#Second Paper March 2018

[veronicawildest]

NAKSHATRA SERIES: OBSERVATION FROM DIFFERENT NAKSHATRAS (TERCERO)

If you're offended just block me. If you get it, you get it, if you don't, fuck off

PURVA PHALGUNI:

When you're in a Laziest competition and the opponent is Purva phalguni native: ☹️🙁🫤😰😰😨😞

They're the 2nd place for being cheesiest interms of being relationship and inlove (I will revealed the winner of this on the next observations)

I realized just I've been googling Sydney Sweeney that her fiance is 13 years much older than her. The Purva phalguni sun celebrities too as well:

Blake Lively (Purva phalguni moon) and Ryan Reynolds

Beyonce (Purva phalguni sun) and Jay Z

Mena Suvari ( Purva phalguni moon) married Richard Brinkmann on March 4, 2000, when she was 21 and he was 37

It's really a pattern and the Opposite sign of leo is aquarius which is saturn.

Purva phalguni love cars. Aside from Elon Musk, Sydney Sweeney has a tiktok account about repairing cars. She has Purva phalguni sun conjunct rahu (intensifying the energy of Purva phalguni)

The physiognomy of this nakshatra is that they have THICK and unruly eyebrows. (Brooke Shields, Taylor Hill) even that i known in my life has this trait

Certain Purva phalguni celebs talks about anxiety and stressed a lot. The lead singer of Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph is a Purva phalguni moon and you can observe that his songs has a lot of topic about this certain extent. Doubt and Stressed are some of this.

They really love music and arts. Claire nakti specifically talk about performing arts but all kinds of arts related to pleasure. They really love it.

Don't let the laziness of this nakshatra fool you. If they have a goal they'll be great at focusing and getting the goal (Just give them a reason to give a F*** to get it but if they really don't care, they be lazy ass about it)

UTTARA PHALGUNI:

Connections are important to them (even if it's shallow at some extend you will observe them social climbing up way to the top)

Friends before hoes nakshatra (The girls of this nakshatra are more hoes into friends they love their partner more than friends tho)

The older partner one that i observe over purva phalguni girls earlier extend to this nakshatra. but for girls too.

Much funnier than you would expect and also not afraid to speak their minds even if someone is gonna get hurt by them. My classmate has this. If she is a celebrity, one second = cancelled!

Now that I've mention that Nicki Minaj has this moon. No wonder why, Some would say her unhinged opinions on certain things is her manifestation at Jyestha, but i would disagree.

(Some unevolved) girls of this nakshatra are not so much girls girl. They don't claim to be one which is fine but you don't need to bring down others. (They doing it for their friends because of connections y'know shittalking)

The abbreviation of I of Uttara phalguni is INDEPENDENT

HASTA:

I underestimated how this nakshatra gets a lot of hate (some of them are understandable tho)

They're great friends tho. they're are f yapper (if they're comfortable at you)

I always observe them. They're like a sexy librarian (common sidereal virgos that i known have a glasses)

If you want a manipulation teacher who can teach you all kinds of manipulation techniques (I'm talking about drawing, forgery and tarots manipulation involving hands) Go to HASTA!!!!!

They're great mimicker and impersonator (not all are accurate but most of them are funny)

Witty nakshatra (they known how to banter)

Females with this nakshatra have MANY male friends.

They're fvcking horny. Don't let the hasta = nun, virgin fool you bruh

Chitra:

Major trolls!! What i mean to be troll is They like to play dumb even if they are not dumb (Extends to Mrigashira and Dhanistha) They're not DUMB.

They have a manipulation for cameras, If hasta excel at being at work or manipulation of paper involving hands, Chitra would excel at editing, photos and also jewels.

Catriona Gray (Miss Universe 2018) has Chitra moon. As you would see, she looks like Olivia Rodrigo (Chitra moon). Her iconic answer in M.U is Silver Lining and correlation of this nakshatra to jewels.

Most of the gay people that i known have this nakshatra

Kylie Jenner has Mars in Chitra conjunct her moon. That's why the influence of the body is very mars like nakshatra (Her sisters that have some Mars nakshatra/Sidereal mars sign have curvy BBL vibes are Kim Kardashian (Chitra sun) Khloe Kardashian (Dhanistha moon) and Kourtney Kardashian (Ashwini Sun))

SWATI

Others expect that Swati would be the Sweet side of the Libra compare to the other two (Libra side of Chitra and Vishakha), They're fvcking BLUNT!!!! They're also proud to be "Scorpios" just like Vishakha.

Common placement to have on Celebrities. Especially on states. The Celebrities we have on my home country is dominated by Mars nakshatra

In the past, I have a crush on this swati guy. First impression to him that he wasn't real (my mind is foggy remembering him, he's the first one I met to be that unique) even tho I spoke and everyday we talk on school (i didn't know vedic astrology when i met him) wasn't aware that i've been channeling this nakshatra and picking up the vibes of him. ( He loves to joke as well)

My interpretation and explanation of why Libra ( extends to Vishakha) are debilitated on this sign is the misguided aggression of this nakshatra. Some would argue that Magha and Purva phalguni have this too (Magha being cocky about it) but Libra are passive aggressive for some reason. They dont know how to properly assert themselves.

Swati are Physically attractive (you're lying if you found one ugly, or just a hater)

VISHAKHA:

I read on tumblr once, I forgot what her tumblr astrology name was but she mention that Vishakha and Cowboy correlation and I agree to this. Beyonce recently made this. In the past Miley Cyrus has Vishkaha moon and she made Jolene cover. Also, Owen Wilson famously play cowboys in his film.

I just don't know how to word this properly but Vishakha looks good (like goody two shoes good noy reffering to good looking) even if they're not (bad attitude).

If were talking about attractiveness of this nakshatra: i would say HOT, SEXY, SEDUCTIVE. Honestly, this nakshatra extends to femme fatale in my opinion.

They're fucking two face ( I know this is the symbol of Purva bhadraphada but Vishakha? Backstabbing if you're UNEVOLVED)

They great at fashion tho. If you want advice just go to Viskaha interms of beauty and fashion. They're great (among all nakshatra i considered them to be great at transforming other people, Claire nakti said this nakshatra was great for makeover so)

[strscrossed]

mean dom hobo eren: a timeline

(feel free to point out any inconsistencies because it’s a lot and I’m adding/retconning stuff too)

eren:

march 30, 1990 - his birth

2005-2006 - he meets lara, his first wife

2006 - 2017 - eren and lara have an on again, off again relationship. he’s constantly breaking up with her and finding other girls. she’s basically always second choice

2017 - lara secretly baby traps him and he steps up and marries her. don’t remember if he cheats on her or not

~2018 - lara miscarries and eren tries to be there but then he overhears her talking to willy and he finds out that she intentionally baby trapped him, he leaves her. she refuses to divorce him. the tyburs are too powerful

2022 - eren meets mikasa in mid 2022

mikasa:

february 10, 2000 - her birth

october 25, 2010 - koji, her brother, is born

~2011 - 2012 - her parents die, either an accident or a double homicide. she and koji go to live with kenny/levi

~2019 - she moves out and takes full custody of her brother. she’s engaged to porco at this point and she moves in with him. all is well. but then she comes home early one day to find porco in bed with one of her bridesmaids so she immediately ends the engagement and the relationship

late 2019 - she starts working in a bookshop

late 2022 - she meets eren and he immediately hires her on the spot

eremika’s relationship:

mid - late 2022: the relationship is professional, though there’s attraction between the two of them

very late 2022: they have sex for the first time and the relationship keeps going even though they try to stop it multiple times

late 2022: april 2023: eren gets super involved in mikasa’s life and even enrolls her brother in the best school in the country and pays for the tuition.

may 2023: lara comes back into eren’s life again, asking to reconcile and saying that she will absolutely not sign the divorce papers

late 2023: she starts sniffing out that eren might be in a relationship with his secretary and she gets willy to do something about it

january 2024: willy threatens mikasa after a gala and forces her to move away. eren is shattered and desperately starts searching for her

july 2024: koji makes contact with eren and he finds them. and he brings them back.

august 2024 - june 2025: eren and mikasa are are back together but secretly while he gets his revenge on the tyburs via gaslighting and shorting their stock. this becomes the climax of the story.

september 2025 - eren and lara’s divorce is finalized

new year’s eve 2025 - eren proposes and that’s when mikasa figures out that they’ve been in a relationship for the last three years

february - march 2026: mikasa learns she’s pregnant

june 12, 2026: em are married in a private ceremony

october 1, 2026: their son, kai, is born

december 21, 2028: twins kane and hana are born

may 3, 2030: twins victoria and amelia are born

april 25, 2032: their daughter, emiko, is born

august 13, 2038: they have twin girls (no names yet)

[pandorasword]

Chaeri as the 8th and youngest member of BTS

CHAERI'S MASTERLIST

CHAERI'S LOVE LIFE IN A TIMELINE

Love interests - 2015 to present

A summary of dating, rejections and any romantic interaction between Chaeri and others

The night market - april 2013

In which Chaeri and Jungkook sneak out of the dorms during the trainee period

Chaeri and Jungkook as babysitters - march 2017

In which a little girl is asked to keep Chaeri and Jungkook's biggest secret

Isn't it wrong so good? - April 2017

In which Chaeri and Jungkook need some time alone

How the members reacted to Chaeri and Jungkook's relationship

A love letter - summer 2017

In which Chaeri and Jungkook have a sneaky little date

Clingy Jungkook [a private Instagram post] - april 2018

Red gardenias - october 2018

In which a bouquet of flowers can be worth more than a thousand words

Chaeri's Bodyguard Betrayal - early 2019

In which we learn why Chaeri's bodyguard betrayed her

Silver lips 1/2 | Silver lips 2/2 - november 22, 2021, American Music Awards

In which Chaeri has an incredible urge to be the first to kiss her ex-boyfriend, Jungkook, who has just had his lip pierced

2 a.m. decisions - december 2021

In which a kiss leads Chaeri to a forced hiatus and, when she returns to Korea for New Year's Eve, Jungkook decides to visit her

A look through Chaeri and Hoongjoong's relationship - 2022 to present

BTS and ATEEZ's reaction to Chaeri and Hongjoong - 2022

Chaeri and Hongjoong first times - january/february 2022 to june 2022

Hongjoong and Chaeri caught in intimate moments - june 2022

In which Chaeri and Hongjoong end up on the front pages of local gossip papers

Fire mouth - june 2022

In which Hongjoong finds himself addicted to something he dislikes, only because he tastes it from Chaeri's lips (+ a video about them parenting Ateez)

The Price of Love in the Public Eye - july 2022

In which Hongjoong experiences being in a public relationship as a kpop idol

How Hongjoong and Chaeri's relationship broke all the logics of the KPOP industry - second half of 2022

In which Hongjoong and Chaeri break all the logic of KPOP by being overly public with their relationship

When night comes - July/August 2022

In which Chaeri stays overnight at Hongjoong's for the first time

If by Chance - august 2022

Snippets of Jungkook's perspective on the relationship between Hongjoong and Chaeri

Checkered Flag for Love - september/october, 2022

In which Chaeri takes Hongjoong to a GP

Trip Vlog - Stockholm - october 2022

In which Chaeri and Hongjoong go to Stockholm for a vacation

Romantic Hongjoong [an instagram post] - november 2022

Jungkook's 03.03.2023 live - live moments recalling January/February 2023

In which fans, during the live, notice obvious references of Chaeri and Jungkook during January and February 2023

Jungkook's 14.03.2023 live - live moments recalling January/February 2023

In which Jk's live on 14.03.23 is nothing more than a summary of his time with Chaeri at the beginning of the year

Eden's wedding - late january, 2023

In which Hongjoong cannot help but notice the way Jungkook looks at Chaeri

Calvin Klein 1/3 | Calvin Klein 2/3 | Calvin Klein 3/3 - march 2023

In which posing for Calvin Klein turns out to be a more challenging job than she'd ever thought it would be

Seoul Love On tour 1/2 | Seoul Love On Tour 2/2 (Two Ghosts) - march 20, 2023

In which Harry Styles' post-concert doesn't go as planned for Chaeri, as Jungkook has something to tell her

Calvin Klein Event - may 10, 2023

In which fans receive informations about Chaeri and Jungkook's argument

A Break-up? Speculation and theories - june, 2023

In which medias speculate about a possible breakup between Chaeri and Hongjoong

Chaekook to LA - june, 2023

K-talk: More speculations about a possible Break-up - july, 2023

In which a podcast talks about a possible breakup between Chaeri and Hongjoong

Seven - july, 2023

In which Chaeri is the guest star in Jungkook's new MV

Why do you love? - august, 2023

In which Hongjoong releases a song about a love that has ended, and the fans turn against Chaeri

You came - december 11, 2023

The night before Jungkook's enlistment

[kateshistoryspot]

The Terror: The Show, The History, The New Findings

On March 25th, 2018, AMC premiered the show "The Terror" to captivated audiences. The first season of the show follows the crew of The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror: two exploring ships hoping to find the Northwest Passage. Following the plot of Dan Simmon's 2007 novel of the same name, the crew falls victim to supernatural happenings, as well as the naturally occurring ones happening both inside and outside of the ship. Yet, who were the men of the Franklin Expedition, and what do we know now?

The Franklin Expedition was a Victorian exploration party, named for one of the captains, Sir John Franklin. Setting out from England, they stopped by Greenland and then headed north past Baffin Island, looking for King William Land. Other than Franklin, the two other captains were Francis Crozier of Terror and James Fitzjames of Erebus. These two men were put in charge upon the death of Sir John in 1848. However, such was for naught, as the expedition party disappeared without a trace, along with their ships.

For years, all that remained of the Franklin Expedition were papers, tin cans, three mummified corpses (none of which were the captains), and the testimony of the Inuit. Terrifying stories were recounted of a party finding a massive corpse with teeth like a rat's (although the testimony has been questioned by historians and buffs alike).

Interest in the ill fated ship failed to waiver: search parties were turning up, looking for survivors. Stories of a lone survivor, named Aglooka, were passed down. Yet, it wouldn't be for another hundred some-odd years that further evidence would be found, and the pieces would come into place.

In 1981, the FEFAP project was launched by Owen Beattie, who was at the time a professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta. They planned to walk the western coast of King William Land in hopes of finding evidence of what happened. Artifacts were located, as well as desiccated human remains that not only showed signs of scurvy, but of cannibalism. Cut marks were found on bone fragments on the site, as well as suggestive signs of decapitation.

Testing discovered something else that was shocking: many of the bones found had very high levels of lead in them, suggesting that a number of the men had suffered from acute lead poisoning.

In 1982, Beattie returned with a number of students to walk the path again, and this time found the "Boat Place," along with the remains of 6-14 men, and a boot sole with cleats.

Due to the concerns of lead poisoning, the remains of the three men buried at Beechy island were exhumed and tested, all of which showed high levels of lead. Beattie believed this was due to the canned goods brought on the ship, which were improperly soldered shut, and allowed for lead to leech into the food, as well as spoilage.

In 1992, ten years after the second expedition, Barry Ranford, a Franklin scholar, discovered human remains near the boat place. 400 bones and fragments, clay pipes, buttons, etc. were found. Like the remains found before, these bones also showed signs of cannibalism, except these had suffered a phenomena called "pot polishing," where the ends of the bones rub against the pot while cooking. There were also signs of end-stage cannibalism: that the survivors were breaking open bones in hopes of finding the marrow within.

For the next twenty years, minor artifacts would be found, but no leads. It wouldn't be until 2014 that Erebus would be found, at the bottom of Queen Maud Gulf. Sonar showed the condition of the ship, which was quite good, yet quickly deteriorated. The UK claimed the first 65 artifacts brought up from the ship, while the ship itself is joint owned by the country of Canada and the Inuit.

Two years after the wreck of Erebus was found, Terror would be found as well. Found in the aptly named "Terror Bay" in 2016, it was declared to be in "pristine" condition, and videos were taken of it from a ROV.

In 2021, the body of John Gregory was identified, after nearly 200 years of mystery. Although found in 1859, the body wasn't identifiable due to the wear and tear it had been through. With the help of DNA from his great-great-great grandson and namesake, Johnathon Gregory, the bones were identified.

Yet, the most recent discovery was a mere few days ago: James Fitzjames, the third in command and captain of Erebus, was identified. First found in 1861, the remains were found near a boat, where the Inuit had described cannibalism having taken place. All that was left of him was a mandible, which was DNA tested in 2024 and confirmed to be him. It was also confirmed that Fitzjames corpse had been consumed by survivors.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AMC'S THE TERROR SEASON 1

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In the show, the crew's demise is caused by a combination of the elements, lead poisoning, and attacks from the demon polar bear Tuunbaq, a creature based off of the Inuit mythological creature Tupilaq, which is a creature of divine vengeance. The Tuunbaq hunts the crew during their time on the ice, tundra, and even in the wasteland, eating their souls and corpses. It is Doctor Goodsir, the favorite of many show watchers, who takes it down: by poisoning himself while in the cannibal encampment, which poisons the cannibals, who are eaten by the Tuunbaq, who dies. It is Crozier in this version who is the lone survivor, and who is named as Aglooka.

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End of Terror Spoilers

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In real life, the crews only dealt with the harsh environment that they were traversing, alongside starvation. There is contention about the lead poisoning hypothesis, and although I believe it, other historians do not. We do not know who the last man standing was, and we do not know the timeline that accompanies the deaths. All we know was that there was starvation, and mass demise.

I loved Terror Season 1: the sets and designs were historically accurate, and the show handled portraying the Inuit better than the book did. Jared Harris is becoming one of my favorite actors, because of how many period dramas he's in, and how amazing an actor he is. He nailed the character of Crozier, portraying him sympathetically. Ciaran Hinds was spectacular as always (he never has a bad role), and it was wonderful to see Tobias Menzies outside of Game of Thrones (I haven't watched much Outlander, but it's on the list). I would definitely recommend this show, definitely for Halloween, and definitely for the period buff itching to watch something scary and mid-Victorian.

[dedalvs]

Fiat Lingua Top 10 for 2023

It's time for the annual Fiat Lingua rewind!

Background: I created Fiat Lingua over ten years ago with the idea that it could be something like the Rutgers Optimality Archive: A place where conlangers could post work that they wanted to showcase, or work that was in progress. We've had tons of contributions over the years, and some standout work I'm really proud of.

Using our fancy statistics program (you know, the free version) we're able to determine the top 10 visited posts for this year (though, note, the numbers for the current year's December post will always be down a little bit, since it didn't have a full month. If you'd like to take a look at it, Carsten Becker did a version of "Silent Night" in his conlang Ayeri!). Here they are!

NUMBER 10

"Road Trip Conlanging with Kids" (August, 2023) by Mia DeSanzo: Fiat Lingua is supposed to be an archive of long, detailed conlang articles, and also short, breezy conlang ideas, and this is one of the latter! It's less than a page long, but a fun idea, and it was quite well-received!

NUMBER 9

"Art & Anxiety: Conlanging through impostor syndrome" (February, 2023) by Jessie Sams (now Jessie Peterson): This is a personal reflection by @quothalinguist on how she has dealt with impostor syndrome, and how it's impacted her conlanging.

NUMBER 8

"Taadži Linguistics" (March, 2023) by Lauren Kuffler: This is a wonderful introduction to the Taadži language, which features a writing system reminiscent of Mayan epigraphs.

NUMBER 7

"Tone for Conlangers: A Basic Introduction" (April, 2018) by Aidan Aannestad: Making a second consecutive appearance in the top ten, Aidan Aannestad's introduction to tone has been an invaluable resource for conlangers producing tonal conlangs for just over five years now!

NUMBER 6

"Afrihili: An African Interlanguage" (April, 2014) by William S. Annis: Afrihili is an a posteriori auxlang from the late 60s that uses Bantu languages as its source, and it is fascinating! One of my all-time favorite auxlangs, and William provides a wonderful introduction. Of interest, this article was number 6 in the top ten last year, as well!

NUMBER 5

"Names Aren’t Neutral: David J. Peterson on Creating a Fantasy Language" (March, 2019) by David J. Peterson: Up four spots from last year, this is my article on best practices when coming up with names in a fantasy setting—even when no conlang is present.

NUMBER 4

"Grambank & Language Documentation: Zhwadi and Its Features" (June, 2023) by Jessie Sams (now Jessie Peterson): The first of the game-changing mega-resources for conlanging Jessie created in 2023, this is a short description of how to use Grambank in conlanging with a link to a fillable Google spreadsheet any conlanger can copy and use to introduce their conlang to others.

NUMBER 3

"Patterns of Allophony" (April, 2015) by William S. Annis: Definitely one of the most popular papers on Fiat Lingua, William illustrates graphically a number of very common sound changes. This article once again occupies the third spot of our top ten!

NUMBER 2

"A Conlanger's Thesaurus" (September, 2014) by William S. Annis: We have a new number 1 for this year! This has, historically, been the most accessed article on Fiat Lingua, and it's obvious to see why. The article is relatively short, compared to the information and use you can get out of it. William Annis details ways in which languages relate words to other similar words. For conlangers who struggle either with coming up with words that are different from English in meaning, or who struggle with coming up with words at all, this reference article should prove very useful. Using the word maps in this article, you might be able to come up with words you never dreamt of before, but words which could exist in some language. A great resource for conlangers who are desperately trying to break out of the influence of their L1 or L2!

And now for the top viewed article for 2023 on Fiat Lingua...

NUMBER 1

"A Surreal Conlang" (January, 2023) by David J. Peterson: Quite the surprise! Late 2022 I wrote an article about how one might go about creating a surreal conlang—neither naturalistic nor regular and artificial like an auxlang or engelang—and it went up on Fiat Lingua on January 1st. I think (or hope) it served as a useful jumping off point for conlangers who are looking to try something really different from what they've seen done elsewhere.

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And that's it for 2023! I'm looking forward to posting more conlang articles next year. If you are a conlanger, a conlang-researcher, or conlang fan who has something to say in .pdf format about a specific conlang or conlanging in general, please consider submitting something to Fiat Lingua! We take any and all articles related to conlanging in whatever form you have them. I'm also happy to help you think up ideas, or refine those ideas you have. There is no strong review like in a fancy journal: I just want to get what you have up. I'm especially in interested in hosting personal conlang stories—stories about how or why you started to create a language, or your experience creating your own language—personal stories that are often lost, but are so vital, as there is an absolute dearth of literature about conlangers! If you think you have even the seed of an idea, please get a hold of me! I want to share as many stories and ideas as I can.

[writingonleaves]

meet our oc - grace facciola

comedown au masterlist

**spoiler free!!**

The basics!

Grace Luna Facciola was born on April 19, 2000 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She grew up in North Vancouver before her family moved to LA when she was 13.

Her mother, Ingrid, is of Norwegian descent and her father, Marciano, is of Italian descent 

Marciano is on the board of directors of Columbia Records. Ingrid works in a lab doing research at University of British Columbia. They are divorced, and Ingrid married Grace’s step-father David in 2019. David works as a landscaper.

She has one older brother, Chase Roman, who lives in Colorado with his fiance Kaylin. He’s an accountant. Grace is decently close with him, or as close as they can be with living in different states. He is three years older than her.

Attended the University of Southern California for two years (2018-2020) before deciding to leave and pursue her songwriting / producing career full time

Has written with notable artists including Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter, 5 Seconds of Summer, Gracie Abrams, Lizzy McAlpine, Holly Humberstone, Renee Rapp, Jeremy Zucker

Her most notable achievement (as of 2025) is that she was a co-writer on “Love of My Life” by Harry Styles on the album Harry’s House, which went on to win a Grammy Award for Album Of The Year.

Key character traits: daring, gracious, creative, sensitive, earnest

Clothing style: loves a pair of loose, flowy linen pants. fun earrings. different colored jackets. loves a good braid

Meets Luke Hughes when he comes up to her in a bar in New York where she was performing at an open mic night in February 2025. 

On that same night, she meets Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, Nate Bastian, Clementine Sandoval and Amelie Fishel. 

Through Luke and Jack, she meets Quinn Hughes in March 2025 after the Devils play the Canucks at the Prudential Center.

Random fun tidbits!

Grace gets compared to her friend Renee Rapp a lot in terms of her vocal ability. It’s a common sentiment throughout the music industry that Grace has one of the best voices in the game. She just thrives more behind a pen and paper or in the studio. But any note she sings is always worth stopping and listening to.

Can hold her alcohol scarily well. The only person who has ever come close to beating her is Nico, and that was one of the worst hangovers he ever had. 

She knows how to play a lot of instruments — if Grace sees a guitar she will at least strum it a few times no matter what — but her favorite is the piano with its elegance and its simplicity. Most of the songs she writes start out on the piano. 

Carries a notebook and pen with her at all times

Wine aunt energy

Loves a good croissant

A romantic at heart

[buddiefix]

Time Travel (Time Loop) Fic's

The following are some of my favourite buddie fanfiction that involve the character(s) either traveling in time or encountering a time loop.

(Any new fic's I find that fall under this category will be added to this post, so feel free to check back for edits!)

Don't Take the Money by HMSLusitania

9-1-1 (TV)  

“You know, being stuck here isn’t actually the end of the world,” Chimney says, coming up to the table and picking up one of the smoke detectors. “It just feels like it, Buck. Trust me, I know.” “I’m pretty sure it might actually be the end of the world,” Buck says. “Considering this is the sixth time I’ve lived this day.” Chimney stares at him for a beat and then his eyebrows lift. “Wait, are you like – dude, are you in Groundhog Day?”

OR

The post-lawsuit time-loop AU literally no one asked for.

Language: English Words: 21,831 Chapters: 3/3

Encore by Pline

9-1-1 (TV)  

“I’m going insane.”

“Did something happen?”

A dark, bitter laugh bubbles out of Buck – a mockery of joy.

“Everything keeps happening, and it’s still the same fucking day. It’s always the same and every time it’s different and I can’t do anything.”

Or

Buck keeps reliving the same day, over and over again.

Language: English Words: 20,129 Chapters: 2/2

Benign Fatality by EtoileGarden

9-1-1 (TV)  

Eddie noticed it like this;

Sometimes, when Buck’s done a day too many times, he forgets that this day might be the real day, the one that continues on into the rest of his life. It’s exhausting dying and waking up just to go die again. And the thing was, when a death was to do with work, he knew he could just ask to be man behind, or not go into work, but - but who would he be condemning to die in his place if he didn’t go in and try to avoid it? Maybe no one, yes, but maybe someone.

Buck repeats days until he doesn't die in them, has an underdeveloped sense of self worth, and Eddie is the one who wants to step in with him.

Language: English Words: 23,069 Chapters: 4/4

burn the straw house down by rarakiplin (gmontys) for catchingpapermoons

9-1-1 (TV)  

“Why the fuck are you even in this loop? This day isn’t about you.”

“Well, I die,” Eddie comments idly, not sounding as offended as he maybe should be. “Haven’t you heard? I’m always dying.”

“That’s not funny.”

Eddie shrugs, not really agreeing or disagreeing. It’s a few seconds before he says, eyes still closed, “Maybe I’m here so you’re not alone.”

or, buck gets stuck in time, has a break down and then, relatedly, a break through

Language: English Words: 40,271 Chapters: 2/2

a buckley never forgets by sky_of_starflowers

9-1-1 (TV)  

Eddie leaves the 118. Two weeks later, Buck dies in a warehouse fire with a steel beam across his chest. With his final thoughts, Buck begs the universe for a second chance.

Buck wakes up after taking his final breaths to find out that it's the day before Eddie starts at the 118 - August 5th, 2018.

-

Buck dies and instead of staying dead, the universe throws him three and a half years into the past to give Buck another shot.

Language: English Words: 39,102 Chapters: 1/1

but i can see all along, love (it was you all the way down) by diazchristopher

9-1-1 (TV)  

He puts his laptop away after a bit, and paces the length of his apartment as he tries to take stock of the situation at hand.

One: The date is March 22nd, 2024.

Two: It has been March 22nd for 3 days now.

Three: Buck is trapped in some kind of time loop that is forcing him to relive this day.

Four: Eddie is, apparently, in love with him.

And. And.

Five: Buck doesn’t feel the same way.

or, eddie confesses his feelings for buck. buck is absolutely, a hundred percent sure that he does not feel the same way.

the universe has different plans.

Language: English Words: 28,823 Chapters: 1/1

Buck In Time by thea_zara

9-1-1 (TV)

Evan Buckley has gone back in time, and he didn't even get a cool DeLorean.

Language: English Words: 360,079 Chapters: 78/78

my words are paper tigers by hattalove

9-1-1 (TV)  

He wakes up with Eddie's arm thrown over his waist.

There's a pit in his stomach as soon as he opens his eyes, because the alarm is on again, the same radio station, the same song. The sunlight streaming into the room is buttery-soft, brand new because it's early. The alarm is ringing so they can take Chris to school. And—

He reaches out for the bedside table on his side of the bed they share, clumsily unplugs his phone one-handed. The screen lights up to a familiar wallpaper, and it's right there, just above the top of Buck's head: Wednesday.

or: buck breaks up with eddie, even if it means losing a part of himself, because it's the right thing to do. the universe decides to test that conviction.

Language: English Words: 19,981 Chapters: 1/1

(Friendly reminder I do not own any of the works listed in this post, and all can be located on archiveofoureown.org)

[mcgiggers]

London, Paris - March 2024

Just back from a fantastic art viewing adventure in the old world which featured stops at the Tate Modern and Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art in London, and the Musée d’Orsay, the Foundation Louis Vuitton and the Bourse de Commerce in Paris. The four-day trip was on the back end of a stay in the 13th century hilltop village of Petritoli, located in Le Marche, where local churches and those in the neighboring towns displayed marvelous medieval and renaissance style treasures. In the big cities, however, the focus was more on contemporary offerings. The whole made for a fascinating journey through an exciting part of art history.

London

An attempt to see the Yoko Ono exhibit at the Tate Modern was stymied by sold out crowds. The serendipity in poor planning however resulted in an opportunistic visit to the museum’s permanent collection, more specifically the magical second floor featuring modern masters and post war stalwarts. With entire rooms dedicated to the likes of Joan Mitchell and Gerhard Richter, among others, the walk-through played out like a greatest hits tour where around every corner an even more marvelous sensory treat was served up. Highlights of the visit included: Georges Braque’s early cubist masterpiece “Clarinet and Bottle of Rum on Mantlepiece”, 1911, oil on canvas (31.9 x 23.6 in.); Giorgio Griffa’s painterly “Tre linee con arabesco n.111”, 1991, acrylic on unstretched and unbleached canvas (114.4 x 76.4 in.); and Agnes Martin’s contemplative grid patterned renderings “On a Clear Day”, 1973, thirty screenprints on paper (each 12 x 12 in.), edition 32 of 50.

On the other side of town on the campus of one of the world’s most renowned art schools, a Matt Connors exhibit, Finding Aid, opened its doors at the Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art. Featuring new and older works by the American abstract artist, the expansive grouping of paintings, sculptures and drawings cleverly paired Connors’ soft geometric abstraction and minimalist marking styles.  Showstoppers included: the large-scale bold vertical diptychs “Mural for a Gay Household I” and “Mural for a Gay Household II”, 2018-2020, acrylic on canvas; the vibrant “Red Top (deployed hatch)”, 2015, acrylic on canvas; and the sparse “Echo Implies Room (Orange/unprimed)”, 2012, acrylic and colored pencil on canvas.

Paris

Forty-eight hours later, the Eurostar abetted transition to Paris was speedy and eventless. Even under cloudy skies, the City of Light was totally sublime and uniquely picturesque. The art stops along the way were knockout shows in beautiful venues which in and of themselves were artistic and architectural marvels. At the Musée d’Orsay, the magnificently repurposed train station was the setting for the Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism exhibit. The show celebrates the 150th anniversary of the inaugural exhibit of the then avant-garde movement and chronicles the transition from staid and traditional realism to hazier and freer interpretations of subject matter capturing a moment in time, an impression, so to speak. The cast of characters that led the way included MVPs in the annals of art history - Monet, Renoir, Degas and Cézanne, among others, all of whom figure prominently in the exhibit. The highlights included: Auguste Renoir’s “La Loge”, 1874, oil on canvas (31.5 x 24.8 in.); Claude Monet’s “Impression, soliel levant”, 1872, oil on canvas (19.63 x 25.63 in.); and Edgar Degas’ “Classe de danse”, circa 1870, oil on wood (7.75 x 10.63 in.).

The next visit on the journey was the futuristic Frank Gehry-designed Foundation Louis Vuitton and the Mark Rothko retrospective. The comprehensive exhibit brought together 115 or so works of the powerhouse American abstract artist and presented a chronology of the evolution of his early figurative renderings to mystical and surreal style paintings and finally, to his entrancing iconic floating forms. The highlights included: the early representational scene “Contemplation”, 1937-1938, oil on canvas; the surrealist masterpiece “Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea”,1944, oil on canvas; and dozens upon dozens of mesmerizing large format colour abstractions, including, “Orange and Red on Red”, 1957, oil on canvas (68.8 x 66 in.) and “No. 14”, 1960, oil on canvas (114 x 105 in.).

The last planned stop in Paris was the Pinault Collection at the impressively remodelled Bourse de Commerce. Spiralling up the majestic rotunda, works by contemporary art rockstars were prominently displayed. Among these were: Peter Doig’s haunting “Pelican (Stag)”, 2003-2004, oil on canvas; Maurizio Cattelan’s poignant “Him”, 2001, wax, human hair, suit, polyester resin and pigment; and a monumental installation by Sturtevant replicating the mythical room staged by Marcel Duchamp at the 1938 International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris.

Closing off the trip and reaching back in the art history timeline, a truly memorable work was discovered by happenstance during an unplanned visit to Eglise Saint-Séverin. Dating back to the 13th century, the gothic style place of worship housed numerous elaborate chapels which were all built around altars and adored by art of the time. A particular work stood out as it was presented alone hung high on a huge wall under a circular stained-glass window surrounded by nothing else but the serenity of the immediate environment. It totally radiated under the spotlight that illuminated a depicted religious figure sitting at a table who perhaps was Saint Séverin, a devout 6th century hermit and the church’s namesake.

Meanwhile, in the new world, there was a lot more commotion as Hogtown’s Jurassic Park was hit with an asteroid of epic proportions that essentially wiped out all remnants of a recent championship team.  The Dinos were dissected and dismantled. Gone are Crazy Eyes and OG-Won Kenobi, and team leader Scottie B and the much-maligned Austrian Big succumbed to season ending injuries. All the while, the newly minted Raptors including RJ the Prodigal Son Barrett and Immanuel La Squig Quickley struggled to stay healthy and make their mark. The result has been a team that is nowhere near relevant in the standings nor the hearts of fans. With the prospect of a lengthy and bumpy rebuilding process ahead, Dino fans can perhaps take some solace in rooting for the success of Raptor expats applying their trade elsewhere or maybe even Canadian hoopsters playing for true championship contenders. It’s all a lot rosier than the current state of affairs in Jurassic Park.

For more information on any of the venues, artists or works mentioned, or the sad sack Dinos, “Just Google It”.

There you have it sportsfans,

MC Giggers

(Https://mcgiggers.tumblr.com) Reporter’s Certification

I, MC Giggers, hereby certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views and that no part of my compensation was or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific views expressed herein.

I also certify that I may or may not own, directly or indirectly, works of artists mentioned in this report and that I may or may not have a strong bias for such artists and, more generally, for “Pictures of Nothing”.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Busted

These are all the rumors and theories that have been resolved as “busted” or proven lies. This post will be updated as things happen.

Harry’s Spare

Sussexes threatened to blackball any media organization that gives interviews or publicity to Tom Bower/Revenge.

Harry’s memoir wasn’t what the publisher expected so PRH will bury it between Michelle Obama’s new book and Matthew Perry’s upcoming memoir.

Meghan wanted to re-edit Harry’s memoir to counter Bower’s allegations point-by-point.

Harry to give interview for Spare to Gayle King for CBS.

Harry’s book to be published and released in November 2022 for holiday sales.

Meghan and Harry have been separated since early summer 2022, Harry lives in San Francisco by himself.

William and Harry divided their mother’s jewelry between them and Harry chose the sapphire ring but he later swapped it with William for something else so it could be Kate’s engagement ring and worn by a Queen as Diana wished.

William stole Diana’s engagement ring from Harry (and therefore Meghan) to propose to Kate.

Harry’s 4 book deal involves: 1) Harry’s memoir from birth to meeting Meghan, 2) Harry’s memoir from meeting Meghan to the present, 3) Meghan’s memoir, 4) book on parenting

Harry’s first memoir to be about Diana and the circumstances of her death.

Harry’s book postponed indefinitely.

Harry to rewrite his memoir to be more favorable to the royal family following Queen’s death and Charles’s ascension.

Harry’s book delayed to add chapters about Sussex split and divorce.

Charles to give Archie and Lili titles if Harry drops his memoir.

Harry’s book to cover William’s affair with Rose in great detail.

Harry to claim the IRA was behind Diana’s death like they were Lord Mountbatten’s death.

Harry to claim Charles’s inner circle was behind Lord Mountbatten and Diana’s deaths.

Diana is secretly alive.

Valentine Low’s book Courtiers will cause Sussexes to spiral – Harry to leave Meghan and return to the UK, Meghan to go into a narc rage and file lawsuits.

Harry’s book to allege the BRF arranged Diana’s death to look like an accident.

Harry eloped with Meghan in Botswana on the second or third date.

Harry will attack Philip in new memoirs, reveal racism and classism against Meghan.

Tina Brown, The Palace Papers

(none)

Tom Bower, Revenge

Harry arranged his Caribbean tour in 2016 to subsidize his trip to the US to see Meghan on taxpayer money.

Meghan didn't really go to Botswana with Harry and she just photoshopped herself into pictures with him.

Meghan dropped out of Northwestern University.

Secret Windsor meeting between Sussexes and Charles and The Queen in April 2022 was to renegotiate Megxit.

Secret Windsor meeting in April 2022 to initiate divorce proceedings.

Secret Windsor meeting in April 2022 to negotiate giving up their titles.

Secret Windsor meeting in April 2022 for Meghan to be interviewed for the bullying investigation.

Netflix Docuseries

Archie is actually the biological son of Meghan’s friend, doesn’t live with Meghan and Harry.

The “real” Lili is an Australian baby model.

Royal christening for Lili after Charles ascends, before coronation. (According to the Netflix series, Tyler Perry was asked to be Lili’s godfather; however, he accepted the honor only if they didn’t have the ceremony in London with the royals.) (Update, March 2023: While Sussex PR announced that Lili was christened, there has been no photographic proof or solid evidence otherwise to convince me that it actually happened. Meghan’s PR, especially in the 2016 - May 2018 years, often ran with “let’s not and say we did” stories about her relationships to/with members of the royal family. Until there are pictures that Lili was christened in March 2023, I am leaving this here.)

Sussexes wanted to significantly re-edit the Netflix series and delay it to 2023 to remove comments about Charles, Camilla, William, and Catherine following The Queen’s death.

The Netflix series will be called “Chapters.”

The series to be mainly archival footage from their time as royals with new commentary.

Netflix series to be re-edited after use of stock footage in the trailers was universally panned.

Netflix series delayed due to copyright issues over the use of uncredited or unpurchased stock footage.

Series to be re-edited after The Queen’s death because of insults to the BRF that, if left in, would ruin Meghan’s reputation.

*************************************

March 2023 Updates!

Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh

Charles won’t give Edward Duke of Edinburgh titles.

Edward to decline Duke of Edinburgh titles because his family can’t afford the dukedom/keeping up appearances for the dukedom.

King Charles to establish Duchess of Edinburgh as the new title for monarch’s daughters and retire Princess Royal with Princess Anne as her lasting legacy.

Charlotte to receive Duchess of Edinburgh at Charles’s coronation.

Edward to get Duke of Edinburgh titles as part of Charles’s coronation honors.

Charles to give Duke of Edinburgh title to Harry if/when he returns to London, has never wanted to give it to Edward.

Edward and Sophie to claim Duke of Edinburgh titles for themselves the same way Meghan “claimed” Prince/Princess titles on Archie and Lili’s behalf.

Miscellaneous, about the Prince and Princess of Wales

William and Kate to have pregnancy announcement in January/February 2023.

Pregnancy announcement ahead of the BAFTAs 2023.

Pregnancy announcement sometime the weekend of 3/10 - 3/12 ahead of the Commonwealth Service. Kate to debut baby bump at Commonwealth Service.

Miscellaneous, about Harry and Meghan

Sussex divorce announcement by January 23, 2023.

Meghan pregnant with third baby, will use the pregnancy to force titles on Archie and Lili since 1917 LP isn’t retroactive per 2022 BP, titles are only for new grandchildren born under the reign of the monarch. Sussexes will argue that it’s not fair for only their youngest child to be titled.

Meghan to relaunch The Tig on February 14, 2023.

Public development on Sussex divorce by February 19, 2023.

Sussexes to be on the cover of the Time 100 centenary.

Sussexes to be involved in the Time 100 centenary coverage.

Live to Lead nominated for an Academy Award in documentary categories.

Meghan and Harry attending Davos 2023.

Sussex divorce announcement between February 19 - March 21, 2023.

Sussexes attending Atlantis The Royal opening in Dubai.

Meghan to relaunch social media in February 2023.

Meghan to return to social media in the second half of February 2023 to take attention from Kate’s Early Years work.

Meghan to make a surprise appearance at Oscars 2023 or afterparties.

Meghan to relaunch The Tig during the week of March 13, 2023, with a focus on her children to take attention away from Commonwealth Day Service.

Miscellaneous, about others

Sarah Ferguson to present at Oscars 2023 for the Elvis movie.

Sarah Ferguson replaced Meghan as a presenter at Oscars 2023.

[nct-sky]

Sky’s Pets

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Sky has four cats, that live in her Apartment.

⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵

Jumi (Gem)

Jumi is Sky’s first pet. She is born 2015 and ended up in the animal shelter in 2017 when her owner moved away. In late 2017 Sky saw her in a article and decided to adopt her. Jumi moved into NCT 127 dorm, before moving into Sky's apartment in 2020. By 2023 she is 8 years old and a calm grandma that loves to sleep.

🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫🔵⚫

Orion

Orion is Sky’s second cat and was adopted in 2018. Sky found him on the streets and decided to take him in. She brought him to a vet and got all the papers done before actually introducing him to Jumi. He was a very tiny kitten and had to be hand fed for a long time. But eventually he grew into a healthy cat with a playful and cuddly personality. He is 5 years old by 2023.

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Juhee (Joyful)

Juhee is Sky’s third cat and was adopted out of a shelter in 2021. She had ended up in a shelter because her owner had falsely expected his dog to get along with her. After a near biting incident, she was put into the shelter, where Sky found her and adopted her. She is a calm natured cat and loves to lounge around. By 2023 she is 4 years old.

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Maeum (Heart and mind)

Maeum is Sky’s fourth and latest Kitten. He was born March 2023 and is a curious but shy cat. Sky adopted him in August 2023 after he and his siblings were confiscated from an illegal cat transport. He is incredibly playful, and he loves to explore everything. His looks have gotten him a couple of nicknames such as ‘Gom’ (bear) or ‘Somee’ (Cotton ball) from Sky and the fans.

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Disclaimer: All the pictures are from Pinterest and are not mine. Credit to the owners.

©︎ nct-sky - all rights reserved. do not copy, repost, or translate my work on Tumblr or other platforms.

[princeofconjurers]

[[ It is That Time.

Watching a bootleg of Phantom on YouTube because we don't have a DVD player right now and Phantom is only streaming if you pay for it right now.

I first saw this musical 20 years ago (well, it will be 20 years ago in October, didn't quite get to 20 years. I wanted to see it for my birthday this year in October for the 20th anniversary of seeing it on Broadway but unfortunately that won't happen, even though I'm moving close to New York later this month).

I am so glad I got to see it three times on Broadway when in New York last month. I didn't know if I'd be able to see it again and I ended up seeing it three times on that trip. Such a beautiful production.

I heard Laird Mackintosh is the Phantom for the final performance? Is that true? I love him. Ten years ago he was I think Andre when I saw it twice on Broadway. He's put so much into Phantom. I also heard that Ben hasn't performed at all this month. Strange. I hope he's okay.

The first (Oct. 2003), second and third (Nov. 2013) times I saw Phantom on Broadway, Hugh Panaro was the Phantom and he's one of my favorites (as you might guess from the icon), even though the first was ten years before the second and third (that I saw two days in a row).

The fourth, fifth and sixth times (which was last month, March 2023, two days in a row then one day break in between for the third) it was Ben Crawford.

Somewhere between that I saw it twice on tour, once at Pantages with Chris Mann (July 2015) and the other at the Segerstrom with Derrick Davis (July 2019). I'd previously met Chris Mann on his tour for The Voice.

Also Love Never Dies at the Pantages with Gardar Thor Cortes as Mister Y (April 2018).

I still have the DVD of the 2004 movie I got as soon as it came out on DVD when I was like 8 (9? When did the DVD itself come out?) it doesn't work anymore and I have a different one to replace it as well as the 25th anniversary production of course.

I really need to buy a Playbill to replace the one from when I saw it in 2003, which I have seen some on ebay so at some point I will get one. I also really want to replace the Andrew Lloyd Webber 2002 Gold CD which was the first way I listened to any Phantom songs before I saw it live. I fell in love with Music of the Night at 6 years old before I even saw the musical. This musical has meant so much to me and it helped me through a lot when I was 16-18, and the height of my Phantom obsession. I am still very proud of the Phantom collection I have, every English translation of the original novel and a French language one of course, so many DVDs and a few VHS tapes, CDs, cassette tapes, books of and about Phantom and its adaptations. I've written papers on this story for college. I have seen so many adaptations, met my best friend and love because of Phantom and had many wonderful friendships because of this story.

I will miss you, Phantom on Broadway, which was my first introduction to this wonderful, tragic story. I will see you again once you come back for your inevitable revival at some point in the future. 35 years is a long time and you've had a great run. The Majestic won't be the same without you. Break a leg to whatever will be in the Majestic next having to deal with any lingering ghosts in that theatre! The Phantom will always haunt that stage, I'm sure, it's been his home for 35 years. You are a beautiful theatre and it will be so strange to see something else in the Phantom's place.

I love you, I will always love you, I will miss you, and I can't wait for your return. ]]

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

It’s the prices (NYT) The United States spends an average of about $13,000 per person every year on health care. No other country comes close to spending so much. The runner-up, Germany, spends about $7,400 per person. What do Americans get for all this spending? Our health care system does tend to produce more innovation than many others. But much of the spending does little to improve people’s lives. Despite all our spending, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy of any high-income country, at 79.3 years. Twenty years ago, a group of researchers—Gerard Anderson, Uwe Reinhardt, Peter Hussey and Varduhi Petrosyan—published an academic paper that tried to solve the mystery. The title told the story: “It’s the prices, stupid.” The main reason that U.S. health spending is so high is not that Americans are sicker than people elsewhere or are heavier users of medical care (although both those factors play a role). The main reason is that almost every form of care in the U.S. costs more: doctor’s visits, hospital stays, drug prescriptions, surgeries and more. The American health care system maximizes the profits of health care companies at the expense of families’ budgets.

Nicaragua takes on Miss Universe (Washington Post) As Nicaragua has marched steadily toward dictatorship in recent years, its government has attacked opposition politicians, the Catholic Church, journalists and universities. Now it’s going after the beauty queens. Just when authorities appeared to have squelched all forms of dissent, a willowy 23-year-old Nicaraguan, Sheynnis Palacios, won the Miss Universe pageant on Nov. 18. People poured into the streets of the Central American country in jubilation. The government initially praised the victory—then photos emerged of Palacios taking part in mass anti-government protests in 2018, which were eventually crushed by security forces. The government struck back by attacking the country’s Miss Universe franchise, accusing the family that runs it of “conspiring against the nation.”

UK needs new plan to reverse hit to living standards, researchers say (Reuters) Britain needs a new economic strategy to reverse 15 years of falling living standards and worsening inequality, a leading think tank and an academic research centre said on Monday. British productivity growth has been half that of other rich economies, costing workers an average of 10,700 pounds ($13,577) a year in lost pay, the Resolution Foundation and the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance said.

Ukrainians in Germany Weigh Wrenching Choice: Stay or Go Home (NYT) Since fleeing Ukraine with her daughter, Iryna Khomich has made a home of a tiny space in a village of prefabricated units in southwestern Germany. A full tour of its single room takes only a few moments: an iron bunk bed and a wardrobe, shoes scattered near the door, clothes drying on radiators. On one recent afternoon, her cat, Dimka, walked in and out, while her daughter, Sofiia, 8, read a German textbook at a desk. But like other displaced Ukrainians who fled west to wait out the war against Russia, Ms. Khomich, 37, lives each day wrestling with an agonizing choice: Should she return home to Ukraine, where the fighting drags on interminably, or put down roots in Germany, effectively turning a temporary separation into something more lasting? It is a cruel dilemma faced by countless Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe as the war nears the end of its second year, one that pits a longing for family and a sense of shared duty to rebuild their shattered country against the realization that the death and destruction are unlikely to end anytime soon. And they are debating it in places like Freiburg, a city nestled on the edge of the Black Forest close to the French border that has offered open arms, an extensive social safety net and the attractive promise of a life without war. “The heart says go back,” Ms. Khomich said. “But I want the best future for my daughter.”

Temperatures in Siberia dip to minus 50 Celsius as record snow blankets Moscow (Reuters) Temperatures in parts of Siberia plummeted to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) while blizzards blanketed Moscow in record snowfall and disrupted flights as winter weather swept across Russia. In the Sakha Republic, located in the northeastern part of Siberia and home to Yakutsk, one of the world’s coldest cities, temperatures fell below minus 50 C, according to the region’s weather stations. An abnormally early cold snap in Sakha pushed temperatures to even lower than minus 50 C in several areas of Sakha, a vast region just a little smaller than India.

India’s mission to clean the Ganges (Wired) The Ganges River in India supplies water to over 600 million people, and every inch of the waterway is sacred to the Hindu religion—so holy, in fact that many Hindus drink or bathe in its waters. Unfortunately, the Ganges is also one of the most polluted major rivers on our planet, playing host to tons of industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and too much human waste to quantify. India’s government has, of course, taken a variety of different measures to clean up the holy river. Between 2014 (when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power) and 2019, the government has provided Indians with 110 million toilets, providing sanitation services to over half a billion people nationwide. At the same time, the government has rolled out the Namami Gange (“Obeisance to the Ganges”), spending $3.77 billion to clean up the river by setting up over 170 new sanitation plants and 5,211 kilometers of sewage lines nationwide. However, experts say that all that government spending isn't making much of a dent in the Ganges’ grime. The river is still filled with islands of plastic waste, and parts of the Ganges contain over 20 times the government-recommended limits for fecal coliform and fecal streptococci bacteria.

China's military: US Navy ship 'illegally' entered territorial waters (Reuters) China's military on Monday said a U.S. Navy ship illegally entered waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed South China Sea atoll that has recently seen several maritime confrontations. "The U.S. seriously undermined regional peace and stability," a spokesperson for China's Southern Theater of Operations said in a statement, adding that the U.S. disrupted the South China Sea and violated China's sovereignty. The U.S. Navy said the USS Gabrielle Giffords, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, was conducting routine operations in international waters in the South China Sea, consistent with international law. The Second Thomas Shoal lies in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, according to an United Nations tribunal ruling in 2016. The Chinese military spokesperson said the U.S. ship was monitored and followed, and that China's "troops in the theater are on high alert at all times to resolutely defend national sovereignty".

Islamic State claims deadly blast at Catholic Mass in the Philippines (Washington Post) The Islamic State claimed responsibility Sunday for an explosion in the southern Philippines that killed at least four people, an attack President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had blamed on “foreign terrorists.” The blast targeted a Catholic Mass inside a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in the majority-Muslim city of Marawi, some 500 miles south of the capital, Manila. More than 40 others were wounded in the explosion, the Philippine Star newspaper reported. The Islamic State announced on Telegram that its members detonated the device that caused the explosion, news agencies reported. The island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, which includes a Muslim-majority autonomous region, has historically been racked by armed conflict, and insurgent groups remain active in some areas.

'Wounded child, no surviving family': The pain of Gaza’s orphans (BBC) Medics working in the Gaza Strip are using a specific phrase to describe a particular kind of war victim. “There’s an acronym that’s unique to the Gaza Strip, it’s WCNSF—wounded child, no surviving family—and it’s not used infrequently,” Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan who works with Doctors Without Borders told BBC News. The expression captures the horror of the situation for many Gazan children. Their lives change in a second—their parents, siblings and grandparents are killed, and nothing is the same ever again. Ahmed Shabat is one of those children who was described as a wounded child, with no surviving family, when he arrived injured and crying at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. The three-year-old survived an air strike on his home in Beit Hanoun, in mid-November. But his father, mother and older brother were killed. Miraculously, at the time he had only minor injuries. Later, an uncle was found, who decided to look after them, along with his own family. He initially took them to Sheikh Radwan city but said they left after “Ahmed was hit by glass fragments” from an explosion. They then went to Nuseirat camp to stay in a UN-affiliated school. But even in their new location, they were hit again. “I ran out of the school’s door and saw Ahmed in front of me on the ground, both legs gone. He was crawling towards me, opening his arms, seeking help.” “He wanted to be many things,” his uncle said sadly. “When we went out together to attend football matches, he said he wished to become a famous football player.”

Israel, Expanding Offensive, Tells More Gazans to Evacuate (NYT) Amid a barrage of airstrikes, Israel sharply expanded its evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in preparation for an expected ground invasion in the southern part of the territory. The new orders, coming three days after the collapse of a weeklong truce, sowed confusion and fear among Gaza residents, some of whom have already been displaced at least once before. Images from Gaza on Sunday showed plumes of dark smoke rising above a rubble-covered landscape and bloodied children wailing in dust-covered hospital wards. Mourners stood beside rows of bodies wrapped in white sheets. The Israeli military said over the weekend that it had approved plans for a larger ground invasion. Israeli forces have already taken control of large parts in and around Gaza City following a ground invasion from the north. The Times of Israel quoted Israeli officials saying on Sunday that the Israeli military had launched 10,000 airstrikes since the initial ground invasion began.

Who will run Gaza after the war? No good options (Washington Post) The Israelis say they don’t want the job. Arab nations are resisting. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas might volunteer, but the Palestinian people probably don’t want him. As the Biden administration begins to plan for “the day after” in Gaza—confronting problematic questions such as who runs the territory once the shooting stops, how it gets rebuilt and, potentially, how it eventually becomes a part of an independent Palestinian state—the stakeholders face a host of unattractive options. Following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Israel vowed to destroy the group as both a military and governing entity. But after more than 15 years in power in Gaza, Hamas and its supporters are deeply embedded in every sector of society—not only in the government ministries they run, but in charities, courts, mosques, sport teams, jails, municipalities and youth groups.

After Watching 10 Migrants Die at Sea, He Now Pleads: ‘Stay’ (NYT) Crowded together with 90 other migrants on a rickety fishing vessel bound for Spain, Moustapha Diouf watched 10 of them die, one by one, from heat and exhaustion. Five were friends. It was in that macabre moment 17 years ago, Mr. Diouf said, that he vowed to do everything in his power to stop others from making the choice he had and enduring the same fate: He would make it his mission to dissuade his fellow Senegalese from trying to reach Europe and drowning or dying in myriad other ways on the perilous journey. “If we don’t do anything, we become accomplices in their deaths,” said Mr. Diouf, 54. “I will fight every day to stop young people from leaving.” Mr. Diouf was among the lucky ones: He made it to the Canary Islands alive. But the whole experience was dreadful, he said. He was imprisoned and deported to Senegal. Upon his return, together with two other repatriates, he set up his nonprofit, known as AJRAP, or the Association of Young Repatriates, whose mission is persuading Senegal’s youth to stay. But he is painfully aware of his limitations. He does not have the capacity to offer anyone a job, and most choose to migrate anyway.

[gracie-bird]

A set of two beautiful handwritten and signed letters, plus a signed typescript, all addressed to Jeannine Ouimet, Princess Grace's personal secretary.

The first letter is dated 6 April 1962, on headed paper bearing the Princess' insignia embossed in light blue, and fixes the first appointment between the new secretary and Grace. The expected date is April 24, a Tuesday, given that the princess will first be in Paris from April 16 to 18, and then East Falls (Philadelphia) on the 22nd. 

Their collaboration begins under the best auspices, as Grace writes: "...I look forward to having you in my service and to a happy association together." A splendid Canadian girl, previously employed at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, becomes therefore, after a simple interview, Grace Kelly's personal secretary, until 1965. The year in which the second letter is placed, dated March 7, 1965. The date is important and so is the content of the letter: Grace thanks Jeannine for her best wishes on the occasion of the birth of Stéphanie, the third child of Grace and Rainier III, born on February 1, 1965. Grace describes her as follows: "She is an adorable little angel and bring us great joy. As you can imagine the children are thrilled, particularly Caroline". The typewritten and signed letter, also on headed paper, is dated January 9, 1968 and contains best wishes for a splendid 1968, which Jeannine began in California, defined by Grace as "...beautiful part of America". 

A beautiful, meaningful whole, testimony to a sincere friendship built around a special working relationship between Princess Grace and her assistant.

The letters were sold at Finarte Auctions in Rome on June 18, 2018 for €1,063

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who 10 for 10 Part 1/10: Series 1

In 2018, I decided to review every episode of Jodie Whittaker’s run on Doctor Who. While I had been a fan of the series for quite a while at that point, I realised that I never said much about the revival series even though it forms quite a large part of my personal project. I decided that I wanted to talk about the revival series, but I didn’t want to write full reviews of every episode, thus this series was born.

Doctor Who 10 for 10 means “10 things for 10 series”. In each instalment, I will cover ten things about the ten Doctor Who series in the RTD and Moffat eras, whether they be facts or opinions, in-series or behind-the-scenes. Sometimes they might be a combination of the four, but I hope to give some focus to each aspect.

I originally intended for this series in 2021 to be a filler series to bide the time before the release of Series 13, then at the end of 2021 I planned for it to be done as a weekly series between the 2022 Easter and Centenary Specials. However, I was so focused on other things that I only had time to work on most of this instalment on-and-off throughout 2022, but now that those things are done, I finally have the time to focus on this series before the 60th Anniversary in November 2023.

So without further ado, let’s get right into the retrospective for Series 1.

1. The Ninth Doctor

When work on the revival series began in late-2003 around the series’ 40th anniversary, Russell T Davies decided to cast a new actor for the Ninth Doctor, which was revealed to be Christopher Eccleston on 20 March 2004. There were two other actors they could have gone with - Paul McGann, who played the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 TV movie, or Richard E. Grant, who played the Ninth Doctor in the 2003 animated webcast, Scream of the Shalka.

I can understand why RTD decided to cast a new actor - the revival of Doctor Who was meant to give the series a new start in the face of an audience who, since the end of the classic series in 1989, had considered the series either dead or a joke. In the 1996 TV movie, which was designed to be an attempt to relaunch Doctor Who as an American production, featured Sylvester McCoy in his final role as the Seventh Doctor, which would probably have confused audiences outside of the UK (most who were particularly unaware that this series existed) as to why he was featured in it and hence contributed to that revival not being successful. Having Paul McGann back to film a regeneration scene before introducing the Ninth Doctor would have probably had that same effect to new audiences, so I suppose it would have been better to just have the Doctor already regenerated and get on with the story. Of course, the circumstances regarding the Eighth-Ninth regeneration relationship are quite complicated, which I’ll get into when we cover Series 7.

When the Doctor goes to Rose’s flat, we see him briefly checking himself in the mirror, implying that he has recently regenerated. Although it is acknowledged that Rose is the Ninth Doctor’s first televised story, it is also presumed that the Ninth Doctor did have unseen adventures before this story, judging by the extended media and the photos on the “Who is Doctor Who?” website that was created as a tie-in to the episode. Since the Ninth Doctor travels with Rose (and later Jack) for the entirety of his appearances, fans have found a couple of gaps in Rose where the Doctor could also have had solo adventures; first following his initial visit to Rose’s flat and secondly towards the end of the episode where the Doctor leaves without Rose after she turned him down, but then comes back a few seconds later to tell her that the TARDIS can travel in time.

Two of the Doctor’s iconic tools are also introduced and used frequently in Series 1; the first is the sonic screwdriver, which is actually a reintroduced item from the classic series where it was used more sparingly compared to the revived series; and the psychic paper, which also had its uses throughout the revived series.

2. The Time War

One of the story elements introduced in the revival series was the Last Great Time War, a war between the Time Lords and the Daleks which saw them all but exterminated with the Doctor’s home planet wiped from the face of the universe. I can’t really pinpoint an exact reason why the Time War was created, so here’s my take on it.

In all honesty, the Time Lords have barely been featured throughout the classic series (compared to the Daleks) and keeping the Time Lords would mean that the Doctor would still be tethered in some way, not that he was really ever tethered in the first place due to his renegade status. Writing out the Time Lords meant that there wouldn’t be a need to put significant focus on them, plus it gives the Doctor some mystery and the impression of being a lonely god.

However, there were some downsides to this storyline. Because RTD didn’t feature the Time War extensively, only referring to it in passing, we didn’t really get to see what really happened during the Time War, let alone the Eighth Doctor’s regeneration. The storylines in the RTD era deal with the aftermath of the Time War and its survivors. While that was good in itself, I would have liked to see something in relation to the Time War (The End of Time is a different story that I’ll cover when I get to Series 4), though I suppose RTD was happy to let fans have their own interpretations for the Time War.

In extended media, there was another “time war” known as the War in Heaven, which was introduced in late-1997 with the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels, featuring a war between the Time Lords and an unidentified “Enemy” that would be spun off into the Faction Paradox series. BBC merchandise regulations meant that there could be no official connection between the Last Great Time War and the War in Heaven, though fans were free to make their own interpretations.

3. The Daleks

Series 1 saw the return of the Daleks and the Dalek Emperor, starting a tradition where a monster from the classic series would be reintroduced in each new series (which would later be broken in the Chibnall era).

Although there is good reason for the Time Lords to be written out of the series, the same can’t really be said for the Daleks because their iconic status meant that it would be a crime not to feature them, which almost happened because the BBC were nearly unable to negotiate the rights to the Daleks from Terry Nation’s estate. The Toclafane were to be featured in what would be now known as Dalek had the negotiations fallen through, but they were successful and here we are now. Just imagine what the Time War would have been like if the Time Lords were fighting the Toclafane instead of the Daleks.

I should address the rumour that the BBC apparently have to use them in a story at least once a year, or failing that (since the end of Series 9), once a series. Apparently, this was denied by Steven Moffat in 2014 and debunked in 2020, but given how we’ve been seeing the Daleks at least once every series in the revived era (or at least every year), even in minor roles or cameos, I can buy the possibility that this is true.

The sixth episode, Dalek, only featured the return of one Dalek before the series finale two-parter, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways, showed an entire army of Daleks led by the Dalek Emperor. Showing a single Dalek in the former story really shows how dangerous and fearsome a Dalek can be, while the increasing scale in the latter story shows their danger in numbers. They also amp up the fearsomeness by showing Daleks made from human cells, being religious fundamentalists and deforming whole continents when they attacked Earth.

4. The domestics

The fourth episode, Aliens of London, starts off with the Doctor bringing Rose back to her home, albeit a year later by accident, resulting in Rose discovering that she was reported missing for the past year, with even her boyfriend, Mickey, being suspected of her murder with no evidence of a body. I don’t think this aspect has really been explored in the classic series, which makes the revival series a bit more down-to-earth as it explores the negative impact the Doctor has on their companions and the people close to them.

A few weeks later in the eighth episode, Father’s Day, Rose asks the Doctor to take her to see her father before he died and in the process, she causes a paradox in trying to save him after having just witnessed his death moments prior. That episode introduced the concept of fixed points in history while also exploring the backstory of Pete and Jackie.

Additionally, the relationship between Rose and Mickey is explored as well. In Boom Town, a rift begins to form in their relationship when it becomes clear that Rose is becoming more attached to the Doctor, making Mickey feel like nothing. Though Mickey ends up leaving alone at the end of the episode, he and Rose still remain friends as Mickey is willing to help Rose get back to the Doctor in The Parting of the Ways.

5. Adam Mitchell, the “forgotten” companion

Doctor Who has never really had a “bad” companion over the years, so RTD wanted to explore the concept of “The Companion Who Couldn’t”. In the original pilot documents released in a special edition of Doctor Who Magazine in 2005, Adam would have been shown to be a coward who was scared of everything on Satellite Five and wouldn’t even bother to lift a finger to save the Doctor and Rose. In the end, Adam became a companion who took advantage of future information for his own gain, endangering the Doctor and Rose in the process, and as a result he was sent straight home with the future information erased before he could even use it. From that point on, Adam would be considered the “forgotten” companion to the point that the fandom says that “we don’t talk about Adam”. However, Adam would later receive a redemption arc in spinoff media.

Throughout 2013, IDW Publishing released a 12-issue comic book miniseries titled Prisoners of Time to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. Each issue would feature an adventure with each Doctor (up to the Eleventh Doctor, obviously) and some of their companions before they were kidnapped by a cloaked figure who would be revealed as Adam Mitchell. After having stolen a vortex manipulator, he would ally with the Doctor’s enemies, including the Anthony Ainley Master, to kidnap the Doctor’s companions and blackmail the Eleventh into saving one of them. However, the Master had his own plan to destroy reality by overloading all eleven of the Doctor’s TARDISes, which Adam never agreed to. After being convinced by the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, Adam decided to turn against the Master and was killed while foiling his plan. Following this, Adam was given a memorial with the inscription, “Adam Mitchell - A Companion True”, redeeming him in the eyes of the Doctors.

Adam’s actor, Bruno Langley, would gain a little more involvement in Doctor Who over the next few years. He participated in a BFI Q&A session for the Doctor Who Series 1 finale in 2013, was interviewed on Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty and even reprised his role as Adam in May 2017 for the Big Finish Ninth Doctor Chronicles audio story, The Other Side. Apparently, there were plans for further adventures with Adam, but his sexual assault conviction in October that year resulted in those plans being scrapped. Regardless of this, I think Prisoners of Time acted as a great send-off for Adam before he is left in the back of the minds of the fanbase.

6. Highlighting Wales

When the announcement of Doctor Who’s revival was made in 2003, it was announced that BBC Cymru Wales would be producing the series in-house. Cardiff would become the central base for the production of Doctor Who and its spinoffs, with the city and its surrounds being extensively used for location filming. As a result, the city became a top tourist destination as fans lauded it as a mecca for Doctor Who and later Torchwood.

One of the main factors as to why Cardiff was chosen was because at the time, the BBC was looking to move their productions away from London. Another main factor is that Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner were Welsh fans of Doctor Who who had worked together on Casanova starring David Tennant.

Since Cardiff wasn’t mentioned much in the Moffat era, I’d like to think that the RTD era inspired me to use Cardiff extensively in my personal project. Man, I’d love to go there one day…

7. Original iconic monsters

Aside from the returning Autons and Daleks, some original monsters were created for the series. This would be the norm for every other series with both original and returning elements being implemented, but I want to highlight a couple of original monsters from Series 1 that I feel have really become iconic to the series, namely the Slitheen and the Empty Child.

I remember the Slitheen and Raxacoricofallapatorious were iconic enemies in a Doctor Who-esque LARP I used to play at primary school with a couple of my friends. The Empty Child was also featured at some point as well, but outside of that, I think the Empty Child and “Are you my mummy?” became so iconic that even high school friends were asking me about it as late as 2016, my final year of high school. I wouldn’t be surprised if that still gets brought up nowadays.

Of course, I have to give honourable mentions to the Face of Boe and Cassandra as well because they are original monsters that have become iconic through multiple appearances in the RTD era.

8. Bad Wolf

Where the classic series had minimal story arcs as we know them (better referred to back then as thematic links or season-long stories), the revived series began utilising series-long story arcs prominently. The story arc for this series was Bad Wolf, two words that appeared across time and space that was later revealed to have been Rose’s doing after she took the power of the Time Vortex into herself. Rose did this in an effort to save the Doctor from the Game Station in what would otherwise be a deus ex machina, destroying the Dalek Emperor and making Jack Harness immortal in the process. However, Rose taking the Time Vortex into herself would end up burning her, so the Doctor saved her by taking the vortex energy into himself and back into the TARDIS, resulting in a regeneration into the Tenth Doctor.

Following the series, Bad Wolf would make appearances occasionally within the extended universe, presumably as a side effect of Rose’s actions.

9. #MeToo on set (and being thrown under the bus)

I’ve been working on this post on and off since September 2021 and this has been something that always flares up now and again. From late-April to early-May 2021, Noel Clarke (who played Mickey Smith) was accused by around 30 women (according to The Guardian) of bullying and sexual misconduct. Consequently, his BAFTA membership was suspended and his ongoing productions were cancelled. By late-March 2022, the Metropolitan Police decided to drop the investigation, citing a lack of evidence.

Around the same time the allegations against Clarke came out, a video surfaced of him at a convention in 2014 describing how John Barrowman (who played Jack Harkness) would expose himself on set during his time on Doctor Who and Torchwood, which would ironically be confirmed in The Ballad of Russell & Julie, created by Barrowman alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate as a farewell to the first RTD era. All the people siding with the accusers decided to turn on Barrowman as well, effectively throwing him under the bus over something that, while not as severe as the allegations against Clarke, Barrowman was reprimanded for at the time. He only apologised for these past actions soon after the video surfaced, stating that he has changed ever since a similar incident on BBC Radio 1 in late-November 2008 which he also apologised for.

As a result of this, Barrowman’s involvement in the Doctor Who: Time Fracture theatre show was removed, Big Finish removed Torchwood: Absent Friends (which would have seen Jack reunite with the Tenth Doctor) from their release schedule and they have no plans to release it, and Titan Comics shelved a graphic novel that was set to feature Jack, though he still managed to appear in Revolution of the Daleks due to it being filmed a year in advance alongside Series 12.

At times, Barrowman has been shown to be a bit bitter on Twitter about how he was treated. In September 2021, Barrowman has tweeted about the BBC and Big Finish “blackballing” him, presumably over Absent Friends. When asked in January 2022 if he would make up with the BBC to help reboot Torchwood, Barrowman responded, “Mate they dumped me… I don’t need to make up to anyone.” More recently in December 2022, Barrowman shared an old video (from a fan) of him at a convention with Eve Myles (who played Gwen Cooper) which was apparently praising each other and their friendship, to which he tweeted, “One is telling the truth! One is spewing rhetoric for an audience,” before deleting his Twitter account. Since then, Myles, along with Naoko Mori (who played Toshiko Sato) and Anne Hegerty (who was with Barrowman on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!) have released statements defending him, but knowing the Torchwood set at the time of filming, Myles and Mori probably laughed and egged him on.

Look, I’ll admit that I was more inclined to believe the victims when the allegations against Noel Clarke came out, but regardless, I thought Barrowman was badly screwed over when the focus was supposed to be on Clarke (tbh if I had to pick between the two I’d pick Barrowman). The thing is, though, Barrowman was reprimanded for what he did at the time and he even apologised as recently as 2021 when the video of Clarke talking about Barrowman surfaced. The people turning on Barrowman are still seeking an apology when he already made it, meaning that they would never have been happy regardless of whether Barrowman apologised or not. He’s already said his piece, he knows what he did is wrong (in a current year perspective) and you are not entitled to anything more than that. Maybe Russell T Davies could have said something to address the situation, but I’m sure he’s got better things to do right now. “But John Barrowman exposed himself on the set of Arrow as well” - look, I wish he would address it as much as you do, but like with RTD, he’s probably got better things to do and if he wants to address it, he’ll do so in his own time. If you’re still not happy with this, then you can either learn to separate the character from the actor or cope harder.

As for Noel Clarke, he released a statement on Twitter in August 2022 saying that he asserted his right of access under the Freedom of Information Act and found that there were no complaints or police reports filed under his name (something which was confirmed by another 4 detectives) even though the Guardian stated that five individuals contacted the police after their investigation was published in April 2021. The Guardian also mentioned that a third-party report (from an industry organisation) related to allegations of sexual offences was received by the Met eight days before the investigation was published, but a spokesperson stated that following a thorough assessment, the information did not meet the threshold for a criminal investigation.

John The White on Twitter has done his own investigation into why the police decided not to prosecute Noel Clarke, digging deep into the Guardian’s investigation and other articles to find out more about the people making the accusations and why they didn’t result in a police investigation. He also made a follow-up post discussing the effects of the accusations in the Doctor Who fanbase, discussing another Guardian article detailing accusations from five people related to Doctor Who (one of them being a volunteer at a convention), with two corroborating the accusations against Barrowman in the same article (as if you needed any further proof that he was thrown under the bus).

On a side note, Sophia Myles, who would play Madame de Pompadour in Series 2’s The Girl in the Fireplace, also spoke up for Clarke in July 2022 when she was holding a Twitter Spaces livestream and people pointed out to her that Clarke was in the audience, asking her why she was platforming a sexual predator (because someone listening into a livestream totally counts as platforming them lmao). Myles responded with this statement and was cancelled by the Doctor Who fanbase for it: “I know wholeheartedly, Noel Clarke is not a sexual predator. He’s not but that’s my opinion, you know, and if you want to base your ideas off an article you’ve read in a newspaper then feel free.”

10. Why Christopher Eccleston left and never returned (for 16 years)

On 20 March 2004, a year before the series premiered, Christopher Eccleston was announced as the Ninth Doctor. On 30 March 2005, two days before the second episode would premiere, Christopher Eccleston was announced to be leaving the role at the end of the series. Another eleven weeks later, the series ended and Eccleston would never be heard from again. For 16 years, it seemed that Eccleston refused to want anything to do with the series, even refusing to return for The Day of the Doctor in 2013 (this was because, as we would learn later, the script Moffat gave him didn’t do his Doctor justice and, as Eccleston stated in an interview at Supanova Melbourne in March 2022, he isn’t a fan of multi-Doctor stories). Over the years, fans had heard rumours and snippets as to why this was the case, but it wouldn’t be until 2018 that Eccleston began appearing at conventions, 2020 that he finally decided to reprise his role in Big Finish audio dramas, and 2021 that he would give pretty much the full story at Dragon Con in Atlanta. This is a condensed account of my research into this question.

The production of the first series was plagued with difficulties because making Doctor Who in the modern era required more work than the production team initially thought and nobody really knew much about what was going on at the time. In fact, it has been noted that the production ran behind by three weeks after just one week of filming. Aside from accounts of Noel Clake and John Barrowman’s behaviour on set, there was apparently some mistreatment of low-level crew that Eccleston brought to the attention of higher-ups like RTD, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson, but was sadly dismissed; Eccleston even went so far to say that his relationship with them “broke down”. First block director Keith Boak appeared to be the main person to blame for the production difficulties and mistreatment (what with his apparent bullying of extras and crew members along with the flaming sofa incident that broke health and safety regulations), with Eccleston stating in his autobiography that he probably would have stayed if Joe Ahearne had directed the show from day one.

All this, combined with the politics of the show and possibly some other factors (like Eccleston’s stress-related medical condition and his father being ill during filming), resulted in Eccleston deciding to leave at the end of the first series without renewing his contract. He promised RTD that he would go quietly and respect the reputation of the series when publicising it, but then the BBC made the announcement without contacting Eccleston, even going so far to say that he feared being typecast and that he was “tired” because he thought working on the series was gruelling. Eccleston would later clarify that it wasn’t working on the series that was gruelling, but dealing with RTD, Gardner and Collinson. The BBC apologised to Eccleston for this soon after they made the announcement, but given what happened on set, I could see why he never wanted to come back to the series.

Eccleston was apparently blacklisted by the BBC after this, but he did manage to find work on other television productions in the UK and the US (some which were produced by other production companies but still aired on the BBC). Despite all he has been through and his wounds with the BBC not healing, Eccleston has seemingly softened his stance towards Doctor Who, particularly the fandom, in recent years with his willingness to attend conventions and reprise his role in Big Finish, which is probably better than nothing or replacing him with another voice actor.

Series 1 began the foundation of the modernised Doctor Who that people would come to know and love. It not only reached out to a new younger generation of the 21st century, but it also touched older fans from the 20th century who had waited 16 years for Doctor Who to return to television screens. We also got to see more behind-the-scenes content with the introduction of Doctor Who Confidential, its episodes typically being just as long as its subject episode (at least from Series 3 onwards). I just wish the full-length episodes were officially archived or preserved instead of the Cut Down versions on the DVD box sets.

In short, the BBC and the production team really did Christopher Eccleston dirty during his time on Doctor Who, but Series 1 was great nonetheless thanks to him and everyone else involved. I’m sure we would have liked to see more out of Eccleston (and you can with his Big Finish audios), but given what we have now, I think we can agree that what he brought to Doctor Who was truly fantastic.

Stay tuned for Part 2 as we enter the Tennant era with my 10 takes on Series 2. I would also like to acknowledge The Black Archive for compiling the official promo images I’ll be using for this series. Feel free to check it out as there are a lot of high-resolution promo images and stills for Doctor Who and its spinoff shows.

[dedalvs]

Fiat Lingua Top 10 for 2022

It's been a good year over at Fiat Lingua, the once-monthly conlang journal that's been posting steadily since September, 2011. I created Fiat Lingua over ten years ago with the idea that it could be something like the Rutgers Optimality Archive: A place where conlangers could post work that either they wanted to showcase, or work that was in progress. We've had tons of contributors over the years, and some standout work I'm really proud of.

Behind the scenes, we have a number of metrics available to us, and one of them allows us to know what the top posts are over a given amount of time. So, for fun, here are the top 10 visited posts for this year (though, note, the numbers for the December post will be down a little bit, since it didn't have a full month. Still, though, it's incredible, so if you get a chance, take a look at this full novel Jim Hopkins wrote in his language Itlani).

NUMBER 10

We have a tie...

"Moya Abugida" (June, 2022) by Carl Buck: A detailed description of how to write the unique abugida of the Moya language.

"Die Wichtigkeit von Conlangs in Medien" (November, 2021) by Jonah Behring: A German language article on the importance of using authentically created conlangs in films and television shows.

NUMBER 9

"Wóxtjanato: A grammar" (January, 2022) by Jessie Sams: A conlang by the amazing @quothalinguist about a culture whose planet has suddenly and unexpectedly acquired a second moon.

NUMBER 7

We have a tie...

"Names Aren't Neutral: David J. Peterson on Creating a Fantasy Language" (March, 2019) by David J. Peterson: This was an article I wrote for an online magazine, but then the magazine went under, so I reclaimed it and put it up on Fiat Lingua. It's about why coming with "random" names for sff can often prove problematic.

"Tone for Conlangers: A Basic Introduction" (April, 2018) by Aidan Aannestad: A lot of conlangers are interested in having tone in their language, but don't really know how to go about it, and this is a great introduction.

NUMBER 6

"Afrihili: An African Interlanguage" (April, 2014) by William S. Annis: Afrihili is an a posteriori auxlang from the late 60s that uses Bantu languages as its source, and it is fascinating! One of my all-time favorite auxlangs, and William provides a wonderful introduction.

NUMBER 5

"An Itlani Wedding Blessing" (August, 2014) by James E. Hopkins: A lovely wedding blessing Jim wrote for, if I remember right, a friend's daughter who was getting married.

NUMBER 4

"Dothraki & the Nostratic Super Family" (February, 2015) by Charlotte Peak: For her MA thesis, Charlotte wrote a paper on how Dothraki could fit into the theoretical Nostratic super family. A fun read!

NUMBER 3

"Patterns of Allophony" (April, 2015) by William S. Annis: Definitely one of the most popular papers on Fiat Lingua, William illustrates graphically a number of very common sound changes.

NUMBER 2

"Slides for Linguistics 183: The Linguistics of Game of Thrones and the Art of Language Invention" (September, 2018) by David J. Peterson: In the summer of 2017 I taught a class on language creation at UC Berkeley. I uploaded all the slides I used in that course as one massive .pdf to Fiat Lingua.

And now for the top viewed article for 2022 on Fiat Lingua...

NUMBER 1

"A Conlanger's Thesaurus" (September, 2014) by William S. Annis: This is consistently the most accessed article on Fiat Lingua, and I don't expect that to change. The article is relatively short, compared to the information and use you can get out of it. William Annis details ways in which languages relate words to other similar words. For conlangers who struggle either with coming up with words that are different from English in meaning, or who struggle with coming up with words at all, this reference article should prove very useful. Using the word maps in this article, you might be able to come up with words you never dreamt of before, but words which could exist in some language. A great resource for conlangers who are desperately trying to break out of the influence of their L1 or L2!

* * * * *

And that's it for 2022! I'm looking forward to posting more conlang articles next year. If you are a conlanger, a conlang-researcher, or conlang fan who has something to say in .pdf format about a conlang or conlanging in general, please consider submitting something to Fiat Lingua! We take any and all articles related to conlanging in whatever form you have them. I'm also happy to help you think up ideas, or refine those ideas you have. There is no strong review like in a fancy journal: I just want to get what you have up. I'm especially in interested in hosting personal conlang stories—stories about how or why you started to create a language, or your experience creating your own language—personal stories that are often lost, but are so vital, as there is an absolute dearth of literature about conlangers! If you think you have even the seed of an idea, please get a hold of me! I want to share as many stories and ideas as I can.

[isabellarosestudio6]

Week 8: Consult Notes

Grad Show Proposal Ideas:

3 channel mediated performance. Displayed on old monitors/CRT tv sets.

Proposed install sketch [3 monitors scattered across the floor, with cords visible]:

Feedback:

Artists and texts to research: Simone Hines and performance art text by Anne Marsh.

Think about tech requirements for show, including sound and where tv sets are going to be sourced from.

Think about possibility of also having live performance as well as installation. This could have a set time during opening night.

RESEARCH/NOTES:

[A look into the performative practice of Simone Hine and Anne Marsh's paper 'Performance art and its documentation']

Simone Hine:

"Falling, 2019 Two-Channel Video Installation

Falling is part of an ongoing series of video works that take what might be a few seconds from a film and expands this temporally and spatially. While cinema is evoked via the framing, stillness is used to halt the ordinary flow of narrative. The work’s deadpan style, combined with the multi-channel expansion of the scene, further inhibits narrative. Instead, the camera lingers on the body as an object in space, positioning the video somewhere between performance documentation and cinema. In contrast to the cinematic framing, the gesture is reminiscent of Youtube videos of people tripping on catwalks and other staged events, blurring the boundary between impromptu and staged acts."

"Today, tomorrow., 2016

Multi-channel video installation. 3 x Synchronised 55" LCD monitors, 3 x Samsung Android tablets, DMX-controlled lighting system, stereo sound, architectural construction. 10mins30sec loop.

The videos are reminiscent of cinematic narratives, but do not reference any film in particular. Instead they evoke only an atmosphere that finds no resolution. The idea that a cinematic image could continue endlessly suggests that it might extend to the space beyond the frame. The light that spills from the screen is amplified via the bank of lights on the wall.

This work evokes cinema, to speak of the ways in which these familiar images permeate the world beyond the frame."

"Once More, 2015 5-Channel Video Installation, documenting a 107 minute continuous performance, 9 March 2015.

Once More is a provocation regarding the nature of live performance and documentation.

The five-channel video has the appearance of a small incidental scene from a 1960s sitcom that is looped continually. Contrary to appearances, the five-channel video documents a continuous performance: a series of events that are repeated again and again, over the 107 minute duration.

Once More uses popular forms as an alternative language through which to reflect upon, critique and to explore themes central to the history of feminist performance art, including authenticity, presence, the construction of feminine archetypes, failure, and endurance."

https://simonehine.com/

"A single image documents a public intervention that took place in an arcade shopfront in the CBD of Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia, on the 18th of August 2018 from 10am – 4pm.

Édouard Manet’s Bar at the Folies- Bergère (1882) and Jeff Wall’s Picture for Women (1979) act as precursors for this work.

Bar at the Folies- Bergère depicts a scene from a prominent 19th century Parisian music hall, part of a culture that arose as a by-product of industrialisation. Picture re-imagines this scene in the context of late-capitalism. The trapeze is replaced by a hanging pot-plant, bottles of alcohol replaced by reusable coffee cups and green-bags. Each of the items displayed in the shop front are marketed via a discourse of environmental awareness, while simultaneously functioning as luxury commodities, an effect of the ubiquitous absorption of even the most pressing political debates of our time into modes of capital distribution. As with Bar at the Folies- Bergère, the scene presented in Picture is laden with irresolvable contradictions. "

- https://kuiperprojects.org/hine.html

Performance Art and Its Documentation (Marsh, A.):

Reference

Marsh, A. (2008). Performance art and its documentation: A photo/video essay. About Performance, (8), 15-29,233. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/performance-art-documentation-photo-video-essay/docview/1711215876/se-2

Notes:

"Video and performance art developed side by side and interacted from the late 1960s onwards. Although these two mediums can be seen as separate, the relationship between them is integral if any history of an ephemeral medium such as performance art is to enter art history"

"The perceptual, phenomenological and aesthetic shifts that occur between a live event and its representations present complex theoretical problems. How can the 'live' be reproduced?"

"Walter Benjamin famously critiqued the way in which the aura of the work of art disintegrates through its reproduction - through the photographic image - but his message was as much about the quasi-religious iconic status of the original work of art as it was about photography. In fact, in some respects, he saw mechanical reproduction as a form of democratization and an emancipation for the arts"

[On witnessing Jill Orr's 'She had long golden hair'] "Having been at the performance these photographs act as prompts and allow me to recall all the other aspects of the performance. But when I show these images of the performance I need to tell the experiential story so that those looking at the photographs for the first time understand that there was more going on. The point is that the photographs read out of context and without embellishment don't convey the depth nor the context of the event. This is an issue that plagues performance art."

"She argued that the performance is made to be received experientially and that any translation of that experience is bound to fail. However she does not believe that it is impossible to critique the event without being there. She says: "In broader cultural and historic terms events are analysed well past the event... There are no living witnesses to the crucifixion of Christ, and, whether this occurred or not, die image still lives and die biblical stories told of supposed first hand accounts still have powerful sway" "

"hen a performance event is documented via a camera, whether on video, film, photographic surface or digital screen, it enters into a relationship with another medium. In doing so it becomes a remediation"

Reflections:

Performance films/photographs: Document OR remediation OR separate object?

Their are clearly differing opinions on the matter, but perhaps I would agree in saying that the live performance cannot truly be reproduced via other mediums.

In live performance (in dance or art) there is an undeniable sensory/affectual/associative response that occurs in being near another human body. There is a shared understanding or reflection of the bodies experiences that the viewer perceives from the performer.

ie. The performer's hand moves, the viewer's brain and sensory body imagines how this feels for the viewer. In real time.

There is an element of this which is lost through the reproduction, a certain disassociation with the image. It is no longer a live body, but an image of a body.

I think also the viewing of the reproduction is a much more private and voyeuristic experience. Taken away from the gathering of people that occurs at a live performance. Their is no collective watching (normally), now it is just between the viewer and the image.

A certain depersonalisation perhaps. Loss of risk, relationship, affect.