sgiandubh

[sgiandubh]

Besides noticing Sam teasing Cait, which we know he loves to do, I watched the video Sophie posted a second time. The minute he takes the cake and turns to go sit down, his eyes go immediately to Cait. Even before he teases her. He doesn’t look at Lauren who was right there or across the room. Even being in a room surrounded by other cast and production staff, his eyes go straight to Cait. His eyes only on her. It’s always been that way.

Also did anyone else notice they are matching with their black t-shirts and both wearing necklaces?

Dear Birthday Anon,

I agree, even if it's blink and you'll miss it. But they both became masters at that little (cynical) game, in ten years' time, didn't they?

Also, it was always side players like Sophie S. who were going to bring the candid goods to the table, for everyone to see.

I very much prefer this kind of atmosphere to last year's Florida fire breather restaurant circus, brought to our collective attention by Marple. Very, very much so.

#anon #fandom #shitshow

[sgiandubh]

Sometimes, the stars align

Quite belated, this year (unlike for C), but still...

To that shy boy with Social Security glasses his mom managed to get him with great efforts.

To the theatre usher that dreamt he'd once be on stage.

To that nice boy working overtime in that Edinburgh student cybercafe.

To that West Coast backpacker thinking about what to do with his life.

To the one who failed and started it all over again, failed and started it all over again, failed and started it all over again. Over and over and over again, until the stars aligned, like they sometimes do, after all.

To the bicycle delivery boy, the Harrod's sales assistant, the bartender who later turned a struggling job into a business project of his own.

Happy birthday, S. May you find your true path - whatever that might be. In Light and in Truth: no more double entendres, no more white lies, no more hiding.

You have already brought so much to this world. I see great things.

And I am not the only one.

[sgiandubh]

Although MPCs website clear about bring a business which contributes a portion of profits post admin costs, Sam regularly in videos and in print interviews misrepresents. He's says my charity abd he says 59% of signup fee goes to charity. If there is a problem l, it's on Sam, who according to original members, basically sold MPC control, in 2017. Your statement of knowing what he's doing with his MPC, is questionable, post corporate change of MPC. It's not just his alone. MPC has sketchy history, since Alex's involvement, and the rumors, look more as truths that a good portion of the administrative costs go to Alex pre-whisky, for a working, guaranteed salary before sales came in. It also begs the question, if Sam is interested in supporting charity with a portion of income sales, why hasn't 10% of whisky sales went to charity partners? The whisky is part of the GGC, Sam and Alex's business. Why wouldn't he plug a Newman Products design? Maybe he's not as interested in charity?

Dear MPC Anon,

It has always been 50%, which is logical. 59% sounds like a demented Asian astrologist suggestion - but you might be unfamiliar with Burmese recent history, so I shall give you a pass, on that one.

Who are the 'original members' who told you MPC was sold? To whom was it sold? When did that happen? I need paperwork to support this statement: the current corporate documents still list ONE officer - pay away from your wallet to find out it's very probably SRH: I am not doing it for you.

Like it or not, Norouzi's involvement in MPC is a reality since at least its creation. You will have to prove me the 'sketchy' part with much more than a stinking grenade thrown by Anon or fandom illiterate gossip.

I will have to see contracts between MPC, AN, SH proving that pre-whisky launching costs of The Sassenach were drawn from the MPC accounts. I will also have to see bank and accounting documents proving so. According to US law, I would also have to be a Court and have enough reasons to subpoena these people and entities to show me those. Stop spreading the shite written by Pufflander once upon a time and ask Puffy, in her retreat, what the fuck did she do with the crowdfunded money for the Harassment PI Report (you know, *urv and co). Now that would be a really interesting question, right? No answer? Bad day, baby. Bad day.

Whisky sales under the umbrella of Great Glen Company LLC, a different legal entity with no charitable mission, were never designed to represent a charitable endeavor. I think you know the difference between a charity and a company, right? Suggesting he should give 10% of all his earnings to charity is akin to a church tithe. This argument is, of course, ridiculous, in the business world, unless there is an explicit and public vow to do so, with a particular company's benefits.

Newman's Own and the Newman's Own Foundation represent Paul Newman's personal commitment to give away 100% of Newman's Own LLC profits to charity: the Foundation serves to direct the funds to the projects its trustees deem the most appropriate, according to the Foundation's values.

This is a different story and I also hope you know the difference between Great Glen Company, a business who wants to remain a business and a ground-breaking CSR commitment like Paul Newman's. Great Glen Company and MPC are separate projects - AN's loud involvement in both does not help, though, especially with an uneducated bigot, such as yourself, Anon.

Assuming he must give 100% of all his profits to charity is absolutely ridiculous, Anon. Why don't you give away all the profits of your lemonade stand to charity and set a blazing, luminous example in this fandom?

Unless you quickly substantiate what you wrote in anger on your phone, with links, facts and names, I am forced to tell you to kindly, slowly, but surely...

FUCK OFF MY PAGE!

[Later edit:] Should I start a US Tax Law 101 course for you, Anon? To me, this rather crude company/charity montage sounds legit. Also, MPC is not a charity, as shown in my previous post.

#anon #fandom #shitshow #business #legal #MPC #GGC

[sgiandubh]

Dear Big News Anon,

I will give you what the Frenchmen call a 'réponse de Normand'/ a Norman answer: maybe yes, maybe no. And the 'Lallybroch fan pic' (my left and right feet, really) was probably just his way to test the waters on a project that is: a) not his; b) perhaps interesting for him; c) still pending approval.

I am not sure, but I surely stand corrected (please do, if informed otherwise), Anon. I am not sure he said anything along the lines of "I will announce something big for Scotland at the MPC 2024 Gala'. He did recently hint, as far as I know, to 'something big for Scotland' (LOL for days on people's speculation about it), but did not mention anything about last week-end event, as far as any formal announcement was concerned.

Anyways, his MC/Birthday Laird speech at the MPC Gala aimed to portray an image of stability and solidity: 'we know this business, we are doing great, inspiring things with your money, we are here to stay, here are our partners, they are worldwide known NGOs I, S, have a personal, emotional rapport with, etc.'. Whether this has to do with the allegedly dwindling number of MPC subscribers or not, is up to you to decide, Anon, depending on which side of the Great Divide you place yourself. I would like to think S knows what the hell he is doing with his MPC and especially what his trusted team think they are doing with it.

That being said, NO Great Wall of China type of project has been unveiled Sunday night. It was just the usual S/JAMMF Mommie show, with a sprinkle of seriousness and an extra helping of credibility: it's a bit hard to bitch about the WWF, don't you think?

Wasn't Sam going to give big news at the peaker gala!?

I haven't read or seen anything about it :(

Pues yo tampoco he leído y visto nada pero no soy fuente fiable ya que no entiendo el ingles. Tal vez @sgiandubh y su ojo avizor puedan decirnos algo.

Well, I haven't read or seen anything either, but I'm not a reliable source since I don't understand English. Maybe @sgiandubh and his keen eye can tell us something.

#anon #fandom #shitshow #MPC 2024

[sgiandubh]

Charities and politics: the thin, red line

When you are a proven impostor and idiot and still you insist, it's time to remind you a simple Roman proverb: errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum. In other, English, words: to err is human, but to persist is diabolical.

Or supremely stupid: your pick, Max.

This page is not into politics at all - and I explained why: this is a very familiar terrain to this blogger, who'd really like to enjoy her daily time off that particular kind of madding crowd. However, from time to time, reality manages to pierce the veil, such as today, when news of Humza Yousaf stepping down as Scottish First Minister made worldwide headlines - just a basic example: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/29/world/europe/scotland-humza-yousaf-resigns-snp.html

That does not mean that the whole Cabinet is bound to resign, unless next Wednesday's debate on a non confidence vote promoted by Scottish Labour is lost. By the way, non-Scottish Max.

Never mind Max very recently amused me to no tomorrow, with her color blind, non-European view of Scottish politics (and politics, in general). Never mind she wrote enormous things like the SNP and Greens being politically opposed Scottish parties, just because of Yousaf's recent horrible blunder kicking the Scottish Greens out of his coalition cabinet and trying to keep the steer of a minority SNP cabinet. The SNP & Scottish Greens coalition partnership is very likely to resume as soon as John Swinney (or perhaps Kate Forbes, but my money is not on her, for many reasons: too divisive, too close to elections, etc) is hastily anointed First Minister (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/29/snp-looks-to-unity-candidate-after-humza-yousaf-quits-as-first-minister). No Scottish person, living anywhere else than under a rock, would have aligned this intergalactic bullshit with such confidence and such bad syntax:

Angus Robertson is a shrewd politician. He needed to be seen doing exactly that, yesterday night: showing off at an event hosted by S, once a very vocal support of the Scottish Greens. Here is why, according to normal people, like the Guardian's Scottish Politics team:

[Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/29/snp-looks-to-unity-candidate-after-humza-yousaf-quits-as-first-minister]

How old is Max, anyways? Where do they live? I won't add insult to injury, but boy do they seem to write from an ever more far-flung corner of the world than me, and my money is on South America, for many reasons I will not develop here. I chose to be merciful, tonight.

Tonight, she comes back with a renewed batch of freshly half-baked ineptitude:

Please ignore the hideous word salad the two first sentences are. Google Translate would have done better. Who dunnit? Alexa, in the kitchen, with Colonel Mustard? Let's focus on the Big, Fat Lie, here:

'Any participation in events involving charities must be independent and must not support or be endorsed by any political party or be associated with any candidate or politician.'

This is simply not true. If that were to be true, on this planet, or at least in the UK or Scotland, we would never have any NGOs actively lobbying politicians, hosting debates with them or petitioning them on various issues ranging from road safety to global warming.

I will refer the definitely non-Scottish blogger Maximum Wobbling Bullshit to the official factsheet on this very topic, issued by the OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator (https://www.oscr.org.uk/media/2899/v14_faqs-charities-and-campaigning-on-political-issues.pdf):

The above rule is limited to the case of election campaigns, as it is logical to be, since a husting simply is another way to call a campaign meeting. There was no campaign related anything yesterday night, the comments were simply about a Scottish national policy that is anything but political (promote Scottish tourism!), Angus Robertson is not a candidate to be Scotland's next First Minister. And same goes for the WWF and Blood Cancer UK - if you think those people went to that gala without a mandate from their NGO Board, you are: a) 5; b) delusional; c) a foul-mouthed troll.

Anyways, to go to the bottom of it, I also looked in the Scottish Charity Register - because you never know what those people might come up with, again:

As I think we all know, MPC is a registered US Limited Liability Company (LLC), based in Delaware. Its California branch is now closed, but the Nevada one was still active, one hour ago, when I checked:

And in case you are still wondering, after all these years, about MPC's legal status, here is their legally impeccable FAQ answer to the people who subscribe and who would legitimately want to know where their money goes, after all:

An LLC is a relatively recent (1970s) hybrid type of legal entity, equivalent perhaps (give or take a couple of technicalities) to the UK's PLC. In my professional view, it offers the best legal framework for what S tried to achieve with it, allowing both for management flexibility and tax transparency. If MPC does not present itself as a charity, it has the entire right to do so and is, therefore, not a charity, from a legal point of view, unless otherwise successfully contended in court.

You are still an idiot and a liar, though.

PS: S has not shared Robertson's X message on his own socials. Just so you know, MAX. [Later edit: extensively quoting The Scottish Daily Express, the Scottish edition of The Daily Express, a notorious UKIP/Farage supporting media outlet, hate speech condemned by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, just tells me once more time what a color blind impostor you are, Max.]

#fandom #shitshow #Scotland #business #legal

[sgiandubh]

Impressive line-up of speakers, but some will still screech. The WWF guy he was talking live with from Spain (but that moment was immediately superseded by speculation about That Woman being there, too). The guys from Blood Cancer UK, a charity he always actively supported for many and well-known reasons. And of course, Angus Robertson MP, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture - the Scottish Foreign Minister, were Scotland independent tomorrow with a magic wand poof, in other words. A guy who's 'been here before', so once again, making good use of well-established local political connections, as I have already hinted in this post: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/734909988058857472/a-persian-in-a-kilt-enters-a-bar?source=share

And yes, Lallybroch was mentioned, almost in a whimsical fashion, just after introducing Angus Robertson, and I have to say I have downloaded the full 45 minutes video just to be able to take it verbatim. The context is easy (and perhaps rehearsed), with the guest heavily insisting on OL's enormous impact on Scottish tourism (apparently 30% of the visitors go to one of the shooting venues/locations), asking S what was his favorite filming location and S rhetorically asking his enraptured audience (37:13):

'(...) what is your favorite location? [screams from the audience: Lallybroch - no shite, Sherlock], well, why, just Lallybroch, that's it. (uninteresting side comment) Yeah, Midhope....Midhope Castle, I think it's such an amazing location, it's where I first start shooting, my very first day of shooting at that castle. I've got a lot of memories there, but all over Scotland, as you say, such a beautiful country. I know many of you have been exploring, have been up North, at Glencoe, where we shot (...).'

I have some thoughts about it: yes, of course he had to mention it, given all the fuss being made about that not-at-all impromptu visit to Midhope just before the Gala. Proves well enough he keeps himself updated with all the talking in here, too - but that was to be expected, right? Also, bringing Midhope as an example of OL's impact on Scottish tourism (remember that Planning Statement?) goes to show he might prepare that particular crowd for more: it is a not-so-subtle 'to be continued' sort of hinting. Also, prodding the terrain to have a direct feeling about the whole idea and the crowd's reaction was probably enough for him to consider going ahead with whatever he has in mind, related to that particular topic.

I will definitely follow this. And as I said, I think it's going to be anything but static.

greencoastpeak

Intro speeches at the MPC 2024 gala

[sgiandubh]

I bet that once he gets the trademark Lallybroch he will stand in that arch in a Jamieesque manner to promote the spirit.

Thank you for the all clarifying lesson on trademarks.

Dear Trademark Anon,

Not really my intention to lecture our corner of the fandom on trademarks, but I think you know by now I like to get to the bottom of anything that catches my interest.

And nope - thank you for the kind words, Anon. This episode reminded me of those sleepless exam nights, when we were frantically revising in pajamas in one of the most beautiful student dorms in France, a stone throw away from the Sorbonne: https://www.fie.fr/en/the-foyer/.

I have spent two wonderful years there, only to move to the bigger - but not better - campus, a couple of miles South, and finally got my own studio in one of those charming 'village' neighborhoods tourists never manage to get to, in the Quinzième Arrondissement's Little Persia, near Grenelle. It's called like that because a hefty quarter of the Persian émigré community, the rich one, lives there, owing to real estate speculation and buying half of the newly built high-rises facing the Seine, near the Pont Mirabeau, in the early Seventies.

But those two first years at the FIE were by far the best, Anon. We always stayed up scandalously late in the Library and ended up colonizing that cozy table in front of the ornate fireplace, L, R and I, endlessly quizzing each other and trying to make sense of all that legalese. It was brutally fun, Anon. And we remained, of course, friends for life, no matter what:

Forgive my babble, Anon. Some of you seem to like it. If you don't, just scroll on.

PS: he'd probably do exactly that. But can you blame him? It's so damn easy, so damn lazy, but so damn effective, too, as far as his Only crowd is concerned.

#anon #France #Paris #student life

[sgiandubh]

Sunday sounds: a spring madrigal

After roughly one week of dull, late autumn morosity, it would seem spring is back in town. Almost May and almost summer - the right time to hit the road to the seaside, a very different one from the Greek experience. More rustic and certainly less glamorous - although the beach is not only and not exactly what I set my mind to hit, this summer, as you will see in due time 😉. And if Steinbeck traveled with his poodle, Charley, well - I might as well travel with my boisterous lab, right?

Anyways, here is one fine Monteverdi madrigal for all of you who prepare to have a nice cuppa and enjoy this spring, sunny Sunday. Here it is absolutely glorious - and we are lazily cooking (yes, cooking!), Shipper Mom and I:

PS: nobody does Monteverdi as Nigel Rogers and Ian Partridge. Nobody else in the entire world.

#sunday sounds #Renaissance #Italy #16th century #17th century #Youtube

[sgiandubh]

In all fairness to the previous coffee Anon, the coffee pics didn't conclusively prove that S/C are an item. I believe that SC are together, but the coffee snaps are no more significant than the random fan pic taken a couple of years ago of Sam and Cait being sprung, having a lunch date together on his birthday. The funeral stills were the smoking gun imo.

Dear Funeral Stills Anon,

Both are smoking guns. Both prove continuity.

And you are probably jealous, Anon - not a pretty picture. Tell you what: you take the plane and go to GLA, you take your own pics, you tell us a better story.

Is that so hard to acknowledge merit, in this fandom, Anon? Do you always have to come back with your two-pence mournful relativizations, just because you might not like the person who made the effort or because her beliefs do not 100% echo yours?

I knew how things were in here, before I stepped in. I would have never imagined, however, that petty resentments could make some of you shoot themselves in the foot and deny the obvious.

Sometimes I really do wonder what kind of evidence you are looking for, Anon(s). What is your Holy Grail, SC-wise?

But sure, Anon: whatever floats your boat. I will not change your ideas and you certainly could never change mine.

#anon #fandom #shitshow

[sgiandubh]

Are the coffee photos the blurry pix of Sam Caitriona standing by are car? Well they know each other. Nothing scandalous or interesting. Yeah, tho Nic owning a gym? In his dreams.

Dear Coffee Photos Anon,

I will answer you the second you will learn the difference, in English, between "her" and "are". Je sais que pour une Francophone passablement analphabète, comme vous, c'est dur.

D'ailleurs les photos ne racontent qu'une toute petite partie de l'histoire. Et vous le savez aussi bien que moi.

A bon entendeur...

#anon #fandom #shitshow

[sgiandubh]

Fitness at Dawn - The Brixton Dusk edition

This, related to @bat-cat-reader's Anon she refused to publish (see below post):

So, according to The Queen of Nothing, The Nicorettes own a fitness club in Brixton?

Really?

LOL until the Summer Solstice, folks. In a world where information is more and more readily available to anyone with a keyboard, it took me 15 minutes to debunk this bullshit. And FYI, the UK Company Law has recently substantially changed, with the new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Starting May 1st, we will progressively have even more transparency in the Company House system. For example:

And all the directors will have to have their identity verified. For old and new companies alike.

The only Rasenti being a currently appointed company officer in the UK is not the Male, nor the Female Nicorette:

I could have stopped there. But I didn't. I went on the Gymnasium's company website. Lo and behold:

Their Brixton fitness joint is one of the three they own in the London Metropolitan Area. The company is, therefore, a group.

Surely enough:

Who is running it and most certainly owning it?

The rest of 25% is most probably split between three other partners/Directors:

Peter Michael Cuff Olivier, aka 'Big Red Olivier'. Acquaintance of S. South African. He is a shareholder and well, if we are generous, owner of Gymnasium. Probably the real Brixton fitness joint's manager, too.

*urv got it all wrong, again: she wasn't 'hanging out there'. She was probably discussing cha-ching 💵💵💵 and Hyrox-related stuff:

Is this tenuous connection, via Hyrox, to his fitness buddies being actively pushed, in order to try and substantiate a relationship with S? The answer is yes.

Was *urv tipped accordingly? The answer is hell yes, knowing she will publish anything without double-checking.

I see Ye Olde South African Mafia Connection still alive and kicking. Hats off to you, @samheughanswife!

But when your mental age is 5, that Fitness at Dawn new episode is probably satisfying, IDK 🤷‍♀️.

PS: Thanks, dearie, for the tip. You know who you are: a much trusted friend.

#fandom #shitshow

[sgiandubh]

Fuck my life and don't pardon my French. I mean it.

She ended up by saying it's a guy. And those people poked fun at Holy Apparitions in Spoons?

They are NO better. And FYI, the GLA 'coffee pics' are still irrefutable. Just sayin'.

Rumors are carried by hypocrites, spread by fools and accepted by idiots...

No voy a publicar tu mensaje porque no le voy a dar foco a los desvaríos locos de esa bloguera. Si alguien con dos neuronas piensa que Sam invitaria a "su" rubia de la temporada al evento donde mas Sam Only hay por metro cuadrado es que…🥳

I'm not going to publish your message because I'm not going to give focus to that blogger's crazy rantings. If someone with two brain cells thinks that Sam would invite "his" blonde of the season to the event where there are the most Sam Only per square meter, it's because...🥳

[sgiandubh]

Lallybroch: copyright vs. trademark

An excellent question was asked by our friend @rosfrank in the comments thread to 'The door faces North' post and given the cosmic amount of uninformed bullshit being ventilated for almost ten years in this fandom, I think it's time to answer it once and for all:

Whenever we are informally talking about 'owning the rights to something', I think it's very important to bear in mind a fundamental distinction between two different categories of ownership rights: copyright and trademark.

The copyright is the most familiar one to many of you. It is what you usually find on those annoying and apparently useless first or last pages of all the printed or digital editions on this planet. Something like this:

In the US, copyright issues are regulated by the Copyright Act of 1976, as included in Title 17 of the US Code. The US public authority competent for registering and managing copyright is, as predictable, the US Copyright Office.

Perhaps the most seminal US Supreme Court decision, as far as copyright is concerned, is the 1991 Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co. In it, the Court ruled that mere compilations of information or facts (such as, for example, telephone books) are not protected by copyright, according to US law. In other words, the ancient legal concept of 'sweat of the brow' (which simply means the amount of work required to gather and compile those facts/information) is not enough to qualify a work for copyright protection, if no creative effort is added to enhance its content. This is why I have always considered absolutely ridiculous Marple's efforts to watermark public information screenshots: it is useless (to the extent that it legally protects her from nothing) and, as her timelines, a mere compilation of facts (legally ditto). A similar approach is preferred by the UK and also by many Roman law legal systems, such as the French one - just making things clearer, here, by the way.

See how 'Erself is roughly doing, right now, in this department:

But I am rambling. In my view, Lallybroch, as a pivotal concept used in Diana Gabaldon's books, is protected by the copyright granted to each and every of her books mentioning it, according to the Roman law principle 'accessorium sequitur principale' (the accessory follows the principal). So it will remain protected for at least 70 years since the last of her books mentioning it would have been published under copyright. Unless she chooses to separately protect the entire finished cycle as a whole, once Book Ten (fingers crossed) is published, preferably during our foreseeable lifetimes.

That being said, that goes only for one copyright category: (published) text - you cannot copyright that secret diary in your drawer, LOL. This is why, the current US Copyright Office records concerning Lallybroch look like this:

Sony Pictures Television Inc owns the copyright to the fictional name Lallybroch in the motion pictures category, as it is the title of the Episode 12, in Season 1 - DG has been handsomely compensated for this, no worries. And someone I have no idea about owns the rights to an original musical score she has written and titled Lallybroch in the music category, since October 2013.

Onwards to the trademark. This is something different and this is all about making your name/concept/idea profitable. It is all about branding it, putting it on a product and selling it under that brand. It includes all the graphic elements and the logo of the brand (accessorium...) - in short, its visual identity to the consumers. In the US, trademark issues are regulated by the 1946 Lanham Act and the public competent authority is the good old US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO).

Right now, the situation for the Lallybroch trademark is as follows:

So, we see three different trademarks: two of them, owned by Diana Gabaldon, are classified as 'dead' (cancelled and/or abandoned) and the third, Lallybroch Spirits, owned by S's Great Glen Company is pending approval - he will not be able to label any booze bottle Lallybroch Drink Me before permission is granted by the USPTO.

Let's unpack:

Both Lallybroch trademarks formerly owned by Diana Gabaldon were filed at the USPTO on February 21, 2000 and granted on December 12, 2000. The first was aimed at producing 'tartan fabrics for the manufacturer of clothing' and it was abandoned in December 2003:

The reason is that the owner did not file in any Statement of Use after the trademark was granted. She had three years to do so, and since she chose not to do anything about it, the trademark was deemed abandoned (Stacy K. Smith is the attorney hired by Herself, btw). That means she specifically implied not to intend using it in the future. As such, she may claim NO rights on a now free to use mark:

The second trademark was aimed at producing 'clothing, namely, t-shirts, dresses and headwear' and also 'jewelry, namely, rings, pins and necklaces'- to cut the story short: OL merchandise - and it was cancelled on March 1st, 2013:

The reason is that the owner did not file the Section 8 declaration (of continuous use for five years) within the allowed legal timeframe (6 months after the fifth anniversary of the trademark granting renewal). Her trademark federal rights are now deemed canceled (but not her state law and/or common law rights!) and if she wants to ever use that name again, she would have to start the whole process over, bearing in mind the trademark could have been granted to someone else, in the meanwhile (not her case).

And for anyone who might ask, 'Erself does not own any other trademarks whatsoever:

The other (Doll Lab - LOL for ages) Diana Gabaldon is a pharmacist from Albuquerque, NM. Chill. 🤣🤣🤣

The owner of the copyright to the fictional toponym Lallybroch, as far as published text is concerned, is Diana Galabdon.

The owner of the copyright to the fictional toponym Lallybroch, as far as motion pictures are concerned, is Sony Pictures Television Inc.

The owner of the copyright to the fictional toponym Lallybroch, as a personal work of music, is Mrs. Kelly Ruth Davis, of Pennsylvania, USA.

The owner of the Lallybroch Spirits trademark will be Sam Roland Heughan, when that trademark is granted by the USPTO.

I hope this answers your question, @rosfrank. Thank you for asking.

#fandom #shitshow #boozewars #business #legal

[sgiandubh]

Nothing is right with them.

Quoting a dear, close friend: 'if I hated okras, would I go and shout my hatred in front of the national Okra Producers and Exporters Association, just to make a statement?'

The effort of coming here and sending daily hate under the guise of Anon, then posing as victims when called out for their nastiness, mendacity and stupid, farcical mistakes and misjudgments is shocking.

Fuckwits, impostors, liars and cowards. God bless them all.

It’s Hate Season!

You can tell there is movement in the Outlander world. Increased PR, interviews, photos, events and the creeping presence of BOMB, the New Batch. Even Sam has been deployed to keep them away from the light, water or post-midnight snacking.

But the main factor in the upcoming frenzy of 7B is the absolute nastiness coming back into the fandom. And I have the majority of the evil Mordor inhabitants blocked.

They can’t help themselves. Contradicting anything said on this side of the fandom - not just an “I disagree” but a full-on “you are a brainless, moronic, stupid asshole and I'm right and you most definitely are not - you mindless plank” tirade.

And their favourite subject - “ Sam is a nasty, superior grifter. His real personality is one of a narcissistic, brainless opportunist and he has no business acumen. What’s more, Alex is creepy and just using him - Sam is so stupid, he doesn’t realise he’s being led as he doesn’t have the brain to see it”. And on and on. Even bringing up fish-gate, Covid-gate and any other perceived slip he’s made in the last 10 years.

I’ve asked before - why are they in this fandom - any part of it? It’s all very well having a different POV but these people are damn right evil. Our side of the fandom can be brutal but I’ve never seen anywhere near the absolute hate, nastiness and evil diatribe from this side.

How can you go through your life with such feelings and beliefs and be at peace with yourself - how do you look in the mirror and like what you see, what you are, what you stand for?

What is wrong with them or should I say what is right with them?

[sgiandubh]

Today's apocryphal Sun Tzu quote

Laziness is the liar's surest ally.

Gao Qifeng - Monkey, 1930 AD

#sun tzu #fandom #shitshow

[sgiandubh]

Good morning to you...as always, this person is very indignant and enraged.

https://www.tumblr.com/maximumwobblerbanditdonut/748583730081333248/the-unexpected-guests?source=share

Dear (returning) Mythomaniac Anon,

Sorry for the delay and see below why. Well, then: how was that, at their end of the rope, across the street?

I know, I am quoting BIF (that petty, nasty, condescending woman), their Main Intellectual Luminary (LOL for years), but see how easy it is to boomerang anything?

And I will even suit myself and quote her some more, lookie here:

I am not even sorry. Karma is a bitch, like that and it seems to have backfired badly on BIF's comadre, 'Max'. You see, I can immediately tell when people who have NO idea about what LAW really is, start talking about it. They will always be oh so damn literal and oh so damn mechanical in their 'reasonings'. I mean, if law were to be read as is, why would we even bother going to law school, right? Why not have AI sort it out, literally and mechanically, too (and boy does 'Max' sound like an android when she starts droning her maximum wobbling bullshit)? You see, in law, it's never enough to copy/paste something, because this is about people, money and interests, being those individual or collective. Timelines are important (and indispensable in any legal approach), but never enough: what makes the difference is always the particular context and the interpretation of facts - that is, by the way, called jurisprudence, when it becomes a legally binding precedent (not our modest case, here), in common law system countries (the UK, the US) or a complementary source of law, like in Roman/Civil law systems, such as the French and Romanian ones, which I know best. There is a technical distinction between those two concepts (legally binding precedent and complementary source of law) and I once passed a whole year written exam in Public French Law with honors, picking this exact topic, but I won't bother you with it, Anon. In a nutshell, tread carefully when you open that droning mouth and leave no stone unturned, if possible. Otherwise, you'd make a fool out of yourself, with bullshit like this:

There is no Midhope Distillery Company Ltd, you fool. There once was the Midhope Castle Distillery Ltd, as I have abundantly shown in not one, but two posts. It did not 'change its name' in 2023, it was dissolved by voluntary write-off (third time might be a charm, across the street, maybe the coin would drop?). And one more time, for you Mordor people in the back: there is no way to know who the shareholders of a given company are, based on the Company House records, nor the amount of their participation. This is confidential information, as shown also in the Planning Proposal - once more, I repost the screenshot:

' The Business Plan, submitted (...) under Private and Confidential cover, provides background information on the applicant'. Including, but not limited to, the existing investors/shareholders - it is essential to show the local authorities your business project is not a whim or a dream.

She also writes confidently stuff like:

That is simply not true. As I have also shown in my last post, Outlander is explicitly mentioned in both the first and the revised Planning Proposals, as a strong argument for the entire business project. It may serve to remember that one of the elements justifying it was to provide the 20k seasonal visitors of the Midhope Castle Grounds an opportunity to access the (vastly) improved interior of the castle, along with a whisky related experience/discovery activity, accommodation and high-end dining opportunity. Again, I repost the screenshot, because those people are mendacious by nature and it is perhaps the only way to show them some facts (not useless factoids):

That being said, we can speculate and deduct a simple correlation between a company actively looking for investors to support their now vastly revised, ten-year project and an actor-cum-entrepreneur who might be interested/already involved in that project. Unless he'd make a formal announcement himself, at some point in time, there is no way to confirm. 'Max' should perhaps learn to water down her confident tone, sometimes, especially when it is obvious she did not look at the documents herself, used only Google in the arrogant and foolish hope 'those tinhat shippers are stupid' and has 0 (zero) legal expertise.

This whole thing might be pending approval, but let's not forget the first Planning Statement was approved back in 2020 (which is a good starting point), that they have secured a business partnership with the owner of the land, Lord Hope (the 4th Marquess of Linlithgow) and that as far as I could read during those past two days, all the reports seem ok, at least up until this point in time. I see no reason why they wouldn't meet and talk about it: on which planet is that such a big deal and on which planet could that be construed as 'conflict of interest' (another one of 'Max's' arguments), given the organic link between OL and Midhope, since 2013?

I also have made a hasty mistake, in my previous post, when dealing with Ken Robertson's participation to the project. He continued to be involved, as my penned timeline shows, in both Hopetoun Estate Distillery Ltd and Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd, as a Director, continuously from May 2017 until their dissolution, in December 2022. Again, it's all on the timeline - see what I just did, here? LOL for a century and a half.

And for Marple's 'Sorry' clip, I have the perfect reply. Especially the chorus, of course - ignore the rest, it's about some Seventies playboy, quite an Alternate Universe from hers:

I will stop now, Anon. With the MPC Gala just round the corner, all the eyes will be on that one. This drama will probably draw to a fizzled denouement, as they always do, in this fandom. But I will follow that business project and report from time to time. I bet the farm we'll have news, rather sooner than later.

#anon #fandom #shitshow #boozewars

[sgiandubh]

The door faces North

This has been, by far, one of the most complex investigations I have ever done in this fandom, and I am truly sorry for the long wait I had to inflict on many of you & for the uncharacteristic radio silence in DMs and comments. During this peculiar journey, I checked, double-checked and cross-checked as many details as I could and I carefully considered at least two different theories, of which I still think they do not exclude each other. I am now confident enough to make not only an educated guess, but also a daring bet on SRH's next whisky move.

Also, sorry for the length of this post. Truly sorry - think of the completely pulverized night sleep I had to give up, in order to bring this to you.

But first, a word on Marple's obvious PR tip on the Hopetoun Estate refurbishment and distillery old/new project. I am fair game enough to tell you the obvious: her overall recounting of the principals is roughly correct, spare perhaps one or two minor details. Correct, but dry - she limits herself to the technical documentation submitted by Golden Decanters and The Hopetoun Estates Trust to the West Lothian Council for approval. She correctly points out that S is not a visible part of the deal, at this point in time and she does a decent summing up of a very, very, VERY plethoric amount of bureaucratic information. She concludes, and I think she is partially right, that he might be interested in becoming an investor (I am taking things a bit further, though). But in doing so, she focuses on the development phase of the project only: the possible connections with SRH and his own spirits business are less, if at all, obvious.

I am going to give you my view of all this charade and, if I am going to mention (and probably repeat) some things already found by her, I am going to focus on the people: this is where the whole story starts to become remarkably interesting, at least to me. After all, I remember promising you some more clarity. Here's an honest, fair play take.

Little did I know, when I started to write about that (now defunct) company, Midhope Castle Distillery, Ltd (https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/748597198794670080/the-info-provided-above-is-correct-but-outdated?source=share), that my investigation would turn to this:

... for it was to be just an almost random layer of a juggernaut matryoshka of defunct or still active companies, featuring roughly the same people and no less than 6 different name combinations centered around Midhope, Hopetoun, etc.

The following pics will give you an idea - feel free to open them in a separate tab, for clarity . I preferred this synthetic approach, because otherwise you will curse the shite out of me. But it had to be done, with or without Depon, Advil's Greek cousin (and before you ask a graphologist, this is my handwriting, and nobody else's 🙃):

The only explanation for the whole almost frantic Midhope/Hopetoun crisscross/hopscotch (LOL) combos I can think of is two people trying to secure one (several?) credit lines or to attract significant investors for their project and ultimately failing to do so. But I might be wrong (although I doubt that, thank you). Out of this entire maze ( I swear I now have a migraine), there are only two active companies remaining: Golden Decanters Ltd (renamed GD Spirits Ltd, in April 2022) and Midhope Ltd (renamed Skosk Ltd, in July 2023). It is on them I am going to focus my gaze.

GD Spirits Ltd was incorporated in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England (just across the Scottish border), probably for tax reasons, on March 11, 2015, the nature of its business being listed as 'wholesale of wine, beer, spirits, etc.'. It started with a team of two women: Julia Mackenzie-Gillanders and Ann Medlock, whose names we are going to see over and over again in all the eight corporate avatars. Later down the timeline (LOL for three decades and a half), on January 30, 2018, they were briefly (until July 19, 2018) joined by two very interesting professionals: Mrs. Margaret Boswell, an attorney at the very prestigious international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel (Paris and London offices)...

...and Ken Robertson, former Corporate Affairs Director at Diageo Whisky, a subsidiary of the international Diageo group, one of the major players on the world spirits' market:

The second company, Skosk Ltd, was incorporated in August 2021, in Perth, Scotland, its nature of business being listed as 'distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits', with the clear intention to align with the exacting criteria prescribed by the 2009 Scotch Whisky Regulations:

[ Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky - sorry, I don't have time to wax lyrical on this, and neither do you]

This time, we only meet again the two distillerettes, Gillanders and Medwick. Up until now, at least, nobody else (attorney, former sales executive, whisky expert) has joined the platoon - TBC? I would not speculate and leave all options open.

There is little to 0 transparency on Skosk's financial situation, at the moment and to be honest, it looks very much like S's co-star (hehe)'s Irish business venture...

... but I was a bit more lucky, and the numbers more chatty, as far as GD Spirits was concerned:

Paging all shipper chartered accountants out there, but to me, it doesn't look great, at the moment. Cash is ridiculous, the net worth is hemorrhaging and the current assets are negligible, compared to 2020, when I think they managed to secure one or two credit lines, but not nearly enough for what they needed. Just enough to pay themselves and their external consultants and cover the operating costs, if you ask me.

The revised Planning Statement, of 8 February 2024, posted first by Marple, echoes my initial guess (COVID blew it up, see link to the first post) and the above assessment:

Mark this: 'Discussions are now proceeding with investors and there is a realistic prospect that work will begin in the near future (2024/2025) to implement the permission.' Given that they will start with the road and parking rehabilitation and upgrading, probably overlapping with the distillery building, it would make sense to begin this autumn at the earliest, with the most urgent: access to the site itself.

The initial Planning Statement, dated 9 July 2020 and re-posted on March 21st, 2024, tells a more detailed story. This is part and parcel of the current project as well, since the revision is just pointing out the changes operated, not the entire rest, which remains unchanged. You be the judge:

Also keep in mind this tiny, tiny thing: the Business Plan is 'submitted (...) under Private and Confidential Cover'. See where I am looking?

The initial plan was (and still is) for GD Spirits to produce their own booze, using Midhope's own barley (this is very important for the rest of my theory!). They even offer an overview of the real impact of their project on the local economy:

20 to 38 initial new job creations for a £ 15 to 30 million investment is not 'huge', madam Marple. Cumbernauld is huge. This? This is rather modest, if you ask me. But hey, what do I know about the labor market, right?

That initial Statement tells also the story they want to tell about the genesis of their idea, the scouting for the right location and a couple of other interesting details:

So they are telling us they started to look for the perfect location in 2018 and oh, hello, they found the Hopetoun Estate rather quickly, already starting the pre-planning application consultations as early as July 2019 (don't get me started, please):

If so, then why did they incorporate not one, but two different companies clearly linking them to the Estate (Hopetoun Estate Distillery Ltd and Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd) the same day and as early as May 23rd 2017 (and both dissolved in December 2022), as my above penciled timeline (LOOOOOL) shows? Who is really behind this project and why this entire ballet? It's like me pre-emptively looking for rental properties in (let's randomly guess) Lisbon, when it's just wishful thinking, heavily projecting and with 0 guarantees I will be posted there, right? I mean, I adore and deeply know Lisbon and I would be thrilled to go there. But I am not currently looking for any rental property, just like that, because that would be a #silly, rookie mistake. In their case, I think there's a different situation - again, you be the judge.

A first answer, as to who is really behind that project, was given by the UK media, back in 2020:

How odd, when we know that both Mrs. Boswell, the well-traveled attorney and Mr. Robertson resigned from GD Spirits in July 2018. Do they still say hi to the two distillerettes? Do they quietly keep an eye on the project? Are they silent partners? Business angels? Shareholders? Time to remind you that under UK law, there is 0 visibility on the shareholder's structure of a company. You just see the officers (Director, Secretary, etc), on the Company House website. On an umpteenth, last- second cross-check, it became apparent that Mr. Robertson remained involved in another company of the distillerettes, Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd (yes, the one mentioned above), until its voluntary strike-off, in December 2022.

Their best laid plans do mention OL, and how could it be otherwise? But all this £ 15 to 30 million hullaballoo for 20.000 people only (who counted them and how?), on a seasonal basis?

High-end restaurant, luxury B&B, event spaces, you name it. Interesting, to say the least.

And, for the people in the back, who still think SRH has a 100 years lease at Midhope (Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, the stupidity!):

This is why he commented as a 'member of the public'. At face value, there is no public involvement into that project. Yet. But it is my belief there is a vested interest in all this, justifying the comment, the visit, those papers rolled in his fist, etc. At first, I thought that was a visit to Lallybroch by the Exec Producer of OL's Season 8, to discuss technicalities - and shared that privately with a wonderful friend only. I mean, why not and still perfectly possible. But then, as I could not sleep tonight and felt guilty to have you all waiting, I started to connect some tiny dots.

Like this one, for a start:

Yes, I know, Marple told you that FIRST, I would not dare say otherwise, because if I did there would be a transcontinental screech. That trademark application was filed at the US Patent and Trade Office in September 2023 and I thought (and still partially do) it was a potential rebranding solution to The Sassenach's EUIPO nightmare (much exaggerated by the fandom's toothbrush experts):

But you also know I am an idiot and I always check people's CVs, when I follow a thread. This morning, the one Distillerette I am particularly interested in is Mrs. Julia Hall-Mackenzie-Gillanders (née Scales) and not like *urv would be.

Her LinkedIn profile is exceptionally talkative, too:

... and a BA (with Honors) in Fashion Design, class of 2005, at the Northumbria University.

The Financial Times article 'From packing boxes to wine deals worth millions', you can read on her LinkedIn page, tells a very interesting story. It is the story of a shy underdog (lots of temple bells clinging, at the moment), who made it by sheer persistence. It starts like this:

'When a painfully shy young woman contacted a fine wine merchant and said ' I have no qualifications- can I help?', she got the job and today is signing deals worth millions of pounds.'

It obviously did ring a bell and if SRH knows she exists (she is married, *urv!), and I dare to speculate he does, it must have struck a deep chord. Would I do business with her? I wouldn't speculate, although I am not very sure. Would he? He'd probably listen very carefully to what she has to pitch, for a start.

And what she has to pitch is also very interesting, in his world. A brief look at the Golden Decanters' website shows a first high-end single malt sourced collection of 4 exceptional expressions already sold out:

And when they mean high-end, they mean gold leaf labelling and all the tralala:

And, some last minute news, too:

Remind me, because I am an old woman, after this white night: wasn't The Sassenach (no comment, we agree to disagree and I am very skeptical), a blend?

We have these dots, then:

Bold Underdog ->spirits business->high-end collection of single malts sold out->business partnership with owners of Midhope Castle, fictional Lallybroch in OL, including a distillery and whisky production with Midhope/Lallybroch barley -> visit by the male lead and spirits entrepreneur (also the fictional Lallybroch laird) to Midhope/Lallybroch and vested interest in the estate's most recent business project....

What if The Sassenach would be included, for a start, in that new Blended Collection? And could it really be fanfic to imagine a future high-end, limited edition, Lallybroch whisky produced at Midhope, with Midhope/Lallybroch barley? It wouldn't be the first time, would it: after all, they did it with that limited tequila batch.

As I said, because I am (remember Someone? LOL) a 'silly cow', I was hoping he wouldn't do it. But my guess is he might very well do exactly that, with those people and under that label.

It's half past eight AM, local time and I need a strong, black coffee.

I rest my case (and I am bracing myself for the screeching). I will answer Anons later, after I come back from the hairdresser's. Appointments must be kept at all costs. Thank you all for your patience.

#boozewars #business #fandom #shitshow