#Rachel Armstrong

[jasvvy]

[patadave]

Safe As Houses: The More Than Human Home

"Suggesting more than environmental home improvements, it explores new innovations and new materials which incorporate microbes for more ecological designs, such as ceramic tiles, concrete bio-receptive surfaces, building skins, fabrics, waste management and alternative energy supplies."

[ladyshandioftheendless]

♒️ FAVORITE AQUARIUS ROCKERS!! ♒️

(making a new edition that's actually editable. XD)

Steven Adler {1/22}

Steve Perry {1/22}

Steve Riley {1/22 R.I.P. ❤️}

Nick Simmons {1/22}

Eddie Van Halen {1/26 R.I.P. ❤️}

Tom Keifer {1/26}

Jaime St. James {1/27}

Adam Lambert {1/29}

Eddie Jackson {1/29}

Adrian Vandenberg {1/31}

Jani Lane {2/1 R.I.P. ❤️}

Alice Cooper {2/4}

Duff McKagan {2/5}

Axl Rose {2/6}

Vince Neil {2/8}

Rachel Bolan {2/9}

Cliff Burton {2/10 R.I.P. ❤️}

Billie Joe Armstrong {2/17}

[monsieuroverlord]

Covers for April's Fall of X issues have been released.

In Wolverine #47, Laura goes toe-to-toe with the Savage Sabretooth

Written by Victor LaValle & Benjamin Percy, art by Geoff Shaw, cover by Leinil Francis Yu

"Savage escape! "Sabretooth War" – Part 7! Laura Kinney must escape the clutches of the Savage Sabretooth! Will Victor Creed’s weapon spell the end for Logan? A can’t-miss issue!  "

In Wolverine #48, Graydon Creed reappears (perhaps along with that Barrington Coil?)

Written by Victor LaValle & Benjamin Percy, art by Cory Smith, cover by Leinil Francis Yu

"Creed vs. Creed! "Sabretooth War" – Part 8! It’s a family affair as Graydon Creed, the maligned son of Victor Creed, AKA Sabretooth, brings the fight to his father. The winner gets Wolverine – or…what’s left of him…!"

In X-Men Forever #2, based on the alone, in looks like Jubilee is officially back to the land of the living and the displaced mutants escaped the White Hot Room (assuming the cover isn't a fake-out)

written by Kieron Gillen, art by Luca Maresca, cover by Mark Brooks

"Immortal means forever! The fight for Krakoa's future begins here! Since RISE OF THE POWERS OF X began, there have been a few mysteries unrevealed! Now writer Kieron Gillen fills in the gap of what happened between the end of IMMORTAL X-MEN and the beginning of the end of the Krakoan Age!"

source here

[cassidyjaneart]

For the LOVE of GOD will someone tell me if they read this series so I know that I am not the literal only one???

[ovulatingwatermelon]

Petition to remake all disney movies but with the supernatural cast

[trickster-archangel]

Random thoughts about Hawaii Five-0 rewatch: part 1/?

So, as someone of my mutuals already knows, I'm currently undergoing the exhausting task of checking all the fucking 61 DVDs from the H50 box set before the 30-days guarantee expires, because it's physically impossible to watch them all completely in that time, even if I took 1 month leave. So I'm simply skipping back and forth and leaving the regular rewatch for when my life will be less of a living hell...so, supposedly around 2038...

I have one complaint, which is the subtitles are not completely matching all dialogues, but since my brain only needs them until it's switched to English-mode and I can start understanding it again, I guess it's alright. Second complaint: they're fucking HUGE and OVERLAPPING THE SCENES SO RANDOMLY IT HURTS.

Anyway, I've by now processed only s1-s5, and dude....some things I caught in the deleted scenes (which I've watched entirely) AND in some parts of the commentaries I specifically sought because curiosity won, and which I've never seen giffed or captioned....man, I was so angry and disappointed at times. So I thought I'd be randomly processing them here, no pics sorry, only thoughts.

~~~~~~more under the cut~~~~~~

Thought #1: Alex and Scott goofing around.

Trust me. The gag reels are so much better than you'd expect. At times I was genuinely laughing to tears and god knows how rare it is.

What I loved most was to watch that scene where Alex and Scott start cussing in Italian, and I bet no one who's not Italian could understand a fuck about what they're yelling. Best part, though, were the subtitles, captioning ALEX AND SCOTT: SWEARING IN ITALIAN 😂 Just to make sure what language exactly they were using.

Thought #2: missed chance to make Amber's character less of a plastic doll, or: Why did you fucking cut those 57 seconds?!?!

While watching s5 deleted scenes, I stumbled upon two real jewels from the 24th episode. I'm still trying to understand why they couldn't include them in the canon episode, since both of them combined are less than a minute and surely there were other moments that could've been cut. My only explanation, sadly, is that it would've painted Amber in quite a different light, making her a stronger, rounder character, and giving her an agency we rarely saw in her, except when confronting her ex husband. They could've followed that route, but we cannot have a beautiful woman who's also her own person, a self-confident person, and not just a plastic Barbie doll, right?! God forbid a woman can have agency and call out men on their bullshit, it would threat masculine privilege too much....

So, what exactly happened that bothered me so deeply? (Be aware I'm quoting by heart and not literally, as I didn't take screenshots and anyway I can't make gifs. Also, the following meta is just my interpretation of the implications running through subtext).

The first scene is very short, just six or seven seconds long, but it's a jewel in subtext and non-verbal communication. It takes place presumably after or around the moment Rachel tells Danny about Charlie: we see them from afar, clearly in a street-taken point of view, from an external observer. They are agitated and distressed, Rachel more than Danny, who's tensely spread on the bench with his arms looped behind the backrest, angling far from Rachel's compact and almost self-hugging frame.

They're distressed, not happy, not even remotely connecting to each other, so it's clear it's not a scene which could be envisioned as romantic. It's only a couple of seconds long, and then we see whose this external point of view belongs to: Amber. Amber who's not an idiotic, mellow, shallow doll. Amber who's been so clearly upset by Danny's lie about the texts, that she decided to follow him to the place Rachel had indicated. Amber who's been manipulated and controlled and abused long enough to become suspicious and self-preserving when someone she loves, and who knows her vulnerability, tries to play her around. Amber who looks at them, and clearly isn't angry nor jealous, because those few moments the actress uses to convey all of Amber's inner distress, are some of her best ones (giving that the actress, alas, is not very expressive to begin with), and we understand that she doesn't see any romance in the air. She's disappointed. She's hurt. Betrayed. Again.

Amber's face, in a handful of seconds, perfectly displays the devastating feeling of someone who finally felt safe and respected and secure, only to discover that it's yet another kind of control and manipulation, less cruel, less brutal, but not less humiliating and even worrying.

This is something she's learnt at her expense, and now that she knows the red flags, she cannot trust a man who can't be honest with her, not with this kind of problems, not with something which is clearly affecting his life to a deep level. He wants Amber to be a part of his life, but only if he can control the terms, limits, boundaries and times of their relationship. And Amber has been through it all before, and can't trust that history won’t repeat itself.

She then drives away, hurt and disappointment written all over her face.

The second deleted scene is even more important plotwise, because it explains Amber's absence as Danny’s plus one at Kono's wedding, after all the talk he did in the car about bringing some Amber's friend as Steve's date, and it casts a new light over Danny's reaction to Steve's resolve to ask Cath to marry him, or his tension about Lynn, or Amber's condistent absence for the whole first part of s6, or even Danny's and Amber's fight during their Valentine's dinner.

The scene is longer, about fifty seconds, and it supposedly takes place right at the end of the episode, after Danny pulls up at the hospital's parking lot, after Steve's affectionate text. He takes his phone out of his pocket again because he's received a voice-mail message.

A message from Amber (sorry, I noticed just now I'm still going with Amber instead of Melissa).

She says she's sorry to be doing this by voice-mail because she'd prefer to do it in person, but given their situation it's probably for the best if she spares them both the trouble to be forced to find shallow excuses. She says he's an amazing man, and that she likes what they have and that she thinks it might be real, and that she hopes he feels the same. She's understanding that his job comes first and it's terribly demanding, as she's also aware of how hard his life and his backstory is, with Grace and Rachel. This all considered, she thinks it's best if they stop and take a pause, so that he can reflect and decide if he wants to keep this thing going, but as for now, she can't keep seeing him on these terms.

Amber decided to stop seeing Danny until he decided what to do with their relationship and be honest with her, and started thinking seriously if he was just using her, as she probably felt.

Why?? Why did they cut this whole plotline? It's pivotal for Danny's arc, for his strained and angry attitude towards everyone, for his constant distress, for his even worsening negativity, for the way he's overcompensating with excessive euphoria to Steve's announcement about Cath, for how he meddles with them and confronts Cath about being honest, for how he's not thrilled about Lynn's insertion inside Steve's life.

Because he's alone, at that time. Call it temporary breakup or period of reflection or a break, but he was single and thinking, again, about everything he was doing wrong with his life and his relationships, and falling again into his old black hole of depression and self-sabotage, and seeing Steve going on with his life even at the cost of pretending he was happy with this woman he had supposedly no trouble cheating on, during their "couple retreat", making him wonder if either what he had with Lynn wasn't serious, or if his obvious charade about his threesome with Alyssa and her friend had a second meaning.

Also, they were probably both single again, or at least testing the waters, when they were at the retreat. And Danny definitely was when Cath left Steve once again abandoned, betrayed, and never-chosen in face of anything else.

Quite a lot of subtext to think about, for just 57 seconds which were, prudently, cut.

[scenesandscreens]

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Director - Stephen Sommers, Cinematography - Adrian Biddle

"My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate."

[shesaysrodriguez]

My favourite notes I've written on The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong.

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

Part 2?

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

Now taking text propaganda for Round 2 Group C!!!

In preparation for what might be the most batshit insane group of polls so far... please kindly unleash hell upon this google form.

[jasvvy]

[forensicated]

Conviction - Part 2 - To The Limit

Max and Stevie attend the scene the next morning when the fire is finally out. Sally reports a witness spotted a woman matching Abbie's description running away the time the fire started. The only one hurt in the fire was the barman, Pete, who lives above in one of the flats.

Men! Genuinely think Chris was about to laugh & had to hide his face 😂😂 (also she clearly hasn't done much in a pristine white top 😉)

Officer White Top tells them traces of accelerant were found on the stairs and in other places - most likely petrol. Whoever set it seemed intent on getting the flat and bar. Stevie jibes all three men for having their tongues out in the presence of Officer White Top.

Smithy and Callum attend the hospital and tell Pete that the fire was lit on purpose. He tells them that he doesn't know much about the big boss, Matthew Devlin, but his son has a history of rubbing people up the wrong way and is proud of the fact that no one likes him. Pete claims he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and that he knows of no reason why anyone would target him.

Matthew Devlin attends the station. Max tells him the bar is a crime scene and there'll be no entry until they finish. Devlin Snr says he was at home at the time of the fire and was entertaining guests, including a councillor if they need proof. Devlin Jnr was not present, he was at a party in Kent and is still travelling back. He'll help anyway he can because they are the victims and he expects to be treated as such. He walks into Smithy and Callum as he leaves. Callum doesn't move as the two men stare at each other, though Smithy steps to the side. "If looks could kill..." Stevie smirks. "Yeah... he doesn't like us does he..." Stevie's smirk grows. "I was talking about you!" She tells Callum.

Eddie is not impressed with the fire investigation crew pulling down the ceiling onto his 'nice clean crime scene!' but he changes his tune when he spots Officer White Top and flirts up a storm. (Stevie: "Is there a woman with a heartbeat Eddie hasn't cracked onto?" Max: "Actually... he's never hit on you, has he?") Both he and Officer White Top seem to now think the accelerant on the stairs could be a run off from what was poured outside the flat. Perhaps it was Pete and the flat that were the targets?

The bouncer who lives next door to Pete, Carl Fox, arrives at the cordon and tells them he'd stayed at his girlfriends the night before. Sally arrives with the CCTV that shows the blonde who matched Abbie's description running away from the bar was infact... Abbie!

Smithy reminds Callum the Devlin's are the victims until they get evidence to the contrary they have to treat them as such, as much as it pisses both of them off. They spot Abbie outside the hospital, she yelps when Smithy takes her arm and it's revealed that she has burns. Later they tell her they have her running away from the fire on CCTV and that the FME has confirmed she has second degree burns. She admits that she was there but denies starting it. She got the burns trying to get up the stairs to alert Pete. She admits that she and Pete are good friends and begs them not to tell Devlin. Smithy asks her how she's going to explain the burns and she says she'll tell Devlin that she went to the bar to look for him and that despite appearances Jason does look after her and pays the rent for her flat but she can't help her feelings for Pete and she admits being terrified of Jason.

Pete tells Smithy and Callum that he and Abbie have been seeing each other for a couple of months and that Jason treats her like a slave and knocks her around. He's saving up to get them both away somewhere safe. He says he didn't lie earlier, he's just taking every opportunity to stop Jason from finding out. Smithy floats the idea that he might already know given it seems the flat could have been the target and the rest accidental.

Callum and Max attend Devlin's flat now he's returned from Kent. "I can't wait to see the look on Devlin's face." Callum says. "You're an evil man!" Devlin is not happy to see them. "This is just about the fire, Mr Devlin." Max tells him. "I'm shocked you think it could be about anything else!" Callum adds, in a tone that suggests he is not at all shocked. Devlin says he was at a party miles away with many witnesses, he doesn't know who it was, he didn't start it and he has many enemies who could. Callum asks when he heard about it and he says that morning as his phone was switched off. He's heard Pete was hurt but his dad told him that he's alright and he hasn't spoken to Abbie. Max tells him that Abbie hurt herself trying to get into the bar looking for him. He admits he didn't tell her he'd be away all night. He attends the station to pick her up and calls her a 'silly cow' and to use the phone if she doesn't know where he is or to call his dad. How romantic and caring of him. His act is enough to prove that he doesn't know about her affair with Pete.

Eddie reports that he found coke on Pete's bedside table and that his bedroom door was almost kicked in before the fire brigade arrived. He's also found some forged European documents with an imperfection that matches other forgeries he's found floating around lately. It raises suspicions Abbie might not be an illegal immigrant.

Pete claims he knows nothing about the forged documents or the door. Callum threatens to tell Devlin but Pete can tell from Ben's reaction that Callum is bluffing. He tells him to nick him if he suspects him. Callum choses to place him under observation instead.

A printer admits that the Devlin's owe him over £1000 but insists he didn't set the fire as they've always paid up in the past. He tells them he knows they have dodgy businesses but won't be drawn into what they are. "You're the detectives... detect." Mickey finds out that they're landlords but there are no names of tenants on a list of creditors that Matthew Devlin handed over that morning so it's definitely something they don't want to advertise. He visits the nearest one with Smithy. It's not exactly high class living and the smell is horrendous. It's an illegal house of multiple occupancy and filled with most likely illegal immigrants who are terrified. There appear to be approximately 30 people living in the house if not more. Smithy reports it to the council. The house is a death trap with bare electrics, no working fire alarms and fire exits blocked up with stuff.

Ben and Callum follow Pete to Abi's and can tell from his body language that something isn't right. He enters and immediately runs out. They enter the house and find Abbie unconscious and beaten. Pete accuses him of telling Devlin and tells Rachel that he wants to make a formal complaint. Ben tells Rachel he heard nothing threatening said by Callum and she clearly doesn't believe him.

Smithy is furious when he hears and accuses Callum of trying to force the result or even telling Jason. He insists he's done nothing wrong, even when Smithy points out that Abbie and Pete were their best bets to getting information about the Devlin's and their empire. Stevie calms the men down and airs something that has been bothering her... what if it wasn't Jason who attacked Abbie? Stevie has found out there is no record of her entering the country legally.

Unfortunately despite the inhospitable conditions of the house, there's no law against renting to illegal immigrants so without one of them talking out against the Devlin's they can't prosecute them for it. Max suggests it could be one of the tenants who set the fire which opens up a huge amount of suspects. It does also add weight to the Devlin's being behind the forged documents however given they have their own captive market in at least one of their properties.

Smithy and Stevie attend Matthew's house and ask him where he was when Abbie was attacked. He tries to storm out but his father makes him stay and answer the questions. Devlin Snr tells his son that Abbie has been cheating with Pete and that is why they're asking all the questions. Jason is clearly shocked and growls to his dad that he'll kill her. Matthew tells him he'd told him she'd bring trouble to their door but he's now going to stay away from her. Smithy urges him to listen to his father. Stevie asks how Matthew knows and he tells them he saw them and to now focus on finding who set fire to the bar. Smithy tells him it was likely one of the tenants. Matthew claims he knew nothing about them being illegal and that it's them who 'imported half their village to live with them' and he knew nothing about it.

Max, Smithy and Stevie go to Abbie's flat to see if Eddie has found anymore information. He's found more than that - in the extra act of cruelty in pulling the phone line out the wall to stop Abbie calling for help after her beating, her attacker has left behind a partial print in her blood. Stevie offers to buy him a drink to congratulate him and he tells her he appreciates and loves her but she's 'not his type', much to the amusement of Max and Smithy.

Smithy apologises to Callum for accusing him of telling Jason. Rachel takes Callum into her office and tells him she's going to ask Pete to withdraw his complaint. She's disappointed that it happened in the first place. She allows him to work the case again but tells him to stay away from Pete and Abbie.

St Hugh's call and let the officers know that Abbie has regained consciousness and will be able to talk soon. Stevie's unsure if she'd want to but Max says she must if she wants her attacker caught now Jason is out of the frame but aware of her and Pete's relationship. Eddie has a match on the partial print from Gollum lookalike, Donny Blake. Mickey has history with him and says he's a nasty piece of work with a large amount of violent offences in his back catalogue as well as dealing. He has no known links to the Devlin's.

Abbie refuses to talk to Smithy and Stevie so they tell her what they know and suspect. They know she's there illegally, they know it was Donny Blake who did it, they know he's a violent drug dealer and the fact that she and Pete are trying to raise money to leave together suggests that they made some sort of deal with him that has fallen through. They think the forged documents they found are hers and that it was Blake who set the fire and tried to break into the flat. Smithy says without cooperation they'll have to arrest her and hand her over to immigration. Abbie finally talks, admitting that Donny did a deal with Pete to get drugs on credit. He would sell them through the bar, pay Donny back and keep the profit but the drugs were stolen. She suspects it's Donny trying to double cross them.

Pete tells Smithy and Max the same story in interview and offers to tell them where he got the forged paperwork from AND hand them the Devlin's in return for help. He got the paperwork from a Polish printer - the one Mickey spoke to earlier. Matthew Devlin got in touch with him that afternoon and offered 5K in cash to him and identity paperwork for Abbie to disappear. He said he'd get Donny off their backs too. Pete thinks they're finding her an embarrassment because she's an illegal immigrant. The call came before Donny got to Abbie so as far as Pete is aware the offer still stands.

Max and Smithy take it to Jack who calls a station briefing. He agrees to contact Matthew Devlin as part of a sting and agree to meet him at the print shop. At the same time, Callum will lead a search on Donny Blake's house with TSG and uniform. They've had a tip off that he's likely to try flush the drugs so they are not taking any chances. Donny does indeed try to flush them so they break the water pipe and are waiting with a black bag to catch the rest. Ben and Callum manage to overpower him and Sally arrests his girlfriend.

At the print shop carpark it's Jason who arrives instead of Matthew. Max thinks it's a bad sign but Smithy reckons it could work to their advantage as it's natural Pete would be nervous around him after sleeping with his girlfriend. They watch Jason push a package at Pete and pull his wallet out before charging over. The package is menu's and the money is £300. Jason claims he's paying him outstanding wages because he wants rid of him and that he knows nothing about any other deal. He literally laughs in a furious Smithy's face. At the station, Carl - the bouncer - is waiting with Matthew Devlin. It fits into place - Carl tipped them off as he was with Pete when he visited Abbie and found Smithy and Stevie there.

In interview, Matthew Devlin reads a short statement he prepared with his solicitor. It reads that he found out about the affair and asked Carl to keep an eye on Pete. Carl reported back that Pete was planning a drug deal. The Devlin's did not want that on their premises. They asked Carl to report it to the police but he didn't as he couldn't verify the information. They realised that afternoon that the fire was likely linked to Pete's activities and came forward at the earliest of opportunities. He admits Jason is a loose cannon and that he went to the print shop to meet Pete to look him in the eye after he'd been lying to him and sleeping with his girlfriend. If Pete has told them that he was being bought off with offers of cash and documents then it is a vicious smear. They met at the print shop so he could pay the printer the outstanding invoice and collect the menus. Smithy calls him out for lying and that they used the printer for forged documents and wanted rid of Abbie for fear she might know something damaging to them. He simply shrugs and points out that Abbie is an illegal immigrant who has been dealing with hard drugs and is a known liar - making out that they'd lied about the 5K and documents. "Who's going to believe anything she has to say?"

Callum reports that Abbie was right, they found Pete's holdall in Donny's flat and they've brought him in. Max and Smithy don't have any good news. Matthew has an answer for everything even if it's rubbish. Max points out they have an ace up their sleeve - the printer.

The printer claims morally he's done nothing wrong. His grandfather created false documents during the war for the Resistance and refugees. He saved lives and so is he - he only produces paperwork for people who are desperate to get away from the likes of the Devlin's - he does NOT sell them to the Devlin's and that's why they stopped using him and did not pay the invoice because they'd found out. They don't want their illegal immigrants to get paperwork as it means they can move around freely and aren't' forced to pay top whack to stay in their slums.

Mickey feeds this back to the three Sergeants who are fuming they have nothing to prosecute the Devlin's for. At best they have a housing act violation and will be fined. Max takes Abbie to see Pete and they drop the allegation against Callum. Abbie tells them that she tried not to listen to what the Devlin's said as she didn't want to know how bad it really was for her.

Devlin tries to wind Smithy up by insisting on an apology when he sees him out of custody. "Dream on." He forces Devlin down the ramp and pushes him away at the bottom before growling 'I need to go wash my hands." Devlin smirks and nods at the camera, insinuating he's going to report him. Smithy isn't bothered in the slightest, squaring up to him at the bottom of the ramp with a low growl 'I'll be seeing you around.' as Callum watches from the top of the ramp. Devlin blows him a kiss and walks off.

Smithy turns and sees Callum. "Got a knack of getting under your skin, don't they." Callum smirks. "What's this? Your way of suggesting I'm no better than you?" Smithy glares. "Who knows what any of us are capable of given the right circumstances?" "I know what the line is, whatever the circumstances." "Do ya?" Callum ponders.

Me thinks it might be a rather prophetic conversation almost, boys...

[hacketteeers]

Good afternoon campers, parents, and staff!

Welcome to Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp! My name is Rachel York, and I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new camp director. This summer marks a new beginning for Hackett's Quarry, and we couldn’t be more excited to have you here.

Rachel York - Camp Director - She/Her

Walker Piccirillo - Program & Activities Coordinator - He/Him

Morgan Hackett - Program & Activities Assistant, Social Media Intern - He/Him

Benny Hayward - Announcements & Scheduling Coordinator - He/Him

Marcus Date - First Aid Support & Camp Nurse, On-Site RN - He/Him

Olivia “Liv” Roe - Wildlife Trainer & Adventure Coordinator - She/Her

Naomi Gruber - Cook & Kitchen Supervisor - She/Her

Georgia Camillo - Theatre & Music Coach - She/They

Shaun Maier - Arts & Crafts Coordinator - He/Him

Paige Armstrong - Sports Director - She/Her

Gale Coy - Swimming & Fishing Instructor, Lifeguard - They/Them

[annarellix]

Murder in Siena by T.A. Williams (Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries #4)

A lazy weekend in the country…

Dan Armstrong and the new love of his life, Anna, are heading to a hotel deep in the gorgeous Tuscan countryside for a long weekend, looking forward to some time away from the stresses of their day jobs. With the beautiful and historic city of Siena just around the corner, it promises to be relaxing and enjoyable. What could possibly go wrong? A mutilated body… But when a mutilated body is discovered in the hotel grounds Dan is called in to help with the investigation. But who or what could have been responsible for such a vicious attack? Was it the work of wild animals, or is there a brutal murderer at large? A killer who cried wolf? Dan knows he is dealing with a clever killer – whether whether two- or four-legged! And as he sets out to solve the case he begins to worry about his own loyal canine companion. Could Oscar be in more danger than any of the other hotel guests or is a murderer trying to cover their tracks? It's another case for Dan and Oscar to solve!

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/murderinsienasocial

My Review: There’s an Italian joke that says that TV stops people from making baby and there was a sort of preprophase at the beginning when Dan says that the high number of adulterous people is due to bad television. Problem is that people with enough money to pay a PI got all the streaming channel. My tv/adultery issues apart I had a lot of fun in reading this story and Oscar is a star as usual: a lovely, boisterous and sweet dog. Dan’s character arc is well done and he’s becoming a local. I like his relationship with Anna and how he interacts with Virgilio. I always appreciated how Mr Williams was able to describe Tuscany in a realistic way without turning his book into a travelogue. He’s very good at describing food and places and also the fact that living in Tuscany is very expensive unless you got the house from your relative or are a millionaire. The mystery is well done and kept me guessing, it’s the best so far and I read it in one sitting as I had to learn who-did-it Another winner in this series, highly recommended. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Author: T A Williams is the author of over twenty bestselling romances for HQ and Canelo and is now turning his hand to cosy crime, set in his beloved Italy, for Boldwood. Trevor lives in Devon with his Italian wife.

Social Media Links –   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TAWilliamsBooks Twitter: https://twitter.com/TAWilliamsBooks Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/TAWilliamsNews

[nevinslibrary]

Weird & Wonderful Wednesday

Gonna be honest, I mostly started reading this book because of 'How to Become a Witch Queen' by Theodora Goss. But, I mean, these were short stories, so I had to give other ones of them a try too, and, I wasn’t let down at all.

Of course, that’s not surprising when some of the authors contained in the collection are Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Caine. Of course, ironically, one of other favorite stories from the collection wasn’t by either of those women, but, instead, The Night Nurse by Sarah Langan. It was intense, and so so so so dark. Sooo dark (but awesome dark, not, ‘this sucks’ dark).

The whole collection was well done, and the stories within it really had something for every different type of reader. A quality choice of stories!

You may like this book If you Liked: More Deadly Than the Male edited by Graeme Davis, Hex Appeal edited by P.N. Elrod, or Honeycomb by Joanne Harris

Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery edited by Christopher Golden

[fatehbaz]

The link between warfare and technological innovation has been well documented [...]. World War II was a particularly intense crucible of technological change, and the repurposing of military technologies and industries in the forging of a new post-war consumer [economy] is crucial [...]. Processes of technological bricolage turned the machines of war onto the natural world as global powers competed to cement their economic and imperial hegemony. In Great Britain’s post-war “groundnut scheme” in its East African territories (1946-51), this collision of nature, military hardware, and technical expertise was part of efforts to both produce more fats for the British diet and to demonstrate to the world (most importantly the United States) that, through a newly energized science-led developmentalism, British colonialism still had a “progressive” role to play in the postwar world.

The aim was to produce millions of tons of peanuts across Tanganyika using the latest methods of advanced scientific agriculture. The environmental conditions in the north, where the scheme was to begin, were known to be especially trying, not least the dry climate [...]. But faith in the power of mechanized agriculture was such that any natural limits were thought to be readily surmountable.

The groundnut scheme was to be, as its Director put it in an interview with the Tanganyika Standard, a “war” with nature, and an “economic Battle of Alamein” waged over some three million acres by an army of colonial technicians - many recruited from military ranks - and local laborers, for many of whom the scheme represented their first entry into the wage labor market.

But it wasn’t just the rhetoric of war that was repurposed.

Lancaster bombers were kitted out to survey and discover “new country” in East Africa for agricultural development. [...] [T]ractors and bulldozers from military surplus stores in Egypt proved unable to tackle the hard ground and tough vegetation, so the planners turned to a novel solution: repurposing surplus Sherman M4A2 tanks. The Vickers-Armstrong factory in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne set about rearranging key elements of the tanks’ construction [...]. The tractors, christened “Shervicks” for their hybrid origins, were [...] thought to be particularly suited to large-scale earth-moving and to the kind of heavy duty “bush clearing” that was required in Tanganyika.

Officials sought to dismiss concerns that large-scale bush clearing would have wider environmental consequences, using the well-worn colonial trope that any observed changes in local climate or erosion patterns were due to the “primitive” agricultural practices of the locals, not to the earth-moving practices of the colonists.  [...] As the plants continued to wilt in the sun, [...] [t]he stakes were high. As [J.R.] of the Colonial Development Corporation put it in a letter: “Our standing as an Imperial power in Africa is to a substantial extent bound up with the future of this scheme. To abandon it would be a humiliating blow to our prestige everywhere.” The only option left was to try and bend the weather itself to the scheme’s will, by seeding the clouds for rain. [...] “Balloon bombs” (photographic film canisters tethered to weather balloons) and a repurposed Royal Navy flare gun were used to target individual clouds [...]. The scheme itself has survived as a cautionary tale of governmental hubris, but it is instructive too as a case study of how technologies of war have been turned against other foes.

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All text above by: Martin Mahony. “The Enemy is Nature: Military Machines and Technological Bricolage in Britain’s ‘Great Agricultural Experiment.’“ Environment and Society Portal, Arcadia (Spring 2021), no. 11. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. doi:10.5282/rcc/9191. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Images and their captions are shown unaltered as they originally appear in Mahony's article. Public Domain Mark 1.0 License for images: creativecommons dot org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/]