#Producers Guild Association

[msclaritea]

"Looking back, I’ve been researching this UFO crew since at least 2007, very directly. UFO cultist Steven Greer met his wife Emily in Israel studying with meditation guru Maharishi. This is all tied to David Lynch and the related transcendental meditation (TM) groups. 🧵

This relevant now because his UFO cultist cohort Dennis Kucinich is now managing RFK Jr’s presidential campaign. Kucinich ran for POTUS in 2007 on a UFO platform based out of none other than… Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas, NV.

John Hagelin runs the Maharishi meditation organization out of LA. Hagelin "is a theoretical physicist who ran for the U.S. presidency three times on the Maharishi-backed Natural Law Party" (1992, 1996, 2000).”

In 2000 race he was backed by the Perot faction and disrupted Pat Buchanon. In 2004 he handed the ropes over and endorsed Kucinich.

This same culty, meditation, UFO crew has been trying to run for POTUS for nearly 20 years. It continues through today with RFK Jr.

Is it a coincidence that people threatening President Biden via his son Hunter, suggesting he is “stealing the election” per a hooker they know? I don’t think it is at all. This group is assaulting the US democracy and the integrity of the office of the President.

I think they’ve been storming the US Presidential position since the fall of the Soviet Union, using propaganda, cults, misinformation, and sadly via trying to compromise the sons of US presidents from JFK to Hunter Biden.

Maharishi seems like Indian intelligence. A lot of these 1970s new age space gurus interacted with these “space love sex LSD” guru types for decades. Is it a coincidence that Howard Bloom has worked with Modhi on space initiatives for DECADES?

Is it a coincidence that I know Howard Bloom and that he and Moonie NEWT GINGRICH were advocating for a moon colony during the Trump Admin? Can I sound any… crazier? 🤣 Reality is stranger than any fiction.

Newt Gingrich trying to sell Trump on a cheap moon plan A general, Gingrich and Michael Jackson's publicist are proposing a $2 billion contest to return Americans to the moon.

Why is Jeff Bezos pushing this UFO propaganda with Harvard and the Luis Elizondo guy? See the L5 Society hippy space cult shit. Both Bezos and Newt were part of that since teenagers (I think, find the reference.) L5 Society is connected to Timothy Leary and the usual suspects.

This all looks to me like a BRICS assault on the US Presidency and space industry since literally JFK challenged us to go to the moon. End thread."

Kukral even knew these 🌙 cults would try this. What is it with all of these cults? I'll just take a wild guess the Moonies came from yet another Freemasons group and no surprise that it considers Democracy Satanic. Projection as big as the Empire State building. I can't believe it hasn't occurred to people these objects probably came from some mad scientist and his billionaire backers. That's where we are, now.

[djarshaddj]

Incredible Weekend at Box Office from 11 to 13 August: Jailer, Gadar 2, OMG 2 and Bhola Shankar Created All time History!

Incredible Weekend at Box Office from 11 to 13 August: Jailer 2, which was Released on August 10, and all three films, Gadar 2, Omg 2, and Bhola Shankar, were Released on August 11 and Had a Good opening as well. Jailer opened with a sensational collection ₹ 96.60 Cr, and in 3 days from 11 to 13, the film earned ₹ 176.70 Cr, Gadar 2 garnered ₹ 159.00 Cr, Bhola Shankar grossed ₹ 31.10 Cr, And OMG…

[deforest]

SHE'S CRAZY WITH THE HEAT — 1946 ft. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm

In 1946, William D. Alexander began the production of a series of one-reel shorts, half-hour featurettes and feature films that would serve a dual purpose. These black cast subjects would be released to theaters that welcomed African American audiences; concurrently, the music segments would be excerpted from the films and released as Soundies. Ultimately, sixteen of Alexander’s musical shorts reached the Panoram screen, spotlighting the bands of Lucky Millinder, Billy Eckstine, Henri Woode and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. (Alexander actually produced four films with the Sweethearts, three ten-minute short subjects and one feature, although some of the performances turns up in more than one film; only three performances saw release as a Soundie.) The International Sweethearts of Rhythm grew out of a band formed in the 1930s at the Piney Woods Country Life School, an institution – in part an orphanage – for poor African American children. A member of the music department had apparently taken note of the success of Ina Ray Hutton’s Melodears and decided that an all-woman band composed of school members might lead to something special. While they performed locally, the ISR did not begin to hit its stride until it left Piney Woods and became a professional touring outfit in 1941. The band was certainly “international” in nature, and its ranks included African American, Latina, Chinese, Indian, White and Puerto Rican musicians. In 1941, Anna Mae Winburn joined the orchestra as front woman and featured vocalist. During the war years Maurice King joined the band as both arranger and band manager. Born Clarence King in 1911, King played reeds and later became a fine swing arranger. While here we recognize his composition and arrangement for the Sweethearts – he called this tune “She’s Crazy with the Heat ” – King is best known for his longtime association with Barry Gordy and Motown Records for which he served as director of artist development. He worked closely with vocal groups, teaching the singers how to voice and phrase together. “Maurice brought sophistication and class to Motown,” said session musician Johnny Trudell. By 1946, the Sweethearts was recognized as one of the finest African-American bands in jazz. They recorded for Guild and RCA Records, broadcast regularly for the Armed Forces Radio Service, and toured Europe entertaining the GIs. While much of the success was due to Maurice King’s arrangements, the band’s musicians were all strong, and a special nod must go to Viola Burnside, one of the most neglected tenor soloists of the 1940s. I chatted with my friend Roz Cron, a member of the Sweetheart’s reed section, shortly before her passing. When I thanked her for her contribution, she paused and said, “Yeah, we were one of the best, one of the very, very best.” (via Jazz on Film)

[neil-gaiman]

I was wondering. Do you think that other writers and creators from Video games to comic books should join the writers strike?

Also a dumb out of the blue fun question: what do you think of Across the Spiderverse Miles and Gwen pairing?

No, the Writers Strike is members of the WGA (Writers Guild of America) striking against the AMPTP (Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers) companies. If other writers who don't write for films or television go on strike against other companies who don't make films or television then they aren't going to sway the AMPTP companies into giving the WGA a better contract.

[fanaticsnail]

Chastity: Buggy

Birthday Celebration Masterlist

Word Count: 1,500+

Themes: Buggy x gn!reader, smut, mdni, 18+, NSFW, Buggy is in a chastity belt, you are tasked to dominate him, inappropriate use of devil fruit, creampie (Buggy receiving and giving), masturbation, bondage.

Notes: This clown has once again found his way back into my heart. I love him.

“Please.”

Sitting cross legged, reading over several new bounties produced and notated by Sir Crocodile in your plush, buttoned armchair, you pay the man on his knees no mind as he comes to terms with the circumstances that lead him to that moment.

Knees spread and thighs bound to his ankles beneath him, hands obediently lulled at his hips, neck tilted back and eyes watering with desperation, sat Buggy the Clown. The Face of Cross-Guild, chest heaving as his crotch was clapped in an iron belt and nothing else covering his body, was resolved into a heaving pile of flesh as his own cock buried itself into his puckered asshole.

He had not moved an inch since you first started this small amount of torture for him. Behaving as well as he could as you removed his cock and bound his legs, you had worked him with your fingers and lubricant while he was brought to the precipice of release without toppling over the edge.

Buggy was put through too much pain and markings at the hands of your boss, Dracule Mihawk, and his associate, Sir Crocodile. Being the face of an organization: beaten, battered and bruised was not in the best interest of the three of them when garnering popularity.

Under the guise that matters would be taken into your own hands regarding punishment and discipline, Mihawk placed the blue-haired clown in your charge to break him into submission.

This task was easier done than you had thought. A few choice words, simple heavy kisses, and the promise of a well-earned orgasm was enough to have the Clown immediately at your mercy.

“Not yet. I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait until I'm done with this page,” you utter honestly, taking your red, felt-tip pen to the parchment and slashing out an incorrect word. “If you didn't make so many mistakes, you could've been cumming inside yourself by now. But, fortunately for my own entertainment, you did.”

“Please,” he stuttered, tensing his bare abdomen as his blue-fuzz covered pectorals spasmed while he made to move forward. “Please, starlight. My cock has been shoved in my ass for over an hour. It's so fuckin-... Nghhmm-... It's warm, its tense, it's tight. Please let me cum?”

“No.”

“For fucks sake,” he whimpered, scrunching his paint-lined eyes shut while he attempted to rock his hips to no avail.

With the ropes binding his legs, and the iron belt holding his cock inside his ass, he had no way for friction to occur to bring him over that edge of ecstasy. He whimpered, his nipples pebbled and skin christened in beaded goose-flesh as he huffed and panted at the feeling.

“Calm yourself,” you uttered sharply down at him, pressing your covered toes on his bare chest while you scowled at him. “Honestly, have you no self control, clown?”

Buggy darted his teal eyes between yours, his bruises finally beginning to heal up and scars crust over from the beating days before that had this dynamic begin between you. Rolling your eyes, you remove your foot from his chest and peer once more down at the page.

“Please, Starlight,” he whimpered softly, “How much longer will you be? I-I-I need you. I need this. I nee-... I need-...”

Buffy's eyes took in every inch of you. Your toes, your ankles, your thighs, your crotch, your stomach, chest, arms, hands, face and head: all of those elements that made you distinctly you, Buggy was consumed by.

He didn't expect Mihawk’s former World Government Public Relations officer to stick with him after the disbandment of the warlords, yet here you were: slashing away at another wanted sign while he felt his need becoming almost painful. Nowhere near as painful as the beatings, but an ache enough to have him uncomfortable.

All Buggy wanted was to cum. Far from the initial embarrassment that came along with being naked with his own cock in his ass, he was feral for that one moment where you would release him from his chains and be permitted to ride his cock for your entertainment.

Finally complete with the pile of wanted posters, you placed the tan sheets at your side and tilted your head at the clown. His lengthy, blue eyelashes fluttered, his cerulean hair messy and clinging to his face and neck in bunches. His eyes were glazed, as was the shine from his rotund, red nose.

“Clown?” you spoke, breaking him out of his concentration and causing his ass to clench around himself. He groaned at the feeling, the edge still there after all this time.

“Y-Yes?” He stuttered. “Yes, Starlight?” Rapidly blinking, he focussed his attention onto you while attempting to remain perfectly still.

“I'm done with my work,” you nodded, uncurling your knees and switching your top-leg in front of him. Leaning down, you offer him the key to his belt in his hand, to which he shakily took it in his covered digits. “Be a good boy and put on a show for me?”

“Oh, fuck yes,” he uttered softly, his hands stumbling as he unclasped his chastity belt and watched as the iron slunk to the ground with a clang.

His thighs and ankles were still bound together, but his cock was now free to move with his Devil-Fruit powers. He wasted no time as the lubricant made sinking in and out of his puckered hole easier.

Each time his cock fucked itself in, his mushroomed tip hit his prostate and caused a small leak of precum to dribble from his slit. His tongue caught itself on the roof of his mouth while his shaft was squeezed by the tense of muscle around his skin.

“There you go,” you praised him with a soft click of your tongue. “Good boy, clown. I can see how close you're making yourself.”

“Uh huh,” Buggy uttered dumbly, his whole mind now focussed wholeheartedly on the show he was producing for you. He was a mess of moans, groans, mewls and whimpers as he desperately clawed his way to his release.

Soon enough, the clown began to bounce himself on his cock, eyes scrunched shut while he experienced everything all at once. Cock, ass, restriction, and filthy encouragement from your lips was more than enough to feel the call of his climax beckoning him into his oblivion.

“You gonna be a good boy and cum in that tight little hole of yours?” you purred at him, leaning forward and tapping his chin with your index finger, “Gonna cum on your own cock?”

Buffy's eyes fluttered open, peering down his nose at your lips and eyes as he rose and fell on his cock while fucking into himself from beneath him. The slickened ‘plaps’ grew more manic as he desperately found his high, eyes searching yours for that final wave of permission from you to topple him over.

“Show me, clown,” you taunt him, moving your lips to hover over his own, “Move those hands up and tease your nipples before I do. Grab onto them and cum all over and into yourself. Go on, clown. Show me how good you can be-.”

“-Ah, fuck-!” Buggy screamed, his voice cracking as he shot that first rope into his asshole. His cock slapped his prostate, the muscle causing his ecstasy to amplify as he felt his own ass milk himself of his release.

Reaching up, he clutched and clawed at his nipples while rocking up and down over his own cock in time of his released. Pawing at his pectorals, his face flushed a vibrant red while he cried out in euphoria.

Pearlescent ribbons fled his cock as his vision split white. He didn't know if he called your name, screamed out profanity, or simply shouted incohesive babbles while he painted his insides with his own cum. All he knew was he had never felt this pent up, this needy, and this good in some time.

Chest heaving, absent crotch shrouded in cerulean curls tensing, Buggy felt himself nearly pass out while he rode the tide his orgasm managed to swell inside himself. Before he could find himself falling onto the floor in a pile of bliss, you surged forward and caught his shoulders.

Immediately, your hands flung into action to unbind him of his ropes and fish out his own cock from being buried in his ass. You were not unaffected by his little display, but you forced your arousal back while tending to the aftercare needed by the face of Cross-Guild.

As you softly coax him back to the land of the living by wiping him down with pre-prepared towels and washcloths, Buggy peered at you with an unhinged glint in his eye. Unbeknownst to you, his hand popped from his wrist-link and slowly crept along the floor towards your thighs and crotch.

If you were going to have him beg and plead for release, without him able to do anything about it until you granted him permission, it was only fair he was to do the same to you.

And just as you finally met his gaze once again with your own, his digits disappeared down the front of your waistband and caused your breath to hitch in your throat.

“Your turn, Starlight,” he uttered sinisterly, his smirk ticking up in the corners of his lips and illuminating his face with mischief, “Now be good and put on a show for me.”

Tag list: @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training @since-im-already-here @gingernut1314 @writingmysanity @i-am-vita @indydonuts @feral-artistry @the-light-of-star @empirenowmp3 @racfoam @sunflowersatori @carrotsunshine @skullfacedlady @jintaka-hane @thenotsofantasticlifestory @jadeddangel

“Buggy-!”

🎶Happy Birthday to Me🎶

If you would like to celebrate by indulging my caffeine and bubble tea addiction, my Kofi link is here.

[iww-gnv]

Late in the day on Sunday, September 24 — after 146 days of labor stoppage, the longest strike in Hollywood history by a long shot — the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents Hollywood’s writers, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an association of Hollywood’s largest studios and production companies, announced that an agreement had been reached. On Tuesday, September 26, the union’s leadership announced that they’d voted to end the strike and recommend the membership vote in favor of ratifying the contract.

[fans4wga]

[September 1] Don’t Fall For Hollywood Bosses’ New PR Spin

'Today marks the 122nd day of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and 48th day of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike. The dual work stoppages have brought Hollywood to a standstill, with production halted on films and television programs, and premieres and other promotional events either scaled back or canceled. Both guilds are striking over demands that are more than reasonable, particularly given studio executives’ record pay. These demands include fair compensation for streaming media (particularly better residuals, which currently pale in comparison to what they are for network and cable broadcasts), robust studio support for health and retirement funds, and safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence. (For more on why WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike, read the excellent reporting of Jacobin’s Alex Press). 

In a move that has shocked…pretty much no one, Hollywood bosses don’t want to share their earnings with the very storytellers responsible for generating them. At the same time, they’re happy to make workers pay the cost for their own miscalculations about streaming.

The major Tinseltown studios – organized under the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) trade association – remain stubbornly opposed to striking a fair deal with either guild. Under the leadership of AMPTP president Carol Lombardini, studios have employed brutal tactics to bust the strike, including threatening to drag things out until writers lose their homes and using management-friendly trade publications to pressure the guilds into accepting lowball offers. These tactics have backfired spectacularly: not only have they failed to end either strike, but they’ve also turned the public overwhelmingly against the AMPTP. A new Gallup poll finds that Americans back the WGA over the AMPTP by 72% to 19%, and SAG-AFTRA over AMPTP by 64% to 24%.

Aware of their reputational damage (but willfully ignorant of the anti-worker attitude that caused it), the AMPTP announced a “reset” to its approach this week – not by negotiating in good faith or meeting the guilds’ demands, but by hiring a pricey crisis-management PR firm to revamp its image! According to Deadline, the AMPTP has hired The Levinson Group – a D.C.-based PR shop best known for representing the U.S. Women’s  National Soccer Team in its campaign for pay equity – to “reframe the big picture for studio and streamer CEOs who have been characterized as greedy, imperious and out of touch.”

If you’re feeling like you’ve seen this movie before, you’re not wrong. During the last WGA strike 15 years ago, studio bosses hired former Clinton comms strategists Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane to revive the AMPTP’s flagging public image. The revolving-door duo were paid a jaw-dropping $100,000 per month by the AMPTP to strike-bust, deploying campaign-style spin attacks designed to break the WGA’s resolve. 

As I wrote for The American Prospect in May:

“Fabiani and Lehane created a website with a live tally of the millions of dollars in income that guild members and on-set crew had purportedly lost by striking. They urged studio CEOs to publicly refer to WGA representatives as “organizers” rather than “negotiators” because the former “sound[ed] more Commie.” Lehane even told the press at one point that striking writers were “making more than doctors and pilots,” cynically arguing that the strike was harming “real working-class people” like below-the-line workers who had lost income from struck late-night talk shows […] Fabiani and Lehane were [also] the brains behind a “strongly worded and downright menacing” AMPTP press release breaking off negotiations with the WGA in December 2007. This move allowed the studios, which cited a protracted strike as an “unforeseeable event,” to invoke force majeure contract clauses and cancel multiple writer-producer deals worth tens of millions of dollars, severely demoralizing the WGA’s rank-and-file members.”

The parallels between 2008 and today are striking. Like Fabiani and Lehane (who have worked for scandal-plagued clients like Gray Davis, Bill O’Reilly, Lance Armstrong, and Goldman Sachs) the Levinson Group has no qualms about representing greedy and unsavory characters. Over the years, Levinson has done PR for predatory student lender Better Future Forward, reviled monopolist Live Nation/Ticketmaster, a talc mining company linked to the Johnson & Johnson baby powder cancer scandal, and Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes. 

And just like the ex-Clinton spin doctors, the Levinson Group boasts close revolving-door ties to powerful politicians and the news media. The firm currently represents President Biden’s personal attorney Bob Bauer and previously represented John Podesta’s family lobbying firm. Levinson partners have previously worked for an array of influential politicians, including former President Bill Clinton, Senators Jon Tester and Amy Klobuchar, Representatives Maxine Waters and Ted Lieu, and former and current Los Angeles Mayors Eric Garcetti and Karen Bass. The firm’s founder and CEO Molly Levinson spent eight years working for CNN and CBS, while two of the Levinson Group’s top managing directors are alumni of CNBC and The Wall Street Journal. With a web of strong connections to power players in the entertainment industry’s twin capitals of LA and New York, along with the nation’s capital, Levinson could help the AMPTP tilt the regulatory and media scales back in the bosses’ favor. 

Though this may sound demoralizing, striking writers and actors shouldn’t lose hope. For one, consider a surprisingly uplifting parallel between 2008 and 2023. Fifteen years ago, after Fabiani and Lehane took the AMPTP’s contract, the SEIU and other unions that had previously worked with the duo severed ties with them for trying to bust the writers’ strike. Fast forward to this week: the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association (Levinson’s star client!) publicly rebuked the firm for doing the AMPTP’s dirty work and voiced support for the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. If history is any indication, it’s only a matter of time until other pro-union Levinson clients – like the majority SEIU-owned Amalgamated Bank – follow suit and sever ties with the firm. 

There is also one crucial way in which 2023 is thankfully not like 2008: The Levinson Group is bad at their jobs. 

Consider an August 27th New York Times article about AMPTP President Carol Lombardini*, which was almost certainly pitched or otherwise molded by Levinson flacks. The article goes to ridiculous lengths to rehabilitate Lombardini’s image:

The article passively describes Lombardini’s tenure as “marked by labor peace until now” (a peace that she has now broken) and shifts blame for her unpopular decisions to anonymous AMPTP members (how convenient!).

Article co-authors Brooks Barnes and John Koblin quote a 2014 email from then-WarnerMedia CEO Kevin Tsujihara praising Lombardini’s negotiation skills and recommending she receive a $365,000 bonus. Curiously absent from the article is any mention of Tsujihara’s high-profile 2019 resignation from WarnerMedia for pressuring actresses into non-consensual sex.

Barnes and Koblin attempt to paint a “she’s just like us” picture of Lombardini (who reportedly earns a $3 million annual salary), mentioning her upbringing in a “working-class town outside Boston” and love for Red Sox and Dodgers games.

Barnes and Koblin paint a rosy picture of the AMPTP’s “sweetened proposal” (their words) to the WGA, describing the studios’ August counteroffer as “including higher wages, a pledge to share some viewership data and additional protections around the use of artificial intelligence.” Barnes & Koblin never quote the WGA’s well-founded reasons for turning down this lowball offer, saying only that the WGA is “holding firm to demands related to staffing minimums and transparency into streaming-service viewership.”

Bizarrely, the core issue of underpaid streaming residuals (the main reason writers are demanding greater streaming transparency) is never mentioned in the article.

Barnes and Koblin frequently imply that criticism of Lombardini is unfair, describing her as an “easy target” for the “grievances of striking workers” and singling out a tweet purportedly “mocking [Lombardini] as a fuddy-duddy who hangs out at chain restaurants”.

Barnes and Koblin quote a pre-strike September 2022 Deadline interview with Teamsters organizer Lindsay Dougherty to claim that Lombardini has the “grudging respect” of union leaders who see her as a “fair individual.” They did not quote more recent statements from Dougherty, who last month tweeted that the “greedy” AMPTP had “declared war on Hollywood Labor” by refusing to negotiate in good faith with WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

In one unintentionally eyebrow-raising line, Barnes and Koblin state that Lombardini was “inspired to become a lawyer by reading articles about F. Lee Bailey.” Neither Bailey’s sordid clients (like OJ Simpson) nor his multiple disbarments are mentioned in the article.

And it’s not just me who finds the Levinson Group’s efforts laughable. Discussions of the NYT story on Reddit and Twitter are dominated by comments tying the story’s blatant reputation laundering for Lombardini to the AMPTP’s concurrent hiring of Levinson. A recent New Yorker puff piece on Warner CEO David Zaslav has been met with similar ridicule – with many commenters also pointing to Levinson’s potential influence. So too have recent stories from management-friendly trades like Deadline – all of which have failed to make a dent in strong public support for WGA and SAG-AFTRA. This is a good sign: not only is the public more inclined to side with striking workers than it was in 2008 – it’s also seemingly more attuned to the role of corporate PR flacks in shaping the media narrative. If studio bosses think they can remake the same movie and end another strike with flashy spin-doctors, they’re sorely mistaken. 

So here’s my advice to the AMPTP (and it won’t cost you six figures per month to hear it): the way to fix your reputation problem is to end the strike by giving writers and actors what they want. No strike-busting comms team can rescue you from the hole you’ve dug yourself into. 

As the LA Times’ Mary McNamara recently put it, “You’ve lost the war. The best thing to do now is negotiate the terms of surrender.”'

[dotthings]

There's lots of stuff happening at once so have a round up:

Warner Bros and Cartoon Network animation production (various) roles are working to join The Animation Guild. [edited to clarify] “Although many might not think it, production is a specialized skill,” said Warner Bros. Animation production manager, Hannah Ferenc in an official statement. “We might not be artists or writers, but what we bring to the table goes beyond traditional creativity and gets content on the air.”

Further edit for clarity: the unionization effort is for animation production roles (not animators, who are already unionized), to bring production staff into The Animation Guild at WB and CN.

Also I'm going to point out Animation is often an under-appreciated form of media, often looked down on as lesser, or less worthy, or less high quality than live action and I'm a fan of Animation. So I extra want to voice my support for the WB and CN production staff + animators, and everyone who works in animation for all the beautiful work they do in every facet.

UPS agreed to go back and negotiate with the Teamsters union, prepared to increase pay/benefits. Tentatively...I hope this is a hopeful sign for the labor movement, and for the Hollywood strikes as well. If UPS saw the way the wind was blowing, could that make Hollywood companies feel more pressure. UPS is a massive corporation. Granted, Hollywood studios are multiple big corporations, but maybe this doesn't bode well for them stonewalling the SAG and WGA.

IATSE Local 798--Broadway makeup and hair stylists union--is voting whether or not to authorize a strike, after talks with Broadway League (the producers association) and Disney Theatrical Productions stalled. There's a very informative video embedded in the blog post from Kevin Thomas Garica, who worked on Hadestown and Anastasia. Yes, Broadway could shut down.

[whencyclopedia]

Diversity in Church Architecture in Medieval England

Medieval English churches differed in size and layout. Their original and evolving role(s), financial and material resources, and architectural fashions helped determine variability. However, their look ultimately grew from a constant symbiosis between being a place for worship and practical matters. During the 10th-15th centuries, stone construction became firmly established, and that witnessed a golden era of church building.

Purpose & Resources

Immediate, mundane reasons for diversity were just as for any other buildings – houses, castles, offices – it depended on the purpose for which they were originally built and the financial and material resources available to the initial builders and to later owners who wanted to extend and/or beautify it.

Impoverished communities created basic churches employing the means and materials members of the settlement possessed or could source nearby using their own sweat and skills. Rich sponsors had the wherewithal to envisage and execute the most lavish projects money and authority could buy, transporting materials from far and wide, engaging the leading designers, technology, masons, metalworkers, carpenters, painters, and glaziers of the day.

Basic buildings might be erected as outposts of mother churches/minsters or by individual villages or minor landowners wanting a place, however humble, to express their faith, as a centre for the daily, weekly, and yearly cycles of devotion that dominated and led peoples' lives. They were simple rectangular structures, large enough for maybe 15 to 20 worshippers. The grandest undertakings were sponsored by major royal, aristocratic, or religious order benefactors to produce leading centres of ecclesiastical, administrative, and scholarly influence. Many of the great cathedrals, abbeys, and minsters, like Durham, Lincoln, and Old St Paul's London were wonders of the world at the time they were built, well over 100 meters long, 100 meters high, or more, and tens of meters wide.

Of course, the majority of churches fell in between these extremes. Some might not initially have been conceived on a grand scale, yet over the centuries they grew as patrons and communities responded to changing population sizes and advances in building technology that fed the desire to always have the bigger, better, more beautiful, the latest architectural fashion. In the economic climate of the later Middle Ages, fresh sponsors of church building and extension entered the scene. Newly rich guilds and merchants in many towns employed their wealth to craft ornate chapels or enhance an existing church with which they were associated. From unpretentious origins, many modest buildings thus grew into impressive houses of God – witness Leicestershire's grandest church in Melton Mowbray backed by wool traders' money, and the great wool churches of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Continue reading...

[crystalelemental]

With the Abyssal portions defeated, time for the final thoughts on Nexomon Extinction.

The Abyssals are exactly what I wanted out of the Tyrants.

My biggest complaint story-wise for this game was that the Tyrants themselves really didn't matter much. There's a thousand-year war among the Tyrants going on, that pushed humanity so far that one Guild leader created a cult to revive Omnicron, and their successor created artificial dragons to hunt Tyrants, an artificial Tyrant to command them, and then another, bigger one when that plan failed. But despite how significant this war was...all of the Tyrants we meet are pretty inconsequential, and most are associated with a human who does most of the talking and planning to begin with. I understand that this game is the human errors side of thing after the last game's presentation of the threat of Nexomon, but it's still kinda rough to go through all these story segments with the Tyrants not producing anything substantial. You get to postgame where you can hunt them down, and they're all a pain in the ass to find, with nothing drawing me to them.

The Abyssals, though? This is what I wanted. A thousand years ago, the first Abyssal arrived. And their first act? Killing Hilda. Another is stated to have made an attempt on Eliza's life. These are a much more pressing, salient threat. Sure, Tyrants destroyed cities, but we've never seen them do anything. The Abyssals have personal connection.

Despite their power, the Abyssals are odd in that they never aimed to become Sovereign of Monsters, and they seem immune to Solus' influence as the current Queen. What's presented is a pretty interesting mystery that builds up more questions than it feels like it wants to answer. What's the deal with these weird engravings? Why are Abyssals so weird? Apparently each is born with a clear goal from its creator, but this creator is unknown to them, and their specific goals are incredibly simplistic, with no known overarching goal. They're super unusual.

By gameplay, the Precursor Island is really fun. It might be an odd comparison, but it reminds me of the bonus dungeon of Ib a bit. There's a central location, and your goal is running around everywhere to collect the things you need to progress, solving puzzles that sometime intertwine a bit. It's a really fun system, finding each of the Abyssals and solving their puzzles. The only annoying ones were the flying one (Inominox) and the electric one (Volcel). The rest was really fun. Even the weird maze puzzle was fairly clever, though the final solution was a little...obvious but still hard to figure out the hint.

I think what really sells me on the Abyssals...well, two things. The smaller one is design. The Abyssals are just really cool concepts. Venefelis shows up and is immediately incredible, being super imposing but kinda goofy, and stated outright that he shouldn't be strong enough to pull off the nonsense he has. Kroma is my absolute favorite, and she's set up as super imposing given her drive is killing Eliza, only for Venefelis to rant about how incompetent Kroma is for being the only one of them to fail in her mission. Then there's Screaming Fire Velociraptor, who is hilarious in concept. And Inominox, who is such a coward that it won't face anyone with more than one Nexomon, and that one Nexomon needs to be weak to Flying. Or the soup for Volcel. There's Caelesa, who ran across the world, and was attacked by the Guild for little reason other than paranoia, since she hurt no one in her efforts. There's Pluvian, whose entire goal was to show up, scream, and then get killed by the Guild for no clear reason. There's Rotrimus, who you try to order around, and initially agrees, but is intercepted by the force of their creator bending its will back to refusing your call. It's a really interesting and dynamic group, that apparently has no clear association. Many of them insist they worked alone. They had a creator, but they themselves don't even think of themselves as a unified group. Only Venefelis seems to confirm that they have association.

The other is that this group is delightfully aligned to the themes of the game. Nexomon Extinction has two general themes I can identify. The first is a bit more obvious and repeatedly stated: second chances. The children of Omnicron refer to their support as their redemption, the entire plot is Deena attempting to grant a second chance at saving the world, your resolution of the central conflict is trading the destruction of your direct enemy into granting them a second chance at life. There's an ongoing importance to the idea of getting a second shot at things...but a second shot isn't necessarily going to mean doing better. The former hero comments that your actions amount to the same thing she did, and despite the failures of the dragons, Amelie's second chance is doubling down on a decision that worked out poorly. This leads into the second theme, and the one I like a lot better: the limits of personal agency.

The former hero is a good lens for this one. Repeatedly throughout this game, their actions are referred to as if it was a huge mistake. They themselves talk about it as a mistake. Deena outright calls it stupid decision made by her moronic friends. Even Ulzar, who is more sympathetic to the situation, talks about it as if it were a mistake, if an understandable one. Absolutely everyone treats their actions as something that led to the present problem, and thus was the wrong decision.

But...we were there. Omnicron was going to completely destroy the world. You can argue that the destruction of his soul in the netherworld wasn't necessary, and that was the mistake. But it's well known that he'll come back time and again; it'd be pushing the problem out to the next generation. And Omnicron could follow through. When you fail to destroy him in the Netherworld, Omnicron devastates an area so badly that entire maps are wiped out of reality. This was done in hours. Omnicron tells you outright he could've annihilated the planet in a day, but he stopped solely to challenge his rival, the strongest human, as a matter of pride. This wasn't an idle threat. It was an active, immediate devastation looming on the horizon.

Faced with that, what choice did you really have? Yes, there was a technically a choice. But who could choose the alternative? When humanity is faced with its destruction through the war of the Tyrants, yes, you had a choice to make those dragons or not. But faced with the destruction of multiple cities and further looming threat, what choice did you have? When those failed, you had the choice to stop. But then the destruction of the Tyrants continue unabated. Who would choose to stop? Vados embodies this. He's a creation of Amelie, born to hunt Tyrants to protect humanity. The thing about Vados is that he has agency and beliefs of his own. When told to destroy Petram in spite of the Laterians interfering, he refuses to harm humans. But we know that will happen anyway. We're told repeatedly that the Tyrants will continue to rise, until Vados has destroyed so much that the world is inhospitable to humans as well. He has his own agency, his own desire to protect humanity and protect the world. But he'll betray that through his own actions, regardless of what he wants. He was made to hunt Tyrants, and so he shall, til the end of days. The only way to avert this is to refuse to fight every Tyrant, to refuse to wage this absolute crusade. And that's the only choice he cannot make. He doesn't get a choice.

The Abyssals continue this theme. Like Vados, the Abyssals are created for a singular purpose. They are born with a goal, and that is all they have. They have their own personalities, but few of them seem interested in the specifics of what's going on. Kroma doesn't seem particularly interested in killing Eliza, she just has to. Pluvian doesn't seem to function as a willing sacrifice, but she does it anyway because that's her goal. Regardless of what they want, they will carry out their goal.

Unlike Vados, though, they have no overarching philosophy. Nothing that specifically guides their actions beyond the immediate. Caelesa runs around the world, but she doesn't seem to understand why. So when their goal is accomplished, despite getting a second chance at life...none of them know what to do with it. So they just sit around, completely docile, until you strike them down again. What other choice did they have? They never knew what they were aiming to do in the first place.

Except for Venefelis. The first Abyssal. At first, he had no idea what his point was. He had a goal, carried it out, and got sealed within the woods forever. Not ideal, but mission accomplished. Then 300 years later, another entity like him appears, carrying out a similarly short-sighted goal. Then 200 years later, another. And another 100 years after that. They appear faster and faster, until we get two within ten years. And as the only one to really survive, even if just as a spirit...you recognize the pattern. After all, Venefelis understands Caelesa's goal better than she understands it herself. She thinks it was just running, but Venefelis identifies it as a scouting mission. You know there's a grander design here; a purpose. But you can't figure out what. Because no one will tell you. You creator, the one guiding your motions, won't speak to you.

What else can you do but try to divine their intent? With nothing else to go off of, you watch their actions, and notice only one thing stands out. Kroma failed, and following that, no other Abyssals were created. Maybe your creator quit. Maybe it's because of Kroma. You don't know that, but what else could it be? You don't understand your purpose, but you desperately want to understand it; to know why you're still here. What choice do you have but to force a second chance on her? To enforce your creator's will, regardless of what she'd want? What choice does she have but to obey?

The twisted thing is, there really is nothing else for them. Rotramus shows this definitively. When you attempt to issue a command, he thinks about it, and passively decides sure, I'll help. It's not the resounding success of an authority check commanding its allegiance. It's someone making a choice, as if it has nothing better to do and no reason to argue. But its creator's will forces it to refuse. Even with its goal accomplished, and no reason to refuse, they interfere, denying your freedom. Quite literally, you have no other choice.

Everything that happens in this arc is driven by Venefelis' desires. His agency, his desire to understand his creator, drives everything forward. No one else even understands why they're here. They didn't have much choice either way. He brought them back, gave them a second chance they had no use for. But what else could he have done? To see what he wanted done, all he could do was solve Kroma's failure by pushing her into another attempt. And it wouldn't have even worked. It was entirely for nothing. But what can you do but try? You technically have a choice. You finished your goal, you could just let it all rest. But faced with the dread of an eternity devoid of purpose, who would choose any different?

Despite how many open-ended threads there are, and how many mysteries we're left with, this does feel like a self-contained story. We don't know what the point is. We don't know what it means. But neither did they. And the result of that ignorance, that impossibility, is they existed unable to live for themselves, and no second chance could get them to defy that fate. Which really resonates with me. I loved this side story a lot, and these open questions have really gotten me interested in the sequel game. I've heard they officially announced its existence but not a release date or any details. I can be patient. But I'm really invested in this one. They really hit a sweet spot here.

[camillasgirl]

The Anointing Screen

The Anointing Screen has been designed and produced for use at the most sacred moment of the Coronation, the Anointing of His Majesty The King. The screen combines traditional and contemporary sustainable embroidery practices to produce a design which speaks to His Majesty The King’s deep affection for the Commonwealth. The screen has been gifted for the occasion by the City of London Corporation and City Livery Companies.

The Anointing takes place before the investiture and crowning of His Majesty. The Dean of Westminster pours holy oil from the Ampulla into the Coronation Spoon, and the Archbishop of Canterbury anoints the Sovereign on the hands, chest and head. It has historically been regarded as a moment between the Sovereign and God, with a screen or canopy in place given the sanctity of the Anointing.

The Anointing Screen was designed by iconographer Aidan Hart and brought to life through both hand and digital embroidery, managed by the Royal School of Needlework. The central design takes the form of a tree which includes 56 representing the 56 member countries of the Commonwealth. The King’s cypher is positioned at the base of the tree, representing the Sovereign as servant of their people. The design has been selected personally by The King and is inspired by the stained-glass Sanctuary Window in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, which was gifted by the Livery Companies to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.

The Anointing Screen is supported by a wooden pole framework, designed and created by Nick Gutfreund of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters. The oak wooden poles are made from a windblown tree from the Windsor Estate, which was originally planted by The Duke of Northumberland in 1765. The wooden poles have been limed and waxed, combining traditional craft skills with a contemporary finish.

At the top of the wooden poles are mounted two eagles, cast in bronze and gilded in gold leaf, giving the screens a total height of 2.6 metres and width of 2.2 metres. The form of an eagle has longstanding associations with Coronations. Eagles have appeared on previous Coronation Canopies, including the canopy used by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Equally, the Ampulla, which carries the Chrism oil used for anointing, is cast in the shape of an eagle.

The screen is three-sided, with the open side to face the High Altar in Westminster Abbey. The two sides of the screen feature a much simpler design with maroon fabric and a gold, blue and red cross inspired by the colours and patterning of the Cosmati Pavement at Westminster Abbey where the Anointing will take place. The crosses were also embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework’s studio team.

At the Coronation Service, the Anointing Screen will be held by service personnel from Regiments of the Household Division holding the Freedom of the City of London. The three sides of the screen will be borne by a Trooper and Guardsman from each of The Life Guards, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, and Welsh Guards.

The screen has been gifted for the Coronation by the City of London Corporation and participating Livery Companies, the City’s ancient and modern trade guilds. His Majesty The King is a keen advocate and supporter of the preservation of heritage craft skills, and the Anointing Screen project has been a collaboration of these specialists in traditional crafts, from those early in their careers to artisans with many years of experience.

The individual leaves have been embroidered by staff and students from the Royal School of Needlework, as well as members of the Worshipful Company of Broderers, Drapers and Weavers.

As well as heritage craft, contemporary skills and techniques have formed part of this unique collaboration. The outline of the tree has been created using digital machine embroidery by Digitek Embroidery. This machine embroidery was completed with sustainable thread, Madeira Sensa, made from 100% lyocell fibres.

The threads used by the Royal School of Needlework are from their famous ‘Wall of Wool’ and existing supplies that have been collated over the years through past projects and donations. The materials used to create the Anointing Screen have also been sourced sustainably from across the UK and other Commonwealth nations. The cloth is made of wool from Australia and New Zealand, woven and finished in UK mills.

The script used for the names of each Commonwealth country has been designed as modern and classical, inspired by both the Roman Trojan column letters and the work of Welsh calligrapher David Jones.

Also forming part of the Commonwealth tree are The King’s Cypher, decorative roses, angels and a scroll, which features the quote from Julian of Norwich (c. 1343-1416): ‘All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well’.

This design has again been inspired by the Sanctuary Window in the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, created for Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. At the top of the screen is the sun, representing God, and birds including the dove of peace, which have all been hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.

The dedication and blessing of the Anointing Screen took place earlier this week at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, where it was officially received and blessed by the Sub-Dean and Domestic Chaplain to The King, Paul Wright, on behalf of The Royal Household.

[justinsentertainmentcorner]

Alissa Wilkinson at Vox:

The Hollywood writers strike marked its one-month anniversary on Friday, with no signs of slowing down. While other guilds in the industry are still on the job — except when they’re blocked by picket lines — the writers may soon get company on those picket lines.

Two other major entertainment guilds, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), also entered the summer with looming contract expiration dates. Both groups’ agreements with AMPTP, the trade association that represents the industry’s film and TV production companies, end on June 30. A lot could happen between now and then, but the situation is looking dicey.

All of that means that come July 1, the studios may be facing a double or even triple strike, in effect shutting Hollywood down completely.

The DGA rarely strikes — the last time was in 1987 — and its leadership has not called for a strike authorization vote. But its relations with the AMPTP have been trickier than usual. Negotiations began on May 10, with demands that in part mirror the WGA’s concerns. The main sticking point is wage and residual increases that keep in step with rising costs of living. In particular, lower residuals for shows on streaming services, where the lion’s share of entertainment now lives, have wreaked havoc for many people in the industry, drastically reducing compensation and making it increasingly difficult to just pay the bills.

In the past, the DGA has sometimes managed to make an agreement with AMPTP ahead of the start of bargaining, effectively setting a pattern for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA to follow in their own demands. Last November, the DGA sent a “pre-negotiation” offer to the AMPTP, seeking resolution ahead of bargaining. The AMPTP reportedly rejected the DGA’s proposal, meaning both parties came to the bargaining table without an arrangement.

The situation seemed to intensify due to an unforced error. On May 23, Warner Bros. Discovery launched Max, its newly rebranded streaming platform, which had previously been named HBO Max. Eagle-eyed observers noticed that in listed credits, the platform lumped writers, directors, producers, and so on into one category labeled “creators.” Aside from the queasy implications that the greatest works of cinema and television were just “content,” the choice on the company’s part ran afoul of hard-fought contract regulations regarding credits for artists.

It was a weird choice, and one that set blood boiling in Hollywood. The presidents of the WGA and the DGA issued a rare joint statement, with DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter noting that “The devaluation of the individual contributions of artists is a disturbing trend and the DGA will not stand for it. We intend on taking the strongest possible actions, in solidarity with the WGA, to ensure every artist receives the individual credit they deserve.”

By the end of the day, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it would modify how credits were listed on the platform in compliance with its preexisting contract agreement with the unions. Yet the strong language indicated that the DGA was ready to play hardball.

Meanwhile, members of SAG-AFTRA have been vocally supportive of the WGA. This is no shock, since on top of the same issue of residuals and wages, the union — which includes, in addition to film and TV actors, people who work in radio, singers, voice actors, influencers, models, and other media professionals — is concerned about the existential threat posed by AI and other technologies. Even before the WGA’s strike began, SAG-AFTRA issued statements regarding how the use of AI could eliminate or greatly reduce work for its members.

Members of SAG-AFTRA have shown up on picket lines to support the writers, and the star power posed by some of its most prominent members helps bring attention to the WGA’s strike. It’s also an effort to remind the studios that when their own negotiations begin, they’re ready for a fight. Underlining that implicit statement, the leadership of SAG-AFTRA unanimously agreed to ask its membership for a strike authorization vote, which concludes this coming Monday, June 5. That’s a move designed to signal solidarity to the AMPTP ahead of negotiations.

[...]

Here’s what’s most significant about all of this: All three unions have never gone on strike at the same time, in the history of Hollywood. The fact that this scenario is possible, even likely, emphasizes how extraordinary this moment is in the entertainment business. 

Hollywood could be on the verge of a triple strike that could effectively shut down everything completely. The WGA strike is ongoing, but the SAG-AFTRA and/or the Directors Guild could also launch their own strikes.

[whatevergreen]

Florida Orange Juice Boycott Sign 1977 by slowpoke_TW Via Flickr: "Singer Anti Bryant served as celebrity spokesperson for Florida orange juice producers in the 1970s. When she launched a campaign in 1977 to overturn a gay rights ordinance in Florida's Dade County, LGBTQ organizers nationwide reacted by calling for a boycott. The Tavern Guild, the association of San Francisco gay and lesbian bar owners, distributed this boycott sign to its members."

[dailyanarchistposts]

Chapter 9: Conclusion

If we take now the teachings which can be borrowed from the analysis of modern society, in connection with the body of evidence relative to the importance of mutual aid in the evolution of the animal world and of mankind, we may sum up our inquiry as follows.

In the animal world we have seen that the vast majority of species live in societies, and that they find in association the best arms for the struggle for life: understood, of course, in its wide Darwinian sense — not as a struggle for the sheer means of existence, but as a struggle against all natural conditions unfavourable to the species. The animal species, in which individual struggle has been reduced to its narrowest limits, and the practice of mutual aid has attained the greatest development, are invariably the most numerous, the most prosperous, and the most open to further progress. The mutual protection which is obtained in this case, the possibility of attaining old age and of accumulating experience, the higher intellectual development, and the further growth of sociable habits, secure the maintenance of the species, its extension, and its further progressive evolution. The unsociable species, on the contrary, are doomed to decay.

Going next over to man, we found him living in clans and tribes at the very dawn of the stone age; we saw a wide series of social institutions developed already in the lower savage stage, in the clan and the tribe; and we found that the earliest tribal customs and habits gave to mankind the embryo of all the institutions which made later on the leading aspects of further progress. Out of the savage tribe grew up the barbarian village community; and a new, still wider, circle of social customs, habits, and institutions, numbers of which are still alive among ourselves, was developed under the principles of common possession of a given territory and common defence of it, under the jurisdiction of the village folkmote, and in the federation of villages belonging, or supposed to belong, to one stem. And when new requirements induced men to make a new start, they made it in the city, which represented a double network of territorial units (village communities), connected with guilds these latter arising out ofthe common prosecution of a given art or craft, or for mutual support and defence.

And finally, in the last two chapters facts were produced to show that although the growth of the State on the pattern of Imperial Rome had put a violent end to all medieval institutions for mutual support, this new aspect of civilization could not last. The State, based upon loose aggregations of individuals and undertaking to be their only bond of union, did not answer its purpose. The mutual-aid tendency finally broke down its iron rules; it reappeared and reasserted itself in an infinity of associations which now tend to embrace all aspects of life and to take possession of all that is required by man for life and for reproducing the waste occasioned by life.

It will probably be remarked that mutual aid, even though it may represent one of the factors of evolution, covers nevertheless one aspect only of human relations; that by the side of this current, powerful though it may be, there is, and always has been, the other current — the self-assertion of the individual, not only in its efforts to attain personal or caste superiority, economical, political, and spiritual, but also in its much more important although less evident function of breaking through the bonds, always prone to become crystallized, which the tribe, the village community, the city, and the State impose upon the individual. In other words, there is the self-assertion of the individual taken as a progressive element.

It is evident that no review of evolution can be complete, unless these two dominant currents are analyzed. However, the self-assertion of the individual or of groups of individuals, their struggles for superiority, and the conflicts which resulted therefrom, have already been analyzed, described, and glorified from time immemorial. In fact, up to the present time, this current alone has received attention from the epical poet, the annalist, the historian, and the sociologist. History, such as it has hitherto been written, is almost entirely a description of the ways and means by which theocracy, military power, autocracy, and, later on, the richer classes’ rule have been promoted, established, and maintained. The struggles between these forces make, in fact, the substance of history. We may thus take the knowledge of the individual factor in human history as granted — even though there is full room for a new study of the subject on the lines just alluded to; while, on the other side, the mutual-aid factor has been hitherto totally lost sight of; it was simply denied, or even scoffed at, by the writers of the present and past generation. It was therefore necessary to show, first of all, the immense part which this factor plays in the evolution of both the animal world and human societies. Only after this has been fully recognized will it be possible to proceed to a comparison between the two factors.

To make even a rough estimate of their relative importance by any method more or less statistical, is evidently impossible. One single war — we all know — may be productive of more evil, immediate and subsequent, than hundreds of years of the unchecked action of the mutual-aid principle may be productive of good. But when we see that in the animal world, progressive development and mutual aid go hand in hand, while the inner struggle within the species is concomitant with retrogressive development; when we notice that with man, even success in struggle and war is proportionate to the development of mutual aid in each of the two conflicting nations, cities, parties, or tribes, and that in the process of evolution war itself (so far as it can go this way) has been made subservient to the ends of progress in mutual aid within the nation, the city or the clan — we already obtain a perception of the dominating influence of the mutual-aid factor as an element of progress. But we see also that the practice of mutual aid and its successive developments have created the very conditions of society life in which man was enabled to develop his arts, knowledge, and intelligence; and that the periods when institutions based on the mutual-aid tendency took their greatest development were also the periods of the greatest progress in arts, industry, and science. In fact, the study of the inner life of the medieval city and of the ancient Greek cities reveals the fact that the combination of mutual aid, as it was practised within the guild and the Greek clan, with a large initiative which was left to the individual and the group by means of the federative principle, gave to mankind the two greatest periods of its history — the ancient Greek city and the medieval city periods; while the ruin of the above institutions during the State periods of history, which followed, corresponded in both cases to a rapid decay.

As to the sudden industrial progress which has been achieved during our own century, and which is usually ascribed to the triumph of individualism and competition, it certainly has a much deeper origin than that. Once the great discoveries of the fifteenth century were made, especially that of the pressure of the atmosphere, supported by a series of advances in natural philosophy — and they were made under the medieval city organization, — once these discoveries were made, the invention of the steam-motor, and all the revolution which the conquest of a new power implied, had necessarily to follow. If the medieval cities had lived to bring their discoveries to that point, the ethical consequences of the revolution effected by steam might have been different; but the same revolution in technics and science would have inevitably taken place. It remains, indeed, an open question whether the general decay of industries which followed the ruin of the free cities, and was especially noticeable in the first part of the eighteenth century, did not considerably retard the appearance of the steam-engine as well as the consequent revolution in arts. When we consider the astounding rapidity of industrial progress from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries — in weaving, working of metals, architecture and navigation, and ponder over the scientific discoveries which that industrial progress led to at the end of the fifteenth century — we must ask ourselves whether mankind was not delayed in its taking full advantage of these conquests when a general depression of arts and industries took place in Europe after the decay of medieval civilization. Surely it was not the disappearance of the artist-artisan, nor the ruin of large cities and the extinction of intercourse between them, which could favour the industrial revolution; and we know indeed that James Watt spent twenty or more years of his life in order to render his invention serviceable, because he could not find in the last century what he would have readily found in medieval Florence or Brügge, that is, the artisans capable of realizing his devices in metal, and of giving them the artistic finish and precision which the steam-engine requires.

To attribute, therefore, the industrial progress of our century to the war of each against all which it has proclaimed, is to reason like the man who, knowing not the causes of rain, attributes it to the victim he has immolated before his clay idol. For industrial progress, as for each other conquest over nature, mutual aid and close intercourse certainly are, as they have been, much more advantageous than mutual struggle.

However, it is especially in the domain of ethics that the dominating importance of the mutual-aid principle appears in full. That mutual aid is the real foundation of our ethical conceptions seems evident enough. But whatever the opinions as to the first origin of the mutual-aid feeling or instinct may be whether a biological or a supernatural cause is ascribed to it — we must trace its existence as far back as to the lowest stages of the animal world; and from these stages we can follow its uninterrupted evolution, in opposition to a number of contrary agencies, through all degrees of human development, up to the present times. Even the new religions which were born from time to time — always at epochs when the mutual-aid principle was falling into decay in the theocracies and despotic States of the East, or at the decline of the Roman Empire — even the new religions have only reaffirmed that same principle. They found their first supporters among the humble, in the lowest, downtrodden layers of society, where the mutual-aid principle is the necessary foundation of everyday life; and the new forms of union which were introduced in the earliest Buddhist and Christian communities, in the Moravian brotherhoods and so on, took the character of a return to the best aspects of mutual aid in early tribal life.

Each time, however, that an attempt to return to this old principle was made, its fundamental idea itself was widened. From the clan it was extended to the stem, to the federation of stems, to the nation, and finally — in ideal, at least — to the whole of mankind. It was also refined at the same time. In primitive Buddhism, in primitive Christianity, in the writings of some of the Mussulman teachers, in the early movements of the Reform, and especially in the ethical and philosophical movements of the last century and of our own times, the total abandonment of the idea of revenge, or of “due reward” — of good for good and evil for evil — is affirmed more and more vigorously. The higher conception of “no revenge for wrongs,” and of freely giving more than one expects to receive from his neighbours, is proclaimed as being the real principle of morality — a principle superior to mere equivalence, equity, or justice, and more conducive to happiness. And man is appealed to to be guided in his acts, not merely by love, which is always personal, or at the best tribal, but by the perception of his oneness with each human being. In the practice of mutual aid, which we can retrace to the earliest beginnings of evolution, we thus find the positive and undoubted origin of our ethical conceptions; and we can affirm that in the ethical progress of man, mutual support not mutual struggle — has had the leading part. In its wide extension, even at the present time, we also see the best guarantee of a still loftier evolution of our race.

[film-classics]

Dolores del Rio - Hollywood's First Latin Superstar

María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (born in Victoria de Durango, Durango on 3 August 1904), known professionally as Dolores del Río, was a Mexican actress whose career spanned more than 50 years. With her meteoric career in the 1920s/1930s Hollywood and great beauty, she is regarded as "Hollywood's First Latin Superstar."

Del Rio came from an aristocratic Mexican family whose lineage went back to Spain and the viceregal nobility. Her family lost all its assets during the Mexican Revolution. She developed a great taste for dance at a young age, which awakened in her when her mother took her to one of the performances of the Russian dancer Ana Pavlova.

In 1925, she met American filmmaker Edwin Carewe, an influential director at First National Pictures, who was in Mexico at the time. He convinced her to move to Hollywood. After a couple of years, United Artists became interested in her and signed her to a contract. Her career blossomed at the studio, and she made memorable films such as Ramona (1928) and Evangeline (1929). After her contract was terminated, she was hired by RKO Pictures ,then Warner Bros, and then 20th Century Fox.

Unfortunately, Latin stars had less opportunities in Hollywood then, and her career declined. She returned to her birth country, where she became one of the most important female figures in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Del Río returned to Hollywood and made movies and TV shows. However, she continued to produce and star in Mexico in film and theater projects.

She died from liver failure at the age of 78 in Newport Beach, California. Her remains have been interred in the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres in Mexico City since 2005.

Legacy:

Won the Silver Ariel Award (Mexican equivalent to the Oscars) for Best Actress three times: Las Abandonadas (1946), Doña Perfecta (1951), and El Niño y la niebla (1953); and was nominated two more times: La Otra (1946) and La Casa Chica (1949)

Awarded the Best Actress by the Instituto de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de Mexico for Flor Silvestre (1943)

Named as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1926

Was the model of the statue of Evangeline in 1929 located in St. Martinville, Louisiana

Honored as one of the best dressed woman in America with the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1952

Received a medal for her outstanding scenic work abroad from the Asociacion Nacional de Actores in 1957

Selected as the first woman to sit on the Cannes Film Festival jury, and even served as the Vice President, in 1957

Co-founded the Sociedad Protectora del Tesoro Artistico de México, responsible for protecting art and culture in México, in 1966

Given the Diosa de Plata Award by the Mexican Film Journalists Association twice: in recognition her contribution to Mexican film industry in 1965 and in commemoration of her 50-year career in 1975

Presented with a medal for her cultural contribution to the peoples of America by the Organization of American States in 1967

Was honored by Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura and the Mexico's Screen Actors Guild in 1970 with a tribute titled Dolores del Rio in the Art, where her main portraits and a sculpture by Francisco Zúñiga were exhibited

Was a spokeswoman of UNICEF in Latin America in the 1970s

Received the Golden Ariel Honorific Award in 1975 for her contribution to Mexican cinema

Formed the union group "Rosa Mexicano", which provided a day nursery for the children of the members of the Mexican Actor's Guild in 1970

Helped found the Cultural Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato in 1972

Received the Mexican Legion of Honor in 1975

Received a diploma and a silver plaque for her work in cinema as a cultural ambassador by the Mexican Cultural Institute and the White House in 1978

Awarded the George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film in 1982

Has been the namesake of the Diosa de Plata (Dolores del Río) Award for the best dramatic female performance by the Periodistas Cinematográficos de México since 1983

Has murals painted on Hudson Avenue in Hollywood painted by the Mexican-American artist Alfredo de Batuc in 1990 and at Hollywood High School in 2002

Is the namesake of Teatro Dolores del Rio, built in 1992, in Durango

Chosen to be one of The Four Ladies of Hollywood, a sculpture at Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard in 1993

Realized a tribute by fashion designer John Galliano in his 1995 Fall/Winter collection, Dolores.

Stipulated that all her artworks be donated to the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature of Mexico, for display in various museums in Mexico City, including the National Museum of Art, the Museum of Art Carillo Gil and the Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo House-Studio

Included in a cameo in the Disney-Pixar animated movie Coco in 2017

Honored in three monuments in Mexico City: a statue located in the second section of Chapultepec Park, a bust located in the Parque Hundido, and another bust in the nursery that bears her name.

Honored with two streets named after her: Blvd. Dolores del Río, in Durango, Mexico, her hometown and Dolores del Rio Ave. in Mission, Texas

Honored with a Google Doodle on her 113th birthday in 2017

Has her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1630 Vine Street for motion picture

[dragons-bones]

FFXIV Write Entry #18: A Raven's Shield

Prompt: fish out of water || Master Post || On AO3

A/N: Spoilers through Patch 6.4: The Dark Throne. Probably could be considered a sequel to "An Apple a Day (Does Not Keep the Paladin Away)" from earlier this FFXIV Write.

--

The chaos of the Final Days had ushered in a wave of adventurers to Radz-at-Han, the Satrap authorizing the hiring of the Guild’s finest to supplement the Radiant Host, and as such Zero attracted little attention despite her black armor and heavy scythe. Even her bafflement over mortal norms could be easily explained away as a foreigner interacting with Thavnair’s culture for the first time. It was the best possible way to avoid any awkward questions, especially since her association with the Warriors of Light would inevitably draw more attention to her.

Though, Dancing Heron thought, it helped when one of those Warriors of Light wasn’t immediately recognized.

Heron was nearly always recognized because of her ubiquitous red and black armor, a set she had taken to wearing in the days after the first Garlean offensive at the Ghimlyt Dark. Combined with her sword and shield and her natural height, there was little question about who she was with how quickly stories were spread about the Warrior of Light. She had taken to dressing down whenever it was feasible to avoid much notice; eyes slid more easily off a roegadyn woman when she was in simple blouses and trousers rather than armor.

A dressed-down roegadyn and a heavily-armored adventurer walking together was a bit of an unusual sight, but not enough to garner more than a second glance.

Today, Heron and Zero wandered one of the bazaars in the northern part of the city, the road wide enough to accommodate a pair of gaja walking side by side even with stalls lining each side of the street. Most of the merchants here were hawking food and produce and cookware: spiced and grilled hamsa served on skewers, barrels of starfuit and langsat and persimmons, beautifully shaped ceramics and shining bronze pots. Locals and adventurers alike were out shopping, and Heron and Zero effectively vanished into the crowd.

Zero had even deigned to leave her scythe behind, which Heron had quietly cheered about in the privacy of her mind, though she had graced Zero with a blinding smile when she’d seen the other woman exit her rooms in Meghaduta without it. Zero had merely blinked and ducked behind the safety of her hat’s brim. Heron knew better than to push.

As happened most often, they walked in comfortable silence. On some of their excursions, Zero would ask questions, but today it seemed she was content to merely observe the people and things around her, sharp eyes missing nothing even as she nibbled with obvious relish on spice-laden meats or fresh mango. It was clear the half-voidsent enjoyed anything strongly flavored, from the lava-like heat of Mehryde’s special curry to intensely sour buttermilk from Corvos to the cloyingly-sweet payasam that she and Synnove would genteelly fight over, and Heron sneakily spent her gil at random stalls to treat Zero to some new taste.

She quite enjoyed how it lit up Zero’s eyes.

Horns suddenly caught their attention, and both stopped to swivel their heads to face east; more than one other adventurer in the crowd did the same. Faintly, Heron could pick out drums, too, and the jangling of bells.

“Oh, hells, that’s today, isn’t it,” the shopkeep at the pottery stall they had halted next to, sighing heavily, but a rueful expression on his face.

Heron put two and two together. “Wedding procession?” she said.

“Aye,” the shopkeep said. “Children of two of the wealthiest merchant families in the city, and all the pomp and gold that entails.”

And that was when the first of the drummers and dancers rounded the corner far down the street.

There was a sudden surge as the crowd realized they needed get out of the way, the adventurers bewildered and the locals either smiling or shaking their heads in frustration. As the press of people grew around them, Heron sighed herself, and let instinct kick in.

“Excuse me,” she said, and wrapped an arm around Zero’s waist.

“What—” Zero didn’t have time to finish her question before she yelped as Heron yanked her off her feet and moved.

Heron was the daughter of two former Sultansworn, the granddaughter and niece of many a bodyguard, and escort missions were her forte in the Adventurers’ Guild: she knew how to get a client out of danger in damned near any situation. And while this crowd was quite different from a panicking mob, some techniques stayed the same.

Zero was by no means a small or slight woman; there was muscle in that lithe frame of hers, well-suited to swinging that monstrous scythe of hers like it was a bamboo practice staff. But Heron was over seven fulms tall and when she planted her feet, not even Tyr could get her to budge. It took no effort at all to heft up Zero, turn to the side, and go shoulder first to push through the heavy throng. Zero, thankfully, seemed to realize Heron knew what she was doing, and let herself be half-carried along with a frustrated breath that huffed over Heron’s collarbone.

There was no point in trying to get off this street entirely: the stores and houses had been built right atop one another, with no room for alleys between, and the next cross street was too far ahead. So, just need to find a free spot out of the crush…there!

A tall stack of crates was set between two stalls, and Heron unceremoniously elbowed her way through. It took but a moment to lift Zero up to sit her on one of the crates just above eye level of most of the crowd. Zero huffed again, ducking behind her hat brim, but she moved sideways and Heron easily pulled herself up to sit next to her.

“Such ridiculous spectacle,” Zero grumbled as she crossed her arms, her cheeks faintly pink.

“Wait until you see what the Ul’dahns can come up with,” Heron drawled. “The Hannish love their reds and golds, but at least wedding colors here aren’t tacky.”

As the dancers and drummers and horn-blowers neared, a white gaja turned the corner far down the street, bedecked in red and gold barding and carrying a palanquin on its back. Even from here, the tiny forms of the bride and groom waving and tossing coins and sweets out to the crowd could be seen. A cheer was going up, and. Yup. There was the gulal, in all the colors of the rainbow.

“Why red?” Zero finally said.

Heron hummed thoughtfully and said, “I know it symbolizes health, in Thavnair.” She started tapping her feet against the wooden crate. “I think it also symbolizes love and purity?” She shook her head. “I don’t know enough to say for certain. Perhaps Varshahn can tell us more, once we get back.”

Zero tilted her head to look directly at her, unblinking. “Red for health,” she said finally. “Is that why you partially color your hair red?”

Heron laughed softly. “Nah,” she said. “Nothing so grandiose. It’s just my favorite color, and I thought I looked good highlighting my natural black.” She reached up to gently tug one of her feathery locks, idly making a note to visit an aesthetician for a trim. “Just never got out of the habit.”

“You do,” Zero said, almost blurting it out. The pink flush was back on her cheeks and Heron couldn’t help but notice just how it softened her features. “Look good with the red, that is.”

Heron felt a flush creep up her own cheeks. “Thank you,” she said, her voice only a tiny bit high-pitched.

After a moment, another set of tapping heels joined Heron. Heron grinned and bumped her shoulder against Zero’s. She grinned wider when she caught a glimpse of a tiny small tugging on the other woman’s lips.

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