#brian glynn

[dreamconsumer]

"The Morning of Clontarf".

[abs0luteb4stard]

W A T C H E D

I've seen my share of John Hughes movies. He was the most successful 80s-90s writer.

National Lampoon's Vacation, European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, Mr. Mom, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles', The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck, Home Alone 1 & 2, Only the Lonely, Baby's Day Out, Dennis the Menace, Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Dutch...

I just haven't seen any of the MOLLY RINGWALD ones. Well, time to play catchup.

ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL is really clever young actor, more than I ever noticed previously.

[redcarpetview]

Habitat For Humanity Of Greater Los Angeles® Announces Cynthia Bailey As Celebrity Social Media Ambassador For 2024 La Builders Ball Star-Studded Gala

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles (Habitat LA)® returns on Thursday, March 21, 2024, with its signature annual fundraising event, the 2024 Los Angeles Builders Ball® Presented by City National Bank. An evening dedicated to raising awareness and funds to empower families and foster strength and stability in communities through homeownership, the event will be held at the prestigious Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Habitat LA is thrilled to announce Bravo star Cynthia Bailey (RHOA) as this year's Los Angeles Builders Ball Celebrity Social Media Ambassador and Jasmine Sanders, Co-Host of the nationally syndicated radio show, "The DL Hughley Show," as Red Carpet Host for the highly anticipated annual event.

Habitat LA is rolling out the red carpet to honor some of the most influential game-changers in the city. MLS Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), will be spotlighted with the prestigious Dream Builder Award, recognizing their vital role in creating safe play spaces for kids. Meanwhile, Ring, the leading name in home security, is set to receive the Foundation Builder Award for their unwavering commitment to home safety and community support. Real estate giant Lowe is being honored with the Builder of the Year Award for the company's remarkable 13-year journey with Habitat LA in making dream homes a reality.

As always, the Habitat LA Los Angeles Builders Ball will feature red carpet arrivals, interview and photo opportunities with honorees and celebrity supporters, exciting live entertainment presented this year by Grammy Award nominated performer Brian McKnight, spirited online and live auctions, and after-party.

In her role as Celebrity Social Media Ambassador, Cynthia Bailey will leverage her powerful voice and extensive social networks to amplify Habitat LA's work in raising awareness and funds to empower families and build strength and stability in communities through homeownership. As the evening celebrates the work of individuals and companies transforming the landscape of Los Angeles, Cynthia will share live updates and exclusive moments with the evening's honorees and attendees across social media platforms.

2024 Los Angeles Builders Ball Red Carpet Host Jasmine Sanders

Joining Cynthia on the red carpet will be Jasmine Sanders, whose charm and charisma have captivated audiences nationwide. With over twenty years in the industry, Jasmine brings her warmth, wit, and charm as the Red Carpet Host of the 2024 LA Builders Ball. Her illustrious career includes roles as a special correspondent on HLN’s “The Daily Share,” former co-host of BET/Centric TV’s lifestyle show, “Culture List,” and featured music expert and pop-culture pundit for Billboard Magazine.

Together, along with other Habitat LA supporters and celebrity attendees confirmed to appear at the 2023 LA Builders Ball, Cynthia and Jasmine will help set the stage for an unforgettable evening of celebration, philanthropy, and community empowerment. Other special guests expected to attend include: Glynn Turman (Rustin), Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Cookie Johnson, Breegan Jane (HGTV's Extreme Makeover Home Edition), Tina Knowles (Businesswoman), Holly Robinson Peete (Peacock’s Queens Court), Byron Scott (3x NBA Champion), CeCe Gutierrez (Basketball Wives LA), Novi Brown (Tyler Perry's Sistas), Kate Linder (The Young and The Restless), and more.

For more details, visit https://aesbid.co/ELP/LABB24/

[radiofreeskaro]

Radio Free Skaro #935 - The Slow Path

Radio Free Skaro #935 - The Slow Path - #DoctorWho "Wild Blue Yonder" review! - #Gally1 guest announcement! - #DoctorWho news and notes!

http://traffic.libsyn.com/freyburg/rfs935.mp3 Download MP3 It’s Wild! It’s Blue! It’s a Yonder! Yes, the second of three Doctor Who specials starring the Fourteenth Doctor has now graced our streaming televisual boxes and the Three Who Rule have thoughts and opinions on this spooky two-hander set on the edge of creation! Plus a last reunion with Bernard Cribbins, more Doctor Who: Unleashed and…

[bob-the-movie-man-film-reviews]

Rustin (15): Battling Against Racism AND Homophobia.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "Rustin". #RustinMovie. Good biopic of the organiser of the 1963 Washington rally. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Rustin” (2023). Normally you find that the Best Actor Oscar and the Best Supporting Actor nominations go with “big” films. But occasionally, the Academy will recognise a performance that stands-out in an otherwise un-garlanded film. An example from last year would be Brian Tyree Henry for “Causeway“. Although it’s a very crowded field this year, I think it’s just…

[samabigailalan]

Thanks for the tag @sarcasticsciencefictionwriter

shuffle your playlist/library and make a poll out of the first five songs that come up:

No pressure tagging @ten-cent-sleuth @rin-link @janzan @sweetteaandpie @hallofhelios @clintbeifong

[noneorother]

Share your GOS2 bibliography with me

How crazy is it that season 2 has basically forced me to go back to university. I’ve done more reading and critical analysis and historical research than I have in years. I bite my thumb at you, Neil (affectionate).

And as I’m sure I’m not alone in this, I’d love to see your bibliography of all of the references or reading/watch lists. I’m sure to pick up a few good ones! I’ll go first.

Movies + TV Arrival - Denis Villeneuve Clue - Jonathan Lynn I Know Where I'm Going - Powell & Pressburger The Ball - Magnus Dennison and Katja Roberts Every Day - Michael Sucsy About Time - Richard Curtis The Red Shoes - Powell & Pressburger The Small Back Room - Powell & Pressburger The Tales of Hoffmann - Powell & Pressburger Stairway to Heaven - Powell & Pressburger Ill Met By Moonlight - Powell & Pressburger The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse - Steve Bendelack Monty Python's Life of Brian - Terry Jones Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones The Twilight zone (The Arrival) Boris Sagal The Twilight zone (The Hitch-Hiker) - Alvin Ganzer Staged (Seasons 1 and 2) - Simon Evans & Phin Glynn Books The Crow Road - Iain Banks The Bridge - Iain Banks The Scholars of Night - John M. Ford Symbols of Sacred Science - René Guénon Catch-22 - Joseph Heller A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett Night Watch (Discworld) - Terry Pratchett Parlement of Foules - Geoffrey Chaucer The language of the birds - Farid ud-Din Attar Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen Persuasion - Jane Austen Midnight Days - Neil Gaiman Negative Burn #11 - Neil Gaiman Chivalry - Neil Gaiman Other Les contes d'Hoffamann - opera, Jacques Offenbach Don Giovanni - opera, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Line, the Cross and the Curve - musical, Kate Bush The book of Enoch - Ethiopian Apocryphal trs. Rev. George Schodde, PhD

I'm sure there will be more... sigh. Spoiler alert: there are more! Donnie Darko - 2001, Richard Kelly Nothing Lasts Forever - 1984, Tom Schiller The Ghosts of Berkley Square - 1947, Vernon Sewell Brazil! - 1985, Terry Gilliam No Bed for Bacon - 1941, Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon Don't, Mr Disraeli! - 1949, Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon Murder Mysteries - Neil Gaiman The Man Who Was Thursday - 1908, GK Chesterton Small Gods - 1992, Terry Pratchett Ipomadon - Medieval - Trs. Richard Scott-Robinson

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Hollywood is the single best example of mature labor power in America

This afternoon (May 6), I’ll be in Berkeley at the Bay Area Bookfest for a 3:30PM event with Glynn Washington for my book Red Team Blues; tomorrow (May 7), it’s an 11AM event with Wendy Liu for my book Chokepoint Capitalism.

Weds (May 10), I’m in Vancouver for a keynote at the Open Source Summit and a book event at Heritage Hall and Thu (May 11), I’m in Calgary for Wordfest.

The Writers Guild is on strike. Hollywood is closed for business. The union’s bargaining documents reveal a cartel of studios that refused to negotiate on a single position. This could go on for a long-ass time:

https://www.wga.org/uploadedfiles/members/member_info/contract-2023/WGA_proposals.pdf

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/06/people-are-not-disposable/#union-strong

The writers are up for it. A lot of people are saying this is the first writers’ strike since 2007/8, but that’s not quite right. That was the last time the writers went on strike against the studios, but in 2019, the writers struck against their own talent agents — within the space of a week, all 7,000 writers in Hollywood fired their agents. They struck against the agencies for 22 months.

https://deadline.com/2023/04/hollywood-strike-writers-guild-studios-talent-agencies-1235333516/

The agencies had consolidated down to four major firms, two backed by private equity who loaded them up with debt that could only be repaid if the agencies figured out how to vastly increase their profits. They did so, by unilaterally switching the way they did business with their clients. Instead of taking a 10% commission on the creative wages they bargained for, the agencies started to take “packaging fees” from the studios for putting together a writer, director, stars, etc. These fees came out of the same budget that the talent got paid from, so the higher the fee was, the less the talent made. Soon, some showrunners were discovering that they were getting 10% and their agents were getting 90%!

The agencies weren’t done, either: they were building their own studios, and planning to negotiate with themselves on behalf of their clients. The writers said fuck this shit. They issued a code of conduct ordering the agencies to knock all that shit off. The agencies swore they’d never do it. Why should they? Every job these writers had ever done came through an agency, and the agencies were staffed with the toughest, most obnoxious negotiators on the planet.

They were sure the writers would cave. After all, the top tier of writers had been handled with kid gloves by the agencies and not ripped off to the same extent as their jobbing, workaday peers. They’d break solidarity and the union would collapse, right?

Wrong. Twenty-two months later, every one of the agencies caved on every single point. Bam. Union strong.

(Want to learn more? Check out Chokepoint Capitalism, Rebecca Giblin’s and my book about creative labor markets:)

http://chokepointcapitalism.com

Now the writers are back on strike and it’s triggered a predictable torrent of anti-worker nonsense (“striking writers will lead to public indifference to torture!) (no, really) (ugh):

https://www.readtpa.com/p/on-the-tv-writers-strike-dont-fall

One common theme in these bad takes is that writers aren’t real workers, like, you know, coal miners or Starbucks baristas. They’re coddled intellectuals, and haven’t the intelligentsia been indifferent to proletarian struggle since, you know, time immemorial?

This is wrong in every conceivable way. For starters, it’s ahistorical. Lord Byron and innumerable other toffs and poets and such were right there with the Luddites, demanding labor justice during the Industrial Revolution, as Brian Merchant writes in his outstanding, forthcoming history of the Luddites, Blood in the Machine:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/20/love-the-machine/#hate-the-factory

But you don’t have to look back to the stocking frame to find this kind of solidarity. As Hamilton Nolan writes in his newsletter, “Hollywood is the single best example of mature labor power in America”:

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-coral-reef-of-humanity-encircling

The entire Hollywood workforce, from grips to carpenters, costumers to plumbers, teamsters to medics, is unionized. That includes writers and actors (I’m a member of IATSE Local 839, AKA The Animation Guild). I live in Burbank, the entertainment industry’s company town (fun fact! The “Hollywood” studios are largely over the city line, in Burbank). Walk down Burbank Boulevard, Magnolia Boulevard, or any of the other major roads, and you’ll pass many union halls.

Burbank is a prosperous place. That’s thanks, in part, to the studios, whose entertainment products are very profitable. But working in a profitable industry is not, in and of itself, a guarantee that you will get a share of those profits. Some of the most profitable industries in the world — e-commerce, fast food, logistics — have the lowest paid workforces.

Burbank is prosperous because the unions made sure that everyone — the grips, the costumers, the animators, the actors, the writers, the teamsters and the pipefitters — gets a decent wage, decent health care and a decent retirement. My pal the set-dresser who worked crazy hours shlepping furniture around sitcom sets for decades? All that work did bad stuff to his joints, which meant that he needed a hip replacement in his forties — which was 100% covered, including his sick leave while he recovered. He was able to take early retirement in his late fifties, with a solid pension, with his health in excellent shape and many years of happiness with his partner stretching before him.

That’s what unions get you: a good job that might be hard at times, and the costs of your work are borne by the employer who profits from your labor. As Nolan writes, the point of unions is to “make sure that people! Are! Not! Disposable!”

Unions deliver the American dream. As Pete Seeger sang in “Talking Union Blues”:

Now, if you want higher wages let me tell you what to do You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you You got to build you a union, got to make it strong But if you all stick together, boys, it won’t be long You get shorter hours, better working conditions Vacations with pay. Take your kids to the seashore

http://www.protestsonglyrics.net/Labor_Union_Songs/Talking-Union.phtml

We tend to focus on wages in union discussions, but unions aren’t merely about getting better pay, it’s about making better jobs. When LA teachers went out on strike in 2019, wages weren’t at the top of their list — they bargained for greenspace for every school, replacing rotting portables with permanent buildings, ending ICE entrapment of parents at the school gates, social workers and counselors for schools…and wages.

I really like how Nolan puts this. The way that the studios make money has changed: streaming is clobbering ad-supported TV and movie theater tickets. The studios are adapting. The workers want to adapt, too. The studios would rather “treat[] their work force as a disposable natural resource to be mined, used up, and then abandoned, as business dictates.”

A union gives workers “the same ability to adapt to changing industries that companies already have.” The studios want to leave workers behind. Unions give workers the collective power to say, “No. You’re taking us with you.”

Union workers are wealthier than their non-union counterparts, but that’s not just because of higher wages. As Nolan writes, “Unions make sure that the people get to adapt to changing industries, and not just the investors and the business owners.”

[Union workers] have a far greater ability to build coherent, long-term careers, as opposed to a constant treadmill of unstable short-term gigs. In non-union industries, businesses can just act like ships cutting through a desperate sea of workers, scooping up whoever they want and then tossing them overboard as soon as it’s convenient. In a union industry, though, the companies are forced to deal with the labor force as an equal. The workers have their own damn boat.

Advocates for market capitalism insist that market forces increase prosperity for everyone. They say that, in the end, having corporations serve their shareholders results in corporations serving everyone.

But a comparison of unionized and nonunionized industries reveals the hollowness of that prospect. Hollywood is wildly profitable and it pays every kind of worker well. That’s because workers have solidarity across sectors and trades. Striking writers like jonrog1 are calling on supporters to donate to the Entertainment Community Fund:

https://twitter.com/jonrog1/status/1654168529728307204

The Entertainment Community Fund supports everyone else who is affected by the work-stoppage, all the other creative and craft trades whose work has been halted by the writers’ struggle. If you want to support these workers, make sure you select “Film and TV” from the drop-down menu when you donate (we gave $100):

https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

Because all the workers are in this together. As Adam Conover explains in this amazing CNN clip, David Zazlav, the head of CNN parent-company Warner-Discovery, made a quarter of a billion dollars last year, enough to pay all the demands of all the writers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-YwKO81go

And Carol Lombardini, spokesvillain for the studio cartel AMPTP, told the press that “”Writers are lucky to have term employment.” As John Rogers says, she “wiped out the doubt of every writer who wasn’t sure this negotiation really IS so important, that it actually IS about turning us into gig workers.”

https://twitter.com/jonrog1/status/1654506611086606336

The stakes in this strike are the same as the stakes in every strike: will workers get a fair share of the value their labor creates, or will that value be piled up in the vaults of $250,000,000/year CEOs? It’s not like the studios especially hate writers — like all corporations, they hate all their workers. The same tactics that they’re using to make it so writers can’t pay the rent today will be turned on every other kind of Hollywood worker tomorrow — and when the writers win this one, they’ll support those workers, too.

There’s a lot of concern about AI displacing creative labor, but the only entity that can take away a writer’s wage is a human being, an executive at a studio. As has been the case since the time of the Luddites, the issue isn’t what the machine does, it’s who it does it for and who it does it to.

After all, as Charlie Stross points out, a corporation is just a “Slow AI,” remorselessly paperclip-maximizing its way through the lives and joy of the flesh-and-blood people who constitute its inconvenient gut-flora:

https://media.ccc.de/v/34c3-9270-dude_you_broke_the_future#video&t=3478

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Berkeley, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[Image ID: Animators walk the picket-line during the Disney Animator's Strike in 1941.]

Image: LA Times https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Screen_Cartoonist%27s_Guild_strike_at_Disney.jpg

CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

X-Men 2 fans: First Look at Nightcrawler and Stryker as brothers in Glenrothan

Brian Cox‘s feature directorial debut “Glenrothan” — billed as his “love letter to Scotland” — has wrapped production, with a first look revealed showing the “Succession” star alongside Alan Cumming in a room full of whisky barrels.

Alongside revealing a first look from the feature, Protagonist Pictures has come aboard for worldwide sales and is set to screen exclusive footage for buyers at the upcoming American Film Market.

Lionsgate, which co-developed the project with London based studio Nevision, has taken U.K. rights on the family drama, which shot in Scotland.

In “Glenrothan,” Donal (Cumming) reluctantly returns to the Scottish Highlands after 35 years in Chicago to make amends with his estranged older brother, Sandy (Cox). Sandy needs Donal to take over the family’s whisky distillery or he will be forced to sell and give up on the family’s legacy. But their reunion forces the brothers to confront the past and the real reason Donal left Glenrothan. Shirley Henderson (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “See How They Run”) and Alexandra Shipp (“Barbie,” “Anyone But You”) also star in the film.

“Glenrothan” is produced by Cox, Neil Zeiger, Crystine Zhang (“Prisoner’s Daughter,” “Lee”), Phin Glynn (“Argentina 1985,” “Kill The Jockey”), Nic Crum (“Book of Love”), James Cabourne and Vladimir Zemtsov (“Club Zero”). The film is co-produced by Nevision and Blazing Griffin Pictures in association with Screen Scotland, Oval-5, Gold Rush Pictures, Head Gear, Infinity Hill and Lionsgate.

“’Glenrothan’ is a poignant, funny and powerful story about the universal themes of family and heritage, set against the stunning backdrops of Scotland and steeped in the world of whisky,” said Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop. “Brian is an undeniable talent, both behind and in front of the camera, and is joined by the exceptional Alan Cumming — as such we are delighted to introduce buyers to this special film when we debut exclusive footage at the upcoming AFM.”

Neil Zeiger, lead producer added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed helping bring ‘Glenrothan,’ Brian’s ‘love letter to Scotland’, to the screen. Working with our incredible cast led by Alan, Shirley and Alexandra, Brian directed the film brilliantly. A universal story, wonderful performances and stunning images define the film. I am confident Glenrothan will compel and captivate audiences wherever in the world they are.”

Protagonist’s current slate includes the Venice, TIFF and San Sebastian selection “Kill the Jockey,” directed by Luis Ortega and recently selected as Argentina’s feature film contender for the 2025 Academy Awards; Samir Oliveros’ TIFF title, “The Luckiest Man in America,” starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Paul Walter Hauser; the genre-bending comedy “Sister Midnight,” which recently screened at the London Film Festival and was nominated for Cannes’ Camera D’Or; and from directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, the political horror-comedy “Rumours,” which debuted at Cannes before going on to screen at Toronto, San Sebastian, New York and London Film Festivals.

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

Hi Mags! I’ve been catching up with your writings and will provide feedback soon but in the meantime I wanted to ask about what your username means or its origins? Very intriguing. Cheers, Darling! (Read it with Aemond’s accent)

Hello beloved!!! 😍 I hope you enjoy reading and I cannot wait to hear your ever-insightful, brilliant thoughts 🥰💜

My username is a reference to my favorite song, '39 by Queen! It's about space travel and love and heartbreak, and is truly right up my alley. '39 was written by guitarist Brian May, and he also sings on the album version, although Freddie Mercury sang lead in live performances. It begins:

"In the year of '39, assembled here the volunteers In the days when lands were few Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn The sweetest sight ever seen..."

This particular live performance of '39 is my favorite 🥰 (although Freddie does improv some of the lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoRTEJgFqNc

Also I now cannot stop thinking about how much Roger Taylor energy Tom Glynn-Carney has, no wonder I am an Aegon girlie 😂

[wankerwatch]

Commons Vote

On: Passenger Railway Services Bill (Public Ownership) Bill: Second Reading

Ayes: 351 (96.6% Lab, 2.3% Ind, 0.8% Green, 0.3% SDLP) Noes: 84 (100.0% Con) Absent: ~215

Day's business papers: 2024-7-29

Likely Referenced Bill: Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill

Description: A Bill to make provision for passenger railway services to be provided by public sector companies instead of by means of franchises.

Originating house: Commons Current house: Commons Bill Stage: Committee of the whole House

Individual Votes:

Ayes

Labour (341 votes)

Abena Oppong-Asare Abtisam Mohamed Adam Jogee Adam Thompson Afzal Khan Al Carns Alan Campbell Alan Gemmell Alan Strickland Alex Baker Alex Ballinger Alex Barros-Curtis Alex Davies-Jones Alex Mayer Alex McIntyre Alex Norris Alex Sobel Alice Macdonald Alison Hume Alison McGovern Alison Taylor Alistair Strathern Allison Gardner Amanda Hack Amanda Martin Andrew Cooper Andrew Gwynne Andrew Lewin Andrew Pakes Andrew Ranger Andrew Western Andy MacNae Andy McDonald Angela Eagle Anna Dixon Anna Gelderd Anneliese Dodds Anneliese Midgley Baggy Shanker Bambos Charalambous Barry Gardiner Bayo Alaba Beccy Cooper Becky Gittins Bell Ribeiro-Addy Ben Coleman Ben Goldsborough Bill Esterson Blair McDougall Brian Leishman Bridget Phillipson Callum Anderson Calvin Bailey Carolyn Harris Cat Eccles Cat Smith Catherine Atkinson Catherine McKinnell Catherine West Charlotte Nichols Chris Bloore Chris Curtis Chris Elmore Chris Hinchliff Chris Kane Chris McDonald Chris Murray Chris Vince Chris Webb Christian Wakeford Claire Hazelgrove Claire Hughes Clive Betts Clive Lewis Connor Naismith Damien Egan Dan Aldridge Dan Jarvis Dan Tomlinson Daniel Francis Danny Beales Darren Jones Darren Paffey Dave Robertson David Baines David Burton-Sampson David Pinto-Duschinsky David Taylor David Williams Dawn Butler Debbie Abrahams Deirdre Costigan Derek Twigg Diana Johnson Douglas Alexander Douglas McAllister Ed Miliband Elaine Stewart Emily Darlington Emma Foody Emma Hardy Emma Lewell-Buck Emma Reynolds Euan Stainbank Feryal Clark Florence Eshalomi Frank McNally Fred Thomas Gen Kitchen Georgia Gould Gerald Jones Gill German Gordon McKee Graeme Downie Graham Stringer Grahame Morris Gregor Poynton Gurinder Josan Hamish Falconer Harpreet Uppal Heidi Alexander Helen Hayes Helena Dollimore Henry Tufnell Hilary Benn Ian Lavery Ian Murray Imogen Walker Irene Campbell Jack Abbott Jacob Collier Jade Botterill Jake Richards James Asser James Murray James Naish Janet Daby Jas Athwal Jayne Kirkham Jeevun Sandher Jeff Smith Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Jess Asato Jessica Morden Jessica Toale Jim Dickson Jim McMahon Jo Platt Jo Stevens Jo White Joani Reid Jodie Gosling Joe Morris Joe Powell Johanna Baxter John Grady John Healey John Slinger John Whitby Jon Pearce Jon Trickett Jonathan Brash Jonathan Davies Jonathan Hinder Josh Dean Josh Fenton-Glynn Josh MacAlister Josh Newbury Josh Simons Julia Buckley Juliet Campbell Justin Madders Kanishka Narayan Kate Dearden Kate Osamor Kate Osborne Katie White Keir Mather Kenneth Stevenson Kerry McCarthy Kevin Bonavia Kevin McKenna Kim Johnson Kim Leadbeater Kirith Entwistle Kirsteen Sullivan Kirsty McNeill Laura Kyrke-Smith Lauren Edwards Lauren Sullivan Laurence Turner Lee Barron Lee Pitcher Leigh Ingham Lewis Atkinson Liam Byrne Liam Conlon Lilian Greenwood Lillian Jones Linsey Farnsworth Lisa Nandy Liz Kendall Liz Twist Lizzi Collinge Lloyd Hatton Lorraine Beavers Louise Haigh Louise Jones Lucy Powell Lucy Rigby Luke Akehurst Luke Charters Luke Murphy Luke Myer Luke Pollard Margaret Mullane Maria Eagle Mark Ferguson Mark Hendrick Mark Sewards Mark Tami Markus Campbell-Savours Marsha De Cordova Martin Rhodes Mary Creagh Mary Glindon Matt Bishop Matt Rodda Matt Turmaine Matt Western Matthew Patrick Matthew Pennycook Maureen Burke Maya Ellis Meg Hillier Melanie Onn Melanie Ward Miatta Fahnbulleh Michael Payne Michael Shanks Michael Wheeler Michelle Scrogham Michelle Welsh Mike Amesbury Mike Kane Mike Reader Mike Tapp Mohammad Yasin Nadia Whittome Natalie Fleet Natasha Irons Naushabah Khan Neil Coyle Neil Duncan-Jordan Nia Griffith Nicholas Dakin Noah Law Oliver Ryan Olivia Bailey Olivia Blake Pam Cox Pamela Nash Pat McFadden Patricia Ferguson Paul Davies Paul Foster Paul Waugh Paula Barker Paulette Hamilton Perran Moon Peter Kyle Peter Lamb Peter Prinsley Peter Swallow Phil Brickell Polly Billington Preet Kaur Gill Rachael Maskell Rachel Blake Rachel Hopkins Richard Baker Richard Quigley Rosena Allin-Khan Rosie Wrighting Rupa Huq Ruth Cadbury Ruth Jones Sadik Al-Hassan Sally Jameson Sam Carling Sam Rushworth Samantha Dixon Samantha Niblett

Sarah Coombes Sarah Edwards Sarah Hall Sarah Jones Sarah Owen Sarah Russell Sarah Sackman Scott Arthur Sean Woodcock Seema Malhotra Shabana Mahmood Sharon Hodgson Shaun Davies Simon Lightwood Simon Opher Siobhain McDonagh Sojan Joseph Sonia Kumar Stella Creasy Stephen Doughty Stephen Timms Steve Race Steve Reed Steve Witherden Steve Yemm Sureena Brackenridge Tahir Ali Taiwo Owatemi Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Tim Roca Toby Perkins Tom Collins Tom Hayes Tom Rutland Tonia Antoniazzi Tony Vaughan Torcuil Crichton Torsten Bell Tracy Gilbert Tristan Osborne Tulip Siddiq Uma Kumaran Valerie Vaz Warinder Juss Will Stone Yasmin Qureshi Yuan Yang Zubir Ahmed

Independent (8 votes)

Adnan Hussain Apsana Begum Ian Byrne Imran Hussain John McDonnell Rebecca Long Bailey Richard Burgon Zarah Sultana

Green Party (3 votes)

Adrian Ramsay Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Social Democratic & Labour Party (1 vote)

Colum Eastwood

Noes

Conservative (84 votes)

Alan Mak Alberto Costa Alec Shelbrooke Alicia Kearns Alison Griffiths Andrew Bowie Andrew Griffith Andrew Rosindell Andrew Snowden Aphra Brandreth Ashley Fox Ben Obese-Jecty Blake Stephenson Bob Blackman Bradley Thomas Caroline Dinenage Caroline Johnson Charlie Dewhirst Claire Coutinho Danny Kruger David Davis David Mundell David Reed David Simmonds Desmond Swayne Edward Argar Gagan Mohindra Gareth Bacon Gareth Davies Geoffrey Clifton-Brown George Freeman Graham Stuart Greg Smith Gregory Stafford Harriet Cross Harriett Baldwin Helen Grant Helen Whately Jack Rankin James Cleverly Joe Robertson John Cooper John Glen John Hayes John Lamont John Whittingdale Julia Lopez Julian Lewis Katie Lam Kemi Badenoch Kieran Mullan Kit Malthouse Lewis Cocking Lincoln Jopp Louie French Mark Francois Mark Garnier Martin Vickers Matt Vickers Mel Stride Mims Davies Neil Hudson Neil Shastri-Hurst Nick Timothy Patrick Spencer Paul Holmes Peter Bedford Peter Fortune Rebecca Harris Rebecca Paul Rebecca Smith Richard Holden Robbie Moore Robert Jenrick Roger Gale Saqib Bhatti Sarah Bool Shivani Raja Steve Barclay Stuart Anderson Stuart Andrew Tom Tugendhat Victoria Atkins Wendy Morton

[beardedmrbean]

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Three years after a former Georgia district attorney was indicted on charges alleging she interfered with police investigating the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the case's slow progression through the court system has sputtered to a halt, one the presiding judge insists is temporary.

Jackie Johnson was the state's top prosecutor for coastal Glynn County in February 2020, when Arbery was chased by three white men in pickup trucks who had spotted him running in their neighborhood. The 25-year-old Black man died in the street after one of his pursuers shot him with a shotgun.

Johnson transferred the case to an outside prosecutor because the man who initiated the deadly chase, Greg McMichael, was her former employee. But Georgia's attorney general says she illegally used her office to try to protect the retired investigator and his son, Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shots.

Both McMichaels already have been convicted and sentenced to prison in back-to-back trials for murder and federal hate crimes. So has a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, whose cellphone video of the shooting triggered a national outcry over Arbery’s death. A court heard their first appeals six months ago.

The criminal misconduct case against Johnson has moved at a comparative crawl since a grand jury indicted her on Sept. 2, 2021, on a felony count of violating her oath of office and a misdemeanor count of hindering a police officer.

While the men responsible for Arbery's death are serving life sentences, the slain man's family has insisted that justice won’t be complete until Johnson stands trial.

“It’s very, very important,” said Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery's mother. “Jackie Johnson was really part of the problem early on.”

Johnson has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. After losing reelection in 2020, she told The Associated Press that she immediately recused herself in the handling of Arbery's killing because of Greg McMichael's involvement.

Johnson's case has stalled as one of her attorneys, Brian Steel, has spent most of the past two years in an Atlanta courtroom defending Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug against racketeering and gang charges. Jury selection in the case took 10 months, prosecutors began presenting evidence last November and they are still calling witnesses.

Senior Judge John R. Turner, who was assigned to Johnson’s case, insists there is nothing he can do but wait.

“If anyone’s concerned that the case is being shuffled under the rug, I can guarantee you it’s not,” Turner told the AP in a phone interview. “It’s moving at a snail’s pace, but it will move forward eventually.”

After Arbery was killed, Greg McMichael told police that he and his son had armed themselves and chased the Black man, suspecting he was a fleeing criminal. Bryan, who didn't know any of the men, made a similar assumption after seeing them pass his home and joined in his own truck.

The indictment against Johnson alleges she told police they shouldn't arrest Travis McMichael. It also accuses her of “showing favor and affection” to Greg McMichael by calling on George Barnhill, a district attorney in a neighboring judicial circuit, to advise police about how to handle the shooting.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr appointed Barnhill four days later to take over as outside prosecutor. Carr has said he picked Barnhill without knowing he already had advised police that he saw no grounds for arrests in Arbery's death.

Barnhill stepped aside after a few weeks, but not before he sent a letter to police captain arguing the McMichaels acted legally and Arbery was killed in self-defense.

After Johnson was charged, she reported to jail for booking and was released without having to post bond. Her attorneys waived a formal reading of the charges before a judge and she has yet to appear in court. The judge denied legal motions by Johnson’s lawyers to dismiss the case last November. Court records show no further developments over the past 10 months.

“Securing an indictment is just one step in our ongoing pursuit of justice for Ahmaud Arbery and his family," Carr said in a statement. "We have never stopped fighting for them, and we look forward to the opportunity to present our case in court.”

Johnson's attorneys, Steel and John Ossick, did not respond to emails and a phone message seeking comment. They have argued in court filings there is “not a scintilla of evidence” that she hindered police.

Prosecutors responded with a court filing that listed 16 calls between phones belonging to Johnson and Greg McMichael in the weeks following the shooting.

Two legal experts who aren't involved in the case said there is no deadline for Johnson to stand trial. She hasn't been jailed, so there is little pressure to expedite her case.

Steel's prolonged absence because of the Atlanta gang trial likely isn't the only factor slowing the case, Atlanta defense attorney Don Samuel said.

Courts remain saddled with a backlog of cases since the COVID-19 lockdowns, he said. And the attorney general's office has a limited staff of criminal prosecutors with their own busy caseloads.

Samuel also questioned whether prosecutors have a strong case against Johnson. Even if she opposed charging the McMichaels in Arbery's death, he said, prosecutors haven't accused her of taking bribes or similar blatant corruption.

District attorneys “have a huge amount of discretion to make decisions about what cases to pursue,” Samuel said. “The notion that we’re going to start prosecuting DAs for prosecuting or not prosecuting strikes me as really being on the edge of propriety.”

Danny Porter, the former district attorney for Gwinnett County in metro Atlanta, said prosecutors like Johnson have a legitimate role in advising police on whether or not to arrest suspects before an investigation is complete.

As for Johnson's recommendation in 2020 that the attorney general replace her with another prosecutor who concluded Arbery's killing was justified, Porter said: “I don’t think that’s a violation of the law, though it might have made them mad.”

[thetreaclepeople]

The Treacle People are back, lovingly remastered! Subscribe now to get stuck in to the full BAFTA-nominated series from the writer of 'Danger Mouse', every Saturday at 5PM UK time on YouTube!

As the story starts, times are hard for The Treacle People. The once great treacle mines of Northern England are running dry and the treacle industry is in trouble. Things look bleak for Professor Baines-Pilling, inventor of the world's first treacle-powered engine and all the others who depend on the sticky stuff for a living. That's until Rosie and Wizzle, the local youngsters, enter the scene. Armed with nothing but a simple treacle-divining stick, can they save the village, or will the Treacle People come to a sticky end? Tune in to our YouTube Channel every week and find out for yourself!

The Treacle People is a British comedy stop-motion animation from Fire Mountain Productions. Full of heart and packed with jokes for both kids and adults, this wholesome show is suitable for viewers of all ages.

“Funny, beautifully made. For grown-ups too.” - THE DAILY MAIL (5 Stars)

"It is impossible not to fall for the sticky heroes." - THE DAILY EXPRESS (5 Stars)

"Adults should find it just as appealing as their children do." - EARLY LEARNING (5 Stars)

Starring Caroline Bernstein, Jim Norton, Jim McManus, Alec Bregonzi, Glynn Mills and Brian Trueman. Written by Jonathan and Brian Trueman. Based on an idea by the Dewhurst family. Executive Producer Penny Lent. Director Mike Furness. Producer Iain Russell. Distributed by Fire Mountain Productions Ltd.

Join The Treacle People on YouTube and be... sticky like us!

[electricwolfdude]

Shao Kahn is quite the tricky one to draw. Even though this is my third time drawing him, he always has a learning curve when it comes to capturing his essence. I decided I needed some help with a pose and I found a cool portrait on Pinterest of a man with a hammer that I could base this piece off of. It worked pretty well I must say. Us artists tend to get so caught up in our own ideas that we sometimes forget we need a helping hand when it comes to poses, ideas and overall aesthetic. 

Overall, I like how this came out. Composition ended up working well and I'm happy with the overall results of my labor. 

I think this will be the start of hopefully many more Shao Kahn pieces. He is still up there in the baddest of video game villains. No doubt about it. This version of Shao Kahn is of course based off of the OG Shao Kahn, Brian Glynn. Enjoy everybody!

[mlobsters]

supernatural s14e8 byzantium (w. meredith glynn)

totally forgot about that alicia witt episode. is someone gonna burn up some soul for jack?

JACK Can you tell him… it's okay SAM Tell him yourself. He'll be back in a minute.

see i think i don't have a lot of lingering trauma from my dad dying when i was 16 from cancer, but like. they say this and all i can think about is my mom making me tell my dad, in his last days, unconscious in a hospital bed in our house, that it's okay. so, imagine that, but a hundred fold for all these memories associated with that. and then going through it again with my mom, so a new batch to add on to the existing set that still fucks me up. not many things poke at it, but when they do...

DEAN I can't. It's not right, Cas, you know? It's just-- It's not-- CAS What? It's not fair? I know that. But he needs you.

suck it up, fuckhead. okay i don't know if that's actually in character for him but i gotta believe he would understand that and not walk out. certainly not if he thought he was that close to dying. whatever, more opportunity for angst over not even being there when he passed. hospice gave us a list of signs that someone is gonna die soon. doesn't account for rapid decline due to loss of archangel grace though i imagine

(while i look for the post [13x17 apparently] where i talked about some music reminding me of bloodfest by brian reitzell and whether it was the same just now, reminded as they stand in this hallway, where are all the fucking apocalypse world people)

spn 14x08 / hannibal 3x6 / spn 13x17

didn't come to any great conclusion. similar technique. nothing nearly as interesting or pretty as brian reitzell's, but it's not a fair comparison. both the spn episodes the music was christopher lennertz, this episode it was with philip white as well.

and fuck whoever made the decision to cut from the big emotional moment of dean coming into jack's room after he has died with basically a jumpscare to the title card with the flapping wings.

and then basically a jumpscare to thinking sam is leaving to go do something monumentally stupid.

come on, not even a hug? group hug? something? if you're going to put me through this, at least throw me a fucking bone

not sure i can do this. small break because a montage of them having a mini wake basically, drinking, reminiscing set to licensed music. done having my buttons pushed.

well. that's one way to disconnect me from feelings, jack in heaven with..... the empty cg goo flooding in

spn 14x08 as lily sunder / alien (1979) veronica cartwright as lambert

hey, now that's a recognizable voice

DEAN We're talking about that kid's soul. SAM Not all of it. DEAN Oh, okay, then. Tell me you're not cool with this. CAS Don't you think Jack should decide for himself?

using jack's own soul to sustain the magic for his body, didn't see that one coming. and yet another spin on the merry go round of bodily autonomy arguments. if heaven wasn't busted, i imagine he'd want to stay. which might be more interesting. and visiting kelly, buh. thought i was done crying this episode.

the empty shadow guy crashed heaven just to get jack? hokay

SAM Lily, I-- I know you're upset, but you can still do the spell. LILY That wasn't the deal. I've got to go. SAM We have nothing to offer you, noth-- nothing to say, but… He's our kid! LILY I'm sorry. DEAN You know what I think? Burning all that soul? You're not even human anymore, not really. SAM Dean-- DEAN Otherwise, how could you ever, ever let anyone go through what you went through? The pain of losing a kid? Don't do this to us.

continue to be surprised whenever they textually acknowledge jack as their kid. it's a good thing, and dare i say a smidge subversive with their non-traditional family structure. it's nice.

and for this ridiculous anubis thing, maybe her helping them can tip the scales more in heaven's favor.

COSMIC ENTITY Castiel, you know how this goes-- the good souls here, the bad souls there. The angels are mine. CAS Enough. COSMIC ENTITY Stop interrupting! Start paying attention. I'm taking him. And where I'm taking you is worse than Hell… because at least Hell is something. Ohh. Ohh, God, they look scared. Does that hurt you? Good… because I want it to.

the manic bitchy weird thing they're doing with the empty thing is ... weird.

COSMIC ENTITY: Deal. Oh, but not now. No, no, no, no, no. No, you see, I-I meant what I said. I-I want you to suffer. I want you to go back to-- to your normal life and-- and then forget about this and forget about me. And-- And then, when you finally give yourself permission to be happy and let the sun shine on your face, that's when I'll come. That's when I'll come to drag you to nothing.

huh. ok.

JACK Why? Why did you do that? CAS Because I made a promise. Because I love you, Jack. And Sam and Dean-- they love you. And they are fighting for you at this very minute. I hope that… They don't need to know what happened here. What I did-- I'm-- I'm-- I'm at peace with my choice. I don't want them to worry. JACK I won't tell them. I promise.

so he gets to sacrifice himself and sam and dean don't get to know about it so they don't have the chance to fix it. ok

and as i expected, lily got her happy ending in death too. sacrifice and family reunions all around

lol naomi giving out michael's location, ok sure. cas oh so smoothly bypassing questions about why she'd give them that :p

DEAN And we know where Michael is. Not quite sure how you pulled that one off. CAS Well, we, uh-- we still don't know where Dark Kaia is or the spear.

laughed because even he made it sound like what he was saying was goofy. anyway. i think i'm finally warming up a little more to cas. making him vaguely consistent in characterization and not making horrible decisions all the time apparently helps. and just plain being around and participating in things

hopefully we're done pushing my real life terminal illness buttons because it's exhausting and miserable.

hope dean leaves mary another voicemail giving her an update that in fact jack is not dead anymore

[goalhofer]

Where every player played during the 1994-95 NHL lockout: Hartford

Czech Extraliga: František Kučera (H.K. Sparta Praha) IHL: Ihor Chibirev (Ft. Wayne Komets) IHL (Russia): Andrei Nikolishin (K.K. Dynamo Moscow) Liiga: Geoff Sanderson (Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho) AHL: Ted Drury (Springfield Falcons) & Róbert Petrovický (Springfield Falcons) Didn't Play: Sean Burke, Adam Burt, Jimmy Carson, Andrew Cassels, Kelly Chase, Scott Daniels, Glen Featherstone, Brian Glynn, Oleksandr Hodyniuk, Mark Janssens, Robert Kron, Jocelyn Lemieux, Marek Malík, Byron McCrimmon, Chris Pronger, Paul Ranheim, Jeff Reese, Steven Rice, Jim Sandlak; Jr., Kevin Smyth, Jim Storm, Darren Turcotte, Pat Verbeek & Glen Wesley