#he is omitting like 60-75% of it

[bill-ciphers-nightmare-blog]

Say, Bill, what exactly happened on karaoke night?

…SIXER THREW UP AFTER SINGING BABBA OFF-KEY. GUESS WE KNOW WHERE PINETREE GOT IT! HAHAHA!

NEVER AGAIN.

[toadifylackoffantasy]

Chapter 32: A Winter of love

Part 15/15

Previous Chapter Tumblr

Previous Chapter weebly (More NSFW)

"Oh, you're home," Hua said to her husband a moment later. "You found the letter." She didn't want to admit that the place it had been sent from, Alpenfrühle, sounded vaguely familiar. Fortunately, Yìchén had strategically omitted any mention of magic or pointed ears when describing Florian.

"Dear, why didn't you call right away? We're finally hearing from our son. After all those years...He's doing great! And not just any old thing - it sounds like he's marrying a fairytale princess." "....Uh, I was shocked. It's all been so long, and now all of a sudden... He's been sitting comfortably in Europe all these years? Not even hard to find, we should have tried harder... Oh, I can't wait to see him."

"So we're going. I want to go. You want to see him. Maybe I can even convince him to come back with his family... Or is there something you need to tell me?"

"No, darling. His future wife already sounds like a beautiful woman."

Switzerland, golden hair, freckles, green eyes... She was becoming forgetful lately, but to find out why that combination sounded so eerily familiar, she was going to rack her brains for the rest of the evening.

Notes:

It is 15,5 years ago since Hua/Finn's mom saw Florian. She obviously saw Florian back in the day and also knew the "weird boy with the two moms" was from Switzerland, and might've heard the name Alpenfrühle fall.

But, her husband doesn't. All he was ever knew is his son having, ahem, "weird taste" and being a tad too close with some other boys and refusing to go on dates with girls and being a stubborn flamboyant rebel who doesn't take life serious

They're about 60 but I still decided to make them adults instead of elders because damn the elders are ELDERS. Also Asian don't raisin or however they say that... Can I say that? Idk if I am allowed to say that

I am working those angles and a bit of heightslider to make Finn's dad look reasonably taller than his mom. Finn's about 1m79 in my head (Florian is 1m74) so I made his dad above average as well (in my head overall average is 1m72-75 ish)

Yes his dad is totally assuming "Flo" is a girl and a nickname for Florence or Florentina or Flora or something

[afrcnamrcn-23]

To say blacks had nothing to do with ancient Egypt is like a mainstream articles leaving you with the impression that hip hop was Hispanic and Jamaican in origin...and not African American. This is done with summerized articles, omitting pertinent details, and only showing imagery of other racial types doing it in the early 80s. This may sound silly to some, but if you're intersted in the history of it...

Well, if interested in it's history...

1

Breakin and Poppin history

link

2

Other African American historical dances

link

3

Brief details on hiphop DJing, MCing and rapping 

link

Hip hop history was like this..

There's probably some kernels of truth to Latino contribution with the demographics of Bronx. You had Carlos Mendez, (Charlie Chase), DJ Wiz…however FBA (Foundationaly Black American) in origins. Facts that can't be obfuscated in FBA founding on all components of hip hop (except graffiti art). This stuff is timestamped and recorded

1 Herc never said he transplanted hip hop from his homeland of Jamaica to NYC. In fact, we hear, the opposite on a 1989 recorded interview. He notes that people weren't feeling his native music at the time, so funk and soul was played…and James Brown was the main one.

2 Puerto Rican pioneers like Ken Swift, Crazy Legs, Mr Wiggles , Jo Jo, Willie Will, and Alien Ness, a PR ZuluKing, 1970s -all allude to the African American origins of the dance (more details in pt 2 replies). Legs says in like the latter 70s, they would call it Morano style whenever the moves that came from early 70s Zulu Kings was noticed (exemplified by FrostyFreeze). Morano denotes black and original in this context. He says this is the original style, tho played out by the latter 70s - very very early 80s. Puerto Rican youth added much to that.

The earliest b-boy crew people can recall by name and memory has consistantly been the Zulu Kings in interviews over time (circa 1973, probably still Black Spades or Baby Spades till 75, but they were Bronx Burning or Uprocking to minor floor moves as Spades before 1975). The b-boys back then were African American youth like Sasa, Trixie, PeeWee Dance, CharlieRock, N….Twins, Dancing Doug, Beaver, Lil Boy Keith and more. After 1976-77 the original African American youth began moving away from the dance. It was becoming "old hat", and more and more Puerto Rican youth picked up on, added to, and expanded on it. Crazy Legs said the brothas would say THAT'S PLAYED OUT when he would break in like 78-79 There's early 90s footage of Lil-Boy Keith (his 70s street name), demonstrating early ZuluKings style. He's also in the 1984 documentary Beat This, A Hip Hop History. Footage of him reminds me of KenSwift's description of old style breaking being more sporadic and lots of freezes. Also PeeWee Dance hanging with RockSteady in the early 90s..going off, Spade dancing, Bronx Burning ,uprocking…

In a 1984 episode of The Scene ( Detroit), Bronx native Kurtis Blow, famous 70s rapper and "breakdancer", was asked what came first, breaking or rap. Kurtis tells the host that back in 1972, the dance was called Burning. This is well before the modern Ytb debates. Important to mention, because only people in ZuluKings neighborhood remembers the term.

3 In a interview circa 1984, Melle Mel was asked where do you guys get names like Grand Master Flash. Long before Ytb and Internet and debates on hiphop's origins, Mel tells us…we were influenced by people like Grand Master Flowers (African American) of 60s Brooklyn. Keep in mind that Flowers opened up for James Brown in 1968 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY…..perhaps the initial point it was transplanted from Brooklyn to Bronx. Melle Mel, as well as Mr Ness (Scorpio of Furious Five) was in a b-boy crew called D Squad. Fellow member Fuji of the long forgotten group said this was 1974 in middle school. There is a picture of Mel and Fuji in more recent times and Fuji in the 70s.

In a documentary about a Bronx, NY neighborhood called Simpson Street, filmed 1977 and released in 79, we hear perhaps the first publicly broadcast hip hop sound. After the narrator finishes speaking near the beginning, the next scene opens up to a roof top party with a 70s rap sound. Some people, claiming they were there that night, say that's Mr Ness and Grand Master Flash you hear in the background(?)…Melle Mel is mentioned in the list of shout-outs, so it likely was. Sounds like Coke La Rock's description of his original 1972-73 style… A list of shout-outs to people in the room and a little rhyming in between.

In the 77 doc, young blacks and Puerto Ricans hanging out together seem to get along very well like street family.

4 Coke la Rock (African American) was the first Emcee/rapper (in hiphop) and best friend of Kool Herc, going back to middle school in the 1960s . He says that it wasn't a music genre back then, but it's just the way he talked on the Mic when giving announcements…and the people loved it. This is a very important detail because specifically African American announcers and performers have always rhyme talked to beats in this manner, going back to the 30s and 40s. Back then ya might hear … "WELL AH REET, ALL ROOT, ALL RIGHT…BE AT THE JITTER BUG CONTEST TONIGHT. You have the Co Real Artist out of Los Angeles (total opposite side of country) with the 1974 song "What ya Gonna Do In The World Today". They sound like The Funky Four Plus One's 1979-81 style. Gary Byrd in the early 70s - absolutely rapping with that early 70s hip jazz/soul style. Jacko Henderson in the 50s, The Jubilees 1940s, Pig Meat Markam in the 60s.. Mind PowerJames Brown 1973, Last Poets 1971, Frankie Jaxson 1929 Jive Man Blues (absolutely rapping), Beale St Sheiks, It's a Good Thing 1927, Memphis Jug Band, with Whitewash Station Blues 1920s

I would even say songs like Don't Burn Your Candles at Both Ends by Loius Jordan , 1940s…in the movie Look Out Sister 1946, but more like rapp on the record version. Or his 40s song Beware. Even more so like rapp than singing was his song Look Out (also in the 1940s independent AA movie).

The Last Poets (latter 60s - very early 70s) with songs like Run, MEAN MACHINE - 1971 (MUST LISTEN TO THAT ONE IF YOU NEVER HEARD), True Blues, On the Subway (1970), New York New York, and others, were rapping back then with poetry and African sounding drum. Keep in mind that rapp means to talk, not neccesarily rhyming, (they often did).

Coke does make the connection to The Last Poets, as influence and others like that (in the video "Coke la Rock a DJ, With Herc".. by The Culture, Started in 71, at 35:28 in vid). Same with, DJ Hollywood (1971-). With call and response. More on him later in this post and his influences,

Herc credits Coke for rapp in the vid "Kool Herc on the Role Coke (MC) Played".

Anyone who says rapping is not a foundatioal part of hip-hop culture is not being intellectually honest. Especially after hearing that it was there since day one. Herc and Coke remember one of the verses from back then (72/73-ish).

Ain't no horse that can't be rode

No story can't be told

No bull that can't be stopped

No party Herc can't rock

In the 1930s soundie (musical short/music video) called Caravan, The Mills Brothers are rapping in the scene where he's talking to the young lady. Not long after that, the young man starts basically uprocking into breakdance swipes.

Jacko Henderson is in the 1981 20/20 ABC news special, covering this new thing called…HIPHOP. Jacko is very familiar with this sound as he snaps his fingers remembering a few 1950s verses.

In 1983, Gary Byrd appeared on the British show Black on Black by LWT Studios (London tv). He was asked when did he start rapping. Byrd tells the host that in 1965 he came across some tapes of Jacko Henderson from the 1950s, doing this style of announcements on radio (also done by other African American DJs across America). Byrd's songs from 1970 - 73 include Soul Traveling (very much like rapping) , If the People Only Knew, Are You Ready for Black Power…

In the latter 60s into the 70s Frankie Crocker of NYC radio was known to rhyme talk in a manor that sounds like a predecessor to hiphop music. He might say HEY BABY, IT'S GUARANTEE TO PUT A CUT IN YOUR STRUT, A GLIDE IN YOUR STRIDE, A DIP IN YOUR HIP…IF YOU AIN'T DIGGING THIS, YOU MUST HAVE A WHOLE IN YO SOUL. He also appeared in 70s movies like Five on the Black Hand Side and Darktown Strutters.

In a 1973 movie called Five on the Black Hand Side, the Kool guy who walks into the barbershop immediately puts a coin in the jukebox, and starts doing what they once called jive talking. Sounds so much like rap, the Sugar Hill Gang used one of the verses. Both Ali and H. Rapp Brown (coincidently) spoke in this manner in the 60s and very early 70s (warning if looking up Brown's 60s speeches…they may contain a few epithets. Sensitive political and social times).

Also in Five on the Black Hand Side, the Black Panther like character that walks into the barbershop asking permission to put up a flyer for the freedom of one of his brethren, then reminds them that the police are becoming more fascist. After that, he sort of raps when he says…WOE TO THOSE WHO CAN'T SWIM JIM. Then he walks out in a

rhythmic like manner. Frankie Crocker does a little poetry as he remembers everyone street number (street lottery) in one of the barbershop scenes

KRS-1 references Coke in a 80s rap. His partner was Scott LA Rock, and they followed the trend from early 70s Coke La Rock. We also have ShaLa Rock…female rapper from the latter 70s - early 80s, and others… Rapper and 70s breakdancer T La Rock (African American…Known for the 1984 rap song It's Yours) Even a 1978 Puerto Rican based breakdance crew named Starchild La Rock.

5 Batch, a Puerto Rican guy who created TBB (The Bronx Boys) as a youth in circa 1975-76. They were a breaking crew. He tells Colon on a Livestream (no time to edit out😂)….YOU CAN SEE ON MY SCREEN IM PROUD OF MY RICAN HERITAGE WITH THE FLAG ON THE WALL, BUT THIS HIPHOP COMES FROM THE BROTHAs… Deer in the headlights look

From a firsthand perspective, Batch says on another modern Ytb vid that he was inspired by the ZuluKings or Spades, before TBB. He also says TT-Rock, an African American teen that hung out with them in 1975 (indication he was also a ZuluKing), was the first person he'd seen do breaking the way we know it now. His account has been reduced down to a unintentional trip and fall by people in modern times who choose to mistranslate Batch's first hand account. He never said this. The statement was that they believed he hurt himself after uprocking, then doing a 360 degree turn and landing on the ground (first time they seen anybody do this). After that, Batch says TT Rock started feet shuffling and doing weird moves on the ground. Then he got back up to do more Uprock (burning, going off etc). Reminds me of Frosty Freeze in FlashDance landing on his back. Frosty does say in a old interview, he started in 1976 seeing the ZuluKings with his cousins.

Also Willie Will, who is Puerto Rican, and a founding member of Rockwell Association' (concurrent with TBB in 1970s), said he seen ZuluKings go to floor first, and that the foundational floor moves for breaking the way we know it now, came from them. Also reminds us that this is the Moreno style spoken of in Freshest Kids documentary (strangely that Livestream and the one with Batch is no longer on the channel, but clips were saved)

6

Everyone that came up in the Bronxdale projects during that time of the 60s and early 70s seem to remember DJ King Mario (Afn Am).. concurrent with Herc. In fact, a few said they knew each other, but Mario like to do outdoor block party/festival style, while Herc was more indoor venues.

7 One of the first Hispanic hip hop DJs said he seen all black people back then and sometimes wondered if he would be rejected based on his ethnic background. He found a warm welcome, because it was based on how good you were and not race. HE WAS GOOD. (in other words, even a African American youth would be booed off the stage and told to go back to his borough in a NYC accent, if they weren't good).

continued…

cont…

You always had R&B artist incorporate a little Latin sound like Reasons by Earth Wind & Fire 1975…with a Cuban style, or Running on the 1977 All N All album. Also Herman Kelly with the 1978 song dance to the drummer beat.

Tito Puente of Puerto Rican background was a musician who played on certain SugarHill rap records.

Carlos Mendez not only cofounded the Cold Crush Brothers circa 1977, but also established the first know hiphop gathering or convention, circa 1979-80. At least 2 members of the Fearless 4 were of Puerto Rican background in the latter 70s- early 80s. Also a lesser known Mean Machine 1980. DJ Hollywood, African American, was known as early as 71 with his call and response style (rap). He says influencers were Frankie Crocker, Oscar Brown, Rudy Moore Pig Meat Markum, Last Poets (same as Coke La Rock)…(interview on KEXP). People that remember him first-hand are Coke La Rock, Kurtis Blow, Cholly Rock and others. More in next reply on hiphop's predecessor and the known pioneers including Herc, that remember names like John Brown, DJ Pete Jones, Grand Master Flowers ( Brooklyn 1960s - 70s)…

Better known by his stage name Pumpkin, 70s-80s HipHop drummer Errol Eduardo Bedward played on many songs of the genre. His overall appearance was of a typical African American, but was of Costa Rican and Panamanian background. He spoke fluent Spanish. Artist he played for include…(1979 to 1984), Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Spoonie Gee, Treacherous Three, Funky Four, Grandmaster Caz, the Fearless Four, and Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde…. His 1983 single "King of the Beat", Pumpkin and the Profile All-Stars' "Here Comes the Beat" (Profile, 1984).

Jimmy Castor was African American. He was very familiar with the Latin and Caribbean sound…though rooted in soul and funk. His family was from Bermuda, as he tells us in a 2006 interview on a old website called Turntable Treat, by Sean from NJ (?…now obsolete but interview saved). Also was part of Tito Puente's band in NYC clubs. Speaking of hiphop, we know him for the 1972 song "It's Just Begun", form the Flashdance breaking scene, and used by many b-boys…

Puerto Ricans bros like Ken Swift, Crazy Legs, Mr Wiggles, Jo Jo, and even Trac 2 (when he was younger and humble😄), said they saw mostly African American youth breaking before like 75-77. Trac is in a 1978 photo with Spy (black or Afro Puerto Rican). Also Rene and Boss same year. They just won a breaking competition. Crazy legs said Spy was the first person he ever seen do this dance as a 9 year old in 76. Spy was in his early teens. In rare photos from an original RSC (Rock Steady Crew) website, Legs is in 1979-81 photos with forgotten African American members like Ski, Kippy D, Lil Craze, and their 1977 cofounder Jimmy Dee (with PuertoRican friend Lee). I say this so you can see the dance was both African American and Puerto Rican at the same time. You kind of sense that in the old photos (many youth added moves to it that became popular).

Jo Jo stated that before the mid 70s it was mostly African Americans breaking and rare to see Puerto Rican youth. He mentioned from a first hand perspective, the ZuluKings in the vid…." JoJo: (Crazy Commanders/RSC) - "Rican bboys were so rare, Blacks looked at us like little…." Jo Jo (PR) and Kevski (AA) are in a modern livestream. They were in the same mid 70s Bronx b-boy crew.

On a modern Livestream, Fast Breaks, African American of original Magnificent Force, says he started breaking in 1975 after seeing his cousin do "drops" at a party. He says his cousin would hang around ZuluKing members. There's a excellent performance on Livewire 1983. Magnificent Force from Bronx, NY, predate the 83 national youth craze.

Spy claims he started doing floor moves as his own creation, but does mention he came up around Black Spades (ZuluKings) in South Bronx before moving to other part of NYC as a 70s youth. Actually stating Bronx River Projects is where he started (come on, you know where he got it from). This is a problem in the testimonials of how the dance started. The tribal mentality (on both sides of the "debate") . Most center themselves in the overall story - further distorting the history. When trying to credit Puerto Ricans for the breaking, people will mention the dances of Roberto Roena 1974 (black or Afro Puerto Rican)…Tito Rodriguez at the Palladium 1950s, or the Latin dancers on Ed Sullivan, 1957. In the 74 Roberto Roena footage with Celia Cruz and All-Stars, he's doing the exact moves of Little Buck (Conrad Buckner), an African American) from two decades prior. Also in the same sequence….EVEN THE HELICOPTER LEG AND KNEE WALK. The walk around on one hand is S. Davis Jr (BoogieWoogie) and others 1940. When mentioned, it's still downplayed to make it seem absolutely Puerto Rican in origin, and the African American predecessor isn't taken serious. The moves stem from African American Jazz dances of the 1920s - 50s. A decade prior to even Little Buck, we have the Berry Brothers (spinning with acrobatics 1940s) Mills Brothers 1930s Caravan soundie (both rapping and strait up rocking into swipes), or Little Step Brothers 60s See "Ancestral roots of the Bboy Pt 1 (1920s-1940s clips)"…A MUST SEE.

If we were to accept Spy's claim of being the first, what do we do about the dilemma in all the other claims and even a modern gathering of original 1st generation "B-boys" like Sasa, Trixie Dancing Doug…. Did they gather under false pretenses with fake memory of being the first (video - Original Bboy Reunion)

In a 2013 gathering celebrating hiphop, Crazy Legs introduced their 1977 African American cofounder, Jimmy Dee, to the crowd. Many never seen him because being a couple of years older (upper teens), he went off to college by time the 80s came around. In a modern Ytb livesteam interview, he says in like 78 this 12 year old, exuberant about the dance dormant in Bronx and Harlem at the time, asked him if they can start a new chapter of RSC before moving to Manhattan. We know this enthusiastic dancer as Crazy Legs

In the 1974 movie "Education of Sonny Carson", coincidently about a African American gang in New York City, the one teen that likes to dance is up-rocking into James Brown like splits (Staten Island boat scene and parade scene). It reminds me when Ken Swift describes old style breaking (before 1976/77) as looking more like FrostyFreeze style ( African American teen in Flashdance who jumps on his back. Movie was filmed in 1981 and released in 83)

In the outtakes of StyleWars, filmed in 81 and released in 83, Kippy D of old Rock Steady Crew informs us that they just incorporated Poplocking from the West coast. This componant lumped into breakin was absolutely African American. A derivative of 1969 locking, created by Don Campbell (AfricanAmerican), POPPIN was introrduced to L.A. youth by Boogaloo Sam and his brother Poppin Pete (African American) of Fresno, CA, circa 1976. So it's like it came full circle back to L.A - stemming from lockin, Popping from the roboting element..with a little pantomiming). Debuted on SoulTrain in 1978 by Jeff Danials and his crew, it soon became a popular. On 1977 Gong Show, you can see the morph from rorbiting to popping with Robitoid INC. Also, Black Resurgence, 1976. The 1978 movie Young Blood, set in L.A. California, we see the helicopter leg in the teen club scene.

There was already a minute element in locking that look like breaking with leg kicks and turning around on floor. Often done by the eccentric regular of mid 70s SoulTrain…the young guy with the giant toothbrush and sometimes boxing gloves. Think his moniker was Mr X.

Episodes with X absolutely breakdancing included…

1 The Undiputable Truth -You and Me, 1976

2 I Don't Want to Loose Your Love by Emotions (ST line dance),

3 The Sylvers - Hotline (SoulTrain dancers 1976),

4 Get Up and Boogie by Silver Connection (dancing episode, not in the line or band in person).

Another interesting detail in StyleWars (filmed in 81…important to emphasize that here), Frosty Freeze tells the interviewer that the dance started in Bronx as well as parts of Harlem.

Brooklyn Rock dance is not the base of up rock commonly used in breaking. You have a Puerto Rican Rock dancer of 70s saying he seen breaking in the Bronx circa 1975 and it looked nothing like what they did. It appears that rocking was feet shuffling while uprocking was more jumping and arm swinging movements. Even Brooklyn Rock Dance, with it's mysterious origin, shows more affinity to African American style than Latino (See last comment for interview with Frank papo" Rojas…latter 60 -70s PuertoRican Brooklyn Rock Dancer)

In the 1950s African American teens created their own form of Mambo. (Look up Brooklyn Mambo, 1950s). It's very close to RockDance. Even in some of the footage Spirit Moves between the 1920s -50s, similarities show up here and there. So far we can't find videos of Latin dance in this manner concurrent to that 50s era. Uprockin for breakin comes from Spade Dance (Black Spades, 60s - early 70s Bronx gang). Just like C-walking (Crip Walk 1970s), people just forgot over time the African American street culture these styles are based on. In the history of Melbourne Shuffle, no one seems to mention or allude to the fact they're C-Walking with a little 80s New Jack Swing…sped up. This is the same scenario in not recognizing Uprock being originally Spade Dance. In a 1990, hiphop doc, PeeWee Dance, an original ZuluKing member, hangs with RSC as he demonstrates the raw essence of what they did in the early 70s. He is SpadeDancing/Uprockin/BronxBurning/Going Off (video is on Ytb…YOU GET THE SENCE OF WHY THEY CALLED IT GOING OFF)

Graffiti art was born in 60s NYC and included many races of people. Black, Hispanic, Italian, and even firsthand accounts of Asian. There's no definitive evidence that it came from Philly of the 60s

God bless (see Biblical Salvation

For Good old pictures and video on the history,

Look up exactly GRAND MASTER FLASH WILDSTTLE, FILMED 1981, RELEASED 1983, by AfricanAmerican . Go to his channel and tap COMMUNITY to see history of the dance and hiphop music

Also, a great ole school rap playlist on his channel. You get the idea why young folk gravitated this 70s and 80s pre gangsta form of the art (the modern form has to change theme wise…peace, love , humanity, education, community, social issues, fun, expression…)

For the predecessor to hiphop in Brooklyn, scroll to the bottom of the " Rap Before Rap" playlist on that same channel

Important videos to see

From 0:40 to 2:15, in the video CHOLLY ROCK ON THE FIRST BBOYS- by Gearheadz breakcast, Cholly informs is that even in the Burning era (Uprock), they were going to the floor. This is before the ZuluKings of 1975. He names Legendary Twins and Clark Kent as the ones who inspired him to change from just burning to floor move in 1974.

In this video, Willie Will ( Puerto Rican) of Rockwell Association tells us clearly the ZuluKings were the first to do foundational floor moves. He mentions Lil Boy Keith, Beaver and …as the ones he remembers. Rockwell Association' formed almost concurrent to TBB in 75/76. Strangely, Colon took the Livestream off of the channel, but clips were saved. The video is First cats to hit the floor with footwork/moves with names, were Zulu Kings. This is Moreno style", by HipHopHistorian

This video is important. It's a rare clip from 1981-82 of Jimmy Dee, the African American co-founder of Rock Steady Crew (1977-79). The footage could be 81 because in a modern Livestream he says that's the year he left NYC and went off to college and Navy in latter teens. When the reporter ask him where did breaking come from he responds Bronx but others say different. Even though he was a member of mid 1970s TBB, ZuluKings are mentioned as the first group. The video is called "1977 Cofounder of Rock Steady Crew, Jimmy Dee, 1981-82 (?)", by African American

From 2:43 to 3:54 in the video "BBOYS "A history of breaking" - EP03 ROCK STEADY CREW:" by RESISTANCE FILMS, Mr Freeze reveals his direct influence for the front and backwards moonwalk with the umbrella. He says it came from Lockatron John from a group called The Lockatrons. There's a modern YTb vid of Lockatrons John, a "black" man ( perhaps African American) revealing that he was dancing like that since the 70s. Also a drummer, Military, and Corporate guy (from Internet article). You can see him in the video "Exclusive Interview with Lockatron NYC Booghie , Locker and Drummer" by Tiny1Love

All the clips you need on the African American predecessor or founding of hip-hop (including quotes by Herc) is in the video "PROOF That Dj Cool Herc & Big Pun Says That FBA Started Hip-Hop", by WATERGOD TV

Other full interviews are in the playlist of African American channel mentioned above

Up Rock did not come from Brooklyn Rock Dance. It was Spade dance (Black Spades), Bronx Burning - as Kurtis Blow tells us in 1984 on Detroit's The Scene show… long before this modern debate..

From Frank Rojas, Puerto Rican Brooklyn Rock Dancer from the 60s and 70s. This is the pioneer who said he seen breaking as a young guy in 1975 Bronx, and he and his friends didn't see it as what they did in Brooklyn…or even perceive it as dancing . Note From 3:20 -3:58, we hear him clearly distinguish the dances he did culturally as a Puerto Rican at home, vs what the African Americans were doing down the block. He gravitated the dances of the brothers more as a starting point in Brooklyn Rock Dancing vs his traditional dance innate in him. (the main point are capitalized and allude to the African American origins of even the Brooklyn Rock Dance)

From a transcript of video interview

"…it was it was a uh the beauty of it was that it was a black and puerto rican community

2:31

you know so you had you know on my block I lived in the middle and on my left was you know mostly

2:38

Puerto Rican and on my right on the same block right was the black community

2:44

so I had you know I had the distinct pleasure um and pretty much the honor to be

2:49

brought up you know with both cultures which influenced me as a person right….

2:56

…not just me as a dancer because you know that's where it all started um right on that neighborhood

and even prior to that i come from a family you know who you know the dance Salsa you know Merengue you

3:15

know it was a party in my house every every weekend so i grew up you know 3:20

with with that flavor…

…more Salsa Right Merengue And You KNOW CHA CHA, AND I DUG IT , IT'S IN MY DNA

3:39

I DID IT BUT I LIKED WHAT THE BROTHERS WERE DOING DOWN THE BLOCK A LOT MORE YEAH AND SO LIKE COMING OUT OF YOUR

3:47 (interviewer) House And Just Existing In Your NEIGHBORHOOD WHAT DID YOU SEE FROM THOSE BROTHERS DOWN THE BLOCK

3:52

THAT RIGHT THAT ATTRACTED ME, IT WAS WAS THE GROOVE RIGHT so you know we're talking about

3:58

you know 67 68 69 right so you know you you at that time you you

4:05

there was always a new dance like when a song came out there was a dance that went to the song

4:11

okay so like as far back as i could remember so even even in in my house right though…

4:18

….it was it was it was salsa but the uh the hispanic community came up

4:24

with an english version of salsa which they call the latin boogaloo so that's the first like american way of

4:32

dancing for me right so the latin boogaloo the first dance i learned was called the African

4:38

twist right so and that that was a song by Eddie Palmetti

4:43

all right so then after that you know i mean i was a good dancer i could move so everywhere i went they you know

4:50

come on pop get down right so my nickname is papa that's what they call me on the street

4:55 um so i remember the first dance I learned was the tighten up

5:01

Archie Bell in the Drells right there was the tighten up I remember the mother popcorn all right

5:08

the mother popcorn James Brown there was a dance called the mother popcorn that's where all my groove came

5:14

from and who was making these dances up were they just being created they were fun for me yeah yeah from the community…"

SKIPPING OVER TO THE FOLLOWING. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS PORTION

21:49 had competitions right like once a weekend sometimes twice a weekend because again

21:55 this was so let me just go back a little bit right so [Music] you know when i was doing those dances

22:03 to those songs right the [Music] the it was the black community that to those songs right the [Music] the IT WAS THE BLACK COMMUNITY THAT

22:09 PRETTY MUCH WAS THE POWER OF THE DANCE right but then you had the Puerto Ricans who

22:15 came in did what the black community did because we loved it you know we did the groove just as good we had the soul we had soul

22:21 right yeah so but we also had that salsa

22:27 all of that so we put that together and we became the power the power shifted and it was

22:34 the Puerto Rican community and in those clubs the fresh the kontiki the footsteps

22:40 and there was clubs before that right so there was the forbidden fruit right there was the ruby fool there was 22:46 the pegasus …"

With that said, go look up vids like Brooklyn Mambo 1957 (African American form), or Spirit moves 1920s - 50s. Look to see if you can find any Latin dance concurrent to that time in this same manor

.

,  

Brief HipHop History timeline in chronological order

This is based on multiple testimonies of pioneers (Puerto Rican, Black American, and Jamaican), like Herc, Coke la Rock, Batch, DJ PhazeII, Flash, Raheem, Cholly Rock, Willie Will, Charlie Chase (Carlos Mendez), and more. In each one of those first hand accounts, certain details intersect or parallel over and over again... Helping you to form your own opinion on whether or not hip-hop at it's inception and essence is African American based

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God bless (see Biblical Salvation)

Be sure to stop at the bottom where it says "More from @afrcnamrcn-23". Don't be distracted by the pictures and links under that. They will occur again so that you can continue with the main post in sequence

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[undergoingcalibrations]

Vault Hunter Olympics: Which playable character, across all 4 titles, is the best in each statistic?

Assumptions: 

No class mods or other specific equipment were considered- characters were assessed purely on their skill trees.

The fourth trees were considered for the BL3 characters.

Characters are assumed to be operating under ideal, but plausible, conditions. For instance, Aurelia’s gun damage assumes she is using a cryo sniper rifle of blue or higher rarity, Krieg is on fire, Moze and Timothy are assumed to be equipping the same manufacturer in all possible slots for their respective ‘matched set’ bonuses, Kill skills for all characters are assumed to be active etc.

If a character has a conditional maximum statistic that requires either a very high skill ceiling to attain (Aurelia and Zer0) or relies on random chance (Claptrap), it will be noted in their entry.

Borderlands (Original)

Brick: Second Highest Maximum Health (60%)

Roland: Normally has the third highest magazine size (105%), though falls behind Claptrap if Claptrap’s action skill is Gun Wizard.

Lilith and Mordecai, sadly, don’t boast any particularly impressive stats when compared against their newer counterparts.

Borderlands 2

Axton: Second fastest aim speed (70%) and tied for second highest status effect duration reduction (40%). Third greatest recoil reduction (115%) and third shortest shield recharge delay (120%).

Gaige: Fastest shield recharge rate (194%). Second highest gun damage (715%), when Aurelia and Zero’s high skill ceiling gun damages and Claptrap’s random one is not considered. Lowest possible accuracy at -700%.

Krieg: The highest elemental effect chance (200%) and largest magazine size (350%). The second highest melee damage (1395%) and second fastest reload speed (285%). The third most resistant to damage (150%), third highest swap speed (150%), and the third highest elemental effect damage (110%). Lowest possible critical hit damage (-25%) and longest possible shield recharge delay (Adding a flat 7.5 seconds to his delay)

Salvador: Second most resistant to damage (320%) and tied for second highest status effect duration reduction (40%). The third fastest (80%).

Zer0: Highest melee damage (3370%) and gun damage (1090%), though his peak gun damage requires near-perfect accuracy sustained over a long play period. Otherwise, his gun damage, while respectable, does not place. Second most accurate (130%) and second highest critical hit damage (375%).

Maya, while a strong all-rounder, does not place especially highly in any specific category.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!

Athena: Highest elemental effect damage (280%), fastest swap speed (280%), and highest grenade damage (280%). Tied for second highest elemental effect chance (100%). Second fastest fire rate (240%), but falls to third when considering Claptrap if he’s lucky enough for either the Gun Wizard action skill or the All The Guns subroutine to trigger.

Aurelia: Fastest aim speed (100%) and lowest shield recharge delay (235%). Second highest elemental effect damage (130%). The third most accurate (125%) and third highest critical hit damage (195%). Third highest possible gun damage (765%), though like Zer0, her peak is demanding to achieve for most players for the same reason. Without skilled play, her gun damage does not place. Smallest possible magazine size at -75%. Lowest possible gun damage  at -5% modifier when using green or white guns.

Claptrap: Highest maximum health (130% normally, ramped up to 235% if the Safety First subroutine activates). Has the highest possible health regeneration at 45.5% if the Safety First subroutine activates, but normally has the second highest at 38%. Fastest possible fire rate at 335%, but requires both the Gun Wizard action skill and the All the Guns subroutine to trigger at the same time to achieve. Even without random skills, still has the third highest fire rate at 210%. When random chance and high skill ceiling gun damage values are omitted, Claptrap has the highest gun damage at 735%. Accounting for random chance and high skill, he comes second at 1028%, assuming his Mechromagician action skill and All the Guns subroutine trigger at the same time. If the Safety First subroutine is active, ties for second highest shield capacity with 120%. If the Gun Wizard action skill, has the third highest magazine capacity at 110%. If the Gun Wizard or Funzerker action skills trigger while his All the Guns subroutine is active, has the third fastest reload speed at 215%

Nisha: Fastest reload speed by a mile (640%). The third highest melee damage (1315%). 

Timothy: Typically has the fastest fire rate (248%) and health regeneration (40%), though comes in second if Claptrap gets lucky with action skills/subroutines. Third highest shield capacity (80%).

Wilhelm: The most resistant to damage (500%). Second fastest shield recharge rate (170%). Third highest maximum health (55%).

Borderlands 3

Amara: Second fastest movement speed (134%), second fastest swap speed (196%), and the second shortest shield recharge delay (200%). Third highest grenade damage (153%) and typically has third fastest reload speed (189%), falling to fourth when Claptrap having a favourable combination of action skills/subroutines.

FL4K: Fastest action skill cooldown (350%) and highest critical hit damage (505.25%). Second highest grenade damage (227.05%) and recoil reduction (158.29%). Tied for second highest shield capacity (120%). Third highest health regeneration (35.4%) and shield recharge rate (83%). 

Moze: Highest Shield capacity (290%). Tied for highest elemental effect chance (100%). Second largest magazine size (115%). Third fastest action skill cooldown (180%). Lowest possible maximum health (-60% modifier) . 

 Zane: The fastest (140%) and most accurate (443%) with the greatest recoil reduction (424%). Highest status effect duration reduction (50%). Second fastest action skill cooldown (218.5%). Normally has the third highest gun damage at 673%, but falls off the damage rankings when compared to Aurelia, Claptrap, and Zer0′s less likely, but still possible, peak performances.

[purrincess-chat]

Cat’s Not-All-Encompassing Character Ranking

Okay, so I have to admit that I omitted a lot of characters I don't have strong opinions on. Most of them were one-off akumas, so don't get your panties in a twist, your faves are probably still on here (and ranked lower than you think).

As a preface again, these are just my personal opinions. They can't hurt you. You can still like characters more or less than me. And I don't care how you feel about them. This list is for me. And the person that asked for it. So shut up. Go make your own rank list if you’re so butthurt. 

We're going in reverse order this time, starting from the bottom:

84. Gabriel Agreste- I mean, is anyone surprised? I am not private about how I think Gabriel should go to jail. Or fall off a cliff. Or be erased from existence. Rip to those that like him, but I’m different.

83. Thomas Astruc- Honestly, he’s down here on principle. Self-inserts are generally a no-no, and I just laugh every time I see him on screen because he really put himself in this show and said boohoo no one appreciates me XD

82. Bob Roth- I feel like this one should also be obvious. He’s just a dick. Terrible human. I give him 0 stars.

81. Tomoe Tsurugi- We all collectively hate her, right? It’s not just me?

80. Su Han- This mans has small peepee energy. And he bad mouthed Fu, so get FUCKED, my dude.

79. Rolland Dupain- Listen, I get it, he liked Marinette in the end, but I could do without the racism.

78. Nathalie Sancoeur- My opinion of Nathalie took a nosedive after the s2 finale. I just do not care that she is in love with her boss. Don’t care that she’s dying. Just do not have it in me.

77. XY- Justin Bieber ass wannabe.

76. Nora Cesiare- I didn’t care for Nora. I know Thomas loves her, but the overbearing sibling trope is tired.

75. Anarka Couffaine- I underestimated how much I don’t really like her. Like, it’s not full-on hate, but I just do not care for her.

74. Otis Cesaire- Got akumatized because a kid said he could outrun a panther. I’m still not over it, Otis.

73. Andre Bourgeois- No love for the crooked mayor. I hope your wife divorces you. 

72. Alec Cataldi- The real villain of Stormy Weather. Like fr why is he such an asshole?

71. Roger Raincomprix- Is Officer Roger just doing his best? Sometimes. But like sometimes this mans just needs to take a chill pill.

70. M. D'Argencourt- Please get out of the 1600s

69. Ella/Etta- These two are basically the same character, and I am indifferent to both of them.

68. KnightOwl/Barbara- Listen, I would have liked you more if you were less controlling.

67. Majestia- Same as above, but like I guess I like you more

66. Theo- *Mean Girls principal voice* Stay away from underaged girls!

65. Andre the ice cream man- I just want a scoop of chocolate, Andre. Is that too much to ask??

64. Amelie Graham de Vanily- We haven’t seen much of her, but she seems like a snake bitch.

63. M. Kubdel- I mean, if my son wanted to resurrect an ancient mummy and believed in aliens, I’d give the family heirloom to my daughter too.

62. Jalil Kubdel- Lolol, buddy, pal, dude, my guy. Chill.

61. Vincent (Adrien's photographer)- Head empty. Mom’s spaghetti. Idk he’s alright.

60. Manon- I don’t hate Manon. She just gets on my nerves every time she talks.

59. M. Ramier- This mans got akumatized a billion times because he gets emotional about pigeons. I mean, honestly mood.

58. Mme. Mendeleiev- She doesn’t put up with Chloe’s shit, and we respect her for this.

57. Baby August- Someone just give this mans some food. He’s a growing boy.

56. Santa Claus- If I were Santa, I too would list Ladybug as the best kid in the world.

55. Art Teacher- He doesn’t even have a name, but I vibe with him. He seems like he likes to paint scenes of nature with his pet squirrels.

54. Prince Ali- Lil mans just wanted to have a good time. I can respect that.

53. Duusu- Duusu, I get that your Miraculous was broken, but get with the program, girl. You is a hostage.

52. Other Kwamis- Idk, all the ones we haven’t seen as much. I don’t have real opinions on them yet. Just neutral.

51. Sass- He gives me dad vibes.

50. M. Damocles- You go, you funky owl man

49. Jean (Chloe's Butler)- He deserves a raise. What is your name, sir? We may never know.

48. Mireille Caquet- She’s pretty cute. No complaints.

47. Aurore Beaureal- Baby’s first akuma. I love her design. She’s a cutie.

46. Claudie Kante (Max’s mom)- This womans just wanted to go to space and live her dream. We stan a hardworking queen.

45. Hot Dog Dan- I like him more than Andre the ice cream fraud. Sure, my hotdog might turn me purple, but if I ask for chili on it, I bet he’d oblige.

44. Nadja Chamack- I mean, she’s doing her best.

43. Audrey Bourgeois- So, as I said in the episode ranking, I have a love-hate relationship with Audrey. She’s the worst, but that’s why I love her. I love her ironically. Like, yeah she’s atrocious, but I just want to watch her burn the world.

42. Luka Couffaine- Directly in the middle, like he’s always been.

41. Nathaniel Kurtzberg- My opinion of Nath improved after Reverser surprisingly. I ship it.

40. Chris Lahiffe- I like Chris better than Ella/Etta. He’s just a little mans out here living life wanting to grow up. Don’t believe it, Chris. Stay little forever. Being an adult suuuuucks.

39. Fang the Crocodile- The goodest boy.

38. Nooroo- I just want to give him a hug.

37. Mlle. Bustier- She’s doing her best, but I mean, when ya whole class keeps getting turned into supervillains, I’m surprised she’s not an alcoholic.

36. Penny Rolling- I just like her. I think she’s neat.

35. Ondine- Mermaid queen! She’s so sweet, and I love her with Kim. I hope we see more of her in the future.

34. Marc Anciel- Marc is a little cutie bean. Idc if he’s based off one of Thomas’s irl friends. He can stay.

33. Wayzz- He loves Master Fu so much I cry.

32. Felix Graham de Vanily- I know everyone hates canon Felix, but tbh he exudes massive chaotic neutral gremlin energy, and I actually kinda vibe with that. And he pisses with his uncle which is a whole ass mood.

31. Tikki- Tikki is very cute, but bby please work on the preaching. You don’t always know what’s right, babe.

30. Sabrina Raincomprix- Sabrina deserves better. I hope we see good things happen for her.

29. Lila Rossi- Surprised? I actually like Lila. The first fic I ever wrote for this fandom was a Lila redemption. I think she is a good antagonist and foil to Marinette. I absolutely want to see her get dunked on in canon, but that doesn’t mean I hate her.

28. Wayhem- I don’t know why, but Wayhem makes me laugh. I love him XD

27. Uncle Cheng- He’s just a good mans with a birb who wants to make you tasty food. What’s not to like?

26. Trixx- Trixx shot up after GoS. Chaotic bean make Eiffel Tower go bendy

25. Jess- She’s pretty cool. She’s a vibe.

24. Aeon- The cutest bean!!! She saw Adrien and Marinette and said yep. Those two are meant to be together. Jess, we gotta make it happen.

23. Ivan Bruel- Ivan is such a gentle bean. We love him.

22. Mylene Haprele- Smol

21. Fei Wu- I still have not watched the Shanghai special with subs, but I liked her.

20. Gina Dupain- The grandma I aspire to be.

19. Marianne Lenoir- I love her. She is good. She and Fu are so cute. And she seems like she would have kicked le ass back in the day. (and even now)

18. Rose Lavillant- I am so excited for Pigella!! Rose is too cute. We love her. 

17. Gorilla- aka Adrien’s real dad. If the series doesn’t end with Gabriel getting yeeted into the stratosphere and Gorilla adopting Adrien, I don’t want it.

16. Clara Nightingale- She’s in love with Marinette. You can’t change my mind. 16 is also how old I hc her to be, so don’t nobody come for me.

15. Tom Dupain- Most. Supportive. Dad. Soft bean. Just wants to make you fresh bread.

14. Sabine Cheng- Good mom vibes. We love to see her.

13. Juleka Couffaine- Shy goth bean. Just wants to have her picture taken. Definitely a lesbian. We stan.

12. Nino Lahiffe- The goodest boy. He’s just out here doing his best, loving his friends.

11. Chloe Bourgeois- Chloe is another one I have a love-hate relationship with. Her brattiness is funny to me. We had high hopes for her. Honestly, she ranks this high because I like to play with her in fic.

10. Max Kante- He smol and smort. And I adore his friendship with Kim and the fact that he made an AI himself at 14. What a legend.

9. Alya Cesaire- Rip to Alya salters, but I’m different. Outside of Chameleon, Alya is fine. She’s a supportive bff. All yall people that are mad she doesn’t kiss Marinette’s ass all the time need to go out and make real friends. I said what I said.

8. Alix Kubdel- I love Alix. I love how she is always so done with all the lovey-dovey bullshit. She is tiny queen, and Bunnix, while OP af, is still super cool. We love to see her.

7. Kagami Tsurugi- I will fight anyone who shits on Kagami. She has done nothing wrong, you guys are just haters. All she did was exist, and yall said, wow what a toxic bitch?? Disgraceful.

6. Jagged Stone- We are going to ignore the deadbeat dad trope that canon thrust upon him. He is a Marinette stan, and we love that.

5. Kim Le Chien- I really love Kim, you guys. Does that surprise you? Listen, my favorite male character types are sweet beans and himbos. Kim is both of these.

4. Master Fu- If you didn’t pick up on how much I love Fu from the episodes ranking, then idk what to tell you. I want him to be my grandpa. I would trust this mans with my life. He did his best. You paint those pictures, you funky little man. I love you.

3. Plagg- My galaxy trash man. Love him. 10/10 chefs kisses all around.

2. Adrien Agreste- The biggest Marinette stan there is. I just want him to kiss her on the face. And marry her. Idk, I just think that would be neat if he could do that. I just want good things for them.

1. Marinette Dupain-Cheng- Honestly, are you surprised? I have always been and always will be a Marinette stan. If you expected anyone else to be in this spot, then clown suit rentals are off to the left.

[thecrenellations]

Return of the Thief Notes, Part One: The Book of Pheris, Volume I

Notes from my first read, October 2020. (Part Two | Part Three | TaT)

Contents:  "So, so, so” watch, Costis watch, swearing, trashing the king’s attendants, being objectively wrong, boundless enthusiasm and love 

I promise I’ve had more developed thoughts since these often incoherent ones, but I’ve enjoyed having these notes to refer to - for sentimental reasons and for  entertainment, so here they are, for others who enjoy liveblogs and/or being whisked back in time to their first read of this wonderful book.

Format: Page number. My thoughts (Context?)

Dedication, Table of Contents, Exordium:

There it is – to Sounis

Exordium – vocab #1

Interregnum?!? Alyta?

Pheris!!!

Yeah I love him from the first page

MOIRA

MOCKING COMMENTS HELP! Gen lives!

A new level of unreliable narrator

Moira, messages of Gods, Pheris, messages of __

Wtf is going on in this study? A zoo?

high king vs great king vs annux?

okie dokie dude

Chapter 1

1. Susa – Costis

2. Infirmity – who gets to be hero/tell story (I started reading right after the book launch, in which mwt spent some time talking about her writing influences and decisions connect to this question - Pheris isn’t her first disabled protagonist and storyteller, of course, but it was lovely to meet him properly directly after hearing her talk about it. Book launch foreshadowing part 1...)

Melisande?

Is this why he wasn’t taught to read?

3. Always the summer

Bees!

4. Hunting cat… hm…

Ok … shrine … 😬

5. Once again we start with a disaster or having to flee

Which Eugenides precipitated

Bite!

Little monster :(

6. Falling…

:(

7. :( :( :(

His purpose? D:

8. YIKES

Chapter 2

9. Hello there! (Gen!)

Massive chair?

10. CRACKED WATER JUG (amphora motif???)

11. Triangle from seal!

Gen that’s rude to Pheris :( (“He will fit in very well with my attendants”)

Wait. This must have happened before ACoK! (nope)

12. :(

Xikander … never made an impression before

How old is Pheris? (lol)

13. Philologos come thru!

Royal closet reappears!

14. Hello weird secondhand scene!

He is Eugenides

Marina…

15. Petrus? GALEN? OH SHIT! 

Is this why Galen was called? (nope)

16. Hell yea Petrus

Miras’ golden balls oh no

All these previously unnamed sucky attendants!

17. Ula – goddess of hearth and healing

Ok … Galen … or a god? Eugenides????? (why did these options occur to me before Mr. Shows Up At Your Bedside At Night himself)

18. Finally the attendant floor plans I crave + hunting scenes!

19. EXCUSE ME he slept through Sounis + Eddis wedding!!!

Again – high king!

20. So Ion is beautiful … hmm.

Yeah … Sejanus has facets. I like it.

21. Clearly no one would know what king would do … lol

Don’t mind me just sorting the attendants on a spectrum of awfulness!!!

22. SO SO SO – ION!!!!!

How many fucking attendants are there and how many are on my hit list!

Is “the necessaries” bathrooms or like … him stealing? (just the bathrooms ... the Gen-Pheris parallels were really getting to me at this point)

:(

23. OH MY GOD THE UNIFIED CREST

Also … frogs. Frogs.

24. Big day for Gen huh

Definitely an aura of Something as he writes about Gen

25. HELLO EVERYONE

26. Sorry Kamet, Pheris does the physical descriptions better. They’re beautiful

I’m blacking out at Eddis and Sounis

27. Jesus Christ. The bear.

Cousin time!

Under the table is the new up on the roof!

Uh… twin imagery ….

Gen’s feet!

Jesus. The matching

28. Cleon … wtf? A cousin?

A trial for Sophos?

Show! Us! Sophos’s! Shoes!

29. If u throw things out the air shaft you might hit the king

Was it a chicken?

Lol nvm the guy at night is Gen. That is … very sweet

- Showing up at night

- Accent

- Complaining about Petrus

- Swearing

- One hand

I am judging Costis and Sophos for not describing the paneling in Gen’s room!

Chapter 3

30. Was it a chicken?

An earring huh, good hand huh

31. Literally screaming “NO!” at Gen. Don’t joke about dying! I am killed by Gen on annux day. This is. My boy. Yes he is perfect. Yes he will refuse to get up. I love him. I died on page 31

Philologos is still the best of them

32. Dancing bear indeed

Always the powdered gold

Ruby!!!!! <3

Aww a smile!!! <3

Pheris he likes you!

33. They both love invisibility and lost it … I cry

Erupt like the sacred mountain excuse me!

OR WORSE return to bed! Lol

34. He’s Eugenides when he’s talking to Attolia

Ouch hero talk

! from Irene!

My queen!

Hey Phresine!

They way we do <3 he’s hating it but he’s so comfortable with her

Sister and bro mention! C’mon!

I love them

EYEBROW

35. Honestly that’s a yes (“I have no idea what you mean, my queen”)

It’s so cute they hang out in the morning … like how long was it even since they’ve seen each other lol

:( tough walk for Pheris

Is it prophecy time?

Lol how long does this construction take?!

Also … she’s pregnant, huh? but no one knows (nope)

Is befriending someone weaponized as a prank count for Gen’s enemies to friends list?

Also SHOW ME the magus. I know he’s here!

36. Pheris excuse me, why not recreate this!

Lol cast off language of history indeed

Feel the thrum of the goddess!

EXCUSE ME… a minor goddess? Mystery goddess? Or Philia?

Oh Gen

37. Well, Gen, someone is having a worse day than you.

Damn, how far we come.

Aww Sounis, babe, I love you and so does Gen

[drawing of the four of them sitting in a row]

38. Artadorus???? Pomegranate?

39. HEIRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A friend! Also lol. Two smiles, for Pheris and Heiro..

40. Yesss Melheret joke in action.

Costis has left tho right?

Jesus, Melheret

SHE GAVE HIM A HORSE (I COULD NOT DEAL with this entire conversation, but then again I could not deal with this whole book.)

41. I love them all so much

“on that horse, you will look like a king” I can’t with her sense of humor

He sure did say that

I feel like I’m missing something with the fight on foot thing … remembering battles?

Helen called him Gen!

Sophos stop talking about yourself and bringing apricots into everything lol

Lol these bystanders don’t know how lucky they are. Nor does Pheris, yet

42. She’s protecting him

Also … Gen … you didn’t want to be a soldier.

43. Guards have capes

2 startled men … hm …

Oh Gen. The fucking brutal echoes…

44. :( :( :(

Gen tell your wife you’re sick!

The attendants are so dumb

45. So, so, so :(

Tell who? Petrus?

Wink!

Yes?

46. Bleeding! Salt! Lemon! Heck no! What is he, a piece of meat?

Oranges?

47. “savoring each bite as if it were my last” ... Same … but with this book

Hmm… Alyta! Goddess of the gentle rain! (despite this “hmm,” I did not put the pieces together)

48. Oh no Teleus! And someone?

Aw he realized <3 lemon water

49. Gen eat your broth lol

50. I love them.

Ion’s really trying to make up for what he did that one time

51. Without the approval of the great goddess HAHAHA

I love them. Cousin time! Growl?

Idk whether or not to be reassured, Gen.

Wow Cleon I do not like that. Also didn’t he die? (...)

Comma (“I am not, Eddis”)

Go smack him!

52. Gen I love you.

Helen I love you.

He’s so bad at self care but I love him

Chapter 4

55. love that our narrator just disappears and reappears

56. Attolia’s brother’s bedroom? Yikes. Ominous. A detail in a story we’ve already gotten, different every time <3

57. fucking attendants. 3 good ones. Medander you were beneath Costis’s notice before but I hate you. Costis didn’t have time for you or Xikos or Xikander and nor do I

58. interesting pawn talk!!!

59. <3 Pheris :(

The Gen comparisons though

:( :( :( :(

60. flamboyance <3

Cemphora bush

Bees

61. I love him

62. I love them

Also lol “Your majesty?”

63. Name … hm … (“I have deliberately omitted [my tutor’s] name here”)

64. more twin imagery I swear

WAIT … it was his birthday! Not just Annux day?!! Gen was born in late summer???

Attendant list thank you

65. laying it all out there, huh … (that one Gen quote)

Lol they’re the same but Pheris likes horses

66. Insellia! Hello nice to meet you

67. Gen that’s mean. (“He is hardly even half of one.”)

68. Coleus leves???

“I am Eugenides.” <3

Gen why

69. Gold cups???? Hmmmmm. Also lioness. Def invoking Costis. (they’re probably not the cups, but STILL)

Earth….

70. Moira! Hi!!! Rainbow shawl!

Like a rabbit!

Pester!

I’m … very sad he uses his Attolian accent with Helen

71. Aaah so good

Mortals

Moira knows another messenger?

Does he think he can’t die in battle?

72. hmm are they WRANGLING?! (Galen and Petrus and my Fire and Hemlock word association)

Kill that pastry Irene I love you

morning training with his … guard? (Is that the whole guard or a guard? Costis senses tingling once again.)

73. Oh gen.

Ouch! (“to send people to their deaths and not risk my own is contemptible”)

Is she implying he’s paying Therespides?

74. Interesting Cleon plan. So many doubles

OUCH. (“Only if he comes back from the dead.” I assumed Lader had died in the war; it’s a different ouch now. I love that they both accidentally say things to each other that poke old wounds, and it’s not a big deal but it’s also not dismissed! Their relationship has come so far, and I love them so much.)

75. Verimius – Lavia – Celia??? Somebody is queer in there!

A GUARD

This scene confuses me. Xortix? Layteres? Aris! but dice thing is less political … so maybe? (just wait....)

76. So many reasons to hate Medander

Hey Costis! You exist! KoA happened!

Gen is just … still so uncomfortable and miserable. He chose, he has people, but still.

RIP Clopius also WHAT

77. Lol Hilarion’s grand statements

78. Yorn Fordad Hello!

Luxurious mustache

The mighty Pents?

Besin Quedue – she’s coming 4 you watch out

79. RIP Baron Hippias

Chapter 5

80. Spring! Plays! Cenna!

81. Oh dear

Oh dear

At least they said he was pretty

83. ?!? :( wine

Uh oh. Stockpiling

85. What even.

AAAAAAAAAH COSTIS

86. Omg Irene. Hissing. I love her.

Also … Gen’s the viper

Also this scene was written by Pheris.

Damn.

87. oh no.

What better man

She fucking quoted Howl. I love them.

Also, bees (this scene killed me)

90. Falling?

Oh shit

Also … Juridius and Pheris, Susa and Costis (comparing demands for information)

93. oh my god (IT’S THE WINDOW SCENE)

Oh my god

Uh

94. She! Called! Him! Gen!

I love this and it scares me

Lol Chloe

Irene you learned from her though

95. D:

96. :(

97. water stuff

98. what the heck

OH NO (Quedue scene)

Hm

100. yikes

Omg

Wow.

102. yikes yikes YIKES

103. a blade has protruded from his chest (tbt to The Thief)

jesus

106. shit

Did Gen hit him?

108. lol Phresine

109. lol

I want genuinely every character’s reaction to this shit

Chapter 6

111. what the heck Gen.

112. like a god [crown doodle]

114. Perma?

116. Gen. Gen. Gen. Do not.

117. AAAA (god intervention)

122. Juridius to Dite

124. bye Iolanthe and Ileia! Tell us about Caeta and Silla.

125. did not expect so much Ion

Chapter 7

127. Fryst god of winter

She laughed!

They’re so married

128. OH SHIT (Costis ship is sighted and I remember what’s about to happen next)

Interesting timing

He rode the horse home?

131. Beauty and good, beauty and kind

134. The gods’ goodwill

Keep them safe <3

135. Is that his MOM?!! Wtf (it was!)

Pheris steal those earrings!!!

RING! SMASH BOX!

137. AMPHORA EARRINGS (and flowers)

138. I love Phresine

139. Why do I feel like all the game birds are pigeons

140. meanwhile Gen’s been hanging out with Kamet. Shit. I cannot.

WELCOME HOME BOYS!

HELL YEAH KAMET ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS!

RELIUS COME THRU

141. lethium soup! The reversal

Safe for you

142. of course he knew <3

143. Kamet time! I love him. We get to see Kamet!!!

Also … echo of Gen’s notes on Mede

145. very handsome. … gaycostis vindication (referring to @costis’s url at the time and this post. Little did I know what else was to come in the next chapter and then a few months later with the adaptation news...)

Do you know who I am?

Chapter 8

147. Of course he’s a cartographer

A favorite huh

148. of course she didn’t tell us his age!

149. the angsty window staring I crave

Music!

151. adventure, huh

I do have a soft spot for Melheret

152. concerned about amphora gift

153. Glad they can be well and united in spite!! (Gen and Melheret)

154. Pheris loves math and I love him

155. Hello Teleus. Hello olives

Lol Relius is not into math

156. pigeons. Inkpot!

157. yeah honestly. He tortures people. He was NOT tortured by the king

159. lol (“I have noted the elective nature of certain behaviors” ... I love Relius and Pheris.)

160. The Invitation! I <3 it

161. EXCUSE ME WHO

Legarus!

FOLKS HERE WE ARE (I cannot overstate how wonderful it was to read this page. I did not know who the poem was from, and “Someone loves me very much, even with all my faults” is even sweeter to reread, but it’s just ... his confidence is so different from the tentative consideration of a new philosophy of trust and love we see in KoA. And there is subtextual queerness in the books before this one, some more apparent and some more subtle (and what is obvious to one reader may be subtle or invisible to another, in these books especially), and there is the attendant love triangle a few chapters back, but HERE - here, Pheris acknowledges the real feeling and love in Legarus’s disastrous relationship and tells us directly that his lover was a man, here he seamlessly makes it clear how bi and poly Relius is, and he quietly ties these relationships and realities to his growing understanding of the world. It’s not subtext. And there’s a lot more to come, but this page really hit me, and sort of promised the “more to come” while assuring me that what had come before, more subtly, was there. I used to have heteronormative readings of both these books and myself, and when Thick as Thieves brought them crashing back into my heart after years away, I knew better about myself, and I saw that - or the possibility of that reading -  reflected in the new book, and it was such a good surprise. It meant a lot, and this page meant a lot, and that is why I’m writing a small essay to accompany this note.) 

Lol wow

162. Where are you traveling, man (this question remains)

163. Fuck you, Orutus

164. Stole an inkpot!

165. the map!!! (Kamet’s)

166. I love them!

167. The Math Master hmm

Am I an oracle (Nope! :) )

[ronnyshaiwrites]

Representations of Temporality in the Narrative of the Fragmenting Family

First appeared in The Channel: McGill Department of English Undergraduate Review, vol 12. March 04, 2019

James Merrill’s “The Broken Home” and Michael Ondaatje’s “Letters & Other Worlds” both cast doubt upon the idea of a perfect family. Both poets present bleak domestic pictures: families defined by destructive father figures, despondent mothers, and a young person trying to reconcile themselves with the demise of their family. Each poem depicts the speakers’ anguish in relation to memory, accentuating the contrary relationships each has to the passage of time. The speaker in “The Broken Home” constructs their familial anguish across several interconnected sonnets, which both represents their fractured upbringing and, at the same time, enables them to piece together fragments of their childhood in the form of perceptive memories. Collectively, the seven sonnets which comprise “The Broken Home” depict the splintering of the speaker’s domestic life and, through a restructuring of non-linear memories, depict their attempts at rebuilding a narrative from its component parts. In “Letters & Other Worlds,” however, the speaker remains fixed in the present. Ondaatje’s speaker tells a linear narrative in free verse, allowing for the contemplation of their father’s past transgressions through an open discourse with memory. The speaker, who collects memories from their father’s writings, recounts the rupturing of their family in the public sphere, with each letter further revealing the repercussions of their father’s alcoholism. Whereas the speaker in “The Broken Home” uses the many sonnets to a frame a traumatic negotiation between transient temporalities of the mature speaker, their family, and that of a younger self, Ondaatje’s speaker’s linear narrative is rooted in an enduring temporality from which they cannot escape. Despite the differences in these two poems, both feature the now adult speaker attempting to make peace with the memories that continue to haunt them.

The fragmented yet interconnected sonnet structure of “The Broken Home” parallels the anguish that the speaker feels in piecing together scattered memories into a narrative of reflection. The order of the sonnets, which are each set in a different moment in time, creates a non-linear chronology of the speaker’s life. Both the first and sixth sonnet are set in the present. Here, the speaker contrasts past grievances found in the middle sonnets by showing how the events of their childhood affect them in the present. The speaker uses a collection of recurring motifs which associate each one of their parents to an emotional state across time. In alluding to their parents as symbols, the speaker creates a dialogue between themselves and their parents across multiple temporalities. In the third sonnet, the speaker describes their parents as living out “that same old story— / Father Time and Mother Earth, / A marriage on the rocks” (Merrill 40-42). The personification of Earth as their mother and Time as their father returns in the sixth sonnet, set in the present: the speaker asks the reader to “trust I am no less time’s child” (76) while also being “earth’s no less” (84). No longer capitalized, the once proper nouns “earth” and “time” suggest the speaker has moved forward from the idealized versions of their parents’ relationship, now seeing clearly that their “marriage [was] on the rocks” (42), cementing the image of their parent’s relationship as one that is solely destructive. Unable to be fixed to a single temporality, Time and Earth are also seen to be transcendent entities. Like their parents’ broken marriage, events of the past can defy chronology and become superimposable onto multiple temporalities, no longer confined to a linear perspective. The speaker connects ideas between sonnets by juxtaposing time frames, usually with a distinct change exemplified by a word, motif, or phrase used to signify a reinterpretation of past events. From these developments in the speaker’s perspective, a clearer understanding of the past situates the reasons for their present strife.

Similarly, the speaker in “Letters & Other Worlds” employs incremental repetition as a connecting device, contrasting their father’s hopeful letters of familial intimacy with their memories of a fractured childhood. The first two quatrains use incremental repetition of “my father’s body was” (Ondaatje 1, 6) and “His letters were a” (6, 9) to indicate the speaker’s unease, and indecisiveness, in trying to give their father any singular identity. The repetition of similar phrases with interchanging nouns represents the speaker’s attempts to define their father in a single temporality. It is not a “globe of fear” (1), in which the speaker finds their father, nor is his body a “town we never knew” (2), and his letters are not a “room he seldom lived in” (4). Even as the images in which the speaker tries to place their father reduce in physical size; from the “globe” (1), to a “town” (6), and finally to a lone “room” (9), the scope of his perceived afflictions only expands past the boundaries of any single one of said spaces. The speaker, unable to locate their father within the limited temporal space of his writings follows him “into his room with bottles” (56), manifesting himself within the physical space where “the gentle letters were composed” (60). In having to translocate themselves into their father’s writing room, the speaker suggests that from the confined temporality of the present, past transgressions are more challenging to interpret and thus a physical transcendence is also necessary.

Ondaatje’s speaker’s indecision contrasts the clarity that the non-linear progression of time affords the speaker in “The Broken Home,” the intermingling of time and space proven better equipped to capture the displaced thoughts of a fracturing family. The overlaying of like ideas between sonnets allows the reader to see the growth of the speaker’s anguish emerge over the course of their lifetime, depicted, as the poem progresses, as an emotional awakening. It is from these shared temporal spaces that the speaker makes conclusions about their family’s tumultuous lives. For Ondaatje’s speaker, their inability to locate understanding is due to the absence of a shared temporal space, one which is later found within their father’s letters.

In “Letters,” imagistic motifs help to contrast the speaker’s memories with the positive idealism of family life as it is portrayed in their father’s letters. The reinterpretation of memory found in those letters aid the speaker to resolve past grievances. When recollecting how their father passed, the speaker remembers him falling, “the length of his body / so that brain blood moved / to new compartments” (Ondaatje 13-15). The speaker recounts the reaching of a “new equilibrium” (17) to have been the cause of his death. Later in the poem, after the speaker’s immersion in the writings of their father, they recount the episode differently. “[T]he length of his body” (74) fell, yet “the blood entering / the empty reservoir of bones” (75-76) now creates a filling of space which the speaker could not imagine simply from memory. Through his letters, the speaker is more clearly able to observe their father’s struggles from his perspective. Whereas the speaker previously saw the reaching of a new “equilibrium” as what killed their father, his letters give the speaker insight as to what the idea of balance meant to their father and thus, changes their perception of his passing. The blood filling their father’s brain becomes an image of fulfilment, instead of one of desolation. In reconceiving their father’s writings, the speaker reimagines the reaching of equilibrium as their father achieving a state of balance – defying a precarious instability which can be escaped only in death. From this temporality, emerging from the medium of the letter, the speaker learns that it is not the equalizing movement of blood into the brain which killed their father, but rather his trying to balance the rushing of blood around his body – metaphoric for the inability to balance private and public life, and ultimately his downfall. Letters are a private medium of communication but become public as the speaker delves into their father’s psyche. Situating the speaker as the mediator of the public and private sphere allows them to understand their father’s destructive behaviour. From within the same temporality, the speaker gains greater insight by reading their father’s letters, which allow him to view death from an alternative perspective.

Several temporal shifts within “The Broken Home” are signified by a change in the lyrical diction following a syntactic break, allowing the speaker to express the negative effects of broken domesticity on their character. When moving between the past and present a single word, “obeyed” is transposed from the fifth sonnet to begin the sixth, but with a significant change in tone (Merrill 70). The speaker, who in the fifth sonnet as child, dwells “in the graveyard of good and evil” (69), confirms their parents “are even so to be honored and obeyed” (70). In the sixth sonnet and in a return to the present, they confirms their parents were “. . . Obeyed, at least, inversely. Thus / I rarely buy a newspaper, or vote” (71-72) and in doing so explains the lasting ill effects of the marriage on their adult self. The use of a metaphor in the fifth sonnet notably disconnects it from the sixth, the speaker’s diction becoming apathetically direct. As a mature adult, distant from domestic pain, the speaker holds a less idealistic view of their parent’s relationship, able to emerge from the “graveyard of good and evil” (69). The ellipsis omits the passage of time when the speaker changes their attitude from submissive obedience to contesting their parents’ failings. The temporal lapse allows the speaker to move quickly between past and present thoughts, drawing parallels even as the ideas themselves exhibit disconnect. The carrying over of the word “obeyed” joins together two temporalities through a common emotional state. In the later passage, the mature speaker questions the blind obedience of their youth, contextualizing previous actions with the immediate consequences of their compliance, primarily, an inability to function in normal society.

For the speaker in “The Broken Home,” past grievances of dejected domesticity are a disease which only the transcendence of temporality can remedy. The multiple sonnet structure is a fragmented representation of the speaker’s broken identity, with the speaker transcending both poetic form and time to stitch together the pieces of their broken identity. The speaker in “Letters & Other Worlds” does not communicate between variable temporalities, a result of the medium over which their internal conflict is occurring; the speaker remains, like their father’s representation in the letters, rooted in the past. This speaker uses perception to place their father’s strife to their current temporality, the free-verse structure of the poem permitting communication across two mediums of understanding. Although “Letters” does not bridge together mediums as in “The Broken Home,” Ondaatje questions the implications of letters as being able to expand the temporality from which they are written, opening up a single temporality to various interpretations by the individual. In the same sense, imagining each letter as a token of a previous temporality suggests that such a medium can, to a certain degree, transcend linear time. In viewing the letters as the fleeting thoughts of a foregone mind, then they can indeed affect a reader in the same way recollections of memories are drawn upon to communicate with the present self. Both speakers thereby achieve familial communication, even if such a conversation takes place across time and space.

Works Cited

Merill, James. “The Broken Home.” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 6th ed., edited by Margaret Ferguson, Tim Kendall, and Mary Jo Salter, W.W. Norton and Co., 2018 pp. 1771-1774.

Ondaatje, Michael. “Letters & Other Worlds” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 6th ed., edited by Margaret Ferguson, Tim Kendall, and Mary Jo Salter, W.W. Norton and Co., 2018 pp. 1771-1774.

[shauncartoons]

Works Entering the Public Domain in 2020

    At the stroke of midnight hundreds if not thousands of books, songs, paintings, etc. first published in 1924 will be entering the public domain in the United States, the second year in a row this has happened after a twenty year extension that went into effect near the end of 1998, and as the year comes to a close let us take a look at some of the highlights of works I find of interest that will soon be available to all, including the first film adaptation of Peter Pan and the first appearance of the character who would later become known as Winnie the Pooh. I should note that for the purposes of this article that I will be focusing mainly on United States copyright law as laws differ from country to country and some of the works below will still be copyrighted in some countries, along with a few that will only be entering the public domain in the United States for reasons that will be explained.

How long copyright lasts

    Before diving into the meat of the article, it will be helpful to explain the basics of how long copyrights last and what the public domain is. All creative works are protected for a certain amount of time after fixation and/or publication and after the copyright for a work expires, it enters the public domain where all can use it however they please in most cases. How long that copyright lasts depends on the laws on the country and in some cases the type of work. In the United States, copyrights on all works published before 1978 last for a period of 95 years with a few exceptions. The main exception are sound recordings as, due to a wide range of state and federal legal complications going back decades, none will enter the public domain prior to the start of 2022 when all recordings released before 1923 will become public domain. The other main exception to the 95 year rule is if a work was first published before 1978 and did not have a copyright notice, which released a work into the public domain immediately, or was released before 1964 and its copyright was not renewed after 28 years. These rules only apply to works that were first published in the United States and does not apply to most foreign works as, due to a number of reasons that will not be covered here, many works originating from outside of the U.S. that expired for such reasons had their copyrights restored in the mid-1990s as most countries do not have formality requirements, and even the ones who did largely abandoned them long ago.

    In most countries outside of the United States and all works published after 1977 in the U.S , copyrights last for a certain amount of time after the author’s death, usually 50 or 70 years though others have terms that are either longer or shorter. Only a handful of countries have terms outside of that range with a few going as low as around 20 years after the author dies, a few go up to 75 and 80 years, and Jamaica and Mexico have the longest terms with 95 and 100 years after the author’s death respectively. Some, like India, go between the two with a term of 60 years after the author’s death. Sound recordings and corporate works usually have fixed terms, but they not always. Things get even more complicated for movies as while many countries give them a fixed copyright length, others do not and determining the author of a film can be complicated. For the purposes of this article when determining a film’s copyright status outside of the U.S. I will use the laws for movies used in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany which determines the copyright length based on the last survivor of the main director, screenwriter, and composer.

    In many countries, a copyright set to expire in a given year expires on January 1 of the following one. This is why all works from 1924 are entering the public domain at the start of 2020 in the U.S. instead of entering it at various points throughout 2019.

Works entering the public domain outside of the U.S.

    While I will be focusing on the United States public domain in this article, I will also try to determine the status of a work in other countries if possible and start off by mentioning a few authors whose works are entering the public domain in countries with life+70 and life+50 terms, with some notable works being listed in parenthesis.

    In life+70 countries, all works from authors who died in 1949 will be entering the public domain. Some examples include works by composer Richard Strauss (Don Juan, Also sprach Zarathustra), Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind), and Richard Connell (The Most Dangerous Game). The original 1922 version of Nosferatu, considered to be one of the earliest vampire films and the first (though unauthorized) adaptation of Dracula, is also entering the public domain in many countries including its native Germany as screenwriter Henrik Galeen died in 1949. In life+50 countries works from authors who died in 1969 will enter the public domain including songwriters such as Frank Loesser (Baby, It's Cold Outside).

Works entering the public domain in the U.S.

    This is a list of selected works from 1924 broken down into categories:

Music:

·         Tzigane by Maurice Ravel

o   Ravel died in 1937, so this composition is public domain in most of the world.

·         Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

o   Gershwin died in 1937, so this composition is public domain in most of the world.

·         It Had To Be You by Gus Kahn (lyrics) and Isham Jones (music)

o   Gus Kahn died in 1941, so the lyrics are public domain in life+70 countries. Isham Jones died in 1956, so the music is public domain in life+60 countries.

·         All Alone, The Call of the South, Lazy, and What’ll I Do by Irving Berlin

o   Irving Berlin died in 1989, so these songs are still copyrighted in most of the world.

Movies:

·         He Who Gets Slapped, starring Lon Channey and directed by Victor Sjöström

o   Screenwriter Carey Wilson died in 1962, so the film is public domain in countries where the term is life+50.

o   The movie is based on a play by Leonid Andreyev that was published in 1914. Since he died in 1919, the play is public domain worldwide and has been for some time.

·         Peter Pan, starring Betty Bronson and directed by Herbert Brenon.

o   Screenwriter Willis Goldbeck died in 1979, so this film is still copyrighted in most of the world.

o   This movie is based on James M. Barrie’s play (which would be published in its final form in 1928) and had his direct involvement. Since he died in 1937, the play is public domain in most countries besides the U.S. (though the 1911 novel version entered the public domain long ago) and a limited exception in the United Kingdom regarding royalties.

Novels and Short Stories:

·         A few works by Agatha Christie including the novel The Man in the Brown Suit along with several short stories featuring characters such as Hercule Poirot and Tommy and Tumpance.

o   Agatha Christie died in 1976, so these works are still copyrighted in most of the world.

o   The Man in the Brown Suit Introduced the character Colonel Race, who would go on to appear in later Christie works such as Death on the Nile.

·         The Illustrious Client, The Sussex Vampire, and The Three Garridebs by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

o   Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Doyle died in 1930, so these stories are public domain in most countries.

o   These are among the last of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Not including the above stories, only six of the original 56 stories are copyrighted in the U.S.

·         The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

o   As mentioned earlier, this work is also entering the public domain in life+70 countries as Richard Connell died in 1949.

o   The 1932 film version is also public domain in the U.S. as its copyright was never renewed.

·         When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne

o   Since A.A. Milne died in 1956, this book is public domain in life+60 countries.

o   This is a collection of poems. One of them, “Teddy Bear” was the first appearance of a character named Edward Bear who would be given the name Winne the Pooh in 1925. Under that name, he would go on to be featured in many stories published between 1926 and 1928.

·         Grampa in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson

o   Since Ruth Plumly Thompson died in 1976, this book is still copyrighted in most countries.

o   This is the eighteenth Oz book and the fourth written by Thompson, who continued the series following L. Frank Baum’s death in 1919. All of the Oz books in the “famous forty” published after this are still copyrighted with the exception of seven that were not renewed.

·         The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

o   Since Thomas Mann died in 1956, this book is public domain in life+60 countries.

o   The first English translation of one of Mann’s earlier works, Buddenbrooks¸ is also entering the public domain.

·         The Dream by H.G. Wells

o   Since H.G. Wells died in 1946, this book is public domain in life+70 countries.

Comics and Cartoons:

·         Roughly 20 Felix the Cat shorts, though some were already in the public domain as they were not renewed.

·         Ten of the Disney Alice Comedies.

·         Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray debuted in 1924 as a Sunday and daily strip.

o   Since Harold Gray died in 1968, these comics are public domain in life+50 countries.

Works not included above and why:

    If you looked at the works listed above some of you might notice a few notable works first released in 1924 that I did not mention and there is a reason for that. In the film section some might have noticed that the original version of The Thief of Baghdad staring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Raoul Walsh was not listed. Similarly, the original version of Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children is missing from the book section. The reason I omitted these is because they were already in the public domain since neither of them had their copyright renewed. However, this only applies in the U.S. as both works are still copyrighted outside of the U.S. since Raoul Walsh died in 1980 and Gertrude Chandler Warner in 1979. One should also exercise caution with The Boxcar Children as the similar though heavily revised version published in 1942 did have its copyright renewed along with its sequels. The same is also true of the 1940 remake of The Thief of Baghdad.

In the coming weeks and certainly over the course of the year, I will try to post some of the above works, mainly some of the poems, short stories, and arrangements of some of the musical works.

[taylorswiftstan4ever]

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Hi Taylor,

So as my last ever ranking, I put together all of the rankings I did for your eight masterpiece studio albums, as well as songs you wrote for other artists, songs you were featured on, and songs that you released that were not on your studio albums. I omitted covers for the purpose of these rankings, even though your covers are always top-notch.

Some people are bound to disagree with my ranking, but it is based on my own preference during my current mood. In fact, some of the tracks are listed in different order here than they are in the studio album rankings simply because my rank changes depending on the moment. Anyway, this was definitely the hardest one so far and thankfully, the last. So here we go…

157. Half of My Heart - John Mayer **I'll be honest...I really like this song with your vocals, but since I can no longer listen to it without thinking about how the relationship behind it ended up, I put it last***

156. Christmas Must Be Something More

155. Girl at Home

154. How You Get the Girl

153. Untouchable

152. Sweeter Than Fiction

151. So It Goes...

150. Don’t Blame Me

149. You Are in Love

148. I Think He Knows

147. Highway Don't Care - Tim McGraw ***Love your vocals on this one***

146. ME!

145. SuperStar

144. Wonderland

143. It's Nice To Have A Friend

142. Only The Young

141. Beautiful Ghosts

140. Eyes Open

139. I’m Only Me When I’m With You

138. The Moment I Knew

137. Long Live

136. This Is We Can’t Have Nice Things

135. The Outside

134. Both of Us

133. London Boy

132. Innocent

131. Shake It Off

130. I Know Places

129. Ours

128. Come In With the Rain

127. The Other Side of the Door

126. Jump Then Fall

125. King of My Heart

124. ...Ready For It?

123. A Perfectly Good Heart

122. Cold as You

121. The Man

120. Welcome to New York

119. Mean

118. Stay Beautiful  

117. The Lucky One

116. Look What You Made Me Do

115. The Best Day

114. Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)

113. Out of The Woods

112. New Romantics

111. Breathe

110. Tell Me Why

109. You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home - Miley Cyrus ***I would love to hear you perform this to see what your take on it was when you wrote it***

108. Change

107. Come Back...Be Here

106. If This Was a Movie

105. This Is What You Came For- Rihanna ***I love Rihanna, but I also really love the videos of you performing this live and am so happy that you are finally getting the writing credit you deserve***

104. Holy Ground

103. Stay Stay Stay

102. Superman

101. Christmas Tree Farm

100. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

99. Treacherous

98. Sparks Fly

97. Never Grow Up

96. I Almost Do

95. All You Had To Do Was Stay

94. Haunted

93. False God

92. Better than Revenge

91. Fearless

90. I Forgot That You Existed

89. End Game

88. Our Song

87. Starlight

86. Tied Together with a Smile

85. Babe – Sugarland ***I LIVE for the concert videos of you performing it***

84. I Heart ? ***This song NEEDS to be on Spotify***

83. peace

82. the lakes

81. Safe & Sound

80. Sad Beautiful Tragic

79. State of Grace

78. The Last Time

77. I Don't Wanna Live Forever

76. A Place in the World

75. Red

74. Gorgeous

73. seven

72. epiphany

71. mirrorball

70. Paper Rings

69. I Wish You Would

68. Christmases When You Were Mine

67. You Need To Calm Down

66. The Story of Us

65. You’re Not Sorry

64. Invisible

63. Clean

62. illicit affairs

61. Style

60. Bad Blood

59. Call It What You Want

58. mad woman

57. the 1

56. Dress

55. Two Is Better Than One

54. Everything Has Changed

53. Dancing With Our Hands Tied

52. Beautiful Eyes

51. Enchanted

50. Daylight

49. Speak Now

48. Better Man - Little Big Town ***I usually listen to the version of you performing this at the Bluebird Cafe because I can hear how you envisioned it when you wrote it, but I still love LBT's version too***

47. the last great american dynasty

46. Hey Stephen

45. I Did Something Bad

44. hoax

43. The Way I Loved You

42. Best Days of Your Life - Kellie Pickler ***Love your vocals on this one***

41. Picture to Burn

40. I Knew You Were Trouble

39. Afterglow

38. Lover

37. august

36. cardigan

35. 22

34. Forever & Always

33. Mine

32. invisible string

31. Should’ve Said No

30. Today Was A Fairytale

29. Cruel Summer

28. Love Story

27. Cornelia Street

26. You Belong With Me

25. Dear John

24. this is me trying

23. Crazier

22. White Horse

21. Tim McGraw

20. Death By A Thousand Cuts

19. Wildest Dreams

18. The Archer

17. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

16. my tears ricochet

15. Delicate

14. Last Kiss

13. New Years Day

12. Begin Again

11. exile

10. Blank Space

9. betty

8. This Love

7. Getaway Car

6. Back To December

5. Teardrops on My Guitar

4. Fifteen

3. Ronan

2. Soon You’ll Get Better

1. All Too Well

Alright. Now that the rankings are done, I can start doing way less stressful posts haha As always I hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Holly

@taylorswift

@taylornation

[romionestinyballoflight]

Here’s one more, because I’m in that kind of mood tonight I guess. Also, a little disclaimer: I chose to completely omit certain questions because I just wasn’t comfortable answering them. 🤷‍♀️

1. Are looks important in a relationship? — There should be a standard, but it shouldn’t be the most important thing.

2. Are relationships ever worth it? — With the right person, they are.

3. Are you a virgin? — Yes.

4. Are you in a relationship? — No.

5. Are you in love? — That would be no.

6. Are you single this year? — Yep.

7. Can you commit to one person? — Absolutely.

8. Describe your crush. — He’s very sweet and caring and genuine. Also really calm and mild mannered and funny.

9. Describe your perfect mate. — Basically what I just described for the previous question.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight? — No, I believe in lust at first sight.

11. Do you ever want to get married? — Yes.

12. Do you forgive betrayal? — Usually, but it takes awhile.

13. Do you get jealous easily? — I guess, but it fades quickly. I don’t like living like that, jealousy is an ugly emotion.

14. Do you have a crush on anyone? — Yep.

15. Do you have any piercings? — I had one in each ear, but I had to let them close up.

16. Do you have any tattoos? — Three so far. I want at least three more.

17. Do you like kissing in public? — I don’t mind it, but it needs to be low key. I’m not into heavy PDA like I used to be.

20. Do you shower every day? — Yes, I can’t stand feeling like I’m not clean.

21. Do you think someone has feelings for you? — I mean, I can hope.

22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? — Maybe, anything’s possible.

23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? — Lasted a little over a year without cheating, so yeah.

24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years? — Anything’s possible, but as of right now I would say probably not.

25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year? — Not really, I’m trying to work on myself right now.

26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you? — No.

27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you? — No.

28. Have you ever been cheated on? — Not that I know of.

29. Have you ever cheated on someone? — No, I could never do that.

30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body? — The only kind of plastic surgery I have ever considered, are breast implants because I feel like I’m kind of small and I’m kind of self conscious about it, but breast cancer runs in my family and implants interferes with detection.

31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl? — Many times.

32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love? — Yes, on both sides. I’ve had guys feel things for me that I didn’t reciprocate and then I’ve felt things toward guys that they didn’t reciprocate.

35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you? — No.

36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends? — Pretty much every time I’ve had a crush.

37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated? — YEP.

38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? — Almost every time I’ve crushed on someone.

39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have? — Mm hmm.

40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone? — Yes.

42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander? — Uh, a decent amount of time. I’m very into kissing, so I like to savor it.

43. How long was your longest relationship? — A little over a year.

44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? — One.

45. How many people did you kiss in 2012/2013? — None.

47. How old are you? — 26.

48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? — Something supportive, I wouldn’t try to interfere.

49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her? — No boyfriend for me right now.

50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept? — I would accept the apology, but I don’t know if I’d be able to accept the presents.

51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for? — Maybe my crush, but that’s it.

52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why? — I can’t think of anyone right now, but I don’t give up on people easily.

53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are? — I’m not really talking to anyone, I just have the crush.

54. Is there someone you will never forget? — A few people.

55. Share a relationship story. — So I was at a Christmas tree lighting festival with the guy I was dating at the time, and we went behind one of the buildings where it was (it took place in downtown) to fool around (this was about ten years ago, and I was more into PDA than I am now), and we were interrupted by a drunk guy stumbling back there to take a piss. Not the most interesting story, but it’s the first one I thought of.

56. State 8 facts about your body. — 1) I really don’t like anything about my physical appearance. That’s really all you need to know, I can’t think of seven more things.

57. Things you want to say to an ex. — Not to sound like Adele, but I really do wish nothing but the best for him.

58. What are five ways to win your heart? — 1) Humor; 2) Thoughtfulness; 3) Genuine and Caring; 4) Patience; 5) Trust.

59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!) — Okay, you asked for it.

60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners? — I’ve only had one boyfriend so far, and the age difference was seven months.

61. What is the first thing you notice in someone? — How they treat people around them, I guess.

62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you? — Prove I’m the only one they’re thinking about, I guess.

64. What is your definition of cheating? — Anything that you feel you need to hide from your partner when it comes to another person.

67. What is your idea of the perfect date? — Something casual and fun, can’t really think of anything specific right now.

68. What is your sexual orientation? — Straight.

69. What turns you off? — Bad hygiene, cockiness, rudeness.

70. What turns you on? — Humor, generosity, caring.

73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you? — Hmm, I really don’t know.

74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for? — Height. I prefer if the guy I’m dating is taller than me.

75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you? — The first one that came to mind is the guy I’m currently crushing on told his supervisors without hesitation that he was going into work late one day because I had to have an EGD done and I needed someone take me there and back home.

76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone? — I’m really into baking for people I care about, and I’m also not shy about telling people how much they mean to me. Sorry about not getting more specific, but I can’t think of anything specific at the moment.

77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships? — They’re fine, but to a point.

79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why? — Last week, because my mom had to get a new vehicle and she basically got what I’ve been wanting to get for a long time now.

80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them? — Last night, I think. I said it to my mom.

81. Who are five people you find attractive? — 1) Dan Radcliffe; 2) Josh Hutcherson; 3) Ryan Reynolds; 4) Leo DiCaprio; 5) Patrick Swayze (RIP).

82. Who is the last person you hugged? — My mom or my brother.

83. Who was your first kiss with? — My first boyfriend, Cody.

84. Why did your last relationship fail? — It had just run its course and it didn’t make sense to continue it. He’s the one who ended it, but I had been thinking about putting an end to it earlier that same day. So it didn’t end badly, and we were on the same page about it (though it may not have seemed like it at the time, because despite knowing in my heart it was done I was still horrifically heartbroken and I don’t handle rejection well).

85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet? — Probably not, that’s a little too out of my comfort zone.

[italianartsociety]

By: Amy Fredrickson

On this day in 1516, Florentine painter Biagio d'Antonio dei Tucci died. He was a prolific artist who was successful both in his native Florence and in other places in Italy; yet, he is often omitted from literature. His works were often confused with, and credited to more renowned artists like Perugino, Botticelli, and Ghirlandaio. Like Biagio, these artists also worked in Rome and decorated the Sistine Chapel during the 1480s. A similar instance occurred with commissions in Faenza, where Biagio was confused with the painters Andrea Utili and Giovanni Battista Utili who, coincidently, also resided in the town and painted cassoni.

As a result, scholars know little about Biagio’s early training. His style exhibits Florentine’s innovations of the late fifteenth-century, such as Fra Fillipo Lippi’s linear style of modeling, Verrocchio’s sculptural influence, and the integration of Netherlandish coloring. Biagio’s connection to Verrocchio is unknown, yet it is confirmed that he collaborated with the painter Cosimo Rosselli in 1470. At this point though, he was a fully trained artist. 

Biagio specialized in works for domestic interiors, such as religious panel paintings featuring the Madonna and Child and decorative wedding chests exhibiting biblical and mythological scenes. Biagio favored rich colors that illuminated his subject matter. By 1472, he shared a workshop with Jacopo del Sellaio, with whom he collaborated on cassoni commissions. He established a large studio in Faenza by 1476, which he maintained for about thirty years. While he was based in Faenza, Biagio traveled to various Italian cities to assist other artists on large commissions. For example, he aided Pietro Perugino with paintings in the Palazzo della Signoria. Then, between 1481 and 1482, he worked with Cosimo Rosselli on frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Their works included The Last Supper and most likely The Crossing of the Red Sea.

Documents prove that he was still active in 1504 when he painted an altarpiece for the widow of Vincenzo Bazzolini depicting the Madonna and Child with Saints John the Evangelist and Anthony of Padua for the church of San Francesco in Faenza. After 1504, it is unknown whether he had other commissions or if he returned to Florence. Biagio d'Antonio dei Tucci died on June 1, 1516.

References:

"BIAGIO D'antonio Da Firenze In "Dizionario Biografico"". 2019. Treccani.It. http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/biagio-d-antonio-da-firenze_(Dizionario-Biografico)/.

Boskovits, Miklós, and David Alan Brown, et al, Italian Paintings of the Fifteenth Century. The Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art. (Washington, D.C., 2003). 

Further Reading:

Bartoli, Roberta, Biagio d'Antonio, (Milan, 1999).

Images:

Virgin and Child Enthroned with Five Saints and Two Angels, 1470-75, Tempera on panel, 168 x 178 cm, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. 

The Triumph of Camillus, 1470-75, Tempera on panel, 60 x 154 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Scenes from the Story of Io, 1480s, Tempera on poplar panel, 74 x 133 cm, Private collection.

Portrait of a Young Man, c. 1470, Tempera on wood, 54 x 39 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Portrait of a Boy, 1476-80, Oil and tempera on panel, 42 x 36 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Madonna and Child, 1490s, Oil on panel, 45 x 38 cm Private collection.

Madonna Adoring the Child with an Angel, c. 1475, Tempera on panel, 74 x 54 cm, Museu de Arte, São Paulo.

Crucifixion, 1482, Fresco, Cappella Sistina, Vatican.

Arrest of Christ, 1482, Fresco, Cappella Sistina, Vatican.

Scenes from the Story of the Argonauts, c. 1465, Tempera on wood, gilt ornaments, 50 x 142 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Chest and spalliera with the arms of Lorenzo Morelli and Vaggia Nerli (The Morelli Chest), 1472, Tempera on panel, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London. 

[duggardata]

When to Expect Siren #1, Plus—How Many Children for Josiah + Lauren ?

I know, I know...  They literally just got married!  Let them enjoy married life for a bit!  But hey, why should I?  Data is my speciality—and, here, the data is crystal clear.  If they’re typical Duggars, SiRen should be parents (or at least expecting) within a year.  So, yeah...  What better time than now to calculate—

What is Josiah + Lauren’s Total Marital Fertility (TMT)?

Can they ‘keep up’ w/ Michelle?  If so, at what pace?

How many children does the Predictor think they’ll have?

When will they announce their first pregnancy?

When will SiRen #1 arrive?

After the jump!

ICYMI—Hours ago on June 30, 2018, Josiah Duggar, 21, and Lauren Swanson, 19, exchange vows after a unprecedented 127–Day Engagement.  According to PEOPLE—which, once again, got the exclusive—the couple finally tied the knot at Cathedral of The Ozarks in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.  (That’s where Jinger + Jeremy tied the knot in 2016!)

While SiRen hasn’t said (yet) that they’ll let God do their family planning, there’s no reason to suspect they’ll break with their quiverfull (QF) upbringing.  So, let’s see what ‘God’ might have in store...

SiRen’s Procreative Potential

A prior Post, “Keeping Up w/ Michelle (The In–Laws),” guessed that SiRen may have ~20 Children, based on Lauren’s DOB and rough wedding date.  With the pair’s actual wedding date now in–hand, let’s run those numbers again...

Total Marital Fertility  (TMT)

Let’s assume, as we do for all Duggar In–Laws, that Lauren will remain fertile—i.e., capable of giving birth to a living child—until Age 40.  Lauren’s DOB is May 18, 1999, so she’ll celebrate the Big 4–0 on May 18, 2039.  With a wedding day of June 30, 2018, Lauren has a Total Marital Fertility (TMT) of 7,627 Days.

How does this compare to others?  Here’s the list—

Michelle (Ruark) Duggar   7,552 Days   (Fertile + QF)

Anna (Keller) Duggar   7,210 Days 

Jill (Duggar) Dillard   7,358 Days

Jessa (Duggar) Seewald   7,762 Days

Jinger (Duggar) Vuolo   7,439 Days

Kendra (Caldwell) Duggar   7,642 Days   

Joy–Anna (Duggar) Forsyth   8,644 Days

Duggar Average   7,494 Days     |     SD   ±200 Days   

Note—For all the data, see “Keeping Up w/ Michelle,” Parts 1, 2, and 3.

Long story short, Lauren’s TMT is greater than every Duggar’s so far, except—Kendra (+15 Days), Jessa (+135 Days), and Joy–Anna (+1,017 Days).  Lauren’s TMT is 75 Days longer than Michelle’s, and 133 Days (or, 0.67 SDs) longer than the pre–Lauren Duggar Average.  A nice timeframe to work with, for sure.    

Necessary Pace for 19

If Si + Lauren are going for 19 Children, they’ll need to maintain a pace of...

7,627 Days   Total Marital Fertility

/  19 Children   Target Quiver Size

=  1 Child Every 401 Days

That’s ~1 Child Every 13 Months.  (Yikes!)  Let’s see if that’s realistic...

Predicted # of Children

So far, Duggar Couples tend to have their first child very quickly, and later–born children slightly less quickly.  As of June 30, 2018, after the birth of 5 Firstborns, the Duggar–typical Marriage to Firstborn delay is 316 Days (10.39 Months).  (As y’all know, Vuolo #1 will soon arrive—and, the Vuolos’ marriage was >316 Days ago.  While this is true, Vuolo #1 won’t skew the Marriage to Firstborn delay too much.  It’ll still be <1 Year!  So, let’s just use the 316 Day average, for SiRen.)  If SiRen are exactly Duggar–average, their Firstborn will arrive in May 2019—and, at that point, Lauren will have 7,627 – 316  =  7,311 Fertile Days left.

Like I said, non–Firstborns tend to arrive less quickly than Firstborns.  Currently, a Child Spacing of 524 Days is Duggar–average.  Assuming, yet again, Josiah + Lauren’s complete typicality, their 7,311 Remaining Fertile Days will yield...

7,311 Days   Remaining Fertility  (Post–Firstborn)

/  524 Days   Duggar–Average Child Spacing

=  13.95 Children

Rounding, and adding their Firstborn, that’s a total of 14—15 Children for the Duggar–Swansons.  Wow.

When To Expect SiRen #1

It’s the question on everyone’s minds, is it not?  It is.  Just admit it.  Let’s do the math!

Birthdate

As I said above, the typical Duggar Couple welcomes their Firstborn 316 Days—or, ~10 Months—after exchanging vows.  Here’s a list of each couple’s delay from Marriage to Firstborn, in ascending order—

Joy + Austin   273 Days  (Tie)

Joe + Kendra   273 Days  (Tie)

Jill + Derick   289 Days

Jessa + Ben   369 Days

Josh + Anna   377 Days

As you can see, there’s some variety.  Doing the math, the Standard Deviation (SD) is ±52 Days.  Thus, assuming a normal curve, there’s a 68% Chance of a given Duggar Couple—say, SiRen—having a child within ±1 SD of the Duggar–average (316 Days)—i.e., 264 to 368 Days, post–wedding.  And, there’s a 95% Chance that they’ll have their first child within ±2 SDs of the Duggar average—i.e., 212 to 420 Days, post–wedding.

All told, if SiRen are 100% Average, their Firstborn will arrive on May 12, 2019, 316 Days after their June 30, 2018 wedding.  Assuming that doesn’t happen, it is Probable (68%) that Duggar–Swanson #1 will arrive in the March 21–July 3, 2019 range, and Nearly–Certain (95%) that he or she will arrive by August 24,  2019.  So, yeah...  When I say they will be parents (or pregnant) by their 1–Year anniversary, I’m not exaggerating.

Also, just for fun...  If SiRen is hoping to beat out JoyStin and JoKen for Fastest Firstborn, Lauren needs to give birth after 272 Days, or less.  That is March 29, 2019, at the latest.  (Alternately, if Duggar–Swanson #1 arrives on March 30, we would have a hilarious three–way tie for Fastest Firstborn.)

Due Date

Since Garrett’s birth, it’s now typical for GrandDuggars to arrive On–Time—i.e., neither early, nor late.  So, we’ll use the projected DOBs above as due dates, as well—

Earliest   March 21, 2019   (Mean — 1 SD)

Early   March 29, 2019   (Beats JoKen / JoyStin)

Average   May 12, 2019   (Mean / Average)

Late   July 3, 2019   (Mean + 1 SD)     

Latest   August 24, 2019   (Mean + 2 SDs)

Note that I omitted Mean – 2 SDs, since it comes out to only 212 Days.  There’s just no way that’s happening, barring premarital sex or scary prematurity.  So... I used 272 Days—i.e., what’s needed to ‘beat’ Joy and Kendra—instead.

Pregnancy Reveal

As of June 2018, the typical Duggar announces that she’s pregnant when she’s  94 Days Along.  (That’s 13 Weeks, 3 Days.)  Assuming Lauren is average, this is when she’d announce—

Earliest   Septemer 16, 2018

Early   September 24, 2018

Average   November 7, 2018

Late   December 29, 2018 

Latest   February 19, 2019

Currently, the Dillards hold the record for Fastest Post–Marital Pregnancy News, having announced Israel just 60 Days after their wedding.  For SiRen to get that record, they’ll have to announce on or before August 28, 2018.

I’m anxious to see what will happen. 

[littleharpethcrossfit]

Sunday, Jan 6     Jogs/Squats/Good Mornings.....Deadlifts.....BarbellWOD.

A lovely January day.  Sunny, 63 degrees.  It’s a shame to have to workout indoors.

Skinny-Legged  Back-Pack Larry was coerced into leading the warmup.  He took advantage of the weather and led us around the Courtyard whilst performing Squats and Good Mornings every 50 yds or so.

Strength WOD:     5 Deadlifts Every Other Minute for 8 Sets.     40 Total Reps.     Recommend 60 to 70% 1 Rep Max Weight.     Pick a partner and alternate rounds.

Thomas/Shane=355     Armando/Nathan/Ed/David/Neal=295     Warren G/Robert=270     Larry/Sam=245     Herb/Timmy=242     Rodney=215     Coach/Owen=205     Dana/Emily/Angel=135     Linda/cheri/Sue/Elisa=115     About 10 people failed to post.          

Barbell WOD:     Partners Share Reps.  You can choose to do the entire thing if you are foolish.     Recommended Weights are (115E/95/65).   Best times in the past were under 10 minutes for RX.  So this is quicker than it looks.  You can do it all while rooted in one spot.  Please consider ELITE if able.

100 Front Squats

80 Hang Power Cleans

60 Push Presses

A good response to the plea for “ELITES”:

Shane/Thomas=8:25     Warren G/Larry=9:40     David/Neal=10:10     Ed=12:40     Armando/Nathan=14:45     Timmy=15:45

RXers:

Robert/Sam=9:39     Dana=13:58     Emily/Angel=14:32

Did all the 240  reps solo:

Herb=16:07 (75 lbs)     Owen=17:27 (65 lbs)         

Notes:

A pair of guys put 115 lbs on the bar and yet beat the best 95 lb effort by over a minute.  I guess I’ll have to increase the weight AGAIN for the next attempt.

It was heartwarming to see a majority of a few FAMILIES here today:  The Smith’s, Kennedy’s, and Schwartz”s.  I hope I didn’t omit anyone. 

Coach encouraged everyone to frequently visit the CrossFit.com website for a couple of reasons.  The main reason is that they are featuring low carb cooking lessons every 4th day.  The video’s are artistic, SHORT, and low carb HEALTHY. The other reason is that they are emphasizing exercises for old people like me !!    Check it out.  Look at the site every day.  The best exercise site on the internet.

Tuesday at the BARN at 4 PM.    Robert’s boss is supposed to attend.  It’s difficult to believe that there is anyone in this universe superior to Robert, other than AMY.   I’m certain this is only a temporary situation.  Robert has, for several weeks,  coached me on things I am supposed to say or do, or things I am NOT supposed to say or do.  I have already violated a couple of directives in writing this blog.  He says the BOSS reads my blog.  Hopefully BOSS understands that this author is a sarcastic humorist who takes poetic license with the facts.  After the BOSS’s visit I will reveal some truly funny stuff.

Tuesday at 4.  We may even taste a little wine served on jump-box’s with dead mice families inside.  How do I pair that ?

[opedguy]

Jake Sullivan Part of Russian Hoax

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Sept. 25, 2021.--Recent indictment of 73-year-old former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann gets a step closer to exposing the Russian hoax that plagued 75-year-old President Donald Trump for his four years in office.  Democrats alleged since the 2016 Clinton campaign that Trump and his campaign colluded with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election.  House Democrats led by 80-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y) all insisted that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.  Sussmann told FBI General Counsel James Baker in 2016 that the Trump organization had a secret server tied to Russia’s Alfa Bank.  Sussmann billed the Clinton campaign, supplying more fake information to FusionGPS, Glen Simpson’s opposition research firm.  

           Sussmann’s statements to the FBI helped create 60-year-old former FBI Director James Comey’s counterintelligence intelligence plus his excuse for going to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA] Court to seek warrants to wiretap former Trump campaign aid Carter Page.  It was another part of the same Russian hoax orchestrated by the Clinton campaign against Trump that had 71-year-old Special Counsel John Durham indicting 38-year-old former FBI Attorney Kevin Clinesmith Jan. 29, 2021 for altering an FBI email omitting the fact that Carter Page worked for the CIA.  Had the FISA Court known that Page worked for the CIA, they would not have granted Comey the warrant to wiretap Page.  So, Durham has caught two low-level attorneys in perpetuating the fake Russian hoax, designed to accuse Trump of colluding with the Kremlin to win the 2016 presidential election.  

           Durham has gone about his work methodically, not on Trump’s timeline, knowing that more revelations about the Russian hoax would have given the former president a shot in the arm for his reelection bid.  Sussmann’s new indictment implicates 78-year-old President Joe Biden’s 44-year-old National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who, in 2016, worked as a foreign policy adviser for Hillary.  All of Hillary’s team, including former Campaign Manager Robby Mook, former Communication Director Jennifer Palmeri, Campaign Lawyer Mark Elias and Sullivan were actively involved in promoting the “Steele Dossier,” a compendium of fabrications created by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele.  Steele admitted in an unrelated court proceeding that he erased all the underlying data related to the “Steele Dossier.”  More likely, Steele never had any underlying data because it was all made up.    

         Only weeks before the 2016 election, Hillary tweeted, “Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank,” information Hillary shared with Sullivan.  “This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow,” Sullivan said in 2016.  “Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.  This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia . . . This line of communication may help explain Trump’s bizarre adoration of Vladimir Putin,” Sullivan said, repeating the same nonsense delivered by Sussmann to the FBI.  Comey knew that anything coming from the Hillary campaign or Steele Dossier was completely fabricated with only one intent:  To undermine Trump 2016 presidential campaign and elect Hillary on Election Day.   

          Sullivan’s role in the Russian hoax should have been grounds for his disqualification as National Security Adviser, something that didn’t require Senate confirmation.  “We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia,” Sullivan said.  “The FBI ultimately concluded that there could be an innocuous explanation, like a marketing email or spam, for the computer contacts,” the New York Times reported.  Ultimately, 77-year-old Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded, after a 22-month investigation and over $40 million, March 23, 2019 that no links could be found between the Trump campaign and Russia.  Yet Democrats like Schiff continued to insist they had all the goods on Trump’s contacts with Russia, event after Mueller gave his verdict.  Comey and Mueller knew from Day 1 the Russian Hoax was fake.  

           Catching Sussmann feeding the FBI more disinformation doesn’t help Durham get to the monstrous conspiracy that goes to the top of the Obama White House. Former President Barck Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden and most of his Cabinet were involved in the conspiracy to prevent Trump from becoming president. Were it not for all of Hillary’s negatives, including her own private server where she deleted thousands of emails related to her work as Secretary of State, she might have won the 2016 election.  Durham has spent nearly two years methodically unraveling the conspiracy, only to indict Clinesmith and now Sussmann.  Sullivan was intimately involved in the conspiracy, feeding the FBI Sussmann’s fake information about Trump’s alleged ties to Russia’s Alfa Bank.  Sullivan was directly involved in spreading disinformation in Hillary 2016 campaign. 

About the Author 

  John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin national and global news.  He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma Reply 

[cabiba]

KEY POINTS

The cognitive approach to lie detection involves asking for more information, the use of unexpected questions, and imposing cognitive load.

A new review study suggests the cognitive approach increases accuracy when identifying deception.

Signs of deception include nonverbal and verbal behaviors such as nervousness, uncertainty, and providing few details.

Source: Schwerdhoefer/Pixabay

People lie all the time; they omit information, minimize or exaggerate the truth, or give vague answers. And they lie for a variety of reasons: to save face, spare the feelings of others, get what they want, or avoid potentially disastrous consequences for themselves or others.

Yet people also value honesty. They frequently want, even demand, that others be honest with them. And they typically react negatively to dishonesty in their romantic partner, children, friends, coworkers, etc.

Research suggests dishonesty is hard to spot; there is no easy way to tell if someone is lying. Specifically, though research has identified certain verbal and nonverbal signs of lying, there are no completely reliable signs of deception. As Vrij and Easton note, “there is nothing as simple and obvious as Pinocchio’s growing nose.”

So, having established it is difficult to tell if someone is lying, the question is, Are there ways to improve lie detection? Yes, according to new findings by Giolla and Luke: The cognitive approach to lie detection may increase the accuracy of detecting deception. Their findings, published in the April issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology, will be described below.

The cognitive approach to lie detection

The cognitive approach to lie detection emphasizes several techniques, including the following three:

1. Imposing cognitive load

Cognitive load concerns the demands placed on a person’s cognitive resources (e.g., attention, memory). For instance, environmental distractions (e.g., noise) or strong emotions (e.g., extreme fear or anger) decrease the cognitive resources available to a person trying to recall the details of an event.

But lying, compared to telling the truth, also places a greater demand on one’s mental resources; therefore, when we impose a cognitive load on the individual being questioned, he or she may find it more difficult to tell a lie.

The authors note some techniques useful in increasing cognitive load include: The individual can be asked to “provide their statement in reverse order,” “perform a secondary task while providing a statement,” or “to maintain eye contact with the interviewer at all times.”

2. Encouraging the person to say more

In general, people who tell the truth can quickly provide more relevant information when asked. Liars, in contrast, will have to fabricate additional details. Therefore, liars are more likely to make mistakes and give details inconsistent with the information already provided or the verifiable facts of the event.

Some techniques used to encourage a speaker to provide more details include showing them a model statement that demonstrates the high level of detail expected in an ideal answer, requesting that the individual report everything they are able to recall (even unrelated details), and asking the individual to draw a detailed sketch of the location or event.

3. Unanticipated questions

It is assumed that when given enough time, liars prepare themselves for the interview or interrogation by anticipating the questions they will likely be asked. Such prepared lies are usually difficult to detect since they are less likely to be associated with typical deception cues.

So, one way to detect lies when the liar has had plenty of time to prepare is by asking unanticipated questions. Compared to liars, truth-tellers will answer these questions more quickly and consistently and provide more information.

The cognitive approach: Methods and results

Let us now consider the findings of the meta-analysis by Luke and Giolla. These researchers selected 23 independent samples for the quantitative synthesis; 16 included a control condition (i.e., no cognitive approach to lie detection).

In total, there were 1,781 individuals receivers, meaning participants whose job was to decide if a message was true or false. In the control conditions, there were 1,165 receivers.

The results of the meta-analysis showed the cognitive approach was associated with an (uncorrected) average accuracy rate of 60%.

One way to determine whether 60% is a good accuracy rate is by comparing it with the accuracy rate in the control conditions in this review (48%). Alternatively, we could compare it with findings from previous studies, which suggest an average accuracy rate of 54%. From this perspective, 60% accuracy is a very small improvement.

However, the authors note, if we focus on trials where the observers were told which signs of lying they should focus on (e.g., how logical and plausible a story is, how much detail is provided), the results are very different:

While the accuracy rate of people not informed of objective signs of deception is close to 50%, informed participants achieve “an average accuracy rate of approximately 75%,” suggesting the “cognitive approach to lie detection can improve accuracy rates by 21–27%.”

This makes sense. Because the goal of the cognitive approach to lie detection is to magnify certain deception cues, if a person does not pay attention to these potential signs of lying, then their ability to detect lies would not improve.

Source: PDPics/PixabayTakeaway

It is not easy to tell when someone is lying. To spot liars, people often look for signs of deception. Signs of deception include a variety of nonverbal and verbal behaviors, like nervousness and tension, giving answers with limited detail and answers that make little sense, appearing uncertain, and sounding less direct and personal.

Because lying is mentally taxing and uses up a lot of cognitive resources (attention, memory), the cognitive approach to lying suggests watching for signs of deception after introducing cognitive load should make it easier to differentiate liars from truth-tellers.

The reviewed meta-analysis, which summarized almost 16,000 veracity judgments, found the cognitive interviewing tactics did improve lie detection accuracy, but only if observers are told what deception cues to focus on. If not, the use of the cognitive approach does not offer significant advantages over unassisted lie detection.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup.

Poll of the week

Charlie Baker, Larry Hogan and Phil Scott should get T-shirts made up. In the first quarter of 2018, according to Morning Consult, they were the first-, second- and fourth-most-popular governors in America.1 And that’s despite sharing one surprising commonality: They are Republicans in three of the country’s bluest states. If they were a band, they’d be called Maroon Three — red castaways enisled in a sea of blue.

This week, Morning Consult released their updated ranking of America’s most popular governors, and, like last quarter again, Baker and Hogan topped the list. A full 69 percent of voters in Massachusetts — whose FiveThirtyEight partisan lean2 is 24 points more Democratic-leaning than the nation at large — approved of the job Baker was doing, while only 17 percent disapproved. The story was almost exactly the same in Maryland, another D+24 state: Hogan received a 68 percent approval rating and a 17 percent disapproval rating.

But Scott might get voted off the island. While he had a 65-21 approval-disapproval rating among Vermonters in the first quarter, he has fallen to 47 percent approval, 42 percent disapproval in this week’s findings, tarnishing his both-sides-of-the-street cred. The likeliest reason for the plummet in his popularity is a landmark gun-control law he signed in April amid protests in this historically gun-friendly state.

The new numbers cast doubt on the widely held assumption that Scott will cruise to re-election in 2018. But if he is indeed in danger, it may be in the Aug. 14 GOP primary rather than the general election. That’s because his popularity has eroded dramatically among Vermont’s Republicans, dropping by 26 points since last quarter. According to Morning Consult, Scott amazingly now has a higher approval rating among Democrats (who approve of him 61 percent to 31 percent) than Republicans (who disapprove 56 percent to 41 percent). If he survives his primary challenge from a pro-gun business owner, Scott still starts in a good position to win the votes of the state’s many Democrats.

And he’s not alone in his cross-party appeal. Baker is about equally popular among Democrats (who approve of him 70 percent to 17 percent) and Republicans (who approve 69 percent to 20 percent). Hogan can’t boast the same, but I imagine he’s still pretty happy with his support across the political spectrum: 62 percent of Democrats approve of his performance vs. 23 percent who disapprove. Republicans approve of him 82 percent to 10 percent.

Those numbers sound impressive — and they are — but they’re not as unusual as you might think. Support for governors frequently defies partisanship, at least if you define “partisanship” by people’s presidential preferences. Gubernatorial elections have gotten more nationalized in recent decades, but many voters still see state and federal elections as fundamentally different ballgames. There is basically no correlation between each governor’s net approval rating3 in the latest Morning Consult poll and his or her state’s partisan lean. Some governors are right in line with the partisanship of their states, such as Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee (a +18 net approval rating in D+13 Washington). But others have brands that distinguish them from their parties and make them way more popular (or unpopular) than partisanship alone would predict.

We can quantify each governor’s “Popularity Above Replacement Governor” (or PARG) by measuring the distance between their net approval rating and their state’s partisan lean. By this measurement, Scott is still doing pretty well. He’s 31 points more popular than a generic Republican “should” be in Vermont, good for the seventh-highest score in the country.

Introducing ‘Popularity Above Replacement Governor’

Governors’ net approval rating relative to the partisan lean* of their state

Governor State Name Party Net Approval State Partisan Lean PARG Massachusetts Baker R +52 D+24 +76 Maryland Hogan R +51 D+24 +75 Montana Bullock D +20 R+21 +41 Nevada Sandoval R +37 D+1 +38 New Hampshire Sununu R +39 R+1 +38 Louisiana Edwards D +14 R+22 +36 Vermont P. Scott R +5 D+26 +31 North Carolina Cooper D +22 R+6 +28 Georgia Deal R +31 R+8 +23 Colorado Hickenlooper D +23 D+2 +21 Alabama Ivey R +50 R+29 +21 Virginia Northam D +21 D+2 +19 Texas Abbott R +30 R+13 +17 Florida R. Scott R +19 R+3 +16 Minnesota Dayton D +16 D+1 +15 Delaware Carney D +24 D+11 +13 Mississippi Bryant R +30 R+19 +11 Indiana Holcomb R +29 R+19 +10 Pennsylvania Wolf D +7 R+2 +9 South Dakota Daugaard R +37 R+29 +8 Ohio Kasich R +15 R+8 +7 Washington Inslee D +18 D+13 +5 South Carolina McMaster R +20 R+16 +4 Tennessee Haslam R +30 R+27 +3 Arkansas Hutchinson R +31 R+29 +2 Utah Herbert R +29 R+28 +1 New Jersey Murphy D +11 D+12 -1 Missouri Parson R +18 R+19 -1 Kansas Colyer R +18 R+23 -5 Oregon K. Brown D +3 D+9 -6 Iowa Reynolds R +1 R+8 -7 North Dakota Burgum R +27 R+34 -7 Wisconsin S. Walker R -8 R+1 -9 Arizona Ducey R -2 R+7 -9 Maine LePage R -14 D+4 -10 Nebraska Ricketts R +16 R+27 -11 New York Cuomo D +9 D+21 -12 New Mexico Martinez R -19 D+6 -13 Michigan Snyder R -15 EVEN -15 Wyoming Mead R +32 R+47 -15 Rhode Island Raimondo D -2 D+16 -18 Illinois Rauner R -33 D+14 -19 Idaho Otter R +12 R+34 -22 California J. Brown D +2 D+26 -24 Hawaii Ige D -7 D+32 -39 West Virginia Justice R -4 R+41 -45 Kentucky Bevin R -28 R+31 -59 Connecticut Malloy D -50 D+12 -62 Oklahoma Fallin R -55 R+38 -93

Note: A Democratic governor with a net approval of +2 in an R+7 state has a PARG of +9 (2+7 = 9). If the same state had a Republican governor with the same approval rating, the PARG would be -5 (2-7= -5). Alaska’s Bill Walker was omitted from this list because he’s an independent.

*A state’s partisan lean is the average difference between how the district voted and how the country voted overall in the last two presidential elections, with 2016 weighted 75 percent and 2012 weighted 25 percent.

Sources: Morning Consult, Daily Kos Elections

It’s not surprising that the two governors with the highest PARG are also the two most popular governors overall. Think about it: If a governor appeals only to their own party, there’s a ceiling on how popular they can become. (Even the most lopsided state in the 2016 election, Wyoming, gave only 68 percent of its votes to President Trump.) To break through that barrier, you need to have crossover appeal. When you’re a Republican in a dark-red state, there’s no real incentive to build on that base — you’re going to win your next election anyway. But Republicans in blue states (and Democrats in red states) are forced to win over voters on the other side. Otherwise, they can’t get elected. As long as those voters continue to approve of their actions in office, the sky’s the limit for these governors’ approval ratings.

Other polling nuggets

An NBC News/Marist poll that was making the rounds Wednesday included some stunning numbers from a trio of Midwestern states. When asked whether Trump deserves re-election, Michigan voters said 62 percent to 28 percent that someone else should be given a chance. Minnesota voters agreed 60 percent to 30 percent, as did Wisconsin voters, 63 percent to 31 percent. The problem, though, with these types of polls is that a presidential election is a choice, not a referendum. It’s easy for voters to hear a question like that and measure up Trump against their ideal candidate. But the Democrats’ 2020 nominee won’t be every voter’s ideal candidate, and Trump won’t lose these states by 30-plus points, either.

Americans are split on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. According to a Quinnipiac poll, 40 percent of voters said the Senate should confirm him, while 41 percent said it should not. Eighty percent of Republicans but only 11 percent of Democrats said Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

33 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki this month, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll; 50 percent disapprove. That’s in line with the Quinnipiac poll, which found 27 percent said the summit was a success, while 52 percent said it was a failure.

33 percent of Americans said they think the FBI is “biased against the Trump administration,” as opposed to “just trying to do their job,” according to a Marist poll. That’s up from 23 percent in February.

A poll from the Pew Research Center found a decline in the FBI’s favorability from 71 percent in September 2016 to 65 percent now. That may not seem like much of a change, but the topline numbers mask a growing partisan divide.

A Monmouth University poll shows that Democrat Conor Lamb has a double-digit lead on Republican Keith Rothfus in Pennsylvania’s 17th District. The district was newly drawn from bits of other districts by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, making this the only House race that pits incumbents against each other.

A YouGov poll found that 49 percent of Americans said they believe it is either “definitely” or “probably” true that millions of illegal votes were cast in the 2016 presidential election. That includes 42 percent of Democrats as well as 59 percent of Republicans.

In addition to the governors survey, Morning Consult also released job approval numbers for every member of the Senate. Vermont’s Bernie Sanders had the highest approval rating, while Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell had the highest disapproval rating.

70 percent of Americans said in a YouGov poll that, of the five senses, they would miss sight the most if they lost it; 7 percent said they would miss hearing the most, 5 percent said taste, 3 percent said touch, and 2 percent said smell.

48 percent of registered voters said in a Morning Consult poll that the label “milk” should not be used to market non-dairy beverages; 23 percent said the label should be used. That comes after the head of the FDA suggested last week that non-dairy products may not meet the FDA’s official definition of milk, noting that “an almond doesn’t lactate.”

Trump approval

This week, Trump’s net approval rating sits at -11.7 percentage points, according to our tracker: 41.3 percent approve of his job performance and 53 percent disapprove. Last week, the spread was a bit smaller, at -11.0 points (a 41.8 percent approval rating compared with a 52.8 percent disapproval rating). He was slightly more popular a month ago, when his net approval rating was -9.5 points. Back then, 42.2 percent approved and 51.7 percent disapproved of his performance.

Generic ballot

According to FiveThirtyEight’s model of generic congressional ballot polling, 48.1 percent of voters prefer Democrats and 39.9 percent prefer Republicans. That 8.2-point margin has reverted to the mean a bit from Democrats’ unusually wide 9.3-point lead (Democrats 48.7 percent, Republicans 39.4 percent) last week, but it’s definitely much better for them than the 5.7-point lead (Democrats 46.4 percent, Republicans 40.7 percent) they held this time last month.

Check out all the polls we’ve been collecting ahead of the 2018 midterms.