#who sold them as part of a fundraiser

[nerdierholler]

I suddenly really want buñuelos because we always got some around the holidays. Unfortunately I’m not sure anyone sells them here. I might call a couple of places tomorrow though.

[ellevandersneed]

SAMI AND HIS FAMILY DREAM OF PEACE. HELP THEM SURVIVE

Hello all, Sami has reached out to me asking if I could make a post for his fundraiser. Before October 7th, Sami ran a small auto-shop that sold used car parts to help pay for his families wellbeing. He has a wife and three children: Jud, Lin, and Misk. He also takes care of his mother, and has four siblings who live with him (Hamza, Bilal, Muhammad, and Layan)

Sami's place of business was destroyed by Israeli bombing, and his family has been forced to relocate several times after their house was destroyed as well, with Sami's father being killed after being trapped inside. They currently live in a tent that is torn and offers little protection from the cold weather, as Gazans like Sami and his family brace for winter. His children need food, and clothes for winter.

SAMI IS VETTED HERE (#21). I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING WITH SAMI WHILE MAKING THIS POST, AND TRUST HIM ALONG WITH THE PEOPLE AT GAZAVETTERS WHO VETTED HIM. YOU CAN DONATE TO HIS CAMPAIGN HERE. He has currently only raised €1,590 out of his goal of €30,000. Can we help give this fundraiser the extra attention it needs, and help Sami and his family reach their goal?

[storiesbyrhi]

Part One: A building gets torched

Eddie Munson x Reader Series Masterlist 1710 Words

If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.

Warnings: canon typical violence, references to sexual assault, swearing, drug and alcohol use, sexual references, child neglect, death/grief, references to organised crime

Note: A majority of the characters from The Crow have been replaced with Stranger Things counterparts. However, a few remain in their original form (e.g. Gideon, Grange). Some major characters have been written out, as they don’t work within the context of this story (e.g. Myca – who is one of my favourite characters). I have taken material, including direct quotes, from the film and comics/graphic novel.

After Sunset, October 30, 1994

Jim Hopper stood next to the broken window. He’d been there before. He recalled how he felt when he first saw that window. How its grand scale and clean glasswork made the rest of the ratty apartment seem worth it. The window framed the city in a way that made it seem almost beautiful. Almost.

That had been a couple months before Devil’s Night. There had been whispers that the building was going to be sold off. Hopper hoped it was true. Maybe a new developer would demolish the place. He didn’t want to think about how many ghosts haunted those walls. Between the overdoses and the organised crime related violence, a lot of trips to the morgue began there.

Unfortunately, the buyer was not the up and up real estate type. Hopper heard it was more of the top of the bad guy hierarchy type. Martin Brenner owned half the city and not by any legal or ethical means. In the police files, intel on him was filed under the codename Top Dollar, like even the cops were too scared to put their name to anything that could be used against him.

 When Hopper caught wind of that, he’d paid the apartment a visit – paid you a visit.

“You gotta cool it with this stuff,” he’d warned, gesturing to where you’d been working on a new petition for everyone to sign.

“You’ve never told me to cool it before. Never shown up at my home before,”

“Before when you were feeding the homeless? Helping little old ladies cross the road? This is different. Come on, kid. Don’t play dumb.”

You sighed, but it sounded more like a huff. It hadn’t been feeding the homeless. You’d fundraised to keep the local community kitchen from shutting its doors. And, there had never been little old ladies. Maybe little old raccoons and opossums you’d built little wooden houses for…

Hopper shifted on the spot. “Look… I know you’re tryin’ to the right thing… I know you don’t want to have to move-”

“It’s not about moving. It’s about-”

“The principle, I know,” Hopper interrupted you right back. “I know. But the guy who’s eyeing the place, you don’t wanna mess around with him.”

Even then, you knew Hopper was right. You knew what you were doing was potentially dangerous. Brenner’s name had been mentioned to you before Hopper came knocking. But you were stubborn.

“How’s he even doing this? It can’t be legal. Probably paid off Kline, right?”

Hopper cringed at the name Kline. Larry Kline was the elected official who should have been fighting for the city. Instead, he was lining his pockets with Brenner-shaped coins.

“Eddie know you’re doing this?” Hopper changed tactics. There were three giveaways that Eddie was probably on tour. The first was how quiet the apartment was. The second was the lack of guitars on the wall hooks. The third was that Gabriel, a fluffy white cat, was asleep on the couch. Gabriel only sought the company of others when Eddie wasn’t an option, even though he was technically a birthday present for you.

You bit down on your tongue. “I don’t keep secrets from Eddie,”

“Right, but… Might you have conveniently forgotten to mention who wants to buy the building? Who you’re starting a fight with?”

The conversation had ended with a vague promise that you’d maybe consider ‘cooling it.’ Hopper had left that night uneasy. He never got around to tracking a phone number for Eddie out on the road. Knowing Eddie, which he only kind of did anyway, he’d never tell you to stop doing anything. That man worshipped the ground you walked on.

Hopper stood at the broken window and held a cigarette between his teeth. He looked down to the street below, Eddie’s body being covered with a crime scene sheet while onlookers scrambled to see the carnage.

Behind him, crime scene techs and cops buzzed about the apartment. He turned to survey the scene. The photos on the wall told a story of love. His brain tried to reconcile how you looked in them, compared to how you looked lying on the apartment floor covered in blood. The paramedics were still working on stabilising you, you clinging to life by your fingernails.

Hopper gave the okay to move you while he picked up a thick piece of card off the floor. A wedding invitation for the following day – a sunset event.

“Who the fuck gets married on Halloween anyhow?” one of the cops asked, staring at the mannequin keeping your wedding dress company.

Hopper didn’t answer. He listened to their commentary.

“What’s the count so far?” a rookie questioned.

“143 fires so far… They’re slacking off from last year,”

“Three hours to go; maybe they’re just slow starters.”

Hopper followed the paramedics as they took you downstairs and out to the ambulance. Another detective was there. Detective being a very generous title, as most of the work Phil Callahan was capable of was not of the sleuthing variety.

“This the victim?” he asked.

 “No, it’s Amelia Earhart. We found her, Detective, and you missed it,” Hopper deadpanned.

Before Callahan could come up with something witty to say, Hopper was back at your side. A girl on a skateboard had appeared, pulling at your sleeve.

“Stand back, kid,” he said.

It was Max’s voice that dragged you somewhere close to Earth. “Where’s Eddie?” you croaked.

“Ah… Don’t worry about him,” Hopper told you.

“Tell him to take care of Max.”

Paramedics had you loaded up, closing the back of the ambulance. Hopper stood next to Max for a moment before putting a hand on her shoulder.

“You Max?”

“Yeah,”

“Okay, look… Your sister… She’s gonna be okay,”

“She’s not my sister. She just takes care of me… She’s my friend. Her and Eddie… You lied to her about Eddie.” Max sounded more sad than accusatory.

“I had to,”

“And you’re lying to me about her. She’s gonna die, isn’t she?”

Hopper could deal with a lot of things. A grief-stricken teenage girl was not one of them. He clasped both of her shoulders and held her, looking around the scene with a growing understanding that the misery had only just begun.  

One Year Later After Sunset, October 29, 1995

Max visited the cemetery often. She’d walk along the rows, taking one flower from each bouquet she passed. By the time she was standing in front of the matching graves, she had an offering. One white rose for Eddie, the rest for you.

Losing you and Eddie was bad, but the months since had been worse. Her mother had all but resigned from that role, spending more and more time wherever Neil and Billy Hargrove went. Max hardly saw Susan anymore. The Hargroves, and the people like them, were terrifying.

Max sat down facing the headstones. “I found another one,” she said. “It says that people used to believe that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead.”

In the weeks after that Halloween, Max obsessed over the science of death. She wanted to know how you and Eddie had felt. What would happen to your bodies, buried under all that dirt? Then, once she knew everything there was to know, she moved on to folklore. What stories had been told about dying? What existed beyond the veil?

“The thing though, is that if the person dies unfairly, if something so bad happens, then that is carried with the soul. The sadness. And the soul can’t rest.”

Max had contemplated magic. She saw a Ouija board put out by the trash cans outside her apartment building and seriously considered taking it inside. Her research had slowly veered into the direction of revenge-driven resurrection, for which many cultures had legends and fables of.

“Sometimes the crow can bring that soul back, to put the wrong things right.”  She paused, looking down and pushing the dirt around with a stick. Max shrugged to herself. “I know it’s a fairytale… But it would be nice…”

Thunder rumbled above Max. After gathering her things, she began to walk away. A crow swooped down, landing on Eddie’s headstone. She was sure it was the same one that always hung around the cemetery; she’d named him The Night Watchman.

“Keep an eye on them for me,” she told him, dropping her skateboard and riding off into the drizzling rain.

It was fear first. Terror. Darkness.

He tried to draw a breath in but it didn’t provide any relief. Something told him to get up. Get out. A voice. A voice in his head. Get up. Get out. But get up and get out of what? He thrashed but all his limbs hit solid wall.

Punching, punching, punching. When he finally broke through the coffin’s lid, his knuckles were raw and bleeding. He dug, splitting nails and swallowing dirt. He reached the surface, pulling himself from his grave.

His body couldn’t decide between curling up or being splayed out on his back. It couldn’t decide between screaming or sobbing. He was twitchy and achy. His knuckles had scabbed and scarred. He’d healed but the healing hurt.

At first, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know who he was.

A crow landed on an overhead branch. It called to the man, a deep and piercing caw. It was there to guide him. It was there to bear witness. It was there to share the burden of the second life of Eddie Munson.

Eddie knew to follow the crow. He knew the crow would take him to where he wanted to go. It would take him to you.

He stumbled, pulling himself through the cemetery and out into the city. Nobody noticed him weaving through alleyways and stalking shadows. He pulled at his burial clothes, hands running over the bullet hole scars on his body.

Eddie’s bare feet walked through filthy puddles and over crumbling asphalt. He only stopped when the crow landed on a dumpster, squawking.  Something dark was sitting on top of the trash. Old worker’s boots, too small for Eddie, but he put them on anyway. He stomped onwards.

End Note:

Thank you to the love of my life @jo-harrington for brainstorming and editing help, and for general support and hype girl shit.

The process of writing this series has been a bit of an isolated one, compared to past work. So, I don't know how it will be received. I am more unsure about it than I have been about my other stuff too. Any feedback would be immensely appreciated.

Happy New Year, xo Rhi

Fic Taglist (open): @mrsjellymunson @princesssunderworld @qweencrimson @b-irock @writinginthetwilight @bornslippys @ali-r3n @lexr86

All Eddie Taglist (open):solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @sweetpeapod @thorfemmes  @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl @lilzabob  @averagemisfit03 @ches-86 @ilovecupcakesandtea @onehotgreasymechanic @hazydespair @mel-the-fangirl @eddies-hid3out @siren-lungs @aheadfullofsteverogers @hiscrimsonangel @dashingdeb16 @cultish-corner @em0220

[heathersdesk]

So we had our youth fundraiser last night. I deal with a lot of social anxiety and noise sensitivity, so I made my bids in the silent auction early and sat down on the side pretty quickly. And eventually I made a new friend who came over to say hi.

An older woman came over to say hi and just told me about her day. She mentioned she dyed her hair to not get clocked as "too old" because she was looking for a job, which of course worked because the world is terrible.

And with conspiratorial glee, she showed me her secret leg hair revolt against the patriarchy. So of course I showed her mine. And it was easily my favorite interaction I think I've ever had at any church activity.

My ministering sister, whom I adore, also came over to say hi. And that brought over someone else I've seen around, but haven't spoken to. He showed her pictures of the trip he just took to Boston to a bunch of old game show sets he went to go see, because game shows are his jam. He showed her pictures from his trip, where he was having the time of his life, then showed me because he could see I was taking an interest. He told her about how Family Feud came about, and then showed her artwork he did for autism awareness day.

I won some cookies made by the Young Women, brownies made by the Young Men, and my crochet lap blanket sold for $50 to the bishop. I got to see the delightful contest over the prize of the night—the offer from someone to come clean windows.

It was a good night. I had fun watching people and just being in the energy of the community I'm a part of, getting to know them better.

I may be weird. But we're all a little weird. And we like that about each other. And in a way I can't quite describe well because I've never felt it as keenly as I did then, I felt this unspoken acceptance to be my own kind of weird.

[mariacallous]

This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with Jewish teens around the world to report on issues that affect their lives.

At a time of rising tension between Jews and Muslims over the war in Gaza, students at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan found a peaceful way to coexist: one pastry at a time.

In November 2023, the school’s Jewish Student Union partnered with the Muslim Student Association to hold a bake sale. The combined clubs sold baked goods to students outside the cafeteria, donating the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. In total, they raised around $800 for the nonprofit. 

“People weren’t sure if they wanted to talk about [the events of Oct. 7], but it was definitely something we all felt,” said senior Marina Silvergleit, the co-founder and co-president of the newly restarted JSU. “There was a group sense that we had to do something. Quite a few teachers commented to the JSU and the MSA that they were very moved by the joint effort, and that it was a beacon of hope to them.”

The collaboration came at a time of rising antisemitism in the U.S., as well as within the district, when tensions between Ann Arbor’s Muslim and Jewish communities were high. Last January, the Ann Arbor Public Schools board passed a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza after a divisive vote. On the University of Michigan campus, just minutes away from Pioneer High School, protests on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have become the norm, with two simultaneous demonstrations held on the anniversary of Oct. 7.

Helping bring both sides together was a gratifying early accomplishment for the new Jewish Student Union, which has more than 20 members across grade levels. It’s not the first time Pioneer, the largest high school in the city, has had a JSU. The previous one fell off when classes went remote during the pandemic. In early 2023, a handful of energized students, including Silvergleit, stepped up and brought the club back to life. The club provides a safe community to Jewish students at the school, and forges connections with the wider student body.

“There was no centered place for Jewish students at Pioneer to meet and discuss things that may impact us as a group, and so I decided to create a space for that,” said Silvergleit. “Mostly, it’s a social time for people who are Jewish to talk about anything, just knowing that it’s through that shared lens.” 

Jenna Saeed, co-president of the Muslim Student Association, said that collaborations like the November 2023 bake sale help to demonstrate that members of the Jewish community and Muslim community are standing together. “I think having bake sales where we’re coming together for the common good shows people that we’re all in the same community, we all want what’s best for the local community and the global community,” Saeed, a senior, said. “We’re all people, at the end of the day.” 

Senior Arsalan Alavi, who co-leads the club with Saeed, sees the collaboration as a form of healing conversation. “With events like this we can open up that exchange of dialogue to get to know each other and really get a clear understanding of who everyone is instead of these preconceived notions that you might see in forms of media.”

Both clubs say they hope to combine forces again for more joint fundraisers in the future. 

“Even in times of division, such polarizing times, we can find common ground, build bridges of understanding, and support one common cause,” Alavi said.

The JSU also provided a space for Jewish students post Oct. 7, like Evyatar Eliav, 18, a graduated member of the JSU who is now a freshman in college. “It helped to have a place where other people also had a stronger connection to what was going on, especially with people who had family/friends in Israel, just checking in and making sure they were okay is important,” said Eliav.

Having spaces for Jewish students to connect with one another is becoming increasingly important. More than 70% of Jewish high schoolers say that they have experienced antisemitic harassment or discrimination since Oct. 7, according to a study by BBYO.

That is part of what is so important about Jewish spaces in schools, Eliav said. He describes the JSU at Pioneer as “a place to celebrate Judaism in school with your peers, which is hard to do if you don’t go to Jewish camps in the summer or aren’t a super active member at synagogue or in the community.”

Pioneer’s Jewish Student Union is unaffiliated with NCSY, the Modern Orthodox organization that facilitates Jewish Student Unions at schools around the country, although it provides a similar service.

“People want to come together and have a community in a space where that’s not necessarily a given,” said Devora Simon, the director of NCSY’s Jewish Student Union program. Prior to Oct 7, she would receive 1-2 requests each month from students interested in starting Jewish Student Union clubs of their own. However, this past year, she’s been fielding 3-5 requests per week—sometimes even more. 

“They’re not reaching out to start a club to combat antisemitism, they’re reaching out because, because of the antisemitism, there’s a lot more emphasis on gathering as a community and creating those spaces,” said Simon. NCSY as a whole has seen around a 30% increase in student involvement since Oct 7, she said.

Having a non-denominational, low-commitment space within school gives Jewish students affinity, organizers said. This translates into higher scores on their social, emotional and spiritual well-being, compared to those who are not, according to a 2019 study by the Jewish Education Project.

Club sponsor Melissa Bender sees the students benefiting from the solidarity the club provides, especially in the aftermath of Oct. 7. The club supports students, the science teacher said, by helping them to know “that they’re not alone.”

Silvergleit hopes the club will continue to thrive for years to come, representing the Jewish student body through celebrations of Jewish holidays, fundraisers and more. She emphasizes the importance of growing community and being united against the antisemitism going on in the world today. “As students, we see a path to a better future. We want a better future,” she said.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

A Year in Review: All the times Meghan Markle been publicly called out in 2023. Highlights and favorite #MarkleMoment from last year? 📌Part 2 of 2

These are her humiliating moments over past year that she’s been publicly called out for in some way. All with proof, all archived from media reports around the world. Get cozy, save this post, and as always, appreciate the upvotes so it doesn't get targeted for downvotes! Posting it now as many of us will be celebrating Christmas with our loved ones. Although we are a diverse bunch, this unites us all :)

Here’s some from 2022 to inspire you:

Harry and Megan of “overseas”

the Funeral candle

no Jubilee balcony

voetsek Megan

I love the part where…(YouTube comments on their Netflix trailer)

Marriott Meg

12% Rotten Tomatoes rating for Netflix flopumentary, with her cutesy (mocking) curtesy

What was your favourite from 2023?

Meg inexplicably marching with the Invictus vets, at the front, while Harry is literally on the sidelines. https://archive.ph/wip/VG5SP

Meg wears a JCrew sweater to the Games. Her fans claim the Meghan effect crashed the site. JCrew comes out faster than Dior to clarify it was a confirmed outage for a website update.https://archive.ph/wufbS

Archetypes trademark abandoned. So much for the other platforms manifested clamouring for it. https://archive.ph/wip/yhziu

Embarrassing video at the fundraiser with Kevin Costner where she assumes she’s going to be given the mic by virtue of her being there, reached for it, and is very intentionally avoided and not given it. https://archive.ph/yeZDN

Despite the NDA attempts, information on how the NY Bench faux Royal visit does not let anyone speak negatively about her visit. Ever. She also demanded a new carpet. https://archive.ph/qAhnb

Snubbed by the Beckhams on their far more popular Netflix documentary. “Humiliated” by the snub from the Clooneys at their New York Foundation for Justice event.https://archive.ph/wip/GsB7j

Snubbed by Kim K birthday party, despite earlier pics with Doria and days before floating PR that Meg may do a cameo on KUWTK. Compounded by Kylie’s ‘boyfriend’ Chalomet talking about the Worldwide Privacy Tour earlier in the week. https://archive.ph/wip/BGvVP

Mocked on Family Guy for Netflix contract getting paid for nothing/ spon con Insta for Del Taco. Del Taco joins in and tweets about it. https://archive.ph/wip/Sm56V

Meg manifests a deal with Audible. Audible spokesperson shuts that down. https://archive.ph/KTLnP

William lands in Singapore for Earthshot to lit up architecture, Union Jack waving crowds, and an official tree planting at the airport. Meg and H attempt to compete by releasing a ‘candid’ pic of them at Katy Perry’s Las Vegas show (implying the standing people, phones were for them and not Celine Dion who walked in behind them). Cameron Diaz was also there, but didn’t get pics sold the same way. None of the other celebs present interact with them on camera. https://archive.ph/gnpjA

Dior signs Meg. No, not that Meg, but Meg the actress who plays Kate Middleton on the Crown. https://archive.ph/wip/lH6dY

Harry and Meg highly publicize their birthday call to Charles. The Palace discretely responds with detailed full itinerary of Charles’s busy day and evening, plus the press runs the fact that Charles doesn’t have a cell phone. Sussexes double down and pivot to it somehow being a prerecorded message sent (to where?) with Archie and Lili singing happy birthday. The world laughs or ignores them. https://archive.ph/i0uz8

Move along Meg on TikTok, after the video of her refusing to leave her basking on the press carpet at the Variety awards. Bonus is the real celebs inside clearly refused any pictures with her. The next day it’s confirmed she wasn’t even on the Guest List, which explains the Table 12 seating in no star names social Siberia. https://archive.ph/uC4Y8

Harry and Meg graciously are open to an invite for Christmas. Palace guest list leaks a day later, NFI. https://archive.ph/wip/0dEoi

Endgame is published. Omid claims to not be a friend of Meghan. Two Royal racist names are leaked to the Dutch publication based on Meg’s letter to Charles post Megxit. Omid blames the translator. No one publicly appears to believe them. There is not one single positive review of Endgame in major world newspapers. Omid later in the week acknowledges the names were in the Dutch manuscript. https://archive.ph/wip/Lr8XR

Hollywood Reporter lists Harry and Meghan as one of the biggest losers of 2023. https://archive.ph/E4hUt

Kitson’s Holiday Hypocrisy celeb window display in LA features Harry and Meg. Tik Tok notices. https://archive.ph/7yA3F

Ranker poll has both Meghan (#2) and Harry (#6) in the Top 10 list for Most Disliked Celebrities of 2023. Oprah, Hilary Baldwin,Ellen, Amber Heard (#1), and Bill Cosby also make the list. Update: They've recently become #1 and #4. https://archive.ph/OpKH5

Archewell 2022-2023 Impact Report highlighting ‘Restoring Trust in Information’, including ethical journalism, drops the same day Harry is fined $60K in court for providing misleading information - where he’s suing a newspaper. Court documents call it “ironic” given the “Duke of Sussex is responsible for misleading the court.” https://archive.ph/wip/1YtSe

Archewell’s 2022 financials reveal they only raised $2 mil (two anonymous $1 mil donations) vs $13 mill (also two anonymous donations) in 2021. Press brand it a “failure.” Notice they literally had only 4 donations in two years. https://archive.ph/wip/LqnuL

Not invited to any parties for Art Basel in Miami. Back in 2014, Markus organized a Soho party, invited Meg, and sat her next to Misha Nonoo. Context shows Meg has even less clout now than her pre Royal days.https://archive.ph/wip/aKYPL

Christmas card released. Largely ignored by world media. The response from other media: where are the kids? Called out for its embarrassing corporate look. https://archive.ph/fldEw

WME is "horrified" by Meghan Markle's sinking brand and association with Endgame, and may drop her in 2024. https://archive.ph/mye6j

(Honorable mentions to specific Harry’s moments: with Charles too busy to met, not going to France and hiking in Transylvania, and “in the realms of total speculation”. Harry pitches a Spotify show interviewing Putin, Zuckerberg, the Pope, etc on their shared bond of childhood trauma, Spare the most dumped holiday book of 2023. “Peace talks” between KCIII and Harry since he’s nearby in Germany for Invictus shut down less than 24h later. Persona non grata).

​Which ones did you not know or forget about?

It's been quite the year! To quote the Sussexes, thanks for all the support in 2023!

post link: A Year in Review: All the times Meghan Markle been publicly called out in 2023. Highlights and favorite #MarkleMoment from last year? : SaintMeghanMarkle (reddit.com)

author: somespeculation

submitted: December 17, 2023 at 02:25PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[black-arcana]

WITHIN TEMPTATION's SHARON DEN ADEL Guests On 'Labyrinth' Single From Ukraine's BLIND8

Ukrainian band BLIND8 has released a new song, "Labyrinth", featuring Sharon Den Adel of Dutch symphonic metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION.

This collaboration is a landmark moment for BLIND8, which formed just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has become a leading light for rock music in its homeland whenever circumstances allow. They will be joining WITHIN TEMPTATION as the opening act on their "Bleed Out 2024" European tour this autumn, playing arenas across mainland Europe and the U.K.

The song is also being released worldwide via WITHIN TEMPTATION's own record label Force Music Recordings.

Sharon comments: "'Labyrinth' is not just a song; it's a testament to the enduring power of music. And even with Roman, the singer, and Ihor, the bass player, currently having been mobilized and in training for the war, BLIND8 continue to defy the odds, proving that even in the most challenging times, art can shine a light in the darkness."

BLIND8 remain committed and hopeful of spreading their message of solidarity, perseverance and defiance across Europe at the end of this year, playing to their largest audiences yet in huge arenas, when they support WITHIN TEMPTATION. The musicians have said that this song is their testament to the fact that even in the darkest times, music has the power to inspire and unite people.

WITHIN TEMPTATION will embark on a huge arena tour of Europe in the autumn of 2024. Joining them on this tour will be both WITHIN TEMPTATION's recent collaborative artists and longtime friends: singer Tarja Turunen (on select dates),German metalcore band ANNISOKAY, BLIND8, GREEN LIZARD and Ukrainian producer and vocalist Alex Yarmak.

The tour starts in September with two shows in The Netherlands (that sold out within days) and will continue throughout Europe in an array of impressive arenas. A number of dates have already sold out, with tickets running low across Europe.

Last fall, WITHIN TEMPTATION co-sponsored the Ukraine Aid Operations boat fundraiser for the Ukrainian Marines. They donated 6,000 euros for 30 patches, which they packaged with a limited-edition box of their latest album, "Bleed Out"

Four months ago, Den Adel spoke to Metal Musikast about WITHIN TEMPTATION's music video for the band's "A Fool's Parade" single, featuring Ukrainian producer and vocalist Alex Yarmak. Recorded amidst the streets of Kyiv with renowned Ukrainian video director Indy Hait, the clip captures Sharon at important Ukrainian landmarks. Asked what it was like to make a music video in the capital city of a country at war, Den Adel said: "Well, I was never scared to go there, because I was in good hands, to my opinion. We were helped to do this video and to organize everything, what we wanted to do in Kyiv, by the organization called Music Saves Ukraine. And they told us about the app that you had need to have. For instance, if you go into Kiev, which we did by night train from Poland, because there's no commercial flights from Amsterdam to Kyiv anymore. So we had to go by night train from Poland to Kyiv. And they told us to download an air-alerts app because everyone in Ukraine has that, and you can select a region that you are in and any incoming dangerous drones or airplanes, like MiGs, who are carrying a supersonic bomb or anything, they will put that in the app and you know what the danger is and how much time you have to go to a shelter. And there's shelters everywhere, even in the hotel that I was. And we once had to go underneath the metro station, because there was a MiG on their way. And sometimes it has a bomb, sometimes it doesn't. It's sometimes just looking and scouting where they can do something with the next airplane. And this time it wasn't wearing any supersonic bomb, which was good for us because it can wipe out a complete area in a matter of seconds."

In March 2022, WITHIN TEMPTATION was one of the artists who took part in a telethon concert in support of Ukraine. "Save Ukraine - #StopWar" united more than 20 countries and bring together more than 50 participants. The marathon was broadcast from Warsaw on the Polish TV channel TVP. In addition, broadcasters from many countries around the world rebroadcasted the marathon on their local channels.The "Bleed Out" album was released last October.

[digitaldoeslmk]

woe, idle hcs be upon you:

Mei has hyperpigmentation/melasma, and due to her rough and tumble disposition, she's covered in pockmarks from bruises, scrapes and the occasional acne;

Mei also has little budding horns on her head, she just covers them with her pigtails so they don't snag or catch into stuff;

she has several social media accts, her largest ones are her speedrunning stream channel and her bike racing and modding blog;

she finds dragon tattoos funny cus "lmao that looks like my great-cousin before he hit his growth spurt bahahaha!";

MK is nonbinary masc trans; he got blockers prior to his teens, but he stopped T only a year before the events of the series;

He has a small cloud handpoke tattoo on his ankle, he did it himself on a whim and its shaky and wonky but he treasures it a lot;

He has several piercing scars on his ears and nose, and on his eyebrows. He tried to make them last, but the moment he loses piercings like you wouldn't believe. He eventually stopped when one got torn during martial arts practice;

Hai'er isn't too bothered by pronouns, but he prefers masc adjectives;

He often wears traditional clothes, but he prioritizes practicality overall, especially qhen he's at his workshop;

He's incredibly strict when it comes to safety gear and measures. If you won't respect his labs and workshops for the SAW traps that they are, then be gone;

Pigsy used to ride bikes, he was big on wheels until he sold his pride and joy to get the remaining money he needed to open the noodle shop;

Pigsy and Sandy met on the bike "gang" scene, though it was less a gang and more several younger folk who enjoyed riding and causing the occasional trouble, but not real gang-related crimes;

And the two met Tang when he walked in on them doing a small fundraiser for the shop;

he became a regular on Pigsy's food stand and even rambled about his food to his colleagues;

Tang and Pigsy are in a steady relationship together, and they are both legal guardians of MK;

The monkeys at FFM call MK either "little sage" or "prince", much to his bashfulness. it's cute when the cubs do it though;

after MK had a proper introduction to the folks of the mountain, he's constantly invited to take part in their life. festivals, holidays, birthday parties, he always get invited to come over and join them for it;

before the novelty of the Monkie Kid went away, Pigsy had to install some safety measures on the noodles delivery app, cus people kept ordering noodles only to see MK and ask for signatures and such;

Mei is a restaurant's worst nightmare because she's So Picky when it comes to seafood;

'Mei' and 'MK' are nicknames they both got in the martial arts academy, their names are still Long Xiaojiao and Qi Xiaotian;

Sandy used to do boat transportation, but he retired to do engineering work instead. he got a degree thanks to Tang's encouragement and support;

Mei is on prep school for electrical engineering college; her parents wanted something more law-oriented but this was their compromise, since Mei didn't want to do college At All;

Tang is an academics jack-of-all-trades; he messed up his tenure so now he does academic book revisions, translations and editorials. Hes also affiliated with a number of libraries, and manages read-alongs, study groups and other events. On occasion he gets advisory jobs on documentaries and such, and he's even been asked on a few interviews;

He gets supremely insufferable about his curriculum if you get him talking about it;

He's got a near flawless memory of every book he's read, able to quote exact lines and identify the chapter and pages from them;

Tang speaks a number of languages, and sometimes takes students from fellow teachers who might need some private lessons to catch up;

His tenure was put on pause so he could help Pigsy with raising baby MK, and he doesn't regret his choice one moment;

[ltwilliammowett]

Hark Olufs a pirate victim sold into slavery

Hark or Harck Olufs was born in July 1708 in Süddorf on Amrum. At that time, the island of Amrum was under Danish rule, a time when the island was always fought over and regularly changed crowns.

Now Hark's father was "Captain Oluf Jensen" and as a sought-after North German captain he owned several ships, including "die Hoffnung /the Hope", on which he sent his son Hark Olufs on board as a sailor in 1721. Three years later, what many sailors of that time truly feared happened. When Hark was on his way from Nantes to Hamburg, two of his cousins and the crew fell into the hands of the notorious Barbary pirates and were taken as slaves to Algiers to extort ransom.

Front of Hark Oluf’s talking gravestone (x)

"Here lies the great war hero, resting gently on Amrom Christenfeld. The blessed Harck Olufs was born there on Amrum in 1708, 19 July. Soon afterwards, in his younger years, he was taken prisoner by the Turkish pirates in Algiers on 24 March 1724. In such imprisonment, however, he served the Turkish Bey of Constantine as a casnadaje for 11 and a quarter years, until this Bey finally gave him his freedom in 1735 on 31 October out of kindness to him, since he then happily returned here the following year as A[nn]o 1736 on 25 April. April, he happily arrived here again on his fatherland, and thus in A[nn]o 1737 entered into holy matrimony with Antje Harken, who is now in a sad widowhood together with 5 children. In such marriage, however, they have begotten a son and 4 daughters. Thus they must all feel the death of their father, since he died in 1754 on 13 October, and brought his life to 46 years and 13 weeks.

Of course, Hark's desperate family tried to buy him free, but simply could not raise the enormously large sum demanded, although large fundraising campaigns were initiated. But Hark and his cousins were not the only ones, and since each of them was asked for about 6,000 marks, it was almost impossible to raise this amount. But his family did not give up and even turned to the Danish government, which had a special department for kidnapped sailors. But now there was a problem. The Hope was not sailing under the Danish flag, but under the free flag of Hamburg (the reason why his father was also allowed to call himself Captain, because this title was only allowed to Hamburger merchant Captains, others were only Commanders) whereupon Hark Olufs' application for release was rejected. As if this were not dramatic enough, the Olufs family was further dogged by bad luck. When Hark's father finally had the required sum of money together, he arranged for his son to be ransomed. And indeed, a Hark Olufs was also ransomed, but not his son, just someone else with the same name. All hope for the real Hark Olufs seemed lost and with each passing day, the hope of seeing him alive again faded. But Hark was lucky -

The following text is written on the back of the gravestone: (x)

"May God grant the body a joyful resurrection on the last day.

To my own I call back from the grave these lines for remembrance: Alas, in my younger years I must go to the robbery of the Algiers And hold almost twelve years the Slaverey. But God made me free by his hand. Therefore I say again: I know, my God, I must now die. I will, but one thing I ask. Let not mine own perish. Keep the widow's house. Oh God, because I cannot provide, take thee wife and children."

After being sold as a slave, he worked as a servant to the Beys of Constantine until 1728. On behalf of his owner, he killed many people and gained the trust of his master. Thus Hark not only rose to the position of treasurer, but between 1724 and 1732 he became commander of the bodyguard. Incidentally, he also took part in a pilgrimage to Mecca, from which it can be concluded that he converted to Islam. After Hark had helped in the conquest of Tunis in 1735, he was released in gratitude on 31 October and returned home to Amrum in 1736 as a very wealthy man.

However, he did not seem to leave voluntarily, because shortly after he was released, the Bey died. And with that, Hark lost his protector and leader, which threatened his own life again, and so he returned.

Title page of the first edition of Hark Olufs' Autobiography, 1747 (x)

When he returned to Amrum, he stayed there. He only married after a thorough examination by the pastor and the elders, but after proving that he was still a Christian, he was baptised and accepted back into the church and community. Once and for all fed up with dangerous seafaring, he held several offices on Amrum and even met the Danish King Christian VI. He told him his story and in 1747 his own autobiography was published. Hark Olufs died in Süddorf on Amrum on 13 October 1754. Even today his gravestone, which is one of the talking stones, stands in Nebel in the cemetery at St Clement's Church.  

But it doesn't stop there, because since his death he has been sighted again and again wandering around the cemetery and between the dunes in search of his treasure and obviously cannot find any peace.

[rabbitcruiser]

Remembrance Day

Honoring those who served with respect, gratitude, and ceremonies that pay tribute to their sacrifice and dedication.

Set aside as a time to honor those who served and lost their lives fighting in wars and national conflict, Remembrance Day also allows people to remember the devastation that comes out of war, encouraging them to try to live at peace with one another. 

History of Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day has a history that can be followed back to what was originally Armistice Day. A key part of the celebration is the fact that the formal end of World War I was scheduled to take place at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year in 1918.

So, the following year, this date was celebrated in honor of those who fought in the war, especially those who lost their lives, and reminding everyone about the brutality and hostility of war. The original Armistice Day was celebrated in November 1919, with events hosted by King George V and held at Buckingham Palace.

During World War II, the day changed its name. Armistice Day in the UK and other Commonwealth nations became Remembrance Day, while the United States changed the name to Veteran’s Day. Since then, other conflicts and wars have arisen in various nations, and Remembrance Day may be used to remember and honor all of the soldiers and veterans, whether recently or a century ago. 

In some countries, Remembrance Day is a public government holiday, where schools and many offices are closed, while other countries simply encourage people to pay their respects in their free time on Remembrance Day.

Take some time on this Remembrance Day to show some appreciation for those soldiers, sailors, airmen, officers and others who were committed to fighting for freedom.

How to Observe Remembrance Day

A wide range of opportunities are available for people to celebrate Remembrance Day on a very small scale or on a larger scale. Join in with millions of others to show respect for those who lost their lives or fought in a war, and also take some time to think on and remember how important it is to strive for peace in the world today. Consider some of these ideas for observing Remembrance Day:

Wear a Red Poppy

In the United Kingdom, the symbol that shows support for the armed forces is a red poppy flower. This originated from a poem written after World War I that described the poppies marking the graves of soldiers who were killed fighting for their country. The poem, named “In Flanders Fields” was written by a Canadian doctor after he had lost a friend in the war. In 1921, the emblem of the red poppy was chosen by the British Legion to honor those who had died and also encourage those still living.

All throughout the month of November, the red poppy is worn as a symbol of hope for the future and remembrance of the past. They are sold as fundraisers for charitable efforts that help veterans with housing, jobs or other assistance. Some of these poppies are sold along with the theme “Lest We Forget”. People who choose to get poppies can place them on their coat lapels or wear them in other places in support of Remembrance Day.

Take a Moment of Silence

At 11am on this day, many people stop what they are doing, at work, at school or in public spaces, to hold a moment of silence. This moment is meant to be a solemn remembrance of those who lost their lives as part of serving and defending their country. Some Remembrance Day events hold two minutes of silence and then will have a ceremony or other way for people to gather, listen, speak and remember.

Honor or Thank a Veteran

Those who have friends, family members, coworkers or other loved ones who are veterans may want to take some time on Remembrance Day to thank them for their service in protecting their country. And those who have special veterans who have already died may want to pay respect and honor them by sharing a photo of them on social media as a tribute to their memory.

Attend a Remembrance Day Event

Many cities, states and governments across the world host events related to Remembrance Day or Veteran’s Day. Find out what events or ceremonies are taking place in the local area, whether a memorial service, parade, dinner or some other way to mark the occasion. Community leaders who don’t already have events planned in their local area might be interested in starting one through their town, school, local chapter of a veteran’s support group, or some other foundation.

Learn About the History of Remembrance Day

One important way to observe a day that acts as a reminder of the horrors of war might be to learn more about its history. The catalyst of Remembrance Day was World War I, which took place more than 100 years ago now, and many modern people are not well educated on the details of this war. The internet has all kinds of different resources for people to grow in their knowledge of the world wars, and a local library would also be a great place to check out some history books for more information.

Support a Veterans’ Charity

Those who leave their homes and families to serve in the military often have to make very large sacrifices. And many times, when they come home after serving in a war or conflict, they have difficulty getting their lives back on track. From financial and personal hardship with finding a job or emotional distress from post-traumatic stress, many veterans need extra support.

In honor of Remembrance Day, some people might think it’s a good idea to make a donation to financially support a veterans charity. Or it might be a time to find out if there are ways to volunteer to help. This could include something like transporting veterans to medical appointments, leading recreational programs, serving coffee and refreshments at events, or simply providing companionship to those in need.

Source

[contrasting-realities]

From the archives of the Canterlot Center For Emergency Outbreaks

Name: Arcus Plaga

Date of Discovery: 500 years ago

Description: Despite being known to ponykind for over centuries, Arcus Plaga has only been well documented for the last ten thanks to a localized outbreak. Victims of this disease tend to experience flu-like symptoms at first, before loss of motor control and excessive drooling sets in. The most terrifying part of this disease is how it puppeteers the infected and poses as them to lure others into a sense of security. Those who have been taken over hunger only for more sources of Arcus Plaga and what is required to keep their bodies functional. As per its defining symptom, subject's drool is filled with Arcus Plaga particles, to the point of appearing a dull rainbow around the mouth.

Life Cycle: Despite what many think, ponies aren't the end host for this illness, but rather a means to an end as they cannot reproduce inside of us. Instead, they leave via bodily fluids into nearby soil to infect plants and certain animals to reproduce and produce a certain scent which attracts their equine hosts to restart the cycle. As such, a bite from an Arcus Plaga victim won't do much aside from making the victim slightly ill for a few hours, assuming it breaks the skin.

Ponyville Outbreak: From half a millennia to a few years ago, Arcus Plaga was believed to have been restricted to Rainbow Falls due to the infrequency and short lifespan of prior outbreaks, but an incident in the town of Ponyville proved otherwise. This particular epidemic was started when one Rainbow Dash swapped what she thought were normal joke cookies with the ones sold during the Fillyguide fundraiser. Unfortunately, she was unaware that said batch of cookies was severely contaminated, and due to the fundraiser's popularity, infected the whole town with Arcus Plaga. Under normal circumstances such as previous epidemics, one or two ponies under this infection would eventually fight it off on their own without contact with external sources of Arcus Plaga, however the sheer number of infected made this impossible as the environment quickly became contaminated. Today, a research and quarantine center has been set up to find a way to research the disease and potentially clear the contamination in the future.

There are only 6 known survivors from the Ponyville Outbreak, the aforementioned Rainbow Dash alongside Rarity, Applejack, Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Apple bloom. The first has gone missing ever sense she was sued by both the Filliescouts and Equestrian Government for causing the outbreak while the second is now the leader in attempting to find a way to safely decontaminate her home. Applejack, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom have been staying with their family in Appaloosa while Sweetie Bell remains with her sister in Canterlot.

[randomrabbidramblings]

Thanks to Bwahstrella's... questionable policies about her clients' privacy here's her quotes:

Not quite spoilers, but if you want to catch them yourself, don't go ahead. No spoilers about the DLC, just lil' trivia about the characters. There's A LOT of them, I don't even think you could get all of them in a couple of playthroughs, I may have missed a bunch, so if you find some I didn't let me know!

"Augie lives in fear his villagers will discover that their emergency food supplies are just bags of nacho cheese sauce."

"Augie was supposed to build a new temple, but he blew the funds on booking DJ Cheep Tuna for his birthday."

"I foresee Augie will be put on a "performance improvement plan" for using the lighthouse to cook a rotisserie chicken."

"Tell Augie our service hotline is not a free consueling service."

"Find out wich intern told Augie he was doomed and fire them. He is calling like a lunatic now."

"I foresee Augie wearing sweatpants to his parents' anniversary after forgetting to try on his suit until the day of."

"Orion's next cargo ship will catch fire after Salesbot's crates of "furniture parts" turn out to be illegal fireworks."

"I foresee Orion being swallowed alive by a Shovel-Nosed Gobblegazer while star fishing. He REALLY needs a new hobby."

"Magnesio and Vanesia sold MANY "prosperity crystals". The catch? They were ICE crystals. Rabbids got water in the mail."

"I sponsored Telesio in a book-a-thon fundraiser. He read every book in the Winter Palace - TWICE! Cost me a fortune."

"Each postcard of Dr. Vent is stranger than the last. That Rabbid is in dire need of a vacation."

"The balls they throw at the Winter palace are like knitting circles compared to the ones they had there back in my days."

"Woodrow is to recieve terrible dating advice until he rescinds the 5% fortune telling tax on Palette Prime!"

"Woodrow's ex-girlfriend couldn't even read a greeting card inscription without breaking into hives, poor thing."

"The Fates are many, and their voices discordant, but on this ONE thing they agree - they HATE Woodrow's poetry."

"When Woodrow needed money he wrote crude limericks under the name "Bell Chur". Oddly they brought only good luck."

"If Woodrow calls, tell him I am in a seance - DO NOT take a message, especially if it rhymes."

"Yes, it is bad if Woodrow's next poem destroys the galaxy, BUT if we don't have to hear it - mixed blessing."

"Lots of Rabbids from Palette Prime are calling for advice. Woodrow must be working on a new poem. SHUDDER."

"Tell the Palette Prime office I'm eagerly awaiting fresh gossip from the Spellbound Woods about Sweetlopek an the Dryad."

"I foresee the Dryad and Sweetlopek making a fortune selling fall-themed "farmhouse chic" pinecone wreaths to tourists."

"A certain Spark Hunter who is as dense as her name implies owes me for damage to my vacation home on Palette Prime."

"I didn't say Salesbot smuggles artificial pumpking spice into Palette Prime, but I also didn't NOT say it."

"The "authenthic" Paletteville Plaza Farmer's Market scented candles I bought from Salesbot smell like rotting garbage."

"The premium for poetry-related accident insurance on Palette Prime is six times that of our other locations!"

"A golden acorn of opportunity will fall in your lap while you are asleep. It will be eaten by a vole."

"Bea reports that "Madame Bwahstrella Doom n' Bloom Boquets" are a very popular item between mortal enemies."

"Bea's music made a small comeback after DJ Cheep Tuna sampled it for Darkmess Cheese Barber Wrap Tunnel Disco party."

"Tell my publicist to invite Galaxy Confidential to my Doomy Awards dinner party, then seat the Phantom near Bea."

"You didn't need to be psychic to predict the Phantom dumping Bea for one of her backup dancers, but would she listen?"

"Tell Alkementor I need a case of red banana-kumquat-star apple mineral fusion water for my Doomy Awards afterparty."

"I see Sullivan going dateless at the Engineer's Ball if he does not stop blowing me off for his stupid train."

"If Sullivan calls, tell him I'm having lunch with a handsome salesman who prefers electric trains over steam engines."

"Sullivan sent roses to apologize for calling me "vile rabble" after I said his steam train was a "ridiculous fossil"."

"Everywhere I go at the Everbloom I am asked. "Do you foresee more overtime in my future?" Hard to relax."

"I foresee Momma being thougher than leather and harder than steel, with an itch for action and living like there no tomorrow!"

"I wouldn't want to be a certain Spark Hunter when Momma catches up to them with an itch that only revenge can scratch!"

"Tell our Barrendale Mesa location they are absolutely NOT to close during "Big Momma's Bike Rally and Chili Cookoff."

"I foresee Gerspard moving into his Neo-Figurative Hyper-Expressionist Retro-Futuristic Tabloid phase to rave reviews."

"Rabbid Peach wants HOW MUCH for a sponsored post?!"

"Someone tell Rabbid Mario we do not use male models for our gift catalogues before he sends us any more beefcake shots."

"Prof. Backpack's lecture series is postponed until he can find a commercial spaceflight with room for his backpack."

"Can someone remind Salesbot he does not work here? He keeps popping in to help himself to our breakroom snacks."

"My competitor, Madame Bwahstrodamus, could not predict yesterday's weather if she had a newspaper."

"Find out how many lanes the bowling alley in Madame Bwahstrodamus' mansion has so I can build mine with twice as many."

"Sigh... Have my body double do the autograph signing. I need a vacation..."

"I see a new personal assistant in my future if my chicken cheesesteak is cold like last time."

"Curses, hexes, evil eyes... Fortune-telling USED to be fun. Now the Fates most rely on algorithms and statistics."

"I'm Doomed, My Partner's Not - my self-help guide for couples, it's due out this spring."

"Life is short - doom well, doom often, doom much."

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Hi Alyssa!

I have a random question for you today…

What’s the strangest thing you have ever done for money?

Hi Kat!! Happy Monday!

Oh BOY that sure is a loaded question! hahahaha I have done quite a few strange things for money, honestly. Some of them might not be... how should I put this... sharable. But I have a couple that I certainly can tell you about.

1- Bartender at a Catholic High School fundraiser event. I think it was a fashion show? So I had already been a bartender for about three years when I started student teaching (there was a brief moment in time when I was going to be a HS English teacher) at my old high school (Yes, I attended catholic school for 12 years. Fun fact, that school has since shut down and was most recently used to film the new Mean Girls movie which I have not seen but the trailers trip me out because there's Tina Fey standing in my old history classroom lol) and was also coaching the girls' track team, so I was around the school often. Someone in the main office overheard me talking to one of the other teachers - who just so happened to be a friend that I bartended with in the summer - about being a bartender, so they asked me to "bartend" (it was just wine and beer) this event (that was held in the cafeteria). I guess it's not that strange, but it was a weird like... worlds colliding thing for me. Still, it was an easy $100.

2- I wrote social media posts for a cab company in London. For a while I was freelancing on Fiverr and was hired to write... so many strange articles, posts, press releases etc. (One time a really small scale rapper contacted me to write some reviews for his music and told me he was gonna take me to the top and I literally have not stopped laughing about that because no, sir, you are not taking me to the top you are paying me $5 to say your music is good which it wasn't horrible but it definitely wasn't going anywhere near the top. Another time I had to write 1500 words about different types of mattresses.) But my one repeat client was this cab company in London that had me rewrite all the copy for their website. And I have never been to London.

3- I sold donor recognition plaques. This one was strange in so many ways. I worked for a tiny company that specialized in making those like big wall installations and like trees that you see in hospitals and temples/churches and universities and other institutions where boosters/donors have their names on like plaques or leaves. It was strange working there for a lot of reasons. The company had been around for 100 years at the time I was working there, and if you looked around the office and workshop, you could tell. There was an entire room of paper records (non digitized, despite the fact that digitization exists and despite the fact that this company had already suffered a fire like 40 years ago and lost all their records) the workshop was like part functional creative space, part fucking museum because some of the tools were like The Original Tool. But the strangest part about working there was the fact that the three owners all seemed to be locked in a constant battle with each other which made it impossible to get anything done. But yeah. If you've ever been in a temple or hospital in NY, NJ or the surrounding area, chances are the tiny dysfunctional company I worked for made their plaques.

[literaticat]

This is a question about school visits / bookstore appearances. I know that when authors and illustrators are sent on tour, the Publisher is paying for that (it's publicity) and it's unpaid. But when arrangements for these kinds of visits are are made outside of that: How do authors and illustrators get paid? Do they invoice the school/school district? Do they get paid prior to or after the event? What's the deal with Author Village? Not much info online about how this actually works, and was curious about the inner workings of author visits. Thanks!

I've never been involved on the author side of school visits (though as a bookseller, I have sold books at them!), so I asked my client Kate Messner, who does a lot of them. She says:

"When authors do school visits that aren't part of a publisher-sponsored book tour, they typically charge an honorarium plus travel expenses and invoice either the school or the PTA (which often fundraises for author visits, among other things.) Most schools pay on the day of the event, though some make arrangements to mail a check afterwards.

Author Village is a booking agency that represents a number of authors & illustrators who do school visits. They book appearances for authors when schools and conferences approach them to ask about an author and take a percentage of the honorarium, just like literary agents do."

I could leave it at that, but idk, I can't help embroidering. You didn't ask about this, so Kate didn't answer it, but, it'd be smart to have a list of the different kinds of talks/presentations you are able and willing to give on your website -- these will range from short virtual presentations (that maybe you do for free or for a very low honorarium, for book clubs or classrooms who buy the book), vs in-person, different programs for different age groups, etc. Here are the different offerings Kate has on her site, for example. Author Brad Herzog has a lot of info on his site, too. Look up some of your favorite authors who you know do a lot of school visits, and see what kind of programs they do!

Also, it's best practices to have a contract / memorandum of understanding with the school. That will specify what YOU are supposed to be doing -- how many talks, how big a group, how long, etc. What happens if you (or they) have to cancel. And what THEY are supposed to be doing: Paying x amount, when they are paying, if they are covering travel expenses, providing lunch, making sure that any tech you need such as a projector and screen, or microphones, are set up, asking them to prepare the kids in advance, or making sure that they have made arrangements with a bookstore or have some way to provide books. (they may send an order form home with kids ahead of time and have a bookstore drop them off day of, or order in advance and have somebody there to sell them, etc-- but whatever they do, they should have it in the agreement so you are all on the same page.)

This is important because you'll find that different schools have different levels of experience with these kind of visits, and a poorly coordinated visit can be a real shit-show, so it's best to really make it CRYSTAL CLEAR what you are each doing, and what they need to do to prepare. That's not to say you can't be flexible, obviously different schools have different needs, but whatever you have agreed upon in advance should be memorialized in a contract signed by both you and them. Here's an example of Brad's contract. Here's an example of a generic one.

Re Booking Agencies: You don't NEED to have a booking agency, and most authors probably don't until/unless they are doing a LOT of school visits. I have clients who use the following (but I personally have no direct experience with any of these, I'm not vouching for them or anything, there may be other ones, no idea, but these are just ones that I have heard of!):

Author Village 

Booking Biz   

Booked Authors 

How Now Booking 

Also it would probably be smart to either make friends with a bunch of other authors who do school visits, or at the very least join a Facebook group or SCBWI group or something, so you have people to ask questions of who actually have experience doing this professionally, rather than me, a random agent who has never booked a school visit a day in her life!

(ETA: I'm adding this in the FAQ because it might be useful!)

[hexjulia]

"So far, I haven't been able to find much more about the wider landscape settings of the gamma gardens; they are still within the grounds of national laboratories, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Pruned: Outside of these laboratory grounds, where did the mini atomic gardens pop up? If the public wanted to start their own, would C.J. and the Atomic Gardening Society have been their only commercial source of the irradiated seeds? As a matter of fact, how would they have known about them in the first place? You mention that they weren't exactly a secret. Johnson: There is much less documentation of atomic gardening outside the laboratory. C.J. was the only way for the public to buy irradiated seeds. I can trace the marketing of the seeds—at garden fairs, and in the back of magazines, in grocery stores, and through high school science clubs, which sold them as fundraisers. But I don't yet know who bought them, or how many, or where.

[...]

Pruned: I'm curious as to how C.J. irradiated the seeds. What kind of equipment are we talking about? Johnson: C.J. obtained a license from the Atomic Energy Commission for a Cobalt-60 source, probably similar to those still used in radiotherapy. He encased it in a small cinderblock chamber, into which he slid trays of seeds. He often showed his backyard “bunker” to tourists and school groups. That's about all I know so far. I had high hopes of traipsing through Tennessee to find the bunker, but the site was incorporated into flood plain as part of a river project, and near as I can tell no longer exists. No documents have turned up on what happened to the source."

[deadpresidents]

What other campaign souvenirs do you have with that badge you shared?

It's actually not a ton of stuff. I wish I'd been better over the years about collecting campaign memorabilia because I'm always jealous whenever I see someone who has a cool collection of things.

I have a ton of buttons and stickers from the Obama campaigns, as well as an Obama '08 yard sign that's signed by Obama. I have a stack of Clinton/Gore bumper stickers that I somehow held on to after all these years.

In 2000, I was young and idealistic and caught up in the excitement of the first Presidential campaign I was of legal voting age for, so I jumped on the Bill Bradley bandwagon very early on in the Democratic primaries. Most of you probably have no idea who Bill Bradley even was, but he was the 2000 version of Bernie Sanders once the legendary Paul Wellstone decided against running for President. Deep down, we all knew that Vice President Gore was going to be the nominee, but there was some excitement for Bradley early on even though he didn't win anything and was basically finished by Super Tuesday. I have some Bradley buttons and stickers, and I have an invitation to a Bill Bradley fundraiser that was going to be held at the home of Geoff Petrie in Granite Bay, a wealthy suburb of Sacramento. At the time, Petrie was the General Manager of the Sacramento Kings and he was a close friend of Bradley, so that was exciting for a 20-year-old basketball fanatic. (Oh...for those who really don't know anything about Bill Bradley, I should also note that not only was he a U.S. Senator from New Jersey, but before that he was star basketball player who won two NBA titles with the New York Knicks and is in the pro and college Basketball Hall of Fame.)

Other than that, I have some posters and a ton of buttons from various campaigns. When I lived in Austin and was regularly going to the @lbjlibrary I would often buy handfuls of the assorted campaign buttons that they sold in their gift shop. I don't know if they still sell them, but it was a huge collection from dozens of different Presidential campaigns from various decades. I think the oldest button I ended up with was for Al Smith's 1928 Democratic Presidential campaign. I'm especially fond of my Wendell Willkie button because it's always fun to mention Wendell Willkie. I got a bunch of Nixon and McGovern buttons and even got a Romney button, but it's not for Mitt -- it's for the unsuccessful campaign for the 1968 GOP nomination by his father, former Michigan Governor George Romney. I have a McGovern/Eagleton button from 1972, which is interesting because Thomas Eagleton was nominated as McGovern's Vice Presidential running mate at the 1972 Democratic Nation Convention and then dropped from the ticket for Sargent Shriver just nineteen days later. And of course, I got a TON of LBJ and LBJ-related buttons -- from the 1964 campaign which sometimes featured LBJ and sometimes featured Hubert Humphrey and sometimes featured both LBJ and HHH, and from the 1960 Kennedy/Johnson campaign.

Here are a few of them (the "We Shall Overcome" button is my favorite:)

The coolest bit of political memorabilia that I have are a set of staff passes from the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment proceedings for President Clinton's impeachment in 1998, including one from the day that the special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, testified. Former Republican Congressman James E. Rogan, who was one of the thirteen Republicans House Managers who actually acted as prosecutors during the Senate trial following the President's Clinton's impeachment, wrote a really great book called Catching Our Flag: Behind the Scenes of a Presidential Impeachment (BOOK | KINDLE) that I reviewed way back in 2011. In the book, Congressman Rogan (he's a Judge in California now) mentioned that he was a collector of political memorabilia and that he was very cognizant of the fact that he was playing a part in a major historical event -- which I mentioned in the review -- and I also noted that I respected how fair his book was despite the fact that he was a major political player in the impeachment and that he was so clearly from the opposite side of the political tracks than I am. His fairness actually resulted in President Clinton offering to help when Rogan was struggling to win re-election to Congress after the impeachment (which Rogan was grateful for, but turned down because it would hurt him more with his GOP supporters than any Democrats on the fence). ANYWAY...after I posted my review, Congressman Rogan contacted me and thanked me for the review and SENT ME SOME OF THE PASSES THAT HE HAD SAVED FROM THE IMPEACHMENT:

Here's the review of Congressman Rogan's book from 2011 (go buy it). Here's a post where I wrote a little more detail about getting the passes sent to me (and about the whole idea of tickets to impeachment proceedings in general). Also, as I noted in that post, if you are a stalker or a hater, don't go to the address on the letter that Congressman Rogan sent me in that photo because I haven't lived in Texas since 2011. (Also, if you're a stalker who looks like Shakira or Tessa Thompson, just send me a message and I'll give you my address.)