#Week 14 pool fixtures
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sportpeskenyateam ¡ 3 months ago
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SportPesa mega Jackpot hits a historic KES 384 million! Your chance to win big this October
October 2024 kicks off with the biggest football jackpot ever seen in Kenya, as SportPesa’s Mega Jackpot hits a jaw-dropping KES 384,948,628. This 40th weekend of the year could be your golden opportunity to transform your life, with just a KES 99 stake standing between you and the largest payout in Kenyan gaming history. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to football betting, this is your chance to make headlines and become the next big winner.
A mega jackpot like never before
The SportPesa Mega Jackpot has consistently set the bar high for football betting in Kenya, and this time it has reached unprecedented heights. The KES 384 million prize pool is a historic high, and all it takes is correctly predicting the outcomes of 17 exciting football matches. These 17 games span some of the biggest leagues in the world, giving fans a thrilling weekend of action as they aim for the ultimate prize.
It’s not just the main jackpot that’s enticing; SportPesa offers significant bonuses even if you don’t get all 17 predictions right. Players who make 12 or more correct predictions are eligible for fantastic bonuses, with the rewards increasing the closer you get to predicting all 17 games correctly. With this bonus system, you still stand a chance to win substantial amounts of money even if you fall short of a perfect score.
How to play and win big?
With only KES 99 needed to place a bet, the Mega Jackpot is accessible to everyone. And that’s not all—by participating in the Mega Jackpot, you are automatically entered into the 15, 14, and 13-game jackpots, giving you multiple chances to walk away with massive rewards. This innovative setup ensures you have the maximum potential to win big with just one bet.
Getting involved is easy: simply visit the SportPesa platform, select your predictions for the 17 matches featured in this week’s Mega Jackpot, and place your bet. The action begins on Saturday at 1930 EAT, with the final game scheduled for Sunday evening, ensuring a full weekend of football excitement.
Best path to becoming a millionaire in Kenya
SportPesa has a rich history of turning ordinary Kenyans into multi-millionaires. In 2018, Gordon Ogada made history by winning a staggering KES 230,742,881 in the SportPesa Mega Jackpot, the largest jackpot ever won in Kenyan history at the time. He was followed shortly after by Cosmas Korir, who pocketed an equally life-changing KES 208,733,619.
These monumental wins are not rare. SportPesa has minted numerous millionaires throughout the year with its Mega Jackpot and generous bonuses. Many Kenyans have reaped significant financial rewards just by playing the Mega Jackpot, and now it’s your turn. Could you be the next name added to SportPesa’s list of legendary winners?
Weekend’s mega jackpot fixtures to watch
This weekend’s jackpot promises thrilling football action from across Europe’s top leagues, providing an exciting backdrop as you aim to win millions.
Everton vs Newcastle (English Premier League) The Mega Jackpot gets underway on Saturday with a key fixture between Everton and Newcastle United at Goodison Park. Everton is looking to continue their resurgence after a poor start to the 2024/25 season. The Toffees are unbeaten in their last two matches and have a solid home record, winning six of their last eight league games at Goodison. On the other hand, Newcastle has made an impressive start to the season and will be keen to maintain their top-four push. Both teams are desperate for points, making this an unpredictable and crucial matchup to kick off the Mega Jackpot.
Brighton vs Tottenham (Premier League) Later in the weekend, Brighton will take on Tottenham in what promises to be another close encounter. Only one point separates these two sides on the Premier League table. While Brighton has struggled to secure wins in recent weeks, Tottenham comes into the game riding high on confidence after an impressive run of five straight victories in all competitions. Spurs are also aiming for their third consecutive Premier League win, which would be their first such streak this calendar year.
Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid (La Liga) The final game in this weekend’s Mega Jackpot takes place in Spain’s La Liga, where Real Sociedad will host Atletico Madrid at the Reale Arena in San Sebastian. Sociedad has been in poor form, winning just once in their last eight games and losing five of their previous six home matches. Atletico Madrid, despite a recent heavy defeat to Benfica in the Champions League, will be eager to bounce back and continue their dominant record over Sociedad, having not lost to them in their last nine meetings.
Why SportPesa’s Mega Jackpot is the best?
What sets the SportPesa Mega Jackpot apart from others is not just the massive prize pool but the level of engagement and reward it offers. Players can enjoy the thrill of some of the best football games globally while having a real chance of winning life-changing sums of money. And with multiple jackpots (17, 15, 14, and 13-game jackpots) rolled into one weekend, the excitement is endless.
The Mega Jackpot also offers an unrivaled sense of community. Many Kenyans eagerly anticipate each week’s fixture lineup, discussing predictions and sharing the excitement that comes with each game. With so many participants, the anticipation builds until the final whistle of the last match. Even if you don’t win the full amount, the bonus structure ensures that many players walk away with rewarding payouts every weekend.
Play now and make history
This October weekend could be the moment that changes your life forever. Don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of history with the largest Mega Jackpot in Kenyan gaming. For just KES 99, you could become the next multi-millionaire and take home a record-breaking KES 384,948,628. Visit SportPesa today to place your bet, and who knows? You could be the next legend in Kenyan football betting.
Place your bet now and get in on the action before it’s too late!
Apply for Tujiamini
Besides the mega jackpot, apply for Tujiamini which is a transformative initiative aimed at empowering Kenyan youth through sports and talent development. Launched by SportPesa, Tujiamini seeks to inspire confidence and self-belief in young athletes by providing them with opportunities to hone their skills and showcase their talents on national and global platforms. The initiative emphasizes nurturing talent from the grassroots level, offering training, mentorship, and support to help participants achieve their full potential. By fostering a culture of excellence and self-reliance, Tujiamini plays a vital role in shaping the future of Kenya’s sports and talent landscape.
SportPesa mega Jackpot hits a historic KES 384 million! Your chance to win big this October
October 2024 kicks off with the biggest football jackpot ever seen in Kenya, as SportPesa’s Mega Jackpot hits a jaw-dropping KES 384,948,628. This 40th weekend of the year could be your golden opportunity to transform your life, with just a KES 99 stake standing between you and the largest payout in Kenyan gaming history. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to football betting, this is your chance to make headlines and become the next big winner.
A mega jackpot like never before
The SportPesa Mega Jackpot has consistently set the bar high for football betting in Kenya, and this time it has reached unprecedented heights. The KES 384 million prize pool is a historic high, and all it takes is correctly predicting the outcomes of 17 exciting football matches. These 17 games span some of the biggest leagues in the world, giving fans a thrilling weekend of action as they aim for the ultimate prize.
It’s not just the main jackpot that’s enticing; SportPesa offers significant bonuses even if you don’t get all 17 predictions right. Players who make 12 or more correct predictions are eligible for fantastic bonuses, with the rewards increasing the closer you get to predicting all 17 games correctly. With this bonus system, you still stand a chance to win substantial amounts of money even if you fall short of a perfect score.
How to play and win big?
With only KES 99 needed to place a bet, the Mega Jackpot is accessible to everyone. And that’s not all—by participating in the Mega Jackpot, you are automatically entered into the 15, 14, and 13-game jackpots, giving you multiple chances to walk away with massive rewards. This innovative setup ensures you have the maximum potential to win big with just one bet.
Getting involved is easy: simply visit the SportPesa platform, select your predictions for the 17 matches featured in this week’s Mega Jackpot, and place your bet. The action begins on Saturday at 1930 EAT, with the final game scheduled for Sunday evening, ensuring a full weekend of football excitement.
Best path to becoming a millionaire in Kenya
SportPesa has a rich history of turning ordinary Kenyans into multi-millionaires. In 2018, Gordon Ogada made history by winning a staggering KES 230,742,881 in the SportPesa Mega Jackpot, the largest jackpot ever won in Kenyan history at the time. He was followed shortly after by Cosmas Korir, who pocketed an equally life-changing KES 208,733,619.
These monumental wins are not rare. SportPesa has minted numerous millionaires throughout the year with its Mega Jackpot and generous bonuses. Many Kenyans have reaped significant financial rewards just by playing the Mega Jackpot, and now it’s your turn. Could you be the next name added to SportPesa’s list of legendary winners?
Weekend’s mega jackpot fixtures to watch
This weekend’s jackpot promises thrilling football action from across Europe’s top leagues, providing an exciting backdrop as you aim to win millions.
Everton vs Newcastle (English Premier League) The Mega Jackpot gets underway on Saturday with a key fixture between Everton and Newcastle United at Goodison Park. Everton is looking to continue their resurgence after a poor start to the 2024/25 season. The Toffees are unbeaten in their last two matches and have a solid home record, winning six of their last eight league games at Goodison. On the other hand, Newcastle has made an impressive start to the season and will be keen to maintain their top-four push. Both teams are desperate for points, making this an unpredictable and crucial matchup to kick off the Mega Jackpot.
Brighton vs Tottenham (Premier League) Later in the weekend, Brighton will take on Tottenham in what promises to be another close encounter. Only one point separates these two sides on the Premier League table. While Brighton has struggled to secure wins in recent weeks, Tottenham comes into the game riding high on confidence after an impressive run of five straight victories in all competitions. Spurs are also aiming for their third consecutive Premier League win, which would be their first such streak this calendar year.
Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid (La Liga) The final game in this weekend’s Mega Jackpot takes place in Spain’s La Liga, where Real Sociedad will host Atletico Madrid at the Reale Arena in San Sebastian. Sociedad has been in poor form, winning just once in their last eight games and losing five of their previous six home matches. Atletico Madrid, despite a recent heavy defeat to Benfica in the Champions League, will be eager to bounce back and continue their dominant record over Sociedad, having not lost to them in their last nine meetings.
Why SportPesa’s Mega Jackpot is the best?
What sets the SportPesa Mega Jackpot apart from others is not just the massive prize pool but the level of engagement and reward it offers. Players can enjoy the thrill of some of the best football games globally while having a real chance of winning life-changing sums of money. And with multiple jackpots (17, 15, 14, and 13-game jackpots) rolled into one weekend, the excitement is endless.
The Mega Jackpot also offers an unrivaled sense of community. Many Kenyans eagerly anticipate each week’s fixture lineup, discussing predictions and sharing the excitement that comes with each game. With so many participants, the anticipation builds until the final whistle of the last match. Even if you don’t win the full amount, the bonus structure ensures that many players walk away with rewarding payouts every weekend.
Play now and make history
This October weekend could be the moment that changes your life forever. Don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of history with the largest Mega Jackpot in Kenyan gaming. For just KES 99, you could become the next multi-millionaire and take home a record-breaking KES 384,948,628. Visit SportPesa today to place your bet, and who knows? You could be the next legend in Kenyan football betting.
Place your bet now and get in on the action before it’s too late!
Apply for Tujiamini
Besides the mega jackpot, apply for Tujiamini which is a transformative initiative aimed at empowering Kenyan youth through sports and talent development. Launched by SportPesa, Tujiamini seeks to inspire confidence and self-belief in young athletes by providing them with opportunities to hone their skills and showcase their talents on national and global platforms. The initiative emphasizes nurturing talent from the grassroots level, offering training, mentorship, and support to help participants achieve their full potential. By fostering a culture of excellence and self-reliance, Tujiamini plays a vital role in shaping the future of Kenya’s sports and talent landscape.
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dailyrugbytoday ¡ 1 year ago
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Live stream Rugby World Cup 2023 Quarter-final and Semi-final games
New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/rugby-world-cup-2023-final-semifinal-games/
The Daily Rugby
https://thedailyrugby.com/rugby-world-cup-2023-final-semifinal-games/
Live stream Rugby World Cup 2023 Quarter-final and Semi-final games
How to watch the Rugby World Cup Quarter-final and Semi-final games from anywhere in the world, including options to watch for free. As of right now, Pool A is finished, and by Sunday night, we will know who will join France and New Zealand in the quarterfinals.
It goes without saying that you’ll want to watch a Rugby World Cup live stream to see the complete bracket for the knockout rounds. This article has all the details you need to watch the matches from wherever you are, including instructions on how to do so for FREE.
Rugby fans in the UK are fortunate to have access to ITV’s TV stations and ITVX streaming service for FREE viewing of every match. ExpressVPN allows Brits away from home to watch the Rugby World Cup for free from overseas via a VPN.
Related News: Watch All Blacks Rugby World Cup live stream
Three games are scheduled for Saturday: Wales vs. Georgia (2:00 p.m. BST), England vs. Samoa (4:45 p.m. BST), and the highly anticipated heavyweight match between Ireland and Scotland (8:00 p.m. BST), which will decide who will win the fiercely competitive Pool B. Japan and Argentina will face off on Sunday to decide who will join England in Pool D as the second qualifier.
  You can stay on top of your viewing plans for the end of the pool stages and beyond with the help of our RWC 2023 fixtures guide. Discover how to watch a Rugby World Cup live stream from any location on Earth by reading on. With the final in Paris only three weeks away, it’s the ideal way to follow this exciting event.
View the Rugby World Cup broadcast live via Country.
Ireland: The 48 Rugby World Cup matches will be broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ (and its RTÉ Player) and Virgin Media Television (and its Virgin Media Player), and all 48 games will be available to watch for FREE.
South Africa: SuperSport is the channel to watch if you want to watch the Rugby World Cup from South Africa. Whether you want to stream SuperSport or watch it on DStv, there are many SuperSport bundles available.SABC will also broadcast free-to-air Springboks matches. A total of 19 matches from the tournament will be broadcast on the network, with certain matches also being streamed on SABC Plus.
United States: NBC Sports holds the rights to broadcast the Rugby World Cup in the United States. On their Peacock Premium streaming service, which costs $5.99 per month, they’ll be streaming all 48 games. Additionally, 15 games will be shown on CNBC, while NBC will air encore coverage of four games (Ireland vs. Scotland on October 7, two quarterfinals, and the World Cup championship game, Rugby World Cup Final).
Australia: Stan Sport, an online streaming service, will broadcast all 48 Rugby World Cup games ad-free, live, and on demand, so Australian rugby fans will be tuning in.There will be free live streaming on Channel 9 and the 9Now platform for every Wallabies game as well as the World Cup final.Stan Sport can be added to your standard Stan package for $15 per month. You can also try Stan out for 30 days without paying anything, however it’s important to note that Stan Sport is exempt from this offer.
England come from behind to snatch a nail-biting 1-point victory and remain unbeaten at #RWC2023!
Be sure to catch the highlights on RugbyPass TV!#ENGvSAM pic.twitter.com/WotN6C3aRH
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 7, 2023
Quarter-finals
14 October 2023 17:00
Wales  QF1 Runner-up of Pool D
Stade de Marseille, Marseille
14 October 2023 21:00
Winner of Pool B QF2  New Zealand
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
15 October 2023 17:00
England  QF3 Runner-up of Pool C
Stade de Marseille, Marseille
15 October 2023 21:00
France  QF4 Runner-up of Pool B
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Semi-finals
20 October 2023 21:00
Winner of QF1 SF1 Winner of QF2
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
21 October 2023 21:00
Winner of QF3 SF2 Winner of QF4
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Bronze final
27 October 2023 21:00
Loser of SF1 v Loser of SF2
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Final
See also: 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
28 October 2023 21:00
Winner of SF1 v Winner of SF2
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
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sportearly ¡ 2 years ago
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Week 15 Pool Fixtures for Saturday 15, October 2022 – UK 2022/2023
Week 15 Pool Fixtures for Saturday 15, October 2022 – UK 2022/2023
Week 15 Pool fixture 2022: Now you can find the Week 15 pool fixtures 2022, pool result, pool fixtures, football result, soccer result, soccer fixtures, pool panel fixtures, pools fixture, advance fixtures, special advance fixtures, pool result, football result, soccer result, live score pool result, pool panel results, classified football pools results, pool results and pool fixtures for this…
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nigeriangossip ¡ 5 years ago
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Updated 2019 Week 14 UK Football Pool Results, Draws, Fixtures https://nigeriagossipz.blogspot.com/2019/10/updated-2019-week-14-uk-football-pool.html
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whatdoesshedotothem ¡ 3 years ago
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x Tuesday 18 April 1837
8 20
12 ½
Incurred last night thinking of π and the etymologies   slept in the kitchen chamber as since the 11th good night – my eye feels tender – very well of myself this morning – fine but no sun and F41° now at 9 35 and breakfast – A- read French – out at 11 – In the farmyard – one mason at the new necessary – at the meer – the masons (4 and boys) busy at the stone pen-trough – to be done and set tomorrow night – Charles H- had made the clow more water tight, and the water (all the brook and the Spiggs water) let in again – the black brook now enough for Mytholm mill – sauntered round the meer – Robert Mann + 4 stubbing between upper brook Ing and Sour Ing – just 12 when I got to them – walked with Robert to the Lodge – went in and stood talking a little while to William and Matty – Edward the mason there – had not quite done resetting the fire-grate fixtures in the chamber – the smoking seems to be cured – with Robert again at 1 when came in to Mrs. Pickells from the Dolphin Inn who came to inquire if I had if I had a public house to let – wished to leave Clatyon heights – annoyed at being sent for – civilly told her I had no public house to let that I knew of – and if I had there would be plenty of people for it who had some claim on me – then a little while with A- she had Mrs. Lee and Miss Fox in the north chamber preparing it for Mr. Gray, and rode off to Cliff Hill about 2 – then out again with Robert Mann + 4 – they had planted some of the hazels stubbed this morning by the widened side of the Lodge road near (beyond) the bridge , and with them the rest of the afternoon puddling up the low pool and planting 2 or 3 large hazels on the embankment in front of the house  at a little distance from my last and highest holly clump above (east) of the rockbridge – but did not get to Robert Mann and c° till about 4 having had Holt just after A- went soon after 2 (and Sugden about 3 for a few minutes – to sell the 2 great bays as well, and as soon as he could) – Hinscliffe will do nothing – I said Holt must settle it with him – useless for Hinscliffe to call here – I would have nothing to say to him on the subject – Holt must act as he would for himself – had best state the case to Mr. Parker – the taking up level at the top of Long goit will cost £10 or £15 and take a fortnight or 3 weeks – the men tire of the job – so wet – Joseph Mann obliged to take it himself – Holt agrees we must not let the upper bed dead water off and loose the Dove houses coal – said I had indirectly offered £1,000 paid down for the coal – H- thought he would not give so much tho’ ½ (14 or 15 acres) could be got immediately and more might be got by taking up level and working back way – said I should desire
SH:7/ML/E/20/0048
my offer not to be named as he (H-) thought it too much – talked over John Oates and the Spiggs water – the Spiggs c° sadly vexed but JO had said had told them he could ease them a little – H- explained JO-‘s plan of drawing off the Spiggs water at a lower level into the meer in summer – Holt would not have it touched – no! said I, it is not done yet – then mention of top drain to take it off if necessary at its present level into the brook – Holt sure we should have rag-water enough for the engine at the top of the bank – glad to have nothing to do with Godley Lane water – much had been said – and Samuel Holdsworth (Patchet and Thewaite present at the public house) abusing H- for being the cause of the Spiggs water raising said I should lay out my money in getting the Godley Lane and then be stopt – Holt for the Incline being in a straight line from the top of the bank to Listerwick – shewed him on the plan how and why my proposed line (to the yew tree as before and from there in the same line to about 60 yards below the lower of the 3 yew trees) would be much better – he seemed convinced at once – owned there would be more rise coal, and that it would be better for future prolongation and better in every respect – said I had determined to have an endless chain and a 6ft. square drift – then went out – shewed H- the point of end, and then pointed out my plan on the ground at the top of the bank – H- had thought we should not have room enough on the Walsh land side of the road – but seemed persuaded by my arrangements that we should have plenty – to bring Holt the engineer to view the ground tonight, and James Holt himself would come tomorrow afternoon to level and dial and set out the line and calculate the exact dip – I shewed him on the plan that it would not be plumb dip – but at an angle of about 30° while the angle of the dip to Godley Lane would have been 4° or 5° so that we should now have an advantage and probably the Incline would hardly dip 4in. (instead of 4 4/5in. according to my rough calculation of plumb dip) – H- seemed altogether very well satisfied – sure the coal will pay – He had told me Mr. Akroyd had told him I should lose £10,000 by the Northgate hotel – I said the coal must make it up – the engineer Holt to make a rough calculation of the cost of the engine according to this new and to be more moderate than before – left H- about 4 at the top of the bank and from then to 6 ½ with Robert Mann and c° - dressed – dinner at 7 – tea – A- read aloud the newspaper and my letters   2 received this morning (by John Booth who took A-‘s letter to her sister to the post) Letter of receipt o f Mr. Oldfield and long letter 3pp. and ends and under the seal from Mrs. Duffin York – begging me to look for Eliza Raines’ will with a long account of her affairs – Income = £220 per annum with an annual surplus of about £20 and now about £300 of savings –pays Dr. Belcombe £160 per annum – much news on other subjects marriages etc and letter tonight from M- Leamington asking advice – at 11 pm had just written all the above of today fine day and F40° now at 11 pm – Mr. Copley sent me today (received by Mr. Husband this afternoon) a note offering for 2 or 3 days the account of the Peel festival at Glasgow  
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blueiscoool ¡ 4 years ago
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An Ultra-Modern Beverly Hills Mansion for 1,000 Bitcoins or $65Million
Today’s bitcoin valuation in US dollars topped $62,000, up $3,000 from just a few weeks ago. If you’ve been deep into the crypto craze and amassing bitcoin, all you need is about 1,000 of them to buy this stunning Beverly Hills estate. Or you could just use regular old coin—$65 million worth.
The property is part of a recent uptick seen in real estate owners willing to take either dollars or cryptocurrency for the purchase of a home.
This particular slice of Southern California heaven is over-the-top—but still tasteful—in nearly every thoughtful detail, from the architecture to the sleek Italian millwork and cabinetry. The entrance features a floating slab of marble, which is a hint to some of the other highlights built into the home, such as a 20-foot stone wall of water and a cantilevered primary suite that feels like it’s floating over the pool.
The marble-and-stone theme continues throughout the seven-bedroom mansion. A massive custom island for the bar is book-matched to look like a single block of stone. The island and the beautiful rack behind it both have integrated LED lighting to put the spot on singular bottles and set the mood. In the primary suite’s bathrooms, a Pibamarmi tub is made with Nero Marquina marble and the shower is lined with book-matched Calacatta marble. You’ll find more of it gracing the fireplace in the great room, as well as the floor of the stunning wine cellar, which holds 2,000 bottles.
The main kitchen—yep, there’s more than one—features a 14-foot leathered-stone island imported from Italy and floor-to-ceiling cabinets from Dada. All appliances are by Gaggenau. The table—included—has a custom top from Poliform and a hanging cube light fixture by Baxter. The space also connects to a casual hangout room with a fireplace and modular sofa by B&B Italia. Sliding glass pocket doors retract and open on to the terrace.
The second butler’s kitchen can be accessed by staff through the garage and is made for major entertaining with its dual Viking stoves that have a total of 16 burners. Concrete finishes give it a more commercial feel, but the fittings are still all ultra-luxe, with cabinets again by Dada and Gaggenau appliances.
The primary bedroom suite is just off the great room and includes a den and a private 400-square-foot terrace, offering some of the estate’s best views of the Los Angeles cityscape, especially from the hot tub. Heaters are integrated into the cantilevered roof. Dual primary bathrooms include a shower spacious enough for a dozen, and that incredible marble tub, which weighs more than a ton. The vast walk-in closet is a showstopper. The cabinets and island are by Rimadesio and Molteni, with a bench by Kelly Wearstler. Natural light from a skylight permeates what is often a dark space in many other homes.
A VIP bedroom and the remaining five bedrooms are all en suite.
One of our other favorite highlights to this residence—called Wallace Ridge and located in the Trousdale section of Beverly Hills—is the Zen-like glassed-in courtyard where a single olive tree stands like a sculpture against the background of a stone wall. The 150-year old tree was imported from Tuscany. Water cascades down the marble wall, and the glass doors open to let in breezes and the soothing sound of the waterfall.
The house also includes a home office plus a fitness studio already kitted out with a Technogym Kinesis wall and two Peloton bikes. The spa has a massage space as well as a sauna and a steam room. The screening room seats up to 24 on gorgeous plush sofas and has a 220-inch wide screen and a Dolby Atmos sound system. Last but certainly not least is the loungy entertainment room, where the bar sets the vibe and the massive media wall’s four screens can tee up four different sports games at once or all play together for a movie.
From there, sliding doors lead out to the pool deck, where a swimming lane that’s half-Olympic-sized is integrated into the infinity-edge pool. The listing is held by Michael Chen and Aaron Kirman of the Aaron Kirman Group at Compass.
By Janice O'Leary
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archadianskies ¡ 4 years ago
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14 with simarkus plsss 💜
The coffee shop I work at is like a queer hotspot, but I don’t want to assume with you, and I’m afraid one of these days my co-workers will just ask you, because I keep going on about you
"Did he get his cerulean pigment to finally paint the colour of your eyes perfectly or-?” North asks dryly as Markus takes his coffee and settles into one of the booths.
“Hey!” Simon protests, elbowing her as she sticks her tongue out at him. 
“Ask him out you gay disaster,” she rolls her eyes as she sets out to make his coffee. “He’s like a goddamn saint with the body of a supermodel. If you don’t snap that up someone else will.”
“I don’t know if he’s into guys,” Simon mumbles, maybe fussing over the placement of the fresh fruits atop the baked tart a little too much. Markus is an artist, he’ll appreciate the little details, right?
“Simon, Jericho’s been a queer hotspot ever since you flipped the Open sign on the door!” She laughs, not unkindly though. “We’re so queer here we’re pretty much a fixture in the city whether they like it or not.”
“What would I ever have to offer?” Simon accepts the almond-milk chai from North, who fixes him with a stern glare.
“Simon Lambert. How fucking dare you ask that when you are responsible for the creation of this safe space? All the queer kids who’ve found safety here- do they mean nothing to you? When I needed a place to stay after- after-” she falters, pressing her lips into a tight line. “You and Danny have faced so much shit, and this place? This incredible space? Is here because of you, Simon.”
He doesn’t know what to say to that, just stands there numbly feeling too many feelings, so he carefully carries the chai and the baked tart over to Markus instead.
“Here you go,” he places everything on the table, careful to put enough distance between the cup and Markus’ sketchbook. The artist looks up from his drawing and gives him a supermodel smile.
“Thanks Simon,” Markus looks at the tart. “Oh, fresh blackberries? You’re an angel.”
“You mentioned you hadn’t had any in so long, so...” he trails off, trying to sound casual and not creepy at all. Not at all as if he’d spent the past week trying to source fresh blackberries all over Detroit. Luckily Leo’s friend Ralph grew them on the rooftop garden at the community hall.
“You’re amazing, absolutely heaven sent!” Markus laughs softly, easing into a charming smile and oh, oh how Simon’s heart flutters at the sight. His freckles crinkle when he smiles and surely that’s utterly illegal?
“D-do you-” deep breath, stay calm, “do you...want me to get them in again? For next time?” He can’t, he just can’t.
“I hear there’s a farmer’s market on this Saturday about an hour’s drive from here,” the charming smile turns into something a little mischievous. “What if we went to buy some together? For next time?”
He can feel all the blood in his entire body pooling in his cheeks and there’s none left for his brain apparently. He manages a nod, and Markus’ mischievous smile turns into a confident grin. Sliding his phone over to him, he brushes his fingers against his hand.
“Let me know where to pick you up.”
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iplaywithstring ¡ 3 years ago
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We're redoing our house. Nothing major - paint mostly, a couple light fixtures, and I'm going to try covering our counters. It's a lot of work, but it's not hard, and I enjoy it. Plus it's well past time for this to get taken care of. My husband and I have had a rough go of home ownership. We bought this place 14 years ago, a private sale from the person who was supposed to be our realtor but only showed us dumps. Then he said he had a few condos for sale and our daughter reminded him of his grand daughter and it would be great. And look, I understand I'm speaking from a place of privilege here - the fact that we have a mortgage is more blessing than curse and I know that. But it has been a lot. See, he only sold off 4 of the 12 units (and two were sold to his own kids) and then he just sort of...stopped. No proper condo association, no proper finances set up for the upkeep, wouldn't take calls or respond to messages or come to meetings. He lost his realtor license a couple years after selling us this place - apparently he was known for bad deals, but we had no idea. Every year for about 7 years someone from the city would knock on the door to ask about the abandoned properties. My husband and I did what we could for lawn care, the 4 owners pooled together for shared services (like snow clearing) and we managed to pay down 40k in debt to the city that we didn't know was building. Lawyers were involved, calls and emails to city and provincial offices. Not much could be done. Then a few years ago, the 8 empty units were sold in a tax sale to a new owner. We thought it would be better, and in a lot of ways it is, but it's still not good (and the new guy also isn't interested in following the law with regards to the condo, and he gets 8/12 votes, so there's not much we can do, and he won't do the things necessary to get paperwork so we can sell). All of this means that our relationship to the house is complicated. It's where our kids have grown up (we bought it when my daughter was a year old and we just found out I was pregnant), so there's a ton of good memories, but it's always felt not quite ours. We were too poor to invest much into it when we first bought it, and then as the problems piled up investing seemed like a bad idea (because who knows if the roof will leak or fall in). Last year it was almost condemned and I'm so thankful the other owners were willing and able to put the money in to fix the problem (electrical and water systems - we were out of the house for 6 weeks). We have done some updates - the bathroom got completely gutted because the paint wouldn't stop peeling from the walls, and half the grout between the awful orange tiles was missing. A few years ago we ripped up the old carpets on the second level and put down laminate flooring. We've done as much of the work ourselves as we can (and we're not very good at it). When we bought it, we were told it would be painted. What actually happened is they put a bunch of crack fill on the walls and then just primed it - lumpy and streaky and bad. One year I spent a week painting most of the walls - the hallways and downstairs and the kids room - but I didn't do any prep or fix work beforehand, I was just tired of the grungy off-white mess. Until today I had a yellow kitchen and hallways and a mint green dining/living room. I like the powder blue bathroom (with a ceiling to match), but the green in the main space is a problem, especially when I'm trying to take pictures of weaving. We spent some time in the spring trying to patch and sand, but at this point honestly it needs a skim coat and we are not up to that. So I bought flat paint and I'm calling it character. I've got plans for a big wall of family pictures and new lighting in the hallways. We've been living in a space that didn't really feel like ours, and now we're changing that and it feels so good. I'm hoping to get the downstairs done before it's too cold to paint with the windows open. Upstairs can wait a bit - our room feels like ours since we did the floors, so it's not as
urgent. The kids feel the same, and they can't quite decide on colours, so it's not a rush anyway. I haven't decided if I'm changing the colour in the bathroom. This is still just a stop-gap. I would like to move in the next few years (we never intended to live here more than 5 years, it's quite small for 4 of us, especially with two of us home full time now), but if that doesn't happen, I want to renovate. Take out a wall, put a pass-through in a different wall, completely tear out the kitchen. It's better to have dreams than to feel stuck.
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megarabane ¡ 3 years ago
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nanowrimo 11/7
Words: ~1k
Work: original work! Wolf's Cry
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I'm actually crazy nervous to post this, since I've been working with these characters for six or eight years, and they're my children and they've gone through so much alteration and growth and development with me and they're so so near and dear to my heart.
I've never shared anything from my original work on the internet before because I'm afraid of how they'll be received, but I spent the last two days rewriting and reworking the prologue to my story and I'm proud of it and finally have decided to share this one little blurb and see how it goes.
please be nice but I'm open to constructive criticism!
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wolf's cry - prologue
Shay can’t remember not dreaming.
He’s sure he did, at one point. In fact, he’s pretty sure it was recently.
But laying awake for the third night in a row, staring up at his light fixture, the moonlight pooling through his tall windows, he’s not sure he ever had a quiet, easy night’s sleep.
They keep him awake, scare him out of ever closing his eyes again, but that’s not even it—he can wake up from them, shake off their clinging tendrils.
It’d be so easy to pretend that’s all they were.
But they always, always, come true, and that’s harder to escape.
In the stillness, he sits up. He reaches for his nightstand, blearily finds both his phone and the worn notebook he’d left there, and yawns. Might as well jot this one down too.
His phone’s flashlight slices the darkness like a lighthouse signal. He watches the dust particles spiral in the beam for a few long, tired seconds before flipping the cover of the notebook open. His pen finds a familiar place between his teeth as, like a compulsion, he scans the previous entries.
The first one was short, before he really understood the dreams but after the memories of them had faded like dew. It hadn’t been the first, he knew that, but the rest had been unmemorable or passing glances. This was the first that had stuck out.
May 14 – torn stirrup, bad jump, Poco takes off. Then, underneath it, May 18– the day it had happened. His fingers unconsciously find his knee, where the bruising had faded fairly quickly but the soreness had taken weeks to stretch out.
May 30 – ‘Stang blows a tire, KT isn’t any help, then May 31 – he knows how to use a lug wrench now.
June 12, June 19, July 2, July 5, July 17, August 1 – all had been written in one sitting, filled out the day it had finally occurred to him that maybe he was missing something, that maybe it wasn’t prolonged déjà vu, the day before he’d shown KT and Roden and they’d dismissed it with laughter.
They got more detailed, his handwriting sloppy with exhaustion, from here.
August 5 – Roden and KT fight over ???, “should have asked”, “I live in the room too”, “none of your business”, “sock on the door”, and some more unintelligible words he had smudged in his haste.
He pauses at this entry, his fingers tracing the loops of his own handwriting. This one had caught him off guard. It had been so clear, clear enough that some of the phrases were word for word. It was the clearest any had been before or since.
Even now, Shay recalls Roden pushing away from the table hard enough to knock his chair over, storming away and out of the café without any of his things. Shay had been too shaken by the distinctness of it—he had known half of the argument before it had even begun—to play the familiar peacemaker. Instead, he’d half-listened to KT talk himself down from his frustrated high until he’d agreed, without Shay’s input, to apologize.
August 8 is written underneath it, uneven with the tremors of his hands. It had been easily dismissible as déjà vu until then. It had been—forgivable—forgettable—until then.
Shay swallows down his familiar panic at the recollection, and sucks in a deep breath through his teeth. He clenches and unclenches his hand, flips to the next clean page, and writes.
October 3 – I don’t know her.
He pulls away from the paper, surprised at himself. That’s a strange way to start. He hadn’t thought before writing.
Shay looks out his window, at the moon and the lightly clouded stars, and bites a thumbnail as he thinks. He watches the wind push the tree by his window, watches the shadows of the leaves dance across his duvet.
I can’t remember things making sense, either.
He closes the notebook and gets out of bed after a while, pacing toward the window. He pushes his familiar curtains aside, peeking out over the sprawling landscape. It stands a mess of shapes and shadows, vague white light outlining sharp corners of fences and buildings. He looks back up toward the source, stares at the waxing moon until his eyes sting, and closes his eyes to press his forehead against the cold glass. He can feel his breath fogging the panes in front of him.
Shay wants to sleep so badly. He’s exhausted, dozing in class, and more often than not finds himself rousing from a nap he didn’t intend to take on a couch in the student union.
But in order to sleep, his dreams need to stop.
With some effort, he pushes himself away from the glass and trudges back to bed. He sits cross-legged on the duvet and picks the notebook back up.
If I write it down, it’ll hold off for the rest of the night. I can at least sleep until dawn.
So, he writes, and then he falls asleep, on top of the blankets, with the book still open in his hand.
October 3 – I don’t know her. I know I don’t. I’d remember her eyes, at least. I’ve never seen eyes so green. She has red hair, straight and long. She’s bleeding Someone is bleeding, and it’s on her hands. She’s out of breath, exhausted, she’s crying, and she says my name, and I’m exhausted too, I’m there, I shouldn’t be? I don’t know her name.
I don’t know her name.
“Shay, it isn’t me.”
Her skin is cold when I touch it. “It has to be.”
I can feel how scared she is because I’m scared too.
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justforbooks ¡ 5 years ago
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Bucky Pizzarelli, whose guitar mastery extended to seven strings, dies at 94 of coronavirus.
Bucky Pizzarelli, one of the nation’s preeminent seven-string guitarists, who began his career as a coveted sideman and studio musician before stepping out on his own and forming an acclaimed jazz duo with one of his sons, died April 1 at his home in Saddle River, N.J. He was 94.
The cause was the coronavirus disease covid-19, said his son John Pizzarelli, a guitarist and singer with whom Mr. Pizzarelli formed one of the rare father-son duos in jazz.
Mr. Pizzarelli honed a gentle, richly textured sound while playing as an accompanist and solo artist, performing lyrical improvised solos that typically featured chords rather than single notes.
Although he began his career in the 1940s, touring as a teenager with singer Vaughn Monroe’s dance band, he came into his own after acquiring a seven-string Gretsch guitar in 1969, inspired by seven-string pioneer George Van Eps.
The instrument featured an extra bass string, which Mr. Pizzarelli used to virtuosic effect in swing-era standards, Brazilian bossa nova and songs by the Beatles, Burt Bacharach and Henry Mancini. A fixture of the New York jazz scene for decades, he was also a staff musician at ABC and NBC, where he played with the “Tonight Show” band and tuned Tiny Tim’s ukulele before the musician got married before a TV audience of millions in 1969.
Mr. Pizzarelli spent much of the 1950s and ’60s inside recording studios, where he arrived early to practice his nylon-string classical guitar and did three sessions a day, recording tracks such as Dion’s “Runaround Sue,” Ray Charles’s version of “Georgia on My Mind,” Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini.”
He also performed with the pop group the Three Suns, toured across Europe with Benny Goodman and collaborated with artists including Buddy Rich, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Wes Montgomery, Zoot Sims, Bud Freeman and French violinist StĂŠphane Grappelli, the former musical partner of his guitar idol Django Reinhardt.
But he was perhaps best known for his work in guitar duos, including with George Barnes, one of the first artists to record with an electric guitar. “Their duets are built on the contrast between the soft, dark sound of Mr. Pizzarelli’s thumb and finger plucking and Mr. Barnes’s use of a pick to produce high, tight phrases that dart and dazzle over his partner’s foundation lines,” New York Times jazz critic John S. Wilson wrote in 1970.
“They may be light and airy — a perfect soufflé of sound — and then go rollicking off through rapid-fire lines that wrap around each other, chase each other, join in unison and set up challenges of the musicians and the listening ear,” he added. “This is a brilliant and unique team.”
Mr. Pizzarelli and Barnes recorded a 1971 album, “Guitars Pure and Honest,” but within a year began “to detest one another,” according to a report from the New Yorker jazz critic Whitney Balliett, who witnessed a chaotic performance at the St. Regis Room in Manhattan that brought the musicians’ rivalry into public view.
“The guitarists’ swan set was played not on their instruments,” he wrote, “but on each other.”
Mr. Pizzarelli found far less drama while performing with members of his own family. His 1972 album, “Green Guitar Blues,” featured a duet with his 14-year-old daughter Mary, whom he trained on classical guitar. By the end of the decade he was performing with his son John, with whom he recorded albums such as “2 x 7 = Pizzarelli” (1980) and “Twogether” (2001), which featured duets of jazz standards.
In time, they also performed with Mr. Pizzarelli’s other son, bassist Martin Pizzarelli, and with John’s wife, singer Jessica Molaskey, forming a group that John Pizzarelli likened to “the von Trapp family on martinis.”
“I learned by sitting with him on the bandstand,” John Pizzarelli told TV interviewer Steve Adubato in 2013, accompanied by his father. “It was trial by fire. He would just play melodies and stare at me.” (“We don’t get mad,” Bucky Pizzarelli told the New York Times, “but we knock heads once in a while. I don’t interfere.”)
In a 2016 interview with Inside Jersey magazine, jazz guitarist Ed Laub, a onetime pupil of Mr. Pizzarelli’s, recalled a piece of advice from his former teacher: “If you’re planning on being a professional musician, you need to understand that your job is to always make the other guy as good as he can possibly sound. It’s not about you.”
For Mr. Pizzarelli, Laub said, “It’s about making beautiful music. It’s not about grandstanding.”
Mr. Pizzarelli was born John Pizzarelli on Jan. 9, 1926, in Paterson, N.J., where his childhood classmates included poet Allen Ginsberg. His parents owned a grocery store, and his father played the mandolin and nicknamed his only son Bucky, out of a love for cowboys and the American West that he had nurtured since working in Texas as a teenager.
His uncle Bobby Dominick was a banjo and guitar player who “looked like a million dollars every time I saw him,” Mr. Pizzarelli told George Cole, author of the Miles Davis history “The Last Miles.” “He had a suit, a new car and he was picking up 50 bucks a week on the road with all his bands. . . . When I saw that, I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ ”
Mr. Pizzarelli learned the basics of music during Sunday jam sessions that included Bobby and another uncle, Pete Dominick, as well as Joe Mooney, a blind Paterson jazz accordionist. Influenced by guitarists such as Reinhardt, Freddie Green and Charlie Christian, he went on to perform at weddings and dances before joining Monroe’s dance band at 17.
He was soon drafted into the Army and, at the close of World War II, served in Europe and the Philippines, where he “spent nine months doing nothing,” as he put it, aside from playing guitar. He returned home to spend five years with Monroe and join NBC.
Mr. Pizzarelli’s records included “The Red Door” (1998), a tribute to Sims, featuring Scott Hamilton on tenor sax; and “5 for Freddie” (2007), a tribute to Green with pianist John Bunch in the role of Count Basie, Green’s longtime musical collaborator.
At home in Saddle River, he presided over what one journalist described as “a living jukebox,” where Goodman dropped in to nap, Sims swam in the family pool, bassist Slam Stewart stayed over and impromptu performances broke out almost daily, with most family members taking part. Mr. Pizzarelli’s wife of 66 years, the former Ruth Litchult, did not play an instrument but “knows music and can say what’s good and bad,” her husband told the Times in 1973.
“I’m a critic mostly when he plays too long or when it’s time for dinner,” she said.
In addition to his wife, survivors include four children, Anne Hymes of Orlando, Martin Pizzarelli of Saddle River and John and Mary Pizzarelli, both of Manhattan; a sister; and four grandchildren.
In recent years, Mr. Pizzarelli told Cole, the music scene had transformed, and the kind of playing he did in studio bands was all but nonexistent. “Guitar players — it’s mostly effects,” he said. “Guitars in the hands of these kids today are weapons!”
Still, he plowed ahead, playing dozens of club dates each year and maintaining the approach that had fueled his career for nearly eight decades. “Every day I get up and I try to correct what I screwed up the night before,” he said. “That’s my theory. I prepare for the next time. I’m playing mostly live dates now and that’s a big thrill, because that’s the ultimate — to be in front of people.”
Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com
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cultml ¡ 5 years ago
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covid 19 problem
1 i decided not to read do deeply about it, ignorance warning
2 i decided over the past few days to just post links with the covid19 tag instead of trying to link to them here, and  not going to take the time to explain.
SO..
Around the time of the ban on flights China i read that the genetics of the virus meant that the spread rate was 2.???... a couple of days latter it was becoming clear they had no idea. then it looked like they had a clue... then no...
What is the incubation period.. 5-6 days.. 2-14.. you might be able to spread it up to three Weeks latter?....
how long does it live on surfaces 3hrs... 9days? They may have the answers to those questions now, though i haven’t seen them.... but i gave up some time ago. Play with the models and the reasons all you like.
They didn’t know and still don’t as far as i can tell. Looks like there may be good reason why... still they don’t know
So I am going to jump around a bit and hopefully get to my point. Trump and Cuomo need to SHUT THE FUCK UP. Cuomo seems to be doing a chicken little rain dance every day... why...it’s not helping. Trump.... he does not speak in clear and concise term. That’s good for a whole range of things. It is the worst way in the world to talk about a freak’n pandemic. I do not ever want to hear him speak about the half ass attempt to keep it from coming here by shutting down flight from China. And he is a target for the press and that makes him a distraction. The local news and their social media should have been where the official messing should be coming from. One press conference from the White house a week, the rest, paper statements. It turned into a circus... what’s new
China’s fault. Trump was to optimistic and moves to slow. Bureaucracy and bureaucrat did what they do. Our leaders didn’t do the basic they supposed to before a crisis hits. The technocrats are in charge and the wise men are all dead.
Masks..?...
Masks..?... A wise leadership would have caught this. there are at least two types of masks.....that do TWO different things...... that means we need to use TWO DIFFERENT terms.  Surgical masks and respirator masks? You want to stop the spread? 2 ways people don’t catch it or people don’t spread it. Med. personal need to not catch it the rest of us need to not spread it.... so cloth surgical style mask for everyone. there solved it. They are not a complicated piece of equipment... that make them very DYI able.... and that make the very customizable.... and that make them very meme able.... I will never understand why the in the fucking hell we didn’t do that.... Childish technocrats me thinks. Some other came to a similar conclusion as i about mask uses they just did it by looking at what Asia does differently than us. Depleted stock piles of N95s etc.
Ventilators... I feels like some one raised Robert McNamara from his grave. Or someone been read Moneyball to many time. It sound like we will have all the ventilators we will ever need some time next...year? We need the guys that where stacking sand bags and what ever else on Shermans or the guys strapping on gun pods to the early Phantoms or any of the engineers that where there when the space missions went pear-shaped. The actual McGyvers types that are acting out of necessity. If this is PR BS wheel McNamara out there.... If this is the freak’n war you say it then screw the rules and save the live. Inflatable swimming pools filed with sanitizer to respirators made from shop vacs and duct tape. don’t give me this shit about FDA clearance, sterile production environments, retraining workers and retraining Drs for the new machines... really...
there was some hope, a couple of university have cheap prototype with of the quasi of the shelf parts and there was talk of using F-150 blowers and batteries form tool manufactures.... Then today, FDA clearance... and “we are not sure how fast we can retrain the medical staff”......
If they can’t suppress blueprints for the 3d printed gun ......
The stimulus pt 3 (i couldn’t tell you with a gun to my head what 1and2 where about)  looks like heaping piles of mistakes repeated (ignorance warning) Bitching about income inequality and that Trump hasn’t taken over production sooner... It a country lead be wise men these people wouldn’t even be in the room and no one would listen to them. Like wise saying it doesn’t matter what’s in it, it just needs to get done....? Fair enough, but really this is the best we can do ... you go to war with what you have and you enter crisis with the facile toddlers for leaders that you have. That fact that all side are pleading for the workers and not for the ideals that would help the works should tell you how bad all this is going to be.
Civil liberties... to late now. We will just have to hope we can wrestle most of them back after the fact.
Economy or lives is a false dichotomy, a prison of two ideas. It is some of both and there is no right answer in this moment, maybe in ten years it will be clear. If you can’t under stand that then you can;t understand leadership at least at this level.
closer to the point.. Virtue ..... Puffery?  It’s not virtue signalling, there is a semi virtuous act involved. Having a kids plat a concert out side the door of your elderly neighbor, or showing Grandpa your engagement ring through the window or going to the store for them is What Your Supposed to do..... I stopped smoking some ..years ago now. I don’t talk about it, in fact hate it, it is not a source of pride. It is embarrassing,not that anyone said good job, because few in a position to say know better.It would feel like more of knife in the back than support. I stop doing something that was bad for me. I stop a negative that is not a positive.... Our virtue is all relative, for a number of reasons. any thing sort of getting caught for rape or murder is a positive. Say thank you and we should be good. you want to be an asshole I’ll happy to leave you alone. That’s it and tell the news crews to fuck off. I know people are posting this shit themselves which is worse......
The point.... well i never really got to it, which is part of the the point i think. The battle for what comes next was barley getting oxygen before. and most of it was between the progressive et al. and the New Theocrats / national conservatives. Neither should be any where near power... and what are we doing... trying to understand statistical modelling most of us will not totally understand.. a giant waste of time. The virtue puffery of the moment and the failure of Sanders followed by the insane Dem over reach in this moment and then by the  catastrophic Biden campaign. May well propel the new theocrats in to power.
The something new, the thing to come, the what’s next..... will be old. It will have no defense against what pushed it out of power because it never adapted because it never saw it’s failure as legitimate. If it was legit or not is an open question but it’s failure and weaknesses are real.  They may gain power again not because they defeated their enemies but because their enemies failed.
This quasi fascist verses socialist cycle is a fixture in Europe and not here. My fear is that that is over.  The cycle could very easily shorten and escalate. The increasingly useless, populist , theocrat Tucker Carlson made the point the crisis don’t change much they just exhilarate the trend. The what’s next just wasn’t there going in to this crisis. The path for change may be dead.
The world may end up rather dark and very boring.
(not editing/ pissing in the wind for 2+ hrs is long enough, and didn’t get to the uselessness of libertarians substituting econ or morality)
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dailyrugbytoday ¡ 1 year ago
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RWC Results: New Zealand 96-17 Italy
New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/rwc-results-new-zealand-96-17-italy/
The Daily Rugby
https://thedailyrugby.com/rwc-results-new-zealand-96-17-italy/
RWC Results: New Zealand 96-17 Italy
Fantastic New Zealand defeated Italy in Pool A with a whopping 14 tries and 96 points to go to the World Cup quarterfinals.
The All Blacks, who knew they would be eliminated if they lost, sprinted to a thumping 49-3 halftime advantage.
After only 33 minutes, scrum-half Aaron Smith had already scored a hat-trick with the final score of 96-17.
If the All Blacks defeat Uruguay in their final pool encounter on Thursday, they will automatically qualify for the knockout rounds. New Zealand 96-17 Italy: All Blacks move to cusp of Rugby World Cup quarter-finals
New Zealand Rugby Upcoming Match’s
Remaining fixtures:
5 October: New Zealand v Uruguay (20:00)
6 October: France v Italy (20:00)
Italy must defeat the tournament hosts France in their upcoming game to get to the quarterfinals.
With their victory, the All Blacks move up to second place in Pool A, level on points with Italy, with whom they now have a better head-to-head record.
Who plays who in the quarterfinals?
14 October: Quarter-final 1: Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D (Stade de Marseille), 16:00 – currently Wales v Japan
14 October: Quarter-final 2: Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A (Stade de France), 20:00 – currently Ireland v New Zealand
15 October: Quarter-final 3: Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C (Stade de Marseille), 16:00 – currently England v Fiji
15 October: Quarter-final 4: Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B (Stade de France), 20:00 – currently France v South Africa
World Cup semi-finals
The winners of the games on 14 October play each other in the first semi-final on 20 October and the winners of the matches on 15 October face each other in the last four on 21 October.
World Cup final
The Rugby World Cup winners will be crowned in Paris on 28 October.
The outcome of New Zealand’s encounter versus Italy, which was basically a winner-take-all contest, had put their spot in the knockout rounds in jeopardy. But after losing to France on the first day of the tournament—their first-ever World Cup pool-stage defeat—the All Blacks have destroyed Namibia 71-3 and have scored more than 90 points against Italy.
It was New Zealand’s biggest victory at the competition since they defeated Portugal 108-13 in 2007. It matched the 96 points pool rivals France earned against Namibia last week. Rugby World Cup All Blacks games
Will Jordan made a spectacular diving catch in the corner after catching Beauden Barrett’s beautiful crossfield kick for Ian Foster’s team.
Smith, Mark Telea, and Ardie Savea all scored in four furious minutes after Italy’s comeback with a penalty.
Following the resumption, the All Blacks scored four tries—Brodie Retallick, Dalton Papali’i, Dane Coles, and Damian McKenzie—to lead 75-10 after 66 minutes. Before Anton Lienert-Brown scored New Zealand’s final try five minutes from the end, Jordan and Coles each added their second points of the game.
Italy suffered a humiliating defeat as a result, while New Zealand’s standing as one of the tournament favorites was restored.
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sportearly ¡ 2 years ago
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Week 14 Pool result for Saturday 8, October 2022 – UK 2022/2023
Week 14 Pool result for Saturday 8, October 2022 – UK 2022/2023
Week 14 Pool Result 2022: Now you can find the Week 14 pool result 2022, pool result, pool fixtures, football result, soccer result, soccer fixtures, pool panel fixtures, pools fixture, advance fixtures, special advance fixtures, pool result, football result, soccer result, live score pool result, pool panel results, classified football pools results, pool results and pool fixtures for this week…
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nigeriangossip ¡ 5 years ago
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Advance Week 14 UK Football Pool Fixtures, Panel, LKO, EKO https://nigeriagossipz.blogspot.com/2019/10/advance-week-14-uk-football-pool.html
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cherwell-interiors ¡ 3 years ago
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COVER STORY: RESIDENTIAL RETREAT – HTTPS://IDENTITY.AE
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“What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is related only to objects and not to individuals, or to life… But couldn’t everyone’s life become a work of art? Why should the lamp or the house be an art object, but not our life?” – Michel Foucault
Alive with sleek minimalist style, this stunning residence designed by Sven Mueller, principal of his eponymous architectural firm SVENM, is part of the next generation of contemporary architecture that’s helping to define the design landscape and ethos of Dubai – complementing its hospitality, residential projects and large-scale master plans. Opened in 2009, SVENM Architecture and Design is a founding member of the minimalist movement in the UAE.
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“This home provides synchronicity between architecture and occupant; a self-contained sanctuary, a retreat for a client seeking to disconnect once at home,” says Mueller of the latest residence in his architectural oeuvre. “The serene courtyard is a concept extending directly from heritage homes into contemporary life,” he explains.
Mueller has spent years making his mark on Dubai’s cultural landscape. “You have to take courage in your own vision,” he says. “Over the past decade SVENM has metamorphosed through an array of projects with an astonishing group of clients including The Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority and The United Arab Emirates National Pavilion at la Biennale di Venezia, plus projects with international design collectors.”
Mueller has also been the recipient of commissions for multinational institutions including SAP, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, institution designs for Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University and Al Ghurair University, and has done the interior design for projects such as Muraba Residences by Pritzker Prize-winning RCR arquitectes – as well as architectural design for residences in Kuwait, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
His design process for this Dubai residence involved the lost art of listening. “We are passionate about research and materials but spatially each new vision is about listening,” he explains. “Serious clients want to innovate. We learn continually from collaborating one-on-one with clients.”
His desire for innovation is nothing new. Today he’s an architect-designer recognised for a versatile body of work in the United Arab Emirates and Germany, and it was his early experiences at Vitra’s school that inspired Mueller to pursue a career in architecture and design. He has since achieved great career success, opening a studio in 2009 which in 2018 won the national architectural competitions to re-design a 20,000 m2 university for the Al Ghurair Group and to create the Dubai Government’s ‘Knowledge Fund’ headquarters.
During his BA, Mueller excelled at the Hochschule Der Künste Berlin and was selected by Stefano Giovannoni – who admired Sven’s “intellectual insights, well thought-out solutions and intensive energy” – to join his architectural studio in Milan. Mueller went on to gain high-profile experience, including while working on projects for Alessi and Magis, before returning to Germany as inaugural designer for the Deutsches Museum’s Innovation Award.
Defined by space, light and sky, the residence is imbued with an aesthetic that Mueller describes as ‘sculptural’. “Internally, it provides an embracing world of its own,” he explains. “This is done primarily through the use of sunlight. [It] floods into this home by day, moving over the ripples of the 14-metre-long pool. Outdoor architectural light metamorphoses the structure’s identity by night,” he muses. “If work remains connected to the landscape, you establish a harmony that continues.”
His devotion to the artistic elements of architecture has been a key feature of his exhibitions at his SVENM Gallery. Most recently, he brought this vision to Dubai during Dubai Design Week with an exhibition developed with Caparol paints and Kvadrat Maharam textiles, titled ‘Made for Dubai’, that explored the idea of the ‘Arabian Majlis’. Designed by Mueller using Kvadrat Maharam textiles and rugs, the exhibition’s majlis seating was surrounded by commissioned artworks that use the 120 colours of the new Caparol Icons range.
Mueller’s commitment to the interiors of this residence is clear, with furnishings that have been as meticulously selected and designed as those in his latest exhibition, beginning with a key interior design feature in the property: the nine-metre-high glass curtain walls that connect the double-height lounge and staircase with the courtyard.
The entryway features Greek marble, lighting from Flos and door handles by Kawajun of Japan, and bespoke art pieces by SVENM Design. The washrooms feature fixtures from Dornbracht and Fantini, and a bespoke washbasin from the designer which was hand-made in Italy.
The kitchen features Quooker taps, Miele appliances and equipment, as well as bespoke cabinets by Mueller and an island by the designer, hand-made in Dubai. And even the fitness area boasts high style with its Technogym equipment and TrackMan golf simulator.
When asked how the residence speaks to 21st century architecture, Mueller responds,  “If work remains connected to the landscape you establish a harmony that continues.” We eagerly anticipate his next contribution to Dubai’s expanding array of contemporary architecture.
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mellicose ¡ 7 years ago
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That Woman Over There - Chapter 23
A You Me and Him Fix-it Fic
Rating: Teen, for some mature themes
Word count: 3832
Warnings: none
Summary: ~ Set after the birth of Monty, Olivia’s baby ~ A dear friend of Olivia comes to visit for a week, and she disturbs the fragile peace between her, Alex, and John.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 |
Alex slammed into the gallery, cursing. She forgot to bring a damn umbrella, of all things. She shook herself off and threw down her bag. Rainwater dripped off it, to the parquet floor. The place was eerily dark. She wondered whether it was on purpose. She sniffed at the air. It smelled a bit like John’s house.
Her chest burned. “Fuck,” she said out loud. She wondered whether he hated her, and whether she’d ever smell his house again. She looked around and noticed pieces of art in pools of light. She walked to the closest one.
A painting. Fleshtones. Abstract, but the image began to take form in her brain almost immediately. Bodies. There was something about the sumptuous curves of the negative spaces … but she felt like she was missing something. The paint had a matte quality, a texture that fascinated her.
“It looks like living, breathing flesh, no?”
“Goddamnit!” she said, jumping aside. A lithe man in a striped t-shirt and a pair of jeans stood behind her.
He stood beside her and smiled a cheshire cat grin that was oddly nostalgic. He hugged his slim arms.
“Flesh, no?” he repeated.
“Yes, but there’s something off. I can’t tell where one body ends and the other begins,” she said. Her heart was only slowing now. He drifted the scent of cedar to her. Cedar and … violet? Her eyes drifted to him again. He wore a neat goatee and mustache, and his eyes were the color of his hair - golden brown.
He nodded, and stretched. His shirt rode nearly to the bottom of his ribcage. His smooth belly flexed. His jeans rode low on his hips, and she saw so much happy trail it made her blush.
“You can look away at any time,” he said, giving her a half grin. She didn’t know she was staring. “Not that I mind. You’re cute.”
Her cheeks were hot. Whether it was embarrassment or something else, she didn’t care to figure out.
“You are Alex?” he said, turning to her.
“How’d they get the paint to look like that?” she said, looking back at the painting.
“I don’t know how she does it. That’s why it’s here,” he said.
“Ah,” she said. “Yeah. I’m Alex.” She held out her hand. Again, he smiled as they shook hands.
“How professional,” he said. “You’ve got a firm handshake.”
She shrugged. “Want to see my work?”
“Of course. No more flirting. Straight to business.”
“I’m not flirting,” she said, walking to her bag and digging in it for her laptop. “I’m-” she stopped. She was going to say she was gay. But it wasn’t true. At least, not all the way true. But she could still say it. She gave him a sidelong glance. She decided against it.
“You’re what?” he said. “Taken? If so, I’m sorry.”
She frowned. “No. Not taken.” She coughed.
He nodded. “Come, let’s go upstairs. There’s more light in my flat.” He walked to the far corner. He opened a door to an elevator.
“It’s one of those fancy personal ones,” she said as she entered behind him.
“Yeah. I don’t want a nosy visitor finding their way to my personal space,” he said. He punched in a code. It moved up smoothly. She caught another whiff of cedar.
“Again, you’re sniffing,” he said, smiling.
“Oh. Yeah. You smell a lot like a friend of mine,” she said, smiling bashfully.
“You close?” he said, opening the door. Beyond, was open space with islands of tasteful furniture.
“He’s my best mate,” she said. She hoped it was still true.
“He has good taste, then.”
“It’s not a perfume. It’s, uh, he works with wood, so the smell sticks to him.”
“Carpenter?” he said as he guided her to what looked like an office.
“Artist,” she said confidently. “He makes beautiful things. Precious things. You know, keepsakes.”
“Ouiai,” Alphonse said, and offered her a seat in front of his computer.
“The screen big enough for ye?” she said, and chuckled. It was at least 45 inches.
“I use this to view art,” he said.
“Sure, mate. Art.” she said, and handed him her USB with a sardonic grin she couldn’t wipe off.
His lips trembled with mirth. “You’re not terribly formal, are you?” he said.
“Should I be? This isn’t like, a proper interview, is it?” she said, and slung a leg over the arm of the office chair. “This chair’s rad, by the way. It’s ergonomic, right?”
“Maybe not how you’re using it,” he said. The screen came on and she lost her balance and fell back.
“Holy fuck! I can see colors I didn’t even know existed,” she said, crawling back up to the desk and standing up. “Sorry about the language.”
“Speak however you like. This isn’t the Vatican,” he said.
She looked over his shoulder.”There’s the folder with my work.”
She swore when he clicked on the first photo. “That’s bloody gorgeous,” she said. “Okay, you’re absolutely right. This screen is a requirement. All I’ve got is my mam’s grotty little 200 quid laptop. I can see every single brush stroke with this thing.” She leaned forward. “It’s brilliant.”
“Now you see the method to my madness,” he said.
“Yah, I do. It’s definitely not just for porn,” she said. She nodded.
He burst out laughing. “You have absolutely no filter, do you?” he said.
“Why? Should I? I have a feeling the posh art buyers might cringe at me, eh?” she said.
“Maybe you’re not the affected art school type, but it honestly doesn’t matter. Most of them don’t even know what they’re looking at anyway. They just buy to say they did. It’s very rare to find collectors with an actual eye for talent. That’s where I come in.”
“You’re an art dealer,” she said, emphasizing the last word. “You make the good shit available to ‘em.”
“Exactly,” he said. 
“You scare your fancy customers down there?”
“You were in my space,” he said.
“You could’ve made noise walking up, like normal people.”
He crossed his legs, and she noticed that he was barefoot. “Again, my space.”
She smiled. “Sorry. But I almost wee’d myself.” She squirmed.
“You need the loo?” he said.
“I think so,” she said. He pointed to a frosted glass cube in a corner of the apartment. She sighed. “Seriously?”
He winked. He watched her walk away. She was a bit rough around the edges, but her honesty was refreshing. Perhaps he had been around posh art students for too long. Even her shape was more inviting – curvy in places where so many others had on-trend angles.
“This is ridiculous,” she yelled as she closed the glass door behind her. “There’s no privacy whatsoever.”
“I live alone,” he said. He felt strange yelling in his own apartment.
“And when you have … guests?” she said.
“I don’t really hold parties in this space – any guests here are usually beyond that kind of embarrassment.”
“Oh. Yeah,” she said, and flushed. She looked around. There was a large shower in front of her, also glass. It was fancy in a way that made her uncomfortable. She couldn’t imagine washing her body in a place like that. And it was a place, not just a shower. The chrome fixtures gleamed, and the bottles on the shelf were not in English. She wondered whether they smelled like wood. She washed her hands, saw no towel, and dried them on her shorts. She felt weird letting the water dry on the sink. It would get spots.
“Hey, do you wipe down the sink?” she said as she walked back up.
“Shhhhhhh,” he said. He leaned forward, looking intently at one of her blue period pieces. At least, that’s what she called it. It was not naturalistic, but also not as abstract as some of the pieces she saw downstairs. “Viens-ici,” he said, and beckoned to her. “Tell me about this.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s the last piece I painted before I stopped for a while. I just sort of … sat in front of a canvas and let the brush do the talking.”
“Yes, it speaks volumes,” he said. He hugged himself again. “What’s most striking is that although the composition hints at desolation, you did not use the stereotypical washed out palette. It’s searingly bright.”
“I couldn’t stand using muted colors.” She echoed his action, hugging herself. “She deserves better than shades of gray.” She shivered.
“She?” he said.
“Jo,” she said softly.
“An ex?” he said.
“My daughter, who died last year right before being born.”
He gasped.”Ah, petite. J'en suis désolé,” he said. He patted her hand, and for some reason, she burst into tears again. He stood and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around his narrow frame and wept into his chest.
“I’m a mess. I’ve had the worst day ever. I think I just lost everything.”
“How do you mean?” he said.
It surprised her that he even cared. She didn’t know where to start. He was a stranger, so lying wasn’t worth the effort.
“My fiancee just broke up with me. She was right to do it. And I just fucked up my relationship with my best mate. At least, if he’s got any sense.”
“Eh,” he said. He didn’t expect the full truth. She was extraordinary.
“When you say “just”, do you mean in the last month or something?” he said. He rubbed her back. Her hair smelled like cigarette smoke and satsuma.
“I mean, today. Earlier.”
He pulled her away to look at her. “Putain. And you’re here?”
“I’ve got nothing left … what’s your name again?” She wiped her face with her arm.
“Alphonse. You can call me Alfie if you like.”
“Alfie. Sounds posh,” she said. “You don’t like Alphonse?”
“I’m named after my dad. He’s as asshole,” he said.
“‘Least you know ‘im,” she said, and sniffed.” I’ll call you Alfie, then. Don’t wanna be bringing back any bad memories. I don’t usually get like this.” She finished wiping her eyes, but her lips still quivered.
“You want a beer?” he said.
“God yes,” she said. He ran to the kitchen space and opened a giant fridge built into a brick wall “Jesus, man, got enough space in there?” she said. There was actual food in it. Like John, he liked to cook.
“You peckish? I’ve got some leftover cold sesame noodles,” he said, putting two bottles of beer on the counter. She shrugged, but approached the counter, curious. He pulled out a plastic tub and opened it.
“It’s not takeaway,” she said. The noodles were glossy with oil, and dotted with toasted sesame seed and green onion. “Smells amazing.”
“I made them for dinner. As ever, I made too much. I suppose some habits die hard,” he said, and handed her a fork.
“Cooking a lot?” she said around a mouthful of noodles.
“Adjusting to cooking for one again,” he said, and sat on a stool opposite her. “Tell me more about that piece. I noticed that it’s unfinished. Or am I wrong?”
She took a sip of her beer. “That’s perceptive,” she said. “This is delicious, by the way. Better than from a restaurant.”
“Merci,” he said. “I have a mild obsession with asian cuisine.”
“Was your ex girlfriend from there?” she said, taking another generous mouthful.
“Perceptive,” he said. She winked. “No, she isn’t. She’s Portuguese. But she’s a chef who specializes in pan-asian cuisine. She got me hooked.”
“She’s a chef? If I dated a chef I’d gain two stone in a year,” she said. “I’d wear it as a point of pride.”
He laughed. “I wish, but I can’t. Genetics won’t really let me gain much of anything. Some might consider it a blessing. I guess it is.” He shrugged.
“Uhuh,” she said. “I was like that until I hit 25. After that, things started happening in this area,” she said, gesturing to her middle.
“I’m quite a few years over that, and nothing’s happened yet,” he said.
“How old are you?”
“39,” he said.
“Really? You look amazin’, bruv,” she said. She blushed at the ease with which she gave him the compliment, but she didn’t regret it. He beamed.
“I avoid sunlight whenever possible,” he said.
“Okay, Nosferatu,” she said. She looked at the sweating bottle of beer in front of her. She liked him. He seemed like a good bloke, and he hadn’t acted funny when she burst into tears. She didn’t know what she expected when she came, but definitely not him. She looked at him. His eyes were gold, with flecks of green near the iris. It was one of her favorite color combinations.
“You’re staring again,” he said. She was so zoned in she didn’t see his smile.
“Your eyes. The green is nice,” she said, then stuffed her hands in her pockets.
“Thanks. My maman has Persian blood. I get my eyes from her,” he said. “And in more ways than one. She’s the artist. My father thinks art is a hobby.”
She snorted. “My mam’s the same. She thinks I should go to school to become a nurse’s assistant. But I can’t stand the sight of blood. I’m working on being a teacher, maybe.”
“Maybe?” he said, opening another beer for her. She took it gratefully.
“Liv, my fi-my ex-fiancee, suggested it. She had a baby too, Monty. He’s the sweetest little guy you’ll ever meet. He’s gonna be one year old in a month and a half.” She took a deep swig of beer. Her eyes started to swim again. He walked beside her.
“He’s going to be one. And you said you lost Jo last year…” he said.
“It’s a hella long story, mate,” she said. “And you’re a stranger.”
“I’ve got an empty dance card and a case of beer,” he said, walking to a nearby sofa. “Let’s get acquainted.”
She stared out one of his large windows. The night was setting in, and it was pouring rain.
“I think we should wrap up the art stuff. It’s pissing outside and I’ve got to take a train back to Bristol...” her voice failed. She didn’t know where she was gonna go once she got there. She would have to speak to Olivia, then her mam. She dreaded the latter far more than the former.
“I can give you a ride to the station, if you like,” he said.
“Ah,” she said. “You that bored that you wanna listen to my long list of fuck ups?” she said. She sat on the other side of the sofa. She wished she could kick off her boots.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he said.
“You just wait till I get into it, boyo,” she said.
“So that means you’ll stay for a bit,” he said. “I will open my ears and refrain from any possible censure until you’re done.”
“Century what?” she said, making a face.
“Censure. It means a strong or vehement expression of disapproval.”
“Huh. Whatever.” She looked down at her lap. She looked so lost. It made him want to stroke her rain-frizzy blond hair. She broke up with her fiancee just today, yet here she was, braving wind and rain to show him her worth. It was beyond his capacity to understand. He had not gotten out of bed for three weeks after Lorena left him, and it had been over two months until he was able to face the world. It was still difficult to adjust. She had been his life for six years.
“Where are you?” he said.
“I couldn’t finish it,” she said, tracing the shapes printed on her tights. She took a deep breath. He waited patiently. “At the time. It was, like…”
He moved a little closer, but made sure to give her plenty of space.
“It was like admitting she was finished. That her story was over,” she said. “I couldn’t bear it.” She hiccuped, but kept her composure. “I don’t even know why that’s in there. It’s a mess.”
“You keep saying that,” he said.
“Because it’s true. My life’s a mess. My work. My brain. They’re all one great big horrible mess.”
“You also said it’s unfinished,” he said softly.
“The painting? Yeah.”
“You don’t get me,” he said. He used his hands to speak, and it was beautiful to see. “I mean, it’s unfinished. Your life. Your brain. You. You’re young, no?”
“Old enough to know better about things, though,” she said, crossing her arms.
“You haven’t told me your unforgivable trespasses, but obviously not,” he said.
Her mouth dropped open.
He smiled. “I know you can’t see it from the inside looking out, but I have faith in you. You’ll right the wrongs of which you speak.”
“You don’t know me, bruv,” she said, taking a sip of beer. “I’m, like, the queen of fuckups.”
“That’s why it’s faith. If 2.2 billion Christians can believe in an invisible God, I can believe you’re not an incorrigible fuck up.”
She scratched her head. This bloke was something else. She rolled her eyes and gave him a half-grin.
“Alright. But you haven’t heard what I did yet,” she said.
“Will it explain the mystery of you and your ex being with child at the same time at some point? I am very rudely curious about that. Did you do it on purpose?”
“No,” she said loudly. “I didn’t.”
“Okay,” he said, and stretched his legs out. “We’re getting to the meat of the story.”
“I’ll bore you with my stupidity, but what does this have to do with my art?”
“We’ll figure it out along the way,” he said. “Talk to me.”
“Whatever. So my girlfriend got pregnant without telling me. I was really angry, and I got blind drunk and got off with our next door neighbor, John…”
“Wait. You’re gay?” he said.
She bit her lip. This was the first time she was going to say it out loud to someone she didn’t really know. But considering the stuff she was sharing, it couldn’t be that bad.
“I’m bi. I go both ways,” she said. She paused, as if waiting for peals of thunder and lightning, but the rain continued, silent and dark. “I didn’t know it at the time. But that comes later.”
“I see,” he said. “Take your time. I’m here all night.”
“Yeah. So, all it took was one night, and I was well preggers.”
“By the neighbor? Fuck,” he said. “And he was okay with it?”
“John? We became best mates during the pregnancy. He was in love with me or whatever, but we dealt with it. Now he’s in love with Connie.”
“What?” he said up. “So your ex girlfriend got pregnant without telling you. Then, you got off with your neighbor John, got pregnant after one night, and you’re still living by each other?”
“Yep,” she said.
“And now Encarnacion is with John, the father of Jo, and in love? Wasn’t she with Ella?
“Her and Ella went kaput last year. Big drama – at least, the bits I heard. Super messy.”
“I believe you now,” he said, eyes wide. He had to call Encarnacion. Her and Ella had once felt as immutable as a mountain. But Vesuvius most probably felt the same to the Pompeiians. “You remained friends?”
“Of course. Even after Jo. Like I said, he’s my absolute best mate. Or, possibly, was.”
“If you could endure that triangle, what happened to break it?”
She looked out the window again. She wondered what he was doing. Connie, most probably. He deserved happiness. She couldn’t get the indignant look on his face when she confessed. She never wanted to see that look on his face again.
“Oh,” he said softly. “Oui.”
“What?” she said, snapping out of her train of thought.
“You developed feelings for him. That’s why you broke up with your fiancee.”
She kicked off her books and started pacing the open space in front of the window.
“I’ll have you know she broke up with me,” she said. “He’s the father of my girl,” she said. “Jo was ours.”
“You said he was in love with you. What happened to change that?”
She snorted. “I’m a fool. A damn fool.” His brows rose. “He moved on. I suppose to keep his sanity, but he did. Fully.”
“With Encarnacion,” he said.
“Who is Olivia’s best friend,” she said.
He brightened up. “How is Olivia? She was a hell of a drinking buddy, back in the day.”
“Drinking buddy, huh? Of course,” she said, but she didn’t ask. It was just another story Liv hadn’t bother to tell her. “She’s fine, I hope.”
“You’ve given me only the blurb, but it already sounds like a hell of a story,” he said.
She sat on the windowsill, which was lined with silk pillows. “I think I’ll need something stronger than lager to really get into it,” she said. She held out the half-empty beer bottle.
“I’ve got vodka in a freezer,” he said, taking it.
“That’s good. Pour a drop of juice in. I’m still nursing a hangover.”
“As one does,” he said with a smile, and handed her a glass. He sat against the wall, at her feet. “So, start at the beginning.”
“At the actual beginning, or when everything got fucked?”
“At the very beginning,” he said, nursing his beer. He was a believer that you could tell a lot by a person by the kind of conversation they had. There are people who could talk your ear off for hours, but in the end, you didn’t know them any better. And there were people like Alex – open to a beautiful fault. He already knew he would be crazy about her. Whether it was romantically or not, he couldn’t ascertain now. But he’d know soon enough.
“I met Olivia online, on a dating site. I’d joined as a gag, but in less that 24 hours, I had over 30 messages…”
They talked until dawn, and in the interim, he figured it out.
Next Chapter
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