#evelyn farr

[vivelareine]

Has anyone else been reading the new biography of Marie Antoinette by Charles-Éloi Vial?

I'm pretty disappointed in it so far.

For all the talk of the author being an archivist, and all the talk of the book "going back to the sources" to re-examine Marie Antoinette, the book relies a lot on secondary works--including outdated works like Stefan Zweig or obviously biased works like Evelyn Farr, who relies heavily on libelles, gossip, etc, for many of her claims. (How does one, for the unredacted Fersen-Antoinette correspondence, turn to Farr and not Isabelle Aristide-Hastir when the book is claiming to want to go back to archival based sources?)

There's a lot of regurgitating of what we've already heard a hundred times, despite this notion of the book somehow being a "refresh" of Marie Antoinette or a revelatory re-examination.

Reminds me of how the Marie Antoinette Canal+ series was tooting its own horn about how it would represent Marie Antoinette as people never saw her, when it's the same ol' "Marie Antoinette was lonely at Versailles and it was like a gilded cage she fought against!" song and dance.

He also really seems to have vocal distaste for Marie Antoinette's friendships with women, but particularly the duchesse de Polignac... again if the book is meant to be this archival examination, why all the personal bias? It's just odd for the type of book this is being praised as.

I don't know, just didn't live up at all to what it was being marketed as. I heard great things about his previous work on the royal family in the Temple being very archival-based, so this is just a major disappointment for me.

it's not all bad--there's a lot of interesting details and quotes, including some from unpublished sources--but it's just not what it was touted as being, IMO.

[eumenidaes]

Welcome to the Sophia’s Best Favorite Character tournament!

Now that tumblr has a polls feature you have the power to decide which of my favorite characters is the Best. And also people on twitter since I’ll be running the polls there too and tallying up the results

Links to the polls will be provided under the cut. And it’s fine to vote even if you don’t know either of the characters, just vote for whoever looks coolest!

Akane Kurashiki vs Mel Medarda

Aglaya Lilich vs John McNamara

James Ironwood vs Fiona (TFTBL)

Miss Holloway vs Ruby Rose

Bruce Wayne vs Rita Farr

Luna Snow vs Yang Xiao Long

White Fox vs Booker DeWitt

Paul Matthews vs Washington

Selina Kyle vs Penny Polendina

Cassandra Cain vs Felicia Hardy

Junpei vs Parvati Holcomb

Jayce Talis vs Starlight

Harvey Dent vs Riri Williams

Garrus Vakarian vs Joyce Byers

Ratcatcher 2 vs Connor Hawke

Cindy Moon vs Evelyn Wang

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Dan Akroyd, Pamela Anderson, The Beatles’s 1963 recordings of “I’ll Get You” and “She Loves You,” Marc Benno, James Cotton, Delaney Bramlett, Andre Braugher, Geneviève Bujold, Leslie Caron, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Andraé Crouch, Bobby Day (“Rockin’ Robin”), Olivia de Havilland, Princess Diana, Willie Dixon, the great gospel music legend Thomas A. Dorsey a.k.a. Georgia Tom, Missy Elliot, John Farnham, John Ford (The Strawbs), Jamie Farr, Farley Granger, Randall Hall (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Deborah Harry, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Charles Laughton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Terrence Mann, June Montiero (The Toys), Franz Xaver Murschhauser, Cavan O'Connor, Sydney Pollack, David Prowse, Alvino Rey, Alan Ruck, George Sand, Marty Schneider (of the fab band Trip Wire), Amanda Seales, Ignaz Semmelweis, The Sony Walkman (1984), Johann Ludwig Steiner, Sufjan Stevens, Twyla Tharp, the Tour de France (1903), Liv Tyler, Jeff Wayne, Keith Whitley, Brandee Younger, and my old friend + one of my first music mentors Mike Kanski. He was “an influencer” long before social media, going way back with me (age 10). While I watched in awe, he was the first singer-songwriter I witnessed to perform a live demo of an original song, and he set an example by getting a “real job” so he could purchase a quality guitar (vs. cast-offs and cheapies), showing that if you want to get somewhere you had to make sacrifices. Musical milestones in our long friendship include a handful of demos, impromptu house concerts, and a couple public performances (not to mention countless turntable gab sessions over tea and mix tape swappings). Here’s a clip from a cafe set we did in Florida (read the video caption for an expanded Kanski tribute!). Meanwhile, HB MK—thank you for your years of cheerful music-making!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsqObpXyK4

#jenniferjuniper #donovan #kanski #mike #michael #florida #coffeehouse #mentor #music #influencer #johnnyjblair #concert #folkrock #britishinvasion #psychedelicpop #yellowsubmarine #jennyboyd #avis #pennsylvania #jerseyshore

[ofdoomedalters]

              ❝ you all need more therapy than i do, and i’m the crazy one . ❞

                𝑐𝘩𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟⧸𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑒 : jane   ››   metahuman   ››  diane guerrero .

―   ◜   ❏  . ―   « diane guerrero , 31 / 78 , gender non conforming , doom patrol » ∙∙ loading case file for kay challis. known aliases, if any: jane + various others . current location: gotham.  current occupation: primary host / unemployed .  their current status : civilian / anti-hero .

🇧​🇦​🇸​🇮​🇨​🇸  ››

full name : kay challis .

alias : jane  + various others .

place of birth : unknown .

age : 31/78 .

date of birth : june 21st .

zodiac : gemini .

affiliation : doom patrol .

language(s) spoken : universal .

hair color : brunette / depending on alter .

eye color : brown / depending on alter .

notable scars : many scars .

🇮​🇳​🇹​🇪​🇷​🇮​🇴​🇷 ​ ››

positive : protective  ,  action girl .

negative : blunt  ,  moody .

moral alignment : chaotic .

deadly sin : all .

element : all.

emotional stability : questionable .

alcohol use : socially .

prone to violence? : yes .

habits : losing her temper .

drives / motivations : protecting kay .

🇫​🇦​🇲​🇮​🇱​🇾​​  ››

chosen family :  Rita Farr  , Cliff Steele  ,  Larry Trainor  ,  Doctor Niles Evelyn Caulder

🇧​🇮​🇴  ››

―   Kay Olivia Challis is a girl who developed 64 'personas' (also known as alters) from the trauma of being abused by her father. Each of Kay's alters have a meta-human ability of their own, residing within her psyche in a place known as the Underground. After being abused past a point she couldn't handle, Kay gave up her primary role to Miranda and withdrew into her subconsciousness. .

―   Jane became the primary alter after Miranda, Kay Challis's former primary alter, destroyed herself at the Well in the Underground due to following advice from the Sisters as a result of being coerced into sex. When Jane surfaced, she punched Miranda's boyfriend, Johnny, and told everyone present that she didn't know who was worse - the men, for taking advantage of the women, or the women, for letting the men take advantage of them. Jane promptly left, and insisted on being called Jane when Johnny called after Miranda .

―    Jane regularly lived in a sanatorium and would often sneak to go outside. In 1976, she was experimented on and her alters were given the powers they now possess. Alters such as Katy and Hammerhead would try to assist her but at the expense of Jane getting accused and punished for it. In the year 1977, Jane was at a punk rock concert in New Jersey when she was assaulted by two men in a mosh pit. However, she fought them off but was soon apprehended by police officers and dragged back to the sanatorium where she sustained further abuse from her keepers such as Doctor Bertrand. As a result of sustaining such abuse from her keepers Dr. Harrison awoken.

―  In the year 1978, she eventually met a scientist named Niles Caulder who rescued her body and took her into Doom Manor. He conducted numerous interviews and documentations with her to understand her disorder. She enlightened him on the Underground, following the discussion of a hostile alter named Katy. 

―  Jane revisited Doom Manor and obnoxiously made a scene as Sylvia and Hammerhead emerged. Later, Jane was personally introduced to Cliff Steele while painting outside. Jane mentioned that Hammerhead had told her about her altercation with Cliff. Cliff, however, apologized to Jane, explaining that he had been a "little on edge" with the approach of his deceased daughter's upcoming birthday. Jane spent the rest of the day painting, until the Hangman's Daughter took over and conversed with Cliff in the rain. 

―  When Niles left to go on another one of his travels, Jane suggested that Cliff, Larry, and Rita sneak out into town. After some convincing, they all agreed. Once there, Jane accompanied Cliff and walked with him to a toy store, to get a gift in memory of his daughter. They both sat on a bench afterward where Cliff shared some of his past with Jane. She eventually lit a cigarette and blew smoke in his face to see if any of his senses would react, to no avail. Jane eventually brought up that Cliff's daughter was still alive, but he refused to believe it, causing Hammerhead to surface and attempt to start an altercation with some police officers. Jane returned, however, when they noticed that Rita had lost control of herself, rampaging and causing massive destruction to the town. Jane and Cliff ran after her to stop her. Through Jane's failed attempts to get through to Rita, Hammerhead took over yet again. 

―  When they all returned back to Doom Manor, Niles did as well. He scolded all of them and warned them of incoming danger. The majority, including Jane, voted that it would be best to move someplace safer. As Cliff stayed behind to help Cloverton, Jane voiced wanting to help him. Everyone, but Niles, sided with her and she eagerly turned back around. They met with Cliff in the streets of Cloverton and encountered an albino donkey. A sinkhole suddenly formed in the road,[4] and began to swallow everything within its perimeter including the group's bus, which Niles was aboard. The sinkhole began to attract the bus and although Jane tried to stop it, it was successfully swallowed. Denying Cliff's pleas, Jane jumped into the sinkhole after Niles .

―  Jane was eventually spat up by the very donkey they encountered in Cloverton into gotham . 

going to be playing jane after the first episode of doom patrol . 

[killem-all-if-they-wont-eat-cake]

“The news of Marie-Antoinette’s execution did not reach Brussels until 20 October 1793, as Fersen recorded in his diary. "At 11 o’clock Grandmaison came to tell me that Ackermann, a banker, had received a letter from his correspondent in Paris saying that the Queen’s sentence had been pronounced the day before, that it was to be carried out immediately... Although I was prepared for it and since her transfer to the Conciergerie I expected it, this certainty overwhelmed me... It was on the 16th at 11.30 a.m. that this execrable crime was committed, and divine vengeance has not yet struck these monsters!"

Fersen was numb with shock for several days, tormented by his memories, his grief, his remorse and anguish that perhaps Marie-Antoinette had not realized how much he had loved her. "I was constantly thinking of her, of all the horrible circumstances, of her children; of her unhappy son and his education which will be ruined, of the ill-treatment to which they may subject him, of the Queen’s misery at not seeing him in her last moments, of the doubt she may perhaps have been in about me, about my attachment and my interest. This idea devastated me. Then I felt all I had lost in different ways: love, interest, existence, everything was united in her, and all was lost. …I felt truly wretched, and all seemed to be over for me.

21 October. I could think only of my loss. It was dreadful to have no positive details. That she was alone in her last moments, without comfort, with no one to talk to, to give her last wishes to, is horrifying. The monsters from hell! No, without revenge my heart will never be satisfied.

22 October. My whole day passed in silence without talking; I did not even want to. I could only think aimlessly. I formed thousands and thousands of plans. If my health would have permitted it I would have gone to serve, to avenge her or get myself killed.

23 October. My grief, instead of easing, increases as the surprise and shock diminish.

24 October. Her image, her sufferings, her death and my love never leave my mind, I can think of nothing else. Oh, my God, why did I have to lose her, and what will become of me?

The royal family's arrest at Varennes and imprisonment in the Tuileries had forced Marie-Antoinette to sacrifice Fersen, her "most loved and most loving of men" to her duty, but it is clear from his diary and letters that he had never given up hope that they would one day be reunited.

"I want to gather the most minute details on this great and unfortunate princess I shall love all my life; everything of hers is precious to me...What gentleness, what tenderness, what kindness, what solicitude, what a delicate, loving and feeling heart!"

Fersen wrote to his sister Countess Sophie Piper on 24 November 1793: "Thinking of her and mourning her are my sole occupations; looking for everything I can find of Hers and conserving what I have is my whole care and pleasure; speaking of her my only consolation, and sometimes I have that enjoyment but never as often as I would like. Losing her is the grief of my entire life and my sorrows will leave me only when I die. Never have I felt so much the value of all I possessed, and never have I loved her so much.

"In his diary on 8 January 1794 he wrote: "Every day I feel how much I lost in Her and how perfect she was in everything. Never has there been nor will there be another woman like Her."

Fersen was a broken man, who lived only to gather together souvenirs and relics of Marie-Antoinette; but by some miracle comfort arrived. At last he received the sublime message that Marie-Antoinette had entrusted to the Chevalier de Jarjayes in April 1793. It was a simple scrap of card bearing the message ‘Tutto a te mi guida’ ("everything leads me towards you").

Fersen's journal, 21 January 1794. "M. Bury …brought me a letter from M. de Jarjayes... He sent me only the fragment of a letter from the Queen to him. Here’s the copy. She wrote it herself. ‘…When you are in a safe place, I would very much like you to give news of me to my great friend who came to see me last year. I don’t know where he is... I dare not write to him, but here is a stamp of my motto. Tell him when you send it that the person to whom it belongs feels that it has never been more true.’ This motto was a seal with the emblem of a flying pigeon and the motto Tutto a te mi guida. Her idea at the time had been to take my arms, and they had mistaken the flying fish for a bird. The stamp was on a scrap of card; unfortunately the heat had completely erased the impression. I will nevertheless guard it preciously in my box with the copy of the note and the design of the seal.

"This scrap of card bearing this particular motto was the most beautiful declaration of love Fersen could have ever wished for. At last, and for the first time in her life, Marie-Antoinette was free to express her feelings openly; she was no longer bound by duty to her husband. She no longer had to hide. And so she sent Fersen the imprint of their secret seal, the one she used to write to him in their golden days. She wanted to remind him of their past happiness. In this context, ‘Tutto a te mi guida’ accompanied by the words that ‘never has it been more true indicates that she saw her future with Fersen. Despite their cruel separation in February 1792 and all they had endured since, she had never stopped loving him. Her heart still belonged to him.”

Images and Excerpt from I Love You Madly by Evelyn Farr

[sirbogarde]

If someone gave me 3 wishes I think one of them would be to bring back e.m. forster or Evelyn waugh from the dead so that they could write a novel about melville farr's (dirk Bogarde's character from victim) days at University with his psychotic boyfriend who he briefly mentions

[maryannwrites]

Friday Reads and Friday Fun

Friday Reads and Friday��Fun

A friend sent me this meme, and I thought it perfect to share today on the blog. Between the pandemic, the horror that was the attack on the Capitol Building last week, and the tension over what is coming next, I am so glad that I have a cat, or two, or three, or four to sit on my lap and purr. I can always feel my blood pressure go down when one of them has settled in for a nap, and I can feel…

[misslacito]

Fiesta HBO post-Globos de Oro 2020

Fiesta HBO post-Globos de Oro 2020

Seguimos con la segunda fiesta posterior a los Globos de Oro. Esta vez es la de un gigante televisivo, HBO. Su fiesta se celebró en el Circa 55 Restaurant de Los Ángeles. Contó con un nutrido grupo de famosos que no quisieron perderse el photocall más colorido de la noche. Vamos allá!

35. Hunter Schafer de Rick Owens.

(more…)

[hellostarrynightblr]

highlights of December

I decided to start posting this on tumblr as opposed to Facebook like previously, so let’s see how it goes.

1. Favourite movies: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021); West Side Story (2021); The Parent Trap (1961).

2. Decent films I liked / appreciated but not loved: If You Could Only Cook (1935) is pretty good but nothing spectacular.

3. Best scenes: the confession in Forsaking All Others (1934); scenes with all three Spider-Men / aunt May’s death / Peter and MJ saying goodbye / the café conversation / Daredevil cameo / Peter saving MJ on the bridge (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021); the sword fight / 'The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle' / ‘Get it? Got it. Good’ running gag in The Court Jester (1955); the final scene in The Parent Trap (1961); Gee Officer Krupke! / America in West Side Story (2021), 'I've gone fishing' (If You Could Only Cook, 1935).

4. Favourite genres: adventure, family.

5. Favourite directors: Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021); Stephen Spielberg (West Side Story, 2021).

6. Favourite actors: Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021);  Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith (The Parent Trap, 1961); Rachel Zegler / Rita Moreno / Ariana DeBose (West Side Story, 2021).

7. Least favourite performances: literally anyone in Kiss Me Stupid (1964).

8. The most wasted cast: everything and everyone in Kiss Me Stupid (1964) is a waste. Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston, Felicia Farr, Cliff Osmond, as well as the director Billy Wilder. Everyone is just so much better than this mess. They are unlikeable here, despicable even. I couldn’t believe what I was watching, to be honest.

9. The best wasted premise: Mad Love (1935) is not as good as I wanted it to be. Not bad exactly but not good either. The premise of Witness To Murder (1954) has also been done way better, one such variation being famously done by Hitchcock that same year.

9. The best wasted premise: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). I do think, however, that this film is only good as a one-time thing. If they try to recapture what this film did with bringing everyone back together again (which is already being discussed because the studious nowadays are desperate), it will fail spectacularly. But for now, I like it.

11. Favourite cast: West Side Story, 2021 (Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Brian d'Arcy James); Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021 (Tom Holland, Zandaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob, Jon, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire).

12. Favourite on-screen duos: Clark Gable x Joan Crawford (Forsaking All Others, 1934); Herbert Marshall x Jean Arthur (If You Could Only Cook, 1935); Tom Holland x Zendaya / any combination of the three Spider-Man / Alfred Molina x Tom Holland / Willem Dafoe x Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021); Robert Montgomery x Joan Crawford / William Powell x Joan Crawford (The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, 1937); any combination of Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith (The Parent Trap, 1961); Ansel Elgort x Rachel Zegler / Ansel Elgort x Rita Moreno (West Side Story, 2021).

>13. Favourite on-screen relationships: Jeff Williams + Mary Clay (Forsaking All Others, 1934); Peter + MJ (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021); Mitch Evers + Maggie McKendrick (The Parent Trap, 1961).

14. Favourite characters: Jeff Williams (Forsaking All Others, 1934); Peter(s), MJ, Dr. Octavius, Norman Osborn (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021); Mitch Evers, Maggie McKendrick, Susan Evers / Sharon McKendrick (The Parent Trap, 1961).

15. Favourite quote: I, poor peasant, have conquered science. Why can’t I conquer love? (Mad Love, 1935). I’m stretching, I know… There was nothing particularly memporable.

16. Favourite fact discovered in 2021: this one’s nuts, buckle up. Gary Cooper’s love life was one hell of a roller-coaster ride. His lovers included Clara Bow, Evelyn Brent, Carole Lombard, Lupe Velez, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich and Patricia Neal.

His relationship with Lupe Vélez at the beginning of his career was particularly stormy. Apart from the whole convoluted baby mess (it was alleged she had a baby by Cooper, even though he always denied it), there was a lot more insanity to this relationship. They were together for 2 years during which time Vélez allegedly chased him around with a knife during an argument and he cut himself severely enough to require stitches. Cooper eventually ended the relationship in mid-1931, at the behest of his mother Alice who after meeting her, strongly disapproved of Vélez. The rocky relationship had taken its toll on Cooper, who had lost 45 pounds and was suffering from nervous exhaustion. Paramount Pictures ordered him to take a vacation to recuperate and while he was boarding the train, Vélez showed up at the station and fired a pistol at him. That’s not to mention his 10-year affair with Patricia Neal.

17. The most overrated film: Kiss Me Stupid (1964) doesn’t deserve any good words, it’s such a disaster.

18. The most disappointing film: Kiss Me Stupid (1964). It particularly hurts because I adore Billy Wilder and almost every actor in the cast.

19. The biggest surprise: The Parent Trap (1961) is a delight! Also, I didn’t expect o see Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). I know they’re gonna screw him up eventually in the MCU but for the time being I love seeing him again, his amazing! I missed you, buddy.

20. Best cinematography: West Side Story (2021).

21. Best set design: West Side Story (2021).

22. Best costume design: West Side Story (2021).

23. Best music: West Side Story (2021). It’s a landslide, it’s just so competently made, it’s incredible.

24. Best production choice: keeping the cameos a secret (Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021).

25. Worst production choice: making The Curse of the Cat People (1944) a sequel to a classic horror film. It’s such a shame because it’s not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s a good exploration of child neglect. It’s a drama, not horror. The horror elements here fall flat on its face. I just hate that this one choice buried a potentially pretty decent story with a solid central performance by Ann Carter. Robert Wise co-directed it too, so it’s a double shame. Just keep the film as it is, don’t change anything about it except change the name of the film itself as well as the names of the characters so I don’t have to think about how it ties into the first film. Because it doesn’t!

26. The film of the month: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2021).

[simfetale]

KATARINA FARR & MAXIMUS PRIME

A writer from a young age, Katarina Farr loves her chosen profession. Though unpublished, she never stops working and honing her craft in hopes of one day getting there.

Katerina is one of those people it's hard to be sad around. Her cheerfulness lights up the room, and she adores making others smile, and helping out whenever she can.

That's how she got a hold of Maximus. While working at an animal shelter, she saw a little dog with a big personality. Though she had made a promise to herself to not cave and adopt, the fact that no one was taking him home broke her heart.

Now with a new best friend, Katerina loves life more than ever.

So, i spent the time tracking down as much of the CC that i could. There is a preset...the eyes that no matter what I couldn’t find the exact post, but i know i found them on tumblr on the maxis match reblog.

They’ll be up in the Gallery tonight under ALarkInTheSky

Any other Questions, let me know!

Skin Details

Booboo Blush by Squeamishsims

Divine Beauty Freckles by Lady Simmer

To the Bone Nosemask  by pyxiidis

3D Eyelashes by Kijiko

Non-Default Skin Tones by Kijiko

Torrada Body Blush by Simandy

Pointed Ear and Nose Preset by thelpethondiel

Tattoos

Caring Hands by Sugar Owl

Bunch of Skulls by Sugar Owl

Accessories

Obscura Choker by PralineSims

Kaeligh Vest Accessory by Simple Simmer

Fishnet Stockings be Saruin

Eila Studs Choker by Liliilil 

Palamides Necklace by PralineSims

Hair

Grace Hair by Aharris00britney 

Mercedes & Athena Hairs by Aharris00britney 

Rachel Hair by Liliilil

Down and Loose by Nolan Sims

Carrie Hair by Aharris00britney 

Sadie Hair by PepperoniPuffin

Makeup

Ana Highlight by Grimcookies

Cool & Warm Eyeshadow by Sunflower Petals

The Ridgeport Set (highlight) by Ridgeport

Sunkissed Lipgloss by Sagittariah

Colourpop Smoke Show Eyeshadow by Sagittariah

Eyeliner Set by Simple Simmer

Breakfast Eyeshadow by Sagittariah

Champagne Lipgloss by Sagittariah

Jeffree Star Velour Lipstick by WeepingSimmer

Pip Gloss by Kindlespice

Jeffree Star Alien Eyeshadow by Sagittariah

Eyeshadow Set 03 by Grimcookies

Tumeric Lipstick by WeepingSimmer

Lotus Collection by Crypticsim

Dresses

NYX Dress by Simalicious

Chae Dress by AHarris00Britney

Tops

Octavia Hoodie by PIPCO.

RAMMSTEIN top by Nerwen

Fettuccine Top by AHarris00Britney

YURI Knotted Crop top by Heloseria

Kori top-Solid by AHarris00Britney 

Graphic Crop top by AHarris00Britney 

Trend Ruffle Jacket by Busted Pixels

Bottoms

Butterbones T-Shirt and Tartan Jeans by Cre8sims

Strappy Short Shorts by neinahpet

Ayla Leggings by WildlyMinaturesSandwich (both sports and winter outfit)

Whistle Skinnies by AHarris00Britney

Shoes

Madlen Aspidura Boots by MJ95

Madlen Ines Shoes by MJ95

Kitty Slippers by SimLaughLove

Madlen Cosette Shoes by MJ95

Evelyn Boots by AHarris00Britney

Madlen Jole Sandals -mesh needed- Saruin

Pet Eyes

Glossy Eyes for Cats and Dogs by noodlescc

[vivelareine]

I have read some of Goldstone’s book. She really does paint Louis out to be the most unpleasant sort of man doesn’t she? Shrill voice, ugly, fat, stupid, disinterested in his wife. Apathetic about everything really. And only small mentions of his kindness and good qualities. All to set up the Swedish “dreamboat.” He might have been clumsy because he wasn’t a dandy but he was no idiot. And the claim that Fersen fathered MA’s last two children is ridiculous. On what basis?

It's funny that on her website, Goldstone claims that she tried to write about Louis XVI sympathetically, but she essentially falls into the Farr trap of trying to make him Super Unpleasant in order to bolster up the image of Fersen as a dreamy romance novel cover love interest.

"On what basis?"

Goldstone claims that Louis Charles MUST be Fersen's because she creates a fake scenario in which Fersen was the only man who might pregnant her that was near Marie Antoinette for an entire week in June during the week of the Gustav III Petit Trianon fete, and it MUST be in this week in June in which Charles was conceived. Except Goldstone doesn't realize that her claim falls apart--even according to Evelyn Farr, Louis XVI was at this fete. But Goldstone boldly claims that Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette were nowhere near each other during the entire week, including at the fete. Ridiculous and disproved by her own sources.

For Sophie, it's just, shrug! Just because. Or rather, because she claims that a "guard at Versailles" saw Fersen staying the night at Trianon all the time. Though her source on this changes all the time. Sometimes it's "a guard at Versailles told someone else," sometimes it's "a captain of the guard wrote that..." etc. So therefore, because she claims Fersen was there overnight all the time, the child must be Fersen's.

When pressed for this source, it turns out she's referring to the comte de Saint-Priest, who was not a guard at Versailles or captain of the guard, nor did he write that he was told by a guard at Versailles/Trianon that Fersen stayed there overnight. She's mixing up her anecdotes. Saint-Priest said he was informed by a guard at the Tuileries that Fersen was caught wandering around at night... this would be after 1789, after both children were born.

He claimed that Fersen went discreetly, during the day, to the Trianon. He also implied that Fersen was just one of Marie Antoinette's "friends." (edit: Meaning, he was implying she had multiple male lovers.) But of course, since that would make Fersen not her One True Love, it gets ignored. Saint-Priest wasn't at any position to know what was going on at Versailles until 1788, so again even if we take what he says at face value--that's after both children are born.

[teamsensuscommunis]

Anti Atlantis

Anti-Atlantis is an experimental multi-sensory installation at the nexus of immersive art and scientific inquiry that unites an interdisciplinary group of artists with Neomento, a leading virtual reality therapy and research group at Berlin’s Charite hospital. If Atlantis is the story of an ancient culture destroyed by nature, then Anti-Atlantis represents its opposite – a future landscape destroyed by the human culture of excess. The organic form represents the vision of utopian paradise as we remember it – even though this memory might exist only as a constructed fantasy. The scene reveals the effect of “progress”; appropriation of nature as a resource for industrial production with alarming pollution levels. Anthropocene leads to paradise lost, a disaster scenario that, if we ignore warning signs, gradually consumes everything. Anti-Atlantis calls for the moment of awakening. In time travel between past and future, it brings attention to our present behaviour, its consequences, and impulses for change.

Several participants are connected to the “source” via VR glasses and headphones experiencing individual, yet shared journey in ritualistic manner. The focus is on passage through dystopian vision of future, which could be still avoided by joined effort in creating the world we want to wake up into.

The Sensus Communis team consist of Evelyn Bencicova @evelyn_bencicova, Enes Güç @enesguc, Zeynep Schilling @zeydepth_2.0, Farahnaz Hatam & Colin Hacklander of LABOUR @studio.labour, Joris Demnard and Manuel Farre of Ikonospace @ikonospace 

[sciencespies]

X-Ray Technology Reveals Marie Antoinette's Censored Secret Correspondence

https://sciencespies.com/nature/x-ray-technology-reveals-marie-antoinettes-censored-secret-correspondence/

X-Ray Technology Reveals Marie Antoinette's Censored Secret Correspondence

An X-ray fluorescence scanner analyzes correspondence of Marie Antoinette and Fersen at France’s National Archives. Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation, French National Museum of Natural History

“I will finish not without telling you my dear and loving friend that I love you madly and that I can never be a moment without adoring you.”

During the dangerous days of the French Revolution, in January 1792, Marie Antoinette, queen of France, closed a letter with these tender words. But that letter was not meant for her husband Louis XVI. Instead, her intimate friend and rumored lover Swedish count Axel von Fersen was the recipient. 

The pair’s relationship demanded discretion. So did political aspects of their correspondence. The letters were exchanged while the royal family was being held under house arrest by the revolutionaries controlling France. Both Marie Antoinette and Fersen were pulling political strings in the hopes of salvaging the Bourbon dynasty, or at least saving the royals’ lives. For one or both of these reasons the few surviving letters between them are sprinkled with passages, like the one above, that have been blotted out by some unknown censor. By blacking over words and entire lines with dark ink someone meant to hide them forever from history and they succeeded for two centuries—until now.

Modern technology has foiled some of the censor’s efforts. Anne Michelin, a physical chemist at the French National Museum of Natural History and colleagues have used old fashioned hard work and new techniques that plumb the varied composition of different inks to uncover many redacted parts of this famed correspondence. In doing so they believe they’ve also revealed who wielded the heavy-handed pen. The mystery censor appears to have been Fersen himself. Michelin’s study, published today in Science Advances, also demonstrates a methodology that may recover countless historical correspondences, official papers and drawings—and it might even help to analyze fossils.

A side-by-side comparison shows an original letter with redactions (left) and the same letter examined using a combination of X-ray fluorescence imaging and data processing (right).

Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation, French National Museum of Natural History

Between June 1791 and August 1792 the French royal family lived under a form of house arrest at the Tuileries Palace in Paris while Fersen was abroad. Their confinement followed a disastrous failed attempt to escape Paris orchestrated in large part by Fersen. The royals hoped to rally supporters in rural France and seize power from the revolutionaries. Instead, the family’s flight and arrest at Varennes turned popular opinion decidedly against them and opened them to charges of treason. During this period, while under heavy guard, Marie-Antoinette conducted a complicated correspondence with Fersen. Letters were delivered by intermediaries but also hidden by extravagant precautionary methods including invisible ink and codes that required complicated deciphering.

Marie-Antoinette even complained about the process to Fersen on November 2, 1791, writing “Farewell, I am getting tired of ciphering; this is not my usual occupation and I am always afraid of making mistakes.”

Secrecy was critical for several reasons and historians have long wondered who crossed out various parts of the text. The influential Fersen had fled France after his role in the failed escape was discovered. In Brussels, Vienna and elsewhere he desperately lobbied to influence foreign powers, including relatives of the royals, who might help to restore them to the throne or otherwise aid their plight. Such political intriguing, mentioned in the letters, would have been considered a deadly serious crime by the revolutionaries.

A portrait of Marie Antoinette painted by Vigée-Le Brun.

Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Other sections had a different reason for being hidden. They are evidence of a very personal correspondence between the queen of France and a man who was not her husband.

Many of the letters written by Marie Antoinette during this period were destroyed. But Fersen kept some letters received from the queen, as well as copies of those he wrote to her. They were held by several generations of his family before finally being purchased by the French Historical Archives in 1982. During all that time the redactions puzzled those who read these letters.

Although they look the same to the eye, inks from the late 18th century weren’t uniform. Michelin’s team used X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, a nondestructive analysis, to delve into their chemical composition. When excited by X-rays, elements produce unique fluorescent ‘fingerprints.’ Using the technique, the researchers mapped the distribution and ratios of different elements in the inks of the original letter writers and of the unknown censor.

In 8 of the 15 redacted letters the scientists uncovered consistent differences between the inks of the original text and the redactions, with copper-to-iron and zinc-to-iron ratios being the most revealing. Mapping these elemental differences allowed researchers to distinguish between the two inks and made the redacted words more readable.

But that wasn’t always enough to reconstruct words. In harder to decipher sections the team employed data processing applications, using statistics to further sort out their findings. Once they’d identified the slightly different elemental compositions of the different inks, they trained algorithms to produce images that maximized those differences and thus made the text more legible.

All of the letters penned by Fersen also shared very similar ratios of ink elements, meaning they were written with the same ink. This revealed that some of the letters from Marie-Antoinette were actually copies of the originals, which were written by Fersen in that same ink. The same ink was also used by the mysterious censor, strongly suggesting that it was Fersen who chose to blot out sections of the correspondence forever. “The coincidence was too big!” Michelin explains. “In addition, on one letter, Fersen added a few words above a redacted passage (his handwriting was confirmed by a specialist) but with an ink of the same composition as the redaction ink used on this same letter.”

“It’s a remarkable work,” says physicist Uwe Bergmann at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who wasn’t affiliated with the research and is an expert on X-ray imaging of ancient materials. “I think they were tenacious, and I think it will have an impact on people who use all kinds of imaging techniques and can learn from the application of these approaches to get exceptional results.”

Bergmann was part of a team that famously used X-ray technology to uncover once-lost and unreadable works of the legendary mathematician Archimedes.

The nature of Marie-Antionette and Fersen’s special relationship has been debated for more than two centuries and was a topic of conversation at the court. In historian Evelyn Farr’s book on their correspondence, I Love You Madly, she uncovered a letter written from Fersen friend Quintin Craufurd to British Prime Minister William Pitt. “This gentleman was Colonel of the Royal Suédois; was Her Most Christian Majesty’s prime favourite; and is generally supposed to be the father of the present Dauphin,” Craufurd wrote.

Some have construed such comments as proof that the pair had a physical relationship, while others dismiss it as court gossip or even political slander. No smoking gun exists in the redacted comments; but there is definitely further evidence illustrating just how close the two star-crossed aristocrats really were. Their endearment was so strong that Fersen himself felt it prudent to blot out some of the more private terms of endearment including ‘beloved,’ ‘tender friend,’ and ‘adore.’

“The redacted passages are the most intimate passages of the correspondence,” Michelin explains. “Fersen probably wanted to keep this correspondence, important to him perhaps for sentimental reasons or political strategies, while protecting the queen’s honor and perhaps his own.”

The team hypothesizes that Ferson removed what he felt were the most compromising passages, though he may not have completed the process through the entire folio of letters.

The process used to recover the redacted and once-lost texts could be in high demand. Archives around the world are stacked with diplomatic and political documents, notable letters and other pieces of history in which carefully redacted items might be revealed. Michelin notes that studies have already used the technique to delve beneath paintings and uncover the underlying drawings, or first versions, that would otherwise remain lost. And Bergmann’s group even teamed up with paleontologist Peter Lars Larson to study feather and bone chemistry in the Archaeopteryx, a key fossil on the lineage of dinosaurs and birds.

As for Marie-Antoinette and Fersen, we may never be absolutely certain how far their relationship went.

“Ultimately, in my opinion, I think it doesn’t really matter if their love was consummated,” says College of William & Mary historian Ronald Schechter, who is studying Marie Antoinette’s library and reading habits. “Even if it was consummated, they still lived with this level of frustration in not being able to see each other, and anxiety in worrying that they were both in danger. It’s not the kind of love story with a happy ending.”

European History

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[killem-all-if-they-wont-eat-cake]

"The letters portray a rebellious and independent queen who risked everything and broke all the rules to love the man who succeeded in conquering her heart." —  click here for a summary on Ms. Farr’s book.

First and foremost I would like to retract the statements I made on Evelyn Farr’s book “I love you, Madly”, by the time I’ve written it I had not read her book yet, only sensationalist reviews on it. I am aware it was hasty and foolish of me and for that I apologize to Ms. Farr.

After actually reading her book, I’ve realized it is an excellent account of MA and Fersen’s correspondence and historical context of the Revolution itself, not at all the novelesque opprobium portrayed in the reviews, which is indeed reminiscent of a piece by Monsieur Choderlos de Laclos.

If anything, this was merely a marketing strategy, and at worst, Ms. Farr is at fault in trying to promote her book at the cost of Marie Antoinette’s already far too slandered reputation. That is in fact reproachable coming from a historian!

Furthermore, I want to reiterate that it is still my opinion that Marie Antoinette’s love life remains private and therefore it is nobody’s business. The reason I say that it is because this is a woman who has had every aspect of her entire life scrutinized within and after her lifespan. And who has been and is still greatly demonized or idolized from an strictly sexual concept of morality. Though this was quite common by the time, we’re not in a Samuel Richardson’s novel and definitely not in the 18th century anymore.

Quoting myself: “Do not attempt to intrude into the painful secrets of the heart of this most unhappy princess. Remember this is the age of La Nouvelle Heloïse and the Sorrows of the Young Werther, not thirty years since Pamela and Clarissa. She was a sentimental person and she communicated in a sentimental language. There won’t be anything in their letters appointing to a physical consummation, but perhaps to the depth of their secret feelings for each other and the despair of an impossible and hopeless love.” — “He is more myself than I am, whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same”; — befitting quote from Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Brontë.

“If you are an admirer of Marie Antoinette you should try to focus on her qualities as an individual and not attempt to define her value based on untarnished virtue or hypothetical sexual misconduct. She was a good mother and had a generous, forgiving nature. She was a very decent human being. Thus people should try to see her best and focus on how beautiful she was in all her features.. ”

Finally, to anyone who is intrigued but is not acquainted with MA, here goes a short video on her fascinating and tragic life from the official channel of the Château de Versailles.

[uchicagoscrc]

Roundup of new online guides to collections

We have been busy arranging and describing archival collections! Here are a few recently processed collections that now have online finding aids for your researching pleasure.

Roger Isaacs Collection of Bud Freeman Papers 

Lawrence “Bud” Freeman (b. April 13th, 1906, d. March 15th, 1991) was a jazz tenor saxophonist from Chicago, Illinois, who lived and played all over the world, including New York City, London, Paris, Chile, and Japan. Freeman was a leader of the “Chicago style” of jazz, inspired by musicians like Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Jimmie Noone, Bessie Smith, and Bix Beiderbecke as well as the New Orleans jazz scene.

Walter Baily Papers

Walter Lewis Baily Jr. (1930-2013) was a mathematician and professor at The University of Chicago. During his career, Baily made numerous contributions to algebraic geometry, the most important of which is known as the Baily-Borel Compactification. 

Noah S. Brannen Papers

Noah Samuel Brannen (1924- 2013) was an ordained minister, missionary, translator, and professor. The collection contains correspondence, notes, drafts, manuscripts, and publications pertaining to Brannen's translations of and writings on the works of various Japanese authors, especially Rinzo Shiina (a post-WWII Japanese Christian author).

Charles A. Bill Collection of Yousuf Karsh Photographs

This collection contains photographs by Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002), collected by Charles Anton Bill. Yousuf Karsh, a Turkish and Canadian photographer, is best known for his portrait photographs of significant cultural and political figures. This collection contains Karsh's silver gelatin prints of Winston Churchill, Pope John XXIII, and John F. Kennedy. 

Karen Landahl Papers

Karen Landahl (1951-2003) was a linguist who taught at the University of Chicago, in the Department of Linguistics, from 1982 to 2003. She was one of the first people to show that children have different styles of acquiring language. At the University of Chicago she worked on the connections between phonetics, computers, and language learning. She was an early adopter of computers in her field. Landahl had a wide variety of other linguistic interests, including Crouzon and Apert syndromes, the study of linguistic "others" such as feral children, sign-language using chimps and humans without tongues or with cleft palates, and the origins of human language. Tragically, she was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and her illness rendered her unable to speak. As a result, she moved from classroom teaching to spearhead a program in educational technology as Associate Dean for Computing and Language Technologies. Here she used her knowledge of speech perception and production to become a leader in the use of computers in language teaching. 

University of Chicago Language Laboratories and Archives Records

The Language Laboratories and Archives at the University of Chicago, and its current iteration, the Center for the Study of Language, provide language learning services and facilities for both faculty and students. This collection contains records of the various iterations of the lab, from 1952 to 2004. The collection may be of interest to those interested in the development of language technologies, or in the history of language learning at the University of Chicago.

Irene Tufts Mead Collection of Alice Boughton Photographs

The Irene Tufts Mead Collection contains five portrait photographs by Alice Boughton (1865-1943), a member of the Photo-Secession Movement. All of the images date to 1904. Subjects include George Herbert Mead and members of the Dewey family. George Herbert Mead was Irene Tufts Mead's father-in-law.

Roman Weil Collection of Boris Artzybasheff

This collection contains illustrations by the Russian-American artist Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965) produced from 1929 to 1965, and collected by Roman Weil (b. 1940), an emeritus professor at the Booth School of Business. The material in the collection ranges from magazine covers, industrial advertisements, a map, large advertising poster prints, and a woodblock print.

Ruby K. Worner Papers

Ruby Kathryn Worner (1900-1995) was a chemist who specialized in the textile industry. Worner studied at the University of Chicago where she earned her Bachelor’s, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry (1921, 1922, and 1925). Worner was a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt, and worked for the United States Bureau of Home Economics as well as Southern Regional Laboratories, making numerous advancements in textile production.

Camp Farr Collection

Camp Farr was a fresh-air children's summer camp near Chesterton, Indiana, established by the University of Chicago Settlement League. The League was founded in 1895 as a philanthropic organization, and Shirley Farr, a University of Chicago alumna, donated $3000 in 1923 for the purchase of land that would become Camp Farr. The photo album that makes up this collection belonged to Alfred Kamm, the Director of Physical Education at the camp. The album contains images of camp grounds and facilities as well as group portraits of the campers. Photographs date from 1930 to 1931.

Images credits (Top to bottom):

1. Portrait of Bud Freeman and Marty Marsala, Jimmy Ryan's (Club), New York, N.Y., William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress. 

2. Walter Baily, UChicago News.

3. Yousuf Karsh, 1938. Library and Archives Canada 

4. Margot Browning, Paul Hunter, and Karen Landahl. The University of Chicago Chronicle, January 7, 1999.

5. UChicago Language Lab in 1982.

6. Evelyn Dewey, 1904. Alice Boughton Photograph Collection.

7. “He Brings Machines to Life,” Mechanix Illustrated, Oct, 1954.

8. Ruby K. Worner, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Image ID SIA2015-004747

9. Camp Farr building.

[marictta]

do you believe in that marie and axel were lovers?

i have researched the relationship between marie and count axel von fersen pretty extensively over the years that i’ve played her. during that time new books have been published, supposedly “new” correspondences were discovered, their “secret code” was deciphered, and allegedly definitive proof of their romantic relationship surfaced. i’ve read into most of these things, and naturally i have my own conclusions.

i have read some of their letters and the supposed “code” they utilized has no basis in facts — in fact, a quick google search proved, at least to my satisfaction, that romantic interpretations were nothing more than a stretch. the lovers�� code seemed to me to be nothing more than hopeful reading between the lines, as well as an attempt to capitalize on marie’s already tarnished reputation ( i’m looking at you, evelyn farr ). everything i have read between them has seemed, to me, the endearing talk of great friends — something marie desperately clung to as the revolution reached a fever pitch.

do i believe they were lovers? no. do i believe they were good friends, from similar cultures, who shared a distaste in court etiquette and similar interests? absolutely. 

thank you sm for sending this question in, anon; it’s been a pleasure xx