#q: you have the conn

[endeavvor]

@fasciinating

[sergeifyodorov]

Predicting the Playoffs Results

Right before the playoffs started, I asked many of you to make a bunch of predictions as to the result, and assigned points based on the questions. Here is the final writeup on that, but first, congratulations to the winners:

@jonassiegenthaler with 21 points

@elizaiwillbe with 19 points, 9 correct answers, and 7:12 off from the longest game

@seedlessmuffins with 19 points, 9 correct answers, and 18:54 off from the longest game

More info on how the whole thing went down under the cut:

Here are the individual question results:

Hopefully the way I phrased each question in the chart makes sense. Let’s discuss some interesting trivia from the chart.

After seeing the results of last years’ game, one thing I wanted to do was to make it easier: have more opportunities to gain points, so we would have a wider distribution of results and higher scores. I would say I was fairly successful in the attempt, with the exception of one question, near the end of the quiz. It was phrased “by the end of the playoffs, which goalie will have the best win%? They do not need to have played in the Cup Final.” Adhering to the rules of the question, the correct answer is Joseph Woll, who played 2 games in the first round and won them both. However, no one guessed this; I assume it is not because people are unaware of Joseph Woll, who is widely beloved as A Sweetie, but rather because a large win percentage generally assumes a team that goes far in the playoffs and, well, Woll is a Leaf. I think when writing this question I also had this in mind, probably being distantly aware of the off-chance something like this might occur but not believing it likely enough to include. That being said, while it’s technically the correct answer to the question, it feels wrong, so in future quizzes that question’s going to be changed.

The answer the most people picked correctly was the winner of the CAR-NYI series, which 114 people -- 87% -- picked correctly. The second-most correctly-answered q was the newbie who would make it the furthest, with a clean 100 (76%) picking Vancouver. 

I think the most impressive answer was the Conn Smythe pick: 35 people picked McDavid, which is not in and of itself a large percent (only 27%) but has a much larger pool of candidates: the first two above-mentioned questions were multiple choice, with 2 or 3 answers, while people picked 3 out of literally hundreds of possible choices, and still fully a quarter of people managed to choose correctly. Additionally, eight people picked both McDavid as a Conn Smythe candidate and Florida to win the Cup.

Here’s the top ten (well, eleven) Conn Smythe picks. While in theory, there were 393 total votes available (131 responses and each responder was encouraged to pick 3 players) not everyone did -- a few people only put in one name, and one person just wrote in “No idea,” who as far as I’m aware was not eligible as a Conn Smythe candidate.

Quinn Hughes mania really swept the nation. Last year, the most-voted-for Conn Smythe winner was Connor McDavid, who got 43 votes. This year, Quinn Hughes got 52! (Caveat: there were about 25 more voters this year than last year, which means that the proportion is actually pretty similar -- about 40% both years.)

Thank you so much for participating! Hope to see you all again next year.

[thislovintime]

Peter's application picture to Carleton College, from 1959 (courtesy of Carleton College Archives); Peter with The Apollo of Belloc cast mates Bob Larson, Tom Hinds, Carol Bangs, Fred Lott, Steve Soderman, and Lucy Lewis, published in The Carletonian on April 18, 1962 (courtesy of Carleton College Archives via The Entertainment Guide MN).

Peter Tork: “I didn’t think I had any problem concentrating on academia, my problem was that I didn’t do enough of it. (laughs) What I did — actually, what happened was, I really was so deeply involved in all the extracurricular activities. I was in the orchestra, I played French horn for year, it was wonderful. And I was in theater. And I was a DJ on KARL radio.” Q: “So it was the priorities were a little mixed up, I guess.” PT: “Well, you know, it’s a funny thing. I wouldn’t say so, I would say my priorities were in perfect order. Carleton did not agree, of course. I mean, they thought that my — or, I should say, they agreed, but the priorities were not their priorities for the students. Because as it turns out, obviously my priorities were in perfect order. I was into music and broadcasting and showbiz. And… which is where I belonged, and always did as it turns, but I didn’t know that at the time, see, that’s the thing about it. Having flunked out of Carleton College, I mean, that’s probably one of the better things that happened to me in my career. I have them to thank for that.” - MPR, 1987

In 1982, a Carleton College student named Sam Delson interviewed Peter for The Carletonian.

“[Delson] approached Tork before a show and Tork ‘graciously agreed to an interview’ between sets. Delson told me he remembered Tork 'seeming somewhat world weary and displaying a sardonic sense of humor.' Perhaps still sensitive to his academic failings, Tork called Carleton ‘just a school I used to go to’ and did not want the college to know where he lived for fear of being asked for money. Yet he told Delson that he had some fond memories and kept in touch with a few professors and classmates. He also remembered the college as the place where he acquired social skills.Tork said that testing out of freshman rhetoric was ‘one of the great mistakes of my life… I took Shakespeare instead and flunked it.’ Tork spent the 1960-61 school year working at the American Thread Factory in Willimantic, Conn. He told Delson, ‘I actually saved my money and went back there. I don’t know why. I wish I’d had the good sense God gave me and taken a hint the first time.’ He stayed on four more terms, through fall term of his junior year in 1962. Tork said he was ‘kicked out for low grades and missing chapel’ (at that time, chapel attendance was required).

Tork told Delson that Carleton was ‘liberating’ for him in that he was introduced to alcohol for the first time (although it was officially forbidden) and he spent much of his time chasing women (even though ‘they lived on the other side of campus in closed dorms’). Tork said, ‘I enjoyed myself enormously,’ as he recalled having a Friday morning radio show called ‘Dawn Patrol,’ participating in dramatic groups and singing in several folk groups. He performed with Northfield native Peter Basquin (Carleton Class of 1964) who went on to have a career as a respected concert pianist. (Basquin told Delson in a subsequent interview that Tork usually burst into his room at three in the morning to try out new riffs that he’d composed.)

Curious about what Tork had been doing (while avoiding studying), I looked through Carletonian school newspapers to see traces of Tork. Tork, who had played piano since he was nine years old, participated in his first recital at Carleton in December of 1959 when he played Beethoven’s Sonata in F Minor, Opus 2, No. 1. In February of 1960, Peter Tork teamed up with his brother Jeffrey (who played cello in the Carleton Chamber Orchestra) to play seven variations on a theme from Mozart’s Magic Flute. In April of 1960, his piano recital piece was Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major. He also took part in student recitals in March and May of 1961.

In November of 1961, Tork began his association with theater, appearing with Peter Basquin in Ulysses in Nighttown. In 1962, the play Mandragola was criticized in the Jan. 24 Carletonian as being ‘too hammy,’ but ‘the play opened and closed quite charmingly with music written for the occasion by Peter Basquin’ and Peter Thorkelson was one of three that played the music. In February, the Players presented Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, with Tork in the cast and as assistant director. In March, Tork played a Chopin nocturne in recital and in April was a cast member of Apollo of Belloc. He was also in The Plough and the Stars that March and April. In May, Tork played Prelude and Fugue in D Minor by Bach in recital, while also appearing in the cast of The Underground Man.

During Tork’s last term at Carleton in Nov.-Dec. of 1962, he played the roles of Bernardo and the Player King in a production of Hamlet at the Little Nourse Theater. Tork could also be found playing guitar and banjo much of the time at Willis, which was then a student union.

After his second attempt at college failed, Tork wound up in New York City where he lived with his grandmother and entered the music scene by playing banjo in Greenwich Village coffeehouses.” - Susan Hvistendahl, The Entertainment Guide, November 2016

More about Peter's time at Carleton College here; and more about his Greenwich Village days here.

[scottwellsmagic]

752: Senior Tour 2023 - Days One and Two Report

Thursday, April 20th

3:00 pm REGISTRATION OPENS 

 4:00 pm TENNESSEE MAGIC OPENS 

 5:00-7:00 pm COCKTAIL PARTY IN LOUNGE AREA/CASH BAR

 Your chance to perform or sit back and be entertained by a host of notable "workers"

 7:30-9:30pm "An Evening with HOWARD HAMBURG"

 with NEW material not seen in previous lectures 

 (Hamburgers will be served during the break if you have a "CRAVING")

10:00 pm Scott Wells Q and A Panel Discussion   

Friday, April 21st

6:00-9:00 am FREE BREAKFAST BUFFET FOR HOTEL GUESTS 

​9:00 am DOUG CONN LECTURE 

​10:30 am BREAK OUT SESSIONS 

 NOON - LUNCH 

 1:30 pm   STEVE REYNOLDS LECTURE 

​3:00 pm  ALLAN ACKERMAN LECTURE 

​5:00 pm - DINNER 

​7:00 pm  CLOSE UP SHOW 

 Howard Hamburg

Kevin Kelly

Mike Powers 

Steve Reynolds 

Ryan Bliss

​9:00 pm MIKE POWERS LECTURE

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 - we take off on our magic carpet from Houston, Texas, to St. Louis after a brief stop at Dunkin’ Donuts

00:04:03 - at the registration desk we encounter Steve Zuehlke, Jim Molina, and Steve Buesking who tell us a bit about this convention

00:09:06 - Steve Steers and Steve Bolland are attendees who tell us why they came back to the convention for the second time.

00:15:15 - Vinnie Marini and Glenn Morphew discuss the virtues of online teaching

00:28:19 - Maria Schweiter and Mike Powers talk about their favorite conventions plus Maria talks about her experience with the Chavez School where she studied under Neil Foster.

00:36:25 - Kevin Kelly was one of the presenters at this convention and tells us a bit about the Chicago Round Table and Ed Marlo

00:48:45 - Daryl Pepela and David Sudia are registrants who are enjoying this convention and plan to attend again next year.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

[tenjikubaby]

KAEL PLS PLS I NEED YOUR TAKE ON TENJIKU ATTENDING A FILO PROM ‼‼

I LOVE THIS!!! THANK YOU 

(self-indulgent Filipino AU Tenjiku ahead. Filipino terms are explained for non-Filos who want to read this) 

Thanks to @milkkicoffee for helping

TENJIKU AT A FILIPINO PROM

Izana has his own band and Inupi and Shion are his bandmates (bassist and drummer, respectively). Teachers asked him to perform a few songs for the night. If you want a voice reference, listen to “Come Inside of My Heart” and imagine Izana singing. 

Imagine him in an all-black suit with his hair looking like this. (Let’s pretend Filipino schools allow boys to have long hair). 

His band would also perform “Jopay” and the crowd goes crazy with people singing along for the chorus. Please also imagine him singing Buko by Jireh Lim or Misteryoso by Autotelic. People say he holds eye contact with some who stare at him and it almost feels like a Harana (serenade; part of old Filipino courting traditions.)

Izana at school has this quiet, artistic indie boy image so he would likely be a campus crush. This boy is desired. When the band is done, his admirers will be watching him, waiting for him to dance with someone. Most people were too shy to ask him to dance, though there were a few brave souls.

Shion’s mom spritzed (more like showered) him with his dad’s perfume so he smells like an older man. She and his grandma expressed their concern about him putting too much Gatsby Wax in his hair, but he insisted that he knew what he was doing. His mom wanted to take pictures of him too but he hurried to leave. 

Being in Izana’s band, he automatically thinks he's going to receive the attention that Izana and Inupi get from the ladies. That wasn't true. He confidently marches up to girls and asks them to dance, even acting like it’s such a privilege for them to be able to do so. The girls didn’t want to dance with a siga (a show-off, braggy person). This leaves him with no partner, so he ends up joke-dancing with Mocchi instead, who was too chicken to ask anyone to dance. At some point, they get tired of the prom atmosphere (what with all the lovey-dovey couples around!), so they hoard a bunch of food from the buffet and sneak into a classroom. There, they eat and play Mobile Legends. 

You can hear stressed student council member Kokonoi Hajime cursing from afar. “Tangina! Bakit ubos na agad yung fish fillet!” (”Son of a bitch! Why are we already out of fish fillet?”)

It’s not long before the two of them are caught by the principal and thrown out. To make things even worse, two older female teachers take them as partners. So there they were, dancing with old ladies to Gloria Gaynor’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. Yeah... they got filmed and laughed at. 

Now unlike Shion, Mocchi actually let his mom take a bunch of pictures of him. His mom later posted them on Facebook, saying “bilis nga nmn ng panahon. ky poging binata na ng anak q.” (Time flies. My son has grown into a fine young man.) The pic she chose is Mocchi doing the pogi sign. His aunts, grandparents, and grand-aunts are commenting on how handsome he is too, and how big he’s grown, and asking if he already has a girlfriend. His mom replies that he has a crush on someone and reveals their name. 

When they arrive to the venue, his mom makes him take a picture with each S62 boy and one last one with all of them to also post on Facebook. 

Caption: “mocchi with his friends :)” 

It gets even worse when Mocchi's crush walks by and his mom calls them over to take a picture with him.

Ran went on a whole spa trip before the day of the prom. On the very night, his stylist and his yaya (nanny) are circling him, making the finishing touches on his hair and makeup. , who has already finished getting ready an hour ago, is just sitting there waiting for Ran to finish.

You see, Ran wanted to be the emcee, but the role went to Mitsuya instead.  The teachers thought that Mitsuya's humor matched the students’ better so they would probably connect better to him. Ran was offended at the very idea that someone could be seen as more charimsatic than him.

He doesn’t let that get him down, though. He takes pictures EVERYWHERE. Rindou’s kinda just his unwilling personal photographer. He needs pictures with different angles, different poses, and different types of lighting. He needs a new Facebook DP (which he’ll probably caption with some unrelated quote from a famous person) and none of the pics turn out good enough for him.

After Izana’s band finishes their set, DJ Rindou would be up next. He got in trouble for playing an inappropriate Tagalog song (something like BMW) but he thinks it was worth it because everyone cheered him on. The teachers even found it funny until the principal came in looking pissed, so they had to be responsible teachers and step in.

Despite being one of the richer students, he doesn’t do clique-y behavior. (note: all i can say is that those cliques of mean, rich, classist people you see in fiction are real. sorry. ) He’s friends with everybody and is generally well-liked. So on prom night, Rin is jumping from table to table talking to everyone. He just knows how to vibe with different kinds of people! While Ran is more popular and admired, he feels less “accessible” to people outside his circle. People feel it’s easier to befriend Rindou. 

If Rindou has a date, I think it would be someone unexpected. Like, since he’s popular, he doesn’t take another popular person. It’s probably going to be some quiet person from his class that nobody has heard of (well, now they have). Like I said, he’s friends with everybody. 

Not prom-related but I wanted to add: Ran and Rindou are both conyos, but Rindou’s better at Tagalog than Ran. Ran understands Tagalog but can’t express himself well enough in it. Both their Tagalogs have accents and Ran’s is really thick. He can’t roll his Rs and often stresses the wrong syllables. You find it either cute or annoying depending on how you feel about them. 

*Ran probably doesn’t know what kinse (fifteen) means so he would just give the vendor a hundred-peso bill and leave. 

(Conyo: People who code-switch between English and Tagalog in their speech. Rich kids are stereotyped to speak like this. Knowing conyo’s original Spanish meaning, I think you can already see why they’re called this lol )

Kakucho groans at the idea of prom. He’s kinda dreading it until the actual night where you can see him having fun. He’s hyping up Izana and Rindou when they play music for the crowd. He also dances around no matter how awkward his movements are. At some point, he ends up getting bored and starts rough-housing with other boys. They end up destroying a table. Somehow, they also did something to make the disco ball crash down? 

What if he’s asked to dance? Though he’s a bit shy, he does try his best to socialize with his partner and make them comfortable. The same goes for if he had a date. I do see him asking a close friend to be his date instead of someone he barely knows though.

When Rindou’s off to somewhere, the role of Ran’s Photographer goes to Kakucho. 

*Kakucho also translates for Ran and Rindou when they have Filipino homework, assuming that they do their homework. 

I think Mucho arrives really early so the teachers task him with arranging tables and taking care of technical stuff. (Even in regular school days, teachers love to send him on errands i.e. fetching a projector from another classroom, carrying books into the faculty room). 

Would he get asked to dance? He’s so intimidating that it might never happen. Because of this, he’s another victim of dancing with the older female teachers. Unlike Mocchi and Shion, no one is brave enough to make fun of him. 

Soon enough, he’d feel bored all by himself because Sanzu’s getting attention left and right (The guy has long hair, quiet, mysterious, pretty, always wears a masks. I just know Filo school girls would go crazy over him if he were real) and the other S62 boys are off doing their own things. He goes to a quiet area of the school, maybe the roof, and just... ponders life there or something.

[vicxy]

hello ☺️

for the game,

and can i pick no 1? my alma asteroid is in taurus & 1st house.

thank you have a nice day!

my holiday is coming soon too and i’m so exciteeeed

hello! nice to see that your holidays are coming up soon :)

Your future spouse is a free spirit. They could be quite tall (unless other aspects say otherwise) They are open minded and strongly opinionated (might have a stubborn streak though) They could also be really philosophical, and I think they could be a teacher. However they could be a little too idealistic. This person will be very fun and it is likely that you’ll have fun with them or go on adventures with them. (you might have Aries in your chart?) He could be a little egoistic at times but I don’t see anything too bad. He probably knows a lot of trivia and could be quite smart and intellectual. He could be afraid of emotional controntation and be a little flighty at first. Your relationship could be the intellectual type, you bond over having interesting conversations but you or them could be a little wary of emotional connections. One of you could also be quite petty, and it is important that the both of you sort that out before it turns into a bigger issue.

Let me know if this resonated, have a nice day!

those who are seeing this and want to participate, read my masterlist first :)

[lille082]

Kismet

a fic fulfilling the “betting pool” and “the mystery of q’s name”  squares on the Trope Prompt Table (004) by @mi6-cafe

Kismet

-----

There are only two people employed by MI6 who know Q’s birth name other than himself. One, by virtue of his position, is Mallory. He’d seen the redacted files on the Quartermaster shortly before they’d been destroyed as part of Q’s paperless initiative.

The other found out through sheer, dumb luck...

R finished combing through the debugging program she was working on, glaring at the screen when she found the exact line of code where she’d missed a bracket. The irony was not lost on her.

Glancing at the clock, she noted that a solid fifteen minutes had passed since Double-Oh Six strutted out of the branch. Enough time that she shouldn’t arouse suspicion by heading to Q’s office.

She made a show of stretching at her station, rolling her neck in circles and twisting from side to side in an attempt to crack her back. Victor appeared to have returned to his work but Amara kept referencing the paper on Trevelyan had given her, likely updating their database.

R grabbed her nearly empty mug and stepped back from her desk.

“Eddie, I need a warm up here. You have the conn.”

“Aye, Captain,” the younger tech grinned and saluted her.

She waited until he’d put his headset on before taking her’s off, logging out, and putting her computer to sleep.

“Don’t let Q hear you call me that. You’ll never hear the end of it,” she joked as she headed for the kitchenette in the break area.

She tossed the dregs of her tea down the drain and grabbed one of Q’s mugs from the sideboard. Relaxing into the routine of making tea, she took the time to doctor Q’s with precision. R knew she excelled at what she did, but she suspected that her promotion had been sealed when it came to light that her and Double-Oh Nine were the only people in the building Q trusted to make his tea exactly as he liked it.

A mug in each hand, she carefully made her way back to Q’s office and knocked on the bottom of the door with her boot.

“Come in.”

She pushed against the door with her hip but it was latched shut. She kicked the door once more and heard her boss huff before a wheel scrapped across the floor.

“You honestly couldn’t op—,” Q’s grumbling cut off as he flung the door open and saw R standing there with a cheeky smile, holding his mug out for him, “Oh! Thank you, R.”

“Do you have a moment?”

“Of course,” Q nodded and stepped back. He accepted the outstretched mug, studying her closely as she closed the door behind her.

“What can I do for you, R?” Despite the kind smile on his face, his voice was neutral and diplomatic as he returned to his seat.

She recognized the concern in his tone and waved her hand as she sat down, trying to assuage his worries.

“It’s nothing serious, but I thought you should know that Victor and Amara’s, um, project is beginning to expand beyond the current parameters.“

The corners of Q’s mouth turned down and he appeared to wrack his brain for the details of their current assignment before he realized what she was talking about.

“The betting pool?” Q laughed, cautiously taking a sip of his too-hot tea.

“Yes, sir. It seems that Double-Oh Six just bet 100 quid and you know Trevelyan won’t be able to keep that to himself.”

“100 quid?” He gaped at her before recovering swiftly. “I thought entries were only five?”

R nodded and took a delicate sip of tea.

“They are, sir. He came in with a list of 20 different names.”

Q snorted, shaking his head.

“I knew they’d gotten the cleaning crew in on it, but I didn’t think they’d push the boundaries any further than that.”

“Rod’s team? If they’re in, it’s no wonder Double-Oh Six knew about it.”

Q shrugged with a wry smile.

“For being in espionage, people around here are terrible at keeping secrets.”

R laughed.

“I think it’s more to do with knowing national security isn’t exactly at stake if they gossip. Do you want me to shut it down?”

Q considered the question but had to agree with R’s summation. He waved his hand dismissively.

“No, let them have their fun at my expense. If it allows them to blow off enough steam for us to avoid another stapler incident, it’s worth it.”

R snorted and they shared exasperated grins. They sat for a moment in companionable silence before Q cracked.

“Okay, I have to know. What’s the current front runner?” His smile was puckish and R couldn’t help but notice how much younger it made him look.

“I don’t know.” She said, shrugging.

Q raised an eyebrow as she threw the end of her hijab back over her shoulder where it’d slipped off.

“Oh, come on. You must have some idea.”

“Well. . .I don’t know what the actual name is but last I heard the odds favored something terribly modern, like Kasper with a ‘K’ or Maddox. If I recall correctly, the guesses are mostly split between more, um, current names with extraneous letters or the standard top tens. You know: Thomas, Christopher, Daniel, Michael, Andrew—popular ones.”

She leaned forward, a conspiratorial smile on her face. ”Though there seem to be a few favoring names that start with Q—Quincy, Quinlan, Quinten, Quigley.”

Q laughed loudly at that and R smiled, happy to be able to keep pulling him out of the rigid, no-nonsense persona he put on at work.

“Quigley, that’s amazing. . .” He chuckled as he raised his mug to his lips. “And what did you put your money down on?”

R offered him an indulgent smile.

“I’m not the betting kind.”

“No? Well, you must have at least a guess.”

“I. . .may have some theories.”

“Like?” He smiled, indulging his curiosity.

She narrowed her eyes as she set her cup of tea down on the desk, leaning forward to study him. Q stared back passively, waiting.

“I don’t think it’s anything modern or obnoxious. It’s not overly common or terribly simple, like Mark or Jeff. It’s something that’s a little old-fashioned, maybe, but smart without sounding pompous.”

Q’s smile grew across his face even as he tried to hide it.

“So? What’s my real name then, hmm?”

R laughed, shrugging and reached for her mug.

“I don’t know. . .Ethan? Theodore? Isaac? Malcolm? Simon? Freddie? Oliver?”

If R had been looking at Q as she carelessly tossed out her guesses instead of focusing on her tea, she would have seen Q’s posture abruptly stiffen, the smile on his face chased away by flashes of shock-confusion-fear before silent fury took hold.

The sound of his chair crashing into the wire rack behind his desk as he abruptly stood up made R jump, sloshing tea over the side of her mug. She watched, shocked, as he promptly snapped the blinds to his office window shut and locked the door.

He turned slowly on his heel to face her, tension radiating from him. His voice was tight.

“Where did you find it?”

“Find what?” R frowned and tried kept her voice as calm as she could among her growing confusion. She deliberately placed the cup of tea back on his desk, not breaking eye contact.

“Don’t, R. I know you’re smarter than that. Where was it?” He took a step towards her, voice low and dangerous.

“Q,” R stood, trying to gain some footing in a situation quickly spiraling out of control without her knowing why. She held her hands out, open and placating. “I’m not—“

Q’s jaw twitched and she cut herself off as she saw him glance out of the corner of his eye towards the gun he’d been working on where it lay next to the toolbox on his desk. Panic coursed through her and she vehemently shook her head, but wasn’t able to say anything before he continued.

“Why would you be looking that far back? Fuck!” There was a fierceness in his eyes she’d never seen before. He took another creeping step towards his desk and continued, his voice barely above a whisper. “That name’s been dead and buried for a long time. Who are you working for?”

R felt her lungs freeze inside her chest and she blinked. If the betrayal in his tone hadn’t clued her in, that certainly did the trick.

She’d later blame the utterly lethargic firing of her synapses on how blindsided with panic she’d been at the idea of Q turning a gun on her.

She knew his current alias and his cover identities. When they’d first started working together, years ago, he’d been called Colin—but, just as she’d been given the name Naima when she was promoted to R, she knew he’d been assigned that one too. She didn’t know the name he used before that, let alone the actual name that had been put in ink on his birth certificate decades ago.

There was no way. . .

She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but eventually closed it when it nothing came out that could be construed as actual words.

Q, still as could be, watched the play of emotions across her face before everything clicked into place.

His eyes widened in what R would’ve considered a highly comical fashion had her heart not been close to beating out of her chest. His expression cleared as he realized just how dumbfounded R was.

“You. . .You have no idea, do you?”

She shook her head, still completely gobsmacked.

“So I--I guessed right?”

Q began laughing and immediately deflated as all the tension left his body in a matter of seconds. He placed a hand on his chest and exhaled in obvious relief.

“Yes. Yes, you did, love.” He said, shaking his head in amazement as he pulled her into a brief hug. “Shit, R. You bloody terrified me. I thought it was a lucky guess at first, but then you had my middle name too and—Christ, I thought you’d defected! I was afraid I’d have to shoot you right here if you tried anything before I could call someone in.”

R laughed weakly and took a step back from him.

With a delighted grin and a wondrous huff of laughter, he leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms.

“I know you said you’re not one to gamble, but maybe you should buy a lottery ticket on your way home, yeah? That or start a psychic hotline.”

R managed a grin as she sat back down, reaching for her tea with a shaky hand.

“Er. . .Permission to speak freely, sir?”

Q snorted and waved at her to continue.

“You are bloody terrifying when you need to be, did you know that?” She exhaled and took a fortifying sip of her tea.

Q looked rather pleased with himself.

She smiled up at him before continuing.

“You know, I reckon we’d get more of our equipment back if you got angry like that with Double-Oh Seven.”

“I’m, ah, afraid he’s a lost cause,” Q hedged, reaching across his desk for his cuppa. Based on the rising blush and how he avoided her eyes, she got the distinct impression he’d done just that but with a vastly different outcome than what she’d proposed.

They sat in silence as their heart rates returned to a somewhat normal range. By the time they’d finished their tea, they were back to arguing about just which rifle Double-Oh Four should be issued for her upcoming mission.

An alert pinged on Q’s mobile and they grinned sheepishly at each other.

“Back to it, I suppose. . .”

R collected their empty mugs and made it to the door before Q spoke again, his voice quiet.

“Naima?”

She turned back with a soft smile.

“I’m sorry. I know you would never—“

R nodded, not needing words to assure him that he didn’t need to elaborate further. He returned her smile gratefully.

“Um. . .I wouldn’t say anything if you happened to make a bet, you know. It wouldn’t technically be cheating since you guessed correctly and all.”

R laughed.

“And ruin their fun, sir? Absolutely not. Besides,” she unlocked the office door and opened it, giving him a cheeky smile over her shoulder, “you didn’t actually tell me which one was correct.”

-----

(i have no idea what this is?? but i hope it’s clear they’re bros) 

[alphapockets]

Discord: New Message Infodump

Yes this is not getting put in the widofjord tag because I don’t like filling up others’ searches with something that is not “directly” linked. *jazz hands* anxiety. BUT here is all I could think of and a sprinkling of things I have seen asked about or mentioned in the comments! May this and the last chapter hold you over <3

Q: Why a text fic?

A: Honestly? I have only ever seen one from VM (there may be others, but I don’t read many fics out of my niche sections?) that was between Grog/Vax (I don’t ship it but when it’s a bar shift #3 in a row that’s 14 hours long, you need entertainment). I had read also Call Me, Beep Me from the VLD fandom as well as Misuse of Stark Technology and thought that it was a strong platform for conversation and storytelling that shows multiple perspectives at once without the constant POV whiplash that can happen otherwise. And with the strong and chaotic personalities of TM9 and the diverse ways the NPCs interacted fit in, I hoped it wouldn’t be that hard to pull off.

I’ll be honest, I was not sure if it would work out or catch on as it is not the most popular form of storytelling. As many people said in the comments of chapters 1-5, people generally don’t enjoy texting fics and skip past them. I am glad I took the risk and that everyone has with me.

 Q: Is it true you have not watched past Ep. 40?

A: Yes. Campaign 2 came out just before I started school, and I decided school deserved my full attention. I was also not as attached at large with the cast as an ensemble as I was with VM. This combined with having anxiety and needing something to be finished before I can enjoy made it difficult to get back into C2. I was lucky that I started Campaign 1 a few weeks before that ended. I will probably watch it when everything is over, but I mostly follow through spoilers and Arsequeef’s gifs.

 Q: What are some of your influences for this?

A: I have seen a lot of people loving the realism of the conversations. I don’t watch TV or movies, but I watch streamers mostly, especially group streamers. Because of this, I tend to hear nothing but natural conversations. I also have been in group chats since the old AIM days and was a bartender for 6 years, so I have pulled from interactions that I have experienced around me. Often when something perfect happens in a chat with my friends I screen shot it for use later (the look spam and how do you uwu are both examples).

 Q: Why that area?

A: I like to use locations I know well if there is a lot of real-world interactions. I am from Massachusetts and I had used Savannah, Ga., for Here’s To Us, where I lived for 4 years.

 Q: Will the chat be renamed to The Mighty Nein or something similar?

A: No. The chat existed before Caleb as that and was set up originally by Fjord and Beau with Molly, Bryce, Darrow, and Yasha. It’s been the Game Hoes for too long in their life to change. There will be some side chats that appear and disappear.

  Q: Didn’t Veth work with Caleb?

A: Originally that was the plan, but halfway through the first chapter, I decided to space everyone out better and missed her name in one paragraph at the beginning of the chapter. I wanted them to know each other but avoid the trope of “direct connection” with strangers to lovers and text fics.

  Q: How tall is Fjord (and the rest of them by proxy)

A: I changed the heights because Caleb is canon “Average height” which in DnD is different than the US. So, he was given a few extra inches to put him at 5’10”. Fjord was scaled up because we love height differences to 6’3” because of that. By order of height:

Veth- 4’11, Kiri- 5’, Keg and Yeza- 5’3, Jester and Rissa- 5’4, Astrid- 5’5, Bryce, Beau, and Wulf- 5’9, Beau, Caleb, Molly, and Ava- 5’10, Yasha- 5’11, Darrow and Essek- 6’, Fjord and Gunther- 6’3, Cad and Enzo- 6’5.

I’m probably forgetting some people.

  Q: Why did Enzo’s arc allegedly end that way?

A: I’m not sure I’m done with him just yet, but the reason it had to be let go like that is simple: legality. Real world consequences to acts would have kind of thrown a wrench in how this all unfolds. And Molly was the character who I felt could bounce back the best from getting a solid ass kicking.

  Q: Why was Astrid faster at accepting than Wulf, and why is he so possessive?

A: Wulf was Caleb’s first real friend and that meant he was the redhead’s world. Astrid came second and she realized how quickly jealousy can sour something. Wulf’s jealousy fed into the break-up. So, despite the awkwardness, she wanted to show Caleb that she meant it when she said they could still be friends.

Wulf was Caleb’s first friend, and he has that sense of seniority in his mind and has a hard time accepting he is not being replaced when new people come around. And as a more dominant person, it was hard for him to have the normally docile friend speak out against him. He is still immature and needed to grow, but has a hard time seeing that is okay right now.

  Q: Where does everyone attend?

A: Amherst College- Astrid, Caleb, Essek, Wulf. Boston College- Cad. Emerson- Beau, Gunther, Enzo, Fjord, Keg, Molly, Rissa, and Yasha. Princeton- Bryce. Hofstra- Jester and Kiri. UConn- Yeza (Graduated). UMass/Boston University/Tufts- NPCs not brought in yet.

**Caleb has stated Jester lives in the City early on because Jester has all her locations on social set to NYC

 Q: Any reason why you picked those schools?

A: I’m a BC fan (and Providence College), my childhood friend went to Emerson, and I was accepted to Hoftstra before I joined the military instead. Amherst was a perfect “nearby” city that was another college town/I am maybe looking at Amherst for a PhD. Program.

 Q: Where is Darrow stationed when not crashing Bryce’s life or deployed? What does he do?

A: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was attached to the 26th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) that goes through the Mediterranean. He currently is on hospital duty as a temporary “relaxation period” for people who are deployed often. As he is a paladin, I thought it’d be a nice touch to have him as an FMF Corpsman.

  Q: Where is everyone from? The holidays showed people all over and it’s mentioned some people were not born in the US or where they were located.

A: This is where that spreadsheet I made comes in handy. Most of the people either grew up in or intend to stay in Massachusetts for a long while. As there are some of the major schools in that area, obviously people would be out of state.

Boston TM9 Party

The Clay Family is in Jamaica Plains, which is just outside of Boston proper. They are from there, minus Toya who is adopted as well and from Maine.

Molly was the godson of Cad’s mother, who is from England and his father had been stationed in England for some time, so when he was essentially orphaned and given up by the indirect family, she put through the paperwork to take him in. Fjord and Yasha stayed with them.

Fjord is originally from Texas, outside of El Paso. After he joined the Navy, he never intended to move home as he hated it there. He fell in love with New England when he was sent TAD (Temporary Assignment of Duty) to the naval base in Newport. He stayed and continued his education at Emerson.

Yasha is from Jamaica Plains as well and went to school with Molly and Ornna, who is the same age as them. Her dad is from South Carolina and her mother is from Okinawa. They moved up north for her dad’s work.

Beau is from Kentucky and her family is unreasonably wealthy. She decided to go to school someplace as un-Kentucky as she could fathom and was stuck between Berkley and Emerson but chose the former because the weather meant her mother would never visit.

The Amherst Crew (Astrid and Wulf) are all from the area except for:

Caleb, was born in Poland to a Polish/German family. They moved and when his family died in a fire (he was at a sleepover at the time) his grandparents took him in. Wulf was still there with his large family and

Essek had returned home to California for the break.

Astrid and her family spent 10 days in Key West for the holidays, which is why she missed the New York trip. Wulf stayed locally for winter break.

The Conn/NY/NJ Groups are pretty straightforward.

The Brenattos stayed in New Haven, where they moved when Luc was born from Amherst. They had moved so Veth could start fresh.

Jester was surprised by a visit from her mother on Christmas Day and spent it with her. It was the first time her mom came from the Ukraine, as Jester’s dad is the one who she moved with. She lives on Long Island not far from her school.

Kiri is from upstate New York and was home for the Holidays.

Bryce drove down to Louisiana. They and Darrow are from Marietta, but they were at their grandmother’s place in Lafourche Parish. Darrow returned to Jacksonville NC.

Others Keg and Gunther were in Rhode Island but separately, where they are both from, Rissa is from Maine and went home, and Enzo was in jail (he is from Lynn, Ma).

  Q: How old is everyone?

A: 5- Luc. 19- Kiri, 20- Jester, Rissa, Keg, and Enzo, 21- Beau, Molly, Yasha, Essek, and Astrid, 22- Caleb, Cali, Reani, and Wulf. 24- Cad, 25- Fjord and Bryce. 27- Veth and Darrow. 28- Yeza.

  Q: If Fjord has the GI Bill why does he live on campus or have a job?

A: For those who don’t know how the GI Bill works, the government pays for education and sends some money based on housing in the zip code of the school. Boston is insanely expensive and student living is easier. Essentially, he wanted the “college experience” and it was cheaper. He needs the job more because he knows better than to let himself get idle. If he does, he won’t focus on school. Like Travis, my Fjord has ADHD.

  Q: How did Veth and Caleb meet?

A: In a Juvenile’s in-patient program for at-risk teenagers and those suffering from mental health issues. Caleb’s depression and anxiety following the death of his parents and the constant bullying for numerous things and previous attempts or ideations had him labeled “at risk” for self-harm. He was in for 3 weeks. Veth was in for her kleptomania and possible signs of disruptive BPD or other developing personality disorders but aged out of the youth section when she turned 18. As most diagnoses cannot be done for those until adulthood, she was being watched for early onset signs.

  Q: How did Jester/Veth get into the group?

A: Jester met Beau, Yasha and Molly at NYCC two years’ prior in line for a panel. They met again at Anime Boston after exchanging Twitter handles a few months later. Jester had worked NYCC a year ago and helped Veth to a quiet room for Luc, who was fussing, then stayed with her as she was on break soon. She invited Veth to play a few games of Don’t Starve Together with her and Yasha before she was brought into the main group.

  Q: This is a really diverse cast. What is everyone and why?

A: Some were obvious choices such as Caleb being from Germany, Jester being from Eastern Europe (Ukrainian), and Molly as Irish (and English).

Others I did to flush out to make a group in a major city make more sense. Wulf and Astrid both have French/ Germanic backgrounds because in canon, they were raised in a similar way. Astrid is Jewish along with Caleb to hint at why it may have been easier for them to date if her family was stricter than his.

Fjord and Yasha faced some racial issues early on in the show (Yasha from where she was from and Fjord for being a half orc), so I wanted them to be people of color. Yasha is half Japanese because of her name and because US troops often marry someone from Japan when they are single and stationed there. Her father is Jamaican in decent. Fjord’s dad he figures is Black but they’ve never met, as his mother’s side are Mexican. I chose that because I wanted to keep the Texan because a lot of people in the service are from Texas. Also, as previously stated, I had too many naturalized or foreign students already and needed to not stress over how they would be around for the breaks.

Cad is English, Norwegian, and Swedish because Cad is a god, who why not make him a Norse god? Veth is half Cambodian partially because there is a decent population size in Massachusetts. Beau is the not white-passing cousin of her family which will come in later because rich families have secrets, yo. Her family has some Cajun/Creole in her like Darrow but it shouldn’t be there according to her family lineage. 

Essek is Persian, Rissa is Puerto Rican, Bryce and Keg are “Confused American Mixes” of everything. Cali I have not decided yet, but will probably have some English in her, Reani I have decided on Moroccan. Kiri is Korean. 

Enzo is an asshole (he’s also mix of random European heritage.) I feel like I missed someone.

  Q: Is Widofjord the only pairing we will see?

A: There are some others forming, including BeauYasha, which was one of the possibilities when I started. Molly/Essek/Astrid were a shock and some others I won’t spoil just yet are starting to bud as hopefuls.

  Q: Do you have an end game in sight?

A: Honestly, as this whole fic has taken on a life of its own, not entirely. It was originally mapped out to be 12 chapters long and have much of this condensed down with all the side characters removed, no Enzo or hockey games, and the extra fluff cut out. As I wrote it, I found I enjoyed that almost more than the Widofjord specifics. So, this has really evolved away from a Widofjord ONLY fic, I am aware. Endgame wise, when I feel the story is told, I will wind it down, but there are more elements evolving with every chapter and I want these characters to get the moments they’re aiming toward. I also don’t want it to drag on too long, so I know that this will eventually come to an end.

 Q: Did anything change relationship wise while writing?

A: 100%. Beau and Jester were originally who I expected to pan out, but my Jes couldn’t seem to devote to that because she had developed more attraction to Molly and Fjord than I expected. Beau and Yasha just clicked better. Molly was the next option for Jester, but then I decided to make Essek and Astrid actual friends with the TM9 and we see how that went.

 Q: Is Jester going to find something happier? It kind of sucked seeing her so down and withdrawn these last few chapters. And where is Nott’s role now?

A: I am trying with Jessy. I am. Here’s to hoping she behaves? As for Nott, she is shining as the mom friend, but her coming into the fray more means bad things are happening. And yes, that is on the way.

 Q: You keep hinting at something in both Caleb and Fjord’s pasts. Are we ever going to see that?

A: Yes. I am trying to space out the angst as much as possible. This was never meant to be a hurt/comfort type story, but people have mental health issues and those because pivotal to the story more than I intended. Maybe the curse of having complete access to everyone’s conversations? But they will be coming out.

[hereisisa]

P1- I am all for anything that symbolizes the unique bond between A & E bc they are my favs. But I have a hard time getting behind the “a bridge has two sides bond” bc it’s basically a symbol of everything I hate about F2. In order for their to be a bridge there has to be two sides which means A & E have to be on separate sides to accomplish this. One is the magic side in the forest and one as the human side as Q in Arendelle engaged to K.

P2- I would easily give up the “bridge” bond for them to be together. I hate the separation. I hate A as Q and the engagement. I hate that E lives in a glacier and away from her home. I just get so tired of ppl saying how amazing JL is coming up with the bridge has two sides. They go on about how both sisters were necessary to complete the mission even though they were physically separated the entire time. I want them together to solve the problem. I don’t think JL is a genius at all.

P3-I feel like this bridge thing is just a cover up to make it look like they are connected when they really aren’t, just like the message they shoved down our throats when they put “we are stronger together” on all the promos but they didn’t do it together. A bridge is suppose to connect two sides but there isnt a conn between the Sami and Arendelle. Just like there isn’t a conn between A & E at the end. It’s all fake. It seems like the bridge is more like a wall. E has her life & A has her own

---------------------------------------

Thank you for sharing this. It’s exactly how I feel.

There’s nothing genious in starting a story from the end, sending one sister away in order to elevate the other, and tag it with a basic symbol as “the bridge”.

Elsa+Anna already had their official and not official symbols.

Sun and moon, summer and winter, and despite being at the antipodes, we never took them litterally.

No one ever said “Anna is summer, Elsa is winter, so they can’t be together cause these seasons can’t happen at the same time”. LOL

Because it’s ridiculous, honestly.

And Disney knows it, that’s why they asked to tag everything with #together. And I know it was Disney cause promotional strategies are decided by the network or the company who produces the movie.

A metaphorical bridge shouldn’t separate in real life 2 sisters who only ever wanted to be together. It’s metaphorical! It doesn’t exist!! LOL

They should find a better idea!

[filthysweetie]

James Bond drabble

Prompt: “You’re seriously like a man-child.”

day niiiine. feel free to request if ya want :) 

———————

The clacking of keys being pressed and murmured conversation was always something of a comfort for Q, it meant that everyone was working, keeping their operatives safe and making the new generation of tools that would help make them safer. It meant that no one was yelling for an agent to just keep breathing, the extraction team is so close—keep breathing or trying frantically to figure out where a cyber attack was coming from as the lights flashed red and everyone went deadly silent. 

It was a comfort that was being rudely interrupted. Sure, 007 was quite as a church mouse, and he was far enough away, but it was like having a fox in the hen house and Q was the haggard farmhand. 

Q took a sip of tea, trying in vain to block it out. For some reason, that just brought the man more into focus. Q felt his eyebrow twitch. 

“Alright then 007,” Q turned and had to stop himself from putting his hands on his hips like a disapproving schoolmarm, “you’ve got my attention.”

Bond saunters over as if he’d just happened to be around and Q was the one demanding his attention instead of the other way around. 

“Yes, Quartermaster?” Bond asks looking at Q with that patented half smirk. Q is not here to play that game, “What is it you want, Bond?”

“Is it not enough to want to admire the work of one of the best divisions in the Queen’s service?”

Q doesn’t both responding outside of a well timed snort. 

Bond gives a little shrug, “Maybe I was bored.”

“And watching us watch computer screens is so invigorating.” Q looks at his watch. 002 isn’t set to start her stakeout for another two hours, and it is a low risk mission to begin with (not everyone is as…colorful as Bond).

“R, you have the conn.” Q says to his right hand woman and steps down from his post as R takes the mantle. 

“Was that a Star Trek reference?” Bond asks, voice laced with amusement. 

“Really 007,” Q grabs his windbreaker, his mobile, his second mobile, and his tablet, “we are a room full of computer geeks. Of course it’s a Star Trek reference.”

Q walks from the tunnels that make up Q-branches home. 007, of course follows. They go further into the bowels of the bunker, where the test chambers are. It’s always colder here; MI6 isn’t about to heat the whole of this unending maze. They arrived at the labs soon enough, as Q made his way through the rows, looking for a particular prototype, he was pleasantly surprised enough that Bond didn’t immediately start picking up weapons—especially as some of them weren’t altogether stable yet.

“Gun?” Q asks over his shoulder, “or throwing knives that go boom?” Bond’s head snapped away from the curves of metal he’d been admiring to Q’s face, his look of shock morphing into one of feral joy.

“The knives.”

“You are seriously like a man-child.” Q sighs, “One that unfortunately has approval to blow things up.” He grabs the set and gets them over to a proper testing room. 

“You’re the one giving me that approval, dear Q.”

“And I pity the world for it.”

Q sets the knives down, gets through his speech on safety and testing prototype materials that Bond at least has the decency to nod through if not actually listen, and then he gets the hell over into the observation room. 

Bond in action…well it’s definitely something to behold. His movements are always so fluid, the languid arch of his body as he throws the knife. It may or may not have Q a little distracted from watching the knives in action. Q watches him on grainy CCTV footage often enough, sometimes even on his own, much superior, visual equipment, but there’s nothing like seeing it in person. 

The first knife lands in it’s target with a satisfying thud, but the promised boom is nonexistent. 

Q pressed the little intercom button and repeats; “Press firmly on the handle a half inch from the blade as you’re pulling back to throw.” Reilly did refill the explosives, didn’t he? Q looks down at his notes and misses the next throw—and this one goes off without a hitch. It seems to cause a reaction in the already embedded knife that didn’t go off though…Q jots down the time to review on the footage later. 

Bond throws a few more of the knives with relish, testing the weight of them, their trajectories. He also presses the button, then lets it go without throwing. Q’s not above admitting his heart jumped a little bit at that. Is the idiot trying to get himself killed? Everyone would certainly think Q did it! Not that they would be able to follow through with any kind of punishment (he could destroy them all), but still, the rumors. It would have Q-branch in a flurry for at least a week. 

Q presses the button again; “Do try and be careful, Bond.”

007 gives a mock salute and throws without looking; the knife successfully hitting it’s target and explodes. 

Q writes a few more notes, satisfied with the impromptu test, “Alright, go get them.”

Bond makes a face and Q can’t help but roll his eyes as he hits the intercom button again, “of course we made them reusable. Reduce, reuse and recycle and all that. They only have one charge each,  in case whatever you hit tries to throw it back, but they’re still perfectly serviceable knives.”

Bond trots down to the other side of the test room and finds within the black aftermath of the explosion his 10 playthings, looking extremely pleased. Q won’t admit the little burst of pride that comes with knowing his invention has passed double-0 muster, but it’s there none the less. 

When Bond exits the testing room, Q’s already waiting at the door. 

“Alright, lets have it.” Q says and Bond goes off;

“The weight is a little top heavy, but that’s to be expected. The trigger is concealed well, and seems difficult to accidentally press—”

Q hums, “don’t think I forgot your stunt with that.”

“—And it’s not awkward to do mid throw when you know where to press. I’d suggest some minute differences in the color—the black blends in too well with the residue, which would make it harder to retrieve during a mission. How in the hell did you make them survive an explosion they make?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Q mumbles more to himself than Bond, writing one more note before tapping the program closed and looking at the deadly agent in front of him, “Alright, I’ve given you your attention, are you feeling much better now?”

“How could I not?” Bond’s face falls back into that familiar half smirk, but his eyes are a bit brighter than before, “How can I ever repay you?”

Q resists the urge to roll his eyes now that the recipient can see him, “Don’t loom in Q branch.”

Bond leans against the wall like a regular old Casanova “But how else will you know I’m desperate for your attention?”

Q can play that game, “A normal person would just ask me to dinner.” It might even be fun. 

Bond’s grin gains that predatory edge, “Well, my dear Quartermaster, may I take you to dinner?”

It will definitely be fun.

[endeavvor]

                          𝖫𝖤𝖳 𝖬𝖤 𝖠𝖲𝖲𝖨𝖦𝖭 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖠𝖭 𝖠𝖤𝖲𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖳𝖨𝖢 𝖶𝖮𝖱𝖣

                         apricate

apricate means to bask in the sun, to sunbathe. if you got this result, i think you're made of pure sunlight. the warmth you radiate makes people around you feel safe, and i think it's such a wonderful thing. you're like a bouquet of fresh sunflowers, or a box of chocolates on someone's birthday. you remind me so much of chamomile, of pretty rainbows that appear in the sky after a thunderstorm.

make sure you love yourself as much as you love others, yeah?

tagged by: @mutiineer

[myrecordcollections]

Reprinted by permission from TIME Magazine — December 30, 1946 

At Salzburg, backdropped by magical mountains, where Austria's great musical festivals were held before the war, and where he first heard Marian Anderson sing, Arturo Toscanini cried: "Yours is a voice such as one hears once in a hundred years." Toscanini was hailing a great artist, but that voice was more than a magnificent personal talent. It was the religious voice of a whole religious people. The Negroes had enriched American culture with an incomparable religious poetry and music, and its only truly great religious art—the spiritual. This religious and esthetic achievement of Negro Americans has found profound expres-sion in Marian Anderson. She is not only the world's greatest contralto and one of the very great voices of all time, she is also a dedicated character, devoutly simple, calm, religious. Manifest in the tranquil architecture of her face is her constant submission to the "Spirit, that dost prefer before all temples the upright heart and pure." She was born (in Philadelphia) some 40 years ago (she will not tell her age). Her mother had been a school teacher in Virginia. Her father was a coal and ice dealer. There were two younger sisters. When she was twelve, her father died. To keep the home together, Mrs. Anderson went to work. Miss Anderson says that the happiest moment of her life came the day that she was able to tell her mother to stop working. Later she bought her mother a two-story brick house on Philadelphia's South Martin Street. She bought the house next door for one of her sisters. At 15, she took her first formal music lesson. At 16, she gave her first important concert, at a Negro school in Atlanta. From then on, her life almost ceases to be personal. It was the congregation of the Union Baptist Church that gave Miss Anderson her start. Then a group of interested music lovers gave a concert at her church, collected about $500 to pay for train-ing her voice under the late Philadelphia sing-ing teacher, Giuseppe Boghetti. In 1924 she won the New York Stadium con-test (prize: the right to appear with the New York Symphony Orchestra). In 1930, she de-cided that she must study in Germany. When she had perfected her lieder, songs by Schubert, Brahms, Wolf, she gave her first concert on the Continent. It cost her $500 (the Germans explained that it was customary for Americans to pay for their own concerts). She never paid again. Applause followed her through Norway and Sweden. In Finland, composer Jean Sibelius offered her coffee, but after hearing her sing, cried: "Champagne!" In Paris, her first house was "papered." From her second concert, en-thusiasts were turned away in droves. She swept through South America. In the 1.1, S. the ovation continued. Only one notably ugly incident marred her triumph. In Washington, the management of Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, announced that it would be unable to lease the hall on the date which Sol Hurok, Miss Anderson's manager, had asked for. The refusal resulted in Eleanor Roosevelt's resigna-tion from the D.A.R. and an enormous ground swell of sympathy for Miss Anderson and her people. Miss Anderson, who has carefully kept herself and her art from being used for politi-cal purposes, said nothing. But Washington heard her. She sang, first in the open air in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Later the D.A.R. leased her Constitution Hall, and she sang to a brilliant white and Negro audience. She had insisted only that there should be no segregation in the seating. No-body knows the trouble that an incident like this one causes to a spirit like Marian Ander-son's. No doubt such things are in her mind when she says, with typical understatement: "Religion, the treasure of religion helps one, I think, to face the difficulties one sometimes meets." In 1943 Miss Anderson married Orpheus Q Fisher, an architect who works in Danbury, Conn. Now they live, not far from Danbury, on a beautiful, 105-acre farm, "Marianna." In-side, the handsome, white frame, hillside house. has been remodeled by architect Fisher. He also designed the big, good-looking studio in cc/t which Miss Anderson practices. When not on tour or practicing, Miss An- A derson dabbles in farming. She sells grade-A 4 vegetables to the local market, regrets that "4 Marianna, like many farms run by hired help, 4 costs more than it brings in. And there are :1 other problems in the agrarian life. This year, Miss Anderson was much puzzled when the big (but unbred) daughter of her registered Guernsey cow did not give milk. "Heifers have to be freshened before you can milk them," she) explains with some astonishment. "Did you know that?" In her life, as in the spiritual, the Big Wheel moves by faith. With a naturalness impossible to most people, she says: "I do a good deal of praying." For to her, her voice is directly a gift from God, her singing a religious experience.

[scottwellsmagic]

751: Senior Tour 2023 - Panel Discussion

On the first evening of the Senior Tour, we sat down for a very special, impromptu Q&A with some of the performers from the Senior Tour. Joining us on the couch was Trudy Monti (wife if the legendary Harry Monti), Bill Goodwin, Alan Ackerman, Mike Powers, Doug Conn, Jim Molinari and Howard Hamburg.

This is a bonus episode to the Magic Word Podcast and we will resume our daily updates with the next installment.

Like a late night talk show, Scott Wells has some of the talent from this year’s Senior Tour as his guests on the couch in this episode. We feature Trudy Monti (wife of Harry Monti, who was in the audience but not healthy enough to join us on the couch), Doug Conn, Bill Goodwin, Alan Ackerman, Mike Powers, Jim Molinari and Howard Hamburg.

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[crogers19ahsgov-blog]

Constitutional Issues

1. Dukes v. Warden, Conn. State Prison

2.May 15, 1972

3. Petitioner's claim that his guilty plea was not voluntarily and intelligently made because of an alleged conflict of interest on the part of his counsel has no merit, and that alleged conflict of interest is therefore not a reason for vacating his plea

4. If this is constitutional

5. 4th and 5th amendments

6. 7–2 DECISION in favor of Dukes

7. that you have a right to a fair trial with a good lawyer. 

8. I agree with the court because it isn’t fair for someone's lawyer to influence where they plea guilty or not if they don’t want to. 

S: We can’t forget the fact that Trump isn’t doing anything about our criminal justice system. 

A: New York Times, Sally Q. Yates

C. Trump needs to take action

A. People of America

P. The author has a left-leaning bias

S. To bring attention to the issue.

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Conn Clarinet Serial Number Chart

The following is a serial number chart for Conn saxophones made in Mexico and the U.S. From 1970 until the end of production. It is also applicable to most Armstrong saxophones from 1982, and King saxophones beginning in late 1983. Part of this comes from factory records, albeit altered with a small but critical detail. About Conn-Selmer Conn-Selmer Careers Diversity and Inclusion Plan Latest News Accessibility Statement. Conn-Selmer Videos Frequently Asked Questions Purchase an Instrument Serial Numbers Warranty Information. Warranty Registration. Frequently Asked Questions. Serial Numbers Top of Page. Most likely your horn was made in Elkhart. Most Pan American models I have seen used a P in the serial number. One thing I noticed is that the Conn serial numbers in 1917 started around 40,000. Conn also introduced the New Wonder line in 1917. So here's my theory. Conn wanted a seperate list of serial numbers for their Pan American line. Serial Numbers: 83xxxx and higher, Later models have a neck brace and 7 digit serial numbers. Identifiable by the elongated pearl RH alternative F# key; the bent brass high F# key and the AS/TS110 stamp on the bell. Also notice the neck stiffener under the neck which is smooth and does not have a crease like the Paris horns.

Conn Clarinet Serial Number Chart

Conn Trombone Serial Number Chart

Conn Clarinet Serial Numbers

Conn Bass Clarinet Serial Numbers

Conn Saxophone Serial Number Chart

Conn Clarinet Serial Number Chart

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Conn Trombone Serial Number Chart

Woodwind Serial Number Link List

AKUSTIKSaxophonesALEXANDRE (SELMER)ClarinetsSee also (serial number drop-down menu)AMERICAN STANDARDAll WoodwindsWT ARMSTRONGARTLEY

Flutes, Piccolos, and Clarinets See Also

B&S

Saxophones Research Link

E BEAUGNIER (see also Vito and Leblanc)SaxophonesNoteF BESSON

All Instruments See Also

BOOSEY AND HAWKESNoteBUESCHERNoteSaxophonesEVETTE & SCHAEFFER, BUFFET-CRAMPON S.A.

Clarinets OboesSee also Saxophones

NoteBUNDY (incl. SIGNET)NoteCANNONBALL SAXOPHONESSaxophonesCLEVELAND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSAll WoodwindsCG CONNProfessional SaxophonesCOUESNONFor all instruments prior to appx. 1937, there is a grenade fruit with a number inside it stamped on the horn. That number is the year of manufacture.CUNDY - BETTONEYFlutes, Piccolos, and ClarinetsHenry DISTINAll InstrumentsDOLNETSaxophonesPeter EATONFOXDouble-ReedsIDA MARIA GRASSI

Saxophones See Also

Wm. S. HAYNESFlutes and PiccolosWilhelm HECKELBassoonsHAMMERSCHMIDTSaxophonesHOHNERSaxophonesFrank HOLTONSaxophonesJUPITERAll InstrumentsBrua C. KEEFERSaxophones and ClarinetsNoteJulius KEILWERTH (and H-COUF)SaxophonesNoteKING (HN WHITE)KOHLERTAll InstrumentsNoteLA SAXAll InstrumentsA. LAUBINDouble-ReedsG. LEBLANCNoteLINTONOboes and BassoonsF. LORÉE (CABART)Double-ReedsLouis LOTFlutesRobert MALERNEMARIGAUX (see also SML)

Double Reeds See Also

MARTIN BAND INSTRUMENT COMPANY

Saxophones See Also

MARTIN FRERESClarinets See alsoMONANZIFlutesNOBLETNORMANDYClarinetsFE OLDSAll InstrumentsL. PIERRET

Saxophones See Also

Verne Q. POWELLFlutesG. PRUEFERClarinetsPUCHNERAll InstrumentsFA REYNOLDSAll InstrumentsRIGOUTATDouble-ReedsLuis ROSSIClarinetsRUDALL & ROSEFlutesA. SAX

All Instruments See Also

SELMER (PARIS)

Clarinets Saxophones

SELMER (UK/London)ClarinetsSELMER (USA)ClarinetsSML (Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire)

Saxophones (PDF) See Also

NoteVITOSaxophonesNoteWELTKLANGYAMAHASaxophonesNoteYANAGISAWASaxophonesJW YORK

Saxophones See Also

.

Notes

Beaugnier:

If you decided to play around with the serial numbers on http://www.doctorsax.biz/beaugnier_ser_nos.htm, note that he doesn't differentiate between the Leblanc System (two/three versions), Rationale (whichever spelling you wish) and Semi Rationale (two versions).

Boosey and Hawkes:

1. Boosey and Hawkes is a combination of the Boosey company and the Hawkes company. Hawkes produced their own instruments, for a time, and combined with Boosey in the 1930s. Boosey and Hawkes have been, since that time, sheet music producers and importers.

2. A lot of the saxophones stamped 'Boosey and Hawkes' are stencil instruments. To read more about stencils, please read my article HERE.

Keefer:

The vast majority of saxophones stamped 'Keefer' are stencils.

Buescher:

Horns stamped 'The Buescher Band Instrument Company' from the 1920's are stencils, as are the modern BU-series of horns available from Selmer, and follow different serial number charts.

Buffet-Crampon:

1. A small, but significant, percentage of all Buffet and/or Evette-Schaeffer woodwinds in the 1900-1930 range (or so) were Conn stencils and do not have Buffet serial numbers. In the 1990's, Keilwerth stenciled a saxophone for Buffet called the 'Expression' and that model has a Keilwerth serial number.

2. The modern Buffet 400 (and similar) are Asian-made and do not follow these serial number charts.

Bundy:

1. The Bundy in question here is from approximately 1950 to date. Earlier horns were a mixture of Conn and Buescher stencils.

2. For a brief time, Bundy and Bundy Special saxophones were available from Keilwerth and Dörfler & Jörka, are stamped 'Made in Germany' and do not have a Bundy serial number.

Julius Keilwerth:

Except for the ST-90 I and EX-90 I and II, the ST-90 and EX-90 were not made by Keilwerth and probably do not have Keilwerth serial numbers. For a chart of those models, see THIS.

Kohlert:

The modern Kohlert instruments are made in China or Taiwan. Their serial number format is completely different. The serial numbers listed here are for the German/Czech made instruments.

LeBlanc:

Leblanc does not give out serial number charts. If you ask them, EXCESSIVELY NICELY, about a serial number off a horn you own, they might tell you when it was made.

SML:

1. The SML A400/T400 are Asian-made stencils not made under the authority of SML and are not included in this chart.

2. Some very early SML saxophones were stencils. There are also occasional late-model stencils. For further info, click HERE.

Vito:

Vito saxophones have been made by Vito (Wisconsin), Beaugnier, Leblanc, Yamaha, Jupiter and Yanagisawa. Keep this in mind when attempting to date your instrument.

Yamaha:

These serial numbers are probably only for the Vito labeled YAS-21/23/25 stencils. However, these serials might apply to all Yamsaha instruments.

The standard info on Yamaha serial numbers is that they are not sequential and you need to contact Yamaha directly for information.

I'm always looking for more info for this chart. If you have any, please drop me a line at thesaxinfo@gmail.com.

Conn Clarinet Serial Numbers

Conn Bass Clarinet Serial Numbers

Conn Saxophone Serial Number Chart

[astartrekaday]

Star Trek TNG #1: S01E01 - Encounter At Farpoint

What better place to start for TNG than with the 90min pilot itself, Encounter At Farpoint. Over the years, I’ve found that the pilot often gets a bit of a bum rep from a lot of Trek fans, but I actually think that’s rather unfair. It had a lot on pressure on it from very early on and I think it’s a fantastic piece of television. We start off with the classic intro and the iconic, updated voice over from new Captain Patrick Stewart, which shows us our first look at the new Enterprise. I remember watching this as a kid and seeing that ship for the first time was awesome. When then quickly get introduced to Q, who’s just brilliant from start to finish, and then in every episode he’s in from then on. Q was a great “villain” to start off on. He tested the new crew, gave them a reason to band together early on, which we probably needed. The effects weren’t bad for the time either, although the electro synth music dates it a little and didn’t really stick around for very long. But they packed a lot into this episode. We meet O’Brien here, or just “CONN” as he is for the moment. Little do we know how important this guy is going to become. Worf at the helm, they clearly didn’t really know what to do with him in season 1. The Saucer Separation sequence is awesome and the Battle Bridge too, which of course was just a redress of the TOS movie bridge, with updated consoles. Only time we see the Battle ready room if I remember rightly. LOVED the first meeting between Commander Riker and Data, especially as Riker refers back to it in the last TNG film, Nemesis, after Data’s tragic demise. Great cameo by Bones, always loved that. Al though, for some reason, all of the doors that Data and Bones walk past, are open. Weird.

Then there’s Geordi.

Having such a main character with a disability, for me as a disabled person growing up, was massive. I always felt the way they handled it, for the most part, was very ahead of its time. I adore the scene with him and Dr Crusher in sickbay where they’re discussing his Visor and he finished the conversation for both of them as he’s heard it all before many times. It’s an experience I’ve had many times myself and it always feels very real.

The story is pretty captivating for the viewer. At least, it was for me.

In reflection, I still love Encounter at Farpoint. It’s raw, yes and the characters are at their most basic and sometimes over the top (I’m looking at you, Troi), but what strikes me as how much is established in this episode. The characters obviously get more developed as time goes on, it’s easy to recognise the characters we come to know and love. Picard is already Picard, which is a testament to Sir Patrick. Riker too is already that confident yet cheeky Number One.  Whether you love or hate the pilot, I think we all have to agree that it’s unmistakably Star Trek.

For a more detailed and comprehensive look, check out the page the episode page over at Memory Alpha: http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Encounter_at_Farpoint_(episode)