#east of heaven

[elisaa-suu]

John Steinbeck🌼

[baudouinette]

I have like a thousand versions but imma post these for now

I referenced the tiles from the Andalusian ones in my house bc they look similar to the ones in the movie!

[its-stuffimadeinphotoshop]

[soath]

Of Contracts Between Gods and Men

On the Aeorian Kinsey-Deicide scale I’m a solid 5 (near exclusively god-preserving) which may seem surprising to my many dear associates who want those fundamental truths of existence wrecked. Without digging in any further, let’s do some quick religious history review on the question: Do you owe anything to the gods and do they owe anything to you?

The answer is not as universal as many raised in the nigh inescapable miasma of Christian theology may think! Reciprocal (or even unilateral) responsibility in religion comes and goes across history and geography. The Norse Aesir, for example, created humans but don’t owe them nada and only rarely bothered messing with them. The Greek pantheon are significantly more touchy on the subject of their pride but a person could manage offering no prayers or sacrifices as long as they didn’t promise any prayers or sacrifices. Probably. Compare this to Mayan theology, wherein both gods and humans have significant co-responsibility in maintaining balance; with ritual and sacrifice key to the continued safety of the polity. Divine-mortal relationships can be classified as nondirectional, unidirectional, or bidirectional with various advantages and disadvantages to each model. Gods come in lots of shapes and the demands they make aren’t universal!

A phrase that will often come up in any divinity studies is “covenant”. Originally a translation of the Hebrew berith or Greek diatheke, and also present in Islam, the Bahai’i faith, and possibly historical Phoenician religious practices, covenant theology has metastasized in Christian scholarship to the point it was genuinely hard to research this piece while dodging blogs by guys named Richard. But, broadly, it’s the idea of making an explicit deal with power(s) greater than yourself where you both have sides of the bargain to uphold.

Contract law is not the solution to every problem on earth or in fiction, but when the issue is a large disparity in power and mutual fears of future adverse behavior…. to quote Kate Bush “I’d make a deal with (the) god(s).”

Vitally, compared to other bidirectional pacts in world religion, Exandria has some advantages. For one thing, they have a godeater they’re right now helping to suppress. As long as the gods remain behind the divine gate they need mortal champions to effect their will—but that only holds true as long as the Divine Gate stays up. And unfortunately the problem with a fence someone else has erected is that you don’t know if they’ve kept a key.

If I was mortality’s lawyer? I’d ask for a second layer to that divine hamsterball I’d ask for anything left of the godkilling spark to be kept by the temples of Vasselheim—if they can’t be trusted with it no one can. And I’d promise cooperation from people of a certain degree of civic responsibility, not coerced or threatened out, whole hearted. But terms and conditions may vary.

Anyway, I guess the thesis is that it’s a terrible sin to destroy something you can’t comprehend with no idea of what the outcome will be (and a lot of you don’t seem to get the inconceivable joy of having/knowing/being a god, even just in fiction) but you can bring any monstrosity to the negotiating table. Don’t kill your gods, unionize against them.

[yeyayeya]

Quan Yizhen and Lang Qianqiu should be besties

[uisgeartplus]

TGCF Cowboy!AU

Local Ranger Xie Lian makes a new friend!

[falling-star-cygnus]

i only just recently got into Heaven Official's Blessing, but i don't think anything will ever beat the Windmaster looking at Lang Qiuanqiu hitching a fit about being bet for only half a steamed bun, immediately going "it's more than i would pay >:(" and then hiding his face behind his fan like he hadn't said anything at all

well aside from how tooth-rottingly in love Hualian is ofc

the dialogue in this franchise is top tier "you're going to pay!" "...for what?"

[madamshogunassassin]

Raekwon feat. Ghostface Killah - Heaven & Hell (1994)

[buffetlicious]

My very first time trying 4Fingers Crispy Chicken but not for their fried chickens. Instead, I went straight for the jawbreaker burger – the Chicc Crisps Combo with seaweed fries and drink. The staff asked me which level of spiciness I wanted and I took the midlevel “Hot” option. As I unwrapped the foil paper, the single patty burger in front of me doesn’t look as intimidating as in the menu. On the other hand, it seems rather smallish to me. Taste wise, the juicy fried chicken patty is well marinated and crispy with mild spiciness. It is topped with smoked cheddar cheese, mixed greens and Thousand Island dressing between toasted sesame seed buns.

Topmost image from 4Fingers Crispy Chicken.

[thursdaymurderbub]

Silver Screen magazine, October 1939

[theaologies]

No more modern shonen isekais. Go back to 90s josei isekais where Japanese school girls get sent back to 14th century BC Türkiye to become the commander in chief of the Hittite armies on a campaign against Ramesses I

[lorddougie]

"then it hit me: dying is just like sleeping. you only know you’re sleeping when you wake up the next day, but if morning never comes, you sleep forever. that must be what death is like. when someone dies, they don’t even know they’re dead. because they never see it happen, nobody ever really dies. this hit me like a sucker punch. "

- heaven, mieko kawakami

[blondecrazydame]

Joan Blondell behind the scenes of East Side of Heaven, 1939

[justana0kguy]

2024 MAY 17 Friday

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is His kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us."

~ Psalms 103:11-12

[the-monkey-ruler]

Yellow Emperor's Sword (2012) 春光灿烂之欢乐元帅

Director: Li Huimin Screenwriter: Zhang Tan / Gu Man / Zhu Yili / Fan Xiaotian / Xu Shalang Starring: Charlene Choi / Gillian Chung / Leo Kee Ku Genre: Drama Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2012-01-07 (Mainland China) Number of episodes: 48 Single episode length: 45 minutes Also known as: Happy Marshal of Brilliant Spring / Happy Marshal IMDb: tt2473962 Type: Reimanging

Summary:

This is a mythical and legendary comedy. In the ancient East, there was a beautiful village rich in "celestial silkworms", and everyone lived a leisurely life in a paradise. Tmall Girl (played by Zhong Xintong) escaped here because she stole the elixir of Taishang Laojun (played by Han Zhenhua). When she discovered such a fairyland, she became greedy. She put herself into Miaomiao's body and planned to occupy the village. Taibai Jinxing (played by Guo Jinan) came to Zhujiajiao to chase the cat demon, and was rescued by a piglet during a fight with the cat demon. In order to repay the favor of saving his life, he let the piglet sneak into the owner's body and become a human for one day, and named him Zhu Tianshuai (played by Leo Ku) ). Little Dragon Girl (Charlene Choi), who came to the world to repay her kindness, met Zhu Tianshuai and mistakenly thought she was his benefactor and fell in love at first sight. The cat demon is almost exhausted due to the loss of the golden elixir. She drains the blood of the villagers to replenish her physical strength, and the villagers whose blood she has sucked all become her minions. Seeing the cat demon wreaking havoc, Little Dragon Girl and Zhu Tianshuai decided to get rid of her...

Source: https://tv-1.chinesemov.com/tv/2012/Happy-Marshal

Link: https://www.iq.com/album/%E6%AC%A2%E4%B9%90%E5%85%83%E5%B8%85-2018-19rrh76hed?lang=en_us

[fuckyeah-jessicabiel]

Jessica Biel’s Pooch Is A Gift From Above!

When Jessica Biel came home to find her bulldog, East, with a mouthful of pink leather and ribbons, she was so mad she had to laugh. “I had left him home alone for an hour and he got into my closet, went into my ballet bag and took out my new point shoes.  I caught him with a pink ribbon dangling out of his mouth.  He looked up at me  with his big underbite, as if to say ‘Hmm?’ – with such a dopey looking face.”   East, an English and American bulldog mix was adopted by Biel’s beau, Chris when the two were just friends, but soonafter they became a couple – no – an inseperable threesome.  East is still brimming with puppy-ness  –  he’s very excitable – and a bit clutzy.  “He’s such a goon,” says Jessica affectionately, “he literally runs just as fast as he can and he’ll run into things!” She admits that East is a lousy judge of character, because he loves everybody.  “If you are going to pet him, he’ll fall in love with you – even if you are robbing the place!”

East was named by Biel as a tribute to the East Coast where Chris, a Massachusetts native, grew up.  The dog, though, seems to have fully embraced the California lifestyle.  At home, his favorite resting place is a dog bed made by Primative Pet, adorned with surfboards, although, Biel admits, “he sneaks up on my bed in the morning.”

Biel is best known for her role as Mary Camden on WB’s Seventh Heaven, a show revolving around the life of a Reverend and his ever-growing Rockwell-esque family.  The show, touted for its strong values and life lessons, often featured the family’s dog, Happy Camden. East and Happy did occasionally meet, as Jessica would bring her bulldog to the set all the time, but she reports, “Happy is a little skittish and East always wants to jump and play around.  I think she was a little scared of him.”

There is nothing to fear in this gregarious dog, unless you are a flower.  Yes, flora ranks as one of East’s favorite treats.  “He’ll rip them out of the ground and eat them and continue to walk down the street,” she laughs.  So much for having a garden!

According to Jessica, East has traveled many times by plane, but it is not so comfortable for such a big dog.  Biel says, “It’s very difficult to fly an animal his size – any longer than to Boston and the sedatives wear off and he’s hungry and he has to go to the bathroom.  I try not to fly with him so much.”  Car travel is more East’s speed, and Jessica has driven him across the country, opting not to fly.  “He’s great in the car.  He sticks his head out the window and his big floppy lips flap in the wind. It’s so cute.”  When he cannot accompany the actress or her boyfriend on a trip, East stays at the Calgrove Kennels, a boarding facility that Jessica raves about – describing the inside-outside facility with grassy areas and plethora of toys East can play with.  According to Jessica, it’s the next-best-thing to having East come along with them.

Jessica Biel, best known as the preacher’s daughter Mary Camden on Seventh Heaven, thinks her bulldog, East, is a gift from above!

Jessica says she worries about some of the health issues typical to East’s breed – bulldogs are notorious for having problems with their faces due to the wrinkes.  “He has some eye problems due in part to bad allergies.  On top of that, his lower eyelashes curl in and scratch his cornea.  He’s already had surgery on his right eye but it didn’t work.   He is due to have a second surgery soon.  It’s a serious situation, but we have a very good eye doctor for East.”  More than the surgery, it’s the recovery process Biel is concerned about.  “He will want to scratch and rub his eye so he will have to wear a contact lens as an extra layer of protection as well as a cone on his head to keep him from getting to his eye. It’s is really up to us to make sure he stays sedated for the week, contacts in, cone on, no scratching and no rubbing.”

Jessica loves East and understands what is involved when caring for an animal.  “It’s such a large responsibility.  I don’t think anyone realizes how much of a responsibility an animal is until they get one.   You can’t go out all night long.  You can’t spend the night at someone’s house without making sure someone’s watching him.  It has really changed my life a lot, but I don’t think I could live without him!”

Jessica has had animals growing up, and looks forward to seeing her two family pets Freckles and Kit Kat whenever she goes home.  “Freckles is this adorable Cocker spaniel who I have had since I was ten years old.  He’s this nice little old guy who follows my mom around no matter where she goes.  I’ve had Kit Kat forever.  She’s been alive since I was six years old – we rescued her from an animal shelter.  She’s a little skittish because she was abused as a kitten.”

Biel also has a cat named Blue who she adopted from a woman in Santa Monica who was finding homes for abused animals.  “I saw this white cat with blue eyes and called my dad and said, ‘we have to save this animal.’  I took him home and now he lives with my family.”  East did get an opportunity to meet his extended family, but Biel says, “My cats didn’t know what to think of him.  Freckles liked him but he’s a little bit old and East gets so excited, Freckles was like ‘alright puppy, chill out a little bit’”  East did get to expend his energy hiking in the Colorado mountains near Biel’s family home.

Since leaving Seventh Heaven, she has explored very different roles – an indulgent vixon in Brett Easton Ellis’s Rules of Attraction, and most recently, as Erin Hardesty in the remake of horror classic, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  She’s also the face of Loreal, changing her hair color for the roles.   She says [changing my hair color] does not affect me as a person, but it does affect my wardrobe.”

Blonde or bruenette, Biel is always concerned with saving animals and giving her own pets the best care they can get.  She is involved with Fund For Animals, which Biel says, “promotes vegetarian and vegan diets and calls for the end of hunting – especially hunting for furs.  I don’t agree with people wearing furs.”  Jessica has also found a new charity, Noah’s Wish, that has sparked her interest.  She says, “you can be trained as a volunteer to save a dog, cat – any animal – in a disaster. You can also volunteer to foster an animal, so if a family has a dog and they had a flood or their home was destroyed by hurricane and they feel like they have to get rid of the animal because they can’t afford it or their living situation is not regular, you can take it in.  I would love to do that.”  Jessica says determinedly, “That’s what I’m going to work on next.”

For more information about Noah’s Wish, go to www.noahs-wish.org.

Source: Animal Fair, January 2003