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testedtransgressor · 5 years

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Hero of War

Category: Fanfiction - Hetalia Characters: Australia (Jett Kirkland), England (Arthur Kirkland), New Zealand (Toby Kirkland), Scotland (Allistor Kirkland) Rating: T Warnings: War, violence, offensive language Originally written: 3 September 2018

Hetalia is a manga/anime in which the various countries of the world have human representations that embody many stereotypes. While some have been given official “human” names (such as England), others have had their names left up to interpretation. For lack of character development, many fans take it upon themselves to add elements to some of the more minor characters.

It wasn't that he regretted it. No; one rule Jett Kirkland tried to live by was to never regret what had already happened. He couldn't change it, after all, and no amount of wishing or pretending would ever do it for him. All he could do was remember, and honour those memories. Once again, he ran a finger over the raised red line that spread across the bridge of his nose. Thick-skulled, Arthur had once called him - well, in this case, it had saved his vision, if not his life. He'd known Artie was in trouble as soon as he'd heard about the war. Despite their differences, Jett had volunteered immediately to help. That was, after all, the Aussie way - when your mate needs a hand, you give it to them. Sure, they didn't get along quite as well as brothers should, and Jett couldn't understand a lot of the things Artie said or did, but he blamed that on the whole "being dumped on an island" thing. He'd been left to grow up wild and free, while Artie had already been an established imperial leader with all his rules and etiquette to follow. But, despite their differences, when a mate needs help, you give it. It had been his first war, and Jett had jumped at the opportunity to get involved. He'd lied about his age along with three others - though, unlike him, they'd all been sixteen or seventeen. He looked their age, but he was already over a century old, and had even helped two of them make themselves look a little older so that they could be accepted. After all, if they wanted to help then they should be allowed to. Eight months of training and travelling. Making friends with humans wasn't really encouraged, since humans tended to notice when their friend hadn't aged after twenty years, but Jett had figured it wouldn't be an issue. Australians were a breed apart - and it was clear even when they met up with the British and French soldiers. Jett was proud of his countrymen and -women as he watched them get up to tricks with the British commanders, who were often red in the face from yelling at the larrikins to behave more soldierly. Looking back now, Jett didn't know why they'd been so surprised - it was Australia's first war, and the only fighting they'd done before that was against the blackfellas and the whole Rum Rebellion fiasco, which really, was just in-fighting with no real major cause. But there had been a tension in the air, probably from the older veterans, and the ANZACs had just sort of, well, ignored it. Of course New Zealanders had been there. That was a given - no matter how much they messed around with each other, Jett knew that, in the grand scheme of things, he and Toby would always stand together - and he knew that Toby knew this, too. That brotherly pact had been sealed on the shores of Anzac Cove when they'd landed, under a hail of bullets and shrapnel and explosives. He looked down at the sink. White porcelain, exactly what you'd expect in the house of a rich Pom. Not that he didn't appreciate the luxuries that wealth afforded - every day, he was being exposed to new and incredible things as he recovered, and even if he had well and truly worn out his welcome, Artie was too polite to actually say anything. Not when he only needed to take one look at the ugly scar on Jett's nose in order to be reminded. Again, not that Jett minded. They were brothers, after all, and what were brothers for, if not to stand side by side with a middle finger raised to the enemy? The Brits had sent the ANZACs up the strait, to a little cove at the foot of a steep, rugged hill. They hadn't expected anything easy, but they sure as hell hadn't been expecting the nightmare that greeted them before they even landed. The man beside Jett hadn't even made it to dry land. Before they'd reached the encampment, one in twenty was shot dead, and more wounded by the flying explosives and shrapnel. Jett had paused for a moment to glance back, make sure Toby's boat at least hit shore, and that split second pause probably saved his life - right where he would have been, the land suddenly exploded, sand kicked up into the sky as Jett stumbled back. He didn't waste another second. He had raced for the relative safety of the camp, and had prayed for the lives of everyone around him. That in itself had made him smile ruefully - he wasn't really a praying man, didn't exactly believe in any sort of god, but here he was promising to some celestial man in the sky that he'd go to some fancy building if only he and his allies survived. Well, God probably wasn't listening that day... He was fast, one of the fastest in his platoon. He got the job of running messages from the trenches at the front to the commanders, and back. Toby, however, was a surprisingly good shot, and so he was a rifleman. Every single time Jett heard the thunderous sound of the rifles, his heart skipped a beat for Toby. To shoot, you had to put your head above the trenches - and putting your head above the trenches was an easy way for it to get blown off. They could survive a lot, but Jett doubted that losing a head wouldn't be fatal. There wasn't much they could do about it, though - so instead, they laughed. A dark sense of humour had swept through the camp, what with the threat of death constantly looming - because the bloody Turks never once let up. Even at night, they'd shoot or try to attack, and Jett lost more than one night of sleep as he would hear a rifle shot somewhere out in the darkness. It got to a point where he slept back-to-back with Toby and one of the kids he'd helped enlist, a sixteen-year-old named Jeremy, and they'd take it in turns to keep watch while the other two slept. Jeremy put his head above the trenches in September. Toby had reported it to Jett when they next saw each other, with a grim face and streaks in the dirt covering his face. He had felt responsible, but Jett was the one that had helped him enlist. He had sent flowers to the family as soon as he'd woken up, but it would never undo the damage he'd done to them and their community. They had pushed forward in October, trying to claim a single patch of land, just any sort of victory. It was a damn near impossible hope, but damn it they had to try; and so they did. Jett had been moved to rifleman, and had literally felt his heart stop when he saw Toby drop to the ground amongst the advance team. He had ignored orders, vaulting over the trench wall and racing ahead. Bodies littered the ground in No Man's Land, and even if there was no hope, Jett wasn't going to sit by and let his little brother become one of them. The bullet had clipped the side of his head, but a second had gone into his left leg, above the knee. Jett sat by his bed in the medical tent until Toby had eventually convinced him that he would be fine - the wounds weren't turning septic, and were clearly healing, so why the hell was Jett waiting for paint to dry beside him? Artie had been there himself, had come with the British messengers who spread the order - it wasn't a retreat, it was an evacuation. Jett would have felt incredible disappointment if it weren't for the fact he had watched another kid he'd helped through enlistment die earlier that day. His platoon had been designated among the first to leave, but Jett insisted on swapping with Toby. Get his brother off that beach and out of that hell as soon as he could. Every time the platoon he switched to were told they'd be leaving, he insisted on finding someone else to switch with. He was a fast learner, and he had learned how to survive the cove and the Turks and the trenches - and he had seen too many underage kids among those doomed to wait. It was basically illegal, but he couldn't sleep knowing that there were people who shouldn't be there, stuck in place while he was being sent off. He was there right up until the last day. Jett picked up the roll of adhesive bandage, and the scissors, but hesitated. People would ask, and call it vanity or a desire to move on from the past, but Jett knew he was loathe to show off the scar. he looked at the colour of the bandage, and an idea struck him. Carefully, he began to cut the corners, rounding the end of the bandage. The Turks had caught them off-guard. A last-minute attempt to claim whatever they could. They had been loading the last of the gear into the last boat when the bastards had appeared out of nowhere, and Jett had found himself locked into a wrestle with a man twice his size, a long knife in one hand that he brought down towards Jett's face. All he could remember was the flash of the blade, a searing pain in his nose, and blood in his eyes. Artie never admitted it, and Frankie had even tried to deny it, but they were both terrible liars. Despite all the death, all the casualties, and all the suffering they had been through, it hadn't changed anything. The war was still going, and the entire Gallipoli campaign had been deemed a failure. At least we can say we tried... Satisfied with his handiwork, Jett cut off the strip of bandage and fixed it over his nose, hiding the ugly scar from view. He and Toby had been reunited, and they'd held onto each other, brotherhood renewed after the inexplicable horror that had been their first war. They had both skated by on pure luck, with injuries that could have very easily been fatal with a difference of a few millimetres. But they'd survived. It was more than could be said for over eight thousand of their fellow ANZACs. Jett knew that he'd be going back to towns that had lost entire generations of men, but try as he might, he couldn't feel bitter at Artie for it. He emerged from the bathroom, trying to slip down the hallway and into the kitchen for something to eat, but a shout called him into the sitting room. "Jett! Glad to see you're up and about!" He recognised the thick accent, and under any other situation he would have gladly faced the Scotsman - but this wasn't any other situation. Artie had reassured him that they'd all had their fair share of war injuries, but once again, that pride came into it again. "G'day! Fancy seein' you here," he forced a grin as he stepped into the room and was instantly swept into a crushing hug from the eldest of his Kirkland brothers. Allistor wasn't usually one to show affection, so it was a surprise to say the least. "Arthur was tellin' me about yer narrow brush," he explained, releasing Jett but keeping his hands on the younger's shoulders. "Looks like 'e's been takin' care o' ye. How's the cookin'?" "Hey!" "Haven't gotten sick yet," Jett chuckled, ignoring the indignant cry from the lounge. Allistor slapped him on the back, giving him a smile before his brows furrowed. "What's with the plaster? It's cut all wonky. You been lettin' 'im dress yer wounds as well now?" "Nah, I did it myself," Jett forced a grin. He knew people would be asking. "It's Ayers Rock. Right in the middle of Australia, so it's right in the middle of me face." He could see Artie's concerned frown, but refused to meet his brother's gaze. Call it a lie, but Jett had already made up his mind - he was going to stick with it until the scar faded, if it ever did. After all, not all scars fade.

#fanfiction #hetalia #aph australia #gallipoli #anzacspirit #Lest We forget #war stories #writing

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kayla1993-world · 2 years

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Almost half of Britons think Charles should step aside for William to be king

Nearly half of Brits thinks Prince Charles should refuse the Crown and step aside for Prince William to become king, a survey has found.

The Prince of Wales is currently the longest-serving heir apparent in the world, having spent over 70 years as first-in-line to the British throne since the Queen's ascension in 1952.

Despite the mammoth wait, research by Ipsos has found that 42% of people think Charles should step aside for his son, the Duke of Cambridge, to take the throne.

Some 24% think the prince should not stand aside, while 29% said they do not have potent feelings on the issue.

The survey also found that 48% of people in the UK believe Charles would do a good job as king, compared with 19% who think he will do an awful job and 27% who think he will do neither a good nor an awful job.

Researchers spoke with 2,055 British adults and found that the proportion of people who view Charles favourably has increased since 2018 to 43%—up 11 percentage points.

The latest polling shows the Queen is by far the most popular royal, with 69% having a favourable opinion of her.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have seen significantly worsening favorability over the last four years.

Ipsos found that only 30% see Harry in a favourable light—down 35 percentage points from 2018—while just 24% have an expert opinion of Meghan, down 16 points.

Meanwhile, seven in 10 (69%) now have an unfavourable opinion of the Duke of York.

The research also looked at where Britons stand on abolishing the monarchy.

Over four in 10 people (44%) think abolishing the monarchy would be worse for Britain – twice as many as the 22% who think it would be better.

The survey comes following a turbulent few years for the Royal Family, which saw Meghan and Harry step back from royal duties and leave the UK to raise their two children, Archie and Lilibet, in California.

The couple have since taken part in high-profile and controversial interviews making allegations of racism within the Royal Family.

Earlier this year, Prince Andrew agreed to settle a case with his accuser Virginia Giuffre, following sexual assault allegations against him.

In February, Andrew agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre, which included a "substantial donation to Ms Giuffre's charity to support victims' rights".

Giuffre was suing Andrew over allegations he sexually abused her over two decades ago when she was 17, a minor under US law, after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her to England.

The settlement is not an admission of guilt, and Andrew has always denied the allegations.

Andrew has largely withdrawn from public life following the allegations and they stripped him of his military roles and HRH status in January.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said: “At the moment only a minority of people believe Britain would be better off without the monarchy, and the popularity of the Queen and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge remains strong.

“Looking to the future, half of Britons have faith in Prince Charles as a future king and more people view him in a positive light than four years ago.

“However, with the popularity of Prince William not far behind that of the Queen, Britons also wonder whether Prince Charles should step aside in favour of his eldest son.

“But their actions now are still important for the longer-term future of the Royal Family.”

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Loki: Best Shows to Watch If You’re Missing the God of Mischief

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The God of mischief might be off in a different timeline prepping for a second season but we still need something to put in our eyes. Assuming you’ve already binged the MCU shows WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we’ve rounded up some other great series that could scratch that Loki-shaped itch. Some of these are spiritually similar, some are great showcases of Loki’s cast and others explore similar themes. All are crackers though and well worth setting your tempad for.

Flowers

This Brit black comedy which aired on Channel 4 in the UK ran for two seasons, each equally special. Is it similar to Loki? Not at face value, but it does feature a stand out turn from Sophia Di Martino who stole the show as female Loki, Sylvie. Written by Will Sharpe, it’s the story of a highly dysfunctional family, with Julian Barrett and Olivia Coleman as parents on the verge of separation and Di Martino and Daniel Rigby as their troubled twins. Flowers is surreal, magical realistic, gothic and often bleak while remaining funny and moving at all times. Not a big world-hopping show like Loki, then, but it does tackle existential crisis head on, and it’ll only make you love Di Martino more. RF

Lovecraft Country

Like many Marvel projects, the Loki TV series has a deep bench of impressive acting talent. One of the most undersung (and honestly underutilized) members of the first season’s cast was Wunmi Mosaku, aka Hunter B-15, who was asked to depict a deep and abrupt change in loyalties over the course of six episodes. Mosaku pulls it off, mostly because she is a phenomenal actress. If you’re looking to see more of her work, look no further than HBO’s Lovecraft Country (but also watch In the Flesh, in which Mosaku plays the Season 2 antagonist), which also features He Who Remains’ Jonathan Majors in the main cast. (A two-fer!) Mosaku plays Ruby Baptiste, a Black singer living in 1950s Southside Chicago in this social horror. Come for Wunmi Mosaku and Jonathan Majors, stay for… Wunmi Mosaku and Jonathan Majors, but also for a TV series that has more supernatural twists than even the most bonkers episode of Loki. KB

Rick and Morty

If your favorite part of Loki was the existence of a thriving multiverse, then we’ve got some good news. Beloved Adult Swim series Rick and Morty (that also admittedly can have an overzealous fandom) is all about the storytelling joy that multiverses can provide. Mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty Smith reside in a plane of infinite universes and therefore infinite possibilities for bizarre adventure. Rick and Morty alum Michael Waldron served as Loki‘s head writer and the writing staff consisted of several more vets of the animated hit. Fans of Loki’s many variants will certainly enjoy encountering the countless versions of Rick, Morty, and their family. Just wait until you meet Lawyer Morty. Look at the little guy go! AB

Doctor Who

Not an original comparison, but one that absolutely stands up. After all, what was Loki episode three if not Doctor Who gifted a Disney budget? Nexus Events, the Sacred Timeline, doomed moons, memory reactivation… almost everything about Loki has one foot in the world of Doctor Who. The Marvel series may have had Time Keepers instead of Time Lords, variants instead of regenerations, and an alligator in place of… well, which Doctor would be the most likely to eat a cat? (Troughton’s, obviously), but there’s common DNA here. The really good news for the Loki fan who hasn’t already travelled with the Doctor(s) through space and time is that instead of just six episodes, there are roughly 10 billion of them plus novelisations, audio adventures, comic strips, videogames and a TV movie. Allons-y! LM

The Night Manager

Tom Hiddleston’s bum. But also this is an excellent series adapted from the novel of the same name by John le Carré and directed by Oscar winner Susanne Bier. Hiddleston plays Jonathan Pine, manager of a luxury hotel who gets recruited to infiltrate the inner sanctum of Hugh Laurie’s violent and volatile arms dealer. Olivia Colman co-stars once again (Hiddleston, Laurie and Colman all won Golden Globes for their performances) with a supporting role for Elizabeth Debicki which was very much a precursor for her part in Tenet. Post-Night Manager, Hiddleston was top billed to be the next Bond, so given Tenet basically was Bond but on another timeline, and featured time travel as an integral part, Loki and The Night Manager are basically the same show… RF

Timeless

If you wish Loki had been a bit more of a time-hopping procedural, then we have a show for you. Timeless, which aired on NBC for two too-short seasons from 2016-2018, stars Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston, a historian who gets recruited by a secret department within U.S. Homeland Security in order to stop a mysterious organization that has stolen a time machine. Lucy teams up with scientist Rufus and soldier Wyatt, and the three unlikely bedfellows must learn to work together in high-stakes settings like the Hindenburg, Ford’s Theatre, and the Alamo. Co-created by The Boys showrunner Erik Kripke, Timeless has tons of character-driven twists that make the time travel personal, tying together these characters and settings in unexpected ways. KB

Legion

Loki is such a bold, creative superhero series that it’s hard to imagine that there’s every been anything quite like it. Believe or not – that’s not entirely true! While Loki is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first big heady sci-fi TV swing, it’s not Marvel’s first overall on television. From 2017 to 2019, Marvel-adjacent property Legion enjoyed a bizarre, colorful three-season run on FX. This series is based on the X-Men character David Haller a.k.a. Legion. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, David also just happens to be a mutant with nigh-omnipotent powers. This show from Fargo‘s Noah Hawley revels in the strange potential of its premise. Legion is often confusing, but always intriguing. It’s a show that largely replaces superhero battles with dance offs. It’s well worth watching the entire run while you wait for Loki season 2. AB

The OA

Very different to Loki in tone but very similar in head-messing inter-dimensional WTF-ness, The OA is a strange and beautiful beast. If you could follow the Marvel show’s timeline hopping, then you’ve a strong chance of grasping the madness at play in Netflix’s The OA. It starts off as a story about the return of a woman (played by co-creator Brit Marling) who’s been missing for seven years, and ends up as a story about… parallel dimensions, arcane rituals, experimental physics, sci-fi magic and a kind-of-haunted house. It’s a total trip, in short, and should scratch any itch Loki fans are experiencing for TV of the weird variety. Speaking of which, give us season three, Netflix, you cowards. LM

Quantum Leap

Before the TVA there was Doctor Sam Beckett. Played by puppy-faced Scott Bakula, Sam is a scientist who invented a “quantum accelerator” (time machine) that randomly transports him back in time to put right events which once went wrong. In each episode of Quantum Leap, Sam wakes up in the body of someone else at a distinct point in history and has to figure out his mission with the help of his best mate, in hologram form, Al (Dean Stockwell). Sam is essentially maintaining the sacred timeline at the expense of his own life and free will, which would make Al…. Miss Minutes? Either way, it’s a hugely good natured show which ran for five seasons and it’s well worth a visit. RF

Continuum

Continuum protagonist Kiera (Rachel Nichols) has serious Sylvie energy. While they might not have much in common when it comes to their background—Sylvie is trying to take down the time authorities while Kiera, a cop from the corporate-controlled future, is an authority—they’re both incredibly focused women who will do what they have to in order to achieve their goals. Continuum follows Kiera, when she is unexpectedly stranded in our present. Desperate to get back to her family and her life in the future, Kiera teams up with a teen genius, as well as local detective Carlos Fonnegra. Filled with complex character arcs and alternate timelines, Continuum is a must for any fan of time travel TV. KB

Life on Mars

Loki’s crime procedural/time-hopping/fantasy cocktail may have been made famous by Quantum Leap, but it achieved its apotheosis (that’s right, five syllables, count ‘em) in BBC One’s Life on Mars. That’s the story of Sam Tyler (John Simm), a Manchester police officer who’s hit by a car in 2006 and wakes up in 1973. Like Loki, Tyler has to piece together what’s really going on behind-the-scenes while running his own investigations. Tyler may not be a God, or have magical powers and other planets to visit, but Life on Mars still took him to some odd and captivating places. It ended prematurely after two seasons (at the request of Simm, who said he wanted to spend more time with his family), after which the tale continued with sequel Ashes to Ashes starring Keeley Hawes. Currently, plans are afoot for a belated third series. LM

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marymosley · 4 years

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Stay Calm and Pasty On: How A Small Virginia Shop Is Keeping The Lifeline Of Cornish Pasties Flowing

Below is my column in BBC.com on The Pure Pasty, a lifeline for many of us who love the Cornish pasty and English items like Digestives. When this column ran, I heard from many readers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan noting that they also have a tradition of pasties. I have personal knowledge of those Michigan pasties from my youth. They were in fact the first pasties that I ever tasted. I would regularly go backpacking at Isle Royale in the Upper Peninsula and I would stop in Hancock for pasties on the way to the island. I believe the establishment was called Jean Kays. The embracing of pasties in the Upper Peninsula was no accident. In Cornwall, pasties were developed by miners as an easy way to bring lunch meats into the mines. The notes from folks in Michigan brought back a flood of crusty but still warm memories.

Here is the column (thank you Mike Burgess for some of the pictures):

The famous Greek physician Hippocrates once said “let food be thy medicine.” In a pandemic, that means comfort foods that transcend feelings of isolation and desolation.

For Anglophiles living near Washington, DC, there is an island of normalcy amidst the uncertainty of life under lockdown. A refuge where one can indulge in such quintessentially English delights as Cadbury’s eggs, McVities digestive biscuits and, of course, the eponymous pasty.

Most Americans are unfamiliar with that Cornish delight. Indeed, you have to be careful to pronounce your love for “PAST-eez” rather than “PAY-stees” or your neighbours will think that you frequent strip joints.

But the flaky handheld meat pie is a staple of British cuisine, earning mentions in Shakespeare. The version we eat today was popularised in the 19th Century in Cornwall, in the southwest of England, amongst labourers who appreciated the portability of this filling lunchtime treat.

So how did the Pure Pasty shop make its way to Vienna, Virginia?

Founder Mike Burgess, 58, says he suffered something like a midlife crisis when he quit his job in IT in his 40s. But while most middle-aged men buy a sports car or take up surfing, Burgess took every dime he had and decided to open a pasty shop across the sea.

Born in Nantwich, Chester, Burgess had heard from his mates that they could not find a pasty in the States to save their soul. Seeing a demand without a supply, he set out to learn how to make the perfect pasty with the same focus as someone venturing on a spiritual journey.

Rather than going to an ashram, Burgess went to Cornwall to learn the essence of the pasty. He continued to work on his technique, even using a local pub in Kent as a laboratory for his culinary creations.

He moved to the United States in 2009 and a year later opened his own shop, with the help of another ex-pat, Nicola Willis-Jones. From Yorkshire, Willis-Jones had once cooked for the Queen as a member of the Air Force but had relocated to the US and was longing for English cuisine.

Shortly before he opened, she rang him and offered her services. She was hired on the spot and he credits her for helping him developing the recipes and for perfecting the crust.

Since then, ex-pats and displaced Brits have flocked to the little shop in Vienna to get their fix of pasties and other English groceries, from British back bacon to Balson’s bangers to Branston’s pickles.

But Burgess would not truly earn the title of “perfect pasty” until he returned to Cornwall to compete in the World Pasty Championship – the Olympics of pasties. In 2018, he shocked the pasty world by winning the top prize – the first for an American pasty shop.

His win, in the open savoury category for his barbeque chicken pasty, caused an uproar over his unconventional use of the ingredient pineapple.

Many denounced the notion as wholly non-traditional, if not heretical. Making matters worse, a local shop had jokingly entered a pastry in the shape of a pineapple. In the ensuring hoopla over the “Hawaiian Pasty,” people assumed that the pineapple pastry was his winning pasty. He received tongue-in-check messages of possible riots and even a threat by one pasty aficionado to secede from Cornwall.

Pineapples aside, Burgess won again in 2019 again in the open savoury category. In 2020, it grabbed the silver medal with a near perfect score of 97 out of 100 points.

These days, Burgess worries about his family and friends back in England. He wants his fellow Brits to hold firm and to know that they will come through this together on both sides of the ocean.

In the meantime, he is committed to keeping the pasties flowing as his way to remaining unbowed to this virus.

With the chronic shortage of toilet paper and sanitisers due to panic buying, Burgess will not allow hoarding of pasties. He limits purchases to just eight per customer for curbside pickup.

Locked in a home with one’s children for a couple months, a supply of pasties is essential. Indeed, it should be listed under the Defense Production Act for pandemic necessities.

After all, pasties have long been featured in history’s most trying times. When Falstaff seeks to comfort weary travellers in The Merry Wives of Windsor, what does he offer with the ale “to drink down all unkindness”? Venison pasties, of course.

In our own unkind times, pasties serve the same Falstaffian function for all wanting a taste of normalcy.

As an American who fell in love with pasties and digestives when visiting England, The Pure Pasty converted my family faster than Beckham could bend it.

Returning with our precious load, the kids eagerly grabbed their favourite pasties from Leslie’s Moroccan Lamb to Madie’s Chicken Masala to Aidan’s Chicken Cordon Bleu to Jack’s Traditional Beef. We sat in reverential silence; each alone with his or her pasty panacea.

After all, there are some things that simply transcend words.

As Parolles stated in Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, “if ye pinch me like a pasty, I can say no more”.

Jonathan Turley is a legal analyst for the BBC and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University

P.S.: Here are some of the photos of the staff and shop of The Pure Pasty from Mike Burgess.

Stay Calm and Pasty On: How A Small Virginia Shop Is Keeping The Lifeline Of Cornish Pasties Flowing published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

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bangkokjacknews · 4 years

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Pattaya finds it too hard to abstain from sex

In a daring nautical themed outfit, sex worker May confidently predicts the survival of Thai sleaze town #Pattaya despite a junta attempt to tame the kingdom’s #SinCity

She is bullish because she, like tens of thousands of others in the industry, have no plans to give up their jobs. And there are no signs the hordes of foreign sex tourists are abating. Two hours east of Bangkok, Pattaya’s bawdy reputation hails from the Vietnam War era when American GIs partied in their downtime. Today it spins money off its no-holds-barred reputation and its most successful sex workers earn anywhere between 70-150,000 baht ($2-4,400) a month, as much as ten times the national average wage. ”I make good money here, for me and my family,” May told AFP as she touted for clients near‘Walking Street’ -- a mile-long drag festooned with bars and clubs pouring out ear-crushing EDM music. https://bangkokjack.com/2018/11/05/thai-tourism-industry/ But concerns about the impact on Thailand’s reputation have spurred authorities to act, while frequent reports of underage sex workers, drug abuse and mafia operations further muddy Pattaya’s name. May, who is transgender, said the strip has felt more subdued in recent weeks as police and soldiers conduct frequent patrols as part of a clean-up ordered by the censorious ruling junta. Police Lieutenant Colonel Sulasak Kalokwilas is one of those tasked with what many might deem the ultimate Sisyphean task: weaning Pattaya off sex. ”We are suppressing obscene and dirty shows. We’re trying to make those bars disappear,” he explained. As he spoke, lines of women stood behind him in revealing outfits enticing punters into bars with names like Taboo and G-Spot as well as Fahrenheit -- a nightspot boasting “The Hottest Girls in Pattaya”. ”The lady boys and women working there, they are not involved in the sex trade,” said Pattaya’s police chief Colonel Apichai Kroppeth, echoing the kind of Thai police rhetoric commonly divorced from reality. ”They work as waitresses, sit and chat with customers, some dance in shows,” he said. Bar fines, short-times For many residents of the city the latest moral outrage fits a familiar pattern: negative overseas headlines prompt authorities to launch high-visibility -- yet limited -- crackdowns on an industry that pays the bills for everyone. ”You’re expecting the poachers to be the gamekeepers?” said one westerner who has made Pattaya his home, when asked if the latest clean-up will work. The sex trade is a cash cow for the bar owners, girls, massage parlours, hotels, taxis, mafia and, many have long alleged, the cops charged with policing. Thais call it “pon prayote”, says British journalist Andrew Drummond who reported on crime in Thailand for two decades. ”It means everyone benefits... it brings in massive amounts of money and simply couldn’t happen without police connivance.” Apichai insisted there was “no bribery for sure” in his force. Prostitution is illegal in conservative Thailand. Yet it remains ubiquitous for local and foreign customers alike. Businesses use a well worn loophole to avoid prosecution, hiring sex workers inside the bars merely to entertain and talk to patrons. A small “bar fine”, usually around 500 baht ($14), secures private “short time” away from the bar where any deal struck for sex is purely between the punter and prostitute. While authorities have vowed to shutter the trade, there is little discussion on what happens to the sex workers -- who often support large families with their earnings. There are no exact numbers, but a 2014 UNAIDS report suggested some 140,000 females are employed by sex work across Thailand. Tens of thousands are thought to operate in Pattaya alone. Par for the course Tourism officials are optimistic for change, citing the increasing number of families coming to the town’s resorts and its popularity for sports, such as jet-skiing and golf. ”In terms of facilities I think we are already there,” said Suladda Sarutilavan, Pattaya’s director of tourism. Last year some 12 million tourists -- seventy percent foreigners -- visited a city which now boasts over 100,000 rooms across 2,000 hotels, from cheap backpackers to swanky golf courses and family apartments. While not everyone who comes is a sex tourist, she admits the city’s seedy image and crime headlines are a problem. ”It makes us feel a little bit uncomfortable,” she said. Two recent killings have renewed the spotlight on the city’s reputation as a bolthole for foreign criminals. In January, British businessman Tony Kenway was gunned down as he left the gym, a hit police linked to “boiler room” scams. In 2015 an Australian former Hells Angel was kidnapped in broad daylight and murdered. Foreigners who have made Pattaya home lament the killings, but say they fail to tell the wider picture of a largely safe, affordable city. ”Every night I went out in Coventry there was always one or two fights. I feel completely safe here,” said Briton Bryan Flowers, who moved to Pattaya a decade ago and now owns a dozen bars. Others argue fancy hotels, malls and golf courses can flourish in step with the town’s party reputation. ”It’s why a lot of people come here,” Simon Peatfield, another Brit who owns restaurants and sports bars, said. ”There’s only so much golf you can play.” - AFP – You can follow BangkokJack on Instagram, Twitter & Reddit. Or join the free mailing list (top right) Please help us continue to bring the REAL NEWS - PayPal Read the full article

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hafizhamza313 · 5 years

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MacBook Pro 2019 vs MacBook Pro 2018 – Is it seriously worth an upgrade?

Let’s get this out of the way – for most people reading this MacBook Pro 2019 vs MacBook Pro 2018 comparison, it’s not a question of whether the MacBook Pro 2019 is worth upgrading to from the MacBook Pro 2018. You’d have to be incredibly rich to consider upgrading a laptop – especially one as powerful and expensive as the MacBook Pro – every year. While it’s tempting to always have the latest tech and cutting edge components, it’s just not economically viable. And while hardware – especially laptop components – are constantly improving, most of the time you’re not going to see such a radical leap in performance that it makes your current-year-old MacBook feel obsolete – though there have been exceptions. However, this comparison of the MacBook Pro 2019 vs MacBook Pro 2018 is going to be useful for anyone who has an older MacBook Pro and is considering an upgrade. Ditto for anyone who’s never owned a MacBook Pro before. Should you go for the latest and greatest MacBook Pro, or would buying the slightly older model be a wiser decision? Let’s take a look…

Design We’ll cut to the chase with this: the MacBook Pro 2019’s design is identical to the MacBook Pro 2018’s. That means they are the same dimensions – 13.7 x 9.48 x 0.61-inches (34.92 x 24.07 x 1.55) – and the same weight – 4.02 pounds (1.83kg). They also both come in the choice for two colors: Space Gray and Silver, which means on the outside, you won’t be able to tell the difference between the MacBook Pro 2019 and MacBook Pro 2018. So, this means you’re not missing out on any fancy new designs or features if you go for the 2018 model instead of this years. It also means if you loved the design of previous MacBook Pros, you can buy the 2019 model safe in the knowledge that you know what you’re getting. However, for anyone hoping for a more revolutionary redesign, you’ll be disappointed. Similarly, if previous post-2016 MacBook designs left you cold, the 2019 model does nothing to rectify that. So, you get the Touch Bar, an OLED strip with interactive buttons, above the keyboard, which has been included since 2016, as well as a Touch ID sensor for logging in with your fingerprint. Both the MacBook Pro 2019 and MacBook Pro 2018 have a 15.4-inch screen with 2,880 x 1,800 resolution, along with the True Tone feature for more vibrant colors. Because of the identical designs, if you were disappointed by the MacBook Pro 2018’s paucity of ports – with just four Thunderbolt 3 ports – then you’ll again be disappointed by the 2019 model’s exactly same port count. For regular users, the lack of ports won’t be too much of a bother, but for professionals who need to plug in legacy equipment, it means you need to invest in an adapter.

Keyboard The MacBook Pro 2018 addressed some long-standing criticism that Apple was facing about the keyboards included in previous models. Essentially, there have been complaints that the keyboards of MacBook Pros made after 2016 can malfunction. The blame lay with the ‘butterfly’ switches Apple uses in these keyboards. The 2018 model kept the butterfly switches but added a silicone membrane that was supposed to stop those issues occurring. Unfortunately, there were still reported issues, leading many to hope that Apple would ditch the butterfly switches for the MacBook Pro 2019. That hasn’t been the case, with the Mac Book Pro 2019 15-inch’s keyboard still using the problematic switches. However, Apple says it has further tweaked the keyboard, and while the company hasn’t divulged too much information about its tweaks, we do know that it has changed the materials used with the mechanism to reduce the likelihood of the keys getting stuck or not responding. While that is welcome – although disappointingly minor – tweak, Apple has also included the new MacBook Pro (2019) models in its Keyboard Service Program, which will replace a faulty keyboard free of charge. This suggests that Apple hasn’t completely fixed the issue.

Hardware While the outsides of the 15-inch MacBook Pro 2019 and the MacBook Pro 2018 are identical, the hardware inside them has changed. The base model of the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2019) comes with a 2.6GHz 6-core 9th generation Intel Core i7 processor, Radeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, 16GB 2400MHz DDR4 RAM and 256GB SSD. There’s also a model with a 2.3GHz 8-core 9th generation Intel Core i9 processor, Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, 16GB DDR4 memory and 512GB SSD storage. This is the first time an octa-core processor has been included in a MacBook Pro and gives the higher-end MacBook Pro 2019 some serious chops when it comes to multi-tasking. Meanwhile, the base model of the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2018) comes with a 2.6GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Radeon Pro 555X GPU, 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 256GB SSD. The leap to 9th generation and boosted Radeon Pro graphics gives the 2019 base model a good bump in performance – but the 2018 model’s specifications are in no way underpowered. It remains a formidable laptop. As with the 2018 model, you can configure the 2019 MacBook Pro with more powerful components, including an 8th generation Intel Core i9 processor with 8 cores and a 2.4GHz clock speed (5.0Ghz boost), 32GB RAM and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB of HBM2 memory. This makes it by far the most powerful MacBook ever made. If you’re simply after power, then there’s no contest: the high-end MacBook Pro 15-inch (2019) is the way to go. However, the 2018 model has enough power that it doesn’t feel outdated.

Price The good news is that for the US and Australia, the base model of the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2019) is the same as the 2018 model ($2,399/AU$3,499). That means you’re getting an improved processor and graphics card for no extra money than what you’d have paid last year. Meanwhile, the high-end model sells for $2,799 (£2,799, AU$4,099). That’s certainly a big chunk of change Apple is asking for. While the base model’s price remains the same in the US and Australia, in the UK it’s more expensive - £2,399 compared with the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2018)’s £2,349. Effectively, it means you’re paying £50 more for the improved hardware. If that seems a little unfair on the Brits, it’s because Apple has brought UK prices into line with US dollars, so for Apple, £1 = $1. With the base model of the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2019) staying the same, we imagine that the 2018 model will see a bit of a price drop. Considering that the 2018 model is still a very good laptop in its own right, it means you could get a fantastic deal on the 2018 model – making it a better value proposition. MacBook Pro 2019 vs MacBook Pro 2018: Which one should I buy? In many ways, the MacBook Pro 2019 and MacBook Pro 2018 are quite evenly matched. When it comes to design, you can pick either one without worrying that you’re missing out on any new features or design. The improved keyboard of the MacBook Pro 2019 means that if you’re concerned about spending vast sums of money on a laptop only to have a faulty keyboard, then that’s the model that could give you greater peace of mind. However, it’s worth noting that it’s still using the butterfly switches. If you want a whole new keyboard, you may have to wait for the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro that could be coming later in 2019. Also, if getting the most powerful MacBook Pro is essential, then the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2019) is hands-down the one to get. However, if you’re looking for better value for money, you should see the 2018 model come down in price. The fact that the MacBook Pro 2018 is still a relatively recent laptop means even in 2019, you’re getting a powerful laptop with future-proof specifications. With a decent price cut, this could be the deciding feature when you’re comparing the MacBook Pro 2019 vs MacBook Pro 2018. Read the full article

#macbookpro #macbookpro2019 #macbookprocomparison

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kristablogs · 4 years

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The next generation of race car drivers started out as gamers

Getting ready for the raceway increasingly means cutting your teeth on virtual tracks. (The Voorhes/)

James Baldwin’s confidence overtakes his ability midway through his fourth lap of Silverstone Circuit. The track, home to the British Grand Prix and among the most famous in racing, features a tricky series of sweeping curves best approached with a delicate balance of gas and brakes. Baldwin, however, attacks them at 110 miles per hour, risky given the damp morning’s freezing cold. His tires skate across the slick pavement and he careens onto the grass. After hitting the brakes, he cranks the shuddering steering wheel to the left, turning into the skid. The car skitters for several seconds and just misses a wall, but the move arrests his slide and gets him pointed the right way. Baldwin exhales, downshifts, and roars back onto the track. Within moments he reaches 110 again for the sprint down a short straight, then heads into the next turn. Chastened, he takes this one at a more prudent velocity.

The 22-year-old Brit watches this drama not through the visor of a helmet, but on the screen of a racing simulator. Baldwin is among the best esports drivers in the world, one of several dozen who earn a living competing in the digital domain. Now he’s preparing for his professional motor-sports debut on a bona fide road course.

Baldwin earned his shot a few months earlier, when he won the second season of World’s Fastest Gamer, a reality television series that saw 10 would-be Mario Andrettis compete for the chance to go wheel-to-wheel with seasoned pros. They raced on virtual and physical asphalt and dirt tracks and faced a series of challenges designed to test their problem-solving and leadership skills. When filming started in October 2019, Baldwin hadn’t done much more real-world driving than tooling around town. Fourteen days later, he crossed the finish line at Las Vegas Motor Speedway doing more than 130 miles per hour in a machine he called “fast enough to be scary.”

That isn’t as foolhardy as it might sound. Hyper-realistic driving games and hardware that mimic the sensation of hurtling around a track have made it possible to go racing with minimal experience in a proper car. Research suggests that the skills needed to master titles like Gran Turismo or Forza apply to competing in events like the 24 Hours of LeMans, one of the most grueling contests in motor sports. Baldwin now joins a handful of sim hotshots who have made that jump, something you don’t see in other sports, says Darren Cox, who launched World’s Fastest Gamer after a career in the auto industry. He notes that people who excel at, say, playing soccer on their Xbox aren’t going to find themselves appearing in the World Cup. “You can’t kick a ball around in FIFA and become the next Ronaldo,” he says.

The line between the virtual and real worlds began to blur in 2008, when Cox launched GT Academy, a TV program that turned gamers into drivers. When the show’s inaugural winner went on to finish second at LeMans in 2011, Formula One, Nascar, and other leagues started paying attention. Several have since joined the automakers that compete in them to launch online teams and tournaments in a bid to attract new drivers and, more importantly, fans. Many involved see gamers crossing over in greater numbers within the decade.

Not everyone believes the next champions will emerge from the world of esports, however. Skeptics argue that the physical and mental demands—let alone the inherent feel for the machinery—needed to compete at the upper echelons require experience, not simulation.

Baldwin is determined to prove them wrong. After winning his shot, he started working with a coach to hone the skills to handle the 700-odd-horsepower McLaren he’ll drive throughout Europe sometime in 2020. As he clocked hours in the simulator and miles around Silverstone, the COVID-19 pandemic put the date of his debut on hold. Nonetheless, Baldwin will spend the intervening time enduring an arduous schedule of workouts to prepare his body—and mind—for the challenges ahead. “This has been my dream since I was a kid,” he says. “Because of my esports experience over the last couple of years, I believe I will be able to compete at a very high level in the real world.”

Esports ace James Baldwin with the McLaren he’ll drive in his live racing debut. (The Voorhes/)

On a bright, clear morning in November 2019, Baldwin and three other finalists on World’s Fastest Gamer stood on the pavement of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The circuit, 20 minutes northeast of the Strip, has seen Nascar drivers approach 200 mph, but no one had any illusions of reaching such a number during the 22-minute dash that would determine the show’s grand prize winner. Moments later, Baldwin pulled a helmet over his spiky blond hair and folded himself into a sleek fiberglass-bodied racer called a Mitjet EXR LV02.

The pack sprinted away from the starting line. Californian Mitchell de Jong led for two laps before Baldwin squeaked by. He ruthlessly built a 10-second lead—forever in auto racing—by the time the checkered flag waved. Cox congratulated him as he climbed from the cockpit, sweaty and elated. “We’ve just watched a group of kids, most of whom had never raced a car in their lives, get into a superfast sports car and dominate this track after just two weeks of practice,” Cox said.

Baldwin began training for his big-time debut two months later. He started at Brands Hatch Circuit, near London, before switching to Silverstone. The track is not far from where he grew up watching Formula One, the pinnacle of motor sports. At an age when most kids learn to ride a bike, he begged his mother and father to let him take up karting, often the first step toward a career as a throttle jockey. As hobbies go, it’s not cheap—a few thousand for a decent machine, and, at the uppermost levels, as much as six figures in expenses each season. Still, they relented, and over the next several years Baldwin did well enough to move up in 2015 at age 17 to a larger, more powerful ride in the Formula Ford division. He entered four events in six months, compiling a decent record but spending $20,000 doing it. “My parents were like, ‘We have to stop now,’” he recalls after a session in the simulator at the track.

Baldwin switched to playing the racing sim Project Cars in his bedroom when he wasn’t in a classroom studying engineering. The title is among the most popular in a genre that dates to 1974, when people used to drop quarters into Atari’s Gran Trak 10 arcade game, which featured a genuine steering wheel, shift lever, and pedals. Despite the realistic hardware, the experience was more Mario Kart than Indy 500. That remained the norm until the mid-1990s and the debut of seminal titles like Gran Turismo, Grand Prix Legends, and others that featured lifelike physics, environments, and driving techniques.

The rise of online gaming in the early 2000s has allowed players to compete against each other, more like they would on the track. Dabblers get by with consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but hardcore competitors often favor computers with peripherals like a steering wheel, shifter, pedals, and seat. “Once I transitioned to a more realistic simulator, not only did I get faster, but I had more fun,” Baldwin says.

He started entering tournaments and in 2018, at age 20, joined Veloce Esports, a gaming team in London. He quit school, and within a year ranked among the world’s top competitors in Project Cars 2, prompting Cox to offer him a spot on World’s Fastest Gamer.

Cox grew up wanting to try karting, but turned to video games because his parents couldn’t afford it. He studied politics and economics in college before going to work for Renault and then Nissan, where he led its global competition operation. The automaker launched a marketing campaign with Gran Turismo in 2006, and Cox invited aficionados of the game to lap a track with professional drivers. “Some of the instructors came up to me after and said, ‘You know, a bunch of these guys can really drive,’” he says. “That was my light bulb moment.” Seeing a chance to cultivate talent and attract new racing fans, in 2008 Cox launched GT Academy, an unprecedented television series in which Gran Turismo players competed for a seat on Nissan’s racing team. The show, filmed in Britain, ran for eight seasons, aired in 160 countries, and drew 100 million viewers at its peak.

A new generation of drivers are getting their start on consoles instead of racecars. (The Voorhes/)

It also launched several careers—impressive, given that most contestants had never climbed behind the wheel of anything faster than the family hauler. The show’s first winner, Lucas Ordóñez of Spain, has since competed in 112 events and racked up 21 top-three finishes, including two at LeMans. Jann Mardenborough earned his driver’s license just two years before winning season three. Nissan spent six months preparing the Brit for the 2011 24H Dubai endurance race, where his team placed third. He’s been at it ever since. “The transition from the virtual to the real world felt completely normal,” says Mardenborough, who now competes with Kondo Racing in the Japanese Super GT series. “Being a 19-year-old at the time probably helped; I didn’t have the self-preservation part of my brain telling me to back off.”

The pivot could not have come at a better time. Formula One saw viewership in Britain, where most teams are based, plummet 24 percent between 2018 and 2019. Nascar has lost more than half of its live and TV audience since 2014. The sport is on a “constant quest” to counter declining viewership, and “esports presents an intriguing opportunity to access a potentially valuable new demographic,” according to a 2017 report by Nielsen analysts. The tactic worked for soccer. A 2016 University of Michigan study cited the success of the FIFA game franchise as a factor in the sport’s surging popularity in the US.

In 2015, Cox founded his own outfit, which joined the Canadian firm Torque Esports in 2017. One year later, he launched World’s Fastest Gamer. The first season aired on ESPN and CNBC. Some 400 million people tuned in, and Rudy van Buren of the Netherlands won the grand prize: a job as a simulation driver for McLaren Racing, helping perform virtual tests of its Formula One cars. Impressive, but Baldwin will face the ultimate challenge of driving a McLaren 720S GT3 for Jenson Team Rocket RJN in the 2020 GT World Challenge endurance championship series. “Of course people in recent years have been on a similar journey, going from esports into the real world, but no one has gone in at the level of racing we are,” Baldwin says. “I am determined to show what is possible.”

Given Baldwin’s resolve to prove he can handle a $600,000 carbon-fiber rocket on wheels, it is perhaps ironic that he still spends much of his time in a simulator. But then, so do many pros. Teams at every level rely on the machines, which can cost as much as eight figures, to precisely replicate navigating any course, in any conditions. They allow drivers to acquaint themselves with a car or track and help engineers analyze vehicle performance. The technology is so precise that it has in many cases largely replaced expensive physical testing.

That explains why Baldwin’s training relies so heavily on it. If he isn’t in his rig at home, he is squeezed into the form-fitting seat of a simulator built by Allinsports, an Italian firm founded by a former Formula One engineer. His hands grip a steering wheel flanked by gearshift paddles (the computerized controls long ago replaced conventional stick shifts), and his feet depress gas and brake pedals. His eyes rarely leave the curved 48-inch screen before him. The hardware, about the size of a recliner, sits in the corner of a conference room overlooking Silverstone.

An off-the-shelf program called rFactor 2 allows Baldwin to experience nearly any circuit in the world, in any of dozens of cars. He can adjust his ride’s suspension, tune its engine, even customize the paint job. The software models factors like the damage tires sustain in a skid and how traction varies as the rubber wears and pavement conditions change. The system uses these calculations to provide surprisingly tactile feedback. The steering wheel shudders and vibrates, the brake pedal demands a firm push, and, like the McLaren he’ll drive, everything requires a deft touch to avoid a stall or spin.

James Baldwin practicing in a racing simulator. (The Voorhes/)

Evidence suggests the skills Baldwin has honed in the digital realm will serve him well as he crosses over. Cognitive psychologists at New York University Shanghai and the University of Hong Kong showed that gamers are much better than other people at processing visual information and acting on it. They also found that driving sims can help anyone “significantly improve” those abilities in just five to 10 hours, leading the researchers to believe that such software could be effective training tools. Their 2016 study builds on work by Daphne Bavelier and Adrien Chopin, cognitive neuroscientists at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne in Paris, respectively; their 2012 inquiry revealed that playing titles that feature highly dynamic situations and demand rapid decision-making can improve perception, attention span, and spatial cognition. Chopin has little doubt that esports players can become racers, given the authenticity of the vehicles, environments, and controllers. “Because of these characteristics, it is essentially the same task,” he says. “What you learn in the game should be transferable.”

Still, Baldwin knows he must hone his abilities through real-world experience. He’s lapped Silverstone in several cars, learning how to handle them at racing speeds. (So far he’s achieved 170 mph.)

This past March, he spent two days zipping around Circuit Paul Ricard in France in the McLaren. “The team was very happy with my performance,” he says. “They said my pace and consistency were great. And I didn’t crash, which was a massive tick in the box for them.” Naturally, he crammed for that test by driving a virtual version. Still, Baldwin concedes there are some things a simulator can’t prepare him for. “A real car is hot, it’s sweaty, it vibrates,” he says. “It sounds silly, but you don’t actually realize this until you get in and start driving.”

Beyond heat and noise, gamers have a lot to learn. They often miss subtle signals from the tires and suspension that can help them go faster and avoid problems, says Ross Bentley, a coach who has trained them. And while esports drivers possess excellent reflexes, concentration, and hand-eye coordination, they often lack the fitness long stints at speed require, says Mia Sharizman of Renault Sport Academy, the automaker’s driver recruiting program. During a race, competitors can lose several pounds, experience as much as five times the force of gravity, and endure heart rates as high as 170 beats per minute. “You need to be able to have core and neck strength to withstand the extreme G-forces, leg strength for the braking, and, most importantly, mental fortitude to be able to function while knowing that your life is at risk,” Sharizman says. “It’s extremely difficult to replicate that type of scenario and environment.”

Fortunately, Baldwin has some appreciation of this from his childhood racing experience. He’s working with Simon Fitchett, who has spent seven years training Formula One drivers, to prepare his body and further sharpen his concentration. “It’s hard to focus my mind sometimes,” he says. But the greatest challenge may lie in mastering fear, something Juan Pablo Montoya, whose long career includes stints in Formula One and Nascar, saw competitors struggle with while he was a judge on World’s Fastest Gamer. “A fast corner in a simulator is nothing. You press a button and you try and you try until you get it right,” he says. “When you’re doing 150 or 180 miles per hour on a track in a corner and you have to keep your foot down, the reality sets in. That’s when you’re going to start seeing the difference between the guys who can make it in reality and the guys who can only make it in esports.”

Baldwin will face that test when he finally rolls up to the starting line at Brands Hatch Circuit outside London, fulfilling a childhood dream. He has no doubt he’ll pass. “As long as I’m finishing first,” he says, flashing a cheeky grin, “then it should all be good, right?”

This story appeared in the Summer 2020, Play issue of Popular Science.

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scootoaster · 4 years

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The next generation of race car drivers started out as gamers

Getting ready for the raceway increasingly means cutting your teeth on virtual tracks. (The Voorhes/)

Esports ace James Baldwin with the McLaren he’ll drive in his live racing debut. (The Voorhes/)

A new generation of drivers are getting their start on consoles instead of racecars. (The Voorhes/)

James Baldwin practicing in a racing simulator. (The Voorhes/)

This story appeared in the Summer 2020, Play issue of Popular Science.

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kadobeclothing · 4 years

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Celebrity spats of the decade from Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden to the Wagatha Christie row – The Sun

THE New Year is almost upon us and a new decade is about to begin – so what better time for warring celebs to kiss and make up? From the recent ‘War of the Wags’ to Katie Price picking a fight with pretty much everyone, the 2010s have thrown up their fair share of showbiz spats. 21 Rebecca Vardy and Coleen had the mother of all falloutsWho can forget the epic showdown between Robbie Williams and Liam Gallagher – that nearly ended in a punch up – and the bad blood between Katie Price and Katie Hopkins? As 2020 dawns, here’s a reminder of the top celebrity feuds from the past 10 years – some of which are still going strong.Rebekah Vardy vs Coleen Rooney 21 Coleen’s Wagatha Christie act led to a very nasty fallout21 Coleen’s post made headlines after she accused her fellow WAGThese WAGs undoubtedly take home the prize for most heated celebrity spat of 2019. It started when Coleen Rooney took to Twitter, accusing Rebekah Vardy of leaking stories from Coleen’s private Instagram account to the press. Coleen revealed that she had blocked all of her followers, barring one, to find the culprit. “It’s ……..Rebekah Vardy’s account” is now etched into the celebrity feud history books forever. Rebekah replied by saying she doesn’t “need the money” and was “disgusted” by the accusation. The ‘Wagatha Christie’ war has since calmed down, with a source telling Closer that Coleen wants to bury the axe. Amanda Holden vs Phillip Schofield 21 Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden had a humdinger over her presenting slot on This Morning21 Phillip Schofield was upset by Amanda’s commentsIn second place for this year is Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden and ITV presenter Phillip Schofield. It started in November, 2018, when Amanda was preparing to fill in for Holly Willoughby on This Morning, but lost out to singer Rochelle Humes. A source told The Sun that the choice to ditch Amanda had been “heavily influenced by Phil”. Phillip denied the allegations, and the following summer Amanda confirmed the feud on her radio show, telling co-star Jamie Theakston that an “olive branch” had been offered via text. Apparently, Phillip never replied. Gemma Collins vs Jason Gardiner 21 Jason came under fire after giving the GC a tongue-lashingIn January 2019, Gemma Collins revealed that someone was selling stories about her “diva” behaviour on ITV’s Dancing On Ice. She later accused the show’s judge, Jason Gardiner, who told The Sun that the reality TV star is “lazy” and “mediocre”. He also compared her to a refrigerator, to which Gemma retaliated by screaming “you’re boring”. It didn’t end well for Jason. In August, with rumours that ITV bosses “were secretly plotting to replace him”, the 47-year-old announced that he was leaving after 13 years on the show. Gemma reignited the feud earlier this month, telling Celebsnow that Jason is a “bully”. Piers Morgan vs Little Mix 21 Piers Morgan and Little Mix fell out over the album cover for Strip21 Piers lashed out at Little Mix in a tweetPiers Morgan is no stranger to celebrity spats, having picked fights with everyone from model Emily Ratajkowski to actress Jameela Jamil. His feud with Little Mix began in November 2018 when the Good Morning Britain host accused the girlband of using nudity to promote the release of their single, Strip. Little Mix responded in an interview by claiming they have no time for Piers, to which he tweeted: “I can’t hang out with those foul-mouthed, talentless, clothes-allergic little dimwits? Gutted”. Little Mix reignite feud with Piers Morgan as they mock him and use footage of him on their tour Ariana Grande then joined in, slamming Piers for his comments, saying that women can be “naked and talented”. The war continued in 2019, when Little Mix threw some not-so-subtle shade on stage during the opening number of their world tour in Madrid, by airing clips of Piers demanding an apology. He shared the video on Twitter and accused the band of using him to “make their tour a success”. But Little Mix called his bluff, saying that both Piers and ITV had signed off on the footage. Charlotte Crosby vs Vicky Pattinson 21 Charlotte and Vicky went from pals to enemiesThey started out as fast friends, partying and bedding co-stars on MTV’s Geordie Shore. But when Vicky Pattinson left the show in 2014, she criticised it by saying the experience was “toxic” during a podcast interview with Jaime Laing and Francis Boulle, called Private Parts. Charlotte Crosby, who left in 2016, defended the show, and the aftercare that she had received. The spat continued when Charlotte dated Vicky’s ex-boyfriend, Stephen Bear in 2017. Both of the stars also released workout DVDs in 2018 – and each criticised the others’ work – with Vicky accusing Charlotte of “emulating parts” of her career. Fences were mended in January 2019, when Charlotte came out in support of Vicky after the 32-year-old was body-shamed online. The pair now appear to be on good terms.Katie Price vs Katie Hopkins 21 The two Katies have a long-running feud which dates back to Celebrity Big Brother21 Katie Hopkins referred to Katie Price’s boob jobs in this catty tweetCredit: TwitterIf there’s a celebrity known for her catfights, it’s Katie Price – with Jodie Marsh, Kelly Brook and ex-husband Peter Andre all featuring on the list. But few will forget her most epic showdown with long-standing enemy Katie Hopkins, which started when the pair appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015. Price called Hopkins “two-faced”, while Hopkins mocked Price for naming one of her five children “Bunny”. By the end of CBB, they appeared to have patched things up, but in 2017 an explosive Twitter spat ensued, with Hopkins saying Price’s calendar shots looked “photoshopped”. Fast-forward to present day, and the feud is still going strong. Just last month, Price criticised ‘vile’ Hopkins for her behaviour back on CBB. Danny Dyer vs James Jordan 21 Outspoken stars Danny and James had a war of words2121 The two men exchanged insults over social media in 2015Back in 2015, Danny Dyer and James Jordan started a feud that was more akin to two lads picking a fight after too many pints in the pub. James tweeted about Danny’s appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, where the EastEnders actor was supporting his co-star Kellie Bright, saying “Is Danny Dyer on Strictly???” This was followed by a series of insults flung back and forth about the others’ career, as well as Danny calling James an “irritating c***”. James then decided to kick things up a notch by bringing up Danny’s former drug use. Then, just as quickly as it had happened, it was over.One Direction vs The Wanted 21 21 Zayn Malik hit out at Max George in a series of digs21 Furious Max gave as good as he got in the rowCredit: TwitterIn 2012, the battle of the boybands ensued between One Direction and The Wanted. It began with a seemingly innocent comment from Zayn Malik about Max George being a “geek”, to which Max retaliated, tweeting: “I was just starting to like you and your RnB songs, too”. Then Zayn’s bandmate Louis Tomlinson jumped in to throw some insults of his own, but the situation didn’t really heat up until Zayn tweeted “alright chlamydia boy” to Max. Subtle shade about hairstyles and exes followed, and at one point there were even chats about meeting up for a “boxing” match, to settle the argument once and for all. Liam Gallagher vs Robbie Williams 21 Robbie challenged Liam to a boxing matchIn 1995, Robbie had a blossoming friendship with Oasis brothers Liam and Noel, but by the noughties things had soured, and this is now one of the longest-standing feuds in celebrity history. During the 2000 Brit Awards, Robbie asked the crowd “Would anybody like to see me fight Liam?” At the time, the Oasis singer was dating Robbie’s ex fiancée Nicole Appleton. The public attacks continued, with Liam calling Robbie a “fat f***ing idiot” after the former Take That singer insulted his brother, Noel. 21 Liam and Robbie squared up over social mediaCredit: TwitterIt continues to this day; during his Las Vegas residency in March 2019, Robbie asked fans to start a hashtag for “Liam Gallagher was s*** tonight”. It almost resulted in real fisticuffs – with Robbie planning to book a professional boxing match and promising to “knock him out in the third round.” But wife Ayda called a stop to the whole thing when she publicly labelled the spat “embarrassing” and “lame.” Cheryl Cole vs Cher Lloyd 21 Cheryl turned on her former protegee over ‘live’ singing jibeFrom bickering with fellow X Factor judges Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell to catfights with former Girls Aloud bandmate, Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Cole has been in a lot of feuds. But her spat with Cher Lloyd, the budding singer who took part in series 7 in 2010, is one of the most memorable – because Cheryl was the budding singer’s mentor. Two years after appearing on the show, Cher launched an attack by saying Cheryl “doesn’t sing live”. Cheryl retaliated with a warning via Twitter: “Be careful who you kick on your way up… They kick you twice as hard on your way down… #UnappreciationIsUgly.” The mother-of-one also did an interview with GQ magazine, saying that Cher has a lot left to learn about manners in the music industry. This story is one of few on our list that has a happy ending. During an appearance on Loose Women in 2016, Cher said the pair had “made up ages ago”. 21 Cheryl hit out at ‘unappreciative’ CherCredit: Twitter Holly Willoughby dismisses Phillip Schofield feud claims as she shares video of them singing and hugging WHAT HAPPENS IN A YEAR? Hollyoaks shock as flash-forward episode shows a DEATH on NYE Mystery solved Gavin and Stacey fans convinced they’ve worked out Nessa’s ‘real age’ ExclusivePOSH LOSS Victoria ditches chauffeur & offers to slash her pay as fashion line loses £12m GOOD GORD! Gordon Ramsay sends fans wild with shirtless Baywatch pic with his sons Final score Robbie Williams had sex with his DRUG DEALER on the night he met wife Ayda ECONOMY ANDY Andy Whyment flies family to Dubai in Economy after sinking beer at airport

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kartiavelino · 5 years

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Look out, Ed Sheeran: Tom Walker’s your Brit rock competition

If you happen to’re on the lookout for the subsequent Ed Sheeran, he has arrived as one other ginger troubadour from the UK: Tom Walker, a Scottish singer-songwriter who comes off like a grittier, growlier model of the “Form of You” crooner on his debut album, “What a Time To Be Alive,” out Friday. Final week, Walker adopted in Sheeran’s footsteps by profitable breakthrough British act on the Brit Awards — the UK’s reply to the Grammys — in London. “I had, like, 5 or 6 beers earlier than accepting the award, so I used to be fairly tipsy once I went up there,” says Walker of selecting up the celebrated prize, which has additionally gone to the likes of Sam Smith, Dua Lipa and Arctic Monkeys. “I wasn’t anticipating it, so I simply began pounding beers once I obtained to the Brits. It’s a free bar, so why not? I kinda simply obtained pissed [slang for drunk].” A unique form of buzz has continued to construct for Walker, 27, within the US. Earlier this week, he carried out on the “As we speak” present and at an unique business showcase on the Decrease East Facet’s Ludlow Home, throughout which he captured the gang with a soulful, stripped-down intimacy. Walker’s first live performance expertise, along with his dad, was way more of a headbanger. “I can keep in mind going to see AC/DC in Paris, once I was, like, 9,” he says. “After that, I begged my dad for a guitar.” Whereas finding out songwriting on the London Centre of Modern Music — now referred to as the London Faculty of Inventive Media — Walker didn’t initially wish to be a singer. “It form of all simply got here collectively [because] I wanted anyone to sing the songs I used to be writing,” he says. Certainly one of his most romantic songs, “Simply You and I,” is about his fiancée, Annie, whom he proposed to in Sri Lanka final August. In the meantime, Walker’s UK hit “Go away a Mild On” places a robust concentrate on mental-health points — and helped earn him an invitation to carry out on the Royal Basis dinner in November 2018. Chatting up Prince William and Prince Harry, plus their wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, respectively, the London-based Walker bonded most with William: “He was [making] jokes with me, which I believed was cool. It humanized the entire state of affairs. He appeared like an actual good man.” Walker, who later acquired a handwritten letter from William thanking him for performing on the dinner, remains to be “fairly shocked” about the entire thing. “I can’t imagine I’ve met the royal household,” he says. “It’s, like, a kind of belongings you by no means anticipate to do in your life.” [embedded content] Share this: https://nypost.com/2019/02/28/look-out-ed-sheeran-tom-walkers-your-brit-rock-competition/ The post Look out, Ed Sheeran: Tom Walker’s your Brit rock competition appeared first on My style by Kartia. https://www.kartiavelino.com/2019/02/look-out-ed-sheeran-tom-walkers-your-brit-rock-competition.html

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getyourgossip0-blog · 6 years

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Party police raids, drug 'stings' & divas: The Drum's Cannes Lions 2018 gossip column

New Post has been published on https://getyourgossip.xyz/party-police-raids-drug-stings-divas-the-drums-cannes-lions-2018-gossip-column/

Party police raids, drug 'stings' & divas: The Drum's Cannes Lions 2018 gossip column

Cannes Lions is over for another year, but as the rosé turns sticky on the floor of the Gutter Bar and you think of ways to explain the ROI on entertaining clients with €30 burrata every night to your finance manager, there’s one thing that’s sure to follow you home on that Jet2 flight – all the gossip.

What happens in Cannes famously doesn’t stay in Cannes. The Drum’s moles were on the ground, and our very own pub – The Drum Arms – which gave us plenty of access to the scandals happening behind the scenes.

Find out what went on away from the buzz of the Palais from noise complaints to entitled celebrities, The Drum’s drummers causing chaos on the strip and the magnetic pull of Sir John Hegarty… ooh la la indeed.

Duty free

A French air traffic control strike the weekend before Cannes led to topsy-turvy, rerouted trips across Europe for hundreds of delegates on route to the Riviera; we heard of attendees flying via Cologne, Milan and even Luxembourg to make sure they didn’t miss that 9am breakfast meeting.

But which programmatic supremo was spotted making the most of his delayed flight in the airport bar? His penchant for Gatwick’s champagne led to an impulsive – and most likely expensive – Lacoste shopping spree.

Don’t call it a comeback

He may have lost the ‘most powerful man in advertising’ crown but yet again Sir Martin Sorrell managed to become the biggest story of the week. There were plenty of whispers about whether he’d show up to Cannes following the events of recent months – but oddly, we’ve rarely seen him look so relaxed. Some attendees even asked The Drum what we were really planning on doing, assuming the interview at the pub was really a publicity stunt (as if we would ever…!)

But from the moment he arrived at The Drum Arms for his first post-WPP interview (through the back door, naturally) it was clear that the outspoken bean counter was back with a vengeance.

After laying into the big six networks, the Financial Times’ reporting and WPP’s handling of his resignation, he slipped out faster than you can say ‘Q&A’.

Martin Sorrell on why he wants Mark Read and Andrew Scott to replace him as co-CEOs #thedrumcanneshttps://t.co/3lp8PKQpsdpic.twitter.com/slwCT3EK5s

— The Drum (@TheDrum) June 21, 2018

Do ad execs shit in the woods?

Which glamorous party had a distinct lack of toilets for the 500+ people it invited to its celeb-filled celebration? One desperate marketer charmingly told The Drum staff he was going to do a Bear Grylls and “poo in the woods”.

It’s not clear if he was joking or not but he did wander off into the night, which begs the question: if a client does a number two in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Diva on the docks

This East End pop star embraced her inner Mariah Carey this week. When arriving at the port for a night on the yachts she refused to leave her bejewelled high heels on the jetty, forcing staff to choose between a great PR opportunity and their boat hire deposit.

Later, when the same London diva was refused entry to an over-capacity agency party she loudly declared the shop’s comms director was a “jobsworth” in front of their colleagues. It must have been a damned good party! Brits abroad, eh?

A sticky situation

The Carlton’s unfathomable pricing strategy leaves many a suit feeling extorted when the bill arrives. But which creative director was stung big time by Cannes’ hustling drug dealers?

After requesting a wrap of unidentified white powder and paying out €200, his teenage vendor scarpered into the night. Only later did he realise he was actually the proud owner of a rolled-up wrap of sticky tape.

Cooking doesn’t get tougher than this

This year’s News UK party, once again hosted a atop a giant hill at the Château de Garibondy was an absolute hive of gossip. With a set from Kylie, Idris Elba and Fatboy Slim on the decks and a pool stocked with pink flamingos, the glitz and glamour was unrivaled elsewhere.

Aussie chef John Torode was even spotted cooking up a storm at the BBQ, but The Drum’s roving reporters couldn’t help but notice he looked grumpier than a unsuccessful Masterchef contestant.

To be fair, it’s probably not much fun grilling brisket in the blistering heat while drunken ad execs guzzle elderflower gin and tonics around you. It looked like he cheered up a bit later though, when he and his wife Lisa Faulkner got a snap with the Spinning Around singer.

The crowd went absolutely wild for Kylie, with one chief marketing officer dancing non-stop for the whole session and another top creative giving it his all during Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

Praise you like I should

Fatboy Slim, meanwhile, wins the Gold Lion for nicest celebrity of the festival. We heard he spent an hour before his set hanging out with fans and taking pictures. Eat, sleep, network, repeat, right?

Post-party chaos

It’s a shame then, that the plug was literally pulled on Fatboy Slim’s set. Organisers were believed to have been sticking to strict timings to avoid catching the attention of the French police; a plan which ultimately failed.

Hearsay on the ground said this was due to noise complaints, but as more officers showed up just as the party was ending, rumours swirled that it was because a rowdy group of underage teenagers wanted to rave to Fatboy.

The police presence then stopped planned pick-up cars from driving up to collect worse-for-wear guests from the château. This resulted in dozens of high-heeled delegates winding their way down a steep, tree-lined hill in the pitch black to hitch a ride back to their hotels – lions, and tigers and swears, oh my!

Heartthrob Hegarty

In case you were wondering, Sir John Hegarty has still got it. After he spoke at a press conference, the scenes of female fans flocking for some facetime with the BBH founder were akin to Channing Tatum’s media lounge appearance in 2016. One journalist even invited him to spend a holiday with her in Colombia – whenever, wherever!

Sacré bleu!

Which restaurant along Le Croisette doesn’t believe in ‘going dutch’ – or, indeed #TimesUp? During one dinner, we were told waiting staff handed out gender-specific menus where the women don’t see the prices.

Staff from one media firm were shocked to discover this when they noticed that only the sole male of the group could see the cost on the menu he was handed. Lucky fella.

No cameras please

This US star came to the speaker’s corner of the press lounge to talk business, but was left frustrated after the reporting media failed to ask any her questions at all about the announcement she made.

She rolled her eyes when a bunch of journalists instead swarmed around her for videos and selfies once she was done.

On the ball

Speaking of celebs, did we mention that we interviewed former England manager Sam Allardyce?

In conversation before the England v Tunisia game at the TalkSport bar, he predicted the right score and told us over a Guinness that he doesn’t think Stevie G, Frank Lampard or Joey Barton will still be in a job come next summer.

Here he is with The Drum’s video producer Jamie McMurray and editor Stephen Lepitak.

Jambon ou fromage?

A journalist’s diet at Cannes usually consists of aspirin, coffee and rosé, accompanied by agency dinners if you’re lucky or McDonald’s if you’re not. But this year it all changed with the introduction of the press room buffet – a revelation that appeared around 3pm every day.

On the Monday there was cheese and bread. On the Tuesday there was ham and bread. Rumours spread that the much-anticipated French coupling of cheese AND ham would arrive on the Wednesday. But alas – never the two did meet.

Band on the run

We were so enamored with The Drum’s new branding that we flew a band of drummers from London to France for the week. Their job was to disrupt the industry – literally – with the harmonious sounds of banging and hollering. Unfortunately, not everyone was a fan.

The police and event security asked the troop to “allons-y!” on several occasions, and Campaign sent them packing from outside their 50th birthday celebrations.

The biggest reaction came when the band surprised our friends at Ad Age – and were subsequently manhandled out of the area.

[embedded content]

The Drum’s editor-in-chief and founder Gordon Young even got involved in the action earlier on in the week. Here he is leading the merry band in front of a refined audience at the Gutter Bar.

All stood up

Which social figure left The Drum reporters waiting 90 minutes for an interview? After an hour and a half of waiting (with only frantic texts from her PR to give us hope) we gave up – only to land an interview with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, aka Game of Thrones’ Jaime Lannister, a few boats down. Both his hands were fully operational.

ForgetfulLAD

Which well-known industry PR was said to have his laptop at the Lad Bible villa, only to realise it was missing on is way to the airport. His cab had to turn around so he could return to collect the computer.

It’s not clear whether he left it during the social publisher’s party on the Tuesday night, which looked a bit like a session at the Love Island villa.

Live From The @ladbible Villa Pool Party #Cannespic.twitter.com/70fuAdvm7n — DJ Luck & MC Neat (@LucknNeat) June 19, 2018

There’s no doubt the Lad Bible crew were partying hard the rest of the week, since the group’s ‘Trash Isles’ campaign scooped a number of Lions.

Too brave?

The Marketing Society’s well-intentioned ‘brave’-themed lunch proved a bit too bold for some attendees, with one unadventurous guest suggesting that even Heston Blumenthal might have snubbed some of the concoctions on offer.

Can’t fight the moonlight

One Australian agency got a bit excitable in the car on its way to one of the many events. As the poor driver weaved his way through the rolling Riviera hills, too much pre-8pm rosé (we heard them say they paid €350 for a bottle) had gone to the execs’ heads.

Unprompted, one of the group put LeAnn Rimes’ 90s classic Can’t Fight the Moonlight on full blast in the backseat, loudly singing along and trying to get our reporters to dance. We preferred the original.

You can follow all The Drum’s Cannes Lions coverage here, with more exclusives and one-on-one interviews to follow next week.

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gossipgirl2019-blog · 6 years

Text

Party police raids, drug 'stings' & divas: The Drum's Cannes Lions 2018 gossip column

New Post has been published on http://gr8gossip.xyz/party-police-raids-drug-stings-divas-the-drums-cannes-lions-2018-gossip-column/

Party police raids, drug 'stings' & divas: The Drum's Cannes Lions 2018 gossip column

Duty free

Don’t call it a comeback

But from the moment he arrived at The Drum Arms for his first post-WPP interview (through the back door, naturally) it was clear that the outspoken bean counter was back with a vengeance.

After laying into the big six networks, the Financial Times’ reporting and WPP’s handling of his resignation, he slipped out faster than you can say ‘Q&A’.

Martin Sorrell on why he wants Mark Read and Andrew Scott to replace him as co-CEOs #thedrumcanneshttps://t.co/3lp8PKQpsdpic.twitter.com/slwCT3EK5s

— The Drum (@TheDrum) June 21, 2018

He recycled a handful of pre-prepared jokes when he spoke at the Palais on Friday, however the audience was less sympathetic to the freshly tanned millionaire: delegates booed as he filibustered his own session instead of answering questions from journalist Ken Auletta.

Do ad execs shit in the woods?

Diva on the docks

A sticky situation

The Carlton’s unfathomable pricing strategy leaves many a suit feeling extorted when the bill arrives. But which creative director was stung big time by Cannes’ hustling drug dealers?

Cooking doesn’t get tougher than this

Aussie chef John Torode was even spotted cooking up a storm at the BBQ, but The Drum’s roving reporters couldn’t help but notice he looked grumpier than a unsuccessful Masterchef contestant.

The crowd went absolutely wild for Kylie, with one chief marketing officer dancing non-stop for the whole session and another top creative giving it his all during Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

Praise you like I should

Post-party chaos

The Drum understands News UK was issued fines of €60 and then €1,000. Hearsay on the ground said this was due to noise complaints, but as more officers showed up just as the party was ending, rumours swirled that it was because a rowdy group of underage teenagers wanted to rave to Fatboy.

Heartthrob Hegarty

Sacré bleu!

Staff from one media firm were shocked to discover this when they noticed that only the sole male of the group could see the cost on the menu he was handed. Lucky fella.

No cameras please

She rolled her eyes when a bunch of journalists instead swarmed around her for videos and selfies once she was done.

On the ball

Speaking of celebs, did we mention that we interviewed former England manager Sam Allardyce?

Here he is with The Drum’s video producer Jamie McMurray and editor Stephen Lepitak.

Jambon ou fromage?

Band on the run

The police and event security asked the troop to “allons-y!” on several occasions, and Campaign sent them packing from outside their 50th birthday celebrations.

The biggest reaction came when the band surprised our friends at Ad Age – and were subsequently manhandled out of the area.

[embedded content]

The Drum’s editor-in-chief and founder Gordon Young even got involved in the action earlier on in the week. Here he is leading the merry band in front of a refined audience at the Gutter Bar.

All stood up

ForgetfulLAD

It’s not clear whether he left it during the social publisher’s party on the Tuesday night, which looked a bit like a session at the Love Island villa.

Live From The @ladbible Villa Pool Party #Cannespic.twitter.com/70fuAdvm7n — DJ Luck & MC Neat (@LucknNeat) June 19, 2018

There’s no doubt the Lad Bible crew were partying hard the rest of the week, since the group’s ‘Trash Isles’ campaign scooped a number of Lions.

Too brave?

Can’t fight the moonlight

You can follow all The Drum’s Cannes Lions coverage here, with more exclusives and one-on-one interviews to follow next week.

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travelworldnetwork · 6 years

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As a Brit living in Mexico, I’ve discovered that many people are intrigued by whether or not I eat spicy food. I once had an entire conversation with a waiter in which he asked me where I was from, what language I spoke, where exactly England was, and finally ended with the question he was really trying to ask: do you eat spicy food?

Having experienced so much curiosity around the level of heat that I can handle, I was well prepared when a friend asked me if I like chilli while a group of us were out for drinks in Oaxaca city. I waxed lyrical about my love of chillies, the great variety found in Mexico, the level of spice of each chilli and just how much I could handle. What began as stifled giggles among the group became full-on belly laughs, with some of the group almost crying with laughter.

Albur would have me both intrigued and confused for years to come

I giggled along nervously, like a child who doesn’t understand a joke, while I rapidly ran through what I had said, looking for possible mistakes in my Spanish that could have caused such amusement. Suppressing giggles, one of my friends said, “so you really like Mexican chilli, then?” and the whole table fell about laughing again. At that moment, it clicked: ‘chilli’ must have a double meaning, and it didn’t take long to work out what that double meaning was. My cheeks went puce as I ran back over what I had been saying through their filter, my blushing face making everyone laugh even more.

This was my introduction to albur, a Mexican play on words that would have me both intrigued and confused for years to come.

View image of Writer Susannah Rigg first encountered ‘albur’ when discussing her love of chilli (Credit: Credit: Giulio Mignani/Getty Images)

You may also be interested in: • The confusing way Mexicans tell time • The slang that transformed Spanish • The city where people don’t get angry

Most albures have to do with sex. “[It’s a] way of talking about sex without talking about it,” said Dr Lucille Herrasti, professor of linguistics at the Autonomous University of Morelos. Like in many societies, many Mexicans view sex as a taboo subject. “Using albur is a way to generate the meaning behind the words without using the actual words,” Herrasti added, noting that albures have to be funny in order to make the ordinarily prohibited subject more approachable. She explained how objects that have phallic characteristics – such as the chilli – are used to craft double entendres. The result is that one can be innocently talking about making salsa from chilli, and someone else will hear something more salacious.

It’s a way of talking about sex without talking about it

Growing up in England, I am no stranger to the double entendre. The UK is rather fond of double meanings, and I learnt at a young age that often what people say isn’t what they really mean. I spent my youth watching shows ripe with covert sexual references, like Are You Being Served, Blackadder and ‘Allo ‘Allo!, and listening to the incredible linguistic wordplays on the BBC Radio 4 show, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. Even Shakespeare gave us multiple double entendres in his work. The title of his play, Much Ado About Nothing, is a cheeky play on words where ‘no-thing’ was a reference to female genitalia.

Herrasti explained that, in Mexico, albures can take multiple forms. There is the use of hidden meanings in words, as well as the rearranging of words and phrases to create new meanings. Some more tame albures also come from using words with similar sounds to create alternatives to traditional expressions, in much the same way that Brits might say ‘oh sugar’ rather than using a more charged swear word. While some see albur as childish or in bad taste, for Herrasti it is an art form, where the quick-witted speaker has “a really good ability with language”.

View image of In Mexico, albur is a form of humour used to make ordinarily taboo subjects approachable (Credit: Credit: Linka A Odom/Getty Images)

I love playing with words – I am a writer, after all, and a love of words comes with the job. Learning Spanish opened my world up to a whole new language with which to toy. However, wordplay in a second language is a greater challenge than wordplay in your mother tongue, and despite having a solid grasp of Mexican Spanish, albur can still leave me for dust.

I am not alone, apparently. Gregorio Desgarennes, who teaches Mexican slang to non-native speakers in his home city of Oaxaca, says that foreigners not only have to translate the words but then look for the hidden meaning behind them, which makes understanding albures – often passed back and forth between friends in rapid fire – extremely difficult. Beyond that, he explains that the hidden meanings can be so well veiled that they are hard for even Mexicans to understand.

View image of Albur can be extremely difficult for foreigners to understand (Credit: Credit: imageBROKER/Alamy)

The origins of albur are as hard to pin down as the quick tongues of its users. Herrasti explained that academics who have been investigating the origins of albur believe it to have come from the mines of central Mexico, where groups of miners used it as a way to entertain each other. Yet most Mexicans whom I have spoken to claim that its roots go much further back to the Spanish conquest, with the indigenous population finding a way to play with the Spanish using the language imposed on them.

Desgarennes explains that as he sees it, albur represents resistance “to speaking ‘well’” and a transgression from the norm. He describes albur as short form among the working class that tells the other person, “we both come from the barrio [a lower-class neighbourhood]” and automatically creates a sense of trust. The more complicated and complex the albures get, the more trust is built.

Albur is such a recognised part of Mexican culture that there is now a competition every year to find Mexico’s best albureros, or wordplay masters. Each contestant comes to the table with an original albur to which their opponent must respond within five seconds with another albur. This back and forth continues until one person is unable to retaliate and is knocked out of the competition. Almost like a display of masculinity, the albur competition was long dominated by men until 20 years ago when Lourdes Ruiz, a female market vendor from Tepito, a working-class neighbourhood of Mexico City, was crowned the ‘Queen of Albur’, a title that no-one has been able to strip her of since.

View image of The origins of albur are difficult to pin down, though many believe it dates back to the Spanish conquest (Credit: Credit: Getty Images)

The Queen of Albur is now leading the way in the world of wordplay, and Mexico City residents can enrol in a diploma in albur fino, or ‘refined albur’, taught by Ruiz herself. Offered free of charge, the course attracts participants from across the socioeconomic spectrum who want to learn from the best. For Alfonso Hernández and Rusbel Navarro, who run the course alongside Ruiz, albur should be seen as far more than just funny sexual euphemisms. For them, it is a kind of “mental chess” that involves a linguistic mastery.

Albur transforms everyday words into another transgressive language experience

An important form of cultural identity among Mexico’s often marginalised working class, albur, Hernández and Navarro explain, is also a way of using humour to laugh in the face of power – and more importantly – horror. “Albur transforms everyday words into another transgressive language experience. Therefore, with albur, those who survive tragedies can live [with] them with humour.” It is much like the old saying, “if you don’t laugh you will cry.”

This explanation makes a lot of sense in a country as complex as Mexico. Mexicans see tragedy in the news daily, and yet laughter and playfulness are everywhere you go. Film director Guillermo del Toro spoke further to this point when asked how he was able to reconcile his dark films with his always-happy personality. His response was simple: “I am Mexican.”

View image of Opinions about albur are divided in Mexico, with some seeing it as a linguistic art form, and others seeing it as juvenile (Credit: Credit: dbimages/Alamy)

Opinions about albur seem to be divided in the country: some consider albur linguistic poetry, while others feel it is juvenile and derogatory. Between 2014 and 2016, it was widely reported in Mexico that Unesco had declared albur to be of intangible cultural heritage, which, while apparently untrue, sparked a debate among Mexicans about this form of speech. According to a study conducted by the Strategic Communications Cabinet, only 21% of the population felt that albur was a form of Mexican ingenuity.

Ingenious or not, for us foreigners, it will likely continue to be a source of confusion. Despite my training, from Shakespeare to Blackadder, I am resigned to the fact that for as long as I live in Mexico I may never truly be safe when talking about how well I can handle my chilli.

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republicstandard · 6 years

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The Guardian's Arwa Mahdawi Supports the Patriarchy and the Victimization of Women

Well friends, it is another day ending in 'Y' and that means there is another feminist moonbat screeching at the sky about guns. Actually make that two but Jessica Valenti doesn't count as newsworthy anymore. Sorry Jess.

Our kids are literally being shot to death by weapons of war, and the government continues to do nothing. ~ Jessica Valenti

Yes, it certainly appears that after decades of creeping gun control and a Soros-funded PR blitz featuring Teen-Bop Against The Evil Guns that the mean ole gubbermint just isn't doing enough to restrict the rights of people to protect themselves. H.R.5717 is a figment of your imagination. Lex B from the Freebird Forum describes 5717 thus:

Over 10 states looking to institute risk protection orders which authorise the unwarranted seizure of firearms from “dangerous” individuals. People like ex-girlfriends, postmen, welfare agents, mental healthcare workers, family members and others can petition to have your guns remove from your possession without evidence for a minimum of one year and a maximum of a lifetime. This outrageous law is supported thoroughly by the NRA! A bill is being introduced to the federal government to disburse more funds to states which adopt this risk protection measure. Spread this to your family members, friends and acquaintances, whether liberal or conservative. This is one of the most dangerous laws I’ve seen in my lifetime.

If you were under any doubt that the gun control agenda is going ahead full steam, Trump or no, #MAGA or no, this is your wake-up call. The Guardian columnist cries out in pain as she strips your rights.

Staying with the Guardian, Valenti's compadre Arwa Mahdawi describes herself as a Palestinian-Brit in New York; three intersecting aspects of identity that would lead most sane people to be avidly pro-Gun if they had any sense.

British: Strict gun laws don't stop acid attacks, global jihad and criminals using guns.

Palestinian: Having no guns to shoot at the Israelis with is proving a problem.

New Yorker: self-explanatory.

I won't even go into Greater London without at least a fully licensed concealed carry soup-spoon. It's that dangerous these days.

So, what is Arwa's burning issue?

I wrote about how feminism is cynically being used to sell guns https://t.co/ZqEvupaUvG

— Arwa Mahdawi (@ArwaM) May 18, 2018

Yes, it's the heinous reality of all-American babes openly expressing their love for the Second Amendment (and by crimminy it is a beautiful thing- but we'll get to the ladies later). The bee in Arwa's bonnet is that pure, innocent and beloved feminism is being used -used!- to sell guns. Heaven forbid that a cult which has no problem selling pussy hats and infantilizing coloring books be co-opted by women with a different opinion about what a self-determined woman means in 2018.

We begin with the unfounded conflation between "women" and "feminism". It's very easy for feminists to then claim that they speak for all women when they use this simple rhetorical trick. Note: Feminism and women are not the same thing. Will Wheaton is not a woman as far as we know, but he is undoubtedly a feminist. So is that guy who just jumped the shark with Star Wars VIII, you know. That guy who will never know what credibility or talent is. There are probably other male feminists out there too, but who cares.

Firearms, it would seem, have become a feminist issue. Second amendment proponents and the gun industry are using female empowerment, and even the #MeToo movement, to sell their products and fight back against gun control.

Ladies, through feminism you can become empowered! So empowered. Just not empowered enough to take responsibility for your home and your person, because that is actually being exploited by the gun industry. Could you imagine the look on Harvey Weinstein's face if he pulled out his piece and Rose McGowan had pulled out a piece of her own, with a thicker barrel? If we take Mahdawi's view, it is probably for the best that she was raped by one of the most powerful people in Hollywood; because you just can't allow women to become too good at not being raped by the literal physical and financial embodiment of the patriarchy. Maybe I'm a bad feminist, but I fully support the right of all women to shoot rapists square amidships.

When faced with examples of actual rape, the feminist mentality is forced into a paradox. What comes first? The victim, or the ideological need to subvert the dominant paradigm? In her own article, Arwa Mahdawi writes:

Shayna Lopez-Rivas, 23, who recently graduated from Florida State University, also bought a gun after being attacked. Lopez-Rivas grew up in an anti-gun household and always had a negative view of guns until she was raped on campus in 2014. “I had pepper spray, he had a knife,” she said. “I wasn’t fast enough or strong enough.” The first time she picked up a gun, Lopez-Rivas felt empowered. “As much as women are equal to men in every other way, the truth is that in a biological sense we’re not equal. They’re bigger, faster, stronger. We need to find something that is an equalizer. And for me that equalizer was a firearm.”

Arwa's response? Pure feminist sophistry.

It’s important to listen to women like Lopez-Rivas, who have found guns to be empowering. It’s crucial we don’t dismiss their experience. Nevertheless, it’s also crucial that we don’t let gun rights activists cynically exploit women’s rights to sell more guns. While firearms may empower some women, they kill a whole lot more.

Some wags out there might accuse Arwa Mahdawi of literally exploiting someone's rape to make her point in this very excerpt, but that would be uncouth. Correct, but uncouth. In the mind of the feminist, guns are simply part of capitalist patriarchy. There is no question that they are evil, and must all be destroyed- for the women. Actual rape victims like Ms. Lopez-Rivas who have been through hell on Earth are dismissed with a handwave; that they shouldn't be dismissed but, actually, dearie, even though if you had a gun you might not have been raped, the fact that guns also kill women means that you really should be quiet. Sisterhood, Yeah!

Live. Speak. Stand. Run. Carry with Confidence. Ladies, chances are your assailant is gonna be bigger, stronger and faster and that’s why you have @alexoathletica for your gun, your mace, or even your phone. Yeah, you’ve got it covered. #TeamTomi #alexoathletica #NotYourAverageGunGirl

A post shared by Tomi Lahren (@tomilahren) on Mar 22, 2018 at 5:54pm PDT

Hey, it's that Tomi Lahren girl from the TV who says stuff. Seems like she entirely agrees with the assessment of Ms Lopez-Rivas that according to the most horrifying field test imaginable, men are stronger than women and shooting a rapist is a good tactic that may prevent your rape. Mahdawi's response?

Much of this messaging seems to echo the NRA line that guns empower women.

Well Arwa, maybe -and I mean, just maybe- you could consider the possibility that the NRA are right, just this once? It is a very poor piece of thinking indeed to assume that your enemies are always wrong; not only is that almost certainly not true (except in the case of the Green Bay Packers) but it betrays a certain arrogance in that you consider your own position to be unassailable. Is it so far beyond the pale that the National Rifle Association might have a point?

In the aftermath of this year's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Loesch also defended guns by arguing that arming women would help them defend themselves against sexual assault. Framing gun rights as a feminist issue feels disingenuous and exploitative when there is a huge amount of research that shows women are more likely to be killed by a gun than saved by one.

Here is the crux of Mahdawi's case- it's one that has been drip fed into the cultural zeitgeist by virtually every liberal media outlet available; and generally it comes down to this utter mess of an assertion. Women are more likely to be killed with a gun than to save themselves with a gun. Therefore, guns are bad for women.

NEWSFLASH. Guns are bad for everyone. That's what guns do. That's why you want to be a competent gun owner when faced with someone with a gun or some other weapon who wishes to do you a mischief. The data this claim comes from appears to stem from this study by the anti-gun Violence Prevention Center. In it, the claim is made that a woman is more than 100 times more likely to be killed with a gun than to save herself with one. The message is clear; save the ladies, get rid of your guns.

Fortunately, it appears that the women of America are smarter than gun-grabbing feminists.

I have no apologies for my graduation photos. As a woman, I refuse to be a victim & the second amendment ensures that I don't have to be. pic.twitter.com/5CKmQobrMb

— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) May 15, 2018

I don’t take normal college graduation photos... pic.twitter.com/eI1NvLFYHs

— Brenna Spencer (@BrennaSpencer) April 7, 2018

Further, Mahdawi recognizes this truth. Female gun ownership is on the rise, and they are buying guns for self-defense. Even with the flawed comparison of all women killed by gun versus all women saved by gun on the table, the result is not less guns, in reality. It is more women making the smart choice that, in a world in which feminists have demanded equality even when there is none, self-defense is a personal responsibility.

According to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, women are more likely than men to say that the only reason they own a gun is for protection. While 27% of women say protection is the sole reason they own a gun, only 8% of men say the same.

Wyoming: 53.8% of people own Firearms Gun Homicide rate: 1.7 per 100k DC: 25.9% of people own firearms Gun Homicide rate: 18.0 per 100k https://t.co/VtRvV733Bp

— Andrew Quackson🇺🇸 (@AndrewQuackson) May 21, 2018

One might speculate that the breakdown of the nuclear family may have had something to contribute to these figures, which gall Mahdawi so much but please me immensely. It is my suspicion that perhaps if feminists had not been quite so keen on demonizing men and all we stand for that, perhaps, we may see far fewer spinsters needing to defend themselves with firearms; that would be a husband's job, after all.

The gatekeeping by the feminista media denizens is nothing short of anti-woman, anti-liberty hypocrisy. Of course, Mahdawi doesn't give a damn about rape victims, murder rates or women at all. This is a one-hundred-percent ideologically-driven poop-fling from the cheap seats; because it cannot be allowed to stand that pretty girls can responsibly promote responsible gun ownership in an era when pretty girls are kidnapped and murdered by MS-13. In the United States. In liberal Houston. By El Salvadorean Dreamers! It must be that the NRA hates women!

Ok, let's wrap this one up. Mahdawi has in the past published overtly racist and misandrist articles, whatever this is:

Latest column is on frugality porn, LinkedIn broetry, and condom snorting https://t.co/NfhG0BiDP4

— Arwa Mahdawi (@ArwaM) April 4, 2018

And, of course, literally subverting other people's businesses that she is paid money to do a serious job for with SJW-lite nonsense.

am currently freelancing at an agency, drafting corporate manifestos. have amused myself by peppering manifestos with Black Panther quotes ('build bridges not barriers' etc). unfortunately this has now been found out...

— Arwa Mahdawi (@ArwaM) February 22, 2018

Now I feel bad about picking on Arwa. She clearly can't help it, the Kool-Aid is just too damn strong.

Go buy a gun today, ladies.

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soundcheckmnl · 6 years

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Katy Perry’s Witness: The World Tour is a Feast for the Eyes

Written by: Maria Eunice Santos

Photos: Denise Villamar

If there’s an artist whose showmanship can outshine an overwhelmingly dazzling background set – one that is heavily comprised of acrobats, dancers clad in outlandish costumes, a plethora of humongous props, literal fireworks, and a great deal of other visionary spectacle – hands down, it’d be none other than the pop veteran Katy Perry herself.

The diverse crowd made up of little kids, teenagers, adults, and high-profile personalities all came together as one big army of Filipino KatyCats in the Mall of Asia Arena last April 2, 2018, and all eyes were set square on the 33-year old singer who stood out amidst the grandeur of her Witness: The World Tour.

With no front act or any further introductions necessary, Katy stepped onstage atop a lift, already set to belt out an impressive string of high notes barely a full minute into the program with her fresh tracks ‘Witness’ and ‘Roulette’. Sparing no time to take even a moment’s breather, she dished out the obvious fan favourite ‘Dark Horse’, and danced through the distortions with ‘Chained to the Rhythm’.

Each breathtaking act served as a promising exhibition of what the two-hour concert entailed for her KatyCats. Props were simultaneously being swapped and moved around in time with the music, including the giant, towering puppets with TV sets for heads, which were recurring aesthetics that devoted fans might recognize from Katy’s viral performance for The BRIT Awards back in 2017.

The show carried forth flawlessly, looking more and more like an extravagant spectacle straight out of Las Vegas with every passing song. Each production number involved a squadron of back-up dancers who alternated from being garbed in alien costumes for ‘E.T.’, to operating 15-feet tall flamingos, to pole-dancing for ‘Tsunami’, to showering Katy with glitters and confetti using large-scaled salt and pepper shakers for ‘Bon Appétit’.

But make no mistake: soaring over all the glitz and shimmers onstage was the playful personality of Katy that she’s mostly known and loved for. She kept the mood effortlessly fun and light with classic bops like ‘TGIF’, ‘I Kissed A Girl’, ‘Hot N’ Cold’, and ‘California Girls’ that featured the meme-worthy Left Shark. The pair also earned a laugh out of the arena when Katy pretended to get furious at her aquatic Superbowl buddy after it rebelliously snatched and kicked the microphone away a couple of times from the pop star.

Among the many highlights of the show also included Katy’s constant attempts to connect with her audience through learning basic Filipino words every now and then. Amidst the countless KatyCats who turned up in costumes impressive enough to earn slots in the show’s actual entourage, a young man in his graduation gown stole Katy’s full attention and was asked to join her onstage straightaway to become her personal language coach.

Josh Madrid, the luckiest fan of the evening, greeted his idol with a tight hug, his eyes brimming with tears of happiness. Upon noticing how nervous he was, Katy made a good-natured quip to break the ice, “He doesn’t look like he’s going to make it through his graduation!” and even volunteered to sit down on the floor with him. With Josh’s help, Katy was able to say “Maligaya akong nandito!” and “Mahal ko kayo KatyCats!” like a trueborn Filipina – and also ended up getting pleasantly surprised when told that ‘selfie’ was, indeed, an actual universal word. Before sending Josh off, Katy took a couple of parting selfies with him – which we’re sure, was the best set of impromptu creative shots that any graduating student could possibly ask for.

As delightful as the stage designs were, it was still the stripped back, acoustic segment that truly highlighted Katy’s powerhouse vocals. “This next one goes out to all the people that have been my supporters – my fans for over ten years. I feel like we’ve grown together. I feel like we’re a tribe. We’re a unit. Mahal kita. I’m so excited to come back here and tour and share the rest of my life with you!” The KatyCats responded to Katy’s sincerity with fervour, singing along to ‘Wide Awake’ and ‘Into Me See You’ from the top of their lungs, and making the arena glow with lightsticks and LED cat ears. In a poetic sense, it was the least choreographed and most simple portion of the show that turned up to be the most emotional beautiful one; just Katy with her guitar and her thousand-strong KatyCats.

“We’re not done yet!” Katy called out to the crowd with a grin. From there on out, it’s one KatyCat anthem playing after another, starting off with ‘Part of Me’, trailed after by ‘Swish Swish’ that had actual receipts raining down the arena like confetti, and ending with the deafening ‘Roar’.

Heeding the chants of her Filipino KatyCats for an encore, Katy emerged onstage one last time to deliver the reinvented version of her hit single ‘Firework’. Despite wearing a frilly dress, she jumped vigorously to the beat of the song, her stamina and energy still as infectious and admirable as ever even after her two-hour stint. “I love you, Manila! God bless you!” Katy exclaimed before descending through a gigantic hand bolstered at the far end of the stage, and leaving her fans with the empowering message of the final song to bring home with.

The stunning pyrotechnics ended Witness: The World Tour with a colourful and literal bang that might as well screamed: take note, world! This is how a pop show is properly done.

#WitnessTheTour #WitnessTheTourMNL #KatyPerry #KatyPerryMNL #OvationProductions

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