#Miss Grand International 2017 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arom-antix · 1 year

Text

Why Yuuri (before 2017) should not be allowed to write an autobiography

Okay, to those who might not follow figure skating as closely, I just need to point out that Yuuri, despite what he insists (unreliable narrator), did not do badly in the Sochi GPF.

We know from the flashback in episode 5 that Yuuri during his free skate fell on at least two of his jumps and touched down on one and it can be assumed he didn't do too well on his others. He says in episode 4 that he falls on jumps and makes up the gap with Program Component Scores (how artistic it was) which can also be seen on the protocol from his short program where his PCS is higher than his Technical Element Score (how technically sound it was). This is not how those scores usually relate except in certain cases (see Jason Brown, also known for his high PCS and (relatively) low TES though this is by choice).

This is Yuuri's short program protocol. If you don't know how to read this then all you need to know is that his total score was 82.80, 40.42 of that being TES and 42.38 being PCS.

Now, to relate that to the real world, in the 2015 Grand Prix Final, Daisuke Murakami scored a total of 235.49, scoring 83.47 in his short program and 152.02 in his free skate and placing 6th. As we can see, that's pretty darn close to Yuuri's score (82.80 in the short, 149.79 in the free, 232.59 total) and I would not be surprised if they were inspired by his scores since they're also PCS centric.

Sidenote: Looking at Yuuri's PCS here and comparing them to Murakami's, Yuuri's are higher, not having anything lower than 8.00. Based on the fact that he was likely very off-kilter, I'd say this is still a very respectable score (duh, Yuuri just can't accept that he's good). Boyang Jin who took 3rd in the short, 5th overall in the 2015 GPF had way lower PCS scores.

Anyway, here's Murakami's free skate protocol.

Murakami has 8 jumping passes in his free, 7 of which he lands with a two-footed landing on one and a stepout on another. He only falls ass on ice like Yuuri does once on his second quadruple salchow (which was supposed to be a combination. The << and REP are explained at the bottom of the protocol). He does not touch down at any point. Otherwise his jumps look fine to me, most of them barely having any ice spray and only his 3Lz+1Lo+2S combination getting a warning for an unclear edge.

If you don't know, falling is (kind of) the worst mistake you can make on a jump and the judges are required to both give a certain negative GEO (grade of execution) and a deduction of 1 point. Other mess-ups just give negative GEOs.

Murakami's FS score is 73.26 TES and 79.76 PCS which would mean Yuuri's scores are likely very similar. But he fell on two jumps, not one meaning his PCS would likely have been higher to make up the difference.

And if Yuuri's insinuation that he flubbed all his jumps in some manner is true (which I find highly unlikely, have some confidence) and he missed elements by either popping (opening too early which costs rotations but saves you from a fall) or just not doing them, his PCS would have needed to be even higher to make up for that.

Missing elements, like popping a double, triple or quadruple axel into a single (at least one double is required), results in that element not being counted at all. Zero. Zip. Nada. You get nothing for it if you can't make up for it later in the program. Even falling on a jump is better because that's at least a few points. So if that happened, he'd have a big gap to make up with his PCS.

To sum up: with everything that could have gone wrong for Yuuri, this is still a very good score, even on the international scene. And to highlight that, Murakami is happy when he finishes, even fist pumping.

And yes, there was still that 103.17 point gap between Yuuri and Viktor which is the same (okay, 94.95) for Murakami and Yuzuru Hanyu who took gold in the 2015 GPF. But, and I cannot stress this enough, Hanyu broke 3 world records with that score meaning Viktor likely did as well. No wait, scratch that, I know he did because Hanyu's score was 330.43 which Viktor beat by 5.33 points. Of course it's not going to be even close, are you kidding me?

Looking at the World Championships in 2016, Yuuri would, with that 232.59 score, still have taken 11th place. He'd have taken 16th in 2023 and that's with a single quad (I don't trust his quad salchow yet) in the age of quads (and that quad being the one with the lowest base value). I'm positive he'd have been able to do a Jason Brown whose PC scores are so good that he in 2023 placed 5th without a single quad and would have placed 3rd in 2016. Now, take that and throw Yuuri's quad toe loop and some confidence in there and you've got a Worlds podium finish before the series even starts.

And then in the season the show is in, he has his quad toe loop, quad salchow and quad flip. He might even have gotten the quad loop down in the 3.5 months between the Barcelona GFP and Worlds. I definitely see a world champion on the next level (if they'd give us it >:[ )

And scores always get higher over time, the world record having gone from Hanyu's 330.46 in 2015 to Nathan Chen's 335.30 in 2019 still standing in 2023 which is still less than Viktor's Sochi GFP score (335.76) (yes, the system has changed since 2015 but it's close enough that it doesn't really matter in this context. Viktor is OP no matter what).

Really, the fact that Yuuri's in the GFP at all should be all we need to know that he's insanely good. It might not technically be Worlds but my stars, Yuuri, it does basically make you 6th in the world.

BE. PROUD.

#trust me i love an unreliable narrator but would you please look at the facts yuuri #that was your first grand prix final of fucking course youre not going to get viktor scores he was 34.30 points ahead of second place #especially not when the man still holds the irl world record 7 seasons later #im sorry but i get that they wanted viktor to be stupidly op but like that post about how insane stammi vicino is #the scores in this show are bonkers #they definitely succeeded in making him op #yuri on ice #yoi #yuri on ice meta #yoi meta #yuuri katsuki #katsuki yuuri #arom antix

223 notes · View notes

totowlff · 1 year

Text

chapter thirty-four — no more secrets

➝ sometimes the fear of losing someone to stupid ideas drives people to do stupid things.

➝ word count: 3,1k

➝ warnings: none

APRIL, 2017

An early spring breeze ruffled Elisabeth’s hair as she walked hand in hand with Toto, across the crosswalk that led to the Mercedes-Benz museum building. It was in front of the company’s headquarters, and was a massive complex with not only offices, a factory, a dealership, and the museum, but also the imposing Mercedes-Benz Arena, where the city’s Bundesliga football team played, though she couldn’t remember the name of it.

In reality, Elisabeth knew very little about football. She had learned the basics from Mathias, who never missed watching FC Barcelona games. He was a fervent supporter of the Catalan team, and had named several of the family’s pets after its players. Mathias’ passion for the sport had certainly not come from Niki, but from Tilman, their uncle, and Mathias was already working to turn his own children into lifelong Barça fans. They’d had Barça clothing from infancy, and both of them learned the team anthem almost as soon as they’d learned to talk.

As Toto and Elisabeth walked toward the large metal-clad building, the man with them made small talk about the club — VfB Stuttgart, apparently — and their difficult season. The man with them was Ola Källenius, a Swede, and part of the board of directors of the Mercedes-Benz group. Toto and Elisabeth had stopped in Stuttgart to meet with him on the way back home from the Bahrain Grand Prix.

— However, I didn’t want to just talk with you about Stuttgart's misfortunes this season, but something else — Ola said, as they approached the entrance to the building — Something of interest to you, or at least, of interest to Toto.

As they all entered the atrium, Elisabeth couldn't help but be impressed by the building’s architecture. It looked large from the outside, but it looked even larger on the inside with the triangular-shaped panes coming together to give the visual impression of the room looking bigger than it was. The elevators stood out against the concrete walls, making them look like silver capsules, waiting for their passengers.

“This place is a work of art”, she thought, as the executive greeted a man warmly.

— Toto, Elisabeth, this is Pádraic, one of the museum guides. He knows everything about everything in here, right?

— I like to think so, Ola — the man replied, his accent indicating he wasn't German — It's nice to meet you.

— The pleasure is ours, isn't it, Liesl?

Elisabeth limited herself to a nod as she shook the man's hand.

— Which route would you like to take?

— We'll have to skip the traditional tour today, Pádraic. Toto and Elisabeth have a flight scheduled for later and they don't have time to see everything. However, they’d like to see the racing car collection — Ola replied, making the guide smile.

— Very well, would you follow me? — he said, gesturing with one hand. Along the way, Pádraic gave a quick explanation of the museum's internal structure, which had been planned to resemble a double helix, like DNA, with the outer section devoted to thematic collections, and the inner section to the history of the brand.

After taking an elevator to the second floor, they headed to a section of the museum that resembled a banked curve. It was built as an homage to ancient European chariot racing tracks, he said, and the steepness of the curve made it more challenging. The banked track in the museum was made to display an array of silver cars, with one or another colored model, corresponding to the most modern cars.

— These are our racing cars. Since 1894 we have records of Mercedes taking part in motor racing for the purpose of proving the reliability of the brand's engines. It was the main form of advertising for cars that existed for motor vehicles. It was how the company built its brand until the birth of the Silver Arrows.

Glancing at Toto out of the corner of her eye, Elisabeth noticed that he looked delighted, like a child let loose in a toy store. There was an undeniable twinkle in his eye and goofy smile on his face. She nodded as the guide talked, listening intently.

— Here we have the four-cylinder, 120-horsepower Benz Grand Prix, which was the first car developed exclusively for racing. There, we have the 1914 version, also with four cylinders but with a 274 cubic inch engine and, in front of it, the W25, which was the car that gave us the nickname “The Silver Arrows”. The mechanics had to strip all of the paint from the body to make it lighter, leaving only exposed aluminum — Pádraic explained, pointing to each of the cars and giving them a brief explanation.

As they walked along the curve, Elisabeth couldn't help but notice something odd about the exhibit. Just ahead, there was a space between two cars that was clearly bigger than the others. It was as if something was missing there, one of the pieces of the museum.

— That one has a funny story. With the dominance of German cars in racing, the Italian motorsport federation decided to restrict racing to only cars with 1.5 liter engines, which were not made by any German manufacturer. So, Mercedes decided to develop a car with these specifications in just eight months. In the end, the W165 was born, which won the Tripoli Grand Prix, in 1939.

— I think you have a little more time than that to develop the car in Formula 1, right Toto? — the brand executive asked, smiling.

— It revolves around this time, Ola. Of course, everything has become easier than before, with technology and all. It doesn't detract from their achievement of making a car in such a short amount of time.

A few steps later, Elisabeth's curiosity won out.

— Why is there such a big space there? — she asked.

— Ah, yes, that is where the 300SL usually is. It was our first car to compete after the Second World War, and it won the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. But it was pulled from the exhibition at Ola's request for a bit of a… revision.

— Revision? — she asked, raising an eyebrow.

— Yeah, it's going to Italy to participate in the Mille Miglia, in honor of the 65th anniversary of its victory in Mexico — Ola said, smiling — It will be the car that Aldo and Toto will use for the race.

She blinked. Elisabeth had no idea what the Mille Miglia was, or why Toto would be involved in it. However, swallowing the lump in her throat, she just forced a curious smile.

— Use? You mean, race?

— Exactly. We received an invitation from the race organizers, talking to Toto at the beginning of the year, he offered to drive it, along with Aldo.

— I'm really glad you got the car cleared for us — Toto said, looking genuinely pleased about that — It's going to be fantastic driving it around Italy.

— And when will that be? — Elisabeth asked, doing her best to hide her displeasure at only just now finding out that Toto would be driving in a race.

— In May, Liesl — Toto replied immediately, smiling — And I can't wait.

— I can imagine — Elisabeth said, letting go of his hand and putting it in the pocket of the tailored pants she was wearing, something churning in her stomach.

After saying goodbye to Pádraic and Ola, the two went to the car they had rented on arrival in the city and made their way back to the airport, where one of Laudamotion's private jets would take them back to England. During the entire drive to the airport, Elisabeth remained silent, completely immersed in her own thoughts. She only gave Toto monosyllabic responses.

She was trying to remember if he’d told her or not. She thought she would have remembered if Toto had told her that he was going to drive a car that was almost as old as her father, but absolutely couldn’t recall, which could only mean one thing.

Toto had hidden it from her.

After returning the car to the rental lot at the airport, the two of them walked to the private flight boarding terminal in virtual silence. Toto had tried to strike up a conversation with her, but Elisabeth was still so deep in her own thoughts that she practically ignored him.

“Why, Toto?”, she asked herself, as she climbed the stairs up to the jet.

Elisabeth settled into one of the armchairs on the plane and took off her shoes. Toto sat in the seat across from her. She took a few seconds to watch him settle into place, strapping himself in. She arranged the briefcase she’d brought on the seat next to her.

“Why did you hide this from me?”, she wondered.

Even when they reached cruising altitude, Elisabeth didn’t get up or move. She was too distracted by the unanswered questions inside her mind.

— Liesl?

Toto's voice snapped her back to the present. She felt something tightening in her chest.

— Yes?

— Are you okay?

— Yeah — she replied quietly. He looked at her with a skeptical expression on his face.

— It doesn’t look like it.

She blinked.

— What do you mean?

— You've been quiet since the museum visit. Quieter than usual.

— Any problem with my silence? — Elisabeth asked, in a slightly harsher tone than she ‘d intended. And she saw in his expression that she was too harsh.

— No, none… It's just… You're only quiet like that when you're upset.

She pressed her lips together, one hand moving up her arm to the crook of her elbow, pinching the skin there. It was an almost natural reaction of hers to situations that made her anxious or stressed, especially conflict. She could feel that conflict was coming.

— Well, since you asked, I am pretty upset, Toto — Elisabeth replied dryly.

— Upset about what?

— What do you think?

— I don't know, there's so much...

— If you need a tip, think about what you're going to do in Italy in May.

Toto blinked, finally connecting the dots.

— Are you upset about the Mille Miglia?

— No, Toto. I'm… Fuck…

— You are what?

— Sad. Disappointed. Deceived. Betrayed.

The last word made him straighten up suddenly.

— You know I would never betray you...

— Then why did you? — she cut him off.

— Elisabeth…

— Toto, you know my fears about racing, my misgivings. You know that as much as I like racing, competing, winning, above all that, I love you. And you know my biggest fear is losing you.

He continued to stare at her in silence.

— I was honest with you, I told you all about my fears surrounding motorsport and racing. We talked about the Nordschleife, about my fears and about your accident and my father's accident. And I remember exactly what you said to me that night, every word. You promised me that I wouldn't lose you to your stupid ideas.

— I know, Elisabeth...

— Then why did you decide to take part in this race? We agreed that we would talk about anything like this that came up. You promised me this, Toto!

He was silent for a few seconds.

— I forgot.

Elisabeth couldn't resist a sardonic laugh.

— You forgot?

— Yes, Liesl, I forgot and I apologize for…

— Toto, do you really think I'm going to believe that excuse? Do you really think I'm going to believe that you just forgot to tell me you were taking part in a fucking race?

— But that's what happened, I received Ola's invitation just now in...

— He said you offered yourself at his last visit — she interrupted him — Ola was last at the factory in January, Toto. You've known this since January. You knew and you hid it from me till now. It’s April!

— I didn't hide it, Elisabeth!

— And I even know why — she continued — You did it because you thought I was going to say no, so you thought it was better to hide it from me.

— Fuck, give me a minute to explain — he exclaimed, slapping his legs with his hands. Elisabeth was not at all interested in granting that request.

— And what would be your excuse for spending a week away from home? What would you say to me so I wouldn’t discover your real intentions? — she snarled.

— I was going to tell you, but I...

— “Hey, Liesl, listen, I'm going to Italy to fuck some whore, I'll be back next week” — Elisabeth spoke in a deeper voice, in a crude attempt to imitate him.

That was the last straw for him.

— God damn it, Elisabeth! — Toto yelled, getting up from his seat — Shut the fuck up!

Elisabeth tried to answer, but his expression made her stop. He wasn't just upset with her. There was something else in his eyes than what was on his face.

It was pain. Heartache.

— You can say whatever you want about me, Elisabeth — Toto snarled, one finger raised — You can call me an idiot, an ass, a selfish person, an asshole, anything that crosses your fucking mind. But never, never call me dishonest!

She felt a lump tighten in her throat.

— I was wrong. I was wrong not to tell you about the race. Truthfully, I was a bit afraid that you wouldn't agree to it, but I didn’t hide it from you. I was going to tell you. I brought you here to tell you about the race, the car, everything. I was going to invite you to come with me but… Fuck!

— Toto...

— No. Listen to me, Elisabeth! — he spat — Did I fuck up? Yeah, I did. I've fucked up a lot in my life. Not just with you, but with Stephanie, with the kids, with my mom, with my sister, with a lot of people. But I’ve never been dishonest in anything I do, Elisabeth. Not once in my life.

— I did not say…

— That I was dishonest? And saying that I'm going to Italy to fuck whores, to cheat on you? Cheating is dishonesty, isn’t it?

She didn't know how to respond.

— I never cheated on you. You're the only woman for me. Even when I was with someone else, all I could think about was you. Even when I was fucking someone else, all I could imagine was being with you. I would never cheat on you, Elisabeth, because that would be dishonest of me.

— Isn't lying a kind of dishonesty too, Toto? You lied to me.

— You've lied to me too, Elisabeth. You lied about your feelings for me on that phone call on Christmas Eve. And I kept believing in you, even though you broke my heart into thousands of pieces. I kept loving you even if you didn't love me back.

— That doesn't count…

— Doesn't it? You’ve hidden plenty of things from me. The fights with Mathias, the things my mother told you? Weren’t those lies by omission?

— Me hiding things so I don't upset you is different from you hiding things because they're stupid! — she argued.

— This race isn't stupid, Elisabeth.

— Is it not? Isn't being away from home for almost a week, stuffed in a tin can with four wheels stupid?

— It might be stupid, but I want to do it! I've always wanted to be in that race, drive that car, and stupid or not, I'm going to go. I'm not going to give up doing this just to satisfy your spoiled little girl ego and, honestly, I don't even know why I'm justifying myself. I don't owe you any satisfaction.

Something inside Elisabeth's chest ached.

— You know what? Go ahead. Go drive that fucking car in Italy. When you get in another accident and end up in the hospital again, you’ll call me. And if you think I'm going to drop everything to run to your side, you're sorely mistaken — she spat.

Toto’s nostrils flared, lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw clenching. After a few seconds, he settled back into his seat, his eyes fixed on the window beside him.

It was then that Elisabeth realized that maybe she had gone too far.

The rest of the flight after the fight had been silent. After landing in Oxford, the two drove home in silence. After parking the black Mercedes C-Class in the garage, Elisabeth got out of the car and went to the trunk to get the luggage she had taken for the two weeks she had been away. The suitcase was heavy, but the last thing she wanted was to ask for Toto’s help with it.

She wasn't a spoiled little girl.

— Need help? — Toto murmured beside her.

— No — she said dryly, setting her suitcase on the ground and into the house. Pulling the handle, she dragged the luggage up to the second floor, pausing a few times along the way to catch her breath. She was dropping her suitcase in the closet when Toto arrived in their bedroom with a small bottle of water in his hand. As she caught sight of him in her peripheral vision, she felt something tighten in her chest.

— Are you going to shower now?

— You can go if you want — she murmured, as she went to one of the shelves to get something to wear — I'm going to shower in the other bathroom.

— Why?

— As far as I remember, Torger — Elisabeth turned her face to him, staring at him for a few seconds — We don't owe each other satisfaction.

She grabbed her panties and, in complete silence, left the room, heading for the bathroom in the upstairs hallway. After showering and changing into a pair of shorts and an old University of Vienna T-shirt that she liked to use as pajamas, Elisabeth went to the guest bedroom, a room they always left ready to receive a family member or their friends when visiting them in England.

Sitting up in bed, she allowed herself to take everything in. The decor of the room was cold and impersonal. The walls were light, everything was very neutral-looking, and said that it was not a space to be occupied permanently, only for short visits. Not even Benedict and Rosi slept there, but they had their own rooms in the house, arranged and decorated according to their tastes.

Elisabeth shouldn't be there. But at the same time, she needed to be. She couldn't bear to sleep in the same bed as Toto that night, smelling his cologne and feeling the warmth of his skin. Settling down on the mattress, she sighed, trying to shake the tightness she felt in her throat away. But with each breath, she felt the agony rise in her chest and tears fill her eyes.

Finally, she broke down into sobs.

#toto wolff #toto wolff x oc #formula 1 fic #formula 1 fanfic #formula one fic #formula one fanfic #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 x oc #formula 1 x oc #wlffog #natsversion #scwlff

63 notes · View notes

ts1989fanatic · 1 year

Text

Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” Is a Triumph of Spectacle and Stamina: Review

Las Vegas hosted a greatest hits tour unlike anything ever staged before

As Taylor Swift ascended to the stage during the opening moments of “The Eras Tour” she emerged from billowing clouds of soft-hued tapestry in a glittering rhinestone bodysuit. She presented herself as the sergeant-at-arms ready to take her infantry of Swifties into the great pop battle through the 10 eras of her 17-year career with 44 tracks over more than three hours.

The second weekend of “The Eras Tour” at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on March 24th and 25th drew locals, Swifties who flooded the roads driving in from neighboring states, and international diehards from destinations far and wide. It had been a long time since Swift played Las Vegas and she broke the dry spell in a big way. As she took the stage for night three and four of “Eras”—a sold-out doubleheader in the desert — Swift rolled in a winner.

The orientation for this grand presentation was 2019’s Lover era, which included six songs: “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” “Cruel Summer,” “The Man,” “You Need to Calm Down,” Lover,” and “The Archer.”

“We are about to go on a grand adventure,” Swift announced prior to performing “The Man.” “I’ll be your host this evening. My name is Taylor.” This was followed by a return to the familiar “Lover”-video dollhouse set, its rooms symbolizing each one of her albums. In “The Archer,” that house became engulfed in a rain of pyrotechnics—washing away in a blast of fire instead of water.

“Eras” was quite the adventure, as Swift promised. The show was loaded with heavy artillery from albums for which she has not yet toured, including 2019’s Lover, 2020’s Evermore and Folklore and 2022’s Midnights. Overall, the career highlight reel featured 12 live debuts. Those fresh moments were backed up by a smattering from Swift’s previous albums, tours and videos from eras including Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017). The motifs, arrangements, costumes, dance moves and visuals drawn from those works were sometimes presented literally and at other times more nuanced and interpretive.

Despite the callback, for Swift, there is no time like the present and this era belongs to her. “The Eras Tour” aimed to engage all human senses, offering an extraordinary 4-D cognitive experience through its innovative stage design, cutting-edge visual mapping, and top-of-the-line production values that far surpassed most of today’s touring show standards.

The stage itself featured three separate platforms made of LED displays connected by a ramp — each equipped with mobile hydraulic blocks that form different shapes, creating those picture-perfect angles that Swift thrives on. It was a massive production with pyrotechnics, indoor fireworks, and image projection technology.

Whether alone or with her dozens of supporting talents, Swift dominated the football-field-long stage. In a true test of her stamina, she never broke during the three-plus hours for anything longer than a quick change.

The second era of the night was 2008’s Fearless, where she performed its title song as well as “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” a toe dip back into her transition from country to pop, represented by the soft golden glow of the iconic fringe dress and the lighting treatments. This was an homage to the pin-curled beauty queen with the guitar we first got to know way back when.

Era three, evermore, featured standouts “Willow” and “Champagne Problems.” The staging consisted of massive oak-like trees while Swift sat at a moss-covered piano. She went thoroughly witchy during the cloaked “Willow” as her cadre danced around with orange-hued orbs. “I’ve been fantasizing about what [this will be like] to sing it with you,” she said during an introspective interlude before heading into “Champagne Problems” where she noted the moment, “I’m so in love with this crowd, I’m petting the moss.”

Throughout, Swift deftly balanced her goddess and huntress personas, showcasing both sides of her artistry. During her performance of “Willow” from evermore, she channeled “little Taylor riding hood,” while in era four’s Reputation, she embodied a captivating “snake charmer.” Her setlist included memorable performances of “…Ready for It?,” “Delicate,” “Don’t Blame Me,” and “Look What You Made Me Do,” a reminder of the time when she had to defend and establish herself among her peers. The unforgettable snake-wrapped microphone from 2017 reappeared, slithering up her one-legged bodysuit.

The fifth era, Speak Now, received only one nod with “Enchanted” before moving on to Red and folklore.

The crowd fell into a frenzy with Red’s coming-of-age anthems “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble” and the 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” a sharp contrast to the seventh more ethereal and cottage-dwelling era of folklore, which packed seven songs and was one of the most prominently featured chapters of the night. The performers’ period attire during “The Last Great American Dynasty,” the funeral procession of “My Tears Ricochet,” and the woodsy isolation of “Cardigan” transported the audience back to the strange and isolating reality of the pandemic, which may have been too soon for some.

The biggest, baddest, boldest era was number eight, 1989, as dancers rode neon-lit bicycles for “Blank Space”, and used blue-lit golf clubs to smash an animated car, then “Shake It Off,” erupted into a dance party followed by the intense and hot pyro display of “Bad Blood.”

While the ability to change up a tour like “Eras” city by city is virtually impossible because of its scale — Swift played to the Vegas crowd in a few ways they could really own. Built into each setlist is space for two surprise songs, which Swift has promised will be wholly unique for each show.

During her first night in Las Vegas, Taylor Swift approached the front of the stage with her guitar for an intimate moment and addressed the crowd, saying, “This is what I feel like playing, and I will decide based on what I hope you might want to hear. I aim to please, but I also get ideas from things.” Swift then referenced an interview she saw with beabadoobee, the Filipino-British singer-songwriter who opened the evening.

“For beabadoobee’s first show, I will play this specific song that she wants to hear. I wrote this for my 9th grade talent show,” Swift shared before launching into the rousing anthem “Our Song” from her debut album.

Swift then took a seat at a hand-painted floral upright piano for the night’s biggest surprise. “Lana Del Rey put out a new album today,” Swift remarked. “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd … it is so good — you probably already know that… It is just extraordinary. I think she is the best that we have and so make it a priority to stream, buy, support this album and this artist. She knows I am obsessed with her and she was kind enough to make a song with me on Midnights called ‘Snow on the Beach,’” Swift said.

“She is a generous king, she did that for me and I will never forget how nice she has been… I want to do some promo for her and in honor of this brilliant album she just put out, I’m going to play ‘Snow on the Beach.’”

The second night featured the first surprise guest of the tour as Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons popped up to do the live debut of “Cowboy Like Me” from 2020’s evermore. She also dusted off “White Horse” from Fearless.

For the closing spectacle, Swift plunged into a virtual body of water that surrounded the stage, then swam underwater back to the main platform — thanks to the next-level production — before returning to perform more songs from her Midnights era. The crowd’s excitement remained high as she introduced new tracks such as “Anti-Hero,” “Midnight Rain,” “Vigilante Shit,” and “Karma,” which received the same level of enthusiastic reception as her previously played greatest hits.

Regardless of whether you are a fan of Taylor Swift, it’s impossible to deny the sheer magnitude, artistry, and technical prowess of this production. This greatest hits tour, undertaken during her commercial prime, is an unprecedented feat and could potentially earn over a billion dollars, making it the highest-grossing tour in world history.

The three-plus”Eras” hours became a marathon and at the end, the audience was in a state of utter exhausted euphoria. But a spectacle of this size does beg the question — once you go this big, where do you go from here?

Taylor Swift’s massive 2023 tour continues through August.

18 notes · View notes

beardedmrbean · 2 years

Text

DETROIT (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and dozens of other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar are seeking more than $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop the sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him, lawyers said Wednesday.

There’s no dispute that FBI agents in 2015 knew that Nassar was accused of assaulting gymnasts, but they failed to act, leaving him free to continue to target young women and girls for more than a year. He pleaded guilty in 2017 and is serving decades in prison.

“It is time for the FBI to be held accountable,” said Maggie Nichols, a national champion gymnast at Oklahoma in 2017-19.

Under federal law, a government agency has six months to respond to the tort claims filed Wednesday. Lawsuits could follow, depending on the FBI’s response.

White noted the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The FBI received a tip about five weeks before 17 people were killed at the school, but the tip was never forwarded to the FBI’s South Florida office. The government agreed to pay $127.5 million to families of those killed or injured.

The approximately 90 claimants include Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, all Olympic gold medalists, according to Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, a California law firm. Separately, 13 claims were filed by others in April.

“If the FBI had simply done its job, Nassar would have been stopped before he ever had the chance to abuse hundreds of girls, including me,” said former University of Michigan gymnast Samantha Roy.

An email seeking comment was sent to the FBI.

Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics told local agents in 2015 that three gymnasts said they were assaulted by Nassar, a team doctor. But the FBI did not open a formal investigation or inform federal or state authorities in Michigan, according to the Justice Department’s inspector general, an internal watchdog.

Los Angeles agents in 2016 began a sexual tourism investigation against Nassar and interviewed several victims but also didn’t alert Michigan authorities, the inspector general said.

Nassar wasn’t arrested until fall 2016 during an investigation by Michigan State University police. He was a doctor at Michigan State.

The Michigan attorney general’s office ultimately handled the assault charges against Nassar, while federal prosecutors in Grand Rapids, Michigan, filed a child pornography case.

In remarks to Congress last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged major mistakes.

“I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed. And that’s inexcusable,” Wray told victims at a Senate hearing.

At that same hearing, Biles, widely considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, said an “entire system” enabled the abuse. Maroney recalled “dead silence” when she talked to FBI agents about Nassar.

The Justice Department in May said that it would not pursue criminal charges against former agents who were accused of giving inaccurate or incomplete responses during the inspector general’s investigation.

Failures by federal law enforcers have led to major settlements, including $127.5 million for families of those killed or injured in 2018 at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The FBI received a tip about five weeks before 17 people were killed, but the tip was never forwarded to the South Florida office.

Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted by him. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement.

#nunyas news #next up #the families of people killed in mass shootings #that the fbi could have stopped #if they'd just done their job

91 notes · View notes

galgadotfr · 7 months

Text

Gal Gadot s’exprime sur son enfance “protégée” en Israël

Gal Gadot, star de « Wonder Woman », s’est exprimée cette semaine sur son enfance israélienne « protégée » et sur l’inspiration qu’elle a tiré de son grand père, survivant de la Shoah, pour incarner la super-héroïne emblématique du film.

C’est Gadot qui fait la couverture de l’édition du mois de septembre du magazine américain de pop culture Rolling Stone.

« Gal Gadot : Le triomphe d’une Wonder woman dure à cuire », annonce le titre, tandis que le journal consacre six pages aux années passées en Israël par la jeune femme de 32 ans et à son nouveau statut de super-star.

« J’ai eu une vie très protégée », explique au magazine Gadot, qui a grandi à Rosh Haayin. « On ne regardait pas la télé. C’était tout le temps : Prends un ballon et va jouer dehors. »

« En général, j’étais une fille bien, une bonne élève, j’étais agréable et j’étais un garçon manqué. Toujours avec des blessures et des égratignures aux genoux », ajoute-t-elle.

Gadot, devenue Miss Israël avant de faire son service militaire, déclare également au magazine avec fierté qu’elle a délibérément perdu le concours de Miss Univers.

« Je savais que je ne voulais pas gagner Miss Univers. Ce n’était pas mon truc. Pour une jeune fille de 18 ans, cela faisait trop de responsabilités », dit-elle.

« Et j’ai totalement perdu, ajoute-t-elle. J’ai victorieusement perdu. »

Gadot évoque également son grand-père, adolescent en Tchécoslovaquie durant la Shoah et dont la famille a été tuée à Auschwitz.

« Sa famille entière a été assassinée, c’est impensable, dit Gadot. Cela m’a beaucoup touchée. Après toutes les horreurs qu’il avait vues, il était comme un oiseau blessé mais il gardait toujours espoir, il était positif et rempli d’amour. Si j’avais grandi dans un endroit où ces valeurs n’avaient pas été si fortes, les choses auraient été différentes. Mais il a été très facile pour moi de me relier à toutes les valeurs pour lesquelles Wonder Woman se bat. »

Depuis le début de l’année 2016, la star israélienne est passée d’un quasi-anonymat international au statut de star mondiale, de célébrité d’Hollywood et d’héroïne féministe.

« Les gens me demandent tout le temps : ‘vous êtes féministe ?’ et je trouve cette question surprenante parce que je pense que oui, bien sûr. Toute femme, tout homme, tout le monde devrait être féministe. Parce que celui qui n’est pas féministe est sexiste », explique Gadot.

La couverture du magazine Rolling Stone avec l'actrice israélienne Gal Gadot, Septembre 2017. La couverture du magazine Rolling Stone avec l’actrice israélienne Gal Gadot, Septembre 2017. Gadot est depuis longtemps une célébrité en Israël, où elle a été mannequin après avoir remporté le titre de Miss Israël en 2004, alors qu’elle avait 18 ans.

Gadot avait obtenu le rôle d’une ex-agente du Mossad dans le quatrième film de la série « Fast and Furious » au cinéma en 2009 — en partie, raconte-elle, parce que le réalisateur Justin Lin avait été impressionné par ses expériences militaires.

Après avoir tenu plusieurs petits rôles dans des films à Hollywood, comme « Crazy night » avec Steve Carell et Tina Fey, sa première apparition sous les traits de la princesse Diana de Thémyscira (le vrai nom de Wonder Woman) a eu lieu dans « Batman v. Superman : L’Aube de la Justice » avec Ben Affleck et Henry Cavill en 2016. ET c’est là que la super-star est née.

« Wonder Woman » a engrangé cette semaine un total de 404,1 millions de dollars de recettes aux Etats-Unis depuis sa sortie, et a dépassé les 800 millions de recettes dans le monde.

L’œuvre est ainsi devenue le 23e film le plus rentable de tous les temps sur le marché américain, le septième film tiré d’une bande dessinée ayant rapporté le plus d’argent à Hollywood et le film numéro un de tous les temps si on ne compte pas les suites des œuvres originales, selon un classement effectué par le journal Forbes.

#gal gadot #actrice #wonder woman #people

2 notes · View notes

truecrimetime · 1 year

Text

The Disappearance of Alissa Turney

May 17, 2001 was Alissa's last day of junior year at Paradise Valley High School. According to her stepfather, Michael Turney, he dropped her off in the morning and then picked her up around lunchtime, as usual. Allegedly, they had an argument and she stormed off and he and her daughter Sarah later found a note in her bedroom claiming that she was running away to California. However, she had left her cell phone and other personal items behind. Also, that night, Alissa had had plans to go to a party, but did not attend.

The same day, Turney filed a missing person report, but in the immediate days following Alissa's disappearance, police didn't suspect foul play, so no police investigation took place. On May 24, 2001, Turney claimed that he had received a phone call from a California number where Alissa swore at him before hanging up.

In 2006, self-proclaimed serial killer Thomas Albert Hymer told a prison guard that he was responsible for killing Alissa. He had been in prison since 2003 for an unrelated murder. When Phoenix police questioned Hymer, they determined that he did not have any contact with Alissa, and he later admitted that he must have confused her with a different victim.

Years later, in 2008, Turney had claimed that Alissa was killed by two assassins from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and that she was buried in Desert Center, California.

In 2008, the case was also reopened and in December, detectives told Sarah, Alissa's sister that her father was the main suspect. At the same time, authorities were searching the Turney home where they seized more than two dozen improvised explosive devices, 19 firearms, two homemade silencers, and a van full of gasoline. They also found a manifesto which outlined his plans for a rampage against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers building in Phoenix. Michael Turney was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was released in August of 2017.

However, in August 2020, Michael Turney was arrested again, in Mesa, Arizona. He was indicted and charged by a Maricopa County grand jury on second-degree murder charges in the death of Alissa.

As of February 2023, Alissa's body has not yet been found.

#true crime #alissa turney

5 notes · View notes

hieuthong · 2 months

Text

ENTRY 9

nostalgia

While I was working my usual shift for my part-time job, I happened to overhear one of the parents talking to the main admin about their kid's choir trip to Bali for the international choir festival, if I’m not mistaken. Coincidentally, the choir academy they sent their kids to is the one I attended back then. While they were conversing over this topic, it made me realize how much I missed it, the friends that I made along the way, traveling together to perform, and the endless training for competitions and concerts. All that holds such significant memories within me, I would say it is one of my core memories. Every now and then, I would think back on the times when my weekend would be spent at the choir academy practicing with my members. I remember back in primary school, my school friends would ask me to hang out on weekends, but I always couldn’t make it because I had choir practice on both days. Me now would’ve felt semi left out because I couldn’t go with them, but at that time I didn’t care much because I really enjoyed my time in the academy.

I was 9 when I first joined the academy. My aunt introduced my mom to it and she brought me there to give it a try. I ended up staying until 2020. The reason why I left was because of MCO, I wasn’t the only one who left during that period, a few of my closest friends left too. It was a tough decision for me since I sort of grew up there, so it was hard for me to leave. Honestly, if it weren’t for MCO, I would still be at the academy. When I first joined I was enrolled in the elementary level where most of the kids are around the same age, then by the end of the year they told my mom I could audition for the “Concert Choir” which basically is a group that represents the academy for competitions and choir exchanges. I passed the audition and got in but only after the first half of 2014 because they were already training for the 2014 World Choir Games in Latvia. By the end of 2014, I was also part of that group. My time there was spent well, it gave me many opportunities and new experiences. The first time I traveled with them was in 2015 to Sarawak and in 2016, we went to Melbourne. I was fortunate enough to be able to experience these. My mom for some reason was quite at ease to let me travel alone at such a young age. Not only did I get to travel, but I also got a chance to perform with the orchestra a few times which was quite fun. During the 2017 SEA Games, our academy was chosen to do a recording for it, it was a great experience.

Every year we would have at least two performances, a smaller one for the first half of the year and a grand one for year-end. Usually, for the smaller performance, it’ll only be for the specific level you’re in while the annual year-end concert is joined with all the levels. There were many memories made there but one of the most memorable concerts was the last one I participated in the children’s choir before I graduated and moved to the youth choir. That year for the annual concert, we performed a musical and I got to play one of the roles. Fortunately enough, most of my close friends were the same age as me so we were able to enter youth choir together. Although we were still together, it still upsets me that we’re leaving the children’s choir. I remember clearly trying to hold my tears back during the encore stage, but I couldn’t help it and just bawled my eyes out. Thank god I wasn’t the only one who cried.

Something that upsets me a lot is that I no longer talk to my choir friends. Ever since we stopped attending classes, we just lost contact. We would go out once in a while but after MCO, we completely stopped talking. Hopefully, someday in the future we can reconnect with each other. The years I spent there undoubtedly played a significant role in my life. The memories made during that time will remain carved in my heart, unforgettable even as I grow older.

0 notes

brookston · 11 months

Text

Holidays 7.9

Holidays

Arbor Day (Cambodia)

ASB Community Action Day

Call of the Horizon Day

Chicken Days begin (Nebraska)

Constitution Day (Australia, Palau)

Constitutionalist Revolution Day (São Paulo, Brazil)

Day of the Employees of the Diplomatic Service (Azerbaijan)

Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo (Utah)

Donkey Kong Day

Family Day (Ukraine)

Fashion Day

Festival of Grand Unified Theories

Flag Day (Chile)

Goat Mother’s Day

Intern Appreciation Day

International Small Arms Destruction Day

Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival begins (Turkey)

Mars

Mint Day (French Republic)

Muffler Appreciation Day

National Camel Toad Hunting Day (Secular Church of the SubGenius)

National Culture Day (Kiribati)

National Dimples Day

National Lavender Day

National No Bra Day

National Student’s Day (India)

Nunavut Day (Canada)

Paper Napkin Day

Rock Around the Clock Day

Shiman Rokusen-nichi (Day of 46,000; Tokyo, Japan)

Special Recreation Day

State Rebellion Day (São Paulo, Brazil)

Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Day (Ohio)

White Ensign Anniversary Day (UK)

Wimbledon Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Omelette Day

National Chicken Day

National Sugar Cookie Day

World Pakora Day

2nd Sunday in July

Barn Day [2nd Sunday]

Disability Awareness Day (UK) [2nd Sunday]

Father’s Day (Uruguay) [2nd Sunday]

Festival of the Giants begins (Fête des Géants; France) [Sunday after 7.5]

Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta (National Day of Commemoration; Ireland) [Sunday closet to 7.11]

Independence Days

Argentina (from Spain, 1816)

Kebec (f.k.a. Alaurentia; Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Luxe (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

South Sudan (from Sudan, 2011)

Feast Days

Agilulfus of Cologne (Christian; Saint)

Amandina of Schakkebroek (Christian; A Martyr of Southern Hunan)

Caprotinia (Old Roman Female Slave Festival)

Charlotte the Penguin (Muppetism)

St. Clotilde (Positivist; Saint)

Cyril and Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

David Hockney (Artology)

Day of Unn the Wise Person (a.k.a. Day of Remembrance for Ann the Deep Minded; Pagan)

Dharma Day (Buddhist) [Full Moon, 8th Lunar Month]

Ekādaśī Tithi (Self-Purification Festival; Hindism, Vaishnavism) [11th Lunar Day]

Ephrem of Edessa (Christian; Saint)

Everilda (Christian; Saint)

Feast of the Chinese Martyrs (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of the Martyrs of Gorkum (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Christian)

Feast of Translation of Nicolas (Christian; Confessor)

Gregorio Grassi (Christian; A Martyr of Shanxi)

Invent a Word Day (Pastafarian)

Marija Petković (Christian; Blessed)

Martyrdom of the Báb (Bahá'í)

Martyrs of Gorkum (Christian; Martyrs)

Mary Hermina Grivot (Christian; Saint)

Mojo Nixon Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Our Lady of Itatí (Christian)

Our Lady of Peace, Octave of the Visitation (Christian)

Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá (Christian; Saint)

Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (Christian; Saint)

Rusty (Muppetism)

Sabinus (Christian; Martyr)

Solstitium VI (Pagan)

Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican commemoration)

Veronica Giuliani (Christian; Saint)

Zeno (Christian; Martyr)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [26 of 53]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

American Pie (Film; 1999)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Film; 2004)

The Bears and Bees (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

Black Widow (Film: 2021)

Blowin’ in the Wind, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1962)

Blue, by LeAnn Rimes (Album; 1996)

Despicable Me (Animated Film; 2010)

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Film; 2010)

The Golden Compass (a.k.a. Northern Lights), by Philip Pullman (Nove; 1995) [His Dark Materials #1]

Love and Curses (WB MM Cartoon; 1938)

Loving You (Elvis Presley Film; 1957)

The Office (UK TV Series; 2001)

One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (Film; 1975)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (Film; 2003)

Pluto’s Purchase (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

Predators (Film; 2010)

The Queen Was in the Parlor (WB MM Cartoon; 1932)

Riding Giants (Documentary Film; 2004)

Rookie of the Year (Film; 1993)

Tall Timber (Disney Cartoon; 1928)

This Is a Life? (WB MM Cartoon; 1955)

Tron (Film; 1982)

Winnebago Man (Documentary Film; 2010)

Today’s Name Days

Augustin, Gottfried, Veronika (Austria)

Leticija, Marija, Veronika (Croatia)

Drahoslava (Czech Republic)

Sostrata (Denmark)

Aive, Aivi (Estonia)

Ilta, Jade, Jasmiina, Jasmin, Nanna (Finland)

Amandine, Hermine, Iphigénie, Marianne (France)

Hannes, Hermine, Veronika (Germany)

Pagratios (Greece)

Lukrécia (Hungary)

Letizia (Italy)

Asne, Tusnelda, Zaiga (Latvia)

Algirdas, Algirdė, Leonardas, Veronika (Lithuania)

Gøran, Jøran, Ørjan (Norway)

Anatolia, Heloiza, Hieronim, Lucja, Łucja, Ludwika, Lukrecja, Mikołaj, Patrycjusz, Weronika, Wszebąd, Zenon, Zenona (Poland)

Lujza (Slovakia)

Verónica (Spain)

Götilda , Jörgen, Örjan (Sweden)

Averil, Avery, Junior, Misty (USA)

Amandine (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 190 of 2024; 175 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 27 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Wu-Wu), Day 22 (Wu-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 20 Tammuz 5783

Islamic: 20 Dhu al-Hijjah 1444

J Cal: 10 Lux; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 26 June 2023

Moon: 55%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 22 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Clotilde]

Runic Half Month: Feoh (Wealth) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 19 of 94)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 19 of 31)

#calendar #Holidays

0 notes

brookstonalmanac · 11 months

Text

Holidays 7.9

Holidays

Arbor Day (Cambodia)

ASB Community Action Day

Call of the Horizon Day

Chicken Days begin (Nebraska)

Constitution Day (Australia, Palau)

Constitutionalist Revolution Day (São Paulo, Brazil)

Day of the Employees of the Diplomatic Service (Azerbaijan)

Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo (Utah)

Donkey Kong Day

Family Day (Ukraine)

Fashion Day

Festival of Grand Unified Theories

Flag Day (Chile)

Goat Mother’s Day

Intern Appreciation Day

International Small Arms Destruction Day

Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival begins (Turkey)

Mars

Mint Day (French Republic)

Muffler Appreciation Day

National Camel Toad Hunting Day (Secular Church of the SubGenius)

National Culture Day (Kiribati)

National Dimples Day

National Lavender Day

National No Bra Day

National Student’s Day (India)

Nunavut Day (Canada)

Paper Napkin Day

Rock Around the Clock Day

Shiman Rokusen-nichi (Day of 46,000; Tokyo, Japan)

Special Recreation Day

State Rebellion Day (São Paulo, Brazil)

Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Day (Ohio)

White Ensign Anniversary Day (UK)

Wimbledon Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Omelette Day

National Chicken Day

National Sugar Cookie Day

World Pakora Day

2nd Sunday in July

Barn Day [2nd Sunday]

Disability Awareness Day (UK) [2nd Sunday]

Father’s Day (Uruguay) [2nd Sunday]

Festival of the Giants begins (Fête des Géants; France) [Sunday after 7.5]

Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta (National Day of Commemoration; Ireland) [Sunday closet to 7.11]

Independence Days

Argentina (from Spain, 1816)

Kebec (f.k.a. Alaurentia; Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Luxe (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

South Sudan (from Sudan, 2011)

Feast Days

Agilulfus of Cologne (Christian; Saint)

Amandina of Schakkebroek (Christian; A Martyr of Southern Hunan)

Caprotinia (Old Roman Female Slave Festival)

Charlotte the Penguin (Muppetism)

St. Clotilde (Positivist; Saint)

Cyril and Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

David Hockney (Artology)

Day of Unn the Wise Person (a.k.a. Day of Remembrance for Ann the Deep Minded; Pagan)

Dharma Day (Buddhist) [Full Moon, 8th Lunar Month]

Ekādaśī Tithi (Self-Purification Festival; Hindism, Vaishnavism) [11th Lunar Day]

Ephrem of Edessa (Christian; Saint)

Everilda (Christian; Saint)

Feast of the Chinese Martyrs (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of the Martyrs of Gorkum (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Christian)

Feast of Translation of Nicolas (Christian; Confessor)

Gregorio Grassi (Christian; A Martyr of Shanxi)

Invent a Word Day (Pastafarian)

Marija Petković (Christian; Blessed)

Martyrdom of the Báb (Bahá'í)

Martyrs of Gorkum (Christian; Martyrs)

Mary Hermina Grivot (Christian; Saint)

Mojo Nixon Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Our Lady of Itatí (Christian)

Our Lady of Peace, Octave of the Visitation (Christian)

Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá (Christian; Saint)

Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (Christian; Saint)

Rusty (Muppetism)

Sabinus (Christian; Martyr)

Solstitium VI (Pagan)

Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican commemoration)

Veronica Giuliani (Christian; Saint)

Zeno (Christian; Martyr)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [26 of 53]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

American Pie (Film; 1999)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Film; 2004)

The Bears and Bees (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

Black Widow (Film: 2021)

Blowin’ in the Wind, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1962)

Blue, by LeAnn Rimes (Album; 1996)

Despicable Me (Animated Film; 2010)

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Film; 2010)

The Golden Compass (a.k.a. Northern Lights), by Philip Pullman (Nove; 1995) [His Dark Materials #1]

Love and Curses (WB MM Cartoon; 1938)

Loving You (Elvis Presley Film; 1957)

The Office (UK TV Series; 2001)

One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (Film; 1975)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (Film; 2003)

Pluto’s Purchase (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

Predators (Film; 2010)

The Queen Was in the Parlor (WB MM Cartoon; 1932)

Riding Giants (Documentary Film; 2004)

Rookie of the Year (Film; 1993)

Tall Timber (Disney Cartoon; 1928)

This Is a Life? (WB MM Cartoon; 1955)

Tron (Film; 1982)

Winnebago Man (Documentary Film; 2010)

Today’s Name Days

Augustin, Gottfried, Veronika (Austria)

Leticija, Marija, Veronika (Croatia)

Drahoslava (Czech Republic)

Sostrata (Denmark)

Aive, Aivi (Estonia)

Ilta, Jade, Jasmiina, Jasmin, Nanna (Finland)

Amandine, Hermine, Iphigénie, Marianne (France)

Hannes, Hermine, Veronika (Germany)

Pagratios (Greece)

Lukrécia (Hungary)

Letizia (Italy)

Asne, Tusnelda, Zaiga (Latvia)

Algirdas, Algirdė, Leonardas, Veronika (Lithuania)

Gøran, Jøran, Ørjan (Norway)

Anatolia, Heloiza, Hieronim, Lucja, Łucja, Ludwika, Lukrecja, Mikołaj, Patrycjusz, Weronika, Wszebąd, Zenon, Zenona (Poland)

Lujza (Slovakia)

Verónica (Spain)

Götilda , Jörgen, Örjan (Sweden)

Averil, Avery, Junior, Misty (USA)

Amandine (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 190 of 2024; 175 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 27 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Wu-Wu), Day 22 (Wu-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 20 Tammuz 5783

Islamic: 20 Dhu al-Hijjah 1444

J Cal: 10 Lux; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 26 June 2023

Moon: 55%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 22 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Clotilde]

Runic Half Month: Feoh (Wealth) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 19 of 94)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 19 of 31)

#Holidays

0 notes

conandaily2022 · 1 year

Text

Complete list of Miss Grand Peru 2023 candidates

The Miss Grand Peru 2023 coronation night will be held in Lima, Peru and broadcast live on America Television. It is the inaugural edition of the national beauty pageant that selects Peru’s Miss Grand International candidate. Currently, Peru has seven Miss Grand International placements including the coronation of María José Lora in 2017. The country finished in the Top 20 in 2014 via Sophia…

View On WordPress

#Janet Leyva #Lima #Miss Grand Peru #Peruvian beauty queens

0 notes

rustyblackwood · 2 years

Link

#suspense #romance fiction drama equestrian

0 notes

madstars-festival · 2 years

Text

[MAD STARS 2022 Open Conference Speakers Introduction (5)]

- Global Open Academy

Open Conference, open for free, for anyone at MAD STARS 2022!

First launched last year, Global MAD Academy is an integrated practical training platform for global advertising, marketing, and digital contents!

This year, five Tutors at Global MAD Academy will present their insights at Open Conference!

The second global expert to share his practical know-how is

Asterio Gutierrez, Creative Director at 72andSunny.

Asterio Gutierrez is an award-winning creator who has won multiple international awards with his innovation campaigns, including AD STARS 2013 Grand Prix of The Year winner ‘TXTBKS’ and 2017 Grand Prix winner ‘Nike Unlimited Stadium.’

In his talk <Creative in Brand Solution>, Asterio will share his creative solutions to position a brand as a global industry-leading brand.

Don’t miss out on the chance of an inspirational talk by Asterio Gutierrez

on August 26th (Fri) at 2:40 pm,

at Open Conference, a free and open-for-all event!

To learn more,

Visit www.adstars.org now!

0 notes

deoffal-mp-adm7000-n-s1-2022 · 2 years

Text

What I am looking to do after the MA (PhD Musings)

As I am writing this post (on the 10th July), I am currently preparing myself to write a PhD application to study Art and Design at BCU, after looking around at further a field courses from varying institutes, I found art and design would allow me to do what I want to do with only having a supervisor to worry about given how niche my work is, after all, all I want is the autonomous ability to work on my thesis and get training in lecturing and seminaring for my future career. I’m making this an important developmental post as I want to discuss where my work is heading, but I can’t do that without first discussing my ever present interests into wanting to study a PhD, the principle reason as to why I want to study a PhD is simple, I want to finish my education and propel myself into the upper echelon of contemporary art discourse and culture. That isn’t to say that you need a PhD to be important in contemporary art, nor do I even explicitly want to be important in contemporary art as that would mean I’m trying to hard and don’t know how admiration works, I know how it works which is why I want to earn it by taking myself to the final challenge of my education. With my work being as solid as it both practically and contextually in the research (debatable still as to how I represent my research currently but atleast I’m still young enough to be acceptably debatable, rather than being too old to learn from anything anymore, which is clearly not the case when you look at my report card for the Ma in comparison to the Ba) I now want to take my work to the top of criticism and work with likeminded professional who will assist me into an actual professional culture of higher academics. Meaning, if I want to write essays and academic art material I will have the reputation to do so and have 3 years to have written a thesis worth sharing in the contemporary art scene, establishing my own academic presence within it at the highest level of educational value, plus I’ll be someone who can be a far better mentor to later artists once I come out the total process rather than dropping out after the Ba or the Ma knowing I would kick myself If I didn’t try to beat a PhD too, that’s just how my brain is wired, I have to complete this lifelong aspiration and internal challenge of mine. The challenge being to prove that my work can add to the world’s understanding of knowledge and it’s power within these troubling times for education and the greater world generally, plus my interest in writing highly academic, philosophical and natural science based contextual work is on the rise, which begs the question, why didn’t I write a dissertation for this module If I want to do a PhD for the next 3 years? Well, because I wanted one more grand show in the art school after 2 years of being a non priority student and after not having had the chance since 2019 to exhibit my work physically, I can write essays and literature whenever I want to, but I couldn’t miss the chance to do myself and family proud by putting on atleast one proper show in the art school after studying in and out of those walls since 2017. My practice has also needed some redemption after my last project got lesser grades than I wanted, so now I am fuelled by a resentment to prove that I can make great work and that I can excite people with a huge installation of pieces which should really prove the potential of my work as greater than conceptual babble. I have always been a practical draughtsman and a lover of analogue processes, so for something called a major project I want to make a major and undeniably ambitious project that can be enjoyed by more than myself, and the only way to do that is by being present in a show that is greater than myself where I can physically prove my talent the only way I know how. So even though a dissertation would have made sense as a submission to prove my academic ability, I already had a winning essay written last the beginning of this year and now that’s on my website with all my other portfolios I still have a great collection of visual and literary material to present for my PhD application, and so writing one more piece would be good but it would have only gotten in the way of making way more practical work to expand my actual portfolio even more, as well as holding me back from featuring in the art school and getting more professional experience with installing my work for a show; of which I see as more important in this time of my career as an emerging artist. I’m still an active theorist, but again, essays can always be written after the fact and shows will always be more exciting for presenting artists to a general public, it’s other high level academics who care about literature first, but I was a visual artist first in life, so I can’t miss the opportunity to reignite my passion for exhibition and practical ability, especially after years of little to no opportunity due to Covid. I’ll be sharing what progress I do make on this blog and hopefully I’ll have some kind of concrete PhD guidance at some point in the future if there is hope of having me on the course starting in February.

0 notes

vietnamstar · 2 years

Text

Việt Nam will host Miss Grand International 2023 pageant

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has been officially confirmed as the host country of the Miss Grand International 2023 beauty pageant. The announcement was published on the official Facebook page of the beauty pageant. Earlier, in 2017, Việt Nam was also the host of the beauty contest which is the sixth biggest such show in the world. The event next year is expected to feature stunning performances of beauties…

View On WordPress

0 notes

toughgirlchallenges · 2 years

Text

Kelda Wood - First female adaptive athlete to summit Aconcagua and row solo across the Atlantic Ocean!

Kelda started her sporting career playing netball at a national level as a teenager. Sport very quickly became the thing that defined who she was and the person she wanted to be. Her real passion lay with horses and her ultimate goal was to ride for her country and represent Great Britain at the Olympics.

Unfortunately, after a serious leg injury in 2002, Kelda’s hopes of competing at an international level seemed to have disappeared. The leg injury had a huge impact on her life, leaving her no longer able to run or play many of the sports that meant so much to her. This had a huge impact on her confidence and self-belief, and she spent nearly 10years fighting to accept who she was.

In 2002 she decided to climb Kilimanjaro, and this proved to be the start of a new direction in life. She returned and began retraining as an outdoor instructor. As a result of the dramatic effect the outdoors had on her own mental and physical recovery, Kelda decided she wanted to help others facing similar challenges to herself, and this led her to set up the charity Climbing Out.

Kelda went on to represent Great Britain in Paracanoe and competed at the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World Championships. The ultimate goal was the Rio Paralympics.

Unfortunately she just missed out on selection for Rio, but she went on to join an Adaptive Team attempting to climb Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America at 7,000m.

On the 19th January 2017 she became the first recorded adaptive female to summit the mountain.

In summiting, Kelda found many of the answers she’d been searching for since her injury and this inspired her to attempt a solo row of the Atlantic. After 76 days unsupported at sea, Kelda became the first adaptive person to ever solo row any ocean.

But the challenges didn’t stop there. 12 months ago Kelda was diagnosed with breast cancer. She decided to set herself the goal of completing a triathlon as motivation to push through her recovery.

She completed her first triathlon just 4 months post mastectomy and went on to complete 2 further triathlons last year, including the Snowman Triathlon, known for being the toughest triathlon in the country. She now has her sights set on completing a half ironman in 2022.

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.

To help increase the amount of female role models in the media. Sign up as a patron! www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.

Show Notes

Who is Kelda

Being based in Shropshire

Her 4 legged family

Her early years and her passions for sports

Playing netball at a national level

Her dream of wanting to ride at the Olympics

Hanging around the local stables

Getting her first horse at 16

The riders who inspired her

Being in an accident with her horse

Dealing with the trauma after the accident

The start of her resilience journey at 21

Losing her confidence and going back to riding too soon

Moving away from horse and going travelling to Australia

Getting into eventing and gaining her confidence

The accident that changed her life completely

Trying to be the person she was before the injury

Feeling like a failure

Learning acceptance

Deciding to climb Kilimanjaro and why that was the start of her recovery

Not being able to get the mental health support that was needed

Table legs….

Video resources to help with resilience

Being dumped…

Lessons from climbing Kilimanjaro

Needing to change her attitude and focus more on what she could do

Deciding to retrain as an outdoor instructor

Figuring out how to get sport back in her life

Aiming for the para-olympics for 2016

Meeting Martin Hewitt - Adaptive Grand Slam

“It’s not about saying I can’t, it’s about saying how can I”

How can I make it possible to climb Aconcagua?

Figuring out the how

Advice for people who are feeling like a failure

The importance of being honest with yourself

Being brave enough to try

Being judged by people and why it doesn’t matter

Deciding to solo row the Atlantic

Finding peace on the mountain

Fundraising for Climbing Out and wanting to raise £50K

Advice regarding sponsorship

Being super clear on her WHY

3 questions about the row

The challenge of the solitude while out on the row

The challenges of 2020/2021

Being diagnosed with cancer and having a single mastectomy

Wanting to get back to normal and feel like herself again

Getting back into exercise and following a routine again

Why you have to try

Training for 4 triathlons in 2022

Challenging the belief that she had that she couldn’t run

Swimming after a mastectomy

Doing an half Ironman in June 2022

Connect with Kelda

Final words of advice - Keep Moving

Social Media

Website: Climbing Out

Instagram: @kelda_wood

Facebook: @ClimbingOutCharity

Personal: www.facebook.com/kelda.wood

Twitter: @ClimbingOut_

Check out this episode!

#podcast #women #sports #health #motivation #challenges #change #adventure #active #wellness #explore #grow #support #encourage #running #swimming #triathlon #exercise #weights

0 notes