#cardona family

[weareallfruits]

DO NOT GIVE UP ON SAVING PALESTINE!!! I know not everyone can donate as much or at all & that’s not your fault (I’m unemployed myself so I can’t contribute as much as I want). There are ways to help with just your time, though.

Songs by artists from Palestine & from Congo

THE DAILY CLICKS!!

USE THE TIKTOK FILTERS (still works if you post privately)

If you can donate:

[eretzyisrael]

By Abigail Shrier

In August, the second largest teachers union chapter in the country—there are more than 35,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles—met at the Bonaventure Hotel in L.A. to discuss, among other things, how to turn their K-12 students against Israel. In front of a PowerPoint that read, “How to be a teacher & an organizer. . . and NOT get fired,” history teacher Ron Gochez elaborated on stealth methods for indoctrinating students.

But how to transport busloads of kids to an anti-Israel rally, during the school day, without arousing suspicion? 

“A lot of us that have been to those [protest] actions have brought our students. Now I don’t take the students in my personal car,” Gochez told the crowd. Then, referring to the Los Angeles Unified School District, he explained: “I have members of our organization who are not LAUSD employees. They take those students and I just happen to be at the same place and the same time with them.”

Gochez was just getting warmed up. “It’s like tomorrow I go to church and some of my students are at the church. ‘Oh, wow! Hey, how you doing?’ We just happen to be at the same place at the same time, and look! We just happen to be at a pro-Palestine action, same place, same time.”

The crowd burst into approving laughter.

Seated at a keffiyeh-draped table, Gochez said, “Some of the things that we can do as teachers is to organize. We just have to be really intelligent on how we do that. We have to know that we’re under the microscope. We have to know that Zionists and others are going to try to catch us in any way that they can to get us into trouble.” He continued: “If you organize students, it’s at your own risk, but I think it’s something that’s necessary we have to do.” He told the audience of educators that he once caught a “Zionist teacher” looking through his files. Gochez warned the crowd to be wary of “admin trying to be all chummy with you. You got to be very careful with that, even sometimes our own students.”

John Adams Middle School teacher and panelist William Shattuc agreed, a keffiyeh around his neck. “We know that good history education is political education. And when we are coming up against political movements, like the movement for Zionism, that we disagree with, that we’re in conflict with—they [Zionists] have their own form of political education and they employ their own tools of censorship.”

What are the “tools of censorship” employed by Zionists? Apparently, they include accusing teachers who rail against Israel in the classroom of antisemitism.

“They try to say antisemitism, which is really ridiculous, right?” said Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona, ethnic studies teacher at Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles. Cardona recently received a National Education Association Foundation Award for excellence in teaching. “What they do is they conflate. Part of that is by putting the star on their flag,” Cardona said, referring to the Jewish Star of David. “Religion has nothing to do with it.”

But, she insists, that the course she teaches, and whose curriculum she helped develop—ethnic studies—is fundamentally incompatible with supporting Israel. “ ‘Are you pro-Israel—are you for genocide?’ And if anybody were to say, ‘Okay, sure,’ that’s really not ethnic studies.” (Gochez, Shattuc, and Cardona did not return requests for comment.)

It’s tempting to dismiss this as one more bull session among radical teachers leading a far-left public-sector union. If only. 

Four years ago, I was among the first journalists to expose the widespread incursion of gender ideology into our schools. Once-fringe beliefs about gender swiftly took over large swaths of society partly thanks to their inclusion in school curricula and lessons.

____

____

Jewish families reported incidents like this one:

An Israeli American girl walked into her first period French class at Cupertino High School to find that many of the other students and the teacher were wearing a Palestinian flag or keffiyeh in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, on the occasion of the Middle Eastern club’s pro-Palestine day. The club handed out a map of Israel labeled only as “Palestine.” 

In another incident, a 12-year-old middle school student at a charter school in San Jose arrived visibly upset on the first school day following the October 7 Hamas massacre. According to a complaint against the school district later filed by her parents in federal district court, the girl had close family members in Israel whose whereabouts were unknown. The girl asked her world history teacher if she could go to the bathroom to collect herself. 

The history classroom “was decorated with maps of the modern Middle East in which Israel was erased.” The history teacher knew the girl was Israeli American because she had identified herself as such at the start of the year during an icebreaker exercise. He told her she could not go “until she read aloud to the entire class a passage he had selected to the effect that in the past, Palestinians and Jews had gotten along,” according to the complaint. “The requirement to publicly espouse a position that was at odds with present reality was overwhelmingly oppressive and humiliating.” She read the passage aloud, as directed. The next day at lunch, two female classmates wearing hijabs approached her, according to the complaint, “and demanded ‘What do your people think about the conflict?’ ” When the girl tried to answer, they screamed, “You’re lying—Jews are terrorists.” One demanded: “Do you know that your family in Israel is living on stolen land?” 

A few days later, two boys chased her around the school yelling, “We want you to die.” Kids began to refer to her as “Jew.” They would say, “Hi, Jew” or “Hey Jew.” If she protested, they said they thought it was funny.

The rest of the kids isolated and ignored her when they weren’t whispering about her, the complaint alleges. She lost all but one friend. Her parents met several times with school faculty; according to the complaint, they did nothing to ensure her safety or improve the girl’s situation.

A Jewish ninth grader, “Sam,” attends a Bay Area high school where, after October 7 of last year, posters declaring, “Ceasefire Now!” and “Free Palestine” began appearing on the walls. Because Sam’s family considers itself very progressive, Sam was not bothered by the posters.

Then one of Sam’s friends sent him a long diatribe that read in part (spelling from the original), “I would just like to say that u are an ignorant ass white ass privileged boy u are so privileged to not b one of those children being killed rn in Gaza…solidarity and indigenous solidarity is something you could never understand as you have grown up your whole life with no culture and money and you been brainwashed by isreali and western media the world stands with Palestine and frankly it’s embarrassing to be anything different, when mostly all people of color stand with Palestine and you stand with ISREAL, that’s how yk ur in the wrong bud oppressed people stand with oppressed people in solidarity SOMETHING YOU COULDD NEVER UNDERSTAND.” The text concluded: “FREE PALESTINE TILL ITS BACKWARDS BITCH!!!!” 

I spoke to Sam’s mother, and her perception was that the message didn’t sound like her son’s friend. The jargon and gist appeared to come from adults. Only the self-righteous fury and the message’s abusive conclusion belonged to the boy.

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

When They Were Fans: When Wrestlers Were Fans Part 4

Hey everyone ! I am back with Part 4 of my article series about when our favorite wrestlers were just like us , fans. If you have not read Parts 1-3 go check them out !

‘ The Tribal Chief ’ Roman Reigns with Macho Man Randy Savage , Miss Elizabeth, Hulk Hogan and posing with a cut out of Trish Stratus. Roman grew up around the wrestling business with his father, Sika , and uncle , Afa , being in the WWE as The Wild Samoans. He got to meet a few of his childhood heroes if he attend shows. With wrestling being in his Bloodline , Reigns was trained by his father to wrestle.

Noam Dar and Drew McIntyre. Noam said that Drew came to his high school for a charity wrestling match against his one of his teachers. Dar was 13 years old at the time. He also got the chance to meet and thought he was a superhuman. However , when McIntyre returned to Scotland in 2014 , Dar got the chance to travel with him and even face him in the ring. In a match in Insane Championship Wrestling , Drew kicked Noam off of a balcony. Dar describes the future Hall of Famer as one of his favorite opponents and a good friend.

Brian Myers with Triple H , Kurt Angle , and Jerry ‘ The King ’ Lawler . Being a lifelong wrestling fan and getting to meet his heroes , Myers started training in 2004 alongside tag team partner and close friend , Matt Cardona. Both wrestled for WWE until being released. Myers is currently signed to TNA and Cardona is with GCW. Both are hosts of the popular podcast , The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.

Damian Priest and The Undertaker. Priest said that he was a huge fan of The Deadman growing up as well as the late , Pedro Morales and Razor Ramon ( Scott Hall ) . At Wrestlemania XL after winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Priest was congratulated by his childhood hero in front of his family and Judgement Day teammates.

Zelina Vega and Jeff Hardy. During a WWE show in North Carolina, Zelina decided to do a tribute to her favorite wrestler. She decided to do a Twist As Fate which is Jeff’s signature move into her match against Bayley. After doing this , she sent a message on her X account to Jeff and his brother , Matt, by saying that she had nothing but love for them.

Liv Morgan with John Cena . The WWE Women’s World Championship has stated that she had a huge crush on Cena as a kid. She also says that Cena was one of her biggest influences as a wrestler. She even took part in the photo shoot to celebrate Cena’s 20 year anniversary in WWE alongside Austin Theory , R-Truth , and Carmella.

My Final Thoughts:

I absolutely love hearing the stories of our favorite wrestlers being fans of other wrestlers and getting to work with them. It makes me happy. I especially loved the story Noam Dar told about Drew McIntyre.

Love You All,

- Kay

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Erin's Crew

Back from the battlefield

About a week earlier. It was the afternoon when the last team arrived safely back at the Mesa Valley military base after their mission. After the ageing helicopter had landed and the swirling desert sand had settled back on the ground, the passengers were finally able to disembark. And one of them was in a particular hurry…. “Hey, where are you going, Diego?”.

“Damn, I've had to piss for half an hour and I don't feel like flying with this thing anymore…"/ ‘We could have landed somewhere on the way…’/ ”No way, then we wouldn't have come back. I'm not putting another foot in there, the general should finally take care of a new heli, … damn it, I'm going to wet my shorts!.”.

“I don't understand what's wrong with him. The old lady's still in good shape…"/ ‘Well, she's a bit rattly, but she certainly got us back here safely…’/ ‘If she's serviced properly after every flight and you strengthen the weak points, she'll last a few more times. he's just putting on an unnecessary show, hnhn’/ ‘Do you still trust him as a pilot, Colonel Kennedy?’/ ‘Sure, and as you say, Lieutenant Shearing, he's just putting on an act’.

Mesa Valley is a town that was built in the middle of the desert. Once upon a time, people were still searching for valuable natural resources here, but today the mines have been closed down. But the town is not abandoned, some people have settled here. The military has also set up a base here. “I have to take a shower now,” said Lieutenant Roman Cardona in an annoyed tone.

While some of them are in the shower, rinsing the dust and dirt from their last assignment from their bodies, the others look around a little. Especially the youngest member of the team, Peter Lee. “Little has changed here in the last three months… OK, the picture there is new… Where are the others?"/ ”Most of them are on vacation now. And you can go back to your families in a few days too.”

Peter got a happy smile on his face. “I can't wait to see my mother again either. She'll probably be bursting with pride"/ ”You've really done very well as a newcomer here, Mr. Lee. I'll write my recommendation in the report"/ ‘Thank you very much, Colonel’. Erin gave him a friendly nod and a slight smile. “Mhm. Now everyone get some rest.”

echoing water splashing “Hey, Diego, don't forget to wash your cock, otherwise she might not let you touch her again”. Diego hesitated for a moment until he said something. “huh, what are you talking about?"/ ‘hehe, come on now, I've seen you and everyone else has noticed by now…’/ ‘Don't talk nonsense, there's nothing going on…’.

Roman stepped out of the shower soaking wet. “pah, my ass. Hey, I get you, she's really hot, but she's definitely too dominant for me"/ ”too dominant? And what are you? You've been tried to get laid the Muslim women there for the last three months…", Diego said in a loud, admonishing voice. / ‘And I've gotten into a fight or two in the process, yeah, yeah… They started flirting first’. Roman tried to talk his way out of it.

Diego had also finished showering and stepped out of the damp cubicle. “That's nonsense, and you know it. Every time you went to the market you couldn't keep your hands to yourself. It was clear that the men there would be annoyed at some point…”. Roman put on an indifferent look and grinned with just one corner of his mouth. “Pff, what the hell, everything's back to normal at home…"/ ‘Yes, you can spend your money on the brothel again…’ Diego said ironically.

Meanwhile… If there was one thing Erin didn't like about her job, it was the paperwork. Everyone on the team was required to write a report during their deployment, but she took the work off her teammates today so they could recover after the long deployment. All she had to do was summarize everything. “OK, I'll do that first then…”.

Everyone handed in their reports to Erin. After all, she was present at almost every action that took place during the mission. So no reports were falsified. And if something was missing, she would ask… “Who had the stupid idea of putting the basketball hoop right in front of the window here? What if the ball goes through the window? Oh boy…”… Diege knew that it was actually unnecessary to worry about it.

He deliberately remained standing in front of the window for a moment, secretly hoping that she would notice him. . But he knew it was pointless at that moment, because once she was focused on something, no matter how exhausted she was, she couldn't be distracted by anything else. “Hey, do you want to shoot some hoops, Diego?“ / „No…“. To distract himself a little, he took over cooking dinner for the evening. Normally they had a housekeeper on staff for this. But it was her day off today.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

@greenplumbboblover ⭐

Note: I hope you enjoyed the start of the "helpers" flashback. I used some of @pancakebobs base sims for this team.

https://www.tumblr.com/pancakebobs/766138804601012224/roman-georgina-chloe-peter-alexander?source=share

(Roman, Chloe & Peter) I just thought they would fit🙂 thanks for the great sims.🤗 Diego was created by myself.😏👀😊

The military base was built by my dear friend @liesemietze . You can download it from the Exchange here:

[kingdomofmatanzas]

Last night, the Royal Palace of Matanzas was ablaze with enchantment as Her Royal Majesty, Queen Chelsea, and King Consort Sidaurther hosted an opulent engagement dinner in honor of Prince Ariel and his fiancée, Chiara Cardona. Among the distinguished attendees were Prime Minister and First Lord of Magic, Sir August Taboada, alongside other esteemed high ranking members of the royal family. The evening effortlessly fused politics, magic, and royalty, offering a glimpse into the kingdom’s prosperous future with the royal couple at its heart.

Queen Chelsea, Queen Mother Elizabeth and Chiara Cardona captivated the crowd in traditional Matanzas attire. Their elegant ensembles, featuring the kingdom’s signature colors of green, gold, and black, paid tribute to Matanzas’ rich heritage. Chiara choose a black and gold gown represented the strength and unity of the royal family as she prepares to embrace her new role.

The night was made even more magical by the official announcement of Chiara’s forthcoming title as Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Cienfuegos, which she will assume upon her marriage to Prince Ariel. Chiara, beaming with gratitude, expressed her excitement for the future, sharing her dedication to continue championing causes dear to her, with the guidance of Queen Chelsea and the royal family.

Adding to her regal appearance, Chiara wore a newly gifted tiara, La Diadema del Alba, a delicate piece adorned with pearls and diamonds. The tiara, which has been named in honor of the rising dawn, symbolizes new beginnings and Chiara’s upcoming role in the royal family. It is rumored that she will also wear this exquisite tiara for her highly anticipated nuptials, solidifying it as a cherished heirloom of the royal lineage. With its Matanzas influences, La Diadema del Alba represents both elegance and promise, perfectly complementing Chiara’s graceful entry into royalty.

Prime Minister Sir August Taboada, a pivotal figure in both the magical and political realms, graced the event, highlighting the unity between the royal family and the magical government. His presence further strengthened the kingdom’s ties as it moves forward with a vision of unity and growth.

[judgmentjay]

pstpstpst. this is an ooc plot call...

for the following: fallon henley, matt cardona and my oc, dylan (the reluctant daughter of steve austin)*. love all the plots, many plots. my girls are bisexual sooo i’d love something as far as that goes! exes? crushes? fwb gone wrong? oh my! as far as matt… iykyk (he is straight and also a pain in the ass). like this and i will come to you after work. <3

*would love another daughter or sib to join!!! he has even an adopted child so we can make anything work. love family plots!!

[townieandy]

🐎 HANKERING FOR HARPER | A HORSE RANCH-INSPIRED BACHELOR CHALLENGE

Meet Harper Cardona, SimsBC TV's first cowboy Bachelor. Even with his slightly rugged exterior, Harper has a kind soul and a heart of gold ready to be won. Will you be the one?

Age: thirty-two (32)

Pronouns: he/they

Sexuality: bisexual

Traits: rancher, self-assured, loves outdoors

The second-oldest of four, Harper has lived on his family's ranch for all of his life, learning the ins-and-outs of living off the land and appreciating the hardships that come with it. While his other siblings got older and moved away from the country life, Harper was the one to stay, holding down the fort with his father until his old man got too old to take care of the rolling acres.

Although Harper loves the ranch life, it can be quite lonely with no so-called "dating life" to speak of with your neighbors living miles apart from each other. This cowboy is looking for someone who appreciates the rougher, more hands-on part of life and who he could possibly ride off into the sunset with. Could you be that someone?

Likes: long walks on the ranch, horses, grilling, stargazing, playing guitar, blues, iced tea, freckles, horseback riding

Dislikes: sci-fi movies, flying, clowns, being late, laziness, snakes, closed spaces, cold weather, loud noises

Fun Facts:

Comes from a long line of ranchers and inherited his ranch from his father

Has an American Standardbred named "Lady"

Is deathly afraid of flying and airplanes

Is completely tone deaf but loves singing while playing his guitar

okay, okay, first off and foremost, big shout out to wrixie whose bachelorette challenges are a huge inspiration to me and also inspired the formatting of the images above.

also, i will be mostly following the base rules with some extra touches to suit my gameplay preferences, and Harper's attractiveness preferences will be randomized when i officially begin the challenge.

🐎 Contestant Entry Guidelines:

Must be young-adult or adult.

Only humans are allowed. (sorry my occult baddies)

Must have at least one negative trait.

i. Cannot have the romantic trait.

Can be any gender.

Skills do matter.

i. You have ten points to distribute to skills (ex: level 5 in cooking, level 2 in dancing, level 3 in video gaming).

ii. Don't worry about going into the game to add these skills, just list them in the description of your entry.

Should have likes and dislikes.

Maxis-match or CC-free.

Must be comfortable to changes of eye and skinblend defaults as well as outfits.

Tag me @townieandy or use #harpersBC to make sure I see your entry. Also please ask if you have any questions!

🐎 CONTESTANTS

1. Taken

2. Taken

3. Taken

4. Taken

5. Taken

6.

7.

DEADLINE: UNTIL I GET 7 SIMS

[ukfrislandembassy]

Reading academic literature on languages of the Indian subcontinent is something of an experience. Some of it I think is simple culture shock, some of it is probably an effect of differences between British English(es) and Indian English(es), and some of it is clearly a holdover from colonial ideas.

Like on the one hand you'll find a paper that is about e.g. contact effects of Bangla on a Munda language, one published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages no less, but then it turns out the abstract is entirely muddled and the article itself contains prose like this:

"Though Koda is a Munda language yet the name Koda is recognised as an Indo-Aryan word which is related to digging. The main occupation of the Koda community is to dig land. They generally specialise in earthdigging." (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344713421_Effect_of_Bangla_on_Koda_verbs)

Then you get the stuff which is not wrong or even necessarily badly written but does have a noticeable Aryan-chauvinist bias, such as this passage on the history of Assamese:

"Therefore, by the seventh century AD the kingdom of Bhaskara Varma, which extended to a considerable part of Bengal in those days, must have been populated by a large number of Aryans, who, by virtue of their superiority, spread their language among the aboriginal people speaking non-Aryan languages. The native population gave up their undeveloped and unwritten languages in favour of a much more developed Aryan tongue." (from The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cardona & Jain 2003, published by Routledge).

It's not like this isn't something I can deal with, it's just that it's seems a bit weird to someone coming from an academic culture where the assumption is you speak impartially about the languages you are discussing, and has generally abandoned notions such as 'developed languages' as unhelpful. Though of course it an older form of western academic is of course a key component in the history of 'Aryan' as a concept; when Indo-European became established as a family and Sanskrit a key language for it suddenly became interesting to people who had, ahem, certain views about how humans should be divided into groups. And some of that still is carried over to today (see also the Out of India theory for the Indo-European homeland, something which basically nobody outside of India supports).

[sithwitch13]

AEW Dynamite 12/11/24

Okay, starting late on account of dinner and errands

HELLO RING FULL OF HANDSOME MEN

Every torso involved in this tag match is beautiful

Christian and his weird little cult family delight me. As does Nigel's admiration for him.

Hangman, you're not even in this match

Please stop punching Orange, he is a good boy

Oops lol

BANDIDO ON A HORSE

Claudio please turn the other way so I can see what the other Purity Seals say

HOOK

Hook says "no swearing"

"I know he's the Patriarch, but he's not Father Christmas, he can't fly!"

Did they Ospreay straighten his hair?

For a second I was absolutely convinced that Claudio had hooves. I'm completely sober right now, idk

That suit on Ricochet makes me think he wants to sell me a car

Hi MJF. Hi MJF's butt.

CARDONA AND BRYAN KEITH ON FRIDAY

Let's go baby seal Kyle!

Booooo

I would like to imagine the Conglomeration sleeping in a puppy pile to comfort Orange and Kyle.

If FTR join the Death Riders, I may be persuaded to care. Perhaps. Depending.

BRYAN KEITH.

Darby, you absolute weirdo.

Yesss tank vs rogue, top 5 dynamics

Not mad at a Ricochet win, but also I'm so happy at the love for Brody

LOL THE SPIKY COATS

Yeah, I'm sure Top Flight are fine

"You hurt people? I KILL people." I love you, Swerve.

I really like Mercedes' coat. It looks like it was made of muppet fur. I kind of want to make one.

MINA VS MARIAH YESSS

Thunder Rosa!

Excalibur wondering who is the true light of Nigel's life, Christian or Mariah, like Nigel doesn't have two hands

TONI!!!! OG FLAVOR!

[empirearchives]

Caroline Bonaparte rumored to be the model for La Grande Odalisque

[La Grande Odalisque, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1814. Commissioned by Caroline Bonaparte, Napoleon’s youngest sister]

Excerpt from Ingres: Painting Reimagined, by Susan L. Siegfried

The Grande Odalisque exploited the balance between ideal figures and portraits in its artistic models and pushed that equilibrium to the limit. It was easily destablized by the directness of the odalisque’s gaze, even though the face was an idealized Raphaelesque type. Indeed, Ingres was unable to control rumors that he had portrayed Caroline Murat in the Grande Odalisque […]

The rumors were hardly surprising. Caroline Murat’s kinship with Pauline Borghese must have incited speculation, especially among enemies of the Bonapartes in Italy, about the Bonaparte women’s taste for disguised portraits of themselves in the nude.

[Pauline Bonaparte as Venus, by Canova]

Moreover, in the eighteenth century the king’s mistresses used to commission portraits of themselves in the guise of sultanas, as did Madame de Pompadour in A Sultana Drinking Coffee by Carle Van Loo (1752, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), so there was precedent for thinking that a “parvenu princess,” if not a mistress, may have followed suit. […]

Another ornament with a story behind it is the large and distinctively coiled bracelet worn by the Grande Odalisque. This bracelet closely imitates one in Giulio Romano and Raphael's portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens i Enriquez de Cardona-Anglesola, known in the early nineteenth century as Raphael's portrait of Jeanne d'Aragon. Vasari identified the sitter as the vice-queen of Naples, and Ingres would easily have made the connection to the new queen of Naples, Caroline Murat.

He owned an engraving of the portrait, and he was also thinking about portrait painting at the time, since the occasion for his visit to the Royal Palace of Naples was portrait commissions of the Murat family. To identify Caroline Murat by means of a bracelet may seem obscure, and that is perhaps the case. However, Ingres’s study of ancient costume had taught him that particular articles of clothing were invested with meaning: for example, he had traced the entire history of ownership of the necklace of Eriphile, a work of Vulcan that was passed on by Venus and had dire consequences for whoever owned it.

[bclletragedie]

                                  @warystares

LOCATION: gravity nightclub. FOR: angel cardona.

𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐊 to absolutely no one that on her nights off -- veronica could be found dancing the night away at gravity. like most of new york city, shaking off the stresses of the week was an activity she welcomed with open arms. add the drinks, the drugs, and the prospect of spending the night with worthy company -- count her in. but, the cherry on top of the already decadent cake? it came whenever her eyes fell on her best friend, her angel. confidence aside ( it was anything but a facade ), veronica held a particular softness for angel -- and it certainly didn't just come from running with the same crew. something in her felt tied to them... to be frank, she would kill for her. without hesitation, without a second thought.

while veronica was as ruthless as they came ( her time with the jade tribe only being able to recieve minimal credit for that ), angel was the closest thing she had ever had to true family. just pure, genuine love. no need to hold her knife behind her back, no need to watch her back. for she was watching angels, and angel was watching hers.

" i should have known it was you over there.. you look like a fucking disco ball, honey! " veronica laughs, standing from her booth with a hand outstretched to take the other's. the smile on her face is not forced, practiced for the next potential suitor -- it's all genuine. " god -- you look radiant! where the hell did you get this little number? if it goes missing from your closet in the next couple weeks -- you'll know exactly where it is. mine. "

[know4life]

Juneteenth Freedom Forum

What is Black Culture? "Reestablishing the Black Family"

Streamed LIVE June 18th at 4p at www.youtube.com/know4life and www.facebook.com/know4life

Myla Cardona-Jones, CEO

Brunner Literacy Center @brunnerliteracycenter

Adjunct Professor, Sinclair College

mcardona-jones@brunnerliteracy.org

937.567.9600

https://www.brunnerliteracy.org/

Brief Bio: Myla Cardona-Jones is the Chief Executive Officer of the Brunner Literacy Center and Adjunct Professor in the Advanced Job Training program at Sinclair College. Myla is also a founding member of Eradicate Racism and a certified DEI consultant. She partners with several local nonprofits in the community and focuses in the areas of race and the law, deib, leadership, women, and the development of underserved/under-resourced communities. @myla.cardonajones

[warystares]

FULL NAME angel amadis cardona NICKNAME(S) angelbaby GENDER / PRONOUNS genderfluid / any pronouns AGE/ BIRTHDAY thirty-one / october 23rd OCCUPATION dancer + dealer AFFILIATION / ROLE jade tribe / soldier ORIENTATION / STATUS pansexual / single STRENGTHS charismatic + amorous + resourceful WEAKNESSES narcissistic + incendiary + entitled

HISTORY.

tw vaguely implied homophobia + drug use !

let there be no mistake ― angel cardona is a STAR ; fiery, compelling, easily the FIERCEST force of the universe to be reckoned with. ALL-CONSUMING. from the moment they're born, angel craves ― nay, DEMANDS ― the attention & affections of every stranger BLESSED enough to experience them. if their presence alone is not enough to catch at least a DOZEN curious gazes, then they'll ensure their personality COMMANDS it. as a child, angel hungers for PRAISE ; they're s t a r v e d for it, really ! and not for any real LACK, either. the cardona family is LARGE and while angel might be CURSED middle child of SEVEN, it couldn't be said they weren't close growing up. ( being POOR AS FUCK tends to force your hand in that respect ; privacy is a foreign concept when there are four of you to a bedroom. ) she always had someone to whine to, someone to hold a CAPTIVE AUDIENCE for yet another midnight improv performance. it's only that angel is INSATIABLE. she could have all eyes in the room on her and still want MORE.

and to angel's credit, the big happy family FACADE ― that hallmark movie shit, ❛ we may not have a lot but we have e a c h o t h e r and that's ENOUGH ❜ type deal ― it doesn't last forever. NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. trust when angel says he's lived long enough to learn that the HARD way. ( why the fuck can't they get anyone to love them forever, huh ? the way they want to be loved ? TRAGIC. ) he's fifteen when he lands on the STREETS with little more than a duffel bag & A DREAM. if you think that's CORNY, keep it to yourself ― do you know how LONG it took him to be able to romanticize this ? getting KICKED OUT before he can even drive ! losing everything ! and anyway, whether he recalls it as a GORGEOUS CROSSROADS or the CRUEL BETRAYAL OF BLOOD that it is, it's fine. truly, it is. because the cardinal rule of any IT GIRL is the same : beauty is suffering. it's PAIN. and honey, angel know what it is to SUFFER.

no matter how many friends angel might claim in HIGH PLACES, let it be said that there is nothing glamorous about COUCH-SURFING. a few years are lost to a CRISIS OF IDENTITY ― so neatly hidden behind an air of UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE, the same they've always CLUNG to. they'll insist that they're OKAY, that this is little more than an adventure. AN OPPORTUNITY. at first, it proves little more than an opportunity to S P I R A L ; every night a chance for a new SUBSTANCE, a new STRANGER, a new way to reach true, blissful DISTRACTION. from what ? the parents, the siblings that still live on on WITHOUT them ? the countless classes & auditions ― WASTED for not a single callback ? it doesn't take long for such an ERRATIC path to lead angel straight to DANGER ; it's almost as if they have a TASTE for it. they're DRAWN to it.

it's no surprise, then when angel finds herself swiftly lured into the arms of THE JADE TRIBE, is it ? rock bottom is WELL within sight and she's SCARED ; ALONE, even for all the faces she surrounds herself with day & night. ( it seems an IMPOSSIBLE thought ! ) she yearns for the familiar SECURITY ( and attention... and comfort... and... and... !! ) of a FAMILY. and for some reason, she's gotten it into her PRETTY LITTLE HEAD that she can find that in a world of CRIME. ( she thinks she's UNTOUCHABLE is what it is ― MAIN CHARACTER SYNDROME, maybe. but deservedly so ! angel IS the main character, and GOOD LUCK trying to convince her otherwise. ) when she starts DANCING to try and save enough for a place of her OWN, she quickly discovers how incredibly EASY it is to use her a l l u r e at the club to convince guests & strangers to sample the jade tribe's products.

and the best part ? all of these PILLS & POTIONS angel puts on offer keep them a HOT COMMODITY ; they're IN D E M A N D ! sleazes & scoundrels alike ― whether they come for the DRUGS and become m e s m e r i z e d by the undulation of hips under the PULSE of a strobe light, or VICE VERSA ― are drawn to angel like a flurry of moths to a perfectly-manicured FLAME. they use their wiles to line their pockets, maxing out withdrawals on the DEEPEST of wallets with dark d o e eyes and a PROVOCATIVE grin. she does WELL for herself, too, learned over the years what keeps ATTENTION on her. what the people want to see. and no, it may not be BROADWAY or THE SILVER SCREEN, but angel's still got an audience of adoring fans five nights out of the week. and in the grand scheme of things ? that's not the WORST she could do.

( she just knows in her heart, even now : she is destined for BETTER. )

CONNECTIONS.

to be added soon !

[jules-has-notes]

2013 VoicePlay spring tour roundup

VoicePlay's spring 2013 tour was shorter than their previous fall tour – just five weeks – and mostly stuck to the southeastern part of the country, but that didn't stop them from packing in the fun. They made up the concert postponed by Hurricane Sandy, visited family and friends along the way, and documented a lot of their downtime on social media. Some of the guys were particularly excited about a new short-form video platform called Vine.

Showtimes:

They started close to home with a student workshop and a concert in Lake City, FL.

Geoff and Eli got up early to chat with the local access morning show folks in Cullman, AL and promote their concert that evening.

Some venues have extensive backstage areas with unexpected benefits.

Some… not so much.

No matter what, though, there's always some waiting involved.

Which can be alleviated by creating your own silliness, or fended off by middle schooler screams (headphone warning).

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On the road:

The boys left a sticker on the giant sparkplug at the South of the Border tourist attraction in South Carolina, as is traditional.

Long drives might get tedious after a few weeks, but the scenery can be very pretty.

The aromas aren't always so nice, though, especially with six guys (and occasionally a dog) in the van. So if you've ever wondered what the VoicePlay fellas smell like, apparently sometimes it's "vanilla and moonlight".

The theater kids of a cappella enjoy a bit of dress-up wherever they can find it, even if that's in the toy department during a supply run on their day off.

Tony's adorable terrier Fletcher went along for the middle leg of the tour to El Paso.

The cuteness didn't stop the guys from getting goofy during the long stretches of driving or late night shopping excursions, though.

No trip through Texas is complete without a stop at a Buc-ee's for provisions. (Which prompted Eli to give a shoutout to former 4:2:Five member Matthew "Bucky" Buckner who's been making cameos recently.)

The boys popped home for a few days just in time to see Rachel Potter in concert (with friend and future VoicePlay collaborator EJ Cardona). Layne and his then-girlfriend got a little tipsy and silly.

Fewer shows on the tour might have been easier on their vocal cords, but it also meant more long stretches in the van between gigs. At least it had a video game setup.

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Feeding the beasts:

○ Earl doing restaurants' eating challenges continued to be A Thing.

Earl hot wing challenge (Layne's YouTube) The "blazin' challenge" at Buffalo Wild Wings (a dozen spicy wings in under 6 minutes) was no problem, even playing injured. He was awarded a t-shirt and the onlookers' respect.

(Eli's Vine) He polished off another 32-ounce steak at a Texas Roadhouse.

(Eli's Vine) A tex-mex plate and beer-rita on Cinco de Mayo was easy peasy. (Followed by much silliness from everyone.)

(VoicePlay's Twitter) He was only defeated by the 72-ounce steak at The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. He gave it a solid try, though.

○ This one's more of a not-eating-everything-at-once challenge, but when your percussionist's little sister is a professional baker, you've gotta visit and stock up for the road while you're in town.

○ Lunchtime ambience is important, no matter where you are.

○ It's good to acknowledge the fans, no matter how famous you get.

○ And sometimes you just need to share your thoughts with the world, no matter how banal. (That's what social media is for, after all.)

[elverdeshow]

Flashback to May, where Center Theatre Group presented a reading of "The Exoneration of El Maestro" by Anthony Aguilar & Alejandra Cisneros. Featuring Oscar T. Basulto, Raul Cardona, Cristina Fernandez, & Ramona Gonzales.

And we have exciting news! "The Exoneration of El Maestro" will return as part of the Los Angeles Libros Fest! It's all happening September 30, 2023 at 2pm at the Los Angeles Central Library auditorium. Be sure to arrive early for there will be plenty of events that will be fun for the whole family.

Register here.

(Photography by Cristi Burgos)

[kingdomofmatanzas]

The Royal Family of Matanzas have formally announced the engagement of Prince Ariel, The Duke of Bayamo and Ms.Chiara Cardona, The Minister of Commerce, with photos taken on the grounds of the Palace Del Sol Royal Gardens.

The engagement took place in September during a holiday to Covadonga for the couples 2 year anniversary. Prince Ariel and The Royal Family jeweler designed the ring together. The ring features a gorgeous 5-caret round center diamond surrounded by a cluster of 14 solitaire diamonds set in white gold.

The wedding will take place in the Spring of 2024 at Basilica de Santa Maria la Real de Bayamo with further details to be announced.