#but sadly the image quality really did not qualify

[kindahoping4forever]

Luke via the boy photo book

[dndeed]

Critical Role Miniature Rollout: C2E45

With Andrew Harshman

A review of the minis used on Critical Role. 

Talk about a stressful episode. A dungeon crawl in the truest sense.

Check below deck for stowaways and crawl to the finish line, it’s time for Critical Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 2 Episode 45!

The Characters

Twiggy SteamForged Games Twiggy Figure Official Twiggy Art by Ari @ornerine

Sadly, per usual, we are deprived of a clear, in-focus view of a new PC miniature. I have searched the internet in vain for a better photo of the Twiggy mini. Fortunately, even at odd and blurry angles, this figure looks brilliant. The vivid sculpt and whimsical pose recreates the art very well and properly captures the spirit of this wonderfully played character. In a funny way, the pose almost looks a little threatening. With a little imagination one could see it as less of a cutesy twirl and more of a strutting, arms stretched out “Are you not entertained?!” intimidation stance. In any case, it’s excellent. Nice work Ari and Steamforged.

The List

Campaign Coins DEVEN RUE COMPASS ROSE

Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom

Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom Vaulted Diagonal Walls

Dwarven Forge Diagonal Wall Pack

Dwarven Forge Dungeon Floors

Dwarven Forge Ladders

Dwarven Forge Medieval Furniture Set

Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom Vaulted Corner Door with Narrow Ancient Door

Dwarven Forge Vaulted Dungeon Elevation

Dwarven Forge Chamber of Sorrows Pile of Skulls

Dwarven Forge Small Treasure Pile

Dwarven Forge Plinth Arch

Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom Fancy Table

Deadly Foes Dressing: Candelabra

Tiny Furniture Dark Magister reading corner

Tiny Furniture Dark Magister workplace

Tiny Furniture Librarian reading corner

Tiny Furniture Librarian's bookshelves

Tiny Furniture Beast hunter reading corner

Tiny Furniture Beast hunter bookshelves

Tiny Furniture Bedroom set v.2

Legendary Realms Bookcase

D&D Icons of the Realms Tomb and Traps Case Incentive

Deadly Foes Dressing: Candelabra

Kingmaker Dungeon Dressing: Raised Dais

Axe N Shield Single Flyer Risers - Clear Mithril

Steamforged Games Critical Role Miniatures

Prototype Steamforged Games Critical Role Miniatures

Waterdeep Dragon Heist #004a City Guard

Waterdeep Dragon Heist #004b City Guard

Tyranny of Dragons #041 Blue Dragon

Harbinger #69 Large Fire Elemental

Blood War #27 Living Flaming Sphere

Desert of Desolation #32 Rot Scarab Swarm

Elemental Evil #024 Earth Genasi Fighter (Invisible)

Rage of Demons #051 Human Wizard (Invisible)

Monster Menagerie #021 Bryn Lightfingers (Invisible)

Monster Menagerie #024 Illydia Maethellyn (Invisible)

The Terrain

Heirloom Sphere: Secret Study Dwarven Forge Dungeon Floors, Dwarven Forge Diagonal Wall Pack, Dwarven Forge Ladders, Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom Fancy Table, Dwarven Forge Vaulted Dungeon Elevation, Dwarven Forge Medieval Furniture Set, Deadly Foes Dressing: Candelabra, Tiny Furniture Dark Magister reading corner, Tiny Furniture Dark Magister workplace, Tiny Furniture Librarian reading corner, Tiny Furniture Librarian's bookshelves, Tiny Furniture Beast hunter reading corner, Tiny Furniture Beast hunter bookshelves, Legendary Realms Bookcase

This is approaching full sized TV set production value. Mighty impressive! The Secret Study is easily the most expensive collection of room contents in Campaign 2. Excluding the Dwarven Forge that makes up the actual room structure, the components within are pricier than any other C2 space. Easily a couple hundred dollars (assuming they were ordered prepainted). Man that’s a lot of qualifiers.

The bulk of the terrain pieces are from Tiny Furniture. They recently did some updates to their site, so if you cannot find an item from the links above, check their Etsy page. They produce top quality stuff and their paint jobs are excellent. I recently saw a collection of Tiny Furniture items in-person and they were very handsome. 

Heirloom Sphere: Nexus Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom, Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom Vaulted Diagonal Walls, Dwarven Forge Plinth Arch, Dwarven Forge Dungeon of Doom Vaulted Corner Door with Narrow Ancient Door, Dwarven Forge Chamber of Sorrows Pile of Skulls, D&D Icons of the Realms Tomb and Traps Case Incentive, Dwarven Forge Small Treasure Pile,  Kingmaker Dungeon Dressing: Raised Dais

Transportation Sphere Altar D&D Icons of the Realms Tomb and Traps Case Incentive

This model works really well for this purpose. Not originally a teleportation device, this piece is actually a sarcophagus. And not just any sarcophagus, Acererak’s sarcophagus. Or at least that’s the suggestion as it is from the Tomb of Annihilation minis series. It’s a cool figure, worthy of the Tomb of Annihilation/Horrors name.

Dragon Treasure Hoard  Dwarven Forge Small Treasure Pile

I guess blue dragons aren’t really known for their organizational skills, this hoard is a mess. Coins, bones, goblets, chests, and tomes all thrown into a heap. Nary a single coin rolled. Sloppy. For all these reasons, I really like this sculpt. It’s got so much variety in the objects making up the model. The colors are great and there’s even a big shiny gem inlaid in the main plastic cast.

Teleportation Landing Kingmaker Dressing: Raised Dais

[80′s synth line plays] Raised Dais, Raised Dais, oh, oh, oh Raised Dais. That joke was a real stretch, but the use of this mini certainly was not. Yet another wonderfully useful bit of terrain from the Pathfinder Miniature Battles series. The paint is maybe a little flat, but everything else is solid. I’m impressed with the scale of this figure. It’s large and looks great on the battle mat.

The Monsters

The Guardian Dragon Tyranny of Dragons #041 Blue Dragon

So this is exactly the problem with this miniature. Confusion about whether it is flying or not as was expressed by the CR cast during combat. That and the ridiculous aftermarket price, unreliable removable flight stand, and exceptionally plain paint job. Look at that sloppy line of white that runs across each row of teeth and overall lack of shading. Older prepainted blue dragons though not as readily available and long out of retail spaces are significantly more impressive. 

In terms of practicality, this is a good miniature choice for this encounter though. I still see retail stores with Tyranny of Dragons booster packs which may contain this model. It’s understandable and entirely acceptable that this miniature was used as opposed to some old and less common out of print mini. What is good about this dragon is the pose. It’s unique and it’s interesting. The blue dragon has the appearance of hovering in a most intimidating fashion. “Intimidating hover” sounds like it should be impossible, but they managed it in this sculpt. 

First Fire Elemental Blood War #27 Living Flaming Sphere Mini images in this section sourced from minisgallery.com

Cast in translucent plastic and topped with two layers of paint this flaming sphere looks properly fiery. Dandy spell effect figure here. Also, it looks vaguely Street Fighter hadouken-like, so extra points for that.

Actual Fire Elemental Harbinger #69 Large Fire Elemental

This monster is a little simple looking. The pose is pretty relaxed, bordering on boring. I think it would have benefited from also being made of translucent plastic, but this was in the first DDM miniatures set, so they weren’t doing anything that fancy yet. Despite it’s rudimentary nature, I like this elemental very much. The height and jack-o'-lantern type face really work for me.

The Terrain/Monsters

Mimic Tiny Furniture Bedroom set v.2

Handsome wardrobe, Molly would have loved this. Based on his clothing, I’m pretty sure blood hunters have favored enemy wardrobes. Quality furniture piece a nice armoire for sure.

The Spells

Invisible Party Members Elemental Evil #024 Earth Genasi Fighter (Invisible), Rage of Demons #051 Human Wizard (Invisible), Monster Menagerie #021 Bryn Lightfingers (Invisible), Monster Menagerie #024 Illydia Maethellyn (Invisible)

Now I’ve been known to complain about invisible miniatures and I still stand by my opinion that from a production perspective they are wholly uninspired and lazy. They’d be much better served in a nonrandom spell pack. But I must admit I was wrong about their usefulness at the table. Matthew Mercer has used them to great effect as seen (har har har) in this combat.

Closing Remarks

A high standard was set in 2018 for Critical Role miniatures, but it’s nothing 2019 can’t handle. I’m confident 2019 will be even more impressive.

#criticalroleminiaturerollout

[blacknerdproblems]

“I’m rooting for everybody Black.”

It’s hard to articulate all the ways in which Issa Rae’s now infamous quote both summarized and galvanized the sentiments of Black folks when she calmly delivered those words during the 2017 Emmy Awards. Black people do this, often to our dying breath. Whether it be with TV awards or Black quarterbacks in the playoffs, seeing a Black person compete in a realm that is not necessarily populated by Black people can often be the tiebreaker when there’s no previous vested interest. It is the very American adage (ironically) of everyone loves an underdog story. But with Black people because of how often we are the underdog.

While I do believe that Issa’s quote is not qualified in its intent, that everybody does, in fact, mean everybody, what’s also important to note is where she said it. At an awards show. Where TV shows and movies had already been recognized for their quality. And from that pool, she wanted everybody Black to win. It’s an important distinction, as it flies in the face of assuming well-intentioned Black art equates to Black art excellence. So then the question is, what do we do with bad Black art? How do we manage it and acknowledge it? And ultimately, what is our commitment to it?

This is, most recently, of course, accelerated by the release of Proud Mary, the Taraji P. Henson spec-ops type action movie that released last week. When the trailer and art for the movie dropped last year, there was a great deal of excitement for an abundance of reasons.

First and foremost, Henson is very easy to root for. Often unfiltered, authentic and rooted, Taraji feels like one of us that had the talent and limited opportunity, but busted her ass and made it. She’s a legit premier talent on TV and an Academy Award Nominee. So if she’s doing something, we’re going to show up and support because if Taraji is winning, we all feel like we’re winning.

Secondly, there’s not a whole lot of predominantly Black action films out there that get major releases. And definitely not with a woman as the protagonist who looks like a complete badass. After getting about 7 different Black Widow knock-off movies with a white woman killing everyone (because we never got a Black Widow movie itself), then yes, Black people are excited for the possibility of seeing a Black woman in that type of role.

And lastly, the promotion was unapologetically Black. The trailer, the art, and design are all gorgeous and while there wasn’t much ongoing marketing to pull from, the initial images were easy to feast upon.

All of that explains why we want it to be good. But does that make it good? In this case, no. Sadly, no. With the naked eye, you could say that reviews on Proud Mary are split. The critics are tearing it down, but there are plenty of fans championing the movie, qualified as that praise may be. Of course, one’s love or disdain for any kind of media is often a subjective venture. If you don’t have a vested interest in providing a balanced critique *cough, like being a reporting pop culture site, cough* then you are going to most likely bring your preferences and yes, prejudices into it. You might honestly believe that Proud Mary is a good film. Or you might feel that Proud Mary is a film you wish desperately to be good. By the objective critique of the movie, all indications would be that it’s not very good. So, I would guess the question is, why does that matter?

Proud Mary brings into focus the question we tepidly approach: What exactly do we do with art that may or may not rise to excellence when Black people are behind it. It is a loaded scenario for sure. If a movie filled with predominantly Black people comes out to much hype and is terrible, a simple dismissal of the film isn’t the resolution. If Black art fails, we don’t have the luxury to question the production alone. Was it sabotaged? Was it unfairly marketed? Did it tank because it wasn’t catered enough to the white gaze? Is there a penalty to Black authenticity? All of this may sound like conspiracy when rattled off in this way, but there are concrete reasons for the skepticism. We’ve seen these things happen before, so we are reluctant to trust a system of fair review for things we either do enjoy, or really want to enjoy.

But, if we consider the fact that, it may not be good. Whether it be Proud Mary or Gabrielle Union’s upcoming Breaking In, if it somehow disappoints, well, then what is our responsibility then? What is omnipresent is what we collectively fear as a worst-case scenario. There is the possibility that if Proud Mary is bad, the action film debut that is produced by and stars our beloved Taraji, that the possibility may never come up for her (or others like her) again. We drown in a sea of White mediocrity every day (how many NCIS shows are there now?) but are all too aware how easily Black stars and their ventures get benched if they don’t succeed.

It is a tangible fear. If Armie Hammer stars in a terrible movie, Armie will have at least three more films the following summer. If Taraji gets a taste of being a leading woman in a movie (two in the last two years), none of us want to see her go backward from that.

Read on here. [x]

[yasbxxgie]

Where Are Our Black Boys on Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel Covers?

Why are there no boys like me on these covers?

My seventeen-year-old brother who lives in Lagos, Nigeria, raised this question to me recently. Not in these exact words, but sufficiently close. I’d been feeding him a steady drip of young adult (YA) science fiction and fantasy (SFF) novels from as diverse a list as I could, featuring titles like Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti, Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother. The question, at first seemed like a throwaway one, but as my head-scratching went on, I realised I did not have a clear-cut answer for it.

His question wasn’t why there were no black boys like him in the stories, because there definitely were. I guess he wanted to know, like I now do, why those boys were good enough to grace the pages inside but were somehow not good enough for the covers. And because I felt bad about the half-assed response I offered, I decided to see if I could find a better one.

So, I put out a twitter call for recommendations.

Can anyone point me to science fiction & fantasy novels with black teenage boys on the cover? Asking for my teenage brother. I know there's Tristan Strong, & books from Victor LaValle & Colson Whitehead, but I need more. Most YA I see with black boys are contemporary lit.

— Suyi on hiatus. (@IAmSuyiDavies) May 6, 2020

The responses came thick and fast, revealing a lot. I’m not sure I left with a satisfactory answer, but I sure left with a better understanding of the situation. Before I can explain that, though, we must first understand the what of the question, and why we need to be asking it in the first place.

Unpacking the Specifics

My intent is to engage with one question: How come there are few black boys on young adult science fiction and fantasy novel covers? This question has specific parameters:

black: of Black African descent to whatever degree and racially presented as such;

boys: specifically male-presenting (because this is an image afterall), separate from female-presenting folks, and separate from folks presenting as non-binary, all regardless of cisgender or transgender status;

are displayed prominently on covers: not silhouetted, not hinted at, not “they could be black if you turned the book sideways,” but undeniably front-of-cover blackity-black;

YA: books specifically written for young adults (readers aged 12-18), separate from middle-grade (readers 8-12) and adult (readers 18+);

SFF: science fiction and fantasy, but really shorthand for all speculative fiction and everything that falls under it, from horror to fabulism to alternative history;

novels: specifically one-story, book-length, words-only literature, separate from collections/anthologies or illustrated/graphic works (a novella may qualify, for instance)

I’m sure if we altered any of these criteria, we might find some respite. Contemporary YA and literary fiction with teenage protagonists, for instance, are littered with a relatively decent number of black boys on the covers (though many revolve around violence, pain and trauma). Young women across the people-of-colour spectrum are beginning to appear more often on SFF covers too (just take a look at this Goodreads list of Speculative Fiction by Authors of Color). Black boys also pop up on covers of graphic novels here and there (Miles Morales is a good example). But if we insist on these parameters, we discover something: a hole.

It is this gaping black hole (pardon the pun) that I hope to fill with some answers.

The Case for Need

Think about shopping at a bookstore. Your eyes run over a bunch of titles, and something draws you in to pick one–cover design, title, author, blurb. You’d agree that one of the biggest draws, especially for teens to whom YA SFF novels are aimed, is the character representation on the cover (if there’s one). Scholastic’s 7th Edition Kids & Family Reading Report notes that 76% of kids and teens report they’d like characters who are “similar to me,” and 95% of parents agree that these characters can help “foster the qualities they value for their children.” If the cover imagery, which is the first point of contact for this deduction, is not representative of the self, there’s an argument to be made that reader confidence in the characters’ ability to represent their interests would be significantly reduced.

The why of the question is therefore simple: when a group already underrepresented in literature and readership (read: black boys, since it’s still believed that black boys don’t read) are also visually underrepresented within their age group and preferred genre (read: YA SFF), it inadvertently sends a message to any black boy who loves to read SFF: you don’t fit here.

This is not to say that YA is not making strides to increase representation within its ranks. Publisher’s Weekly’s most recent study of the YA market notes various progressive strides, touching base with senior publishing professionals at teen imprints in major houses, who say today’s YA books “reflect a more realistic range of experiences.” Many of them credit the work of We Need Diverse Books, #DVPit, #OwnVoices and other organizations and movements as pacesetters for this growing trend.

In the same breath, though, these soundbites are cautiously optimistic, noting that the industry must look inward for underlying reasons why easy defaults remain commonplace. Lee&Low’s recent Diversity in Publishing 2019 study’s answer to why unquestioned go-tos still reign supreme is that the industry remains, sadly, 76% Caucasian. For a genre-readership with such exponential success, that makes the hole a massive one. Of the Top 10 Best Selling Books of the 21st Century, four are YA SFF franchises by Rowling, Collins, Meyer, and Roth, the most among all listed genres. In 2018’s first half, YA SFF vastly outsold every other genre, amassing over a quarter of an $80-million sales total. This doesn’t even include TV and film rights.

I once was a black boy (in some ways, I still am). If such a ubiquitous, desired, popular (and don’t forget, profitable) genre-readership somehow concluded a face like mine on its covers was a no-go, I’d want to know why too.

Navigating the Labyrinth

Most of the responses I received fell into three categories: hits & misses, rationale, and outlook. Hits & misses were those who attempted to recommend books that met the criteria. If I had to put a number to it, I’d say there were around 10+ misses to one hit. I received many recommendations that didn’t fit: middle-grade novels, graphic novels, covers where the blackness of the boy was up for debate, novels featuring black boys who were not present on the cover, etc.

The hits were really great to see, though. Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds was the crowd favourite of the recent recommended titles. The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust was the oldest recommended title (2004). One non-English title on offer was Babel Corp, Tome 01: Genesis 11 by Scott Reintgen (translated to French by Guillaume Fournier, published in the US as Nyxia). Non-print titles also showed up, like Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic by Nick Carr (audio only). Lastly, some crossover titles like Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds (MG/YA) and Temper by Nicky Drayden (YA/Adult) were present. You’ll find a full list of all recommendations at the end of this article.

Many of the hits were worrisome for other reasons, though. For instance, a good number are published under smaller presses, or self-published. Most are of limited availability. Put simply: a high percentage of all books recommended have severely limited wider industry coverage, which twanged a sour note in this orchestra.

The rationale group attempted to approach the matter from a factual angle. Points were made, for instance, that fewer men and nonbinary folks are published in YA SFF than women, and fewer black men even so, therefore representing black boys on covers may increase with more black male authors of YA SFF. While a noble thought, I do argue that various YA authors, regardless of race or gender, have written black boys as protagonists, yet those didn’t make the covers anyway. Would more black male authors suddenly change that?

Another rationale pointed toward YA marketing, which many stated mostly targets teenage girls because they are the biggest audience. I’m not sure how accurate this is, but I know sales often tell a different story from marketing (case in point: 2018 market estimates show that nearly 70% of all YA titles are purchased by adults aged 18-64, not teenage girls). If the sales tell a different story, yet marketing strategies insist upon a one-note approach, then it’s not really about the sales, is it?

Lastly, the outlook responses came mostly from readers, authors and publishing professionals who are long-time advocates of increased inclusion in publishing. The overwhelming consensus was that, while there is no complete absence of black boys on YA SFF covers, the real problem is the difficulty in pointing them out. It was agreed that it speaks volumes that we have to do this deep-dive just to find an okay amount of recommendations. Many left with a feel-good note, though, since more authors and professionals dedicated to inclusion and visibility are finally getting their feet into the doors at Big Publishing. Thanks to advocates like People of Color in Publishing and We Need Diverse Books, the future looks exciting.

So, I’ll end this on another feel-good note by offering an ongoing list of recommendations that fit the bill. You’ll find that most are absolutely worth a look-see. This list is also open for public updates, so feel free to add your own recommendations. And here’s looking to the decision-makers at Big Publishing to make this list even bigger.

+Black Boys on YA SFF Novel Covers: A List of Recommendations

[aswithasunbeam]

Finding Forgiveness, Chapter 7

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9

Rating: Teen and Up

Summary: Eliza Hamilton can’t keep punishing her husband forever. If she didn’t intend to leave him, she would need to find a way to forgive him. But how? The Reynolds Pamphlet aftermath 

June 1798

The heels of his hands pressed against his heavy eyes as his thoughts drifted to Eliza’s smile: how her eyes sparked with amusement first, then the corners of her lips would curl slightly, rising slowly until her eyes crinkled. He felt the corners of his own lips begin to curl as he painted the image in his mind.

The smile disappeared just as quickly as he felt the ever present anxiety gnawing away at his middle. He dragged his fingers through his hair. Eliza had him too distracted to focus on work, and too worried to properly sleep. She’d written him finally, at least, relieving him of weeks of blind panic that she wasn’t going to come back at all. But he still didn’t know what to make of the letter. She’d simply said that she was feeling better, planned to return shortly, and that they needed to speak when she got home.

 What did that mean?

He folded his arms across the blank sheet in front of him and laid his head down. Maybe he should just go to bed? His work certainly wasn’t benefiting from his wakefulness. Yet the thought of lying alone in the dark with nothing to distract him from his thoughts was unappealing, to say the least.

The prickling feeling of being watched came over him. He heard the floorboards squeak as he turned his head to look at the door, just in time to catch a glimpse of a little face before it disappeared. Smiling to himself, he heaved himself out of his seat and squatted by the slightly ajar door. He peeked around into the entryway to see Johnny hugging the wall.

“Hello,” he greeted softly.

“Hi,” Johnny whispered back.

“It’s very late. You should be abed, my dear fellow.”

John gave him a pensive frown. “I can’t sleep.”

“Why not?”

“I’m worried.” His little boy sounded much older than his five years. Perhaps he’d had a nightmare?

“Would you like to come sit on my knee and discuss it?”

John nodded. Hamilton jerked his head towards the office and rose, his knees creaking. Settling back into his desk chair, he patted his leg once in invitation as John paused uncertainly. His son clambered into his lap.

“What are you worried about?” he asked, rubbing his hand across the child’s back soothingly.

John hesitated. “Is Mama coming home?”

He blinked, surprised. “Of course she is.”

“Really?”

“I just had a letter from her today. Grandpa Schuyler is feeling much better, so she’ll be home soon,” he assured the boy. “Why are you worried about that?”

“I heard you and Mama yelling at each other,” John admitted quietly, eyes trained on the floor. “And then Mama went away.”

Oh, Lord, he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. That was the last thing he wanted any of his children to hear. When none of them had mentioned it, he’d prayed they had slept through that disastrous last interaction. He cuddled the boy a little closer as he tried to find the right words to explain.

“I’m sorry you heard that,” he began. “Mama and I had a…a disagreement and we lost our tempers with each other. But that doesn’t mean she’s not coming home. Mama would never just leave us.”

At least, not the children, he qualified silently.

Johnny nodded once, his teeth sunk deep in his lower lip. How long had he been worrying over this? Hamilton wondered. And how had he not noticed?

He continued softly, “It’s just like when you or your brothers fight: you might shout and stomp and say mean things, but you’re still brothers. An argument doesn’t change that.”

John seemed to give the comparison some thought. “Papa?”

“Mm?”

“What’s adultery?”

He felt like all the air had been knocked out of him. Johnny had pronounced it ‘Add- al- tree,’ but his meaning was unmistakable. “Adultery?”

John nodded. “Jamie said that’s why you were fighting. Because of adultery. What does that mean?”

He wondered if Jamie even knew; more than likely he had simply been repeating something he’d heard Philip say.

“It means…” he hesitated, hunting desperately for an appropriate explanation. “It means I broke a promise.”

“A promise to Mama?”

He nodded. “When two people get married, they make certain promises to each other. A long time ago, before you were born, I did something very wrong. I broke one of those promises. When Mama found out, she was rightfully very sad and upset.”

“Did you say you were sorry?”

He smiled sadly. “I did.”

John frowned again, deep in thought.

“When I lost Jamie’s marbles, he was really, really mad even after I said sorry. Mama said that a proper apology is more than just saying sorry. There are three steps.” Johnny tugged on three of his fingers as he recalled Eliza’s lesson, his tone turning almost comically professorial. “You say sorry, promise to never do it again, and then ask how you can make it better.”

“I see,” he nodded.

“Jamie made me do his chores for two whole days!” John’s voice rose with baffled wonder that he’d survived such harsh treatment.  

“I remember,” he assured the boy, fighting a chuckle.

“Did you do all the steps?”

He sat back as he considered. He supposed he hadn’t. As much as he’d tried to talk to Eliza over the past months, she hadn’t seemed interested in having a discussion. And what could he possibly do to make amends? He’d given up public life for her, but that had been years ago. She hadn’t even known about the affair back then. Did that really count? What more could he give her? His thoughts turned to the latest news of the army, and he winced.

“No,” he answered his son.

“You need to follow the steps,” John said decisively. The little boy looked greatly relieved to have found the answer. “Then Mama will forgive you.”

He pressed a kiss against the boy’s sandy hair. “I’ll give it a try. Let’s get you back to bed, shall we?”

“Will you read a story?” John requested as he slid from his lap.

He followed the boy out of his office with a candle. “What story would you like to hear?”

“Nimble the mouse,” John requested.

He smiled, not surprised in the least. Eliza had purchased The Life and Perambulations of a Mouse back when Angelica was a baby, and the book had since been enjoyed by all their children. Currently, the tale was his little son’s latest literary obsession. He supposed the idea of talking mice had a certain magical quality the boy found appealing. “Just a few pages,” he bargained as they mounted the stairs.

John climbed back into his bed as Hamilton pulled the book off the shelf. He settled down beside the boy and opened to the place they’d last left off. “Betty Flood then ate her breakfast; and we heard her say something about the nasty mice,” he read, tickling the boy as he read the last words.*

Johnny laughed and cuddled closer to him, resting his little head on his chest. Though Hamilton was contorted uncomfortably to fit on the small bed, he found his eyes growing heavy with the warm weight of his son beside him and the soft pillows beneath him. He must have paused in his reading, because he felt John stir.

“Mrs. Flood was making pancakes,” Johnny prompted.

He craned his head to look at the boy. “Well, now, there’s a thought. Why don’t you read to me for a little while?”

John’s little hands reached out eagerly to pull the book closer, and he began to read aloud, sounding out the longer words carefully.

Eliza would be home soon, and he’d try again to speak with her, he thought, attention drifting quickly away from the story. He’d do anything she asked to make things better between them. Anything. He needed her. The past weeks of sleepless dread had proven that. Pressing another kiss to the boy’s head, Hamilton relaxed back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

Sleep claimed him at long last.

An elbow landed in his rib some hours later, jolting him back to consciousness. Johnny wriggled around in his sleep, the book tucked in his arms like a plaything. Easing his arm out from under the boy, he tip-toed from the room.

He changed into his nightclothes and climbed into bed, hoping to fall quickly back to sleep. Instead, his eyes blinked slowly as he stared up at the floral pattern of the canopy. Eliza and her strange letter haunted him.

 What did it mean?

~*~

The weeks of sleeplessness were beginning to tell. The dark circles that had been permanent fixtures on his face for years had somehow darkened further, and the whites of his eyes had taken on a distinctly reddish color. He frowned at his reflection as he carefully shaved. Perhaps he should take a day to rest, he considered. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to end up ill.

He forwent his customary waistcoat and jacket, instead tugging his banyan on over his shirt and breeches before heading downstairs for breakfast. He’d send word to James that he was working from home. Maybe he’d try to nap after the boys left for school, so he’d be refreshed went he started research on the insurance case he’d recently taken.

“Knock it off,” he heard Pip demand as he entered the front room. “You’re going to upset the ink bottle.”

Jamie and Alex appeared to have been engaged in some kind of fight, because he noted Jamie send out a last kick under the table as Alex stuck his tongue out at his older brother. When Jamie’s foot connected, Alex turned his attention to his younger brother, clearly about to retaliate.

“Good morning,” he announced, sending the two boys a pointed look.

They froze in their seats, looks of angelic innocence appearing on both their faces.

“Morning, Papa,” they greeted. He shook his head as he fought a smile. Boys.

He sat down at the head of the table and nodded to the maid as she poured him a cup of coffee. Pip was scribbling madly in the seat beside him. He craned his head to see what the boy was doing. Something in poorly conjugated Latin, if his eyes weren’t failing him.

“That wouldn’t be an assignment due today, by any chance?” he asked mildly as he reached for his coffee cup.

Pip glanced up at him quickly, then turned his attention back to the paper. “Of course not.”

“Good, because it’s going to need a few rounds of editing,” he commented.

Pip frowned at the paper. “It is?”

He nodded.

His son’s big eyes met his. “Could you maybe make some corrections?”

“I can look it over tonight,” he offered.

“Or, maybe, right now?” Pip wheedled. “Please?”

He gave the boy a significant look, which Pip met with a toothy smile. Sighing, he held out a hand for the paper and began marking it up. The boy was going to need a firmer hand, but he lacked the energy to do anything about it right now.

When the boys left for school and Johnny’s tutor arrived, he retreated into his office. Giving the armchair a considering look, he sighed and seated himself at the desk. He really did need to get to work. He’d barely started on the case, and the first hearing date was approaching with rapid speed.

The next thing he knew, a hand was on his shoulder and a soft voice whispered, “Alexander?”

He started up in his chair, sucking in a breath as he looked around the room. Eliza stood beside him, fond amusement clear in her expression. He wiped a hand over his face, trying to get his bearings.

“Are you all right, honey?” she asked.

He nodded. “Just…tired. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“You know, there’s a bed upstairs that might be a bit more comfortable then sleeping hunched over a desk.”

“I had a lot of work to do,” he tried to explain.

“So I see,” she teased, arching a brow.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” he added, breathing out a small chuckle.

She was still smiling at him, and the tight knot of anxiety in his middle eased slightly. She had come home. Rising from his seat, he hesitated, every part of him screaming to reach out and hold her even as he understood that doing so may be a terrible idea. Everything seemed so fragile between them.

“I’ve missed you,” he settled on as an appropriate greeting. “Is your father feeling better?”

“He is,” she assured him. She seemed to be hesitating as well, giving great thought to her next movement. Finally, she stepped forward and wrapped him in an embrace.

He stood tensely at first, uncertain, then melted into the hug and squeezed her against him.

“We need to talk,” she said, her face turned away and pressed against his shoulder.

“All right,” he agreed, the sick, worried feeling building within him again. Was the embrace a greeting, or a last farewell? He tightened his grip around her, trying to savor the moment in case it was the last time he ever held her.

“Are you too busy right now?” she asked.

“No.” It would be hard to argue otherwise, when she’d found him asleep at his desk a moment ago.

She eased away from him and sat down in the armchair. He turned his desk chair around to face her. She frowned down at the floor, her hands twisting in her lap, as she searched for a way to begin.

“May I say something?” he asked.

She glanced up at him and nodded.

He swallowed, then slid out of the chair to kneel before her. Reaching out, he sought permission to touch. When her face stayed soft and open, he laid his hands over hers and hauled in a steadying breath. “I’ve been searching for a way to tell you how truly sorry I am for what I’ve done. For the affair, and the lies, and the humiliation of that pamphlet. I can never forgive myself for what I’ve done to you, what I’ve continued to do to you even as I apologized.”

She opened her mouth, but he shook his head quickly. “Please, just let me get this out.”

She sighed, nodding to him to continue.

“I received some very wise counsel a few days ago. I was informed that a proper apology requires more than the mere statement that one is sorry, no matter how eloquently it may be delivered. And so, in that spirit, I have three things to say to you: that I truly repent all of my actions, up to and including those of the night you left; that I will never repeat them; and that I will do anything you request of me to try to make amends.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Anything?”

He nodded, meeting her gaze fully. “I won’t go back to the army, Betsey, not if it means hurting you. You are so much more important to me than any public office. I was being a fool when I insisted otherwise.”

He felt her hands turn over under his, her fingers entwining with his own as she considered his words. After a beat of silence, she whispered, “Thank you.”

He smiled tentatively.

Eliza gave his hand a soft squeeze as she composed her thoughts. “I need to apologize to you, too.”

“No,” he said immediately. “Please, you don’t—”

“I do,” she insisted. “I was so hurt that night, I lashed out in the worst way. I know how much you love and respect your mother. I know how important to you she was, and how much it grieves you to hear her being maligned for being forced into impossible circumstances. What I said about her, and about you, was wrong. And I’m sorry.”

He shook his head slightly, hating that she felt she needed to apologize. No matter how deeply wounded her words had left him, however painful it had been to hear the insinuation that his poor mother was responsible for his perversion, he knew he deserved infinitely worse. Nothing could compare to how he’d hurt her.

“I also received some wise counsel while I was away,” she continued. “I haven’t been being fair to you, or to myself, with how I’ve handled things between us thus far.”

He frowned deeply, and went to interrupt her again. She shushed him. “It’s my turn,” she insisted. He nodded.

“I’ve been trying to bury the hurt. I kept thinking if I just pretended enough, that everything would go back to how it was. But we can’t go back. We can’t undo the past year. Things between us can’t be what they were.”

His vision began to swim. She was leaving. He’d lost her.

“Sweetheart? You look a little…woozy.” He forced his eyes to focus back on her face. She’d paused in her speech and was staring at him with great concern.

“I’m…” he trailed off, unable to lie. He nodded slightly instead and waved her on.

“I realized I don’t want things to be what they were. I want us to be more open with each other, more honest. I want to tell you when I’m feeling overwhelmed and horrible, and I want you to be able to tell me as well. I don’t want us to keep things bottled up inside until we feel we need to escape or explode. I want us to do better.”

A moment past before he comprehended what she had said. “Wait. You…you’re not leaving?”

She let a breathy laugh escape her lips. “No.”

So much tension fled his body that for a moment he worried he might actually faint.

She squeezed his hand again.

“I’ve been trying to understand why you went to her. To Maria.” He flinched at the name on his wife’s tongue. “You wanted to escape the pressure, the worry and responsibility. Right?”

“I knew it was wrong. But it felt…contained. Unreal. I kept thinking I would tire of it if I went back just one more time. You have to know it wasn’t you, Betsey. It wasn’t something I was lacking in our marriage. I love you. I need you. I never meant to hurt you like this.”

She was quiet as she took his words. After a moment, she spoke softly, “I don’t want you to have to give up your career for me. I don’t want you to be unhappy for my sake.”

“I—”

“You would be unhappy if you turned down a command in the army. I know how much you want to be a General; I’ve known almost since I first met you.”

She leaned forward in her chair and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “So this is what I want from you. I want you to take the promotion, and to go off and be glorious and important. But only if you promise me that we’ll be more open with each other. I need to know when you’re feeling pressured and anxious and overwhelmed. I don’t want to stay up at night wondering if you’re really all right, or if you’ve fallen into the same trap as before.”

He gave her a tremulous smile. “I should warn you that feeling anxious and overwhelmed is pretty much my status quo.”

She laughed. “Did you think I would find that surprising?”

“No,” he laughed. He sat back, ignoring the pins and needles in his legs as he marveled at her. “I don’t think I can ever be worthy of you.”

She raised a skeptical brow.

“I mean it,” he insisted. “I’ve never been the man you thought I was, but I promise you I will spend the rest of my life trying to be.”

She nodded soberly. He could only pray that she understood just how fervently he meant the vow. A long silence passed between them as the significance of the conversation sank in for both of them.

Eliza was the one to break the silence. “Would you like to get up now, darling?”

“I might need some help,” he admitted. His legs were both firmly asleep from the prolonged kneeling. She laughed again and rose to help steady him as he straightened and lurched towards his desk chair.

“You know, my mother was the source of my counsel,” Eliza confided when he was seated in a proper chair.

“She’s a very wise woman,” he commented, the information unsurprising.

Eliza smiled slightly. “Out of sheer curiosity, from whom did you receive yours?”

“Johnny,” he answered.

“Church?”

“No, our Johnny,” he pointed upstairs to where their son was receiving tutoring.

She burst out laughing. “You took advice from our five year old?”

“In fairness, he received the advice on proper apologies from you,” he defended with a smirk. “And as I’ve always considered your counsel the best and the wisest, I had no desire to seek another opinion on the matter.”

“I thought that little speech of yours sounded familiar.”

They shared a smile.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he suddenly felt a lightness and strength where things had felt tense and weak before. Openness and honesty, he considered, as he looked back at his work. They could do that. It would take time, and work, but they could do it.

With Eliza at his side, he could do anything.

*From Dorothy Kilner’s The Life and Perambulations of a Mouse, published 1784. I don't know if Hamilton's kids ever read it, but it was a popular children's book when they were little.

[thanks-for-the-scarf]

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[thelonelyrdr-blog]

Thoughts on the Heroes of Olympus series (Part 3)

(The ending is somewhat spoiled in this one, so if that bugs you, read with caution.)                      Apparently, yesterday was Percy Jackson's birthday. So he's a Leo. Makes sense, I thought, and set to integrating this piece of trivia with my mental image of Percy, but then I realized that I already knew it from the following exchange in The Blood of Olympus: "Like the zodiac sign?" Percy asked. "I'm a Leo." "No, stupid," Leo said, "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy." The bad puns in this series are so real, guys. Anyway, given that it was Percy's birthday, it would've been neat if I could've posted this review yesterday, but alas, I just didn't have the energy after work. But hey, my lateness won't stop me from tagging this post with #happybirthdaypercy in a shameless attempt to increase my readership. Happy Birthday, Percy! I know you won't mind my using your birthday as a marketing tool.   The Blood of Olympus  Reyna and Nico are by far my favorite parts of this book, both separately and as a pair, but especially as a pair. Both are characters with deeply traumatic pasts who feel a respect and kinship for one another that eventually evolve into familial affection. Hazel may be Nico’s sister in name, but Reyna seems closer to filling Bianca’s role as big sister to Nico: whereas, historically, Nico has had to protect and guide Hazel, Reyna is someone who will not only do the same for him, but who will also worry for him. She has the magical ability to literally empathize with his need, as a boy who has lost a mother and an older sister, to feel cared for and considered, and is therefore uniquely qualified to respond to it. Nico’s bonds with both Reyna and Hazel, though, are beautiful.  As for Reyna herself, as much as I love all of the female characters in both this series and the original, in my estimation, she's the best, simply by virtue of being the most complex. Riordan's skill with developing characters through their internal struggles shines in Reyna's chapters. Let's not kid ourselves like the other characters do: she killed her father, even if it was in self-defense and even if he'd degenerated into a mania, giving her what is certainly the darkest backstory of any character in this series and probably of any character in any middle-grade series ever. I'm surprised that the publisher didn't insist on cutting the murder, though Riordan does gloss over its moral ambiguity somewhat. Nico's pretty terrifying in that one scene, too, and in his case, Reyna and Coach Hedge fully acknowledge the immorality of his actions. You all know the scene I'm referring to, or will if and when you read this book. Can I get some Dark!PercyxDark!Nico fanfics in addition to the Dark!Percy ones I already tried to commission in my previous blog post? (Oh, and if you're wondering about my thoughts on Reyna's sexuality, as I know many have imagined her as gay or bisexual, I personally ship her with herself regardless of her sexual preferences. To be clear, I have nothing against either interpretation of her character, but I got a little disenchanted with every character being or wanting to be in a serious romantic relationship as the series progressed. There are single teenagers, you know. I was one of them.) Before I conclude my discussion of Nico and Reyna, though, I have to mention the scene where Nico finally confesses to Percy that he once had a crush on him. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one cheering for him and wishing that I could be that cool while simultaneously laughing at Percy’s confusion and Annabeth’s amusement. And oh man, that high five between Annabeth and Nico. Perfect.  But it's time that I commented on Leo’s happy ending, in which he fulfills his role in the prophecy by dying (but not really) and keeping his oath to Calypso to free her from Ogygia.  Their whole relationship is comprised of moments of subtle tenderness, but the line in the last chapter that struck me most was:  “Leo Valdez,” she said. Nothing else - just his name, as if it were something magical.  I fangirled when I read that line, and the entire last chapter, for two reasons. The first is that, no matter how I try to deny the tendency in myself, I’m a hopeless romantic (yes, I’m a hopeless romantic who doesn’t read straight romance and who wants to see more single characters in middle-grade and YA novels. Everyone has their contradictions) who was invested in this couple from the start. However, the second reason pertains to Leo’s character. He’s the “seventh” wheel of the group, who’s spent the whole series doubting his own merits and developing crushes on girls who either take no interest in him or take no interest in him and seem interested in one of his friends instead. To be fair, one of these girls is a villain anyway, but her rejection still validates Leo’s insecurities. Even Calypso herself has a history with another of the Seven (Percy) and initially reacts to Leo's arrival on Ogygia as though it were a cruel joke of the gods'. The fact that the other characters largely disregard Leo - even I've ignored him until now, ironically, despite how hilarious I found his dialogue and narration - is what makes Riordan’s positioning him as the hero of the series so emotionally and narratively satisfying. He forms a plan to defeat Gaea without even consulting the others (might it be said that his inherited tendency to work independently and in isolation, which he and dad Hephaestus both perceive as a flaw, is what enables him to save the world?); he breaks Calypso's curse without leaning on the gods or on Percy's bargain with them. He goes from being the most overlooked of the Seven to someone whose very name inspires awe (and you can't tell me that Calypso's awe results solely from romantic feeling - I'm sure that, when she utters that line, she's also thinking of how Leo is the first and only person to manage to free her, to even remember her after leaving Ogygia). His is an underdog story done right. Overall As I hope you've gathered from my individual comments on each book, there's a lot to appreciate in this series: it's by turns light and funny and dark and morally ambiguous; it's smart and subtly overturns stereotypes and prejudices; and, perhaps most importantly, it's full of likable, relatable characters who feel distinct and real. It's self-aware too: as in the original series, Riordan raises the question - here, most notably in Arachne's version of her myth - of whether the gods are truly good or merely better than the alternatives of Gaea and the Titans; whether theirs is the side the demi-gods would willingly choose or merely the one they happen to be on because of their parentage. It's not often in children's adventure stories that the heroes consider that the villains may have a valid moral point, and beyond that, one that invalidates theirs. Even the last two Harry Potter books don't go as far with humanizing and demonizing Voldemort and Dumbledore, respectively. Unfortunately, the narrative does not adequately answer this question or many of the others that it raises. Take, as another example, Percy's "fatal flaw," loyalty, which I noted in Part 1 of my review never seems to result in negative consequences for either the Seven or the quest, despite being talked up by both gods and monsters throughout the series. Were the repeated warnings about it supposed to be foreshadowing Percy's decision to fall into Tartatus with Annabeth? If so, that makes no sense, as at least one demi-god was needed on each side of the Doors of Death, anyway, and Percy and Annabeth were obviously more successful as a team than either would've been alone. Or, as is more likely, was Percy's "fatal flaw" part of a larger plot thread that was dropped due to time and space constraints? But if that's the case, then why couldn't the first two books in the series have been condensed into one, or the series extended to include six or seven books? Surprisingly, considering how tightly plotted the original series was, the plot in this series fizzles to near nonexistence by the end of The Blood of Olympus, the tension building inconsistently as the climax approaches. Compared to the final battle in The Last Olympian, which engrossed me even more than the Battle of Hogwarts did (fellow Harry Potter fans, you don't have to call me a traitor; I assure you, I already feel like one), the stakes in the battle against Gaea and her army seemed the equivalent height of those in a fight involving elementary school children wielding sticks. Riordan's failure to deliver in this respect was especially glaring considering that he'd promised readers not one major battle in The Blood of Olympus, but two. Instead we get a one-on-one fight between Reyna and Orion that feels more internally than externally resonant and forestalls Major Battle #1, the Roman attack on the Greeks, before it even begins; a fight with the earthborn during which no one but Jason is really needed, as he's shown to be tremendously overpowered; and a fight between Leo and Gaea, which should've been Major Battle #2 but which is over within a page or two. The characters reiterate throughout the series how powerful Gaea is and how much more substantial of a threat she is than the Titans, but even the lowest monster in Tartarus was scarier and took longer to defeat. Hell, the Minotaur in The Lightning Thief would've been a worthier opponent for our heroes. The only explanation I can think of for the disappointing finish to this series is, again, that Riordan must have run out of time or space to give readers a proper final battle (though he hinted at two, I would've settled for one). Or possibly steam.   Still, although the series as a whole has a rushed and sloppy quality to it, I would still highly recommend it, both for the reasons listed above and for its resemblance to fanfiction. Yes, sadly, only in fanfiction would I expect to read a continuation of Percy Jackson's story with as many minority as white demi-god protagonists, whose cultures, used respectfully by Riordan, inform rather than define their identities; a gay character who is revealed to be in love with the protagonist of the first series; and an emphasis on female empowerment and the glorification of the feminine. There’s even a character -  arguably the most physically attractive of the Seven, might I add - who discovers that he needs glasses! I was shocked, albeit pleasantly so, to find a published series containing all of these elements, and I'm not even gay or a minority. If you pick up these books for the representation alone, you won't regret it.     But that won’t be necessary: there are a multitude of other fun reasons. 

[robotnik-mun]

Show me one example of Penders acting like Trump. You can't because its a ludicross claim. People are sick of your fake news.

Wow, never thought I’’d get to break out THIS ancient ass meme.

Thanks for that buddy, always wanted to look half-way internet savvy!

Heh, honestly though, on the meager chance that you really are the kind of person who would use ‘fake news’ un-ironically? I’’ll not give you one instance, oh no no no my friend, you get to have SEVERAL instances! Ain’t you lucky?

Leeeet’’s see… well to start with, there’’s the fact that he’’s rather eager to re-write history and has tried to suppress information he didn’t want getting out, not unlike our dear Presidente’’s current struggle with the sinister and secretive branch of the government known as the National Park Service and their dastardly, ruinous plot to point out that Trump’’s inauguration crowd was far, far smaller than President Obama’’s 2009 inauguration. Once upon a time, Ken Penders did his damnedest to suppress co-writer Karl Boller’s’ declaration that the timeline shown in his “Mobius: 25 Years Later” stories was just one of many futures rather than being the one true future. Similarly, he also refuses to acknowledge the fact that the Bunnie/Antoine ship didn't’ start with him, but was rather initiated by Angelo DeCesare… whose heavy involvement in the early days of the book Penders has repeatedly downplayed.

In fact, Penders in general has a pretty hostile history with facts that contradict him, not unlike the Trump- he once called a guy a troll for pointing out that he had originally announced that the Lara-Su Chronicles, even though it’s plainly spelled out on his forum that it is ‘COMING SOON IN 2012!’. For the record, he has claimed at least three times that he would be ready with the release of the book (or the App, it’s difficult to keep track by this point), and has since declared it will have no release date.

Similarly, much like Trump, Penders has made some very outrageous accusations without ever apologizing or rescinding his statements- notably, accusing Ian Flynn of stealing ideas from him only for the actual evidence to not really support this thesis, though to this day he still maintains this accusation even though there is nothing to support. That’s without getting in on him making judgement calls on Flynn’s work without ever having read any of it (same deal with DeCesare). Similarly, he has hinted at SEGA/Archie manipulating facts and that this is directly responsible for people’s poor reception against him, despite the fact that his own bad behavior is what makes people dislike him so much. It brings to mind the various claims of ‘media bias’ by Trump accounting for his lack of popularity despite his own words causing many to disdain him. 

And not unlike Trump downplaying the fact that many of his businesses are shoddily run and maintained, Penders has downplayed just how bad his current work is, even going so far as to declare that retailers told him that it looked superior to anything in the Sonic books, despite that very bluntly not being the case (unless he’s talking about ‘Many Hands’, in which case it would be near impossible for even Penders to do worse). Then of course his claims of a ‘following’ developing for Lara-Su Chronicles, despite there being no evidence at all to support the idea that anybody outside of the Sonic fandom even knows about the project, to say nothing of the *overwhelming* negativity. 

Hmm, what else, what else- ah yes, hypocrisy! Trump has espoused certain values that supposedly align with the Republican Party’s own stated values (he’s not alone in this mind you), but his own personal practices stand in a stark contrast to the values he claims to espouse. He criticized Obama for using executive orders to bypass congress, but now has done the same to go even further and directly impact his agenda upon the public. He screamed about the elections being rigged, but when evidence turned up that something shady may have helped him, he downplayed it and refused to investigate the issue further. Penders presents himself as a liberal champion of creator’s rights, but his actions and writing betray a rather different mindset- while he sued SEGA over Chronicles infringing upon his own work, his Lara-Su Chronicles redesigns and work are very nakedly trying to infringe upon SEGA and the Sonic Franchise. Similarly, he has pinched images from google that he did not create, used without credit or permission from the people who DID make them, and has used work not of his own making for his promo page of ‘The Storm’, namely the inks of Alan Jensen, whose name does not appear anywhere on the aforementioned page. Also, the fact that he stole the name of his new work from a fan of his and never credited him or spoke to him afterwards. Always a shining sample of Penders’ being Penders right there. 

As for how his writing mirrors Trump, Penders rather likes to declare himself a feminist, but his writing betrays a kind of objectification and dismissal of women that is not unlike Trump’s own ghastly opinions of the fairer sex. For all that Penders likes to toot his own horn, he saw no problem with trying to present a romance between a 21 year old and a 16 year old, wherein the 21 year old aggressively pursued said romance, without seeing any issue with the age difference. Further, he justified the death of a major female character on the basis of ‘Cramping Sonic’s Style’ (one of many, many excuses I should add), the ‘noble sacrifice’ for Lupe that he wrote was to show that ‘even a female could make the ultimate sacrifice’, and when confronted over the possibility of Bunnie unintentionally cheating on Antoine with Evil Sonic (which I should add qualifies as rape by deception) made it clear that in his mind SHE was the one who transgressed and that Antoine would ‘forgive’ her. Oh and of course the fact that in the future he outlined in 25YL, Sally Acorn and Julie-Su, who were defined largely as being leaders and soldiers respectively, have no real role in things save to serve as housewives for their husbands, with Sonic even outranking Sally as king and having more of a say in how things are to proceed than she does despite her having more experiance as a leader. Lien-Da, who Penders touted as a ‘bad ass villain’, is of so little consequence that in the future she is similarly happy playing home maker, having never, ever achieved her ambitions nor having enough of an impact to even continue holding the animosity of her sister. Finally, in a major unveiling for The Lara-Su Chronicles, he chose to debut the title character in a blatantly sexualized swimsuit, deciding that evidently eye-candy was more important for his ‘feminist science fiction character’ than anything else. So, as you can see, Penders ain’t too different from Trump on that front despite what he likes to say.

Heck, Penders even comes with his own answer to Sean Spicer in the form of his forum moderator BobR, who responds with great hostility to any criticisms of the Great Penders! There was a kerfluffle a while back when the moderator of the (now sadly defunct) “A Moment of Archie Sonic” blog posted some criticism over some of the deeply amateurish mistakes Penders had made in his then-new reveals of the redesigns he intended for the Lara-Su Chronicles. BobR proceeded to come up with a bunch of bullshit about why said moderator was clearly incompetent and making crap up. Also, Bobby boy once threatened to ban people for not viewing the ugly Lien-DA CG figure as being quality. Penders approved of all of this and did not see fit to chastise the man for his bad behavior.

There’s other things I could bring up, but I think I’ve more than made my case- the comparison is not unwarranted, not even remotely, and every time Penders opens his mouth he only manages to highlight the eerie similarities he has to the guy. Because while their stated politics might be night and day? They’re cut from precisely the same grimy, oily cloth.

[satinnet8-blog]

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (Blu-ray) : DVD Talk Review of the Blu-ray

In 1997, Director Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers hit the big screen with all signs that it would be a huge theatrical hit. With great special effects, attractive young actors, and Verhoeven's satirical take on militarism, the movie was an instant favorite with many viewers. Sadly, that wasn't enough. STARSHIP TROOPERS: TRAITOR OF MARS Blu-Ray Review: Welcome Back, Johnny Rico and backlash to the movie quickly sunk any lasting box office power it may have had. After a strong opening weekend, the film sank like a rock and while it didn't do poorly enough to qualify as a "bomb" for the studio (TriStar Pictures), it certainly was considered one of that Fall's bigger theatrical disappointments. A theatrical sequel was never in the cards for this franchise, but that didn't mean that Columbia/TriStar (and eventually Sony under their Stage 6 Films banner) haven't tried their best in the direct-to-home-video market. Two live-action sequels came first, followed by two animated movies, of which Traitor of Mars is the second.

I haven't seen any of the other Starship Troopers sequels, so I have no idea whether this tale picks up on concepts introduced in the last animated movie (which this title's director, Shinji Aramaki, also helmed), but this does seem like a standalone story. I can only guess the last 20 years have been pretty rough on Johnny Rico (voiced by Casper Van Dien); not only has the dude lost an eye and scarred up his face since I've last seen him, but his animated form doesn't look anything like Casper Van Dien (he honestly looks more like Dylan McDermott). Anyway, it seems like Rico's military career is on the downswing. He's been assigned to train a group of young (and very "green") soldiers on Mars - a planet that is seemingly far away from the action and the war against the "bugs." Except that it's not.

We learn that there are thousands of the giant arachnids who have been hiding out ready to hatch below the planet's surface, and when they finally do, it's up to Rico to go into battle with his inexperienced troops. It's soon revealed there's a reason for the bug attack on Mars, as well as a reason for Rico having been assigned there in the first place, but honestly this movie's political maneuverings (involving a female sky marshal named Amy Snapp (voiced by Emily Neves)) are the least interesting part of the plot, even though it's the driving force behind everything we see. Still, it allows the return of two more characters from the original film: psychic Carl Jenkins and sky marshal Carmen Ibanez, although sadly neither of those characters are voiced by the original actors.

A character that appears that is voiced by the original actress is Dizzy Flores, as Dina Meyer is part of the cast here. Wait a minute, you may ask...didn't Dizzy die in the first movie? Yes, she did - so figuring out her role here won't be all that difficult. The scenes between Dizzy and Rico add a little fun to the movie, but ultimately are the only selling point, as not much else of consequence really happens, unless you like to watch lots of explosions and deaths (both of the human and bug variety).

What I can't figure out is with the chance to have Casper and Dina back and with a release that is marking this film's 20th anniversary, why are the stakes here so seemingly small? It's animation - you can take these characters and events anywhere you want with no worries about how it's going to be shot since your only limitation is the animators' (and scriptwriter Ed Neumeier's) imagination. Yet, the movie feels like little more than another chapter in a story that hasn't been expanded on in two decades and lacks both the punch and the parody of Paul Verhoeven's original movie.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars battles its way onto Blu-ray inside a standard keepcase from Sony (the type with a flap on the side you need to lift to open the case). A slipcover matching the artwork of the case slides overtop. The 50GB disc is front-loaded with trailers for Resident Evil: Vendetta, S.W.A.T.: Under Siege, Sniper: Ultimate Kill, Kill 'Em All, Life and Starship Troopers: Invasion. The main menu is a still from the movie featuring Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer's animated characters with menu selection horizontally across the bottom of the screen.

The Blu-ray in this release is region-free.

This is a computer-animated direct-to-home-video release that is presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Given that the images here were digitally created, one would suspect that the picture is crystal clear and the colors really pop, right? Wrong. For whatever reason, the animators have opted for a dark and often very flat look to the action here - which seems to have been a complaint for the prior animated movie in this series as well.

The image here suffers from some noticeable banding and aliasing - both of which are most certainly due to the animation style rather than the actual transfer. The biggest surprise is the muted colors. I understand this is supposed to be a sci-fi war movie, but does everything have to be so dark and dismal looking? The animation isn't much better (and one could argue worse) that most cut sequences in many video games. Lip movements don't match up well with the spoken word...and that's when you can actually see faces. The creators (as they did in the prior animated movie) have helmets over the top of heads in many of the action scenes - which, of course, means they didn't have to worry about articulating faces for many scenes.

I've only seen the trailer for Starship Troopers: Invasion, but it looks like - even with a five-year gap between the two movies - the quality of the animation has stayed pretty much the same. This is a rather "meh" presentation.

The featured audio here is an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and it's decent for what it is, although it doesn't exactly pack the "oomph" you'd hear in the same kind of track for a live-action Hollywood release. There's some directionality here, and the dialogue is certainly crisp enough. However, LFE use isn't as low and rumbling as I would have hoped, meaning the gun blasts and explosions lack weight to them. While the track is certainly active, I'm not sure it's all that impressive.

Believe it or not, Sony actually released this movie on Ultra 4K, and that release of this title actually has an Atmos track. Given what we get here, I wonder if that rendering is equally disappointing...and if the 4K has Atmos, why weren't fans given at least a 7.1 track with this release?

In addition to the 5.1 lossless English track, there's also a French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, as well as a lossy 5.1 Spanish track. STARSHIP TROOPERS: TRAITOR OF MARS Blu-Ray Review: Welcome Back, Johnny Rico are available in English SDH, English, French, and Spanish.

[thegloober]

Why Matt Murray is the Penguins’ most important player this season

News

The Penguins’ superstars haven’t shown signs of exiting their primes. But the only way to keep up with other emerging teams in the East is to get better goaltending. Healthy Murray might provide just that.

Matt Murray.|(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

“He stood tall for us,” Sidney Crosby said.

“He won the game for us tonight,” Evgeni Malkin said.

“That’s the type of performance we’ve grown accustomed to since he’s been our goalie,” coach Mike Sullivan said.

If you’d only ever seen rookie Matt Murray or playoff Matt Murray, you’d think the Pittsburgh Penguins’ leaders were stating the obvious Thursday night after a disciplined, defensively smothering road victory over the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs. But there was an undercurrent of relief behind Murray’s shutout, which featured a hard-earned 38 saves against some quality Leaf chances.

Why the relief? Because the truth is, as much as Sullivan pumped his goaltender’s tires, Thursday’s performance was not something we’ve grown accustomed to from Murray at all. Not over the past year, which has been positively hellish after he opened his career with back to back Stanley Cups. He lost chunks of time in 2017-18 because of various upper- and lower-body injuries, a concussion and even the death of his father. After posting a sparkling .925 save percentage across his first two seasons, Murray tumbled to .907 last year, placing him 38th among the 49 qualified leaders. He struggled to start 2018-19 as well. Since the beginning of last season, among the 53 goaltenders with at least 1,000 total minutes of 5-on-5 play, Murray ranks 52nd in SP, 51st in low-danger SP, 37th in medium-danger SP, 42nd in high-danger SP and 49th in goals-saved above average. Wow. After looking like a perennial Vezina Trophy candidate in the making, Murray may well be the NHL’s worst goaltender over the past 12 months.

So the Penguins were not at all “accustomed to” seeing Murray excel of late. His 6-foot-4, 178-pound frame continues to take a beating and hold back his obviously immense talent. Since his NHL debut in 2015-16, he’s endured eight separate injury absences. Scarier still, three of those were the result of concussions, including two in the past seven calendar months, sparking legitimate questions about whether he can be the long-term No. 1 goalie he appeared to be as recently as 2016-17.

So Thursday’s performance had to be an immense lift for Murray and the Penguins. He wasn’t just decent. He looked elite against the NHL’s top offensive team. And he felt physically right. In fact, he felt good several days before he was tapped to rejoin the lineup.

“I was a little antsy,” Murray said. “I’ve been healthy for a while now and still haven’t played. So I was just a little anxious tonight to get in there.”

He wasn’t remotely tentative. He was quick and athletic and focused. He really did look 100 percent healthy.

“He makes timely saves, and I thought he was really locked in tonight,” Sullivan said. “He saw the puck, he was fighting through the traffic, and he was really solid.”

And the timing couldn’t have been better. The Pens, after making very few roster tweaks in the summer, were off to ho-hum 2-1-2 start, surrendering 19 goals in five games. Finally losing to the Washington Capitals in a playoff series last year led some to question whether the Pens were nearing the end of their Stanley Cup window and trending toward a collapse, like was saw from the Chicago Blackhawks over the past several seasons as their core stars began to age out of elite status.

With a top-heavy roster structure paying a select number of stars monster cap hits, the win-now Penguins are pretty much maxed out, with little room for any more significant roster additions without sending a big contract the other way in a trade. Improvement likely has to come from within, which would have to mean progress from prospects such as Daniel Sprong – or progress in net. More than any other player, Murray has potential to hike the Penguins’ status from good back to great again. Crosby, Malkin and Phil Kessel are already pulling their weight, so it’ll be Murray’s contributions that make or break this season.

Thursday was arguably the first time we’ve seen vintage, healthy Matt Murray in at least a year, halting a stretch of 48 regular-season games without a shutout. It appears he’s back. Now it’s a matter of whether he can stay healthy, which, sadly, is no guarantee.

Connect:

About the Author

Matt Larkin

Matt Larkin is senior content producer at The Hockey News and has been part of the team since 2011. He’s your one-stop shop for deep-dive player interviews, predictions, statistics, fantasy player rankings, player safety and hair tips. Catch him weekly as host of The Hockey News Live and The Hockey News Podcast.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/why-matt-murray-is-the-penguins-most-important-player-this-season/

[fashiontrendin-blog]

Since when did getting cosmetic surgery become the norm?

http://fashion-trendin.com/since-when-did-getting-cosmetic-surgery-become-the-norm/

Since when did getting cosmetic surgery become the norm?

Like it or loathe it, Botox, fillers and other nonsurgical procedures are becoming the new beauty norm. After all, it’s your face, your choice – right? GLAMOUR reports…

It’s August 2017 and Jennifer, 27, is on her best mate’s hen do. “Cheers!” cries the bride-to-be, in the centre of the room. But instead of quaffing a glass of bubbly, she leans back and closes her eyes as a woman poises a needle at the side of her forehead. Wait, what the? “It was a Botox party,” Jennifer explains, adding that, since then, she’s had one additional Botox treatment at a London clinic. “I wear sunscreen, I buy face creams. To me, Botox is the next step and it’s now part of my beauty routine.”

The new normal?

Jennifer isn’t alone. Research shows a huge upsurge in twentysomethings getting injectables in the form of Botox and lip augmentation, as well as nonsurgical enhancements, including dermal fillers and jawline reshaping. Over half (51%) of women aged 16-29 would consider getting cosmetic enhancements either now, or in the future* – and by 2020, it’s believed that almost 1.5 million of us in the UK will have had a nonsurgical treatment such as Botox or fillers.

“I consider getting Botox as just good grooming – it’s like flossing my teeth,” says Eden, 24, from Edinburgh.

Generation X may raise their eyebrows – or would, if their eyebrows could move. Because one of the reasons so many millennials are exploring nonsurgical procedures is because their mums are doing it, or have done it, too. “We see a lot of mother-daughter pairs in our office,” says Dr Norman Rowe, a board-certified plastic surgeon with a practice in New York City. And for some of the daughters, the motivation is getting a step ahead of the ageing process. “People start earlier,” agrees Dr Tijion Esho, who runs the Esho clinics in Newcastle and London.

“In the past, you might not consider these treatments until your mid-forties, now women in their twenties are more aware of the ageing process and are doing things to halt it.” Women like Emilijia, 28, from Norwich. “Instead of forking out hundreds on expensive creams that might not work, I know Botox can stop my frown lines getting any deeper. I don’t fear ageing but I also don’t accept that ageing has to mean resigning yourself to everything nature does to our appearance.” Not only that, but for Gen Z and millennials who have grown up seeing a dermatologist, using skin creams and having spa appointments such as lash tints and facials, fillers and injectables have become the next logical step.

These are the three golden rules to obey if you’re thinking about lip fillers

“Millennials are more open to cosmetic procedures than any other generational group,” says Jack Duckett, senior consumer lifestyles analyst at global market-research agency Mintel. Its most recent report found that 28% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 31% of 25- to 34-year-olds have had some form of cosmetic treatment (compared with an average of just 21% for the whole UK population). “This age group is more knowledgeable about nonsurgical treatments, and what can be achieved with them,” says Dr Rekha Tailor, medical director of health and aesthetics in Surrey. Advances in technology have also led to subtler results, which in turn means less stigma surrounding injectables. “People are starting to realise that Botox and fillers can be done and still give the person a natural appearance,” says Dr Rowe.

Of course, it’s easy to pin the rise of interest in cosmetic tweaks on Instagram. “I feel social media has imbued this very specific, Barbie-esque aesthetic with big lips and a sculpted face,” says Caroline, 27, from Swansea. But your feed might not be telling the whole story. Make no mistake: scrolling through a well-curated account can make us compare our looks, but experts point to a wider shift in cultural norms.

‘Airbrushing’ apps such as Facetune, as well as the contouring make-up trend, can give people a glimpse into what fillers or Botox could do to their faces. “Contouring made me really aware of my angles, and to be honest, getting fillers was a less labour-intensive solution,” says Isla, 27, from Bristol. But Isla is quick to point out she isn’t turning to treatments to raise her self-esteem: “It’s just a look I prefer, the same as I prefer plucked eyebrows and straightened hair.” That, say experts, is the key change in attitude from earlier generations. “Patients used to bring in images of celebrities as a reference; now more and more patients show us airbrushed and retouched pictures of themselves as a guide to how they want to look,” says Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh, a world-renowned cosmetic doctor with a clinic in London.

This is what having your lip filler dissolved actually involves

Silicone = status symbol

In the ‘90s and early part of the millennium, cosmetic treatments were kept hush-hush for two reasons. First, the effect was often far less subtle. Second, plastic-surgery procedures were sometimes seen as admitting failure; that your body didn’t live up to a ‘perfect’ look. Today, it appears perceptions have changed.

The hashtag #lipfillers has nearly 300,000 posts on Instagram (as a point of comparison, #stretchmarkremoval has only around 4,000) and for some women, injectables have become another way to claim their body as their own.

Celebs play a part, too, in the way even conventionally attractive names, like Kylie Jenner and the Kardashian sisters have been open about their use of cosmetic enhancements. No longer do celebs ‘admit’ to having a procedure; they openly share their routine, which makes cosmetic augmentation seem simultaneously aspirational and part of the everyday beauty conversation. (‘If she’s already pretty and admits to it, then what’s the big deal in me trying it?’) “When super-confident people like Cardi B are open about cosmetic work, it stops being something ‘embarrassing’,” says Jeni, 23, from London. “It makes waves. It means someone like me feels empowered. If I want work done in the future, then I will.” It’s also less about the celebrity’s specific look that some young women aspire to, and more about their lifestyle.

While most of us may not be able to afford to live like a Kardashian, the face has become one thing women are using their money to invest in, if they so wish. At around £150-£350 per session, depending on the amount of product used and where in the country you have it done, Botox and dermal fillers have become “a normal activity for people with expendable income,” says Miami-based plastic surgeon Dr Rian Maercks.

Take Annabelle, 26, from Edinburgh, for example, who gets lip fillers every six months. “I’m not the type to buy an expensive purse that I won’t use in a year or so. For me, fillers and Botox are much more of a sure thing. I think it’s the same as paying for a gym membership; it’s something that gives you value every day.” Like Annabelle, many millennials consider nonsurgical procedures just another necessary expense, the same way women ten years ago may have juggled their budget to pay for a Brazilian bikini wax. “I sometimes have to push all my bills around in that month to pay for it,” says Jay, 30, from Manchester. “But it’s worth it and it’s my decision to make.”

As experts claim 25 is the prime age to have Botox, one woman tells us what she wishes she’d known

Danger zones

While many women feel it’s had a positive effect, there is of course a dark side to the rise of cosmetic enhancements being performed. One thing practitioners stress to their patients, regardless of age? “Nonsurgical does not mean no risk,” warns Dr Mary O’Brien, a consultant plastic and hand surgeon at the Royal Derby Hospital. Experts worry that the lack of regulation in the industry (Botox must be administered by a medical professional, but anyone can potentially get their hands on fillers and there is no minimum age limit or parental consent required in the UK) could lead to negative results.

“There is sadly an increasing number of unscrupulous providers working in the UK aesthetics industry who are offering cheaper prices for counterfeit, unregulated or diluted products, which are then administered by untrained, unqualified people,” says Dr Shirin Lakhani of Elite Aesthetics in Kent. Dr Lakhani frequently sees patients dealing with complications from past procedures. “Often they have been naïve and opted for cheaper price over quality.” Dr Lakhani and other plastic surgeons stress that procedures are generally safe, as long as you see a qualified practitioner – preferably one who is a member of the British Association of Aesthetic Practitioners (BAAPS).

“If you are considering anti-wrinkle injections or dermal fillers, make sure that you use a doctor or qualified practitioner who is fully insured and has the medical expertise to keep you safe,” says Dr Lakhani, who advises steering clear of discounts or vouchers and instead choosing accredited medical professionals. But even with reputable doctors, there are potentially serious side-effects: rare complications of Botox include temporary droopiness in facial features, blurred vision and breathing difficulties. Dermal fillers can cause rashes and infection and, in very rare cases, can move from the treated area over time or even block a blood vessel. Rare, yes, but enough to put many millennials off, including Nadiya, 20, from Stockton, whose friend had to have her lip fillers removed. “Her lips were so swollen and painful for months.” Then there’s the thought of the chemicals involved. “I don’t smoke, I work out and eat well to stay healthy, so why would I put poison in my face?” says Chloe, 26, from Nottingham.

Why doctors and dermatologists are debating this double-chin-beating injectable

The bottom line

While the role of nonsurgical procedures in the everyday lives of Gen Z and millennials may seem dramatic – dangerous, even – the motivation behind an individual paying for these kinds of treatment is age-old. People want to look and feel their best, and are using the tools and technology on offer to do so. But while the effects may be temporary, is their place in our beauty culture here to stay?

Be smart, be informed

If you are considering treatments, these guides are a useful place to start:

The NHS Guide To Cosmetic Procedures

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons

You can search the GMC list of registered medical practitioners at gmc-uk.org/doctors/register/LRMP.asp

[justonemoreepisodeuk-blog]

Footballers’ Wives

I have no idea why I’m doing a show from 2002, but it seems to have been a classic year for vintage TV. In addition, the Desperate Housewives post whipped up a storm of reads, so I’ve decided that wives is a popular theme, and this show is about wives as well (clue’s in the title).  Then, I’m amplifying that with the power of nostalgia, after the Buffy The Vampire Slayer post drew more attention than I was prepared for: turns out we like to relive our memories of shows from when we were younger and less jaded, safely in the EU and certain of an economically prosperous future.

The next uninteresting detail I will talk you through at length is the orthography of the show’s name itself.  After some soul searching, I’ve decided to go with Footballers’ Wives, as you’ll see from the header on the post. This is significant because at any one time I am devoting 20% of my life’s energy to grammatical pedantry.  Even at the age of 17, when this week’s programme was first broadcast, my teenage self was appalled at the lack of plural possessive apostrophe concluding the opening credits: Footballers Wives.  You’re only young once, so I’m glad I spent that time obsessing about punctuation.  Otherwise, how on earth are you supposed to know that the wives belong to the footballers? It just looks like a strange, unconnected list.  But then, matters were made worse once I reminded myself how things really appeared: footballers wive$.  I won’t unpick why this is an abomination in my eyes (and if you don’t know why, then get out now please), but it does serve handily to illustrate the level of class on offer in this show.  In short, there was none.  Let’s crack on, then.

But first, it’s 2018, so let’s dispel the myth that wives are the property of their husbands (with or without the appropriate apostrophe to indicate this possession).  Yes, in this day and age, people can’t wait to rush up the aisle in order to spend thousands of pounds on flowers that nobody will remember and to secure a sofa buddy for future series of The Crown, but vows tend to be more about an equal partnership rather than referring to any duty of obedience.  But this was the beauty of Footballers’ Wives – the ladies wore the trousers.  Everything about the menfolk was incidental.  There were merely possessions to trade.  Even their footballing prowess was limited to a couple of lines in the script – almost no actual match footage ever appealed.  For someone with better things to do than sit through any sort of ballsport (such as watching reruns of dinnerladies) this only added to the programme’s appeal.

Let’s look at Tanya Turner, the ur-WAG.  Throughout the five series (yes, five!) she ended up in all manner of relationships, working through around half of the Earls Park FC first team, a proportion of the support staff and anyone else who just happened to be passing for that matter. This wasn’t a search for love, though, but a quest to keep herself in acrylic nails and extraordinarily tacky outfit choices with no expense spared.  Once ex-captain Jason was dispatched, she fought for a place in new signing Conrad Gates’ bed (despite his straightened hair), dallied with sports agent/chairwoman Hazel Bailey and even found the time to get herself astride Frank Laslett, the overweight, over-age chairman of the club, specifically with the intention of shagging him to death.  Imagine talking about that storyline in the office the next day. But the combination of cocaine, booze and vigorous love making did the job – our Tanya got what she wanted out of each chap (or chapette, in the case of Hazel) and then moved on to the next one. Played with bags of aplomb by Zöe Lucker (whom I don’t seem to spot on TV these days, but ought to be a national treasure), Tanya was a popular creation, rooted for by an audience that was fully entertained by her outrageous behaviour.

In fact, the show suffered whenever she was absent.  IMDB tells me that Gillian Taylforth (Cathy from Eastenders, everyone) appeared in the most episodes, playing Jackie Pascoe, the overbearing pushy mother.  Yet, my most memorable character is Nurse Dunkley.  The name in itself is a comic moniker for someone you’re never going to take seriously.  But her arc was as sinister as they come: caring for Frank Laslett during his coma (obviously) she went from an apparently incidental background artist to front-of-camera abuser, pursuing a physical relationship with the unconscious man in her care, while whispering sweet nothings to him in her simpleton-sounding northern accent.  Her spectacles practically steaming up with lust is an image that still haunts me to this day.

But this was what we all tuned in for: far-fetched melodrama.  But you can watch that in most soap operas, so the attraction is better qualified as: far-fetched melodrama involving wealthy, mostly attractive people in glamorous settings.  Which is loads better.  Babies were swapped.  Boob implants caught fire.  Murders were attempted and completed.  Sex videos were leaked.  Joan Collins popped in.  Peter Stringfellow popped in.  This was the level of Footballers’ Wives.  As a result, it was wickedly fun.  I’m not ashamed to admit I also really enjoyed the foul language and frequent nudity – seeing someone being told to f*** off when their boobs are peaking over the duvet is oddly gratifying when you’re a teenager with punctuation-related anxiety.

Sadly, the show ended in 2006; it may well have been shagged to death itself to be honest.  I don’t even know if there’s any way to watch it these days, shy of trawling car boots for the old DVDs and then squinting at the appalling image quality with your HD-accustomed eyeballs, before realising things look appalling due to the noughties fashions the show so willingly embraced.  In fact, I don’t even recommend re-watching; times have changed, and the old show’s website still exists here, reminding you how crude the old internet was.  Have a click around and think of times past.  This is the trash that brought millions to ITV’s peak schedule.  At least now we have Love Island, eh?

[go-cleverbouquetlight-stuff-blog]

A God From Passion Would not Send out Good Individuals To Heck.

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However the truth stays that the more folks know about you, the a lot less they have the ability to observe you in a qualified lighting. They knew that that was a deal-breaker, but they did what people at the moment are actually doing, which is actually, they claimed, Yet! It's additionally time to establish brand new pals; grow brand new connections with folks who are mature like you. Thy kingdom happened, thy will certainly be actually done on earth as that remains in paradise." Therefore as the dust settles on this certain election cycle, permit's continuously wish that. Heartbreaking events like these constantly induce worthwhile individuals to begin pointing to psychological wellness charitable organizations for responses. Our experts can easily possess dozens Facebook friends and yet unknown the labels from individuals that physically live ideal close to us. That must alter. Every single time period strongly believes that the technique they look at the world as well as presume is essentially the technique folks have actually consistently accomplished this. However as you familiarize on your own with intellectual background, you will certainly view significant modifications in the theories and also guidelines that assisted cultures in each age.

They take place to find some individuals in institution, at work, at various tasks, they interact as a result of the circumstance and at some point, they get made use of to each various other and end up being close friends. However, individuals that are without positive self-image commonly wreck their job effectiveness along with subconscious habits and also actions that create all of them less likely in order to get observed or advancement in their job. Scroll via the quotes for the kind of understanding got off terrific personal struggle, as well as recognize that you're not the exception. Traveling to one of these talking interactions is a great method to find that person. They which made England, Italy, or even Greece age-old in the imagination accomplished this by adhering swiftly where they were actually, like a center of the earth. I merely stated that science is something individuals care about. That is actually the meaning from faith, to care about one thing. Bunches of folks take times to gigs, yet depending on the action, many pick good friends or even colleagues. In this particular role, he is actually the one that doesn't let you fail to remember the rate of interests as well as pals you possessed before you got married. Providing your buddy the area to definitely talk while you listen to them is very vital when healing a companionship. Delivered within 5 days with an ONE HUNDRED night risk free of charge trial, Leesa cushions are actually made to satisfy the necessities from every sizes and shape body, if you don't like that, simply organize to have it reduced.. Mike went to the other secondary school, earned good qualities without much initiative, match without being actually cliquish, and also had good friends and also-- unbelievable for me-- girlfriends. While blogging about my latest journey snow skiing in France and tweeting about our even more latest jaunt to Brighton, everybody that answered stated places they are actually interested to go or programs they will create. There may be methods you could protect and shelter your close friend by establishing your own self up as the marked aspect person - the one who delivers relevant information to the outside world, or even manages benefactors. Because of the good folks at Zalando for gifting me these, also a lot better that I in fact reached decide on. Just present them to whom they're sitting through or even those folks which enter right into a conversation with the two from you if you bring your attendee to a large party.

[junker-town]

PGA Championship 2017 picks and predictions: Rory McIlroy is the one to block Jordan Spieth's slam pursuit

The 99th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow is loaded with hype and the potential for history. Here are some picks and predictions for the weekend in Charlotte.

The final men's major championship of the year is here, and it's the most hyped in a long time. The PGA Championship got a huge boost when Jordan Spieth won the Claret Jug less than three weeks ago, setting the stage for potential history at Quail Hollow. Spieth can become the youngest ever to complete the career slam. But we're at a course where maybe his contemporary rival and challenger for the next two decades, Rory McIlroy, has feasted and is the favorite.

It has all set up an incredible dynamic that is just a part of the 99th PGA. Here are some picks, predictions, and points to watch for this week in Charlotte.

Jordan Spieth stopped the streak of first-time major winners. But there's still a loaded crop waiting to breakthrough. Who are some of the top candidates to get their first major this week?

Emily: Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama are the obvious candidates, with a bit of Matt Kuchar sprinkled into the mix. Sadly for them, they’ll all walk away from Quail Hollow with the “best golfers without a major” label still intact.

Brendan: We've gotten caught up a bit in the Spieth vs. Rory hype over the last two weeks and neglected some of the potential first-timers that fit this course perfectly. Rickie doesn't have quite the track record of Rory, but as Kyle pointed out yesterday in his power rankings, it's pretty dang good. And the same goes for Hideki, who just burned Firestone to the ground with a Sunday 61 and ran away from one of the deepest fields of the year. That kind of tee-to-green game that sets up for Firestone will play well here too (it plays well everywhere, of course, the advantage just might be greater at a setup like this). These two have as good a chance to win this week as Rory and Spieth.

Kyle: I think we’re all in agreement that Rickie & Hideki are the low-hanging fruit here, so let’s reach a bit higher on the tree -- but not much. I want to toss Thomas Pieters name in here. He’s got all the game in the world and perfect here, but I think he’s still a bit green on the big stage. We’ve seen some nervy play at the Olympics, Masters, and last week at Firestone when contending in big events on the weekend. Sometimes you have to walk before you run, and sometimes you have to win a WGC or a Rolex event before we talk major championship.

I really, really like Justin Thomas in theory here at Quail. He’s the quintessential American player for the American game — big drives, hits it miles in the air — and I think we’re set to favor those type of players this week. It’s gonna be wet, it’s gonna be long. Perfect conditions to boom it & stick it. JT seems built to win a PGA, and perhaps it’s this one.

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Is this finally the week Rickie gets one?

Who is your darkhorse pick to win, or just contend (ideally odds 60/1 or higher)?

Brendan: The PGA, in theory, is the hardest major to win. You have the full top 100 in the world rankings on hand. The Masters field isn't even 100 players total, with a swath being past champions and amateurs. The two Opens also have large chunks of their field reserved for qualifiers and other longshots or unexpected entrants. The PGA ensures everyone that's at the top of the game is in the field, so there's so many "darkhorse" picks with great value down the board. Tony Finau at 100/1 is good value, given his strokes gained off-the-tee advantage. Kevin Chappell, at 80/1, is a trendy pick this week given his season-long form and ability to boom it.

There's just a lot to like with longer odds but I'll give you just those two for fear of becoming one of those guys that rattles off an enormous list of names so they can say "they had that one" after the fact. That's a scourge these days.

Kyle: Yeah, there’s a ton to like on down the board here. There’s a reason I think this is golf’s best major championship. It’s a deep field as Brendan said, and it’s often on the best setup. If you parse through all the sanctimony of the other three majors and just want to see a really quality championship, here’s often the best place to look. (I’ll admit that wasn’t the case last year)

I’ll like bold picks, so I’ll give you two young names both with triple-digit odds to win: Xander Schauffele (100/1) and Patrick Rodgers (200/1). I’m all in on X after strong finishes at the last two majors, he bombs it, and should be your PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. As for Rodgers, we’re probably overdue to have him contend in a major. His professional career hasn’t yet materialized like his record-setting collegiate days at Stanford, but a T-2 here in 2015 behind Rory should give you some optimism if you’re looking waaaaay down the board for good value. I don’t know if either win, but I think both are solid bets to contend here.

Emily: Ian Poulter (80/1) has had a resurgent last few months after Brian Gay helped him keep his PGA Tour card for the season. He won’t win this week and will have to rid himself of memories of his T61 finish at the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, but he did have a T5 on the Charlotte track in 2009 so he could contend this week. Or not.

Which big name, or names, are the best candidates to disappoint and exit before the weekend?

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Life is grand for the newly-married Sergio, and he’s been absurdly consistent over the past couple seasons in majors. Is it too much to ask for him to contend coming off wedding season?

Emily: Bubba Watson — The two-time Masters champ is having a down season and teeing it up at Quail Hollow — where he posted his third of three missed cuts the last time around the Charlotte track in 2013 — won’t fix what ails him. But, hey, in a season of caddie musical chairs, he and Ted Scott are still a team so he has that going for him.

Brendan: I don't have any great candidates here for this particular major, which I suppose is a good thing. Bubba is always a fit for this spot and you've covered him already, Emily. I have lower expectations for Jason Day, but I still find it hard to believe he'll miss the cut. Perhaps Phil Mickelson misses his second straight major cut in what has become quite a lost year for the lefty.

Kyle: I have a confession: I’m a little concerned about Sergio this week. Okay, maybe not concerned. Kenny G just played his wedding and he’s clearly living his best life post-Masters win. But, we’re kinda overdue for Sergio to miss a cut. If there’s a time you’d be excused to no-show in a major, it’s coming off your danged wedding.

The upshot? Sergio doesn’t miss cuts anymore! Like ever! It’s been over a full calendar year since El Nino last missed a cut, since last year’s PGA in July. He’s made 20 straight worldwide, and missed exactly two in the last two years. That’s damn impressive. Tiger damaged our senses for appreciating consistency.

What do you expect from Quail Hollow, a PGA Tour venue during the regular season, as a major championship setup?

Brendan: I think Quail Hollow will work out fine as a major championship test, although we've heard some slight grumbling already about some of the Tom Fazio redesigned holes on the front nine. For the most part, the players seem diplomatic about the changes. And it's a course they have loved as a regular stop on the PGA Tour schedule. What may be dissatisfying to the TV viewer or the architecture nerd is not necessarily the view on the ground among those playing these courses at the highest levels.

The PGA has provided some of the best major championship drama of the past five years. Is the PGA still the fourth major? If last, why? Will a schedule change do anything for the PGA's identity or prestige?

Kyle: No. God no. Absolutely not. The schedule change is a horrible move that robs the PGA of any identity it had in the first place. Consider where the PGA’s been played, historically: the Midwest and Northeast.

The championship’s iconic venues that have provided excellent championships are all in cold-weather locales. Hazeltine in Minnesota. Medinah in Chicago. Baltusrol in New Jersey. Whistling Straights in Wisconsin. Oak Hill in upstate New York. Valhalla in Louisville. Oakland Hills in Detroit. Sure, sure -- weather is decent in May in many of those places, but it’s the months leading up that create the concern. You can’t prep a course for a major in March and April in cold temperatures, and it’s a strong possibility those great tracks are all axed from the rota.

What does that mean? More pro golf in areas that are already over-saturated with Tour stops: the Southeast, Calfornia, and perhaps Texas. No thanks!

Emily: Scheduling the event in May rather than August could give the event some momentum and may change the perception that the PGA is the little brother of the three other majors. This year, coming just three weeks after the British Open and seven days after the Women’s British Open, the PGA is most definitely the fourth major and reeks of majors-overload.

Brendan: I've heard several persuasive arguments for why this schedule reshuffling is good for golf and different golf organizations. I've yet to hear a really compelling one for why it's good for the PGA, which is, you know, the one event making the biggest move. I think the PGA Tour is a huge winner here, getting The Players back to March and now having all of August to get their FedExCup Playoffs done before football owns the sports landscape. I thought the PGA was an underrated and great major and perfectly suited for August, when there's little competition. It may not have the identity of the other three, but it's been a great championship in recent years (save for the Baltusrol bore of 2016).

Expectations for:

Phil Mickelson

Brendan: Phil has a strong track record here and has professed adoration for the course, but the 2017 languishing continues. I know it's facile to point at the very obvious change and cite that as a cause for concern, but I do think he's trying to find his way in the immediate events following the Bones separation.

Kyle: I’ll ask the uncomfortable question: Are we past the point where we seriously consider Phil a viable contender at 47? It’s starting to feel like last year’s duel at Troon with Henrik was kinda, like, it. He always plays well at Quail, but if not now, when?

Emily: Lefty misses Bones but not the cut this week at Quail Hollow, where he has nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Rory and his new caddie, best friend Harry Diamond.

Rory McIlroy

Kyle: This might be a golf litmus test for Rory this week. Let me explain.

I’m a believer in horses-for-courses, and there’s no horse more suited to a course than Rory McIlroy to Quail Hollow. He’s the favorite, and I’d be inclined to say he’s an overwhelming favorite. We’ve had this penciled in as a Rory major win since Quail was announced as a venue, and it’s his tournament to lose. That’s a ton of pressure to put on the back of a player in a fickle sport, but we know how much he loves this golf course.

Now, if he doesn’t show up at all and ejects early? It’s probably due time to raise a round of valid questions about Rory moving forward.

Emily: If Jordan Spieth says Rors is the “guy to beat,” who am I to disagree? With his game rounding into form, his confidence sky high, the event one of his favorites (he has two Wanamaker Trophies to prove it), and this week’s tourney at one of the courses he enjoys most, McIlroy’s a good bet to hoist the hardware for his fifth major. But he’ll have to battle Dustin Johnson for the honor and this is just not Rory’s year.

Jordan Spieth

Brendan: While Spieth does keep exceeding expectations and hitting milestones that put him in territory with Jack and Tiger, I don't expect him to make history and become the youngest ever to win the career slam. He's got 25 more years of trying at the PGA and I think he's still coming down off the high of that Open finish. He also said on Sunday that he needs to get his putting right. Spieth's been too good this summer to just flop out, so I think he'll be inside the top 15 come Sunday, but I don't expect him to go back-to-back. It's just too hard.

Kyle: Yeah, winning back-to-back is just really hard to do. Upshot? JS has already done it once. I don’t think Quail in wet conditions is suited for what Jordan does well. I’d be shocked to see him miss the cut, but I’d also be shocked to see anyone other than a big hitter win here this week.

Emily: It’s wait ��til next year for the next Tiger Woods’ chance to complete the career grand slam.

Dustin Johnson

Brendan: This is where the No. 1 player in the world re-joins the battle. He's been mostly absent since his tumble down the stairs at the Masters, a point in the season where it seemed he was unstoppable. He's not been the same since. Given the first quarter of the year, it seemed safe to think he'd get a second career major in 2017 on some courses built for his strengths. Quail Hollow favors the big hitters more than almost any major championship track ever, and DJ does that as well as anyone. I think DJ is back contending for a major this week, but comes up just shy with a T2 finish.

Kyle: Sorry. Call me a curmudgeon, but I’ve sold my stock in DJ, Inc. February was a long time ago, and DJ’s been a non-factor in the majors this year. Perhaps we’re seeing some regression to the mean. Bob Garrigus has more top-10s this summer than DJ. Not good!

Who wins the Wanamaker Trophy? And what's the winning number?

Emily: Dustin Johnson — After clocking the longest drive on the PGA Tour since 2013 Thursday at Firestone (a skull-imploding 439 yards!), it would appear the big guy’s back, which he injured ahead of the Masters, forcing him to withdraw, is no longer a problem. And after closing the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with 68-66 over the weekend, DJ told reporters at Quail Hollow that he was “finally coming back into [pre-Augusta] form.” That’s bad news for the rest of the field, especially with the world No. 1 predicting “a very good week” for himself. Save time and just etch his name on the Wanamaker now since the 2016 U.S. Open champ will cruise to a 15-under winning score (says this Golfstradamus who’s 0-for-2017 so far).

Brendan: I have come to make the chalkiest chalkity chalk pick I think I've ever delivered in this space in some five years of doing these. I've been making fun of all the people who drone on about Rory McIlroy having this great track record here and the advantage he's got at Quail Hollow, as if it's breaking news or some key insight. I've looked for other options. But I'm not comfortable with one and it would be a dereliction of duty just to pick a different winner when I truly love the Rory pick. So I'm adding to the chorus, jumping on the bandwagon, whatever terrible cliche you want to use.

His length off the tee is an enormous advantage and like Spieth at Augusta, things just happen for him here. He loves the place so much that the other parts of his game that have been weaknesses — approach shots, putting — actually get better too, creating a deadly combo with that driver. It just clicks and he gets super aggressive. It feels like picking the Warriors to win the NBA title or the Patriots to win the AFC East, which is an absurd comparison to make in a fickle game like golf with 156 players in the field. But the choice is Rory McIlroy (at 12-under).

Kyle: Brendan’s talking about me. That’s me. I’m the idiot droning on and on about how obvious it is that Rory’s going to win this golf tournament. I’ve literally been doing it for years. This is the place he broke out, the place he loves, the place he’s dominated. He’s rounding into form. We’re overdue for a Rory major. Check. Check. Check. This seems too obvious. Anointing any one player as an overwhelming favorite to win any one event fails to understand how golf -- and math -- works. I’m going to do it anyway. Rory will win this golf tournament. It will be fun and awesome.

Keep in mind: I’m almost always violently wrong about everything, so we’re probably due for, like, a Grayson Murray win this week. So help us all.

[satinnet8-blog]

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (Blu-ray) : DVD Talk Review of the Blu-ray

In 1997, Director Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers hit the big screen with all signs that it would be a huge theatrical hit. With great special effects, attractive young actors, and Verhoeven's satirical take on militarism, the movie was an instant favorite with many viewers. Sadly, that wasn't enough. A harsh critical reaction and backlash to the movie quickly sunk any lasting box office power it may have had. After a strong opening weekend, the film sank like a rock and while it didn't do poorly enough to qualify as a "bomb" for the studio (TriStar Pictures), it certainly was considered one of that Fall's bigger theatrical disappointments. A theatrical sequel was never in the cards for this franchise, but that didn't mean that Columbia/TriStar (and eventually Sony under their Stage 6 Films banner) haven't tried their best in the direct-to-home-video market. Two live-action sequels came first, followed by two animated movies, of which Traitor of Mars is the second.

I haven't seen any of the other Starship Troopers sequels, so I have no idea whether this tale picks up on concepts introduced in the last animated movie (which this title's director, Shinji Aramaki, also helmed), but this does seem like a standalone story. I can only guess the last 20 years have been pretty rough on Johnny Rico (voiced by Casper Van Dien); not only has the dude lost an eye and scarred up his face since I've last seen him, but his animated form doesn't look anything like Casper Van Dien (he honestly looks more like Dylan McDermott). Anyway, it seems like Rico's military career is on the downswing. He's been assigned to train a group of young (and very "green") soldiers on Mars - a planet that is seemingly far away from the action and the war against the "bugs." Except that it's not.

We learn that there are thousands of the giant arachnids who have been hiding out ready to hatch below the planet's surface, and when they finally do, it's up to Rico to go into battle with his inexperienced troops. It's soon revealed there's a reason for the bug attack on Mars, as well as a reason for Rico having been assigned there in the first place, but honestly this movie's political maneuverings (involving a female sky marshal named Amy Snapp (voiced by Emily Neves)) are the least interesting part of the plot, even though it's the driving force behind everything we see. Still, it allows the return of two more characters from the original film: psychic Carl Jenkins and sky marshal Carmen Ibanez, although sadly neither of those characters are voiced by the original actors.

A character that appears that is voiced by the original actress is Dizzy Flores, as Dina Meyer is part of the cast here. Wait a minute, you may ask...didn't Dizzy die in the first movie? Yes, she did - so figuring out her role here won't be all that difficult. The scenes between Dizzy and Rico add a little fun to the movie, but ultimately are the only selling point, as not much else of consequence really happens, unless you like to watch lots of explosions and deaths (both of the human and bug variety).

What I can't figure out is with the chance to have Casper and Dina back and with a release that is marking this film's 20th anniversary, why are the stakes here so seemingly small? It's animation - you can take these characters and events anywhere you want with no worries about how it's going to be shot since your only limitation is the animators' (and scriptwriter Ed Neumeier's) imagination. Yet, the movie feels like little more than another chapter in a story that hasn't been expanded on in two decades and lacks both the punch and the parody of Paul Verhoeven's original movie.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars battles its way onto Blu-ray inside a standard keepcase from Sony (the type with a flap on the side you need to lift to open the case). A slipcover matching the artwork of the case slides overtop. The 50GB disc is front-loaded with trailers for Resident Evil: Vendetta, S.W.A.T.: Under Siege, Sniper: Ultimate Kill, Kill 'Em All, Life and Starship Troopers: Invasion. The main menu is a still from the movie featuring Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer's animated characters with menu selection horizontally across the bottom of the screen.

The Blu-ray in this release is region-free.

This is a computer-animated direct-to-home-video release that is presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Given that the images here were digitally created, one would suspect that the picture is crystal clear and the colors really pop, right? Wrong. For whatever STARSHIP TROOPERS: TRAITOR OF MARS Blu-Ray Review: Welcome Back, Johnny Rico , the animators have opted for a dark and often very flat look to the action here - which seems to have been a complaint for the prior animated movie in this series as well.

The image here suffers from some noticeable banding and aliasing - both of which are most certainly due to the animation style rather than the actual transfer. The biggest surprise is the muted colors. I understand this is supposed to be a sci-fi war movie, but does everything have to be so dark and dismal looking? The animation isn't much better (and one could argue worse) that most cut sequences in many video games. Lip movements don't match up well with the spoken word...and that's when you can actually see faces. The creators (as they did in the prior animated movie) have helmets over the top of heads in many of the action scenes - which, of course, means they didn't have to worry about articulating faces for many scenes.

I've only seen the trailer for Starship Troopers: Invasion, but it looks like - even with a five-year gap between the two movies - the quality of the animation has stayed pretty much the same. This is a rather "meh" presentation.

The featured audio here is an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and it's decent for what it is, although it doesn't exactly pack the "oomph" you'd hear in the same kind of track for a live-action Hollywood release. There's some directionality here, and the dialogue is certainly crisp enough. However, LFE use isn't Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (Blu-ray) : DVD Talk Review of the Blu-ray and rumbling as I would have hoped, meaning the gun blasts and explosions lack weight to them. While the track is certainly active, I'm not sure it's all that impressive.

Believe it or not, Sony actually released this movie on Ultra 4K, and that release of this title actually has an Atmos track. Given what we get here, I wonder if that rendering is equally disappointing...and if the 4K has Atmos, why weren't fans given at least a 7.1 track with this release?

In addition to the 5.1 lossless English track, there's also a French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, as well as a lossy 5.1 Spanish track. Subtitles are available in English SDH, English, French, and Spanish.