#dynamics: cameron & katherine.

[greencruz]

@carriessotos

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series 4.01 | High School Musical 4

[layazone]

The reader

Eytan Bakshy, Itamar Rosenn, Cameron Marlow, and Lada Adamic. 2012. The role of social networks in information diffusion. In Proceedings of the 21st international conference on World Wide Web (WWW '12). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 519–528. https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1145/2187836.2187907

this article shows that online social networks allow individuals to share information widely and instantly. A large-scale experiment involving 253 million participants studied the impact of social signals on information sharing. The results indicate that sharing with friends significantly increases the sharing speed. Although strong relationships have a greater impact on individuals, the richness of weak relationships makes them more crucial for spreading new information. This highlights the underestimated role of weak relationships in online information dissemination, indicating that they are crucial for the cross network dissemination of ideas and content.

Tufekci, Z. (2014). Engineering the public: Big data, surveillance and computational politics. First Monday, 19(7). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v19i7.4901

This article discusses how digital technology has driven the development of big data and computing practices, making large-scale data collection and advanced modeling possible. These tools enable powerful institutions to operate extremely effectively, but are not open and transparent. This technology covers political, business, and social fields. The author studied six key dynamic drivers: the rise of big data, the shift from demographics to personalized positioning, the opacity of computational models, persuasive applications of behavioral science, real-time experiments achieved through digital media, and the rise of new power intermediaries that master data or social media platforms. These mechanisms have had a profound impact on political activities and reshaped the public sphere.

David A. Cole, Elizabeth A. Nick, Katherine A. Pulliam, Are Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games healthy or not and why? Preliminary support for a Compensatory Social Interaction model, Computers in Human Behavior,Volume 102, 2020, Pages 57-66, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.08.012.

This article mentions that massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide opportunities for interaction with others, similar to face-to-face group interactions, which can promote cooperation and social support. However, they may also contribute to social aggression and bullying. This study conducted a questionnaire survey on users who frequently participate in MMORPGs and proposed and supported a compensatory social interaction model, suggesting that the use of MMORPGs is associated with higher online social support and health outcomes; And online peer bullying is associated with negative outcomes. These two opposite processes will cancel each other out, and on the surface, the use of MMORPGs seems unrelated to these outcomes. However, subsequent analysis shows that the type of outcome depends on the degree of treatment an individual receives online. The research results were explained from the perspective of a compensatory social interaction model and explored its possible clinical applications.

Parmentier, R.J. (2015) ‘Representation, Symbol, and Semiosis: Signs of a Scholarly Collaboration’, Signs and Society, 3(1), pp. 1–7. doi:10.1086/680470.

This article takes academic cooperation as an example to briefly introduce the history of cooperation between the Semiotics Research Center of Korea International Studies University and the Anthropology Department of Brandeis University, which is itself replaced as a "symbol". By focusing on semiotics, the process of symbols, and advancing the theoretical work of the founders of semiotics, Pierce and Saussure, through interdisciplinary research.

Plass J. L., Homer B. D., MacNamara A., Ober T., Rose M. C., Pawar S., Hovey C. M., Olsen A. (2020). “Emotional design for digital games for learning: The effect of expression, color, shape, and dimensionality on the affective quality of game characters”, Learning and Instruction, Volume 70, pp. 1-13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.01.005.

This article describes the common mechanisms by which emotions and learning processes interact to promote specific learning outcomes based on the EmoGBL (Emotion Synthesis Model in Game Based Learning). Study how the colors, shapes, expressions, and dimensions of game characters evoke emotions in digital games. We investigated learners' perception of emotional quality of these four different visual design features using the forced choice paradigm (Studies 1-3) and PANAS-X and qualitative measurement (Study 4). Participants were shown a series of game characters and reported their emotional reactions. The results indicate that the relative contributions of the four visual attributes to players' perception of emotional quality are strongest in terms of visual design features in terms of expression and dimension, with moderate colors and shapes.

[er0tic]

er0tic ( ner0tic erotica sideblog )

lose yourself to lust ...

🕷 dynamics : toxic , romance , dark , friends with benefits + more ! + darker topics covered . mature audiences only . unwanted negativity is blocked . - written by possession .

memes | wanted plots | inspirations

🖤 MUSE LIST BELOW :

original characters.

ASHLEY NICOLE

KASIN MEDBERY

KENZO

DANTE DEMURÉ

BENJAMIN HYDE

KATHERINE HYDE

canon ( divergent* ) characters.

**** FILM ****

BELLA SWAN

THE RIDDLER ( 2022. )

ALICE ABERNATHY

LEATHERFACE

FREDDY KRUGER

PENNYWISE

DETECTIVE MARK HOFFMAN

JOHN KRAMER

AMANDA YOUNG

VINCENT SINCLAIR

BO SINCLAIR

**** TELEVISION/ANIME ****

RAFE CAMERON

RICK GRIMES

ANTHONY BRIDGERTON

NEGAN MICHAEL

DEXTER MORGAN

KING FARMER GEORGE

COLIN BRIDGERTON

MR. BIG

MIRANDA HOBBES

CHARLOTTE YORK

SAMANTHA JONES

CARRIE BRADSHAW

SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS

GRELL SUTCLIFF

THE UNDERTAKER ( BLACK BUTLER )

**** VIDEO GAMES ****

ELLIS WOIRER

**** MIXED MEDIA ****

PYRAMID HEAD

YENNEFER

[walterfilmmemorabilia-blog]

10 LGBTQ Performers in the 1970's

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community against a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Wikipedia

What followed in the 1970’s was a rising tide of LGBTQ performers that “came out” to express their unique take on music, theater and sexual (transgender) identity. Here are 10 of those performers and a brief look at what they contributed to the movement and to our culture. Click on the image to learn more about the performer.

JAYNE COUNTY

As rock’s first openly transgender singer, Jayne Rogers (born June 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career spans five decades. While dressed in female attire from the beginning of her career, County transitioned to female in 1979, becoming Jayne (as the above poster illustrates).

She made her first performing appearances as Wayne County in Wayne County and The Electric Chairs. In 1969 she appeared in Jackie Curtis’ play Femme Fatale. County considered Curtis a major influence on her career and persona and County is widely considered an influence on David Bowie –– County’s Queenage Baby number was the prototype for Bowie’s Rebel Rebel. Even more notable was her play, World – Birth of A Nation, which was set in a hospital and dealt with male castration –– evoking both transgender surgery and her mixed feelings about men, both gay and straight.

After seeing the play, Andy Warhol cast her in his play Pork. She went on to appear in the film The Blank Generation (1976).  Back and forth between New York and London, she settled in Atlanta Georgia. In 2018, County debuted a retrospective show of visual art in the New York City gallery, Participant, Inc.

County’s life and art is considered an inspirational influence on John Cameron Mitchell’s transgender rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

JACKIE CURTIS

“Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier,” so said Andy Warhol. Andy was right. Jackie Cutis (1947-1987) was a true original. Long before he became one of the Pop master’s superstars. Curtis distinguished himself by appearing (alternately) as a James Dean-like male and a Jean Harlow-like female in Off-off Broadway plays of his own devise in which he and his friends appeared:

Glamour, Glory And Gold, co-starred Candy Darling, and Robert DeNiroin his first New York stage appearance;

Vain Victory, also starred Darling with Warhol and Jack Smith star Mario Montez;

Amerika Cleopatra featured a thin barely-known Harvey Fierstein;

Femme Fatale, starred Patti Smith, Jayne County and Penny Arcade; and

Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit toplined Holly Woodlawn. These were all makeshift, wildly tossed together affairs having little to do with plot and character but tons to do with exhibitionistic self-expression.

Outside of such Warhol films as Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1972), Jackie’s most notable screen appearance was in Yugoslavia agant-gardist Dusan Makvejev’s W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism – a film about sex researcher Willhelm Reich, creator of the so-called Orgone Box. Makvejev felt Jackie presence in the film added a lot to his view of Reich’s sexual theories.

DIVINE

Born Harris Glenn Milsted in 1945, this life-affirming, overweight transvestite was re-named Divine (after the hero/heroine of Jean Genet’s Our Lady of the Flowers ) by the writer-director John Waters, who discovered her right down the block from where he lived. Through his films Waters turned a lonely overweight kid from Baltimore into one of the biggest (in every sense of the word) of all underground movie stars.

In Waters’ comedies, Pink Flamingoes, Female Trouble, Polyester and Hairspray, Divine redefined what it means to be a movie star. Waters called him The Most Beautiful Woman in The World and if you’ve seen Divine on stage of screen you’ll know why; for like his idol, Elizabeth Taylor, Divine was overwhelmingly sui generis.

While beloved for his films, Divine was a prolific LGBTQ performer on stage and in nightclubs. This above poster memorializes one of them . In this particular show — Vice— Divine appeared with many of the members of the legendary San Francisco drag troupe, The Cockettes.

Sadly, Divine (now a gay, transgender icon) died in 1988 of respiratory problems, days after the opening of his greatest acting success, Hairspray. Those lucky enough to see his club appearances also recall Divine for numbers like this —

CASSELBERRY & DUPREE

Mixing Reggae, Country and Gospel, Casselberry and Dupree are a dynamic lesbian duo who have performed with Harry Belafonte and Whoppi Goldberg, They appeared in the Oscar-nominated Art Is and the Oscar-winning The Times of Harvey Milk. The early 70s was a great time for Sapphic folk music, featured as it was at such venues as Lilith Fair. Jaqué Dupree and J. Casselberry offer a stellar example of it in: CASSELBERRYY AND DUPREE “TWO OF US”

CHARLES PIERCE

Charles Piece 1926-1999 was what might be called a female impersonator (he called himself a Male Actress) who found favor with audiences both straight and gay with his knowing impressions of Bette Davis, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead and Carol Channing, Such impersonations were quite  traditional for a comic performer of this sort. But as can be seen and heard in this clip of his rendition of Katherine Hepburn, Pierce kept pace with the blossoming LGBTQ movement with many of his zingers evidencing a keen awareness of the difference the out and proud LGBTQ movement had made in  a straight-dominated world.

Headlining a production of Applause was a real tour de force for Piece as this musical version of All About Eve gave him leave to do Bette Davis (star of the original film) and Lauren Bacall (star of the musical remake) at the same time.

JUDITH ANDERSON

Stage and screen star Judith Anderson (1897-1992.) best remembered by the general public for playing the sinister lesbian “Mrs. Danvers” in Hithcock’s Rebecca (1940) and “Ann Treadwell” the socialite who’s keeping Vincent Price’s “Shelby Carpenter” in Laura  The latter was quite low-key in that the character was straight, whereas “Mrs. Danvers” was a full-force lesbian.

Despite the obvious she was married twice. Her first husband was an English professor, Benjamin Harrison Lehmann. They were married in 1937 and divorced  in 1939. Then, in 1946, she married theatrical  producer Luther Greene. They divorced in 1951. Of these marriages Anderson said. “Neither experience was a jolly holiday.”

While Sarah Bernhardt had famously performed  Hamlet in the late 19th century, few actresses have ever tried it. Taking it on at an advanced age, as Anderson did, was quite novel. Doing it when she did, put Anderson in league with the avant-garde gender-benders of the early 70s like Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn.

CRAIG RUSSELL

Craig Russell, born Russell Crag Easie in 1948 in Toronto Canada, this female impersonator carved out a considerable career for himself doing such stars as Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead and Mae West — having come to know the last-mentioned personally as he briefly worked as her secretary in Los Angeles. Many LGBTQ performers of this genre did impressions of these stars. But there was an edginess to Russell’s work clearly influenced by the rise of the gay rights movement.

He toured widely, appearing in Las Vegas, Hollywood, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Sydney, to the delight of a variety of audiences. But he won a special place in the hearts of the gay ones, as shown in the 1977 comedy-drama Outrageous in which he plays a character largely based on himself.

Interestingly, Russell — who always identified himself as gay — was bisexual. He fathered a daughter, Susan Allison, in 1973, and in 1982 married his closest female friend Lori Jenkins. The marriage lasted right through to the end of Russell’s life in 1990 when he died from AIDS complications.

SYLVESTER

Sylvester James Jr. (1947-1988) was born in Los Angeles, but first came to public attention when he moved to San Francisco and joined the legendary gay hippie performance troupe The Cockettes. A genuinely original singing talent  Sylvester showcased a high, shimmering falsetto and a variety of styles encompassing gospel, disco and cabaret. His look was utterly androgynous. While he sometimes appeared in “drag” he most often sported ensembles suitable to both genders.

Wildly popular in San Francisco he performed solo shows at the city’s opera house. When he died from AIDS complications the entire city mourned, along with everyone else who came to know the man and his music.

STEVEN GROSSMAN

Steve Grossman (1951-1991) a gay singer-songwriter of the early 1970s whose album Caravan Tonight (1974) is distinguished as being the first album dealing with openly gay subject matter released by a major record label, Mercury Records.

He died from AIDS leaving his Joni Mitchell-inflected songs, recorded much in the style of singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, opposed to the then-current glam Bowiesque fashion of openly gay artists. Among them, “Out” is a deeply moving coming-out song directed to his Father mother and brother.

OUR GUEST AUTHOR

DAVID EHRENSTEIN

Born in 1947, David Ehrenstein has been a film critic and political commentator since 1965, writing for such publications as Film Culture, Film Quarterly, Cahiers du Cinema, and the Los Angeles Times. His books include Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-2000,  The Scorsese Picture: The Art and Life of Martin Scorsese and Cahiers du Cinema — Masters of Cinema: Roman Polanski .

Blog is originally published at: https://www.walterfilm.com/10-lgbtq-performers-in-the-1970s/

It is republished with permission from the author.

[latter-day-saint-nick]

Here‘s a list of all the books with queer protagonists I’ve read this year. While I do actively seek those out, there are several books on here that I didn’t know had queer themes when I picked them up from the library and then I was pleasantly surprised by lesbians. I‘ll avoid spoilers except when discussing trigger warnings.

 Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell

Neo, a South African teenager, is obsessed with music of any kind. Her love of music brings her together with the singer of a local band and they have a passionate relationship that they must keep secret. The descriptions of Neo‘s life and her tendency to hear music in everything are beautiful and dynamic. The author included a list of the songs Neo is listening to throughout the book, so I was introduced to a lot of cool music from South Africa and other places. TW: Corrective rape and Bury Your Gays. This is a book by a queer (albeit white British, rather than black South African) author writing about a very real problem that exists within our communities, so it feels different to when a cishet author kills off a queer character just for shock value. I still can‘t help feeling that he could have made the same point without having the character die – just have her be injured. Still, I loved pretty much everything else about the book, so it gets a tentative recommendation from me.

The Mermaid’s Daughter by Ann Claycomb

25-year-old opera student Kathleen tries to cope with the constant pain in her feet, nightmares about having her tongue cut out, and desperate yearning for the sea. With the help of her girlfriend Harry she delves into her family history to uncover the secret of a curse spanning generations of women. What’s nice about this book is that Kathleen and Harry’s relationship is accepted by all their family and friends without question, so if you want to read a nice wlw fantasy story with no homophobia, this one’s for you. TW: Some discussion of suicide, but nothing too graphic.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

A teenage lesbian is sent to conversion therapy by her religious aunt. This is basically a coming-of-age story as the title character comes to terms with her identity and the death of her parents. It’s considered an important work of LGBT YA literature, so I really wanted to like it more than I did. Most of the first half of the novel deals with Cameron’s everyday life in her small town in Montana, which was, to be honest, rather boring to me. The pace of the story picks up a bit once she gets sent to conversion therapy, but even then it’s slower and less eventful than I would have liked. But since it is a popular book, that’s probably just me. I did like that the two best friends she makes at the therapy camp are a disabled girl and an indigenous boy, two types of people that are not often represented in queer fiction, so that’s something. TW: Conversion therapy and self-harm.

Proud by Juno Dawson

This is a collection of poems and stories about queerness aimed at a YA audience, and each one is a pure delight! These stories detail moments of joy and pride that make you feel happy and hopeful about being queer. They include a high school retelling of Pride and Prejudice with lesbians, a nonbinary kid and his D&D group on a quest to disrupt the gender binary at their school, a magical phoenix leading a Chinese girl to find love, and gay penguins. All stories, poems and illustrations are by queer writers and artists. Seriously, I cannot recommend this collection enough!

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

An Irish magical realist story about three girls who perform a spell to find things that they have lost. The spell appears to have wider consequences than they expected, bringing to light things that should have stayed lost. This book has three narrators, two of whom are wlw. It treads a nice line between fantasy and reality, and has some pretty good plot twists. Also, there’s a crossword at the end, which is awesome. More books should come with crosswords.

Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

A space opera trilogy set in the distant future about the embodiment of a ship’s AI who seeks revenge against the ruler of a colonialist empire who destroyed her ship and killed her beloved captain. This is not beginner’s sci-fi, as it is very complex and intricate, but if you’re fine with a bit of a heavier read, you’ll be rewarded with some very interesting concepts. What makes this series queer is that the Raadch empire has no concept of gender and uses female pronouns for everyone. This makes every romantic relationship queer by default, whether we are aware of the characters’ sexes or not. I found it particularly enjoyable when Breq, the protagonist, tried to communicate in different languages that have gendered pronouns, which she had to navigate carefully in order not to offend people. She tries to look for outward clues of gender, such as hairstyles, chest size, facial hair or Adam’s apples, but even then often gets it wrong, because these things are not always consistent. That is just a great depiction of how arbitrary ideas of binary sexual characteristics tend to be. Also, I guess technically Breq is aroace, but since she’s not human, I’m not sure if she can be considered the best representation, though she is a very likeable character that I enjoyed following.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

These books are a lot of fun! They’re historical adventure stories with a bit of fantasy thrown in, featuring disaster bisexual Henry Montague, his snarky aroace sister Felicity and his best friend Percy whom he is secretly in love with. In the first book, the three teenagers are sent on a tour of Europe for various reasons, but they quickly abandon the planned route when they get embroiled in a plot involving theft and alchemy. The second book details Felicity’s further attempts to become a doctor, which leads her to reunite with an old friend and chase a tale of fantastical creatures.

The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

Technically I read this one late last year, but whatever. I just wanted to put it on the list to have an excuse to talk about it. It’s about two Jewish siblings with magic powers who are recruited during World War II to take part in a secret project to fight the Nazis. Both siblings turn out to be queer: the brother is gay and demisexual, while the sister is bisexual, and they each have a love interest. This book is an independent prequel to The Girl with the Red Balloon, which takes place in East Berlin during the time of the Wall, and is just as good, albeit not as gay.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

This book tends to be classified as fantasy, because it takes place in an alternate, Latin-American-inspired world, with a distinct history, culture and religion, but there’s no magic at all, so I’m not sure it counts. But I digress. The country of Medio is built on classism and acute xenophobia. But by hiding her status as an illegal immigrant, Daniela, a girl from a poor background, manages to rise to the top of her class at her elite finishing school and become the first wife of one of the most powerful young men in the country. But her new comfortable status is threatened when she is pressured to join a group of rebels who fight for equality. At the same time, she also finds herself falling for her husband’s second wife. Obviously, this book’s political message is very topical, but beyond that, it’s just a very good story, with a well fleshed-out fictional world and great characters. This is the first in a series, with the sequel, We Unleash the Merciless Storm, coming out in February.

All Out: The No Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell

A very nice collection of short stories about various queer teenagers in different historical settings, from a medieval monastery to an American suburb on New Year’s Eve in 1999. Most of the stories are realist, but there are a few ghosts and witches to be found in-between. What I found particularly notable about this book is that it featured several asexual characters, which you don’t often see in collections like this. I definitely recommend it.

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

This is a thoughtful, heart-warming life story about a woman growing up during the civil war in Nigeria. After Ijeoma, a Christian Igbo girl, is sent away from home, she finds her first love in Amina, a Muslim Hausa. Even after they are found out and separated, Ijeoma doesn’t quite understand what’s so shameful about their love. Still, as she grows older, she attempts to fit into a heteronormative society while also connecting with the things and people that make her happy. TW: Homophobic violence, including an attack on a gay nightclub. The novel makes up for this by having a remarkably happy ending.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

A young man in Victorian London finds a mysterious watch on his pillow, with no idea how it got there. This sets into motion a strange series of events, which leads him to a lonely Japanese watchmaker, to whom he finds himself increasingly drawn. This is an unusual novel that treads the line between historical fiction, fantasy and sci-fi. Most of the characters are morally grey and have complex motivations, but are still likable. I just really enjoy stories that take place in this time period, particularly when they are this thoughtfully written and don’t just take the prejudices of the past for granted.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

A YA book about a transgender teenager, written by a transgender author. After her mother decides that she is not safe in her hometown anymore, high school senior Amanda moves in with her dad in a town where nobody knows her and she can try to go stealth. But even as she is making friends and experiencing romance for the first time, she constantly worries about what will happen if her secret comes out. It’s a fairly standard story about being transgender, really, but as it comes from a trans author, it feels a lot more personal and less voyeuristic than these stories tend to be when coming from a cisgender perspective. Amanda is a sympathetic and compelling character. TW: This book deals with a number of upsetting themes, including transphobic violence, being forcibly outed and suicide. There is a flashback to Amanda’s pre-transition suicide attempt, which I found particularly triggering. I also wish she could have come out on her own terms, instead of being outed in front of the whole school by someone she thought she could trust. It is still a pretty good book, but it can be very upsetting at times.

As I Descended by Robin Talley

A loose retelling of Macbeth that takes place in a boarding school in Virginia and involves two queer couples. The supernatural elements of the play are amplified in a wonderfully creepy way, and the characters are complex and realistic, so you understand their motivations, even when they do bad things. TW: Out of the five queer characters in the novel, three die, two of them by suicide.

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss and EG Keller

A charming picture book about the Vice President’s pet bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny and wants to hop around at his side for the rest of his life. This book was written as a screw you to Mike Pence, but even so it is a genuinely nice kid’s book that deals with homosexuality and marriage equality in a way that is appropriate for young children. The illustrations are incredibly cute as well.

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

A very strange, surreal tale about four people (most of whom are queer in some way) exploring a magical city that you can enter in your dreams by sleeping with someone who has been there before. I wanted to like this one more than I did, because I really love Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland books for children. But while some of the dreamlike imagery is cool and pretty, I found a lot of it weirdly uncomfortable, along with the frequent sex scenes.

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

15-year-old Julia is home for the summer at her parents’ ancestral mansion in Scotland and gets involved with a plot about theft, disappearance and possibly murder. She also has her first crushes – on a man working at her parents’ estate and a young Traveller girl, respectively. This is a prequel to Code Name Verity, which has the same protagonist, though her bisexuality isn’t really alluded to in that, which is why I’ve kept it off the list, even though it is an excellent book. The Pearl Thief is pretty good as well, though it is a bit strange to read after you’ve already read Verity and know that this carefree teenage character is going to grow up to be a spy in World War II and be tortured in a Nazi prison. Do read both books, though. They are great.

Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson

A young scientist falls in love with the wife of the man she’s having an affair with. There’s speculation about quantum mechanics and interconnectedness, all wrapped in very poetic language. To be perfectly honest, I really didn’t get it, so I have no idea what any of it means. But at least the main character is bisexual and polyamorous (and possibly genderfluid – I’m not sure).

Queer Africa by Makhosazana Xaba and Karen Martin

A collection of short stories by queer African writers, discussing themes like love, sex, marriage, family and homophobia. The attitudes towards queerness in these different countries varies. In many of them, homosexuality is illegal, even though same-sex relationships used to be respected before the interference of Western colonialism. In any case, these stories are an interesting and oftentimes beautiful examination of queerness from a non-Western point of view, some joyous and some tragic. TW: The second to last story is about incest.

[tabloidtoc]

Us, July 1

Cover: Bradley Cooper’s side of the story -- How the pressure of his career and Lady Gaga rumors led to his breakup with Irina Shayk 

Page 1: First Look -- Reese Witherspoon 

Page 2: Red Carpet -- Jenny Packham -- Michelle Rodriguez, Busy Philipps, Janet Mock, Angela Bassett, Sandra Oh 

Page 3: Kelsea Ballerini, Zooey Deschanel, Taraji P. Henson, Katheryn Winnick, Regina King 

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Sharon Stone vs. Bella Hadid, Eva Longoria vs. Dua Lipa, Katherine Schwarzenegger vs. Joey King 

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Mindy Kaling, Tessa Thompson, Chris Harrison, Jamie Foxx, Sophie Turner on Michael Fassbender in Dark Phoenix

Page 8: Contents 

Page 10: Hot Pics -- Prince William and Duchess Kate, Prince Harry and Rita Ora, baby Archie 

Page 11: Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma, Kate Hudson 

Page 12: Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, Jamie Chung, Selena Gomez 

Page 13: Tom Holland and Zendaya and Jake Gyllenhaal, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston, Mike Colter 

Page 14: Kim Kardashian West, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, Toy Story 4 cast Keanu Reeves and Christina Hendricks and Keegan-Michael Key and Ally Maki and Tony Hale and Tom Hanks and Tim Allen and Annie Potts 

Page 16: Dog Days -- Rachel Brosnahan and Tony Shalhoub’s pup, Yara Shahidi and her dog, Gayle King and her son Will’s rescue dog, Courteney Cox and her two dogs, Justin Theroux and Kuma 

Page 18: Do or Tie-Dye -- Willow Smith, Taylor Swift, Gigi Hadid, Travis Scott 

Page 19: Whitney Port, Gina Rodriguez, Olivia Holt, Suki Waterhouse, Justin Bieber, Lucy Hale 

Page 20: Stars They’re Just Like Us -- Zoe Saldana, Kristin Chenoweth, Ellen Pompeo and Christina Milian 

Page 22: Summertime Stars -- Christina Milian, Rita Ora, Emily Ratajkowski, Eva Longoria, Drake 

Page 24: Cutie QT -- Gisele Bundchen and kids Benjamin and Vivian, John Legend and daughter Luna, Nick Carter and son Odin, Kelly Ripa and daughter Lola, Kevin Hart and daughter Heaven 

Page 26: Love Lives -- Happy Pride -- Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne have never been happier 

Page 27: Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka -- mealtime is a family affair, Tan France and Rob France hope to have a baby within the next couple of years, Nico Tortorella and Bethany Meyers aren’t interested in anyone’s opinion of their union 

Page 28: Samira Wiley and wife Lauren Morelli keep their date nights low-key, Zeke Smith and Nico Santos brought together by food, Linda Perry fully supports wife Sara Gilbert leaving The Talk 

Page 30: Hot Hollywood -- Elin Nordegren baby on the way with former NFL player Jordan Cameron 

Page 31: Jim Edmonds denies cheating on wife Meghan King Edmonds but she doesn’t believe him, Jessica Biel is in hot water after meeting with anti-vaxxer activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner and Zoe Kravitz and Karl Glusman are going to get married on the same day in Paris, Never Have They Ever eaten common foods -- Kendall Jenner, Ice-T, Tom Brady, Patrick Stewart 

Page 32: What’s in My Bag? Winnie Harlow 

Page 33: Tristan Thompson’s ex Jordan Craig claims Tristan cheated on her with Khloe Kardashian, the Wellness Your Way Festival with Jewel is back and better than ever, VIP Scene -- Selma Blair, French Montana, Christina Milian, Kris Humphries, Rosanna Arquette, Leah Remini

Page 34: Cover Story -- Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk -- The truth about their split 

Page 38: Sandra Bullock’s amazing dynamic with her low-key love Bryan Randall 

Page 42: Julianne Hough’s hot husband Brooks Laich opens up about his new podcast, his parenthood goals and why his famous wife is his rock 

Page 46: Style -- bathing suits -- Demi Lovato 

Page 48: Beauty 

Page 50: Us Musts -- Tim Allen on Toy Story 4 

Page 52: Brian Tyree Henry on Child’s Play 

Page 53: MTV’s Are You the One? breaks boundaries, Buzzzz-o-Meter -- Eva Longoria, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore 

Page 58: Fashion Police -- Christina Hendricks, Katie Holmes, Michelle Monaghan 

Page 59: Camille A. Brown, Dania Ramirez, Meghan Linsey 

Page 60: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me -- Erika Jayne

[fragilelcngs-blog]

INTRODUCING…. me.

hey, babes !! my name’s dee, and i’m very new around here. i’m twenty-three, live in the est, and use she/her pronouns. i’m a moody aquarius, chaotic neutral, and infp for those of you that are into literally anything that will tell you about your personality like me. i’m legit so painfully shy but i’m so down for plots, threads, and ships of all kinds so please bring me whatever your little hearts desire !!! i’m so stoked to be here and write with y’all it’s INSANE, and my ims are ALWAYS open for screaming about plotting, sharing headcanons, or making friends !! i only have two triggers that i feel should be mentioned and those are anything involving heavily graphic or explicit mentions of self-harm or pedophilia. otherwise, i’m good to go but please let me know if i miss something and don’t tag or give a content warning for any of your triggers !!!

INTRODUCING…. the muses.

HEATHER VINCENT, phoebe tonkin, ( 26 ) + screwtape by cane hill.

JANIE FOLEY, holland roden, ( 21 ) + disco tits by tove lo.

CARCOSA LUSK, lucy hale, ( 23 ) + ain’t no grave by johnny cash.

MICKEY ST. CLAIR, lynn gunn, ( 24 ) + soon be gone by boots.

VERONICA ST. CLAIR, carlson young, ( 21 ), + hotter than hell by dua lipa.

EVE RAYNER, holland roden, ( 27 ), + when the levee breaks by led zeppelin.

VALERIA PADILLA, eiza gonzalez, ( 27 ), + down by stone temple pilots.

MOLLY STARRETT, madelaine petsch, ( 22 ), + ultraviolence by lana del rey.

BRITNEY STARRETT, katherine mcnamara, ( 20 ), + come as you are by nirvana.

NIKKI FREY, maggie lindemann, ( 19 ), + baby i’m dead inside by kopps.

INTRODUCING…. wanted plots.

oh wOW alright so i’m gonna be basic for a second and tell y’all that i fucking love angst. i mean, fluff’s great and all, but my heart truly lies with the gritty, toxic, dysfunctional, and fucked up. i’m also a huge fan of anything having to do with crime so if you ever wanna do any crime plots come my way !!!  it’s also no secret that i’m a very big fan of age gaps ( obvs not with minors because GROSS ). but seriously, give me everything. friends or exes or enemies to lovers, two toxic people that know they should walk away from each other but can’t live without the other, criminals on the run, any kind of criminal or bad influence with pure characters that have hearts made of gold, characters that go through something horrible together and become each other’s lifeline because they’re the only ones that understand, secret and / or taboo relationships, slowburn and unrequited love, exes that reconnect under literally any kind of circumstances, etc. i’ll link some good examples of my favorite plots so you can get a feel for what i’m describing !!!

x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x are all some ( hopefully ) pretty good examples !!

i’m also always down for plots away from the romantic side of things. i LOVE giving my characters ride or dies, enemies, exes, family, or anything else you can think of. the more unique the connection the better !! legit one of the best relationships i ever played out in an rp was between carcosa and another girl. totally platonic, but it was such a rich and fucked up dynamic that was full of toxicity and power struggles and manipulation and backstabbing, but also drunken benders and risky adventures and late night confessions, and those were easily some of the funnest threads and plotting sessions i’ve ever had. so please, like i said, give me all of the connections.

INTRODUCING…. the favorites.

i’m totally gonna break this down into quick lil sections because i have a lot of favorite things lmao so here you go !!!

SHIPS

tbh i have so many favorite crackships so pls don’t even get me started on those ?? but i love both f/f and m/f ships and have absolutely zero preference when it comes to which one we do. i’m also a huge fan of poly ships and i’ll never say no to having multiple ships/plots/threads with the same person. i’m very much a multi-ship kinda gal so as long as it’s cool with my writing partner(s) i tend to assume each ship is in it’s own little verse unless otherwise discussed. though i’m totally down for and love ic drama so don’t be afraid to approach me about ships existing in the same timeline !! i’m a fan of everything from the sickly sweet and fluffy to the fucked up, toxic, and angsty so just give me all of the ships because tbh i’m a slut for ‘em.

FACES

alright so some of my favorite faces to play are holland roden, lucy hale, phoebe tonkin, eiza gonzalez, madelaine petsch, katherine mcnamara, dove cameron, halsey, emma greenwell, maggie lindemann, emmy rossum, madison davenport, lynn gunn, vanessa morgan, carlson young, deborah ann woll, and maggie siff. some of my favorite ladies to play against are zoey deutch, lindsey morgan, kat graham, vanessa morgan, dua lipa, eliza taylor, adelaide kane, candice patton, dove cameron, arden cho, chloe bennet, vanessa hudgens, danielle campbell, ashley benson, margot robbie, blake lively, ginny gardner, angelina jolie, emeraude toubia, meghan markle, and zoe kravitz. some of my favorite fellas to play against are charlie hunnam, jon bernthal, dj cotrona, charles melton, manny montana, oscar isaac, andy biersack, andrew lincoln, chris evans, bob morley, garrett hedlund, tom hardy, jason momoa, tyler posey, michael b. jordan, frank grillo, jeffrey dean morgan, dom sherwood, jensen ackles, skeet ulrich, and froy gutierrez.

EXTRAS

 just for fun, here’s a mismatched list of some of my favorite things across the board !! snakes, glitter, the colors purple, teal, and black, dogs, iced coffee, horror movies, outlaw bikers, drag queens, classic rock, vinyl records, bath and body works, geodes, mexican food, pulp fiction, the moon and stars, tattoos, neon lights, iasip, succulents and cacti, richard siken, candles, myths and folklore, metallic lipstick, sons of anarchy, and concerts.

INTRODUCING…. future plans.

tbh i hope to get a lot of things out of this group. i’m hoping to find a safe space to let my creativity run wild and a home for my muses where they can constantly grow and develop through interactions with other characters, in-depth plots, and my own exploration the more i write with them. i’m also hoping this will be a good opportunity to make friends, since i’m very much a loner and some of the best people i’ve met have been through the world of roleplaying. i definitely want to push my muses and challenge myself to be a better writer here, and i hope to help out those of you that are seeking the same things in your journey !! i’m already planning on adding some more muses in the very near future ( because i have ZERO impulse control ), and as far as future plans for plots go i want EVERYTHING. romantic, enemies, exes, familial, platonic, and literally anything in between. i would definitely love some slowburn ships where our characters don’t just fall in love overnight. i’d also be so down for exploring the dynamics of age gap relationships. not just the taboo aspect of them but like the differences in generations, the potential repercussions, the ups and downs and the times where they’re not sure if they can make it work.

INTRODUCING…. why i said fuck it.

i mean who hasn’t felt like saying fuck it to the rpc ??? i’ve been rping for several years, about six of those years have been on tumblr and as much love as i can have for this community at times, most days it’s just fucking exhausting. i feel like it’s mostly become a very toxic, judgmental, and honestly shallow place. i hate the expectation groups put on members these days with activity checks and whatnot because honestly who even has the time to write every single day ????? or y’know sometimes we just don’t feel like it ?????? i know for me personally between my mental health and irl responsibilities i just don’t have the time or energy to be on every two days. and plus a lot of them are cliquey af or die in a week or are riddled with petty drama so i tend to avoid them altogether. i joined the indie community in hopes of rping on my terms and while i def feel like that was a step in the right direction, it’s still a very exclusive community at times and i’ve had difficulty fitting in. there’s still a lot of ugliness towards female ocs or muns that exclusively play females and tbh i’m over it ??? i decided to give this group a try because i love the idea of the indie format but in a group, making it easier to plot with people and put yourself out there. tl;dr i decided to say fuck it because the community’s gone downhill and i needed a change.

[fairytalesbot]

The Easter Bunny the boar

Once upon a time, in a certain grass hut lived Brandon the Well-intentioned. Brandon lived with Kai the Snazzy, Assertive Emory, and Maria the Smart. Jocular Lily, Orderly Jamie, Ugly Jordan, Condescending Cameron, Popular Payton, Reassuring Jennifer, Haley the Keen, Numb Natalie, Tatum the Impractical, Parker the Staid, Proficient Joan of Arc, and Julia the Sweet were known to Brandon. Sooner or later, Reassuring Jennifer died. "There," remarked Brandon to nobody in particular. One day, there came into the region of Leninsk-Kuznetsky a yucky boar known as the Easter Bunny the Damaging. There was a threat of cannibalism. Assertive Emory, a friend of Brandon, needed a wondrous object or two. Possibly three. No more than that. Unless they were collectible. Brandon encountered Katherine. "Salutations! Katherine" said Brandon the Well-intentioned. "Well, look who this is, it's Brandon the Well-intentioned" returned Katherine. "Well, you certainly are methodical," noted Brandon the Well-intentioned. "Yes, I am," conceded Katherine. "But it's been said that I'm also hesitant!" "Here," said Katherine, "you'll need this," and gave Brandon the Well-intentioned the Dynamic-Auxiliary Parameter. "What's this?" asked Brandon. "What does it look like?" replied Katherine. "It's a special, magical Dynamic-Auxiliary Parameter. Perhaps you can use it in your struggle with the Easter Bunny the Damaging." "Thanks!" said a grateful Brandon gratefully. The problems experienced by Emory, who needed a wondrous object or two, were resolved by Brandon the Well-intentioned. Brandon arrived in Leninsk-Kuznetsky but was unrecognized. Brandon was recognized. Brandon dated for a few years, but decided to remain single. It was a good life. Years passed, but Brandon still mourned the stinging loss of Jennifer. After that he lived long and happily, survived to a great age, and then died peacefully.

[mandibierly]

Why vampires aren't as sexy in the age of #MeToo

Nina Dobrev as Elena and Ian Somerhalder as Damon on The Vampire Diaries. (Photo: Everett Collection)

The Vampire Diaries and Dawson’s Creek producer Julie Plec on the storylines you’d have to think twice about today, the inspiring Marjory Stoneman Douglas students, and the Roswell reboot.

This March marks a year since The Vampire Diaries signed off the air after eight seasons on The CW, and as showrunner Julie Plec thinks back to its beginnings, there’s no question what her biggest takeaway is. “There was a sensuality and a seduction to the vampire genre that now, [nearly] 10 years later, isn’t necessarily as sexy, right?” she says, alluding to the fact that vampires can compel or glamour humans (depending on whether you’re watching TVD or True Blood) and have overpowering strength and speed.

“And you could look at it back through the lens of say the #MeToo movement and object to what may be a little bit of a glorification of a rape culture, but what we were working with at the time was a gothic romance with a fine line — a very fine line — separating it,” she says, with a laugh. “And I used to get in arguments about it being a gothic romance and not wanting to censor the sexuality of the characters, even if it felt a little questionable at times, like specifically Damon and Caroline in the first couple of episodes [when he used her as a plaything and drank from her against her will]. Because that’s what vampires represented, and that’s what vampires were. And the culture has just shifted enough that you’d have to think twice before you dove in that boldly now, I think.”

Another storyline that doesn’t feel “of the time” today is the classic bad boy trope, which, Plec admits, she’s had great success exploring on TVD and its spinoff, The Originals (which returns April 20 for its fifth and final season). “It brings to light a lot of questions about women’s self-worth and passivity in that male/female dynamic, and so that’s shifting as well,” she says. “It’ll be [interesting] to see how you can create great romance and tension in a romantic relationship without being able to rely on those old tropes of the guy picking up the girl and throwing her over his shoulder and saving the day, you know.”

As someone who also worked on close friend Kevin Williamson’s series Dawson’s Creek for a time, Plec can, too, admit that 20 years later, a plot point like Pacey having sex with his teacher hasn’t aged well. “There was something kind of sexy and dirty and naughty and wish fulfillment about that back then that leaves a really nasty taste in my mouth right now,” she says.

Still, there are some Dawson’s arcs that more than hold up. She thinks back to Jack (Kerr Smith) coming out in Season 2 — and in Season 3, experiencing the first passionate kiss between two men on TV (thanks to then showrunner Greg Berlanti being willing to walk away from the series if the network wouldn’t air it). “Essentially that scene where the father rejects Jack and leaves him in a puddle crying was a fictionalized version of Greg’s actual experience, which he’s talked very freely about in his own interviews,” Plec says. “The beauty of that storyline is the idea that as a young adult, [Greg] had an experience that he had to keep a secret for a while, and then when he revealed his secret, it didn’t go well, and then for him to be able to exorcise that demon through writing — to actually show the story to an audience and show them all the beautiful things about that story that he himself had never gotten to see as a viewer.”

That’s also an illustration of why Plec has always been drawn to the teen genre. “What’s most inspirational about writing for that age is that everyone at that age is either living their biggest truth or their biggest secret, and sometimes both. And they communicate in a very straight-forward way. They tend to sort of say what they mean, and express their feelings without filters in a way that you just don’t do as much as an adult,” she says. “And so as a writer, it makes it a particularly honest experience — I don’t have to think, I can just put my thoughts on the page as I would have wanted to when I was 17.”

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students Emma Gonzalez, left, David Hogg, and Cameron Kasky raising their voices. (Photos: Getty/AP)

Last month, when she was watching the teen survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting speak on TV, she thought again about Dawson’s Creek.

“Kevin made a very specific and unique style choice in that he purposefully wrote those teens to have almost hyperbolic language and communication skills,” Plec says, “and I would say, probably the biggest lesson you can take from his choice was that when you’re writing for teenagers, you don’t treat them like children. You treat them, and you present them, as adults. And that was actually passing through my head when I was listening to all the Parkland students on CNN giving their press conference. I said, ‘My god, they are so magnificently articulate.’ And the idea that there used to exist this sense in that particular youth genre that you had to write down or limit their vocabulary or narrow their point of view seems so ridiculous in the post-Dawson’s Creek era, because you look at the reality of how teenagers communicate at their best.”

Katherine Langford as Hannah Baker in 13 Reasons Why. (Photo: Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection)

The conversation those students, and fearless shows like 13 Reasons Why, are creating in the country give her hope. “If you’re looking at all of these kids talking about being shot up in their school, then you’re applauding a show like 13 Reasons Why for creating an environment for people to talk openly about their feelings, about their mental illness, about their sadness, about the things that make them feel dark. If talking about mental health is the norm and not the aberration, then I think we solve a lot of the world’s problems just by definition of that.”

Because again, when done well, these shows can make a difference. For her next project, Plec will direct the pilot for The CW’s Roswell reboot, written by Originals alum Carina Adly MacKenzie and based on the Roswell High book series. This time, the story centers on the daughter (Jeanine Mason) of undocumented immigrants who returns to her hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, for her 10-year high school reunion and discovers that her teenage crush (Nathan Parsons), who is now a police officer, has been hiding the fact that he’s an alien with unearthly abilities. When a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance.

“Carina was raised in the Muslim faith by an Egyptian mother, although she is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman, and after 9/11, the next day everyone in her school was exhibiting blatant Islamophobia, and she had to sort of stand up and say, ‘Hey, wait a second, guys. Watch yourselves.’ And so to be able to tell that story through this lens is really important to her because it is something that she went through as a teenager.”

And it’s an experience that today’s teens can still relate to. “Anything that you’re making for that particular audience, you know deep down that you’re in some way, in success, laying the foundation for important things like tolerance and inclusion, and openness to issues like mental health or self-esteem,” she says. “You’re touching people at the right time, where your message can actually make positive change if your message is well-executed — and there’s something really uplifting and powerful about that.”

Read more “Why Teen TV Matters” from Yahoo Entertainment:

Show creator looks back at 4 decades of ‘Degrassi,’ from abortion to Drake

Joss Whedon on Parkland students: ‘I’ve been writing about kids like these for a long while. I thought I was writing fantasy.’

‘My So-Called Life’ and ‘Parenthood’ creators on Parkland teens ‘changing the conversation’ on TV and in real life

Why social media is the biggest issue teen TV should tackle

[miss-fox116]

Lightning Bolt: What are your top three favorite movies? (I chose this because of Lightning, lol) & Olympus: Describe your dream job.

Lightning Bolt: Top Three Favorite MoviesThis list is not in any particular order. This is also extremely hard since I haven't seen many movies lately so this might be a list of recent films I've seen, but I still do love all the films on this list and much more. 1) Deadpool (this movie was extremely awesome! Finally I get an antihero who isn't afraid to be human. While he may have a foul mouth, Deadpool never ceases to make me laugh and the romance between him and Vanessa gets me every time. He's even better in the comics! He's the only superhero besides Batman that I really love. Truly a fun and captivating movie. P.S. Can't wait for the sequel next summer!!!)2) The Girl on the Train (I didn't expect to love this movie as much as I did. I just love how well Emily Blunt portrayed a drunk woman in emotional distress. I'm a huge fan of psycho-thrillers and the way that the film explored the mind of Rachel through the other two women that she had a connection with just really amazed me. Also I love how the audience got to experience the narrative from her point of view while simultaneously seeing what actually happened outside of Rachel's unreliable memory.)3) Hidden Figures (this movie was totally inspiring!!! I loved to see the dynamic of "black girl magic" and women's independence play out on screen. I was in awe at how significant these women's story was and how much they contributed to the history of NASA. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson were truly exceptional women. Without them, America wouldn't have launched their first astronaut (John Glenn) on the moon. I'm so happy that their story got recognized and that our future generations can be educated in the groundbreaking history of science. Side note, I also included them in a Black History presentation that I wrote and directed at my church).Honorable mentions: -Finding Nemo (first movie theater experience)-Soul Surfer (this movie had a major influence in strengthening my faith in God)-Gone Girl (another fun psycho-thriller)-Fast and Furious 6 (best one in my opinion, I'm a Dom and Letty shipper)-Tangled (Flynn and Rapunzel ALL DAY)-Cars 3 (CRUZ AND LIGHTNING AHHHHHH!!)-Fireproof (beautiful film about marriage, also I adore Kirk Cameron) -October Baby (had me bawling like a baby, excellent film about forgiveness!!) -The Edge of Seventeen (#RELATABLEAF) -Wonder Woman (beautiful adaptation of love from a biblical standpoint, using mythological creatures)-The Lion King (literally my all time favorite Disney movie!!)Olympus: Dream JobMy dream job is to be a Juvenile Delinquency Attorney. I want to do this because I have a passion for seeing the proper execution of justice, especially seeing how flawed the American Justice System is. After working with a Federal Court judge in Family Court, I developed a desire to defend young children who get unfairly tried and lost in the system. Also, I want to be able to change a child's life and show them the compassion and love that they need and also comfort them during their rough trials. I'm hoping that my life would be a testimony of God's love and I hope to make a change in the legal system of America, especially in the area where hurting children are involved.

[loudlytransparenttrash]

Idk where you get the idea that feminism is anything like you say it is but... maybe you should get off tumblr? I literally don't know one single feminist like the ones you describe and I'm deep in the movement. Stop basing your opinion off parodies.

This is going to be fun. If you don’t know a single feminist like the ones I describe and interact with throughout my blog, then you either live in your bedroom, completely shut off to the world or the more logical choice and that’s you’re a complete fucking liar. Let’s have a little look into some of these feminists, that you just so happen to conveniently know nothing of their existence. 

First of all let’s look at some of the horrible shit feminists have done:

The feminist group WAR has petitioned to have the government stop prosecuting women for filing false accusations.

Feminist Mary Koss denies male rape victims.

Feminists violently protesting against Warren Farrell at U of Toronto.

17,000 feminists at protest attack and sexually molesting a group of Rosary-praying Catholic men who were peacefully protecting the cathedral.

Feminists shut down a talk about male suicide and force university to stop acknowledging International Men’s Day

Feminists shut down forum for battered husbands.

Feminists started a campaign against Father’s rights groups

Feminists fought against laws granting men anonymity until charged with the crime of rape—not convicted, just charged.

Feminists fought against a law to end to the justice system favoring women simply because they are women, and giving men harsher sentences simply because they are men.

Feminist fought against men want equal treatment when victims of domestic violence, and to not be arrested for the crime of “being male” under primary aggressor policies.

Feminists force university president to resign after he claimed that we should all be entitled to free-speech

Feminists in India and Israel fought against female rapists being arrested, charged and convicted of rape.

Feminists harass and abuse teacher because his wife said that people should be allowed to wear Halloween outfits

Feminists fought against a economic stimulus for male-dominated job such as construction, etc.

Feminist fought a law against  Paternity Fraud.

Hateful Quotes by Feminsts

Feminist Harriet Harman has publicly requested employers to hire women in preference to White men if both job candidates are equally

Equality Minister,feminist Patricia Hewitt, was found guilty of breaching the Sex Discrimination Act by “overlooking a strong male candidate for a job in favour of a weaker female applicant”.

The lesbian feminist prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir has vowed to “end of the Age of Testosterone

Feminists want to make peeing while standing illegal

Erin Pizzey had to flee the UK because she and her family received death threats and her dog murdered all because feminists didn’t like that she discovered women were equally as violent as men.

Also Suzanne Steinmetz and her children received death threats and bomb threats she discovered that  the rate at which men were victimized by domestic violence was similar to the rate for women.

Richard Gelles and Murray Straus  have all received death threats from feminists, simply for publishing their findings (that female-to-male family violence was equal to the rate of male-to-female violence).

Feminist attacks male cartoonist and is hailed a hero of feminism.

Try to shut down female prisons.

Feminists prevent a meeting about male suicide.

Jezebel mocks men who are abused.

Create rape laws that exclude female rapists.

Make it impossible to charge women with rape.

Feminists force children to swear in propaganda videos

Feminists create propaganda videos encouraging to kill men

Feminists don’t want the gov to help unemployed men.

Feminists say men can’t talk about domestic abuse.

Feminists cover up female domestic abuse stats.

Now let’s take a look at just some of the things they have had meltdowns over: 

Domino’s pizza boxes A campaign slogan written on a Domino’s pizza box, which conveyed their refusal to adhere to requested toppings changes on their artisan pizzas as a good thing, is sexist, as it perpetuates “rape culture.”

Science The University of Wisconsin - Madison (UW) offers “a post-doctorate in ‘feminist biology’ because biological science is rife with sexism and must be changed to reflect feminist thinking.” 

Voting for Donald Trump If you voted for Trump in the primary, it was clearly a sexist reactionary vote to the tsunami of Girl Power taking over America, according to Salon. Obviously, this “logic” extends to your vote in the general.

Fireworks Sexist fireworks are nothing more than a symptom of toxic masculinity: “Isn’t it sort of messed up that we celebrate our freedom by pretending to blow things up? Like a strange, collective working out of trauma,” explains NPR reporter Sarah McCammon.

Lab Rats Barbra Streisand explains: “Gender inequality even extends to mice in the labs. They’re all male! …So even female mice are discriminated against! When I asked why, the answer I got was that female mice have hormones so they’re more complex. Well, so are women!”

Calling a “pantsuit” a “pantsuit” As the New York Post points out, feminists find the word “pantsuit” sexist: Although pantsuits and traditional men’s suits are stylistically different, it’s sexist to differentiate between them with the added word “pant.”

Bras��Bras are sexist because men don’t have to wear them.

Architecture As one progressive art professor explained: “architectural design has been dominated by men in order to promote a social/political order dominated by men.”

Complimenting a woman on her cooking According to Scientific American, complimenting a woman on her cooking reinforces gender stereotypes, and is a form of “benevolent sexism.”

Air conditioning Women are cold while men bask in the sexist office air conditioning. 

The word “too” In a piece titled “The 3-Letter Word That Cuts Women Down Every Day,” Huffington Post’s Cameron Schaeffer explains that use of the adverb “too” promotes the pretense that women are never good enough; they are either “too” this or “too” that.

Tickling Posting in America’s favorite feminist site we swore was satirical, Everyday Feminism, male feminist Jamie Utt explains that his incessant playful tickling of his girlfriend is actually rooted in inherent sexism, which was fostered by the patriarchy. Essentially, Jamie tickling his girlfriend is perpetuating rape culture: “Taken to its destructive ends, this can look like a million different violations of consent,” warns Utt.

Ski slopes A published academic report in The International Review for the Sociology of Sports concluded ski slopes are sexist because they are ‘masculinized spaces,’” reports the Daily Wire’s Pardes Seleh.

The alphabet The written language established “the patriarchy” and subsequently all of the world’s sexism, claim feminists.

Disliking pumpkin-spice lattes Katherine Timpf at National Review reports: “According to a Swarthmore College student’s op-ed, the real reason that people make fun of pumpkin-spice lattes is that our society thinks everything girls like is stupid because ‘girls don’t get to have valid emotions.’”

Preferring a woman shaves her legs Everyday Feminism explains that online dating sites like OKCupid help us “weed out misogynists” by asking questions like, “Do you think women have the obligation to keep their legs shaved?” If a man answers yes, he’s a sexist.

Emojis There are no menstruation-themed emojis so… sexism.

Wearing camouflageWearing camouflage is “anti-feminist:” Camouflage is representative of “the patriarchy,” so, by wearing such symbolic clothing, you are supporting female (and other “marginalized” groups’) oppression.

The phrase “hit on” This phase is apparently literal to feminists, and thus is considered “violent” sexist language that perpetuates “rape culture.”

Saying “I love women” Bustle explains that when a man says, “I love women,” he’s actually implying that he loves women “more” than men, which “implies that [women] are different, which others them and excludes those who act more ‘like men.’”

The Declaration of Independence Feminists view the Declaration of Independence as “an historical cause of sexism, as the document refers only to ‘all men’ — not ‘men and women.’”

Calling your daughter a “princess” Fathers calling their daughter “princess,” or treating them “special” is any way, is a form of “benevolent sexism.”

Asking a woman about her tattoos A man asking a woman about her tattoos, explains Everyday Feminism, is the equivalent of turning her “body into public property.” One such question given as an example: “How much did it cost?”

“Ladies’ night” UNC seniors protest “ladies’ night” at bars because it is sexist, as the promotional stunt is “demeaning to female bargoers.”

Glaciers “Academics at the University of Oregon have determined that glaciers and the science that studies them are deeply sexist.” “Merging feminist postcolonial science studies and feminist political ecology, the feminist glaciology framework generates robust analysis of gender, power, and epistemologies in dynamic social-ecological systems, thereby leading to more just and equitable science and human-ice interactions,” reads the abstract of an academic paper on the matter.

Long lines outside public women’s restrooms “Long lines for women’s restrooms are the result of a history that favors men’s bodies,” proclaims Soraya Chemaly, in a TIME piece. “Women are still forced to stand in lines at malls, schools, stadiums, concerts, fair grounds, theme parks, and other crowded public spaces,” she explains. “This is frustrating, uncomfortable, and, in some circumstances, humiliating. It’s also a form of discrimination, as it disproportionately affects women.”

Men grilling food When men grill food, they are only reaffirming “gender roles.” A self-loathing male feminist at explains he has fallen into a “societal trap.”

The animated film “Minions” The animated film was full of “gags,” adhering “to only the most rigid and nauseating gender tropes,” complains a feminist blogger. Plus, minions conveniently “only ever serve men.”

String cheese According to this feminist, string cheese is sexist.

Words with “man” in them According to the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program website at the University of Pittsburg, words like “mankind,” “freshman” and “chairman” are sexist. “'Terms to Use to Avoid Sexist Language’ are also included in an attempt to steer students away from using words like ‘mankind,’ ‘chairman,’ and ‘freshman.’ Instead, they ought to be replaced with gender-neutral options such as ‘humankind,’ ‘chair or chairperson,’ and ‘first year student.’”

Speech improvement apps Speech improvement apps like “Ummo,” which tracks non-filler words, such as “like” and “uh,” are sexist because they are  “policing women’s language.”

Shoe compliments Shoe compliments are apparently “sexist micro-aggressions.” UNC faculty members were advised against paying a woman a shoe compliment, since this is coded language for: “I notice how you look and dress more than I value your intellectual contributions.”

The color pink Since there is an undeniable knee-jerk association of the color pink with women and femininity (which in it of itself is sexist, according to feminists), when men refrain from wearing the color, they are actually saying that it’s “shameful to be a woman.”

Hating the feminist “Ghostbusters” reboot. According to a feminist at The Atlantic, the “outcry” over how crappy the new feminist “Ghostbusters” trailer was fueled by your sexism.

Spooning Spooning is apparently so sexist that Slate felt it necessary to write an entire “manifesto” against it. According to J. Bryan Lowder, the heart of spooning reveals a sexist power struggle, and reaffirms gender stereotypes: The “big spoon” is dominant and male, whereas the “little spoon” is submissive and female.

Telling a woman, “you look tired” “Chances are if a woman has a totally bare face, she’ll be told by both male and female colleagues that she looks exhausted, hungover or ill … people are so used to seeing made-up women at work that an au naturale face seems anything but natural,” Radhika Sanghani writes in a piece oh-so-aptly titled “It’s sexist to tell a woman she ‘looks tired’ at work.”

Mine shaft According to college feminists, the “phallic” words “mine shaft” contribute to “rape culture,” reports Heat Street.

Tampons Women should be able to “free bleed” without the use of sexist tampons, which are only used by women because men “period shame” them. Feminists have even run marathons while “free bleeding” in protest of good hygiene apparently mandated by “the patriarchy.”

Asking a woman to marry you The sexist dominant/submissive power dynamic behind a man asking a woman to marry him acts to reinforce “rape culture,” feminists argue.

Harry Potter The fictional “Happy Potter” books and films are sexist, as they “perpetuate rape culture” by using magical love potions on fictional characters without “consent.”

Indiana Jones There are “copious quantities of racism and sexism” in the “Indiana Jones” films, says Salon’s Matthew Rozsa. For instance, women in the films are often depicted as “materialistic, self-absorbed and shrill.”

Calling a woman “sweetheart” Feminist actresses Lena Dunham and Emma Stone say that calling a woman “sweetheart” (also “honey,” “baby,” or “babe”) is demeaning to women, and can be “just as damaging as any other name-calling” like “bitch.”

Telling a woman, “you look tired” “Chances are if a woman has a totally bare face, she’ll be told by both male and female colleagues that she looks exhausted, hungover or ill … people are so used to seeing made-up women at work that an au naturale face seems anything but natural,” Radhika Sanghani writes in a piece oh-so-aptly titled “It’s sexist to tell a woman she ‘looks tired’ at work — and here’s why.”

Comic books and graphic novels Female characters in comic books and graphic novels are portrayed with “a blatant sexualization that artists would not dare to submit their treasured male characters to,” complains an opinion piece in The Guardian.

Putting your arm around your girlfriend When a man puts his arm around his girlfriend, he is expressing “ownership” over her, says feminist actress Helen Mirren: “It annoys me when I see men with an arm slung around their girlfriend’s shoulders,” she said. “It’s like ownership.”

The nuclear family Leftist UT Professor Dana Cloud says that sexism is perpetuated through the traditional family structure, which is itself “oppressive” to women.

Slow motion Showing women in videos in slow motion invokes misogynistic “Baywatch” imagery and acts to objectify women. This was recently categorized as sexist after feminists freaked out over a promotional soccer video which featured female fans cheering in slow motion.

Complaining about political correctness If someone complains that something is politically incorrect, they are really just a misogynist using such language as a cover to say/do sexist things, says Everyday Feminism. Also, they are likely a racist.

“Boyfriend” jeans “Boyfriend” style jeans are sexist for a whole lot of reasons, apparently. Being created to benefit the ‘male gaze’ is the main issue.

Farting “By farting louder the man is using passive aggressive violence to position himself as dominant, this intimidates the woman to subconsciously not release as much flatulence and thus the woman fearing for her safety doesn’t fart as loud as a sign of submissiveness, this in turn contributes to rape culture and women being oppressed.”

Interrupting a woman This is apparently not just rude behavior, but sexist, since it’s really a symptom of the patriarchy teaching men that women deserve to be interrupted, as they are not your equal but your inferior.

The derogatory phrase “go f*ck yourself” To feminists, “go f*ck yourself” is not just a nasty, derogatory phrase used by both sexes, it’s sexist against women because it reinforces “rape culture.”

The word “cupcake” The word “cupcake” enforces the gender stereotypes that women and girls are weak, frail and need protection. 

Witchcraft According to internet feminists, witchcraft is sexist because it’s woman-centric.

Hollywood There are far too many white men casted as leads and working behind the camera, notes Salon. “Hollywood’s diversity crisis is even worse than we thought: Straight white men still rule, on screen and off.”

The phrase “I will force myself” Apparently, saying that you will “force” yourself to do something is coded language for it’s-okay-to-rape-women. This “violent” language perpetuates “rape culture,” feminists say.

Professionalism “Professionalism” in the workplace is “oppressive” toward women, as it reinforces “social hierarchies that value white maleness above all,” feminists say.

The word “ladies” The word “ladies” reeks of “paternalistic condescension,” according to feminists

Complimenting a woman’s handwriting Apparently, telling a woman she has “nice handwriting” is sexist. The reason why it’s “sexist” is unknown, as it was fussed over by feminists in Bristol without so much as an explanation.

Men sitting with their knees apart “Manspreading” is “an assertion of male dominance,” and “every one” of the manspreaders does it because he feels like he has to “claim his territory and his manhood in this public space, even at the discomfort of all the other passengers.”

Running against Hillary Clinton A feminist reporter from the New York Times suggested that it was sexist for Bernie Sanders to run against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, as it might have blocked Hillary from becoming the first female nominee of a major party.

The word “cheer” The word “cheer” was stricken from a college fight song, as the word was thought to “devalue the accomplishments of female students.”

Clapping Citing ‘triggering’ concerns, feminist convention bans clapping, replaces with ‘Jazz Hands’. ‘Clicking fingers’ is also replacing clapping at universities as it’s safer.

Having to pay for a tampon Feminists are upset that they have to pay for their own basic hygiene—which is obviously a condition of the patriarchy oppressing women who can’t escape their period due to sexist biology.

Finding purpose in motherhood Finding purpose in motherhood is a patriarchal trap, as seen when feminists lost their minds over singer Adele proclaiming such an anti-feminist sentiment.

Not supporting Hillary Clinton for president If you don’t support the candidate with a uterus, and you have a uterus, there is a special place in hell for you.

Of course, if you’re a man and don’t support Hillary, you’re obviously pro-female-oppression and can’t stomach the thought of a uterus occupying the White House.

Man caves Man caves are a “disgusting patriarchal myth” and often “exclude” women, therefore, they are sexist.

Reports that a celebrity might be pregnant “Ban the bump-watch: Beyoncé’s belly scrutiny is sexist, invasive and bad for all women,” reads a Salon headline. I mean, why does the sexist media only notice a “baby bump” with women? Sexist biology strikes again.

A Target t-shirt A t-shirt sold in Target with the word “Trophy” on it is “demeaning to women,” feminists complain.

A prom photo A prom photo caused outrage as it shows boys in “thought” and girls “smiling,” the photo perpetuates some negative, sexist stereotypes, apparently.

School dances The expectation that boys have to ask girls to the dance acts to reinforce sexist gender stereotypes. 

Telling young boys, “you need a haircut” By telling a young boy that he “needs a haircut,” you are actually telling him that he is looking “too feminine— as if looking feminine is the worst thing a boy can do,” explains a feminist at Bustle.

The word “bossy” The negative connotation of the “gendered” word “bossy” perpetuates the sexist notion that women should not “lead.”

Opening doors for women This is a form of “benevolent sexism,” according to feminists at Everyday Feminism who insist that “chivalry must die.” By opening the door for a woman, you are not being polite, you’re signaling that women are weak and men are here to protect and take care of them. Talk about a loaded gesture.

School and workplace dress codes School and workplace dress codes often conform to what’s deemed “appropriate” to the “male gaze.” 

Amazon On Amazon, you can search for “girls’ toys” and “boys’ toys,” such a distinction is sexist.

Gender-specific bathrooms The patriarchy created gender-specific bathrooms to exclude women and treat them as man’s lesser; according to feminists, women wanted in on the men’s room.

A statue “This highly lifelike sculpture has, within just a few hours of its outdoor installation, become a source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault for many members of our campus community,” reads the petition in part. “While it may appear humorous, or thought-provoking to some, it has already become a source of undue stress for many Wellesley College students, the majority of whom live, study, and work in this space.” More than 300 students at the women’s liberal-arts college have asked that it be removed. But the naked paintings and sculptures of Trump are celebrated?

Viewing Friday the thirteenth as unlucky “According to the Feminist Internet, Friday the 13th being considered ‘unlucky’ is apparently a manifestation of the patriarchy because Friday is the only day of the week named after a female goddess, and a group of 13 women was considered to be a coven of witches approximately 9 billion years ago.”

The phrase “too much information” According to feminist icon Lena Dunham, “TMI” is used to belittle women’s experiences, where as men are rewarded with for their sharing.

Calling Hillary Clinton “shrill” Calling Hillary Clinton “shrill” is a gendered attack, according to feminists.

Calling a woman “pretty” This is another form of “benevolent sexism.” Men call women pretty to emphasize that all they are worth is their appearance.

The SATs According to The New York Times, SAT testing may feature questions that are viewed as “stereotype threats.” For instance, one math question show that more boys than girls in math classes. Females will apparently lose self-worth over such a “microaggression.”

The “kiss cam” The “kiss cam” clearly acts to perpetuation “misogyny” and “can sexually disempower women” by making women feel obligated to a man.

The Olympics Some sexist announcers covering the Olympics had the audacity to mention that female athletes had children; some even credited a male coach for coaching. 

Denying the mythical gender pay gap If you don’t buy into the debunked gender pay-gap myth, you obviously hate women and want them to be paid less than men, according to feminists.

Denying the mythical “rape culture”Denying the politicized and exaggerated “rape culture” means you’re a sexist who doesn’t want to combat rape.

Being pro-life If you believe that babies should not be killed in the womb, you actually hate “empowered women.”

Being a Republican And of course: All Republicans are sexist woman-haters, just ask disgraced DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

Let me guess, these women aren’t feminists or they may not exist altogether? You claim you’re deep in the movement, maybe that’s why you’re denying the facts, as usual. Fuck off

[alienvirals]

Sorry, Ridley Scott: Sigourney Weaver is the only true Alien scream queen

Its a shame the veteran British film-maker has blocked Neill Blomkamps plan to resurrect Ellen Ripley (again) in favour of a tedious-sounding Prometheus sequel

Let me paint for you, just for a moment, a nightmarish scenario to compare with the hellish visions seen in HR Gigers Necronom IV, the Swiss surrealist painters inspiration for his later work on the hideous xenomorphs in 1979s Alien.

Imagine for a moment that George Lucas, not long after Disney hired JJ Abrams to direct the first new Star Wars movie in more than a decade perhaps even after the release of that first teaser trailer for The Force Awakens, which sent everyone into apoplexies of expectation found something in the small print that allowed him to change his mind about handing over the long-running space saga to a bunch of newbies.

Phones suddenly buzz in Tinseltown, frowns are seen erupting on the foreheads of Mouse House lawyers, and within days the creator of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader announces that the whole darn $4.05bn sale of Lucasfilm to Disney is off. Instead, Star Wars fans can look forward to a Lucas-scripted spin-off about Jar Jar Binks ongoing political battle with the Trade Federation.

Fortunately for Star Wars fans, gorgeous George remains locked out of the Jedi braintrust. But a similar dynamic of huge anticipation followed by crushing disappointment has been playing out for real among Alien acolytes over the past year or so. Ridley Scotts middling Prometheus may not have been the Phantom Menace of Alien prequels, but compared with Neill Blomkamps uber fan-friendly pitch for a belated sequel to 1986s Aliens starring Sigourney Weaver and Michael I wanna introduce you to a very personal friend of mine Biehn, it might as well have been.

Blomkamps Alien concept was very nearly the Deadpool of sci-fi movies, resurrected by 20th Century Fox from Hollywood development hell after the film-maker began posting concept art for an abandoned film featuring Weaver as Ripley, Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks, and an all-new take on Gigers famous xenomorphs on Instagram. The internet went into predictable meltdown and the District 9 director dramatically announced in February last year that the studio had given him permission to move ahead.

Then Scott, like some terrifying party-pooping alien critter bursting out of funs chest cavity, stepped in to make it clear that his own Alien movie, a sequel to Prometheus now titled Alien: Covenant, must take priority. So instead of a Weaver-led movie from one of Hollywoods most promising young science fiction film-makers aimed at restoring the saga to its pre-Alien 3 glory, we face the prospect of another portentous pseudo-origin story about mankinds connections to the xenomorphs and their utterly tedious extra-terrestrial Engineer creators. Or if things go really badly, another three movies on said subject matter.

Ridley asked Neill not to make our Alien til after Prometheus 2, confirms Weaver in new comments published by Indiewire. He wanted his movie to shoot and be released first. But [our Alien film is] an amazing script, and Neill and I are really excited about doing it … Its just going to take a little bit longer to get out to you, but itll be worth the wait.

So why is Blomkamps movie a more attractive prospect than Scotts, especially when the veteran British film-maker kicked off the entire slasher-in-space subgenre with 1979s searingly superb Alien? The answer lies in Weavers return and the pitching of the new movie at the point just before the long-running sci-fi saga began to haemorrhage all credibility.

In the real world, David Finchers Alien 3 by no means a terrible film, yet hardly one which makes any real argument for its own existence debuted in 1992, followed by the ersatz afterthought of Jean-Pierre Jeunets Alien Resurrection (complete with clone Ripley and her half-xenomorph child) in 1997. Lets not even mention the two execrable Alien vs Predator spin-offs.

But in Blomkamps wonderful new fantasy timeline, these movies never happened. With the slate miraculously wiped clean (no one knows quite how, and the film-maker himself partially backtracked on his own promise at one point), Ripley and Hicks can set off for new adventures after destroying the xenomorph-infested planetoid at the end of James Camerons Aliens (it was, after all, the only way to be sure). There might even have been space to bring back poor little Newt, the tough little orphan girl who many fans never forgave Fincher for killing off at the start of Alien 3.

In the grand pantheon of great Ripley moments, almost all emanate from the first two Alien films. The warrant officers beautifully bleak sign-off after destroying the final xenomorph in Alien; her sweary mecha-suited battle with the giant queen in Aliens. These are performances unparalled across three famous genres: action, horror and science fiction.

Meanwhile, Alien Covenant will offer us a film set on a mysterious planet (possibly the Engineers home world), where Michael Fassbenders David the android has been kicking his heels for 10 years waiting for a new human crew, led by Katherine Waterston, to turn up. There will be xenomorphs this time, but you get the impression Scott only agreed to include the monstrous beasties as a result of the popularity surrounding Blomkamps concept. As recently as 2014, he was still indicating that Gigers creations were gone forever.

Star Wars began to get back on track when it brought back centrepiece figures from the hugely popular original trilogy to inject The Force Awakens with some much-needed authenticity. Now its time for Alien to follow suit.

If the saga has any hope of getting back to its own 70s and 80s high point, it surely needs to bring the original all-action Hollywood scream queen along for the ride. Then fire up the afterburners and nuke the rotting corpse of Alien: Covenant from space.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

The post Sorry, Ridley Scott: Sigourney Weaver is the only true Alien scream queen appeared first on AlienVirals.com - Latest Alien & UFO News.

from AlienVirals.com – Latest Alien & UFO News http://www.alienvirals.com/sorry-ridley-scott-sigourney-weaver-is-the-only-true-alien-scream-queen-2/

[michaelfallcon]

Announcing The Sprudge Twenty Class Of 2020—Presented By Pacific Barista Series

Hello! Welcome to the official announcement of The Sprudge Twenty, presented by Sprudge and Pacific Barista Series.

This is the second class of Sprudge Twenty honorees, part of a new annual tradition honoring and amplifying leaders in the global coffee community in partnership with Pacific Barista Series. Pacific is dedicated to championing leadership and excellence in the coffee industry, and to supporting coffee culture as it happens worldwide.

That support and commitment happens in good times and bad. Here in the spring of 2020 the global coffee industry and the people behind it are threatened with an unprecedented challenge in the face of COVID-19. And yet, this moment makes highlighting the incredible work of individuals around the world even more important. These twenty people are changing the game in coffee, doing work that challenges and excites us, from every step of the coffee value chain: entrepreneurs and coffee producers, baristas and cafe owners, career coffee professionals, and those whose careers are just starting, competition success stories, and folks working quietly behind the scenes, leading by example. All of them have been impacted by current events; all of them have stories worth championing as loud as possible, now more than ever.

From a massive list of nominees around the world, below please find the Second Annual Sprudge Twenty class presented by Pacific Barista Series. We hope these stories will bring a smile to your face—as they have to ours—but many also include a call to action, a way to get involved to support the various projects and causes represented by our incredible global class. Each one of these members will receive a spotlight feature in the coming weeks on Sprudge, so get ready to know them a little better. For now, read on to discover the Sprudge Twenty presented alphabetically, and thank you.

Want to nominate someone in your community for the next Sprudge Twenty class? The nomination schedule for the 2021 Sprudge Twenty presented by Pacific Barista Series will be announced this fall. Sign up for the Sprudge Newsletter and never miss an update. 

Kat Adams, Cold Brew City Fest

Kat Adams (Photo courtesy Kat Adams)

“Kat Adams participates in the USBC Championships, is one of the organizers of Cold Brew City Fest, and has brought attention to gender identity to the coffee community in southern California. Recipient of the Q-Grader scholarship from Wrecking Ball and an amazing and talented coffee professional.” Nominated by Pablo Lara

Kathy Altamirano, Counter Culture Coffee

Kathy Altamirano (Photo by Sprudge)

“Kathy Altamirano exemplifies everything that the Sprudge Twenty is about. She works as tirelessly and enthusiastically at building a stronger, more inclusive local coffee community as she does judging the Finals at the World Brewers Cup and every step in between. When I would organize local coffee events, Kathy was always the first to volunteer, and she would be the first person to arrive and the last to leave. I’ve never met anyone who genuinely cares about building a better coffee community at all levels as much as Kathy does, and more importantly, she actively works (often thanklessly) toward creating it.” Nominated by Zac Cadwalader

Brittany Amell, Royal Coffee NY

Brittany Amell (Photo courtesy Brittany Amell)

“She is the super friendly barista that makes coffee approachable, but the green coffee version. Treating customers like you want to help them, and answer questions and be a totally great human being while doing it. If there was green coffee trading competitions she would blow everyone away.” Nominated by Arsalan Pourmand

Dandy Anderson, Stumptown Coffee

Dandy Anderson (Photo by Liz Dean)

“Dandy exudes quiet, unassuming leadership and that is exactly what makes them such a needed voice in our industry. Dandy is empathetic, understanding, patient, firm, and also pragmatic.They are generous with their time, energy, spirit, kindness, and heart. Their ideologies on the workplace, team dynamics, and what it means to be a leader makes me hope there’s a day I can call them a colleague. For now, I’m so lucky to call them a peer and also a friend.” Nominated by Kendra Sledzinski

Virginia Bauman, Go Get Em Tiger

Virginia Bauman (Photo by Jessica Zollman)

“I joined Go Get Em Tiger in July 2018 thanks to my now manager, Virginia Bauman, seeing a Facebook post I’d made announcing I was looking for steady work. I’d been pursuing a career in freelance commercial photography since 2007 and it was time for me to take my skills into a structured space that would still provide me with some creative freedom. Virginia brought me in as Visual Coordinator at GGET and has done so much more than given me room to take creative risks; she’s actively encouraged, supported, and pushed me to think beyond what I believe is possible. She’s fostered a culture of transparency, vulnerability, accountability and personal growth that has allowed me and my co-workers to flourish. All while operating an LGBTQIA+ coffee shop of her own, Cuties Coffee, in the heart of Los Angeles. Virginia exemplifies the future of coffee.” Nominated by Jessica Zollman

Noa Berger, Paris, France

Noa Berger (Photo by Lucie Sassiat)

“Noa Berger is a Ph.D. candidate at the EHESS Paris, studying the social construction of quality in the Brazilian and French specialty coffee markets. She is incredibly active within the French coffee scene but also the larger specialty coffee industry. Noa is one of the main reasons I have opened up my mind to many of the anthropological questions coffee asks and she is responsible for many in-depth conversations …we are so grateful to have someone like her invest her mind, time, and energy in our industry. Noa is definitely someone to look up to and be inspired by.” Nominated by Mihaela Iordache

Estelle Bright, La Marzocco UK

Estelle Bright (Photo courtesy Estelle Bright)

“Estelle has been in the industry for fifteen years, once an incredible barista pacing the way for the young baristas in the London scene today—she’s done everything from barista, trainer, coffee delivery driver and now heads up all things technical for La Marzocco UK.” Nominated by James Stelling

Allie Caran, Partners Coffee

Allie Caran (Photo courtesy Allie Caran)

“Allie Caran is the Director of Coffee Education at Partners Coffee and has been with the company since 2012. At Partners Coffee, Allie oversees the company’s broad range of educational offerings, from their public Brew School courses for consumers to Partners Coffee’s wholesale barista training programs and more.” Nominated by Angela Pizzimenti

Amaris Guttierez-Ray, Women In Coffee

Amaris Guttierez-Ray (Photo by Roberta Duarte)

“While Amaris’s Central American heritage and direct family ties in Nicaragua give passion and a unique perspective to her work, she has applied her academic training in research techniques to the science of coffee roasting, QA/QC systems, and the complicated business of the coffee supply chain.

Amaris started at Joe Coffee Company in 2015 as a part-time barista at our Pro Shop. In 2016, she joined our roasting team as a Production Roaster, bringing some years of roasting and management experience, and quickly moved into the Director of Roasting position. She has also established herself in the larger coffee community by creating the Women in Coffee project, a volunteer-run project aiming to highlight the voices of women throughout the coffee supply chain. In her “downtime” from work at Joe, Amaris puts her academic skills to use galvanizing the coffee community by cultivating transparency and providing forums for women to share the stories and experiences that would otherwise be obscured by innate and inequitable gender dynamics.” Nominated by Jonathan Rubinstein

Bartholomew Jones, Cxffeeblack

Bartholomew Jones (Photo by Erin Kim)

“I first stumbled on Bart via his project Cxffeeblack late 2019. He released this coffee that was called “Guji Mane”, a natural process coffee with a very punny name. Didn’t think much of my man passed that but I started following him and his coffee project. The longer I followed him the more I came to realize that his genuine positive mindset and knack for education for sure set him apart from any of my newer peers. He has tasked himself to educate this surrounding area about their connection to coffee(which in Memphis, can’t be easy) and did so without othering anyone.” Nominated by Cameron Heath

Lauren Lathrop, Mill City Roasters

Lauren Lathrop (Photo by Mill City Roasters)

“There are a plethora of wonderful head judges on the US Barista Competition Committee, but Lauren’s linguistic talents, when supporting her judging panels, is why she was the perfect person to lead us. Lauren has the wonderful ability to speak with articulate, complex, brevity yet makes the subject entertaining and digestible.

She displays compassion for all her judges, and empathy for all the competitors. She encourages us all to be better people, not just judges, through her unconscious bias training, and general demeanor….She is a specialty coffee role model, and professional inspiration, and thoroughly deserves the recognition that a Sprudgie would provide.” Nominated by Barnaby Holmes

Angie Katherine Molina Ospina, Insignia Coffee

Angie Katherine Molina Ospina (Photo by Paula Molina)

“Angie and her husband Jhon founded Insignia Coffee. Angie is a dedicated, passionate, and exceptional in the specialty coffee industry in Colombia. She volunteers her time to help others, is a dedicated volunteer in coffee events, and works with many coffee farmers and organizations.” Nominated by Paul Kevin Doyle

Jacob King, GYST Coffee Training

Jake King (Photo courtesy Jake King)

“Glitter Cat alum Jacob King is working on a free training project called GYST, has been heavily involved in the Black coffee community and is just a genuine dude. I am excited to see him grow as a barista and how he pushes the community forward for coffee in the southeast.” Nominated by Connan Moody

Ellan Kline, Ritual Coffee

Ellan Kline (Photo by RJ Joseph)

“In her five years in the Bay, Ellan has been instrumental in building a large, thriving community of trans coffee professionals at various tiers of the industry. When she moved here, she was the only visibly trans person in her company. Over the 5 years since, she has persisted in her growth and worked her way into various roles through sheer undeniability, skill, and dedication, and left the door wide open for others, fighting to help them see themselves and the growth they deserve. Now, it’s easy to go into a coffee shop in the Bay Area and find multiple trans baristas behind the bar. She would never take even the smallest amount of credit for that, but I’ve watched her work, her humility, and her persistence, and I see the series of stepping stones she’s laid for others. She is humble yet unapologetic about her skills and experience. She never felt the need to prove anything to anyone, and yet she has. She works quietly without the need for recognition, but she deserves it.” Nominated by RJ Joseph

Ever Meister, Cafe Imports

Ever Meister (Photo by Victor J. Pagán)

“Ever is a force for good in our industry: She’s a thoughtful, empathetic, and intuitive communicator focused on many of the complex issues at hand today. Outside of her work as Editorial Manager and Director of Education at Café Imports, Ever has produced valuable content across written features, presentations, and podcasts. Right now, she’s leaning into some really big questions around specialty coffee marketing ethics and grappling with how we can work towards a more equitable coffee industry. Ever is one of those rare communicators who manages both prolificacy and quality.” Nominated by Jenn Rugolo

Felipe Sardi, La Palma y El Tucan

Felipe Sardi (Photo by Felipe Sardi)

“I would like to nominate Felipé because first, he is a great human. He shares his knowledge and he is very open to sharing his experience. His farm is following sustainable processes and a permaculture system. The farm is admirable. He is taking a big part in his community with the neighbors and crops program, and in the process changing the processes and quality in the Cundinamarca region. He also participates in the Glitter Cat Project providing coffees. He is a big actor in specialty coffee in Colombia and tries at maximum to make the community and the share of knowledge in the first place.” Nominated by Clementine Labussiere

Kendra Sledzinski, Philadelphia

Kendra Sledzinski (Photo courtesy Kendra Sledzinski)

“How do I put into words how Kendra has affected my life and countless others? We met at Joe Coffee in New York five years ago and hit it off right away. Who was this friendly person, I wanted to know! Soon I became aware of Kendra’s influence in the coffee community of Philadelphia. When I went to visit her, everywhere we went, she knew someone. Kendra constantly went above and beyond in Philly to encourage professional development and community with the Joe staff and baristas of Philly—doing palate development and cuppings that were never required, but she knew how to make baristas stay. She works hard for her community, and works hard to lift other people up—and she does so selflessly. Thank you Kendra!” Nominated by Kayla Baird

Ramsey Smith, Virgin Islands Coffee Roasters

Ramsey Smith (Photo courtesy Ramsey Smith)

“The dividends of Ramsey’s labor and sacrifice are just now beginning to start paying off. His business, Virgin Islands Coffee Roasters, is now in many of the local resorts, grocery stores, and even the airport. His company was now apart of the U.S Virgin Island experience and culture. However, his business and all of his customer business was devastated by Hurricane Irma which struck on September 6, 2017. However they now bigger than ever and have exceed their size prior to the storms. They have a brand new café that you recently did a piece on and they also opened another roastery in Florida as well as the roastery in the U.S Virgin Islands. This is why he is my hero. He has weathered the storm and never lost faith.” Nominated by John Coyne

Oliver Stormshak, Olympia Coffee

Oliver Stormshak (Photo by Charlie Voohris)

“I’d like to nominate Oliver Stormshak, owner of Olympia Coffee, for his work with coffee producers and the Fair For All initiative. Fair For All is the culmination of years of hard work and passion for Oliver. He pushes the boundaries of our industry norm and continuously strives for higher quality of life for everyone involved in the supply chain. Guaranteeing things like sustainable wages for everyone involved, only choosing to work with producers who support the kind of quality of life and transparency he believes in and taking the time, energy, and resources to visit producers every year to provide feedback and develop relationships; Fair For All is true step towards a sustainable future for our industry ensuring that people see coffee farming as a viable career option.” Nominated by Richelle Parker

La Nisa Williams, Barista Life LA

La Nisa Williams (Photo courtesy La Nisa Williams)

“La Nisa is a long time coffee professional and freelance trainer who has helped built the coffee programs of many cafes and restaurants in the LA area, most notably places owned and operated by Black people and people of color. Her work here in LA resonates throughout the community and she inspires people who initially have little interest in coffee into a deep appreciation. I see her at every nearby event working, volunteering, soaking up information, and offering her expertise to become a better professional just so she can share it with others. Her focus on businesses that are often overlooked to the rest of the specialty coffee scene here is beyond just admirable—it’s the Lord’s work (lol) and she makes our coffee community here as a whole so much better.” Nominated by Michelle Johnson

Visit Sprudge.com/twenty for more on the Sprudge Twenty presented by Pacific Barista Series. Watch for upcoming interviews with each member of the 2020 class right here on Sprudge! 

Announcing The Sprudge Twenty Class Of 2020—Presented By Pacific Barista Series published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

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Announcing The Sprudge Twenty Class Of 2020—Presented By Pacific Barista Series

Hello! Welcome to the official announcement of The Sprudge Twenty, presented by Sprudge and Pacific Barista Series.

This is the second class of Sprudge Twenty honorees, part of a new annual tradition honoring and amplifying leaders in the global coffee community in partnership with Pacific Barista Series. Pacific is dedicated to championing leadership and excellence in the coffee industry, and to supporting coffee culture as it happens worldwide.

That support and commitment happens in good times and bad. Here in the spring of 2020 the global coffee industry and the people behind it are threatened with an unprecedented challenge in the face of COVID-19. And yet, this moment makes highlighting the incredible work of individuals around the world even more important. These twenty people are changing the game in coffee, doing work that challenges and excites us, from every step of the coffee value chain: entrepreneurs and coffee producers, baristas and cafe owners, career coffee professionals, and those whose careers are just starting, competition success stories, and folks working quietly behind the scenes, leading by example. All of them have been impacted by current events; all of them have stories worth championing as loud as possible, now more than ever.

From a massive list of nominees around the world, below please find the Second Annual Sprudge Twenty class presented by Pacific Barista Series. We hope these stories will bring a smile to your face—as they have to ours—but many also include a call to action, a way to get involved to support the various projects and causes represented by our incredible global class. Each one of these members will receive a spotlight feature in the coming weeks on Sprudge, so get ready to know them a little better. For now, read on to discover the Sprudge Twenty presented alphabetically, and thank you.

Want to nominate someone in your community for the next Sprudge Twenty class? The nomination schedule for the 2021 Sprudge Twenty presented by Pacific Barista Series will be announced this fall. Sign up for the Sprudge Newsletter and never miss an update. 

Kat Adams, Cold Brew City Fest

Kat Adams (Photo courtesy Kat Adams)

“Kat Adams participates in the USBC Championships, is one of the organizers of Cold Brew City Fest, and has brought attention to gender identity to the coffee community in southern California. Recipient of the Q-Grader scholarship from Wrecking Ball and an amazing and talented coffee professional.” Nominated by Pablo Lara

Kathy Altamirano, Counter Culture Coffee

Kathy Altamirano (Photo by Sprudge)

“Kathy Altamirano exemplifies everything that the Sprudge Twenty is about. She works as tirelessly and enthusiastically at building a stronger, more inclusive local coffee community as she does judging the Finals at the World Brewers Cup and every step in between. When I would organize local coffee events, Kathy was always the first to volunteer, and she would be the first person to arrive and the last to leave. I’ve never met anyone who genuinely cares about building a better coffee community at all levels as much as Kathy does, and more importantly, she actively works (often thanklessly) toward creating it.” Nominated by Zac Cadwalader

Brittany Amell, Royal Coffee NY

Brittany Amell (Photo courtesy Brittany Amell)

“She is the super friendly barista that makes coffee approachable, but the green coffee version. Treating customers like you want to help them, and answer questions and be a totally great human being while doing it. If there was green coffee trading competitions she would blow everyone away.” Nominated by Arsalan Pourmand

Dandy Anderson, Stumptown Coffee

Dandy Anderson (Photo by Liz Dean)

“Dandy exudes quiet, unassuming leadership and that is exactly what makes them such a needed voice in our industry. Dandy is empathetic, understanding, patient, firm, and also pragmatic.They are generous with their time, energy, spirit, kindness, and heart. Their ideologies on the workplace, team dynamics, and what it means to be a leader makes me hope there’s a day I can call them a colleague. For now, I’m so lucky to call them a peer and also a friend.” Nominated by Kendra Sledzinski

Virginia Bauman, Go Get Em Tiger

Virginia Bauman (Photo by Jessica Zollman)

“I joined Go Get Em Tiger in July 2018 thanks to my now manager, Virginia Bauman, seeing a Facebook post I’d made announcing I was looking for steady work. I’d been pursuing a career in freelance commercial photography since 2007 and it was time for me to take my skills into a structured space that would still provide me with some creative freedom. Virginia brought me in as Visual Coordinator at GGET and has done so much more than given me room to take creative risks; she’s actively encouraged, supported, and pushed me to think beyond what I believe is possible. She’s fostered a culture of transparency, vulnerability, accountability and personal growth that has allowed me and my co-workers to flourish. All while operating an LGBTQIA+ coffee shop of her own, Cuties Coffee, in the heart of Los Angeles. Virginia exemplifies the future of coffee.” Nominated by Jessica Zollman

Noa Berger, Paris, France

Noa Berger (Photo by Lucie Sassiat)

“Noa Berger is a Ph.D. candidate at the EHESS Paris, studying the social construction of quality in the Brazilian and French specialty coffee markets. She is incredibly active within the French coffee scene but also the larger specialty coffee industry. Noa is one of the main reasons I have opened up my mind to many of the anthropological questions coffee asks and she is responsible for many in-depth conversations …we are so grateful to have someone like her invest her mind, time, and energy in our industry. Noa is definitely someone to look up to and be inspired by.” Nominated by Mihaela Iordache

Estelle Bright, La Marzocco UK

Estelle Bright (Photo courtesy Estelle Bright)

“Estelle has been in the industry for fifteen years, once an incredible barista pacing the way for the young baristas in the London scene today—she’s done everything from barista, trainer, coffee delivery driver and now heads up all things technical for La Marzocco UK.” Nominated by James Stelling

Allie Caran, Partners Coffee

Allie Caran (Photo courtesy Allie Caran)

“Allie Caran is the Director of Coffee Education at Partners Coffee and has been with the company since 2012. At Partners Coffee, Allie oversees the company’s broad range of educational offerings, from their public Brew School courses for consumers to Partners Coffee’s wholesale barista training programs and more.” Nominated by Angela Pizzimenti

Amaris Guttierez-Ray, Women In Coffee

Amaris Guttierez-Ray (Photo by Roberta Duarte)

“While Amaris’s Central American heritage and direct family ties in Nicaragua give passion and a unique perspective to her work, she has applied her academic training in research techniques to the science of coffee roasting, QA/QC systems, and the complicated business of the coffee supply chain.

Amaris started at Joe Coffee Company in 2015 as a part-time barista at our Pro Shop. In 2016, she joined our roasting team as a Production Roaster, bringing some years of roasting and management experience, and quickly moved into the Director of Roasting position. She has also established herself in the larger coffee community by creating the Women in Coffee project, a volunteer-run project aiming to highlight the voices of women throughout the coffee supply chain. In her “downtime” from work at Joe, Amaris puts her academic skills to use galvanizing the coffee community by cultivating transparency and providing forums for women to share the stories and experiences that would otherwise be obscured by innate and inequitable gender dynamics.” Nominated by Jonathan Rubinstein

Bartholomew Jones, Cxffeeblack

Bartholomew Jones (Photo by Erin Kim)

“I first stumbled on Bart via his project Cxffeeblack late 2019. He released this coffee that was called “Guji Mane”, a natural process coffee with a very punny name. Didn’t think much of my man passed that but I started following him and his coffee project. The longer I followed him the more I came to realize that his genuine positive mindset and knack for education for sure set him apart from any of my newer peers. He has tasked himself to educate this surrounding area about their connection to coffee(which in Memphis, can’t be easy) and did so without othering anyone.” Nominated by Cameron Heath

Lauren Lathrop, Mill City Roasters

Lauren Lathrop (Photo by Mill City Roasters)

“There are a plethora of wonderful head judges on the US Barista Competition Committee, but Lauren’s linguistic talents, when supporting her judging panels, is why she was the perfect person to lead us. Lauren has the wonderful ability to speak with articulate, complex, brevity yet makes the subject entertaining and digestible.

She displays compassion for all her judges, and empathy for all the competitors. She encourages us all to be better people, not just judges, through her unconscious bias training, and general demeanor….She is a specialty coffee role model, and professional inspiration, and thoroughly deserves the recognition that a Sprudgie would provide.” Nominated by Barnaby Holmes

Angie Katherine Molina Ospina, Insignia Coffee

Angie Katherine Molina Ospina (Photo by Paula Molina)

“Angie and her husband Jhon founded Insignia Coffee. Angie is a dedicated, passionate, and exceptional in the specialty coffee industry in Colombia. She volunteers her time to help others, is a dedicated volunteer in coffee events, and works with many coffee farmers and organizations.” Nominated by Paul Kevin Doyle

Jacob King, GYST Coffee Training

Jake King (Photo courtesy Jake King)

“Glitter Cat alum Jacob King is working on a free training project called GYST, has been heavily involved in the Black coffee community and is just a genuine dude. I am excited to see him grow as a barista and how he pushes the community forward for coffee in the southeast.” Nominated by Connan Moody

Ellan Kline, Ritual Coffee

Ellan Kline (Photo by RJ Joseph)

“In her five years in the Bay, Ellan has been instrumental in building a large, thriving community of trans coffee professionals at various tiers of the industry. When she moved here, she was the only visibly trans person in her company. Over the 5 years since, she has persisted in her growth and worked her way into various roles through sheer undeniability, skill, and dedication, and left the door wide open for others, fighting to help them see themselves and the growth they deserve. Now, it’s easy to go into a coffee shop in the Bay Area and find multiple trans baristas behind the bar. She would never take even the smallest amount of credit for that, but I’ve watched her work, her humility, and her persistence, and I see the series of stepping stones she’s laid for others. She is humble yet unapologetic about her skills and experience. She never felt the need to prove anything to anyone, and yet she has. She works quietly without the need for recognition, but she deserves it.” Nominated by RJ Joseph

Ever Meister, Cafe Imports

Ever Meister (Photo by Victor J. Pagán)

“Ever is a force for good in our industry: She’s a thoughtful, empathetic, and intuitive communicator focused on many of the complex issues at hand today. Outside of her work as Editorial Manager and Director of Education at Café Imports, Ever has produced valuable content across written features, presentations, and podcasts. Right now, she’s leaning into some really big questions around specialty coffee marketing ethics and grappling with how we can work towards a more equitable coffee industry. Ever is one of those rare communicators who manages both prolificacy and quality.” Nominated by Jenn Rugolo

Felipe Sardi, La Palma y El Tucan

Felipe Sardi (Photo by Felipe Sardi)

“I would like to nominate Felipé because first, he is a great human. He shares his knowledge and he is very open to sharing his experience. His farm is following sustainable processes and a permaculture system. The farm is admirable. He is taking a big part in his community with the neighbors and crops program, and in the process changing the processes and quality in the Cundinamarca region. He also participates in the Glitter Cat Project providing coffees. He is a big actor in specialty coffee in Colombia and tries at maximum to make the community and the share of knowledge in the first place.” Nominated by Clementine Labussiere

Kendra Sledzinski, Philadelphia

Kendra Sledzinski (Photo courtesy Kendra Sledzinski)

���How do I put into words how Kendra has affected my life and countless others? We met at Joe Coffee in New York five years ago and hit it off right away. Who was this friendly person, I wanted to know! Soon I became aware of Kendra’s influence in the coffee community of Philadelphia. When I went to visit her, everywhere we went, she knew someone. Kendra constantly went above and beyond in Philly to encourage professional development and community with the Joe staff and baristas of Philly—doing palate development and cuppings that were never required, but she knew how to make baristas stay. She works hard for her community, and works hard to lift other people up—and she does so selflessly. Thank you Kendra!” Nominated by Kayla Baird

Ramsey Smith, Virgin Islands Coffee Roasters

Ramsey Smith (Photo courtesy Ramsey Smith)

“The dividends of Ramsey’s labor and sacrifice are just now beginning to start paying off. His business, Virgin Islands Coffee Roasters, is now in many of the local resorts, grocery stores, and even the airport. His company was now apart of the U.S Virgin Island experience and culture. However, his business and all of his customer business was devastated by Hurricane Irma which struck on September 6, 2017. However they now bigger than ever and have exceed their size prior to the storms. They have a brand new café that you recently did a piece on and they also opened another roastery in Florida as well as the roastery in the U.S Virgin Islands. This is why he is my hero. He has weathered the storm and never lost faith.” Nominated by John Coyne

Oliver Stormshak, Olympia Coffee

Oliver Stormshak (Photo by Charlie Voohris)

“I’d like to nominate Oliver Stormshak, owner of Olympia Coffee, for his work with coffee producers and the Fair For All initiative. Fair For All is the culmination of years of hard work and passion for Oliver. He pushes the boundaries of our industry norm and continuously strives for higher quality of life for everyone involved in the supply chain. Guaranteeing things like sustainable wages for everyone involved, only choosing to work with producers who support the kind of quality of life and transparency he believes in and taking the time, energy, and resources to visit producers every year to provide feedback and develop relationships; Fair For All is true step towards a sustainable future for our industry ensuring that people see coffee farming as a viable career option.” Nominated by Richelle Parker

La Nisa Williams, Barista Life LA

La Nisa Williams (Photo courtesy La Nisa Williams)

“La Nisa is a long time coffee professional and freelance trainer who has helped built the coffee programs of many cafes and restaurants in the LA area, most notably places owned and operated by Black people and people of color. Her work here in LA resonates throughout the community and she inspires people who initially have little interest in coffee into a deep appreciation. I see her at every nearby event working, volunteering, soaking up information, and offering her expertise to become a better professional just so she can share it with others. Her focus on businesses that are often overlooked to the rest of the specialty coffee scene here is beyond just admirable—it’s the Lord’s work (lol) and she makes our coffee community here as a whole so much better.” Nominated by Michelle Johnson

Visit Sprudge.com/twenty for more on the Sprudge Twenty presented by Pacific Barista Series. Watch for upcoming interviews with each member of the 2020 class right here on Sprudge! 

from Sprudge https://ift.tt/3bOzhQM

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Target Circle from Brice Linane on Vimeo.

Design & Animation: Gentleman Scholar Creative Director: Sean Martin Managing Director/EP: Christina Roldan Head of Production: Ryan McLaughlin Art Director: Irene Feleo CG Supervisor: Brice Linane Sr Producer: Katherine Allen Designers: Lindsey Mayer-Beug, Liam Elias, Hanna No Design / Animation Interns: Tomo Beddie, Will Burkhart, Lauren Cash 2D Animators: Ana Chang, Jae Woo Park Model/Texture Artists: Krista Albert, Matt Berenty, Chin Lee, Adam Rosenzweig, Cameron Scott 3D Animators: Han Hu, Mike Garcia, John Han 3D Rigger: Ohad Bracha 3D Generalist: Clint Chang Lighters / Look Dev: Christine Kim, Mike Papagni, Robert Kim Dynamics/FX: Angel Negron Lead Compositor / Flame Artist: Dae Kang Compositors: Molly Intersimone, Rachel Moon Storyboards: Fred Fassberger Development: Naoko Hara, Connie Van, Erwin Riau

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Monterey Grand Prix: Survival Mode

Sportscar racing and Laguna Seca raceway bring memorable racing every year that sets near impossible standards for the next time around. Last year, fans witnessed an epic pass by Renger van der Zande take the lead and the win with only 3 minutes left. Summoning the spirit of Alex Zanardi, he passed Dane Cameron as both cars “navigated” the Corkscrew, a space only intended for one car.

In 2013, under the American LeMans Series banner, the track witnessed a dogfight between the duo of Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf in their HPD ARX-03c Honda to the win over the Toyota-powered Lola of Rebellion Racing and drivers Nick Heidfeld and Neel Jani. Jani overcame a puncture to put on a stunning display of grit and speed to get back on the podium with a second place finish.

The WeatherTech Sportscar Championship returned to the Monterey Peninsula at the world famous WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last weekend in the second appearance in California for the series after racing at Long Beach in April.

In a California summer season, with temperatures approaching the triple digits in the central valley, Laguna Seca was a welcome respite from the heat, providing perfect weather and great conditions for the race weekend.

Heading into the penultimate race of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix looked to be a barn burner with multiple teams and drivers still in the hunt for the titles in the Prototype, GT Le Mans, and GT Daytona classes.

Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr in the Action Express Prototype entry arrived to Laguna Seca in the lead with only 12 points separating the top four cars. It looked to be a race that could give one team an open door to the title when they arrive at Petit Le Mans for the season finale.

In GTLM the battle was even closer. The American titans of sportscar racing, Ford and Corvette have been locked in battle all season in an ebb and flow that finds the Ford GTs of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing showing faster speed, but the reliability of the C7.R Corvettes has kept them in the hunt.

Saturdays qualifying action saw Jordan Taylor in the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R take pole position with a blistering record setting lap of 1:16:181, beating the powerhouse team of the Acura Team Penske Acuras. Oliver Gavin captured the GT LeMans Pole for Corvette Racing. Capturing her first ever pole position, Katherine Legge drove the GTD Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX providing an opportunity to build up a championship in the closing races of the season. After the weekend was over, she would cut her points deficit to Paul Miller Racing’s Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow nearly in half.

Sunday was a whole different affair, seeing an opening lap crash, mechanical failures, and other sorts of bad luck shaking up the field and the points standings.

When the green flag waved, and even before the cars had crossed the start-finish line, the No. 52 JDC-Miller Motorsport Oreca of Misha Goikhberg pulled out to make a jump, clipping the Action Express Racing No. 5 Cadillac driven by Joao Barbosa. In the chaos of the initial contact two other cars would end their day as well, the NO. 66 Ford GT of Dirk Mueller and the Porsche 911 RSR of Nick Tandy. The crash would put a major block in front of the Championship hopes of the Action Express racing team.

Pole setter Jordan Taylor in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPiV.R would find his race over on lap 18 with a mechanical issue. The issue put a painful end to their championship hopes. For a time, Mazda looked to have a win in its grasp, building a 9 second lead at one point in the race. Harry Tinknell was leading in the No.55 Mazda RT24-P, when attempting to lap the No.52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 of Gustavo Yacaman. Things did not go well, and contact was made taking the Mazda out of the chance to win. In a story of persistence wins the race, Pipo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek in the No.22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi, after starting in last place, the dynamic duo stayed out of trouble, put their heads down and took the victory. Well, not exactly without trouble. Just 22 minutes into the race van Overbeek pitted, jumping out for Derani. After the third full course caution of the race, Derani spun out on the restart. After getting back on track he worked through the field, putting himself in striking distance. The payoff came from the Tinknel-Yacaman coming together that allowed Derani to take the lead once again and never look back with 35 minutes remaining. It was their first win since the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

In the GTLM class victory would go to Connor De Phillippi and Alexander Sims in the No.25 BMW M8 GTE, BMW Team RLL. A fuel savings master class was taught by De Phillippi who took up a slow and steady pace to take the checkered flag with only fuel vapors in the tank. He took the lead when the sister No. 24 M8 with John Edwards at the helm had to take fuel with only 7 laps left in the race.

Katherine Legge and Alvaro Parente, in spite of starting from pole position, would have to battle back a few times throughout the race behind the wheel of the No.86 Acura NSX GT3. Parente took over driving duties late in the race and went on a tear to regain first place and gain the victory. The win put Legge within 6 points of her rivals Sellers and Snow as they head to the finale at Road Atlanta. Parente, delivered the win with a demonic charge to the front with 10 minutes remaining overtaking the three drivers in front of him. The Portuguese driver lists a JEEP Wrangler as his daily driver. Guess you can’t judge.

For the entire field it was a story of either luck or disaster. The lucky and determined pushed through for hard fought wins, with others suffering failures or crashes with unkind championship implications. The WeatherTech Sportscar Championship moves on to the final race of the season, the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta from October 10-13th.

Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca will next host the Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI from September 27-30th. Full Race Results