#club paradise 1986

[ariel-seagull-wings]

@amalthea9​ @professorlehnsherr-almashy​ @angelixgutz​ @the-blue-fairie​ @themousefromfantasyland​ @thealmightyemprex​ @scarletblumburtonofeastlondon​ 

Robin Williams in Club Paradise (1986)

[missanthropicprinciple]

Eugene Levy in Club Paradise (1986)

[radioactiveparker]

The Breakfast Club - Eddie Munson X F!Cheerleader!Reader

Part Five - Don't You Forget About Me

Chapter Summary - Secrets are told and feelings are finally shared, but will they change things for better or for worse? (A retelling of The Breakfast Club, written and directed by John Hughes.)

Chapter Warnings - Characters are all 18+ / Strong Language / Mentions of Abuse/ Abusive Relationship / Dysfunctional Families / References to Religious Beliefs / Sexual References / Stereotyping / Angst / Drug References / Use of Y/N

Word Count - 7.3k

A/N - There is a ridiculous amount of dialogue in this one so I apologise in advance if that isn't your thing xxx

(Series Masterlist) (Masterlist)

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five)

~~~~~

Saturday.

October 25th, 1986.

Hawkins High Library.

3:15pm

~~~~~

"How am I supposed to answer?"

"The idea is to search your mind for your limit, like... would you drive to school naked?"

You all sat in a loose circle back at the comfy chairs. Eddie had finally calmed down from his little self-pitied tantrum and finally decided that he would put his feelings on hold for now. Well, as best as he could. He could scream into his pillow all he wanted when he got back home. Although, that didn't stop any of his nervous jitters from making his heart pound when he so much as took a glance at you. He couldn't decided what was worse, sitting directly in front of you where he could constantly feel your gaze on him, or sitting beside you where he could accidently brush against you, and you could feel the beat of his heart thumping through his veins at every touch. He opted to sit opposite you.

"Would I have to get out of the car?" Steve asked, all serious like he was actually going to go to the school on Monday naked.

"Duh." Robin rolled her eyes.

"Winter or spring?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Nah, would you?"

"Me? No, I take the bus."

"I'd do just about anything for a million dollars, are you kidding!" Eddie gasped, like going to school naked was something he would do for free. "Have explosive diarrhoea for a month, chop off my pinkie finger - I'm sure I'll figure a way to still play guitar - sleep with an octogenarian..."

Steve would rather Eddie had kept his creative thoughts to himself. He winced in disgust at Eddie's artistic suggestions. "You keep talking like that, and you'll get sent to the nut house." 

He crossed his stretched-out legs in front of him and rested his hands behind his head as if he was on a sun lounger. His voice was airy like a daydream. "That'll be a nice change; cosy jackets, getting waited on by hot nurses. Sounds like paradise to me."

"You know, they'll probably shave your head too." You pointed.

That shut him up.

If only for a minute.

He smirked, propped himself back up, and leaned in towards you. His eyes magnetised to yours. Before when he looked at you his eyes were round and Bambi-like, dreamy even, but he is stare was strong and his eyes had a slight squint as if he was challenging you. "What would you do then, sweetheart?"

"I could go to school naked for a million bucks." You chimed, disguising your sudden urge to shrink away from him when all of the attention was on you.

You were almost always the centre of attention at school. You were the cheerleading Captain, after all. But that didn't mean that you liked it. It was easier somehow when it was everybody else, people you didn't know or care much about; their opinions didn't matter to you. But with this group of people, who you had shared a unique experience with, something changed in all of you. Whether you liked it or not, you all had some strange connection, and you were closer somehow. In just under eight hours, you had felt closer to these people than over two years of knowing your "real" friends.

"Isn't that like against religion?"

"What? No, only if it's sexual."

"So, are you a virgin?" Eddie's eyes lit up, eager for some juicy gossip. Or juicy ammunition to undoubtedly use against you at some point, you couldn't decide which one.

"Didn't we already cover this?"

"I don't know, sweetheart, I can't seem to recall you giving me an answer."

You scoffed, feeling yourself heat up with embarrassment and annoyance at how Eddie's behaviour towards you had suddenly changed. "I'm not going to discuss my private life with strangers."

"It's kind of a double-edged sword, isn't it?" Robin said almost sympathetically.

"A what?"

"If you say you haven't, you're a prude. If you say you have, you're a slut. It's a trap. You want to, but you can't. But then when you do you wish you didn't. Right?"

"Or are you a tease?" Steve interrupted with a smirk.

You frowned. "I'm not a tease."

"She's only a tease if what she does gets guys hot." Eddie nudged Steve with a grin.

"I don't do anything."  You defended.

"That's why you're a tease." 

He took himself back to earlier on when you were dancing, how enticing your moves were, the way would would unknowingly flash him with every quick spin, the perspiration gleaming off of you. He wondered if he could get you all hot and sweaty like that. He had imagined that you would let him, especially when you had barely resisted yourself against him when his head was between your legs. Now, he was just adding fuel to whatever burning desire he had for you. You were just so fucking hot, and you had no idea. You had no idea just what you did to him. 

And for that, he hated you. Even more so that you had confided to Nancy that you liked someone else. But he hated himself more for allowing himself to feel that way in the first place.

"I'm not having this conversation anymore." You scoffed. "You're bizarre."

"I mean, we're all pretty bizarre." Steve shrugged. "Some are just better at hiding it than others."

"How are you bizarre?"

"I can't think for myself. I just do what other people to tell me to do." He had been doing it all day, whether he knew it or not; he had played along when Eddie took the screw out of the door, he let you take the record from the teachers lounge, heck, he even convinced himself to get high just because you had told him to 'loosen up'.  "You know what I did to get in here?"

"You flew a practice." You recalled your conversation from earlier that day.

He shook his head, avoiding everyone's eyes as he frowned. His bottom lip quivered with guilt. "I just said that. I lied. It's so fucked-up, I had to lie."

"Did you lie about your coach and your father?"

"No, that's true." Steve's eyes looked wet. He took a breath like what he was about to say would change his life forever. "What I did was I taped Larry Lester's buns together. You know him?"

Eddie perked up. "I know Larry, he was in Hellfire for a little while."

"Then you know how hairy he is -- when they pulled the tape off, all his hair came with it -- and some skin, too."

"Oh shit."

"The bizarre thing is, that I did it for my old man. I tortured this poor kid because I wanted my dad to think I was cool. He's always going off about when he was young. And I got the impression that he was disappointed that I never cut loose on anybody, right? So, I was sitting in the locker room taping up my knee and Larry was undressing a few lockers down from me, and suddenly the next thing I knew I grabbed him and threw him down and I just started wailing on him. And he screamed and kicked while my buddies laughed and cheered me on. Afterwards, when I was sitting in Vernon's office, all I could think about was Lester's father and Lester having to go home and explain what happened to him. The humiliation, the fucking humiliation... must have been unreal. How the hell do you apologize for something like that? There's no way."

The others just stared in shock at his admission.

Steve's voice deepened, imitating his father. "'Steve, you've got to be number one! I won't tolerate any losers in this family. Win! Win! Win!' He's like this mindless machine who I just can't relate to anymore. God, I fucking hate the way he is. Sometimes when I'm in the court I just wish my knee would give. If I couldn't play again, he'd probably forget all about me, and then I could get on with my life."

Your voice strained around the lump in your throat. "Why do you do everything he says?"

"I don't know. I've been told what to do for so long that I don't know how to say no."

"What did you guys do to get in here?" Nancy asked.

"You first." Eddie challenged.

"I got caught skipping class, trying to investigate Hawkins lab."

"Why were you trying to investigate Hawkins lab?"

"I think they had something to do with Barb's death."

You wondered who this 'Barb' was, then you remembered Barbra Holland who had mysteriously disappeared, presumed dead, almost exactly one year ago. Robin's head hung low at the name. When Barb began first grade, she became best friends with Robin, but when the girls began sixth grade, Barbara had met Nancy and eventually drifted apart from Robin. It wasn't Robin's fault that they had drifted apart, but she couldn't help but feel as though she could have done more to save their friendship. Perhaps if she had, she wouldn't have gone missing. 

You had seen Barbara Holland walking around the school with Nancy. You thought the pair was a strange duo, especially when Nancy started becoming more and more popular. That being said, however, she always seemed nice. Volunteering for different school committees, helping other students study in the library, even helping to set up for basketball games. If she was still alive, you supposed you could have tried to be friends with her after today. 

"What did you do, Rob?"

"Oh, I-I can't say." Her face flushed.

"C'mon, why not? We said ours."

Her heart was racing and pressure was weighing down on her chest. She looked to Steve. His eyes were filled with concern. Those big brown puppy dog eyes that made her feel bad for keeping anything from him.

"I-I got... caught... with someone."

"Caught doing what?"

She took a sharp breath. Nancy's question hadn't done anything to release the weight trying pulling her heart into her stomach. "Something... in the janitors closet."

Eddie laughed. "Buckley, you dirty little rascal. Who was it?"

"I can't say." She shied.

"Oh, c'mon."

"Tell us, Rob."

"C'mon, tell us who it was."

A chorus of 'tell us' chants bashed around in her skull. The weight was getting heavier and heavier until the band snapped.

"Vickie!"

The band had released her heart and sling-shot it up into her throat. She could hardly swallow as tears sprung in her eyes.

"Vickie. Vickie from band, Vickie?"

"Yes!" And although the band had snapped, the weight had gone. Her secret had been fermenting and sizzling inside her, bottled up and expanding until the lid popped and it finally spilled and overflowed. 

"But, Vickie's a girl."

"Oh, Robin." You gasped at the realisation, rubbing her arm to console her. 

"Holy shit."

Her voice trembled. "I get if you guys don't want to be near me anymore--"

"No, Rob. Why wouldn't we want to be near you?" Steve questioned, almost offended that Robin would thing he would stoop that low. 

"I'm a freak."

"Hey, look who you're talking to." Eddie's voice was soft, yet playful. "Nobody's more of a freak than me."

Everybody laughed, you included, although you felt kind of bad. You were all as much of a freak as each other, you had learned today. It was good that Eddie could laugh about it, but he shouldn't have to in the first place. 

You had hoped that the subject would change there, but the dreaded question was pointed at you. "So why are you here, Sweetheart?"

You cleared your throat. "I told my parents that I had cheer practice cause they'd flip if they found out I got a detention."

"Right, that's not exactly what I meant. What did you do to get in here?"

You sighed. Robin and Steve had been brave enough to share their story. You thought it only fair to tell yours, despite your reluctance.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I told my boyfriend that I had detention so I didn't have to see him."

"Wow, I didn't know Billy Hargrove was that bad in the sack." Eddie chuckled.

"No, it's not that. We haven't even..."

"Oh, so you are a virgin!"

"Do you believe in all of that no sex before marriage bullshit?" Steve asked, intrigued.

"So what if I do?" You snapped.

You didn't, but you were offended for your mother's sake. Not that you knew why you were, almost like she had drilled it into your head, or branded it onto your brain with a hot iron where it would scar forever.

But scars can fade.

"Nah, she doesn't. She wants to, but she doesn't." Eddie folded his arms as if to say "watch me rip this girl to shreds". "I can see it in those sweet little eyes of yours. You're just daddy's little girl and mommy's little princess - a kiss ass. Sucking up to your parents' beliefs just to get what you want"

"I do not."

He rolled his eyes, firmly standing by his statement. Nothing would persuade him to think otherwise. "Whatever you say, sweetheart. But you and I both know that I don't need no damn preacher to make you mine."

"Ugh, you're impossible."

Nancy eagerly changed the subject. "So why didn't you want to see your boyfriend?"

Your demeanour instantly shifted. Your glaring eyes turned wide with fear at the mention of Billy. You immediately pulled at your sleeve to hide the bruises on your wrist. The once angry beat of your heart thumped cowardly along the vein in your neck, as if threatening to escape in a scream. "He -umm- he has a bit of a temper. Lately, I feel like nothing I do is good enough for him, and he tends to... lash out."

Eddie rolled his eyes at you. You were as close to perfect as someone could get in his eyes. How could your life not be perfect too? "Nah, I don't buy it. Look at you, all that skin showing, and there's not a scratch on you."

You anger returned in a crash, tsunami waves flooding into your eyes and a whirlpool swirling in your gut. How dare he question you. Eddie hadn't even plucked up the courage to share a single thing about himself, and yet here he was, judging you for being brave enough to. 

"Fuck you!"

In a blaze of fury, you stormed off with stomping feet and secluded yourself in the listening room. Slamming the door behind you, you slumped yourself on the floor against the rack of records. You attempted to control your breathing, but your anger reduced you to nothing but a mess of tears, and you began sobbing uncontrollably into your own arms.

The others stared at Eddie with a mix of shock and disgust. Eddie was used to that kind of reaction. But why did he hate how it felt? He looked into himself as the others had and found that he was just as disgusted with himself. The guilt that coiled around his stomach almost made his throw up. He swallowed it down and avoided the others' gaze as he stood and made his way to you, despite the others telling him to leave you alone.

His heart lurched when he heard you choke out a sob from behind the door. He clenched his fist, angry at himself, but knocked gently on the door.

"Leave me alone." You tried to say angrily, but it sounded so heartbroken that it had no bite to it.

Eddie ignored your request and bravely opened the door. You didn't need to look up to know who it was who sat beside you. The lingering smell of weed, smoke and cheep cologne told you it was Eddie. You didn't make any effort to move, not wanting Eddie to see how his words had effected you.

After a few beats of silence, Eddie finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever." You sniffed, keeping your head hidden in your arms.

"No really. I am."

The honesty in his voice made you pause. You stopped your tears with a final sniff and raised your head to look at him. The look on his face when he saw you was if he was going to cry himself. At first you thought how dare he cry after how he made you feel but you could see the regret seething in his chocolatey irises. 

"I am so sorry Y/N. I didn't mean any of it. I was just... just..."

"Just what?"

"Angry, I guess."

"At me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "No, well kinda. Not angry at you, angry because of you..."

"What do you mean?"

You questions were bashing around his skull. He raked his hands over his face. He was frustrated at himself for not being able to give you the answer you wanted to hear, and not being valiant enough to express his feeling to you. Instead, he did the cowardly thing and changed the subject.

"Can I ask you something?"

You nodded, although you were disappointed that he didn't give you an explanation. But you understood that sometimes feelings can be hard to communicate. You knew that Eddie wasn't one to share his feelings and you doubted that he ever would. Not to you anyway.

"Why don't you leave him?"

It was a question you asked yourself all the time. You knew exactly why, you just didn't have the courage to end it. It was easier to ask yourself the question. To you it was some sort of first step to leaving Billy. But that's all it was, a step. One step forward and three steps back. You would tell yourself to leave him, then he would look at you with a storm reeling in his eyes and you would back down. Too chicken shit to stand up for yourself, in fear of what he could do to you.

You took a shaky breath, tears threatening to spill again. "Because I'm scared to. What if all of this time he's been holding back, and leaving him just pisses him off to the max. He'd kill me. I've seen the look in his eyes. I bet if I pushed him hard enough he'd do it."

Eddie's heart was in his throat. He knew that feeling all too well. "Shit, Y/n. I'm sorry you have to go through that."

"I guess it's my own fault." You sniffed. "I dated him thinking it would get back at my parents, but they love him. He's like a completely different person around them, it's so frustrating. He could do no wrong in their eyes. I bet if I told them what he'd been doing they'd take his word over mine."

You paused for a brief moment. Sharing your thoughts with Eddie had forged some clarity and you wondered why you were pouring your heart out to the person who had just hurt your feelings. He had apologised, but could you forgive him? He frustrated you to no end, so why did you have such a soft spot for him?

"I don't get you Eddie."

"What do you mean?" He sat himself straight at your sudden change in demeanour.

"I just don't know how to take you."

"I can think of some ways for you to take me." He smirked sending you a wink.

Any other time, you would have blushed, but he only proved your point.

"See, this is what I'm talking about. One minute we're at each others throats, the next you're acting like your my friend and then you're flirting with me. I just don't know what I'm meant to do."

He turned to you and took your hands in his. "Look I'm sorry. It's just that I...."

"You...?"

I like you and I'm a jealous asshole because you like someone else. He couldn't tell you that, of course. He removed himself from you and wrapped his arms round his knees, mimicking your position. "Whatever, I'm just sorry, okay?"

"Then why don't I believe you?"

"I'm telling you the truth, I swear."

"Prove it."

"Prove it how?"

You paused. The two of you were cursed. Cursed by those who were meant to protect you, to love you; angels that were monsters in disguise. A curse of bruises and scars and broken bones, forever scared to stand up for yourself, scared to love. You wanted to ask him about it. How did he put up with it? You recalled when Steve said it was a part of Eddie's image. You wanted to know the truth.

"Do your parents really beat you?"

Annoyance flashed across his eyes. The question made his blood boil. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it Eddie. Please" 

"Yes..." He snapped, but you looked at him with those big, watery puppy dog eyes again and he couldn't help but cave. "Well, they did. I don't actually live with them anymore. I live with my uncle. He looks after me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's whatever." His anger had cooled to a simmer, but it still sizzled in his gut. 

"Can I ask you something?" You repeated Eddie's earlier question. "If your home life is a lot better now, why do you act the way you do?"

He sighed. "I guess Harrington was right before. To keep up my image. If I look all mean and scary, people are less likely to pick on me and my friends. They sort of look up to me, so I gotta put on a brave face, you know?"

You nodded, but felt like he was holding back. "Any other reason?"

"I guess... I mean, I've always been a nobody, so I guess doing all this, acting the way I do, makes me feel seen. The only time my parents ever really payed attention to be was when they were beating on me, so... I guess old habits die hard."

You nodded again, letting silence fall between you. You could tell that your questioning had upset Eddie. Irritation was practically steaming off him. Eddie hadn't shared so much of his life with anyone, not even the Hellfire boys. He was torn between feeling relieved to get it off his chest, and being annoyed at himself for opening up to you so easily.

"Good session today, Munson. Same time next week?" You joked, trying to lighten the mood.

You wiped the tear stains from your cheeks and stood up to go and join the others. Although you didn't say anything more to him, Eddie he knew he was forgiven. But somehow, that didn't make him feel much better. You stood in the doorway and turned to see if Eddie was following you. Eddie hadn't moved an inch and stayed looking like he was stuck in his own head

"Eddie, if its any consultation, I'd like to think that I can see you now. The real you."

You left him to join the others. They stared at you like you were a bomb going to burst any second, but you simply brushed them off and sat back in your seat. The silence was awkward until Robin spoke.

"Can I ask a question? What happens on Monday?" She asked but received no answer. "I'm assuming we're friends. Right? We're doing things together, we're talking about our private lives, we've broken the law together. It seems like we can call ourselves friends. I think of you guys as my friends anyway. Am I wrong?"

"No. I don't think you're wrong" Eddie piped up, returning to the circle, sitting opposite you and not daring to look you in the eye.

"So, on Monday. What happens?"

"You mean are we still friends?" Nancy asked. "If we're friends now, that is."

Everyone had an interest in the question but no one wanted to commit to an answer. You all eyed each other, waiting for the other to speak. In your ideal world, you would walk into school on Monday waving to Nancy and Steve, saying hello to Robin as Eddie walked you to Mr. Kaminski's chemistry class without a care in the world. 

But would that really happen? 

No.

Because you did care. You cared about what Carol thought, you cared about what Tommy thought, the cheerleading squad, Billy. God, you'd hate to think what Billy would do if he saw you walking the halls with these people. Not only what he would do to you, but what he would do to them.

"Truth?" You braved an answer, fidgeting with the watch on your wrist. "I don't think so."

Steve scoffed at you in disgust. "That's a real nice attitude."

"Be honest, Steve. On Monday, if Robin come up to you in the hall what would you do? When you're there with all the sports."

Steve looked at Robin, nervously. He was on the spot.

"I know exactly what you'd to. You'd  say 'hi' to her and when she left, you'd cut her up so that your friends wouldn't think you really liked her." You answered for him.

You and Steve were friends with the same types of people. You knew all too well how it would go down because you knew your friends.

"No way." He shook the hesitance from his brain, his face laced with determination as he finally thought for himself. "Not anymore."

Robin looked at Steve sadly. "Anymore?" 

"Truth is," Steve puffed his chest like he was about to perform an important speech, keeping his eyes on Robin. "I've been friends with Robin for a while-"

"Steve, you don't-"

"We work at Scoops Ahoy together in Starcourt. And she is the bestest friend I could ever ask for. I mean, she's just so real. None of this fake shit like Tommy and Carol. And she's always there for me, like always. I don't know what I'd do without you, Rob. I've had enough of being fake. From now on, Rob, it's gonna be you and me. I don't give a shit what anyone else says. And I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner."

"And what if I walked up to you?" Eddie asked you, optimistic after your previous conversation and hopeful that Steve's speech had given you some encouragement to change your mind.

You looked at him sadly. You hated to say it to him, but he was truthful to you earlier, it was only fair you did the same. Your voice fell quiet, a regretful whisper. "What I said before."

He looked at you like you had just stabbed him in the back. Ruefully, you had. "Don't be a bitch." He snapped.

You were taken aback. You knew Eddie was frustrated with you for questioning him before, but you thought he would have gotten over it. At least enough for him to join the circle again. Perhaps not. 

"What, I'm a bitch for telling the truth? I couldn't, not with Billy-"

"No! Because you know how shitty that it is to do to someone. You admit it and you aren't strong enough to tell your friends to fuck off and let you be friends with who you want!"

"And what about you? Why don't you take Steve to one of your heavy metal vomit parties?"

Eddie shot a look at Steve. You've got him.

"Take Nancy out to the parking lot at lunch and get high. Or me for that matter .. What would your friends say if they saw you and me walking down the hall together? They'd laugh their asses off and you'd cut me up. You'd probably say I'm doing it with you so they'd forgive you for being with me? Correct?"

Steve saved Eddie from an answer. "Okay. I assume Robin and I are better people than you guys." He turned to Nancy. "Would you do that?"

"I don't really have any friends anymore." She shied.

"If you did?"

"No, the kind of friends I'd have wouldn't mind."

There was a silence of a storm suddenly quelled. A pause long enough for everyone to calm down. 

Steve's voice was unusually quiet and timid. "Are we gonna be like our parents?" 

"Yes." Robin's answer was blunt.

"Why do you say that?"

"It's unavoidable."

"Not me." Eddie was determined.

"It just happens. When you grow up... your heart dies." 

You all sat, breathing in the heavy silence. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but it still felt heavy. The truth had been spilt whether everyone like it or not, but still, everyone had accepted it. They had accepted that things may just go back to the way they were before, but they also accepted that things could also never be exactly the same. It was a strange mixture of hope, solemn and acknowledgment. And for you - fear. You wanted to be friends with these guys. You wanted things to be different on Monday, but thoughts of Billy shrouded your desires. The things he would say or do if he found out what had happened in this room today; the friendships made, the truth told, the kisses shared. You'd rather wallow in your own self pity.

~~~~~

3:50pm

~~~~~

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely, he won't be able to resist you."

Your eyes fluttered to the ceiling as Nancy prodded at your waterline with her black eyeliner pencil. 

Despite your differences earlier, everybody seemed okay with each other now. You'd all had time to cool off and apologise to one another. Unfortunately, you had meant what you'd said earlier, but you were still sorry for it.

You were currently in the seclusion room with Nancy and Robin giving you what they deigned a 'Munson Make-over'. Robin had given you her spare t-shirt from her bag. It was simply black and large enough to stop at the exact point on your thighs where your skirt had been. You hadn't wanted to take it from her, arguing that there may come a time where she'll need it more that you, but she refused, vowing that she 'just might have found something worth staying for'. 

You made a last minute decision to ditch the skirt underneath when the shirt started bunching up weirdly and making you look frumpy. You felt about ten times more exposed somehow, but the girls reassured you that you looked great. Nancy used a small make-up brush to finalise the finishing touches to your eyes, smudging the black in an edgy way that made the colour of your eyes pop. 

This hadn't been your idea, but a combined effort from both Nancy and Robin when she had accidentally blurted out your admission to having a crush on Eddie earlier. For once you finally felt like a teenager. Not having to worry about what people might think, just girls doing make-up and talking about boys like they do in the movies. 

And something stirred in your gut. Perhaps regret, or maybe defiance, but a pull in your chest decided that maybe you would take back what you had said about ignoring them on Monday. After a few swipes of mascara over your lashes, Nancy affirmed that you were done and 'ready to get your man'. Nancy leaned back to admire her handy work. With a big smile, she grabbed a compact mirror out of her bag and turned it to face you. Your eyes widened, stunned and not believing that it was you in the mirror. It was crazy how a bit of make-up could change the way you looked drastically. 

"Is this me?" You laughed in astonishment.

"It's you."

Your surprise quickly turned to insecurity. Never in your life had you worn make-up like this and you were starting to second guess whether or not you could pull it off. 

"But what if he laughs at me?"

Robin rolled her eyes. "He won't laugh, you look great. C'mon."

They urged you out of the door after assuring you that Principal Higgins was no where to be seen, and you made your way to the broom closet Eddie had told you he had been locked in. 

Eddie had managed (with the help of Steve) to clamber back up the hole in the ceiling that he had made. He was currently sitting on an upside down bucket, fiddling with his coat and scarf. The door swung open abruptly and Eddie stood tall, expecting to see Principal Higgins before him. Instead, you stepped into the room, keeping your eyes on Eddie with smirk as you leaned your back on the door to shut it. You crossed you legs over one another shyly as Eddie gawked at you. Your body felt like it was burning as he raked his eyes over you. 

"Hey." He said. It was the only thing he could think of in his state of disbelief.

"Hey."

His lack of response was worrying you. Nancy had tried so hard to convince you that Eddie liked you, but you were beginning to think that maybe she had been wrong. Eddie was nothing but a moment. Five measly years out of an entire lifetime. But do you simply let the moment pass you by, or do you seize the moment and make something out of it?

"What are you doing here?"

"I've come to see you."

"Me? Why?"

"I'm sorry, do you want me to go?"

"No, no, no, I don't want you to go. Sorry, it's just different being alone with you. Like properly alone with you, especially when you look like that."

"Good different?"

"Definitely good different." 

You smiled, feeling a bit more confident in yourself. You moved towards him and he took your hands in his.

"Listen, I've been wanting to tell you this, but I never really found a great time, especially with the other guys around all the time."

"What is it?"

He paused, having second thoughts about telling you. He knew you liked someone else. What if you just laughed in his face? No, you wouldn't do that. He'd opened up to you before, he could do it again. 

He released an exasperated sigh. "I like you, okay"

When you didn't reply in your state of shock, he continued. "I really like you, but I don't want to. I never thought that I could like someone like you. That's to say the popular chick, the cheerleading captain, you know what I mean. I spent my whole life hating people like that because they were all just bullies." He scoffed a laugh like he could hardly believe what he was saying. "And then you come along and you were just... different. I don't know how to explain it, there's just something about you. Something that I like."

"But I know you don't like me." He quickly added, drooping his head to face the ground.

You couldn't believe what you had just heard. Your heart was threatening to beat out of your chest. Eddie does like you. You wanted to scream in happiness. But he thinks you like someone else. "what makes you think that?"

"I overheard you say to Nancy that you liked someone."

You laughed in incredulity. "That was about you, airhead!"

"It was?" His head snapped back up, looking at you with wide eyes.

"Do you think I'd dress like this if it wasn't for you?"

"Oh baby," he held your hands gently, pulling you forwards for you to look directly at him, "you look smoking hot don't get me wrong, but you don't have to change yourself for me, okay?"

You nodded, giving him a shy smile.

"You do look smoking hot by the way." He smirked pulling you closer so you were chest to chest. 

He tilted your chin up softly, eyeing the way your kissable lips parted for him and eyelids drooped with desire. Just a simple touch from him could ignite something deep within you. Something that had been dormant for so long. 

Passion? Desire?

Love?

"Eddie." You whispered against his lips.

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you really mean it? Do you really like me?"

"I do, sweetheart, I really do."

"Good." You rested your forehead against his as he stroked a wisp of hair from your face.

"Hey, sweetheart?"

"Yes, baby?" You teased.

"Can I kiss you?"

Your nodded, seizing the moment. You had never been more sure of anything in your life. Your eyes closed, ready for Eddie to press his lips against yours for your first real kiss.

"Munson-- What the...?"

The two of you jumped apart when the door swung open and Principal Higgins stood there looking rather puzzled. He was confused about how you had ended up in the closet, and why you had completely changed your look, but he didn't say anything. He was tired and wanted to go home.

"Let's go." He snapped.

The two of you made your way out of the closet and walked back to the library, Principal Higgins following closely behind like the two of you were going to run away from him any second. The walk to the library was short. The two of you sat down together and Higgins stood sternly before everyone with his arms crossed. He eyed everyone up in a way that was supposed to be intimidating.

"Papers?"

Nancy slid a single piece of paper across the table. Higgins picked it up wearily, reading the signatures of the kids scribbled in a mixed array of handwriting across the top. He looked mystified by the paper, but before he could open his mouth, the bell rang and everyone immediately gathered their things and left, leaving Higgins to read the paper alone.

Dear Principal Higgins,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us — in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain and an athlete, a basket case, a princess, a cheerleader and a criminal.

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

The Breakfast Club

~~~~~

Saturday.

October 25th, 1984.

Hawkins High.

4:05pm.

~~~~~

The sky had reclined into a rich blue, shadows stretching across the school's front steps in the setting sun. The five of you made your way down the stairs to the few cars outside. 

Nancy held hands with Steve on the way down, giving him a peck on the cheek before getting into her mother's car. She immediately began questioning her as they drove off down the road. Steve did a not-so-secret fist pump, and waved everyone goodbye before getting into his fathers car.

"See you guys on Monday." Robin bid you both farewell as she got in the back of the final car. 

You and Eddie stood in a comfortable silence side by side on the final step, neither of you wanting to say goodbye yet. 

"You know, I was thinking." Eddie broke the silence, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and leaning his weight on you. "What if there was another way to get back at your parents?"

"Like what?" You playfully shrugged him off, turning to face him.

"Well, I'm sure dating a metalhead weed smoker wouldn't appease them too much." 

You smiled at the way he put it, but frowned almost instantly when a sudden thought flashed behind your eyes. "What about Billy?"

"Let me deal with him." You don't look too convinced. "I'm stronger than I look, you know."

There was a relief that took a weight off your chest. Could this finally be over? Happiness felt like it was bursting in sunrays in your heart, making you giddy. You couldn't stop the smile from stretching across your lips. 

"I'll believe it when I see it." You teased. "Wouldn't want our first date to be at the hospital."

"So is that a yes?"

A chilly breeze rustled through the trees, borrowing your body heat and giving you goose bumps in return. A weight fell on your shoulders when Eddie placed his coat over you.

"Eddie you don't have to."

"You think I'm gonna let you walk home in the cold wearing that?"

"Maybe not." You smiled. "Let me give you something in return then."

"Oh you don't--"

You reached for your watch, unclasping the thin metallic band before grabbing his wrist and wrapping it around.

"You're giving me your watch? Why?"

You fastened it as loosely as you could, but it was still a little tight on him. He didn't resist, however, instead he watched you intently and read the time on it when you were done.

"Because tomorrow night, when the big hand hits twelve and the little hand hits seven, I want you to come pick me up."

"Pick you up? Like a date? So it is a yes."

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach. You couldn't decide whether it was from excitement or nerves. You could only hope that Eddie will placate his chronic tardiness to show up at your door at exactly seven o'clock on the dot. But, you would have to find out tomorrow.

"But where do you want to go?"

"Leave that to me. Think of it as an early birthday present."

Eddie smirked, bending down to wrap his arms around your waist, bringing you close enough that a turn of your head would end up with your lips together. "Tell you what, you know what I want for my birthday?"

"What would that be?"

"I do believe I asked you for a kiss earlier."

"You did, but I guess you'll have to wait for your birthday for that." You smirked, pulling away and hopping off the step, making a start homeward.

You turned around teasingly to see Eddie frozen on the step completely stunned. You giggled to yourself, turning back with a skip in your step. You took about ten more steps before turning around again, only to see Eddie right behind you. He wrapped his arms around you waist, picking you up and spinning you around as your laughter echoed across the school field. 

"Oh no you don't, sweetheart." 

He span you around wildly as you attempted to beg him to stop through your laughter. His fingers prodded at your ribs, tickling you into submission. With a final dizzying spin, he set you down with a chuckle. You grabbed onto his shoulders to steady yourself as the world kept spinning around you. 

"Fine, just one kiss."

"That's more like it." He smiled.

He gently placed a calloused hand along your jaw, cupping your cheek to pull you closer. Your eyes closed softly as his lips finally pressed to yours in your first proper kiss together. The kiss was sweet with passion, pure and vulnerable with a promise of love. His warm tongue stroked against your lips tenderly and you threaded your hands through his hair, tilting your head as you massaged your tongue against his. He moaned softly into your mouth, using his other hand to draw your bodies together. 

Hesitantly, you pulled apart, the two of you with heavy eyelids and drunken smiles.

"How about I walk you home? Make a start on trying to "impress" your parents."

"I think I'd like that."

Somehow, eight hours in a school library had managed to change your life completely. Fate was the librarian, usually known for matching you with the book you want. Only this time you all got paired with a book you didn't want, or rather one that didn't suit your taste. Yet, you read it anyway and discovered that it is possible to branch out. It is possible to make changes, and that changes can be for the better. You can learn things that you otherwise wouldn't have about life, people, love. You can learn that everyone is different, yet we all share the same emotions. Insecurity and vulnerability can be embraced, and there is no right and wrong. At the end of the day, what matters most is acceptance, within yourself and within others.

~~~~~

<<<Previous // Next>>>

~~~~~

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[endlich-allein]

Till Lindemann from "Rammstein" turns 60

Good man

Von Flake Lorenz

3. Januar 2023

Till Lindemann, "Rammstein" singer and lyricist, turns 60. Congratulations from his longtime friend and keyboardist.

Actually, one would not have to wait for a milestone birthday to honor this wonderful person. You could just pause and pay homage to the force of nature on any other evening. It may also be that Till Lindemann's birthday this Wednesday is not true. Even when Bravo reported about Rammstein for the first time in the early 1990s, our dates of birth were completely out of thin air. We were way too old for the Bravo target group back then, so the editors simply made us a few years younger. That wasn't a problem because the internet was still empty.

We soon realized that it doesn't matter how old you really are. Much later, when Rammstein became successful, being old was even better. You can deal more calmly with all that nonsense and enjoy your happiness in peace. Also, a person's age is just in the eye of the beholder, at least I don't know anyone who would call themselves old. On the other hand, I can still remember how, as a young musician, I couldn't calm down when I found out that the guitarist in a band I was friends with was over 30 years old. "He can still make music?" I asked. Men over 50 were half-dead, bleating grandpas in ugly brown clothes, they were every teenager's natural enemy.

It's 1986. Till turns up the system. I'm worried: What will the neighbors think?

Till seemed old to me when I met him. That was in the mid-1980s in East Germany. Till was not only older than me, in contrast to me he was already really grown up. He lived in his own house while I was still in my parents' room and didn't even have a girlfriend. I saw Till for the first time in 1986 in a Schwerin club after a Feeling B concert. I immediately noticed him: Till was a tall, strong man who on the one hand exuded natural authority, but at the same time seemed very shy. We didn't hesitate when he offered to take us home with him. His house in the country near Schwerin seemed like paradise to me, it was incredibly comfortable, probably because he had set it up that way himself; he had knocked out the walls between the rooms and left only the half-timbering. The volume on his system was turned up to the limit, the Sisters Of Mercy screamed from the cheap speakers.

I had never dared to do anything like this in my life. What would the neighbors think? When I wanted to play a song on the piano in between, Till simply carried it for me to another room where it wasn't so loud. At some point we all fell asleep where we sat and stood, like in Sleeping Beauty, and when I woke up the next morning, I imagined what it would be like if you always lived like Till. I really liked this idea.

Of course, his life wasn't a one-stop party. He also lived in the house because the argument with his father, who was not exactly frail, had escalated beforehand. Till had hit his father, the children's book author Werner Lindemann, with such a punch that he flew into the strawberry bed. Then Werner Lindemann threw Till's things out of the skylight. Life in a sports boarding school and training as a carpenter in Rostock were no fun either. Later, as a single father, Till lived with his daughter Nele in his nest, which in turn probably saved him from being drafted into the army. Till always seemed and always seems in a good mood to me – a bit like Obelix, of course not in terms of stature, for God's sake, he looks more like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but in terms of personality he's more like Obelix. Always according to the motto: "Friends, I have a plan, let's go here and there and break everything to pieces!"

Practical: He could change a wheel on the Trabi without using the jack

When the wall was suddenly open, Till drove to Lübeck with a couple of friends and spent all the West money he had saved and exchanged on gummy bears. He sat in a doorway and ate them all. Of course, he also manages a wild boar – it was an advantage back then that he lived so close to the railway embankment. When a waiter asks Till if he liked his food, he usually replies: "Yes, thank you, it was plenty." Incidentally, he also shares Obelix's great love of small dogs. Since Till is with (allegedly) Francis of Assisi, who wrote: "The dog remains loyal to me in the storm, man not even in the wind."

And like Obelix, Till seems to have fallen into a magic potion, because he really has tremendous powers.

At that time he could change a wheel on the Trabi without using the jack. In the old days, when we had to work as stewards at an open-air festival, Till just banged his fist through a car window to hold the driver down.

If Till sees any body of water, he immediately plunges into it and plows through it like a motorboat. He tucks the boxes that we carry in the studio or in the rehearsal room under his arm alone.

If a door is locked somewhere, he just sticks me through a second-story window so I can open it all from the inside.

I've never met anyone who is so pragmatic about music and lyrics. Till would never have originally thought of becoming a singer. Although he observed that musicians in Schwerin had a hit with women and then played drums in a punk band - but in all those years I really never had the feeling that punk music particularly interested him. An effective and well thought-out stage show was always more important to him. For example, Till once put chickens in the bass drum and only pulled the cloth away after the first song, causing the animals to tumble across the stage.

Cheering crowds, prizes and honours: All of this actually leaves him completely cold

When Till was supposed to sing with us, it was very difficult for him at first, because as a singer you can't hide behind an instrument or another musician. Then he put on welding goggles so that he looked like a friendly insect. Till sang beautifully, deeply and soothingly. We stopped worrying immediately. Everything would be fine. We just needed good lyrics. So Till sat down to write them. He never pretends to be a great artist who needs to express his deep feelings. He prefers to think about what else can be lit on stage (like me). The concerts used to be a lot of fun. At that time we always looked for an attractive village inn first, in order to eat as much as possible. Only then did we set up our stuff and play.

Till loves women - and women love him. But how he manages to go through his life completely free of any affectation, even after 37 years, still arouses deep admiration from me. Cheering crowds of spectators, prizes and honors actually leave him completely cold. Organizing a party for our entire crew seems to be more important to him than any concert. Incidentally, he has renounced his rights as a lyricist for decades, so that all six of us at Rammstein earn exactly the same. In any case, Till has extended the life of the band, because money is usually the trigger for a breakup. He, on the other hand, has a very decisive influence on our band with his lyrics and his voice.

So we can still successfully defend our small East German village. By Teutates! May the sky never fall on Till's head!

(I'm not sure of this whole translation so feel free to correct me)

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Lightening the mood after Miami with another edition of my US number ones posts - the drivers from all series version. Please enjoy 😊😊

Sebastien Loeb (26th February 1974) - Barbara Streisand - The Way We Were

Tony Kanaan (31st December 1974) - Helen Reddy - Angie Baby

Juan Pablo Montoya (20th September 1975) - David Bowie - Fame

Mark Webber (27th August 1976) - Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Kimi Raikkonen (17th October 1979) - Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Jenson Button (19th January 1980) - Michael Jackson - Rock With You

Felipe Massa (25th April 1981) - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Kiss On My List

Heikki Kovalainen (19th October 1981) - Christopher Cross - Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)

Andre Lotterer (19th November 1981) - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes

Pippa Mann (11th August 1983) - The Police - Every Breath You Take

Simon Pagenaud (18th May 1984) - Lionel Richie - Hello

Robert Kubica (7th December 1984) - Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

Nico Rosberg (27th June 1985) - Bryan Adams - Heaven

Jerome D'Ambrosio (27th December 1985) - Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me

Rahel Frey (23rd February 1986) - Whitney Houston - How Will I Know

Kamui Kobayashi (13th September 1986) - Berlin - Take My Breath Away

Rene Rast (26th October 1986) - Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

James Hinchcliffe (5th December 1986) - Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name

Oliver Turvey (1st April 1987) - Club Nouveau - Let It Be

Sebastian Vettel (3rd July 1987) - Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

Alexander Sims (15th March 1988) - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

Molly Taylor (6th May 1988) - Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go

Simona De Silvestro (1st September 1988) - George Michael - Monkey

Sarah Bovy (15th May 1989) - Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You

James Calado (13th June 1989) - Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings

Brendon Hartley (10th November 1989) - Roxette - Listen To Your Heart

Earl Bamber (9th July 1990) - New Kids On The Block - Step By Step

Cristina Gutierrez (24th July 1991) - EMF - Unbelievable

Abbie Eaton (2nd January 1992) - Michael Jackson - Black Or White

Timmy Hansen (21st May 1992) - Kris Kross - Jump

Daniel Abt (3rd December 1992) & Alice Powell (26th January 1993) - Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

Tatiana Calderon (10th March 1993) - Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle - A Whole New World

Christine GZ (22nd July 1993) - SWV - Weak

Alex Lynn (17th September 1993) & Bubba Wallace (8th October 1993) - Mariah Carey - Dreamlover

Michelle Gatting (31st December 1993) - Mariah Carey - Hero

Naomi Schiff (18th May 1994) - Ace Of Base - The Sign

Jessica Hawkins (16th February 1995) & Luca Ghiotto (24th February 1995) - TLC - Creep

Beitske Visser (10th March 1995) - Madonna - Take A Bow

Nicholas Latifi (29th June 1995) - Bryan Adams - Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?

Jack Aitken (23rd September 1995) - Coolio ft L.V - Gangsta's Paradise

Oliver Askew (12th December 1996) - Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart

Louis Deletraz (22nd April 1997) - Puff Daddy ft Mase - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down

Catie Munnings (15th November 1997) - Elton John - Candle In The Wind

Cem Bolukbasi (9th February 1998) - Janet Jackson - Together Again

Jamie Chadwick (20th May 1998) - Next - Too Close

Kevin Hansen (28th May 1998) - Mariah Carey - My All

Mick Schumacher (22nd March 1999) - Cher - Believe

Toni Breidinger (14th July 1999) - Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love

Max Fewtrell (29th July 1999) - Will Smith ft Dru Hill & Kool Moe Dee - Wild Wild West

Robert Shwartzman (16th September 1999) - Enrique Iglesias - Bailamos

Bent Viscaal (18th September 1999) - TLC - Unpretty

Felipe Drugovich (23rd May 2000) - Santana ft The Product G&B - Maria Maria

Marta Garcia (9th August 2000) - N'Sync - It's Gonna Be Me

Arthur Leclerc (14th October 2000) - Christina Aguilera - Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)

Sophia Florsch (1st December 2000) & Clement Novalak (23rd December 2000) - Destiny's Child - Independent Women Pt 1

Frederik Vesti (13th January 2002) - Nickelback - How You Remind Me

Luke Browning (31st January 2002) & Liam Lawson (11th February 2002) - Usher - U Got It Bad

Olli Caldwell (11th June 2002) - Ashanti - Foolish

Jack Doohan (20th January 2003) - Eminem - Lose Yourself

All added to this playlist

[coimbrabertone]

Champ Car: the World Series that Actually Was.

There's the old joke that Europeans always throw around, that we Americans invent our own sports that only we play, and then we call it the World Series. Now, nevermind that the baseball World Series features playing talent from all across the world - Shohei Ohtani, the top player right now, is Japanese, for instance - because there was an American sport that truly was a world series.

Champ Car.

The Champ Car story begins in 1978, when, following a plane crash that led to the deaths of eight top USAC - United States Auto Club - officials, Dan Gurney wrote the White Paper, calling for massive reforms. Dan Gurney was not only a team owner in CART, but his All-American Racers - under the guise of Anglo-American Racers - bad previously competed in Formula One.

In the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix, Dan Gurney won in his own car, the Eagle Mark 1, also known as the T1G. This beauty of a car, with its Weslake V12 engine, marked the only time that an American car with an American driver won a Formula One race.

When that guy says that your series is fucked, it's fucked.

So, Dan's White Paper led to the creation of CART - Championship Auto Racing Teams - which marked the team owners taking control of the series and organizing it on their principles. For more detail on this era of CART, I recommend Elizabeth Blackstock's Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys podcast, which recently did an episode on this.

For our purposes, the important thing to note is that, by the late 80s, CART was doing business as the "CART PPG Indy Car World Series" and began putting on events inside the US, but also outside of it. Toronto came first in 1986, there was a failed attempt to race in Fuji in 1989, a successful race in Surfers Paradise, Australia, from 1991, and a race in Vancouver from 1990.

There was a problem, however.

The reason that the Fuji race in 1989 failed was because the FIA intervened against CART racing outside of North America. CART's attention soon shifted to Surfers Paradise, where the FIA put pressure on the Confederation of Australian Motorsports to prevent Surfers Paradise from going ahead. Nevertheless, by 1991, CART was able to put on the Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix, which would soon become a mainstay on the CART calendar.

Shortly afterwards, CART and the FIA would reach a settlement: Surfers Paradise would be grandfathered in, CART had freedom to race anywhere they wanted in North America, but everywhere else in the world, CART would be restricted to ovals.

The first of these international ovals came at the 1.9-mile trapezoid known as "Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway" at Jacarepaguá, the former Formula One track in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This came in 1996, as CART was experiencing the split, where the Indy Racing League broke away and took the Indy 500 with them.

In 1998, backed by Honda, Indycar would see another international oval in the form of Twin Ring Motegi, finally giving the series its race in Japan.

The loss of the Indy 500 seemed to mark CART doubling down on the international expansion, because in 2001, two additional international ovals followed: Lausitzring in Germany and Rockingham Motor Speedway (no relation to Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as North Carolina Motor Speedway) in the UK. Additionally, the 2001 season opener was on the Fundidora Park street circuit in Monterrey, Mexico.

Between Monterrey, Motegi, Toronto, Vancouver, Germany, Rockingham, and Surfers Paradise, seven of the series' twenty events were held outside of the US. It was supposed to be eight of twenty-one, however, the Rio 200 was cancelled in 2001 and the event never returned.

2001 was generally a season of disasters for CART, as its showpiece European doubleheader of Germany and Rockingham was overshadowed first by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and then by Alex Zanardi's paralyzing crash at the Lausitzring.

2001, between various disasters, teams defecting to the IRL to get into the Indianapolis 500, and the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement placing stricter limitations on tobacco advertising, marked the beginning of the end for CART.

However, two things happened.

First, the European Commission's Competition Directorate began a probe into the FIA in 1999, accusing them as acting as a monopoly on motorsports. They believed that the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone were using Formula One and their other series to block competitors, prevent rival series, and prevent contracted circuits from hosting competing events. By 2001, the FIA and EC would settle, and the FIA would no longer have a monopoly on motorsports.

In the short term, this allowed CART to replace the struggling Rockingham event with a "Champ Car London Trophy" at Brands Hatch for 2003, in the long term...well, I'll get to that in a moment.

Second, after the 2003 CART season, the series went bankrupt and it was eventually bought out by a trio of team owners, Gerry Forsythe (Team Player's), Kevin Kalkhoven (PK Raving), and Paul Gentilozzi (Rocketsports) who rescued the series. Buying a supply of Ford's Cosworth engines, they put together the Champ Car World Series as a successor to CART.

The 2004 CCWS season consisted of fourteen races, of which, Monterrey, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Surfers Paradise, were outside of the United States.

In 2005, Vancouver was replaced by Edmonton.

In 2007, Montreal would be replaced by Mont Tremblant, additionally, a Belgian race at Zolder and a Dutch race at Assen were added. Monterrey was lost, but it was not seven events in the US, seven outside.

The 2008 Champ Car World Series that never was, was due to add Jerez to the calendar, making for six US races to eight outside of the United States.

Instead, however, Champ Car merged with the IRL to create the modern Indycar series.

In 2008, Edmonton was retained, Surfers Paradise was a non-championship finale, and there was also the race at Motegi, which had joined Honda in defecting from CART to the IRL in 2003.

In 2009, Surfers Paradise would go away, but Toronto would return.

Motegi would persist until 2010, but the oval would be damaged in the 2011 Japanese earthquake and the resulting tsunami. A final race in 2011 - appropriately called "Indy Japan: the Final" - would instead be held on the Motegi road course, as seen in MotoGP.

Edmonton would last until 2012.

From 2010-2013, Indycar put together its own overseas race, the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on a street circuit in Anhembi Parque. Thus 2014 was the first time since 1990 that there was not an Indycar race of some form outside of North America.

To make up for this, 2014 had three doubleheader races, at Belle Isle, Houston, and in Toronto.

Since then, there was an attempt to return to Brazil in 2015 at the other Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, this one in Brasilia, but that one failed to materialize.

Likewise, there was supposed to be an Indycar exhibition race at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina in either 2024 or 2025, however, the controversial President Javier Milei slashed government spending, which ultimately killed not only the Indycar Argentina event, but also the long running Argentinian Motorcycle Grand Prix in MotoGP.

Champ Car was a flawed series. It was the spectre of CART dragging out the American open wheel racing split for another four years. In those four years, Sebastien Bourdais won the championship each time, him and his Newman/Haas Racing team often seeming like the only competent team in a sea of Brazilian paydrivers and Formula One rejects.

That being said, it marked the high point of Indycar racing overseas and, despite only existing for four years, managed to build a completely new car - the Panoz DP01 - to replace its aging Lola B02/00 chassis.

There is a lot that modern Indycar is doing right - the return of ovals with doubleheaders at Iowa and Milwaukee in addition to the Gateway race, and now the season finale at 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway is great - however, one area where it is supremely lacking is international events.

The 2024 NTT Indycar Series has drivers from all over the world - my last blogpost was about a Kiwi doing 234.2 miles per hour around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - but it does not have the schedule to back it up. The fact that one of the most popular stars in the series in Pato O'Ward is literally from Monterrey, Mexico and the series hasn't even seriously considered going back there is downright foolish.

NASCAR is making moves to potentially go to Montreal, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico as early as 2025. If NASCAR, with exactly two foreign drivers - Daniel Suarez and Shane Van Gisbergen - beats Indycar to international expansion, then the Penske Entertainment regime will have truly failed.

And that makes me sad, because like I made clear in the last blogpost, Team Penske is an amazing team with so much history and so many successes.

I just wish their series ownership was as successful as their race teams.

[elvenking42]

100 New Things I Checked Out in 2023

It's the end of the year and I wanna make a list of media I checked out. Movies, shows, books, songs, etc. I like getting to talk about all this stuff! If you wanna know what something made the list, just ask! I'd love to talk more about it!

Tyrellosolo New Years art

Wingspan (2019) 

INU-OH (2021)

Two Earthlings - John Brosio 

Zip Gun Bop - Royal Crown Revue

Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986)

Forest (2017) 

Fantastic Planet (1973)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) 

Bei Mir Bist du schon - Ella Fitzgerald

Connordraws I Sing to my Cat

Contact (1978)

Donks (2023)

Dynasty AMV

Eddie burback- The Deceptive World of Ghost Kitchens

Ice Merchants (2022)

 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) 

Womanizer - Britney spears

The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) 

MilleBourne (1954) 

The Birds (1963)

RRR (2022)

 Pigdemonart - Bowuigi Comics

Everydaylouie 's 3d blender work

Guide to Heraldry - Ottfried Neubecker (1980)

Buss Down Wig - Baddie Brooks

Genius Party Anthology (2007)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

Pretty fly (for a white guy) - The Offspring

Millennium Actress (2001)

God's Alternative Medicine - Knowing Better

On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes - Alexandra Horowitz (2013)

Blackberry (2023)

The Flintstones (DC Comic) (2016)

Maintenance Phase Podcast

The Bus - Paul Kirchner (1987)

Nimona (2023)

Black book of hours

Nintendo World Universal

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Daydream - Timeshare 94

Jerma House Flipper invitational

Pokemon Sleep (2023)

Atlantic Oscillations (disco dub) - Quantic

Barbie (2023)

Don't You Want My Love - Moodymann

Good Omens S2 (2023)

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (2007) 

Even Flow - Pearl Jam

Host Club 'Ai Honten' - Tokyo, Japan (1971-2020)

TMNT Mutant Mayhem (2023)

No Diggity - Black Street

Expansions 12" Mix - Scott Grooves

Planet of the Bass - DJ Crazy Times

I Love Hue (year)

Canisalbus: body heat

Horny '98 Radio Edit) - Mousse T

We Love Katamari + Royal Reverie (2023) 

Music theory and White Supremacy - Adam Neely

Rope (1948) 

 Sanctus-ingenium: who are you loyal to, who are you lying to? 

Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson

Joseph Melhuish - "Some Dogs"

Jacob Geller- How Can We Bear To Throw Anything Away?

Novov - Interactive Art Museum

Thefaiao - Ganondorf practicing piano commission

Russian picture book illustrations by E.Bulatov and O.Vasilev

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (1998) 

Bacardi Raising Spirits ad

Curse of Strahd (2016)

Black Magic Woman - Santana

OFMD S2 (2023)

Dynasty AMV

The Owl and the Pussycat - Scott Gustafson

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Soylent Green (1973)

Christian Riese Lassen's digital gallery

Oye Como Va - Santana

Guardian deity, Thunder God, Wind god - Mori Yoshitoshi

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) 

 Scavengers Reign (2023)

 WRTV Sonic Forum Simulator

A Little Night Music

Monkey Gone to Heaven - Pixies

Mike's Mic - Scooby Doo 2002

Wasteland Weekend - People Make Games

Lethal Company (2023)

Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls

Don't Speak - No Doubt

George Sherwood Hunter "Jubilee Procession in a Cornish Village"

Plagiarism and You(Tube) - Hbomberguy

Rainbow War (1985) 

Ezlo-x’s Lost Family LoZ Fancomic 

Ocarina of Time manga (2012)

Suolaxier's fursuits

Doctor who: Wild Blue Yonder (2023)

How Do You Smoke a Weed? - Owlin (year)

Mario Wonder (2023)

A Tiger in the Land of Dreams - Tiger Tateishi (1984)

[gatutor]

Robin Williams-Twiggy "Club Paraíso" (Club Paradise) 1986, de Harold Ramis.

[randomvarious]

Today’s mix:

Sessions Twelve (The Magic Sessions) by "Little" Louie Vega, Tony Humphries and Tedd Patterson 2001 House / Garage House / Deep House / Tribal House

A little history before getting into this overlooked double-disc triple mix from 2001 that features sets from three of the greatest DJs that house music has ever had the pleasure of bearing witness to...

The time is February 1986 and the place is, strangely enough, a Marriott in Fort Lauderdale. This is where the first annual electronic music convention of any kind, the Winter Music Conference, is set to take place. It's an event in which dance industry insiders, musicians, and DJs can all rub elbows, plan, and build a future for their music and culture.

And of course, alongside the business of dance music at WMC, are also the parties. And after moving the conference to a much more club-hospitable city in nearby Miami, both the WMC and its corresponding parties flourished.

The most important party for a number of years—until the advent of the Ultra Music Festival—was one that started in 1991 called Magic Sessions. And the three DJs whose mixes feature on this release—Louie Vega of Masters at Work, Tony Humphries, and Tedd Patterson—were all fixtures of that annual event, which became a must-attend affair for DJs, because these guys would load up each of their sets with plenty of tracks that had yet to have actually been broken. The way we've come to define the word 'influencer' over the past decade or so wasn't around in those pre-social media days, but these particular parties played a role in shaping dance music history, because previously unheard bangers that got played in those sets would get their official release afterwards and then manifest themselves into their own underground successes. So, DJs of this caliber were some of dance music's biggest influencers at the time, and one of their domains was this event that took place during the Winter Music Conference every year.

Now, coincidentally, there was a DJ mix series that was put out by gargantuan dance labels Ministry of Sound and Defected from the early 90s to early 2000s called Sessions. And even though the first installment was by Tony Humphries himself, and another one from '95 was by Masters at Work, it doesn't appear that this series had anything to do with the similarly named Magic Sessions party. That is, until 2001, with Sessions Twelve, when the series and the event appear to have converged.

None of these three sets, of course, are live recordings, though; a Magic Sessions night was known to have gone on for seven hours or so and this album packs three short mixes onto two separate discs, with Tony Humphries' portion split between both of them (I actually don't think I've ever seen something like that before??). But what it does seem to offer is some of what a specific Magic Sessions event during the WMC at Miami's Crobar club in March of 2001 might have sounded like, because all three of these DJs played there on that very same night. In fact, here's a *very* 2001 flyer for the exact event!

So, this release, all in all, is sublime. It's lined with a whole grip of contemporaneously spectacular garage house tracks—the New York-derived, largely vocally female-fronted, more rooted in the traditions of gospel, soul, and R&B type of stuff that originated at legendary DJ Larry Levan's Paradise Garage in Manhattan. Each DJ on here supplies their own fill of that garage style, and two of them lace it with other sonically different types of house music too. Louie Vega, who, I think, delivers the best mix of the three on here, starts with some Afro-Latin and Caribbean fare, and Tedd Patterson initiates with a blend of some tribal and deep stuff. Tony Humphries, on the other hand, hews to the garage theme pretty closely, but he also kicks off his set with a piece of just straight-up gospel-house.

And while most of these songs appear to have seen their official light of day by now, there's at least one on here that I don't think ever has, and that's DJ Spen's "Unreleased Mix" of Warren Clarke's "Over You," from Tedd Patterson's mix, which dispenses itself of most of its lead vocals from the great Kathy Brown (who gets her chance to shine on Louie Vega's mix), and replaces them with this highly satisfying, perpetually wandering and whining lead synth instead. Basically, what I'm saying is, if ever there were a reason to listen to this particular release, it's that song. And also, the way Frankie Knuckles unleashes this wobbly synth a couple times on the track that precedes it, "Keep On Movin (Dub)," hits *so* much deeper than any version I've run into on YouTube.

A sampling of what it probably sounded like on the night of March 27, 2001 at Miami Beach's Crobar for the highly anticipated annual Magic Sessions party during the Winter Music Conference, with three of the greatest house DJs to ever do it providing miniature sets chock-full of exquisite garage goodies. Just an excellent and underappreciated early 2000s house music time capsule right here. It doesn't get more ephemeral than this one, folks 😊.

Listen to the full album here: CD1 // CD2

Highlights:

CD1:

"Little" Louie Vega mix:

Gypsy Men - "Babarabitiri (Tee's Inhouse Mix)" Africanism - "Bisou Sauce" Julien Jabre - "Voo Dance" KOT feat. Julie McKnight - "Finally (Little Louie Vega Main Mix)" Urban Magic Presents The Slammin' Boys - "Dreams" Kathy Brown - "Give It Up" James Ingram - "Lean On Me (MAW Mix)" Nathan Haines feat. Verna Francis - "Earth Is the Place (Album Version FK Edit)" Erro - "Don't Change" Tony Humphries mix: Mysterious People - "Fly Away (Jason Jinx Disco Jam)" 4:20 feat. Farid Unique - "Let the Past Rest"

CD2:

Crystal Clear - "Live Your Life" Photek feat. Robert Owens - "Mine to Give (David Morales Happy Mix)" Lisa Millett - "Runaway" The Rooster Presents Funk Deluxe Feat. Mintzy Berry - "Music is Everywhere (Rooster's Bangin' Vox Mix)"

Tedd Patterson mix:

Deep Swing feat. Xavier - "Takin' Me Higher (Bini & Martini Mix)" Frankie Knuckles feat. Nikki - "Keep On Movin (Dub)" Warren Clarke feat. Kathy Brown - "Over You (Spen's Unreleased Mix)" Arnold Jarvis - "Spread Love (Vocal Mix)"

[stillunusual]

Boy's Own (issue ?) YEAR: 1989 CREATED BY: Terry Farley, Andrew Weatherall, Cymon Eckel and Steven Hall LOCATION: London SIZE: A4 WHAT'S INSIDE.... A zine from the last month of the last year of the 1980s.... By this time a gazillion fanzines had been published in the UK since the start of the punk rock explosion, covering a multitude of musical styles that had emerged in its wake. Football fanzines had also established themselves as an integral part of our national game. Boy's Own was started in 1986 by a group of young clubbers who were friends with DJ Paul Oakenfold and right where they needed to be as acid house began to take off in the UK. One of their inspirations was Liverpool fanzine The End, which irreverently mixed up music, football, poetry, fashion, humour, booze, drugs and politics (some of the zine's writers also ended up in indie-dance band The Farm). Each issue of Boy's Own contained a list of "uppers and downers", just like The End's list of "ins and outs". After sampling the club scene in Ibiza and discovering a new euphoria-enhancing drug called ecstasy, the Boy's Own crew became associated with London's first acid house clubs. Andrew Weatherall DJed at Danny Rampling's Shoom, and Terry Farley DJed at Paul Oakenfold's Future night at Heaven. They soon began hosting their own outdoor raves, helping to start a movement that would inspire any number of "Shock! Horror!" headlines in the tabloid press. They eventually formed their own record label and (if I remember correctly) also invented the phrase "it's all gone Pete Tong".... And in a similar way to the first punk zines, Boy's Own reflected the enormous changes in Britain's youth culture and fashion that were driven by house music and ecstasy in the late 1980s. This issue of the zine even includes the acid house equivalent of one of the most iconic expressions of the punk ethos (a picture of some badly drawn guitar chord charts accompanied by the words “THIS IS A CHORD - THIS IS ANOTHER - THIS IS A THIRD - NOW FORM A BAND”) that appeared in the first issue of Sideburns fanzine in January 1977 (although the Boy’s Own crew wrongly attribute it to Mark Perry’s Sniffin’ Glue). The acid house/ecstasy/rave scene was every bit as seismic as punk had been a decade earlier and also inspired a new generation of bands who were influenced by dance music (something that New Order had already pioneered since the early 1980s), the best of which were based in and around Manchester - which became known as Madchester at the time - and was also home to the Hacienda night club, which many people regarded as the epicentre of acid house. Some existing indie bands decided to completely change their sound and join the smiley/baggy/indie-dance revolution - most notably, Primal Scream. Andrew Weatherall's production work on their album "Screamadelica" helped the band to create an influential blend of rock and rave music, especially on the iconic "Higher Than The Sun" - a track that perfectly captured the mood of the era. This issue of Boy's Own features Flowered Up, a London band who managed to make a couple of half decent records while attempting to be the southern equivalent of Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses. Looking through the records in the Boy's Own charts, most of them would sound a bit lame today, with the notable exception of "The Sun Rising" by The Beloved. New releases include "Madchester Rave On - The Remixes" by Happy Mondays, which features a remix of "Hallelujah" by Paul Oakenfold and Andy Weatherall, and a remix of "Rave On" by Paul Oakenfold and Terry Farley. There's also cartoons, readers' letters, lifestyle tips, bouncer horror stories, girl's own nightmares, moody flyers, Viz comic, the Kray twins and much more. It's often true that the pioneers of a scene end up getting pissed off when it goes mainstream, and in an article titled "Paradise Lost", the Boy's Own crew also reminisce about the halcyon days of clubbing before the riff raff started jumping on the bandwagon. Click on the title above to see scans of all the zine's pages.... Andrew Weatherall was one of the greatest DJs of all time, and after his death in 2020, a group of fans created The Weatherdrive: a Google Drive folder containing hundreds of hours of his studio mixes, live recordings and radio shows. The complete collection of Boy's Own fanzines was published in a book called "Boy's Own, The Complete Fanzines 1986-92: Acid House Scrapes And Capers" but it's been out of print for years and I'm not prepared to fork out a fortune for a second hand copy.... my box of 1980s fanzines flickr

[ausetkmt]

As we celebrate Black Music Month and LGBT Pride Month, let us pay tribute to the pioneers and trailblazers who gifted the world with the infectious beats of house music. As house music is experiencing a resurgence in the mainstream, it's important to remember where house began -- decades ago in Black queer clubs. Over the years, house music continues to evolve, thrive, and inspire new generations, carrying on the legacy of its roots while pushing boundaries and breaking down barriers.

So, whether you're on a crowded dance floor, grooving in your living room, or listening on your phone, take a moment to appreciate the magic of house, a testament to the enduring spirit of Black musical innovation and a soundtrack for liberation, love, and unity.

DJ MikeQDJ MikeQ was immersed in the ballroom scene in NYC's tri-state area, where vogueing and ballroom battles took center stage. The Newark, New Jersey native DJ'ed at various ballroom events and clubs, eventually becoming the main DJ for HBO Max's hit series Legendary. MikeQ became one of the first house DJs on a major television series. In addition to his DJing prowess, MikeQ founded Qween Beat Productions, a record label that released music rooted in ballroom and vogue culture. No one slays a beat like DJ MikeQ and the people who came before him -- like DJ Frankie Knuckles and DJ Larry Levan -- would certainly be proud. Listen to a MikeQ set from 2022 above.

DJ Paulie PaulPhilly's own DJ Paulie Paul has been spinning for over three decades -- he is the sound of house in the City of Brotherly Love. Originally from North Philly, Paul developed a cult following as a DJ at the legendary Nile house club in the 1990s, including the late-great DJ Donald Stone and another music master gone too soon, DJ George. Known for his seamless mixing and ability to respond to the crowd's energy, Paul crafts unforgettable experiences on the dance floor. From vogue beats to tribal rhythms, if you are in Philadelphia, be sure to catch a DJ Paulie Paul set. In the meantime, listen above. 

DJ Larry LevanIn the 1970s and 1980s, DJ Larry Levan's residency at the Paradise Garage, a legendary nightclub in Manhattan, became an iconic hub for house music enthusiasts. Levan's musical sensibilities extended beyond the DJ booth. He was also an accomplished producer, remixing tracks for artists such as Grace Jones, Inner Life, and Gwen Guthrie, infusing their music with his distinctive touch. Larry Levan's impact on the house music genre cannot be overstated. Though he left this world in 1992 at only 38 years old, his legacy is forever etched in the annals of dance music history. Listen to a vintage mix from 1979.

DJ Ron HardyDJ Ron Hardy is a true pioneer of the Chicago house sound. His distinct style, unyielding passion for music, allowed him to connect to house heads and shape the evolution of house music worldwide. Ron Hardy's name remains synonymous with  the relentless pursuit of sonic exploration that defines the spirit of house music. He passed away in 1992 at 33 years old. Listen to a classic mix from 1986 above.

DJ Frankie KnucklesBorn in 1959, the pioneering DJ began his career spinning soul, disco, and R&B music at clubs in New York City. He relocated to Chicago and was soon coined the Godfather of House.  In 1997, Frankie Knuckles won a Grammy in the Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical category, and in 2004 a street in Chicago was renamed Frankie Knuckles Way. The following year, Knuckles was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2014 at 59 years old but his legacy in house music is immortal. Knuckles mastered the resilience, creativity, and cultural significance that this genre represents. Listen to his set from  2013 above. Happy Pride and happy Black Music Month!

[crusheswhimsandfancies]

“Hey, Red! Whaddaya say, you wanna join us for a colada?”

Club Paradise, 1986

[c-40]

A-T-3 255 Gwen Guthrie - Seventh Heaven

Gwen Guthrie's second album Portrait is released in 1983. It was recorded at Compass Point in Nassau with the same all-stars as her debut, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Wally Badarou, Darryl Thompson, and Steven Stanley. As you'd expect from such a prolific songwriter and backing singer with a great supporting cast It's a terrific album

Larry Levan had remixed It Should Have Been You which was released as a single from her debut album. Levan was given the master tapes for Portrait and to Island Records horror spent too much expensive studio time to their liking remixing it, and this was when record companies had budgets to spend on lesser known artists. I remember watching the Brian Duffy documentary The Man Who Shot the 60s, Duffy produced the now iconic sleeve artwork for David Bowie's album Aladdin Sane, his advice to Bowie was spend as much of the record company's money as you can and then to recoup there investment they have to promote you. Promotion budgets are a big deal, you could have made they greatest album of all time but if nobody knows about it it's going to get buried. It helped that by Aladdin Sane had had his breakthrough and was already being seen as a major star, Gwen Guthrie wasn't that fortunate

Perhaps Larry Levan didn't spend enough of Island's money because his remixes sat on a shelf for two years and other than his remixes for Peanut Butter and Hopscotch the only place you could here Larry Levan's other remixes from these sessions was at the Paradise Garage played off reel-to-reel tapes. Paradise Garage was one of the most famous clubs on the planet and it was Larry Levan that made that happen. Gwen Guthrie became known as 'The First Lady Of The Paradise Garage' because of her live performances there and Levan playing his remixes of her records in his sets.

In 1985 Island release some of Levan's remixes as the mini-album Padlock (Special Mixes). The mini-album is credited to Levan with Gwen Guthrie demoted to featured performer alongside Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Wally Badarou, and Darryl Thompson. We can extract from this decision that it was decided by the record company that Larry Levan was creating demand for these records to be put out and it was Levan' name that would get punters handing over their cash. Padlock sold much better than Portrait once it was released, Peanut Butter was reissued, Padlock was released as a single, as was Seventh Heaven (in the UK this came out around the time of Gwen's biggest success Aint Nothing Going On But The Rent in 1986, with Levan's remixes of Getting Hot and It Should Have Been You off Gwen's self-titled debut)

Going back to the issue of samples like I mentioned the other day Seventh Heaven, the Larry Levan remix, has been sampled in hip hop, rnb, and dance music over and over for tracks by the likes of Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Busta Rhymes, Leaders Of The New School, Redman, Dilated Peoples, El-P, Public Enemy, Amil feat Beyoncé, Eric Sermon, Kenny Dope, Spinna, Tek 9, Dj Krust...

On a decent system with those synths and drums flying past you is my idea of heaven

[lboogie1906]

Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was a singer-songwriter and pianist who sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, The Limit, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, Angela Bofill, and Roberta Flack. She is known for her 1986 anthem “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On but the Rent,” and for her 1986 cover of the song “(They Long to Be) Close to You.”

She was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. She joined vocal groups such as the Ebonettes and the Matchmakers while working as an elementary school teacher.

She began moonlighting as a singer of commercial jingles. A songwriting partnership with boyfriend, trombonist/bassist Haras Fyre resulted in comeback single “Supernatural Thing,” an R&B #1 (#5 pop) hit in 1975, and the follow-up, “Do It In the Name of Love (#4 R&B). They wrote “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” for Angela Bofill. Together they wrote seven tracks on Sister Sledge’s Circle of Love. “Cross My Heart”, “Protect Our Love”, “Love Don’t You Go Through No Changes on Me”, “Don’t You Miss Him Now”, “Pain Reliever”, “You’re Much Better Off Loving Me”, and “Fireman”. She wrote Roberta Flack’s “God Don’t Like Ugly”.

She sang a duet of “Nothing But Love” with Peter Tosh on his album Wanted Dread and Alive.

She began racking up dance hits. She was dubbed “The First Lady of the Paradise Garage,” as several of her songs became anthems at that venue. She recorded her first major landmark hit “Padlock”. She was featured on the club hit Say Yeah with the group The Limit. The track reached #17 in the UK singles chart. She was executive producer and singer on the minor hit “Naughty Times”.

“Can’t Love You Tonight” addressed AIDS at a time when the disease was a rather taboo subject. She was an ally of the gay community and people with AIDS.

Other club hits by her include “Seventh Heaven,” “Peanut Butter,” and “Peek-a-Boo.” “Padlock” was covered by M People. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[porcelain-and-paper]

List of 2024

(constantly updated)

Books 📕📚📖

Julie de Lespinasse - Letters of Mlle. De Lespinasse

Agnieszka Szpila - Heksy

Jerzy Urban - Jajakobyły

Jerzy Jarniewicz - Makijaż

Movies🎥🎞🎬

The Age of Innocence [1993]

Human Traffic [1999]

Whiplash [2014]

The Northman [2022]

James Bond No time to die [2021]

The Neon Demon [2016]

Galaxy Quest [1999]

Vampire's kiss [1988]

Jurassic World Dominion [2022]

The Last Night in Soho [2021]

Corsage [2022]

Natural City [2003]

Nobody [2021]

Being John Malkovitch [1999]

The Hudsucker Proxy [1994]

Tick, tick... BOOM [2021]

Babylon [2022]

Grey Gardens [2009]

Lady Bird [2017]

Asteroid City [2023]

Pig [2021]

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent [2022]

Barton Fink [1991]

Sisu [2023]

Mandy [2018]

District 9 [2009]

Starship Troopers [1997]

Angel Heart [1987]

Scanners [1981]

Studio 54 [1998]

Things to Do in Denver when You're Dead [1995]

Fargo [1996]

Sicario [2015]

Godzilla Minus One [2023]

The Fly [1986]

Factotum [2005]

Story of O [1975]

Adaptation [2002]

Mermaids [1990]

Blade [1998]

Blade II [2002]

Blade: Trinity [2004]

The Royal Tenenbaum [2001]

The Diary of a Teenage Girl [2015]

Magnolia [1999]

Natural Born Killers [1994]

The Lighthouse [2019]

Pulp Fiction [1994]

Go [1999]

Reality Bites [1994]

9 songs [2004]

Interview with a Vampire [1994]

Egoiści (PL) [2000]

Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension [1984]

Heavenly Creatures [1994]

Singles [1992]

Wicker Park [2004]

Dune: Part Two [2024]

The Favourite [2018]

Under the Volcano [1984]

Phantom of the Paradise [1974]

In the mouth of madness [1994]

The Machinist [2004]

Prêt-à-Porter [1994]

Paris, Texas [1984]

Death Wish [1974]

Marnie [1964]

La Strada [1954]

Cover Girl [1944]

Kallafiorr (PL) [1999]

The Last Voyage of Demeter [2023]

The Gentlemen [2019]

The Menu [2022]

Lisbon Story [1994]

The Great Gatsby [1974]

Wyatt Earp [1994]

Gothic [1986]

Climax [2018]

Meg 2: The Trench [2023]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom [2023]

Soaked in bleach [2015]

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire [2024]

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert [1994]

Pom Poko [1994]

Barbie [2023]

Legends of the Fall [1994]

Rimini [2022]

La femme publique [1984]

Ophelia [2018]

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead [1990]

Near Dark [1987]

Léon: the Professional [1994]

Boyhood [2014]

x [2022]

My Fair Lady [1964]

Blood Simple [1984]

La Reine Margot [1994]

Lisa Frankenstein [2024]

Quiz show [1994]

M for Murder [1954]

Nightcrawler [2014]

Don Juan DeMarco [1994]

Shallow Grave [1994]

5x2 [2004]

Summer of Blood [2014]

It Could Happen to You [1994]

Idiocracy [2006]

Banlieue 13 [2004]

This is Spinal Tap [1984]

Gospel According to Harry [1994]

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga [2024]

Garden State [2004]

Mean Girls [2004]

Eros [2004]

Zardoz [1974]

Little woman [1994]

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person [2023]

Anatomie d'une chute [2023]

Madame Web [2024]

Flash [2023]

Night of the comet [1984]

Repo Man [1984]

50 first dates [2004]

Along Came Polly [2004]

Altered states [1980]

The Lost Boys [1987]

Society [1989]

Outland [1981]

Club Zero [2023]

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire [2024]

Series 📺🖥💻

Archer season 14

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities: Episode 7 The Viewing

Chernobyl

Rojst Millenium

3 body problem [Netflix]

The Gentleman

Ripley

Bridgertones season 3

The Boys season 4

Sausage Party: Foodtopia

The Umbrella Academy season 4

Kleo season 2 [ongoing]

Penguin [onoging]

Scents 🧯🫧🧴

BOUGHT

Robert Piquet Bandit

Etat Libre d'Orange Attaquer Le Soleil Marquis De Sade

Natural Blossom Moon Flower

USED UP

Pani Walewska

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea

Joe Malone Cologne

Joe Malone Earl Gray and Cucumber

The Library of the Fragrance Earl Gray

Current faves 💡🔥🌠

(no particular order)

brutalist, concrete architecture

Helmut Lang collections from 90s but for my everyday I choose Uniqlo and Muji

My all time favorite record is Silence is Sexy by Einstürzende Neubauten, however, honorable mention is reserved for Kruder & Dorfmeister DJ Kicks

Def some 90s nostalgia, as I was born in early 80s and I grew up then

I'm enjoying body horrors more than I wish to admit

incense perfumes

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.21 (after 1960)

1961 – The "La Ronde" opens in Honolulu, first revolving restaurant in the United States. 1962 – The Chinese People's Liberation Army declares a unilateral ceasefire in the Sino-Indian War. 1964 – The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. At the time it is the world's longest bridge span. 1964 – Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes. 1969 – U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. The U.S. retains rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free. 1969 – The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI. 1972 – Voters in South Korea overwhelmingly approve a new constitution, giving legitimacy to Park Chung Hee and the Fourth Republic. 1974 – The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but subsequently acquitted. 1980 – A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas). Eighty-five people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history. 1985 – United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison. 1986 – National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran–Contra affair. 1990 – Bangkok Airways Flight 125 crashes on approach to Samui Airport, killing 38. 1992 – A major tornado strikes the Houston, Texas area during the afternoon. Over the next two days the largest tornado outbreak ever to occur in the US during November spawns over 100 tornadoes. 1995 – The Dayton Agreement is initialed at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1996 – Humberto Vidal explosion: Thirty-three people die when a Humberto Vidal shoe shop in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico explodes. 2002 – NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members. 2002 – Arturo Guzmán Decena, founder of Los Zetas and high-member of the Gulf Cartel, is killed in a shoot-out with the Mexican Army and the police. 2004 – The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, giving rise to massive protests and controversy over the election's integrity. 2004 – Dominica is hit by the most destructive earthquake in its history. The northern half of the island sustains the most damage, especially the town of Portsmouth. In neighboring Guadeloupe, one person is killed. 2004 – The Paris Club agrees to write off 80% (up to $100 billion) of Iraq's external debt. 2006 – Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and government minister Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut. 2009 – A mine explosion in Heilongjiang, China kills 108. 2012 – At least 28 are wounded after a bomb is thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv. 2013 – Fifty-four people are killed when the roof of a shopping center collapses in Riga, Latvia. 2013 – Massive protests start in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych suspended signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement. 2014 – A stampede in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe caused by the police firing tear gas kills at least eleven people and injures 40 others. 2015 – The government of Belgium imposes a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, and public transportation, due to potential terrorist attacks. 2017 – Robert Mugabe formally resigns as President of Zimbabwe, after thirty-seven years in office. 2019 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. 2019 – Tesla launches the SUV Cybertruck. A gaffe occurs during the launch event when its "unbreakable" windows shatter during demonstration. 2021 – An SUV plows through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six and injuring 62.