#FUCK I JUST REALIZED I PUT HORSE IN THE SOCIAL WORKER INSTEAD OF SOCIAL WORKER IN THE HORSE

[torturedblondhairedboy-child]

#FUCK I JUST REALIZED I PUT HORSE IN THE SOCIAL WORKER INSTEAD OF SOCIAL WORKER IN THE HORSE #goddamnit. whatever. #hannibal nbc #will graham #hannibal lecter #hannibal #hannibal s2 #mads mikkelsen #hugh dancy #su zakana #hannibal s3 #hannibal fbi #hannigram #nbc hannibal #mizumono

[janiedean]

It is one thirty A.M.... TIME FOR AU HEADCANONS. Reincarnation AU where Jon and Theon are the first of the Winterfell crew to reunite (excluding the older characters) because they are both swooped up by Dadvos as kids. That joy at seeing a familiar face followed by the unique feeling of, 'really, /you/?'

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME GDI okay fine fuck it here we go 

--

1.

Jon knows that there’s an Appointment happening this afternoon, but he doesn’t bother to be on his best behavior for it. He’s been on it for the first few times, except that it didn’t take long to notice that most of the social workers in the place where he’s had to grow up play favorites - years from now he’ll know that most of them weren’t really suited for the job, but at the ripe age of five he really doesn’t have that concept yet.

What he knows is that he has a file that says things about him that made sure that any potential person coming by to at least foster some of them skipped him and went straight to the next one. He’s heard a few of the social worker confirming that he’s displaying antisocial behavior and he makes other children feel uncomfortable along with a few other things he doesn’t know the meaning of but are apparently... not really good news. He doesn’t know what they even expect of him - the first time he tried to tell anyone about the dreams he was having where he’s taller and leaner and is holding a sword and has a wolf with him they sent him to one of the doctors who told him that a fervent imagination is a nice thing but he really shouldn’t let that get to his head, and fine, maybe he told some of the others when they asked, but it’s not his fault if everyone decided he was weird and never talked to him since, which is why he hasn’t talked to anyone else back.

So, he really doesn’t pay The Appointment any mind. He wears his usual clothes - not the nice one reserved for Appointments - and goes to his usual corner in the main living room. (It’s a large group home. Most of the other kids watch television. He reads instead - he’s gone through everything age appropriate that he’s allowed to read, so now he’s going through it again.)

He doesn’t notice that someone’s on his side of the room until he actually hears Mr. Slynt - his least favorite of the entire staff.

“But Mr. Seaworth,” he’s saying, “I think there are, uh, less problematic options.”

“I don’t doubt that,” someone else replies, “but when did I say I was looking for less problematic options?”

“You have not,” Slynt agrees, “but there’s something really wrong with that kid and I don’t think you want to saddle yourself with him out of everyone.”

Wait.

“Seems to me like he’s the only one doing something useful with their time,” the other man says.

Jon raises his eyes from his book.

Everyone else is either watching television or sending fairly bad looks his way.

And then he notices that both Slynt and the other man are really close to him and -

The man - Mr. Seaworth? - has to be the person who was coming for The Appointment, sure. But why are they looking at him?

“He’s five and he hasn’t said a word in months,” Slynt goes on. “There have probably been some development issues, on top of -”

“Right, right, now can I talk to him or do I need a permit?”

“Of course not,” Slynt replies, and -

Mr. Seaworth is in his early forties, or so it looks like, is dressed mostly in black and gray, has a nicely kept grey beard and a very kind smile and is... kneeling in front of him?

“What’s that you were reading?” He asks. Nicely. Jon doesn’t think anyone’s ever been this nice to him in his entire life. But he hasn’t said a word in weeks, as stated, and he feels like he’s going to go into a panic if he tries to talk, so he just closes the book and shoves it at Mr. Seaworth.

“Hm, one could do a lot worse than The Black Corsair,” Mr. Seaworth says, “seems like there’s a nicer choice in books than in staff.” His voice drops down at that and Jon kind of laughs at that because it was funny and it was true, never mind that he stole that book from the shelf for people older than he is, but suddenly he feels like he’s going to - he doesn’t know what, but something is happening and he hasn’t laughed in months and right now he is and someone’s actually having their full attention on him and that’s not what happens, that’s not -

“Hey,” Mr. Seaworth says, “easy, it’s fine -” He starts, and then -

Then -

He’s waking up after nothing and that same man is helping him stand and putting some clothes on and telling him that if he failed once he can always go back and fail again -

He’s standing in a room with people chanting king in the north -

He’s seeing a girl who looks like him and who’s most definitely his sister except she’s halfway not and then another one with bright auburn hair and blue eyes and they’re holding on to each other under the snow, and another boy with those hair and eyes his age who tells him I don’t care what anyone else says you’re my brother, and another one who’s taking shooting lessons from him and then is running against him on a horse but then is not, and a last one who was supposed to be dead and instead is not -

He’s standing in a room full of people clad in black electing him Lord Commander -

For the watch -

King Jon Snow -

An army of undead people -

He gasps and looks back up - he knows he’s crying, but -

“... Davos?” He asks, barely even hearing himself.

“Damn it, you remembered just now, did you? I was hoping it wouldn’t be this soon,” Davos says, and oh, he’s the same, he’s the exact same, and did he say you remembered -

So his dreams weren’t dreams at all?

“You told me I... I should go fail again?”

“I did,” Davos says, and then - “How would you like it to get out of here?”

Jon thinks it’s the first time in his life he’s ever cried out of pure, blissful relief.

Slynt doesn’t try to convince Davos to look at less problematic children anymore and by the time the sun has set Jon’s packed his few belongings neatly and is grasping onto Davos’s hand as he walks out of the damned place.

He still can’t get everything straight in his head, but as he feels a hand with shortened fingertips - how did it happen in this life? - ruffling his hair, he decides he doesn’t care.

2.

While every other damned kid in the facility gets dressed up for the occasion - there’s someone coming by and of course everyone’s hoping to leave - Theon doesn’t even bother. He realized no one was taking him in after he passed the ten mark - maybe kids younger and without as thick a file have chances, but no one with his credentials at the ripe age of twelve does, and he’s made peace with it.

He sticks to his chair in the living room - at least there’s some kind of unspoken agreement that since he’s been here for four years (as in, longer than most others) he has a right to it - and moves on to the next page in his sketchbook.

Not that it has much variety.

Most of it is covered in dark red ink, or black at most. All of the psychiatrists he’s ever talked to always gave it back to him as if they thought he had some kind of serious mental problem, which - well. Maybe he has. Who knows. What he knows is that no one ever wanted a meeting with him after being informed that most of his drawings are on the subject of him dying along with a red haired kid in fairly gruesome ways.

They’ve asked him who he was. Theon’s always said that he doesn’t know even if he does. But if Robb’s alive in this world, he’s probably better off without him.

He looks down at the ring finger in his left hand, which has been bent quite wrong for the last three years or so - of course destiny didn’t spare him and he had to run into fucking Ramsay at his previous group home. Good thing it ended at that.

Good thing, really.

So, he’s sketching.

Which is when he hears the conversation from his side.

“Of course you may, but I don’t see why you would. You saw the file.”

“Of course, which is why I would. I am sure a lot of kids in here have a good chance of finding a family. I don’t think he has.”

Wait. The hell?

Oh. Oh.

He turns to his side and puts the sketchbook down to see bloody Davos Seaworth talking to Barbrey Dustin, as in, someone who should not have been a social worker in this life. And then Davos Seaworth looks at him and... winks slightly?

Shit. Shit. He bypasses Barbrey and walks right up to him - Theon stands up without even thinking about it, still grasping at his red pen.

“What are you doing here?” He blurts.

“I see you remembered everything already, didn’t you?”

“I might have,” Theon says, not knowing whether he should look at the man or not, but -

“Sorry to hear your father was a piece of shit in this world, too.”

Theon laughs. “Well, what can I do. And what are you doing here, again?”

Seaworth smirks. And then - “Let’s say that in this world I got slightly better starting points than I had in the other one. What do you say if I tell you there might be a room with your name on it where I come from?”

Theon’s first instinct is asking, are you fucking joking. 

Instead - “I’d say I was making it up,” he blurts.

“What if I say you’re not?”

Theon says nothing, and looks down at his opened sketchbook.

“You know,” Davos says, lowering his voice, “no one says I couldn’t help you looking him up.”

Thing is - Theon hadn’t spent that much time around the man back in the day, but he wasn’t judging, and he was definitely a good person - better than him anyway - and -

And -

“I’d say, I hope you’re not fucking with me,” he says.

Turns out, Davos is not.

Theon isn’t honestly going to spill a single tear about leaving the damned place behind.

3.

He had been told that Davos took in other people as well - and he’d have been surprised of the contrary.

What he doesn’t expect is getting out of his room (and he hasn’t had a room he didn’t have to share with anyone for years) and see Jon Snow doing the same on the other side of the corridor. He’s around ten or so, has to be, and he looks exactly as he had back in Winterfell except slightly less broody, maybe, and -

The first instinct he has is crying in relief because it’s someone from Winterfell and someone who knew Robb and someone who he knew regardless of how much they disagreed, and then Jon’s face breaks into a relieved grin, too, maybe, and they’re walking towards each other and -

Theon can’t remember the last time he hugged anyone out of his own volition. And now he’s doing that with fucking Jon Snow, who’s kind of grabbing at his shirt and looking like he wants to cry but is trying not to, and then they move back to look at each other and -

“I can’t believe it’s you,” Jon groans, but he’s smiling as he says it.

“Me neither,” Theon replies, “but I guess we could’ve done worse? And I should’ve known you’d be brooding in another life as well.”

“Asshole,” Jon sighs, but it’s obvious he doesn’t mean it and -

And then he grabs at Theon’s shoulders again, and Theon decides that for now he’s just - not going to do anything.

He hasn’t smiled out of his own volition in years. As it happens, he decides he could get used to it all over again.

#jon snow #theon greyjoy #davos seaworth #my fic #game of thrones spoilers #i guess ???? #idk what the fuck i'm doing #HERE YOU GO DAMN IT #I COULD NOT RESIST #mistystarshine #ask post

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Ru Paul’s Drag Race (S09E03) Draggily Ever After Airdate: April 7, 2017 @vh1 @wowreport Ratings: 0.673 Million :: 0.3 18-49 Demo Share Score: 4.5/10

**********SPOILERS BELOW*********

Finally! An episode we can all sink our teeth into. No, this isn’t a ‘Drag Race’ best… But we’re finally starting to see who has that special something to make it to the latter half of this competition and who doesn’t. Slowly but surely the stakes are raising and the stars are rising to the top. 'Draggily Ever After’ as an episode and as an overall challenge knows exactly where it is in the competition. There are still weak ones and performers that aren’t fully realized as full on Drag Queens left in the competition, so the challenge is basic… But it demands the Queens to realize a concept and reach into their bag of tricks and show us their artistic side by having the contestants create Princess characters that are accompanied by an original sidekick and threaded together by a short storyline.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but it looks like, for the most part, that Eureka, Nina Bo'Nina Brown, Sasha Velour, Trinity Taylor and Valentina are all front runners for their own reasons. Shea Couleé could be a dark horse in the competition… And the judges seem to be pulling Peppermint in to praise her for something outside of this competition, as if Peppermint has established herself and put in work and therefore automatically deserves a little bit of spotlight and praise. I get it and I don’t get it. I just know I’m not looking at a winner. Charlie Hides does runway well, but the total package isn’t strong with this one. For some reason I can’t ever remember who Alexis Michelle is, was, or anything about her. It’s true I take a Xanax or two, but I’m going to need this girl to shine and soon. Maybe she just hasn’t had the met the right challenge yet? If someone or something doesn’t make an impression on me I can literally turn around, walk two steps, and completely forget they exist. What were we talking about again?

I hate that Drag Race is on Friday’s now. The weekend is not when I do my best writing as I’m always tired, running around, bartending or serving for extra money or trying to get an extra piece or two worked on for a printed publication or wherever I can fit in. Last week in my review on RPDR, I fumbled some words about the show of which Lisa Kudrow was quoting, it didn’t change the fact that she was one the show for 20 seconds to just say lines from one show that she did. They did say 'The Comeback’ in the show, and unfortunately I’m unable to post edit something I post on TVShowTime and I apologize for the mistake and it was corrected outside of this platform, but understand that I really try to come from a good place… And no, the show she was quoting didn’t change how I felt about the segment. Please don’t tell me to 'calm down’ or 'relax’, I am writer at heart and whether I’m making money or not, I love this community, you see what I write first, and it’s you who really get to see the true me, sans about 5 people in this world who I know are the definition of a 'real friend’, and only one of them lives here in South Florida. I am exhausted right now, I’ve been up since 5am yesterday morning working and I really hope that I can convey this next topic with the compassion and sincerity that I normally am able to convey with ease (just not Friday-Sunday).

As a Floridian, who had friends and co-workers in Orlando during the Pulse Massacre, this is a very difficult place for me to revisit, even with the amount of time we’ve all had to process what happened. I’ve been in a gay relationship for over 11 years now. I’m a natural born hustler in many aspects, I’ve always had multiple jobs, multiple passion projects, and for a good 3-4 years I was a 'Male Dancer’ in one of the most notorious Gay Strip Clubs in Ft Lauderdale, FL. I’ve always been on the outside of the gay scene, I never felt like I belonged, and that’s because I don’t, and that’s ok. During my time working there, I made a lot of friends that I never thought I would make. My intention was to go in, get money, and get the fuck out. I thought I had nothing in common with a lot of these people and hung with the other 'straight’ dancers at the club at first. I quickly found myself bored with those 'straight’ co-workers (no offense, trust me they were vapid and always overcompensating for something they lacked beyond physical beauty) and suddenly found myself very much amused at the more quirky, flamboyant boys who came to play. They were all hot messes, yes, but in a 'Party Monster’ type of way, you know… Before the whole murder…errr… Manslaughter twist ending.

There’s always been a huge part of me that has been terrified to seem anything less than masculine, even though my personality is very much 'over-the-top’, I’m haunted with the memories of my parents scolding and shaming me for a brief moment of 'sounding gay’ or displaying a trait that they found too telling. Suddenly I was worlds away from that feeling and those people (who I do love and know did have good intentions, just an ignorant approach) and I was meeting some of the most impactful and beautiful people who were very proudly 'gay’, something I had always equated with 'exploiting for money’ or 'shameful’. These over-the-top Latin and Black young men took a stubborn, scared strawberry blonde boy who was allowing myself to be the “token 'soulless ginger’ with a thick ass and athletic legs” and helped me shed the fear of just letting go and being 100% me. They really showed me how to live my life to the fullest in a way I didn’t know was possible. That chapter in my life is very much over now. You won’t my find me in gay clubs anymore, and my other safe haven, the rave scene, is long dead (since 2003/2004), and now I may attend a music festival once or twice a year if my schedule permits it… But I wouldn’t trade my experience with those incredibly amazing human beings for anything in the world and I try to take what they taught me with me everywhere I go and apply it to anything and everything. One of those people I lost to suicide, and no there was no 13-tapes to listen to afterwards, because suicide is an ugly spurt of the moment thing.

Not everyone is right for the strip club, it takes a special kind of damaged mess to navigate that world… But there were several young, unbelievably strong young men who showed me something beyond that for a few years… And I’m incredibly blessed to have a partner who knew I needed that experience and allowed me to do whatever I wanted, never wanting to impede on my personal growth, but still always put up somewhat of a fight… For good measure.

That 'safe place’ that Cynthia Fontaine talked about, I know that place, and the thought of a single man barging in one of those places with an AK where people are able to discover a different meaning and break the general mold of what is or isn’t 'the social and societal norm’ and gunning down as many people as possible rips my inner core into a million pieces. The night that it happened, I called my friends and coworkers in Orlando, over and over and over, wondering if they were alive… Wondering how something like this could happen.

Growing up with the bravery to admit that sexuality and gender isn’t as 'paint by numbers’ as everyone wants it so desperately to be is difficult, especially when you are a leader and you bear that cross during difficult times like middle and high school. Once you make it out of high school, it does in fact 'get better’, but now we have to face something like this… In a place that’s supposed to be designed to celebrate our freedom, a place that allows a select few a unique chance to come of age for a second time around… But instead that 'safe place’ was used as a hunting ground. People were lined up and shot one by one, bullets and blood, tears and pain staining the air with a stench of terror and death as good people who had amazing hearts and the ability to heal and teach and love and change people’s lives for the better… It’s impossible to truly make sense of… And something a fucking hashtag on social media will only stain further.

What we heard between Trinity and Cynthia was a real conversation about the direct effect it had on two people’s lives… Two people that were technically removed from the nightmare, but still very much a part of it in a very real way. It’s something we will never escape as human beings, as sexually free human beings and it’s fucking terrifying. Sasha urged everyone not to be scared to go out and live your life, and I don’t have the answers or the ability to even offer up a solution because I don’t ducking know why there are people in this world who want something like this to happen. I’m glad that I was able to experience the rave scene pre-9/11/2001 and the Florida Gay Nightlife pre-6/12/2016. I hate that people are scared to go out now, scared that someone could shoot up a nightclub, or drive a truck into a fair, or set off a bomb, or snipe people at a concert, but I don’t blame them… Fuck I’m scared to just ride the metrorail or congregate in a large crowd.

And on that note, I’m going to move back to the competition. I didn’t expect this very real, very fresh moment at the time to be captured on camera and shot straight forward, without the usual tongue-in-cheek editing the show is known for. They just really served up a raw recount of how these acts of terror, particularly this one on the LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 community affects us all, even if we weren’t inside that building holding a strangers hand, hoping to see tomorrow. Let’s move on… Because we have to… Because the world will keep moving even if we don’t…

The lip sync? Aja might paint like a clown, but it was clear there is something genuine inside of him… A fire that does burn for a win. She gave us a fun, energetic lip sync, especially compared to her direct competition, that screamed 'Give me another shot!’ Unfortunately that look, that concept, and that sidekick he created was indeed a pun that neither Ru, nor any of the judges, nor I can resist to crack… A PRINCESS DISASTAH!!! Aja is young and anti-glossy, the latter of which her Brooklyn Drag Sister used to her advantage in S8. Thorgy Thor gave us a purposeful unpolished polish and we ate it up. Aja just isn’t there yet, but I want her to be. It’s clear that there is talent and great ideas mixed up in this mess, and if you can’t see that then surely the good intentions are plain to see. Like Farrah Moan, he needs another 3 years or so to understand who he is. It’s not always about 'honing your craft’, even though that’s definitely a part of it, and that’s proved by Valentina who’s turning it out in the top group consistently now in the most spectacular of ways. Age may be just a number, but life experience and raw talent counts for something major… And at this point in Aja’s career, I think that’s exactly what’s lacking to make the package complete. He’ll get there tho, I’m sure of it.

Guess I won’t be eating my words… Will I, Kimora? Like I said last week, the only reason I believe Kimora was given a pass to stay was because Jaymes Mansfield was so damn terrified. I try to stay away from negativity, but Kimora doesn’t really bring the best out of anyone including herself. It’s that nasty attitude…She transparently played the 'dumb blonde’ (I guess in 2017 we call that 'Playing Kardashian’, but I have no reason to insult any of those women), and that overly confident schtick doesn’t translate when there is no substance or clever angle to back it up… Kimora is no Willam Belli. I know stupid, I’ve stared at it directly in the face… And even stupid knows what adjectives are. I just don’t buy it. Kimora is the product of a generation that eats, drinks, shits, and dreams of reality television… But this is reality tv competition and we see that you are attempting to play a part, and not even well. You wasted a spot. You sent Jaymes Mansfield home and as scared as that little bugger was, he was certainly more promising and more talented. I’m not being mean here, I’m being real. There was nothing fun about watching Kimora Blac and this is literally the last sentence I will ever write about him.

Thanks for reading. I know this was a long one. And yes, I think taking the time to share my views of the show as well as compare and contrast my life experiences was worth it, especially since we were able to cover Pulse, it’s aftermath, and what it means to me. This will be edited down as it moves to other platforms, but I think that you and you and you who have read this all the way through are worth my time and every word on this page, as ridiculously fucking long as it is. Spotlight Saga is my baby, my brand that I’m moving forward as my own online publication, who better to give the most honest and passionate piece of myself to than you?

#Drag Race #rupaulsdragraceseason9 #rupaul #Ru Paul #Ru Paul's Drag Race #Cheyenne Jackson #Todrick Hall #Trinity Taylor #Trinity The Tuck Taylor #Death Drop #Bonnie Tyler #Holding Out For a Hero #Fairytale Princess Eleganza #carson kressley #Kimora Blac #Charlie Hides #eureka o'hara #Eureka #cynthia lee fontaine #Kuku #aja drag queen #aja the kween #Aja Queen #Farrah Moan #Valentina #shea coulee #Sasha Velour #Peppermint #nina bo'nina brown #alexis michelle

[rosestopaint]

Collision course Part II

I’m on a roll! Again, the link to ao3.

“Trevor what are you doing here?”

For a moment something like panic flies over Trevor’s usually composed face before it settles back into something appeasing. He lifts his hands in a mollifying gesture as the girl’s features darken. His girlfriend then, Philip thinks, too fascinated to be worried. It’s neither the first nor the most damning time he’s been caught with one of his teammates. And if Trevor’s good at something then it’s soothing someone’s fears away.

“Rene,” he acknowledges evenly “Good morning.” Rene scowls at him, apparently unimpressed by his calm.

“Where were you yesterday?” she demands instead, eyes flickering over to Philip, who only waves lamely in greeting. “And who’s that?”

“That - … uh, is Philip.” Rene eyes him suspiciously. It’s true that she knows all of Trevor’s ‘friends’, all the delinquents and shady characters that dragged Trevor Holden’s life down the drain. Philip, for all he looks like he might fit right in with them, is an unknown, and he can see the gears turning in her head – how do they know each other? How does she not know him? Then suddenly a smile breaks out on her face, maybe even a mostly real one, and she holds her hand out for him to shake.

“Heeey,” she chirps, “I’m Rene, Trevor’s girlfriend. But I’m sure you knew that already!”

Philip takes her hand warily; it’s soft and brings a wave of perfume along that makes his nose itch.

“Hi Rene,” he says dutifully, shaking her small hand very carefully, almost afraid he might break it. “Sorry for keeping him,” he also volunteers, half aware that his friend might be in need of an alibi. “I ran into some trouble yesterday and called him. That’s why I’m springing for breakfast.” That seems to appease her; she throws Trevor an appreciative look and waves her girl friends over.

“That’s so sweet – you don’t mind if we join you, right?” She widens her eyes at Philip beguilingly, then slips her hand through Trevor’s arm before either of them can protest and drags him along. Poor guy, Philip thinks when his friend throws him a mildly alarmed look. This spiraled out of control pretty quickly; so much for a relaxed breakfast.

 The girls watch him with a mix of confusion and bemusement. So he’s not the guy who looks like he eats vegan pancakes, but Trevor is munching on a particularly girly looking fruit salad, so Philip feels their weird looks are a bit over the top. “So,” Rene starts, stealing a star shaped piece of apple from Trevor’s bowl. “How long have you known each other?” It feels a lot like meeting the parents, Philip thinks, stuffing a piece of pancake into his mouth just to give himself a bit more time to answer.

“Philip repaired my computer,” Trevor says, as if it weren’t just as likely the other way around. And just for good measure he adds, “He’s really good.” It sounds so earnest, Philip almost wants to believe it himself. “Turned out we get along really well and … here we are.”

“That’s great,” Rene breathes, “And I’ve been wondering where you’ve been lately, Trevor! You’ve been with Philip all this time?” The idea seems to thrill her more than it should.

“Uh, yes, exactly.” A murmur breaks out among the other two girls and the atmosphere seems to warm up by about a hundred degrees. After that it’s not exactly awkward anymore, but he still has the feeling that he’s missing some major point.

At about eight Trevor is cheerfully dragged out of the little restaurant, pushed and shoved by his girlfriend, leaving Philip in a bit of a daze. He ends up footing the bill for all five of them. It could have gone worse. Probably.

 “You shouldn’t have done that,” Marcy criticizes, even while viciously tearing into her waffles and dribbling glaze onto Philip’s mattress. “Aw crap … How long do you think before they realize you’re not clean yet? If his parents find out, military school is the least of Trevor’s problems.”

“I know, I know,” he grumbles, freeing Carly’s avocado sandwiches from the bag and tossing their doctor a bunch of napkins. “But it happened, so we have to deal now. And she seemed pretty happy to meet me.” His incredulous tone makes Marcy’s lips quirk up.

“Well,” she muses, “he’s been gone a lot – over night, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if she thought he was seeing another girl. Judging by what kind of person Trevor Holden was … I don’t blame her.”

“So she was relieved that I was just a crummy college student and not a hot exotic dancer.”

“You could be one,” Carly drawls, eyes only half open as she struggles to sit up. “If you wanted. I believe in you.”

Philip snorts. “‘Follow your dreams’?”

“Exactly.” She takes the sandwich from him gratefully, not even complaining when he fusses over her pillows, trying to make sitting up a bit more comfortable.

“How do you feel?” Marcy’s eyes snap towards them, clearly interested in the answer herself.

“Pretty good for being stabbed,” Carly muses, barely restraining herself from poking at the bandage. “Though I’m pretty sure I’ll have to think about a live-in babysitter at this point. How are your references, Philip?”

“Excellent,” he replies staunchly. “I’m exactly the kind you want to give your kid to.”

“You are,” she says, looking him straight in the eye. “My social worker might not think so, but I do.”

“Eat,” he says, all of a sudden feeling a bit off balance. “I’ve also got grape juice, because you bled all over the place.”

 It’s a pretty quiet two weeks after that.

Philip doesn’t know if the Director takes things like recovery time into account when he gives out missions, but he’s not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Carly is back on her feet again, but she won’t be kicking in doors anytime soon. Mac is twitchy because of it, expecting the other shoe to drop soon – because there’s such a thing as a ‘calm before the storm’, and this feels a lot like it. Says Mac. Philip doesn’t think it feels like much of anything.

He’s under a lot of pressure right now, says Marcy. Of course he’s going a little crazy, seeing threats where there are none. Philip can’t blame him. He’s a good team leader, constantly worried about them, and a little bit of paranoia is only natural. But while Philip definitely appreciates some quiet time, it also means that he’s the only one in the hide-out most of the time and it’s starting to grate on him. Going out, seeing people, helps. He may know none of them, but the sound of people, the chatter, makes him feel less alone. Sometimes he spends hours sitting somewhere, drinking cheap coffee and just staring into space. The birds and the blue sky – well, the novelty still hasn’t worn off.

Even the pigeons, pest that they are, have something beautiful simply because they are alive. Who cares if he spends two hours throwing them bread crumbs? It gives him inner peace and so everyone else can fuck off. So when a hand suddenly comes down on his shoulder, Philip starts badly enough to spill his coffee all over his pants. He jumps.

“Shit!” it comes from behind him. “Shit, sorry I just wanted to say hello!” Rene pulls tissue after tissue out of her handbag, just throwing them at him haphazardly. Half of them land on the floor, the other half he uses to wipe himself down quickly.

“Rene,” he finally forces out, trying to ignore the uncomfortable sensation of a wet crotch and the burn of the coffee on his thighs. “Hello.” She looks awkward for a moment, before the expression is replaced with her usual confident smile – the face of someone who’s never been denied anything.

“I just thought I’d stop for a quick chat. … And to ask if you happen to know where Trevor is.”

Yes, he doesn’t say. Scouring junkyards for spare parts. Hammering something together that I neither have the time nor the capacity to explain to you. What he says instead is, “Uh, sure.”

“It’s so weird,” she says, aiming another one of her charming smiles at him and wringing her hands around the left over tissues. “You guys spend so much time together, but I never see you around. I really thought he’d gone back to going out without me. What do you even do together?”

“Video games,” he replies decisively. “Mostly video games. And food.”

Her face goes through several subtle emotions – annoyance about the video games, resignation, because boys will be boys, and then finally triumph.

“Well, we also do food! In fact, we’re all going this weekend. You should come too.”

For a moment Philip can only stare at her. What exactly does she want from him? He’s not the ‘cool’ type – even among his college class mates he’s mostly the weirdo. High schoolers do like older people, he muses, so maybe it’s that. But then he remembers the look she gave him the first time they met. ‘Why don’t I know you?’

She’s annoyed, he realizes with more than a little bewilderment. Annoyed, because her boyfriend may not be having an affair, but he’s made a friend without her. Rene doesn’t know him, doesn’t know who he is, what he and Trevor do together – he’s completely outside the little sphere of influence she wields at school. “Sure,” he says, trying for a smile. “I’ll be there.”

She’s trying to regain control of her relationship by making Philip ‘their’ friend, not just Trevor’s. Philip can deal with that. Trevor won’t suddenly stop disappearing or accidentally standing her up; he’ll need the excuse. And really, he can sympathize with the girl. If there’s something Philip knows all about, it’s wanting control.

 Admitting the whole thing to Trevor is not as big of a deal as he thought.

“So … your girlfriend invited me?” It comes out as a question, despite his best efforts. They’re not usually awkward around each other, because nothing embarrasses Trevor and Philip feels pretty secure knowing that his friend has seen shit far worse than the clusterfuck that is his host.

“On Friday?” he only says, brows furrowed in concentration. He’s putting together a tracker for Kat MacLaren’s phone and the tiny tools are difficult to handle with bruised fingers. He shoves the entire thing away with a weary sigh. “Yes, she told me about that. Sorry Philip, I didn’t know she’d get so attached.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I thought if she already knows about us you might as well use me as the occasional alibi. It’ll calm her down if she knows me.” Trevor seems to ponder this.

“You’re right. I’m still sorry. It’ll be a hassle for you.” Philip shrugs, dragging himself from the couch to take a look at the tracker. It’s ridiculously tiny, but Kat is notoriously shrewd; if she ever finds it Mac will be in for a world of trouble. He takes the small screwdriver and contemplates the screws that come with it. “One of us should have been a woman,” he muses. “Someone with tiny fingers. You should ask Marcy.” Trevor contemplates his own big hands; they’re rough and calloused – the hands of a kick boxer and a footballer, not of an engineer.

“I’m ok with this body,” he muses, “but yes. I do wish I had smaller hands.” He peers at Philips hands, which are smaller, but mostly because his fingers aren’t as long.

“Sorry,” Philip offers, feeling vaguely inadequate and not sure why. Trevor laughs at him.

 Trevor’s easy acceptance of their outing reassures him more than it should. Still, for the actual event Philip feels woefully unprepared. Was that what it felt like to be a young adult in the 21st century? Worrying about clothes and how to make people accept you? What an unwelcome luxury. In the end he decides that Trevor’s friends will have to take him as he is – he isn’t very impressive, but it’s Rene’s fault for inviting him in the first place.

They meet at a burger joint in a fancier part of town. When Philip walks in, the scene that unfolds in front of him seems like something right out of a movie: There’s a group of youths taking up the far corner of the place. They’ve pushed several tables together, laughing and talking loudly enough to make the other patrons glare at them. An insecure looking waitress is trying to help them along, maybe hoping that quick service and a plate of food will quiet the racket. Right in the middle of the chaos Trevor and Renee preside over the group the king and queen. It’s funny how only a few days ago they sat huddled together in the hide out, talking about hands and tracking chips, and now Trevor’s smiling at a bunch of rioting young adults and looking right at home.

It’s the gift of those who don’t care at all, Philip muses. He knows for a fact that Trevor doesn’t have a clue what to do with those people; maybe it’s because he hasn’t talked to anyone who isn’t a Traveler for far too long, but to Philip it seems as if he’s forgotten how to have anything but polite, adult conversations. It makes for funny situations sometimes. But the high school students seem to thrive on it.

“Philip!” This time it’s not Rene who sees him. Trevor waves at him, voice carrying effortlessly through the room. For some reason he looks really glad to see Philip; it’s almost enough to make up for how everyone simultaneously turns around to look at him.

“Hey,” he offers as seven pair of teenage eyes fixate on him.

“You made it,” Rene croons, as if she personally wrestled today’s get together into his busy schedule. She motions to some of the girls to make space for Philip, but Trevor simply reaches out to pull him over onto the bench.

“Sorry, sorry,” he grunts as he nearly falls onto a blonde guy on the way, dragged along by an insistent hand. Blondie glares profusely at him as he’s forced to relinquish his place on Trevor’s right. Philip slumps down onto the bench, shoulder jostling against his friend’s side.

“Guys,” Trevor announces, either not noticing or not minding how they’re squished together, “That’s Philip. My best friend.”

#travelers netflix #travelers showcase #philip pearson #trevor holden #fanfic

[adventurouskiwi]

Moving North

I did it, I found my next adventure! I class this as my fourth chapter here in Norway and I'm excited about this one. My stages have been; working on the farm in Vinstra, van life, moving to Oslo and now this. I have moved up to Skulsfjord, Tromso in Northern Norway to have a crack at my next opportunity. I am working on a horse stable/air bnb. I get to feed, cover and put out all the horses in the morning, feed them lunch and manage the whole farm. I also prepare the house and a lavvo for Airbnb guests, greet them and ensure they have a good stay. The farm is beautiful with just a small stable of 20 horses. There is a big indoor arena and 3 outdoor arenas which often can't be used because the snow is too thick. We are right on the water of Skulsfjord and surrounded by mountains and quite frankly it's a fucking dreamland and I am one of the luckiest people alive.

I'm meeting travelers again which is great and am also around people everyday as I see the horse owners when they come. I work alone and am loving this amount of balance of independence and interaction with others. It's really great being around these beautiful creatures again and I'm thankful to get out of the rut that I was in in Oslo. I even have a few talented warmbloods that I ride so I couldn't be much happier. I have been here for a few weeks now and so far I have done a crazy amount of learning, so lets get into it.

I jumped straight into my work after a long and unhappy experience of unemployment in Oslo. This gave me a sense of purpose again which was the best feeling and I feel I am very well suited to this job.  My boss has expressed he has been impressed with how quickly I have picked up the job and how much trust he has in me (as he doesn't live here on farm). My horse and farming knowledge made this job very easy for me to pick up quickly and my people skills have come back faster then I thought they would. In the beginning we just verbally discussed payment, but I had some jobs where the horse owners were paying me extra monthly for some extra services I was offering and neither me or my boss had figured out what those services were translating to in terms of an hourly wage. I just got stuck into all the work and found myself very busy. This week I calculated how much I was being paid and it was far from a fair amount. So, I decided to stand up for myself and confront him about it. I was proud of the way I was able to confront him in a respectable manner; confrontation is something that is good for me to practice and something I usually avoid. My boss was very understanding when I told him I wasn't happy with the amount I was being paid, even saying that he wouldn't have worked for that amount either and we both agreed that after this month I wouldn't offer these services that payed so poorly. This is where it gets juicy...

The next day he came to me saying there was a problem. He told me the way that the stables work is everyone pays a month in advance which meant the horse owners had already paid for the next month. I immediately said that that was not my problem and that I hadn't agreed to that and that he would need to work something out because I wouldn't work those jobs at such a low wage. He expressed that he was annoyed that this had come back on to him and that he was going to lose money but agreed to pay me a rate that was fair. The next morning I discussed it with him again. He reminded me that in the beginning I had expressed that I wanted work and didn't mind about the money. That is when I realized that he was correct and I saw that I was somewhat at fault.

With this conflict I found I was quick in deciding what he should do in the situation or what I would do if I were him (pay the person who is a hard worker and is doing a good job a fair amount), but not so quick in asking myself how I should act or what was the right thing for me to be doing in the situation. So after talking to him and seeing his side a lot clearer I decided to take responsibility for my words and stick with our original agreement. Obviously in hindsight I should have sat down and figured this all out in the beginning, well hindsight is a lesson learned. The result in this may be that I get paid less but I did what was right for me and I stuck with my morals and that is the most important thing.

I am proud at the way I have been able to stand up for myself. I have felt I have composed myself well and had some very honest and tough conversations that would have scared me in the past. Conversations that I would have avoided. I think that in itself is a valuable thing to practice because I believe there will be many occasions in life where I'll need to stand up for myself and make sure I am treated right. I have also learnt that when trying to understand someone else you can't just put yourself in their shoes, because their morals or thinking may be very different to yours. So, you need to try and understand the way they think instead. I believe that there is a right way to do anything and even if you are confronting someone or doing something that is uncomfortable you can do it in a way that is fair, respectable and that stays true to yourself. This has taken me a bit to learn. This situation with my boss, I even asked for advice from others and they all shared what they would do in the same scenario; but at the end of the day I decided I needed to do what felt most right to me. Yes, you may get paid less or some people may exploit your good morals but these people will be easier for you to recognize in the future and to distance yourself from due to your own stability. Just know, shit people will remain shit and you will grow from your interaction with them and if you are a good person and you stay true to yourself you will only do good.

Another big challenge of my move here has been working for a lot of different types of people, horse people at that. I have enjoyed being back around people and working on my social skills as well as just being interested in different people and how they work together. Everyone has a different way of thinking and of treating their horses. I have made it my challenge to see if I can adapt to be able to have a good relationship with each of them, even the characters I would normally avoid. Mostly everyone has been so lovely and I've found it easy to get along with them and gain their trust. Just one or two have been a little challenging.

There is a lady who is very uptight, never seems happy and likes to let you know it, someone I would usually avoid. The great thing is I recognized this the moment I met her and knew that this was just the way she was, her own pains and insecurities made her this way and I wasn't going to let the way she talked to or treated me effect me in any way. I wasn't going to put one second of thought into if her words were a reflection of who I am because I simply knew they weren't. Naturally I like to please everyone and will bend over backward to make sure they are happy. I am very good at feeling other peoples feelings which can be awesome but also very draining. Something I have realized is there will always be negative people and there will always be people who don't like you and there's nothing you can do about it, so you shouldn't try so hard. Let the negative people in the world bounce right off you and don't let them have a second of your good energy. I now find instead of getting angry at people who are shit to me I just feel sorry for them. It must be exhausting being that negative and that unhappy. I couldn't imagine what it's like living in their life, especially when in contrast my life is continually filled with such beauty and positivity.

It has taken a long time for me to notice when people's negativity was just their own pain and problems and absolutely nothing to do with me. I used to have a boss who was a nasty person and she had a great deal of an effect on me. She clashed with me the whole way through my employment and ended up telling me not to return to work when I only had 2 days left. This effected me for a long time after too. I would sometimes get so wound up wishing I had said certain things to her that I would not be able to sleep. I watched a documentary one day about a girl who had been abducted for many many years before finally being free and when she was asked if she still hated her abductor she simply said 'no, he took so many years of my life that I won't let him take one more second of my thoughts'. I thought that was so powerful and took so much strength. I realized that I was still letting my old boss, a person I hadn't talked to in months drain my energy and effect me. I realized she simply did not deserve that.

I'm fucking amped for this adventure. Excited to keep on learning and grateful to be living in this dreamland. I can't describe the beauty that surrounds me and the awesomeness of my job. I get to be independent, work with beautiful horses and live in what has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. I am around people who are there for me and who always want to have a chat. It's crazy how we go from feeling so hopeless and crap to feeling like we couldn't be luckier. I guess that's what lifes all about. Well I love it and am going to ride the shit out of this beautiful, incredible experience in front of me.

[newagesispage]

                                                            JUNE        2019

 PAGE RIB

***** Catch the new stand up: David Cross: Oh Come On

***** There is no more smoking at Disney.

***** Psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalized in Denver!!

***** Adam Sandler is touring and he has a new stand up special out: 100% Fresh.

***** The new book, ‘The Castle at Sunset’ is coming. Looks pretty juicy!

***** FORD is cutting about 7,000 jobs.

***** Ben Domenech, Meghan McCain’s hubby did a rant about Seth Meyers after Meyers called her out on his show about some of her comments.

***** Eddie Redmayne is in pre- production on ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’ where he plays Tom Hayden.

***** Sexual misconduct news: Alan Dershowitz is being accused by the victim of a former client.

***** Steak n Shake is being sued again. Somebody straighten this out. Will they go out of biz?? It seemed to change when new owners took over.

***** A final rule was issued May 2 by the Department of Health and Human Services that health care workers can’t be compelled to participate in medical care that disagrees with their religion or conscious. Fuck You Patients!

***** Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are bringing us’ Once were brothers.’ This will be the telling of RobbieRobertson’s truth about The Band.

***** Is this true? One of the reasons the USPS is struggling so bad is that senators voted to make them pre pay pensions?

***** The NRDC night of comedy with Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Tiffany Haddish, Hasan Minhaj, Sarah Silverman, John Mulaney and others raised 1.7 mil for environmental protection.

***** Edwin Hiatt was arrested for the murder of Barry Crane. Crane was a champion bridge player as well as a director and producer of such shows as Mannix, Dallas, The Incredible Hulk and Hawaii Five-0 among others.

***** Visit the site of The Alliance for lifetime income that is sponsoring the Stones No Filter tour.

***** CBS is shaking it up. Word is that the morning show will be hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dukoupil and Anthony Mason. John Dickerson will move to 60 minutes and Norah O’Donnell will anchor the CBS evening news where she’ll be perfect. What took them so fucking long??

***** Days alert: Stephen Nichols is returning as Patch.** Word is also that Tony and Anna are headed back. Best news ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Kristen may be back. So, more possibly coming back from the dead.. Will, Nicole, Jack.. None of these people are what they seem, they just aren’t quite themselves. Brainwashed? Plastic surgery on others? Fake faces? It could be any old soap opera trick. Was the whole burning building a set up?  What do Rolf and Rex have to do with this? How is it all connected? ** I am really glad that Mel and Haley are gaining story. Keep it coming. Love the pairings going on. JJ and Haley have such chemistry as do Ben and Ciara, of course.** Is Xander really Victor’s son?? Ok.. ! fake face so far with Nicole.** LET’S GIVE RORY A REAL STORY!!!!!

***** So much entertainment is bringing Trumptopia to their universe. People seem so upset and genuinely scared and they have to get it out and put their take on it.

***** Marie Osmond takes Sara Gilberts chair at The Talk.

***** Arnold Schwarzenegger was attacked by a man in South Africa.

***** Chris Hemsworth and Tiffany Haddish will star in Paramount’s buddy movie, Down Under Cover.

***** Support the National Popular Vote Compact for the Electoral College.

***** Country House @ 65-1 won the Kentucky Derby after a historic disqualification of first winner, Maximum Security. There was also much controversy before the race after 23 horses have died at Santa Anita.

***** So to be clear that we are on the same page: Obstruction is impeding or attempting to impede for a corrupt purpose like helping yourself.  Even the parts of the Mueller report that we can see show obstruction. Also, If the statute of limitations are about to run out, an indictment can be made and sealed against a sitting President. The case would be prosecuted after he is out of office. So let’s quit fucking around.** Republican Rep. from Michigan, Justin Amash urges action on our President. He writes that Trump has been engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment. He actually read the report.** Why does it seem that the ‘Great again’ and ‘Taking it back’ conservative family value crowd often turn out to be doing the shady stuff behind our backs?

***** Mueller finally spoke and seemed to reinforce both sides. He is leaving his post but the Grand jury investigation chugs along.** A Federal judge ordered all Mike Flynn passages in the Mueller report to be made public.

***** The McCain naval vessel and Japan?? Really??

***** The President is tweeting agreement with North Korea about Joe Biden? That is about right.** Scary Clown also stormed out of a meeting after Pelosi was talking about his cover up earlier in the day. The signs for his little ‘impromptu’ press conference that he ran to were already set up.

***** So the WH seems to be telling everyone not to testify before congress. No more rules. I suppose the time has come that we can do whatever we want and there will be no consequences. It is good to know we can all fight subpoenas till the bitter end, it opens up a whole can of worms. Really this is all about seeing how far they can go, what can they get away with??

***** The Pentagon has diverted 1.5 billion from various defense department funds for his wall. The money earmarked for training troops and equipping our forces is apparently better used for the border. ** Congress has now threatened to take away the defense department’s ability to move money around. There is usually consultation but they are, of course, ignoring it.**

***** Jared wants a merit based system for the illegals. So, we want to bring immigrants into the country that will take all of the good jobs?  I do not understand this family, they want a wall so nobody gets in, they want immigrants to work at Mar A Lago to service them and now they want only people qualified to work high end jobs.** Kushner’s real estate company has gotten about $800 mil in federal loans.

***** At this point Trump’s 225 days of golf have cost us $122 mil and he is making money for his resorts every time.

***** Theresa May is out.

***** Kim Jong Un’s top aide is said to have been put in hard labor.  North Korea also executed Kim Hyok Chol and four foreign ministry officials in March after the Trump summit charged with espionage.

***** Mexico is getting a 5% tariff.

***** Native Americans are being killed by police officers at a higher rate than anybody else.

***** Fuck dementia.. Just TRIP!!

***** Manafort’s condo in Trump tower is being put up for auction as the Government takes possession.

***** The New Haven documentary film fest is running a 7 film retrospective of Michael Moore’s work this month.

***** A new report says that the EPA has been ordered to get thousands of deaths “off the books” by altering the way they calculate the risks of air pollution.

***** Ben Carson will never live down his ‘OREO’ moment. If there wasn’t enough proof that people without a clue have been put in charge, this is it. Supporters have to be pretty stupid to think it is a good idea for the stupid people to be in charge. What is so wrong with smart people, not crafty, slick people, I mean smart people who know how to actually solve problems and come up with good ideas? I can’t help but think of an Uncle in our family called Mort. There was much talk when I was a child of Mort being so smart and quiet. When he came to family gatherings he would sit in the corner and read and learn instead of socializing. I always wondered why they thought that was wrong. I was so envious of him. I realize that isn’t exactly on the same page but smart is good.** One day after Carson’s ‘testimony’ there was a new proposal to HUD’s equal access rule. It would allow federally funded homeless shelters to consider sexual and gender identity, privacy, safety, practical concerns and religious beliefs when deciding if they want to accommodate someone.

***** The Harriet Tubman $20 bill will be delayed for circulation until possibly 2028. Scary Clown has always criticized the move and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says that Andrew Jackson will remain on the bill for now.

***** The costuming on HBO’s The Young Pope is so fucking awesome.

***** Former WH chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of Caliburn International. This conglomerate operates facilities that hold the detained immigrant children in our country.

***** Matt Smith stars in ‘Charlie Says’ in the latest incarnation of Manson.

***** Hooray for Chobani!! The company is paying off school lunch debt in Rhode Island for students so they don’t have to eat jelly sandwiches.

***** Bill De Blasio is running for President.

***** Gene Simmons of KISS gave a press briefing at the Department of Defense.

***** Citrus farmers are using antibiotics to fight bacteria in crops. Health officials are afraid this could fuel antibiotic resistance in us.

***** Sen. Michael Bennett is running for President.** He said that his Mother found out he was running from the newspaper. There was some talk about Jello when he was interviewed on Seth Meyers.

***** The Chief Pig compared Mayor Pete to Alfred E. Neuman. Pete said he was glad that he inspired the President to make a literary reference, even though the Mayor was too young to know the reference.

***** There is a Variety series : Actors on Actors. See the one with Jason Bateman and Bill Hader. Yeow. oh to be the cream in that Oreo. Can I say that in the Me Too era? Are there reverse problems with that??

***** For Putin, things started off as a mountain and ended up being a _____. He is laughing at this country every day.

***** ‘The Quiet One’, a doc about Bill Wyman is here.

***** Matthew Modine is running for SAG AFTRA president. He is getting endorsements from Ed Asner, Vincent D’Onofrio, Mira Sorvino, Nancy Sinatra, Patricia and Rosanna Arquette, Sean Astin, Ernie Hudson, Alfred Molina and Bill Mumy.

***** The Cool Kids was cancelled. BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF?? Their September debut was the most watched Friday broadcast comedy debut in almost 6 years.

*****Empire will end after season 6.

***** The Daytime Emmys didn’t do much for Days after all those noms. Kyler Pettis was the only winner. I was happy for GH’s Max Gail. CBS Sunday Morning won best morning program. There has been some controversy over some of the regulations and some tv shows threatened to boycott. At one point, Patrika Darbo had an Emmy revoked. There was some stunning fashion. My faves were Annika Noelle, Jaqueline Macinnes Wood, Camila Banus, Lexie Stevenson, Linsey Godfrey, Olivia Rose Keegan, Brandon Barash, Carolyn Hennesy and Victoria Konefal.

***** There is some shady business in Wisconsin with Foxconn. The Taiwanese company made big promises with Scott Walker and Trump. They have since been backing out of the manufacturing side of the deal. Republicans want to blame the new democratic Governor but he was warning them about this company way back when.  Why are these hucksters always blaming others for the kinds of things they do??

***** HB 1633 in Illinois is a bill to, among other things, make a felony of peaceful protests!! Thanks oil lobbyists!** But, Illinois is making some progress in the right direction on some fronts.. House Bill 1438 was approved by the Senate to legalize possession and sale of weed. At the end of May it passed the house. The bad news is that police already have records of those that use medical marijuana and if they pull you over, they can charge you if you have used any that day. ** The Reproductive Health Act passed which states that an egg, embryo or fetus does not have independent rights and the state can’t deny or restrict reproductive rights.

***** After chickengate, the committee voted to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt of congress. Now it moves on but the contempt can be denied by the DOJ. Rep. from Texas, Sheila Jackson Lee made a great speech and broke it down to show that they were only making a simple request of documents and the WH and Barr will not comply.

***** The WH has been revoking press passes from journalists they do not want there, nearly the entire corp. They granted exceptions for the press they like.

***** Amal Clooney helped to free Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe OO from Myanmar. Many other journalists are still being held.

***** A man in Illinois takes old bikes and parts and makes them useable again. He gives them to people in need of transportation. A Morton woman put out a call on the internet to gather old bikes for him and got them beyond her wildest dreams. Way to go!!

***** In Georgia abortions could soon be illegal after 6 weeks. 3 production companies, Blown Deadline productions, Killer Films and Duplass Brothers productions say if that happens they will no longer film in Georgia. Now Alabama has jumped on board with the want to prosecute Doctors. And it goes on with Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Iowa, Louisiana, Utah and North Dakota.  The Reich is chipping away at our rights. Why do we keep putting so many conservative men in powerful  places?? Why are the 1% ruling the rest of us??** Debbie Harry commented at the ASCAP pop music awards, “I think it’s criminal.”** Some states are saying they may even investigate miscarriages. Why not just follow all ejaculations?? I have had a miscarriage and the last thing I would have needed in my pain was someone investigating me. WTF?

***** Did anybody else the owl clock on American Housewife?

***** John Waters has a new book: Mr. Know it all

***** Letterman is back with his Netflix gig where he will interview Tiffany Haddish, Ellen, Melinda Gates and Kanye West. Doesn’t it seem like our world went crazy after Dave left his CBS show? More Dave!  On the talk show rounds he does sort of seem like an old guy holding court but still hot!!!

***** The Wal Mart pick up ad with all the famous rides makes me a little crazy when the lowly Wal Mart employee worker is getting hit by a customer.

***** Liam Neeson will star in The Minuteman.

***** Caterpillar has sent a cease and desist to coffee company Cat and Cloud because of their name.

***** McDonalds is said to be bringing America the best of their international menu this summer for a test drive.

***** The Al Franken podcast is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***** A cancer diagnosis usually ends with 4 in 10 patients depleting their savings.

***** Secretary Amy L. Bedwell was arrested for theft from a parent teacher organization in Illinois. She will go to court for the Riverview grade school incident on June 12.

***** Spielberg’s Amblin tv is severing ties with the show Bull. CBS has paid 9.5 mil to settle harassment claims by Eliza Dushku against Michael Weatherly.

***** The Met Gala was at its best with wonderful camp looks from Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, Billy Porter, Janelle Monae, Zendaya , Laverne Cox, RuPaul, Darren Criss, Ashley Graham, Dua Liba, Natasha Lyonne and Lupita N’yongo.

***** August will bring us John Goodman and Danny McBride as part of a televangelist family in The Righteous Gemstones.

***** Cannes person of the year in entertainment award this year is Lorne Michaels.

***** New show, Bluff City Law looks pretty good even though we really don’t need another lawyer show.

***** Mick is back at it and new dates have been set for the Stones tour which will begin June 21 in Chicago!!!!!!

***** The Illinois department of corrections have not been able to account for 3, 568 items in a recent audit.

***** Ava Duverney has made a movie that needed to be made about the Central Park 5.

***** There is a helium shortage.

***** Steve Kroft of 60 minutes is retiring.

***** Director Bong Joon-Ho’s ‘Parasite’ has won the Palme d’or at Cannes.

***** Duff Mcagan has a new solo album with help from Shooter Jennings.

***** Conan has settled a lawsuit over joke theft. A blogger claimed that his writers had stolen 4 jokes from his blog. The jokes were not that unique and there are so many hundreds of similar jokes out there anymore with the crazy news cycle and so many late night hosts and on liners. Conan wrote about hs odyssey in Variety.** Conan also wrote a theme song for NPR news.

***** Mike Pompeo seems happy that when the ice caps melt there will be new, easier to travel trade routes. So, do you think it is a hoax or are they really melting?

***** Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield will pay Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in a biopic.

***** Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost are engaged.

***** Meghan Markle and Prince Harry brought us 7 lb. 3 oz. Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor.

***** R.I.P. Peter Mayhew, 9 gray whales, Kendrick Castillo, Jim Fowler, Doris Day, Sammy Shore, Alvin Sargent , Tim Conway , Ron Hiatt, all the children who keep dying in our custody , victims of the Virginia Beach shooting, John Pinto and Peggy Lipton.