#d ford’s many forms

[domesticatedford]

God Fordzoi

[egginfroggin]

There are so many good shots in "Mother Knows Best" that I could redraw for the GF au I keep forgetting how utterly dramatic Gothel is

Also I never noticed her little fluttering hand motions when she says "knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest"

[uno-san]

Bill Cipher Vs. Self-Hatred

Howdy y'all! Today I just wanted to go over some thoughts I had over everybody's favorite triangle that may or may not have occurred to some of you already. Naturally this will contain Book of Bill Spoilers.

To start off our little essay I thought it would be important to first sum up my thoughts on one of Bill's more complicated relationships: Stanford

Now we've all seen his dynamic with Stanford plenty of times in the show but with recent information coming from both the Book of Bill and thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com more light has been shed on the subject from both Bill's perspective and Ford's.

There's more than meets the eye when it comes to dissecting Bill's interactions and thoughts on Stanford, with the ever enlightening "EVEN HIS LIES ARE LIES" making theorists scratch their heads. Within the Book of Bill are these codes and their meanings: hbh grfwru ri d gliihuhqw nlqg/ zkr zdqw wr pdnh klv sdwlhqw eolqg

eye doctor of a different kind/ who wants to make his patient blind

Qeb alzqlo pxvp/ qeobb pfmp x axv/ tfii jxhb qeb sfpflkp/ dl xtxv

The doctor says/ three sips a day/ will make the visions/ go away

Ixvvb hdwhu/ edeb eloob/ zrxogq'w gulqn/ xqohvv lwv vloob

Fussy eater/ baby billy/ wouldn't drink/ unless its silly

As well as:

Finding out that both Stanford and Bill have a genetic mutation that made them Black Sheep suggests the possibility that Bill saw a kinship within Stanford. After all, he did make the offer for Stanford to join him. No doubt being able to sympathize with Stanford's situation yet misreading his motivations, causing the rift in their once savable relationship once Bill's lies were uncovered.

Now I'll admit it was others who came up with this theory in particular, especially when drawing comparisons of how Stanford was treated and how Bill allegedly was for having a strange eye. Stanford, in some form of other, might represent how Bill was before he saw the destruction of his world by his hands. A mere outcast looking for his place in the world. To be believed rather than ridiculed or "fixed".

Self-Hatred

And now we get to the Bill we all know today:

The chaos loving and nightmare inducing three-sided maniac, who may be hiding more insecurities than he ever let on in the show, thanks to the Theraprism.

Someone far more traumatized

Who's had to convince himself to fully be the bastard he is today

But if the theory that Bill had a type of kinship with Stanford thanks to their mutations was true, then wouldn't it be possible that his relationship with someone else might represent the inner struggle with himself?

For you see, the original title of this post was...

Bill Cipher Vs. Stanley Pines

As my own theory is that Stanley Pines is what Bill decided to project his self-hatred on. Nobody can doubt that the two have similar qualities, yet as I read the Book of Bill and thisisnotawebsitedotcom I couldn't help but notice the absolute malice that Bill has for Stanley whenever he's mentioned.

There have been many opponents before that have strived to take Bill down. Whether that was the Shaman, the Anti-Cipher Society, or Time Baby, none of his interactions with them have appeared as vitriol as compared to Stanley.

Not even Stanford has this same reaction, who, by really no contest, was the closest to ever defeating Cipher by himself. Both with the gun that he near successfully killed Bill with and the secret of the barrier of Gravity Falls he refused to give up. Bill didn't even have a real interaction with Stanley until the last episode.

Yet it isn't Stanford that causes Bill to break while he's in the Theraprism. It's Stanley.

"-A resume-inflating, cheap trick loving, past-denying overgrown child protected from failure only by a force field of DENIAL AND shamelessness!"

"Self-pitying"

"Stupid"

"Smug"

"Hack Jokes"

"UNWORTHY"

Now it could be just me, but those are a lot of specific insults to fling somebody's way that you've barely interacted with. Especially if Bill credits the Twin Swap to Stanford entirely as opposed to allowing Stanley the credit.

"STEP RIGHT UP, it's time to play my FAVORITE GAME!! BOOTLEG SIXER over HERE spent a LIFETIME trying to hide his humiliations, BUT I'VE BEEN INSIDE HIS MIND, so NOW they’re ALL YOURS for the low low price of BEING MY NEW PAL! ITS SHOWTIME FOLKS, AND THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE IS TO BE NAMED STANLEY PINES!"

“SHAME:TM - IT'S THE ONE FRIEND WHO NEVER LEAVES!”

This out-of-character hatred doesn't come from the fact that Bill thought Stanley wasn't worthy, it comes from the fact that Bill sees himself in Stan. Who by all means is a lying and conniving screw up. Somebody who let his family down.

This could possibly be proven by the poem Bill had wrote about Stanley:

The whole poem suits my point but I decided to highlight the sections that caught my eye specifically. That when you put into consideration Bill's clear trauma and regret about the Euclidian Massacre, his own words can clearly be flipped back on him.

That he sees himself as a curse and a mistake. A self-made monster. Someone who's left the past behind when the loss of his home is still on his mind.

And what truly gets under Bill's skin about Stanley Pines?

"He got his life and family back.

His big break, it finally came,

Redemption from a life of shame"

Stanley got back what Bill can't.

[vespeepee]

(Introducing my Gravity Falls oc with a huge post bc why not— a lot of them are just rough sketches)

Meet CLOVER!

She’s a siren that arrived in Gravity Falls under… unique circumstances. And now resides here willingly!

She ran into Stan roughly 25 years ago, when he was running the Murder Hut (aka The Mystery Shack) and was just a little more established.

She lives with Stan, despite occasionally going out to the lake to swim (and to feed off tourists, unbeknownst to Stan— most of the time) and has spent the past 25 years working at the shack! Using her hypnotic siren abilities to scam customers and get a little more cash.

One might also notice that she also has LEGS! My take on sirens are that (like in many different forms of media/folklore) they can assume human forms for extended periods of time, up to several years. She also ages much differently in comparison to humans, and while she looks to be in her 30’s, she’s about a couple hundred years old or so. Still working it out.

Stan and Clover’s relationship was a little rocky at first, due to her distrust towards humans and how closed off she was, but eventually over the years they grew closer, and even became friends!

Her relationship with Ford on the other hand, is a bit of a different story.

At first, she’s quite bitter towards him, mostly because she learned a little early on of Stan’s attempts to bring his brother back for 30 years, and while she can recognize that the rift created from the portal being reactivated was dangerous.. she can’t help but be a little angry at Stanford for not recognizing his brother’s efforts. Eventually though… she grows to be more neutral towards him, and even gets along with him sometimes.

You will probably see a good amount of her on here, along with some regular fanart and my own original works :)

Also a little treat.

That’s all! :D

[cosmocup1d]

Note : The reader is a child between 6-7 years old, blood, dead bodies, OOC Characters, Change the canon plot

Part 2

Whoo! 🥳my first one piece fanfic

It was loud

It was so so loud

[Name] cough as she ran around didn't know where to go but she needs to find her dad, She felt tears in her eyes but quickly wipe them away with the back of her hand after all she's going to be marine to make her daddy proud. She smiled as she wipes her tears she can't wait to tell her daddy that she went to marine Ford all by herself! She then turn and the sight making her instantly sick

Blood

Blood was everywhere

But the thing that made her sick there was dead bodies everywhere; to many to count

[Name]cover her mouth so that she wouldn't puke, she's going to be a marine anyway she has to get use to dead bodies. She took a deep breath before running making sure to not step over the dead bodies out of respect

She then trip making me cry out in surprise as she fell down. She cough some more and sat up as she looks down seeing a dead making her scream and crawl away "I-im so sorry mr!" She cried out as she stood up and grabbing the dead Marines coat and putting it over his head as she bowede respectfully

She then turn around and started running trying to see or hear her dad. The said dad was busy fighting of the other pirates and trying to kill Portgas D. ace "ADMIRAL SAKAZUKI!!" A marine cried out "Do they really think they could escape!? There're fools" The said admiral scoff as he activate his devil fruit

"LOOK OUT! IT'S AKAINU!" A pirate cried out "You free ace then turn tail and run eh? The Whitebeard pirates are a pack of cowards" Akainu said as he continues "But considering who your leader isis, that's no surprise Whitebeard is a loser from a bygone area" He finish making ace stop "ACE!" Luffy cried out "A loser huh?" Ace mutter making akainu look at him. The two then begins to bicker making ace more and more furious as the other shouted at ace to stop and come back

"Ace!" Luffy gasp out as he fell down to his knees "luffy! You've reach your limit!" Jinbe said walking over to the boy "Hey... Ace's vivre card..." Luffy reach down at the vivre card unknowingly that akainu was ready to kill him with his magma fist. Luffy looks up seeing akainu magma covered fist heading his way

It happen so fast ace covered Luffy but then someone covered ace

Akainu eyes widen seeing poppy as his fist goes thru her stomach making every look at them with shock and horror "I-i found you daddy!" The little girl gasp out as akainu pulls out his magma arm and reverting it to normal. The other pirates grabs luffy and ace who were stand in shock then dragging them to the ship

Akainu felt his throat close up as he catches poppy who was about to fell down tot he ground "A-are you proud of me d-daddy?... I.. I made it here all by myself..." The girl cough out makibg akainu cradle her and standing up "DOCTOR! ANYONE! CALL A GODDAMN DOCTOR" Akainu order out as Marines scramble to find a doctor "Please don't yell daddy...." [Name] whined out making akainu shut his mouth

Akainu looks down seeing his daughter bleeding in his arms with a hole thru her stomach that he made 'I'm sorry I'm so sorry sorry!' He wanted to say but he couldn't form any words as poppy smiled weekly "D-don't be angry dadddy... It's was my fault.. I-" Poppy was cut off by her fought out blood making akainu panic as he wipes the blood off "I-i was in the way" She finish

"Where is the patient!" A voice said as akainu rush to the voice seeing adoctor, he then lower his arms making the doctor gasp out of shock "I... I'm... I'm so sorry admiral" The doctor bowed his head "The hell you mean 'I'm so sorry'!? Help my daughter!" Akainu snaps at the doctor "I can't help her! Even if I did she would die! All of her organs burnt!" The doctor felt tears in his eyes the girl was so young so innocent

Akainu shuts his mouth as he breath heavily before running "Don't worry we'll get you a doctor" He mutter to his daughter which made her smile "Daddy?..." [Name]mutter "Yes?" Akainu hummed "w-why is it getting dark?" She ask making akainu run faster he didn't know where was he going but he'll run around until he see a doctor or medic

"Daddy please I'm scared.." [Name] cried as she grips his red jacket "it's gonna be alright baby you're going to be alright" Akainu gave a kiss on her forehead while patting her head "Daddy why do I feel cold?" [Name] ask again "Daddy... Please help... I-i don't wanna go!" She cried making akainu grip her tiny body in his arms

She continues to let out sobs and cries making akainu fought hard against his tears as he tries to assure his daughter that she'll be safe and healthy but he knew what's gonna happen but just ignore it "Daddy... I'm sorry... I-i shouldn't have come here... I wanna make you feel proud because I was brave... I'm sorry for all the times that I distracted you from work"

Please don't

"I'm sorry if I accidentally drawn on your document"

I like your drawings

"I'm sorry that I broke your vase"

I never like the vase

"I'm sorry for being loud"

I love hearing your voice

"I'm sorry that I wasn't good enough"

You were perfect

[Name] smiled "Thank you for everything... Daddy" She close her eyes as her hand goes limp her body getting cold

It was quiet

It was so so quiet

[i-have-41-protons]

My very own super self-indulgent AU! ✨ It’s called… Drumroll…

✨GRAVITY FURS✨

Where everyone is an anthropomorphic furry :3

Explanation for the au below the cut!

Basically everything is the same, except everybody — even Bill! — is a furry. Obviously I had to make Bill a cat — they act in all the very same ways: demanding attention, leaving for unknown reasons, scratching at lab doors, and overall being just petty little gremlins. He is incredibly floofy, and has retractable claws (which I am aware is not at all original, but I love that headcanon and it goes SO well in here). “Fiddlesticks” and “Stanfur” is a joke btw, they actually have their original names.

So, everyone is a furry little animal, living exactly the same in their own little furry universe, right? WRONG.

Our, canon Bill Cipher dies, and invokes the Axolotl… but instead of going to Theraprism, he gets another chance at life. Such is the Frilly deity — forgiving, with many, many chances to spare for every being. So, Bill Cipher is sent back to Earth, in a different form, at a different time… but it is not the right Earth. Not the Earth he’s used to, anyways — but rather, the fluffy universe. The Furry Falls, if you will.

The “different form” being exceptionally un-triangular, which he is obviously enraged by. What’s more, is that his new flesh-sack is also… fluffy. With whiskers, and cute little ears (which he does NOT consider cute in any way), and paw beans… WHAT THE FUCK AM I, screams Bill as he wakes up.

An even worse shock is the creature that finds him (alone, naked, in the woods — yk, the classics). It is strangely resembling of both a human and a dog, and most of all, of Sixer. But this can’t really be Sixer, can it? Nope, it can!!! Surprise, surprise, Billy. You now have to deal with all THAT! >:D

Furry!Bill is sent into Canon!Bill’s place. Either the Axolotl didn’t care, or they thought he also needed a change of scenery — I don’t know, and neither do the Bills. But the fact remains, that now, in place of the recently defeated dream demon, there is the very same dream demon… but now, corporeal, fluffy, incredibly confused, and horrified at everybody being so fleshy… and way cuter than the original Bill. Of course, shenanigans ensue — Mabel might even like his new appearance, when she gets back to Gravity Falls.

As Bill searches for answers and SOME sort of understanding of what happened, he reaches out to anyone he can get to (that being anyone who stayed in Gravity Falls — so, not Stan or Ford or Dipper or Mabel, but, I suppose, Soos and Melody and Wendy and all the other members of the zodiac). I think, he will do quite well with Soos and Melody! Anyways, I haven’t thought into it that far, just yet.

In the Furry Falls, however, Ford and Bill search for answers together. It is your classical “return to Gravity Falls in a human form” type of story, except no it’s not, because it’s happening in the 80s and Ford now has to explain Bill to Fiddleford — somehow. Billfiddlesford ensues……….

Anyways that’s about it for now! That’s my AU, and it’s gonna be tagged #gravityfursAU :3

[beardedmrbean]

A Texas-led bill that would mandate AM radio capability in car manufacturing was blocked from passing in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, requested a unanimous consent decision on his AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. The legislation was blocked by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, who said the mandate on private companies would be an overstep of congressional power.

For months, Cruz has pushed for vehicle manufacturers to retain AM radio in new car models to protect emergency communication channels and diverse content. He partnered with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in May to introduce the legislation, which had broad bipartisan support in the Senate.

A corresponding bill was introduced in the House and has 191 cosponsors, including two Democrats and 12 Republicans from Texas.

AM radio is “enormously important to millions of Texans,” Cruz told The Texas Tribune in October. He noted the platform is essential for diverse talk radio — especially for conservative voices.

“I think silencing those voices is enormously harmful to both free speech but also to a robust democratic process,” Cruz said.

On the Senate floor Tuesday, Cruz pointed to conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck, who all found audiences on AM radio.

“AM radio is a haven for people to speak, even if their views are disfavored by the political ruling class,” Cruz said on the Senate floor. “Rush Limbaugh would not exist without AM radio. The views of my friend, [Rand Paul] the Senator from Kentucky, would be heard by many fewer people without AM radio.”

AM radio in rural Texas and other southern states is also a platform for religious, local news and sports programming. Local stations will also run chain or network programming with more well-known commentators, according to Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

Some rural communities are dependent on getting local interest information from a single radio station or single newspaper, Cross said.

“If you allow the manufacturers to not put AM on cars, then you're killing off an essential part of the media landscape of the United States,” Cross said.

Supporters of the bill also point to AM radio’s importance as a means to protect emergency communication channels. A fall 2022 Nielsen survey showed AM radio reaches over 80 million Americans monthly.

“During times of disaster, AM radio is consistently the most resilient form of communication,” Cruz said.

AM radio is used as an alert system by federal, state and local agencies to communicate in times of disaster when other forms of communication fail, like during a power outage.

Cruz said he was confident that the legislation would pass overwhelmingly if brought to the floor for a vote, but since it was blocked on Tuesday it now awaits scheduling by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The congressional pressure already provoked change in the industry. Days after the bills were introduced in May, the CEO of Ford announced that the company would keep AM radio in 2024 models.

Car companies started cutting AM radio capacity to simplify manufacturing and because of assumptions that American consumers don’t find AM radio necessary, according to Oscar Rodriguez, the president of the Texas Association of Broadcasters. Companies also can make revenue from car owners’ subscription-only radio services.

“It became very clear very quickly to the automakers that this is a highly valued service that's extraordinarily important,” Rodriguez said. “It's not just an entertainment service. It is an emergency communications service.”

AM station signals cover 90% of the American population, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, and are able to continue operations during power outages.

But a number of national trade associations have defended manufacturers’ right to exclude AM capacity, arguing that FM radio, internet access and text emergency alerts can replace the loss of AM radio.

“This is giving preference to a technology that is facing fierce competition,” said India Herdman, manager of policy affairs for the Consumer Technology Association.

A FEMA strategic plan pointed out that Americans are “moving away” from radio and broadcast television as primary sources of news and information, one reason for emergency managers to prioritize alerts to smartphones and other methods.

Herdman said that a mandate for AM radio contradicts previous congressional action authorizing federal funding for updated emergency communications.

“What are we spending those appropriated dollars for if we're just going to go back to using century-old technology?” Herdman said.

But in a state like Texas, with a significant rural population, proponents of AM broadcasting argue the access is key.

Cooper Little, executive director of the Independent Cattlemen’s Association, said Texans in the agricultural sector rely on AM radio for reports on livestock and markets, as well as severe weather alerts.

“Things happen at a moment's notice,” Little said. “In areas where there's not necessarily cell service, that's how you spread the word.”

[27dragons]

Quiz Meme thing for people over 50 - via @gilajames

1. Name one body part that doesn't hurt: my elbow (who gets that reference? but really mine doesn't hurt. at least not today.)

2. Were you able to answer #1 because you have taken ibuprofen recently? Nope, I haven't been able to take ibuprofen at all for a few years now because I'm prone to ulcers. (I also haven't taken any tylenol/paracetamol, because it straight up doesn't work for me for pain relief. It lowers fevers, but that's it.)

3. Name one activity you are greatly relieved you don't do anymore because fuck that shit: change diapers and otherwise deal with any (literal) shit that isn't my own

4. Have you gotten at least eight hours of sleep in the past five days. (Not each night, just total.) Oh yeah, I average about 6.5 hours a night and on the weekends sometimes it stretches to seven!

5. Name one song that is NOT forty years old, what the fuck. The 1980s were, like, twenty years ago. Fuck you, the 80s were like, five years ago at most lol. That said: The Hamilton soundtrack, and also "Panic" by David Ford. Those are only like 10-15 years old.

6. Do you remember the last time you got carded (not counting 'we have to card everyone' places.) If we're not counting "card everyone" places, then I have never been carded. When I bought booze legally for the first time on my 21st birthday, they did not card me. Apparently I radiate an aura of "yeah she's old enough."

7. Name one musician that you keep hearing their name but have no clue what their music is. My Chemical Romance, I guess (I have a general idea what the music is but I don't know that I've actually heard it. I could be wrong about that I suppose but I definitely didn't know it.) I'm not really a music person, this is a lot of music questions for me.

8. Have the celebrities you loved as a kid started dying of old age? A few but not too many yet.

9. Have the celebrities you loved as a teenager started dying of old age? Same.

10. When did you start listening to the Oldies station? Another music question? I mean, I listened to the oldies station when I was in frickin college because I don't care about music and that was the station my boyfriend at the time liked. I really only listen to music in the car, and after I dumped that guy I switched to listening almost exclusively to tapes, CDs, and music downloaded to an iPod/phone.

11. Have you told a younger co-worker any form of the phrase "wait until you're my age/older/hit your 40s, then you'll..." Not really, though I've done the "wait until you have kids who are [age] thing to younger co-workers, and commiserated with co-workers of similar age about all the shit that hit us after 40.

12. Do you seek out older co-workers so you can quote something at them that they will get? Nope, because I am a work-from-home introvert. :D

13. Would you rather just stay home? At least 85% of the time, YES.

14. Have you reached the point that for birthdays, other gift-getting events, you say "I just don't need more stuff"? No, because I love getting gifts. When I was young, my mom told me she didn't care what was under the Christmas tree for her, she just loved opening presents. Seriously, one year when I was like 14 I got her a 6-pack of socks and wrapped each pair individually and she LOVED it. I thought she was crazy then, but I get it now. Anyway the only people who get me actual gifts these days are the Things and I'm not going to discourage them because they're so fun.

15. Do you often find yourself saying "I remember when" and you describe something so completely foreign to Life Today that you wonder if you made it up? All the FUCKIGN TIME

16. Did you look at this list at the beginning and hope it was a short quiz because you don't have time for those 50 item lists? Lol no because this counts as social interaction for me these days.

My fellow "old" tumblrs, join in the fun! (Or don't, I'm not the boss of you.)

[novantinuum]

WIP ask game

Tagged by @drsteggy, thank you! :D

_

RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

_

The document names I’m posting here are only the stories I have actively in some form of progress right now, FYI- thus most of them are Steven Universe related. Still have a few for Zelda I’d love to finish in time tho. Some are chapter titles (if they Had titles), some are legit one-shot titles, some are placeholder titles.

If it’s crossed out, then someone has sent an ask about it already.

Here’s my list:

Chapter 15: Allegiance

a cut above (but nothing more)

First Impressions Part 3

Chapter 20: An Undesired Truth

Paya/Isha fic

Ford in Hyrule fic

you can’t choose what stays and what fades away

knowing, loving, being

Stepping Stones

Reunited Alt POV fic

Bad Dreams

Proposal fic

Peridot and Steven short

Glow or Dark

Connie’s trauma (post movie)

Steven has nightmares

Taste of Ordinary Chapter 2

But yeah, feel free to send in any you’re curious about and I’ll share snippets or ramble about the general vibe.

Uhhh tagging… (thinks of authors…) @michpat6, @deiliamedlini, @fanfoolishness, and You, if you’re bored and want something to do. Please just take this ask meme and go nuts, heck yeah

[racefortheironthrone]

Read your post on "disruptors", loved it, and made me wonder why so many have a cult of personality spring up around them. Were there similar cults of personality for the mega wealthy in the past; like was Rockefeller worshiped the way so many worship Musk? Or is it a more modern trend fuelled by our constant connectivity and consumption of media? Thanks!

You raise an interesting question.

It was certainly true that the robber barons of the 19th century - Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, Gould, Frick, etc. - were larger-than-life figures in the media (especially the part of the media that covered high society). It is also true that with a lot of these figures, there was this popular myth of the self-made man that sought to turn them into quintessential rags-to-riches, up-by-your-bootstraps American sucess stories.

But for the most part, the robber barons of the Gilded Age were hated for their monopolistic behavior and their use of violence to suppress the working class - and these magnates often had to go to great lengths to repair their reputations. Andre Carnegie's library-building campaign, for example, was very much a PR move meant to soften his image after the Homestead Strike. In fact, my great-grandfather Humphrey Attewell helped to organize opposition to the construction of a Carnegie library in Northampton, because he and other working-class people felt that the funds for the library were blood money distributed by a murderer. Likewise, it's not an accident that John D. Rockefeller founded the Rockefeller Foundation right around the same time that the Ludlow Massacre turned him into a monster in the eyes of the American public.

I would argue that we start to see more of a cult of personality around the mega-wealthy a bit later - say, 1900s-1930s - and the major turning point was the career of Thomas Edison. While Edison was every bit as ruthless and grasping as the robber barons before him - hence the war of the currents, his penchant for patent theft and/or stealing credit for inventions, the very existence of Hollywood - the fact that he was an inventor with so many world-changing patents to his name made Edison into a very different kind of media figure. Thomas Edison became a star of pulp fiction and dime novels, a sort of proto-superhero Science Hero - in addition to Edison's Conquest of Mars (an unauthorized sequel to the War of the Worlds in which Thomas Edison gets revenge for the Martian invasion of Earth by launching a counter-invasion of the red planet with his superior technology), there was a whole genre of Edisonades all about young inventor geniuses who use their inventions to save the day and/or explore the "savage frontier."

I think you can draw a line from the cult of personality around Edison to the cult of personality that formed around Henry Ford in the 20s and 30s as not just a car manufacturer but a visionary who had created a new age of modernity, and from there to the legend of the Packard garage, and from there to contemporary Silicon Valley.

[deadpresidents]

Is Trump the first person to run for president three different times?

No, there have been numerous people through the history of the United States who have run for President three or more times, but most of them didn't get their party's nomination.

Interestingly, a lot of people forget that the 2024 election is actually Joe Biden's fourth, full-fledged, formal Presidential campaign, in addition to Trump's third campaign. Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008 before finally winning the nomination and general election in 2020. Ronald Reagan first ran for President in 1968 when he jumped into the race for the Republican nomination as an alternative to Richard Nixon, but it was kind of a half-hearted, late bid and Reagan later admitted that he wasn't quite ready to run for President at that point, which was only about a year into his tenure as Governor of California. Reagan challenged incumbent President Ford for the Republican nomination in 1976 and very nearly pulled off a rare intraparty defeat of a sitting President from his own party. And of course, Reagan ran and won in 1980 and 1984.

It's not just a relatively recent phenomenon, either; candidates have been running for President three or more times for as long as the Presidency has existed. Thomas Jefferson sought the Presidency in 1796 , 1800, and 1804, and there are many more examples, including Ulysses S. Grant, who was the first former President to make a serious attempt at breaking George Washington's tradition of serving two terms and then retiring. Grant won Presidential elections in 1868 and 1872, and allowed his supporters to actively work for his nomination at the 1880 Republican National Convention after President Hayes retired without seeking a second term. Grant was the frontrunner for the nomination, but once the balloting for the nominee started, the convention became deadlocked between Grant and James G. Blaine -- another person who ran for President multiple times: 1876, 1880, and 1884 (when he was nominated, but lost the general election). On the thirty-sixth ballot, the Republicans finally nominated James Garfield, who had emerged as a compromise candidate.

It is less common for someone to be a major party nominee for President on three or more occasions, which Trump has a shot of being in 2024 if he's not in prison. However, it is still not unprecedented. Obviously, Franklin D. Roosevelt won four Presidential elections (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944), which had never happened before and will never happen again unless the Constitution is amended. William Jennings Bryan was the Democratic nominee in 1896, 1900, and 1908, and lost all three times. Grover Cleveland won the Democratic nomination in three straight elections: 1884 (which he won), 1888 (which he lost), and 1892 (which he won). Trump is hoping to join Cleveland as the only Presidents to serve two non-consecutive terms. Henry Clay was his party's nominee on three different occasions, and lost all three times. In an odd quirk of the times, because the major political parties were still in the process of forming in the first half of the 19th Century, Clay was technically the Presidential nominee for three different political parties: Democratic-Republican in 1824, National Republican in 1832, and Whig in 1844. Martin Van Buren was elected President as the Democratic nominee in 1836 and renominated in 1840, but lost the general election, After breaking with his party over the spread of slavery to new American territories, former President Van Buren ran as the Free Soil nominee in 1848, but came in third in the general election behind Zachary Taylor and Lewis Cass. And, one more recent example would be Richard Nixon, who was the 1960 Republican Presidential nominee and narrowly lost the general election in John F. Kennedy. Despite the belief that his political career was finished -- particularly after a humiliating loss in the 1962 campaign for Governor of California -- Nixon won the Republican nomination again in 1968 and 1972 and went on to win the general election both times (as well as winning 49 out of 50 states in 1972).

(I'm sorry...I understand that was a long-winded, overly-detailed way of answering your question when I also could have just said, "No.")

[domesticatedford]

He's a possum now! ✨️

[sixerstanley]

🔚? & 🎀?

Hi anon!!! thank you for the ask for the ask game!!

🔚have you ever completely changed the direction a piece was going?

oh for SUREEEEEE. Hasn't happened too much with my stancest fics yet but here's a few:

For Tough as Nails, Ford was originally gonna facefuck stan but i was like. nah, he needs some tender loving. And then i changed it to body worship

For An Ugly Truth, i felt like i kinda went all over the place with that? Honestly i just really wanted a fic where stan revealed he was/has been suicidal before, and that idea came in many different forms, LMAO. like, one idea was an attempt in a world where weirdmageddon didn't happen and he was about to get kicked out from the shack for good, another idea was like something with the truth teeth?? But in that one he would've just confessed he attempted once, not that he attempted and planned multiple times

when i FINALLY figured out that i wanted some outsider interference it was also supposed to be fairies instead of nisse lmao

but yeah! also i answered the other one here!

thank you :D

[davros42]

Rewatching Classic Doctor Who, some episodes I haven't seen in years, some of the animated reconstructions I haven't seen at all.

Marco Polo AKA Serial D

Hard to give this one a fair shake as it's video portion is entirely missing. It is one of the few original serials that has no existing motion visual elements. Thanks to the Loose Cannon folks for building a reconstruction from the audio and the prodigious number of still images available, we can at least try though.

The TARDIS arrives in the Pamir Mountains (AKA The Roof of the World) and promptly breaks down, presumably due to damage incurred during the Edge of Destruction. Or maybe just old age. It's not really clear, just that it'll take days to repair the part in question. After a few Yeti/Abominable Snowman fake outs (they'll get their chance yet) it is revealed that Marco Polo has stumbled upon the crew on one of his travels. The crew join Marco Polo's caravan since they have no shelter, food, or water thanks to the broken-down TARDIS. It doesn't help that the Doctor has developed altitude sickness, the writers having not invented the respiratory bypass system yet. However, Marco Polo contrives to steal the TARDIS in order to give it to Kublai Kahn and we spend the next five episodes going back and forth over it while Tegana the evil Mongol plots in the background and Marco Polo remains oblivious.

Oh, and Susan forms an especially close friendship with a girl named Ping-Cho. (My god, these bitches gay. Good for them.)

Eventually after many minor adventures (sandstorms, poisoning, kidnappings, fights, etc.) they finally arrive at the court of Kublai Kahn. The Doctor promptly loses the TARDIS in a game of backgammon. Ian gets captured (again). But Tegana loses to Marco Polo in an epic swordfight and kills himself. At that point Marco Polo returns the TARDIS key and the crew disappears in the manner of Tuxedo Mask, their work here done (but they didn't do anything).

A well-regarded serial at the time, it maintained the ratings of The Daleks and The Edge of Destruction and was sold on to nineteen countries for repeat viewing. It was a favorite of both Carole Ann Ford and William Hartnell. Apparently even the Walt Disney Company wanted the film rights. Can you imagine the Walt Disney Company getting their hands on Doctor Who? I wonder what that would be like.

Audio and still images alone have a hard time living up to that early reputation, however. The plot draaaaaaags without the evidently quite high visual production value behind it. I feel like this could have been a tight four parter but, ultimately, the core issue is that the TARDIS crew are more or less tourists. Marco Polo is the real star here: saving the crew, pressganging them into the caravan, eventually resolving the threat more or less by himself (but only after spreading the production costs out over seven episodes), and then deigning to send the crew on their way. Not the most... involved Doctor Who plot, really.

And just to get it out of the way, I wouldn't blame anyone for just writing this one off due to the yellowface casting, though it still manages to be less obviously racist in its depictions than Talons of Weng-Chiang despite being a decade older. Which is a low bar to clear, I suppose.

Next Time: Keys keys keys, Keys of Marinus. Let's see if Terry Nation has more up his sleeve than just Daleks.

[ausetkmt]

https://moguldom.com/445821/dr-ray-winbush-and-the-funded-attack-against-lineage-based-reparations-policy-3-things-to-know/?s=09

Dr. Ray Winbush And The Funded Attack Against Lineage-Based Reparations Policy: 3 Things To Know

From L-R) Dr. Raymond Winbush (photo: Morgan State University), Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor (photo: National Black Cultural Information Trust), Dr. William Darity (Duke University), Kamilah Moore (photo: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/members/bios)

Reparations is a heated topic, not just between Black and White Americans but within the Black community as well. When it comes to who should receive reparations, there is a school of thought that it should be given to Black Americans in general. Other reparations scholars, such as Dr. William Darity, Duke University professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, say reparations should only go to Black people who can trace their ancestry back to a Black slave in America.

Recently, there was a panel discussion featuring pro-reparations advocates, such as Dr. Raymond Winbush, who are against lineage-based reparations. Many of the organizations have ties to major funding. Here are three things to know.

1. Winbush: lineage advocates are like slave catchers

Raymond Winbush compared reparations lineage advocates to “slave catchers.” During the panel discussion, a part of which was posted on Twitter by an account named Non-Human Media, Winbush said people who demanded that reparations go only to those who have shown proof of slave ancestry were like “slave catchers” during slavery who insisted that freed Black people show their papers proving they were not slaves. He added that lineage-based advocates also want to depend on documentation that is created by white people. He added too that lineage-based reparation advocates were “pathologically anti-Pan-African,” meaning they were not advocating for the Black community worldwide.

Pan-African activist Winbush is a research professor and the director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. He has also served as a faculty member and administrator at a number of universities, including Oakwood University, Alabama A&M University, Vanderbilt University, and Fisk University.

2. Winbush and funding

Of the people on the panel, which also include Nkechi Taifa (founder, principal and CEO of The Taifa Group LLC, a social enterprise firm whose mission is to advance justice) and Akinyele Umoja (a founding member of the New Afrikan People’s Organization and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement), Non-Human Media tweeted, “Reminder, these people were given a $500,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation to “challenge cultural misinformation and disinformation surrounding reparations.”

Dr. Winbush’s research has received funding in the form of grants from the National Science Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, West African Research Association, Pitney Bowes, Inc., the Ford Motor Company, and the Kellogg Foundation, according to his Morgan State University bio.

Also part of the panel discussion of anti-lineage reparations advocates was Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, a cultural communications specialist based in Washington, D.C. area. She is the founder of the National Black Cultural Information Trust. According to her bio on the organization’s website, she is a descendant of enslaved Africans and maroons in Georgia and South Carolina. 

Additionally, Aiwuyor is a leader and advocate for multicultural digital media. She is the founder of Black Bloggers Connect, the first social network dedicated to supporting Black bloggers around the world, and founder of the Blogger Week Un/Conference, a multicultural social media networking conference held yearly in Washington, DC.

In 2021, the National Black Cultural Information Trust Inc. was awarded a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for its work to correct cultural disinformation, advance reparatory justice, and ​​share cultural information, stories, and resources that uplift the collective freedom of Black communities, according to a press release.

The grant is part of roughly $80 million in awards MacArthur announced in support of the foundation’s Equitable Recovery initiative, centered on advancing racial and ethnic justice. The initiative is funded by MacArthur’s social bonds, issued in response to the crises of the pandemic and racial inequity.

3. Lineage-based advocates: legally safest route

In a debate that threatens to divide the reparations movement, some advocates want reparations to be distributed based on race, going to all Black people in the U.S. Others, like reparations scholar Dr. William Darity, insist reparations must be based on lineage, paid only to descendants of enslaved people in the U.S.

Reparations based on lineage have a better chance of overcoming political and legal challenges, according to Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley Law School.

Reparations based on lineage, as opposed to race, are less likely to be overturned in court, Berkeley Law School Dean Chemerinsky said during testimony in early March 2022 at one of the commission’s hearings, The New York Times reported.

The historic California Reparations Task Force, chaired by Kamilah Moore, elected to provide reparations based on lineage.

Moore is a reparatory justice scholar and an attorney. She was elected task force chairwoman at the group’s first meeting on June 1, 2021. When the task force opted for a lineage-based route, she said, that not going with a lineage-based approach would “aggrieve the victims of slavery.”

[retrostevieee]

The radio options of the third generation Ford Mondeo (2001-2007)

Hello Mondeo fans! Welcome to another Mondeo Fan Club post. Today we will be focusing on the many radio options which were available in the Mk3 (2001-2007) Mondeo. This post will focus (not to be confused with the Ford Focus!) on both CD/radio and CD/radio/navigation units, divided into two categories.

CD/Radio Units

We will start with the pre-facelift Ford 6000CD. This is one of the most basic units. It has 6 preset buttons (with removable 2, 3, 4 and 5 buttons to prevent car radio theft), and a volume dial on the left hand side. A small rectangular display shows station and track information. This unit can play CDs, and receive AM and FM stations. It is also compatible with an optional 6-CD changer, mounted elsewhere.

Next up is the Ford 6006E. Similar to the 6000CD, but with a built-in 6-CD changer. This model also has a rectangular display and left-side volume dial, but does not have removal buttons.

In the facelift Mk3, Ford kindly offered the facelift Ford 6000CD. This model was updated and made to look more visually appealing. This model has a higher mounted display which is shorter but wider, and a centre-mounted volume dial. In later models, this unit could support Bluetooth connections and AUX Input. Unfortunately, not all units have this. To find out if yours supports these features. Please press either the button labelled "PHONE" or "AUX". If pressing either of these stops the audio and displays "MUTE" on the screen, your car does not support these features and is simply an AM/FM/CD receiver.

Now we're getting into the fancy stuff. On higher end models, such as the Titanium and Ghia, you could get a Sony CD/MP3 unit. This model features a glossy design, rectangular screen and centre-mounted volume dial. This unit can play CDs, receive AM/FM stations, and supports AUX and MP3 players. Even by today's standards, this unit is known for its excellent sound quality.

CD/Radio/Navigation Units

Some Mk3 Mondeo owners may find themselves with a satellite navigation unit pre-installed in their car. This section of the post will cover each one.

The Blaupunkt TravelPilot DX unit seems particularly rare in the UK. It offers AM/FM radio, a CD player, and a navigation system with voice instructions. This unit provides navigation in the form of arrows on-screen, and does not display maps due to the technical limitations of the time. A rectangular display sits in the middle, with volume and scrolling dials located at the bottom left and right of the unit.

Pre-facelift Mk3s could also receive the 9000 VNR navigation system. This advanced unit offered colour map navigation, a CD player, an AM/FM tuner, and radio-based traffic updates. Fancy.

Next up is the Blaupunkt TravelPilot EX. This unit in particular I have a lot of memories with! Like its sibling, it can only provide arrow-based navigation due to the limited screen size. This unit features a CD player, 6-CD changer support, an AM/FM tuner, radio traffic updates and Bluetooth phone support. If you are planning on fitting one of these to your car, please ensure it is the correct unit for your car - the Mondeo units are a slightly different shape to the ones used in other models of Fords! Unfortunately the TravelPilot EX appears to be getting rarer now in the UK. It can be identified by its rectangular centre screen, with a volume dial to the left of the display, and a scrolling dial to the right. There are many variations of the TravelPilot EX, which would deserve its own post altogether, which I may make in the future.

Finally, we have a very advanced unit commonly found in ST220 models - the Denso Nav, also known as the Visteon. This unit is very easy to identify with the following features:

A large, centre-mounted touch screen colour display with map view for navigation.

Integrated climate and AC controls which can be controlled via buttons on both sides of the screen, or via the touch screen.

A centre volume dial located underneath the screen.

The Denso unit has various features, such as an AM/FM tuner, colour map-based navigation, integrated AC controls and a colourful display. Some units support Bluetooth phone connection, but not all do - some will simply mute the radio when pressing the PHONE button.

Frequently Asked Questions:

I am not a technician - simply an enthusiast of Mondeos! However, I will answer some questions anyone may have.

"What is my radio code?"

This varies depending on your car. There should be a piece of paper located in your glovebox or with your owners manual which tells you the code. If not, you can contact a car audio specialist, download the Ford Radio Codes app, or use a code unlocking service online. If in doubt, contact your nearest dealership!

"I want to connect my mobile phone, but trying to do so simply mutes the radio?"

As stated before, some units do not contain Bluetooth modules. Trying to press the phone button will simply mute the radio. As tempting as this seems, don't mute your radio to take a call - please wait until you find somewhere safe to stop! A safe and enjoyable drive is more important than a telephone call.

"Why is my radio not working?"

The earliest Mk3 Mondeos are now 22 years old! Thankfully, specialists out there will be willing to repair your radio for you. If not, you can purchase a used unit from a local scrapyard, or online.

In conclusion...

If you've stuck around to the end, thank you very much for reading my post which I've spent nearly 40 minutes writing. Please let me know if you enjoyed this - I'd love to meet more Mondeo enthusiasts!