#Liz Lark Brown

[unproduciblesmackdown]

speaking of the 8th annual xmas photos i definitely hadn't already seen before: The Wroles

[amc-minx]

My affinity for kazoos has skyrocketed. 🤯

[templeofshame]

obviously im an iconis fangirl but you gotta respect actors who commit to the most batshit songs and shows

[leek-e]

I think that Velociraptor is about a trans woman struggling with internalized transphobia and that Helen Sharp is about a much, much better movie than Death Becomes Her.

I have a maths exam tomorrow morning but I spent this afternoon drawing an anthropomorphic velociraptor, clearly I am making good decisions.

I totally agree with this interpretation, it was my first thought as well! Makes a lot of sense with the lyrics I think. I'm rooting for you velociraptor girl <33

[neverheardnothing]

will roland during the bar song at joe iconis’ pipe night

[circleofcavan]

Nebraska

Macey daydreams about spending winter break somewhere else, with some envy sprinkled in there, too; suite shenanigans and some $300 Bose noise-cancelling headphones. One-shot. Content warning: themes of parental neglect, mentions of alcohol use, smoking + abuse.

(Read it on AO3 here.)

There are moments when Macey wishes everything could just be stable and balanced.

“Normal” is too much to ask for; it’s a big ticket item that’s just out of reach, that she hasn’t worked quite hard enough for just yet. Instead, she’d settle for stable: an ideal situation with no boat-rocking, no absent fathers or narcissistic mothers, no forced appearances or quick-changes in the back of limousines, no hidden hangovers, no concealer on the bruises along her upper arm. Stable. Secure.

Idealistic. At this point in her life, there’s no chance she’ll ever know balance. If she keeps down the path that Gallagher has her going down, it’ll be a constant chase – maybe not a sprint, but a jog, and even that can get exhausting after a while.

She envies Cammie, even despite her hardships. Cammie has support, she has crumbs of normalcy to cling to, a warm home to run to during breaks and tight spots and panicked moments. She has options, even when she thinks she doesn’t. Even when she feels like every door is closed, there are always more.

Macey watches her chatting with Bez and Liz, her feet curled under a blanket, back to the wall of their suite. Cammie has a slight smile on her face, a fullness in her cheeks that made a return when she did, another escape on a lark that she magically realized had consequences; Bex is trying to reverse engineer a heist, Liz is French braiding Cam’s hair, which is brown now, thinner but longer. She can only slightly hear her roommates over the music she’s blasting, $300 Bose noise-cancelling headphones be damned, but she can imagine the conversation, more or less – more homework trouble, more boy trouble, more girl trouble, more acne trouble, more TV cliffhanger trouble, more “I can’t believe I got a B on this test” trouble, more normalcy. A feeling she’ll never have.

The conversation halts for a moment, all of them on the precipice of laughter, but they look to her, expectant, waiting on an answer; she points to her headphones and down to her book (Art of War, of course), and loudly yells “What?” as though she’s clueless and miffed, out of the loop. Bex laughs, Liz joins in, Cammie smiles and her volume goes back up. Stability. Everything is level again.

She’s damn great at playing the part, something she was born to do. (Is she talking about herself or about Cammie? She’s not sure. Projecting, much?) Macey is the perfect daughter, even when she’s a rebel; she’s the supermodel even when she’s strung out and hungover in the Great Hall at breakfast, stumbling through Farsi between sips of Gatorade; she’s America’s Sweetheart, Vermont’s darling, even though she hasn’t been back to Vermont in years. (Not that there’s anything there for her, aside from a hiking trail where she used to run or smoke cigs, plus the parking lot where she had her first kiss – awkward, sloppy and too much teeth – and her childhood home – her permanent address, she should say, because it’s not like she’s ever really felt like it was a home for her at all.)

They’re talking about winter break plans now. “Nebraska”  floats past the music, clinging to her brain, cloying and sweet. What she wouldn’t give for a proper, home-cooked meal, a scratchy wool blanket, a too-warm-but-too-cold room with a draft. Farm smells. Barn chores. Callouses. Sweat. Burnt coffee in smooth metal thermoses, a cold winter sun, some dustings of snow, a hot mug of potato soup – a too tight pickle jar lid. It’s so vivid it hurts, digging into her brain like it’s eating her alive from the inside out, starting at her brain and burrowing its way into her heart. Nebraska.

She can only imagine what that reality would be like; there’s something lived-in about it that she won’t be able to come close to touching, an inherent familiarity that she’s just not cut out to experience. Her winter break will likely be Aspen or Geneva, maybe both, and that’s a dream, too – she’ll probably see some classmates there as well, the ones that fit the Gallagher mold, the one that she’s apparently supposed to fit, too.

The trip will be booked as a family affair, but her parents will be anything but present, her mom chasing after seasonal ski patrol staff, college students in their prime, her dad on “work calls,” probably brokering some deal that will just line his pockets a bit more than his congressional salary. She’ll be drunk and alone, partying with ski bunnies or diplomats’ kids, settling into her old-money-rich-heiress role like she has so many times before.

Maybe if she’s lucky she’ll be able to slip away – if they’re preoccupied for a few days into the weeklong trip, she could pack a bag and hitchhike her way a few towns over, blending in like she’s new in town and visiting extended family, weaving a cover story for herself and patching it up every time she gets caught in a lie. She might have normal clothes on but she’s still anything but; they’ll remark on her beauty and her perfectly-manicured nails, ones that wouldn’t be in such pristine condition if she were just a girl from just a farm in just Nebraska.

Then she’ll get call after call to her phone, her parents demanding an appearance because it’s time to fly home now, and she’ll have to abandon the fake life she created for herself in this little mountain town, the cover that was just on the verge of being blown. She won’t be a girl from Nebraska with boy trouble and homework trouble and normal trouble, she’ll be the Macey McHenry, heiress and stone-cold bitch, sugary-sweet but too much to handle.

She’s not sure how Bex was able to get on her bed without her knowing, but she’s got a hand on the right ear of her headphones before Macey can turn to stop her with a bewildered laugh. “We’ve been trying to get your attention for ages,” Bex says, sitting back on her haunches, glancing at Cam and Liz. “What movie do you want to watch tonight? Tina’s running a Bourne marathon, but we were thinking Clueless, but then we realized you haven’t picked a movie yet, so it’s your call.”

Macey slides the headphones off fully now, settling them around her neck. She pauses her music. She pauses herself. Maybe this is the closest to stable and balanced that she’ll get: the closest thing to normal is four teenage girls watching 80s movies in their pajamas, LUSH masks smeared on their faces, shitty manicures and burnt microwave popcorn, falling asleep on the floor next to an overheated laptop and projector and her roommates, snoring softly.

Tomorrow’s Saturday. She could sleep in, pretend like the meal she’s having is home-cooked. She could wander around the halls and act like this was the home she deserved all along, because it was, and maybe even talk a bit more about winter break plans. Macey knows enough social graces to not invite herself to spaces where she might not be welcome, but maybe it could happen; maybe things will balance out in her favor. It might not be Nebraska, it might be London, or maybe it might just be here, in the mansion, if she can talk her way into it. The only people who normally hang back anyway are ones who either can’t go home or won’t go home, and Macey surely falls into both or either.

But that’s neither here nor there, and they’re still waiting on an answer. Macey dogears her book page, the same page she’s been stuck on this entire time, reading the same paragraph over and over, and sets it aside. “Clueless for sure,” she finally says, forcing a grin, cutting a glance at Cammie. “But only if we stay up way too late talking about how much Paul Rudd kind of looks like J-O-S-H.” (He doesn't.)

Liz squeals, Bex laughs, and Cammie blushes. Mace flashes her a knowing smile and grabs her blanket, ushering them up, while Bex says something about stealing cookie dough from the kitchen. Liz is convinced that they need to swipe Madame Dabney’s projector, even though there’s a perfectly good one in their room (apparently the one that isn’t theirs is 10 times more energy efficient and smells like the essential oil of their choice), and Cammie is watching her, grabbing her hand, helping her up. Cam’s hand doesn’t have callouses yet, but it will, and Macey thinks about what they’ll feel like after break. Will they be rough and ragged, or torn, exposing new, smooth, bright pink skin, the outline just barely visible?

Macey snaps back to reality for a moment; Bex and Liz have left on their respective conquests, and Cam is lingering near the door. “You coming?” she asks, gesturing to the hallway with her chin, and Macey can’t help but remember the annoyed (and annoying) girl that she met on her first visit, the one who just wouldn’t leave her alone. “You know we can’t let them traipse around by themselves; Liz will end up with a sprained ankle and Bex will probably burn the place to the ground.”

“Let’s do this,” Macey shoots back, grabbing a compact fire extinguisher that Liz had made in the labs a semester prior. This was normal. And she’d create balance and stability where she could, starting with her two renegade roommates. “I’m right behind you.”

[knitcrate]

May 2020 Reveals

Inspired by the coziness of our homes and the desire to learn new things, we’re turning lemons into lemonade - almost literally! This month, we’re giving you a blank canvas to create your own adventure and make a splash in the time we’re spending at home.

We’ll guide you along the way, taking you as close as we can to the process of sheep to shawl in your own home for your most personalized project of 2020.

Like every other month this year, this crate was curated with a little help from our friends! This month, we’ve partnered with Rebecca Brown also known as ChemKnits Tutorials on Youtube. She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and specializes in applying her scientific training to the fiber arts. We love getting together as a team to watch her fun tutorials and get a behind-the-scenes look at the fiber magic she creates. Subscribe to her channel today to watch them with us while you wait for your next crate!

When we found out our mill closed down for quarantine a few weeks ago and couldn’t deliver the yarn we originally had planned out for May since last year, we knew we had to make some changes. With some help from Rebecca and our sister store Dyer Supplier, we put together something special for this month’s crates. For the first time ever, we are bringing you a DIY Crate, where you’ll learn to dye your own yarn with us! Just wait until you tell your friends that you not only stitched up your project but hand-dyed it too!

KnitCrate Membership

This month, we partnered with our sister company, DyerSupplier to bring a variety of industry standard bare yarns to your crates! Your crate will contain 2 skeins of undyed yarn to act as a blank canvas for you to make your own unique creation. Your crate will come with 2 identical skeins of any of the following bases.

2-Ply Superwash Merino

A classic 2-ply yarn with a bit of air within the spin. Perfect for a wide range of gauges and projects, this fingering weight 100% Superwash Merino yarn measures at approx. 399 yards/ 100g.

75/25 Superwash Merino Nylon

A 75% Superwash Merino 25% Nylon fingering weight blend, durable for any project and soft to the touch. Each skein measures at 415 yards/ 100g.

Nice & Round

This base looks and feels just like the name- nice and round. Ideal for crisp speckles and textured stitch definition, this tightly plied 100% Superwash Merino measures 415 yards/ 100g and is fingering weight.

Merino Singles

Wispy and soft, this singles base is an indie dyer essential and best seller! It is a fingering weight made up of 100% Superwash Merino with 415 yards/ 100g.

Energize Me: Ember

Like a warm campfire or fireworks in the sky, this color combination brings a burst of life to any stash. Each Energize Me Crate will come with 1 orange and 1 cherry packet to create 2 skeins of any of the pictured combinations!

Chill Out: Spritzer

This tart combination can be toned up or down depending on how much dye you use! Each Chill Out Crate will come with 1 grape and 1 cherry packet to create 2 skeins of any of the pictured combinations!

All Natural: Husk

Reminiscent of purple corn and pumpkins, 1 packet of grape and 1 packet of orange come together to create strikingly different colorways! Mix both packets for an unexpectedly natural colorway surprise!

Sock Crate Membership

DyerSupplier has filled our Sock Crates with every sock maker’s staple. A soft 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 20% Nylon fingering weight yarn, plied and ready to support those heels and toes! This base is 400 yards/ 100g.

Energize Me: Daiquiri

Blended with bits of undyed, this cherry flavor feels like a refreshing frozen drink by the pool. Each Energize Me Crate will come with 1 cherry packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

Chill Out: Fairy Floss

Like soft cotton candy, this yarn gives grape a chance to show its different colors! Each Chill Out Crate will come with 1 grape packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

All Natural: Creamsicle

Orange and cream- a familiar, nostalgic, and delicious combination. Each All Natural Sock Crate will come with 1 orange packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

Patterns: 

Because we were unable to come up with new patterns for all crates in time, we reached out to some designers that we admire to provide free and discounted patterns from their Ravelry Shops! 

Laura Fahlin/lfahlin: Knit Socks 40% off in Ravelry Shop

Liz Salazar/lsalazar: 80/20 Crochet Sock pattern- free to subscribers

Rohn Strong/rohnstrong: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - free

Renate Kamm/oberpfalzerin: Select patterns - free

Stephanie Erin/ByStephanieErin: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - free

Bonus: 

Kate Atherly/kateatherly: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - 50% off

Hortense Maskens/knittingwithchopsticks: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - 30% off

Lauren Gates/seraphymfibres: Holly Socks - 30% off

Corrado Lark/corradolark: Kingdrape Shawl- 25% off

Katrina Walser/oliphantkat: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - 20% off

Malabrigo Quarterly Crate

April has been quite a month! We appreciate your patience while we completely redesigned this crate with Malabrigo.

Now…who’s ready for a quick peek at what will be inside our May 2020 Malabrigo Partner Crate?

Inspired by our May theme of Blank Canvas, we’ve partnered with Malabrigo to bring members luscious hand-dyed skeins of Washted, the superwash version of their Worsted Merino base. It features 210 yards (192 meters) per 100 gram skein.

Here’s a quick look of the colorways we’ve selected:

Colorways will vary from crate to crate. Each crate will include 2 identical skeins with matched lots of Washted for your next masterpiece PLUS 2 knit patterns, 1 crochet pattern, and an exciting extra (these will still be a surprise).

INTRODUCING:

Asylum Fibers x KnitCrate: Limited Edition Mother’s Day Crate

We are so excited to announce a very special collaboration with some incredible independent makers! From the yarn, patterns, to the extra, each element of this crate has been handpicked and exclusively made to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Stephanie Jones of Asylum Fibers has treated us to Alstromeria- a bouquet inspired exclusive colorway on DyerSupplier’s base, Elegance. This bulky weight base is a 45% Superwash Merino, 45% Kid Mohair, and 10% Silk blend at 167 yards/ 100g. These skeins would normally retail for $30 each. Every Limited Edition Mother’s Day Crate will include 3 skeins, 1 knit pattern, 1 crochet pattern, and 1 handmade extra by Anita Wentz of Walnut Farm Designs.

Click here to get yours today for $69.99 while supplies last!

Patterns

The featured knit pattern in the Mother’s Day Kit is Motherly by Nathalie Francis / clemandhercat. It is a simple-in-stitch top down cardigan with intricate shaping. 

The featured crochet pattern in the Mother’s Day Kit is Abbraccio by Aimée Hansen/aheemai. This shrug is meant to feel like the coziest hug. 

[larryland]

Joe Iconis and Family TAKE OVER! the BSC MainStage (Pittsfield, MA– August, 2017) After many summers of blowing the roof off of Mr. Finn’s Cabaret, Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, proudly presents Joe Iconis and Family TAKE OVER!

[kwebtv]

Lark Rise to Candleford  -  BBC One  -  1/13/2008  -  2/13/2011

Period Drama (40 episodes)

Running Time:  60 minutes

Stars:

Julia Sawalha as  Dorcas Lane 

Olivia Hallinan as  Laura Timmins 

Claudie Blakley  as  Emma Timmins 

Brendan Coyle  as  Robert Timmins 

Linda Bassett  as  Victoria May 'Queenie' Warrener Turrill 

Karl Johnson  as  Thomas 'Twister' Turrill 

Mark Heap  as  Thomas Brown 

Dawn French  as  Caroline Arless 

John Dagleish  as  Alf Arless 

Liz Smith  as  Zillah 

Matilda Ziegler  as  Prudence 'Pearl' Pratt 

Victoria Hamilton  as  Ruth 'Ruby' Pratt 

Ben Miles  as  Sir Timothy Midwinter 

Olivia Grant  as  Lady Adelaide Midwinter 

Oliver Jackson-Cohen  as  Phillip White 

Gerard Horan  as  Mr. Paxton 

Stephen Marcus  as  Matthew Welby 

Sandy McDade  as  Margaret Ellison Brown

Ruby Bentall  as  Winifred 'Minnie' Mude

[unproduciblesmackdown]

great clip around the dance break in the classic virgin mary & virgin mary dancers "santa baby" sequence

[backpackboyfriends]

If You Like Be More Chill...

Here are some more songs you might like by Joe Iconis!

Kevin : This song is sung by Andrew Rannells (a god) about being bored in Brooklyn. Plot twist song with a catchy tune that I sing in all my free time. Features this breathtaking ending and amazing chorus.

Jeff : Jeremy Morse sings about spying on his neighbors. Its funny and awful on the surface, but gets extremely interesting. It has some amazing one liners and moments that really make you think about this character and his life.

Party Hat : MK Lawson and Eric William Morris have this amazing chemistry that is reflected perfectly in a story about a lonely girl and a cat. Its unbelievably charming and well done. The fact alone made me laugh that Eric was playing a cat.

Blue Hair : Jordan Stanley has a young boyish charm that is beautiful and gorgeous and I love this song. Its about a boy who decides he wants to make a statement and just dyes his hair blue because he can. Its actually from one of Joe’s other musicals called The Black Suits. Highly recommend. 

The Goodbye Song : Jason Williams. Deep song. Kinda sad. I sing it and pretend I’m on a stage all the time. This song is gorgeous and I don’t really know how to explain it, but its basically this song about a death and how the person dying wants everyone to be okay when he’s gone. 

Right Place/Wrong Time : Eric William Morris and Katrina Rose Dideriksen both have amazing voices that work so well in presenting the concept of the song. They sing about how they always seem to be missing their chances even when they might have talent. 

Honey : Listen as Jared Weiss tears your heart out as he sings about pining over his best friend. Its an extremely cute piece that is so well sung and portrayed. No jokes, just cuteness.

Lisa : Katrina Rose Dideriksen sings about feeling like you’re not enough to be with a girl. It is actually the best thing. Katrina brings this amazing emotion and power into it that just wow. Honestly, its a gay anthem. (Also from The Black Suits)

Velociraptor : Liz Lark Brown sings about being a velociraptor and its hilarious, but actually a metaphor for societal expectations and where we all belong in the world??? She has an amazing voice and there’s some parts where you laugh and some parts where you have to furrow your eyebrows and really appreciate it.

The Actress : Katrina Rose Dideriksen yet again. It follows the struggle of this girl and what she has to do to become an actress. The meaning behind this song is so impressively portrayed and once more leaves your jaw dropped at Joe Iconis and his writing. Its funny and charming as well. 

These are just my personal favorites! Feel free to message me or send in an ask telling me what you think of these songs, which are your favorites, or even recommend some more! Happy listening!

[templeofshame]

wait I totally forgot about this which is less sexual and more on-brand

[neverheardnothing]

1. Album by Joe Iconis, Joe Iconis & Family 2. The Answer by Aaron Tveit 3. Ammonia by Heidi Blickenstaff 4. Archie's All-American by Andrew Barth Feldman 5. Lydia's Song by Lauren Marcus 6. The Protector by Jason SweetTooth Williams 7. Kevin by Andrew Rannells 8. Jeff by Jeremy Morse 9. 64 by Alan H. Green, George Salazar, José Restrepo 10. Play the Princess by Destinee Rea, L. Morgan Lee 11. The Actress by Katrina Rose Dideriksen 12. The Song by Joe Iconis 13. All the Mistakes That He Made About the Girl by Joe Iconis 14. Yesterdays / I Can't Relate by Jason Tam, Jason Veasey 15. Building a Fort by Harrison Chad 16. Haddonfield, 15 Years Later (For Judith) by Jared Weiss, Joe Iconis & Family 17. Sympathy for the Killer by Liz Lark Brown 18. Helen Sharp by Lorinda Lisitza 19. The Nurse and the Addict by Taylor Trensch, Joe Iconis & Family 20. Out Of Sight / Out Of Mind by Krysta Rodriguez 21. The Saddest Girl in the World by Kerry Butler 22. Norman by Lance Rubin 23. (Run Away from You) by Jason SweetTooth Williams 24. The Prisoner's Christmas Song by Grace McLean 25. Right Place / Wrong Time by Eric William Morris, Katrina Rose Dideriksen 26. 52 by Danny Burstein, Joe Iconis & Family 27. A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into by Seth Eliser 28. Joey Is a Punk Rocker by Annie Golden 29. Social Worker by Nick Blaemire 30. I Was a Teenage Delinquent! by Lauren Marcus, Molly Hager, Joe Iconis & Family 31. (Do) the Slide Whistle! by Jordan Stanley, Lance Rubin, Joe Iconis & Family 32. Muthers R Speshel (Wen Yer Sad) by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joe Iconis & Family 33. My Best Friend's a Skeleton by George Salazar, Jeremy Morse 34. Velociraptor by Liz Lark Brown 35. Him Today, Gone Tomorrow by Shakina Nayfack 36. Starting to Forget by Badia Farha 37. Tightrope Walker / Mountain Climber / Me by Molly Hager 38. Flesh and Bone (The Robot's Song) by Jason SweetTooth Williams, Joe Iconis & Family 39. Party Hat by Lauren Marcus, Eric William Morris, Joe Iconis & Family 40. Amphibian by Will Roland, Joe Iconis & Family 41. It's All Good by Jason Tam, Nick Blaemire, Lance Rubin, Jason SweetTooth Williams 42. Find the Bastard by Eric William Morris, Joe Iconis & Family 43. Last on Land by Jason SweetTooth Williams, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, MK Lawson, Eric William Morris, Jeremy Morse, Lance Rubin, Joe Iconis & Family 44. Try Again by Joe Iconis

[digitalmark18-blog]

Dark money website revives allegations from Sherrod Brown's 1980s-era divorce

New Post has been published on https://britishdigitalmarketingnews.com/dark-money-website-revives-allegations-from-sherrod-browns-1980s-era-divorce/

Dark money website revives allegations from Sherrod Brown's 1980s-era divorce

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A new political website has sprung up, appropriating the “Me Too” movement to attack Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown over allegations stemming from his 1986 divorce.

The website, www.metooohio.com, includes a 60-second video that references court records from Brown’s divorce with his then-wife, Larke Recchie, as well as excerpts from the records themselves. The ugly divorce, which included allegations that Brown “bullied” and shoved Recchie, has come up in many of Brown’s campaigns, including his 1992 race for Congress and his 2012 re-election campaign to the U.S. Senate. Recchie is now a political supporter of Brown’s and has described “angry words” that surrounded their divorce.

The website, anonymously registered earlier this month, has the hallmarks of a “dark money” political group — in other words, it was designed to obscure who created it. However, there is a trail of digital footprints that tie the site to Majority Strategies, a prominent Republican political firm that has done hundreds of thousands of dollars work for a Super PAC supporting U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, Brown’s opponent in the November election, the Renacci campaign and the Ohio Republican Party.

It’s unclear whether the ad is part of a larger advertising campaign that could put it on TV, making judging the amount of funding behind the ad difficult or impossible.

Renacci’s campaign denied involvement with the website, but in a statement, Renacci amplified its contents.

“Violence against women in any form is not acceptable and has no place in our society,” Renacci said. “Sherrod Brown’s well documented history of domestic violence is deeply troubling. Ohioans deserve to know all the facts, and judge his fitness for public office for themselves.”

In a statement distributed by Brown’s campaign on Thursday, Recchie called the website “disgusting.” Recchie and her current husband are political supporters of Brown, and hosted a high-dollar fundraiser for Brown at their home in the Columbus area last weekend. Recchie and Brown’s current wife, former Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz, filmed an ad together in 2006, when Brown was challenging then-Sen. Mike DeWine, anticipating DeWine may raise the issue. But it never came up, so the ad was never released.

Recchie said in 1992, when Brown was running for congress and the issue came up: “Divorce can often be an unfriendly ordeal, and ours was no exception. There was a lot of hurt on both sides, and it led only to angry words.”

“This isn’t the first time someone has gone after my family to score cheap political points,” Recchie said in the Thursday statement. “I’m dismayed that Congressman Renacci would do something this shameless, despite the fact that I’ve already addressed this matter. I was proud to support Sherrod in 2006 and 2012 — just as I am this time around. Anyone who suggests he is not an honorable man is just wrong. He’s a great father to our daughters Emily and Liz and he’s a wonderful grandfather to our grandchildren. Disparaging my family for political gain is disgusting, and Congressman Renacci should know better.”

More about the divorce

“Now, Sherrod Brown is facing his own Me Too moment from his past,” the ad’s female narrator says in the digital video. “These court records show sworn evidence that Brown’s ex-wife accused him of abusing her.” The ad also references current Democratic Ohio lieutenant governor candidate Betty Sutton’s recent discussion about being a survivor of domestic violence, as well as recent domestic violence allegations against a former Ohio State University assistant football coach.

Records from the 1986 divorce, which have made the rounds in Ohio political circles for decades, convey a deep level of animosity between Brown and his ex-wife. In one filing, Larke Recchie requested a restraining order against Brown, saying she was “in fear for the safety and well-being of myself and our children due to (Brown’s) physical violence and abusive nature.”

As previously reported by The Plain Dealer, she later sought to keep Brown from going further than the curb when he came to pick up their young daughters for visitation. She said in a supporting affidavit that Brown “intimidated, pushed, shoved and bullied” her on several occasions.

In that filing, Recchie described an incident in which Brown arrived at her house to pick up their children for a court-ordered visit. 

She wrote that Brown “pushed me up against the wall with his arms in order to pass and enter the house” and “He refused to leave when asked and began to say insulting, derogatory things about me, my mothering of my children and my character in front of my friends and my children.”

She concluded by saying that “I am definitely afraid of my husband, that he has struck and bullied me on several different occasions, he has completely destroyed my peace of mind and that I am extremely intimidated by him.”

A passage from the 2012 Plain Dealer story further cites a Columbus Dispatch story from April 1989, when Brown was Ohio secretary of state:

“Brown’s ex-wife accused him of malicious destruction of property and filed a police report saying Brown broke the door after pounding on it. She did not follow up with charges.”

“The Dispatch story also said that Brown assaulted his ex-wife’s new husband, Joseph Recchie, grabbing him around the neck and beginning to strangle him. Joseph Recchie filed a complaint but did not follow up with formal charges, the Dispatch reported.”

The allegations have periodically dogged Brown, but haven’t derailed his political career.

Still, they have the potential to be a political liability for him, particularly as he’s increasingly become a national political figure, viewed as a possible future vice-presidential or presidential candidate.

Dark money group has ties to Ohio Republicans

MeToo Ohio is a Super PAC created on Sept. 5 by Lisa Lisker, a Republican political consultant in the Washington D.C. area, federal election records show.

News of the site was first reported earlier Thursday by The Daily Caller, a Washington-D.C. based conservative news website. The article also links to records from Brown’s divorce hosted on www.majoritystrategieshosting.com. The website shares a similar name with Majority Strategies, a prominent Republican political consulting firm led by Brett Buerck, an Ohio native.

This screenshot shows the MeTooOhio template that appeared on the Majority Strategies website. It was removed after this story was published. www.majoritystrategieshosting.com 

MeTooOhio.com shares a common IP address, a unique number assigned to each digitally connected device, with www.majoritystrategieshosting.com. As of Thursday afternoon, the latter website contained a publicly visible directory of files including Majority Strategies press releases and a directory of myriad political websites, including what appears to be a template for the MeTooOhio website and a template for another website supporting Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs.

Renacci’s Senate campaign has paid $37,050 to Majority Strategies for political mail and delivery, federal election records show. The Ohio First PAC, a Super PAC created to support Renacci’s campaign, has reported owing Majority Strategies more than $534,000 for printing, TV and radio commercials and research, federal election records show. The firm also has done hundreds of thousands of dollars of work for the Ohio Republican Party.

Reached for comment, Buerck initially did not confirm or deny that Majority Strategies was behind the site. However, after this story was published, the publicly visible directories and some of the pages on www.majoritystrategieshosting.com were removed.

Late Thursday, hours after this story published, a spokeswoman for MeTooOhio passed along a statement from Buerck acknowledging Majority Strategies’ connection to the group, saying it was working “with all of the necessary legal firewalls in place.”

But, he said the focus on his firm’s role distracted from the important work the group was doing. 

“No one should be surprised that we were hired to work with Me Too Ohio, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be involved,” Buerck said. 

The ad directs viewers to call Congress to “demand laws that allow every victim to be heard.” The website also calls on viewers to call Congress and demand Brown’s resignation. 

Because it doesn’t make a specific reference to Brown’s election or Renacci, it likely can under campaign finance laws, technically be characterized as issue-based advocacy rather than an election-related ad, which would trigger greater disclosure requirements. Under campaign-finance law, Renacci is forbidden from coordinating with the group.

A message to an email listed on the site was not immediately returned.

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken also issued a statement shortly after the website was launched. The statement does not mention the women who have accused Republican President Donald Trump of sexual harassment or assault, including Rachel Crooks, who’s now running for a Northwest Ohio state representative seat as a Democrat.

“The rise of the #MeToo movement has helped women across the country find the courage to speak out against their abusers,” Timken said. “In 2018, more women are coming forward than ever before and the culture of sweeping abuse and harassment under the rug is no longer acceptable. Sherrod Brown must be held to the same standard he claims to support. He owes Ohioans an explanation.”

Source: https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2018/09/dark_money_website_revives_all.html

[dalek-in-heels]

is this how the real girls feel?

is this how it's supposed to be?

where is the somewhere for me?

it's hard to be a velociraptor

walking through midtown west

Day 03: A song that makes you laugh. In case you've somehow never heard me ramble about Joe Iconis before, he has been my favourite local musical theatre composer ever since 2008 when a friend of mine introduced me to the creative shit going down in the New York musical theatre scene these days. I've been fortunate enough to see Iconis's weird, brilliant ensemble family of performers many, many times over the past several years, and each time has been such a gift. His songs are a kickpunch in the gut, a knock on memory and empathy, a struggle with twentysomething artistic energy, and (perhaps most of all) all sorts of specific, aching, often alienated and unexpectedly funny character studies, usually with a deep sadness just beneath the surface. I could write an epic love letter to pretty much any Joe Iconis song and highly recommend checking out as many as possible (and, even better, see a live show if you live in NYC and can make it! even their bizarre, exuberant annual Christmas show) but for now:

"Velociraptor"!! (btw pretty sure you can hear my actual loud laughs in this video because I was at that show) Joe has this great skill of taking an unlikely perspective and giving that character the humour you'd expect, but with such a twist of sincerity and quiet melancholy that when it all comes together in a musical theatre song, you're like, "Of course there's a song from the POV of a velociraptor having social anxiety about fitting into the streets of Manhattan!" When the melodic dinosaur noises come in though, god I fucking lose it every time. 

[unproduciblesmackdown]

bwayworld xmas pics, part 2/2