#a preview includes going to an event on 4 hours of sleep to only get 4 hours of sleep that night too

[ampers-andmore]

is there a polite way to say “pussy so good i [insert thing i did that i wouldn’t have done otherwise]” i want to make a thread making fun of a friend of mine thats pining so hard but i can’t think of a better phrase

[prettywordsyouleft]

The Cowboy - Part 7

Summary: Leaving the city for a rural area called Blayne seemed simple enough. Your task was to convince the people to agree with selling their land for a resort redevelopment. But once there, you soon realise that your city ways are entirely different to theirs. Winning their trust was going to take some effort, and when you start to fall for a local cowboy, you wonder if you really needed Blayne more than the city life after all.

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun x female reader

Genre: cowboy au / drama / romance / if you squint there’s some enemies to lovers up in here.

Warnings: Jung Jaehyun is a cowboy, need I say more? (a bit of angst and drama, and it sometimes might feel like you’re reading a Nicolas Sparks book, so I’m told lol) -- her boss in this part brings up gender.

Word count: 2827

This series will be updated every Thursday and Friday.

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

You hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Perhaps it was because everything that transpired earlier had felt like a dream and closing your eyes made the most sense. You wondered if you had actually been reading one of those novels Natalia had packed for you to pass by a rainy afternoon and conjured up the delicious events that had occurred in your mind until you roused from your slumber.

No. You knew you had been within the strong arms of Jaehyun’s for some time. And after you both became still from the bountiful passion, the last thing you remembered was his lips softly pressing over one of your brows, and your eyes fluttered shut.

You were at peace.

As you became alert again, however, your bliss felt short-lived as panic rose in your chest.

Had Jaehyun spent his afternoon with you and then departed? It did make sense if he had. There was always a lot to do on the ranch and playing around with you all day long would no doubt put further strain on the daily chores.

But it was Sunday, and as Jaehyun stated yesterday, the weekends were for rest.

As you gathered yourself up, wrapping your robe around your body, you looked around your room. There was no sign of the man anywhere. Going into the bathroom next, you saw the pile of damp clothing was gone, including your own.

“Maybe I really did dream it all up,” you mumbled dejectedly, going down the stairs at a snail’s pace, each step descending you further into despair.

Just how much did you like Jung Jaehyun?

You knew part of the dejection came with your past. As a woman with a career, you had often struggled with relationships. You knew of successful people who managed both, but you weren’t so lucky. You invested too much time into your job or personal growth that having a partner felt somewhat of a burden. When you did attempt to make room in your schedule for someone, it never felt genuine enough. You were used to sleeping with corporate bachelors, finding the bed empty of their presence once you woke again. There was nothing that spurred you on to find true romance within the city.

Dream or not, you had hoped Jaehyun would be different.

Slumping into the kitchen, you stopped and blinked rapidly when several sounds and smells hit you at once. It felt foreign to stand there and watch the back of a man over your stovetop cooking something that made a sizzling sound. As you regained some coherency, you realised it was bacon and eggs and the man before you was the one that had travelled with you all the way to Nirvana more than once.

Jaehyun hadn’t gone anywhere.

Overwhelmed with relief and the swelling in your chest, you rushed forward and buried yourself into his back. Jaehyun relaxed into your embrace and chuckled. “Missed touching me that much, huh?”

“You didn’t go.”

“Of course not. That would be rude of me to just—hey. Are you crying?”

You tightened your grip around his waist so he couldn’t turn to confirm his suspicions. Sniffling, you shook your head against him. “No.”

“Have I overstayed? I thought you might be hungry, is all. I figured whilst you rested, I should dry my clothes and then I wanted to make sure you ate something before I left. We’ve been rather physical today, both in and out of the house. You need to regain some energy.”

You pressed your lips into his clothed left shoulder blade and hummed in response. A smile crossed your lips with how relieved you felt. Your emotions, normally well in check, were now over the place and you were surprised with how giddy you were after foolishly crying over his back.

Blayne was surely changing the way you processed things. And Jaehyun was affecting your heart in ways you didn’t quite understand yet.

You didn’t want to try to figure it out either. If you started to apply logic to the situation, you might end up in a position that didn’t allow you to hold onto Jaehyun anymore.

You were too comfortable nestled into him like this.

“You know, I’m trying to cook here.”

“Am I bothering you from doing so?” you queried with a giggle, and Jaehyun moved quickly, a squeak coming from you as he grabbed you and pulled you in front of him. You reached for the spatula he had placed down in the bustle as he wrapped his arms around you. “Oh, so it’s now on me to cook, huh?”

“I wanted to experience what was making you feel so good right now,” Jaehyun murmured into you, peppering you in light kisses over your neck. “I can see why you didn’t want to let go.”

“Missed touching me already?” you teased and grinned when he chuckled softly near your ear.

“You made a bad choice in sleeping with this Cowboy, Y/N.”

“Oh yeah, how so?”

“I might want to keep doing it more often.”

You glanced over your shoulder as you nudged him playfully. “The food is ready. Let’s eat before we discuss where you’re going to bed tonight.”

The new week started with a smile permanently embedded upon your lips. You had kissed Jaehyun goodbye earlier before the sun had risen, knowing he had to get home before the day of work began for him.

You managed to fall asleep for a little longer until your alarm went off, and you happily took a shower and got dressed. You had a Zoom call at ten with Pierce to discuss the planning process so far and took your time preparing for your drive to the township over for stable internet connection.

All whilst humming a happy tune to yourself.

You could tell you were still on a high from the connection made with Jaehyun yesterday. It wasn’t just because of the sex, though you had to admit, he was an exceptionally good lover. Last night, you hadn’t moaned his name around the walls when you climbed into bed with him, though. He had simply held you and told you some stories about his upbringing, and you had shared your own. You felt content. It was a first that you had met someone who wanted to know more about you than what was under your clothes.

It empowered you as you drove down the country roads, stopping when you saw a familiar horse cantering across a field towards you.

Jaehyun pulled Blaze to an easy halt and tipped his hat in greeting at you, and your insides did a somersault. You felt like a teenager experiencing your first crush as you leaned out the window beaming up at him.

“Hello, Cowboy.”

“It’s a good morning today, Miss City. Off to work?”

“I have a Zoom meeting with my boss,” you mentioned, and Jaehyun nodded. You glanced over at another horse in the distance rounding up the cattle. “Shouldn’t you be over there helping poor Avery?”

“Poor Avery? You’re more worried about my cousin than me?” Jaehyun asked as he leaned his forearm onto the horn of the saddle. “I’m wounded.”

“You’ll be fine. The man I spent a lot of time with yesterday seemed pretty strong and capable.”

Jaehyun grinned. “Did he now?”

Avery was now on his way over, and you straightened up in your seat, wiping the adorable smile off your lips. Jaehyun frowned at your sudden disposition and then glanced lazily over his shoulder. “Are we hiding this?”

“No. Yes. No… I mean, I don’t know. People might get the wrong idea.”

“And what idea will that be?”

You scrunched your face up as you answered. “That I’m willing to sleep my way around to get changes here.”

Jaehyun was silent for a moment and then burst into hearty laughter when Avery came to a stop. The newcomer looked between you both and then cocked his head to the side. “What joke did I just miss out on?”

“Miss City here just made my day,” Jaehyun managed to say, adjusting the hat over his head from how amused he had gotten. “I think I’m going to be laughing all day after that one.”

“It wasn’t meant to be funny!” you exclaimed and waved off Avery. “Ignore him. He’s not all with it.”

“He’s been in an exceptionally good mood all morning. Maybe you might know of why, Y/N?”

“Me?!” you asked in an octave higher and shook your head. “I uh-”

“You best get to work before you’re late for that meeting with your city people, Y/N,” Jaehyun reminded, and you gasped, nodding eagerly.

“Good luck!” Avery called, and both men tipped their hats and farewell and turned the horses around.

You watched on only for a moment longer before driving off again.

“What is the status between Jaehyun and me?”

Whilst you didn’t quite know how close you would get to the cowboy, you hoped that what you had experienced over the last twenty-four hours wasn’t the end of it.

With the way Jaehyun had looked at you before, you were certain it was only the beginning.

“I see you’ve assimilated to being one of them,” your boss mentioned with a sly chuckle as he answered your Zoom call. You frowned, and he gestured to your outfit he could see through the video.

“Ah,” you breathed, glancing down at your sundress and then nodded. “I have plans to meet with Mrs Jung here after our meeting today. I didn’t wish to impose on her in office attire. They don’t wear anything quite like it out here.”

“Don’t come back to the office and think you can wear that here. You’re a little too relaxed by the looks of things. I hope you don’t see this as a paid holiday, Y/N.”

“I would never!” you pointed out and then cleared your throat, picking up your copy of your proposal you had printed out at the library just before. With a strained smile, you looked at your boss through the screen. “Shall we start with my recommendations?”

You had only gotten to page eight of your report when Pierce threw it down on the table and leaned back in his chair. “This won’t work.”

“It’s just my preliminary findings, Pierce. I’m still meeting with the people and finding out what they need for this to be pulled off.”

“I don’t care about housing. Where is the report I asked for about my resort land in the first place? We will not be focusing on any of this in our redevelopment, Y/N.”

“Pierce!” you exclaimed, shaking your head at your laptop’s screen. “We need to focus on the development of what’s here first before-”

“We’re not coming into the area to take on the complaints of the people in Blayne and serve their needs first, Y/N. We’re here to scout out the best place for a resort. That’s all. Besides, once we do that, there will be more jobs, and then the development of the county overall will make sense for those to undertake in the area.”

“They won’t agree to it,” you told your boss. “These people need to be offered hope first. They are very closed off to the concept of a resort. What Blayne needs is more housing to help bring in workers to the farms first.”

“When a resort comes into that area, do you think the farms will be at the forefront? Don’t worry about them. Worry about your job. You know, the one I sent you down there to do in the first place. I didn’t take you for being so soft, Y/N. I guess being a woman makes you more sympathetic to these people.”

You gaped at your boss. “That is sexism, Pierce. My gender has nothing to do with how I’m handling things here. Yes, it will mean a delay in building the resort, but I know my idea will lead to the end goal becoming achievable.”

“I don’t care how many people live there.” Pierce steepled his fingers together on top of his desk and leaned closer to his webcam. “They could all get driven out of there for all I care. The resort is what I want to hear about.”

You laughed incredulously. “They’ve been here for generations. They aren’t going to give up their land for any type of pressure you’re suggesting. It was you who told me that I needed to work into the people’s favour, don’t you remember? That’s what I have been doing!”

“Have you? Because all it seems that you can report to me about is a sad township that you want to build up and not about locating the most perfect place for a golf range.”

You clamped your eyes shut in attempts to compose yourself. “I’ve yet to reach page fourteen of the proposal in this meeting. I’ve already noted down where I think the resort and amenities can go once we get the support from the locals.”

Your boss was quiet for a moment, perusing the documents before him and a finger rose to his mouth as he took in the information. A smile grew on his lips. “The back property of the Jungs, you say? Your first mission is to secure that land. Get it to me in two months.”

“Two months?! Are you serious?”

“Deadly. Unless you’re softening to all that country charm they chime on about out there.”

“Blayne needs-”

“I need you to perform your job. Stop worrying about what the people want. Give them what they need. And that is a tourism destination that will bring them greater riches than the bare land and cows ever will.”

_________________

Part 8

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[padmeisqueen]

I’m sending you another character because I just thought of this one! The whole New Girl group, including Coach (I couldn’t pick just one, that’s sacrilegious!)

Ooh okay!

Jessica Day

Why I like them:  I love how quirky she is, and how she’s a feminine feminist. I’ve always loved Zooey Deschanel’s fight for that in general, that you can be feminist but that means you can still love stereotypically feminine things. You can be soft and passive and emotional at times and still be strong. We’re all dimensional and comples. and that really shows with Jess

Why I don’t: Whenever she gets in modes where she tries to “fix” someone

Favorite episode (scene if movie): 1x03 (Wedding) literally one of my favorite episodes of New Girl. The dancing to Groovy Kind of Love is just *chef’s kiss* perfection

Favorite season/movie adaptation: Season 2, gotta love the Nick/Jess tension and build up

Favorite line: “I brake for birds, I rock a lot of polka dots, I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours. And that doesn’t mean I’m not smart and tough and strong.”

Favorite outfit: Literally obsessed with her entire wardrobe I can’t choose

OTP: Nick/Jess

Brotp: Jess & Cece, but I love all her platonic dynamics so much

Head Canon: She’s the mom that has dance parties in the kitchen with the kids and Nick, and builds tents/forts in the living room that they ALL sleep in and leave up for days

Unpopular opinion: Honestly love all her romantic relationships (even though I’m die hard Nick/Jess fan)

A wish: I liked their wedding and what they were going for, but also kind of wish it was more romantic, less quirky

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Her and Nick break up? Her and Cece end their friendship?

5 words to best describe them: Quirky, smart, funny, determined, caring

My nickname for them: Just Jess I guess haha

Nick Miller

Why I like them:  I love his sarcasm, his humor, his care and love for those around him

Why I don’t: I think sometimes his character was back and forth. Like season 1/2 Nick was less ridiculous and responsible I feel? But then like with the Nick/Jess breakup there were times he was just overly falling apart which I sometimes feel just doesn’t match his original character i don’t know

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Technically 1x03, but to give a different answer, 2x15 (Cooler), I mean... that KISS!

Favorite season/movie adaptation: Season 2

Favorite line: “Nick Miller, turning lemonade into lemons since 1981.” I literally quote this ALL THE TIME

Favorite outfit: I love when he wears green and Jess wears pink, it’s such a good costuming detail of the show

OTP: Nick/Jess

Brotp: Nick & Schmidt (special shout out to Nick & Winston though)

Head Canon: He reads to his kids every night before bed

Unpopular opinion: I honestly didn’t like the Reagan relationship (I liked her character, just not her relationship with Nick)

A wish: Same about the wedding with Jess

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Divorce Jess

5 words to best describe them: Sarcastic, funny, reliable, caring, relatable

My nickname for them: Don’t have one!

Schmidt

Why I like them:  I love love love his development as a character and actually really relate to him in later seasons. Also love how stereotypically “feminine” he is and isn’t this macho masculine guy and that’s seen as okay and accepting

Why I don’t: I hate all references to “Fat Schmidt” (very similar to Monica in friends)

Favorite episode (scene if movie): 5x22 (Landing Gear), I’m obsessed with his and Cece’s wedding

Favorite season/movie adaptation: For some reason I’m thinking Season 4

Favorite line: “I want to spend the rest of my life hearing all your stories.”

Favorite outfit: I really love his wedding suit

OTP: Schmidt/Cece

Brotp: Schmidt & Nick (although i LOVE Schmidt & Jess scenes)

Head Canon: He still works from home so he can be a stay at home dad, but also I think he took up party/event planning

Unpopular opinion: I’ll probably never refer to him as Winston Schmidt, I think it’s too weird haha

A wish: I don’t know on this one

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Divorce Cece

5 words to best describe them: Confident, funny, loyal, organized, loving

My nickname for them: Don’t have one!

Winston Bishop

Why I like them:  Everything Winston does is perfect tbh, he’s so funny and weird and I love him

Why I don’t: I honestly can’t think of anything off the top of my head

Favorite episode (scene if movie): 3x01 (All In) The puzzle stuff and him realizing he’s color blind is just iconic

Favorite season/movie adaptation: I feel like season 4?

Favorite line: “I know Word. And I can open a document. Save it. Save as. Print. Print preview.”

Favorite outfit: I love his bird shirts. I know they’re supposed to show he doesn’t have great fashion sense, but honestly I love them

OTP: Winston/Aly

Brotp: Winston & Cece (or tbh Winston & Furguson)

Head Canon: Him and Aly own lots of cats and he has multiple cat trees and towers in their house and it’s just pure and amazing

Unpopular opinion: I don’t think I have one. I guess again just that I genuinely like his fashion style

A wish: Not sure on this one!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Divorces Aly (I know all my answers to this are basically the same haha)

5 words to best describe them: Funny, quirky, confident, caring, loyal

My nickname for them: I mean Winnie the Bish is iconic tbh

Cece Parekh

Why I like them:  How absolutely loyal she is to Jess. We stan positive and developed female friendships.

Why I don’t: I honestly don’t know on this one. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie): 5x22 (Landing Gear), I literally just love thier wedding so much

Favorite season/movie adaptation: Season 3 or 4 I think

Favorite line: “You got hurt, that doesn’t mean you stop trying”

Favorite outfit: I love her end result wedding dress

OTP: Schmidt/Cece

Brotp: Cece & Jess, Cece & Winston

Head Canon: She just continues being super successful and happy

Unpopular opinion: I don’t think I have one?

A wish: I wanted her and Nick to have a better developed dynamic. I loved their scenes together, but feel like there wasn’t enough

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Divorce from Schmidt or end friendship with Jess

5 words to best describe them: Loyal, hardworking, caring, witty, strong

My nickname for them: Don’t have one (just Cece I guess haha)

Coach

Why I like them: His storyline is such a good one for me, as he becomes more complex and grows so much and I just really liked him on the show

Why I don’t: I didn’t really love him that much in the first episode, but maybe it’s because it was just one episode and we didn’t get much of his personality

Favorite episode (scene if movie): 4x22 (Clean Break)

Favorite season/movie adaptation: Season 4

Favorite line: “That boy looks like he was raised in a muffin”

Favorite outfit: For some reason, literally the only outfit I can think of is that green track jacket he wears haha

OTP: Coach/May

Brotp: Coach & Jess or Coach & Winston

Head Canon: He’s the fun uncle to everyone else’s kids and they all love when he comes around

Unpopular opinion: He should have been in more seasons and he should have been in the series finale

A wish: That he was in the series finale

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: That he just is out of the loft group’s lives forever. I just feel like that does a huge disservice 

5 words to best describe them: Confident, funny, supportive, complex, honest

My nickname for them: I guess just Coach haha

Send me a character!

[paralleljulieverse]

It is common knowledge that Star! –– the spectacular 1968 Julie Andrews musical currently celebrating its 50th anniversary –– underwent substantial editing in the wake of its ill-fated US release. Dismayed by the film’s poor box-office and panicked by the rapid downturn in the domestic movie market, Fox executives ordered a series of increasingly drastic cuts to Star!, culminating in the film’s ignominious withdrawal from distribution in June 1969 and subsequent re-release four months later in a radically shortened, re-titled version as Those Were The Happy Times (formerly known as Star!) (Edwards 1993; Holston: 220-21). This sorry tale of post-release hatcheting is part of the historical legend of Star! and also part of its unjust reputation as “the H-bomb of musicals” (Kanfer: 78). 

What is possibly less well-known is that Star! underwent select trimming before its release, as well. At the end of the film’s post-production in April 1968, director Robert Wise had assembled a working rough cut that was shown to studio personnel and test-screened with two preview audiences in Cleveland and Denver in early-May. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Of the 814 preview cards received, 633 rated the film “excellent”, 146 “good” and only 3 marked it “bad” (Edwards). Nevertheless, Wise and editor, William Reynolds, went back to make a number of further adjustments to the film ahead of its global premiere in London in July 1968. Much of this late-stage editing work was relatively minor –– pruning a shot here and there in order to tighten pacing –– but several short narrative scenes were also cut in their entirety. 

None of this material was particularly significant and, given that the final roadshow release of Star! ended up with a marathon running time of 176 minutes –– enough to “test the patience of even those of us enamored with Andrews, musicals, and showbiz dramas” (Betancourt, 2014) –– the cuts were possibly all-to-the-good. Still, it is not difficult to see what these excised scenes were designed to achieve and, in some respects, their loss exacerbated problematic aspects of the film’s narrative complexion. 

What follows is a brief catalogue of the major scenes dropped from Star! They are presented in order of where they originally occurred in narrative sequence. For the most part, details are taken from the final shooting version of the screenplay by William Fairchild, dated 25 January 1967, and augmented where possible with archival material. 

A further sense of where and how these “lost scenes” functioned narratively is provided by the paperback novelization of Star! by Bob Thomas (1968). As discussed in a previous post, novelizations were a popular feature of film culture in the 1960s and 70s. Because they had to be written well in advance of a film’s release, novelizations were typically adapted from shooting scripts and rough cuts and, as with Bob Thomas’s adaptation of Star!, they frequently include narrative material that didn’t always make the final cut.

                               ______________________________

Lost Scene 1: Gertie and the Singing Doughboys

Screenplay Scenes 35-36, 38 (filmed 19 September 1967, Stage 22, 20th Century-Fox Studios) This short sequence occurred immediately after Gertie makes her stagedoor flight from the disastrous Daffodil Girls music-hall performance in Swansea (“In My Garden of Joy”). In it, Gertie is shown hitching a ride with a military supplies lorry back to London in search of better opportunities. An establishing external shot (35) shows the lorry rumbling down a country road past a “London 34 miles” signpost, followed by an internal shot (36) of the driver’s cabin with Gertie sandwiched between two young soldiers in uniform, all singing a lively chorus of “Oh, It’s a Lovely War” (Fairchild: 25; Thomas: 26).  In earlier versions of the screenplay, this short sequence was preceded by a number of additional scenes (33-34) showing Gertie working odd jobs and sleeping in a train station but these were dropped prior to production and never filmed. A further shot (38) that was filmed but subsequently cut during postproduction occurred in the ensuing scene where Gertie arrives in London and sneaks her way into the Lumley Court Theatre in the hope of auditioning for André Charlot. As she stops in the theatre alleyway, Gertie looks up at the poster advertising the new Charlot revue and whispers to herself “quietly but with complete confidence, ’…With Gertrude Lawrence!’” (Fairchild: 28). 

While minor, this cut material clearly worked to underscore Gertie’s driving ambition and her determination to do whatever it takes to realise her dreams of stardom.

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 2: Gertie and Billie Carleton

Screenplay Scene 53 (filmed 29 April 1967, Stage 14, 20th Century-Fox Studios) This scene followed Gertie’s triumphant ‘understudy’ performance of “Burlington Bertie”. After the narrational newsreel footage detailing Armistice Day celebrations and the return of star Billie Carleton to the theatre, Billie is seen backstage surrounded by well-wishers from the troupe. Gertie appears from one of the dressing rooms and comes up to greet Billie with ‘star’ and ‘understudy’ indulging in affectionately bitchy repartee. Played with camp theatricality and lashings of “dahhhlings” and air kisses, the scene highlighted Gertie’s growing sense of hauteur and theatrical confidence, while emphasising her thwarted ambitions. It thus helped preface the later confrontation scene (55) between Gertie and first husband, Jack Roper where he complains, “ever since you’ve been put back in the chorus, it’s been nothing but belly-aching!” (Fairchild: 52). 

Interestingly, this sequence between Gertie and Billie was the only sustained dialogue scene to feature Lynley Laurence, the actress who plays Billie Carleton in Star!. With its excision, Laurence’s role was reduced to a handful of mostly non-speaking scenes, though she would still receive a special featured screen credit in the final film. 

As another interesting aside, the dialogue for the cut scene has Billie Carleton joke that Gertie likely wishes “I’d broken my neck”. The real-life Carleton did in fact die not long after the events depicted here. Following a gala ball at the Albert Hall to celebrate Armistice on 27 November 1918, Carleton returned to her suite at the Savoy Hotel where she was found dead the next day from a cocaine overdose. It was a huge scandal at the time that subsequently formed the basis for Noël Coward’s first hit play, The Vortex (1924) about drug abuse and sexual impropriety in English high society (Hoare: 37-39).

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 3: Gertie and Sir Anthony Go Boating

Screenplay Scene 61 (filmed 29 June, Regent’s Park, London; and 23-24 August 1967, Stage 21, and 8 September, Stage 22, 20th Century-Fox Studios) This was the first of several cut scenes detailing Gertie’s blossoming romance with Sir Anthony ‘Tony’ Spencer (Michael Craig) and, with it, her rise in social status. Immediately following their first dinner date where Gertie alternately titillates and shocks the assembled society guests with ribald theatre stories, Gertie and Tony go on a ‘date’ to the boating lake at Regent’s Park (Fairchild: 60-61). As the pair sit in the rowboat, Tony explains the history of the Park in florid detail as Gertie looks glum and distracted. “Words!”, she says dejectedly, “I look at things and all I can say is –– they’re nice!…You’ve got to teach me more words”, thus highlighting her recognition of the need for increased social sophistication. After a further exchange, Gertie moves in to give Tony a kiss when the rocking of the boat throws her into his arms.

The allusion in this scene to linguistic training sets up a marked Pygamalion / My Fair Lady dynamic with Tony cast as a Professor Higgins-type figure –– albeit, more “patient and kind and wonderful” –– who helps mentor Gertie in the ways of aristocratic high society. There is even a pointed reference in the dialogue to Gertie’s background as a Cockney. Traces of this dynamic remain in the final film, notably in the scene where Gertie arrives at Cesare’s in her new gown and, responding to a compliment about the dress, starts to say “It is rather nice…” when she catches Tony’s eye and quickly corrects herself, “…er…divine, isn’t it?” (Fairchild: 64). 

This scene on the lake involved considerable strategic planning during filming. At the end of a one week period of location shooting in the south of France in June 1967, the production crew proceeded to London for the next stage of filming. Julie, however, flew back to Hollywood, ostensibly to start rehearsals for the big musical numbers, though there is some suggestion she needed to avoid entering the UK for tax purposes (Craig: 151; Land: 296). As a result, location shots on the lake at Regent’s Park had to be filmed using a double to stand in for Julie who sat in the boat with actor Michael Craig. London’s notoriously capricious weather added to the woes with the crew having to wait hours on the day of shooting till 5:00pm when “the sun burst forth long enough to permit the photographing of a brilliant scene”. All the while, “property master, Dennis Parrish, had to toss bread to ducks…to keep them within camera range ready when the time came” (Land: 334-35; also Heffernan: 30). This location footage was then intercut with later process shots of Julie and Michael Craig filmed in front of a blue-screen at Fox studios. Production accounts detail that studio filming for the scene occupied two full days on August 23 and 24 on Stage 21 (Edwards). Despite the work and effort, the dialogue component of the sequence was cut in its entirety and all that remained in the final release print is a few brief insert shots of Gertie and Tony in the rowboat.

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 4: Gertie Gets a Make-Over

Screenplay Scene 63 (filmed 11-13 and 18 September 1967, Stage 16, 20th Century-Fox Studios) Continuing the Pygmalion theme from the previous cut scene, this sequence detailed Gertie’s ongoing social metamorphosis as Tony takes her to the salon of couturier, Julian Brooke-Taylor (Fairchild: 63-64). Of all the cut scenes, this one was possibly the longest with an estimated running time of several minutes.

Here Gertie is introduced to the grand world of haute couture and the even grander character of Julian Brooke-Taylor. Described in the screenplay as “[t]hin, fortyish…not a homosexual, but rather asexual, always appearing elegantly weary but in fact full of creative energy” (Fairchild: 63), Brooke-Taylor was played by Scottish-born character actor, Monty (Monte) Landis. Today, Landis is best remembered for his cavalcade of cameo villains in the cult TV series The Monkees (1968) but he had a long career as a comic actor in theatre and film in both the UK and the US. Prior to Star!, Landis had a string of minor but memorable character cameos in films such as The Mouse That Roared (1959), Charade (1963) and Double Trouble (1967), as well as several popular TV series of the era including The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), Get Smart (1967) and Batman (1967). The latter series was filmed at 20th Century Fox studios at more or less the same time as Star! which is possibly how Landis secured his brief role in the film. 

As detailed in the Fairchild screenplay (63-64) and Thomas novelization (50-51), the lengthy sequence starts with a mid-shot of Brooke-Taylor sitting on a Louis Quinze settee, “an expression of well-bred resignation on his face” (Fairchild: 63). As he spouts a humorously imperious monologue about being “the best couturier in London..many would say the whole of Europe”, the film cuts to a long shot of Gertie and Tony combing through hundreds of glamorous gowns in the gilt and marble salon, “dresses are everywhere –– in a large open wardrobe, draped on chairs and settees” (Fairchild: 63). Gertie picks up dress after dress, “considering it and then, as Tony shakes his head, rejecting it and adding it to the growing discard pile beside Julian” (ibid). All the while, Brooke-Taylor continues his waspish spiel:

“So who am I to complain, my dear Tony, when you invade my salon two hours after it is officially closed in order not to buy but merely to borrow. Please, please, do not for a moment imagine that you are imposing –– just feel completely free to treat me as you would any small, overworked dressmaker around the corner who runs up clever little numbers in her spare time after high tea…” (Fairchild: 63-64).

Finally, Tony finds the perfect dress –– the brilliant black and ruby beaded décolleté gown that Gertie wears to Cesare’s in the next scene. As he holds it up to Gertie, Brooke-Taylor stops mid-breath, “[h]is face lightens, [t]he artist in him beams whole-hearted approval and admiration,” “Ah!,” he purrs, “Yes!” (Fairchild: 64; Thomas: 51).

Other than highlighting Gertie’s continued social transformation, this scene also served to establish the context for Gertie’s subsequent employment as a salon model for Brooke-Taylor in the later fashion show sequence. Its omission from the final print of the film doesn’t cause a major logical inconsistency but it does weaken some of the backstory. From the way it is written, and given Landis’s theatrical comic style, one imagines that the scene would likely have had a ‘comic relief’ tenor not unlike that of the later fashion show where Cathleen Cordell provides such wonderfully humorous flourish as the affected salon vendeuse.  

It’s unclear why the Brooke-Taylor sequence was dropped in its entirety. Production accounts show that more than two full days were spent shooting material for it from 11-13 September 1967 on Stage 16 at Fox Studios, with the fashion show filmed immediately after on the same set from 13-14 September (Edwards). Further retakes were ordered for 18 September which possibly suggests that Wise was unhappy with aspects of the scene as originally filmed/played. Maybe he remained unhappy, maybe the sequence felt out of keeping with surrounding material, or maybe Wise just wanted to reduce an already overlong first half? Either way, the visit to Julian Brooke-Taylor was consigned to the cutting room floor.

Monte Landis, the actor playing Brooke-Taylor, had a bit of an unfortunate run in 1967. At about the same time he filmed his dropped cameo for Star!, Landis also appeared as part of the original line-up for the TV pilot of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, but when the series was subsequently picked up by NBC for what would prove to be a six season run, Landis was let go and replaced by another British comedian (Erickson:108). There was some compensation for the actor when he secured his semi-recurring role as the resident villain in the second season of The Monkees (1968), which as suggested earlier remains his most famous work to this day. As detailed in his iMDB profile, Landis continued to secure intermittent TV work throughout the 70s with cameos in shows such as Hawaii Five-O (1971), Columbo (1971) and Police Woman (1973), as well as the odd big screen film like Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Young Frankenstein (1974). As late as the 80s and early 90s, Landis could still be seen popping up in the occasional episode of The Golden Girls (1987) or comedy film like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Heart Condition (1990).

In between these screen assignments, Landis seems to have done a good deal of live theatre. In an interesting “six degrees” moment, just a few months prior to his work on Star!, Landis appeared in a revival of Lady in the Dark at the Pasadena Playhouse –––– opposite Marni Nixon in the Gertrude Lawrence role, what’s more –– where he reportedly stopped the show with the comic “Tchaikovsky” number  (“Monty Landis Draws”: 35). Landis also found something of a second career as a spiritualist in the 1970s hosting a weekly programme on a Southern California radio station devoted to the occult (Martin: S8). This interest in all things spiritual must have continued as the last press mention we’ve been able to find about Landis reports that, in 2007, he had retired to Palm Springs where he was teaching Kabbalah (Salkin: E1). 

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 5: Gertie at St James Palace

Screenplay Scene 69 (filmed 29 May 1967, Lotos Club, New York City; and 1 July 1967, Westminster School, London ) This brief scene was the third of the excised episodes depicting Gertie’s social metamorphosis courtesy of Sir Anthony Spencer. Immediately following the newsreel insert profiling Gertie’s embrace of “the fads and the fashions of crazy postwar England of the early 20′s” –– doing the Charleston, hot air ballooning, awarding the prize at an auto car race –– and her ascent to royal social circles, this scene showed Gertie and Tony arriving at St James Palace. Resplendent in a fur-trimmed gold brocade cape, Gertie enters the Palace on the arm of Sir Tony looking every inch the princess when, falling back into mock Cockney, she whispers: “D’you think his Royal Highness would mind if I loosened me stays? They’re killing me” (Fairchild: 71).

The scene was clearly designed to highlight Gertie’s triumph in her new “role” as “the glittering darling of society” while remaining true to her irreverent working-class spirit. This theme –– along with the whole Pygmalion-esque subtext –– is explicit in Bob Thomas’s novelization:

“Under Tony’s tutelage, the girl from Clapham was becoming a lady. The metamorphosis was not always easy. Sometimes in the middle of a formal dinner Gertie uttered a cockneyism that sent the table into a roar of laughter. But she always laughed with the other guests –– Gertie never pretended to be anything she wasn’t. And she always listened carefully to Tony’s coaching afterward. He would point out where she said the wrong thing or used the wrong fork. As in the theatre, she learned her cues quickly and never repeated an error” (Thomas: 56).

Like the earlier rowboat scene, this one required a strategic blend of location and studio shooting. The bulk of the interior was filmed with Julie and Michael Craig on 29 May 1967 at the Lotos Club in New York City. Craig was still appearing on Broadway at the time in Pinter’s The Homecoming and this shoot was his very first piece of work for Star!. Additional footage of Gertie and Tony arriving at St James was filmed a few weeks later on 1 July at the Westminster School in London with Craig and a double to stand in for Julie (Edwards).

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 6: Cavalry to the Rescue

Screenplay Scene 86-88 (filmed 3 July 1967, Guards’ Parade, Whitehall, London) This bridging sequence occurred when Sir Anthony Spencer arrives to visit Gertie with his surprise proposal of marriage. Following a series of establishing shots of Tony riding with the Guards on ceremonial parade  –– shots which remain in the final release print of the film –– the original sequence continued to show Tony arriving at Gertie’s London mews house. He dismounts from his horse and passes the bridle to his personal equerry, Corporal of Horse Cooper (Max Faulkner). As he walks towards the rear of the house, still in full regalia “his accoutrements clanking”, Tony passes Gertie’s maid Mary (Barbara Ogilvie) who is carrying a tray of tea and sugar to the guardsmen. The camera stays on Mary as she goes to the guardsmen and chats amicably with Cooper, telling him to feed sugar to the horses “[t]hen you can have your tea” (Fairchild: 82).

Other than the opportunity to further showcase the colourful pomp of the Royal Life Guards –– which, as detailed in an earlier post, had been strategically selected by Wise for the visual impact of their uniforms –– this scene also helped underscore the established intimacy of Gertie and Tony’s relationship. That Gertie’s maid should greet Sir Tony and his Corporal by name and come out prepared with a tray of tea for the brigade indicates that this not-so clandestine morning visit to Gertie via her back door was a routine arrangement for the two lovers.

The actor who appears as Corporal Cooper, Max Faulkner had a long career as a character player and stuntman in British film and TV, possibly best remembered for his work on the cult TV show, Doctor Who. The cutting of the sequence meant that Faulkner lost what little dialogue he had in the film, though he can still be seen riding alongside Michael Craig in the opening shot and reacting to Tony’s sneeze. He can also be seen later in the film in reprise footage of the Life Guards on parade, immediately prior to Gertie and Tony’s visit to the Lord Chamberlain. In this scene, which was filmed on location at the same time as the earlier sequence, Faulkner’s character is front and centre on screen bellowing a series of commands to the mounted Guardsmen. In the original screenplay this establishing shot is followed by an additional brief dialogue scene where Gertie passes the Guards on her way into the Lord Chamberlain’s office and greets Cooper by name (Scene 118). “Good morning Miss Lawrence. Nice to see you back,” the corporal says (Fairchild: 123). When Noel shoots Gertie a questioning look, she explains, “Well, I have been to St James Palace before.”  “For heaven’s sake,” gasps Noel, “don’t mention that!” (Fairchild: 123). 

While Max Faulkner at least made it into the final release print of Star!, Barbara Ogilvie in the part of Mary was less fortunate. With the excision of the dialogue portion of Sir Tony’s arrival at Gertie’s house, her role disappeared completely. A native Londoner, Ogilvie carved out a solid career playing character parts on UK TV, including a regular stint in the mid-70s on the long-running soap opera, Emmerdale. Possibly due to production logistics or possibly to help denote the passage of time, Gertie is given a different maid later in the film, Dorothy who is played by Matilda Canan.

                              ______________________________

As stated at the outset, it is not difficult to understand why these various scenes were cut from Star! Their excision reduced an already over-long running time and arguably helped tighten pacing. Nevertheless, one can equally appreciate the intent behind these scenes and their role in furthering character and plot. 

One of the most common criticisms made of Star! is that its episodic revue format works against optimal narrative development and, with it, audience identification. Squeezed into brief segments between the film’s mammoth musical performances, Gertie’s life is rendered via a series of epigrammatic highlights with a surfeit of information and dazzle, but not a lot of emotional depth. As Richard Schickel (1968) writes in a characteristic example of this critical complaint:

“William Fairchild’s Star! script, ranging over a [long] period of Gertrude Lawrence’s career, deals in types rather than people, romances rather than loves. It is always at a documentary distance from its subject and her world. Maybe she was unknowable, in the full biographical sense, but we must have the illusion of knowledge, a sense of motives more subtle and complex than we receive” (10).

Moreover, the fact that Star! is a theatrical revue style musical where the numbers are staged as semi-realist replications of Gertie’s theatrical performances, and not as organic expressions of character and narrative as is the case in an integrated ‘book’ musical, means that whatever sense we get of Gertie and her story can only really come from the bridging moments in-between. As director Robert Wise reflected in later years:

“People often ask me why [Star!] didn’t work…It’s hard to find answers. Maybe [audiences] just weren’t prepared to like Julie in the kind of character Gertie Lawrence was. Maybe we spent too much time on musical numbers and didn’t spend enough time digging into her character, getting the kind of contact of the audience with what made her tick. With The Sound of Music, we certainly made contact with the audience in terms of the relationship between Maria and the children and the Captain. The audience knew where everybody was coming from basically” (Leeman, 195).

It’s doubtful that the excised material profiled here would have made much of an appreciable difference in this regard. Like applying a band-aid to a gaping wound, the film’s narrative deficiencies required more substantial revisions than the inclusion of a couple of minor book scenes. Still, these scenes do at least gesture towards expanded character development and suggest several lines that might have been profitably mined in a more carefully structured narrative treatment. 

Finally, it is not known if any of this edited material from Star! still exists. If it does, the chance of it seeing light of day is sadly remote. Cut footage from the Fox-Wise-Andrews megahit, The Sound of Music has never surfaced, suggesting a studio history of either outright junking or public embargo. Moreover, if the material were available, it would surely have been included as part of the comprehensively packaged laserdisc release that accompanied the film’s 25th anniversary in 1993. Still, hope springs eternal and maybe the ‘lost scenes of Star!’ will finally appear as part of that deluxe 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray release that we know just has to be round the corner!

Sources:

Betancourt, Manuel. “Robert Wise Centenary: Star! (1968).” The Film Experience. <http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2014/9/9/robert-wise-centenary-star-1968.html>. 2014.

Craig, Michael. The Smallest Giant: An Actor’s Life. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2005.

Edwards, T.J. “The Saga of ‘Star!’”. Star! Special Edition LaserDisc. Beverley Hills, CA: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1993.

Erickson, Hal. ‘From Beautiful Downtown Burbank’: A Critical History of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co, 2000.

Fairchild, William. Star! Screenplay. Final version. 25 January, 1967.

Heffernan, Harold. “Squeaky Sound Stage Troubles ‘Star’.” Philadelphia Daily News. 18 August 1967: 30.

Hoare, Philip. Oscar Wilde’s Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1997.

Holston, Kim R. Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showing, 1911-1973. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co, 2013.

Kanfer, Stefan. “Cinema: Quarter Chance.” Time. 96: 4. 27 July 1970: 78.

Land, Kevin. “Recreating Four Decades of Modern History for Star!”. American Cinematographer. 50: 3, March 1969: 294-266, 332-336.

Leeman, Sergio. Robert Wise on His Films: From Editing Room to Director’s Chair. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 1995.

Martin, Bob. “TeleVues: They Have the Spirit, It Says.” Independent Press-Telegram. 5 August 1973: S8.

“Monty Landis Draws Many Laughs in ‘Lady’”. Independent Star News. 15 January 1967: 35.

Salkin, Judith. “Building One’s Character.” The Desert Sun. 18 November 2007: E1.

Schickel, Richard. “Two Stars: One Glowing One Dim.” Life. 65: 19. 8 November 1968: 19.

Thomas, Bob. Star! New York: Bantam, 1968.

Images: 

“70 mm cinema film strip” by Zigmej, CC BY-SA 3.0 [Adapted].

STAR!, 1968 [Laserdisc], R. Wise, Fox Video, 1993.

St Hilaire, Al. Photographic Contact Sheets for STAR! [Unpublished], 1967.

Twentieth Century Fox, STAR! Press Kit and Publicity Materials, 1968.

Special thanks to Hanne.

Copyright © Brett Farmer 2018

[mikegranich87]

Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic hands-on: Worry not, Tizen fans

We knew the Galaxy Watch 4 was coming, and that it would run the new Wear OS Samsung co-engineered with Google. We even saw previews of what it would look like. But that doesn't mean there's nothing left to learn about Samsung's latest smartwatches. The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch Classic 4, which launched today, feature a new 3-in-1 sensor, sharper screens and can even perform body fat scans. At a demo event in New York, I was able to check them both out and see what Wear OS on a Galaxy watch looks like.

Before we get too far ahead though, it’s worth noting that Samsung’s getting rid of the “Active” branding from its existing lineup — the Watch 4 is the spiritual successor to the Watch Active 2 (there wasn’t an Active 3). Meanwhile, it’s adding the “Classic” moniker to the previous “regular” Watch line, which the Watch 4 Classic is now the latest member of. Yep, not confusing at all.

The new Wear OS on Samsung is basically Tizen

Setting aside the frustrating rebranding, Tizen fans have nothing to worry about with the new OS on the Watch 4s. There’s barely any difference. The main change I noticed is that instead of All Apps being one of the pages that you come across when swiping sideways through the watch, you can now access them by pulling up from the home screen. Otherwise, you can still swipe horizontally to scroll through widgets and cards like Weather, Exercise, Heart Rate and Stress, while quick settings are above the home screen.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

This similarity to Tizen is something Samsung and Google are aware of. A Google spokesperson told Engadget that Wear OS 3 lets device makers add customized user experiences on top of the platform, like picking specific apps and services to be the default options. Though the two companies collaborated to “bring together the best of Wear OS and Tizen into one unified platform,” it’s becoming evident that smartwatch makers will still bring distinct identities to their devices.

To distinguish between different versions of Wear OS, there will be unique branding as well. For example, the Galaxy Watch 4 series is running “Wear OS powered by Samsung.”

It’s still unclear what Wear OS 3 will look like on other devices, but a Google spokesperson added that “while we expect many watches to have this experience in the future, there will start to be new consumer experiences introduced to the ecosystem.” Confusing? Potentially. But for now, it sounds like, while Google and Samsung did collaborate on a unified wearable platform, Galaxy smartwatches will run what amounts to a renamed version of Tizen with better third-party app support. 

There are updated Google Maps, Messages, Pay and YouTube Music experiences, along with new apps and Tiles from Calm, MyFitnessPal, Strava, Sleep Cycle, Spotify and more. The Play Store is also available on the Galaxy Watch 4 for wrist-based discovery and installation, while Samsung’s One UI interface makes it easier to keep your phone and watch themes and notifications in sync.

Minor cosmetic updates

On the Watch 4 Classic, you’ll find Samsung’s hallmark rotating the bezel for spinning through widgets. Like the Galaxy Watch 3, the mechanical wheel is lighter and less clunky than older models, while still getting into each notch with a satisfying click.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The larger variants of both the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic feature sharper 450 x 450 displays, while remaining basically the same size as before. The Classic now comes in 42mm and 46mm options versus 41mm and 45mm before, and the regular or Active models are still available in 40mm and 44mm. Also, Samsung is offering the Classic style in black, silver or green, and the standard edition in black, silver or pink.

In person, the black and silver Watch 4s looked like green and white, respectively, though that might have something to do with the warm lighting in our demo area. And though they have bigger faces than I like, the Watch 4 felt comfortable on my wrist — so much so that I forgot I was wearing one and almost walked out of our briefing with it on. Meanwhile, the Watch 4 Classic, which weighs 46.5 grams (or 52 grams in the 46mm size), felt heavier and more noticeable.

A new sensor and processor

Hardware improvements to the Watch 4 series don’t end at aesthetics. The biggest change this year is what Samsung is calling a new 3-in-1 BioActive sensor. The three here refers to optical heart rate, electrical heart rate and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). In addition to a smaller design that uses one chip to run the trio of sensors, this also enables a new feature: Body Composition measurement.

I’m super excited for this new service, since I like the additional insight that my body fat percentage brings to my understanding of my overall health. BMI is only one facet of your general fitness (and not a great one at that), and having a convenient way to get a body fat scan is something I’ve been looking for. I’ve been using Amazon’s camera-based tool in its Halo app to get a reading every month (the most accurate method would be to visit a doctor for a full DXA scan, but I’ve yet to take one).

Mat Smith / Engadget

I used the preview units of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic to take two separate readings of my body composition. It was surprisingly easy. All I had to do was fill in my gender, height and weight, then hold my middle and ring fingers against the two buttons on the watch for about 15 seconds. Both times, the smartwatches gave me a result of 30.8 percent, which is a little higher than what I usually get from Amazon’s app, but not too far off.

Other improvements to health-tracking include new snoring detection via a compatible smartphone, more accurate sleep-logging and faster auto-detection of workouts. Overnight, too, the Watch 4s will measure your blood oxygen level. Of course, I couldn’t test the sleep-related features at our brief preview session.

The Watch 4 series are also the first Galaxy Watches to sport 5nm processors, with a 20 percent faster CPU, 50 percent more RAM (16GB) and a GPU that’s 10 times speedier than the previous generation, according to Samsung. From my limited experience with them, the Watch 4s certainly felt fast, but I’d need more time in the real world to know how they hold up against the likes of Apple and Fitbit.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Samsung also promises up to 40 hours of battery life on the Galaxy Watch 4 series, though versions with LTE will likely have shorter runtimes. When you run out of juice, you should be able to get up to 10 hours of power in 30 minutes, too.

Along with the sleep-tracking features and overall performance improvements, battery life is another thing I look forward to testing on the Galaxy Watch 4 when we receive review units. The wearables go on sale on August 27th, though you can pre-order them today, with the smaller Watch 4 starting at $250 and the Watch 4 Classic costing $100 more. 

While I’m stoked about the body composition measurement feature, I’m not yet convinced that the new Galaxy Watches with Wear OS powered by Samsung can take on Apple’s watchOS. But, at least based on my early impressions, Samsung continues to have the best smartwatch for Android users, even if that’s not a very high bar.

Follow all of the news from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event right here!

from Mike Granich https://www.engadget.com/galaxy-watch-4-hands-on-price-specs-availability-wear-os-tizen-body-composition-fat-scan-140031859.html?src=rss

[loveinpanem-blog]

A Candle For The Caribbean: Charity Anthology

Titles and Summaries of Stories and Fanart

The outpouring of support from artists and donors has been truly inspiring. As of today, we’ve raised $1650.00 in funds, all donated directly to organizations supporting the ongoing relief efforts in the Caribbean.

We’ve received the first proof of the anthology, including the list of works being offered. For a minimum donation of $10.00 to any reputable charity supporting victims of Hurricane Maria, you can receive this collection in e-format containing all the creative works from The Hunger Games, Outlander and Overlander fandom, to be published on December 7th. We will continue accepting receipts through the end of January, 2018. Send these to titania522@gmail.com.

Below the cut, you will find a preview of all the stories and works being offered, including the titles, authors and story summaries or opening paragraphs of the works to be published.

We here at Love in Panem cannot express enough how grateful we are for the number and quality of stories and the number of people who’ve stepped up to contribute to this cause. This includes the wonderful banner makers and betas who have made this anthology a success.

Without further ado, find the list and summaries of artists below. A warning: It is quite a long list :)

Table of Contents

The Hunger Games

5 Winds by @lollercakesff

Summary: When the winds of fate blow, there is no stopping these emergency responders from rushing in. After five disasters and five collisions of fate, can they finally find each other?

Capitol Gym by @neverstopwhileyoureahead

Summary: Katniss would do just about anything for her little sister. It's why she reluctantly agreed to be her plus one to Capitol Gym. What she didn't expect was for a blue-eyed employee to make her suffering a little more bearable.

Como Duele by @mega-aulover

Synopsis: Katniss Everdeen world flips upside down after her beloved father dies. She takes on the responsibility to care for her mother and the Coffee Bean Hacienda. Everything goes from bad to worse when she is forced to marry Peeta Mellark. In the midst of a storm things take a dangerous turn when people who have crossed her end up dead.

Costra Nostra by @shesasurvivor

Summary: Katniss Everdeen is a performer for The Mockingjay, a hotel and casino run by mob boss Coriolanus Snow in Las Vegas. Peeta Mellark is the accountant who might be a plant for the FBI in The Mockingjay’s business office. The two are instantly drawn to each other, but how can anything possibly end well when they are on two opposing sides? Especially when the mob will have no problem harming Katniss’s sister if she betrays them. 1950’s historical AU set in mob-run Las Vegas.

Death, Time, Love by @elricsister            

Summary: verlark contemporary AU. Katniss has lost everything, she hates Peeta and just wants to be left alone. The visit of three strangers spanning 12 years will hopefully change that.

Forever, My Muse by @alwayspeetamellark

He needed new inspiration and fast. It was over four months ago he had his last exhibition and this creative rut had found him. Simply nothing was coming out right. He had tried everything, from taking a trip and getting away from things but to no avail. He still lacked the inspiration and when he put brush to canvas nothing came to life, as it should have.

From Peeta with Love by @PatriziaNordsee

July 2017 - Peeta / Lufthansa Flight 707 to Puerto Rico

10 hours is a long time. How will I spend 10 hours sitting in the economy class of a plane with nothing to do but wait? Nothing to do with my hands and nothing to think about but the reason why I left Germany and am now on a plane to Puerto Rico. Left the country I called home for such a long time.

Now flying into the Caribbean. 10 hours is all it will take to bring me from Frankfurt in Germany to Juan Santa María International Airport. 10 hours to transfer my soul from Germany to Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Force 5 by @thegirlfromoverthepond

Peeta was exhausted.

Or rather, he was beyond exhaustion.

He wished he could find solace in the landscape in front of him. The endless blue of the sea, marked here and there with little puffs of white, meeting the sky, in a never ending palette of blues. It would be breathtaking if he could take his mind of the disaster all around him.

Let’s Hurt Tonight by @katnissdoesnotfollowback

Summary: Inspired by (not based on) the film Collateral Beauty and the associated song, Let’s Hurt Tonight by OneRepublic, a short peek into the lives of the Everdeen women. Canon compliant.

Love Letters by @javistg

Summary: Katniss Everdeen learns about her past as she gets ready to face her future. Everlark. Canon-compliant (mostly), Post Mockingjay, Pre-Epilogue.

My Favorite Mistake by @titaniasfics

Summary: They begin as simple acquaintances who quickly become confidantes. When Katniss Everdeen’s friendship with a very-married Peeta Mellark morphs into something deeper, mistakes are made that will change their lives forever.

Panem Cruises by @alliswell21

Synopsis: Everlark meet in a cruise ship, where mishap after mishap brings them to a happily ever after.

Perhaps, Maybe by @everlarkingjoshifer

Weariness bore her sleep addled thoughts as Katniss leaned her head against the car window while rows and rows of unlit mast poles passed by. Blinking slowly she suppressed a yawn as yet another tree the length of a small apartment building whisked by. Furrowing her eyebrows, she tried to guess which kind it could be, but it passed by too quickly and her sluggish thoughts fogged her memory. Unable to conceal yet another yawn Katniss repositioned herself against the all too comfortable seat.

“Tired?” Peeta asked giving her a sweet smile.

‘No shit Sherlock,’ she internally said but thought better of it, choosing instead to just shrug nonchalantly.

Not With Haste by @llmarmalade

Summary: Prim and Peeta were never reaped, Peeta married Delly Cartwright who died and Katniss never married. The Revolution occurred naturally after President Snow died. Prim was killed in the City Circle bombing.

Redemption by @notanislander

She sits alone in the sand overlooking the bay. After pulling the overnight shift at the hospital, this is her favorite place to be. The sounds of the waves crashing and the gulls calling to each other gives her a sense of calm that she cannot seem to find anywhere else. The breeze softly blowing her hair soothes her. She’s glad it’s high tide though, sometimes the smells at low tide are a bit overpowering. She sits there, contemplating the past few days, contemplating her life, contemplating what brought her here to 4. And why she stayed.

Ride Through the Meadow by @savvylark

“Get back on the saddle. Just like riding a bike.” Johanna's words echo in my head as I ride my way through to short cut through the meadow to my favorite park. That’s the problem, dating is nothing like riding a bike. There’s a focus, you can see the terrain ahead of you and know what you’re facing. There’s a clear goal and destination in mind and, if you have a companion on your journey, you keep the same pace, there’s an understanding with the common goal ahead that spurs one another on.

Smitten With You by @litlifelover

These days Katniss enjoys her life as an editor for children's books, which can be stressful at times, but never to the degree of her former career as an event planner. She likes her quiet evenings and lazy weekends, loves that she can visit her family regularly and is able to spend time with her nephews. There’s even the flexibility to meet with Madge after a work day, enjoy a cup of coffee and talk about everything best friends talk about.

Someday by @norbertsmom

Summary: In this Everlark take on West Side Story, Katniss is a Puerto Rican girl living in the Seam neighborhood of the town of Panem. Peeta is a white baker’s son living in the merchant area. Their families each belong to rival gangs. Can the star crossed lovers survive when the feud comes to a head?

That’s How You Change The World by @geekymoviemom

I wake, shivering, in the dark of the night. Peeta is passed out cold, the morphling I shot into his arm nearly three hours ago keeping the worst of his pain at bay, at least for now. But it’ll be all too soon before he wakes again, startling with the intensity of his agony before he remembers that moving makes it all that much worse.

The Buzz Around Town by @florence68blog

Due to unfortunate circumstances, the relationship between Peeta and Katniss ended before it even began. Ten years later they meet again. However, the only thing Peeta is able to observe is that Katniss is even more unreachable than ever …

The Lucky Ones by @historywriter2007

West Virginia, December 1969.

“Peeta Mellark, you need to get back here and fix this right now.” Glimmer screeched.

Peeta stopped halfway down the walk to turn and face his fiancé. Her blue eyes were clouded with anger, he thought she would understand but obviously, he was wrong.

“There's nothing I can do, Glimmer. I got my draft notice, I'm not going to turn my back on my country.” Peeta raised the letter in his hand, his blood began to boil, how could she not see this was the right thing to do?

Too Familiar by @hutchhitched

Katniss smiled as she read the text messages that flashed on her phone screen. Her co-worker and friend, Peeta Mellark, and she had enjoyed a running commentary for the past few months—ever since they both begrudgingly admitted that they shared the same corny sense of humor. Katniss found him remarkably funny and had lost track of the times she’d (literally) laughed out loud at a quip he’d sent.

Unsafe Waters by @jobanana7

Sept 6th JFK international airport The day was finally here. After a month apart from his love, he was coming home and he was ready for it. Before his company asked him to go to New York to do this presentation that Peeta hadn’t thought would take so long, he asked her dad for permission to marry her before he left. Had she known he did she would’ve teased at him for sure but he was ready with his Grandma Sae’s rings on his person and a beautiful would be bride by his side. He was ready. He just hoped she would accept his proposal.

When You Kiss Me…by @chele20035

Dog trainer Katniss Everdeen got to help wounded vet, Peeta Mellark. Neither one knew what to expect when they receive invites to a special New Year’s Eve ball in London, England.

Outlander

Jamaica by @bonnie-wee-swordsman

Summary: A scene that we haven’t yet gotten in Outlander canon, even four books afterward: Brianna tells Jamie about the dream she had about her parents being in Jamaica. Based upon Voyager (Chapter 61) for Jamie’s side of the event, and Drums of Autumn (Chapter 40) for Brianna���s, so expect spoilers for both.

Memories Of The Moon by @phoenixflames12

He sits on the white boulder below the cave, gazing up at the moon. The cup of weak stew that Young Jamie had brought up that evening clasped between hands that are numb with cold.

Multifandom

Hackers Unite by @lilyaceofdiamonds

Alec Hardison sat at his computers a few days after the Irma and Maria hurricanes hit the islands in the Caribbean. Parker and Eliot were off buying supplies, they had just finished a job in New York. Hardison was just testing a program to search for any potential clients that Leverage, Inc could take on when his laptop dinged with a new email.

Sense8

Resist and Bite by @fiftyeightminutes

BPO has Wolfgang. The August 8th cluster have Whispers and Jonas. What is the cluster willing to risk in order to get back their missing piece?

Fanart

Jamie and Claire by @ombradellaluna

Gregor the Overlander by smokestarrules (deviantart)

Banner Makers

@akai-echo

@everlarkingjoshifer

@damndonnergirls

See you on December 7th!

[aion-rsa]

Event Leviathan Brings Espionage and Mystery Back to the DC Universe

http://bit.ly/2Y0az8u

The DEO, ARGUS, and other secret DC Universe organizations are in trouble, and Event Leviathan is the biggest DC Universe mystery of all.

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Interview Aaron Sagers

DC Entertainment

May 1, 2019

Brian Michael Bendis

It’s the Year of the Villain at DC, and it should be no mystery that Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s event Event Leviathan will be one of the many things upsetting the status quo for the DC Universe. Following a thinning of DC’s black-ops and covert government agencies, the six-issue miniseries gathers the universe’s greatest detectives to find out what, and who, is the new Leviathan.

Currently the prelude “Leviathan Rising” is unfolding in Bendis’ Action Comics, with a prologue chapter in the 25-cent DC’s Year of the Villain issue (on sale today) and the Superman: Leviathan Rising Special, available May 29. From there, Event Leviathan launches June 12.

In the first issue of a story arc Bendis calls “monumental,” the DEO, Spyral, ARGUS, SHADE, Doom Patrol, and even the Kobra Cult are reduced to ash -- and Batman and Lois Lane are standing on ground zero of a potential new world order. The events appear bigger than Talia al Ghul’s Leviathan, and as events unfold, it would appear everyone is a suspect.

But the real puppet master in DC’s whodunit is Bendis, who joined Den of Geek for a preview of Event Leviathan, and offered up teases about the detective story, which super sleuths are involved (including the return of The Question), and why he and co-publisher Dan DiDio decided to cull the DC spy agencies. He also discusses why eagle-eyed readers will be rewarded.

Den of Geek: Before we delve too deeply into the miniseries, in Part 4 of “Leviathan Rises” (Action Comics #1010), an undercover Lois and Clark go into a store called Coates' Books. Care to deflate those internet rumors that you were teasing the arrival of Ta-Nehisi Coates to DC?

Brian Michael Bendis: [laughs] I don’t use the real estate of the page for secret messages to other comic creators. I could email him. It is a reference to a crime writer [Ian Coates], but I appreciate everyone immediately went to me using the pages to send secret messages.

read more: DC's Dark Nights Metal Ending Explained

Within that bookstore, though, there are several mystery and espionage titles (Three Days of the Condor, The Janus Directive, The Manchurian Candidate). Is this a tease of what’s to come?

I like it because it gets into the mindset of the story, which is there are secrets to figure out. People are looking all through the artwork for clues. I also wanted to reference other literary experiences nodding to excellent genre mashups of spy and something else. And I love throwing out titles like The Janus Directive. There are fans who may not know how cool that story is.

At the end of a mystery tale, we often see all the threads coming together, and realize the answer was right in front of us all along. Will that be the case with Leviathan?

Yes, and to add to that, the audience will see the red herrings Leviathan put out – and specifically why it relates to the characters. There will be false clues, but even those are clues. It’s very Agatha Christie.

Who are the underestimated detectives of DC you’re enjoying playing with?

The Question, which I’m happy to be re-introducing to the readership. He/She was off the table for so long, so re-introducing The Question has been a real joy. Also Green Arrow and Plastic Man. And no, I don’t mean Elongated Man. Plastic Man has a very specific expertise here.

read more: Justice League, the Legion of Doom, and the Nature of Evil in the DC Universe

Why should these very different personalities work together?

These detectives are all being set up because they are high-end suspects for who Leviathan is. Not only are they trying to prove who Leviathan is, they are also trying to prove it’s not them so they can get back to work. Part of what Leviathan is doing is causing a smattering of distracting clues and false leads because he is not done with his opening salvo. And he needs Batman talking to the wrong person for like six more hours before they’re done. The detectives figure this out, and now have to work together to solve this literally before dawn. Whatever bad happened in Action Comics was just the table setting for what’s coming next.

You just said “before dawn,” so how much time does the miniseries span?

It is a very concentrated amount of time, but I don’t want to say too much. What’s interesting to me about the series is Alex and I were specifically looking to attack this story as a different kind of event. In doing so, we have a detective event along the lines of Murder on the Orient Express, or Death Trap, or Sleep – very intense psychological detective thrillers. It is a head scratcher, and you have to think like Batman.

What are the different styles of sleuthing these characters excel at?

You have the reporter Lois Lane, facts first, unpack it later. You have got Batman’s detective philosophy, which is all over the place, but very specific to clues no one else sees. He has trained his brain to look at the world unlike anyone else. The others have specific experiences, which I’ll get to in the story. And they are interrogating each other, on top of everyone else. Not only are they suspects, the people around them are as well.

What was the conversation between you and Alex Maleev about the artistic approach for this story?

Over many years we’ve been offered a lot of stuff at DC, but I could tell Alex wanted to do a Batman thing with me. We had a scratch that never got itched. When I was coming to DC, and said we were going to do creator-owned stuff at DC, he literally said, “and Batman!” That’s how much it meant to him. He had been working on the style he’s been doing in our book Scarlet for the last couple years. He has been working at this level, and style, for a few years. It got developed in Scarlet, and when he applied it directly to our story in Detective Comics #1000, we said this is what our book will look like. After many years of working together, it was the most shortcut of conversations.

How paranoid should the readers be? Should we trust the heroes?

We don’t know whose word to trust, but we will know at the end. People don’t like to not trust everybody for a long period of time. So, by the end of the series, you’ll know who Leviathan is, why they did what they did, how they did it, and what’s going forward. And what’s going forward is a pretty enormous thing for the DC Universe.

read more: Year of the Villain Leads to the Biggest Event in DC Universe History

Not only is this story being told, but a shape is being set in DC for villainy that will open up a lot of story for a lot of people. From the 25-cent issue, I think people are going to be surprised how much this is going to impact Batgirl, and Green Arrow. And at the last page, we drop a bomb in dialogue. Nobody is safe. There are a lot of suspects here, and they are all valid.

You quickly clean house of all the various spy agencies within the DCU. Is this a new status quo?

When I first came to DC, Dan DiDio sat me down and said one thing that bothered him about the universe was we have 40 organizations that do the same thing. They were all created out of love, and by good people. But it’s so redundant it’s hard to tell a potent story. The idea of doing, “and then there was one” of the organizations, but that organization becoming too big to handle is exciting. So it’s a no backs on the status quo. These organizations are gone. But they are being replaced by some things that will be revealed in Event Leviathan, and pulled out into the DC Universe that will hopefully be the best version of the things people liked about the other organizations. It is consolidating it down to something anyone can understand.

What is the balance is giving each of these characters their moment?

Batman is walking us into a crime scene, but when he gets there, there are four or five suspects, and each of them are detectives with a unique experience. Batman and Lois introduce us into this story, but it’s going to go in other areas. People know Batman is not Leviathan, but everyone else is up for grabs.

Who else’s detective skills will readers be surprised by?

I have intentionally not been mentioning Kate Spencer, Manhunter. I haven’t mentioned Damian, and there’s stuff behind Green Arrow that’s pretty interesting. And in the very first issue is Steve Trevor. The suspect list is going to get pretty high, pretty fast.  

What are companion pieces readers should check out between issues to continue the mysterious tone?

I am going to be that during the whole event, and tweeting out reading lists, because I had such a great time doing research for this. If people are into it, they’ll want to read what I read. Our research for this went pretty deep. I spoke at Langley, and have been there a couple times. We have been doing research for this for a couple years.

Do you have any advice to readers diving into this as they try to figure the mystery out?

It’s a mystery story, and those are tough on the internet. People announce they know the answer. I can’t respond to everyone’s answer, and say some are right, or some are wrong. I have to be cool, and let it unfold. So, let it unfold. The things you’re feeling in the first couple issues, you may feel very different about by issue five, or six. Stay open minded. It is such a dangerous story, and I know some fans are going to get very worried.

from Books http://bit.ly/2GTA31I

[eagleseyenetwork-blog]

Quality vs. Quantity - Which Do you Prefer?

There has a been a lot of buzz going in the entertainment industry especially if you are a science fiction fan and mainly about a show called Battlestar Galactica.

How did Battlestar Galactica came about and what is it about? Well, Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978 whose first episode “Saga of a Star World” , which premiered in September 17, 1978 and was followed by a short-run sequel series (Galactica 1980), a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games. A re-imagined version of Battlestar Galactica aired as a two-part, three-hour miniseries developed by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick in 2003. That miniseries led to a weekly television series, which aired until 2009. A prequel series, Caprica, aired in 2010.

Well, we have been following two groups of people who have built something wonderful in honor of the show. Now, what motivated them to take such an undertaking, the reasoning behind it will only be known to them. One group is located in the United Kingdom called Yorkshire Props. They have 15 years of experience in creating bespoke props in a wide range of materials for events, collectors, film, and TV. In other words, it’s their bread and butter.

Yorkshire Props recently debuted a full scale Viper ( constructed in just three months according to the builder) and granted a limited sneak preview ( by invitation only ), before their December 2-3, 2017 located in Longbridge Road Tratford Park in Manchester, United Kingdom. People that were able to be a part of the sneak preview thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the site of a full scale Classic Series Viper. It is to our understanding that it is the first one built and seen in the United Kingdom. The built was phenomenal because not too many people or group can say, they did it because it is a lot of hard work put into the building of one. And of course , everyone was very happy to be the first one to have such a built. But upon further review of the Classic Battlestar Galactica Viper by Yorkshire Props, all we can say is that , they should have taken their time to build it properly. It has many flaws and inaccuracies that people just don’t want to acknowledge. We completely concur that no built is perfect and as they say “ Rome wasn’t build overnight!” But still! And here are some of the inaccuracies we found just to name a few. The first four photos are of the U.K. build and the rest are of the U.S. Built!

1. The Viper is incomplete for the sneak preview. It was stated to us by someone that is a part of the discussion that more work will be done before the December show. But if that is the case, why are they are already working on another project? Are we led to believe that this is truly the work of a one man band? The one man band must never be sleeping to accomplish so many things at one time. But, the benefit of the doubt must be given accordingly until proven otherwise.

2. The cockpit does not look like a Viper cockpit at all. We included here a copy of the original Classic Series Viper cockpit that was used in the show. The cockpit does not look like people ( fans of the show ) can sit in it.

3. The nose of the Viper is too long and thin. The measurement is way off.

4. The two pieces of the fuselage meet, needs to be more plumb. And it also need the red stripe down the fuselage too.

5. The original Classic Series Viper didn’t have lights on the wings. This built had strobe lights on the wings. A nice effort and touch but not needed and does not belong there.

6. No landing gear. The Viper ended up looking like those mini die-cast figure from Hasbro.

These are just some of the inaccuracies we saw on the built. But nevertheless, it is truly a great creation. But the overall quality of the viper built by Yorkshire Props, is not there. And based on what we saw on their page and on their own posting, it looks like the budget and the amount of time given and put into the building of the Viper, played a big part in the poor quality of the built. And this is just our humble opinion.

Now, the other group that we are watching is from the United States. They are called Team BSG Viper and they are located in Houston, Texas. They are part of a much larger and well recognize fan group dedicated to Battlestar Galactica, called Battlestar Raven. Now, Battlestar Raven is the leading group for an organization dedicated too to Battlestar Galactica called Battlestar Galactica Fan Club. And based on their website, they have just recently celebrated their 17th Anniversary as an organization. That is quite impressive to have been around for that long and still thriving.

In doing our research and following this group’s built from the start, which coincidently was a self-funded project by this group , the Classic Series Viper built they are doing started out as what they call “ the Viper Simulator”. It’s basically a working cockpit only. And when we say a working cockpit, we mean a working cockpit. It has blinking lights, buttons to push, a working screen that makes people of all ages, be a kid again and your inner geekiness to come out, when you are inside the cockpit. The Viper Simulator was seen by the public for the first time this past May 12-14, 2017 at a convention called Comicpalooza. The venue was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in the great state of Texas in Houston.

What is so inspiring about this built is the amount of preparation they had put into the presentation of the Viper Simulator along with other props. You can tell they had put a lot of hard work into it because of the many smiles you see when fans of the show, get inside the Viper Simulator and after they walk away from it. It didn’t matter how old they were. The smile kept coming. Just look at the photos from the recent convention that it was at on their Facebook page : @ClassicViper

But the one thing that caught our attention completely are some of the recent photos they have , posted on their fan page and the recent live video update they did. This live video update took us, the viewers, on a step by step tour of how they started their construction of the Viper Simulator and now, turning it into a full studio scale Viper. The live preview update was conducted by Team BSG Viper’s one and only Master Builder, Karl Kuhlenschmidt. The step by step presentation was very informative and gave us viewers, the inside look of what they based their built upon. And what we saw was nothing short of being extraordinary. The presentation of that live update tells us the in-depth knowledge of the people involved in the built and that they are more into the quality of the built rather than cutting corners so to speak. That is how we can tell, that Team BSG Viper of Battlestar Raven, really lives up to their Mission Statement of “Keeping the Faith Alive”.

Now, in conclusion to end this article of ours, here is our honest opinion on both builds. Both are phenomenal creation. Both sides put a lot of hard work into it to bring whatever they have created so far, to life. But in our humble opinion, NEVER sacrifice quality over quantity if your intentions is to truly honor the show and give the fans something to really be proud of. Both sides know what they are capable of doing and what their limitations are. But only one side was wise enough to choose quality over quantity and build it right! They studied their built while the other side did not. There is no excuse for poor judgement other than it will result in poor quality creation. EAGLES EYE NETWORK OUT!

[sercram-blog1]

Recap of Hiatus: Social Life - January 9, 2017 - February 3, 2017

This recap will deal with my social life during the hiatus of blogging. Week 1: This was a fairly social week since our classes weren’t too crazy yet. During our lunch breaks, many of us from class would go eat together across the street from the school at this 5-story mall called the Palladium. The top floor was a big food court, so many of us used to go there and eat and chill during our break. After a while though, it became cheaper to pack our lunches (obviously). But, I will say, I always thought McDonald’s in the US had the best fries, but now I think differently. The McDonald’s in Czech have the best fries. I don’t know why that is, but they are saltier, the salt tastes different, the potatoes might be more real, and I rarely get a soggy fry. They taste so stinking delicious. I will admit that I have probably eaten more fries and Pringles (better here for the same reasons as fries) than I should have. The Language House took us out for dinner this week at a restaurant called U Bulinue after our first day of class on Monday, which was delicious. The food was all really good (pork medallions, steak, beef tartare, etc.) and was actually reasonably cheap. We all had a great time and took our first shots of Beckarovka (sp?) which tastes very cinnamon-y and delicious. Lots of people didn’t like it, but I didn’t mind it. It was a great way to end our first day of class and chat with some of the staff at the Language House as well. After dinner, most of us went to a little bar near my and Tarlin’s apartment called Moskyt. It’s just a tiny little basement bar and had cheap drinks. We all played a big game of “Never Have I Ever” and got to know each other really quickly. We all laughed and had a ton of fun. Some of the locals were listening in and laughed at us too. This really helped us all to open up and become more comfortable with each other in a fun way. We all started to head home around midnight or so. On Friday, the November Language House TEFL class took us out for a bar crawl. Beforehand, we had food and drinks at Jordon and Andrew’s apartment. Wine here is SUPER cheap (a bottle is rarely more than $10, even for the classier stuff) and so is beer (a half-liter is generally a little over $1). So a bunch of us had a great time and then went to the first bar of the bar crawl. It was a neat place with a big open floor. I must say, my brain is a little fuzzy from here on out. I remember I almost got in a fight with some Russians (smart choices, Serena) because I was trying to say goodbye in Russian to them and must have totally botched it to the point of insult. Whoops. The previous TEFLers were fun to meet and pick their brain about the course. We moved on to the second bar, which was in a neat place that was underground. I started to drink a lot of water here, and I apparently stole other people’s waters too (which sucks because here you actually have to pay for water). I remember there were wine glasses here that said “Terra Serena” which I found to be super cool. There was also a TON of people in this bar (aside from our group of 30 or so) so it was really hard to navigate to the bathrooms. We ended up taking some shots here – I took 2 (unwise). They shots were Beckarovka (sp?) liquor which gets you very drunk, very quick. Again, not the best decision for me, but I was having a great time. Chatted with people here for quite a bit (and guzzled some more water). Moved on to the third and final location, which was as club called Lucerna. It was pretty neat because it was 2 stories – there was a bar upstairs that looked out onto the dance floor in the downstairs (basement, of course). They played mostly 80s and 90s dance music, which was fun and reminiscent of younger days. There was a ton of people on the dance floor and it was so fun. I slapped a man (American, of course) right in the face for calling one of our friends a very derogatory name. I remember most things that happened here because of all the water I was drinking, and continuing to drink. I apparently had some sweet dance moves (not), but hey, I was having fun, apparently. It was nice that we had such a large group with us because we all felt pretty safe. We all sang our hearts out when Grease Lightning came on – pretty funny, really. Afterwards, we all dispersed – some people went on to go to another club, but me and a few others went in search of food. It’s about 2:30 in the morning at this point, and what’s open? McDonald’s! We walked in and ordered cheeseburgers and fries and ate to our heart’s content. It was so delicious. Tarlin and I walked back to our apartment and went right to sleep. She was kind enough to make me desert burritos in the morning, but my tummy was just not ready to consume too much, too quickly. I was able to eat it all eventually, but it took some time for sure. Spent the rest of the day recouping and relaxing. We had some of our friends over and Tarlin made a delicious chicken dinner. Drank lots of water. Spent Sunday lesson planning.

Week 2: This week was less social because we started to teach this week. We were pretty stressed this week, so there weren’t a whole lot of gatherings. We occasionally did meet up for a dinner at someone’s place to eat and work on lesson plans. Pretty much laid low this week to try and get a lesson plan system going. One fun thing some of us did was go see a movie at the cinema. It had assigned seating, which was annoying. But, the popcorn was good and salty. The movie was La La Land. The audio was in English with Czech subtitles, which made it easy for us. Some of the previews though were in English, Czech, and French. It was very interesting. But they had many American movies at the cinema, as well as a few other Czech and international films.

Week 3: Social life picked up a bit this week because we were all into our grooves and felt more comfortable with what we were doing. Ate at a restaurant called Lokal and tried fried cheese and some goulash with dumplings. It was delicious, but plain food. The beer was good though! Then went on a Ghost Tour of Prague’s Old Town and Jewish Quarter with a few people from class, which was fun. We were told scary stories and visited “haunted” areas of the city. I looked up some of the stories later, and they weren’t too far deviated from their original stories – so at least it was pretty informative. Also explored some other restaurants this week as well – found a great meat deli that makes burgers/sandwiches called Nase Maso, which was amazing. Jordon cooked a delicious dinner this week that consisted of cucumber salad and curry chicken. A group of us came over and ate it while we studied. Granted, we chatted a lot while studying, but we were sort of productive about it.

Week 4: We were not feeling like social butterflies during the first half of the week due to studying for our big grammar test on Wednesday, but some of us did do study groups and whatnot to try and help each other out. My birthday was on Wednesday, and it started out great by taking the grammar test and passing it! Woohoo! Tarlin took me to eat at Nase Maso for a birthday luncheon, and then I took off (didn’t have to teach that night) and did some solo sightseeing, which was so much fun and beautiful. I did some work, and then Tarlin and Shanleigh came over to our apartment and we had cheese, meat, bread, and wine while we chatted. It was getting late, but it was insisted that we at least go have one drink at a bar to say that we “went out” on my birthday. So we ended up going around the corner from our apartment to a little bar called Moskyt and had beer. Some young Czech people heard us talking and started chatting with us in English. It was 4 guys and a girl who worked near the area and were just finishing a project at work and celebrating. It was fun to speak with them and get their perspectives on politics and life in Prague. We said our goodbyes after one drink (we still had to go to class the next day) and went home. Great birthday. On Thursday night, the school organized an event where we all went to a pub (called The Pub, clever) to go eat and drink with some of the Czech students we’d been teaching over the course. It was really nice – not a lot of my previous students were there, but it was still fun anyway. There were bar taps at each table, which was awesome, because you could just fill up your beer whenever you wanted rather than wait for your waitress. Pretty innovative. FYI, Czechs drink more beer per capita than anyone in the world (including Germans). So they know how to do beer. I didn’t drink at this pub though because my stomach wasn’t feeling the greatest from my birthday last night. But they had good burgers. On Friday night, the school threw us a graduation party! Me and a few others dressed up and went to dinner beforehand, then went to the party location. It was in a basement bar (go figure!) in a huge event space. It was a great night. It was really the last time we would all be in one place together – all of us students, our instructors, the staff, and the previous classes joined later. Jordon brought his DJ equipment and we all started dancing. There were free drinks for the first hour of the party, so we were all feeling pretty good. We all danced our hearts out and sang to our favorite songs (any Backstreet Boys song was guaranteed to have a sing-a-long). Awards were handed out, which I got the award for most artistic materials! That was unexpected and exciting! I got a little box of chocolates. They were delicious. Overall it was a great night. We partied until about 12:30 at night and went home. The only bummer was I thought the metros were running still, so I got off at an early stop and then realized the metro was dark – they stop running at midnight. So, I had to wait 20 minutes for the next tram to come pick me up. During my wait, this man asked me if the tram went to Karlovo Namesti. I looked on the tram schedule and said yes, but only curtain numbered trams. He asked me where I was from because he was an English speaker too. I told him I was from the US and he proceeded to pretty much berate me for being American. He was from Manchester, England, and was furious that Donald Trump might meet the queen. Then he proceeded to say that our products are shit, we use a ton of slave labor, etc. People around us were staring because he was getting loud. I took a few steps away from him and he continued to yell – it didn’t even seem like he was drunk. It was super annoying, but then the tram came and he got on. He said good night to me and I didn’t respond back. Then he thought to add “Well, Americans aren’t all that bad, but America is terrorist state and should not be a part of any business transactions.” The tram doors closed and I flipped him off. It drove off and I giggled to myself because he did not get on the right tram. Teehee. I got home safely and went to sleep.

During the course, I came to be friends with just about everyone. We had such a fun, close-knit group that it was comfortable to hang out with anyone. We all made such great memories, whether it was teaching together or hanging out together. I will cherish all the friendships I have made during this course.

[martechadvisor-blog]

How A/B Testing your Push Notifications Can help Increase Engagement and Retention

Experimentation helps marketers validate which push notification techniques work best to grab users’ attention and bring them back into their app says, Aaron Glazer, CEO, Taplytics

It’s no secret that having a mobile presence is a must-have in any modern marketing strategy. Earlier this month, Deloitte released a study revealing that smartphone penetration has reached 82% across all age groups in the US - that’s nearly 264 million smartphones. And it’s not just the youngsters who are up to date with the trend; consumers in the 55+ age group have a three-year smartphone compound annual growth of 8%.

One problem with mobile marketing is that because of its popularity, everyone is doing it, which makes it tough to break through the noise. You’re spending money on app development, digital promotions and email marketing, but see no return. How do you fix this?

The **key to increasing mobile engagement is your ability to grab users’ attention with a timely, personalized message** that contains valuable information. This is how you can improve your customer experience and re-engage with lapsed users.

Push notifications are a great way of achieving this when executed properly. Google conducted a study on how people discover, use and stay engaged with apps to find that 85% of mobile users find push notifications useful, provided that they supply actual value.

On the flip side, Google reported that 27% of people who abandoned an app did so because they were sending too many notifications from it.

So how do you find the balance?

Let your users decide.

You need to let your users’ needs and preferences guide the way you interact with them. A/B testing push notifications is a great way to know exactly what is working and what is not. Send variations of your pushes to different sets of users over time to gauge which ones are positively impacting your app engagement and ability to get users from their home screen to your “aha!” moment.

There are many elements to a push notification, each of which have the ability to impact a notification’s effectiveness. Here are some of the top ones that have the power to play a significant role in sending engaging notifications - test them out to see which create the biggest splash amongst your users.

Rich Push Notifications

Simply put, a rich push notification is a notification with rich media embedded in it. They allow marketers to enhance pushes with images, GiFs, videos and voice attachments to make them more memorable.

The average app sends 51 push notifications per month, meaning that smartphone users are bombarded with numerous notifications every day. Rich pushes are a great push notification experiment to run in an effort to break through that noise with something creative and visual - after all, there is only so much that you can do with the push character limit.

Instagram has experimented with rich pushes. Instead of telling users when someone posted a new photo, Instagram showed them. Having a small preview image of the photo piques the user’s interest and makes them more likely to swipe to see the photo immediately.

Timing

The **timing of push notifications needs to be customized to the type of information that you are sharing with customers**. The key to mastering this is to work backwards, and start by asking what time of day the user would not only need this information, but also be likely to take action on it. Deloitte indicates that 89% of consumers first check their phone within an hour of waking up and 81% last check it within an hour before they go to sleep. Think about user habits and what time of day they are on their smartphones looking for specific information from you.

Taplytics conducted a study of push notification trends to research how top apps are using push notifications. Part of the study was looking at the most common times for notifications to be sent, organized by industry, including news, books, social, productivity, etc. This is the best way to think about your timing strategy since consumers look to different types of apps at different points throughout the day.

For instance, the most weather app notifications are sent at 5:30 am, which makes sense; users need this information when they wake up so they can dress and prepare for their day accordingly. This is much different than the quick-serve restaurant trend to send pushes at 4:30PM when everyone is starting to think about what they are going to eat for dinner.

Experiment with timing to cater to the multiple times throughout the day that customers would get actual value from your notifications. Source: Taplytics Labs.

Triggers

Another way to play with notification timing is to experiment with event triggers, which occurs when notifications are sent out in reaction to an in-app event. This strategy is another effective way to create an urgency to enter your app and hyper-personalize your messages.

**Personalization is the ultimate engagement tool - 89% of marketers in the US reported that personalization in their apps resulted in an increase in revenue**...which makes sense, seeing as 63% of consumers expect brands to use their purchase history to provide them with personalized experiences.

Sending a push notification when a user is in the proximity of your retail store to let them know that there is a location-specific sale happening in-store NOW is an effective omnichannel strategy that may not increase app engagement, but will help contribute to your bottom line if it’s able to get that user into your store.

Notifications triggered by in-app activities are not only useful to enhance the user’s interaction with your brand, but help bring back users who have gone quiet. For example, you could send confirmation of a purchase or delivery, a reservation or appointment alert, a reminder of a full shopping cart that hasn’t been checked out yet, or the start of a sports game you would likely be interested in. If the information is personalized to the user based on their past in-app behaviors, they’re much more likely to want to engage with the message and open the app.

How to Test

With so many ideas for great experiments that test the ability of your pushes to increase app engagement, here’s a quick guide to how to get started:

1. Determine which metrics and user actions matter to your business to help define your goals. This will help you create hypotheses for what types of push tests could positively contribute to your success, however you choose to define it.

And remember: always phrase your hypotheses as questions, not assertions, to create a safe experimentation environment within your team.

2. Create and distribute variations to your users. Run multiple tests with different user segments for a hyper-targeted experiment.

3. Once the results are in, listen to what your users are telling you and continue to send the messages that are working! Keep iterating and updating your tests to make your messages as engaging as they can possibly be. There’s no point in experimentation if it doesn’t impact your future behavior.

A positive user experience isn’t just defined by what’s inside your app - how you reach users bring them back in is just as important in the user journey. Testing the effectiveness of your push notifications can help create the focus on your engagement - and more importantly re-engagement - a strategy to help you improve the metrics that matter most.

This article was first appeared on MarTech Advisor

[915ers-blog]

LG G4™ Unlocked Smartphone in Genuine Leather Black US991 Technical Specifications It’s easy to love the G4 based on looks alone, but much of its innovation lies beneath the surface. Check out the numbers and see just what sets it so far apart. Display With improved resolution, contrast, brightness andcolour range, 5.5” Quad HD display on theG4 gives viewers an unmatched visual experience. Technically Speaking The numbers don’t lie. See exactly how the new G4 stacks up. Display Type : IPS Quantum Size : 5.5” Resolution : 2560 x 1440 (Quad HD) PPI : 538 Type : IPS Quantum Contrast - 1500:1 Platform : OSAndroid OS, v5.1 (Lollipop) Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 808 processor with X10 LTE CPU : 1.8GHz 64-bit Hexa-Core GPU : Adreno 418 Storage : 32 GB (up to 21.9 GB usable) - expandable via microSD™ card (sold separately) Carrier : Factory Unlocked Battery Go from day to night and then day to night again with a long-lasting battery that you can swap out in seconds. Size : 3,000 mAh Removable? Yes Rear camera With more available megapixels, improved image stabilization, laser autofocus, a larger image sensor and a fast, large-aperture lens, the rear camera on the new LG G4 is clearly the finest we’ve ever made. Megapixels : 16, Aperture : f/1.8,Sensor size : 1/2.6” White balance : Yes (variable),Image stabilization : Yes Autofocus type : Laser.Flash : Single LED RAW capture : Yes,HDR : Available Front camera Take your best selfies yet with the feature-packed 8-megapixel front camera on the LG G4. Megapixels : 8,Aperture : f/2.0 UX : Gesture Shot, Gesture View, Front Facing Soft Light The LG G4 is standing by! Connectivity : 4G LTE, WiFi®, Bluetooth® and more WiFi® 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth® : 4.1 BLE NFC : Yes, 4K Slimport Support, GPS-A Glonass, USB : 2.0 Design/Display Curved 5.5" IPS Quantum Quad HD Display with 538 ppi and 500 nit. Dura Guard Glass Protection Rear Key Placement : Ambidextrous, multi-purpose use of Power/Lock and Volume Keys with quick shortcuts to QuickMemo®+ or Camera Smart Keyboard : Provides efficient operation and adapts to the user; includes keyboard height control, adaptive area recognition based on word prediction, user behavior, and easy cursor control Customizable Home Touch Buttons : Includes Notifications, QuickMemo+, QSlide Function™, and Dual Window™ Advanced Photography 16 MP OIS 2.0 Laser Detection Auto Focus Rear Camera f/1.8 Low Light Lens    Allows more light to hit the rear camera’s image sensor and provides fast shutter speeds for more stabilization and excellent quality pictures in low light Camera Modes : Auto, Basic, and Manual* Manual Mode* : Enhanced customization and control over features like ISO, exposure, and white balance; save images as JPEG or RAW formats Laser Detection Auto Focus : Adjusts focus by measuring distance to subject using a laser, allowing faster focus speed even in low-light situations Optical Image Stabilization (OIS 2.0) : A floating lens compensates for hand movements to capture sharp images with less blur Color Spectrum Sensor : Helps automatically determine optimal white balance for more accurate, life-like color reproduction Camera Resolutions : up to 5312 x 2988* Burst Shot* : In auto mode, hold the shutter button to take multiple shots quickly 8 MP Front Camera and Full HD Camcorder Gesture Shot** :Take selfies with a simple hand gesture Gesture View** : Transitions between camera mode and preview mode automatically with a hand motion Gesture Interval Shot** : Make a fist twice to take four selfies in sequence Selfie Light** : Screen illuminates around the photo preview for well-lit selfies Beauty Shot** : Adjustable setting softens facial features Shot Mode : Dual, Panorama*, Dynamic Tone (HDR), and Auto Multiple Shutter Options : Tap the shutter button, tap the screen, use your voice, or press a volume key to take a photo Camera and Video Zoom : up to 8x* Super Resolution Zoom : When zooming 4x and up, camera automatically combines three frames instantly as you zoom to capture fine details Dual Recording/Dual Camera : Front and rear cameras take pictures or videos simultaneously with picture-in picture technology 4K Ultra HD Rear Camcorder : Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160* (1920 x 1080 default) Slow Motion Recording* : 1280 x 720 resolution, 120 FPS Pause & Resume Video Recording : Pause then resume video recording for a continuous file Live Shot    - Take still shots while recording video*** Edit Recorded Videos with Trim**** Geotagging    Include location information with photos and videos Legend *    Available only on rear-facing camera or camcorder. **    Available only on front-facing camera or camcorder. ***    Not available with some camcorder settings. ****    Not available for videos recorded in UHD. Enhanced Convenience Super Power Saver - Extended battery life via improvements in the LCD structure, the addition of Graphics RAM, and a smart power saving user experience through Smart Notice™2.0 Smart Notice 2.0 - Interprets a range of contextual inputs and device usage patterns, and provides recommendations that change with the user’s intent Smart Bulletin 2.0 - View information and launch applications; includes customizable cards that provide tips, help users track their health, and more Smart Settings - Turn settings on/off, open apps, or change settings according to where you are, like having Wi-Fi® turn on when you get home Smart Cleaning™ - Free up space by deleting temporary files and removing infrequently used apps LG Health    Manage daily activities, record health information, track weather conditions* QuickMemo®+ - Write or draw on nearly any screen and schedule memos to appear at certain times using time or location inputs Snap Page for QuickMemo+** - Captures web page text and images without the ads and imports them into QuickMemo+ QSlide Function™ - Overlay up to two windows with adjustable sizing and transparency on the primary screen Dual Window™ - Use two apps simultaneously on a split screen Ringtone ID - G4™ creates a unique ringtone for each caller based on their phone number Notification LED - Colored light alerts for incoming calls, missed calls and messages, and more Multilanguage Support for Phone and Keyboard Input EasyHome™ - Provides an easier interface for beginners with a simpler layout and larger font size *    This app is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease or medical condition. Always seek the advice of a qualified medical professional before making any changes to your exercise, sleep, or nutrition **    LG does not guarantee the performance of this feature on all mobile browsers. Security Glance View - Check phone notifications discreetly with the swipe of a finger Knock Code™ - Create a 3-8 point tapping pattern for security and direct access to the home screen with more than 86,000 possible combinations Knock On™ - Double tap the screen to put your phone to sleep/ wake it without picking it up or pressing the Power/ Lock Key Content Lock - Password protect certain images and videos in Gallery as well as memos in QuickMemo+; prevent files from being previewed when linked to a PC* *Some owner content may still be accessible to a user who enables Content Lock. Entertainment Supports 4K SlimPort® Adapter for UHD Video Output to HDMI®-Enabled TV or Monitor* Clean Recording - Supports recording of both loud and quiet sounds according to conditions for clear audio capture with less distortion Event Pocket - Add events to your calendar by dragging and dropping items from the Event Pocket into the calendar Quick Remote™ - Control compatible TVs, cable provider settop boxes, audio systems, and more Live Zooming - Zoom in/out on videos during playback Video Player with Touch Lock and Resume Play Function - Supports DivX,® MP4, WMV, 3GP, and 3G2 Formats Customizable Video Screen Ratio, Subtitle Settings, Playback Speed, and Video Auto Off Function Memories    Organized by albums, timeline, memories, favorites, and videos; access nearby devices and the Cloud Music Player with Custom Audio Effects    Supports AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, M4A, AMR, MP3, MIDI, WAV, WMA, FLAC, and Ogg formats Customizable Music Library - Organized by songs, albums, artists, genres, favorites, playlists, and folders; access nearby devices and the Cloud S-GPS and A-GPS for Enhanced Location Accuracy *Requires 4K-compatible SlimPort adapter (sold separately). Connectivity 4G LTE Network*, Wi-Fi Hotspot† - Share a 4G LTE data connection with compatible wireless devices** Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version    - 4.1 Wi-Fi Connectivity - 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-Band 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) USB*** and Bluetooth® Tethering† - Share your phone’s Internet connection with your computer Android™ Beam - Share contacts, web pages, and more via Near Field Communication (NFC) SmartShare Beam - Wirelessly transfer multimedia content from compatible LG devices via Wi-Fi Direct® Media Server - Allow compatible nearby devices to access your content via DLNA® LG AirDrive - Share and manage content wirelessly using your LG account Miracast® - Wirelessly mirror device screen on a compatible display Media Device (MTP) - Transfer files or synchronize with Windows® Media Player*** *4G LTE network not available everywhere. **Depends on network availability. Additional carrier charges may apply ***USB cable required (included). Network Technology - GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE, Hepta Band/Dual Mode Frequencies - LTE Bands 2/4/5/12/13/17/25, CDMA 800, 1900 MHz, WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz, GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz Data Transmission - EVDO, EVDO Rev A, 1x RTT, LTE Dimensions - 5.86" (H) x 3.00" (W) x 0.38" (D) Weight - 5.46 oz. Talk Time    Up to 18.5 hours* Internal Memory - 32 GB (21.9 GB usable) RAM    3 GB Model    LGUS991.AUSALD UPC    652810518062 *Actual battery time may vary depending on network connectivity and application use. **microSD cards sold separately. Accessories Standard Battery    Yes* Travel Adapter and USB    Yes* LG Quick Circle™ Case    Yes Bluetooth Stereo Headphones    LG GRUVE™ Bluetooth Stereo Headset    Yes(LG TONE Active™, LG TONE ULTRA™, LG TONE PRO™, LG TONE INFINIM™) *    Included with phone. LG GATE (Guarded Access to Enterprise) Platform Security    Yes Network Security    LG VPN, Enhanced Certificate Validation Application Security    Enhanced EAS Mobile Device Management    LG Enhanced MDM Certifications    FIPS 140-2 Disclaimer †    Carrier service required. Product features subject to change. Features based on carrier program availability. Additional charges may apply. Track Page Views With Auctiva's FREE Counter View more great items |EBAY HOMEPAGE|EXCLUSIVE X'MAS GIFT! KICKSTARTER POWERSTATION BY BRUNT! LIMITED STOCK!|MORE ITEMS YOU MAY LIKE!|915ERS EBAY STORE|VIEW YOUR CART|CHECK OUT| ; Official PayPal Conversion Rates Add Currency Converter To Your Items * Press To Translate Listing Translator by HindiFrenchChineseSpanishGermanItalian Official PayPal Conversion Rates Add Currency Converter To Your Items * Introducing Guaranteed Delivery, a new program at eBay. | eBay™ It's Delivered On Time. Guaranteed. Discover which shipping option are eBay Guaranteed! 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[thedramafilesblog-blog]

Appearing before The Dramacourt: While You Were Sleeping Eps 9 and 10

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

***Disclaimer***: This analysis based on Canadian law. This is also NOT LEGAL ADVICE for anyone and this drama is FICTIONAL.

Issues:

Whether the mother-daughter relationship is believable.

Whether you can charge someone as abetting driving under the influence (DUI).

Whether the best way to get a coworker to take over your night shift is to offer to set them up on a blind date.

Whether Woo Tak’s theory makes sense.

The Rule(s):

Totally.

Maybe. It depends on the facts of the case.

Depends on how desperate the coworker is.

Yes. Its totally logical and makes sense.

Analysis:

RedRosette J: This episode was really really slow and was totally filler. Honestly, there was no need spend an hour on resolving Hong Joo’s “should I or should I not got back to work” issue. It could have been resolved in 30 minutes or less. What I did like about this episode was how it showed that the characters are all intertwined in some way. The coffee shop girl to the chicken shop guy (who is Kang Ki Young in an awesome cameo as the “Chicken Killer”) to our lead characters. It’s a weird six degrees of separation situation. Other than Hong Joo’s work issue, Woo Tak desperately trying to figure out the connection between the Dream Scooby Gang, the introduction of the Chicken Killer, and a super creative way to include a Subway PPL, nothing else of much significance really happened.

Seeing your death may be pretty scary

Trying to convince your brother to do something like…

…and it doesn’t work

When you are dead serious about getting your money’s worth of chicken

Starring: Kang Ki Young as the “Chicken Killer”

When you’re questioning your life choices

When you a boss and  you know it

The curse of the night shift

Something is wrong in this scenario

RedRosette J: There were some romantic moments where Jae Chan decided that he was going to be there for Hong Joo and there was some hugging and stuff but honestly, I’m still not sold on the romance and it seemed like he was just waiting for it to end. Also, Yoo Beom is back to being a lawyer as if none of his reprehensible acts from last week happened (Ugh!). At least the previews for the next episodes were a little bit more exciting: read courtroom drama.

Changing the future like…

What’s the point of ties if not to wipe of smudged eye makeup?

Romantic?

Yup. Still an ass.

Issue 1: Whether the mother-daughter relationship is believable.

RedRosette J: One of the most believable things in this drama is the mother-daughter relationship between Hong Joo and her mother. They are BFFs in addition to being mother and daughter and I love that she believes that her mother is her rock and her safe space. Her mother, likewise, stands and watches guard over Hong Joo. I love that she’s a very observant character and only intervenes when she feels like there is a genuine threat to her daughter. I think this type of relationship is really believable and really legit. I love these two! #motherdaughtergoals

Issue 2: Whether you can charge someone as abetting driving under the influence (DUI).

RedRosette J: This issue that the prosecutors were arguing about is a bit tedious. In Canadian law, there isn’t really “abetting DUIs” that someone can be charged with. I’m not sure whether the Korean Penal Code has something like this, but according to Canadian law, something that they might charge this person under might be Criminal Negligence. Section 219 of the Canadian Criminal Code states that a person can be charged for doing something or even omitting to do something which shows a “wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.” This would likely mean that some sort of argument would have to be made to say that the fact that the person who gave the driver the keys and told him how to avoid the cops is behaviour that amounts to this “wanton or reckless disregard”. Obviously, other facts will have to be assessed such as a the casualties resulting from the accident and such.

However, the Chief Prosecutor’s argument that charging this person would be too harsh because he was far too removed from the causal chain of events is not likely to hold up: i.e. he didn’t even drive and all he did was give the guy the keys. In a test for negligence, you have to ask “if not for the acts of someone, would the outcome have occurred?” Arguably in this case, if not for the guy giving the keys over, the accident might not have happened. I’m not too sure if this was an issue of the translation, but Jae Chan tries to describe the same remoteness issue (the whole if not for thing…) to Hong Joo when she asks him whether he decided to vote on the issue or not. He says something like it was because he did such a trivial thing that such an awful outcome came about. As to whether this argument would work requires a deeper examination of the facts and events that happened and its all very complex.

Issue 3: Whether the best way to get a coworker to take over your night shift is to offer to st them up on a blind date.

RedRosette J: If they are desperate enough, this seems like the best incentive. I really really want to see Jae Chan follow through on this and watch his awkward and weird coworker go on this blind date LOL!

#desperatevibes

Issue 4: Whether Woo Tak’s theory makes sense.

RedRosette J: This was not the theory that I was leaning towards, but it works. It also made a lot of sense in the way that Woo Tak explained it. Feelings of extreme gratitude and indebtedness caused them to have dreams about the person who saved them so that they would be able to repay the debt by saving that person’s life. Makes total sense if you follow the chain of logic. Hong Joo saved Jae Chan so he dreams about her and Jae Chan saved Woo Tak so he dreams about him. The bigger question now is whether the coffee shop girl is going to start dreaming about Hong Joo too because she saved her and she felt the burning (even though she didn’t actually burn). Hmmmmm…..

You sure it wasn’t a girl who saved you brah?

  RedRosette J Aside: Here’s more of Jang Hae In’s cute face:

Conclusion: Appeal Dismissed.

Rating: 3 = MM. Okay. Fine (Too draggy. Please stop with Hong Joo’s pity party)

File No: While-You-Were-Sleeping-EPS-9&10 Appearing before The Dramacourt: While You Were Sleeping Eps 9 and 10 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read 

[gastro-nomique]

MPMK Preview Gift Guides: The Hottest Toys of the Year!

It’s that last day of September, which means I am furiously working on this year’s gift guides (I’ve actually left my family and stashed myself away for the entire weekend to do so!)

There’s still plenty of work to do, but I couldn’t help but give you this sneak peek in the meantime. Enjoy…

Fingerlings – Interactive Baby Monkeys

(Ages 4 – 12) Starting at $14.99

  These adorable finger-sized animatronic monkeys are the “It Toy” of the year. In fact, it’s the end of September as I’m releasing my gift guides and they’re already completely selling out everywhere.

If you get the chance to buy one- do it!! (Even if you end up getting something else for your kids, you will be able to make bank on eBay come December.)

So what’s all the hype about?

These pets react to sound, to motion, and to touch. They love to hang onto your kids’ fingers, backpacks, other toys and pretty much everything else.

With over 40 animations, kids can rock them to sleep, blow them kisses (and have them blown back), make them sing, and much more.

Like a lot of the hot toys out this year, they’re also incredibly life-like. They blink their eyes, turn their heads, swing by their tails, fart, and more. Plus, if you can get them at retail price – they’re cheap!!

And if the Toy Gods are really smiling down on you and you can find them, I also suggest both the Fingerlings Playset…

And the Fingerlings Jungle Gym for even more extended play time fun (as well as a handy place to store the little guys so they don’t get lost).

Another way to go are these 40 Piece Money Stix sets that seem to have been quickly produced by an industrious 3rd party company.

I am really digging that with this playset version kids get to engineer their own set ups for their fingerlings, plus it’s not another bulky toy to have to store somewhere.

  LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox Building and Coding Kit 

(Ages 7 – 12) $159.99

  This is the toy that we’ve all been waiting for LEGO to make! Robotics and coding have become so incredibly huge in toys, in fact, that I’m really surprised it took this long.

I can (and will) tell you a lot more about this astounding kit but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you watch thr short video below on this 837 piece set – you will be sold!

It demonstrates a lot of what your kids can build and do, including a super cool robot, a working LEGO 3D printer, a very cool working electric guitar and more!

  Until now, if you wanted to parlay your kids’ love of all things LEGO into an interest in programming, your only real option was the very expensive LEGO Mindstorm kits, which are also geared more towards older LEGO builders.

At a cost of $200 less than the Mindstorm kits, the new LEGO Boost kit still has everything you need to get your kids building, programming and coding and – frankly – I think the builds are more fun and approachable, especially to kids who aren’t hardcore coders.

Like all building and programming toys, this one works with a free app that you download on your tablet or phone and what I really love is that the kit builds not one, but five different models. The above video showed the robot.

Here is the working 3D printer.

And here is the guitar… This toy does SO MUCH, I predict hours and hours of educational play with this one!

KIDS IMAGINE MERMAID PILLOWS

(ages 2 – 14) $47.99

    If you’re a parent, you are likely familiar with the mermaid fabric trend. Kids absolutely cannot get enough of playing with and “drawing” on this magic fabric. (To be honest, either can I – each night when I lay with my 3-year-old, I just can’t stop myself from petting this pillow. It’s so, so relaxing.)

As such, these pillows from Mermaid Pillow Co. have become my new #1 suggestion for gifts from grandparents.

Why? Because grandparents like to buy things that have a big “Wow!” effect, they often don’t mind spending a little extra on their precious grandchildren for something that’s high quality, and if left unchecked grandparents can often misguidedly gift monsterous plastic toys that you would never normally allow into your home!

Mermaid Pillow Co. sent one of these pillows for each of my kiddos to review (I chose the “Sharks Think” for my 8-year-old son, the “Fairies Fly” for my 7-year-old daughter, and the “Dinosuars Discover” for my 3-year-old son.)

There are a couple of things I love about these particular pillows. First, the affirming messages are really cool – just the kind of encouraging note we try to hit in our parenting – and it was nice that there were so many to chose from! I was able to find one that perfectly suited each of my kids’ personalities and interests.

(I also love the message of this one.)

Second, I was very pleasantly suprised with how soft the front of the pillows were. You can never really tell when ordering from a website, but these are extremly well made and super soft. They came beautifully packaged and seemed like something I would have bought from a boutique.

Last, but not least, is the mermaid fabric! Every bit as addictive as you might think, this stuff can be played with for hours. It’s fun to draw designs in, to write on with your finger, and also acts as a really nice tool for relaxing at bedtime or calming down from a tantrum. I highly recommend!

   Cozmo by Anki

(ages 3 – adult) $179.99

  There are all the other robots on the market… and then there is Cozmo.

I have never seen anything like him and, trust me, you haven’t either. He’s basically a real-life Wall-E that you can bring home to the kids.

He has the things you want in this kind of toy; i.e. a very cool and continually growing programming platform and a free app that’s iOS and Android device compatible so kids can learn to code. But he also has SO MUCH more.

    Thanks to artificial intelligence, Cozmo can express hundreds of emotions (his face is just like Eva’s from the movie Wall-E). From curious to clever, persistent to playful, he has personality x 10.

He also has facial recognition that allows him to get to know your name, face, and quirks. And best of all, he continues to evolve the more you hang out with him.

    He’s not just a novelty toy though (I already mentioned he can help your kids learn to code and program) he’ll also play games with you.

In fact, Cozmo is a game-playing machine. Literally. Whether lifting his Power Cubes or challenging you to games like Quick Tap and Keepaway, he’s always up for action. And in Explorer Mode, Cozmo lets you guide him through his environment to see what he sees — day or night. Cozmo’s skills and games are constantly updating, so the fun never runs out.

If you’re even thinking about a robot for the kids this Christmas, this is the one to get- you won’t be sorry!

  L.O.L Suprise Dolls

(Ages 5 – 12) Starting at $15.99

  If there is one thing that elementary aged kids just can’t get enough of, it’s collectibles. From Shopkins and Funko to Pokeman cards, small things that they can hoard like crazy are like catnip to kids this age.

And since toy manufacturers aren’t dopes, there are a few brand new collectibles that are sure to fly off the shelves this year (seriously- buy one or two for each of the special kids in your life now while you can still get them and they’re not stupid expensive).

All the rage this year are the already uber-popular L.O.L. dolls. Let me just start by saying that every year when I start researching for the gift guides I tell myself I cannot start buying for my own kids until at least October… and every year I fail because I see something that I know they will love and I know will be hard to get later.

This year, this was the thing I couldn’t resist buying in September for my daughter.

  Note: Because these things are so popular this year, there are a lot of imitations. When you buy, be sure the company is “L.O.L. Suprise” and that it is shipped and fulfilled by Amazon.

  These little balls of joy have all the miniature cuteness that’s required in a collectible for girls this age, plus a couple of really cool features.

The wrapping is part of the toy itself. It’s got 7 layers that need to be peeled off and each layer contains a new surprise. (I’m seriously considering stocking up on these just to keep around for future plane rides – talk about a glorious time killer!) The 7 layers of surprises include: (1) Secret Message Sticker, (2) Collectible Sticker Sheet, (3) Water Bottle Charm, (4) Shoes, (5) Outfit, (6) Accessory, (7) L.O.L. Surprise tots doll 

The ball itself acts as a playhouse and storage case for the doll (Yay! for having somewhere to store the tiny pieces!!)

The doll itself is also a surprise in how it reacts to water. The many change color, drink, spit, tinkle, or cry.

  Peppa Pig Lights and Sounds Family Home Playset

(ages 2 – 6) $59.99

  Ah, Peppa Pig- how I love thee. So bright and cheerful and inviting, so gender neutral and appealing to all kids, so fun and happy! And this new lights and sounds family home playset is no exception.

First and foremost, your kids are gonna be impressed by the size- it’s big!

Which means your older kids will love it because it will be large enough to play with their friends during play dates (always a must) and your toddlers will be able to get their hands easily into all of the play spaces.

That makes this a really great toy for multiple siblings to share, which is something I’m always on the lookout for. It’s so much easier on my budget to buy one big toy for everyone and also less clutter in my house!

Plus it encourages coooperative play, a skill we’re always working on around here.

The last thing I really, really like about this stellar doll house is that it has some fun effects like lights and sounds, but they’re not overwhelming. It’s just one button to turn them all on or off and, while engaging, they don’t seem to be the main event of this toy (that would be imaginative play all the way).

With it’s vivid colors and bigger proportions, this house looks like it came straight from the pages of a gorgeous picture book. Plus the 7 rooms each have plenty of fun accessories to keep your kids engaged in tons of dramatic play.

    Crayola Rock Painting Set

(ages 3 – 14) $19.99

At first glance this rock painting kit may not look like much, but don’t let the unassuming presentation fool you. This toy is gonna be a BIG WINNER in your house. Here’s why…

First, with clubs like “Seattle Rocks” or “Richmond Rocks” (insert your town’s name) popping up all over the country, rock painting is all the rage with the kindergarten and elementary school set these days. (And, of course, preschoolers will love it too with a little help from mom or dad.)

These fun clubs encourage families to decorate their own rocks at home, hide them somewhere in town and then join a facebook group to leave hints about where you left your rock and also to get hints on where to find other rocks around town.

This is a family activity that has so many beneficial elements for your kids. They get to flex their investigative skills in your community while being creative, social, giving and adventurous. Plus, they spend time with the family (and maybe even learn a little about using the internet safely with you).

Ok, so clearly I’m into the rock clubs- but even if you’re not, your kids will still love painting rocks for their own homes or just for sharing with friends. And if they’re gonna do it, THIS is the kit to get.

    The biggest thing about this kit is that it comes with a tub to keep everything in!!! This is major! The one thing I do not dig about rock painting is the potential for half-painted rocks, paint and brushes scattered all over the house. This will keep it all contained!

It also comes with a lot of things other kits don’t, like 8 very cool shimmering metallic markers, a paint mixing tray, and finishing glaze. Of course, it also comes with acrylic paints in white, black, brown and the primary colors.

At first, I thought that didn’t seem like enough colors but then I watched the video above and realized the idea is to use the primary colors to mix your own secondary colors. Another learning element great for preschoolers and kindergartners!

  Fort Boards

(ages 4 – 10) starting at $61.99

Kids LOVE making forts and, I gotta say, I’m a big fan of anything that will buy me a solid hour or two of busy time.

What I’m not the biggest fan of? The beating my couch cushions take when my kids get into fort-building mode.

That’s reason enough alone to love the Fortboard kits but there are quite a few other reasons too.

First is all the super cool kinds of forts you can build. After Fortboard sent us two boxes to review, my kids started with the instructions for making a house on their website company’s website. Next up was the submarine.

After a little trial and error, they pretty quickly got the hang of it and, let me tell you, they were pleased as punch about their new fort- which they insisted stay up for a week. That was fine by me as it resulted in TONS of cooperative dramatic play.

Next up was the submarine and the castle, both of which were equally successful. By then, even my 3-year-old was able to build stuff with these on his own. His current favorite is to make cubes, which he calls “bombs” and use them to knock down stacks of even more cubes Angry Birds style.

Fast forward a few months and they’re now building their own master creations like that 6-wheeler semi-truck pictured up top. It’s become a thrilling game to challenge each other to see what they can build next.

The second thing to really love is the ingenious ways these boards can connect in different ways to create all sorts of angles, and even curves.

The secret is the connector arm that can be moved to join the boards in different ways (and teach your kids about angles in the process).

It’s so innovative, in fact, that it’s won multiple awards and even a Microsoft Small Business Contest.

The final thing I love about Fortboards is how compact they are when it’s time to put them away. Unlike with their competitors’ sets, there are no awkward polls to store (and no polls for kids to hit their siblings with). Everything tucks into a box and neatly stores under a bed or in a closet when playtime is done.

    Like other fort sets, this one is spendy but if your kid is a builder it’s worth the investment, especially if you’re looking for something great for play dates or for siblings to play with together.

  Teddy Ruxpin – Storytime and Magical Bear

(Ages 3 – 6) $94.00

He’s back! That’s right guys, the evil toy geniuses totally have our number and know that we will pony up the cash for anything that brings back nostalgic memories of our own childhood. And in the case of Teddy, I’m 100% here for it.

I mean how can you pass up a chance to share that with your kid?! And, of course, they made him way cooler than the first time around.

Most notable are his crazy-emotive LCD eyes with over 40 animations- SO MUCH better than the creepy blinking of the original version. The cassette player in his back is gone too because Teddy now reads books on the free app- but don’t worry, you don’t have to have the app to use him. He can also tell his stories and sing without it.

He truly is a nice toy for encouraging reading in pre-readers and emerging-readers. By being able to pause the reading just by tapping his paw, they can ensure that Teddy goes at their pace and he is sure to have them asking him to read to them again and again.

  Hatchimals Suprise

(Ages 5-9) $69.99

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles

$9.39

Hatchimals Glittering Garden

$54.88

These interactive, magical creatures that come (and eventually hatch out of) their own egg were the hottest toy of the year last year. Every elementary-aged girl I knew, including my kindergartener daughter, had one at the very top of her list and they quickly sold out everywhere.

Naturally, they’re back this year with the originals being as popular as ever and, count them, three new iterations for your kids to covet. First, though, a refresher on what we’re dealing with here…

    The magic in this toy is how kids are encouraged to nurture it both to come out of it’s egg  and once it’s in the world. 

    The magic in this toy is how kids are encouraged to nurture it both to come out of it’s egg  and once it’s in the world. 

To get the egg to hatch, kids have to pay attention to the color of the eyes inside the egg as well as the sound the hatchimal is making and respond to it appropriately. My biggest question was how long the hatching would take and it turned out to be about an hour. Check out the whole process in the video above.

Once it hatches, it’s time to give your Hatchimal a name and raise it through 3 stages: from baby, to toddler, to kid.

And here’ where I eat my words- Last year I wrote that ,”My suspicion is that this toy isn’t quite as cool once it hatches, but it does do a lot (walk, talk, dance, play games, and more) and though you can’t put it back in the egg, you can start it over as a baby whenever you want.”

Turns out my daughter’s enthusiasm didn’t lessen any once the thing hatched and a year out it’s still one of her top toys… So what’s new this year?

First up are  CollEGGtibles.

Seizing on that love of all things mini that I wrote about above, the Hatchimal people made a whole variety of mini eggs.

  Open these guys by rubbing the hearts until they change color and they crack. Works a little differently but the excitement is the same and the lower price point sure is nice! These will make great stocking stuffers and kids will love this nursery playset once they collect several collEGGtibles.

  Next Hatchimal Surprise.

Along with going smaller is also the option of going bigger… and that’s all I can tell you right now because what’s inside is a mystery until October 6th. This one is pretty much guaranteed to sell out way before Christmas.

    Lastly is the Hatchimals Glitter Garden.

This guy works exactly the same as last year’s hatchimal but with a little more sparkle!

            So those are my top picks for the hottest new toys but there will be a lot more to come in the next couple of months leading up as I finish up the 2018 MPMK Toy Gift Guides so stay tuned!

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out all of our picks from last year’s…

  MPMK Toy Gift Guides: The Complete Collection

  *Post contains affiliate links

The post MPMK Preview Gift Guides: The Hottest Toys of the Year! appeared first on Modern Parents Messy Kids.

from boy child toys http://ift.tt/2xS6KbW via boy child toys

[hetbigbang]

2017: ARTIST CLAIMS!

IT’S ART TIME!!

To claim a story you want to do art for, please drop a comment below with: FIRST CHOICE – Story Number: # SECOND CHOICE – Story Number: # Email Address: Remember: first come, first serve!! (*Next year, we will try out the Preview Day thing.) Sign ups for artists as well as this claim post will remain open until all fanfics get claimed! Get all your friends out to come take on some art! If you're willing to sign up as a Pinch Hit Artist, go here. After you have claimed your story, you will receive an email from the mods with your writer's name & info, and the snippets they provided (it may not be immediate, but it should be within 24-48 hours). Authors: you will receive an email with your artist’s information once your fic has been claimed. Artists and authors are not required to chat, but it’s highly encouraged that you work with each other in whatever manner works for both of you. :) What are the requirements for art? You can make whatever kind of art you feel like, in whichever medium. Drawing, painting, digital, manips, vids, fanmix, fabric, mixed media, anything you can think of. We just ask that you put some time and genuine effort into it, as our authors have put major effort into their story. You are required to make a minimum of ONE piece of art for the story you claim. MORE IS BETTER. We love more! We want more! But, based on feedback from prior year’s artists, we only have a requirement of one piece of artwork. Make it nice, put some serious effort into it! :) (more questions about Art and Claims and stuff? Check out our FAQ.) ~ CLAIMS: For the first round of claims, please only choose ONE story to do. We will shortly open it up to a second round, where you may claim a second and third fic if you so wish. If you’re super ambitious and desperately want to do more than three, talk to the mods and/or leave a comment and we’ll see what we can do - you must complete what you claim, however, if at all possible. Trying to find back-up artists is a nightmare - please don’t make us do it. ;) And a reminder that no extensions will be granted. Artists, if you have the time, please consider also signing up to be a pinch hit artist in the event someone has to drop out last minute. Art and Fics Due - August 26th, 11:59 PM (Midnight) PST (here is a timezone converter.) The following are all listed alphabetically by first fandom (i.e. in an Supernatural/Avengers crossover, it will only be listed under Supernatural). ~ #1 Story Name: I Rule The Ruins (tentative) Fandom: Borderlands Pairing: Helga Steele/Ted Blanco Summary: The Crimson Lance is the worst place to fall in love, but the choice is taken out of Commandant Steele's hands when she meets Zed and Ned's 'forbidden brother' and sees a side of him that she'd never expected. #2 Story Name: Moments of Clarity Fandom: Dark Angel Pairing: Max/Alec Summary: Alec gets captured. Max rescues him—alone. Away from Seattle, they deal with their feelings, bickering, trusting, loving each other. But Alec needs to go back and find answers. As they journey home, their love begins to fracture, eventually separating them. Can they find their way back to each other? #3 Story Name: the acoustics of your voice Fandom: Fringe Pairing: Olivia Dunham/Peter Bishop Summary: Set right after the end of Entrada, Olivia and Peter start dating and go undercover at a sex club!! Peter gets sick and things take a turn. (Important note: not a fan of Marionette and the storyline that came after on this side.) (Also; explicit explicit. has m/m, m/f/m, f/f sex scenes. You know, sex club.) #4 Story Name: The Lows and Highs of Us Fandom: Grimm Pairing: Nick Burkhardt/Adalind Schade Summary: Because she’s involved with the Grimm and had the audacity to have his baby, Adalind is kidnapped and tortured by the newly formed Zauberbiest Council. In a race against time and with the help of his friends, including the captain, Nick sets out to save her before it’s too late. #5 Story Name: the bolder the lip Fandom: Iron Man Pairing: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark Summary: In Iron Man 2, Tony asks if Pepper wants to go to Venice. In this story, she says yes. #6 Story Name: My Blue Bucket of Gold Fandom: Mad Max Pairing: Furiosa/Max Summary: Max returns to the Citadel to make an exchange of favors, but his end of a deal with Furiosa, as well as rising concern for the Dag’s struggles, proves to be an encumbrance he wasn’t prepared for. Change promises to heal, but some old habits are hard to wash out. #7 Story Name: Betting on a Fall Fandom: MCU Pairing: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanoff Summary: “I bet I can get them to become a couple,” Tony said. “There is no way,” Clint snorted. “Have you met either one of them?” “So that’s a yes to the bet?” “Damn straight it is.” (AKA what happens when the Avengers are bored and Steve and Nat are oblivious.) #8 Story Name: I genuinely have no idea at this point! I'm terrible with titles, so it will probably end up being either a song title or lyrics! Fandom: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland Pairing: Anastasia/Jafar Summary: AU where Anastasia came to Storybrooke with Will in OUAT's season 3. Ana is thinking about Jafar at Christmastime when one of Santa's elves hears her say the only way she'd contemplate a relationship with him is if his bottle showed up under her tree with a bow that said "Merry Christmas, Anastasia." Instead of using her wishes, Ana asks Jafar for answers. WARNINGS for death and dub-con/discussions of previous death and dub-con. #9 Story Name: Jughead and Betty's Epic Detour Fandom: Riverdale Pairing: Jughead Jones & Betty Cooper Summary: When Archie Andrews doesn't make the road trip he and Jughead Jones planned to take together, Jughead's other best friend, Betty Cooper accompanies him instead. #10 Story Name: currently untitled Fandom: Sanctuary Pairing: Helen Magnus/Will Zimmerman. Assorted past background pairings may pop up in passing, mostly canon, including: multiple for Helen (including Helen/Ranna, Helen/Charlotte, and Helen/Nikola), Will/Abby, Kate/Garris Summary: Helen's bringing the old team back together, but despite her grand plan there's still a lot of details to work out. Particularly regarding her relationship with Will. Set post-series. Includes a living (AI) Sanctuary, covert surface missions, Nikola, Kate, and Will still continuing to land himself in the infirmary. #11 Story Name: Let Me Drown In Your Laughter (Let Me Die In Your Arms) (the title's final) Fandom: Stargate Pairing: Laura Cadman/Evan Lorne, might also incorporate bits of Jennifer Keller/Ronon Dex Summary: It's the winter of 1868, and Cavalry officer Major Evan Lorne finds himself in the Middle of Nowhere, Colorado. How lucky that he comes across Atlantis, the horse breeding farm owned by Teyla Emmagan, Jennifer Keller… and that girl he met in Chicago five years go: Laura Cadman. #12 Story Name: Constant Still in Heart Abiding Fandom: Stargate Pairing: Sha're Jackson/Daniel Jackson Summary: Spinning off from the episode 2x9 Secrets, Daniel does manage to get Sha're through the Stargate back to the SGC. They plan to get help from the Asgard on Cimmeria to extract the Goa'uld symbiote Amaunet from Sha're, all the while navigating the politics of the SGC and Amaunet's own determination to retain Sha're's body #13 Story Name: A Promise to Burn Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Clarke Griffin/Bellamy Blake. Summary: Season 1 rewrite. How much of the story changes if Clarke sleeps with Finn instead of Bellamy after Wells is killed? from Het Big Bang http://ift.tt/2eEXAYH via IFTTT

[915ers-blog]

LG G4™ Unlocked Smartphone in Genuine Leather Black US991 Technical Specifications It’s easy to love the G4 based on looks alone, but much of its innovation lies beneath the surface. Check out the numbers and see just what sets it so far apart. Display With improved resolution, contrast, brightness andcolour range, 5.5” Quad HD display on theG4 gives viewers an unmatched visual experience. Technically Speaking The numbers don’t lie. See exactly how the new G4 stacks up. Display Type : IPS Quantum Size : 5.5” Resolution : 2560 x 1440 (Quad HD) PPI : 538 Type : IPS Quantum Contrast - 1500:1 Platform : OSAndroid OS, v5.1 (Lollipop) Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 808 processor with X10 LTE CPU : 1.8GHz 64-bit Hexa-Core GPU : Adreno 418 Storage : 32 GB (up to 21.9 GB usable) - expandable via microSD™ card (sold separately) Carrier : Factory Unlocked Battery Go from day to night and then day to night again with a long-lasting battery that you can swap out in seconds. Size : 3,000 mAh Removable? Yes Rear camera With more available megapixels, improved image stabilization, laser autofocus, a larger image sensor and a fast, large-aperture lens, the rear camera on the new LG G4 is clearly the finest we’ve ever made. Megapixels : 16, Aperture : f/1.8,Sensor size : 1/2.6” White balance : Yes (variable),Image stabilization : Yes Autofocus type : Laser.Flash : Single LED RAW capture : Yes,HDR : Available Front camera Take your best selfies yet with the feature-packed 8-megapixel front camera on the LG G4. Megapixels : 8,Aperture : f/2.0 UX : Gesture Shot, Gesture View, Front Facing Soft Light The LG G4 is standing by! Connectivity : 4G LTE, WiFi®, Bluetooth® and more WiFi® 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth® : 4.1 BLE NFC : Yes, 4K Slimport Support, GPS-A Glonass, USB : 2.0 Design/Display Curved 5.5" IPS Quantum Quad HD Display with 538 ppi and 500 nit. Dura Guard Glass Protection Rear Key Placement : Ambidextrous, multi-purpose use of Power/Lock and Volume Keys with quick shortcuts to QuickMemo®+ or Camera Smart Keyboard : Provides efficient operation and adapts to the user; includes keyboard height control, adaptive area recognition based on word prediction, user behavior, and easy cursor control Customizable Home Touch Buttons : Includes Notifications, QuickMemo+, QSlide Function™, and Dual Window™ Advanced Photography 16 MP OIS 2.0 Laser Detection Auto Focus Rear Camera f/1.8 Low Light Lens    Allows more light to hit the rear camera’s image sensor and provides fast shutter speeds for more stabilization and excellent quality pictures in low light Camera Modes : Auto, Basic, and Manual* Manual Mode* : Enhanced customization and control over features like ISO, exposure, and white balance; save images as JPEG or RAW formats Laser Detection Auto Focus : Adjusts focus by measuring distance to subject using a laser, allowing faster focus speed even in low-light situations Optical Image Stabilization (OIS 2.0) : A floating lens compensates for hand movements to capture sharp images with less blur Color Spectrum Sensor : Helps automatically determine optimal white balance for more accurate, life-like color reproduction Camera Resolutions : up to 5312 x 2988* Burst Shot* : In auto mode, hold the shutter button to take multiple shots quickly 8 MP Front Camera and Full HD Camcorder Gesture Shot** :Take selfies with a simple hand gesture Gesture View** : Transitions between camera mode and preview mode automatically with a hand motion Gesture Interval Shot** : Make a fist twice to take four selfies in sequence Selfie Light** : Screen illuminates around the photo preview for well-lit selfies Beauty Shot** : Adjustable setting softens facial features Shot Mode : Dual, Panorama*, Dynamic Tone (HDR), and Auto Multiple Shutter Options : Tap the shutter button, tap the screen, use your voice, or press a volume key to take a photo Camera and Video Zoom : up to 8x* Super Resolution Zoom : When zooming 4x and up, camera automatically combines three frames instantly as you zoom to capture fine details Dual Recording/Dual Camera : Front and rear cameras take pictures or videos simultaneously with picture-in picture technology 4K Ultra HD Rear Camcorder : Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160* (1920 x 1080 default) Slow Motion Recording* : 1280 x 720 resolution, 120 FPS Pause & Resume Video Recording : Pause then resume video recording for a continuous file Live Shot    - Take still shots while recording video*** Edit Recorded Videos with Trim**** Geotagging    Include location information with photos and videos Legend *    Available only on rear-facing camera or camcorder. **    Available only on front-facing camera or camcorder. ***    Not available with some camcorder settings. ****    Not available for videos recorded in UHD. Enhanced Convenience Super Power Saver - Extended battery life via improvements in the LCD structure, the addition of Graphics RAM, and a smart power saving user experience through Smart Notice™2.0 Smart Notice 2.0 - Interprets a range of contextual inputs and device usage patterns, and provides recommendations that change with the user’s intent Smart Bulletin 2.0 - View information and launch applications; includes customizable cards that provide tips, help users track their health, and more Smart Settings - Turn settings on/off, open apps, or change settings according to where you are, like having Wi-Fi® turn on when you get home Smart Cleaning™ - Free up space by deleting temporary files and removing infrequently used apps LG Health    Manage daily activities, record health information, track weather conditions* QuickMemo®+ - Write or draw on nearly any screen and schedule memos to appear at certain times using time or location inputs Snap Page for QuickMemo+** - Captures web page text and images without the ads and imports them into QuickMemo+ QSlide Function™ - Overlay up to two windows with adjustable sizing and transparency on the primary screen Dual Window™ - Use two apps simultaneously on a split screen Ringtone ID - G4™ creates a unique ringtone for each caller based on their phone number Notification LED - Colored light alerts for incoming calls, missed calls and messages, and more Multilanguage Support for Phone and Keyboard Input EasyHome™ - Provides an easier interface for beginners with a simpler layout and larger font size *    This app is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease or medical condition. Always seek the advice of a qualified medical professional before making any changes to your exercise, sleep, or nutrition **    LG does not guarantee the performance of this feature on all mobile browsers. Security Glance View - Check phone notifications discreetly with the swipe of a finger Knock Code™ - Create a 3-8 point tapping pattern for security and direct access to the home screen with more than 86,000 possible combinations Knock On™ - Double tap the screen to put your phone to sleep/ wake it without picking it up or pressing the Power/ Lock Key Content Lock - Password protect certain images and videos in Gallery as well as memos in QuickMemo+; prevent files from being previewed when linked to a PC* *Some owner content may still be accessible to a user who enables Content Lock. Entertainment Supports 4K SlimPort® Adapter for UHD Video Output to HDMI®-Enabled TV or Monitor* Clean Recording - Supports recording of both loud and quiet sounds according to conditions for clear audio capture with less distortion Event Pocket - Add events to your calendar by dragging and dropping items from the Event Pocket into the calendar Quick Remote™ - Control compatible TVs, cable provider settop boxes, audio systems, and more Live Zooming - Zoom in/out on videos during playback Video Player with Touch Lock and Resume Play Function - Supports DivX,® MP4, WMV, 3GP, and 3G2 Formats Customizable Video Screen Ratio, Subtitle Settings, Playback Speed, and Video Auto Off Function Memories    Organized by albums, timeline, memories, favorites, and videos; access nearby devices and the Cloud Music Player with Custom Audio Effects    Supports AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, M4A, AMR, MP3, MIDI, WAV, WMA, FLAC, and Ogg formats Customizable Music Library - Organized by songs, albums, artists, genres, favorites, playlists, and folders; access nearby devices and the Cloud S-GPS and A-GPS for Enhanced Location Accuracy *Requires 4K-compatible SlimPort adapter (sold separately). Connectivity 4G LTE Network*, Wi-Fi Hotspot† - Share a 4G LTE data connection with compatible wireless devices** Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Version    - 4.1 Wi-Fi Connectivity - 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-Band 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) USB*** and Bluetooth® Tethering† - Share your phone’s Internet connection with your computer Android™ Beam - Share contacts, web pages, and more via Near Field Communication (NFC) SmartShare Beam - Wirelessly transfer multimedia content from compatible LG devices via Wi-Fi Direct® Media Server - Allow compatible nearby devices to access your content via DLNA® LG AirDrive - Share and manage content wirelessly using your LG account Miracast® - Wirelessly mirror device screen on a compatible display Media Device (MTP) - Transfer files or synchronize with Windows® Media Player*** *4G LTE network not available everywhere. **Depends on network availability. Additional carrier charges may apply ***USB cable required (included). Network Technology - GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE, Hepta Band/Dual Mode Frequencies - LTE Bands 2/4/5/12/13/17/25, CDMA 800, 1900 MHz, WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz, GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz Data Transmission - EVDO, EVDO Rev A, 1x RTT, LTE Dimensions - 5.86" (H) x 3.00" (W) x 0.38" (D) Weight - 5.46 oz. Talk Time    Up to 18.5 hours* Internal Memory - 32 GB (21.9 GB usable) RAM    3 GB Model    LGUS991.AUSALD UPC    652810518062 *Actual battery time may vary depending on network connectivity and application use. **microSD cards sold separately. Accessories Standard Battery    Yes* Travel Adapter and USB    Yes* LG Quick Circle™ Case    Yes Bluetooth Stereo Headphones    LG GRUVE™ Bluetooth Stereo Headset    Yes(LG TONE Active™, LG TONE ULTRA™, LG TONE PRO™, LG TONE INFINIM™) *    Included with phone. LG GATE (Guarded Access to Enterprise) Platform Security    Yes Network Security    LG VPN, Enhanced Certificate Validation Application Security    Enhanced EAS Mobile Device Management    LG Enhanced MDM Certifications    FIPS 140-2 Disclaimer †    Carrier service required. Product features subject to change. Features based on carrier program availability. Additional charges may apply. Track Page Views With Auctiva's FREE Counter View more great items |EBAY HOMEPAGE|EXCLUSIVE X'MAS GIFT! KICKSTARTER POWERSTATION BY BRUNT! LIMITED STOCK!|MORE ITEMS YOU MAY LIKE!|915ERS EBAY STORE|VIEW YOUR CART|CHECK OUT| ; Official PayPal Conversion Rates Add Currency Converter To Your Items * Press To Translate Listing Translator by HindiFrenchChineseSpanishGermanItalian Official PayPal Conversion Rates Add Currency Converter To Your Items * Introducing Guaranteed Delivery, a new program at eBay. | eBay™ It's Delivered On Time. Guaranteed. Discover which shipping option are eBay Guaranteed! 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