#telephone operator

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Photograph Collection

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (C&P Telephone) Photograph Collection. 1954

[chaoticdesertdweller]

[misforgotten2]

Switch broad. I mean board, switch board.

People Weekly   October   28th 1974

[mostlysignssomeportents]

I am Very Bad At Visual Art, but godDAMN I find making these silly collages soothing and fun.

From “End to End.”

[Image ID: A room full of telephone operators at a switchboard; their heads have been replaced with hacker-in-a-hoodie heads. On the wall behind them is a poster ad for Facebook with the slogan, 'Find Your Facebook Group.' Atop the switchboard stands a small elephant with a bite taken out of its back.]

Felix Andrews/CC BY-SA 3.0 (modified)

[stone-cold-groove]

Kinds of telephones.

[todaysdocument]

Photograph of Women Working at a Bell System Telephone Switchboard

Record Group 86: Records of the Women's BureauSeries: Women Working In Industry

This black and white photograph from 1943 shows a wall of telephone equipment.  A line of about two dozen women telephone operators wearing headsets sit before the equipment connecting calls with wires that they plug into various exchange receptacles.  Two other women are standing behind the line of seated women, also working.  One is handing a note to a seated operator while another is talking into a headset.  Small plates with the name of a city on each are placed above the telephone exchanges at regular intervals.  Above the equipment is a sign listing cities in North and South America.

[thatsbelievable]

[byler-alarmist]

A real gem from the Mike Playlist on Spotify

Telephone operator Why can't I see you later Telephone operator Why can't I see you later Tell me, is it wine That makes things so fine Or is it 'cos you're mine Telephone operator You're my aural stimulator Telephone operator Ne c'est pas la raison d'etre Tell me, is it love That I feel because You're all I'm thinking of Telephone operator Phone you up an hour later Telephone operator Phoned you up an hour later Tell me, is it love That I'm in because I'm only thinking of you Telephone operator

Byler Analysis: Mike’s phone calls.

This analysis is going over why Mike’s phone calls were, without a doubt, for Will. Bylers have been talking about this for months now, but I’ve compiled all the evidence I could find. 

So, to start us off… 

Hawkin’s Lab is owned by the ‘Department of Energy’, which according to Mike, Ted has said is Government/The Military. 

In S1, the main antagonists in regard to Hawkins Lab were Connie Frazier and Dr. Brenner. However, by the season finale, Connie was killed by Eleven and Dr. Brenner’s status was unknown.

With the two of them out of the way, we are introduced to Dr. Sam Owens in S2. 

Now, whether or not Owens is truly trustworthy or not is a whole other can of worms, but for the sake of this analysis, we will follow his introduction as an ally to the Byers-Hoppers. He was the primary doctor looking after Will and investigating what was going on with him when he was possessed by the Mindflayer. S2 concludes by letting us know that Owens has pulled some strings to give Eleven a new identity and thus a new life: that of JANE HOPPER. 

Owens recommends to Hopper that Eleven should lay low for about a year before living freely, as a PRECAUTION (since, like he said before, ‘those people’ aka the bad ones, are gone), but overall, things are safe enough that Owens even approves of Hopper letting Eleven go to the Snow Ball. 

S3 starts in June 1985, about six months after S2, which means Eleven’s year of laying low isn’t done yet. But since Owens is in charge of the lab, Eleven and Mike can call on the phone. We also see them using walkie-talkies, so I’m assuming that they don’t call that often as a precaution as well, but they can do it as long as it’s not too frequent. 

It is important to note that the lab was not the main antagonist in neither S2 nor S3 (It was the Mindflayer & Russians respectively). 

Eleven can even afford to go out a couple of times to the mall with Max without consequence at all. It isn’t until things get bad enough with the ‘flesh flayer’ that the military immediately steps in to cover it all up (and despite their best efforts, the town is still suspicious). 

Owens is FIRED at the end of S3 as a consequence of the mall “fire”. This is significant because it means that he no longer holds the power to protect Eleven. Still, he managed to use his contacts (which include allies like Ellen, Wallace, and Hamon) to relocate Eleven + the Byers to Lenora and look after them very discretely. 

Because of this plan, Eleven is safe in Lenora enough to go out and have a life as Jane Hopper. However, that plan does NOT include calling Hawkins as that would be FAR TOO RISKY. 

She cannot call or be called from Hawkins as it is no longer just a precaution, like when Owens recommended Eleven to lay low for a year, just in case. Now, her staying away from Hawkins (which includes calling there since the phone-lines are tapped) is a NECESSITY for her long-term survival since the cover story is that ‘Eleven is dead’.

Powell’s call about Chrissy’s murder is enough to immediately summon Sullivan to investigate and pin the murders on Eleven. He even tells Owens that there are rumors of her being alive and receiving help from the ‘inside’ aka Owens. WHICH IS TRUE. So, they’re onto Owens and ALL OF THEM require to be extra careful with calling to Hawkins. 

Mike was likely not able to talk about Eleven/Jane much during his calls with Will either.

THIS is likely why we see a walkie-talkie on Eleven’s Mike box and why Mike spoke about stealing Cerebro from Dustin at the end of S3. 

HOWEVER, because the mail system isn’t under surveillance like phone lines are, LETTERS were established as Mike and El’s primary method of communication. 

Whether or not Mike truly did steal Cerebro from Dustin to call El a few times, we see Cerebro at the top of Dustin’s house in what seems to be a very permanent set-up. I personally think this implies Cerebro hasn’t been moved, and their communication happened solely through letters. 

But even if, say, Mike went to visit Dustin to use Cerebro (which wasn’t established, but is within the realm of possibilities) it doesn’t change the fact that phone calls were off the table, and thus, those were for Will and Will alone. 

So, as Will himself explained, the letters were for Eleven, and phone calls were for HIM.

Which means … this was all about Mike being unable to reach WILL. 

Byler is endgame

[misforgotten2]

During slow times they practiced their phone sex skills with each other. They made more on a Saturday night than a week at Ma Bell’s.

Parents Magazine   1952

[cha0s-boyy]

cringetober day 3: oversized prop (late cuz i decided to draw a phone cord then was away for the weekend) (character uses they/them)

[ID: a cartoony digital drawing of a strange anthropomorphic character sitting on the receiver of a giant rotary phone. the character has a humanoid body with a long tapered tail and feet shaped like high heels, their head has a phone cord on the back and a rotary dial for a face/eye, and they have four extra floating hands. their fur is beige and they are wearing a red neckerchief. the giant phone is black and has the receiver in the air, facing away from the viewer at an angle. the character is sitting on the lower end of the phone receiver, facing the handle, with their arms and hands around it. they have a happy expression. the background is a warm colored gradient. /end ID]

[falsenote]

claudia cardinale's bisexual husband nino castelnuovo.... yes god

[bonefall]

How many cats have do you think have invoked a dark forest spirit for their boons?

Channeled-- but probably a lot. More than you'd think, and it's probably the reason that some cats are surprisingly in the Dark Forest themselves.

I plan to explain the difference when I get around to making a Dark Forest 101, but Invoking and Channeling are two very different processes

Invocation

To Invoke, you contact StarClan first to send you the cat you're seeking. "StarClan send me the strength of Stonefur. StarClan I pray that Thunderstar will serve justice."

This way, your prayer is not private. "StarClan" is aware of what you've requested, and can consider your entire life at your trial. If your request was evil or self-serving, it can be completely denied, if your prayers are benevolent, they can experience the emotion with you and amplify their collective power.

I like to joke with myself that it's usually like, "Operator get me Grandma I forgot what spice she puts in her soup 💀"

Channeling

Is direct. You're leveraging your connection to the individual spirit. A channel to them, if you will.

You will get the spirit you want, if you did it right and your connection is strong enough. For Spottedleaf and her absurdly high aptitude for spirituality, it was a success rate of nearly 100%. Though... I'm positive there is a way for the Wrong Spirit to pick up, or interrupt the call.

So, items are required for this. For Spottedleaf, tar-spot blight from sycamores worked like a charm. Batear likes bat parts. Hawkfrost goes for sparrowhawk feathers. Through simple logistics, some cats are easier to reach than others.

You can channel a StarClan Angel OR a Dark Forest Demon... but, a StarClan Angel might rat you out, so make sure you trust whoever you're trying to contact. You can't Invoke a demon, though, there is no "operator" to call.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Macy's switchboard, 1948.

Photo: Nina Leen via art.com

[gifs-of-puppets]

Sesame Street (1969-Present)

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Photograph Collection

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (C&P Telephone) Photograph Collection. 1954

[stone-cold-groove]

Wrong number? Error on your phone bill? We’ll take care of it. AT&T / Bell Telephone ad - 1973.