#the general’s daughter july 17 2019

[thegeneticopera]

after seeing many misconceptions on the ages of the characters and also the general lack of knowledge on relevant key events, I thought I'd create a timeline!

A comprehensive breakdown of important dates in Repo! The Genetic Opera:

1993: Rotti Largo was born (July 14th)

2006: On April 5th, the first ever death for NOS (Neuro-Overstimulation Syndrome) was recorded. GeneCo was then founded later that month in Milan, Italy by Giuseppe Largo and Dr. Michael Whatley who eventually discovered a treatment using an experimental drug called Zydrate and genetic manipulation.

2011: Marni was born (No date)

2016: Nathan was born (No date)

2017: Blind Mag was born (July 5th)

2019: Luigi Largo was born (November 20th)

2024: Pavi Largo was born (September 29th)

2025: By this point, The Genetic Opera, an interactive TV show, was sponsored by GeneCo to promote designer organs and keep the public "status-conscious" in order to continue boosting profits.

2032: Carmela Largo/Amber Sweet was born (August 23rd)

2035: Graverobber was born (No date)

2036: Marni brings Mag to meet Rotti Largo

2039: Shilo Wallace was born (August 27th), Marni Wallace dies, Nathan becomes a repo man

2040: Mag's eye transplants (March 21st)

2048: Blind Mag's Corpus Crusade tour

2053: Tao of Mag, a charity concert event held for blindness

2056: Rotti signs his last will and testament, declaring Shilo as the sole heir of his estate (August 7th). The events of the film take place on November 7th - Nathan, Rotti, and Mag die. Shilo presumably goes missing. Amber takes over GeneCo at a later unspecified date.

Some common misconceptions cleared up by the timeline:

Mag did not receive her eyes at 19, the date listed on her repossession chart says otherwise

Marni and Mag have a relatively large age gap. At the time in which Marni brought Mag to meet Rotti, she was already 25, and Mag was only 19. I personally like to think that Marni was a singing mentor of some sort (since in Chase the Morning we see that Mag has a memory of Marni singing), and perhaps worked with disabled people and this is how they met!

The age difference between Shilo and Graves is only 4 years!

Mag and Luigi only have a two year age difference. Her being under GeneCo's thumb since she was 19 and Luigi was 17 is probably why they have a relationship.

On that topic, Nathan is only 3 years older than Luigi, there's no way him or Mag could have "baby sat" the Largos as children if they're all approximately the same age (excluding Amber, but considering Nathan had his own daughter to raise and was a repoman and Mag was a world class opera singer I still doubt that would be the case)

This one doesn't have a specific date, but I felt it should be added regardless: Pavi's face disfigurement seemingly happened very recent to events of Repo! We see several times within the film that there are posters and billboards of him with his original face, even in the pictures Rotti has he didn't have the scarring yet. The posters say that GeneCo offering face replacements will be happening in 2057. Pavi was the one in charge of that, and he was stealing faces prior to his scarring (as seen in the pictures). We also know from several sources, including Luigi himself, that Pavi's face happened because of a botched surgery. It's safe to assume this was because of the new face replacement campaign that was being offered, and it was within the last year or two before the events in the film.

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Behind The Iron Claw : The Von Erich Story Part 3 : The New Generation

Hello Everyone! Here is the third and final part of ‘ Behind The Iron Claw: The Von Erich Story ’. If you haven’t read Parts one and two , please go check them out ! I also want to say thank you for taking the time to read this series and my other articles I have here on my blog! In this article , I’ll be discussing the third generation of Von Erichs in professional wrestling.

Lacey Dawn Adkisson ( Lacey Von Erich ) was born July 17, 1986. Lacey is Kerry Von Erich’s daughter and Fritz Von Erich’s granddaughter. Lacey stepped foot in the squared circle in 2007 with WWE as a developmental talent for Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) . She was also the first member of the third generation of the Von Erich family to do so. Lacey would make her debut as a valet for Billy Kidman on September 15,2007. She would also be a valet for Ryan O’Reilly ( Konner ) alongside two time WWE Divas Champion, Maryse. In October, she would make her in ring debut against another third generation wrestler , Natalya Neidhart, the daughter of Jim ‘ The Anvil Neidhart ’, granddaughter of Stu Hart, and niece of Bret ‘ The Hitman ’ Hart and Owen Hart. She would also manage Alicia Fox and team with Natalya and Maryse in a match against Fox and Brie and Nikki Bella ( The Bella Twins ). She would be released from her contract after asking to go to OVW. She would spend time on the independent scene and become the Windy City Pro Wrestling Ladies’ Champion in 2009. She won the championship in a Fatal 4 Way match which was her debut for the promotion. Thus, she vacated the championship after being signed to TNA. She would also have a run in Wrestlicious , a women’s wrestling promotion started by Jimmy Hart. Von Erich would make her TNA debut on October 1,2009 as Heel and becoming a member of The Beautiful People ( Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky). She is a one time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion along with Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne .

Kevin Marshall Adkisson and David Michael Ross Adkisson ( Marshall and Ross Von Erich ) are the sons of Kevin Von Erich and grandsons of Fritz Von Erich. Marshall was born on November 10,1992 and Ross was born on June 1, 1988. Lacey Von Erich is their cousin. Marshall and Ross made their profession wrestling debut in 2012 at World League Wrestling, losing in a tag team match against Jason Jones and Brian Breaker. They would also debut for a Japanese promotion called Pro Wrestling NOAH the same year . The brothers would make their wrestling TV debut in 2014 at TNA’s Slammiversary Pay Per View. Kevin would be managing his sons. They would make appearances in TNA from 2014 and 2015 . They would also compete in Action Zone Wrestling , a promotion in Hawaii where they lived. They would win the tag team championships. In the Summer of 2017, they would wrestle alongside Kevin at Rage Megashow in Israel. Therefore , in 2019, Marshall and Ross would find their way to Major League Wrestling ( MLW ). They would become MLW Tag Team Champions after defeating MJF and Richard Holliday ( The Dynasty ) . In 2022, they would face The Briscoes ( Mark and Jay ) at the show for Ric Flair’s Last Match. In 2023, the Von Erichs would appear in AEW and ROH. In 2024, they would team with Dustin Rhodes , the son of the ‘ American Dream ’ Dusty Rhodes , to win the Ring Of Honor World 6-Man Tag Team Championships at AEW Battle Of The Belts XI (11). ( I did do an article on that match and my reaction to it ! ). Marshall and Ross are also the hosts of The Von Erich podcast. They would interview guests such as ‘ The Perfect 10 ’ Baby Doll, and their mother , Pam.

Lacey’s sister , Hollie alongside Marshall and Ross’ sister , Kristen , also have a podcast. It’s called Growing Up Von Erich. They feature guests such as Natalya Neidhart and family members such as Cathy , Hollie and Lacey’s mother.

My Final Thoughts:

I have so much respect for the Von Erich family. I wrote this series to hopefully help all of you , my amazing readers, to understand who they are and how they impacted wrestling through tragedy and triumph. I enjoy both podcasts and enjoy watching Marshall and Ross when they appear on AEW TV. Lacey was also my favorite member of The Beautiful People . This has to be my favorite series I’ve done here on my blog. Trust me, it took hours of research to put the series together.

Love You All,

- Kay

[namshyeee]

Lynn Yamada Davis, a TikTok creator who entertained millions of people with her zany style and cooking tips on her account, Cooking With Lynja, died on Jan. 1 in Red Bank, N.J. She was 67.

The cause of death, in Riverview Medical Center, was esophageal cancer, her daughter Hannah Mariko Shofet said. Ms. Davis lived in Holmdel, N.J.

Ms. Davis began creating the wholesome Cooking With Lynja videos in 2020 with her youngest child, Tim Davis, to help keep up his cinematography skills during the pandemic lockdown.

Her social media accounts have remained active after her death, because she had asked him to post videos that had already been edited. One such video shows the two of them looking for truffles in Italy.

“My mom was like my partner in crime,” Mr. Davis, 27, who edited the TikTok account, said in a phone interview.

Something else she requested, Mr. Davis said, was that he post a few older videos that they had made together about a decade ago.

Those early versions of what would later become an international TikTok sensation known for their lightheartedness were a way for Mr. Davis to learn how to make the food his mother cooked “as well as have a time capsule,” he said.

After the last Cooking With Lynja videos are uploaded the account will stop posting, he said.

Cooking With Lynja began in 2020 and gained wide attention with a video in which the 5-foot-tall Ms. Davis makes a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich while showing off some quirky dance moves. Soon, about one million people were following her offbeat content. (Today, the account has more than 17 million followers.) Potential sponsors noted the videos’ success and started contacting her.

More than three years later, the Cooking With Lynja YouTube account has nearly 10 million subscribers, and Ms. Davis’s Instagram account has more than two million followers.

In 2022, Forbes included Ms. Davis on its annual “50 over 50” list, which pays tribute to successful women over 50 years old. And she won Streamy Awards, honoring online videos, in the editing and food categories. In 2023, she attended the Forbes Women’s Summit in Abu Dhabi, where she spoke on a panel.

Lynn Yamada Davis was born on July 31, 1956, in New York City and lived most of her early life in Fort Lee, N.J. Her father, Tadao Yamada, was a businessman, and her mother, Mabel Fujisake Yamada, ran the household.

She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and earned a master’s degree in business administration as well as public health from the Columbia University Business School.

Ms. Davis worked for Bell Labs (now AT&T Labs) and had a long career in telecommunications before her unexpected TikTok fame, Ms. Shofet, her daughter, said.

“She had this whole chapter as a groundbreaking female engineer, and she was very proud of that,” she added.

As a TikTok star Ms. Davis would get recognized around the world, including in Japan and Italy, where she traveled with her youngest son, Tim. Sean Davis, her other son, is a professional soccer player who used to be a midfielder for the New York Red Bulls and now plays for the Nashville Soccer Club.

“She was my first coach,” he said. When she would visit him in Nashville, he said, she’d get recognized in the street, often by young people who use TikTok a lot.

“That’s how I realized how famous she was,” Sean Davis said. “People would ask for pictures, and I would take the picture.”

Most of all, Cooking With Lynja provided Ms. Davis with much fun, Tim Davis said. With special effects that have tiny versions of Ms. Davis flying across the screen and quotes like “Lynja’s got that dope!” her videos appealed to several generations of viewers. In her videos she is seen preparing all kinds of foods, heard sinking her teeth into crispy sandwiches or potatoes, and shown karate-chopping Ramen noodles and much more.

Ms. Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019, which affected her voice. Two years later she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In one video, Ms. Davis bakes cookies for the medical workers who treated her.

In addition to her daughter Hannah and her sons, Ms. Davis is survived by her second husband, Keith Davis; another daughter, Becky Steinberg; two siblings, Jay Yamada and Karen Dolce Yamada; and two grandchildren. Her first marriage, to Hank Steinberg, ended in divorce.

In her final years Ms. Davis got to travel around the world, meet people as well as cook and eat amazing food, Sean Davis said. He added, “I just think her final chapter was exactly how she would have wanted it to be written.”

A correction was made on Jan. 12, 2024: An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the surname of Lynn Yamada Davis’s brother. He is Jay Yamada, not Jay Davis.

Article by: Claire Moses

Related link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/dining/lynja-davis-cooking-tiktok-dead.html%23:~:text%3DLynn%2520Yamada%2520Davis%252C%2520a%2520TikTok,daughter%2520Hannah%2520Mariko%2520Shofet%2520said.&ved=2ahUKEwj54vHkmNmDAxUCwjgGHcmJD4IQFnoECBAQBQ&usg=AOvVaw3LVu4CRgXFfh9eWXrv6Yhy

Namo, Julius

Sarmiento, Jizel Chinnji

Salamanca, Amalia

[lboogie1906]

Charles Booker (October 20, 1984) is a politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing the 43rd district (2019-21). He was Kentucky’s youngest African American state lawmaker.

He was a candidate in the Democratic Party primary for the 2020 Senate race in Kentucky, drawing national attention before losing a close race. In April 2021, he formed an exploratory committee for the 2022 Senate race in Kentucky and formally announced that he was running on July 1, 2021. He won the primary on May 17 but lost to incumbent Republican Rand Paul in the general election. He is the first African American to be a major party nominee for Senate in Kentucky. Following his defeat, he was appointed by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to lead the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement.

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky to parents who both dropped out of high school to tend to siblings. He graduated from Louisville Male High School. He earned a BA in Political Science and a JD from the University of Louisville.

He and his wife, Tanesha, have three daughters. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #kappaalphapsi

[sharedcorejournal]

CREATIVE CULTURES & CONTEXTS 237230 ⋆ Citations of Life

WORKS CITED

Apollo 17. AS17-148-22727. Photography, Dec. 1972.

Artbreeder, 2019.

“Biography of Charles Frederick Goldie.” Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/945.

Blundell, Sally, and Rob Brown. “Set in Stone.” Living World, New Zealand Geographic, May 2010, https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/set-in-stone/.

ChatGPT, 2023.

Emerging Technology from the arXiv. “Iris Scanner Can Distinguish Dead Eyeballs from Living Ones.” MIT Technology Review, MIT, July 2018, https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/07/24/141323/iris-scanner-can-distinguish-dead-eyeballs-from-living-ones/.

Eria, Migoto. “The Mana of Taonga and What It Means for Museums in Aotearoa.” Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Sept. 2018, https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2018/09/12/the-mana-of-taonga-and-what-it-means-for-museums-in-aotearoa/?cn-reloaded=1.

Grivina. Business Topics - Client Calls Stock Illustration. Digital, Dec. 2020, https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/business-topics-client-calls-gm1291576186-386650780.  

Iti, Tame (Tūhoe). “Mana: The power of knowing who you are”. YouTube, uploaded by TedxAuckland, 17 July 2015, https://youtu.be/qeK3SkxrZRI  

Larson, Gary. Cow tools. Print, Oct. 1982.

McCarter, Reid. “Abandon All Hope and Gaze upon This Deeply Cursed Image of Unidentifiable Objects.” The A.V. Club, Apr. 2019, https://www.avclub.com/abandon-all-hope-and-gaze-upon-this-deeply-cursed-image-1834239839.

Minjun, Yue. Execution. Oil painting, 1995.

Mirzoeff, Nicholas. How to See the World. Pelican, 2015. 1-27. https://stream.massey.ac.nz/pluginfile.php/5343965/mod_book/intro/Mirzoeff_How%20to%20see%20the%20world_Intro_Chapter%20notes%202015.pdf?time=1677378163695.

Mirzoeff , Nicholas. Visual Thinking in Dangerous Times. NYU Prague, Dec. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBEKGtTgox8.

Pin Art Wall. Partyworks, n.d.

“Police Seeks Help to Identify Dead Body.” Kashmir Life, KL News Network, Apr. 2018, https://kashmirlife.net/police-seeks-help-to-identify-dead-body-172290/.

Rauwerda, Annie. “Why Does Gen Z Love ‘Cow Tools,’ a Nonsensical Comic from 1982?” Inverse, Input, Jan. 2022, https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/cow-tools-far-side-gary-larson-cult-gen-z.

Rosenberg, David. “How One Photographer Overcame His Fear of Death by Photographing It.” Slate, Aug. 2014. slate.com, https://slate.com/culture/2014/08/walter-schels-life-before-death-includes-portraits-of-people-before-and-after-dying-photos.html.

Ruthie. Directed by Amy Winfrey, vol. Season 4 Episode 9, Netflix, 2017, https://youtu.be/JKRNKYdvFIo.

Schels, Walter. Life Before Death. Photography, 2004.

Schorch, Philipp, and Arapata Hakiwai. “Mana Taonga and the Public Sphere:  A Dialogue between Indigenous Practice and Western Theory.” International Council of Museums, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2014, https://icom.museum/en/news/mana-taonga-power-to-the-people/.

Semiotics Diagram. San Diego AMA, https://sdama.org/knowledge/semiotics-in-marketing-research-gaming-changing-marketing-research-3/semiotics-diagram/.

Smith, Huhana. “Mana Taonga and the Micro World of Intricate Research and Findings around Taonga Māori at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.” Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, Dec. 2009, pp. 7–9, https://sites.otago.ac.nz/Sites/article/view/126.

Student-Staff Forum on Generative Artificial Intelligence at Sydney. Directed by University of Sydney, Educational Innovation, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b8Op64v7Pc&ab_channel=EducationalInnovation.

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking : An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2009.

“Victorian Era Post-Mortem Family Portrait of Parents with their Deceased Daughter.” n.d. https://blog.history.ac.uk/2013/02/memorial-photography/

White, Anna-Marie, and Kate Brettkelly-Chalmers. Kaihono Āhua - Vision Mixer: Revisioning Contemporary New Zealand Art. The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, 2014.

Williams, James. Understanding Poststructuralism. Acumen Pub, 2005.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Apollo 17. AS17-148-22727. Photography, Dec. 1972.

Artbreeder, 2019.

“Biography of Charles Frederick Goldie.” Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/945.

Blundell, Sally, and Rob Brown. “Set in Stone.” Living World, New Zealand Geographic, May 2010, https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/set-in-stone/.

ChatGPT, 2023.

Emerging Technology from the arXiv. “Iris Scanner Can Distinguish Dead Eyeballs from Living Ones.” MIT Technology Review, MIT, July 2018, https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/07/24/141323/iris-scanner-can-distinguish-dead-eyeballs-from-living-ones/.

Eria, Migoto. “The Mana of Taonga and What It Means for Museums in Aotearoa.” Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Sept. 2018, https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2018/09/12/the-mana-of-taonga-and-what-it-means-for-museums-in-aotearoa/?cn-reloaded=1.

Grivina. Business Topics - Client Calls Stock Illustration. Digital, Dec. 2020, https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/business-topics-client-calls-gm1291576186-386650780.  

“Interview with Walter Schels.” A Closer Look, Artsper Magazine, Sept. 2013, https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/interview-with-walter-schels/.

Iti, Tame (Tūhoe). “Mana: The power of knowing who you are”. YouTube, uploaded by TedxAuckland, 17 July 2015, https://youtu.be/qeK3SkxrZRI  

Larson, Gary. Cow tools. Print, Oct. 1982.

McCarter, Reid. “Abandon All Hope and Gaze upon This Deeply Cursed Image of Unidentifiable Objects.” The A.V. Club, Apr. 2019, https://www.avclub.com/abandon-all-hope-and-gaze-upon-this-deeply-cursed-image-1834239839.

Minjun, Yue. Butterfly. Oil painting, 2007.

Minjun, Yue. Execution. Oil painting, 1995.

Mirzoeff, Nicholas. How to See the World. Pelican, 2015. 1-27. https://stream.massey.ac.nz/pluginfile.php/5343965/mod_book/intro/Mirzoeff_How%20to%20see%20the%20world_Intro_Chapter%20notes%202015.pdf?time=1677378163695.

Mirzoeff , Nicholas. Visual Thinking in Dangerous Times. NYU Prague, Dec. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBEKGtTgox8.

Pin Art Wall. Partyworks, n.d.

“Police Seeks Help to Identify Dead Body.” Kashmir Life, KL News Network, Apr. 2018, https://kashmirlife.net/police-seeks-help-to-identify-dead-body-172290/.

Preciado, Paul B. Testo Junkie: Sex, Drugs, and Biopolitics in the Pharmacopornographic Era. The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2013.

Rauwerda, Annie. “Why Does Gen Z Love ‘Cow Tools,’ a Nonsensical Comic from 1982?” Inverse, Input, Jan. 2022, https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/cow-tools-far-side-gary-larson-cult-gen-z.

Rosenberg, David. “How One Photographer Overcame His Fear of Death by Photographing It.” Slate, Aug. 2014. slate.com, https://slate.com/culture/2014/08/walter-schels-life-before-death-includes-portraits-of-people-before-and-after-dying-photos.html.

Ruthie. Directed by Amy Winfrey, vol. Season 4 Episode 9, Netflix, 2017, https://youtu.be/JKRNKYdvFIo.

Schels, Walter. Life Before Death. Photography, 2004.

Schorch, Philipp, and Arapata Hakiwai. “Mana Taonga and the Public Sphere:  A Dialogue between Indigenous Practice and Western Theory.” International Council of Museums, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2014, https://icom.museum/en/news/mana-taonga-power-to-the-people/.

Semiotics Diagram. San Diego AMA, https://sdama.org/knowledge/semiotics-in-marketing-research-gaming-changing-marketing-research-3/semiotics-diagram/.

Smith, Huhana. “Mana Taonga and the Micro World of Intricate Research and Findings around Taonga Māori at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.” Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, Dec. 2009, pp. 7–9, https://sites.otago.ac.nz/Sites/article/view/126.

Student-Staff Forum on Generative Artificial Intelligence at Sydney. Directed by University of Sydney, Educational Innovation, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b8Op64v7Pc&ab_channel=EducationalInnovation.

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking : An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2009.

“Victorian Era Post-Mortem Family Portrait of Parents with their Deceased Daughter.” n.d. https://blog.history.ac.uk/2013/02/memorial-photography/

White, Anna-Marie, and Kate Brettkelly-Chalmers. Kaihono Āhua - Vision Mixer: Revisioning Contemporary New Zealand Art. The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, 2014.

Williams, James. Understanding Poststructuralism. Acumen Pub, 2005.

[pinoylambinganteleserye-blog]

[duggardata]

Abbie is Pregnant w/ Her and John’s 2nd Child!

Get The Data (and Predictions) Here.

On Mother’s Day (May 8, 2022), Abbie (Burnett) Duggar announced that she’s expecting Baby #2, a boy, in “late summer.”  She married John David Duggar on November 3, 2018, and so far they’ve had 1 Daughter, Gracie (b. 2020).

[ Permalink to Pregnancy Announcement ]

Read on for all the data! 

Approximate Due Date (ADD)

Per the Pregnancy Announcement, Duggar–Burnett #2 is due in “late summer.” Duggar Data would general defines “summer” as the months of June, July, and August, inclusive—but still, “late summer” is pretty vague.  So, let’s take a look at the data, and see if it helps us narrow things down...

John + Abbie have had one prior pregnancy (Gracie).  That time, they revealed the pregnancy on August 1, 2019.  Gracie’s Due Date was January 12, 2020—so, Abbie was 116 Days Along when they went public the pregnancy.  If Abbie was also 116 Days Along this time around, her May 8, 2022 would correspond to a Due Date of October 17, 2022.  Obviously, that’s not right, since they said the baby’s due in “late summer.”  So...  The data doesn’t help us much.  

With nothing but “late summer” to go on, Duggar Data is going to use August 31, 2022 as Abbie’s Approximate Due Date (ADD), for the time being.  I chose that date because it’s about as “late summer” as you can get.

Projected DOB + Child Spacing

With Gracie, Abbie gave birth 5 Days Early (on January 7, with a Due Date of January 12 per Counting On).  With an ADD of August 31—and assuming she delivers 5 Days Early again—that’s a Projected DOB of August 26, 2022.

Grace was born on January 7, 2020.  If Duggar–Burnett #2 arrives on August 26, 2022, that’s a Child Spacing of 962 Days (2.63 Years).  This is one of the longest Child Spacings ever for a 2nd–Generation Duggar Couple.  (Actually, the only longer one is the Theoretical Spacing for Sam–to–River Bliss Dillard, had Jill not miscarried.  That would’ve been ~1,711 Days.)

Abbie suffered hyperemesis gravidarum (HE)—severe, persistent nausea and vomiting, far beyond typical “morning sickness”—with her 1st Pregnancy (w/ Gracie).  John + Abbie haven’t revealed if she is similarly ill during Pregnancy #2, but there’s a good chance she is, since HE often recurs.

Early, Late, or What?

Definitely late.  Based on John + Abbie’s Wedding–to–Firstborn Spacing (430 Days) and the current (until their Pregnancy Announcement) Duggar 2nd Child Multiplier (1.5688x), the Duggar–Burnetts would have been expected to have a Gracie–to–Baby #2 Spacing of 675 Days.  If so, they would’ve welcomed Baby #2 on November 12, 2021.

Obviously, that didn’t happen!  Now that they’ve announced, it looks like they will welcome Baby #2 on August 26, 2022 instead, which is 287 Days (or 9.4 Months) Later than the 2nd Child Multiplier’s forecast...  That’s definitely late!

Impact on 2nd Child Multiplier

Grace arrived 430 Days after John + Abbie’s Wedding.  Duggar–Burnett #2 is expected to arrive 962 Days after Gracie.  Comparing 962 Days to 430 Days, John + Abbie’s 2nd Child Spacing is 2.2372x their Marriage–to–#1 Spacing.

Immediately prior to John + Abbie’s 2nd Pregnancy Reveal, the Duggars’ 2nd Child Multiplier was 1.5688x, on average.  Each Duggar Couple’s Multiplier— from largest to smallest—is as follows...

2.5294x   Jill + Derick

2.2372x   John + Abbie

1.9524x   Joy + Austin

1.8755x   Joe + Kendra

1.5199x   John + Anna

1.2439x   Jessa + Ben

1.1320x   Jinger + Jeremy

No Data   Jed + Katey, Jer + Hannah, Justin + Claire

As you can see, John + Abbie’s 2nd Child Multiplier is second largest, after Jill + Derick’s.  When John + Abbie’s is averaged in with the rest, the Duggar 2nd Child Multiplier shifts from 1.5688x to 1.7131x (+9%).

Impact on Procreative Pace / ESOQ

John + Abbie’s Procreative Pace (PP) is now based entirely on their Projected Grace–to–Baby #2 Spacing, since that’s their only Non–Firstborn Spacing.

As a result, their Procreative Pace (PP) for any future pregnancies is now 962 Days (or 2.63 Years).  Immediately after Gracie’s Birth, their Estimated PP—based on their Firstborn Spacing and the Duggars’ 2nd Child Multiplier—was 766 Days (196 Days Faster).  As a result, they are expected to have children a lot slower than before.  With a 962–Day PP, their ESOQ is now 5 Children—a modest quiver, by Duggar standards!  That’s down from 6 Children, right after Gracie’s birth.  

When To Expect Duggar–Burnett #3

Based on available data, here’s what the Predictor expects—

Baby News   November 30, 2024

Due Date   April 19, 2025

Projected DOB   April 14, 2025

[thesoftdumbass]

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No Light, No Light

Bucky Barnes x reader

The Winter Soldier gets triggered while on a mission and Bucky worries about your reaction. >posted 7/23/17

sweet as can be & part two

Bucky Barnes x reader

AU! Bucky Barnes has no idea what to do for his daughter’s 12th birthday party, that is, until he meets you. >posted June/July 2019

a tale of two kitties

Bucky Barnes x reader

When your kitten escapes your apartment, you find help from your hot neighbor to get her back. >posted 12/31/19

Fandom Challenge Aesthetic ~ Bucky Barnes

Happy Birthday Baby

Steve Rogers x reader

You give your husband some very happy news on his birthday. >posted 7/4/17

To Whom It May Concern

Steve Rogers x reader

The countdown to meeting your soulmate. >posted 7/12/17

Before We Go

Steve Rogers x reader

A stranger helps you look for your purse when it's been stolen. >posted 10/13/17

Slumbering Men and Kisses

Steve Rogers x reader

Steve Rogers, along with his entire village, has been put under a sleeping curse and you are recruited to help wake them. Kisses can count as a show of gratitude, right? >posted 7/13/18

*Shameless

Steve Rogers x reader

Steve wanted nothing more after his shower than to lay in bed and read his book, but that was before you called. He won’t hesitate to come to you…he has no shame. >posted 3/16/20

you're a fine girl

Steve Rogers x reader

Steve Rogers visited Y/N’s harbor town once, but he made it clear that he couldn’t stay…when he comes back suddenly for a visit, he just might turn her world upside down. >posted 7/13/20

Fandom Challenge Aesthetics ~ Steve Rogers

It Starts With A Dance

Stucky x reader

You’re forced to attend a gala with the team, but two handsome super-soldiers help you enjoy your night. >posted 1/1/19

Undercover

Sam Wilson

You wear a sexy dress undercover for a target, and Sam gets a little jealous. >posted 7/18/17

Ralphie Who?

Sam Wilson x reader

Sam is dared to lick an icicle and you have to help him out of a cold situation. >posted 12/12/18

The Joys of Laser Tattoo Removal

Pietro Maximoff x reader

Pietro has a tattoo he needs help getting rid of. >posted 7/11/17

Call, Interrupted

Tony Stark (platonic/mentor)

Tony helps you, a young mutant, out of a sticky situation >posted 8/20/17

Finding Home

Avengers (general)

The Avengers help a young mutant girl. >posted 7/29/17

Revenge

Charles Xavier x reader

Mentally teasing young!Charles because you know he’s reading your mind. >posted 11/30/16

[wishingicouldfly]

Links to my analysis posts & rambling rants

Before the fall of 2020, I was absolutely in the dark about One Direction and the Larry love story. If not for Covid-19, I probably wouldn’t have come to this fandom at all. Or maybe I would have eventually--I can't believe I didn't know about it before. My teenage daughter introduced me to the love story in August 2020--of course I knew about One Direction and the surface stuff that the general public knows. She made me sit down and listen to HS1, Walls, and Fine Line back to back. And watch the Adore You video--it was Louis the Fish that clinched it for me.

As a young adult and middle grade novelist, the love story was the thing that hooked me. And boy, it hooked me hard. I went down the rabbit hole. Deep down the rabbit hole, I need to add. Fan made videos, master lists, Fan Fiction. The Rainbow Bears. Anything I could find about the music industry and stunting and tabloids. Some of it broke my heart, but most of it gave me such joy.

Because I'm starting to have a few of these rambles...I thought I'd try to get organized and put the links in one spot. I should have done this a long time ago--these are in no particular order, and I'll add to it as I add them.

Rosann's Reading Recommendations - No Stunts Magazine links

Archive of Author Interviews - Rosann's Writing Room

Too Much Sauce - some thoughts (1/17/24)

Why I Believe Larry is (still) Real

Favorite Fics from 2023

My first full length fanfic: Homecoming

Harry's breakfast thigh tattoo (8/23/23)

Harry Quoting Song Lyrics on Twitter through the Years (3/28/23)

Harry Styles is a Mermaid (3/7/23)

My Policeman - My Review (10/22/22)

Harry Styles sighting in the background of a Louis Tomlinson Interview in 2019

View From The Ground - FIFT World Tour, Nashville, TN - 7/18/23

View From the Ground - FITF World Tour, Uncasville, CT - 5/26/23

View From the Ground - MSG Night 2, HSLOT - 8/21/22

View From the Ground: LTWT Boston - 2-17-22

View From the Ground: LTWT Washington - 2-10-22

FanFic Favorites for 2022

Dallas, but not THAT Dallas - or Harry and Liam being interviewed and Harry getting annoyed at being called a lonely old man.

Repository for Pilatrry Memes and Link to "Pilates Memes and Sunscreen" on AO3

Debunk: Louis came out to his Rover teammates in August 2013 - January 11, 2023

Debunking the "Harry crying after Larry Denial" moment

Debunking picture of Harry in Nail Polish in 2011 - Aug. 17, 2022

Debunking the "Niall hugged Harry after a Larry denial" comment

Times Harry has "Come Out" over the years - 9-19-22

Louis Tomlinson - LGBTQ Icon - 1-16-23

The Connection between BTM and Holiday - Louis - 9-2-22

Harry's Media Training shows in the Rolling Stone article

F*cking Running From the Bullets--On the 8/22/22 Rolling Stone Article featuring Harry Styles

They Made It - my perspective - June 2022

Don't Let me Go - Harry Styles

Larry Never Broke Up - 2016 edition - May 30, 2022

Better Homes and Garden - Harry edition - April 26, 2022

My thoughts on the Harry's House and HS1/1D era leaked music - April 26, 2022

Analyzing Harry's new song Boyfriends, as revealed at Coachella on April 15, 2022

Harry Styles on Howard Stern - talking about Susan Boyle in 2020 - April 9, 2022

Larry are Not Straight

My Thoughts on As It Was - April 1, 2022

Harry's House paying tribute to Andrew Gold? - March 24, 2022

Why Did the Mushroom Go to the Party - Louis' Favorite Joke - 3-23-22

H&L Songs that reference HOME

Meanwhile Somewhere in Venice in 2021

Day ONE as One D - Larry fonding

Fanfic Faves - 2021

My view of the Larry moment in DC - 2.10.22. LOUIS POINTS TO "Sing Walls if Larry is Real" SIGN

My $.02 about [redacted] and H's 28th birthday - February 2, 2022

Harry Styles and the word "P*ssy" - October 9, 2021

Harry Styles: The Making of a Modern Man (my thoughts on a HS biography) - September 1, 2021

My thoughts on Harry's love language - response to an anon - July 2021

My perspective on a 1D reunion on the even of the 11th anniversary - July 2021

My rambling thoughts about Harry sleeping around and groupies

Please don't let Antis bring you down

Harry being uncomfortable with his sexualized image - from Zane Lowe interview December 2019

Harry walking around London in the We Made It sunnies - June 1, 2021, first day of Pride Month

Everthing is fine - June 2021

Peabody Essex Museum/The Swimmer/and Clothes as Armor

My thoughts on The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy and family support around H&L

Harry Styles and being Unlabeled

Profiteroles for Dessert (wink wink)

The Fishing Trucker Hat - July 2021

Harry is uncomfortable and cringy around women

Harry making the thumbs up sign to Louis in 2015 during MITAM promo

Sign Language - Harry touching his heart during awards in 2021

The Peace Ring - June 2021

One D Day - Hour Five Observation (or Harry's Rings)

Louis and Harry hands as art - The Creation of Adam (Sistine Chapel)

Larry are Not Straight

Blue Bandana Sighting

A ramble about staying positive in light of Holivia and stunting - July 2021

Long Term Relationships and Shared Grief

Analysis of the German TV Show - Steal My Girl "banter"

Another version of my thoughts on the German Steal My Girl banter video (apparently I like this one since I've talked about it multiple times)

2013 Video of X-Factor Performance - Midnight Memories with an interesting Larry interaction

Harry always turns to face Louis/the other boys

Holivia is not real (or Olivia and Camille sharing clothing)

My thoughts on Yacht-Gate 2021

Random thoughts about My Policeman

Harry sings Kiwi on X-Factor in 2017

Processing the end of filming DWD and the Holivia PR Stunt

My thoughts on Haroline

I hate Haylor but it gave us Nuts 4 Nuts

Fanfiction recommendations

[eretzyisrael]

An extinguished, precious life remembered in Melbourne

Twenty years ago we started the endless process of adjusting to life without our delightful first-born daughter Malka Chana - Malki to her friends - stolen from us before she reached her sixteenth birthday.

Our copy of the Melbourne Herald-Sun's front page report on August 11, 2001 isdamaged. We are trying to acquire a repairedimage.

It wasn't an illness or a tragic accident that removed Malki from the warm embrace of those who loved her. It was a gang of ideology-crazed thugs led by a chillingly satanic Jordanian woman, armed with a powerful explosive package disguised as a human being, an Arab man in his twenties, and egged on by millions of backers.

Those millions still exert a deeply painful influence on our lives.

We scan the Arabic social media six days a week. This week on the day of the twentieth anniversary we saw - though we didn't need it - plenty of evidence of how utterly different the world in which they live their lives is from ours in this generations-long war of terror.

It's a war that Arabs launched against against Jews in Palestine long before the name Palestine was appropriated by the Arab side. And decades before the State of Israel announced its existence as new-born state on the 1948 day the British Mandate ended and six Arab armies invaded.

A random selection of some deeply hostile and ugly anniversary messages appearing on Twitter (minus the links - we have interest in giving these people any traffic or attention):

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of Operation Sbarro carried out by the martyr Izz Al-Din Al-Masri in Jaffa Street in occupied Jerusalem with the help of the liberated captive Ahlam Al-Tamimi in retaliation for the martyrdom of the two leaders Gamal Selim and Jamal Mansour [Arabic]

..A martyrdom operation in the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem which led to the deaths of 20 Zionists and the wounding of 100 [Arabic]

We do not want to forget the liberated captive, Ahlam Al-Tamimi, who carried the attacker of the Sbarro restaurant, Izz Al-Din Al-Masri, to the restaurant after which she was arrested by the occupation army [Arabic]

Prepare it for them in the manner of the people of Aqaba and serve it [pizza] hot and delicious. Al-Masri [the name of the human bomb], go through here. Occupied Jerusalem August 9, 2001 [Arabic]

Proud of our representative from the family in the heroic operation. The liberated captive, Ahlam Al-Tamimi, who transported the martyr Izz Al-Din Al-Masri and handed him a guitar stuffed with maddening death [Arabic - posted by a male with the surname Tamimi]

...Al-Masri was killed on the responsibility of the Jews and their responsibility is extensive [Arabic]

If her parents hadn’t chosen to become foreign invaders she’d probably be alive now

My argument is with the creation of an apartheid theocratic state created by the West (mostly by the US and Britain) in Palestine largely so Jews wouldn't immigrate to the US. I'm a Jew not an Israeli Zionist. She should never have been put in this position by her dad.

We saw no Arabic messages condemning or criticizing Tamimi or the massacre. They might exist and we're just not seeing them, but the truth is we have been looking for years and not finding.

Malki, like her father, was born in Australia. The current edition of the Australian Jewish News, a weekly community-focused newspaper, ran this editorial on Thursday. It's reprinted with the permission of its editor, Zeddy Lawrence.

‘A precious life extinguished’

"THE Australian Jewish community was in mourning this week," reported The AJN 20 years ago, on Friday, August 17, 2001. "The death of 15-year-old Malki Roth in the Sbarro bombing catapulted Israel's crisis into personal grief for much of this community."

Fifteen innocent people were killed in the terrorist attack just a few days earlier, when a guitar case packed with nails was detonated at the central Jerusalem pizza restaurant. Among the victims were seven people aged between just two and 16. Scores of other diners were wounded.

Reflecting on the death of his daughter at the time, Arnold Roth told The AJN, "This was the extinguishing of a precious life."

Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi, who masterminded the attack and drove the bomber to the restaurant, was apprehended by Israel soon afterwards and sentenced to 16 life terms in an Israeli jail. But in 2011, she was one of more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage in Gaza for five years.

Since that time, Tamimi has lived in Jordan, feted as a celebrity, and expressing her joy at the high death toll the Sbarro bombing inflicted.

Determined to bring her back to justice, Arnold and his American-born wife Frimet have long called for her to be extradited to the US, as Malki and another victim held American citizenship.

A warrant was issued, but insisting the extradition treaty between the countries was never ratified, Jordan has never acted on it.

The latest evidence, however, appears to show that the treaty was indeed signed.

With that in mind, as the community marks 20 years since Malki's death, the Roths are hoping their sustained campaign may bear fruit.

Pressure is mounting within Washington for the US to withhold foreign assistance from Jordan, and they're urging the Australian government – who they claim have been reticent to speak out – to also take a stand.

Twenty years on, we share their hope that the authorities, both here and Stateside, will take action, so that the unrepentant, bragging terrorist who has Malki's blood on her hands will soon be back behind bars, where she belongs.

The same AJN edition carried this article by senior journalist Peter Kohn:

Still seeking justice for Malki Roth

ON the 20th of Av this year (July 29), Arnold and Frimet Roth visited the Israeli grave of Malki Roth and recited Kaddish. It was their daughter’s yahrzeit – 20 years after the Australian-born teenager was murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack at a Jerusalem pizzeria, along with 15 others, including seven children.

“Life was heavy,” Malki’s father told The AJN this week, reflecting on the yahrzeit. “You’re missing somebody desperately and feel awful about the fact that she’s not part of your life.”

But this Monday, August 9, the secular anniversary of Malki’s killing, Roth was back on Zoom and on the phone continuing his relentless campaign to see Ahlam Tamimi, the mastermind of the attack, extradited from Jordan to the US. “The ninth of August … that’s all about justice,” he stated.

Tamimi had picked out the Sbarro pizzeria targeted by her and another bomber on August 9, 2001, her accomplice dying in the attack. Tamimi left the scene disguised as a tourist, later professing her glee as the ever-rising death toll was reported.

Although sentenced in Israel to 16 consecutive life terms, she was exchanged in a 2011 prisoner swap to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas captivity. She continues to be feted as a media celebrity in Jordan, and, according to Roth, she recently added a regular newspaper column to her stint as a Jordanian TV show host.

In the US, she faces charges relating to the death of two American citizens – Malki, who held dual citizenship, being one of them – and an extradition request was issued in 2017.

But four years on, Roth is still battling three governments to get Tamimi extradited.

For years, the US had maintained its hands were tied because Jordan had not ratified its extradition treaty, a position stated by a Jordanian court in 2017. However, in 2019, Roth learned from an American official that Jordan had indeed ratified the treaty as far back as 1995.

Last year, under US freedom-of-information laws, he even received an archived letter from Jordan’s former monarch King Hussein to the US State Department confirming that fact. He is hopeful this legal development will provide a much needed stepping stone.

Desperate for the Australian government to weigh in, Roth’s entreaties to Malcolm Turnbull when he was PM did not bear fruit. Approaches to Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year were referred to Foreign Minister Marise Payne, whose office cited constitutional problems in Jordan with extraditing its nationals, an assertion Roth rejects because oddly “it goes beyond what the Jordanians say”.

In Israel meanwhile, Roth says his fight to have Tamimi extradited to the US has been “betrayed by a chain of Netanyahu governments and, so far at least, by the new government. Of course, Israel could do something. But Israel has no charges against this woman. Israel has washed its hands of the case.”

Roth’s growing perception is that justice for Malki has become expendable to higher policy priorities in Jerusalem, Washington and Canberra.

“There’s a lot of group-think going on – among Israelis, among Americans, among media people,” he said, describing Tamimi as “the most wanted female fugitive alive today”.

The Roths maintain their ties to the families of other victims of the Sbarro bombing, particularly to a victim who remains “in a vegetative state”, he said.

Arnold remains honorary chair of the Malki Foundation, established in his daughter’s memory to support children with disabilities. Malki had been a caring, loving companion to her severely disabled younger sister and others with special needs.

“A 15-year-old girl who had a legacy – it’s unbelievable, but she did,” exclaimed Roth. “She was so good, so empathetic, so involved in making the world better for children with special needs.”

This blog isn't a memorial to our daughter. That function belongs to the website of the Malki Foundation (www.kerenmalki.org). We hope you will visit it.

In the context of terrorism and the worldwide efforts to defeat it, we write here at the site you are now visiting about our efforts to bring Malki's killers to justice - in particular Ahlam Tamimi. the Jordanian orchestrator of the massacre at Sbarro twenty years ago.

Tamimi, now 41 years old and a celebrity in the Arab world, lives free and famous in her homeland despite being the world's most woman female fugitive with a $5M reward issued by the US State Department for her capture and conviction.

One valuable way to give us your support is to sign our petition at change.org/ExtraditeTamimi

[aboutanancientenquiry]

A Kazakhstani movie based on Herodotus’ narrative about Tomyris and the death of Cyrus the Great -its national and political implications and a Persianate point of view on it

“Tomiris is a 2019 Kazakhstani feature film directed by Akan Sataev, which tells the story of the queen of the Massagetae, Tomyris, and the Persian king, Cyrus the Great. The film co-stars Almira Tursyn, Aizhan Lighg, and Ghassan Massoud.

The film was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan. The idea to create a film about Tomyris was brought by Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of the first president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. She was later employed as a general producer of the film.

The premiere of the film took place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on September 25, 2019. The film received mixed reviews from critics and, as of July 2020, grossed $1.3 million against a production budget of $6.5 million.

Cast[edit]

Almira Tursyn – Tomiris

Aizhan Lighg – Sardana

Ghassan Massoud – Cyrus

Berik Aitzhanov – Kurtun

Adil Akhmetov – Argun

Zarina Yeva - Tana

Erkebulan Dayirov – Kharasp

Azamat Satibaldi – Kavaz

The film was ordered by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan. The idea of a film about Tomyris was brought to creation by Aliya Nazarbayeva, the daughter of the first president of Kazakhstan.[8] Filming began in December 2017, and scenes were shot in different parts of Kazakhstan. The Massagetae heroes speak the ancient Turkic language, while the Persian heroes speak new Persian in the film, despite the fact that modern historians consider the Massagetae to have been a nomadic Iranian people.[9][10] The film's budget was 6,5 million USD.[7]

The plot of the film is built on the story of Herodotus, who called his version one of the many stories about the death of Cyrus the Great.[11] The filmmakers took into account many features of the culture and life of the Massagetae, in particular, their pointed hats and tribal meetings, at which the most important issues were resolved. However, the language spoken by the Saka nomads, which is an artificially created proto-Turkic language, is controversial. The clothes worn by the Massagetae in the film are also disputable, as they are probably too heavy for the Central Asian region. The vicinity of the Amu Darya River has a very hot climate, so the summer clothes were lighter and of a different style.[11]

Almira Tursyn, a psychologist, was chosen from 15 thousand people to play the role of Tomyris. She took professional lessons of horseriding and archery and learned to use swords and knives.[12]

Release and critical response[edit]

The film was theatrically released in Kazakhstan on October 1, 2019. The distribution rights of the film were sold to Blue Swan for Italy, SND Films for France, Art Mood for Spain, AT Entertainment for Japan, Gulf Film for the Middle East, Challan for South Korea, Paradise/MGN for CIS, Shaw for Singapore, Program 4 Media for Romania, Siyah Bayez Movies for Turkey, and Well Go USA for the United States.[13][14] Distribution in the United States and Canada was picked up by Amazon Prime Video.[15]

The film received mixed reviews, largely because Herodotus's version of events is not generally accepted by historians and researchers,[16] and unlike in the film, Massagetae are Scythian people speaking an Iranian language, while in the movie all characters are represented by modern Kazakh (featuring Mongolian physiognomy and speaking a Turkic language). Criticism came from both the Kazakh and Iranian public mainly for considering the film as a feminist approach to the history of both Muslim countries. The Iranian public also criticized the film for using Herodotus's description of King Cyrus's death.[16]

Some observers believe that the film was aimed to make Dariga Nazarbayeva's potential presidential bid in the future, the daughter of Kazakhstan's former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, more acceptable among ordinary Kazakhstanis.[17]

The film won the Nouveau Genre Great Prize at France's 2020 L'Étrange Festival.[18]

As of July 2020, it had grossed $1.3 million against a production budget of $6.5 million.[19]

From the article of Wikipedia on the film Tomiris ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomiris_(film) )”

Ghassan Massoud as Cyrus the Great in the film Tomiris

“The Legend of Tomiris Rewrites History and Makes It More Kazakh 

By Javeed Ahwar - November 15, 2020

The Legend of Tomiris (2019) is a lame adaption of Herodotus’s account of Cyrus the Great’s encounter with a Steppe warrior Tomiris (See Rollinger 2012). There is no doubt that the film is a not a historically accurate adaptation, nor the intention of makers, I believe, have been making something based on historical facts. Tomiris (the film) is a prime example how arts become a tool for nationalist politics in today’s time. Regarding the ethnic origin of Scythians, there is almost a consensus among Turkologists and scholars of Central Asian studies about their Iranian ancestry. Distinguished Turkologist Svat Saucek defines Scythians as nomadic Iranians—the natives of Central Asian Steppes, who were driven out from this region by Kipchak Turks between the fourth and sixth centuries (2000, xii, 28). Furthermore, historian A.I. Melyukova writes, “From the end of the 7th century B.C. to the 4th century B.C. the Central- Eurasian steppes were inhabited by two large groups of kin Iranian-speaking tribes—the Scythians and Sarmatians” (2008, 97). Based on the existing scholarship, Massagetae, a sub-division of Scythians which Tomiris belonged to, were not a Turkic group, quite on the contrary, they were in war with the latter until they were fully replaced by them in the Steppes. The question rises if a moviemaker can go that far in manipulating historical facts and is it then fair to call it a historical drama. I leave it for the readers to decide.

Coming to the story of film, it is narrated by Al-Farabi, a universalist middle ages scholar of Iranian origin, who is introduced as “Al-Turki” and given a Kazakh phenotype in the film. Al-Farabi is shown sitting in a traditional office-like atmosphere in Damascus (Syria) while writing the story of Tomiris for the Arab world. The story starts with the birth of Tomiris and the maternal death of her mother, queen to the Massagetae tribe’s chief Spargap. Being the first child to her father, she gets treated as a prince and trained in hunting, sword fighting, archery and politics by her father. Spargap gets killed by his rival tribe leaders Kurtun and Kavaz, shown as loyal puppets to the neighboring Iranian Khwarazmians. Tomiris survives several assassination attempts and seeks asylum at Savromat tribe and marries with Argun, the prince of Saprap tribe. After avenging her father and brothers’ bloods, she unites the Steppe tribes in war against Khwarazmians, part of the Persian King’s domain. The interval scene begins with Tomiris receiving an invitation from Cyrus. Argun and his son Spargap decides to visit Babylon the quarter of Cyrus the Great. The conversation does not go well between the two. After rejecting Cyrus’s proposal to join Persia in their conquest of the Egypt, persuaded by his subject Gubar, Cyrus kills the entire delegates. Gubar, the messenger of Cyrus, brings their death bodies to Tomiris also proposing her to marry the king of kings. Tomiris, now a widow, not only rejects the marriage proposal of the Shahenshah, but also avenges the death of her son and husband killing the entire Persian delegates and declaring a war with Persia. Cyrus the Great putting his plan of conquering the Egypt on halt, wages a war with the Steppe tribes and gets killed at the hand of an ordinary warrior of Tomiris.

Why Tomiris? Aliya Nazarbayeva—daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the ex-president of Kazakhstan and writer-actor Timur Zhaksylykov   have pinned down the story to cater to Kazakh youth who seek glory in the past. Tomiris (2019) not only makes a 700 B.C. historical figure speak Kazakh, it is supported by poor cast playing Persians and Khwarazmian. Neither the Kazakh nor the Persian dialogues are intelligible to present Kazakh and Persian speakers. Was it a deliberate move? It might be the case but saying “Bezugarid”— instead of “Bezugarid in the film” tells us the failure of writers and makers to integrate a Persian writer in the project and cast Persian speaking characters.

On the technical aspect of the film, starting with the cinematography, it is too monotonous to impress. It does not live up to the prestige of Tomiris and Cyrus the Great. In particular emperor Cyrus is portrayed as an understaffed king and with not much aura around him. Produced on a budget of USD 6.5 million, it is justifiable. Furthermore, Babylon looks not different from the depiction of Arabian lands in Hollywood movies. The tents and deserts where Tomiris and her tribe resides are shown in an egalitarian way all looking alike. The life conditions are shown very hard. I argue that Tomiris the film is an attempt by Kazakh artists to rewrite history in a problematic way. The film could be made about heroic deeds of nomadic tribes without making it ethnically Kazakh or Turk. Being a multi-ethnic and language country, Kazakhstan can claim heir to Scythians on territorial but not on an ethnolinguistic ground. What makes this film problematic is the makers attempt to give Scythians the Kazakh language, the Mongoloid facial features and calling Tomiris as “türk tarihinin ilk kadın hükümdarı”—the first female ruler in Turkish history.

The film is not supported by good casting including the leading character Tomiris played by Almyra Tursyn. Her performances in entirety and particularly in the emotional scenes fails to create an impact.  A Syrian actor Hassan Massoud fails to shine as the Cyrus the Great in the film. Leading characters like Tomiris, Argun, Spargap and Sardana remain superficial in their approach towards their characters. My best performed scene from this film is the labor scene when Spargap’s wife gives birth to Tomiris. She excels in that scene, the rest looks like a Turkish Soep opera with blunt expressions seen throughout. Considering this region’s multiethnic and multilinguistic and religious feature, I would like to see movies which moves beyond the chauvinistic, black and white, and fictitious treatment of history. Such a movie might please a historically uninformed Kazakh, but it definitely is not for a well-educated Kazakh or Central Asian.  

References cited:

Soucek, Svat. 2000. A History of Inner Asia. Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press.

Melyukova, A. I. 2008. “The Scythians and Sarmatians.” In The Cambridge History of EarlyInner Asia, edited by Denis Sinor, 97-118. Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press.

Rollinger, Robert. 2012. “Cyrus According to Herodotus” Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fasc. 3, pp. 260-262; available online at https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/herodotus-iv (accessed online at November 10 2020).

© Javeed Ahwar

JAVEED AHWAR

I am a persianate coming from Afghanistan. I completed my undergraduate studies at Kabul University in Law and Political Science in 2009. I obtained my first master degree from the OSCE Academy in Bishkek in Politics and Security in Central Asia in 2010. I obtained my second master degree [Advanced LLM in European and International Human Rights Law] from Leiden University/Netherlands in 2015. In 2018, I was able to acquire my third master degree/research master in Cultural Anthropology from Utrecht University in Netherlands in 2018. Since 2019, I am doing my PhD in Eurasian Studies, an inter-university PhD program between Humboldt University in Berlin and Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan.”

Source: https://www.javeedahwar.blog/2020/11/the-legend-of-tomiris-rewrites-history.html

[allhailthemightyquattro]

Laura’s Deckerstar Fic Recs (Part 7)

You can find the complete list (minus rec notes) at my Ao3 Bookmark page.

Disclaimer: These recs have no real ranking and are simply being shared in the order in which I bookmarked them. And just because I say more about some than I do others, does not mean that those fics are “better” or that I like them more.

Loaded Gun by BecomeMyObsession

Rating: Explicit Status: Complete Word Count: 6,660 (1 chapter) Author’s Summary:  Almost getting caught in alleyways by dangerous guys with guns can lead you into some pretty... sticky situations.

Rec Notes: When I first started sharing these recs, I hadn’t realised just how much smut I had bookmarked. *shrugs* I regret nothing.

Anyways, this fic is another great example of “we’re about to get caught so we had better make out” trope. Honestly, I could read this trope a million times over and never tire of it. And this fic has car sex too, so it’s extra steamy.

drunk in love by wolfgang

Rating: Teen Status: Complete Word Count: 3,776 (1 chapter) Author’s Summary: “Girl’s night?” Dan repeats, staring blankly at Ella.

“Yeah!” she says brightly, waiting for him to accept the invitation.

“Girl’s night,” he says again, with emphasis.

“Hey,” Ella says, chipper expression crunched down into a frown. “Girl’s night is not gender exclusive. It’s not just for girls, it’s for everybody. Girl’s night is an emotion, Dan. An experience.”

“I’m sure,” he defers.

She huffs at him. “Come on. Lucifer will be there, too, ya know.”

Setting aside Lucifer’s less than strict adherence to masculinity, Dan raises an eyebrow. “I would think so, since it’s his club you’re having it at.”

Ella changes tack. “Free drinks, Dan. Free drinks with friends. Please?” She gazes up at him, her soft doe eyes wide and imploring.

And yeah, okay, that works.

Rec Notes: I cannot stress enough the brilliance of this fic. It covers a night out at Lux through the eyes of Dan and it is a great look at an established Deckerstar relationship from an outsider’s perspective. It’s unique and fun and incredibly sweet. It also covers all your drunk!chloe needs, and even throws in a bit of drunk!lucifer.

Take Me, I’m Yours by FearTheSpork

Rating: General Status: Complete Word Count: 2,864 (1 chapter) Author’s Summary: Lucifer drags himself back to civilisation, knowing that Chloe will never accept him. Chloe thinks that Lucifer knows absolutely nothing.

Rec Notes: FearTheSpork may be the master of smut, but they can do sweet and innocent too. And this fic is a prime example of it. It’s set post-season two finale but does not follow season 3. Instead, it has Lucifer missing for a lot longer than a couple of days and features a very relieved Chloe when he makes it back. It does deal with Chloe finding out the truth, but skips over her freak out and goes straight to the comforting acceptance. 

All I Want is to Fly with You (All I Want is to Fall with You) by Monochrome_Sky

Rating: Teen Status: WIP (last update: 17 July 2019) Word Count: 29,080 (3/28 chapters) Author’s Summary: In a twist of fate, Beatrice Decker's biological father is someone entirely different.

Rec Notes: I normally don’t like fics that make Lucifer Trixie’s real father. In fact, I don’t normally like fics with Lucifer as a father, period. It’s a very hard thing to get right considering his character and his unease around children. But this fic? I love this fic! It starts with a “8 years previously” scene with Chloe meeting Lucifer and then time jumps to “5 years previously”, quickly covering the City of Angels episode from season 3, and then does one final time jump to the “present”, which is the time of the Pilot episode. It then becomes a re-write with Chloe already knowing that Lucifer is the Devil and Lucifer finding out (and freaking out about) having a daughter. Honestly, this fic is worth it just for that reveal alone. It’s hilarious! I am forever hoping that the fic will be updated one day, but even if it’s not, it has been a joy to read.

The Innocence Project by castiello

Rating: Teen Status: Complete Word Count: 36,181 (26 chapters) Author’s Summary: Trapped in a warehouse and cut off from celestial help, Chloe must care for a seriously ill Lucifer while the two of them fight to exonerate a death row inmate before the inmate's time-and Lucifer's-runs out. Post Season Three. Established Deckerstar.

Rec Notes: Do you like reading fics with Chloe and Lucifer solving a case together? How about them solving a case together while kidnapped and trapped? How about when one of them is dying? If you answered yes to those questions, then this is the fic for you!

[justicemotivators]

A Tribute to the Incredible Strength of Victims’ Families - Part 1

Ann Ming - Julie Hogg - Double Jeopardy

We should always remember the victims and their families when we talk about true crime. It’s easy to focus on the killer, or the perpetrator, trying to understand how anybody could do such things. Even so, what is sometimes more astounding is the courage and strength showed by the families of the victims. For Part 1 of these stories I want to highlight the case of the murder of Julie Hogg, and her mother’s subsequent battle against the legal system.

Julie Hogg was 22, herself a single mother of a young son. She lived in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, UK. The family was close, she would see her parents everyday. Julie’s marriage to her son’s father had recently ended. Julie had a job delivering pizzas, and she would leave her son with her loving parents when she went to work.

Her son was with her parents on a night in November 1989. The next morning, Julie’s mum, Ann Ming called Julie on her phone to wake her at 7.30. She couldn’t get through to her daughter, and began to worry. Ann drove to Julie’s house, which was locked and the curtains were drawn. There was still no answer. She asked Julie’s brother to break into the house, and he was suspicious of how tidy the house was, as the family knew Julie was quite messy. As a single mother of a three year old son, that is understandable.

Julie was reported missing, and her house was searched, but even after 5 days, they could find no clue to help the investigation. Ann Ming did not believe Julie had gone somewhere of her own accord, because she would not have left without her make up.

Julie’s son was due to move back into the house, this time with his dad, whom Julie had married. A smell was noticed coming from the bathroom. Ann, Julie’s mother, ripped off the panel below the bath, and found Julie. The forensic search apparently had not taken that step. Julie’s three-year-old son was in the house at the time of the discovery. At the post-mortem, it was discovered that she had suffered a sexual assault, but there was no clear cause of death, as her body was discovered three months after her death. The sexual assault had left some DNA from the perpetrator. This DNA belonged to Billy Dunlop. When his home was searched, they found Julie’s keys hidden, with his fingerprints on them.

At the trial, the defence spoke about her ‘promiscuity’ and tried to cast doubt on the evidence by talking about Julie having multiple sexual partners. It was also in many news articles, implying that she deserved her death because she had ‘no morals’ or that she in some way brought it on herself. It is absurd and abhorrent to be blaming a murder victim for her murder based on who she is rumoured to have been sleeping with.

The defence also suggested the keys had been planted in Dunlop’s house by the police. Of course, another absurd accusation made to cast doubt on the evidence. Juries in the UK must come to a guilty verdict only if they are sure ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the perpetrator is guilty. The jury could not in fact come to a unanimous verdict, or even a majority verdict. The judge discharged the jury and ordered a retrial.

Again, outrageous suggestions were made at the trial, for example that she had died as the result of an accident during a sexual activity. Even if this were the case, it doesn’t explain how she came to be found under the bath, and why he hadn’t sought medical help at the time of the incident.

Billy Dunlop was acquitted of the murder of Julie Hogg, to the outrage and bewilderment of her family and the police.

Later, it was heard around the town that Billy had been bragging, talking about having killed Julie and got away with it. Unfortunately, having already been acquitted, he could not be retried for the same offence because of an old law. The law of double jeopardy. This law was created to protect powerless civilians from being repeatedly prosecuted for the same crimes, when the state was all powerful. Now the law was going to protect the guilty.

The case of Stephen Lawrence will help to change this law. He was murdered a group racist white men. They stabbed him at a bus stop in London, UK, seemingly just for being black, though the five who were arrested were not charged. The Lawrence family brought a private prosecution, which acquitted the men of the charges. A police officer and president of the SuperIntendent Association, named Brian McKenzie was troubled by this double jeopardy law, and made a speech at the SIA conference, which was attended by the Home Secretary Jack Straw. The Home Secretary is responsible for law enforcement above the police and judiciary.

The MacPherson Inquiry into the failure to convict perpetrators for the killing of Stephen Lawrence, came to the conclusion that the prosecution of this crime was affected by institutional racism, and made a further recommendation that the double jeopardy law should be changed for murder cases in which new and compelling evidence has come to light after the conclusion of the trial. After the MacPherson Inquiry, the Home Secretary went to the Law Commission to request that all changes in the recommendations from the inquiry were instated. This included changes based on the findings of institutionalised racism in the justice system, and that of the law on double jeopardy. The Law Commission is an independent organisation which reviews and reforms the laws of England and Wales.

Julie Hogg’ s killer, Billy Dunlop, was convicted of two attempted murders after Julie, an ex-partner of Dunlop’s and her new partner. In prison, he confessed to a prison guard that he had killed Julie Hogg. He still could not be retried for her murder, as the double jeopardy law had still not been reformed yet. Instead he was tried for perjury - lying under oath in court. For this, he received 6 years in prison. Ann Ming heard this man confess to killing her daughter, and told the court details of the death he had caused, and then after everything she and her family had been through to get justice for her daughter, she was understandably upset at the sentence he received. This is where Ann’s campaign to overturn the double jeopardy law begins.

She first went to see her local MP, within a few days of the perjury sentencing for Billy Dunlop. The MP Frank Cook agreed to take Ann’s letter directly to the Home Secretary. Within days, Ann Ming and her husband meet Jack Straw in London to try and convince him to change the law on double jeopardy, and not only that but to apply the changes retrospectively. In the UK law reforms are usually only applied to cases after the reform has been processed, not past cases. He told Ann that the next step would be for the case to be presented to the Law Commission for their review and reform procedure. So of course, Ann Ming went to the Law Commission herself as well. This was a woman, a mother, absolutely dedicated to finding justice for her daughter. By this time, the police officer mentioned earlier - Brian McKenzie was now advising the Home Secretary, and argued to him that the reform on double jeopardy should be made retrospective.

It wasn’t until 2002, that the new Home Secretary, David Blunkett, declared a change in the making. A ‘white paper’ was issued which details the proposed law reforms, which then has to be passed by the House of Lords, before being entered into UK law. Ann Ming was personally promised her own copy of this white paper, and on collecting it from the Home Office, she discovered that it included the recommendation to have the law act retrospectively. This was a huge achievement, that had so far taken her 13 years, and now all that was left was for it to be agreed by the House of Lords. She carried on her inspirational campaign of strength.

Ann Ming went to a conference for victims and families, and it just so happened that in the cafeteria at lunchtime, she spotted Lord Falconer, Solicitor General, sitting alone. She took her chance and approached him, retelling her case to him. He agreed with her views and arranged for her to present her case to the House of Lords. This must have been daunting, trying to convince them to reform the law and apply it retrospectively. This was Ann’s last big push, to get the law changed for her daughter and give her the possibility of a retrial for Billy Dunlop. Fortunately, a bill was announced by the Queen, which stated a retrial could occur if there was new evidence, and a Court of Appeal agreed that the evidence is compelling and may change a jury’s view on the guilt of the suspect. This still protected innocent suspects from multiple unnecessary prosecutions, while allowing a second trial in cases that warranted it, such as Julie’s.

Billy Dunlop confessed in court to Julie’s murder, and was the first person convicted after the reform of the double jeopardy law. Ann’s campaign had paid off. After 17 years, at last, she had got justice for Julie, after all her hard work. Later, Dobson and Norris, two of the five men arrested for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, were convicted of the racially aggravated murder. Many other cases have also been brought since the change to the law. See Mario Celaire, Mark Weston, Wendell Baker, Russel Bishop, Michael Weir, Irvine Watt and Surjit Chhokar in Scotland.

This post was inspired by watching Catching Britain’s Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us - series 1 episode 2 - Double Jeopardy. I found Ann’s work to be inspirational, after the brutal murder of her daughter and her determined campaigning for her justice.

Watch it on bbc iPlayer here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0009dz2/catching-britains-killers-the-crimes-that-changed-us-series-1-2-double-jeopardy

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2019/42/catching-britains-killers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_jeopardy

[tabloidtoc]

OK, May 10

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Inside Kim Kardashian's Wild New Single Life

Page 1: Big Pic -- Jenna Dewan enjoyed a stroll around her L.A. neighborhood with 13-month-old son Callum, whom she shares with fiance Steve Kazee, in a stroller

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Contents

Page 4: The world watched as Prince Harry came face-to-face with the royal family for the first time in over a year to say farewell to his late grandfather Prince Philip, and now that he's back home in Montecito, California, with pregnant wife Meghan Markle and their 23-month old son Archie, Harry's been reflecting on the emotional reunion and preparing for what lies ahead in the coming months -- although the trip inevitably had its share of awkward moments, he's generally happy with how it went, and things had been especially frosty between Harry and The Firm following his televised tell-all, but the main thing is they broke the ice, and he's finally communicating properly with his family again -- in fact, Harry is said to have enjoyed low-key meetings with several relatives before heading back home to the States, including his grandmother Queen Elizabeth and cousin Princess Eugenie, although he did not have a one-on-one chat with his estranged father Prince Charles and it was more of a civilized catch-up than an intense sit-down because it wasn't an appropriate time to delve into recent tensions; however, Harry did take the opportunity to reassure everyone it wasn't his intention to upset them and that he loves them all very much and they, in turn, echoed their affection for him and they mutually agreed to keep moving forward positively and constructively and there's a still a lot of unfinished business, many are hopeful that all will be resolved when Harry returns to the U.K. for a memorial honoring his late mother Princess Diana on July 1 and this could be Harry's last chance to sit down with his family and properly repair things and Harry and Prince William have both agreed to meet before the event and have a frank discussion about how they can do their best to fix the damage that's been done and air their grievances in a calm and pragmatic manner

Page 6: Next spring, Johnny Depp and his ex Amber Heard will head back to court in the latest installment of their ongoing legal drama, but this time, Johnny, who filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber following a 2018 op-ed where she detailed her experience as an alleged abuse victim, is determined to clear his name one and for all -- Johnny and his team have new and explosive testimony from two of the responding officers, plus new body cam footage, that they believe will finally turn things around in their favor and they're convinced it will show that Amber made up claims about their alleged May 2016 brawl in an attempt to ruin him and the video shows a neat apartment with nothing out of place, nothing broken or anything to suggest a knockdown fight had just occurred -- Johnny's always maintained his innocence and now he's confident this evidence will prove it and Johnny's also working on a tell-all that he intends to release as soon as he's declared innocent and the tome will vividly detail what happened on that night in 2016 and throughout their year-long marriage and Johnny feels Amber never really loved him and his friends warned him not to marry her, but he didn't listen, and he's paid a dear price for it

Page 7: A fateful chapter from Ashton Kutcher's past could be coming back to haunt him as he's being urged to take part in the upcoming documentary on his late ex Brittany Murphy and it's stressing him out to no end and so far, he wants nothing to do with it -- the documentary is going to look for clues as to why it all ended like this for Brittany, and producers want Ashton to tell his side of the story and the thinking is he may have little choice but to participate because he had a front row seat to Brittany's life, and her fans want him to shed light on what really happened

* Alec Baldwin and wife Hilaria Baldwin knew that having six kids would be a challenge, but they're realizing it's even harder to find nannies who are up to the task of tending to their brood because Alec and Hilaria have some pretty high expectations for the kind of people they want to employ and what the job entails and it's been a logistical nightmare hiring and scheduling a rotating team of caretakers -- in addition to children Carmen, 7, Rafael, 5, Leonardo, 4, and Romeo, 2, the parents welcomed baby Eduardo in September and their sixth child, Lucia, via surrogate in March -- long hours and multitasking are a must given the meal prep, diaper changes and homeschooling, plus the nannies have to know how to deal with a cranky set of kids without losing their cool and Hilaria's every bit the mother hen, so she won't settle for anything less than perfection

* Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna have had it with the romance between their daughter Amelia Hamlin and Scott Disick -- Amelia recently raised eyebrows when she was spotted with bruised lips, which often occurs after lip filler injections, and Harry and Lisa drew a line in the sand and they're concerned that Scott is convincing her to mess with her appearance, especially since she's talking about boob and butt surgery to keep his eyes off other girls and ever since the couple hooked up last October, Harry and Lisa have been sitting back and hoping that Amelia would come to her senses, but it's clear she's in way too deep now, and that they need to make their feelings known, but the worry is that Amelia will be pregnant before she knows it, so Harry and Lisa are ready to take the bull by the horns before Scott ruins their daughter's life

Page 8: It's been nearly four years since Matt Lauer was fired from Today amid a sexual assault scandal, and he's still being snubbed by his old Hamptons crowd -- Matt, who retreated to his waterfront estate in the celeb enclave after a colleague accused him of assaulting her at the 2014 Olympics, has done everything he can to regain his place in the community, but he's remained persona non grata despite his best efforts; he'll turn up to fancy events and be super friendly with everyone but most people just turn their noses at him -- the disgraced ex-anchor, who hooked up with public relations exec Shamin Abas after his 2019 divorce, has been talking to friends about marrying her in a big Hamptons wedding, but it's hard to imagine there'd be much of a turnout and people have had ample time to put out the welcome mat, but it seems like they've shut their doors on Matt for good

* Former Playboy Bunny Kendra Wilkinson has gone from living the high life to pounding the pavement to earn a paycheck, and she's missing the glam old days -- Kendra, who enjoyed a pampered existence as Hugh Hefner's girlfriend and Girls Next Door star, has had to bring home the bacon in the wake of her 2018 divorce from Hank Baskett to help provide for their two children, Hank, 11, and Alijah, 6, and being a single mom is a lot harder than she thought it would be and she currently resides in a humble Calabasas rental and recently snagged a job as a realtor and was hired by Kyle Richards' husband Mauricio Umansky and she's working long hours and weekends, and she looks pretty burnt out and Kendra tries not to complain and is sucking it up as best she can, but she can't help but think about the times when she didn't have to worry about bills and rent and could sleep in as long as she wanted

* He was once Hollywood's biggest bon vivant, but Jack Nicholson has become a total hermit, and friends are concerned that he's harder to get a hold of than ever and Jack's shut himself away in his hilltop home on Mulholland Drive, and everyone is worried about his state of mind -- the actor, who was last seen in public looking disheveled at a January 2020 Lakers game, says he just wants to spend his retirement in peace and quiet, but his loved ones wish he'd make himself a little more accessible -- Jack's admitted that he yearns for one last romance, but how can that happen when he's hiding at home? Jack turned 84 in April, and it's as if he's resigned to spending the rest of his life alone and it's so sad, but it seems there's nothing anyone can do for him

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars wow in sexy shoulder-baring dresses -- Ella Balinska, Renee Zellweger, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Page 11: Adrienne Warren, Martha Hunt

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Rainey Qualley vs. Celine Dion in Chanel, Melissa Wood-Tepperberg vs. Idina Menzel in Alice + Olivia

Page 13: Ellie Goulding vs. Charli XCX in Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood

Page 14: News in Photos -- Gavin Rossdale took his beloved dog Chewy with him to tennis practice in the park in L.A.

Page 15: Jeff Goldblum stopped at celeb hotspot Craig's for dinner with wife Emilie Livingston and their kids Charlie and River in West Hollywood, newly single Real Housewives of Orange County star Braunwyn Windham-Burke hit the beach in Miami, Natasha Lyonne continued filming her series Russian Doll in NYC

Page 16: Amber Rose enjoyed lunch with her son Sebastian whom she shares with Wiz Khalifa in L.A.

Page 17: Anchor Robin Roberts filled viewers in on current events during Good Morning America in NYC, Kristen Taekman got all gussied up at her home in NYC, Howie Mandel showed up to the America's Got Talent set in surfing gear in Pasadena

Page 19: Bling Empire's Cherie Chan and fiance Jessey Lee grabbed a bite with their daughter Jadore, pro wrestler Ariane Andrew (a.k.a. Cameron) fueled up with a healthy sip

Page 20: Wells Adams stocked up on some essentials at the grocery store in L.A., Rachel Brosnahan protected herself with an umbrella while filming The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC

Page 21: Jon Hamm and his new rescue dog Splash get some fresh air in L.A., Whitney Port in a beige sweater dress and matching boots while recording her podcast in NYC

Page 22: Selling Sunset's Christine Quinn brightened things up in designer duds while walking her dogs in L.A., Monique Green attended the drive-in premiere of her new series Big Shot in L.A.

Page 23: Irina Shayk and her daughter Lea De Seine walked hand in hand around NYC, friendly exes Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A., Law and Order: SVU stars Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T snapped a photo together in between takes

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's designer digs

Page 28: Home Town stars Ben and Erin Napier recently announced they're getting ready to welcome their second child, a girl, and the famously private pair, who chose to keep the news a secret to avoid any extra unwanted attention or stress, could not be more excited -- this baby is a miracle because Erin was told years ago that pregnancy would be unlikely due to a past health issue and when their first daughter Helen arrived, they were overjoyed, and they never imagined they'd be blessed with a second -- with Erin's due date just around the corner, she and Ben are busy prepping Helen to become a big sis and they have no doubt she'll be wonderful because she's very warm and empathetic toward others and she loves to hug so the baby will be extremely loved -- after the newborn's arrival, the busy HGTV stars will take some much-needed time off and they're a team, and Ben plans to be there to support Erin and make sure she gets her needed rest, but they both love what they do, so it won't be long before they're back in front of the cameras -- while baby No. 3 chatter has already begun, the college sweethearts aren't getting ahead of themselves and Ben and Erin always dreamed of having a big family, and if they can, there will be more children, but if it doesn't happen, then they will be quite content as a foursome

Page 29: Kacey Musgraves is head over heels for her new boyfriend Gerald Onuoha, but friends are worried that she may be rushing the romance -- Kacey, who hooked up with the Nashville-based doctor after calling it quits on her three-year marriage to Ruston Kelly in July, tends to jump into things with her heart and this relationship falls into that category and Kacey, who was spotted snuggling up to her physician beau while out and about in L.A., is on cloud nine with this guy, but when she has to hit the road again it's not like he can pull up stakes and follow her -- she's not thinking straight about the future, and her friends are bracing for trouble once reality sinks in and Kacey would be wise to slow things down and not get ahead of herself

* George Clooney turned the big 6-0 on May 6, and his wife Amal Clooney is being a bit of a birthday buzzkill -- George wants a big, booze-soaked sky's-the-limit bash in an exotic locale like Mexico or Italy with his old drinking buddies like Rande Gerber, but Amal is pushing for a quiet family celebration at home with their children Alexander and Ella, and it's led to a few arguments -- George figures it's his chance to finally let off steam and that it's his choice on how to mark the milestone occasion and he wants Amal and the other wives to come and join in on the fun, but watching George get wasted certainly isn't her idea of a good time and she sees nothing wrong with a dinner at home

Page 30: Harrison Ford is finally set to start filming the new Indiana Jones movie this summer, and his wife Calista Flockhart will be keeping a close eye to make sure he stays safe on the set -- Harrison has been training hard to get in shape and is feeling great, but at his age, you can understand why Calista is concerned and protective Calista plans to accompany Harrison as he shoots the fifth Indiana Jones installment in London and other locales and he's still capable of doing his own stunts, and a lot of it is thanks to Calista, who made sure he stayed fit with weight training and proper nutrition, but Harrison's going to have the best people in the business looking out for him so he doesn't get hurt again, otherwise Calista wouldn't have given him the green light

* It's barely been three months since Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker went public with their hot and heavy romance, and they're already talking about getting engaged and pregnant, not necessarily in that order and Kourtney fully believes this isn't just a honeymoon phase, but that Travis is the man she's going to share her dreams with -- as for Travis, he's been telling everyone he's hit the jackpot with Kourtney and Travis, who has two kids of his own, has already started shopping for rings and he's planning an ultra-romantic proposal because he's big on grand gestures and he's still looking for the perfect ring, but that doesn't mean the baby-making has to wait until it's on her finger

* Love Bites -- Zac Efron and Vanessa Valladares split, Brooks Laich and CrossFit athlete Katrin Davidsdottir dating, Tan France and husband Rob are having a baby this summer

Page 32: Cover Story -- Kim Kardashian single and loving it -- ready to mingle, an unattached Kim is having fun exploring her dating options -- she did all she could with Kanye West and now she needs to steer a new course for herself -- she's been relishing her single status and feels like she can finally breathe again -- Kim may be living it up, but her four children remain her primary focus -- the eligible bachelors who've caught Kim's eye: Drake, Rege-Jean Page, Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton

Page 35: Jennifer Aniston's on such good terms with her old flames she still talks to ex-husbands Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux regularly and has even stayed in touch with her former beau John Mayer -- Jen and Brad have a lot of complicated history, but she's glad they reconnected and are friends again and she thinks the world of Brad, and they support each other -- Justin recently revealed he and Jen text and FaceTime, and the divorced duo will always share a special bond -- although she and John split in 2009, Jen and the musician still hang out from time to time and they flirt here and there and when John's in town, Jen's down to meet him -- but friends are urging the star to finally and firmly move on from her exes and they think she needs a fresh start, and Jen's been on a few dates with someone who isn't famous and Jen's not looking to get married again, but she'd like to have a partner to share her life with and this guy could be the one, she's just got to give the relationship a fair chance, without any distractions

* Weeks after announcing she'd called it quits with Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez is feeling sad and disappointed and she didn't want to believe the rumors about Alex's wandering eye, but the Madison LeCroy thing was the last straw -- it's not the first time Jennifer's been fooled by a bad boy as cheating rumors plagued her romances with Sean "Diddy" Combs and Casper Smart and she's wiser now -- Jennifer's saving grace is she's got a jam-packed schedule so it won't leave too much time to be broken-hearted and she's a busy mom of two with a million projects up in the air so don't expect her to be dwelling on the past for too long

Page 36: Young and In Love -- Why wait? These stars were in their early 20s, or teens, when they tied the knot -- Olivia Wilde married an Italian prince when she was 19, Hailey Baldwin married Justin Bieber when she was 21

Page 37: Demi Moore married rocker Freddy Moore at 17, Uma Thurman married Gary Oldman when she was 20, Cher married Sonny Bono at 18, Macaulay Culkin married actress Rachel Miner when he was 18

Page 38: Jessica Simpson married Nick Lachey at age 22, Kate Hudson married rocker Chris Robinson when she was 21, Drew Barrymore married when she was 19 for only 19 days

Page 39: Janet Jackson married R&B singer James DeBarge when she was 18, Kim Kardashian eloped with a music producer when she was 19, Solange Knowles married and a baby at 18, LeAnn Rimes married a backup dancer at 19

Page 40: Interview -- Anya Taylor-Joy thrilled to pieces -- The Queen's Gambit star is still processing her phenomenal success

Page 42: Role Models -- like mother, like daughter -- these stars are inspiring their kids to stay healthy and fit -- Brooke Burke, Gisele Bundchen

Page 43: Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, Christie Brinkley and Sailor Brinkley-Cook, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba

Page 46: Style Week -- Saweetie has a new sunglasses collaboration with Quay

Page 48: What's Hot Right Now -- stand out with a statement piece from the 8 Other Reasons x Draya Michele capsule collection

Page 49: Make Me Blush -- follow spring 2021's hottest beauty trend and create a flush with a pop of peach, pastel pink or terracotta -- Mindy Kaling

Page 50: Mother's Day Gift Guide -- Molly Sims

Page 54: Entertainment

Page 55: Reality Check -- your small screen guilty pleasures are back and here are all the details -- Bar Rescue, The Real Housewives of New York City, Teen Mom 2, Million Dollar Listing New York

Page 58: Buzz -- The ACM Awards in Nashville -- Carrie Underwood and CeCe Winans, Keith Urban and fellow emcee Mickey Guyton, Kenny Chesney and Kelsea Ballerini

Page 59: Blake Shelton, Chris Young and Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert and Elle King, Jimmie Allen and Brad Paisley, Maren Morris and husband Ryan Hurd

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Jessica Alba on not being afraid to complain, Justin Theroux on dating, Jodie Turner-Smith on her and Joshua Jackson being perfect partners, Rob McElhenney on expectations of men in Hollywood

Page 61: Chrissy Teigen on her break from Twitter, Courteney Cox showing off her extremely organized kitchen on Instagram, Lance Bass on the basic thing in his past he'd like to move on from, Amanda Seyfried on confiding to the Mank costume designer about her pregnancy, John Stamos on getting together with wife Caitlin, Eiza Gonzalez on developing body confidence

Page 62: Horoscope -- Taurus Henry Cavill turned 38 on May 5

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Rege-Jean Page

[newstfionline]

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Billionaire Blastoff (AP) Two billionaires are putting everything on the line this month to ride their own rockets into space. Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson is due to take off Sunday from New Mexico, launching with two pilots and three other employees aboard a rocket plane carried aloft by a double-fuselage aircraft. Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos departs nine days later from West Texas, blasting off in a fully automated capsule with three guests: his brother, an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer who’s waited six decades for a shot at space and the winner of a $28 million charity auction. They will go 55 miles to 66 miles (88 kilometers to 106 kilometers) up.

Severe heat wave builds across Western U.S. after nation’s hottest June on record (Washington Post) Last week, a “thousand-year” heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest and adjacent British Columbia with widespread highs topping 100 degrees, resulting in a death toll in the hundreds. Lytton, Canada, climbed to 121 degrees and established new national records three days in a row before the town burned in heat-intensified wildfires. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday that the heat wave helped the United States clinch its hottest June on record. Eight states had their hottest Junes, including Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. These four states are at the heart of yet another heat wave developing in the West that could challenge records and bring dangerously hot temperatures. It will mark the third punishing heat wave in the West this summer, including last week’s in the Pacific Northwest and a record-breaking event in mid-June. This heat wave will not likely be as extreme as the event in the Pacific Northwest, but temperatures could challenge all-time highs around Las Vegas, Redding, Calif., and Sacramento and a few other places between California’s Central Valley and southern Nevada.

Political Crisis in Haiti Deepens Over Rival Claims to Power (NYT) The political storm in Haiti intensified on Thursday as two competing prime ministers claimed the right to run the country, setting up an extraordinary power struggle over who had the legal authority to govern after the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in his home the day before. Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, says he has taken command of the police and the army, declaring a “state of siege” that essentially put the country under martial law. But constitutional experts questioned his right to impose it, and his claim to power was quickly challenged by a rival. Two days before his death, Mr. Moïse had appointed a new prime minister, Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who was supposed to take up the role this week and told a local newspaper that he was the rightful prime minister instead. The dueling claims created a volatile political crisis that left constitutional experts confused and diplomats worried about a broad societal collapse that could ignite violence or prompt Haitians to flee the country en masse, as they have after natural disasters, coups or other periods of deep instability.

Brexit bill (Reuters) Brexit’s unfortunate fallout continues. The European Union has said that the United Kingdom is liable to pay 47.5 billion euros ($56.2 billion) to the E.U. as part of its post-Brexit financial settlement. The E.U.’s consolidated budget report for 2020 said the money is owed under a series of articles which both sides agreed to as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement. The amount is significantly higher than the U.K. expected. Its Office for Budget Responsibility predicted in its March 2018 economic and fiscal outlook report that the bill would amount to 41.4 billion euros ($49 billion). Britain and the E.U. were in a 47-year relationship, and the divorce has been dicey. It took more than four years of acrimonious negotiations and lingering mistrust before the two finally struck a trade and cooperation agreement at the end of December.

Thailand to impose tighter restrictions to slow virus spread (Reuters) Thailand will announce new travel restrictions, mall closures and curbs on gatherings in the capital Bangkok and surrounding provinces starting next week, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, two government sources told Reuters. The government will issue a stay-home order from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. for 14 days and bar gatherings of more than five people in the capital and high-risk areas, the sources said.

China’s gaming curfew (Foreign Policy) Chinese gaming giant Tencent will begin using facial recognition technology to prevent minors playing mobile video games past a nationwide gaming curfew. China established the 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. curfew in 2019 to combat gaming addiction—deemed a mental health disorder in 2018 by the World Health Organization. Chinese children and teenagers had been circumventing the nighttime ban by using adult’s credentials to log in to the gaming service, prompting the technological intervention.

Biden Accelerates Withdrawal Timetable (Foreign Policy) U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, despite the Taliban’s rapid territorial gains in recent weeks. In a White House address, Biden said that all combat troops would leave Afghanistan by August 31, even earlier than a Sept. 11 deadline he set back in April. Heading off criticism from some conservatives, who have called for a small combat troop presence to remain in the country, Biden—a long-time skeptic of prolonged U.S. involvement in Afghanistan—questioned the cost of such a move. “Let me ask those who want us to stay: How many more—how many thousands more Americans, daughters and sons—are you willing to risk?” Biden said. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome.” Although nearly all U.S. troops are set to depart Afghanistan by August, a substantial number—roughly 650—will remain in the country to provide security for the U.S. embassy and Kabul’s international airport.

Drone attacks by Iraqi militias reflect Iran’s waning hold (AP) Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force commander brought one main directive for Iraqi militia faction leaders long beholden to Tehran, when he gathered with them in Baghdad last month: Maintain calm, until after nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. But he was met with defiance. One of the six faction leaders spoke up in their meeting: They could not stay quiet while the death of his predecessor Qassim Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. drone strike went unavenged. Militia attacks have only been increasing against the U.S. in military bases in both Iraq and Syria. Three missile attacks in the last week alone resulted in minor injuries, stoking fears of escalation. There have been at least eight drone attacks targeting the U.S. presence since Biden took office in January, as well as 17 rocket attacks, according to coalition officials. The attacks are blamed on the Iranian-backed militias that make up the bulk of Iraq’s state-supported Popular Mobilization Forces. The Biden administration has responded by twice targeting Iraqi militia groups operating inside Syria, including close to the Iraqi border.

Israel levels family home of alleged Palestinian attacker (AP) Israel on Thursday demolished the family home of a Palestinian-American man accused of carrying out a deadly attack on Israelis in the occupied West Bank, rejecting pleas from his estranged wife that he rarely lived in the house, which she shared with their three children. The demolition drew a rebuke from the United States, which is opposed to punitive home demolitions and has taken a more critical line toward Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank since President Joe Biden took office this year. “The home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price. “There is a critical need to lower the temperature in the West Bank. Punitive demolitions exacerbate tensions at a time when everyone should be focused on principally ensuring calm.”

Religion (Public Religion Research Institute) A new survey of 50,334 Americans over the course of 2020 tracked how religion in the United States has continued to change over recent years. According to the survey, 36 percent of those 18 to 29 years old considered themselves unaffiliated with a religion, substantially higher than the 23 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds who considered themselves as much in 2006, and the 10 percent who were unaffiliated in 1986. That’s also double the rate of religiously unaffiliated compared to those aged 50 to 64. Still, a majority—54 percent—of those 18 to 29 are Christians, though that’s down from the 70 percent of all Americans.

Laughter can make you more productive at work (CNBC) Being inundated with bad news and working from home, for some alone, during the coronavirus pandemic has made it harder than ever for workers to find the time for laughter, but experts argue that it can really make a difference when it comes to productivity. Daniel Sgroi, an economics professor at the U.K.’s University of Warwick, told CNBC via telephone that laughter can trigger the activation of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, both of which are considered mood-boosting hormones. Sgroi explained that laughter “fast tracks networks in the brain to help you concentrate and focus,” working as the equivalent of a productivity boost. Research that Sgroi co-authored, published in 2015, found evidence of a link between happiness and productivity. One of the techniques used in his study was to use comedy to make participants laugh and be happier, which he said boosted productivity by up to 12%. “So it’s almost like being happy generates more time,” he said, explaining that someone who is happy might be able to do in one hour what it takes someone who is less happy to do in an hour and 20 minutes.