#i wrote this while on a plane from the UK to the US

[inklesspen]

Points system for HP AU fics

Fics have five points. Spend them wisely.

Identity games:

2: WBWL/Not the BWL

2: Cis female Harry

1: Trans female Harry who transitioned (including socially) before Hogwarts

2: Taken in by the Grangers before Hogwarts

1: "Lordships" are a thing

2: Harry's multiple Lordships means he needs multiple wives

2: James and/or Lily were secretly bad people

1: Harry has siblings

That's not how the Force magic works:

1: Single-participant magical oaths

2: Magical oaths can determine the truth of a particular claim (instead of requiring particular actions)

3: Author forgot that purebloods aren't actually better than muggleborns

1: "Family magicks" exist in any sense other than "we invented a spell and we only teach it to our family members"

1: Magical cores are a thing

3: Magical capacity (or strength of a magical ability, etc) is measured in percentages

3: Soulmates (in the sense of "the universe has assigned you a partner") are a thing

Albus Dumbledore School of Manipulation and Head Games:

2: Dumbledore obliviates Harry to keep him on the path

3: Dumbledore deliberately weakens Harry's magical strength

2: Anyone uses love potions, loyalty potions, etc (except for instances which occurred in canon, such as Romilda Vane's attempt) to control Harry or his friends

1: Dumbledore has deliberately crippled Hogwarts' curriculum to keep people ignorant of various things

2: Dumbledore has arranged marriage(s) for Harry

10: Dumbledore engineered Tom Riddle's rise for his own reasons

Misc:

1: Harry has a non-canonical disability (pre-Hogwarts)

3: Dursleys are sexually abusive

2: Harry, while 16 or younger, is paired romantically/sexually with someone 19 or older (exceptions for de-aging iff the author does it well)

1: Overly helpful goblins

3: Actual UK royals intervene in the magical world

1: Fictional UK royals intervene in the magical world

2: Actual UK politicians (prime ministers, for instance) intervene in the magical world

1: Hermione is shamed for her ignorant attitude toward house elf slavery

2: Frequent SPAG errors

10: Characters all sound exactly the same

1000: Muggleborns come from house elves pouring liquid magic in the water supply

Mitigating Factors:

+1: Author has written other fics I've enjoyed

+2: Fic involves time travel

+1: Fic has a really cool worldbuilding element (such as the broomsport "gliding")

+1: Tonks is nonbinary and this actually gets explored

+1: Harry is a metamorph

+1: Ginny retains parseltongue after the diary incident

+1: Harry and Delphini have a positive relationship (friendship, family, w/e)

[justforbooks]

Few songwriters have been able to enjoy hits across six decades, as well as the bonus of a dramatic revival of interest in their work during the later years of their careers. Burt Bacharach, who has died aged 94, could claim both.

With his writing partner Hal David, Bacharach launched himself into the front rank of pop songwriters with a brilliant streak of hits for Dionne Warwick during the 1960s, beginning in 1962 with Don’t Make Me Over and proceeding through (among others) Walk on By, Anyone Who Had a Heart, I Say a Little Prayer, Trains and Boats and Planes, and Do You Know the Way to San Jose. All became standards in Bacharach’s chosen pop-easy-listening genre, and meanwhile he was turning out equally durable classics for a string of different artists. Tom Jones never particularly liked What’s New, Pussycat?, the Oscar-nominated theme from the 1965 film of the same name, but acknowledged its enduring popularity.

Herb Alpert topped the US chart with the winsome ballad This Guy’s in Love With You, Jackie DeShannon did likewise with What the World Needs Now Is Love, and BJ Thomas was the lucky recipient of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (which brought Bacharach and David Oscars for best theme song and best original score). Bacharach was an Oscar-winner for a third time in 1982, with Arthur’s Theme from the film Arthur.

The son of Bert Bacharach, a sports star turned nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, and Irma Freeman, an artist and songwriter, Burt was born in Kansas City, Missouri. The family moved to Kew Gardens in Queens, New York, when he was a child. At the insistence of his mother, Burt studied the cello, drums and piano. His ears were opened by the innovative harmonies and melodies of jazz musicians of the day such as Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, and he played with several jazz combos before enrolling in music courses at the Mannes School of Music, New York, and at McGill University in Montreal.

He served in the US army (1950-52), and while acting as a dance band arranger in Germany he met the singer Vic Damone. Back in the US after his discharge, Bacharach worked as piano accompanist to Damone and to numerous other artists on the club circuit. One of them was the actor and singer Paula Stewart, whom he married in 1953.

He was fortunate to fall into one of the all-time great songwriting partnerships with David, whom he first met at the New York songwriting beehive, the Brill Building (also to be the home of other renowned songwriting duos including Leiber & Stoller, Goffin & King and Pomus & Shuman). David had been writing hits for such luminaries as Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra since the late 40s. Bacharach and David scored their first big commercial coup when the country singer Marty Robbins took their song The Story of My Life into the US Top 20 in 1957. A cover version by Michael Holliday reached No 1 in the UK the following year, and Perry Como brought them another smash with his recording of Magic Moments, which spent eight weeks at No 1 in Britain.

After the breakdown of his marriage (he and Stewart divorced in 1958), Bacharach travelled to Europe to become pianist and bandleader for Marlene Dietrich, a role he would sustain until 1964. By 1961 he was back in New York, and wrote some material for the Drifters, as well as the Chuck Jackson hit Any Day Now before resuming his partnership with David. Their song (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance, inspired by the John Wayne/James Stewart western, became a US No 4 hit for Gene Pitney in 1962. Pitney did better still with the duo’s composition Only Love Can Break a Heart, which reached No 2 later that year.

Then came Bacharach and David’s historic hook-up with Warwick. She was a member of the Drifters’ backing group, the Gospelaires, and the songwriters invited her to make some demo recordings at their office at the publishers Famous Music, in the Brill Building. One of them was for Make It Easy on Yourself, which became a big hit for Jerry Butler. David recalled: “She said, ���I thought that was my song!’ We said, ‘No, you just made a demo’. She was really very hurt and angry. Then we realised here’s this wonderful singer and we’re using her to make demos – she could be a star!”

So it proved, and the hits with Warwick became their calling card. They wrote and produced 20 American Top 40 hits for her over the ensuing decade, including seven that reached the Top 10. One of these songs, I Say a Little Prayer, also gave Aretha Franklin a US Top 10 hit and her biggest solo hit in Britain, where it reached No 4. Throughout the 60s anything Bacharach and David touched became commercial gold dust. They wrote film scores for What’s New, Pussycat?, Alfie and Casino Royale, and scored the successful Broadway musical Promises, Promises, whose title song provided another hit for Warwick and spun off a chartbuster for Bacharach himself with I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.

The writers always had a soft spot for the UK, probably because so many British-based artists had No 1 hits with their material, including Cilla Black – whose version of Anyone Who Had a Heart was her breakthrough hit – Sandie Shaw, the Walker Brothers and Frankie Vaughan.

The Carpenters ushered in the 70s with (They Long to Be) Close to You, a US No 1 which also reached No 6 in the UK, but although Bacharach’s 1971 album (called just Burt Bacharach) became a sought-after collector’s item, the decade would prove disappointing. In 1973 Bacharach and David collaborated on a new musical version of the 1937 film Lost Horizon, but it was a commercial disaster that prompted angry splits between Bacharach, David and Warwick, and involved them in a spate of lawsuits. The writers parted company after a disagreement over royalties. Bacharach’s second marriage, to the actor Angie Dickinson, whom he had married in 1965, began to come apart, although they did not divorce until 1980.

It was not until the early 80s that Bacharach’s magic touch returned, when he won the Oscar for best original song for the chart-topping theme from the film Arthur, which he had also scored. One of its co-writers was the lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, whom Bacharach married the following year. The couple went on to write Making Love for Roberta Flack and Heartlight for Neil Diamond. In 1986, Bacharach enjoyed one of his best ever years, achieving two US No 1s with That’s What Friends Are for, recorded by Warwick with Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder as a charitable fundraiser for Aids, and the Patti LaBelle/Michael McDonald recording of the lachrymose On My Own.

In 1991 his marriage to Bayer Sager ended, and two years later he married Jane Hansen. In a 2015 interview, Bacharach – who was nicknamed “the playboy of the western world” during the 60s – admitted: “I didn’t mean to hurt anybody, but when you wind up being married four times, there are a lot of bodies strewn in your wake.”

During the 90s, Bacharach and David reunited with Warwick for Sunny Weather Lover, from her album Friends Can Be Lovers, and Bacharach wrote songs for James Ingram and Earth, Wind & Fire. In 1995 he co-wrote God Give Me Strength with Elvis Costello for Allison Anders’ film about the Brill Building era, Grace of My Heart, and this resulted in the Costello-Bacharach album Painted from Memory (1998).

Bacharach’s contribution to pop history was acknowledged in a 1996 BBC documentary, Burt Bacharach – This Is Now, and he would find himself being hailed as an icon of cool by bands as varied as Oasis, REM, Massive Attack and the White Stripes. In 1997, an all-star cast including Costello, Warwick, Chrissie Hynde, Sheryl Crow and Luther Vandross banded together at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, for a serenade of Bacharach’s songs called One Amazing Night, and the Rhino label issued The Look of Love, a three-disc compilation of his music.

Bacharach’s profile received a huge boost from his appearances in all three of Mike Myers’s 60s-spoofing Austin Powers films. He earned an Oscar nomination for the song Walking Tall, his first collaboration with the lyricist Tim Rice, which was performed by Lyle Lovett on the soundtrack of Stuart Little (1999).

His 2005 album At This Time unusually found Bacharach writing lyrics as well as music and even provoking some controversy by touching on political themes. “All my life I’ve written love songs, and I’ve been non-political,” he said. “So it must be pretty significant that I suddenly have strong feelings of discomfort with the state of the world, and what our [US] administration is doing.” This did not prevent the album from winning the 2006 Grammy award for best pop instrumental album.

In 2008 he opened the BBC Electric Proms at the Roundhouse, in London, with Adele and Jamie Cullum among his supporting musicians. His autobiography, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music, was published in 2013, and in 2015 he performed at the Glastonbury festival. He continued to tour past his 90th birthday, with concerts in the UK, US and Europe in 2018 and 2019.

In addition to his Oscars and six Grammy awards (plus a lifetime achievement award in 2008), he was awarded the Polar music prize in Stockholm in 2001. In 2011, the Library of Congress awarded Bacharach and David the Gershwin prize for popular song.

A daughter, Nikki, from his second marriage, died in 2007. He is survived by Jane, their son, Oliver, and daughter, Raleigh, and another son, Cristopher, from his third marriage.

🔔 Burt Freeman Bacharach, songwriter, singer and musician, born 12 May 1928; died 8 February 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[annespooky]

5th September: Another gigging adventure in the UK for me today, but as I took the whole of my annual leave next month and most of November for Pale Blue Eyes' French and UK tours, I had to travel with the last Eurostar and check in at my hotel at almost 11pm. Luckily this time my Eurostar was on time! Had to multitask while checking in for the Eurostar as the listening party for PBE's second album, This House, started just when I was crossing the border! It was lovely to chat with the band and other fans I know.

6th September: Off to Brighton to finally visit Resident! Collected the clear LP I've ordered to be able to access this instore gig and as I wasn't sure about my Rough Trade order, decided to asked if they had any green LP left, which they had, so bought it! We were then treated to a lovely short gig of songs from This House (excepted Motionless, which has to be played before Our History!) during which Matt requested a towel from the audience as he was sweating so much and Lucy switched to proper sticks after using brushes. The band then signed our stuff, so got both vinyls signed plus my usual setlist (Matt told me he actually wrote it because he knew I was coming, how sweet!). A random postcard out of 5 has been placed inside every green vinyl but managed to get all of them as they had tons of them :) Managed to get lost back to the train station (I'm ambidextrous and hearing-impaired so got no sense of orientation and balance) but got on a train back to London almost on the spot so was back at the hotel at around 9.30pm.

7th September: Off to South London to watch JFAbraham plays his first solo album for the first time in full! Wore my Team JFabs t-shirt for the occasion :) Was nice to see some PSB fans and friends and talk to his wonderful mum. Supporting was the fantastic Seye Adelekan, whom I really enjoyed then JFabs went on stage with 11 other musicians to play his album in full, even J. Willgoose, Esq. cameoed on Catseyes! For the encore, they played Planes 2, off his Professor Penguin album, which I kinda requested when I went to see PSB at the Fox & Firkin in late July so I was a happy bunny! Took me about an hour to go back to King's Cross and my hotel but this was worth it!

8th September: Off to Totnes by coach, 6 hours and 40 minutes, give or take 10/15 minutes late. My hotel is basically just by the coach stop so I don't have to drag my suitcase for long before heading the Drift Records to pick up my CD copy of This House with the exclusive patch available from this store only. Back to the hotel to get some rest, watch PSB's This New Noise on YouTube and get dressed for PBE's hometown album launch gig. The venue is basically five minutes away but I arrive early to make sure I get my spot at the front. The support came from Hearing Aid Beige, or rather Simon Hampshire solo, who was really good. Then PBE came on. Seeing them in Devon is always a crazy affair and totally loved the gig! The new songs are awesome live and are perfectly woven in the set with the older ones. Matt explained that the venue was the birthplace of PBE and he was happy to be back and see all those familiar faces and new ones picked up along the way (including me!). They kindly signed my setlist as an early birthday present as I won't see them again until next month for their French tour. I'll miss them a lot in the meantime...

9th September: no event today, just the coach back to London and leaving the Land of the Carebears, which is Devon, when everyone is so nice. Spent the evening watching, or rather dozing off in front of, the telly.

10th September: Breakfast is really busy, and a nice couple leave me their space at a table so that I don't have to eat from one of the sofas. I leave my suitcase and backbag with the hotel and head by bus to the ICA for the immersive listenings of PSB's This New Noise. It was strange to be back in the very touristic part of London, where I haven't set foot for the past 20 years or so. The listening itself was great, one big screen and two smaller on the side of the theatre and this sound coming from everywhere! I concentrated on the visuals during the first one and more on the music during the second. Sadly I couldn't attend the third and fourth as I had to take the Eurostar back home. Managed to get all my LPs signed, including the deluxe Bright Magic, which I couldn't get signed on the BM tours due to the COVID measures as well as the red reissue of I-E-E. It was lovely to talk to them all since the last tour in October last year (although I did speak for about an hour at the Fox & Firkin with JFabs).

13th September: back to London after working in the morning, to see PSB in conversation at Rough Trade East. I first collected yet another copy of PBE's album, the green vinyl with exclusive flexidisc (though fearing my order didn't work, I also bought a CD + flexidisc bundle from their Bandcamp), making a total of 5 copies (it doesn't reach my record of 9 copies of Bright Magic though!). The PSB conversation was great and lasted for an hour! We then queued for about the same time to talk to them and get further things signed. As my 10th PSB anniversary is approaching and as I never got a picture with the four of them, I asked for one. While I was squatting down by the table, JFabs moved the beers from the bench beween him and Mr B and asked me to sit here :D then it was back to the hotel where I slept less than 3 hours as I had to check in for the Eurostar at 5 to leave at 6 and got back to homeworking at 11.

I am very lucky to got these early birthday celebrations with these loveliest of people!

[1solone]

This date in 1983 saw the UK release of 'Another Page', the second album from CHRISTOPHER CROSS (Mar 21, 1983)

The cassette version of the album featured a bonus track: ARTHUR'S THEME (BEST THAT YOU CAN DO).

This song originated with a lyric Liza Minnelli's ex-husband, Australian songwriter Peter Allen wrote for a song he was working on with Burt Bacharach's frequent writing partner and then-wife Carole Bayer Sager: "When you get caught between the moon and New York City."

Allen and Bayer Sager were recording artists, and also very prolific songwriters - together they composed the 1979 Melissa Manchester hit "Don't Cry Out Loud" and the 1980 Rita Coolidge song "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love."

In 1981 Bayer Sager started working with another top songwriter, Burt Bacharach, who produced and composed songs for her solo album Sometimes Late at Night. When Bacharach got the gig scoring music for the movie Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, he worked on the music for the theme song with Christopher Cross, and asked Bayer Sager (now his romantic partner) to compose the lyrics. She recalled the line Allen came up with years earlier, and secured his permission to use it. For Allen, this was a very lucrative line, as it earned him a songwriting credit along with Bacharach, Bayer Sager and Cross.

Bacharach and Bayer Sager got married in 1982, five days after this song won an Oscar. They teamed up to write two more #1 hits: "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick & Friends, and "On My Own" by Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald. In 1985, they adopted a son named Cristopher. The couple divorced in 1991.

How do you get "caught between the moon and New York City"? According to Peter Allen, he came up with the line when his plane got stuck in a holding pattern waiting to land at JFK airport in New York.

This won the 1982 Oscar for Best Song From A Film. It was a very successful theme song, capturing the charming side of Dudley Moore's character as he faces a drastic change to his lifestyle.

In the film, Moore must consider giving up his fortune for his new love, played by Liza Minnelli. The original script had him losing his money to be with the girl, but audiences in test screenings wanted an even happier ending, so the script was rewritten with Arthur keeping his fortune and the girl. Of course, this blew away the premise that Arthur must choose between money and love, but that's where this song came in handy. Speaking about the film in the New York Times, Larry Brezner, who was one of the producers, said the idea was to "give Arthur the money, bring up the music loud and get the audience the hell out of the theater happy, before they have time to think about it."

Christopher Cross, whose real name is Christopher Geppert, won five Grammy awards in 1981: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for "Sailing," Album Of The Year for Christopher Cross, and Best New Artist.

Christopher Cross was a major star in 1981, earning considerable cachet for his five Grammy wins at that year's ceremony. Getting him to record the theme to Arthur was a big coup for the movie's producers. At first, he was slated to compose the score for the film and also to write the theme song, but that idea was nixed.

This is one of the few songs Christopher Cross wrote with other writers - he prefers to write solo and that's how he composed his hit songs. Working on this song was a wonderful experience, however, as he composed it with Bacharach and Bayer Sager at their place in Beverly Hills.

"It's was one of those nights - about five in the morning we finished the song," explained Cross. "And of course, Burt's genius. And certainly stylistically 'Arthur' is much more in a Burt Bacharach vein than a Christopher Cross vein. I think Burt, out of all four of us that wrote it, was certainly the most responsible for the track. Peter and Carole came up with the words, Burt and I put the music together."

How's this for serendipity: Liza Minnelli, who starred in Arthur, was married to this song's co-writer Peter Allen from 1967-1974.

Dudley Moore, who starred in Arthur, was also an accomplished pianist. He and Cross became good friends and performed the song together a few times with Moore on piano and Cross singing.

[medicinemane]

Hey listen, this is something important to me so I'm just gonna ask you to consider doing this

I just spent however long writing something custom (which I'll put after a read more) cause I actually had things I want to say, but you don't need to do that, they've got a preset message you can use if you want

I've been following this invasion since day 1, and I've been actually asking for exactly this for a while now... just with no one to say it to

If you've got questions about what this is even about, ask me

If you've got concerns, tell em to me, I got answers

I'm not asking you to just blindly do this (though I won't tell you no if you want to), this is important to me, I know a fair bit about the subject, I am more than happy to talk to you about it

You want the summary of things though, it's that russian planes bomb Ukrainian civilians (like just today there was a story about a literal playground being bombed, along with the usual apartments) and our current policies won't allow them to use US missiles to strike russian airfields (and NATO allies won't either because we basically get to make this call)

People are dying, changing this policy will help with that, that's why I'm asking you to ask the White House to change this

Anyway, what I wrote below the break

I am grateful for the supplemental aid package President Biden provided Ukraine in April, but restrictions on US weapons use against valid military targets in Russia is hampering Ukraine's ability to defend both it's military and civilians (and let's be blunt, NATO allies like the UK or Germany are not going to authorize their long range munitions to be used unless the US does, we clearly set the rules here)

I've been following this invasion since day 1, every day I check what's been happening in Ukraine. I've followed through the Kharkiv offensive, followed as NATO crossed "red line" after "red line" (Stingers were a red line, then tanks were a red line, and of course F-16s were a major red line… yet Russia never acted once we sent them), followed as Speaker Johnson delayed military aid for months with partisan politics, up to today where I continue to follow Ukraine (for instance just today a 14 year old girl was killed by Russian bombs, fired from planes that took off from airfields we refuse to let Ukraine fire upon)

I understand escalation management, I'm not oblivious to why this administration has taken a cautious course, but between permitting Ukraine to fire US short range munitions shortly after Russia's attempts to move towards Kharkiv (a good choice which blunted that offensive and, again, resulted in no reprisals aside from more attacks on Ukrainian civilians… which happen no matter what); as well as Ukraine's counter offensive into the Kursk region of Russia (which invasion of Russian territory is one of the places Russian doctrine explicitly allows the use of nuclear weapons… and yet… again, nothing), there's been a strong demonstration that the White House's hesitancy to permit the use of long range weapons only serves to get Ukrainian civilians killed

This isn't just my opinion as an American citizen either, the retired Gen. Ben Hodges has repeatedly called for this. Every time I listen to him speak these days without fail he says not to "shoot the arrows, but to shoot the archer", which he explicitly states that he means that striking Russian airbases deep in Russian territory with long range missiles like ATACMS is preferable by far to forcing Ukraine to attempt to intercept incoming drones, missiles, and guided bombs

Ukraine has show itself to be a clever and steadfast ally. They have done so much not only to defend themselves, but to also achieve a major win for US and NATO security, the weakening of Putin's Russia

Thanks to Ukraine, Russia's ability to wage war on NATO neighbors has been decimated, and Russia's geopolitical influence around the world has been severely decreased, and thanks to US and EU cooperation the EU's dependence on Russian gas has dropped to almost nothing. Yet nothing is set in stone, we aren't over the finish line and Ukraine still needs our support, and currently the single best piece of support we can offer is a simple policy change, to let Ukraine strike valid military targets in Russia

This war goes beyond securing Europe against the single greatest threat to them, Russia; our actions here will also strongly impact China and Taiwan in the coming years. There's no way that this administration isn't just as aware as I am (or likely more so) that China is paying very close attention to how we treat our allies… do we support them or leave them to invaders for fear of escalation?

We as NATO truthfully have done a middling job, oscillating between staunch support and then starving Ukraine of the resources and policies they need to win (often because of partisan politics in the US and EU from politicians who seem a little too friendly towards Putin, and far too disdainful for Ukraine)

It's time to finish strong. The past is past, we can't change it, but we get to choose who we are now. I want to be part of an America who stands up for freedom, who supports our allies, and who refuses to let Russia continue their attacks on civilians

Let Ukraine use our weapons on all military targets in Russia! The only range restriction I want in place is the range of the system in question. Let our ally use our military aid to decimate Russian airbases and Russian aircraft, which are the single greatest threat to Ukrainian civilians!

Do the right thing, do what military men like retired Gen. Ben Hodges keep asking this administration to. Every red line has been crossed, both by NATO and Ukraine and we've seen that Russia's most powerful weapon is their saber rattling

Had I known where to write, I would have written much sooner, but now that I know I'm tempted to write every week till this changes (though don't delay like that, every day puts more Ukrainian lives at our feet, our fault that these civilians were killed due to our failure to give the permission so desperately needed to destroy the aircraft killing them). This is a deeply important issue to me, and based off this administration's actions up till now I know that everyone must understand it's importance even beyond Ukraine (Iranian drones, North Korean artillery… this isn't happening in isolation)

I understand this policy comes from a place of good intentions, to keep the world from facing nuclear annihilation. This is the first war of it's kind with a nuclear power fighting it, I understand the caution… but regions of Kursk are controlled by Ukraine and Putin barely acknowledges it, or weapons were used to strike military targets in Belgorod in order to protect Kharkiv and they were only met with more empty bluster

Give Ukraine permission to strike military targets in Russia with our weapons

Razom For Ukraine has made a website to help people in the US contact their government to let them know that Ukraine should be able to strike back.

[kontextmaschine]

People loved their work once, and it didn’t matter if they worked in the public sector or in the private one. The men who worked in the CCC would take their grandchildren to see the forests they planted, while the men from the auto plants would point out the cars they’d built as they passed them on the new interstate highway system. The women who fastened the engines on the wings would watch the B-17’s fly off to make a liar out of Goering, and the women who taught in the public schools would point with pride when one of their old students got elected mayor. Work was about making money, certainly. It was about feeding the family and keeping the roof where it was, and maybe having a little left over at the end of the day, or at the end of the week, for some amusement. Maybe a trip to Lincoln Park or White City or a hundred other places, where you could take a moment and enjoy the cool of the evening, music riding the nightwind from a dance pavilion down along the lake.

But it was also about Doing A Job, and doing it well, which was different than simply Having A Job. It was about making good cars and strong steel and sturdy furniture. It was about learning a craft, even if what you were doing wasn’t recognized as one. There was a craft in tightening rivets, or feeding the open-hearth furnace, or planing the wood just so. You had your craft, and the person next to you had theirs, and, when all the work was done, and all the craft was practiced, and practiced well, there was something you could look at with pride and say, that is something I have given to the world. Job well done, as they used to say. You could teach seventh grade civics and then, one day, you’re on a podium outside of City Hall. That kid right there, you could say. That kid is something I have helped give to the world. Job well done, as they used to say.

Unions were greatly responsible for the pride that people took in the work they did, especially in the middle of the last century, when unions helped build the most formidable middle class in human history.

There was an autoworker, Ben Hamper, who wrote a column in the Flint (later Michigan) Voice, which was the alt-weekly Michael Moore first made his name by running. A lot of his columns got collected and repackaged in an excellent book, Rivethead, that I read in college.

I read it in a class with Stuart Blumin, who was my favorite professor and de facto advisor. He was an American historian, focused on labor and class and the development of capitalism, you could tell he was heavily influenced by EP Thompson and the Communist Party Historians Group over in the UK.

He was quite open that he had expected Communism to ultimately triumph, and that he had been wrong about that, and in subtext that he had wanted it to ultimately triumph, and didn’t think he had been wrong about that.

Anyway, Rivethead. The story is that Hamper was born in 1956, a fairly clever kid growing up in Flint, Michigan, the chronological and geographic apex of American industrial unionism, where everyone’s dad worked for GM.

And he could have gone to college but he gets some girl pregnant and so he goes to work on the assembly line not even really out of obligation or Catholic guilt or whatever but because that seems as good a life course as any, it’s what every man he’s known does, under the mighty UAW the pay’s on par with the kind of “educated” jobs you could get anyway, why not.

And so he goes to work on the line and eventually he ends up writing a column about it, and he talks about the color of the factory culture, playing soccer with rivets for balls and cardboard boxes for goals, drinking mickeys of malt liquor in your car on lunch break, the absurd fursuited mascot “Howie Makem, The Quality Cat” that GM would feature at rallies and shop-floor tours, being laid off in economic downturns and put into the “job bank” where you get paid waiting to be rehired in the next upswing, developing a perfect rhythm with your partner, training into a rhythm so perfect you can each trade off doing the two-person job yourself for 4 hours while the other one goes out to a bar on the clock, the dignity and solidarity of the American worker.

And time goes on and eventually his marriage fails but he takes it in stride, and his column gets recognized and he takes pride in that and then eventually he has an epiphany, and a complete breakdown, which are basically the same thing. And the inciting incident is when an older line worker, some guy he’d looked up to as a model of quiet, philosophical stolidity, just shits himself and is barely coherent enough to even notice this and he realizes the guy hadn’t been a Zen master, he’d just been checked-out mindless drunk on the line every day.

And he realizes that the rivethead life is destroying him, that the only thing holding it together was a budding alcoholism, and that it’s doing the same to all his co-workers, and looks back and realizes it had done the same to every grown-up man he knew, his father and uncles that growing up he had looked up to as models of masculine strength and fortitude really had just had their spark snuffed out and the life beaten out of them long before, and whatever pride they took in the cars out on the road was a defensive attempt to locate in an external form the sense of self-value that had been exterminated within them.

When Marx talked about “alienation”, well.

And he went crazy, and couldn’t bear to work on the line anymore, and there’s no redemption, that’s where the book ends.

And that was a theme that cropped up again in Professor Blumin’s class, that there were two great working class traditions that echoed through the ages, and they were

avoiding work

and

drinking

Back in the premechanized age of small-group workshop manufacturing, workers would celebrate “Saint Monday”, which was to say just not showing up for work, hung over after the weekend.

(This was riffing off of Catholic feast days, or holy days, from which we take the word “holiday”, and as time went on counted an increasing share of the days of the year. There was a reason that poor workers were aligned with the Church, and nobility, in “Altar and Throne” coalitions resisting the development of industrial capitalist liberal democracy.)

In the ‘80s, the crap time of American auto manufacturing, one trick that was passed around (pre-internet, so by word of mouth largely) was to look at the codes stamped on car bodies, which would tell you what day of the week they were manufactured, and to avoid Mondays and Fridays. Because those days had the highest defect rates, because the workers tended to be drunk, or hungover, or absent.

And back in the workshop days, you’d drink at work. Apprentices would be sent out for growlers or buckets of beer, there were elaborate rules of who in the hierarchy of workers was expected to buy rounds for who and when. And there was hellacious resistance to attempts to get them to knock this off, as the industrial era kicked into swing.

Those great satanic mills, where women and children worked in shifts at great water- or steam-driven sewing and spinning machines, stories of little kids getting their hands mangled by the machinery? One of the major reasons women and children were preferred was because they would actually show up on time every day, and stay sober around all those hand-manglers.

And I mean, this maybe sounds like an argument for socialism. Though not of any actually-existing- variety, as capitalist propaganda will be glad to tell you, Soviet work culture, at least when the morale thrills of the Revolution and Great Patriotic War faded from personal to institutional memory, was all about shirking and vodka.

So those complaints about how America celebrates Labor Day instead of May Day, ignoring the true meaning of labor - solidarity - in favor of mindless distraction? Psssh. Labor Day is a celebration of the truest, most ancient, most fundamental traditions of labor: not working (especially on Mondays), and getting drunk.

Happy Labor Day!

[neil-gaiman]

Dear Neil,

This was supposed to be a thank you note. It clearly got away from me so I apologise in advance:

I don’t remember when I bought my first copy of Good Omens. Sometimes it feels like the knowledge of it was dropped into my brain one night and I woke up with a copy in my hand and an immediate need to re-read. I would later go on to lend it to a friend, who would become my first boyfriend, and who lent me their collection of Discworld in return. The next copy I bought went to a friend who I knew would love it (and she did). So much that she never gave it back, but I think that’s a loss well-spent. The next copy I bought I gave to my favourite high-school teacher. He taught a mixed mythology/religion class and had a wicked sense of humour so I thought it would be right up his alley and left it on his desk the last day.

By this point if I was carrying anything roomier than my jeans pockets it was pretty likely that I had a copy stashed somewhere with me. So, it was one of the few things that came me when I packed up and moved across the globe 5000+ miles away from any friends or family. I had very few belongings, and even fewer that I liked, but I still had Good Omens. At some point it got so beaten up that I bought a second copy (a sort of “business casual” copy to keep on a shelf for guests, so that my other could stay dog-eared and crammed on my person. I bought a copy of Good Omens in Italian when my reading comprehension because good enough to read something familiar (I’m very fond of that one) and a copy in Spanish for a friend who wanted to do the same.

(I’m in the market for a copy in Russian as we speak)

Good Omens moved with me again after that, to Italy this time. And again, when I moved back to the UK. I was reading it the day that I passed my first degree, then again around passing the second degree. I’ve had a copy on me hiking in India, climbing across the Alps, thrown in with my scuba kit (an accident, but it survived after a little light drying!) on any number of planes, trains, cabs, rikshaws, and at least one motorcycle. It was on me when my partner got sick and we took turns reading chapters over the hospital bed. I’ve read it while in every kind of mood, I’ve certainly hid my face into it and cried more than once. (Directly onto it, I’m now realising that I’ve put it through a lot of abuse). Then again, it is very good at making me smile.

The TV show happened to air a few days before my first-year medical school finals, and I saved it as a treat to watch the day after, on the first study-free day in months. (I love the show, that should go without saying. The care and effort that you, the actors, and the production team put into it is palpable, and as a long-time fan that was so wonderful to see!). The show has since become an extension of the book; it’s the comfort show that another friend and I have watched on-repeat to get through the worst weeks of medical school. It’s also the show I watch with my mother whenever I visit home (she loves it too, and an extra thank-you for that! We historically have very different tastes, so this is something we can finally watch together).

But- the book still holds highest in my heart. I still bring a copy with me whenever (and wherever) I can. It should have its own passport, it has been into more buildings with security clearance than I ever anticipated. As I write this, I’m travelling again. This time Good Omens got to come with me to a new US state and keep me (and a handful of medical and aerospace textbooks) company amongst the humidity. And, just a few days ago, it kept me distracted as I waited to learn that I had passed medical school.

At which point, I thought it was about time I wrote you a thank you.

I feel like I’ve owed you a thank you for writing Good Omens for a long time now. It has saddened me for years that I will never get the chance to give the same thanks to Terry Pratchett, so I’ll thank you double on his behalf. And, thank you to the TV team for giving it another new angle. Your work has meant so much to me for such a long time that it feels almost silly to say. Whether by accident or design, it has been present for so many pivotal parts of my life that I feel intrinsically tied to it. I love the characters and the story dearly, and I’ve never found any other book that scratches the itch for fiction in my brain like this one. I look forward to bringing it to even more weird and wonderful places in the future.

-Danny C.

I just wish Terry had been able to read this too. You are so welcome.

[valkyriesexual]

One thing that I’m worried about, it’s almost like JD used the UK trial as a test run?? Like in the UK trial, Stephen Deuters testified which opened the door for AH’s lawyers to bring in the text msgs where he admits JD kicked AH. By having Stephen not testify (at least I don’t think he’s testified) there’s nothing to refute the testimony that JD was clean and sober and didn’t kick her. Therefore there’s no evidence to the contrary and it’s AH’s word against like 4 others. And he’s also talking about the trial on social media so even if he is called he would be dismissed. Doesn’t look good. Similar to Kate James not mentioning AH “stole her SA story” because it was so easy to refute and outrageous in the UK. This time though it’s broadcast to the entire world. Or am I just overthinking this/wrong.

Ryan Baker, a Los Angeles attorney who has represented clients in defamation cases, told the BBC that Ms. Heard's evidence was compelling. The critical question, Mr. Baker said, is whether Ms. Heard can claim to be a victim of some form of domestic violence, as she wrote in 2018. And according to Mr. Baker, this abuse can be broad - physical, emotional or verbal - because Ms. Heard did not recount any specific episodes of abuse in the op-ed. "For the jury to side with Johnny Depp, they will have to completely disregard Amber Heard's testimony, consider her a liar," he said. "All the jury needs to do is believe some of what she's saying."

So that's a defamation attorney. And as a domestic violence attorney, I think the depp texts alone prove that he has committed domestic violence.

Things I think all by themselves would justify a finding in AH's favor:

The jury was shown a text message describing the flight, Depp described himself as “an angry aggro injun in a fucking blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any fuck who got near.”

The jury was shown pictures of messages that Depp had scrawled in paint and blood after the finger injury, including one that read “starring Billy Bob and easy Amber.”

The jury was shown a text message that Depp sent to Heard’s father in December 2015, when Depp wrote, “Yes I fucked up and went too far in our fight.”

Jurors heard a series of audio recordings of conversations between the former couple, in which Mr. Depp could be heard shouting vulgar insults and obscenities at Ms. Heard. In one exchange, Ms. Heard shouts at Mr. Depp to put his "cigarettes out on someone else". Mr. Depp could be heard insulting Ms. Heard about her weight. He grimaced while the clips were played, while Ms. Heard seemed to hold back tears.

The jury saw a series of negative articles about Mr. Depp, some dating back to 2014, trying to demonstrate that damage to his reputation - and his career - had been done years before Ms. Heard publicly accused Mr. Depp of abuse.

The court heard damning exchanges from 2013 and 2014 between Depp and Bettany in which he described his desire to harm Heard: “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!!” he wrote, and said he would defile her corpse “afterwards to make sure she’s dead”

The court also listened to a recording of Depp moaning during a now infamous flight from Boston to Los Angeles. Depp had previously testified that he drank only a glass of champagne as he boarded the plane and, after taking two painkillers, locked himself in the plane’s bathroom and went to sleep to avoid Heard’s badgering. Depp later texted Bettany to say that he drank “all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA this past Sunday. Ugly, mate. No food for days. Powders. Half a bottle of Whiskey, a thousand Red Bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane.”

The jury heard an audio recording: “Where do you want the scar?” Depp says. Heard pleads with him, “Don’t cut your skin. Please do not cut your skin. Why would I do that. Please do not do that. Please don’t cut yourself.”

[AH's attorney] played audio in which Depp tells Heard that, “I head butted you in the fucking forehead. That doesn’t break a nose.”

In another set of texts read out in court to Patti Smith during the making of 2015’s Black Mass, Depp spoke of “getting shitty” to Heard. A 2014 text to Heard herself saw Depp apologizing for a clearly bad encounter between the couple: “I’m a fucking savage, gotta to lose that …the Devil is all around.”

I’ll smack the ugly cunt around before I let her in,” another 2014 text from Depp to a friend read. In a further 2015 text to his older sister, Depp referred to his then wife as “that filthy whore”

I have a hard time imagining, with all of this, that any reasonable jury could find that AH was not the victim of domestic violence, and as such, it was defamatory for her to claim that she was. But we'll have to see.

[if you found this post helpful or informative, please consider subscribing to my substack, it does take me a decent amount of time to research, write, and source posts like this, and substack subscriptions are deeply appreciated]

[maneskinrollercoaster]

~ I Loved You For All This Time Apart ~

Pairing: Damiano David x Lea (fictional character)

Word count: 1759

Warnings: Slightly bit of swearing.

Summary: Lea makes a hard decision which has major consequences on her relationship.

The doors opened and she saw him. Damiano was standing in front of her while she walked past the gate from her plane. They haven’t seen each other for a long time. Three years passed since their breakup but they still didn’t stop loving each other.

Damiano was stubborn. When Lea told him that she wants to leave to England, he quickly protested, saying that she’s better living in Italy, in her home country, rather than being all alone in an unknown place without any family or friends.

He always wanted to impress everyone. When he was in the studio with Vic, Thomas and Ethan, everything had to be perfect. He didn’t leave the place without making sure that every sound and lyric were on point. Lea told him that he can’t overwork himself like that but he didn’t listen and stayed in the studio from dusk till dawn working his ass off till he fell asleep on the floor with papers in his tired hands.

Damiano never missed the opportunity to party. Whether it was celebrating their new albums or just a local festival, he never said no to going out with his friends. He drank a lot on the parties which made Lea angry. Once he got so drunk that Lea had to call a Taxi and literally crawl with him on her back to get him home. She was furious that night, which didn’t happen often and threatened him that they will break up if he won’t stop being so irresponsible.

She wasn’t a loud person though. She never got angry and never raised her voice. It was really hard to make her go out of control and she knew that sometimes she was too kind to everyone. Damiano always told her that she should stand up for herself more but she was too generous to see bad in people.

When she got irritated she usually closed herself in the bedroom and meditated to clear her mind. It helped her a lot and she never was the one to argue anyways. She always prefered to calm down and talk. Damiano loved how down to earth Lea was. Whenever they had a worse moment, she held his hands, stroking them gently and said: What’s bothering you, love? Let’s talk about it.

Those little moments felt like big steps until it all crashed.

One day Lea made the most important and the hardest decision. She bought a ticket to London and told Damiano that she’s leaving Italy. He tried to turn it into a joke at first but then he realized that she was serious.

What do you mean you’re leaving Italy? He asked her confused, giving her a look full of fear. He didn’t want to loose her. She was his soulmate and loosing her would mean loosing a part of him.

Baby, I want to travel, chase my dreams. There are so many opportunities waiting for me, I want to go and be happy. Her face lit up and passion in her voice made Damiano frown.

So you’re not happy with me, huh? He said and his eyes turned black. He was angry. How could she ever think of leaving him and moving to UK? Her place was next to him, in Italy.

Dami, it’s not about you. I just..

You just what? You want to leave me here alone and sacrifice everything we have! He screamed and Lea, not aware of his sudden outburst, shivered.

I’m not breaking up with you. But you have to understand, I can’t spend my whole life here, only looking at you succeed. As much as I love you and as much as I’m happy about your carrier, I want to do it for myself, I want to achieve something, be successful. I’m doing this to show myself that I’m worthy. She said and her eyes filled with tears.

Well then, I guess it’s over for us. I can’t do long distance. He said letting down his head.

So you don’t even want to try? You don’t want to put some effort and make our relationship work? Her cheeks were now wet from the tears. She looked at him full of sadness and disappointment.

You just chose.

Alright then, goodbye Damiano.

That’s when they’ve seen each other for the last time.

Since then Lea lived in London. The weather there wasn’t as amazing as in Italy but Lea found herself amazed with british culture. The people there were kind, saying thank you and I’m sorry with every occasion possible. They were helpful too. Whenever Lea entered a bookstore or coffee shop, people seemed to be willing to help with anything you’d ask them for. She felt like she could get friends with everyone there which didn’t make her feel so lonely. After a month of wandering around and gettin to know the country a little more, Lea joined a local designer house and started her career as a fashion designer and consultant. There she met Steph - her spirit guide as she used to say all the time. They started designing together and their work found its popularity around London soon after. Lea finally felt like it was her place and she for sure didn’t want to leave. Ever.

After three years she’s gotten an invitation for Alex’s wedding in Florence. Since he was like a brother to her she decided to visit her home country but soon after she got a call from him. Damiano called her at 2 am in the morning, waking her up and saying that they should meet once she arrives. At first she was shocked. They broke up on not such good terms but the truth was none of them stopped loving the other.

Damiano through all this time wrote songs about Lea. He knew that if he’d tried even a little then maybe their relationship would work. But he was a coward. He couldn’t stand a fact of long distance, being together but apart at the same time, so he decided to shut up and all his braveness vanished. His lyrics were deep and sad, all of them about being lonely, breakup and sadness. Vic, Thomas an Ethan tried to talk to him but he always shut them off, saying that he’s fine and that they shouldn’t worry. After a while he seemed to move on but when Alex called him with a wedding invitation, saying that Lea confirmed her attendance, his heart stopped. He decided to call her.

Damiano, its 2 am in the morning. What is so important you want to tell me at such a time? Lea answered her phone with a sleepy voice.

I heard you’re attending Alex’s wedding and i just.. wanted to call you to ask what are you getting them as a gift. Damiano lied which was obvious even to Lea.

For a gift? Are you out of your mind? You call me at 2 am just to ask me for a fucking gift? She said shocked at her own tone.

I uhm.. i think we should meet. You know, once you arrive. He said and brushed his hair with his palm.

We will meet at the wedding. She said harshly.

No Lea, i meant meet before the wedding. To talk.

What do you wanna talk about?

Us? He said, not being sure of her response.

Us? You want to talk about us Damiano? You said yourself you don’t want long distance and now after 3 years you want to talk about us? If it wasn’t Alex’s wedding, I’m sure you wouldn’t have called. Lea said and she was about to hang up but Damiano stopped her.

But I love you. Damiano’s words stuck in her mind making it repeat them over and over again. I’ve never stopped.

For good 5 minutes there was a silence that Lea didn’t want to break. Shock was an understatement. Of course, she hadn’t stopped loving him either but he said that out of the blue and she didn’t know exactly what to say.

I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.. Damiano started but was interrupted.

No, it’s okey. I just.. It’s not a conversation we should be having through the phone. She said quietly and soon after they ended their call.

And now he was standing in front of her. Dressed all in black, his hair longer than Lea has remembered and even more handsome than she saw him last time. She noticed that his jawline was more sharp and on his face she saw a slight beard.

Damiano also noticed some changes. Lea wasn’t wearing glasses like before, her hair were a lighter color than the brown hazelnut tone he loved so much but she looked really good.

Long time no see. Damiano said and a slight smile appeared on his face.

Yeah, long time indeed. She said squeezing tighter a handle of her suitcase.

They stood like this for what felt like forever when suddenly Lea felt Damiano’s arms wrapping around her tightly and pulling her closer for a warm hug. It truly felt like home. His scent of cologne mixed with cigarettes and his fingers gently stroking her back, his face buried in a crock of her neck and lips dangerously close to her skin. Lea felt his breath on her neck and sighed wrapping her arms around his torso, giving back the hug.

I missed you so much. Damiano whispered and Lea’s eyes started getting watery.

She missed him too but never wanted to admit it. Not after he decided to end this relationship because he didn’t have the courage to try and make it work from a distance.

Not long after she felt Damiano’s warm lips on hers. She didn’t expect it all and surprised but pleased with such sudden interaction she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. The kiss was sweet, full of love and missing each other but they both enjoyed it more than they both expected. After a while they pulled away, looking into each other’s eyes.

I know we have a lot to figure out and a lot to talk through but I’ve never stopped loving you. Please forgive me. Damiano said stroking Lea’s cheek with his thumb.

I loved you for all this time apart. Lea said and they both smiled at each other.

It didn’t matter for them that they were standing in each other’s embrace in the middle of the airport. What really mattered to them was that they found their way back to each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone! I’m back and I just want to explain myself that I was on vacation in London so that’s the reason of my absence. Expect some London inspired content.

ALSOOO I JUST WANTED TO THANK FOR 100 FOLLOWERS! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME AND I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! ❤️

That one is not as good but i hope you enjoy it! ❤️🥰

Requests opened.

Tag list: [ @teenyweenynightghost , @superchrystaldrug , @unitermoonshine ]

[theresa-of-liechtenstein]

@lavstar i was so incredibly stupid and i deleted your ask while i was drafting it… i swear i didn’t forget to do it 😭 anyway i’ve FINALLY finished it so let’s jump into the compilation of the most planes i have ever brainrot ❤️ because no ❤️ you cannot expect me to pick one ❤️ it is impossible ❤️

two airbus A320s taking off from parallel runways, five nautical miles apart ‘cause they’re not gay!

btw i genuinely do not care about military aircraft (never have, prob never will) so these are all to do with civil aviation. also huge disclaimer i did all the commentary off the top of my head (i did have to wikipedia some of the stats im not martin fucking crieff) so if i mess up a term or something that’s on me

of course no post about my favorite planes cannot leave out the OG. my first love, the most plane i have ever ridden; the one, the only, the increasingly irrelevant due to industry shifts, the beloved Airbus A380.

(L) just look at this big beautiful girl! + (R) a view of i believe scotland? as approached from the north

i don’t know why i love this plane so much, because lots of other people certainly don’t for a lot of reasons. her size makes her the main character out of necessity at every airport she comes across, and she’s an inconvenience for air traffic controllers for that reason. her origin story is [twitter stan account voice] a bit problematic. given changes in industry trends, she is also quickly becoming irrelevant. airbus my beloved please just admit that the four engines thing was nostalgia and go. she’s a marvel of engineering sure, but when all is said and done…the B747 came, she served cunt, and then she got phased out. the A380 was made with the intention of doing the same…unfortunately, she didn’t really complete the second step.

wait holy shit. i know why i love this plane so much. it’s because this plane…is me ❤️

—

and now for thee og in terms of famous big-ass planes that everyone loves: the B747. everyone loves the 747. even if they say they’re not into planes, they are. for me, not gonna lie: a very big reason for why i love the Queen of the Skies so much is mark vanhoenacker’s book, skyfaring. he flew the 747 for bri’ish airways (when they still had them) and loved that plane so much and man who am i to blame him.

(L) i think i teared up when i saw her through the big windows for the first time bc i was like oh my god. i am going to be on her. this icon of aviation, the arguable symbol of commercial aviation. so much history, so much significance… + (R) the past, the present, and the future of british airways in one image 🥺

i was on a 747 twice in my life. once on a cathay pacific flight to the philippines, and on my last flight abroad, on a british airways flight to heathrow. little did i know i was flying one of the last of their 747 flights—they phased them out completely the following year, a bit earlier than anticipated due to the pandemic.

as enzo ferrari once probably said, “ask a child to draw a plane, and certainly he will put a hump and four engines on it.” in terms of sheer iconic power and energy, the Queen (and she is the only earthly being to whom I shall ever refer as such) would far and away be the top on anyone’s list, save for the fact that i don’t have a top to this list and i have other planes to get to dear god this is getting long do you know what you’ve got yourself into!! the Queen really said “flight belongs to the people now” and the airlines just had to shut up and listen!! she is truly the main character!!!

genuinely don’t remember what river this is except that it’s in the UK… 🙈

i feel like everything else i say about her is just going to be a pale imitation of how evocative skyfaring was, so honestly i really recommend the book it’s so good and it’s one of my favorites. my copy is sort of falling apart now bc i kept bringing it around to places 😭 anyway, the number of airlines using her for passengers is decreasing, but you know who still use converted versions of her as well as purpose-built models? cargo airlines! anyway, ups and their brown planes my beloved 🤎

—

this slot was going to go to the B767 and 757, and i was going to rhapsodize about how aesthetically the 767 looks like a nicer plane to me because of Chonk, but the 757 is really endearing because it’s a narrowbody jet and it’s got landing gear that is long in a useful but unusual-looking way, which in essence what i’m trying to say is that if the 757 were a person, it would be esteban ocon.

so i was getting ready to write all of this down in much more words than i needed, but i remembered suddenly the very reason i was making this post in the first place. and that, my friends, is the B777.

honestly you don’t fully understand how big the 777 is until you see it in person. because we are all acclimated to think of like the 747 when we think of ‘big plane.’ but the 777 is massive. even i forgot about it when i wrote That Fanfic.

the 777 and 787 are the future of long-haul commercial aviation (and i say this as an A380 stannie). widebody jets with 2 big-ass engines are most likely what we’re going to see in the sky going forward when it comes to long-distance travel, and the pandemic pretty much confirmed that.

that aside, i love the 777. so much that i wrote a whole fanfic around one making an emergency landing ❤️ i really pretended ETOPS (the thing where a plane can fly for a long time on one engine) did not exist for six chapters and an alternate ending and i think that’s just very quirky of me aha 🤪

dear god do not mind my hat i literally bought it because of fred fucking thursday of endeavour… what the FUCK was teenage me on 😭

the 777 was supposed to be a trijet (one with three engines, two under each wing and one built into the vertical stabilizer) but as the mcdonnell douglas and lockheed martin trijets (cba to look up the numbers) were not projected to continue to be successful, they got rid of the trijet 777 idea and instead made it have two engines. another thing i think is neat is that all the examples of the 777 that you will see in the wild right now don’t have winglets bc the wings themselves are so long and raked back that they’re not necessary. which would be a weird thing for me in particular to find neat, because if you know me well you know i have a thing for winglets. (the 2022 f1 car’s front wing my BELOVED WAKSKDKSJSJ!!!!!) i also think the way the wingtip lights are incorporated into the wings are so neat. the upgraded version they’re trying to make now, the 777X, will have foldy wingtips so you can DIY your own winglets and i think that’s hilarious (and also cool).

—

genuinely i think i’m the only plane person that likes this last aircraft: the Embraer ERJ-175. i like her for purely nostalgic reasons. she reminds me of how i returned to my roots and decided to pursue engineering.

so okay this is going to have nothing to do with the plane, but i was lucky enough to be given a visit to the flightdeck after landing back home from a weekend trip. i was so excited to be allowed to sit in the first officer’s seat, and got to poke around the flightdeck for like ten minutes. which was cool, but all this was with the sinking realization that even operating a regional jet might be too physically demanding (read: unsafe) for someone of my… [exhales knowing EXACTLY what i’m about to walk into] height.

that is one fully glass cockpit. also those yokes are specific to embraer, boeing’s look more like f1 steering wheels with stuff cut out of them i think, and airbus’s are operated by side stick. it’s almost funny especially when watching flightdeck videos of the a380 cause it’s like… you’re doing All That *gestures vaguely at plane* with THAT *gestures at thing that looks like a chicken drumstick with semiconductors implanted in it*

so that was piloting as a career done with for me (much to my family’s relief.) and then i thought “hm i don’t have to be flying planes all the time to be working around them…why don’t i work on developing them instead?” and i was passively interested in matsci already, so that’s how and when i decided to pursue engineering, with hopes of working for airbus or boeing and in civil aviation.

we’ll see how that pans out, i say as i side-eye the exponential growth of my interest in motorsport.

thanks for the ask! i’m so sorry i was stupid and deleted it but i hope you like this very long, drawn out, and frankly deranged response 💚

[sononames]

Silent Witness 25: Not enough ado about too much

Season 25 promised to be fantastic. Amanda Burton was back, DNA manipulation was the topic, and of course, we were to find out if Jack and Nikki finally made a go of things. After a very strong Season 24, fans had every reason to wait impatiently to find out how the writers developed these different angles, all with very promising possibilities.

Sadly, I found the result was terribly uneven. Please convince me that I missed the point!

Amanda Burton's storyline was by far the strongest, and most developed. The suspense increased with every episode, and the twists and turns were engrossing. Her relationship with Jomo was promising (though could have used more attention.) However, overall the resolution of the story arc was less than satisfying. It seemed clear that Oscar Harris was corrupt, but to make him the mastermind of all the mayhem? Where does he find his highly effective lorry driver, let alone all the other resources he required to carry them out? To make matters worse, Harris is fairly inscrutable as a character. We only learn of his motivation from Amanda. Can we trust it was only financial?

In any case, the complex series of events surrounding the cabinet minister's murder required more than one person to plan. And there were characters other than Harris who had the making of much better villains. Ethan Daly, with all the Vigil resources, allows Harris to kill his wife, frame his son, and threaten him? He is fleeing the UK to avoid being implicated, or to avoid Harris? It sort of strains credulity. Sonia Karpov was also very interesting as a character, and her motivation much clearer than Harris. It was unfortunate that her storyline ended so quickly. Hopefully, the appearance of the last minute text from Tom (?) means more clarity will be forthcoming next season. But we have to wait until them.

And what was the test that was supposed to detect manipulated DNA? After making a big deal of how Fiona's technology could bring the end of forensics as we know it, that resolution was also anti-climatic.

Simone seems to be leaving? I will admit to finding her character confusing. While she was supposed to be young, goofy and Irreverent, still finding her way in the world, the writers didn't seem to create opportunities to show her quirky, lighthearted side. And the storyline they wrote for her this season is a doozy. Not only do we find she had a sister that went missing at a young age, we also find that her sister: (a) might be alive and (b) her grandmother lied to Simone about it because (c) her sister blamed Simone for her mother's death due to the fact that (d) Simone's mother died at Simone's birth (?!!). And now said sister is dead after all, leaving two young children orphaned and in care, no less? So of course Simone has no option but to seek custody. Wowza. How will Simone be able, as a very young woman, to bring back to London two young orphans and still keep with the very demanding schedule of the Lyell? It is a little much to take in. But then again, the idea that Nikki and Jack would just show up at the airport without prior arrangement and run into Simone as she just happens to be about to board a plane, and that Tom would know to find Nikki there to have someone slip the phone into her pocket was very awkward too.

Finally, Jack and Nikki. Writers have Jack going all in, really taking the lead in pursuing a relationship with Nikki. The character is really showing a very sweet and mature side. Lots of emotional growth and adulting; in some ways, more than Nikki. I did appreciate that the writers addressed how Nikki, as Jack's boss, had once again strayed into tenuous ethical territory (the fling with Ollie was a very very poor choice, to say the least!) by making the first moves in establishing a relationship with Jack in Season 24: singing to Jack, kissing him without much warning, and then showing up at his house. Having her ask Jack point blank if she had overstepped boundaries made sense. Having Jack take the lead in Season 25 also makes sense and creates less ethical pitfalls. What doesn't make sense is that there seems to be less chemistry between them than before. There is a lot of cuddling, and smiling, but their interactions actually seem coy. Just odd.

I won't even go into the two short stories that were barely developed in Episode 3 and 4, because, well, they were basically forgettable.

Again, I so badly want to have missed things, and change my mind!

[notasdriedapricots]

Some HCs for young Lucas in Argentina no one needs but here they are

I know it's canon that he "helped build houses in Argentina", and that doesn't mean he necessarily lived there, but it kinda does. And he said he moved a lot in the same chapter, it's implicit, okay I don't care lol. It goes without saying, but if anyone thinks I'm wrong/wants to ask about something specific or that I forgot/wants to add something, you're more than welcome and I'd love that.

Ok, so given that a few days ago was a homeland date, and that the very next day a mate (this 🧉, not this 🧍‍♂️) was thrown at me on the dashboard (which was awesome tbh) I actually sat down and wrote them. And now here they are

- So, while we're still at the subject: mate. For those who don't know, mate is basically shared reversed tea, that's the easiest way to explain it; it's not tea, but it's close enough, and the proportion between leaves and water is inverted, and you pass the thing around until you're out of water. Yeah, you know Lucas was not into the whole "five people sharing a straw" thing, he found it disgusting, but he eventually gave in because of peer pressure. He wouldn't now, but at the time he was a teenager in a foreign country trying to make friends and was already at a disadvantage (more on this below). He liked the taste, though; it's kinda like a strong green tea. Still avoided it whenever he could, but did have it on his own at home sometimes while studying, and he knows all the details about it (dusting the leaves, appropriate water temperature, starting with cold water, not overpouring, not moving the straw...). Hasn't had it since he moved away, though.

- When? From mid 2008 to late 2009. So, because I headcanon him as being born in 92, he moved there soon after turning sixteen and left at about seventeen and a half. I was rambling about the school year but I feelt it got too technical; I'll explain it further if you want, but I swear it makes sense.

- Another basic: Where? Maybe surprisingly, not Buenos Aires. His dad would have business there because of course he would, but he wouldn't take his family to live there. They would live in another big city, likely Córdoba, that's close enough (and has regular, hour-long flights to and from Bs. As.), big enough, but less dangerous. In a private neighborhood, though; the famous one on the south side. The horse related one. Wink.

- It's practically canon that he was in TECHO, come on. Which makes sense, because TECHO has always been full of rich kids.

- Obsessed with the food. A mixture of Spanish and Italian with a twist, plus fantastic meat and fantastic wine. Simple but effective. And his mother picked up some cooking habits and recipes, which he appreciated deeply.

- Appreciates the simplicity of the whole concept of "asado", and his high school friends taught him to light a fire properly. Keep achuras the fuck away from him, though.

- Has a weakness for dulce de leche, of course, and keeps a jar of it in his fridge at all times.

- Love/hate relationship with the slang. So. Much. Slang. And it was hard the first month. Like, you thought "succulent" was bad? He got war flashbacks from that. He spoke Spanish Spanish at first, so he got made fun of for the way he pronounced the "z"s and some "c"s, and how he said "tú" and "vosostros" instead of "vos" and "ustedes" (this explanation is useless if you have no idea about the differences between Spanish and Rioplatense Spanish, but this would have been such a big deal. Think a whole new way to conjugate 2° singular AND plural. Also verb usage. Also, if we do put him in Córdoba, the accent. Also very fast speech. Poor Lucas).

- On the note of language, even though he was kinda shocked at first, he ended up finding the extremely liberal use of curse words hilarious.

- Tried going to a football match. Once, and never again. Not vibing with the "climate"...

- Played football with a group of high school friends every Saturday.

- Still baffled by the politics.

- Went to the coast for a week one summer. It was supposed to be two but his parents were like "Nope" and left early. Still thinks people who go to the beaches are low-key-high-key delusional. ("You know that Brazil is right there, right? It's literally one plane away.")

- So shocked at first when every guy he was introduced to bro hugged him and every girl kissed him on the cheek. He quickly got used to it, though, and lowkey missed the excessive warmness when he left.

- Surprised at how people could have the most offensive nicknames and be completely fine with it. I'll just say he himself got fucking lucky he didn't get one.

- Had a group of friends that he missed like crazy when he left. They threw him a surprise goodbye party and showed up at the airport. He still talks to most of them every once in a while.

- He had to readjust a bit when he returned to the UK.

- During college he went back twice, once in summer and once in winter. In summer he rented a car and went through the "Route of wine" in Mendoza, and then drove through the Patagonia (aka the south of the country). In winter he visited the north: the Iguazú waterfalls, the north-west, and some big cities.

- Oh, and that gif is from what became one of his favourite movies: Nueve Reinas. He was watching The Simpsons on TV when the episode ended and the movie began, so he left it on. If you're curious, DO NOT watch the American version; there's a very strong cultural factor that is completely incompatible and ruins the movie.

[manchesterau]

Your Gay Uncle Harry

Okay so I have been really hung up with all those photos of Harry in Italy recently and one thing came to mind when looking at all the photos: Gay Uncle. I even made a post about it! So now I present to you a small fic about your gay Uncle Harry. It’s written in 2nd person pov because I don’t like the feel of 1st person. I...have no idea why I wrote this, and who would even enjoy this but here it is! This is...diffrent from anything I’ve ever written before but I sorta fell in love with this, so I hope you do too.

My own prompt: harry is giving gay rich uncle who you don’t really know too much about because he’s always traveling around with his boyfriend but always invites you and your cousins to his villa in the south of italy for the summer where he plays host

Your family never really talks about him, and when you were younger you never really understood why. The way they all talked about him seemed like he had passed, always in past tense, never spoken about with happiness, always in hushed whispers. Always when the children were away, out of sight out of mind.

When you were younger you pictured him as a ghost, a white sheet with curly hair, bunny teeth, and dimples. You pictured him living hundreds of years ago, in the city somewhere if you were itching to get out of the country, and sometimes in the country herding sheep when you were in the city missing home. 

It took a while, but then you finally understood why no one really talks about Uncle Harry. You grew up on a vineyard in California. Uncle Harry was born in a small village in the UK. There is one picture of you and him together, and it’s when you were a baby. His mum, his sister (your Aunt Gemma), and Uncle Harry all traveled to the United States for the first time to see you.

Your mother holds up the picture, she doesn’t understand your curiosity about your Uncle, and quite frankly you can tell that it annoys her, but she tries not to show it for your sake.

You hold the picture up with shaky hands. You’re nervous because you’ve never really seen a picture of him before, it’s like he had been erased from history. Or your family tried very hard to make sure that he was. So when you see his big bright smile, wild curls, and steady arms holding you almost nineteen years ago you want to cry. You don’t, because then you would have to explain to your mom why you’re crying but you sniffling some here and there. He’s holding you with so much pride, so much love, like your his baby, and this is a photo taken right after he’s given birth.

“Why...I mean I guess I don’t understand why you all never really talk about him.” You say.

Your mom pauses, she turns away from you for a second. “I...honestly I think there was a falling out years ago and...and we all know Harry can hold a mean grunge like nobodies business. All of us can really. But, I mean he still comes around sometimes when he’s not busy traveling the world, to say hi and he always asks for updates on you kids.”

You nod, the photo in your hand weighs heavy in between your finger tips. Then your mom pulls out her phone, goes to Facebook, and pulls up Uncle Harry’s page. It’s like an explosion of rainbows, of the likes you’ve never really seen before. Only on the internet, communities you guard with all of your heart, a safe space for your eyes only. And then you start to understand why it’s all hushed voices when talking about Uncle Harry. You scroll for hours through his page, later on, watch video after video, smile at every picture he puts up. 

A random dish from a random country he visited last month. Funny old people memes that make you snort. Him all wrapped up in the pride flag, and what you assume is his lover right beside him. A picture from a few weeks ago of them embracing, his name starts with an L and that’s all Uncle Harry says about him regarding his name. Post after post after post about how he had found the one, how in love he was, how his boyfriend was pushing him to reconnect with his family, his love for his smile, the way his eyes crinkle, the barely-there freckles that dot his cheeks. The moments they’ve shared, the heartache they’ve endured, the sweet bliss and utter happiness and love they have for each other.

You cry. Not because you’re upset, but because of how robbed you were of knowing your Uncle. So you friend him on the Facebook you created an hour ago. When you get a message from him two days later asking if your family or a friend of the family you yell and thank whoever is above that no one is home. You reply that he’s your Uncle, go over the semantics on who your dad is, your mom, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma, papa. By the end he sends you a video, saying how he doesn’t understand all the texting and emojis and you call him an old man and he says he doesn’t take offense to that.

“I like to think of myself as an old soul. Also I’m only thirty-seven, that’s hardly old.”

You laugh at his accent, and he laughs at your lack of one. 

You never talk about what happened that made him estranged from the family, but deep down you understand. And when he says he can see a little of himself in you, you cry.

It’s summer, you're at home miserable because of the sweltering heat. The past few days you’ve been to a lot of family gatherings, and it annoys you that the hushed whispers about Uncle Harry never stop. You want to yell at them, to scream and sing his praises but you don’t. And then your mother walks through the side glass doors, her white cowboy hat sling low on her head. Yours sits on the ground below you, an ant crawls by slowly. She looks over at you, once, then again, and then she smiles and nods to herself, hangs up, and walks over.

“Your Uncle Harry is inviting you and your cousins to his villa in Italy if you want to go.” She says it so nonchalantly that you think she’s joking around and you roll your eyes. She shrugs and crosses her arms, stares you down. That’s how you know she’s not joking.

The next thing you know you're on a long flight to Italy. Five of your cousins are on the same flight, the rest of them declined. And then you’re getting off the plane, taking a car, and now you’re standing in front of a house. The stone feels warm under your fingertips as you slide your hand across the side of the house. You’re welcomed by Uncle Harry’s boyfriend, his smile friendly and inviting. His fringe gets in his eyes a lot, and he complains about it, says your Uncle loves his hair like this. You smile, something deep inside you settling. 

He takes you all on a small tour, shows you your rooms, tells you your Uncle went on a shopping trip, and should be back very soon. He leaves you to unpack, and you leave your suitcase on the twin-sized bed, wandering around amazed at everything. It feels like home, in a way where you know you won’t get homesick from being here for the summer. It feels like love, like taking a bit out of a warm cookie, like a cuddle with your mom while it rains outside, like curling up next to the fire with a good book. You haven’t felt this way in a long time.

And if there’s one thing no one tells told you about Uncle Harry, is that he sure does know how to make an entrance. You’re looking at the view of the sea beside the pool, you can hear the sound of children playing on the beach below, people moving around in the house behind you, the gentle sway of the leaves as a light breeze blows through.

“How’s the view?”

He startles you, bright big smile on his face and his bunny teeth on display. His hair is shorter than the pictures he’s uploaded before, and he’s actually been able to grow a mustache. He laughs when you tell him this before pulling you into a big hug. You don’t cry like you thought you would, but you do tear up a little.

“I can’t believe you’re actually real.” You say. You still think of him sometimes as a ghost, but without the paper sheet and more real, a little translucent at times. 

He pulls back, an arm slung around your shoulder as he hip checks you, his sunburnt nose moves a little as he says, “In the flesh, love.”

You don’t tell him this, but later on as the summer winds down, as the gentle breeze that brought a little moment of peace between the unrelenting day's of heat starts to pick up more, and as classes are due to start again you think about how this was the best summer ever. You hug him extra tight before you and your cousins head off home. And just before you get in the cab he pulls you aside and gives you a rainbow pin.

He tells you, “Your never alone. I know how it feels, but know that you’ve got someone in your corner rooting for you.”

You cry, waving goodbye to Uncle Harry and his boyfriend as they wave back embracing. You take the pin and stick it to your shirt, you get a smile from one of your cousins at the airport and the weight on your shoulder lift a little.

[youareinlovees]

Taylor & Joe in 2017

January 3rd – In a journal entry, Taylor says that they’ve been together in secret for three months now. (x)

I get all scared about the future because so much has changed in the last year of my life. I mean this time last year I was living in LA, getting ready for Grammys and now, I’m essentially based in London, hiding out trying to protect us from the nasty world that just wants to ruin things. We have been together and no one has found out for 3 months now. I want it to stay that way because I don’t want anything about this to change or become too complicated or intruded upon. But it’s senseless to worry about someday not being happy when I am happy now. Ok. Breathe.

This entry was later included in version 4 of the Lover journals, and it’s possible that the page was taken out of a scrapbook, rather than a diary. This would explain why the scans have blank spaces in them, because the polaroids in there were taken out.

January 11th – Taylor is seen leaving the gym in LA. (x) Afterwards, she goes to Conway Studios and writes DWOHT.

At the time, both fans and media outlets make a big deal out of the photos because it's the first time she's been papped in 6 weeks.

Later in the year, she talks about the backstory of DWOHT at the rep sessions. (x) (x)

Mid January – It’s pretty likely that Taylor also wrote Don’t Blame Me around this time, judging by the J necklace, her hair and the fact that it was recorded at Conway Studios as well.

January 29th – Joe posts a polaroid on Instagram that is also seen in the background of a picture in the reputation magazines.

There’s also photos of Taylor from the same trip, and it’s later found out that they were staying at Stella McCartney’s farm in the UK. (x) (x)

February 9th – In an interview with the Evening Standard UK, Joe avoids a question about his relationship status. (x)

February 18th – @/hes1990 tweets about being pretty sure that they saw Taylor walking around on Oxford Street, London.

February – Taylor, Joe and their friends go out for lunch at The Black Lab in London. (x)

February 24th – Little Big Town plays a show in Nashville and Karen Fairchild says that Taylor isn’t here to play Better Man with them because she’s in London. 

March 3rd – Joe gets cast in The Favourite, alongside Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Nicholas Hoult. (x)

May 14th – On Mother’s Day, paparazzi camp outside Andrea’s Nashville home hoping to see Taylor, and she's papped for the first time since January. (x)

TMZ also publishes photos of her leaving Nashville on a charter later that day, and it’s reported that she went to London.

May 16th – The Sun reports that Taylor and Joe have been dating for months. (x) 

Taylor Swift has secret Brit actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn and the pair have been dating for months. 

Remarkably, she has been spending days at a time in London disguising herself wearing a wig in a bid to keep the romance under wraps. A source said: “Taylor and Joe are the real deal, this is a very serious relationship.” 

The US songwriter, 27, has been renting a house in North London while she has been seeing Joe in the UK. And Taylor has gone to great lengths to ensure her visits have remained unnoticed. The source added: “Taylor has flown in via private jets and her security has made it a military-like mission to prevent her from being seen.”

"She's been walking around with Joe in London using disguises, like scarves and hats, to keep her identity under wraps. "Nobody has a clue they've been walking past a music superstar - not even her new neighbours."

May – RFI was probably written around this time, because it was recorded at MXM Studios in Sweden, and we know Taylor was in Europe + her hair in the Making of a Song video matches up too.

June 1st – Taylor and Joe are spotted getting on a plane to leave the UK. (x) They stay in LA for a few days, and then go to Nashville.

June 3rd – They’re seen having coffee on the balcony of her Nashville apartment. (x)

June 11th – Joe is seen disembarking Taylor’s private jet in London. (x)

June 18th – Taylor spends Father’s Day in London with Joe and his family. (x)

June 30th – Taylor and Joe are seen disembarking her jet in Rhode Island, arriving for the 4th of July. (x)

July 15th – End Game is written around this time, as Ed Sheeran later confirms that they started working on it when he was in Mohegan Sun, Connecticut for his Divide Tour and Taylor was staying in RI. (x)

July 24th – Joe and Taylor are seen going the gym in NYC, and return wearing matching Nikes. (x)

August 21st – Taylor films the RFI music video, and asks the director to place the “89 and 91 next to each other.” (x)

August 27th - In the LWYMMD video, Taylor wears a new version of the Junior Jewels t-shirt, and Patrick is written on the left shoulder, referring to Patrick Alwyn, Joe’s younger brother. (x) She later confirms this on Tumblr.

September 3rd – RFI is released, and Taylor likes a lyric analysis post confirming that the song is about Joe. (x)

September 4th – She likes this post.

September 9th – They’re seen returning to Taylor’s apartment in NYC after going out to dinner. (x)

Mid-September – Taylor writes and records So It Goes. 

In a Grammy interview done years later, co-writer Oscar Görres talks about how the song was written. He says that it was the final track done with Max and Shellback, who both worked on half of rep.

Since they did RFI, End Game and DBM in 2017, and IDSB, Delicate, Gorgeous and KOMH in 2016, it’s safe to assume it was written in 2017, after those songs had been finished. 

Because Oscar talks about his newborn baby in the interview, they would've written it around the time his son was born, and it most likely replaced another song on the tracklist.

We also know SIG was a last-minute addition because in the rep magazines, the table of contents page in volume 2 doesn’t match up with volume 1. Both pages are different to the final tracklist.

It was most likely changed at least twice, but Taylor’s team had forgotten to update these pages. Before SIG was added to rep, the tracklist was TIWWCHNT -> LWYMMD -> Getaway Car, and then once it was added, it was originally between Delicate and LWYMMD.

September 20th – Dan Wootton (who originally broke the news of Taylor and Joe being together) publishes another article about them staying with Cara Delevigne. (x)

“Taylor made the trip to England to spend time with Joe’s family and friends, and Cara offered to have them at her place in Chiswick. Obviously Taylor can stay at the world’s swankiest hotels but that’s not really her bag.

She’s trying to keep a low profile with Joe, and staying with Cara has let her do that. Instead of being stopped by fans for selfies, they’ve been able to come and go totally unnoticed. They can even walk Cara’s dog round the local park without anyone batting an eyelid.

Things are getting serious between them, and Taylor wants to spend as much time getting to know Joe’s world as possible. They can’t get enough of each other.”

(While Dan generally has reliable info, this story might not be true in hindsight, since we now know that they were living in Hampstead from 2016-17, but it’s fun to believe anyway)

September 28th – It’s pretty likely that Joe got Taylor this sapphire eye ring by Zoe Lev for their one year, because it’s a personal piece and sapphires are the September birthstone. 

Link to full jewellery masterpost.

This vacation photo from the rep magazines is the first time we see her wearing it, so it’s also possible this trip was for their anniversary. 

September 29th – The day after their anniversary, Taylor releases a Spotify playlist titled, 'Songs Taylor Loves.' Fans have since noticed countless parallels between the playlist and tracks on reputation. (x)

October 11th – Taylor and Patrick Alwyn visit his friend Lara’s house, and she gets to listen to KOMH before its release. (x)

October 11th – She likes a Tumblr post about the J necklace (x), as well as a post about Patrick. (x)

October 13th – London secret sessions take place.

Taylor tells a fan that Joe took the pictures of the cats in the reputation magazines, and says that Meredith hates her but loves him. (x) (x)

October 13th – Taylor also likes this post. (x)

October 18th – Night 1 of the Rhode Island secret sessions are held.

October 19th – Night 2 of the RI sessions take place, and a fan later posts about their experience on Reddit. (x)

When she was showing fans the RFI video, her laptop screen was being projected onto the tv and the background was a polaroid of her and Joe from NYE 2016. (x) (x)

A blurry polaroid from the same night can also be found in the rep magazines.

October 20th – Gorgeous is released as a promo single, and also becomes an official radio single in the UK.

October 20th – Taylor likes this post about how every love song on reputation is about Joe, as well as any love song she writes from now on. (x)

She also likes and reblogs these posts about Gorgeous. (x)

October 22nd – Taylor likes this post. (x)

October 22nd – At the LA sessions, Taylor tells two fans that she showed Joe some of their Tumblr posts. (x) (x)

During the LA sessions, she talked about looking back on her old love songs, and buried her face into her hands and was like “Taylor what bullshit have you been writing about??” (x) (x)

Taylor also said she was really happy that she had written an entire album about her current relationship:

A pregnant fan talked to Taylor about her husband having to deal with her mood swings, and she was like “well, I’m not pregnant and my man has to deal with that already.” (x)

She also talked to a fan about how much she hated needles because they make her faint and the last time she had blood drawn, Joe had to hold her hand to calm her down (x)

October 26th – In an interview with Capital Breakfast, Ed Sheeran is asked about Joe. (x)

“He's really nice. Really, really friendly, really good dude. We're in touch, quite a fair bit, you know, and [Taylor’s] been in London quite a bit as well.”

October 26th – The RFI video is released. (x) (x)

October – A Reddit fan on r/popheads attends a rep session and later posts a Q&A thread in 2018.

November 1st – Taylor likes this post by alwynswifts. (x)

November 2nd – Call It What You Want is released and Taylor posts a compilation of home videos filmed by Joe during her break.

She also posts a throwback clip of her playing the song for him for the very first time. (x)

(via falsegod)

November 10th – reputation is released. In the deluxe edition magazines, Taylor credits “Frosty Crew Photography” for taking all the personal pictures. (x) (x)

(There's this one photo of her making a scrapbook, and the polaroids on the floor live rent free in my head.)

Link to full rep polaroids masterpost.

November 10th – In the iHeart session audio, Taylor talks about the inspiration behind some of the songs on rep. (x)

“We threw a big New Year's Eve party in London this year, and I was thinking about how everybody talks and thinks about who you kiss at midnight. (...) And I think that is very romantic. But I think there's something even more romantic about who's gonna deal with you on New Year's Day. Who's willing to give you Advil and clean up the house? I think that states more of a permanence. So I was thinking about that, and I wrote this song called New Year's Day.”

November 11th - Taylor tweets photos of fans with the album, and sneaks a photo of Joe’s best friend Jesse into her tweet. (x)

November 13th – At the reputation release party in NYC, Taylor is seen wearing a Pisces constellation ring. (x) (x)

November 13th – A fan asks Taylor to thank Joe for inspiring the love songs on reputation, and she flipped her hair, smirked and said “oh I will” (x)

November 13th – Scott Swift talks to a group of fans about DWOHT being his favorite song on rep. (x)

(Note that Scott says nine months and not eight, which also supports the Aug 31 dive bar theory)

November 23rd – Taylor and Joe spend Thanksgiving together with her family at a restaurant in Utah. (x) (x)

Later on r/TaylorSwift, the waiter that served them talks about meeting them, and says they were holding hands throughout dinner. Taylor was also telling Joe all about Nashville, and talked about how Barry Gibb of the BeeGees bought Johnny Cash's old house in Hendersonville and accidentally burnt it down a couple months later. (x)

December 1st – Taylor likes this post.

December 7th – Joe wraps Operation Finale, which he had been filming in Argentina for the past 2 months. He flies straight to NYC, since Taylor’s there to perform at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball the next day. 

December 8th – They’re seen arriving at her Tribeca apartment after her performance at Jingle Ball NYC. (x) (x)

December 10th – A fan tweets about meeting Joe in the audience at Jingle Bell Ball London.

During Taylor’s set, Joe’s seen in the audience filming her during Shake It Off. (x)

In Stefflon Don’s IG story, Joe’s wearing a grey reputation cap with his arm around Taylor. (x)

They’re seen in the audience watching Liam Payne and Ed Sheeran’s performances. (x) (x) (x)

A fan talks about meeting Taylor backstage at the show, and says they saw Joe in her dressing room. (x)

December 13th – Taylor spends her 28th with Joe in London, and a video of her cake is later included in the Lover lyric video.

December 14th – In an interview, Todrick is asked about Taylor’s relationship with Joe, and he says “she’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her. I love it.” (x)

December 22nd – Joe takes a picture with a fan at a train station in London, and his jacket is the same one Taylor’s wearing in the rep magazines. (x) (x)

December 28th – Joe is papped at LAX airport, arriving in the states three days before New Year’s Eve. (x)

December 31st – They spend NYE together and have a small party in LA, which Jack Antonoff, Claire Winter and some other friends attend.

2016 // 2018 // 2019 // 2020 // 2021

[the-empress-7]

She's Out!

I had no idea that Meghan & Harry were planning to conference today as President & VP for QCT! Remember the QCT was formed by Harry, he spoke about it during their engagement interview. (I’ve often wondered if the QCT was actually Meghan’s idea.) Meghan spoke about it on video after the wedding as she viewed her white wedding dress & veil. Harry presented the QCT/ YOUTH organization to QE as a birthday gift. From time to time, Meghan uses the Twitter account for the QCT, like for the electronic Christmas card. It makes sense that they would also use this organization for PR purposes while in California. I think of the QCT as another Travelyst. I hope I’m wrong.

Someone else must have known because last night, in response to her zoom meeting with Michelle O’s voter organization, they buried a jewel within the Daily Mail comments section.

MSG:

So there it is. She wants to hop back over the pond to brush up on her royal connections in the hope that proving she’s in with the RF & has mended things will somehow boost her chances in Hollywood. Well I can save her the cost of a plane ticket. ‘Meghan, you’re a joke in the USA. You aren’t taken seriously enough for people to worry about your relationship with the RF, who seem unruffled by your antics. It’s obvious by now that for all your maneuverings, you aren’t in the inner circle, nor will you be. A quick trip back for some charity photo ops won’t change that, nor will it convince your “fans” who are deserting in droves that you are worth shelling out serious money for. The kind of money you’ll need to pay for your ridiculous debts and lifestyle. Shouldn’t have kept the expensive clothes, eh?’

I copied the message bc the “voice” sounds very familiar. Last Christmas, a Twitter handle that she detests, wrote that Harry would always be welcome at Christmas but she (Meghan) will never again join the BRF at Christmas.

Meghan wore 3 different dresses on on her last day in the UK. 1st- they taped a quick QCT promo and she merched a huge blanket dress. 2nd -she wore a navy/black dress for a photo op with 2 BP staff & a group of strangers bused in for a photo as the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the patronage that originally belonged to QE (she felt the kicking of embryonic feminism on this panel). Omid used this photo-op to publish an article about her last day in the office. 3rd-she wore the 'green with envy’ ensemble to the Abby.

Meghan carefully planned a marathon of farewell events because she knew that was her FINAL DAY with the BRF.

No matter what I see or hear from Meghan or Harry, there is more happening in the background. MEGHAN MARKLE is OUT of the BRF and she knows it!!!!

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Thanks for the submission. I love your confidence.

[valkyriesexual]

Since you’re the first person with a legal background I’ve found discussing this case, I was wondering could you explain how the hearsay works? For example when amber tried to use the Deuters text about the plane/kick incident JD lawyer objected hersay and the judge accepted it. I know they were used in the UK trial.. also there was an email she wrote to herself and text messages to her mom w/ a pic of her bruises that was tossed (pic was ok but not the texts with it) for hearsay.. 1/2

sure! i love talking about law stuff :p

so each state has their own rules, but they're all pretty similar. hearsay is basically just a statement made outside of a courtroom. hearsay is generally not admissible in court. this is because it's a statement made not under oath/penalty of perjury, the statement may be taken out of context, etc.

if you want to introduce something somebody said, you're supposed to bring that person into court and have them say it on the record where the judicial officer and jury can determine whether the person is credible and where the person can be cross examined on the statement.

so, for example, if you and your sister were in your car, and you ran a stop sign and hit another car, then your sister texted her friend "holy shit anon just ran a stop sign and now our car is totaled", the driver of the other car would probably want to introduce that text message in a civil trial about who's responsible. but the heresay rule would be like, 'no, no, no driver of the other car, you've got to call anon's sister as a witness and ask her about the text"

then anon's lawyer gets to cross examine her sister about it, like "isn't it true, anon's sister, that you secretly have a grudge against anon and wanted to establish that anon was at fault for the accident so your mom would give you exclusive driving rights to the next car?"

ok so far? hearsay rule = stuff said outside of court shouldn't come in. you gotta bring whoever said the thing in and put them on the stand and make them say it on the record and then everybody gets to ask them questions.

however, there are some conditions that surround a statement that may make it seem reliable enough or important enough that it can be introduced, even though the statement is hearsay. these are the hearsay exceptions.

in virginia, some of the important hearsay exceptions are: (1) a party admission: if somebody who is a party to the action says something outside of court, you're generally gonna be able to introduce it in court. this is why, for example, when depp texted someone 'i cut my finger off i'm so stupid', that text can be introduced, even though it's hearsay. (2) present sense impression (statement describing something while it's happening, like, for example, AH saying "oh my god johnny why don't cut yourself stop it! you're bleeding!") (3) an excited utterance: something said in the heat of the moment when it's unlikely that the person saying the thing had the time/capacity to make something up (example: "oh fuck, oh fuck, i sliced my finger off! stupid broken bottle!"), (4) recorded recollection (only used if someone claims to forget something they said earlier, you can introduce the earlier statement to refresh their memory), (5) description of then existing mental/physical/emotional state (example: "oh fuck, oh fuck, my finger, it hurts, I'm so drunk, I'm so stupid", (6) statement for medical treatment (for example, a nurse's note in a medical chart that 'patient reported that he'd been drinking and cut his finger on a broken bottle'), (7) business records (records kept in the ordinary course of business)(example: the full medical report that includes the nurse's note "patient reported heavy drinking and cutting his finger on jagged glass from broken bottle"), (8) public records (birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc). there's other ones too. you can read them all here, if you're super interested.

so, i'm not actually watching the trial because i think it's a repulsive spectacle, so I don't actually know what's the deal with the way a judge ruled on specific objections.

it's my understanding that deuters was a depp witness who wasn't allowed to testify because she'd been watching the virginia trial, which is not allowed. you generally don't want witnesses watching testimony that comes before them, because then they can edit and manipulate their own testimony to either fit or contradict the narrative of other witnesses. it's why many judges would prohibit the real-time livestreaming/broadcasting of a trial. why this judge allowed the broadcasting of the trial remains a mystery to me, and seems that it would likely undermine the ability of witnesses and jurors to remain untainted but /shrug emoji. since deuters wasn't allowed to testify, she couldn't testify to the authenticity of the message, couldn't be cross examined on it, and it didn't fit into any of the hearsay exceptions, so it doesn't get to come in. that may have been strategy by the depp team because it's a damning message against depp.

the email from AH to her mom is also a statement made outside of court, so it's hearsay. you would think that it could come in as a party admission, but there are some technical requirements that stop AH from using it. basically, parties could get tons of shit in by making a bunch of self serving statements. so a party admission has to be something *against* their interest, offered *against* a party, and likely, the email to her mom was in AH's interest and offered by her lawyers, not against her by depp's lawyers, so it doesn't come in as a party admission. if she said something on the stand that contradicted the email, depp's lawyers could introduce it to impeach her on it and undermine her credibility because she's saying something different on the stand, but AH is consistent in her story, so it wouldn't come in that way either. since it was written after an event, it's not a present sense impression or an excited utterance, and it's a recorded recollection but AH isn't saying that she can't remember, so the recorded recollection exception isn't a permissible use either. so, no email.

(in CA, there's an exception for "prior consistent statement" which you can use to get in an earlier hearsay statement if the other party disputes the consistency of your story, but Virginia may not have that hearsay exception, which makes sense because there is variation across state laws).

a picture, however, can be authenticated by the party who took it and it speaks for itself (meaning, it's not a statement so not subject to the hearsay rule, and instead comes in so long as the person is there to say basically, yeah i took this picture, it accurately represents my injuries as they appeared on that day, i didn't edit it, etc), so the pic comes in.

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