#scout-watkins

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - November 3, 2023

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Eotenweard: Northumbria (Session 4) Alun R. runs for José Feito, Paul Rivers, Sabine V., and Will H After last session's successful Revelation and resulting cliffhanger...we see the climactic battle to free the people of Brangarw from the influence of their malevolent priest, and conspiring leaders. There are competing claims of heresy, multiple pleas for aid from the Christ God, and a surprising response from...elsewhere. Then...despite both edging closer to death Solinus saves the innocent and Cadoc levels his lance in the name of Christ; Black Jell catches a villain...and let's him go; and Fynn confronts one of the Black Dogs of Annwn. Finally, back on the road following the path their god(s) decree for them, Solinus decides he needs a greater understanding of the power he serves...

Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes (Session 12) Shane runs for Blake Ryan, Mark (he/they), and Puckett The agents approach a demon for help finding the mysterious Hotel Broadalbin, but the route he suggests is bizarre, dangerous, and oddly connected to one of the agents' pasts.

Girl By Moonlight: Divine Engines (Session 3) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack The battle against the fallen cathedral world Leviathan is successful but takes its toll on the team. They return to the ship to regroup and try to rebuild themselves as a team. But the Bastion's jump to escape pursuit leads them to a star system Tav recognizes from the future--the site of Sia's death and his original time jump.

Girl By Moonlight: Divine Engines (Session 4) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack The team launches out to explore the mysteries of Tyrfing III, requiring them to disembark from the Engines to explore this silenced colony. After facing down and nearly being destroyed by mechanical guardians, the group comes face to face with the force which destroyed this world-- a face Tav recognizes as his own.

Free from the Shadow: Samurai Fantasy (Session 3) Lowell Francis runs for Cale P, Elle, Mike Minutillo, and Sherri We see the machinations of the clans go in various directions which seems to signal disaster. But progress on the Imperial project continues. With the aid of the Imperial Herald, the protagonists head to the site of an ancient duel in orders to uncover secrets. But they find a horde of undead and a more powerful being which lies dying belowground.

Hearts of Yokai (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Anders, Donogh, Matthew Doughty, and Sabine V. Mirage delivers her gift with unexpected results, Path and Scale have a moment or two of miscommunication, Lord Bloom deals with the location scouts and executes a party.

Hearts of Yokai (Session 3) Lowell Francis runs for Agatha, Anders, Donogh, and Sabine V. In the aftermath of Lord Bloom's party, Squeaktune returns. There's a moment of confession from Scale to Mirage, which sends Squeaktune scurrying away. Preparations for the ball celebrating the turn to the Court of Tides are interrupted by a flying dream sword--the pursuit of which leaves Mirage bleeding in the street.

MCU Sunday

Demigods (Session 3) Rich Rogers runs for Alex, Cody Eastlick, and Steven Watkins The new Warriors Three defeat Adam Mann and seek out the power behind the Mysticator Armor!

[latest-breaking-news-video]

Watch NBA Draft Scouting Report: Florida State's Jamir Watkins - Florida News

[markwatkinsreviews]

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN DAVE WENT UP by Gary Jordan (2023)

WHEN DAVE WENT UP is THE INSIDE STORY OF WIMBLEDON’S 1988 FA CUP WIN.

Fairy-tale stuff really, as the mighty Reds were meant to teach The Dons a football lesson and by defeating them, give them the Blues. 

However, thanks to Bobby Gould managing, Don Howe coaching and Lawrie Sanchez heading, it finished 1-0 to “The Wombles” and a rubbish day for Liverpool; Wimbledon Goalkeeper Dave Bessant also saving a John Aldridge penalty - a football first in an FA Cup Final.

Terry Gibson - “Don loved his time at Wimbledon. His only responsibility was coaching and when he finished at one o’clock, he was done. Bob did everything else, the press, the scouting. Bob did his share of coaching, but he was wise enough to let the best coach in the country have the job of managing us lot.”

“Us lot” was of course the “common” London team, The Crazy Gang.  

Gary Jordan has put together another excellent football book, which reminds us that Wimbledon’s FA Cup exploits go back further than this Wembley success in 1988.  74/75 season - defying a strong Leeds United side until the last - they had a fly-tipping (over) goalkeeper, Englishman Dickie Guy. Despite his superhero exploits in that cup run, Guy’s only cap was to be on his head, not an England one and he was in the same team as defender, Dave Bessant, who's top managerial record is “out there” for all to see.

There’s some great stats at the back of the hardback on goal attempts and cards issued in The Final plus, the team line-ups that got them there.

Overall, Jordan, who edits the Wimbledon Match Day programme, has done it again!

WHEN DAVE WENT UP is published by PITCH and its 320 pages is released 22 May, 2022.

Rating: 9/10

 https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/when-dave-went

Mark Watkins, Dare radio, 10 May, 2023.

[robbobrain]

Stuff

Last week was busy busy, Honor and Jas put us in touch with the Talent lady from HAVAS so we very frantically improved our portfolio and sent it over Thursday last week, she hasn't replied so will chase it up end of this week if she doesn't say anything.

House337 rejected my application for something that I applied for

Trying to organise a chat with Ciaran Watkins, he's a copywriter and works in healthcare which is fun

Also tried to sort some experience at Refinery in Manchester- spoke to Zoe Green who works there at Two+Two, she said that they didn't have any work experience rolls over easter but to message her in summer

Ella talent scout from IMA Leeds also said to message her when I'm close to graduating

Also messaged Jon from Ponderosa for a chat- Lily Shack passed his email on

[jeremy-lee-wilson]

“You need some help or something? Or are you looking for someone in particular?” Jeremy asks as he climbs out of the rig. “I wasn’t aware we we’re expecting anyone...”

@scout-watkins​

[dyl-pickle-dewitt]

“Scout! Girly! My other makeup guru in my life! It’s been awhile! How have you been?” Dylan smiled widely as she approached the other.

@scout-watkins​

[greyson--matthew--sixx]

“So my little girl has a winter dance to go to at school on friday and well, she’s requested sparkly, winterized makeup. And well, I know nothing about makeup, you think you could help a dude out?” Grey smiled a toothy grin. “Please?”

@scout-watkins​

[nasa]

The Path to High Adventure Begins With Girl Scouting!

Former NASA astronaut and Girl Scout alumna Jan Davis eating Girl Scout Cookies inside the shuttle Endeavour on Sept. 12, 1992. Image credit: NASA

Leadership, service, being prepared and doing your best – these qualities are exemplified by our astronauts, but are also shared by the Girl Scouts! Our astronaut corps has many scout alumnae, and over the years they’ve been breaking barriers and making names for themselves at NASA.

March 12, 2021 marks the 109th birthday of Girl Scouts in the United States, which has been inspiring generations of girls through leadership and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities to empower the explorers of today and tomorrow. To celebrate, we’re highlighting some of our Girl Scout alumnae over the years!

NASA astronaut and Girl Scout alumna Sunita Williams, who served as an International Space Station commander and spent 322 days in space during two spaceflight expeditions.

Former Scouts have served as crew members on numerous spaceflight missions.

From left: Susan Helms, the first female International Space Station crew member; Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle; and Dr. Kathy Sullivan, the first American woman to perform a spacewalk.

Former Girl Scouts flew on more than one-third of the space shuttle missions and were pioneering forces as women began making their mark on human spaceflight. The first female crew member to serve on the International Space Station, the first to pilot and command a space shuttle and the first American woman to spacewalk were all Scout alumnae. 

They continue to break records, such as the first three all-woman spacewalks... 

Girl Scout alumnae and NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history when they conducted the first ever all-woman spacewalk on Oct.18, 2019. They went on to complete two more spacewalks, successfully completing their task of upgrading the space station’s battery charge/discharge unit. Christina and Jessica’s historic spacewalk was a testament to the growing number of women (and Girl Scouts) joining our astronaut corps; it is a milestone worth celebrating as we look forward to putting the first woman on the Moon with our Artemis Program! 

....and the longest spaceflight ever by a woman!

NASA astronaut Christina Koch smiles for a selfie while completing tasks during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Koch went on to seal her name in the record books by surpassing Peggy Whitson’s record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman!

Understanding how the human body adjusts to things like weightlessness, radiation and bone-density loss is crucial as we look forward to embarking on long-duration spaceflights to the Moon and Mars. Thanks to former astronaut Scott Kelly’s Year in Space mission, we’ve been able to observe these changes on a biological male. Now, thanks to Christina’s mission, we are able to observe these changes on a biological female. 

Girl Scout alumnae will also help lead human exploration farther than ever before as members of our Artemis generation!

 From left: NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, Loral O’Hara and Kayla Barron

On January 10, 2020 we welcomed 11 new astronauts to our ranks – including three Girl Scout alumnae! As part of the first-ever class of astronauts under our Artemis lunar exploration program, Kayla Barron, Jessica Watkins and Loral O’Hara are now qualified for assignments including long-duration missions to the International Space Station, the Moon and Mars.

They took a moment after graduation to share inspiration and insight for current and future Scouts!

Q: A question from the Girl Scouts: What inspires you?

A: “Being a part of an awesome team has always been what inspires me. Whether it’s your Girl Scout troop, a sports team, your class – I think for me always the people around me who push me to succeed and support me when I make mistakes and help me become my best self is what inspires me to show up and do my best.” - NASA astronaut Kayla Barron 

Q: How has being a Girl Scout helped you in becoming an astronaut?

A: “Being in the Girl Scouts when I was younger was really cool because, well, first it was just a group of my friends who got to do a lot of different things together. But it really gave us the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of different areas. Like we’d get to go camping. We’d get to ride horses and learn all of these different skills, and so that variety of skill set I think is very applicable to being an astronaut.” - NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara 

Q: What would your advice be for the next generation of Girl Scout astronauts?

A: “My advice would be to find something that you’re passionate about. Ideally something in the STEM fields: Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics, and to pursue that thing that you’re interested in. Pursue that passion, whatever it is. And don’t give up on your dreams, and continue to follow them until you arrive where you want to be.” - NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins 

To all the Girl Scouts out there, keep reaching for the stars because the sky is no longer the limit!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[brckenthings]

temp muse list:

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS

BAILEY SCOTT (the 100) (fc: maya hawke)

BARRY DARNELL (stranger things oc) (fc: logan miller)

CANDY CARTER (stranger things) (fc: erin sanders)

CHRISSY BECKETT (yellowjackets) (fc: sydney sweeney)

DOLLY JAMES (fandomless) (fc: maya hawke)

DRAVEN VALENTINE (ahs coven/apocalypse) (fc: max green)

ELLIE BECKETT (yellowjackets) (fc: sydney sweeney)

EMMY CARTER (stranger things) (fc: sheri moon zombie)

FLYNN MYERS (fandomless) (fc: joe keery)

KATIE DARNELL (stranger things) (fc: olivia welch)

LENNON MADDOX (fandomless) (fc: alycia debnam carey)

LISA SLADE (stranger things) (fc: scout taylor compton)

LYRIC MCCALISTER (yellowjackets) (fc: nicholas alexander)

MARS NEWMAN (yellowjacket) (fc maya hawke)

MAX SLADE (stranger things) (fc: timothée chalamet)

ROWAN TAYLOR (twd/ftwd) (fc: odessa a'zion)

SHELL EMERY (siren) (fc: maya hawke)

STARLA MYERS (fandomless) (fc: natalia dyer)

SKYLAR JONES (fandomless) (fc: maya hawke)

WISTERIA LACHLAN (ahs coven/apocalypse) (fc: maya hawke)

CANON CHARACTERS

ALICE CANADY (yes, god, yes | 2020 movie)

AMY ANDERSON (adult world | 2013 movie)

BELLE WALKER (amityville: the awakening | 2017 movie)

BROOKE THOMPSON (ahs | s9 1984)

CHET CLANCY (ahs | s9 1984)

JIMMY DARLING (ahs | s4 freak show)

MADISON MONTGOMERY (ahs | s3 coven)

MAGGIE ESMERELDA (ahs | s4 freak show)

CASEY GARDNER (atypical)

BRYNN MCNALLY (broken things | novel | lauren oliver fc: sophie thatcher)

NANCY LEFEVRE (chambers)

HEATHER WATKINS (fear street 1994 | 2021 movie)

ALICIA CLARK (fear the walking dead)

MADISON CLARK (fear the walking dead)

JOEY DEL MARCO (grand army)

CHLOE PRICE (life is strange) (animated or live fc: sophie thatcher)

LENA HALOWAY (delirium books | lauren oliver fc: emma roberts)

MAX CAULFIELD (life is strange) (animated or live fc: maya hawke)

RACHEL AMBER (life is strange) (animated or live fc: emma roberts)

JO MARCH (little women novel & movie | mainly modern verse)

RAY HALL (panic)

TRENTON WALKER (rooms | novel | lauren oliver fc: dylan arnold)

BROOKE MADDOX (scream the series)

JILL ROBERTS (scream 4 | 2011 movie)

KURT KUNKLE (spree | 2020 movie)

BILLY HARGROVE (stranger things)

CAROL PERKINS (stranger things)

STEVE HARRINGTON (stranger things)

TAMMY THOMPSON (stranger things) (canon based oc)

LEXA (the 100)

EDDIE ‘RAGMAN’ WEINBAUER (trick or treat | 1986 movie)

FRANKIE CROYDEN (tuff turf | 1985 movie)

BECKY MONROE (when the streetlights go on | 2020 movie)

JACKIE TAYLOR (yellowjackets)

EXCLUSIVES:

BEN MILLER (escape room 1&2 | 2019 movie)

CHARLES LEE RAY / CHUCKY (childs play)

SHANE MCCUTCHEON (the l word/generation q)

TATE LANGDON (ahs | s1 murder house)

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - October 13, 2023

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes (Session 9 of 12) Shane runs for Blake Ryan, Brandon Brylawski, and Mark (he/they) The agents discover a missing room, and learn some more about the history of The King In Yellow. Then they head to a fateful debriefing at Trivellino Mall, learning things they will soon wish they had never discovered.

Free from the Shadow: Samurai Fantasy (Session 1) Lowell Francis runs for Cale P, Elle, Mike Minutillo, and Sherri We work through character creation and the additional of a new clan, following by final details about who the Emperor is and what project they want implemented. We then move to the first Winter Court where several of the clans find themselves overtaken in position by other groups. Finally we see the four protagonists gather together to talk.

Star Trek: Fate of the Quadrant (Session 4) Alun R. runs for Paul Rivers and Will H Chief of Operations Log - Stardate 48284.0 - Lieutenant 733T Reporting: We're returning from the repair of a communications buoy on the edge of the Rolor Nebula in Shuttle Ix and will rendezvous with the Montgomery at Outpost Gamma 7. The repairs were straightforward so we had time to collect some samples from a nearby gas cloud which will keep the team in non-planetary astrometrics happy for weeks. I'm still concerned, though, over the performance of the Montgomery's Engines and on a personal note, I must drill the engineering team more on my return. There's a Starfleet outpost that initially doesn't exist but an unexpected Priority One Alert that can't be ignored. Then, an inconsistent station computer (and crew), temporal inconsistencies, and the away team begin to wonder whose not seeing the world correctly...before a V'tosh ka'tur has to reconsider his view of the world...

Hearts of Yokai (Session 1) Lowell Francis runs for Anders, Donogh, Matthew Doughty, and Sabine V. We learn more about our four protagonists and what they want: the destruction of a rival, peace, a gift for the leader of a court, or simply a job. But each of them will find their task complicated by various circumstances: a location-scouting team, a scavenger demon, dangerous memories, and the severed head of the leader of the Court of Candles.

Girl By Moonlight: Divine Engines (Session 1) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack We finish out building our characters and world for this series of Girl By Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars. Then we begin play and see the circumstances of these young mecha pilots and the pressure they're under. After a series of downtime interactions, the first mission is revealed as the home-colony of one of the PCs, now turned into a dead god/living world Leviathan hybrid approaches the Last Bastion.

Eotenweard: Northumbria (Session 2) Alun R. runs for José Feito, Paul Rivers, Sabine V., and Will H Having dispatched a water drake in the Sinister Fen near Thrydingas, Cadoc prays, Fynn recovers, and Solinus searches for his axe, while Black Jell uses the eye of the monster to divine the true path towards the slave girl Efa who ran away during the fight. There's an isolated Fenlander village, the sign of the cross, and a Loon hidden and waiting. Then...a lying elder, the girl at risk, and two transformations...

Star Wars Saturday

Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells (Session 1) Rich Rogers runs for Anders, Ethan Harvey, Sherri, and Steven Watkins Four highly confident, barely capable adventurers take on Khenet Rock.

MCU Sunday

Demigods (Session 2) Rich Rogers runs for Alex, Cody Eastlick, and Steven Watkins The New Warriors Three discuss their "Adam Mann problem" with Balder, Tyr, and eventually Hela.

[krnaturalphoto]

One Photo A Day | Day 331 | Panoramic Pond

One Photo A Day | Day 331 | Panoramic Pond

One photo a day challenge: Day 331. Today I went for a hike to scout out an area for future photography. I went up to the upper portion of Watkins Glen State Park. What I’d call the roads less traveled of that park. I run on these sections of trails a lot. And there is a beautiful spot that I love. However, whenever I visit the park for photography I never make it to that spot. I wanted to…

[disparatevibes]

2021 time capsule for my memories:

MUSIC

releases i loved from 2021

For Those I Love - For Those I Love

Home Is Where - I Became Birds

Low - HEY WHAT

Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

Helado Negro - Far In

Water From Your Eyes - Structure

Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8

Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime

Porches - All Day Gentle Hold !

Hand Habits - Fun House

Lowertown - The Gaping Mouth

Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders/The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy - Son

Black Midi - Cavalcade

Holly Humberstone - The Walls Are Way Too Thin

Indigo De Souza - Any Shape You Take

Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature

Pinegrove - Amperland, NY

Bartees Strange - Live at Studio 4

Claire Rousay - A Softer Focus

Yves Tumor - The Asymptotical World

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect

Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki

Samia - Scout

Nation of Language - A Way Forward

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Superwolves

Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE

Hannah Peel - Fir Wave

Lucy Dacus - Home Video

Wiki - Half God

L’Rain - Fatigue

Snow Ellet - suburban indie rock star

Runnner - Always Repeating

Tim Hecker - The North Water OST

great older releases i discovered in 2021

Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again, Cody

Majical Cloudz - Impersonator, Are You Alone?

Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak Of It Again, STREET DAD

Pharoah Sanders - Karma

The Dead Texan - The Dead Texan

Brian Eno & Kevin Shields - The Weight of History/Only Once Away My Son

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Herbert - Bodily Functions, Scale

Bat For Lashes - Two Suns, The Haunted Man

Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe

Huerco S. - For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)

Alex G - Race

Burial - Rival Dealer

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Superwolf

Hiss Golden Messenger - Haw, Heart Like A Levee

Destroyer - City of Daughters

Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

Sam Amidon - All Is Well

Eno & Hyde - High Life

The John Lurie National Orchestra - The Invention Of Animals

BOOKS

books i loved this year

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

Second Place by Rachel Cusk

The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Bubblegum by Adam Levin

To Be A Man by Nicole Krauss

Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard

The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard

The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

Fraternity by Benjamin Nugent

The Country Life by Rachel Cusk

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke (Audiobook)

Gold Custody by Barbara Bloom & Ben Lerner

“Sea Oak” by George Saunders

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson

books i liked this year

The History of Bones by John Lurie

So Much Blue by Percival Everett

Dear Life by Alice Munro

Zona by Geoff Dyer

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

No Art by Ben Lerner

Weather by Jenny Offill

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Don't Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Tuff by Paul Beatty

The People In The Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

Best American Essays 2007 ed. by David Foster Wallace

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

All That Man Is by David Szalay

On Freedom by Maggie Nelson

Remote Feed by David Gilbert

other books i read this year

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Look At Me by Jennifer Egan

MOVIES

movies i loved this year

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

The French Dispatch

Nomadland

The Green Knight

Pig

Soul

Dick Johnson is Dead

The Power Of The Dog

Zola

Sound of Metal

The Card Counter

There Is No Evil

Titane

Spencer

The Killing of Two Lovers

Minari

French Exit

This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection

LCD Soundsystem Holiday Special

Pinegrove: Amperland, NY

movies i liked this year

Lover's Rock

The Nest

Annette

Dune

David Byrne’s American Utopia

Wolfwalkers

Mangrove

Red, White and Blue

Alex Wheatle

Education

Reprise

Traffic

Identifying Features

Pusher II

Days of Being Wild

Slow Machine

Gunda

other movies i saw this year

Da 5 Bloods

On The Rocks

Limbo

The Year of the Everlasting Storm

Mank

TV SHOWS/COMEDY SPECIALS

shows i loved this year

Succession - Season 3

Mad Men (finally got round to this)

Painting with John

Fishing with John

Bo Burnham: Inside

Master of None - Season 3

Ramy

The Underground Railroad

Mrs. America

O.J. - Made in America

Chewing Gum

The Americans

30 Rock (second time through, still the best sitcom)

Mare of Easttown

The Great

What We Do In The Shadows

Rick & Morty - Season 5

The North Water

James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999

shows i liked this year

The Chair

The White Lotus

The Queen’s Gambit

The Good Lord Bird

Fargo – Season 4

Lovecraft Country

Tig Notaro: Drawn

other shows i saw this year

Squid Game

MISC

video games/board games

Halo Infinite

Red Dead Redemption 2

Twilight Imperium

7 Wonders

Wingspan

The Search For Planet X

podcasts

Welcome To LA

Heavyweight - Season 6

My Year in Mensa

The Organist

Invisibilia - Season 8

Wiretap

Floodlines

Aack Cast

The Experiment

The Ezra Klein Show

literature podcasts

The New Yorker: Fiction - Susan Choi Reads Jennifer Egan; Donald Antrim reads Donald Barthelme; Ben Lerner reads Julio Cortazar; Will Mackin reads George Saunders

The New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice - Adam Levin reads “A Lot Of Things Have Happened”; Colin Barrett reads “A Shooting in Rathreedane”; Greg Jackson reads “The Hollow”; Karen Russell reads “The Ghost Birds”; George Saunders reads “The Mom of Bold Action”; Sam Lipsyte reads “ My Apology”; Jonathan Lethem reads “The Crooked House”; Lauren Groff reads “ The Wind”; Jennifer Egan reads “What The Forest Remembers”

Between The Covers - Percival Everett: The Trees; Teju Cole: Fernweh

LRB Bookshop - Claire-Louise Bennett and Sheila Heti: Checkout 19; Rebecca Solnit and Mary Beard: Recollections of my Nonexistence; Rachel Kushner and Hal Foster: The Hard Crowd; Dana Spiotta and Alex Clark: Innocents and Others

fave gigs (not enough of them)

Nala Sinephro @ Horniman Museum and Gardens (best venue of all time)

Richard Dawson @ End of the Road (opener was a 15 minute acapella medieval tavern style folk song about a 17th century quilt-maker)

Richard Dawson @ Green Man

Hot Chip @ End of the Road (best sabotage cover of all time)

Porridge Radio @ End of the Road

Thundercat @ Green Man

Cassandra Jenkins @ The Louisiana

other great events

Green Man festival

End of the Road festival

Connor & Fiona McFarlane's wedding weekend

living with Jon, Abi, Sean and Louis for 3 weeks

lots of swimming in the avon

[handeaux]

17 Curious Facts About The 1920 Election In Cincinnati

The election of 2 November 1920 was remarkable in many ways. It was, of course, the first national election in which women were able to vote equally with men. It saw the victory of Warren G. Harding, the final Ohioan elected to the White House. And it was the last “newspaper election” before radio started turning the media tide to electronic formats. Here are a few curiosities from the 1920 election as it played out in Cincinnati.

Sexism Was In Its Flower When the Nineteenth Amendment was finally adopted, the Cincinnati Times-Star, resolutely opposed to giving women the vote, predicted few women would actually register.  "If every woman is forced to give her age,’ the Times-Star opined, “there is going to be a great abstention from voting . . . "

Domestic Tranquility According to the Cincinnati Post [2 November 1920], “woman suffrage did not ruin one home Tuesday, or even spoil a meal.” Many newspapers timed women voters and determined that they spent more time in the voting booth than men – apparently making more individual selections and fewer party-line ballots.

Dogs, Babies & Girl Scouts The Cincinnati Enquirer [3 November 1920] reported: “Some women took their dogs along and mothers carried their babies to the polls and handed them over to an obliging policeman or a willing Girl Scout, while they disappeared into the booths to mark their ballots.”

No Need For Milk Officials in Precinct C of Ward 3 decided that some women coming to vote might bring babies and those babies might fuss and disturb the other voters. For just such emergencies, the polling staff kept a bottle of milk available. When no babies showed up at the Precinct 3 poll at 3558 Montgomery Road, clerk C.L. Hopkins drank the milk.

A Tradition Of Informing Voters The Cincinnati branch of the League of Women Voters evolved out of the Women's Suffrage Committee of Greater Cincinnati which decided on 21 September 1920 to establish one of the oldest branches of the National League of Women Voters. For the past century, Cincinnati voters have been educated by this dedicated organization.

Some Women Were Not Suffragists One of the leaders of the anti-Suffrage movement, Beatrice Shillito of the Cincinnati department store family, sent a letter to candidate Warren Harding outlining three of the reasons why she and other women were opposed to women's suffrage. First, it would double the cost of elections and increase the tax burden. Second, states' rights were being violated and, finally, the voters of Ohio had already rejected votes for women on four previous occasions.

Voters Needed Nine Ballots To Vote In 1920, voters were handed nine separate ballots as they entered the polling station, then deposited marked ballots in nine corresponding ballot boxes. The nine ballots were 1) Ballot for presidential electors for four parties: Democrat, Republican, Socialist or Single Tax; 2) statewide ballot for those four parties, plus the Farmer-Labor party and the Independent ticket; 3) a non-partisan judicial ballot, 4) the statewide Crabbe Prohibition referendum; 5) citywide initiative to expand streetcars to California, Ohio; 6) initiative to increase Cincinnati police pay; 7) a county road levy; 8) Cincinnati operating tax  increase; and 9) city schools levy.

No Elephants Or Donkeys Although political cartoonists employed elephants to signify Republicans and donkeys to depict Democrats, those were not the official party emblems. Republican ballots showed an eagle at the top, while Democratic ballots were emblazoned with a rooster. The Socialists employed a hand holding a torch. Prohibitionists used a rose.

Chaplin Movie At Music Hall To avoid the often unruly crowds that gathered outside newspaper offices waiting for updates, the Cincinnati Post rented Music Hall to announce election returns. Between bulletins from the Board of Elections, the Post showed films starring Constance Talmadge and Charlie Chaplin, with music by “Smittie’s famous band” and a program of stereopticon slides.

Scissoring Off Democrats A woman voter brought a pair of scissors to the polls at Colerain Avenue and Rachel Street, home of Precinct E in the 22nd Ward. As she left the booth, she pulled out the snips and started cutting away half the ballot. Confronted by the polling executives, she explained she had no use for the Democratic candidates and only wanted to vote for Republicans. They gave her a fresh ballot and some instructions.

Politically Correct Office Attire An unnamed stenographer told the Cincinnati Post she was glad the election was over. One of her employers was a Democrat, the other Republican. Throughout the campaign, she had to remember to wear a Cox button while in the Democrat’s office and a Harding button in the Republican’s office.

Former Slave Denied Vote William M. Kocsiss, aged 77, was denied a ballot because he had not registered properly. Kocsiss, a shoemaker during the week and a minister on Sundays, appeared at the Board of Elections in his Civil War uniform. He was a slave who joined the Union army on emancipation and first voted in 1864, supporting Abraham Lincoln’s second term.

Election Wagers Provided Entertainment The day after the election, Cincinnati commuters were entertained by men who had lost bets on the outcome. One man stood at the corner of Sixth and Walnut and crowed like a rooster for three minutes. Another man rode around downtown in a wheelbarrow while the loser pushed it. A portly gent shoved a peanut around Fountain Square with his nose.

Cincinnati Had Our Own Presidential Candidate Although he polled negligible numbers in 1920, Cincinnati was home to its very own presidential candidate. The Rev. Aaron S. Watkins, 4338 Eastern Avenue, pastor of the Linwood Methodist Episcopal Church, ran for president in 1920 on the Prohibition Party ticket and attracted but a smattering of votes.

Really ‘High’ Tech Election Results The Cincinnati Enquirer worked out a deal with the Union Central Life Insurance Company, owner of the then-tallest building in town, to flash coded election results from the top of the Union Central building. An H for Harding or a C for Cox indicated who had the lead at that time. The governor’s race was communicated by colored lanterns – green for the Democratic candidate, red for the Republican contender.

Results On The Rails The Big Four Railroad adopted a system – developed in Cincinnati – to share election results among passengers on all of its trains. Bulletins distributed by the general superintendent’s office arrived in all division offices and were parceled out to each train. Conductors read the updates in each car.

Questions About Absentee Ballots The day after the election, the Enquirer wondered: “It will be interesting to learn just how long after the election those ballots mailed by absent voters reached their destinations.”

[bompeii]

Prodigal Son: Dæmon AU

Malcolm Bright's dæmon is Sunshine the parakeet, obviously.

She's surprisingly quiet, since it seems he's constantly rambling. When he's working a case, she scouts around the crime scene for clues or details only noticeable from above, then swoops down to perch on his shoulder and whisper them into his ear for him to analyse and profile. When he's on one of his near-manic episodes, she flutters about his head as if he were a dazed cartoon character, occasionally landing in his hair and pecking lightly at his forehead, as if to try and snap himself out of it. When he's feeling insecure or afraid, she hides in the collar of his dress shirt, just nests down into the fabric by his neck so he can feel her rapid heartbeat against his own.

Malcolm chose the name "Bright" because of her. Sunshine is his truest self, and whenever he wonders if he's anything like his father, he simply looks at her small, vibrant, delicate form and knows it can't be true. It can't.

When he has night terrors, he still chains himself to his bed. He can't risk harming Sunshine, himself, by accident. It happened too often when he was a kid, a teenager. She sleeps in a nest near the bed, just out of reach, because if she were caged and he somehow got free, went sleepwalking away, she wouldn't be able to follow.

He doesn't remember when she settled. Or why. It didn't really bother him until everyone on the team is swapping stories about "when they knew," and Malcolm suddenly realizes he doesn't know. He can't remember the moment, the realization, the feeling of becoming one with himself. It's blank, it's garbled. One day Sunshine was still shifting from cat to ferret to hummingbird to squirrel to rabbit. Then the next she's a parakeet, and has been ever since. But the time inbetween, the lost time, therein lies the hidden moment. And Malcolm worries and frets and tries, tries everything to remember for weeks after realizing he didn't. It isn't until he remembers the camping trip when he was ten, the girl in the box, the cabin in the woods. It isn't until he recalls stabbing John Watkins in the side, that he remembers the moment, tainted with terror and confusion, of when Sunshine took her permanent form - a small bird, desperate to fly to freedom

Martin Whitly's dæmon is a goliath spider.

Before he was caught and arrested, people thought his dæmon represented his skill as a surgeon; delicate procedures, heart surgery. It requires flexibility and creativity, and a lack of fear against morbidness. But in reality, Martin was casting a web of lies for most of his life, intricate and sometimes delicate, and snaring victims of all sorts and sizes, revealing concealed fangs. And the goliath ... it's a bird eater.

Whenever Malcolm visits his father, Sunshine hides in his collar, unable and unwilling to fly anywhere in Martin's cell due to the casting of huge spiderwebs created in every high corner of the room. Martin would just smile, his dæmon either crawling amidst the webs or nestled in the untamed curls of his hair, ever watchful.

Gil's dæmon is a lioness. A fierce hunter, but protective and familial, gentle where it counts.

JT's dæmon is a coyote, fairly common for soldiers who joined the army at 18 and ran with a pack.

Dani's dæmon is a red panda. It reflects her inability to get too close to anyone, her difficulty making friends, her solitude. It also shows her willingness to climb every obstacle in her way.

Edrisa's dæmon is a brown rat: small, fast, intelligent, and a little misunderstood.

Jessica Whitly's dæmon is a peacock, iridescent and beautiful and arrogantly territorial, which matches up with her overprotectiveness as a mother.

And Ainsley's dæmon is a red squirrel, overly ambitious and active, always climbing the highest tree in the forest even if it gets her into trouble.

[expirisims]

The Residents

Here are the households that I may check in on from time to time, but won’t be playing in rotation.  They are all housed throughout Thicket and many have roles such as stylists or coworkers of my played sims!  For the most part, I don’t do a ton to the majority of my sims except get rid of crazy hair or super crazy outfits.  I kinda like the variety of sims I get and usually let them match themselves up as well.  All of these sims aside from the Fields are pretty much as they spawned.  I did some sculpting to Tamsen Field’s face to make her look more unique and I thinned and buffed Dean really because I thought he was a clone of Randal Stark until I downloaded the cc skins and eyes I use and realized they look nothing alike!

The Baron Family:  Clayton Baron, his fiancé Monica Ernst and their new baby Tyree along with dog Snaggles, who is obviously hungry for hotdogs!

The Betancourt family: Serena and her fiancé Kirby Cho.  I’ll probably check in on them more than some of the others :)

The Cabral family: Dwayne and Betsy with daughter Rebekah and dog Scout.  They own the farm with greenhouse that I posted a picture of.  My intent is that they will sell produce and flowers from their farm or at one of the local commercial lots.

The Cannon family.  Darrel Cannon and his fiancé Tanya Schipano.  They are both stylists in Thicket.

The DeLuca’s: Dereck was a werewolf, but I didn’t want to have a ton of supernatural stuff in this play through.  Shawn, his wife, is the boss of Lynne Beckwith which is the first family up in rotation. Their daughter Mara and dog, Lady.

The Dowling’s: Nicholas and Corinna.  Nicholas is best friends with another townie Dan Waggoner.  Corinna was the first of about 5 Corine, Corina ect spawned by the game so most of them had their names changed, but it fit her so I left it!

The Field’s: Dean and Tamsen are both Drs.

The Gold family: Lyle and Randi with son Clyde and dog Sheba.

The Hastings Family:  Shad is the local detective and Rena works as a desk clerk at the spa.

The Haywood family:  Brendon Haywood is the local architectural designer and just moved in with girlfriend Hilda Winstead.

The Hillards:  Armand (Armie for short) is a chef at the Three Sirens restaurant which he owns and his wife Shelley Huey-Hillard is the highest ranking official at the City Hall.  They have just had their first child, Brett Huey Hillard.

The Holm family: Brennon, who is the brother to Quinton Holm an NPC and his wife Marcie.  They have recently adopted a kitten, Nona.

The Jacques family:  Jamie, Audrey and Donny Jacques.  Jamie is kind of the town loon.

The Pullen’s:  Joel Pullen and Kelly Fuentes-Pullen, newlyweds.  Kelly is the sister of Bryce Fuentes an NPC and they are apparently always getting together because they pop up on my sp all the time as family reunion and sharing the town gossip!

The Runyon family:  Domingo Runyon and another one of the Corinne’s I kept.  Corinne Watt.  I had moved these two single sims in together with the intention they would wind up together, but they’ve been shaking up my planned stories the past couple of days!!

The Sheldon family:  Boy do Cecil and Beverly have their hands full!  She had just given birth to baby Ferra when I finished my world testing and got the rotation set up and surprise!  she had a second baby, Ifran two days into the rotation!  I really need to get the pregnancy tuner set up so my sims aren’t cranking out kiddos every other day!

The Spaulding family:  Joel Spaulding and Shauna Watkins.  Best friends and maybe more along with master hunter Egon the cat.

The Waggoner family: Dan Waggoner (best friend of Nick Dowling) and his fiancé Michelle Torrez.  Dan is also pretty good friends with Vance McKay and Carlos Munoz who are both in the rotation.

The Wells family:  Bryon and Lisa were roommates of Norman Davies before he met Gwen.  As you can see, Lisa is fond of cats :) Mackie is the mother with kittens Dink, Elijah and Mittens

The Westmoreland family: Arthur and Bernice (who can be a little demanding) along with their cat Maggie and roommate Tanika Bateman.  Tanika is the only EA roommate I haven’t deleted as she is the girlfriend of Alexandria Newcomb and will likely play a much larger role in the play through unless sp has other plans :) 

[aobindiareview]

Top Sales Outsourcing Company Suggests Best Sales Movies to Watch

All work and no movies make sales teams dull!

We have stepped into the 10th Month of the year. Most of the organizations are still working from home. In gleam situations like these days, we need to keep motivated. While you may pass most of the weekends sitting on your couch and browsing through Netflix and Prime, the sales outsourcing company, AOB India, continually motivates and engages the sales consultants and sales acquisition teams in the most creative ways. We have a list of movies that you need to add to your watchlist today!

Cinema has very few good content to offer in terms of sales. And when they do, most of them show sales agents as soulless predators who leech money off innocent people – and it’s true in some cases. However, a handful of them over the years have truly captured what it’s like to be a real salesperson. Regardless of the light in which sales people are shown, all these movies still offer a lot of takeaways: from persuasion tactics to attentive listening to building relationships to pep talks.

 Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

ABC. “A”, always. “B”, be. “C”, closing. ALWAYS BE CLOSING. Always be closing.

-Blake

Glengarry Glen Ross is the story of four sales agents battling against each other to save their jobs. This movie portrays how toxic a competitive environment can be. They use all sorts of unethical practices and tactics to close deals; ranging from stealing leads to selling undesirable property to lying, cheating, threatening, bribery, and more.

Despite all these, the sales outsourcing company, AOB India suggests that it still has scenes that offer a lot of value to salespeople. For example, the famous Alec Baldwin scene, where he explains the ABC and AIDA technique to his peers to “motivate” them, is by far the best and most useful scene from the movie. Not only does it explain these two concepts, it also shows how a manager should go about motivating his team.

 The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

In order to not waste any time… I wasn’t hanging up the phone. I gained another eight minutes a day. I wasn’t drinking water… so I didn’t waste any time in the bathroom.

-Chris Gardner

Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness follows the journey of a struggling salesman, Christopher Gardner. The trials and situations faced by Chris when he loses his job, his wife, and his house, and raises his son homeless, account for an absolutely heartbreaking but inspirational story. He never gives up; he relentlessly chases down high-value prospects; he gives his 100% whatever the circumstances may be, and most of all, respects his superiors. The sales strategists at AOB India believe that there are so many take-aways from the movie, for eg. Chrisexhibits many good sales practices; like using an energetic and positive tone to talk to his prospects or optimizing his cold calling process to save a few minutes, etc.

 Door To Door (2002)

Patience and Persistence.

-Mrs. Porter

Isn’t this quote from the movie the motto of every sales agent ever? Another true story, Door To Door, is based on the life of Bill Porter, an inspiring and successful door-to-door salesman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Despite him being crippled with cerebral palsy, severely disabled, as well as having speech impediment problems, Bill Porter sold Watkins’ products for nearly 40 years, from door to door on a 7-mile route in Portland, Oregon. The sales outsourcing company highlights Patience and Persistence in every team meet. They believe that with these two qualities anyone can work his route with such diligence and perseverance to become the top-selling sales agents.

 The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Jordan Belfort: Brad, show them how it’s done. Sell me that pen. Watch. Go on.

Brad: You want me to sell you this f****** pen?

Jordan Belfort: That’s my boy right there. Can f****** sell anything.

Brad: Why don’t you do me a favor? Write your name down on that napkin for me.

Jordan Belfort: I don’t have a pen.

Brad: Exactly. Supply and demand, my friend.

 Does this movie need any introduction?

Filled with high-energy dialogues, lavish parties, and a bunch of unethical sales practices, this Martin Scorsese biopic about the infamous Jordan Belfort took the world by storm. It’s the story of how Belfort built an empire by pushing worthless penny stock to the public. Despite the tactics used by him, there are a few things a salesperson can learn from this film. Like the core concept of selling – sell the dream, sell the need, the product is irrelevant. Or the use of vocal tone to effectively engage prospects. Belfort illustrates the power of using a sales playbook and sales scripts which he teaches even today as a sales coach.

 Wall Street (1987)

I’ve been in this business since ’69. Most of these Harvard MBA guys don’t add up to dogs**t. Give me guys that are poor, smart, hungry and no feelings. You win a few. You lose a few. But you keep on fighting – and if you need a friend, get a dog. It’s trench warfare out there, pal.

-Gordon Gekko

Even if you haven’t seen this movie, you would have certainly heard of Gordon Gekko. One of the most ruthless characters to be shown on the silver screen, Gordon Gekko, is a man driven by pure greed. Pure, Unadulterated Greed. Wall Street follows the story of an ambitious young stockbroker named Bud Fox who seeks fame and fortune. He exchanges insider trading information with Gekko who acts as his mentor. What ensues is a tale of absolute power, greed, and corruption that involves stock manipulation, taking down other firms, and destroying lives in the process without a second thought.

 Moneyball (2011)

I hate losing more than I love winning.

-Billy Beane

Last in our list is anything but a sales movie. However, this movie is a must-watch for sales people. Here is why. Moneyball tells the story of how Billy Beane, the General Manager of Oakland Athletics, used Sabermetrics to help them win 20 games on the row. With the help of his assistant general manager, Billy Beane applied data analysis of baseball metrics to analyze and scout undervalued players to form a winning team. And how is this relevant to sales, you ask? At AOB India, we believe that this is the future of sales.  Data-driven sales strategies – whether it is in prospecting or understanding user engagement or predictive analytics will be a game changer for fast-growing companies. The top sales outsourcing agency in India, AOB India, uses people, process and technology to get the sales numbers for their clients.

 Mad Men (2007-2015)

Although this post is about movies, I’d be remiss if I don’t talk about Mad Men. Mad Men has changed the way marketing and sales professionals approach their clients. There are several brilliant sales pitches across the seven seasons that any sales rep can pick pointers from. Despite being set in the 60s, the characters and writing from this show were ahead of its time. Mad Men should be made mandatory viewing for anybody serious about getting into the marketing and sales industry.

At AOB India, it’s not all work. The top sales outsourcing company has some of the best talents in the industry who deliver top sales results. Keeping them motivated in new and creative ways sets this sales outsourcing agency apart from its competitors.