#paul youll always be so special

[mihotose]

meanwhile around the world:

[mithranqueersmusings]

Before This Dance Is Through V

Chapter: 5/16

Rating: M (Smut Warning)

Summary: Ringo's being going through a dry spell for the last year or so and when he regretfully tells his best friend John, he insists on taking them to an all-male strip club for some "fun". Ringo isn't sure whether it's the alcohol, his desperation or a mixture of the two but he thinks he might be falling in love with a stripper.

Tags: AU - Strippers, Modern Setting, Smut, Slow Burn

Pairings: George Harrison/Ringo Starr, John Lennon/Paul McCartney

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

Despite what John had suggested, Ringo didn't go back to The Helter Skelter the following week; he'd considered it when John sent him yet another late night text but ultimately decided it wasn't the best idea. Spike had been playing on his mind daily and Ringo wasn't sure he was prepared to face him again. Instead he focused on his drumming and searched for a few more students to teach, which were fairly easy to find. Usually Ringo enjoyed his time off, he understood he was lucky that he didn't have to work a 9-5 job just to get by, but recently he wanted his fill his time up as much as possible, to distract himself.

One of his new students seemed incredibly interested in him, they'd spent an hour just chatting in his living room before they'd even moved over to the drum kit. Ringo wasn't too fussed, he was getting paid by the hour so wasting time was beneficial to him but he didn't want to give the guy the wrong impression. He was a little bit older and attractive enough but Ringo simply wasn't interested.

"Why didn't you just go for it?" John had asked him when they next met up.

"I dunno..." Ringo mumbled, but a part of him knew very well.

He'd given the guy another lesson since then and it became clear that the guy's interest in him wasn't going away any time soon. Ringo felt bad about the whole thing, wasn't he just doing exactly what Spike was doing to him? He tried to act as professional as possible the second time around in attempt to get the guy to back off, considering he hadn't heard from him since he was hoping it had worked. What was wrong with him? Was he really going to make himself suffer like this all because of one guy? And not just any guy, a stripper who had shown absolutely no interest in him at all. It was ridiculous, he kept telling himself, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he had to get over Spike, he would still think about him every day without fail. Trying to distract himself with clients had been working somewhat, but it had been difficult, especially when his best friend was John Lennon.

       youre gonna love me

The text came through when Ringo was sat in a café getting some lunch. He'd finished with one of his younger students, a sweet girl who's parents had tried to convince her to try a more 'ladylike' instrument but she had promised only to give up the drums if she was awful; much to her delight, and Ringo's for being able to prove the stereotypical parents wrong, she was pretty good. Seeing her always put Ringo in a good mood, the parents mostly stayed away partly due to the noise but mostly due to disappointment, which meant they could joke around together. Ringo could tell she admired him and he welcomed it gladly, one of the best things about teaching was inspiring others, at least for him it was.

        do i not already?

        well yes         but youre gonna love me EVEN more

        what have you done

        well i happened to stop by the club last night

        oh god what did you do

        wow is that how little you trust me

        can you blame me

        suppose not         ANYWAY i got talking to paulie

        surprise surprise

        do you want the good news or not???

        fine fine sorry

        AS I WAS SAYING i was talking to paulie         and he told me that your special little someone has an onlyfans account

        first of all fuck you for calling him that         second of all wtf is onlyfans

        oh sorry i didnt realise you werent living in the 21st century

        ......         care to grace me with your knowledge?

        basically its a website where you can post exclusive stuff for ONLY FANS to see         its not a porn site or anything but its basically where people sell their nudes         MEANING spike has an account so you can totally see loads of raunchy filthy perverted pics of him

        but i have to pay?

        well weve all gotta make a living

        i can basically see him naked for free

        but this way you wont get all freaked out and embarrassed         well you will but nobody will know at least         so do you want the link or not???

Ringo paused for a few moments, he was gripping his phone tightly in both of his hands as he unblinkingly looked at John's words. If his mind was going to decide to make him suffer by enabling his intense interest in Spike, he may as well get something out of it.

        fine

        where are your manners richard??

        can i please have the link to the strippers nude photos please john please

        alright calm down         let me know if its worth while i might have a look

        idk if im even gonna look at it         paying for porn is a little dated

        treat yourself ringo         id offer to pay but im broke

        if youre broke why were you at the strip club last night?

        well SOMEONE had to go

        they really didnt

        im supporting my local economy

        i dont think thats how that works

        sure it is         anyway here you go

Ringo stared at the link for a while, his eyes even began to blur, he didn't want to risk opening it in public even though he knew there was little chance of anyone seeing. He finished his lunch in a hurry and headed home quickly, only when he was in the privacy of his bedroom did he dare open it. First he had to make an account, when he saw the screen loading up asking for an email address and password he just turned his screen off and put the phone down. This was far too much effort for something he shouldn't really have been doing in the first place. But it only took a few minutes for him to pick the phone back up and begin signing up, he used an old email as it felt less seedy that way and he didn't want to risk his name cropping up anywhere for Spike to see. Now he could load up the link properly and take a proper look at Spike's profile.

Just looking at the small profile picture was enough to startle Ringo a little, the dark eyes looking into the camera with that unreadable glimmer behind them. He was shirtless in the picture, Ringo wondered why that didn't catch his attention first, with the frame cutting off just before it showed anything too explicit. The header was a photo taken from the club, showing him in tight, leather pants and tassels on his nipples which matched the whip he held in his hand. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He'd spent so much time and effort trying not to think about this man, attempting to keep him out of his mind as much as possible. Ringo knew that if he went through with this all that progress would be lost, he'd be giving in to whatever strange obsession he'd developed for Spike, one that no doubt wasn't going to lead to anything good.

Ringo kept staring at the screen as though it was going to tell him what he should do. Spike's profile had no description, which wasn't very surprising, and it dashed any hope Ringo had of discovering something new about him. Right before he was about to put his phone down again, it vibrated.

        howd the wank go??

        john i dont care how long weve been friends asking how my wank was will always be weird

        youre right sorry         so how did it go???

        if you must know         i havent had a wank         i havent even paid for entry

        now whos the one being inappropriate??

        ha ha

        why havent you???

        feels weird

        oh i see         youll consume a bunch of unethical porn for free but god forbid you actually give sex workers any actual money

        you are the last person who can lecture me about unethical porn

        hey now watch yourself         ringo if you dont get a subscription I WILL

        go ahead

        and ill tell you every day what sexy sexy pictures hes posting         ill tell you EVERY SINGLE TIME i have a wank over them

        every time? i dont think youve got enough data for that

        im not joking

        neither am i         you wank A LOT

        ringooooo just buy it i swear to god         if its not worth it or you regret it or whatever ill give you the money back

        on top of the money you already owe me?

        have you always been such a capitalist

        youre not doing a very good job of convincing me

        fine         spikes cock         now are you convinced???

        maybe

        naked pictures of spike whenever and wherever you want them all for the low low price of 10 quid a month         convinced??

        fine fine         if itll shut you up

        im starting to think thats code for 'i really wanna do this but im too embarrassed to admit it'

        i hate you

        now that DEFINITELY code for 'john youre right'         anyway theres no time to be telling me how right i am all the time youve got dick pics to look at         even i wont stand in the way of a good wank         so dont bother replying to me until youve paid for that subscription young man

        im older than you

        DONT BOTHER REPLYING

Ringo let out a sigh and rested his head against the bedroom wall from where he was laying on the bed. He opened up the link again and his thumb hovered over the subscription button, why couldn't he just do it? The money wasn't an issue, it could've cost half as much or be double the price and he'd still be debating it all the same. Somehow it felt like an invasion of privacy, after all Spike hadn't told Ringo about it himself, but then again that didn't necessarily mean he didn't want Ringo to see it. After all it was like John said: everyone has to make a living somehow. Sometimes Ringo wished he could turn off that part of his brain that was so empathetic, so concerned about how everyone felt and what they were thinking. He knew that he wanted this, so why wasn't he allowing himself to have it? Ringo could see that he was being ridiculous, as he was with almost anything involving Spike, and after lying there for a while pondering and debating he decided to flip a coin. Heads would mean he got the subscription, tails that he didn't. He watched the coin spinning through the air after he flicked it upwards, then snatched it and slammed it down onto his forearm before slowly moving his hand away: it was tails. What a relief. Ringo chuckled to himself for being so foolish, settling down into his bed; it was still only around midday but he didn't have anywhere he needed to be.

So why didn't he feel relieved in the slightest?

This whole thing was getting tiring, the constant debate between what he believed he should do and what he wanted to do, and it seemed like it wasn't going to be ending anytime soon. Apparently he was in this for the long run, whatever that meant, but if he was going to turn down relatively attractive guys practically throwing themselves at him, he may as well go all the way. While he was putting in his credit card information, he stopped to think around three of four times, but once he'd finished and the images became accessible to him, his brain was barely able to conjure up a coherent sentence.

"Jesus..." Ringo breathed out as his eyes flicked across the plethora of pictures loading up on his screen.

There was a lot of them, and a lot of Spike was on display. Most of them were pictures taken at the club, either from a professional photographer in the audience or photos he'd taken himself in the mirrors backstage - Ringo could even see glimpses of Paul in the background of some of them. The ones that caught Ringo's eyes the most were those that seemed to be taken in his house, these also happened to be the ones in which Spike tended to be fully naked. It was very different experience to see him like this: a static image that he'd intentionally taken of himself and posted for so many people to see, an image that couldn't look back at Ringo and make him feel that strange mixture of excitement and shame. He began scrolling down the feed which only revealed more and more enticing photos. Ringo began to feel himself hardening, he suspected it had been happening for a while now but he'd been far too distracted to notice. He felt like a teenager discovering porn for the first time, it was difficult to remind himself that this wasn't anything new. Seeing Spike naked shouldn't have excited him so much, and yet it did.

One picture in particular drew Ringo's attention: Spike was stood in front of a bathroom mirror with a loose black tie lying against his bare chest, one hand was holding a phone and the other gripping his cock. He had dark eye make up on and his hair was messy. Ringo wasn't sure exactly what it was about this photo that was so enticing but he couldn't take his eyes off it. The prominence of his collarbones, the faint curls of his dark hair, how his slim fingers wrapped around himself. Slowly Ringo slid his own hand under the waistband of his boxers as he stared at the picture. At first he hesitated, his fingers stopped right above the base. It's not like this would've been the first time he'd touched himself while thinking about Spike, it would've been far from the last he imagined, but this was different. It was more concrete, more of an admission. Nothing felt quite as real when it's only being imagined, the haziness of lust fuzzing up the mind as it so often did, but now with a very real photo of Spike in front of him - which he'd paid to see - the feeling was far more tangible, far harder to ignore.

He'd come this far, he told himself as his hand sunk lower until his fingers were running along the length of his semi-hard cock, he may as well go all the way. To begin with Ringo stayed looking at this single picture as he slowly pumped himself, but as his lust began to grow he perused through more and more pictures: Spike kneeling naked in front of a mirror with a loose cigarette hanging from his lips, lying in the bath with bubbles only just about covering his nakedness, spread out on the bed with a gag in his mouth, handcuffs forcing his slim arms behind his back with his cock throbbing. None of this was anything Ringo hadn't seen before, like most people in this day and age he'd searched through the darker corners of the internet - sometimes willingly, sometimes John was to blame - but to see Spike in such a way was like an entirely new rush. Each picture drove Ringo further and further on, at times he almost dropped his phone with how sloppy his movements were becoming. Who took these photos? Ringo figured it was best not to think about it, the possibility that Spike had a boyfriend who took all these pictures of him would've been the quickest way to kill his erection.

Ringo began moaning and cursing wantonly as he got closer and closer to his orgasm, he had to stop flicking through the pictures because he could hardly concentrate on what his other hand was doing, so he settled on a final one to help him finish; it wasn't particularly strategic but he was definitely grateful that he selected the one that he did. In it Spike was looking directly into the camera, allowing Ringo to gaze longingly into the rich brown of his eyes and how his dark lashes curled beautifully around them. He was shirtless with nothing but a necklace on, the same necklace that Ringo had seen him wearing in the record store and Ringo couldn't help feeling a sense of satisfaction that he'd seen it with his own eyes, as though it meant something. Deep down he knew that it didn't but his inebriated mind was latching onto it. The nudity in the photo was hardly interesting Ringo by this point, although it would be wrong to say that he completely ignored the flatness of his stomach or the faint shadows of his ribs beneath his pale skin, it was the personal aspect which truly affected him.

This wasn't just lust. Lust Ringo could understand, he could compartmentalise it and give into it without much shame or a second thought. If this was just lust, he would've bought the subscription without a care and touched himself looking at the nakedness of Spike's body as though it meant nothing more than a way to get off. Yet here he was on the brink of orgasm looking into another man's eyes, eyes that felt like they were looking straight back at him as though they were sharing this moment together. It wasn't hard to imagine Spike's hand in place of his own, those deep eyes watching Ringo come undone piece by piece. Ringo's hip began to stutter, his leg twitching a little as he had to drop the phone down onto his lap as his head fell back against his pillow as his orgasm approached. It wasn't the image of Spike's naked body that filled Ringo's mind as he came, it wasn't his arse or his cock or even his chest, it was his face, his voice, it was him.

Ringo lay breathless on his bed for a while, the clarity that arrived as his orgasm subsided wasn't welcome in the slightest and he was reluctant to pick his phone back up to see Spike's eyes looking at him once again. There was no use in feeling ashamed about it, no point in trying to deny it any longer: his feelings for Spike were more than a mere passing fancy, that was clear. Exactly what he was meant to do about these feelings was far from clear but that wasn't something Ringo could figure out right now with cum on his stomach and the daylight seeping through his bedroom curtains.

When he'd picked up his phone he'd closed all the apps immediately, doing his best not to catch a glimpse of what he'd been so eagerly looking at before. Just as he was about to step into the shower to clean himself off, his phone buzzed; he almost couldn't hear it over the music he was blasting out. It alerted him for a moment as though it was going to be a message from Spike stating he knew exactly what Ringo had just done - it wouldn't have really surprised him had that been the case, Spike's face almost always looked like he knew something that nobody else did - but fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it was John.

        sooo how did the wank go

         who knows          but on a totally unrelated note im about to get into the shower

         well before you do that i have even more good news 

         can it not wait?

         NO because you might cum just at the thought of it and then youd be wasting a good shower

         well arent you considerate          and unnecessarily graphic

         thats me          anyway im taking you to the club next tuesday whether you like it or not

         im still waiting for the good news

         well if youd let me FINISH          next week theyre doing a special event and we just have to go          youll never guess what it is

         what is it?

         guess

         you just said ill never guess

         youre no fun

         WHAT IS IT

         alright alright keep your hair on          its a crossdressing event          high heels make up probably a few wigs all that good stuff

         im still waiting for the good news

         OH COME ON youre telling me you dont want to see spike in heels and fishnets with some lovely lipstick on

Ringo gulped. It wasn't a difficult image to conjure up his mind, considering he'd been staring at photos of Spike for the past twenty minutes and it excited him to say the least. He did want to see that, very much indeed.

[pcndemoniums]

CONSTANTINE MCKENNA - FUCK YOU VERY MUCH VERSE

FULL NAME: travis constantine mckenna. he fucking hates travis. dont call him that or youll get punched in the face

NICKNAME/S: con, mcfucker, constant ( pain in the ass )

D. O. B.: june 20th

AGE: 31 years

GENDER: cis male

ORIENTATION: bisexual

NATIONALITY: american

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: he/him

SPECIES:  human

BIRTH PLACE: newark, new jersey. 

CURRENT LIVING SITUATION: las vegas, nv

OCCUPATION: bartender

LANGUAGES: english ( barely )

ACCENT: new jersean??? he says bro a lot

OTHER TALENTS: can suck dick like nobody’s business

APPEARANCE:

HEIGHT: 5′9

BUILD: slim but with some muscle definition

SKIN TONE: fair

HAIR COLOR: light brown

EYE COLOR: green

GLASSES OR CONTACTS:  nope

BIRTHMARKS/SCARS: a few scars and scrapes, nothing too serious. he also has birthmark on his right thigh that looks like heart if you squint. 

TATTOOS/PIERCINGS: oh lord. ok, same rose on his shoulder. then something similar to this on his calfs. this fuck you tat. he has his left nipple pierced. oh, and he also has an ampallang. if you dont know what that is dont google it. just - ouch

LEFT HANDED/RIGHT HANDED: right handed

MOST PROMINENT FEATURE: strong jaw, expressive brow, foul mouth

CLOTHING STYLE: jeans, t-shirts, black boots or sneakers. super casual

FACE CLAIM: paul wesley

RELATIONSHIPS:

FAMILY:  travis mackenna sr ( father ), harriet mckenna ( mother ), evelyn mckenna ( sister )

PETS: an orange tabby cat named frito

BEST FRIENDS: jax falcone. he’s the life of a party so he probably has a few more good buds. 

FOES: people who can’t stand him? he can get obnoxious. also philippe ballard. what a douche.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single and ready to bump uglies

PERSONALITY:

WHAT WOULD BE THEIR CHARACTER ARCHETYPE: the jester

STRONGEST CHARACTER TRAIT/S: fun, adventurous, honest, charismatic, confident, independent

WEAKEST CHARACTER TRAIT/S: unreliable, obnoxious, irresponsible, obscene, blunt, temperamental

PHOBIAS/FEAR/S: commitment of any kind, spiders, clowns, that chick from the ring

BIGGEST SECRET/S:  hes actually a nice guy deep down - NAH!

BAD HABITS: swearing, drinking, fucking, smoking, drugs, clicking his tongue, chewing gum 

MENTAL DISORDER/CONDITIONS:  i mean hes kind of a sex addict lbr

OBSESSIONS: his bike

RELIGION: atheist

ZODIAC SIGN:  gemini

HOGWARTS HOUSE: slytheryn

MORAL ALIGNMENT:  chaotic neutral

OPINION ON DRUG USE: yes please

OPINION ON ALCOHOL USE: fun in a bottle

OPINION ON SWEARING: its a-ok

QUIRKS:

HOBBIES: partying, sex, goes on tinder a lot, drinking, hanging out with friends, watching movies, fixing his bike

OUTDOORS OR INDOOR PERSON: outdoors

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: hip hop

FAVORITE COLOR: black

FAVORITE FOOD: pizza all the way

FAVORITE ANIMAL: the sloth

FAVORITE BOOK: like he reads?

FAVORITE SCENT: smell of leather, aftershave, those victoria secret scents are nice

INSTAGRAM: mcfucker

WHAT DOES THEIR VOICEMAIL MESSAGE SOUND LIKE: "yo, drop it or fuck it”

PAST /FUTURE:

WHAT WERE THEY LIKE AS A CHILD: very playful and rebellious. could never stand still and was always getting in trouble. his poor parents had trouble keeping up. 

DID THEY GROW UP RICH OR POOR: middle class

DID THEY GROW UP NURTURED OR NEGLECTED: nurtured

WHAT DID THEY WANT TO BE WHEN THEY GREW UP: a nascar driver

SMELL THAT REMINDS THEM OF THEIR CHILDHOOD: scented candles and laundry detergent 

BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: family trips to the beach and hanging out with friends there. nothing special, really. his childhood was normal

WORST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: the day he broke his leg and had to wear a cast for months. that sucked ass

ARE THEY/DO THEY WANT TO GET MARRIED: NOPE

WILL THEY EVER SETTLE DOWN SOMEWHERE: he likes vegas so far. we’ll have to see.

[thearrangment-phff]

LXV.

September 2018

“Archduchess Isabella and Prince Harry have been in Switzerland since the beginning of the month with The Duchess of Sussex’ family. The two were spotted at the wedding of Archduke Franz Ludwig to Mathilde Vignon. Archduke Franz Ludwig is a first cousin of The Duchess. A vast number of Habsburg and Bourbon royals were also in attendance.”

“King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium along with the Grand Ducal couple of Luxembourg, Hereditary Prince Alois and Princess Sofie of Liechtenstein will attend the Heads of State of German-speaking countries get together in Switzerland. Many believe that Archduchess Isabella will attend as a guest of her uncle and aunt, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg.” 

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to stay in Switzerland until the mass to commemorate the 25th anniversary of King Baudouin of the Belgians’ death in Brussels. The Belgian royal court confirmed The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be attending. King Baudouin was the great-uncle of Archduchess Isabella and his wife, Queen Fabiola of the Belgians was her godmother. Archduchess Isabella’s eldest son The Earl of Ross who was born earlier this year carries the name Baudouin in honor of his great-grand-uncle, the former Belgian King.”  

“Where is your father?” asked Yolande to Isabella.

“I have no idea,” answered Isabella.

“I’ll go find him,” said Marie Astrid as she left the room to find her husband.

“Are we going to be late?” asked Harry.

“I don’t think so. My grandmother made us all get ready an hour earlier than everyone else,” replied Isabella.

“So we’ll be early?”

“Yes.”

“Belle, darling, can you help me stand up?” asked Yolande. Isabella went to her grandmother extending her hand. The elder women leaned on Isabella’s hand and got up. She walked towards Harry and patted his chest because that’s how far she could reach, “How are you?”

“Uh... fine,” answered Harry.

“While Charlie and Bertie are a dream, I only have 15 great-grandchildren with Kathy, Luisa, and Marie Christine’s children coming soon. When are you and Belle going to give me more great-grandchildren?”

“Wait. Did you just say, Luisa? She’s expecting?!” asked Isabella.

“Did you not know?” asked Yolande.

“No! I didn’t. How far along is she?”

“6 weeks possibly, maybe 8. I can’t remember Belle! I’m an old ask your mother.”

“How many people knew before I did?” asked Isabella.

“Well, obviously Luisa and Alex, me and your parents. The royal house is going to make an announcement soon,” answered Yolande.

“Will the baby be in line for the Belgian throne then?” asked Harry.

“Yes! All descendants of Albert are in the line. Since Alexander and Luisa got permission to marry from the king and government her children are the only ones in line. Remember Amedeo didn’t get permission to marry Elisabetta,” explained Yolande.

“I can’t believe he is finally having a baby. Everyone finally has a family of their own,” smiled Isabella.

Before anyone else could say anything Isabella’s aunt and her family came in. The Liechtenstein family of five said hello to Yolande, Isabella, and Harry as soon as they entered the room.

“How are you?” asked Margaretha to Yolande.

“Wonderful! 2 new babies, with Kathleen due soon and Christine in December. It’s all so wonderful. Alex and Luisa are also expecting so it’s all very exciting,” beamed Yolande.

“Yes, all very exciting. If only mine could give me some grandchildren,” joked Margaretha and her children all seemed to roll their eyes at the same time.

“I don’t think we were supposed to say anything about Alex and Luisa Mamie,” interjected Isabella.

“We’re family,” spoke Marie Astrid, Isabella’s cousin.

“I think he wanted to tell us all together, another time. Probably when we’re all in France at the end of the month,” added Josef-Emanuel.

“Josef is right. We can’t mention this to Alex. It’s his and Luisa’s special moment,” nodded Isabella

“So lets me get this right. Kathleen in October, Marie Christine in December, and Alexander in spring? Of course, Charlie and Bertie were born 4 months ago... that’s a lot of kids born in a short time,” said Harry.

“It’s the joys of growing up in a large family. You can all have kids around the same time,” smiled Marie Astrid.

“We better get going,” interrupted Nikolaus, Isabella’s uncle by marriage.

“Are you coming with us?” asked Margaretha.

“Not yet. Marie Astrid went to go find my son. Once they come back, we’ll go.”

“Well, we’ll see you at the church then,” smiled Margaretha. One by one, the Liechtenstein family said bye to everyone with kisses on the cheek and half-done hugs.

It took a couple of seconds until Harry asked a question, “Where are the rest of your brothers and sisters?”

“Marie Christine, Imre, Christoph, and Gabriella don’t really go to these things. They prefer to stay out of the view of cameras. Usually, Alexander does too but since he married Luisa he’ll have to be more in the spotlight. He’s here, he’s just with her and the Austria-Este family,” answered Isabella.

“Why didn’t more people come?” asked Harry.

“Many people did but some of them have real jobs and not ones were in ‘work’ for an hour a week.”

“That felt like an insult.”

“Not an insult. Just stating facts,” replied Isabella.

“Belle!” Isabella turned around to find Charlotte walking steadily towards her with the rest of her family behind her.

“Charlotte! Hi!” Charlotte towered over Isabella when giving her a hug, “Ferdinand?”

“Hi Belle.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I invited him,” answered Charlotte.

“Yes. I got that, but... are you two a thing?”

“Well... yes. It hasn’t been long,” answered Charlotte.

“And you invited him here?” asked Isabella.

“Ferdinand means a lot to me so I thought inviting him to this would show that.”

“Charlotte, I’m not judging you. I would be the last person to do so. Ferdinand is family and you are as well. It was simply a surprise that’s all,” replied Isabella.

Isabella’s parents Carl Christian and Marie Astrid finally entered the room, “He couldn’t find his tie anywhere.”

“Tie? You are making us late over a tie?” asked Yolande.

“The king gave it to me. I wanted to wear it today,” answered Carl Christian.

“We should get going. We don’t want to be late,” said Yolande earning nods from around the room.

The car ride was short from the castle to the church. Yolande, Harry, Isabella, Marie Astrid, and Carl Christian had ridden in one car while Guillaume, Sibilla, Charlotte, Leopold, and Paul Louis in the other. When they got out of the car, Harry could swear the screams got louder. There was that thought again. The one about how Isabella changed his life once they married. Years ago, would he have imagined himself at a Catholic church in Brussels paying his respects to a dead Belgian King surrounded by the Belgian, Luxembourgish, and Liechtenstein royal families? Of course not.

Harry was now on friendly terms with the Belgian king and Luxembourgish Grand Duke since the beginning of his marriage. King Philippe was a godfather to his son, Isabella was a godmother to the king’s youngest daughter. Queen Fabiola was godmother to Isabella. The ties were never going away and they were all Harry’s. He had spent years in the shadow of his elder brother seeing how William was the future king and Harry was the spare. But things had changed, Isabella had changed him.

Isabella smiled back at the crowd but no waving because she saw that as disrespectful at an event like this. Harry looked back at the crowd for a couple of seconds before turning back to Isabella and her family. Liechtenstein, Austria, and Luxembourg all within a couple of feet of him.

“Harry, come on. We have to go find our seats,” said Isabella with Charlotte by her side.

Harry took one last look and went inside. The service lasted about an hour and a half. The Royal Family and the other guests gathered at the Royal Crypt where all the former Kings and Queens of the Belgians who have passed away are buried. The King and Queen laid a wreath at the grave of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. Isabella let out a single tear when she saw the picture of her great-aunt and great-uncle on their tomb.

“Are you okay?” asked Harry.

“Yes. It’s just that I wished they both lived a little longer, that’s all.”

They met with the public in which Harry and Isabella were paired next to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Grand Duke Henri and Prince Louis left immediately after laying the wreath so they could get back to Luxembourg. There were a lot of questions from the public to Harry and Isabella since their sons were 4 months old now.

“Your Imperial Highness, how does it feel to be back in Belgium?”

“Wonderful. Belgium has always felt like another home to me.”

“Prince Harry! How are the twins?!”

“They are strong. Big boys thanks to their mother,” joked Harry.

“Your Majesty how does it feel to be godfather to the Earl of Ross?!”

“Very honored. Belle is godmother to my Eleonore and being godfather to Charlie is a blessing.”

Of course after everything the press went wild with their stories. The ones who annoyed Isabella the most were saying that she and Harry didn’t belong in Belgium and William and Kate should have been there instead.

“They are my family! Mine! I had every right to be there!” yelled Isabella.

“Of course you do Belle-”

“Those stupid little nothings make money off of my name. I have the ties to Europe, not Harry!”

“Exactly why-”

“No! God, I am sick and tired of them saying that I married the 6th in line! I brought back royalty to this family. Me! Nothing but a bunch of ungrateful people who would rather have commoners as their king than gods” ranted Isabella.

“That is enough Isabella! Quiet down before you say else something you’ll regret,” warned Harry.

“These are the times I regret marrying you! You and your peasant family have been nothing but a thorn in my side,” argued Isabella.

Princess Charlotte of Murat took this opportunity to slap Isabella across the face, “Your husband is right. While you gave him blood, he gave you validity. You would be good to remember that.”

Princess Christine, Countess Gaelle, and Countess Olympia were left speechless. Gaelle was the first to act by putting her arm around Isabella, “I think it’s time for prayer-”

“No! I will not be praying to some stupid imaginary thing I don’t believe in. Not anymore!” yelled Isabella.

“What she needs is a drink,” interrupted Olympia.

“No. She will have no more alcohol. I don’t want that,” said Harry.

“I won’t be going back to London or Balmoral with you.”

“Where do you think you’ll go?” asked Harry.

“Zeno’s christening is at the end of the month. I’ll be at Berg castle with my family until then. We were supposed to go to France with my family after that and I’ll be right with them,” answered Isabella.

“You will not do that Isabella. You have spent too much time outside of London. You haven’t been doing anything but seeking refugee with your family since Charlie and Bertie were born. You need to do more.”

“Maybe I should just divorce you now and end my misery before I hang myself in our children’s room,” threatened Isabella.

“You will do no such thing!” yelled Charlotte as she went to Isabella and grabbed her face, “You are a stupid little girl and I will be damned if I let you ruin everything.”

“Charlotte let her go!” yelled Christine.

Charlotte continued her hold on Isabella’s face, “You will do what all your betters have done before you. You will give birth to all the little royal babies your body will handle and die in this marriage. Do you understand me?”

Isabella ripped her face out of Charlotte’s grasp, “You were nothing before me. I gave you importance so don’t talk to me like you better. You married for a title, you married for money, but I was not an impoverish countess, I am an Archduchess of Austria.”

“I’ve had enough of this. I am going back to London and I have engagements in the Netherlands in a week. I would hope that you would come but at this point, I would rather you not. I’m taking the boys back with me to London,” explained Harry.

“The boys need me. I am their mother,” argued Isabella.

“You aren’t breastfeeding them anymore. They don’t need you and besides you rarely ever took take them, Gaelle and Olympia did.” Harry walked away and Isabella grabbed the nearest thing and threw it in his direction. The glass shattered on the wall near his face and he flinched, “Did you really just do that? You are unbelievable Isabella!”

[patriotsnet]

Are Republicans Trying To Cut Social Security

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/are-republicans-trying-to-cut-social-security/

Are Republicans Trying To Cut Social Security

The Republican Record On Social Security

Huff Post Reporter: Biden’s documented history of trying to cut social security

1935: Almost all Republicans in Congress oppose the creation of Social Security.

1939: 75 percent of Republicans in Senate try to kill legislation providing Social Security benefits to dependents and survivors as well as retired workers.

1950: 79 percent of House and 89 percent of Senate Republicans vote against disability insurance to defeat it.

1956: 86 percent of Republicans in Senate oppose disability insurance; program approved nonetheless.

1964: Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and future president Ronald Reagan both suggest that Social Security be made voluntary.

1965: 93 percent of Republicans in House and 62 percent in Senate vote to kill Medicare.

1977: 58 percent of Senate votes against amendment to provide semiannual increases.

1977: 88 percent of Republicans in House and 63 percent in Senate vote against an increase in Social Security payroll tax needed to keep the system solvent.

1981: President Reagan proposes $35 billion in Social Security cuts over the next 5 years. The cuts would have included the elimination of student benefits, lump-sum death benefits, and a retroactive elimination of the $122 minimum benefit for three million recipients.

1981: Reagan administration begins a wholesale review of the Social Security Disability rolls, resulting in over 560,000 eligibility investigations in 1982 360,000 more than the year before. Ultimately, at least 106,000 families were removed from the rolls.

Republicans Aren’t Going To Take Away Social Security

Without beating around the bush, the Republican Party is often associated as being the party of the well-to-do — and the rich typically aren’t reliant in any way on Social Security income. There’s, therefore, been a long-running belief that Republicans would aim to do away with Social Security sometime in the future. This is nothing more than another in a long line of pervasive Social Security myths.

Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill have an understanding of the importance that Social Security plays in keeping some 22 million people currently receiving benefits above the federal poverty line. Though both parties may have suggested tweaking how revenue is generated for the program, neither party would remove or replace any of the three funding sources: the payroll tax on earned income, the taxation of benefits, and interest income on the program’s asset reserves.

In other words, no Republican is going to advocate scraping Social Security. And even if they did, the idea would have no chance of gaining traction in Congress.

The Average Retired Worker Benefit Could Be Cut By More Than $4300 In Less Than 15 Years

The good news, if there’s a silver lining to pull out of this mess for seniors and future retirees, is that Social Security won’t be bankrupt, even if Congress fails to act. Two of Social Security’s three sources of funding — the 12.4% payroll tax on earned income and the taxation of benefits — are recurring sources of revenue. As long as the American public continues to work, money will be flowing into the Social Security program for disbursement to eligible beneficiaries.

On the other hand, no money left in asset reserves would mean that the existing payout schedule, inclusive of cost-of-living adjustments, would no longer be sustainable. Translation: Benefit cuts would be necessary to maintain Social Security’s solvency for decades to come.

According to the latest Trustees report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust would only be able to pay 76% of scheduled benefits once its coffers are cleaned out. Put another way, it means retired workers and survivors could face an across-the-board benefit cut of 24% by 2035.

Now, think about this for a moment. In May 2020, the Social Security Administration published data showing that the average retired worker was bringing home $1,512.63 a month. That’s $18,151.56 a year for the typical retiree. A 24% benefit cut would, in May 2020 dollars, equate to a benefit cut of $4,356 a year. That’s terrifying when you consider that 62% of retired workers rely on their monthly payout to account for at least half of their income.

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The Average Retired Worker Could Be Taking Home A Lot Less From Social Security In 15 Years

This has been a challenging year in so many respects for the American public. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way we interact with one another, and its displaced more than 20 million workers. If youre an investor, you were also taken on a wild ride, with the stock market packing about 10 years worth of volatility into a period of four months. And dont even get me started about the murder hornets.

But one of the few solaces working Americans have always been able to take is the idea that, if they earn 40 lifetime work credits, a Social Security benefit will be waiting for them when they retire.

The Social Security program has navigated through 13 recessions prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some obviously grim outlooks during those previous recessions, youll note that Social Security is still here, and its been paying continuous retired-worker benefits for more than 80 years. This is why its often referred to as Americas most successful social program.

But just because its been a historically successful program doesnt mean its necessarily in great shape to service future generations of retirees.

What You Should Know About The Gop And Social Security

Who’s to blame for this mess? Well, some Americans would point their fingers specifically at Republicans in Congress. While they absolutely do take some of the blame, the inaction by Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill makes them equally culpable in exacerbating Social Security’s problems.

When it comes to Republicans and Social Security, here are the four things you absolutely need to know.

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With A Potential Debt Ceiling Increase Afoot Liberals Brace For Obama To Once Again Push For Social Security Cuts

Paul Ryans Wednesday Wall Street Journalop-ed was perhaps the starkest sign of a striking shift: a government shutdown and debt ceiling showdown pitched by Tea Party members to be about blocking Obamacare is being framed by GOP leaders as a push towards entitlement reform. In Wednesday interviews, leaders of liberal groups commended the presidents consistent insistence on not offering new budget concessions in exchange for reopening the government or averting debt default. But they pledged an all-out effort to defeat Social Security or Medicare cuts if Obama offers them once again after the default threat is delayed. GOP leaders push for a six-week debt ceiling increase suggests that moment could come very soon.

Charles Chamberlain, who directs the Dean campaign offshoot Democracy For America, told Salon that it would be a huge mistake for Obama to once again push the Social Security cut called chained CPI, and the president would face a gigantic amount of opposition from progressives nationwide if he did. Still, said Chamberlain, he put her on the table once before. I dont think hes going to take it off.

Meanwhile, the presidents support appears to have tempered opposition to Social Security cuts within the Democratic Caucus. A work-in-progress whip count from Social Security Works so far counts a dozen Democrats in the Senate and 46 in the House whose statements suggest they would oppose any deal including chained CPI .

They Haven’t Taken A Dime From The Social Security Program That Isn’t Accounted For

Another misconception is that the Republican Party stole money from the Social Security Trust and used it to fund wars. More specifically, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush have come under intense scrutiny for borrowing from Social Security and “not putting the money back.”

However, the truth of the matter is that Congress has been able to “borrow” Social Security’s excess cash for five decades, and it’s happened under every single president over that stretch. In fact, the Social Security Administration is required by law to purchase special-issue bonds and certificates of indebtedness with this excess cash. Please note the emphasis on “required by law” that I’ve added above. The federal government isn’t simply going to sit on this excess cash it borrows from Social Security. It’s spending this cash on various line items, which may be wars and the defense budget, as well as education, healthcare, and pretty much any other expenditure you can think of.

This setup is actually a win-win for both parties. The federal government has a relatively liquid source of borrowing with the Social Security Trust, and the Trust is able to generate significant annual income from the interest it earns on its loans. Last year, $85.1 billion of the $996.6 billion that was generated by the program came from interest income.

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Trump Keeps Proposing Entitlement Cuts And Then Denying That He Did So

In 2015 and 16, Trump differentiated himself from the rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls by campaigning on a vow to not cut entitlements.

Im not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and Im not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid, Trump told the Daily Signal, a conservative publication affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, in 2015.

As his budget proposals indicate, this promise was an empty one. Trump, however, seems to realize that cutting entitlements is a political loser for him, and as a result has continued to make assertions about preserving them that are at odds with reality.

All Republicans support people with pre-existing conditions, and if they dont, they will after I speak to them. I am in total support. Also, Democrats will destroy your Medicare, and I will keep it healthy and well!

Donald J. Trump

Last month, however, Trump seemed to have a moment of radical honesty when he told CNBC during an interview conducted in Davos that at some point entitlement cuts will be on the table.

CNBC: Will entitlements ever be on your plate ?TRUMP: “At some point they will be”CNBC: But you said you wouldn’t do that in the pastTRUMP: “We also have assets that we never had”

Aaron Rupar

Those comments created a negative stir, so the very next day Trump tried to walk them back.

Democrats are going to destroy your Social Security. I have totally left it alone, as promised, and will save it!

Donald J. Trump

Democrats Have Already Signaled Trumps Budget Is Going Nowhere

Trump Vows To Protect Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid

While Trump tries to have it both ways by proposing entitlement cuts while claiming hes not really doing that, Treasury Department spokesperson Monica Crowley was somewhat more straightforward during a Monday morning appearance on Fox Business.

Asked by host Stuart Varney if she agrees that the new budget hits the safety net, Crowley said the president understands that Washingtons habit of out of control spending without consequence has to be stopped.

Treasury Secretary Assistant Sec. Monica Crowley defends cuts to entitlements in Trumps new 2021 budget proposal: The president also understands that Washingtons habit of out of control spending without consequence has to be stopped.

Aaron Rupar

But for Trump, not all spending is bad. While his budget cuts non-defense spending by 5 percent, he actually slates defense spending for an increase to $740.5 billion for fiscal year 2021.

Budget proposals are just that proposals. And while Trump insists that Republicans are the ones trying to save entitlements from destruction, the irony is that the truth is exactly the opposite: Entitlement cuts are dead on arrival as long as Democrats control a chamber of Congress.

Related

House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth alluded to this reality in a statement he released on Sunday blasting Trump for proposing deep cuts to critical programs that help American families.

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Is The Gop Really Trying To Do Away With Social Security

Social Security is unquestionably the nation’s most important social program, with more than three out of five current retired workers leaning on it to account for at least half of their monthly income. Yet, this crucial program is on shaky ground, with the latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees painting a grim intermediate- and long-term picture for the program.

According to the report, Social Security is facing an inflection point this year. For the first time since 1982, aggregate expenditures, which almost entirely includes benefits, but also takes into account administrative expenses and Railroad Retirement exchange contributions, will exceed revenue generated. Although the net cash outflow is only estimated at $1.7 billion, which is relative peanuts when compared to the $2.89 trillion currently in asset reserves, it’s a conclusive sign that the existing payout schedule isn’t sustainable.

Things begin to get really dicey in 2020 and beyond. Beginning at the turn of the decade, ongoing demographic shifts are expected to cause the net cash outflow to balloon. By 2034, following 16 years of outflows, the $2.89 trillion in excess cash is expected to be completely gone. Should this happen, Social Security would survive, but payouts to then-current and future retirees could be cut by up to 21%. That’s not a pleasant forecast given the noted reliance of seniors on the program.

Meet The New Gop Plan To End Medicare Same As The Old Gop Plan To End Medicare

We here in the Democratic Whip Press shop will give Republicans credit for their transparency. They are not even trying to hide the fact that their Cut, Cap and End Medicare bill would end the programs guarantee.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said yesterday the plan basically mirrors the budget proposal that the House passed this year.

That would be the same Republican budget proposal that ends the Medicare guarantee and more than doubles heath care costs for seniors, all while preserving tax breaks for the wealthy.

And the Republican Cut, Cap and End Medicare plan is no different.

But dont just take our word for it. According to theCenter on Budget and Policy Priorities, the measure:

stands out as one of the most ideologically extreme pieces of major budget legislation to come before Congress in years, if not decades.

The legislation would inexorably subject Social Security and Medicare to deep reductions.

In addition, the extreme and draconian Republican proposal would reverse decades of precedent that exempt cuts to basic services for the most vulnerable among us. More from the CBPP:

Since the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law of 1985, all such laws have exempted the core basic assistance programs for the poorest Americans from such across-the-board cuts. Cut, Cap, and Balance, by contrast, specifically subjects all such programs to across-the-board cuts if its spending caps would be exceeded.

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Republicans Will Cut Social Security And Medicare After Tax Plan Passes Says Marco Rubio

Update | Florida Senator Marco Rubio admits that the Republican tax cut plan, which benefits corporations and the wealthy, will require cuts to Social Security and Medicare to pay for it.

To address the federal deficit, which will grow by at least $1 trillion if the tax plan passes, Congress will need to cut entitlement programs such as Social Security, Rubio told reporters this week. Advocates for the elderly and the poor have warned that entitlement programs would be on the chopping block, but this is the first time a prominent Republican has backed their claims.

Expect all the guests on the Sunday shows to be Republicans explaining how they now have no choice but to slash Social Security & Medicare because the deficit has suddenly and mysteriously gotten much worse.

Bruce “Snarking and Barking” Bartlett

“You have got to generate economic growth because growth generates revenue,” Rubio said at a Politico conference. “But you also have to bring spending under control. And not discretionary spending. That isn’t the driver of our debt. The driver of our debt is the structure of Social Security and Medicare for future beneficiaries.”

Rubio’s talk of structural change is vague but will likely include changing the rate and age of Social Security and Medicare payouts.

So where does that money come from?

Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch said Thursday that “liberal programs” for the poor were wasting Americans’ money.

The Political Outlook For Social Security Reforms

But the Biden administration and its Congressional allies are instead focused on threading the political needle for an ambitious $3.5 trillion infrastructure spending package, while also dealing with the fallout from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Leading Republican legislators have called for so-called entitlement reform , but that’s a tough sell in the current ;Democratically controlled Congress.

“Does the report mean the timetable argues for real concrete action on Social Security? Probably not. Will it revive the rhetoric that the sky is falling? Sure,” says Robert Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition advocacy group, president of Matz Blancato and Associates and a 2016 Next Avenue Influencer in Aging.

The issue over how best to restore financial solvency to Social Security isn’t going away. That’s because the program is fundamental to the economic security of retired Americans. Social Security currently pays benefits to 49 million retired workers and dependents of retired workers .

However, the tenor of the longer-term solvency discussion has significantly changed in recent years.

To be sure, a number of leading Republicans still want to cut Social Security retirement benefits to reduce the impending shortfall. Their latest maneuver is what’s known as The TRUST Act, sponsored by Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.

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Democrats Urged To Reject Latest Gop Attempt To Hold Social Security ‘hostage’

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said he would be willing to vote to raise the federal debt ceiling in exchange for a policy that could result in cuts to Social Security and Medicare, a proposed trade-off that progressive advocacy groups implored Democrats to reject.

“Fortunately, Democrats can protect Social Security and Medicare by raising the debt ceiling in the forthcoming reconciliation package.”Alex Lawson, Social Security Works

With members of Congress staring down an to increase the debt limitthe amount of money the federal government is legally permitted to borrow to meet its financial obligationsGraham toldBloomberg that he could bring himself to vote yes on a debt ceiling hike if Democrats agree to legislation establishing commissions tasked with crafting Social Security and Medicare “reforms.”

But Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy organization, was quick to warn that Graham’s offer is a thinly veiled trap.

“Lindsey Graham and his fellow Republicans will stop at nothing to cut the American people’s earned Social Security and Medicare benefits,” Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, said in a statement. “Graham has now telegraphed his party’s intention to demand a commission to cut Social Security and Medicare as the price for raising the debt ceiling.”

Social Security Works and other groups warned at the time that the proposal was nothing more than “a plot to gut Social Security behind closed doors.”

[statetalks]

Why Do Republicans Wear Blue Ties

How Did The 2000 Election Solidify Red For Republican And Blue For Democrat

How To Combine & Wear A Pocket Square With Ties, Shirts & Suits

The 2000 election between Gore and Bush was a momentous event for American politics. The election became a constitutional crisis and dragged on for 36 days, leading to constant television and newspaper coverage of recounts and debates over which candidate won each swing state. Networks banded together on their color selection for each party for the purposes of uniformity, choosing red to represent states Bush won, and blue for those Gore won.

It was also during this election that the New York Times and USA Today ran their first full-color electoral state maps featuring red for Republican and blue for Democrat.;

Do you know where the Democrat and Republican Parties got their names? Find out here.;

But why these particular colors? Thats a difficult question to answer because all news stations want to take credit for what is now the standard.

The credit of the colors rests in part with New York Times graphics editor Archie Tse, who used red for Republicans in 2000 election maps because red begins with R, Republican begins with R. Whatever the reason, all of the news outlets certainly played a part in establishing blue and red as the colors when they collectively used them the same way.

What Does Your Tie Color Mean

Get the girl.

What do these three things have in common?; The right image.

We all know that first impressions can be influenced by what you wear.; Whether conscious or not, people make grandiose assumptions based upon your everyday appearance.

A tie is one of the most influential tools at your disposal.; Thats why you always reach for your lucky tie when you are about to close a deal or why the girl at happy hour playfully touches your tie to show shes interested.; Your tie makes a powerful statement and its important to know what image you are projecting.

Its called the power tie for a reason, and by wearing a red tie you are implying that you mean business.; Just like Tiger Woods wears a red shirt to convey dominance, the red tie is a reaffirmation of strength, authority and dominance within the professional world.; For a less aggressive approach, switch out your vibrant red for a softer shade of burgundy.

Yellow/Gold

Yellow is the approachable cousin of the power tie.; While still conveying authority, intelligence and positivity, yellow is the subtle version of a red power tie.; This is the perfect tie to wear for a first interview, because it shows you are confident and not afraid of a challenge.

Blue

Green

Orange

Orange is the wild card of tie colors.; A bright orange tie will imply that you are enthusiastic, open-minded and adventurous.; It is the perfect tie for making a memorable first impression and creating a sense of excitement within the workplace.

Trending In London: Fashion Rental Energy Healing And Pigmentation

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain take part in the first debate of the 2008 elections at the University of Mississippi on September 26, 2008 in Oxford, MS. AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDS

;The default color scheme for presidential ties is so conservative that it is nearly impossible to imagine something like pistachio, fuchsia or neon-anything ever making the cut. Sometimes, of course, being an outlier can help secure the needed benefit of the doubt. Bob Dole wore a moderate-green tie to his 1996 debate against the incumbent Bill Clinton. Such a choice helped create an overall image that pundits found informed, thoughtful, and elevated. It briefly albeit unsuccessfully buoyed Doles campaign. Hillary Clinton did not wear ties during her runs for the presidency. Still, her accessories were scrutinized by the media with particular focus on , bracelets, and headbands. Alternately, when democratic primary candidate Andrew Yang showed up to a 2019 Democratic Primary debate with no tie at all, his historic bold move turned heads across the political spectrum from Fox News to the New Yorker. Ultimately, it was a minor side note in what cost him the nomination proving that the country is just not ready for a tie-less president.

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Desks Are Closets Too

Heather: I have an emergency blazer in my desk that I can whip out if I feel I need to, and then an extra pair of flats in my desk. You do so much walking in DC that flats wear out really quickly. Ill keep Band-Aids and Neosporin in my desk, too, for when Im breaking in a pair of shoes. Ill get new flats every four months Ill just go to Marshalls and get whats on sale.

Jen: Im a big fan of having a lot of jackets that I keep in the office. You never know what day youll need to go staff your boss on the senate floor. Jackets that you can put on regardless of whether youre wearing slacks or a dress or a skirt and a top I think thats one of the easiest things to keep on hand. Then I have a black sweater, because these buildings can be terribly temperature controlled.

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There Arent Real Forces Within The Gop Leading Change

There is some appetite for change within the GOP. In those 2024 polls, at least a third of Republicans either were supporting a GOP presidential candidate other than Trump or were undecided.;

In YouGov Blues polling, only about 40 percent of Republicans identified themselves as Trump Republicans. A recent survey from Fabrizio, Lee and Associates, a GOP-leaning firm that worked on Trumps presidential campaigns, found that about 40 percent of Republican voters didnt want Trump to continue to be a leader in the party. Those numbers dont necessarily mean that those voters want the GOP to change drastically. But there is a substantial number of Trump-skeptical/ready-to-move-on-from-Trump Republican voters. But that sentiment isnt really showing up in the Republican Partys actions during the last three months basically everything GOP officials in states and in Washington are doing lines up with the Trumpian approach. So what gives?;

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It is hard to see Republicans changing course, even if a meaningful minority of voters in the party wants changes, without some elite institutions and powerful people in the party pushing a new vision. And its hard to see real anti-Trumpism forces emerging in the GOP right now.;

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The Partys Core Activists Dont Want To Shift Gears

This is the simplest and most obvious explanation: The GOP isnt changing directions because the people driving the car dont want to.;

When we think of Republicans, we tend to think of either rank-and-file GOP voters or the partys highest-profile elected officials, particularly its leaders in Congress. But in many ways, the partys direction is driven by a group between those two: conservative organizations like Club for Growth and the Heritage Foundation, GOP officials at the local and state level and right-wing media outlets. That segment of the party has been especially resistant to the GOP abandoning its current mix of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, opposition to expansions of programs that benefit the poor and an identity politics that centers white Americans and conservative Christians.

You could see the power and preferences of this group in the response to the Capitol insurrection.

In the days immediately following Jan. 6, many GOP elected officials, most notably McConnell, signaled that the party should make a permanent break from Trump. Pollsfound an increased number of rank-and-file GOP voters were dissatisfied with the outgoing president. But by the time the Senate held its trial over Trumps actions a month later, it was clear that the party was basically back in line with Trump.;

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When Defeated Politicians Feel Blue They Wear It

He was feeling blue.;

There he stood, front and center in his home state,;cloaked in failure. Sad Senator Marco Rubio addressed the crowd Tuesday:

“While it is not God’s plan that I be president in 2016 or maybe ever, and while today my campaign is suspended…we must do all we can to ensure that this nation remains a special place.”

He certainly wore his heart on his sleeve well, in this case, his tie. It was dark blue.

Following in the footsteps of Jeb Bush, who sported a silk navy tie, and Ben Carson, who wore a powder blue striped shirt at their respective concessions, Rubio, too, wore the color.;

And it wasn’t by coincidence. Premeditated or subconscious, blue is the color when you’re feeling the shade.;

“Wearing a blue tie is the right choice for conceding in an election,” said Lauren Rothman, a Washington, D.C.-based political stylist, consultant and author of the Style Bible.

“The color communicates two emotions at the same time: optimism and sadness.”

Rothman,;who’s dressed many a politician for their concession speeches,;said that blue sends the message for supporters to continue following them on to their next chapters and that they have officially had a standstill.;

“There’s a sense of calmness to it and comfort as if showing that it’s okay, it’s going to be all right,” she said.

Lee Eiseman, a color specialist and expert, agreed.;

But Eiseman did clarify that there are different signifiers of blue depending on the hue.;

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How The Colors Came To Be Red White And Blue

Of the 205 sovereign nations in the world, 21 share red, white and blue as their flags colors. But why do so many share the same trio of colors, and what do they represent?

On July 4, 1776, a resolution was passed by Congress authorizing the development of a seal for the new country which reflected the Founding Fathers values.

When presenting the seal which was officially adopted on June 20, 1782 Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson, explained, White signifies purity and innocence. Red, hardiness and valor, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.

The meaning behind the colors have since shifted slightly. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared it the Year of the Flag, stating, The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish. Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice.

According to TIME Magazine, however, Mike Buss, a flag expert with the American Legion, points to the red, white and blue used in the Union Jack of England.

They come from the three colors that the Founding Fathers had served under or had been exposed to, said Buss.

Therefore, some of the correlation between the United States use of red, white and blue along with 20 other countries, including Puerto Rico, Australia and Cuba, could come from their historical correlation with England.

Why Politicians Wear Only Red And Blue Ties

Why does Trump Scotch tape his tie?

Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News wrote that even though President Obama doesnt like to reduce America into a collection of red states and blue states, he wore only red and blue neckties in his first 11 days in office. Is that just a coincidence?

Not according to science Robert Roy Britt of LiveScience explains why in high-stakes politics and business, there are only two color of ties, red and blue:

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What Do The State Of The Unions Purple Ties Mean

Whats in a tie? If youre President Obama giving the State of the Union address, it can mean quite a bit. Tonight, Obama, along with Vice-President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner, made a sartorial show of solidarity. The three leaders sported purple ties because as every first-grade student knows blue and red make purple, and it may be a visual signifier of Obamas desire for bi-partisan cooperation. This isnt the first time Obama and Biden have rocked the royal hue: The pair, along with thenSpeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, all wore purple during the 2010 State of the Union. And then, as now, pundits speculated about its meaning. There is kind of a connotation in politics that comes through color, said fashion blogger Mary Tomer, of last years tie choices. I dont think its too much of a stretch to think purple couldve been chosen;symbolically.

Has Trump Been Wearing A Purple Tie More Often Lately

The last couple of weeks Ive noticed him wearing a purple tie.

Do Republicans notice this? Care?

Does it mean anything?

Why would it matter even if he was? Its a goddamn tie. You people love imagining bullshit where it doesnt exist.

Saying you people is almost always a derogatory remark. If you dont like the OPs question, address your answer to her.

Im with . Look around at other threads. Assumptions made on behalf of Trump supporters, and even supposing to know what our president plans, knows, wants, likes. Until Trump opposers are willing to stop lumping us in a pit of lost causes, expect the same in return.

, I have had the same observation, so perhaps he has. Does it have any significance? I believe only time will tell.

I think that if he is in fact wearing purple, he is doing it to reflect the electorate and its attitudes as the American population slowly moves to embrace the democratic party.

Are the colors of his tie supposed to mean anything?And WHY do Trump supporters get all bent out of shape and when thinking Trump opposers lump them in all together, but do the exact same thing when it comes to dealing with opposers?

So he bought a new tie. He wore the red one for almost three years, and he cant ever seem to tie it right. Glad he got a new one.

I think its some kind of white power salute.

Disclaimer: The above statement is a joke.

Which you people? and I?

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Which States Are Considered Red And Which Are Blue

To go along with the colors, the terms red state and blue state were popularized by anchorman Tim Russert during and immediately after the 2000 election. Today, these terms are used to refer to which party a state voted for during a presidential election.;

Generally speaking, the Northeast and the West Coast are considered a collection of blue states as most of them have sided with the Democrats since the early 1990s.

The Southern states have sided with Republicans since the 2000s, while the Midwest tends to be tougher to predict. For example, Illinois and Minnesota are currently considered blue states, while Missouri and Nebraska are red. Hawaii and Alaska have been traditionally considered blue and red respectively as neither has switched parties since the late 1980s .

The Southwest has been split since 2000 with Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado going blue more often than red and Utah and Arizona voting predictably red. Finally, we come to the coveted purple states or swing states,;such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. These states switched colors in recent elections and are often a key focus of electoral campaigning and strategy. Swing states can vary by election year.

Color And Clothing Choices

When we see certain colors, they produce chemical reactions in our brains that can make us feel certain emotions. For example you are more likely to order more food in a restaurant that is decorated with a lot of red because that color makes us hungry. Sports teams often paint the opposing teams locker room pink because that color makes people tired. Guests on late night TV hang out in the Green Room before coming on stage because that color is the most calming and relaxing. So what could certain candidates be trying to sell you via their color and clothing choices?

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When Its Time To Head Back To The Office And On The Few Days When I Wear A Suit And Tie I Should Retire My Red Ties Right Unless I Want Everyone To Assume I Am A Trump Supporter Is It Possible For Any Man To Wear A Red Tie Now And Not Immediately Call To Mind The Former President Ken Newton Mass

Though the death of the tie is declared regularly especially given the pressures of both the long-term office-casual movement and our current working-from-home reality Guy Trebay, our mens wear critic, maintains that you should not count the accessory out quite yet. As he said, even if were not wearing them much during lockdown, you dont want to give up on an element of the wardrobe thats been around for 400 years.

Ties can, after all, be used to signal your club, your interests, whether you are a jokester, a brainiac or even a clown. Not to mention, as you say, political affiliation.

The question is whether the party dividing line between red and blue that has swept even the necktie into its maw will remain uppermost in everyones minds now that unity is the word of the moment . Given how central red ties were to President Trumps uniform, it is natural to think that we may now have a Pavlovian response to the color. But the fact is, red ties were a wardrobe staple long before Mr. Trump got hold of them.

Its the combination of shade and style that makes the statement of allegiance, not simply one or the other. Thats what you should keep in mind when getting dressed. Then go ahead: Tie one on.

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-do-republicans-wear-blue-ties/

[eternaleve]

You know how I said that the last two episodes made 1532 seemed like eighteen months long? Well, this episode just… you’ll see, it’s rather special in it’s own way.

Checkmate

Henry destroys all ties with authority and the past. After many failed attempts to have his marriage to Catherine annulled by the Catholic Church, Henry runs out of patience and marries a pregnant Anne Boleyn in secret. He appoints the young Lutheran Thomas Cranmer to succeed the deceased William Warham as Archbishop of Canterbury and strips Queen Catherine of her title and status, along with Princess Mary; they are hence to be known as the Princess Dowager of Wales and the Lady Mary, respectively. The Act of Restrain of Appeals is presented to Parliament by Cromwell and passes. As Sir Thomas More has resigned as Chancellor, Henry hands the position to the pro-Lutheran Thomas Cromwell. Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England to a small and uneager crowd and escapes an assassination attempt. Pope Paul III threatens to excommunicate the king and the church of England from the Roman Catholic Church if Henry does not return to Catherine, but Henry tears the papal edict in half. Henry is also disappointed when Anne Boleyn gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, instead of his desired son, and soon resumes his philandering with ladies of the court despite assuring Anne they will still have a son.

A Secret Marriage, A Secret Pregnancy, A Coronation – Oh My!

After one instance of the sex, Anne is instantly pregnant. And not just even a little pregnant, because she’s already suffering immense intense pregnancy cravings for apples. This is based on a real life anecdote, but I have to question the timeline here.

Anne and Henry went to France in September 1532 (another reason why they couldn’t have conceived Elizabeth there, unless Anne managed to be pregnant for twelve months. I screwed up the times last week, so my bad there. It’s been a while since I last looked it all up). They would not be married for the first time until November 14 1532. I know some women start to have cravings at two to three weeks, but for Anne to be ‘Yup, definitely pregnant, I’m so full of baby right now’, she has to be at least past a month or two. And there just isn’t the time to fit into what happened and when.

And yes, it’s still 1532! The year that never, ever ends!

Realising Anne’s condition (even though pregnancies were usually recognised from when the baby ‘quickened’ i.e. starting to move around three months and there’s no way Anne can be three months pregnant) Henry orders Cranmer to look into his marriage…

… but gets married in secret anyway.

There’s no need to rush Henry! This baby won’t be born for another ten months.

Anyway, after a second official marriage in January, and a little political wrangling, Anne can now be crowned queen. She’s the only queen consort in British history to receive a coronation separate from her royal spouse, and the only one to be crowned with St. Edward’s Crown. There’s some BS nonsense at her parade, but we’ll go into that later.

It’s also really off because of the warped timeline the show has decided to follow. It’s now June, 1533, and because Anne fell pregnant in September, she should be giving birth. Like, literally on that carriage, she should be deep in labour. But she’s managing to keep it in for another three months.

Henry places a crown on Anne’s head, and she’s anointed and invested as queen. I say ‘a crown’ because that tiny little pathetic coronet is not St Edward’s Crown.

It was remade in the seventeenth century, but the royal monogram is based on St Edward’s Crown.

This is Henry’s, so this is probably what the crown looked at during Henry’s time. It is not a single pathetic coronet that barely shows up. How do you ruin making an impressive and royal crown?

Henry gets aggressive and nasty with Anne at the coronation feast, because foreshadowing.

This aggressive side of Henry continues into the longest pregnancy ever experienced by any woman ever. When sleeping at night – and FYI, they shouldn’t share a bed. Royal couples had separate apartments in palaces, and completely separate bedrooms. Henry and his wives would not share a bed like a couple might do now – Anne is too tired and stressed out by the longest pregnancy in the world to have sex with Henry. He’s disgusted and angered by her rejection.

Because it’s only the most sexy and romantic of men who try to force their wives into having sex with them! (Even though Henry wouldn’t try anything like that for fear of damaging the child or causing a miscarriage)

Anne finally goes into labour, and luckily for her, it’s incredibly easy. She pushes exactly once and the baby just flies out. Unfortunately, it’s not a son. It’s a girl, and Henry is taken aback. But sons will surely follow, for they are both young and fertile.

Lol no, Henry is now sleeping with anyone else because how dare his wife have a child and it’s not what he wanted.

Do you play… chess?

Wait, where are you going to put that chess piece? Cause she doesn’t look very happy about it…

… oh. Oh. Hope you don’t plan on playing with it again.

The London Knoll

The Imperial assassin is revealed to be none other than William Brereton. Which makes pretty much no sense.

Not only was he almost fifty by this point, but he’s a longstanding member of Henry’s inner circle, serving as a groom of the privy chamber. He was a wealthy and respected member of court, and definitely not a twenty something devoted Catholic who wanted to kill Anne Boleyn. This assassination nonsense is exactly that – nonsense. Events are dramatic enough as it is without having an assassin running about.

After attempting to kill Anne, Brereton travels to Rome to beg forgiveness from the Pope. Instead, the Pope enlists him as a Jesuit and sends him back to kill Anne again.

The Jesuits aren’t formed until 1540. Even if you needed to add to this ridiculous mess, you didn’t need to add in Jesuits. And then the producers decide to recreate the assassination of JFK for no apparent reason.

Don’t tell me that’s not based on the death of JFK, because it looks so much like it. I find that a little cheap and distasteful, to co-opt a real life trauma to improve the shabbiness of your own writing. And I don’t think sixteenth century guns were accurate enough to carry out this sort of operation. Luckily, some random mook dies instead and is shoved under a choir stand to die alone and unnoticed.

He’s almost caught out by the fact he didn’t think to wipe off all the incredibly obvious and super noticeable gunpowder from his hands, but William Brereton escapes to assassinate another day!

Brandon VS The Boleyns

The tension between Charles Brandon and Thomas Boleyn gets worse because their servants get into a stupid fight and kill each other. After all, Charles Brandon needed an actual, legitimate reason to hate the Boleyns other than ‘the writers needed something for him to do this season’.

What Are You Up To, Thomas Cranmer?

Besides all this, there’s the question of the English Church and Henry’s first marriage. To force his second marriage through, he decides to make Thomas Cranmer his Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior religious position in England.

He transported his wife from Germany in a box. It is sort-of a true story. Cranmer was said to have hidden his wife from the King in a box, not taken her across half a continent, but it’s only a ‘it is said’ kind of truth. There’s no evidence that it actually happened.

The supporters of Katherine are not happy with this because Cranmer is a ‘Lutheran’. That’s simply not true. Cranmer was more Calvinist than Lutheran, because Lutheran is not a catch all for ‘not being a Catholic’.

Meanwhile, Cromwell has pushed through parliament The Act in the Restraint of Appeals which basically means that it’s illegal to apply to foreign courts of justice and to appeal outside of England as it’s an empire. Cromwell, it would seem, is completely in charge of government and Henry doesn’t have any say over anything as he’s a big doofus with no ideas of his own.

Cranmer, with little to no fuss, announces that Henry and Katherine’s marriage is not valid and that Anne and Henry’s marriage is good and legal. The Pope declares Henry excommunicated.

What About Katherine and Mary?

Katherine is told of this change. She will now be the Dowager Princess of Wales, and Henry will support her no longer. She proclaims herself to always be Queen of England.

And then there’s the Princess Mary. She’s now all grown up, but no longer a Princess. She is to be the Lady Mary, and royal heir no longer. She was told this in real life by the Duke of Norfolk, but he’s mysteriously vanished from the show.

Our New Gay Subplot

Mark Smeaton, in a public place, very loudly comes onto George Boleyn. I guess he’s going to be executed for sodomy in the next episode because it’s very illegal at this point. I highly doubt queer people were loudly shouting about their sexuality in a public arena because, you know, death is bad.

Come on, Vogue, Let Your Body Move to the Music

Those clothes are straight up pure Elizabethan. There is nothing of the 1530s about them. And take that purple off, Smeaton. You’re a common servant, and purple is for the royal family alone.

You ready for your villain song, Henry? Because that collar is straight from Maleficent. That collar is far too high for a man like Henry to wear.

Mary, that hood is not right. That is a very central Germanic hood and would never be found at the English court (at least, until Anna of Cleeves arrives).

This is another from the Katherine Willoughy ‘Lamps of Tudor England’ series, and it’s just as hideous as the first one.

Nice pregnancy sack. Anne, you’d be wearing exactly the same dress as you’d always wear, but with the ties and stomacher loosened to allow room for the bump. Tudor England didn’t have maternity sacks for women.

That is Jacobean hat right there. Take it off and burn it.

And that’s it for this week. Come back next time for more of 1532 (probably), bad dresses, and terrible writing decisions.

  Unpicking the Tudors; S2 EP3 You know how I said that the last two episodes made 1532 seemed like eighteen months long?

[jerome-blog1]

The Sounds of the Sixties

Bristol & West Country Bands – Music of the 60’s

In the heady days of the early 1960’s, a time of massive change and innovation in the world of popular music. Fuelled by the excitement and electricity surrounding the new sounds of the time.

Merseybeat stars head down south – With the Merseyside inspired "Beat Boom" in full swing, the big stars in Bristol this week in 1963 had to be from up north.

Topping the bill at the Colston Hall were Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas who had just had a couple of massive hits with Do You Want to Know a Secret (No.2) – a Beatles’ written ditty – and Bad to Me (No.1).

You certainly got your money’s worth in those days. Also on the twice-nightly bill was Tommy Roe, an American who had shot up the charts with Sheila and the Folk Singer, plus a string of lesser acts. Tickets ranged from four shillings and sixpence to 10 shillings and sixpence (average wages were then about £10 a week).

The end of the month would see Freddie and the Dreamers, the Searchers and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (who were riding high in the charts with Do You Love Me) invading the city. The Tremeloes had previously reached No.4 with that "oldie, but goodie" Twist and Shout – a raucous number recorded by the Beatles on their first album.

Topping the bill was Roy Orbison, who had just made the top 10 with In Dreams and Falling. His Blue Bayou would reach the No.3 spot on September 19. Top tickets, in the balcony, would set you back 12 shillings and sixpence.

In 1963, the smallish, local venues were still torn between promoting beat music or jazz. Local bands Johnny Slade and the Vikings plus Dean Prince and the Dukes were on stage at Clifton’s Victoria Rooms, with the Chinese Jazz Club at the Corn Exchange booking the Alan Elsdon Jazz Band.

"Thomas Alstone", the man with his finger on the pulse, tells us that local instrumental band the Eagles (and stars of the Bristol-made film Some People) were about to try their hand at vocals as well.

The result, on the Pye label, was an updated version of the Helston floral dance called Come on Baby, to the Floral Dance. I don’t think it made the charts. If you really wanted to know what was going on in the city in 1963 then the newly published Bristol Beat was the thing to read. Billed as "Young Bristol’s entertainment paper", it cost six pence.

This magazine informed us that the best- selling single in the city was She Loves You by the Beatles. Runner-up was Billy J Kramer’s Bad to Me. Other top sellers were Wishing by Buddy Holly and I’m Telling You Now by Freddie and the Dreamers.

If classical guitar was you thing then Julian Bream was playing at Stourhead gardens on the Sunday evening. The two guinea tickets included soup, cheese, French bread and a glass of wine.

Back in the city – the Centre to be precise – comedian Jimmy Edwards was getting astride a horse to promote his autumn spectacular at the Hippodrome. If none of this was your cup of tea then how about a trip to the movies to see some really big stars – a trio in fact.

At the ABC you could join the queue to see Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard and Richard Harris in Mutiny on the Bounty. And in September 1963, Bristol Zoo had its very own stars on show to the public – the only pair of white tigers in the world (outside India).

Bristolians were huge fans of Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas.

Recommended Link

bristolrock.net/c.aspx

www.bristolarchiverecords.com/people/people_Tony_Dodd.html

Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs

The original Bristol Comets and special guest star Sandra McCann. Formed in 1958 and playing Hamburg’s Kaiser Keller Club alongside The Beatles, Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs are the authentic sound of the ’60s. It was said that The Cadillacs were performing Twist and Shout, You’ll Never Walk Alone and Shoutlong before they became hits for The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Lulu.

Formed in 1958. Lineup: Vocalist; Lead guitar; Rythm Guitar; Bass guitar; Drums Dave Purslow. For many years considered by most to be the most popular ‘pop group’ in Bristol. Every teenager knew of them. A very polished group fronted by the stong vocals of Johny Carr (Con Sullivan), they had a solid style and had that certain charisma that got them noticed. This was what took them to Hamburg’s Kaiser Club and playing alongside The Beatles, Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs became the authentic Bristol sound of the 60s.

The Cadillacs were performing songs like Twist and Shout, Youll Never Walk Alone and Shout before they became hits for The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Lulu. In the early 1960s the drummer was Dave Purslow, a very large gentleman. John rennie writes: Downend had a very popular R & R club which was every Wednesday I think. Knowle had serious Saturday evening dances at the community centre featuring top local groups. Speedwell TA hall had some big dances, one easter I remember starring Johnny kidd and the Pirates with Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs supporting. There was a memmorable local group R & R concert at the old Cabot cinema (before it closed down) in Filton along the same lines as the ones at the Colston hall. What about the rag week mersey versus avon beat shows at the Vic rooms in the early 60,s I hope this stirs some memories. Regards John Rennie.

See photo link below

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2050007986/

Chet And The Triumphs

This Bristol band once supported The Beatles at The Bath Pavilion in the early sixties. The drummer was Graham Nicholson, who lived in West Park Road, Downend. His practice sessions could often be heard when you passed by on the pavement outside. His father was an inspector on the buses, based at nearby Staple Hill Depot.

John Coldrick lived a few doors away, also in West Park Road. He often passed by when we children were playing in the street outside our house on the corner of West Park Road and North Street. He always had a cheery word for us and took it in good spirit when we called out cheeky things about teddy boys and suchlike. A thoroughly nice young man. Regards Fray Bentos

Email to the webmaster: Hi, just looked through your website,brilliant! i saw a picture of Johnny Coldrick, with his band The Triumphs. I knew john in the early 60s and would love to get in touch with him.can you help? Regards Paul Newman….would be good to hear from anyone with contact details.

Email to the webmaster: I have great memories of the Glen ballroom and the club next door called Cupids Bar. Also the bouncer at the door of the Glen being David Prouse (of Darth Vader fame)I often would have a quick dance with him which looked strange as I was barely five feet tall and he was probably at least six seven. I now live in Australia but have great memories of Bristol, which I return to on a regular basis. I was also married for nineteen years to a member of the rock band Chet & The Triumphs. Regards Pam and Gary O’keefe

See photo link below

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2975315707/

Fred Wedlock

Once described as a ‘West Country Billy Connolly, although he probably came first’, Bristolian singer and raconteur Fred Wedlock has been performing in folk clubs and concerts since the late 1960s. He was born in Bristol, England, on 23rd May 1942 and had various jobs, including being a teacher, before turning professional in the early 1970s. He is related to ‘Fatty Wedlock of Bristol City FC fame. Fred had various albums on small labels issued in the 1970s, and became widely known early in 1981 when his single The Oldest Swinger In Town hit the UK charts, rising to no. 6. Unfortunately he has never maintained that success, but the song is almost guaranteed to be played at family gatherings such as wedding receptions, as the middle-aged uncles and aunts take to the floor to gyrate after a few drinks.

Acker Bilk

The chances are that if you were asked to name a clarinet player, the first name that would spring to mind is Acker Bilk. Somerset-born Acker became world famous in May 1962 when he became the first British artist to top the US pop music charts, paving the way for other acts from the UK, such as a then still unknown band who were to have a fair amount of success on both sides of the pond a year or so after Acker’s trailblazing hit – The Beatles!

Acker’s US chart-topper Stranger On The Shore had topped the British chart some six months earlier, following its use as the theme tune of the eponymous BBC children’s TV series. The record, which would nowadays be described as easy listening, perhaps seems an unlikely double number one on both sides of the Atlantic, but in those pre-Beatle days the charts contained a fairly eclectic mixture of ballads, rock ‘n’ roll and Dixieland-style ‘trad’ (short for traditional) jazz.

See photo link below

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2080583036/in/se…

Pete Budd and the Rebels

Pete Budd and the Rebels Line up: Lead guitar/vocals, Rythym Guitar, Saxophone, Bass and Drums. Pete Budd, then apparently voted as the ‘best guitarist in the West’ (according to the local pop music magazine ‘The Western Scene’) succeeded Les Watts as the lead vocalist and guitarist. Ivor Newick played drums and there was also had a saxophinist.

‘Somerset Born And Proud’ Pete later replaced Reg Quantrill as the Wurzels’ guitar and banjo player. One of the trio who continued after Adge Cutler’s death, he was the only member of the 1970s Wurzels who actually comes from Somerset. His is the distinctive lead voice on all of their 1970s chart hits, including their number one smash Combine Harvester and the follow-up hits I Am A Cider Drinker, Farmer Bill’s Cowman, etc. Pete is still with the band today, and therefore the second longest serving current Wurzel after Tommy Banner. Pete started out in the band Pete Budd and the Rebels and also made a few records in the 1960s in a band called The Rainbow People. Pete was running a pub/restaurant in the West Country for a while. A keen fisherman, Pete emigrated to Devon a while back. His voice has been heard in recent years singing on the TV commercials for Ambrosia Creamed Rice.

Adge Cutler

The original and indisputably the greatest Wurzel of all time, and the brains behind the whole concept. Born 1930 in Nailsea, north Somerset. Held a series of jobs before becoming a Wurzel, including working as road manager for famous clarinet player Acker Bilk (who is also from Zummerzet) and his Paramount Jazz Band, working in a cider mill (Coates of Nailsea), and working on building a power station in North Wales. Spent a year in Spain working as an agent looking for property. During his time there he grew to love the country and the Spanish way of life, as well as becoming fluent in Spanish. Formed the Wurzels in 1966 and continued to gig and record with the band until his career was sadly cut short by his untimely death in 1974, when he overturned his MGB sports car at a roundabout while driving himself home from a gig. Buried in Christchurch, Nailsea.

The Comets

One of Bristol’s own first-generation rock ‘n’ roll bands the Comets they had supported such acts as Gene Vincent and Billy Fury. The Comets were almost certainly the first Bristol based band to make the enormous leap from Skiffle to amplified music, and thus paving the way for countless other local bands in the late fifties – early sixties.

A talent contest at the Glen Ballroom in 1958 in which the Sapphires, a vocal group, and the Comets were competing. Their sound blew everyone away that night. They not only sounded great, they looked great as well, dressed like quintessential rockers of that era.

In 1960 a unique show took place at The major concert venue in the city of Bristol, England….The Colston Hall. 2000 fans packed the place on December 16th to witness the best of the cities young Rock,n,roll bands & singers, even though not one of them had a recording contract, and some of the musicians were still in school ! Such was the popularity of local bands, when there was no such thing as a disco. let alone MTV, and when there was very little "pop music" on the then austere stiif upper lip Radio.

Andy Perrott (acoustic guitar and vocals) started out as half of the ‘Antones’ with Tony Sweet and has featured in several local rock’n’roll bands including the ‘Echoes’ and the legendary ‘Bristol Comets’. Andy left the music business for a twenty year sabbatical but returned in 1984 as front man with the reformed ‘Comets’.

Tony Dodd (electric guitar and vocals) started his career in music at about the same time, as guitarist for ‘Mike Tobin and the Magnets’. Unlike Andy, Tony has been playing continually since those heady days with the Magnets, including a band in the USA where he lived for three years. Locally Tony held down a residency at the renowned ‘Dug Out’ club and his bands include ‘Hugget’ and ‘Dodds Army’, and he is now a member of the Bristol Comets’.

See photo link below

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2050007986/

The Eagles

The Eagles were formed by Terry Clarke www.terryclarke.com/ (lead guitar), Johnny Payne (rhythm guitar), Michael Brice (bass), and Rod Meacham (drums), all students at Connaught Road School in Bristol. Their name came from the youth organization, the Eagle House Youth Club, to which they all belonged. The quartet played local dances, parties, and bingo halls, performing during the intervals between the sessions at the latter, often for whatever was in the hat that was passed around.

The Eagles were a Bristol music quartet active from 1958 through the mid 1960s.

Led by guitarist Terry Clarke, who used a homebuilt custom instrument, the group included drummer Rod Meacham, bassist Michael Brice, and Johnny Payne on rhythm guitar. Playing primarily instrumental rock, they began their career in Bristol playing local venues such as dance halls.

They were launched into the world of professional music in 1962 upon being noticed by composer Ron Grainer, probably best remembered for his theme to Doctor Who. Grainer was interested in The Eagles for a film project he was working on, Some People, about a fictional Bristol band not unlike themselves. The Eagles contributed to the Some People soundtrack, and became Grainer’s protegees, recording new versions of some of his film score work like the theme of the Maigret television series. The Some People soundtrack reached No.2 on the EP charts, and remained on the charts for a stay of 21 weeks.

The Eagles were awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Trophy for their work on the film, and soon after were signed to Pye Records, at the time among the top three labels in Britain. After releasing the singles ‘Bristol Express’ and ‘Exodus’, The Eagles embarked on a major tour of England along with more established acts Del Shannon, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Tillotson, and Dionne Warwick.

The tour world lasted much of 1963, during which their debut album, Smash Hits From The Eagles was released in the UK and the United States. The following year brought their most successful single and the one for which they are best remembered today, a vocal rendition of ‘Wishin’ And Hopin” backed with ‘Write Me A Letter’. Unfortunately, 1964 also brought a pair of tragedies which ultimately led to the end of the group: Grainer went blind, and Meachum suffered a nervous breakdown. Soon after, in late 1964, the band went their separate ways.

After The Eagles Clarke continued in the music business, with the band Pickettywitch and later as a session musician and solo artist, working with such artists as Michael Messer, Willie Nelson, Joe Ely, The Band, and Johnny Cash. He released nine solo albums between 1990 and 2006, on Transatlantic Records and various labels. Payne returned to Bristol and continued to play with local bands.

The Eagles’ music is available on many compilations of the era, and in 1998 Sanctuary Records released a massive 61-track two-disc compilation set Smash Hits from The Eagles and The Kestrels, by far the most accessible overview of the Eagles’ music today.

See photo link below

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2094324558/

Teach the world to sing – Rogers Cook and Greenaway

Britain’s best ever song-writers hail from Bristol, well Fishponds/Kingswood namely Rogers Cook and Greenaway. They used to be David and Jonathan in the sixties, wrote ‘If you like alot of chocolate on your biscuit join our club’ and Cookie formed Blue Mink. Later he went to Nashville where he become the only Briton ever to be inducted into the Country Hall of Fame.

Bristol’s Rolling Stones

Mick and Keith, Brian and Bill and, of course, Charlie were already world-famous as the Rolling Stones, pop music’s favourite rebels, by the autumn of 1965. They’d just celebrated their biggest hit of all, ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ when word came through that a Bristol band were claiming that they, not Jagger, Richards, Jones, Wyman and Watts, were the original Rolling Stones.

And it was all too true. Bristol’s Rolling Stones were the three Stone brothers who’d formed their own skiffle band at the height of the Lonnie Donegan era and played gigs like the Bristol Press Ball in 1957. Skiffle came from American blues music which often featured light travelling heroes described as rolling stones, so it was a good title.

The washboard group had changed their name to the Stone Brothers to avoid confusion when Mick, Keith and co. sprang to fame after taking their name from bluesman Muddy Waters’ classic ‘Rolling Stone’, but the matter still rankled. ‘We have no desire for the Jagger Stones to change their name. We only want to establish that the Bristol Stones are entitled to the name and were the first Rolling Stones,’ the group announced.

Top rock promoter/agent Tito Bums, then representing Mick, Keith and the rest chortled, ‘This would make a wonderful film.’ The Bristol Stones even consulted lawyers, but the matter ended quietly and amicably. . . and almost no one remembers the original Rolling Stones.

In the 1950s, Bill, his brother Ken and an unrelated Stone (Brian) formed a skiffle group. Their father was Moss Stone; not surprisingly, they called themselves The Rolling Stones. On the demise of the skiffle boom, they broadened their repertoire to include country and western . In 1965, there was a legal battle with the other ‘Stones’ which resulted in them being unable to continue with their name. A publicity leaflet for the Bristol Stones band at the time said ‘Bill Stone plays a very fine banjo and can perform equally well Liszt’s Liebestraum or Bye Bye Blues. Bill is a devotee of the great Eddie Peabody’ (an American plectrum style player)

The Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra

The bands who put our city on the map THE Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra, so the story goes, first got together after Fred Wedlock’s 1968 New Year party at Clifton’s much lauded Troubadour Folk Club in Waterloo Street. The "Piggies" as they were affectionately known, derived their unusual name from a specific location up the Gloucester Road – the section that goes uphill from the old Bristol North swimming baths to the turning just before Horfield prison.

Composed of musicians from other local groups the band weren’t in fact an orchestra at all but comparable to Viv Stanshall’s Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band or the zany Temperance Seven. John Turner (yes, the radio presenter and newspaper columnist) came from the Downsiders, Barry Back and Andy Leggett from the Alligator Jug Thumpers and Dave Creech from the Elastic Band.

Their music, which has been described as 1920s jazz and blues, actually sounded more jug band. Unbelievable sounds emanated from a collection of hot water bottles, plumbing pipes and the like. With a good dose of comedy thrown in, it all seemed to go down well. A music paper even labelled the "Piggies" the band "most likely to succeed". Things were looking up. With the Plastic Dog agency handling their gigs, a well received album, PHLOP, was released in 1970 on the Village Thing label. This was the year that John Turner left to be replaced by bass player Wild Bill Cole.

The band’s next album, Piggery Jokers, was recorded in Cornwall in 1973, had its distinctive cover put together by artist Rodney Matthews in a unique, self designed font. Now it was Barry Back’s time to call it a day being replaced by Jon "Wash" Hays on washboard. Then Andy Leggett left, too. But the "Piggies" weren’t ready to call it a day just yet. Dave Paskett, Richie Gould, Pat Small and Henry Davies, plus guitarists Chris Newman and Robert Greenfield came on board (plus, on occasion, a fine guitarist called Diz Disley who had tasted fame with folkie guitarist and singer Martin Carthy and legendary fiddler Dave Swarbrick).

All these musicians featured on the next album, imaginatively called The Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra, 1976. The music press were very kind. A Melody Maker hack wrote: "The Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra must be one of the most popular acts on the folk scene. Their spontaneous humour and good time songs have held many an audience anchored to the floor in wonder."

Three years later, despite a loyal following and much touring, the "Piggies" decided to throw in the towel. But still it wasn’t the end. In 1988, the band reformed, by request, to play at Trowbridge’s popular Village Pump Festival.

The gang were so well received and had so much fun that they decided to stay together, add Pat Small and singer Hannah Wedlock (Fred’s daughter) to the line-up and go on tour again. Out of it came yet another album, Back On The Road Again. This was in 1991, the year Jim Reynolds and Dave Griffiths joined the band. The following year, Musical History, a compilation album consisting of a selection of tracks taken from 1968 to 1992, was released.

Barry Back, who had been the driving force behind the "Piggies" reunion, sadly died in 1992 and, shortly after, the band decided to pack up for good. Al Read, in his excellent book about the Granary Club, says that the band’s first single on the Village Thing label, Shake That Thing/ Cut Across Shorty, can be bought for 47p.

The Retreads

One of the better bands was the Retreads, and were constantly booked to play most of the big venues, and played together with some of the bigger names of the time, Hollies, Searchers, Gene Vincent etc etc.

Jim Durcan, rhythm guitar, Derek Martin lead guitar and Ron Chappell on bass guitar, John Watson on drums. The band was soon signed up for Germany and spent a couple of years working the clubs there and under the management of the Star Palast owner Manfred Woitala, but returning every so often to play the Bristol scene.

While in Germany Jim had an accident and left the band, returning to his hometown Dursley in Glos, in the lineup at that time was a brilliant German pianist Jerry B, (Barthold Dunker) who made a great hit with the fans when the band once more returned to Bristol and on a longer tour covering the whole of the south of England.

After years in Germany and a few gigs in Sweden the Retreads returned to Bristol where eventually the band broke up. ( late 1966 ) Ron and Derek stayed in England and John Watson decided to go back to Sweden.

The Corvettes by Dark Haloun

I joined the corvettes as lead guitarist after Dave Fahy and Ray Truscott left for richer rewards. Steve Thynne had taken over as singer and rhythm guitarist. Geoff Fothergill played bass and Dave " Bocker" Box was on drums. We played most of the halls round Bristol and the villages within a fifty mile radius. Didn’t do much for my uni studies but it was fun.

Strictly a covers band, but weren’t they all back then. Alan B Williams drove the van and acted as roadie. He was chronically late, and we always told him that we were starting an hour before we really were. Geoff tried to teach me to drive in his Morris Minor, though without much success. When Steve moved on we got Alan Dale in as singer and Mike Morley( I think, memory is not what it used to be) on rhythm guitar. We discovered that Alan could sing a strong falsetto and started to do three part harmonies: Beach boys, Four seasons. It was a point of difference given that there were so many bands doing the same stuff. I was transferred to London and left the band in the mid-sixties.

Kinda lost touch with the guys after that. In 1973 I moved to Perth in Western Australia with my Aussie wife. Played in several bands over the years. For the last four years I’ve played lead in a sequenced trio, still doing the old fifties and sixties stuff. At 75 years of age it gives me an interest and keeps me off the sreets. Sorry I have nether photos nor memorabilia of the band but the memories remain undiminished. Dark Haloun

Anyone out there name any more ?

Email bristolhistory@googlemail.com

Can you Help ?

Does anyone remember the Glen Ballroom, Locarno, Dug Out, The Granary Club, Town’s Talk, Corn Exchange or any 1960s clubs or dance halls in Bristol?

The Glen

I’ve tried to find info & Pictures of it but no luck so far. We used to go ballroom dancing there back in the 60’s. There was a club attached to it but you had to be 18 to get in, they played rock ‘n’Roll their as apposed to the ‘Proper’ dancing in the ballroom.

Does anyone know if any of the Discs a gogo programmes were kept by the old TWW company.I would love to see us doing the Bristol Stomp again!

Anyone have any memories of the Mods & Rockers era and the coffee bars or the local West Coast Hells Angels in Bristol back to a time when British built motorcycles ruled the road ?

As a 51-year old Brisolian stuck in a 1960s timewarp, how many people recall the Monday night sessions between 1966 and 1968 at the then New Bristol Centre in the Locarno ballroom? (sadly now demolished) As I recall, this was THE place in Bristol at the time for 14-18-year-olds, with the entrance fee being 3s 6d for a session from 7pm to 10.30pm.

Records were provided via DJ (anyone recall names?) and there were two bars, The Bali Hai, where if you could stand tiptoe and lower your voice, you might get served with a half of cider by a waitress in a mock grass skirt!

Music was generally Top 30 stuff with a sprinkling of rarer Stax, Atlantic and Motown items which kept the Mods happy, and I am sure many a long-term relationship was started on the dance-floor.

Luckily, prior to demolition I was allowed in, and now am the proud owner of the Bali Hai mock Totem Poles which adorned the entrance to the bar, and also the sign from the Gents Stag Room – my partner thinks I’m crazy!

Chris Powell, Bradley Stoke

Danny Clarke and the Jaguars, Dean Prince and the Dukes, Jonny Slade and the Vikings, Mel Taylor and the Trek a beats, Dee Stars Predictions, A J and the others. The Road Runners.

The Quad. Mark Roman and the Javelins , Franklin big six, The Exiles, Mike Starr and the Citizens. The Blue Sound. The Lincolns, The Travellers The Concords The Ramrods. Dale Martin and the Mysteries. The Retreads The Strange Fruits The Burlington Berties. Venues the Vic rooms Carwadines Cool for cats (Yate) Bath pavilion the Corn Exchange the all nighter and all the church halls.

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/5165126654/

Mods and Rockers

Email from Chris Powell to me: I was a 17 year old Mod living in St George/ Hanham at the time (1968/9). Most of us rode Lambrettas or Vespas, and The Rockers (or Greasers as we called them) rode old Vincents or Triumphs.

Generally there wasn’t any problems although it did kick off big time in the Summer of 1969 around the Centre- there were running battles for 2 or 3 nights and anyone on either a scooter or motorbike was considered "fair game"

A meeting was arranged on College Green between the Pascoe brothers (Willie and Angellino?) who were the "Ace Faces" in the Bristol Mod movement, and the leaders of the Rockers (names N/K)- there was the customary handshake and peace reigned thereafter. In all honesty, most of the "trouble" was built up by the media, as mainly Mods and Rockers were good friends. Indeed, I still have Lambrettas to this day and occaisionally meet Rockers of that era whilst out and about and chinwag over the good old days!

Main "Mod" places were- The Locarno; The Top Rank; The Never on a Sunday Cafe in Fairfax Street: Aunt Gemimas; Coke and Clobber; Beau Brummels on The Centre; The Weigh Inn (spelling) on College Green.

The Rockers used to hang out at The Starsreach Cafe in Staple Hill.

Posted by brizzle born and bred on 2007-12-08 14:55:08

Tagged: , 1958 , 1962 , 1966 , 1984 , 1963 , pacemakers , wurzels , ambrosia , adge cutler , cook greenaway , al read , nailsea , pye records , banner , dodd , pete budd , wedlock , spanish , beatles , corn exchange , bath pavilion , pigsty hill , eagles , sweet , towns talk , tww , johnny carr , johnny tillotson , kaiser keller club , blue mink , granary club , rock band , sandra mccann , sixties , spain , stevie wonder , del shannon , andy perrott , bristol comets , lulu , dionne warwick , mike tobin , chet triumphs , cadillacs , Merseybeat , Beat Boom , Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas , Johnny Slade and the Vikings , Dean Prince and the Dukes , Chinese Jazz Club , Bristol Corn Exchange , Devon , Somerset , Bristol-Music-&-Arts , Acker-Bilk , The Corvettes by Dark Haloun

The post The Sounds of the Sixties appeared first on Good Info.

[adamharkus]

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

I didn’t have a single issue with my Taylor 110e acoustic guitar in the 10 years spent with it. So why did I let it go?

Outdated electronics

My Taylor 110e featured Taylor’s now-defunct ES-Blue pickup system, devoid of any such niceties as EQ or an even end-pin mounted jack.  Battery access? well, that was installed directly onto the inside of the top. You couldn’t really get more basic or rough around the edges, with the jack socket protruding untidily out from the same position as a Les Paul, or in other words exactly where you don’t want it for mostly sat-down acoustic work.

Taylor has since moved on with their far superior 3-band Expression system.

In practice, the amplified tone isn’t offensive, but the chances are it won’t be perfect for the venue either, in which case you’ll need outboard eq, which is a chore.  The tone is exactly what you’d expect, which is a clean electric tone with a dash of acoustic, rather than pure acoustic what you’d hoped it to be, it seems rubbery and unresponsive, predictably synthetic, and worst of all, uninspiring.

Spec for the money

At the time of purchase (around 2005), we were talking £450+ for a solid Sitka Spruce top with laminated Sapele sides.  These days, fully solid instruments can be had for less, and with far superior electronics to boot.

Build Quality

Rudimentary electronics aside, the construction of the Taylor 110e is rather shabby, to say the least.  First off is the bridge, billed as ebony, but as it turns out it’s a lighter coloured wood with a darker finish, which started to peel away almost immediately.

The headstock is similarly low-rent, with a very cheap-looking white transfer Taylor logo on a black veneer (since upgraded to Indian Rosewood on later models).

Soundhole ornamentation is a simple as it gets, but more disappointingly, the back and sides or also very scruffily finished. Some would say the thin lacquer coating is a benefit. I’d say it’s merely slapdash.

All in all, not the tidiest of packages.

Lack of Personality

I’ll always remember the first strum on the Taylor 110e. Its acoustic tone is bright, and a real eye-opener compared to what it was replacing, a Simon & Patrick Cedar SP6 (Closest recent model here). But more than the brightness was the clarity and an uncanny, almost chorus-like sheen. For a time I revelled in the zing of the piano-like bass note tones, which were a world away from the woody thud of the Simon & Patrick (my main reason for letting it go), the increase in volume, thanks to the Taylor 110e’s signature ‘bowled’ back,  the Taylor calling card of electric-like neck dimensions and playability, and the rock-solid reliability and kudos of USA-built instrument by one the best name in the business.

But as the years went by, the Taylor provided me with nothing new.  No issues, no breakages, no degradation, but also no fun, no inspiration, no surprises, no personality.

And then I began to realise, for vocal accompaniment, its main job, the Fender-esque icy response of the Taylor wasn’t really a good foil for the similar qualities in my voice. The Simon & Patrick, with its earthy bass and muted high end, was a better match, and as a result, that guitar got a lot more songs out of it despite its on-paper inferiority.

It’s not all about specs and brand

So there you have it,  I was almost heartbroken to see the Simon & Patrick go.  Despite its flaws, it had all the songs, all the history, It had become a friend, even accompanying me to Goa (full story here). When it went, a part of me went with it.

On the other hand, I had the Taylor 110e for longer, but there was no sense of loss at all. It had delivered, yes, but it hadn’t inspired, I hadn’t fallen in love with it.

As a musician and songwriter, I truly believe our very best work comes from using instruments that have that extra-special something, beyond specs and brand.  It’s that deep, comforting connection of knowing it’ll surprise you in inspiring ways, gift you an idea or even a whole song. Guitars are not just a collection of parts, they have the capacity within them to change the world.

… I really miss that Simon & Patrick.

Taylor 110e Sound examples.

Take a listen to a couple of my own Tracks featuring the Taylor 110e

This Is Who I Am

You'll Find A Way

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You can also purchase my album. This is Who I am on Amazon, Apple Music, Google Play Music etc.

  Taylor 110e Acoustic Gallery

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. The unique bowled back and stripey grain.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Transfer logo.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Awful jack socket position.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Handy second strap button.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Almost electric-like action.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Rudimentary soundhole ornamentation.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Plain as it gets headstock.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review. The Blogging Musician @ adamharkus.com. Rather nice padded Gigbag.

    Taylor 110e specs

Type/Shape: 6-String Dreadnought

Back & Sides: Sapele Laminate

Top: Sitka Spruce

Soundhole Rosette: Plastic

Neck: Sapele

Fretboard: Ebony

Fretboard Inlay: Pearloid Dots

Binding: Black

Bridge: Ebony

Nut & Saddle: Tusq

Tuning Machines: Enclosed, Die-Cast Chrome Plated

Strings: Elixir® Medium Gauge Strings with NANOWEB Coating

Scale Length: 25 1/2 Inches

Truss Rod: Adjustable

Neck Width at Nut: 1 11/16 Inches

Number of Frets: 20

Fretboard Radius: 15 Inches

Bracing: X-Brace

Finish: Varnish

Color Options: Natural

Sunburst Options: None

Cutaway: None

Electronics: Taylor ES-Blue

Left-Handed: Available; No Charge

Body Width: 16 Inches

Body Depth: 4 5/8 Inches

Body Length: 20 Inches

Overall Length: 41 Inches

Case: Gig Bag

Other Guitar Gear Reviews @ The Blogging Musician.

Taylor 110e Acoustic Guitar Review I didn't have a single issue with my Taylor 110e acoustic guitar in the 10 years spent with it.

[patriotsnet]

Why Do Republicans Wear Blue Ties

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-do-republicans-wear-blue-ties/

Why Do Republicans Wear Blue Ties

How Did The 2000 Election Solidify Red For Republican And Blue For Democrat

How To Combine & Wear A Pocket Square With Ties, Shirts & Suits

The 2000 election between Gore and Bush was a momentous event for American politics. The election became a constitutional crisis and dragged on for 36 days, leading to constant television and newspaper coverage of recounts and debates over which candidate won each swing state. Networks banded together on their color selection for each party for the purposes of uniformity, choosing red to represent states Bush won, and blue for those Gore won.

It was also during this election that the New York Times and USA Today ran their first full-color electoral state maps featuring red for Republican and blue for Democrat.;

Do you know where the Democrat and Republican Parties got their names? Find out here.;

But why these particular colors? Thats a difficult question to answer because all news stations want to take credit for what is now the standard.

The credit of the colors rests in part with New York Times graphics editor Archie Tse, who used red for Republicans in 2000 election maps because red begins with R, Republican begins with R. Whatever the reason, all of the news outlets certainly played a part in establishing blue and red as the colors when they collectively used them the same way.

What Does Your Tie Color Mean

Get the girl.

What do these three things have in common?; The right image.

We all know that first impressions can be influenced by what you wear.; Whether conscious or not, people make grandiose assumptions based upon your everyday appearance.

A tie is one of the most influential tools at your disposal.; Thats why you always reach for your lucky tie when you are about to close a deal or why the girl at happy hour playfully touches your tie to show shes interested.; Your tie makes a powerful statement and its important to know what image you are projecting.

Its called the power tie for a reason, and by wearing a red tie you are implying that you mean business.; Just like Tiger Woods wears a red shirt to convey dominance, the red tie is a reaffirmation of strength, authority and dominance within the professional world.; For a less aggressive approach, switch out your vibrant red for a softer shade of burgundy.

Yellow/Gold

Yellow is the approachable cousin of the power tie.; While still conveying authority, intelligence and positivity, yellow is the subtle version of a red power tie.; This is the perfect tie to wear for a first interview, because it shows you are confident and not afraid of a challenge.

Blue

Green

Orange

Orange is the wild card of tie colors.; A bright orange tie will imply that you are enthusiastic, open-minded and adventurous.; It is the perfect tie for making a memorable first impression and creating a sense of excitement within the workplace.

Trending In London: Fashion Rental Energy Healing And Pigmentation

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain take part in the first debate of the 2008 elections at the University of Mississippi on September 26, 2008 in Oxford, MS. AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDS

;The default color scheme for presidential ties is so conservative that it is nearly impossible to imagine something like pistachio, fuchsia or neon-anything ever making the cut. Sometimes, of course, being an outlier can help secure the needed benefit of the doubt. Bob Dole wore a moderate-green tie to his 1996 debate against the incumbent Bill Clinton. Such a choice helped create an overall image that pundits found informed, thoughtful, and elevated. It briefly albeit unsuccessfully buoyed Doles campaign. Hillary Clinton did not wear ties during her runs for the presidency. Still, her accessories were scrutinized by the media with particular focus on , bracelets, and headbands. Alternately, when democratic primary candidate Andrew Yang showed up to a 2019 Democratic Primary debate with no tie at all, his historic bold move turned heads across the political spectrum from Fox News to the New Yorker. Ultimately, it was a minor side note in what cost him the nomination proving that the country is just not ready for a tie-less president.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Need To Vote For Impeachment

Desks Are Closets Too

Heather: I have an emergency blazer in my desk that I can whip out if I feel I need to, and then an extra pair of flats in my desk. You do so much walking in DC that flats wear out really quickly. Ill keep Band-Aids and Neosporin in my desk, too, for when Im breaking in a pair of shoes. Ill get new flats every four months Ill just go to Marshalls and get whats on sale.

Jen: Im a big fan of having a lot of jackets that I keep in the office. You never know what day youll need to go staff your boss on the senate floor. Jackets that you can put on regardless of whether youre wearing slacks or a dress or a skirt and a top I think thats one of the easiest things to keep on hand. Then I have a black sweater, because these buildings can be terribly temperature controlled.

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There Arent Real Forces Within The Gop Leading Change

There is some appetite for change within the GOP. In those 2024 polls, at least a third of Republicans either were supporting a GOP presidential candidate other than Trump or were undecided.;

In YouGov Blues polling, only about 40 percent of Republicans identified themselves as Trump Republicans. A recent survey from Fabrizio, Lee and Associates, a GOP-leaning firm that worked on Trumps presidential campaigns, found that about 40 percent of Republican voters didnt want Trump to continue to be a leader in the party. Those numbers dont necessarily mean that those voters want the GOP to change drastically. But there is a substantial number of Trump-skeptical/ready-to-move-on-from-Trump Republican voters. But that sentiment isnt really showing up in the Republican Partys actions during the last three months basically everything GOP officials in states and in Washington are doing lines up with the Trumpian approach. So what gives?;

related:Why The Recent Violence Against Asian Americans May Solidify Their Support Of Democrats Read more. »

It is hard to see Republicans changing course, even if a meaningful minority of voters in the party wants changes, without some elite institutions and powerful people in the party pushing a new vision. And its hard to see real anti-Trumpism forces emerging in the GOP right now.;

Read Also: Who Will Be Speaker Of The House If Republicans Win

The Partys Core Activists Dont Want To Shift Gears

This is the simplest and most obvious explanation: The GOP isnt changing directions because the people driving the car dont want to.;

When we think of Republicans, we tend to think of either rank-and-file GOP voters or the partys highest-profile elected officials, particularly its leaders in Congress. But in many ways, the partys direction is driven by a group between those two: conservative organizations like Club for Growth and the Heritage Foundation, GOP officials at the local and state level and right-wing media outlets. That segment of the party has been especially resistant to the GOP abandoning its current mix of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, opposition to expansions of programs that benefit the poor and an identity politics that centers white Americans and conservative Christians.

You could see the power and preferences of this group in the response to the Capitol insurrection.

In the days immediately following Jan. 6, many GOP elected officials, most notably McConnell, signaled that the party should make a permanent break from Trump. Pollsfound an increased number of rank-and-file GOP voters were dissatisfied with the outgoing president. But by the time the Senate held its trial over Trumps actions a month later, it was clear that the party was basically back in line with Trump.;

related:Why Being Anti-Media Is Now Part Of The GOP Identity Read more. »

When Defeated Politicians Feel Blue They Wear It

He was feeling blue.;

There he stood, front and center in his home state,;cloaked in failure. Sad Senator Marco Rubio addressed the crowd Tuesday:

“While it is not God’s plan that I be president in 2016 or maybe ever, and while today my campaign is suspended…we must do all we can to ensure that this nation remains a special place.”

He certainly wore his heart on his sleeve well, in this case, his tie. It was dark blue.

Following in the footsteps of Jeb Bush, who sported a silk navy tie, and Ben Carson, who wore a powder blue striped shirt at their respective concessions, Rubio, too, wore the color.;

And it wasn’t by coincidence. Premeditated or subconscious, blue is the color when you’re feeling the shade.;

“Wearing a blue tie is the right choice for conceding in an election,” said Lauren Rothman, a Washington, D.C.-based political stylist, consultant and author of the Style Bible.

“The color communicates two emotions at the same time: optimism and sadness.”

Rothman,;who’s dressed many a politician for their concession speeches,;said that blue sends the message for supporters to continue following them on to their next chapters and that they have officially had a standstill.;

“There’s a sense of calmness to it and comfort as if showing that it’s okay, it’s going to be all right,” she said.

Lee Eiseman, a color specialist and expert, agreed.;

But Eiseman did clarify that there are different signifiers of blue depending on the hue.;

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How The Colors Came To Be Red White And Blue

Of the 205 sovereign nations in the world, 21 share red, white and blue as their flags colors. But why do so many share the same trio of colors, and what do they represent?

On July 4, 1776, a resolution was passed by Congress authorizing the development of a seal for the new country which reflected the Founding Fathers values.

When presenting the seal which was officially adopted on June 20, 1782 Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson, explained, White signifies purity and innocence. Red, hardiness and valor, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.

The meaning behind the colors have since shifted slightly. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared it the Year of the Flag, stating, The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish. Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice.

According to TIME Magazine, however, Mike Buss, a flag expert with the American Legion, points to the red, white and blue used in the Union Jack of England.

They come from the three colors that the Founding Fathers had served under or had been exposed to, said Buss.

Therefore, some of the correlation between the United States use of red, white and blue along with 20 other countries, including Puerto Rico, Australia and Cuba, could come from their historical correlation with England.

Why Politicians Wear Only Red And Blue Ties

Why does Trump Scotch tape his tie?

Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News wrote that even though President Obama doesnt like to reduce America into a collection of red states and blue states, he wore only red and blue neckties in his first 11 days in office. Is that just a coincidence?

Not according to science Robert Roy Britt of LiveScience explains why in high-stakes politics and business, there are only two color of ties, red and blue:

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What Do The State Of The Unions Purple Ties Mean

Whats in a tie? If youre President Obama giving the State of the Union address, it can mean quite a bit. Tonight, Obama, along with Vice-President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner, made a sartorial show of solidarity. The three leaders sported purple ties because as every first-grade student knows blue and red make purple, and it may be a visual signifier of Obamas desire for bi-partisan cooperation. This isnt the first time Obama and Biden have rocked the royal hue: The pair, along with thenSpeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, all wore purple during the 2010 State of the Union. And then, as now, pundits speculated about its meaning. There is kind of a connotation in politics that comes through color, said fashion blogger Mary Tomer, of last years tie choices. I dont think its too much of a stretch to think purple couldve been chosen;symbolically.

Has Trump Been Wearing A Purple Tie More Often Lately

The last couple of weeks Ive noticed him wearing a purple tie.

Do Republicans notice this? Care?

Does it mean anything?

Why would it matter even if he was? Its a goddamn tie. You people love imagining bullshit where it doesnt exist.

Saying you people is almost always a derogatory remark. If you dont like the OPs question, address your answer to her.

Im with . Look around at other threads. Assumptions made on behalf of Trump supporters, and even supposing to know what our president plans, knows, wants, likes. Until Trump opposers are willing to stop lumping us in a pit of lost causes, expect the same in return.

, I have had the same observation, so perhaps he has. Does it have any significance? I believe only time will tell.

I think that if he is in fact wearing purple, he is doing it to reflect the electorate and its attitudes as the American population slowly moves to embrace the democratic party.

Are the colors of his tie supposed to mean anything?And WHY do Trump supporters get all bent out of shape and when thinking Trump opposers lump them in all together, but do the exact same thing when it comes to dealing with opposers?

So he bought a new tie. He wore the red one for almost three years, and he cant ever seem to tie it right. Glad he got a new one.

I think its some kind of white power salute.

Disclaimer: The above statement is a joke.

Which you people? and I?

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Which States Are Considered Red And Which Are Blue

To go along with the colors, the terms red state and blue state were popularized by anchorman Tim Russert during and immediately after the 2000 election. Today, these terms are used to refer to which party a state voted for during a presidential election.;

Generally speaking, the Northeast and the West Coast are considered a collection of blue states as most of them have sided with the Democrats since the early 1990s.

The Southern states have sided with Republicans since the 2000s, while the Midwest tends to be tougher to predict. For example, Illinois and Minnesota are currently considered blue states, while Missouri and Nebraska are red. Hawaii and Alaska have been traditionally considered blue and red respectively as neither has switched parties since the late 1980s .

The Southwest has been split since 2000 with Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado going blue more often than red and Utah and Arizona voting predictably red. Finally, we come to the coveted purple states or swing states,;such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. These states switched colors in recent elections and are often a key focus of electoral campaigning and strategy. Swing states can vary by election year.

Color And Clothing Choices

When we see certain colors, they produce chemical reactions in our brains that can make us feel certain emotions. For example you are more likely to order more food in a restaurant that is decorated with a lot of red because that color makes us hungry. Sports teams often paint the opposing teams locker room pink because that color makes people tired. Guests on late night TV hang out in the Green Room before coming on stage because that color is the most calming and relaxing. So what could certain candidates be trying to sell you via their color and clothing choices?

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When Its Time To Head Back To The Office And On The Few Days When I Wear A Suit And Tie I Should Retire My Red Ties Right Unless I Want Everyone To Assume I Am A Trump Supporter Is It Possible For Any Man To Wear A Red Tie Now And Not Immediately Call To Mind The Former President Ken Newton Mass

Though the death of the tie is declared regularly especially given the pressures of both the long-term office-casual movement and our current working-from-home reality Guy Trebay, our mens wear critic, maintains that you should not count the accessory out quite yet. As he said, even if were not wearing them much during lockdown, you dont want to give up on an element of the wardrobe thats been around for 400 years.

Ties can, after all, be used to signal your club, your interests, whether you are a jokester, a brainiac or even a clown. Not to mention, as you say, political affiliation.

The question is whether the party dividing line between red and blue that has swept even the necktie into its maw will remain uppermost in everyones minds now that unity is the word of the moment . Given how central red ties were to President Trumps uniform, it is natural to think that we may now have a Pavlovian response to the color. But the fact is, red ties were a wardrobe staple long before Mr. Trump got hold of them.

Its the combination of shade and style that makes the statement of allegiance, not simply one or the other. Thats what you should keep in mind when getting dressed. Then go ahead: Tie one on.