#and then my father finally decided to pay for the majority of my second procedure last week

[garlicbraid]

i literally haven’t queued posts in over a month so i’m wayyy behind but my queue has been at 300 for the past 24 hours bc i still have more to go lol

i’m probably gonna be annoying and bump posting to every 10 minutes just to get thru some of this stuff

#my life since november has just been insane #i was diagnosed with a severe chronic illness and normal medication wasn't working #i'm in the process of trying to get the medication i do need to be subsidized or payed off bc it's literally 12k a month #i hated my old job so a coworker who also worked somewhere else got me a job with her #literally after the second day i asked her what the fuck was up and she admitted that yeah this job was worse #and she was actually trying to leave so i think she just wanted the referral money even tho i was completely fucked over #so that lasted like two and half weeks and they worked me to the bone for that time #even tho they originally wouldn't schedule me for enough hours #that way they knew i'd have to come in at any random time they asked bc i have bills to pay #so for the past four days i've been without a job but this is the first time i'm seeing any real hope bc i desperately needed a break #in january i got a refund for some dental work i paid for but got to busy to actually have done so that helped #and then my father finally decided to pay for the majority of my second procedure last week #the stimulus check hit over the weekend and my paycheck from [redacted] came thru today so i'm finally back to a little monetary stability #i would just like everything else to fall in place as well

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Star Wars Wednesday

(This is an excerpt from my unfinished but fully outlined Reign of Vader fic, in which Darth Vader assassinates Palpatine and then finds out that unfortunately this means he actually has to rule. After Luke is captured by the Empire, Vader reveals both his heritage and a desire to fix things in the galaxy. Luke is wary, but it's not like he has anywhere to go)

Darth Vader was not a man of infinite patience, and the Ruling Council was growing ever nearer to discovering the limits of his tolerance. 

"Day-to-day procedures are a delicate matter, Majesty," Greejatus was saying, "It would be an unprecedented disaster to force change upon all offices all at once. May I recommend a gradual shift as your reign takes root?"

"Yes yes," Sate Pesage agreed. His eyes glittered out of his gaunt face with ambition. "This proposal to outlaw slavery, for instance-"

"-Is non-negotiable," Vader interrupted. "It was an idiot's decision to legalize it in the first place. My empire will have no need of slave labor."

"Of course!" Pesage bowed. He was beginning to sweat under that ridiculous hat of his. "We are eager to begin this journey into the future your reign promises, Majesty. But the galaxy is vast. Perhaps it is best to...phase the law in slowly? It takes time to bring new ordinances all the way to the Outer Rim."

Vader had heard quite enough for one day. 

"Enough. The decree goes into effect tonight." 

He stood, and all five members of the Council jumped a little. 

"You have until then to review the revised legal codes I have provided for you."

[[MORE]]

With a sardonic lilt to his voice, he added, "The rule of the Grand Vizier through the Moffs has ended, gentlemen. If you do not feel that you are adequately prepared for the task ahead, I will accept your resignation and begin the process of finding your successor."

He waved a hand. "In the next week, we begin hearings for the Alderaanian Massacre. You are dismissed."

There was a certain satisfaction in watching Palpatine's five advisers bowing and trembling on their way out. After decades of putting up with their snide comments and inane commands, it was nice to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.

Of course, they hadn't covered much. Just an overview of what the Imperial Ruling Council actually did. Once Vader mentioned that he intended to sell his secondary residence in the district and distribute the funds as reparations, the meeting had devolved into excuses and protests for the next two hours. Luckily, he was far too stubborn to pay any attention to their complaints.

While he had no strong feelings about most of his actions in the last nineteen years, neither hatred nor regret, he was willing to acknowledge that not all of his targets had been legitimate in a military sense. For Padme's sake, he would make amends if possible. 

Naturally, it was uncomfortable to try putting a price on life. But the sale of that ridiculous "castle" Palpatine insisted on him staying in would provide a good starting place.

It took about fifteen minutes of calculating, but ultimately Vader decided there was more than enough in Palpatine's personal accounts to cover about 17,000 wrongful death settlements, with additional funds in the cases of recurring medical bills. 

Arranging reparations for Alderaan would take more work. Vader quickly decided he was going to delegate that to the department of finances.

(They...did have a department of finances, didn't they? Surely Sidious hadn't done his own bookkeeping.)

With that settled, Vader's itinerary consisted primarily of a meeting with the Hands to make sure they knew their boundaries. After that, a remote consultation with a newly-renowned surgeon living in one of the lower districts. It would, unfortunately, take up the majority of the day. But for now, at least, he had two hours to himself.

The emperor closed his eyes and stretched out with his senses. It took several seconds before he was able to pinpoint his son's location. Luke's presence was dimmed, slightly. Muffled.

The reason for this became apparent the moment Vader found him.

Inside the library, on the lower level, Luke was sprawled across one of the ridiculous armchairs the nobles had favored. A book lay open on his chest, rising and falling gently. A small stack of texts encompassing everything from speeder repair to adventure novels sat on the floor, just next to where one of Luke's hands dangled off the edge of the arm rest. Clearly, he had been in the library for several hours before falling asleep. 

Sleep had softened the boy's features, painting him in a far more vulnerable light. The fear and caution of the previous night had been wiped away, leaving someone who seemed far too young, and far too small. How could he be twenty? How could Padme's baby already be twenty? 

It was tempting to leave him there. To let him sleep. But the chair was not the most supportive frame, nor was the library the most secure chamber of the palace. Reluctantly, Vader bent to touch Luke's cheek. 

"Luke," he said quietly, "This is hardly an appropriate place to sleep."

Luke's eyelids fluttered, but he did not fully awaken at once. Carefully, ever so carefully, Vader took hold of Luke's shoulders and guided him back into an upright position. 

"Your spine will thank me later," he said. 

Luke shifted, then opened his eyes with a groan. He didn’t seem to register Vader’s presence at first. One arm stretched up over his head, and the other came up to rub at his eyes.

“What time is it?” he yawned.

“Nearly noon,” answered Vader. The meeting with the Council had taken far longer than he would’ve liked. “Are you hungry?”

With a garbled sound, Luke waved a hand from side to side. “Don’t know yet?” he said in a still sleep-slurred voice.

After a few more seconds, he finally noticed just who had woken him. Instinctively, he straightened his spine, and looked a little bit nervous.

“Oh,” he said, very quietly. “H-hello, Father.”

“Hello, son.” Vader sounded amused. “Was your choice of reading that dull?”

After a moment, Luke nodded. He made a face. "I know there's supposed to be a famous musical made from this or something. But a whole chapter on how the sewer system of Ryloth's capital city works doesn't seem like good song material."

He jumped when Vader laughed. It was a warm, rich sound, utterly at odds with his austere appearance. 

"Poor boy!" He gently took the book from his son. "That was required reading for our literature studies when I was a boy. I loathed it. Very few of my peers sought it out voluntarily."

"I guess I can see why," Luke admitted. "But it seemed like it was going to be a good story."

"Then you are better served finding an abridged copy, I think," Vader chuckled. "Come. You should eat something."

Luke pushed himself up out of the chair. “Do I...need to put the books back?”

Vader leaned back on his heels. He looked at the books, then at the shelves. “I...will leave that to your best judgement. I do not know where you got them from.”

It was such a normal sounding conversation! Why?! 

Why did you have to be like...like this?! Luke fought a surprising burst of frustration. I have no idea how to talk to you! 

Serious and formal one moment, then laughing the next? Vader? Laughing?! It was as if the man he’d met on Cymoon and the man idly examining his stack of books were two completely different people.

Luke set the books on the console with the Holonet terminal eventually. Vader had suggested that he learn the cataloguing system of the room at a later time. At least that seemed to mean that he would be allowed to go back to the library again. Luke thought about his conversation with Artoo. Perhaps his father was trying to be kind to him. Whether that kindness would extend to anyone else was a different matter.

“I thought you were still meeting with dignitaries or something,” Luke said.

He trailed along behind Vader up an ornate staircase with his hands in his pockets. He was still uncomfortable walking too closely to the man. For all that he acknowledged that the new emperor was, indeed, his father, he was still a force to be reckoned with. 

Luke took a moment to internally groan at his unintended pun. Han would probably have elbowed him in the ribs for saying something like that. Chewie would think it was hilarious. 

Luke’s attempt to stay safely out of range failed quite suddenly. Vader deliberately slowed his steps so that Luke couldn’t hang back without being extremely obvious about it. He didn’t want to offend the emperor, so he tried to ignore his fight or flight instincts shaking his insides and kept pace with his father.

“I have several more meetings to endure today,” Vader said casually. “But the most onerous of those has been dealt with.”

This was not quite true. The Ruling Council was too full of Palpatine loyalists. Just intimidating them into compliance would only work for so long. They had connections, and they had money, and that could prove to be a headache if not dealt with sooner. Vader needed to replace at least three of them.

He had almost considered appointing Luke as Vizier in Amedda’s place, but had quickly thought better of it. Such a position would almost guarantee that Luke would never have time to fly again. Cutting a Skywalker off from the stars for good seemed too cruel. 

His son had not had the childhood he could have had if his mother had lived. If Palpatine had died much sooner. Let him enjoy his youth while he could.

But the problem of finding a Ruling Council that Vader could trust would still be waiting.

“The stupid hat club, right?” Luke asked.

He was unsettled by Vader’s proximity. Vader could sense that. He understood: the armor had been made to terrify. Perhaps one day he would have the option of seeing his son with his own eyes, but for now the boy would have to acclimate himself to the sight.

It was not often that Vader found himself cursing the cold, impersonal nature of his mask. He would have liked to smile at his son.

“Yes. The...stupid hat club.” He settled for letting his amusement be clearly heard in his voice. “That is not an inaccurate description. They run the day-to-day matters of ruling an Empire. But as they were all close to the former ruler, I find that I’d rather not trust them in matters of delegating governance.”

Luke grimaced. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” he agreed.

#star wars #star wars wednesday #fic prompts #writing prompts #Reign of Vader #luke skywalker #darth vader #ooc vader because Palpatine is dead and he's trying to decide what that means for his personality #luke is very uncomfortable but seeing Vader and Artoo arguing over upgrades helps #palpatine did not give vader any indication that ruling an empire meant actually working #he's operating on the bits and pieces he remembers from Padme's work and hating every minute of it #guess how long the empire is going to last when it turns out the emperor hates being in charge of that much minutiae #dad vader #he's actually making an effort

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 7: Childhood Friends

Logan and Patton are childhood friends. Patton’s (now ex)husband cheated on him. After getting divorced, Logan pays Patton’s ex a visit. He has a few things to say. Logan POV, One-sided Logicality with Patton/OC and familial Analogicality 

Warnings: Cheating, (mentioned) abuse (it’s only one hit), and death threats against a minor

Day 6 | Masterlist | Day 8

Logan sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. It’s been the most stressful month of his life. But it was necessary. Now, Patton was finally free from Jacob.

Logan wished that he had seen it sooner. Jacob had always seemed to be perfect for Patton (almost too perfect). He was charming, charismatic, and had so many common interests with Patton. Logan had always been suspicious about Jacob, but Patton had always brushed it off as paranoia and over-protectiveness.

Logan could still remember the day they met. January 6th. The first day of Junior year after the winter holidays. Jacob had transferred to their school that day. He and Patton had met in an assembly meeting and it was love at first sight. At least, that’s what Patton said it was. And at the time, Logan begrudgingly agreed. Logan and Patton had been friends since they were 5, but Jacob seemed to be the only person who could make Patton’s eyes light up the way they did.

Logan shook his head, trying to force those memories out of his head. They weren’t important anymore. Not after what Jacob had done. Jacob had taken his blissful 10-year relationship with Patton and reduced it to ash.

Patton had arrived home early with Virgil (their adopted son and Logan’s pride and joy. 8-year-old Virgil was such a sweetheart, and he was so smart and thoughtful) one evening to find Jacob sleeping (Logan winced at the irony of that phrase. They were definitely wide awake if Patton’s descriptions were anything to go by) with another man. Patton had confronted Jacob, who then slapped Patton and threatened to kill Virgil if he told anyone. Luckily for them, Virgil had decided to record the entire thing on his phone (Logan now regrets every time he argued with Patton over taking away that phone. Sure, Virgil almost never put it down, but after that day it could be literally glued to Virgil’s hand and Logan wouldn’t bat an eye). He had sent the video to Logan, who called the police.

Now, after weeks of trials and legal shenanigans, everything Logan knew had been flipped on its head. Jacob was sentenced five years in prison for threatening Virgil and hurting Patton. Patton had filed for divorce and won full custody over Virgil (it helped that Jacob didn’t want anything to do with Virgil). And now, everything was finally over. Patton and Virgil were currently staying in Logan’s apartment, Jacob was now in prison, and Logan should feel relieved. The keyword being should. But there was still one thing Logan needed to do.

Logan felt his anxieties build as he went through several procedures and rules. He already knew what to do. He already knew what to say. But as he sat in the metal chair, staring into the eyes of the man who had hurt Patton, Logan felt his throat tighten.

Staring at the man, Logan felt his words crumble away as he was reduced to one question. “Why?”

Jacob laughed. “You’ve gotta be more specific, specs.” Logan winced at the nickname. It was a name that Jacob started back when they were in high school. Patton and Virgil were the only people that didn’t call him either ‘specs’ or ‘Mr.Sanders.’ “Are you askin’ why I hit Pat? Or why I threatened the kid? Or maybe why I cheated?”

Logan shook his head. “No, I already know those answers. If you don’t remember, I have several degrees in psychology. I knew you never cared about Virgil. I suspected since day 1 that you never cared about Patton. But that’s where my question comes in.” Logan straightened his tie, attempting to gather his courage. “Why did you drag him along for so long? Why did you let him love you for ten years if you never felt anything for him? Why did you marry him and adopt a child together if you never intended on being faithful? Why did you abuse the love that he gave you?”

Jacob stared at Logan for a few moments. Logan stared back, getting more anxious with every passing second. Jacob seemed to find what he was looking for as he smirked. “I’ll answer with my own question: why did you never tell Patton?”

Logan blinked. “Excuse me?”

Jacob laughed. “Okay Mr. Psychology Major, I’m gonna dissect you for a minute. You’ve known Patton for almost your whole life. Patty used to say that the two of you were like brothers. You’ve never been in a relationship, though you’ve told Patton that you’re gay. You were the best man at our wedding, yet you cried more than Pat did at the ceremony. Every time Patton asked about you settling down, you went back to school for a new degree. You have more diplomas than friends but you have only one friend that matters. You treated Virgil as your own son even though he was your friend’s kid.” Jacob leaned forward, and Logan suddenly gained the urge to punch his teeth in. “So why did you never tell Patton that you’re in love with him?”

Logan glared. “You know why.”

Jacob smirked. “And you should know why I never said anything either. But you don’t, so clarification is needed. Why. Didn’t. You. Tell. Him?”

Logan growled. “Because he was head over heels for you!” Once that was off his chest, Logan couldn’t find himself to stop. “Patton had never shown interest in men before that! And the same day that he comes out as gay, he tells me that he’s in love with the new student! I watched for years while you led him along on a string! I buried myself in my studies as I attempted to forget about my feelings. I had assumed that what I was seeing was a result of my jealousy, but I was obviously mistaken! You never said ‘I love you!’ You never let Patton do anything for himself! Virgil originally assumed that I was Patton’s husband! You never stopped to give them the time of day! They were always a second priority, because you never loved them! So why!?! Why did you take him away from me?!”

Just then, a guard came up to escort Jacob back to his cell. Jacob smirked. “Time’s up.”

Logan felt a tear fall down his cheek as he watched the man who took everything from him walk away.

-------------------------------------------------

Logan sighed as he walked into his apartment. Virgil sat in the living room, drawing on a notepad. Logan smiled, moving to sit next to him. “Salutations, Virgil. What are you drawing?”

Virgil looked up and smiled. “I wanted to draw flowers for Dad!”

Logan looked at the drawing. It was quite impressive. Several types of flowers were drawn at different angles. If he didn’t know, Logan wouldn’t have believed that it was drawn by an 8-year-old. He’ll definitely be accepted to any art school he’d like. “Very impressive. I’m sure your dad will appreciate it. Speaking of your father, do you know where he is?”

Virgil frowned. “He’s sleeping.”

Logan nodded. Patton had been sleeping more and more often as of late. They would have to look into that soon. Patton had always shown signs of depression, but the divorce might have been the tipping point, and Logan didn’t want to risk anything.

“Lo?”

Logan looked over at Virgil, who had put his sketchpad down. He made grabby hands, and Logan maneuvered himself to allow Virgil to sit in his lap. Virgil sat so that he was facing Logan and wrapped his arms around Logan’s neck. He settled his head on Logan’s shoulder as Logan wrapped his arms around Virgil’s back to support him.

They sat there for several moments before Virgil spoke. He was extremely quiet, but Logan could still hear it perfectly. “I wish you had been my Papa instead of Jacob.”

Logan felt another tear slide down his cheek as his grip on Virgil tightened. “Me too, Virgil. Me too.”

#sanders sides #AU_gust_2020 #childhood friends au #one sided love #cheating #abuse tw #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders

[carole-lombard-screwball-queen]

Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. She was the highest-paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930s and in 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 23rd on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

Lombard was born into a wealthy family in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but was raised in Los Angeles by her single mother. At 12, she was recruited by director Allan Dwan and made her screen debut in A Perfect Crime (1921). Eager to become an actress, she signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation at age 16, but mainly played bit parts. She was dropped by Fox just before her 18th birthday after a shattered windshield from a car accident left a scar on her face. Lombard appeared in fifteen short comedies for Mack Sennett between 1927 and 1929, and then began appearing in feature films such as High Voltage (1929) and The Racketeer (1929). After a successful appearance in The Arizona Kid (1930), she was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures.

Paramount quickly began casting Lombard as a leading lady, primarily in drama films. Her profile increased when she married William Powell in 1931, but the couple divorced amicably after two years. A turning point in Lombard's career came when she starred in Howard Hawks's pioneering screwball comedy Twentieth Century (1934). The actress found her niche in this genre, and continued to appear in films such as Hands Across the Table (1935) (forming a popular partnership with Fred MacMurray), My Man Godfrey (1936), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Nothing Sacred (1937). At this time, Lombard married "The King of Hollywood", Clark Gable, and the supercouple gained much attention from the media. Keen to win an Oscar, Lombard began to move towards more serious roles at the end of the decade. Unsuccessful in this aim, she returned to comedy in Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) and Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be (1942), her final film role.

Lombard's career was cut short when she died at the age of 33 aboard TWA Flight 3, which crashed on Mount Potosi, Nevada, while returning from a war bond tour. Today, she is remembered as one of the definitive actresses of the screwball comedy genre and American comedy, and icon of American cinema.

Lombard was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908 at 704 Rockhill Street. Christened with the name Jane Alice Peters, she was the third child and only daughter of Frederick Christian Peters (1875–1935) and Elizabeth Jayne "Bessie" (Knight) Peters (1876–1942). Her two older brothers, to each of whom she was close, both growing up and in adulthood, were Frederick Charles (1902–1979) and John Stuart (1906–1956). Lombard's parents both descended from wealthy families and her early years were lived in comfort, with the biographer Robert Matzen calling it her "silver spoon period". The marriage between her parents was strained, however, and in October 1914, her mother took the children and moved to Los Angeles. Although the couple did not divorce, the separation was permanent. Her father's continued financial support allowed the family to live without worry, if not with the same affluence they had enjoyed in Indiana, and they settled into an apartment near Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Described by her biographer Wes Gehring as "a free-spirited tomboy", the young Lombard was passionately involved in sports and enjoyed watching movies. At Virgil Junior High School, she participated in tennis, volleyball, and swimming, and won trophies for her achievements in athletics. At the age of 12, this hobby unexpectedly landed Lombard her first screen role. While playing baseball with friends, she caught the attention of the film director Allan Dwan, who later recalled seeing "a cute-looking little tomboy ... out there knocking the hell out of the other kids, playing better baseball than they were. And I needed someone of her type for this picture." With the encouragement of her mother, Lombard happily took a small role in the melodrama A Perfect Crime (1921). She was on set for two days, playing the sister of Monte Blue. Dwan later commented, "She ate it up".

A Perfect Crime was not widely distributed, but the brief experience spurred Lombard and her mother to look for more film work. The teenager attended several auditions, but none was successful.[11] While appearing as the queen of Fairfax High School's May Day Carnival at the age of 15, she was scouted by an employee of Charlie Chaplin and offered a screen test to appear in his film The Gold Rush (1925). Lombard was not given the role, but it raised Hollywood's awareness of the aspiring actress. Her test was seen by the Vitagraph Film Company, which expressed an interest in signing her to a contract. Although this did not materialize, the condition that she adopt a new first name ("Jane" was considered too dull) lasted with Lombard throughout her career. She selected the name "Carol" after a girl with whom she played tennis in middle school.

In October 1924, shortly after these disappointments, 16-year-old Lombard was signed to a contract with the Fox Film Corporation. How this came about is uncertain: in her lifetime, it was reported that a director for the studio scouted her at a dinner party, but more recent evidence suggests that Lombard's mother contacted Louella Parsons, the gossip columnist, who then got her a screen test. According to the biographer Larry Swindell, Lombard's beauty convinced Winfield Sheehan, head of the studio, to sign her to a $75-per-week contract. The teenager abandoned her schooling to embark on this new career. Fox was happy to use the name Carol, but unlike Vitagraph, disliked her surname. From this point, she became "Carol Lombard", the new name taken from a family friend.

The majority of Lombard's appearances with Fox were bit parts in low-budget Westerns and adventure films. She later commented on her dissatisfaction with these roles: "All I had to do was simper prettily at the hero and scream with terror when he battled with the villain." She fully enjoyed the other aspects of film work, however, such as photo shoots, costume fittings, and socializing with actors on the studio set. Lombard embraced the flapper lifestyle and became a regular at the Coconut Grove nightclub, where she won several Charleston dance competitions.

In March 1925, Fox gave Lombard a leading role in the drama Marriage in Transit, opposite Edmund Lowe. Her performance was well received, with a reviewer for Motion Picture News writing that she displayed "good poise and considerable charm." Despite this, the studio heads were unconvinced that Lombard was leading lady material, and her one-year contract was not renewed. Gehring has suggested that a facial scar she obtained in an automobile accident was a factor in this decision. Fearing that the scar—which ran across her cheek—would ruin her career, the 17-year-old had an early plastic surgery procedure to make it less visible. For the remainder of her career, Lombard learned to hide the mark with make-up and careful lighting.

After a year without work, Lombard obtained a screen test for the "King of Comedy" Mack Sennett. She was offered a contract, and although she initially had reservations about performing in slapstick comedies, the actress joined his company as one of the "Sennett Bathing Beauties". She appeared in 15 short films between September 1927 and March 1929, and greatly enjoyed her time at the studio. It gave Lombard her first experiences in comedy and provided valuable training for her future work in the genre. In 1940, she called her Sennett years "the turning point of [my] acting career."

Sennett's productions were distributed by Pathé Exchange, and the company began casting Lombard in feature films. She had prominent roles in Show Folks and Ned McCobb's Daughter (both 1928), where reviewers observed that she made a "good impression" and was "worth watching". The following year, Pathé elevated Lombard from a supporting player to a leading lady. Her success in Raoul Walsh's picture Me, Gangster (also 1928), opposite June Collyer and Don Terry on his film debut, finally eased the pressure her family had been putting on her to succeed. In Howard Higgin's High Voltage (1929), her first talking picture, she played a criminal in the custody of a deputy sheriff, both of whom are among bus passengers stranded in deep snow. Her next film, the comedy Big News (1929), cast her opposite Robert Armstrong and was a critical and commercial success. Lombard was reunited with Armstrong for the crime drama The Racketeer, released in late 1929. The review in Film Daily wrote, "Carol Lombard proves a real surprise, and does her best work to date. In fact, this is the first opportunity she has had to prove that she has the stuff to go over."

Lombard returned to Fox for a one-off role in the western The Arizona Kid (1930). It was a big release for the studio, starring the popular actor Warner Baxter, in which Lombard received third billing. Following the success of the film, Paramount Pictures recruited Lombard and signed her to a $350-per-week contract, gradually increasing to $3,500 per week by 1936. They cast her in the Buddy Rogers comedy Safety in Numbers (also 1930), and one critic observed of her work, "Lombard proves [to be] an ace comedienne." For her second assignment, Fast and Loose (also 1930) with Miriam Hopkins, Paramount mistakenly credited the actress as "Carole Lombard". She decided she liked this spelling and it became her permanent screen name.

Lombard appeared in five films released during 1931, beginning with the Frank Tuttle comedy It Pays to Advertise. Her next two films, Man of the World and Ladies Man, both featured William Powell, Paramount's top male star. Lombard had been a fan of the actor before they met, attracted to his good looks and debonair screen persona, and they were soon in a relationship. The differences between the pair have been noted by biographers: she was 22, carefree, and famously foul-mouthed, while he was 38, intellectual, and sophisticated. Despite their disparate personalities, Lombard married Powell on June 6, 1931, at her Beverly Hills home. Talking to the media, she argued for the benefits of "love between two people who are diametrically different", claiming that their relationship allowed for a "perfect see-saw love".

The marriage to Powell increased Lombard's fame, while she continued to please critics with her work in Up Pops the Devil and I Take this Woman (both 1931). In reviews for the latter film, which co-starred Gary Cooper, several critics predicted that Lombard was set to become a major star. She went on to appear in five films throughout 1932. No One Man and Sinners in the Sun were not successful, but Edward Buzzell's romantic picture Virtue was well received. After featuring in the drama No More Orchids, Lombard was cast as the wife of a con artist in No Man of Her Own. Her co-star for the picture was Clark Gable, who was rapidly becoming one of Hollywood's top stars. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Wes Gehring writes that it was "arguably Lombard's finest film appearance" to that point. It was the only picture that Gable and Lombard, future husband and wife, made together. There was no romantic interest at this time, however, as she recounted to Garson Kanin: "[we] did all kinds of hot love scenes ... and I never got any kind of tremble out of him at all".

In August 1933, Lombard and Powell divorced after 26 months of marriage, although they remained very good friends until the end of Lombard's life. At the time, she blamed it on their careers, but in a 1936 interview, she admitted that this "had little to do with the divorce. We were just two completely incompatible people". She appeared in five films that year, beginning with the drama From Hell to Heaven and continuing with Supernatural, her only horror vehicle. After a small role in The Eagle and the Hawk, a war film starring Fredric March and Cary Grant, she starred in two melodramas: Brief Moment, which critics enjoyed, and White Woman, where she was paired with Charles Laughton. “We would have married,” said Carole Lombard during her interview with magazine writer Sonia Lee for Movie Screen Magazine in 1934 about her relationship with Russ Columbo, the famous singer killed in a tragic accident whose movie and radio career she had been guiding.

The year 1934 marked a high point in Lombard's career. She began with Wesley Ruggles's musical drama Bolero, where George Raft and she showcased their dancing skills in an extravagantly staged performance to Maurice Ravel's "Boléro". Before filming began, she was offered the lead female role in It Happened One Night, but turned it down because of scheduling conflicts with this production Bolero was favorably received, while her next film, the musical comedy We're Not Dressing with Bing Crosby, was a box-office hit.

Lombard was then recruited by the director Howard Hawks, a second cousin, to star in his screwball comedy film Twentieth Century which proved a watershed in her career and made her a major star. Hawks had seen the actress inebriated at a party, where he found her to be "hilarious and uninhibited and just what the part needed", and she was cast opposite John Barrymore. In Twentieth Century, Lombard played an actress who is pursued by her former mentor, a flamboyant Broadway impresario. Hawks and Barrymore were unimpressed with her work in rehearsals, finding that she was "acting" too hard and giving a stiff performance. The director encouraged Lombard to relax, be herself, and act on her instincts. She responded well to this tutoring, and reviews for the film commented on her unexpectedly "fiery talent"—"a Lombard like no Lombard you've ever seen". The Los Angeles Times' critic felt that she was "entirely different" from her formerly cool, "calculated" persona, adding, "she vibrates with life and passion, abandon and diablerie".

The next films in which Lombard appeared were Henry Hathaway's Now and Forever (1934), featuring Gary Cooper and the new child star Shirley Temple, and Lady by Choice (1934), which was a critical and commercial success. The Gay Bride (1934) placed her opposite Chester Morris in a gangster comedy, but this outing was panned by critics. After reuniting with George Raft for another dance picture, Rumba (1935), Lombard was given the opportunity to repeat the screwball success of Twentieth Century. In Mitchell Leisen's Hands Across the Table (1935), she portrayed a manicurist in search of a rich husband, played by Fred MacMurray. Critics praised the film, and Photoplay's reviewer stated that Lombard had reaffirmed her talent for the genre. It is remembered as one of her best films, and the pairing of Lombard and MacMurray proved so successful that they made three more pictures together.

Lombard's first film of 1936 was Love Before Breakfast, described by Gehring as "The Taming of the Shrew, screwball style". In William K. Howard's The Princess Comes Across, her second comedy with MacMurray, she played a budding actress who wins a film contract by masquerading as a Swedish princess. The performance was considered a satire of Greta Garbo, and was widely praised by critics. Lombard's success continued as she was recruited by Universal Studios to star in the screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936). William Powell, who was playing the eponymous Godfrey, insisted on her being cast as the female lead; despite their divorce, the pair remained friendly and Powell felt she would be perfect in the role of Irene, a zany heiress who employs a "forgotten man" as the family butler. The film was directed by Gregory LaCava, who knew Lombard personally and advised that she draw on her "eccentric nature" for the role. She worked hard on the performance, particularly with finding the appropriate facial expressions for Irene. My Man Godfrey was released to great acclaim and was a box office hit. It received six nominations at the 9th Academy Awards, including Lombard for Best Actress. Biographers cite it as her finest performance, and Frederick Ott says it "clearly established [her] as a comedienne of the first rank."

By 1937, Lombard was one of Hollywood's most popular actresses, and also the highest-paid star in Hollywood following the deal which Myron Selznick negotiated with Paramount that brought her $450,000, more than five times the salary of the U.S. President. As her salary was widely reported in the press, Lombard stated that 80 percent of her earnings went in taxes, but that she was happy to help improve her country. The comments earned her much positive publicity, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent her a personal letter of thanks.

Her first release of the year was Leisen's Swing High, Swing Low, a third pairing with MacMurray. The film focused on a romance between two cabaret performers, and was a critical and commercial success. It had been primarily a drama, with occasional moments of comedy, but for her next project, Nothing Sacred, Lombard returned to the screwball genre. Producer David O. Selznick, impressed by her work in My Man Godfrey, was eager to make a comedy with the actress and hired Ben Hecht to write an original screenplay for her. Nothing Sacred, directed by William Wellman and co-starring Fredric March, satirized the journalism industry and "the gullible urban masses". Lombard portrayed a small-town girl who pretends to be dying and finds her story exploited by a New York reporter. Marking her only appearance in Technicolor, the film was highly praised and was one of Lombard's personal favorites.

Lombard continued with screwball comedies, next starring in what Swindell calls one of her "wackiest" films, True Confession (1937). She played a compulsive liar who wrongly confesses to murder. Lombard loved the script and was excited about the project, which reunited her with John Barrymore and was her final appearance with MacMurray. Her prediction that it "smacked of a surefire success" proved accurate, as critics responded positively and it was popular at the box office.

True Confession was the last film Lombard made on her Paramount contract, and she remained an independent performer for the rest of her career. Her next film was made at Warner Bros., where she played a famous actress in Mervyn LeRoy's Fools for Scandal (1938). The comedy met with scathing reviews and was a commercial failure, with Swindell calling it "one of the most horrendous flops of the thirties".

Fools for Scandal was the only film Lombard made in 1938. By this time, she was devoted to a relationship with Clark Gable. Four years after their teaming on No Man of Her Own, the pair had reunited at a Hollywood party and began a romance early in 1936. The media took great interest in their partnership and frequently questioned if they would wed. Gable was separated from his wife, Rhea Langham, but she did not want to grant him a divorce. As his relationship with Lombard became serious, Langham eventually agreed to a settlement worth half a million dollars. The divorce was finalized in March 1939, and Gable and Lombard eloped in Kingman, Arizona, on March 29. The couple, both lovers of the outdoors, bought a 20-acre ranch in Encino, California, where they kept barnyard animals and enjoyed hunting trips. Almost immediately, Lombard wanted to start a family, but her attempts failed; after two miscarriages and numerous trips to fertility specialists, she was unable to have children. In early 1938, Lombard officially joined the Baháʼí Faith, of which her mother had been a member since 1922.

While continuing with a slower work-rate, Lombard decided to move away from comedies and return to dramatic roles. She appeared in a second David O. Selznick production, Made for Each Other (1939), which paired her with James Stewart to play a couple facing domestic difficulties. Reviews for the film were highly positive, and praised Lombard's dramatic effort; financially, it was a disappointment. Lombard's next appearance came opposite Cary Grant in the John Cromwell romance In Name Only (1939), a credit she personally negotiated with RKO Radio Pictures upon hearing of the script and Grant's involvement. The role mirrored her recent experiences, as she played a woman in love with a married man whose wife refuses to divorce. She was paid $150,000 for the film, continuing her status as one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, and it was a moderate success.

Lombard was eager to win an Academy Award, and selected her next project—from several possible scripts—with the expectation that it would bring her the trophy. Vigil in the Night (1940), directed by George Stevens, featured Lombard as a nurse who faces a series of personal difficulties. Although the performance was praised, she did not get her nomination, as the sombre mood of the picture turned audiences away and box-office returns were poor. Despite the realization that she was best suited to comedies, Lombard completed one more drama: They Knew What They Wanted (1940), co-starring Charles Laughton, which was mildly successful.

Accepting that "my name doesn't sell tickets to serious pictures", Lombard returned to comedy for the first time in three years to film Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941), about a couple who learns that their marriage is invalid, with Robert Montgomery. Lombard was influential in bringing Alfred Hitchcock, whom she knew through David O. Selznick, to direct one of his most atypical films. It was a commercial success, as audiences were happy with what Swindell calls "the belated happy news ... that Carole Lombard was a screwball once more."

It was nearly a year before Lombard committed to another film, as she focused instead on her home and marriage. Determined that her next film be "an unqualified smash hit", she was also careful in selecting a new project. Through her agent, Lombard heard of Ernst Lubitsch's upcoming film: To Be or Not to Be (1942), a dark comedy that satirized the Nazi takeover of Poland. The actress had long wanted to work with Lubitsch, her favorite comedy director, and felt that the material—although controversial—was a worthy subject. Lombard accepted the role of actress Maria Tura, despite it being a smaller part than she was used to, and was given top billing over the film's lead, Jack Benny. Filming took place in the fall of 1941, and was reportedly one of the happiest experiences of Lombard's career.

When the U.S. entered World War II at the end of 1941, Lombard traveled to her home state of Indiana for a war bond rally with her mother, Bess Peters, and Clark Gable's press agent, Otto Winkler. Lombard was able to raise over $2 million in defense bonds in a single evening. Her party had initially been scheduled to return to Los Angeles by train, but Lombard was anxious to reach home more quickly and wanted to fly by a scheduled airline. Her mother and Winkler were both afraid of flying and insisted they follow their original travel plans. Lombard suggested they flip a coin; they agreed and Lombard won the toss.

In the early morning hours of January 16, 1942, Lombard, her mother, and Winkler boarded a Transcontinental and Western Air Douglas DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) aircraft to return to California. After refueling in Las Vegas, TWA Flight 3 took off at 7:07 p.m. and crashed into "Double Up Peak" near the 8,300-foot (2,530 m) level of Potosi Mountain, 32 statute miles (51 km) southwest of the Las Vegas airport. All 22 aboard, including Lombard, her mother, and 15 U.S. Army soldiers, were killed instantly. The cause of the crash was determined to be linked to the pilot and crew's inability to properly navigate over the mountains surrounding Las Vegas. As a precaution against the possibility of enemy Japanese bomber aircraft coming into American airspace from the Pacific, safety beacons used to direct night flights were turned off, leaving the pilot and crew of the TWA flight without visual warnings of the mountains in their flight path. The crash on the mountainside occurred three miles outside of Las Vegas.

Gable was flown to Las Vegas after learning of the tragedy to claim the bodies of his wife, mother-in-law, and Winkler, who aside from being his press agent, had been a close friend. Lombard's funeral was January 21 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. She was interred beside her mother under the name of Carole Lombard Gable. Despite remarrying twice following her death, Gable chose to be interred beside Lombard when he died in 1960.

Lombard's final film, To Be or Not to Be, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and co-starring Jack Benny, a satire about Nazism and World War II, was in post-production at the time of her death. The film's producers decided to cut part of the film in which Lombard's character asks, "What can happen on a plane?" out of respect for the circumstances surrounding her death. When the film was released, it received mixed reviews, particularly about its controversial content, but Lombard's performance was hailed as the perfect send-off to one of 1930s Hollywood's most important stars.

At the time of her death, Lombard had been scheduled to star in the film They All Kissed the Bride; when production started, she was replaced by Joan Crawford. Crawford donated all of her salary for the film to the Red Cross, which had helped extensively in the recovery of bodies from the air crash. Shortly after Lombard's death, Gable, who was inconsolable and devastated by his loss, joined the United States Army Air Forces. Lombard had asked him to do that numerous times after the United States had entered World War II. After officer training, Gable headed a six-man motion picture unit attached to a B-17 bomb group in England to film aerial gunners in combat, flying five missions himself. In December 1943, the United States Maritime Commission announced that a Liberty ship named after Carole Lombard would be launched. Gable attended the launch of the SS Carole Lombard on January 15, 1944, the two-year anniversary of Lombard's record-breaking war bond drive. The ship was involved in rescuing hundreds of survivors from sunken ships in the Pacific and returning them to safety.

In 1962, Jill Winkler Rath, widow of publicist Otto Winkler, filed a $100,000 lawsuit against the $2,000,000 estate of Clark Gable in connection with Winkler's death in the plane crash with Carole Lombard. The suit was dismissed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Rath, in her action, claimed Gable promised to provide financial aid for her if she would not bring suit against the airline involved. Rath stated she later learned that Gable settled his claim against the airline for $10. He did so because he did not want to repeat his grief in court and subsequently provided her no financial aid in his will.

[sole-cuore-amore-e-droga]

Tel Aviv 2019: Straight outta Lithuania to Eurovision with a rampaging mess that gave a lukewarm conclusion

Oh dear.

When it comes to my country to choose, they’re often chosen to be overlooked by the Eurofan community, especially because of our insanely long procedure of choosing, that would often cause everyone to hear the songs live more times than they’re supposed to. And it seemed to be a similar case this year because while not as long as usual, we still had 7 shows + an additional week break (that allowed me to watch some more Destination Eurovision! Woo!), and a big pile to songs to swim through, usually submitted by all ranges of songwriters who’re willing just to get their names known to the world creditswise (looking at you Ashley Hicklin and co.) and often are paired with our talent show rejects that fade away as soon as they come in if their song and their chances crash out before the final (see Germantė Kinderytė - she didn’t make it to the lives of The Voice Lithuania, had a killer song though that didn’t make it to the semis thanks for the jury annihilating her pointswise TWICE and only ended up lucky the televoters’ 10 was enough to get her through. Another example: Benas Malakauskas, who got lucky to be on the selection for two years in a row, but did not go beyond the AUDITIONS in said talent show! Yet progressed to the second round at farthest both of his years). And even then, you’re never sure if these songs ARE even on the lineup. Last year we had angry Erica Jennings pulling her song out of the comp just because of having to hear the juries critique others so abrasively (at least abrasively I guess?) one show in, but then it suddenly re-emerged back, but instead sung by Monika Marija - fresh off her The Voice Lithuania victory. This year we had some names pulling off for no reason, some names pulling for A reason (like Sasha Song who couldn’t turn up for the live recording of Heat 4 because of his song not sounding the best way possible, and was fined for it lol), and some names being added last minute or even changed unexpectedly (Tomas Sinickis, you heard of him? Now he underwent by Tommy Modric... yes the footballer Modric). Which is as crazy as MIIIIHAAAAIIIII deciding not to compete in the Romanian NF because “it’s all rigged and me a tryhard won’t feel too safe enough to finally win on this one” oh boo-hoo, think of the kids who never liked your sorry ass anyway. And think of the kids in general before showcasing your half-naked or mostly-naked body in front of them.

Excuse me for my long ass paragraph number 1, BUT we were actually so dang dramatic this year that I cannot contain myself without letting y'all know why this NF deserved a much better winner to come out of it rather than THAT that actually came to be. I'm a native so I know every single detail. So if ya wanna know why exactly I'm underwhelmed, read 'em up. If you wanna know that I'm just underwhelmed, just skip ahead to the review, idc. Did you make your choice? Well then. Let's delve into the details:

• The first clear competitor, Monika Marija, releases a song that people really want to see in the selection but she assures everyone it’s not THE song. Then she shows her other one, and people honestly want the first one back, but grow to adapt to it.

• Lineup reveal happens with her in it, wbk. Along with some other interesting names like Jurgis Didžiulis (off InCulto), Jurgis Brūzga and etc.

• First show is filmed and broadcasted as normal. But, after the broadcast, a pissed-off parent is mad at his son’s result on Facebook (and the result seemed fair enough to me actually despite liking the song because it’s such a second-hand NF tier entry that isn’t meant to last that I’d even see fizzle out in... A Dal for example).

• Also a minor lulz related to one contestant’s song lyrics sounding like Russian swearwords (you know the ones the kids are yelling on CS:GO) but that was fixed

• Lineup changes that include Sasha Song, the second-most-recent X Factor Lithuania season winners at the time 120 (yep that’s the band’s name) and some other guy who came and went last minute without a word from him back as to why lol. (As well as one of the lost starlets of 2018, Emilija Valiukevičiūtė, was initially announced in the first lineup reveal but fizzled out by Heat 4 as well.)

• And it turns out Monika Marija chose both of her latest releases (including the first one she said she won’t enter) to participate because her fans want it so and she felt like it, although fans were more attached to the 1st one she entered.

• Jurgis Didžiulis brings Erica Jennings with him - yep, the same lady who withdrew because of the jury has grew some thick skin over a year and joined the lineup too. Among other things.

• Second show had a major televoting issue that affected the scores massively (basically only a few hundred votes were missing lol), and had the issue affected any of the nonqualifiers enough for them to qualify, they’d be added to the semis as a wildcard. So naturally, someone of the NQs complained about it BUT it turned out it did not affect anyone anyway. Another act got pissed for being mistreated by juries too by the way.

• Sasha Song withdraws last minute for reasons above, and his fine is 2000 euros. Well, now you have to know that if you, fellow Lithuanian, want into Eurovizijos, you need to be a bit rich to accept circumstances like these, otherwise you’re totally fucked.

• Heat 3 happens as normal BUT Heat 4 brings in some fire as it turns out that one of the contestants’ stepfather was offering his company’s services (like, those outside children play parks’ assets) for televotes to her dear stepdaughter’s song, with her EVEN NOT SEEING ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. LRT, as clever as they are, decide to null her televotes in protest. Shame tho as the song was good, and way better Laurell Barker submission than the ones she got on ESC this year.

• One contestant, Alen Chicco (also from X Factor Lithuania, may or may not even be from the same season that was won by 120), causes a bit of controversy by having a black man on his performance

• During the semi stage, Monika Marija asks her fans not to vote for the 1st song she submitted to the selection, but rather support her 2nd song that won the semi comfortably, way after the folks were attached to her 1st song already and claiming it’s better for Eurovision (no it’s not), but it backfires spectacularly when the jury has enough guts to make her qualify with it, even if the televote for it was rather low.

• But before semi 2 happened and Monika Marija sang her weaker song, a contestant with the name of Migloko resorts to middle-finger the audience during her performance for no reason in semi 1.

• Monika Marija succesfully goes on to withdraw one of her songs (the one from semi 2) just to not split her fanbase even further when it comes to the final, therefore not lose. Also has to pay a fine of 2000 perhaps.

• Jurijus Veklenko, which was one of the front-runners along Monika Marija, was accused of having his song published on Soundcloud a year too early, but as a demo version, therefore not commercially viable enough for ESC rules. Later he was let off easy by LRT, but decided that EBU should investigate and report if they think it’s not fine, but if he was allowed to compete with that, he was possibly not in danger afterall.

• And since Monika Marija has got only 1 song, her final spot she got with that other song was given up for the aforementioned Alen Chicco.

• Finally, Monika Marija was still THE front runner of all this, having a sizeable amount of a fanbase enough to support her, even more so than the eventual winner... yes, she did happen not to win in the end. U mad?

And even if Monika Marija would have honestly been an anticlimactic winner, this next guy is even more so, because although shocking, his song is pretty much by-the-numbers Eurovision NF pop you’re gonna get, although not as cheap as the one written by constant NF failures that submit their stuff for countries like Moldova, Belarus, Romania and Malta (that until Malta ditched their NF). And the one that ended up winning is the said person whose song was uploaded a year too early as a demo - Jurijus Veklenko, but for now, he’s pretty much needed to be addressed as Jurijus. No wait, he’s back to being Jurijus Veklenko, but he dropped the “us” from his name, that’s odd. (By the way, he’s the only ounce of Ukraine you’ll ever have this year - his father is of that nationality, hence why the ever-so-Slavic Veklenko surname)

“Run with the Lions” is the song name, and for a title as anthemic as this, the song... not so much. Like I said, it’s pop, and it’s good that it’s pop, but it’s just pop. I doubt that Jurijus’s songwriter team did anything to distinguish the demo from its final product, hence why it was so easily autodetected somehow. Like, the structure is there, the lyrics are there (but what even ARE they? “if you wanna see, just open your eyes”?? “if you want a voice, just open your mouth”????), but where’s the depth, man? I really felt like I needed more of this song, especially in the choruses. Like, some additional background instruments like strings wouldn’t have hurt? In fact, this song has a slight revamp (I’m saying “slight” because no marginal changes had been done) that adds up some acoustics in the background of the 2nd verse and only changes one line (”there’s no need to be afraid” now is “you don’t have to be afraid”. Wow, revolutionary. What about “You don’t got to hide away”?? Why repeating “You don’t” twice in the prechorus???!!!... ooh I’ll be here all day if I only talked about nitpicks)... and it yet still feels too little. Thankfully the choruses have someone shouting something like “huh huh hoo” synthetically to liven it up somehow.

Yet somehow, out of nowhere, I admit liking this? Our boi is capable of singing live - both high and low; his voice and the song fit in delightfully with each other; and while basic, the melody is pleasant, non-offensive, non-ear-grating... perhaps the problem of it all is that it’s too inoffensive? Something that flows away in the wind and passes you by without you knowing. Something that you’re told that it’s not background filler and you were just not paying attention to the actual music that was playing. Something so algorithmic, you’re easily able to make your ears cancel it out as it were just some sort of white noise!

Yeah, I don't think I want to describe us all that much. It's a pretty okay pop song, it's nothing groundbreaking (bar the message of being free to do all you can do), I enjoy the sound of it, it doesn't annoy me, I can fully be down to supporting Jurijus and his voice. Too bad it's in a year AND a semi where MoR pop songs DON'T dominate - we're way past those ages. To stand out, it needs to be anthemic, it needs to have a stage presence, it truly needs some X factor, and our staging nor our song offers it. And guess what, various other people are still mourning over the loss of Monika Marija, which I find perfectly reasonable, but who would have to lend us their final spot instead if she won? Armenia? Romania? Denmark? So many questions, so little time left to answer them all.

Right now I will just conclude with me saying that I like this. It's inoffensiveness is pleasant, and in any other year we'd be the perfect filler songs for the final, like we were in the past. Cool cool.

Approval factor: Anything that will make me forget how much of my nerves did I waste over stanning someone in our selection while knowing that Ieva will win is a good noodle in my book. Jurijus wasn’t exactly one of my favourites (you’ll see why when you hit the unfortunately long NF corner section), but that’s perfectly fine, seeing that I can finally be a proud supporter of my own country’s song.

Follow-up factor: we're a completely and utterly random nation, sending anything our juries found amusing the most at the time. So don't bother about follow up consistency every being good or bad. We're just going with our own flow and... that's basically it. Though we could, on an occasion, do better with picking songs, that's for sure. And maybe finally we will not have a song that's littered with "oh oh oh, yeah yeah yeah" kind of sounds... like seriously, "Run with the Lions" has a bridge that mostly consists of "ooooooohhhhhhh" and then one actually non-interjective line at the end. (At least in Tel Aviv you'll be hearing the backings murmuring "run with the, run with the, run with the lions" during it, and that's something.) I love it that we never change in our random tactics, I'd just love it more to see some actual change in the song quality, y'know? THEN will it be a good follow-up.

Qualification factor: I’m so devastated at saying this, but foreigners say that we’re probably going down to deat meat levels this year. But I still have hope in us qualifying. Believe it or not, the people out there still don’t buy into the Lithuanian diaspora power, and genuinely believe that our harmless tune is chanceless. I only understand that it cannot work its magic when we send something risqué and incredibly opinion dividing (but most people dislike it anyway), but just look at our results on the years when we were generally received bad when we were just boring. “C’est ma vie” qualified. “Something” qualified. Back when Donny Montell was such an unknown in the Eurovision lore because 2012 was his first year and his song was considered “dated”, he still qualified. See something here? We still can, and WILL, be able to pull through possibly, and I don’t doubt it that diaspora will lap up our mediocre song because Lithuania. Patriotism strong! (Oh and a handful of votes for Jurijus for being so hot.)

NATIONAL FINAL BONUS

I already discussed the Eurovizijos drama in lenghty detail, so expect me not to re-iterate everything down here shortly, but what you need to know off it is that it had every single drama aspect you’d ever want - faulty line-ups, voting frauds, televoting malfunctions, forced plagiarism accusations, too-early-published-song accusations, late entry withdrawals, qualifier replacements, technical difficulties allowing to repeat a performance and some contestants being visibly pissed off by the jury (and to some extent, the overall) results. A total jumble <3 Never change, Lithuania. (except for the godawfully smug-ass HoD, I started to get tired of him AND his bald head doing this to us. It's been 10 years, retire already.)

So it’s better to talk about all the non-dramatic things I liked about our NF this year! From songs to performances, from shits and giggles to something serious - I’m taking you for a hefty ride.

• First and foremost, I actually didn’t mind one of the Monika Marija’s songs? Yeah, “Light On” was a good and polished pop track that has THAT power to get you good, with them strong sublime female vocals. Even if it kind of sounded like an Ikea store version of "Stay with Me" by Sam Smith. Not that there's anything bad with it, but any kind of plagiarism cases have and will always be barred from Eurovision if noticed by the organizers. This is not 100% dead-on ripoff, but there are shades of knock-offery here and there. And it's even a better "Stay with Me", and with a better message - Monika Marija reminisces of that one time she was almost dying herself, but she's here, she's survived, and you musn't hang her off the lifeline. At least it's "Light On" that got all the love in the NF in the end and not the painfully mediocre "Undo" ripoff wailfest "Criminal". It was so slow and plodding and I never got why so many people loved it. If "Undo" was a product, "Criminal" would have been its "made in China" counterpart. Anyway, here's "Light On". And please don't spam me messages with how much this would have been a contender for top 10 over Jurijus. :P In Eurovision it's an added bonus if your faves do well - the fact that they were in Eurovision is the most important thing, and I perfectly understand why do you miss it here on ESC grounds. Just... I'm tired of "MM top 10, Jurijus bottom 3 in semi", okay? Monika Marija can try our NF again. She’s very talented, and there’s a possibility that we’ll see her in ESC in the end anyway. Pave the way for our Polyglot Queen, Eurovision 20xx! ^^

• Now here's for once a cool Lithuanian artist that didn't come from a TV talent show! Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio Dantys ("antiquarian teeth of Kashpirovsky") is probably one of the coolest Lithuanian bands that I know - doing absolutely any kind of genre they're pleased with - from folk to rock to ska to acoustic pieces - I admire them for being so diversive! Too bad they entered with one of my lesser favourite tracks in their entire discography - "Mažulė" (one of the many ways to say "baby", as in, trying to call your lover cute, female gender case. Can also mean "baby girl" in this context). I have nothing against this kind of track they thrown in the selection, ska music and Eastern musical elements are gooooooood, plus I finally got to know what is a "forró" that doesn't mean "hot" in Hungarian - it's a music style popular in Brazil! However, the chorus could have at least sounded more "party"-ier. It doesn't really excite me to dance the window-cleaning dance to it. (Oh yeah and do you remember that this song is about a car, not an actual lover? They're basically confessing their love to an automobile. How they're protecting it from vandals, how did they dream of getting the car since young age, how wouldn't they change their car for any other. Romantic, I'd say.) However I am happy for the over 30 year olds that find this song completely and totally amusing when I can't quite seem to. I do say that I like those elements, the brass and all that. It was the only Lithuanian song in the sea of English ones in the final (just like A Dal was, but inverse - almost all songs in Hungarian but one English (and a bit Russian), and that's an achievement. AKD should be proud of themselves for impacting both our nation AND the international viewers which found fun in this! Respect. Maybe they'll win our NF soon if they keep on winning the audiences, or they'll probably GTFO forever. IDK, the latter is more plausible, sadly. They're so unique that they cannot be just a thing for more editions - just one for a try out, and that's enough.

• So, Alen Chicco. What’s so special to have him in the final instead of Monika Marija's weaker entry? Well, he's just a fantabulous persona, unique in every step he takes. And surely I was excited to see him preparing something for Eurovizijos after I read his name on the participants list. And then his entry did come. I wasn't quite sure what to think of "Your Cure" at first but the chorus is a pop beauty I hold up to myself somehow <3 now I find the song nice as a whole, the theatrical-like verses peak my curiousity though the prechoruses feel too drawn out a bit and could have had some big pauses be shortened or removed... yeah. But the most interesting thing is HIS LOOKS <33 his wardrobe and level of expressiveness is vast, I love it how eveything here was different each and every time he performed, and it all was always presented incredibly differently. I admire ONE (1) chameleon

which Alen Chicco are you today? ✨

• And that's almost basically it I have to show you concerning my faves? Yeah, I definitely had enough of our NF having this many songs too, I almost had no good favourites that made it to the semis and people would care about slightly if they'd be willing to. Nothing I could be excited over, nothing I could be passionate about as I was last year about my fave. Well I did like some qualifiers to semis but I don’t think they are THAT worth y’all’s attention all THAT much... However, I will definitely let you in on two of my personal non-finalist faves. Allow me to introduce the first band whose song is a guilty pleasure of mine only - it's Laimingu Būti Lengva ("it's easy being happy") with "Pasaulio vidury" ("in the middle of the world"). Now, it's not very competitive or anything, in fact the guys looked like hobos on their live performance and one of them was randomly shouting "heeeeyyyyy" a LOT of times, like a random heckler that's supposedly livening(??? is that a word???) up the performance, and they sang disappointingly... but the studio version, man. I dare you to not get hypnotized by the slow electric guitar feel. (You probably won't but idc.) I love it, I love the beats and how trappy but cool they sound on those verses, I love the slow soft rhythm, I definitely love the whole melodic execution, and the vocals actually sound alright on there (mainly thanks to autotune but yeah whatever). I have problems though - with a band like this, I barely see how can I get genuine enjoyment out of this song myself without having to slap myself in the back for admitting to actually like this. So I call it my "guilty pleasure" quite a lot of times. The song's structure is quite interesting, but it's mainly the repetitive verses and choruses smeared across the whole song at random. I get the song's point so much that I hate the band for hammering it into my head all this whole time - the song's protagonist met a red-haired and blue-eyed girl named Isabel in Portugal (the supposed "middle of the world"), they fell in love, that's it. But they emphasize it a lot that the girl was blue-eyed... not even I would if I had to write this song, and *I* have a blue-eyed people bias. The whole package was completely unappealing and with how they showed it it didn’t really look like something that even needs a staging or Eurovision at all, but I still keep this song to myself, and will definitely replay it a lot this summer. Just as much as the song that you'll actually get to watch the performance of down below - it's "Song of My Life" by Soliaris & ForeignSouls. It's cool, funky, catchy, vibey, laidback and summer-fun-infested. I cannot really describe separate parts all that much because all flows in so well. It's a good song to chill out and have a cocktail too. And it features a rap part that doesn't bother me at all! Good one, Soliaris. I didn't like your music back when you did mediocre 00s R'n'B, but you positively surprised me, both by returning to our NFs after like 9 years of absence AND bringing this gem. It didn't need an extreme staging - just some dudes having fun and that's it. And they brought it. It saddens me that these kind of songs don't stand a chance to qualify to the very final in our NF anymore, as they kind of would have in 2012 or so, but I'm still happy they exist. I only have had some issues with the lyrics laying out the words in sentences ("spend with me this beautiful night" bothered me a bit because if you translate it to Lithuanian in the exact same sentencing way, it'd make even more sense than it does to me now), but other than that, I fucking loved "Song of My Life". It might as well be my overall NF winner, haha.

• Oh and how could I forget Tiramisu??? That's perhaps my biggest discovery of this year. They moved on from utter unknowns to... still unknowns, but more known for the Eurovision fandom that does care about Lithuanian NFs. Here you have an oddly titled song, "The Smell of Your Eyes" (and you thought Safura smelling lipstick was extreme - but to her credit, lipstick DOES have a faint odor, doesn't it?), which is both insane AND original, and insane original is obviously encouraged. And the whole song sounds pretty damn good for a band that no one heard of and that used to do jazzy-ish and inoffensive musical flairs before. Here we have slight influences of folk even! And the violins, too. A generally charming piece that draws you into a pagan forest. Too bad the staging was completely misunderstood - they definitely had to put on some guy with a cheap Iron Man mask to pretend to give the band some intensity... lousy move. It could've looked way better if it were more mysterious and forest-like and had a more enchanting camerawork. And a little more colors than emerald and forest greens, too. The video clip looked way better and more high-budget than the staging came to be. Observe:

Felt like everything beautiful was stripped of it because the music video could not be repeated on stage. Ah well. The televoters gave them love but the jury did not let them to improve, and down the Bermuda triangle of fallen female violinists from the 2019 season went a lady of the name Rima Tamo, together with Gabriella Laberge and Tilla Török (who did not even appear on stage at that time of need!). Here's a spooky fact for all these 3: female violinists that all featured on songs in E minor, performed 1st in their respective heats/semis, were really loved by televote but hated by the juries, missed out on the next stage of the NF by 1 place. Coincidence? A curse? Tiramisu were obviously disgusted by the jury trashing their staging so they talked about hating them on Facebook. What's worse that they could have actually qualified if they've gotten at least 9 more telepoints that could've pushed them to get 10 televote points in general rather than 8, all thanks to a televote count error that removed large portions of votes. And that way they could have been wildcard qualifiers instead because they would have still gotten 8 televote points with the actual televote numbers, but the organizers of the NF said that if the televote failure would have hurt anyone's place in the final, they would have wildcard-qualified instead. No one did not, so screw it. At least "The Smell of Your Eyes" remains THAT song - lots of folk, lots of violins, lots of effort put into it, and the people actually loved it for that. Just that it's so sad that the jury didn't let them improve overtime... just like Hungarian jury didn't let Leander Kills go further... a shame, really.

• And now, onto the non-entry-events and stuff that happened, besides some actual good jury shade (like the one time at least one juror says that “you wouldn’t win even if all the contestants got sick”, technical errors in the production (thanks to one of them, one of the semifinal acts actually got to perform again... but the televote didn’t give her votes anyway lmao) and the constant reminder of one of our charities which gives tickets to Eurovision for the best disabled person story.. I don’t know where that is but our NF somehow acquired a skit from an Austrian man that’s been exploring stuff in Israel (I think) because of Eurovision this year... and man did I think that this skit was rather... hmmm... middle-ground funny? Slightly too annoying but still kind of alright to look at? It was fun, but certainly odd to find out about that it even exists.

• After feeling so disappointed with Hungarian juries's decisions on the night of February 22nd, I left my room to watch our NF's final on our living room TV, hoping for everything just to end already because I did not expect anything good happening on this final. I haven't even decided to go back to watch A Dal and see AWS reprise their song a little less louder than when they competed last year. And then our NF gave me a complete and utter surprise - The Roop reprising THEIR Eurovizijos 2018 entry. If you've been long enough here on Tumblr to know me, you would probably guess that I'm a big fan of "Yes, I Do" by The Roop, which I wanted to see winning our NF so badly last year, but in the end... you finish the quote so I don't have to. And it's odd because this year I felt the exact similar way with Hungary as with Lithuania last year - I have clear favourites I root for in both of those but deep inside I knew there was gonna be a different winner I only find okay and nothing else. (The difference is that "Az én apám" has grown on me since, "When We're Old" did not at all.) So back to discussing the interval act instead. For this one guest number of the NF's, the song began on a piano, "pretend" played by The Roop's lead singer, and then he got his butt off from the piano chair (unlike Duncan in Tel Aviv), to the microphone stand, and the song continued off sounding like its original version that was sung in last year's NF. I still love this song and even loved that version with piano at the beginning, but why did it not take over the whole song though? Just to not let the audience fall asleep before the Carousel would've? (Yes by the way, we got guest acts from other countries performing on our NF as well! But Carousel were the only ones to have a guest appearance, the other acts were either unchosen or perhaps busy doing Tel Aviv preparations, lol.) Well, good for them. I may or may not still would love The Roop entering and winning our selection someday, if they ever decide to participate again. They could've this year but they did not return, so maybe in 2021? Let this girl dare to dream for once, Lithuania ^_^

• I love when our NF has postcards, no matter at which stage of introduction they are on. In 2016 the postcards were present in every show (the ones for the final were the best), in 2017 they were only introduced in the round 3 of heats (sometime before the semis), in 2018 - from the 2nd round of heats onwards, in 2019 though they were only for the final... what’s the punchline for this paragraph? Oh, there IS none. I just confessed my love for our NF postcards. Just keep scrolling :)

• Okay so I know no one really pays attention to our heats because we have too many of them AND we have too many songs in them, and the eliminated ones always stop mattering to everyone right away. But I'm here to bring you a favourite meme of mine that hailed just from the heats alone: miss RÙTA, who could have done much better during her performance if she didn't constantly look like she's incredibly constipated. I don't know what makes her look like that - the lipstick? the grin? her over-dramatic entry about wordly disasters, "Paradox"? I may never know, but I will let you have a good look at it if you don't want to watch the whole video I linked. Personally, I liked the red staging this song had, and the song wasn't bad, but the singer felt agonizingly nervous and never got the chance to do better, sadly. Oh and look at that sleek tattoo, mmm.

• Oh and our NF featured a metal song but it’s so formulaic and by the numbers dad metal that I didn’t even support it all that much.... however I’ll let you listen to it if you’d really like. And there's this best alternative song of this year's NF that I've heard that also ended in the semis, and it's way better than Fusedmarc's alternative (despite having some ugly beatboxing skills). Check it out too if you will.

And thankfully, that’s that for another year. I’m getting so awfully tired to compress my own NF even further more, especially with my enthusiasm for the actual quality of this NF going down the shithole with every single heat show coming after each other just like that, with more mediocre songs after more mediocre songs. I’m also openly declaring that I have barely any energy left with continuting these writeups, seeing that there’s too many to go and most of them are STILL undercooked drafts. But I’m tryna pull through. I have another completely completed review underway afterwards - just a few edits here and there on it and I’m done with it, m8s! And then I’m piling up new paragraphs after new paragraphs on other reviews.

So I hope I let you know why do I think that the end result of ours is lukewarm - from a dramatic NF there should have been a slightly dramatic winner tbh, but in the end we got a pop song that only a few people like. Brutal. And with the biggest hopes in my eyes for our success I’d like to finish this off with two words. Sėkmės, Jurijau!

#eurovision 2019 #tel aviv 2019 reviews #lithuania 2019 #jurij veklenko #run with the lions #lithuania

[businessguide12-blog]

Gordon Ramsay: The Unhealthy Son Chef From Hell%u2019s Cooking area Teaches Very good Company

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Gordon Ramsay: The Unhealthy Son Chef From Hell%u2019s Cooking area Teaches Very good Company

It got quite some time for Cook Gordon Ramsay to come to my consideration. With minimal t . v . viewing time offered caused by a hectic function plan, I usually view a choose band of cord funnel applications which have with consideration been waiting around in my electronic digital recorder. When summertime arrives and my first run faves are inaccessible, I have bold and from time to time go slumming amongst the broadcast channels. In the middle of that rubbish heap, I found the Cook from Hell.

There seemed to be something in regards to a gentleman using a overseas emphasize yelling at a lot of odd seeking folks cook outfits that appealed if you ask me, despite the fact that i don%u2019t determine what made me view. It reminded me of exploring the carnivals while in my younger times. I experienced a similar attraction to Hell%u2019s Kitchen area that I managed for the Clyde and Bonnie Passing away Auto demonstrate or perhaps the Reefer Madness motion picture movie theater inside the shows area of the carnival.

Seeing Hell%u2019s Kitchen the first time concerned me. I dislike actuality tv shows. My wife and i also discuss an office inside our residence by using a t . v . set up that may be on quite often. Inside the attention of relationship happiness, I from time to time observed Determine Judy or Jerry Springer. After expanding fed up in the antics on individuals programs, my partner discovered Big Brother. Though easier on my small ears, that demonstrate do absolutely nothing in my opinion. I would have felt exactly the same about Hell%u2019s Home.

With my finger strongly planted about the route-changing switch of my far off, I had been willing to retreat back for the sanity from the increased double and triple digit route phone numbers on my small cord container. In spite of my best efforts, I was able to not change the funnel. I needed to observe every single BLEEPING minute of Ramsey%u2019s Tirades. I believed out why, at the end from the episode.

In spite of my aversion to reality shows, I watch The Apprentice. Anybody considering company possibly does. As soon as you work through all of the personalities, contestant chitchat and also other crap chucked into satisfy the regular fact television set method, it%u2019s a show about organization done efficiently. When industry is completed improper, the bad participant is fired. That%u2019s about as true because it receives. That is certainly even the appeal of the items one among my teenage kids cell phone calls %u201Cthe Imply Chef display.%u201D Imply? I beg to be different. It%u2019s about kitchen and preparing food administration done efficiently.

Those who have ever been offered a one or two hundred or so $ food that tasted like day outdated junk food can connect with Ramsay%u2019s Specifications along with his adoration for providing the best meals in the most imaginative way possible. Although I am just a delayed comer to Hell%u2019s Kitchen area, I have become an ardent supporter. So much in fact that we in fact journeyed towards the BBC America cord funnel to get out much more of Ramsay. A Few Things I found was great.

Even though I haven%u2019t actually viewed Great britain television set inside a critical way considering that Benny Hillside, I got a possibility with Ramsay%u2019s Cooking area Nightmares and earned major. I came across the series to become engaging and also helpful. In one day as soon as the overall educational procedure is dumbed-lower to the point of becoming nearly pointless and fairly illegitimate in real life, it can be relaxing to find out how Ramsay is able to attain out and status the obvious for the unaware. This is something that men and women planning to attempt their hand on the bistro organization can study from.

It has been my uncomfortable encounter to have to explain to folks why their ideas suck, being an the occasional company venture director and specialist. That%u2019s the reason I rarely do this operate any longer. When going through a broad-eyed customer who is able to house loan a residence, borrow from relatives or max out bank cards to open up a goal company, I often must be the main one to spell out why they need to not. It%u2019s hard to tell men and women what most economic, mortgage, visa or mastercard and professional property businesses will not. All those organizations stand to profit from a small venture malfunction up to successful.

Individuals who fail at organization usually wind up back again at the office for one more 2 decades spending money on a goal that transformed into a problem. Lenders know they%u2019ll do anything whatsoever in order to save their property, so that they get money. Companies looking to dispose of above-valued retail shows and over-stocked general items would like to produce a sale. The strip mall landlord with unfilled stores plus a bad place is delighted to have as little as a couple of months rent of the Sam Walton wannabe so he or she will pay a few of their own personal bills.

Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen Nightmares shows things i phone Logic%u2019s Poor Course: Business Owners can do nearly anything they need, if they practice it correctly. Doesn%u2019t suggest you ought to available a skating extras store, because you cherish skating. Think again before you decide to option the farm on that formula, though your Grandmother may cook up a imply set of oat meal cookies. Ramsay knows what works and what doesn%u2019t, although he could have a potty jaws. Possibly that%u2019s because he experienced their own tough classes as you go along.

Brought into this world in 1966, the near future Scottish Celeb Chief cook seen his daddy consider numerous professions and businesses. The family unit continuously moved, because of several breakdowns. Ramsay most likely thought he handed down his father%u2019s knack for awful fortune as well as his initially title. Soon after vibrant successes in football (football), the longer term chef would be authorized from the Rangers. A number of injuries averted that. As opposed to signal with a decrease league crew, Gordon enrolled at the nearby university to examine accommodation administration and food catering. He was only nineteen years old.

After doing work in relatively modest the kitchen and managing resort cusine bedrooms, he relocated to London. Ramsay%u2019s gig at Harvey%u2019s positioned him less than Cook Marco Pierre White colored. Carries a well known temper and tyrannical home administration fashion, though white-colored is regarded as the godfather of recent English food preparation and food. During his heyday, Chef White colored regularly ejected people that reported about his cuisine and allegedly misused his staff in one method or another. Ramsay kept Harvey%u2019s right after virtually three years and later stated he was fed up with the %u201Cthe rages and the bullying and assault.%u201D

Cook Ramsay made a decision to further more his excellence of your French Cuisine by using benefit Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in Mayfair. It had been there that he fulfilled Jean-Claude Breton, his Hell%u2019s Cooking area Maître D’ and actual life Expert of your Hallway at Ramsay%u2019s Royal Hospital Streets bistro. After subsequent Albert Roux towards the French Alps to be effective as his second, Ramsay moved to Paris to do business with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon. Savoy%u2019s style of kitchen area management was oppressive. Three years of your both mental and physical anxiety found in French Cooking areas was sufficient for Ramsay. He put in each year employed as a Chef on the Idlewild, a private yacht that cruised from Bermuda.

Chief cook Ramsay returned to England in 1993 and worked well as Go Cook at Los angeles Tante Claire. Despite their philosophical dissimilarities, Cook Marco Pierre White colored presented Ramsay a job as Mind Chief cook and 25Per cent of your diner in the future called Aubergine. Ramsay continued to be there until finally 1997 when a question more than operation of the diner triggered him to go out of. Chief cook Ramsay established his own restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at Noble Medical facility Road, in 1998. Noble Hospital Streets was awarded a third Michelin legend in Ramsay and 2001 took over as the initially Scot to accomplish this recognize.

The Chef from Hell was on his way, yet not every little thing will be clean sailing. In 2001, Ramsay launched Amaryllis in Glasgow, Scotland, the metropolis of his birth. The cafe was first productive, but substantial rent, light week day company, snippy workers plus an inability to keep the food list reasonably priced were important elements in their breakdown. Ramsay misplaced a lot more than the cafe. His protégé, David Dempsey, passed away in 2003.

Amaryllis ended up being to have been a vehicle for Dempsey to ascertain themselves as a well known Chef. As he was there, the restaurant attained the respect from the only diner in Glasgow to acquire a Michelin Celebrity. When it shut, Ramsay brought Dempsey to London to operate as Head Cook at his Medical facility Street diner.

After only a few weeks back United kingdom, Dempsey was found looking to burglary into a property based in Elm Playground Backyards, just off of the Kings Streets in Chelsea. The owner in the flat struggled with him and Dempsey fell to his death from your 2nd narrative windowpane. Dempsey allegedly enjoyed a medicine issue. Ramsay%u2019s brother is surely an addict as well as the Chief cook is fiercely contra–medicine.

All Chefs are subject to company chaos, bottom collections, food items charges, personnel difficulties along with the always-altering tastes from the public. Chief cook Ramsay has dealt with all those difficulties much better than most. His love for a culinary task effectively completed, ability to make alterations as needed and admit breakdowns after they arise will be the characteristics that will make him a fantastic someone and mentor worthy of seeing. By 2006, Chief cook Ramsay has grown to be fairly of the conglomerate with restaurants, food and bars specialist obligations all over the world.

It%u2019s tough to say how much of Ramsay%u2019s bistro achievement is a result of his television reputation. When it comes to culinary arts stardom, the preparing food and dishes most-often have the Chef. Nevertheless, if it%u2019s also about title acknowledgement and being a bigger than existence press body, Cook Ramsay very easily fits into individuals tasks at the same time.

British t . v . audiences found Ramsay%u2019s crazy ways in 1998 with Boiling Stage. Ramsay%u2019s rants continuing in 2000 with Past Cooking Position and got with a change in 2004 when Ramsay%u2019s Cooking area Nightmares success the airwaves. The method of Chef Ramsay spending a week attempting to rehabilitate an ailing eatery during every single episode worked effectively. Your Kitchen Nightmares show remains proceeding solid following 3 periods on Great britain tv. An American variation is due within the fall of 2007.

The top of Hell%u2019s Kitchen in 2004 adopted Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen area Nightmares and launched British viewers to the very best of the most severe of Gordon Ramsay. As he will need to have learned some of those temperamental tirades from cooks White colored and Savoy, Ramsay has perfected them. So, much so, that Fox Tv helped bring the potty-mouthed specialist of pugnacious platitudes to American citizen people in 2005. Hell%u2019s Cooking area captured on swiftly in the us and may have established the door for just one of Ramsay%u2019s mouthy mentors to get his picture at U.S. t . v . audiences.

Whilst Ramsay is hectic looking to save American dining places requiring rehab with Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen area Nightmares, a new version of Hell%u2019s Kitchen area presenting Chief cook White colored is rumored to be growth for your Fox Network. People like seeing chefs explode and act a bit ridiculous as verified by the latest modifications on the different preparing food and food items cable television stations. cooks, Hosts and chefs are becoming a lot more impolite and intense.

If imitation is the sincerest kind of flattery, visualize a mouthy Martha Stewart spitting out expletives, kicking her dearest pets because they sampled the The apple company Pan Doughty or organizing food items about when guests point out her stop at Group Given. As they may be able to imitate his style, couple of self-designed foods specialists, cooks, chefs or restaurateurs have reached Chief cook Ramsay%u2019s height of fame and influence.

Don%u2019t wait for rerun time of year to have the Chef from Heck. If it%u2019s anything such as the UK edition airing on BBC The united states, Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen Nightmares on Fox will certainly be a have to-see for business people, buyers and anybody wanting some leisure that educates and also it entertains.

Continue reading at http: //daily life.BillKnell.com

[teamendgame-blog]

Back at it again with the long post and theories...

Oh hey Rosewood residents,

Kate here <3 And I'm back at it again with the long post and theories! First things first, I was out of commission for 2 weeks with the worst flu and ear infection of my life.. coincidentally the same week PLL was NOT on. I BLAME YOU FOR THIS, MARLENE!! I also ended my Memorial Day weekend with a trip to the ER, so it’s been less than fun over here...

But while I've been too sick and weak to type, I’m never too sick to think so grab a little snack (and a PLL-mom approved glass of wine) and buckle in to hear my crazy take on this ride that is Pretty Little Liars EndgAme! I'm going to break my thoughts down into sections so y'all can easily skip around if you would like!

First things first (I'm the realest)... (I am also old and found that funny - don't judge me!) Let's travel back to what feels like forever ago... and the reveal that Ali is, indeed, carrying Emily's baby. I wanted to make the following point but then was bedridden, so the original thought comes before we viewed 7x15... *WHO'S YOUR DADDY -- THE ALI/EMILY BABY REVEAL*

Yup. They went there. We finally have confirmation (btw, BRILLIANT acting by Sasha in the reveal scene at the baby store!) that Ali is carrying Emily's stolen-egg baby. I saw a lot of reaction to this in the fandom, a lot of "I knew this would happen" (the best one being my amazing brother's live blog response!) and a lot of "I was afraid they would do this".. I saw a lot of comments bashing the storyline and a lot praising it for reiterating just how well-and-truly-evil AD actually is. But I didn't see ANY reaction that mirrored my own... IN A SHOW WHERE SO LITTLE IS ABLE TO BE FIGURED OUT (by a fandom who spends hours and hours rewatching, blogging, theorizing, screen-capturing), WHY DID THEY MAKE THIS SO OBVIOUS?! Yes, I realize I could be giving the showrunners too much credit here, but as an adult in her mid-thirties who has spent an abnormal amount of time trying to figure out answers and outcomes for this show and constantly figuring out NOTHING, WHY WAS THIS SO EASY TO DEDUCE. Well, to answer that I'm going to reference a movie many of you are probably to young to have seen... Years ago, a brilliant suspense/mystery movie called The Others came out (it starred Nicole Kidman - remember her!?) Anyway, the movie was awesome and mysterious and about halfway through anyone who is paying attention starts to put together the clues and its SO exciting but then you almost get annoyed that the characters in the movie aren't putting 2 and 2 together, but you're all proud of yourself for figuring it out, and BAM! Seriously out of left field the twist comes and you realize you were COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY WRONG and just lead to believe you'd figured it out... [side note: I watched this movie multiple times after my first viewing with friends who were seeing it for the first time and let me tell you, at the same point that I originally "figured out the mystery" they did too and were SO DAMN SMUG about it, one going as far to say "You know, I actually find it sooo hard to enjoy movies like this because I'm too smart and always figure it out and get bored waiting for the ending"... yeah, she shut up really fucking quick when she saw she was wrong). ANYWAYS (sorry, I ramble)... I'm kind of wondering if this whole Ali/Emily baby thing was made obvious to throw us off in a way. So many of us saw it coming and because we had "figured it out", we didn't think to look beyond waiting for the confirmation that we were right.. MARK MY WORDS, THERE IS MORE TO THIS THAN WE ARE SEEING because we've all been so stuck on having figured it out or being mad about it... What I keep coming back to is who the father is and who did the insemination... Ali tells Emily she remembers the procedure when she was locked up in Welby. THIS IS A HUGE CLUE OR POINT TO CONSIDER. I mean, clearly all official places in Rosewood are run by a bunch of dumbfucks (Rosewood Police, I'm looking at you.... until the delicious Furey showed up that is) and yes, clearly "Rollins" was lying about his identity in order to be a practicing doctor there... but they ARE NOT going to let some rando in a black hoodie and gloves come in with a turkey baster and shove it up some patient's hoo-ha. THIS HAD TO BE AN INSIDE JOB! Maybe Rollins was playing the AD game and was forced to do it? That I don't know. We DO know that AD stole Emily's eggs... so somehow, Emily's eggs were fertilized and inseminated into Ali... I'm still thinking on this one... I would love if someone would think about it too and tell me their thoughts because seriously, I think they duped us here (brilliantly!) by making the baby storyline obvious and having us focus on THAT rather than the real clues being shared...

Now that we've seen 7x15 and know that Ali is going through with the pregnancy and know that Emily wants the baby and know that they are trying to figure out who the father is, I feel like I am right in their being more to this.

*7x15: IN THE EYE ABIDES THE HEART*

Before I theorize, I just want to point out that I feel this was one of the best PLL episodes ever and don't think Troian's directing is a coincidence.... clearly this woman is talented, thoughtful and really GETS how this show should be done. Absolutely brilliant from start to stop and OH MAN the acting has been spot on from all of them..  And now onto the details.

*SHADY, SHADY EZRA AND THE NEAR HIDDEN EARPIECE*

Ohhhh Ostinato. You shady little bastard!! Gavin and I noticed at the same time that Ezra had a small, clear earpiece in his ear while he and Aria were arguing (as he was preparing to head to the airport). Now, let me start with this: I DO NOT BELIEVE FOR ONE SECOND THAT HE IS TROTTING OFF TO HELP NICOLE. I have been SOOOOO suspicious for a long while now about this... we only have his word that he's "helping Nicole". Yes yes, there was the article Aria saw in the magazine while she was with Holden, but those pictures were all clearly taken on the same day. Do I think *some* of the times he's gone he's been with Nicole? Yes... But the little hidden earpiece was a major point for me that he's hiding a shit ton!! Gavin and I saw it and he included a post with screenshots, so check it out! Ostinato is up to NO GOOD!!!

FURTHERMORE - let’s discuss this whole Wren & Ezra business... From the previous episode’s sneak-peek both Gavin and I were CONVINCED that he and Wren weren’t meeting for the first time... and after seeing the episode, I am even MORE convinced! There is NO WAY these two are being introduced for the first time (great acting, boys!) And beyond THAT... let’s look at the following facts -- Ezra was SO set on going to see “Nicole” that he had the fight with Aria (again, as I said above, I don’t believe for a hot second that he was flying off to Maine to see Nicole and her family...) We saw on the flight boards that there were a bunch of delays... then Spencer spots Ezra as she and Wren are clearly arguing... Ezra and Wren “meet”.... and then Ezra magically decides to skip out on going away!? NOT BUYING IT!! I think he stayed in Rosewood because of Wren... AND THEN when Ezra is telling Aria that his flight wasn’t delayed he just “didn’t get on it”... and then the camera pans over to his bag and we see a glow like from a phone ringing.. MY MONEY IS ON THAT CALL BEING FROM WREN!!!

*MONA, MONA, MONA...*

So I hadn’t crossed Mona off my suspect list... until the last episode. Again with the brilliant acting! Her fan-girling over the board game while at the same time the devastation crossing her face that she didn’t create it... pure genius AND also really changed my mind on her possibly being involved... I think we all need to pay attention to the “clues” that Mona gave us about who could have made the game... WHO IS THIS MONSTER!! 

*RANDOM THOUGHTS*

- Fuck, that comic book is cool... I gotta say, this whole Charles and Lucas friendship surprised the hell out of me and I LOVE IT! 

- As many have pointed out, did you see how the “A” in Lucas’s signature on the comic is the “A” a?! Lucas was TOP of my suspect list... but with a revel regarding him coming tonight I don’t think he’s the final AD... AGGH!

- WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THE NUMBER 214!!!!?!?! Its shit like this that gives me hope that this storyline has been brewing all along....

- How long before Snapchat releases that creepy-ass Aria filter!? Honestly though, that was super amazingly creepy! I’ve seen a lot of people say the face looks like Paige, like Sydney, like Melissa (my first comparison was to Marlene actually...) but I feel like the clip at the end (YAY FOR AN A ENDING!) indicated that the face and voice are completely digitally generated and not someone talking live with some sort of filter on... Maybe cause AD has a British accent (WREN WREN WREN) or a recognizable voice to the PLL!? 

What did you all think!? Any comments, ideas or further pieces to examine!? I can’t wait to hear what you think and can’t wait to see tonight’s episode!!!!! 

Kisses, -K

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