#the belfast school of arts

[muirneach]

i’m gonna go see my nan tomorrow and like u know i love my nan ofc but my ma says she told her i’m trans so fml this is gonna suck unbelievable ass. and like she’s actually much more accepting than my own mother and more accepting than you might expect an 87 year old belfast woman to be in general but christ i just don’t want to go over it all

[ciaraslevin]

What an opening evening! Congratulations to all @UlsterUniversity students at @belfastschoolofart on such a wonderful End of Year Degree Art & Design Show 2023; fabulously inspiring & entertaining! 🦋💀🌿🖤🎨

[crimsonscloud]

new version of my oc lore go brrr.

on the 12th hour of the first day of october 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth. this was unusual only in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day began. sir reginald hargreeves, eccentric asshole billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible. brad barrett was not one of them. (and later, he'd thank god for that.)

name: bradley barrett

nicknames: brad (preferred); walking glowstick (by five and lila); sparkler, starboy (by lila); number two (by marcus); pretty boy (by sparrow!ben); the pyromaniac (by jayme)

gender: male

date of birth: october 1, 1989

place of birth: belfast, northern ireland

hair color: dark brown

eye color: blue; gold (when using powers)

faceclaim: pascal langdale

occupation: artist

affiliation: the umbrella academy (unofficial)

relatives: erin barrett (mother)

biography (pre-canon + season one):

as a young woman living in belfast during "the troubles", erin barrett is not at all in the position to be raising a child. especially not one that she hadn't had the time to plan for. but as she rests on the floor of her apartment, a wailing baby--her son--in her arms, she cannot imagine giving him up for anything.

when a strange man called hargreeves arrives on her doorstep, asking to take her son, she slams the door in his face. it takes everything in her not to grab the monocle he's wearing and stab him in the eye with it.

what she does not know is that he has or will ask many other mothers the same question. what she fears is that soon the question might become a demand. brad spends his early years being moved about, half because of the political turmoil and half because erin is paranoid that hargreeves will come back.

(in the end, he gets seven children, and apparently that is enough for him. it does not stop erin from waking up with her heart in her throat, wondering if this will be the day she wakes to a silent house and her baby gone.)

in 2015, brad moves to an area near the city to attend art school. despite the extraordinary circumstances of their births, he meets allison hargreeves in a mundane place -- a coffee shop. one conversation turns to many. he learns that the man with the monocle his mother warned him about as a child is sir reginald hargreeves. most important, he gains a friend, and someone who can understand what it's like having grown up with superpowers.

three years later, as allison's marriage spirals into divorce, they begin to fight. she becomes distant. he lets her. as far as he can tell, they've both moved on with their lives.

so he's surprised when, seemingly out of nowhere one march day, he gets a phone call from her asking if they can talk. she tells that him hargreeves is dead, that she and her siblings have been asked to attend the funeral. she doesn't want to go alone.

while brad has little interest in attending the funeral of the man who almost stole him from his mother, something makes him go anyway. maybe it's a sense of nostalgia for a past friendship; maybe it's curiosity about the other children hargreeves stole; maybe you could even call it fate. (brad wouldn't.)

thanks to a pair of time-traveling assassins, a senior citizen in a child's body, and an impending apocalypse, his trip to the academy grounds is anything but short.

powers and abilities:

plasma manipulation: brad's core power. he can absorb thermal energy and convert it into superheated plasma.

dagger creation: brad can generate daggers made of solidified plasma. he can telekinetically guide them in a given direction or spin them around his body to deflect small projectiles. if he is stabbed by his own daggers, the energy is absorbed back into his body.

heat and light generation: brad can release stored energy as bright light and intense heat. he also has a high resistance to temperature extremes.

self healing: brad's body can heal itself if in the presence of a heat source, usually sunlight. the speed / extent depends on the amount of exposure.

superhuman sight: brad can see over greater distances and with better clarity than most, and to an extent in total darkness. he has the capability to see a person's life force / aura (and in the case of the other children born from the marigold + harlan, he can also see their marigold).

weaknesses:

darkness: brad's powers aren't infinite. spending too much time in dark areas with no access to light renders him powerless until he can recharge.

drugs: like the others, brad's powers can be subdued with drugs / alcohol. because he can self-heal, the effect is usually temporary provided he has enough energy to draw on.

emotions: being "supercharged" or using a lot of power for an extended period makes brad more prone to increased aggression or impulsiveness.

energy depletion: if brad released all of his stored energy at once, he'd pass out afterwards. holding onto large quantities of energy without immediately releasing it is also painful and physically draining.

limitations: there is an (as-yet undefined) upper limit to how much energy brad can absorb at once. if he went above this limit, his body would overheat and potentially explode.

other random facts:

a chaotic, sarcastic, many-layered-bracelets-wearing bisexual.

constantly carries a lighter, and flicks it on / off when he's stressed or just bored.

has been arrested for vandalism before.

like his original concept, brad has a bit of a drinking problem. his powers make it harder for him to actually feel intoxicated.

you know that scene from j.essica j.ones where trish sips a coffee and goes "this has alcohol in it" and jessica takes it and tells her "that's mine"? five or viktor and brad energy tbh.

he's fluent in english and irish, and also knows some phrases in latin.

he has submitted work to, and gotten into, galleries before. (do i know how this works? no.)

his body temperature is constantly warm. as a child he'd run around in the cold without a coat on; erin repeatedly told him not to do this because it increased the likelihood of him getting noticed. (did he listen? most of the time, no.)

he bleeds light when he's injured. like. his wounds glow and stuff. he still has regular blood it's just glowy. it's fascinating and also really painful if anybody other than him touches them until they heal.

his eyes also do the "reflects light in darkness" thing.

it's gonna take me ages to rewatch so i can actually write up his season two lore, but for now i'm thinking he lands in april 1963, seven months before the second apocalypse.

marcus mistakes him for the umbrellas' number two since he and viktor have kinda similar powers. nobody corrects him on it until luther is captured.

he absolutely has a scene at some point that's set to "supermassive black hole" by muse. is this important to know? no, but it's in my head.

tagging @brellafaun plus everyone who interacted with the original post! if you don't want to be tagged let me know and i'll remove you: @mrbloodbender @dis-ast3r @jasshands @beesknees18 @justsomeonenoonecaresabout @aetherbound

[f1ghtsoftly]

All The Women’s News You Missed Last Week:

9/9/24-9/16/24

US Reproductive Rights:

The Young Woman Making Kamala Harris’ Strongest Case on Abortion Rights

A judge strikes down North Dakota’s abortion ban and rules that access is protected

Missouri’s ballot will include abortion rights measure in November, court rules

More Women Had Their Tubes Tied After Roe V. Wade Was Overturned

Transgender/Gender Critical:

A look at Trump's 'transgender operations on illegal aliens' debate claim

Transgender New Hampshire teens can play for girls' sports teams during lawsuit, judge says

Sarah McBride is one step closer to becoming the first trans member of Congress

Greens hit with £90,000 bill after discrimination case

Graham Linehan 'subjected to discrimination in Belfast pub over gender critical beliefs'

US:

Trump says 'I hate Taylor Swift' after pop star endorses Harris

If Harris wins, she would make history. But she isn’t talking about that

A’ja Wilson becomes 1st WNBA player to reach 1,000 points in a season as Aces top Sun

WNY high school athletes, transgender advocates bring awareness to NY PROP 1

New York officials to release new renderings of possible Gilgo Beach victim

The anti-abortion activist urging followers not to support Trump

Trailblazing ballerina Michaela DePrince dies aged 29

Arkansas’ gov says Medicaid extension for new moms isn’t needed. Advisers disagree

Biden commemorates Violence Against Women Act as 'proudest' legislative win on eve of its 30th anniversary

She couldn't go to her daughter's graduation, so the hospital brought it to her

A venture capital grant program for Black women officially ends after court ruling

U.S. urges Israel to swiftly investigate killing of American woman in West Bank

Global:

Man accused of killing a Ugandan Olympian by setting her on fire, dies of burn wounds

Channel 4 will not remove alleged abuser from show

'Baby Reindeer' is facing a lawsuit — that didn't stop it from winning 6 Emmys

Kidnapped and trafficked twice - a sex worker's life in Sierra Leone

Couple accused of murdering teen to steal baby acquitted

'Lashed for a social media photo' in Iran

Olympic runner Cheptegei defied her violent ex. She lost her life anyway

Former prominent BBC news anchor gets suspended sentence for indecent images of children on phone

A union leader freed from prison vows to continue a strike against Cambodia’s’s biggest casino

Mother in Gaza longs for triplets in Jerusalem hospital

Princess Kate completes chemotherapy treatment for cancer

A Filipino preacher on the run from sexual abuse charges surrenders

Culture:

Profiles in clean energy: She founded a business to keep EV charging stations up and running

Hillary Clinton takes stock of life’s wins and losses in a memoir inspired by a Joni Mitchell lyric

Her piano concert was six years in the making. Then Puerto Rico's power went out

'I wanted to make a gay Clueless': Jamie Babbit on how her lesbian comedy But I'm a Cheerleader became a cult classic

'Criminally underrated': Why My Brilliant Friend is one of the best shows on TV

Jessica Pratt cracks open the sunny veneer of the California dream

Cooking for the most powerful person in the world

Rachel Kushner's new espionage thriller may be her coolest book yet

Want this emailed to you instead? Subscribe here.

As always, this is global and domestic news from a US perspective covering feminist issues and women in the news more generally. As of right now, I do not cover Women’s Sports. Published each Monday afternoon. 

I am looking for better sources on women’s arts and culture outside of the English-speaking world, if you know of any-please be in touch.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

Do you have any books to recommend for people who are new to writing but want to get into it? Ive got some money to spend on books and I’m not sure where to start, and I don’t wanna buy something that’s not worth it :,) but you’re one of my favourite writers and I trust that your taste is good considering your writing is beautiful 🫶🏾

ANONNNNN I’M SO SORRY THIS IS SUCH A LATE RESPONSE 😭😭😭 i spent … a little too much time stressing over what books to include. and how to describe them. blame my faulty brain ok!!!

BUTTTT first of all!!! i’m so honoured that you’d think to ask me this!!!! and that you trust my taste!!!!!! that you think my writing is beautiful (i sobbed btw) YOU’RE SUCH A SWEETHEART… thank you very much 🥺🥺

i decided to make a list of some of my overall favorites, but pls remember that writing is subjective!!!! i hope you can find at least one or two books on this list that intrigues you, and that you’ll end up liking the way they’re written too, but. y’know. there’s never any guarantee!!! i added links that’ll take you to goodreads, where you can check the summaries and reviews of each book to hopefully make the process easier for you 🫡🫡

with that being said!!! here are some ari book recs just for you <3333

war of the foxes - richard siken

my absolute favorite poetry collection, from my absolute favorite poet <3333 i’m assuming that you’re looking for novels rather than poetry but. i HAD to rec this one. because i love it soooooo dearly and it’s inspired my writing so much!!!! siken’s use of language is just …… sooooo tasty. so good. i’m completely obsessed with him. his other poetry collection is called crush and centers around tenderness/sex/violence (and the ways they blur together), but i’d say this collection is more about. art. making art. it’s also about love and war and. lots of things. but art is a big theme. paint on paint. etc. it made me severely ill in the best of ways <33 i really couldn’t recommend it enough!!!

eureka street - robert mcliam wilson

this book is . sooooo underrated 😔😔 i hate it so much. not the book i just hate that it isn’t widely renowned because it SHOULD BE. i read this for one of my high school english classes and it. changed my brain chemistry forever. it’s so good. wilson’s writing is so insanely gorgeous?? it reminds me so much of the writing in disco elysium (my fav video game + biggest writing source 🙏)…. honestly i think it’s worth reading for the writing alone. anyway!! this is a book about love. it starts with the quote ”all stories are love stories.” it’s also about the troubles, which is a conflict between catholics and protestants in ireland during the late 1900s. this book takes place at the end of a period of terror and bombings, but still manages to be about love first and foremost. the main characters are charming and silly and kind of insane in the head <33 this book is VERY funny btw… it had me laughing out loud a lot but also had me feeling so much. it’s so, so heartfelt. you can tell wilson loves belfast. and you can tell belfast loves its people. this book is so special to me and i don’t think i can explain its entire appeal with just words, so you’re just gonna have to trust me when i say it’s wonderful <33

the human flies - hans olav lahlum

do you like murder mysteries 👀👀….. i do. this is my favorite one. it’s very near and dear to my heart!!! the human flies is a classic whodunnit where a man has been killed in his apartment complex, and the other residents are all suspects. it’s about trauma. kind of. and it has a really good historial twist where it turns out that they’re all connected through ww2… but i think the greatest charm point of this book (aside from the mystery) is its characters!! they’re all really vibrant and charming. or not so charming. but they’re hard not to get attached to i think!!! this book also subverts the detective genre by making its detective really useless which i love <333 he ends up being contacted by a girl in a wheelchair who’s basically sherlock holmes and she does all the mystery solving. it’s great. if you’re into the murder mystery genre then i really recommend this one!!

beartown - fredrick backman

THIS BOOK . god. this is another one that i can’t really talk about coherently because it means so much to me. i think every single person on this planet should be strapped to a chair and forced to read it <333 this is a book about…. literally everything. if i had to pick just one thing it’d be community. but like… it’s about family. it’s about friendship. it’s about hockey. it’s about sexual violence and locker-room culture and their devastating consequences. it’s about cherry blossoms and the hope they carry. it’s about healing. it’s about a small town and the people who live in it. every single one of them are interesting. when it comes to the actual plot… i think it’s best to go in blind but i doooo feel obligated to tell you that the center of the book’s conflict is a rape. the first half of the book introduces beartown, its famous hockey team, its people and their stories. the second half deals with the consequences of this rape. backman wrote this book so, so thoughtfully. the topic is obviously sensitive but you don’t need to worry about the perpetrator not getting what’s coming to him, because he will. and ohhhhh BOY backman’s writing. his writing is so unbelievably pretty. that’s the best word for it. he’s literally carrying swedish literature on his bare shoulders. holy fuck. in conclusion; this is maybeeee my favorite book of all time? and you should read it :3 it’s very long but i promise it feels so fast once you get into it. it’s the kind of book that i think everyone can fall in love with!!!! it really did change my life i think.

the travelling cat chronicles - hiro arikawa

honestly, i think this is the book i’d recommend to you the most!! not because of quality (though definitely that too!!) but because i think it’s perfect for someone who’s just getting into reading. minus points for being kindaaa long but that’s all!! i think i should preface this by saying that this book made me cry LMAO. ugly cry. sob. i’ve never cried so hard reading a book before…. it wasn’t a bad cry though!! this book is sad but it’s also so charming and hopeful and sweet. it’s about a cat who travels around the country with his owner satoru(!!), not knowing where they’re going or why they’re going there. the kitty is the narrator and he’s sooo charming. satoru is too. their dynamic is so precious :(((( if you love cats then you’ll love this book, trust me!! anyway… to me this is a great pick for new readers because the writing is super pretty but also really. easy to chew? the story is also written in a very compelling way which should make it a pretty quick read despite its lenght!! it’s very much a roadtrip book :3 i love it a lot and even though it made me cry i consider it a bigggg comfort read (but i’m a jjk fan so take that with a grain of salt)

the stranger - albert camus

ok so!!! i did try not to add any classic books to this list because honestly i don’t think many of them are good introductions to reading. the educational system could learn from me . BUT…. this is one that i think you can get really hooked on even if you don’t study literature. this is a book about . existentialism. or just apathy (and overcoming it)… the protagonist doesn’t really want much in life. he just follows the herd. he’s basically like…. just some guy?? but also very much Not just some guy. because just some guys don’t answer their girlfriend’s proposal with ”if you want to.” or chainsmoke. or kill a guy because ”the sun was too hot.” yeah. he’s very charming (<- worrying taste in men), very weird and very interesting. most analyses on this book are just attempts to diagnose him. the central conflict of the book is the murder he commits, and the trial that follows, where the attention shifts from his actual murder to… the fact that he didn’t cry at his mother’s funeral. hm. this book is really fun. :3 and i love camus’ writing!!! like many books on this list it’s pretty but easy to chew, so i think you’ll enjoy it. read if you want to Think about life. or if you want to see meursault have his bisexual awakening in the middle of a murder trial.

the great gatsby - f. scott fitzgerald

jay gatsby they will never make me hate you…. remember what i just said about not wanting to add classics to this list? the great gatsby is another exception <333 honestly i just . really love this book!!! it’s such a short and tasty read!!!!! i’ve heard that american students really hate it because they were forced to read it and like . i sympathize but 🤨 c’mon. there are sooo many classics that are so much more hellish to read for school…. they don’t know how good they have it……. anyway. the writing is very pretty and the descriptions are soooo…. captivating. so many lines are stuck in my brain. (”they’re a rotten crowd. you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” my BELOVED <333) people will tell you that this book is about the futility of the american dream and it IS but i also think you should make your own interpretation!!! because there are lots to make. personally i favour the queer one <33 because i’m…. me. gatsby is just . such a tragic character. but also so pathetic. and charming. he’s one of my og meowmeows. this book is worth reading if only for him. i need to dip him in olive oil.

kafka on the shore - haruki murakami

…. sigh . look 😔😔 do i like haruki murakami? no. do i like his writing? unfortunately yes. this book is fucking wild and kind of gross in . a plethora of ways (tw for umm cat beheadings? almost rape (in a dream)? fantasy incest kind of maybe…?? it’s not as bad as it sounds but like. it kinda is. idk.) but for some reason it’s still one of my favorites. i feel like murakami’s classic blend between fantasy and reality stays the same throughout his works and it’s just….. reallyyyyy tasty to me. i think that’s why i still think of this book so often. it really really moved me. and i mean…. let’s face it, his writing is very pretty. this is a book about growing up and it really doesn’t shy away from the discomforting topics that come with that. it’s also about talking cats and mommy issues. kafka has lots of them. i think he’s kind of annoying. the other characters are very charming though!! in this book you basically follow two different plot lines, and both are really captivating imo… buuuut the book is Very Long and very weird so i don’t know if i’d recommend it to someone who’s just getting into reading 😭 it really is very good though… if nothing else, read it for the Vibes. they’re very tasty.

waiting for godot - samuel beckett

this is a fun one <333 and a weird one. NOT a good rec for a new reader lmao but i do have to add it because i adore samuel beckett…. and this is my favorite play!!!!!! it’s usually associated with absurdism which i think says enough on its own. this is a play about…. waiting for godot. that’s all <3 the two main characters, didi and gogo, are basically stuck in a timeloop where they wait for godot to come. he doesn’t. they keep waiting. i adore this play for many reasons but some of them are: timeloops my beloved (1), didi & gogo are super funny and gay and their back-and-forth dialogue kinda turns into poetry sometimes (2), it’s SO much fun to analyze (3). godot can literally be whatever you want him to be. that’s so fun!!!! it’s a weird play but if you want to get into reading plays then… it’ll be here <33

giovanni’s room - james baldwin

aaaand finally!!!! this lovely gem <333 i’m actually not completely finished with it myself but i can tell you that it’s already one of my favorites!!!!! it’s about . shame. and tenderness. and morality. all that good stuff :3 i’ll try to keep this short but . basically…. it centers around a closeted gay/bisexual man who goes on vacation to paris while his girlfriend is vacationing in spain. in a certain bar, he meets a certain barman, whose name is giovanni. they really hit it off. sadly they’re doomed by the narrative. goshhhh this book is just. ough. first of all??? james baldwin is SO . fucking good. his prose is so gorgeous. soooo so gorgeous. worth reading just for that. but the dynamic between david and giovanni is …… so lovely??? and the glimpse you get into their heads is just so. beautiful. :((( this book is so SAD . but also not really. it’s bittersweet. david has to choose between a safe life and a happy life and he’s doomed to choose the safe life. that’s all there is to it.

aaaaand those are my recs !!!! i feel like i’m forgetting some really good ones……. but i don’t want to keep you waiting any longer :’3 i really hope this helps anon!!! i’m so excited that you’re getting into reading!!!!!!!! it’s really just a matter of finding writing that you actually like. i recommend searching up some quotes from each book, just to get a feel for the writing itself!!! pls know that i’m cheering you on in your reading journey 🫂🫂🫂

(and if you end up reading any of these then. pls do let me know!!! i’d love to hear your thoughts 🥺)

[len-22y]

Chaghan Suren as an Irish Secondary School student is the funniest thing to me ever, so here are my ideas 😸

Defo doesn’t do PE “miss i have a note, my sister is cramping!!!” or he has a medical condition

Him and Qara BEGGED to be in the same class and in the same seats, always talking shite

Fought for his LIFE to be headboy but Altan beat him

Altan always vapes when they go to town (or anywhere else really) and chaghan goes through like 9 inhalers a week because of him

Always at Qara’s camogie matches as her biggest supporter

prob a belfast boy (Sinegard would be in Dublin) ((because Sinegard is the only school we know of they would all go there))

Sixth year obv and a student council member

tbh a lot of these are not strictly irish but i still think they’re accurate

Jhoca’s art!! and a random uniform i found on google lol

[scotianostra]

On October 2nd 1931 Sir Thomas Lipton, grocer, tea merchant died.

While his father worked in a succession of poorly paid jobs, young Tommy Lipton’s siblings all died in infancy, leaving him as the family’s only son.

Tommy had to leave school aged 13, because his parents needed an extra income to make ends meet. He also attended night school at the Gorbals Youth School. In 1864, he signed up as a cabin boy on a steamer running between Glasgow and Belfast and seems to have been taken with crew-members’ stories about the United States, so in 1865, Thomas used his savings to pay for a passage to New York spending the next five years there travelling across the country.

During this time he held many different jobs, including work at a tobacco plantation in Virginia; as an accountant at a rice plantation in South Carolina; as a door-to-door salesman in New Orleans; as a farmhand in New Jersey; and as a grocery assistant in New York.

Thomas returned to Glasgow in 1870. After spending some time helping his parents at their shop, he established one of his own, Lipton’s Market, at 101 Stobcross Street in the Anderston area of the city. This proved highly successful and Lipton went on to establish a chain of shops, first in Glasgow and then across Scotland, before expanding to cover the whole of the UK over the next ten years.

Meanwhile, the demand for tea was increasing among the middle classes and in 1888, by which time Lipton had 300 stores, he set out to bypass the traditional lines of supply for tea by investing directly in tea plantations. The Lipton Tea brand he established offered good quality for low prices and proved hugely popular, expanding the market for tea to all parts of society and establishing it as the national drink of choice.

Lipton was a big fan of promotional stunts. When his first 20,000 tea chests arrived in Glasgow he put on a party, complete with a brass band and bagpipe parade. In 1893 Sir Thomas Lipton officially established the Thomas J Lipton Company, a tea packaging company based in Hoboken, New Jersey . He felt that tea should be a drink for everyone, not just the wealthy , so he strived to make packaging and shipping less expensive.

Instead of arriving in crates, Sir Thomas packaged his loose tea in multiple weight options. The tea was also standardised, so Lipton customers knew exactly what to expect.

Thomas Lipton developed a passion for yachting, between 1899 and 1930 Lipton challenged the American holders of the America’s Cup through the Royal Ulster Yacht Club five times with yachts he named Shamrock through Shamrock V. He never won the cup, but he was awarded a special trophy as “the best of all losers”. This may sound double-edged, but one effect of his efforts to win the cup was to make his name well known across the United States, and his tea very popular there.

Although Lipton, through his yachting, became a friend of royalty, as a self-made man he still had difficulty breaking into some corners of the highly stratified British society of the day. He was, for example, only accepted as a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron shortly before his death.

Lipton died at his home in north London in 1931. He left most of his wealth to his native city of Glasgow. His yachting trophies are now on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Sir Thomas Lipton was buried alongside his parents and siblings in Glasgow’s Southern Necropolis.

Liptons continues today as part of the multinational Unilever brands, their teas and other beverages still bear his name and are a world known brand, not bad for a young lad born in a Glasgow Tenement to Irish immigrants.

[raenegade-accio]

Birthday: February 28th ♓

Height: 165cm [5'5ft]

Wand: Laurel wood with a unicorn hair, 13 ¼ inches and slightly springy flexibility

Favourite beast(s): Hippogriffs, Kneazles, Mooncalves & Thestrals

Amortentia scent: air after a rainstorm, cinnamon and maple wood

Favoured extra-curriculars: Apparition, Magical Theory, Alchemy, Music & Art

Distinguishing features: a pale birthmark on her left eye iris, unkempt hair strands, fingerless gloves, small freckles across the bridge of her nose.

Has a knack for: languages, defensive magic, playing the violin, rescue and breeding or handling of magical creatures and all animals, potion-making & baking (?)

Animagus form (if she becomes one): Clouded Leopard 🐆

Quidditch position: If Black hadn't cancelled it, she’d have loved to tryout for Chaser

Boggart(s): wildfires, or specifically, a man burning half to death (one which she unfortunately ran into once as a child)

Riddikulus: transformed into a heap of rubber ducks, collectively quacking as they hit the floor

Friends: Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting, Highwing, Imelda Reyes (GF ♥️), Amit Thakkar, Deek, Samantha Dale, Leander Prewett, Everett Clopton, Ominis Gaunt and Anne Sallow

⚘ Background

Wren comes from a small modest family in Dublin and was born to non-magical immigrant parents from East Asia, their families a long line of revered scholars and musicians. One day, her family decided to migrate to Belfast, in hopes of passing on their literary and artistic knowledge to their friends and colleagues, in an otherwise industrial city. Wren has had an idyllic childhood in Northern Ireland; nurtured and filled with great kindness, albeit she’s still conflicted by how little she knows about her own parents' heritage and upbringing since they do everything they can to remain ambiguous regarding this matter.

Wren and her parents encountered misfortune when large numbers of riots began breaking out in the city one summer in 1886, mere months before she could finish primary school. Tension reached a peak when arsons were taking place near their residence, and many of their friends had perished in the blaze. Belfast was deemed no longer safe for Wren. Her parents then made the abrupt decision of having their daughter attend a faraway boarding school in Brighton instead, with hopes Wren will be much safer there. Unfortunately the years that followed Wren spent friendless and isolated; there was harsh discipline and little learning.

To say Wren’s Hogwarts acceptance letter came as a shock is an understatement, when an exuberant Professor Fig arrived on their doorstep one stormy evening. In spite of witnessing signs of magic weeks prior, Mr and Mrs Zhang, albeit polite enough, were less than eager at an overflow of new knowledge regarding an alleged existence of a Wizarding World; each word coming from the strange man sounded more unorthodox than the last. Ultimately a proper demonstration of Wingardium Leviosa and Reparo, as well as the promise of a thorough and more importantly, safe, educational environment, were enough to sway their resolve. They finally came to an agreement in which Wren will decide if she is ready to be registered for Hogwarts, if Professor Fig is to tutor her everything there is to know about rudimentary magic for the remaining summer holidays under their supervision.

⚘ Personality

At first glance, one wouldn’t think Wren is able to thrive as well as she does in Ravenclaw of all houses, given she’s a bit of a klutz and seemingly not a fast learner, but she’s proven to be in fact quick-witted and intuitive; she sees no benefit in rushing her schoolwork therefore would rather take her time making sure the tasks are done properly. That’s not to say she won’t be quick to rise to new challenges, especially practical ones, and will excel almost immediately as long as there are demonstrations.

Those Wren is close with would know her as fun-loving and a sensitive soul, but isn’t above some good back and forth cutting banter or even initiating a heated duel when warranted. Despite giving the impression of an idle dreamer, Wren moves through life with a clear sense of values. At times, however, she may focus so intently on the tasks at hand - whether it’s burning the midnight oil to finish extra assignments or straining to stay awake rescuing Mooncalves - that she often forgets to take adequate care of herself, driving herself to absolute burnout before she can reach her goals.

While not particularly reserved or withdrawn, the schooling years Wren’s endured in Brighton made her wary of most adults, slow to trust her classmates and unfamiliar with the simple concept of reaching out. Nothing makes her blood curdle more than the thought of inserting herself in situations where she’s not wanted. All the more reason why she considers herself extremely fortunate with the social circle she has now. That isn’t to say she’s prone to self isolation. Naturally she’s perfectly content engaging in meaningful conversations with just about anyone if they make the first move. If able, she’s always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it’s a first year struggling schoolwork or an errand a broom ride away.

Nothing makes her happy quite like helping others, men or beasts. She doesn’t care if the given tasks are tedious or gargantuan, Wren is simply happy knowing there are folks who trust her to be patient, thorough and get certain things done. Yet despite her compassionate nature, Wren isn't one to believe in second chances. If she feels betrayed, deceived or belittled, she becomes uncharacteristically cold-hearted and unforgiving; while it isn't impossible to earn back her trust, she'll never forget. Wren is always actively looking for a sense of security and stability. She is committed to the relationships with her friends and loved ones but will not hesitate to cut ties if she feels like she can no longer trust a person.

⚘ Other trivia

She’s the only member in her family with freckles; they’re not as sun-kissed as those of her classmates, and in truth very faint, hardly visible especially during the winter. Amit nevertheless noticed them fairly quickly and mentioned they remind him of the constellations he’d come across when he’s out studying in the Astronomy Tower, till this day she still isn’t quite sure what to say to that.

She gets asked about her (Northern Irish) accent all the time, but has learned to make a game out of it though - every time someone asks about it, she changes her answer.

Wren actively wants to become an Animagus, but in spite of the extensive research and preparations made beforehand, she is unsuccessful at every attempt, having to repeatedly start over each time she accidentally swallows her Mandrake leaf.

She’d never admit this out loud but she really gets a kick out of other students’ Howlers, surprised just how informative the screechings of enraged parents prove to be and can only imagine amusedly the amount of Howlers she’d receive if her parents know of just a fraction of her misadventures.

Before her longtime burgeoning and pent up attraction for Imelda, Wren took pride of her immunity to Sebastian Sallow's charming magnetism, unlike many of the others. However she had a massive crush on Garreth, Amit and even Professor Garlick. Afterwards, Wren was deeply infatuated with Poppy in her sixth year for a long time.

Wren is particularly passionate about animals, even before she was showing signs of magic. After learning to wield her newfound abilities (including Ancient Magic), she finds herself slowly able to empathise and even communicate with almost any beast or creature - though it often leads to instances where a trail of critters follow her into school grounds while on an errand in Hogsmeade or walking in between classes.

It's not a common practice, as far as she knows, but she enjoys decorating her broom, adorning it with clever trinkets and mementos, such as Moondews, a pendant given by her Ma and the phoenix feather from Deek.

Wren unfortunately struggles with her severe pyrophobia, that stems from her early childhood on account of the numbers of fireburnings and arsons she witnessed from the tumultuous political climate at the time. She's learned to tolerate minor things such as smoke or slight scorchings, but still has to keep a distance from most fireplaces, refrain from using certain spells to do with fire.

She’s a huge foodie, simple as that. She finds snacking as enjoyable a pastime as a jaunt in Hogsmeade. If she’s lounging in the common room, you’ll likely see her munching on an apple. When waiting for classes to start, she’d be having pumpkin pasties in the corridor. One morning she's even spotted aloft on her broom, not flying, just nibbling on a cauldron cake midair while overlooking the Highlands.

When offered to learn all three Unforgivables, she's repulsed by how very tempted she is. Now knowing how to cast them, she dreads finding out if she's truly capable of using them. She tells herself she learned simply out of deep appreciation and respect for all forms of magic, but part of her, out of morbid curiosity, wonders what it'd feel like to be proficient with the Dark Arts.

Wren is ambivalent, at best, towards her connection to Ancient Magic. The notion of wielding one of the most formidable and arcane forms of magic should sound enticing… There were nights she spent wishing someone else could worry about Ranrok, Rookwood, those damned repositories and their ridiculous trials in her stead, that Ranrok and his loyalists would just go home, the poachers could jump off a cliff. She finds the Keepers priggish and infuriating. What she wouldn’t give to seal away the Map Chamber and never have to look into the jeering gazes of those towering portraits again.

⚘ Career & Aspirations

Healer - trained and became a Healer via the work experience programmes at St. Mungo's after her 7th year

Curse Breaker - applied months post graduation via multiple remedial exams on one of her worst subjects: Ancient Runes

⚘ Likes

Sunrises, sketching, Highwing, Pumpkin Pasties, speeding across the Black Lake on her broom, Cauldron Cakes, playing her violin, Butterbeer, kissing her girlfriend pestering Imelda Reyes, and the bird's-eye view when soaring above Hogwarts on her broom - she also has a nasty habit of launching herself off the highest cliff or the tallest tower when summoning her broom.

⚘ Dislikes

Spiders, raw eggs, people randomly petting her hair (happens more than most think), “Puffskein Dunkein” and trolls, though nothing gets to her quite like being micromanaged - the more overbearing the person is, the more likely she'd do the complete opposite of what's expected of her, wholly out of petty spite

- - - - - - - - RP friends:

Nosy the Niffler (@kiwiplaetzchen),

Hellendil Melinae (@theravenchild),

William Abbott and Elland de Strontium (@ask-elland-n-will),

Sienna Lee (@ask-sienna),

Allegra Fenwick and Clementine the Golden Retriever (@adallegra),

Theodora Devlin (@theodoradevlin),

Andrew Montrose (@ask-andrew-montrose),

Demetrius Haggarty (@demetrius-haggarty),

Felix Åberg (@ask-felix-aberg)

[grandmaster-anne]

Coronation Music at Westminster Abbey

The Royal Family | Published 18 February 2023

Twelve newly commissioned pieces of music will be performed at The Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May 2023, showcasing musical talent from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

A range of musical styles and performers blend tradition, heritage and ceremony with new musical voices of today, reflecting The King’s life-long love and support of music and the arts.

His Majesty The King has personally commissioned the new music and shaped and selected the musical programme for the Service.

Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey, will be overseeing all musical arrangements and directing the music during the Service.

Sir Antonio Pappano, Music Director for the Royal Opera House, will be conducting the Coronation Orchestra which comprises a bespoke collection of musicians drawn from orchestras of The former Prince of Wales’ Patronages including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Six orchestral commissions, five choral commissions and one organ commission, have been specially composed for the occasion by world-renowned British composers whose work includes Classical, Sacred, Film, Television and Musical Theatre. Commissioned works include a new Coronation Anthem by Andrew Lloyd Webber, a Coronation March by Patrick Doyle, a new commission for solo organ embracing musical themes from countries across the Commonwealth by Iain Farrington plus new works by Sarah Class, Nigel Hess, Paul Mealor, Tarik O'Regan, Roxanna Panufnik, Shirley J. Thompson, Judith Weir, Roderick Williams, and Debbie Wiseman.

Soloists will include bass-baritone, Sir Bryn Terfel; soprano, Pretty Yende and baritone, Roderick Williams. The organ will be played by Sub-Organist, Westminster Abbey, Peter Holder, and Assistant Organist, Westminster Abbey, Matthew Jorysz.

The official Royal Harpist Alis Huws will perform as part of the Coronation Orchestra in recognition of The King’s long-standing and deeply held relationship and affiliation with Wales. One of the liturgical sections of the ceremony will also be performed in Welsh.

At the request of His Majesty, in tribute to his late father His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Greek Orthodox music will also feature in the Service performed by the Byzantine Chant Ensemble.

The Service will be sung by The Choir of Westminster Abbey and The Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, together with girl choristers from the Chapel Choir of Methodist College, Belfast and from Truro Cathedral Choir. The Ascension Choir, a handpicked gospel choir will also perform as part of the Service and The King’s Scholars of Westminster School will proclaim the traditional ‘Vivat’ acclamations.

Fanfares will be played by The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and The Fanfare Trumpeters of the Royal Air Force.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner will conduct The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque soloists in a pre-Service programme of choral music. A small group of singers from The Monteverdi Choir will also join the main choral forces for the Service.

Music by the likes of William Byrd (1543–1623), George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934), Sir Henry Walford Davies (1869–1941), Sir William Walton (1902–1983), Sir Hubert Parry (1848–1918) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) has historically featured in the Service over the past four centuries and will be included in the programme along with the music of one of Britain’s most loved and celebrated living composers, Sir Karl Jenkins.

[houseofkirklands]

Aph Northern Ireland headcanons because why not

1. Youngest Kirkland brother no matter what the canon say as England being the "youngest" among them. Northern Ireland was created in 1921 he is a very young country compared with England that was founded in 927 AC, that makes a gap of 994 years of difference between England and North, North is the youngest!!.

Northern Ireland was created because the people, a huge majority wanted to stay in the UK, most of them protestants compared with the amount of catholics most counties in Ireland had and that was created after Ireland went all for it for independence in 1916 (and ignoring the fact counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone had catholic majority and were drawn into the concept of Northern Ireland) and even with the hc of Northern Ireland being the province of Ulster he would still be younger than his brothers

There is no way Northern Ireland as a country could be older than England, Scotland, Wales and even Ireland

2. He knows he can trust his brothers a lot and tell them all the problems he has but he feels like he is being unfair and shouldn't complain about his "problems". He knows his brothers didn't have it easy back then, North doesn't know how is to live just to survive, to go to the forests to get some food, to learn how to fight and use weapons because you need to survive in this world, to be able to manage to get food and clothes to keep warm from the cold.

He was born in a modern world, a world where he has everything his brothers didn't have when they were younger, he lives in a good house, a good bed, has good clothes, has food and can eat more than once per day, a lot of medicines...etc. thats why he, while he appreciates what he had, he feels left out in some way from his brothers, they have lived so much compared with him, they know easily how to survive in this world while he just doesn't so he tends to believe he doesn't deserve anything of this and he has some trouble to open up when he is struggling with something, he feels like his problems aren't that much serious compared with the problems his brothers had and I'm not referring to problems like "let me play videogames" "buy me candy please" no problems from anything related with school if he has some troubles with a teacher or classmates to political problems knowing how much fragile politics are in Northern Ireland.

3. He and teen nations have a group chat where they either complain about their older brothers or play videogames.

4. He and Hong Kong are very close friends same goes with Iceland and South Korea

5. He is really good at drawing and painting, he loves visiting museums and see the art pieces there. He loves going through the streets of Belfast and see the murals and he will always draw something if he has some free time

6. Social media addicted, his post are mostly about the s*it his brothers do which surprisingly has many likes and reviews from other nations. Ireland is happy to see he had left that house a long time ago but North will definitely bring Ireland into this

7. He is into videogames a lot, he will stay until very late at night playing, England has caught him and got angry at him for staying for so long playing and the excuse North use is that he is playing with Hong Kong and South Korea and they are awake now cause if he goes to sleep when he wakes up they will be already sleeping (no)

8. He loves playing Just Dance with Ireland but he gets angry at it cause he always loses agaisnt him. He knows Ireland is a very good dancer but there is no way he can manage to get more stars than him when North maybe knows the whole choreography of the song and Ireland probably is the first time seeing that. If he manages to win Ireland is mostly because Ireland didn't even tried to win and let North win for some time and make him happy

9. He is into Pokemon, he has played every single game, has a collection of cards and can tell you the whole pokedex

10. Besides Pokemon and Just Dance, he loves also League of Legends, Animal Crossing and Mario games specially Mario Kart. He is more a Nintendo fan, he doesn't like PlayStation games at all. Also he loves Minecraft he has plenty of worlds created

11. He likes kpop, South Korea talked about it to him a long time ago and well he got into it mostly because he find funny to learn the choreographies, also Hong Kong and Singapore are into it so the 4 of them will sometimes meet and do some dance covers, Iceland will occasionally join them because he is a closet kpop fan but he doesn't want to admit (and he doesn't want to learn the choreographies).

12. He speaks 3 languages, English, Irish and Ulster-Scots

13. He had tried to learn Irish via Duolingo until he realised he needed Ireland to learn the language

14. During the 6 Nations tournament, given the fact the Irish team is unified with people from the Republic and the North, he will support the Irish team. He indeed becomes more Irish than Ireland during this time.

If there is anyone who loved the most Ireland winning the tournament with a Grand Slam, on St Patrick's Day agaisnt England as the final match in England, that was definitely North

15. He hates History class, he just wants to cry and kick England ass everytime he heards something about history

16. He is into Gaelic football too, he will defend the Ulster teams with his life, specially Armagh and Tyrone which are the most popular currently but he will stay in the middle if that match happens just in case Armagh and Tyrone end arguing

17. He gets along really well with his counties and he between the 4 countries of the UK he is probably the one who is more close to his counties but not only his but the other 3 Ulster counties from the Republic, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal

18. He struggles with anxiety and PTSD, he will sometimes not being able to wake up from bed and just skip school, he has many days where he just doesn't want to talk no matter how good intentions their brothers concerns for him are but they remind him that if he needs to talk about it, they will listen to him. Problem here that many times it's because of his brothers specially England, he knows Wales is the easiest to talk about but he knows Wales supports England way too much so if he talks with someone it would be Scotland or he will call Ireland.

19. Given the fact he is a very young nation, his brothers have talked to him about things he as a nation should have in mind. Starting with humans, they aren't like them, like their people, the brothers know North has many human friends cause after all there aren't too many nations that has the age he has and many of them live in the other side of the world so North will mostly meet his human friends to hang out, go to the cinema, to a park, etc so he is very fond of humans and he is developing his social interactions with them. This is something that is not bad but he needs to remember his friends will grow up while he will stay as a teenager of 17 years old even if it passes 50 years, his friends will grow up, get older, start their lives... and he is afraid of this. He is very concerned the friends he hangs out with nowadays, will forget him in 15-20 years, his friends wouldn't want to be his friend anymore when they became 40 or 50 years old,what kind of grown men of 50 years old is friend with a teenager? yeah they can remember him and North will try to help them if needed but that's something North isn't really that much secure about, at the end of the day again he will left alone, his human friends will dissapear one day, the friends he has made many memories and good times together, friends he met in school and became his classmates, friends from his dance school, friends from his neighbourhood. He wants them to stay like they are now or grow up like them, North feels more human than a nation given the fact many of the things North does as a nation are supervised by England and occasionally by Ireland but there are some things that are hitting him, as a friendly reminder he is not like them, that he is a nation and he is supposed to live for many centuries.

20. Kinda related with the one above, he really means it when he say he feels alone, his brothers have thousand of years behind their backs while he is just a little more than a century old nation and his friends will grow up and he will be stucked in his teenage body. He has many problems with this because he doesn't know how to be alone, he is afraid of being alone, of losing absolutely everyone, he just can't be left alone, yeah he needs his own space but he needs to know that there is someone near him or in the house. He has 4 older brothers, lives with 3 of them and yeah they will keep an eye on him but sometimes he will just feel really bad and sad. He feels like he is just in a limbo, in the middle of somewhere where he can see his brothers and his human friends but if he goes to them, they will get more far, so close but so far. He can't be alone, he can't be left alone, the brothers will always try to make to someone be in home but there are times it's just impossible for them, they will sometimes call Ireland to see if he can come to look up for him or just have a conversation with him through the telephone which sometimes it has worked but he can't avoid to feel like he is a burdern to his brothers that why he will get pretty emotional if he sees his brothers helping him with anything

21. He hates the division his people has but he knows he just wants peace for everyone.

22. He identify as both, Irish and British

23. Name goes by William/Liam Kirkland because he doesn't want to have a name that can cause some trouble to him for being "too Irish" or "too British". He needs a neutral name to evite those problems, Connor is a good name for him but it's an Irish origin name and he doesn't want to have problems with the unionists that identify as British for his nation having an "Irish name".

William would be used by this unionist/British people and Liam being the short version of William and its most commonly used in Ireland (coming from Ulliam) so this way he has "both communities at peace"

24. He is the only brother that doesn't have a proper surname, Wales and Scotland have individual surnames when they weren't part of the UK. The Kirkland in the family its becasue of being part of the UK, which England represents both so England going by the name of Arthur Kirkland and the representative of the UK, Wales, Scotland and North got the Kirkland surname. Ireland had the Kirkland until he got independent but Northern Ireland's case its different.

He can't go for independence unlike Scotland and Wales, given by the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998 by both the UK and the Irish government and with a big majority support of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, it is said the agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and would remain so until a majority of the people both of Northern Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise.

So Northern Ireland has the Kirkland surname while he is part of the UK until his people wants to join the rest of Ireland, he will get Ireland's surname if Irish unity happens

25. He wants to study something related with technology but he loves biology and psychology a lot as well. He is very concerned about mental health, sex education, bullying, drugs, alcohol, etc

[hustledimension]

The Cast of The Road to El Dorado

From here

KEVIN KLINE (Tulio) has been honored for his work on the stage and the screen. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the comedy "A Fish Called Wanda." More recently, he was recognized with the IFP’s Gotham Award for "The Ice Storm," and a Golden Globe nomination for "In & Out." He had previously received Golden Globe nominations for his performances in "Dave," "Soapdish" and "Sophie’s Choice."

Kline is a two-time Tony Award winner for his work on Broadway in "The Pirates of Penzance" and Hal Prince’s production of "On the Twentieth Century." He also garnered Drama Desk Awards for both productions.

A graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama, Kline is a founding member of John Houseman’s The Acting Company, with which he made his Broadway debut in Chekov’s "The Three Sisters." His additional theatre credits include "Arms and the Man" and "Loose Ends," both at Circle in the Square; the title role in Chekov’s "Ivanov" at the Lincoln Center Theatre; the title role in the 1986 and 1990 productions of "Hamlet" at New York’s Public Theatre, the latter of which he also directed, both for the stage and again for PBS’ Great Performances series; and the New York Shakespeare Festival presentations of "Richard III," "Henry V," "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Measure For Measure."

Kline made an auspicious feature film debut in Alan Pakula’s "Sophie’s Choice," opposite Meryl Streep. He then joined the ensemble cast of "The Big Chill," which began his long association with writer/director Lawrence Kasdan. They have since collaborated on "Silverado," "I Love You to Death," "Grand Canyon" and "French Kiss." Kline’s other film credits include "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," "Wild Wild West," "Fierce Creatures," the voice of Captain Phoebus in the animated musical "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Looking for Richard," "Princess Caraboo," "Chaplin," "Cry Freedom" and the screen version of "The Pirates of Penzance."

KENNETH BRANAGH (Miguel) is an award-winning actor, director, writer and producer. He adapted, directed and starred in 1989’s "Henry V," which brought him dual Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Director and for which he won BAFTA and National Board of Review Awards for Best Director. He was more recently Oscar-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 1996 release "Hamlet," which he also starred in and directed. Branagh also received a SAG Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Othello," and produced, adapted, directed and starred in "Much Ado About Nothing," which earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Feature. His upcoming film credits include a musical version of Shakespeare’s "Love’s Labour’s Lost," which he adapted, directed and stars in.

In addition, Branagh directed and starred in "Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein," which he also produced, "Peter’s Friends" and "Dead Again." His other credits as an actor include "Alien Love Triangle," "Wild Wild West," Robert Altman’s "The Gingerbread Man," Woody Allen’s "Celebrity," "The Theory of Flight," "Swing Kids," "A Month in the Country" and "High Season." He also narrated the Oscar-winning documentary "Anne Frank Remembered," and, in 1993, received an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short for "Swan Song." That same year, he was honored with the British Academy’s Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Branagh studied at England’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and made his professional stage debut in "Another Country." Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was seen in such plays as "Love’s Labour’s Lost," "Hamlet" and "Henry V" before leaving to form his own successful theatre company. His other stage work includes sold-out productions of "Hamlet," "King Lear" and "A Midsummer Night’s Dream."

ROSIE PEREZ (Chel) received an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her work opposite Jeff Bridges in Peter Weir’s "Fearless." She was discovered by Spike Lee, who cast her in "Do The Right Thing," and she subsequently starred in such films as Ron Shelton’s "White Men Can’t Jump," Jim Jarmusch’s "Night on Earth," Tony Bill’s "Untamed Heart," Andrew Bergman’s "It Could Happen to You," Alexandre Rockwell’s "Somebody to Love," Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s "A Brother’s Kiss" and Nancy Savoca’s "The 24 Hour Woman," which she also co-produced. She will next be seen starring opposite John Leguizamo in Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s "King of the Jungle."

Perez began her career as a choreographer for such artists as Bobby Brown, LL Cool J and Diana Ross. She went on to choreograph and direct the Fly Girls on Fox TV’s "In Living Color."

She made her first foray into producing with "Rosie Perez Presents Society’s Ride," which ran as three parts on HBO. She conceived and executive produced "Subway Stories," an anthology of short films by prominent and new directors, which also aired on HBO. Most recently, Perez entered into a unique deal with Artists Television Group (ATG) to develop, star in and executive produce a television comedy series.

ARMAND ASSANTE (Tzekel-Kan) has most recently been recognized for his work in a number of acclaimed network and cable projects. He won an Emmy Award and garnered Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his portrayal of John Gotti in the HBO movie "Gotti." He also earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Odysseus in the miniseries "The Odyssey," and both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his work in the miniseries "Jack the Ripper." Most recently, Assante starred as the Confederate commander of the first submarine in TNT’s true-life Civil War drama "The Hunley."

On the big screen, Assante received a Golden Globe nomination for his work in Sidney Lumet’s "Q&A," and won a Special Jury Prize at the USA Film Festival for his performance in the title role of "Belizaire, The Cajun." Among his additional film credits are "Striptease," "Judge Dredd," "Trial by Jury," "The Mambo Kings," "Hoffa," "1492: Conquest for Paradise," "The Marrying Man," "I, the Jury," "Little Darlings," "Private Benjamin" and "Paradise Alley."

A native New Yorker, Assante graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his professional acting debut on the stage in "Why I Went Crazy," under the direction of Joshua Logan. His subsequent stage credits include the Broadway productions of "Boccaccio," "Comedians," "Romeo and Juliet" and "Kingdoms."

EDWARD JAMES OLMOS (The Chief) has received honors for his work in films and on television. He garnered both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and won an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of inspirational teacher Jaime Escalante in "Stand and Deliver." He more recently earned acclaim for his role in Gregory Nava’s biopic "Selena," in which he starred as the Tejano singer’s father. He had previously worked with Nava in the film "My Family/Mi Familia."

On the small screen, Olmos won a Golden Globe Award and earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the HBO drama "A Burning Season." He had earlier collected his first Golden Globe for his starring role in the series "Miami Vice." This season, Olmos appears in the recurring role of Judge Mendoza on the new series hit "The West Wing." He has also starred in such longform projects as "Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story," "The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three," "12 Angry Men," "Hollywood Confidential," "Dead Man’s Walk" and "Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills."

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Olmos first gained attention for his performance in the Broadway musical "Zoot Suit," for which he received a Tony Award nomination. He later recreated his role in the film adaptation. His film credits also include "Wolfen," "Blade Runner," and five films for director Robert M. Young: "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez," "Saving Grace," "Triumph of the Spirit," "Talent for the Game" and "Caught."

In 1992, Olmos made his feature film directorial debut with "American Me," in which he also starred. He also executive produced the award-winning documentary "Lives in Hazard," which addressed gang prevention.

[peakyblindas]

OC interview asks

Thank you for the tag @evita-shelby answering for Fawn of course <3

Are you named after anyone?

I am named after my Father's grandmother

When was the last time you cried?

When my first husband, Richard passed away, I sadly didn't hear news of it till several weeks later and I was unable to attend his funeral.

Do you have any kids?

Five, three daughters, Dorothy, Melody and Enola and two sons Theodore and Julius.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Sarcasm is sometimes a better response than swearing or punching someone.

What is the first thing you notice about people?

Their clothes, or what they smell of.

What is your eye color?

Brown

Any special talents?

Not that are safe for work ;)

Scary movies or happy endings?

Both, depends on the day.

Where were you born?

Belfast, Ireland.

Do you have any pets?

My daughter, Melody owns many horses, but I simply have a suluki named Rabbit

How tall are you?

5ft 5

What was your favorite subject in school?

English or art.

What is your dream job?

Prime Minister, all though the idea of a woman PM does seem a bit too outlandish these days, perhaps in the future.

[slickshoesareyoucrazy]

I Heard Your Laugh in London

This post is a cross between a bad poem and bad stream of consciousness studded with bad photos (which in my opinion is all bad, but here I am doing it anyway).

Before the plane over the ocean took off, at the gate we waited at, these quotes were over our heads in the seats. Then we were up for about 30 hours. No one could sleep on the plane. We were pretty exhausted and punchy when we arrived in Dublin, but check in times don't align well with flight landings. So we were off to wander the Dublin streets until our room was ready. We overpaid a lot for a mediocre breakfast-still the most money we've spent on a meal in 10 days...many others much better for less money. And we slept and we slept and we slept when we got inside a room. The next day we went to a library with an ancient text we weren't allowed to photograph. J said we had an extra ticket because 4 cost the same as 3. I know the extra ticket was meant for you. Over the special book we were there to see was another quote from Jorge Luis Borges "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." And then outside the pub we ate inside for lunch we saw this

As if I doubted your presence with me without it. In Belfast, there was a mural of words on the wall I didn't get pictures of, nor did I memorize it, but it went something like 'Yeah you're here and so am I-it's all real-and so I say Hello Hello Hello' right outside the doors of our converted apartment hotel. In Scotland we saw at least one piper on the street every day. Bagpipe music has always made me emotional. And then we passed this pub

Outside the pub we actually ate inside (my son ate haggis-my son-the kid who had to be bribed to eat pizza when he was 6) was this planter

L spent the past week back home from Colorado while we were here. I picked her up from the airport so I could see her for a couple of hours before we left. One of the few texts to come through since we've left home was a photo of her with D and B getting ice cream. I love the picture. And so many people, including L, including new acquaintances and my closest friends, have said how excited they are for me to be on this trip. But when I saw that photo, I missed L, I missed D and B, I missed having ice cream with them. I miss my dog. I miss my own bed and my own shower and soap. I miss alone time with J. I miss my goofy high school kid job at the library. I miss you. Traveling now mostly just makes me miss things.

We rode the train to London 2 days ago and this was scribbled (or maybe pasted?) on the sign installation directly in front of the bench we sat on

J started not feeling well on the train ride. We got off and lugged our bags to a taxi and as he drove us through the streets from Kings Cross to the next hotel room with weird soap and weird showers, windows down, I heard your laugh. I didn't see whose face it erupted from, don't know what country they were from (maybe another American over here) or what they thought was so funny, but it was yours. The same booming, bawdy guffaw I used to hear at least a few times every time I'd see you in person. I heard it here. I heard your laugh in London. I know it wasn't you. But it also was.

J still feels badly. We've seen all the sights anyway. But he won't kiss me goodnight. We won't share food at restaurants. He doesn't even hold my hand down the city streets, and I can tell he kind of wishes he could sleep in another room than me and our son, be sure he doesn't want to make us sick too. No one will see that in our photos.

Another day and we'll be headed to Paris. Which I know is supposed to thrill and delight me. Ah, Paris. The City of Lights. Romance. Art. All of that. Yeah yeah. Oui oui. I'll go and I'll try to wring the joy out of the moments I can, even if J is still under the weather (or if more or all of us are). I'll try to appreciate the privilege travel is- that I get to see all this art and culture and splendor in person, when so many people never get to leave their home town. I'll try. But I kinda just want to go home. I don't like air travel. I don't like hotel rooms. I don't like being away from my dog or being away when J feels lousy.

We'll be away for 9 more days. (Christ it already feels like we've been gone a whole lifetime and that's another one to go). I'm counting them. And I'll keep alert for more signals that you're here with me. Because I heard your laugh in London.

[wutbju]

Bible Conference in 1968 was strange:

The annual Spring Bible Conference is one of the outstanding features of the year at Bob Jones University. Running for eight days, the conference brings to the campus outstanding, orthodox Bible teachers, pastors and evangelists. All regular academic work is suspended for the conference which takes the place of a spring vacation.

This year's conference was considered one of the school's best. More off-campus guests were present than for any other event in the school's history.

Services were held in the 3,000-seat Rodeheaver Auditorium, and overflow crowds watched the services via closed-circuit television in the 1,000-seat Concert Center. For most of the sessions it was necessary to use a third auditorium the War Memorial Chapel, which has a seating capacity of about 700+.

Guest speakers at the conference included Dr. Robert T. Ketcham, national consultant (retired), General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, Chicago, Ill.; Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley, pastor of Raven hill Free Presbyterian Church, Belfast, Ireland, moderator of Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, editor of "The Revivalist," "Protestant Telegraph." Also, Dr. Charles S. Poling, pastor of the Church of All Christian Faiths, Phoenix, Ariz.; Dr. Glen Schunk of Greenville, evangelist; and Dr. H. C. Slade, pastor of Jarvis Street Baptist Church, Toronto, Canada.

The next Bible Conference will be March 30-April 7, 1968. Among the speakers scheduled are Dr. G. Archer Weniger, pastor of the Foothill Boulevard Baptist Church of Oakland, Calif; Dr. Noel Smith, editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune," Springfield, Mo.; Dr. Bob Wells, pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Anaheim, Calif.; Rev. John Balyo, pastor of the Cedar Hill Baptist Church of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; and John Stormer, author of' "None Dare Call It Treason."

John Stormer was an anti-communist speaker.

And then a WBJU story:

WBJU, the student-manned carrier-current radio station, is now in its second year of operation. Located in the radio television wing of the Fine Arts Building, the fully equipped radio station is designed to be heard in the eight student dormitories.

Though staffed entirely by radio students, the station's operations are supervised by Robert Pratt, chairman of the division of speech and head of the department of radio and television, and other members of the radio-television faculty.

According to Mr. Pratt, the carrier-current station serves as a "laboratory training unit for students who have dedicated themselves to using broadcasting as a Christian ministry." He said that the station also endeavors to supplement the listening interests of the student body.

The university grants the bachelor of arts degree in radio and television and the bachelor of science degree in broadcast engineering. WBJU is in addition to the commercial stations operated by Bob Jones University -- WMUU and  WMUU-FM in Greenville and WAVO and WAVO-FM in the Atlanta, Ga., area.

[mybeingthere]

Mohammed Sami was born in Baghdad, Iraq, 1984. 

He studied drawing and painting at The Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad, Iraq 2005. He immigrated to Sweden in 2007. Later, in 2015 he earned a bachelor with honour degree from Ulster University-Belfast school of art, Northern Ireland. He has completed his master degree of fine art at Goldsmiths College, London, 2018. Mohammed lives and works between London and Norrköping, Sweden. In an attempt to use the medium painting as an instrument to find a metaphorical representation against the striking image of conflict and violence -Mohammed Sami paintings aim to explore the belated response to the trauma and memory since he immigrated to Sweden as a refugee from his native Iraq.

https://www.theguardian.com/.../mohammed-sami-interview...

[saintsenara]

11, 13, 18 for the not from the usa asks 😊

thank you very much for the ask from the i’m not from the states ask game, anon!

11. who is your favourite native writer/poet?

i've given one answer to this here - and i still refuse to say seamus heaney - so i'm going to go with... the novelist anna burns.

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

as a nation, we love/"love" parades and bonfires. maybe you're thinking that doesn't sound strange... but it is the way we do it. the same is true of street art.

as a nation, we very much don't love small talk. this caused a lot of trouble for me when i lived in england, because people will ask you benign questions [where are you from? do you follow any sports? how do you pronounce the letter h?] because they're being nice... but over here any and all small talk is someone trying to work out what religion you are... [my apologies in particular to the wee girl who was trying to drum up interest in the christian union on my first day of university, asked me if i went to church, and was greeted with me immediately going full "who wants to know?"]

in terms of superstitions... we've got plenty. fairies are real, going out with wet hair will kill you, the child of prague stops rain, having itchy palms is a good thing, the devil lives in bread...

my favourite local one, though, is that a short drive from where i live there's the grave of a vampire king. because, the rest of the world is wrong to assume that dracula was from transylvania. he was actually an irishman.

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language?

yes. in english i have a distinctive and beautiful accent which has only sometimes been described as "incomprehensible" and "nasal" [less so since i spent a decade living in britain and lost my rhotic r, which is a tragedy].

in irish, also yes. the irish language has three major dialects, which each have their own various subdivisions - so i speak the ulster dialect with a vaguely western-ulster flavour. you can get some idea of how that might sound from the youtube channel gaeilge i mo chroí - especially this interview she does with a native ulster speaker.

but it is worth saying that speaking any degree of irish is still relatively uncommon here. my dad made us learn the language fluently for... political reasons, but i was one of the only people who could speak it beyond a couple of phrases by the time i started secondary school [where it was on the curriculum]. so when i was younger i definitely spoke in a way which was slightly archaic/literary - and which was also influenced by the idiosyncrasies of my own family - which it took a bit of time to break the habits of...

contemporary irish-language media etc. in northern ireland is mostly found in belfast, so i also have a bit of a belfast twang in irish.

basically, it's a mess.