#red monarch 1983

[thespoliarium]

The original Death of Stalin character introduction scene. 😌

RED MONARCH, 1983. (dir. Jack Gold)

[xtruss]

These Mighty Pyramids Were Built By One of Africa’s Earliest Civilisations! The Mysterious Rulers of Nubia, in Present-day Sudan, Erected Hundreds of Tombs and Temples that Rival Cairo’s.

— By Emma Thompson | 29 December 2022 | Photographs By: Nichole Sobecki

A “haboob” (sandstorm) rolls across the Meroë pyramids in Sudan. Most of the 41 tombs here belong to the royals of the powerful Kingdom of Kush (900 B.C. to A.D. 400), which ruled large parts of the middle Nile Valley.

Powered by agriculture, ancient Sudan’s great civilisations thrived and erected mighty temples and tombs honouring their gods, kings, queens, and nobles. Their building boom left behind some 255 pyramids—more than twice the number Egypt constructed next door.

Yet few Western travellers have seen these hulking sandstone relics. That’s because Sudan’s tourism industry has been impeded by two civil wars (1956-1972 and 1983-2005) and the battle for independence that led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011.

The temple of Soleb was built in the 14th century B.C. by Pharaoh Amenhotep III, in present-day Sudan. Visitors can still view its massive columns and splendid relief carvings.

Travel to Sudan is still currently not advised due to ongoing civil unrest related to a 2021 coup. However, when tensions ease, Sudan offers a singular chance to camp beside crowd-free ancient pyramids and to learn about the mysterious reign of these little-known pharaohs. A guided road trip along the Nile Valley takes you from the splendid temple at Soleb to the UNESCO-recognized Meroë, with the world’s largest cache of pyramids.

Black Pharaohs and a Once Great City

Nubia once stretched south from Aswan, Egypt, to modern-day Khartoum, Sudan. It gave rise to one of Africa’s earliest civilisations, the Kingdom of Kush, whose kings—nicknamed the Black Pharaohs—conquered Egypt in 747 B.C. and ruled the vast territory for nearly a century.

This drama played out on the banks of the world’s longest river, the Nile. Flowing south to north from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean, the legendary waterway was considered the source of life itself because the annual flooding brought fertile soil for farming.

From the capital of Khartoum, it’s a nine-hour drive north to Soleb, Sudan’s best-preserved temple and the southernmost structure built by Amenhotep III, the Egyptian pharaoh who also commissioned the temples at Luxor. It was once guarded by the Prudhoe Lions, a pair of finely carved red granite beasts inscribed by the boy-king Tutankhamun when he visited. They are now displayed at London’s British Museum.

Top: Visitor Nadeem Abduraziq Mohammed walks through the ancient city of Kerma, Sudan, in July 2021. Kerma has been occupied for at least 8,000 to 10,000 years, reaching its peak around 1800 B.C., when it was capital of the Kingdom of Kush. Bottom: There are 41 tombs in Meroë’s north cemetery, 38 of them belonging to monarchs who ruled the region between B.C. 250 and A.D. 320.

Take a small barge from the village of Wawa to the western bank of the Nile, and you soon see the sandstone columns of Soleb’s main hall. Carved at their bases are images of Assyrians, hands chained behind their backs, whom the Black Pharaohs took as prisoners of war.

A few miles south of Soleb, set back from the tents where locals serve small glasses of tea beside the Nile, is Kerma. Established around 5,500 years ago, this ancient capital grew up around a huge adobe temple called the Western Defuffa. At its height the city had a population of 10,000; today, its mud brick ruins are inhabited only by nesting swallows. Nearby lies one of the oldest cemeteries in Africa.

Top: A fragment of an ancient carving sits near the Kerma necropolis. This area of Sudan has been inhabited since Paleolithic times. Bottom: Tahani Abdulaziz takes a photograph of family members during a visit to Kerma.

Haunting Tombs and Dazzling Murals

Just over an hour’s drive south, and slowly being swallowed by sand, is Old Dongola. Founded with a fortress in A.D. 600, it served as the capital of the medieval Nubian kingdom of Makuria and grew to include palaces, houses, and Christian churches. It was a major stop on the Darb al-Arba’in (Forty Days Road) that thousands of camel caravans followed, transporting ivory and slaves between the Sudanese town of Darfur and Egypt.

Best preserved is the Church of the Old Granite Columns, its pale pillars framing a Throne Hall that was converted into a mosque in 1317 and remained in use until 1969. Now it’s open to visitors, along with an adjacent Islamic graveyard with distinctive 17th-century domed tombs known as qubbas.

From there, the Nile loops eastward and you come to El-Kurru, a cemetery used by the royal family of the Kingdom of Kush. Unlike in Egypt, Nubian burial chambers sit below the pyramids, not inside them.

Adobe tunnels cover the entrances to the chambers, chief among them the tomb of King Tanutamun (who died around 653 B.C.). Uneven shallow steps descend into the darkness until a flashlight click reveals a duo of domed rooms, one leading onto the other. Their white gypsum walls are covered with intricate murals in colours of ochre and yellow.

On the back wall is an arresting scene depicting Tanutamun’s heart being weighed against a feather by Maat, the goddess of truth. Kushites believed this recorded a person’s good and bad deeds and determined if the king’s soul could pass into paradise.

A Sudanese family tours El Kurru, a field of pyramids built for the kings and queens of ancient Kush.

More royal tombs crop up in Nuri, further upstream. Its smaller and steeper 70-plus pyramids are now reduced to 20. The most famous tombs belong to King Taharqa, the Black Pharoah who conquered Egypt, and King Nastasen, which archaeologists have to scuba-dive to reach because of rising ground waters.

Nuri served as the royal necropolis for the adjacent town of Napata, the first capital of the Kingdom of Kush. Both the cemetery and the ruins of the settlement lie across the Nile from Jebel Barkal, a 341-foot-tall sandstone mesa. From its summit, you can see the ruins of Nuri, including rows of cracked pillars and pairs of giant stone rams, their eyes and ears worn away by time.

Top: The pyramids of Nuri, Sudan, were built between 650 and 300 B.C. The most famous tomb belongs to King Taharqa, the Black Pharaoh who conquered Egypt. Bottom: Archaeologist Gretchen Emma Zoeller excavates a burial site in Nuri. The ancient site sprawls across more than 170 acres along the Nile in northern Sudan.

On the western side of Jebel Barkal is a crumbling stone door frame leading to the Temple of Mut, wife of Amun. Spotlights illuminate its fine wall murals chronicling Taharqa’s coronation in white clay, ocher, and deep blue.

The World’s Largest Group of Pyramids

Finally, the Nile weaves past Meroë (pronounced Mero-way), the Kushite capital until the empire collapsed in A.D. 400 and site of Sudan’s best-preserved pyramids. More than 200 of them spread across the sands. Their granite and sandstone bases are etched with elephant, giraffe, and gazelle designs, proof that this was once fertile grasslands.

Sudanese tourists visit Jebel Barkal, Sudan, to climb the small butte, which has been considered sacred for thousands of years. Roughly a dozen pyramids are also scattered around the base of the mountain.

“It’s the biggest congregation of pyramids in the world,” reports archaeologist and Meroë site manager, Mahmoud Suliman. “At the time of the 2019 revolution, street signs, advertisements, and paintings all featured their images. It brought people together because the pyramids are so tied to our sense of identity.”

Mentioned in the writings of Herodotus, there’s an air of defiance about these structures that stand firm against the sands trying to swallow them. Indeed, it was an act of resistance that led to their construction in the first place. In the third century B.C., Kushite King Arakamani (Ergamenes) had grown tired of the Meroitic (Meroë-led) kingdom’s power-hungry high priests. So when they sent an order for him to commit suicide, he responded by having them all murdered instead.

Top: A group of school children approach the pyramids at Meroë. Bottom: Volunteer tour guides show a group of Sudanese school children the Meröe pyramids. During the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir from 1989 to 2019, Sudan’s school curriculum was infused with Islamic ideology and much of its rich ancient history was glossed over, but the new government wants to change that.

The rebellion ushered in a new era of culture: the almighty Egyptian god Amun-Ra was downgraded in favour of the lion god Abedemak, the (still undeciphered) Meroitic script was created, and warrior queens, known as kandakes, ruled the army. Inside the tombs, the carvings of the kings stand taller than the gods. You won’t see that in Egypt. Here, kings controlled everything except death.

It’s a strong message and one that’s inspired a fresh wave of national pride. For just as Ancient Greece informed so much of today’s European culture, so too did Nubia shape Sudan. It is the bedrock that formed the country’s sense of self and identity. Understanding this history suggests a way forward for Sudan.

“These were very popular kings and queens,” says Aya Allam, a Sudanese martial artist based in Khartoum. “They are a reminder that we were once a great nation and could become great once again.”

A pyramid covers a tomb in Meroë, Sudan. Rulers of the Kingdom of Kush were buried here underneath the steeply pitched structures, which range in height from 30 to one hundred feet tall, far shorter than the pyramids in nearby Egypt.

— Emma Thomson is a British Travel Writer. Nichole Sobecki is a Kenya-based Photographer.

[toycoheartful]

Evil Zodbot (Zodbot malvado) is a Demon hybrid Robot LawPant - Who make a deal to catch Rabbidbot "Toyco" White-Rabbit, Rabbidmini and Bruce Stone and He using to power form into a gold

Inspector Gentry Raccoon (Inspector Gentry Mapache) is a Raccoon hybrid Robot PawPant - Who being spying of crime, He using to says "Go Go Gentry!" to use a items and He inspired by Inspector Gadget on 1983s

Claire Redback Spider (Claire araña de espalda roja) is a Redback Spider PawPant - Who became of the beauty of the spider. She using his spider webs to throw it like a grappling hook and wrapped up at people

Arthur Tree Frog (Rana arbórea Arthur) is a Red-Eyed Tree Frog PawPant - Who make a smarter than Yuri Brand, He using his tongue hand to grabbing, grappling hook and slapping and He loves flies to eat

Shadow Critter Ermine (Armiño de la criatura de las sombras) is a American Ermine PawPant - Who being a power of darkness. She using to Claw and Weasel Bite. and She was friendly of Monday Poodle and Elliott Wade

Desmond Green Anaconda (Anaconda verde de Desmond) is a Green Anaconda LawPant - Who being his Best Friend "Vladimir Aye-Aye, Richard Ring-Tailed Lemur, Evil Zodbot & King Bjørn Griffin". and He following to Jose Gallard, Cal Suresh, Eis Glover and Bruce Stone and coiling in

Janet Robinson is a Sea-Monster hybrid Human PawPant - Who ran over to the ocean, She was getting hungry some normal humans and she tried to eats like "Leo Craig & Haoyu Chang".

Luis Elk (Luis Alce) is a Baseball hybrid Elk PawPant - Who played a baseball game on the field. He want to play baseball with Leo Craig, Cosmo Vintage Toy-Robot, Emma Cole and Winona Unicorn.

Hova Emperor Dragonfly (Libélula emperador de Hova) is a Emperor Dragonfly PawPant - Who using his wing to flying on the sky with Minnie Monarch-Butterfly. and She likes Yuri Brand with his favorite insects too.

Echo Yodelingboy (Chico cantando eco) is a Flying Ghost Monster hybrid Human PawPant - Who using to power of his voice to echo of yodeling and people got hypnotized and He sang to yodeling like his friend Linda Snow Leopard

[die-greifen]

what: royal family orders

The Royal Family Order is an order awarded by the sovereign of a monarchy to female members of the royal family, as female members of the royal family typically do not wear the commemorative medals that men wear. The order is more of a personal memento rather than a state decoration although it can be worn during state occasions. The only way to know who the order has been given to is to see the recipient wearing it. The same practice is in place in the United Kingdom as is in the royal families of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Tonga. 

Source: wikipedia.

Royal Family Orders have been used by the monarch’s of Mecklenburg since the first king, Heinrich Ludwig I, established the practice in 1921. The Order is issued to female members of the family, or collaterals (such as cousins or in-laws). Since 2006, the Order is now issued to male members of the family.

The ribbon’s colour changes with each monarch and is only issued during the life of each monarch. There is only one class of the royal family order. Each order is a miniature portrait with the monarch’s monogram on the back, surrounded by diamonds, suspended from a coloured ribbon. Female wearers wear the ribbon as a badge, while male wearers wear the ribbon as a medal.

THE ROYAL FAMILY ORDER OF HEINRICH LUDWIG I

Portrait: Coronation portrait from 1919 painted onto ivory Ribbon: Blue Years active: 1921 - 1954

Wearers:

Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (step-mother)

Princess Karola of Urach, Queen Consort of Mecklenburg (wife)

Princess Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Parchim (daughter)

Duchess Thyra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen Consort of Mecklenburg (daughter-in-law)

Princess Heinrike Franziska, Duchess of Ratzeburg (granddaughter)

Princess Elisabeth Mathilde, Duchess of Güstrow (granddaughter)

Princess Marie Anastasia, Duchess of Grevesmühlen (granddaughter)

Princess Cecilie Auguste, Duchess of Ludwigslust (granddaughter)

Princess Alexandrine Luise, Duchess of Waren (granddaughter)

THE ROYAL FAMILY ORDER OF PAUL FRIEDRICH II

Portrait: Coronation portrait from 1955 painted onto ivory Ribbon: Yellow Years active: 1954-1982

Wearers:

Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (step-grandmother)

Princess Karola of Urach, Queen Consort of Mecklenburg (mother)

Duchess Thyra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen Consort of Mecklenburg (wife)

Princess Heinrike Franziska, Duchess of Ratzeburg (daughter)

Princess Elisabeth Mathilde, Duchess of Güstrow (daughter)

Princess Marie Anastasia, Duchess of Grevesmühlen (daughter)

Princess Cecilie Auguste, Duchess of Ludwigslust (daughter)

Princess Alexandrine Luise, Duchess of Waren (daughter)

Princess Ingrid Sophie, Duchess of Teterow (daughter)

Princess Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Parchim (sister)

Princess Feodora of Denmark (niece)

Duchess Helene of Oldenburg, Princess of Denmark (nephew’s wife)

Princess Barbara of Prussia, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (brother-in-law’s wife)

Duchess Anastasia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (sister-in-law)

THE ROYAL FAMILY ORDER OF WILHELM FRANZ I

Portrait: Coronation portrait from 1983 painted onto enamel Ribbon: Red Years active: 1982-1992

Wearers:

Princess Eleonora of Leiningen, Queen Consort of Mecklenburg (wife)

Karolina Augusta I, Queen Regnant of Mecklenburg, Duchess of Rostock and Elde (daughter)

Princess Veronica, Duchess of Bad Doberan (sister-in-law)

Princess Heinrike Franziska, Duchess of Ratzeburg (sister)

Princess Elisabeth Mathilde, Duchess of Güstrow (sister)

Princess Marie Anastasia, Duchess of Grevesmühlen (sister)

Princess Cecilie Auguste, Duchess of Ludwigslust (sister)

Princess Alexandrine Luise, Duchess of Waren (sister)

Princess Ingrid Sophie, Duchess of Teterow (sister)

Princess Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Parchim (aunt)

Princess Feodora of Denmark, Princess of Liechtenstein (cousin)

Duchess Helene of Oldenburg, Princess of Denmark (cousin’s wife)

Princess Barbara of Prussia, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (aunt by marriage)

Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, Princess of Leiningen (mother-in-law)

Princess Melita of Leiningen (sister-in-law)

Princess Stephanie of Leiningen (sister-in-law)

HSH Princess Margarita of Hohenlohe-Oehringen, Princess of Leiningen (brother-in-law’s wife)

Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Princess of Leiningen (brother-in-law’s wife)

THE ROYAL FAMILY ORDER OF KAROLINA AUGUSTA I

Portrait: Coronation portrait from 2006 painted onto enamel Ribbon: White, as a badge for women, as a medal for men Years active: 2006-Present

Female Wearers: 

Queen Eleonora of Mecklenburg, Princess of Leiningen (mother)

Princess Veronica, Duchess of Bad Doberan (aunt by marriage)

Princess Evelyn of Mecklenburg (cousin by marriage)

Princess Heinrike Franziska, Duchess of Ratzeburg (aunt)

Princess Elisabeth Mathilde, Duchess of Güstrow (aunt)

Princess Marie Anastasia, Duchess of Grevesmühlen (aunt)

Princess Cecilie Auguste, Duchess of Ludwigslust (aunt)

Princess Alexandrine Luise, Duchess of Waren (aunt)

Princess Ingrid Sophie, Duchess of Teterow (aunt)

Princess Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Parchim (great-aunt)

Princess Feodora of Denmark, Princess of Liechtenstein (first cousin once removed)

Duchess Helene of Oldenburg, Princess of Denmark (first cousin once removed)

Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, Princess of Leiningen (grandmother)

Princess Melita of Leiningen (aunt)

Princess Stephanie of Leiningen (aunt)

Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Princess of Leiningen (aunt by marriage)

Male Wearers:

Prince Klaus Wilhelm, Duke of Havel and Mecklenburg-Schwerin (brother)

Prince Albrecht Gustav, Duke of Bad Doberan (uncle)

Prince Paul Ludwig of Mecklenburg (cousin)

Prince Michael of Schwarzburg, Duke of Ludwigslust (uncle-by-marriage)

Prince Alexander of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Duke of Waren (uncle-by-marriage)

Prince Harald of Denmark (first cousin once removed)

Prince Karl Emmeran of Liechtenstein (first cousin once removed by marriage)

Andreas, Prince of Leiningen (uncle)

Horst Legrum (uncle-by-marriage)

[milehighdad]

Adam Walker（#44 OF Yomiuri Giants 2022-). 2012 MLB Draft No.97 by Twins. Minor League(Twins,Brewers,Orioles,Reds,Nationals). Kansas City Monarchs, Milwaukee Milkemen. Fukuoka Softbanks Hawks(2024-). Softbank Hawks 6-10 Yomiuri Giants. 6/10/2023. Pay Pay Dome. Fukuoka Attendance 40062. アダム・ウォーカー（＃44　外野手 読売ジャイア��ツ2022ー）。 代打＋指名打者。３打数0安打２三振。

2012年MLBドラフト97位（ツインズ）。マイナーリーグで4年連続２５本塁打（ツインズ、ブルワーズ、オリオールズ、レッズ、ナショナルズ）。独立リーグでは本塁打王（カンザスシティ・モナークス、ミルウォーキー・ミルクメン）。 2022年に読売ジャイアンツに入団。１２４試合出場、打率.271、本塁打23打点52。 2023年成績：57試合出場、打率.263本塁打6打点２０。シーズン終了後、福岡ソフトバンクホークスへトレード移籍。

ソフトバンク・ホークス6−10読売ジャイアンツ。 福岡、ペイペイドーム。観客４００６２人。大盛り上がり。 30年以上ぶりの日本のプロ野球観戦。

読売ジャイアンツ 2023年成績：71勝70敗2引分。セ・リーグ4位。阪神タイガースが38年ぶり日本一。 日本一：1981,1989,1994,2000,2002,2009,2012。 リーグ優勝：1983,1987,1990,1996,2008,2013,2019,2020。 歴代監督。 原辰徳（2001−2003、2006−2015、2019~2023）、

日本一（2002、2009、2012）。リーグ優勝（2008、2013、2019、2020）

水原茂（1950−1960）。日本一（1951−1953、1955）、リーグ優勝（1956−1959）。 川上哲治（1961−1974）。V9（1965-1973）.日本一（1961,1963）。 長嶋茂雄（1975−1980）。リーグ優勝（1976,1977）。 藤田元司（1981−1983）。日本一（1981）。リーグ優勝（1983）。 王貞治（1984−1988）。リーグ優勝（1987）。 藤田元司（1989−1992）。日本一（1989）、リーグ優勝（1990）。 長嶋茂雄（1993−2001）。日本一（1994、2000）リーグ優勝（1996）。 堀内恒夫（2004−2005）。 高橋由伸（2016−2018）。 阿部慎之助（2024-）。

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.12

1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings. 1502 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity. 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail with 15 ships and 800 men from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India. 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia. 1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju. 1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication. 1733 – Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, by settling at Savannah. 1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden. 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco. 1818 – Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile. 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west. 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands. 1855 – Michigan State University is established. 1889 – Antonín Dvořák's Jakobín is premiered at National Theater in Prague 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, killing one person and wounding 20. 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. 1909 – New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour. 1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates. 1915 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place. 1919 – The Second Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole. 1921 – Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia. 1924 – George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music", in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano. 1935 – USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks. 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats. 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil. 1947 – The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union. 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world. 1961 – The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus. 1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. 1963 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashes into the Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing all 45 people on board. 1965 – Malcolm X visits Smethwick near Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election. 1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre. 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union. 1983 – One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law. 1988 – Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage. 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia. 1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect. 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him. 1994 – Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream. 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial. 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion. 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119. 2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom. 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground. 2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054. 2019 – The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.

[college-girl199328]

There have always been rumblings about whether or not King Charles III is Prince Harry's father, with the estranged Duke of Sussex revealing his dad often made hurtful remarks about the rumors. But Charles was serious when he allegedly "demanded" Harry take a paternity test following Queen Elizabeth's death, RadarOnline.com has learned.

In the wake of the late monarch's September 8 death at age 96, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, joined the royals for the 10-day funeral proceedings. According to a palace source, the newly crowned king "summoned Harry and brought up the idea of doing the best."

The insider added that he needs to get to the bottom once and for all. For decades, rumors have swirled that the biological father could be the former lover Major James Hewitt due to the prince's fiery red hair and rebellious personality — which bears little resemblance to his buttoned-up, serious dad.

Charles wants to know the truth, which could cost Harry more than his estranged father. "Basically, it means that one has to be of royal blood to inherit anything from the Queen, including royal jewels, properties, and all other assets," explained the insider. "The royal family has to be 100 percent certain that he's a blood relative."

Harry addressed the longstanding rumors about his biological dad in his upcoming book, Spare, which will hit shelves on Tuesday. He revealed that Charles often made "sadistic" jokes about it.

Pa liked telling stories. He had always ended with a burst of philosophizing … Who knows if I am really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if he is even your real father? Harry wrote in a newly released segment via Page Six.

Claiming Charles would laugh and laugh, Harry called it a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumor circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy’s former lovers: Major James Hewitt.

Harry insisted the press kept the speculation going for its own amusement. Never mind that my mother did not meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born,” he insisted.

While Hewitt claimed he met Diana at a dinner party in 1985, one year after Harry's birth, royal author Nicholas Davies accused the redhead of being "seen inside Charles and Diana's Kensington Palace home on several occasions in 1983," adding that Diana herself was not particular who Harry's father was.

"She suspected was more likely to be him than her husband," Davies said. "Charles knew that Diana was sleeping with James during their marriage, but she always told him that it happened later."

Charles and Harry's father-son relationship is already deeply fractured. He is reportedly livid with Harry and Meghan over their allegations of racism, their explosive Netflix docuseries. Harry's upcoming tell-all.

[burritowitch]

Protege AU Part 3

This is the third part of my Protege AU, AU explanation Here part 1 here part 2 here 

Tim stood in the kitchen alone. His parents had just left for Europe again and Selina was out of town for the weekend. He was shoveling dry cereal into his mouth and looking out the window towards Wayne Manor with a pair of binoculars. Suddenly the lenses of his goggles were full of purple and black. Tim stumbled back and threw his binoculars onto the counter. A purple and black shape was squatting on the window sill. She pulled down her mask to reveal Steph. She smirked mischievously and gestured towards the lock. They both knew she could just pick the lock if she wanted to, Selina had made sure they both knew how to pick a lock before letting them help her. Still, Tim unlocked the window and let his best friend into the kitchen. She slid in and sat cross legged on the counter. 

“Care to explain what you’re doing in a weird costume in my house at two in the morning?” Tim asked.

“I just had an amazing idea, that's what. The costume was so that I could get through town without Mr. Wayne or Jason stopping me and so I wouldn't get caught jumping the fence of your fancy mansion.” 

“What’s the amazing idea then?” Tim asked, clearly intrigued. 

“So, I’ve told you how my dad is the Cluemaster and all that junk. Well I thought of the perfect way to get back at him. My dad hates the riddler because of riddle rivalry or something. My dad wants me to be the next Cluemaster and be his apprentice, but what if instead, we work with the Riddler. It would be the perfect revenge. And I know you don’t have anything against working with rogues, Catwoman watched Shrek with us last week.” 

“Give me some time to find him, and we’ll be set. Can you go grab me my computer, I think I saw Mr. Wayne in costume going into one of the gardens next door.” Tim brought his binoculars back up to his face and examined darkness outside the window. 

Steph came back into the kitchen with a laptop tucked under her arm and a handful of pencils and paper. Tim put down his binoculars and opened the laptop. 

“We’ll need to find where he’s hiding if we want to get a chance to talk to him when he isn’t in a fight or busy or something. So to find him, we need to analyze where he’s been live streaming his riddles and work from there to figure out where he is. Get comfortable, it’s going to be a long night.” Tim cracked his knuckles and grabbed a piece of paper. Steph settled into the chair next to him and got ready for the night ahead. 

“So he’s in the old monarch theater in Crime Alley?” Steph asked, looking over at Tim’s notes.

“Looks like it. He seems to be in an abandoned movie theater, and despite popular belief, there aren’t THAT many abandoned movie theaters in Gotham. Add on top of that the posters for movies from the 80s and nothing more recent than 1983, the year that the theater closed down. We have our location. Now all we need is to know when he goes down there. We know that he streams every Tuesday at eight pm, so we can assume he needs to head there an hour or two beforehand to prepare. So here’s the plan. We meet here at three on Tuesday, get our gear ready, leave at four and hotwire a motorcycle to take us to Domino's. Then we get pizzas. The pizza is both for dinner and a peace offering to the Riddler. We leave for the Monarch at five pm and should get there at a quarter  past five. We use what Selina taught us to get inside and then we either wait until he gets there or we approach him if he’s already there.” Tim closed his laptop and put his third empty mug into the sink. 

“Sounds good, I should probably get going before anyone notices I’ve left. See you Tuesday.” Steph put her mask back on and slid back out the window. 

Three pm Tuesday rolled around and Steph found herself standing in the foyer of Drake Manor in full costume. Tim stood before her in a red version of her outfit. His mask was pulled down as he triple checked that their backpacks had everything they needed. They had most of their Catlad and Stray gear but had added Tim’s camera, a thick wad of cash, a few cans of soda, and Tim’s laptop. Steph had also added a few dozen of her homemade glitter bombs, just in case. 

Four pm they stuck to alleyways as they found the perfect bike. They found one that would take them where they wanted to go and tore down the street on their new motorcycle. They were pretty sure Batman wouldn’t mind if they took his batcycle. They had ended up spending a little too long in the pizza place but it didn’t affect their plans too much as they sped down towards crime alley. 

Five thirty pm they dropped the batcycle in an alley. Tim pried a few boards off of a window so they had a hole big enough to climb through. The theater was devoid of life, so Tim pulled Steph back into a shadowy part of the seats. At five fifty five the Riddler stepped through the front door and dropped a duffle bag onto the ground. Steph flipped on a flashlight and trained it on Tim’s face. 

“Hello there.” Tim said. He gave a small wave and took the flashlight from Steph. “My name is Red, and my friend here is Purple.” He pointed the light towards Steph, or Purple. 

“We have a small proposition for you. My father is the ClueMaster, and I’d like to get back at him. So we would like to help you. Need someone to man your cameras, Red can get you the cleanest shot you’ve ever seen. Need help with your riddles, I’ve been telling them since I could talk. All we want in return is for you to teach us, show us what you know. Consider us proteges, learning all we can from as many people as possible.” Steph’s words filled the hollow theater. The Riddler seemed to consider their proposition for a moment before speaking. 

“It can be cruel, poetic, or blind. But when it’s denied, it’s violence you may find.” The riddler said. His words twisted around in the air for a second before Tim blurted out,

“Justice. The answer is justice.” 

The riddler nodded in approval and offered his hand out to the two. Steph slid down the banister on the wall and shook the Riddlers hand. 

“Is that a pizza?” he asked, looking at the box on Tim’s lap. Tim nodded and threw the box at Steph, who caught it and handed it to the Riddler. 

“Yeah, but we better start getting ready for your stream. What’s in that bag?” Steph asked, pointing her thumb at the bag on the ground. 

“Camera equipment, we’ve got a big stream today. I planted a bomb in the bank so the Bats are probably gonna be there.” 

“Purple, go get two bikes and park them outside the window we came through. I’ll get the cameras set up. Purple, you know the drill, we don’t get caught and Batman doesn’t know we exist, got it.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s not like we’ve been working with Catwoman for two years and haven’t gotten caught.” Steph said as she crawled out the window. 

“I have a feeling this is going to be quite a successful apprenticeship.” Tim said as he pulled cameras out of the duffle bag. 

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Scarlet FIC Meaniepost

FORMAL FIC: MULTI-CHAPTER

Quiet Little Island Railway (series): 1922: Henry arrives on Sodor to much fanfare��� but saddled with several shameful secrets. #1: The Workshop * #2: The Express Engine * #3: High-Speed Police Chase * #4: Timetables * #5: From the Sham to the Ham * #6: Look Further, Do Worse * #7: Good Engines Don’t * #8: Bits

Saving the Railway (sequel series): 1923: Sodor brings in a series of new engines as they recover from their ill-advised purchase of Henry. #1. Clearing a Line (I) * #2: Clearing a Line (II) * #3: The Autumn After * #4: The Three Loaner Engines * #5: One Eye Open * #6: Careless * #7: Firelighters * #8: Problem Passengers * #9: The Spare Engine * #10: Railman’s Holiday * #11: The Conspirators * #12: The Tunnel

Saving Each Other (sequel sequel series): 1924: The railway hits the low point in its morale with Henry bricked in the tunnel. #1: Closing a Line * #2: Names and Numbers * #3: The Wild Nor’wester * #4: Neither Here Nor There * #5: Reversing Reverse * #6: The Sidings * #7: The Tunnel Again * #8: The Three Railway Engines * #9: One More Winter

Ex-Condor through the Time Machine: 1963: BoCo’s first day on Sodor. Expectations for the failed diesel are low, but reality still comes up short. Chapter 1 * Chapter 2 * Chapter 3 * Chapter 4 * Chapter 5 * Chapter 6 * Chapter 7 * Chapter 8 * Chapter 9 * Chapter 10 * Chapter 11 * Chapter 12

The Cured Engine: Co-written with Farragh. 1915: A take on Edward's backstory, with... bonus!... more backstory. Backstory-ception.

Flash in the Panner: Co-written with CutCat / @shinygoku. 1960s?: Two tank engines get to know each other better in grotty weather.

FORMAL FIC: ONE-SHOT

Departure: 1932. Gordon brings news to Edward's station. CW: death.

Red, Green: 1962. Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel would like to believe there is not an engine haunting their line. CW: death

D4: 1983. I made Gordon a Derek stan. Because I wanted to.

Steam and Light: Multimedia collab with CutCat / @shinygoku. It's 2003, and time for holiday light specials on the Ffarquhar line! But first, Thomas must deal with s a b o t a g e.

FIC SNIPPETS

A disastrous mess of WIP shares, thinly-disguised dialogue-heavy headcanon “sketches”… and occasionally even a complete chapter of a fic not yet posted anywhere else!

* = AU or at least not necessarily in continuity with the rest

November 1900 | Untitled (the four original Seagulls, Bullion, 124/36, 125/Edward)

July 1915 | Cultural Confusion (Edward, FC1, Cooper)*

October 1915 | "What's your real name?" (Edward, Thomas, FC1)

June 1916 | Untitled (Edward, 124/36, Valley of Hothorpe)

October 1916 | Under the Torch (Edward, FC1)

November 1916 | Mates (Thomas, Edward)

April 1917 | Wartime #1 and Wartime #2 (Thomas, 124/36)

July 1917 | Untitled (Edward, the Single)

August 1917 | Salt (Thomas, Monarch, Lillian, the Single, the Greyhound, Edward, Araby, the Hemel)

February 1918 | The Reversal (Edward, Araby)

Summer 1918 | Untitled (Thomas, Glynn, Janey)*

1921 | Dreams (Gordon, OC Nestor)*

December 1921 | Snow (Linda, Edward, Robbins, random OC, Linda’s Teenage Fanclub™) | Later Snippet (Linda, Edward, FC1, Robbins, Germot)

Summer 1922 | Untitled (Henry, Linda, Robbins, Lammaleye)

Summer 1922 | Untitled (Edward, OC Robbins)

October 1922 | Whistling at Station (Thomas, Edward, Henry, Linda, the “ham engines”)

October 1922 | Untitled (Linda, Robbins, Linda’s Teenage Fanclub™)

November 1922 | Collision (Thomas, Henry, Linda, “the ham engines”)

August 1923 | Station Gossip (Clarabel, Edward)

March 1924 | Careless (Henry, Gordon, the Three Not-So-Unnamed Tender Engines)

June 1924 | Untitled (Gordon, Stack, Patch)

March 1925(?) | Diagnostic Part 1 and Diagnostic Part 2 (Thomas, OC humans)

September 1925 | Untitled (Stack, the Cleator, Stack’s Hapless Crew™) and Untitled #2 (Stack)

September 1925 | The Why and the Wherefore (Stack, Stack’s Hapless Crew™, Samuel)

October 1925 | Stack-er-day II (Stack, Stack’s Hapless Crew™, the Most Bemused Signalman in the UK)

October 1925 | Stack-er-day I (Stack)

October 1925 | Untitled (Stack, Edward, MacNeil, Sand)*

April 1927(?) | Untitled (Percy, Gordon)

March 1952(?) | Absence (Charlie Sand, James, Kylchap)

October 1952 | New (James, Bill, Ben, Edward)

June 1954 | Secrets (Henry, Gordon, Edward) and Reminisce (Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon)

Spring 1957 | Untitled (Duck, City of Truro)

Winter/Spring(?) 1961 | Lonely (BoCo, D5714, Crow)

Spring(?) 1962 | Favorite Place (Henry, Duck, OC Robby Cowfern, Terence)

May 1963(?) | Early Days (BoCo, Edward, Sidney Heaver)

1963? 1964? what even is my timeline here, idk | Names and Numbers (BoCo, Edward, Heaver, Sand)

Early 1964 | Memories (BoCo, Edward) 

January 1965 | Sidney Heaver gets invited into one of BoCo’s cabs (… self-explanatory title i think)

May 1965 | Untitled (BoCo, Edward)

[rabbitcruiser]

Canada Day

Canada Day is celebrated on July 1 of every year. The Canada Day is otherwise called as Dominion Day until 1982, from 1983 it has been officially known as Canada Day. On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing nation of Great Britain and an organization of four provinces: Nova Scotia; New Brunswick; Ontario; and Quebec. The celebrations of Canada Day take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world, attended by Canadians living around the world.

“Before the Civil War, Canada was at the top of the underground railroad. If you made it into Canada, you were safe unless someone came and hauled you back. That was also true during the Vietnam War for draft resisters.” – Margaret Atwood

History of Canada Day

Even though Canada Existed before 1867, within both the French and British empires, Canada Day is referred to as “Canada’s Birthday.” It is the ceremony of only one significant national milestone on the way to the country’s full independence, namely the joining of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada into a wider federation of four provinces on July 1, 1867. Then Canada Become a Kingdom within the British Empire in its right on that date, named the “Dominion of Canada.” From there it gained an increased level of self-governance, although the British parliament and Cabinet still maintained political control over certain political areas, such as foreign affairs, national defence, and constitutional changes. Over the years, Canada slowly gained developing independence until finally becoming entirely independent in 1982. Under the federal Holidays Act, Canada Day is celebrated on July 1, if the day falls on a Sunday, July 2 will be the statutory holiday. The flag of Canada contains two vertical red rectangles separated by a white square.  The white square contains a red image of a maple leaf. Some people wear red and white clothing, and others paint their faces in these colours on that day.

Happy Canada Day Quotes & Wishes

“On the first Canada Day, Canada became its own great kingdom. These days, Canada becomes its own great party!” Have fun and enjoy Canada Day!

“Canada Day is the best thing to come down from Parliament Hill all year long, so have fun and enjoy the concerts!” Happy Dominion Day 2018 to you!

“Dominion Day is celebrated as far away as Hong Kong, where it’s known as “Canada D’eh.” How about that?” Happy Canada Day 2018 to all the world!

“Happy birthday, Canada! And a wonderful Dominion Day to you and the people closest to you!” Celebrating almost a century and a half of our Canada!

“Canada Day is a time for friends to get together, just like Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec.” Enjoy Dominion Day with friends from all over!

How to celebrate Canada Day

Canada is a marvellous country, and Canada Day is your day to learn more about it. The Best Way to observe this day is by researching the history of Canada. They have a fair amount of pride in themselves as a country but don’t dislike or rule against the country that is yet technically their monarch. Dominion Day is even commemorated in the UK, with large gatherings in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the formation of Canada.

Source

[thespoliarium]

Meet the Politburo...

Red Monarch (1983, dir. Jack Gold) || The Death of Stalin (2017, dir. Armando Iannucci)

[imtheviolenceintherain]

The fantastic Mrs. Bonham Carter (Vogue, October 2019).

Without major worries or ambitions, Helena Bonham Carter has become an unexpected icon of the big screen. Her roles, always between the bizarre and the vindictive, have given her a star status with which she now prepares for his most mediatic character: Princess Margarita in the new season of The Crown, the netflix story about the british royal house.

Sitting down for tea with Helena Bonham Carter is similar to join on a roller coaster that starts in the dark with an uncertain destination. At 53 years old, the british actress (London, 1966) displays a sense of humor that includes issues such as Brexit or the oratory of Donald Trump with equal brilliance, but she stops suddenly when she thinks she has to talk seriously about the wage gap in the film industry. «If at any time I move away from what you are looking for, find a way to get me back on track», she jokes lying on an armchair next to a pair of fuchsia satin shoes that she has abandoned on the floor, looking like the shoes had shattered her feet. «It is not exactly the shoes that I would wear on a summer morning, but today she is the boss.»

By 'she' means the woman she has been studying for several months before she has had to slip into her shoes this autumn morning. Princess Margarita de York, Countess of Snowdon, daughter of Kings Isabel and Jorge VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II of England, is the last of a hundred women whom this actress has embodied in her three decades of career. With the same skill that she will jump frantically in the topics of our conversation, this actress has managed to take on roles that little or nothing have to do with each other, beyond its bizarre peculiarities.

Since she debuted in 1983 as the young Netty Bellinger in the telefilm A Pattern of Roses, her pale face with aristocrat pedigree has been transmuted into others of female drug addicts and perverts (as in The Fight Club), more or less wicked witches (as in Big Fish and Harry Potter), corseted prostitutes (Les Miserables) and even a vindictive chimpanzee (The Planet of the Apes). This tour has earned her a place on the podium of the best female actresses in the United Kingdom, a BAFTA award for her portrayal of the queen mother in The King's Speech in 2011 and two Oscar nominations, for The King's Speech and for the film adaptation of The wings of the dove that starred in 1997.

Another queen occupies her current time since she agreed to participate in the new cast of The Crown, the production of Netflix whose third season will be released on November 17. The series, which achieved an unusual success with its first two seasons covering the history of the British royal house between 1947 and 1964, takes up the story since that year with a hint which is a height risk: the main characters change their faces in the next two seasons. Claire Foy gives Queen Elizabeth's throne to Oscar-winning Olivia Colman, Matt Smith does the same with Tobias Menzies and Vanessa Kirby is replaced by Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Margarita.

The news was made public in May of last year, but the actress had been knowing about Netflix's interest in her for months. «Shortly before Christmas 2017, I received a text message from an acquaintance. All it had written was: 'Helena, would you play Princess Margarita?'», she remembers. «It was shortly after Olivia Colman (The Iron Lady, The Favorite) had accepted the role of Queen Elizabeth», she recalls about the offer. «The first thing I felt was a little anger at how convinced my circle was that I should accept it. They couldn't stop telling me that I were ideal for the role, and I thought to myself: What we look alike? In alcoholism? In the nymphomania?! Maybe that was too much, but let's say she liked sex a lot. The truth is that it was ridiculous to think it too much, because the proposal was juicy from any perspective. With the distance of time, I'm glad to have accepted: Margarita is much more complex than all the things that they have been drawn of her, and therefore it was possible to play her in a thousand different ways. She is full of contradictions and dualities, because she was both traditional and rebellious; as at times she was a social animal and others times a lone wolf. She was an absolutely unpredictable woman», she argues. The third season of The Crown starts in 1964 to address, among other things, the relationship between Isabel II and Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the decolonization of Africa, diplomatic ties with the United States or the landing of the Apollo 11 on the Moon. On this October morning, the costume director for the series, Amy Roberts, has donned the actress in an emerald green dress and fuchsia shoes that have led to our meeting in the middle of filming the first half of the season. The stage is an Andalusian patio in the Beverly Hills mansion where Margarita and her husband, Tony Armstrong-Jones (better known as Lord Snowdon and played by Ben Daniels) come to attend a fashion show during an official trip to the United States. But the reality is different: a technical team has been responsible for emulating California opulence on a farm a few kilometers from Algeciras, with the Rock of Gibraltar very present on the horizon. Facing the pool, five models walk in suits and bathrobes with echoes to Missoni under the watchful eye of about thirty men and women dressed as the American jet set of the 60s.

The scene maybe will be a three-second shot in the final footage, but it serves to show the prominence of Margarita in the new chapters: her addictive marriage to Lord Snowdon and a star status ain front of her sister - who in another scene laments being "more reliable and predictable" - of which Bonham Carter knew little more than the media portrait that had been made of her. «I had a caricatured image, like many people. We know what they wanted to tell us: that she drank, that she was scandalous, unfriendly, irreverent, controversial. But all the labels that have been put on her are unfair and ignorant. She was a true star that did not force her speech or hide her charisma, it was innate and therefore triumphed wherever she went. When I looked for something else, I also noticed that she was a tremendously smart and funny woman, with the same ability to finish a crossword puzzle in five minutes than to take the party that she would consider timely. She loved her sister and felt a deep respect for her, but I think she never fully recovered from the loss of her father, King George. The turning point came from the abdication of her uncle Eduardo, the sudden rise to the throne of her father and, later, that of Isabel as queen. She was losing her father and her best friend, who were subject to a life of service. I think a lot of courage is required to be in such a complicated position: surrounded by people but deeply alone, under constant public judgement. And despite that, I am convinced that she felt the duty to serve her family and also her people. She was an admirable woman».

Her opinion is useful to sharpen the urban legend of a figure that sweep along countless anecdotes, like the dinner in which she asked the model Twiggy her name, which she seemed it "unfortunate", or the 'vulgar' adjective that she dedicated to the Krupp diamond with which Richard Burton had presented Elizabeth Taylor. However, there is hardly an audiovisual archive of images where Margarita makes use of her proverbial character. «The royal family is an expert in planning how is projected to the public, how they shake hands, get out of a car or follow the protocol at a dinner. But there was almost nothing about Margarita talking with someone beyond the official speeches, so I had to talk to her friends or people who would have lived with her to learn more about her tone, her convictions, her way of expressing herself in intimacy. I played his mother in The King's Speech (Tom Hopper, 2010), of which there is an extensive archive. But there is almost nothing about Margarita, except for an interview with Roy Plomley of 1381, on the BBC's Desert Island Discs program. I may hear those 40 minutes more than a hundred times». Despite accumulating more than a hundred roles in her 36 years of experience, it is the first time that Bonham Carter faces a full season in a television series. «I had no experience in logistics of how to work for a series, but it wasn't easy considering the magnitude of The Crown. The filming was distributed over six months, by different countries, and that makes many times you have to do a titanic effort to stay focused. When I shoot a feature film, those weeks I just walk around the set without leaving the character and try not to part with it to keep myself in my goal. But in this case, I came to the studio, recorded two days and maybe I didn't have to come back in two weeks. If I had practiced my usual formula, I would have become very unbearable. Imagine my two children having to put up with it», she jokes, raising her eyebrow, emulating Margarita's monarchical accent. «Sometimes, when we had a rest, I remembered the red queen», she concedes, referring to the hysterical sovereign that already embodied in Alice in Wonderland, the adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story that in 2010 adapted her then husband, the director Tim Burton. One of the advantages of filming was to have Olivia Colman, in the role of the queen, whom she remembers as an open, sociable woman, and without a hint of the neurosis that she usually displays on screen. «We are both very frank, and that is why it has been so easy. Together we had what was probably the most funny day of work of the whole season. We had to do a scene quite sad and despite whatever I would said, Olivia was unable to stop crying to the point that they had to put her a few tiny headphones so she could hear any nonsense. I told her some horrible things and she answered without hearing anything at all. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but we managed to get better to the point that she can now listen to me without shedding a tear». It is curious that this granddaughter of a Spanish diplomat - her grandfather Eduardo Propper de Callejón facilitated the flight of thousands of Jews from occupied France through Spain in World War II - almost no one imputes to her a bad choice in her filmography. «I never choose my roles thinking that it will be a success at the box office, or the money that I will earn. With The Crown, for example, playing Margarita like this, abstractly, was never an option. Peter Morgan [series creator] called me several times coming to confess that Olivia had not even had to read the script to accept. But until I read it all and I confirmed the great writing, I didn't say yes». With a sincerity that is refreshing in her industry, there is something that worries her more now than when the world first fell in love with her porcelain face in Room with a View (James Ivory, 1985). «It is exciting to witness the movement to fight for women's equality and, above all, to celebrate diversity and examine things we had taken for granted. But we still have weights that represent people like Donald Trump. It is an uncertain period. But at least we, the actors, can continue telling stories that help break the damn molds».

NOTE.

As some of you already know, I am Spanish and I am the owner of @badposthbc (twitter) and @bestofhbc (instagram); so English is not my first language nor am I a translator. I know it is not a perfect translation, all comments are welcome to improve the translation! but please, be kind. With all due respect to the magazine, if you want to read it in its original language, buy the magazine and if you are going to spread this english interview, give me credits.

[marklyndersay]

Peter Minshall may have created other famous Kings of Carnival, he may even have created better Kings of Carnival (I’m looking at you Merry Monarch), but he never created a more singularly influential and watershed design than he did with Mancrab. In 1983, Minshall created Mancrab as King and villain of The River, an ascetically all-white band that he proceeded to drench with electric dyes on the stage. There was before Mancrab and there was after Mancrab. It wasn’t the start of a trilogy when it appeared, but it was a remarkable story, rich with allegory and visual impact, the conflict between technology and a simpler country life distilled into the mechanical attack of the obsidian carapace worn by Peter Samuel and the earthy, ethereal beauty of The Washerwoman, worn by Minshall’s sister, Sherry-Ann Guy. It was ecological disaster as pantomime, that first terrifying squirt of red into the floating white canopy above the costume’s head a morbid warning about tainting the natural with the manmade.  The engineering for the remarkable costume was conversationally attributed to Ellis Chow Lin On, the recording engineer behind KH Records who also participated in the formation of Charlie’s Roots. Day Four of Trinidad Carnival - An Instagram Exhibition, 10 days of posts that take note of notable people and events from my archive of Carnival coverage #archive #lyndersaydigital #masman #archivecarnival #trinidad #performance #design #carnival #trinidadandtobago #filmphotography #peterminshall #callalloocompany #bandleader #ellischowlinon #queensparksavannah #theriver #trilogy #mancrab #dimanchegras #trinidadcarnival #thelyndersayarchive (at Queen's Park Savannah) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuYeH7tAs17/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2cfvcefk9i13

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.29

904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. 946 – Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate. 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne. 1819 – Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore. 1845 – "The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe. 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress. 1856 – Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War. 1861 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state. 1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children. 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile. 1891 – Liliʻuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii. 1907 – Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator. 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911. 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kyiv, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty. 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the Bolsheviks in anticipation of the encroaching Red Army begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later. 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced. 1940 – Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. One hundred and eighty-one people are killed. 1943 – World War II: The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, USS Chicago (CA-29) is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers. 1944 – World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units. 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid, during the Second World War. 1973 – EgyptAir Flight 741 crashes into the Kyrenia Mountains in Cyprus, killing 37 people. 1983 – Singapore cable car crash: Panamanian-registered oil rig, Eniwetok, strikes the cables of the Singapore Cable Car system linking the mainland and Sentosa Island, causing two cabins to fall into the water and killing seven people and leaving thirteen others trapped for hours. 1989 – Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so. 1991 – Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing. 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals. 2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea. 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing. 2008 – An Egyptian court rules that people who do not adhere to one of the three government-recognised religions, while not allowed to list any belief outside of those three, are still eligible to receive government identity documents. 2009 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for then-U.S. president-elect Barack Obama. 2013 – SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashes near the Kazakh city of Almaty, killing 21 people. 2014 – Rojava conflict: The Afrin Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic. 2017 – Alexandre Bissonnette opens fire at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, killing six and wounding 19 others in a spree shooting. 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Trump administration establishes the White House Coronavirus Task Force under Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

[aion-rsa]

The Queen’s Gambit: Why ’60s Retro Feels So Fresh in 2020

https://ift.tt/38MJ7UH

This article contains mild The Queen’s Gambit spoilers.

It’s not the image that first springs to mind when you think of chess. In a swanky Parisian parlor, with a bank of breathless photographers following her every gesture, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon rushes in while still in a daze. She’s clearly missing a step after a late night of bad decisions, yet even at her most disheveled she emanates ‘60s style.

Like Ann-Margret in The Cincinnati Kid, Beth’s fiery mane of red hair is turned up at the sides in a flip. The idol of her age. But with that 1965 movie, Ann-Margret was peripheral, an underdeveloped distraction to a story about grizzled men playing grisly high-stakes poker. Beth is the Cincinnati Kid here, or rather the Lexington Prodigy: a young woman breaking into the boys’ club and who is about to challenge Russia’s greatest chess player in front of the whole world. And she’s doing it with a hangover.

That’s our introduction to The Queen’s Gambit and its vision of chess as a contact sport, and for a series about a game whose origins lay in the Middle Ages, it feels startling fresh. Perhaps that is why it’s capturing the zeitgeist in unanticipated ways. For nearly two weeks now, the limited Netflix series has been the most popular content—show or film—on the streaming service in the U.S., as per their “Top 10” ranking. In the same timeframe that saw 2020’s slow-motion presidential election, folks have been embracing (and clinging to) the retro stylings of intellectual combat on a chessboard. As a result, Queen’s Gambit has become the rarest of things in the modern age: a watercooler show that has more than a 72-hour shelf life.

Why?

Obviously the series is a visually chic production that reinvents the game of 64 squares with lavish production value and design. Co-writer and director Scott Frank films the limited series in a restrained and desaturated color palette of earthy tones and contemporary pastels. Sequences like a chess tournament montage at an Ohio university moves in virtual rhythm with Mason Williams’ grandiose “Classical Gas” orchestrations. When coupled with editing that reduces her opponents to squares on the screen, suddenly Beth and viewers alike are looking out at a sea of vanquished pawns, and her real rival (a deliciously obnoxious Thomas Brodie-Sangster) waiting across the field as a nerdy counterculture monarch.

It’s clearly a visual throwback, but the appeal of the series doesn’t truly reside in its ‘60s setting. Instead The Queen’s Gambit reminds me of a different era when smart adult entertainment about sacrifice, say Chariots of Fire or Amadaeus, could be regularly anticipated and celebrated… in movie theaters. Based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name, Queen’s Gambit feels like a sharp underdog story from that era—a hero’s journey for grown-ups where the protagonist’s superpower is intellect and chess is sexy. Is that a fantasy? Maybe. But it’s one many are finding comforting at a moment where they worry if intelligence, and institutions that should be as ironclad as a chess rulebook, are enough to still win the day.

Before Scott Frank cracked the code of turning it into a miniseries, there were previous attempts at adapting The Queen’s Gambit. The most famous near miss was Heath Ledger’s hope to turn the story into his directorial debut with Ellen Page as Beth Harmon. That film fell apart after Ledger’s tragic death in 2008, but other attempts at adapting this yarn go back to its ‘80s publication, with filmmakers like Michael Apted and Bernardo Bertolucci being attached at one time or another.

It is easy to see why it would’ve appealed as a movie several decades ago. With its emphasis on young Beth Harmon battling drug addiction and collecting an assortment of allies from her defeated foes as she rises up to face down the Soviets in the belly of the Moscow beast, it’s an anti-hero’s Cinderella story—one with uppers, downers, and the ever reliable Vodka Gibson. Yet unlike so many other anti-hero yarns, our underdog is a woman who is popping pills and having flings: Ann-Margret finally with a seat at the table.  

In that role, Anya Taylor-Joy is phenomenal. With luminous eyes the size of bay windows, she is able to convey every introverted, pensive thought in a woman who lives almost exclusively inside her own head. Even with the stoniest of poker faces during chess matches, viewers understand the emotional truth of the character they cheer on, which is all the more impressive when one realizes Taylor-Joy is essaying Beth from her teen years to adulthood. It’s led some critics to opine the performance is a revelation, but the actor’s been turning in sterling work for years, from The Witch through this year’s Emma.

Yet the reason this may be a “star-maker” says much about The Queen’s Gambit and the time it is coming out in. As a Netflix series told over seven-plus decompressed hours, the series is in most Americans’ homes at a time when they cannot go to a cinema—and even when they could a year ago, it was rare for so many to seek out something this thoughtful. As a film, a condensed two-hour version of this series with the same exact talent likely would’ve still been an awards contender (as Queen’s Gambit is now considered to be at the Golden Globes), but it would never have penetrated pop culture so quickly or so thoroughly.

As a long-form limited series, Queen’s Gambit is finding a large audience hungry for adult stories with flawed characters and triumphant finales, especially if those flawed characters have largely been ignored by the white male-dominated Hollywood hits of the past. Beth wins the day through meticulous hard work and a driven ambition that borders on self-destruction, and as a streaming serial, its real revelation is the comforting respite it’s offering at the tail end of 2020’s horrors.

So Taylor-Joy’s ability to externalize her incredibly internalized characters is meeting a wider audience, and Frank has seven hours to tell what used to be a strictly cinematic story. Indeed, the way Frank crafts sequences like his series opener or his “Classical Gas” overture are just two examples of the multiple kinetic sequences in The Queen’s Gambit. No two chess games are filmed the same way in the series, and each has an aesthetic flourish that defies the regular expectation for scripted television.

Read more

TV

Anya Taylor-Joy Infiltrates the Boys’ Club of Chess in The Queen’s Gambit

By Natalie Zutter

Movies

Anya Taylor-Joy and Bringing ‘Questionable Intent’ to Jane Austen

By David Crow

As a consequence, we get more time wallowing in the strange quirks and minutia of the professional chess world, from late night speed chess ego-measuring contests in student unions to an almost comically stark showdown in Russia that appears as if it’s occurring in the bowels of a medieval castle. We imagine Rocky Balboa would approve.

It also gives Frank and company more space to meticulously explore their world. Arguably the most interesting relationship in the series is that between young Beth (Isla Johnston) and Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp). This even more introverted and nearly deadened janitor becomes an unlikely Mr. Miyagi for the nine-year-old orphan, teaching her the rules of chess inside of her orphanage’s basement.

If Queen’s Gambit had been made as a crowdpleaser in the ‘80s, or an awards season darling in the 2000s, Mr. Shaibel and the epiphany that Beth is a chess prodigy would’ve likely been reduced to flashbacks. But in the series, it gets a full episode, and the show then pays it off six hours later with an emotional breakthrough when Beth, at the bottom of her addict’s pit, finally revisits her past.

As a series, Queen’s Gambit has room to breathe, which has in turn given it room to become something addictive to many right now: a breath of fresh, reassuring air.

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The post The Queen’s Gambit: Why ’60s Retro Feels So Fresh in 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2IJlDVA

[wineanddinosaur]

We Asked 15 Sommeliers: What’s the Most Expensive Wine You Ever Tasted?

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Screaming Eagle. Petrus. Château Margaux. We asked wine professionals across the country to share the most incredible (and incredibly pricey) wines they’ve ever tasted, and their answers are unsurprisingly enviable. Here are the most expensive wines 15 sommeliers have had the pleasure of knowing.

“Thanks to the generosity of patrons, I’ve tasted both Screaming Eagle and Château Petrus 2015. One of my favorite aspects of the wine community is the culture of sharing — we’re all committed to enhancing the palates of those around us!” — Paulina Schermanski, Sommelier, Mabel Gray, Hazel Park, Mich.

“I have been privileged to have been included in a tasting of the famed Egon Muller’s Schartzhofberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 1988! At over $1,000 a bottle, that has been etched into my memory for life. This extremely rare and ethereal wine tasted like marzipan, dried citrus fruits, and quince wafting out of the glass. The length on this wine felt like an eternity.” — Jeremy Halker, Sommelier, DBGB DC, Washington

“The most expensive wine I’ve tasted was about six years ago, when I first worked the floor as a sommelier. A 1989 Château Cheval Blanc from Saint Emilion — a Premier Grand Cru Classé wine from Bordeaux’s Right Bank. The vintage is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and was one of the most amazing wines I’ve ever tasted. We sold it for about $1,300 at City Winery in NYC; today it runs for upwards of $3,000.” — Jamel Freeman, Wine Director, Bellemore, Chicago

“While working at Bern’s Steak House in Tampa, Fla., circa 1997, I had the pleasure to serve a bottle of 1953 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. The buyer was a regular guest of Bern’s and he was gracious enough to share a taste of the wine with me. It was an ethereal experience to say the least. While I don’t remember the exact price, I believe it was somewhere between $2,500 and $3,500. The opportunity to serve and taste it was priceless.” — Larry O’Brien, Master Sommelier of Kendall-Jackson and Jackson Family Wines

“The most expensive wine I tried was a 1990 Château Margaux. I tried it many years ago when I was about 16 after my mom got married. It was delicious from what I remember. I think the bottle now goes for about $1,200.” — Alvaro Umano, Beverage Director, O-Ku DC, Washington

“This is definitely one of the toughest questions. I have had the amazing opportunity of tasting a great deal of monumental wines in my career. One that really stood out was the 1970 Château Palmer, a third-growth Bordeaux, at approximately $400 per bottle.” — Alisandro Serna, Wine Director, Boka, Chicago

“Château Lafite Rothschild Red. The price can vary depending on the year, and can range from $40 to 50 per bottle to upwards of thousands. I was fortunate enough to have some that was left over from an Open Bar Hospitality event of ours, and it truly was amazing.” — George Duval, Beverage Consultant, Open Bar Hospitality, DeKalb Market Hall, Brooklyn

“1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Around $25,000 at auction. Probably the most iconic Burgundy producer from their best site from an epic vintage with almost 30 years on it.” — John Filkins, Beverage Director, Officina & Masseria, Washington

“The most expensive wine I have ever had the pleasure of tasting was a 1983 Château Mouton Rothschild. The restaurant I was working at had it on the list for just north of $2,000 and the guest that ordered it was kind enough to share it with me. It was also the first time I had ever had a highly regarded wine from Bordeaux with considerable age and it immediately changed my opinion of the wines from that region. It was so captivating how the age had made the wine so delicate but at the same time it maintained the power of its youth.” — Jake Yestingsmeier, Director of Food & Beverage, Monarch Prime & Bar, Omaha

“I had the privilege to taste with Piero Mastroberardino a Taurasi from the personal collection of the Mastroberardino’s Cellar. The opportunity to taste the Taurasi Aglianico from 1934 was an unreal experience because the condition of the Taurasi 1934 was ethereal. It is a wine that endures history and delivers the journey of the land. The bottle is not for sale and is priceless.” — Pietro Caldarelli, Beverage Director/Certified Sommelier at Feroce Ristorante , Feroce Caffé, and Bar Feroce, New York

“The most expensive bottle that I have ever tasted was a Domaine de la Romanée Conti ‘La Romanée’ 2010. The bottle was priced at $10,000.00.” — Bill Burkhart, Sommelier at The Grill Room, New Orleans

“Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1985 (750ml). The last bottles we bought at auction were almost $1,900 each. I’ve been fortunate enough to taste three of these, and they were each fascinating in their own right. — Anncherie Saludo, Beverage Director, L’Artusi, New York

“1986 D.R.C La Tâche from jeroboam at a Sotheby’s pre-auction tasting. That was quite special.” — Alex Zink, Beverage Director and Partner, The Dabney, Washington

“Whenever I have the opportunity to drink an expensive glass of wine, I like to sit down and actually enjoy it. The most expensive bottles of wine I ever drank were Opus One 1996 (currently valued between $400-$550) and Château Rayas 2003 (currently valued between $550-$750). My grandfather bought the Opus One while traveling through Napa, and even after 20 years, the wine still had an intense richness to it. The Château Rayas was at its peak drinkability at after 15 years — it was elegant yet gave off multiple layers of spice and fruit.” — Karen Lin, General Manager and Beverage Director, Bar Moga and SakaMai, New York

“1959 Château Margaux from a magnum. I was told it was worth close to $15,000 on the wine list; I wasn’t buying.” — David Metz, Wine Director and Sommelier, The Jefferson, Washington

The article We Asked 15 Sommeliers: What’s the Most Expensive Wine You Ever Tasted? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/15-most-expensive-wines/