#lent 2021

[tawneybel]

St. Vee Day

Song of the day: “Cute Aggression” by Nicole Dollanganger. 

Hope everyone had a decent Valentine’s! I was supposed to go out on the 13th, because Shrove Tuesday, but the weather interrupted that plan. (At least I got Ferrero Rocher.) Lately I’ve been keeping track of local events so I can plan cute non-work outfits.

Blog-related goals: 

Post more longer imagines. 500+ words, like school essay length. 

Post more imagines for characters played by celebrity crushes. David Dastmalchian keeps accidentally popping up in movies I’m watching. The Boogeyman, Last Voyage of the Demeter, Dune rewatch… For some reason Piter didn’t stand out to me the first time?? (Probably because Leto Atreides. ) His matter of fact way of speaking is so attractive. 

More would involves and N/SFW alphabets? 

Just get through the inbox. XD

Post ranked 2023 movie list. It would have been posted back in January, but I keep watching new ones. 

[thedreadvampy]

everything around this housing shit basically boils down to: what I said would be fine 2+ years ago isn't necessarily what's fine now

[poisondartlesbian]

13 and 47!!

13.

heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i

47.

we're no good for one another, no, no, no

give me a number between 1 and 100 and I'll give you a song from my Spotify Wrapped!

[mademoiselle-red]

I’ve finished my Yingdu ep 1-4 rewatch: more timely-wimey speculation:

“10 years ago” Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents disappeared and Qiao Ling’s parents lent him 10 years of rent on the photo studio, which he is supposed to start repaying once he grows up and reopens the shop for business

In 2019, Cheng Xiaoshi renovated the studio and reopened it for business with the help of Qiao Ling and Lu Guang (who “happens” to be walking by). Their first customer is the university anime club.

Since his official character profile says he is 21 years old in 2021 (during seasons 1 & 2) then we can assume he was 19 in 2019 and 9 in 2009, when his parents disappeared.

Lu Guang’s age is blurred out in his official character profile but Qiao Ling says he is younger than Cheng Xiaoshi in S1E1, and they are both university freshmen when they meet, so I’m going to assume Lu Guang’s body is 18 years old in 2019.

In the leaked clips from Yingdu Ep5, Lu Guang says that his dad noticed his special abilities when he was 7 years old, which is 11 years ago.

What if Lu Guang awakening his powers is somehow related to the disappearance of Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents?

Maybe Cheng Weimin also had special abilities related to photos and used them to help his customers at the photo studio. And Lu Guang’s dad walked in one day and was like: can you help my son?

Not sure why that would have led to Cheng Weimin going to Yingdu though…

[coochiequeens]

Another sex offender TIM released into the public.........and given a laptop

Daughter's fury as paedophile father who abused and shared images of her with other sick perverts online before changing gender in prison is quietly released (...and given a laptop by an offender's charity)

By ROSS SLATER

PUBLISHED: 10:47 EDT, 16 July 2023 | UPDATED: 10:49 EDT, 16 July 2023

A paedophile who changed gender while in prison for sexually abusing her own daughter as a child and sending explicit photos of her to perverts online has been quietly released back into the community - and given a laptop by a do-gooding charity.

Claire Fox, 61, who was previously known as Clive Bundy, a father of six, served just seven years of a 15-year jail sentence, before being settled into a tiny market town on the Welsh borders.

Fox, who wears a black wig and floral dresses told neighbours, who knew nothing of her sordid past, that she was an electrician from Bangor as they helped her get settled into her new surroundings and helped her furnish her flat.

Fox's release from prison has appalled her daughter Ceri-Lee Galvin, who bravely waived her right to anonymity, having been abused by her father for nine years from the age of eight.

Revealing her astonishment, Ceri-Lee, 24, told MailOnline: 'My father is not a woman and I refuse to recognise him as such. He changed his gender in prison to make his life there easier.

But now he is out and already up to his usual tricks – conning everyone he meets. 

'The fact he is now dressed as a woman makes him more dangerous as young girls are his thing and he has never shown any remorse.

'My father is a highly manipulative man who has attended no sexual offender rehabilitation programmes, shown no remorse for what he has done and openly admits finding children attractive.

'There have been no meetings I'm aware of to tell local schools about his presence, he has no tag and no curfew. He has just been put into this community and given all he could wish for – food, furniture, a home and a laptop.'

Ceri-Lee, now a student paramedic, added: 'I am in no way transphobic and I feel incredibly sorry for people who genuinely need to transition. They face stigma and worse because of cases like this.

'But it should just not be an option for those convicted of sexual offences against children to suddenly say that they want to be a woman.

'This only arose at the end of 2021 when he was due to be moved to an open prison but then had a fight with a fellow prisoner that was serious enough to stop the move.

'That is when he went for the gender change – when he was almost 60, having been a macho man all his life and having had eight children and having never mentioned gender dysphoria before.

'Now he is being indulged by everyone. The prison service gave him make-up and women's clothes and now a charity for the armed forces have provided him with so much stuff when all he did was a short stint in the Territorial Army in his 20s.

He has conned them. He was never a soldier. The whole thing is outrageous.'

Fox arrived in a sheltered accommodation block for older people in a tiny town at the start of June.

She was given new furniture, a television, printer, washing machine, crockery and a laptop by the armed forces charity SSAFA because she had once been in the Territorial Army.

Fox's neighbour Lyn Robinson, 74, said: 'My first impression was that this person was very cheerful and amenable, assuring all us older people that they'd be no trouble. They seemed very confident despite the outlandish appearance.

'I thought she might find it difficult fitting in so I really took care of her. I gave her clothes and even lent her £70, which is a lot for a pensioner.

'I took her to the food bank at the Baptist Church where she was given loads of stuff including vouchers for a butcher in town and for a coffee shop.

'And we went to a concert at St Edward's Church where I introduced her to the vicar. I had no idea of her history.

Fox's decision to change gender before being released from prison, provoked a storm of protest when it was revealed in April.

She chose the same name as gender-critical campaigner and media pundit Claire Fox, now sitting in the House of Lords as Baroness Fox of Buckley.

Campaign groups fear that by changing their gender, sex offenders can effectively whitewash their past and could avoid detection under the Home Office's Disclosure and Barring Service, set up to protect children from abusers.

DBS uses official paperwork such as a passport or driving licence to carry out their checks, both of which can prove difficult to check after choosing a new name and gender.

The potential loophole is provided by the Gender Recognition Act (2004), which created a 'sensitive applications route' for trans people.

Ceri-Lee added: 'The victim liaison officer told me the only reason I was being informed about the name and gender change was because he had given permission for this to happen.

'It's allowing him to say that Clive Bundy never existed, that my abuse never existed and it is clearly a danger to children which is why I decided to speak out.' 

Fox is not the first sex offender to change gender while in prison

A rapist who carried out sexual attacks as a man named Adam Graham in 2016 and 2019 sparked a heated debate earlier this year after changing gender and name to Isla Bryson while waiting to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

And in 2018, convicted rapist 'Karen White' – branded a 'highly manipulative' predator by a judge – was moved to HMP New Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and sexually assaulted two women inmates.

Fox was arrested after police discovered images of Ceri-Lee online that the abuser had been trading with other pedophiles.

She was later charged with and admitted to several counts of sexual activity with Ceri-Lee, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and distributing indecent images.

In 2016 she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. It was not until the end of 2021 that she told the authorities she wanted to change gender.

A SSAFA spokesperson, said: 'SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity provides practical, emotional and financial assistance to serving personnel, reservists, veterans and their families in their time of need. Due to data protection laws and our need to protect our beneficiaries' and employees' confidentiality, we cannot comment on individuals or their circumstances.'

A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: 'In line with national guidelines we can neither confirm nor deny the information you have provided.

'However, we can confirm that Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements are utilised throughout the entire force area to manage appropriate offenders living in the community and they will be closely supervised by local officers to minimise any risk.'

[stereopticons]

On This Day in Schitt's Creek: March 21

2018

better than all the rest [david/patrick, T, 2,014] by foxwatson

It’s not like this is the first time David has embarrassed himself for a loved one. aka this is a 4x09 reaction fic

2019

Apologies and Confessions of Love [david/patrick, NR, 927] by bombshellblonde

Just a short few scenes after Meet The Parents

occupying the same breath [david/patrick, T, 551] by @enablelove

After the tumultuous day, Patrick and David take a moment to relax in bed.

2020

All the Roads We Have to Walk [david/patrick, T, 23,561] by @meadowharvest4856

"I wonder what would've happened if we'd met in high school?" Patrick Brewer is ready to conquer the summer of 1999 at Camp Cedar Glade. He's in for a surprise, though, in the form of one David Rose.

Fools Rush In [david/patrick, g, 1,765] by @olrhys

“Well I don’t want to make assumptions,” David said, a teasing edge to his voice. “But it looks to me like you were doodling your first name and my last name together in our sales ledger less than a year into our relationship.” Or, David finds evidence that Patrick had been planning on marrying him a long, long time ago.

Pen15 is Mightier Drabble Challenges [multi fandom, E, 5,856, CW: harry potter] by BrandonStrayne

A random assortment of drabbles written for the Pen15 is Mightier weekly drabble challenges. Each chapter will be its own drabble and the title of the chapter will be the prompt for that particular challenge.

The Way We Were [johnny/moira, G, 1,920] by MadisonAvenue

Currently pregnant with Alexis, Moira laments on her life and her capabilities as a mother

2021

A Change of Plans [david/patrick, T, 718] by @rmd-writes

From his vantage point on the couch, David can see that Patrick is sulking. He’s sitting at the table staring at the laptop, beer untouched, his hand clenched in a fist on the table. He sighs and sips his wine, trying to assess whether enough time has passed that he can approach Patrick. Or David knows how to deal with Pouty Patrick

even doubt can be delicious (or moderately edible) [david/patrick, G, 9,686] by @lilythesilly

“My coffee, please. To go.” A to-go cup is slid into his line of vision, except when he takes a sip it’s not his coffee, it’s liquid death. “Um, what is this supposed to be?” He asks, looking up and startling when he sees a face that is not Twyla staring back at him. “You’re not Twyla.” The guy in front of him smiles, like he’s amused by fucking up his coffee order. “No, I’m Patrick.” An AU retelling of Season 3 where instead of going to work for Ray, Patrick gets a job at the cafe.

Excel-lent Excuse for a Celebration [david/patrick, G, 221] by @dazedwriter1

David and Patrick had saved a bottle of wine from opening day to be had in the future at an unknown date when a celebration was needed. Patrick found the perfect excuse. A short text message based fic.

Featuring the Patron Saint of Drag Queens [david/patrick, NR, 1,825] by TuttleAsHimself

Clint is very fond of his son-in-law, but it's rare that he and David find themselves alone in each other's company. What will they talk about while Patrick and Marcy are out hiking? Turns out they do have some common ground. Despite the title this doesn't actually have anything to do with drag queens lol. Maybe one day.

Grenada [david/patrick, T, 300] by Rosey_Peach

i might be a malady, thank god you're my galaxy (my sweet relief) [alexis/twyla, T, 1,581] by @turningtimeinthetardis

Twyla’s not sure what hurts worse, her embarrassment or her hangover.

the ex [david/patrick, T, 1,089] by @grapehyasynth

David has mostly done a good job of not letting himself think long-term commitment thoughts about Patrick, which is 50% of why it hurts the way it does when Alexis turns to the redhead she’s invited to their family barbecue and gasps, “Wait, *Patrick* is your *husband*?”

three o'clock [alexis/twyla, E, 2,914] by @schittyfic

“Oooh, Twy, three o’clock.” “Huh?” Twyla wrinkles her nose at Alexis in confusion, picking up her phone from the vaguely-sticky table and checking the screen. “It’s nine thirty-two.” “No-no, babe, like, three o’clock.” Alexis enunciates each syllable, widening her eyes and jerking her head dramatically. It’s still, like, totally subtle, though. She closes her glossed lips around the straw of her daiquiri as Twyla finally turns to look across the bar. “Oh,” Twyla breathes out, unknowingly mirroring Alexis’s pose, sucking her own straw into her mouth as they both stare. - Or: two tipsy girlfriends thirst over the hot, bearded guy across the bar.

To Hold You in My Arms [david/patrick, NR, 1,910] by TuttleAsHimself

After realizing David is part of THAT Rose family at Patrick's surprise party, Marcy's curiosity gets the better of her and she makes a painful discovery concerning David's past. (Warnings are in the tags just to be safe, but it's all briefly touched on and not at all graphic)

where we're headed for [david/patrick, M, 58,077] by stillicide_snow

“So did you start wearing all black because you’re an international cat burglar or did you base your career choice on your wardrobe?” Or, David used to be a jewel thief. Allegedly. He doesn't do that anymore. Patrick works in insurance, and he has a few questions about those recent break-ins... An AU in which David leaves Schitt's Creek for good at the end of season one, and then his past starts to catch up to him.

wish i'd known this feeling is coming [david/patrick, T, 670] by budd

Set after the events of "Pregnancy Test" and prior to "Girls' Night", David and Patrick cuddle for the first time at Ray's following a night of (silent) sex.

you'd rather lie than fall [david/patrick, G, 39,993] by @maxbegone

“Stevie,” he starts, tears brimming his eyes. “I can’t stay here. I... I should have seen it all coming. I should have known that—” A hiccup escapes him and he swallows, hard. “That everything good was just going to fall apart. It always does. Nothing works out for me.” “That’s not true, David. Look what you’ve created.” She throws a hand out in the general direction of the town. “You guys can...you can work through this. There are other options.” “Nope.” David is adamant, then, righting his face of any emotion. “Running away was what I did in the past, I can do it again now.” — David should have suspected it. Patrick was too perfect in all his neat and organized glory. He should have seen Rachel coming from a mile away. That was five months ago. There’s no rekindling that now. The other shoe drops and David really does leave Schitt’s Creek for New York, only to find that in a city of eight million people, it’s still very easy to be lonely. But bumping into the one person he never expected to on his morning coffee run might just lead to a friendship he never knew he needed.

2022

I Can Fix That [david/patrick, T, 1,733] by mallpretzles

The proposal is put on hold when Patrick injures his foot. This is the story of plan b.

2023

How Long Will I Love You? [david/patrick, E, 24,399] by @ficsfromabrokenchair

This is my first long AU, and my first fic inspired by a movie. While it’s not essential to this storyline, if you have a hard time wrapping your mind around time travel or need a visual of what I’m describing, I’d suggest watching About Time. Plus, it’s just a sweet film. Bill Nighy, anyone?! This work is my love letter to the idea that these two belong together in every universe. But their journey won’t be free of challenges.It’s an AU but it follows canon very closely… until it doesn’t. Then it does again. Stick with me. A huge thank you to the better half of my writing brain, Goodiecornbread, for navigating the mother of all timey-wimey plots with me and still wanting to be friends on the other side. This fic wouldn’t have made it out of my brain and into nine disorganized Google docs without you. You always handle my David-level spirals with grace.

Rain [david/patrick, M, 100] by @sspaz1000

David's making breakfast, when it starts to rain. Patrick is out for a run. What happens when David sees Patrick?

Stats:

No fanworks for 2017 or 2024 2018: 1 fic/2,014 words 2019: 2 fics/1,478 words 2020: 4 fics/33,102 words 2021: 12 fics/118,984 words 2022: 1 fic/1,733 words 2023: 2 fics/24,499 words Total: 22 fics/181,810 words

[upsettingandunfortunateclasshate]

A Danish artist who pocketed large sums of money lent to him by a museum – and submitted empty frames as his artwork – has been ordered by a court to repay the funds.

Jens Haaning, a conceptual artist whose work focuses on power and inequality, was commissioned in 2021 by the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, northern Denmark, to recreate two earlier works that used scores of banknotes to represent average incomes.

Haaning’s 2007 work, An Average Danish Annual Income, displayed krone notes fixed to canvas in a frame, and a second 2011 work about Austrian incomes used euro bills.

The museum provided about 532,000 krone (£61,500) from its reserves to recreate artworks as well as an artist’s fee of about 40,000 krone. But when staff unpacked the newly delivered works, they found two empty frames with the title Take the Money and Run.

He's done a right old job on them 😂😂

[palmeryyz]

January, culturally, environmentally and sometimes politically can be the cruelest month. I was reminded of this on the 15th day of 2025 when David Lynch, the creator of some of the most remarkable, strange and breathtaking cinema, passed away at the age of 78.

His passing was just five days after the anniversary of the death of another man who fell to Earth, David Bowie - who left us nine years ago.

The sadness from the passing of these two great people has been compounded by the frigid temperatures experienced lately (January 15-21 is historically the coldest week of winter) and positively numbing events happening in the United States.

My posts about Bowie's death anniversary prompted a friend to lend me a book entitled Andrew Potter on Decline - Stagnation, Nostalgia and Why Every Year is the Worst One Ever.

My friend lent me the book because it whimsically ties the beginning of this decline to Bowie's death in 2016. Through chapters on Progress, Stagnation, Politics, Reason and the Pandemic, Potter convincingly connects the dots showing the degrading effects of populism, isolationism, totalitarianism and other toxic isms.

The book was published in 2021, before Trump's second term and the exponential rise of artificial intelligence, but its message is just as profound.

The loss of David Lynch in 2025 just days before Trump's second inauguration left me feeling doubly lost.

Not only had Lynch pulled me into the sometimes strange and wonderful world of cinema with films like Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart, which I had enjoyed immensely in their early days at the New Yorker repetory theatre in London, Ontario. But he also helped through a difficult read when I saw Dune, and was lulled back into Frank Herbert's science fiction masterpiece.

Like Bowie's music (and film work for that matter), Lynch's films were a treasure to me. On a grander scale, after reading Potter's book, I worried that Lynch's passing is marking an even steeper decline for the future.

But I was buoyed by a clip of an interview with musician/spoken word artist Henry Rollins that speaks to this challenging time.

"This is not a time to be dismayed. This is punk rock time. This is what Joe Strummer trained you for. It is now time to go. You're a good person, that means more now than ever," Rollins said. "You can be thunderous in your own life and being cool to the eight people around you. And it rubs off...goodness is viral."

[fermercadal]

Rupert - 2021

Cámara: Nikon D5600 Lente: Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[ryanlowrie]

Since January 2021 my lovely friend @secretagentsunshine has lent her likeness to recreational sketchibitionism in a project I have titled The Diamondrea Dossier, an incredible show where the audience glow while the watermelon grow in the dirt soil of my avant- garden Paper Stage Art journal

[the-gershomite]

Conan and the People of the Black Circle and Other Stories -2021- Dark Horse Comics

Conan and the People of the Black Circle: part 2

script: Fred Van Lente

art: Ariel Olivetti

letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft

based on the work of Conan creator Robert E. Howard

[accio-victuuri]

(candy vault) : alexander mcqueen shoes, nike off white and yibo’s missing mole 🤍

this fandom has lots of candies in the past years and there are ones that fall through the cracks or things that i simply wanna talk about. also for the benefit of new turtles who probably missed it & a good trip down memory lane for those who’ve been here for a while. i made other posts similar to this before and i haven’t done a good old mini compilation so here ya go. ^^

2/23/2021 WYB was in Beijing, participating in the recording of CCTV’s Lantern Festival program in the evening. The actual broadcast was 2/26/2021.

In the materials initially sent out by YBO, for the photos, you couldn’t see AM shoes. Maybe the shoot was better off focusing on his face, which I totally agree, but it was like they didn’t want to focus on it that much. We only saw the shoes when they released the BTS video where it would be tricky to crop it out.

During the actual performance he changed into a more comfortable looking Jimmy Choo shoes. He was wearing AM outfit so it made sense that the shoes should match too. This should’t really be a big deal or even a CPN, only because changing shoes is sort of normal at events like this. Maybe he was more comfortable with the Jimmy Choo, although the choreography for this performance is not that complicated like his other routines. The way I remember it, WYB usually sticks to the shoes he has on.

The CPN alarm bells started going off tho when ZZ flew from Beijing to Shanghai wearing the same style McQueen shoes. He had shooting back in 2/24 and there were some talk that he was more than a half hour late as planned on set. So going by our collective galaxy brain, they could have spent some time together during late 2/23 and some time on 2/24 which is after the CCTV shoot. WYB probably lent the shoe to him or he just got it from their shared closet lol. This is why ZZ was sort of late, because he was with WYB. The pattern of ZZ being later than usual on set when he is with WYB is something that still happens this year. I’m not implying that he is slacking off when he is with WYB but more of just adjusting his schedule so he can accommodate the love of his life. they both deserve that in between their busy schedules.

maybe this is why YBO didn’t want to highlight that on the materials they released 2/26 ; because they knew where the shoe went 😂😂😂

While we’re in the subject of shoes, let’s take it further back with their matching nike off white in 2018. It’s one CPN that is often given as an example but I haven’t discussed on here.

AAAAAHHHHH! I miss the days when they could still wear Nike shoes. Oh well….

Looking through the airport pictures of ZZ before joining the CQL group from 2016 to 2018, there are no pair of Nikes that could often be seen in pictures of him. There are 2 back in 2017. Before CQL, ZZ had quite a variety of shoes, including a few pairs from Adidas. Like WYB, it is obvious that he likes to buy Nike co-branded products, likes to grab the latest models, and even buys more for collection.

Now let’s focus first on the shoes, it’s a collab of Nike air vapormax X off white. There are two shoes of the same style but in different colors. The black model will be available at 3/30/2018 and the white will be available at 4/18/2018. We know that at the time, WYB will surely have what’s new when it comes to NIKE. It’s either it will be sent to him cause he has a relationship with the brand or he will buy it himself. He is known to always wear the latest designs released. He is also a collector, so he most likely bought the black and white version.

WYB wore the white version on 4/28 and ZZ wore the black model on 5/8 based on photos.

As for ZZ, he was recording an episode for a show and he also used this shoe for the rehearsal. It is the same show where he had to dance and the choreography was taught by WYB. We’ve seen this in the BTS and ZZ talked about it himself.

WYB was seen again with the pair during PD101 on 5/10. It’s funny cause this is the same day where XZ was filmed candidly behind the scenes and he said he hasn’t seen LWJ all day.

These two. Honestly. They only formally “met” and then started shoot 4/16 and it hasn’t even been a month but they already have a couple shoe and ZZ was out there emoting about missing LWJ/WYB? It’s a common discussion that leads to alternative timelines like DT or 2017 or it could just be that it’s one of those rare instance where you connect with someone so quickly.

I have 3 possible explanations:

1. It’s totally unrelated. They bought their pairs separately since they like the style and collab.

2. WYB gave the shoe to XZ. I am a fan of both of them giving gifts to each other. And if you are someone who believed XZ gave him a lego set even before they started filming as a gesture of goodwill then this should make more sense to you. Also WYB is known to give gifts and that includes shoes ( for example SDC 3, he gave out multiple pairs ). This reasoning is not necessarily a CPN of them being boyfriends, but more of being close enough to give each other gifts. and not just the usual one you would give to a colleague cause if WYB only has the white and XZ has the black, it’s a couple shoe. WYB low key hinting at the prospect if them being a pair and XZ accepting it.

3. They bought it together, as you would when you’re with a friend and are scrolling through shopping apps together. I think there are fake rumors of that, the two, in between takes scroll through their phones and buy each other stuff or same style clothes. Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean boyfriend behavior, but more of being close enough to do that.

A clue for that is WYB was seen with the black pair during CQL filming around early 6/2018. You can clown that he is wearing ZZ’s shoes or he did buy the 2 kinds for his own and ZZ got the black only.

Lastly is the stolen mole!!!!! ♥️

Since cpfs are obsessing over WYB’s very visible mole from the Bazaar shoot.

It’s one of my favorite fake and it basically says, The reason why WYB cares so much about ZZ’s mole under the lip, is because WYB also had one like this when he was little. The elders in the family said it’s something good and it means he will have a happy life. However the mole disappeared. Or i guess in his case it’s not as prominent and has faded instead.

While filming, GG has scenes where he didn’t have make up or it gets taken off because of the heat. WYB looks at him closely and points out his lip mole, saying that he had something like that before but it disappeared. GG then added that his mom told him that his mole appeared only after a while when he was young.

That’s when WYB said GG stole his mole. When it disappeared, the mole transferred to GG 😂😂😂

Maybe this is why WYB is so fixated with his mole that he even includes it in his drawing of XZ/WWX.

-END.

[sgiandubh]

Ooh, looks like Sam is in Austria with Audi, not sent there by Starz as speculated. Hope your Saturday is great!!

Dear Audi Anon,

Not just Audi, even if you are correct: that snow test drive was sponsored by Audi and can you blame him for doing his promo job? After all, they graciously lent him not one, but several cars. Totally normal business thing.

But also Burton Snowboards, a very ambitious Vermont-based company (and part of a bigger group) which is, currently, the second largest snowboard manufacturer in the US, right after Utah's Backcountry:

The most interesting and positive part of it is that Burton has a worldwide behemoth sales network, with more than 4,300 owned or partner stores (in 2021: https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/snowboard-manufacturers-suppliers/). Probably a fair bit more than Barbour, who keeps its own network very discreet, communicating only about its presence in 55 countries.

Not the same crowd. But still a very interesting move, despite the 2022 controversy, when Burton was accused of promoting Xinjiang as a Chinese winter sports destination (in the wake of the OGs) and completely ignoring what is pudically named by some 'the Uyghur Problem'. Just noting this in passing, before the others do it with an agenda.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Banks and public money are financing Brazil's Amazon collapse

From January 2018 to August 2024, nearly $1.9 billion was lent to 24,000 rural areas in the region known as Amacro, an agricultural frontier opened under Bolsonaro. Some of this money ended up in the hands of people involved in deforestation and suspected funders of the attempted coup in Brasilia

Since March 2024, SUMAÚMA has been conducting a deep investigation in the region of the Brazilian Amazon known as Amacro, where it has discovered a cycle of depredation: political and economic forces are accelerating the death of the planet’s largest tropical rainforest, with public money. In this groundbreaking report, we analyze political agendas, government and academic documents, deforestation figures, and data on Central Bank financing and fines levied for environmental violations. We traveled more than 2,000 kilometers by road, following the money that flows from rural credit in the form of low-interest loans, which are one of the driving forces behind the obliteration of a rainforest that is essential for climate stability. . With access to data on 65,315 loans, we cross-referenced information to sketch a profile of beneficiaries, financial institutions, and, above all, the destination of money now underwriting interests that are killing the Amazon and jeopardizing the future for coming generations. The conclusions are alarming.

A routine scene on a farm located near kilometer 120 of federal highway BR-319, which links Manaus to Porto Velho, shows tractors and crop sprayers sharing space with bags of fertilizers in a 60-meter-long shed. On this particular Sunday, more of this machinery can be glimpsed through two open doors. Owned in part by Juares Monteiro, Fazenda Arco-Íris—Rainbow Farm—saw a portion of its area embargoed by Brazil’s environmental watchdog IBAMA in October 2019 because of a “flora violation”: he clear cut 217 hectares of forest without the authorization of Brazil’s environmental agencies. An IBAMA embargo is an administrative measure that blocks economic activities on a given piece of land to prevent further progression of detected environmental damage. Juares Monteiro was fined a little over $250,000, a sum that remains open on IBAMA’s books five years later.

Nonetheless, on six occasions—three each in 2020 and 2021—Juares received around $190,000 in low-interest loans from public banks, with rates ranging from 5.75% to 7.5% per year. For the ordinary citizen in Brazil, interest rates average 8% per month. On the gate to Juares’s land, which had been cleared irregularly, a sign announced: “Banco da Amazônia finances Fazenda Arco-Íris.” A few meters before that, a refrigerated trunk, used to transport Cattle carcasses, proudly displayed the Brazilian flag.

Juares’s land lies in the region of Amacro, a new frontline of destruction where killing proceeds in the same old way. The name Amacro—an acronym standing for Amazonas, Acre, and Rondônia—refers to a project local ruralists began drafting in 2015 and that former president Jair Bolsonaro ended up embracing as a political banner. Under the right-wing extremist’s administration, Amacro gained strength as a new agricultural frontier and political and economic project for the Amazon. The region encompasses 32 municipalities and an area of 454,220 square kilometers—bigger than Paraguay. The project was announced in early 2021 and officially inaugurated in December of that year, although the devastation had begun years earlier, driven by the buzz about the plan’s eventual implementation. While the systems used by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research—like other methods for measuring deforestation—do not distinguish between the legal and illegal felling of trees, data show that in just three years, from 2020 to 2022, a forest area nearly seven times the size of London was cut down in the Amacro region. A total of 1,026,830 hectares of trees were razed, with devastation peaking in Bolsonaro’s final year in power.

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Januário Garcia Jr. (November 16, 1943 - June 30, 2021) hailed from Minas Gerais, a Brazilian state renowned for its significant population of Afrodescendentes, or Black Brazilians. He embarked on a journey to Rio de Janeiro in search of a better life following the passing of his mother, Geralda. He lost his father years earlier, he navigated the streets of Rio and made the city his home.

He was captivated by still and print photography. He gathered discarded film strips from the local cinema and projected them onto the walls of his childhood home. This early fascination paved the way for his training at the International Cameraman School and marked the beginning of his lifelong career as a photographer.

A dedicated member of the Movimento Negro Brasileiro. He received honorary citizenship in Atlanta. He co-founded the Instituto de Pesquisas das Culturas Negras, serving as its president for several years. His political convictions were influenced by the ideas of Abdias Nascimento and Lélia Gonzalez.

Exhibitions such as “O Cotidiano do Afro-Brasileiro” and “Nossa Gente” exemplify his interest in capturing the everyday lives of Black individuals. He commemorated the 1988 centenary of the abolition of Brazilian slavery with an exhibition titled “A Anticomemoração de um Centenário: o Levante do Movimento Negro pelo Olhar de Januário Garcia”. His success as an artist who campaigned through his work to bring images of Black people, who comprise more than 50% of the Brazilian population.

He established the Instituto Januário Garcia: Documentos e fotografias de Matrices Africanas. He curated an exhibition titled “Rio de Todas as Áfricas: Diásporas Cariocas nas Lentes de Januário Garcia”.

He co-authored “African Diasporas: A Bridge across the Atlantic”, which was translated into French, English, and Spanish. He exhibited his photographs in Togo, Mexico, and the US. He was known to the public for his iconic album covers designed for renowned Brazilian pop artists such as Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Tim Maia, Leci Bradão, and Fafá de Belém”. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 4th wedding anniversary to Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi!

The couple tied the knot privately on 17 July 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor. The couple are believed to have begun dating in September 2018, and their engagement was announced on 26 September 2019.

Beatrice's wedding dress was a remodelled Norman Hartnell dress that was lent by the Queen, and she wore the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara that was also worn by the Queen at her own wedding.

The couple has a daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born on 18 September 2021. Edoardo has a son - Christopher Woolf - from a previous relationship.