#ad 2009 is a funny race to me

[skitskatdacat63]

I think I need to just watch AD 2009 and finish off that season tonight so I don't feel so morose about F1 today haha

[astonmartingf]

MISERY ; MW2

mark webber x rbr race engineer! reader

. . . fuck sebastian vettel and fuck his goddamn race engineer who he can't help but think about all the time. he's bitter, jealous and in misery.

amgf finally i've moved everything 🎉 yay! everybody cheered!! i'm so happy and excited, i'm going home for the week and i'm writing the heck out of that alo fic and doab will be finally over 🫠🫠🫠

death of a bachelor ; masterlist

[2009]

With the way the Australian was acting one would say he’s bitter. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes every time you laughed at something Seb said, which wasn’t even that funny. Maybe you were trying to be civil, but Mark wasn’t having any of it. 

Not only was he fighting for his seat in Red Bull, with the addition of a newer and younger driver he was about to be replaced. The team finally made a car competitive enough to race for podiums, but instead of attacking for points he’s left behind the dust of his teammate Sebastian Vettel.

YN who was now assigned to Vettel- are not only starting to form a better relationship, but also score more points. Not that YN nor Vettel was to blame, the sport is already complicated in a way with changes and upgrades, not everything is constant. 

And as much as Webber wanted to work with you, with how things are looking it’ll be better with both of you to do different things. You were Vettel's race engineer, and he stuck as the second driver.

[2010]

He can’t seem to pinpoint the root of his frustrations, but every time he hears your voice in the background of the team radio, talking and congratulating the fuck out of Sebastian and his pole position, he turns into this miserable monster who wants nothing but to silence you.

This of course hasn’t got unnoticed by the younger German driver who was observant, nosy, and attached to you by the hip. It seemed like wherever you go, Sebastian would follow like a lost puppy on the track. 

Which only irked the driver more, adding to the long list of unexplained frustrations in his head, eating him up. “You know, with how much you’re frowning, it’s shocking it hasn't formed into a unibrow yet.” 

Mark glanced up to see the one and only Sebastian Vettel with a goddamn awful smirk plastered on his face. Clearly he knows what’s up, rolling his eyes as the Australian raised his middle finger in front of the younger driver.

An audible gasp left Sebastian’s mouth, “You shouldn’t do that to me, I can help you know-” teasing the older driver.

Raising his brows Mark pulled Sebastian closer to him, whispering in his ears, “I don’t need your help mate, now go on and annoy someone else.”

“So… I should just go talk with YN then.” 

The mention of your name whips his head back to Sebastian, smirking as if he caught him in action. Pressing his lips into a thin line, Sebastian nods, slowly putting two and two together.

“There is something going on with you two… YN had mentioned you a few times in our conversations.” 

Mark knew better than to react, there’s no way he knows. But the thought of you speaking about him, he couldn’t help his curious nature. Turning around slowly he could hear the German’s stifling laughter. “Spill it.”

“On second thought, I think it’s time for my debrief with YN. I guess you’ll have to figure it out next time.” Shrugging his shoulder, Sebastian walked the other way leaving Mark no time to chase him.

“For fucks sake… Get a grip Webber.”

[2011]

The only thing that developed from last year was his relationship with Sebastian, it boosted the morale of the team but more importantly it put him in conversations with YN. From a bystander’s view it’s embarrassing to see his efforts go to vain.

Especially with Sebastian’s new found knowledge, he teased the Australian often. This time he learned not to blame YN, hearing Seb talk about how you’re always busy prepping and forming strategies, as well as the pressure to perform in meetings.

He could barely catch you since you were all over the paddock, nose buried in different papers looking at data, triple checking results for Sebastian. On the way from the small set prepared for the DHL Fastest Lap Award he was shocked to see YN walking beside him.

“Congratulations on your award.” Mark froze, he had not expected this at all. He’d been looking for you, biding his time to form a conversation, yet here you were congratulating him.

“Are you looking for Seb?” Mark spoke without speaking, wincing at his reply- there were definitely better responses but why would he assume you’re looking for Seb after congratulating him.

“You don’t like talking to me much? Seb has been talking a lot about you, you’ve gotten quite close these past year.” Mark stayed silent, waiting for you to say anything more.

“But I’m not here for Seb, I came looking for you actually. You deserve that award, and many more. I guess I’m just proud of you.”

This revelation came as a surprise to Mark. Bewildered, he asked more about your statement. “I thought you hated me.”

“I don’t think I ever hated you Mark, if anything else- you should hate me.”

Brows furrowed in confusion, Mark was lost. But he knew he would get his answers soon, “Why would I hate you?”

Placing your hands deep in your pockets, slouching as the corners of your mouth form to a frown, “I disappointed you Mark. Though, I’m glad to see you winning now. You did it by yourself, and I know you will continue to do better.”

[2013]

It all happened too fast. In the corner of the pit wall you stare at the screen as you watch Sebastian overtake Mark, you froze. You wanted nothing more than to run and leave, but at the same time you were stuck in your seat like a deer in headlights.

Hearing the radio beep, Sebastian’s voice was drowning in your train of thoughts and in the background you picked up the voice of Mark speaking to his own engineer. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath before responding to Sebastian.

The whole situation is out of hand, and despite you not agreeing with his actions, you have to focus on your work that needs to be done and prioritized before anything else. Just like you always have.

At the end of the podium celebration you found yourself hiding inside the team garage away from both drivers, knowing fully well you couldn’t take the stress from it all. As much as winning with Sebastian felt good, not only for the team but for your career, it also brought out the worst parts of yourself.

You didn’t know you could be this calculative, greedy, and the hunger from wanting all the wins took a toll on you, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally had you drained. You felt miserable, and worst of all- you felt yourself to blame for what happened. 

All you wanted to do was run away, there was no longer a voice of reason- the sport became unenjoyable for you, and there was no longer hope for you to get back and enjoy the sport like you used to.

Sitting in silence, you jump at the sound of Mark’s voice muffled behind the door. “YN? Can I come in?”

“It’s okay to come in.” Your voice comes out thin, hiding your face in your arms. “Are they looking for me?” Peeking over, you catch Mark kneeling down beside you.

“Nah, they’re just cleaning up. Are you feeling okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

It took you a few years to approach Mark once again, blaming yourself for his past results. As a race engineer it was your responsibility to support and ensure the drivers of their performance. You worked hard behind the screens, drowning yourself in data in the hopes of finding ways to improve.

You sit in silence, slowly relaxing as you lean on Mark’s shoulders, “It’s not your fault you know, not now and definitely not before.” 

“How are you so sure of that?” 

Mark hummed in thought, “Because I spent all those years blaming myself as well, I thought I wasn’t capable of putting out results and when you were with Seb, I can see your genuine happiness whenever he’s winning. Something we never got to experience together, I think it’s unfortunate but it’s definitely not your fault. You should know that, I don’t blame you now.”

You nod to yourself, “You blamed me before? I’m glad to hear that, I was inexperienced and only had myself to blame.”

You feel Mark laugh as his shoulders rise and fall, “I definitely cursed you in my head more times when we were together, but I learned then. And look at us now, we’re definitely better than before.” 

“I’m sorry, Mark. I could’ve done more.” Pressing his lips, Mark nods to himself.

“I understand YN. I wouldn’t lie if I say I’m not flattered that you chose to support me, but don’t ignore Seb for too long.” 

“I’m not ignoring him at all, I just want space to think clearly.” You rise from his shoulders, facing him for the first time. Your eyes puffy from crying.

“And, what did you think about?” Mark asked, wiping the tears rolling from your eyes.

“I’m thinking of quitting after the season.”

yourinstagram

liked by aussiegrit, oscarpiastri, and 648,297 others

yourinstagram it's been a while in the paddock but good luck to our boy oscar <3

view 97,461 comments...

aussiegrit thank you for coming and for the nonstop support love ❤️

sebastianvettel let's meet up soon

yourinstagram sure seb, i miss you and hanna

user1 their boy oscar WOW

user2 why are you casually dropping this????

user3 i'm here from twitter and it's a mess

user4 i just read the webyn thread

user5 we're all here from twt???

oscarpiastri thank you so much for coming to see me!

yourinstagram good luck on your first race! we're proud of you

user6 yn left and came back as MOTHER!!!

user7 this is single handedly making me look forward for the 2023 season in the hopes of seeing mark and yn on the paddock

[annewithaneofthegreengable]

Little Vettel Introduction

My masterlist

UPDATED CHAPTER 1 IS OUT NOW, CHECK IT OUT ON MY MASTERLIST

Author’s note: I imagine her to be born in 2009-ish! Requests and ideas are always welcome in my inbox! 

Taglist: If you would like to be added to the taglist please comment down below for me to know!

Summary: the adventures of a teenager, daughter of the former F1 driver, Sebastian Vettel. What will happen?

Characters: 

Sebastian Vettel as himself: there’s no need to write a whole passage just to introduce him, right? 4 World Championship titles pretty much introduce himself already. But there’s one thing you didn’t know about Mr.Vettel was that he had a baby when he was 21. The mother did not want to be in the picture. She left when the kid was only a month old. It was hard to balance between living the hectic life of a Formula One driver and being a domestic dad to his child. Fortunately, he had all the needed support from his mom and dad, Heike and Norbert, along with his two older sisters and younger brother. Not to mention all the help he got from his friends, Britta and Antti. In 2022, he finally decided to take a step back from the racing life to live the life of a “retired” dad, that is what his kid called him. 

Anna Vettel as Seb’s kid: Seb prefers to call his daughter Mein Häschen (Little Bunny) as his first gift for her was a Bunny from a Jelly Cat store, and she hasn’t gone to bed without her Bunny friend ever since. She grew up spending most of her time with Heike and Norbert and sometimes joined her dad on some races when she was a kid. All drivers on the grid despite always in a race against her Papa are all her funny uncles. She pretty much got them wrapped around her little fingers. Whatever Little Bunny wants, Little Bunny gets. 

All drivers, retired or not, participate in this story as themselves. For that, I will not write further introductions for them. 

[adultswim2021]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force #80: "Shake Like Me" | April 5, 2009 - 11:45PM | S07E02

A momentous episode. Folks, it’s the “lost” episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Hell, it's loster than "Boston" at this point. It’s the one you can’t stream online or buy digitally or whatever. Hell, it’s even missing from the recent DVD box set. Can we get an Adult Swim Treasures DVD box with an intro from Leonard Maltin? Will it ever be okay to laugh again???

Okay, this is how this write-up is going to go. First I’m going to dryly describe all the racist stuff in the episode. Then I’m going to apologetically tell you that I thought the episode was funny. Then I’m going to pay lip-service to people who might legitimately have problems with the episode. Then nobody is actually going to read this, and I’m gonna go on to watch Duckman or whatever show aired after this. I think it was Duckman. I don’t know, there’s some weird guy on YouTube who makes his own Adult Swim blocks but he includes shit like Duckman and Dr. Katz and I'm starting to believe it's all real. I don’t hate it, but I’d prefer to see Duckman sandwiched between Weird Science and USA Up All Night, with nothing but phone sex ads and promos for Silk Stockings.

A construction crew is dumping green toxic ooze into a neighboring house (the Ruth Powers side, not the Ned Flanders side). Shake tries to stop them by yelling at them a lot, when one of the operators, a black man, gets pissed off and bites Shake. So, he was bitten by a radioactive black man. Eventually signs of Shake’s blackness start coming out; he turns from white to brown, sprouts an afro, sports a bejeweled grill, and now possesses an immaculate vertical leap. Frylock, scientifically testing the authenticity of his blackness, tries to make Shake go in Carl’s pool. But alas, Shake can no longer swim. I’ve heard of MASTER Shake, but CHOCOLATE Shake???  

I have never heard of a “chocolate shake”. Anyway, Frylock tries to give Shake his whiteness back, but it just won’t take. Boxy Brown eventually intervenes (is this the first time characters other than Meatwad interact with him?). Boxy, of course, is the original racist character of the show. He encourages Shake to embrace his blackness, but while they are on the basketball court it simply begins to wear off. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. I mean, if that’s the kind of fun you like having. 

Honestly, this episode made me laugh a lot. The joke about him swimming, especially. Also, the part where Frylock gives him a wristwatch after his supposed white conversion in which they straighten his hair and cover him in white house paint. Frylock gifts the wristwatch and says something like “here, time management is going to be real important to you now”. Really funny! I'm not even racist! That's what's so insane about this! 

REFERENCE: There’s a scene where Frylock takes Shake to a hockey game in order to whiten him up. There is a hockey guy in the background just bleeding from his neck. That seems to be a reference to Clint Malarchuk, who in 1989 took a skate to the neck and it caused massive blood loss on the ice. He survived! If you just wanna see photos of a hockey goalie hunched over a nasty amount of blood on an ice rink, I recommend googling his name and looking at the image results. 

In retrospect, the squirmiest part of the episode is Carey Means participation. I would like to think they cleared these jokes with him beforehand, and I’m sure if I googled around one could definitively answer this. A better version of this blog would be one where I actually take it upon myself to do just that. A better version of this blog would be one where I am also being paid handsomely to do stuff like that. Oh well. But: the main sticking point with me is the idea that Frylock is specifically written to not exactly be black. 

There’s an argument to be made that Shake isn’t actually white; they are food products and aren’t afflicted with race. It sorta gets to the problem of whiteness being seen as a “default”. If Shake is white, then that should mean Frylock is black, and Meatwad is retarded. The only reason I don’t think I’m stretching too much for this, is the fact that Frylock defends himself to Boxy Brown that he’s not being “racist” against him. To me, this is the only actual profound misstep of the episode. It’s the thing that cements the fact that they fucked up Frylock’s characterization. It sorta made me feel the same way when I saw an old episode of South Park where Trey Parker voices a black character saying stuff like “actually I’m opposed to hate crime legislation”. 

This one is funny as fuck. That's kinda the only thing that matters to me. But I get why they would rather sweep it under the rug. I also get why I sought out an old iTunes release of the episode and keep it on my computer. I get why I won’t get rid of my DVD copy of it.

EPHEMERA CORNER

[destielfanfic]

My First Destiel Fic, vol.2

Thank you guys for sharing your memories! My First Destiel Fic is a nostalgic survey open to any destiel fan and has a simple goal - to celebrate fics that were our gateway into a wonderful world of destiel shipping. Thank you, fic writers, you are our heroes!

from @clio-philyra

Hello! For the first Destiel fic post 😊

The first Destiel fic I bookmarked the was the Forth Wall series by Entanglednow, which is lovely and funny. I first started watching the show in 2013 (end of season 7 on UK tv I think?). The first Destiel fics that made me really fall in love with them were probably All Things Shining by askance and standbyme (which is one of my favourite things I’ve ever read - fic or otherwise) and the Holy!Dean series by bunnymaccool.

This is a great idea btw! 😊

All fic titles link directly to the fic, when it’s possible, we have added another link to our review or submitted rec post. 

The Fourth Wall series by entangled_now [M, 40,000 word count, 15 works, posted 2009-10] (our review)

No summary by the author for all work. 15 separate stories in chronological order about Dean, Sam, and Cas discovering the wonders of destiel fan fiction. Ratings vary between T and M, with only one story rated NC-17 and even then it is only the discussion of sex in fanfic.

All Things Shining by askance & standbyme [NC-17, 142,000 word count, posted 2013] (our review)

Something in the world is waking up. It isn’t long before it’s brought to the attention of the Winchesters and Castiel: miracles are spreading across the country, the paranormal seems to be shrinking back on itself—and it all has something to do with the missing prayer book of a traveling preacher who died over a century ago. Dean is convinced it’s all the lead-up to another Apocalypse; Sam and Castiel aren’t so sure. Regardless, it sends them out on a less-than-typical road-trip, following the Mississippi and remnants of a very old story that seems increasingly to call to them. And along the way the trio learn much more about themselves—and the consequences and origins of love—than they’d ever have anticipated.

Holy!Dean Verse by bunnycaccool [NC-17, 120,300 word count, 5 works, posted 2012-15] (our review)

(from part 1)  Dean Winchester has grown used to God dicking around in his life the last couple years. But this crap? This takes the CAKE … or pie, rather. Now he’s been thrown a whole new curve-ball. The kind that has ended the Civil War in Heaven … but resulted in Raphael taking over, and hunting for Dean’s ass on a silver platter. Not to mention dealing with Balthazar acting like a self-righteous prick, Sam having some big damn epiphany on his big brother’s sexuality, and Cas eying him up like he’s the world’s juiciest cheeseburger. All that mixed with the chance to fix it all and set everything to rights … but only if Dean is willing to sacrifice himself. Again. Seriously, if he ever meets that bastard God he’s gonna- … oh hey, Chuck! What are you doing here?

from @foxymoley

The first fic I read was All Things Shining by askance and the first fic I did fanart for was A Little Inspiration by Nadiahart. I found the former when I googled free fiction for kindle (I was on maternity leave and bored!) and fell into a Destiel fic rabbit hole. I then did the art for the latter and accidently met the author via a Destiel discord server (a fellow Angel in Profound Bond 😍) and now she's one of my best friends! I squeed, she squeed, we all squeed.

My life full of these two dumbasses hasn't been the same since. ♥

A Little Inspiration by NadiaHart [T, 3,500 word count, posted 2017]

This was it, it was perfect. Exactly what he needed for his final project. Castiel ripped the page out of the campus life newspaper, tossed his paint brushes back into their cup and raced out of his studio. Checking his watch as he rounded the quad, if he hurried he’d be just in time to catch Dean. Sure enough Dean was exiting the gymnasium still in his baseball uniform as Castiel staggered to a halt in front of him. “Woah, Cas, what’s up man?” Dean asked as he helped Castiel back up from where he was hunched over gripping his knees and panting for air. “D...Dean, I-- I--it's perfect.” He gasped holding out the clipping towards Dean.

from @unforth

My first Destiel fic was Bring it On Home by thecouchcarrot. It was S8 and I'd finally "seen" Destiel (after watching since s4) so I went to a friend I knew shipped it and asked her what I should read first, and that was her recommendation. Once I saw what fanfic could be, and what joy an AU could bring? I've never looked back!!

Bring It On Home by thecouchcarrot [M, 41,000 word count, posted 2011] (our review)

Dean the Sales Rep just moved into the neighborhood, and his new neighbor is a possibly crazy shut-in. Wait - make that definitely crazy.

from @ltleflrt

My first Destiel fic was Real Slick Dean by Trilliath, and it was also the event horizon fic that dragged me into fandom in S8. It was written by a friend, but I put off reading it for a few months because I knew I'd never look back at my old fandoms, and I was right. It was also my first omegaverse, so it opened 2 new worlds for me. I was already in love with the ship before I read the fic because I started watching in s6, but I didn't know there was a Destiel fandom. I was a real newbie :)

Real Slick Dean by trilliath [NC-17, 28,500 word count, posted 2013] (submitted rec post)

There’s a new alpha enhancer drug “Rutter” on the streets that gets used at “exclusive parties” for the worst purposes. Detective Castiel Novak and his partner Balthazar work hard to put a stop to it and other sex crimes in their work as Special Victim’s top detectives. Ellen Harvelle’s Roadhouse is both a bar and a refuge for unmated Omegas. The Roadhouse gives Omegas the opportunity have their heats in peace and, if they so desire, even sell an ‘exclusive supply of high-grade slick for the unmated Alpha on the go!’.Castiel is just such an Alpha, career oriented and having no time for casual sex or potential mates. He’s a regular customer who only buys donor D347’s slick. He’s also a family friend and advocate who helps Omegas in need get connected with Ellen. It’s all fine until one night after a difficult bust he brings Ellen a new Omega about to have her first heat. What Alpha Castiel doesn’t realize is that he’s been over-dosed with Rutter during the fight and is about to go into a rut so bad he may die. And if that weren’t enough to kill him, the embarrassment he’s about to feel will, because he’s about to meet donor D347 face to face and neither of them are prepared for what’s going to happen.

If you enjoyed the fic, please drop by the archive (AO3) and let the author know with your comments and/or kudos! And if you found our recs useful, let us know by Liking and/or Reblogging our posts!

You can find all My First Destiel Fic posts under this tag!

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

The story of Swamp Rat 17: Don Garlits' most misunderstood Top Fueler (part 2)

The Wynn’s Liner sits proudly in Garlits museum, parked just ahead of Petersen’s own failed attempt at aerodynamics, the Can Am-inspired Olympia Top Fuel car that lived its own all-too-short life in 1974.

Any chat with Don Garlits is always a thrill, but for history geeks like me, it’s especially thrilling because of his incredible memory. He turned 89 in January, but his memory is as clear as if he were 29. He, of course, knows his cars inside out, remembering specifically not only the number of each Swamp Rat but wheelbases, engines, and great stories associated with each. I do a lot of interviews with the stars of yesteryear and many, many of them, quite naturally as they age, have less than excellent recall. Then there's "Big Daddy." He's amazing.

So, as promised earlier in this column, I asked him to rank his Swamp Rats in order of favorites. Although I'm sure that, given time, he could have ranked them from 1 to 38, I asked only for his Top 5.

Here’s his Top 5, including portions of the descriptions I wrote for my trio of Swamp Rat Spotters Guides a few years ago (Swamp Rats I-A to X | Swamp Rats XI to 20-B | Swamp Rats 21 to 34):

No. 1, the first (1956-60): Although it wasn't his first dragster — he had made a crude, flathead-powered dragster from a '27-T roadster by moving the engine back and hanging a seat out over the rear end — it's the first car to wear the Swamp Rat name. The car was built on the framerails of a '31 Chevy passenger car that he bought at a junkyard for $35 in 1956; Garlits removed the frame from the body in the junkyard using little more than a large ax, a cold chisel, a ball-peen hammer, and a small assortment of hand tools. He transplanted most of the parts off of the flathead dragster to this car, except the driver seat, which was an old B-17 bomber seat. Initially using Ford power, Garlits switched to Chrysler Hemi power and later to high-gear-only. The carbureted version of this car is the one that beat the nay-saying Californians in Houston but got whipped by the West Coasters in Bakersfield, but as soon as "Big" added a blower, it was all over for everyone.

No. 22, the 5.63 car (1975): The car that succeeded SR 21 would go into the record books in a "big" way and stay there for years: This is the car in which Garlits brought the class to its knees with a 5.63-second clocking at the World Finals, a record that stood for more than six years. Built by Garlits, “T.C.” Lemons, and Don Cook on a 240-inch wheelbase, the car was lightweight and fast from the first go. He had hoarded oversized Goodyear slicks, built a new engine, and even lengthened the chassis by 10 inches, and it all paid off with that monstrous 5.63 that helped him win the event and the championship and was attached to the sport's first official 250-mph run. The historic car was retired at year's end and has never left Garlits' possession other than for occasional displays; it was hauled out of mothballs to run at — and win — the 1977 Gatornationals.

No. 26, the comeback car (1980-84): The follow-up to the porky “Godzilla” car, Swamp Rat 26 was "lean and light" — Garlits forsook paint for black anodized panels with stick-on lettering — and with the power that Garlits and Parks had learned to make to get the porky Godzilla car down the track, they seemed to be ahead of the game. The car was completed in time to run the Florida Winter Series events, but Parks quit that winter after the tough 1980 season, and Garlits won just two AHRA events in 1981. Garlits ran infrequently in the next three seasons, and Swamp Rat 26 might have just gone quietly into retirement as a disappointment had old pal Art Malone not called Garlits in the summer of 1984 and offered to fund a run at the 1984 Indy title. Malone got Garlits new parts, and they coaxed Parks out of retirement, and despite an aging car and a team of "dinosaurs" (Garlits' word), they won the race, completing a storybook comeback straight out of Hollywood. Garlits went on to also win a big eight-car Top Fuel show at Firebird Int'l Raceway and the NHRA World Finals — "Big Daddy" was back!

No. 30, the streamliner (1986): In the pantheon of famous Garlits cars, this cockpit-canopied streamliner may well be at the top of the pyramid. Garlits had Mike Magiera fabricate the nosepiece and constructed front "tires" out of 13-inch aluminum discs wrapped with industrial fan belts to fit beneath it. The belts would exit the wheels after almost every run, but that didn’t stop the “Rat Under Glass” from running 272.56 mph in the car's winning debut in Gainesville in 1986. Garlits later abandoned those wheels to run small-airplane tires that worked well but, ironically, took flight in his famous July 12 blowover wheelstand at the NHRA Summernationals. The car had to be backhalved in the Florida shop to complete the season, which ended with Garlits atop the points standings. Swamp Rat XXX also ran about half of the 1987 campaign and then famously became part of a display at the Smithsonian Institution the following year.

No. 34, the monowing car: Originally built in 1992 for Bruce Larson to drive after Garlits retired after experiencing eye problems caused by too many sudden parachute decelerations. At the end of the 1994 season, Garlits loaned the car to former Funny Car and fuel altered pilot Richard Langson and served as his crew chief in 1995, albeit with little success again. After years off the track, Garlits brought the car up to spec and competed at the 2002 Gatornationals and U.S. Nationals, then upped his speed mark to 323.04 at the 2003 Gatornationals. “It’s still the most modern Top Fueler in the world,” Garlits insisted to me. “It’s got the narrowed rear end and the mono wing rudder to make it go straight down the course, and the canopy.”

And, well, because Garlits was being so generous with his time and candor, I dared to ask him about his bottom five.

“Well, only a half-dozen cars that didn’t cut the mustard, but from what we’ve already talked about today," he said. "I think you know the five already: the streamliner (SR17), ‘Shorty' (SR18), the sidewinder (SR27), the turbine car (Swamp Rat 28-A), and then it would be Swamp Rat 12-A. That car [pictured above, was the first Swamp Rat to be designated with Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals] was too short [just 137 inches], and we only ran that in the winter series in California."

My Spotters Guides from a few years ago ended at 34, but the numbers carried on after

35: 2009 DragPak stocker

36: 2011 Drag Pak stocker

37: First electric car

38: Second electric car

Swamp Rat 38 had been Garlits' hope for being the first battery-powered car to exceed 200 mph, but he was beaten to that mark last year by Steve Huff and parked the car.So, naturally, I had to ask Garlits if there would ever be a Swamp Rat 39.“Never say never,” he said, and I could detect a gleam in his eye even over a cellular connection. “Maybe I try to build a 250-mph electric car. There’s such fantastic battery technology coming, I don’t want to spend money on old technology. I still want to drive if I can by then. I still feel good, so I don't think that will be any problems.”Same ol' "Big Daddy." I can’t wait.Phil Burgess can reached at pburgess@nhra.comHundreds of more articles like this can be found in the DRAGSTER INSIDER COLUMN ARCHIVE

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Lockdown named word of the year by Collins Dictionary (Guardian) Lockdown, the noun that has come to define so many lives across the world in 2020, has been named word of the year by Collins Dictionary. Lockdown is defined by Collins as “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces”, and its usage has boomed over the last year. The 4.5bn-word Collins Corpus, which contains written material from websites, books and newspapers, as well as spoken material from radio, television and conversations, registered a 6,000% increase in its usage. In 2019, there were 4,000 recorded instances of lockdown being used. In 2020, this had soared to more than a quarter of a million. “Language is a reflection of the world around us and 2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic,” says Collins language content consultant Helen Newstead. “We have chosen lockdown as our word of the year because it encapsulates the shared experience of billions of people who have had to restrict their daily lives in order to contain the virus. Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialise. With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world.” Other pandemic-related words such as coronavirus, social distancing, self-isolate and furlough were on the dictionary’s list of the top 10 words.

Republicans Back Trump’s Refusal to Concede, Declining to Recognize Biden (NYT) Leading Republicans rallied on Monday around President Trump’s refusal to concede the election, declining to challenge the false narrative that it was stolen from him or to recognize President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the top Republican in Congress, threw his support behind Mr. Trump in a sharply worded speech on the Senate floor. He declared that Mr. Trump was “100 percent within his rights” to turn to the legal system to challenge the outcome and hammered Democrats for expecting the president to concede. And in Washington, Emily W. Murphy, a Trump political appointee and administrator of the General Services Administration, refused to formally recognize Mr. Biden as the president-elect with a letter of “ascertainment,” leaving the country’s transition of power in flux.

White House, escalating tensions, orders agencies to rebuff Biden transition team (Washington Post) The Trump White House on Monday instructed senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede the transfer of power and prompting the Biden team to consider legal action. Officials at agencies across the government who had prepared briefing books and carved out office space for the incoming Biden team to use as soon as this week were told instead that the transition would not be recognized until the Democrat’s election was confirmed by the General Services Administration, the low-profile agency that officially starts the transition. While media outlets on Saturday projected Biden as the winner, President Trump has not conceded the election. “We have been told: Ignore the media, wait for it to be official from the government,” said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly. The GSA, the government’s real estate arm, remained for a third day the proxy in the battle. Administrator Emily Murphy, a Trump political appointee, is refusing to sign paperwork that releases Biden’s $6.3 million share of nearly $10 million in transition resources and gives his team access to agency officials and information. The Biden transition team is evaluating its legal options and growing increasingly alarmed that the stalemate could drag on and impede its work.

Candidate concessions have been colorful, funny—or absent (AP) Losing presidential candidates have conceded to their opponents in private chats, telegrams, phone calls and nationally televised speeches. Al Gore conceded twice in the same race. President Donald Trump isn’t expected to concede at all—not even with a tweet. Most concessions are gracious—less about the loser and more about closure for the country. Others have a little dry humor mixed in. After failing to win reelection in 1992, George H. W. Bush quoted Winston Churchill and said he had been given the “Order of the Boot,” according to presidential historian Michael Beschloss. The concession tradition had a hiccup in 2000 when Gore called George W. Bush to concede and then called him back to recant as the results from Florida went sideways. Their tight campaign ended with the Florida vote in limbo. “Let me make sure I understand,” Bush told Gore on the phone. “You’re calling me back to retract your concession?” When Bush was declared the winner after the Supreme Court halted further recount action, Gore delivered his second concession. “Just moments ago I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States. And I promised him that I wouldn’t call him back this time,” Gore said. After Gerald Ford and Bob Dole lost the 1976 presidential election to Carter and Walter Mondale, Dole, quipped: “Contrary to reports that I took the loss badly, I want to say that I went home last night and slept like a baby—every two hours I woke up and cried.”

Trump’s Fury Feeds Moscow and Beijing Accounts of U.S. Chaos (NYT) For years, state propaganda in both Russia and China has painted Western democracy as dangerously chaotic compared to what it described as the safety and stability of the countries’ authoritarian systems. With President Trump’s unfounded allegations that Democrats stole last week’s presidential election, Moscow and Beijing got a fresh chance to claim vindication. Russia seized that chance, while China was more restrained, perhaps reflecting cautious optimism that a President-elect Joseph R. Biden could stabilize relations with the United States. Neither country, however, congratulated Mr. Biden for winning the election. A spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia couched the delay as a technical matter of diplomatic protocol, and pledged that Mr. Putin would be ready to work with “any elected president of the United States.” On the flagship weekly news program on state TV Sunday night, host Dmitri Kiselyov said the election showed the United States to be “not a country but a huge, chaotic communal apartment, with a criminal flair.” For China, state media’s response to Mr. Biden’s win has been more measured. Mr. Biden would be “more moderate and mature” than Mr. Trump on foreign affairs, Global Times, a fiercely nationalistic tabloid, said. Other Chinese outlets emphasized the potential for political violence in the United States all last week as the vote counts trickled in. The Chinese state media shared photos of boarded-up businesses and police officers on watch at poll sites. A narrative of American decline has been a constant refrain in recent months, as an increasingly wealthy and confident China has tried to market itself to the rest of the world as a viable alternative for global leadership.

Florida cities mop up after deluge from Tropical Storm Eta (AP) Cities in South Florida mopped up after Tropical Storm Eta flooded some urban areas with a deluge that swamped entire neighborhoods and filled some homes with rising water that did not drain for hours. It was the 28th named storm in a busy hurricane season, and the first to make landfall in Florida. Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, was among the harder hit areas. “It’s very bad. In the last 20 years, I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Tito Carvalho, who owns a car stereo business in Fort Lauderdale and estimated the water was 3 feet deep in some places.

Vizcarra impeached in Peru (Foreign Policy) Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra is to leave office after the country’s congress successfully impeached him on charges of corruption. Vizcarra was accused of accepting bribes for public works contracts during his time as a governor. Although he denies the allegations, he said on Monday that he would “leave the presidential palace today.” Manuel Merino, the head of the minority party Popular Action, will assume the presidency until a new one is chosen in April 2021.

Landmines cleared from Falkland Islands 38 years after conflict (Reuters) The final landmines on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic have been cleared, Britain said on Tuesday, nearly 40 years after they were laid by Argentine forces when they seized the British territory. The removal of the mines meant the United Kingdom had met its obligations set by the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, Britain’s Foreign Office (FCDO) said, adding that there were now no anti-personnel mines on British soil anywhere in the world. Argentina invaded the archipelago, to which it lays claim, in 1982. Britain sent a task force to retake the islands in a brief war which saw more than 600 Argentine and 255 British servicemen killed. A British-funded programme, which started in 2009, to de-mine the islands completed its mission three years ahead of schedule.

As virus spikes, Europe runs low on ICU beds, hospital staff (AP) In Italy lines of ambulances park outside hospitals awaiting beds, and in France the government coronavirus tracking app prominently displays the intensive care capacity taken up by COVID-19 patients: 92.5% and rising. In the ICU in Barcelona, there is no end in sight for the doctors and nurses who endured this once already. Intensive care is the last line of defense for severely ill coronavirus patients and Europe is running out—of beds and the doctors and nurses to staff them. In country after country, the intensive care burden of COVID-19 patients is nearing and sometimes surpassing levels seen at last spring’s peak. Health officials, many advocating a return to stricter lockdowns, warn that adding beds will do no good because there aren’t enough doctors and nurses trained to staff them. In France, more than 7,000 health care workers have undergone training since last spring in intensive care techniques. Nursing students, interns, paramedics, all have been drafted, according to Health Minister Olivier Veran.

Greece: Floods sweep cars into sea, send people to rooftops (Washington Post) Heavy flooding on the Greek island of Crete damaged roads, flooded hundreds of homes and swept cars into the sea amid ongoing torrential rainfall. Authorities Tuesday said the most serious damage occurred east of the island’s capital, Iraklio, in small towns and villages where schools were closed and residents were advised to stay indoors. In the worst-affected areas, some residents sought refuge on the roofs of their homes as muddy water swept through towns, dragging cars and debris. A state of emergency was declared in flooded areas. It was the third time in less than a month that the area has been hit by flooding. Heavy rainfall is expected to continue through Thursday.

China gears up for world’s largest online shopping festival (AP) Chinese consumers are expected to spend tens of billions on everything from fresh food to luxury goods during this year’s Singles’ Day online shopping festival, as the country recovers from the pandemic. The shopping festival, which is the world’s largest and falls on Nov. 11 every year, is an annual extravaganza where China’s e-commerce companies, including Alibaba, JD.com and Pinduoduo, offer generous discounts on their platforms. Last year, shoppers spent $38.4 billion on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms Tmall and Taobao.

Erekat, longtime spokesman for the Palestinians, dies at 65 (AP) Saeb Erekat, a veteran peace negotiator and prominent international spokesman for the Palestinians for more than three decades, died on Tuesday, weeks after being infected by the coronavirus. He was 65. The American-educated Erekat was involved in nearly every round of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians going back to the landmark Madrid conference in 1991. Over the years, he was a constant media presence. He tirelessly argued for a negotiated two-state solution to the decades-old conflict, defended the Palestinian leadership and blamed Israel—particularly hard-line leader Benjamin Netanyahu—for the failure to reach an agreement. As a loyal aide to Palestinian leaders—first Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas—Erekat clung to this strategy until his death, even as hopes for Palestinian statehood sank to new lows. In the weeks leading up to his death in an Israeli hospital, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had normalized ties with Israel, breaking with the long-held Arab position that a deal on Palestinian statehood must precede normalization. Abbas and members of his inner circle, including Erekat, found themselves internationally sidelined and deeply unpopular among Palestinians. And decades of unfettered Israeli settlement expansion had made a statehood deal based on the partition of territory increasingly unlikely.

Concern of outright war in Ethiopia grows as PM presses military offensive (Reuters) Ethiopia’s prime minister stepped up a military offensive in the northern region of Tigray on Sunday with air strikes as part of what he called a “law enforcement operation,” increasing fears of outright civil war in Africa’s second-most populous country. Abiy last week launched a military campaign in the province, saying forces loyal to leaders there had attacked a military base and attempted to steal equipment. Government fighter jets have since been bombing targets in the region, which borders Sudan and Eritrea. Aid workers on Sunday reported heavy fighting in several parts of the region.

[gottagobackintime]

As it’s pride month I thought I’d talk about my sexuality. Again. I’ve done it a few times over the years and in tags and so on but it’s also a way for me to reflect on my progression when it comes to it. 

So, it all started when I was 16 (2009) and I started having feelings for my friend who is also a girl. These feelings probably started when I was around 14 but I didn’t recognise them as feelings, it was more a ‘oh I really like her as a friend but I wanted to be close to her in a not friend way’. Not that I understood that then. So flash forward to age 16, I can’t exactly remember the thing that made me actually “research” different types of sexuality, but I started googling things like “How do I know if I’m bisexual?” and I stumbled upon a quiz that would determine if you were gay, straight or bi. So I took it and *drum roll* it said I’m bisexual. It really helped me, having to answer questions like “do you fantasise about people of the same sex”. I wanted an answer, “am I bisexual?” and for it to be as accurate as possible I had to actually think about it. I still took some time to think about it more. To be really sure. But something had changed. I understood that I had feelings for my friend and that it was a valid thing despite the fact that I’m also interested in guys and had had a boyfriend from the age of 6 to the age of 13 (he was my first kiss.) I added that I like men and women on facebook, as a really subtle “coming out” you wouldn’t really see it if you weren’t looking for it. I said that I’m bisexual in my twitter profile. I then started vague tweeting about having feelings for a girl, god help me it’s... It’s a lot. Let me show you:

Anyway... Moving on. It was never an issue with my sexuality when it came to my friends that I’d had since I was 13, we never really discussed it tbh, and I don’t think I ever actually came out. Some of them might not even know to this day now that I think about it. The one friend I actually came out to in 2012, I came out to by accident because I told her about a funny thing that happened in class when I had used my sexuality as an example to my teacher’s question. I didn’t realise that she didn’t know, because by then I’d had headers on facebook that said “I’m bi deal with it” and things like that. Because I’m an idiot and think that that’s enough, not thinking about the fact that she might not have looked at my profile in years. She was upset that I hadn’t told her, I was scared that I’d lose her as a friend because of my sexuality. But we talked about it and she did/doesn’t care about it, she was just upset that I hadn’t told her before, especially since I’d know I’m bi for several years at that point. And I don’t blame her for feeling like that at all. In the autumn that same year I started uni and I ended up in a little friend group and during the first week, I and another person in our group sat talking about Merlin, because we were both Merlin fans/merthur shippers. And we suddenly heard something about gay/lesbian and we asked what they were talking about. Another person of the group says she likes girls and both me and the girl I’d been talking to says “same”. And I said something along the lines of “and guys” and I then followed up with saying I’m bi. After this I had to come out again to the girl that started the conversation about liking girls. I had to come out again to other people who where there too. Which kind of hurt, I hadn’t expected to have to come out twice to the same people. Especially someone who is also part of the lgbtq+ community. 

The years went on and I’d see more and more things on the internet about bi-phobia and bi stereotypes and I felt that maybe I had to tone down the “I’M BI, GET USED TO IT” stuff that I’d sometimes posted. Because after all, “bi people only do it for attention”. This was just the start of my internalised biphobia. I started to question if I’m actually bi, maybe I was just doing it to be cool, to get attention, despite the fact that the thought of coming out face to face makes my heart race (still does) and so I always wait until I really have to come out. It didn’t/doesn’t help that I tend to crush more on guys than any other gender, so why do I have to be *special* if I’m that into guys. Then I started to think about the fact that I never ever ever ever ever want to go down on someone with a vagina. The thought makes me go 😬, so surely I can’t be into girls/people with vaginas. I completely ignored the fact that I never ever ever ever ever want to put a penis in my mouth either, because the thought makes me go even more 😬 and even a bit 🤢. Now I can see that, me not wanting to have oral sex doesn’t make me any less bisexual. It just means that I don’t want to have oral sex. I still want to have sex, just not like that. But when I was feeling shitty about my sexuality this didn’t even cross my mind. It was just a reflection on me “faking” my bisexuality. I felt guilty for mostly imagining myself in a relationship with a guy, because it seems easier. I called myself half-gay, half-straight and used that to minimise my own fears and struggles. “I’m only half-gay so I don’t have the same amount of struggles that a lesbian has.” Which is such a bad way to see things. Sure, I don’t have the exact same types of struggles that a lesbian has, but I still struggle with coming out, biphobia both from the lgbtq+ community and from straight people and internalised biphobia. This is one of the reasons I hate the fact that some people throw the words “straight passing privilege” in our face. It adds to the pressure that we’re not gay enough that many of us already feel. Since when is being in the closet a privilege?? 

Sorry about that, I just had to get that out of my system. I’m feeling much better about my sexuality again, and I can recognise the signs of internalised biphobia when it occasionally pops up. I think I’m gonna leave it here. If you ever wanna talk about bisexuality or lgbtq+ in general or want someone to talk to about your sexuality/questioning. Feel free to talk to me 😄

[nerdy-bits]

A Chat with the Coffee Talk Team

NerdyBits EIC Caleb Sawyer got a chance to talk with some of the devs responsible for Coffee Talk. Join them as they talk about their inspirations, motivations, and of course their favorite drinks to order at a coffee shop.

First of all, what are your names? And what do you do? How long have you been working with Toge Productions?

Fahmi Hasni, Lead Writer & Game Director of Coffee Talk - joined Toge Productions in 2017 as marketing manager, unfortunately, when the project was completed he decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.

Dio Mahesa, Art Director of Coffee Talk - Joined Toge Productions in 2012.

Andrew Jeremy, Producer\Project Manager & Music Composer of Coffee Talk - Joined Toge Productions in 2010.

Fredrik Lauwrensius, Programmer of Coffee Talk - Joined Toge Productions in 2017.

Jovan Anggara, Programmer of Coffee Talk - Joined Toge Productions in 2017.

Hendry Roesly, Pixelart Illustration Artist (he's actually our most senior art director and art team lead, he decided to help on the project as secondary artist) - Joined Toge Productions in 2011

Kris Antoni, Co-writer/editor (founder of Toge Productions, for this project he took a minor role and advising the team from the sides) - founded Toge Productions in 2009.

 Coffee Talk is made with a lot of care. It is clear that the team loves conversation. What went into writing the dialogue for CoffeeTalk? Was it mostly a single writer? Was the whole team involved?

The idea for the game came from Fahmi Hasni during an internal gamejam in the studio back in 2017. He wanted to make a game that replicates the feeling of watching the rain while holding a warm drink and listening to conversations. He comes up with the characters and the premise of the story. Even so, fleshing out the details of the story involves the whole studio, not just the main team members. Fahmi had a writer's block during development, so we did brainstorming and role-play sessions to help him develop the dialogue and stories. We assign people in the studio to role-play a character that reflected their personality. So, characters and stories in the game were actually based on real people in the studio, their personality, and their personal experiences. Kris helps out in the writing and editing process.

 The subject matter of a lot of the conversations in Coffee Talk cover some pretty pointed subjects. You also navigate through those topics with a lot of finesse. What motivated you to talk about things like race, sexuality, tech crunch, etc.?

These are stories that were based on our own personal experiences and struggles. We believed that these experiences shape a person and are an integral part of who they are. We want each character in the game to be a reflection of someone real, we want them to be relatable, and hopefully show the players a new perspective on these subjects.

 Another overwhelmingly apparent fact is: you folks love your coffee! As a former Barista myself, you really captured the job well. How did you do research for this game? Or are there experienced coffee makers on the team at Toge?

Fahmi is a coffee aficionado and he loves working in coffee shops, that's his second home. So, he's well versed in the coffee shop trade. Other than personal experience, our research method is mostly observation and watching youtube videos. For most people in our studio, they can't function well without a good cup of joe in the morning. And since Indonesia is the 4th biggest coffee producer in the world, coffee plays a huge part in our culture.

Dio did a lot of research about the coffee shop, the coffee machine, and equipment, so the coffee shop setting, vibe, and mood can be delivered as it is in real life.  

 How long did it take the team to get the Latte Art UI right? It is extremely good.

The Latte Art system was developed in less than a week. Getting it right took a lot longer, maybe a couple of months. We had to do a lot of testing and tweaking. The important thing is we need to make the UI is easy to use, so the players can experience being a barista, even if they didn't have that real-life barista skills. 

 The end of the game, without getting into spoilers, suggests that there may be more story to tell. Is the team considering adding to Coffee Talk in the future?

Maybe... :D

 I saw, in the credits, that some of the characters in the game are named after real people. How many characters were based off of people the team knows, and how closely did some of those personalities come through?

All of them were based on real people to some degree or a mix-match from a combination of people. 

 Who is your favorite character in Coffee Talk? Why? 

Dio: My favorite characters mixed between Neil and Jorji. Neil because they're hilarious in person and one of the most difficult characters to make, and Jorji because I designed the character's personality by myself.

Fredrik: My favorite character is aqua because she is cute.

Kris: Neil is my favorite character, reminds me of my dumb young self.

Andrew: Neil, because he's funny and innocent.

 What is your favorite drink, and how do you make it?

Kris: I like Wedang Jahe (Ginger Milk Tea), it's ginger, milk, and tea? I usually buy instant sachets

Dio: Green Tea and Cafe Latte

Fredrik: Barley Tea

Andrew: Mochaccino and Matcha Latte

 The music is perfect for the setting so I have to ask: What other lo-fi hip hop artists does the studio listen to, and will the Coffee Talk soundtrack be on iTunes, Spotify etc.?

Andrew: I don't really have specific artists in mind, but apparently there's a Youtube channel called Chillcow and alike to which I listen. Also, I did listen to Jazz music a lot. It gave a lot of influences and inspirations in my song-making, of course. The soundtracks will be sold on Steam and they will also be available on many digital music platforms, such as Spotify, iTunes, etc.

 Finally, what do YOU want people to know about Coffee Talk, that they won't get from a trailer?

We hope they enjoy the game :P

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

‘First Meetings, Fate, and Molly Hooper’ Chapter 1: Begin Again

Fate brought them together once, and it brings them together again. Read on to find out how Sherlock and Molly met, and how that meeting came back into play after the phone call.

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and thank you to @strangelock221b for helping me with timeline confusion lol

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               Mysteries always seemed to surround Sherlock Holmes. One of those mysteries happened to be how he met Molly Hooper in the first place. Everyone had an inkling that they met before work brought them together, and they certainly weren’t wrong. Sherlock did not believe in anything beyond a logical explanation, and he certainly did not believe in fate…not until two weeks had passed since the phone call. But, in order to understand how fate was proven to our favourite detective, we must first dive into the past.

Autumn 2009

               Taking a drag from his cigarette, Sherlock Holmes strolled the streets of London. He loved the atmosphere, seeing it through a different perspective than most people. He was supposed to be searching for a flat, as his brother demanded, but the task was awfully boring. The skies were growing dark, an autumn chill in the air. The only sounds were chattering people, and the crunching of fallen leaves beneath his feet.

               That’s when he saw her. A young woman was struggling to find something within her handbag. They were inching closer, soon to pass by one another beneath the lamplight. And they would have had she not ended up running into the lamppost, causing her to fall on the cool, hard concrete.

               Sherlock, despite his reservations on human interaction, immediately offered a hand to help. “That was quite a tumble you took.” The woman just looked at him incredulously for a moment before gathering her thoughts.

               “Ye—yes,” she stuttered, taking his hand, and allowing him to help her up. “I suppose I’m just a bit scatter-brained today. Thank you for your help.”

               “It was no problem,” he replied more politely than he ever had been. Sherlock admired the silky chestnut waves that flowed just past her shoulders, and the wisdom that resided in her eyes. It was the kind of wisdom that most say resides in old souls. He did not believe in such poppycock, but there was something about this woman that fascinated him.

When in observation mode, Sherlock could typically bring up several factors about a person, but she was an enigma to him. Only three observations came to mind: she was new to London, wise for her age, and she recently lost somebody very close to her. But now, as the wind blew her scent toward him, he noted a hint of ginger nut and formaldehyde. So, she loved to bake, and had a medical career of some sort.

“Well, I, uh, should probably get going before it gets too dark. I still get lost around here,” she laughed.

“Why don’t I walk you home?” The words left his lips before he had time to think.

“Would you? I know the address, but I’m not sure how to get back from—“ she squinted her eyes at the sign, suggesting that she probably owned a pair of reading glasses “—Baker Street.”

“I’d be delighted to guide you.” He smiled genuinely. What was wrong with him, he wondered. He told himself it was only because he didn’t want her to come to any harm; after all, it was quite dark outside, and unsafe for a woman to be walking the streets alone.

They had been walking for a couple of minutes in silence until Molly spoke up. “Ya know, I never asked what your name was.”

“It’s Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes,” he replied, keeping his eyes forward.

“What an interesting name,” she mused. “I’m Molly. Molly Hooper.” Sherlock smirked just slightly at her impersonation of his introduction. “Not that I’m not grateful, but why did you decide to help me?”

“I don’t know,” Sherlock told her softly. “I don’t like not knowing.” The rest of the walk was spent in comfortable silence. Molly hadn’t a clue why she felt she could trust this strange man, but having him beside her was the safest she had felt in a long time.

“Well, here we are,” she announced as the approached her building. “I’d invite you in for tea, but the place is a disaster. Thank you again for your help, Mister Holmes.”

He said nothing for a moment, contemplating how to avoid any further interaction. “Sleep well, Molly Hooper.” And he walked off into the chilly night air.

 Autumn 2016 (Present Day)

Sherlock hadn’t been in contact with Molly since he broke her heart via phone call, and if he was being honest with himself, it broke his heart too. He had been so afraid to see the inevitable hate she would no doubt hold in her eyes if she saw him again. Construction was continuing in his flat, but he needed to escape the noise for a while. He stepped out onto the street, a familiar autumn breeze sending chills down his spine, despite his coat and scarf adorning him.

He desperately needed a cigarette, but instead, he added a third patch. After all, he was facing a three patch problem. Thoughts of Molly refused to leave his mind, and it haunted him every second of every day since Sherrinford. As he lost himself within his head, strolling down Baker Street, he heard the sound of sudden impact, followed by a voice he could recognize anywhere.

“Not again,” she muttered to herself, picking up the items that fell out of her handbag. Despite his fears, Sherlock was immediately by her side, helping her gather her things. “Thank you so much, I haven’t—“Her eyes locked with his. “Sherlock.”

“It seems you have a habit of walking into lampposts,” he quipped, hoping to divert any awful scenarios.

“Apparently, it’s just this one,” she replied. “Funny how we still meet like this after all these years; it’s almost like fate.”

“Fate,” he muttered to himself. Remembering their surroundings, Sherlock offered his hand to her once more, and she did take it, albeit hesitantly. “Molly, I—“ He was stopped by her finger pressed to his lips in an effort to keep him quiet. As she pulled away, his fingers brushed hers, and she allowed him to hold her hand. Instead of speaking of his feelings, he decided to show her by pressing a light kiss against her knuckles.

Molly’s breath caught in her throat, unable to speak. Instead, she inched closer to him until his arms were around her and hers around him. This is what they needed. It didn’t matter that they were lingering on the street. It was, after all, the same spot they met seven years ago. When she was finally able to speak, all she asked was, “Walk me home?”

Nodding, he took her hand in his, and began to lead her in the direction of her flat, but quickly realised she wasn’t budging from where she stood. He turned toward her, confusion written on his face. His heart raced as she smiled at him, tugging him toward 221B. Home. He would no doubt be sending the workers away for the evening, as it seemed Molly had other plans, and now, he did too.

AO3

[mylifeincinema]

My Best of 2019: My Top 10 Films!

It’s time! What an outrageously strong year for film 2019 ended up being; in general of course, but especially when looking at just how great the very top tier films that were released this year are. Before we get started, a reminder that My Top 10 Films aren’t necessarily my list of the ‘best’, or ‘my favorite’, but a mix of the two, taking both sides of the A&E into equal consideration. Either one of those other lists would end up being outrageously different, and incredibly similar.

Before we dive into things, here are a few Honorable Mentions, all of which very well could have snuck their way into the main list: James Gray’s Ad Astra; Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story; Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit; and Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese. Also, to check out my full Top 33, CLICK HERE.

And now, without further ado...

My Top 10 Films of 2019!!

10. Anthony & Joe Russo’s Avengers: Endgame

Perfect despite its imperfections. Fan service galore makes this film both stumble and soar. It’s chock-full of genuinely great performances, exciting action sequences and time-travel. I’ll never not be there for that trifecta.

9. James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari

At its core, Ford v Ferrari isn’t about the war between two automotive giants, it’s about destiny and the drive toward the perfect lap. A stellar cast and Mangold’s technically pristine direction make this one fire on all cylinders.

8. Benny & Josh Safdie’s Uncut Gems

Wow…

Who knew a two-hour anxiety attack could be so f*cking fun??

7. Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart

I adore this movie. Tons of laughs and lots of heart; it all works equally great as high school comedy as it does as a coming-of-age story. What it really comes down to, though, is that I just really want to hang out with Gigi.

6. Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Part revisionist history, part love letter to a Hollywood that once was, Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is a tale of two men desperately trying to retain relevance in a world that’s drastically changing around them.

Tarantino’s vision here is a time machine; one that brings us back to both revel in a moment and right some wrongs. It’s a quiet film for Q. A film that respects its characters and their journeys. A film that understands them better than any since 2009′s Inglourious Basterds, or possibly even 1997′s Jackie Brown.

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is a film only Quentin Tarantino could pull off; a masterpiece of a period film that’s as meticulous in its detail as it is gleeful in their dismantling.

5. Sam Mendes’ 1917

Gritty and grueling and emotionally exhausting, Sam Mendes' 1917 throws us into the trenches with an immersive race against the clock we don't often get to experience in a war film. An amazing companion piece to Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, using different storytelling techniques for a different war to equally effective results.

4. Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Told through the clouded lens of memory, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the story of lost love. Looking back on something as powerful as love can be an overwhelming, heartbreaking thing.

“Don’t Regret… Remember.”

It’s not the love that hurts, it’s the loss. Céline Sciamma brings this idea to life beautifully in this film, exploring the loss of both life and love. It’s the loss of love that resonates most here, because unlike life, it’s not clearly quantifiable. Only those within it can truly know its weight. Visually, Sciamma brings these memories to life with a gorgeous, dreamlike sense, filling many scenes with a beautiful air of otherworldliness. The titular sequence is especially effective, allowing us to see the emotionally elusive Héloïse through Marianne’s eyes more clearly and spiritually.

“Do all lovers feel they’re inventing something?”

Thematically, Sciamma compares this fleeting love affair with one of the greatest, most tragic ever told; that of Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s a connection that feels perfectly matched in execution. It adds both to the haunting otherworldliness of these memories and to the significance of Héloïse and Marianne’s time together. It helps to quantify the loss of love. Thanks to the stunning execution of these themes, Sciamma’s visual immersion into these memories and astonishing performances from our two leads, Portrait of a Lady on Fire an absolute powerhouse. Especially that ending.

“Turn Around.”

3. Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman

A quietly epic, immeasurably reflective, expertly edited life on film.

2. Greta Gerwig’s Little Women

I fell in love with this one almost instantly, and love it even more now.

It becomes very clear, very quickly, that Gerwig understands and respects and loves these characters so damn much. More than that, she understands and empathizes with the relationships they have with each other, not only as a group, but as individuals. The way she handles the dynamics between the sisters, both on a whole, and in their one-on-one relationships with each other, is absolutely beautiful. There’s an understanding of family and sisterhood in here that, for better and worse, rings so damn true.

This is a funny and heartwarming film. It never betrays its characters and brings their story to life with as much humor as it does understanding and sentimentality, making all of the moments hit home with every ounce of weight they should.

And The Best Film of 2019 is…

1. Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite

This film blew me away. I’m still speechless. It’s perfect.

Thank you for reading...

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

More of My Best of 2019…

[olivia-the-weirdo]

~MEET THE CHARACTER: SEBASTIAN~

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Full name: Sebastian (he can’t remember his middle or last name, currently has no idea what they are)

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Birthplace: Norrköping, Sweden

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Birthday: April 16th, 1968

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Died: October 11th, 2009 [He is a ghost]

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Place of death: The woods, Linköping

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Cause of death: punctured lungs, severed jugular, destroyed arteries, punctured aorta, torn heart, as well as excessive internal/external bleeding. Sebastian was mauled to death by a bear on a camping trip.

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Occupation: When Sebastian was alive, he was a bartender at a local bar, he also worked part-time at a record store.

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Spouse: Siv Svennig

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Children: [Two sons] Sebastian Gustaf Svennig Junior (oldest), Karl Martin Svennig

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Sexuality: Bisexual, Sebastian is more into women, but finds men attractive too and wouldn’t mind being with a man.

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Resides: With Abha and Häägen in Linköping, Sweden.

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Close friends: Jodred Björkman, Olaf Strousborg, Gustav Bergman, Elias Svensson, Abha Lindström.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Backstory: Sebastian was born on April 16th, 1968 in Norrköping, Sweden. He grew up in Gothenburg. He does not talk very much about his childhood, but has said that his parents were often very busy with their jobs from the age of 6, to his later teen years. Because of this, Sebastian played with himself and sometimes with the neighborhood kids, although, they weren’t too nice to Sebastian. In his senior year in high school, at 18, Sebastian met Siv Svennig, they were both the same age and went to the same school. Sebastian and Siv instantly hit it off, later marrying when they were 20 years old, having dated and loved each other for two years. At age 23, Siv became pregnant, and nine months later on August 18th, Sebastian Gustav Svennig Jr was born. Sebastian became a doting father and managed his best to juggle being a father with his job at a bar and music store. Six years later, Siv became pregnant again, giving birth to another baby boy, Karl Martin Svennig, on December 15th. Sebastian was a great husband, a great father, and a great story teller, he would tell funny stories all the time at the bar to his friends. Sebastian would see fights, hear hilariously stupid conversations, and other whack shit at the bar, adding those instances to his stories. At 39, in 2007, Sebastian met Olaf Strousborg, an engineer and software designer, the two became good friends with a brother-like relationship.

✦

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On October 11th, 2009, Sebastian and his friends Gustav Bergman and Elias Svensson went on a camping trip in the secluded woods in east Linköping. Their intent was to have a fun time in the woods, a scary place to be at night, especially near Halloween, but that plan did not go well. Everything was fine, until when the trio went to sleep. Gustav and Elias went into their tents to sleep, quickly realizing that they forgot to bring Sebastian a tent, Sebastian joked and just decided to sleep on the grass, with nothing but a pillow and small blanket. 30 minutes later, Sebastian awoke to the sound of some heavy breathing on his face, and some pressure on his chest. Opening his eyes, Sebastian came face-to-face with a black bear, rare creatures to be seen in Sweden. Sebastian instantly panicked, screaming and beginning to struggle in an attempt to get free, startling the bear and causing it to attack him viciously. Sebastian fought the bear the best he could, but to no avail, the Bear was too strong for him and ripped him up. His neck was brutally ripped open, along with his chest, blood was gushing out of his mouth, nose, and wounds. Gustav and Elias rushed to his side once the bear left, immediately tending to his wounds, phoning for help, and trying their hardest to keep Sebastian awake. He was alive for two minutes more, unable to breathe, and in so much pain. Sebastian was rushed to the hospital, where emergency surgery was performed on him, but there was nothing they could do that would help him. He was D.O.A, Dead On Arrival, his wife was the first to be called and told of what happened. Everyone that knew Sebastian raced to the hospital, nearly crowding the waiting room. It was a completely devastating night for Sebastian’s friends and family.

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After being pronounced dead at 12:00 am, Sebastian rose from his body and began to walk around, very confused and scared. He was a ghost, the fact that he was dead kicking in less than twenty seconds. Half of his memory of when he was alive was gone, he could remember his name, but not his middle/last name, where he lived, he was lost. Sebastian ran out of the hospital crying, screaming for help, but no one heard him, adding to his frustration and panic. Running in a random direction, Sebastian made his way to a small neighborhood, banging on the first door he saw. Inside that house was Abha Lindström, a Swedish fashion designer and clothing maker, she was alone watching a horror movie, it was three months before she met her husband, Häägen Daß. She heard the knocking, the screaming and crying, walking to the door and opening it, hoping to get to the source of the racket. There stood a tall skinny man, black hair, black leather jacket, Metallica shirt, ripped jeans, work boots. It had began to rain outside, heavily, yet he wasn’t wet at all. Abha asked the man his name, a somber, distorted, “Sebastian, please. Help. Me” leaving his mouth. Abha went to touch him, as she was suspicious if Sebastian was real or not, but her hand went through him, Sebastian shivering in response. Sebastian was allowed to stay with Abha the night, the next day telling her what he remembered of what happened, explaining to her he was dead and could not find his way back home, or even to where he died. Feeling bad, Abha let Sebastian move in with her, the two became best friends and roommates. Three months later, Abha met Häägen Daß, a notorious german Doctor, while working at her clothing store job. Häägen was in Sweden to get a new doctoral coat, being told by his coworker PaulChard Greider that the best coats were being made in Sweden. Häägen and Abha hit it off, and became lovers after three days of getting to know each other, Häägen moved in with Abha soon after they became official. Häägen and Abha now have three children, two twin girls and one boy, and are now married. Sebastian and Häägen do not get along and fight constantly.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s weekly politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.

sarahf (Sarah Frostenson, politics editor): We’re back with our third snake draft of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, god help us all. Previous drafts can be found here and here. And remember, we’re trying to pick who’d win the nomination, although our picks tend to get less selective and more inventive(?) as the rounds wear on.

The rules are as follows: Six rounds, so between the four of us, 24 potential 2020 Democratic nominees. Let’s determine the order. (And yes, we really do write our names on slips of paper and pick randomly!) We’re going to have Geoffrey Skelley, our new elections analyst, announce today’s order. Welcome, Geoff!!

geoffrey.skelley (Geoffrey Skelley, elections analyst): The office is currently doing the draw.

Clare has first pick.

Geoff is second.

Sarah is third.

Nate is fourth.

natesilver (Nate Silver, editor in chief): OMG what bullshit.

clare.malone: heh heh

geoffrey.skelley: There are many witnesses.

sarahf: OK, Clare, you’re up first! Take it away.

clare.malone (Clare Malone, senior political writer): Elizabeth Warren.

natesilver: Dammit.

geoffrey.skelley: Wow, that was my pick.

Stunning, I know.

clare.malone: My picks are gonna haunt your dreams, Nate.

sarahf: So she’s been popular in previous drafts, why is she your No. 1 now, Clare?

micah (Micah Cohen, managing editor): I’m really pissed I’m not participating in this draft.

clare.malone: Warren has captured the mood of the party for a long time as far as economic angst goes, she’s been a consistent and eager Trump antagonizer, and she’s gonna be raising mucho $$$$$$$$$$$

natesilver: She’s also seemed more candidate-y recently — like her weekend speech about Kavanaugh, which was nominally a speech for her Senate race, felt very much like something she could deliver in Iowa or New Hampshire.

clare.malone: Right, that speech is basically the reason we’re having this chat.

sarahf: For any readers that missed it, Warren said in a town hall this weekend in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that “after Nov. 6, I will take a hard look at running for president.” So yeah, definitely she seems like she’s considering running.

OK, Geoff, who’s your pick?

geoffrey.skelley: I’m going to go with Kamala Harris.

Tough call, was debating leading with a certain former vice president. But when I think about candidates who can put together winning coalitions, I think of candidates who could have a strong appeal to the Democratic Party’s African-American base.

sarahf: Betting markets seem to agree with you, Geoff.

geoffrey.skelley: Harris is also fresh and Democrats may be poised to go for a woman nominee again. Plus, Harris will have access to that California $$$$.

sarahf: And I’m going to continue the #2018yearofthewoman with my pick … Kirsten Gillibrand.

clare.malone: So, Sarah, a question for you on that one: Worried at all about the way that she has been screwed by some in the donor class?

sarahf: For sure. I also think her ties to Clinton are problematic for a 2020 run.

But I think she has a lot of experience going for her. She’s been in the Senate since 2009 and was in the House before that. Plus, she has some bipartisan appeal as well. Part of what we saw in 2016 I think had to do with the fact that both Trump and Clinton were deeply unpopular, which means I don’t think Clinton’s loss necessarily means that a woman like Warren, Harris or Gillibrand can’t win.

geoffrey.skelley: Gillibrand is probably the leading NY candidate, which ain’t nothing in a Democratic field.

sarahf: Nate, you’re up.

clare.malone: Nate’s gonna go with noted populist Democrat Jamie Dimon, I can feel it.

natesilver: OK, we’re going snake so I get two picks, right?

geoffrey.skelley: Yeah.

sarahf:

natesilver: I’m going with (4) Joe Biden, (5) Bernie Sanders.

OLD WHITE DUDES FTW

clare.malone: Bad pick.

natesilver: Which one?

clare.malone: Both.

All bad picks.

(For old times’ sake.)

natesilver: Joe Biden is LEADING in polls of Iowa.

And Bernie Sanders was the runner-up last time.

sarahf: I agree with Clare. How old is Biden?

clare.malone: I do actually think Biden’s a bad pick ultimately.

Biden is someone who’s going to probably look good to a general electorate, but I still wonder how his history with Anita Hill would play with a Democratic base in a primary.

geoffrey.skelley: I’m very down on Sanders — the moment’s passed, in my opinion. With someone like Warren running, I just don’t see it.

natesilver: Yeah, Warren running is a big negative for him. And his polls haven’t been great. It’s possible he benefited from being “not Hillary” in 2016, but now there are a lot of “not Hillaries.” But pretty good value at the No. 5 pick, IMO?

geoffrey.skelley: Yes.

clare.malone: He’s also someone who could be spun as too old, like Sarah said, or even not progressive enough for the moment. Again, this is for a Democratic primary.

natesilver: I just think … candidates’ fortunes will wax and wane, but Bernie is always going to have a built-in constituency.

geoffrey.skelley: No question that Sanders ran a good campaign — that “America” ad will live on forever.

geoffrey.skelley: Thinking about black voters, it’s possible that Biden can make an appeal among such voters if he’s facing white liberals like Warren and Sanders, which would help in South Carolina, for instance.

clare.malone: He’s an Upper Midwest/Pennsylvania candidate, and that’s what he’s billing himself as, I’d say.

But if Booker or Harris run, they would potentially neutralize a Biden advantage with black voters.

geoffrey.skelley: Exactly, Clare. If Harris or Booker are in, that weakens Biden’s case.

sarahf: OK, I think it’s time to move on to our No. 6 pick … Cory Booker.

clare.malone: He did some great grandstanding last week at the Ford/Kavanaugh hearings.

geoffrey.skelley: Every potential candidate has weaknesses, so Booker’s may be ties to Wall Street. But he’s good on the stump, safe to say.

sarahf: That said, I do think Booker is a very talented politician. He’s a great orator. And he’s really built a profile for himself as a #HellNo Democrat.

clare.malone: I think I’ve said this in previous drafts, but I find Booker to come off a bit gooberish in a way that could maybe grate during a campaign. He’s such the eager beaver. Of course, that might play very differently with an electorate that sees a candidate mostly through Facebook video feeds and so on.

Like, this dude has been running for president since he was mayor of Newark. It’s been a long time.

geoffrey.skelley: Hahaha, it’s so true.

Booker has been pegged as a potential presidential candidate since Day 1.

sarahf: OK, you’re up, Geoff.

geoffrey.skelley: Well, I think it’s time to shake things up.

BETO

sarahf: Oh my.

Clare, what do you think?

clare.malone: I think this.

But in all seriousness, I do think that if O’Rourke loses his Senate race, people will be trying to get him to run for president.

natesilver: That’s a predictable shake-up. I’m surprised he lasted this long.

geoffrey.skelley: I was just worried one of you would take him before it got back to me.

sarahf: We’re saving Jon Ossoff for later, Nate.

geoffrey.skelley: Funny thing is, if he were to upset Ted Cruz, that might reduce the chances he runs. Or at least, I’d be less likely to run for president if I’d just become a senator.

But if he comes close and generates all this coverage and Democratic enthusiasm as RFK 2.0 or something, I can see the attraction.

clare.malone: I think if he wins, he serves the Senate term.

All bets are off if he loses, because the next big Texas office doesn’t open up for a while.

natesilver: I guess his optimal scenario is that he loses like in a recount.

geoffrey.skelley: But President Trump might win re-election, so why not wait until 2024 if you’re O’Rourke in that case?

clare.malone: Ah, we’re getting to the dregs.

OK, I’m picking two, and one is Eric Holder. Pretty obvious reasons why: He’s a respected former attorney general who’s made voting rights a project, an African-American, and a close friend and ally of Obama, which would help in a campaign season. And God help me, but my other pick is Michael Avenatti, for no other reason than the world has gone mad and he’s on TV a lot.

sarahf: I was hoping someone would mention Avenatti!

clare.malone: Your wish is my command.

We needed to stir shit up here.

geoffrey.skelley: You just know the cable news channels won’t be able to resist covering him.

sarahf: I know mentioning him as a contender is very

, but i don’t think it’s unrealistic!

clare.malone: Me neither, that’s why I picked him

natesilver: On the one hand, Avenatti is very Trumpian, which doesn’t seem like it would be a very good sell in a party that hates Trump.

On the other hand, politics is becoming exponentially more annoying every day, and so that would be the best way to stick to the trend.

micah: OK, I’m butting in here on that Avenatti selection …

Clare …

Bad pick.

clare.malone: Which one, person-who’s-not-participating?

I THINK THEY’RE BOTH AMAZING PICKS

micah: Avenatti.

clare.malone: “A street fighter for Democracy,” etc. etc. The ads write themselves.

micah: Let’s not overlearn the lessons of 2016. After all, Democrats chose Hillary Clinton in 2016!!!

OK, I’m out.

Sorry, Sarah.

sarahf: What a note to leave on, Micah.

clare.malone: This is a low round pick. I doubt he will win, but I don’t doubt Avenatti will run.

sarahf: I think that’s solid. OK, Geoff, you’re up with the No. 10 pick.

geoffrey.skelley: Yeah, this is harder.

Let’s go with Amy Klobuchar.

Midwestern nice certainly would provide a contrast to the incumbent president.

clare.malone: Good pick.

geoffrey.skelley: And she got some very positive headlines out of the Kavanaugh hearing.

clare.malone: I debated picking her. I think the one thing about her is that her “brand” (ugh) won’t stick out as much in this year.

There are already a number of better-known women who will run.

And I think Biden’s probably taking up a lot of the Upper Midwestern voter appeal space.

But I think last week she was really impressive.

natesilver: Klobuchar is like as far as you can be from Trump, personality-wise. She’s the anti-Avenatti.

sarahf: OK, i’m going to piggyback off the Kavanaugh hearing publicity for Democrats and throw out Sen. Jeff Merkley, even if his lawsuit to stop the Kavanaugh vote was ill-advised.

He’s been considering running for a while and I think is another boring (but solid) possibility for Democrats come 2020 if it turns out the 2018 midterms aren’t as much of a progressive victory as expected.

We’ll be having a very different discussion if Andrew Gillum loses the governor’s in Florida or Kyrsten Sinema loses the Senate race in Arizona (even though they are very different candidates running for very different offices).

natesilver: Hmm … I think we’re rapidly running out of good candidates.

Or at least obvious ones.

sarahf: This is true, too.

clare.malone: JOHN KASICH

natesilver: Not your turn.

clare.malone: I know. Also, not a Democrat.

Which I think is at least a nominal requirement to get into this draft.

geoffrey.skelley: Michael Bloomberg would also like a word on that party ID question, maybe?

sarahf: But it is Nate’s turn! And he gets to pick two!

natesilver: I can’t believe I have to make two picks, I want to forfeit.

But let’s go with …

Uhhhhhh

clare.malone: Bad pick.

natesilver: Sherrod Brown and Oprah Winfrey.

Bad picks.

geoffrey.skelley: This is my first chat, but I recall Oprah made an appearance in the last one.

natesilver: I do think she’d be very formidable if she ran.

geoffrey.skelley: Resources, name recognition, appeals to an interesting cross-section of the country …

clare.malone: Oprah and The Rock make an appearance in every draft we do.

sarahf: What a ticket!

clare.malone: Yeah, Oprah would probably win.

geoffrey.skelley: I’ll be sure to take Dwayne later on.

sarahf: Ugh, so it’s back to me. Can we just do four rounds? (Apparently, we can’t. Nate says a snake draft has to be six rounds.)

OK, rapid fire!

She’s not going to run, but I’d like to see a Mazie Hirono ticket.

geoffrey.skelley: Why not two Hawaiian presidents?

sarahf: Indeed!

OK, Geoff. You’re up.

geoffrey.skelley: Hmm, one white male governor … but which one?

sarahf: I’m going to say Hickenlooper if you don’t.

geoffrey.skelley: I think I’ll go with — oh, there you go.

Yes, John Hickenlooper is my pick.

A little too think-tank-y, maybe.

But who knows, swing-state governor with a background as a brewery owner?

sarahf: Gotta get the craft beer vote and the yoga vote.

OK, Clare you’re bestowed the honor of two picks.

clare.malone: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, just to fulfill the prophecy, and … even though I don’t think she’s ever going to actually run, Michelle Obama because she, like Oprah, would also probably win.

sarahf: Obama/Oprah another interesting (although unlikely) ticket.

geoffrey.skelley: Because he’s seemingly interested, I’ll take Deval Patrick for Round 5, Pick 2.

Though if he does run, the New Hampshire primary is going to be a New England homer event with Warren and Sanders potentially in the running as well. But this could weaken New Hampshire’s importance.

sarahf: I think this is the point in the conversation is where we talk about John Delaney. So I’ll submit him as my option for this round, and unlike my previous pick, at least he’s running!

natesilver: OMG

sarahf: Who knows! He could have a better stump speech than Lincoln Chafee.

geoffrey.skelley: I haven’t heard Delaney talk about the metric system, so that’s a start.

natesilver: Why not just pick Martin O’Malley while you’re at it, at least he was governor of something.

clare.malone: And was in a band.

Is in a band.

natesilver: O’Rourke/O’Malley 2020.

geoffrey.skelley: But is “I’m bipartisan” the appeal that will work in the 2020 Democratic primary?

Count me a skeptic.

sarahf: OK, Nate. You get to pick two.

natesilver: My god, how much more of this.

I’ll take uhhhhhhhhhhhhh …

clare.malone: Will no one rid me of this troublesome snake draft?

natesilver: Eric Garcetti.

And the guy I always take, Doug Jones.

geoffrey.skelley: The Doug Jones Memorial Pick

natesilver: I think he’s more likely a VP than a top-of-the-ticket guy, but still …

clare.malone: He is facing a tough 2020 re-election fight as a Democrat in Alabama.

natesilver: Which might be a reason why he quits the Senate and runs for POTUS instead?

He was pretty outspoken against Kavanaugh.

Which doesn’t seem like a move you’d make if you’re focused on Alabama.

sarahf: OK, this is thankfully the LAST ROUND. And good news, Clare, you only have to pick one this time!

But I have to go first.

And I’m going to go out with Jay Inslee! I know, yet another exciting 2020 former-governor pick.

Plus, he’s recently said he’s not ruling out a 2020 run.

geoffrey.skelley: Western governors are actually a plentiful Democratic candidate grouping.

sarahf: OK, what’s your last pick, Geoff?

geoffrey.skelley: Well, the late rounds of drafts are where you pick sleepers.

So I’m going with someone who isn’t even elected yet but is currently running.

Andrew Gillum.

sarahf:

clare.malone: OK, me next?

sarahf: Yep, Clare. Take us home.

clare.malone: I’m going with Mitch Landrieu, who, correct me if I’m wrong, none of us picked earlier?

geoffrey.skelley: He’s all yours

clare.malone: White, Southern, progressive … yada, yada, yada.

geoffrey.skelley: I’d say the one name I expected but didn’t see was Steve Bullock.

natesilver: Some of these picks feel very 2024ish to me.

geoffrey.skelley: Gillum certainly could be if things go his way.

sarahf: So now we have to vote on this madness? Is that how this shakes out?

natesilver: I don’t even like my team this time, so I’m going to vote myself last to preserve my credibility.

sarahf: Here are our teams. Who wants to vote first?

2020 Democratic Primary Draft, October 2018

Round Clare Geoff Sarah Nate 1 Elizabeth Warren Kamala Harris Kirsten Gillibrand Joe Biden 2 Eric Holder Beto O’Rourke Cory Booker Bernie Sanders 3 Michael Avenatti Amy Klobuchar Jeff Merkley Sherrod Brown 4 Dwayne Johnson John Hickenlooper Mazie Hirono Oprah Winfrey 5 Michelle Obama Deval Patrick John Delaney Eric Garcetti 6 Mitch Landrieu Andrew Gillum Jay Inslee Doug Jones

natesilver: I like Geoff’s team.

clare.malone: I’ll rank ’em: Clare, Geoff, Sarah, Nate.

sarahf: I’d vote Clare, Geoff, myself and then Nate, I guess.

geoffrey.skelley: I’ll be that guy and vote for myself

clare.malone: Even more the #1 team, then.

sarahf: I think this means we have a tie between Clare’s team and Geoff’s team.

Quite the slate, y’all.

geoffrey.skelley: I think a late-primary debate between Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren would certainly be something to behold if the field were to ever shrink to two (who knows).

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

How Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal Got Their Movie 'Blindspotting' Made After 10 Years

Six years before Daveed Diggs made Thomas Jefferson cooler than any history teacher thought possible in the musical  Hamilton, he was huddled over a pirated version of the screenwriting software Final Draft with his best friend, Rafael Casal. A producer had offered Casal a movie after seeing his slam poetry on YouTube and HBO’s  Def Poetry. Casal brought Diggs star on board, and right away they knew what the subject had to be: their city, Oakland, California. In 2009, that topic was weighted with tragedy. “Oscar Grant was murdered at Fruitvale Station, blocks away from where I was living,” says Diggs, referring to the unarmed black man shot by a white police officer on January 1 of that year, an incident dramatized by Ryan Coogler in his 2013 film  Fruitvale Station. At that point, says Diggs, “you couldn’t write about Oakland without talking about that.” But unlike Coogler, Diggs and Casal intended to charge their politics with dark humor. “So many comedies ignore race except when it’s funny,” says Casal. “We wanted to write a buddy comedy without ignoring the world these guys live in.

In January,  Blindspotting debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, starring Diggs and Casal; six months after that, on July 27, it will open nationwide. And that’s exactly eight years after the duo expected the film to be made. Diggs laughs: “As I learned,” he says of their crash course in the film business, “you can have a movie fully green-lit, ready to go, and then it disappears.”

The producers, Jessica and Keith Calder, had originally offered the two a $300,000 budget to shoot on DSLR cameras; they even had a director, Jonathan Levine (50/50), signed on. But the Calders had just launched a production company, Snoot Entertainment, and they kept getting pulled into outside-funded projects. After three false starts, says Casal, the heartbroken writers told the producers, “We don’t even want to talk about this movie anymore. Let’s move on.” The persistent Calders, however, came back to the project in 2015. This time, Diggs was the roadblock. He had just signed on to do  Hamilton, which debuted off-Broadway. He remembers telling the producers, “I’m sure it will only last three months.” A year later, the musical was a record-breaking Broadway hit, earning Diggs a Tony and a Grammy for his two roles (Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette). In February 2017, as  Moonlight won best picture at the Academy Awards for its depiction of a black gay man’s coming-of-age, Casal drunk-texted the Calders something along the lines of: “We could have had a  Moonlight.” The Calders jumped back in. “This was the beginning of Trump’s America,” says Casal, “and we all got reinspired.”

At that point, like many in the original cast, Diggs had left Hamilton, but the rising star’s new management team had to sign off on the script. They did, pending a massive rewrite, due in two months. Diggs was busy with acting—guest roles on TV and the Julia Roberts film  Wonder —so it was left to Casal. The basic plot stayed the same: Collin, a convicted felon with a gentle demeanor (played by Diggs), is determined to get through the last three days of his yearlong probation without incident. Miles, his white, hot-headed best friend (Casal), is eager to stir up trouble. Early on, Collin witnesses a white police officer fatally shoot a black man. He tries to bury what he saw, but it eats away at him. What changed, says Casal, was how the aftermath of the shooting played out. “Over 10 years, that conversation has evolved so much,” he says. “When we started the script, there were protests in the street when something like that would happen. Now, nothing.”

“The momentum behind movements like [Black Lives Matter] has been tough to sustain,” says Diggs. “We thought a lot would change, but it didn’t.” A big protest scene was dropped. “Now, Collin is the only person affected by the shooting,” Diggs says, “with no response from the city. And once word gets out that the black victim was a felon, suddenly he’s not perfect enough to warrant protests.”

Production began in June 2017. Casal chose a friend, Carlos López Estrada, to direct. Casal sent him references for the Oakland he and Diggs wanted to see, “like Whoville: big cars, big hats, big sunglasses, bright shorts.” Casal’s highly stylized vision borders on surreal. “Oakland is a place like nowhere else,” he says, adding wistfully, “Well, that was more true when we were growing up.”

The Bay Area tech boom, which pushed real estate prices into the stratosphere, means the once–predominantly black and Latino city is gentrifying. Collin and Miles resent the young hipsters moving in, but Miles is particularly incensed—as well as desperate to prove that, despite his skin color, he’s not one of them. When he and Collin attend a housewarming party, it’s not the tech-bro host Miles punches in the face but a black Oakland native who accuses Miles of cultural appropriation. “When I’m back home,” says Casal, who lives in Los Angeles now, “I’m aware of the glaring hostility between presumed locals and presumed outsiders—and I say ‘presumed’ because no one is actually checking. We’re just using race as a placeholder for knowing who’s from there and who’s not.” Misinterpretation aside, the screenwriters tend to side with natives. The privileged white newcomers in Collin and Miles’s world serve, in part, as comic relief, but as Diggs notes, in real life, gentrification “is more complicated than painting bad guys.”

He knows because when he moved to New York City for his role in Hamilton, “I lived in Washington Heights and disappointed people every day because I didn’t speak Spanish. That was a moment for me to learn something and be—to the degree that I could—part of a community that had thrived for a long time before I got there and will continue for a long time after I’ve left.” As much as Diggs tried to be sensitive, “it’s hard to walk around thinking that way every day,” he says. Similarly, Blindspotting is attempting to show that “in any given situation there’s something you’re missing, through no fault of your own. We’re not intentionally trying to offend anybody,” adds Diggs, “but if you’re offended, maybe you should ask yourself why."

The first scene the two friends wrote, back in 2009, comes toward the end of the film. Collin challenges Miles to use a racial slur. Miles refuses. It leads to a confrontation that’s been percolating: Miles gets away with his antagonistic behavior because he’s white, while the more cautious Collin is stereotyped as a thug because of his skin color and dreadlocks. For Diggs, it was the hardest day of the shoot. “It’s the only time I thought, Damn, this would be a lot easier if I wasn’t acting with my best friend,” he says. “We’d meet up after each take to hug it out.”

[chris-evans-imagine]

Mistletoe

Prompt: Hey, can you do an imagine where y/n and chris meet at Chris Pratts bbq party after not seeing each other for a very long time and he finally asks her out. They've been friends since they've made a movie in 2005 and they've never been single when the other was single, so they were no good timing.. ☺️

 A/N: I struggled a little to write this because i had a lot on my mind during this but i loved the request. Therefore, I wanna thank my beta readers because they helped me a lot, you’re amazing! @macca-mcsexy @avasimaginesblog

Warnings: Fluff, Chris!Daddy.

2005

“Hey, Chris, who’s him?” y/n asked his brother. He was on the BBQ, while everybody were about to go watching the game inside the house.

“A friend, his name’s Chris Evans. Met him on auditions, so I invited him…”

“Oh, he’s cute” Chris Pratt looked at his little sister. She had that naughty smile on her face, curtesy of the Pratt heritage.

“Seriously?”

“I’m just saying it to annoy you, big baby” Y/n knew that part of it was true. She actually meant it, but the moment she met his eyes, holy moly! She felt her heart racing. It was a cliché when people say that fireworks happen when you look into the right eyes. She felt the fireworks, the volcano exploding and the universe colliding.

After the game, everybody was leaving, y/n was on the kitchen, at her 22 years old, she was the youngest child of the family, sometimes she hated she was still the baby for all of them, but when it came to responsibilities, she was the one facing them, like cleaning up the mess after a party. She was carrying some of the garbage bags when he walked in.

“Oh… hi” he smiled. She smiled too. Inside she was terrified.

“Hello, you must be the other Chris” he nodded amused by the girl standing in front of him.

“I guess. I’m Chris Evans”

“Nice to meet you, y/n Pratt.” You must live one of this moments in your lifetime, when you just feel… magic.

“Oh, I was looking for your brother to say goodbye but let me help you” since she was glimpsed by him, she accepted the help. He took the bags as she walked in front of him, guiding the way.

“Thanks… hum, I don’t know where Chris is” she added.

“It’s fine. Hey, hum” she looked at him, paralyzed, her hands on her pockets “is that a dog?” he pointed the front park, she nodded. Damn. Her husky must’ve escaped again.

“Yes, that’s Fenway” she didn’t know if she pushed him and began running, after the dog. What she knew was the run wasn’t by herself, he was next to her. He whistled and Fenway stopped. She yelled at him and he stood there, almost laughing at the humans.

“So… Fenway?” she nodded as both of them knelt.

“He’s very friendly. And yes, my dad gave it to me when I was 18, I wanted a cool name, so he was nameless for the first days” they walked together and sat on the sidewalk, Chris caressed Fenway but kept looking at her “and one day we were watching the news, the name came up and he barked… so, that was it” he smiled. She was funny, nice and… something he couldn’t explain.

Suddenly both of them were touching the dog and then, their looks met. The space between them felt like the sea, it became shorter and shorter. He felt her sweet breathing, she was dizzied by his manly smell.

“They found him!” she heard her brother yell breaking the spell.

***

2009

Her brother’s wedding was beautiful. Something happened when he saw a blonde, tall guy as she walked down the aisle. What the damn hell? Something shut down the moment she realized he wasn’t by himself. There was a gorgeous woman sitting next to him. She needed to keep it together.

When Chris saw y/n, he experienced something he has only lived once: his heart skipped a beat. The first time it happened was the moment their sight met at the BBQ. She was beautiful. The years had been good to her. Suddenly, he felt the hands of his companion and sighed.

***

2013

Against all odds, he could make it to Jack’s first birthday!

He rang the bell, funny how universe works, y/n was nearby and heard it. She was barely able to walk by now but she made her way towards the door. She opened to meet the reason of her younger fantasies.

Chris’s jaw almost hit the ground. Her hair was lighter, her cheeks pinkier and her belly swallower. She was radiant.

“Chris, hi” she spoke. He smiled.

“Wow… you’re beautiful, y/n” she smirked back. And shrugged.

“Thanks, come on in”

“Thanks, I didn’t know you were pregnant”

“Yeah, I got married almost a year ago and now… well, this” she pointed. Y/n didn’t know if it was her son kicking or butterflies flying inside her belly.  

“I’m really happy for you”

***

2017

A few months after y/n gave birth to Samuel, Chris became a father himself. He didn’t got married to her daughter’s mom, but still had a great relationship with her. Ava Evans was his entire world, at age 3, she was already taking all over the world.

Today was a regular day, were Chris was invited to spend New Year’s at the Pratt’s place. Ava was almost asleep on the backseat. He didn’t mind. He knew his daughter was independent and smart. She reminded him to another girl he had met long time ago. Despite the years, he still experienced the purity and the pleasing moment they had the very first day.

Once there, he thought on the odds of seeing her. He wondered over the years of her as a mother, of her as woman.

Chris Pratt opened the door and invited him a sparkling wine, which he denied since he was driving. The main reason he’d agreed going there was that his friend was struggling with his first holidays being separated from Anna. It didn’t cross his mind that through the decorations and the lights, she’d be there. y/n was pointing at something, a little boy was standing next to her. He looked a lot like her. She lifted up her sight to meet his.

“Daddy? Can I go play?” Chris nodded, speechless, Ava denied with his head, daddy didn’t help to take off her coat, and she did it anyway. “Wait… who is she?”

“An old friend, come one, sweetie, I want you to meet her” Chris and y/n had that connection, where the whole world could be falling apart and they’d be still looking at each other. Chris was different than she remembered, he looked older. But so much more handsome, if that was even possible, that beard made him look… interesting. If it wasn’t for the naughtiness that sparked on his blue eyes, she would’ve imagined he was with a little girl.

“Hey, Chris” she leaned to kiss her cheek. The little boy almost hid behind her, Ava was holding her daddy’s hand.

“It’s so good to see you, it’s been what? Four years?” she nodded amused. “Hum, this is my daughter, Ava. Ava, this is Y/N and her son Samuel”

“Oh, it’s really nice to meet you, you’re so beautiful, Ava”

“You’re really beautiful too, y/n” Chris was quite surprised, Ava was really jealous when a female approached too much.

“Samuel, come to say hi” Samuel smiled, was pretty much the opposite of Ava.

“Hey, Jack’s upstairs, there’s the nanny. I think they’re watching a movie” her sister came to instruct the kids’ entertainment.

“Can we go, daddy?” Ava held Samuel’s hand and since Chris nodded, made their way upstairs.

“So… how’s my baby sister?” the older brother asked trying to host the evening. She shrugged. But before she could say something, he excused himself, leaving them alone.

“I was very interested on your answer, you know…”

“Oh, well. I’ve been investing, since I became a mother I wanted to have more time for Ben and I decided that business was my thing. So I help little enterprises to grow and it’s going great. I got divorced almost a year ago and that’s pretty much what you missed of my life” she grabbed her hair and put it behind her ear.

“Oh, it sounds amazing! The… business thing, not that you got divorced, I’m sorry about that”

“Well… that’s stuff that happens, sometimes you love a person but you’re not happy and it’s for the best, I think. What about you?”

“I’m starting to direct movies, which it’s a whole new world that I love. I have the most amazing partner in crime”

“Oh” she murmured.

“Yeah, Ava is great” he added.

“Oh, I thought you meant her mom or… never mind, I’m just jumping into conclusions”

“You don’t have to apologize, y/n” he added amused by her red cheeks.

“Yeah. I think I’ll go the kitchen to check something”

“I’ll go with you, if you don’t mind. I don’t know many people” she felt her muscles tensing. It wasn’t a big deal, right?

He help her checking some stuff. They talked about a million things, from one moment to another, it was almost time. They had talked about their kids, their relationships, families and work. They were inside they’re very own bubble, until two little kids came to pop it.

“Mommy?”

“Hey, sweetie, what’s going on?”

“I told Ava that we should come to give you a hug because it’s the last hug of the year!” Chris smiled at the sweet picture. Ava was already on his lap and Samuel on y/n’s. Both kids hugged their parents. The little girls whispered at his father’s ear.

“I like her and you like her, and Sammy likes you too, here” she handed her a mistletoe. And winked. That girl was pure sassiness and attitude.

“Where did you watch this, honey?” Chris asked almost laughing.

“We saw it on a movie earlier” she shrugged, kissed his cheek and took Samuel with her to the way back. Chris was smiling.

“I’ll go walk them” y/n disappeared and in that moment, he felt his heart racing. Yes, it was an innocent thing. After all this years, was that what he needed to kiss those red lips?

She was standing on the frame of the door when he saw something above her.

“Don’t move” she arched her eyebrow. He walked towards her, grabbed her neck before proclaiming her lips as his. He kissed her slowly, testing her sweetness. She sighed against his lips, the sensation was worth the almost thirteen years they had waited.

He took his time, exploring her mouth, using his tongue on her lower lip. Y/n had her arms around his neck, his hands were on her lower back. His touch was just like he had imagined it after all those years. They were there. Singles, with a kid each, but… there.

“What was that for?” she asked. He smiled against her lips.

“Mistletoe... and two little rascals”

TAG SQUAD: @macca-mcsexy @always-an-evans-addict @a-court-of-stydia​ @karlhacontreras @potterhead1265 @easytransformations  @patzammit

[melodymgill49801]

RIP China Chalet, Manhattan's Greatest Queer Nightlife Utopia

When DJ and nightlife entrepreneur Ty Sunderland created his flagship gay party, he envisioned stripper poles—an homage to the music video for Britney Spears’ 2007 single “Gimme More.” “But no strip club was going to let a gay promoter come in on a Friday night in New York City,” Sunderland recalls. “I asked if I could install stripper poles on the dance floor at China Chalet, and they said, ‘Yeah, totally.’ That’s how Heaven on Earth started.” 

One of the most beloved queer events in New York City in recent years, Heaven on Earth would also rank among the last of the great parties thrown at China Chalet, which shuttered last  month in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Opened in 1975, the two-story Cantonese dim sum restaurant was the last of its kind in many ways. For one, it was one of the only remaining full-service, multi-room dim sum banquet halls in the Wall Street area, but most famously, it was one of only DIY party venues in Manhattan where New York City nightlife could be everything it’s been promised to be since Studio 54: liberating, inclusive, and spontaneous. 

It’s unclear when, exactly, China Chalet started moonlighting as a nightclub, even to those who worked there toward the end. (Following the venue’s closing, owner Keith Ng has declined to comment for press.) Alex Kellogg, the venue’s party booker at the time it closed, says he’d heard of parties rumored to have been thrown there by Madonna in the 80s, but that the venue’s most prolific era began in the late 2000s. In the last decade, the venue was visited by the likes of the Olsen twins, Timothée Chalamet, and Jay-Z—plus, pretty much any young person who went out in New York City.  

“Anyone could come, and you could do anything you wanted,” Kellogg recalls of his first impression of the space, at a party thrown by _Sex Magazine_’s Asher Penn in 2013. “There was no one specific ‘genre’ of people. It wasn’t like when you went to a Bushwick party and you didn’t look DIY techno, so they didn’t accept you. Skaters could show up in ripped jeans, and then Alexander Wang could walk in behind them. And they’d be on the same level. Or you’d see Chloe Sevigny there, dressed in a bucket T-shirt and jeans drinking whiskey at the bar.” 

Photo by Megan Walschlager

The end of the aughts was an inflection point for nightlife. As the moment of downtown stalwarts like Beatrice Inn and Bungalow 8 began to fade in 2009 amid the backdrop of the financial crisis, the city’s cool kids decamped to various new stomping grounds, from old-school holdovers like Indochine and Lucien to warehouses in far Brooklyn. In Manhattan, temporary pop-up arrangements helped party-throwers find loopholes around the city’s draconian nightlife laws.

By 2011, the New York Times waxed of China Chalet’s instantly recognizable “chintzy floral carpet and pagoda paintings” in a trend feature on fashion-and-art–scene pop-up clubs, which also included Madame Wong’s, an exclusive party once hosted in the Chinatown establishment Golden Unicorn. The same year, The Observer documented an indie film after-party at China Chalet with an attendance of “ex-pat jet setters, debauched hipsters, and local lowlifes.” And the fashion house Opening Ceremony collaborated with homegrown psych rock band Gang Gang Dance for an album release party at the restaurant. 

Curtis Everett Pawley, musician and co-founder of the party-label 38 NYC, recalls seeing China Chalet for the first time at that Opening Ceremony party, noting that in the mid 2010s, the venue evolved from a fashion insider hideaway to a mainstay for local electronic music fans. In 2014, Pawley met Kellogg at the China Chalet while the latter was hosting a New York City offshoot of London’s experimental JACK댄스 party featuring performers like Doss and Stadium. 

“I don’t know how to describe the scene at JACK댄스—it was just a lot of people from the internet,” Pawley says. “But it was distinctly different from a warehouse party and other electronic DJ-oriented underground stuff that happened in Brooklyn. There was a Manhattan contingency that didn’t really venture into Brooklyn or maybe weren’t even into electronic music. The crowd was more diverse.”

Part of this broad appeal had to do with the functional and physical layout of the space. For first-timers, China Chalet would reveal itself one part at a time, starting with a steep entry stairwell that led into a main dining room, for lounging and gossipping, and finally through a mirrored hallway onto a packed dance floor—which was notoriously known to shake under the weight of hundreds jumping in unison. Then, there was the venue's far-flung location, which only contributed to its off-the-grid allure. And of course, there was the marvelously relaxed policy on cigarettes and other typical club contraband. 

“There was an air of freedom that everyone just instantly knew,” Pawley explains. “If you had even been there once, you understood it. It was a weird oasis away from the typical nightlife setting. Our parties were all over the map—it wasn’t ever pure techno or house. We didn’t want to overly aestheticize them to curate any certain crowd.” 

Photo by Tom Keelan

In the late 2010s, such a blank canvas would attract an increasingly diverse cast of revelers, spurred on by a new guard of social media-powered creative voices in the city. Nightlife photographer Megan Walschlager recalls visiting China Chalet for the first time to attend Club Glam, the fashion it-kid affair launched in 2016 by the powerhouse collective of DJ-artist Dese Escobar and siblings, celebrity stylist Kyle Luu, and influencer Fiffany Luu. Escobar told the Times earlier this year that the trio wanted to create a party that was distinctly “post-identity, meaning that it’s not strictly queer or straight, young or old.” 

“Club Glam was iconic—I remember they threw a ‘granny ball’ and people over 30 got in free, which I always found wonderfully funny,” Walschlager says, adding that there was a built-in sense of community at Glam. “People felt more at home at China Chalet because the venue let party planners use the space as their canvas, so everyone felt very relaxed. Security was pretty chill, and it was easy to get a drink at the bar, so it felt more communal.” 

During its three-year reign, Club Glam was a pioneer in its own right, offering a fresh approach to nightlife that united identities and industries without conforming to their norms. Themed events were announced just a few days ahead of time, and lines frequently rounded the block. The party’s organic aggregation of interdisciplinary creatives often draws comparison to the long-gone clubs of New York City nightlife’s storied past. 

The venue’s reputation in the queer community was further mainstreamed by the 2017 launch of Ty Sunderland’s Heaven on Earth, which drew the likes of RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Aquaria, Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing, and transgender pop icon Kim Petras. (As Sunderland retells it, the latter once famously grabbed the mic for an impromptu performance of her latest single.) The party would continue through 2020, with its last iteration taking place in February.

To this day, Sunderland credits the owner, Keith Ng, for his open-mindedness in allowing the party to thrive. “From 10 p.m. to midnight, we got to live our stripper-pole fantasies—no questions asked,” Sunderland says. “There were 400 gay men there on a weekend night. That’s hard to find in New York City in most places unless they’re LGBT establishments.” Kellogg, who first introduced Sunderand to Ng, adds of the China Chalet staff: “The coat-check girls would say, ‘Oh my god—there are so many pretty boys running around.’ They loved it.” 

Photo by Serichai Traipoom

For young queer people, including queer people of color, Sunderland’s party filled a much-needed void in gay nightlife far from the insularity of Hell’s Kitchen. Sunderland’s hosts were predominantly performers, artists, and partygoers of marginalized identities, explains drag queen Ruby Fox, who was known to captivate the dance floor at Heaven on Earth with an acrobatic routine between two stripper poles. 

“The artistry I push out into the world comes from the emotions I pull from people around me,” Fox says. “At China Chalet, in such close quarters, it was really exhilarating because I’m getting so much energy and so many positive vibes, whether that was spiritual or just a brain thing. But I would feel the wavelengths off of people to the point where I’d be like the Energizer bunny.” 

As COVID-19 brings an untimely end to tens of thousands of restaurants and bars across America, it’s hard not to feel as though a chapter of nightlife has closed. And while restaurants and other food purveyors are struggling to lobby for assistance, nightlife proprietors have even fewer options to obtain funding. That’s not to mention the thousands of freelancers and gig workers—performers, DJs, and party planners—who make their living by creating these spaces for community and expression. 

“It's funny—when quarantine hit, all of us who work in live music were all stressed about how our venues were going to stay open,” Pawley remembers. “I remember thinking, ‘At least we’ll always have China Chalet.’ That’s why its closing is such a hard blow. I really thought it would be the last thing standing.” 

But while China Chalet deserved a more fitting end—maybe one final party to commemorate its legacy—Pawley says what made it special is the creativity it fostered and the connections it created. “To this day, I met so many of my closest friends at China Chalet,” he says. “We’re all still friends. I really believe all the people in New York City are what made the parties great. I don’t think that energy will die.”

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