#Mark Dickson

[nightsidewrestling]

M.LB Bios: Marquis Dickson

DJ Deja's Youngest Brother Marquis Dickson (Jan 1989)

The youngest brother of the M.L.B's (Mega Level Bitches') DJ Deja, he was born and raised in Compton

"Hallelujah, praise the Lord… Deja, you steal my lunch again and I'll eat your hands."

Name

Full Legal Name: Marquis Qusay Dickson

First Name: Marquis

Meaning: From a noble title that derives from the Old French word 'Marche' meaning 'March, Borderland'

Pronunciation: mahr-KEE/MAHR-kwes/mahr-KEES

Origin: African-American

Middle Name: Qusay

Meaning: Possibly derived from Arabic 'Qasi' meaning 'Distant'

Pronunciation: KOO-sie

Origin: Arabic

Surname: Dickson

Meaning: Means 'Son of Dick' (Dick being a medieval diminutive of 'Richard', which means 'Brave Ruler', derived from the Old German elements 'Rih' 'Ruler, King' and 'Hart' 'Hard, Firm, Brave, Hardy')

Pronunciation: DIK-son

Origin: English

Alias: Mark Dickson

Reason: Stage Name (Comedian)

Nicknames: Mark, M.D/MD

Titles: Mr

Characteristics

Age: (As of Jan 1989) 25

Gender: Male. He/Him Pronouns

Race: Human

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: African-American

Birth Date: April 10th 1963

Sexuality: Straight

Religion: Christian

Native Language: English

Spoken Languages: English, Spanish

Relationship Status: Married

Astrological Sign: Aries

Voice Actor: Stanley Burrell (MC Hammer)

Geographical Characteristics

Birthplace: Compton, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Current Location: Compton, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Hometown: Compton, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Appearance

Height: 5'9" / 175 cm

Weight: 165 lbs / 74 kg

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Black

Hair Dye: None

Body Hair: Sparse

Facial Hair: Full Beard

Tattoos: (As of Jan 1989) 0

Piercings: None

Scars: None

Health and Fitness

Allergies: None

Alcoholic, Smoker, Drug User: Social Drinker

Illnesses/Disorders: None Diagnosed

Medications: None

Any Specific Diet: None

Relationships

Friends: Jamal Dickson, Zaire Dickson, Daquan Dickson

Colleagues: Zaire Dickson, Yeray Park, Daquan Dickson, Juan Carlos Hutchinson, François-Marie Park, Jean-Christophe Park, Noam James, Pascal Watson, Valente Gutiérrez

'Rivals': None

Closest Confidant: Quanna Dickson

Mentor: Darnell Dickson

Significant Other: Quanna Dickson (26, Wife, Née Bennett)

Previous Partners: None of Note

Parents: Darnell Dickson (52, Father), Aisha Dickson (53, Mother, Née Ross)

Parents-In-Law: Demorris Bennett (59, Father-In-Law), Demaria Bennett (60, Mother-In-Law, Née Rosario)

Siblings: Jamal Dickson (31, Brother), Zaire Dickson (28, Brother), Taniqua Dickson (22, Sister, Née Dickson), Deja Dickson (19, Sister)

Siblings-In-Law: Demisha Bray (32, Quanna's Sister, Née Bennett), Deray Bray (33, Demisha's Husband), Deroyce Bennett (29, Quanna's Brother), Demonica Bennett (30, Deroyce's Wife, Née Carver), Kenya Dickson (32, Jamal's Wife, Née Barnes), Naya Dickson (29, Zaire's Wife, Née Wood), Daquan Jenkins (23, Taniqua's Husband)

Nieces & Nephews: Aniyah Dickson (11, Niece), Darrell Dickson (8, Nephew), Nia Dickson (5, Niece), Davon Dickson (2, Nephew), Shanika Dickson (8, Niece), Jalen Dickson (5, Nephew), Taniya Dickson (2, Niece), LeBron Jenkins (2, Nephew), Deronda Bray (12, Niece), Desean Bray (9, Nephew), Deshanae Bray (6, Niece), Deshane Bray (3, Nephew), Deshante Bennett (9, Niece), Desharieff Bennett (9, Niece), Deshay Bennett (6, Nephew), Diamoni Bennett (3, Niece), Divinity Bennett (3, Niece)

Children: Tyrik Dickson (5, Son), Tyra Dickson (2, Daughter)

Children-In-Law: None

Grandkids: None

Great Grandkids: None

Comedy Career

Debut: 1983

Retired: N/A

Shows Done: 1400 (45 minute shows)

Specials Done: 0

[maraschinocheri]

It was 20 years ago today :: A few Very Much Expected Parties :: The Return of the King cast and creatives hit the post-Oscars party circuit, with stops at the Governor's Ball, the Vanity Fair party, and New Line Cinema's own celebration (a post on the The One Party still to come). Joining the celebrating and celebrated for the parties were beloved trilogy actors Lawrence Makoare, Bruce Hopkins, Jed Brophy, Sala Baker, Andy Serkis, and executive producer Mark Ordesky.

[ The Wellington premiere of ROTK | Air Frodo from NZ to LA | Los Angeles | Berlin | London | New York (1) | New York (2) | Empire's LOTR Celebration booklet photography | Empire's outtakes | Critics Choice and People's Choice Awards | National Board of Review Awards | Producers Guild Awards | Tokyo (1) | Tokyo (2) | Golden Globes | Empire Awards | BAFTAs | SAGs | Oscars (1) | Oscars (2) ]

[juhnkit]

Adult Movie Posters Hellhole (1985) A young woman becomes amnesiac after an attack by a hired killer. She's admitted to a mental asylum run by a ruthless doctor who experiments on her patients with a lethal drug, and her attacker just got employed there. Pierre De Moro - Tom DeSimone - Aaron Butler - Lance Dickson - Mark Evan Schwartz - Ray Sharkey - Judy Landers - Marjoe Gortner

[robynsassenmyview]

Kicks and pricks in the classroom

"Kicks and pricks in the classroom", a review of 'Spring Awakening' featuring students of LAMTA, which closes tomorrow.

SURREPTITIOUS love in the forest, between Wendla (Scarlett Pay) and Melchior (Dylan Janse van Rensburg), in Sylvaine Strike’s Spring Awakening. Photograph courtesy of Pieter Toerien Theatre. MUSICAL TALES THAT wag a finger or six at values which keep young blood closeted in ignorance have a danger of warming the cockles of the heart even before the curtain rises. Sylvaine Strike’s adaptation of…

[persephone11110]

rain is a good thing

Jake‘Hangman’Seresin x Reader

Chapter 5: Ubi Amor Ibi Dolor

Chapter Summary: Cardiac Arrest- when the heart stops beating suddenly, only Jake would go into cardiac minutes after Doctor Young leaves the room.

Warnings: medical induced coma, jake codes, sudden cardiac arrest,angst barely fluff, medical inaccuracys!!, mama seresin, mentions of child abuse, jake and y/n pov italicized is jakes, mentions of a dead family member — jake died grandma when he was a child

Characters: Gina Seresin, Doctor Kate Young(neurosurgeon), Doctor Mark Hayden(cardiothoracic surgeon), the daggers are mentioned but don’t have dialogue

A/n: i have no chill. thank you to everyone likes, reblogs and comments. I used a poem from Emily Dickinson— Hope Is The Thing With Feathers, the title is latin, latin for Where There’s Love Theres Pain

Previous | Next

Series Masterlist

WC: 1.1K

—

Everything was fine until it wasn’t.

You’d been reading Emily Dickson, your coworker Amy had been excitedly ranting about her months ago. Telling you and a few others nurses of how much she enjoyed her poems and how Dickinson has a way with words.

So you decided to give her a try.

You had no idea if it was true or not but you’ve heard as a trauma nurse that its good to talk to someone in coma as if their awake. It won’t make them wake up but it provides comfort to both you and the person. It also said during a coma the person can hear whatever happening outside. So you decided to read a few lines to Jake, wondering if he was bored of silence, of the constant tears you and Gina shed a couple times a day. The constant sounds all the machine made.

Hope is thing with feathers -

That perches the soul -

You sighed softly, god did you need hope- hope that Jake finally recovered enough to point were Doctor Young starts to ease his sedation. You had hope for you and Jake to rekindle whatever love you two had before you attacked him with accusations.

Whn do you realize you didn’t love me anymore?

You remember asking him— you expected him to say something worse, but he didn’t. He loved you even after you left him high and dry on a rainy day, with a hangover. You tore down his walls, he torn down your walls, you promised one another that the relationship would be better than your parents.

And sings the the tune without the words -

And never stops at all -

You hated when your mother compared you to your father. “You go tit for tat just like him Y/n, your anger just like him— not caring about the person on the receiving end of it”.

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

Jake hated when he got angry at you fearing that you wouldn’t see him, you see the men that you and him both feared. The men you two spent hiding from when they drank too much, the men who came home angry and ready to hurt everyone and everything in his path.

You and him hated being angry towards one another.

Gina wasn’t here at the moment she was inside Doctor Young office, discussing recovery and what Jake future looks like beyond it.

Could he return to flying?

You closed the book mumbling something about stretching your legs, getting food and finding Gina. As you left for the cafeteria you had some sudden urge to lean over a kiss Jake on his forehead. Saying something along the lines of “I missed you, I missed what we had”.

Look Jake thankful for the rest his body finally got, but at one point it even sleeping gets tiring. He’s supposed to cruising in his car to the base, he supposed up their flying for practice and fun, not laying in a hospital locked in his own mind.

He can’t use the bathroom by himself —hell he’s not even breathing on his own. Poor Y/n, the sounds of her sob when she first came to see him, he didn’t like that one bit. Jake didn’t like how she kept blaming herself for his accident or the breakup. How she deserved every little bad thing that came her way— he has remind himself to have a talk with his girl. Mama made it worse, with her constant apologies for the childhood she didn’t give him, for the constant pain his old man gave them both. Telling him about how much Rocky misses her buddy, how she’s starting to get in a mood.

The daggers came by to see him at some point, throwing threats around saying they’ll kill him first before he has the chance himself. They miss Jake’s constant sacarsm and insults and Bradshaw finally admitted that Jake had the better music taste.

Back to him and Y/n’s talk- usually Jake Seresin doesn’t do plans he just goes with the flow, rips the bandaid right off with ease but this time he can’t. He has to somehow tell Y/n he heard her say how much she missed him.

“I missed you Jake, I missed what we had”.

And god did he miss his girl, missed her body impression she left on the her side of the bed they shared. Her laughter- when she laughed you could see her tongue poking through her right cheek.

He wished he could just wake up, as if only it was that easy.

Jake wished he could keep thinking about his plan and future but a agitating pain in his chest kept interrupting his thinking. If only Jake could open his damn mouth and ask someone to give him something.

Jake wanted to reach his hand out and ask mama or Y/n for help. His body feels like he coming off adrenaline rush.

He didn’t hear neither mama or Y/n anymore.

What he did hear is a beeping sound getting louder and louder, what he didn’t hear was the sound of Y/n gasps and footsteps leaving his room abruptly, he didn’t hear how panicked she sounded when she yelled his name.

He didn’t see the amount of nurses that ran into his room, as they swarmed around him, them yelling a bunch of numbers, someone yelling page Dr. Hayden, Dr. Young.

The pressure in his chest got worse.

He didn’t feel Doctor Young flash a pen light in his eyes. He didn’t feel the pressure being applied to chest every two minutes, he didn’t hear them count to thirty.

He didn’t see mama and Y/n standing outside his hospital room with tears in their eyes, he didn’t see Y/n pacing up and down the hallway.

He did see the place he spent his entire childhood in.

Jake remembered this place, it was place he ran to every time he needed a break from his parents. A place filled with warmth and love, a place he knew that would protect him from harm.

“Hi sweetheart” Jake turned his around too see a woman he recognized immediately, Jake looked at her with a confused look, she smiles at him,“I knew you smelled my brownies from a mile away”. She closed the oven, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist.

“Grandma Lou…”. Jakes voice shook and he shakily took steps towards her, she opened her arms and Jake softly fell into them. “I’ve missed you”.

“I missed you too sweetheart”, she cupped the back of Jakes head, he was leaning in her touch. “Take a brownie, little one”. She lets go of Jake, Grandma Lou hands him a brownie from off the stove,“I know how much they make you feel better”.

She gives Jake a grin, as Grandma Lou gets his plate ready she ushers Jake into a chair, reminding him to sit and eat.

As Jakes chomping away at the brownie, she smiles at him again,“Take your time sweetheart”.

The heavy pressure in Jakes chest started to go away.

Taglist: @chocolatefartstrawberry, @buckysteveloki-me, @dontletthemtakeyoualive, @classyunknownlover, @els-marvelvsp, @i-am-mrsreckless, @cinderellasmissingshoes

[usafphantom2]

Born 24 September 1898. Marshal of the RAF Sir William Forster Dickson, GCB, KBE, DSO, AFC (d. 12 September 1987). WW1 RNAS aviator, senior RAF officer inter-war and RAF A.O.C. Desert Air Force during WW2. Pictured in his Spitfire LF Mark VIII, (JF814 WFD), N. Italy, c.1944.

@ron_eisele via X

[moontyger]

Something about the news that a fourth Texas county passed an anti-abortion travel ban put me over the edge. It was the straw that broke this feminist’s back. (And I mean that literally: my shoulders live somewhere near my ears these days.)

In truth, it wasn’t the news of the travel ban itself—after all, I’ve been writing about those for months. What did me in was the absolute mundanity with which that news was reported. Just another article in just another paper. It didn’t even warrant front-page coverage!

As if women being prevented from leaving their state is just another story. As if this was a normal occurrence. 

The problem, of course, is that it is. What was once unthinkable is now commonplace—the Overton Window shattered in thousands of pieces beneath the feet of Republicans and anti-abortion activists. 

It wasn’t so long ago that feminists were called ‘hysterical’ by political experts and pundits for warning that Roe could be overturned. Now we’re watching as doctors are forced to deny dying women care and city councils casually make it illegal to help a woman leave her state.

Just as incredible: As raped children are forced into childbirth and women are literally being torn apart—losing uteruses and fallopian tubes—we’re still being told that we’re overreacting. 

As city after city passes these once-inconceivable ordinances, anti-abortion activists and politicians are downright contemptuous of those calling them travel bans. They claim that because the laws don’t criminalize women themselves—instead allowing citizens to sue anyone who helps women leave—that it’s not actually a restriction on travel.

Women can leave the state whenever they want, they say. We just have to be willing to ruin the lives of any friends or family members who might give us a ride. (Or gas money, or even a text with the url for an out-state-clinic.)

Republicans are systematically chipping away at pregnant people’s ability to leave their states, and then have the audacity to insist that they are not, in any way, trapping them there. 

Anyone who believes this stops with women’s friends and families is not paying nearly enough attention. 

There’s a reason, for example, that anti-abortion activists are calling these ordinances ‘anti-trafficking’ laws. In part, it’s the same paternalistic rhetoric of protection central to many Republican abortion policies. Just as ultrasound mandates became “Women’s Right to Know” laws, ‘anti-trafficking’ is meant to make travel bans seem like a protection for those coerced into ending their pregnancies. 

But the law applies to anyone traveling out-of-state. So who is being ‘trafficked’ when a woman simply wants to leave Texas to get an abortion? According to Mark Lee Dickson, the anti-abortion activist behind the ordinances, the answer is simple: “The unborn child is always taken against their will.” 

And there it is. 

If a fetus is a person and abortion is murder, of course Republicans are going to criminally outlaw women from ‘trafficking’ their pregnancies out-of-state to end them! Last month, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall laid the groundwork to do just that—arguing in a legal filing that the state has a right to forbid women from traveling for abortion in the same way they can prevent sex offenders from leaving the state.

Can you imagine the outcry if a law restricted men’s ability to leave their state? If their leaders compared healthcare that 1 in 4 of them received to rape?

Insult after insult, one unimaginable revocation of rights after another. It took less than two years for Republicans to sprint from the end of Roe to publicly planning how to trap women in states where they’re not seen as full human beings. Less than two years.

[eaglefairy]

My roommate is distraught over TikTok being banned so instead of gem farming we're doing the end of chapter 5 tonight! I'm so excited!

My roommate is so entertained by the prison warden. So much enthusiasm put into such a bit role

She's also questioning the effectiveness of a prison where the prisoners can summon weapons and call outside on their Irises and I'm just like "shh. just enjoy the prison break storyline"

Roommate wasn't super sure about Ghondor but once Ghondor stopped being super hostile my roommate warmed up to her pretty quick

Ah now she's fully predicting that Shania's going to betray us, but she's also ready for the game to be faking her out because xenoblade is tricky like that

Roommate: "After Dickson I have trust issues."

The party complains so much about having to do prison work it's almost funny. My roommate is just like "please chill out, you've only been in here for three days"

yes time for one of my favorite cutscenes in the game (Mio and M switching) I have watched it soooo many times

Chain attack music, I have not missed you. at all. (And as for my roommate, she loves the cinematics and that we're all such good friends now that we can beat each other up with no hard feelings)

Roommate: "Oh, he's got the sword too! I guess that makes sense, he is Noah."

"For a second I was like 'oh maybe that's why there's no Lanz/Fiona fics, he fucking dies'"

[talking about Noah] "Wow, the bags under his eyes are designer"

Aww, she's talking about how N's stupid for giving us a month. She thinks we're going to get out.

I am literally already crying. These scenes just get to me

And my roommate got up and danced around the room when Mio admitted she had feelings for Noah and called him by his name

End of chapter thoughts from my roommate: "I'm having a really hard time believing that Mio and Noah are actually dead. I might be in denial; we'll see."

Aww she feels really bad for N realizing that his Mio is dead. She has a lot of sympathy for N overall tbh

Ah yeah she noticed the same thing as I did that the whole "Mio is alive" cutscene is taking place in front of everyone at the Castle with a ton of soldiers watching and everything

Wow the autobuild for arts isn't that good huh. My roommate's been using it for the whole game and we just realized that it won't ensure you have all parts of a combo equipped across the team, no wonder she's been having a rough time of some fights

omfg I just noticed that Riku does a little eyebrow waggle at the camera when X asks where Noah "could've gotten a sword like that"

Roommate, while Shania is laughing: "Can someone just shoot her?"

...so I'm marking that one down for irony in about 5 minutes

We're finally done! I think we started from Vinisog Helm four hours ago and we just got control back in Agnus Castle, so yeah that whole sequence is. long. goodnight.

[scotianostra]

Tragedy struck Midlothian on September 5th 1889 when Sixty-three miners, some as young as thirteen, died in an underground fire at Mauricewood Pit, at Penicuik, Midlothian.

This was the worst mining disaster in the history of the Lothians and the cause was never discovered, or at least disclosed.

The following is extracted from “The Mauricewood Braves” one of Wilsons ‘Mining Lays, Tales and Folk-lore’ published 1916.

“The Mauricewood Pit, at Penicuik, near Edinburgh, took fire on September 5th, 1889, and sixty eight men and boys lost their lives. The principal product from the pit was ironstone, although coal in small quantities was also produced. The pit had a vertical shaft of 480 feet then a level roadway eastwards of 180 feet and this was followed by a one in eight dip decline of 960 feet (Deaths Incline). Halfway down the decline a steam engine had been erected and another steam engine did duty at the bottom. The steam pipes traversed this route, and it was at the 800 ft slant that the fire broke out among the support timbers. The wood was tinder and inflammable, and it was soon apparent that the conflagration would spread and become disastrous. There were no other outlets to or from the lower level, and unless the men below received a warning note to give them a chance of escape, they must inevitably perish. Three trapper and pony boys – Robert Hook Tolmie (my own surname but no relation) , aged 14; Michael Hamilton, aged 15; and Thomas Foster, aged 17 years, volunteered to go round the mine and warn all the men below of their danger, but the only shiftman there, his mate was away in another district of the pit- pleaded with the boys not to go away and said that he would go himself to warn the other men of the fires danger, but the boys in unison shouted as they ran “No, we’ll go” ….. And they went. The brave boys never came back alive. “They died to save” The bodies of the boys were afterwards recovered (surrounded by over twenty other bodies) near a trapdoor that had got blocked up in the meantime cutting off the avenue of escape. The mine was subsequently flooded to quench the fire that was raging in the workings, and over a year elapsed before the last body was brought to the surface.

The heroism and self-sacrifice of the three lads aroused sympathetic expressions and admiration throughout the mining world, and a monument marks their last resting place in the Penicuik’s KirkHill Cemetery.

Names of Dead

The alphabetical list of names below is from a report in the Scotsman. Among the names is a Robert Tolmie, I wonder if he was some sort of relation to my family, although I did know of some Penicuik Tolmie’s who were not related to us.

Thomas Adams, 7 Manderston Place David Anderson, 1 Manderston Place T Bennett, 4 Lindsay Place William Brockie, 13 Walker Place William Brown, 1 Lindsay Place William Brown, Glebe William Daly, 3 Fieldsend J Davidson, Edinburgh Rd Robert Dempster, father, 6 Lindsay Place R Dempster, son, 6 Lindsay Place William Dempster, 19 Walker Place Robert Dickson, 13 Fieldsend Thomas Foster 13 Leslie Place John Fraser 27 Napier St John Glass, Pryde's Place William Grieve, 5 Leslie Place C Hamilton, son, Greenlaw Cottages Mitchell Hamilton, father, Greenlaw Cottages Mitchell Hamilton, son, Greenlaw Cottages Robert Hamilton, 4 Leslie Place - uncle of Richard Hamilton, brother-in-law of Robert Tolmie Richard Hamilton, 4 Leslie Place - nephew of Robert Hamilton Robert Hunter, Roads farm William Hunter, 8 Walker Place- father-in-law of David Penman Thomas Hunter, Pike James Irvine, 10 Leslie Place David Kinnimont, father, Roslin Robert Kinnimont, son, Roslin William Lamb, 5 Walker Place - son of Robert Lamb, Leven, Fife George Livingstone, 22 Fieldsend Alex McInlay, 12 Leslie Place David McKenzie, 10 Lindsay Place Hugh McPherson, father, 12 Lindsay Place Peter McPherson, son, 12 Lindsay Place Thomas Meikle, 5 Lindsay Place William Meikle, father, 6 Leslie Place William Meikle, son, 6 Leslie Place Walter Meikle, 6 Leslie Place Robert Millar, 3 Fieldsend - stepson of William Daly William Miller, 3 Fieldsend - stepson of William Daly Martin Morgan, Pryde's Place G Muir, Greenlaw Cottages David Penman, 8 Walker Place - son-in-law of Wm Hunter George Pennycuik, father, 12 Walker Place George Pennycuik, son, 12 Walker Place D Porterfield (brother of Robert Porterfield) Robert Porterfield (brother of D Porterfield) James Porteous, 5 Walker Place J Purves, 10 Lindsay Place John Sinnott 7 Fieldsend James Somerville, 18 Napier St Alex Stewart, John Street James Stark, nephew, Pike M Stark, uncle, Pike Thomas Strang, 2 Walker Place Robert Tolmie, brother-in-law of Robert Hamilton William Urquhart, Eskbridge John Walker 4 Fieldsend John Walker, James Place Andrew Wallace, brothers, 2 Lindsay Place David Wallace, brothers, 2 Lindsay Place James Wright, brothers, 9 Lindsay Place William Wright, brothers, 9 Lindsay Place Matt Wright, 8 Leslie Place

[meandmybigmouth]

Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, talks a bill brought to the House floor by Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson, that would require parents are notified of a student's gender identity or intention to transition to a gender different from the person's sex at birth Monday, April 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

IS THIS WHAT WE ARE ELECTING PEOPLE TO DO NOW? RUN OUR LIVES? WHILE THEY IGNORE THE NEED TO EAT AND HAVE SHELTER AND SURVIVE? SOMEHOW THAT'S NOT A PART OF RUNNING SOMEONE'S LIFE?LMAO!

[wankerwatch]

Commons Vote

On: Renters' Rights Bill: Third Reading

Ayes: 440 (79.0% Lab, 14.1% LD, 2.7% Ind, 1.1% DUP, 0.9% PC, 0.9% Green, 0.5% SDLP, 0.2% APNI, 0.2% UUP, 0.2% TUV) Noes: 111 (97.3% Con, 2.7% RUK) Absent: ~99

Day's business papers: 2025-01-14

Likely Referenced Bill: Renters' Rights Bill

Description: A Bill to make provision changing the law about rented homes, including provision abolishing fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies; imposing obligations on landlords and others in relation to rented homes and temporary and supported accommodation; and for connected purposes.

Originating house: Commons Current house: Commons Bill Stage: 3rd reading

Individual Votes:

Ayes

Labour (347 votes)

Abena Oppong-Asare Adam Jogee Adam Thompson Afzal Khan Al Carns Alan Campbell Alan Gemmell Alan Strickland Alex Baker Alex Barros-Curtis Alex Mayer Alex McIntyre Alex Sobel Alice Macdonald Alison Hume Alison McGovern Alison Taylor Alistair Strathern Allison Gardner Amanda Hack Amanda Martin Andrew Cooper Andrew Gwynne Andrew Lewin Andrew Pakes Andrew Ranger Andrew Western Andy MacNae Andy McDonald Andy Slaughter Angela Eagle Angela Rayner Anna Dixon Anna Gelderd Anna McMorrin Anneliese Dodds Anneliese Midgley Antonia Bance Ashley Dalton Baggy Shanker Bambos Charalambous Barry Gardiner Bayo Alaba Beccy Cooper Becky Gittins Bell Ribeiro-Addy Ben Coleman Ben Goldsborough Bill Esterson Brian Leishman Callum Anderson Calvin Bailey Carolyn Harris Cat Eccles Cat Smith Catherine Atkinson Catherine Fookes Catherine McKinnell Charlotte Nichols Chi Onwurah Chris Bloore Chris Bryant Chris Curtis Chris Elmore Chris Evans Chris Hinchliff Chris Kane Chris McDonald Chris Murray Chris Vince Chris Ward Chris Webb Christian Wakeford Claire Hazelgrove Claire Hughes Clive Efford Clive Lewis Connor Naismith Damien Egan Dan Aldridge Dan Jarvis Dan Tomlinson Daniel Francis Daniel Zeichner Danny Beales Darren Jones Darren Paffey Dave Robertson David Baines David Burton-Sampson David Pinto-Duschinsky David Smith David Taylor David Williams Dawn Butler Debbie Abrahams Deirdre Costigan Derek Twigg Diana Johnson Diane Abbott Douglas Alexander Douglas McAllister Elaine Stewart Elsie Blundell Emily Darlington Emma Foody Emma Hardy Emma Lewell-Buck Emma Reynolds Euan Stainbank Fabian Hamilton Feryal Clark Fleur Anderson Florence Eshalomi Frank McNally Fred Thomas Gareth Snell Gen Kitchen Georgia Gould Gerald Jones Gill Furniss Gill German Gordon McKee Graeme Downie Graham Stringer Grahame Morris Gregor Poynton Gurinder Singh Josan Hamish Falconer Harpreet Uppal Heidi Alexander Helen Hayes Helena Dollimore Henry Tufnell Hilary Benn Ian Lavery Imogen Walker Irene Campbell Jack Abbott Jacob Collier Jade Botterill Jake Richards James Asser James Frith James Murray James Naish Jas Athwal Jayne Kirkham Jeevun Sandher Jeff Smith Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Jess Asato Jessica Morden Jessica Toale Jim Dickson Jim McMahon Jo Platt Jo Stevens Jo White Joani Reid Joe Morris Joe Powell Johanna Baxter John Grady John Slinger John Whitby Jon Pearce Jon Trickett Jonathan Brash Jonathan Davies Jonathan Hinder Josh Dean Josh MacAlister Josh Newbury Josh Simons Julia Buckley Julie Minns Juliet Campbell Justin Madders Kanishka Narayan Karin Smyth Karl Turner Kate Dearden Kate Osamor Kate Osborne Katie White Katrina Murray Kerry McCarthy Kevin Bonavia Kevin McKenna Kim Leadbeater Kirith Entwistle Kirsteen Sullivan Kirsty McNeill Laura Kyrke-Smith Lauren Sullivan Laurence Turner Lee Barron Lee Pitcher Leigh Ingham Lewis Atkinson Liam Byrne Liam Conlon Lilian Greenwood Lillian Jones Linsey Farnsworth Liz Kendall Liz Twist Lizzi Collinge Lloyd Hatton Lola McEvoy Lorraine Beavers Louise Haigh Louise Jones Lucy Powell Lucy Rigby Luke Akehurst Luke Charters Luke Murphy Margaret Mullane Maria Eagle Marie Rimmer Marie Tidball Mark Ferguson Mark Sewards Mark Tami Markus Campbell-Savours Marsha De Cordova Martin McCluskey Martin Rhodes Mary Glindon Matt Bishop Matt Rodda Matt Turmaine Matthew Patrick Matthew Pennycook Maureen Burke Maya Ellis Meg Hillier Melanie Onn Melanie Ward Miatta Fahnbulleh Michael Payne Michael Shanks Michael Wheeler Michelle Scrogham Michelle Welsh Mike Kane Mike Reader Mike Tapp Mohammad Yasin Natalie Fleet Natasha Irons Naushabah Khan Navendu Mishra Neil Coyle Neil Duncan-Jordan Nesil Caliskan Nia Griffith Nicholas Dakin Nick Smith Nick Thomas-Symonds Noah Law Oliver Ryan Olivia Bailey Olivia Blake Pam Cox Patricia Ferguson Patrick Hurley Paul Davies Paul Foster Paul Waugh Paula Barker Paulette Hamilton Perran Moon Peter Dowd Peter Kyle Peter Lamb Peter Prinsley Peter Swallow Polly Billington Preet Kaur Gill Rachael Maskell Rachel Blake Rachel Hopkins Rachel Taylor Rosena Allin-Khan Rupa Huq Rushanara Ali Ruth Cadbury Ruth Jones Sadik Al-Hassan Sally Jameson

Sam Carling Sam Rushworth Samantha Dixon Samantha Niblett Sarah Champion Sarah Coombes Sarah Hall Sarah Owen Sarah Russell Sarah Sackman Sarah Smith Satvir Kaur Scott Arthur Sean Woodcock Shabana Mahmood Sharon Hodgson Simon Lightwood Simon Opher Sojan Joseph Sonia Kumar Stella Creasy Stephanie Peacock Stephen Kinnock Stephen Morgan Stephen Timms Steve Race Steve Reed Steve Witherden Steve Yemm Sureena Brackenridge Tahir Ali Taiwo Owatemi Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Tim Roca Toby Perkins Tom Collins Tom Hayes Tom Rutland Tonia Antoniazzi Tony Vaughan Torcuil Crichton Torsten Bell Tracy Gilbert Tristan Osborne Tulip Siddiq Uma Kumaran Valerie Vaz Vicky Foxcroft Warinder Juss Wes Streeting Will Stone Yasmin Qureshi Yuan Yang Zubir Ahmed

Liberal Democrat (62 votes)

Adam Dance Al Pinkerton Alex Brewer Alison Bennett Alistair Carmichael Andrew George Angus MacDonald Anna Sabine Ben Maguire Brian Mathew Calum Miller Cameron Thomas Charlie Maynard Claire Young Clive Jones Daisy Cooper Danny Chambers David Chadwick Ed Davey Freddie van Mierlo Gideon Amos Helen Maguire Helen Morgan Ian Roome Ian Sollom James MacCleary Jamie Stone Jess Brown-Fuller John Milne Josh Babarinde Joshua Reynolds Layla Moran Lee Dillon Lisa Smart Liz Jarvis Luke Taylor Manuela Perteghella Marie Goldman Martin Wrigley Max Wilkinson Mike Martin Monica Harding Munira Wilson Olly Glover Paul Kohler Pippa Heylings Rachel Gilmour Roz Savage Sarah Dyke Sarah Green Sarah Olney Steff Aquarone Susan Murray Tim Farron Tom Gordon Tom Morrison Victoria Collins Vikki Slade Wendy Chamberlain Wera Hobhouse Will Forster Zöe Franklin

Independent (12 votes)

Adnan Hussain Apsana Begum Ayoub Khan Ian Byrne Iqbal Mohamed Jeremy Corbyn John McDonnell Mike Amesbury Rebecca Long Bailey Richard Burgon Shockat Adam Zarah Sultana

Democratic Unionist Party (5 votes)

Carla Lockhart Gavin Robinson Gregory Campbell Jim Shannon Sammy Wilson

Plaid Cymru (4 votes)

Ann Davies Ben Lake Liz Saville Roberts Llinos Medi

Green Party (4 votes)

Adrian Ramsay Carla Denyer Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Social Democratic & Labour Party (2 votes)

Claire Hanna Colum Eastwood

Alliance (1 vote)

Sorcha Eastwood

Ulster Unionist Party (1 vote)

Robin Swann

Traditional Unionist Voice (1 vote)

Jim Allister

Noes

Conservative (107 votes)

Alan Mak Alberto Costa Alec Shelbrooke Alex Burghart Alicia Kearns Alison Griffiths Andrew Bowie Andrew Griffith Andrew Murrison Andrew Rosindell Andrew Snowden Ashley Fox Ben Obese-Jecty Ben Spencer Bernard Jenkin Blake Stephenson Bob Blackman Bradley Thomas Caroline Dinenage Caroline Johnson Charlie Dewhirst Chris Philp Claire Coutinho Damian Hinds Danny Kruger David Davis David Mundell David Reed David Simmonds Desmond Swayne Edward Argar Edward Leigh Esther McVey Gagan Mohindra Gareth Bacon Gareth Davies Gavin Williamson Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Geoffrey Cox George Freeman Graham Stuart Greg Smith Gregory Stafford Harriet Cross Harriett Baldwin Helen Grant Helen Whately Iain Duncan Smith Jack Rankin James Cartlidge James Cleverly James Wild Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Wright Jerome Mayhew Jesse Norman Joe Robertson John Cooper John Glen John Hayes John Lamont Joy Morrissey Julia Lopez Julian Lewis Julian Smith Karen Bradley Katie Lam Kemi Badenoch Kevin Hollinrake Kieran Mullan Kit Malthouse Laura Trott Lewis Cocking Lincoln Jopp Louie French Luke Evans Mark Francois Mark Garnier Martin Vickers Matt Vickers Mel Stride Mike Wood Mims Davies Neil Hudson Neil O'Brien Neil Shastri-Hurst Nick Timothy Nigel Huddleston Oliver Dowden Patrick Spencer Paul Holmes Peter Bedford Peter Fortune Rebecca Paul Robbie Moore Robert Jenrick Roger Gale Saqib Bhatti Sarah Bool Shivani Raja Simon Hoare Steve Barclay Stuart Anderson Stuart Andrew Suella Braverman Victoria Atkins Wendy Morton

Reform UK (3 votes)

James McMurdock Richard Tice Rupert Lowe

[emad13ams]

Meet the Character: Lily Arden

DC Comics OC Character

Alias: "Thunderstrike"

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 145 ish pounds.

Built: Athletically inclined- well built, lean muscle mass. Slightly wide shoulders.

Occupations: Tattoo Artist, Antihero.

Hair: Stark white and straight. (Will start to burn at the edges if she is overusing her powers).

Facial descriptions: Well built jawline, slightly pointed and turned up nose structure. She has fine eyebrows that frame her almond shaped eyes. She had high set cheekbones, and a dimple on the right side of her face when she smiles.

Skin color: Fair, with faint hints of freckles (rarely out in the sun to get too visible).

Eye color: grey, purple (while using powers).

Abilities: Electric field manipulation/conductivity (including human body fields), lightning strikes/attacks, Electric heating, Higher healing ability, Thundercloud creation, peak human conditioning, high pain tolerance, background training is jiu jitsu and martial arts and acrobatics.

Birthday: November 23

Family" Mary Arden (deceased) Thomas Arden (deceased)

Tattoos: Heavily covered (started out as a way to cover the scars she got after gaining her powers but quickly continued to be more than just that). Mostly black and white with grey shading. Flowers and other markings covering her collarbones, chest, shoulders and whole arms. She has a sternum piece under her chest- butterfly with ferns. She has a sun tattooed on her left hand and a moon on her right, with roman numerals across her fingers and leaves down her thumbs. She had various flowers wrapping around her thighs. She had a book and tea cup on her left forearm. She has forget me nots tattooed on her inside ear.

Piercings: (Mostly wears placeholders if the risk of being physical is high): Industrial on the left ear, Upper and lower lob piercings. Helix on the right. Tongue piercing (although this is often taken out and eventually just doesn't get put back in.)

Hobbies: Reading (Classics, Fantasy, True Crime, or general Fiction), drawing, material arts, weight lifting, binge watching TV series (favorites are Dexter, and American Dad), and listening to music.

Relationships: James Dickson (lasted five months), Maria Thomas (lasted a little less than a year), William Herberson (deceased), Jason Todd (current).

Allies: Catwoman, Red Hood, Oracle, Red Robin, Starfire, Nightwing.

Positive personality aspects: Self-manageable, courageous, adventurous, highly creative, loyal (to those they trust), honest.

Weak personality aspects: Doesn't like to be tied down, will push themselves too much, prone to shutting people out, doesn't walk away from conflict easily.

-------------------

Lily's Random Quotes:

"You seriously need to stop bleeding out on my floor, I'm getting tired of replacing the fucking carpet."

"Just because I have lightning powers does not mean I will toast your bagel for you Tim."

"I don't need more caffeine.. I need a power cable to chew on."

"Ahhhhh, you look so cute when you're pissed." *Pats heads than runs*

"One of these days I'm going to "accidentally" mistake my bath bomb with a toaster..."

"WHERE DID MY LAST PIECE OF PIZZA GO JASON!"

"Please do yourself a favor and stop trying to look up my skirt...I'd prefer not to find out what your greasy hair smells like when it's on fire."

"I don't know whether to punch you or kiss you.."

Glances at a goon *Ka-Chow* "I'm fucking Lightning McQueen bitch."

"I'm going to interest a Febreeze can into your helmet."

"If crime fighting doesn't work.. I'll just start a cult... poptarts required."

"I don't want to know what a turtle looks like without their shell.. STOP TRYING TO SHOW ME TIM!"

"Damian.. sweetie... stabbing people does not help you make more friends."

[renthony]

Anyway here's my reading list for my big film censorship project in case anyone's been wondering what I've been up to when I'm not being a stupid idiot cringey fandom blogger or whatever the jackasses think I am:

Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, by Frank Cullen

Vaudeville and the Making of Modern Entertainment, 1890-1925, by David Monod

From Traveling Show to Vaudeville: Theatrical Spectacle in America, 1830-1910, edited by Robert M. Lewis

American Vaudeville as Ritual, by Albert F. McLean Jr.

American Vaudeville As Seen by its Contemporaries, edited by Charles W. Stein

Rank Ladies: Gender and Cultural Hierarchy in American Vaudeville, by M. Alison Kibler

The New Humor in the Progressive Era: Americanization and the Vaudeville Comedian, by Rick DesRochers

Humor and Ethnic Stereotypes in Vaudeville and Burlesque, by Lawrence E. Mintz

"Vaudeville Indians" on Global Circuits, 1880s-1930s, by Christine Bold

The Original Blues: The Emergence of the blues in African American Vaudeville, by Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff

Waltzing in the Dark: African American Vaudeville and Race Politics in the Swing Era, by Brenda Dixon Gottschild

The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World, by Randall Stross

Edison, by Edmund Morris

The Rise and Place of the Motion Picture, by Terry Ramsaye

The Romantic History of the Motion Picture: A Story of Facts More Fascinating than Fiction, by Terry Ramsaye (Photoplay Magazine)

Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company, by Charles Musser

The Kinetoscope: A British History, by Richard Brown, Barry Anthony, and Michael Harvey

The Man Who Made Movies: W.K.L. Dickson, by Paul Spehr

A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture, by Terry Ramsaye

Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907, by Charles Musser

Dancing for the Kinetograph: The Lakota Ghost Dance and the Silence of Early Cinema, by Michael Gaudio

The First Screen Kiss and "The Cry of Censorship," by Ralph S.J. Dengler

Archival Rediscovery and the Production of History: Solving the Mystery of Something Good - Negro Kiss (1898), by Allyson Nadia Field

Prizefighting and the Birth of Movie Censorship, by Barak Y. Orbach

A History of Sports Highlights: Replayed Plays from Edison to ESPN, by Raymond Gamache

A History of the Boxing Film, 1894-1915: Social Control and Social Reform in the Progressive Era, by Dan Streible

Fight Pictures: A History of Boxing and Early Cinema, by Dan Streible

The Boxing Film: A Cultural and Transmedia History, by Travis Vogan

Policing Sexuality: the Mann Act and the Making of the FBI, by Jessica R. Pliley

Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood, from Edison to Stonewall, by Richard Barrios

The Ashgate Research Companion to Moral Panics, edited by Charles Krinsky

A Companion to Early Cinema, edited by Andre Gaudreault, Nicolas Dulac, and Santiago Hidalgo

The Silent Cinema Reader, edited by Lee Grieveson and Peter Kramer

The Harlot's Progress: Myth and Reality in European and American Film, 1900-1934, by Leslie Fishbein

Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era, by Pearl Bowser, Jane Gaines, and Charles Musser

Banned in Kansas: Motion Picture Censorship, 1915-1966, by Gerald R. Butters, Jr.

Black and White and Blue: Adult Cinema From the Victorian Age to the VCR

Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood, by Mick Lasalle

Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man, by Mick Lasalle

Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934, by Thomas Doherty

Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934), When Sin Ruled the Movies, by Mark A. Vieira

Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood, by Mark A. Vieira

Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen & the Production Code Administration, by Thomas Doherty

The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code, by Leonard J. Leff and Jerold L. Simmons

Moral House-Cleaning in Hollywood: What's it All About? An Open Letter to Mr. Will Hays, by James R. Quirk (Photoplay Magazine)

Will H. Hays - A Real Leader: A Word Portrait of the Man Selected to Head the Motion Picture Industry, by Meredith Nicholson (Photoplay Magazine)

Ignorance: An Obnoxiously Moral morality Play, Suggested by "Experience," by Agnes Smith (Photoplay Magazine)

Close-Ups: Editorial Expression and Timely Comment (Photoplay Magazine)

Children, Cinema & Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids, by Sarah J. Smith

Freedom of the Screen: Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981, by Laura Wittern-Keller

Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941-1960, by Liza Black

America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies, by Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin

White: Essays on Race and culture, by Richard Dyer

Black American Cinema, edited by Manthia Diawara

Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World, by Wil Haygood

Hollywood's Indian: the Portrayal of the Native American in Film, edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor

Wiping the War Paint Off the Lens: Native American Film and Video, by Beverly R. Singer

Celluloid Indians: Native Americans and Film, by Jacquelyn Kilpatrick

Native Americans on Film: Conversations, Teaching, and Theory, edited by M. Elise Marubbio and Eric L. Buffalohead

Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film, by Ed Guerrero

Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, by Donald Bogle

Hollywood Black: the Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers, by Donald Bogle

White Screens, Black Images: Hollywood From the Dark Side, by James Snead

Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance, by Charles Ramirez Berg

Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism, by Nancy Wang Yuen

Visions of the East: Orientalism in Film, edited by Matthew Bernstein and Gaylyn Studlar

The Hollywood Jim Crow: the Racial Politics of the Movie Industry, by Maryann Erigha

America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, by Daniel Eagan

Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies, by Robert Sklar

Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies, by Linda Williams

Banned in the Media: A Reference Guide to Censorship in the Press, Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, and the Internet, by Herbert N. Foerstel

Censoring Hollywood: Sex and Violence in Film and on the Cutting Room Floor, by Aubrey Malone

Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Saved the Modern Film Industry, by Jon Lewis

Not in Front of the Children: "Indecency," Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth, by Marjorie Heins

Degradation: What the History of Obscenity Tells Us About Hate Speech, by Kevin W. Saunders

Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media, by John E. Semonche

Dirty Words & Filthy Pictures: Film and the First Amendment, by Jeremy Geltzer

Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon, by Alexander Doty

Masculine Interests: Homoerotics in Hollywood Film, by Robert Lang

Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film, by Harry M. Benshoff

New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader, edited by Michele Aaron

New Queer Cinema: The Director's Cut, by B. Ruby Rich

Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film, by Richard Dyer

Gays & Film, edited by Richard Dyer

Screening the Sexes: Homosexuality in the Movies, by Parker Tyler

Out in Culture: Gay, Lesbian, and Queer Essays on Popular Culture, edited by Corey K. Creekmur and Alexander Doty

Out Takes: Essays on Queer Theory and Film, edited by Ellis Hanson

Queer Images: a History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America, by Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin

The Lavender Screen: the Gay and Lesbian Films, Their Stars, Makers, Characters, & Critics, by Boze Hadleigh

The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, by Vito Russo

Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: the Walt Disney Company From the Inside Out, by Sean Griffin

The Encyclopedia of Censorship, by Jonathon Green

[coutelier]

Book Club - The Flight of Dragons, Intro

I’ve long thought about starting a book club. Right now it consists of me and Nevis (who I’ll be honest, isn’t contributing much), and isn’t likely to grow much since the books I want to show you all are ones that are a little bit obscure and hard to find.

The Flight of Dragons, by Peter Dickinson and illustrated by Wayne Anderson. First published in 1979, and this is a 1979 edition. I don’t believe it is in print anymore, and when I went to search for it a few years back I couldn’t find any ebook version. It was ‘adapted’ into an animated movie in 1982, with the late great James Earl Jones voicing the villain, Ommadon, and a theme song by Don McLean:

Gotta say, I do miss this kind of real earnest fantasy, where instead of trying to be self-aware and subvert the cliches they’re just embraced. Although I put ‘adapted’ in quotation marks because the story in the movie is mostly taken from another fantasy book; The Dragon and the George by Gordon R Dickson. The Flight of Dragons (book) isn’t a narrative in the traditional sense. It is what has become known as Speculative Evolution, asking what if Dragons were real animals that evolved? How and why might that happen? How would they work? There is a little bit of that in the movie, but the book has more in common with the 2004 docudrama Dragon’s World (also called The Last Dragon in the US, or Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real):

I remember there was also one about Mermaids. In any case, Dickinson said he was inspired after reading the Earthsea books by Ursula K Le Guin:

This one had a bulky body and rather stubby wings, which obviously would never get it airborne, let alone with the two people it was carrying on its back, and all its own weight of muscle and bone. Obviously any lift had to come from the body itself. Its very shape suggested some kind of gas-bag. I thought about it for the rest of the journey, and on and off for a couple of days after, and at the end of that time had managed to slot everything I knew about dragons – why they laired in caves, around which nothing would grow and where hoards of gold could be found, why they had a preferred diet of princesses, how and why they breathed fire, why they had only one vulnerable spot and their blood melted the blade of the sword that killed them, and so on – into a coherent theory that explained why these things were necessary accompaniments to the evolution of lighter-than-air flight.

So now that you’re sufficiently confused, I’m going to get into it. Maybe I’ll rewatch the movie and other stuff as well – I remember seeing it on TV as a kid, but yeah – it’s been a while. I’m particularly looking forward to finding out how they evolved to specialise in a diet of ‘young ladies of noble breeding’. Also as I type, MS Word is trying to correct Ursula K Le Guin, and I’m not having it.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Knights Errant

It is the most pleasant of fantasies:  The invincible / incorruptible / virtuous hero who roams the land, thinking naught of themselves, only how they might be of service to those in dire need or peril. 

Sir Lancelot (which, alas, proved not so incorruptible nor virtuous) is the most iconic of these heroes, but he’s far from the only one. 

Sir Percival, Roland, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, and Lohengrin are all well known examples from the so-called age of chivalry, but more modern examples include the free roaming cowboy, the private eye, the secret agent, and the self-appointed avenger. 

It’s a mark of the impact of capitalism that the most common current example of the knight errant — be they Travis McGee or Philip Marlowe — all expect to get paid for their services, but once on the job are indefatigable. 

A more traditional casting of the knight errant is Jack Reacher.  Supported solely by a military pension he earned after years of heroic service, Reacher now wanders the land seeking wrongs to right.  

I read one of the Reacher books and for reasons explained below just couldn’t connect with the material.  But I absolutely understand the character’s appeal and why millions of people love the books / movies / TV shows.  I deny no one their pleasure.  

There is a visceral thrill when Reacher administers two-fisted justice to some carjacker threatening a mother and child, but those scenarios always turn out the way the writer wants them to turn out. 

Years ago in the midst of the Vietnam war a writer (Gordon Dickson, IIRC) for Analog penned a story where human military handily defeated alien guerrillas.  A reader suggested the writer be put in charge of US strategy in Vietnam.  

Editor John W. Campbell reminded the reader that the writer got to play both sides in his conflict.  

The knight errant is an early version of the superhero, a being with near god-like powers who defends the weak and never imposes their will on the populace at large (unless it’s Fletcher Hanks’ space wizard Stardust in which case all bets are off).  While many classic knights errant fought dragons and wizards, they did so primarily through human means, the occasional severed Medusa head not withstanding. 

In the real world, this sort of thing rarely happens and when it does, it’s typically at a high price to said knight.  

Someone did a body count for the old TV Western The Rifleman and calculated Lucas McCain killed 500 people in the course of the series. 

Nobody — no matter how justified or noble — kills 500 people and walks away emotionally unscathed.  The best warriors learn to deal with this and may present a civil, controlled persona to the world, but it preys on them nonetheless. 

It is a fantasy to assume they do. 

By all means, feel free to indulge in that fantasy; I’m not giving up my Raymond Chandler novels anytime soon.   

But recognize they are a fantasy, a wish fulfillment.  

There’s only been one realistic knight errant story:  Don Quixote. 

 © Buzz Dixon

[usafphantom2]

Air Vice Marshal William Forster Dickson, A.O.C. the Desert Air Force, in his personal Spitfire LF Mark VIII, (JF814 WFD), N. Italy, c.1944.

@ron_eisele via X