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a-little-slice-of-fandom · 4 years

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Hi! I wanted to thank you for making me know Derry Girls! I always thought of Irish culture as such an interesting culture, and I'm so glad to learn about it (so now I have another TV series to bingewatch ahahaha). However, if it doesn't come as an offense, what else would you recommend to see about Ireland? I'm sorry if I made some mistakes, I'm not a native English speaker! Thank you again!

Hi anon! Firstly, please don’t apologise for your English because it’s really good!

Secondly, like I mentioned before, the problem with Irish based media is that there isn’t a lot of it (in comparison to American or English media) and what there is can often be changed in a way that’s much more palatable to these audiences. Generally, people in the UK don’t really want to watch a film about how horribly the Irish suffered, and Americans don’t like acknowledging the fact they weren’t the nicest to Irish people a lot of the time. Titanic is a good example. They make the experiences of those Irish people in steerage look so much fun in comparison to the experience in the stuffy first class...although that film does redeem itself when they show the third class, Irish (and Italian!) passengers purposefully locked below decks to drown. It’s sort of a middle ground between reality and rose-tinted glasses. If you haven’t given titanic a watch then go for it...but I wouldn’t say it’s overwhelmingly Irish. Good film though.

ALSO yes, the titanic was built in Belfast but I just would like to point out that it was absolutely fine when it left Belfast. Built by the Irish, sunk by the English. All I’m saying 🤷🏻‍♀️

I know this isn’t a TV show or a film, but I would highly recommend that anyone who is in any way interested in Irish history to read Under The Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon McKenna, which is about three young children trying to survive the Irish famine during the 1840s. While it is mainly taught to those just starting high school (or middle school in America) and the language is very easy to read...it is such a hard hitting book. I cried when I first read it when I was like nine and I still cry when I reread it. But it’s the reality of what happened during the famine. There’s no sugarcoating of the events that took place. However, you don’t need any prior knowledge of what’s going on to understand the book. It explains everything in a very natural way, and I think it’s the most accessible of Irish historical works.

There’s also two sequels to Under The Hawthorn Tree, called Wildflower Girl and Fields of Home. The second one follows one of the characters from Hawthorn Tree going to America and there experiences there, and it’s an amazing follow up to Hawthorn Tree. While I do think that the portrayal of America is slightly sugarcoated in Wildflower Girl (theres not much xenophobia...which there should have been) but the portrayal of journey to get to America? It’s harrowing. This is probably one of the best presentations of the famine ships (or coffin ships, as they were called) that you can get and you will understand the horrors of those ships. Fields of Home is just alright. I don’t think it’s as good as the first two because it doesn’t feel as focused on one singular thing and in all honesty, I didn’t enjoy reading this as a child and I’m still sort of on the fence with it now. But Hawthorn Tree and Wildflower Girl are two must reads!

As for films, I’d recommend Michael Collins from 1996. Its a film that takes a look at how Michael Collins helped to create the Irish Free State and the Irish civil war (not the troubles, that comes later). It also shows brutality of the Black and Tans (a section of the police force*) that went on in Ireland during this time period, as the police in Ireland tried to crackdown on the IRA. It’s a really good film, although sometimes it does sacrifice historical accuracy for Hollywood conventions. However...it might be a bit confusing if you don’t have prior knowledge of Ireland. Give it a try, but if you do end up a bit confused then I get it.

* Btw that name refers to the colour of their uniform. It’s not a racist term.

The Secret of Kells is an amazing animated film that you should totally watch. It’s all about the Book of Kells, a really important book in Irish history. It’s set in 9th century Ireland against the background of Viking invasions. I won’t say anymore about this one, please just go and watch it. Also the music is so amazing in that film, and it makes great use of traditional Irish instruments like the pipes and the bodhran. I’ve heard the animation company who made it referred to as the Irish Studio Ghibli and I definitely agree with that. They have a really distinctive style and it’s just,,,beautiful. This one is probably the most...celebratory. It really loves Ireland and it shows. There’s also Song of the Sea by the same company, which is another amazing celebration of Irish culture, this time concentrating on Celtic mythology. Also I think the main character might be mute? I can’t remember but I think she is. It’s another fantastic animation and I’d definitely recommend it.

Now I have to recommend the film Brooklyn because one of the actresses in it is actually from my town in Northern Ireland! Brooklyn was based off a book by the same name and both versions of the story have gotten really good reviews. It is a romance story (which usually isn’t my cup of tea) that follows a young Irish girl called Eilis (pronounced Ay-lish, for anyone wondering!) who has immigrated to America and the experiences she has there. Plus, it’s set in 1951, which isn’t usually a period of Irish history you see discussed. Normal People is something I see a lot of people recommending as well. It’s a book (written by Sally Rooney who is like 24 which is amazing!) but it’s also recently been adapted into a TV show which is getting good reviews. Again, it’s a romance story and I know a lot of people outside of Ireland can’t understand why people like it so much (it is a straight, cis white romance)...but it’s a generally good representation Irish romance and modern Ireland as a whole, including some class divide stuff. The books of these are quite an easy reads as well. So yeah, while I wouldn’t say Brooklyn or Normal People will teach you much about Irish history or Irish mythology...it does show a lot of the family life stuff. Normal People includes things like Trinity College and Gaelic football in the background, which are like quintessential Irish things. If you have the time, I’d give them a watch or a read.

Lastly, I’ve heard good things about the Netflix shows Rebellion (which concentrates on the Easter Rising of 1916) and The Irishman...but I haven’t watched either of these shows so I cannot vouch for how good or how accurate they are.

I hope this list helps!

#anon #ask #anonymous ask #anonymous #anon ask #ask answered

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mikenewtonhateblog · 4 years

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My oc’s aka too long of a gd post

The “BL” Crew (does not stand for boys love I’m just a moron who made that abbreviation before knowing what it stands for). My main crew and main series, a lot is a big WIP right now as I’m slowly redoing the first book and all the lore. Why? I love torture. Book is fantasy type but I won’t specify what.

Lacie, the protagonist. God tier idiot, bisexual bipolar depressed MESS, insomniac, former theater kid, doesn’t know what she wants out of life but currently it is not This(plot of book). Hot headed, impulsive, crude, rude, Mommy IssuesTM, would rather be taking a nap right now, rules are made to be broken, absolutely fucking FERAL, more bags under her eyes than the airport lost and found. 5’5, 130lbs, Aries, age 18, white as shit like literally the whitest human you have ever seen, strawberry blonde hair in a 2011 Hayley Willaims haircut with long bangs, the darkest brown eyes you’ve ever seen that stare directly into your soul. Lanky, no curves, body of a 12 year old boy but works out so she can and will kick your ass and thats a threat. Not human?

Josh. Soft boy, smart, Lacie’s cousin and only friend for like the first 18 years of her life, autistic anxious mess who’s special interest is anchient egyptian history, is in honors classes, despises math, passes out when his girlfriend looks too cute, just needs a hug. Can eat a whole carton of easy mac if left alone, whole wardobe is the same outfit just different colors/hoodies, sensory issues, seriously can someone give this guy a hug. 5’9, 150lbs, Pisces, age 18, mixed (half whatever flavor of white Lacie’s family is [they don’t even know its just some scandanavian shit and irish], and half mexican on his mom’s side), medium olive skin with freckles and moles, dark chocolate brown hair that’s a bit of a 2009 Beiber cut, warm brown eyes, not beefy, a lil thicc and self concious about it but squishy boys are GOOD. Gets bit by a werewolf so now he is one his mood on it is “thats a lot to unpack but let’s just throw the whole suitcase away”.

Zander. There is not one braincell in this man, himbo KING, pansexual dumbass with undiagnosed ADHD, no impulse control, head empty and full at the same time, PTSD, his fashion sense should be an actual crime, gets in fights to feel something, basic requirements for him to be attracted to you: kick his ass. Drinks his respect women juice, sees a folding table and must immediately launch himself on it, chaotic, cannot drive a car and will not, food aggression and eats enough for 3 people but never gains weight which is ILLEGAL, him and Lacie may be a couple.....but in this house we stan slow burn, he talks in caps and every sentence either ends with a question mark or exclaimation point, likes romcoms. 6’2, 190lbs, Sagittarius, age 19, austrailian roots and has the accent but is from [REDACTED FOR STORY REASONS], white, dorito shaped with long legs, blueish black hair that’s long and messy, dark navy eyes that match his hair, bigass neck scar from [REDACTED]. Not human

Peter. Gay dad friend who is TIRED of having to be in charge of a bunch of teenagers, only one with full functioning braincells, lowkey a genius who loves engineering, mixes magical technology with human technology because he likes to play god, is he ever sober? No one knows, will kill for a bottle of single malt, his fashion sense? Tastefully expensive suits perfectly tailored. Likes building his own weapons that no one else knows how to even use, generally non-threatening but can get scary if needed. 6’4, 140lbs string bean man, Scorpio, age 179 but looks early 30s, I know I said Lacie is the whitest human but he’s even paler like a literal sheet of paper with scandanavian roots/ancestors were vikings or some shit, blonde hair styled like 2013 Brendon Urie lmfao, light crystal blue eyes. He’s a vampire and was born one.

Danielle. Tiny, sweet, queen of girls supporting girls, comments on all her friends instagram posts with 20 emojis, LOVES fashion and has a wardrobe that would make anyone jealous, oozes feminine energy, only child and parents are in love still, gets exactly 8 hours of sleep each night and wakes up looking like a disney princess. Just because she is small and cute doesn’t mean you should underestimate her she WILL fuck your shit up. Quiet when angey which is terrifying. Josh is her bf and she loves him so much but also loves teashing the shit out of him. Legally cannot cuss, polite, used her high heels as a weapon once, speaks like 5 languages because studying them is her hobby, gardens, hugs everyone. 5’0, 110, Taurus, age 18, mixed (half french-american, half Korean-american), glowy skin always, PETITE frame aka the friend everyone can pick up when they hug, long past her waist curly brown hair, bright green eyes. She’s not fully human as she has fae blood in her and this gives her the ability to talk to and control plants. Flower crowns for everyone

Becca. Theater kid who would die to sing in Wicked and has the vocal range to do so, cannot wait to graduate and go to her dream college which she got into and a scholarship, closeted lesbian bc her whole giant family is extremely catholic and she feels like not dealing with it, “no boys allowed in bedroom” rule is her favorite joke, chill, middle child of 5 siblings and just wants some peace and quiet for ONCE. Her fashion sense is “I’m dropping subtle hints I’m gay but only to other gays”, has a black belt and took self defense classes. 5’6, 145lbs, Virgo, age 18, Latina (cuban and mexican mix), darker brown skin with light freckles over her nose, athletic build, eyebrows on POINT, bright caramel eyes, short light brown hair cut in a bob, has a tiny nose stud, always wears a blue friendship bracelet her gf made her. Human

Anika. Calling her a bitch/slut is a compliment, bisexual, a bit of a mean girl but she grows out of it give her time!!! Is always Too Much, the horny friend, favorite color is red so thats almost all of her outfits, loves to show off her body as much as she can because she’s hot and knows it and thrives in her own confidence. Her mom is literally like Regina George’s mom from Mean Girls but married a rich man 20 years older than her, Anika doesn’t know her bio dad but thats fine neither does her mom and her step dad is nice and does his best to be a dad. Becca’s gf, always hanging out at her home so Becca can get some quiet because Anika’s an only child and has a pool. 5’9, 135lbs, Gemini, age 18, white, long layered dark reddish brown hair, teal-blue eyes, swimmers body type (I normally do not mention bust size but she would want the internet to know she was blessed with big bahoogles so there you go), can sprint in heels. Half mermaid (boy was that a surprise considering her mom doesn’t know who her father is LOL)

Rex. Nb uses they/them he/him pronouns but honestly will respond to any, goth lite, only attracted to men and ace, can read minds so knows all your secrets, mischevious little shit, great friends with Zander and enjoys his dumbass thoughts and that he’s basically a human version of Jackass, wears too many rings, goth boots for kicking and fashion babey, always has the freshest memes and will not hesitate to roast in the group chat, hangs with the girls most of the time. Chaos god who loves making art, be gay do crime, skateboard and spraypaint. 5’8”, 165lbs, Leo, age 18, Native American, masculine frame, dark brown skin, blue eyes, firetruck red shoulder length hair that’s usually in a ponytail, knock-off gucci sunglasses just for judging their friends. Has magic in their blood so not entirely human and can cast spells and shit (don’t roast me its a wip and I’m doing my research)

Sam. Boho goddess, aromantic, makeup and nails are always instagram worthy, quiet and stoic type but losens up around close friends, Rex is her best friend, has some trauma and doesn’t want to talk about it, emotionally numbed out a bit and wants to purely vibe. Has seen some of the worst parts of humanity and wishes she hadn’t, finds no point in being bitter or resentful though because that won’t change anything, loves cats and once she moves out shes adopting one or three. Has wine aunt energy. 5’4, 200lbs PLUS SIZE QUEEN, Scorpio, age 18, Filipino (her parents are immigrants fun fact!), really olive skin sometimes has a grey/green tinge to it, dark brown almost black shoulder length hair, gold-hazel eyes. Sam’s the victim of a family curse that requires her to consume human hearts to survive, she can transform into a pretty scary looking being and uses this curse to hunt down pedoph*les, r*pists, murderers, and abusers. The less often she feeds the less human she looks, hence the constant grey/green tinge to her skin.

Andy. Baby of the group, must be protected at all costs, 100% didn’t sign up to be in a friendgroup of 90% monsters but highkey loves it, trans, bi, anxiety MAXED, just wants to draw comics and cosplay spiderman, has to babysit his two younger sisters a lot because his parents are....not great, and as a result now knows all the lines to Tangled and The Little Mermaid. Big nerd energy, has to draw on everything including homework, gets inspiration for comics from his friends, awkward and socially anxious, drinks way too much tea and will accidentally steal your pens. Fears include: crowds, thunder, tall angry men, tiny spaces. Just trying his best. 5’2, 100lbs BEANPOLE BOY, Leo, age 16, white (irish and scottish roots), freckles absolutely EVERYWHERE, orangey red hair thats in desperate need of a haircut, chocolate brown eyes, braces, chronic nail biter. Human and kinda wishes he wasn’t.

That’s it for now if you read all this bless u thank u here is my whole heart. Please no discourse, literally these are fictional people I’ll never publish the books they go to.

#no i am not looking for critiques on them #i get my critiques elsewhere lmao #my ocs

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canyouhearthelight · 5 years

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The Miys, Ch. 43

The one where Sophia’s administrator is officially hired, and an odd story about black cats features.

Or, “Sometimes the real world is as weird as fiction”

For all that I joked about books being my truest, most lasting love – after all, who still loves the same thing in their thirties that they loved when they were three? – life on the Ark kept me so busy that I was ashamed to admit I did not know where the archives were. However, I was always willing to learn more about the ship and take the chance to meet new people on the way. As such, I tucked the promised tomes into a satchel and decided to walk there, using my datapad as a map. A little voice somewhere on processor four, where my conscience and good will toward people tended to be, told me that travelling on foot would give people the chance to see that I wasn’t afraid, despite what happened. Maybe it would help make them less afraid.

That was three hours ago. Both of my shoulders ached from swapping the bag of books back and forth over the course of my idiotic trek. I was sweating slightly, and somewhere along the way I decided that the ‘little voice’ at the beginning was not, in fact, my conscience or belief in people, but instead came from processor five, home of Bad Decisions. I was completely certain of this, because the same voice had been telling me for the past thirty minutes to burn the books anyway and just be done with it.

To my relief, my datapad indicated that the door in front of me was my destination. Unlike most common areas on the Ark, this door was not labelled in any way that a human could interpret. Early on, Miys made it very clear that the doors were, in fact, marked by the architecture and gave back a specific echo when hit with a certain frequency – one that humans could neither hear nor create without technical assistance. I took a moment to straighten my bearing and run a hand through my frazzled hair before approaching the den of my soon-to-be administrator.

Alistair Worthington was nowhere in sight, but what I did see compelled me to let out a confident and completely dignified squeak. Books. Hundreds and hundreds of real, tangible, paper books. The smell of ink and glue invaded my lungs like the most intoxicating drug ever created. I don’t know what I had been expecting when I imagined there being an ‘Archive’ on the ship, but this wasn’t it.

This was a library. One like I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. Every shred of exhaustion and frustration vanished from my body as I trailed my fingers gently over the spines on the shelves. I honestly wanted to cry from the sheer sensation of being reunited with a long-lost friend. You can keep your hymns, your prayers, and your sermons, I thought. This is the most religious experience of my life.

My reverie was shattered painfully by the sound of a throat being cleared behind me. “Miss, please don’t touch the – Oh. Councillor Reid.” Worthington’s face snapped from stern to surprised when I turned on him, not even bothering to wipe the tears from my face.

Without a word, I untangled myself from the satchel I had been carrying and held it out with one hand. When he just glanced at it in confusion, I shook it. “Your books. I promised I would bring them myself, and I try to always keep my word.”

After only a split second of additional hesitation, the man before me showed the only spec of emotion I had seen in our brief encounters by eagerly snatching the bag from me and digging through it like it held everything he ever wanted. Ah, I thought, arching a brow. So you are human, after all.

“There are two missing.” He actually sounded disappointed.

Shaking my head, I tried to wrap my Councillor bearing around me. “No, there aren’t. Antoine Costa decided to keep Love in the Time of Cholera, since it was made here on the ship and the source does not negate the fact that it is his favorite book. Tyche Reid did agree to donate two of her graphic novels to the archive, but made a personal choice to keep Blankets, as is her right.”

With a sigh, he nodded in terse acceptance. “I suppose I can learn to live with that.”

“Archivist Worthington, there are fifteen books in that bag. None of the books that were donated or reclaimed were found to have Baconist propaganda, so that is all of them beside the two which were kept by their rightful owners,” I pointed out in frustration. “Besides, I carried those down here, on foot. It took me three hours. The least you can do is show an ounce of gratitude.”

He was clearly unimpressed, if the flat look he pointed at me was any indication. “For honoring our agreement and delivering them yourself, yes, I am grateful. However, I did not ask you to foolishly make that trek without the use of a transport, especially not when you are still recovering from your attack if I remember correctly. How you convinced your over-protective sister to even allow this – “

“Tyche does not ‘allow’ me to do anything, Mr. Worthington,” I cut him off icily. “I am a grown woman, and I am capable of making my own decisions.”

“That does not mean they are intelligent decisions, apparently,” he grumbled. “You clearly have more sense than this, I am baffled why you decided to walk down here.”

He had me there. After an awkward silence, I decided to change the subject. “Where did the rest of these come from?” I asked, running a finger along the edge of a shelf. “I know they aren’t confiscated.”

“I brought them from Earth, mostly,” he breathed with a nod. “Maybe three months before I arrived on the Ark, I stumbled across an old book store. Imagine my surprise when I saw that, somehow, it had not been broken into, the books not used for kindling.”

“You may as well have found Atlantis while you were at it,” I replied, not even half joking. In ten years, I had only found one or two books that were in sufficient condition to still read them, and more gutted and burned libraries than I wanted to remember. Book were paper, paper made good kindling. Sadly, religious texts burned the best, since they were usually printed on thinner paper. College textbooks were a close second.

Clearing his throat, he continued. “When I woke up on the Ark, I insisted that either the books come with me, or I go back to Earth. Books are history, I explained. And those who fail to learn from history…”

“Are doomed to repeat it,” I finished with a nod. “I completely agree, and I’m sure Tyche would agree with your determination. She managed to talk Noah into bringing the pets and genetic samples of the wildlife.”

“It is an Ark,” he conceded. “Would be a shame if we left the fauna behind. They did not ruin our world, after all.” He glanced away with a familiar haunted look. We all had ghosts, it seemed. Shaking his head vigorously, he seemed to snap out of whatever memory he was stuck in. “I’m just glad she did not bring any actual mice. They destroy books like nothing else.”

“No mice, just a cat,” I reassured him with a small smile.

“Ah, yes. Mac.” Worthington wrinkled his nose slightly. “A bit cliché, isn’t it? A witch having a black cat?”

“Ooo, someone never asked about the cat,” I sing-songed. “He’s shared, for starters. Mine, hers, and apparently the entire ship’s. But he’s also part of a long-standing tradition, one that goes back further than I can probably tell you. It’s unrelated to the witch thing, although that seems to be tradition, too.”

“Most people find black cats to be bad luck,” he sniffed, making it clear that ‘most people’ probably equated to ‘superstitious idiots’ in his mind.

I shook my head and chuckled. “Not my family, not by a long shot. Black cats always seem to find us, and we always seem to have at least one. No idea why, but I can’t remember a time when a woman in my family didn’t own a black cat.” A glance showed that the archivist was waiting expectantly. “When I was three years old, my family lived in California. Tyche wasn’t even born yet. Someone dumped two newborn kittens on our doorstep, a tabby and a black one. Smokey and Dragon. Mom went that day and got the formula and bottles to nurse them, and we kept them until we had to move across country. Then we were adopted by strays, first in Arkansas, then in Washington… When we moved back to Arkansas for the last time, not a week after we moved in, a gorgeous long-haired black tom showed up on our doorstep. Shadow. He was already grown, and half feral, but he always came back to our house. Not long before he vanished for the last time, one of our other cats, Monster, had a litter of kittens. Nearly every one was black. The girl, Onyx, was our next black cat. Then I went to college, Onyx died of a very venerable old age, and on my way to class one day, a kitten screamed at me from an engine block. I fished him out, and that was the original Machiavelli. Mac is his grandson, by the way. Mac stayed with Tyche, and I ended up with first The Dread Pirate Timmy, and then Nicodemus. There were other cats, but always at least one black one.”

As I told the story, I had been walking along the edge of the room, trailing my fingers along the tops of and down the spines of the books. I glanced over my shoulder to see Worthington’s head tilted and a strong look of thought on his features. “My family is heathens,” I clarified. “As far back as we have a family tree. You have to look really hard to find any major Abrahamic religions in there, and there’s not a drop of noble blood in our veins unless you count the Vikings.”

“Vikings were quite noble,” he muttered, still lost in thought.

“Maybe that’s why we never bought into the whole ‘black cats are bad luck’ thing,” I shrugged. “Cats are cats. They eat vermin, they make good companions. Self-sufficient, not very needy. So. I need to know that you’ll get along well with Mac.”

“Wait.” He shook his head again before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “What? Why would I need to get along with your cat?”

I turned to fully face him, wide grin on my face. “Because, Mr. Worthington,” I flicked the file toward him from my datapad with a flourish. “You, sir, are my new Administrator. Congratulations.”

Finally losing all his composure, he started sputtering. “You – you cannot be serious. Did any others even apply?”

“Over a hundred, actually,” I confirmed, enjoying myself. “Forty made it past Xiomara Kalloe. Seventeen survived a second, deeper background check.” No need to mention Derek. “You, however, were the only one with a recommendation letter from my sister.”

“She doesn’t even like me,” he argued.

“Not in the criteria for the position, fortunately,” I explained. “And you’d be surprised. You aren’t afraid of her, which is significantly more impressive than you seem to realize.”

“You have clearly never taught teenagers,” he responded wryly. “Nasty little shits, they can be.”

I continued, trying not to laugh. “You’re determined, which is something she understands. But probably the most important is that you were the first person who I encountered after what happened on Level One who didn’t treat me like either a hero or a helpless victim. You saw me as a Councillor, expected me to act like one, and trusted my judgement.”

“I argued with you,” he pointed out.

“Do you not want the position?” I asked, arching a brow at him. He stopped arguing. “Even the fact that you argued with me is a point in your favor, not against it. You argued reasonably, logically. The disagreement was not with me personally, you were simply trying to get me to understand both sides of the debate. I’m not infallible, I’m human. I can be wrong, and today proves it. I can’t have someone assisting me who will agree to whatever I say just because I’m the one saying it. That way lies madness, despots, and the End.”

“I was really the best candidate?” he asked, still skeptical.

“I wasn’t part of the deliberations, so I can’t answer that honestly. But I do know that you were the one that my sister and I most approved of, based on what we knew of you. And the Council agreed on your appointment unanimously. Which means Grey Hodenson also decided, after what I understand was weeks of deliberation, that you were the best for the position. If that does not speak volumes as to your qualifications, I really don’t know what else would.”

“Huh.”

“Like I said, Administrator Worthington, congratulations.”

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#the miys #humans are weird #science fiction #aliens #humans are space orcs #original fiction #apocalypse #earth is space australia

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wellesleyunderground · 4 years

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Wellesley Writes It: Interview with Patrice Caldwell ’15, Founder of People of Color in Publishing

Patrice Caldwell ’15 is the founder & fundraising chair of People of Color in Publishing – a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting, empowering, and uplifting racially and ethnically marginalized members of the book publishing industry. Born and raised in Texas, Patrice was a children’s book editor before shifting to be a literary agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

In 2018, she was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree and featured on The Writer’s Digest podcast and Bustle’s inaugural “Lit List” as one of ten women changing the book world.

Her anthology, A Phoenix First Must Burn – 16 stories of Black girl magic, resistance, and hope – is out March 10, 2020 from Viking Books for Young Readers/Penguin Teen in the US/Canada and Hot Key Books in the UK! Visit Patrice online at patricecaldwell.com, Twitter @whimsicallyours, and Instagram @whimsicalaquarian.

Wellesley Underground’s Wellesley Writes it Series Editor, E.B. Bartels ’10, had the chance to converse with Patrice via email about publishing, reading, and writing. E.B. is grateful to Patrice for willing to be part of the Wellesley Writes It series, even with everything else she has going on!

EB: When did you first become interested in going into writing and publishing? Did something at Wellesley spark that interest?

PC: For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved writing. It’s how I best express myself. That love pretty naturally grew into creating stories. I’ve always had a very vivid imagination. I’ve also always been pretty aware that publishers exist. I remember at a young age noticing the logos on the spines of books (notating the imprint/publisher), so by the time I was a teen I could recall which publishers published my favorite books (served me very well in interviews, haha) and was curious about that process. But I was a theater kid, intensely, that’s what I thought I would do, but then I decided to go to Wellesley and majored in political science (especially theory—I took ever class Professor Grattan, she’s brilliant) but then dabbled in a bunch of other subjects, including English. I think English courses definitely strengthened my critical thinking, but I absolutely do not think you have to be an English or creative writing major in order to work in publishing or be a writer. My theater background is just as helpful as is my political theory one. (I have friends who are best-selling authors who did MFA programs and others who never went to college.)

Wellesley was my safe space. I came back to myself while at Wellesley. I wrote three (unpublished) manuscripts during my time there, starting the summer after my first year, and I held publishing and writing related internships. I also took a fantastic children’s literature course taught by Susan Meyer (who’s a children’s author herself!) that changed my world. I highly recommend it. We studied children’s literature, got to talk to an author and a literary agent, and we wrote our own stories. I later did a creative writing independent study with her, and I truly thank Professor Meyer for expanding my interest in writing and publishing.

EB: How did People in Color Publishing come about? What goals do you have for the organization? What would you like people to know about it?

PC: I founded People of Color in Publishing in August 2016 to allow people of color clearer access into the book publishing industry, better support networks, and professional development opportunities. It really is about sending the elevator back down for others after climbing (& maybe even assembling) the stairs.

We’re currently working towards nonprofit status. You can learn more about us and our initiatives at https://www.pocinpublishing.com/ and sign up for our newsletter, which is incredibly well done. As you’ll see when you visit the site, the organization really is a team effort. I don’t and couldn’t do this alone; I’ve had an amazing team with me from day one. We each play to our strengths and work really well together. (The org is very active on Instagram and Twitter, too!)

EB: I am really excited about your collection A Phoenix First Must Burn, coming out from Penguin Random House on March 10, 2020. What inspired you to put together that anthology? What was challenging about the process of compiling the anthology, and what was rewarding about it?

PC: Thank you; I’m so excited for it as well. I talk about this more in the book’s introduction, but I was inspired by my eternal love for Octavia Butler—the title even comes from a passage in Parable of the Talents—as well as similar adult market anthologies like Sheree R. Thomas’s Dark Matter, and wondering what one for teens would look like. The answer is power and imagination like I’ve never before seen, in the form of a kick-ass, #BlackGirlMagic anthology that’s hella queer—I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Before I became a literary agent, I was a children’s book editor. The editing of these stories was the easy part. It was super fun. The hard part was wrangling of everyone, haha. Thankfully they were amazing to work with and I wasn’t doing it alone—my then editor Kendra Levin also has a fantastic editorial eye.

As for what was rewarding, my younger self needed this. Like I said, it’s Black and queer. Since Toni Morrison passed, a day hasn’t gone by in which I’ve thought, about how she wrote for Black people, especially Black women, unapologetically. I feel that deeply. I got to work with some of my favorite writers writing today. How often does someone get to say that, you know. And, I grew a lot as a writer. I never thought I could write a short story, but I did. We’ve been getting some really great early reviews (like this beautifully-written starred review from Kirkus, OMG!) But going back to how my younger self needed this, the most rewarding thing has been the people who’ve reached out how excited they are to read it and how much they’ve been craving a book like this. It’s a dream come true. A dream I strategized to reach, worked my butt off on, and so yeah, I’m over the moon.

EB: You're also the author of a YA fantasy book (publication date TBD) in addition to the anthology. How is the experience of writing a fantasy novel different and/or similar to compiling an anthology? What advice would you give to someone writing their own book (of any genre)?

PC: It’s such a different experience in that writing this novel is all me, especially because it hasn’t sold yet (I’m finishing revising it now). My agents are amazing, with an excellent editorial skills, and so they’re certainly there to help and advise me should I need them—and then I have author friends I can ask for advice too—but ultimately if I don’t write this book, it doesn’t get written. There’s no one else to nudge.

The similarities, however, between novels and short stories are that ultimately, I’m the same writer, I’m the same person. For instance, I love experimenting with structure. My story for A Phoenix First Must Burnbegins in the present, goes back in time, and ends again at the present. The story I just wrote, for Dahlia Adler’s Shakespeare-inspired anthology, is epistolary—told partially in journal entries, and my third short story (for an unannounced thing) takes place partially on the set of a scripted reality TV show, so there’s definitely going to be script excerpts throughout. My novel is similar in that it’s told through three women, but two of them are narrated in first present tense (like, I am) whereas one is in third past (she was). And then every few chapters I have an excerpt of something from this fantasy world’s archives—oral myths passed down about various gods, peace treaties made over the years, accounts from the war that just ended, etc. It’s been a huge challenge and lot of fun.

I didn’t have the skills to pull this book off when I started writing it, which is something I think a lot of writers deal with at some point. Therefore, I had two options: put the book down and write something more manageable or take the time it took to write this. Neither option is better than the other—the best option is what’s right for you, and I didn’t have anything more manageable that I was as passionate about, so I had to write through it. When you’ve tried everything you can possibly try (including breaks, they’re important!) to unstick your story, you have to write through it. You have to deal with the voices (including sometimes your own) saying you can’t, and the only way to truly deal with those voices is to show up to the paper, the screen, whatever it is, and write. In writing and believing in my own work before anyone else has, I’ve found my confidence. Confidence in your own writing is key because only you can write the book you want to write <3.

EB: What are you currently reading?

PC: Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri. I just loved herdebut novel, Empire of Sand, and I’m so pumped to be diving into this one. Badass women, incredibly rich worldbuilding, and very cool magic as well as a lot about access to forgotten history and assimilation into other cultures.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. It is getting fantastic early reviews and was pitched as a 21stcentury Lolita (by one of my agents who sold it actually) and given all the #MeToo conversations, it has ended up being super timely. I hated Lolita (could not finish), and I love this book. Oh, and Stephen King loved it, which for me is an auto-buy. It’s out March 10, 2020.

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski. You definitely don’t have to love someone’s books to be friends with them, but in this case, Marie is a friend whose work I’m obsessed with. It’s set in the same world as another one of her series—one of my favorite series that’s like game theory in a fantasy world and begins with The Winner’s Curse. Marie is brilliant, this book is brilliant, and it’s also very queer. It’s out March 3, 2020.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. This book has been getting the best of reviews and praise, so it’s been at the top of my to-reads list for a while, but I started reading it because a friend mentioned that it has multiple POVs all in first person (which is very unusual), and like I said, I love playing around with stuff like that. This is book is a masterpiece.

As you can tell, I love reading books. I also love book hopping, so I’m always reading a bunch at once. I’m on a bit of a fantasy streak right now. But from October to December 2019 I read like a romance novel a week (sometimes three a week, haha) and revisited my favorite urban fantasy series, so if you’re into those check out Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires + Heirs of Chicagoland series, Tessa Dare’s Girl Meets Duke series and of course our very own Jasmine Guillory, my favorite of hers thus far is The Wedding Party). After I’m done with my revisions, I wanna take a writing break and sink into Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey and Dan Jones’s The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors.

EB: What future projects/goals do you have for yourself and your career?

PC: I spent most of Wellesley working towards two goals: being published and working in publishing. In doing so, I accomplished a lot in a very short time, and I totally wrecked my mental health—it took most of 2019 to rebuild that. I’m trying to live more in the present and enjoy that. Career wise, I’m just gonna trust that I’m already doing the work I need to do and that I have the support systems I need to help me keep doing that. And for a personal goal, I have been wanting to spend more time in Paris—I went back for the first time in ten years for all of February 2019, and just loved it. My whole soul felt at home, so I’d like to take some French lessons to fill in the gaps (I took French from middle school through sophomore year at Wellesley and achieved proficiency, but I want to become fluent). And then I want to visit more for longer and see where that takes me.

EB: I so admire your freelance hustle, and as someone attempting it myself, too, I know that sometimes it feels like you have to work 24/7 to make it possible. How do you set boundaries for yourself and your work? How do you take care of yourself?

PC: So, I’m a literary agent and a writer, which means my entire income comes from commission I make from the writer client projects I work on and sell as an agent and advance payments (and hopefully royalties down the line) as a writer. That said, I didn’t become a literary agent until June 2019, and didn’t get the first payment from a client book I sold until November, so most my income is still coming from writing (for reference, I received my first advance check in fall of 2018).

As of now, balancing the two isn’t that hard for me. But you have to understand that I was first an editor and a writer, so I had to do most of the deadlines for A Phoenix First Must Burn while also going into an office 5 days a week, from 10-7/8pm. Now, I manage my own schedule.

My main “freelance life” struggle was that I was diagnosed with ADHD this year. When I left my full-time, salaried job, at the end of 2018, I didn’t realize just how helpful that structure had been. To me, that structure was only ever a limitation. I felt like it was ridiculous with all of this technology that we all had to be in NYC, I felt like editors needed to be more proactive, I preferred to travel to book festivals and teach at workshops and meet writers where they are, etc. etc. But then, without that structure, everything fell apart. Suddenly, tasks that used to take me five minutes could actually take me five hours because I only had myself to answer to. I would hyper-focus on everything but what I needed to be doing. It was a really hard time for me because I had all of these things I wanted to do now that I finally had more time to do them, but ADHD had other plans—I constantly felt like I wasn’t achieving what I knew I could because I had done it before.

I had to learn to forgive myself. This is how my brain works, and there are a lot of strengths to it (like if I remove distractions like the internet, I can hyper-focus for hours, I’m a fantastic problem solver, and I thrive in chaos—all things that help me excel at my work). Learning to forgive yourself for not accomplishing all the things, whether you have a mental illness or not, is really important.

You also have to be hyper-aware of your strengths and weaknesses. What are things you know you’re just not good at? Can you pay someone else to do it? Is there an app you can download that can make that task easier? I delegate and outsource every detail-level thing that I can because I’m horrible at details and I’ve finally accepted that that’s okay. One person cannot do everything forever; it’s not sustainable.

And then you also have to say no. If you can afford to say no to something that doesn’t really interest you / have a high payoff, do so. That is how you set boundaries. My health has become so much better ever since I started saying no to more things. Why? It gives me time to do other things, those things I’ve been saying forever I’m going to make more time for (like French lessons and reading books for fun). Now, my evenings and weekends are for non-work things. I love my jobs they’re still jobs.

Trust that you’re on the right path. Trust that you have the support systems you need and if you aren’t or don’t, dream and strategize towards those.

Ultimately, I am the happiest I’ve ever been and that’s because I finally stopped focusing my whole life around my jobs, stopped caring what people who aren’t paying my bills think, and started living my actual life.

EB: What else would you like our readers to know about you and/or your work?

PC: I have a website, Twitter, Instagram, and a newsletter. If you enjoyed this interview, definitely sign up for my newsletter (& check out past issues) as I always give creative life pep talks, share recipes and what books and tv shows I’m loving. I think of my newsletter as a longer form version of my Twitter. My website is a pretty standard website—you can find out more about my own books, my clients, events I’m attending, etc. there. And my Instagram is slightly more personal, with pretty pictures of my face and my book haha, and I share daily/weekly updates about my writing there via IG stories.

And, of course, buy my book: https://patricecaldwell.com/a-phoenix-first-must-burn

Thank you so much for having me and for reading. Happy New Year!

#wellesleywritesit #Wellesley Writes It #Wellesley #Wellesley College #Wellesley Underground #wellesleyunderground #Patrice Caldwell #EB Bartels #E.B. Bartels #class of 2010 #class of 2015 #Wellesley '15 #Wellesley '10 #People of Color in Publishing #publishing #writing #people of color #PoC

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that-was-not-supposed-to-happen · 6 years

Text

7 minutes in heaven

pairing: Halfdan x Reader

fandom: vikings

warnings: AU

@nekodemon73 @kumpmk @bookswillfindyouaway @mads---world @lj-laufeypevensieweasley @archer-whovian-violinist

You vividly remembered your first week at college. It was awful and not at all what you had hoped for. The whole 7 days practically consisted of stupid 'getting to know each other games', a lot of drinking, parties were yet again, a lot of drinking was involved. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing but being the introverted little asshole that you were, just not your thing.

Now years later, coming back as a professor, nothing seemed to have changed at all. Somehow you had ended up with a bunch of drunk colleagues, who were all too eager to continue the tradition of awkward party games.

At the end of the evening you found yourself locked up with Mr. Black the history professor in a game of 7 minutes in heaven that rather felt like hell. You might have enjoyed the company of this very attractive man, hadn't it been for the history you shared together.

You definitely remembered him from your time at college, having shared quite a few classes back then. The memories weren't too fond. He and his brother had been the definition of privileged rich kids who passed their time with alcohol and everything else they considered fun, not much actual studying. But somehow these kinds of people still always manage to graduate without a problem. So, long story short, you weren't a big fan nor particular impressed with his smug attitude.

"I see you still hold that grudge."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Halfdan."

"You never liked me." He took a step forward, closing the distance to pin you against the door, using his body, "It's a shame, really."

You were about to answer something, anything but the words got stuck when you felt his erection bumping against you. The mixture of shock and a lot of others feelings left you quite literally speechless for a moment.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"Not at all."

He suddenly grabbed your hair, taking a fistful of it between his hand to spin you around. When he had you successfully maneuvered in the position that he wanted, his hips began rutting against your ass.

The action made you involuntarily moan, reminding you of the fact that he was an absolute jerk, an insanely attractive one at that.

His hips kept moving in a rhythm and you couldn't stop yourself from pushing your ass up against him, joining in on his movement.

Halfdan pushed back your hair, revealing your neck to him. He softly bit down, altering between kissing and nipping at the soft flesh.

This was sweet torture and he was just too good at it, so you let him do whatever he wanted, enjoying the feeling while it lasted. Hopefully none of you would remember in the morning...

#halfdan the black x reader #halfdan x reader #halfdan the black imagine #halfdan imagine #vikings imagine #vikings #halfdan the black #halfdan

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paulbenedictblog · 4 years

Text

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Fox news Power Rankings: Who's up/down after the draft? - NFL.com

Fox news

The virtual draft is over.

You now know what the interior of your traditional supervisor's home place of job looks adore. You are mindful if he is a dog or cat person. Most importantly, you now bear a stunning impartial idea of the roster your favourite crew will steal into action in 2020. (Please let there be action in 2020.) So, before we hit up Kliff Kingsbury for a loan, let's model out all 32 teams in our submit-draft edition of the Energy Rankings.

Undergo in solutions, all opinions are mine and mine by myself. It's likely you'll presumably presumably also impartial bear got the most attention-grabbing to disagree with them, even change into viscerally offended over them, nonetheless please take into accout I invent no guarantees to care. Contend with safe, every person.

The Chiefs frail their first-spherical protect shut -- No. 32 total -- on LSU running support Clyde Edwards-Helaire, whose pass-catching ability and elusiveness invent Kansas Metropolis's offense almost unfair. Edwards-Helaire is arguably the exclusively receiving support in this draft class, prompting many to join the dots and film a 2020 Chiefs attack the usage of Edwards the tactic Reid frail Brian Westbrook to befuddle opposing defenses in Philadelphia. Huge Crimson acknowledged that Edwards-Helaire is better than Westbrook. It begs the effect a question to: Are we about to leer the fleshy likely of this Chiefs offense? Or no longer it is a unpleasant idea for the relaxation of the NFL.

Kudos to traditional supervisor John Lynch, who additional cranked initiate the Niners' Gargantuan Bowl window with the acquisition of seven-time Legitimate Bowler Trent Williams, who takes over for the retiring Joe Staley as Jimmy Garoppolo's blind-aspect protector. It exclusively tag Lynch a pair of mid-spherical picks spread out over this year and subsequent. If Williams is the relaxation shut to the identical player he became before he dropped off the grid in Washington, this change is a heist. Speaking of Jimmy G, issues ended up factual stunning for the quarterback. He survived the Tom Brady rumor storm, bought public backing from his crew, then obtained a Hall of Repute-stage left take care of and a chief-spherical receiver (No. 25 total protect shut Brandon Aiyuk). And he is stunning as hell. Rotten.

[Patrick Queen](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/patrick-queen?identity=32195155-4530-8806-168a-7e9ee3bd3f96), meet outsized expectations. After the [Ravens](/teams/baltimoreravens/profile?crew=BAL) frail the No. 28 total protect shut on the interior linebacker out of LSU, [Ravens](/teams/baltimoreravens/profile?crew=BAL) quarterback and reigning league MVP [Lamar Jackson](/player/lamarjackson/2563943/profile) [shouted "Ray Lewis Jr.!" on Instagram Live](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001111046/article/lamar-publicizes-patrick-queen-as-ray-lewis-jr). Queen might perchance perchance presumably no longer change into a 13-time [Pro Bowl](http://www.nfl.com/probowl) option and two-time [Super Bowl](http://www.nfl.com/superbowl) champion, nonetheless he'll be one other hit for GM Eric DeCosta if he fortifies the center of Baltimore's protection with his sideline-to-sideline proceed and plus protection ability. Queen and [trade acquisition Calais Campbell](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001106265/article/jaguars-to-change-de-calais-campbell-to-ravens) bear upgraded the [Ravens](/teams/baltimoreravens/profile?crew=BAL)' entrance seven in a huge formulation. Baltimore and Kansas Metropolis are the determined class of the AFC.

The Saints entered the draft boasting one of the most necessary whole rosters in the NFL. And not using a evident holes, coach Sean Payton and GM Mickey Loomis did some tinkering. Enter first-spherical protect shut Cesar Ruiz, who appears poised to interchange outmoded incumbent Larry Warford at appropriate guard. Arrive Sunday morning, the Saints' quarterback room grew to alter into the source of the crew's absolute best stage of intrigue. We realized that Unique Orleans is reportedly closing in on a deal to signal Jameis Winston(!) on the identical day Taysom Hill inked a two-year, $21 million extension. That is enormous cash for a machine player poised to be a Third-string QB if Winston signs to be Drew Brees' backup. Hey, filthy rich-other folks issues, appropriate?

First-spherical protect shut Isaiah Wilson enters the most attention-grabbing take care of competition created by the departure of Jack Conklin. Or no longer it is a a must-bear feature for the Titans, who leaned on Conklin to blow initiate holes for rushing champion Derrick Henry. Speaking of Henry, he has some modern backfield firm in Darrynton Evans. The third-spherical protect shut is a home-speed hitter and a get fit for Tennessee's plan. With Henry poised to play out 2020 on a one-year franchise value, might perchance perchance presumably the Titans be grooming Evans as a likely replace in 2021? In the period in-between, is Jadeveon Clowney collected on the radar in Nashville? Tennessee did no longer exercise any of its six picks on a extinct edge rusher. This feels adore a actually most attention-grabbing fit.

The Payments' draft became a productive one before it began, on account of the four-protect shut kit that grew to alter into change acquisition Stefon Diggs. Buffalo then addressed an keep apart of want with second-spherical protect shut A.J. Epenesa, a extremely efficient and versatile defensive lineman who can help mitigate the shortcoming of Shaq Lawson. Third-spherical protect shut Zack Moss brings some modern legs to the backfield, and Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm -- who took a surprise drop to the fifth spherical -- presents Buffalo a compelling prospect whose passing ability feature vastly contrasts with starter Josh Allen. Or no longer it is very unlikely to bear a examine at Buffalo's roster and no longer leer it as the strongest in the AFC East -- by a appreciable margin.

How about them Cowboys? Jerry Jones and Co. did most attention-grabbing work in the draft, finding payment up and down the board. It might perchance probably presumably no longer had been the idea to protect shut a huge receiver in the first spherical, nonetheless Dallas did no longer effect a question to CeeDee Lamb to collected be on the board at No. 17. Request: Would the 'Boys bear re-signed Amari Cooper to that huge contract if they knew Lamb became going to drop to them? We will never know, nonetheless we enact know that Lamb joins Cooper and Michael Gallup to perform one of the most necessary talented large receiver teams in football. In numerous places, Dallas added depth and starting alternate concepts at offensive line, line of defense and cornerback. This feels adore your NFC East favourite.

Successfully, that became attention-grabbing. Packers fans and football pundits went into the draft expecting Green Bay so as to add a huge receiver (or two) to help support Aaron Rodgers. As a replace, the Packers handed on any receiver from a historically deep class and as an quite a lot of drafted Rodgers' conceivable replace with their first-spherical protect shut. I will also impartial envy Jordan Like's formative years, athleticism and checking yarn, nonetheless being Rodgers' teammate at this moment in time feels ... dicey. After taking Like, Green Bay frail its subsequent protect shut on a between-the-tackles pounder in Boston College running support A.J. Dillon. Huh. Cincinnati tight cease Josiah Deguara, the crew's third-rounder, might perchance perchance presumably add some payment in the passing sport in time, nonetheless that is no longer the draft that anyone expected. We consider Rodgers is okay with some social distancing in the intervening time.

Indianapolis' first-spherical protect shut became frail to perform DeForest Buckner, a switch that might perchance perchance bear an worthy affect on the Colts' interior protection. With Indy's first protect shut in the draft (34th total), Chris Ballard landed one other distinction-maker in USC wideout Michael Pittman Jr., who has all of the instruments to alter into an instantaneous important person having fun with with Philip Rivers and T.Y. Hilton. Pittman at as soon as upgrades a huge receiver neighborhood that lacked depth and playmaking skill. The Colts had a identical enlighten at running support before trading as a lot as land Wisconsin important person Jonathan Taylor. A 2,000-yard rusher in every of his closing two collegiate seasons (and with regards to all three), Taylor might perchance perchance presumably threaten Marlon Mack for The Man web philosophize in the Colts' backfield. Huge-armed Washington QB Jacob Eason (taken in the fourth spherical) will be taught in the support of Rivers and ceaselessly is the first man up when the outmoded decides to dangle up his bolo tie.

Eliminate a load off, Rick Spielman. The Vikings traditional supervisor made history by deciding on 15 gamers in the 2020 NFL Draft. Or no longer it is a long way the most gamers obtained in a draft class since the league adopted the seven-spherical format in 1994. The first protect shut became LSU important person Justin Jefferson, who neatly slides into the huge receiver keep apart vacated by Stefon Diggs. Jefferson can play initiate air or in the slot, and you get the feeling he would be an instantaneous producer having fun with with the ever-consistent Kirk Cousins. The additions of Jeff Gladney (31st total protect shut) and Cameron Dantzler (89th) ought to collected present rapid support to a cornerback room that wished reinforcements. Offensive take care of Ezra Cleveland became a pleasant payment add in the second spherical that at as soon as ended any probability of a Trent Williams change. The Vikings watch in a position to roll.

Celebrity cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick tag the Steelers their first-spherical protect shut on Thursday night, nonetheless we already know that became draft capital well spent. With their first protect shut in the draft (49th total), Pittsburgh landed worthy Notre Dame large receiver Hotfoot Claypool, a huge-play athlete who well complements JuJu Smith-Schuster. Relaxing fact: Ben Roethlisberger now has three top receiving targets standing as a minimum 6-foot-4 -- Claypool and tight ends Eric Ebron and Vance McDonald. There is been a form of speculation -- great of it fueled by the Steelers themselves -- about unearthing competition (or a replace) for James Conner in the backfield, nonetheless GM Kevin Colbert waited till Day 3 before pulling the feature off on Maryland running support Anthony McFarland Jr. in the fourth spherical. McFarland scans as extra of a proceed complement than a lead dog -- obviously impartial news for Conner in a a must-bear season.

The Bucs made their most attention-grabbing wave appropriate before the draft with the bombshell change that introduced Eliminate Gronkowski out of retirement to play with buddy Tom Brady. It remains to be considered how great football is left in ol' Gronk, whose physique took a vicious beating in 9 seasons with the Patriots. With that in solutions, it presumably is excellent to protect shut both O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, growing tight cease depth that can permit Bruce Arians to protect shut the exclusively spots to deploy Gronkowski. Brady obtained extra impartial news on Thursday night, when Tampa Bay traded as a lot as land offensive take care of Tristan Wirfs with the 13th total protect shut. The Bucs are clearly a crew in protect shut-now mode -- they're going to be attention-grabbing to leer when football returns. (Please return, football.)

So are the Seahawks out on bringing support Jadeveon Clowney or no longer? Pete Carroll acknowledged the free-agent defender might perchance perchance presumably collected return to Seattle, nonetheless then the Seahawks moved up 11 spots in the second spherical to protect shut Tennessee edge defender Darrell Taylor. Seattle added one other edge player in Day 3, taking Syracuse's Alton Robinson early in the fifth spherical. Carroll and GM John Schneider now bear protection if Clowney signs in other places, nonetheless it can perchance also be shiny to surprise if the three-time Legitimate Bowler might perchance perchance presumably collected be of their plans. Few teams in the NFL had been worse at getting to the quarterback final season. Nonetheless, Clowney became segment of that enlighten, contributing factual three of Seattle's 28 sacks. Choices, choices.

[Packers](/teams/greenbaypackers/profile?crew=GB) fans had been afraid to leer their crew draft a quarterback in the first spherical of Thursday's draft. [Eagles](/teams/philadelphiaeagles/profile?crew=PHI) supporters had been equally befuddled when GM Howie Roseman pulled the feature off on Oklahoma quarterback [Jalen Hurts](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/jalen-hurts?identity=32194855-5276-7022-85cf-a74490936f42) with the 53rd total protect shut. On the skin, it doesn't seem adore a feature of want, nonetheless Philly can no longer ignore the probability that [Carson Wentz](/player/carsonwentz/2555259/profile) will merely never be a sturdy quarterback. Hurts presents Doug Pederson with great-wished insurance and a dynamic athlete opposing teams must enlighten into the sport idea (mediate: [Taysom Hill](/player/taysomhill/2558954/profile) in Unique Orleans). And let's no longer act adore the [Eagles](/teams/philadelphiaeagles/profile?crew=PHI) did no longer support Wentz out: The crew frail its first protect shut (25th total) on explosive TCU important person [Jalen Reagor](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/jalen-reagor?identity=32195245-4133-8982-9a32-957d59a1e153), who molded himself into a chief-spherical target despite being saddled with subpar QB play in college. Deep breath, [Eagles](/teams/philadelphiaeagles/profile?crew=PHI) fans.

[I joked on Twitter](https://twitter.com/DanHanzus/web philosophize/1253519413875097601) that Bill Belichick traded out of the first spherical because he did no longer desire anyone to leer the interior of his home. Indubitably, it became factual the [Patriots](/teams/newenglandpatriots/profile?crew=NE) coach doing the most Belichickian enlighten conceivable -- starting their most extremely scrutinized draft in ages by deciding on a security out of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. Traditional. [Kyle Dugger](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/kyle-dugger?identity=32194455-4767-4843-b362-237ddcf75c1b) is a actually impartial prospect, nonetheless it speaks to the real fact in Unique England: [Tom Brady](/player/tombrady/2504211/profile) would be gone, nonetheless the basics of crew-constructing are unchanged on Patriot Means. The Pats did no longer exercise any of their 10 picks on a quarterback -- a decision that reveals faith in 2019 fourth-spherical protect shut [Jarrett Stidham](/player/jarrettstidham/2562746/profile) ... or hints on the upcoming acquisition of a known outmoded. Hi, [Andy Dalton](/player/andydalton/2495143/profile).

Houston did no longer bear a chief-spherical protect shut this year -- and it is a long way the identical story in 2021 -- so the Texans wished coach/GM Bill O'Brien to unearth some gemstones in the non-top rate rounds. Houston's 2020 class numbered factual 5 gamers and became headlined by TCU defensive take care of Ross Blacklock, selected 40th total. O'Brien took one other defender in the third spherical -- edge rusher Jonathan Greenard -- an acknowledgement that the crew's protection slipped in 2019. Beforehand, O'Brien frail draft capital in trades so as to add running support David Johnson (in the excellent-castigated DeAndre Hopkins deal) and big receiver Brandin Cooks, whose second-spherical protect shut tag value felt exorbitant, occupied with Cooks' troubling concussion history. Laremy Tunsil, the left take care of who tag Houston their first-spherical picks in 2020 and '21, signed a three-year, $66 million extension with $57.85 million guaranteed. Or no longer it is exhausting to claim which direction this organization is headed in.

The Rams bear several roster holes and no longer ample cap home or draft picks to repair the entirety in one offseason. Coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead started plugging away in the draft. Out the door are running support Todd Gurley and big receiver Brandin Cooks. Enter second-spherical picks Cam Akers (RB) and Van Jefferson (WR) as their presumed replacements. Clay Matthews became one-and-carried out in Los Angeles, so recount hiya to initiate air linebacker Terrell Lewis, drafted 84th total out of Alabama. Eric Weddle can also be history, so here comes fourth-spherical rookie Terrell Burgess at security. You get the image. The Rams are getting younger and cheaper. That second segment is terribly indispensable with mega-contracts on the books for Jared Goff, Aaron Donald -- and soon ample -- Jalen Ramsey.

Longtime ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper called first-spherical protect shut A.J. Terrell "one of the most necessary attention-grabbing reaches of the previous few years." Oof. Rumors swirled about Atlanta potentially transferring as a lot as protect shut one of the most tip two corners in this class, nonetheless the Falcons ended up staying home to address a famous feature of want. GM Thomas Dimitroff had better hope Kiper is losing his fastball. Draft critiques apart, this has been a get offseason total for the Falcons, who added running support Todd Gurley and pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. and traded for tight cease Hayden Hurst after losing Austin Hooper in free agency. There can also impartial no longer be one other reprieve for Dan Quinn and Dimitroff if Atlanta misses the playoffs for a Third straight year.

Or no longer it is all there for Baker Mayfield. The Browns' talented gash of playmakers obtained better with the addition of tight cease Austin Hooper in free agency. The offensive line obtained a superb-wished makeover at take care of with the arrival of free-agent acquisition Jack Conklin and first-spherical protect shut Jedrick Wills. The glaring holes are gone, and so are the excuses for Mayfield, who disappointed mightily in 2019 after a file-setting rookie marketing campaign. Give the Browns credit score: They collected consider in Mayfield's likely, and they've carried out the entirety they'll -- from teaching hires to roster moves -- to keep apart the frail No. 1 total protect shut in a feature to prevail. Now all Mayfield has to enact is ... invent the jump.

The Raiders knew they needed to get extra explosive on offense, and they did no longer mess spherical on the tip of their 2020 draft class. Las Vegas had 5 picks in the first 100 picks of the draft, and they frail three of their first four on large receiver. Enter Henry Ruggs III (12th total), Lynn Bowden Jr. (80th) and Bryan Edwards (81st), additions that give the Raiders' attack an instantaneous shot in the arm. Ruggs -- a speedster with important person likely -- joins running support Josh Jacobs and tight cease Darren Waller to perform a dynamic core spherical Derek Carr. Speaking of Carr, this offseason couldn't be going any better. The crew punted on a Tom Brady pursuit, signed middling Marcus Mariota as his modern competition, then frail the draft so as to add weapons spherical him. The effect a question to now turns into whether the notoriously conservative Carr can ruin away and invent the most of his spoils.

The Broncos appear occupied with turning over the reins of their franchise to quarterback Drew Lock, so it exclusively is excellent to surround the second-year passer with extra authentic skill. Working support Melvin Gordon and guard/center Graham Glasgow had been imported in free agency, and Denver frail the 15th total protect shut on large receiver Jerry Jeudy, who fills an glaring want opposite Courtland Sutton. John Elway wasn't carried out, nonetheless. The GM frail Denver's second protect shut on one other large receiver, this time Penn Express standout KJ Hamler, your classic Undersized Vertical Deep Threat Man (UVDTG). All people needs their very possess Tyreek Hill this bid day. If Elway is appropriate about Lock, the Broncos ought to collected have the option to protect shut their very possess in the high-flying AFC West.

With Joe Douglas responsible, it feels adore the Jets lastly bear a grown-up in the room. The GM has Gargantuan Bowl rings for his contributions to championship teams in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and his intellectual formulation to crew constructing became on display in this draft. Offensive take care of and big receiver had been the two most attention-grabbing needs for Unique York, and Douglas addressed these with his first two picks: LT Mekhi Becton (11th total) and Baylor WR Denzel Mims, who surprisingly slid to the Jets at No. 59. The picks of Becton and fourth-rounder Cameron Clarke capped a whole offseason makeover of the Jets' offensive line, which might perchance also impartial bear 5 modern starters in 2020. Like we seen with the Browns and Baker Mayfield, the Jets had been aggressive in addressing roster issues that held support their prized younger quarterback final season. Now it is on Sam Darnold to steal the subsequent step.

Let's welcome Justin Herbert, who turns into factual the most standard QB prospect to blast away an offseason's value of notebook ledes exclaiming "Team X views Tyrod Taylor as a likely long-term starter." That became never going to be the case in L.A., and the Dolphins eradicated a potentially agonizing decision when they chose Tua Tagovailoa the protect shut before the Bolts hit the clock at No. 6. Herbert is huge -- 6-foot-6 huge -- and has the instruments to be a important person, nonetheless we're told it will also impartial steal time. That makes Taylor the most attention-grabbing in-home technique to protect shut the castle. We will leer how long the Chargers can resist temptation. GM Tom Telesco made extra waves on Thursday night by trading support into the first spherical to land interior linebacker Kenneth Murray, who ought to collected be an instantaneous starter. Successfully, he had better be.

The Cardinals' offseason became made support in March, when GM Steve Keim fleeced Bill O'Brien in the already-legendary DeAndre Hopkins change. Hopkins became a chief addition to the roster, and loads are expecting Kyler Murray to steal a Lamarian twelve months 2 jump on account of the All-Legitimate wideout's arrival. No longer so rapid. A No. 1 large receiver wasn't the exclusively glaring want for Arizona, and passing on a top rate take care of prospect in prefer of uber-talented linebacker Isaiah Simmons with the eighth total protect shut might perchance perchance presumably come support to bite Arizona, especially if third-spherical OT Josh Jones doesn't pan out. Murray became sacked 48 times final year, tied with Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson for the most in football. For certain, Simmons might perchance perchance presumably change into Darius Leonard crossed with Lawrence Taylor, and this blurb will probably be rendered as meaningless as all that Tyrod Taylor copy.

Thanks in worthy segment to the blockbuster Khalil Mack change, which tag the Bears their first- and third-spherical picks in this draft, Chicago exclusively had a pair of picks (two second-rounders) in the first 150 slots. That doesn't invent for uncomplicated crew constructing in what would be a invent-or-ruin year for traditional supervisor Ryan Tempo and coach Matt Nagy. They did land the perceived exclusively tight cease in the class in Notre Dame's Cole Kmet. They wished extra than a mild Jimmy Graham in that positional neighborhood. Seven picks later, the Bears landed cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who might perchance perchance bear of project to initiate on a Chicago protection that would be asked to protect shut this crew as soon as more. With a glamour-free draft class in tow, the purpose of hobby spherical this crew will hasty turn support to Mitchell Trubisky vs. Prick Foles. Undergo in solutions when kicker became the exclusively feature the Bears idea they needed to pain about?

Miami's offseason makeover has been rather an enterprise. The Dolphins spread out their wallets in free agency so as to add a bunch of quality gamers, then frail an worthy draft bounty to infuse an improved roster with younger skill. It starts with Tua Tagovailoa, the fascination of this draft class, and now, the face of the Miami Dolphins. Tua had been linked to the Dolphins since final year -- him being readily available at No. 5 total would be remembered as a franchise-transferring stroke of fortune. The modern quarterback will play in entrance of a modern offensive line, as the Dolphins frail first-, second- and fourth-rounders on blockers. The collection of USC LT Austin Jackson at 18th total became no longer universally adored; in an ultimate world, Jackson is animated to steal on the all-indispensable feature of blind-aspect protector come September. Or no longer it is a modern day in Miami.

[Joe Burrow](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/joseph-burrow?identity=32194255-5267-9731-81c8-48673dcec5e2) has come home. Is he the man who will restore dignity to Who Dey Nation? Or no longer it is been three decades since the [Bengals](/teams/cincinnatibengals/profile?crew=CIN) final obtained a playoff sport, and Burrow is modern off arguably the most attention-grabbing season a college quarterback has ever loved. He became a slam-dunk No. 1 total desire who can change the entirety for one of the most league's without ruin wandering franchises. Every hotshot rookie QB ought to collected be paired with a dynamic younger pass catcher, which is why I loved the gathering of [Tee Higgins](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/tamurice-higgins?identity=32194849-4738-7791-9f89-d556c4b59b9a) with the first protect shut of the second spherical. That is no longer your practical 2-14 crew. The roster has skill and a potentially special rookie passer out entrance. Dawn has arrived.

"We desire to repair this offensive line as soon as and for all," GM Dave Gettleman acknowledged on Thursday night, after the Giants frail the fourth total protect shut on Georgia All-American left take care of Andrew Thomas. The Giants weren't carried out addressing the feature, either: They tabbed UConn take care of Matt Peart with the 99th total protect shut on Friday night. That is all gargantuan news for second-year quarterback Daniel Jones and important person running support Saquon Barkley, who both stand to profit vastly from improved performance up entrance. Safety Xavier McKinney might perchance perchance had been a Day 2 prefer; he joins a protection that frail free agency so as to add cornerback James Bradberry and center linebacker Blake Martinez. That is no longer a Gargantuan Bowl roster, nonetheless it does watch better than final year's. We will secure out if the Giants protect shut ample in 2020 to permit Gettleman to leer this rebuild thru.

The Lions had the worst pass protection in the league final season, so it is exhausting to argue with their decision to keep at No. 3 total and steal Ohio Express standout Jeff Okudah. Okudah and Darius Assassinate would bear made for a killer pairing in the secondary, nonetheless Desmond Trufant is a get second banana if Okudah turns into a important person, as many predict. 2nd-spherical protect shut D'Andre Swift is Detroit's most standard swing for a legit retort at running support. (Are we inching into Curse Of Barry Sanders territory here?) Swift ought to collected add one other dimension to the Lions' passing sport, as well, and Matthew Stafford is no longer any doubt contented with support-to-support guard picks in Rounds 3 and 4. Is there ample here to compete for a playoff keep apart? The jobs of GM Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia can also impartial rely on it.

[Chase Young](https://www.nfl.com/potentialities/whisk-younger?identity=3219594f-5514-6550-d662-263c81d981b1) has *superduperstar* likely, and his option at No. 2 total presents Washington one of the most exclusively defensive traces in football. For a rebuilding crew, that is a gargantuan starting up line. On the flip aspect, the [Trent Williams](/player/trentwilliams/497073/profile) standoff got here to a merciful conclusion when the disgruntled left take care of became [traded to the 49ers](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001111403/article/niners-perform-redskins-take care of-trent-williams-in-change) for a fifth-rounder and a 2021 third-rounder. Williams became on a [Hall of Fame](http://www.profootballhof.com/) trajectory before his gruesome falling out with the crew -- [Redskins](/teams/washingtonredskins/profile?crew=WAS) fans can exclusively hope the organization realized from the fiasco. After Young, Washington frail its subsequent four picks on ability gamers and offensive linemen. This ought to collected support [Dwayne Haskins](/player/dwaynehaskins/2562660/profile), who will get one other shot to uncover himself. Does he bear the merchandise? We will secure out.

The Jaguars are starting over, and the draft targeted on protection on the tip. Cornerback CJ Henderson (No. 9 total) is a a must-bear add to a secondary that lost both Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye over the direction of six months. Ample'Lavon Chaisson, selected 20th total, became one of the most exclusively pass rushers in this class and will bear the void if/when the crew finds a change suitor for Yannick Ngakoue. The Jags did no longer protect shut out a quarterback with any of their 9 picks in the first 5 rounds, extra evidence that Gardner Minshew will get a fleshy-season audition to be The Man. 2020 will probably be an audition for a form of people in Jacksonville.

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junker-town · 5 years

Text

10 winners from Week 6 of the NFL season

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Sam Darnold just needed a serious bout of mono to reach his potential as a quarterback.

There are two undefeated teams left standing through six weeks of the 2019 NFL season. The Patriots and 49ers remain at the top of the league’s pecking order, matched only by the inspired ineptitude of the Bengals and Dolphins on the other side of the spectrum. Cincinnati and Miami, both winless, continued their glass elevator ride to the top of next year’s draft by adding another defeat to a growing list of them.

Twenty-eight teams sit between them with varying postseason hopes. The Seahawks and Saints each made pointed arguments that they belong with the Niners in the NFC’s upper class with wins against the Browns and Jaguars, respectively. The Texans turned their road game in Kansas City into an opportunity by upending the Chiefs and gaining half a game on the bye-week Colts in the AFC South standings.

And a certain team from Georgia continued its rich tradition by melting down late in a soul-crushing game. Am I talking about football? Baseball? College football? Doesn’t matter!

But Week 6’s action was filled with winners that go beyond the final scores. Here are the 10 biggest victors of the week so far.

It wasn’t: the Chiefs, who have to be at least mildly concerned about Patrick Mahomes’ ankle

Mahomes started his Week 6 showdown with the Texans with quite possibly the greatest single-drive passing performance in NFL history. Thanks to four different Chiefs penalties, he was able to throw for 116 yards in the game’s first three minutes.

we are barely 3 minutes into this game and the Chiefs have had the ball once pic.twitter.com/FY5zHPAZpF

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 13, 2019

But the reigning MVP couldn’t come close to sustaining that pace, and a bum ankle may be to blame. Mahomes appeared to re-aggravate the lower leg malady that had limited him this season when he took a big hit in the second quarter. This left him unable to fully step into his throws or easily escape pressure in the pocket, taking away the versatility that makes him so dangerous.

After a stunning start where he averaged 19.3 yards per dropback, Mahomes completed just 51.7 percent of his passes against a Texans defense that was missing Johnathan Joseph and, for the second half, Bradley Roby. Mahomes averaged only 5.4 yards per passing play after that opening drive as Kansas City, watching an early 17-3 lead dissolve into a 31-24 defeat. The Chiefs have now lost two games in a row, and while that’s something this team can overcome, a diminished Mahomes may not be.

Now, on to ...

This week’s actual winners

10. The Dolphins, whose quest for the top overall pick in next year’s draft is still very much intact

Siri, show me the two-point conversion play you’d run when you want to ensure you’ll have the top pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Dolphins two point conversion to win, did not succeed pic.twitter.com/gXSIgdd0p0

— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) October 13, 2019

Ah, perfect. With that Washington win and the Jets’ triumph over the Cowboys, the Dolphins are one of only two winless teams remaining through six weeks of the 2019 season. Those two teams play in Miami in Week 16. Tickets will not be expensive.

9. Jets defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who may not be a Jet much longer

Williams has seen his value in New York fluctuate wildly since entering the league as the sixth overall pick in 2015. He had seven sacks in a Pro Bowl sophomore season, then just seven sacks in his next 37 games with the Jets. He only has four quarterback hits in five games this fall.

That hasn’t scared off other teams from floating trade possibilities to New York’s brain trust:

Sources: Multiple teams have called the Jets to inquire about the availability of DE Leonard Williams.https://t.co/IPMwsSyc6S

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2019

The Jets got their biggest (and only) win of the season Sunday when they upended the Cowboys — more on that later — but at 1-4 they still have an uphill climb just to get into the wild card discussion. Williams badly needs to revive his value as a player with free agency looming in 2020. It doesn’t look like he’ll be able to do that with an uneven Jets franchise. Unless he gets traded to Washington, Miami, or Cincinnati, a new team would be a win for him.

8. Everyone who didn’t have to watch Titans-Broncos Sunday afternoon

Tennessee and Denver combined for 15 drives in the first half. All but four ended in punts.

Gross. Sunday’s game was a major win for any remaining Ryan Tannehill fans, however. He was inserted into the lineup with five minutes left in the third quarter to replace an entirely ineffective Marcus Mariota behind center. He drove Tennessee into Denver territory in three of his four drives.

And he scored zero points in a 16-0 loss.

7. Lamar Jackson, who is usually on this list for his aerial exploits ...

But not today. While he was a perfectly acceptable passer (21-of-33, 236 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs), Sunday’s win over the Bengals was a function of his still-impressive ground game.

Lamar Jackson’s career-high 152 rushing yards during Ravens 23-17 win over Bengals are the fourth-most by a QB in a game in NFL history, including the postseason. Jackson joins Colin Kaepernic as the 2nd QB to record at least 200 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in an NFL game

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 14, 2019

Jackson now has 460 rushing yards in 2019, putting him on pace for a 1,200+ yard campaign. Michael Vick’s single-season rushing yard record for a quarterback is currently 1,039 yards — and Vick seems pretty hyped about Jackson’s odds of eclipsing him in the NFL.

6. Stefon Diggs, who the Vikings absolutely should not trade

The Vikings made no attempt to hide the fact they were going to involve Diggs heavily in their offense against the Eagles, giving him the ball three times in their first six plays. Despite this, the Eagles steadfastly refused to even consider double-covering him.

This was a tremendously bad idea.

Weeks 1, 3 5: Vikings forget they have Stefon Diggs on their roster Week 6: Eagles forget Vikings have Stefon Diggs on their roster (4 catches, 135 yards, 2 TDs in ~ 20 minutes of game time) pic.twitter.com/5vW2xWmAlo

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 13, 2019

Diggs repeatedly roasted the Eagles’ half-assed man-to-man coverage en route to seven catches, 167 yards, and a career-high three touchdowns (a fourth was only stopped by pass interference in the end zone). Minnesota and its revitalized offense improved to 4-2, remaining undefeated at home in the process.

5. The Saints’ defense, which made mustaches and headbands slightly less fashionable in Jacksonville

The Jaguars had surged the past three weeks under rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. The mustachioed gunslinger had built a reputation as one of the league’s most promising young arms after throwing six touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last three starts, going 2-1 in the process.

His biggest test of 2019 came Sunday, and the NFC’s most complete team made sure he failed it. New Orleans stopped Jacksonville’s offense in every phase of the game in a 13-6 win, limiting the Jags to an inefficient 4.1 yards per play and coming up with Minshew’s first interception as a starter in the process.

The first INT for Minshew as a starter comes at the hands of @shonrp2 #Saints | #NOvsJAX pic.twitter.com/wm4ORJFzP7

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 13, 2019

New Orleans also shut down Leonard Fournette, who came into Week 6 as the league’s third-leading rusher. He needed 20 carries to gain just 72 yards as Jacksonville was held without a touchdown for the first time this season.

4. Kyler Murray, who absolutely looked like the No. 1 overall pick

Here’s Murray’s box score through three drives against the Falcons:

As impressive as that was, Murray took those numbers to new heights by spreading those 10 catches across eight different targets. Starting wide receiver Christian Kirk’s absence failed to throw a wrench in the rookie’s development, as he took advantage of Atlanta’s scattershot defense to carve up the NFC’s most depressing team.

Murray finished his day with career highs in total yards (372, with 340 through the air), yards per pass (9.2), and passer rating (128.2, topping his previous best of 90.5) en route to a 34-33 home victory. At 2-3-1, the Cardinals now just one win away from besting last year’s record — though with their only triumphs coming against the 1-5 Falcons and 0-6 Bengals, it’s tough to take their playoff hopes too seriously.

3. The Patriots’ defense/special teams, which is papering over any concerns about Tom Brady’s slow decline

Through six games, the Patriots have scored two touchdowns on blocked punt returns. That’s one more touchdown than opponents have scored through the air against their league-best passing defense.

New England has returned to its early Bill Belichick roots, fielding a dominant defense to prop up a good, but not great (at least so far in 2019) quarterback. That group has allowed three touchdowns in six weeks, which is excellent. It’s also scored three touchdowns in six weeks, which is insane.

Meanwhile, Brady has shown signs of mortality in recent weeks. He threw red zone interceptions in Weeks 4 and 5 that wiped out scoring opportunities. His inability to feel his pocket collapsing around him on Thursday night led to a sack and fumble return touchdown that also cost him his top receiving threat — Josh Gordon was injured making a goal-line tackle on the play.

A leaky offensive line hasn’t helped the 42-year-old so far this fall. Isaiah Wynn’s return to injured reserve pushed Marshall Newhouse, signed off the street in September, into the starting lineup at left tackle. He’s effective in spurts, but also prone to brain farts that leave his comparatively elderly quarterback vulnerable to big hits:

Marshall Newhouse gets beat, holds his man, gives up a sack anyway Pats really, really need Isaiah Wynn to get healthy pic.twitter.com/qTuLEBE9f5

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 11, 2019

New England is 6-0 after beating opponents by an average score of 32 to 8. But those wins came against only one club with a winning record, and there are plenty of questions left for the Patriots’ to answer. Fortunately for them, 2019’s most dominant defense has plenty of answers.

2. 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who made the Rams look like a Sun Belt team

Through 80 percent — 48 minutes — of a showdown with the Rams in Los Angeles, the Niners had held the defending NFC champs and their explosive offense to 14 net passing yards. LA took its first drive of the game 56 yards for a touchdown, then saw four of its next six drives end in negative yardage against a San Francisco defense that had 15 men on the field at all times — or, at least it seemed that way. The Rams averaged 6.0 yards per play coming into Sunday. They gained 3.1 yards per play against the Niners.

That defensive mastery wasn’t limited to harassing Jared Goff into bad decisions with pocket-crumpling pressure. San Francisco swallowed up a Todd Gurley-less running game with regularity, leaving the Rams few avenues to success.

Another huge stop as the defense holds the Rams on 4th & 1 #BeatLA pic.twitter.com/WTd0t99BTz

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 13, 2019

The Rams didn’t convert a single third- or fourth-down attempt, and they had 13 damn tries. One such stop — a goal-line stand on fourth down in the middle of a 7-7 game — made Saleh absolutely lose his mind on the sideline.

Goff had more sacks taken (four) than he had passes for a first down (one). LA gained 157 total yards in its most anemic performance in the Sean McVay era. Now his team is 2.5 games behind the 49ers in the NFC West standings, and Saleh deserves much of the credit for that hot start. Head coach Kyle Shanahan recognized that, too; he allowed Saleh to take over his postgame presser and field questions about his dominance Sunday night.

The Rams will have a shot at revenge against San Francisco, but it won’t come until a Week 16 date in Santa Clara.

1. Sam Darnold, who somehow got better after getting mono

Darnold missed three games this season thanks to a bout with mononucleosis and the enlarged spleen that comes with it. This was ultimately very fortunate for the Jets, because the spleen is where football talent is stored.*

The second-year quarterback roared back to relevance to roast the Cowboys in his triumphant return to the field. His 338 passing yards were the second-most of his blossoming NFL career and nearly double the 175-yard performance he put together in a Week 1 come-from-ahead loss to the Bills. His 10.6 yards per pass was the highest single-game mark he’s ever recorded.

That included the longest play from scrimmage in the NFL so far in 2019:

That sun staying out late tonight.@youngamazing9 | #DALvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/miBD7ZC1ca

— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 13, 2019

Darnold was solid for all 60 minutes Sunday, with the exception of a third-quarter interception that erased a scoring opportunity. He completed two of his three pass attempts for 48 yards in New York’s last meaningful drive of the game, leading to a 38-yard Sam Ficken field goal that served as the winning points in a 24-22 win.

The Jets may be 1-4 on the season, but they’re a .500 team with Darnold behind center — and if this version shows up every week, New York may finally have found the franchise quarterback it’s been looking for since, uh, Chad Pennington? Ken O’Brien? Maybe Joe Namath?

*citation needed. I am not a doctor.

0 notes

ualscout · 5 years

Text

Captain's Log: No One

I did roughly 8 hours of field research for this project. If that doesn’t show how hyped I was, I don’t know what does.

We were told to go to the British Museum to take notes and sketches of artifacts that interested us. We’d then incorporate our research into our first animatic by centering/including the artifact in a story. The British Museum is a pretty fukken big museum, host to artifacts from cultures all over the world. I was gonna be there a while.

My first area of interest was the Ancient Egypt section. Even thought it was packed, I took a lot of sketches and notes on stuff I could picture as the centerpiece of a story- a means of congregating or hosting. For instance, a lot of libations bowls that would be used by many people a day who visited a temple took my interest, or the towering sarcophagi that looked way too big for only one person. I initially didn’t want the artifact to become the character, but to assist the characters interacting with it. That way, I could tell a story around it.

My next stop was the Ancient Greece section. As a kid, I knew everything about greek mythos. It’s a religion not only with multiple gods, but fatally flawed gods is so interesting to me. I took a lot of notes, but most of the notes ended up being around the story as opposed to the aesthetic of the artifact. The Greeks shared an area with the Romans, so I took some notes there as well. I moved onto Ancient Asia. There was a lot of interesting material, I liked to look at the jade crystal carvings and imagine the cronch from biting down on one. They had interesting masks, but not too much stood out to me in there. As I spent more time in the museum, the more monotonous everything got. I don’t think it’s the cultures being repetitive, but it does show how humanity fixates on very similar topics, even beyond cultural barriers. Kind of like parallel evolution. Where I really started to find my spark was Ancient Europe and Scandinavia. Aesthetically and mythologically, I love vikings. Pagan traditions are really cool as well, it all just seems so foreign to me (we don’t learn much about it in American schools). Stuff was interesting me again, but nothing was really catching my eye… Until I was being ushered out of the museum at closing time. I saw a deer skull, the antlers still attached, with holes drilled in.

It was from Star Carr. Made of red deer skull, it served as a headpiece and is among the oldest evidences of shamanic religion. It seemed so unsettling in an ancient and earthy way on its own, the idea of someone wearing it intrigued me. Coming home, I started on three base ideas to bring into class. The first was using an ancient viking mirror as a gateway between an eldritch horror and a young adult who’s distant grandmother just passed away and received the mirror as inheritance… except the eldritch horror acts like an elderly guy with clearly racist beliefs but trying to seem like he doesn’t. They talk by fogging up the mirror and writing.

The second was two people arguing over who would win in a fight: a person on horseback or a centaur. Inspired by the fact that any times centaurs are featured in art, they’re always fighting a human. Even after writing a rough script for it, I don’t know who would win.

The last idea was using the mask I found. I liked the idea of it holding an ancient spirit tasked with protecting a humanity that has long since forgotten its existence. I also liked the idea of it being able to possess other living creatures. Not sure if I wanted it to be horror or not, but it would certainly be unsettling. You can probably tell which idea I went with.

Today, we wrote a script. This is the only area I have any expertise in. My script ended up being 10 or so pages of screen direction and character building, but I finished the dialogue as well.

The story follows three hikers who venture into some Scandinavian woods on a backpacking trip. Haak is the most serious and the leader, he has the most survival skills out of the group. Maya is the prankster of the crew, but is just as experienced as Haak. Robyn is the physically weakest character, often scared by everything and unnerved by the surroundings. The characters leave their car and enter the woods, but not before trying to make sense of the cryptic writing on the worn and torn trailhead. Robyn is the only one who seems to pay any mind to it. As the group start, a narrator that could be Robyn starts speaking about “tales for a trip through the woods.” The tips start out as actual advice one would use for a backpacking trip, like packing extra food and always having a map, but slowly get more cryptic and unsettling. The characters make their way through the assortment of settings in the woods, focusing more on the nature around them instead of what the group is doing. As the tips get more cryptic, saying stuff like “it may seem like the trees are following you, they’re just keeping an eye on you” and “be grateful you don’t know what’s under the dirt, pray you never find out,” the forest seems to retaliate against the characters. For instance, they get lost and double cross an area they’ve already been in, get haunted by the eyes on the birch trees, and more. Eventually, it all leads up to a normal bear attack being an Ursa Major, a bear with stars in its pelt and no need to hold a solid corporeal form. Haak and Maya get struck down by the bear after supposedly subduing it. As it’s coming for Robyn, Robyn backs up into the form that was following from beginning. The head is out of shot, but it puts a strange headpiece on Robyn, and allows Robyn to fight back against the bear. Once the fight is over, Robyn is faced with the ancient spirit who saved them- a towering, scraggly figure made of twigs and forest materials. It’s creepy to look at, and was framed at the start to be the creature tormenting the group. The creature reaches out and touches Robyn’s forehead, using their body to say verbally “no one believes in you, you should believe in yourself, too.” In Robyn’s voice. The next scene happens where the group dropped the car off, Haak blinking back to consciousness. Somehow, Robyn saved them, and Haak passes out again knowing they’ll be okay. Help arrives as Robyn looks back at No One for the final time as the spirit disappears into the forest.

The idea is how humans have interacted with and continue to interact with nature. The reality is the forest provides, but it does not protect. People putting faith in the old gods to protect them is a tradition long dead with history, but the idea of this god still holding onto life for the soul purpose of protecting those who may wander into its domain is a very human story, even if it’s behind a creepy mask with origins we don’t entirely understand. It’s inspired by my love of hiking and nature, I actually work in the summer as a camp counselor at a ranch that takes our campers backpacking on the weekends. Each of the human characters show some kind of recurring theme I see in the people I go on these hikes with, and some are named after them. I think drawing the sets and characters for this will be pretty fun, I look forward to it.

Character design is up next. I started with Robyn, the rest of the characters would follow in style.

I wanted Robyn to have a very childish look, but not dumb childish. Like a smart bookworm who has no idea how to survive outside a library, much less civilization. However, Robyn couldn’t look like they thrived in society either. They should be a shy nerd who’s out of their element everywhere, not just in the wild, which just makes being in the outdoors that much more terrible. I also wanted Robyn to come off as genderless so anyone could relate to them. The story isn’t about their gender or age (even though in cannon the characters are in college/university/living on their own, but the style still makes them look like children… oh well) it’s about the forest and how they interact with it.

I had a hard time getting a grip on the style I wanted, everything seemed so forced and I was never happy with what I drew. I kept erasing and redoing and changing without keeping anything. About halfway through the day, I was still only half a character sketch page done and feeling quite hopeless. I realized I was trying to be perfect on a sheet that wasn’t supposed to be. It Sucked… but I figured out the style I wanted. The t-shirt and swishy basketball shorts is the epitome of beginner hiker attire. I stopped caring so much about the quality of the drawings and just started drawing action poses.

The next most important character would be No One. I had a lot more fun playing with No One’s design, probably because I didn’t have to make it look human. I wanted to make them look imposing, scary, but made of the environment. Like, with clothes of moss and litchin. Almost stitched together. I played with making them tall, wider, hunched over, in layers. The hardest choice I had to make was the horn shape. I pulled a lot of references from different horned creatures even though the original skull was a red deer.

Eventually, I came up with final designs for both. I made up Haak and Maya while storyboarding, their designs were simple and based on real people, like their personalities. No worries ‘bout that. Their character models followed the base Robyn’s exploration found.

Next, storyboarding. I spent so much goddamn time in storyboarding. Not too much happened, but I did like plotting out everything. I realized I can pretty easily plot out the setting and where the characters are in relation to each other then manipulate the camera as needed. Pretty nifty. The only problem is 1. Im bad at drawing and 2. Drawing the same thing over and over again kinda sucks. I spent a lot of time designing the varying backgrounds the characters would walk through and played with how the forest would interact with them. For instance, what if a path suddenly changed or wasn’t visible on the second cross through? What if you could see the reflections of eyes in the cave shadows before the characters entered?

The idea originally started over the summer. I was hiking through a birch forest and noticed the markings on the white bark looked a lot like eyes… what if they were watching while you passed by? I let this fuel my imagination and inspire the script. I liked playing with where mystery or malice could hide in the forest, which is a lot of places. Sure, people generally feel threatened by the animals, but the terrain is arguably more dangerous. I didn’t want to introduce a wildlife enemy until the climax, or it would just make it less impactful. If a wild animal is revealed to be evil, it gives another face to the force tormenting them, which takes away from the little cameo No One gets at the start.

Nothing really important happened over the storyboarding period. Just little epiphanies. I realized I got better at drawing the characters and much quicker at it as time went on. I spent a lot of time editing shots and order, which is why the storyboards are messy AF. Made me feel kind of self conscious because everyone at my table had works of art for storyboards, but whatever. They’re supposed to be tools. I also made the very stupid choice to go over every single goddamn board in digital. It was hell. Next time, I’ll probably do everything digitally…

Capturing audio was hard not only because of the location but because of the season. For instance, I need cricket sounds, nature sounds, car sounds (that I could control), and quiet crisp sounds. Too bad I go to school and live on a street that’s triangulated by a fire station, police station, and hospital. And everyone seems to be lighting things on fire, getting crimed, or dying.

I got what sounds I could, but I had a fun time recording with everyone. It was the first time the class was forced out of their comfort zones and made to talk to the people outside their tables. It was a welcome change and I met some cool people. We would talk about what sounds we needed in our stories and whenever we realized how to get that sound it was a group epiphany with excitement. Too bad nowhere in Camberwell is quiet.

Instead of having one of them narrate my lines, I just did them myself at home with my own microphone. It was just easier because I knew what tone I wanted this character to be. In terms of pitch, I just edited it in Audacity. The quality of it didn’t matter, because it wasn’t supposed to be exactly human. I played with it being lower pitched, but if I wanted to make it seem like Robyn was the real narrator, I would need it to be higher. It sounds pretty close to what I wanted- hollow, indifferent, but all-knowing and wise beyond the years the voice should belong to.

I knew from the start I wanted one of two songs in the soundtrack, even though Joe said no songs… sorry, but I envisioned it with this music, it wasn’t structured around it but it was structured with it. Both are the instrumentals behind the songs, so there’s no words, but I did make a playlist of music I wanted to inspire this animatic with at the start. Both songs were at the top. The first song is “Welcome Home, Son” by Radical Face. It’s got a steady beat, good organic guitar, piano, and what sounds like bells. It’s got a REI feel to it (and I’m realizing now that you don’t know what REI is, probably… but I’m keeping the comparison because it’s true) which is kind of like adventuring somewhere greater than yourself, understanding the greatness of it, being slightly scared of it. Like you’re on a quest with no destination. Like facing the mortality and insignificance of yourself in this vast and wondrous world, but instead of fleeing in fear or rejecting the fear, accepting it and finding a home in it. The background vocals add to the feeling of humanity that’s not quite ‘human’ but when tested it tended to mess up the dialogue. The sound of bells and wind chimes was nice, like a feeling of emptiness or forgotten home. Just all around a great song. Also there’s a wind sound effect, like it’s blowing through the trees outside the mouth of a cave. I just think it’s neat and put it at the beginning.

The other song was “New Slang” by The Shins. It has a similar feeling to “Welcome Home, Son” but not quite as adventurous. Much like the song lyrics say, “Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth, only I don’t know how they got out, dear…” it’s about returning home with a bittersweet feeling, somewhere you don’t quite belong, but desperately want to. The simple guitar strumming and bass feel melancholy, and the calm electric guitar (never thought I’d say that pair of words together) just make it seem like an amble through the old woods in the backyard of your childhood home, visiting the old treehouse, and sitting in it alone as you remember back to when you weren’t alone in it and much smaller. The simplicity of the song adds less of a dramatic tone and a more organic and realistic one. It’s also more comforting than “Welcome Home, Son” due to less swells and changes in the sounds. It also has background vocals, but they’re much more human and less dramatic, they almost sound like a mourning wolf separated from his pack, but his calls go unanswered. The thing is the runtime is 1/2 that of “Welcome Home, Son”… The middle section, when edited, made up about 4 minutes.

youtube

I played with both and enjoyed both results a lot. The music starts as they enter the forest and the narration starts, following them as they go on their adventure. It’s supposed to show that time’s passing like a montage, but also ends up showing how the danger is real and haunting when Ursa Major awakens in the bear.

My biggest issue while editing the animatic was sound design after the music cuts out. It ends at the perfect moment and even follows the story beats of the end, but after that I just had the haunting silence of the forest and the sound of the nature around the characters in which I had to put a dramatic fight scene. I didn’t want to bring the music back until No One revealed themselves to Robyn to show the connection had finally been made, but the fight scene between Robyn and Ursa Major was so empty… It felt like I was just layering bear grunts and damage sounds over dynamic shots, but it wasn’t translating as tense, it was just awkward. I also had trouble with selecting what sounds were real. Robyn doesn’t make any verbal sound, the only sound to come from Robyn is their footfalls and how they interact with the environment. I should have made more steady rules with how Robyn and the other characters are present outside of the middle montage.

Actually while I’m writing this I realized I could restart the music and have it cut back out once No One takes back their face… fuck.

So, what did I learn from this? That I storyboarded way too fucking much and made way too many fucking characters. I was told all throughout diagnostic to be free and reach for the stars, especially in communication, but the reality is in trying to tell the story I wanted I ended up drowning myself in work.

I really loved writing this story, though. That’s my favorite part of anything. Writing is the ONLY skill I have over everyone else, and I WILL flex on everyone when I get the chance. It was just too big of a story for right now. I mean, I got everything from a single deer skull, it didn’t seem like much at the time… Maybe when I’m better at all of this, I’ll revisit it and make it more like I pictured in my head. I felt like epiphanies kept coming to me as I was writing the script, but as time went on and I had to plan it, I would get too caught up in the details. I love preproduction though. Like, a lot. That’s for sure my favorite part of making animation and film. Just figuring out where everything goes and how it all works together is just so satisfying and I really enjoy it. A bonus is it doesn’t have to look like Perfect Art, either. The fact that it doesn’t look perfect is one of my greatest insecurities, but it’s something I’ll have to get over, and it’s easier to get over it if it’s forgivable/expected. I know once we do actual animation, it’ll just be harder to make longer stories and I won’t know how to cut down on it all… but whatever. I’ve always had a problem writing too much, so that’s just something I’ll have to learn to manage. I’ll try and do better next time. I was really tempted to make this a comedy, like I always do, but I didn’t. I made something serious for once, and it didn’t end up as I imagined, but it got close enough.

That’s a victory Royale.

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mydeerfriend · 7 years

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Read Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 2

~Roger~

Where had he put…? Ah!

Roger reached for the stack of papers piled up on his desk and pulled a thin brown folder out from between it with exaggerated care. The pile swayed alarmingly and he froze, but to his relief it settled down again. He let out the breath he had been holding and leaned back in his chair - in the process dislodging a stack of books balancing precariously on the edge of his desk that tumbled to the floor with a crash.

The American lass had been right then, it was definitely not his day.

Roger crouched down next to his desk to examine the books carefully, but they didn’t seem much damaged - thank god - most of them belonged to Dr. Linklater or the college library. He was gathering them into his arms when a knock sounded on his door.

“Mr. Wakefield?”

Startled, Roger shot up from his position on the floor and banged his head on the rim of the desk. He dropped the books on the table and clutched the back of his head, groaning, his eyes squeezed shut tightly. “Come in!” he called, sounding miserable to his own ears, so he straightened up and tried to look like he hadn’t been bashing his head in only seconds before.

The door opened and a tall girl with long red hair slipped in. She closed the door behind her and turned around. His blurry vision began to clear and he recognized her as the American girl that had run into him in the hallway. At the same moment, she shrank back - presumably because she had recognized him as the one who had spilled coffee on his shirt because she had crashed into him. Or maybe she had been taken aback by his punchline. I’m not an Englishman, I’m a Scot. Really, who says that kind of thing?

“Oh, it’s you,” she said faintly. “You’re assigned to be my guidance teacher for my stay and I came by to introduce myself, but I can just come back later - or never,” she muttered under her breath, probably not meant for him to hear - “if you’re … busy.” She looked like she wanted nothing more than to blend into the wall.

“Oh, no no no, come in!” he exclaimed hastily with a quick look at the mess he had made of his desk. “I was just researching … something.”Oh god, what was it that made him so tongue-tied around her?

He came out from behind his desk and offered her his hand. “Roger Wakefield. Dr. Linklater said you would come by. Can I help you with anything?”

She took his hand and shook it firmly. “Brianna Randall. Well, I wanted to introduce myself and make a good impression, but that’s out of the question now, isn’t it?” she cocked her head questioningly.

She was tall for a girl, probably the tallest girl he’d ever met, but she seemed anything but self-conscious about it. Most striking about her - apart from the unusual colour of her hair, of course - was the easy elegance with which she carried herself and the promise of strength that lay beneath it, like that of a wildcat ready to pounce. The strong bones of her face positively radiated fierceness and could have belonged to a viking marauder of old - but then perhaps they had. He realized he had been staring a second too long and cleared his throat.

“Please, have a seat.”

He made an inviting gesture and was glad that he could withdraw behind his desk, the room had become stifling and he could feel himself begin to sweat under the thick woolen jumper he was wearing - but that had been the only article of clothing to be found in his office.

Roger tried to open the window inconspicuously and then settled in his own chair. “Do you need help with any of the formalities? Have you signed up for all the classes you want to take? Are you content with the accommodation?”

She contemplated that for a moment. “Hm, no, I think everything is arranged so far, thank you. My flat is really small, but my roommate is nice. She’s in her second semester so she promised to show me around a bit.”

“Very well then,” he paused for a moment. “Do you have any of my classes by chance? I’ll give a lecture about Weaponry and Warfare in the Middle Ages and one about Politics and Religion behind the Jacobite Risings.”

He couldn’t decide if he should wish for it or not. He was undeniably fascinated by Brianna Randall, but maybe it was better to nip any hint of an infatuation in the bud.

And how should he give any coherent instruction in class when she was around?

“Oh yes, I took the one on the Jacobite Risings!” she declared enthusiastically. “My father is a history professor as well and he always told me stories about it since it’s one of his specialities. He even researched one of our ancestors who actually fought in the battle of Culloden, a British captain of dragoons.”

“Aye, a good many of my ancestors fought on that battlefield too - on the other side, obviously. Don’t worry, I don’t feel quite so personal about it as some, but I haven’t forgotten, either,*” he added when he sensed her worry if she had offended him.

Then he remembered what she had said a moment before and the pieces fell into place. “Randall!” he exclaimed suddenly with so much vigour that it made Brianna flinch. “Your father is Frank Randall! I knew the name seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. Maybe you don’t - do you remember the Reverend Wakefield? He is - was - my late adoptive father.”

Her eyes grew round with surprise.

“Oh yes, I remember him! Daddy always got excited about his letters. I’m sorry to hear he has passed.”

“Aye, t’was almost a year ago now - his heart just stopped beating.” He swallowed back the feeling of loss and desolation that threatened to overwhelm him whenever he dwelled on the matter. Instead, he focused his attention back on her and earnestly said “Thank you.”

They smiled at each other cordially and a feeling of warmth settled in his stomach like he had finally found someone that he hadn’t known he’d missed. Roger averted his eyes at last and cleared his throat.

“So… if there is anything I can help you with, you know where to find me, aye?” he said awkwardly and stood up.

“Sure. Thanks for the offer, Mr. Wakefield.”

They shook hands again and Brianna made her way to the door, but she paused halfway and turned back to him.

“I’m really sorry about the whole thing - maybe I could buy you a coffee sometime?” Then she hurried outside without waiting for an answer and the door closed behind her, leaving him staring after her in bewilderment.

Had she just…?

*direct line from DiA (because they sometimes just pop into my head and I can’t get rid of them ;)

Thanks again to @takemeawaytocamelot and @bonnie-wee-swordsman !

#outlander #fanfic #roger wakefield #brianna randall #rogerxbrianna #autumn leaves #college au

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speckeh · 7 years

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2017 Book List

BACK AT IT AGAIN. JUMP IN THE CAR!!! I’M STILL READING A SHIT TON OF BOOKS!!!!

1. How It Works: The Cat. 2.5/5 stars. I read this at a book store in Bergen because my brother laughed while he read it. I picked it up and it was ok?? I don’t understand why people who write about cats always, ALWAYS talk about how much of an asshole they are and how they don’t truly love you. And I just sit there like, have you ever owned a fucking cat??? Some parts of the book was super cute but I hate the trope that cats are “assholes.” yeah they’re dicks sometimes. But they’re not assholes 24/7 unless you’re an asshole to your cat.

2. The Greenest Island. 3.5/5 stars. This is another small book that I’ve been meaning to read for a couple of months now. It was pretty interesting and like Mrs. Dalloway I read last year, I’m not sure if I want to sell it or keep it. It’s beautifully written, the story is strong, but some of the characterization is just sort of annoying. Like I get that it’s a very real sensation and issue a young couple who get pregnant WAY TOO SOON without knowing each other. But only a man would think of something so drastic as the end in reference to raising a child.

3. Letters for Lucardo: 5/5 stars. I saw this comic advertised early in 2016 and I’ve been watching the project closely. I help funding the gofundme and I bought a download and a signed copy of the physical book. The story about a 60 year old man falling in love with a Vampire stuck at the age of 36 was SO INTRIGUING plus the artist had a webcomic which I absolutely adored so I knew not only would the art be excellent but the storyline would be solid. This is one of four volumes and I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. The story line was so cute, the art was beautiful, the smut was *mwah* beautiful. But the best part was that it left me wanting for me and I can’t WAIT until the next three volumes are here. Support your local tumblr artist and enjoy some gay vampire storylines with well drawn wrinkly aging men. 10/10, 100/100 please read and enjoy.

4. A Special Study Set of Fine Art Reproductions. 4/5 stars. A little black spiral bound book of black and white copies of famous art works. It’s cute, it’s a good bite sized art book to get the gist of Western Art history. I knocked it down because the art pieces are in black and grey when I know for a FACT some art pieces are in color. So that was a bummer. But overall a nice rendition of some of the classics.

5. Alphonse Mucha: Masterworks. 5/5 stars. I bought this book probably 2 years ago? I’m in a reading funk right now and flipping through art books seems pretty doable. This book is chalked full of history of Mucha while I will read later. But the art quality is excellent, the sizes are big enough to view with pleasure. This is a excellent excellent book full of his art work. I love it. It makes me feel better for the fact I’ve only been drawing girls for the last year because I love drawing delicate features and strong women. If Mucha can just draws women for most of his career, I don’t have to feel guilty in only drawing women for a year.

6. Assassin’s Creed: A Visual History. 5/5 stars. Ok I’m going to repeat this over and over again. But I’m such a fan of the AC series, even if the latest editions have been a u t t e r let down. But I have to admit flipping through this book I got emotional. AC was such a fun series for me when I started and it helped me through a manic depression I had after a very serious illness almost 3 years ago. I don’t pretend the history is accurate or the plot lines are all there, but they means so much to me. As a history lover to the point I’m getting a Minor in college in history. I’ll always enjoy my AC games, no matter how cringe worthy and disappointing some of them end up becoming. Shout out to my boys (and girls) of the assassin creed order. <3

7. The Art of Howl’s Moving Castle: 5/5 stars. I’ve had this book for a long time, when my childhood best friend and I would hang out nearly every day and sleep overs every weekend. She gave me this book a few months after I watched Howl’s Moving Castle because I was so enchanted by the movie. Howl’s Moving Castle is a favorite movie, book, and soundtrack. This art concept book is beautiful, it’s like a novelization of the movie without any dialogue. The back is the FULL script, there’s concept art, and fully fledged art story boards. If you’re a big fan of Howl’s Moving Castle, this is a great book to have in your library.

8. Tango! The Dance, The Song, The Story. 5/5 stars. My father lived in Argentina for awhile so he would make dishes growing up of delicious food. I love the tango, it’s so beautiful and down right seductive. So of course finding this book for 4 dollars I had to have it. It has photography, drawings, posters, female tango singers, the history of the tango. It’s chalked full of excellent information and it’s really enjoyable to flip through.

9. Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics. 5/5 stars. I bought this book for my birthday last year because it was absolutely silly. It features “Cat Artists” and their aesthetics and their art pieces. Warning there are mummified cats in the beginning of the book which can be upsetting. This book is really goofy and the people who write it are serious but in a fun way? It’s a great book to read like today when I’m stuck in the house because of bad weather and having my own two cats it makes me curious to see if I could make my kiddos paint like those kitties in the book.

10. Life: The Classic Collection. 5/5 stars. A decent sized photography book of the most recognizable Life photographs. Not to forget there are 25 extra prints available for you in the book you can take out and frame. I love editorial photography and seeing the most iconic photos throughout the century. Idk man if you like photography and Life Magazine this is a great book to have.

11. Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th century. 5/5 stars. Beautiful book. Beautiful clothes.

12. The Pharos Gate. 4.5/5 stars. I saw this book at Barnes and Noble early in 2016 and the intrigue had me thinking about it for awhile. I bought it for christmas, waiting to read it in right time. Early on this week I went to my favorite second hand book store and found out it had 3 books before this one. The Pharos Gate is the final book in a series but it can be read by itself. To be honest I think if I had to read the three books before this I would have become bored. That’s three books worth of people trying to find each other but keep missing connections, that’s infuriating. But this book was lovely and the letter writing kind of reminds me of the letters my best friend and I send to one another. She just went back to school and I think she would really enjoy this book so I’m going to send it to her with my own letter attached. I think she’ll like that.

13. Pirateology. 4/5 stars. These series were my SHIT as a kid. Dragonolgy, Greek Myths, Pirateology. While Hastings went under and into ruins, I found this book for super super cheap. I have certain niches I love to learn/read/aesthetic. Regency, 1950s murder mystery (Looking at you 007), Westerns, weird vintage novels, and pirates. I love the history the book gives you, but as an adult the information is sort of lacking. This is a book definitely for kids, the plot line throughout the guide book is meh it’s ok but it doesn’t capture you, and the interactive bits are the best. I just wish there was more about specific pirates but other than those complaints this is a great book.

14. Viking Poetry: Of Love and War. 5/5 stars. I went to Norway for New Years and I didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs. I mostly bought key chains. I think I only bought two books, maybe even just the one. I bought this viking poetry at THE famous viking ship in Oslo. It was very very cool. I read this book today because I don’t feel well, I want to go to bed but I know I shouldn’t. I have too much homework to do but I’m not motivated to read. The viking poems are unique as they are pretty. I was sometimes disappointed they didn’t have great rhyming schemes but you have to remember these were written in various old languages and then translated into modern day English. If you want to read what the vikings considered poetry, this is a great introduction without reading the giant lores.

15. The Elements of Style: 5/5 stars. Oh my god it’s been so long I completely forgot what my book tag was. February has been crazy for me. I got a internship, I dropped a class because of stress, I’ve been stressed out like crazy, I’ve been doing a lot of school work. I felt like I’ve had no time to read for pleasure. I actually didn’t read this book for please (half pleasure) but for work. It was actually a lot of fun. We studied this book in AP Literature when I was a senior in highschool and I wanted to have it for myself as a writer, but also it’s excellent for my ambitions to become an editor. The writing is a little hard, sometimes I’d read a whole page without really absorbing what was on it. But it was interesting and you can read White’s frustration with writers with certain rules they ignored. I actually loved the add on V chapter by Strunk which said that English rules are extremely important but take in mind the language of your time and how you write. Your voice is important. Which I found very important and also felt like an eye opener with Editing for my job. I’ve been wary of making sure not to change anyone’s voice but also trying to keep with proper English rules. It’s been a lot of fun.

16. The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher: 5/5 stars. This book took me me almost 2 full months to read. I’ve been so busy. I first started reading this book before my trip to Norway, took it all the way across Europe, back and I finally finally finished it today. I don’t know why it took me so long? I absolutely loved it. I played Witcher 3 last semester and really really loved the story line and characters. My sister-in-law loves the books so I gave it a try! I would definitely recommend this book if you like spins on fairytales and medieval magical worlds. I had a lot of fun but I’m glad I can finally pick a new book.

17. Shackleton: Antartic Odyssey: 4/5 stars. Today has been a recovery day and I’m, emotionally dead/it comes in waves. So I spent like 5 hours in a bath today and read this comic. The art is really good, the story is super intriguing! I was in Norway this last December and we went to a arctic ship museum because Norway was the first to reach the South Pole. But the author even said himself the comic needs to be at least 300 pages but his hand would fall off. And I wish he did do 300 pages. The story was short and choppy. I know it’s selfish, but as a reader I wish he did do his main goal because he had the perfect art style for this comic. Either way, I did enjoy.

18. Creole Folktales: 5/5 stars. If you love mythology, this book is pretty great. If you love Louisiana, black folklore, this book is pretty great. It doesn’t have 5 stars on amazon or goodreads because I think people take issue with the writing or they’ve heard these stories before. This was my first introduction to Creole folktales and I have to say i loved it. The nostalgia of reading different myths is pretty great plus the storylines can be hilarious to kind of terrifying. The author says to read this story by night and I have to agree. I read it all in one sitting this evening and I wouldn’t change that experience.

19. I Shall Not Be Moved: 5/5 Stars. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a poetry book. Since February I think. Sundays are usually my comic or poetry days and I was in the mood for some poetry. I was going to read this book for Black History Month for my book club (if you wanna join hit me UPP) but February was so crazy and stressful that I couldn’t read anything. So this time I did read a Black Poetress but just for National Poetry month. I loved this book, super powerful and moving. I’ll probably be thinking about this poetry book for a long long time.

20. Artists and their cats: 3/5 stars. Being stressed out in my finals week means I want to do a lot of book things just so I can procrastinate. I bought this book as a Christmas present for myself. I'm slightly disappointed in it because the book is called Artists and their Cats, but it's really more like, A mini biography of artists and oh, some cat photos. I was expecting heart warming stories about their cats. But no. I loved the photos though which make this book conflicting for me.

21. The Monkees comic book: 5/5 stars. Super cute. I feel bad because Mickey was drawn pretty horrible. But I loved the art. The choppy scenes were kind of hard to get into and that 1960s humor can be kind of cringey but I really really enjoyed it.

22. The Art of Drowning: 5/5 stars. So I was thinking this would have completed my Billy Collin’s reading, but apparently I read this book in 2014! How crazy! Well I read it and enjoyed it. That’s all.

23. A Queen’s Journey: 4/5 stars. I’ve been having a lot of heart ache for my birth state as of late. I visited Hawaii this time last year since moving when I was 2 and not remembering a single thing about it. Everything fit and I felt like I was home (when I was in the ocean) and it was such a strange feeling. I’ve been missing it hardcore this last month and so I decided if I can’t go to the Island I’d read a book about Hawaii or a Hawaiian. I’m also a book traveler, I bring books on trips and my favorite souvenirs are books. I’m a person who can remember times and feelings by looking at books. This is one of the books I bought while on the big island and haven’t read until now. For the story itself, I definitely give it a solid 4 stars like most people have. The book is unfinished as the author died while writing it. But I actually love how the book ended, the last chapter is perfect for a finale. But everything leading up is meh. Don’t get me wrong, I flew through this book and found it so much fun but it’s written from the perspective of a white entitled reporter who doesn’t really understand Hawaiians but “loves” them because of the Queen. I would have preferred to have a story told from Queen Lili’uokalani’s perspective but it was a nice read.

24. Lights Out and Away We Go by @naum-e : 5/5 stars. I’ve been following Naume-e for at least a year now and they draw the absolutely cutest/breathtaking spirk doodles on tumblr. When I saw they put up their formula one au book up for sale, I had to get it. They even sent me a sheet of adorable spirk stickers. I love it. The art is so professional, the cover is beautiful! The storyline is short and I wish there was more background and developlement but that’s just me being greedy. Only criticism I would have is that one page would be crisp and saturated black and the next would have a grey tone to it so it wasn’t as sharp. I don’t know if that was due to printing costs or stylistic choice but sometimes it worked, other times it was kind of distracting. Either way I really enjoyed it and loved the art!

(I’ve actually read 44 books but 20 of those are yaoi mangas/I don’t have the energy to type up individual reviews)

25. And Three Makes Tango. 5/5 stars. I’m doing a summer class and this is a book I picked for a 5-7 page project about censored books. And Three Makes Tango is the true story of two male penguins who fell in love at the New York Zoo. They made headlines when the zoo keepers gave them a fertilized egg which made them the first male couple to raise a baby penguin. It’s super cute and the art is adorable and I can’t wait to write this 5-7 page essay on it.

26. Goldfinger. 4.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed this book! Dr. No was kind of a hot mess with a huge octopus, guano, and the girl not being entirely likable. This book was definitely a treat! It may be kind of boring because the first 150 pages is a slow burn of James finding a guy cheating at cards and like 3 chapters dedicated to just him playing golf. But I really really loved this? The only reason why I don’t give this book 5 stars is because of Bond’s very sexist and homophobic views he suddenly stated out of no where. There were a TON of lesbians in this book, Pussy Galore, Tally, and he seemed ok with them except he was disappointed he couldn’t fuck them. And then said lesbians and gays were all sissies who he had no time for (even though Bond is like super, mega gay for James Bond. SUPER MEGA GAY.) and the ending they made the strictly lesbian badass gangster woman say, “Well I’ve never met a real man before.” and UGH. WHY. I would have given it 5 stars if they had just left Pussy Galore’s lesbian nature alone and not justify it with a “She just needs a strong man.” Also I apparently bought this book for me for Christmas 2015 ahah.

27. The Mad Kings & Queens, History’s Most Famous Raving Royals: 4/5 stars. I enjoyed this book. It’s marketed as a reference book and it discussed the insane breeding of The Kings and Queens of Europe. This book should really be called, “Inbreeding fucked me up.” because most of the insane issues came from inbreeding lines and madness from parents and grandparents being passed down to their kiddos. But there were several monarchs where I didn’t believe they fit underneath the “mad” title. Like King Henry VIII was just a pissbaby. And there a handful of monarchs included who just had severe depression and anxiety which affected the way they ruled, it doesn’t mean they’re mad. Other than that, it’s a great little book for a quick overview of Europe’s fucked up royalty.

28. Strike Through The Mask! 2/5 stars. It’s not my favorite poetry book, it had some poems I enjoyed! I bought this from the annual library book sale because it was signed by the author and was super cheap. Though after learning about Peter Viereck, I’m not really sure what I think about him? He’s super conservative and is VERY loud about people being extremist but is sort of seen as an extremist himself. Nothing wrong with that inherently but I’m still not super sure about these poems. A lot of them were about trees talking to humans or other trees. Debating on giving them poetry book to donations because it’s really not my favorite.

29. For the King: 2/5 stars. The premise of the book is quite interesting! It follows the assassin attack on Napoleon in 1800 on Christmas at Midnight. It cause da wave of destruction, death, horror, and a huge police investigation which resulted in more death and conspiracy. The book did not live up the potential. It kept my interest and it had some great writing, but the characters were flat, the main character was whinny, and the plot was a little jumbled. It was also strange because it’s a historical fiction but also murder mystery but you know who did it by chapter 1 and you follow the policeman’s thoughts and instincts to capture the assassins. It’s weird, there were a lot of strangely written sentences, and it was over all a just ok read.

30. The Old Man and the Sea: 2.5/5 stars. There is a lot to enjoy about The Old Man and The Sea. The story is compelling, the relationship between the old man and the boy is pleasant, and Hemingway has a way of using metaphors and descriptions which are breathtakingly beautiful. But there is also a lot to be disappointed in. It’s a lot of rambling, several sentences could have been edited, and the old man was pretty much senile in the way that he fishes. I read it in one day and still processing it. I’m pretty sure there are a few pages that I didn’t really read, I fell asleep the first 60 pages, and the story doesn’t truly touch me in the way classics usually do. But there is also something oddly charming which makes rating this book more difficult than I thought.

31. The Lost Estate: 5/5 stars. This book has been on my shelf for awhile. I bought it because you can design your own cover once you finish the book, so I bought it not expecting the story to be great but at least I can art a book. This is one of the best reads I’ve read in several months! I loved the story! I loved the characters! It felt like a fantastical children’s story with romance, magic, and French school boys. The chapters were short and the main character has such a charm. The only downside is that the story has a weird time lapse where you’re not really sure how old the kids are or how many years have passed. All in all, I’m really thrilled with this book and it’s easily going on my favorite shelf after I draw the cover!

32. Lunch Poems: 4/5 stars. Frank O’Hara’s poetry isn’t like your classical poetry. He’s irreverant which makes reading his stanzas refreshing and different. There were some poems where they were too strange and convoluted for my taste, ones I wished I could be heard out loud, and there wasn’t anything that punched me in the chest with wowing words, but it did inspire me to write my own poem. And for me, that’s the highest compliment of a poetry book, to make you write poems. I really enjoyed 14 of the poems which is a pretty decent amount to like for me. Billy Collins has the highest likes of poetry for me, and Lang Leav having the least amount of poetry I liked in her book Love & Misadventure. Frank O’Hara was a decent medium for me and a nice introduction for anyone who doesn’t particularly care for “flowery” poetry. My favorites were: Cambridge, Poem (1959), How To Get There, Pistachio Tree At Chateau Noir, and Yesterday Down At The Canal.

33. Howl And Other Poems: 6/5 stars. Very rarely do I hold a book to my chest after I finish reading it. The books I remember doing this were The Secret Garden, Shadow of the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, and Howl’s Moving Castle. I can add Howl to my list. I first heard of this revolutionary poetry book in one of my university classes about censorship and banned films and literature. We watched the James Franco movie about the whole trial over Howl, and I thought it was pretty, but I didn’t feel a great pull to the way he read the poems. I decided to pick it up for myself and I read it today all the way through. And reading it for myself was something magical and far more touching than the movie could ever produce. All of the poems were a punch to the gut, made me feel something, made me want to create art, and that’s what poetry is supposed to do for you. I may have found my second favorite poet in Allen Ginsberg. This is definitely on my favorite 2017 reads and also in my top 10 favorite books of all time.

34. Monstress Vol 2: 4.5/5 stars. I agree with the main consensus that the second volume is way better than the first. I actually contemplated getting rid of and stop reading the series because the first volume was very bizarre. But now I’m super invested in it. The story line unfolded in an interesting and made more sense way. The art was gorgeous and dark. THERE WERE SO MANY BADASS WOMEN CHARACTERS. Plus I finally caught on that the cats are called Nekomancer and I’m in love. If you like dark, blood, gore, and creepy storylines, Monstress is a great comic to read.

35. Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century. 5/5 stars. I picked this book up back in 2011. I was browsing Barnes and Noble, looking at their new arrival table. I was in 10th grade, newly in high school, and I had watched the movie Cleopatra in my western civilization class. I loved the writing, bought the book, I remember my mom saying “If I had known who the book was about, I wouldn’t have let you bought it.” and I was enjoying myself. Things happened shortly after that had me pausing from reading the book for 6 years. I decided to try to read it over the summer, had summer school, then my beginning of the semester was too crazy to read this book, and after I dropped from one of my classes, I found I had time to read it. I really loved this book. It’s heart wrenching, you feel the love they had for each other, but you also saw the abuse and tragedy that became their relationship. There are only two notes of importance I would say that is this book’s downfall: 1. The book has minor editorial flaws (commas outside of quotes, periods in parenthesis, Earth wasn’t capitalized). 2. The writers are very much infatuated with Richard and Elizabeth, coming to their defense about the scathing reviews. They did a great job, but it also brings into question just how accurate they can be when they’re so emotionally charged about Richard and Elizabeth. If you want to know more about Richard and Elizabeth, how they came to be, their marriage, and how the marriage fell, this is a great book.

36 + 37: Maus I & II. 5/5 stars. I’ve been wanting to read this collection for years. It has everything I love, history, contrasting colors, and comics. But whenever I found the books, they were full priced and too much for my wallet. Well, a few weeks ago I found the boxset at my local second hand store for 22 bucks. I snatched it. I read the first book on the 29th and the second on the 30th. This, is a heavy story. It’s gut wrenching, it hurts, I nearly cried in book 2, and it’s a poignant story about surviving, the effects of surviving horrible situations, and how it affects your children. The art is beautiful, very symbolic, and doesn't hold back from showing the ugly of WWII. If you want a heavy read to make you think about history and humanity, 100% recommend this comic series.

38. Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit: 4/5 stars. A classic fairy tale book that I read because one of my friends had it on her shelf and I wanted to read it. It’s very cute, very Peter Rabbit esq. but with more danger and violence to it. It’s not my favorite collection, I didn’t get the warm fuzzies from it, but I did fly through the stories. Though my book is so old that it doesn’t have a publication date and I’m slightly terrified that if it’s from the victorian era that it’s laced with arsenic to make the blue color ahah! But it was cute. A very short fairytale that is chalked full of mythologies of forest creatures and how their distinctive features came to be.

39. Sword of Destiny (Witcher 1, but technically 2) 5/5 stars. I’ve been reading this book since the end of October. I don’t know why, but short story compilation books always take me months to read while James Bond takes me 3 days. I think it’s to do with the pacing and the fact the stories tend to be more condensed and I need to think about a book for at least a day before starting a new one. I really enjoyed this book! Having played the games and adored them, I love the character building and foundations in this book! Baby Ciri warms my heart and I fucking called who her parents were in the prologue which I just realized I actually read this year. Much better than “The Last Wish,” and the angsty Yennefer romance just makes the book with its angst and Geralt just hating everything about his life except for Ciri and Yen.

40. Bing Love: 3/5 stars. I saw a GoFundMe post for this comic book earlier this year and the art is adorable, the plot line got me, and I was so excited to get my copy of this book! I’m torn because on one hand, I love representation and the love story between Hazel and Mari, and the fact the writer took an approach that people had to settle for a fake happiness and how families can be torn apart when you realize they were built on a facade. But there’s a huge pacing problem with this story. It jumps, it skips details, I know this story would have been so much more vibrant with even 20 more pages added to it. Limiting it to 97 pages really killed the vibe of the story. The character development was lackluster, their reactions became unbelievable, and the ending felt so rushed. I would honestly probably give this story 2 stars if it weren’t for the art work making up for where the story lacks.

41. Call Me By Your Name: 5/5 stars. @haremshame for those who don’t know, was my very first, serious love. They’ve been loving Call Me By Your Name and essentially has become the spokesperson on tumblr for the book. They told me to give this book a listen to (which is something I do not do on the regular), gave me a link, and but I was in the middle of the semester. I think maybe more than a week ago I finally started listening to it, how could I not when your first love tells you the story reminds them of us??? And I have to whole heartedly agree. Call Me By Your Name reminds me very much of the excitement of a first love and the everlasting long heart ache that comes when that first love inevitably ends. I loved this story. I wish I picked up the book and read along with Armie Hammer so I could mark all the passages I loved because there were quotations that made me shiver and hum and felt a literal twist in the gut. I’m not entirely sure how this book will go as an experience for other people since I went in to this reading with heavy expectations and knowing it would remind me of Percy and the specialness of our fumbly, young and naive teenage relationship, makes me heavily biased. But the writing is breathtaking, Armie Hammer does a fantastic job, and the story will have you aching in some form or another.

#2017 books #you guys should just get used to this #I'm probably in this for the long haul

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judgepaper19-blog · 5 years

Text

The Linc - Ed Oliver’s visit in Philadelphia didn’t go well?

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Eagles Draft Rumors: Ed Oliver leaves bad impression - Inside The Iggles One potential target the Eagles may consider trading up for is a defensive tackle in Ed Oliver, who the team welcomed to their facility this past Tuesday. But Philadelphia ended up coming away unimpressed after their meeting with the University of Houston product. Oliver tested poorly during his team interviews, a team source tells Inside The Iggles with direct knowledge of the situation. The results could impact Philadelphia’s interest in the defensive tackle.

Why the Eagles will trade up for a defensive lineman - BGN If you’re Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas, your history tells you that being aggressive pays off. Graham, Cox, and Ngata were huge hits. The Ravens stayed put and landed Suggs, but he was the 10th overall pick and the first edge defender drafted. And Derek Barnett was the end result of being aggressive and trading Sam Bradford on the eve of the season starting, which catapulted Carson Wentz to starting. Meanwhile the one time they moved back and took a DL, he sucked. So when the Eagles move up to take a defensive end or tackle, I not only won’t be surprised, I’ll be expecting it.

Finding the Right First Round Fit - BGN Radio John Stolnis and Brandon Lee Gowton mull over options at #25 overall, discuss needs entering the draft, debate trade up scenarios, and ask who was the best Eagles’ draft pick of all-time! Presented by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Eagles 2019 NFL Draft preview: Wide receiver - PhillyVoice Howie Roseman has stated on multiple occasions that he believes that wide receivers take a year or two to develop. By taking Marquise Brown while already stacked at wide receiver, the Eagles could be patient with his growth, as opposed to throwing him to the wolves like they did in 2015 with Agholor. Brown has slot/outside receiver versatility, so he could take over in the slot for Agholor in 2020, and eventually for Jackson on the outside. In the meantime, if he is ready to produce as a rookie, then great, opposing defensive coordinators will to have to worry about an offense that can put both Brown and Jackson on the field at the same time. On the downside with Brown, because he is so small, durability concerns will always persist, and as it is, he’s still recovering from surgery to repair Lisfranc injury.

What About NT? - Iggles Blitz Do the Eagles need to draft a NT? The team has shown a lot of interest in pass-rushing DTs, but not so much with big guys. In today’s NFL, you don’t need mammoth DTs who can hold the point, play after play. You do need DTs that can play the run effectively. As Jernigan did. And Bennie Logan before him. Interestingly, both are still available as free agents. The Eagles could sign one of them, or some other veteran, after the draft. Once May 7th comes, you can sign free agents and not have it affect the compensatory pick formula. I think that is why there has been so little movement in the past couple of weeks. Teams are focused on the draft, but also hesitant to sign players until May. I do expect some signings around the draft. Not all teams are going to be in the hunt for comp picks so they don’t all have a reason to wait.

Eagles fans, once again you are recognized as the best - PE.com Eagles fans, since the time I started covering this football team in 1987, have been nothing if in love with their football team. They are passionate, they are invested, they are beyond loyal, they are educated, and they have opinions. And they aren’t afraid to express themselves. Eagles fans are loud, yes, and thank goodness for that, because we’ve seen for decades how Eagles fans take over road stadiums and turn it into a pro-midnight green venue. And now it’s out there for everyone to digest, thanks to Manning: The Linc is a tough place for opposing teams. That’s just a fact.

Re-drafting the First Round of the 2018 NFL Draft - Sports Illustrated 32. Eagles: Phillip Lindsay, RB, Colorado (ACTUAL PICK: RAVENS TRADED UP, DRAFTED QB LAMAR JACKSON). Yeah, I know, I know. The Eagles don’t take running backs in the first round. This guy is special, though, and saves them some trouble down the line shifting backups and assets around just to get by.

Eagles have intriguing depth at WR beyond Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor - NBCSP CJ2 was a seventh-round pick of the Packers in 2013 and is 30 years old, so kind of unusual for a camp body. He bounced around with the Packers, Browns, Vikings, Panthers and Jets, piling up 60 catches for 834 yards and two TDs in three seasons in Minnesota. Charles Johnson spent this past winter with the Orlando Apollos of the AAF, where he caught 45 passes for 687 yards. In a game against the Commanders, he had seven catches for 192 yards and a touchdown from Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert. Keep an eye on Johnson. The Eagles gave him a $25,000 workout bonus, which is a sign that they really wanted him.

NFL draft: Ben Fennell breaks down tight-end prospects - Daily News THE SLEEPER: Trevon Wesco, West Virginia — “He had a great week at the Senior Bowl, but wasn’t a big part of West Virginia’s passing game last year. They used a lot of ‘10’ personnel [1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR], so he wasn’t on the field a lot. Caught just 26 passes. Was used on very simple routes. Pop passes, things like that. So people are questioning what he can do at the next level. But he’s someone who has a chance to be a better pro [than he was college player]. Projection is a big part of the draft process with guys like Wesco. There are just things he wasn’t asked to do in college. It’s not that he can’t do them. He just wasn’t asked to do them. So teams have to figure out whether he can do them at the next level. He’s definitely one of the top blockers in the class. Just like Hockenson and Tommy Sweeney from Boston College. A guy you can seal off backside defensive ends with and really add some mismatches in the run game because of his ability to block.’’

Despite size, wide receiver Marquise Brown’s speed fits a changing NFL - ESPN “Once he got the ball in his hands, it was over,” said his mother, Shannon James. “He was really tiny, always smaller than everyone else. But he moved like lightning once he got that ball. He never stopped from there.” Even with a few roadblocks in his way. He created cone drills on his own to hone his speed for an entire year when no scholarships came after high school. He operated a roller coaster appropriately named “Full Throttle” to help make ends meet while in junior college. And he arrived at Oklahoma weighing an unbelievably light 144 pounds. ”I’ve learned to appreciate everything,” he said. “I’m living in the moment, just having fun.” Having fun. Going fast.

The perception/production gap: WRs and TEs - PFF Zach Ertz and Kelce have each been in the league for six years, with Kelce missing his entire rookie 2013 to injury. So in 11 chances they’ve had for a win here, they have … 11 wins. Despite being drafted second and third at the position in 2018, they still improved on it, finishing first and second. Other than Kelce going from TE6 to TE8 in 2014-2015, they’ve held steady or improved their position from one year to the next every year of their careers. There’s not much more room for them to climb now, as the two are going first and second in early ADP among tight ends, but there’s every reason to expect them to finish at or near those levels again.

Tim Tebow struggling at Triple-A - PFT Unfortunately, Tebow has moved up to Triple-A this year, and the early returns are ugly. The stats for the Syracuse Mets, Tebow’s team, tell the story. He’s last on the team with a .120 batting average, last with a .185 on-base percentage and last with a .200 slugging percentage. He has struck out a team-high 10 times and hasn’t hit a home run. “He’s still learning how to hit some of this pitching,” Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco told ESPN. “I mean, these guys are throwing 97, 98 miles per hour. They’re spinning the baseball. He’s making some adjustments.”

5 NFL teams that could use a 1st-round pick on Duke QB Daniel Jones - SB Nation The 17th overall selection appears to be Jones’ terminus if the latest rumblings are correct. Adding a young quarterback, any young quarterback, is paramount to Pat Shurmur’s second year at the helm in New York. While Eli Manning was acceptable last season — his efficiency numbers were significantly higher than his career averages, though still not great — he’s also 38 years old and winding down a Giants tenure that’s been equal parts incredible and incredibly frustrating. Jones could be the answer if he lasts into the latter half of the draft. But that would presume the team isn’t interested in Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who is the most commonly mocked pick for New York at No. 6. There are plenty of game-changing defenders who would be available with the club’s first selection, including the kind of pass-rushing presence who could offset the departure of Olivier Vernon. General manager Dave Gettleman could target one of those players to rebuild the league’s 24th-ranked defense while hoping Jones (or Missouri’s Drew Lock) slides to him at No. 17. The Giants could also trade up a few spots from No. 17, though the QB-hungry teams ahead of him (Broncos, Dolphins, Washington) may be uninterested in his offer. Plus, the Giants have a connection with drafting Duke quarterbacks and the number 17 — even though it’s not a good connection.

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/4/14/18310204/eagles-news-ed-oliver-visit-philadelphia-didnt-go-well-defensive-tackle-houston-nfl-draft-rumors-dt

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specialagentfluffstein · 6 years

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All the asks! In a really nice way!

All the asks, minus the attitude! Sorry this took forever, I just finally had some time to sit and do it.

1. What was the last present you gave? I gave one of the girls in my EMT class some apples off my neighbor’s tree as a thank you for creating a complete medical terminology quizlet and then sharing it.

2. What was the last present you received? My stepdad has a 3D printer at work and he made me a little block thing with the Walt Disney castle/signature.

3. What animal best represents your personality? Bears.

4. What are you most afraid of? Failure.

5. Who is your favourite villain? Right this second? Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog.

6. Who is your favourite family member? (we all have one, admit it) My sister.

7. If you could name your own planet what would it be called? Fluffsville.

8. Stars or Moon? Stars.

9. Do you have/want kinds? I’m gonna assume this means kids. No.

10. What is your greatest life goal? Happiness. And also visiting every Disney park.

11. What is something you can’t live without? Music. I almost always have something playing. Right now it’s my ‘Halloweenie’ playlist on Spotify.

12. What is a place you associate with your childhood? A specific local library.

13. How was your first kiss/how would you like your first kiss to go? It went terribly. I got cornered like a wounded animal and as soon as he left I scrubbed my lips with the fancy sugar scrub I reserve for special occasions. My second first kiss (new boy) was much nicer, even though he missed.

14. What is some life advice you have acquired? If the worst thing that happens today is that you messed up on the radio, it’s been a good day. And keep a spare pair of boots polished, just in case.

15. Who in history has influenced you? David Bowie and Walt Disney.

16. What is something strange that you think about often? Simulation and consciousness theories. It makes my brain hurt, but also, what if none of this is real, beyond what I can see and experience at this very moment?

17. Baths or Showers? I usually take showers for convenience’s sake, but I do love a nice soak with fun bath bombs or Epsom salts.

18. Tea of Coffee? Before 1400? Coffee. After 1400? Tea.

19. Alcohol or soft drink? What do the hard sodas (Henry’s, Not Your Father’s, etc.) count as? Because the first thing I bought alcohol-wise from the grocery store after I turned 21 last month was a six pack of hard grape soda. I’m kinda a lightweight, I’ll be real with you.

20. Writing or typing? Both, but I prefer handwriting stuff.

21. What is you most favourite thing in your bedroom? Ugh that’s like picking a favorite child. I guess, right this second, it’s the Greg (from Over the Garden Wall) figure on my desk.

22. Spontaneous holiday! Where are you going and with who? Disneyland with my Boo Thang.

23. Introverted or Extraverted? Extravert.

24. Describe yourself in two words. Attention Whore.

25. A song that always puts you in a good mood. “Dancing Queen”

26. What makes you feel? Really good music or food.

27. What was your favourite concert? Chris Isaak. I’ve seen him twice.

28. Any plans for a tattoo? Yes! I just need to buck up and get it.

29. What was the first book you ever read? I have no idea. Probably a Magic Treehouse book.

30. What was the first movie you saw in cinemas? No se.

31. What do you think of when you hear ‘portrait’? An image of something.

32. Tell me about your partner/ideal partner? I have one of those! He’s funny and has a cat and does competitive pistol and rifle matches.

33. Tell me about your siblings, if you have any? I have a sister. She’s great.

34. What is a topic you would like to talk about more? I really wish I had more people to discuss religion with, and not just Christianity. I think religion is super interesting, and it’s tough to find people who will discuss it objectively.

35. What are you a big advocate for? Seeking counseling. Everyone should see a counselor. We’d be much happier as a society.

36. If you’re comfortable to answer, what is the sickest you have ever been? This past January I got the flu or something after doing a bunch of traveling, and I was so out of it I forgot that I texted the Detective I was interning for at the time that I was sick and not coming in, and that he responded with like ‘feel better’ or whatever and I even responded to that. So I spent the whole day going ‘oh nooooo I’m a no call no show.’

37. When were you the most scared in your life? I woke up from a really horrible dream and for about twenty minutes I couldn’t figure out if it was real or not.

38. Ever had a paranormal experience? Yes! My grandma’s house is absolutely haunted, and when I’d be there alone watching TV in the living room I’d hear footsteps like someone coming to see what I was watching. They weren’t malevolent or anything, but it was a little unsettling.

39. Biggest celebrity crush at the moment? Henry Cavill.

40. What is something happening in your life right now? I’m in an EMT class and it’s not awesome at all.

41. What is your favourite mythological creature? UNICORNS.

42. Marvel or DC? For movies? Marvel. For comics? DC.

43. What object would be on your family’s banner? Alcohol.

44. Favourite flower? Carnations.

45. One characteristic you like in a partner? You have to be able to laugh at things. Especially vaguely off color things.

46. What planet/star would you travel to if it were possible? Jupiter.

47. What is your favourite meal… ever? Thanksgiving.

48. First time…. doing anything. Describe your first time doing something? The first time I ran an overdose call as a Police Explorer, I got to see the guy get dosed with Narcan. It was rad. And then we ended up arresting the guy later.

49. Who is your favourite superhero? Nightwing.

50. What is your favourite poem? Recite it? This is Just To Say - William Carlos Williams

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

51. What is an exercise you despise doing. Running. God I hate it so much.

52. Secret talent? I can pole dance. Not well, but I can do a couple tricks.

53. Current song on replay replay replay? “Halloween” by Sonic Youth and “All That Heaven Will Allow” by the Mavericks.

54. Recommend me anything. Seriously… anything. Go listen to the Mavericks. They are great.

55. If you weren’t in your current occupation what would you be doing? Probably going to school for a masters.

56. What is the first thing you notice about the person you fancy? Shoes and smile.

57. If you had one wish that would definitely come true, what would it be? That money would never be an issue.

58. If you could time travel, when and where would you visit? I feel like I would just go to a bunch of concerts.

59. What is your lucky number? 21.

60. If you adopt a pet what would it be and what would you name it? Oh man so many dogs. I want five corgis and a pitbull and the pittie’s name would be Korg. Korg and the Corgis.

61. Do you believe in fate/everything happens for a reason? Kind of. I think personal decisions have a lot to do with it.

62. What is your favourite thing about your personality? I am so aggressively cheerful.

63. What is your favourite thing about your appearance? Hair.

64. What is your favourite clothing store? To actually buy stuff in? TJ Maxx. To walk around in? Nordstrom’s.

65. What is your favourite online store? Tarte, or any makeup site. I love makeup.

66. Use one word to describe your most favourite person? Blond.

67. How do you usually have your hair? Up, unfortunately.

68. What was your favourite subject in high school? English and EMR.

69. What makes you feel empowered? Good outfits and good makeup.

70. What motivates you to do something? Spite.

71. What advice would you give someone who is going through a rough time? Things might not get better per se, but they’ll suck differently, so whatever sucks now probably won’t suck in the future.

72. Ideal date? Dinner and a Movie.

73. What is the best date night movie? A comedy.

74. What is something you are currently looking forward to? Halloween!

75. Tell me a funny joke? You wanna know how I know it’s going to be a spoopy Halloween? I can feel it in my…bones! *skeletons laughing*

76. Do you like musicals? If so, what’s your favourite? I do like musicals, my sister and I really like Something Rotten right now. And I love the Lion King.

77. What is your favourite song currently? “All That Heaven Will Allow” by The Mavericks.

78. What song never fails to make you dance? “Footloose”

79. What is your favourite “classic?” Classic TV.

80. What is the best advice you have ever been given? The radio advice from the earlier question.

81. Where did you ancestors come from? I think they were Vikings.

82. What have you learned from your parents/guardians? “Yes And” is the best answer.

83. What is a phrase you heard a lot growing up? “Knock it off”

84. Do you believe in magic? yes.

85. What reminds you of your best friend? The pictures I took down because we aren’t friends anymore.

86. What are you passionate about? Being my authentic self. And Disney.

87. Tell me a story from middle school? I skipped middle school.

88. Who was your favourite teacher and why? Barthe. He was wacky as hell and taught in a way that I retained pretty much everything. I still use stuff I learned from him in college as examples for what I learn now.

89. Can you roll your tongue? Yes, and I can fold it.

90. What made you pursue what you are studying? (including school subjects) I thought I loved it. Now I’m not so sure.

91. Where would you like to travel to? All the Disney Parks. And I’d like to visit all 50 states.

92. What is something on your bucket-list? Visit all 50 states.

93. What is home to you? Wherever my bed is.

94. What do you do in your free time? When I have it, which is like never, I knit and watch TV or hang out with my boyfriend.

95. If you could buy anything right now, what would it be? A house. 3 Bed 2 Bath with two car garage, stainless steel appliances, and a yard.

96. If you could see anyone, living or dead, right now, who would it be? My late grandfather. I could use some of his advice.

97. If you could choose, what would your last meal be? Chicken Wings.

98. How would you like to die? Um yeah that’s not going to happen. If it does I better be like 120.

99. List five of your favourite pieces of art (paintings, books, songs etc) Everything. Everything is art and I love it all.

100. What would you change about this world? Equality. I have just as much value as my male counterpart, even if we have different strengths.

Thanks for asking!

#fluffy answers

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