#Tower Of Lies

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Peter Wade at Rolling Stone:

A FORMER TRUMP Organization vice president recalled a story of a time when Donald Trump once joked about Nazi “ovens” to Jewish executives in the room.

Barbara Res served as lead engineer on the Trump Tower project and is author of Tower of Lies, a memoir about her 18 years working for Trump. Res also participated in a 2016 New York Times article along with dozens of women who called out Trump’s private behavior toward them. [...] Res then said that Trump’s recent comments about “the late, great Hannibal Lecter” (a fictional cannibal from the film Silence of the Lambs) reminded her of a Nazi joke Trump once made toward Jewish executives in the Trump Organization. “It reminds me of a time when we had just hired a residential manager, a German guy,” Res said. “And Donald [Trump] was bragging among, to us executives, there were four of us, about how great the guy was and he was a real gentleman, and he was so neat and clean. And he looked at a couple of our executives who happen to be Jewish, and he said ‘Watch out for this guy, he sort of remembers the ovens,’ you know, and then smiled.”

“Everybody was shocked,” she continued. “I couldn’t believe he said that. But he was making a joke about the Nazi ovens and killing people, and that’s the way he was.” When host Ali Velshi asked Res about Trump’s affiliation with the Christian right, Res said Trump’s “embrace of religion” is “absolute nonsense.” She laughed when remembering how Trump “used to hate Christmas because he had to go to church one day.” “He was an agnostic, maybe he was an atheist,” she continued.

Former Trump Organization VP Barbara Res went on MSNBC’s Velshi yesterday, in which she revealed that Donald Trump make sickeningly antisemitic “jokes” about Nazi “ovens.”

Res is the author of Tower of Lies, which details her 18 years of working for the organization.

From the 06.23.2024 edition of MSNBC's Velshi:

[keii4ii]

"The Boy in the Tower" - extreme AU with totally different setting/lore. This is just the prologue; there is much more to this story.

[mutantfactor]

Mysterious Lotus Casebook | pov: there are only 2 beds

[lao-hulijing]

my small, humble selection of MLC memes thus far

[recapitulation]

[ID: gifs from episode 20 of the series "Mysterious Lotus Casebook." Fang Duobing points to Di Feisheng and says angrily, "If it weren't for me, you would still be lying in a coffin with Yi Cunhong, who had maggots on her body!" Di Feisheng smiles and looks down. Fang Duobing continues, "You caught me off guard before. But now, my Erya sword is very lonely. Let's have a battle." Li Lianhua steps forward and stops him before he can attack Di Feisheng. He pulls him backwards, saying "Enough. I cooked a new dish today. Let me take you to try it." Fang Duobing points at Di Feisheng and says, "Who are you saying has bad martial arts?" Li Lianhua continues pushing him out of Lotus Tower, saying, "Stop talking." /end ID]

[buffetlicious]

Bring home or gift away mooncakes in this pink tower container from Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant (李白) in Sheraton Towers (喜来登酒店). Take your pick from Baked White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolk (双黄白莲蓉), Baked White Lotus Seed Collagen Paste with Single Egg Yolk (单黄膠原蛋白白莲蓉), White Lotus Seed Paste with Oolong King Tea and Sunflower Seed (顶级乌龙茶葵花子白莲蓉), Baked White Lotus Seed Paste with Macademia Nut (夏威夷果仁白莲蓉) or Baked Mixed Nuts (伍仁月饼).

Or break away from the tradition baked mooncakes with these lovely Assorted Mini Snowskin Mooncakes (迷你月饼). With flavours like Champagne (香槟), Pandan Coconut Gula Melaka (班兰椰子椰糖), Lychee Martini (荔枝马天尼) and Sea Salt Truffle Dark Chocolate (黑菘露海盐), how can you resist opening your wallet/purse for them?

This limited-edition Jade 15 Treasures Premium Gift Set (玉楼黄金十五月) from Fullerton Hotel (富丽敦酒店) cost S$163.50 even after discount!!! Encased within is a giant baked mooncake, filled with white lotus seed paste and eight golden yolks to symbolise the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Fourteen mini baked mooncakes surround this centrepiece, each in a different flavour. Their crusts depict alternating images of a celestial hare, citron fruit, and firefly - signifying bliss, light and well wishes. In case you are interested to know what flavours it comes with, they are Red Lotus Seed Paste (红莲蓉), Orange (橙子), Jasmine (茉莉花), Coffee (咖啡), Rose (玫瑰), Mixed Nuts and Pineapple (混合坚果和菠萝), Black Dates (黑枣), Almond (杏仁), Pandan (班兰), Black Sesame (黑芝麻), Cranberry (蔓越莓), Red Bean (红豆), Osmanthus (桂花) and Green Tea (绿茶).

The Fullerton Classics Baked Mooncakes (富丽敦经典月饼) feature single and double yolks baked mooncakes with reduced sugar, alongside two new creations this year - the Premium Mixed Nuts Baked Mooncake (经典五仁月饼) and the Assam Tea with Lemon, Mung Bean and Raisin Baked Mooncake (阿萨姆茶柠檬丝绿豆馅葡萄干月饼). These mooncakes will be housed in a beautiful deep-red drawer box, emblazoned with a glistening gold imprint of the Fullerton Building’s Neoclassical façade, exuding timeless elegance and refined luxury.

Selected images courtesy of Sheraton Towers and Fullerton Hotel.

[pastelcheckereddreams]

Sooo, I bought the Lotus Tower model kit and, of course, I went overboard making it as accurate as possible to the show. To no one's surprise, I'm guessing? 😅

For reference, this is what the completed model (sans horses) looks like without most* of my alterations:

*The awning material and decoration is my only alteration at this point, as I didn't like the fabric they included with the kit.

I had so much fun with this model! It is well-made, has moving parts, and is actually fairly easy to put together, with most parts just clicking into place. It even has furniture details inside!

Let me know what you think! Have you got the kit? How are you finding the building process to be? If you want to hear a more detailed review of it and see my progress shots and details of my own creative additions, click below:

UPDATE: I've now added even more things to Lotus Tower! Find them here.

First, unboxing!

This is how the box arrives. I ordered it from CPOP Universe and it arrived well-packaged and undamaged within a matter of weeks.

Along with the kit itself - which as you can see consists of a stack of laser-cut sheets coded from A-Q, and numbers detailing the specific parts - you receive a coaster (ceramic, backed with cork, and very pretty), little standees of difanghua, a letter styled after the ones difang recieve from Li Lianhua, and a replica of the booklet of yangzhouman techniques.

The process:

The first floor came together pretty quickly:

Glue is provided, but isn't necessary for a lot of the pieces, as I found the measurements for a lot of the joints to be pretty snug and able to hold together themselves. Glue is necessary for some parts, though, particularly for areas such as the step up to the rear sleeping area. Strong glue. Here is what the fist floor looks like:

Fitting on the ceiling turned out to be the hardest part of most of the build. All of the holes on the second floor had to line up with every joint on top of the walls and doors.

The next big step I encountered was a curiosity. How to make the rear wall work? There was a curious piece clearly meant to anchor the rope, and a round hole that - much like the doors - meant that this piece was supposed to rotate - and even lock. But I received no instructions on how to achieve that. I found this puzzle (which I like to think was an intentional challenge, given the gadget-orientated FDB) to be a fun challenge. So I won't show you the inner workings and spoil it, but I'll show you the working product:

Next was the rather fiddly job of creating the sail awning. I imagine this will be quite difficult for some as there's no clear indication of how to fix the material in place.

My instinct was to sew it as that is also a craft I have practice in, though granted not everyone who buys this kit will be as comfortable with a sewing needle. The two swatches of fabric provided is also quite prone to fraying, and is quite thick and canvas-like. So, knowing that the awning is a big feature of Lotus Tower, I decided I could do better:

On the left is the provided fabric, and on the right is my own material (an old blouse that I never wore, with patches dyed with my promarker pens).

After that, things should've been an easy home run, as all I had to do was affix the wheels to their axis points and put the horses together. However, quite unfortunately, one of the wheels hadn't been cut out in my kit. I had to cut it out myself with a coping saw, a Stanley knife and much patience😅

It came out looking rough, but nothing a little sanding and a touch up with my promarkers couldn't fix. I also eventually glued the wheel caps to the axis to prevent the wheels popping off every time I touched it, and they all still spin fine (minus the one I had to cut myself, that one's a little sticky😅). Then came the horses, and I was done!

Or so I thought. "Don't you think it looks a little too brown?" said my detail-obsessed brain. "We could do... more...."

And so I did.

My additions:

I used scraps coloured by my blue marker to create the beams of the house, and later coloured the fence posts red.

I made a second sail to hand under the stairs.

I created a second planter box (again, from the scraps and coloured with promarkers - two sets of flowers were included in the kit, so I could put one in each planter.)

And I even created a rain chain using old earring backs, jewellery findings and a chain, spray painted matte black and then painted blue-grey.

To colour the roofs, I likewise painted them a light blue-grey (/brown for Hulijing's kennel), then used a darker blue promarker to roughly add in texture.

I painted the weather vane, and used scraps to add in its missing two cardinal points.

And then finally, I made a winch for the rear wall! It's also easy to turn with the roof on, so I'm very pleased even though it's a little rough looking 😅

Had to gif my video clip because tumblr said boo no to more than one :(

And that's it, that's my latest build! I found this kit very fun, loved the process and seeing Lotus Tower come to life. I also loved adding in all the details to make it just that bit more accurate to the show. My only true criticisms are 1) small design oversights with the base wood colour being a tad too dark imo; the missing arms on the weather vane; and no second flowerbed (although I may be being a tad too pedantic about it 😅). 2) The fact that one of the wheels in my kit didn't get cut out properly (a quality check issue).

Obviously, I made the choice to use a different material than the fabric included so I can't speak to how satisfactory it is. However, if I were ever in the position to give IQiYi direct feedback, I'd suggest they include thinner fabric, and paint (or paint suggestions, as I know model paints aren't usually allowed through customs in these kinds of kits) for the roofs, because (by way of how they're constructed) they're just raw edges of the reinforced card parts - completely uncoloured, despite being a very visual element of the piece.

Thank you for reading this far lol Keep an eye out for more art and craft posts! (I have a Siji Manor set update coming shortly 👀)

[utenixx]

What terrible monster made you this way?

[iamlolz]

When I watched the Lotr movies I thought Shadowfax was some magic horse because he is the lord of all horses and super pretty.

After reading the books I realized he’s just some horse Gandalf stole from Thèoden.

[syrupbitee]

HAPPY BDAY WANGNAN I LUV HIM SM YOU GUYS WON'T UNDERSTAND I'M HIS BIGGEST FAN HE'S MY MUSE

[zishuge]

Maybe Li Xiangyi never expected so much from you. You know what! You're so great in so many ways – except you always like to rain on my parade! Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) | Ep. 5

[ask-the-totally-real-peppino]

Wait why would you need to say sorry to Noisette?

Pep: "..."

Pep: "Reh ot deil I... I..."

(Flashback Begins)

Noisette: "Is someone out here? We are open!"

Noisette: "Omigosh, hi there!!! Come in, come in! There's no need to be shy!"

Noisette: "You're just in time for some fresh pie! Not that it was gonna go anywhere, since no one's come in today... But still! If that growl was you, you must be starving!!!"

Noisette: "Now you just sit right here! Don't move an inch! I'll be right back!"

Noisette: "Tada!!! I hope you like cherries! It's on the house!"

Pep: "...?"

Noisette: "Are you asking if it's for you? Of course, it is, silly! D'you see anyone else in here? Now, eat up! There's plenty more where that came from!"

Pep: *happy Pep noises*

Noisette: "Oh, I'm so glad you like it!"

Noisette: "Now, if you don't mind me asking, where did you come from? I haven't seen you around here!"

Pep: "..."

Pep: *uncomfortable gurgling*

Noisette: "Oh, do you not speak...?"

Noisette: "Well, that's okay! Do you know any sign? I'm pretty good at it!"

Pep: "...?"

Noisette: "Oh! I can show you some!"

Noisette: "I-I mean, if you'd like! If you wanna just have the pie and go, that's okay too, of course! Hah."

Pep: "..."

Pep: "...!"

Noisette: *happy squealing*

(Flashback End)

Pep: "Deneppah. Tsuj ti dna dekcinap I, eil ot naem t'ndid I..."

Pep: "Em. Gnieb yb gnihtyna niur ot tnaw t'ndid I, yppah dna dnik os tsuj saw ehs tub, reh llet ot gniog saw I..."

Pep: "'Lamron' eb ot retteb eb d'ti thguoht I."

[keii4ii]

Last panel of chapter 3

[deiaiko]

I made KhunBam charms. It was mainly for my own fun, but there was a minimum order that I had to place, so I printed more than what I needed. So right now I have some charms lying around, and I'm thinking of selling it.

There are only 4 charms left. Printed two sides on 3mm acrylic. The quality isn't too great so I'll sell them for $4 each.

PS: those prices didn't include shipment and fees, so there might be an additional $5 more or less.

I will only receive payment via kofi donation. Please message me first before doing any payment, because I need to check if your country is available for shipping and just in case I'm out of stock. Update: it's now sold out <3

[death-of-cats]

A Game of Thrones, Sansa VI

A Dance With Dragons, Theon I

Sansa and Jeyne, Jeyne and Sansa, their experiences mirroring each other. Two maidens locked in their towers, choosing life instead of death.

[fishtomale]

obsessed rn with this