#Top 11 voting results TONIGHT

[earlgreyflowers]

hii i love your five so much omfg i was wondering if you could do 11 and 83 with lando or daniel w a bit of a breeding kink i’ve got major baby fever rn😭🫶

A/N i wasn't planning on writing this one yet, but the dr3 breeding kink was voted for in my last poll and so this one had to be done so i could tag it properly for the anon that requested it <3

DR3 Request

---------------------------------------------

Lando was always in control; being the deciding voice in what needs to be changed with the McLaren he had to drive week in, week out. So when the MCL-60 wasn't performing, leaving him stranded out in P17 or scraping points in P9, you could see it was starting to get to him. You'd bore the brunt of his frustration, traumatising poor Oscar after every bad result. But it was wearing Lando down, and so when he dragged you back to the hotel after the Canadian GP you were half expecting him to break.

So when his lips greedily meshed with yours you were surprised, you thought for sure this would be the final straw for him. His tongue clashed with yours, tasting the fruity soda you had consumed during the race. The groan he lets out into your mouth makes your body tingle, pulling at the hairs at the nape of his neck. Lando pulls you on top of him, collapsing on the bed you shared. He pulls his lips away from yours with a smack, heavy breaths now filling the space between you.

"I want you to take control tonight."

Your stomach clenches at his words, images of a flushed and desperate Lando writhing underneath you fill your mind. "Are you sure?" You mutter back, brushing that one loose curl from his forehead. His eyes close at your soft touch before fluttering open, glazed over and wide staring at you. "So sure baby, just don't want to think right now." He practically whispers, voice nervous and slightly shaky.

You press your lips to his forehead, leaving a faint glossy sheen behind. He smiles softly up at you, his tongue poking out to wet his lips in nervousness, waiting for your response. "Whatever you need," you tell him, mirroring his own smile. He leans forward to kiss you, lips hovering over your own before he feels a sharp tug in his hair. His mouth stays parted, eyes closing as you brush your lips gently over his own. You feel the way he tries to capture your lips, the barely there brush leaving behind a thin layer of spit to add to your lip-gloss.

Your tongue peaks out, running over his lower lip before capturing it between your teeth and pulling gently. Lando whimpers at the sting, large hands encompassing your face to pull you towards his own. Your lips move in sync with his, practiced and perfected over time. You adjust your position, straddling him as you continue to kiss. He whines at the weight of you against his cock, straining now against his black jeans.

Your soft hands slide underneath his shirt, pushing it up to expose his tanned skin. Lando takes the hint and removes his team merch, throwing it on the floor with a thud. His large hands slide up your back, kissing along your jaw as your nails begin lightly scratching his back. "Take it off, please, wanna see you baby." Lando whispers against your skin, the movement of his lips against your neck making you moan softly. You heed his request, pulling your dress off and leaving you in your matching set. It was Lando's favourite, all black with custom fluoro yellow piping around the edges.

He groans at the sight of you, leaning back into the pillows when you gently shove his chest. Your lips connect with his own once more, sloppily coating them in the last of your lip gloss. Lando chases your lips as you pull away but you simply smirk at him, dipping your head to suck at the apex of his jaw. A loud moan leaves Lando's mouth at the action, his head tilting back to give you more access to his thick neck; access that you happily utilise.

Your lips are everywhere, overwhelming Lando in every sense, nibbling and sucking before swiping your tongue over the fresh marks left behind. Normally you'd avoid giving him hickeys but the next race wasn't until July so they had time to fade, and Lando loved the feeling of you claiming him in this way. His cock was starting to throb in his jeans with each press of your lips against his skin, especially when you migrated further south.

You kissed every inch of his skin, tracing every mole across his chest and stomach with your lips. His body erupted in goosebumps with each touch, squirming underneath you at the teasing. You slide your pinkies underneath the waistband of his jeans before undoing the button and sliding down the zipper. You hear Lando breathe a sigh of relief at the release of pressure, lifting his hips to allow you to slide his jeans down.

You kiss his length of his underwear, feeling it twitch with the first touch of your lips. "Y/N, babe, come here." Lando mutters, pulling at your arm. You hover over his bulge, the heat from between your legs radiating for Lando to feel. "What is it baby?" You ask, looking into Lando's glossy eyes. His pupils are blown wide, lips red and bitten as a consequence of your teasing. "Just want to feel you, is that okay?" He asks, eyes pleading.

"Of course it is Lan, but you're gonna have to beg for it, can you do that for me?" You question, dragging your nails down his chest as he smiles shyly with a nod. You remove your remaining underwear as Lando does the same before hovering over his hard cock, the tip bumping your clit as you position yourself.

"Please baby, need to feel you." Lando mutters as you glide your pussy over his cock, coating him in your wetness. He stutters out a groan at the feeling of your slick covering him, "Oh god, so fucking wet. Please, god please, let me feel you baby." He continues, hands squeezing your hips in an effort not to buck his hips into you. You slide his tip into your pussy, moaning at the stretch. Lando echoes the same moan, cock twitching at the feeling of your warmth.

"Fuck, feels s'good baby, more, please, give me more please, wanna be buried inside you s'bad." Lando hurries out, voice strained with restraint as he tries not to slam himself inside you. You heed his request, slamming yourself down onto his length before riding him at a wild pace, your legs immediately starting to burn.

"Holy shit, oh my god, love you, love being inside you, so good to me, yes baby, don't stop." Streams of praise and whines leave Lando's mouth, his body falling slack at the pleasure rippling over him. Moans spill out of the both of you, the burning pain of your legs adding to your pleasure as his cock hits you at the perfect angle. "Fuck Lan, made for me weren't you baby?" You mutter, hand resting on the side of his flushed face.

He nods with a whine, "Yeah baby, all yours, no-one else's, fuck yes. Use me just like that, my cock's all for you." His mouth drops open in a loud moan of your name, "So close, wanna feel you cum, please cum, need it." He slurs, hairline beginning to stick to his forehead with sweat. Your hand slips down from his face, your other hand joining it to wrap around his thick neck as you continue to fuck yourself on his dick.

His thumb reaches over from where his hand has sat on your hips, rubbing against your clit with every bounce you make. It sends you flying over the edge, your walls clenching around Lando's cock and pulling his own orgasm from him. He releases with a loud groan, your hands tightening around his neck. His cum fills you, beginning to spill out from where you remained connected. You ease the pressure on his neck, collapsing forward on top of him.

You lift yourself on shaky legs, allowing Lando to slip out of you. You crawl up the bed before swinging your legs over Lando's face, his large hands cupping your ass. "Clean up your mess Lan." You tell him and he wastes no time, pulling you against his face as his tongue delves between your folds. He flicks and swirls like a madman, shaking his face in-between your legs, his nose bumping your clit with each movement as he cleans the combination of your cum that spills out. It doesn't take long for you to cum on his tongue, sensitive from your first orgasm.

Lando lifts you off his face, cuddling himself into you but not before kissing you sweetly, allowing you to taste the both of you on his tongue. "Thank you." He mutters, a sentiment repeated at the next race when Lando gets P4, and the next race when Lando gets his first home podium, and the week after when he secures another P2.

Oscar stands next to you in the garage as Lando gives his interviews after the race, "Whatever you did to him in that hotel room after Canada must have worked miracles, are you a witch?" He asks, laughing at the blush that coats your face. "Shut up pastry, unless you're only asking because you want some help getting those podiums too?" You retort. Oscar blushes fiercely, causing you to laugh this time before Lando joins you both, "What's so funny?"

[boysplanetrecaps]

Ep 4 Wrap Up

Hello, lovies! Welcome back to the Great Produce48 Recap Rewatch-a-ma-whoozit! In the previous post, we covered the Very Very teams. In this post, I’ll be wrapping up episode 4 and giving you some general thoughts about the challenge mission in the form of my first annual BRAPPY Awards! Let’s do it!

Seungki gathers the girls together now that the audience has left, in order to give them the results of the on-site vote. Seungki quizzes a few girls is the audience at quasi-random to re-establish the rules -- that 58th is the cut off point, and that if you don’t make it within that range, “you can’t practice here anymore.” I think that’s a comparatively kind way to put it.

This is basically a pointless exercise that they’re going through right now, though. They rank the girls solely by their voting for tonight, including the 1000 point benefit. There is literally no point to it, since this ranking has no impact on the rest of their life, except their pride. We find out that poor AleXa came in dead last, with flat-tummied Hwang Soyeon just above her. 

AleXa takes it pretty well -- she knew how low she scored, so she was ready for this.

Poor Soyeon. She’s so good, and I think she’s pretty. I don’t get it. 

Lee Chaeyeon voice overs, “The Japanese members are celebrities, and Koreans are trainees. So there was a gap.” 

Was there? Let me get out my spreadsheet. *cracks knuckles* 

Hmm. The Japanese members had an average of 85.3 votes per trainee. The members signed to Korean agencies had an average of 59.0 votes per trainee. The overall average was 69, because there are more Korean members. So yes, there was a huge gap.

The show goes on revealing the "final ranking" from the night, but it's so annoying, since all the votes were based on their immediate competition among those 10-12 girls, so it’s especially meaningless.

Anyway, here’s the top 12 -- just looking at it reminds you that this is dumb, since we know these aren’t the 12 most popular girls on the show.

Trainee /// Song she did /// votes she got

12. Kojima Mako    ///       Short Hair 1       ///       120 11. Murase Sae      ///       Mamma Mia 1    ///       138 11. Kim Hyunah      ///     Mamma Mia 1 /// 138 9. Asai Nanami   ///           Boombayah 2 /// 144 8. Lee Sian           ///         Short Hair 2     ///       148 7. Jo Yuri      ///                 Short Hair 1     ///       152 6. Cho Ahyeong        ///     High Tension 2 /// 160 5. Miyawaki Sakura   ///     Very Very 2          ///   164 4. Goto Moe      ///         Like Ooh Ahh 1 /// 172 3. Huh Yunjin      ///       High Tension 2 /// 188 2. Ko Yujin        ///     Boombayah 1        ///     198 1. Yabuki Nako /// Love Whisper 2 /// 330

Fun fact: Only three of these girls make it into IZ*one, and, extra fun (or not fun at all?), one of these 12 girls gets eliminated in the very next episode! 

This is so dumb.

Seungki interviews Nako about her overwhelming victory, and she says she still can’t believe it. (You can see that she has a small earpiece in her ear for translation purposes.)

It’s almost as if she was really good and also was in a matchup with mostly weaker members….? Hilariously, she says “I’ll try my best to be in a higher rank next time.” Nako? Sweetie? You were in first place. I think it’s ok to not strive to do even better than that. Cutely, she adds a Korean “thank you!” at the end. 

Then the show does a dumb thing where it adds the 1000 vote benefit into the votes to see how things change in the ranking, and it’s pointless AF. Seungki reminds them that the first ranking announcement will be next week, and that's when they'll "release" about a third of the girls.

Ok, so that’s the end of episode 4. 

Time for my general thoughts on the challenge mission!

My main thought is: None of the performances were actually horrifically bad. Even Hellbayah was watchable in its own way. Vocally, nearly everyone sounded notably better than they even had before, making me wonder if there was some processing being done to the vocals for everyone. Dance-wise, the camera hid a lot of the choreo, so it's impossible to know. In the end, I had to base a lot of my differential off of stage presence, which is tough since it's so subjective.

I think that so much of it was decided the moment that certain teams were formed and certain teams got certain songs. Having Nako sing Love Whisper? Match made in heaven. Putting Chiba Erii in Boombayah? Match made in hell.

I wish I had the energy to go through and look at each group and think, which song should this group of 5-6 girls have done? But alas, I do not. I welcome your thoughts, if you have them!

The First Annual BRAPPIES 

And now, for the first Brappies, the award that BPR-Unnie gives out starting now, after each challenge mission. Be aware that as I type this, I’ve had a headache for about two weeks and it’s making me just a tiny bit cranky. Ok, here goes!

Group who the stylist unnies hated the most:

I give this to Peekaboo 2. 

Ugh, those translucent control top thigh highs!

Group who it just looks like they forgot to put on pants:

Obviously, Short Hair (both teams)

I'm unlikely to use this category again, but it had to be said.

Group that cried the most:

I’m tempted to say it’s a 15-way tie between most of them, but I have to give it to Love Whisper 1, whose leader, Eunchae, actually cried during the ending fairy.

Group that seemed to have the most fun:

Very Very, Red team.

Most deserved win:

Love Whisper 2.

I’m giving it to them since, other than the Boombayah teams, there was no other match up where the winner felt quite so obvious to me.  

Least deserved win:

Hellbayah. Obviously.

It’s infuriating that this performance won. 

Best leader:

From what we could see, that goes to Haeyoon (Cherry Bullet) from Like Ooh Ah, who not only mothered her own team, but also had time to mother the other team, who had the worst leader (Park Seoyoung). She also is apparently fluent in Japanese. 

Honorable mention: Miyu from High Tension, who was smart enough to know that they should have Huh Yunjin as their center, and did a great job as main vocal, to boot.

Worst leader:

I have to give this to Park Seoyoung. She didn't seem to take the time constraints seriously enough, so didn't push her team appropriately. She also didn't seem that great at teaching the dancing, which is one of the things a leader should either be able to do, or be able to delegate well. She should have made little Haeun the dance captain and gone from there, to avoid a feeling of a power struggle. She seems like a really sweet girl, actually, and as I've said before, AleXa is friends with her to this day and that says a lot. But she just isn't really cut out to be leader.

Most put-upon leader:

Han Chowon from Hellbayah. She obviously did an extraordinary job considering her situation. 

Biggest discovery: 

Yoon Haesol, main vocal of High Tension 1. I’d been completely unaware of her up until this point. Her audition, Question Mark, wasn’t aired -- all we saw of her was starting her audition in the wrong key and needing to start over.  All I had said about her audition was that she did pretty well, but this performance really impressed me. So, good for you, Haesol. 

Trainee who “won” the night

Huh Yunjin.

I say she won the night because before this episode, she wasn’t really seen as a front runner, and afterward, she really was. There are events to come that will drag her down a bit, but I think she earned her spot on Le Sserafim with this performance. She definitely won my heart the first time I was watching. So, congrats, Jennifer! You killed it. But you know that, right? 

Trainee who “lost” the night:

In some ways, this award should go to just about anyone who the edit ignored completely despite them doing good stuff, like fantastic singer and leader Miyu from the winning High Tension group, or any of the innumerable other trainees with no stage time. But I have to give this award to Jang Gyuri.

She had her tiny tiny vocal mistake built up to over the course of two episodes and then replayed thirteen fucking times. Meanwhile if you watch her fancam, you might actually gain some respect for her lovely vocal color. 

So, that’s a wrap for right now.  I’m going to check out Build Up for a bit and we’ll see how that goes, and I’ll finish these recaps when the time is right. See you soon! 

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2004: The Scoreboards

For some reason, I've neglected to mention that, for the past two years, each host has selected a slogan or theme for that year's Eurovision. In Tallin it was A Modern Fairytale, in Riga it was Magical Rendez-vous. This year, TRT have gone with Under the Same Sky which given the location of Istanbul, the city that's in both Europe and Asia makes a whole heap of sense.

That theme is reflected in the layout of the scoreboard. Two arcs of nations either side of the spokesperson delivering the results. Albeit with the implication that the European half of the results are a much, much better than the Asian side.

Another first is that the flags of the countries are present inside heart-shaped cut outs. That heart is going to become ubiquitous. It's used all over the place this year and will be back in the future.

Now there's a semi, there's more than one scoreboard. More for the graphic design department to do - although not too much more. The scores aren't given at the end of the semi, only a list of the winners. That's a relatively simple task.

The results reveal for the semi final is done in a very traditional manner with the hosts picking from a set of red envelopes at random to reveal each of the qualifiers. It should be tense, yet somehow it's not quite there yet. Work to do.

Time for the spoilers.

The ten qualifying countries were (in order of the number of points they received):

Serbia & Montenegro - 263 points

Ukraine - 256 points

Greece - 238 points

Albania - 167 points

Cyprus - 149 points

Netherlands - 146 points

Bosnia & Herzegovina - 133 points

Malta - 74 points

Croatia - 72 points

North Macedonia - 71 points

There was quite a big drop down to Israel in 11th place who had 57 points. These scores were only released after the grand final.

Those ten countries joined the 14 other pre-qualified countries in the grand final. There was a lot less tension in the scoring this year. Two countries jostled for the lead for most of the sequences, but in the end Ukraine pulled clear with a few countries still to go. Slovenia this time were the third last voters and it was once again joker Peter Poles delivering the points that cemented the winner. With two countries to go, Ukraine couldn't be beaten - even though they were the final country to vote.

At the bottom end of the scoreboard, there were no nul points this year, but there weren't many points in total at all. The seven bottom countries all got fewer than 20 points. There was chasm between the top 6 and everyone else.

The grand final full results were:

Ukraine - Ruslana - "Wild Dances" - 280 points

Serbia & Montenegro - Željko Joksimović and Ad-Hoc Orchestra - "Lane moje" - 263 points

Greece - Sakis Rouvas - "Shake It" - 252 points

Türkiye - Athena - "For Real" - 195 points

Cyprus - Lisa Andreas - "Stronger Every Minutes" - 170 points

Sweden - Lena Philipsson - "It Hurts" - 170 points (joint 5th)

Albania - Anjeza Shahini - "The Image of You" - 106 points

Germany - Max - "Can't Wait Until Tonight" - 93 points

Bosnia & Herzegovina - Deen - "In the Disco" - 91 points

Spain - Ramón - "Para llenarme de ti" - 87 points

Russia - Julia Savicheva - "Believe Me" - 67 points

Malta - Julie and Ludwig - "On Again... Off Again" - 50 points

Croatia - Ivan Mikulić - "You Are the Only One" - 50 points (joint 12th)

North Macedonia - Toše Proeski - "Life" - 47 points

France - Jonatan Cerrada - "À chaque pas" - 40 points

United Kingdom - James Fox - "Hold On to Our Love" - 29 points

Poland - Blue Café - "Love Song" - 27 points

Romania - Sanda - "I Admit" - 18 points

Iceland - Jónsi - "Heaven" - 16 points

Netherlands - Re-union - "Without You" - 11 points

Austria - Tie Break - "Du bist" - 9 points

Belgium - Xandee - "1 Life" - 7 points

Ireland - Chris Doran - "If My World Stopped Turning" - 7 points (joint 22nd)

Norway - Knut Anders Sørum - "High" - 3 points

[celtfather]

Fun & Funny #600

Wild, fun, and funny music for April Fools Day on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast show #600!

The Crossjacks, Railcar Graffiti, Fire In The Glen, Chance the Arm, Kellys Wayke, Caliceltic, The Celtic Kitchen Party, The Out of Kilters, Brobdingnagian Bards, Madman's Window, Slugger's Rule, Wild Blue Yonder, the commoners, Drunk & Sailor, Shades of Green, Rambling Sailors, Paddyman

VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2023

This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2023 episode.  Vote Now!

Two weeks after the episode is launched, I compile your votes to update a playlist on Spotify and YouTube. These are the results of your voting. You can help these artists out by following the playlists and adding tracks you love to your playlists. Follow us on Facebook to find out who is added each week.

Listen on Spotify and YouTube.

GET CELTIC MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Subscribe and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free.

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:11 - The Crossjacks "Whiskey Johnny O" from The Crossjacks

3:26 - WELCOME

5:01 - Railcar Graffiti "Wild Rover" from Going Across The Sea

7:52 - Fire In The Glen "From Amish To Irish" from Cutting Bracken

11:18 - Chance the Arm "Irish Rover" from All in Good Time

14:24 - Kellys Wayke "The Orange and the Green" from Kellys Wayke

17:48 - Caliceltic "One out of Ten Doctors" from 2023 and Me

21:25 - FEEDBACK

25:14 - The Celtic Kitchen Party "Covid - 19 Shanty" from Last Call

27:01 - The Out of Kilters "The Girl with the Shamrock Tattoo" from Hot Potatoes

29:31 - Brobdingnagian Bards "Jedi Mickey" from I Will Not Sing Along

32:26 - Madman's Window "Paddy Murphy" from All Guns Blazing - Live!

35:31 - Slugger's Rule "Finnegan's Wake" from Greatest Hits: Volume II

38:21 - THANKS

40:45 - Wild Blue Yonder "The Possum Crawls Tonight" from Bolt out of the Blue

45:38 - the commoners “Everybody's Irish For a Day" from What's Your Whiskey For

49:12 - Drunk & Sailor "Humours Of Whiskey" from Doing What We Do

52:17 - Shades of Green "I'm Irish" from Conversations We Never Had

54:55 - Rambling Sailors "A Sailor Ain't A Sailor (Last Shanty)" from Tales From the White Horse

57:57 - CLOSING

59:33 - Paddyman "The Secret of a Real Irish Pub" from One for the Road

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs.

Visit our website to subscribe to the show. You’ll find links to all of the artists played in this episode. You’ll get access to our Best of this Year Playlist. You can subscribe to our Celtic Music Magazine and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you’ll get 7 weekly news items about what’s happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage.

Finally, please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor.

Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

WELCOME CELTOPHILE TO CELTIC MUSIC

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I’m a musician and podcaster out of Atlanta, Georgia. This Podcast is here to build our diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com.

Do you have the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast app? It’s 100% free. You can listen to hundreds of episodes of the podcast. Download it now.

Hey Celtic Bands, I’m looking for new music and stories in 2023. To submit your band, just complete the permission form at 4celts.com. You’ll also find information on how to submit a story behind one of your songs or tunes.

Get a free Celtic Musicians Guide to Digital Music eBook. email gift@bestcelticmusic

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

Because of Your kind and generous support, this show comes out at least four times a month. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion and production of the show. It allows us to attract new listeners and to help our community grow.

As a patron, you get music - only episodes before regular listeners, vote in the Celtic Top 20, and you get a private feed to listen to the show.  All that for as little as $1 per episode.

A special thanks to our Celtic Legends: Bill Mandeville , Marti Meyers, Meghan Walker, Dan mcDade, Paul Crowley, Carol Baril, Miranda Nelson, Nancie Barnett, Kevin Long, Lynda MacNeil, robert michael kane, Tiffany Knight, Kelly Garrod, Annie Lorkowski, Hank Woodward, Shawn Cali

HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Go to our Patreon page.

Decide how much you want to pledge every week, $1, $5, $10. Make sure to cap how much you want to spend per month.

Keep listening to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to celebrate Celtic culture through music.

You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast on Patreon at SongHenge.com.

TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos.

In 2023, we’re going on a Celtic Invasion of County Mayo in Ireland. We’re gonna explore the area and get to know Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen. Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

#celticmusic #irishmusic #celticmusicpodcast

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Or how about a picture you took of a band that you saw.

How would you like to introduce an episode of the podcast? It’s super easy. Contact me for details.

Email me at celticpodcast@gmail, message me on Facebook, or contact me through Mastodon @celtfather@c.im.

Paul Crowley replied: "Hey Marc, In answer to your third question, I've been working on learning a trad tune, The Deer's March, on my lever harp. Slainte!"

Shel O'Toole replied: "I am usually working when listening to the podcasts as I work from home.  The music keeps me motivated.  I often play a podcast more than once  during the week.

I celebrate my Celtic culture most Sundays  and every second Thursday at  local Irish sessions where I play bodhran, banjo or guitar.  One of my own songs has become a session regular and is a firm favourite of the patrons at the pubs where we have our sessions.

Cheers Marc, PS I love the podcast."

Mattie Dalton emailed: "This year, I will not be in the parade.  My plan at this point, is to cook a fantastic meal and have all the kids and grandkids over to share and enjoy their heritage! I'd love to hear all your music or anything you put out. Love you kiddo!!"

Ben Doran emailed: "While listening to the podcast, I am either doing light chores or culling through emails. Never too far from the speaker, or the playlist; so I can highlight songs/artists to take a further/deeper listen to.

I am going to be playing three shows on St. Patrick's Day, two with Ar Ais Aris, and end the night with a great Irish songs and tunes concert for the Wild Hog in the Woods Folk Cooperative. Then, after all that: either a nap OR some Bailey's and Jameson, then a nap.

Circling back: rehearsing, rehearsing this "holiday" season. Learning some new tunes, polishing up some old ones. Enjoying the fellowship while playing!"

Teresa Finley of IrishFest Atlanta sent photos from the attendance at the Atlanta St Patrick's Day parade.

  Check out this episode!

[survivor-hvr]

Merge Immunity #3 Results

After a very close game, a tie, and a nightlong tiebreaker, we have results.

Julia and Nik tied with 11, so they went to a tiebreaker where Julia came out on top. She has a guaranteed spot in the final 10.

Tribal tonight, 10/12, at 9:30 EST, where the 14th person will be voted out. Live challenge will follow right after.

[nbcthevoice]

When someone tells you they're not caught up on The Voice...

[jungshookz]

What the hell? How the fuck does this work?

Testing, testing… 1, 2, 3… [microphone feedback] okay, ow- Oh! There we go.

Hello, all of you ghouls and goblins! Welcome to Cee’s House of Horrors 2020! 

I hope you’re ready to piss your pants. Or projectile vomit. Or both! Actually, I hope both, because I would love to see it. I’m your host - everyone’s favourite demon - obviously, Cee decided to make me the host of this exciting event because… well, you see the pointy red horns, don’t you? I don’t usually have them out because they’re a little tacky, but, t’is the season, am I right? Some of you may know who I am, and some of you may not! I’m Yoongi! Or, I guess my official title would be demon!yoongi. The point is, I’m Yoongi… and I’m here to ruin the next week of your life.

Since all of your brains combined are about the size of a single pea, I bet you’re all confused right now. You’re probably thinking to yourself: ‘What the hell is going on?’, ‘Where’s Cee?’, ‘Oh, god - is this another fic drop? Jesus Christ. Why does she have to make these things so dramatic all the time? Can she just drop a fic for once and not do anything else?!’ I’ll ask you to save your questions for the end… and then just keep them to yourselves for the rest of your pathetic little lives because I won’t be answering any of them.

Anyways, I guess I have to read off this dumb script… 

‘Here at Jungshookz Headquarterz, your entertainment is our top priority…’ god, seriously? That’s the company policy? No, no. Now that Cee’s not here, my priority is to freak you out so much that you start to wonder if the pile of clothes sitting on the floor is really just a bunch of sweatshirts or if it’s a mangled, bloody-mouthed demon about to pounce on you and feast on your face. With that being said… Welcome to the very first choose-your-own-adventure tale! Ta-da! Did you enjoy the promotion for it? I certainly had fun. I’m the guy at the crossroads! You should’ve seen your face. 

The thing is… Cee’s technically already set up a whole story for you guys and all the bits and pieces are ready to be posted and she told me that all I’d have to do is post one part every day but… I read it over and it was the blandest thing I’d ever read in my entire life, and if I could go back in time and un-read it, and then pour bleach directly into my eyeballs, I would, which is why… I’m going to rewrite everything. What Cee doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right? And I know you guys certainly aren’t going to tattle-tale, because if you do, I’ll make sure that the presence constantly looming over your shoulder manifests into its physical form right as you’re about to fall asleep tonight. And, while I’m at it, I’ll throw a handful of spiders into your mouth while you’re asleep. The point is - shut your trap.

Here are the rules. Read ‘em.

Our tale will be broken down into seven parts - each part will be posted every day at midnight starting on Sunday - and the final part will be posted on Halloween, marking the end of the event. I know, it sucks. I wish everyday was Halloween.

Each part will end with two different options for you to choose from, and in order to contribute your vote to the story, you must a) like the post (don’t accidentally ‘forget’ to like the post or I’m going to ‘accidentally’ drop you into a vat of lava), b) reblog the post to spread some Halloween joy, and c) head on over to Cee’s twitter page to place your vote. …She did mention to everyone that she had a twitter page, right? Because the success of this event depends on those polls. I wouldn’t be surprised if she forgot, seeing that she’s an idiot and all- Oh, also, sending your vote in via Cee’s ask box and spamming your vote does not count. Cee probably wouldn’t want to come back to see her inbox cluttered with a hundred A’s and B’s floating around everywhere, and if that happens, I’m going to get shit for it, and she’s not going to let me host anything ever again. Don’t do it. Don’t be an asshole!

The voting period will end an hour after it’s been posted, which is definitely more than enough time for you to read and make a decision. After the hour ends, that’s when I’ll swoop in and tally up the results. The poll closes automatically, so if you miss the deadline, you miss the deadline. And complaining about it or whining about it isn’t going to help any of us in any way, you big crybabies.

The less popular option will not be posted and will immediately be scrunched up and tossed into a fire, so don’t bother asking about it.

Cee’s not here. And she won’t be here for the next seven days, which means no regular asks will be answered. That’ll disrupt the whole vibe I’m setting up here, you know? Character asks will still be answered, but I’ll be monitoring everything this week. 

Speaking of Cee, I sent her off to an isolated cabin in the woods. Don’t worry about it. Unlike the promotion event for La Vie En Bonsai - which, by the way, was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever read in my entire life - there will be no direct hotline to her phone. Now, with that being said, I encourage you to continue to send Cee messages every day just so she doesn’t go crazy in the cabin. You know, give her a little something to scroll through while she’s climbing up a tree to get away from a grizzly bear. Long story short - it’s just going to be you and I, my friends.

Here’s a list of a bunch of different time zones because I know one of you is going to bitch about having to figure it out and I don’t have the energy to listen to your shrill voices for more than three seconds. And don’t get pissed if you have to be up at a weird hour. Deal with it.

PST: 12:00AM

EST: 3:00AM (The perfect time because that’s when my friends and I are most active!)

CDT: 2:00AM

BST: 8:00AM

AEST: 5:00PM

ACST: 4:30PM

JST: 4:00PM

CST: 3:00PM

WIB: 3:00PM

IST: 12:30PM

MSK: 10:00AM

CEST: 9:00AM

GMT: 7:00AM

ART: 4:00AM

HST: 9:00PM

AKDT: 11:00PM

Okay, that’s it.

See you tomorrow at midnight. 

[eurovision-del]

I’m back home after watching Eurovision with a friend, and I want to get my thoughts down!! (This is going to be a long post)

Top 5

Italy: Wow! I thought they could do it, but seeing them actually pull it off and win the whole thing is incredible! I can barely describe how happy I was when they won, I definitely found the voting a lot more stressful when my fave had a real chance at winning, but the payoff when they were announced as winners was worth it all! I’ve been a fan of Måneskin for a few years now, so seeing a band I like go from there to competing in Sanremo, to making it to Eurovision, to winning the whole damn thing is undescribable! Zitte E Buoni is such a fantastic song, and it’s going to continue to be one of my all time favourite Eurovision songs for many years to come!

Italy’s third victory was a long time coming, they’ve been consistently great over the past decade, but I’m very glad it was this song that did it for them! I also like it when a winner shakes up the perception of what a winning song should be, like Portugal 2017. This is the first time since 2006 that both a group and a rock act have won Eurovision, and personally I’ll be very glad if this causes a resurgence in both over the next few years. It’s also notable for being a song not sung in English, but I’ve got more to say on that later.

I always think it’s best when the televote winner is the overall Eurovision winner, so I’m very glad to see Italy topping the televote, and they did it by a decent margin, just over 50 points!

France: A very deserved second place. Barbara performed wonderfully and brought the magic to the Eurovision stage, she should be so proud of what she achieved. She was just unlucky that there was a better song this year, in another year Voila could have easily won. I wouldn’t mind seeing her, or especially her co-writer, Igit, who I’ve liked since he did Destination Eurovision in 2018, make a return to Eurovision, either as singers or songwriters.

Switzerland: I liked Tout l’Univers well enough based on the song, then it grew on me even more in the second semi final, so I was very happy to see it do well! Like Barbara, Gjon gave a brilliant performance tonight, and should be very proud of his third place! It’s great to see Swizterland, a country that struggled so much throughout the 2010s, pull off two top 5 finishes in a row at the turn of the decade. I’m hoping for more good things from them in the future!

Iceland: It’s such a shame that Daði and Gagnamagnið missed out on the chance to perform live in Eurovision, but thank goodness they were able to get that second rehearsal performance done as well as they did! The song and performance are so heartwarming, they utterly deserved this result. I’m really excited to see where Daði goes from here, I’ve actually already got tickets to see him live next year!

Ukraine: Like Italy, Ukraine managed to achieve the same result in the actual contest as they did in my personal ranking! I was worried the song would be too divisive, but the performance was perfect and elevated the whole thing, and Kateryna’s vocal perforamnce was flawless. Very pleased to see them achieve second place in the televote!

I’ve watched Eurovision since 2014, and I can say with confidence that this is the first time since that year that I’ve had no complaints about the top 5. I’ve also gone back and watched every Eurovision ever, and I’m struggling to think of a year that I’ve been this happy with the top 10, every place from 1 to 9 I think is either well deserved or better than I was hoping for! It’s not until you get to Greece in 10th place that I reach a song I think is mildly overrated in the results.

Other Countries

Finland: I won’t do a full run down on Lithuania and Russia, two of my other  favourites, as I’ve said it all by saying I’m so happy with the top 10, but I want to give a special mention to Finland. For a second I was really worried when their televote result was so high, as I thought it might indicate the vote for the two  rock songs had been split. I’m so thankful to be proven wrong, and for these results to show that not only is there a place for all kinds of rock and metal music in Eurovision, but that they can exist alongside each other and do well. I also really want to congratulate Finland on achieving their second best result ever! While I like it when countries switch things up I won’t complain if Finland look at their previous results and decide that they’ve found their niche in rock and metal music.

The Netherlands: My biggest disappointment in terms of result. I wasn’t too surprised, based on the neutral to negative reaction of the fans at large and the odds, but I still don’t really understand it. This song deserved a lot more than 11 points! In my ideal Eurovision I’d say this should be the sort of song juries reward, they should have the time to look at lyrics and composition and cultural influence and reward songs as good as this one. But apparently it wasn’t to be. I really hope no one gets discouraged by this result, and I’d be very happy to see more artists representing their stories and their non-European cultures at Eurovision in the future.

United Kingdom: Look, I have to talk about my own country. I’m honestly more worried about the backlash the media here is going to have than I am disappointed in this result. But I am still a little disappointed. I don’t think this song was the worst in the final, sure, it was definitely in the bottom half, but I can think of serveral songs worse than this. And the nil points was totally undeserved. That marks our second nil points, the only other being Cry Baby in 2003, and this song is leagues better than that ever was, putting them in the same category feels like an insult. That said, I can’t complain too much. This year was very strong, and I’m not actually sure where the points would have come from. Embers is a nice song, but it’s not strong enough or interesting enough to be anyone’s favourite, maybe it should rank in the middle for everyone, but why would it rank in their top 10?

I’ve seen an idea that maybe the BBC should just give the competition to ITV for a few years, and while I don’t think that would solve our problems, we do need a shake up. The BGM deal seemed like a good move, but if it’s only going to continue to produce ‘nice’ songs rather than ‘impactful’ songs, it’s not going to help us on the scoreboard. I fully believe that there’s no reason the UK shouldn’t do well at Eurovision. In an ideal world, we’d organise a national finla filled with unique entries, not the drivel that our last national final contained - I don’t think our strength is actually going to be in our pop industry at Eurovision, I think it’ll be in our less mainstream stuff. I’d love for us to also try sending a song in Welsh, Gaelic, or even Scots, something that’s full of cultural identity and couldn’t come from anywhere else in the world. It might not be a winner, but I think a song like that would have a far better song of catching people’s attention and doing well at the contest than songs our current strategy produces ever would.

Other Thoughts

This year was a victory for the unique and artistic, there’s not a single song in the top 9 that could be classified as a straightforward pop song. I also want to note that the entire top 3 is non-English, Italian and two French entries. This is the only time that’s ever happened since the language rule was abolished, and since the last few years of that produced English podium placing songs, it’s the first year it’s happened since 1995. I really hope that sends the message out loud and clear that songs in native languages can and do succeed at Eurovision!

In 2019 I talked a bit about the Juries vs the Televote, and how I wasn’t too keen on the Jury results that year. This year, aside from overlooking The Netherlands, I’d say they did their job pretty well. The combined results seem very fair, better than both the Televote and the Jury results individually, and I think that shows the system is working at its best. I’m very glad to see Portugal score well, I thought the whole entry was brilliant and it deserved the boost the juries gave it. Likewise I thought Lithuania deserved a top 10 result and was glad the televote responded to it enough to put it there. The best countries, however, scored well in both, I was happy to have a year without a surprise jury favourite. Switzerland was definitely a fair jury winner.

Closing Thoughts 

Eurovision 2021 has been brilliant! We got a really strong set of songs, some fantastic performances, and a set of results I generally really agree with, completed by my ideal winner! Maybe when the buzz has died down I’ll reconsider, but right now I’m very confidently calling this my favourite of the contests that I’ve watched live - maybe my favourite contest ever? Either way, it’s been a good one, and I’m already eagerly anticipating next year!

[lostinfantasyworlds]

So...uh...a few weeks ago, I made a guess that Under the Northern Lights would end up being no more than 150k words total. But...I just hit that mark while editing chapter 11 😆.

And I still have 5 more chapters left to “edit”....which, for me, usually results in adding a minimum of 2k words per chapter, but sometimes as much as 5k depending on how much I left for myself to fill in later on my rough drafts.

At this point, I’ve just embraced the fact that I’m incapable of being succinct when writing lol. So I guess this is just going to be a really long story😂. My new estimate is 165 - 170k, which is still mind blowing to me, considering I never thought this fic would be more than 80-90k tops 😳.

Anyways, thank you so much again to everyone who’s supported UTNL and voted for it in the Feudal Conenction awards. I’m still so shocked honored to have won 2nd place for Best Romance 🥺🤯🥰

Thank you x 10000000 ❤️❤️❤️

I’m trying my best to get chapter 11 posted tomorrow, but we’ll see how the rest of the night goes. I have some work to catch up on tomorrow, so if I can’t finish tonight I might have to wait until Monday or Tuesday. Either way, coming soon! 💕

[mysteriesofmilo]

Favorite Songs Tournament, Season 3 Sweet 16!!!!

Happy belated Heinzoween everyone!

I apologize for the hiatus. I got sick and almost forgot this tournament existed. But enough about that; it's finally time to return to our regularly scheduled favorite songs tournament for Phineas and Ferb season 3! Here are the results of the Round of 32:

In a matchup of songs about characters with a special relationship with Buford, Hole in My Heart beat Runnin' From Love (In a Bear Suit) 11-7 (61.1%)

In a previously tied matchup of songs with titles ending in the word Thing(s), Takin' Care of Things beat What Is This Thing? 10-7 (58.8%)

In a matchup of characters who only appear in one episode whose names start with P, The Ballads of Paul beat Perry-Tronic 11-8 (57.9%)

In a near shutout, Everything's Better With Perry beat Ferb 17-1 (94.4%)

In a matchup with low gravity, Lunar Taste Sensation beat Football X-7 12-7 (63.2%)

In a matchup within my top 20 from this season, Aerial Area Rug beat Ferb Latin 12-7 (63.2%)

In a matchup of songs with disturbing premises, Weaponry beat Goin' Deep Into Your Mind 13-6 (68.4%)

In another previously tied matchup of songs about Candace doing something other than busting, Give Up beat Just the Two of Us 10-8 (55.6%)

In a matchup of requested songs, Robot Riot beat Set the Record Straight 16-3 (84.2%)

In a matchup of people working together who have also betrayed each other, Frenemies beat Don't Look Down 17-2 (89.5%)

In a third previously tied matchup of our normal protagonists not being themselves, Platypus Fight beat Blueprints 10-7 (58.8%)

In a matchup of montages and preparing for the future, The Way of the Platypus beat A Real Boy 13-6 (68.4%)

In a matchup of Doof getting along with someone else, Brand New Best Friend beat Dance Baby 11-7 (61.1%)

In a matchup of modes of transportation, Drusselstein Driving Test Waltz beat Tour de Ferb 13-6 (68.4%)

In a competition for attention, Evil Tonight beat Run Candace Run 12-6 (66.7%)

And in a fun final matchup for this round, Summer (Where Do We Begin?) beat Jetpack Volleyball 16-3 (84.2%)

Now on to the Sweet 16!

Hole in My Heart vs Takin' Care of Things

The Ballads of Paul vs Everything's Better With Perry

Lunar Taste Sensation vs Aerial Area Rug

Weaponry vs Give Up

Robot Riot vs Frenemies

Platypus Fight vs The Way of the Platypus

Brand New Best Friend vs Drusselstein Driving Test Waltz

Evil Tonight vs Summer (Where Do We Begin?)

Vote here: https://forms.gle/A4iRsMw5qaEmKxAG6

View the updated bracket here: https://challonge.com/5gy6f1tg

And view the wiki here: https://phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Season_3_songs

EDIT: Sorry, again, I forgot to set an end date! I'm giving you until tomorrow, Thursday the 4th, to cast your vote. Unless of course we end in a tie. In that case it will likely be the 5th.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 30, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

Tonight, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that extends funding for the government until December 3, 2021. The government won’t shut down tomorrow.

In the Senate, Republican Tom Cotton (R-AR) tried to amend the measure to stop aid for Afghan refugees who were evacuated to the United States. That amendment reflected the demands of former president Donald Trump, who insisted that Republicans should oppose the bill, calling it “a major immigration rewrite that allows Biden to bring anyone he wants from Afghanistan for the next year—no vetting, no screening, no security—and fly them to your community with free welfare and government-issued IDs.” Trump suggested they would bring “horrible assaults and sex crimes” that would be “just be the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming if this isn’t shut down.”

For all their talk of concern about taking care of our Afghan allies during the evacuation of Afghanistan, all 50 Republican senators voted for Cotton’s measure. Democrats killed it on a strict party line vote.

Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) also tried to amend the bill. He wanted to prohibit the use of federal funds to implement vaccine requirements for the coronavirus. This failed, too, but only after all Republicans voted for it.

The Senate went on today to confirm Rohit Chopra to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for a five-year term. Chopra worked with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to establish the CFPB after the financial crisis of 2008, and in its first five years it recovered about $11.7 billion for some 27 million consumers. Former president Trump appointed former South Carolina representative Mick Mulvaney to head the bureau while he was also the director of the Office of Management and Budget; when he was in Congress, Mulvaney had introduced legislation to abolish the bureau. At its head, Mulvaney zeroed out the bureau’s budget and set about dismantling it.

When he took office, Biden began to rebuild the bureau and, in mid-February, appointed Chopra to head it, but Republicans objected to him. Now, more than seven months later, with Republicans insisting he would be anti-business, Vice President Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote to confirm his appointment.

The rest of the congressional day was consumed with Democrats trying to hash out a final version of the Build Back Better infrastructure bill. While the Republicans largely sat the debate out—they oppose the Build Back Better plan altogether—conservative Democrats want to pass a smaller $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure before taking up the larger $3.5 trillion measure currently under discussion. That smaller measure focuses on repairing roads and bridges and extending broadband, and lobbyists for construction industries are very keen indeed on getting it into law.

But progressive Democrats cut a deal months ago that the smaller measure would go forward together with the larger one, and they are refusing to allow conservatives to change the terms of that deal now. The Build Back Better bill appropriates $3.5 trillion over ten years to expand child care and elder care, expand Medicare, cut prescription drug prices, provide two years of community college, extend the child tax credit, and combat climate change.

Aside from the measure itself, there are two issues at stake in the debate over it.

The first is about how the Democrats should interpret their victory in 2020. Conservative Democrats like Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) appear to think the Democrats should limit the scope of their legislation to try to pick up moderate Republican votes in the future. More progressive Democrats, led by Pramila Jayapal (WA), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, believe the Democrats were elected to pass laws that help ordinary Americans who have felt unrepresented by Republicans.

The other fight behind the Build Back Better measure is over how Americans choose to spend their tax dollars. Republicans, and even some conservative Democrats like Manchin, believe that spending $3.5 trillion on human infrastructure is a waste of money and that the new programs will create an “entitlement mentality.”

In contrast, though, Congress spends very little time discussing the defense budget, which, at its current rate, would cost $7.78 trillion over the next ten years. That amount is significantly higher than the defense spending of any other nation in the world. In 2020, the U.S. spent $778 billion on defense, making up 39% of our overall spending. China, the country with the next highest defense budget, spent 13% of its overall spending on defense at $252 billion, India spent 3.7% at $72.9 billion, Russia spent 3.1% at $61.7 billion, and the United Kingdom spent 3% at $59.2 billion.

At the heart of the question of how we spend our tax dollars, of course, is who pays those tax dollars. The Biden administration wants to fund the Build Back Better plan not by borrowing, but by closing tax loopholes and clawing back some of the 2017 cuts to corporate taxes and income taxes on the nation’s highest earners. At Rolling Stone today, reporters Andy Kroll and Geoff Dembicki wrote that political groups funded by the network of right-wing libertarian billionaire Charles Koch, who is deeply invested in fossil fuels, are pouring money and effort into killing the Build Back Better plan.

Meanwhile, the Senate still has not taken up either of the two voting rights acts passed by the House or the Freedom to Vote Act hammered out this month by Democratic senators led by Manchin.

Yesterday, the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab released a report that noted the new voter suppression laws in place in 18 Republican-dominated states but focused instead on 17 new election subversion laws in 11 of those same states. Those new laws put into place the policies former president Trump’s campaign demanded in 2020. They threaten election officials with prosecution if they send out mail-in ballots to anyone who has not requested one, require legislatures to agree to changes in election rules, transfer control of elections or reporting results from nonpartisan officials to political operatives, and allow candidates to demand recounts at will.

A new law in Arizona, for example, “shifts control of election litigation from the secretary of state (currently a Democrat) to the attorney general (currently a Republican). The provision is designed to sunset on January 2, 2023, when a new attorney general potentially takes office.”

“When Voting Rights Lab launched a few years ago, we knew we’d be busy tracking many disturbing, and oftentimes veiled efforts to suppress the vote of historically excluded Americans,” the report concludes. “What we couldn’t have anticipated at that time was that current officeholders would warp the election process itself….”

—

Notes:

https://www.defensenews.com/global/2021/04/26/the-world-spent-almost-2-trillion-on-defense-in-2020/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cotton-amendment-defeated/2021/09/30/7fb1a02c-2206-11ec-8200-5e3fd4c49f5e_story.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/politics/government-shutdown-deadline-congress-votes/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/magazine/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-trump.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/30/rohit-chopra-cfpb/

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/21/trump-signs-738-billion-defense-bill.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-koch-brothers-lobbying-biden-build-back-better-1234815/

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/top-biz-lobbyists-sing-song-of-wtfs-and-woe-over-bif-in-the-balance

https://votingrightslab.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210924-VRL-Election-Subversion-Report-.pdf

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/29/politics/election-subversion-new-laws/index.html

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[celtfather]

St. Patrick's Day 2023, Part 2

Happy St Patrick’s Day with a second celebration episode of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #598.

McKasson & McDonald, Nathan Gourley and Laura Feddersen, Bill Mullen, Tartanic, Marc Gunn, Lissa Schneckenburger, Brad Tuck, Logical Fleadh, Thom Dunn, Andrew Finn Magill, Amelia Hogan, Hugh Morrison, The Celtic Kitchen Party, Lume de Biqueira, Niamh Parsons, Kilrush, Mad Maudlin, Patsy O'Brien, Alli Johnson, Boxing Robin, Karan Casey

VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2023

This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2023 episode.  Vote Now!

Two weeks after the episode is launched, I compile your votes to update a playlist on Spotify and YouTube. These are the results of your voting. You can help these artists out by following the playlists and adding tracks you love to your playlists. Follow us on Facebook to find out who is added each week.

Listen on Spotify and YouTube.

GET CELTIC MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Subscribe and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free.

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:02 - Intro: Jason Nevins Family

0:21 - McKasson & McDonald "The Cheese Closet Set" from Harbour

4:55 - WELCOME

6:11 - Nathan Gourley and Laura Feddersen "The Morning Thrush / Spike Island Lasses" from Brightly or Darkly

10:12 - Bill Mullen "Whisky in the Jar" from The Beginning

13:57 - Tartanic "Brick O' Bracken" from Uncharted

15:30 - Marc Gunn "Drunken Sailor" from St Patrick's Day

19:04 - Lissa Schneckenburger "Step Aside/ Move On Over/ Patriarchy Is Dead" from Falling Forward

22:59 - Brad Tuck "The Creggan White Hare" from The Rocky Isle

27:10 - FEEDBACK

32:46 - Logical Fleadh "Fermoy Lasses/Noisy Curlew/Gravelwalk" from Logical Fleadh (17 - Track Album)

36:24 - Thom Dunn "Tell Me Ma" from Forfocs​é​ic, Vol. 3: Love & War

39:26 - Andrew Finn Magill "Tom of the Red Hills / Tom Ward's Downfall / The Western Lasses" from Roots

43:24 - Amelia Hogan "The Lark In The Clear Air" from Taking Flight

47:02 - Hugh Morrison "Aidan's/Ali MacGregor's Jig/ Made In Texas" from Under A Texas Skye

50:13 - The Celtic Kitchen Party "Just for Tonight" from Last Call

53:29 - Lume de Biqueira "MAÑANA MÁS" from MAÑANA MÁS

57:11 - THANKS

1:00:25 - Niamh Parsons "The Rigs of Rye" from Heart's Desire

1:04:43 - Kilrush “Toss the Jam” from Kilrush

1:08:55 - Wolf & Clover "Shanagolden" from Wolf & Clover

1:13:36 - Patsy O'Brien "The Old Copperplate - The Exile Of Erin" from Onward

1:16:37 - Alli Johnson "Annabel Lee" from Into the Hollows

1:19:53 - Boxing Robin "Clare to Donegal Jigs" from The View From Here

1:23:16 - CLOSING

1:25:45 - Karan Casey "The Rocks of Bawn" from Nine Apples of Gold

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs.

Visit our website to subscribe to the show. You’ll find links to all of the artists played in this episode. You’ll get access to our Best of this Year Playlist. You can subscribe to our Celtic Music Magazine and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you’ll get 7 weekly news items about what’s happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage.

Finally, please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor.

Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

WELCOME CELTOPHILE TO CELTIC MUSIC

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I’m a musician and podcaster out of Atlanta, Georgia. This Podcast is here to build our diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com.

Do you have the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast app? It’s 100% free. You can listen to hundreds of episodes of the podcast. Download it now.

Hey Celtic Bands, I’m looking for new music and stories in 2023. To submit your band, just complete the permission form at 4celts.com. You’ll also find information on how to submit a story behind one of your songs or tunes.

Get a free Celtic Musicians Guide to Digital Music eBook. email gift@bestcelticmusic

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

Because of Your kind and generous support, this show comes out at least four times a month. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion and production of the show. It allows us to attract new listeners and to help our community grow.

As a patron, you get music - only episodes before regular listeners, vote in the Celtic Top 20, and you get a private feed to listen to the show.  All that for as little as $1 per episode.

A special thanks to our incredible Celtic Legends: Bill Mandeville, Marti Meyers, Brenda, Meghan Walker, Dan mcDade, Sharlene Peel, Paul Crowley, Morgan George, Samir Malak, Marianne Ludwig, Darby Patrick O'Flannery, Scott Benson, Hunter Melville, Carol Baril, Michael Truman Cavanaugh, Miranda Nelson, Nancie Barnett, Kevin Long, HuskerArmoury, Lynda MacNeil, Chris, robert michael kane, Tiffany Knight, Ockham's Razor, Kelly Garrod, Theresa Sullivan, Brendan Nix, Brakeing Down Security Podcast, Rian P Kegerreis, Annie Lorkowski, Johnny Berry, Hank Woodward, Shawn Cali

HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Go to our Patreon page.

Decide how much you want to pledge every week, $1, $5, $10. Make sure to cap how much you want to spend per month.

Keep listening to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to celebrate Celtic culture through music.

You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast on Patreon at SongHenge.com.

TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos.

In 2023, we’re going on a Celtic Invasion of County Mayo in Ireland. We’re gonna explore the area and get to know Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen. Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

#celticmusic #irishmusic #celticmusicpodcast

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can take a screenshot of the podcast on your phone. You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Or how about a picture you took of a band that you saw.

How would you like to introduce an episode of the podcast? It’s super easy. Contact me for details.

Email me at celticpodcast@gmail, message me on Facebook, or contact me through Mastodon @celtfather@c.im.

Cheryl Arvio replied: "Hmmm, well.... I work while listening to the podcast. I catalog books in an art museum library

For St. Patrick's Day my partner and I are doing our annual pub crawl, 4 Irish bars over the course of the afternoon with all the craic we can absorb

Music - wise, we went to a pub yesterday and listened to some traditional tunes, hopefully will hear more during the pub crawl Friday (sometimes the bars just have on NCAA games, sigh) as well as digging out a stack of CDs I haven't listened to in a while. There's some great music out there : - ) Happy High Holy Days to you,"

Jeffrey Shaw of The Muckers replied: "You know what I'm doing for St. Patrick's Day, baby! Keeping those drunks dancing with Celtic tunes : - D"

Von Rothenberger replied from Lucas, Kansas: "Going to the annual St. Paddy's Day Parade & Celebration in Lillis, Kansas (population: 40) and then eating corned beef & cabbage at the Second Street Cafe in Natoma, Kansas!"

Patrick Clark replied: Marc,I listen to the podcast during my commute or walk.  I'm taking St. Patrick's day off to go to Mass and cook Corned Beef (I know it's not Irish, but my inlaws love how I cook it)

I celebrate Celtic culture through music by listening to your podcast, the copperplate time podcast, as well as the Nuacht Mhall podcast and I'm studying Gaeilge through the Philo - Celtic society!  (philo - celtic.com) Go raibh maith agat!"

Ellen Ellis emailed: "Marc, I would love a St. Patrick’s Day show. I will be celebrating St Patrick’s day by playing all Irish music on my radio program called “The Green Willow Show” on WVUD 91.3 at  the University of Delaware, on Wednesday the 15th at 8PM eastern time. I can be streamed in realtime at www.wvud.org.

On The 17th I will probably drink a little Bushmills and watch The Banshees of Inisherin.

I listen to your show while in the car or doing stuff around the house. Thank You for the music you play for the world."

Ken B. emailed: "1.  I am doing work around the house while listening.  2. For St. Patrick's Day I am watching my grandkids.  Will celebrate with a Black & Tan after they are put to bed. 3. I celebrate Celtic culture by going out of my way to find artists of the culture and give them a special listen.  That is where your Podcast comes in handy. You do great work.  Keep it up."

Dennis McCarthy emailed: "Love the show.  Been listening for a few years. I most always listen while driving. I play the bagpipes so I am very busy during the month of March, especially on Saint Patrick’s Day.  The pipe and drum bands that I am in have been playing at many local festivals and private parties in the Saint Augustine area. Thank you very much"

Ellen Mandeville replied: I often do housework or go for a walk while listening. I plan to cook potato leek soup and drink Guinness on St. Patrick's day. We'll be listening to Celtic music while enjoying our St. Paddy's day meal.

  Check out this episode!

[ragazza-paradiso]

this is my ranking of the 2006 esc final after rewatching it all in full HD! to be honest, the highlight was seeing helena paparizou & sakis rouvas in HD, but i guess i can talk about the contestants as well ☺️

24. 🇱🇻 vocal group cosmos - i hear your heart: a capella at eurovision is a bold choice to begin with, but at least get people that can sing in tune… maybe i’m asking for too much.

23. 🇨🇭 six4one - if we all give a little: this is quite possibly the weirdest matched group ever, they have no chemistry & all of them look like they were randomly picked up off the street. the song is just typical love love peace peace, need i say more.

22. 🇮🇱 eddie butler - together we are one: i’m not entirely sure why but this performance gave me the creepiest vibes tbh. just another nothing song.

21. 🇮🇪 brian kennedy - every song is a cry for love: i love my country but, we don’t need ANOTHER bland ballad about love, especially one from a middle aged man.

20. 🇬🇧 daz sampson - teenage life: i mean the song isn’t actually THAT bad as i remembered, maybe a little cringy but as far as mid-00s pop-rap songs go it’s not the worst. i just cannot take daz fucking sampson seriously. and him looking like a drug dealer in that awful yellow tracksuit amongst a bunch of school girls is such a weird concept. (also the audacity of daz to shout “vote for the music” after this performance… but my thoughts on the UK’s attitude to eurovision is already well known if you’ve followed this blog for literally any amount of time)

19. 🇱🇹 lt united - we are the winners: i get it’s a joke entry but i can’t appreciate this one, i find i like joke entries that are a bit tongue in cheek, while this one is just so over the top it’s actually annoying to me. HOW is this lithuania’s best ever result…

18. 🇪🇸 las ketchup - un blodymary: the only reason this isn’t lower is because despite being a train wreck of a performance, it’s so bad that i actually enjoy it. the choreography with office chairs is 10/10. the fact that it’s the same band who just a few years prior had a massive worldwide hit makes it even better.

17. 🇸🇪 carola - invincible: i don’t think this aged very well at all, plus i guess christian schlager just isn’t my thing lol. i’m filing this under my list of reasons why former winners shouldn’t return to eurovision (unless you’re johnny logan).

16. 🇹🇷 sibel tüzün - süper star: i find the chorus of this song quite irritating, and her hair is pretty bad in this performance. usually i enjoy turkey’s entries (especially in the 00s) but this one didn’t connect with me.

15. 🇦🇲 andré - without your love: it’s okay, a little bit dated but that’s to be expected for a pop song, i guess. i like the ethnic elements. not a bad debut.

14. 🇷🇴 mihai trăistariu - tornerò: this is definitely one of the songs that has aged the worst, not just the music but also the costumes & styling. i do like the use of italian though, and it’s very catchy. i think maybe i’m biased because i’m not a big fan of the artist.

13. 🇲🇹 fabrizio faniello - i do: this one is also very dated but i find it to be in a charming way, vocals are a bit suspect, but i think he’s quite charismatic to make up for it.

12. 🇫🇷 virginie pouchain - il était temps: it’s a basic ballad, but enjoyable nonetheless. i think it stands out a bit from most of the other ballads this year, as i can’t understand the lyrics, so it’s better than literally all the ones with awful lyrics at the bottom of my ranking.

11. 🇺🇦 tina karol - show me your love: it’s pretty standard fare for ukraine in eurovision, a nice pop song with a very confident lady performing it. i like it, but not too much.

10. 🇩🇰 sidsel ben semmane - twist of love: this was quite fun, i thought the girl singing was cute & i liked how it was a throwback to the 50s.

9. 🇫🇮 lordi - hard rock hallelujah: this is actually one of my least favourite 21st century winners, but in a weak year it doesn’t end up ranking that low for me. i mean, even if i don’t love it, it’s very iconic. i get why it won in a 100% televoting era.

8. 🇲🇩 arsenium & natalia gordienko - loca: this song is 100% trash & i am 100% okay with letting you know it’s a BIG guilty pleasure of mine. i could do without natalia in literally underwear onstage, but they get extra points for the scooter. plus, i love natalia she is just a ball of energy.

7. 🇩🇪 texas lightning - no no never: this song makes me feel the embodiment of this: 🤠 germany was doing country before the netherlands decided it was cool.

6. 🇲🇰 elena risteska - ninanajna: macedonia gave me everything i could possibly want with this song, another guilty pleasure, but it’s so catchy & 00s, how could i not love it? also, this was their best result for SO LONG (until 2019), which makes me laugh. girlie was giving us all the dance moves.

5. 🇷🇺 dima bilan - never let you go: this song’s main selling point is that it is so much better than believe, but i’m not gonna lie, the mullet is dragging him down. the lady in the piano & his constant dance moves save him though.

4. 🇭🇷 severina - moja štikla: this is my favourite joke song in the history of eurovision simply because it makes no sense. and i love that for her ❤️ my biggest respect for doing all that dancing in that dress & heels. 💃🏻 how am i not gonna love a song with the lyrics “afrika paprika” ???

3. 🇳🇴 christine guldbrandsen - alvedansen: this song is so beautiful, & very distinctly norwegian. i love that they tied traditional ethnic elements into it. the staging is perfect as well, so striking.

2. 🇬🇷 anna vissi - everything: the legend herself, this song is literally everything to me. she’s alone on the stage but she fills it with her energy. the power she possesses ❤️ definitely one of my favourite host entries ever.

1. 🇧🇦 hari mata hari - lejla: this is in my top 3 favourite esc songs of all time, so no surprises. but getting to see it in HD tonight, made me cry. it’s the definition of perfect, but if i write too much about it now i’m gonna start crying again so i’ll stop.

[napoleoninrags]

MY PLAN FOR HOW TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE AN ELECTION, TRUMP IS REMOVED, AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE GONE FOR GOOD

by Michael Moore

TRUMP HAS DECLARED WAR ON US AND OUR DEMOCRACY.

IT’S TIME FOR US TO PUT OUR LIVES ON THE LINE, IF NECESSARY, AND TO MAKE HIM THE LAST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT OF OUR UNITED STATES.

Trump, right now, tonight, is up to some very nasty, scary stuff — stuff we can’t even imagine — and of course we can’t imagine it because we don’t think like Trump. Our brains are wired for love, empathy, solidarity, compassion, freedom, person, woman, man, camera, TV.

You know like I know that Trump has a devious, wicked plan to destroy this Election. We need to declare, immediately, that it is he and the Republican Party who have to go, for the sake of this country’s existence, they must be crushed and removed.

Trump actually has an arsenal of plans already in action to ensure he never leaves office. He has them all in high gear — some visible, some not. If you could see them all you’d be so stunned, you’d have to immediately convince yourself that there’s no way he can pull this off.

We are all caught in Trump’s Matrix, a mad web, the work of a psychopath-in-chief with tricks so devious that fascists of old, if alive today, would marvel at what Trump has accomplished.

For the next 11 weeks — and then for the 12 weeks between the Election and the Inauguration — Trump is planning nothing but anarchy, chaos, a call to arms of his angry white male followers and the complete destruction of our democracy. You think I’m kidding? You think I’m overstating the case? Do you want to take the risk that I might not be wrong? Most of you understandably chose not to listen to me four years ago when I warned you Trump was going to win the Presidency by taking Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. May I please ask that you now give me your serious attention for what I am about to say — because if I’m right again this time, there won’t be a next time. There will be nothing left for me to warn you about. There probably won’t be much left of me.

Here’s how Trump plans to end our right to choose the next President and Congress. It will happen fast. I am also laying out here a battle plan for us to defeat this takeover of our democracy. We must act now.

HERE ARE TRUMP’S 5 PLANS ALREADY IN MOTION:



PLAN #1: Create Chaos. Instill Fear. Fire Up the Base with Racist Vigor. Pandemonium Ensues.

CHECK. DONE.

PLAN #2: Suppress the Vote

•Dismantle the Post Office.

•Create 4-Hour-Long Lines by Drastically Reducing Number of Polling Locations.

•Throw Black and Brown Voters Off the Rolls.

•Stop Those Who’ve Served Time from Voting.

•Place 50,000 “Poll Watchers” at Voting Sites Around the Country to Intimidate Voters.

VOTER SUPPRESSION IN ACTION AS WE SPEAK.

PLAN #3: Postpone the Election. Place the blame on a “legitimate” national tragedy or emergency — massive deaths from the pandemic, a terrorist attack, an assassination, a deadly hurricane, a civil war in the streets, one or both Presidential candidates falling ill to Covid-19 — anything that reasonable people, even people who are opposed to Trump, will agree that “we just can’t hold an election right now! We just need to postpone it for a couple days, a couple weeks (a couple months... a couple years...)” Or perhaps he’ll just cancel the Election outright and see if he can get away with it.

TRUMP READY TO PULL THE TRIGGER.

PLAN #4: His September Surprise.

His October Surprise.

His November Surprise.

His January Surprise.

You think you can guess what it will be, but trust me, it’ll be far worse. We need to be ready. Stay on high alert, my friends. Millions of us will need to act on a moment’s notice. It’s the grim reaper of Democracy at our doorstep. We made the mistake of letting Trump get this far — why wouldn’t he now think he can get away with everything??

THE SURPRISE IS UNKNOWN. THAT’S WHY IT’S A SURPRISE.

PLAN #5: He Will Not Leave.

When Trump loses, he will declare the Election invalid, rigged, stolen — and he will refuse to step down.

So, what will we do then?

HERE IS OUR BATTLE PLAN TO REMOVE TRUMP AND THE REPUBLICANS:

1. Do Not Wait — Biden/Harris Should Start Running the Country Now.

We simply don’t have time to wait until January 20, 2021. Nearly 200,000 of us have already died from Trump’s reckless incompetence with the coronavirus. By Election Day it’s possible another 100,000 to 200,000 of us will have needlessly died. A total of 400,000 dead? That’s the equivalent of one hundred and thirty-three 9/11s! Or 532 planes being flown into 532 buildings. If something that horrific ever happened, and the President not only didn’t do anything about it, but tried to pretend it wasn’t all that bad - “it is what it is” - he would be run out of the White House by an angry mob of millions of Americans, lucky not to have his head put on a spike on the Key Bridge over the Potomac.

It doesn’t have to come to that. Biden and Harris should present to America a simple nationwide plan to end the pandemic — and then act on it immediately.

They should call a meeting of all the Governors and ask them what help do they need — and then find a way to get them that help, going around Trump and just making it happen. They should ask industry, in lieu of campaign contributions, to produce hundreds of millions of instant-result tests. They should call their Heads of State friends overseas and ask them to send all the PPE they can spare. They should get 250 million Americans to take the “Face Mask Pledge.” And they should promise the scientists in our top universities all the money and help they need once they’re in office. Ignore Trump. Treat him as if he’s irrelevant and get the job done.

2. The Republican Party Must Be Crushed and Destroyed. Trump Must Become the Last Republican President.

In the Michigan county where I live, the August primary this month set a record turnout for a presidential-year primary. In fact, more people this year voted by mail-in ballot than ALL those who voted in 2016 — by mail-in AND in-person combined. This is a highly encouraging sign for what we now need to do:

• We must create an historic massive turnout between now and November 3rd — a tsunami of voters the likes of which have never been seen, and may never be seen again. In 2016, 66 million Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. This time, though, we have to WALLOP Trump with an electoral concussion, a blow so profound he won’t know what hit him. This must be a defeat so crushing, so humiliating, a whooping of such epic proportions that he will be forced to leave 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with his tail between his legs on January 20th. This mammoth landslide must not only ensure that no president ever behaves this way again, we need to see to it that Trump is the last Republican president. The Election Day Uprising must put an end to this party of Trump enablers and traitors. They had a choice. They chose Trump over Democracy. They chose Putin and Netanyahu over fair elections and freedom for all. They chose the 1% over the 160 million working Americans. They chose the NRA over the massacred children of Sandy Hook. They chose to rig our elections, our textbooks, our economy. Democrats helped them along the way, and we’ll take the stick to them and fix that. The Republicans, though, chose to let hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens perish from Covid-19 because loyalty to Party and to Trump was greater than their duty to the American people. For that alone, the Republican Party must be put out of business for good. Vote out every last one of them. Conservatives will have to form a new party, much like when the Whigs were sent packing in the 1800s. The Republicans must pay for their crimes.

• We must flip the Senate —- and not just by the three seats we need for control. We should shock the pundit class and, as the Republican Party is reduced to ashes, grab a solid 55+ seat majority. Colorado, Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, Montana and even Kansas, South Carolina and, yes, Texas (a state that is now 57% non-white) — are all possible Democratic Senate wins. Think about spending a weekend or a week helping out in one of these states. The Republicans will wish they had managed this pandemic better and had everyone busy back at work by now. All this “free time” should make for their undoing.

• Finally, we have to vote the local Republicans out of office, too. State Houses and Senates will be drawing the electoral map for the next ten years. We can’t let the cheating Republicans do this again. Do what you can to elect Dems in your state and local elections. The punishment of the Republican Party — a certified terrorist organization for having helped kill at least 200,000 Americans — is an imperative.

3. Who Would Be Willing To, If Need Be, Put Their Life on the Line To Ensure This Election Is Held and EVERYONE Gets to Vote? I Would. Would You?

These steps must be taken immediately:

• The Secret Service, the FBI, the Capitol Police and the Joint Chiefs of Staff must be called before Congress and swear under oath that they will guarantee that the election will be held, they will enforce the Constitution they swore to uphold, and if he’s defeated but refuses to leave, they will escort the former President of the United States out of the White House.

• Biden and Harris must put Trump on notice that if he does one more thing to interfere with the Election or issues one more threat to suppress the vote, they will turn him and his crime family over to the new Justice Department for prosecution.

• Every single one of us must be strong in our publicly-stated resolve that there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON ON EARTH TO POSTPONE OR CANCEL THE ELECTION. That’s our unmovable and intractable position. No national tragedy, disease, threat or the melting of all of Greenland will cause us not to vote on or before November 3rd. Even if, God forbid, either candidate passes in their sleep between now and Election Day, the Election will continue — and the winner’s VP - or Nancy Pelosi - will become President on Inauguration Day.

• Let’s all pledge that, if Trump tries to cancel the election or if he refuses to accept its results, millions of us will go to DC and encircle the White House, a thousand deep, until he backs down, resigns or is removed.

• And, if you can, quietly make this commitment to yourself: “There are only a very few things I’d be willing to give my life for. This is one of them.” I know. That’s dark. And heavy. And awfully sad because it shouldn’t have come to this. But if we can’t even say that, then what good are we? If we aren’t willing to make that sacrifice, then America is already over and we might as well just fold our tent and see if Canada will take the non-racist, non-homophobic, non war-mongering ones of us who have manners and get satire.

4. Become an Election Defender.

Each of you should form an urgent action group - a rapid response team - in your neighborhood or town and do the following:

• Hold a daily protest at your local post office

• Picket the home of your local Postmaster (he/she may be on your side, so bring them some baked goods)

• Chain yourself to a local blue USPS dropbox if you can find one. Or chain it to something that won’t move.

• Sign up with the city clerk to be a poll worker on Election Day - especially if you’re young. Because of the pandemic, polls will be very short of poll workers. If you’re told they have enough help, then call the local Democratic Party and offer to be a “poll watcher”, the group of people from each party who get to oversee the voting to make sure there are no irregularities.

• Demand your city create more voting locations. Convince owners of arenas, theaters, ball parks, malls - places with large open spaces - to offer their facilities as polling places so that everyone gets a chance to vote.

• Canvas your neighborhoods over the next month to get people to fill out the form you’ll have them sign to get a mail-in ballot — and if they want to vote in person, let them know when the first day is so they can do that. Make a list of who needs a Covid-safe ride. The earlier the better!

5. The Uprising We’re In Is Only Getting Bigger. The People Will Now Call the Shots.

Why wait for the politicians to fix the mess of a country we’re in when they helped orchestrate the mess in the first place? Why don’t we just declare how we want to live — a new way to govern and function as a country — and we will finally fulfill the promise of the American Dream that has never been realized. Life, liberty, true equality, a sharing of the wealth, being good citizens of this world and kind stewards of a fragile Earth.

What have we learned from this pandemic? What we already knew: That employer-based health insurance can evaporate in an instant. Health care is a human right.

That being told “we can’t afford that!” (free college, free child care, free medical care - the things most advanced nations have) is total BS — the government CAN afford anything we decide we need!

We’ve learned that teachers, nurses, the mailwoman, farm workers, mass transit drivers and the minimum wage workers stocking the grocery shelves at 3 in the morning are our most important citizens and they need the respect and income they deserve immediately. 74% of the country now believes a guaranteed annual income is a great idea — fifty percentage points higher than when Andrew Yang proposed it 7 months ago!

We’ve learned to slow down, consume less — and that is what may be the path to saving the planet (when the 4% of its inhabitants [US] is no longer sucking up 25% of its resources and hoarding more than half its wealth).

We’re about to go elect more women than ever before — a time to turn the reins over to the gender that stands a better chance of getting us through the deadly viruses of Covid, Capitalism and Republicans(R.I.P.).

None of this will be launched by politicians. It will only come about through you and me taking action as part of the largest protest movement in our history — still growing, still going strong! — to end the racism, the abuse of the police state, the disgusting income inequality and the hateful misogyny that is going to come to an end in our lifetime.

America, post-pandemic, must become a very different place. Let’s make this happen. Doing the above will be the best cure for the trauma of these past four years.

Commit to being the change.

Organize your friends and family today.

Make your plan to campaign in a swing state Sept. or Oct.

VOTE AS EARLY AS YOU CAN—and take 5 people along with you!

We can do this. Trump - we’re coming for you. I’ll be in the first U-Haul truck that pulls up to your door.

[queen-eliza-schuyler]

Work Place Problems- Chapter 11

“The election results, folks! Get your news here!” A mail boy yells, waving a newspaper around

On the front page was the bold title, ‘President Thomas Jefferson marries Secretary Hamilton and announces that there is a child on the way.”

Earlier that week

“Every action has its equal opposite reaction. John Adams shat the bed; I love the guy, but he’s in traction. Poor Alexander Hamilton, he is missing in action. So now I’m facing Aaron Burr with his own faction,” Thomas drawls in front of the press.

As he exits the stage after his campaigning speech, James greets him at the door.

“Burr is very attractive in the North, New Yorkers like his chances,” James says evenly.

“He’s not very forthcoming on any particular stances and besides, he only entered to spite Adams. He doesn’t truly want to win,” Thomas says.

And it was true. After Adams fired Hamilton, Burr decided he would run for president just to piss him off.

If he somehow got ahead of Thomas in the race, the plan was for him to drop out.

Aaron didn’t want the presidency. He had a 3 year old daughter, Theodosia. He didn’t want to miss a single thing she did growing up and presidential matters would take up too much of his time.

“He’s doing well ignoring questions. Ask him a question, it glances off, he obfuscates, he dances,” Madison notes.

Thomas chuckles. “And they say I’m a Francophile, at least they know I know where France is.”

James shakes his head. “Thomas, that’s the problem; see, they see Burr as a less extreme you. You need to change course, a key endorsement might redeem you.”

Thomas frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“What does everyone in this nation believe?” James prompts.

When Thomas remains silent, James continues. “They all think that Alexander Hamilton hates you. So if you get your fiancé to promote you…”

“….I get the presidential seat of power and we don’t have to raise suspicion by having Aaron drop out.” Thomas finishes.

“Exactly,” comes a voice from behind them.

They see Burr standing and smiling at them as he makes his way off the stage.

Thomas shakes hands with the man before turning to leave.

“I have to be on my way. Alexander is going to kill me when he finds out I forgot to do the laundry again,” Thomas says solemnly.

James and Aaron laugh and shoo him off.

Thomas climbs into his car and finally allows himself to smile.

He was going to win this election and get married to the love of his life.

He knocks on the door to hear a muffled, ‘Coming!’

Alexander opens the door and tilts his head back all the way to look Thomas in the eye.

Thomas smirks at the small omega as Alexander scowls at him.

“Get in, you fucking tree,” Alexander grumbles.

Thomas chuckles and enters the house.

“So, about the election-” Thomas starts.

“Ah, ah, ah. No. Stop worrying about it.” Alexander tutted, cutting him off.

Thomas shook his head with a blinding grin.

“No. I figured out how to win. We’re going to get married,” Thomas says, picking Alexander up and spinning him around.

Alexander shrieks in surprise only for it to fade into laughter at the sheer joy on Thomas’s face.

Once Thomas puts Alexander down, he asks, “What’s your secret weapon?”

Thomas flops onto the couch and undos his tie with practiced ease. “That’s the best part, darlin. It’s you.”

Alexander blinks. “What?”

Thomas pulls him into his lap and explains. “Everyone thinks we hate each other, right? So if you vote for me, it’ll seem like the obvious decision if you chose your enemy over your closest friend.”

Alexander nods slowly. “Is Aaron ok with this?”

“He’s one of the reasons I got the idea.” Thomas responds.

Alexander grins. “I’m going to go type up a statement, ok?”

Thomas nods before he finally smells the tantalizing smell of pie.

“Doll, are you baking pies for Mary and Eliza’s house warming tonight or am I delusional?” Thomas questions.

Alexander jumps up with alarm. “Shit, shit, fuck, shit. They’re going to burn.”

He sprints to the kitchen leaving a wheezing Thomas behind on the couch.

“Did you save them from the burning heat of the oven, sweetheart?” Thomas calls, laughter clear in his voice.

“For your information, yes, I saved them. And I made extra for us but if you don’t want it, I suppose I don’t need to share,” Alexander singsongs.

Thomas places a hand on his heart and looks at Alexander from where he was taking pies out of the oven with betrayal. “You wouldn’t.”

Alexander stares him dead on the eye. “Try me.”

Thomas snorts. “You’re too fucking tiny to eat all that.”

“Shut the hell up, Jefferson.”

Thomas chuckles fade into a sigh when he sees the notifications blow up on his phone.

“I‘ll be in my office if you need me,” Thomas calls.

“Ok, I’m going to be working on my paper on one of the tables in the library,”  Alexander calls back.

“Google, set a reminder at 7 to get ready for Eliza’s party,” Thomas calls.

They didn’t buy an Alexa in case of confusion between the Alexa and Alexander.

“Reminder is already set,” the automated female voice says back.

“I already did it,” Alexander says.

Thomas hums as he makes his way across the house to the office.

Thomas was almost falling asleep when Alexander’s voice came ringing into his office. 

“I finished the article. My editor is reading through and it should be up by tomorrow in the New York Times and news,” Alexander says.

Before Thomas can respond, Google's voice says; “Get ready for Eliza’s party. Get ready for Eliza’s party.”

“Google, stop.” Thomas says, rubbing his temples.

The alpha gets up and enters his room to change.

He leaves feeling more refreshed than before and frowns when he sees Alexander. He places his hand on the omega’s forehead to check for a fever.

“Are you ok? Your forehead is hot. Do you feel sick? I can tell Eliza if you feel sick, she and Mary will understand,” Thomas fretted.

Alexander smiles weakly. “I’m fine, love, lets go.”

Thomas gives him a look. “If it gets worse, we come back.”

“Deal,” Alexander reluctantly agreed.

Alexander ends up throwing up at the party and nearly fainting.

Thomas carried him home along with a bag full of medicine, candy, hot packs, and get well soon food.

He lays him down on their bed, laying next to him.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Thomas asked, pulling Alexander close to him.

Alexander looked slightly better when he smelt Thomas’s scent. “I feel better.”

Thomas thinks. “What do you think you’re down with?”

Alexander sighs against his neck. “Actually, I know what’s happening.”

Thomas blinks in surprise. “What is it?”

“I was going to tell you later but I’m pregnant. I have three positive pregnancy tests in the bathroom to attest for it.” Alexander mumbles.

Thomas froze.

For a second, Alexander panics. 

“If you don’t want the child, it’s ok, I think Laf and Herc want to adopt. I want the kid but if you aren’t comfortable, they can raise them so that they’re close but not like-” Alexander rambles, cut off when Thomas places a hand on his stomach.

He looks up to see a look of wonder on the alpha’s face as he touches his stomach.

“I’m going to be a dad,” Thoma whispers.

“Yup. And I’m gonna be a mom.” Alexander jokes.

Thomas nuzzles his neck. “You’re gonna be the best mama there is.”

Alexander cracks a smile. “Mama?”

“That’s what I called my mother,” Thomas explains.

Alexander kisses Thomas’s cheek. “I love it but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a papa.”

Thomas nods. “Sounds good, mama it is.”

Alexander snorts in amusement. “We’ll let the kid decide.”

Thomas presses a kiss to the top of Alexander’s nose. “If it makes you feel better about being a mom.”

[mashitandsmashit]

America’s Got Talent: Season 15 - Quarter-Finals 3

11: Dance Town Family. I might have been more impressed if I hadn't seen several acts like this before. They have excellent precision, but they're not the first to have it. Not a bad way to start the show, but on a night as cutthroat as tonight, it didn't take me long at all to forget about them...

10: Annie Jones. Could she have made a better song choice? Maybe...Still didn't stop me from having almost as much fun as she always does when she performs...

9: Nolan Neal. What a cruel stroke of luck for this guy to have (on top of what he's already been through), having a last minute switch with Thomas Day, who would have probably been one of the easier eliminations for this week...But because of the sudden rescheduling, this turned an already stacked night into a real nightmare to predict! Sadly, as much as I have appreciated him so far, the heavy competition and his early placement in the line-up could do in the chances he had BEFORE this switch, while Thomas Day's chances have just gone up a bit...To be fair, this wasn't the best display of his vocals, at least compared to his audition...I guess the original song wasn't bad though...

8: Max Major. Well, we finally get to see his legs...And I see he's not a shoe person...Glad to finally see his full abilities in this (disturbingly scarce for this season) genre of talent, and he didn't do half bad at it! It wasn't the greatest mentalist trick I've seen, but the clever methods he put into it kept me invested. On a weaker night than tonight, I'd be all for this guy advancing, but there is just so much to choose from, it's enough to make your head spin!

7: Sheldon Riley. Well HERE'S a song I never expected to work as a ballad, but here we are! His fashion really helps him stand out, even though tonight he veered a bit into looking like an extra from Tarsem's “The Cell”, so I guess he has a touch of creepy as well...I like it!

6: Cristina Rae. One of those songs I'm sick to death of hearing on this show, but Cristina's unique arrangement helped it stand out...Her singing is SO perfect...that I don't really have much else to say...

5: Usama Siddiquee. Comedy is a very narrow tightrope to walk...On one hand, challenging people's sensibilities is kind of a requirement in this field...But this isn't Comedy Central we're talking about here, it's “America's Got Freaking Talent”, where sensitive families around the country are watching, and one of the judges has a stick up her butt when it comes to comedy...I can already feel self-righteous people everywhere calling for Usama to be #Cancelled, actual context be damned, but he is easily the best comedian of the season...Only problem is, due to his placement and the rather uncomfortable reception he got, I'm no longer nearly as confident for him as I was last week...

4: Alan Silva. I take it the part with the spikes was NOT the trick he was talking about, because if he messed THAT up, he would have done a lot more than break his neck! Joking aside, this guy could very well be the best aerial act to ever come on the show, and is among the few to really stand out to me! I guess watching couples do it all the time starts to get monotonous...Sometimes it takes only one person to stand out, stature be damned!

3: Bonebreakers. It looks like tonight belongs to the cool young brothas! It was EXTREMELY close between these Top 3 entries, but I guess out of the three, this one would make the weakest hour-and-a-half show...But their contortions are mesmerizing, they have excellent showmanship, and their set was fun and flashy, if a little TOO flashy...(What's worse, getting nauseous from watching these guys turning into human taffy, or getting a seizure from the flashing background?) PS, What the hell happened to the fourth guy that they not only never brought him up, but also Trotsky'd him out of the clip of their audition!? Some kinda conspiracy going on here...?

2: Malik DOPE. I wouldn't say that Malik is the greatest drummer in the world, but he sure knows how to experiment with it and make it a show! And after his little story in the package, I'd say he has a better chance at advancing now than I previously thought!

1: W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew. It's one thing to be able to utilize so many creative moves, and quite another to utilize them across such an expansive set! Looked like they were in their natural habitat, and they took full advantage of it!

Definitely the best show of the season so far! ...Problem is, that means some great acts will be denied entry into the next round (again, not helped by switching out who looked like an easy out for a legitimate contender). Shame they only have two spots for wildcards in the next round, because it looks to me like they will need a lot more than that for this week alone!

My Votes: I concentrated my votes on Waffle, Bonebreakers, Malik and Usama.

Result Predictions: Some acts seem to have better odds than before...Aside from Malik who I already addressed, Bonebreakers also has a compelling story...And since they were the last act Howie called his favorite of the night, therefore I guess they remained his favorite, MAYBE that will help them...? Also, Dance Town Family will surely have hundreds of family members to help them out...And I hope being placed near the beginning of the show (before an hour-long RNC break) didn't hurt Waffle's chances...

I guess I'll take my best guess with the list again...

11: Annie Jones

10: Usama Siddiquee

9: Dance Town Family

8: Bonebreakers

7: Nolan Neal

6: Max Major

5: Alan Silva

4: Malik DOPE

3: Sheldon Riley

2: W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew

1: Cristina Rae

But I'm not making any wagers here...

See you tomorrow when Jon Dorenbos tries to ease the immense tension...And the Wiki says that Tape Face is gonna be there too, even though nobody mentioned him on the show tonight...I suppose I wouldn't put it past him to drop in unannounced...