2024, with an exact premiere date to be announced later. Inspired by Jules Vernes’ “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” the show will explore the early life of Captain Nemo, who is played by Shazad Latif. The character is described as “an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Mercantile Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him.”

“’Nautilus’ is a big, sweeping drama that is sure to appeal to fans of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe and other buzzy and fan-forward series like ‘Orphan Black: Echoes,’” said Ben Davis, executive vice president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “We are looking forward to bringing it to AMC+ and AMC as a special television event next year.”

Along with Latif, the cast of the show includes Georgia Flood, Thierry Fremont and Céline Menville, with guest appearances from Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor.

The series was developed and produced by Moonriver TV’s Xavier Marchand and Seven Stories’ Anand Tucker. James Dormer serves as writer and executive producer. Johanna Devereaux, Chris Loveall, Colleen Woodcock, and Daisy Gilbert also executive produce. Cameron Welsh serves as producer. Michael Matthews was the lead director.

“I am hugely excited that the efforts of everyone involved in the making of the show will be seen on such a prestigious network,” said Dormer.

“We are so thrilled to present the epic adventures of Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine The Nautilus alongside the other incredible AMC universes,” said Marchand and Tucker. “The series will take viewers on a breathtaking journey with Nemo and his crew, battling terrifying creatures and the dark forces of the British Empire.”

“Nautilus” is distributed by Disney Entertainment and acknowledges the support from the Australian Government’s Location Incentive and from the Queensland Government via Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy.

Source: The Variety

[castielstwigandberries]

if the supernatural movie doesnt include a reference to

nevada and georgia turning blue, stop the count, destiel making putin resign, sherlock season 5 rumors, destiel news meme, which political person had to be briefed on what destiel is now?, jensen looks like he was holding back homophobic slurs, weird cuts in the confession scene, which way was dean thrown now?, bury your gays speedrun, gay angels get send to superhell/eeby-deeby/cas plinko, recognizing the confession scene only by the first letters of each word, 'homosexual declaration of love', The Tapes™ (Release them now jensen!!!), meta analysis after 15x18, 'i gripped you tight and raised you from perdition' callback as dean saves cas from the empty, why lamp?, onion field, pizza man montage, parallels be paralleling, dean screaming cas name so loud in one take that people heard it blocks away, dean offering to kill sam if it means chuck brings cas back, the 4 year old son of lucifer becoming god, chuck won theory, 'we explore the nature of destiel in act two', excitement for a long finale which could only be about dean saving cas, right?, the insanity inducing quotes of the day for episodes, 'the night we met' and 'angel with a shotgun' songs of the day on set, filming in a barn, worst finale ever (even worse than game of thrones), weirly short with 11 scenes cut, two thirds montages, carry on wayward son playinf twice, back to back, one a weird cover version, vampmimes, no cas in the finale but instead some random vampire from season one no one remembers, dean finally gets nailed from behind, dean dies from tetanus, party city wig, good cars go to heaven, Car/Cas and Biden/Bi!Dean/Bye!Dean, 'cas helped', blurry wife, misha and jensen are not in the thank you video, everyone was supposed to be at the roadhouse originally but no one was informed of those plans, walker backdoor pilot, covid/capitalism destroyed everything, misha was in vancouver for filming the last episodes and was in less episodes than he was contracted for, misha denies ever having been in vancouver, misha says originally he was supposed to be in the finale as jimmy, misha says cas was supposed to be in the finale and 'sidle up to dean in the roadhouse', heterosexual destiel whose kisses would have created entire universes, destiel reciprocated in spanish, rogue translator, #TheySilencedYou, Jensen Ackles sexy silence, jensen ackles longcon, deanbenny breakup in season 8 script leak, Heller Obama, fake italian dub, misha collins x bill clinton sex scandal, misha addressing the "scandal" and tagging bill clinton and monica lewinski, 'still beautiful, still dean winchester', mishapocalypse 2.0 and 3.0, 'eyes like the sky' beer from jensens brewery rumored to be misha description, cockles anniversay photo, chaos machine jensen ackles' production company, 'rainbow road' beer close to deans birthday, blue green ('destiel') shotglasses from jensen brewery, ash and ellen's actors roleplaying roadhouse reopening in twitter, people think they are planning destiel wedding, disappointment when thats not the case, fans celebrate Destiel Wedding anyway on Valentine's Day 2021, fallout with both actors after one said a 'queer interpretation would damage the integrity of the show',

*takes a deep breath*

jared calling cas junkless and comparing his love for dean to the love he has for his children, misha collins cameo including 'still beautiful, still dean winchester', saileen and midam wedding, spn prequel announcement and subsequent j2 fallout, '@/robbiethompson et tu brute wow. what a trully awful thing you've done #bravo you coward', the prequel being about the least favourite characters of supernatural and a love story disproved by canon, 100000 destiel fics on ao3, misha tweets about that, rumors if mishas secret ao3 account, real italian dub going 'you're kinda okay' instead of i love you, misha tweeting a video of him saying 'te amo' in response to that', jensen saying if there'd been more time he (he meant dean but he used first person pronouns) would have hugged cas and said 'i love you too', first anniversary, misha collins coming out as bisexual on accident and then saying he 'happens to be straight' three days later in a five post apology thread, hot sauce from adam/micheal actor advertised by him playing midam, casbaiting in the winchesters trailer, jarlos shipping by winchester main actors, dean with beard and turtleneck, jensen saying he wanted misha in the winchesters but it didnt work out because of scheduling conflicts but hed be there in a season two shortly before the show was cancelled, death of the rogue translator and destiel getting dragged to the trending page every time there is news

*panting* then i dont want it.

yes this is all i could remember without looking it up

[opencommunion]

"Britain’s largest gathering of counter-terrorism experts assembled in London last month to discuss what one police chief called 'legal but harmful protest' following Israel’s war on Gaza. Inside a cavernous Docklands conference hall, companies at the Counter Terror Expo displayed gas mask-clad dummies and crowd control systems as enthusiastic AI reps promised revolutionary advances in surveillance. Tools for hacking phones with 'brute force,' monitoring someone’s emotional state based on their social media and rapidly digesting the contents of an 'acquired' computer were all up for sale. Among the potential customers were foreign police departments, including officers fresh from Georgia’s violent crackdown on anti-Russia protests.

Several salespeople declined to explain their products to the media. 'I can’t believe they let you people in here,' one rep told Declassified after seeing our press card. 'I think it’s disgusting.' Her company markets AI tools for military and law enforcement to process recordings of people’s voices. 

When delegates weren’t browsing spyware or sipping craft beer with a £12 'world food' meal deal, they could listen to the security industry’s leading lights. These included detective chief superintendent Maria Lovegrove who runs Britain’s Prevent strategy against radicalisation. She trumpeted 53 arrests for terrorism offences since October 7. Only one of these was for violence. The rest concerned social media posts or attending gatherings. Asked whether this data suggests police are overreacting to peaceful pro-Palestine protests, Lovegrove valorised an 'early intervention' approach. She told Declassified this was the 'greatest tool in preventing terror attacks' and insisted officers 'only arrest and prosecute when we have to.' Among those arrests were three women found guilty for wearing paraglider stickers at a protest.

Dom Murphy – the Met’s counter terrorism commander – told delegates he was monitoring 'legal but harmful' protests and the risk of 'low-sophistication' attacks by people radicalised online or at university since October 7th. 'If there are 100,000 people at a protest, and one person holding a Hamas flag, we will find them and arrest them,' Murphy reassured attendees. A majority of recent arrests targeted individuals aged under 17, he boasted, as proof that the 'early intervention' approach was working. 

Another panellist praised Britain’s ability to pre-emptively arrest people for public order offences at demonstrations and target them for terror offences further down the line. Craig McCann, a former senior Prevent officer, expressed the mood in the room when he described ceasefire marches as a 'permissive environment for the transfer of extremist ideology.' Like other speakers, he sought to delegitimise opponents of Israel’s war on Gaza by characterising pro-Palestine protests as an 'Islamist camp conflating with far-Right anti-Semitism.' McCann explicitly linked Palestinian nationalism with Nazism, an Israeli propaganda point. Fellow panellists claimed parts of London were a 'no-go zone for Jews.' Discussing threats from 'street protest all the way through to terrorism,' the conference presented far Left, far Right, 'Islamist' and 'environmentalist' ideologies as equal, inter-related threats to British society. ... After lunch, discussion turned to 'British values' and protecting England from the menace of social media and foreign flags that vexed thousands of officers under Murphy’s command. Many felt the next-generation tech on display would ensure ever more effective crackdowns on street protest and dissent."

[jun-of-love]

Until I Found You - choi seungcheol

genre: fluff, angst, choi seungcheol

pairings: scoups × yn

tw: injuries

words: 1.2k

a/n: i was listening to 'UntiI Found You' by Stephen Sanchez (i'm a basic bitch, leave me alone) and I saw this interview of him saying how he has written the song for his one true love called Georgia and he would never love anyone the same ever again and I just had to write this so..here we go ig :)

header credits: @saythestuff

Seungcheol was tired.

The echoes of fans’ screams on his every move were still ringing in his ears, the adrenaline active in his body. Yet, he felt nothing as he sat in the backseat of his van, which, considering the amount of time he spent in it, was more of a home to him than his apartment. He saw buildings rush by and could only think of how it was so similar to time. Time too, seemed incomprehensible to him when he moved so fast. Seungcheol closed his eyes, and just like routine, a slideshow of his favourite memories began.

It starts with the time he met you for the first time. He was sitting at the counter of his favourite little music instrument shop, where he was lucky to find a job as well. You were in a lilac hoodie, leggings, and ponytail, he remembers it clear as a day. You wandered around looking at instruments for a while, clueless and careful not to touch anything, until you saw the keyboard, which you rushed towards, and played ‘My Heart will Go On’ so perfectly, that Seungcheol almost thought you were trained for several years. It was until you started coming in almost every other day and played the same song every time, he figured out that was the only song you could play. And also, that you were quite tone deaf, and learned this song from sheer will-power.

He had made the first move. Working as a cashier in store, which happens to be the favourite place of quite possibly the cutest girl ever, has its own benefits. You hardly ever bought anything, except for CDs of some niche classical musicians, just sat in the store reading your book or doing some work. Luckily, Seungcheol knew how to enter a girl’s heart – through shitty instant coffee, so that he did. And it worked. Soon enough, you were laughing softly at his jokes, listening to his mixtapes, and manifesting for his dreams.

Seungcheol had underestimated how much love y/n had to give. You came in his life when he was struggling, and stuck to him like superglue through every trial he went through. You shared his mixtapes on every platform possible, made every café you visited play his music, made sure each and every friend and acquaintances of yours had heard his music. You would constantly DM all the artists and famous producers, as if they would read them and give Seungcheol the opportunity of a lifetime. You paid for promoting his music on Instagram- from whatever was left from your stupid copywriting salary after college fees took most of it. Seungcheol promised and swore on the heavens and hell, that he would give his beautiful girlfriend the life of her dreams, where he would fund everything and beyond, she would write as many books as she wanted, and they would live the happiest life a couple could dream of.

It seemed like fate was in his favour. Another day that he remembers as if it was yesterday. It was the weekend and Seungcheol was cooking with you in his apartment. Laughing at how not a single onion was getting properly cut by him, and him arguing that it doesn’t matter if it’s all going to be cooked at the end of the day. The conversation just ended with the stove turned off, and you in his arms. Regardless of how his life was going, his pathetic financial situation, and constant rejection from companies, he felt safe, at home with you in his arms. He felt like everything in the world would work out if you were there with him. And that’s what happened. His phone rang at that moment- it was a famous music production company, wanting to scout him based on his mixtape they heard playing in a café.

Rest was history. He was the S.Coups. You had giggled a little when you heard his work name, but admitted it was cool. Seungcheol got bigger and bigger opportunities. His handsome face went viral, and soon he went from a music producer to a bestselling artist. His once role models were now on his waiting list. Seungcheol felt like it was all a big fluke, and that he didn’t deserve this- but you were right there, with your healing smile- reassuring him that he had it in all this time.

But when one rises up too fast, life has a way of showing the ground, and fame is a bitch. Soon, your relationship was all about him. It was his conveniences, his schedule, his career, his image- yet you were fine with it, as long as he was happy. Seungcheol remembers the horrible day, when you waited for him all day in his apartment to tell him that you had won a writing competition by a publishing house. It was one the big break you were waiting for, and he just came home, dismissing you and falling asleep on the couch because he had drunk too much on a broadcast. He woke up the next day to find himself on the bed, in comfortable clothes and covered in a blanket. It was when he found the tear stained certificate on the table, that he realised how badly he had fucked up. Yet..yet you forgave him without him having to beg for forgiveness. Because you understood. You always did. Seungcheol wondered what your last straw would be, and prayed that he would never see the day it breaks.

Unfortunately, the day came. You had gotten into an accident, leg broken and several small fractures in the body. You had never experienced pain like this before, and only wanted Seungcheol in the room. Yet, he came four hours after he got the news, because he ‘had to’ complete his music show broadcast. This is the day he wishes he could forget. You were covered in bandages, but the pain in your eyes only reflected the pain in your heart. He was on his knees in the hospital room, and you looked at him in complete apathy.

“I have gone through too much because of you. I cannot take it anymore. You don’t have to do anything, I will remove myself from your life. You will not see me again.”

Seungcheol felt like his life had been taken out from him. He begged and groveled, promised to leave his career, sent thousands of flowers and gifts, wrote multiple letters- only to find them in the trash the next day. He kept persisting, until one day you just left, with no trace of where you were going. Just gone.

As if on cue, his van stopped rather harshly. “Sir, we’re here.” His driver woke him up. As he regained his senses, Seungcheol noticed the book he had been holding tightly all this time. Fifth one in the popular series written by y/n, the name adorned on it in calligraphy. He opened the first page, and the words on it broke his heart into a million pieces.

“To my husband Joshua, thank you for always being there for me.”

Maybe in the next life. He will find you and love you like you deserve. The next life.

[shitpunsforshitnuns]

OBSESSED with the fact that the infamous “gross American food” poll is fully just poor people food that people still make/buy either because it was passed through their family or because they’re still poor. Allow me to elaborate. Here’s the poll if you’ve managed to avoid the discourse:

American Chocolate tastes different because of two factors: the majority of our cacao comes from South America unlike Europe which generally imports from Africa (moving product farther costs more money). Also, American chocolate is only required to have 10% cacao as opposed to Europe’s 20% (using less cacao and supplementing with readily available sweeteners like corn syrup costs less money). In fact, the very first American Chocolate company (Baker Chocolate Company) was so aware of how much less wealthy the early US was than Europe’s established market for chocolate, that their bars came with a money back guarantee for anyone who was disappointed with the sweets. The current financial situation in the US is well known to the rest of the world- of course we still make and eat cheap chocolate, the bones of our country are exploitation. Also, the dairy content is lower in American chocolates which makes them more shelf stable. Shelf stable foods are important for communities living paycheck to paycheck who have money for a chocolate bar right now but won’t for their kid’s birthday in a week.

Bologna feels self explanatory to me. It’s made of literal scraps from the meat production industry that are then turned into a “sausage” and cured to give the product more longevity. I like fried bologna because it was cheaper for my dad’s parents when he was a kid. My dad likes bologna for the same reason.

Watergate Salad is made of shelf stable ingredients. Many desserts require eggs or dairy that can be expensive and expire quickly. Those desserts then get stale if they aren’t eaten immediately. Canned fruits, pistachio pudding mix, and cool whip (which is hydrogenated oil and very little dairy) will all keep for a while. You can buy them in bulk and put them in your cabinets or freezer until you want to use them and then the salad itself will keep in the fridge. See again the importance of shelf stable foods to impoverished communities.

Twinkies are cheap and go stale slowly. See again the importance of shelf stable foods in impoverished communities.

Grits, Boiled Peanuts, and Biscuits and Gravy are all southern comfort food staples. I was born and raised in north Georgia, it’s very important to me to note that almost all southern food was co-opted from freed slaves by poor rural white folk in the south. Plain grits can be deeply unappetizing but they are cheap and self stable. You can add butter and salt or even seasoned meat and veggies. Grits are rarely a whole meal all to themselves and when they are you add some cheese or salt at the very least. George Washington Carver (a black man many people outside of Georgia should acquaint themselves with at least a little better) turned peanuts into a massive cash crop in Georgia because they are nitrogen fixing! They replace the nitrogen other cash crops (like cotton and tobacco) take out of the soil. In order for your fields to stay viable, you have to plant something like this every once in a while, so most farmers had peanuts themselves or had a neighbor growing peanuts. Boiling them is a quick, easy way to get salt on the nuts themselves. The water soaks through the shells and seasons and softens the nuts. Water is free and peanuts will keep until the fats start to go south, no wonder they picked up popularity among rural folk and travelers alike. Biscuits and gravy are another scrap food. A good sausage gravy is made of leftover sausage and southern biscuits are a savory, buttery carb that is filling and gives you energy you need somewhere like a farm. The negative stereotypes of the south are pervasive and often rooted in racism. Find someone whose grandma has been making these foods her whole life before you form an opinion.

Meatloaf is seasoned more often than not. Like. Sorry you ate meatloaf that wasn’t salted. Anyway, meatloaf is another scrap food! Meat scraps are ground up and then formed into a loaf. Most people put tomato sauce or ketchup on it. Canned tomato products are, you guessed it, shelf stable, and can also be canned at home fairly safely.

The United States at large is not ignorant of the world around it. We are aware that other foods exist. Either we are choosing to eat these or our financial situations are backing us into corners. This is all without even touching upon the prevalence of food deserts in low-income, minority communities in the US. If you’re aware of all this and you really just want to critique the wealth disparity in the US, punch up. Go after the guys with money, not the food that the rest of us find joy in making out of the scraps. Also, making fun of the British is always punching up. Maybe if you had caused fewer wealth disparities that directly impacted the food eaten in other countries, we would be nicer about yours.

[silly-tanks-and-other-things]

This is the Ford Model 1918 3-Ton tank.

Designed in 1918 by the Ford Motor Company, it was one of the first American tanks ever produced.

The M1918 weighed only 3 tons, as the full name suggests. It was an incredibly small tank, measuring 4.3 metres (14 ft) long, 1.8 metres (6 ft) wide, and 1.8 metres tall, and having just two crew members (one driver, one gunner) in its extremely cramped hull.

Despite its engines having been pulled right out of a Ford Model T and getting discribed as anemic, the M1918 had a fairly quick top speed for the time at 12.8 km/h (8 miles/h)

Those silly arms on the back of the tank help it avoid getting stuck in ditches!

Despite being intended as a light tank, the first two prototypes didn't even have a gun. They were effectively just lightly armoured boxes that you could sit a person in.

The idea behind the M1918 was that it would be used to safely transport soldiers and weaponry onto a battlefield, though it didn't end up being very good at that.

This thing was a death box :D

It was based off of the French Renault FT-17, but is worse in almost every way possible.

When the final design of the M1918 eventually got to have a machine gun, it would still be incredibly limited in its use due to an extremely small range of motion. And although the tank does have angled armoured plating unlike SOME early tanks (looking at you, Sturmpanzerwagen A7V), the armour thickness was only a maximum of half an inch thick, leaving it vulnerable to anti-tank weaponry and concentrated machine gun fire.

On both the FT-17 and the M1918, the engines are located directly behind the crew compartment. The FT-17 has a metal divider between the engines and crew to give them time to escape in case of an engine fire.

The M1918 doesn't!

If you are operating this tank and the engines catch fire, you are dead!

Isn't that wonderful? :D

The US Army had a contract with Ford to produce 15 thousand M1918s, though testing proved the use of the tank to be quite limited compared to the readily available FT-17s. Production was halted after WW1 ended, with only 15 tanks being fully complete, and not one of them ever saw combat.

The two surviving M1918s are located in the National Armor and Cavalry Museum in Fort Benning, Georgia and the Ordnance Collection in Fort Lee, Virginia.

Sources: X , X

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

Polish Defense Spending to Hit 4.7% of GDP by 2025 | Gen. Jarosław Kraszewski

Poland's largest defense expo is underway in Kielce, with over 750 companies displaying cutting-edge military technology. Notably, Poland is increasing its defense budget to 4.7% of its GDP by next year. Amid the signing of major contracts, including an airport protection system from a Spanish firm, there’s also a push to develop domestic production, such as a planned ammunition factory. Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has also emphasized the need for "precise" contracts, including ongoing negotiations for more K2 tanks from South Korea. General Jarosław Kraszewski, former Director of the Armed Forces Supervision Department at the Polish National Security Bureau, joined us today on TVP World to discuss these developments.

P.S. The Poles have made a very correct decision! Glad to hear: "Poland is increasing its defence budget to 4.7% of its GDP". Considering the high level of political corruption in the West and the extent to which Russian spies and agents of influence have infiltrated Western societies, Western security "guarantees" and "international laws" cannot be relied upon at all: 1) The Russian imperialists would never have started the war against Ukraine if Western capital, specifically German, French, Dutch, American and all other businessmen, had not invested huge funds in the Russian economy and in the restoration of the Russian military potential (the Russians obtained the military technology they lacked, both directly and indirectly, the West donated for the Russians possibility to steal Western military technology secrets without hindrance); 2) The West significantly reduced the military potential of Western European countries and CATEGORICALLY REFUSED TO INCREASE the defense of Eastern Europe and the Baltic regions at leas since 2006. Even when the Russian invasion of Georgia began in Europe in August 2008, the West pretended that nothing was happening...;

Even more, Western politicians started pushing the idea that NATO is no longer needed, the Western fiasco in Syria, and the West went so far in an absurd situation that they even started talking about giving the Russians a "sphere of influence" in Europe...it must be allowed to attack Ukraine and the Baltic States without hindrance. A. Merkel's German policy in relations with Russia was a particularly big shame for Western politicians, and of course the political circus organized by Donald Trump in America.... It is such a shame that there are no words to describe it... Of course, the Kremlin and Beijing saw all this activity of the Western useful idiots very well... the Russian army, together with Iran, entered Syria without interference, continued attacks in Ukraine, Beijing is becoming more and more aggressive, and this is only thanks to the useful idiots of the West, who have betrayed absolutely all the West's civilization values....