#burton mayers books

[thegirlwiththelantern]

The Soulburn Talisman

Title: The Soulburn TalismanAuthor: David McIlroyDemographic: YAGenre: Fantasy Synopsis: The world turns upside down for thirteen-year-old Brooke Woods – literally – when she tumbles through a mountainside portal during a school trip. And she’s not the only one, either. Her classmates Charlie Flint and Dale Reed got pulled in, too. Suddenly, they find themselves in a parallel world on the…

[syd-adamu]

taglist for mobile users

lists are in no particular order:

tv:

9-1-1

the umbrella academy

the mindy project

psych

the it crowd

santa clarita diet

brooklyn nine nine

julie and the phantoms

stranger things

unbreakable kimmy schmidt

american vandal

the good doctor

the good place

never have i ever

russian doll

bridgerton

one of us is lying

schitt’s creek

one day at a time

derry girls

community

jane the virgin

lucifer

i am not okay with this

bojack horseman

heartstopper

big mouth

teen wolf

hsmtmts

the bear

films + directors:

the cornetto trilogy / edgar wright

the cat in the hat

the mitchells vs the machines

everything everywhere all at once

moulin rouge!

jojo rabbit / taika waititi

into the spiderverse

tick tick boom

david fincher

wes anderson

beetlejuice / tim burton

the old guard

newsies

train to busan

moon knight

the it duology

turning red

midsommar / ari aster

fallen angels / wong kar-wai

crazy rich asians

encanto

mamma mia!

christopher nolan

jordan peele

luca

zombies

ponniyin selvan / mani ratnam

the banshees of inisherin

aftersun

music:

5sos

one direction

wallows

prettymuch

the vamps

sza

doja cat

tiny meat gang

remi wolf

the 1975

megadeth

system of a down

hail the sun

when chai met toast

halsey

taylor swift

lizzo

arctic monkeys

the neighbourhood

panic at the disco

new politics

fall out boy

kali uchis

kehlani

hayley kiyoko

pinkpantheress

john mayer

kacey musgraves

half•alive

books/authors:

percy jackson / rick riordan

a man called ove / fredrik backman

more than this / patrick ness

six of crows / leigh bardugo

heartstopper / alice oseman

robin sloan

casey mcquiston

david levithan

karen mcmanus

cemetery boys - aiden thomas

truly devious / maureen johnson

tj klune

alone with you in the ether / olivie blake

(musical) theatre:

newsies

falsettos

company

she loves me

hadestown

fun home

mean girls

dear evan hansen

beetlejuice

dogfight

mozart!

school of rock

bandstand

spongebob squarepants

waitress

something rotten!

in the heights

hamilton

a gentlemen’s guide to love and murder

pippin

wicked

come from away

cats

starlight express

west side story

avenue q

starkid

starry

spring awakening

angels in america

the boys in the band

frankenstein

jesus christ superstar

the prom

the lightening thief

moulin rouge!

youtube:

drew gooden

danny gonzalez

jarvis johnson

kurtis conner

collegehumour (dropout.tv)

casey aonso

chad chad

noel miller

seanie dew

jack edwards

hannah bayles

daniel howell

babish culinary universe

kickthepj

joshua weissman

mikaela long

[lovebooksgroup]

COMING SOON - #Virtualbooktour |Conditions Are Different After Dark by Owen W Knight | Proudly organised by @lovebookstours #BookTour #LBTCrew #Bookreviews

COMING SOON - #Virtualbooktour |Conditions Are Different After Dark by Owen W Knight | Proudly organised by @lovebookstours #BookTour #LBTCrew #Bookreviews

X Mail Print Facebook Pinterest Print Like Loading… Coming soon from Love Books Tours. Conditions Are Different After Dark by Owen W Knight UK & US – 20th May – 12th June Genre: Contemporary Horror, Alternative History, Dark Fiction, Mystery, Folklore, Thriller, Commercial Fiction Publisher:  Burton Mayers Books Lovebookstours.com Blurb In 1662, a man is wrongly executed for signing…

[emmalenalouisaellis]

On My Way: Starting My Publishing Journey

I have always loved books, as a small child and even in my later years I have been drawn to the magical process of both reading and writing. My thirst and hunger for the written word seemingly voracious as I devoured book after book, notebook after notebook determined to learn the secrets of the historical, fantastical, supernatural or romanticised worlds which lay within their pages. 

 Picture taken from Teenage by Jon Savage and Jon Wolf.

Although I started with poetry (some of which got published and promoted on school magazines and county wide anthologies), I soon found myself attempting fanfiction and later whilst at university decided I wanted to write a novel. Something that I knew would not be very easy indeed.

You see being a dyslexic writer in a world where it’s already hard to get a physical book out into a bookstore can be very daunting indeed. I’m not the most ‘extroverted’ of people, and given my disabilities it was always difficult for me to fit the mould or niche that seemed to suit my peers. My idea which I began drafting out was a slice of life comedy (with touches of romance told from a point of view.) And whilst I would talk about it, and talk about it I do - life tended to have a habit of getting in the way of writing and then rewriting it. A process that quickly began to take a little longer than anticipated....

Two Women Sitting On School Campus, Talking - Stock photo by Stockbyte on Getty Images.

Then last year with the global pandemic, I decided enough was enough and I was going to knuckle down and finish the book once and for all. I pulled my big girl’s socks up, fired up the computer, dug out all my old notes and drafts from my collection of notebooks and papers and sometimes the backs of school exercise books and began to write...

Woman Working At Typewriter by George Marks

After a long slog, just before I turned 31 (in June) I completed the final draft of my manuscript. An impressive feat of 93,366 words which made about 298 pages in hardback, or 322 or so in paperback; at least that’s what Reedsy Book Editor told me. **Side note** as free editing software goes, this cloud based platform does wonders at helping to make a book feel more like the real deal, which can be easy to forget if sat staring inertly at MS Word. 

Next came the daunting process of sending it off to publishers. Once more armed with my ‘Writers and Artists Handbook’ and social media I began drafting up synopsis, blurbs, author bios and query letters to publishers. Being an unsolicited author can be quite hard going at times, you have to be prepared for sometimes long waits. And on average that’s about 8-12 weeks minimum from a publisher to sometimes ghost you or write you a generic sorry but no rejection letter.

But then, I stumbled upon Burton Mayers Books an indie based press in the Home Counties, who took a chance on new talents and unusual novels that didn’t cross the t’s and dot the i’s on genre. And they wanted my book!

Where would a vintage author be without her accessories...

So here I am, “brain the size of a planet” with a publishing deal to release my debut novel in hardback, paperback, ebook and Kindle - for a February 2022 release on Two’s Day (Tuesday 22nd February 2022). 

I’ve switched gears and focus for a while now on beginning to crowdfund for marketing and things like the audiobook and after printing off the mockup dustjacket for the hardback today I’m still pinching myself that this is actually happening! But it finally is. After all this time - I’m finally making my dreams a reality. 

Let’s hope my second book doesn’t take quite as long. 

Have a lovely day,

Emmalena x

[jewishbookworld]

Broken Oaths by Norman Mounter

Broken Oaths by Norman Mounter

Heidelberg, 1938 Doctor Sárkány’s career is crumbling. The once eminent pathologist begins to lose everything that he holds dear – his reputation, position and pride. But what of his wife, Éva? What of his twin daughters and unborn son? Surely his family are more important than any profession? His vanity and covetousness do not see it that way. He blames his Jewish wife for his…

[papermoonloveslucy]

VAN JOHNSON

August 26, 1916

Van Johnson was born Charles Van Dell Johnson in Newport, Rhode Island. Johnson performed while in high school. He moved to New York City after graduation in 1935 and joined the off-Broadway review Entre Nous. His acting career began in earnest in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1936.  In 1939, George Abbott cast him in Rodgers and Hart's Too Many Girls in the role of a college boy and as understudy for all three male leads. 

He had an uncredited role in the film adaptation of Too Many Girls (1940) which costarred Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Johnson was about to move back to New York when Lucille Ball took him to Chasen's Restaurant, where she introduced him to MGM casting director Billy Grady. This led to screen tests by Hollywood studios. Warner Brothers put him on contract at $300 a week, although it only lasted six months. Johnson was soon signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

He was also seen with Lucy in the MGM film Easy to Wed (1946), a remake of one  Libeled Lady with Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. "The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 16, 1948 with Van Johnson and Esther Williams reprising their film roles. "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 27, 1950 with Van Johnson reprising his film role.

On February 14, 1954, Johnson, Lucy, and Desi, joined many other celebrities on “Toast of the Town” as they marked “MGM’s 30th Anniversary”.  Lucy and Desi were promoting their MGM film The Long, Long Trailer. 

In “Getting Ready” (ILL S4;E11), Lucy takes a break from preparing for their trip to California to ‘name-drop’ (including Johnson’s) on the telephone with Marion: 

LUCY: “Would you like me to give a message to any of the gang out there? You know, Clark, or Cary, or Van, or Marlon?”

Van Johnson is the only one of those stars (Gable, Grant, and Brando) that Lucy Ricardo (and viewers) actually meets during her Hollywood stay. 

In “Hollywood Anniversary” (ILL S4;E24), Ricky plants a fake publicity article about their star-studded anniversary party at the Mocambo. Van and Evie Johnson are among the stars mentioned as attendees. Sadly, Ricky later admits to Lucy that “none of those peoples are coming!” 

Evie Lynn Abbott was first married to Keenan Wynn (who was in Easy To Wed with Van and Lucy). She married Van Johnson on the very day of her divorce from Wynn - January 25, 1947 - only four hours after the divorce was finalized. Wynn was Johnson’s best friend and had spent a month recuperating from a near-fatal car accident at the Wynn family home. During his recovery word got back to Louis B. Mayer at MGM that sparks had flown between Evie and Johnson. The film mogul saw this as a way to dispel rumors about Johnson's sexuality.  Although they were genuinely in love, Mayer cemented the deal by providing unusual career concessions for Keenan. According to her son, Ned Wynn, Van Johnson later left Evie for a male tennis instructor. Evie and Van divorced in May 1968. They had one child together; Schuyler. 

Shortly afterward, Johnson played himself on one of the most popular episodes of “I Love Lucy,” “The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27), a show originally intended for Ray Bolger.  Lucy and Desi always knew that they could call upon their friend and co-star to do a guest appearance, but timing was crucial.

Johnson was scheduled to have been “The Star Upstairs” (ILL S4;E25), but was then appearing in advertising for Lucky Strike cigarettes and could not work out the conflict with “I Love Lucy” sponsor Philip Morris in time for the filming, so he was was replaced by Cornel Wilde. This was Johnson’s television debut. 

In the episode, Van is performing at the hotel where the Ricardos and Mertzes are staying. When Lucy’s New York pal Caroline Appleby visits, Lucy has to hastily convince Johnson to incorporate her into his act. 

The two sing and dance to “How About You?” by Burton Lane and Ralph Freed. 

In tandem with this episode, Lucy, Desi and Van Johnson appeared on the cover of the cover of Scotland’s Picture Post Magazine in September 1955. Although the show aired in the US in May, overseas airings were typically later. Except for the studio audience attending the filming in March 1955, this may be the public’s first glimpse of Lucy’s ostrich feathered gown in glorious color! 

After Van Heflin turned down the role of Elliot Ness on Desilu’s crime drama  “The Untouchables” (1959) it was offered to Johnson. He turned it down as well. The role eventually went to Robert Stack.   

In October 1960, Johnson did a guest spot on Desilu’s “The Ann Sothern Show” as television writer Terry Tyler. Lucille Ball had played Lucy Ricardo on the series a year earlier. 

Like many character actors of the time, Johnson played a “Batman” villain: The Minstrel, in 1968 (right). In 1957, he had played “The Pied Piper” on television and Minstrel was undoubtedly inspired by that role. 

In 1968, Johnson was billed below Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda in Yours, Mine and Ours. 

Johnson plays a naval officer who fixes up his friend (Henry Fonda) with a nurse. Between the two of them, they have 19 kids!  

The film was referenced when Johnson played himself (and his nefarious doppelganger) in “Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50″ (HL S1;E11).

Van Johnson (Impostor): “I loved working with that kooky redhead.” Lucy Carter: “Personally, I thought she was much too young for Henry Fonda.”

Lucy Carter loans Van Johnson money to fix his car – but the man turns out to be an impostor. In return, Lucy wants the real Van Johnson to fly to Dallas to sing “Happy Birthday” to a cow named Ethel!  (No kidding!)   

In the episode, Lucy Carter praises Johnson’s film The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1946), claiming to have seen it 17 times!  The film was Janet Leigh’s screen debut.  

Angry at Johnson, Lucy says that she’s glad he got court martialed in The Caine Mutiny. This is the second mention of  The Caine Mutiny on the series. The previous one referred to the book by Herman Woulk that served as the basis for the screenplay.  A stage play adaptation was mentioned on “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3) by Miss Hannah, Lucy’s high school drama teacher.     

In May 2017 CBS revived “The I Love Lucy Superstar Special” with colorized versions of “The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27) starring Van Johnson and  “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28).

Van Johnson was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for playing March Goodwin in “Rich Man, Poor Man” (1976). He lost to Gordon Jackson of “Upstairs Downstairs.” 

In 1985, Lucille Ball, Lucie Arnaz, Van Johnson and 97 other celebrities were part of “Night of 100 Stars II” at Radio City Music Hall. 

In the 1980s and ‘90s Johnson returned to theatre, touring and playing dinner theatres as well as appearing on Broadway in the musical La Cage Aux Folles in 1985.  His last musical role was as Cap' Andy in Show Boat in 1991. 

In 1993, he was included in the Emmy-Winning documentary film “Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie”. 

In 2000, Johnson remembered Lucille Ball as part of “Finding Lucy,” a documentary on PBS. 

He died in 2008 at age 92.

[cinema-tv-etc]

Elizabeth Taylor and the Myth of Blue Eye Shadow

By Rae Nudson As the actress sped around Rome wearing her makeup from the film Cleopatra, women everywhere embraced a bold look with a complicated history.

In Rome in 1962, one of the biggest movie stars in the world got ready for work. On a regular day, if there ever was one for Elizabeth Taylor, that meant she would do her own makeup. At $1 million, Taylor was earning the highest salary for a female actor ever at that time, and the film she was making, Cleopatra, was one of the most expensive in Hollywood’s short history, with a budget of $44 million. The original makeup artist for the film, Alberto De Rossi, became ill early on in the long, long filming process. So, as she often did in her pictures, Elizabeth did her makeup herself.

In the film, she appears on screen in a bright blue dress with a leopard print coat; she wears an emerald green floor length gown; she wears nothing but a sheet. No matter the costume, her eyes—those big, beautiful, moneymaking blue eyes—were framed in thick cat eye liner with blue shadow from her lashes to her eyebrows. Elizabeth had seen what De Rossi did and was able to copy it, likely drawing on her years of experience protecting and creating her image, and knew just what shade of blue made the whites of eyes look whiter and irises bluer.

She often kept that blue eye shadow on after she left set for the day, sometimes on dates with Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony, during the period when their love affair became front page news around the world. These pictures helped spark a makeup trend. “Elizabeth Taylor made the public want to buy what she already had to give,” said William Mann, author of How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood. Her eyes are one reason she was famous. Her relationships with men were another. But what really made Elizabeth a star was Elizabeth—her authentic-seeming honesty, the control she had over her life outside of the Hollywood studio system, and her wild, irrepressible charm.

No one else could be Elizabeth Taylor on yachts with her men and her jewels, but you could at least wear the same makeup.

*

Highly visible cosmetics, like Taylor’s blue eye shadow, have a fractured history both in England, where she was born, and in the United States, where she started working as an actress after her family moved to Los Angeles in 1939. During periods including the Victorian era, women in the U.S. and England were condemned for wearing obviously painted faces, wrote historian Madeleine Marsh in her book Compacts and Cosmetics. According to Marsh, the rise of Christianity brought with it an attitude that using cosmetics was a sinful luxury that falsified the work of god. Obvious makeup went in and out of fashion: white face paint and exaggerated rouge indicated aristocracy for both men and women around the late 1500s and 1700s, and then fell out of favor once again. Marsh wrote that women could get away with wearing makeup so long as it wasn’t obvious—only if women needed it to fit strict conventions of beauty, which tended to be centered on white women. A rise in the manufacturing and availability of cosmetics in the 1910s and 1920s in the U.S. and images of actresses like Theda Bara—who spawned the “vamp” look of dark eye and lip makeup—prompted more obvious makeup trends like bold lips. But women who participated in more visible makeup, like flappers, were often not viewed as respectable.

Blue eye shadow does anything but look natural. There’s no way to hide that you’re wearing makeup if your eye shadow is electric blue, just as there’s nowhere to hide in the world when you step out with it on. Elizabeth particularly embodies this—she couldn’t hide from her fame and was known for embracing glamour.

In one of Elizabeth’s less popular films, The Driver’s Seat, she puts on blue eye shadow with a tiny makeup brush, thinner and shorter than her finger. You can’t see where she dips the brush, so the color appears as if it’s springing from her pores. Looking off screen, Elizabeth’s hand is steady as she quickly puts color on her eyes, giving the impression she has done this many times before. To watch her feels voyeuristic, the viewer becoming a part of a long tradition of sneaking around to learn the secrets of womanly trade.

A short clip of this scene showed up on YouTube in 2011, and celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic posted it on Instagram in 2016, sparking a small flurry of discussion on the Internet about how Elizabeth Taylor did her makeup, showing the lingering fervor for her glamour even five years after she died.

This scene is literally depicting the work of putting on makeup, but Taylor still makes it look effortless. The makeup brush acts as an extension of her hand; a coy peek over her sunglasses when she finishes seems natural.

Putting makeup on in public had generally been taboo for women since ancient Rome, until after World War II in the U.S., when using a powder compact became a status symbol. So women mostly shared and discussed cosmetics with female family members or other women in the know to pass down beauty secrets. Part of keeping makeup application hidden from the outside world was to hide the effort it took to exist as a woman in public, Autumn Whitefield-Madrano wrote in her book Face Value. But Elizabeth’s beauty embodied the ease women are supposed to display even while doing the work it takes to become a made-up woman.

*

In a world where women are often flattened to the images and roles they represent, a woman in control of her makeup—or lack thereof—is more in control of her life. But blue eye shadow has become pop culture shorthand for a woman who has too much power and too little control over it. Blue eye shadow is sometimes used to indicate a crazy woman, a witch, or a bitch (and Elizabeth has been viewed as all of those, and more).

Elaine (Samantha Robinson) in Anna Biller’s 2016 film The Love Witch uses sex and love spells to make men fall in love with her and then kill them when she tires of them. Elaine exhibits extreme narcissism, craving affection and attention from men and punishing them when they don’t live up to her unrealistic ideals. She tries to embody men’s fantasies, and part of that is in the way she looks: long black hair, lacy lingerie, and bright blue eye shadow. Her femininity is exaggerated as she becomes the perfect archetype of a seductress. Her spells are so strong, and she is so captivating, that men feel overcome by their love for her. But when they don’t live up to her own fantasies, it ends in death.

This deadly explosion of feminine power is also depicted in Cleopatra. As the young queen of Egypt, Cleopatra falls in love with Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in ancient Rome. Her love seems genuine, but it’s also advantageous to have his power on her side. After Caesar is assassinated, one of his generals, Mark Antony, declares his love for Cleopatra. Together, Antony and Cleopatra try to unite Rome and Egypt. They fail, and commit suicide. Throughout it all, Cleopatra emphasizes her sexuality and power through her clothing and makeup. Blue eye shadow again represents a woman who uses her particularly female power as a sexual being and a queen, and then loses control of where that power takes her.

*

The real Cleopatra is often believed to have worn blue eye shadow, a notion bolstered in part by Elizabeth’s portrayal of her in the film. Madelaine Marsh wrote that Cleopatra wore a blue-black on her upper lids, and green at the bottom. Historian Andrew Hardy wrote that it’s likely Cleopatra’s eye makeup wasn’t blue at all. Eye makeup in ancient Egypt was most commonly green or grey because of the minerals malachite and galena that were used to make it, according to Classic Beauty: The History of Makeup by Gabriela Hernandez.

Autumn Whitefield-Madrano quotes in Face Value a woman who describes bright makeup as associated with childhood; Marsh shares a similar sentiment: “For little girls, experimenting with lipstick and eye shadow is part of the initiation ceremony into a grown-up world … and whatever your age, playing with makeup is fun.” William Mann speculated that Elizabeth wore her makeup from the set of Cleopatra out after work because she liked it, and there may be nothing more to it than that. But it also allowed Elizabeth to emphasize her childlike playfulness, even though she was a mature woman. “To understand Elizabeth—she was like a little girl. She still had the innocence and the spirit of adventure that a little girl would have,” Mann said.

By the time she made Cleopatra, Elizabeth had been married four times, become a widow once, had three children, and adopted a fourth while she was filming. She had survived an abusive marriage and had been working, and helping to support her family, since she was nine. But people still viewed her as childish and innocent.

Elizabeth was not meek; she worked to control her life and stuck up for herself from the time she was fifteen, when she walked out of Louis B. Mayer’s office during one of his tirades and refused to apologize to him. She had a million-dollar salary for Cleopatra because she worked with her agent to get it on her own, outside of the structure of a film studio. Using blue eye shadow allowed her to be seen as fierce and innocent at once.

In her obituary in the New York Times, Cleopatra director Joseph Mankiewicz described seeing Elizabeth for the first time when she was eighteen years old: “She was the most incredible vision of loveliness I have ever seen in my life,” he said. “And she was sheer innocence.” Fierceness allowed her to make money on her terms; sexuality behind the veneer of innocence is often what she was selling.

To embrace makeup is to embrace certain contradictions: using cosmetics to look natural or being seen as a decorative object while taking control of that decoration. Often being a woman in public is to live in those in-between spaces, and becoming comfortable with makeup, for those who choose to wear it, is in part to grapple with those conflicts. Simultaneously seductive and subversive, blue eye shadow is particularly emblematic of this push and pull. Elizabeth turned to blue eye shadow throughout her life, harnessing its power to focus on her most valuable physical attributes: her eyes, but also her womanhood. By using it to make up her face, she created the life she wanted—as an actor, a star, and a woman.

https://hazlitt.net/feature/elizabeth-taylor-and-myth-blue-eye-shadow

[freelancewriterjannyc]

BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: From The Deep by Kateri Stanley

BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: From The Deep by Kateri Stanley

Hello readers it is a thirsty Thursday so today on Book Spotlight Thursday I shall quench your reading thirst with From The Deep by Kateri Stanley (which is currently on tour with R&R Book Tours.). SECRETS LURK BENEATH… Title: From the Deep Publication Date: May 6, 2022 Genre: Thriller Publisher: Burton Mayer Books Julian Finch, widower, and fisherman, awakes to learn that the bodies of two…

[shanannigansthebibliophile]

Mini Tour: From the Deep by Kateri Stanley – Genre: Thriller @sal_writes @BurtonMayers @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours #Thiller #Books

‘Secrets Lurk Beneath’ Welcome to the tour for From the Deep by Kateri Stanley. Read on for more info and grab a copy today! From the Deep Publication Date: May 6, 2022 Genre: Thriller Publisher: Burton Mayer Books Julian Finch, widower and fisherman, awakes to learn that the bodies of two colleagues have washed up on the beach of Drake Cove. The close-knit community is under fierce public…

[bookjunkiez]

The Watcher and the Friend Virtual Book Tour

The Watcher and the Friend Virtual Book Tour

  YA Fantasy adventure   Date Published: June 11th 2021 Publisher: Burton and Mayers Thomas Trelawney thinks he will never get over the death of his sister Grace. When he is plunged into the parallel world of eighteenth century Yngerlande and tasked with saving their tolerant, diverse world from a brutal takeover, using powers he never knew he possessed, he can start to forget and move on. But…

[thepenmuse]

Book Blitz: The Watcher and the Friend

Book Blitz: The Watcher and the Friend

    YA Fantasy adventure   Date Published: June 11th 2021 Publisher: Burton and Mayers Thomas Trelawney thinks he will never get over the death of his sister Grace. When he is plunged into the parallel world of eighteenth century Yngerlande and tasked with saving their tolerant, diverse world from a brutal takeover, using powers he never knew he possessed, he can start to forget and move on.…

[jessheaver]

THE REALITIES OF MATERNAL & CHILDHOOD HEALTH

("Vodacom and Mondia launch Maternal Health Service in DRC", n.d.)

“You do NOT have to suffer in silence or feel ashamed. Our babies need us to be healthy during a time when we are overwhelmed the most.” - BH Mayer

Imagine, you are a mother who has been in a 2-hour queue at the Marianridge Clinic, simply just waiting to for your baby to receive the 6-month immunisation. It’s hot and humid, your baby is crying, and you are trying to swaddle him as he screams with all eyes in the clinic looking at you. With the anxiety developing, you contemplate leaving and coming back another time just to no longer cause a fuss. You are hiding your feelings of fatigue, feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and worthlessness, you are on the verge of crying but trying to hold them back. You are suffering in silence as you are ashamed of these feelings, you may be avoiding judgement and criticism from others, or you may be trying to brush them of to “stay strong” for the sake of your child. This is just one of the realities that a mother with postpartum depression may experience, and postpartum depression is one of the many maternal health challenges that woman face. When maternal and childhood health are overlooked, this has implications for not only OT practice but on all levels. Women play a vital role in our societies, and they need to be supported.

Sometimes we do not actually realise the power of a mother’s role within our societies, and often overlook their valuable contributions. This came to light for me when I witnessed a beautiful mother-child bond right before my eyes whilst walking back to MCC from the primary school. This primary school child has just been let out of school, he had spotted his mother and was soon running to her. The mother crouched down and opened her arms with the biggest smile as the child leaped into her arms and hugged her. This mother then held this child for a few minutes, slowing rocking as she lay her head on his. This made me realize the need that children for their mothers, a mother is a child’s life-long pillar, they provide that stimulation, security, and support to the children of our society.

Mothers do whatever they need to ensure their child is healthy, children are provided with food and an education to provide them with opportunities to be valuable contributors to future generations. Whether they be working moms who are economically contributing to society or if they are stay at home mothers who are providing the best care for their child, regardless, they are needed and are valuable contributors. The health of infants and children are a vital component to societies as they are our future. The children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and they can determine how our futures are shape. They are the valuable contribution for the future generations. Children may be the future, but mothers show them how to get there and therefore both are equally important society.

A devastating reality, especially in the South African context, is that there are many children who grow up without their mothers, their bond, their security, and support. This due to poor maternal health leading to the absence of these mother figures whether they have passed or can no longer cope. As OT’s we experience the realities and implications that poor maternal and child health have. Specifically, the communities that we are working in, it is often the case where mother figures are not present within families, ultimately leaving another family member, most commonly the grandmother of the household to care for the chid. Understandably, the grandmother does not have the time and energy to go through what they have already done years back for their own children, they have roles and responsibilities and cannot provide children with the experiences and stimulation that of a mother would, this effecting a child’s learning, growth, and development. This is evident is as there are many developmentally delayed children seen in clinics who lack stimulation and interactions that the mother-child bond would’ve provided. A child’s early experiences ultimately influence their lifelong health and learning (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2004). Poor childhood health may affect a child a child’s physical and cognitive development, this effecting their ability to grow and learn.

There is a need to identify maternal and child health risks to reduce complications before, during and after pregnancies (“Healthy People 2020", n.d.). Both maternal and child health needs to be a focus, after all Joyce Banda did say “The seeds of success in every nation on Earth are best planted in women and children” and we as OT’s can facilitate change through health promotion, advocation and education to normalise the challenges and reduce the stigmatization that is received. By normalising the challenges, it will assist mothers with having a voice to speak up and not feel ashamed. We need to create and develop support groups for mothers to share and relate to challenges. Maternal deaths are an easily avoidable tragedy and prevention of this should be a priority (Burton, 2013). Harjit Gill stated that “The health of a mother and child is more telling measure of a nations state than economic indicators”. We now recognize this devasting reality; it is now up to us to facilitate the change.

· Burton, R. (2003). Maternal health: There is cause for optimism. South African Medical Journal, [S.l.], v. 103, n. 8, p. 520-521. ISSN 2078-5135. Available at: <http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/7237/5282>. Date accessed: 04 Aug. 2021. doi:10.7196/SAMJ.7237.

· Gill, H. Improving healthcare for mothers and children in Asia. Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/04/improving-healthcare-for-mothers-and-children-in-asia/

· Joyce Banda Quotes. Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://citatis.com/a19093/07cd1f/

· Maternal, Infant, and Child Health | Healthy People 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/maternal-infant-and-child-health#:%7E:text=children%2C%20and%20families.-,Overview,and%20the%20health%20care%20system

· Mindfulness-Based Therapy. Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://psidirectory.com/listing/mindfulness-based-therapy/p:66

· National Research Council (US); Institute of Medicine (US). Children’s Health, The Nation’s Wealth: Assessing and Improving Child Health. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2004. 1, Introduction. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92210/

· Vodacom and Mondia launch Maternal Health Service in DRC. Retrieved 4 August 2021, fromhttps://www.techgistafrica.com/healthcare/vodacom-and-mondia-launch-maternal-health-service-in-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/

[warpspeedodyssey]

Complete Darkness (2019)

When scientists finally unraveled the secrets of the dark matter, they stumble on a Complete Darkness, the incarnation of hell, that threatens the existence of humanity.

Book Description:

Complete Darkness is a science fiction novel with a touch of fantasy that flirts with theology. The book was written by Matt Adcock and was published on October 25th, 2019 by Burton Mayers Books. With…

[annsblyth]

What are some of your favorite Old Hollywood scandals?

Oh gosh, don’t even get me started! There are some really sad ones around, but most of these will be about sex. There’s a really good post somewhere with a ton of really juicy tidbits, I wish I could find it but I don’t remeber what I tagged it as. Most of these are from that! Anyway, here are a couple, I’m putting them under a cut because they’re kinda crude. I don’t know how true these are and I don’t know if they’re all “scandals” because most of them weren’t known to the public at the time, but here are some things that I have picked up over the years:

Thank you for this! I could go on and on and on if you like especially about the gays!

Ask me questions about Old Hollywood!

In 1954 Grace and Bing Crosby attended the Oscars together, where they were both nominated for their performances in The Country Girl. Grace won and Bing didn’t, and during the celebration Bing misplaced his date. He headed to her room to look for her and found her having sex with Marlon Brando, who had just beaten him for the Oscar that night.

Apparently William Powell had the biggest dick in Hollywood, though he didn’t boast about it.

Ginger Rogers almost broke up the friendship of James Stewart and Henry Fonda. He said in later years that he was insanely jealous of Jim for dating Ginger in the late 1930s because he was in love with Ginger himself. Another interesting rumor is that James and Ginger apparently lost their virginities to each other. ALSO Jim Jam has a little black book longer than Taylor Swift’s and John Mayer’s combined, but once he married Gloria he stayed true to her.

OH GOSH this one gives me so much secondhand embarrassment. Tyrone Power and Betty Grable had an affair during the making of A Yank in the RAF that lasted quite a while, but one night while they were having sex the condom got stuck inside of her and they both had to go to the hospital to have it removed. Ty was so embarrassed that he ended their affair because of it.

Both Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor had really loud sex apparently. Viv and Larry had sex the first time that they met, and rented a hotel room and slept together for that whole weekend.

A really heartbreaking one is that Audrey Hepburn and William Holden had an affair during the making of Sabrina (that part’s common knowledge), but while Bill was prepared to leave his wife for Audrey, Audrey broke things off once she found out that he’d had a vasectomy. To put the icing on the cake, she didn’t let Bill know that she didn’t want to be with him anymore, and invited him to a dinner party with all of her friends...where she suddenly announced her engagement to Mel Ferrer in front of everyone. They say that the betrayal led Bill to become the depressed alcoholic that he was in later years, and he always said that Audrey was the love of his life.

Speaking of leaving spouses, Peter Sellers fell in love with Sophia Loren on the set of The Millionairess, and was prepared to tell his family the news before he even told Sophia his feelings for her. When he told his wife and children (young children, might I add), his smol son asked him “Don’t you love us?” to which Peter replied, “Of course. I just love Sophia Loren more.” THEN when he invited Sophia to dinner and told her, she turned him down flat because she was in love with her husband and just didn’t see Peter that way.

Another really interesting affair is that of Omar Sharif and Barbra Streisand on the set of Funny Girl. It only lasted as long as filming did, but Omar was almost not allowed back into his home country of Egypt because pictures of them kissing leaked out to the press, and Barbra was married to Elliott Gould at the time. Director William Wyler knew about the affair and knew that it was coming to an end, so when Barbra sang My Man at the end of the film, he had Omar talking to her from behind the curtain to make her even more despondent.

[littlemissjrgd]

12/29/2019: Dazzling December

Before 2019 ends, I think it is appropriate to have a look back on the year that has gone by. 2019 has been a beautiful year.

2019 Movies • Bumble Bee • The Mule • Aurora • Shoplifters • Yesterday • Cold War • Murder Mystery • Serenity • Alita Battle Angel • Lego Movie 2 • What Men Want? • Happy Death Day 2 U • Cold Pursuit • Isn't it Romantic? • Miss Bala • Prodigy • They Shall Never Grow Old • The Wandering Earth • Greta • No Manches Frida • How to Train your Dragon 2? • Wonder Park • Captain Marvel • Five Feet  Aprt • Fighting with my Family • Hell Boy • Dumbo • After • Shazam • Us • Pet Sematary • Beyonce: Home Coming • Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour • Someone Great • Breaking In • Build Lego • Jobs • The New Romantic • Mamma Mia Here We Go Again • Knives Out • La Llorona • American Sky • Teen Spirit • End Game • The Intruder • Dark Phoenix • Godzilla • John Wick • Ma • Aladdin • Rocketman • Toy Story 4 • Anabelle Comes Home • Spiderman • Midsommer • Summer encore Met Opera: Aida • Stubber • Men In Black • Crawl • Lion King • Once Upon a Time • Art of Fighting • Bryan Banks • Art if Racing in the Rain • Dora The Lost City of Gold • The Kitchen • Fast & Furious Hobbes & Shaw • The Farewell • Scary Stories to tell After Dark • Hustler • Addam's Family • Maleficent • Ad Astra • IT • Zombie Land: Double Tap • Joker • Midway • Playing with Fire • Countdown • Parasite • Frozen 2 • Little Women 2 • Starwars: Rise of the Skywalker • Abominable • Downton Abbey • Gemini Man • Jexi • Long Shot • Book Smart • The Marriage Story • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood • Spiderman: Far From Home • Avengers: Endgame • Jumanji: The Next Level • Glass • Wonder Park • The Dirt • Dumbo • Shazam • Hellboy • Little • Breakthrough • The Intruder • Ugly Dolls • Extremely Wicked, Shockingkly Evil and Vile • Pokemon Detective Pikachu • The Hustle • Tolkien • Poms • John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum • A Dog's Journey • Always be My Maybe • Godzilla: King of the Monsters • Rocketman • Dark Phoenix • Men In Black: International • Plus One • Late Night • 47 Meters Down: Uncaged • Tall Girl • The Laundromat • El camino: A Breaking Bad Movie • Countdown

2019 Songs • If We Never Met- John K. • Lover- Taylor Swift • You Need to Calm Down- Taylor Swift • Me - Taylor Swift • How Do You Sleep? -Sam Smith • Beautiful People- Ed Sheeran • Dancing with a Stranger- Sam Smith • Dance Monkey- Tones • Memories- Maroon 5 • Lose You to Love Me- Selena Gomez • F• Fuck I'm Lonely- Lauv • Drugs and the Internet- Lauv • Sad Forever- Lauv • I'm so Tired- Lauv • Feelings- Lauv • Mean It- Lauv • Sims- Lauv • Paris in the Rain- Lauv • Paranoid- Lauv • Reforget-Lauv • Enemies-Lauv • Easy Love- Lauv • Superhero-Lauv • Bracelet-Lauv • Sad Forever-Lauv • For Now-Lauv • Getting Over You- Lauv • Breathe-Lauv • The Other- Lauv • Never Not- Lauv • I Like Me Better-Lauv • Not a Love Song- Bulow • Sweet Little Lies- Bulow • You and Jennifer- Bulow • Two Punks In Love- Bulow • Boys Will be Boys- Bulow • Get stupid- Bulow • Sad and Bored- Bulow • Issues- Julia Michaels • What a Time- Julia Michaels • Sorry For Your Loss- Julia Michaels • Graveyard- Halsey • Circles- Post Malone • Someone You Loved- Lewis Kapaldi • 10,000 Hours- Dan +Shay ft. Justin Bieber • Trampoline- Shaed • I Don't Care- Ed Sheeran feat Justin Bieber • Watermelon Sugar- Harry Styles • Never Really Over- Katy Perry • I Guess I Just Feel Like- John Mayer • Whisky, Whisky, Whisky- John Mayer • Outta My Head- Khalid ft. John Mayer • Sweet but Psycho- Ava Max • Last Hurrah- Bebe Rexha

2019 Adventures • Phoenix Arizona • Flagstaff Arizona • Grand Canyon • Mt. Charleston • Red Rock Canyon • Solvang • Santa Barbara • Museum of Weed • San Pedro • Candy Cane Lane, Via Amistoso, Santa Pola • Palm Springs • Tim Burton's Exhibit at Neon Museum

2019 Concerts/Events • John Mayer • Lauv • OC Night Market • OC Fair • MD Christmas Luncheon • MD Christmas Dinner • Oktoberfest • Christmas Walk • Boat Parade • New Year's Eve at La Quinta Resort

2019 Series • Sharp Objects • Leaving Neverland • You Season 2 • Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes • Dr. Pimple • The Chrisley Show • Schitt's Creek • The Walking Dead

[limejuicer1862]

Wombwell Rainbow Interview

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

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Sascha Aurora Akhtar

feels deeply connected to her ancestral roots in Lancashire, South Yorkshire and Pakistan. Born into a literary family, with writers of both fiction and poetry represented, Sascha has been naturally drawn towards many kinds of writing. Her first poetry collection was The Grimoire of Grimalkin (Salt, 2007), followed by 199 Japanese Names for Japanese Trees (Shearsman, 2016), the first of it’s kind a deck of Poetry cards with fine art Only Dying Sparkles (ZimZalla 2018), The Whimsy Of Dank Ju-Ju (Emma Press 2019) & #LoveLikeBlood (Knives, Spoons & Forks 2019).

Her fiction has appeared in BlazeVox, Tears In The Fence, The Learned Pig, Anti-Heroin Chic, and Storgy. Sascha has performed internationally at festivals such as the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam, Avantgarde Festival in Hamburg, and Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festival in London, curated by Yoko Ono.

The Interview

1. What inspired you to write poetry?

I realize now, looking back that poetry was all around me in my home growing up. Books, people reciting it in conversation, writing it & I put pen to paper from age 7 onwards. The poetry itself though, I know see was a natural extension of myself & always came from a place of sorrow, anxiety, ill-treatment, depression, PMDD, so it was a source of great healing. Also, I have always read fiction voraciously. Fiction inspires my poetry, still. Later, I was greatly inspired by great lyricists & music, that remains true.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

My family. I would say the very first poem I was exposed to was The Walrus & The Carpenter which every member of my family could recite from memory.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

I wasn’t. I’m still not. I find no presence dominating. I believe all writers need to honour those who have paved the way for us. In this regard, I have huge reverence for many such as Sonia Sanchez, Geraldine Monk, Bernadette Mayer & many, many others.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

This involves many things in a non-linear sequence; writing in one of my many notebooks as a poem arrives. Completing or beginning new things on the computer. For example this week I wrote three short stories – I had no idea that would happen, but it needed to.

5. What motivates you to write?

My thoughts, sudden flashes, other writings of any kind, paintings, a piece of dialogue from a film, the response of others to my work & the fact that I cannot stop writing.

6. What is your work ethic?

If there’s writing to be done, I will do it, no matter what. I am a solo parent & that has given me a gift; the realization that time is very, very precious & it IS possible to write what you need if you focus – no matter how long you have. It could be 10 minutes. I don’t have the luxury of days yawning ahead of me with uninterrupted writing time, or retreats I can imagine myself going to. The work just has to be done. And that’s all there is to it.

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

In my own personal experience, everything I loved when I was little or was loved by those closest to me ( my grandfather, mother, grandmother) has shaped me in ways I can’t even explain. As I mentioned, Alice In Wonderland was, is and will always be a huge influence on me. My mother had a copy for me before I was born and kept it for years. She gave it to me when I was 7 or 8.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

I’ll be honest, I am a voracious reader, and I feel by naming writers I will leave out others. Especially since, I fall deeply in love with sequences of words in moments.

Out of the more recent fiction I’ve read I will say Jessie Burton is great. Susanna Clarke is sort of my literary hero. I adore David Mitchell, it must be said & am enamoured of the work of Lev Grossman and Deborah Harkness.

In poetry if you want to talk of poets I admire because of the power of their words & also what they have managed to achieve I would say Anthony Joseph is my biggest inspiration & also friend. I feel a kinship with poet Frances Kruk. Marianne Morris. Nia Davies. Emily Critchley. I admire Geraldine Monk. Kimberley Campanello, Rhys Trimble, Mamta Sagar, K. Satchidanandan. Many, many American poets some whom I’m not even sure are publishing anymore!  I mean here’s a strange thing. There was a poet named Andy Morgan in my M.F.A programme in the U.S. And there was one, just one poem he wrote that I couldn’t fully explain why I loved, but I asked him if I could keep a copy. That same poem has stayed with me for 15 years! I have days when one line from that one poem just plays in my head. He is a complete introvert. It is almost impossible to find his work. He has a lyrical quality that is powerful & quiet.

9. Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?

Because I have always done it. I have always come back to it, even when I was a young filmmaker & art photographer. Because it nourishes me. It heals me & above all, it is my way to connect with the world in a way I cannot because of my own psychospiritual make-up – sensory issues, social anxiety, general anxiety.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

You can write, fill notebooks, diaries, pages & pages. Show others. Go to readings. Read everything & when you can answer that question yourself – you will ‘be’ a ‘writer’.

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

My fourth collection of poetry is a 36 page pamphlet:  The Whimsy Of Dank Ju-Ju (https://theemmapress.com/shop/the-whimsy-of-dank-ju-ju/) was published in September 2019 by Emma Press (Birmingham). The title refers to my life-long interest in anything and everything to do with magic, ideas of magic, magical thinking et al. I taught a workshop about the relationship between poetry and magic at the Poetry School and will be teaching a 2 day one in the Summer of 2020. I believe poetry is a magical practice, and as poets embracing whimsy is the key.

My fifth collection is 76 pages I believe and literally, just was announced yesterday.  It is called #LoveLikeBlood (https://www.knivesforksandspoonspress.co.uk/product-page/love-like-blood-by-sascha-a-akhtar) and has been published by Knives, Forks And Spoons Press.  It incorporates language that I feel has emerged as we have developed digital consciousnesses through Social Media. It embraces rupture, fracture. It has anger in it & truth-telling. It has many references to songs, often with epigraphs from the songs as taking off points. The cover image is from my art photography portfolio when I shot exclusively on slide film, often cross-processing the film to get very particular tones & colours. The book is like that too. It has a specific tone.

Other writing projects include one more poetry collection forthcoming this year. ( I know it is ridiculous). A book of translations forthcoming in April 2020 on Oxford University Press, India. Two short story collections, and two novels. The fiction pipeline is longer term!

Thanks so much for this!

Wombwell Rainbow Interview: Sascha Aurora Akhtar Wombwell Rainbow Interview I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.