#siobhan burke

[cannibalspicnic]

Siobhán McSweeney as Bríd Riordan

Holding 1x02 (2022) dir. Kathy Burke

[endlessly-cursed]

Primrose Gray's Legacy, Act One: The Younger Years, Chapter Seven: Sacred Purebloods

A/N: Another chapter done! This one wasn't my favourite for obvious reasons, but I enjoyed the ride and writing Prim again after months of block. Please read the TWs before reading. Enjoy!!

Summary: Primrose meets a certain pureblood... and its concept

TW: There is a verbal bullying scene, reader's discretion is advised

OCs featured: Siobhan Llewellyn ( @kc-and-co ) Roxie Haley ( @mjs-oc-corner ) Georgia Coventry ( @camillejeaneshphm ) Henry of Alderly, Malcolm and Estelle Stolberg-Burke

MCs mentioned: Ominis Gaunt & Sebastian Sallow

Word Count: 1.3k

Taglist: @gaygryffindorgal @nicos-oc-hell @camillejeaneshphm @hphmmatthewluther @catohphm @thatravenpuffwitch @magicallymalted

Primrose’s time at Hogwarts had been enlightening and fascinating so far. She had heard tales from her father over the summer, but they did not do justice to what she witnessed so far. She had also had made good friends, and she walked with them as they chatted, save Danny, who was a bit quiet, but again, so was she, too starstruck by such a magnificent architecture, Norman architecture if she wasn’t wrong.

“’Ey, lady, hurry up if you want to catch a good seat in Potions’ class!” Shouted Siobhan Llewellyn, her dormmate.

Dormmate. It was an odd thing, really. Her status had never allowed her to share her bedroom for more than one weekend, which was excitingly new for her. She nevertheless welcomed the adventure and journey of it.

With an encouraging smile from another dormmate, Roxie, she came into the greenhouse, beautifully decorated with all kinds of plants and decoration of the sorts. She closed her eyes, holding onto the feelings. Sitting beside Roxie, she listened intently to the teacher, wanting to impress her.

She heard a giggle behind her, and found the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen so far: with beautiful dark hair, intriguing dark eyes and dressed in green robes, she looked over Primrose’s group and snorted, and Primrose, in her innocence, waved at her, which made her laugh even more. She frowned, not knowing what she did that was so amusing, but didn’t think of it.

After the class, she and Roxie commented the class and its teacher: it was certainly interesting.

As they crossed the doors to the flying class, the group of the girl bumped on them, laughing out loud. Primrose then understood that they were laughing at her. Roxie shook her head “Honestly, such arrogance only for blood.”

“Blood?” Primrose asked “Whatever you mean?”

“Don’t you know? About blood status here?” She frowned further. She had known status as the title and wealth one bragged about, and a bloodline, but blood per se? That was just nonsense! “Most of these Slytherins are purebloods, meaning their lines trace back to purebloods and even powerful wizards. Not one muggle has infected their blood.” She whispered “Some even marry within the family just to keep it pure!”

Primrose cringed, the thought of marrying her own blood making her skin crawl. There had been marriages between second and third cousins, it was not uncommon, but after the fate of the Habsburgs, everyone started marrying outside the ton, thank god. But it seemed like the wizarding society was much different, still deep in such prejudices. Was that girl laughing at her only because of her blood?

“Don’t pay much attention to it, though. It’s just nonsense!”

Siobhan pitched in “They’re all crass and arrogant. Dinna listen to what they say. ‘Tis all just bullcrap!” Primrose raised her eyebrows at such language “Pardon me. Force of habit.”

“It’s alright, Shiv. I was just caught off-guard.”

“Alright, everyone, gather ‘round!” The teacher called. Everyone but what she knew as the sultana gathered around the brooms. Primrose observed it, finding it curious and intriguing. “Excuse me, miss—,”

“Sultana,” she corrected, and Primrose swore she heard a snort “to you.”

“Right. Sultana, you ought to partake in the class like the rest.”

The girl scoffed, holding her head high “I will not partake in heresy. Do with that information what you want.”

“Sultana, if you do not engage in the class, I will have to send you to detention.”

The young sultana didn’t budge, facing off against the old teacher. Finally, they sighed, sending her away, though Primrose doubted that she would go to the dungeons.

“Right, everyone, I want you to hold out your hand and say ‘up!’.”

Some got it right, the girl among them, and after seven tries, Primrose got the hang of it “Up!” She commanded, and it came to her hand. She laughed, feeling victorious.

“Please, I got it in the first try.”

Primrose turned around and finally faced her “What is your problem with me, exactly?”

The girl sneered “Your blood is stained with Muggle blood. Poor of your father, going as low as a mud-blood.”

“Call me what you want, I do not care, but watch your tone when you speak of my mother.” Primrose’s blue eyes were celestial fire.

“Or what?”

She grabbed her tunic and looked at her into the eye “I will cut off your tongue and feed it to the beasts in the lake.” Her tone was threatening and as cold as ice.

“Y-You’re bluffing.”

She got closer, nose-to-nose, and chuckled bitterly “Do I look like I am bluffing to you?”

Mandy was about to do something when a familiar blonde head grabbed her hand and pushed her down “Why don’t you mess with someone your own size, Parkinson?”

“Georgia?”

“Y-Your Grace…” Mandy breathed.

“Leave before I grab you by the hair.”

Mandy left towards her friends, tail between her legs, and Primrose embraced her friend “I did not see you at the welcoming feast!”

“We were both busy bees. Now, let’s get back to class before we get into trouble.”

“So, your family is all pureblood?” Primrose asked as they ate their lunch in the gardens.

“Yes, though unlike Mandy, we don’t usually brag about it. We are proud, but not at such level.”

“That is her name?”

“Mandy Parkinson? Yes.”

Henry soon found them and joined them, looking overwhelmed. Georgia looked at him curiously, but Primrose dismissed it “Harry! How was your day?”

“Well, it wasn’t so bad,” he nibbled on his lunch “though this is all… overwhelming. It’s good that I have you girls. And Lord Stolberg-Burke.”

They all agreed, and just then, the Stolberg-Burkes appeared into scene. Greeting everyone, Malcolm joked “I heard my name and thought, ‘good heavens, what have I done now?’”

Everyone chortled or laughed, and Primrose admitted “We were just commenting on how thankful we are that you are not a pureblood like Mandy.”

Malcolm’s mouth twisted “I feared you’d learn about it the wrong way. It is true that the ideal of the pureblood supremacy is common, but many other purebloods don’t think it that way. They even scorn it, like the Gaunts.”

Primrose looked at him curiously “Do tell me more.”

“Well, do you know Ominis Gaunt?” He asked.

“Yes. He’s got quite the set of eyes.”

“Primrose… he’s blind.”

Her cheeks turned crimson “Oh… that does make sense.”

“And the Sallows, they are proud as well, but the eldest, Sebastian, scorns it as well. You see, simply because one or a few fit into the mould, it does not mean that it applies to everybody. We do have our pride, just like you do. The British nobility is infamous, but you do not fit into said mould, do you?”

“Of course not!” She was honestly offended that he’d even doubt it.

“There you have it. There is always more than meets the eye, we just have to be willing to see it.”

“Couldn’t have described it better.” Estelle smiled.

“Not to mention that Henry is the great example that royalty is not all proud and stuck-up people who marry each other.”

“Georgia, no here!” He mumbled, looking around, seeing if anyone overheard.

As the conversation moved elsewhere, Primrose realised that, purebloods, like nobles, had ranks within them. Some families’ ‘purity’ was mire sacred than the ones who weren’t free of Muggleborn blood, just like nobles who hadn’t been ‘soiled’ with lower classes blood or a rank below a viscount, or the ones who had married for love rather than status. One could choose whether to try fit the mould… or choose your happiness and what brings you joy.

And she wouldn’t let an entitled brat take away her experience here.

[cultfaction]

Cult Faction Ep. 101: The Show

Alan Moore’s The Show goes under the spotlight this week; a 2020 British fantasy neo-noir film that follows a man in search for a stolen artifact that leads him to the haunted town of Northampton,  filled with Voodoo gangsters, masked adventurers, depression-era private eyes, violent chiaroscuro women and the odd taxi driver. It is directed by Mitch Jenkins and stars Tom Burke, Siobhan Hewlett,…

[wrongcog]

I'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting on the requests, however I hope that now you see what I've been working on, you might understand why it took some time!! Especially when I've been working on this only in the evening, and while trying to keep my tiny human alive!

When I started this, it was originally a combination of requests/characters I really like! and somehow I ended up with 62 of them!! I'm hoping maybe in the future Ill revisit this, maybe try get 100?! But for now I'm glad to be able to take a break and start on other projects!!

This was really a labor of love, and I really hope you all like it as well! I did try my hardest to get as many details as I could, but I did take a few uniform liberty's here and there!! I hid a few little movie and game Easter eggs in there as well, let me know if you spot any!

And for those interested… Gryfindor - 12 Hufflepuff - 12 Ravenclaw - 15 Slytherin - 23

BOTTOM ROW (Left to right) Millie Claire @the-ozzie Lyla Estaris @kerimcberry Faustine Daemon @faustinio27 Matty Ambrose @girl-named-matty Philip Brown @endeavour12345 Siobhan Moriarty @wrongcog Courtney Brookson @CourtneyB22 Clora @choccy-milky Noelle Kasper @noelles-legacy Jamie Ambrose @rypnami

2ND ROW Gideon Smith @betheckart Sally Salamander @siboom777 Ida Ullson @limonnitsa Mara Ambrose @boxdstars Lamie Boo @lamieboo Pearl Castellar @vienguinn William Abbott @lil-grem-draws

3RD ROW Aphrodite Macbeath @venomousvio Lorrain Morgana @lorrainmorgan Eden Mars @juicegarrethfizzy Bear Whiteclaw @wit-grizzly Lucien Morningstar @ronlong6969 Amelia Goldstein @ameliathefatcat Elizabeth Philbrick @operation-pez

4TH ROW Hellendil Melinae @theravenchild Ester Merigold @icarus-wing5 Rohan Mac Uáid @ariparri Siyana Devonshire @dat-silvers-girl Ren Aries @localravenclaw Lady Primrose Gray @endlessly-cursed Evelyn Caddel @celestial--sapphic Jess Burke @serpentsillusion Oriona Blackshire @enotracoon

5TH ROW Aida Morgenstern @queen-of-stoneharts Lydia Parkinson @esolean Kate Mayflower @sunnyrealist Wisteria Ashworth @the-ashworths Aishwarya Merha @hogwarts9 Ariadne Enberg @necromary Eric Schall @yunaatay

6TH ROW Stella Taposok @a-florable Astarion Danar @kipthealien Alyssabeth Edwards @silvyadrakkon Winter Blackstone @moonstruckmoony Marvin Jerry @runicxraven Ruth Senet @phinik Karina Angeline Mayadytha @raraaf6

7TH ROW April Miller @lynnsartsworld Inger Eve Nilsdott @ethniee Morana Dimm @coffeeandmagicaltales Evelyne Lavandin @libellule-ao3 Julia Wright @superconductivebean Kanan McGarry @theguythatdraws Willow Rose Hawthorne @seb-sallow-girl Anwen Elmstone @serpensortiamaxima

8TH ROW Lou Brooke @m0mmat0rtle Layla Stark @marvelxlevram Zorro Del Toro @zorro-d-t Deirdre Neylan @cordidy Rydian Black @rydian-black Isaac Cooper @slytherin-paramour Cherise Sallow @thatslytherinqueen

[dracolichen]

I've spent most of artfight working on this 100 character BG3 mass attack!

I'll zoom in, break it down, and list everyone below the cut!

In the foreground we have half-illithid buddies Favour from @rennybu and Ohta from @sori4partyrock greeting each other, with Saelihn Oriandyr on the left from aaazulisms and Kera from neutropara on the right. On the bench against the right edge is @thatglassofwater's Hallow talking to @swordmaid's Shri'iia. Behind her head is glampiirez's Axl.

Around the fireplace (that is behind the beam on the left edge) we have Imill from @cvnnbl leaning on the beam and facing @smuffeycat's Xaphan. Not quite to the circle but walking towards it is Amarlene, who belongs to dark.rabs. On the stool is @rosaart's Cobwynn Varmillier, next to Glimmer, from aspensarts. Dhenvod Suruc from @tboy-vampire talking with Chiaki Kobayashi from mimiqt. Spore-to-spore communication is happening between @ritelli-main's Rue and Faoryn Oru from _spiderwiz_. Last around the circle is the couple, Absalom and Alius, from gravesyard and birdlion respectively.

Let's start zooming in.

On the left end we have Misryn Goldsinger from @gatchayam, Soleil from riloops, and Vivern from ObsceneLemon. Walking by in front is jynxiejinx's Wynnie. Heisenberg-Chan's Dianthus is talking to @almightyjanitor's Aetias Larkspur and CormorantColors's Caurus. Siobhan from @wopwops is facing Eve from @lilyveins.

Next table!

From left to right we have; Astral_Queer's Tif Starlight, @asterroses's Hellefer, @riteofthorns's Alistair Fee, @noumios's Yatim Ravenheart, @dellabeat's Azar, @husvetten's Drashok, and supurrnovae's Rynri Ashtale.

Let's continue moving to the right and look at the entry area.

In the left foreground we have Quina from Drawbabycrybaby and @sound-nin's Nowhere. Behind them is @not-so-dreary-november's Kiya by the window and @digitalduckie's couple Royce Martin and Rusel. In the doorway is RDR's Aura. Continuing along that wall we have Skully_'s Eduin with Elzebubz's Amenadiel. In the upper right corner is Pauli_Tau_'s Pine sitting with @diroxide's Forza. In front of them is nermadethis's illithid Zephyr, with Antipione Misrali from AtlasHyperion sitting on the railing around the corner. Behind her on the bench is Quillarya and her familiar, Ink, from @loopyhoopywrites. At the little round table is Ruby Stoneheart from @fishyjpg having a scholarly discussion with Sterling from Echo_Dutchie.

Let's get the round table in the middle next.

Leaning on the railing behind the table is Auric with his crow Handsome from DeservedlyFluffy. @labotor's Thora Stormgrave distracts the table to get them facing her while her pal Griz M Rhazgut looks for a pick pocketing opportunity from below the railing. The dragonborn is @barrel-of-fantrolls's Jasper, the half orc is @eggsaladed's Cyriak, the drow Zelya and the tiefling Cobalt are both from @cobaltspace. In front of them at the bottom is @new-austin's Funkledunk already going for a refill on the pitcher. Leaving the bar area with a full pitcher is @shoestrum's Zylas, with SpoinkleyDoingle's Braham next to him. Coming up the stairs is Remora d'Amaronis from @labotor as well.

We'll zoom in again for the folks behind them.

At the window in the upper left is Makepeace from @starofthelabyrinth. Heading into the lower bar area is @skyberia's Néphos Huan, and applauding from behind the railing is Emerald Berylis from AceTrainerWes. The furthest back table has two characters each from vaporwaved8666 and @mollycoddlings, the siblings in the middle Tango and Aurora, with Killian and Burke on the ends.In front of them is our band, with Dagny from MDoebling standing on a barrel, surrounded by @azvhaalk's Sólstafir, @princefleabitten's Faeryl, and @dellabeat's Apostrophe on the hurdy-gurdy. In front of the band is Fish from @p0rcelain-b0yy. Panic from katiesimrell is coming down the back stairs, with @phantasmaghosti's Ahlysaaria leaning on the beam at the top and @milkfreaker's Apollon peering over the railing. Jhansra from @void-star and Jibril from Mothley_Cruee are conversing at the other background table.

Sliding over to the bar next!

On the bottom left @milkfreaker's Midra and TheKrakenSovereign's Nyhmmendra are facing the band. Behind them is @hoivess's dragonborn trio, Lucille Abdiel, Des Delos, and Saoirse Hymsong. In the back is @staggbones Pelaios Dretche with @shheep's Acorn, facing the card table. On the right side of the table is @corpsetype's Ciaran and snobsi's Yvon. Sitting at the car in front of them is @sysunknown's Riza D'aerthe, @noumios's Thyris "Euphoria" Dharvir, and @voltaical-art's Bishop. (Featuring the back of my own Vigor's head to fill in as bartender.)

Looking up real quick we have our acrobats!

Estrella the Radiant from @getetteroo and Smiles from @ahauntedcafe!

Last section!!

In the bottom left @hildamistwater's Yevgeniy Kuznetsov is passing a drink up to Ashara from canzadrine. Cansu from semageon is at the keg behind them. Ezra Deschain from @unkledeath is walking towards the back where bottles are being retrieved from, as iluvhisoka's Kaz departs with one on the left and @mollfie's Zinadove approaches with one. Parashy's Pebble sits on the step and looks on as argonlights's Loren celebrates and @lhtiriekko chills a bottle in the back.

Unless I mismarked my spreadsheet, that should be everyone!! Happy Artfight everyone, I hope you enjoyed our post-game party here in the Elfsong, even if you got where's waldo'd!

[balanchine-ballet-master]

The Story of the Original "Tea" Dancer

There was a delightful story in the Times on February 4th about George Lee, on whom Balanchine created the Tea variation in The Nutcracker. Here it is.

From Ballet to Blackjack, a Dance Pioneer’s Amazing Odyssey

George Lee was the original Tea in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.” A documentary filmmaker found him and a lost part of ballet history in Las Vegas.

By Siobhan Burke Feb. 4, 2024

Among the blaring lights and all-hours amusements of downtown Las Vegas, in a sea of slot machines at the Four Queens Hotel and Casino, George Lee sits quietly at a blackjack table, dealing cards eight hours a day, five days a week, a job he’s been doing for more than 40 years.

Lee, 88, was likely in his usual spot when the filmmaker Jennifer Lin was sifting through old photos at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in 2022, wondering what had become of a dancer with a notable place in ballet history. Pictured in a publicity shot for the original production of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” in the role known as Tea, was a young Asian dancer identified as George Li.

For Lin, a veteran newspaper reporter turned documentarian, the picture raised intriguing questions. In 1954, when the photo was taken, it was rare to see dancers of color on the stage of New York City Ballet, the company Balanchine co-founded. Who was this young man, this breaker of racial barriers, this pioneer? Was he still alive? And if so, what was he up to? “I became absolutely obsessed with trying to find out what happened to George Li,” Lin said in a video interview.

In just over a year, that obsession has blossomed into a short film, “Ten Times Better,” that chronicles the unexpected story of Lee’s life: from his childhood in 1940s Shanghai, where his performing career began; to a refugee camp in the Philippines, where he fled with his mother, a Polish ballet dancer, in 1949; to New York City and the School of American Ballet, where Balanchine cast him in “The Nutcracker” to “Flower Drum Song” on Broadway, his first of many musical theater gigs; and ultimately, to Las Vegas, where he left dance for blackjack dealing in 1980. (He changed the spelling of his last name in 1959, when he became a United States citizen.)

The film will have its premiere on Feb. 10 as part of the Dance on Camera Festival at Film at Lincoln Center. Lee, who last visited New York in 1993, will be in town for the occasion, an opportunity for long-overdue recognition.

“So many years I haven’t done ballet,” Lee said over coffee at the Four Queens on a recent Sunday, after his shift. “And then suddenly Jennifer comes and tries to bring everything up. To me, it was like a shock.”

George Lee today. He has been a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas for more than 40 years. Photo: Saeed Rahbaran for The New York Times

But Lin’s interest has been welcome. “Jennifer is so perfect, she knows exactly everything,” he said. “She knows my background more than I do.”

Lin was not the only one who had been searching for Lee. In 2017, while organizing an exhibition on “The Nutcracker,” Arlene Yu, who worked for the New York Public Library at the time and is now Lincoln Center’s head archivist, was puzzled by the relatively few traces of him in the library’s vast dance collection.

“I think I’d tracked him down to 1961, but after that, it was really hard to find anything,” she said. “Whereas if you look at some of his peers in ‘The Nutcracker’ in 1954, they went on to careers where there was a lot more documentation.”

Lin’s fascination with Lee emerged through her work on another film, about Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin, the founders of Final Bow for Yellowface, an initiative focused on ending offensive depictions of Asians in ballet. The role of Tea, a divertissement historically rife with such stereotypes—in Balanchine’s canonical version of “The Nutcracker” and others—has been a flashpoint in those efforts. Chan, too, had been struck by the 1954 images of “The Nutcracker,” which he came across during a library fellowship in 2020.

“I’m like, wait, there’s actually a Chinese guy,” he said — as opposed to a non-Chinese dancer with the saffron makeup or heavily painted eyes or even the artificial buck teeth worn in some old productions. “Who is this guy? And why do I not know about him?”

The "Tea" variation in The Nutcracker at City Ballet in 2015. The dancers are Ralph Ippolito, Claire Von Enck, and Baily Jones. Photo: Andrea Mohin for The New York Times

Lee, in his heyday, was a dancer to know. At just 12, he was already winning public praise. In a preview of a recital of the King-Yanover School in Shanghai, the North China Daily News called him an “extremely promising young Chinese boy, whose technique is of a very high standard.” A reviewer wrote that he “already may be said to be the best Chinese interpreter of Western ballet.” (Lee saved these newspaper clippings and shared them with Lin when they eventually met.)

Born in Hong Kong in 1935, Lee moved to Shanghai with his mother in 1941, when Shanghai was under Japanese occupation. During World War II, his father, a Chinese acrobat, was in Kunming in western China; he died in an accident on his way to visit Lee in 1945.

Lee’s mother, Stanislawa Lee, who had danced with the Warsaw Opera, was his first ballet teacher; as a child, he would follow along with her daily barre exercises. Shanghai had a significant Russian population, and with that a robust ballet scene. To earn money, Stanislawa arranged for her son to perform in nightclubs—“like a polka dance, or Russian dance, or sailor dance,” Lee said. The clubs would pay them in rice.

Little George Li in his Shanghai days. Photo: George Lee private collection via the NY Times

Fearing the Chinese Communist Party’s takeover in 1949, the two evacuated to the Philippines. An expected four months as refugees turned into two years. In 1951, an American friend of Lee’s father sponsored them to come to New York, where he introduced Lee to the School of American Ballet, City Ballet’s affiliated school.

As Lee narrates these twists and turns in the film, one memory anchors his recollections. Before they immigrated, his mother issued a warning. “You are going to America, it’s all white people, and you better be 10 times better,” he recalls her saying. “Remember that: 10 times better!”

The footage of Lee in his 20s suggests he took that advice to heart. In television appearances — with the company of the ballet star André Eglevsky, and in a number from “Flower Drum Song” on the Ed Sullivan Show — his power and precision dazzle.

“He was good; he was really good,” Chan said. “Clean fifth, high jump, polished turns, stick the landing—the training is all there. He’s already 10 times better than everybody else.”

In a 1979 interview heard in the film, the former City Ballet soloist Richard Thomas, who took over the role of Tea, raves about Lee’s peerless acrobatic jumps: “He was wonderful! Balanchine choreographed a variation for him that none of us have ever been able to equal.”

As Lee remembers it, Balanchine spent 15 minutes with him in the studio. “He said, ‘What can you do good? Show me what you can do good,’ so I show him something,” Lee said. “I did things like splits and double turns, down and up, turn again like a ball, and that’s it. He picked up some things and put them together.”

George Li as a student at the School of American Ballet. Photo: George Lee private collection via the NY Times

He recalled that during a “Nutcracker” dress rehearsal, the City Ballet makeup artist put him in full yellowface, and Balanchine insisted he take off the makeup. “He is Asian enough! Why do you make him more?” he remembers Balanchine saying. Lee was costumed in the Fu Manchu mustache, queue ponytail and rice paddy hat often associated with the role, now widely critiqued as racist caricatures. But he said he didn’t take offense. “Dancing is dancing,” he said.

Lee performed in “The Nutcracker” as a student; he was never invited to join City Ballet. But he clearly excelled in his classes and onstage. For that, he credits his strong foundation of Russian training in China — and his mother’s exacting standards. He can still see her standing in the studio doorway at the School of American Ballet, observing closely.

“She was watching the class and then would go home and tell me, ‘You did this wrong or that wrong, you got to do it this way,’” he said. “So I really worked hard, and I was good.” (His favorite teacher at the school was the demanding Anatole Oboukhoff: “He always wanted more, and that’s why I liked him very much.”)

To make a living Lee turned to musical theater, performing in shows like “Baker Street” on Broadway and the cabaret “Carol Channing with her 10 Stout-Hearted Men,” which opened in London. He pieced together jobs for more than 20 years, often unsure of what would come next.

Lee in flight in a production of “Flower Drum Song” in Las Vegas in the early 1960s. Photo: George Lee personal collection via the NY Times

He was dancing in a Vegas revue, “Alcazar de Paris,” now in his 40s, when a blackjack dealer friend suggested he go to dealer school. “I can’t dance all my life,” he remembers thinking. He decided to give dealing a try and soon landed a job at the Four Queens. Aside from four years at another casino, he has worked there ever since.

In December 2022, he got a voice mail message from Lin. With her reporting skills and some crucial assists from Yu, she had determined that he lived in Las Vegas. Of the five phone numbers she found for George Lees, four led nowhere; his was the last she tried.

When they finally connected, she put her other project on hold to focus on his story; she and her small creative team had a final cut by November. “George is 88, and I wanted him to be able to enjoy this moment, where people recognize him for his dancing,” she said.

As he prepares to return to New York, Lee said he felt gratified, most of all, for his mother.

“I’m proud for her that I didn’t let her down,” he said. “It makes me feel better to look up at her and say: ‘Look, mother, now you see what’s happening, what you did for me. You gave me all the good foundation, everything. Through you, I’m here now.’”

George Lee today. Photo: Saeed Rahbaran for The New York Times

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

BBC Reveals Release Date And New Pictures For New Crime Drama Rebus

Rebus, a new crime series based on the best-selling Inspector Rebus novels by Ian Rankin, will launch on Friday 17 May, the BBC has announced. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am, with episode one airing on BBC Scotland on Friday 17 May and on BBC One on Saturday 18 May.

Written for the screen by Gregory Burke (’71, Six Four), Rebus reimagines the iconic character John Rebus as a younger Detective Sergeant, drawn into a violent criminal conflict that turns personal when his brother Michael, a former soldier, crosses the line.

New pictures released by the BBC show Richard Rankin (Outlander, The Replacement) in the titular role, Brian Ferguson (The Ipcress File, Spanish Princess) as John’s brother, Michael, and Lucie Shorthouse (Line of Duty, Ten Percent) as Rebus’s investigation partner, Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke.

Previously announced cast also include Amy Manson (The Nevers, The Diplomat), Neshla Caplan (The Rig, Scot Squad), Noof Ousellam (Vigil, Guilt), Stuart Bowman (The Serpent, Bodyguard), Caroline Lee Johnson (Trying, Ridley), Sean Buchanan (Censor, Mary Queen of Scots), Thoren Ferguson (The Midwich Cuckoos) and Michelle Duncan (Baptise, Elizabeth is Missing).

Shaken after a violent encounter with gangster Ger Cafferty, Edinburgh detective John Rebus finds himself at a psychological crossroads. At odds with a job increasingly driven by corporate technocrats, involved in a toxic affair he knows he needs to end, and all but supplanted in his daughter’s life by his ex-wife’s wealthy new husband, Rebus begins to wonder if he still has a role to play – either as a family man or a police officer.

In a time of divisive politics and national discord, Rebus’s ex-soldier brother Michael, who’s broke, desperately crosses the line in order to provide for his family, and Rebus starts to question if the law still has meaning, or if everyone is reverting to an older set of rules. And if so, why shouldn’t he do so too?

Rebus (6x45’) is written by Gregory Burke and is adapted from the best-selling novels by Ian Rankin. The six-part series is directed by Niall MacCormick (Complicit, The Victim, Wallander) and Fiona Walton (Shetland, Annika) and is produced by Angela Murray. Eleventh Hour Films’ Paula Cuddy, Jill Green and Eve Gutierrez are the Executive Producers of the series, alongside Tomas Axelsson and Isabelle Hultén for Viaplay, director Niall MacCormick, writer Gregory Burke and author Ian Rankin. Rebus is produced by Eleventh Hour Films and is distributed internationally by Viaplay Content Distribution. This production of Rebus was supported by Screen Scotland.

Image credits

Header image: Still from Rebus showing Richard Rankin as John Rebus, courtesy of the BBC.

Image 1: Rebus poster, courtesy of the BBC

Image 2: Still from Rebus showing Lucie Shorthouse and Richard Rankin as Siobhan Clarke and John Rebus, courtesy of the BBC

Image 3: Still from Rebus showing Brian Ferguson and Richard Rankin as Michael and John Rebus, courtesy of the BBC

SCREEN SCOTLAND SGRÌN ALBA

Posted 1st May 2024

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (3-9 Dec 2023)

just fucking spatchcocked him

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #2) (Claudia Gray, author; Billie Fulford-Brown, narrator) - another perfectly serviceable, decently entertaining historical cozy mystery feat. Austen characters and their progeny. Plot's pretty basic but it's still cute to see Jonathan Darcy (autistic king) and Juliette Tilney (mom's adventure sense, dad's common sense) solving murders again. The 'obstacles' to their romance are typical for a series like this but still annoying [tbh in more deft hands they might be more angsty and less annoying but it is what it is]

😍 The Charming Man (Zenaidamacrouras1, author; Late_to_party_81, artist) - 65K, shrinkyclinks no powers AU - just a delightful fic with adorable art (TEXTILE ART!) - I'll let the author's summary speak for itself: "Tldr: Steve has an eventful three weeks. Longer version: Steve Rogers is quite happy with his pleasantly simple life working as a graphic designer, chatting with his best friend Sam who has the desk next to his, eating the same gluten free sandwich for lunch every day, and staring out his office window hoping to catch a glimpse of The Charming Man walking by. Unfortunately, life has a tendency to get complicated without our permission, particularly when Steve begins to suspect that a certain evil corporation is doing criminal things that decidedly grate on his nerves." Great banter/hilarious lines - even the secondary characters get great lines plus some fine quality angst.

😍 Proper English (England World #1) (KJ Charles, author; Bella Lowe, narrator) - reread, love love love. The origin story of fluffy Fen & practical Pat getting together and solving a country house murder.

😍 Think Of England (England World #2) (KJ Charles, author; Tom Carter, narrator) - reread. Another country house mystery featuring blackmail and treason being resolved by Daniel Da Silva (poet & spy) and Archie Curtis (blond viking himbo, about to have a gay awakening) with secondary but crucial support from Fen & Pat

😊 Lessons In Chemistry (Brenda) - 42K, stucky no powers college AU - I’m not often in the mood for a college AU but this hit the spot

💖💖 +46K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Cupid's Rugby Ball (softestpunk) - The Sandman: Dreamling, 5K - h/c meet cute with instalove, as is only correct for this pairing 😆

you'll never be blue ([currently anonymous]) - The Cabots (Cat Sebastian): Peter/Caleb, 3K - "Caleb and Peter, adjusting to living together." Perfectly captured the character voices! {written for the Fic In A Box 2023 exchange, authors not yet revealed}

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

D20: Fantasy High: Sophomore Year - e4-7

Dirty Laundry - s3, e7

D20: Burrow's End - "Evolution and Revolution" (s20, e10)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Welcome to the Honk Honk Club" (s15, e10)

Dimension 20 Interview: Siobhan Thompson Talks Jaysohn's Near Death In Burrow's End & Fantasy High

Doctor Who: The Star Beast (2023 special #1)

Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (2023 special #2)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

⭐ Welcome to Night Vale #239 - Sister Cities: Vermillion Falls

What Next: TBD - They See You When You’re Shopping

Desert Island Discs - Lea Salonga, singer and actor

⭐ The Sporkful - Rise Of The Foodie Bro (The Year In Food 2023)

Cautionary Tales - The Dunning Kruger Hijack (and Other Criminally Stupid Acts)

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Julia Gets Wise with Amy Tan

Vibe Check - Nostalgia, Ultra

99% Invisible #562 - Breaking Down The Power Broker (with Conan O'Brien)

Endless Thread - "Extremely Online" with Taylor Lorenz

Ologies with Alie Ward - Syndesiology (CONNECTIONS) with James Burke

NPR's Book of the Day - Norman Lear's memoir recalls a life and career that shaped American television

Cautionary Tales - Demonizing Dungeons & Dragons

⭐ Switched on Pop - Hear the Year: The music we loved in 2023

One Year - 1990: Bush vs. Broccoli

Song Exploder - Raye - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake)

Today, Explained - Get the lead out

What Next: TBD - Spotify Unwrapped

Today, Explained - Are movies too long now?

Dear Prudence - My Friend Won’t Stop Buying Me Gifts. Help!

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Super Museum

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Fred Schneider

Strong Songs - The Band: The Last Waltz

Endless Thread - What Is That?!

⭐ Cautionary Tales - How the Radium Girls Fought Back

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

'90s R&B Girl Groups

Presenting Etta James

Pop Motivation

Victoria Monét

Troye Sivan

Laufey

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

Honestly, Randall should've expected this; that Emily would want to help him-it was that big, beautiful heart of hers hard at work again, wanting to make his life a little easier where she could, especially given how packed his proverbial plate was (which, given how many projects Minnie was heaping on him with the wedding approaching fast, was very). As such, Randall smiled to his bride-to-be and thanked her with a kiss to her cheek, and so he got to work.

Needless to say, having a second set of hands on deck made the work go a lot smoother, to say nothing of having somebody to talk to while they packed-honestly, telling Emily about some of the items found in the cedar chest, their histories, and the memories attached to them made the melancholy that came with the notion of moving a little less heavy.

"...that's, uh, that's my ma's parents, August and Josephine Burke," he said shyly; one of the albums had opened up when he'd dropped it, and so he took a moment to show her some of the pictures within (hoping a little that he hadn't already shown her them in the future-though he supposed the trip down might not completely hurt Emily's feelings). "A-And these are my pa's parents, Cillian and Siobhan Pace, a-and my pa's brothers, Colin and Callahan."

[joannanora]

From when Viaplay announced the Rebus project I thought that Richard would be perfect!

Ian Rankin’s immensely popular detective, Inspector John Rebus, is set for a major reimagining in the form of a six-part series from streamer Viaplay and Eleventh Hour Films.

Set in contemporary Edinburgh, and drawn from the universe of Rankin’s books, the series places Rebus at the heart of a new story devised by screenwriter Gregory Burke (“Entebbe,” play “Gagarin Way”). The show represents Viaplay Group’s initial U.K. drama commission and the first Rebus TV adaptation for nearly 15 years.

In the drama, Rebus is in his 30s, recently divorced and demoted to Detective Sergeant. He has a new colleague, Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke, and is struggling to deal with the changes in his personal and professional life. At the same time, Rebus’s daughter, Sammy, and ex-wife, Rhona, are enjoying an affluent existence with Rhona’s new partner – while Rebus’s brother Michael is finding out that in a society where the gaps between the haves and have-nots keep widening, taking shortcuts to provide for your family is no longer a temptation, but a necessity.

The bestselling Inspector Rebus books have sold 30 million copies and been translated into 36 languages, with fan bases in the U.K., US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Turkey and Finland. Four series of “Rebus” were produced for ITV, with the last one airing in 2007. There have also been radio and stage adaptations.

The principal cast and director of the new production will be revealed imminently, and filming is set to begin in spring 2023. Planned as a returning series, the show is produced by Eleventh Hour Films, with Jill Green, Paula Cuddy and Eve Gutierrez as executive producers, and with Isabelle Hultén and Tomas Axelsson as executive producers for Viaplay Group. Rankin and Burke will also serve as executive producers

Rankin said: “I’m hugely excited at the thought of Rebus returning to our screens and it’s a privilege to have Gregory Burke write the scripts. I’ve been a fan since ‘Gagarin Way’ and know that he understands the world of Rebus and the compelling central character. I’m chuffed to bits that Viaplay and Eleventh Hour are involved in this groundbreaking endeavour and I can’t wait to share the results.”

Filippa Wallestam, Viaplay Group CCO, said: “Ian Rankin is a global storytelling phenomenon, and partnering to reimagine Rebus for a new generation of viewers is a remarkable way for Viaplay to take the U.K. stage. This ambitious series will explore family, morality and class in British society through an exciting and emotionally charged story, set against the Edinburgh landmarks that Rankin’s readers know so well. Together with Gregory Burke and the team at Eleventh Hour Films, we will create an unforgettable show with Scottish roots, international appeal and universal themes.”

Jill Green, Eleventh Hour Films CEO, added: “Ian Rankin and Gregory Burke are the dream duo. They will ensure that ‘Rebus’ delivers in a truly authentic, exciting and fresh way. For Eleventh Hour Films, Viaplay and Scotland, this project feels like great timing.”

Viaplay launched in the U.K. Nov. 1. The U.K. launch takes Viaplay’s direct-to-consumer footprint to 11 countries, with the U.S. and Canada to follow in early 2023.

[endlessly-cursed]

hp women appreciation week, day two; favourite women that are not mine

agata della rovere; she's such an interesting and multi-layered and complex woman, I was besotted with her the moment I saw her @potionboy3

gaia alden; I know she remains a mystery but she's my emmie's descendant and i'm also in love with the concept of her and olympia (make them a couple challenge!!!) @cursed-herbalist

verna malinda; the first character of gryff that I met and I fell for. She's brave, tragic, heroic, and like me, one useless lesbian. I love her and she remains in my loml list @gaygryffindorgal

astraea mckenzie; she's beauty, she's grace, she's my baby and bestest girl of the founder's era. I fell in love with her and she remains a fav of this era ♥ @magicallymalted

ava campbell: reading book two of tpr made me fall for ava quickly: reckless, badass, with a strong sense of justice and one of the strongest characters of the saga, ava is a well-developed and written character and i can't wait to dive into her stuff @lifeofkaze

ophelia burke; she's such an interesting character, and the true embodiment of abba's 'money money money'. She's cunning, smart and knows how to play the game, and i can't wait to see the last part of symphony @the-al-chemist

brianna o'rourke; she's an underrated baby, someone i highly relate to and her character alone without her li is so interesting and fun to read! A comfort character of mine @unfortunate-arrow

virginia scott; another underrated b!tch, she's literally what i aspire to be someday, not to mention an instant crush and fav, she deserves to be in this list @slytherindisaster

adelia selwyn; a crush of mine before i came into the fandom (and later inspired me to join it!) Her beauty matches her intellect and she's one of the most all-time iconic women of the era. This legend is worthy to be here @thatravenpuffwitch

siobhan llewellyn; ofc shiv should be here!!! she was another of the inspos to join here and one of the first ocs i interacted, as well as her owners. She's badass, with a soft side, funny and witty, same goes for her owner 🤍 @kc-and-co

odette bellerose; yet another underrated baby, she's literally living my dream: live in marseille in a big ass mansion in late victorian england. she's such a complex and interesting character, she deserves to be here @kathrynalicemc

miriam cairncross; of our brokencross universe, miriam was the first lady i was introduced to and she was an instant fav!! She always shows that she's not just eli's wife and is interesting in her own right. She deserves to be here as well @cursebreakerfarrier

mathilde coventry; a recent one, she's such a badass as well! Poisoning her way through everything and ofc her special relationship with my bruna is one of the best girls out there @camillejeaneshphm

abbi bennett; ofc i had to put my wife here! She's one of the best characters, and alongside roxie, is a fav of mine. I'm forever thankful that you chose her to be ernest's wife 💜 @mjs-oc-corner

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: Rice Krispie Treats in a Plastic Tube, and Other Dances by Siobhan Burke

By Siobhan Burke In her funny and fidgety way, the choreographer Michelle Ellsworth presents new works that probe the uses and limits of language and movement. Published: November 10, 2023 at 01:41PM from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/wBYhyTz via IFTTT

[chartshow88]

THIS IS JUST MY VIEW OF STUFF PLAYED ON CHART SHOW DONT TAKE IT SERRIOUS SOME OF ITS GOOD SOME OF IT BAD SOME OF IT REAL GOOD U WILL KNOW thanks to archive.org sort of full year minus one Febuary one from 19th and most of June to final episode in September JJanuarys dates are 8th 15th 22nd 29th introduction Ok chart show had specialist charts Dance Album Heavy metal and indie and a top ten on a Friday night starting with two half hour shows to start with screaming blue messiahs i wanna be Fred Finstone by the band name total cack EXCLUSIVE Yabba dabba do time with this bald you know what {bill carter} telling u its the 2nd song from there album bikini red and be in U K in February on info First ever special chart DANCE p=played n v no video 10 mau jocks and jock rmaster jock mix 1 n v 9 public enemy bring n v 8 jellybean elissia fiorillo who found who 7 sinita gto 6 wally jump jnr tighten up 5 rick astley when i fall inlove 4 jellybean jingo p rewind too 1st 3 michel jackson way u make me feel 2 krush house arrest 1 joyce sims come into p what about number 5 not even dance or RNB best song top ten jelly bean who found who number 4 is just worst one they did cos its start of song u can tell there gonna play number 4 Krush house arrest {N2} avoided like the plauge and the number one was first time it was shown not EXCLUSIVE though Info Joyce sims was discovered in a hamburger joint on her lunch break info said and for the songs coming to top ten jellybean Jingo joyce sims Krush {where already there top ten with M J} too Dance new release Gladys Knight Love over board info said she started singing at age of four in a baptist church and won a Talent contest aged 7 and with latest album the band been together for 35 years my fave from her is out 89 her bond movie theme for sure AND YOU KNOW AM GOING STRAIGHT FOR YOUR HEART LICENCE TO KILL that's I T V chart show years 1989 went off channel four end of September 88 after march 86 till September 88 on C 4 and had to come off tv 86 as music video people where not getting no moneys {the artists themselves} {nothing like I T V Roxy going off tv between 87 November to December but yeah} but the Knight song not too bad either Then a Pause in show EXCLUSIVE BANANARAMA I CANT HELP IT After Siobhan Fahey from Shakespeare sister left to have a baby they added Jacquie o Sullivan joined them {after love in the first degree left cos she was with baby Mrs Fahay} and wouldn't have a hit till 1989 august with your history with said band {Shakespeare sister} bit too much like the rest of there 1988 stuff {i want u back} and 1987's {love in the first degree} they use the same guys they black up in video too {i want u back} anyway the best of the two of 88 for me my fave one I T V chart show years with help of the 3 comedians French Saunders And Burke {Help} Listed as Lananeeneenoonoo {french and saunders where already in top ten this week with moyets song too Loveletters} and with this song captivated by your Honey and where in in Guinness book of records for most successful female group at the time taken from there album wow back to back 3 songs one artist Pretenders Stop your sobbing never heard this one before i saw this show so lets move along done by the Kinks and there debut record INFO Chrissie quit her job at N M E and sung different bands in 1974 none of them made any impact till the pretenders came along Back on the chain gang now this one I do know performed it when radio 2 did COVID concert's and at Glastonbury this year avoided Brass in pocket too Info there only number one was brass in pocket {third single and she wasn't keen on it at the time}and there debut album the pretenders was also a number one

Hymn to her my fave so sweet the words too it not played though went for Don't get me wrong out in 86 top ten few weeks info recording there fifth studio album and January 15th back to back Echo and the bunny man boo stand by for the stranglers the chart file update shinade o conner inxterrence t trent d erby fergal sharkey morris minor and the majors end of part one part two half an hour later the stranglers all day and all the night info covering the kinks of course in 1964 13 years together and there 28th consecutive hit new album called all live and all of the night released on valentines day absolute rubbish top ten next few weeks though chart file update good luck with these ones AJ they give u top tens and then play one song for 40 seconds nm non mover d down u up p played u up n new entry rock Indie album 10 nm Gaye bikers on acid all hung up d Nina Simone my baby d paul mc all the best 9 d def leopard hysteria n the smiths William n the christians self titled album 8 nm foreigner say u will n j a m m down d t pau bridge of spy's 7 d Whitesnake here i go nm Barmy army sharp n wet wet wet popped in 6 n acdc heatseaker p n cookie crew rock n fleetwood tango 5 d megadeath wake up dead d g clail reality n psb actually 4 d heart theres the girl u suger cubes Birthday d v a hits 7 3 d antrhax i'm the man d the smithes last night nm m j bad 2 nm kiss reason to live n dpeche mode behind the wheel p n rick whenever 1 u cher I found someone nmnew order touched by the hand of god n va now 10 play squeze hour glass few dance songs indie chart PN6} and the rnb Nina simone done the album chart as first one 88 new release Indie Shinade o conner MANDEKA Info from Dublin and her second single from album the lion and the cobra and shaved her hair cos the record company told her to keep it long Another star we lost too soon prob my fave song played this week here but her number one was the best {Nothing compares to you} the chart show singles chart the fastest chart on your screens 4 hours from release comes up new release Fergal sharkey new love from undertones to this band his biggest hit was a good heart and two month later start 87 you little thief sung it on a plane on tv no noise at all lol this offering not so good info recording new album for 18 months in USA and rolling stones Keith Richards plays guitar on this New release Inxs new sensation my fave inxs one is never tear us apart quite good this one though Info the band love skate boarding in america and christian hossi american board champ wanted tickets new release TTD sign your name the only time they play this one even though in top ten a lot maybe him nude top half getting beat up gang style end video or what the songs about fave song wishing well was 87 info tipped to win B P I award for best international artist top ten they 5 or ten seconds of song then rewind to one or more songs 10 d m j way you 9 d pouges fairy 8 n jellybean jingo 7 d a moyet loveletters 6 n wet angel eyes 5 u morris minor p 4 n cher found 3 n Krush house 2 d psb always 1 u belinda heaven info n 5 causing a stir in america 3 comedians been round for years absolute dog u know what should have gone n 4 n 6 or n 3 and kinda played in full just absolute dog meat Ok the number 1 after the go go's her debut single was heaven is a place on earth pretty good tune and iconic 80's for sure would go onb to be there for a while {most January too} Info video directed by Diane keaten and features morgen mason her husband son of actor James Mason the go go's had ten top ten hits in america ok it just said the chart show was 530 and 630 back in day {very nice} and to vote for your fave song in number 1 magazine all about eves cold hearted women was last one played in full next week more indie for ones that forgot on totp they where live {marthas harbour} credits and played for 2 mins brought to u by video visuals stop and eject first show done yay will post more reviews in time hope u enjoyed it if u didn't good https://archive.org/details/the-chart-show-s-3e-01-1988-01-08 theres the link

[smallpressdistribution]

"While a dance, like a life, must end, it’s nice, when it’s over, to have something to hold in your hands." -Siobhan Burke, The New York Times. 

You too can hold Mariana Valencia's "Album", out now from Wendy's Subway, in your hands. We promise you'll look like a sophisticated Nytimes critic on her way home from a modern dance solo show.

[binsofchaos]

5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Music for Dance

Reggae, house, step, ballet, tap, jazz: 

Listen to the sounds that have inspired great choreographers.

What I love about dance music is that it can be anything. It can be a piece that inspires me to choreograph a ballet for the stage, or something that causes me to glide in synchronized rhythm around my kitchen as I prepare dinner. It’s all fair game.

- Justin Peck

[unfortunate-arrow]

Day 5: Female Awesomeness

For @endlessly-cursed’s Hogwarts Legacy Appreciation Week

For this, I picked a bunch of amazing ladies who represent different iterations of their houses. However, I want to give a shout out to these three amazing girls: Ivy Anders, Josie Edwards, and Lottie Gallagher, who each let one of my boys (Max, William, and Grant, respectively) love them.

Hufflepuff

Featuring:

Ivy Anders - @kc-and-co

Liore Harewood - @cursebreakerfarrier

Vinnie Wakefield - @gaygryffindorgal

Estrid Soelberg - @thatravenpuffwitch

Josie Edwards - @slytherindisaster

Ravenclaw

Featuring:

Primrose Gray - @endlessly-cursed

Mira Iverach - @cursebreakerfarrier

Minerva Kennedy

Genevieve Davenport - @gaygryffindorgal

Siobhan Llewelyn - @kc-and-co

Gryffindor

Featuring:

Lottie Gallagher - @slytherindisaster

Unni Arcano - @kathrynalicemc

Ethel Hexley - @the-al-chemist

Selene Fraser - @lifeofkaze (because like the Gryffindorks, you rarely get one without the other)

Saoirse Adelia Lynch - Tadhg & Niamh‘s daughter

Slytherin

Featuring:

Orla O’Rourke

Ophelia Burke - @the-al-chemist

Cecilia Balinor - @endlessly-cursed

Brianna O’Rourke