#dollar store tom welling

[kizunatallis]

So Dollar Store Tom Welling has officially been cast as Superman.

What a fucking downgrade.

If it actually makes money since it seems to be catering and pandering to the "real DC fans", I'll be shocked honestly .

[kizunatallis]

It is also the safest and blandest shit imaginable. Like taking Brandon Routh because he looks like Christopher Reeve (who really was a one-in-a-million find) and I only imagine Legacy will be just as “playing things as safe as humanly possible” as Returns was.

THIS IS SOME COLD BLOODED SHIT... we all knew he was out, but to replace him with a guy that's just looks like a younger version of him is some seriously wicked shit. 0_0

[bubbless-s]

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ A brushstroke of love ᝰ.ᐟ

Request: “I don’t know if you still take Harry Potter requests but can you do slytherin boys (and pansy) walking on you doing your pre shower makeup?”

Masterlist

- ʚɞ genre: fluffly, light entertainment

- ʚɞ warnings: none

Tom Riddle

✧ Gets annoyed.

✧ “Why are you wasting your make up?”

✧ Still doesn’t get why you waste time and energy doing this.

✧ You jumpscared him once because you had done a minion full face make up.

✧ it just happened that you were walking after him and he suddenly turned.

✧ Starts hating the pre shower makeup even more.

✧ Would rather die then tell anyone that he got jumpscared by your face in yellow.

Mattheo Riddle

✧ “Love what the fuck.”

✧ Will NEVER let you do it on him.

✧ You will give him kisses? No—wait kisses?

✧ Well since you will give him compensation he will sit trough it.

✧ “I look like what you would get when you search ghetto make up on google.”

✧ Likes it more if you put lipstick on and kiss his whole face.

✧ He is like a energetic 9yo who ate tons of chocolate. So in conclusion he can’t stay still for too long.

Theodore Nott

✧ Thinks its funny since he has done it too.

✧ Buys you those shitty kid make up products so you don’t waste your expensive makeup.

✧ Secretly takes pictures of you and threatens to post it.

✧ But he never will.

✧ Let’s you do his brows because he finds it hilarious how he looks with big brows drawn with a eyeliner from a kid makeup set.

✧ Takes 0,5 pictures of you and himself after the masterpiece makeup is done.

✧ Laughs everytime the dollar store lipstick snaps in half from bad quality and his pressure from applying it.

Draco Malfoy

✧ “Is this what birthday makeup is or..?”

✧ Straight up holding back tears when you force him to try it.

✧ “This is muggle activity I—“ “So is bleaching your hair Malfoy.”

✧ You made his skin match his hair. ‘Accidentally’ with water proof 24h lasting brush.

✧ He almost cried.

✧ Didn’t go to classes that day and didn’t step out of his room.

✧ Also he ‘accidentally’ smudged the makeup in your shirt. Accident happen!

Enzo Berkshire

✧ Traumatised.

✧ “Why do you look like a smurf :(.”

✧ Doesn’t want to do it. But he is supportive. Kinda.

✧ Will get you tons of micellar water so the cleaning process is easier.

✧ If you mess up your mascara and get it all over the tube he won’t also mind cleaning it.

✧ What he will mind is if you try to do it on him.

✧ “My skincare is expensive girl..💅”

Blaise Zabini

✧ Stands in the doorway with a ‘:|’ face.

✧ “Um what are you doing this late at night cupcake?”

✧ Another type to take pictures of you.

✧ Agrees when you offer to do his next.

✧ Suddenly became a professional makeup artist??

✧ And comments and how you blend things and stuff😭

✧ “Im rocking this.”

Pansy Parkinson

✧ “I thought we were doing this together?”

✧ Immediately sits next to you and DEMANDS that you do her makeup too.

✧ In the end you both have matching makeup. You’re painted in pink she is in blue. (Stitch and his gf)

✧ “I look so cute. But you’re the cutest.”

✧ Kisses your face anyway. Who cares if you have kilos of make up on your faces?

✧ “Babe do I have makeup smudges on my arse?” “Don’t worry the only thing I see is fifty pounds of ass😋”

✧ The removing process is another type of pain.

[beesmygod]

If criterion trapped you in their film closet, what movies would you steal

there's literally too many i want soooooooo badly. if i had a bazillion dollars i would waste it on movies. i gotta see what they have in the store rn

-every akira kurosawa movie available, wes anderson (why not!!!), terry gilliam, welles, hitchcock, john waters, lynch, scorsese, -salo, or 120 days of sodom, so i can get people to leave my house when i want them to leave. -i like a lot of their "schlock" or less artsy movies too: robocop, hard boiled, peeping tom, videodrome, repo man, scanners, night of the living dead, princess bride, -more modern movies: do the right thing, being john malkovich, the big chill, a room with a view, ghost world, funny games, paris is burning, crash (1996), memories of murder, cure, thelma and louise, watermelon woman, -old movies: fritz lang's "m", the third man, carnival of souls, olivier's "hamlet", black narcissus, playtime, onibaba, eyes without a face, bicycle thieves, Z, house, night of the hunter, the great dictator, 12 angry men, anatomy of a murder, on the waterfront, 3:10 to yuma, la cage aux folles, the uninvited, nashville, the innocents, it happened one night, fantastic planet, cat people, asphalt jungle, his girl friday, the awful truth, some like it hot, the magnificent ambersons, all about eve, bringing up baby, double indemnity, arsenic and old lace, the others, the big heat, paper moon -movies i havent seen yet but want to: kwaidan, tokyo story, hara kiri, broadcast news, midnight cowboy, police story 1+2, irma vep,

[tomssexdoll]

omgg write a fluff w tom/ bill where him and the reader are high outta their minds that would lowk be hilarious it could also be a little smutty in the end 👀

HAHAHA YESSS

Stoned

PAIRINGS: Tom 2007 x Female reader CONTENT: FLUFF + SMUT (just a bit) SYPNOSIS: Y/N and Tom are high as FUCK, they are friends and she comes over to his house to try this "new" thing he has. She assumes it's some sort of drug or weird guitar solo, they watch movies, cuddle and at the end get a lil bit freaky... A/N: haven't been high in over a year so don't bash me if i get the feeling wrong, it's from what i remember lmao WARNINGS: teasing, kissing, drug use (weed)

Me and Tom have been best friends for over 10 years, he has been my rock, supporting me through everything. He never changed, always hanging out with me, showing me off to new friends. He was amazing.

One day he called me and said he had something to show me, something "new" he wanted to try out with me. I immediately knew it was a drug or a weird guitar solo, he is full of surprises I guess.

I got into my car and started to drive to his house, wondering what stupid thing was going to consume my day.

I arrived eventually and greeted Tom, hugging him tightly and walking inside, sitting in his room. He came in with a little baggie of what looked like weed, he handed it to me and I sighed "Tom this is a lot of weed, do you plan to smoke it all tonight?" he chuckled "no of course not, if we like it we can try it again at the party next week" he rummaged through his draws, pulling out a small black bong, decorated with skulls.

"Wowww real edgy" I rolled my eyes playfully, he laughed and slapped my arm playfully "shut up it was on sale, i'm not spending 50 fucking dollars for a small bong."

I stood up and grabbed the grinder that went with is, putting the bud in there and grinding it down, once it was finished I grabbed the bong, packing some of the weed in there.

"Wow you really know how to do this huh?" he smirked, admiring what I did. "Well my brother smokes and it's not like I haven't done it before so.." I shrugged and grabbed the lighter, sparking it and hovering the flame over the bud, sucking in the smoke. (did i just give you guys a tutorial..)

I inhaled it, feeling it burn the back of my throat but in a nice way, a familiar feeling to when I smoked cigarettes. "Fuck..that's some good shit..where did you get it from" I blew the smoke out, starting to get the effects already.

My head a bit woozy, eyes drooping ever so slightly and everything becoming a bit more brighter. I looked back at Tom, finishing the rest of the cone, the way he threw his head back when inhaling was so sexy..the way his lips slightly parted and his eyes slowly shut.

"I got it from Greg, you know, Janes older brother" he looked back at me, blowing out the smoke as well. "Oh.." I said slowly "well it's not dodgy weed I'll tell you that" I giggled.

Everything was a bit slower, my talking, movements. It felt wonderful, like I was as light as a feather.

"Let's have some more, cmon" he scooted closer to me and we had 3 more cones each, it was hitting hard now, things were much more slower, I looked down at my hands and they were slightly out of focus, like I had 4 hands.

I got up from his bed and grabbed his hand, going towards the kitchen and raiding his pantry, grabbing all the snacks I could find and a few cans of soda. I sat down and dropped everything onto the coffee table, laying down next to him, resting my head on his lap, "should we order pizza.." he mumbled, I nodded slowly and grabbed my phone, dialing the store and ordering 2 large pizzas, one cheese and one meat lovers.

"Fuck..we are gonna feast" he chuckled, his eyes super red and droopy, I smiled and picked a movie to watch.

After 45 minutes our pizza FINALLY ARRIVED. I ran to the door and quickly gave the pizza guy the cash, slamming the door and almost tripping trying to get back to the couch, "fuck!" I yelped, Tom just laughed and grabbed one of the boxes, stuffing his face with pizza.

"Mmm...so good" he groaned, I grabbed a slice and ate it, savouring the taste "has pizza ever tasted this good?" I said, it was like they put magic into it, usually pizza was mid but this time it was amazing. Our movie was ending soon, we picked a horror, which was kinda dumb because we were so high.

I sat up and held him tightly at the suspense, screaming and hiding my face into his arm when the jumpscare popped up "jesus" he chuckled "it wasn't that bad" I rolled my eyes and softly shoved him "shut up..wasn't even scary.." I mumbled

By the time we had finished 3 movies everything was DEVOURED. We decided to chill for a bit, have a talk and enjoy each others company. I layed down on the couch and he spooned me from behind, holding me close.

Usually we'd always cuddle, it was never weird to us but this time, the tension was super high. Not even in a bad way, it's like the air was thicker...the way his arms were wrapped around me and his face pressed softly on the top of my head made me feel some kind of way.

I turned around and looked up at him, it's like in that moment, we were the only people alive. His eyes washed over with desire and love, surprising me. "You know, you are so beautiful y/n, you're the most beautiful girl i've ever seen" he smiled softly, brushing a hair away from my face.

"Yeah whatever, I'm sure you tell every girl you hook up with that.." I rolled my eyes, secretly enjoying the praise. "No, y/n..I mean it, you are so beautiful" he leaned closer, our lips basically inches away.

"Tom..." my breathing hitched slightly, searching his eyes for deciet but all I saw was sincerity, love and compassion, I smiled softly, blush creeping onto my cheeks.

"I want to kiss you.." he whispered, his breath hot on my lips.

"ok pizza breath.." I giggled and leaned in, kissing him gently. He kissed back, wrapping his hand around to the back of my head and pulling me closer, locking our lips into a passionate embrace. His kisses got more urgent, his erection becoming prominent in his pants, pressing up against my leg.

"See how you make me feel? You drive me crazy" he moaned against my lips, slipping his tongue in my mouth. I reached my hand down and softly palmed his clothed cock, making him groan softly.

His hands snaked down to my waist, then to my ass, squeezing it softly. Then, his hand came back up, slipping under my shirt and grabbing my breasts, rubbing his thumb over my nipple, sending shivers down my spine.

I had grabbed one of his shirts earlier, removing my bra since you weren't able to see much anyway, it was getting a bit hot so I changed my outfit.

"My shirt looks so good on you..might have to fuck you in it" he mumbled, grinning widely.

I chuckled "we'll see about that", I rolled us over, flipping me on top of him, deepening the kiss.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Cory Doctorow Humble Bundle

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then San Francisco (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

It's been 21 years and 29 days since Tor Books published my first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. In the years since, Tor has published every one of my novels, sending me around the USA and Canada to talk about them. Now, they've teamed up with Humble Bundle to sell 18 of my ebooks on a name-your-price basis, with part of the proceeds going to benefit EFF:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/cory-doctorow-novel-collection-tor-books-books

I've been associated with EFF even longer than I've been published by Tor! My first novel came out while I was working EFF's first-ever booth at CES. I split my time between the booth and my motel room, where I paid $0.25/call to dial up to Earthlink's local number and manage the launch-day publicity. Over the years, I've benefited immensely from Tor's editorial and publicity departments, working with brilliant publishing people like Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Patty Garcia, Dot Lin, Laura Etzkorn, Elena Stokes, Sarah Reidy, Lucille Rettino, and of course, Tor founder Tom Doherty.

But I like to think that it was a two-way street. Tor and I have come a long way together on ebooks: most visibly, they allowed me to publish several novels under Creative Commons licenses (my first book was the first ever CC book, coming out just weeks after the licenses themselves launched). As my editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden said at the time, "Ebooks have the worst hours-in-meeting-to-dollars-in-revenue ratio of anything in my publishing career. Why not?"

https://craphound.com/down/download/

Just as important – but less visible – was Tor's willingness to let me insist that all my books be published without DRM, meaning that anything you buy on say, Amazon, can be moved to any reader program if you decide to start getting your ebooks elsewhere. This worked so well that in 2012, Tor became the first major publisher in the world to ban DRM on all its ebooks, flying me, John Scalzi and Charlie Stross to New York City to announce it this at a big, splashy event at Book Expo America:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130512022634/https://tor.com/blogs/2012/06/tor-books-announces-e-book-store-doctorow-scalzi-a-stross-talk-drm-free

Tor's unique status as the sole major DRM-free publisher in the world was well timed! That same year, I curated the very first Humble Ebook Bundle, which was very top-heavy with Tor titles, and raised more than $1,000,000 for the writers, publishers and charities associated with it:

https://web.archive.org/web/20121017215636/http://www.humblebundle.com/

That opened the floodgates to a series of Humble Bundles, tempting other major publishers to dabble with DRM-free, including Simon and Schuster:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-I5QyAfglU

And Harpercollins:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHMLfeCrCrE

Now, 12 years after that inaugural Humble Ebook Bundle, I find myself honored by being the subject of a bundle of my own (it helps that I've written a hell of a lot of books in the intervening years). Included in the bundle are (nearly) all of my Tor novels and novellas: The Lost Cause; "The Canadian Miracle" (a Lost Cause story); Red Team Blues; Radicalized; Walkaway; "Party Discipline" (a Walkaway story); Pirate Cinema; Rapture of the Nerds (with Charlie Stross); For The Win; Makers; Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town; Eastern Standard Tribe, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Little Brother, Homeland, Attack Surface, and "Lawful Interception" (a Little Brother story).

(The sole exclusion is The Bezzle, which came out two weeks ago and is already a USA Today national bestseller!)

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

Also included in the bundle is Poesy the Monster Slayer, my 2020 picture book for the littlies:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627/poesythemonsterslayer

All these books are delivered as DRM-free epub files. The Bundle runs for the next three weeks, and the minimum buy-in is $18 – that's just $1/book (full retail value is $187). Of course, you can name a higher price, and, as with all Humble Bundles, you can adjust the final split to share out the money between me, EFF, and the Humble folks.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/03/humbly-bundled/#eff-too

[panties-on-boys]

Pavlov’s Dog— Chapter 4: Ringing the Bell

Logan stares at the expanse of Wade’s back, his ass, and those sinful leather pants. He reaches down and adjusts himself with a hiss. Fuck, these jeans are way too tight for this shit. He truly doesn’t possess the strength or the sanity at this point to keep his hands off, so he doesn’t try. He reaches out and holds Wade’s hips.

He’s honestly not sure how long they do this, grinding to the rhythm. The song changes again and again. Logan isn’t hearing them.

He hears every sound Wade makes and nothing else.

When he can feel Wade start to tremble in his arms, he grabs his wrist and tugs him back, back, until he’s pressed taut to his chest. He leans down to his ear and asks another time, “Wade. What fucking cologne are you wearing?”

Wade bites his lip, trying to the literal best of his potential not to make a scene. He all but moans, “Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille, shit.” He’s never come untouched in his pants before. As Logan’s hand rides around to touch his bare stomach, he deliriously thinks, first time for everything.

Logan groans and his voice is thick with desire. He asks, “Where’d you get it?”

“I dunno. Fuck, some– some store somewhere or something.” Wade huffs another moan as Logan breathes him in hard like a line of coke, Jesus Christ.

He knows God damned well he researched colognes for days until he discovered Tobacco Vanille, and then he paid three hundred motherfucking dollars for it because he knew it would get Logan this hot.

[kfans-writerblog]

TOM glynn carney & reader

Both Tom and you were actors and you met on the set of House of the Dragon. It was a big show, so it didn't take long before you both got recognised at every single chance you got, whether it was buying groceries or walking down the street with Tom's golden retriever - Ziggy.

You got married soon after the second season came out, which was two years ago and since you played Helaena Targaryen - sister-wife of Tom's character, Aegon Targaryen, you quickly found that spark between you two.

*I woke up and make coffee and breakfast for us both* "morning honey"

*Tom looks up from his dog and smiles warmly at you*

"Morning darling. You didn't have to make me breakfast, but thank you."

*He pats the seat next to him, gesturing for you to come sit down.*

*I ate* "how about shopping later?"

*Tom's face lights up at the mention of shopping*

"Shopping sounds perfect, especially if I get to spend it with you. I've been meaning to get some new clothes anyway."

*I giggle* hahaha

*He chuckles at your laughter*

"What's so funny? Can't a man go shopping with his girlfriend without being teased?"

*He pretends to pout, but his eyes are filled with playfulness*

"Aww how adorable"

"Sounds good. Let me get my wallet and keys."

*He says, walking to the bedroom and grabbing his wallet and phone off the bedside table.*

*we went in the mall and I stopped and stare at the earings *

*Tom catches up to you in the jewelry store, standing behind you and placing his hands on your hips as he looked at the earrings too.*

"See anything you like?"

"Huh no nothing" *I look away*

*Tom raises an eyebrow at your response but follows you out of the store.*

"You're lying."

*He says jokingly as he grabs your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours.*

"Huh no I'm not"

He smirks, noticing the blush.

"Oh yeah? Then why were you blushing?"

He teases, bringing your hand up to his lips and placing a kiss on your knuckles.

* I roll my eyes* "ok fine I like the sapphire earings"

"I knew it."

*He grins, letting go of your hand and walking back to the store.*

"Come on, let's go look at them again."

"Huh no it's too expensive!"

"Expensive? Pshh, we're actors. We can afford it."

He says, grabbing your arm and pulling you back to the store.

*we went in*

*Tom stands back and watches as you examine the earrings, admiring how focused you looked.

He then walked up behind you again, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder.*

"1 pair of sapphire earings please"

*The store clerk nodded and took out a pair of earrings, carefully placing them in a small velvet box.*

"That'll be 2000 dollars, miss."

"OH dear lord never mind!"

*Tom chuckled softly and squeezed you a little.*

"Too expensive for you, huh?"

*He teased, still holding you from behind.*

"Yeah duh" *I pout*

*Tom grins and turns you around to face him, seeing your pout.*

"Aww, don't pout. I think you look beautiful without earrings too."

"But I want it" *I ask the store clerk* "can I get a discount?"

*The clerk looked at you, surprised by your request.*

"Um, well... I'm not really supposed to give discounts on the sapphire earrings."

*I face palm my self*

*Tom chuckled again, enjoying the way you got frustrated.*

"Hey, don't worry about it. We can find something else."

*He said, gently rubbing your arm in a comforting manner.*

*I hum and pout*

*Tom follows you out of the store, a smirk on his face.*

"You're so adorable when you pout."

"Not funny"

He grabs your hand again and pulls you into a tight hug.

"I wasn't trying to be funny, love. You just look too cute when you pout like that."

"Now I'm sad because I can't get it"

Tom's smirk turned into a frown and he pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Its not your fault it's me I should've saved up more money"

"No, it's not your fault either. We just... shouldn't have looked at the sapphire ones. You can get a cheaper pair if you really want them."

"I should've saved money since day 1 I met u"

"Hey, don't say that. We both know you can spend as much money as you want. We have the funds for it."

"I'm sorry babe"

"Shh, stop apologizing. I love you, and I love making you happy. If buying you expensive things will make you happy, then I'll buy you all the expensive things you want."

He said, caressing your cheek softly.

🥰 the end

[mariacallous]

On February 10, employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received an email asking them to list every contract at the bureau and note whether or not it was “critical” to the agency, as well as whether it contained any DEI components. This email was signed by Scott Langmack, who identified himself as a senior adviser to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Langmack, according to his LinkedIn, already has another job: He’s the chief operating officer of Kukun, a property technology company that is, according to its website, “on a long-term mission to aggregate the hardest to find data.”

As is the case with other DOGE operatives—Tom Krause, for example, is performing the duties of the fiscal assistant secretary at the Treasury while holding down a day job as a software CEO at a company with millions in contracts with the Treasury—this could potentially create a conflict of interest, especially given a specific aspect of his role: According to sources and government documents reviewed by WIRED, Langmack has application-level access to some of the most critical and sensitive systems inside HUD, one of which contains records mapping billions of dollars in expenditures.

Another DOGE operative WIRED has identified is Michael Mirski, who works for TCC Management, a Michigan-based company that owns and operates mobile home parks across the US, and graduated from the Wharton School in 2014. (In a story he wrote for the school’s website, he asserted that the most important thing he learned there was to “Develop the infrastructure to collect data.”) According to the documents, he has write privileges on—meaning he can input overall changes to—a system that controls who has access to HUD systems.

Between them, records reviewed by WIRED show, the DOGE operatives have access to five different HUD systems. According to a HUD source with direct knowledge, this gives the DOGE operatives access to vast troves of data. These range from the individual identities of every single federal public housing voucher holder in the US, along with their financial information, to information on the hospitals, nursing homes, multifamily housing, and senior living facilities that HUD helps finance, as well as data on everything from homelessness rates to environmental and health hazards to federally insured mortgages.

Put together, experts and HUD sources say, all of this could give someone with access unique insight into the US real estate market.

Kukun did not respond to requests for comment about whether Langmack is drawing a salary while working at HUD or how long he will be with the department. A woman who answered the phone at TCC Management headquarters in Michigan but did not identify herself said Mirksi was "on leave until July." In response to a request for comment about Langmack’s access to systems, HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said, “DOGE and HUD are working as a team; to insinuate anything else is false. To further illustrate this unified mission, the secretary established a HUD DOGE taskforce.” In response to specific questions about Mirski’s access to systems and background and qualifications, she said, “We have not—and will not—comment on individual personnel. We are focused on serving the American people and working as one team.”

The property technology, or proptech, market covers a wide range of companies offering products and services meant to, for example, automate tenant-landlord interactions, or expedite the home purchasing process. Kukun focuses on helping homeowners and real estate investors assess the return on investment they’d get from renovating their properties and on predictive analytics that model where property values will rise in the future.

Doing this kind of estimation requires the use of what’s called an automated valuation model (AVM), a machine-learning model that predicts the prices or rents of certain properties. In April 2024, Kukun was one of eight companies selected to receive support from REACH, an accelerator run by the venture capital arm of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Last year NAR agreed to a settlement with Missouri homebuyers, who alleged that realtor fees and certain listing requirements were anticompetitive.

“If you can better predict than others how a certain neighborhood will develop, you can invest in that market,” says Fabian Braesemann, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. Doing so requires data, access to which can make any machine-learning model more accurate and more monetizable. This is the crux of the potential conflict of interest: While it is unclear how Langmack and Mirski are using or interpreting it in their roles at HUD, what is clear is that they have access to a wide range of sensitive data.

According to employees at HUD who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity, there is currently a six-person DOGE team operating within the department. Four members are HUD employees whose tenures predate the current administration and have been assigned to the group; the others are Mirski and Langmack. The records reviewed by WIRED show that Mirski has been given read and write access to three different HUD systems, as well as read-only access to two more, while Langmack has been given read and write access to two of HUD’s core systems.

A positive, from one source’s perspective, is the fact that the DOGE operatives have been given application-level access to the systems, rather than direct access to the databases themselves. In theory, this means that they can only interact with the data through user interfaces, rather than having direct access to the server, which could allow them to execute queries directly on the database or make unrestricted or irreparable changes. However, this source still sees dangers inherent in granting this level of access.

“There are probably a dozen-plus ways that [application-level] read/write access to WASS or LOCCS could be translated into the entire databases being exfiltrated,” they said. There is no specific reason to think that DOGE operatives have inappropriately moved data—but even the possibility cuts against standard security protocols that HUD sources say are typically in place.

LOCCS, or Line of Credit Control System, is the first system to which both DOGE operatives within HUD, according to the records reviewed by WIRED, have both read and write access. Essentially HUD’s banking system, LOCCS “handles disbursement and cash management for the majority of HUD grant programs,” according to a user guide. Billions of dollars flow through the system every year, funding everything from public housing to disaster relief—such as rebuilding from the recent LA wildfires—to food security programs and rent payments.

The current balance in the LOCCS system, according to a record reviewed by WIRED, is over $100 billion—money Congress has approved for HUD projects but which has yet to be drawn down. Much of this money has been earmarked to cover disaster assistance and community development work, a source at the agency says.

Normally, those who have access to LOCCS require additional processing and approvals to access the system, and most only have “read” access, department employees say.

“Read/write is used for executing contracts and grants on the LOCCS side,” says one person. “It normally has strict banking procedures around doing anything with funds. For instance, you usually need at least two people to approve any decisions—same as you would with bank tellers in a physical bank.”

The second system to which documents indicate both DOGE operatives at HUD have both read and write access is the HUD Central Accounting and Program System (HUDCAPS), an “integrated management system for Section 8 programs under the jurisdiction of the Office of Public and Indian Housing,” according to HUD. (Section 8 is a federal program administered through local housing agencies that provides rental assistance, in the form of vouchers, to millions of lower-income families.) This system was a precursor to LOCCS and is currently being phased out, but it is still being used to process the payment of housing vouchers and contains huge amounts of personal information.

There are currently 2.3 million families in receipt of housing vouchers in the US, according to HUD’s own data, but the HUDCAPS database contains information on significantly more individuals because historical data is retained, says a source familiar with the system. People applying for HUD programs like housing vouchers have to submit sensitive personal information, including medical records and personal narratives.

“People entrust these stories to HUD,” the source says. “It’s not data in these systems, it’s operational trust.”

WASS, or the Web Access Security Subsystem, is the third system to which DOGE has both read and write access, though only Mirski has access to this system according to documents reviewed by WIRED. It’s used to grant permissions to other HUD systems. “Most of the functionality in WASS consists of looking up information stored in various tables to tell the security subsystem who you are, where you can go, and what you can do when you get there,” a user manual says.

“WASS is an application for provisioning rights to most if not all other HUD systems,” says a HUD source familiar with the systems who is shocked by Mirski’s level of access, because normally HUD employees don’t have read access, let alone write access. “WASS is the system for setting permissions for all of the other systems.”

In addition to these three systems, documents show that Mirski has read-only access to two others. One, the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS), is a nationwide database that tracks all HUD programs underway across the country. (“IDIS has confidential data about hidden locations of domestic violence shelters,” a HUD source says, “so even read access in there is horrible.”) The other is the Financial Assessment of Public Housing (FASS-PH), a database designed to “measure the financial condition of public housing agencies and assess their ability to provide safe and decent housing,” according to HUD’s website.

All of this is significant because, in addition to the potential for privacy violations, knowing what is in the records, or even having access to them, presents a serious potential conflict of interest.

“There are often bids to contract any development projects,” says Erin McElroy, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. “I can imagine having insider information definitely benefiting the private market, or those who will move back into the private market,” she alleges.

HUD has an oversight role in the mobile home space, the area on which TCC Management, which appears to have recently wiped its website, focuses. "It’s been a growing area of HUD’s work and focus over the past few decades," says one source there; this includes setting building standards, inspecting factories, and taking in complaints. This presents another potential conflict of interest.

Braesemann says it’s not just the insider access to information and data that could be a potential problem, but that people coming from the private sector may not understand the point of HUD programs. Something like Section 8 housing, he notes, could be perceived as not working in alignment with market forces—“Because there might be higher real estate value, these people should be displaced and go somewhere else”—even though its purpose is specifically to buffer against the market.

Like other government agencies, HUD is facing mass purges of its workforce. NPR has reported that 84 percent of the staff of the Office of Community Planning and Development, which supports homeless people, faces termination, while the president of a union representing HUD workers has estimated that up to half the workforce could be cut The chapter on housing policy in Project 2025—the right-wing playbook to remake the federal government that the Trump administration appears to be following—outlines plans to massively scale back HUD programs like public housing, housing assistance vouchers, and first-time home buyer assistance.

[mikalame]

Halloween with Tokio Hotel

Check out @riaisnotok as i got a lot of inspo from them!!

Bill

he goes all out with big fancy decorations as Halloween is his favourite holiday, he drags everyone else into it as well

wakes everyone up super early to start with costumes and on the day of Halloween he gets everyone super hyped up before trick or treating even with Georgs grumbles of 'being to old for this shit'.

Make sure to milk all the people that give candy out for a lot of candy so he can get the most he will brag about it on the way to the next house to do the same thing

doesn't really dress up as gory characters more so fictional characters he sees in shows or reads about but he will make up sure the decorations around the house are gory and scary as shit.

love doing face paint and putting latex and fake blood on everyone thinks it is really cool to see it like drip down and how you can make some one look like they just got beaten up

Tom

Most gory shit ever its his whole thing could be the most plain character ever and he will be like "yeah i wanna be -------- but make me look dead 😁"

Scares little kids with Georg like around the time where 8-9 year old are walking around cause its not super dark but the sun is setting and they hide in bushes jumping out.

threw up in the middle of the night cause he scoffed down his lollies and got sick even though he was told not to eat them quickly but he didn't listen. this also happens every Halloween.

Gets scared by the fake skeleton bill puts up and will screech every time he sees it even in the middle of the night when he gets up to go puke.

Georg

Moves the fake skeleton around the house and even moves it so its hovering over top of toms bed so it looks like it was watching him sleep then laughs his ass off when he hears tom scream.

tom dared him to mix all his lollies together with a fizzy drink then when the drink tasted like pure sugar and no other flavour he punched tom for 'wasting his candy' then steals like 5 from everyone else.

like to get the Halloween drinks they do at cafes and will never admit it though. Gustav found out and now uses it as blackmail when ever he wants something from him.

Dresses up in THE most boring costumes ever think like batman or harry potter you know and they're also from the dollar store where they are really cheap shitty quality. gets hounded at by Bill for it.

Gustav

Makes all the best Halloween snacks like little ghosts and skeletons or zombies and they're all gone by like the 2 day of October because bill made sure this was a month long holiday

helps Georg with scaring tom and puts fake cobwebs in random places so he can walk into them but walked into them instead and screamed cause he thought it was real them got super embarrassed

didn't really do Halloween before moving in with the band but then because of bill he got into it but doesn't really dress up to much kinda basic as well but well thought out.

May tease Georg about his little pumpkin spice lattes but he in fact does drink them as well but comes up with an excuse about why he is going out (they don't really believe him most of the time)

Taglist:@oppopotamus@saumspam@violentnewmarley@adissonsss hope you all enjoy halloween and make sure if you have any ideas reqest them 😁

[torukmaktoskxawng]

tsamsiyu ta'em - prologue

Masterlist - part one

Summary: Corporal Makayla Sully believed she was the last of her family. Her parents were long gone, her brother Tom was killed for his wallet, and his twin Jake abandoned her in exchange for the sunny paradise Pandora. Kayla is informed of Jake's passing and so she decides to take a job opportunity with General Frances Ardmore. She hitches a ride to Pandora with the intent of recovering her brother's remains, twenty years since the last time she's seen him. Instead of a box of bones or ash, however, she's given something she thought she lost a long time ago.

Pairing: Ronal/Tonowari/Original Female Character

Tag: #tsamsiyu ta'em fic

Word Count: 1k+

posted on ao3

Taglist: @mooniequeen

Warnings: canon-compliant, canon-typical violence, mature language, adult content, slow burn, polyamory, found family, cool aunt agenda, alien/human (technically avatar), jake sully sister agenda, time skips, I'm trying to hurry up and get to the good parts so bear with me, fluff, angst, adopted spider, tags to be added

A/N: The title loosely translates from "warrior from above" in Na'vi

EARTH, OVER TWENTY YEARS AGO...

It's like a switch turned off in his head.

One minute he's drinking and actually enjoying life for once, the next he's thrown out of the bar and had been told his twin brother was dead. Seeing Tommy's body numbed everything, sobering Jake up before he even had a chance to puke the stuff out. It's one thing for his legs to stop working, it's another for his emotions to stop as well. The man barely said a word or even composed a proper emotion during the whole funeral process. After watching his brother's body being cremated, he hadn't been angry or even devastated by the loss. There wasn't a single tear shed on Jake's behalf during the service, his mind droning out the words exchanged and the condolences given.

Now, he sat in his wheelchair, staring out the window of his sister's crammed two-room apartment, not far down the road from his own living space. His hair was long and unkept with the idea of shaving it all off tomorrow, the dress jacket he had worn for the service now tossed to the couch behind him. The shaggy, old apartment didn't have much for lights, least of all a view, the only green to be seen being the lights of signs indicating a restaurant or a dollar store right outside. The familiar sound of ice clinking softly together in a glass could be heard behind him, along with a woman's voice.

"Jake? Jake."

"Hm."

The woman's voice drew closer as she crossed the room to him, "I found a job opening down the street. 'Pay is good. Thought we might check it out together?"

Looking up, Jake is met with a small glass with about a couple gulps worth of whiskey in it, and two ice cubes to make up for the shitty water content. He glances up at his sister as she offers the glass to him and he eventually takes the drink but doesn't acknowledge her words. Kayla's head tilts to the side, studying his reaction before speaking again, "What is it?"

His jaw tightens, taking the time to stare down at his drink while he finds the words, "... I'm taking Tommy's job. I'm gonna be shipped out on a shuttle tomorrow afternoon. In about... six years, I'll be landing on Pandora."

"... Really."

"Money's good," he tries offering the bright side, despite his brooding behavior. He gulps back his entire drink with one tip back of his head, tolerating the burn of alcohol before setting the empty glass on the window sill, "And they need someone with Tommy's face and DNA in order to sync up with the avatar they designed for him. I'll be saving them millions of dollars."

He doesn't need to see her face to know that Kayla was trying to refrain from scowling, "You don't know a single thing about science. You're a war dog."

"Not anymore, clearly," Jake muttered while his hands touched the wheels of his chair.

"You know what I mean. I mean you barely passed high school--"

"'And Tommy passed with flying colors', yeah I know," he responds flatly, a bad taste starting to form in his mouth, "I've heard that plenty of times, trust me."

"Jake-- why are you telling me all this the night before you're meant to leave?"

He finally looks up at her. Plain-faced and pale, Kayla still had a shadow of youth in her eyes, with plenty of life ahead of her. She may not be a twin like Jake and Tommy, but she still bore the resemblance of a Sully. Narrow nose, thin lips, dull blue eyes, and a pointed chin, Jake's younger sister could easily be misinterpreted as his twin now that Tom was no longer around. The thought made his stomach clench and the taste in his mouth got worse.

"So you wouldn't be able to stop me."

She huffs, unimpressed as she took a long sip of her own beverage, "Well, at least you're honest when you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

"When are you not drunk these days?" She hissed, "Do you think those scientists will take on a drunk in the RDA or whatever-the-fuck it's called?"

"I'll sober up in my cryotube. I'll be clean in six years and it'll only feel like six hours for me. It's a win-win."

"You mean a win-win-lose because that still means leaving behind your only living family member. Whatever happened to 'Sullys stick together?'"

Jake scoffs while taking a hand to rub his tired face, "You're not a kid anymore. You can make your own living, and start your own family. You don't need me and you definitely don't need this lifestyle. You could do anything with your life without your crippled brother holding you back--"

"Who died and made you the sole decision-maker of what I do with my life?"

"You're clearly leaving an opening for me to say 'everyone died.'"

She pointedly slammed her drink down on the window sill before she turned to walk away, "Fuck you."

"Kayla..." With his sister still exiting, Jake grabbed his wheelchair and made the motion to go after her, his arrogance and pent-up emotions now starting to boil over, "Hey! Kayla! What the hell do you want from me?!"

"I want to be the first choice!" She screams, whipping back around to point an accusing finger down at him, "For once! I have never been put first over anything else ever! Not with Mom or Dad. Not with Tommy. And now not even with you!"

The snarl he lets out startled even him, bitter coldness dripping from his words, "Grow up, Kayla."

"What, is it childish to feel wanted?"

"Yes! That's not how you survive out here!" He emphasizes this by swinging an arm in the direction of the window.

"Stomping down feelings and a need for your family will ensure your survival?"

"'A need for your family?'" He grins up at her, incredulous and in disbelief, "Do you even hear yourself? It's not like I'm your first choice for a caring older brother!"

"No, you're not. You're always drunk, mean, and miserable these days."

"Hence why you don't need me holding you back--"

"Shut the fuck up!" She roars back, "Only you can hold you back. So stop trying to sell me this bullshit excuse that you're not worth keeping around only so you can ditch me! Because that's what you really want, isn't it? To ditch your sister?"

The room is silent apart from both siblings trying to regain their breath and posture. Jake had a hard time admitting that his voice had cracked when he managed to tone down the volume, "... No matter how I answer that... it won't be an answer you like."

Pain flashed in her eyes, a visual that would continue to haunt Jake from that day forward. Kayla's dirty-colored hair spills over one shoulder as she straightens herself up, towering over Jake, the hurt quickly being replaced by a wall of cement that quickly hardened behind her blue eyes. Her face relaxed into an expression that slowly bubbled with anger instead of pain, her voice dripping with venom, "You're right. Because you're either leaving me here because you don't want me to watch you die, or you're leaving to start a new life without any reminders of me. Either way, you're a sick son of a bitch and I wish you died instead of Tommy! Go to Hell!"

For added measure, she takes her foot and kicks at his wheelchair, pushing Jake back as he rounds back with more hateful words, quick to defend and pity himself, "I'm already in Hell! Living here, breathing this air, looking like this! This whole place is fucking Hell and I'm sick of it! You can love life as much as you want and make the most of it, but it's still a dying dream! I hate it here! I'd rather blow my brains out on Pandora than here! At least there's something nice to look at when that happens!"

The silence is nearly deafening the apartment, Jake's ragged breaths of anger pounding in his ears as he glares up at Kayla. Spontaneous tears spilled out of her eyes the second Jake found the time to blink, her breaths shaking as she tried to control herself from letting out any pathetic noise resembling a sob. It was a struggle, to be sure, as Jake watched her entire composure slowly crumble and shake, trying to grasp whatever dignity she had left.

"I hate you..." the words sound forced out, but they stab Jake straight in the chest, nonetheless. Kayla's voice croaked as she continued the verbal lashing, "I hate you..." She furiously wipes away her tears with the collar of her dress shirt that she had worn for her big brother's funeral, "When I wake up tomorrow, you better be gone by then."

The pent-up rage had been released in a cold laugh under his breath as Jake tightly gripped his wheels, "How about I do us both a favor and leave now!"

He rolls past her and makes it to the door, letting it slide open for him with a bit of a struggle due to the little power left in the mechanics of it. He doesn't turn back as he aggressively wheels forward, calling over his shoulder, "Have a good life, kid."

"Fuck you, Jake."

Then the door slides shut once more.

A/N: If you didn't see up top, I already have a masterlist starting since I have three chapters of this fic already published on ao3. Please check it out and leave kudos and uplifting comments if you enjoy, thank you!

[rottingbite]

Fenzi/Doll House.

Tom Keifer is the owner of the doll store“Cinderella”.

The setting is that he has loved dolls since he was a child.

He loves the dolls in his shop, so he has no intention of selling them.

He loves the dolls on sale as if they were living things.

As a result, the employees (Jeff LaBar, Eric Brittingham, and Fred Coury) became so creepy with him that they left the store and moved elsewhere.

Employees rarely come to work at the store.

(However, I am curious about the store, so I sometimes observe the owner from a distance.)

One day, David Sylvian came to Tom's shop to buy a doll.

He asked Tom, "Do you have any dolls with beautiful faces?"

David went on to say.

『The most important part of a doll is its face』.

tom answered.

『The faces of the dolls in my shop are all good』.

『This is the one that looks the best!』

He said.The doll he brought out was an L.A. GUNS doll.

(※・・・In Japan, when the 〝face〟 is written in kanji, it can be read as "GUN", so it is a play on L.A.GUNS.)

However, David does not like the face of the L.A. GUNS doll and leaves the store angrily.

Next up is Paul Weller from the Style Council.

(※・・・He is nicknamed ``Check Man'' in this manga. I don't know why.)

Tom says to Paul.

『When it comes to checking dolls, I'm better than you.』

Paul ignores Tom's words and says to Tom,

『Now, here's a quiz. What is my favorite Japanese band?』

Tom answers easily.

『checkers』

Paul ran away in frustration.

Tom ignores Paul and loves Slash's doll.

Next, Jon Bon Jovi comes to the store.

Jon asks Tom.

『Do you have a stuffed animal like Bubbles?』

(※・・・Bubbles: Michael Jackson's pet chimpanzee）

Tom brings out a Michael Jackson doll instead.

『How about a Michael Jackson doll instead?』

John is scared.

Tom：

『This doll's face has been remade many times, so it has cracks, but this is the only one I have.』

Jon：

『How much is it?』

Tom：

『500 million yen (approximately 4 million dollars)』

Jon leaves angrily

『Bye!』

Tom：

『It's half price sale now♪』

Jon：

『I don't need it!』

Eric says to tom

『Tom, you have to treat your customers well.』

Tom：

『The doll is more important to me than the customer.』

Tom wanders around the store carrying a Cure Robert Smith doll on his back.

Eric：

『Hey! Stop dressing like that at the store!.』

Tom：

『Why?』

Andy McCoy, formerly of Hanoi Rocks, comes to the store next.

Andy：

『Hi!』

Tom：

『Hi!』

Andy：

『It's a little early in the season, but I thought I'd buy a May(Satsuki) doll for my son.』

Tom：

『I have a doll that is just right. Mr. McCoy』

Tom offers Andy dolls of Robin Crosby and Joe Elliott dressed as samurai.

Andy：

『This doll's face looks like a beast.』

Tom：

『If that's the case, how about this doll?』

Tom offers a Duran Duran doll

Andy：

『Oh! great!』

Tom：

『The price is 500 million yen!』

Andy：

『Then I'll take out a 50-year loan.』

Tom：

『The down payment is 100 million yen!』

Eric：

『Tom, stop it! it's ugly!!』

Tom is silenced by Eric.

Andy：

『Hehehe... 5,000 yen is cheap.』

Eric：

『Thank you for your purchase』

Tom crying：

『Wooown, my doll was bought!!!』

Eric is stunned：

『・・・understand?』

However····

Three months later, Checkman Weller's doll shop 〝Checkers〟opened directly across from Tom's shop.

Paul：

『Fumiya(Lead vocalist of Japanese band “Checkers”)-kun’s dolls are not for sale.』

Tom finally became interested in business, the three employees returned, and the number of customers at the Cinderella store increased.

(As a result, thanks to Paul, the store was able to run normally, so Eric thanks Paul.)

The End.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

What do you think of Tom Waits? Blatant lies only.

So, I used to work at a candy store, right? And it was around Easter time, so we’re busier than usual. You know, because people are going in to buy jelly beans and candy rabbits and stuff. But we’ve got this one item that always sells out this time of year, and as much as I’m anticipating it, this thing makes me dread Easter every year because of just how crazy the customers go for it.

In case you haven’t guessed by now, our most popular candy then was these chocolates shaped like Jesus Christ. Now, I don’t know whose idea this was, but it’s the exact sort of stupid novelty item that people can never resist around the holidays- limited edition and all that. (Funnily enough, we do have a chocolate baby Jesus we carry around Christmas, but that never does as well.)

So, I’m stocking the chocolate Jesuses, knowing these things are gonna be gone by closing time. And in walks this guy- I don’t even notice him at first, because he kinda looks like my mom, if my mom was a cross between a cartoon horse and a folksy American depiction of the Devil. He asks if we have any of the chocolate Jesuses, and you would not believe this guy’s voice. Like, dude sounds like he drinks nothing but machine oil. So I point out the candies, thinking he was just another customer preparing for Easter.

This guy starts grabbing all the chocolate Jesuses. He even starts taking the ones we don’t even have on the shelves yet. And so this causes pure pandemonium among the rest of the customers. They’re all shouting and punching each other, trying to grab just one of the things. One regular even whipped out a horrid little pistol- although fortunately, the gun wouldn’t shoot; it must have been a two-dollar pistol, I guess. I begged the guy to just pick another candy- we had plenty of chocolate, after all- but he said only the chocolate Jesus would keep him satisfied, so like, what can you do?

Eventually, I tell him he’s got to pay for all those chocolates. He grumbles something about the mole people underground, fishes out a pile of bones and a can of beans from his pocket, and places it all on the counter. I don’t know why, but I just… take it? That’s probably the best I’m going to get at this point. He laughs, tips his hat, and then just… falls out of the window (with confetti in his hair, I might add). Everyone tells me I hallucinated the whole thing, but I remember it pretty damn clearly.

I don’t know, I kinda miss him. Got me fired from the candy store, though.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

Tom nooks gotta be the richest man alive because like he builds you an entire three story house and makes you pay like 50000 dollars in total (since bells are equivalent to yen- one hundred bells is Very roughly one dollar, and I’ve actually seen Japanese game designers literally localise the currency in their name by lopping off the last two digits and switching the symbol but that’s neither here note there) and he pays you fifty quid for a tarantula like who is he selling a poisonous animal to? he’s basically paying you to hang out with him but being polite and calling it business like he’s Not making a profit on any of this at All he's just spending all his money vibing in a small town and giving the residents absurd discounts. which makes him an infinitely funnier character. he’s just a lonely middle age depressed man who wants you to hang out at his store and gives you money for random worthless shit to keep up the facade of being a cunning amoral businessman. and it worked so well people thofuht he was evil.

[omegaremix]

The Great Vinyl Purge.

I had a funny feeling during my last music-shopping victory spree. When I furiously dug and came across certain titles, I constantly paused on myself wondering if I already had them in my collection. Dollar records make way for hasty decisions and later regretted when you come home to see those same titles you purchased already in your library.

I audited my shelves to see doubles I didn’t realize I once had. Money well spent if only the first time. After that, you’re donating to your local record stores. That’s what’s called charity. With me buying vinyl faster than a cheetah hunting down his prey, I’m running out of space. I’m not realizing I’m spending money on records I already have, so they had to go. There were many impulse purchases made thanks to low price tags, a kick for the classics, and very little care of the artist other than the year they were made.

There were many duplicates from artists I’m familiar with. Components from my Atari and Nintendo youth in Belinda Carlisle (The Go-Go’s) and Phil Collins (Genesis), jazz-fusion artists Tom Scott and Ramsay Lewis, and an extra from Minnie Riperton. The Doors’ Greatest Hits had to go as I mistakenly bought a copy recently before the purge, and one from France Joli that I shouldn’t have had because I tried finding a song that wasn’t on there.

Not only did I take the duplicates out, but I also took records out of my collection I never listened to. Two titles from The Who and Melba Montgomery that I purchased at an Amityville veteran’s hall left the library because I literally never played them. Doobie Brothers, Nicolette Larson, and many children’s records rescued from a sidewalk dump from people who didn’t know better. They had to go. A few days later I woke up one morning and asked myself why I have almost the entire vinyl discography of Seals & Croft and The 5th Dimension?

And then these three: Al Jolson, M.C. Osso, and Justin Wilson …Meets Jean (John) Barleycorn. Those were three records my dad found ages ago from another stack tossed out for the morning pick-up. That was when I was oblivious to vinyl and record collecting. Hell, we didn’t have a turntable back then. How did I somehow keep them and why did I keep a fucking cajun comedy (?) record? I was better than this.

**********

Now that the vinyl purge was over, what did I do? I had no time creating a Discogs and wait for these records to be sold piece by piece. No record-stores would take them as the children’s records are water-damaged with dry mold. The only other option? Take the easy way out and give them to someone who appreciates them. Why? Friends and family had been charitable to me in the past. A no-longer-staffer of WUSB announced a roll-call for a huge vinyl giveaway donated to me, and later on most of those same records went to Syke. That’s the same Syke who ended up donating me some of his records he found in front of someone’s house; a customer of his who took her entire collection and threw them out in front of the curb. Not me. I give my gifts to a good home.

Once my dad found a collection of polka records and took them home. “What the fuck is this?” I asked him. There’s no way I’d be caught dead and Wee-Gee’d with polka records. Good thing this was right before WUSB’s 35th anniversary. I knew our resident polka lady Theresa was attending, so I donated my stacks to her. Problem solved. Caring is sharing and it goes both way, that is…when you’re not throwing your entire library out in the street.

So I gave them to J-Ro, host of WUSB’s Radio Free J-Ro, archivist, and vinyl fanatic. I dropped them off at the station in October and told him to come get it. He took home Carly Simon’s self-titled, Minnie Riperton’s Perfect Angel, Ramsay Lewis’ Tequila Mockingbird, Herb Alpert’s Rise, and whatever 5th Dimension records he didn’t have already. So that’s only 5% of the stack. As of now, most of it is still there. It’s now WUSB’s as far as I’m concerned. We have the space. Let ‘em deal with it.

Here’s all I parted with to make way for more records and books of my liking. Malcomb Forbes did say: “he / she who dies with the most toys wins.” Sometimes, it’s the nicer shinier ones that get you the victory.

France Joli: Now!

Tom Scott: Blow It Out

Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years

Doobie Brothers, The: Minute By Minute

Phil Collins: Face Value

Carly Simon: self-titled

Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel

Ramsay Lewis: Tequila Mockingbird

Herb Alpert: Rise

Belinda Carlisle: Belinda

Al Jolson & Oscar Levant: Songs And Comedy

M.C. Osso: Umbra Penumbra

Justin Wilson:  Justin Wilson Meets Jean (John) Barleycorn

Doors, The: Greatest Hits

Who, The: It’s Hard

Melba Montgomery: Don’t Let The Good Times Fool You.

Seals & Crofts: Unborn Child, The Longest Road, Diamond Girl, Closer, Summer Breeze, Greatest Hits, self-titled.

5th Dimension, The: Greatest Hits On Earth, Greatest Hits, Up Up And Away, Stoned Soul Picnic, The Age Of Aquarius, Portrait

[off-color-darkrai]

Tom Sawyer Island should Not be turned into a cars ride...

So this is basically a continuation of a previous post about Splash Mountain's rethemeing so if you want to see that first, check it out here

Anyway here's the rest.

The 'Splash Mountain' debacle is still an ongoing conversation topic in my friend group, and it was brought to my attention that D23 still stinks and they're doing more stupid, planning on redesigning Tom Sawyer Island for Cars...

Cars? CARS?! IN Frontier land?!?!

Have you lost what little thought you had in your skulls?!?

No, just, no.

I do agree Tom Sawyer Island needs work, but not cars. No, not after you just spent millions of dollars draining, patching, refurbishing, and refilling the 'rivers of the America's'. No.

They should retheme the island to be Tiana themed... Let me explain...

What people want from a princess and the frog locale isn't a ride, it's a restaurant! A jazzy Cajun restaurant that looks like the movie. So build Tiana's Palace (I learned recently it was palace, not place) on one side of Tom Sawyer Island, near the water, so at night you can light it up and people can hear the jazz music. If you position it right you can even make sure it's in the sightline from Fantasy land, keeping immersion up.

Now, this'll make some people upset, but make the restaurant basically reservation only. Tom Sawyer Island is sizeable, but not built for massive lines like that. It also means they can monitor safety better. The check in kiosk would be on the mainland, and you would be taken over to the restaurant on one of the rafts. This would also be how you leave the restaurant, or you can exit to the rest of the island.

That's right, I mentioned the rest of the island!

Tom Sawyer Island in it's current iteration is mostly used by parents for the parents to take a break from the rest of the park, while the kids can run around and explore in a contained, relatively safe environment. And honestly, fair.

So right outside Tiana's Palace they should build a small New Orleans style street, with false overhead balconies for shade, and a lot of chairs and tables. There should be a vendor for some of the easier/smaller/snackier food items found in the actual restaurant, like bennies or fried gator bits(sorry lewis) or small cups of gumbo. None of the buildings would be actual shops, mostly there for Disney's various storage or maintenance purposes, but there should be some kiosks like at the bazaar in adventure land and some that sell items specific to the island (the kiosks would also cut down on rambunctious kids running through stores willy nilly) Access to the rest of the Island besides the restaurant would come from the other raft, and (if they can manage it) the building of a dock for the Liberty Belle, which would also make the Liberty Belle more popular, and give better wheelchair access, as well as another evacuation point in case of emergency.

What about the kids? Well, with the rest of the island pretty much leave it as is, with a couple minor rethemes, but replace the fort with Mama Oddies Boat(make the cliff it's on look like the tree) and fix up the playground. They can even make it slightly interactive if they want. Sneak a few light changing things and voice lines in there!

Finally, if they do all this, keep the island open until a little after dark, so people can really appreciate the lights and the music.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk... But seriously, I might post a thing about how a brother bear ride would play out later, and update this with some sketches, who's to say.