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imaginativeasianguy · 9 months

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Thank you for art, God. Here’s to more years of sketches and artwork.

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Hi here are some more cars I’ve thrown together over the past few months

The Tarantino BC19 Adriatico Spyder is a grand touring focused version of the regular BC19, with a retractable hardtop and a gated manual to make the perfect road and day a decadent experience. Minerva’s second favorite car, behind her beloved Superberlinetta. I’ve shown this one on Twitter before, but there are some additional views thrown in to this version you’re seeing here. Another car I showed on Twitter but tweaked a bit for this group picture is the Eastwood Motors Razorback SC, Eastwood’s latest muscle car. One of the manufacturers that defined the muscle car archetype from its birth in the 1960s, Eastwood has spared no expense in making sure that the Razorback is loud, quick, and loves going sideways. The sun might be setting on the traditional American muscle car—considering Eastwood’s own Slade is now rumored to go mid-engine for the next generation—but, with the Razorback SC, Eastwood is making sure it will not ride off into the sunset quietly. Speaking of the Eastwood Motors Slade, that last generation’s also featured here. This is one of the cars I drew in ArtFight, but I never drew it with the door closed or from the front angle, so here it is showcasing just those views. It’s quite difficult compared to a Kusunoki Habu, but like the Habu, the Slade delivers a fantastic balance of casual fun and track readiness, with plenty of variants that dial up the power. Immensely popular—you can’t go three minutes in Amadis County without seeing at least one. Rounding out the three Eastwoods in this upload is the Eastwood Motors Celeritas V-Max. A rare hypercar from the Eastwood stable, the Celeritas V-Max was built with reduced downforce and produces more than 1500 BHP—with a very modified Slade engine as a base, no less—on the quest to do 300 MPH. Modern supercars and hypercars owe a lot to the Fujiwara Anima. Though the Anima is just a sports car, its superb reliability and ease of use made it clear to the world that a mid-engine car didn’t have to be difficult to live with. It set such a high standard for performance cars that Kusunoki keeps one in their museum as a token of their respect and acknowledgement of the Anima’s contribution to the car world. From across the pond, the Rochefort Azore is an important piece of automotive history and Rochefort’s fame, with classic 60s beauty and impressive technology (for its time). As long as you take it for a spin knowing that it’ll win more beauty prizes and gazes than races, you won’t be disappointed. But it’s no bore—its naturally-aspirated V12 sings, and it’s still quite comfortable and spacious (relatively speaking) despite its age. The Mishima Peo is not the quickest car here—in stock form, at least. With a very vibrant and passionate tuning community, it’s not uncommon to find Peos running with extreme engine upgrades or swaps that make them produce three to four times the stock car’s power, and there’s a plethora of bodykits and parts available to modify them into anything from a street car, to a weekend time attack monster, to a professional-grade race car, and anything in between. Shoyuwave’s grassroots (and even top-level) racing just isn’t the same without one of these present. Lastly, the other ArtFight car I made was the Ryberg Thresher. It’s a muscle car debuting in the same decade as the Slade. While the latest Thresher is now mid-engined (and forms the basis for the R427, yet another car I created for ArtFight), the older generations of the Thresher started out as front-engine rear wheel drive machines. Threshers are a little more forgiving to drive than the Slade, but don’t be fooled—they love a good drift and can be very easily persuaded to start one.

What’s your pick from this lot?

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Thanks. Twitter. deviantArt.

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sea-glass-and-fire · 3 years

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slkadjfa a girl i met at a church camp years ago and who supports trump follows me on twitter and i just retweeted a bunch of stuff about the conviction.

#ophelia speaks #it wasn't my primary motive for doing so #but if i can contribute to driving her off twitter i consider it a win win #my main memory of her is our councilor having to cut off her rant about why a black model isn't a good thing to explain #that we don't say ''colored' anymore #and that it's 'person of color'#she has not changed since then

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bigdaddib · 4 years

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Promise pt.4 (final)

They went bowling, which Arya thought was an interesting choice, considering how competitive she got. Although, Sansa probably knew there wasn’t the same amount of passion within her sister than usual. Arya wasn’t invested enough, she had yet to start caring about the little things again, so it was safe to take them bowling on the first date. Maybe it would light some of that spark back in her.

It started to work. With each spare and each strike Arya’s smile got wider and more smug, especially since Pod was working around a slight tremor he got each time Arya looked him directly in the eyes.

Arya admitted it felt good, having the power back. She started to cheer when she would pull ahead, laugh when Pod got gutter balls, and pouted when Sansa started to catch up.

“Lucky throw,” she mumbled as Sansa flipped her hair obnoxiously.

“I seem to have a lot of those,” Sansa twittered back in a sing song voice. “You guys go ahead, I’m gonna go get some drinks.”

Arya watched her head back to the bar when her eyes collided with a dark blue gaze.

Gendry was sitting with Hot Pie, eating a pizza. Hot pie waved nervously and Gendry only stared. All Arya managed was a quick nod, holding her breath as she quickly turned away to watch Pod take his turn. He managed to get about half the pins down before turning to her with a nervous smile. She clapped for him halfheartedly.

“Aren’t they your friends?” He asked, gesturing to Gendry and Hot Pie. Arya sighed heavily. “Cause we can invite them over, I don’t mind.”

“No,” Arya started, “That’s—”

Pod had already begun gesturing them over, each wave of his hand sinking her lower and lower into her seat. This was the absolute worst thing that could’ve happened in this moment. Nothing would’ve been worse than this, nothing at all. Her slipping and breaking her neck with a bowling ball would’ve been more easily dealt with than Gendry walking over in the middle of her sort of date.

“Hey,” Hot Pie was the first to speak when they all came together.

Arya chewed at her lip angrily. “It’s my turn,” was her greeting, and she stomped her way onto her two feet and went for the bowling balls. Sansa returned after she rolled and quickly took Arya by the elbow.

“What the fuck?” Sansa hissed.

“Don’t fucking look at me, Pod invited them over not me,” she grumbled, looking anywhere but at Gendry. Especially since she could feel him looking at her. Staring, was the right word for it, looking no where else but at her. Which was curious behavior for someone who had never minded her.

“Well, this undermines the whole bloody purpose of Pod, doesn’t it?”

Arya tilted her head to the side, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe he could still manage to make me forget all about the man sitting directly across from me. He did, after all, rock those strippers’ world,”

Sansa hit Arya’s shoulder through a giggle. Arya almost frowned, she hadn’t really meant that as a joke, but she supposed it had landed as one.

“Okay,” she straightened her face out. “You have to try and remain calm. Do not offer Gendry any attention unless he asks you a question directly, okay? No getting angry, no getting defensive—”

“I do not get defensive!” Arya interrupted angrily.

“Perfect example, none of that behavior,”

Arya opened her mouth to protest again but was silenced by Sansa’s look.

“Act like nothings bothering you, you’re simply here on a date and that’s the only thing on your mind, okay?”

“Yeah, fine, okay,” Arya could imagine yelling at Gendry now. Shoving her pointer finger into the middle of his chest, watching his face get red and his eyes darken. The redder her got, usually the more right she was, or at least, that’s why she liked to think he got so red.

They walked back into what felt like a very awkward and very tense atmosphere, and Arya hadn’t even been there to contribute to it yet. Sansa immediately eased the air.

“Should we add you two in, then?” she asked cheerfully.

Arya had to hold her breath as she smiled at both Hot Pie and Gendry individually. Hot Pie looked put at ease right away, Gendry did not. The only response she got out of him was a severely clenched jaw which made it near impossible to not roll her eyes in most obvious way possible. Instead, she managed to simply look away and take a seat beside Poderick. His shoulders slumped slightly and he gave her a relieved smile, obviously all the tension was focused directly on him, poor thing. But, he did bring this on himself, inviting them over and everything. This was all his bloody fault.

“We’ll just end this game here. Arya, you won,” Sansa folded a delicate, long leg under her as she began working on the game information.

Starting the new game, Arya wasn’t doing as well. She was tense in trying to be polite and unbothered when that was the exact opposite of how she felt. She was the most bothered person in the world, everything that was currently happening bothered her.

“Someone’s distracted,” Gendry had the nerve to comment.

It was at the tip of her tongue, the skin of her fingers, she could turn and yell her head off, wrap her hands around his thick neck and squeezed until he took it all back. Squeezed until they were back to the morning of that party where everything was okay. Where he was still a virgin, where they were about to go on a life changing trip together, back when everything was about to change for the better, not the absolute worse. She managed not to though, she managed to only shrug and laugh it off, as robotic as it came across, she did it.

Gendry was fucking winning, which was fine, it didn’t meant anything to her. She could handle it without getting angry… and defensive…

But why did he have to fucking look at her after each of his numerous strikes? Why did he have to be all smug and handsome, as though he knew what was going on in her mind. He didn’t, he didn’t know her, just like she didn’t know him. Not really. She could keep secrets just as well as he could, she could keep it to herself that she couldn’t help but stare at his ass when he let the ball go. His shoulder blades, the flex in his arms…he didn’t know she was thinking any of that. All he knew was that she didn’t like he that he beating her. It felt good to have something to herself for once, a secret he didn’t have access to. It was almost therapeutic. Or, it would’ve been if it was something like fucking Jaqen at that dance camp, something that would destroy him just like this party had destroyed her.

Yes. She had fucked Jaqen at that camp. After dancing eight hours a day with only slight breaks for food and stretches, she snuck into the teacher’s cabin, crawled under those stiff camp blankets, and had him make an honest woman out of her. It would kill Gendry to know that, he wouldn’t be able to look her in the eyes for months, maybe never again, and in that moment it was worth it. To just get him back, to show him how it felt, to show him how it felt.

She bit her lip so she wouldn’t yell that very story in the middle of the bowling alley after his fifth strike. “Glad that strike makes you so happy Gendry, because Jaqen sure was when he knocked all my pins down!” or something like that, she wasn’t always the most clever when she got this angry.

If he had believed she was as calm as she was pretending to be, maybe she would’ve gotten away with it. If he didn’t know her as well as he did, if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing and the exact way to do it, she would’ve gotten through the date and maybe even give Pod a peck on the cheek by the end of the night. That thought alone was driving her to ignore him, because she knew him just as well as he knew her, and that would’ve driven him just as crazy as he was making her. Not as crazy as her claiming to have fucked Jaqen, but a close second. If he would just stop picking at her.

“You want me to bowl for you, Arya? Catch you up a bit?”

“Alright, I’ll take it easy on you. I am a gentleman, after all.”

“If you need a break we can take ten. Get you a drink or something, you tired?”

Eventually, that peck on the cheek at the end up the night seemed almost worthless, not when she could just relieve all her attention right there.

“Can you shut the fuck up?!” she shouted after her third split of the night. “No one thinks you’re fucking funny!”

Gendry was biting at his bottom lip to keep from smiling. She didn’t know what everyone else was doing, she wasn’t paying attention. She was focused entirely on Gendry, yet again. “I think I’m funny,” he said casually, as through this was a normal conversation to have. Which only spurred her on further.

“You don’t fucking count,” was all she could say through the thick anger cloud in her brain.

“Something bothering you, Horesface?” he asked, arms crossed over his chest, leaning back into the bench, eyebrow raised. She was standing, but that only made it easier to shove harshly at his chest.

“Get the fuck out Gendry! Get the fuck away from me! What are you even fucking doing here?!”

“Your date invited me.”

“What’s your fucking goal Gendry? What is it that you want to happen right now? You’re the one who never minded me! You’re the one broke off—”

“Me!? I’m the one who—”

“Yes, that’s what I fucking said!” she interrupted before he could delve further in.

“You’re the won who called off the road trip! You’re the one who was too selfish to—”

“So what the fuck are you doing here Gendry?! Why are you making this so difficult for me—”

“Because I can, I guess. Because I have nothing better to do these days. You, on the other hand, seem to be having a hell of a time. First date, is it? Or have you been going at it for the past month?” he stood up finally, trying to use his height to intimidate her, but nothing intimidated her, especially when she was seeing red.

“You bet. This has been the best month of my life. Really, I’ve been going to so many parties, getting so fucking drunk. I’ve been fucking so many dudes on so many front lawns, you wouldn’t even believe.”

“You’re not funny Arya,”

“I’m not joking Gendry. Any guy that’ll have me, and you were right, once you’re out of the picture they’ve come in herds. Just ask Sansa, they can’t get enough.”

Gendry exhaled sharply through his nose, biting his lip as he looked away from her. “Don’t lie to me Arya,”

“Oh, so you can lie but I can’t?”

“I didn’t lie—”

“The whole fucking thing was a lie! I was never your friend I was a fucking obligation! I was a chore you had to deal with everyday—”

“You’re still on that shit?! That whole list was supposed to show you I had needed you just as much as you needed me, or did that just go in one ear and out the other, just like every other thing I fucking say to you does?!”

As ironic as it was, Arya didn’t fully process his words at that moment. All she did process was he had made a valid point against her and she needed to even the score as best as she could. “Well, when nothing you say apparently means anything, than yeah, I guess I don’t pay close attention.”

“I didn’t tell you—”

“Yeah, I got it, cause you were sensitive and ashamed and you have daddy issues and I should feel bad for you because of that, even though you’ve been keeping this secret for fucking months and if you’ve kept a secret like that from me, what else have you been keeping—”

“What about you Arya? You really tell my everything about everything?! There’s nothing you kept from me because you just didn’t feel like sharing,”

Arya looked to the ceiling, put a finger to her chin, “Hmmm, let me think…there was, oh yeah and then there…oh but there was this other…oh yeah! I fucked Jaqen!” And with one final shove to his chest she left that fucking bowling place with no intention on ever coming back.

It was that night when she went to her room and found Gendry there first. The second she walked in he hopped onto both feet and advanced toward her determinedly. “Tell me you were lying.”

“About what?” Arya asked casually, pulling out the chair tucked into her desk and taking a seat.

“Stop, Arya. I really can’t take anymore of this, just tell me you were lying, please,” he knelt in front of her, forcing their eyes to meet. Arya stayed quiet, wondering if she was still angry enough to milk it, or if she was allowing his eyes to break her down completely. Gendry spoke again before she made her decision. “You couldn’t have, you promised.”

“You mean the promises you took back?” Arya clarified.

Gendry’s jaw clenched and suddenly he was clutching at both her knees desperately. “Arya, please. Even if you weren’t lying just tell me you were or I don’t think…I won’t…” he couldn’t finish the sentence, shutting his eyes as far as the could go and his grip Arya had already thought was as tight as it could get, hardened.

Then her decision was made. She had gone too far, yet again, and she knew she would. She knew what this would do to him and she did because it was the worst possible thing she could say to him. She wanted to watch it destroy him. What she had forgotten was watching it destroy him would also destroy her.

“I was lying,” she said immediately, reaching out and tucking his head right under her chin, combing her fingers through his hair. He accepted this gratefully, his shoulders drooping and arms becoming soft as they encircled her waist. “I’m sorry,” she whispered,

He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he was talking directly into her sternum and she felt his voice vibrate all throughout the inside of her chest. “I should’ve told you, I know…I just…I…” Arya gave him the time he needed to properly think of what he wanted to say. “I spent the last three years keeping that promise purposely. I wanted to keep it, I wanted it to be you, I knew that. Going into that party, I never even considered that I might…it wasn’t an option. And for me to just…for it all to be over just like that…it wasn’t fair Arya. I didn’t want it to be true, I wanted it to be you. It kills me that it wasn’t,”

Arya didn’t say anything for a while, she only held him and processed all of his words. Everything he’d said to her, starting from the bowling alley and going all the way back to the very first day they had met, and she thought I am so stupid. Obviously, he always needed her. Everything he did was to ensure she’d stay next to him, never leave him, and that’s why he kept this secret. Because he was scared she would get mad and never talk to him again, which is almost exactly what she did.

“Gendry, I love you. I’ll always love you, no matter what you do,”

“Except keep secrets,”

Arya rolled her eyes, “It just…it hurt that you didn’t think you could come to me with these things. I thought that you could talk to me about anything, and when it turned out you couldn’t I just…” she paused, going to his shoulders and again finding he was kneeling between her legs. She hooked her ankles around his torso to bring him closer. “I’m sorry I confirmed all the reasons you had for not telling me.”

“…so you really weren’t just mad because I had sex with someone else?”

Arya laughed and his arms tightened around her. “Well…”

“Well?”

“That may have been…a teeny tiny part of it.”

“Hmmmm,” he said into her chest causing Arya to bite her lip. “I missed you,” he murmured.

Arya hugged him as tight as she could, “I missed you,”

“That was scary.”

Arya only nodded.

“Promise to never fight like that again?”

“Give me your pinky,”

“We could seal it another way…”

“Hm? What did you have in mind?”

Gendry straightened up and with Arya sitting and Gendry kneeling, he was only slightly taller than her now, making her eye to eye to with his mouth. He had the perfect lips, big enough, pink enough, a perfectly indented cupids bow, framed deliciously with the perfect amount of black scruff. Arya was sure he was the most beautiful thing that’s ever been made. And here he was, wrapped around her, between her legs, looking back down at her own lips, dark blue eyes darkening further…

Then his finger lifted her chin and there was no breath in her lungs and no thoughts in her head that weren’t centered on his lips. Especially when he carefully parted them through her own, her top lip nestled snugly between both of his until his head tilted and suddenly his top lip was between both of hers…then her mouth opened and he…

Nothing has ever felt like this. Nothing has caused so much release as it built up so much tension…nothing made her so warm yet cause such a violent shiver all through out her body…nothing has ever felt so overwhelming yet so perfectly natural all at once, as this did. Nothing has ever felt like Gendry. Just as she thought she was sort of used to it, just as she thought she knew what to expect, his hands moved or his lips went down her neck and she was feeling everything all over again. She was almost unaware when he gripped her by the thighs to pick her up and bring her to the bed, but she was fully aware pulling his shirt from his torso and letting him do the same to her. She was perfectly away of their bare chests pressed hotly together as his mouth ran up and down her neck then her shoulder and then…

When it was all over she was tucked securely into the curve of his neck, bare thigh thrown over his bare hips, running her hand up and down his chest as his ran up and down her back. “So, that’s how we’re going to seal promises from now on, then?” she asked.

“That’s exactly how we’re going to seal promises from now on,” Gendry confirmed.

#arya x gendry #gendrya #gendryaau #gendrya ff #Arya Stark #Gendry Waters #gendrya fanfiction #pt.4 #gendryafluff #gendryaseries #friends to lovers

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femmesfollesnebraska · 5 years

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Artist-Poet Feature: Claudia Serea & Maria Haro

Pleased to feature artist Maria Haro alongside poet Claudia Serea with some of their collaborative work...

Where are you from? How did you get into creative work and what is your impetus for creating?

Claudia Serea:

I was born and raised in Romania, and I started writing poems when I was around 14 years old, in Romanian, of course. I wrote until my third year in college, then stopped. I immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 and took up writing almost 12 years later, this time in English. As for the reasons, I write because I believe I have something to say: my experience growing up behind the Iron Curtain, my immigration story, and the fact that I am constantly moving between two languages and cultures, not fitting perfectly in either of them. I also find inspiration everywhere around me, on New York City streets, in everyday life. I don't have to make up almost anything, just type what I see really fast. :)

Maria Haro:

I was borned in Madrid, Spain. Ever since I remember, I have been creating. My father is also an artist, so I grew up surrounded by art. I started my professional career in 1994 when I moved to New York City after graduating in graphic design.

My impetus for creating has evolved through the years. It started as something I liked to do, then something that I liked and I needed for a living, and now is evolving into something I need to do in order to make sense of it all.

Tell me about Twoxism, your current project and book, and why it’s important to you. What do you hope people get out of your work?

Claudia Serea:

I started the blog Twoxism in 2015 together with my friend, photographer Maria Haro—but the idea is older than that. The project concept came from Maria's friend, the Spanish photographer, Koldo Mirren Guinea Herran. He contributed some excellent photography to our project; he also designed the amazing cover and created the layout of the book. One of the poems I wrote for his beautiful photograph of tools was shared 1,600 times on StumbleUpon alone. I’m sure a lot of its appeal is because of this iconic image. Here it is:

Sometimes I feel like a mechanic

Sometimes I feel like a mechanic, hammer and wrench instead of hands,

fitting the small parts, turning them this way and that, until they lock together, tight, teeth clenched.

I test the wheels, try the belt, turn the engine on and off, and on again,

listening to the wheezing, the whirr, until it works, and the growl comes on,

and the propeller starts flipping and swooshing,

and the shiny thing lifts into the air and flies into the world,

leaving me behind with my greasy hands and grimy nails,

grinning.

Maria Haro:

Twoxism started as a poetry-photography collaboration blog (www.twoxism.com) for which I took the photos and Claudia wrote the poems they inspired. In April 2017, 33 selections from the blog became an art exhibition that opened in New York City. Recently, Twoxism became a book published in December 2018 by the Canadian press 8th House Publishing.

Twoxism is an invented word for all things two—among them, love, friendship, and relationships. We had a great response to the blog, with +15K page views and +40K impressions on Twitter and growing. As a project, it finds beauty in unexpected places and sees the mundane with redemptive eyes. As a book, it speaks of love and relationships in a new way. We hope others find it fresh, inspiring, and authentic. I personally started to better understand personal relationships through the photos I take and the lens of the artists who contribute to Twoxism.

Does collaboration play a role in your work—whether with your community, artists or others? How so, and how does this impact your work?

Claudia Serea:

I love collaborating with other artists. Collaboration gives my poems the chance to be shared with and enjoyed by more people. It gives the poem a new life. Apart from Twoxism, I collaborated with film directors who turned my poems into videos. My poem In Those years, No One Slept was set to music for choir by composer Rich Campbell, and the song won the top prize at the 2018 Uncommon Music Festival last August. I have another ongoing poetry-photography project with artist Mike Markham which, who knows, might become an exhibition or book in the future. And Maria and I we’ll keep Twoxism growing as long as it can. We are just getting started.

Maria Haro:

My biggest drive now is to discover what is possible through collaboration, and everything has to have a purpose. I am mostly interested in creating work than helps others using my design, photography, and artistic skills. I always have more projects on my mind that time to execute them and make the best of them. That is where collaboration really makes sense to me. Things are always better together.

Considering the political climate, how do you think the temperature is for the arts right now, what/how do you hope it may change or make a difference?

Claudia Serea:

Creativity knows no limits and no one can contain it, although some might try. The arts are hot in the U.S., and they will always be. Language is also extremely important in shaping our message and connecting us with emotion. Here is a poem from Twoxism that explores language’s important role, accompanied by Maria’s evocative photo:

About languages

In what language does the house painter paint?

Does the wind in Chile speak Spanish to the trees?

Do the gulls over the Hudson River cry Whitman’s verse?

And what about the Statue of Liberty?

In what language does she keep silent?

Coming from Romania, I feel fortunate to be in the United States and share my poems in English with the artists here. Who knew something like this could happen? I never thought I would get here in the first place. We get to write and express ourselves, and that is thrilling to me. I am very grateful for that. In turn, we must fight to open doors for others, and not create in a vacuum. There are countless artists and poets who live under oppressive regimes and don’t get this chance. We need to raise our voices and help them in any way we can. It’s an uphill battle, but I have faith we can contribute to the change.

Maria Haro:

Being an artist is hard, and it will always be, no matter where you are and what political climate you’re in. But it really helps to be in Madrid and in New York City where there is freedom to express yourself and a lot of receptivity to art.

Art is very intangible. You can only break through when you touch the viewer’s emotions and cause disruption. I will continue to try to do that for the rest of my life.

Sense of humor is another great weapon to have. I love to explore through my art the political environment and discover in deeper layers what is really going on and how it translates into our daily lives. Here is a twoxism that illustrates that:

High stakes entertainment

When all of this is over,

we'll have invented a new game,

the American roulette.

All is fair in love and war. So pass the popcorn, the wine, lots of wine, and the remote.

Artist Wanda Ewing, who curated and titled the original LFF exhibit, examined the perspective of femininity and race in her work, and spoke positively of feminism, saying “yes, it is still relevant” to have exhibits and forums for women in art; does feminism play a role in your work?

Claudia Serea:

In Twoxism, we explored the topic of empowering women in several combinations of poems and photographs. The goddess woman, the working woman, the skateboarding girl who is afraid to fall, the mother, the lover, the friend, they all find voices in the book. One of my favorites pieces is “Ode to the warrior woman,” paired with a beautiful photo of red lipstick as a “weapon” of choice by Maria Haro. Here it is:

Ode to the warrior woman

Beautiful woman, the world is still cruel and wild. Bring out the thunderbolts and don’t be afraid of the fight.

Put on your lipstick and pull up your boots. Grab your sword and slay the dragons on your way to work.

Walk in knee-high blood on 7th Avenue and don’t let anyone see the quiver in your heart.

Be kind and smile. Don’t let them see that you’re hurt.

Sharpen your talons, merciless bird.

Woman, you da man, the man’s womb, you da bomb!

Galaxies explode from your sex, Milky Way swirls and pours out of your breasts.

Tell the little girl inside you to hush.

Swing the bow on your back and spread your eagle wings.

There is so much to fight for, so much to do.

Put on your lipstick, girl.

The world is waiting for you.

Maria Haro:

There isn’t really a choice for us to demand equal rights for women. It’s mandatory (and I have projects coming up that directly address this topic.)

Ewing’s advice to aspiring artists was “you’ve got to develop the skill of when to listen and when not to;” and “Leave. Gain perspective.” What is your favorite advice you have received or given?

Claudia Serea:

Keep writing even if you get rejected. Be honest and true to yourself. And, most importantly, never give up. Persistence is the most important quality.

Maria Haro:

Attack your fears by being fearless.

How do the birds know when it’s time to fly?

They must feel a restlessness, or a clock striking in their brain,

an itch, or a longing in the bones.

Or maybe the roads are calling, unfolding ahead,

new balconies of the city, glimmering windows and highways of air.

That’s when I have to say goodbye to my friends of the same feather

and prepare to travel light, with only love as carry-on.

Then, without thinking too much, the leap:

the push off the ledge, a flap or two.

I lean my chest against the wind and glide.

The current pours and lifts me up, up, so I can see everything.

Farewell, past.

Twoxism by CLAUDIA SEREA & MARIA HARO

Published by 8th House Publishing, Montreal, Canada

Order the book here.

6 x 9 | Paperback | December 2018

116 pages | Price: $20.00

ISBN 978-1-926716-53-4

Claudia Serea is an award-winning Romanian-born poet whose poems and translations appeared in Field, New Letters, Gravel, Prairie Schooner, RHINO, The Malahat Review, and elsewhere. She has published five poetry collections, most recently Twoxism, a poetry-photography collaboration with Maria Haro (8th House Publishing, 2018). Serea is a founding editor of National Translation Month and a co-host of The Williams Poetry Readings series in Rutherford, NJ.

Maria Haro grew up in Madrid, Spain, where she studied fine arts and graphic design. She graduated from the School of Graphic Communications and moved to New York City in 1994. She has won several global awards as a Creative Director in pharma advertising. She collaborates with other artists on projects that inspire her. You can find her photos on Instagram @mariavisualdesigner.

Les Femmes Folles is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 with the mission to support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art from around the world with the online journal, print annuals, exhibitions and events; originally inspired by artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles (Wild Women). LFF was created and is curated by Sally Deskins. LFF Booksis a micro-feminist press that publishes 1-2 books per year by the creators of Les Femmes Folles including the award-winning Intimates & Fools (Laura Madeline Wiseman, 2014) , The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters: Ten Tales (Laura Madeline Wiseman/Lauren Rinaldi, 2015 and Mes Predices (catalog of art/writing by Marie Peter Toltz, 2017).Other titles include Les Femmes Folles: The Women 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 available on blurb.com, including art, poetry and interview excerpts from women artists. A portion of the proceeds from LFF books and products benefit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Wanda Ewing Scholarship Fund.

Current call for collaborative art-writing: http://femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com/post/181376606692/lff-2019-artistpoet-collaborations

https://www.facebook.com/femmesfolles

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theaterdisneynerdsunite · 6 years

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Tony Awards Thoughts

So it looks like, at least for now, the CBS website lets you watch it for free (at least in the US). Here are my thoughts using those time stamps (be warned I have a long running commentary)

0:23 Oh is this going to be a parody of her playing the piano on last year’s Tony’s

1:05 How has neither one of them won anything? I mean I get if they said neither one of them one a Tony cause I mean, they both did shows that one time…but anything?

1:18 Is there anything more Broadway than saying the same rehearsed thing at the same time and pretending it was just part of the banter? Oh theater tropes I love you

1:36 That’s always been something that bothered me, people assume that just because something didn’t win the Tony doesn’t mean its not a great show, and the show that wins might not even be the best one that season (you know who you are). I love the Tony’s but its an award show, people don’t stop watching tv shows and movies or listening to artists that didn’t win or weren’t nominated, it makes me sad that so many shows close post Tony’s just because they weren’t the big winner. Anyways…

1:53 THEY CELEBRATED THE LOSERS LIKE ME, these A list celebrities that are totally not losers are soooo relatable ;)

2:40 A few years ago Something Rotten did what I thought was a brilliant advertising campaign listing amazing shows that lost the Tonys like them, so the fact that it was put into song gave me a fond flashback. See? SEE??? Oh it feels so good to be vindicated on tv

3:49 “If you make art at all your a part of the cure” :)

4:10 THEY HAD THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS BE THE ONES IN THE OPENING NUMBER RATHER THAN THE LEADS THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY. If only my high school self could have seen this she would have felt so much better

6:42 I didn’t see any of the plays this year but I heard the most about Angels in America this season so not surprised. Looks interesting

7:45 Happy Pride Month

8:40 Bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked would actually be a pretty good diction warmup

14:10 Kinda surprised that they didn’t pick Rather Be Me or Apex Predator considering those are the really marketed songs. “Where We Belong” seems a lot like “Status Quo” from High School Musical. I mean you’ll get that about high school clicks in the lunch room with a blond queen bee but like, even the dance moves felt similar, and the lunch tray dancing, even the giant cat decal. But like, it's not as catchy? I didn’t expect them to win anything tonight but I really don’t think they’ll win anything now? Is that mean? Just cause it feels like it was supposed to be a high energy number and it didn’t have that energy I thought it would. Also come on, just cause you want the girls to be shallow and dumb doesn’t mean the lyrics have to be that cringey. This feels like a less good version of if Legally Blonde and High School Musical had a baby (I absolutely love Legally Blonde that was not intended to be an insult to either show).

15:00 Is it me or did Amy Schumer look like she wanted to say something but Rachel Bloom kept talking. But it didn’t really have any joke setup or serve as a good segway for commentary, what could she have wanted to say?

15:35 Later on I’m going to see if I can find the award speeches that didn’t get televised. most of the world doesn’t get broadway they get regional theater, I wanted to hear what they had to say

15:45 Nick Scandalious feels like a cartoon name you’d see in an Onion article about the Me Too movement. His face even looks like the generic celebrity that had a TMZ scandal five years ago. I thought I read it wrong at first lol

16:40 I was cracking up they know their brand so well. The air quotes on emotional, perfect!

17:10 Mini Sara and Josh are so cute!

17:50 Ok I missed the reference, what is the giant bird lady from?

18:10 oh

20:57 celebrity child picture counter: #3 Amy Schumer. Also guess which year the musical described as “a comedy about class and sexism” is from? Yup it’s My Fair Lady, the audience laughed like I did in that sort of this is funny but also sad kinda way

26:00 This was so overacted and hammy and one day I aspire to that level of loud printed robes. Coincidentally my name is also spelled like Eliza but my voice is not nearly that good. Also does it count as drag if they are clearly men in dresses with some comical makeup or is there another name for it when they aren’t actually trying to look feminine?

26:18 The twitter usernames were too small to see on my screen who were the twitter pictures of?

26:30 See above comment

27:00 What show did Billy Joel work on? Also Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Josh Groban maybe my mom will finally enjoy theater

29:12 Oh my gosh that picture of Titus Burgess is amazing as is that suit. And that intro is so Titus its great

30:07 Renee Fleming we’ve got the Opera world here too? It’s so many famous musicians from outside broadway on broadway, think of all the crossovers

32:50: Yes spongebob get Josh Groban to sing more thank you for your service. Ok I’m not a huge fan of spongebob but they have to win for sound design that guy is on overload

33:27 Lol it explains so much why the songs sound disjointed cause they got a billion people to write them. Also lol I was waiting for that joke

33:50 Also what I thought would happen would be a medley that way Spongebob who really is the driving energy of the show and Squidward played by the Broadway darling would both have a song. This wasn’t how I expected them to do it, but I was sort of right so I’ll count it. I’m not really a fan of Spongebob the musical (I’ve listened to it twice once when it first came out and once during Tony Season. I’m not one of the people who hate it off the sheer premise and won’t give it a chance, but I just thought it was meh and not worth having the most nominations.) But Squidward’s song is very me, not in terms of melody cause that is I find most of the melodies to be rather generic but the lyrics are 100% me trying to convince myself. Also all I will be thinking about for the rest of the will be what tap dancing must feel like its gotta feel weird how long do you think he spent practicing it with and without the extra legs. Or it might be nightmare fuel with the sea anemone contributing to it, who knows? Probably both,

38:07 still don’t know whose handles those are

38:28 ^^^

38:40 Ok when I saw the outfits I was expecting a Chorus Line Parody, but this Sia parody fits this every genre but musical theater theme of this Broadway season

39:20 Eight times a week, and all the subsequent puns

40:28 Can I just say I love this return to singing interludes over awkward award show banter?

41:44 I saw the Bands Visit a few month’s back and I still don’t know how to describe it. Normally I would guess it would be the second fiddle of the Tony’s but considering the “purists” it’ll probably win most of the awards

44:16 With all the previous reaction shots you knew it had to be Nathan Lane. I always forget how well spoken he is because of his typical roles but he is really well spoken and sincere rather than trying to wise crack and it was so sweet. It made me smile

47:43 His face saying “blow high” has got to be a gif right?

51:45 The entirety of the Carousel number was me thinking if I had a higher sex drive this would totally make me thirsty. They also used very creative ways to physically embody the shape and workings of a ship but then again I’m admittedly biased. Listen to that number you know their vocal prowess was not why they picked it

52:12 I mean, I know that crew gets less attention than cast and plays less attention than musicals but I would watch the full version stop cutting out the speeches. C’mon I love costumes

53:04 I know your joking but that hurts

53:19 yes #4 famous kid photo Uzo Aduba

55:49 Ari'el Stachel’s speech is made all the more poignant when you realize everyone else in his category were white. Despite this season’s commerciality you actually do have shows and casts with Asian leads and African American leads and Latin American leads and Middle Eastern leads somewhere between the sea of shows like Spongebob and Frozen. Show these shows some love, prove that Hamilton wasn’t the anomaly but the rule

56:55 They brought the Parkland teacher for the theater education award! Fitting 65 students into a high school teacher’s office for hours to protect them is not easy, she saved lives that day

58:17 I thought #5 Matthew Morrison was a girl in his child pic

58:40 They went to Parkland?!

59:35 OMG they’re performing!?!

1:00:10 Seasons of Love is the Perfect song for this, they sound so good too!

1:01:18 Girl has an amazing voice! Dang to get up there in front of all of these famous performers on live TV after the media has already hounded them and putting yourself out there is courageous

1:02:45 I can’t see the handles

1:03:11 Will they be able to top NPH’s Tony magic trick though??? Probably not but let’s see

1:03:31 So cheesy but tbh if I had a Harry Potter wand I’d be even cheesier

1:03:46 Was that line improved or was the tech delay intentional?

1:04:22 C’mon Squidward already pulled the same “trick” you have ensemble block the audience pov while someone enters from the back. Didn’t even come close to topping NPH

1:04:43 Little Patti Lupone I can’t believe she allowed them to include her picture of lil’ Patti

1:05:04 I just wanted to include Patti’s line about a “deep appreciation for outspoken women” cause I actually said “you go girl” out loud

1:05:35 Yeah, fun fact, Tony wasn’t a man but was actually short for Antoinette. They referenced it multiple times before, including earlier tonight, but it was stated most explicitly here

1:06:35 Is that a young or modern Claire Danes, I can’t tell

1:07:39 Also it’s really cool that an older woman won something, I feel like the stage gives more roles for older woman that other acting industries, also if people argue that she was political she served political office. Also how cool is it that apparently people were there from every recognized country?

1:09:27 so that’s how they do Sven, I knew Olaf was supposed to be an Avenue Q style puppet but the way they move Sven is really cool (it’s the technique they used on things like War Horse, I don’t know if it’s considered costuming or puppetry or what the official name is)

1:10:20 Anna looks exactly as I pictured her, and they changed a few minor lyrics for it to fit the stage

1:10:44 There are so many quick changes tonight

1:11:22 Elsa did not look like what I imagined her to be, but the costumes are on point

1:12:00 The chorus versions of these songs have beautiful harmony, but Olaf shouldn’t be there yet right? Isn’t he “born” in Let it Go

1:12:47 Alright I’ve been waiting to see how they’ll do the snow effects!

1:14:00 They got out of building the castle by already having it built at the beginning of the song, which is smart technically but I wanted to see how they do it, unless it’s one of those things that’s a surprise for when you see it live.

1:14:25 Never call it “Daddy’s Day” ever again. Never.

1:14:46 I can’t see the handles

1:14:59 How could you not show Chita Rivera’s lifetime achievement? I’ve been lucky enough to see her in more than one show and she is incredible.

1:15:13 And you also cut out Andrew Lloyd Webber’s?? You made the wrong cuts Broadway

1:15:25 It looks like they’re going to show a tribute I’m excited!!!

1:17:42 Two things: Andrew Lloyd Webber has written a weird collection of musicals, like when you see clips of them back to back you realize just how weird of a collection it is, and Josh Groban needs to be the next Phantom

1:18:08 That exchange was so physically awkward they haven’t even started talking yet and I feel the cringe

1:19:18 Is “I swore I’d never do something like that” shade against the La La Land debacle? In 2018? Or am I reading too much into it

1:19:21 I saw the Band’s Visit but I also saw Once on this Island and I thought that one would win Direction for sure but I guess I was wrong

1:22:36 I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it’s a weird read, but I haven’t seen it live so maybe it’s directed brilliantly, who knows? Who else thinks its a weird read?

1:23:56 He’s getting the Tony audience to sing his boyfriend "Happy Birthday" instead of giving a speech and that is both adorably sweet and such a power move. Also a rare occasion of Happy Birthday being sung on key

1:25:10 They’re having DEH perform? You cut out people who actually were awarded tonight for people who already were featured on the Tony’s last year? And that song is a weird choice for a In Memoriam considering that show doesn’t really…respect the deceased. Weird

1:28:17 Give the tech more time in the limelight! You cut out Chita and Webber’s speeches for a weird tribute and you have weird stunts with tech like the magic thing yet cut out all their stage time. I know this is standard Tony procedure but it is something I will comment on every year until it changes

1:29:20 That move for “work hard for the money mom” line was uncomfortable

1:30:30 They really do sound like the original singer

1:31:53 So that’s how the performers follow the conductor. They have a huge teleprompter-like screen in the back of the audience

1:32:52 This cast seems specifically tailored to gather different subsections of internet geeks and I will not tell you which categories I fall into

1:33:18 I never knew “the Jimmy’s” were a thing when I was in high school

1:34:54 THOSE are the great themes of Harry Potter? Really?

1:36:10 Aww look at little Cinderella

1:36:34 How are they going to build that stage for the Tonys? They built a river inside the theater for it before!

1:37:00 Well it makes sense that they’d only include part of the set, you can’t really recreate an entire building. Yes I’m so glad they included Mama Will Provide. That song is like the definition of a Tony performance song. Why did they include the Daniel bit, that was so awkward and broke up the flow

1:40:40 If anyone would be chill with the goat it’s Nathan Lane. Yup, there a live goat at the Tony Awards

1:41:21 Don’t joke about that

1:41:41 Are you going to cut out every technical award

1:42:32 Too relatable

1:43:16 Is this that song from Chorus Line in real life

1:44:10 English Major life

1:46:03 The angel from Angels in America is so Extra TM

1:46:54 That Tony Kushner line was forced

1:47:18 Awkward segway but REMEMBER TO VOTE

1:47:38 That Judy Garland line ties in perfectly with the Happy Birthday to the gay couple

1:48:04 That reaction to the word “money” is me. And also is a gif right?

Am I so much of a Tony nerd that I both knew and was shocked that the accountants weren’t the normal ones from Ernst and Young but instead were from Grant Thorton. Why do I remember what company normally tallies the Tony votes? Why did they change companies? Why do I care so much? But seriously what happened

1:49:00 That phrase just sounded so odd, just the way it was said “my television Daddy-O Tony Shalhoub”

1:53:15 I don’t have the accent and I’m about as white as white can be, but I really want to perform this song somewhere at some point. I have family in this area even though I don’t look like I would but and I just connect to it. The melody is gorgeous and the chorus reminds me of the lullabies of when I was very little.

1:54:15 Every time the young photos come up it puts a small smile on my face

1:54:37 Good on them for putting their money where their mouth is. They actually helped fund arts programs in places where they were cut

1:55:05 I wonder what the rest of the scenic guy’s speech for Spongebob was because this tiny clip seemed so passionate (and just has such an interesting aesthetic). Gosh darn it Tonys stop pretending the only backstage people that count are the directors and producers, you have all these other people who put in so much hard work yet you consistently ignore them. Even orchestrations, choreography and score?? Orchestrations, choreography and score are crucial for musicals to exist as unique entities from plays. You make jokes about people sitting through 5 hour plays but I would gladly sit through a five hour award show if you just included the technical awards.

1:57:10 me trying to open anything ever

1:57:14 Yes! I was so worried they would go with the super old school ones that get constant revivals. I mean, they picked the show that had “1000 pounds of sand, a 100 gallons of water, a goat and 2 chickens into his theater” when you have safer, more conventional bets. Everyone kept sleeping on Once on this Island this Tony season to talk about their feelings about the Spongebob’s and Mean Girl’s of the world but this is such a good show. Maybe this’ll get this show the love it deserves.

1:59:30 what did Robert DeNiro say on the recording the sound cut out. Did the mic cut out did he say something inappropriate, I’ve been avoiding Tony news what happened?

1:59:55 It’s got more than just a big cast, dancing, and a history lesson. You know that applies to, idk like 60% of famous Broadway musicals lol

2:00:06 when someone gives that pregnant of a pause you gotta wonder what the story is there

2:00:27 Truth

2:00:40 “Jersey Boy” that’s such a good one liner, actually, it might sound sarcastic online but that was a funny one liner in context

2:03:00 Is Bruce Springsteen really going to just do spoken word poetry the whole time? Also I don’t know why but this makes me think of Fun Home

2:06:05 Oh he’s going to sing after all. Though that story is about as Americana Fourth of July as anything I’ve ever heard on the Tony Awards ever and that’s saying something

2:07:39: who are these people?

2:08:00 Didn’t Kristin Chenowitz and Alan Cumming do this exact same shtick when they hosted, what 2 years ago? And there’s was much bigger I mean really go big like that Glinda the Good dress or go home.

2:08:23 Was there really no punch line? Also aww baby Kelli O’Hara is precious

2:09:07 The actor’s name sounds like his character’s name and I enjoy that

2:09:39 Well these actors are very different from each other

2:11:28 I am a sucker for genuine sincerity and that combined with some of the earlier moments like the Parkland moment brought me close to tears

2:12:45 Look at this award shows actual diversity, and not just using one show for diversity and nominating a bunch of actors you have 3 out of 6 female leads be people of color and none of them are a “token” and they all support each other. Hailey Kilgore is so young and such a good actress and I wanted her to win so much but she seemed so excited for the person who did win and they all seem happy at the result you don’t have any of that polite loser face they are all genuinely supportive and this makes me happy. I’m happy, look at those smiles I’m smiling, I love it when they show women supporting each other.

12:14:06 “my stupid little heart with so much joy” is me watching these people tonight.

12:14:27 Still can’t identify these people

12:15:00 Josh Groban’s reaction to Bernadette Peter’s name is me. Honestly Josh Groban is killing the potential gif game tonight

I’m sorry I just can’t take this description of them as “empowering stories” seriously when half of your nominations are Spongebob and Mean Girls

2:16:10 Tonight the Band’s Visit really swept. Honestly some seasons shows don’t win any awards that deserved it and other seasons shows that (while still deserving) probably wouldn’t have won win and it’s all kind of arbitrary, but I’m glad out of this batch it won, it was really the only show out of the four that would have gotten the Tony Award ticket sales boost and it got it.

2:17:35 “Music gives people hope and makes borders disappear”

2:19:08 yes another Josh Groan duet!

2:19:25 I love Miss Peters too

2:20:44 This number made me smile, this whole night made me smile. I was worried I would get frustrated by the night with Spongebob and Frozen and Mean Girls and all the potential for it to be a cynical snark fest or a capitalist money grabber spectacular. There are about 10 billion ways I saw myself not liking this year’s Tony Awards before it started and not only am I relieved that I was wrong about the mood of the night but I am elated. I love me some deadpan humor and some snark but you rarely see one of these nights just wholly be genuine and not tongue and cheek and it was such a breath of fresh air. Even the hokey bits like the stupid magic jokes and banter or weaker songs like that Mean Girls number, because everything was in such a kindhearted atmosphere, didn’t feel as bad as they otherwise would have.

#tonys #tony awards #tony awards 2018 #josh groban #sara bareilles #band's visit #spongebob #spongebob musical #frozen #frozen musical #mean girls #mean girls musical #honestly so many shows were nominated this year for revivals and plays and other things #theater #musicals

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vmheadquarters · 6 years

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ASK THE FANDOM--RESPONSES

Here’s this week’s Ask the Fandom question:

I’m curious as to whether fans think that Logan is a well-read individual? He throws around large words like anthropomorphic and was enrolled in the newspaper class, which could hint at a love or enjoyment of the written word. I also find it interesting that many non-Navy Logan fics have him working in the journalism or literary industry. Is there a hint of this in canon?

And here’s what you had to say:

@leuberpwnage--Briefly: little hints are dropped about Logan's appreciation of literature (and film, and television, and music...) left and right. Along with the constant allusions ranging from Citizen Kane to Beach Boys to Prince, he references tons of literature (in his usual sly way). 1984 is not, in fact, the only book he has read.

If the asker was referring to his fanon penchant for writing, I point them to that one time when he actually tried and out-wrote all of the other kids' preppy essays. He may have used an uncredited quote or two from a cult movie, but that doesn't negate the pages and pages of quality writing that undoubtedly followed (for a high-schooler, in any case).

@cheshirecatstrut--Yes, I think there’s lots of evidence to suggest that, despite his skater-bro fight-club persona, Logan reads a lot and is good with language.

1) He’s very well-spoken–no ums or uhs, no incorrect grammar, uses lots of big words. Also he’s verbally witty and makes many literary/historical/pop culture allusions in conversations.

2) His inspirational voicemail messages are quotes from classic novelists.

3) He’s a good writer, as evinced by the fact that he won an essay contest. (The Easy Rider speech is about 2 paragraphs long and the essay was multiple pages–he wrote the bulk of it).

4) His test scores were high enough to get him into Hearst, an elite private college. Even if he aced math, he wouldn’t be accepted with a low verbal score, and he says at one point he’s bad at math. So we should assume he aced verbal and did moderately well on math.

5) He seems to take mostly liberal arts classes in college (mass comm, sociology, classes that require essay tests) and these subjects require a ton of reading, good comprehension skills, and the ability to write well.

6) When he and Veronica argue, he almost always shuts her down, although she’s extremely intelligent and expresses herself well. No other character on the show is capable of out-arguing Veronica, not even Keith.

@millenderj--@cheshirecatstrut you said it perfectly!!

@absolutelyiris--That’s it! All points valid. The issues for Logan have always been discipline, drive and self-esteem, all of which he lacked. I personally never considered Logan to be dumb, just unwilling to push himself beyond what’s necessary. He knows a lot of obscure references, nice “SAT” words, seems to be Brain to Dick’s Pinky, and keeps up with Veronica consistently, there’s no reason to think he’s stupid, really. That’s why I always found Veronica basically calling him a meathead in Wichita Linebacker to be such a low blow- and judging by his response, he thought it to be hurtful as well. Dude isn’t dumb.

@iamjmgardner--I think some of the confusion stems from the problematic characterization of Logan in S3. S1 and S2 Logan, for all intents and purposes, is a pretty decent student. I mean, he keeps attending school, even winning an essay contest well after he’s the only one responsible for himself and his dad is arrested. Not to mention the fact that he still takes the SATs/ACTs and standardized tests in preparation for … something … so we can assume that whether he planned to go to college or not, he at least covered his basis.

During the S1 and S2, we have Logan voicemail messages from several writers that all speak to him being a literati on some level.

S3, for whatever reason, decided to play up the “Logan is a total meathead slacker who only fights, goes to weight-lifting, and barely passes his classes.” Frankly, this is a bullshit and not really in-line with the character we saw during S1 and S2. Now, if you want to tell me that Logan starts doing poorly in college because he’s struggling with grief, depression, guilt, and all the rest of it from the traumatic ending of S2…then, yes, I could see that, but Logan doing poorly in S3 because he’s “not smart” or witty or clever, I don’t believe.

Now, is Logan a reader or well-read?

Let’s take a look:

In the main rooms of Logan’s home, there are no books to speak of not even on the bookshelves.

And remember that one time Mr. Echolls reads a book?

In the few glimpses, we get of Logan’s room though, he has books on his shelves, and while I can’t make out any of the titles, they’re not just school books but ones that live there full-time

Reading is a form of escapism, a chance to experience another world, another person’s life, and to get away from your own for awhile. With everything we know about Logan’s life, I think it’s safe to say that he needed an ongoing outlet and way to escape from that, so, yes, I think he’s well-read.

@happilyshanghaied--Agree with all of this, except I don’t think Dick is ‘Pinky’ to Logan’s ‘Brain’. He’s not dumb either. I think Dick cultivates a shallow, idiot persona bc his Dad always preferred the popular dudebro son over the geeky math genius son. I find it hard to believe anybody closely related to Cass would be stupid. Also, he’s extremely witty and often holds his own bantering with Veronica. And like…he somehow got into Hearst?

RE: Logan

I always had the impression Logan was better read than Veronica and definitely more sophisticated and worldly. IMO Logan’s intelligence is what Veronica likes most about him (and vice versa). I always headcanoned little Logan reading Lynn’s scripts with her to help her practice her lines. Maybe if she was filming a literary adaptation, he read the original with her?There’s a reason people like to write Logan as a writer so often.

@shesgotalionsheart--Oh yay! This is actually my question!

I suspect that Logan is genuinely an avid reader; an activity that contributes heavily to his repertoire of snappy comebacks and skills as a writer. Although we mostly saw references to his hobbies which include surfing and video games, I feel like he would retreat to books in private moments when he isn’t entertaining the masses. My head canon is that Logan used books as a release from the real world, in which his dad abused him and his mom was an alcoholic. Because in books the hero of the story can be true to himself/herself and react in ways that are not always feasible in real life.

@adorkableauthor (via twitter)-- Yes. I think Logan was well read and did well in school, even if he came off as a slacker. I think he made references to things that he would only know of if he was an active reader.

@isa (via twitter)--Yes. Logan is well read and he enjoys reading but doesn't care to show it, Even though if you have a conversation with him and he cares enough he will show you how much he knows about the topic.

#ask the fandom #vmhq #veronica mars #atf logan #vm meta #meta logan #meta hobbies and skills #logan echolls

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mauridianhallow · 7 years

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A L L O F T H E Q U E S T I O N S

Good shit good shit this took me ages holy hell enjoy you meme loving fucks Q's for you to A Do you have a favourite sweater? I actually do, it's that kinda folded over stretchy grey one I always wear, y'know? I wore it to The 1975 and, from what I hear, it was awesome. (Although I can't remember bc I was Gin Drunk) What’s your middle name? Lawrence...no judgement...Do you still talk to the first person you kissed? I don't, I wonder how's she's doing. Heard she was studying History from her friend I met in a bar one time. Glad to hear, she was nice. Do you get on with your grandparents? I did! Sadly it's been a few years since they passed but I very much did. What was your favourite cartoon as a kid? Hmm, it's a tough one, between the 90's X-Men TV show they played on repeat on Fox Kids or Ben 10 when it wasn't absolute shit like the remake. Yeah I'm bitter. What’s your favourite cartoon now? Archer lol Do you read the news paper? Yeah pretty much every day...I swear I'm not an old man. Who was the last text you sent to? My friend Laura, asking if they'll still be at the park when I finish work. What does the last text you sent say? "Y'all still gonna be there when I get away?" If you could have any hair colour what would it be? Idk I like the one I have. Do you like nature documentaries? Not really my cup of tea to be perfectly honest. What is your aesthetic? Climbing a mountain at a 90° angle in Skyrim on a horse. When did you last pet a dog? ''Twas yesterday. Whose friend’s parents do you like the most? The twins'! They employ me! I literally get paid to hang out with friends some days that's the good shit! Have you ever been on a road trip? I've been on a couple, longest was a drive to Southern Spain from Scotland! Was awesome! Tell me about someone you know called Emma? Went to school with her, cool gal, she saw HP in London and I'm jealous, shoutout to @weewildelassAre you reading a book in english class, what is it? Oh god I'm old. I haven't had or attended an English class in over 2 years. Do you have a favourite Aunt? Well considering she also employs me...hell yeah, shoutout to my Aunt K you legend! Baths or showers? Baths for comfort and treating yo self, or sharing...😏...Showers for quickness and weird snapchats at 3am...😂 Skiing or sun bathing? Sun bathing my dude. Do you kill spiders? Sometimes, sometimes not. Have you ever made an ice pop? I have not. Are you wearing shoes right now? I'm not wearing anything rn. Tell me about you favourite primary school/elementary school teacher? Let me tell you about Mrs. Mary "The Bonecrusher" Highland, and how she was such an iconic, legendary, influential and inspiring woman that she was the person you sent into the bad fucked up schools in movies and have them all pass with straight A's, she ran a tough ship and was slow to praise but when she did, she went all out, and made you feel like what you had achieved was truly a feat. Oh and she encouraged children to learn and think for themselves, genuinely encouraged you when you said you were interested in something even when it went above and beyond the curriculum. She was charitable, friendly, and spoke to you like you were an equal, and a worthy one at that. Mrs. Highland was literally so influential in so many people in my class being successful, free minded, hard working adults that she deserves a goddamn award. And let me tell you another thing, at the end of my First Year in College, I went back to my old Primary School for a teaching assistant internship because I knew the school was becoming a bit run-down and out of control and I wanted to help the way that Mrs. Highland had, and who had they just asked to come out of retirement, come back for TWO WEEKS, sort shit out and then walk away into the sunset like some goddamn Old Lady Teaching Avenger who appears when needs were greatest? MARY FUCKING HIGHLAND, I GOT TO HELP ONE OF MY CHILDHOOD HEROES BE AN ABSOLUTE TEACHING LEGEND AND REALLY INFLUENCE SOME GOOD IN A KIDS LIFE, THAT IS THE SHIT! Seriously though, she truly is one of the good ones, they don't make em like Her anymore. Who was the last person you hugged? I think that would be my mother actually hahah. Do you wear glasses? Occasionally. Do you have a cat? I sadly do not. Do you have a favourite pair of underwear? Not a favourite pair exactly more like a favourite kind?? Next All-Black, that's the good shit, makes my ass look great among other things. What was your last tweet? "How the fuck do you work twitter" about 5 years ago and I haven't used it since. Do you still use Facebook? I do, rarely. Do you like birds? Aye pal birds, blokes, the lot. Who was the last person you called cute? That genuinely would be my niece, or you lol Who was the last person that called you cute? This is a strange answer but a regular in my work. Long story. How did you meet your best friend? I literally turned a corner and ran into a group of emo's in like Fourth Year at High School and I haven't looked back since. Escalators or elevators? Nah m8, trick question, I'd rather take the stairs. Does wonders for the thighs. Are you named after anyone, who? Ahaha yeah my dad, both my granddads, and Saint. Christoper (Catholic mum yo) What was your first url? I have no idea. Autumn or Winter? Winter I can't lie. Do you win at scrabble? I do not lol Put your ipod on shuffle , who is the first song that comes up by? "American Idiot", Green Day. Classic. Have you ever drunk from a mason jar? I have not. Can you draw? Barely even write m8 let alone draw. What was your first profile picture? I think it was Kenny from South Park. Favourite t-shirt? God I have no idea. Best tumblr friend? Shoutout to @bepizzazzed and @double-dorks-beanie and @hesitant-butthole When did you last run? Tonight when as a joke my friends took my jacket and tried to get it on top of a climbing frame? lol I had it back in seconds and decided to get some payback ahah Do you like to paint your nails? Not particularly fussed, not a look I could pull off. Did you ever do something as a kid that got you into loads of trouble? I did more things to get me into trouble as a kid that anyone should ever do. And I still did it. Who is your favourite dog that isn’t yours? Trick question, all of them. Have you ever been drunk? Literally so many times. So many. Have you ever done something you regret while drunk? Some-thing? Some-one? Getting into a slutty dance off with a professional dancer? Stealing a mannequin? The exact words "I can easily make this jump..."? The exact words "Watch this lads"? The exact words "Shots won't do me any harm"? The exact words "Another Venom? Aye no bother!" The exact words "You can crash at mine if you like...?" You get the picture...I do messed up shit I'm drunk, and yet, I continue to do so. Do you want to kiss anyone right now? Ronald McDonald ngl for the sweet sweet invention of double cheeseburgers. Do/did you like you math teacher? I had a crush on both of my maths teachers, Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Hendry, both of which contributed to me turning up to class, but also contributed to me failing said classes bc I was too busy looking at them and being a hormone ridden, horny 16 year old boy, than I was doing maths. Do you often ride the bus? I do, everyday I'm in College. Do you have a fireplace in your house? We do actually it's getting renovated right now. Are you violent when you’re angry? God no! Do you cry when you’re angry? No, I rarely get angry and when I do it can only be described as dry anger. Favourite Harry Potter book? It has to be OotP, fight me. Can you remember your last dream? I can, and let me just say, Chris Pratt, thank you. Do you go to bed early or late? "Do I go to bed?" would be a better question. Do you speak a second language? I speak various levels of different languages. Some if you dropped me in their respective countries I could find my way about, albeit difficultly, and others I can ask for the bar and the bill and that's about it. Who was your first ever best friend? A boy called Dean. Have you ever had an operation? I've had a couple yeah. Tell me about your favourite cousin? His name is Reece and he's a meme loving shit and I love him the whacky bastard. Do you have a piece of clothing that doesn’t even fit you anymore but you can’t bare to throw away? During what can only be described as the Greatest Summer of My Teenage Years; the Legendary Summer of 2014, I wore on my feet almost EVERY DAY a pair of Classic Chuck's, they cost my poor wee mum like £60 the Christmas before but they were too big and when it finally hit summer they fit perfectly. I wore them every time. If you've ever read the book Me Before You or watched the film you'll know what I mean when I say they were my bumblebee tights. Have you ever been in a musical? I played the Cowardly Lion in my school play as a kid. Do you have a porch? I do not. How many times have you watched your favourite movie? At least 100 no joke it has to be. Empire Strikes Back. What do you order at McDonalds? Plain double cheese , small fries, Oasis Summer Fruits and maybe a coffee. Do you get on with old people? Worryingly well. Science Fiction or Romance? Sci-Fi m8. Do you take naps? Anytime I can. How many classes do you/did you take in High School? In my final year I took 3 classes. At its height I think I was doing 9 classes. When did it last snow where you live? A few months back. Does it ever snow where you live? It's Scotland...hahah it very much does. How many months until your birthday? 12 m8. How much charge does your computer have right now? 42%What is your favourite Disney Channel Original Movie? I don't actually think I had one. Sorry. the City or the Sea Side? Jokes on you fool, you can have both. What is your least favourite colour? Beige. Who tf likes being beige. Do you have homework to do? Nah. Are you still friends with your first best friend? I am not. Do you have/are you the gay cousin? I have an asexual cousin, bug more often than not I'm the gay cousin. Do you own dungarees? They can look cute on peeps. Do you like to play sport? I do, not to the extent I used to but yeah. What was your favourite ever Christmas present? My baby nephew. How old are you? Ugh I'm 20. Do you ever use Internet Explorer? Not for s long time. Have you ever had blonde hair? I haven't no. I wanted to but sadly I was a kid. When did you last see the person you have a crush on? Well considering I fall deeply in love with strangers who are nice to me on the train, that question is crazy. Who did you last talk to on the phone? Laura. Pants or Dresses? This question is a lot funnier in the UK and even funnier in Scotland where a man can wear one, but to do so, he's not supposed to wear the other 😉 Do you read fan fiction? Not anymore y'know. What is you’re favourite blog? @mauridianhallow is a pretty cool blog you should check that shit out Do you write poetry? I HAVE written poetry before. Drama or Comedy? How dare you insult The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt by suggesting you can't be both. Have you ever had a hickey? Perhaps...perhaps I have. Perhaps I cannot remember how I got some of them. Perhaps I should stop buying the ENTIRE bar a round of shots knowing all too well that almost every one of these people will offer to buy me drinks all night and then I won't pay shit for another drink until the night is over. Perhaps I should...I won't but I fucking should. And perhaps this has on certain occasions resulted in hickeys I don't know.

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jobsearchtips02 · 4 years

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Belarus Protest Movement Faces Turning Point as Opposition Leader Leaves Country

MOSCOW—Belarus’s growing protest movement is at a turning point after opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya left for Lithuania, saying she had to consider the future of her two children following the country’s disputed presidential elections and a worsening crackdown against her supporters.

Many of her backers have promised to continue demonstrations against Belarus’s veteran leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, who claimed 80% of the vote in Sunday’s poll despite growing anger over his handling of the country’s stagnating economy and his increasingly heavy-handed rule.

Some suggested Ms. Tikhanovskaya had been coerced into leaving the country and telling people on Tuesday to end the protests, pointing out that she only stepped into role of opposition candidate after husband, popular YouTuber Sergei Tikhanovsky, was barred after being detained in May for allegedly inciting unrest. He remains in detention.

Staff on Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s campaign team also released a statement later Tuesday supporting the protests that have been taking place in the Belarus capital Minsk and other cities. They urged authorities to avoid violence and instead begin discussions on what they called a peaceful transfer of power to the people.

But Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s role in the opposition movement appears to be over, potentially providing some respite for Mr. Lukashenko, 26 years after he first took control of this former Soviet republic.

“I made a very difficult decision for myself. I made this decision absolutely independently,” she said in an emotional video posted on social media Tuesday. She said not even her husband had influenced her.

Ms. Tikhanovskaya, 37 years old, didn’t reveal her whereabouts, but her campaign team confirmed she was in Lithuania, whose capital is a 112-mile drive across the border from the capital Minsk. The Lithuanian foreign minister also said Tuesday on Twitter that Ms. Tikhanovskaya was in the country. He provided no further details.

Mr. Lukashenko’s government didn’t respond to a request for comment on the departure of Ms. Tikhanovskaya and the continued protests against the president’s rule.

The election contest between Mr. Lukashenko and Ms. Tikhanovskaya was the hardest-fought vote in Belarus since the fall of the Iron Curtain and was closely watched by both Russia and the West, which have been competing for influence in Eastern Europe.

The U.S. and some European countries urged Belarus’s government to exercise restraint and criticized the conduct of the election, adding some weight to opposition allegations of election fraud. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in contrast, offered Mr. Lukashenko his congratulations and suggested the two countries work to build their already substantial economic and security ties.

Ms. Tikhanovskaya, a teacher by training, had promised radical changes if she won. She said she would release political prisoners and order a referendum on amending the constitution to cap the number of terms a president can serve. She had also pledged to give up the presidency after six months to hold a new election because she wasn’t interested in holding office.

“I don’t need this power. I don’t want this power. I want to be with my children and my husband and be among my family. That’s why I want this situation to end for me personally,” she said in an interview last week.

Photos: Police Clash With Protesters in Belarus

As exit polls from Belarus’s presidential election projected veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko to win, riot police clashed with protesters in the capital Minsk

A woman announced the names of the people who have placed in temporary detention since Sunday.

Natalia Fedosenko/tass/Zuma Press

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Despite her lack of experience, she succeeded in uniting the opposition behind her.

“I am very grateful to her for the tremendous work that she did,” said Anna Krasulina, who served as press secretary during Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s election campaign. “She simply raised and inspired the whole country. She was the banner people followed and they believed in their strength. The people of Belarus became a people who began to fight for their rights. And now we see this struggle.”

Since Sunday, thousands of people have taken to the streets to vent their frustration against Belarus’s leadership and what they say is a corrupted political system, prompting a ferocious response from security forces.

Many of the reported clashes were filmed and uploaded to social media. They showed police using stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, but some protesters fought back, in some cases building barricades or throwing Molotov cocktails. At least one protester was killed and over 2,000 people were detained overnight Monday, authorities said. Twenty-one law-enforcement and military personnel were injured.

In a second video posted on Tuesday, Ms. Tikhanovskaya appealed to her supporters to keep off the streets and observe the law.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya didn’t reveal her whereabouts, but her campaign confirmed that she was in Lithuania.

Photo: Natalia Fedosenko/Tass/Zuma Press

“The people of Belarus have made their choice,” Ms. Tikhanovskaya said as she sat on a sofa, her eyes lowered reading a prepared text. “Belarusians, I am urging you to show wisdom and respect for the law. I don’t want any bloodshed or violence, so I’m asking you not to confront the police and not to gather on squares in order to not put your lives at risk,” she said.

There were fewer protesters on the streets of Minsk Tuesday compared with the previous evenings. A heavy police presence was visible in the center of the capital and in some districts police checked residence permits and other documents, according to video and photos posted on social media. Other footage showed clashes between riot police and groups of protesters in the city of Brest, in southwest Belarus. There were also reports of security officials confiscating flash drives from photographers.

Artyom Shraibman, founder of Minsk-based political consulting firm Sense Analytics, said the road forward for Belarus was unclear, but protests were likely to continue.

“I don’t know what the scale of them would be, how long they could sustain, and how much more brutality the authorities are ready to perform,” Mr. Shraibman said. “There is no disappointment about Svetlana, she was not perceived as a leader of the protest movement, more a symbol of hope. The protests are not about her, but about the authorities.”

Some opposition supporters are now calling for a general strike to pressure Mr. Lukashenko, 65, to step down. Again, many didn’t believe that Ms. Tikhanovskaya would ask them to give up unless she was under duress.

“She read from a piece of paper, with a red face, and her style of speech is usually different,” said Zakhar Yanovsky, a university student in Minsk. “It seems to me she was simply forced to record this appeal.”

Fears for Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s safety had grown in the run-up to Sunday’s election. She left her home to stay in an undisclosed location the night before the vote, appearing only to cast her ballot and make periodic statements.

In Tuesday’s video, she said she was faced with a difficult choice and acknowledged that many people might condemn her for choosing to leave.

“I thought that all this campaigning had toughened me very much and gave me so much strength that I could withstand everything,” she said in the video. “But, probably, I remained the weak woman I was originally.”

—Valentina Ochirova in Moscow contributed to this article.

Corrections & Amplifications The last name of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was misspelled in an earlier version of this article. (Corrected on Aug. 8)

Write to Ann M. Simmons at [email protected]

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/belarus-protest-movement-faces-turning-point-as-opposition-leader-leaves-country/

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mikemortgage · 5 years

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GOP states discover a tax hike they have to like: for roads

LANSING, Mich. — After passing waves of tax cuts in recent years, some lawmakers in several Republican-dominated states have decided it’s time to make a big exception and are pushing for tax increases to fix roads that are crumbling from years of neglect.

In the past month alone, the Republican governors of Ohio, Alabama and Arkansas have signed fuel tax hikes. Meanwhile, proposed increases are being considered by three legislatures that are fully or partly GOP-controlled, including a whopping 45-cents-a-gallon hike in Michigan.

The moves show a growing willingness in conservative places to take on the fearsome politics of higher taxes, at least for infrastructure. Republicans who otherwise support lower taxes are acknowledging that cutting government spending elsewhere in the budget won’t cover the cost of repairing the many miles of potholed roads and creaky bridges.

“It’s going to take $2.5 billion a year,” said Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah of Michigan’s road-building needs. “Anyone who thinks you can cut even half of that out of other elements of the state budget without having significant ramifications to real people, you’re smoking something that’s not legal.”

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won election last year after running on the slogan “Fix the Damn Roads.” Her plan would gradually add 45 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas by October 2020, which would be more than double the current 26-cents-per-gallon gas tax and make it the highest in the country. GOP legislative leaders have dismissed the proposed hike as way too much, but they are leaving open the prospect of passing a more modest increase in the face of intense pressure from the business community.

In some states, Republican-leaning interests have become the biggest backers of higher taxes for this purpose, which is seen as necessary for economic development.

While consumers are acutely conscious of prices at the pump, legislators are struggling to get around the difficult realities of the fuel surcharge that funds transportation projects. They are also facing the echoes of the tax cut promises they made in winning over many heartland states in the last decade — that getting tougher on spending wouldn’t mean worse services.

In most states, the excise tax rate per gallon is fixed and doesn’t rise with inflation. And the federal gas tax has remained unchanged since 1993. Meanwhile, consumers are driving more fuel-efficient vehicles or are driving less, depressing revenue. The real purchasing power of the federal gas tax has fallen by 40% over the past quarter-century, and repair costs rise significantly when roads decline to a rating of poor or worse.

This winter, Michigan’s Department of Transportation had to close 10 miles of Interstate 75 in suburban Detroit — one of the state’s most heavily trafficked stretches — because of vehicle damage from cracks and potholes.

In Ohio, new Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who attacked his opponent in the 2018 campaign as a tax-friendly Democrat, this month signed off on a 10.5-cent gas tax increase and a 19-cent diesel tax hike. Republican Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas last month signed increases that were their states’ first in decades, of 10 cents and 3 cents respectively. And the GOP-led General Assembly in Virginia this month voted to add 7 cents a gallon in some parts of the state, which was a win for Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.

Fuel tax increases also are under consideration in Wisconsin and Minnesota, where power is divided between the parties.

The state plans pay little heed to President Donald Trump’s latest proposal for $200 billion in federal infrastructure spending. An earlier plan died in Congress and was heavily dependent on state and local funding, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Trump talked this month about working together on an infrastructure package.

In Michigan, the roads have become a state joke. Contests are held to find the worst pothole. An ice cream made by a Shelby Township company is called the “Michigan Pot Hole.” A 12-year-old Muskegon Heights boy recently attracted attention on local TV and social media for filling the ankle-deep pits on his street with dirt.

Three years ago, the Republican-led Legislature approved a $1.2 billion road plan that raised fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, and was heavily dependent on shifting income tax revenue from an account that covers health care, higher education and other funding areas. But the effect was limited and Whitmer warns that without additional investment, the percentage of state-owned highways that are rated poor will double in five years, to 44%. Local streets are worse.

In recent years, Michigan’s Republican leadership has focused on cutting business taxes and expanding income tax credits.

“This is 40 years of disinvestment in the state of Michigan, and it’s coming due now,” Whitmer said of the roads.

At a recent GOP meeting in Grand Rapids, Republican state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis said many of her colleagues first want to look into redirecting other state spending to roads and to see the 2015 laws fully implemented. A number of Republicans hope to dedicate Michigan’s sales tax on motor fuel to the transportation budget, but they have not detailed how that would be done without slicing funding for schools and municipalities.

“I think there are people who are willing to talk about some sort of small tax, perhaps if we couldn’t find enough money elsewhere,” Afendoulis said.

Whitmer’s plan would cost the average motorist $276 a year. She has proposed offsetting that burden with targeted income tax relief for retirees and low-income workers.

Conservative Arkansas saw no alternative to higher taxes. The measure for adding another 3 cents per gallon for gas and 6 cents for diesel passed the Legislature by an overwhelming margin.

“That shows the level of need and the level of support,” said Arkansas’ governor, Hutchinson. The law also will tap into expected revenue from casinos and imposes an additional registration fee on electric and hybrid vehicles.

Ohio’s DeWine said the states can’t wait for the federal government to solve their road problems, noting that Ohio ships more federal gas tax revenue to Washington than it receives in return.

“Frankly, we should be raising the money ourselves and spending it ourselves,” he said. “It’s much more efficient, gives Ohio more bang for the buck than sending it off to Washington and having them send it back to us.”

——

Associated Press writers Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this report.

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Follow David Eggert on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00

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gyrlversion · 5 years

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How officers came knocking at the door of a devout Catholic

As a schoolgirl, Caroline Farrow relished discussing politics and current affairs around the kitchen table with her family.

Her parents, both teachers, encouraged robust debate and Caroline and her elder sister were precociously well informed.

‘Freedom of speech and expression was drummed into us from an early age,’ she says.

She was ten in 1984, a landmark year when George Orwell’s vision of a totalitarian future was revisited and reappraised.

Catholic journalist Caroline Farrow, 44, was told by Surrey Police that she had to attend an interview under caution or face arrest after she used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman

Her father explained the novel’s concepts of Big Brother, Newspeak and the Thought Police, and Caroline was fascinated.

‘But I remember thinking at the time that none of it could ever come true,’ she says.

Now 44, and a trenchant Catholic journalist, priest’s wife and occasional TV commentator, Mrs Farrow was reminded of Orwellian themes last Monday when, in the middle of preparing dinner for her husband Robin and five children, a policewoman rang her at home with a startling demand.

Mrs Farrow was told she must attend an interview under caution or face arrest because she had used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman.

Suddenly the dystopia described in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four began to feel all too real. Scarcely able to absorb what she was hearing, she felt, in sharp succession, disbelief, fear and anger.

Anger because Mrs Farrow herself had been the victim of a cyber stalking campaign which, at its vile worst, made her fear for her family’s safety – but which, she says, police failed to take seriously.

‘It’s double standards. When the complaint involves the word transgender, police leap into action,’ she says. ‘Something has gone terribly wrong in this country.’

In the event, the four-month Surrey Police investigation into Mrs Farrow, which prompted much controversy last week when made public, was hastily dropped as it hurtled towards full-blown fiasco.

Following a TV debate with Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green’s daughter Jackie (pictured) ‘him’ instead of ‘her’ on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse

Critics called the probe a waste of time and money at a time when officers are struggling with high levels of knife crime.

The roots of the sorry affair appear to lie in a TV debate. Mrs Farrow, known for her deeply held religious views, and Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, clashed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about Girl Guides allowing children who have changed gender to join the organisation.

Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green’s daughter Jackie ‘him’ instead of ‘her’ on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse.

Five weeks later, Ms Green complained to police.

One of Mrs Farrow’s tweets read: ‘What she did to her own son [the youngest person in the world to undergo transgender surgery] is illegal.

She mutilated him by having him castrated and rendered sterile while still a child.’

Many might consider Mrs Farrow’s choice of words unpleasant but she is unapologetic.

She says: ‘I deliberately used the words castration and mutilation to shock because what happens is shocking. I was trying to bring home the harsh reality of what she [Ms Green] did.’

Jackie Green, who was born male and was once known as Jack, began taking puberty-blockers at 12, and went to Thailand aged 16 for reassignment surgery, which is now illegal for under-18s.

Whatever one feels about the tweet’s tone, Mrs Farrow is convinced most right-minded people would agree it wasn’t criminal.

As anger surfaced, Mrs Farrow was left facing a tirade of abuse on social media which made her fear for her family’s safety

‘Yes, it was strong language but I wanted to make people sit up. I wanted to get the country talking about this. So much is changing in our society.

‘The notion of what it is to be a woman or a mother is being erased and rewritten by zealots. People are too scared to question what is going on. The tweets might possibly be spiteful but they were not intended to cause alarm or distress.’

Which is why Mrs Farrow was stunned to receive the phone call from the police officer on Monday as she juggled preparing a meal of gammon, roast potatoes and vegetables for her children – aged between four and 14 – with overseeing homework and music practice.

The message left on her voicemail said: ‘Hello there, I’m calling from Guildford police station… I need to have a chat with you about some tweets that have been sent.’

Mrs Farrow says: ‘My husband said, ‘You know it’s bound to be the trans stuff, you have been talking about this a lot lately and you know the lobbyists are looking to get you.’ ‘

She spoke to the officer later that night. ‘I pointed out that ‘misgendering’ wasn’t a crime and that as a Catholic I believed that sex could not be changed.

I explained that the country is in the middle of an ongoing national conversation about sex and gender, what it means to be male and female, and I was contributing to that in a professional capacity.’

The officer reiterated that the CPS had ‘authorised us to bring you in for a taped interview’.

That night, managing only an hour’s sleep, Mrs Farrow tried to make sense of what was happening. Naturally she feared the worst. Who would look after the children if she went to jail? She would be destroyed. Her husband would lose his job.

The following morning, Mrs Farrow instructed a solicitor. She says: ‘My lawyer said it seemed politically motivated but thought the case would be thrown out.

‘He warned that I was likely to face a tough interview. What was happening felt so unjust, especially as over the past few months I have endured an unimaginable campaign of harassment, targeting not only me, but my entire family.’

A very PC force’s links to trans charity

Flying the flag: Inspector David Harland calls himself a ‘trans ally’

Susie Green’s powerful transgender lobby group has forged close links with a police force behind a series of hate crime investigations.

West Yorkshire Police launched probes into an award-winning TV writer, a mother of four and a transsexual man following complaints from Mermaids.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the force received ‘training sessions’ from Mermaids, which supports medical intervention for transgender children.

West Yorkshire Police has promoted Mermaids’ work, tweeting one of its leaflets.

Mermaids has also advised Merseyside Police, NHS staff, social workers, the Scouts and student nurses.

One West Yorkshire officer, Inspector David Harland, declared himself on social media to be a ‘trans ally’, adding that he was dedicated to ‘doing all I can for the trans community’.

In February last year, West Yorkshire sent officers to Wiltshire to investigate a mother of four following a complaint by Ms Green.

Echoing the Caroline Farrow case, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull was questioned on suspicion of a malicious communications offence after Ms Green reported her for tweeting that Ms Green had illegally ‘castrated’ her ‘son’ by allowing him to have sex change surgery in Thailand at 16.

In April 2018, the force received another complaint, this time from Mermaid volunteer Helen Islan.

She claimed that transsexual Miranda Yardley, who has had gender reassignment surgery, had ‘outed’ Ms Islan’s transgender son by tweeting a picture of Ms Islan with her family, which included the child. West Yorkshire referred this incident to police in Essex, where Ms Yardley lives.

In a third case, West Yorkshire officers gave Graham Linehan, co-creator of the hit TV comedy Father Ted, a verbal harassment warning when transgender activist Stephanie Hayden reported him for referring to her as ‘he’ on Twitter.

A force spokeswoman said it was ‘committed to ensuring that anyone who feels targeted due to race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or gender identity is listened to’.

It should be noted that her stalkers were motivated not by her views on transgender issues but in part by the tragic case of Alfie Evans, the baby at the centre of a legal battle last year over turning off his life support.

It was a morally fraught case that aroused fierce debate, and Mrs Farrow joined the global campaign to keep him alive.

Mrs Farrow often comments on social issues and her deeply held conservative religious views have made her many enemies on social media.

Incensed by her intervention, opponents set up a blog solely for the purpose of attacking the journalist and her family.

On May 3 last year, five days after Alfie’s death, a Twitter account posted a link to her home address with the sinister message: ‘If anyone fancies having a chat with the illustrious Mrs Farrow…’

Even more distressing, someone posted a link to her children’s school.

Many of the abusive messages were sexually degrading, referencing her Catholic faith.

At one stage, trolls warned that their ‘agents’ were on their way to her village. Some of the most upsetting attacks involved her children and comments made about their appearance. Mrs Farrow says there were even attempts at extortion.

‘I was ordered to delete all my social-media accounts and pay the LGBT lobby group Stonewall £1,000 if I wanted the blog to cease operation.

‘They also got hold of our email addresses and set up accounts with pornographic websites in our name, and pictures. I had to cancel an order for £772 of sex toys.’

On January 8 – more than two months after Mrs Farrow made a formal complaint to police – one of the suspected trolls was questioned. But Mrs Farrow was later told no action would be taken.

‘I felt really let down. I have suffered so much with this, my mental health has deteriorated and I told the officer that this is the sort of thing that drives people to suicide. I was being hyperbolic, but then things turned nasty.

‘The policeman said he needed to report me to social services because I said I was suicidal. Social services called a few weeks later and after chatting to me said I was fine and they would not take it further.

‘Yet Susie Green makes a spurious complaint and, bingo, the police are straight on to me.’

Surrey Police said Mrs Farrow’s claims of harassment were fully investigated but ‘we were unable to find evidence that meets the threshold for criminal proceedings’.

Last Tuesday, the Farrows’ 14-year-old daughter had a starring role in a school recital. Mrs Farrow says: ‘I knew I was going to have to tell her [about the police interview] but I waited until after her concert.

‘She burst into tears at the idea that I could face jail, but regained composure when I said that it was highly unlikely.

‘I felt so guilty having to burden her with it and taint such a wonderful evening for her but I also knew that it wouldn’t be fair for her to find out from friends.’

The next day, Ms Green withdrew her complaint because she said she did not want to give Mrs Farrow a public ‘platform’. Instead of contacting police, she announced her decision on a television show.

Mrs Farrow believes police are only too willing to appease Ms Green and Mermaids, which she thinks is looking for a test case to codify misgendering into law.

Hers is not the first transgender ‘hate crime’ police have pursued. So far none of them have ended with a successful prosecution.

‘Orwell’s novel was a cautionary tale and an example of why we always need to be thankful for and guard our freedoms,’ says Mrs Farrow. ‘I never once envisaged I would face jail for refusing to state that man cannot be woman.’

Surrey Police said: ‘We requested Caroline Farrow attend a voluntary interview to understand her intent in relation to the tweets. Details of this invitation were publicly shared and there has been criticism of our decision to investigate.

‘We have been in contact with both parties as we have a duty of care towards both, and there was concern for their welfare as a result of publicity.

The victim will withdraw her allegation and has explained her reasoning. Without the support of the victim, it’s unlikely a criminal case could be brought.’

The post How officers came knocking at the door of a devout Catholic appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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zeroviraluniverse-blog · 6 years

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Uncertainty about voter demands, impact of new laws has Congress in inertia over gun violence

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Uncertainty about voter demands, impact of new laws has Congress in inertia over gun violence

Can Congress close mental health, gun control loopholes?

Suspected school shooter Nikolas Cruz legally purchased his AR-15 in Florida; are more laws the answer? Alexandra Smith, executive director for the America Rising PAC, and Tiffany Cross, cofounder and managing editor of The Beat DC, join the debate.

It could be a tornado. A hurricane. An act of terrorism in Belgium or Paris.

And without fail, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis — and Ryan’s predecessor, House Speaker John Boehner — would walk into their weekly press conference on Thursday or Friday morning and offer condolences. Typically speaking from a script, each would strike a somber tone. Extend prayers. Try to offer some hope.

Then it would be on to other subjects. The debt limit. Immigration. A government shutdown. Tax policy. Obamacare. President Trump’s latest tweet. You name it.

Pelosi’s press conference last Thursday appeared headed for the same direction. Murder and hell consumed a high school campus in Parkland, Florida, the day before. Most reporters in the House Radio/TV Gallery Studio suspected Pelosi would mirror her approach after other catastrophes. Some comments about the tragedy. More than likely questions about gun control and the 2016 House sit-in on firearms. Then there would be inquiries about the Senate immigration debate and the memo by Democrats on the House intelligence committee.

But everyone knew it would be a little different when Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., appeared.

In late 2012, Pelosi tapped Thompson to head the Democrats gun violence task force just after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. Thompson knows something about guns. He’s a Vietnam veteran, a hunter and used to co-chair the Congressional Sportsman Caucus.

Thompson entered the room before Pelosi and briefly took a seat in the front row amid the reporters.

“Think I can get the first question?” he asked me, half-seriously.

Yes, there was much to be asked about DACA, the president’s budget, the Russia investigation and North Korea’s role in the Winter Olympics. But this wasn’t going to be a “one-and-out” event in Pelosi would speak about the calamity in Florida and shifted to other subjects.

Thompson’s presence meant one thing. This press conference was going to be about guns.

“Children are dying in our schools, in our communities, on our streets,” Pelosi said. “All this Congress has to say is, ‘Let’s have a moment of silence.’ So I sadly yield, with great gratitude, to Mr. Thompson and thank him for his leadership on this very important issue.”

In fact, Pelosi deflected most questions to her lieutenant. Thompson proceeded to upbraid Republicans for rarely entertaining gun safety measures in Congress.

“Every time we went to them, they had some excuse, some cockamamie excuse,” Thompson fumed.

He wound up fielding the first question. Congress approved a 10-year ban on assault weapons as a part of the 1994 crime bill. Lawmakers failed to re-up the assault the weapons prohibition when it sunset a decade later. So the question was does the sheer volume of assault weapons now floating around contribute to the latest spate of mass shootings?

“The issue of assault weapons is an issue that is much thornier to deal with. It is a harder hurdle. We can’t even get a hearing on the background check bill, so the idea that we would be able to do something on assault weapons, goes beyond a heavy lift,” Thompson replied.

To be fair, “assault weapon” can be a misleading term. Such arms are malleable and can be modified by any gun enthusiast. Some mass assassins don’t always deploy assault rifles to execute people. The gunman in the 2007 Virginia Tech slaughter used semi-automatic handguns. The “Rambo” aesthetic of some firearms doesn’t always reflect the capacity of the weapon. Cosmetic alterations to some guns can drastically shroud their killing power.

The push to restrict assault weapons hit Capitol Hill after a staggering 34 children and teacher were wounded at a 1989 Stockton, Calif., school with an AK-47. A 1991 mass shooting at a Luby’s cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, built support in Congress for the assault weapons ban.

But it’s unclear if the 2004 sunset clause is to blame for what’s going on now. And, a bigger question, is would legislation curb such tragedies?

Gun control advocates religiously cite a parade of polls revealing a supermajority of Americans who favor weapon restrictions.

Here’s the problem: very few of those supporters are single-issue voters when it comes to firearms. The issue definitely doesn’t drive people to the polls. If that were the case, gun control voters would have been legion after Columbine/VirginiaTech/Newtown/San Bernardino/Orlando. Polls demonstrating people supporting gun control initiatives after a mass shooting is akin to “liking” something on Facebook or Twitter. Someone may “like” the idea at the time, but it doesn’t sway their vote.

At least not yet.

Crazed gunmen have shot two members of the House of Representatives in the past seven years and wounded multiple congressional aides. If Congress decided from within to alter gun policy, that would have happened a long time ago. And so far, change hasn’t happened from the outside either.

That said, some congressional Republicans privately concede they’re increasingly uncomfortable with their party rarely addressing the firearms issue outside of a moment of silence on the House or Senate floor. There’s concern that mass casualty events could turn against the GOP. A few Republicans say they’re worried about the general silence of their party on the issue.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., had something to say about that after the Orlando shooting during his 15-hour floor speech in 2016.

“I really do worry that there is a quiet, unintentional message of endorsement that’s sent when we do nothing or when all we do is talk,” he said. “I think when there is not a collective condemnation with policy change from what is supposedly the world’s greatest deliberative body that there are very quiet cues that are picked up by people who are contemplating the unthinkable in their mind.”

Pelosi at last week’s presser cited how Ryan addressed gun violence after the Orlando shooting and following the Democratic sit-in on the House floor.

“The action taken by our Republican colleagues and leadership was to investigate who on the floor Periscoped, Facebooked, whatever technology they used, what was happening on the floor to the public,” she said.

Three of the mass shootings in less than two years unfolded in political battleground states: Nevada, off the Vegas Strip, and two in Florida, the Pulse nightclub massacre and now at the Parkland, Florida, high school. It’s possible mass casualty events could eventually impact voters in those areas.

Consider the way the Connecticut congressional delegation views firearms since Sandy Hook.

But will the issue get people to the polls now?

“Whose political survival is important than the safety of our children?” Pelosi asked. “I would rather pass gun safety legislation than win the election.”

Yet nobody knows if bills or laws would help.

Schools spend profusely on fire safety. They conduct regular fire drills. There are sprinkler and fire suppression systems. Fire alarms are placed throughout the buildings. Escape routes are clearly posted. This phenomena suggests that “gun control” may not be the best way to protect people from violence — either at school or at a nightclub. Perhaps another method could help protect people without touching off a fracas over the Second Amendment.

Either way, nothing is working. Congress certainly hasn’t acted on the issue because voters haven’t compelled them.

So at some point, in the not too distant future, there will be yet another press conference. Pelosi will take the lectern, speaking in grim terms. And like a sentinel, Mike Thompson will appear.

The sad reality is that everyone will know they’re discussing yet another tragic shooting in America.

#Congress #demands #gun #impact #inertia #laws #uncertainty #violence #voter #News #Politics

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hahnralph · 4 years

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Get Your Ex Back Super System 7 Steps Unbelievable Tips

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How Can I Make My Ex Want Me Back

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How Can I Get Back At My Ex Wife

#Get Your Ex Back Super System 7 Steps Unbelievable Tips #What Should I Do To Get My Ex Back

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