#it's literally just the corn addiction speaking

[youraverageenglishstudent]

using this space to rant about booktok. sis, when did we start glorifying corn on paper, mental, sexual and domestic abuse, grape and so much more shite?

why are we glorifying authors like colleen hoover for saying bs like "our son's big balls" or books like icebreaker, that are 99% smut?

i can understand that classic lit is not for everyone, but there are so many modern books, that are sooo much better than booktok

[straightontllmorning]

can i say (as a bi woman) that it genuinely bothers me that like... so many ppl are like 'its not biphobic for a bisexual to have casual sex' when i don't think anyone has ever said THAT is the issue? i don't care what bisexuals do in real life. if they wanna have safe and consensual casual sex, go right ahead, idc! it's not for me but as long as i'm also being respected in my decision, idc what other people do. it just baffles me because buck in season one was talking about how he was a sex addict and how he didn't want to ruin things with abby by rushing into sex too fast because he genuinely liked her and that was like... kind of a huge part of his character? is that he DIDN'T really like the casual sex so much but actually wanted a real relationship? so why is oliver begging to have buck sleep around again when his character like... wanted more than just sex??? i don't mind character regression but it just feels like bad writing to retread that plot again.

also idc what other people say about thinking OS wasn't biphobic in his remarks. the guy dropped the ball hardcore. he could have easily said "i think buck can continue to casually explore his sexuality with other men and women now, he's still bisexual even if he's single" and it wouldn't have felt so... idk. fetishize-y to me. i'm just tired of bisexuality in fiction always being linked to promiscuity. real bisexuals can do whatever they want. but bisexuals in fiction are held to a different standard for a reason. what else should i expect from a ryan murphy show tho considering brittany on glee never called herself bisexual (bi-lingual, bi-corn) and she was portrayed the 'stupid slutty cheerleader' stereotype. i was just hoping for something different ig :(

it just makes me mad because... they didn't have to break up buck and tommy Like That. tommy could have easily had to move away and he and buck could have broken things off mutually as a result. idk sorry for ranting a bit in ur asks im just so miffed over this and over people speaking over bisexuals expressing their thoughts and concerns toward the biphobia that's going on rn :(

Sorry it took me so long to answer you, but please rant away! Honestly I agree with everything you've said. And unfortunately this really does prove that yeah, this is a Ryan Murphy show and it's par for the fucking course. I was gleek and that always bothered me too that Britney would never say it (and most of her characterization in general was just awful)

I wish Oliver had said something different, I wish he hadn't worded it that way. And again, people can have their opinions but it just feels so gross given how the show decided to do this.

They could've had bucktommy break up in any other way for any other reason. They brought up the Abby plot, they could've used that as the hurdle. They could have had them talk about wanting different things in a relationship. Literally anything that wasn't Tommy basically telling Buck it's over because he's not enough of a stereotype. Because bisexuals don't know what they want. Clearly.

It's very infuriating and I'm so sorry that yet another piece of media treated bisexual people like fucking shit.

And it's really fucking infuriating that people who aren't bisexual are defending Oliver over his comment. Again, have your different opinions but don't speak over people that are bi and already have to deal with biphobia in our shitty society

This show went about it all in an awful way, and I'm really sad that we were all tricked into believing they'd handle it better

[admirange]

Mcl style contest outfit dump pt. 6

Slimy and gooey

I ACCIDENTALLY SUBMITTED HALFWAY THROUGH LMFAOO otherwise I just took it literally and used purple/green bc those are the slimiest colors

Got really low ranking with it but it was obvious from the start

Forbidden forest

I was thinking so hard to figure out what piece of media has the forbidden forest😭 a google search helped me out, I knew it was familiar. So idk, it's sort of between a student and a person doing business in there? Like illegal ones lol

Got really low ranking with it

Reaper

I'm addicted to Sims again so that was my inspiration, kind of. WE STILL NEED CLOAKS PLSS

Got well ranked with top 25% (speaking of cloaks, what Cerise (3th place) did was pretty cool!!)

The witch's lair

I did a forest-witch kind of thing but it just didn't look good. Hard to work with stuff if most of my things are white, black and blue with a few other colors scattered. I rarely let myself spend AP on different clothes to use in the contest so yeah. I remembered Galadriel from lotr was called a witch sometime? So I went in that direction and did a fantasy, elf-like witch of some sort. I'm just bored of witch themes like everyone else

Got well ranked with top 28%

Spooky

I was once again not creative but in my defense I created this when I was on a call with friends and didn't really pay attention to the game. The idea is a chill night while watching/reading horror stories. That's it lol

Got really low ranking with it

Cruel queen

There's a lot of characters that came in my mind, but Maeve from tog was the only one I could do from my clothing options. The elf hair is in shared items atm so I used the other long hair:P no idea which would've been better.

Got low ranking with it

Haunted manor

Just did a classic frightened lady living in a manor that's haunted lol. Didn't want to do a ghost again.

Got low ranking with it

Darkness

Basic black clothing. Put some spookier stuff on her to get the feeling of being scared in the dark, as you never know what's in there. That's it, basically.

Got well ranked with top 11% (surprised me since it was pretty low effort)

Nyx's daughter

Well shame on me but I had no idea how many children she has and who are they (still don't lol). I did a search on google but I got tired quickly so I just asked my greek mythology nerd friend. She said her daughters are the moirai (along with a lot of others), the fates. At that point I kinda knew what she was talking about since my memories from school started to come back. Also Hercules was my favourite childhood movie lol. I tried to do a magical cave of some sort with the background? My memories can be wrong but I remember they're in a cave or something. We did a whole conversarion with my friend to decide which hand accessory would fit the best, since we don't have scissors, nor any spinning thread or whatever they're called. Maybe I didn't have to do all of this research and just make a "the night's daughter" outfit, but that's lazy and lame imo🫠

Got low ranking with it

Forsaken crypt

I could do either an explorer, or something old that's in the crypt. This is something in the middle and idk how I feel about it (I'm lying, I don't like it). Pretty low effort, nothing special can be said about it.

Got low ranking with it (as if it was surprising)

Vampire ball

I still love vampires! But my previous vampire was my ultimate creation and didn't want to copy that, so this isn't a winner outfit😔 I'd say that maybe this is a little more elegant, or just extra. I wouldn't consider it bad, but we all have eyes lol

Got well ranked with top 26%

Candy corn

I did a candy corn inspired outfit already when trick or treat was on. I only have a few yellow & orange clothing so the outfit turned out pretty boring 🫠

Got really low ranking with it

Cursed grimoire

Okay so this is embarrassing, but I had to look up the meaning of a grimoire and I was so fixated on it that I forgot the cursed part😔 I'M SORRY but if I have to be honest I think the fit is fire, just maybe not for this theme. I was confident I wanted to use purple but then I saw two shared items and built the outfit around them lmao. The lore is a spellcaster student finding this particularly magical book in the school's library.

Got low ranking with it

Ghost whisperer

There was this show called this I think? I was obsessed with it as a kid. That, and the Conjuring movieified Warrens were my inspiration. I love how it turned out, I won't lie.

Got low ranking with it (the theme was ghost WHISPERER, not ghost🤦‍♀️ I shouldn't be surprised tho)

Haunted circus

Well. Does it give circus vibes? Idk. I tried. I liked the circus season of ahs. The theme is cool btw, I just suck at creating a normal fit for it

Got low ranking with it

Harbinger of doom

Tried to do something spooky/unnatural. Mothman is a great idea but I don't have wings. Not much thought process here.

Got low ranking with it

Green goblin

Well I have to add that I made this with my friend and we didn't take it seriously so it's not that great. But yeah, the spiderman's green goblin was our inspiration. Had a whole discussion if pumpkin Taki or bank robbery Taki is better.

Got well ranked with top 27% (I jokingly told my friend the winners will have fairy wings, butterflies, sparkles and the elf pack clothes in green - I was so right)

Werewolf

Also an average outfit, more like a werewolf in the everyday life than an over the top wolf cosplay. That wouldn't really work out. Not a high effort one, but I like it.

Got low ranking with it

Undead

I got style contest block or I don't know, half of the time I just sat there and had no idea what the hell I want to do. I became the very person I despise and just put random clothes on that's somewhat okay with the theme. Skeleton parts are obvious, the necklace is to give somewhat a spiderweb vibe? Flowercrown for some religious nod to Jesus? I was trying but I'm on a losing streak here.

Got low ranking with it

Inferno

At this point I should give up because. Oh my god. I'm so so sorry. The themes are really cool but I just have 0 inspiration for them, or can't 100%. Maybe it's really because at this point it's kind of repetitive. Using the same clothes differently all the time, I think I'm just at my limit of what I can do with them. This is like a demon of some sort who's there to torture people? Used as many gold stuff as possible because fire and riches and I don't know. I'M NOT PROUD.

Got low ranking with it

Evil clown

Pennywise, obviously. Although it's not a cosplay, I used the new doll skirt and built everything around it. I think I'm back with this (okay no I'm not 100% satisfied but better than the 2 before). Don't judge because of some elements, some stuff from the halloween bank outfit were shared and I just had to try them out 😔 (thanks from here again for the shared items!! I love you guys. Can never thank them enough)

Got low ranking with it

Posting this earlier than I wanted to because tumblr for some reason didn't save it as a draft but tossed it out as a post. No idea why, I only clicked on save.

Thank you for reading and/or looking through my creations!<3

[starlightxsvt]

Sunrises || Choi Seungcheol au

Pairing: Seungcheol x Female reader

Genre: apocalypse au, slice of life (?), angst, kinda fluff, some action

Warning: zombies, death and stuffs

"Thank you for saving me that day." You murmur to the male sittig next to you.

Seungcheol, in return says nothing, focusing on peeling the apple in his hand.

It was the third day after he saved you and gave you a place to stay. The man didn't offer his name or any other information - though you figured it out from craved wood that hung on his room's door saying, 'Seungcheol's room' - neither asked yours but you enlightened him with it. He doesn't talk much and doesn't like to be talked much but you kept your mouth open anyway.

It was about two months since the strange virus spread and begun the apocalypse and you were lucky enough to have stumbled upon Seungcheol.

"I really mean it." You whisper. "I'm new in this place. Believe it or not but I moved here literally a few days before the apocalypse started."

You didn't get any response to that either.

"Do you have any family? I don't. My mother died long ago and my father's an addict so I basically ran from him."

More silence.

You take in his features which are too concentrated on peeling the apple. His brows were knit to a frown and he chewed on his lower  plump lip.

You swallow, "Who's Sunghoon?" You know you probably shouldn't have asked the question but curiosity got the best of you. You saw the name hanging on one of the rooms which was apparently locked.

He looks up at you, an angry look on his face. "I swear to any higher being up there, if you don't shut your mouth I am going to feed you to the corpses by myself." He stands up murmuring, "This is why I don't like helping people." 

You watch his retreating figure walk inside the house and you sigh, leaning against the apple tree and watching the sunset.

A week later

You thanked the heavens everyday for making you stumble upon a guy who's a farmer. Seungcheol had his own produce, a small field of rice and corns and a few apple and lemon trees. It was safe to say these were more than enough in a time like this.

The electricity is unavailable most of the time but it takes some surprise visits every few days for a few hours. That's when you and Seungcheol wash up and store water.

Your days go by rather quickly thanks to the neat system Seungcheol seems to have established. He had things run so smoothly that it was pretty unbelievable the world was going through an apocalypse right now. You help him around the house, cleaning things up, watering the crops and such. He had his own rules - don't waste water or tissues, don't eat too much, don't talk too much. You tried to follow them at your best but you couldn't stop yourself from starting a little conversation more often that which were only met with silence or threats. But so far, Seungcheol was a guy nice enough and you counted your blessings for meeting him.

A few more days later

When you ran from your place you only took your female necessities. Those were dumb things compared to others who ran away with guns and foods.

You sat in the guest room Seungcheol offered you, thinking about what you were gonna do after these necessities were finished.

Suddenly Seungcheol appears knocking on your door before entering. You turn to look at him as he takes a seat. "We'll be heading out tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"There's a super shop a mile away from here. We're going there."

"Why?"

"Why do you think, smartass? We need to stock up on tissue paper and dry foods. I visited there a couple times after the apocalypse started. Apparently the government and NGO's provide foods and stuffs there for the survivors out here."

"Really?Then where are they? We need to find them. They probably built a shelter, we can go live there."

"Do you think it's that simple?"

"Huh?"

Seungcheol sighs. "They are moving in their own pace, okay? The shelters are probably full now with survivors. When their capacity increases they'll let us know. I have a friend who works at the NGO. If he's okay he'll come for me."

"When was the last time you spoke with him?"

"On the day of the breakout."

"I see."

"Prepare yourself for tomorrow. Since you are living in my place, you are coming with me." He stands up to leave.

"I'm not a wuss, you know." You roll your eyes.

"We'll see."

"Yea. And you know, it didn't hurt to speak with me! We could talk more often Mr. Grumpy!" You call after him.

"Shut up."

The next day

"Listen carefully, don't waste anytime. Just grab the things you need and walk into the car." Seungcheol says parking the car in front of the convenience store.

You nod and watch him load his gun and tuck it behind him.

The store is a mess. Broken pieces and bits of metals everywhere. You both walk in and look for the things you came for. Luck seems to be on your side as you find a couple of dry food packets, some toilet papers and some pads -though they are not the best quality, you have to make do with these. You quickly put them on the tote bag you brought with yourself and turned around.

Seungcheol was on the opposite Isle looking through selves for God knows what. You walk out to the front of the store and see and notice taped there.

Food will be supplied here every week along with other necessities. If you are a survivor please hang in there. Once we manage more accommodation, we will come for you. Regarding the infected, our research says they are deaf, so please use that to your advantage.

You turn around to tell Seungcheol about this but instead you meet the eyes of a corpse. It stands there, a mess of blood and gunk as your soul leaves your body.

It approaches you, making garbled sounds and you take back a few steps. From behind him you see Seungcheol approaching will a huge piece of metal rod.

The corpse doesn't turn back to the noises Seungcheol's feet makes while approaching you through the mess, instead it's focus is solely on you, ready to devour. They're really deaf, huh. It opens its mouth ready to chunk a piece of your body when Seungcheol hits him in the head and bangs a couple more times to make sure it's immobile.

"Quick, get in the car. More of them might be around here."

You two dash back to the car, carrying your goods and he starts the car quickly. You look behind to see more of the corpses appearing from around the store. Dusk was approaching soon which meant the corpses will be more alive and ferocious.

The car speeds through the empty road as you clutch onto your tote bag. "Did you know they were deaf?"

"You didn't?" He throws at you. You roll your eyes at him.

"Thanks for saving me again."

"Maybe next time I won't."

Another couple weeks or so later

"I'm going to the supermarket."

"At this hour? It's almost dusk. Are you crazy?"

You watch as Seungcheol puts on the necessary protection on his arms and legs and checks his gun.

"They people from NGO deliver foods during this time since there is no survivors out at this hour. I'm gonna go there and try to meet the delivery guy. Also I need to refill my car."

"Why?"

"To pass a message."

"To your friend who works at the NGO?"

"Yes. I need to let him know that I'm alive. Then he'll come for me."

"What if he's dead?"

Seungcheol says nothing. You forbid him to leaves a few more times but he completely ignores your pleas saying he has to take a  chance. Before he is out the door, he hands you his gun. "Keep this with you. Until now, they corpses have never been around here so just stay inside the house and you'll be safe. I don't know if you have your memories after you becoming a corpse but if you see me coming here looking like one of them, shoot me."

What? You swallow as your heart tugs.

"Stop talking like that. You don't need to leave. We've plenty of food. We'll get by. Don't do this Seungcheol."

"Remember what I said." He speaks, ignoring you and turns around.

"Wait." You call, tears pooling in your eyes. "At least take the gun with you. You'll need it more than me. Besides I dont even know how to use it."

Seungcheol looks at you for a beat before taking a gun and giving you a small smile - the first one he ever gave you.

You watch him leave as the sky turn in hues of purple and black.

You spend a restless night, sitting in your room watching the sky and thinking about Seungcheol. You think of how he opened up a bit more in the last few days and the moments you shared.

Sunghoon was my brother. He was in the military. We were outside, celebrating his discharge when the infection spread. The corpses got him while he was trying to save me. I failed him.

I waited for him for a long time, thinking he'd come back. He didn't.

Y/n, if I don't return by dawn don't wait for me.

As the night passed anxiety got the best of you. This is it. I lost him. He's gone. I'll have to survive now, alone.

You were about to have a break down as you saw the first streak of light spread through the sky. You walked to the roof of his farmhouse watching the colors in the sky. You start to accept the fact that you're alone from now on. That is until you see Seungcheol's jeep approaching towards the house.

You held your breath and didn't move your position, waiting to see him come out.

You thought sunsets were pretty until you saw Seungcheol's tired figure getting out of the jeep, his eyes meeting yours and flashing a smile, the brightest one probably, at the crack of dawn.

Sunrises were pretty too. Even prettier perhaps.

A/N: Tbh I wasn't so confident in this one but oh well, here it is. Also thank you for loving my previous work, it really means a lot. As for this one, if it doesn't flop, maybe I'll write a part 2 👀.Anyway thanks again! 💖

[bourbon-ontherocks]

(Previously, on GG rewatch...)

So this episode is literally the closest we got to what the show would look like if Brio was written off it. Ruby/Annie adventures!! Beth being totally useless in a crime plot! Almost zero Dean as a consequence (this is probably the only episode in the show where Dean has less screentime than Rio hahaha!)

Okay, practical question here, but is it safe to confess literal crimes you got away with to a support group? Like, nobody's going to report you? Just asking for a friend...

As an anti-waste myself, I can only but approve Annie picking expired bread before it gets thrown away tbh.

THE PTA MOMS!!!!!!! I LOVE TO HATE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!

Beth's printed board of fall-themed baked goods is literally a moodboard for a pastry chef AU fic...

I really love Sara's character development through the end of season 2/course of season 3!

How did Annie get Rio's phone number, again?

I can't believe that we were SO CLOSE to an Annie/Rio interaction!!!! It was RIGHT THERE!!! Why did they take that away from us????

Beth has an insane amount of different kitchen oils in that kitchen-counter basket. And she's buying truffle oil in season 3. This woman needs to stop with oil.

I can't believe that Beth literally does not answer Annie's "are you okay with the actual book club thing?" and nobody calls her out...

"How do you think he's gonna do it without us?" Pahahahahaha, Beth, this man's business was doing pretty fine before you joined, calm down...

Did I mention how much I love the PTA moms??? "Are corn stalks too sexual?" I'm dead!! And I love adrenaline-addicted shoplifter Beth so much!!!!

Note for later: between the expired seafood and the half-smoked cigarette in the pickles jar, remind me to never shop at Fine & Frugal’s...

Oh no, Annie said "I love you" to Noah and he betrays her right in the next scene, I'm so sad right now!!!! Honestly the fact that he's FBI doesn't bother me thaaaaat much (I mean, it's just a common trope) but the fact that he betrays her now is hearbreaking!

"One of my mom's friends." Either Sara is gaslighting her friend because she's ashamed of Annie's song, either the girls are lying when they claim that their children grew up together.

Okay so Dean appearing at the 19th minutes of the episode had me "Huh, I completely forgot about you!"

I can't believe I didn't remember that THERE. IS. A. NURSING. HOME. IN. THIS. SHOW. Guys, it’s canon!!!!!!

Why did the Canadian woman look for Beth Boland? Didn't Rio update big Mike's crew about who was coming?

I know it's controversial but honestly, I wish the show had given Annie and Noah a better resolution. I don't understand why people hate him so much. He's clearly torn in a moral conflict, and I would have loved for them to stay together while Noah could just turn to crime or become the girl's intel in the FBI.

I understand the purpose behind that scene and it's brilliant, but I just can't watch Beth destroy all that food. It physically hurts me. I sort of whish they used fake food to destroy during the shooting but I'm afraid they did not.

"She taught me Snapchat." "I am so sorry" is one of Ruby's most underrated lines, fight me

I ABSOLUTELY abide by Ben's theory about other kids freaking out the day they'll realize their parents aren't perfect haha!

I was so lost in contemplating how there were way too many kids in that park that I legit jumped when Rio and his mooncup-shaped beanie appeared on screen.

ALL OUT OF CATASTROPHY!!!! I LOVE THIS SONG WITH THAT SCENE SO MUCH!!!

I am in absolute awe at Beth's duality in this episode. The poisenous dark Beth serving her "Hello, James" with a beaming, cat-and-mouse smile vs. zombie PTA Beth cooking tons of food and haunting decoration stores is a masterpiece of writing and acting. And Annie's and Ruby's faces when Beth confesses she had fun speaks for themselves. Dark Beth is rising. Finally.

Ooooh, poor Annie!! Also, I love how Tyler just obliviously monologues details about his conjunctivitis!

So... If Beth barged in the dealership with a warning barely ten seconds before the sirens (which makes Rio's heads-up pretty useless but whatever), when did they have time to clean the cars??? Did I miss something?

Bonus: I know that I have a dirty mind, but... Isn't that too sexual?????

[marlbros]

⋆*       ❪         🐚         ❫       ⤻       crashes  through  a  brick  wall  like  the  kool - aid  man  AGAIN  it’s  paige  &  i’m  here  to  present  you  with  maren ,  who  is  worthy  of  ur  love  and  attention  unlike  the  corn  man  . 

ʻ   /   wow ,   i  am  so  excited  to  introduce   maren samatar  to  our  current  students  at  cape  coral .   she  is  extremely  excited  to  join   men’s soccer .   coming  in  as  an  twenty  year  old   sophomore ,  they  shouldn't  worry  about  fitting  in .   the   cis female  capricorn   has  always  reminded  me  of   alisha boe   ,  but  some  people  don't  see  it .   trying  to  keep  the  fact  that   her parents think she’s in the us on a religious exchange  from  getting  around  this  school  is  going  to  be  tough .  no  worries ,   though ,   cape  coral  will  create  a  new  life  for  them ,   i  assure  you .  ʼ 

basics

→  name   maren  abdi  mohamed  samatar →  nicknames  mar  ,  literally  nothing  she  hates  nicknames →  age  /  d.o.b.   twenty  ,   31st  december  1999 →  gender  /  pronouns   cis  female  /  she  &  her →  dominant  hand   right

lifestyle

→ born   oslø  ,   norway → current residence  portland  ,   maine  ,   usa → spoken languages  norwegian  ,   english → major  classics  &  literature → clubs  men’s  soccer → drink / smoke / drugs  no  /  no  /  no

character

�� moral alignment   lawful  good → mbti  isfj - t → zodiac  capricorn → tarot card   the  empress → archetype  the  innocent

more

born  on  new  year’s  eve ,  maren  abdi  mohamed  samatar  was  the  apple  of  her  parents’  eyes  .   unfortunately  ,   the  baby  they’d  planned  to  save  their  marriage  wasn’t  enough  to  keep  them  together  ,   and  her  mother  and  father  got  a  divorce  when  maren  was  three  .               ⤻     her  mother  was  remarried  not  long  after  ,   to  a  man  who  was  a   member  of  a  backwards  ,   culty  new  religious  movement  based  in  maren’s  hometown  of  oslø  .   it  wasn’t  long  until  her  mother  was  swept  up  in  the  hoopla  of  the  community  and  her  love  for  her  new  spouse  —-  moving  herself  and  maren  into  his  apartment  and  throwing  herself  into  his  lifestyle  head  first  . 

maren  was  raised  in  the  thick  of  the  movement’s  community  ,   and  as  a  result  has  never  known  anything  else  .   she’s  a  product  of   a  hive  mind  with  skewed  beliefs  ,   so  sheltered  that  she’s  never  had  a  friend  who  wasn’t  also  involved  in  her  family’s  circles  .   she’s  never  spent  a  day  in  a  typical  school  ,   having  been  homeschooled  by  her  step  father  all  her  life  .  she’s  never  kissed  anybody  ,   never  been  to  a  club  ,   never  had  a  sip  of  alcohol  ,  never  smoked  a  cigarette  .          ⤻     though  she’s  accustomed  to  living  by  the  rules  of  her  community  ,  maren  has  always  had  her  own  beliefs  and  morals  in  the  back  of  her  mind  .   because  of  those  ,   she’s  always  struggled  with  her  relationship  to  her  faith  and  the  expectations  her  parents  and  community  have  put  on  her  since  she  was  young  .   despite  the  fact  that  she  hates  her  judgemental  streak  ,   she  still  lowkey  turns  up  her  nose  at  those  who  take  part  in  the  typical  partying  lifestyle  .  this  is  likely  due  to  the  fact  that  she’s  never  been  to  a  party  ,  but  that’ll  change  real  quick  .

the  one  extra  curricular  activity  she  was  allowed  to  participate  in  growing  up  was  soccer  .   she  was  obsessed  with  it  ,   it  was  the  one  thing  that  she  had  in  common  with  her  biological  father  (  who  she  saw  about  once  a  year  )  ,   and  she  was  GOOD  at  it  .  so  good  ,  in  fact  ,  that  she  was  on  her  way  to  being  cosidered  for  the  norwegian  national  women’s  team   when  she  injured  her  knee  severely  and  was  told  by  her  doctor  that  she’d  never  play  again  .  she  was  devastated  ,   and  this  marked  the  beginning  of  her  questioning  the  life  she’d  lived  up  until  that  moment  .          ⤻     after  her  injury  ,   her  mother  and  step  father  noticed  the  dip  in  her  mood  and  suggested  that  she  go  on  a  religious  exchange  for  a  change  in  scenery  ,  or  get  further  involved  in  their  community  .   it  was  during  her  research  on  those  programs  that  she  stumbled  upon  cape  coral  and  read  up  on  their  men’s  soccer  team  .  they  were  the  best  in  their  state  ,   and  they  were  far  ,  far  away  from  her  hometown  .   she  applied  ,  and  when  she  got  in  she  told  her  parents  that  it  was  one  of  the  religious  exchanges  they’d  suggested  . 

she’s  desperate  to  get  on  the  men’s  soccer  team  despite  the  drawbacks  from  her  injury  ,   and  she’s  semi  -  ready  to  branch  out  socially  ,  despite  her  fears  at  being  ostracized  for  being  reserved  and  inexperienced  .

quick fun facts

       ⤻     she  only  wears  turtlenecks  .  listen  ,   she  just  loves  the  soft  girl  aesthetic  and  that’ll  never  change  .   catch  her  in  a  turtleneck  in  the  club  ,   should  she  ever  get  the  balls  to  go  to  one  . 

      ⤻     caffeine  addict  .  coffee   was   one  of  the  things  her  mother  kept  from  her  growing  up  ,   and  the  second  she  got  to  portland  ,   she  had  her  first  starbuck  latte  .   she’s  been  guzzling  them  non -  stop  ever  since  .  

     ⤻     she  only  wears  clear  mascara  .  this  is  due  to  her  lack  of  knowledge  and  skill  in  the  makeup  department  .   she  wishes  she  had  a  scrap  of  hand  eye  coordination  or  makeup  skill  ,  but  alas  . 

    ⤻     she  still  has  a  pretty  thick  norwegian  accent  .  she  speaks  english  as  fluently  as  you  or  i  do  ,   just  with  a  cute  accent  . 

wanted connections

  ⤻     the  acclimator  .  she  desperately  needs  someone  to  show  her  the  ropes  .  they  could  be  someone  the  school  assigned  to  show  her  around  ,   but  they  got  more  than  they  bargained  for  with  maren  lmao  .

⤻     bad  influence  .  corrupt  her  .  ruin  her  life  .   i  demand  it  !

⤻     princess  diaries  makeover  .  i  think  this  speaks  for  itself  . 

⤻     the  crush  .   guys  🥺  .   somebody  she  literally  can’t  talk  to  without  blushing  .  somebody  that  makes  her  stumble  over  her  words  .  she’s  a  shy  ,   innocent  baby  and  if  she  has  a  crush  on  you  ur  special  .

⤻     literally  anything  else ,  please  hit  me  up  .  

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2020 - Day 1 - The Stand (1994) - Episode 1 The Plague

Gee, an epic post-apocalyptic story about an out of control pandemic. Never heard that one before.

Much as we like to tie the Halloween season to the Christmas one by opening up with a festive horror movie, why not link back to the TV binging that provided some content to this blog earlier in the year by partaking in this mini series? We’re only covering part one here today as this is like four feature length episodes. In a worst case scenario, the rest will serve as backups that I can plug in if I’m having an off day so to help me from falling behind. But ideally they’ll go up once a week on the same day as a standard movie post. You manage to go back to actually doing 31 entries for the first time in donkeys years and it all goes to your head and you suddenly think you can do 34!

This has actually been on my list for quite a while now, we do love a good (or bad) Stephen King adaptation around here and I have a distinct memory of seeing this on TV when I was a kid. I’m guessing it must have played over a few nights over here at some point or maybe over a bank holiday or something? Not that I really remember much in the way of details, just the cornfields and a creepy face which we’ll get on to.

It’s something that’s stuck with me over all these years, I actually got a copy of the book at one point in what must have been the early to mid 2000’s. Still have it actually, I dug it out for the sake of this entry. Seems it’s a version from 1980 from it’s first run as a paperback in the UK. Seems to have a page or two missing near the start in amongst all the copywright business but otherwise it’s in okay shape.

Even has some writing on the first page that I can only make out in parts, one section seems to read ‘an old man beats a mule’. Or perhaps, more pertinently to this story, a mute...

Cover seems a bit dull and non descript compared to the various other ones that have come out over the years. There’s something interesting to this original version with the two figures fighting, very much a literal take on the good versus evil nature of the story with one figure dressed in light colours and the other dark. The dark figure is wielding a scythe which is obviously closely associated with the Grim Reaper. Seems to have some form of beak sticking out of its hood too and the robes and shoes seem to be almost harlequin or jester type clothes?

I wasn’t really expecting much going into it, especially based on the 1990 mini-series of It. I think because of the nature of It being partly set in the 60’s, as well the contemporary portion which just looks very 80’s, gives it this image in my head of being very dated. Outside of a few actors like Tim Curry, John Ritter and Seth Green, there’s not really any notable stars in it either and even though, Green’s notably arguably came much later on. The Stand though? This thing has some names, even if the bigger ones are just small cameos. Amongst the main cast you’ve got Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald and Rob Lowe. Obviously Ringwald isn’t a massive star or anything and is only really known for that string of John Hughes movies in the 80’s but around this time was peak Sinise. He’s not long removed from starring in Of Mice and Men (...and men....and men...) and would have roles in Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Ransom in the following years. Plus that big stretch in CSI:NY in the 00’s. But then you’ve got people like Ed Harris and Kathy Bates showing up, albeit briefly but these guys have some clout. I mean, Bates had just won the Academy Award a few years prior for her role in Misery so maybe she felt compelled to do more work under the King umbrella. Even the more minor roles seem like a roll call of ‘hey, it’s you!’ with Ken Jenkins (AKA Bob Kelso from Scrubs), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the proprietor of Joe Bob’s Drive In, Joe Bob Briggs.

The landscape of TV feels very different today with actors much more willing to work in the field as it’s taken on much more artistic integrity. The greater availability of shows after they’ve aired, be it through DVR, home media or streaming, has enabled people to watch in far greater numbers. There was a time when the big break was deemed to be making it to Hollywood and starring in motion picture epics but it seems more and more that story tellers are moving away from the relatively cramped 2 hour-ish format of the silver screen to having their vision play out over a long form story and the big name actors are following suit. I feel like things would have been very different back in the early 90’s so to have these names attached.

Seems for a long time there were plans to turn this into a movie, it’s even referred to during a ‘making of’ feature on the blu-ray (pretty much the only feature on there I might add) as a ‘motion picture epic’ but this must have been done way into production so either they were confused or trying to mislead viewers for some reason? Apparently in the early 80’s the idea was for the success of Creepshow to finance production of The Stand but took until the early 90’s for everyone to finally settle on the miniseries.

Very much a big budget affair too for a TV Show, $6m per episode. And it’s needed given the scale of the story, taking place in all these different locations, the special effetcs and with so many characters involved with over 125 speaking roles across the series. It’s definitely a jump up from It, even though that had the two different time periods, it only had a budget of $12m across its two parts compared to the $24m here across four parts.

But to finally address the massive elephant in the room, this story centers around an outbreak of a strain of influenza seemingly created in some shadowy government facility. After something goes awry in the lab, a doomed insider pleads with the guy watching the main gate to seal the facility but he instead piss bolts for his nearby house and hurriedly bundles his wife and child into their car as they make their escape. Everyone else is not nearly as fortunate though as the camera pans the facility, lifeless corpses strewn throughout that have seemingly dropped dead in the middle of their everyday activities, there’s even one guy doubled over on a ping pong table. All of this is set to the sounds of BOC’s Don’t Fear the Reaper and culminates with the image of a crow picking at a doll dropped by the child in the rush out of the front gate. The crow features prominently on the front cover of the blu-ray I have, perched atop of a skull. Though, I know they’re going for the whole post-apocalyptic vibe but what about the superflu is causing the road to burn up and crack like that? The bird also shows up a fair bit throughout the episode, I was going to talk about it being a raven and how such birds are linked with ill omen and death but it’s a crow apparently. Who knew? Not me, I’m no ornithologist. It also seems to be very closely linked with a mysterious figure that is alluded to throughout, a ‘dark man’ or monster.

When the original carrier of the disease makes his way into Arnette, Texas, and crashes into the gas station that Sinise’s character Stu Redman is working at, his dying words are of his efforts to escape from a dark man that was chasing him and that no one can out run him. Maybe in that moment you’d think this is just a state of delirium and he’s speaking oddly poetically about trying to outrun Death himself but as the show goes on, more and more people speak of this dark man, almost as if everyone in the grip of this disease comes to share this vision.

And speaking of visions, we can’t forget Mother Abigail and her cornfields. Both Lowe and Sinise’s characters are whisked away in their dreams to the middle of nowhere where a centurion on her porch warns of them of an ominous future. Think Mama Murphy from Fallout 4 only with much less chem addiction. The only thing Mama Abigail needs is her bread. What is it with King and fields anyway? You’ve got In the Tall Grass, plus the corn fields here and in Children of the Corn. There’s probably more I’m forgetting too. It’s either cornfields, writers in distress or killer ‘whatever I can see in front of me whilst I’m pitching this story’ with this guy.

In a way though it’s good that the show takes this supernatural turn because otherwise this would be a little too on the nose to be watching in this current climate. It’s very eerie to see such similar events play out on screen, starting with the widespread rumours and misinformation. It starts out innocently enough with talk of this so called superflu being downplayed, covered up by the government as an anthrax attack or outbreak of swineflu. I remember back to those more innocent times at the start of the year when COVID was naively dismissed as little more than another flavour of the month disease like the swineflu, sars or ebola that would be here today and gone tomorrow. But then you’ve got things like the sense of paranoia suddenly surrounding a simple cough or sneeze, talks of quarantines, social distancing, the implementation of masks (which one reporter describes as not being able to stop a flu germ with a hangover) to the more disturbing scene of lethal force being used against a TV news crew who refuse to surrender footage they’ve shot of army troops disposing of bodies. Granted, we never got anywhere near that level, I think the worst we had was that guy from CNN getting arrested or that Aussie reporter being pushed over.

They even managed to mirror how universal a pandemic like this is, from the common man to the height of celebrity. One of the characters we’re introduced to is a singer who, whilst he seems to be one of the few lucky to have some immunity, still sees his mother succumb to the virus. Just like we saw with the likes of BoJo or Tom Hanks, it really is a great leveller and, as a wise man once said, ‘You might be a King or a little street sweeper but sooner or later you dance with the Reaper!’. I guess we can take solice that we haven’t quite had the societal collapse that this show manages to pull off in less than a week, with Times Square on fire and a guy running around shooting people like he’s in Falling Down. That’s not to say we wont get there, we seem to be hovering more around general civil disobedience right now with the growing frustration of lockdown and PPE spilling out into protests.

It makes for compelling viewing to see how quickly things break down from simply a man having the sniffles to people being rounded up from their homes and ushered into army vehicles. There’s a lot to take in as the show has to establish the events taking place and introducing it’s multitude of characters so there’s not really much room to breathe. Hopefully episode 2 can relax a little now and give the cast some time to grow. There’s still some standout performances though such as Redman’s growing frustration at being cooped up in a test facility, lashing out at the doctors and nurses coming in in their hazmat suits, prodding and poking him. It would have been nice to see more scenes with him and Dr. Dietz. They have one argument where they nearly come to blows before having a big showdown by the end, with the Doc being one of the last staff members left alive, seemingly crazed by their inability to find any answers in Redman’s tests and he threatens to take his frustrations out on Redman by shooting him. He might be immune to the virus but I bet he’s not immune to a bullet. Dietz starts out with this complete lack of empathy, almost to the point of having a rather cheery deposition considering the circumstances, as he finds some fascination in the speed at which the virus causes death. But he becomes more and more short tempered and threatening as the days wear on and it would have been good to see a more gradual descent.

The aforementioned Ed Harris plays General Starkey overseeing the initial bioweapon project and the fallout of it’s outbreak, perhaps overseeing to a fault as it becomes pretty clear from his ever increasing five o’clock shadow, dishevelled clothing and massive bags under his eyes that he’s slept very sparingly since the initial breach in containment. I think for the entire time we see him, his screen never changes from a shot of one of the cooks at the base of the initial outbreak slumped over, face down in the meal he was preparing. It makes a bit of a change to go from the quite verbal exchanges of Redman and Dietz to Starkey’s physical appearance and facial expressions putting across his mood.

[thenightnurse]

Mac Millers Overdose; A Case Study

Mac Miller was and is one of my favorite rappers of all time. A man that everyone respected, both within the hip hop landscape and within society as a whole. His willingness to speak about his ongoing depression and drug addictions made it possible for others to discuss their own issues publicly. His songs have definitely helped me at several dark moments, especially The Divine Feminine during my freshman and sophomore years of college, and when I almost failed out of nursing. With his posthumous release of that album Circles, I would like to take a minute and discuss the circumstances of his death.

 I mean him no disrespect, all I have is love for the man.

On September 7th, 2018 Mac Millers personal assistant found him unresponsive in his home studio. His assistant began performing CPR on him until the paramedics arrived where he was pronounced dead. The coroner determined that he had died from an accidental drug overdose due to a “mixed drug toxicity of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol”. I am going to focus primarily on the fentanyl, as that, compounded with alcohol was probably the main cause. Cocaine would cause a stroke rather than an overdose.

Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever. Opioids are a class of drugs that are found naturally in the opium poppy plant, and produce pain relief. Most drugs are based from plants, which is why natural medicines work. Plants such as the poppy plant, marijuana, tobacco, Bael, Tulsi, Henna, Lavender, Neem, etc., all have medicinal properties that we have then “perfected” to make our own drugs.

Well in our brains we have some proteins called opioid receptors that are attached to nerve cells thoughout the body notably in the brain and spinal cord. The opioids attach to these receptors and block the pain message, but they block more than just these pain signals, they also block the presynaptic dopamine transmitter (these are big words you don’t need to know), which is part of the mesolimbic system (the system responsible for rewarding yourself and making you feel good), and when this is inhibited dopamine (the molecule responsible for making you feel good) is released. Since the presynaptic dopamine transmitter is blocked, you keep more dopamine out and about which means you stay feeling good for longer and for a lot stronger.

You know how we have an heroin epidemic throughout America? Well fentanyl is basically a synthetic version of that, but it is literally 50 times more potent. Think of methamphetamine and dextroamphetamine (the majority compound of adderall.) We derived amphetamines from ephedra, a plant from China. If you chew it it’ll help treat your asthma and congestion, its where we get ephedrine from (which I’m about to take to help with a cutting cycle to lose weight real quick, I can talk about it later). So like heroin, we get dextroamphetamines from nature and it is just slightly tweaked and cleaned up. Then we take it and alter its molecular componenents on the 5th carbon group and now we have this drug which is 50 times more potent and dangerous. That’s the same thing with fentanyl and heroin. Fentanyl is like the meth of opioids.

3 mg is enough to kill the average male.

So remember how I said that there are opioid receptors throughout the entire body? Well there are µ-opioid receptors located on the surface of neurons in the brainstems respiratory center, the place responsible for how you are able to breathe without thinking about it. Well it also slows down those receptors which is what causes respiratory depression. Well when you breathe less you get less oxygen and that’s kind of necessary for living. In fact it can lead directly to respiratory arrest, which is where you stop breathing altogether. 

Alcohol works on the same receptors to also depress respiratory functions, and so taking them at the same time multiplies the effects of each other, creating a much stronger high, but also a much higher risk for respiratory depression.

That is what ultimately and tragically killed Mac.

Now this is not at all what Mac was expecting. Earlier that week Mac had actually purchased pills of what he thought was oxycodone, while in reality it was fentanyl counterfeited as oxycodone, as they have a similar effect, but fentanyl being much easier to produce. He proceeded to snort the laced pills along with Xanax and cocaine, (Xanax, a benzodiazapine I can go into detail later, along with many personal anecdotes), where he soon after met his untimely young death. Rest in peace Mac, much love forever. Circles is an instant classic and I’ll be bumping it all night long.

As a general disclaimer,  do not advocate the buying and using of drugs for hedonistic purposes. That being said, here are some tips to make sure you stay safe while doing so.

If you ever buy drugs from online, always go with the assumption that it is not what you actually want. I can almost guarantee you that if you purchase from the Empire Market that your Xanax and Ativan is always going to be just fentanyl pressed with corn starch. The same goes for adderall or any amphetamines, it will be either cocaine or meth (probably meth) pressed with corn starch. This is most definitely not from personal experience. There are many reagent tests you can do at home to verify the drugs yourself, in fact there are test strips for almost every drug that you can purchase off of any common website to check your own drugs. Always carry Narcan and Flumazenil if you are ever to engage in such activities with friends to ensure you can revive them. Stay safe.

[almarchive]

     hello, its nora bringing yet another problematic character. this is a spoiled daddy’s bitch, raised in a farmhouse in vermont, who’s never really had to work for anything in her life and doesn’t want to. studying class civ cos she thinks it makes her sound smart, but actually hates fuckin latin and just loves learning about feckless hedonism and the festivals of bacchus. was expelled from princeton in her first year so her parents basically paid her way into lockwood. loves the smell of libraries and listening to french music from a tinny record player in knee socks. has a twin brother called otto who is basically guy bellingfield from the riot club and tbh knowing my lack of self control i‘ll probs end up bringing him here too.

bio is below the cut, like this post to be bombarded with plotting messages x

it might be HER SOPHOMORE year but I still think ALMA OLIVE PUTNAM looks exactly like ALICE PAGANI and sometimes I think the FEMALE is actually them. Of course I’m wrong, as they’re 20 and studying CLASSICAL CIVILISATION while living in AUDAX here at Lockwood. The TAURUS can be rather TENACIOUS and MAGNETIC, but also kind of FANCIFUL and DOUBLE-CROSSING. Their most played song on Spotify was LAISSE TOMBER LES FILLES by FRANCE GALL, so I think that says a lot.

THE SHORT FORM.

—  born in vermont in a big old farmhouse. her great-great-grandfather moved to america as an immagrant and worked on a plantation, made his wa up cos he could speak a lot of languages and therefore win more people over. for the last two generations, putnam men have owned the farm and do little of the dirty work. big in the meat industry.

— both her parents had Large Personalities, so alma’s never really been shy around adults, even as a kid she’d speak to them in a forthright, confident manner, and because she was always surrounded by adults, she’s always seemed a bit Wise Beyond Her Years. — very much a consolidation of every character in the secret history. has a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs. obsessed with w.h. auden and the beat poets. — ”aestheticism is the only thing worth pursuing and even that is pointless” — is majoring in classical civilisation. can read ancient greek and latin. also speaks french. — studies hard and plays hard. she gets top marks but it’s because academia is literally her life, she loves the smell of libraries, the ancient smoke of learning, of feeling like old wine in a new bottle reincarnated from the bones of some old, dead witchy woman who invented a cure for cowpox or somethin. — isn’t a foward-planner, however. frida prefers to leave her options open, play the field, live in a spontaneous manner so her study style is mostly cramming a few days before a test, or staying up all night writing an essay on a massive adrenaline boost powered by red bull or probably adderall, scribbling (or typing) furiously into the night. — pretentious motherfucker. LOVES poetry, especially the romantics, loves morbid ones too, edgar allen poe, sylvia plath, allen ginsberg, she just loves them all. can’t get enough. her favourite films are like…. wanky artfilm independent european cinema. especially french new wave. “what do you think of goddard’s work??” while snorting a line off someone’s sink at 5am on a school night, but you can bet she’ll make it to that 9am class. — very Intelligent and Beautiful and knows both of those facts. vocal feminist. soapbox sadie. Very Passionate about Issues. plays devil’s advocate. humanitarian, vegan. — judgemental but takes great care not to appear so. — just wants to be Loved By All. a party girl ; doesn’t rlly enjoy it, jst feels she Should enjoy it. — tries to be an Enigma. wants to be mysterious and unreadable because that’s what books have taught her makes women Desirable and Interesting and Cool. — obsessively devours mystery and thriller novels. she herself is a gillian flynn book waiting to happen. — act like the flower but be the serpent under it. is a user. manipulative. leads people on. will throw another student under the bus to demonstrate her own intelligence and integrity — heavily involved in the theatre society. loves attention. — has an addictive personality. seems unable to do anything in a small dose, she has to let it utterly consume her. with sports, she’s fiercely competitive, runs track, played lacrosse at school, now is a cheerleader probably. with alcohol, it’s never a shot, it’s a whole bottle – wine or whiskey – she’ll be table dancing before the night’s up and making out with someone she’ll regret in the morning. — her clothing style is like…. vintage thrift store but make it preppy. berets and cute hats, neck scarves, large fluffy cardigans or like those leathery jackets with big suede fringes on them, mini skirts (very 70s), and knee high socks or boots. quite often she’ll be in sports kit, maybe a cute tennis skirt, n when she’s feeling casual she’ll wear like, a talking heads tshirt with a pair of mom jeans and converse, but otherwise, the library is her catwalk. — relates to ophelia from hamlet and sibyl vane in dorian gray. weirdly obsessed with women who commit suicide. loves jackson pollock paintings and abstract art. – likes old things. old books, old music, old houses, it reminds her of happier times like when she wasn’t alive. buys all her music on vinyl and has a gramphone because “The Sound quality is Better” kfdsjj.

PLOTS.

here are some generic wanted plots but by all means message me so we can flesh them out more if any strike ur interest:

study buddies !! someone who is equally unprepared and so spends all night in the library with alma before a big deadline, maybe they even met in the library

if they’re from new england or vermont, then cousins . second cousins / extended family / family friends –  probably spat volavons on your character once as children, omg childhood friends !

people who live on the same floor and only know each other from brief interactions in the lift or the canteen

frinds !! unlikely friends !! toxic friends !! former best friends separated by sporting or academic rivalries !

hockey / cheer friends who are on other teams but who she absolutely loves playin against!!!

fellow academics who like meeting up to discuss latin and greek ! gimme a secret society bonding by their love of ancient learning

i reckon she’s in a lot of societies, definitely the film club, maybe works as a projectionist at the uni cinema if they have one so give me ppl affiliated with that, give me fellow wanky pretentious art-lovers and poets and historians who will go to museums and galleries with her and listen to the velvet underground on vinyl

people she gets mortally fucked off her tits with at parties

people who think she is throwing her academic potential away by caving to hedonistic impulse

people she has drunkenly made out with, hooked up with, or regularly sleeps with casually, maybe even a friend w benefits she is repressing feelings for, i love angst,

people she used to date or unrequitedly likes, but to them it’s just a physical thing, give me all the thirsty angst plots, and maybe some softness too, i need some religion in this girls life, she is a roman catholic after all

FULL BIOGRAPHY.

alma olive putnam.

intro.

            The girl is a knife. Razor-sharp, double-edged, the bright shine of a two-faced, lovely thing. Silver like the secrets you magpie thief from other heads. You’re a scavenger of knowledge, of tidbits, of gossip to lock away for later use and late-night re-inspection. A mind is like a clock if you get to learn the pieces. Bit by bit, you dismantle the inner workings of the brains that tick around you – how easy it is to change it’s path, how words and their meanings can make a person laugh or cry in an instant. To have the power to control that is to be a God. It’s the power trip you crave wielding pom-poms in your hands; a possessive need for control that a younger you, small and weak, never had as a child. Small lips, smaller smile, a doll clutched in your too-hungry fingers, hard enough to shatter the bones of a real infant. You cut your hair with your mother’s kitchen scissors before the autumn falls, rendering you out of season, unfit for the cold weather that beats against the nape of your neck, where a stick-and-poke marks the star you were born under ; the bull. “Mama, when will I be a Queen?” As soon as they find a crown small enough not to slip from your head.

biography.

            If you get hungry enough, they say, you start eating your own heart. Hands red, stained by pomegranate seeds, the empty pulp of its shell splattered on your thighs you find yourself wondering – what would it be like to want? In the beginning, you never knew hunger. Twins, born under the same star, you first, him second -- a nuclear family. Never a sister to compete with, you were always the cherry pie of your parents’ hearts. Raven-haired, blue-eyed, beautiful baby of mine. The townhouse in Vermont and the summer house in Lyon, you wanted for nought, showered with attention, saddled with gifts - hardly a wonder you came to rely on such affection as a confirmation of your own worth.

            At eight years old you first met death, blood on a gingham-print dress, a smear of it over your cheekbone and the pulp of a mangled animal at your feet murdered by the hands of a stable boy. “Alma, my precious baby, you get away from that filth,” your Mama would cry from the upstairs balcony – cigar in one hand and a bloody Mary in the other – though whether the filth she referred to was the dead pig or the boy with a kernel of corn in his mouth, you never did find out.

            Your family earned their keeps in farming, great-grandfather Wolfgang Hildegarde a German immigrant, great-grandmother Maura Lisbon a prairie girl. They fell hopelessly in love between troughs and pig-shit, working for three dollars a day at a farm their descendants would later own, trade deals with the Indians, vacations to Calcutta, your father Todd Putnam in the kind of sheepskin coat his father’s father could only dream of owning. He worked hard so that you’d never have to. Your mama once asked – you heard it through the window, rounding cartwheels across the picket-fenced lawn – could he not find a respectable career rather than selling shrink-wrapped pork for a dime a dozen? That blood money had no business raising a child. You look far back enough, Edie, your father had said in his low, strong voice that could bring a Civil War to silence, and I think you’ll find that all money is blood money.

            Language was never fickle on your tongue, French dinner time talk by the time you were out of your Hush Puppy shoes, your mama fixing the au pair a smile as she fixed herself another martini. You learned the clarinet at four and how to dance with the grace of a swansong at six, ethereal under a spotlight, an audience captive in the palm of your hand. By eight you knew that you’d always been destined to be loved. Loved so hard they would want to taste you, bite into the soft plump of your cheek and eat you alive. That was how magnetic you wanted to feel. But mother hamsters eat their own young when penned in together too long, and soon you became too wild, too restless, another package on your father’s delivery invoice, box-shipped out to English boarding school.

            Fitting in had never been something you had to concern yourself with. You were always the shiny new toy the other girls wanted to play with, bright like a dropped coin from a magpie’s beak. Wherever you went, you seemed to leave a trail of awe, pig-tailed Harriet’s adoring you, imitating you, teachers forgiving your class-time chatter for the sake of your wild heart and the restless spirit you possessed. Tell us what it’s like in the States, Alma. They’d coo, enamoured by your Hollywood drawl. Does your father own a gun? You hardly knew. Barely even knew the colour of his hair, for the scarce amount of times he’d stoop to kiss your cheek, though you’d tell silver-tongued tales if it’d guaranteed you an audience. When you learned how to smile at the right times, and that flattery would get you everywhere, it soon became apparent that charm would pave the yellow brick road to success even when your lack of drive couldn’t.

            The road you followed – gum-snapping, roller-blading, friendship bands all up your arm – eventually led you to small-town fame. Bright-eyed and gingham skirted, you’d always known you were more. There was a hunger in you to be something extraordinary, a want so adamant to be imagined and desired that it was almost savage. In leather-bound volumes and a circle of stones, you were Helen of Troy, the girl for whom they’d launch a thousand ships. But there’s so much rage within you, collecting like sawdust in cavernous parts. Hockey helped. There was something grounding about the feeling of a stick clasped in your hands. Sweat. Stiff knuckles. Feet pounding the earth. The smash of wood against flesh in the scram of a game, passed off as mere enthusiasm. “Slipped, sorry.” Hockey is the one thing you had that was yours alone – a feral instinct that motivates you to play; something primitive within you that sparks an energy like no other. On the pitch, you feel alive.

[anthonycalascione]

Road rallies introduce us to new places, and to new faces

(Editor’s note: During the month of April, the Journal presents a series of stories about vintage rallies and vintage racing. Today, Larry Edsall writes about his participation in several rallies, events ranging from a $40 entry fee to those charging thousands of dollars. If you have a story about your participation in a vintage rally or race that you’d like to share, please email us at journal@classiccars.com.)

Historic U.S. 66 shields dot the pavement

It cost only $40 to participate in the Route 66 Motor Tour, at least that was the registration fee. You also had to pay for your meals and lodging along the remaining segments of the historic Mother Road which ran all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Living in Phoenix at the time, and busy with work and other responsibilities, I just did the section of the tour across northwestern Arizona. I met up with the group at its early morning driver’s meeting in Williams, Arizona, paid my $40 fee, got my T-shirt and window sticker, listened as tour director Craig Parrish briefed us and handed out copies of the route plan for the day, and off we went.

I’d met Parrish during one of my summer visits to Michigan, where for a decade or so he had been organizing the annual driving tour up Old US 27 from Coldwater to Cheboygan. Parrish noted that US 27 was “the other Route 66, the north-south version” that ran through Michigan and on down to Miami. 

He also had done several drives on Route 66 and finally, in the fall of 2014, felt he was ready to lead a group on such a tour. By scheduling the event in the fall, he not only was able to get off-season rates at motels along the way, but avoided the triple-digit summer temperatures in the Southwest desert.

Here is one anecdote that, I think, speaks volumes about the folks who participate in such events: One of the US 27-tour regulars was Jan Miller, who had done the Michigan drive in a 1947 Oldsmobile convertible with her late husband and now was doing the Route 66 event on her own. 

But to make sure her trip went well, a group of other Route 27 veterans stayed close to her Olds all the way to California should she encounter any problems. 

Wave if you’re having a good time on the tour

Classic Olds at Addicted to Route 66, Williams

Seligman

Another rally, another example: While it cost only $40 to take part in that Route 66 event, it costs several thousands of dollars to enter a car in the annual Copperstate 1000 vintage sports car rally, a fund-raiser for the Phoenix Art Museum that also supports families of injured or fallen Arizona Highway Patrol officers. I tagged along on the event several times, covering it for ClassicCars.com. 

One daym one of the older British sports cars had a mechanical issue that forced it onto the shoulder of a desert highway. Almost immediately, three or four other British cars from the same era had arrived and pulled over with their drivers diving into trunks and offering whatever parts that might be needed to get the ailing car back on the road. Maybe half an hour later, all the cars returned to the rally route.

The rally routes and what you see along the way is a big part of such events, but so are the relationships that emerge as the troupe makes its way across the landscape. People who met on such events often develop friendships that last a lifetime. I did all or parts of the Copperstate often enough during my years in Phoenix that I still count several of those I met as friends.

ELK Charity Challenge ready to roll from the Fess Parker Doubletree in Resort in 2015

A classic encounter along the route

City by the Bay — and in the fog

While I was mainly a journalist covering the Copperstate, I was very much a participant on the ELK Charity Challenge drives in 2015 and 2016. 

ELK is short for Everyone Loves Kids, and was founded by Craig Corbell, a Texan who had done several high-speed driving events but realized there were folks who desired a slower pace and a way to raise money for children’s charities. 

The inaugural event was staged in California with a route from Santa Barbara to the San Francisco Bay. Supposedly to make the event more attractive for those paying the 4-figure entry fee, Corbell invited several celebrities to go along. There were actors and rodeo champions, plus one much lesser celebrity, me.

Spending a full week on the road with a bunch of people who are having a good time and who enjoy raising money for charity and afterward while you go your separate ways, you also go with new friends you’re eager to see again.

ELK Charity Challenge visits the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016

Soap Box Derby hill

Lake Placid Olympic venue

I know, because in 2016 I paid my way into the second ELK Charity Challenge rally, which in that second year started in Detroit and ended at Lake Placid, New York. 

By the way, you don’t necessarily have to own a vintage or exotic vehicle to participate in such events. Some people bring a car from home, others rent something fun when they arrive. For the second ELK event, I was able to borrow a spanking new Chevrolet Camaro convertible from General Motors, which was willing to do so because I’d just written a book about the car’s design and development, and because of the charitable nature of the event.

And what an event! We got to race grownup-sized vehicles down the official Soap Box Derby championship hill, got a private tour of the Corning Glass Museum, got to slide down the pole in a firefighting museum, drove hot laps around a race track and drag-raced on a closed airport runway, and we participated in some hugely embarrassing escapades as part of the daily contest to see which charity would get that’s days donation.  

Two of our stops were emotional events for me. One was a visit to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Erie, Pennsylvania. I had received in-hospital and out-patient care at the Shriners facility near Chicago from the time I was 2 until I was 18 and can walk today because of the treatment I received back then. 

The other emotional stop was our final one, at Lake Placid, where I’d covered the 1980 Olympic Winter Games as a newspaper sports writer and where I trekked up Whiteface Mountain to watch downhill skiers slide past and where I covered speedskating and figure skating and biathlon and cross-country and bobsled and lots of ice hockey and where I sat in press row in disbelief as a bunch of American college kids beat the daunted Soviet hockey team.

Cars are cars and, quite literally, they come and go, but it’s the memories and the friendships they enable that we carry with us throughout a lifetime.

The post Road rallies introduce us to new places, and to new faces appeared first on ClassicCars.com Journal.

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[aridotan1226-blog]

Nerve

In comparison to Rebel Without a Cause our group thought that this movie depicted teenagers very well but a little exaggerated. The movie we watched was called Nerve and the movie was about an app that had kids doing insane dares in order to gain money and viewers. The idea of having the most viewers is what drives most of the people playing because to them having a lot of viewers equates to fame. Having that fame gives them a something that every teen wants, a sense of belonging. We thought this because the movie did a much better job of showing what high school life is like to the teenage eye. Relating back to Mark Twain’s essay this shows what can truly happen when a corn pone idea/opinion takes over a generation. Compared to our society now apps like Snapchat and Instagram have the same overall theme as the game Nerve does. Teenagers will literally do anything known to man just for attention and to be “liked”. Nerve depicts this style of “fame” based of off social media very well , and based of this information Nerve does a very good job in showing what teenagers deal with everyday.

The characters that the movie has created is very believable to me. This is because the way that the teens felt/dealt with conflict and problems is done in a way that I can definitely see myself doing. Characters such as Venus struggle to explain to their parents how she feels about going to a different college, and not attending the one they have discussed about going to for years. The mother does not understand what the daughter wants or what the best thing is for her daughter. Instead of actually talking to her mother, she kept quiet and always felt like her mom didn’t understand her. As a result, this is why I feel the characters are believable because I feel that every teen has thought that their voice doesn’t matter and that parents don’t understand them.

The audience for this movie is all of the teens who follow a trend/corn pone opinion and what happens when you do. Even though what happened in the movie can be seen as a glorification of apps like Snapchat and Instagram, it still shows what can happen when we become addicted to a trend or culture. In the movie Vee is trying to tell the watchers that they have lost sight of themselves. She said this because they are able to hide behind their screens without anyone actually knowing who they are. The point she is trying to get across is that you no longer are doing what's best for you or what you want, rather you are doing what society and your friends want you to do. This is why I believe the audience are teenagers because she is speaking about how people are stuck in social media and what society thinks of them, which is what a lot of teens do nowadays. The purpose of the film is to send a warning to our generation that if we don’t veer off the path of pseudo-fame a game/app like Nerve could actually happen, and now we become the “prisoners” of a new game. This game will be different and consequences will get much worse. The speaker for this movie is everyone who became prisoners to the game. They are the ones who are trying to say their story, and try and stop someone from making the same mistakes they did.

After the movie I explained the movie to my mom, and she basically described it has much more interactive social media. She explained how she is scared that our generation will become to focused on their “likes” on social media instead of being liked in the real world. She said she is scared that people will stop communicating face to face because they are so obsessed and dependent on social media, that we will forget about the wonders of the real world. She doesn’t believe that something like Nerve will come true in our life time but based on how things are going she would not be surprised if it happened in the future.

[fiiore-blogs]

𝐟𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐞  𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐬𝐨 ; character  study

tws : abuse , mentions  of  death , homophobia  &  blindness ( ?? )

BASICS 

full  name : fiore  emiliano  luca  gattuso

nicknames : honestly  just  fiore , flower  cat  boy  as  a  joke  by  his  cousin  ( his  first  name  translates  to  flower  in  italian , his  surname  gattuso , derives  from  the  italian  word  gatto .... which  literally  means�� cat  kdnvdfjs )

age : 20

date  of  birth : may  30 , 2000

zodiac  sign : gemini 

place  of  birth : tuscany , italy

hometown : rome , italy

location : kingsboro , brooklyn , new york city , new  york

ethnicity : white

nationality : italian

religious  views : non  affiliated , but  definitely  believes  there  is  a  higher  power ( or  multiple ) of  some  sort

educational  level : high  school  graduate

occupation : influencer  &  model  occasional  sugar  baby

living  arrangements : lives  in  a  super  boujee  ass  house  ( basically  mansion  tbh ) with  his  older  cousin  gio , &  his  cat , which  he  very  proudly  named  draco  meowfoy

mental  conditions : undiagnosed  anxiety , very  claustrophobic , will  literally  freak  out  if  he’s  in  a  tight  space 

physical  impairments :  he  has  shit  vision , always  has . his  vision  is  20 / 50  without  any  type  of  help , which  isn’t  necessarily  terrible , but  not  exactly  great . once  you  reach  20 / 70 , you’re  considered  to  have  low  vision , which  is  technically  considered  partial  blindness . with  contacts  on  though , he  see’s  a  solid  20 / 30 , which  again , still  isn’t  too  great , considering  the  fact  the  average  person  see’s  20 / 20 . no  one  knows  his  vision  is  so  garbage  minus  his  cousin , &  no  one  has  ever  ever  ever  seen  him  with  glasses  before . in  fact , no  one  even  knows  he  needs  glasses  or  contacts  to  see , as  he  keeps  this  a  secret

addictions : none  really , just  smokes  the  usual  weed  &  drinks  the  usual  drink , has  tried  coke  once  but  didn’t  really  like  it  too  much 

PHYSICAL  APPEARANCE

height : 5 ‘ 8

body  type : pretty  damn  lanky  but  slightly  muscular ( for  actual  body  claim  gifs  click  here , here , here , here , here , here , here , here , here  &  here ! )

eye  color : baby  blue , but  shifts  colors  in  different  lighting . sometimes  they  look  more  on  the  green  side , sometimes  they  look  sort  of  grey

hair  color : brown

style : he  loves  a  good  boujee  brand  tbh ! catch  him  wearing  luxury  brands  like  philipp  plein , balenciaga , hermès , valentino , gucci .... just  to  name  a  few . he’s  not  opposed  to  wearing  cheaper  brands  &  even  owns  a  basic  floral  jacket  from  forever  21 , but  his  main  rule  is  it  has  to  look  good . honestly  would  rather  shave  off  his  eyebrows  once  a  month  for  an  entire  year  than  to  wear  sweats , you’ll  simply  never  see  him  with  those  on . in  fact , he  doesn’t  even  own  a  pair  of  sweats , not  even  just  to  be  at  home . in  fiore’s  opinion , people  wearing  sweats  have  just  ‘ given  up ’ . this  saint  laurent  jacket  right  here , is  one  of  his  favorite  pieces  of  clothing !

tattoos  &  piercings : this  gemini  symbol  tattoo  on  his  left  wrist , a  cartilage  piercing  on  his  right  ear

scars / birth  marks : a  notably  big  scar  on  his  lower  left  abdomen  ( courtesy  of  his  dad ) , birthmark  on  his  upper  left  cheek  ( which  honestly .... low  key  makes  him  hotter  fkdfvnfdsjn )

PERSONALITY

positive  traits : determined , confident , witty 

negative  traits : secretive , narcissistic , dishonest 

what  do  they  consider  to  be  the  best  &  the  worst  part  of  their  personality ? :  the  best  part  of  his  personality  is  his  confidence  &  his  ability  to  achieve  his  goals  or  get  his  way  somehow . he’s  not  too  bright , but  he  knows  how  to  get  what  he  wants  &  stops  at  almost  nothing  to  have  it  his  way , being  extremely  determined  &  restless . the  worst  part  of  his  personality  has  to  be  the  fact  that  he  can  be  very  dishonest . it’s  a  defense  mechanism  mostly , but  he  has  a  way  of  bending  the  truth  to  his  favor , often  times  becoming  manipulative  &  inconsiderate  of  other  people’s  feelings 

are  they  more  introverted  or  extroverted ? : the  very  rare  case  of  an  extroverted  introvert . he  really  does  enjoy  talking  to  people  but  he  loves  his  alone  time  as  well  &  sometimes , too  many  people  to  talk  to  gives  him  anxiety

any  talents ? : not  really  a  talent  but  more  of  an  unknown  fact  –  he  has  hypermobile  joints  ( or  what  most  people  call  double  jointed ) almost  everywhere . on  his  knees , on  his  elbows , on  his  shoulders , on  his  fingers . he  can  bring  his  arms  all  the  way  around  &  back  while  holding  onto  his  hands , can  touch  his  thumbs  &  other  fingers  to  his  forearm  ( for  more  info  on  this , click  here ) . he  also  makes  really , really  good  edibles 

what  are  their  fears ? : huge  slightly  irrational  fear  of  being  buried  alive , being  in  a  tight  space  barely  able  to  move  or  tight  spaces  in  general . no  one  knows  this  one , but  he  also  has  a  huge  fear  of  ending  up  completely  blind . his  grandmother , his  mother’s  mother , has  always  had  terrible  vision  . she  was  pronounced  legally  blind  when  she  was  barely  45 , later  going  completely  blind  before  she  turned  60 . fiore’s  mother  didn’t  inherit  her  bad  vision  but  it  skipped  a  generation  &  if  you  guessed  it , his  grandmother’s  shit  vision  is  something  he  carries . he  has  a  huge  overwhelming  fear  of  it  getting  worse  &  worse  over  the  years , &  ending  up  like  his  grandmother  did 

any  allergies ? :  corn . will  literally  have  a  deathly  reaction

do  they  have  phobias ? : claustrophobia 

list  3  pet  peeves  they  can’t  stand : people�� chewing  with  their  mouth  open , when  people  have  strong  unpleasant  body  odor  or  bad  breath  ( no  bullshit  he’ll  call  you  out  for  this  lmfao ) , dirty  fingernails 

PAST

best  memory : opening  up  to  his  cousin  about  what  really  happened  with  his  parents  &  having  him  accept  him  with  open  arms , then  later  that  day  going  to  the  beach , smoking  one  with  him  &  talking  about  life 

worst  memory : his  parents  finding  his  sex  tape  with  his  now  ex  boyfriend , causing  them  to  disown  him  &  almost  beat  him  to  death 

biggest  secret : his  past , as  he  refuses  to  talk  about  anything  that  happened  before  2018 . also , his  vision ? definitely  a  secret  too 

biggest  wish : surprisingly ? falling  deeply  in  love  with  someone  &  traveling  the  world  with  them , also  opening  up  an  edible  shop 

biggest  fear : irrational  fear , but  being  buried  alive , crossing  paths  with  his  parents  again , &  turning  completely  blind  at  one  point  just  like  his  grandmother  did 

first  love : alessio  cardone  ( npc , nathan  naenen  fc ) , his  first  love , &  so  far  the  only  person  he’s  ever  truly  fallen  in  love  with . for  gifs  of  his  face  click  here  or  click  here  

ROMANCE  &  SEXUALITY

sexuality : bisexual / biromantic 

turn  ons : dirty talk , fingering  &  being  fingered , versatile  sex , being  dominated / dominating  someone , lip  biting  when  kissing , hickeys , being  spoiled , cuddling , hair  pulling 

turn  offs : people  denying  or  hiding  what  they  really  want  &  desire , know  it  alls , people  treating  him  like  he’s  stupid , cheap  people , people  who  talk  shit  with  people  around  but  won’t  peep  a  word  when  they’re  alone , hypocrites 

MISCELLANEOUS 

speaking  voice  claim : lorenzo  zurzolo  vc , or  click  here !

relationship  with  mother : he  hasn’t  spoken , heard  of  or  seen  his  mother  since  his  parents  disowned  him  when  he  had  just  turned  eighteen , so  well  over  two  years  ago . he  has  no  idea  if  she’s  even  alive  or  well  

mother’s  name : originally  martina  reina  ( now  martina  gattuso )

relationship  with  father : same  thing  with  his  father . he  hasn’t  spoken , heard  of  or  seen  him  since  his  parents  disowned  him . despite  both  his  parents  being  trash  though , fiore  has  always  been  more  afraid  &  resentful  of  his  father , as  he  has  beaten  him  multiple  times  throughout  his  childhood , while  his  mother  mostly  just  stood  by  &  let  it  happen . he’s  also  done  things  like  lock  him  in  a  car  trunk  for  hours  as  punishment , &  would  leave  him  in  a  tight  spaced  closet  for  longer , which  explains  his  irrational  fear  of  being  buried  alive , &  his  severe  claustrophobia  

father’s  name : gian  gattuso 

siblings : none

pets : click  here  to  see  his  ragamuffin  cat  he  named  draco  meowfoy 

favorite  place : any  part  of  spain . honestly  loves  spain , &  loves  how  shameless  some  spanish  people  are 

role  models  or  crushes : seth  rogen  ( he’s  not  even  a  role  model  fiore  just  loves  him  skacnbdjs ) , terry  crews , tina  fey , jamie  chua  ( this  is  just ... for  obvious  reasons  lmfao )

favorite  animals : a  sucker  for  koalas , cats  &  dogs  ( definitely  a  cat  person  though ) . he  also  thinks  red  panda’s  are  possibly  the  cutest  creatures  on  the  planet 

favorite  books : the  five  stages  of  andrew  brawley  by  shaun  david  hutchinson , a  child  called  it , the  lost  boy , a  man  named  dave , the  privilege  of  youth , all  by  dave  pelzer  ( he  has  cried  reading  all  of  pelzer’s  books  too , as  he  feels  it  hits  close  to  home ) 

favorite  movies : la  vita  è  bella , literally  all  the  sex  &  the  city  movies , honestly  any  movie  seth  rogen  is  in , catch  me  if  you  can 

favorite  music : listens  to  almost  anything  but  his  favorites  are  anything  indie / alternative , deathpop  &  italian  music

favorite  food : pasta , chicken  picatta , authentic  mexican  tacos 

favorite  dessert : anything  tiramisu , caffè  gelato , cannoli

QUIRKS

are  they  right  handed  or  left  handed ? : left  handed 

what’s  a  word  that’s  always  on  their  lips ? : “ oh  yeah ? ”  usually  in  a  teasing  manner  or  sexual  context 

what  languages  do  they  speak ? : italian , english , spanish , decent  sicilian 

do  they  curse ? : definitely 

what’s  their  worst  habits ? : lying  ( obviously ) , always  wanting  to  have  the  last  word , instantly  seeking  revenge / getting  even  when  he  feels  he’s  been  wronged , chewing  ice , &  honestly ? forgetting  to  eat  for  long  ass  periods  of  time . he’ll  eat  something  at  ten  am , then  suddenly  it’s  about  to  be  midnight  &  he’s  like  ‘ well  fuck ..... i  forgot  to  eat  🥴 ’

do  they  drink  or  smoke ? how  frequently ? : drinks  &  smokes  pretty  frequently ! is  honestly  never  one  to  turn  down  drinking  or  a  smoking  session 

are  they  an  early  bird  or  a  night  owl ? : night  owl  for  sure

how  tidy  is  their  room ? : usually  tidy  or  decent  looking  at  least . he’s  not  a  neat  freak , but  he  hates  his  room  being  messy 

how  long  do  they  usually  take  getting  ready ? : forever . it  takes  him  at  least  an  hour  just  to  shower , thirty  minutes  to  pick  out  his  clothes , another  thirty  to  do  his  ‘ fresh  out  the  shower ’  routine , &  longer  to  actually  get  ready  &  be  satisfied  with  his  look . in  other  words , a  girl  takes  less  time  than  him 

[nickgerlich]

In The Bag

My wife has a purse addiction.

There. I said it. The first step is always admitting you have a problem. Of course, the only problem is that I am talking about her, not myself. And as for her, she has no problem with it. I have my own “problems” as well, like bikes, cameras, and growlers from craft breweries. But I digress.

Her all-time favorite purse brand is from a company worth writing about, because it’s the perfect example of a mom-and-pop operation starting in their car, buckling up, and hitting the road. Literally.

Say hello to Dana and Melanie Harvey, founders and owners of Harvey’s California. It all started with a classic car resto in 1997 when the couple was adding seatbelts to a 1950 Buick. Dana made a matching purse for his wife with some of the leftover material. Soon other ladies wanted them, so they started making them for their friends.

Their garage quickly became a factory. They sold the car, and used the funds to help finance this very unplanned business. They now have a large facility in Orange County, where purses are designed and made.

Twenty-three years later, the Harveys command a huge following on social media who wait with bated breath for the latest purse announcement, and then hop online at the appointed minute to try to buy limited editions. I’ve seen this happen with my wife. It’s just like when I am waiting to purchase tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. You have to be quick and nimble-fingered, because these ladies are lightning-fast.

I have heard the gleeful squeal of victory. I have lived through the mournful cry of defeat. You better be fast typing those 16 digits or else you will just have to carry last year’s purse.

Through the years, the Harveys have forged relationships with major retailers and smaller independent boutiques, while also collaborating on many exclusives, from Mercedes to Corvette and many in between, but perhaps their most popular collabs are with Disney. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Mickey’s Best Friends are her favorites in this line alone.

But the thing that strikes me the most about the Harveys is their masterful use of social media. On the eve before their monthly First Friday new release, they hold a live show on Facebook and Instagram. Two days ago, my wife was among 800 viewers on their Facebook page, presumably all women teeming with desire to get the 2020 Halloween purses and related products. And yesterday at 8:00am PDT, my wife was online ready to buy.

She scored with a candy corn wallet, a Trick-or-Treat dust bag (gotta keep those purses clean, you know), an orange click-and-go keychain, a candy corn bow, and a shopper tote.

But wait, there’s more. Their Happy Harveys page on Facebook invites women to post photos of them with their purses, and anything else Harvey-related. And off the record, their are unofficial fan pages at which women sell off their extra or unwanted purses, often fetching far more in the aftermarket than what they paid.

The purses are probably the most durable items I have ever seen, simply because of the material. If seatbelts can save lives, imagine what they can do with your belongings. They warrant any necessary repairs, and their personalized service leaves customers feeling like they know Dana and Melanie.

My only question is why they have offered so few products for men. Sure, they have a handful of items, but men are an after-thought, and of those items sold, it is most likely to women buying for their man. Heck, I would gladly buy a basic black courier bag or backpack, because I need to protect my stuff. Laptops, cameras, and iPads are fragile, and I have worn out more bags than I care to recall.

Then again, maybe they are satisfied just dealing with one-half of the population. They know their customers well. Heck, I even overheard Dana use the word “cute” this last Thursday evening when describing one of the new items. If that isn’t speaking your customer’s language, I don’t know what is.

Just don’t say that about any men’s products I might consider. I don’t do cute.

Besides, I doubt that men would want to have a closet full of European shoulder bags, backpacks, etc., like their wives do. Black works for me, and it goes with everything. Like khakis, you know. One and done. See you in another 20 years.

But if one of my favorite craft breweries releases another cool growler, I’m there. Because that’s how addictions work.

Dr “I’ve Got This“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[thepatricktreestump]

Auden’s YouNow Vids!

Do you want to see me be a dork? Want to hear me ramble on for hours on end? Do you want to see me dance like an idiot and sing like Jacob Sartorious? Are you always preoccupied whenever I decide to stream? Do you want your mom to join the army of middle aged mothers who complain in my inbox about my topics of drug use, sex, and other inappropriate topics? (Yes I’m fucking bringing you up again Laura and Janice.) If so, then here you go! Whatever the reason might be, for entertainment or for finding good roast material, you’re in luck. These are my YouNow livestreams… I do them sometimes to talk to you guys, connect with y’all, and share my stories, jokes, and even myself more easily! *My YouNow is thepatricktreestump*

8.3.17 – 22min Treehouse: very first livestream, back to school tips, summer reading advice, talking about transitioning into high school, some of the classes I’m taking this year… 8.4.17 – 3min Bathtub: giving my bearded dragon a bath, that’s literally it 8.8.17 – 5min Aunt’s House: talking about fics I’m writing, Saudade plans, a shitton of tumblr updates and ideas, being hopeful for the upcoming school year… 8.14.17 – 19min Treehouse: how school is going, my love for hats, tmi period health talk, storytime my starbucks nightmare experience, guy talk and friend group drama, Ryden and Brallon, memes, my bearded dragon eating my homework, no regrets, geometry class stories, me giving my best regards to a chicken… 9.4.17 – 2sec Middle of the woods: Literally two seconds of me walking through a forest with my girlfriend at the time??? I don’t even know 11.14.17 – 5min Bedroom: Last stream with my long hair, talking about dysphoria, introduction of coconut water, showing off art on walls, apologizing for my hiatus… 11.19.17 – 20min Bedroom: Celebrating almost hitting 2.3k followers, new haircut, beanie vs hat, answering tumblr asks, I’m a fast ass typer, my anxiety with adding smiley faces and gifs, freaking out over requests, back at it again with dat coconut water life, being hype for MANIA, being paranoid, flashing a boob by accident, talking about meeting Anthony Amorim… 11.20.17 – 25min Bedroom: birth of the live ice cream mom joke, failing at making jokes, being hype for Christmas, procrastinating on writing Black & Red, answering tumblr asks, penguins, my little sister annoying me, having my writing read on almost every continent, being in a relationship, my social media moms, Twitter talk, being spontaneous af… 11.21.17 – 1hr20min Bedroom: Emo dabs, I listen to songs you’ve recommended me, return of the coconut water, being in love with blood, share some jams of my own, promoting After Laughter and Razia’s Shadow, rap one of my favorite songs, talk about musicals, lots of singing and dancing and reacting… 11.30.17 – 1hr Bedroom: I do my homework, freak out over my life being a mess, listen to some more music, I attempt to speak and sing Spanish, rant about the net neutrality issue, promoting AM and Cybersex, giving a government conspiracy theory, talk about dysphoria… 12.3.17 – 43min Bedroom/Bathroom: I play acoustic guitar, give my bearded dragon a bath, play some covers (WDBWOTV, 90210, House of Gold, Young Volcanoes), some original songs of mine (Sunday Morning, Insomnia, Rabbit Hole, etc.,), advice on how to ask people to use the right pronouns… 12.5.17 -53min Bedroom: Return of the coconut water, I listen and dance to BTS, I go through my art binder and sketchbook, I read and show the original “Poem For Emos” loose leaf, talk about the novels I’ve written, diss sprinkles, talk about the Dubai Anesthesia video…

12.7.17 – 50min Bedroom: Getting injured, finding acceptance through suffering, religion and explaining being an agnostic omnist, 55 questions, the optimism in pessimism, relationships, complaining about ortho, listening to Blackbear, Arctic Monkeys, and Fall Out Boy, transforming someone into a drag queen, more dancing…

12.15.17 - 40min

Bedroom: Listening to more music, talking about Brendon's 12 Days of Livestream, me being hesitant as fuck to livestream, doodling Santa Claus, wearing my S.O.'s christmas sweater, Brendon deciding to stream while I stream...

12.19.17 - 6min

In Bed: just a quick positivity post for you guys, keep doing what you're doing, you are enough...

12.23.17 - 34min

Bedroom: my 2017 in review, Aaron's transition, q&a, saudade, being interrupted by parents and relatives...

12.27.17 - 44min

Bedroom: Ukulele stream, sin blog got marked as explicit, dallon let panic!, playing a shitton of covers (Bad At Love, Creep, I'm Yours, Me and My Broken Heart, Skyscraper, Titanium, Hey There Delilah, This Is The First Day of my Life, Can't Help Falling in Love, Viva La Vida, Immortals, Valerie, Coconut Sharks in the Water, and much more), not really knowing what the fuck i'm doing...

12.28.17 - 1hr7min

Bedroom: reading my hate comments, giving unpopular opinions, roasting my followers, return of the coconut water, finding jeff, following Kaitlyn, jamming out to soul punk, talking about how I fell in love with brendon urie, what to do when home alone, being cheesy about how much I love you guys...

12.29.17 - 15min

Bedroom: messy hair, reading a call to love poem, book review on Pete Wentz's (not) autobiography Gray, I get all my shirts from Hot Topic...

12.31.17 - 56min

Bedroom: last livestream of 2017, talking about the Cabin album, performed my poetry program Because of Silence, read more suicide based poetry, return of the coconut water, improvisational ukulele music jam, I play covers (Alone Together, The Judge, New Rules, Fake Your Death, One Last Time, and more), happy new year's eve...

1.1.18 - 8min

Bedroom: Happy New Year, mall haul (Inside Scoop, Spencer's, Starbucks, Hot Topic), resolutions for the new year, healthy living...

1.4.18 - 47min

Bedroom: trigonometry homework, shitty return of the coconut water, listening to Vices & Virtues b-tracks, jamming out to other music, talking about how YouTubers grow up, the panic! song algorithm...

1.10.18 - 50min

Bedroom: storytime livestream, fuck apologies, changed the names in the story for privacy purposes, return of the coconut water, what happened this weekend, more tea is spilled, how my miserable day went, how I lost all of my friends, lots of drama, I am an honest person, talking about therapy and help, going to my school, mostly life problems...

1.12.18 - 32min

Bedroom: I hit a can for half an hour straight, learn how to play the dodie Heinz bean can song, troye sivan's new single, I throw a can in my face, not a big fan of corn, return of the superman pajamas...

1.14.18 - 7 min

Bedroom: laptop camera test, lots of purple glasses, bitching about finding quality guitar chords, Johnny Boy uke cover very messy and rough and low quality and glitch, me not being able to hit high notes lmfao, wearing my s.o.'s sweatshirt, tyler and josh phone lockscreen, thank you for support on my livestreams...

1.23.18 - 14min

Living room: super fucking sick, winning first place at a speech meet, I took my bearded dragon to the vet storytime, being connected to a pet, talking about joining the bts army...

1.28.18 - 44min

S.O's house: i'm still sick lol, mac and cheese, introducing my s.o. Gray, Q&A, talking about gender identity, unboxing, accidentally being sent surprise item, dad jokes, opening up christmas presents, also featuring Gray's dog Rico, complimenting other people, being addicted to lime hot Cheetos....

2.10.18 - 25min

Bedroom: got a new-ish haircut, crushed an interview for a theater internship, fanfiction recommendation list...

2.16.18 - 44min

Bedroom: valentine's day, wearing a binder, Can't Help Falling In Love cover, talking about how much I love you guys, re-reacting to BTS music videos, fangirling over the Black Panther album, we love and support Vince Staples in this household, Young Dumb and Broke cover, go text someone you miss and rekindle an old friendship...

3.13.18 - 7min

Bedroom: short summary of where I've been, "mental hospital" google doc, updates...

3.30.18 - 12 min

Bedroom: new wall, basically a drunk vlog, very delusional and out of sorts, k-pop ate me alive, being on spring break, talking about how I used to listen to music in middle school...

4.14.18 - 20min

Bedroom: all time low poster, talking about my date night, self-care tips and tricks talk...

4.25.18 - 12min

Treehouse: self-harm coping mechanisms, low quality stream I apologize...

4.27.18 - 20min

Bedroom: Patrick Stump's birthday, talking about the clique and the twenty one pilots comeback, dema theories...

5.3.18

Bedroom: with the bebe

6.14.18 

Park: talking to you after getting off of work

6.21.18

Kitchen: sick, chicken noodle soup, talking about IDKHBTFM and fall out boy

6.22.18

Aunt’s House: my sister in the background, pray for the wicked reaction, just a lot of fun idk

6.23.18

Kitchen: teaching you how to make cilantro lime rice!

6.27.18

Kitchen: ok honestly i forget what this is sorry

7.11.18

Bedroom: twenty one pilots is back bitch

[spideybpy]

Hi! Can I have a marvel, harry potter, the maze runner and teen wolf ship please ? (I dont know if there is a limite of fandom) My mother tongue is french. I'm smol (5'2") and tiny, I have brown hair and green eyes. I love travelling ! I like going out with friends, reading, playing piano (self learning), juggling and dancing (in front of my mirror haha). I'm 22 straight girl. I study psychology at the university. I love learning. I'm ravenclaw, ENFJ and aries. I try to go out of my comfort zone. Humour is really important for me. I'm optimistic, independent and I try to be kind to everyone. I'm patient and honest. Sometimes I lack of confidence and I get shy. I overthink way to often, I'm a daydreamer. I'm bad with expressing my feelings and anything related to love. I'm a pop corn addict. My dream is to go to the titicacasee. I'm really lazy but I still need to do sport often to release stress. I dont mind public speaking at all. I love rollercoasters. I hate driving... sorry I gave you many informations 😂 (sorry for my english) Thank you a lot! Have a good day

@1dindaplace , thank you for your request! 

I ship you with Thor!

With your optimistic and kind personalities, you and Thor immediately hit it off. In your spare time, you both enjoy making the world a better place (even if that be in different ways) so when your worlds literally collided when you were travelling in London, you ‘teamed up’ in a sense as you saw your purposes were aligned. After that, you only spent more time together because you laughed together so much and it wasn’t long until you were best friends. Finally, that friendship blossomed into an undeniable love, no matter how nervous you both were of confessing your feelings.

I ship you with Harry!

You and Harry were always very similar in personality but it was only after the war that you truly got to know each other. At the ministry, you always worked closely with the aurors and it was during these interactions that you became friends with Harry. You already had great respect for each other- you had fought side by side at the battle of Hogwarts- and this formed the foundation of your relationship. With Harry’s Gryffindor nature, you always found him encouraging you to try things outside of your comfort zone and together you’ve experienced so many amazing things (like flying a hippogriff). One day Harry plucked up the courage to ask you for coffee and ever since then you haven’t spent a moment apart.

I ship you with Newt!

In the maze, Newt was always fiercely protective of you due to his intense loyalty and the fact he just cares about you so much. As second-in-command, it was his responsibility to make sure everyone adjusted to life in the Glade and, as the only girl before Teresa, Newt saw it as his duty to make you feel even more welcome by becoming your best friend and giving you someone to relax with in the maze. With his deep caring of everyone, it wasn’t long until his cares for you developed into a lot more. When he planned to confess his feelings, he organised a picnic for you in the clearing of the deadheads where you could stargaze together. 

I ship you with Stiles!

Your enthusiasm for learning is shared by Stiles which makes it unsurprising that you met in the local library. You were checking out similar books as Stiles has always understood the importance of psychology in crime and so when you couldn’t reach the book you wanted on the top shelf, he was there to kindly step in to help. You started seeing each other there every week until you began talking as well as reading together and scenarios like those in the gif above happened more often than not with you sharing so much laughter. Stiles would ask you for your advice on his dad’s cases and you would share your view which often lead to him making a pivotal realisation on the case, allowing him to finally solve it. You started dating when a librarian asked if you already were- whilst you were taken slightly aback by the comment Stiles took it in his stride. He looked at you and asked if you wanted to date him, to which you only smiled in response.

[estevankubus]

The Sugar And Eczema Link

Is There A Sugar And Eczema Correlation?

The simple answer is yes. However, we need to dig a little deeper because not all sugars will cause an outbreak of Eczema. The sugar and eczema link is a little more complicated than to chastise sugar across the board!

What Is Sugar?

Sugar, in essence, is simply a carbohydrate. There are many different types of sugars that have different effects when it comes to causing an outbreak of eczema. Generally speaking, free sugars are the main culprit.

Free sugars are simple sugars, They are added into the food supply by food manufacturers and sometimes consumers when cooking or baking. Free sugars are also naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices.

The Links Between The Consumption of Sugar And Eczema

The over use and abundance of free sugars across the average western diet is a major culprit for preventable health issues and diseases. It has, if you will, become a destructive force in human health and skin related issues.

5 reasons why sugar and eczema are linked:

Sleep

Candida

Glycation

Inflammation (By Fructose)

Addiction

Sleep, Sugar And Eczema…

There is a sedative effect on the body after we eat a meal high in free sugars. It is commonly known as, ‘food coma’.

It takes about 4hrs for the body to use up a high concentrate of sugar supply. After this period we experience a sugar ‘crash’. This can cause a whole list of symptoms including; headaches, irritability and hunger.

In the crash state, cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands which leads to a quickening of the heart rate and a worsened quality of sleep. If a high sugar content meal is eaten just hours prior to sleep, then there will be consequences for the body as a whole.

Through the night, the body expends enormous amounts of energy in its attempt to balance its blood sugar levels, and even more so after eating a sugar laden meal.

Due to these high levels of energy being diverted away from the body as a whole, the rest of the body is disadvantaged and deprived of the energy it needs for general repair in other areas, such as; internal organs, eczema, rashes and lesions.

Tissue recovery is at its highest when we are in deep sleep. When we are deprived of this nightly self repair process and tune-up, conditions such as eczema just don’t have a chance to heal. Sugars and a poor quality of self repair are not healthy for the skin!

Candida

Candida overgrowth and eczema symptoms are slowly becoming better understood. Sugars can wreak havoc on our gastrointestinal (GI) tracts and potentially lead to worsened case of eczema.

Candida is a much needed yeast that lives in harmony with billions of other micro-organisms in our gut. There is literally a full and stable ecosystem going on inside of our bodies that will feed off the sugars we eat.

Unfortunately, with an oversupply of sugars in our foods, and given the right environment, candida can become virulent in the gut. This often leads to the destruction of healthy gut flora.

This oversupply of sugars has further consequences and can dominate the GI tract. It can lead to what is commonly referred to as ‘leaky gut’. Candida, as well as many other unwanted particles, are then able to enter the blood stream.

It can lead to a breakdown in the bodies immune system resulting in a person not being able to fend off basic illnesses or common skin conditions such as eczema.

How to identify a potential candida overload in your system:

Occurrences of thrush in the mouth or genitals

Persistent urinary tract infections

Fungal infections in the nails / athletes foot

Lethargy and chronic fatigue

Digestive issues such as constipation, gas and bloating, issues to foods you used to tolerate

Glycation

Glycation is the term that describes the process following an insulin level rise that typically occurs after consuming a sugary meal. If the sugar consumed is not burnt as energy soon after consumption, then it is destined to be stored as fat. As a side effect, the bodies insulin production will go into overdrive.

This is detrimental to certain components that promote healthy skin including, but not limited to, collagen and elastin. These two constituents are responsible for bodies ability to repair and heal the skin. These elements are also responsible for holding back the aging process and wrinkles.

The process of Glycation:

Sugar intake

Insulin spike

Glucose binds to protein molecules resulting in anomalistic chemicals called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs)

AGEs then build up in the body

The healing function of the skin reduces leading to weak and dry skin

Glycation, in essence, is a huge factor in rapid aging and bad skin conditions. It can also lead to the skin drying and cracking which allows microbes to enter into and under the skin. This can lead skin sensitivity and bad cases of acne and eczema.

Fructose Caused Inflammation

Fructose is a problem. It is a type of sugar that has become the most prevalent as the main source of sugar in our food supply. Unfortunately, it is the worst type of sugar for anyone suffering from eczema.

As a rough guide, fructose is found highest in:

Syrups and sweeteners such as agave and honey and anything containing high-fructose corn syrup

Soda drinks

Candy

Apple sauce

Dried or canned fruits

Sauces or condiments

Salad dressings

Fruit juices

Energy and cereal bars

Certain cereals

A pro-inflammatory response to fructose consumption can be induced by the body after uric acid and free radicals are formed when the liver breaks down and metabolises this fructose sugar type. It can have a seriously damaging effect on the bodies cells.

This negative reaction to fructose consumption can be responsible for a whole list of health issues, not just those concerning eczema.

Addiction To Sugar

When we over indulge in a sugar consumption, our brains appear wired to make us feel good. This is due to the fact that our brains see sugar as an excellent source of energy.

It sends out dopamines and endorphins that are responsible for the feeling of reward, pleasure, euphoria, which, by default, encourages us to consume higher levels of sugar.

If we do not break the cycle of excessive sugar consumption we will never break the continual release of dopamine running through our bodies. This leads to a higher level of sugar craving because our brain tells us that sugar is the source of great reward.

Excessive sugar consumption can also lead to the breakdown in the part of the brain that tells us when we are full. Essentially, the alerts that normally go out to tell us to stop eating, don’t.

So… How Much Is Too Much?

The UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommends the intake of free sugars to be not more than 5% of an individuals daily energy intake. This translates to a sugar intake of approximately 30 grams for the average adult.

Unfortunately, these days, the average adult is consuming in excess of 153 grams of free sugars per day. That equates to 5 times higher than that recommended by health officials.

As a rule of thumb and rough reference guide, just one of the following items contains the daily recommended sugar allowance of 30 grams.

20oz bottle of Vitamin Water

A can of Red Bull

A bowl of Raisin Bran or Nutrigrain

Medium slice of sponge cake

Yoplait original yogurt

Dried cranberries – 1/3 cup

Starbucks Greek Yogurt and Honey Parfait

Naked Pomegranate Blueberry Juice

Starbucks Blueberry Muffin

1 ½ cups of orange juice

100ml of Tomato Sauce

The Reality Of The Sugar And Eczema Link…

It might sound cliché but it is a saying that stands the test of time and keeps most of us in good stead, ‘all things in moderation’. If you keep as close to the daily recommended allowance for sugar as you possibly can, then you won’t go far wrong in terms of your health.

The main thing is, be aware. For the sake of your eczema, or the eczema you are yet to get, cutting down on your sugar intake is an extremely healthy thing to do.

If you already have eczema then you will be interested to read about Revitol Eczema Cream. It’s 100% natural, fast acting and gives rapid relief from any eczema condition.

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