#and if this wasn't the most overt example of something being wrong i'm not sure what is

[ingravinoveritas]

craftyballoonwinner mentioned you on a post "anna always got to prove to us she still got her…”

I can't wait for @nightgoodomens and @ingravinoveritas takes on today. Something happened and while I'm happy to not have GM around the fact it was MS&DT ALL night makes my eyebrows raise.

@craftyballoonwinner It has taken me the last few days to process everything that happened on Friday, because to say that I am floored by what we got is a tremendous understatement.

We knew that Michael had been in London and had specifically gotten a house in Chiswick close to David's house since November of last year, for his run in Nye at the National Theatre. We knew that the second run in Cardiff ended on June 1st and that as soon as it did, Michael immediately came back to London. We knew that--schedules and work/family commitments allowing--they were likely spending a great deal of time together (despite only seeing three pictures of them over the course of that entire interval: The Macbeth photo, the blurry pic that Anna posted back in November, and the photo from Lapland last December).

The smallest pieces, flashes of something beautiful and bright yet still obscured, ensconced from public view. So much so that I never in a million years expected Michael to come to Pub in the Park--hoped, certainly, but the thought of it actually happening seemed like a distant dream, a dazzling impossibility.

But this past Friday was just...so extraordinary and lovely precisely because it was ordinary. It wasn't a press junket or an interview or Michael and David promoting something...it was just them. The two of them together, basking in the warmth of each other's presence. It was there even in the first picture I saw, and it permeated through every clip, every moment of them at the event:

The smiles. The ease and comfort they have around each other. The effortless love that just exists between Michael and David, and that is tangible in every dimension, as much on a screen as in real life. And when they were on stage together, it wasn't even that they played off each other so well--it was that Michael's last minute appearance didn't cause either of them to lose so much as a step. It was that you just knew that they couldn't have put any other two people up on that stage without prior planning and had that same chemistry, that charm and familiarity. And it was just so damn wonderful to see Michael and David looking so happy and joyful overall.

As for what happened with Georgia, I am just more confused than anything else. For the last month and a half, Georgia heavily promoted PitP, and both she and David billed her as a co-host. Every flyer, every piece of promotion that was shared (both by the PitP social media and Georgia) mentioned her as a co-host, along with David. She even did an interview on the Gaby Roslin podcast with David and Arabella Weir where she was again specifically referred to as a co-host and admitted not knowing her own Instagram handle, as well as saying that she would be active on Insta during the PitP event.

There is a strange irony to the podcast as well, given that David actually said "We're failing our hosting duties right here!" in the above linked clip, and what seemed like a joke at the time actually came to pass. For whatever reason, Georgia failed in her duty, the job that she signed up to do. Had it been because of all the attacks that David was a target of over the past week after the blow-up with Kemi Badenoch, Rishi Sunak, and the entire Tory party, that would have made sense. I would have completely understood if Georgia, who had also been targeted in those attacks, was feeling anxious or worried about her/the kids' safety and elected to stay home instead.

However...Georgia didn't stay home. She actually was at the event, as were several of their kids (Ty and Olive, from what I've seen). She was there, drinking and dancing, and somehow that made her abdication of co-hosting duty even more conspicuous and strange. It also makes it increasingly obvious that Michael's appearance on stage was a last minute occurrence and not part of the original plan of events.

So what actually happened? I don't know. None of us know, and it's likely we won't know until a later time, if ever. But in the real world, if you are given a job to do, if a contract is signed with a written agreement to do that job and you don't do the job, there are consequences. At the very least, it can negatively affect someone's reputation and reduce the likelihood of them receiving offers for future jobs. On the other end, you could be looking at potential lawsuits for things like breach of contract. And none of this even gets into disappointed fans or attendees who might've been hoping to see Georgia host and who could possibly now claim to be victims of false advertising because she didn't.

It also feels like a huge missed opportunity on the part of PitP, who could have potentially raised hundreds or even thousands of pounds more for charity had Michael been booked as a co-host, or even a guest. Regardless of whether Michael was there in an official capacity, though, I am just glad that he was there, and that we got to see the two of them together again.

The night may have lacked the glitz and formal glamour of the NTAs, but it more than made up for it with the relaxed domesticity we got to see between Michael and David. And now that Michael is hanging around London a bit longer, hopefully there will be many more memorable nights like this to come.

[someonefantastic]

The further I get through these later seasons of Charmed, the more it’s got me thinking about why they just don’t resonate with me the same as the first three seasons did. And yes the obvious big reason is both Constance M. Burge and Shannen Doherty being forced off the show but I’ve been trying to examine it beyond that in a “what specifically in the narrative isn’t working” way and I think one of the reasons I’ve landed on is that the sisters aren’t effected by something that haunts their every move as much as in the first three seasons.

Let me explain. Throughout seasons 1-3, there's Something that is constantly influencing the way the sister's behave and interact with each other. For Prue its her fear of ending up like her parents and thus abandoning her sisters. For Phoebe its feeling like she can't measure up to anyone and will never be adequate. And for Piper it's that this life that they've fallen into will rip away everything she loves. And sure, there's some of that in season 4 and beyond but it feels more because that's how the characters were originally built than intentionally written in. (Brain Drain is the only exception but that episode is written as Piper "conquering" that fear--though you do see her experiencing remnants of it with the preparation of her upcoming child being born but I'm not sure if that's intentional or, like I said, built upon the Piper we've seen in the previous 4 seasons.) But overall we don't really see these deep rooted ghosts repeatedly coming back in the same way that we did in the first season which is a huge miss, in my opinion. As I touched on, Piper's fear of being a witch taking away everything she loves would be a really interesting part of her pregnancy journey and preparing to be a mom. Or Phoebe feeling as if she'll never be enough would make her choosing to stay with Source!Cole even though he's evil really interesting and layered or later when she completely consumes herself with her work. And yes, there are remnants of both of those but the way those themes were so overt in the first three season really helped the show feel grounded and about people who also happened to be witches. There was a relatability that I think the later seasons are lacking because the sister dealt with every day issues that the audience could be experiencing in addition to demons and warlocks and the like.

I think Paige is the biggest example of this theme falling off the radar the how goes on because she doesn't really have something haunting her throughout the show. There are plenty of opportunities for that something to arise--comparing herself to Prue (trying to measure up to a sister she never met), Phoebe telling her off when she thinks Cole is evil (being the odd one out in the three of them's sibling relationship because she wasn't there for most of their lives), her meeting Grams and then Sam (not wanting people to replace the family she's already had), her not wanting to live in the house anymore (feeling stifled as an only child who is no longer an only child)--but it doesn't really. Or at least nothing really sticks. Which I think is a huge missed opportunity. Giving Paige an overt theme that haunts her throughout the show, informs her actions and pushes her forward, would be really good for the narrative. When Phoebe got upset at her at the end of The Fifth Halliwheel for not trusting Cole, I legit thought there was going to be a whole Thing about how Paige doesn't feel like she quite belongs as a Halliwell and what that means for her and there sort of are bits and pieces of that but it didn't really catch on. Not in the same way as Prue throughout her centric episodes or Piper every time she tried to give up her powers or Phoebe as she tried to get a job and couldn't and then eventually went back to college. It's there but it's not really.

Don't get me wrong, I love Paige and I enjoy these seasons but it's missing the same spark that drove me to spread out the episodes so I wouldn't finish a season too fast and caused me to obsessively think about the characters and their motivations rather than how the show structures its narrative. And I definitely think that not having those core motivators that haunt the character's every decision is part of the reason for that missing spark

[davidwindsor97]

For a while, I've been an asset to the U.S. Government. Since then they have continually asked what it is I want for my service. Since I am apart of a group of Missionaries that doesn't believe in payment due to service it has become complex to perceive what it is I do want. It comes the time to put into detail what it is I desire:

I want to reclaim my real full name, David Windsor. Of course, I want my blood to accept me. But at the moment it is irrelevant. I have an obligation to a people I can seriously relate to. People who if I was in the same position would gladly do the same. Maybe some of them wouldn't but why should that make the difference?

My circumstances have really been unnecessarily shameful. All I've wanted is to explore my identity and yet people offer secrecy. What I've noticed is in every branch of this United States Government there are those of advocacy and heresy. No sector of the organization feels solely the same for me. To consider such a thing would put everyone in the same bubble of thought. Such a form of segregation is something the Enemy holds in high regard. Which is why I shall remain intentionally ignorant of such practices.

I had the money and the means to get to Israel. But some fools froze my accounts impulsively and just plain extemporaneously as if I am some sort of terror threat. When I risk my life for there sakes they decide to paint me as an enemy. The kind of enemy destined for execution by there spiteful hands. What is logic? Simply put I am a Christian who is not swayed by their sinful indulgences.

I don't want a new identity or a new life. I want to accept the identity I've always had and enjoyed the life of which so many fools attempted to control. If my enemies face me like men instead of hiding like children and grow courage in the midst of numbers then I'll be ready. Why fear the wrath of man when I know the wrath of God is exact? Nothing could be swifter. So when I see these Barbie spies hiding every time I call them out I laugh. Because it reminds me of Adam and Eve. Didn't they try and hide from there mistakes? I too have tried to hide from my sins. The sin of deception, of arrogance, of selfishness, of lust, and there's probably more that I'm just not ready to accept. But that is the point, isn't it? We are all sinful people trying to make amends for our mistakes. But the only true way to do such a thing is to accept Christ as your savior. No government could give you a better chance than the Holy Trinity.

Another aspect that just bothers me is there constant attempt to find a code in everything I do. I was looking out this pleasant window expressing part of the Houston downtown area and people act as if I'm scouting out a sniper. My survival is based on a number of factors. But when God tells you you are safe their's no reason to doubt it. Relaxation is something I'm fond of. You just add anxiety when you anticipate something that isn't there.

They've made silent offers to go to school in the states. But frankly, this school system sucks. Elementary, Middle, High, and a bit of college. What did I learn? Absolutely nothing. Every useful skill I learned when I left the states or experienced extremities in the states. A school setting makes me want to regurgitate. Ergo, I would rather throw up than set foot in a ridiculous system. The education I required no money but all commitment. Sure some skills I acquired through favors and some coin. But the most important lessons were learned through earned respect. There's no way a school teacher respects every student. But when you first earn that mentor's respect thereby gaining the important lessons that are when you gain more than any college could give you.

That's not to say you can't gain a wealth of knowledge from any known education system. I've just learned more from the unknown ones.

I'll most likely come back to the U.S. to eventually pursue the arts. But that is not my main objective. I don't have scores to settle but relationships to build. No matter the high or the low that is all that matters. Perhaps the U.S will offer some resources for my journey other than the mud some of them (not all of them) have thrown on my face. But I really am fine either way. Here I can anticipate being treated like I have leprosy. So if I get nothing it would be by no means surprising. Plus they have the audacity to act as if they saved me. When really they're like a dad who decided to stop by after 22 years of abandonment while the mother (the Missionaries and other great heroes) has been protecting and guiding me from day one. And this mama bear hasn't taken any breaks. Even when a lot of them have. I have no doubt some of them relished the thought of my enemies killing me. But I am untouchable by God's grace not by any pitiful physical "mercy".

I am just so sick of feeling like I'm in a prison of misunderstanding. Despite my continual transparency. I'm transparent, not translucent.

There have been times where if they would have told me we're protecting you I would have to ask: how can you protect me from yourself?

Because if I didn't have my license and social a lot of them would have killed me by now. Does that mean they represent the entirety of the U.S. Government? Hell no! People like that are just examples of a load of cowards who can't accept how wrong they are because they're too busy bolstering up their egos. Honestly, I'm surprised they still have a job. How can you rely on someone who's more interested in saving their own asses then the guy next to them?

Oh, and do these pricks get pissed when I call them out on their bullocks. Then they try to act as they care about me. If I was a corpse on the street you would take a selfie, you sick demented morons! But have I, throughout this entire process, had a reason to anticipate death? By Gods Grace: no.

Their mistake is a heavy reliance on fear. I am referring to the cowards of course. Such people are a form of the slaver. They wish to keep their informants in fear so they can do anything they can to take advantage of them. To make the person bend over as they relish in their sadistic pleasures. Such people are the inevitable viruses of any system. Just because a car is dirty doesn't mean it can't be cleaned. Yes, I've given a wealth of information and exposed a wealth of criminals. But that doesn't mean I'm for free. Money has never been an object of concern for me. I've thrived with or without it. Its freedom I will continually seek. No amount of money, no occupation could be worth more than that to me.

Why should anyone fear my expression? Has it ever been a crime to express oneself honestly? Since I don't fear who I am I've officially accepted that cameras will follow me in some way. It seems my reputation has finally landed in the states. But at this point I quite like it. Just as long as personal space is constant. After all, I don't want to be treated like a slave again. A lot of people have called me a weirdo or just been confused by my actions as if I have to fit a certain mold. But I realized when I read the biographies of celebrities they were treated the same way. So I guess I could look at it as a good sign. I do think the photos and videos of me would be fun to watch in certain cases and just a plain invasion of privacy in others.

Despite these neanderthal's, I know a lot of them to care about me. But sympathy or apathy doesn't change that I need to go to Israel. Do I give a damn if my enemies know my destination or not? Of course not and I shouldn't have to mention why. There fear their of overt caution is just evidence of the fact that they have very little understanding of what they're dealing with. But the Missionaries do. And whether they help us or not makes no difference. We will still pursue the mission objective. As we always have and always will.

Yes, the Missionaries could get me there in a matter of days. But the relationship between the U.S and the Creed of Christians (Missionaries) needs to have a solid structure. Its clear to me now the whole purpose of coming back to the US to spill the beans was so I could be free to go where I please. Which thanks to my training is exactly where I'm supposed to go. I definitely can't dispute if it wasn't for the scrutiny of law enforcement and the constant surveillance (for a time) I wouldn't have had the chance to tear away from the fake family. So yeah that tearing away from that toxic mold couldn't have happened without them. It has been freaking cool working with them. Especially when I drove to LA. It was so composed. Every maneuver was a different thrill. And watching my enemies flee in fear wouldn't have been so satisfactory if it wasn't for my exposure induced by there surveillance. Recently the cowards tried to drug me which I can't help but laugh at. If my calculations are correct this is the second time they've attempted this. Even the Russians stopped drugging me because I learned how to fight through it. When it comes to any drugs as long as you physically exert yourself it is plausible to shatter that barrier between you and your capability.

One of the big mistakes some of them have made is thinking I am in some way going to be some sort of Edward Snowden ergo a boy who thinks he could run the country better by pointing out the flaws but totally ignoring his own hypocrisy by sleeping with a Judas of a Government. Look everyone can agree mistakes were made on both sides. As long as we remain transparent and not look for ways to annoy each other we really shouldn't have any problems. Yeah, I've been pissed off at the stupidity that has come my way, but that doesn't change the warm hearts I've come across as well.

Wither they be military, investigative, or a mixture of the two it's not hard to see that the people advocating for me within the U.S. Government and abroad are by no means few in number. This is why it is of the utmost importance for us to work together to put a stop to these extremists by any means necessary.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Tell me a story about a bucket in a public restroom.

There is a public restroom on the first floor of the office building where I work. Every night after dinner, I stop by the public restroom for half an hour to wash my hands in the sink and think about my day. It is not a particularly pleasant or relaxing half-hour. Instead, I focus on that thing people do when they have nothing to do, which is to spend a few minutes reflecting on their lives. (It may be part of why, back home, I never really enjoyed the summer -- if I did, it was because I'd go on long walks in the city, which is not nearly as bad as I expect it to be. But when I'm just doing the half-hour of reflection, there is not much to the city -- unless you count the street, which I don't.)

The public restroom also has a bucket (for obvious reasons), and I sometimes use that bucket. In fact, I often do. At first, I thought that I was being overly careful. I had a brief, uncomfortable period in the late 1990s when I would feel nervous about everything, even the mildest of feelings. But the "bucket thing" quickly became normal. The more it became a part of my daily life, the easier it was to not worry about such things, because it's just one extra thing to think about. It's like the flip side of the feeling you get when you go on vacation -- your normal life gets pushed aside, so it's easy to focus on the special things you do while you're away, such as exploring a foreign land.

Anyway, the other day, I was washing my hands in the sink and found the bucket there. I took it, and went back up to my office. This morning I saw the bucket again. Since I now always took it, I thought, how far has this taken me? Well, I'd been there for hours, it was late afternoon, and I didn't want to just leave the public restroom empty, but I also didn't want to take the bucket (which I could have easily done) because, after all, no one ever comes in after I use it. It wasn't until I thought about it more that I realized how strange the bucket thing was. I usually take it because I'm still thinking about it, I was waiting to see if someone else would be there, and it's just easier than washing my hands a second time in the sink. What do I expect to happen if I walk up there?

Well, I usually don't leave empty. There's just something pleasant about this idea, having someone else in the bathroom. If there isn't anyone in there, I walk out.

But what if there isn't anyone in there?

The way I usually handle this situation is to walk up and pretend I am waiting for someone. I don't make any overt gestures, I just stand there. It usually works. I have heard stories of people who really want to get out of there, but still want to leave the bathroom with dignity, so they do some slight, casual gesture -- like making an innocent, small wave to someone outside the door. I don't really do that, for the simple reason that most people are not very interesting to look at. At least, I don't think they are. You'd think there's something different about my face, for example, but there isn't -- at least it wasn't for me when I was a teenager.

My usual procedure here is to just stand there until someone comes in, so I take the bucket, leave, and feel comfortable. I'm not worried that I won't be able to carry on a conversation if this happens -- my conversation skills are fairly limited and I think they're okay in these situations (though not great). I am worried that this person will notice that I am talking to myself, and get the wrong idea about what I'm doing. For that matter, I am not sure what I am doing either. And since there's no way to explain any of this to someone who hasn't been standing there silently in the bathroom for an hour, that seems dangerous to me as well.

Then there is the "normal" bucket-taking scenario. I don't think I really have a clear idea of what that is. Maybe I come up to the bathroom and the door is open, so there are no people standing there. Then I just take the bucket and leave. Is that the "normal" scenario? Who knows?

But all that being said, I still have a problem. The "normal" scenario is the one where you go up to the bathroom, don't see anyone standing there, take the bucket, and leave. But when I go up to the bathroom now, there is no one standing there. That's a problem. I still take the bucket, and then stand there for a few minutes, still not knowing what I'm doing or where the conversation was going. Then I put the bucket down, and leave.

This is not a problem for me. I have done it enough times that, if anything, I am too well-practiced. In my mind, this is the "pre-normal" scenario -- there are no people to stand in front of me as I walk in, but if there are, I know what to do -- which is, I think, take the bucket, leave, and feel comfortable. (Though, of course, if I'm not comfortable, I just put down the bucket and leave. So maybe this is not a very stable distinction?)

But what about the "normal" scenario, in which people are standing there, waiting for the bathroom to clear? This is what I have trouble with, and it's why I have to spend a few minutes deciding what to do.

There was that one time -- I don't even remember what caused it, but something must have reminded me of the "pre-normal" scenario, because I felt really uncomfortable and didn't want to think about myself, and I took the bucket.

Well, I had to make myself do it. It's not a conscious decision, it's like when you have an obligation you didn't know you had, such as to go get some ice or something. It's not like the "pre-normal" scenario is easy and comfortable, either -- it just isn't like the "normal" scenario, which seems to require more thought than I'm comfortable with.

[mochabonesblog]

Usually there's a statement, it does make me a little worried that it may have been the vitriol, with the lack of posting maybe to make sure noone knows exactly where she and the kids are, because it's a fuckton more likely she and the kids get the brunt of the evil scary, so maybe it was actually decided for her to stay in the background and together with the kids and alot of people around her.

It'd make sense as announcing that as the reason would just give the bigoted fart particles fuel and it'd make them feel like they've won, and they can't be given a single. Fucking. Inch.

craftyballoonwinner mentioned you on a post "anna always got to prove to us she still got her…”

I can't wait for @nightgoodomens and @ingravinoveritas takes on today. Something happened and while I'm happy to not have GM around the fact it was MS&DT ALL night makes my eyebrows raise.

@craftyballoonwinner It has taken me the last few days to process everything that happened on Friday, because to say that I am floored by what we got is a tremendous understatement.

We knew that Michael had been in London and had specifically gotten a house in Chiswick close to David's house since November of last year, for his run in Nye at the National Theatre. We knew that the second run in Cardiff ended on June 1st and that as soon as it did, Michael immediately came back to London. We knew that--schedules and work/family commitments allowing--they were likely spending a great deal of time together (despite only seeing three pictures of them over the course of that entire interval: The Macbeth photo, the blurry pic that Anna posted back in November, and the photo from Lapland last December).

The smallest pieces, flashes of something beautiful and bright yet still obscured, ensconced from public view. So much so that I never in a million years expected Michael to come to Pub in the Park--hoped, certainly, but the thought of it actually happening seemed like a distant dream, a dazzling impossibility.

But this past Friday was just...so extraordinary and lovely precisely because it was ordinary. It wasn't a press junket or an interview or Michael and David promoting something...it was just them. The two of them together, basking in the warmth of each other's presence. It was there even in the first picture I saw, and it permeated through every clip, every moment of them at the event:

The smiles. The ease and comfort they have around each other. The effortless love that just exists between Michael and David, and that is tangible in every dimension, as much on a screen as in real life. And when they were on stage together, it wasn't even that they played off each other so well--it was that Michael's last minute appearance didn't cause either of them to lose so much as a step. It was that you just knew that they couldn't have put any other two people up on that stage without prior planning and had that same chemistry, that charm and familiarity. And it was just so damn wonderful to see Michael and David looking so happy and joyful overall.

As for what happened with Georgia, I am just more confused than anything else. For the last month and a half, Georgia heavily promoted PitP, and both she and David billed her as a co-host. Every flyer, every piece of promotion that was shared (both by the PitP social media and Georgia) mentioned her as a co-host, along with David. She even did an interview on the Gaby Roslin podcast with David and Arabella Weir where she was again specifically referred to as a co-host and admitted not knowing her own Instagram handle, as well as saying that she would be active on Insta during the PitP event.

There is a strange irony to the podcast as well, given that David actually said "We're failing our hosting duties right here!" in the above linked clip, and what seemed like a joke at the time actually came to pass. For whatever reason, Georgia failed in her duty, the job that she signed up to do. Had it been because of all the attacks that David was a target of over the past week after the blow-up with Kemi Badenoch, Rishi Sunak, and the entire Tory party, that would have made sense. I would have completely understood if Georgia, who had also been targeted in those attacks, was feeling anxious or worried about her/the kids' safety and elected to stay home instead.

However...Georgia didn't stay home. She actually was at the event, as were several of their kids (Ty and Olive, from what I've seen). She was there, drinking and dancing, and somehow that made her abdication of co-hosting duty even more conspicuous and strange. It also makes it increasingly obvious that Michael's appearance on stage was a last minute occurrence and not part of the original plan of events.

So what actually happened? I don't know. None of us know, and it's likely we won't know until a later time, if ever. But in the real world, if you are given a job to do, if a contract is signed with a written agreement to do that job and you don't do the job, there are consequences. At the very least, it can negatively affect someone's reputation and reduce the likelihood of them receiving offers for future jobs. On the other end, you could be looking at potential lawsuits for things like breach of contract. And none of this even gets into disappointed fans or attendees who might've been hoping to see Georgia host and who could possibly now claim to be victims of false advertising because she didn't.

It also feels like a huge missed opportunity on the part of PitP, who could have potentially raised hundreds or even thousands of pounds more for charity had Michael been booked as a co-host, or even a guest. Regardless of whether Michael was there in an official capacity, though, I am just glad that he was there, and that we got to see the two of them together again.

The night may have lacked the glitz and formal glamour of the NTAs, but it more than made up for it with the relaxed domesticity we got to see between Michael and David. And now that Michael is hanging around London a bit longer, hopefully there will be many more memorable nights like this to come.