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charliejrogers · 4 years ago

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Blow the Man Down

Though I don’t do them often, I’m a big fan of movie double-headers. None more satisfying than a summer afternoon in 2018 when I walked out a theater’s showing of BlackKklansmen and then directly into the adjacent theater for Blindspotting (I paid for both tickets, I swear!). And it’s even better when the two films have some sort of thematic link like BlackKklansmen and Blindspotting… 2018’s Green Book and Overlord made for a much less satisfying pairing. This is al la lead-in to say that Blow the Man Down was actually part one of a female-dominated double-header alongside Yes, God, Yes which I previously reviewed. Both the products of women writer/directors (here the dual-team of Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy) with women being the primary characters… but that’s about where the similarities end.

The best way I can describe Blow the Man Down is that it has a bit of Fargo’s small-town crime vibe to it, but without as much dark humor. Set in fictional coastal seaport of Easter Cove, Maine in what looks like early winter/late fall, the film has a bleak, cloudy look to it, in a way really only New England can, not unlike 2017’s Manchester by the Sea. From the start, things are ominous. The film opens with what is essentially a Greek chorus of fisherman singing/chanting old Irish dirges, specifically the dirge “Blow the Man Down.” While I’ll be honest and say I didn’t listen carefully to the words of the song, it didn’t really feel like the slow chanting in low voices of gruff men would be telling the most upbeat of stories.

We then cut to a funeral reception for a woman who in dying is leaving behind her now-orphaned two daughters. The elder and more responsible of the two, Priscilla Connolly (Sophie Lowe), spends her time working the small seafood store her mother used to own. Though not explored deeply, we get a sense of opportunity lost in Priscilla. She never got to leave town fully, needing instead to take care of her ailing mother and keep up business at the shop. In some senses she knows she is trapped in this small town with no other options or money to make a new path. She’s not even sure there’s enough money left to hold onto their mother’s home.

On the other hand is Mary Beth Connolly (Morgan Saylor), who is more reckless than Priscilla, or more accurately she is less mature. After her mother’s funeral Mary Beth jumps into a car and heads to a local bar where, despite the fact that she may or may not be of the legal drinking age, is clearly welcomed as a regular. Mary Beth dreams of getting out of the small coastal town, and has her eyes set on college as soon as she can get out.

The funeral reception is largely uneventful, but throughout much of it, the soundtrack plays loud dissonant music not so much fitting for a funeral reception but for horror film. We the audience are left confused. Combined with the opening dirge, the soundtrack seems to be preparing us for the type of movie that, as of yet, we are not seeing.

That changes when Mary Beth meets a slimy stranger at the bar, an short-lived tryst that ends with the stranger chopped up, put in a cooler, and set to sea. Much to our surprise, the blood lies not just on Mary Beth’s hands, but on Priscilla’s as well. There’s a great “quote” of Lady Macbeth as Priscilla tries furiously to scrub every last spot of blood out of her hands.

It’s only when the sun rises the morning after the Connollys late-night escapades that the film really seems to begin. Where I was expecting this to be a movie about the Connolly’s dealing with their guilt, by and large we don’t get a sense that they feel all too guilty – more shocked. So while there is a subplot about a young, handsome policeman who is ironically on the lookout for the exact person he seems to have the hots for, I at least didn’t sense any tension in this regard. The real conflict involves looking at the other residents of the not-so-sleepy Easter Cove, or more specifically at the women of Easter Cove.

Gradually throughout the film we get the sense that there’s this group of older women (including one played by June Squibb!!) who acts as pseudo-protectors of the town. They, like all proverbial old fish-wives, know just about everything that goes on in town. So when the police begin their investigations into the death of a local prostitute, these women guardians know who’s to blame far before the police. The one to blame is Enid, a one-time friend of the old-lady club and now sole-operator of the only brothel in town, who seems to have been most close with the Connolly’s mother. Now with Mrs. Connolly gone, the old lady club engages in an all-out war with Enid. As the prostitute’s killing is intimately related to the man whom the Connolly’s have disposed, the old lady club is another group hot on the sisters’ heels in discovering the truth.

As I said, the story of the Connolly’s sort of takes a backseat as the film progresses and begins to focus more on the Old Lady Club and Enid, and I wish the movie hadn’t taken this turn. I would have loved to sit more with the Connollys and their guilt, with that all-too-human instinct to pile lies upon lies that make a genuine misunderstanding into a clusterfuck. Basically I wanted to see a re-do of season 2 of Fargo. Instead, we see the sisters, in very crude terms, have to choose to either join the dark side or join the light side… in the end they join the gray side which I suppose is more artistic, realistic, and satisfying.

Still despite the dark plot, the inter-weaving story threads, the wonderful cinematography, recurring chorus of fishermen singers etc., I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t really invested in the story. I don’t know, other than the initial encounter between Mary Beth and the slimy man, I never felt like the characters were really ever in danger. There was very little tension throughout the movie. It doesn’t help that I didn’t think that neither Sophie Lowe as Priscilla nor Morgan Saylor as Mary Beth give a particularly strong performances, though Saylor does a better job, but that may be she just has more to do. So it’s a solid plot with an interesting ending twist, it still feels like this could have been a better movie than it ended up being. If I’m sounding harsher than I should it’s because I wanted this to be a fantastic movie, but I will still happily settle for the good movie I got.

*** (Three out of four stars)

#blow the man down #morgan saylor #sophie lowe #june squibb

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under-the-blue-sun · 5 years ago

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hey guys! i just realised i have now posted exactly 100 edits, which is absolutely crazy. i would like to thank all of you for being there for me, liking and reblogging all my edits till the very end. below the cut is a table of contents for all my edits, sort of just for myself to see all of them laid out. again, i thank all of you and appreciate you greatly for being here. i send my love to every single of you <3

still alive - march thirtieth 2019

dan howell quotes wallpapers - june eleventh 2019

a breakdown is a breakthrough - july sixteenth 2019

desert wallpapers - july sixteenth 2019

phil desert colour palette - july seventeenth 2019

phil desert pop art - july seventeenth 2019

mr phil lester - july twentieth 2019

phil pink moodboard - july twentieth 2019

mcu tv show wallpapers - july twenty-first 2019

dnp text posts part one - july twenty-first 2019

it looks kind of real - august second 2019

autumn phil moodboard - august fourth 2019

dinner date polaroids - august tenth 2019

dnp text posts part two - august seventeenth 2019

one person accepting you can make all the difference - august nineteenth 2019

forever home moodboard - august twentieth 2019

prinxiety high school au moodboard - august twenty-first 2019

logicality high school au moodboard - august twenty-second 2019

demus high school au moodboard - august twenty-third 2019

soft daniel moodboard - august twenty-third 2019

heather chandler roman moodboard - august twenty-third 2019

heather duke logan moodboard - august twenty-fourth 2019

heather mcnamara patton moodboard - august twenty-sixth 2019

still into you dnp polaroid wallpaper - august twenty-sixth 2019

dnp subtle wallpapers - august twenty-sixth 2019

veronica sawyer virgil moodboard - august twenty-seventh 2019

j.d deceit moodboard - august thirtieth 2019

ram sweeney remus moodboard - august thirty-first 2019

take me to church dnp - august thirty-first 2019

poo dnp crack edit - september third 2019

bubblegum bitch dan moodboard - september third 2019

daniel howell merch evolution - september third 2019

dan bubblegum bitch cover - september fourth 2019

the mongeese - september fourth 2019 (nominated for phanart awards 2019 for best meme piece)

@vincent-yam-gogh header - september seventh 2019

@skiesofsunsets header - september seventh 2019

@danandphilamiright header - september eighth 2019

phil gardening filters - september tenth 2019

demon dan - september thirteenth 2019

interactive introverts wallpapers - september thirteenth 2019

dan moustache moodboard - september sixteenth 2019

autumn ‘19 dan polaroid - september twenty-seventh 2019

phil light blue moodboard - september twenty-eighth 2019

dnp halloween icons - october fourth 2019

phil flower edit - october fourth 2019

dnp art exhibit wallpapers - october fourth 2019

hades!dan x persephone!phil moodboard - october seventh 2019

missing interactive introverts - october tenth 2019

phil & dog - october twelfth 2019

ten years of dan and phil - october nineteenth 2019 (won best edit for phanart awards 2019)

pan brendon moodboard - october twenty-third 2019

holographic phil edit - october twenty-eighth 2019

ten years of dan and phil: colour palettes - november first 2019

my soul merch edit - november first 2019

glitch phil edit - november ninth 2019

glitch phil moodboard - november ninth 2019

harajuku squad polaroids - november fifteenth 2019

phil jumper edit - november seventeenth 2019

bamboo phil colour palettes - november seventeenth 2019

japan trip 2019 polaroid - november twenty-third 2019

favourite ryan ross moments part one - november twenty-third 2019

her eyes saved his life in the middle of summer ryden edit - december tenth 2019

democracy dan edit - december twelfth 2019

dnp photography wallpapers - december twenty-second 2019

xmas ryan ross moodboard - december twenty-fourth 2019

things have changed for me and that’s okay moodboard - december twenty-fifth 2019

xmas ryan ross colour palette - december twenty-fifth 2019

nico di angelo birthday edit - january twenty-eighth 2020

for the ride ryan ross lyrics edit - january twenty-eighth 2020

livevil ryan ross lyrics edit - january twenty-ninth 2020

lily evans birthday edit - january thirtieth 2020

amazingphil through the years birthday edit - january thirtieth 2020

where i belong ryan ross lyrics edit - january thirty-first 2020

deceit birthday edit - february second 2020

trans roman edit - february seventh 2020

at your window ryan ross lyrics edit - february ninth 2020

idkhbtfm + rainbow - february ninth 2020

dan and phil matching valentine wallpapers - february thirteenth 2020

lonely moonlight ryan ross lyrics edit - february fifteenth 2020

z berg wallpapers - february sixteenth 2020

phil 80s gif edits - february seventeenth 2020

@phihowells header - february seventeenth 2020

ellen page birthday edit - february twenty-first 2020

im down ryan ross lyrics edit - february twenty-second 2020

london vidcon annual magazine 2019 concept cover - february twenty-second 2020

sarah urie birthday edit - february twenty-third 2020

not sure if my jacket has enough zips moodboard - february twenty-third 2020

pink and blue dnp moodboard - february twenty-third 2020

lemony snicket birthday edit - february twenty-eighth 2020

takashi shirogane birthday edit - february twenty-eighth 2020

ron weasley birthday edit - march first 2020

im down ryan ross lyrics edit - march third 2020

im down ryan ross lyrics edit - march fourth 2020

house of memories dnp - march seventh 2020

bucky barnes birthday edit - march tenth 2020

remus lupin birthday edit - march tenth 2020

album cover wallpapers - march sixteenth 2020

march 22 mcr edit - march twenty-second 2020

vices & virtues ninth anniversary edit - march twenty-second 2020

rises the moon fic edit - march twenty-second 2020

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jrpneblog · 3 years ago

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Redemption for North End

A goal in first half stoppage time saw redemption for North End and the bragging rights over the Summer for the team at the East end of the M55. Cameron Archer was the man who put right the wrongs of Bloomfield Road back in October with an excellent finish past Chris Maxwell with almost forty eight minutes on the clock of a fifty seven minute first half. An injury to Daniel Grimshaw in the Blackpool goal saw an eleven minute extension to the first period and North End made it count with the on loan Villa player slotting home. It was a really tense affair in front of a big crowd at Deepdale and although the visitors had their moments in the game it was Ryan Lowe`s boys who kept their nerve and saw the game out to collect a very valuable three points against the old enemy and send North End into the next two games, which are both at Deepdale, with their confidence high.

Ryan Lowe made three changes to the side that lost at Derby on Saturday with Brad Potts, Greg Cunningham and Sepp Van Den Berg coming in for Liam Lindsay, Joe Rafferty and Ched Evans. It was a blistering start to the derby as you might expect with both sides really up for giving their all in front of the baying fans. The first quarter of the game saw half chances at both ends but an injury to Grimshaw challenging for a ball saw a long stoppage with ex North End keeper Chris Maxwell taking Grimshaw`s place. Andrew Hughes had the best chance with a header against the Blackpool bar as North End moved into a clear ascendancy later on in the first half. North End hit the post again with a deflected Potts cross but with almost three minutes added the home side took the lead. Riis found Archer with a lovely through ball and the youngster made no mistake slotting home to give North End the lead and sending the home support into raptures.

No changes for North End at the break but you could really cut the atmosphere with a knife as both sides came out in the second half intent on taking the game to the opposition. To be honest the game became somewhat dogged in the middle of the park but it was North End who made the clearest opening with Ben Whiteman curling a shot just wide as North End once again got on top in the game. Blackpool were doing their utmost to get back into proceedings with Bowler the main threat down the right but North End were defending well and the goal lead was helping the boys in White keep a cool head. Whiteman had another chance and a huge appeal for a penalty was waived away by referee Mr Webb in what looked like a clear hand ball by a Blackpool defender. The last real chance of the game came from the visitors with a free kick but the effort went over the bar and it was Preston who celebrated victory to put right the wrongs from last October at the Seaside.

So North End square up the bragging rights with a well earned victory against a Blackpool side who look like they have earned their right to be in the Championship. To be honest I thought North End were a little too defensive on the night and could have taken the game to the visitors a little more but having lost the first derby of the season I suppose it is understandable why North End sat on their lead a little towards the end of the game. Six games to go and four of those games at Deepdale means that we should have a decent chance of getting well into the sixties in terms of points for the season. I really hope that North End go out and express themselves in the final six games because I think we have been a little too cautious recently and it has contributed to our downfall. QPR next up on Saturday followed by Millwall on Good Friday sees a good chance for us to finish the season on a positive curve ahead of what is going to be a massive Summer at Deepdale.

PRESTON 1-0 BLACKPOOL

IVERSEN 7

VAN DEN BERG 7 BAUER 7 HUGHES 7

POTTS 7 BROWNE 7 WHITEMAN 8 JOHNSON 7 CUNNINGHAM 7

ARCHER 8 RIIS 7

Subs:-

McCANN 7

MOTM: Ben Whiteman

ATTENDANCE 18,740

PRESTON FANS 16,540 (88.26%)📷

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imagine-wannaone · 7 years ago

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Let That Ship Sale

Lmao once again can’t title but I’m back, and the request was for an award show or something but the isac’s where the other day and wanna one has never gone and I like to dream okay so I hope this is okay, i could do another at an actual show w another member if you’d like idk. Also props to whoever can tell whoever the idols faces at the isac’s I edited out of the pictures (That I don’t own btw credit to owners) for the header board thingy belong to hehe.

Summary: All your fans are shipping you with Daniel and you can’t say you disagree.

• The ISAC’s were always something you had mixed emotions about, • Your group was pretty popular and didn’t exactly need the promotion, but your company was small so it was a good idea to go anyway, even if it was just to have a bit of fun, • You enjoyed spending time with friends from other groups and sending your fans things you’d made, but you could be working on new songs and just the fact the day was so long, • But at least you got to wear a tracksuit like damn, • You were a self producing group who tried out most genres, generally more hiphop and R&B so you’d had many different clothing styles, but nothing beat the black tracksuit the event organizer handed you and the four others in your group, • But at way too early o'clock (honestly any time before 11 am) you pulled yourself out of the car with your group and made your way to the stadium, you all had unique styles; braided hair or sunglasses, • Wow y'all so beautiful and powerful looking I’m quaking, • Y'all known for singing about important matters and independence and basically being badass and are actually rlly respected for it and popular, • Don’t take no shit from no one, you’re out to win today, • And to compliment your friends about all their comebacks and catch up of course, • And then there’s the small matter of Mr Kang Daniel, • One of the boys of the Monster Rookie™ group Wanna One that had taken the nation’s hearts pretty much overnight, • The fans of your group and his had, continuously since their debut, been shipping you nonstop, • And yeah, you thought he was cute and funny but you’d never even met; the most you’ve done was nod to each other or complimented his group on passing after a performance, • And you’re slightly afraid that the shipping would now make it awkward for the two of you to meet and interact; afraid your Stan’s would take it way too far, • You just hope you can get a ‘hi’ or a quick conversation in today with him, although you know it may be difficult, • But your whole group is about not really caring about others’ standards, so you’re going have to remember that, • The opening runs smoothly, and you manage to sneak up to where the fans are and hand out your lunch boxes yourself, although the rules say you really shouldn’t go to the fans area, • (VIXX what trolls this year tho I love them) • You’re sat with Irene and Yeri, Seulgi quite literally asleep on your lap and your members teasing your fans not 10 feet away and honestly wow, • But then the archery gets called up and you have to slide yourself away, • Which breaks your heart because yanno when a puppy is asleep on you so you can’t move? • Like that, • But you grab Tae, the member you’re going to do archery with, and wander off, • You go second, so while you’re waiting you slip some black face paint out of your pocket, before painting some black streaks across Tae’s cheeks as she paints 3 down your face, • Because how else you gunna show you’re ready for war????? • As soon as your competitors look over to you they burst out laughing at the funny faces you pull, one of those competitors in waiting including Kang Daniel himself,

• You make sure to send him a goofy fake scowl, challenging him, to which he cracks up,

• Omg a beautiful sight, Daniel smiling? Those cresent eyes? Soft cheeks? WoW, • In essence - face paint is a very effective way to distract your competitors as well as amusing your fans, • And you totally ace the archery, • You walk away with a Silver medal and that’s totally good enough for you, • But then an interview reporter grabs you and you’re whisked away, • At this point you’re used to it, them Interviewers - they’re everywhere, • “Y/N congratulations on the silver medal! It must have something to do with the face paint?” • The lady smiles brightly and you laugh a little, • “It must be, it was Tae’s idea to show we meant business,” • The lady laughs at this, and starts to ask questions about your latest comeback and the paint, noting how you may have started a new fashion trend, the concept of your new song and making you rap a little bit of your verse, to which your fans scream, • Wow we love a supportive family, • They make your heart race as always as you wave to them, • “One quick thing before you go, Y/N, I don’t suppose you’ve heard your fans talk about you and wanna ones Kang Daniel?” • You’re heart drops at that and you blush, laughing nervously, • “I’ve seen a few things, but don’t know a lot about it,” • You’re such a great liar damn no one suspects a thing, • “Ah, quite a lot of fans are shipping you; saying you’d make a very cute couple,” • You know this is very much a breach of privacy and kinda rude, but you’re known for being quite laid back in your group, so you’re not thrown, although maybe a little lost for words,

• And answers, • And anything that won’t give away your small crush on the member of wanna one, • “ Ah, I think our fans are right, Daniel is very cute and charming, although I’ve not really got the opportunity to get to know him yet,” • Lmao smooth, • Yeah right, you’re pretty obvious, • Although you’re sort of mortified by the fact you’ve inadvertently just said 1) Daniel is very cute to thousands of people and 2) you basically ship the two of you, • You do your natural thing and play it off as if you just told them your first name, • You hear some laughing nearby and quickly glance to spot where you recognise Ong Seongwoo and Kim Jaehwan slapping Daniel himself on the back, way too close, his cheeks bright red and a soft smile on his face as the cameras, no doubt, zoom in on him, • He waves a little when he sees you looking, • Wow what is a normal heart rate,

• You laugh, • At least you’re not the only one to get a taste of this embarrassment, • You’re not alone in your suffering, • And you nearly run away to hide when the interviewer motions Daniel to come closer and he actually complies, • What a snake, • He greets the interviewer and the two of you bow to each other all flushed, not knowing how to stand next to each other, • It’s all very awkward wow, • You know you’ve all been in the situation where you’re with that family member and they’ve already asked about school/work and now have nothing to say, • yeah idk if that’s too specific, • “Daniel, I don’t suppose you’ve heard about the fans shipping either? How do you feel about it?” • You want to melt as Daniels eyes meet yours and a smile stretches across his face, • “I think y/n’s music is incredible and she’s very cute and I’d like to get to know her more,” • You’re dead, • Daniels whole face is red as his eyes skim everywhere and he laughs a little, • This is so weird and unheard of, don’t fans usually not want their idols to date? Aren’t there many things and rules about this? • (y'all it’s stupid it’s their own life let idols date if they want) • But here you are, stood next to your crush, both of you blushing messes, getting set up by your own fans, • “Well that’s very interesting, make sure to get to know each other later,”

• The MC/interviewer chirps and you laugh and stay cool as always, proud you haven’t let anything show except for maybe a slight blush, • Daniel goes to leave but quickly throws his arms around you, giving you a hug at the speed of light before flying away,

• You can hear the fans in the stadium squeal jeez, • Wow, what just happened??? • You quickly jog back to your group who’s hanging out with GFriend and Seventeen after having to send some aegyo to the crowd, • You nearly died of the embarrassment and cringe, but soldiered through, • Let’s just say you get roasted, • Apparently everyone in your group is a savage???? Do they hate you???? Wish for your torment????? • Nah they’re just your best friends, • And just when you’re forgetting about your interview ordeal, your group gets called for the relay race you’re all determined to conquer, having perfect harmony for the change over, • While you may not be the tallest, you’re all fast as hell, having run away from your manager a couple of times, • Lmao you just wanted boba tea, • But you draw more paint, all slightly different, onto the others’ faces before heading over to the track to show everyone what running actually is, • You run last, which is a lot of pressure wow, • And your member is running towards you and they’re neck and neck with a member of twice like damn, • But you take the baton smooth as hell and your legs move quicker than you can compute, almost leaving your torso behind as you focus your whole mind on faster, smoother, faster, • As you’re speeding past you spot Daniel out of the corner of your eye yelling and you can hear your name and wow, • Your heart starts hammering even harder and your head goes a little dizzy, your legs stumbling a little, • But nah you don’t let no boy get in the way of your gold medal as you steam ahead and wow, • 1st place what a gem, • I mean it’s your 3rd gold medal in relay, you guys holding the title, just champs I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ • When sport 💪💪 is life ✌✌✌ can’t let anyone 👨👩 beat you 💃💃 • I hate myself, • But then Daniel’s doing relay as well so you make sure to cheer equally as loud, • Which is hard when you’re still catching your breath, • Who needs Oxygen anyway??? • And the little shit has the audacity to, very obviously, send you a wink, • An unmistakable wink, • What sort of out of the world confidence does he have, he was in 2nd place as well, • As much as you’re shook, it makes you a little soft, but no one will leT yOu lIVE, • All slapping your back or ruffling your hair, • The DeFianCe??? • But you go to get a water bottle and who do you run into? • Yeah, Daniel, • “Congrats on gold~” • His soft tone, • wow, • His soft smile, • Wow, • The two if you actually talking? • W o w, • “Hey I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to put you in the spot and-” • Lmao yeah, maybe you feel bad a lil for dragging him into what may be a nightmare of always being asked about each other, • “No it’s okay, I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time, I meant it when I said you where cute,” • Wow you’re a goner for this rookie, • “So did I,” • Wow smooth, not awkward at all,

• “I like the paint by the way, but it makes you a little scary when you’re not smiling,” • Lmao the idea was for you and the squad to look scary and badass especially for the broadcast, • Little do the fans know the next Comeback has a fierce concept, • Lmao playing with fans wow that’s always fun 🙃🙃🙃 • “Here,” • You bring your face paint tub out and hold it up for him, raising an eye brow in question, • He laughs and nods goofily, to which you crack the paint out,

• You run a finger from his forehead down to his jawline in neat straight lines doing down, his skin soft and warm, the look when he closes his eyes so innocent and pure, • Get you a soft man,

• It makes your hand tingle and you’re heart race at the close proximity, standing on your tiptoes and resting a hand on his shoulder for support, • It’s only when you’ve finished do you realise his is now pretty much identical to yours, • WhoOps ACcIDenTS HaPPEn, • But he still looks damn cute, • And you know a fancam of this will be all over the internet later, • Hey; you may even share it on a private account who can say????? • And wow if you don’t continue to spend the rest of the ISAC’s together, taking stupid pictures with people and giving the internet a heart attack, • By the end of the day it seems almost all idols have some sort of facepaint? • A star or a couple of lines of just a smudge done by a member of their group, • A trend starter? • But you’re all leaving the arena with the SqUAD, • But then a hand gently takes your wrist and Daniel leads you to the side of the corridor with your group mates sending teasing smirks over the shoulder to you, • With a shy smile he holds out a piece of paper folded neatly and you can see the outline of numbers written on it, • You laugh lightly, taking the paper and carefully tucking it into your pocket, • “Text me when you get home?” • You nod, knowing you’ll spend too long deciding whether to say 'heya’ or 'hi’ and then make a split second decision and put something else entirely, • And Daniel is just way too cute for you to take, • He makes a move to leave, eyes hovering over you, before slowly leaning over and gently placing his lips on your forehead, ever so sweet, before nodding, smiling quickly and sliding away

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azlyrics85 · 4 years ago

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Around the Web: Lockdown Lyrics. Poet Praise. Sneaker Snafu. Tinseltown Typing. Expensive Ephemera. Art Aging. Prying Pixels. Picturephone Promo. Transdermal Transponder. Busy Beaver.

The musical British circle of relatives who wittily chronicle lockdown existence. Marking the bicentenary of John Keats’ death. Adidas seeks to ditch its received Reebok brand. “warm typewriter action” scenes from pinnacle films.

The booming marketplace for “nonfungible tokens”—digital art, ephemera, and media. An oil painter who makes a speciality of lenticular artwork. The “undercover agent pixels” in electronic mail messages that tune you. A promotional film for 1964’s pre-Zoom Picturephone, a commercial dud. Why “Zoom fatigue” is a actual thing. The aptly named DangerousThings helps you to inject chips and sensors into your body, for a few motive. A “rescue beaver” is compelled to block up open areas—indoors. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s Martian miscellany.Marsh insanity AZlyrics way lower back in April, toward the start of “all this,” across the web related to the Marshes, a completely gifted English family that commenced recording tune parodies of their residing room that spoofed the then-new lockdown existence. Their motion pictures have gone, um, viral, and the new york instances brings us up to date on how they've handed the numerous British lockdowns. Meet the Marshes — Ben, Danielle, and their four children Alfie, 14, Thomas, 13, Ella, 11 and Tess, 9 — a own family from the English city of Faversham that has received unexpected repute for their revamped, tongue-in-cheek cover tunes about life in times of Covid. This six-voice choir, with its candy harmonies and the occasional wobbly word, is developing songs that dramatize the mundane moments of lockdown existence, from an excessive amount of screen time to the horrors of far flung gaining knowledge of….“We feel a bit bit like we will put things into words that occasionally different humans wouldn’t say — or struggle to say,” said Ben, the father, throughout a Zoom interview from his home, adding that they was hoping to bring humans some “fun and own family.”And now they ring in 2021 with their rendition of “general Eclipse of the heart”—“absolutely constant wherein we're.”What’s a Grecian Urn? last week marked the bicentenary of the demise of English poet John Keats, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. The mother or father has a spherical-up of the activities that were taking vicinity (commonly in the uk) to mark the event. The Poetry Society and the Keats residence Hampstead are operating together to mark the anniversary. The society has commissioned poets Ruth Padel, Rachael Boast and could Harris to jot down poems stimulated by means of Keats. Padel changed into inspired with the aid of his Ode to a Nightingale, Harris spoke back to Hyperion, and Boast to whilst i have Fears That I may additionally quit to Be…. … The Keats-Shelley Memorial residence in Rome, where Keats died, has released an immersive video excursion of the residence, led by rock megastar and philanthropist Bob Geldof, to mark the anniversary. Geldof, who is the Keats-Shelley200 ambassador, is likewise narrating a video story for the museum, The demise of Keats, wherein he'll read from letters that inform the tale of Keats’s time within the house and his demise. “Keats and the residence in Rome imply a lot to me, and it turned into a pride to work on these tasks for the bicentenary of his dying,” said Geldof. Geldof’s excursion may be watched with a VR headset or on a ordinary display, whilst a breathtaking tour of the residence with a live guide will also be to be had on 23 February…. … “Keats didn’t recollect himself to be a Romantic poet, however I think he knew he changed into a poet working on the vanguard of language and the creativeness, traits which nonetheless maintain actual,” stated Giuseppe Albano, curator of Keats-Shelley house. “after which there’s the irresistibly unhappy tale of his lifestyles and loss of life, as well as his letters, which might be a few of the freshest and deftest within the English language. It never ceases to amaze me simply how a whole lot love he evokes in site visitors to the Keats-Shelley residence, and the way his paintings has the energy to attract human beings in and join them. hundred years after his demise, Keats’s poetry has in no way been more alive or more loved.” Discarded footwear once upon a time, Reeboks were the final in cool, however it’s unhappy to look—after a staunchly defended acquisition—Adidas now seeking to ditch them. Says commercial enterprise Insider: Adidas received Reebok in 2006 for more or less $three.8 billion in an try to higher compete with Nike, however the brand has published disappointing income figures in latest years. Adidas stated Tuesday that it has started a proper technique to divest from Reebok, pivoting to consciousness on its core brand. The (type)Write Stuff The word “hot typewriter action” may not be one you listen plenty, but, thru Boing Boing, here is The Typewriter by video essayist Ariel Avissar, “a group of warm typewriter motion as seen in movies and television suggests.” we've two demanding situations for you: call every movie, and call every typewriter. The soundtrack is, of path, Leroy Anderson’s “The Typewriter,” a concerto for orchestra and solo typewriter.could you pay nearly $six hundred,000 for an animated cat with a Pop-Tart body? No, nor could we, but the big apple instances had a tale this week on the growing market for—hoo boy—“nonfungible tokens” (NFTs) or, basically, “digital artwork, ephemera and media.” inside the 10 years on the grounds that Chris Torres created Nyan Cat, an animated flying cat with a Pop-Tart frame leaving a rainbow trail, the meme has been regarded and shared throughout the net hundreds of millions of times. On Thursday, he positioned a one-of-a-type model of it up on the market on basis, a website for buying and selling digital goods. inside the very last hour of the public sale, there has been a bidding conflict. Nyan Cat become bought to a user diagnosed handiest by using a cryptocurrency wallet range. The charge? more or less $580,000. curiously, “The buyers are normally not obtaining copyrights, emblems or maybe the sole possession of something it's far they purchase. They’re buying bragging rights and the expertise that their reproduction is the ‘authentic’ one. different virtual tokens lately bought include a clip of LeBron James blocking off a shot in a Lakers basketball recreation that went for $one hundred,000 in January and a Twitter publish through Mark Cuban, the investor and Dallas Mavericks owner, that went for $952. New instructions in artwork How tons unique The photograph of Dorian gray might have been if the titular libertine had had his portrait painted through Spanish artist Sergi Cadenas. An “optical artwork artist,” Cadenas is perhaps first-rate known for his lenticular oil portray approach, lenticular being a kind of photo that adjustments based on the route at which you are viewing it. His technique is described by using the Galeria Jordi Barnadas (which reveals his paintings) as “plac[ing] thin vertical lines made with portray paste on the canvases and, as soon as the paste is dry, paints unique pics on every of the two sides of the almost two hundred lines.” He uses the lenticular approach to “seize via portray: the passing of the years, the concept of loss of life, intelligence against physical beauty, equality of races or contrary feelings.” E, spy despite the fact that we've got located that many humans do not study emails, it seems that electronic mail may be reading them. Writes the BBC with reference to “spy pixels”: tracking pixels are commonly a .GIF or .PNG file that is as small as 1x1 pixels, that is inserted into the header, footer or body of an e-mail. considering the fact that they often display the colour of the content beneath, they may be not possible to spot with the bare eye even in case you understand wherein to appearance. Recipients do now not want to click on a link or do anything to activate them past open an electronic mail they are embedded in. British airways, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Sainsbury's, Tesco, HSBC, Marks & Spencer, Asos and Unilever are among united kingdom brands hi there detected to be using them. however their use was lots extra big notwithstanding many contributors of the public being unaware of it, said Mr Hansson. AZlyrics What do they do? Emails pixels can be used to log: if and whilst an e mail is opened how frequently it's miles opened what tool or gadgets are worried the consumer's hard bodily location, deduced from their internet protocol (IP) address - in a few instances making it viable to look the road the recipient is on This statistics can then be used to determine the impact of a specific e-mail campaign, in addition to to feed into more exact patron profiles. Pre-Zoom Zoom Given how regular Skype, Zoom, groups, Meet, etc., are actually in our lives (and have been for numerous years before COVID), it’s fun to assume that for many years the “videophone” changed into a perennially doomed commercial mission. working example, AT&T’s Picturephone, which turned into brought at the 1964 world’s fair, launched commercially (handiest in Pittsburgh and Chicago) in 1970, and then discontinued the subsequent year after no one bought it. (there is a neat records of videophones at Engineering and technology history Wiki.) We carry this up due to the fact Boing Boing lately unearthed a Nineteen Seventies AT&T Bell Labs promotional film for the Picturephone. put up-Zoom Snooze if you discover Zooming (and we're the usage of the term in a general sense to consult videoconferencing, despite the fact that we should just as effortlessly—or more without difficulty, given the length of this rationalization—have used the term “videoconferencing”) to be as laborious as this sentence, there's a cause—4 of them, really. Or so are the findings of a new observe out from Stanford college as regards to “Zoom fatigue.” The take a look at seems in the journal era, thoughts, and behavior. the first motive for Zoom Fatigue cautioned by way of Bailenson is the kingdom of confused hyper-arousal generated with the aid of excessive stretches of close-up eye contact. in contrast to an in-person meeting, wherein individuals will shift from looking at a speaker to different sports, consisting of word taking, on Zoom everyone is always observing all and sundry…. …Bailenson says the steady barrage of complex non-verbal cues, both being despatched and received, throughout a Zoom interaction can be a primary have an effect on on the novel feel of fatigue generated through the technology. He shows long Zoom conferences ought to require audio-simplest breaks, to assist relieve the cognitive load of video interactions…. …perhaps the strangest a part of current videoconferencing is one’s reflection constantly staring lower back from the display screen. …[T]here may be a small negative affect generated by means of extensive replicate picture viewing, and this is probably underpinned via the way a mirrored image of oneself amplifies essential self-assessment. however Bailenson factors out this specific element is possibly the maximum profoundly understudied issue of videoconferencing as most previous mirror-image research has simplest focused on the have an effect on of seeing oneself for short periods of time. One for the Cutters We’re no longer positive this is a specifically suitable idea, but the name of the organization is a quite desirable warning. via Core77: “A Seattle-based totally business enterprise called DangerousThings.com sells small NFC, RFID and NTAG chips that you could inject into your body, via a syringe and a large-ass 5mm-diameter needle that additionally they sell.” Uh…good enough. but wait, there’s extra: additionally they provide this larger, programmable FlexMN Magic NTAG chip that may be "mounted" by using reducing your hand open and putting it below the pores and skin. for additonal bling, the chip has embedded LED lighting that may be seen thru your skin. The enterprise hurries up to add, “The flexMN transponder has now not been examined or certified through any regulatory organisation for implantation or use in the human body.” Caveat emptor, to be sure. “[T]he company recommends ‘expert installation’ for the FlexMN”—properly, random googling should help discover a hand-slicing-open-and-chip-putting expert. however for folks that like the DIY approach, “in addition they promote scalpels, a ‘numbing gel’ topical anesthetic and a pain control package along with ‘a collection of substances biohackers had been acknowledged to apply in live performance to provide a localized anesthetic ache blocking off effect.’” Which all begs the query, why would one need to try this? The Core77 article gives a sequence of motion pictures of the corporation’s no longer simply-proprietor-however-consumer the usage of it to release a smart door, unlock a computer, start a automobile or motorcycle, “We consider our our bodies are our very own, to do with what we need,” the organization writes. “Biohacking is leading the next segment of human evolution, and we are excited to be part of it.” We’ll pass on that one. Wynning Podcasts via The Verge, “Wynn motels announced today that it’s making an investment $3.5 million in Blue twine, a sports podcasting network, in a deal that’ll include the build out of a podcasting studio in the Wynn Las Vegas’ foyer.” EFI actually has to take this over for the next in-person join. Dam It! although we've got heard of rescue dogs, rescue cats, and so on., we had no concept that there has been a “rescue beaver.” thru Core77, Nancy Coyne a wildlife rehabilitation expert who adopts younger, orphaned animals of many species, did in fact take in an abandoned beaver puppy. there may be, however, a drawback to adopting a rescue beaver: “interior, ‘Beav’ has the hilarious addiction of spontaneously growing dams where he perceives voids, using household objects.” AZlyrics

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phipitology · 4 years ago

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Journal log - Week 3

Early on when I was a freshman, I used to not have much keen on marketing. It’s not that it is not interesting. Rather, I used to think that my personality does not have what it takes to be a good marketer. While I know ‘good’ is an overarching term, but I used to have this mindset that a marketer should be compelling, persuasive, risk-taking- all-in-all an extrovert in a nutshell. However, the more I immerse myself in marketing studies, the more I learn that it is so much more than that. In fact, I feel that my low self-esteem, constant self-doubt and insecurities won’t do me any favor in any kind of social setting, let alone in a professional business that sooner or later we will all get to dwell into. This week, we learn about personal branding that gives me new perspective and embracing ourselves as a unique individual.

If anything, growing up with social media doesn’t stop me from having a love-and-hate relationship with it. In my adolescence I used to think that it was better for me to ‘live off the grid’ (of course, in a social media sense). I remembered how dreadful it was (- though sometime still is) to scroll Instagram, because it’s reminding me of how I have been missing out in life and it slowly draining my thoughts with comparison.

My idealistic plan after graduating high school was having a fresh start in uni and somehow manage to socialize with zero social media presence. I mean why not? I probably can name one or two people that is popular in real life that basically have no social updates in Facebook or Instagram. Okay, I might not be able to name my friends but Daniel Radcliff? Emma Stone? They are very popular without any kind of social media trace.

But now I’m realizing, they may not have a social media presence, but they already have a bigger presence in an even bigger media platform- so much that it probably makes them far off better without Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

But then who am I compares to them? I realized that maybe I can strive (a little) without social media, but I can’t really escape it, like Mr. Jeremy Lee said: make the media works for you instead.

Self-awareness is indeed a life-time journey and I can say for myself that adolescence is the phase that shape our personality (read: I didn’t change much since highschool).

I remember how my friends used to identify me as someone with ‘weird’ taste. By weird, they meant I’m having an ‘old-cemetery-like’ taste because I used to listen to The Cure in my old iPod touch (back then that my iPod was already considered ‘ancient’ and I’m still using it till now). It felt like I am a weird misfit character that falls somewhere in the middle of emo girl and low-tech grandma. Later in college where I can pick my own everyday outfit, I become more confident to wear unique clothes with daring colors. At times my girlfriends would pick up stuffs while we are at the mall and said “this is so YOU”, and somehow it makes me happy that my friend actually understands my taste. These labels seem to stuck with me until today.

Even though it is not ‘wise’ to create a personal branding basing on other people’s opinion, but somehow, I’m rolling with it. I see it in this way: I can acknowledge who I am and what I am through my friends because they are kindly enough to be a mirror so I can look and understand myself better.

With this blog (phipitology) I wanted to make a new brand of myself that values being grounded, raising climate change awareness, efforts on composting, recycling, minimalism, and everything in between. The blog is my personal diary to keep track on my efforts and I also run its Instagram account serving as an album. I know the title might sound silly, but it is a mix of my nickname phipitomus (again this nickname was given from my friend in elementary and I’m still sticking with it) and ecology = phipitology. Furthermore, I still want to appear quirky with the popping color blocks in the header, but keeping things ‘natural’ with green and yellow as the main colors.

At first, I was dreaming that maybe someday I can be an ‘influencer’ for the values that I held in and raising awareness in the community. However, I am aware that I have not given the dedication and consistency that it needed, and now I’m not sure whether I’m still going towards the goal.

But as time goes, I’m also aware that I should have just doing this for fun, even though this year is far away from being fun. What is important for me now is I’m still doing the effort that I want: baby steps towards eco-friendly living. After all, brand is constantly developing and evolves.

Who knows maybe in a couple of years I’ll have more time and energy to pull the effort to expand phipitology as my personal branding.

Me as a quirky lil girl:

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dansphlevels · 7 years ago

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Are you gonna publish part five to yellow roses soon? Because I'm in love with it.

Oh, I guess I could throw something together :)

Yellow Roses Pt. 5 of 6

Read part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, or read the whole thing on Ao3 here!

Summary: Dan has a wife who just loves the flowers he keeps getting for her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know about the attractive florist who sends hidden messages with each bouquet that her husband might just be falling for.

Length: 3k words

Themes: meaning of flowers, florbidden love, historical, flowershop au

The hickeys from the previous night were darkened into small bruises, their origin clear to anyone who might see them.

Because of them, Dan was forced to wear a collared shirt or jacket. After all, if Rose saw them, she’d know they weren’t her doing. Rose never left marks like that- they were much too rough for her liking- and besides, ever since Phil left, Dan had hardly touched his wife. After the party ended, the went their separate ways, Rose to take off the expensive makeup and clothes, and Dan to quickly shed his clothes and fall into bed, and hope that no one came in. They rose late and had a very quiet day, almost strangely so. The maids and servants finished cleaning up from the party, sweeping solemnly. Dan read his paper. Rose sewed. They sipped tea in the same room, though they hardly even looked at each other. Dan tried to read the paper, he really did. But he just couldn’t turn his thoughts off. The night before, he’d been so exhausted and it had been so late, that he had no trouble turning off his mind and turning in. But now, under the refreshment of daylight, Dan had to confront the thoughts gnawing at his mind. Phil’s voice in the closet, deep and sensual, though it could hardly hide his hurt. “You thought you could play us both?“Dan had felt line he needed to make a choice- Phil or Rose. And he’d made a choice, though perhaps ignoring the problem only added to it. Dan supposed that he had been cowardly, choosing the third choice that was never an option. It always came back to the same issues. Love or safety? Wrong… or right?Before Dan’s father had passed away, he’d been a list maker. He made lists for every decision, every occasion; bedtime, money, parties, gambling, books, clothes, people. So Dan sighed, pulled out a piece of paper, and began to write. RosePros:safe optionstay living at home richgood lifenicealready marriedIt was a pretty solid list. Dan moved on to Phil’s pros:PhilPros: -Dan grunted. This felt wrong, and he didn’t even know what to write. Closing his eyes, Dan forced himself to put the pen back on paper and write.PhilPros: - flowers- butterflies in stomach- love being around him- kisses- beatif-"Dan?”He almost jumped out of his seat. “Mmhm?” He mumbled, lips pressed together. Rose’s brows were creased. “I was just wondering what you were writing.”“Oh, just some ideas. It’s nothing.” It wasn’t the answer Rose wanted, but she mumbled an “oh” and went back to her sewing. Dan looked at his list. He felt like a kid again, weighing the pros and cons of catching a mouse from one of the gardens and hiding it inside, or stealing one of his father’s books to read. This was childish; shouldn’t he just know the right answer? Why couldn’t he have both?“You have to choose.” Phil’s voice resurfaced in Dan’s memory, making him shake his head in annoyance. If he chose to stay married to Rose, and continue his affair with Phil, then Phil would leave him. He was right back to where he started. The choice felt obvious. The problem was, Dan didn’t know which one was the obvious answer. He pulled out a fresh piece of paper, with no list on it, and scribbled down a new request for flowers- “something pretty with cattails in it”. He needed to see Phil, to talk to him about his struggled choosing. And that sort of talk could only be had in the dark, with no one around to see them. Dan looked at his lists again, realizing he hadn’t added any cons. He quickly scribbled in the headers, then slowly added to each list. RoseCons: -unsure about love?-arranged marriagePhilCons:-man-I’m married-we couldn’t stay here-abandoning RoseIt was a con that Phil was a man, of course, because no matter where they could possibly go, Dan didn’t know if they could ever be accepted living together. It truly wasn’t reasonable. Dan sent the request for flowers, and waited.—-“I didn’t know if I’d hear from you again,” Phil muttered, walking forwards. He wore a thick jacket that concealed most of his form. It was another full moon, with the light shining off of it just enough for Dan to see the shadows on his lover’s face, maybe just from the darkness, but maybe from lack of sleep. Dan knew the feeling; tossing and turning all night long, miserable in your thoughts. Dan stepped forwards too, until they were close enough to see the color of each other’s eyes. Less than an arm’s length apart, though they did not touch. “Of course you’d hear from me,” Dan said, answering Phil’s question. “Why wouldn’t you?”The dark figure shrugged. “Didn’t know. Thought that maybe, you’d made your choice.” It had been a few days since the party, and they hadn’t seen each other since. This night felt different from the other night, colder, more dangerous. Something was going to go wrong. The question was- what?Dan examined Phil’s face, pale in the moonlight. His blue eyes were grey in the dim, and yes, his eyebags were more present than usual. He was an ominous figure, though he smelt of flowers. “I wanted to talk to you, about that actually,” the brown haired man said, shifting uncomfortably. “I need help making the choice.” Phil looked up with an emotion that Dan couldn’t read - anger? Disgust? Lack of understanding? “You want me… to help you choose? So you’re saying there’s a choice?” Dan stepped back, his hands twitching nervously. “Of course there’s a choice! Phil, this is my life, I can’t just throw it away, just like that!” He expected Phil to retaliate. He expected to get in a full-fledged screaming match. Instead, the man stayed quiet. A few yards away, the river trickled quietly, and crickets chirped. Dan’s breaths were audible. Phil bit his lip, his face fully illuminated by the glow of the moon. “I have a life too,” he said quietly, his voice racked with pain. “I have a job. A house. Friends. And I’d give it up, for love. For you.” He turned away as if it were too painful to look at Dan. “At least, I thought I would.” A branch crunched somewhere nearby, and their gazes both shot up, looking for the source. No noises followed. “Probably an animal,” Daniel suggested, his mouth dry. “Dogs come out this time of night,” he added, unhelpfully. Phil shook his head, still upset. “I’m not a second option. I- I want to get married.”

Dan looked up, observing his features. “I want to get married, maybe not now, but some day. I want a family. What we have now, sneaking around, pretending…. it doesn’t work for me. I need something real.”“This is real.” Phil hesitated. “I need something… that I can count on. I’m done waiting for your messages, if I’m going to be in a relationship, I’m going to do it right.” Dan licked his lips, looking away. “How would we do it, anyways. Phil… we’re two men! We can’t get married!” His voice raised again, but Phil’s remained slow and steady, solid. “I don’t know,” he said, his voice firm. “But I refuse to keep doing this. You have to make a choice.” Anger filled Dan’s stomach, making him feel almost sick. Who does he think he is? Dan thought. I can’t just give everything I’ve ever known up!“Fine!” He spat. “Then I’m staying with my wife. Relationships are all about comprise, Phil, and if you can’t respect my needs, then maybe we should just leave each other alone!”Phil’s anger showed on his face, but his restraint showed in his hands curled into fists, his stiff posture. “You- fine. If you don’t want me, then I’m not sticking around. Find someone else to use!” “Fine!” “Fine!” Phil stormed away, before whirling around, and before he knew what happening, Phil’s lips were against his, so rough and forceful and angry that all Dan wanted to do was hold him. And then he was gone. And he could hardly breathe.

—

6 days since he’d seen Phil. 6 days since he’d had a peaceful night’s sleep. 6 days since he’d been kissed. And 6 days since he’d done just about anything. A few weeks ago, Dan had liked his bed okay. It was a nice bed, who cared? But now, he loved his bed. “Who needs Phil,” he would whisper into the piles of blankets, “when I have you?”Despite all the time he’d spent in bed, his eyebags just grew. Rose had had a doctor come over and check him out, and the results were inconclusive. “You should try going for a walk, or having a nice meal,” the doctor suggested helpfully. Dan groaned and rolled over, yanking the covers over his head. “I don’t want to go on a walk!” He whined, the words completely distorted by the pillow he talked into. On the fifth day, one of the maids came in, a bright blush on her cheeks. “Mr. Howell?”“You woke me up!” Daniel complained loudly, though that wasn’t true. “I don’t care, just ask Rose.” “I don’t know if you want Rose to see this.” She explained nervously, holding a piece of paper. Dan narrowed his eyes. “What does that say? Read it to me.” He seldom snapped at maids like that, but he was miserable, and if he was miserable than everyone else should be too. The blush on the maids cheeks spread. “Um… ‘Rose. Pros. Safe option, stay living at home…”Dan’s eyes widened as he realized what it was. “Give that to me!” He ordered, practically yelling. The maid, a young woman- still a girl, practically- winced and rushed it over to him. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to find it, I didn’t read any of it but to see who it belonged to, I won’t tell-” Dan snatched the paper from her hands and stuffed it in his mouth, eating it while the girl watched in horror. “There!” He announced, as soon as he’d swallowed it. How could he have been so stupid as to leave that in the open? “You are not to say a word of this to anyone, you hear me!” The maid nodded, almost in tears. Normally, Dan would feel remorse, but he was too busy being furious with himself to care. “You can go now, I don’t care.” She scurried away, closing the door quickly behind her. Dan rolled over so his voice was muffled by a pillow, and screamed.

—

“You’re being completely foolish, and it’s not to be tolerated any longer,” the butler said, fixing Daniels suit indignantly. Dan rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, just been a bit ill lately.”“You’ve been a complete twat, if you don’t mind me saying it,” the butler argued, continuing to find things to adjust on Dan’s suit. “Girls, get some powder or something for his eyes, he looks like he hadn’t slept for a month!” “I’m fine, thank you.” “You’re hideous,” the butler argued. “If you don’t mind me saying so.” “I do mind. I should have you fired,” Dan threatened, his voice plain and serious. The man’s eyes sparkled. “I’d like to see you try.” Dan was dressed in the most uncomfortable, unnecessarily costly suit that money could buy. In the latest fashion, it included multiple layers with a long, dark jacket on top- miserable for such a warm day- a buttoned, white shirt, a dark vest, long, well-fitted pants, and a top hat over his messy, coffee colored fringe. The suit was too warm, too stiff, too unnatural. There was no doubt in Dan’s mind that it was bought for him as a sort of punishment, for the way he’d been treating everybody lately. Makeup covered his dark circles, and when he looked in the mirror, it reminded him of what corpses look like, all dressed up in their caskets; tailored and nice, but definitely not alive. Dan was lead to his front hallway, where Rose was waiting. She looked as beautiful and tailored as ever, her maids having styled her nicely in the newest fashions as well. Ever stiffly, they linked arms, and walked out to the carriage awaiting them. They took a day trip to the city, going shopping in the stores and eating a small meal. Dan’s senses were heightened, and despite still being exhausted, he appreciated the fresh air, the good food, even the flowers they saw every so often. In fact, he was almost in a good mood when a police officer came jogging up to them as they window shopped, calling them over. “Is there a problem officer?” Dan inquired politely, though his heart raced. The officer breathed heavily, the smog of the city making exercise even harder. “We’ve been trying to get in contact with you, but everyone we’ve talked to has said you were sick in bed, and refused to have guests.” Dan cleared his throat awkwardly, “Yes, a simple ailment, I’m fine now. What seems to be the problem?”“We’ve arrested a man on… crimes of the indecent.” He lowered his voice, leaning in. “A Mr. Phil Lester was seen a few nights ago engaging in… homosexual activity. We apprehended him, and are currently holding him in a cell here in the city as we figure everything out. I understand you knew him?”Oh God, Phil. “He was just my florist.”

Dan’s stomach turned.

“Well we can use whatever help we can get to figure this out. Would you mind coming to the station and talking with us a bit?” “Of course not. Rose, you should-” “You’re wife too, if you don’t mind. We need a few different perspectives on the man, to see if perhaps whatever homosexual acts he may have committed, have been going on for a while now.” Dan nodded quickly, his entire being shaking. Phil, my Phil, in jail. He imagined the poor man hunched over in some too small cell, no sunlight, no flowers for him to tend to. Dan had been in bed for nearly a week- how long has Phil already spent behind bars?And then there was that other matter, the matter of his crimes. Someone must have been watching them that night they fought. Did they know it was Dan? The police didn’t seem suspicious of him, in any case, but anyone could have seen them, anyone could have been there. Phil’s voice had been quiet and careful, but Dan had thrown caution to the wind with his actions, loud, angry yelling at Phil. Whoever watched them likely didn’t see their faces, but they heard their voices and saw their figures well enough to know it was two men. Dan recalled his yelling, Phil this and Phil that, announcing his lover’s name to the world while he kept his own a secret.

And then they kissed, and it was clear what was going on to anyone who might have seen. Phil was in jail, and it was all Dan’s fault. —Phil was sat on the hard floor of the cell, wearing nothing but a simple shirt and pants, no jacket, no hat. His clothes had small rips in them, like moth holes, and his entire form was covered in a layer of dust and grime. Oh Phil, what have they reduced you to? The once cheery, colorful flower enthusiast was reduced to human waste. Dan scanned the cell, hoping to see dandelions poking through the dirt, something, anything for Phil to watch over. Any shred of plant life, Dan knew would give Phil hope. But alas, there was none. The battered and bruised boy didn’t look up when he and Rose entered, staring at him in quiet horror. Dan’s stomach felt weak, but he forced himself forwards. “Um…. Phil… Lester?” Dan started, not sure what to say. The man’s eyes shot up and stared Dan and Rose down, the blue so intense against all the grays that his gaze seemed to send chills all over Dan’s body. “We’re here to talk to you. We were asked if we could talk to you… about the other night, when you kissed another man.” Phil didn’t seem to hear them. He looked at both Rose and Dan with distaste, his eyes wandering over their forms, observing their clothes, their eyes. It felt as though those eyes could see straight through them, seeing past the eye makeup and fake formalities, reading Dan’s thoughts. Dan’s hands trembled. Rose clutched his arm tighter. “I’m supposed to ask you who the man you were kissing was.” Phil wouldn’t talk to the police. They were hoping someone else could get him to talk. “It was a boy from a brothel,” Phil grumbled quietly, his voice light and airy despite the disuse. “We met in the woods. We argued over prices, and then we kissed. I… I wanted to try it out, see if the reason I couldn’t find a wife was because I didn’t want one.” The statement was bold. But Dan couldn’t help seeing that despite everything he had done to Phil, the florist still protected him. Dan was dressed in the tight, restrictive yet expensive clothing, while Phil was dressed in rags and filth. Dan wanted to reach out to him and say “this is not who we truly are.” But he couldn’t. Dan looked back at the police, who motioned for him to continue. “Um, did you plan on meeting with this… prostitute…. again?” Phil shook his head. “It was a mistake.” Dan’s heart sank. “Right. Of course. And… Do you regret it?” Phil stared at him with such solidarity, it made Dan weak in the knees. “Yes.” Not even a little.“And you’re saying this boy meant nothing to you?”“Correct.” He meant the world to me.“And if released, would you engage in such behavior again?”“No.” Not if you’re still married.“It will be a while before he is released,” the officer interrupted. “My guess is two years, minimum. He’ll be moved to another facility Wednesday morning, a longer term one.” He eyes Dan. “You might want to get a new florist.” Dan almost threw up.“Let’s go,” Rose whispered hopefully. Dan nodded weakly. “Well… in that case, yes, I suppose we’ll just have to find someone new. It’s a shame, but I’m sure it can be done. Have a good day, officer.” “You too, thanks for your help.” Dan turned and left, refusing to look back over his shoulder. But even without looking, he knew Phil was still sitting there, watching him with those piercing blue eyes.

Let me know your reactions and if you’re excited for the next chapter in my ask box here!

(The final chapter of Yellow Roses will be posted on Tuesday, Aug 15, unless you can convince me to post it sooner!)

Fic Masterlist

#dansPHlevels #fanfic #fanfiction #phanfic #phanfiction #phan

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madebymixy · 7 years ago

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September

SUZANNE VEGA – ‘MR PINKLE’ – BRIGHTON

I love Brighton but not visited for a long time. So when I saw Suzanne Vega would be playing there in September I just had to book, and we had a break by the sea for a couple of days.

14 year old me sang her little heart out along to Marlene on the Wall & Left of Centre amid all the architectural frills and froo-froo of Brighton Dome. Bliss!

Just before the trip I got a little clip on fish-eye lens contraption for my phone. When I wasn’t taking pictures distorted into circles, I was finding round things to take photos of too (seems to be the way my mind works, it latches onto a theme and won’t let it go. Often it’s completely unconscious at the time, then I notice when I look back.)

Back home I made a new friend – a visiting cat I named ‘Pinkle’, because of her very pretty pink nose and ears. Some while later Pinkle’s other humans informed us she’s a he-cat, so he’s now known as ‘Mr Pinkle‘.

Listening to: Jon Ronson’s Butterfly Effect ~ Burning Man Essentials (2016) ~ Sleepdealer

October

LISTS OF LISTS – PLANNING PLANS – 100 DAY PROJECT

October saw the end to a few projects, releasing some brain-RAM to take stock of where I was and what was to come next.

This notebook is home to the lists of lists, the home to my brain dumps. It reminds me of the Hitch hiker’s guide to the galaxy. The HHGTTG has the simple instruction on the cover Don’t panic, the cover of the guide to my universe has Begin at the beginning, Go on till you come to the end, then stop.

This was the month I completed my 100 day project I started back in June. It taught me lots of indirect lessons, way more than just practising the motor skills of drawing. I began the under-doodles in my sketchbookprojectsketchbook

Listening to Wun Two ~ Alan Watts ~ Rob Bell: What is the Bible?

November

ROYAL ALBERT HALL – CHRISTMAS AT KEW – DIGITAL COLLAGE POSTCARDS

Teenage me had another giddy moment in November, Imelda May at the Royal Albert Hall. I didn’t know her music at all before, and it’s not quite my bag, but the gig ended with her being joined by her ‘special surprise guests’: Ronnie Wood & Bob Geldof! Holy Moly!

I had the biggest crush on Bob Geldof when I was a young thing (and – relatively speaking – so was he), it’s strange to see him as a grey haired old man. There’s a part of me that remains unconvinced the last 20-30 years have really gone by, I see him circa 1980.

I spent some time revisiting art I’ve made over the years and designed a set of postcards this month which was a lot of fun and I was so pleased with how they came out I designed and ordered another set straight away. There are still a few left in my Etsy shop if you’re interested

This month I finally got the set of Daniel Smith watercolors I’d been daydreaming over since I saw them reviewed online! Yes, they are pricey, yes they are totally worth it! I’ve had a word with Santa, and I believe I’ve some more headed my way very soon! Thesecolors are vibrant and lush, and I’m using them in my Sketchbookprojectsketchbook (more on that in the near future!)

Finally I got my antlers on & the holiday buzz began with a trip to see the Christmas lights at Kew Gardens.

Listening to Henry Wu ~ The Little Book of Ikagi by Ken Mogi ~ Confusing Boogie

December

TWELVTY ENDING/NEW BEGINNING – CHRIMBLE BEGINS – SNOW-DAYS!!

Of course as I type this to you, the month is just half way through, but already we’ve had some snow (this is England, land of the bland weather, we get very excitable when it snows!)

The holidays are just around the corner, the tree is up, the pressies are wrapped, everything is feeling sparkly.

I met up with a bunch of my family in London at the weekend (there are many of us – just 12 at this little gathering) – some I hadn’t seen in more years than I like to remember, and some were so young at the time they didn’t remember. It still feels weird being one of the grown ups at a gathering like this.

I’m almost at the end of my year full of color, TWELVTY. Although it wasn’t my intention when I set out, I’m really looking forward to taking another trip around the color wheel in 2018. As I finish this year I’m honing and polishing the content for next year. It’s gonna be so much fun – if you’d like to know more you can find out here!

Listening to Tomppabeats ~ Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens – Eddie Izzard ~ Lux

What a year it’s been! I hope your 2017 has brought good things to your life, and you’re able to find some time in the coming weeks to reflect and plan ahead for what’s to come next.

In the last 12 days of the year (beginning tomorrow) I’ll be sharing the 12 months of color that have made up TWELVTY. Meanwhile…

If you’d like regular monthly updates on my latest colorful antics, delivered right to your inbox (all the good stuff I don’t share here on the blog + special discounts on my classes and Etsy things) Hop on my mail-list right here:

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2017 reflections 3 of 3 September SUZANNE VEGA - 'MR PINKLE' - BRIGHTON I love Brighton but not visited for a long time.

#2017 #christmas 2017 #november 2017 #october 2017 #reflecting #september 2017 #year in review

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sportsleague365 · 8 years ago

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WINNERS Sam Allardyce, constantly surprising Two goals from three shots on target. A total of 229 completed passes in 90 minutes. Winning while enjoying just 27.1% possession. Oh Sam, you beautiful b*stard. There are caveats to this Crystal Palace improvement. They were fortunate to beat Chelsea on Saturday, Allardyce’s net spend in January was more than any other Premier League manager and he has only moved them up from 17th to 16th since taking over, but see if Palace supporters care. The mood at the club is transformed – although it did take some time. Is this a mid-table team next season? One interesting aspect of Palace’s tactics under Allardyce on Saturday is that they were not as formulaic as we might have expected. The presumption was that Big Sam would pick Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha and tell both to get as high up the pitch as possible before crossing the ball into the box for Christian Benteke. That would be supplemented by long balls up to the striker for him to either chase down or win in the air. The classic Allardyce away performance, if you will. That did not happen. To Ed Taylor, Football365 Mailbox regular: ‘Palace lined up in a Christmas tree formation, something El Tel was partial to using. It also enabled the Eagles to use a tactic they’ve employed previously, where the lone striker drifts wide and can out-muscle a full-back, while the wide men target an overmatch on speed against the centre-backs.’ Benteke was asked to compete in the air when Palace were relieving pressure (15 aerial duels), but this was far from ‘classic’ Big Sam. Allardyce is an easy manager to parody and pigeonhole. First he was Mr Prozone and a lover of data, an assessment diluted over time. Then he was Mr Back-to-basics, a manager who cared not for aesthetics but instead the pragmatic, if ungainly, solution to frustrating an opponent. Now that too looks an inaccurate evaluation. Luka Milivojevic While we marvel at Wilfried Zaha and enjoy Mamadou Sakho showing that he is a very good central defender despite the doubters, Palace fans have their own new cult hero to love. His name is Luka Milivojevic, and he’s the best Premier League central midfielder you’ve never heard of. Wilfried Zaha Our early winner, to be added to the list of players that we love more because they are so regularly written off and derided unfairly. Jurgen Klopp’s big game record Klopp has been told that he is in crisis by sections of the media at least twice since his appointment at Anfield in October 2015, but his record against his peers at the top of the Premier League demands that he will retain the patience of the Liverpool board. Klopp’s results against Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton in all competitions since taking over reads as follows: Played – 25 Won – 13 Drawn – 11 Lost – 1 For – 45 Against – 21 It is, should it even need clarifying, the best of any manager in the Premier League, and done on a far smaller budget than many of his rivals. Nobody quite motivates players for the big occasion quite like Klopp. Liverpool’s midfield, but mainly Lucas Leiva You can read plenty on Liverpool and Everton in Matt Stead’s excellent 16 Conclusions, but it’s worth giving Liverpool’s central midfield extra praise. I worried in Big Weekend about the absence of Adam Lallana, but Klopp’s midfield three breezed through. Liverpool’s dominance was assisted by the underperformance of Tom Davies and the abject Ross Barkley (more on that later), but also in the quiet excellence of Georginio Wijnaldum, the discipline of Emre Can and the… well, magnificence of Lucas Leiva. Picked to start in central midfield for the first time in the league since the same fixture almost a year previously, Lucas played as if released from the shackles of central defence. He mopped up superbly, protected his central defenders, won headers against Romelu Lukaku, made more passes than any other player on the pitch, more tackles than any other Premier League player this weekend and covered the most distance of any player in the Merseyside derby. Amazing how much better a midfielder looks when picked in midfield. Marco Silva Hull have now taken 52% of their league points for the season in the ten games since Silva took over, and have a sporting chance of staying up. The Portuguese was rewarded for his bravery in sticking with his two-striker plan against West Ham despite falling behind, and victory over Middlesbrough on Wednesday could well see them climb out of the bottom three for the first time since October. A reminder too that Hull sold two of their key players in January, with Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore leaving for West Ham and West Brom respectively. On the back of that and some rushed business, Silva has engineered a remarkable survival bid. To those who considered his nationality as a hindrance to his success in England, think on. The only shame is that Hull did not appoint ‘the foreign’ sooner. Tottenham Far from the perfect weekend given the injuries sustained by Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama, but Mauricio Pochettino would have taken that weird deal had it been offered on Saturday morning. Tottenham are now nine points ahead of Manchester United having played a game more, and they gained points on every other team around them bar Liverpool. More importantly, there is a sliver of light where the door to the Premier League title is now slightly ajar. Victory at Swansea on Wednesday will have players and manager rushing to watch the last 15 minutes from Stamford Bridge. Arsenal A step backwards in the bid for another season of Champions League football, but baby steps forward in some areas at least. Sure the central midfield options look terrible, there is a problem with both full-backs, David Ospina isn’t good enough, balls are played through the central defenders too easily, the fans are split on the future of the club, Danny Welbeck does not look the same player as before his injury and the two star attacking players may well leave, but at least they came back from behind. Twice! I’ve not sold that well, have I? Craig Shakespeare Has any other top-flight manager begun his managerial career with six straight victories? Take into account the win when caretaker manager at West Brom, and that’s exactly what Shakespeare has done at Leicester. Plenty predicted an upsurge in form after the departure of Claudio Ranieri, but few believed that Shakespeare would inspire the type of form that produced the unthinkable last season. If Leicester win their game in hand, they go above Stoke in ninth. Win on Tuesday against Sunderland, and they might just be there anyway. Mad. Riyad Mahrez More shots on target than any other player this weekend. Some players need motivating to perform, whether that makes you angry or not. Shakespeare has got Mahrez in the mood, and Leicester look infinitely better for it. Cesc Fabregas Created seven chances (three more than any Premier League player at the weekend) and scored Chelsea’s goal. It’s not always been said during Fabregas’ career, but if everyone performed as well as him… Divock Origi Still only 21, but the scorer of crucial goals against Sunderland, West Ham and Everton in the league this season. Origi has the confidence to be a success and, in the absence of Sadio Mane, he’ll get the chance to show Klopp that he merits far more faith than Daniel Sturridge. Watford Another Premier League campaign secured. I look forward to tipping them for relegation again in August under a new manager who looks out of place, only to look stupid again. Adama Traore Eleven completed dribbles on a weekend when no other Premier League player managed more than seven. I’m not saying Traore is a one-trick pony, but… Mike Dean It’s his world. We’re just renting a space. Mike Dean. The man, the myth, the legend. pic.twitter.com/oJX7xvKAUS — Joe (@jawtonloe) April 2, 2017 LOSERS Slaven Bilic, West Ham and votes of confidence ‘To end speculation once and for all, the West Ham United Board feel it necessary to announce that we have 100 per cent faith in Slaven Bilic’s ability to lead West Ham United,’ West Ham’s statement on Sunday read. ‘Despite press speculation to the contrary, the manager’s position is not under threat.’ And there is the folly of the vote of confidence. Quite why football club owners feel it necessary to issue a statement reiterating their faith in a manager is unclear, but they are at best meaningless and at worst counterproductive. We know that you have not lost faith in your manager’s ability, because he is still in a job; that’s how it works. We know that the words ‘to end speculation once and for all’ is vacuous, because West Ham are not in control of that speculation. There is an entire industry based on football rumours, one which West Ham have benefited from via the ridiculous paper talk section of their website. We also know that votes of confidence expire the moment they are issued. If West Ham lose each of their next five games 5-0, Bilic will be sacked. There is no benefit to announcing how the owners feel now when those feelings may well change in the short or medium-term. ‘In light of recent speculation, Leicester City Football Club would like to make absolutely clear its unwavering support for its First Team Manager, Claudio Ranieri,’ read Leicester City’s statement on February 4, almost identical in style to West Ham’s. Ranieri lasted another 16 days. So why bother? Yet the biggest crime committed by these senseless PR declarations is that they actually invite the pressure that they are designed to relieve. So cliched is the vote of confidence in professional football that it is widely derided as an indication that a manager’s days are numbered. Rather than removing the scrutiny of Bilic’s next tactical and strategical decisions, those decisions will now be analysed in far greater detail. A brighter new bulb has been put in the spotlight. Bilic is far from blameless for West Ham’s depressing season, but it is the club’s owners who deserve the majority of supporters’ ire. It is they who made Dimitri Payet promises of investment in the squad only to let him down. It is they who approached unrealistic transfer targets and were then left with the last limp bouquet of flowers in the petrol station. It is they who mismanaged the difficulties of moving to the London Stadium. It is they who have publicly criticised the performance of the team and urged Bilic to improve twice in the last three weeks. You can’t deliberately attract criticism, act surprised when that criticism causes speculation and then fudge an attempt to dampen that speculation. Actually, if you’re West Ham’s owners, you can. Luke Shaw Left out of the matchday squad yet again, Shaw’s days at Manchester United were already over before Mourinho chose to hang the left-back out to dry. “I cannot compare the way he trains and commits, the focus, the ambition. He is a long way behind,” he said. So not only does Mourinho not want to pick him, he has also effectively advised other clubs against signing him. It is quite the character assassination, and one that cannot have come without (some) good reason. Anthony Martial Marcus Rashford can plead his case as a teenage academy graduate who cost his club nothing. Martial, on the other hand, cannot. He arrived for a fee of £36m and hit the ground running in England. This season has only brought backward steps. Three goals in 982 league minutes is abject for a player who has already had time to settle in the Premier League. Martial’s conversion rate of 14.3% ranks joint 145th of all Premier League players this season. Chelsea Three times as many shots and almost four times the number of shots on target as Crystal Palace means that we won’t read too much into Chelsea’s fourth league defeat of the season, but the jitters truly will come if they fail to beat Manchester City on Wednesday. Ronald Koeman’s faith in youth It is the impossible balance for a manager. We urge themto put trust in young players, yet criticise them when those young players do not perform. So if the next few paragraphs sounds overly critical, I’m probably guilty of overreaction. Everton’s squad was decimated by injuries over the international break. Seamus Coleman suffered a leg break, Ramiro Funes Mori was ruled out for the season, James McCarthy sustained another muscle injury and Morgan Schneiderlin failed to recover from the calf twang he picked up against Hull. That left Koeman to search for replacements, and do so by picking the kids. Mason Holgate started at right wing-back, Matthew Pennington in central defence and Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a wide forward. In midfield, Tom Davies predictably kept his place for his first Merseyside derby. Their ages were 22, 20, 20 and 18. Unfortunately, all struggled. Davies was booked early in the game and was a virtual passenger from then onwards, Holgate was beaten time and time again by Philippe Coutinho and James Milner, Pennington was AWOL for Liverpool’s opening goals and generally suspect despite scoring the equaliser, while Calvert-Lewin looked like a young child playing with the bigger boys for the first time. The key to most successful teams is balance, but Everton’s XI on Saturday was dependent on both extremes of the age spectrum. Idrissa Gueye was the only one of the ten outfield players older than 23 and younger than 32. The youngsters lacked inexperience and the elders lacked dynamism and pace. Those are the drawbacks to having a small squad, for which Koeman cannot be blamed. Yet seeing Kevin Mirallas, Enner Valencia and Gareth Barry on the bench, you wonder whether Koeman placed too much faith in the exuberance of youth. In an atmosphere as testing as the Merseyside derby, the gamble failed. Ross Barkley Guilty of a disgraceful tackle, after which he had the temerity to argue against his booking, but that is the least of Barkley’s problems. This is a player whose talent is high but whose game intelligence ranks worryingly low on the scale. Barkley could have been booked twice even before his late challenge on Dejan Lovren’s shin but, having been given a stay of execution, he chose to fall asleep with his head still resting on the block. Some choice game statistics: Chances created – 1 Passing accuracy – 65.2% Fouls conceded – 4 Tackles – 1 Interceptions – 0 Possession gained – 2 Possession lost – 28 Times when he took too many touches of the ball and slowed down a move – ∞ This was Barkley’s chance to stick it to Gareth Southgate, show the England manager that he was wrong not to pick him against Germany or Lithuania. Instead he only increased his reputation as a fair-weather midfielder, with bags of ability but without the capacity for decision-making in the crunch moments beyond a level that makes him impossible to trust. Romelu Lukaku Really poor, just when people were really watching to see if this talk of £70m moves was mere fancy. There is an argument that strikers are only as good as their service, and Calvert-Lewin and Barkley were both woeful, but Lukaku also lost headers and possession too easily. He can probably blame his teammates for failing to create him a single chance, however. Jose Mourinho, who shares the blame Our early loser. You can blame individuals in August and September, and avoid scrutiny. You can blame individuals in October and November, and most will accept the excuse. You can blame individuals in December, January and February, and only the minority will question your own role in the issue. But when you are still blaming individuals in March and April, it’s only right to ask the same questions of the system you have designed and the mood at you have created. Right back at you, Jose. Paul Clement It’s a crucial game to win in the fight against relegation, and your team is 0-0 against another struggling team. Your best striker is injured before the game, meaning you select Jordan Ayew as a lone central striker. Ayew is many things, but a lone central striker he is not. Do you: a) Change the shape, perhaps playing Gylfi Sigurdsson as a false nine, put Ayew out wide and allow the three forwards to shift positions? b) Bring on Borja Baston, your club record signing? Baston has struggled this season, but you need a goal. c) Bring on Jefferson Montero and instruct him to get close to Ayew, interchanging positions with him in a way Luc Narsingh failed to do? d) Bring on Oliver McBurnie? He’s young and raw, but perhaps the surprise option could spark an improvement e) Make no changes in shape or substitutions, but send in cross after cross to a tiny forward. If you picked e) then congratulations, you are Paul Clement. David Moyes “It was getting a wee bit naughty at the end there so just watch yourself,” said Moyes to BBC Sport reporter Vicki Sparks. “You still might get a slap even though you’re a woman. Careful the next time you come in.” F*cking hell, David. Oh, and your team is buggered too. Burnley Now lost five and drawn three of their last eight matches in all competitions, to sit five points clear of the relegation zone with eight games remaining. Beating Stoke on Tuesday would relieve the pressure, but fail to do so and by the time Manchester United come to town Turf Moor will have gone almost three months without witnessing victory. Jermain Defoe For all the merited praise, Defoe has now scored in four of his last 15 league matches. The caveat ‘for a struggling club’ is used every time Defoe’s record is compared with those strikers higher up the league, but the flipside to that is that all of Sunderland’s attacking moves are designed to end at his feet. Nine goals from 61 shots is a strong-ish return, but far from extraordinary. Unpopular statistic: Theo Walcott now has as many non-penalty league goals this season as Defoe, from five fewer shots. Mark Hughes Stoke have 36 points from 30 matches, and are ninth in the Premier League. Stoke have won 30% of their league games, and are ninth in the Premier League. The only teams Stoke have beaten away from home in the last 14 months are Watford, Hull and Sunderland, and they are ninth in the Premier League. The last time Stoke beat a team currently in the top half was December 2015, and they are ninth in the Premier League. Manchester City You can read far more about Manchester City (and Arsenal) in 16 Conclusions, but it’s that time of the year where I begin to worry whether City’s flaws will cost them a place in the top four. Lose at Chelsea on Wednesday evening, hardly an outrageous presumption, and Pep Guardiola’s team could be two points ahead of fifth place having played an extra game. That Manchester derby on April 27 could be massive. Middlesbrough Down? Down, and we will not miss them. Middlesbrough have failed to scored in 48% of their league games this season. Bring back Newcastle. Daniel Storey The post Premier League winners and losers appeared first on Football365. http://www.football365.com/news/premier-league-winners-and-losers-62 #arsenal #ArseneWenger #Chelsea #everton #jurgenklopp

#arsenal #ArseneWenger #Chelsea #everton #jurgenklopp

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guylty · 4 years ago

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Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else’s holiday pictures – no offense taken, I totally understand! – please just scroll down to where you see the header for the round-up. All your tumblr Armitage needs will be satisfied down there 😉.

Tbh, it was lovely to leave the confines of my home town and finally venture out a little bit farther afield. In fact, it only occurred to me as we were on the road, that I hadn’t left Dublin at all since mid-January 😱. Ireland is not really that big – it reaches about 500 km (300m) from top to bottom – but the terrain here is characterised by rocks and hills, which makes for small, windy roads, especially as the infrastructure does not need to be as car-friendly as in other, more populated countries in the world. So don’t be surprised if you see the estimated travel time in the map below.

Yes, it takes more than 4 hours to travel 287km (178m) in Ireland. 😁 If you look really closely at the map you will actually notice a black jagged line running through the land. That is the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Our route this time took us the Northern Irish way, crossing into NI near Belturbet and then exiting again via Pettigo. The border is still “green”, i.e. there is no visible sign that you have actually moved from one jurisdiction to another. (I can usually only tell by the difference in road surface 😂 and the fact that the speed signs are suddenly in miles/h and not in kilometer/h any more. It’ll be interesting to see the Brexit regulation work out the issue of the United Kingdom’s *only* land border while keeping both EU customs rules as well as inner-Irish peace…) This is the shortest way of getting up from Dublin in the centre of the East coast, into the Northwestern corner of Ireland, which is part of the Republic and called County Donegal.

Our journey took us even longer than the estimated 4 hours, but then we also had to switch drivers in order to relieve my mother-in-law (77) and take a lunch break. We eventually arrived in Dunfanaghy in the late afternoon where my father-in-law had specifically booked rooms with a view in the plush Arnold’s Hotel. At first I was a bit taken aback at the layer of dust in our otherwise lovely room but then I realised that it meant the room had not been used in months and we were the first occupants since reopening the day prior, i.e. no lingering viruses there… From our luxurious king-size bed we had views out to the beach. (Click all images to enlarge!)

View from the bed

Village idyll

Busy despite the Covid crisis

Dunfanaghy beach at low tide

I have to say I was a bit skeptical as regards the attitude of the holiday makers towards keeping safe from the virus, though. Dunfanaghy was packed to the gills with tourists, particularly from Northern Ireland. (The weekend actually coincided with the traditional, Protestant celebrations of the Battle of the Boyne on the 12th of July every year. This is a significant date in NI, marking the victory of Protestant king William III over Catholic king James II, celebrated with drums, huge bonfires and marches by the Orange Order. It continues to be a controversial tradition within NI, with (some) Catholics offended by the celebration of this victory, while (some) Protestants insist on their right to express their traditions.) As part of the UK, NI has had a different approach to the Covid crisis than the Republic, and tbh I was not really that impressed with the general lack of social distancing displayed last week. (It goes without saying that it was *not only* NI people who were far too close for my comfort; there obviously were also plenty of Irish holiday makers there, too.) Within the hotel, there were hand-sanitisers at all exits and corridors, so it was easy to keep hands clean. In the restaurant, the staff wore PPE masks and the guests were seated well apart as fewer tables than normal were set up. So I felt relatively safe in there. But I hardly saw any face masks worn in the village, people were congregating in big groups outside pubs and shops, and it felt as if there were no covid restrictions at all. All that made me very angry. On our walks, particularly in the very busy Glenveagh National Park, people would not keep distance even though the paths were more than 2 meters wide, and on the parking lot, cars parked directly side-by-side. But then again, at least we were outside, and Glenveagh is an absolutely stunning place.

Glenveagh

Glenveagh Castle

In the kitchen garden of Glenveagh

Bag End?

Entrance to the kitchen garden

Wild life very close by

I have been to Glenveagh a good few times before. It’s a stunning valley with a 19th century hunting lodge castle at the centre. There is a formal garden through which you enter the castle grounds, but what I had not see until now was the amazing kitchen garden. The little gardener’s cottage under the large tree somehow reminded me of Bag End.

The best thing, of course, is the beaches and dunes and the mighty North Atlantic.

Tramore Strand

Horn Head

View of Tramore from the dunes

Horn Head from Dunfanaghy

I was thinking of Squirrel/Radagast who had commented about wild flowers before I left for the North, and I took a good few photos of flowers.

Native Irish orchid

Calla lily – associated with the Irish struggle for freedom

The weather was – Irish. We had two days that were predominantly dry, with only a little bit of drizzle here and there. Only on our last day the weather really turned against us, which was annoying as we had planned to go walking with my in-laws a bit. But well, a bit of wet doesn’t deter my hardy in-laws. There is no bad weather – only inappropriate clothing. So we trudged off on a two-hour walk in the Ards Forest. I think I was the only who got drenched to the skin. Yep, even after 20 years I still haven’t learnt… or bought the right equipment.

Typical family picnic. In the rain. Sharing 1 bottle of Guinness, 2 apples and 2 sandwiches. No lie.

However, we did also get a bit of sunset in, and so the trip’s best memory is this – a sundowner from Horn Head with the ragged shape of Tory Island in the background.

So, that was my summer holiday 2020. Four nights away with family. It was actually really lovely, especially as my f-i-l is now getting really old. This may have been his last trip up to Donegal. It was lovely to spend time with him and my m-i-l who are still very active and who are interesting to chat to. I was especially delighted that Little Miss Guylty came along, too – not just for myself but also for the grandparents for whom her presence is particularly special. And I had four nights of sound sleep that really recharged my batteries. So much so that I can now jump energetically into this week’s tumblr round-up:

Badtennantwolf has put together a set of icons. I am including the set here for the first four pictures of RA at SDCC in 2015 as we recently had a chat about that occasion (and the famous dragon beanie throw) elsewhere

Richardarmitagefanpage reminds us of a Hobbit Extended Editions rewatch organised by One Ring Net for 21 July

Some dramatic Guy of Gisborne gifs, season 3, by riepu10

LOL. Including this mainly for the spot-on caption by thewarriorandtheking

*sniggers* Mezzmerizedbyrichard has come to the aid of many hot and bothered Mr Thornton admirers…

I have always been somewhat intrigued by that pock mark on Richard’s arm. Maybe he had it removed or something, because I also remember pictures from around the same time where he sported a blue plaster on his bicep. Picture posted by hobbitoferebor

Goodness me. 13 years ago. Yes, he looks a good bit younger. And full-on Gisborne-sideburns. Gifs by riepu10

Eyelash porn courtesy by mezzmerizedbyrichard

Ignore the wig and enjoy the nose! Richard as Claude Monet, giffed by mezzmerizedbyrichard

Lehnsharks’ Thorin drawings

BTS footage of Richard as Thorin was few and far between, so here are a few precious scenes, giffed by riepu10

Daniel Miller/Trevor Price looking ominous… Gifs by riepu10

One of nfcomics’ What A Guy Wants… interesting metaphor…

There we go. Sorry for the whole long holiday crap. I can faithfully promise that that is it for this year *sardonic laugh*.

However, before I go and more importantly, just a quick reminder:

It’ll be August soon and that means… RA birthday auction time!!! Donations of items have been coming in and it is high time for me to start organising and promoting, soon. Watch this space for more info!

Have a lovely weekend,

Sonja ❤️

2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #28 Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else's holiday pictures - no offense taken, I totally understand!

#Daniel Miller #Guy of Gisborne #John Thornton #Richard Armitage #Thorin Oakenshield #Weekly tumblr Round-up

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