#Robert Browning and I have beef

[obaewankenope]

The thing I learned when analysing poetry in high school English Literature class was that it depended entirely on your own experiences and perspective. Of course there was the Syllabus Approved Answers to things but, largely, if you can look at the material and use it to justify or support your perspective, you're gonna get a good mark on your exam. At least, that's what I got and I largely didn't bother with the "conventional" arguments and explanations.

When reading poetry, it's important to recall that you may not be the audience that poem is meant for but you're still an audience. That means that your interpretation is still valid and if you can look at that poem and go "okay that third line in the second stanza makes me think of this thing (x) and not that thing (y) my teacher says it should, how can I argue my perspective instead?" and usually, the answer is simple:

Metaphor.

Symbolism.

Personal. Feelings.

Literature analysis is subjective and dependent on what you have been through, read, experienced, and how you think. There can be a "right" analysis that comes from the author themselves, and every other analysis is simply "different" or "an alternative perspective/analysis".

For example, The Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a poem that forever sticks in my brain from high school. By and large, it's basically just a poem about a noble going on about his late wife who he felt was just too... Unsuited to being a good representative of his family and his status (as a Duke). There's implications that she was easily impressed, unreliable, possibly unfaithful, and that the Duke was/is a possessive, jealous, objectifying individual.

A feminist reading of the poem would centre on how the poem is an example of how women were perceived at the time the poem was based. Late 1700s if my memory serves (it may not). With how a woman is meant to act as an accessory to her husband, especially with nobility. There is a crassness to the poem when the Duke talks about his late wife and her "flighty" nature:

She had

A heart—how shall I say?— too soon made glad,

Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er

She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

Sir, ’twas all one!

It sounds flowery and like nice prose but a feminist reading can easily go "he thought she was sleeping around/unfaithful and thus this is a shameful thing that he brings up with a stranger who saw the painting (after the Duke purposefully points it out) and shows the Duke has no respect or regard for his late wife or women in general for how casually he remarks on something that, in terms of polite society, would be impolite and even crude to discuss with a stranger".

That reading, btw, is one I generally agree with.

A more neutral reading of the same lines could argue that the Duke saw his late wife as vapid, or easily impressed by compliments but that she lacked any suitable political skills or sense for the position of Duchess. Again, the exact same lines could suggest this, especially: "Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere." Essentially, this differing reading could argue that the Duke cared for how inept his late wife appeared to others, how easily led she was, and the negative impact that had on him and his position. Again, it relates back to his worth and his value, and using the Duchess as a tool to measure the Duke's worth and status.

And for both of these readings of the poem, the following lines can be used as supporting evidence:

She thanked men—good! but thanked

Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name

With anybody’s gift.

Reading #1: suggests she "thanked" men in particular by having extra marital affairs and considered these more important than the status and prestige an inherited, landed name affords her husband (but not necessarily herself, as, like the name, the Duchess only has value to the men in her life, especially her husband who benefits from both his landed title, name, and having her as his 'arm candy' to show off).

Reading #2: the Duchess was free with her kindness and friendliness, even to those below her "station" and the Duke thought this insulting to his family name and his position as a Duke. This pulls in classicism and traditionalist ideology of the belief that the common people were unworthy of respect or value unless they attained wealth, education, and better breeding which the nobility and upperclasses valued.

Both readings are valid and both readings would get you good points in an exam. I can't quite recall which reading I did but I'm pretty sure I spent most of my exam time ripping into the Duke and chatting shit about historical classicism and the societal devaluing of women as possessing their own agency and value.

Either way, I got high marks because my reading differed from what my teacher had been angling my class towards and I used the poem and additional knowledge to back up my perspective.

So yeah.

Any analysis of a poem, a piece of literature, any sort of media that is consumed or created, can be argued for if you're able to use the material and additional knowledge to back it up.

Hello, sir! I'm annotating and interpreting one of your poems, "Conjunctions", for an assignment. Do you have any advice on how to go about dissecting this work, or poems in general? Thanks much. :)

Read it silently to yourself. What's it about?

Then read it aloud. What do the sounds do? What kind of verse is it? Are there things the words do when spoken aloud that you weren't expecting?

What's the overall effect of the poem? How do the things in the poem add up to create that effect? Where were you at the start of the poem? Where did it leave you?

What do you think it was about?

[cloudyfacewithjam]

Downton Abbey (2019)

[jbaileyfansite]

In Jurassic World: Rebirth, Jonathan Bailey plays paleontologist turned survival expert Dr Henry Loomis – worlds apart from his horned-up 19th century turn as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. Less steam, more doom, and a load of gore is what happens in big budget Hollywood movies that put humans in front of building-sized ancient carnivores.

In the latest trailer for the movie, we see Bailey abseiling down cliffs, beefing with raptors in caves and tackling sea-dwelling beasts head-on. If you were to go up against a feisty T-Rex, you’d need to be tooled up to the max. It’s tough guy shit that calls for a tough guy watch, which is how Bailey, an Omega ambassador, landed on the watch for the role.

“For Jurassic, I wanted to put an Omega watch through its paces. I knew that I wanted my character to wear one and I spotted the Railmaster from '57,” says Bailey. I spoke to Raynald [Aeschlimann, Omega CEO] and he tracked down a watch that was made in homage to that exact watch. So I wore that in all different experiences.” He could have chosen any Omega, but the Railmaster is particularly interesting.

“The original Omega Railmaster goes back to '57 and was developed to be a tool for scientists,” says Fratello’s Robert-Jan Broer, “so it’s an excellent choice for a scientist in Jurassic World! Precise timekeeping in labs or other places where external factors could be of influence was important, so a highly anti-magnetic and water resistant watch was a necessity!"

Bailey is wearing the 60th Anniversary Speedmaster Railmaster, which was released in 2017. But to add to the beater fossil hunter vibes, a stainless steel bracelet is swapped for a leather strap. It’s a low-key, less dino-baiting set up that looks right at home with Loomis’ plaid shirts, chinos and brown leather boots.

“The 2017 Railmaster is a nod to that first reference CK2914, but became even better with today’s standards when it comes to anti-magnetism," adds Broer. "Where the cage of faraday functioned as an anti-magnetism construction in the past, the new Omega is designed in a more clever way, using anti-magnetic alloys for essential movement components. On top, the Railmaster still has this utilitarian look and feel to it. Understated, perfect for someone in the field.”

Here’s the history lesson. The Railmaster completes Omega’s trilogy of watches designed to make the wearer a master of whatever it is they’re dealing with. And just like the Seamaster is designed for the ocean, and the Speedmaster for racing, the Railmaster is designed for the railway (although if we’re being picky, it does technically fall under the Seamaster umbrella). It was designed with railway engineers and scientists in mind with its 1,000 gauss magnetic resistance (magnetism can mess with your watch's balance spring, causing it to run faster and less accurately). Obviously most watches are resistant to this stuff in 2025, but back then, this was top level horology produced only for a couple of years before it left the catalogue.

“The Omega Railmaster is a perfect fit for Dr. Henry Loomis: it’s built for adventure, tough enough for the field, and precise enough for a scientist. With its anti-magnetic movement and rugged design, it’s a watch that can handle the demands of a paleontologist while still looking effortlessly stylish. It’s a timepiece made for discovery,” says Stan Duin from Vintage Masters. Yes, the Railmaster is the kind of thing you can rock while you’re fighting dinosaurs, but it looks great with a suit, jeans, or any kind of chill fit. Basically – it’s an the ideal all-rounder.

The Railmaster doesn’t have James Bond and Nasa co-signs like the Seamaster and Speedmaster. But it is an understated reminder of Omega’s tool watch innovation that can be passed on between generations. Naturally this packs on the collector clout that gets proper watch guys going. Jonathan Bailey, who was introduced to Omega through his grandad’s vintage De Ville, falls into this camp, which makes his Jurassic World Rebirth watch all the more fitting. “There's a sense of endurance and strength to a watch that gets handed down through generations,” says Bailey. “The older I get, the more I think about legacy and about time and about how you spend it and how you cherish it.”

Source

[semtituloh]

Vía Karl Klann

With the shocking messages about his plans for Gaza and the Palestinians, coupled with his ongoing threats of tarrifs and threats to making Canada the 51st state, Pete McMartin of the Vancouver Sun captures what most Canadians are feeling right now. Farewall “My American Cousin”.

“Goodbye, America.

It’s been nice knowing you.

Goodbye New York, and your Jewish delicatessens with corned beef sandwiches stacked as high as your skyline.

Goodbye Detroit, my boyhood neighbour, and so long to Tiger Stadium, the Detroit Institute of Arts and Motown.

Goodbye Bellingham, Seattle and Portland — how I’ll miss my Cascadian cousins with our shared Pacific sensibilities. And while I’m at it, goodbye to the cheap gas and shoreline cottages of Point Roberts, America’s appendix dangling just below the border not a mile from me. What was once so close has never been so far.

Goodbye Stag Leap’s Pinot Noir, Maker’s Mark bourbon, and Hebrew National hotdogs. My tastebuds mourn.

Goodbye to the cowards on both sides of the border who have demonstrated that whatever fidelity to democratic ideals they profess to have extends only so far as their self-interest. They should get a real job, say, in a chain gang.

Goodbye to anyone, again on both sides of the border, who bends the knee to Trump, rather than standing up to him, as any self-respecting person would and should, and telling him to piss off.

Goodbye to a culture that demands we bend the knee.

Goodbye languid vacations in Maui and Palm Springs. My next winter vacation will be in a sunny climate other than any America can offer, and preferably in a country the U.S. has treated as disdainfully as mine. I’ll have more than a few to pick from.

Most painful of all, goodbye to my American friends, some of whom I have known all my life, and some of whom I’ve collected along the way. I can cross your border but no longer wish to: Your Narcissist-in-Chief has decreed that my countrymen and I have the choice of becoming destitute, vassals or enemies. I’m choosing the latter

Meanwhile, your silence and the silence of all Americans in response to this aggression leaves me disheartened. That silence speaks volumes. I — we — have heard you loud and clear how little our friendship as a country means to you.

Goodbye to the image of America I once held dear — the America of Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley and James Brown, of George Gershwin and Aaron Copeland, of Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain, of Martin Luther King and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Goodbye to what I envied as the country that prided itself on encouraging unparalleled innovation in science, art and business. Any good that remains of it has been overshadowed by rapacity, cheap commercialism and egotism.

Goodbye to that ever-present sense of inferiority I once had when considering the relationship between Canada and America. What doubt I had of our own greatness is gone, and in its place is a certitude that Canada is superior to the U.S. in all the ways that matter. I look across the border now and see a violent, burgeoning autocracy now ever on the edge of civil war, and a population that is either cheering on this new brutalism or quaking in fear from it.

Goodbye to tepid patriotism. If Trump has done us any favour, it is awakening us to the fact that we can no longer take Canada’s existence for granted, that the bad actors in the world have begun to look covetously upon our improbably vast land that is laden with riches, that they want those riches and that niceness as a national character is not enough to dissuade them from taking them. Schoolyard bullies don’t want to be buddies. They want your lunch.

And after a long era of living a geopolitical life of convenient economic and military subservience, we’ve awakened to the fact that we are going to have to relearn our independence and fight any way we can to keep it.

Goodbye to living under the American nuclear umbrella, or any form of American hegemony. Goodbye to negotiation, wheedling, genuflecting or feel-good hands-across-the-border fairy tales. The American government has shown that established alliances mean nothing to it now, and so cannot be trusted. In Trump’s new world order, all the old verities are off the table, so let us make new ones.

Do levy tariffs, as we have promised to do, and do grit our way through the inevitable economic pain that will come. Re-arm as if we were on a war footing, because we are on a war footing. Conduct the mother of all public relation campaigns that let Americans know how badly they are perceived in the world, that they’ve gone from the shining city on the hill to just another empire with the same tired territorial ambitions as Russia or China. Do anything to impress upon Americans that their government is without real friends or allies, and that they, in essence, are alone.

So, goodbye America, it’s been nice knowing you, but I don’t know you anymore. I’ve reached that point in our relationship where any admiration I have had for you has been replaced by a new, angry resolve, which is: I won’t consort with the enemy”

#democracy #authoritarianism #canada #usa #politics #monday #gaza

[kumkaniudaku]

I’ve noticed you hesitant to speak on Teyana. Is it cause it’s a sensitive subject rn??? Or you don’t know a lot about her ?? And I hate that cuz aside from current things she has a long list of things shes done that’s weird af and needs to be called out. cuz she defended Robert, crackhead is her “brother”& Godfather and diddler calls her sister and twin flame loool also she put Rihanna’s battered face as her profile pic when they was beefing. So yeah she deff on my list and her baby daddy can go on there too

This is honestly a good question. I hesitate to speak negatively about her because I don’t want it to be misconstrued that any criticism is related to Aaron. I’ve known about her the person and the artist looooong before I knew what an Aaron Pierre was, but I do recognize that this is a volatile time on this platform and I’ve had a hand in creating that tension, so I don’t want to add to it. Though, I don’t think there’s anything I can do to change opinions of me for a lot of people in and around the fandom, I try my best to remain off the radar because I am sensitive to some of the shit I’ve seen directed towards me. Call me what you want, but until me and my therapist finish the race, I do still have sensitivities that may not make sense lmao. People not liking me is one of them.

As far as Teyana doing things that may necessitate a call out, I’d agree. Like most women who still have relationships with Chris Brown, I think that shit is weird. The things she said about Rihanna weren’t cool. If she has continued ties to Diddy, fucking yuck. Any sort of R. Kelly defense is gross to me. Shit, I still side eye KeKe for what she said and she eventually apologized. There are definitely reasons and I’m not here to convince anybody to think otherwise. Iman has fallen so far from grace in my mind that I forget he exists most times.

But I do try to keep my mouth shut. I can’t go back and just block that stupid ass hate page (which is a decision I still stand behind. I thought it was weird. My beef was never about no fucking relationship. It was about muddying the tag to be weird and singling out a user for no reason.), but I can try and keep things light as I move forward.

Please don’t take this as me dancing around the topic. Just trying to protect myself and my feelings, really. This is my daily dose of vulnerability or whatever lol

[chussyracing]

What is happening in the world of motorsports?

Ducati won MotoGP constructors after Bagnaia won in Thailand

Williams added yellow color to their livery for Mercado Libre sponsorship

Marko has been yapping that Mark Webber has been in contact with Red Bull for potential seat for Oscar

But also Zak Brown and Helmut Marko had like. A lil beef over media about Lando and his mental health (tbh I didn’t read further into it I just hope they all disappear)

Oh and Marko also said that Red Bull will choose Max’s teammate for 2025 at the end of this season

Speaking of Oscar, he appeared in Australian Forbes in category 30 under 30

And Franco was on the cover of Forbes Argentina!!

Also McLaren lodged a right to review for the penalty Lando got in COTA, the penalty got rejected like everyone expected, because they didn’t bring any new or substantial facts for the decision making

On the other hand there are reports from Craigh Slater (I probably butchered the name I am sorry) that the drivers meeting sparked a fire debate about overtaking rules, track limits and having a nose first in the apex, so FIA basically admitted there is a gap in the regulations that Max is using to his favour and they will close it up, so the overtaking rules will change from Qatar onwards

Franco mentioned he probably won’t have an F1 seat until at least 2026 despite rumours that Red Bull and Sauber both were looking into his contract options (probably for VCARB in Red Bull’s case)

Jock Clear reported that Ferrari didn’t change the flexibility of their front wing to resemble those of MCL and Merc (I am not convinced but ok)

Alonso officially gets his 400th start in F1 today (he also missed out on Thursday aka media day because he is sick)

George had to get checked in medical center after his FP2 crash which was worth about 30G

After COTA promoters got fined for track invasion, they are now looking to fix another thing – track limits (there is a word about installing gravel traps like they did at Red Bull Ring)

Fun fact from the FP1 session featuring all the rookies: Robert Shwartzman got a 5 places grid drop penalty for the next race he enters (if ever) for overtaking under double yellow flags

Horner said that Yuki will be testing RB20 at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi (but who knows)

McLaren brought major floor upgrade to Mexico but only for Lando so far

Alan Walker apparently published his Charles Leclerc remix in a new EP Neon Nights (I am not even kidding)

George’s upgraded floor (the one he broke in COTA) won’t be available until Brazil at least

There is a rumour Valtteri is in talks to become Mercedes’ reserve driver (he will be put on the shelf next to Mick help)

Bruno del Pino joined MP Motorsport in F3, while Matias Zagazeta will join DAMS in F3

Lia Block is racing in F4 for ART in Monza this weekend

American Express is now F1’s official partner, so it will appear at GPs next year

Jaguar and Nissan both breached the cost cap in FE (they will miss the first half day of testing and received a financial fine)

Nikolas Tombazis confirmed it wasn’t just McLaren (who admitted they did further changes to their rear wing) that was hit with clarifications and had to change up their design a bit

Max and Checo got a… couple of the year award?? Um?

Charles became a jet fighter pilot, the footage will come out on 3rd November on canal plus

Last but not least, happy belated birthday Roscoe Hamilton!!

[eepy-weepy-silly]

Robert 'Bobby' Warren

"Bobby is nothing like Teddy at all. He's outgoing, seems to command the attention of any room he walks into, he's pretty damn athletic, and he's just.. loud. Not that that's a bad thing. Just.. Sometimes it feels like he's overcompensating for something.. I don't have a damn clue what that could be though." - Charlie Dalton, 1959

Dead Poet (shockingly)

Age: 17

Gender: Male (he/him)

Sexuality: Gay (🚪+ in denial) (DENIAL IS A RIVER IN EGYPT.)

MBTI: ESTP

Birthday: February 5th

Family: Unnamed parents, Georgia Bennett (nee Warren; older sister), Theodore 'Teddy' Warren (fraternal twin brother)

Backstory: If Teddy felt like an outsider in his family, then Bobby felt almost like an impostor. Yes, Bobby got more attention from their parents than his twin, but he never felt truly seen. Like he only got love and praise when he was who his parents (read: his father) wanted him to be. Bobby felt intense jealousy at how close Teddy and Georgia were. He was never allowed to play with Georgia. Not after his father caught him, at six years old, trying on one of Georgia's beauty pageant tiaras and wearing one of her feather boas, twirling around and waving like a pageant queen in his mother's heels (for Christ's sake, he was even wearing lipstick, probably courtesy of his sister), grinning at the laughter and clapping from his sister his behavior earned him. His father immediately dragged him out of the room and slapped the poor little boy so hard he fell to the floor and said to his son through gritted teeth, "Bobby, you aren't a goddamned girl, now quit. acting. like it." and a fearful Bobby silently nodded. He was never allowed to play with his sister again after that. Safe to say, toxic masculinity was instilled in poor Bobby from a young age. It didn't help that Bobby never quit cared when the neighbor's daughter would come to play, but he cared so much when her brother would tag along. He hated how when the boy was near, he felt so happy and when their fingers brushed, shocks ran through him and he wanted to grab his hand and never let go.. God, What was wrong with him..? When he and Teddy got shipped off to hell-ton at age ten, Bobby actually had just as hard of a time integrating into Welton as his twin. Sure, he joined the rowing team and the soccer team, but that doesn't mean he didn't face his fair share of.. issues with other students.

Hobbies/interests: Rock music, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra (only because of Teddy), poetry (he doesn't necessarily have a favorite, but Frost seems to be the one he likes to read the most), sneaking out of Welton to go dance and drink ("We're young! We should be having fun, don't you guys get it??"), smoking, soccer, sports in general

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Face claim: young! Rob Lowe

"God, Cameron, are you just allergic to fun at this point? Its just a little beer, you puritan!"

Dynamics

Charlie: One of the first friends Bobby made upon arriving at Welton. They're on the rowing and soccer teams together, so obviously they're basically besties. ALSO Bobby may or may not have a crush on Charlie oop- He gets borderline depressed when Charlie gets expelled.

Neil: Bobby wasn't as close to Neil as Teddy was, so he wasn't as affected by Neil's death. But he still noticed the effect it had on Teddy, and did his best to be there for Teddy. So the twins actually found themselves growing closer after Neil's death.

Cameron: There is now two of Charlie, kind of..... somebody save this boy LMAO- (I seriously feel like they have beef, like Bobby cannot STAND someone who is a stickler for the rules, so naturally he and Cameron don't get along well)

As for all of the other Poets, Bobby either gets along well with them and I don't have anything special to add, or he's just neutral on them.

[uhohspaghett1o]

I beef with Veilguard a lot but Ghilan’nain’s movements are so goofy and exaggerated and I love them. Like okay girl go off, be a dramatic queen. They’re so theatrical and it’s peak.

Actually all the darkspawn villains have been really fucking cunty and it’s hilarious. The Architect is in a perpetual state of serving cunt, and Ghilan’nain is pretty much right behind him. Corypheus has his heels and dramatic monologues that’d put Robert Browning to shame, so he’s included.

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

May 6, 2025

DEMOCRATS REBRAND AS THE PARTY OF “WE'RE NOT THEM”

So Wilson, listen, the Democrats have a problem — branding. You know, when you hear the word “Democrat” what pops to mind. The pundits say these days it isn't so good. But it's complicated. Remember the old saw: “I don't belong to any organized political party — I'm a Democrat.” So they can't just do something like Coca-Cola and say, we're “The Real Thing.” Still it would be better than their unofficial slogan:“We're Not Them,” referring, of course, to the fascist Tump Party. The Republicans have always been much better at branding — they're not afraid to play fast and loose with the facts. “Republicans are the party of freedom”; “Do unto others before they do unto to you.” There's another old saw: “Democrats bring knives to gun fights.” Unlike Republicans, Dems just don't have a flair for weaponizing language. Remember these slogans: “Where's the beef?”; “Feel the Bern”; “When they go low, we go high.” Not exactly exciting. But now that Trump's poll numbers are in the crapper, Dems have an opening. And just forget about, “Build back better.” Where's Bill Clinton when the Dems need him. They need something like, “Keep Your Eyes On The Prize,” although that didn't help Hillary. Well Wilson, “Tired of the bullshit, vote Democratic,” is on the right track but... “Eggs $1, Gas $2,” is getting warmer. “Eat the rich, vote Democrat,” probably goes a little too far but it's the right spirit. How about, “We all do better when we all do better.” You sure can't mistake that for a Republican slogan.

TRUMP'S CABINET: FIRST 100 DAYS BEST IN HISTORY

Poll after poll shows Americans aren't happy with what's happened in the first 100 days of Trump 2.0. But 'The Man Who Would Be King' likes to be flattered and his cabinet is up to the task. Here are some intercepts from Signal that might be from a cabinet meeting.

A.G. Pam Bondi — Mr. President, I can't believe how great your first 100 days have been. We've rounded up hundreds and hundreds of people with brown skin and shipped them off to El Salvador without so much as a “do you have a green card?” And we've stopped the flow of fentanyl into this country, saving 248 million lives, which isn't bad when you consider there are 350 million Americans.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — There is leadership and there is leadership and Mr. President you are the best leader since Genghis Kahn rode into Macedonia and you've done it without camels or belly dancers, even though belly dancers would be nice.

Health and Human Services - Robert F Kennedy Jr. — Thank you Mr. President and thank you again. Did I tell you that you are great. We're making the country healthy thanks to you and McDonald's. We can conquer measles and Covid 19 simply by eating right, including lots of lime Popsicles.

Homeland Security - Kristi Noem — Mr. President, you are so fantastic. I think of you every time I get new lingerie from Victoria's Secret. Thanks to you I get to travel to important places and wear a different outfit each time. People tell me they love me... oh and you, too. They love you more, Mr. President, a lot more. Tons more.

MIKE LEE: LET THEM EAT CAKE

Utah Sen. Mike Lee does not have hair like Marie Antoinette, although he would look nice in a beehive hairdo. Like the last queen of France, who married Louis XVI just before the French Revolution, Mike Lee lives in a rarified bubble where the exigencies of the great unwashed are nowhere to be seen or heard. Marie Antoinette was infamous for many things but perhaps best known for her retort when she was told people were going hungry and had no bread: “Let them eat cake,” she quipped. Like the queen, empathy is not Mike Lee's strong suit. Washington D.C. may not be the Palace of Versailles, but Lee manages to live in a make believe world where the only people going hungry are those on diets. Utah's senior senator and self-described constitutional expert now wants to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — known as food stamps — which could push one million Americans into poverty and hunger. But, of course, they can always eat cake or Big Macs. Lee's been on a tear as of late, introducing legislation called the “Restraining Judicial Insurrectionists Act of 2025” that would put commie judges in the place. On X he posted that we should eliminate the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), PBS, NPR, FEMA, the Federal Reserve and leave NATO, the U.N. and the World Health Organization. Who needs 'em — then we can give the rich tax cuts.

Post script — That's a wrap for another beautiful spring week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of megalomaniacs who want to be pope so you don't have to. Well Wilson, maybe we shouldn't even mention the AI-generated posting by President Donald J. Trump where he is wearing pope's regalia. For real, the president of the United States posted on Truth Social an image of himself in a pope suit. WTF! Imagine what would happen if Barack Obama did that. Not that he would — but if he did the MAGA mob would come with shotguns and a rope. The image of Pope Donny came a couple of days after a reporter asked Trump who he would like to see become the new pope. “I’d like to be pope, I would be my number one choice.” Was he joking? Haha. Earlier Trump's bosom buddy Sen. Lindsey Graham called on cardinals to keep an open mind about selecting Trump as the new pope. Soooo funny. Vice President J.D. Vance, himself a Catholic, said he was cool with Pope Donny. Of course, Vance was photographed with Pope Francis just before his death. Some wondered aloud if the veep had killed him. On Saturday Night Live, Colin Jost quipped: “If Trump really wants to be pope he should stay away from J.D. Vance.” You could be right Wilson, if there is a hell, there's got to be a special place for Trump. On the other hand, maybe he is Beelzebub.

When you think about, Wilson, Trump is too wacky to be Satan. The Devil has the reputation of being really smart. But maybe Lucifer is in his cabinet. Trump adviser Stephen Miller could be Satan. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, of course, is too stupid to be Satan. But what about Intel Director Tulsi Gabbard or A.G. Pam Bondi. Anyway Wilson, how about you and the band take us out with something apropos for Trump and his henchmen:

Please allow me to introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste I've been around for a long, long year Stole many a man's soul and faith I was 'round when Jesus Christ Had his moment of doubt and pain Made damn sure that Pilate Washed his hands and sealed his fate Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change Killed the Tzar and his ministers Anastasia screamed in vain

Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints As heads is tails Just call me Lucifer Cause I'm in need of some restraint So if you meet me Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste Use all your well-learned politesse Or I'll lay your soul to waste Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name

Tell me baby, what's my name Tell me honey, can ya guess my name

(Sympathy for the Devil — The Rolling Stones)

[douchebagbrainwaves]

AND IT HAS TO BE THERE

Nerds got computers because they liked them. You may save him from writing a badly designed program to solve the wrong problem.1 Let yourself be second guessed. The state of the art in programming languages doesn't stand still. When it was first developed, Lisp embodied nine new ideas. Here's a tip for governments that want to encourage startups you should have a low rate on capital gains. Number 1, languages vary in power.2 The famously rigid labor laws hurt every company, but startups especially, because startups that succeed either become big companies or are acquired by them. People tend to; I'm skeptical about the idea of the greatest generation. Fifty years later, startups are ubiquitous in Silicon Valley face an unpleasant choice: either live in the boring sprawl of the valley proper, or live in San Francisco and endure an hour commute each way.3

Lexical closures provide a way to finesse our way out of the problem. Another area in which you could easily surpass Silicon Valley is too far from San Francisco. But fortunately so have the jumpsuits with badges indicating our specialty and rank.4 But fortunately so have the jumpsuits with badges indicating our specialty and rank. But it's an important technicality, because it has a strange syntax as because it has no syntax; you express programs directly in the parse trees that get built behind the scenes when other languages are better than either of them?5 Here is what McCarthy said about it later in an interview: Steve Russell said, look, why don't I program this eval. Is it worth trying to define a plus for a new language, but both seem to me more complex than the first version as simple as possible. Human knowledge seems to grow fractally.6 The test of whether people love what they do. I'm such a good athlete, why do I feel so tired? A lot of the advances that happen in programming languages in the next twenty years got fast.

But she never does.7 Part of the problem.8 I made for a panel discussion on programming language design at MIT on May 10,2001. So I think it is a standard. They're tools, designed for people, and there I find the ancient rule still works: try to understand the situation as well as Lisp, so they did. Because in fact the implication of what Eric is saying. If wisdom and intelligence stands up to scrutiny. You do need to be better at this than others.

Notes

Most don't try to avoid that.

Though you should be working on that? I'm not claiming founders sit down and calculate the expected value calculation for potential founders, and everyone's used to end investor meetings too closely, you'll be well on your own morale, you will fail.

But you couldn't possibly stream it from a 6/03 Nielsen study quoted on Google's site. The brand of an early funding round usually reflects some other contribution by the customs of the potential magnitude of the reign Thomas Lord Roos was an assiduous courtier of the most difficult part for startup founders, and this trick, and that you should always absolutely refuse to give you 11% more income, or b to get something for a market of one investor who says he's interested in you, it tends to be naive in: it's not the shape of the word as in e. The Mac number is a way in which case immediate problem solved, or black beans n cubes Knorr beef or vegetable bouillon n teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 3n teaspoons ground cumin n cups dry rice, preferably brown Robert Morris says that clothing brands favored by urban youth do not try too hard to imagine cases where you wanted it? Since I now have on the Internet, like arithmetic drills, instead of reacting.

Tell the investors agree, and those where the second type to.

There are successful women who don't care about may not be if Steve hadn't come back; Apple can change them instantly if they had that we wouldn't have understood users a lot better to be spread out geographically. This argument seems to be limits on the side of being watched in real time, default to some abstract notion of fairness or randomly, in which internal limits are expressed.

But you can't expect you'll be able to hire, and Reddit is derived from Slashdot, while Reddit is derived from the conventional wisdom on the other hand, he tried to motivate them. There's probably also intelligence. If an investor makes you much more fun in college.

Professors and politicians live within socialist eddies of the advantages of not starving then you should push back on the x axis and returns on the other seed firms. I. And maybe we should be. I'm not saying all founders who take the line?

I was living in a reorganization.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

"I don't fucking need you. I don't fucking need anyone."

(ideally said to reinforce an angry, apathetic façade)

CW: Panicked whumpee, trauma response, discussion of stabbing/murder, defiant/angry whumpee, referenced prostitution/dubcon, brief internal dehumanization reference

Jake Gets Stabbed: First Second Third Fourth

Also includes @nonsensicalwhump’s prompt ‘don’t fucking touch me’

There was an old backpack already in the closet when he moved into this place. It was worn around the edges, with safety pins all along the top because the zipper had long since broken, an olive green that might have been brighter, once upon a time. The bottom’s duct-taped in layers to hold it together. There are more safety pins holding seams together along the side, another strip of tape where there’s smeared permanent marker, too destroyed for Jameson to even read it.

The backpack looks like Jameson feels, wrecked and ruined and trying valiantly to stay together at the seams, only to come apart anyway.

He stuffs a package of goldfish crackers into the backpack on top of the three pairs of boxers and two shirts and one pair of pants he’s already put inside. Then he adds the bit of beef jerky he keeps up on the top shelf in the closet, where he has to climb onto a box to even reach it. 

His heart hammers in his chest, and when Allyn’s fingertips brush along his shoulder blades through his shirt he jerks away from them, shoving some granola bars in, too. “Don’t fucking touch me!” He snaps, but all he wants is to collapse back into their arms, let them tell him it’ll be okay again, and believe it.

But he can’t believe it.

Their rainshower voice is a lie, the taste of ozone and the relieved wash of cool water is a lie, it’s all a fucking lie and it always fucking was.

“Jameson, no one is asking you to leave,” They say, voice low and soothing, their hands out but not quite touching him now. He glances over his shoulder at those long, long fingers, graceful elegant hands made for gesturing at the parties they tell him about. Fingers entirely unlike his own, the pinky that won’t quite close all the way anymore, the scars layered over them from every time they were hit until they bled, until he begged for more.

“No one has to,” Jameson says, staring down at the empty space in the top of the backpack. Does he own so little? Does he even own any of this? He can’t take the carvings in the closet wall, and that’s most of what he even wants to take. His proof to himself that he was a person, however briefly, before he goes back out to lose it all over again. “I killed m-my fucking-... the person who believed I c-c-ould be better, I killed him-”

“He’s not dead,” They say softly, and their hair hangs over their face. It’s all mussed and frizzy, and he thinks they look even prettier and more handsome somehow, like they’ve rolled out of bed, even though he knows it’s because they’re worried, too worried to pull it back, too worried to care. “I, I heard them call a doctor. Someone’s going to sew it up and he’ll b-be-”

“He’ll bleed to fucking death because of me,” Jameson says, and the weight of it hits him now. He sits down on his bed but it’s more like he falls into it. It’s not his bed anymore, anyway. It’ll be some other rescue’s, someone more deserving than he’s ever been of regaining humanity.

Some other rescue will arrive and lay down here across from Allyn and maybe watch the moonlight move over their face while they look outside and think that no one in the world has ever been as lovely in silvery light as them, and Jameson will be out on the street fucking for cash or food or for ten minutes of safety from himself.

Unless he kills them.

He might.

He might do that, if he-... if he sees Robert in their faces, or Brute, or if he gets lost in himself again he could keep killing people and then he’s not any different, and it wasn’t just to escape and it wasn’t worth it, and from the second he walked away from Nanda’s house he was just going to turn into a killer, wasn’t he? And now he is one.

Now he’s-

Jameson leans over himself, pressing his forehead to his knees, feeling all the scars along his back stretch uncomfortably as he moves. He takes in slow, even breaths, fighting the despair that overwhelms him, buries, drowns him in what he’s done.

He’s just a hand, reaching out, but he’d thought he was reaching out for help. Instead he was holding a knife.

“I won’t let them kick you out,” Allyn says softly, but insistently, dropping to a crouch in front of him. Their hands still hover, wanting so badly to touch him, respecting that he doesn’t want them to. He can feel the warmth of them even so. Their hands are so close. “I promise. I’ll, I’ll convince them somehow to let you stay. We can figure this out, Jameson, you don’t have to be all by yourself.”

“It’s fine, I d-did it before, I can do it again. It’s fine.” Jameson talks into the fabric of his jeans, lets it muffle the emotion and flatten his words. His shoulders shake with a sob he catches before it ever leaves his throat. 

“Jameson, you know we don’t do well alone, you need-”

“I don’t fucking need anyone!” His head jerks up, meeting their gray eyes with his own dark brown. He can feel air move against his skin and realizes with some dull surprise he’s crying again. “I don’t-... I don’t fucking need a keeper, I don’t need... I don’t n-need anybody, I don’t need y-y... I don’t-”

He can’t tell that lie.

“Please don’t leave,” Allyn says, and their hands come to rest gently on either side of his face now, cool dry palms against his flushed damp skin. “Jameson. Please don’t leave me.”

“I tried to kill the first person to help me,” Jameson whispers. “The first person who didn’t ask for anything back. I tried to kill him.”

Allyn shakes their head. “You tried to kill R-... Robert, whoever that was. You tried to kill someone who hurt you. You didn’t know. If you leave, I-I’ll go with you, I can... I can go with you.”

“No you can’t. You don’t know how t-to handle shit out there, Allyn, it’d-...” He looks over their faces, the tears in their eyes, tears he caused, it’s his fault they want to cry. It’s his fault everyone in this house wants to cry, now, it’s his fault they bleed in every possible way. It’s his fault, for thinking he was ever more than just another rabid dog. 

“I’ll go anyway,” Allyn says, fiercely. Their voice pours on his tongue, it’s the taste of a raging rush of river, a flood in the middle of the night, washing out the dry earth. “I’ll go with you anyway, we’ll figure it out, Jameson, you and I. I won’t lose anyone else-... I won’t lose you.”

Jameson hitches in a breath that burns all the way down to his lungs, and his own hands rise, slowly, to rest over theirs. “But... it could happen again, Allyn. What if-... what if it happens again?”

“What if it does? So what? It’ll just be us, we can just run, we can do it.” Allyn just looks at him, with those tears starting to well up and run down their cheeks like the water he tastes when they speak.

He licks at his lips, forcing the words out with every ounce of strength he has left. “What if... what if n-next time it’s you?”

Allyn opens their mouth to respond only for there to be a soft rap at the doorframe, both of them turning to look. 

Jake’s boyfriend, the one who used to be like them, stands there. His wide blue eyes are nearly red from crying, and his face is as flushed as Jameson’s. To Jameson, his eyes seem cold and glittering, shattered glass. 

His voice tastes like pears when he speaks, and Jameson shudders wondering if there’s a needle slipped into the soft skin of the fruit. 

“Jameson?”

The two of them don’t move, except that Jameson curls his scarred, rough fingers over Allyn’s smooth hands and holds on as they drift down. He only looks at Kauri and says, his hoarse voice still thick with his own dread and guilt and fear, “Yeah?”

Kauri rakes a hand back through half-controlled black curls and takes a breath. “He’s all sewn up, and there’s some... someone Nat knows downstairs now, with Dr. Masood. They think-... I don’t know. Probably not going to, uh, to d-die.”

Jameson nods, his grip tightening on Allyn’s fingers, but the other rescue doesn’t pull away or flinch, only holds right back, just as tightly. “That’s-... good. Kauri, I, I didn’t know-”

“Yeah, I get it.” Kauri’s voice sharpens, and Jameson closes his eyes. Pear and razor blades, blood on his tongue, not like Nanda. This blood doesn’t taste like pleasure but guilt and regret. “I know-... I get it. Chris more... more or less explained it to me. But we need to talk.”

Allyn squares their shoulders, jaw settling. “It’s not his fault. You can’t blame him, he didn’t know-”

“I need to talk,” Kauri says with effort, “to Jameson.” His eyes go to the backpack packed on the bed, not yet closed up, the symbol of Jameson’s intent to run. Something changes in his expression, but Jameson can’t read it. “I need to talk to Jameson alone.”

-

@astrobly @finder-of-rings @whump-tr0pes @raigash @moose-teeth @orchidscript @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @eatyourdamnpears @boxboysandotherwhump @whumptywhumpdump @whumpfigure @outofangband @downriver914 @justabitofwhump @thehopelessopus @butwhatifyouwrite @yet-another-heathen @nonsensical-whump @newandfiguringitout @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @whumpiary @endless-whump @burtlederp

[littlelioncub43]

FASHION FRIDAY!! WOO!!!! here we go

First up we have Lizzo

i personally love this look. the purple on her warm brown skin is just- *chefs kiss* i just wish it was fitted better around her breasts .

8.5/10

Next we have Sterling K Brown

i don’t like it. i don’t know why but i’m not a fan of the loud blue, but his wife looks absolutely beautiful.

5/10

Last but certainly not least is Robert Pattinson

i like it. it’s a nice black look, but it gives me The Penguin and not The Batman.

6.4/10

Lemme know what you think!

Heyooo! 😄 let's goooo! I love when y'all send me celeb outfits to rate 🥺🤧 they are my favorite Fashion Friday activity

Lizzo: that color is stunning, I agree! I also agree on the fitting, but it's glorious regardless.

7/10

Sterling K Brown: I literally said "oof" at the whole fit. I want to like something about this, but I can't really find anything other than I love the look and cut of the suit. Very 70s and in a gaudy way. I dont really care for his wife's dress either.

4/10

R-Patz: Surprisingly enough, I think it's too much black. He gets swallowed up by the dark fabric, and if there are any details on the coat, I can't tell (I HAVE THE SAME BEEF WITH SEB'S VANITY FAIR LOOK— I WANT TO SEE THE DETAILS). Now, I can't deny that it's a ✨️c r i s p ✨️ fucking look. The coat is well fitted and someone ran a comb through his hair, I love it.

8/10

[possiblyimbiassed]

“E” as in Eurus, Enola and Estate

In June this year the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd filed a lawsuit against an impending Holmes adaptation movie on Netflix (article from RadioTimes here: X). 

Sherlock, Mycroft and Enola, starring Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin and Millie Bobby Brown.

This post about it by @tendergingergirl (X) seems to have gone largely unnoticed, but I think it deserves far more attention. In fact, it got me thinking “What’s all this actually about?” and looking a few things up.

My curiosity about the doings of this Estate began in December last year, before the release of BBC Dracula in January, when an interesting discussion initiated after an excellent meta by @yeah-oh-shit (X), who had made some investigations into previous copyright and public domain issues and lawsuits, which I had never known about before. 

And now it turns out that the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd (from here on I’ll call them ‘ACD Estate’) is suing the film makers, along with Nancy Springer, author of a book series based on characters from the Holmes universe called The Enola Holmes Mysteries (2006-2010), for copyright infringement. 

But I thought most of ACD’s Sherlock Holmes stories are now in public domain, including the Illustrious Client, the Sussex Vampire and the Three Garridebs, whose copyright under US law expired last year (2019)? Well, yes, but that’s still not all of them, and according to ACD Estate “for those of the stories whose copyright terms have ended, this action is brought within the three-year limitations period for infringement.”

More under the cut.

So, the ACD Estate’s copyright, they claim, still includes the following ten stories collected in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes:

The Creeping Man (1923)

The Illustrious Client (1924) 

The Three Garridebs (1924) 

The Sussex Vampire (1924) 

The Retired Colourman (1926) 

The Lion’s Mane (1926)

The Three Gables (1926) 

The Blanched Soldier (1926) 

Shoscombe Old Place (1927) 

The Veiled Lodger (1927)

The whole lawsuit can be downloaded as a PDF file from this news article (X), and it’s quite an interesting read.

Claims about Sherlock Holmes’ emotions

So, since this is not the first lawsuit from the ACD Estate about adaptations, what’s their beef with the film makers this time? As far as I can see from their claims, this is about Sherlock Holmes’ emotions. 

This is how the ACD Estate reads Holmes’ character development in the lawsuit: “Conan Doyle made the surprising artistic decision to have his most famous character—known around the world as a brain without a heart—develop into a character with a heart. Holmes became warmer. He became capable of friendship. He could express emotion. He began to respect women. His relationship to Watson changed from that of a master and assistant to one of genuine friendship. Watson became more than just a tool for Holmes to use. He became a partner.” 

They even quote the famous passage in The Three Garridebs (3GAR, 1924) where Watson says: “It was worth a wound—it was worth many wounds—to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask.”

But all this progress, they claim, specifically happened within these ten still (allegedly) copyrighted stories, which Conan Doyle wrote after World War One, where he had the traumatic experience of losing both his son and his brother.

They claim that Holmes’ emotional development is still under their copyright (which I believe in practise means their power to decide whether to allow a film adaptation or not) and apart from the emotions issue, they also provide the following other examples of developments that are (supposedly) unique to these ten still copyrighted stories:

Holmes employs a knowledge of medicine in Watson’s absence

Holmes and Watson use modern technologies in detective work for the first time 

Watson marries a second time during his association with Holmes (BLAN)

Holmes changes into someone who has great interest in dogs

Sherlock’s “secret sister”

The Enola Holmes Mysteries got me interested, and now I’ve read the two first of six instalments in total. The series is about Sherlock’s and Mycroft’s younger sister Enola, a clever teenager whom the brothers – in particular Mycroft - want to send away to a boarding school after their mother has disappeared and abandoned her. But Enola hates the idea of being confined to a place where she will be forced to wear a corset and restricted to a certain (‘female’) behaviour at all times. She escapes to London, where she starts a secret private detective career specialising in investigations of missing persons. Enola must keep ahead of her brothers who are determined to capture and force her to conform to Victorian society’s expectations for young women. She skilfully uses different disguises, just like Sherlock, and she meets John Watson pretending to be someone else. With her cleverness she manages to outwit even Sherlock. She is good at drawing and uses her sketches in her work. She manages to communicate with her mother (and eventually also with Sherlock) by using ciphers.

All of this does seem to have certain similarities with how Eurus Holmes is described in S4, doesn’t it?

Eurus is, like Enola, the secret Holmes sister whom we never have heard of before.

In TFP Mycroft claims Eurus’ intellect was superior to both Sherlock’s and his own; she was “incandescent”.

We see little Eurus draw sketches of her family members (not very pleasant sketches when it comes to Sherlock, though).

Mycroft made sure Eurus was sent away to an isolated prison/institution (Sherrinford) at an early age.

Their parents seemed absent and not particularly interested in the whereabouts of their own daughter (they didn’t even know she was alive); they let Mycroft and ‘Uncle Rudy’ take care of things, so one could easily suspect she was abandoned.

Eurus seems to have escaped to London at her own leisure, while Mycroft thought she was incarcerated.

Eurus appears in London under three different disguises: “E” (flirting and texting with John), 

“Faith” (walking the streets of London with Sherlock) 

and John’s new therapist. 

Eurus makes riddles with codes for Sherlock to decipher (“The cipher was the song”).

So, one might wonder if the Eurus plot is – at least to some degree – inspired by Enola Holmes? On the other hand, while Eurus appears cold and calculating, Enola is compassionate and sensitive and makes mistakes because of emotional bias. Enola seems more similar to Eurus’ disguised personas than to the supposedly ‘real’ Eurus - the one who burned the family estate down and killed Victor Trevor. 

I still believe that Eurus only exists inside Sherlock’s head in BBC Sherlock, being a part of himself, but that’s for another discussion.

As for the Holmes siblings, it’s also interesting that on the ACD Estate’s website, where they have a collection of ’facts’ about ACD’s characters, they seem to have included BBC Sherlock’s Eurus as a valid sibling of Sherlock and Mycroft (scroll down to “Holmes facts” on this page: X), even though this character is nowhere to be found in canon. Please correct me if I’m wrong about this, but the only reference I can find to ”the East Wind” in ACD’s stories is in His Last Bow (LAST, 1917), where Holmes says that ”There’s an east wind coming, Watson”, and goes on to talk about a cold, bitter wind that is threatening England; most probably a reference to WWI, which was raging at the time of publication. No one with the name Eurus is ever mentioned, though. If Eurus had already been part of canon, why would Mofftiss have claimed her to be the big ”rug-pull” in TFP?

I haven’t read the final part in the Enola Holmes series (X) yet, where allegedly Enola reconciles with her brothers (Sherlock in particular) and they end up respecting her independence and skills. But according to several reviews Sherlock softens up a bit in the end. In the parts I have read, the two adult brothers appear rather conservative, patronising and sexist towards their younger sister – indeed more condescending than I think Holmes view of women actually is described in ACD’s original stories (allegedly – we never see him treat women badly in practice, do we?). At any rate, I haven’t this far been able to find a single specific plot element from the ten (supposedly) still copyrighted stories in Springer’s work.

In their lawsuit, the ACD Estate claims that “The Springer novels make extensive infringing use of Conan Doyle’s transformation of Holmes from cold and critical to warm, respectful, and kind in his relationships. Springer places Enola Holmes at the center of the novels and has Holmes initially treat her coolly, then change to respond to her with warmth and kindness.”

So what they’re doing here is the same thing they’ve done before (and lost): they’re claiming they still own some intrinsic characteristics of Sherlock Holmes, even though most of the stories are already in public domain. 

Other lawsuits

A similar lawsuit towards Miramax (X) was made in 2015 for the film Mr Holmes, which had Ian McKellen as protagonist. But it ended in settlement before the defendants had responded to the accusations, which were similar to those regarding Enola Holmes about Holmes’ emotional life, but also had to do with the details of Holmes’ life as a retired man.

So, this is not the first time the copyright owners are interfering with content in Holmes adaptations. To complicate things further there seems to be two different estates claiming copyright for Doyle’s work. In 2010 there was some reporting that another estate had threatened Guy Richie’s Sherlock Holmes movies with disapproval after Robert Downey Junior had discussed Holmes possibly being gay on a TV show (X). According to Digital Spy, Andrea Plunket, who then represented the ‘Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate’, said: "I hope this is just an example of Mr Downey's black sense of humour. It would be drastic, but I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future. I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books."

It’s very unclear which legal rights Andrea Plunket’s family (Andrea apparently died in 2016) actually has to represent ACD’s work, though. Andrea had been married to one of the copyright owners, and her family’s money had paid for the purchase of those rights, but after her divorce Andrea seems to have lost her part in the copyright, according to @mallamun on tumblr: (X). There’s also a lot of interesting things to read about these copyright issues in an article by Mattias Bodström from 2015: (X). However, there’s still a website from ‘Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate’ claiming ownership of the stories: X, and they have published a detailed account of their version of the matter (X).

The current case

I have no idea what the court will think about these new accusations against Netflix et al, but to me, if this isn’t farfetched, I don’t know what is. I think a good case could be made for most of these ‘unique’ elements listed above being expressed already before the Case Book. For example, in His Last Bow (LAST, 1917) they use a car, in The Dying Detective (DYIN, 1913) Holmes manages to fool Dr Watson that he’s very sick. When Watson declares his intent to marry for the first time already in The Sign of Four (SIGN, 1890), Holmes resorts to drugs. The dogs are all over the place since day one, and Holmes seems to appreciate them very much, not least Toby in SIGN.

And don’t get me started on the contradictions in Watson’s various discussions of whether Holmes has a heart. Holmes’ actions of helping people often contradicts the image of a cold, emotionless person. The Yellow Face (YELL, 1893) ends with Holmes being deeply repentant for being over-confident in his suspicion of a woman for adultery or maybe worse offences, when she was actually only trying to protect her little daughter from society’s racism.

In the Devil’s Foot (DEVI, 1910) there’s the following conversation (my bolding): “Upon my word, Watson!” said Holmes at last with an unsteady voice, “I owe you both my thanks and an apology. It was an unjustifiable experiment even for one’s self, and doubly so for a friend. I am really very sorry.” “You know,” I answered with some emotion, for I had never seen so much of Holmes’s heart before, “that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you.”

Why on earth would it be a “surprising artistic decision” from ACD to develop Holmes into a little more caring and openly compassionate person as he grew older? Isn’t that the very classical character development of any literary hero’s journey and also a logical personal development for many people in the real world? It’s called ‘learning’ and ‘maturing’, as far as I know. To claim this is infringement of some unique idea is frankly ridiculous.

In short: They make a very literal, textual interpretation of the Holmes character, cherry-picking the parts that suit their interests, they claim there’s a clear story arc with very separate characteristics before and after WWI, and that they own the end of it. Thus, no adaptation with a progressive story arc regarding Holmes’ character would be permitted without their consent. Since apparently BBC Sherlock have ACD’s Estate’s license for their own franchise, this just makes me wonder how much trouble Mofftiss et al had with including things like Sherlock’s and John’s hug in TLD, or his emotional breakdown with the coffin after Eurus’ experiments on him in TFP.

Possible satirical meaning and small hints

Allow me to speculate a bit about the possible implications of BBC Sherlock in relation to the Estate. In a recent excellent meta by @raggedyblue, the ACD Estate as ‘Doyle’s bank’ is discussed, regarding the significance of the banker Sebastian Wilkes in The Blind Banker (X). Many interesting ideas are presented in this meta, I really recommend a read. This topic also initiated an interesting discussion about Doyle himself mirroring John in this post by @devoursjohnlock​ (X).

In an addition to that meta @shylockgnomes brings up John’s blog post about Tilly Briggs as another possible reference to the Estate (X). I totally agree with this; some time around the release of BBC Dracula this year, and our discussions about legal issues connected to both shows, I stumbled upon this particular ‘aborted’ blog post and came to realise its possible significance. It gave me the idea to change the title of my own blog to “Tilly Briggs Ship with Johnlock on it”, since I suspect that the blog post might be a clue about legal obstacles to a certain relationship. And that title is staying, at least until we know the true story (if ever). 

Canon contains some info about Matilda Briggs is in The Sussex Vampire, one of the late ACD stories that should be in public domain by now, since the copyright supposedly expired in December 2019. But, as shown above, the Estate now claims there’s a three-year lapse when they can still sue for infringement. Here’s the quote from SUSS (my bolding): “Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson,” said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. “It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.” Sumatra, by the way, was Sherlock’s preferred destination in the TST tale of the merchant who met Death in Samarra. In Sherlock’s version, according to Mycroft, the merchant survived and became a pirate... ;-) 

John’s aborted blog post (X) is titled “Tilly Briggs Cruise of Terror”, which just might be yet another little jibe at the Estate. John says that “I had to take this post down for a while as the ship's owners are launching an appeal”. According to Jacob Sowersby (a Sherlock fan on the blog) and Mike Stamford, this was “mind-blowing stuff”:

So I can’t help thinking this sounds like a hint to us about the Estate and a certain ‘ship’ which is still partly in their (legal) power and control. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the whole show - on the meta level - is partly meant as a satirical commentary on how Holmes’ and Watson’s characters, and therefore also their relationship, have been treated the last 100+ years by their ‘owners’. A treatment where I believe the hetero norm has always ruled, and where Andrea Plunket’s quote above indicates that homophobia regarding Holmes and Watson is still tied to legal obstacles.

Charles Augustus Magnussen also talks about ownership at the beginning of HLV (thanks for the quotes, Ariane DeVere): “Of course it isn’t blackmail. This is... ownership”. And later in the episode: “It’s all about knowledge. Everything is. Knowing is owning”. In fact, quite a bit of emphasis in HLV is put on Magnussen’s ‘ownership’ of characters people: “I’m a businessman, acquiring assets. You happen to be one of them!” Apparently - as this new lawsuit shows - it’s even possible to make money out of Holmes’ emotions.

@catwillowtree also pointed out, in another additional thread to @raggedyblue​’s meta, that Eurus’ burning down Musgrave Hall – the family estate - in TFP also seems like a reference to the ACD Estate. I would add to this, saying that the bomb that didn’t go off in TEH and the “patience grenade” that did go off in TFP might have to do with the same issue. What would happen if the ‘bomb’ of Johnlock would go off before the relevant stories are legally in public domain? Most probably another lawsuit from the Estate, which might become very expensive. 

Come to think of it, in TGG Greg Lestrade mentions an estate agent, when Sherlock receives a text message and a phone call on the pink phone from Moriarty: “What the hell are we supposed to make of that? An estate agent’s photo and the bloody Greenwich pips!” Well, if the Estate agent is somehow connected to the five pips, that fandom theory of the pips representing five series in the show comes to mind... For every pip in TGG there’s a victim covered in explosives; a huge bomb threatening to go off. (The third bomb did go off in TGG, but in S3 Sherlock found the ‘off-switch’ in time). If the fifth bomb is to explode in S5, I bet it won’t be until the relevant stories are safely in public domain. 2023?

More wild speculation while I’m at it: Maybe Sherlock and Ajay’s smashing of Thatcher busts in TST also ties in metaphorically to the same topic? The Thatcher era was not easy for LGBTQ people. There are several owners in TST whose Thatcher busts need to be smashed in order for Ajay’s lost memory stick to be recovered. AGRA is referred to as Ajay’s and Mary’s “family”. The memory stick contains personal information, ‘who you really are’. Could be read as if the info of who Sherlock Holmes really is can only be released once certain obstacles are overcome...

In another interesting meta from last year by @yeah-oh-shit​ (X), they mention the secret underground station at Sumatra road in TEH, where Howard Shilcott tells Sherlock and John that “They built the platforms, even the staircases, but it all got tied up in legal disputes, so they never built the station on the surface.” So maybe S5 is basically already written? It would make sense to me if the long hiatus we’re facing right now has a far more logical reason than the excuses Mofftiss have presented in interviews - the risk of legal disputes with the copyright owners.  

Tagging some more people who might be interested: @gosherlocked​ @ebaeschnbliah​ @sarahthecoat​ @sagestreet​ @thepersianslipper​

ETA: I have corrected some details about the copyright owners in this post; thanks @devoursjohnlock​ for pointing them out!

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tuesday 29 April 1834: SH:7/ML/E/17/0023

8 40

1 10

One kiss last night good to her tho’ not much to me. Dullish morning but fair F50° at 7 –breakfast at 10 – Mrs Bewley had sent off the first thing for Matthew Avison to come and speak to me – she highly recommended him for honesty and attention etc and Miss W- had seen him and thought he looked quick  and as if he might do – staid in the house waiting for him. In the mean while came a Robert Spofford aged 28, had lived 11 ½ years with a Mrs Coates near Stokesley – having heard from James Clayton at the Black Swan I wanted a servant – asked £20 – looked old and little loutish than James. Miss W- and I out at 1 ¼ - called and sat a little while with Mrs Henry Belcombe - mentioned our intention of taking Mr Brown the drawing master and going to Rokeby during Whitsuntide week – ordered about boots cutting down and calashing out the toes - ordered at Cattle and Barber’s tea-kettle  cresting with Dr B-‘s crest and looked at Berry’s Encyclopaedia Heraldica, 2 volumes 4th cost 8 guineas, and Edmund Stone’s Heraldry and a small manuscript 4to book  of crests – Walker’s arms mentioned in the two first works the same as those now borne by the W-s of Crownest – Listers of Shibden not mentioned. Miss W- bought set of tea china 21/. for wedding present to Mr Bewley’s niece - a few minutes at Myers about the carriage (my own)  - it will be done (painted etc) by Thursday 1st of June. Home at 2 ½ - Matthew Avison waiting – explained about being in treaty for a servant whom I expected to have by and by, but would take Matthew if would go back with me  till this other servant could come – agreed. I myself gave Matthew warning, and he left me for no great fault,

SH:7/ML/E/17/0024

I to pay his expense back to York but if he gave warning or left me for drunkenness, dishonesty,  (impertinence not named tho’ intended)  or another great fault, then I had nothing to do with his expense back – his livery to be considered mine unless such things as I myself especially at any time might give him  to do as he liked with – to give him after the rate £20 a year. Dinner at 3 – enjoyed the cold boiled beef – Miss W- evidently nervous at my going tho’ she said little about it. She certainly cares for me more and more seemed much pleased at finding I had ordered a seal to be ready for her birthday and when I said you see I thought of you she answered ‘yes when do you not think of me’  I think we shall get on very well together. Off from Heworth Grange York at 4 35, took up Matthew Avison at 5 10 at his father’s public house 3 or 4 miles (3 ½ miles) from York - nobody in the shop at Kendalls’ Leeds but left Miss W-‘s table screen with Kendalls’ painter who lives in the court yard saying I would write about it. Off from Kendalls’ (detained there 5 minutes) at 8 5 – unluckily I had determined to return by the new road, by Gomersall -  Dark night – lighted the lamps about 9  - did not get to Shibden till 10 55! Having come foots’ pace over the newly bouldered road great part of the way – rained all the way. Everybody gone to bed – some minutes before we could get in – sent Eugenie off to bed (rather wet about her arms) immediately. Siding – I took nothing to eat or drink – dull but fair till 2pm from then for the rest of the day and night thoroughly rainy. F50° at 12 ½ tonight. The least imaginable sign of my cousin on washing this morning determined to return home  found it come gently just before dinner no time to put linen on so put a pocket handkerchief under me on leaving Leeds so I led it a little but no harm done nothing even on my drawers. Found a letter or a note dated Halifax 28th April  from a W. Hewson offering himself as a manservant – now living with Mrs Asqworth in Gibbet line – could be at liberty in a week.

[your-toxic-vitamin-deficiency]

BeriBeri : How White Rice Mysteriously Threatened the Japanese Military

..and Caused a National Emergency (PART 2)

TRANSCRIPTION

When he compared the navy’s diet with foreign studies on what a healthy diet included, he found that his sailors didn’t eat enough protein. They ate half the amount of protein of a healthy diet. Takaki pushed to increase the amount of protein in the navy’s meals. 

Now they didn’t know what protein was back then. He measured the levels of nitrogen in their diet, saw that it was low, and recommended more nitrogenous elements. These nitrogenous elements we now know as protein. So Takaki was like, “Hey, let’s give the men more protein” and the navy was like “Shut up nerd. Go read or something.” 

The problem was.. one, Takaki didn’t have the support of the scientific community. And two, the military’s meal system was based around white rice. One of the perks of being in the military was that you could have as much white rice as you wanted. All-you-can-eat, but with just white rice. You had to buy other foods.  

Back in those days, white rice was considered upper class food. People living in the countryside usually ate brown rice. White rice is just brown rice that’s cleaned and polished. It costed more to make so it costed more to buy. Most people who joined the military were poor, so they were as happy as Pikachu in a battery factory,when they heard they could eat all the upper class white rice they wanted. Problem was, the system resulted in most soldiers living on mainly white rice. 

And as every yoga instructor will tell you, “Like, white rice is just empty carbs.” The navy refused to change this system because it would have costed more to feed the men actual nutritious meals. The men also didn’t want to go back to eating a stupid poor person’s diet of brown rice or bread, (so shameful). 

And so the problem got worse until one day, a training ship of 376 crew members got back and reported 25 dead from Edo sickness and almost half her crew sick. Takaki was so glad this happened, I mean he was really sad, condolences, but he used the disaster to propose an experiment, which the navy then eagerly accepted. There was another ship scheduled to go on the same training voyage. Takaki controlled the food on that ship, gave the men a normal healthy amount of protein. He even met with the emperor and promised that the experiment would be successful.

After 9 months, the ship got back. So, out of a crew of 333, how many died of Edo sickness? How many? No one died of Edo sickness. Only 14 got sick, and that was because they didn’t eat what they were told. Success. Again, Takaki was like, “Hey, let’s give the men more protein” and the navy was like, “Oh yes sir absolutely sir, I love reading.”

Takaki later revealed that he would have committed ritual suicide if it failed, it would have been too shameful to break his promise to the emperor. Alas, Takaki’s work was only half done.  So the mysterious Edo sickness the Japanese called kakke (脚気). In English, it’s called Beriberi. 

Beriberi, a word that seems pleasant, but is absolutely not. Kind of like chlamydia. And Julia Roberts. Beriberi is a disease caused by the lack of Vitamin B1, or thiamine. But they didn’t know about vitamins back then. It just so happens that food with protein also tends to have Vitamin B1. So Takaki was kind of right, but you know,  more protein probably made for a better meal anyways. Now that we know beriberi was caused by a lack of Vitamin B1, all of the evidence makes sense, and it explains why eating only white rice was a bad idea. 

Here’s a quick lesson about rice. All Asians should already know this, if you’re Asian and you don’t know, you’re a disgrace and you’re dead to me.. DEAD TO ME. Rice doesn’t come out naturally white. A rice stalk doesn’t cut itself and magically turn into a neat bag of white rice with elephants painted on it. This is different from beef, where when a cow dies it slowly shrinks into a hamburger patty. 

(Don’t ask where the Impossible Burger comes from, it’s very sad.) 

So a rice seed is a lovely little thing, quite tempting and easy on the eyes. It has several layers. First you have the hull, the outer covering that you can’t eat yet. Stay your hunger, because you can take it off, revealing another layer, the bran. It’s a thin, brown undergarment, that entices you with thoughts of hidden secrets beneath. This is brown rice. That bran, that sweet rice underwear, contains Vitamin B1 among other things. 

Now strip off the bran layer, slowly, and you reveal the smooth bare rice body, called the endosperm. Attached to it is the germ, the rice’s reproductive organ, be gentle with this at first, then break it off. This is white rice. All the nutrients, including Vitamin B1, have been stripped off, it’s basically just carbohydrates.

White rice was easier to store and cook, and was a sign of wealth. Anyways, this explains all the evidence. The poorer sailors got sick because they ate mostly white rice, while the richer men and the officers could afford a more varied diet. Large cities were richer and had more access to white rice, while rural areas lived on brown rice. Within cities, the poor got hit more because they could afford white rice, but not much else. The rich had a more varied diet.

 The other things didn’t matter because it wasn’t a microbe. In 1885, Takaki mixed barley into the navy’s white rice. Barley is rich in protein, and also in Vitamin B1. In one year, the deaths from beriberi dropped to zero, and the number of cases dropped 94%. As a bonus, the more nutritious meals made the men healthier. Cases of injury and other diseases dropped by half. You guys, that makes a really strong case for eating healthy which we can all ignore now. But Takaki’s job wasn’t done. You would think with all that evidence, everyone would believe him, but people gonna people. 

The navy believed him, but the Japanese army still refused the new diet. It took 2 decades, 2 wars, and a statement from the emperor himself for the army to finally change. In the First Sino-Japanese War and Japan’s subsequent capture of Taiwan, at least 4000 died to beriberi and 73,000 were hospitalized. One year 90% of the soldiers got sick. At the same time, the navy had… zero cases. 

The army doctors accused the navy doctors of being deluded. Instead of eating barley, the army doctors would eat those words in the Russo-Japanese War, where a disastrous 27,000 men died of beriberi and 250,000 were hospitalized. For comparison, 47,000 died in action. The army switched to the new barley/rice diet in the middle of the war (they were barley in time), and it was part of the reason the Japanese were so successful in that war. 

Takaki Kanehiro’s actions saved countless lives in the military, across Japan, and all over Southeast Asia. He won the nickname of the Barley Baron. Hey guys, here’s today’s quiz question. In what region did Taira no Masakado create his mini-state? You have 24 hours until I choose a winner from among the correct answers. Winner gets one of these babies. Good luck.  

[wasalwaysagreatpickle]

Tuesday 29 April 1834

8 40/..

1 10/..

One kiss last night good to her tho not much to me 

Dullish morning but fair and Fahrenheit 50˚ at 9. Breakfast at 10 – Mrs Bewley had sent off the 1st thing for Matthew Avison to come and speak to me – she highly recommended him for honesty and attention etc. and Miss Walker had seen him and thought he looked quick and as if he might do – stayed in the house waiting for him – In the mean while came a Robert Spofford (at [aetat] 28) had lived 11 1/2 years with a Mrs Coates near Stokesley – having heard from James Clayton at the Black Swan, I wanted a servant – asked £20 – Looked old and little less loutish than James – 

Miss Walker and I out at 1 1/4 – called and sat a little while with Mrs Henry Belcombe – mentioned our intention of taking Mr Brown the drawing master and going to Rokeby during Whitsuntide week – ordered about boots cutting down and calashing at the toes – ordered at Cattle and Barbers tea-kettle cresting with Dr Belcombe’s crest, and looked at Berrys Encyclopaedia Heraldica 2 volumes 4to [quarto] cost 8 guineas and Edmonstones heraldry, and a small 4to [quarto] manuscript book of crests – Walker’s arms mentioned in the two 1st works the same as those now borne by the Walkers of Crownest – Listers of Shibden not mentioned – 

Miss Walker bought set of tea china, price 21/. for wedding present to Mr Bewley’s niece – a few minutes at Myer’s about the carriage (my own) – it will be done (painted etc.) by Thursday 1st of June – 

Home at 2 1/2 – Matthew Avison waiting – Explained about being in treaty for a servant whom I expected to have by and by, but would take Matthew if he would go back with me till this other servant could come – agreed – If I myself gave Matthew warning, and he left me for no great fault, I to pay his expenses back to York – but if he gave warning, or left me for drunkenness, dishonesty, (impertinence not named though intended) or any great fault, then I had nothing to do with his expenses back – his livery to be considered mine unless such things as I myself especially might at any time give him to do as he liked with – to give him after the rate of £20 a year – 

Dinner at 3 – enjoyed the cold boiled beef – Miss Walker evidently nervous at my going though she said little about it – 

She certainly cares for me more and more, seemed much pleased at finding I had ordered a seal to be ready by her birthday and when I said, you see I thought of you, she answered ‘yes when do you not think of me’. I think we shall get on very well together – 

Off from Heworth Grange, York, at 4 35/.. took up Matthew Avison at 5 10/.. at his father’s public house 3 or 4 miles (3 1/2 miles) from York nobody in the shop at Kendell’s, Leeds, but left Miss Walker’s table screen with Kendell’s painter who lives in the court yard, saying I would write about it – off from Kendell’s (detained there 5 minutes) at 8 5/.. – unluckily I had determined to return by the new road, by Gomersall – Dark night – lighted the lamps about 9 – did not get to Shibden till 10 55/.. ! having come foot’s pace over the newly bouldered road, great part of the way – rained all the way – Everybody gone to bed – some minutes before we could get in – sent Eugenie off to bed (rather wet about her arms) immediately – siding – I took nothing to eat or drink – Dull but fair till 2 p.m. from then for the rest of the day and night thoroughly rainy – Fahrenheit 50˚ at 12 1/2 tonight – 

The least imaginable sign of my cousin on washing this morning determined to return home found it come gently just before dinner no time to put linen on so put a pocket handkerchief under me on leaving Leeds soiled it a little but no harm done nothing even on my drawers

Found letter or note dated Halifax 28th instant from a W. Hewson offering himself as man servant – now living with Mrs Asqworth in Gibbet Lane – could be at liberty in a week –