Isola Bella island and Cape S. Andrea in Taormina, Sicily, Italy

Italian vintage postcard

An anon claimed that the bullshit white-girl sex slaves in Worm fanfic is actually canon, and that E88's lack of hate crimes wasn't rectified until Ward. Unfortunately, I impulsively deleted the ask. Anyways, their claim is untrue.

Here's the extent of canon's discussion of the ABB's supposed human trafficking ring:

The skinhead laughed, then winced, “Are you dense, girl? Everyone’s going to make a play. It’s not just the major gangs and teams that are looking for a slice of the pie, there. It’s everyone. The Docks are ripe for the taking. The location’s worth as much money as you’d get downtown. It’s the go to place if you want to buy black market. Sex, drugs, violence. And the locals are already used to paying protection money. It’s just a matter of changing who they pay to. The Docks are rich territory, and we’re talking the potential for a full scale fucking war over it.”

—Interlude 2

It's not specified who's doing the sex being sold, unless you count a comment Wildbow made on a later chapter which mentions "prostitutes and sex slaves". No mention of race.

Crucially, while the ABB engages in some sex trafficking, they don't engage in an unusual amount of it, as fanfic often depicts. The skinhead all but outright states that anyone running the Docks would do the same thing.

The only unusual feature of the ABB in this regard is that stint where Bakuda was forcibly recruiting people to the ABB. But the only roles we see these forcible recruits in are soldiers and drug factory workers; some were probably coerced into sex work, but we don't have evidence of that, let alone evidence that the ABB was kidnapping non-Asians for their brothels or to sell overseas, as you see in a lot of fanfiction. In fact, that's the one crime a lot of fanfic depicts the ABB committing.

Anyways, hold onto that Interlude 2 link, because I'm addressing the Empire's hate crimes and I don't even have to change chapters.

“Andrea Young!” Victoria raised her voice.  As she shouted, she exercised her power.  The man quailed as though she’d slapped him.  “A black college student was beaten so badly she needed medical attention!  Her teeth were knocked out!  You’re trying to tell me that you, a skinhead with swollen knuckles, someone who was in the crowd watching paramedics arrive with an expression bordering on glee, you didn’t do anything!?”

A clear description of what was done and who it was done to. And it's not just incidentally mentioned; it's the reason Victoria is chasing this skinhead, the reason she interrogates him, the reason she throws a dumpster at him. And it's not the only time E88's hate crimes come up; hell, one of the first things we learn about Hookwolf is that he murders people who "didn’t fit the Aryan ideal". (Hive 5.2)

Wildbow focuses more on how E88 uses white supremacy as an excuse to do the same self-serving crime as everyone else than on their hate crimes, but the hate crimes come up repeatedly. Wildbow stumblrs into a lot of racist traps when writing the ABB, but he tries to emphasize that any other gang would act much the same if they had capes like Lung and Bakuda.

Parahumans canon is flawed, but the fanon is sickening.

If I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness. (Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus - Mary Shelley, 1818)

heres part two of my 223 years of fashion series! we're well into the regency era now and we see what's mostly associated with this era: spencer jackets, neoclassical silhouettes, and lots of curls. you see more trim and design in this era, as well as a popularization of fur due to napoleonic spread in eastern europe. you'll also notice that a lot of things in this era are slowly getting wider and larger: sleeves, skirts, hats... the elegant simplicity of the regency starts to transition into early victorian shapes.

see 1800-1809 here

cc links under the cut!

see my resources page!

bambi - simsbrush's andrea hair / simstrouble's candace butterflies / sifix's priscilla dress (tsr download) / vibrantpixel's lede gloves

beatrix - la-sims-society's lizzy hair / yakfarm's duchess pearl necklace / sifix's beatrice dress (tsr download)

bhumi - linzlu's birthday bonnet / serenity-cc's karol low bun / royaltysimblr's regency spencer dress / dissia's amy accessory sleeves (tsr download) / gilded-ghosts' hartfield boots

bianca - okruee's venus hair / peebsplays' regency pearl tiara / maushasi's acc. lace top (search 'lace', accessory included in file) / clepysdra's pasiphae dress / simsonico's shining nikki shy lady gloves conversion

bjela - gilded-ghosts' woodhouse bonnet, bennet bun, sensibility skirt, and charlotte spencer jacket / dancemachinetrait's jane flats

blesille - leeleesims1's in the groove hair / vintagesimstress's 1815 emma ball gown / evellsims' mx. sinister gloves / dancemachinetrait's caroline flats

bonnie - linzlu's fancy bonnet / serenity-cc's karol low bun / simverses' fur cape converstion / zeussims' anne dress / dancemachinetrait's kitty flats

bridgette - gilded-ghosts' bennet bun / zeussim's phuong hat / barbieaiden's transparent shirt (accessory) / batsfromwesteros's black evening gown / dissia's aiyana accessory sleeves (tsr download) / dancemachinetrait's caroline flats

bunny - elfdor's acanthus-sims flowered bergere hat recolor / serenity-cc's karol low bun / historicalsimslife's emma regency dress / dancemachinetrait's pemberley gloves

byrony - serenity-cc's karol low bun / elfdor's regency dress #1 / honeycuts' raffia shoes

thank you to @simsbrush @simstrouble @vibrantpixels @la-sims-society @yakfarm @linzlu @serenity-cc @royaltysimblr @dissiasims @gilded-ghosts @okruee @peebsplays @clepysdra @simsonico @dancemachinetrait @leeleesims1 @vintagesimstress @evellsims @simverses @zeussim @barbieaiden @batsfromwesteros @elfdor and @historicalsimslife !!!

This might be too broad but I liked that Andrea/Lena have a movie catchphrase that became synonymous w their ship so I was hoping you could follow that pattern for some of our fave Corps (or just one, I don't wanna hog the prompts!) Super - There's no place like home - Wizard of Oz Reign - If you're a bird, I'm a bird - Notebook Spheer - As you wish - Princess Bride Agent - Oh sweet mystery of life! At last I've found you! - Young Frankenstein Guardian - Here's to looking at you kid - Casablanca

“As you wish.”

It’s cheesy. Kara knows it before she says it. But fresh on the heels of ROUSes and quicksand, it earns her a twinkling giggle and a shove at her shoulder.

“It’s just ice cream, you dork,” Lena chides. But her smile beams to spite her words. 

It is just ice cream, Kara thinks as she bops to the freezer. But when she hears Lena giggle to herself, she knows it’s also so much more.

—

Wrapping up lunch in Lena’s office, Kara takes her time cleaning up their empty take out boxes. Subtly she watches Lena wipe down the glistening white table with a spare napkin. Her friend is smiling, as she often is these days. Though neither of them say anything, the quiet is companionable, comfortable rather than awkward.

“Dinner at mine tonight?” Lena offers as they hug. Their hands tangle when they part. “I’m tasting a caterer for the fall event, and could use a discerning palate.”

Kara laughs. “As you wish.”

A snort answers her, echoed by a squeeze on her hand. 

“Seven thirty, don’t be late. Dork.”

—

“Don’t come here again.”

The night air between them is frigid despite the balmy breeze. Kara hovers just beyond Lena’s balcony, cape fluttering behind her. Across the railing between them, Lena gazes at her with a look not quite a glare, not quite hurt. It’s stuck somewhere in between, something anyone else might perceive to be emotionless– but Kara knows better.

Paired with the low timber of Lena’s voice and the glint of steel beneath her words, Kara knows there’s nothing more she can do tonight– as neither Kara nor Supergirl. She swallows thickly.

“As you wish.”

—

It takes months for them to recover. Months of distance and anger and resentment and accusations on both sides. By the time they can stand to be in the same room without imploding, Lena has become a witch and Kara has been to the Phantom Zone and back. They’re both different people now, it seems, their rift healed by the paths they’ve traveled in the time since. Alone.

From there, friendship slowly rekindles. This time, however, Kara feels an undercurrent beneath every conversation, every quiet evening spent in each other’s company at the Tower. That undercurrent charges into something electric at Alex’s wedding. There, stealing a moment away from the celebration, Kara finds Lena on the far side of the old barn.

When she steps into Lena’s periphery, black-lined green eyes flash towards her. Kara knows she feels it too– the overwhelming pressure of others’ happiness. Though Kara knows Lena’s is earned from a lifetime with the Luthors and not the Phantom Zone and a lost planet, she still opens her arms, offering the warmth of an embrace. Lena steps into it without hesitation.

It’s not the first time they’ve hugged since reconciling, but this one feels… different. More, somehow. Lena sighs softly, lightly resting her forehead against Kara’s. 

“Sorry I snuck away,” she murmurs. Her breath smells of strawberries and champagne. “It’s just… a lot.”

Kara nods. “I know.”

“I’ve been to plenty of weddings, but none of them were anything like this.” Lena pulls back. HEr arms remain around Kara’s neck, but their eyes now meet. “When there’s this much love around, it hurts to be alone.”

Firming her hands around Lena’s waist, Kara holds Lena’s gaze. “You’re not alone.”

The undercurrent surges to the surface. She knows Lena feels it too when she issues the question they’ve been dancing around for months.

“Kiss me?”

With a soft smile, Kara leans in. “As you wish.”

Their lips meeting feels like a shock. It zaps the last piece of Kara’s world back into place, and in that moment she realizes it places Lena exactly where she should have been all along. 

Before she knows it she’s pressed Lena back against the barn’s exterior, the fabric of Lena’s expensive blouse catching on the flaking paint. Hands cup Kara’s cheek, pulling her as close as she could possibly get, while her own hands pluck at the bottom hem of Lena’s blouse, only to realize there isn’t one. Adapting quickly, Kara slips her fingers inside the deep plunge of Lena’s neckline, finally finding the warm soft skin of Lena’s belly.

When they part, panting, the call to gather for the brides’ departure precludes any hope of exploring anything further. At least for right now.

“I should find Esme,” Kara says breathlessly. She has first shift, taking her niece for the first week of the honeymoon before Uncle James takes her to Calvintown for the second.

Lena nods. “Call me later?”

Licking her lips, Kara reaches for her glasses, only to remember they’re no longer there.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Lena siles, soft and gentle in the face of something so new, so sudden– yet seemingly inevitable.

“Me too.”

—

The velvet lined box burns a hole in Kara’s coat pocket for days. Winter has settled in, lending a rare nip to the air. Lena loves it.

They take a walk together every day– in the dark if Lena can’t get out early enough to enjoy the sun. Kara doesn’t care what time it is. So long as she has Lena’s hand in hers, their shoulders bumping as they walk together– that’s all she needs.

Tonight, they head for the park. They’re not the only ones with the same idea– several other couples wind their way along the expansive paths, enjoying the festive lights strung between lamp posts and the bright round moon overhead. It’s serene. Then– against all odds– small white flakes start floating down on them.

Snow. In National City.

Lena lets loose with a laugh of delight. “Would you look at that!” 

But Kara only has eyes for her. Lena, with her glossy hair and rosy cheeks and pink-tipped nose. Lena, in her expensive coat and hand knit mittens– a gift from Kara she insists on using. 

Lena, holding all of Kara’s heart in her hands. 

Kara turns towards her, tugging Lena close until their bodies are nearly flush. Lena’s gaze turns to her, her eyes and smile sparkling in the lights. Kara thinks her heart might actually beat out of her chest.

With trembling fingers she pulls the box from her pocket. She knows Lena doesn’t recognize it for what it is; the box is longer and wider than a simple ring box. But when she opens the lid to reveal the paired engagement ring and engraved bangle, Kara hears Lena’s breath catch in her chest.

She had a whole speech planned. She wrote it down and memorized it and everything. But in the face of Lena’s dampening eyes and suddenly timid smile, only two words can force their way past the lump in her throat. 

“Marry me.”

Not a question. Deeper than that. A plea. An oath. 

Lena’s smile grows once more. She closes her eyes for a long moment, as though to give herself time to wake up if it were all a dream. But when she opens her eyes and Kara is still there, Lena beams.

“As you wish.”

//prompts are closed

Okay, y'all, I've been meaning to do this rant for a little while. The whole "Bruce can't be Batman and be happy" rant.

Now. I don't know if this started because of Mask of the Phantasm and Bruce's "I didn't count on being happy" line. But, since I am mostly Animated Series based, I feel like it's important to address that.

I think that Bruce is a mid-20's man who has found someone who he can relax around that's not Alfred. Alfred is literally the only family Bruce has at this point. And Andrea Beaumont came in; they fell in love; Bruce was ready to "hang up the cape" (not that he had a cape yet, as Andrea leaving him is what pushes him into actually becoming Batman). He thinks that his plan for vengeance relies on him being miserable.

BUT. Like a year later, he takes in Dick Grayson. And are you really going to tell me that Bruce wasn't happy being a dad? Because Dick Grayson is the fucking light of Bruce's life, and he cares so much about Dick. And then about Barbara. And then Jason. And then Tim. And finally Damian.

Just because it's not romantic love doesn't mean that he's not happy. And, yes, for romantic love, it will take a hell of a person to balance that life. But it's about work, and when you find someone, you do what it takes to make it work. Because Bruce can't hang up the cape and cowl. He knows what's out there; he knows that someone has to stop it. Especially in Gotham.

Is Bruce a stoic bastard who represses his emotions more than he actually feels them? Yes. But is he happy being a dad to all these strays and orphans? Absolutely. Would he love to settle down with someone? Yes. But it takes a lot of work to get to a place for him to a.) admit feelings and b.) balance Batman in that kind of a life. It's why he'd work out best with another superhero, but it doesn't have to be another superhero. He and Lois were going very smoothly until she found out he was Batman, but that didn't bother him. He wasn't that upset that she knew his secret, and it hurt that she wasn't willing to make it work. So, with the right person? Yes, he can be 100% who he is, and that includes being Batman.

Suzy Solar - January 2024 chart

- Artists: Suzy Solar DATE CREATED: 2024-01-03 GENRES: Trance (Raw / Deep / Hypnotic), Psy-Trance, Trance (Main Floor) Tracklist : 1. Juan Almiñana Obando, Super Luminal - Shadow(Extended Mix) 2. Majai - Phoria 23(Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix) 3. DT8 Project, Andrea Britton - Winter feat. Andrea Britton(ReOrder Extended Remix) 4. XiJaro & Pitch, Dicosis, Crooked Bangs - Walking On Water(Extended XiJaro & Pitch Remix) 5. Starry Major - Tears of the Sea(Extended Mix) 6. AFTERUS - Perfect Storm(Extended Mix) 7. Emok, Martin Vice, Volcano On Mars - Recollection(Original Mix) 8. Peetu S - Freedom(Extended Mix) 9. Ciaran McAuley, Audrey Gallagher - Armour(David Forbes Extended Remix) 10. Ben O, James Black Presents - Goodbye Apollo(Extended Mix) 11. Eamo - Salvation(Original Mix) 12. Stoneface & Terminal - North Cape(Asteroid Extended Remix) 13. Talla 2xlc, Doug Laurent - I'm Rushin'(Extended Mix) 14. Citizen Caned - The Journey(Cameron Mo & Seegmo Remix) 15. Read the full article

Suzy Solar - January 2024 chart

- Artists: Suzy Solar DATE CREATED: 2024-01-03 GENRES: Trance (Raw / Deep / Hypnotic), Psy-Trance, Trance (Main Floor) Tracklist : 1. Juan Almiñana Obando, Super Luminal - Shadow(Extended Mix) 2. Majai - Phoria 23(Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix) 3. DT8 Project, Andrea Britton - Winter feat. Andrea Britton(ReOrder Extended Remix) 4. XiJaro & Pitch, Dicosis, Crooked Bangs - Walking On Water(Extended XiJaro & Pitch Remix) 5. Starry Major - Tears of the Sea(Extended Mix) 6. AFTERUS - Perfect Storm(Extended Mix) 7. Emok, Martin Vice, Volcano On Mars - Recollection(Original Mix) 8. Peetu S - Freedom(Extended Mix) 9. Ciaran McAuley, Audrey Gallagher - Armour(David Forbes Extended Remix) 10. Ben O, James Black Presents - Goodbye Apollo(Extended Mix) 11. Eamo - Salvation(Original Mix) 12. Stoneface & Terminal - North Cape(Asteroid Extended Remix) 13. Talla 2xlc, Doug Laurent - I'm Rushin'(Extended Mix) 14. Citizen Caned - The Journey(Cameron Mo & Seegmo Remix) 15. Read the full article

Birthdays 11.16

Beer Birthdays

Peter Ballantine (1791)

Johann Evangelist Götz (1815)

Charles Liebmann (1837)

Mark Dredge (1984)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Daws Butler; voice actor (1916)

Paul Hindemith; composer (1895)

Diana Krall; Canadian jazz singer (1964)

Burgess Meredith; actor (1907)

Martha Plimpton; actor (1970)

Famous Birthdays

Gene Amdahl; computer scientist (1922)

Craig Arnold; poet (1967)

Gemma Atkinson; model (1984)

Oksana Baiul; Ukrainian-American skater (1977)

Andrea Barrett; novelist and short story writer[ (1954)

Lisa Bonet; actor (1967)

Joey Cape; rock singer, guitarist (1966)

Eddie Condon; guitarist (1904)

Francis Danby; Irish painter (1793)

Pete Davidson; comedian (1993)

Elizabeth Drew; journalist (1935)

Dwight Gooden; New York Mets P (1964)

Maggie Gyllenhaal; actress (1977)

Jónas Hallgrímsson; Icelandic poet, author (1807)

W.C. Handy; composer (1873)

Marg Helgenberger; actress (1958)

George S. Kaufman; writer (1889)

Dave Kushner; guitarist (1966)

Joan Lindsay; Australian author (1896)

Mabel Normand; actor (1894)

Steven Pearl; comedian (1955)

Missi Pyle; actress and singer (1972)

Jose Saramago; writer (1922)

Guy Stockwell; actor (1934)

Amar'e Stoudemire; basketball player (1982)

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; Italian-French actress (1964)

Lawrence Tibbett; actor (1896)

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi; Austrian philosopher (1894)

Although no ghouls or goblins or trick-or-treaters come knocking at the International Space Station’s front hatch, crew members aboard the orbiting facility still like to get in the Halloween spirit. Whether individually or as an entire crew, they dress up in sometimes spooky, sometimes scary, but always creative costumes, often designed from materials available aboard the space station. Please enjoy the following scenes from Halloweens past even as we anticipate the costumes of the future. Left: Wearing a black cape, Expedition 16 NASA astronaut Clayton C. Anderson channels his inner vampire for Halloween 2007. Image credit: courtesy Clayton C. Anderson. Middle: For Halloween 2009, the Expedition 21 crew shows off its costumes. Right: Expedition 21 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Nicole P. Stott shows off her Halloween costume. Left: Italian Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano finally gets his wish to fly like Superman during Expedition 37. Right: Who’s that behind the scary mask? None other than NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly celebrating Halloween in 2015 during his one-year mission. Left: Expedition 53 Commander NASA astronaut Randolph J. “Randy” Bresnik showing off his costume. Middle: Expedition 53 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Joseph M. Acaba wearing Halloween colors. Right: Expedition 53 European Space Agency astronaut Paolo A. Nespoli showing off his Spiderman skills. Left: Expedition 57 crewmembers in their Halloween best – European Space Agency astronaut and Commander Alexander Gerst, left, and NASA astronaut Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor. Right: Members of Expedition 61, NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch, top left, European Space Agency astronaut Luca S. Parmitano, NASA astronaut Andrew R. “Drew” Morgan, and NASA astronaut Jessica U. Meir, show off their Halloween spirit in 2019. Left: Expedition 66 crewmembers NASA astronaut R. Shane Kimbrough, left, Thomas G. Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and NASA astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei showing off their Halloween cards. Right: A hand rising from the grave? In October 2021, Crew-3 NASA astronauts Raja J. Chari, Thomas H. Marshburn, Kayla S. Barron, and Matthias J. Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), had some undisclosed plans for when they reached the space station just before Halloween. However, bad weather at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida thwarted those super-secret spooky Halloween plans, delaying their launch until Nov. 11. Undeterred, Expedition 66 crewmembers who awaited them aboard the station held their own Halloween shenanigans. ESA astronaut Thomas G. Pesquet posted on social media that “Strange things were happening on ISS for Halloween. Aki rising from the dead (or is it from our observation window?),” referring to fellow crew member Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Left: In 2022, Expedition 68 astronauts Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, left, and NASA astronauts Francisco “Frank” C. Rubio, Nicole A. Mann, and Josh A. Cassada dressed as popular video game and cartoon characters, using stowage containers in their Halloween costumes and holding improvised trick-or-treat bags. Right: Expedition 70 astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, left, Satoshi Furakawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen celebrate Halloween 2023. The spookiness continues… Explore More 8 min read 25 Years Ago: STS-95, John Glenn Returns to Space Article 1 day ago 5 min read 25 Years Ago: Launch of Deep Space 1 Technology Demonstration Spacecraft Article 1 week ago 7 min read 30 Years Ago: The STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission Article 2 weeks ago

LOTD: Capo Murro di Porco

(from: https://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/sic.htm)

Capo Murro di Porco

Date unknown (station established 1859). Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); white flash every 5 s. 20 m (66 ft) octagonal concrete (?) tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white; lantern dome is gray metallic. Daniel da Rocha has a 2022 photo, Alfonso Vilches's May 2007 photo and Andrea Occhipinti's 2015 photo both show the lighthouse much in need of paint, Trabas also has a good photo by Capt. Peter, Wikimedia has a good photo by Alessandro Cataldo, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Antonio Zanghì has a street view, and Google has a satellite view. This is the landfall light for Siracusa. The cape is a rather sharp promontory that projects southeastward from the city and helps shelter the harbor. Located on the point of Capo Murro di Porco, in the town of the same name, about 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of the Siracusa waterfront. Site open, tower closed. . ARLHS ITA-029; EF-2910; Admiralty E1876; NGA 10240.

(full photo found here; ©Daniel da Rocha)

Retinal Disease Treatment Johannesburg & Benoni East Rand

For them, the divine gentle and the union with God on this life were mere metaphors. We can not exclude the reality that, among the monks who used the Hesychast methodology of prayer, there have been some who professed teachings near Messalianism or more exactly, to Bogomilism. For this reason, Saint Gregory reproaches Barlaam for gathering info from the least experienced ascetics and not from those with an genuine information and expertise. Therefore, with no right knowledge of the situation, Barlaam blamed the entire Hesychast apply as a false mysticism. For the previous 600 years, a minimal of in Eastern Christianity, with regard to the above questions, the selection was made in favour of the hesychast contemplative life, however not with out difficulties and disruptions. During this era, the character and instructing of Saint Gregory Palamas, which had been at the core of the Hesychast controversy, have been almost totally forgotten. Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Stanford, Prince Albert, The Crags and Riebeeck-Kasteel are being negotiated. Now there is a third collector who's taking the piece and I have spent the final couple of days touching up and repairing a work that I final applied paint to once I was 34 years old - half my current age! I turned on LM Radio to set the temper kind of and am now feeling that Time Machine has been appropriately resurrected. Heart and blood vessel devices such as a coronary artery stent, a pacemaker, an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator), or a metal coronary heart valve. It is used to search out issues similar to tumors, bleeding, damage, blood vessel diseases, or an infection. MRI also may be carried out to offer extra details about an issue seen on an X-ray, ultrasound scan, or CT scan. Contrast materials may be used during MRI to indicate abnormal tissue more clearly. He performed greater than one hundred fifty orbits of the earth and logged virtually four million miles of weightless journey throughout his 10 days in area. Dr. Rannakoe Lehloenya, commonly referred to as ‘Ranks” is a registered Dermatologist. He graduated from National University of Lesotho with a BSc in 1989 and from MBChB from Medunsa in 1997. dr gregory hough south africa You might republish this article, so lengthy as you credit score the authors and GroundUp, and don't change the text. This article is licensed beneath a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. I agree that unscrupulous firms are making low stress flexible bags as a way of extorting cash from patients who do not understand that 1.5 ATA with one hundred pc Oxygen is the absolute minimal for medical efficacy, . Please help us by contributing to our authorized prices and helping us to publish information that issues. Weir has lodged a criticism with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority about the misuse of mHBOT. The matter has been referred to the Deputy Director of Medical Devices at SAHPRA, Andrea Julsing. The Club will solely collect Personal Information from you when the aim for assortment has been explicitly defined and agreed. We undertake to ensure that as the data topic, you are aware of the aim for collecting your Personal Information. Where causes for processing for additional functions come up, these will be explicitly outlined and agreed. The Club will take reasonable steps to guarantee that info is complete, accurate, not deceptive and where necessary, up to date. The Club will ensure that appropriate data safety measures are established to ensure that Personal Information is protected according to business practices and requirements. If the data has not been collected immediately from the information topic, the source of assortment will be offered together with name and tackle of the celebration. It was odd doing touch-ups because I was so tempted to "enhance" things, but I did restrain myself in deference to the younger Greg and his wild brushes and large color. But as soon as back in, I went nuts and made about forty huge oils that I showed in 1985 on the Karen McKerron Gallery in Bryanston. It was later re-sold and spent the final 30 or so years in a collection in Cape Town. I obtained a name from the proprietor final yr to say he was shifting out of his big premises and right into a small apartment and needed to unload a lot of his assortment.

Climate crisis: even temporarily overshooting 2°C would cause permanent damage to Earth’s species

Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock Joanne Bentley, University of Cape Town; Alex Pigot, UCL; Andreas L. S. Meyer, University of Cape Town, and Christopher Trisos, University of Cape Town The history of climate change is one of people slowly coming to terms with the truth. None but a small minority still question whether it’s real and caused by humans. Now most grapple with the reality of trying to…

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While waiting for final feedback for the "Citadelle" poster, I started doodling the different characters to keep my hands and mind busy, since I couldn't do what I usually do which is spam my instagram or this tumblr account with WIP shots (on account of the whole 'surprise' thing). These quickly turned into more fleshed out portraits, which i showed to @ramistair because I thought the players might like getting their own portraits/avatars of their characters. So we decided to keep those a secret between ourselves, so he could stage a second surprise reveal for the players after the big original one for the DM. 😁

'Cthoga' is @rattusfabe_ 's character, a Farsi in her forties with litteral flaming hair, which is unarguably awesome. She's the groups' designated medic, as well as a restless adventurer, archeolog, treasure and thrill seeker. She has her very own set of morals but is a welcoming and generous friend to those she loves. And if I got that right, also a lesbian armed with a bow, a rapier and several knives, which is at least thirty bonus RPG points on my watch.

'Arkhan' is Colin's, a human fighter with wind magic, a giant halberd and no shield, which I imagine makes him an excellent tank. He is a leader who loves a good speech, a natural funny man, and was dubbed "Naruto of the group".

'Brand' is @mehdimassinissa 's character. He's a human touched by darkness, which I think means he got a bit smokey and also slightly dangerous, despite his good nature. An evil sadistic god taunts and haunts him, making him commit murders against his will. Which is also how he got the gnarly scar a cross his throat, branding him as a criminal, during a run-in with the head of the guard. Despite all this, he's a great and loyal friend, always ready to help people out. He's the resident Papa Bear. He carries a giant claymore and wears dragon scale chain mail.

Lobra is @yoyo_yann 's character. Also an Andreas, he's the hunter and tracker of the group. Apparently quite shy and reserved, he's somewhat of an introverted reclusive emo with a bonus ninja cape and crossbow. He seems to have misplaced a finger.

 @ramistair 's character 'Ormess', a Lerotian who wields plant magic, seems to be a cheeky bastard, tries hard to honor his departed brother, and apparently owns a sick back tattoo of a big tree. He's the brain of most operations.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

In American animation outside of Disney, no other studio inspires as much reverence as Warner Bros. The Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts precipitated into worldwide recognition for those series’ stock characters. Despite this success, Warner Bros. did not release an animated feature until the musical Gay Purr-ee (1962), in association with United Productions of America (UPA). Animators at Warner Bros. from the 1930-1960s knew they were not making high art, nor were they pretending to. Warners, since the 1930s arguably the most financially stable of the major Hollywood studios, has historically seen little need to bankroll animated features. With that in mind, it might come as less of a shock that Warner Bros.’ first in-house animated feature is Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Originally intended as a direct-to-home media release, Mask of the Phantasm – based on and made by the production team behind Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) – transcends those modest intentions. It is among of the best superhero films ever made.

In the wake of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), Batman: The Animated Series, unlike Burton’s efforts, affords time to characterize Bruce Wayne rather than surrendering ample screentime to thinly-written but scene-stealing villains. For that and many other reasons including the looming, vertical art deco-inspired production design of Gotham City; the distinctive and moodiness of its black paper backgrounds; and its balance of dark and lighter tones, BTAS remains a high-water mark among Batman fans – perhaps the best adaptation of the character there is. Mask of the Phantasm builds upon that foundation, in addition to crafting its own unique contribution within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). As tired as origin stories are, Mask of the Phantasm is part-origin story for the Dark Knight – something largely avoided in BTAS – and somehow integrated here without distracting from the present-day scenes. Rarely is any Batman media a character study of Bruce Wayne, but Mask of the Phantasm proves itself a wonderful exception.

One evening, Batman/Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) attempts to stop a gaggle of gangsters led by Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller) from laundering counterfeit money from a casino. Amid the scrum, Sol escapes from Batman, but immediately confronts a shadowy figure later known as the “Phantasm” in the parking garage – Sol dies in the confrontation. Batman receives the blame for the killing and the concurrent property destruction from Gotham City Councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner), who just so happened to be profiting from Sol’s racket. Across the film, Bruce reminisces about his courtship with Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), their breakup, and the lead-up to the creation of his Batman alter-ego. Juxtaposing Bruce’s past and present, we see how he channels his regrets and profound loss into being Batman. The past haunts him still, overhanging the high roofs of Wayne Manor and the ledges of Gotham’s skyscrapers. Back in the present day, the Phantasm has murdered another crime boss; a third murder involves the Joker (Mark Hamill), initiating an emotional dénouement that, because of the intricacies of motivation that the film develops, elevates the film beyond what might otherwise be sloppy storytelling.

The dramatis personae also includes crime boss Salvatore “The Wheezer” Valestra (Abe Vigoda); Andrea’s father, Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach); the Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.); GCPD Commissioner James Gordon (Bob Hastings); and GCPD Det. Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo).

The screenplay by Alan Burnett (producer and writer on various DC Comics films and Hanna-Barbera productions), Paul Dini (head writer on BTAS and Superman: The Animated Series), Martin Pasko (a longtime DC Comics writer), and Michael Reaves (head writer on BTAS and 1994-1996’s Gargoyles) keep the film’s attention on Batman/Bruce Wayne, despite the introduction of various subplots and Joker – whose somewhat-questionable presence might seem to indicate a project going off the rails. Shadow of the Phantasm’s placement of flashbacks stems the awkwardness that Joker’s inclusion brings, assuring that the film stays grounded into Batman’s psychology. In past Bruce we see a charming young man with time, money, and looks to spare. His romantic side with Andrea is an element of his life, one that connects – inevitably, tangentially – to the trauma his parents’ murder. His most personal motivations – that which a younger Andrea could never see, and privy to only Alfred – are stuck in the past, circulating around that childhood loss.

The occasional reflections from Bruce Wayne on what his life has become make Mask of the Phantasm the most introspective piece within the BTAS continuity, freed from the constraints and expectations inherent of episodic television. No BTAS episode forces its eponymous character to confront himself to such extents. What Bruce Wayne and Batman have become in the present-day treads perilously close not to his style of vigilante corrective justice, but vengeance. The tragic paradox that lies at the heart of this tension is the soul of the Batman mythos. Anyone with the most basic understanding of who Bruce Wayne/Batman and the Joker are will at least have a glimmer of understanding of that paradox. This portrait of what Batman stands for is more maturely handled than any of the twentieth century live-action Batman films, and with less sensational filmmaking than Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder could produce. But with the film’s screenplay and Kevin Conroy’s iconic voice acting as the Caped Crusader, it becomes an inquest into Bruce Wayne’s tortured soul.

If Mask of the Phantasm ran longer than its seventy-eight-minute runtime, Andrea Beaumont, too, might also have received similar character development as Bruce Wayne here. Even within those seventy-eight minutes, Andrea – with a great assist from Dana Delany’s voice acting (Delany so impressed Bruce Timm here that she was given the role of Lois Lane in Superman: The Animated Series) – is a nevertheless fascinating character. In a cruel irony, her ultimate role in Mask of the Phantasm is to be an incidental mirror to the violence that occurs in this film. Her decision is not an imposition, whether conscious or unconscious, from someone else, but hers and hers alone.

In this drama fit for opera, this Batman occupies a world of operatic proportions. The background and character animation are not as pristine as the best examples of BTAS due to some scattered bits of animation outsourcing. The animation of BTAS might seem stiff and janky to modern viewers expecting Flash hand-drawn animation or hand-drawn/CGI hybrids. However, Mask of the Phantasm retains the gravity-defying art deco of the animated series that somehow does not clash with the ‘90s-influenced and futuristic elements it integrates. Its primary inspirations are of film noir and the Metropolis seen in the Fleischer Studios’ Superman series of short films (1941-1943). The black paper backgrounds provide Gotham’s street corners and rooftops a nocturnal menace, immersing the viewer into the city’s seediness.

Composer Shirley Walker (orchestrator on 1979’s The Black Stallion, conductor and orchestrator on 1989’s Batman) was one of the few women composers in Hollywood at the turn of the twentieth into the twenty-first century. A pianist (she played with the San Francisco Symphony as a soloist while still in high school) who studied music composition at San Francisco State University, Walker would later become one of the first female film score composers to receive a solo credit for composing the music in John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992). But it is her work in the DCAU that distinguishes her – of particular note is her arrangement of Danny Elfman’s theme to 1989’s Batman for BTAS and a wholly original main theme for Superman: The Animated Series. Though Walker could adjust her style to suit a more synthetic sound, she specialized in composing grand orchestral cues. That style was apparent in BTAS and is adapted here from the opening titles (the lyrics here are actually gibberish and are the names of Walker’s music department sung backwards). The foreboding brass and string unison lines seem to reverberate off the animation’s skyscraper-filled backgrounds. Numerous passages in Walker’s score, as if taking hints from Richard Wagner, elect not to resolve to the tonic – setting up scenes where tension escalates alongside the music, forestalling the dramatic and musical release.

One stunning exception to Walker’s ominous, atmospheric score is the gentle cue “First Love”, an interplay between solo oboe and synthesizer. Bruce’s flashbacks are not only a balm to the grimness of his present situation, but a musical reprieve from the intensity of the action scoring. That Walker can navigate between such differing moods exemplifies her compositional dexterity and overall musical excellence. Walker, who cited Mask of the Phantasm as her personal favorite composition for any film or television production, was one of the DCAU’s greatest under-heralded contributors. And how I wish she was given more chances to score different sorts of films.

Warner Bros.’ last-minute reversal on Mask of the Phantasm’s release strategy – abandoning the direct-to-home media debut for a theatrical release – meant minimal marketing for a low-budget film that made barely a dent at the box office. The film’s home media release would more than make up for the film’s theatrical release failure. Upon the success of BTAS and the critical acclaim lavished on Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Bros. kept the DCAU on television for another thirteen years, with infrequent direct-to-home media movie releases as recent as 2019.

For numerous DC Comics fans, the DCAU is an aesthetic and narrative touchstone. The limited animation is sublime for this period in animation history. In addition, one will overhear fans remaking that a certain superhero’s definitive portrayal might be thanks to the DCAU. The superhero benefitting the most from the DCAU’s characterization and storytelling is unquestionably Batman. And justifiably so, as Mask of the Phantasm shows due respect for Batman and Bruce Wayne – what molded them and how each persona intertwines with the other. The mythos behind any superhero is found not in fight scenes. Instead, it resides in the psychology and rationalizations that forces a person to directly confront another’s wickedness. Mask of the Phantasm realizes that such confrontations test Batman/Bruce Wayne’s remaining vestiges of humanity, and braves to ask moral questions that too many figures of superhero media would rather not think about.

My rating: 8.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

— 6 P E R S O S . C H A L L E N G E

@mysterious-corvidae​

Et me voilà pour le challenge qu’a proposé CORVIDAE, alliant notre patte graphique à nos personnages (leurs noms sont pour ma part et dans l’ordre : Lio, Albane, Declan, Erhart, Semyon et Andreas, puis de nouveau Erhart, Lio, Andy et Declan). Les six premiers avatars ont été réalisés avec la même trame, pour le challenge, en prenant des extraits de leurs RPs ou présentations. (Oui y’a des fautes de frappe dans les citations, j’en ai compté trois, sinon ça serait pas drôle). Et puis je suis allée reprendre les 4 derniers d’anciennes fournées, qui ont été créés et portés spécifiquement pour les personnages en question.

Je mets en spoiler quelques petits mots sur chacun·e d’entre elleux, puisque c’est un peu long et que je veux pas envahir votre feed Tumblr ♥

J’vous fais des bisous, et merci Corvidae pour l’excellente idée ♥ (j’espère que j’ai bien interprété le challenge comme il fallait…)

LIO — celui que j’emporte partout avec moi ft. finn wolfhard [ un et huit ]

Celui que j’emporte partout avec moi, littéralement. J’ai dû l’inscrire sur plus de six forums différents. D’abord simple personnage propulsé un peu à l’aveugle, fait pour ne pas durer, éphémère sans avenir, et puis de plus en plus compagnon d’aventures, héros sans cape et sans panache. Parodie d’un Peter Pan à la rue et aux abois, pété dans ses illusions de réalité improbable. Plus proche de ses addictions que de n’importe quel·le être humain·e, sauf peut-être d’une crisse de folle avec qui il conte ses délires depuis qu’iels sont gosses. Je n’arrive pas, plus, à lui imaginer un avenir, ne parviens pas à faire grandir mon éternel gamin. Alors pour l’instant il reste là, dans un coin de la tête, jusqu’à ce que je sache sur quel chemin il avancera.

ALBANE — celle qui a pris le plus de moi ft. damaris goddrie (autrefois chloé moretz) [ deux ]

Celle qui a pris le plus de moi à l’époque, de mon caractère et mon histoire. Assurément plus élégante, plus douée et plus charmante, avec la cécité comme fardeau en plus, mais le fond y est. Je n’aurais plus les mots adéquats aujourd’hui pour raconter sa douceur et sa compréhension lucide du monde, comme s’il lui suffisait d’être témoin d’un détail pour comprendre l’ensemble du tableau - femme artiste qui s’exprimait au violon comme elle se perdait dans l’infinité des nuits. Elle ne parlait que rarement de sa famille, son adoption, ce malaise qui s’était installé à travers les années et avec la communication rompue. Albane a bien souvent fui ses responsabilités et les possibilités qu’on lui offrait, quand bien même c’était la promesse d’un avenir brillant. Elle était ce genre de personnes qui ne savaient pas se tenir en place face à l’ennui et le manque de passion.

DECLAN — celui que j’aimerais jouer ft. émile woon [ trois et dix ]

Celui que j’aimerais jouer actuellement, quoique mon IRL et mon manque d’inspiration pour l’écriture m’en empêchent. Pourtant il y a quelques semaines, créer l’histoire de Declan et penser à ses thématiques m’ont fait du bien - encaisser certaines révélations dans ma vie. C’est un gars un peu paumé dans sa vie, qui avance sans plan et qui se définit davantage par ses bizarreries que par des rêves et des ambitions. Pas assez stable pour garder un job à long terme, sans diplôme de surcroît, weirdo du coin, qui fait dévier le regard, changer de trottoir, qui bloque sur ce qu’il n’arrive pas à faire et qui se terre dans l’anonymat, inconscient de ses propres forces.

ERHART — cellui que j’aimerais avoir comme ami·e ft. troye sivan [ quatre et sept ]

Cellui que j’aimerais avoir comme ami·e. Erhart existe depuis février 2020 et j’ai rarement pris autant plaisir à jouer un personnage comme ellui, et chez qui j’admire beaucoup de choses. Iel oscille entre plusieurs genres sans être capable de se définir exactement, dans un entre deux flou et les interrogations plein la tête, même s’iel laisse peu de gens s’en apercevoir. Erhart a une douceur naturelle et une fragilité sensible sans cesse tues derrière son sourire poli, qu’iel se sent obligé·e d’afficher sous peine d’imploser. Et puis, le soir, la nuit, iel se laisse aller aux plaisirs excessifs d’une jeunesse increvable, oblitération de soi-même à coups de bédos et vodka à dix livres la bouteille. Fasciné·e passionné·e par un homme aux antipodes d’ellui, mini géant soleil dans la nuit, depuis des mois déjà, sans qu’aucun·e d’elleux ne sache que faire de l(eur) avenir.

SEMYON — celui qui ???????? ft. stephen james [ cinq ]

J’ai honnêtement passé dix minutes à me demander quel “celui” que Semyon pourrait être sans arriver à mettre le doigt dessus mdrrrrr. Semyon, j’suis pas tout-à-fait fière de son caractère et son histoire, à des kilomètres du moindre réalisme et du respect des thèmes que j’abordais avec lui à l’époque, et je m’en excuse très honnêtement. Sale rapport avec la violence, la douleur, la sienne et celle des autres, chien enragé qui sait plus frapper et grogner que penser par lui-même. Méfiant de tout et interné à cause du “trop plein” constant à un certain point de sa vie, engagé dans une (semi??) relation avec un homme dans l’institution où il était placé. Après j’voulais l’inclure dans le challenge parce qu’hormis le côté “jeu”, il m’a permis de rencontrer une merveilleuse personne (coucou @les-maux-de-mer ♥) sans qui je suis plutôt sûre que ma vie ne serait pas tout-à-fait la même aujourd’hui. Donc au final, je dirais que Semyon est celui qui, entre autres, me rappelle que le RPG est plus qu’une question d’écriture et de graphisme ♥

ANDREAS — celui qui a le plus évolué en jeu ft. bogdan romanovic [ six et neuf ]

Un de ceux qui ont le plus évolué en jeu, mais davantage dans une trame commune que d’un côté tout-à-fait personnel. J’ai commencé à jouer Andy en mars 2019 au sein d’une bande de personnages, en rejoignant une poignée de RPGistes (coucou vous tou·te·s si vous passez par ici hihi ♥). On a raconté leurs drames respectifs, celle de deux bandes montées les unes contre les autres et ce depuis que leurs membres sont tout·e·s gamin·e·s. Aucun·e d’elleux ne semblait plus se souvenir du pourquoi du comment, la haine était juste là dorénavant, à alimenter à souhait. Y’a eu des coups bas, des coups de couteau aussi, des blessures et puis des morts, ça a pué les emmerdes et les erreurs. Andy a eu sa part de responsabilité (culpabilité) dans tout ça bien qu’il était infiniment trop loyal (aveugle ?) pour arrêter, il aurait tout sacrifié pour celleux qu’il considérait comme sa famille.

Et voilàààà ! Le post est bien long ahahah, mais ça fait plaisir de repasser sur toutes ces histoires, d’autant que certaines commencent à dater. J’ai hâte de lire les vôtres dans vos posts du challenge ♥

Birthdays 11.16

Beer Birthdays

Peter Ballantine (1791)

Johann Evangelist Götz (1815)

Charles Liebmann (1837)

Mark Dredge (1984)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Daws Butler; voice actor (1916)

Paul Hindemith; composer (1895)

Diana Krall; Canadian jazz singer (1964)

Burgess Meredith; actor (1907)

Martha Plimpton; actor (1970)

Famous Birthdays

Gene Amdahl; computer scientist (1922)

Craig Arnold; poet (1967)

Gemma Atkinson; model (1984)

Oksana Baiul; Ukrainian-American skater (1977)

Andrea Barrett; novelist and short story writer[ (1954)

Lisa Bonet; actor (1967)

Joey Cape; rock singer, guitarist (1966)

Eddie Condon; guitarist (1904)

Francis Danby; Irish painter (1793)

Pete Davidson; comedian (1993)

Elizabeth Drew; journalist (1935)

Dwight Gooden; New York Mets P (1964)

Maggie Gyllenhaal; actress (1977)

Jónas Hallgrímsson; Icelandic poet, author (1807)

W.C. Handy; composer (1873)

Marg Helgenberger; actress (1958)

George S. Kaufman; writer (1889)

Dave Kushner; guitarist (1966)

Joan Lindsay; Australian author (1896)

Mabel Normand; actor (1894)

Steven Pearl; comedian (1955)

Missi Pyle; actress and singer (1972)

Jose Saramago; writer (1922)

Guy Stockwell; actor (1934)

Amar'e Stoudemire; basketball player (1982)

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; Italian-French actress (1964)

Lawrence Tibbett; actor (1896)

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi; Austrian philosopher (1894)