#Olivier indications

[nicolibbyquotes]

“That was a future Nico problem. Right now, it was about doing whatever it took to find her. "A lot of work for someone you claim to hate," remarked Gideon”

- “The Atlas Six” by Olivie Blake

[alphynix]

Ninoziphius platyrostris was an early beaked whale that lived during the late Miocene (~6 million years ago) in warm coastal waters covering what is now southwestern Peru. Its ancestors appear to have branched off from all other beaked whales very early in the group's history, indicating a "ghost lineage" going back to at least 17 million years ago.

About 4.4m long (~14'5"), it was less specialized for suction feeding and deep diving than modern beaked whales. Also unlike most modern species its jaws were lined with numerous interlocking teeth, with heavy wear suggesting it may have hunted close to the seafloor, where disturbed sand and grit would have regularly ended up in its mouth along with its prey and steadily ground down its teeth during its lifetime.

Males had a pair of stout tusks at the tip of their upward-curving lower jaw, with possibly a second smaller set of tusks behind them, which were probably used for fighting each other like in modern beaked whales.

Its shallow water habitat and more abrasive diet suggest Ninoziphius' lifestyle was much more like modern dolphins than modern beaked whales, and other early beaked whales like Messapicetus similarly seem to have occupied dolphin-like ecological niches.

These dolphin-like forms disappeared around the same time that true dolphins began to diversify, possibly struggling to compete for the same food sources, while other beaked whales that had begun to specialize for deep sea diving survived and thrived. Interestingly this ecological shift seems to have happened twice, in two separate beaked whale lineages – although only one of them still survives today – with bizarre bony "internal antlers" even independently evolving in both groups.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Bianucci, Giovanni, et al. "New beaked whales from the late Miocene of Peru and evidence for convergent evolution in stem and crown Ziphiidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti)." PeerJ 4 (2016): e2479. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2479

Bianucci, Giovanni, et al. A new Late Miocene beaked whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Pisco Formation, and a revised age for the fossil Ziphiidae of Peru. Bollettino della Societa Paleontologica Italiana 63.1 (2024): 21-43. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380459192_A_new_Late_Miocene_beaked_whale_Cetacea_Odontoceti_from_the_Pisco_Formation_and_a_revised_age_for_the_fossil_Ziphiidae_of_Peru

Gol'din, Pavel. "‘Antlers inside’: are the skull structures of beaked whales (Cetacea: Ziphiidae) used for echoic imaging and visual display?." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 113.2 (2014): 510-515. https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12337

Lambert, Olivier, Christian De Muizon, and Giovanni Bianucci. "The most basal beaked whale Ninoziphius platyrostris Muizon, 1983: clues on the evolutionary history of the family Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 167.4 (2013): 569-598. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12018

Lambert, Olivier, et al. "No deep diving: evidence of predation on epipelagic fish for a stem beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Peru." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282.1815 (2015): 20151530. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1530

[waitineedaname]

Finally, after months of work, I have completed it: the collection of all* character appearances in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood!

edit: if you want a more detailed spreadsheet on the homunculi in particular, @vuullets has a collection of all homunculi appearances in the manga! you can find it here

Some notes on this spreadsheet:

there are spoilers. obviously. proceed with caution

timestamps indicate when a character first appears in a scene, not every time they appear. if the scene changes to one without that character, and then we return to that character in another scene, that's another timestamp for a new appearance

all timestamps are approximate, give or take a few seconds based on how quickly I could pause the show

only unique flashbacks count as an appearance. if the flashback is to something we've seen in a previous episode, that is not counted as a unique appearance, but if it provides something new that we haven't seen before, it counts!

I didn't include background easter egg appearances, like when you can see Mei in the background at a train station before she's introduced

I didn't actually do all characters. there are a lot of characters, and I am just one person. sorry if you're a big fan of minor members of the military, i just couldn't do it

since Greed is kind of a special case, he deserves a specific explanation: OG Greed and Greedling are not counted as separate characters, they're both just Greed. when Greed is in control of Ling's body, that counts as an appearance for Greed, and it's not an appearance for Ling unless he's in control. if they're both in a scene together (talking in the mindscape, for example, or switching control back and forth) they each get a timestamp for when they first appear/speak in a scene

feel free to use this as a reference! I made this as a useful tool for myself, and because I'm a nerd about data. if you are also a nerd about data, I tallied up some stats, which I'll put under the cut:

only six characters broke 30 episodes. the characters with the most appearances are Edward (60), Alphonse (58), Mustang (45), Hawkeye (42), Scar (40), and Winry (31).

next highest on the list are Alex Armstrong and Mei (tied for 29), King Bradley (28), Hohenheim (26), and Ling (25).

the homunculus in the most episodes is Wrath (28), and the one in the least is Lust (11)

as previously mentioned, Alex Armstrong and Mei are in the same number of episodes (29), as are Olivier Armstrong and Marcoh (24), and Buccaneer and Ross (18)

Hughes is in only 10 episodes, the same number as Grumman and Fu

Yoki is in a whopping 23 episodes. what the fuck

the chimera in the most episodes is Zampano (21), closely followed by Darius and Jerso (20), with Heinkel falling behind at 16. The Devil's Nest chimeras are only in 2 episodes, with the exception of Bido, who is in 3

[body-face-words]

Olivier Backstage

Quick analysis suggested by @phantomstars24 !

I'll still be doing the rest of the night, but I felt like this moment could stand alone.

From left to right: Anna - Michael - David - Georgia

Observing their surroundings -

The place seems to be loud/noisy. The people sitting behind David get closer to each other to hear each other better. Could also be that they don't want others to listen in or are so engaged in the conversation that they get closer. There's also many people around them, but they're taking up the most space.

Overall gestures of the group -

Michael, David, and Georgia are shouting or talking loudly at each other. We can see David say something, point at Michael, then looks over at Georgia. Anna talks and tries to put her hand on Michaels shoulder, but he moves away.

David points at Michael or/and Anna while speaking, fidgets with the folder/papers he's holding, looks at Georgia then back at Michael.

Georgia points at everyone as a group with her index finger making a circle, then point David and at herself. Anna looks to Michael and touches or tries to touch his shoulder. Michael nods multiple times, looks and backs away from her.

Anna -

Michael -

Listening - says something causing Michael to look at her for half a second, tries to put her hand on his shoulder but he moves away closer to David. Anna is standing slightly behind Michael.

Edit: it's been pointed on (in the comments) that Anna told Michael that someone was trying to pass by so her moved. Her head looks behind Michael, possibly towards the person passing, and slightly nods her head as Michael moves away.

David -

Nods while David speaks and points at him. He's listening to what David and Georgia are saying but by the angle that his head is, Michael is putting most of his attention on David. Nods his head as Anna speak. Hears Anna speak, looks at her for a split second, shifts his weight onto his left leg, moving away from Anna and closer to David and continues to put his focus onto David. Michael is standing slightly in front of Anna.

Edit: like stated above, Michael was probably getting out the way for someone else to pass through. Behind him, a person it walking through and Anna points that out for him. Her turns quickly to Anna, turns back to David and moves.

Talks while pointing at Michael. Looks at Georgia as his fidgets with the papers/folder he's holding. Looks back at Michael and says something. There's a lot of space between him and Georgia, but he's standing closer to Michael. The folder/papers are on his left side, where Georgia is standing.

Georgia -

Makes a circle with her index finger, indicating all of them, then points at them and herself individually while talking. There's a significant amount of space between her and David, Michael, and Georgia. She's also facing away from them. Her torso is pointing past David. Starts moving away.

Michael seems impatient or frustrated. Quickly nodding his head to what David and Georgia are saying. Snapping his head to Anna, quickly looking and moving away.

David is not sure on what to do. Looking off as he's speaking then fidgeting. His eyebrows seem to be raised. Can be to help him think better or to calm himself down. When he directly looks at Michael, his eyebrows furrow or relax. Remind me when someone is confirming something with another.

Anna's shoulder touch Michael could be two things: to calm him down or to signal that she'll be with Michael. "I'll go with him"/"I'm sticking with him"

Georgia is ready to leave. Fast hand movements signify a sense of wanting to hurry/wrap things up and her body facing away from all of them is also a sign of wanting to/being reading to leave. At the end of this clip, you can see her moving further away.

Overall they were probably talking about who's leaving with who or just making plans on what they were all going to do next. Georgia was ready to leave. Michael was impatient/frustrated/disagreeing with something. David wasn't sure on what to do or how to plan this out. David is holding the folder in his left arm, consciously or unconsciously putting a barrier between himself and Georgia. Anna was mostly keeping herself out of it, retrieving her hand when Michael rejects it.

Let me know if I missed anything!

[door]

Knives Out Reference Guide

hello it’s your friendly neighborhood obsessive murder mystery fan here. the knives out films are delightful for a number of reasons, one of which is that rian johnson is a huuuuuge movie nerd and loves to include references and hat tips in his films. i have had great fun recognizing those references, so here is a little guide! some of this is based on things johnson has said and some of it on my own observations. i’ll indicate which is which for the purists.

first off, if you’re not interested in having these pointed out to you but want a viewing list, here it is! i’ll put everything else under a cut (which will have glass onion spoilers, so beware). these are great movies for knives out reasons but also for normal film reasons, and i highly recommend them.

Sleuth (1972) Death on the Nile (1978) The Last of Sheila (1973) Evil Under the Sun (1982)

First off: Benoit Blanc himself.

Blanc is very clearly meant to be an homage to gentlemen sleuths of the past, and Johnson even gives us a clue as to which gentleman sleuth he was thinking of with Blanc, with his Southern gentleman amidst the Northerners aping Hercule Poirot’s Belgian-amongst-the-Brits. Johnson has also said that Peter Ustinov is his favourite portrayer of Poirot (fun fact: he was also Agatha Christie’s!--not that she lived to see David Suchet take on the role), and personally I think having Blanc direct the questioning from the piano in Knives Out was an echo of Poirot at the piano in a similar scene in Death on the Nile.

That said, I think there’s a lot of Miss Marple (and Jessica Fletcher, who is herself a modern Miss Marple) in Blanc. The way he has a tendency to observe while deputizing a younger assistant to do the actual snooping for him is very Jane Marple. And he weaponizes the lil-ol’-me Southern gentleman act in much the way Marple made use of the assumptions people in her day and age had about retiring spinsters.

now let’s get into the FILMS. the first one is easy, because it’s really just Sleuth. (1972. i cannot stress this enough--Sleuth 1972.) it does not share a plot, but Knives Out is clearly paying a lot of tribute. Sleuth is a film in which two men, one older and richer and laurence olivier and the other younger and poorer and michael caine, attempt to outwit one another in order to win the woman they both love but who we never see (and yes it’s very very homoerotic). (fun fact: Sleuth was originally a play by Anthony Schaffer--who also wrote the screenplay for Death on the Nile!--who based the elder character in part on Stephen Sondheim, who loved to play games.) it’s set entirely inside the rambling manor house belonging to olivier’s character, a mystery writer, and it’s full of figurines and automatons, and otherwise weird old shit. you seeing how this lines up?

there’s even a very direct tribute in the form of the sailor you see almost immediately in the film.

however, aside from the setting and the blueprint for harlan’s character, there aren’t a lot of similarities between Knives Out and Sleuth. Knives Out is much more a play on general mystery tropes than it is a specific mystery movie.

Glass Onion is very much the opposite.

(FROM THIS POINT ON, GLASS ONION SPOILERS ABOUND)

Glass Onion is playing very deliberately on The Last of Sheila. The Last of Sheila (written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim name a more iconic duo i’ll wait) is about a wealthy and powerful man who invites a group of old friends onto his yacht (”Sheila”) in order to play a series of games (i see u Stephen) and perhaps solve a mystery? (the mystery is who killed his wife, Sheila.) The friends all come in spite of misgivings because they all need something from their host.

Glass Onion is about a wealthy and powerful man who invites a group of old friends onto his private island in order to play a game and solve a mystery (the mystery is who “killed” him). the friends all come in spite of misgivings because they all need something from their host.

so you see what’s he’s done there.

it’s a very loving tribute, and johnson has put his own distinctive spin on it, both with the addition of a detective who nobody expected to be there, as well as the inexperienced assistant whom he’s deputized. but unlike your typical watson and very like marta’s character in Knives Out, helen in Glass Onion has a huge personal stake in solving the mystery. also, of course, Miles is a very specific, recognizable piece of shit.

but door, you might be saying, because you have very closely read this post for some reason, what about Evil Under the Sun? oh, i am so glad you asked!

Evil Under the Sun is another Ustinov Poirot mystery, set in a resort on a private island. The trappings of Glass Onion owe much to it, from the luxury getaway setting (complete with swim fits), to the opportunity to have your characters dress for cocktails, to the “hourly dong” (based on Evil’s “hourly gun”). oh, and i know this was deliberate:

so! that’s what i’ve got! if you noticed other things i missed (i’ve only seen Glass Onion once at this point), please let me know! 

[landrysg]

Music for a Saturday night:

Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992), Le Banquet celeste (1928)

Guna Kise on the 1884 E.F. Walcker organ in Riga Cathedral, Riga, Latvia

"This was Messiaen's first published work. The work's epigraph, 'He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him' (John 6:56), indicates that the work is intended for Communion." - Wikipedia 

[xariarte]

I've decided to share my stash of Canadian NBA player research! This is a LONG masterpost containing articles, videos, interviews, ranging from long reads to fun facts. I've tried my best to avoid paywalls (if there is, there will be an * to indicate).

I'll be updating the list as time goes on, and posting snippets and clips from some of the links (eventually).

P.S. Don't be afraid to ask for recs from me! 💖

the national team core seven

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander long form overview article on him as an OKC Thunder the Ringer on how SGA became one of the best in the NBA Micheal Grange waxes poetry about SGA's Canadian sports legacy SGA for Dazed: Fashion + Basketball Slam Magazine on the rise of SGA's career (2018) the Ringer on how SGA gives the Thunder options (2020) Shai talks about himself and his Mercedes AMG G 63 SGA reviews his Tunnel Fits with GQ Sports Shai is the next Converse Hoops athlete* SGA on the TBU podcast Shai on playing against his cousin, NAW SGA and NAW take over NBA IG

RJ Barrett 17 min read on RJ's Team Canada journey his friendship with Andrew Nembhard here + here + here RJ Barrett and his father, an Canadian Olympic basketball icon RJ's Slam Magazine cover story the Knicks react to RJ's old Team Canada photos Steve Nash explains why his godson RJ is so great

Luguentz Dort an article on Dort's non-profit organization Oren Weisfeld on Lu Dort Velveeta Cheese Twitter account's love for Dort OKC Thunder on Dort's personality (+ Shai and other players) Lu Dort on the TBU podcast Lu's Haitian Pride Benn and Lu Dort's Friendship

Dwight Powell Dwight is Team Canada's Most Important Player Micheal Grange on how tragedy shaped Dwight's life Dwight goes to Egypt (photos included)

Kelly Olynyk how Kelly grew up around the Raptors because his mom was the team's scorekeeper Kelly gives brutally honest reviews of NBA cities' restaurants Oren Weisfeld on Kelly Olynyk's career

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Oren Weisfeld on NAW's long journey to the NBA how NAW carved out his current role on the Timberwolves Nickeil Alexander Walker's fashion + interview Nickeil on playing against his cousin, SGA NAW and SGA take over NBA IG

Dillon Brooks** a brief overview written by Oren Weisfeld via the Guardian a 44 minute video essay on how he became a villain (derogatory) an article from 2018 about his loyalty to Team Canada (complimentary) FIBA on his villain to hero Team Canada arc (complimentary) Brooks is snubbed from All-Rookie Team Brooks and Murray excited for their NBA future Oren Weisfeld on Brooks' defense Michael Grange waxes poetry on Rockets' Dillon Brooks (complimentary) TSN Original: Who is Dillon Brooks? (recent...complimentary) **a controversial player...most of the stuff I've linked here might be complimentary because Canada adores him somehow

various Canadian players

Jamal Murray how Jamal Murray was raised to be a star Jamal's Player Tribune from 2016 Feature Documentary on Jamal Murray via NBA Murray and Brooks excited for their NBA future

Chris Boucher sports illustrated article on his Oregon Ducks journey an eight minute video on how Boucher went from homeless to NBA champ an interview discussing him signing with PUMA + fun facts

Bennedict Mathurin overview of how Benn made his way to the NBA draft Benn's Player Tribune from 2022 Complex Canada interview from All-Star Weekend 2024 Benn and Lu Dort's Friendship* Montreal's Lu Dort, Benn Mathurin + Olivier-Maxence Prosper's NBA Journeys TSN Original: For All of Us (Bennedict Mathurin mini documentary) Canada's Bennedict Mathurin's Road to NCAA Stardom Pacers Impressed by 'Feisty Bulldog' Mathurin the Benn Mathurin you don't see on the court

Andrew Nembhard Nembhard's NBA draft journey Oren Weisfeld on Nembhard's career his friendship with RJ Barrett here + here + here

[anghraine]

A more coherent part of the adaptation+Darcy post I was threatening to release from drafts purgatory:

While I think all adaptations' versions of Darcy are pretty bad at representing Austen's character, though sometimes compelling in their own right, I think the various choices made are all ways of addressing the same problem with the character as written.

It's not a problem in the novel—indeed, I'd say it's a remarkable achievement there—but I think we don't always realize how extremely ambiguous the presentation of Darcy is through the first half of the novel. It's easy to read him as basically hostile because he was when he first appeared and because Elizabeth, our smart, likable POV character, gets stuck in that perception of him for half the book. So it's only on re-reading that most audiences realize Elizabeth drastically misread his real feelings and the original interpretation of his manner is thrown into question, at the very least.

But as I said in the other post, Austen plays fair: it is entirely possible to realize that Elizabeth is mistaken about some things (esp about how he feels towards her), it is possible to realize that particularly observant characters find his expressions and behavior difficult to interpret, it's possible to notice that we are rarely told how he's speaking or smiling, and scenes typically cut off before we can be told. And it's possible to notice the many issues with Wickham's account of him.

But it's also entirely possible to read everything he says and does as Elizabeth does, and the narrative gently encourages us to do so without often committing to actual description that would guide us in those ambiguous scenes. Austen might have, for instance, described his smiles in the Netherfield scenes as contemptuous, polite, or pleasant. But she just repeats that he's smiling while drawing very little attention to the fact and rarely committing to an indication of what his smiles or presentation of dialogue are like. So it's mostly up to us to decide, with the occasional (dubious in some respects) interpretation from Elizabeth.

And we're likely to reach different conclusions on re-reading—the earlier presentation of Darcy rewards re-reading a lot, because a lot of the time, we don't even realize how much we're not being told until the letter or even the Pemberley scenes, where Elizabeth identifies the smile we saw in his earlier scenes as the same one in the painting done during his beloved father's lifetime—making, say, the "contemptuous" reading very unlikely.

Now, getting away with that level of ambiguity and obscuring that the ambiguity is happening in the first place, as Austen manages to do in the novel, is both impressive and a hell of a lot harder in visual form. Not impossible! But if we see and hear him ourselves we're less likely to form judgments shaped by Austen's tricks of narration and Elizabeth's POV, and this typically involves commitment to a particular aspect of his presentation in the novel.

And if you think about it, the four major adaptations of Darcy are essentially committing to some part of his depiction.

Laurence Olivier's Darcy is smiling, witty, and charismatic—which are a part of his personality, but skewed so far out of proportion that he's virtually unrecognizable. And there's no attempt to obscure his place in the narrative as the actual love interest (I assume because duh, it's Laurence Olivier—but it was a pretty unrewarding role for him as written).

David Rintoul's Darcy is (in)famously "robotic"—the 1980 version of him leans into the withdrawn, inexpressive, difficult to read but clearly uncomfortable version of Darcy. The smiles in the earlier part tend to be tight, a matter of form, and/or unconvincing, by contrast to the later Darcy's comportment towards the Gardiners and Elizabeth, esp after the second proposal.

Colin Firth's Darcy is, well—okay, I'm biased because of my intense dislike for the 1995 production, but I do think it's also struggling with the same issue, but responds in the opposite way as the 1980. Where the 1980 tried to replicate the ambiguity in a way that retained Darcy's tendency towards a certain severity and dignity and mostly ended up at expressionless, the 1995 transforms it into visibly intense, sexualized brooding. This is coupled with Elizabeth's perception of Darcy's hostility being much more validated than in the novel; he snaps at her, most of his textual smiles are removed, even his letter is rearranged with an eye to half-dressed angst rather than the subtle charity of the omitted "God bless you", and generally his angst and passion!!! are played up rather than down ("I shall conquer this!!" / the melodramatic pond dive and shift in focus from Elizabeth's shame to Darcy being barely dressed / Darcy being grim in London, etc).

If the 1995 version of Darcy commits to Darcy's behavior being largely how Elizabeth sees it, the 2005 drastically reverses that. Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy is also struggling with passion, but tbh he seems like he's kind of struggling with everything. He's visibly consumed with anxiety, he's obviously shy where Darcy has to explain his discomfort or experience it as a POV character in the novel, he seems sweet despite occasional classism, and at times his arc seems more about learning to relax than anything else. That is, instead of representing Darcy as more or less accurately seen by Elizabeth, it leans into emphasizing the extent of her misunderstanding, with Darcy's behavior both more sympathetic than she sees it and clearly comprehensible if she weren't so biased against him (fwiw, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries also emphasizes Elizabeth's misjudgment to a considerable extent and deals with the ambiguity by keeping him literally offstage).

The point of all this is that there is a core issue of adaptation here—the difficulty of representing subtle novelistic ambiguity while making Darcy emotionally compelling at the same time. Adapted Darcys are often given extra scenes, altered dialogue, or (where described in the novel) altered mannerisms/emotions to try and achieve this. And all lean so hard into the aspect they choose to emphasize that they tend to sacrifice most of the rest of his personality to the interpretation they're committing to, and his feelings for Elizabeth tend to be incredibly obvious to the point that it sometimes strains belief that she wouldn't see them, even with all her investment in not seeing them.

I guess the thing is that I think just stopping with "this is an issue of the different media and can't be represented on film" is boring and underestimates the potential of film as a medium. There are plenty of performances that can only be fully appreciated on re-watching or re-listening to something with a fuller knowledge of what is revealed later. And to some degree, the adapters do have to choose how much they want to incorporate Elizabeth's perception of Darcy vs the bare narrative and what they're willing to give away about him to preserve what seems most important.

These are all active choices with actual significance, IMO. They imply priorities about the production and their production's take on Darcy that are intriguing in a way that gets lost by just giving them a free pass by way of the challenge of the medium.

[jogallice]

Aujourd’hui, vendredi 12/07/24, il n’y pas de Journée mais il y a 26 ans, l’équipe de France masculine de football a remporté sa première Coupe du monde 🏆Je vous souhaite un très bel été à Annecy, dans les 33 autres communes du Grand Annecy ou ailleurs 🏖️

Mikado plage : fête du 14 juillet ce vendredi 12/07/24 de 16h30 à 21h dans la cour du gymnase de l’école de Novel. Au programme : animations petite enfance avec jeux d'eau, fresque collective, animation musicale et atelier radio et d'écriture. Planchas à disposition et buvette sur place ⛱️

Pour les amateurs et amatrices de parquet, bal et soirée dansante en accès libre, annulé en cas de mauvais temps ➡️ Ce vendredi 12/07/24 de 18h à 22h à l’espace guinguette des Jardins de l'Europe : multidanses avec Swing Folies 💃

Première veillée d’été Les VendreDIY : découvrez l'art du "do it yourself" lors de cette soirée créative et conviviale dédiée à la fabrication d'une crème solaire ce vendredi 12/07/24 de 18h30 à 21h au Petit Vernay (23 avenue Germain Perréard). Atelier en participation libre 🌞

“Million Dollar Baby” : ciné gratuit en plein air ce soir (vendredi 12/07/24) de 22h à 0h15 au stade de Vieugy 📽️ Installez vous et profitez d'une soirée en plein air en famille ou entre amis. Pour votre confort, pensez à apporter votre chaise et/ou transat et plaid et même pique nique. Site accessible 30 mn avant la projection 🎬

“Nos jours heureux” : ciné gratuit en plein air ce soir (vendredi 12/07/24) de 22h à 23h45 au 13 avenue du Maréchal-Leclerc 📽️ Profitez d'une soirée en plein air en famille ou entre amis. Pensez à apporter votre chaise et/ou transat et plaid et même pique nique. Site accessible 30 mn avant la projection 🎬

L’opération Vital’été a repris du service dans la cité lacustre le lundi 8 juillet (jusqu’au samedi 24/08/24) : aujourd’hui (vendredi 12 juillet), atelier souplesse et gym séniors 👌 Activités gratuites et ouvertes aux adultes proposées et encadrées par 11 associations locales, profitez-en 🤩

Qualité de l’air à Annecy (indices ATMO) : les niveaux d’ozone seront à la baisse à cause des températures moins élevées et avec moins de photochimie liée au temps plus couvert voire orageux 🌡 La qualité de l’air devrait être moyenne à dégradée 💨

L’indice de risque pollinique dans la cité lacustre est moyen, au niveau 2 en ce qui concerne les graminées (indice communal valable du 6 au vendredi 12/07/2024 inclus) 🤧 Personnes allergiques : privilégiez le matin pour vos activités de plein air 😷

Tout comme hier, deux dictons du jour, un acheté, un offert (pour la petite histoire, cette pratique est désormais illégale) : « À la saint Olivier, rosée du matin est, dit-on rosée de vin. » 🍷 « Saint Olivier engrange le blé. » 🌾

Bon cinquième jour de la semaine à tous et à toutes 🌸

Bonne fête aux Olivier et demain aux Henri et Joël 😘

📷 JamesO PhotO au Semnoz le mardi 09/07/24 📸

[slytherin-scribbler]

Malfoy stood up, hefting his bag onto the table and beginning to pack away a couple of the books and the rest of his supplies. "Right, well, this has been quite the productive start. Bit busy in here, though. Think I'll be off to do some reading on my own, if you don't mind." Ostensibly he was talking to Luna, but his voice carried just a little too loudly in the muffled library. Despite himself Harry looked up in response, only to find Malfoy watching him intently. He froze, not expecting to feel like he was the one being addressed.

"Oh?" Luna asked mildly.

"I think I'll go find an empty classroom," Malfoy clarified as he rolled up his written notes to tuck away into his bag. Except he still wasn't really looking at Luna. Instead he threw another pointed glance in Harry's direction, just barely lifting an eyebrow. "That old Charms room on the third floor, most likely." He paused. "You know the one?"

Harry swallowed and dropped his gaze to the tabletop, utterly unable to maintain the eye contact. Yes, he knew the room. And he knew exactly what Malfoy was hinting at, even if the realisation felt entirely surreal.

"Hmm," Luna hummed in vague acknowledgement, not bothering to look up from her book. "Best take the south staircase, then," she added lightly. "You'll want to avoid that portrait of Olivier Prewitt. He's an awful gossip."

Malfoy glanced at her sharply, as did Harry. She gave absolutely no indication she noticed either of them.

"Yes, well," Malfoy said stiffly, after a moment. "Good point."

---

An excerpt.

[the---hermit]

05|10|2022

Today didn't go as I was hoping yesterday, I was looking forward to a day of relax, I didn't want to do anything regarding uni, but I had to. Last night the professor answered me giving me some indications on things that needed fixing in the thesis so this morning I did that. Thankfully it did not take the whole day, but still I hoped to have a full day off. Anyway I did what I had to do sent everything to the professor yet again and asked for an in person meeting to discuss the final things. After all of that I did take the rest of the day to relax which wasn't too bad.

Productive things I did:

fixed what I had to fix in the thesis and sent an email to the professor

practiced Irish on duolingo

did my daily inktober doodle

continued working on my crochet sweater

Self care things I did:

read first thing in the morning

took the rest of the day off trying to ignore anything that has to do with university and my thesis

crocheting while listening to an audiobook

📖: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

🎵: Cult Leader by KiNG MALA

[racefortheironthrone]

Did soldiers really wear their leaders' sigils into battle in rea life or that just an ASOIAF thing? I guess my main point of reference would Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh in armor with the lions and fleurs de lys sigil in on-screen adaptations of "Henry V," although that's not a regular soldier nor it is real life either.

Yes, absolutely, this was a thing in real life called livery.

However, it involved more than just sigils: the idea of livery was that, when you entered the service of a lord, you were given clothing (usually a surcoat, tabard, or jupon) which not only displayed the lord's sigil but also was usually made up of the colors of the lord's coat of arms either in halves or quarters.

This clothing was part of your pay (clothing has always been very valuable), but it also had the practical function of creating a clear visual distinction of who was on your side and who wasn't. This was very useful in the chaos and confusion of a medieval battle, because it let you find your own group if you got separated, figure out whether you should try to kill that faceless man in full plate armor, or in a pinch indicate who might pay your ransom if you were captured.

[peridot-tears]

While we mainly follow Arno's personal conflicts, driven by cynicism brought on by grief over his personal relationships, I think a lot about how he viewed larger French society and the time he was living through.

There's a brief moment where, at the beginning of the revolution, he says something to the effect of, "The people want to be free!" and that's the most explicit indication of how he felt about the Revolution's role in fighting classism. It suggests that he supported the idea of the French people rising up for their rights.

He himself was raised by a nobleman, albeit in a role where he was perhaps a well-treated servant. He personally has a spat with Olivier, the head...servant? Groomsman? Whom he had to answer to.

When he kills King of Thieves, he sees for himself through his memories that François De La Serre -- despite having been a good man who became his surrogate father without a moment's hesitation -- was a pompous aristocrat himself, immediately dismissing the King of Thieves and his "affairs of rats."

Arno strikes me as an intelligent man -- emotionally, intellectually, and strategically -- underneath his shitty, shitty coping mechanisms. Like, this is the kind of person who understands why he's self-destructing and how to stop it, but spirals anyway.

So I wonder what was going through his mind when he saw for himself that François De La Serre, while having great ideals that were struck down by evil men, was in some ways someone whose own arrogance brought him down? I wonder if it was a hard lesson where he had to learn that someone who was good to him was part of the problem in his society, where the working class was underrepresented in politics and dispossessed of basic human needs?

If he hadn't been wrapped up in the Assassin-Templar conflict, would Arno have been a Revolutionary himself? Or at least a supporter?

At what point in the Revolution did he become disillusioned with it? At the start of the Reign of Terror? When the populace started scapegoating other commoners?

We mainly follow Arno's interpersonal relationships, but I think a lot of his cynicism is driven by ideology and massive historical events happening around him. We're all affected by our surroundings, even if we don't consciously feel it. He went from a young, rule-breaking man to someone who was supportive -- even optimistic -- about a revolution that could change his society, only for it to devolve into carnage and just create another system where innocent people have to suffer due to the opinions of a few influential ones.

Also, he owns a cafe where people regularly gather to talk revolution and watch plays made for social commentary. You can't tell me he isn't swayed by what he sees.

[potionwine]

Friend!!! Speaking of Anabella!!! I was always so curious about her relationship to Joshua!!! I mean it was always easy to hate Clive, but Joshua IS the Phoenix, but he is also sickly! She mentions later how hurt she was when people talked about that! How Clive must've been born out of wedlock and her real child is weak!

She contradicts herself when talking about Joshua! "He wasn't good enough!" "He was my everything!" She doesn't want to let Elwin drag her little boy to the frontlines but she also HATES that he cannot *perform*!

She kills herself not immediately when Olivier dies, but when JOSHUA comes towards her and offers a hand in sympathy! I WANT TO KNOW MOREEE

ugggghhhh this is my SPECIAL INTEREST.

I also found it really really fascinating that she seemed to harbour some lowkey, semi-conscious resentment towards Joshua for being weak and frail! Even in modern day, when a child turns out less than what people perceive to be "normal", whether that's physically or mentally, people still instinctively blame mothers for those "defects", and as someone who's actually responsible for carrying on noble lineage, I can only imagine the intense scrutiny over every child she produced.

Her hurts runs so deep that it makes me wonder if Elwin ever did anything about it or ever protected or defended her on that front. The game portrays Elwin as all sorts of good---and I've got an incredible rant in me somewhere about that but I shan't be a hater today---but I can easily believe an Elwin who doesn't truly realise and comprehend the level of insult that his wife feels and experiences about all of this. I mean, oooff, even in daily life, in the workplace and such, I encounter male colleagues who I would genuinely consider to be decent people, who every now and then say things to dismiss a thing that their wife/female partner is rather extremely hung up about? Like you've described this anecdote to me and even from my outsider perspective this thing sounds like it's really important to your wife and OKAY it sounds funny and illogical to you, or maybe you even do take it seriously but you just reassure her verbally in private instead of doing something about it? Then in my head I'm just thinking, no you don't understand, she needs you to defend her, she literally needs you to say the thing to your family/do the thing in front of your acquaintances so that she feels VALUED.

And that's why, there's a question mark about Elwin's conduct. Putting aside whether or not he actually did have affairs, since the game is silent on it, if we are starting from the premise that Elwin as head of state is busy with wars and governance and whatnot, hasn't got the time and effort and caring to spare for his wife's "paranoias" and insecurities about people laughing behind her back about rumours that directly concern his behaviour? Yea, that's a recipe for resentment and marital strife. Of course it is. It's practically the age-old story of marriage: one person thinks it's a big deal, the other person doesn't think it's a big deal, and the real indicator of love and respect is how partners choose to respond to each other.

However, I am open to the possibility that he may have done his absolute best to reassure her and appease her and be honourable and righteous and everything the game tells us to expect of Rosfield men as a baseline, so I am prepared to accept that Anabella's hangups are not something that he could ever have solved, even if he did defend her repeatedly and continuously with all the vigilance of a good husband. It may be that Anabella's definition of a good husband is one who simply accedes to her every wish, and that is not something Elwin would ever do, not on his characterisation, whereas it is something Sylvestre repeatedly does for her.

It's bizarre if people truly assumed a strong child couldn't come from her? Was she herself weak and sickly in her childhood, I wonder? Or is it just that Joshua is so indisputably hers that Clive, in juxtaposition, seems so different that he must come from a different mother. The whole thing is senseless, but also, who's actually being nonsensical here: Anabella herself and her warped interpretations, since she was obviously unravelling, or was the Rosarian court filled with nasty rumours from malicious actors who wished to hurt her and/or the ruling family? Only because I would assume her births are literally matters of national importance, probably attended by a huge amount of physickers and with the entire population, nobles and commoners alike, waiting anxiously for every scrap of news. If Clive popped out from her truly, there would be eyewitnesses aplenty, surely? It's baffling how these rumours were allowed to fester and gain traction, if we assume they are more than a figment of her insecure imagination---and if so, she seems to have fallen completely in their trap too, by never checking her assumptions and stewing in the perceived injury to herself.

After all, in the prologue the onlookers said something like "imagine treating your own flesh and blood like this" after witnessing Her Grace's treatment of Clive---so even though she treats him like trash in public, that's corroboration that people do believe he is hers! They don't say "oh the Archduchess treats him like dirt because, you know, his father, nudge nudge wink wink".

She does contradict herself when talking about Joshua and it drives me crazy in the best way. There's this tinge of contempt when she talks about him huh, a degree of disappointment she can't fully bury in the loud insistence of her love. Even she wanted Clive to be the Phoenix. I think of the prologue, of the little scene where the young brothers talk beneath the moon, of Joshua's little fists shaking with the knowledge of his inadequacy when he said to his elder brother "it should have been you". It gives me the feeling that Joshua knew all along that not a single person ever thought he'd make a better Dominant than his brother.

Olivier... what did she get from Olivier that she did not already have better with her existing sons lol. She loved him like a doll-toy I suppose, which is the one thing her (real human boy~) sons could not become. Personally I think because the game had no sympathy for her, it could not allow her to have any meaningful interaction or confrontation with post-PG Joshua, because to truly see him would be the beginning of self-understanding---something something the tragedy of King Lear. But where works like King Lear are very sympathetic to the foibles and misguided pride of their central Tragic figure, the game doesn't want us to give a shit about Anabella because the creators themselves don't care about her, which is why she never has the opportunity to finish her Tragic arc. She is never allowed to realise exactly what blessings she gave up, never allowed to realise how wrong she was, never allowed the privilege of true insight or the possibility of repentance or even simple regret.

In that way she remains only a wretch, the object of disdain and hatred from the playing audience, instead of a realised Tragedy come full circle.

(Quietly, my little pet headcanon about Joshua being very like his mother in impulse and nature, but who consistently makes different choices and the sum of these choices make him the person she ought to have been as Archduchess? Yea I want her to see this more than anything else. But then Anabella might actually learn how to become a better person, and we can't have that.)

[kareluna8]

By magic (Por arte de magia) 2

I have seen that in the last poll to choose between the photos of handsome men to transform into Gale, there was a tie between photo 2 (Olivier Martinez) and photo 3 (Marlon Brando). So I have decided…

...to transform both! 😁

I will start with the photo of Olivier Martinez. I will keep you informed. Thank you for indicating your preferences😊

[jules-has-notes]

Aca Top 10: Video Games — VoicePlay music video

Legend has it that video games helped keep the boys of 4:2:Five out of trouble during their early touring days. And photographic evidence indicates that it continued well into the VoicePlay era. But gaming isn't just about passing time and bonding with friends when you're a traveling musician. It can also be a source of inspiration for a wildly entertaining musical medley.

Details:

title: Aca Top 10 — Video Games

original songs: [0:07] HALO theme (2002); [0:26] Angry Birds theme (2009); [0:44] Pokémon Red & Blue opening theme (1996); [0:56] Minecraft theme (2009); [1:08] Final Fantasy main theme (1987); [1:22] "Dragonborn" from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011); [1:40] "Type A" theme from Tetris (1988); [1:56] "Mortal Kombat (Techno-Syndrome)" from Mortal Kombat (1992); [2:14] Legend of Zelda overworld theme (1987); [2:50] Pong sound effects (1972); [2:57] Super Mario Bros. overworld theme (1985)

written by: HALO theme by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori; Angry Birds theme by Ari Pulkkinen; Pokémon Red & Blue theme by Junichi Masuda; Minecraft theme by Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld; Final Fantasy main theme by Nobuo Uematsu; "Dragonborn" Skyrim theme by Jeremy Soule; Tetris "Type A" theme based on Russian folk song "Korobeiniki", arranged by Hirokazu Tanaka; "Mortal Kombat (Techno-Syndrome)" by Maurice "Praga Khan" Engelen & Olivier Adams; Legend of Zelda overworld theme by Koji Kondo; Pong sound effects created by Allan Alcorn; Super Mario Bros. overworld theme by Koji Kondo

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci & Layne Stein

release date: 24 February 2015

My favorite bits:

the 8-bit logo during the intro, and Layne making sound effects for Earl's requisite Mountain Dew

all of them bopping around to some degree during the Angry Birds section

Twitch streamer Layne and his adorable laugh

impressively whistling in three-part harmony for Tetris

Earl button mashing like a filthy casual, then covering his eyes during the gory fatality part

Layne using ingressive phonation to replicate the digitized voice effect at the end of Mortal Kombat

techo remix Zelda!

Geoff working so hard to not laugh after doing his part of the Pong bit

Tony just watching and having snacks during the Mario section because the 8-bit music didn't provide a part for him to sing

Trivia:

○ Several of these pieces have appeared in later VoicePlay videos:

They did a full version of the HALO theme with founding 4:2:Five member Scott Porter in 2021 as a tribute to a departed friend.

Adriana Arellano and Cesar De La Rosa joined them for a short, soothing rendition of the Minecraft theme.

They added a sample of the main Skyrim theme to their cover of "The Dragonborn Comes" with Omar Cardona.

The guys included a snippet of "Still Alive" over the patron roll just as a fun bonus for themselves, but it received such an enthusiastic response from fans that they recorded a full version of it during their first PartWork series.

They integrated elements of the original NES Mario theme and sound effects into their arrangement for "Peaches" from the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie.

○ Apparently, Geoff cracking up during the Pong bit caused several outtakes. (Good thing they were all filmed separately, so he was the only one who had to start over when he broke.)

○ Their wardrobe represents a few different video game franchises.

Tony has a Pikachu hat from Pokémon.

Eli is repping an old-school Atari logo shirt, which was already part of his regular wardrobe.

Geoff wears a Minecraft creeper shirt from Hot Topic.

Earl is sporting a Mega Man shirt.

Layne has a subtle Minecraft hoodie with enderman eyes on the hood from ThinkGeek.