#Jay Feldman do

[pub-lius]

do you know how hamilton felt about the madison-hamilton fallout? just realized everything i know about it is from madison’s perspective

oho boy do i

This has actually been a subject of interest of mine since I read The Three Lives of James Madison by Noah Feldman (great book, highly recommend). In the study of Alexander Hamilton, this is a crucial event that would define his proceeding political actions.

For some background for those who may not know what anon is referencing, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were colleagues and "friends" (if you could call it that) from their time in the Confederation Congress until Hamilton submitted his financial plan to Congress, which was all in all about a decade. In that time, they lobbied for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation, worked together in the Constitutional Convention, and wrote The Federalist papers together in defense of strong federal government together. The Federalist was like the manifesto of the Federalist party, which placed Hamilton at the head of that party, and, arguably, James Madison as well, until he switched to the Democratic Republican party.

Hamilton's experience was far different from Madison's, just in general, but especially when it came to close friendships between men. The closest relationship he had before James Madison was with John Laurens, who we know died tragically in 1782. Although we are all aware of my feelings on rat bastard Ron Chernow, I thought that this excerpt of his biography of Hamilton described this point very well.

"[Laurens'] death deprived Hamilton of the political peer, the steadfast colleague, that he was to need in his tempestuous battles to consolidate the union. He would enjoy a brief collaboration with James Madison... But he was more of a solitary crusader without Laurens, lacking an intimate lifelong ally such as Madison and Jefferson found in each other," (Alexander Hamilton, Chernow 172-73)

As Chernow mentioned, James Madison was already closely associated with Thomas Jefferson, who he kept well appraised of the circumstances in America while Jefferson was serving a diplomatic position in France. In my personal opinion, I think it was largely due to this that Madison began to attack Hamilton later on, since as soon as Jefferson arrived back from Paris, Madison suddenly had severe moral oppositions to Hamilton's plan, rather than just rational apprehension.

I also want to touch on Hamilton's perspective in their friendship, along with their fallout, specifically when it comes to The Federalist. Hamilton put such a high value on his work, and he held himself to a very high standard. There are a couple instances of him outsourcing his work to other men he admired, such as his last political stance, that the truth of an accusation can be used in libel cases. He asked several men to help him in writing a larger treatise on the matter than what he was able to make (due to yk the bullet that got put in his diaphragm), but these weren't just his friends. These men were very crucial figures in American law, which shows that, unlike men like Jefferson, he was very selective in who he chose to associate with when it came to his work.

This wasn't any different in 1787. When he chose John Jay and James Madison to assist in writing The Federalist, his reasons for both had nothing to do with their personal relationships. Jay was one of the most successful legal minds of the new country, and James Madison, was not only a Virginian, but was an absolute genius and fucking workhorse. If you like him or not, or if you like the Constitution or not, its undeniable that the Virginia Plan was absolute fucking genius, and Hamilton knew that.

This also shows a great amount of trust in Madison. Hamilton was an incredibly untrusting dude. He kept most of his emotions and personality away from work, and really the only people who knew who he was entirely were close family, one or two family friends included. They were the only people who knew his background, which is directly tied into his work, which was the most important thing to him. Without his work, in his eyes, he would have nothing. So for him to trust Madison with something he and the world viewed as one of his most important contributions to American history, that was incredibly significant.

Also I should mention that Hamilton definitely knew how important The Federalist would be, and this is clear in his introductory essay, which is confirmed that he himself wrote.

One thing that any Hamilton historians will agree on is that he was so set in his ways. If there was a moral or philosophical question before him, he would think about it constantly, consult his books and his peers, and once he decided on his stance, there was little to no chance of changing that. The Federalist are, if not anything else, the basis of Hamilton's political thinking. Hamilton, being the arrogant bitch that he was, assumed that every other genius would be equally steadfast in their beliefs.

But James Madison was different in that regard. He was also very tied in with his state's interest, as well as that of the planter class. Hamilton also had a strong bias towards his state and class, but not with the same attitude as someone who was born into it.

Therefore, when Madison openly opposed his Report on Public Credit with a speech in the House of Representatives, Hamilton viewed it as a deep betrayal of his trust, his work, and his principles. Hamilton saw this as a devastating insult to everything he stood for by someone he thought he could completely rely on. This was the 18th century burn book.

That speech immediately kicked off Hamilton lobbying to oppose Madison's counter-proposal, which he won because, frankly, Madison hadn't been expecting Hamilton to immediately come at him with the full arsenal, but Hamilton didn't half-arsenal anything. It was after that that Hamilton was able to process what had happened. According to one of Hamilton's allies, Manasseh Cutler, Hamilton saw Madison's opposition as "a perfidious desertion of the principles which [Madison] was solemnly pledged to defend." Ouch.

The final break between them was on the subject of the National Bank aspect of Hamilton's plan. This is when Madison redefined himself as a Democratic-Republican with a firm belief in strict construction of the Constitution, giving Hamilton free reign to take out his hurt feelings on him through the art of pussy politics* and this entirely dissolved the friendship that had once been there.

*pussy politics (noun): a form of politics in which grown men act like pussies by only supporting the governmental actions that benefit their families/wealth/land/class/etc. and it is very embarrassing and frustrating to sit through

Hamilton would spend a large part of his career battling Madison, and talking a lot of shit about him, which is what has allowed me to paint this stupid ass picture of two grown men fighting over banks. The personal language that he uses in regards to Madison is very different to the accusatory tone he took with his other enemies, and that in it of itself says a lot, but I hope this was able to shed some light on why Hamilton felt the way he did and what exactly he felt. Again, I love talking about this, so feel free to ask follow up questions!

[bri1234]

What song(s) do you relate to a Choices book survey results!

Hello! So it's been about a week and there are a few responses from the Google form I sent out! The form is attached at the bottom of all this so if you want to take it, you still can!

I will continue to update this if there are any more responses.

Also if you see your song on here but not the additional comment (if you left one) and would like it on here, just let me know and I'll add it!

So without further ado, let's jump right in!

Songs that relate to a Choices book (chosen by you guys!):

Across the Void

Remember Me as A Time of Day by Explosions in the Sky

Blades of Light & Shadow

Two by Sleeping at Last

Comment was "MC's deeply unhealthy desire to put everyone else's wellbeing first (book 2)."

Degenerates by I the Mighty

In My Head by Jacob Ryan Smith, Daniel Mertzlufft, Andrew Barth Feldman, & Joe Serafini

Comment was "Aerin and MC on Deadwood lake date (book 1)."

Falling by Write Out Loud, Ciara Renee, and Kat Sicilian

Die With A Smile by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga

A Courtesan of Rome

I Survived a War by Mariami

Crimes of Passion

In My Blood Song by Joel Smallbone and The Cast Of Journey To Bethlehem

Comment was "I relate this song the Trystan Thorne, specifically Book 2 of CoP, wanting to be the son his parents and country are proud of while being himself."

Arpeggio by Alexandro

Perfect World by Twice

The Cursed Heart

Dream A Little Dream of Me by The Mamas & The Papas

Comment was "It reminds me of how Kieran and MC often would visit each others dreams at night (book 1)."

Power Over Me by Dermot Kennedy

Without You by Ursine Vulpine

Find You by Ruelle

Die For You by Postmodern Jukebox and Tatum Langley

Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey

Comment was “MC thinking about their mortality and how someday they won’t be young and beautiful.”

Los Ageless by St. Vincent

Comment was “Lustre’s theme song 😈”

Dirty Little Secrets

"Slut!" by Taylor Swift

Suburban Legends by Taylor Swift

The Elementalists

Hedwig's Theme by John Williams

Guinevere

Queen of Heart by Twice

Only Girl by Stephen Sanchez

Hot Couture

Choose Your Fighter by Ava Max

Immortal Desires

Boys Will Be Bugs by Cavetown

End (The Other Side) by Fit For A King

Scars & Lifelines by I Prevail

Death Is All Around by The Amity Affliction

The Death We Seek by Currents

Kindred

Still Don't Know My Name by Labrinth

In Hell I'll Be Good Company by The Dead South

Murder at Homecoming

no body, no crime by Taylor Swift

Nightbound

Songs from the Shadowhunter series: Dynasty , Hurricane, Making a Monster out of Me (Katherine McNamara) , This is the Hunt (Ruelle), Storm (Ruelle) , Bad Dream , Love to Hate You, I am Ember from Katherine McNamara , Hold On (from Chord Oversee) , Glass Slipper (Katherine McNamara) , Paralyzed (NF), Angel with a Shotgun (instead shotgun imagine crossbow) , Brother (Kodaline), Shadowhunter series Finale Song by Ruelle

Open Heart

Symphony of Skin by I The Mighty

Comment was "Romancing Bryce vibes"

Platinum

3 Minutes by Alexi Blue

Red Carpet Diaries

Why Should I? by Alexi Blue

Roommates With Benefits

You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi

The Royal Romance

Not Your Barbie Girl by Ava Max

Barbie Girl by Aqua

Loves Me Not by Kate Grahn & Will Jay

i wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red

Rules of Engagement

Hair by Little Mix

Surrender

Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran

Here's the Google form if anyone wants to take it! Thank you so much to those of you who have taken the time to do this!!!

[stmichaeldeorleans]

This is the known 1942 story of the St Louis Missouria Mellon Funeral Home and Morgue Penile Acquisition involving De Raymond Joseph Devereaux Fairchild , C.A. Duerksen, and recipient Dean F. Duerksen in New Orleans following the shooting of Dr Brisque and several of his relations. New Orlean's penis acquisition was done in a morgue following a fatal shooting.   It was actually the St. Louis Mellon Funeral Parlor And Morgue.  The dick in question was the previous original  property of one Dr William B. Brisque Devereaux, a thirty something dentist.  They connected the blood vessels etc but not the nerves. They placed a clamp on his veins that Dean could open or close to enlarge or lessen the size. These penile acquisitions appeared to have been temporary solutions due to necrosis and grand jury inquiry stating that he was no longer allowed to use acquired penis unless authorized to do so via courtroom proceedings by a judge which Dean did anyway because Dean is alledged to have been born a girl and named Ellen Jamie Dean Duerksen but is understood to have used Ella Jamie Dean in Las Palamas, CA where he appears to have run with a Melissa Ethridge Gilbert and others. Since James Dean the movie legend is believed to have resided in Las Palamas by 1953 on the former property of the San Quentin Women's Prison (which closed it's doors by 1937 and sold off their buildings to the likes of former prison such as the Stouts, Skits, Hartmans, Ehtridges, C.A. Duerksen, James Edward Olmos and Edward G. Robinson and more) some appear to have considered that Ella Jamie Dean was related to James Dean whom among other 160 actors and actresses whom resided on the former Paul Kantner property in the goodsized barn and were traveling back and forth to Hollywood on six or more buses day by day and this appears to have included Dean as well at times. Other persons that should be listed here included rural cop, James McDugal, James Harrison Ford, a rancher in the area, Priest Charles Osgood, Sister DeMaris, Priest Jim Brown Meryl Streep, Priest Francis Charles Osgoode DeMentos, Bob Hartman, Carol Spacek, Tom and Peter Bogart, Arthur Feldman, Paul Newman, Francis Barrymore, Dean Martin, Dick Howard Jones, Jim Thorpe Jr., Jaquien Cruz Sanchez Monticello Guzman, 1 class Sargeant John Williamson Montecello Guzman, Alma Rollins Fletcher Lewis Harmon, Lt Jerry Avrel Fletcher LAPD, Desk Sargeant LAPD Jay V. Vinson, Los Angeles FBI agents Frederick McMurry, Al Capp, Joan Smead (?), James Ryan O'Neal, Drs Ralph Allan VanDorson, Maria Elizabeth Van Cleeves, Dr Paul Allan VanDorson all of UCLA genetic dept where aDean and C.A. Duerksen are believed to have purchased genetic related equipment, Gemnioles and solutions.

[the-hindu-times]

KULA SHAKER - 100 Club 4/9/23

Since Kula Shaker reformed in the mid 2000s, I've seen the '90s' Britpopers in a few various-sized-venues; including the Kings Cross Scala, the Chalk Farm Roundhouse, Tower Gateway Wilton's Music Hall, Guildford G Live and Shepherd's Bush Empire (as well as Chrispian Mills' The Jeevas, at Canterbury Kent University [now vegan!], before that). Tonight's 350-capacity-basement, the 100 Club (formerly known as Feldman Swing Club [from 1942-1964]), was by far the smallest. As the band walked on stage, through the [mostly middle-aged] crowd, to a Hindi female vocal backing track (possibly the voice of London based Hindi and Bengali music teacher, Gouri Choudhury, who has featured on Kula Shaker recordings and in their videos), the band's influence from Indian culture, along with the club's decor (still the same since the 1970s), remain unchanged.

Of course, Kula Shaker were always a bit different from the others in the Britpop movement; Whilst Dodgy were leaving their house (later shared with The Bluetones) in Hounslow West to put on their club night in Kingston, Crispian Mills (Kula Shaker singer/guitarist [born in Hamnersmith and brought up in Hampton]) and Alonza Bevan (Kula Shaker bassist [born in Hounslow]) were doing the same thing at the back of Richmond Ice Rink - but with the added craziness of Crispian's mum(actress, Hayley Mills)'s boyfriend, Marcus Maclaine, sporting riding boots whilst whipping the Sun newspaper live on stage, as they performed under the name Objects Of Desier.

After reinventing the South West Greater London / Middlesex / Surrey recidency scene, since the days of The Rolling Stones at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, Crispian travelled to India, where he has been inspired by Hinduisim and their culture ever since naming the band after the 9th century Indian King, Kulasekhara.

On the opening day of the UK's Indian summer, tonight's set was made up largely from 1996's 'K', with a couple from 1999's 'Peasants, Pigs and Astronaughts' thrown in too. Of course, there were some great tunes missed out from their heyday (the last time they were with Kent Keyboardest, Jay 'Jesus' Darlington, who's now back in the band for this tour) but that wasn't to make way for any tracks from their latest 2022 album '1st Congregaional Church...'. In fact, there was nothing from 2007's 'Strange Folk' or 2010's 'Pilgrim's Progress' either... and only one song from 2016's 'K 2.0'. There were four new songs from forthcoming album 'Natural Magic', including new single release 'Waves', so, the majority of tonight's musical offerings are from when Jay has been present.

Lyrically, Kula Shaker mix different Indian languages (Crispian singing in Sanskrit and English, with the additional vocals in Hindi and Gujarti) whilst musically, the crossover between the two cultures saw the Western instrumentation performed live, as the tradional Indian instruments (sitar, tamboura and tabla) were on backing track, until Johnny Kalsi jumped up to play The Dhol on a couple of numbers, making us wonder if a large theatre show with all live musicians would be an even better experience than tonight's intimate event. With Crispian Mills, now 50, having as much energy and enthusiasm as ever before, there's plenty more time for another reincarnation of this band.

Nic Bennett & Mittal Patel

[stevensaus]

The Toxic Past -- And Better Present -- Of Rom-Coms, Featuring "Love And Monsters" and "No Hard Feelings"

TL;DR: I highly recommend 2020's Love And Monsters and 2023's No Hard Feelings as fun romantic comedies with far less of the toxic behaviors. Just like Jay and Silent Bob at the beginning of Dogma, I used to think that Shermer, Illinois (from all the John Hughes movies) was real. Or at least, the shape of the stories there was real. That the ways the stories went in Hughes' movies -- and in so very, very many other rom-coms -- were the ways that life was supposed to go. There's plenty of think pieces out there talking about the toxic effect these stories have on what we think of as normal, expected, and even required behavior in relationships. And it wasn't just a few films over a short period of time: The first two lists of movies with romanticized toxic behaviors that came up in search results (from Bustle and Buzzfeed) have 13 and 14 entries each. And only one film is included on both lists. The trope I whole-heartedly bought into was the "but the nerd wins in the end." The one where the cool, desired character realizes that the nerd was worth caring about and falling for after all. Sometimes it involved a makeover -- the quintessential "nerdy girl with glasses" gets contacts and a new hairstyle kind of thing. Sometimes it involved adults, like The 40 Year Old Virgin or Zack and Miri Make A Porno. It's the opposite kind of end than Pretty In Pink ... except that even Pretty In Pink originally started out with the "nerdy" character being chosen by the girl. All of them have the same refrain. Eventually, the romantic gestures work. Eventually, that special person realizes that yes, you are the right one after all. /me squirms nervously. Look, out of all the toxic things from rom-coms, the idea that you'll eventually be recognized as being worthwhile is a lot less creepy than some of the others. Doesn't make it great, though. So I've spent some time thinking about the why of that belief, and I realized that was pretty much the only choice ever showed. The protagonist got the romantic partner, or it was a tragedy. There was no other option. It wasn't -- isn't -- just rom-coms. Damn near every story with a romantic plot element presented only those options. Romantic success, or utter failure. Yes, even When Harry Met Sally. Because while it shows them being friends... that's not how it ends. And if that's the only options you've ever seen, if that's the constant mythology surrounding you since your eyes opened... Well, that explains a lot in my life. Let's just say that. So it's not just the snark and whimsy that made 2020's Love And Monsters and 2023's No Hard Feelings so enjoyable for me. Both of these films share the same DNA with past rom-coms... but both deftly smooth down (if not eliminate altogether) the toxic implications of yesteryear. They aren't perfect, and they have their (occasionally) problematic elements of their own {1}. But if you are looking for something that feels like rom-coms used to, but without nearly so much toxicity, I'd firmly point you toward these two. Yes, I know. If you watch the trailers or read the blurb, they look like they're going to be just like all the others. But these films show other ways. They take different paths, and manage to do it without losing the feel of a rom-com. When I saw the trailers for each of these movies, I thought, "Man, that looks fun. But it probably ends up in the same stupid tropes as all the old ones. But I wish it didn't." So I'm just telling past me -- and you -- that neither of them does. I hope you enjoy them. You can find ways to stream, rent, and buy Love And Monsters at Justwatch and buy (at present) No Hard Feelings at Justwatch. {1} Most notably, Andrew Barth Feldman's character in No Hard Feelings -- who sure came across coded neurospicy to me -- adapts pretty suspiciously quickly to being out of his comfort zone in the final third. But I'll forgive the film that due to the fact that it also does not demand that his character change and conform to "normal" society either. Read the full article

[indieversal]

[Info Technology World] Small Employer Wellness – 5 Strategies Every Small Employer Should Do

I concocted the accompanying five activities I accept each little business can embrace with a base measure of help from a local area accomplice, for example, a general well-being office or local area-based well-being-related non-benefit. - Dr. Jay Feldman

Dr jay Feldman: The well-being program development has commonly disregarded the little boss. I think representatives who work for this size manager … Small Employer Wellness – 5 Strategies Every Small Employer Should Do

[thenewyorkreaders]

As Jay Feldman doadvise, interms of 'electronic advancing' would not separate among push and pull publicizing and exhibiting frameworks (or what we may now search for direction from as 'inbound' and 'outbound' methods). Each can eventually fall under the umbrella of mechanized advancement.

[drjayfeldmando]

5 Great Pieces of Home Fitness Equipment by Dr Jay Feldman

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season Twelve Rewatch:  “A Fait Accompli”

The basics:  The team tries to take down a criminal organization.  Deeks goes home while Callen goes to Anna.

Written by: R. Matt Klafter and Kyle Harimoto.  Klafter co-wrote “Smokescreen” part two with Harimoto.  Kyle Harimoto wrote “Omni”, “Merry Evasion”, “Chernoff, K”, “Command and Control” (episode 150), “Granger, O.”, “Ghost Gun”, “Kulinda”, “767”, “Se Murio El Payaso”, “Assets”/“Liabilities”, “Venganza”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us", "Let Fate Decide" (season 11 premiere), "Decoy", "Answers" and “Watch Over Me”.  He co-wrote “Three Hearts”, “Leipei”, “Humbug”, both ends of the “Matryoshka” two-parter, “Smokescreen” part two (with Klafter), "Searching" and “Cash Flow”.  

Directed by:  Eric Pot directed “Resurrection”, “Windfall”, “Traitor”, “Internal Affairs”, “Home is Where the Heart Is”, “Forasteira”, “Reentry”, “Hit List”, "The One Who Got Away", "Kill Beale Vol 1" and “Fortune Favors the Bold”.  

Guest stars of note:  Back from the last episode:  Erik Palladino as CIA Officer Vostanik Sabatino, Allen Theosky Rowe as Jimmy Fang and Godwin Asamoah Obeng as Musa Okoye.  Also back from earlier in season 12 are Kayla Smith as Kamran "Kam" Hanna and Duncan Campbell as NCIS Special Agent Castor.  Gerald McRaney joins season 12 as Retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride.  Other guest stars:  Johnny Jay Lee as Young Callen, Alyssa Jirrels as Jocelyn, Alina Brown as Angela Brown, David Carpenter as Clyde, Donna Feldman as Kendra and Kelemete Misipeka as Simi Latu

Our heroes:  The team adds a Deeks, Callen loses an Anna.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Left behind a peaceful life to learn about his family and his name. Sam:   Never wanted to be the measuring stick for Aiden and Kam’s successes. Kensi:    Planning to drive to Georgia to see Deeks graduate and drive the two of them home. Deeks: Graduated FLETC. Eric:   The artist formerly known as NCIS’s Technical Operator. Nell:   Absent. Fatima:  Primetime soap actress back in the day. Roundtree:  Tackling a homeless man to save the man’s life. Hetty:  Would not let anyone else tell Deeks he was joining NCIS.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Not quite left at the altar but close. Sam:   Skipping drinks with the Admiral to finish up paperwork. Kensi:   Advises the new kids on the team to rest when they can. Deeks:  Sore ribs, bruised ego but an NCIS Investigator. Eric:   Harmonized greetings with Kensi to Kilbride. Nell:   Absent. Fatima:  Porsche driver. Roundtree:   Thought Fatima’s acting was fine. Hetty:  Probably gave Deeks the worst plane flight of his life.

Who's down with OTP:  Kensi and Deeks get to work together.  Callen and Anna have issues.

Who's down with BrOTP:  No Callen and Sam time today.  Sam and Kilbride have a mutual admiration thing going.  Kensi and Sabatino played well.  Fatima and Roundtree are becoming quick buddies.  

Any pressing need for a cranky retired Admiral?   He’s here!

Who is running the team this week?  A cranky retired Admiral doing a favor for Hetty.

Fashion review:   Kensi, Roundtree and Fatima start the episode in the clothes they were wearing in “Love Kills”.   Callen is in a red plaid button down shirt.  Black tee and jacket for Sam.  Grey sweater and green leather jacket for Kensi.  Deeks is in his FLETC gear (complete with bandages on his ribs) and then bright white tee and a blue zip hoodie in LA.  Fatima has a red and black turtleneck black floral print with a black cardigan.  Green tee and black denim jacket for Roundtree.  

Music:  This is like a season one episode – four songs.  “Punch Bag” by Yonaka is playing when Rountree is running after the van.  “Kai Tangata” by Alien Weaponry is playing behind Kensi and Deeks in the scrap yard.  “Cracking Up in Heare” by Richard Mead is playing in the jewelry store.  Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel The Noise” ends our time with Sabatino in this two-parter.

Any notable cut scene:   No.

Quote:  Kilbride:  “I didn't think you worked here anymore, Beale.” Eric:  “Oh, I don't. Uh, well, not exactly. - Mm. Um, uh, temporarily, yes, I do. Uh, I'm a technical consultant while we're beta testing Kaleidoscope.  But, uh, you can call me the Technical Operator Formerly Known as...” Kilbride:  “It was a statement, not a question.”

Anything else:    Previouslys are all about Jimmy Fang and Kensi and Sabatino being shot at the warehouse.  Kensi and Sabatino can’t see who is even shooting at them.  Kensi can’t get a good look and Sabatino is staying put because “this bun ain’t bulletproof.”  The men shooting jump in the their van and drive right out of the warehouse – not even opening the garage door.

As the van is racing down an alleyway, Fatima and Roundtree are standing where the alley turns onto the street.  They see a homeless man walk near the path of the van.  Roundtree races to save the man while Fatima fires her weapon into the van’s grill.  Fatima has to duck as the van driver was very willing to run her over to get to the street.  Kensi and Sabatino arrive – the van getting away was not the plan.

Kensi is giving orders as they walk back into the office.  Fang is part of the Chinese Triad according to Eric so they have to ID the men with him.  Fatima and Roundtree want to know what went wrong.  Kensi doesn’t have an answer while Sabatino is back at his hotel updating Langley.  While it looks like it was going to be a long night, Sam texts Kensi with orders to send everyone home.  Roundtree wants to work but Kensi tells him when you get a chance to rest on this job, do it.

The following morning, Sam is working on his phone in the couch area when Admiral Kilbride strolls in.  With all the enemies of the US trying to hack military communications, the Admiral is stunned Sam is “twittergramming” away.  Sam was texting his daughter.  The Admiral asks of the younger generation of Hannas.  Aiden will be the family’s first military aviator in the family and Kam is going to Annapolis.  The Admiral is rightly impressed, Sam is proud and grateful.

The Admiral tells Sam that being a Hanna child comes with some pressures.  Sam agrees but he and Michelle never wanted to be the measuring stick of his children – he wanted them to find their own way.  Sam asks about the Admiral’s son, an attorney – at least he was years ago.  The Admiral quickly changes the subject to being in Los Angeles – Hetty asked him to check in.  Sam asks about Hetty, whose mission “hit a snag” but is not in immediate danger.  Both Sam and the Admiral look uncomfortable.

As Sam is about to give the Admiral a sitrep, the Admiral assures Sam he’s up to speed.  He wants to know why Fang was in the warehouse.  Sam thinks the warehouse is connected to the counterfeit money.  Kilbride is interested in who turned NCIS onto the case.  Sam mentions a CIA agent the team dealt with in the past.  The Admiral uses Sabatino’s full name to prove NCIS’s familiarity with the CIA Agent.   The CIA working a case in the US is not good news to the Admiral but Sam promises Sabatino is more watching NCIS than working with NCIS.  Kilbride wants to know the connection between Fang and Daniel Lao.  Lao is with the FBI in DC.  For his final question, Kilbride asks about Callen who is off on personal business.

Sitting in his apartment, Callen is chasing down Anna’s work group, the SC-5.  He wants to surprise his girlfriend, he tells someone on the phone.  In a flashback, college Callen has really impressed his girlfriend’s father – he’s crazy about Callen.  Callen explains he has a talent for listening to people talk and making them feel comfortable so they keep talking.  The young woman is impressed – Callen has a job offer with a company in Chicago.

As she works on her weapons in the armory, Kensi gets a call from Deeks – “hey recruit.”  In Georgia, Deeks is wrapping up his ribs.  He’s hurt and Kensi can hear it.  The good news is Kensi is driving to FLETC to attend his graduation and they are driving back.  They are negotiating the amount of time Deeks has to be quiet every 100 miles – Kensi is thinking 10 minutes.  Deeks is worried about the safety issues and earns himself 15-minutes of silence.  Kensi is called to Ops and the two share “I love yous”.

After mocking the “free trade” coffee that was watered by the tears of snowflakes, the Admiral is greeted in stereo by an arriving Kensi and Eric.  Eric tries to explain his work situation to the Admiral and that goes as you’d expect.  Eric has a photo of a broken bracelet found at the crime scene.  Kensi recognizes the piece belonging to a specific a Hollywood jeweler.

With footage from the crime scene, Eric ID’s a man leaving through a different door during the shoot out – Musa Okoye.  Okoye is an aerospace engineer for Delta Seven Industries and a Nigerian national.  A lot of the military’s missile technology is from Delta Seven Industries and Okoye works on technology for intercepting missiles.  The Admiral wants Kensi to take the CIA observer to the jewelry place, he and Sam are going to Delta Seven Industries.  With Roundtree and Fatima, Eric is tasked with finding Okoye.

Watching TV in the armory, Roundtree is stunned – Fatima was a young adult soap star.  Fatima is with Roundtree as her character says her tag line - “Bye bitch” – and slaps her romantic rival.  The program ran five seasons.  Roundtree is surprised Fatima quit acting – she was good.  “it wasn’t for me,” she answers coolly.  Wondering if the team knows, Fatima reminds Roundtree that the team has every intel source known to mankind – they know.  Eric texts Roundtree – he found Musa Okoye’s home.  As they leave, Roundtree drops a “bye bitch” which earns a laughing double snap of Fatima’s fingers.

Sam and Kilbride go to the home of Ronald Lewis.  After Sam introduces himself and the Admiral goes out of his way not to, Lewis compliments Kilbride on his suit.  The Admiral wants Lewis to pay more attention to Sam. When Lewis is told that Okoye may have stolen military secrets, he finds that hard to believe.  His company runs extensive security analysis.  And Lewis is surprised by it being Okoye – “he’s not that guy.”  Okoye is brilliant hard working and never a problem.  The Admiral asks about Okoye’s friends at work – he really doesn’t have any.

Sam wants to know how hard it would be to steal classified files.  Explaining that all projects are segmented among the different teams to stop people from stealing classified material, Lewis does believe if someone is smart enough and driven enough, they could do it.  Sam asks what happens if that person is brilliant.

On the phone again with Kensi, Deeks is packing up his gear.  He was on track to graduate with his class and now he’s been pulled from the program – he’s washed out.  Deeks has no idea what’s going on.  Kensi tells Deeks she loves him – he’s flying home.  Sabatino arrives and asks about “lover boy”.  Kensi’s eyebrow lift is stellar.

Leaving Lewis’s home, Sam hears from Eric.  Okoye has been talking to an Angela Brown, a former Delta Seven Industries staffer.  The speak every day.  Sam wants Agent Castor to bring Brown to the boat shed.

Sharing a coffee on a bench, Sabatino is pro-Hollywood.  Not LA, just Hollywood.  He’s recording again – a musician.  Kensi is genuinely impressed.  He started with a band in the East Village.  The band wound up in LA, played some shows on the Strip and then everyone got real jobs.  Their music was rap music meets heavy metal – a music mix unfamiliar to  Kensi.  She does think that his hair “nubbin or nipple” has something to do with the bad.  Kensi sees a customer go into the jewelry store – she’s going too.  Singing, Sabatino is right behind her.

Fatima and Roundtree arrive at Okoye’s in a Porsche – which blows Roundtree away.  She doesn’t even like to drive.  Fatima has a better relationship with the guys in the motor pool.  A text comes in from Eric – they have a warrant to enter the house.  That’s good but unneeded since the door is open.  Fatima and Roundtree check the place – it’s empty.  So is the safe in the bedroom closet.   Roundtree notices a dust spot where Okoye’s computer would be.  If he has his computer and passport, Okoye is likely on the run.  Roundtree asks Eric to look at cameras in the area.

Kensi and Sabatino enter the jewelry store.  The saleswoman asks if Kensi and Sabatino are there to pick up a piece for their kid.   Kendra the saleswoman doesn’t think the pieces are age appropriate for Kensi and Sabatino.   Kensi breaks out the badge and shows the bracelet to Kendra.  She sold it, it was a custom piece.  When she doesn’t share the buyer’s name, Kensi promises to shut the place down and Sabatino includes throwing in an investigation to see if the store has been charging sale tax. That’s gets some cooperation.  Simi Latu bought the piece.

When Kensi calls in Latu’s name, Eric can’t find Latu but finds common ground with Sabatino and their love of Big Foot documentaries.  Kensi is not amused.  Latu is associated with a group that has done time for murder and he has their location.

Sam questions Angela Brown with Kilbride.  She’s cooperative answering questions about “Musa”, who is a friend of hers and her husband’s.  When told that Okoye may have stolen military secrets, Brown can’t believe that.  He eats with her family once a week – he is almost family.  Calling him shy, kind, sweet and honest – he doesn’t steal.  Sam asks about Okoye’s outside of work interests.  Brown tells him that Okoye has a few friends from Nigeria – they meet from time to time.  They talk about home, eat food from Nigeria.  “They seem nice.”  She’s worried that Okoye is in danger.

There are no security cameras at Okoye’s home or at his neighbors.  Finding a bluetooth keyboard, Fatima sees it is hooked up to the TV.  They can search is browser history through the set.  Roundtree is impressed. Maybe when they’re done, they can watch some more of her old show.  That’s fine with Fatima, she could use the residuals.  When Roundtree asks about residuals, she admits the Porsche isn’t from the NCIS motor pool.

At a scrap yard, Kensi and Sabatino are looking for Latu.  Two large men are working out.  When Kensi asks for Simi Latu, the men move toward them.  A huge Chevy pickup on tires five-foot tall suspension and tires pulls up with yet another large man inside.  Finally, a man larger than all the others walks up – he’s Simi Latu.  The largest man is offend that Kensi has her hand on her gun and by the “little ponytailed man” who is wielding a wrench.

Kensi asks the men to raise their hand if they’ve gone to jail.  Nobody raises their hand.  Kensi doesn’t believe them.  Offering a trade, Kensi thinks she can pick at out least one of the men whose gone to jail.  If she’s right, Latu has to talk.  Latu wants to know what he gets if she’s wrong.  Kensi has faith in Latu and his men.  One of them has gone to jail.  Latu likes Kensi.  When she starts to look at the men, Latu sends them away – they’ve all done time.  Kensi knows that.

Alone with Latu, Sabatino asks about the bracelet.  Latu claims it was stolen.  When Sabatino objects – Latu calls him Duran Duran – Kensi brings up Jimmy Fang.  Latu plays dumb.  Saying that Fang was paying Latu is counterfeit bills, law enforcement can talk to Latu and his men when they are caught passing bogus bills.  Latu is furious.  He wants Fang to go down.  Latu’s nephew works as a bodyguard from Fang.  Now Latu knows who stole his bracelet.  The nephew’s big skill is being a ghost.  

Both Roundtree and Fatima are freezing in Okoye’s house.  When Roundtree tries to lower the thermostat, it is set for 74.  Checking out the HVAC system, Okoye is in the little AC shed – he’s dead with a gunshot wound to the head.

As Sam is sending Brown home with Agent Castor, he gets the news about Okoye and shares it with her.

Kensi and Sabatino are staking out a music/electronics store Fang frequents.  Sabatino asks if Eric is really rich. Kensi confirms he is.  They watch Fang and an accomplice move boxes from the store.  They think he could have millions with him.

The Admiral thinks the fake bills were for buying the stolen military secrets.  By killing Okoye, Fang now has the secrets and the money.  Kensi and Sabatino start following Fang.  Sam and the Admiral are about to leave when Eric pops up on the boat shed screen.  The Nigerians Okoye would meet are all clean.  One, however, has a brother who is also a member of Boko Haram.   One person knew all of Okoye’s associates – Ron Lewis, Okoye’s boss.

Lewis is downtown – Kensi and Sabatino are following Fang who is also going downtown.  Fang doesn’t have the stolen military secrets, Lewis does.  This is an exchange meeting.  Sabatino didn’t like Lewis.  When Kensi points out that Sabatino never met Lewis, Sabatino says he went to USC and nobody likes people who go to USC.  

Eric sends Fatima and Roundtree to the meet as well.  With her Porsche, they are speeding to the meet.

Kensi and Sabatino follow Fang to a parking structure.  Lewis is on the roof.  Kensi arrives and this is a nice roof parking lot – lots of pretty big buildings in the background.  Kensi announces “federal agents” and because insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome, the outcome is shooting ensues.

Fang takes Latu’s nephew hostage.  The nephew is then shot as Fang shoots at Kensi.   Sabatino hides with Lewis.   With an even bigger gun, Fang murders a Jeep but is taken out when Sabatino shoots him in the foot on the other side of Fang’s SUV.  Fang and “Trojan boy” Lewis are under arrest.

Using Okoye’s computer terminal, Lewis downloaded all of Delta Seven Industries’ missile technology.  They don’t need the proof – Lewis confessed, then wet himself.  Okoye was the scapegoat.

Fang and the Triad were moving the money but Sabatino is no closer to knowing who made the money than when he got to LA.  While the Secret Service usually looks into counterfeit money, if it is being used for terrorism, it is on the CIA’s radar.  He’s off to another place he’s not supposed to be.  Kensi and Sabatino sing “Cum on Feel the Noise” to end the crime scene.

Sam arrives in the office.  Kilbride is in the aquarium office upstairs – the only private place to make a call.  He notes that Hetty’s fingerprints are all over the office.  The Admiral is staying at the Chateau Marmont, a place he stayed way back in the 1980’s.  He offers to buy Sam a drink but Sam has paperwork to do.  Kilbride wishes Callen luck in his personal matter before departing.

At a motel north of LA, Callen arrived with the engagement ring.  He flashes back to breaking up with his college girlfriend.  She’s crying, heartbroken he’s leaving her behind.  He gets into a limo and announces he’s ready.  Hetty says Jocelyn is his chance for a nice, peaceful life.  Callen is having none of it.  He wants to know his past and his real name.  Warning him of a lonely existence, the two ride away.

A sad Deeks walks into the office with a not so sad Kensi.  Hetty wants to see him in her office – the one with creepy doll heads.  Hetty pops up on the screen, causing Deeks to want to change his underwear.  While bombs are blowing up around her, Hetty wants Deeks to open her top drawer.  His new NCIS badge is there.  Kensi was in on the surprise.  Deeks thinks what Hetty did was savage, inhumane, messed-up and greatest trick anyone ever pulled on him.  Strangers at FLETC were never giving Deeks that badge.  Hetty is throwing a party for Deeks Saturday.

Deeks wants to party now – his badge is 12-years in the making.  Kensi explains that Callen is out of town.  Deeks doesn’t care, he’s not that close to Callen – he can barely pronounce his name.  A near-tears Kensi is proud of Deeks.  Deeks is proud too.  Kensi pulls him in for a hug and touches his bruised ribs.  Kensi thinks that is what happens when you lie to your wife.

Callen talks to the manager of the motel where Anna was staying.  Or where she wasn’t staying.  Nobody from Rebuild USA has been to that town.  Callen is stunned.

Sam is at his desk when Kam calls.  She’s returning to LA the following weekend with news for her father.  When Kam hangs up, she’s grabbed from behind and dragged away, dropping her phone in the struggle.

What head canon can be formed from here:  Deeks is NCIS.  The Admiral starts hanging around more.  Fatima was a young television star and still gets checks from time to time for her work.

There are holes in the story. Okoye is innocent at the end but he’s at the warehouse where Jimmy Fang is shooting at Kensi and Sabatino.  Deeks is told he washed out when he actually gets his badge.

Episode number:  This is episode nine of season 12 – we’re at the midway point.  It is episode 271.

[tabloidtoc]

Us, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Pregnant Meghan Markle: My Baby, My Way

Page 2: Red Carpet -- rufflemania -- Hollywood style stars are tier-ing it up in this flattering design with feminine flair -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever, Margot Robbie, Logan Browning, Nicola Coughlan

Page 3: Lizzo, Maude Apatow, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Alba, Lily Collins

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Anya Taylor-Joy vs. Isla Fisher vs. Regina King in Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Shonda Rhimes on the intense backlash she received over Rege-Jean Page's exit from Bridgerton, Kelly Ripa on her most embarrassing interview, Luke Bryan on his mother LeClaire's Instagram fame, Blake Shelton on The Voice's new coach Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon joking about wearing bottoms that aren't sweatpants

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: A Final Farewell to Prince Philip, his four children Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were among the loved ones who participated in the emotional ceremony, feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William (and his wife Duchess Kate) put their differences aside after the intimate service, due to Covid-19 protocols the grieving Queen Elizabeth stayed socially distant from the other 29 people who attended the funeral for her husband of 73 years

Page 11: ACM Awards 2021 -- Maren Morris teamed up with her husband Ryan Hurd and won Female Artist of the Year, Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood took the stage

Page 12: Hot Pics -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore an orange coat during a visit to NYC, John Stamos plays a coach on the TV show Big Shot, Zach Braff goofed around on the set of Cheaper by the Dozen in L.A.

Page 13: Eva Longoria on her trampoline while aboard a yacht in Miami, Howie Mandel arrived to the set of America's Got Talent dressed as a bug in Pasadena

Page 14: Jon Hamm and his rescue dog Splash strolled around the neighborhood in L.A., Heidi Klum in all white in Pasadena, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A.

Page 15: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes held hands after dinner at Il Segreto in L.A., Patrick Dempsey shot a scene for his show Devils in Rome

Page 16: Rachel Brosnahan in a blue dress and carrying a clear umbrella on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC, Lin-Manuel Miranda at the opening of a vaccination center for Broadway workers in Times Square, Trisha Yearwood feeds one of her rescue pups

Page 18: Gen Z Has Spoken -- these celebs are making the young kids proud -- Baggy Jeans -- Hailey Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bella Hadid

Page 19: Middle Parts -- Busy Philipps, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, baguette bags -- Dua Lipa, Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner

Page 20: Seeing Double -- stars bear a striking resemblance to their famous counterparts -- Elizabeth Banks and Chelsea Handler, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Nina Dobrev, Betty Gilpin and Jodie Comer

Page 21: Rob Lowe and Ian Somerhalder, Jaime Pressly and Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams, Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran, Kyle Richards and Kacey Musgraves

Page 22: Clueless Crew -- stars are totally buggin' over Cher Horowitz's style in yellow plaid -- Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Holmes was rollin' with her homie beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. in NYC, Vanessa Hudgens, Dianna Agron

Page 23: Gabrielle Union

Page 24: Stars They're Not Like Us -- Jay Leno took one of his vintage automobiles out for a spin in L.A., Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took a selfie with a fan while grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, Kylie Jenner has custom vending machines

Page 25: Carrie Underwood in her massive walk-in closet, Denzel Washington signs autographs for fans in NYC, Megan Thee Stallion on a private plane, Drake and his bodyguard in Beverly Hills

Page 26: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Sarah Jessica Parker catches a yellow cab after working at her shoe store in NYC, Brad Paisley picked up five pizzas to go in Montecito

Page 27: Kelly Osbourne handed out goods at a drive-thru food distribution event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, HGTV's Egypt Sherrod transformed her closet into a meditation space in Atlanta, in between filming Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T take a selfie

Page 28: Hollywood Dads -- Scott Porter on parenting his two kids McCoy and Clover

Page 29: Jonathan Tucker on life with twins Hayes and India, parenthood is a lot tougher than Jovi Dufren imagined, Maksim Chmerkovskiy can't wait to show son Shai his work

Page 30: Love Lives -- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are showing no signs of slowing down -- the pair enjoyed a night out in L.A. hotspot Delilah where they were holding hands and laughing and they're not hiding the fact that they're dating but they just don't want people in their business -- they're a good match and are each other's best friend

Page 31: Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may look like the picture-perfect couple, but Justin admits that their first year of marriage wasn't what he expected, saying it was really tough and there was just a lack of trust and he blamed the strain on his own personal struggles and said before he didn't have someone to love or someone to pour into but now, more than two years after exchanging vows with Hailey, he has that

* Kacey Musgraves' romance with Dr. Gerald Onuoha is giving her butterflies -- the pair are so happy they found each other and while Kacey, who split from her husband Ruston Kelly last summer, is trying not to get too ahead of herself, her connection to the Nashville-based doc is off the charts and it's got the potential to go a very long way

* Today's Savannah Guthrie is thankful to have husband Michael Feldman in her life, especially given the demands of her early morning work schedule

Page 32: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are getting serious -- all the details on their whirlwind romance

Page 33: Adapting to parenthood has been a breeze for Emma Stone and she's soaking in all the precious moments of being a mom for the first time -- she and husband Dave McCary welcomed their baby daughter in March and Emma is super protective and a very hands-on mom and Dave is also hands-on and helps with their daughter -- thanks to the little one, Emma's marriage with the comedian has also gotten stronger and having a baby has brought them closer in a way they never expected -- Emma is looking forward to getting back to work; she's taken this time off to embrace motherhood and her number one priority is to raise a healthy baby so that's what she's focused on right now

* Britney Spears is setting the record straight -- despite her ongoing conservatorship battle with her dad, Jamie Spears, she is doing totally fine, assuring fans that she's extremely happy and she has a beautiful home, beautiful children and she's taking a break right now because she's enjoying herself -- although the legal drama with her father is heating up, Britney is staying strong and she has this wonderful ability to see the positive even when the odds are against her

* Keeping Up With Us -- production for the Downton Abbey sequel is underway, Mossimo Giannulli is a free man, Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter 23 days after announcing that she was leaving the platform, Vanessa Bryant remembered her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Helen McCrory lost her battle with cancer at age 52 according to her husband Damian Lewis

Page 34: A Day in My Life -- Whitney Port

Page 35: Colton Underwood is ready to live his truth -- during an interview on Good Morning America, the former Bachelor came out as gay, saying he's run from himself for a long time and he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year and he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been -- now that he feels like he can finally breathe, Colton is excited for his next chapter, which fans will get to see on an upcoming reality show with Olympian Gus Kenworthy -- a huge weight has been lifted off of Colton's shoulders and he is looking forward to being his authentic self

Page 36: Moms Tell All -- Happy Mother's Day! From milestones and manners to rules and nanny-bans, celebs and insiders talk about raising kids in Hollywood

Page 37: Bindi Irwin says life at home with her daughter Grace Warrior has been positively blissful and her family with dad Chandler Powell is so full of love, adding that the newborn has already met some of the wildlife at the Australia Zoo where Bindi and Chandler live and work and of course she's seen some crocs and really lit up when she saw them -- while the Aussie conservationist is sad Grace won't get to meet her late dad Steve Irwin, Bindi's brother Robert Irwin and mom Terri Irwin have been by her side constantly and Robert is obsessed with Grace and has been helping out so much and her mom has been the biggest guiding light and she's already taught Bindi so much about being a mother, both in how she raised her and by showing her things day by day and Terri is quite the baby whisperer and she's so great a calming Grace down when she's crying -- first-time father Chandler is also a natural with Grace and he's been the most supportive and involved dad and together, he and Bindi make such a great team -- for now, Bindi, who stars with Chandler in Crikey! It's a Baby!, is hoping Grace will follow in her animal-activist footsteps, saying having three generations of strong women working as conservationists is a dream come true

* Jennifer Garner said teaching your kids is a lifelong job, and certainly values are something you have to show them -- Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex Ben Affleck, is staying true to her word and has led by example when it comes to things like kindness and patience and she won't let anyone in the house to judge or speak ill of people, and she enforces the same wholesome, traditional values that she was raised with and the kids have been taught to be loving, hardworking and fair -- Jennifer has always taken a kids-come-first approach to parenting, and it shows as they bake together, enjoy movie nights, read books and have very active lives and it's a very healthy, happy household filled with laughter and love

Page 38: Gwen Stefani has her hands full with her sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, but she wouldn't want it any other way -- Gwen's a tomboy, so having three boys wasn't daunting for her at all, plus she has fiance Blake Shelton by her side to pitch in with parenting duties and Gwen and the boys have a blast at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma where they enjoy riding their ATVs, and they play baseball and football -- it's not all fun and games, though because Gwen is big on boundaries and manners and she doesn't want to raise Hollywood brats and it's important to her that her sons be gentlemen

* Meghan Markle's pregnancy with Archie was no walk in the park, as she revealed during her bombshell TV interview with husband Prince Harry, the couple had concerns over whether or not the royal family would provide security for their son and claimed there were conversations about his skin color -- but this time around, as Meghan and Harry gear up for baby No. 2 at home in L.A., she's doing everything her way, without the royals and Meghan and Harry feel blessed that they're able to raise their daughter in the U.S. and can live by their own rules and make the decisions they feel are best for their children; having independence is the most important thing for Meghan and she's got free rein to be exactly the kind of mom she wants to be -- her parenting style is really like most mothers out there, and she's been craving pasta and doing yoga two times a day as her due date nears and she keeps a lot of art supplies out to foster creativity and healthy snacks around and she's a devoted mom and wants the best for her kids

Page 39: Kate Hudson has a lot on her plate, so the mom of three, who shares son Ryder with former husband Chris Robinson and son Bingham with ex Matt Bellamy and daughter Rani with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa, knows when to put her foot down as things can get a little overwhelming at times for Kate, but when she says no, it absolutely means no, and the kids respect her very much because of that

* Gigi Hadid, who shares daughter Khai with boyfriend Zayn Malik, wants to spend every waking moment with her precious little girl -- Gigi could easily afford to employ a team of nannies but chooses not to and she prefers to do everything herself and besides, she can't bear to be away from Khai for more than a few hours

* Candace Cameron Bure's three grown kids are flying the coop, but she's still super involved in their lives, despite slowly becoming an empty nester -- the mom of Natasha, Lev, and Maksim with former hockey player Valeri Bure says it's been a very transitional time and she's been trying to help them make decisions they feel good about and it's challenging, but they're figuring it out

Page 40: Oh, Baby! Meghan Markle's due date is just around the corner, and here are all the details

* Bump Brigade -- Halsey, Gal Gadot, Shawn Johnson East

Page 42: 10 Years of the Cambridges -- a look back at Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton's solid marriage for their anniversary

Page 44: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: What Really Happened -- cheating and lies? The truth behind J.Lo's split from fiance A-Rod

Page 45: Friendliest Exes -- these former couples managed to stay close after going their separate ways -- Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz

Page 48: Gifts for Mother's Day

Page 54: Entertainment -- Ben Barnes on Shadow and Bone

Page 58: Fashion Police -- the most daring Oscars looks -- Bjork, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron

Page 59: Rachel Weisz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga

Page 60: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Julia Michaels

[pub-lius]

What in your opinion makes a good/well written history book? Can you give some examples?

i miiiight have talked about this before like 6 months ago so you might be able to find more info from me on this but idk. to answer this, im just sitting on the floor in front of my bookshelf HEJWBW

So contrary to popular belief, there are just as many factors that go into a non fiction book as a fiction book, and they all have their different styles. to make the comparisons im making, im gonna keep it between Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Black Flags, Blue Waters by Eric Jay Dolin, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, The Three Lives of James Madison by Noah Feldman, and John Laurens and the American Revolution by Gregory D. Massey and George Washington’s Indispensable Men by Arthur S. Lefkowitz, just referring to them by their author(s)’ last name. these are all books i have on hand that ive fully read and annotated

Most history books will be in a biographical or chronological style, where they retell events relating to a person or period in order, and others will take a more narrative style, like what Kilmeade and Yaeger have done, but this is often used to enhance understanding by not constantly referring back to previous events. neither one of this is better or worse, but they open different opportunities for how the author will broach certain subjects.

this is where we get into the author. just like in fiction, the author’s opinions, biases, and preferences alter the way the book is written, mainly because they will highlight certain information that they personally believe is important, and their historical reasoning will reflect their personal biases.

the two authors that i think are most different in this respect are Feldman and Chernow. as we all know, i really don’t like Chernow, for the primary reason that his evidence is contradictory and his theories tend to be misogynistic. the contradictions in his book make it hard to take anything he says at face value and it eliminates all chance of his book being easy to read, along with the fact that he is very wordy.

when it comes to Feldman, his biography of James Madison is a lot shorter than anything Chernow has ever touched with a pen, even though Madison lived a great deal longer than Hamilton. this is because Feldman utilizes brevity more in his writing. the thesis of his book is in the title: that Madison’s life can be broken down into three sections, and he spends the book proving that while also describing his life. this book is therefore more academically reliable, but also easier to read and more trustworthy. he also uses sources for each one of his claims and chernow just pulls things out of his ass but thats neither here nor there.

speaking of sources, when you’re buying a book, flip through the index and see if they have both primary and secondary sources listed. they almost always do, but it’s important to make sure. don’t trust a book with no primary sources. there also should be a LARGE index, like enough that when you separate it from the rest of the book you’re like “oh! i dont have as much to read as i thought i did!” not only does this give you hope that you might have a life outside of this book, it shows that the book has been thoroughly and adequately researched

another factor is how much information is in the book. this has less to do with how long it is and more about the subject matter along with the length. for example, Dolin’s book is about pirates, which are largely very obscure historical figures, so you can infer that the book will be less about the individuals and more about the time period, being the Golden Age of Priacy. and it is! and there’s nothing wrong with that, its just going to give you less information on the individuals.

now when it comes to a book like Massey’s, it seems like an adequate length for a biography of one person. however i think a larger issue with Massey’s book is that he doesn’t give you the full picture of a lot of things, and that is my biggest gripe with this book. he doesn’t give the reader a lot of wiggle room when it comes to making their own theories, because he tends to state his opinion first and give minimal evidence afterwards.

im always on here ranting and raving about how good of a job Lefkowitz did, but he doesn’t really fit the criteria ive mentioned here. his book isn’t in formal writing (which isn’t a requirement but i prefer it), he leaves out a lot of details, and his book is pretty lengthy. however i think he can really be praised for just easiness to read. the truth is, history is boring, and its hard to find authors who don’t make it worse. Lefkowiz’s book is well sourced and well written and does give a really good picture of the time period and a good starting point for further research, and that is how you become my favorite book and my most frequent recommendation

its always gonna depend on your personal preferences and biases. studying history isn’t about getting rid of your biases, and more of using them as a tool or at the very least factoring them into your research. my biggest tip: just keep reading! find what you like and what you don’t bc im still doing that. get nitpicky. get funky with it. GO TO THE LIBRARY‼️

and remember kids, Ron Chernow meets his maker when he encounters me in the Denny’s Parking lot, bare fisted and ready to throw down. you can’t outrun destiny, Ron.

(for legal reasons, that’s a joke)

[mayamusicltd]

| 12th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Nominations Announced The Guild of Music Supervisors today announced the nominations for its 12th annual awards ceremony, which will take place virtually on Sunday, March 20, 2022. The awards will recognize outstanding Music Supervisors representing Motion Picture, Television, Games, Trailers and Advertising. Below are the nominations for the major categories. Also check out the nominations announcement presentation after the jump. For more information nominations, visit the organization’s official website. Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Over $25 Million : Mary Ramos – Being the Ricardos Tom MacDougall – Encanto Michelle Silverman – The Harder They Fall Linda Cohen – The Tender Bar Steven Gizicki – Tick, Tick… Boom! Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $25 Million : Pierre-Marie Dru – Annette Julianne Jordan, Justine von Winterfeldt – Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar Becky Bentham – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie John Houlihan – The Eyes Of Tammy Faye Tracy McKnight – Flag Day Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $10 Million ; Victoria Beard, Sean Mulligan – Blue Bayou Katie Colley, Sean Mulligan – The Hating Game Alexandra Eckhardt – Passing Mandi Collier, Frankie Pine – Sylvie’s Love Rob Lowry – The Ultimate Playlist of Noise Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $5 Million: Andrea von Foerster – Happily Jen Malone – Malcolm & Marie Matthew Hearon-Smith – Red Rocket Henrik Hawor, Silje Katralen, Goran Obad, Emilie Sørensen – The Worst Person in the World Mandi Collier, Jen Malone, Nicole Weisberg – Zola Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film: “Guns Go Bang” from The Harder They Fall Songwriters: Jeymes Samuel, Scott Mescudi, Shawn Carter Performers: Kid Cudi, Jay-Z Music Supervisor: Michelle Silverman “My Father’s Daughter” from Flag Day Songwriters: Glen Hansard, Eddie Vedder Performers: Eddie Vedder, Glen Hansard, Olivia Vedder Music Supervisor: Tracy McKnight “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto Songwriter: Lin-Manuel Miranda Performer: Sebastián Yatra Music Supervisor: Tom MacDougall “Fire In The Sky” from Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings Songwriters: Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars, Son Tzu, Rogét Chahayed, Wesley Singerman, Taylor Dexter, Alissia Benveniste Performer: Anderson .Paak Music Supervisor: Dave Jordan “Be Alive” from King Richard Songwriters: Beyoncé, Dixson Performer: Beyoncé Music Supervisor: Susan Jacobs Best Music Supervision – Television Drama: Sarah Bridge – The Crown – Season 4 Kevin Edelman – Cruel Summer – Season 1 Jen Ross – Genius: Aretha – Season 3 Liza Richardson – Lovecraft Country – Season 1 Iain Cooke – It’s A Sin – Season 1 Best Music Supervision – Television Comedy or Musical: Jason Alexander, Justin T. Feldman – Dave – Season 2 Matt Biffa – Sex Education – Season 3 Janet Lopez – The White Lotus – Season 1 Jen Ross – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – Season 2 Jonathan McHugh – Blindspotting – Season 1 Best Music Supervision – Reality Television: Peter Davis – The Challenge: All Stars – Season 1 Sarah Bromberg, Stephanie Diaz-Matos, Eric Medina – Sweet Life: Los Angeles – Season 1 Jason Markey – Fboy Island – Season 1 Jon Ernst – Siesta Key – Season 4 Best Music Supervision – Television Movie: Nicki Richards – American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules Laura Webb, Lindsay Wolfington – To All The Boys: Always And Forever Mikki Itzigsohn, Willa Yudell – The Voyeurs Best Song Written and/or Recorded for Television: Title: “Look At Us” Songwriters: Mike Aaberg, Joseph Epperson, Lauren Evans, Mounir Ghantous, Tony Ghantous, Goapele K. Mohlbane, Faraji Wright Performers: Goapele (feat. Rexx Life Raj) Program: Homeroom Music Supervisor: Julie Glaze Houlihan Title: “Fuck The Pain Away” Songwriter: Merrill Nisker Performers: The Moordale Singers and Oli Julian Program: Sex Education Episodes 302 and 307 Music Supervisor: Matt Biffa Title: “Beginning Middle End” Songwriters: Leah Nobel, Quinn Redmond Performer: Leah Nobel Program: To All The Boys: Always And Forever Music Supervisors: Laura Webb, Lindsay Wolfington Title: “Change” Songwriters: Ronald Colson, Jeff Gitelman, David Harris, Maxx Moore, Gabriella Wilson Performer: H.E.R. Program: We The People Episode 101 – “Active Citizenship” Music Supervisor: Jen Ross Title: “Anyone” Songwriters: Badriia Ines Bourelly, Dayyon Alexander Drinkard, Demi Lovato, Eyelar Mirzazadeh, Jay Mooncie, Samuel Elliot Roman Performers: Cast of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Skylar Astin) Program: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Episode 209 – “Zoey’s Extraordinary Mystery” Music Supervisor: Jen Ross Best Music Supervision for a Documentary: Jonathan Hecht – Dear Rider Tracy McKnight – Rebel Hearts Maureen Crowe, Janet Billig Rich – Sisters On Track Gary Welch – The Sparks Brothers Angela Asistio – Val Best Music Supervision in a Docuseries: Ian Broucek, Kevin Writer – Amend: The Fight For America Aminé Ramer – HBO Music Box Series: “Mr. Saturday Night,” “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, And Rage,” “Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss,” “DMX: Don’t Try To Understand,” “Jagged,” “Listening to Kenny G” James Cartwright – The Lady And The Dale Jon Ernst – Last Chance U: Basketball Iain Cooke – 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything http://mvnt.us/m1294939

[stmichaeldeorleans]

This is the known 1942 story of the St Louis Missouria Mellon Funeral Home and Morgue Penile Acquisition involving De Raymond Joseph Devereaux Fairchild , C.A. Duerksen, and recipient Dean F. Duerksen in New Orleans following the shooting of Dr Brisque and several of his relations. New Orlean's penis acquisition was done in a morgue following a fatal shooting.   It was actually the St. Louis Mellon Funeral Parlor And Morgue.  The dick in question was the previous original  property of one Dr William B. Brisque Devereaux, a thirty something dentist.  They connected the blood vessels etc but not the nerves. They placed a clamp on his veins that Dean could open or close to enlarge or lessen the size. These penile acquisitions appeared to have been temporary solutions due to necrosis and grand jury inquiry stating that he was no longer allowed to use acquired penis unless authorized to do so via courtroom proceedings by a judge which Dean did anyway because Dean is alledged to have been born a girl and named Ellen Jamie Dean Duerksen but is understood to have used Ella Jamie Dean in Las Palamas, CA where he appears to have run with a Melissa Ethridge Gilbert and others. Since James Dean the movie legend is believed to have resided in Las Palamas by 1953 on the former property of the San Quentin Women's Prison (which closed it's doors by 1937 and sold off their buildings to the likes of former prison such as the Stouts, Skits, Hartmans, Ehtridges, C.A. Duerksen, James Edward Olmos and Edward G. Robinson and more) some appear to have considered that Ella Jamie Dean was related to James Dean whom among other 160 actors and actresses whom resided on the former Paul Kantner property in the goodsized barn and were traveling back and forth to Hollywood on six or more buses day by day and this appears to have included Dean as well at times. Other persons that should be listed here included rural cop, James McDugal, James Harrison Ford, a rancher in the area, Priest Charles Osgood, Sister DeMaris, Priest Jim Brown Meryl Streep, Priest Francis Charles Osgoode DeMentos, Bob Hartman, Carol Spacek, Tom and Peter Bogart, Arthur Feldman, Paul Newman, Francis Barrymore, Dean Martin, Dick Howard Jones, Jim Thorpe Jr., Jaquien Cruz Sanchez Monticello Guzman, 1 class Sargeant John Williamson Montecello Guzman, Alma Rollins Fletcher Lewis Harmon, Lt Jerry Avrel Fletcher LAPD, Desk Sargeant LAPD Jay V. Vinson, Los Angeles FBI agents Frederick McMurry, Al Capp, Joan Smead (?), James Ryan O'Neal, Drs Ralph Allan VanDorson, Maria Elizabeth Van Cleeves, Dr Paul Allan VanDorson all of UCLA genetic dept where aDean and C.A. Duerksen are believed to have purchased genetic related equipment, Gemnioles and solutions.

[freeposting]

Dr Jay Feldman Specialist

Business visionary

Dr. Jay Feldman says most business visionaries enter that space since they need to make a constructive outcome on the world. They have an explanation and a mission. Dr. Jay Feldman sees an issue; they sort out some way to address it. The inspirations driving why we do the things that we do mean everything.

Regardless, it will in general be truly easy to disregard to zero in on this as we go not very far away. As monetary supporters demand returns, or as pay demands become genuinely pressing. As we work longer hours, and our own self-appreciation starts to disturb the overall stream.

Regardless, reason and advantage are painstakingly intertwined. Possibly, you can have one without the other, but as we push ahead into a more millennial-and Generation Z-drove workforce (those brought into the world someplace in the scope of 1983 and 2003), the case for having both become obviously truly persuading. Additionally, for sure, useful.

It goes about as a North Star

Right when you make certain with regards to your own and your business' inspiration and a major inspiration for you (and don't address), it's less complex to make decisions and review open entryways. This could go from the laborers that you bring into your gathering, to the accessories you collaborate with, to the clients that you are endeavoring to attract.

As a startup or private endeavor, Dr. Jay Feldman can't bear investigating each possibility that presents itself and ceaselessly after the polished and new. Focusing your undertakings on the right activities implies streamlined costs and conveys better results that are more agreed with the course of the association. Obviously, you may not for the most part put everything in order, nonetheless, you will have a focus for your dynamic. Then, it's concerning experimentation to truly be creative.

Having that compass to guide you towards sensible opportunities you want to research suggests that you have the opportunity to test, and through doing as such find what "dead streets" to cut quickly and what focus locales to focus on. Focusing on several middle locales impacts the fundamental concern.

More spurred representatives

What specialist is really drawn in and truly attracted by accounting pages, data, and KPIs? Reliably throughout the last decade, we see research that proposes cash isn't the essential motivation for certain people – in a meta examination concentrated by Tim Judge, "The makers assessed 120 years of investigation to consolidate the disclosures from 92 quantitative assessments. The joined dataset included in excess of 15,000 individuals and 115 association coefficients.

But some might worship data and some might appreciate cash, what really attracts and moves people is a story, a mission, and an explanation. Reason outclasses motivation.

Having a solid organizational reason

Unquestionably passing on that to your laborers, makes a typical perspective and culture. Everyone has a segment to play in that culture and has an impact in their individual and fascinating way. We become a huge piece of a choice that could be more significant than ourselves.

Essential, a U.S. consultancy firm, explored 2,000 LinkedIn laborers and found 41% could be set up as reason arranged. For what reason should LinkedIn care? According to Imperative's investigation, reason arranged laborers 54% will undoubtedly stay at an association. For at least five years and 30 percent bound to be predominant specialists.

Low staff turnover and valuable specialists approach essential concern influence.

Most would agree that you are really an Entrepreneur, Dr. Jay Feldman said. a person who faces difficulties rolling out an improvement? Of course, would you say you are just one of those crowds who stow away under the title of a 'Business visionary to squeeze by?

If you began another business or your support for starting a business is to squeeze by (suffer), I suggest you reevaluate your decisions and return to the arranging stage again. Beginning another business fundamentally considering the way that you really want to acquire cash (benefit) is to an outrageous degree a great deal of an expense to pay as an Entrepreneur. I mean isn't that what delegates do; working most of the day to make just barely enough?

Endurance

Perseverance isn't the target of Entrepreneurship yet rather significant, Dr. Jay Feldman. You would altogether be giving yourself an unfair arrangement if you transformed into an Entrepreneur. Just to squeeze by. You are simply hoodwinking yourself on them for quite some time in the past run since Entrepreneurship. Demands more work from you than an ordinary regular occupation anytime would.

Individuals like Dr. Jay Feldman

Business people aren't the ideal choice for the people who simply need to get by for the duration of regular daily existence. Business is the ideal choice for individuals who need to continue with life in their own particular manner. What's more, consequently will demand more from life to get what they genuinely need significance. NO! Business is for the people who take what they are given for the duration of day-to-day existence. Also rather than recognizing it as their predetermination, go full scale using what they have been given to get what they genuinely need. Business is connected to using your life to do what you really love and truly care about – energy. It's not connected to submitting to the standard liking suitability. it's connected to causing trouble (making change). An authentic Entrepreneur at their exceptionally focus is a revolutionary.

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #162 - Steely Dan, Aja, 1977

Il tema delle Storie di Musica di marzo me l’hanno dato i Daft Punk (che si sono sciolti dopo quasi trent’anni). Quindi per queste domeniche marzoline storie di duo musicali. Il primo di cui scriverò oggi nasce a fine anni ’60, quando due ragazzi innamorati del Jazz, Walter Becker e Donald Fagen si incontrano al Bard College, a nord di New York. Tra i primi a unirsi agli esperimenti musicali dei due c’è Chevy Chase, poi futuro grande comico. Dopo qualche serata nei locali, vanno in tour con il gruppo di Jay & The Americans, che erano prodotti da Gary Katz, fondatore dell’etichetta ABC Records. Katz è affascinato dai due, dalle idee che hanno in mente, e li spinge a formare un gruppo per dar sviluppo alle loro composizioni. Fagen e Becker come nome scelgono quello del “rivoluzionario” dildo a vapore che William Burroughs descrive ne Il Pasto Nudo: Steely Dan. Inizia qui la storia di una delle più geniali e eccezionali coppie della musica degli anni ’70, immeritatamente oggi poco conosciuti, ma capaci di cose mirabolanti. Il debutto è già fenomenale: Can’t Buy A Thrill esce nel 1972, con in formazione Jim Holder (batteria), Jeff Baxter (chitarra) e David Palmer, con Becker e Fagen a suonare basso, chitarre, sintetizzatori, con Fagen anche cantante. Il disco ha subito due canzoni hit come Do It Again e Reeling in The Years. Inizia da qui una pubblicazione di un disco all’anno: con la stessa formazione nel 1973 esce Countdown To Ecstasy, nel 1974 Pretzel Logic, che contiene la straordinaria Rikki Don’t Lose That Number (dedicata a Horace Silver, l’immenso pianista jazz, che arriva in top five). Qui accade una cosa particolare: Fagen inizia ad avere fobia delle esibizioni dal vivo e il 1974 è in pratica l’ultimo anno in cui suoneranno in concerto, con il duo che apre la sigla Steely Dan ad un mondo variegato e favoloso di musicisti e sessionisti, il meglio che c’è sulla piazza. Katy Lied (1975) ne delinea lo stile, già unico e riconoscibile, che mixa con una magia speciale (e probabilmente inarrivabile) jazz, rock, blues, pop ad una perfezione esecutiva che diventerà proverbiale, il tutto accompagnato da testi criptici, ironici, colti che diventeranno iconici al pari della musica. Dopo The Royal Scam (1976) firmano con la Warner Bros. come compositori, ma continuavo a essere fedeli come Steely Dan alla ABC di Katz. Con cui nel 1976 progettano un disco che ha un unico obiettivo: la perfezione del suono. Ingaggiano quindi il meglio dei sessionisti, un dream team in cui si ricordano tra gli altri Victor Feldman (Fender Rhodes e vibrafono), Michael Omartian (al piano, poi produttore di Christopher Cross, vincitore di 3 Grammy) Larry Carlton e Steve Khan (alla chitarra), Rick Marotta e Steve Gadd (due giganti della batteria) Pete Christlieb e Tom Scott (sassofono del Tonight Show il primo, colui che curerà gli arrangiamenti de fiati nel disco il secondo) e proprio per non farsi mancare niente, Wayne Shorter in un assolo leggendario di un brano e una sezione cori da far invidia: Michael McDonald (futuro The Doobie Brothers), Timothy B. Schmit (che proprio quell’anno si unirà agli Eagles, con cui canterà la mitica I Can’t Tell You Why) e il meglio tra coristi femminili e maschili, in tutto una quarantina di musicisti campioni. Che verranno osservati e scelti in base alle loro caratteristiche per ogni brano in ben 4 studi di registrazione, sotto le cure maniacali non solo di Fagen&Becker, ma di Gary Katz e da una squadra di ingegneri del suono da sogno, tra i più grandi di sempre: Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Bill Schnee, con alla masterizzazione un altro colosso, Bernie Grundman (che messi insieme fanno una valigia di Grammy Awards vinti ad oggi per l’ingegneria sonora). Le leggende sulle sessioni di registrazioni su Aja, questo il titolo che verrà scelto dagli Steely Dan, pubblicato nel settembre 1977 (si pronuncia in inglese come Asia e si dice fosse un omaggio alla bellissima moglie coreana di un amico di Fagen) diventeranno proverbiali: ore di ricerca della rullata perfetta, serie di assoli ripetuti alla ricerca della take giusta, in un clima che però non divenne mai isterico, quanto piuttosto figlio della idea comune di scrivere la perfezione. E con la perfezione si parte dalla copertina, tra le più belle di sempre: uno scatto del fotografo giapponese Hideki Fujii che ritrae la modella e attrice giapponese Sayoko Yamaguchi. I 7 brani del disco sono 7 perle che spiegano al meglio il suono Steely Dan: Black Cow (dal nome di un cocktail) è magnetica e perfetta, con gli intrecci meravigliosi tra sassofoni, piano elettrico, i cori; Aja è ancora oltre, 8 minuti di sensazioni che delicatamente viaggiano per l’oriente, con la batteria di Gadd a troneggiare, prima dell’assolo leggendario di Wayne Shorter (che fu provato più volte per trovare le sonorità volute da quei due pazzi), con gli intrecci del doppio piano, voicing jazzisti, tre chitarre elettriche. La terza traccia è probabilmente la loro canzone simbolo: Deacon Blues è la storia di un “perdente”, che però non ha ancora perso la voglia di mettersi in gioco; il leggendario ritornello infatti dice “Learn to work the saxophone\I play just what I feel\Drink Scotch whiskey all night long\And die behind the wheel\They got a name for the winners in the world\I want a name when I lose\They call Alabama the Crimson Tide\Call me Deacon Blues”, dove il Crimson Tide (la marea cremisi) è un riferimento colto ad una squadra di Football dell’Università dell’Alabama che non perse una partita per anni di seguito (da quel momento sinonimo di vincente), mentre il verso di apertura (This is the day of the expanding man) è un riferimento ad un libro di fantascienza molto famoso, L'Uomo Disintegrato di Alfred Bester. E poi Peg, canzone su una sessione fotografica (geniale, nel testo dice “This is your big debut\It's like a dream come true\So won't you smile for the camera?\I know they're gonna love it)  il cui assolo fu provato e suonato da 6-7 chitarristi prima di scegliere quello giusto (di Jay Gradon) dalle fenomenali armonie vocali di McDonald, che diventerà una hit (saccheggiata nei campionamenti negli anni futuri persino dai De-La Soul in Eye Know), le delizie di Home At Last e I Got The News. E che dire del funky rock di Josie, dal mitico riff suonato da Becker, che racconta di una bellissima ragazza, dal passato torbido, che torna nel quartiere, con successivo scombussolamento dei vari pretendenti.  Definire la loro musica significa immaginare una linea che unisce soul, jazz, rock, pop in un modo magico, in questo disco ogni assolo, ogni intervento, ogni ascolto regala un particolare che prima era sfuggito e che sembra invece perfetto. Tutta questa perfezione non passò certo inosservata: il disco vinse a mani basse il Grammy come Miglior Ingegneria Sonora nel 1978, e a distanza di decenni ancora oggi è considerato dai maniaci della audiofilia il disco per provare la bontà di ogni impianto hi-fi. Venderà milioni di copie (uno dei primi dischi ad ottenere la certificazione di Platino per un milione di copie vendute negli USA) spargendo nel mondo la voce che “niente suona bene come un disco degli Steely Dan” (dal titolo di un articolo di Downbeat, la rivista bibbia del jazz americano). Due ultime curiosità: Deacon Blues fu una freccia che arriverà fino in Scozia, a Glasgow, dove colpì al cuore Rick Ross che chiamerà così il suo gruppo (i Deacon Blue, che debuttano con un grande disco nel 1987, Raintown) e in un film di poco tempo fa, Sing Street (pellicola deliziosa del 2016), che racconta la storia di un giovane dublinese che agli inizi degli anni ’80 crea un gruppo musicale per sfuggire al bullismo e per impressionare una ragazza, c’è questa clamorosa battuta: In un gruppo non conta saper suonare. Chi vi credete di essere, gli Steely Dan?