#astor alexander

[miyagi-hokarate]

Artwork by Astor Alexander for The Karate Kid: 40th Anniversary Original Motion Picture Score Vinyl

[littleeyesofpallas]

[brokehorrorfan]

Conan the Barbarian is joining Super 7's ReAction Figures line. The first wave features Pit Fighter Conan (with two hand blades), Thulsa Doom (with helmet and dagger), and Subotai (with bow and arrow).

Each 3.75" retro-style toy has five points of articulation and features backer card art by Astor Alexander. Priced at $20, they're expected to ship in April.

[putall]

Ástor Alexander

[dozydawn]

Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin 1990 Free Dance

Adios Nonino, Oblivion, and Duo de Amour by Astor Piazzolla.

[cgsartwork]

Throwing my questions in the ring(⁠づ⁠￣⁠ ⁠³⁠￣⁠)⁠づ

Two for Alex:

- How is it teaching in Valhalla? Anything that would be different from human education?

- WHO IS THE BIG SPOON AND LITTLE SPOON!

________________________________________The rest are general questions for everyone!

- What is the most dumb thing each one has ever done?

-Is there someone they like to mess with specifically?

-Do they have any regrets from the time they were alive?

- Who would most likely befriend gods? If so which gods?

That's all pookie<⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

AAAA THANK U FOR THE QUESTIONS POOKIE!! <3 For Alex: It is different in a sense that this man has to teach the young gods and OH LORD HE NEEDS SLEEP SO BAD. Legit, despite the fact that he is a human he knows some things much better than anyone (like old magic and the generall customs and rituals of the different gods) so the Academia just places him in whicherver class possible. And another thing that is different, is that many young gods are just- brats. Imagine the worst class possible and Alex gotta deal with them all. (which, he can. at the end of the day, he is a great techer and knows how to do his work. but it aint his fault if some of his students dont want to remeber anything) In short- its more stressful (and he needs a long vacation which is long overdue-) AND FOR THE BIG AND LIL SPOON QUESTION!! Very silly but Alex is actually the big spoon! Even if Jack tries- the british man always ends up being the lil spoon. (Alex is like a smoll cuddly bear ngl. very nice to hug and will hold u comfortably) Now to the rest! What is the most dumb thing each one has ever done? = Alex: Some silly things did happen but i dont think he ever had a "the most dumb thing" kind of situation. Maybe he took on the shirt the wrong way or mixed up some books. (or randomly switches to russian when speaking to Jack. especially when nervous- only to then translate it all to him-) Pero: Eazy- Thought she could eavesdrop on Jack and Alex (cuz gurl was worried about her brother) and didnt notice the door was slighly open. she fell into the room (she refused to leave her chambers for almost 2 weeks) Astor: Casted the wrong spell even though he did it like 100 times- welp there was a storm aferwards Anderson: Tbh- i am unsure? Pushkin: Duell his friend. He died afterwards Natalia: perhaps not stopping her husband from duelling his friend-

Is there someone they like to mess with specifically? Alex and Pero frequently mess with each other- if the siblings dont go one day without messing with each other, something is off Astor: It seems to be so bonkers- but Loki, Heimdall and Brunhilde. Andersen: Fr- this man prefers not to mess with anyone. He had enough- Pushkin: Guess what, with his Friend whom he duelled (aka George-Charles) Natalia: No one really. However if you mess with her she will not hesitate to throw whatever at you.

Do they have any regrets from the time they were alive?

Alex: Not saving his sister from Luke Evans (aka the actual Ripper) Even in Valhalla after finally beinf reunited, he still blames himself for it terribly.

Pero: If she wouldnt have found Luke Evans in Valhalla (and send him to Nifelheim), she would be like "not killing him", but she did that a n d she has her brother back, so pretty much any regrets she had just dissapear. Astor: Not being able to see his mother one last time before going into the battle where he lost his life.

Andersen: Being alone, in a romantic sense. While he had his friends of course, but not someone he had a close connection with.

Pushkin: IRONICALLY- duelling Charles. Because it was actually stupid and he acted on raw emotions.

Natalia: While she may had some, while still alive, fortune turned to her and basically made her life easier which made her regrets, of being alone go away.

Who would most likely befriend gods? If so which gods?

Who def would befriend gods is for sure Alex, Astor, Natalia and somewhat Pero. Alex has a close connection to the Nordic Pantheon, just like Pero, so that leads to some friendly interactions from time to time. He gets along with Frejya and Odin actually. He had some relations with the Slavic Pantheon but tries to ignore them as good as possible- the Goddess Zvezda is someone he does however talk to, but only because of his sister Pero (who has a lil crush on this Goddess) For Astor- he has to interact with pretty much every god. Unofficially he is Lokis right hand so he almost always has some bussiness with some other gods. He would for sure be friends with Buddah tho and Anubis. Natalia would most likley befriend Aphrodite and Hera. woooo! this was a long one haha :D sorry if there are some spelling mistakes- its like 2 am or sum here so- slay

[letterboxd-loggd]

There’s Always a Woman (1938) Alexander Hall

November 23rd 2022

[legendsmagazine]

This is a thinkpiece written by a submitted writer. It may not express opinions of Legends Magazine.

In the age of social media and instant judgment, the public's fascination with celebrity relationships often leads to heated discussions and relentless scrutiny. In the case of Fletcher, the 27-year-old heir to Amazon, and Bonnie, the 22-year-old singer, their relationship has become a subject of widespread attention. However, what raises concern is the stark contrast in how they are treated in the court of public opinion.

Fletcher's journey on the reality show Dollhouse brought to light a complicated history with his ex-girlfriend, Poppy Park, a 25-year-old singer. Despite his emotional closeness to Poppy during the show and the revelation of potential emotional cheating, the public's response has been surprisingly lenient towards Fletcher.

In contrast, Bonnie, his current wife, has faced relentless criticism and mockery, primarily due to the interactions with Fletcher's best friend and bandmate, Parker Alexander. Parker's constant attacks on Bonnie, coupled with Fletcher's public emotional cheating (and her staying with him afterwards), have made her an easy target for ridicule on the internet.

The question that arises is: Why is Bonnie subjected to harsh judgment, while Fletcher seems to escape relatively unscathed? One possible explanation lies in societal double standards that tend to be more forgiving towards men's indiscretions while harshly judging women for their mistakes.

[sophie1973]

Seven (and more) sentence Sunday

I was tagged this week by @iboatedhere @thesleepyskipper

@taste-thewaste @theprinceandagcd @onthewaytosomewhere

@fullerthanskippy @caterpills (tagging you all back lovelies)

Here is a very fresh (as in written 30 minutes ago) snippet of chapter 5 of Bloodstream. Almost 6k written, a bit past hafway done, we are nearing the end.

Tags under the cut

Alex takes a deep breath, savoring the soft breeze that brings a refreshing touch to the warm June afternoon. The city's noise fades into the background as he meanders along the park's paths, allowing the tranquility to soothe his mind. After a long day of dull appointments and challenging clients, this stroll through Central Park feels like a much-needed escape. The late afternoon sun casts a golden glow through the green leaves, illuminating other walkers and guiding him toward Bethesda Terrace.

Alex's steps falter slightly as he spots a familiar figure near the fountain. Henry is standing there, engaged in conversation with an older couple. Alex hesitates, unsure whether to make his presence known or just walk around the fountain and continue his journey. It's not that he doesn't want to see Henry—quite the contrary—but he's never certain how comfortable Henry is being seen together in public. While logically, Alex knows that Mary Mountchristen-Windsor probably doesn’t have goons watching them all day, every day, he also understands the anxiety Henry feels about Alex’s safety, especially after the werewolf episode.  It’s Henry who makes the decision for him. Just as Alex considers slipping away unnoticed, Henry spots him. The moment Henry’s eyes lock onto his, a radiant smile spreads across his face, brightening his face. Alex's stomach does a joyful flip, and he feels a surge of giddy anticipation. It’s the first time he sees Henry being so openly happy to see him while they are in public. Alex closes the distance and approaches them, unable to keep a broad grin from spreading across his own face. “Lord Mountchristen-Windsor. Fancy meeting you here.” "Mr. Claremont-Diaz," Henry greets, his voice carrying the same genuine happiness reflected in his smile. He turns to the older couple and says, "Gertrude, Rupert, this is Alexander Claremont-Diaz." Alex does his best to suppress the shiver that always runs through him at the sound of Henry pronouncing his full name with that fucking accent of his. “Alexander, these are Gertrude and Rupert Giles. They are from London and moved here two years ago. Mr Claremont-Diaz is a lawyer. He works notably for the Astors and the Morgans.” Alex forces himself to look away from Henry’s face and greets the couple, engaging in some polite small talk. However, the conversation only lasts a couple of minutes before his eyes are irresistibly drawn back to Henry. He can't help but admire the subtle blush adorning Henry’s cheeks—he suspects his own presence might be the cause—and the way the light breeze tousles his blond hair. God, he is so fucking hopeless.

Tagging also @kj-bee @bitbybitwrites @blueeyedgrlwrites @wordsofhoneydew

@swoonoveryou3 @fckngyrs @whoevenknows-things @anincompletelist @tailsbeth-writes

@piratefalls @ash-morrison

[dukeofdogs]

Geralt of Gwent

In this post I’ll be walking you through the magical thing that is the art of putting Geralt on various Gwent cards.

Let’s start with the “Geralt” named cards that you probably saw already. Here we have Geralt of Rivia (Marek Madej), Geralt: Professional (Dave Rapoza) and the five Witcher 3 signs: Geralt: Igni (Anna Podedworna), Geralt: Yrden (Anna Podedworna), Geralt: Aard (Bartłomiej Gaweł), Geralt: Axii (Manuel Castanon), Geralt: Quen (Oleksandr Kozachenko).

Now, on to the “obviously Geralt would be in these cards, but the cards are not named after him” category:

Our guy is seen looking at Roache’s shenanigans on the Roach (Anna Podedworna) card and enjoying a nice time with Dandelion in Sunset Wanderers (Anton Nazarenko).

One of my favorite cards (mechanic-wise) are Runewright and  Dulla kh'Amanni (Astor Alexander). Here we can observe the same scene of Geralt doing business with Dulla from two different places and considering that these two cards only work when they’re played together I think it makes these two art pieces even more amazing.

Now, here are the less obvious ones. These three cards are: Vanhemar (Chris Rallis), Olaf (Bartłomiej Gaweł) and Jutta an Dimun(Nemanja Stankovic). All three artworks portray scenes from Witcher 2 and Witcher 3. On the fisrt one Geralt is about to be executed by Vanhemar, on second he’s about to brawl with a bear and on third, you can see his shadow after defeating Jutta in a duel.

Here we have Renfri’s Gang (Toni Muntean), where we can see an illustration from The Lesser Evil short story.

In Siegfried of Denesle (Lorenzo Mastroianni) you can spot him in the crowd.

It wasn’t 100% confirmed that the guy on Pact (Zuzanna Kapuścińska) is Geralt, but we just assume it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ On Sly Seductress (Daniel Valaisis) you can see Geralt having some good time sleeping.

Last but not least is Beggar (Daniel Valaisis) where you can see a very handsome Geralt drawing (alongside other characters) made by the titular Beggar. This card contains another easter egg! In it’s premium version, you can see shadows of characters from Thronebreaker that are casually passing by the guy! See for yourself in this post.

[vote-democrat-president-congress]

Trump Ignores the Ruinous History of Tariffs

By Steven R. Weisman; July 26, 2024 Mr. Weisman, a former correspondent and editorial writer for The New York Times, is vice president for publications at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Donald Trump’s economic panacea is to impose over-the-top tariffs on all imports, potentially generating enough revenue to eliminate the federal income tax. It is hardly an innovative idea. On the contrary, if enacted, it would return our postmodern economy to that of the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, to economic policies favoring the wealthy over the poor and middle class, when tariffs were the main source of government revenue.

That tariff-dominant era ended with the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1913, which facilitated the adoption of a graduated federal income tax. The income tax, not tariffs, has been the main source of federal revenue ever since, and for good reason.

Tariffs are a tax on imports, the functional equivalent of a sales tax, imposing a proportionately bigger burden on those with modest incomes. As my colleagues at the Peterson Institute for International Economics point out, Mr. Trump’s proposal for a 10 percent tariff on all imports (which totaled $3.1 trillion last year) and a 60 percent tariff on imports from China would cost a typical middle-income household at least $1,700 in increased expenses each year.

Mr. Trump’s radical “all tariff policy” would be self-defeating. It could not possibly fund our modern national security and social welfare needs, because tariff rates would have to rise impossibly high to yield the $2 trillion generated by individual and corporate income taxes. The resulting tariff war, when countries inevitably retaliate, would shrink imports and reduce tariff revenues. And it would discard or marginalize the one tax we have that requires people to pay their fair share.

Following the Revolutionary War, the national government did indeed rely almost entirely on tariffs, as pushed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to avoid distasteful excise taxes and encourage the new nation’s infant manufacturing sector. The Civil War quickly proved their inadequacy. To meet the resulting fiscal crisis, Abraham Lincoln persuaded Congress to pass the very first income tax in 1862, essentially a tax on only the very top earners.

That was phased out after the war, returning the United States to its reliance on tariffs and the chaos and class resentment they created. In 1889, Thomas Shearman, a prominent lawyer, wrote a widely disseminated essay titled “The Owners of the United States” that listed families including the Astors, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Morgans who presided over untaxed fortunes from railroads, factories, oil refineries, mines and banks.

Overreliance on tariffs helped foment an era of economic shocks. The Panic of 1893, at the time the worst depression in American history, was set off by business and bank failures but aggravated by foreign creditors demanding payment in gold, which only encouraged the U.S. Treasury to push for even higher tariffs to curb imports.

Out of this crisis a new star of the Democratic Party arose, William Jennings Bryan, the “Great Commoner,” who warned against America crucifying itself on a “cross of gold.” He also crusaded against protectionism by holding up clothing and kitchen utensils at his rallies and declaring that tariffs drove up their cost by 50 percent.

Bryan as the Democratic presidential nominee lost the 1896 election to William McKinley, a favorite of Mr. Trump’s (he calls McKinley “the Tariff King”). But Bryan’s ideas lived on. By 1912, a Democratic free-trader and income tax supporter, Woodrow Wilson, the reformist governor of New Jersey, had won the White House.

The income tax was enacted in 1913 in Wilson’s first year in office. Once again, it was war and the urgent need for money, rather than political ideology, that proved the impracticality of relying on tariffs. To fund the mobilization for World War I, Wilson raised the top marginal income tax rate to 77 percent. (Since then, the top rate has fluctuated up and down, rising above 90 percent in World War II and now at 37 percent.)

The Democrats’ defeat after the war brought traditional Republicans with their high-tariffs philosophy back into power and they raised tariffs throughout the 1920s. That culminated in the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which was enacted in the misplaced belief that tariffs could protect American industries and farmers after the 1929 stock market crash. Instead, they fueled a catastrophic global trade war, strangled commerce, unleashed competitive currency devaluations and intensified a worldwide depression that contributed to the rise of Nazism and worldwide war.

The advent of President Franklin Roosevelt, a free-trader who had served under Wilson as assistant secretary of the Navy, buried the outdated notion of equating tariffs with prosperity. Indeed, his secretary of state, Cordell Hull, a former Tennessee congressman, had helped enact the income tax and lower tariffs a generation earlier and went on to become an eloquent postwar champion of international trade to save the world from another global crisis.

American politics have a way of flipping the policies of parties. In the modern era, beginning with President Ronald Reagan, it was Republicans who led the way to lower trade barriers as a boon to economic growth. Reagan, the conservative, had in the 1960s demonized the progressive federal income tax as a Marxist plot. He believed its confiscatory rates in the 1940s discouraged work, recalling that in Hollywood he stopped making films halfway through the year when the top marginal rate meant he would turn nearly all his additional income over to the government.

But though Reagan negotiated “voluntary” export curbs with Japan, he never advocated higher tariffs. That opposition fell to organized labor and partly to the Democrats, most of whom have opposed trade deals ever since.

Turning away from President Reagan and his successors, Mr. Trump is the first major Republican of the modern era to enact sweeping higher tariff barriers to protect American industries and farmers. In his first term, he instituted several disparate tariffs. They failed to reduce trade deficits and instead incited Europe, Canada and China to retaliate, forcing his administration to pay $23 billion to bail out farmers when China hit back with tariffs on U.S. agriculture products.

For his potential second term, Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, would bring the country back to its protectionist past at a time when large segments of the economy depend on trade and foreign investment, not to mention immigration for high-end tech jobs and low-end jobs in services and agriculture.

A case can be made for selective tariffs to protect national security and sensitive supply chains, and encourage green technologies. The Biden administration has pushed for these steps while keeping Mr. Trump’s tariffs largely in place, incurring many of the same costs. The long historical record demonstrates these are borne not by other countries, as Mr. Trump keeps insisting, but by American consumers and industries.

Tariffs may provide a marginal help to some domestic producers, but only up to a point. Steel manufacturing may gain, but manufacturers that depend on imported steel will lose. Tariffs on solar panels and electric vehicles from China, pushed also by President Biden, may help domestic interests, but they are making it more expensive to adapt to the energy transition.

Economic policies come with trade-offs, and tariffs are no exception. An across-the-board tariff policy would take us not to a prosperous future but to a reactionary past that stopped working in the 19th century, when it nearly bankrupted the government, aggravated class conflict, provoked instability and favored the wealthy over everyone else.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/opinion/trump-tariffs-biden-ev.html

[ggblasts]

Attention everyone! It's time for a wedding and not just any wedding, the wedding you all have been waiting for! Jordan Alexander Barnes and Francesca Astor invite you all to share their blessed day with them. If you are in the wedding, then you already knew all these details, and if not, then well, I'm here to give you the details! Where: Manhattan Penthouse, 80 Fifth Avenue, E 14th St, New York, NY 10011 Attire: Wedding appropirate. When: Monday December 11th to Wednesday, December 20th Since some of you may not know what wedding appropriate means, it means, if you do not wear the colors that the bride and groom have selected for the wedding. I saw the photos that Francesca sent out and she has a red look for her wedding party. Most likely, the men in Jordan's party are gonna be having red too, so no red. Women, also, no white, no wedding gowns, etc. Men, show up in a tux and do not look like a bum. For this event, please tag all starters, photos, songs, etc as ggwedding and ggwedding only! Can't wait to see you all there. XOXO, Gossip Girl

[thefalloutwiki]

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare: Forged in the Fire

Pictured: Cover art for the Forged in the Fire Rules Expansion for Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.

This art was done by Astor Alexander, who has created cover art for Fallout 76 for the various Seasons and Updates.

Committing what the Forged sees as crimes results in many different punishments, which includes being fed to the forge, being fed molten iron, being branded and being flayed to death.

You can read about the Forged here:

https://fallout.wiki/wiki/Forged

[sweetfirebird]

The fun thing about reading books about old Hollywood and then watching old movies is knowing that Sheridan Whiteside from The Man Who Came to Dinner and Waldo Lydecker from Laura are based on the same guy: Alexander Woollcott, who was just that queer (ace, gay, homoromantic? who knows), and how Hollywood was scared that having Monty Woolly play him would possibly make him SO GAY that Middle America might twig to it and that was a legit concern.

Also it's knowing that one of the two writers of the play this is based on was mentioned in the diary of I think Mary Astor and that diary entry was *read aloud in court* in her husband's divorce proceedings against her because she describes sex with him and anyway, he made her come five times.

Is this knowledge useful in any way? NOPE. But it's in my brain. and useless because I can't remember if mr five times was kaufman or hart.

Anyway.

[the-outer-topic]

Hard way out - Astor Alexander

[veryqueermovies]

Queer Characters Spotlight: Swedish Netflix Show.

Young Royals (2 seasons, Renewed).

•

Prince Wilhelm is Unlabeled.

Wilhelm is played by actor Edvin Ryding (his sexuality, to my knowledge, is unknown).

•

Simon Eriksson is Gay.

Simon is played by Unlabeled actor Omar Rudberg.

Wilhelm and Simon are a couple.

Shipname: Wilmon

•

Alexander, while the character himself has not been stated to be Queer, is played by Trans actor Xiao-Long Zhao

•

Marcus is Queer.

Marcus is played by actor Tommy Wättring (his sexuality, to my knowledge, is unknown).

•

Nils is Gay.

Nils is played by Gay actor Samuel Astor.

•

Stella is a Lesbian.

Stella is played by Felicia Truedsson (her sexuality, to my knowledge, is unknown).

•

Rosh is a Lesbian.

Rosh is played by Lesbian actress Beri Gerwise.

•

Show Synopsis:

"The plot primarily follows the fictional Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, his romance with fellow male student Simon Eriksson, and the drama it results in."