#if nicki had made it to the early 20th century

[tired-of-straight-lines]

major Nickistat vibes

#if nicki had made it to the early 20th century #nickistat #nicolas de lenfent #lestat de lioncourt #nicolas x lestat #book cover #i haven't read this book. just randomly came across the cover and the vampire chronicles brain fever kicked in.

[usernamesuggestionsarefunny]

Ugh. Kingsmen goes on again with the “Kaiser was a mad warmonger who wanted and started the war almost all by himself” myth. I didn’t mind the movie making the three royal cousins all the same age to have them playing as children for dramatic and comedic effect but the German villainy cliche was disappointing. Not surprising, mind you, just disappointing. Unlike WWII, WWI was not completely the Germans’ fault.

-Also, ignoring the Nicky-Willy correspondence to make it seem as if Tsar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm hadn’t cared nor tried to stop the war. I am obviously not saying they did nearly enough or everything they could have but they were not indifferent buffoons either. They literally have a fictional secret society made up of rich war profiteers in the freaking movie as the villain, why the hell is it not used more to explain the origins of the war?

-And of course only the English and their monarch are super innocent angels here because of course they are. The historically accurate British concentration camps in South Africa at the beginning of the movie were just an “opsie” footnote.

-Also, Rasputin tried to warn the Tsar AGAINST that awful shitstorm of a war. He helped the poor and Jewish people, who were awfully oppressed in the Russian Empire. Other than loving to fuck, which might have even been greatly exaggerated according to some historians, he was a generally decent guy. But I guess he looks creepy or whatever and makes for a good villain so who cares if it would have been way cooler to subvert the audience’s expectations with a historically accurate twist.

Again, disappointed but not surprised.

I am only halfway through so I might be pleasantly surprised in the end.

-Also, fuck them if they don’t use their goofy historically inaccurate mumbo jumbo to make it so the ninja Kingsmen save the Romanov children from being murdered in the end, I swear…. like, I doubt it but if you are going to be historically inaccurate you should use your historical inaccuracy for good (Don’t mind me I am just an OTMAA fan, I doubt they are going to appear much in the movie anyway but still, I am salty already about the fact their fates won’t be mentioned).

Loving the concept and the aesthetics though. A Kingsmen movie set in WWI? Sign me up. The two father and son characters are likeable so far as well.

Edit: Oh, so now the villains are villains for trying to take Russia out of the war? A poor country who had lost thousands of soldiers and was barely prepared for that carnage? Seriously? Who wrote this, early 20th century “Rasputin and the Empress are lovers and German spies!!!” Russian yellow press propagandists? Also, the Russians literally marched for bread and peace during the February revolution, now they are coincidentally on the side of the villains without meaning to or what? Such a bad message in my opinion…

On the other hand, very good concept with the father not wanting his son to go to war because he is traumatized by it. Just subtle criticism of colonialism but something is something. Already invested in this.

Too bad so far they haven’t committed enough to the pacifist message even though WWI movies are a perfect opportunity to do so. Like seriously, it is all about ENGLAND and how it is bad for Russia to be out of the war because it affects ENGLAND negatively and who cares about the Russian peasants dying I guess because the Scottish villain hates ENGLAND and only wants to destroy ENGLAND. This when the first victims of the war were the Serbians. I think it would have made more sense if the villain had been trying to destroy all European powers, and even going with the “sympathetic villain” angle this would have made sense since Russia, England, France, Austro-Hungary and Germany all held colonies or at least oppressed people of other ethnicities. It would make sense that someone who has been a victim of imperialism would want to destroy all nations involved in it even if by immoral means such as war that kills common people and not the actual culprits. Another option would be putting emphasis on how much money arms’ dealers with zero allegiances make during wartime and how sometimes they pull strings in the government or influence the public in favor of war for this very reason.

This, however, is far too complex and wouldn’t allow the writers to single out Germany as the sole villain or use their accents for villainous comedic relief so I guess not…

Edit 2: And of course, the absolute myth that the Tsar was even considering pulling out of the war *eye rolls* Tsar Nicholas believed in the allied cause wholeheartedly. He was a honorable fool.  Almost real life’s version of Ned Stark. Often said to have been a good man but a bad leader.  He would have never done that. 

"Reality is more interesting than fiction" is a bullshit lie repeated by many angry historians whenever they review historically inaccurate movies or series, but in this case it might very well be true. Alexei's very real hemophilia and the fascinating mystery of how Rasputin managed to either heal his attacks or convince Alexandra he was capable of doing so is replaced in this movie with Rasputin poisoning the poor child on purpose to "evily" *checks notes* convince Nicholas to pull Russia out of a bloody war that had little to do with Russia, was being fought for typical "muh honor" reasons, had already killed thousands of peasant and working class Russian soldiers, and would soon turn the nation into a starving chaotic mess in part due to the fact its transportation system failed because of the ongoing conflict. Too ridiculous to bear.

A little side note away from the main topic but after this I don’t want more pop historians or college dissertations saying that Alexei “muh unfairly received much more attention than his poor sidelined-by-history female sisters who are the only ones truly in need of having their stories told!!” Like seriously, the poor kid was such a kind soul, especially later in life, but most only know him for being sick and “causing” the revolution almost all by himself with his illness (Which is of course simplistic and dumb), having beautiful and much more talked about older sisters, being a plot device in pieces of fiction such as this, and being spoilt and bratty as a small child, something thousands of children as well as his much more popular sister Anastasia also were without being villainized or sidelined for it.  Being reduced to your chronic illness and even then having the effects it had on yourself ignored and instead having everyone focus on how it made everything bad for OTHER people by historians is hardly “receiving attention” or “having your story told”.  They ALL should have their stories told thank you very much.

Ok, end of side note.

Of fucking course they are not going to mention how Saint England, the hero of this story, refused the Tsar and his family assylum after the revolution despite him having been a faithful and committed ally to England throughout the entire war who even refused a separate peace with Germany because that would not have been "honorable" without the English being involved. The English pretty much used him and his nation for man power and then abandoned him and labeled him a "weak" leader once he was no longer useful.

Of course they are not going to mention Germany's peace offers. Did they have some harsh conditions? Sure, the Germans were as stubburn and guilty and full of shit. Could it have been worth it to give those peace offers a chance so that the war had been cut short and thousands of lives spared? I don't know. Fucking maybe.

Also, it is funny because there is a conspiracy theory that says the English intelligence did indeed have something to do with Rasputin's murder because they feared he would try to convince the Tsar to pull out of the war. But I guess here they are the heroes for doing so. So much for an anti-war movie.

Also 2. Lenin was the one who in fact did everything he could to take Russia out of the war, helped by the Germans, who British writers love to make villains of, AND he was an even more morally dubious character than Rasputin. But he is also loved even today and it would have been far too controversial to make him a villain (And *cough* *cough* he was not "scary" looking enough) so I bet the writers didn't DARE to go there.

I beg you writers, if you want villains with creepy German accents for your goofy spy action movies, please, please, set your movie in WWII or at least in Belgium or German South West Africa. Very few people know about the Herero genocide by the German colonialists.

Edit 3: Also, I know what you are thinking. No, I don't care this is a goofy Kingsmen action movie that is not trying to be serious nor historically accurate. I know they are mainly trying to be entertaining. They could have been that AND chosen better WHERE to place the inaccuracies and creative liberties to make for a better story. Just as goofy and with as many unrealistic action sequences or unlikely scenes where the main characters meet real historical ones, which I love, but with more substance and a better message. This just doesn't do it for me for reasons already mentioned, and it is not like the moviemakers were not to some degree trying to have substance. The main characters dig at imperialism, greed and its role in war is hinted at, etc. But it is not enough, it is so sloppily and half-way done I would have preferred for the movie to be a straight up comedy or parody, which it wasn't, it simply wasn't because there were themes hidden in there that the writers didn't fully commit to because the plot just didn't help.

Edit 4: That Rasputin scene was funny and creepy in a good way, I don't doubt he was an unsettling individual to be around even in real life. Too bad the set up was dumb as hell. The "heroes" being "heroes" for trying to murder a man who is trying to stop the war (I know he did more than that and his objectives are others here in the movie but you get what I mean, the message is bad, stupid and it is very disturbing the writers chose this plot path considering the very real theory that exists involving the British intelligence in Rasputin's murder).

I am a sucker so loved the fight choreography though, it was unbelievable and AMAZING, and the concern the son had for his almost murdered father was moving. I really do dig the characters. This review is me basically whining about the movie's wasted potential.

Edit 5: Ok, spoke too early. There is Lenin, omg this is so goofy lol.

Edit 6: It rubs me the wrong way how they talk about "saving lives" when literally all they are doing is either pulling more countries into the war or stopping others from leaving that mess. That is literally all they are doing. Helping win the war? Sure they are! Saving lives? That is VERY debatable. Where are the peace negotiations? Where are the actual attempts to infiltrate the Germans and convince them, to ask them for a cease fire? Where is the Red Cross work the main character did at the beginning of the movie? This is what I don't like about this movie. The Kingsmen are supposedly the first independant intelligence agency. Why the hell then are all their actions in service of the government? I get still taking into account England's interests before everything, that is their country after all, but for a suposedly independant organization they sure don't think outside the box nor do anything different from what other agencies would.

The worst part is the inconsistent anti war montage of Conrad training for the army. What is the point of that if they have already established the Kingsmen are doing nothing for peace negotiations and that the only way for the war to stop is for the allies to win?

Also, as a Mexican, the drama of the Zimmermann telegram scene makes me laugh out loud because we were in the middle of a Civil War back then, we were so not a threat to the United States lol.

Edit 7: Nice action scenes. Good. Stick to that lol.

Also, good on them for showing the side effects of war. Conrad, baby :(

Edit 8: Super spoiler ahead. More spoilery than all the spoilers I have already given lol.

Wow, they actually made one of the main characters die. Heartbreaking and not at all what I wanted for the character, who had potential, but all things considered, the only brave and realistic choice the movie has made so far.

The father's reaction was sad as well.

Still annoyed by the mixed messages. There is no glory in war they say, except all the main characters have tried to do is win, not stop the war by trying any means at hand, which includes working on peace offers.

Edit 9: No way Lenin himself is the one who makes Nicholas abdicate. This is "History: Youtube comment version."

It is like they are trying to be historically inaccurate on purpose at this point, and not because it serves an important purpose in the story, whether dramatically or comedically, but because it makes it simpler. Why not have a character briefly explain what actually happened in Russia then? How there were food shortages and riots, Nicholas's train was stopped by the generals who didn't want him anymore, the Provisional Government was formed and fell in less than a year when Lenin took power during a coup, etc. I will say it again, this movie is so goofy, and I know it was realistic and portrayed the horrors of war accurately, but after Conrad's death the heart of the movie, which was the father-son relationship, is gone. I don't really look forward to seeing what happens next but I will do it because I hate leaving movies unfinished.

Edit 10: This movie should be called: "American interventionism is good, actually".

Edit 11: More action scenes, sniper girl and machete action guy, yay! STICK TO THAT!!

Edit 12: And we are on to the villain reveal, which is meh. Generic but not bad. Would have been so much more satisfying in a better movie.

Edit 13: In the end the villain is killed by the main character, which mind you, I don't care about those stupid "If you kill murderers, torturers and abusers then you are just like them" bullshit kid's show sermons, but in this movie they made it a clear attack against pacifism. So weird.

Yay, thousands of Americans are going to die now in a war thousands of miles away that has nothing to do with them, what a happy ending!! *eye rolls*

I am just so underwhelmed with this film, I guess it is because I expected so much from it. Silly me.

I recommend it though. Nice action. Wish it had remained a full action-comedy/parody but instead it is a film that doesn't even know what its fucking genre is. It is irreverent and pokes fun at history one second and then the next they are trying but failing to take imperialism and war profiteering seriously. They have scenes where they humanize the Germans and the main character criticizes the Versailles Treaty in the end but the thought of a mission to negotiate with or infiltrate them never even crossed the main characters' minds throughout the movie. In a serious historically accurate war movie I can see why not, but this is what a good use of artistic liberty would actually be.

The main kid just fucking dies and I understand now why I hate it so much other than the fact I generally hate main character deaths: This is not a serious WWI film. It can't freaking decide whether it wants to take the historical aspect of its plot seriously. This is supposed to be an action film with unrealistic yet satisfying battle scenes where the heroes always win, and it is most of the time, so why doesn't it go through with that promise? The death wouldn't have bothered me as much if they had also tried to be a serious historical movie that makes use of artistic license ONLY when it serves the story and not just as a "lol we are also a parody of WWI leaders btw" , but they didn't, because they didn't take the historical aspect seriously enough and so the tragic character death seems out of place, a freaking joke even at first, and almost a red herring in this goofy historically inaccurate unrealistic-action-sequences-packed movie where the Tsar, the Kaiser and the King are played by the same actor just for the lols.

Plus the father says there is no glory in war because his kid died and then the next second they are celebrating the fact American kids will die as well (yay?). Which one is it? The inaccuracies are there for no reason because most aren't even funny, honest mistakes, ~cough they aren't self indulgently used to save OTMAA cough~, or even serve a purpose in the story.

Someone needs to write a fix it fic because this had so much freaking potential. Conrad has to live though.

#kingsmen origin #kingsmen #kingsmen the origin #kingsmen prequel #kaiser wilhelm ii #wilhelm ii #wwi #nicholas ii #otmaa #otma #grigori rasputin #rasputin #kingsmen 3 #romanovs #spoilers #movie review #romanov #historical fiction #historical inaccuracies #action movies #action #the worst part is that the character who spends most of the movie trying to get the Americans to fight is supposed to be a pacifist #ridiculous

[kar3npage]

The Resort Show

Chapter 7 of Sewing Scissors and Throwing Knives is up! Read from the beginning here. Last chapter: Andrew and Aaron have an argument, they have the fitting for the show. I update this fic every Monday.

Neil feels like he’s barely been in New York before the Resort show comes up. Time is moving too quickly, sliding through Neil’s hands like water. Every time he thinks he has a grip on something, it all changes.

The doomed feeling isn’t being helped by the ever changing world of fashion. Allison has been around more often now that the show is coming so quickly, and Neil has found that he enjoys the feisty, sassy comments that are flung around while she’s in the building. 

Neil has also been getting to know the other members of the team. He hadn’t realized how quickly they accepted him until someone would spout a fact about him, like how his favourite colour is grey (“That isn’t a colour, Neil” Kevin has said with derision) and how he has a soft spot for fruit. He stomach starts turning every time he gets a glimpse of a life with a sort of ‘work family’, like Dan always said. The worst was the longing that came with.

And the work. Neil loved the work. He forgot about the stopwatch ticking away, the impermanence of the situation, the danger of it all when he worked side by side with these people who took him in.

Show day dawned to be bright but crisp. Andrew picked him up at the hotel, like always, but it was much earlier than they usually started their day. 

They had spent most of last night working on final touches, and it was cozier than Neil thought possible with such a hard deadline looming. They had all piled into the sewing room and him and Kevin finalized the lineup while the others worked on details. The atmosphere had been warm and comfortable, and Neil felt content. The feeling was a drug, and he was already afraid that he would never have it again.

The car was uncharacteristically silent as he climbed in and a glance at the other occupants confirmed that they were as exhausted as him. Even Andrew had dark circles under his eyes, and Nicky was zoned out as he looked out the window. Nicky and Kevin both gave Neil a look of tired anticipation as he settled into the back seat and he grinned at them, and Andrew. Andrew just huffed, but Neil noticed that his jaw was softer today, his body less tense than usual.

The office had a similar mood, and Matt almost bowled Neil over when he got inside. Kevin attacked Nicky before he could leave for his office to talk about the logistics of the show being live streamed on instagram and Dan shouted at them for a team meeting. 

Neil dropped to the wall while everyone else crowded forward, trying to stay by Andrew. When Dan started her pep talk, Neil ignored it to pay attention to Andrews calm exterior.

“If I didn’t know you better, I would say that you were looking forward to this,” Neil murmured. 

Andrew huffed, a corner of his lip twitching a bit. “Good thing you know better then.”

Neil is sure that Dan’s speech is as motivating as they always are, but he ignores it in favour of watching Andrew play with his pack of cigarettes. He doesn’t need to be more excited, he needs to keep calm before the show.

Kevin has slipped into that razor focus that made Neil admire him in the beginning. He’s cool and composed, and he works surprisingly well with Neil. After criticizing him non stop over the past month or so, he seems to have forgotten about Neil’s shortcomings for the day. 

In fact, he hasn’t let loose a single well meant but brutal comment on anyone yet. He collaborates with every single member of the team (although there is a tense moment with Seth for a moment, before Renee refocuses their attention) to ensure that the day goes perfectly. 

The excitement is boiling away under the surface, but everyone is working harder than Neil has seen so far. Nicky has been running the social media and posting approved behind-the-scenes photos while they work, and Neil feels a surge of affection for the team. Matt ruffles his hair every time he passes by him, Jeremy sends him a bright grin when he pops in to chat with Kevin about something, Allison gives him a compliment peppered with profanity on the design of his that ended up in the line, and Renee squeezes his shoulder in passing. Never in his life has Neil felt this much love in a room, and not a single one of them were stuck with him. They just decided that they wanted him there. 

And, like a magnet, Neil’s gaze kept moving to Andrew. He still needs to talk with him about what happened at Edens Twilight and ask him why he pressured Kevin to include Neils design, but for now he’s content just to see the reliable black clad figure. Always the calm in the center of the storm.

By the time the makeup and hair is almost done and people are starting to take their seats out in the venue, the day is still going suspiciously well. 

“Something has to go wrong,” Neil says in disbelief to Dan. He’s standing at the bottom of the stairs where the models are starting to line up. They’ll be going up the stairs into the mansions grand hallway, where most of the guests are seated. From there, they will walk into the sitting room and circle back. The baroque styled, frilly venue had been chosen as a contrast to the sleek designs that made up the collection. It was a slightly run down old manor house with silk wallpaper from the early 20th century gracing the walls. Neil had helped Kevin look, and he was ridiculously pleased with the fact that Kevin chose it. Although, he probably chose it because Andrew had given it a nod of approval rather than because Neil liked it. He was pleased anyway.

Dan laughs. “I know, it never goes this well. Usually a hem tears or a gown suddenly doesn’t fit an hour before the show. But let’s cross our fingers that our luck holds.”

Neil nods, but he has a sinking feeling in his stomach that it won’t.

The cue that the show is nearly starting is Allison and Kevin showing up at the bottom of the stairs with the rest of the models. Neither of them look flustered in the slightest, despite the many shouts for their attention. Kevin sidles up to Neil and looks him up and down critically.

“You’ll do. Nicky did a good job.”

Neil snorts. His new wardrobe came back from Abby in the nick of time, and he’s wearing a charcoal three piece suit with a matching charcoal shirt and a gold brocade vest. Nicky had cried when he put it on, like it was his wedding day or something. From across the room Matt gives him a beaming thumbs up and Allison mouths something that he doesn’t catch but makes Dan laugh.  He feels himself blush, so he watches the models to hide it.

There’s a feeling of pride rising in his chest as he looks at the finished pieces. 

Never has he been a part of something so large, or something that was so close to his heart. He can hear the noise of a large crowd up the stairs and he can barely keep the grin in check. Kevin elbows him softly to catch his attention.

“Come,” he tells Neil, already walking up the stairs.

He leads them to the grand hallway, just behind the doorway that the models will come out of. The line of chairs are already full with big names that even Neil can recognize. They’re chatting amiably, like there aren’t a million cameras going off. He can see an even larger crowd in the sitting room, and yet more noise is coming from outside where guests are still arriving on the red carpet. It’s overwhelming and incredible and magnificent and Neil is certain that he made the right decision to stay.

By the time they’ve made it back down the stairs, Andrew and Renee have come back from wherever they disappeared to. It’s funny to see the staff all dressed up, even though they dress nicely for work every day. Andrew is wearing a full black suit with an asymmetrical vest. It reminds Neil of the jacket he designed for this collection. The thought nearly makes him trip on the stairs.

The show itself passes far faster than Neil would have expected. Nicky is still walking around, constantly updating their feed to keep viewers in the loop and Dan has an earpiece in to help her direct the models. She sends each of them up the stairs with a gentle push and a grin.

Neil almost wishes that he could watch the show from a seat, but he stands between Kevin and Allison who both explain what is happening as it progresses. 

They peel off to walk the runway at the end and Neil can hear the enormous applause, which the rest of the team joins in through the finale. Neil has relaxed, but that knot of dread is still in his stomach. As the models stream back in, he waits anxiously for Kevin and Allison to come back to the safety of the downstairs. It’s a silly thing, since they will all be milling around and chatting throughout the after party anyway, but he wishes that he could keep an eye on his people while it’s so crowded.

The applause downstairs stutters when Allison reappears, Kevin pale and shocked looking beside her. Her hand his gripping his arm and she looks furious. Renee and Andrew fight their way through the models as soon as they see them, Renee with a calm but determined look on her face. She says something briefly to Kevin, then gently rubs Allisons arm to soothe the anger the radiates off of her.

Neil shares a look with Allison, then works his way over to Kevin as well.

He’s leaning heavily on the wall, his tall frame dwarfed by his terror.

“What happened,” Andrew says harshly. Kevin’s breathe wheezes in his chest. “Kevin, what happened.”

“Riko’s here,” he says finally, sounding winded. All of Neil’s air leaves his lungs, but he concentrates on keeping on his feet. He can’t afford to lose his mind while Kevin is panicking so obviously. It would betray the fact that he knows the Moriyama’s too quickly to everyone in the vicinity. The entire team knew about Kevin and Riko’s past, it wouldn’t take long for them to put 2 and 2 together if Neil had a panic attack at the base of the stairs.

“How did he get in?” Neil asks once he’s certain that his voice won’t betray him.

Disgust twists Andrew’s face in a shocking show of emotion. “He has a vested interest in the company, nothing is stopping him from having a little visit.”

Kevin looks to be on the verge of tears. “I can’t do it Andrew, I can’t go back. Oh God, oh God.”

“Kevin” Andrew has a firm hold of his lapel in an effort to keep him standing. “Kevin, listen to me. You will not go back. Even if he asks you. Even if he orders you to. They need you here, remember? Ichirou needs this company to do well, and it won’t without you. So you can’t go back.”

Kevin nods and Andrew pulls a flask out of his vest pocket. Kevin grabs it and takes a few swigs, drinking like it’s water. Neil can smell the vodka from where he’s standing, and he grimaces at the scent.

Andrew slowly lets go, holding his hands up in case Kevin topples. There’s a tense moment while they watch Kevin get a hold of himself, then he nods firmly. 

“You two will stick by?” he asks, his voice the shell of his usual tone. Neil is surprised to be included in the ‘security detail’ along with Andrew, but he nods anyway.

“Into the frying pan…” Andrew mutters as they follow Kevin back into the fray.

#andreil #aftg #aftg fanfic #all for the game #the foxhole court #tfc #neil josten #fashion designer neil josten #designer au #andrew minyard #kevin day #allison reynolds #renee walker #matt boyd #dan wilds #fanfic #my writing #writing #nicky hemmick

[cakane463]

🎞Decadent, prickly, and good in bed: meet the real #CecilBeaton As soon as you begin looking into #photography, or film, or theatre, or fashion, or design, or the Second World War, or the Royal Family, or in fact almost anything that happened in the 20th century, you meet Cecil Beaton. And then you go on meeting him, because his influence has been so far-reaching.

Over his near 70-year career, the British aesthete, who died in 1980, filled hundreds of sketchbooks, wrote hundreds of thousands of words, designed hundreds of costumes and sets and exposed thousands of rolls of film of such distinction that his thoughts and images have remained in almost perpetual circulation.

He was fuelled, he once said, by the fear of being ordinary. The idea that he might be thought of as such tormented him, as did his ambition, which was furious, all-consuming and made him, as David Bailey remarks, in a new documentary about Beaton, Love, Cecil, “a terrible social climber.”

Climb he did, though, from the suburbs of North London to the country houses of England’s aristocracy, with whom he picnicked in extravagant costume on the Wiltshire downs, or to Westminster Abbey as a guest at the Coronation. Even, it is said, into Greta Garbo’s bed. “I’m told actually Cecil was quite good in bed with girls,” says the interior designer and socialite Nicky Haslam, in the film.

Love, Cecil, a confection of photographs, footage, interviews and passages from Beaton’s own letters and diaries, read by Rupert Everett, is produced and directed by New Yorker Lisa Immordino Vreeland, who has previously made documentaries about fashion savant Diana Vreeland (her husband’s late grandmother), and about art collector Peggy Guggenheim. All three bring lost archival material to light, especially in the case of Beaton, where Immordino Vreeland unearthed both footage and persons not seen in decades. We hear from Beaton’s butler Ray Gurton, for instance, recalling his time at Reddish Manor, in Broad Chalke, Wiltshire, which Beaton purchased in 1945 and in which he lived out his dotage.

Not that he really had a dotage - Beaton despised the idea of “old age” and fought to keep working as long as he was able. “The real Cecil would come out when he was home at Reddish,” says Gurton, at one point, “in the garden with his old garden clothes on. He was happy. There was no grandeur. He really was himself, which was very nice to see.”

Next we see a white-haired Beaton with his cat, Timothy. “Here’s my little cat. He likes very much staying in the herbaceous border. Come on, Timothy, dear. Oh, I’m so pleased to see you. Nice cat. Timothy White. Timothy White.”

Then there is the clip of the Bright Young Things in fancy dress, posing for the camera, which Immordino Vreeland tracked to the Mosley family and, most remarkably, an American film from 1929, the year Beaton went to New York for the first time and really very early days in terms of sound, in which he declaims his theory of beauty to camera. It’s smug, abominably precocious stuff, and he was just 25 at the time, all elbows and wrists in his double-breasted suit. Immordino Vreeland unearthed the reel in an archive in New York, after having read press clippings preserved by Beaton in his scrapbooks, in which it is very clear the Americans didn’t get the “gag”, as he called it. “No beauties here, Artist in Despair He’s in a funk, you know”, reads one. “N.Y. Debs ‘Hideous,’ says Artist Seeking Beauty,” another.

“His reputation precedes him,” says Immordino Vreeland, speaking via phone from a canal in The Netherlands, where she is already at work on her next project. “I’d seen a side of him – we’ve all seen a side of him – but I suspected there was a lot more. I think most people only know the exterior Beaton, the one that was not that serious about things, it seemed, that was about decadence and fun, and his prickly personality, but what intrigued me, the more I looked into him, was his creativity, which was just astonishing. He had this mad, mad desire to create, and in so many different fields.

This was somebody who had real gravitas, who had an ability to be a vibrant person from the 1920s all the way through until the Seventies. He stepped into every one of those decades and he made himself relevant. That’s why he makes such a good story - it’s really the story of the 20th century unfolding before you. How many people today can you think of who are doing that? Who are capable of that? If you think about who is our Beaton, who is the Beaton today? I can’t think of anyone.“

Fantasy and theatre were Beaton’s thing; his understanding of beauty second to none, informed by a magpie intellect capable of drawing parallels between Moroccan face painting and Spanish flamenco, for instance, or the faces of Isak Dinesen and Virginia Woolf. ” I think beauty is there to be recognised,“ says Beaton, in the film, "I think it’s terribly important for the photographer to approach the subject with a very definite point of view of his own.”…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/photography/what-to-see/decadent-prickly-good-bed-meet-real-cecil-beaton/

#cecil beaton #Photography

[easynaturalhairstyle]

A-line bob haircuts 2020 - celebrity hairstyles

Who doesn't love to step back in time with a high-end vintage? Despite the sticky reputation this hairstyle had in the 1980s, the A-Line Bob Cut is making a comeback that hardly feels out of date. 2019 has just adopted the classic look and it has been re-labeled as trendy, bold and chic. With the official start of summer, the current season requires a current, low-maintenance hairstyle that makes you feel light and fresh without compromising your personal style.

With an ongoing list of trendy celebrities rocking this laid-back look shamelessly, they're here to show that summer 2019 is about getting shorter in the back and longer in the front, or vice versa (layers optional). Think of Kris Jenner after shaking the world when she debuted her super slim new “do” at this year's Met Gala (which undoubtedly made her look 10 years younger), or Winnie Harlow, who looks like a modern Mia Wallace looked at the CFDA Awards in Brooklyn last week.

Whatever the atmosphere of your daily look and overall style, the A-Line bob cut does all the work for you – channel your inner badass, even if you effortlessly throw on blue jeans and a simple T-shirt. In other words, it's the modern beast for your makeup routine. Since the iconic cut has shaped generations since the early 20th century, there is an abundance of inspiration. I mean, did you see what this cut did for Emily Ratajkowski in 2017? Just when you thought she couldn't get sexier, she hit us in the face with an A-line bob cut and said, "You thought."

If further evidence is needed to confirm that this hair trend is the only way to get her brand right in summer 2019, here's a jam-packed list of the hottest celebrities who let the bold bob take over.

Jourdan Dunn

The model rocks a nifty, sleek version that we can't stop staring at.

Katie Holmes

The actress channeled her inner freak with her clean haircut and a pop, and she's never looked better.

Katie Perry

Perry mastered the rock star atmosphere with her chaotic, pale blonde A-line cut.

Emily Ratajkowski

I'm not going to say I told you, but she killed it.

Margot Robbie

The actress served us the ideal summer look with her short beachy cut.

Kris Jenner

Kris' pale blonde A-line cut frames her face perfectly in all the right areas and encourages this radiant youthful glow to shine.

Naomi Campbell

This cut gives the iconic model the royal atmosphere it deserves.

Taylor Swift

The singer finally showed us her wild side after rocking this punk-inspired cut.

Soo Joo Park

So Joo killed the 2019 Kenzo Show with its fiery but classy new hairstyle.

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa embodied the perfect everyday version of the A-line cut by having a perfect balance between bold and slim and making her classy look completely versatile.

Nicki Minaj

Minaj recreated the retro style cut to make a bold statement. Her blonde hair turned her into the futuristic Barbie of our dreams.

Kim Kardashian

Once again Kim K. gets it. They say that characters tend to repeat themselves, and Kim's pinger, mid-section cut makes me feel like I'm staring at a modern Cleopatra.

Gabrielle Union

The actress delivered class with a gracious side of Sass in her beautiful, ultra-silky clean cut.

Khloé Kardashian

The beautiful development of Khloé. The Kardashian releases a new “hot mom” status with its current hairstyle without affecting its youthful, luxurious aesthetic.

Winnie Harlow

With this stunning version of the cut, the model switched it for this year's CFDA Awards. It makes me want a new version of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction film just so it can be the star.

Hailey Bieber

I don't really care whether this look was for Halloween or the red carpet; it looks epic.

Irina Shayk

The Russian supermodel made the right decision with the classic style, looked effortlessly snapped, while the A-line cut made the bold look for her.

Joan Smalls

I can't tell if she looks more like a fancy gangster straight out of The Godfather or a female James Bond, but the supermodel's one-sided A-line cut paired with a power suit is the epitome of a boss.

Rihanna

And last but not least, the queen herself looks like a king in a simple, classic A-line bob cut. She is undoubtedly a trendsetter, as shown by her transformation in 2007, when she also wore the A line during her Good Girl Gone Bad era.

A-line bob haircuts 2020 - celebrity hairstyles

[imm-blog1]

4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3

4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3 (also included at bottom is session 1) [ To see the rest of this, if it gets cut off, go to hearingtheword2.posterous.com/41211-notes-from-hip-hop-su… ] HIP-hop session #3 of 3 (B. Santelli leading) : [he’s reviewing some books as I arrive] …Tricia rose, hop hop wars..I took her place at rutgers….another..written colloquial….book..new history of.."big payback"…also nelson George..fellow journalist..jersey,,opinionated, but well-written.I was a rollng stone writer.. ‘500 greatest albums"..not many hip hop..very white..mtv did a series on greatest hop hop..wanted to go over greatest emcees. 10) ll cool j, 9 eminem, 8) ice cube 7) big daddy kane 6) krx-1 5) nas 4) rakim (william griffin, aka ra) 3) notorious b.I.g, aka biggie, 2) tupac 1) jayzee [conversation]..rock roll hall fame..they put us rolling stone writers..together..sppsd to pick 500..sppsd to be fun, but..by wed we were @ eachothers throats..who’s missing? No females. Lauren hill? ..[what about lil wayne?] …& the albums? 10) pub enemy, nation of millions 9) tupac 8) 7) nwa 6)jayzee 5)run dmc raising hell 4) biggie, ready to die, 3). ..2)? 1)paid in full (eric b. & rakim [spare, stripped down..rhyming, flawless,..his fav, raising hell ..6 of 10 from gangsta rap era ..[has this guy abandoned anglos..has he caved? Or is he speaking to his primary audience ? Only a handful of whites in the room of maybe 50]…hip hop orig was new york centric..like 50’s in memphis & orleans..but now things changing..begin. here in L.A. large af am pop in late 80’s..lot of kids rapping , deejaying..public enemy (long island), ..why so amazing..first class..am bl roots of hip hop ..we mentioned gil scott herron..changing..g.master flash.. some dies..pub enemy brings it back.chuck d. Knows his …pub enemy makes a political mess. ..from a white perspective..bob dylan…Fear of a black planet..nation of millions..huge..brought over to white…white intells..get more intrsted..then nwa and tupac..gangsta rap..west coast..using what pub enemy doing back east..more outrageous & angry than pub enemy.. …What we hear..chuck D….at rock of fame..had him come & lecture ..he said it was a refl of blues..language previously couched..in blues..now able to scream it..listen to tupac, … in harlem..best pedigree..black panther..he was deep into it..early life a mess..what tupac … shakur.this man had a..he was a 5 tool player….genuine anger..he was intelligent..bitter but intelligent..most important..listen to cadence of words..anyone can rhyme..but cadence…..Eminem..too many words..don’t apprec his stuff as much..tupac best ever..right in middle..perfect storm..east west..1990’s..mid 90’s..bitter rivalry east v west ..ironic …and tupac …then —– killed..neither murder solved..//Why a feud ? East jealous? Tupac..death row l.a..; bad boy east..so 2 diff schools forming.. Then puff daddy..sean combs (aka diddy, p diddy, puff daddy, p daddy) .west… tupac….2 "m words" .1) MEDIA..hip hop mags..source..vibe..’88 mtv raps ..2) MONEY ..early 90’s..can make money..on radio…mtv..also white element..beastie boys..middle class white kids in suburbs.. …Bold personalities..incendiary..tupac murdered..later biggie (notorious B.I.G, Real name Christopher Wallace, aka biggie smalls) killed..media gets hold of it ..society says its out of control….when Biggie dies..album..double platinum.. Also the tree..acid jazz, socially conscious hip hop, funk jazz, trip hop, some from england ..england didn’t embrace hip hop at first ….Arrested development..? Hip hop? Some music lost relevancy..blues, big band ..glenn miller..ragtime..some become "historical"..mid-90’s..hip hop not dying, but branching out..moody blues..I hated it…but difference between hating versus respecting [I actually liked moody blues & saw them @ hollywood bowl]…Who else ? Outcasts, wootang, lords of underground, onyx,.[several others shouted out] .hip hop 90’s taking over…Now beyond nyc & LA..master P…new orleans..tree exploding..geographic connections..diff sound..good businessman..he also played b-ball..also atlanta…in south, but northern sensib.,,,also houston..health..multi-billion $ business..mainstreaming of hip hop,,,gangsta rap dies out…invention, re-invention…..also, rise of detroit..eminem..major figure…brings detroit to forefront..making detroit hip..and then kid rock ..real..metal..fringe genres..coming together w/ hop hop..limp biscit, korn,…Today? Hip hop becoming irrelevant? ..making lots of money..stop changing..less experimentation..less bold, ..fashion from hip hop …u know u become mainstream when grammy recognizes u..heresy for me to say but….Recording academy..being in biz..producer, writer, ….[Plays vid eminem & elton jon..given hip hop’s homophobic culture..this was seminal] [ was it a seminal moment as the beginning of the END of hip-hop, as it lost its verve?] ..2006 nas comes out saying hip hop dead..didn’t want to stay stuck in rut…had nas here….rock hall of fame brings in hip hop, grammy awards..world knows hip hop …After we did whitehouse thing..state dept..calls..cultural diplomacy..obama revived it.. they asked me to organize hop hop to go to muslim countries.[hip hop to muslim countries as a form of diplomacy ?! Please explain how that would appease muslims or appeal to muslims who already think of America as godless] .as did armstrong & ellington 50 yrs ago …I couldn’t run it….Where is hop hop now ? Ring tone..commercialize..sound same..its on life support now..homogenized..mentions nicky menaj opening for britney spears in upcoming tour..360 degrees ..piracy..economy ….Country music still buys cd’s ..loyalty..not download..not w/ hip hop….need audience with means to support act ..when economy of art form goes away..trouble ..younger gen doesn’t feel the concept of spportin.."////BELOW are the NOTES from SESSION 1 of 3 (I missed session 2 ) ——————————–

3/29/11 NOTES FROM HIP-HOP SURVEY COURSE (1 of 3) taught by Bob @ GM: "…learn more abt music forums….like hip hop..whats a middle age white guy teaching hip hop..I’m a musical historian…af am music my specialty..not hip hop.this class not like the elvis class.this is a survey course..3 periods as an overview..will have other courses..hip hop america’s pop music now last quarter century..its a survey class..people who live this culture..if u want to add, embellish..can never learn too much..my expertise. Af am music..also reggae..after hip hop comes bob marley exhibit..a hip hop museum ready to launch..in bronx..I’m on board…maybe russel simmons on board..anybody see him here a few weeks ago….others coming chris blackwell, ..pbs special..kate..@ whitehouse..kate did this exhibit..don’t need to agree..its interpretive..subjectivity..otherwise just read in book ..used to teach @ rutgers..this is not academia..try to do this in colloquial way..not preach to u..meant to be entertaining..some here b/c I asked u to come..I didn’t come quickly to hip hop..even tho I was there in the early 70’s…think of 20th century..america’s century..come to age as superpower..after fall of comm ..also musically, no country can touch what we have given to the world musically in 20th century..separate bl & wh culture..look @ af am contribs..as to amt..# of new forms..brilliant artists..overall impact.entire world..not all clear cut..jazz black music form..but dig down.others contrib too ..but in general..louis armstrong et al..blues blues jazz, soul, funk, r & b, disco, hip hop, bee bop swing, cool, fusion,,of all these forms..all given due..endorsed exported..except hip hop until now…revol music..challenges..polit..most recent..hasn’t gotten its due.celeb gospel blues…maybe too controversial to get credit..still…what made it so..give & take of african cult..also anglo irish..also racism..extra tension..in nutshell..bl & wh celbr..where r we now..first time..af ams bouncing …haven’t had major music..lately..last was grunge..late 80’s, 90’s..music slowed down ?ess imp..25% decrease in concert att…here to ..soul music..motown..also…and atlantic..golden age..also rock roll..then 1970’s..chronolog..musically ’63 to ’73..that’s the 60’s music era..hip hop..not 60’s ..bronx..how go from soul ..then..to funk…I don’t know re hip hop in ’73 ..have to wait 6 years..before recorded artifact..rappers delight ..sugar hill gang..why in this ? .69 71 motown losing lustre..stevie wonder..migrated..motown leaves detroit comes here..but not like it used to be..sly & family stone..loses sensib as..couple key bands & artists..2 huge..gil scott herron ..last poets..black..music…."when revol comes.."..gangsta rap..not on radio..last poets..many blacks didn’t even know of this music..marvin gaye..more known..cnsdrd greatest of all times..70-73 ..clip.."far too many of u dying.."…[red hat]..also "sounds of philadelphia"..the oj’s..signed in cleve but rcrded in phillie.."love train" ….revolution vs love..this is backdrop to bronx ..no q..rock surfaces memphis ..why hip hop fr bronx..music to be created & sustained..not just artist but audience..in bronx..it was like beirut or baghdad..suffered incredibly..ny in bad condition..bronx pushed aside..gangs ..drugs..south bronx..maybe mother cabrini projrcts chicago..maybe south l.a….become so isolated..create in a vacum w/o outside interference or ack..seattle..grunge..a seam..pearl jam, nirvana..already formed b/f world knew..a lot carribeans settled nyc ..jamaicans..brooklyn..1962 jamaica indep..many got out..s. bronx…late 60’s..kid campbell..clive ..from jamaica..brings..reggae..sound systems..everything outdoors ..disc jockey….toast over dub plates..jamaicans come to usa with this..clive campbell..longs for jamaica..wonders what he’s doing in bronx..sound system..he didn’t know he was creating history…invit..come to dj cool hercs party set up jamaica style..earliest hip hop…rap..part of af am cult..verbal battles..here at herks party..af ams and jamaicans together..’73..sudden concept of spinning records..unique way, art form..74 75..another frm..also hispanic & gay..disco..gets no respect…but it was important..w/o disco no m. Jackson, no usher..in manhattan..records..disc spun..if white grate dead, almond bros,..underground movement, black hispanic gay..dance again..mixing..never leave dance floor..77 sat night fever..mst imp of all time..j. travolta..exported disco cult..drugs..all this happ.. bee gees..trammpps…burn baby burn..disco inferno..red & white outfits..early hip hop would borrow from.some day will do disco shoe exhibit….or rush..sex pistols.springsteen..u had to select what u would embrace….people dressed their music..

Then bob marley..new sensib..lively up yourself..all this happening..rappers delight..sugarhill gang….soul train on tv..imp for black..this was seminal..just happened to catch it on camera..not the best

Three main entities..curtis blow..then up to run dmc ..hip hop is developing a consc style.that will explode…grand wizard theatre..scratching..then grand master flash. Popularized it..then .barbada (?)..flash a seminal giant..

Dj & mc..back then dj..was the guy..age of mc in future..dancing why they’re spinning records..bee boy bee girl..bboy break dancing..some of best break dancers were latino ..

Tagging..grafitti..becomes part..cey dams..tagging did a piece here ..been dodging cops for 3 decades…there’s a f you mentality in bronx..didn’t want to be part of discos..taggers..socs & psys studied.. I was in zurich..most expensive place in world..cab..graffitti wall..

[He periodically makes some of his prejudices obvious..re "conservative zurich"..wouldn’t apprec it in des moines iowa.."no offense to des moines"..let’s "rock n roll"..(it was a term for sexual icourse)..he’s talking to white christians….jazz also fr black culture ..means sex icourse.."

Posted by VANDERKOK on 2011-04-14 00:16:15

Tagged: , curtis blow , run dmc , grand master flash , grand wizard theatre , tagging , graffiti , nas , black planet , ll cool j , eminem , big daddy kane , mtv , krx-1 , public enemy , rakim , gangsta rap , diddy , puff daddy , p diddy , sean combs , arrested development , outcasts , wootang , nwa , shakur , tupac , ice cube , beastie boys , lords of underground , jayzee , lil wayne , santelli , grammy moody blues , bronx , russel simmons , sugarhill gang , last poets , marvin gaye , ojays , clive campbell , dj cool herc , saturday night fever , travolta , disco , bee gees , trampps , disco inferno , burn baby burn

The post 4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3 appeared first on Good Info.

[wikimakemoney]

Online gambling

Online gambling (or Internet gambling) is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public, was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994.[1] Today the market is worth around $40 billion globally each year, according to various estimates.[2][3]

Many countries restrict or ban online gambling. However it is legal in some states of the United States, some provinces in Canada, most countries of the European Union and several nations in the Caribbean.

In many legal markets, online gambling service providers are required by law to have some form of licence if they wish to provide services or advertise to residents there. For example, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission[4] or the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in the USA.

Many online casinos and gambling companies around the world choose to base themselves in tax havens near to their main markets. These destinations include Gibraltar, Malta and Alderney in Europe[5], and in Asia, the Special Administrative Region of Macau was long considered a tax haven and known base for gambling operators in the region.[6] However, in 2018 the EU removed Macau from their list of black-listed tax havens.[7]

Contents

1 History

2 Forms

2.1 Poker

2.2 Casinos

2.3 Sports betting

2.4 Bingo

2.5 Lotteries

2.5.1 UK National Lottery

2.6 Horse racing betting

2.7 Mobile gambling

2.8 In-play gambling

2.9 Advance-deposit wagering

3 Funds transfers

4 Legal status

4.1 Antigua and Barbuda

4.2 Australia

4.3 Canada

4.4 France

4.5 Germany

4.6 India

4.7 Israel

4.8 Poland

4.9 Russia

4.10 Singapore

4.11 Ukraine

4.12 United Kingdom

4.13 United States

4.13.1 Remote gambling

4.14 Other countries

5 Online gambling industry statistics

5.1 UK

5.2 European Union (EU)

6 Problem gambling

7 Money laundering

8 Player perception

9 See also

10 References

History

In 1994, Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free Trade & Processing Act, allowing licences to be granted to organisations applying to open online casinos.[8] Before online casinos, the first fully functional gambling software was developed by Microgaming, an Isle of Man-based software company. This was secured with software developed by CryptoLogic, an online security software company. Safe transactions became viable; this led to the first online casinos in 1994.[8]

1996 saw the establishment of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which regulated online gaming activity from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and issues gaming licences to many of the world’s online casinos and poker rooms.[8] This is an attempt to keep the operations of licensed online gambling organisations fair and transparent.

In the late 1990s, online gambling gained popularity; there were only fifteen gambling websites in 1996, but that had increased to 200 websites by the following year. A report published by Frost & Sullivan revealed that online gambling revenues had exceeded $830 million in 1998 alone. In the same year the first online poker rooms were introduced.[8] Soon afterwards in 1999, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced as a bill in the US Senate; it would have meant that a company could not offer any online gambling product to any U.S citizen. But it did not pass.[8] Multiplayer online gambling was also introduced in 1999.

In 2000, the first Australian Federal Government passed the Interactive Gambling Moratorium Act, making it illegal for any online casino not licensed and operating before May 2000 to operate. This meant Lasseter’s Online became the only online casino able to operate legally in Australia; however, they cannot take bets from Australian citizens.[8]

By 2001, the estimated number of people who had participated in online gambling rose to 8 million, and growth continued, despite continuing legal challenges to online gambling.[citation needed]

In 2008, H2 Gambling Capital estimated worldwide online gambling revenue at $21 billion.[8]

In 2016, Statista predicted that the online gambling market would reach $45.86 billion, growing to $56.05 billion by 2018.[9]

Forms

The Internet has allowed new types of gambling to be available on line. Improvements in technology have changed betting habits just as video lottery terminals, keno and scratchcards changed the gambling industry in the 20th century.

Gambling has become one of the most popular and lucrative businesses on the Internet. In 2007 the UK Gambling Commission stated that the gambling industry had achieved a turnover of over £84 billion. This is partly due to the wide range of gambling options available to many different types of people.[10] An article by Darren R. Christensen, Nicki A. Dowling, Alun C. Jackson and Shane A. Thomas said that a survey recorded in Australia showed that the most common forms of gambling were lotteries (46.5%), keno (24.3%), instant scratch tickets (24.3%), and electronic gaming machines (20.5%).[11]

Poker

Main article: Online poker

Online poker tables commonly offer Texas hold ’em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz, HORSE and other game types in both tournament and Cash game structures. Players play against each other rather than the “house”, with the card room making its money through “rake” and through tournament fees.

Casinos

Main article: Online casino

There are a large number of online casinos in which people can play casino games such as roulette, blackjack, pachinko, baccarat and many others. These games are played against the “house” which makes money because the odds are in its favor.

Sports betting

Main article: Sports betting

Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Usually the wager is in the form of money.

Bingo

Main article: Online bingo

Online bingo is the game of bingo (US|non-US) played on the Internet.

Lotteries

Most lotteries are run by governments and are heavily protected from competition due to their ability to generate large taxable cash flows. The first online lotteries were run by private individuals or companies and licensed to operate by small countries. Most private online lotteries have stopped trading as governments have passed new laws giving themselves and their own lotteries greater protection. Government-controlled lotteries now offer their games online.

UK National Lottery

The UK National Lottery started in 1994 and is operated by the Camelot Group. Around 70% of UK adults play the National Lottery regularly, making the average annual sales over £5 billion apart from the year 2000-01 where sales dropped just below that. In its first seventeen years it has created over 2,800 millionaires.[12]

In 2002 Camelot decided to rebrand the National Lottery main draw after falling ticket sales. The name National Lottery was kept as the general name for the organisation and the main draw was renamed Lotto. The advertising campaign for the new Lotto cost £72 million which included ten television advertisements featuring Scottish comedian Billy Connolly and one of the largest ever poster campaigns. The new brand and name had the slogan:

“Don’t live a little, live a Lotto”[13]

Horse racing betting

Horse racing betting comprises a significant percentage of online gambling wagers and all major Internet bookmakers, betting exchanges, and sports books offer a wide variety of horse racing betting markets.

Horse wagering using online methods across state lines is legal in several states in the United States. In 2006, the NTRA and various religious organizations lobbied in support of an act in Congress meant to limit online gambling. Some critics of the bill argued that the exemption of horse racing wagering was an unfair loophole. In response, the NTRA responded that the exemption was “a recognition of existing federal law”, not a new development. Interstate wagering on horse racing was first made legal under the Interstate Horseracing Act written in 1978.[14] The bill was rewritten in the early 2000s to include the Internet in closed-circuit websites, including simulcast racing, as compared to simply phones or other forms of communication.[15]

Mobile gambling

Main article: Mobile gambling

Mobile gambling refers to playing games of chance or skill for money by using a remote device such as a tablet computer, smartphone or a mobile phone with a wireless Internet connection.

In-play gambling

In-play gambling is a feature on many online sports betting websites that allows the user to bet while the event is in progress. A benefit of live in-play gambling is that there are much more markets. For example, in Association football a user could bet on which player will receive the next Yellow card, or which team will be awarded the next corner kick.[16]

Advance-deposit wagering

Main article: Advance-deposit wagering

Advance-deposit wagering (ADW) is a form of gambling on the outcome of horse races in which the bettor must fund his or her account before being allowed to place bets. ADW is often conducted online or by phone. In contrast to ADW, credit shops allow wagers without advance funding; accounts are settled at month-end. Racetrack owners, horse trainers and state governments sometimes receive a share of ADW revenues.

Funds transfers

The money for online gambling can come from credit card, electronic check, certified check, money order, wire transfer, or cryptocurrencies. Normally, gamblers upload funds to the online gambling company, make bets or play the games that it offers, and then cash out any winnings. Gamblers can often fund gambling accounts by credit card or debit card, and cash out winnings directly back to the card; most U.S. banks, however, prohibit the use of their cards for the purpose of Internet gambling, and attempts by Americans to use credit cards at Internet gambling sites are usually rejected.[17] A number of electronic money services offer accounts with which online gambling can be funded.

Legal status

Antigua and Barbuda

Many of the companies operating out of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda are publicly traded on various stock exchanges, specifically the London Stock Exchange. Antigua has met British regulatory standards and has been added to the UK’s “white list”, which allows licensed Antiguan companies to advertise in the UK.[18]

The national government, which licenses Internet gambling entities, made a complaint to the World Trade Organization about the U.S. government’s actions to impede online gaming. The Caribbean country won the preliminary ruling but WTO’s appeals body somewhat narrowed that favorable ruling in April 2005.[19] The appeals decision held that various state laws argued by Antigua and Barbuda to be contrary to the WTO agreements were not sufficiently discussed during the course of the proceedings to be properly assessed by the panel. However, the appeals panel also ruled that the Wire Act and two other federal statutes prohibiting the provision of gambling services from Antigua to the United States violated the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services. Although the United States convinced the appeals panel that these laws were “necessary” to protect public health and morals, the asserted United States defense on these grounds was ultimately rejected because its laws relating to remote gambling on horse-racing were not applied equally to foreign and domestic online betting companies, and thus the United States could not establish that its laws were non-discriminatory.[20]

On 30 March 2007, the WTO confirmed that the U.S. “had done nothing to abide by an earlier verdict that labeled some U.S. Internet gambling restrictions as illegal.”[21]

On 19 June 2007, Antigua and Barbuda filed a claim with the WTO for US$3.4 billion in trade sanctions against the United States, and in particular, the ability for the country to suspend its enforcement of U.S. copyrights and patents and a punitive measure. On 28 January 2013, the WTO authorized the ability for Antigua and Bermuda to monetize and exploit U.S. copyrights as compensation for the country’s actions; the country planned to form “a statutory body to own, manage and operate the ultimate platform to be created for the monetisation or other exploitation of the suspension of American intellectual property rights”.[22][23][24]

Australia

Main article: Gambling in Australia

On 28 June 2001 the Australian Government passed the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA). The government said that the IGA was important to protect Australians from the harmful effects of gambling. The offense applies to all interactive gambling service providers, whether based in Australia or offshore, whether Australian or foreign owned. The IGA makes it an offence to provide an interactive gambling service to a customer physically present in Australia, but it is not an offence for Australian residents to play poker or casino games online. Sports betting online is legal in Australia, with many state government licensed sportsbooks in operation.[citation needed]

Canada

While the criminal code of Canada does not prohibit online gambling, it does prohibit any type of gambling at an establishment not owned or licensed by a provincial government. Not withstanding this fact, there are an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 offshore websites that make casino type games and other gambling activities available to Canadians.[25] For online gambling operations within Canada’s borders, the Canadian authorities are willing to prosecute, but as of this date, have only done so once, when British Columbia prosecuted Starnet Communications International (“SCI”), a Delaware corporation, run by residents of Vancouver, where one of the company’s servers was located. The court found that SCI had sufficient contact with Canada to be prosecuted under its criminal code. SCI was fined $100,000 and forfeited nearly $4 million in profits. It has since moved its operations overseas.[26]

In 2004, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation launched Canada’s first legal online casino, PlayNow.com, which makes legal online gambling available to residents of British Columbia and Manitoba.[27] A survey conducted in 2007 showed that only about 2.3% of Canadians reported participating in online gambling.[28] However, in 2012, Manitoba Lotteries Minister Steve Ashton estimated that gamblers in Manitoba alone were spending $37 million a year at illegal online casinos.[29] Quebec’s lottery organization Loto-Quebec launched a similar service, known as Espacejeux.[30]

According to John A. Cunningham, Joanne Cordingley, David C. Hodgins and Tony Toneatto a telephone survey was recorded in Ontario that shows there was a strong agreement that conceptions of gambling abuse as a disease or addiction were positively associated with belief that treatment is needed, while there was a strong agreement that disease or wrongdoing were positively associated with the belief that abstinence is required.[31]

France

Main article: Gambling in France

On 5 March 2009, France proposed new laws to regulate and tax Internet gambling. Budget minister Eric Woerth stated the French gambling market would expand to adapt to “Internet reality.” He further stated “Rather than banning 25,000 websites, we’d rather give licenses to those who will respect public and social order.”[32] Betting exchanges, however, will remain illegal under the new plans.

Germany

The German Interstate Treaty on gaming, which came into force on 1 January 2008, banned all forms of online gaming and betting in the country, with the exception of wagers on horse racing. The European Gaming & Betting Association turned to the European Commission with the request to take action against the German legislation, because such stringent legislation violated EU rules.[33] In 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled that the monopolised gambling industry in Germany has to be liberalised. Schleswig-Holstein is the only German state that has already come up with their own gambling bill allowing gambling online. From 2012, casino operators can apply for an online gambling license in this state.[34]

India

Main article: Online Gambling In India

Online gambling is illegal in the state of Maharashtra under the “Bombay Wager Act”. Other acts/legislations are silent with respect to online gambling/online gaming in India. The most recent law to address gambling online was the Federal Information Technology Rules where such illegal activities may be blocked by Internet providers within India. Another act is the Public Gaming Act of 1867. States tend to operate on their own authority.

Online gambling legal issues in India are complicated in nature as Gambling in India is regulated by different states laws and online gambling is a central subject. To ascertain the position of Indian government, the Supreme Court of India sought the opinion of central government[35] in this regard but the same was declined by the central government.[36] This has made playing of online cards games like rummy, poker, etc. legally risky.[37] Playing Rummy in India is legal as according to the verdict of Supreme Court of India, Rummy is a Game of skills and cannot be considered as Gambling. [38]

On 3 September 2015, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a Circular titled “Clarification on Tax Compliance for Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets” under the black money act which directs the online poker players in the country to declare their money transactions on foreign poker sites through the e-wallets and virtual cards.[39]

Israel

The Israel gambling law (Israeli Penal Law 5737 – 1977) does not refer specifically to online gambling (land based gambling and playing games of chances is prohibited except in the cases of the Israel Lottery and the Israeli Commission for Sports Gambling). In December 2005, the attorney general ordered all online gambling operations, online backgammon included, to close their businesses and at the same time commanded credit card companies to cease cooperating with online gambling websites.[40] In May 2007, the attorney general had excluded the online backgammon website Play65 from the ruling, due to “the unique circumstances of the site’s activity”, allowing it to return to full activity in Israel.[41][failed verification]

In 2012, the Tel Aviv Police Commander ordered local ISPs to block access to several online gambling sites. The District Court invalidated this order. The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in 2013, finding that the police do not have legal authority to issue such orders. The government responded by proposing a bill that will authorize such orders, referring to child pornography, drug trafficking and online gambling websites.[citation needed]

Poland

In December 2016 the amendment to the Polish Gambling Act was scheduled to come into force on 1 April 2017. Online gambling will be only possible on the sites with Polish license.

Russia

Main article: Gambling in Russia

Russian legislation, enacted in December 2006, prohibits online gambling altogether (as well as any gambling relying on telecommunications technology).[42]

Singapore

In 2014, the Singapore parliament tabled the Remote Gambling Bill as a counter-measure against online gambling locally,[43] while parliamentary member Denise Phua spoke against legalised gambling in Singapore.[44]

Ukraine

Gambling was prohibited in Ukraine in 2009 after a fire occurred in an illegal gambling hall in Dnipro (former Dnipropetrovsk), in which nine people died.[45]

The Law On Prohibition of Gambling Business, signed by then President of the Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, made all forms of gambling, including slots machines, bookmaking and online gambling illegal in Ukraine.[46]

In August 2019, the President of the Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi proclaimed the intention to legalise gambling, as its restoration may positively impact on the financial situation in the country.[47]

Despite the 2009 law, many venues continued to operate using legal loopholes for many years. Over 900 such gambling operations were closed down in preparation for a legalised market.

On January the 24th 2020, legislators in the Verkhovna Rada passed the first stage of the law to reintroduce legal gambling in Ukraine.[48]

United Kingdom

Main article: Gambling in the United Kingdom

In 2003 Tessa Jowell, then Culture Secretary suggested a change in the British Gambling laws to keep up with advances in technology.

.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}

Our gambling laws date back to the 1960s. Since then attitudes to gambling have changed and the law has failed to keep pace with rapid technological change. Gambling is now a diverse, vibrant and innovative industry and a popular leisure activity enjoyed in many forms by millions of people. The law needs to reflect that.[49]

The Bill identified updates to the laws already in place in the UK, and also created the UK Gambling Commission to take over from the Gambling Board. The commission will have the power to prosecute any parties in breach of the guidelines set out by the bill and will be tasked with regulating any codes of practice they set forward. The Bill set out its licensing objectives, which are as follows:

Ensuring no link between gambling and crime or disorder

Ensuring that gambling is conducted fairly and openly

Protecting children and vulnerable adults from harm or exploitation

The Bill also set out guidelines stating that gambling will be unlawful in the UK unless granted a licence, permit or registration. It outlined the penalty for being in breach of these guidelines, that being a maximum of six months in prison, a fine, or both for each offence. Any person under 18 will not be allowed to gamble and it is an offence to invite or permit anyone under the age of 18 years to gamble.

United States

Main article: Gambling in the United States

Legislation on online gambling in the United States was first drafted in the late 1990s. Bob Goodlatte and Jon Kyl introduced bills to the Senate that would curb online gambling activities except for those that involved horse and dog races and state lotteries.[50] Those bills however were not passed.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled[51] in November 2002 that the Federal Wire Act prohibits electronic transmission of information for sports betting across telecommunications lines but affirmed a lower court ruling[52] that the Wire Act “‘in plain language’ does not prohibit Internet gambling on a game of chance.” But the federal Department of Justice continues, publicly, to take the position that the Wire Act covers all forms of gambling.[53]

In April 2004 Google and Yahoo!, the two largest Internet search engines, announced that they were removing online gambling advertising from their sites. The move followed a United States Department of Justice announcement that, in what some say is a contradiction of the Appeals Court ruling, the Wire Act relating to telephone betting applies to all forms of Internet gambling, and that any advertising of such gambling “may” be deemed as aiding and abetting. Critics of the Justice Department’s move say that it has no legal basis for pressuring companies to remove advertisements and that the advertisements are protected by the First Amendment.[54] In April 2005, Yahoo! has instigated a restrictive policy about gambling ads.[55]

In July 2006, David Carruthers, the CEO of BetonSports, a company publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, was detained in Texas while changing planes on his way from London to Costa Rica.[56] He and ten other individuals had been previously charged in a sealed indictment with violations of US federal laws relating to illegal gambling. While as noted above, a United States Appeals court has stated that the Wire Act does not apply to non-sports betting, the Supreme Court of the United States previously refused to hear an appeal of the conviction of Jay Cohen, where lower courts held that the Wire Act does make it illegal to own a sports betting operation that offers such betting to United States citizens.[57]

The BetOnSports indictment alleged violations of at least nine different federal statutes, including 18 USC Sec. 1953 (Operation of an Illegal Gambling Business).[58] Carruthers is currently under house arrest on a one million dollar bail bond.[59]

In September 2006, Sportingbet reported that its chairman, Peter Dicks, was detained in New York City on a Louisiana warrant while traveling in the United States on business unrelated to online gaming.[60] Louisiana is one of the few states that has a specific law prohibiting gambling online. At the end of the month, New York dismissed the Louisiana warrant.[61]

Also in September 2006, just before adjourning for the midterm elections, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (as a section of the unrelated SAFE Port Act) to make transactions from banks or similar institutions to online gambling sites illegal.[62] This differed from a previous bill passed only by the House that expanded the scope of the Wire Act. The passed bill only addressed banking issues. The Act was signed into law on 13 October 2006, by President George W. Bush. At the UIGEA bill-signing ceremony, Bush did not mention the Internet gambling measure, which was supported by the National Football League but opposed by banking groups.[63] The regulation called for in the UIGEA was issued in November 2008.[64][65]

In April 2007, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which would modify UIGEA by providing a provision for licensing of Internet gambling facilities by the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Several similar bills have been introduced since then in the House and Senate.

In June 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice seized over $34 million belonging to over 27,000 accounts in the Southern District of New York Action Against Online Poker Players. This is the first time money was seized from individual players as compared to the gaming company. Jeff Ifrah, the lawyer for one of the account management companies affected, said that the government “has never seized an account that belongs to players who are engaged in what [Ifrah] would contend is a lawful act of playing peer-to-peer poker online.”[66]

On 3 December 2009, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on UIGEA and Rep. Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2267) where experts in the fields of online security and consumer safety testified that a regulatory framework for Internet gambling would protect consumers and ensure the integrity of Internet gambling financial transactions. On 28 July 2010, the committee passed H.R. 2267 by a vote of 41-22-1. The bill would legalize and regulate online poker and some other forms of online gambling.[67][68]

On 22 November 2010, the New Jersey state Senate became the first such US body to pass a bill (S490) expressly legalizing certain forms of online gambling. The bill was passed with a 29–5 majority. The bill allows bets to be taken by in-State companies on poker games, casino games and slots but excludes sports betting, although it allows for the latter to be proposed, voted on and potentially regulated separately in due course.[69] However, a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll in April 2009 showed only 26% of New Jersey voters approved of online sports-betting.[70] On a national level, two-thirds (67%) of voters polled by PublicMind in March 2010 opposed changing the law to allow online betting. Men were more likely than women (29–14%) and liberals more likely than conservatives (27–18%) to approve of changing the law to allow online betting.[71] In May 2012, FDU’s PublicMind conducted a follow up study which asked voters if they favored or opposed online gaming/gambling and “allowing New Jersey casinos to run betting games online, over the Internet.” The results showed that (31%) of voters favored while a sizable majority (58%) opposed the idea. Peter Woolley, director of the PublicMind, commented on the results: “Online gambling may be a good bet for new state revenue, but lots of voters don’t think it’s a good bet for New Jersey households.”[72]

On 15 April 2011, in U. S. v. Scheinberg et al. (10 Cr. 336), three online poker companies were indicted for violating U.S. laws that prohibit the acceptance of any financial instrument in connection with unlawful Internet gambling,[73][74] that is, Internet gambling that involves a “bet or wager” that is illegal under the laws of the state where the bet is made.[75] The indictment alleges that the companies used fraudulent methods to evade this law, for example, by disguising online gambling payments as purchases of merchandise, and by investing money in a local bank in return for the bank’s willingness to process online poker transactions.[73] The companies argue that poker is a game of skill rather than a game of chance, and therefore, online poker is not unlawful Internet gambling. There are other legal problems with the government’s case, and the indictments did not mention the Wire Act.[76] On 31 July 2012, it was announced that two of the three companies indicted for money laundering and forfeiture settled with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney for $731 million without legally admitting guilt. The government also asked the judge to approve a settlement with the third defendant, Absolute Poker.[77] In March 2016, PokerStars spokesman Eric Hollreiser said his company finally had established an important beachhead in the U.S. market by being able to operate legally in New Jersey.[78]

Remote gambling

The Bill defined remote gambling as,

“Gambling in which persons participate by the use of remote communication”

This would be using the internet, the telephone, radio, television of any other device used for communication. Any operator must have a separate licence for remote gambling and non-remote gambling. The licence must state what form the remote gambling would come in and any conditions appropriate to each operator. Offences for breaching remote gambling guidelines are the same as breaching non-remote gambling guidelines.[49]

Other countries

Various forms of online gambling are legal and regulated in many countries, including some provinces in Canada, most members of the European Union and several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea.

Online gambling industry statistics

UK

In the UK, between 2009 and 2010, 4% of adults had bet online.[79] Between April 2010 and March 2011, online gambling which is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission yielded £660.74 million, a 5% increase on the previous year. The British regulated online gambling sector was worth a 12% market share of the British regulated gambling industry within the same time period. Most British consumer online gambling activity is on overseas regulated websites, and estimates place the UK consumer market for online gambling at £1.9 billion for 2010. (Approximately three times the size of the British regulated market). In the year to March 2011, 5000 adults were surveyed and reported that 11.2% of them had participated in at least one form of remote gambling in the previous four weeks. Approximately half of the respondents had only participated in National Lottery products. Another group of interviews conducted by the Gambling Commission.[80]

In March 2011, the UK online gambling industry employed 6,077 full-time employees. A number that has declined since 2008 where 8,918 full-time employees were in employment within the industry. Also, there were 291 remote gambling activity licences held by 225 operators at this date. Three of the sectors within online gambling are betting, bingo and casino which between them turned over £13,456.07 million between April 2010 and March 2011. During this time period, betting turned over a substantial proportion of this amount, turning over £13,081.44 million, with bingo and casino turning over £26.75 million and £347.87 million respectively.[80]

European Union (EU)

According to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), online gambling is a growing sector within the EU, with gross gaming revenue (GGR) expected to reach €29.3 billion in 2022. According to EGBA, the EU online gambling market was valued at €22.2 billion GGR in 2018 – growing 11% from €20 billion GGR in 2017 – and accounted for 49.2% of the global online gambling market. The EU online gambling channelled or white market accounted for €15.9bn, reflecting an average EU-wide channelling rate of 71.7%. Online gambling now represents 23.2% of the total EU gambling market activity, while offline gambling (lotteries, casinos, bookmakers shops, etc) had a total GGR of €73.5bn, accounting for 76.8% of the overall EU gambling market. In 2018, the UK market (34.2%) accounted for the largest portion of the EU online gambling market, based on GGR, followed by Germany (11.1%), France (8.8%) and Italy (8.1%).[81]

Problem gambling

Main article: Problem gambling

A 2015 review found evidence of higher rates of mental health comorbidites, as well as higher amounts of substance use, amongst internet gamblers, compared to non internet gamblers. Causation, however, has not been established, and the review postulated the there may differences in the cohorts between internet and land-based problem gamblers.[82]

In the United States in 1999 the National Gambling Impact Study stated “the high-speed instant gratification of Internet games and the high level of privacy they offer may exacerbate problem and pathological gambling”. A UK government-funded review of previous research noted a small scale patient survey leading to press reports claiming that 75% of people who gamble online are “problem” or “pathological” gamblers, compared to just 20% of people who visit legitimate land-based casinos.[83][84]

A study by the UK Gambling Commission, the “British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010”, found that approximately 0.9% of the adult population had problem gambling issues, more than shown in a previous study in 2007. The highest prevalence of problem gambling was found among those who participated in playing Poker at a pub or club (20.3%), Dog races (19.2%) and online slot machine style or instant win games (17%). Additionally the report noted a 15% increase in overall gambling since 2007, from a rate of 58% in 2007 to 73% in 2010. Significantly, the 2010 prevalence survey notes that whilst the overall gambling figure had increased, the prevalence among men at 75% was not dissimilar to the amounts in two previous surveys in 1999 and 2007 which were 76% and 71% respectively. However, the prevalence among women for 2010 was 71%, which was higher than 68% in 1999 and 65% in 2007.[79]

In August 2014 the National Council of Problem Gambling (NCPG) partnered with the Gambling Integrity Services (GIS). The GIS will evaluate these recently regulated internet gambling operators in order to ensure they comply with NCPG’s internet Responsible Gambling Standards.[85]

A study released by the University of Buffalo in November 2014 states that the explosion of online gambling in the United States in the past decade has not given rise to more people with gambling problems.[86]

According to Darren R. Christensen, Nicki A. Dowling, Alun C. Jackson and Shane A. Thomas a survey recorded in Australia shows that gambling severity rates were estimated at non-gambling (34.8%), non-problem gambling (57.4%), low risk gambling (5.3%), moderate risk (1.8%) and problem gambling (0.7%).[11]

Money laundering

It has also been alleged that the largely unsupervised electronic funds transfers inherent in online gambling are being exploited by criminal interests to launder large amounts of money.[83] However, according to a US GAO study, “Banking and gaming regulatory officials did not view Internet gambling as being particularly susceptible to money laundering, especially when credit cards, which create a transaction record and are subject to relatively low transaction limits, were used for payment. Likewise, credit card and gaming industry officials did not believe Internet gambling posed any particular risks in terms of money laundering.”[87]

In 2011, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed United States v. Scheinberg, a federal criminal case against the founders of the three largest online poker companies, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Cereus Poker Network (Absolute Poker/Ultimatebet), and a handful of their associates, which alleges that the defendants violated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and engaged in bank fraud and money laundering in order to process transfers to and from their customers.

A BBC investigation in 2019 described how cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin were being used for under-age gambling, money-laundering and political corruption in the Caribbean island of Curaçao. [88]

Player perception

Due to the virtual nature of online gambling, it is hard for players to verify the authenticity of sites they are using.[89] Unlike in physical casinos, randomness and deck shuffling cannot be verified by visual means unless the casino is provably fair. Players interact with other players through GUIs, which connect to the gambling site’s server in a non-transparent manner.[90] Players’ attitudes towards sites plays an important role in online purchases and customer loyalty. Lack of trust in payment systems and security are primary reasons for avoiding online gambling.[91] In an online survey[when?] of 10,838 online casino and poker players from over 96 countries, respondents reported a high level of mistrust of online gambling. 91.5% believed that reputable third party reports on randomness and payouts were important to gain their trust.[89] However, contrasting research shows that seals-of-approval granted by these third parties does not have a strong influence on purchasing behavior, nor are customers usually aware of their existence.[92]

Responsible Gambling Features (RGFs) are features that online gambling sites use to promote responsible behavior and reduce harm. These include limiting amounts that can be bet or deposited over a designated period of time, self-assessment tests for gambling problems, and warning signs of prolonged play or high expenditure.[89] RGFs are usually opt-in features for players and are required by certain jurisdictions. For example, operators in Denmark, Germany, and Spain must provide deposit limits, but this is only voluntary for Australian operators.[89] A sample of online poker players from Sweden indicated that RGFs increase their trust in a company and reduce their anxiety about winning from other players.[93] However, in jurisdictions that mandate Responsible Gambling Features, only a small percentage of customers use them. In Australia, 0.8% used the deposit limit on SportsBet and 6% used deposit loss limits on BetFair Australia.[94]

See also

Gaming control board

List of mergers and acquisitions in online gambling

References

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^ Richtel, Matt (9 June 2009). “Web’s Poker Winners Face Delays in Collecting”. The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2009.

^ “House Panel Votes To Approve Bill Legalizing Online Gambling”. Dow Jones Network. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

^ Dodge, Catherine (29 July 2010). “House Panel Passes Measure to Legalize Some Internet Gambling”. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

^ Parry, Wayne (22 November 2010). “NJ lawmakers pass smaller casinos bill”. Boston.com. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

^ William R. Kennedy. “Legalized Sports Betting in New Jersey – FDU PublicMind – April 20, 2009”. Publicmind.fdu.edu. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

^ https://bit.ly/3a817FT

^ Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind, (14 May 2012). N.J. Voters Wary of Internet Gambling (press release)

^ a b “3 Major Online Poker Companies Targeted in Federal Crackdown”. Fox News. Associated Press. 15 April 2011.

^ See 31 U.S.C. § 5363.

^ See 31 U.S.C. § 5362.

^ Rose, Nelson. “Gambling and the Law: A Law Professor Looks at Poker’s Black Friday”. Casino City TImes. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

^ “Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $731 Million Settlement Of Money Laundering And Forfeiture Complaint With Pokerstars And Full Tilt Poker”. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

^ “PokerStars launches long-awaited New Jersey online poker platform”. 22 March 2016.

^ a b UK Gambling Commission – British Gambling Prevalence Survey (pdf), 2010

^ a b UK Gambling Commission – Industry Statistics (excel), 2016

^ “European Online Gambling – Key Figures 2018”. Egba.eu. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

^ Gainsbury, Sally M. (2015). “Online Gambling Addiction: the Relationship Between Internet Gambling and Disordered Gambling”. Current Addiction Reports. 2 (2): 185–193. doi:10.1007/s40429-015-0057-8. ISSN 2196-2952. PMC 4610999. PMID 26500834.

^ a b Coates, S. (2006). Online casinos ‘used to launder cash’. The Times. Retrieved 1 November 2006.

^ “Department for Culture Media and Sport: A Literature Review and Survey of Statistical Sources on Remote Gambling”. Culture.gov.uk. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

^ “NCPG Launches Responsible Gaming Compliance Program for Internet Gaming Websites – NCPG”. ncpgambling.org. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.

^ “Expansion of gambling does not lead to more problem gamblers, study finds”. buffalo.edu. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.

^ United States General Accounting Office—”Internet Gambling: An Overview of the Issues”, December 2002, p. 37, PDF file

^ Jenkins, Jolyon (7 August 2019). “How gambling interests bought a country”. https://bbc.in/2XC4KkX. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 23 August 2019.

^ a b c d Gainsbury, Sally; Parke, Jonathan; Suhonen, Niko (January 2013). “Consumer attitudes towards Internet gambling: Perceptions of responsible gambling policies, consumer protection, and regulation of online gambling sites”. Computers in Human Behavior. 29 (1): 235–245. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.08.010.

^ Golder, Scott; Donath, Judith (2004). “Hiding and revealing in online poker games”. CSCW ’04 Proceedings of the 2004 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work. New York. pp. 370–73.

^ Mccole, Patrick (2010). “Trust Considerations on Attitudes Towards Online Purchasing: The Moderating Effect of Privacy and Security Concerns”. Journal of Business Research. 63 (9–10): 1018–1024. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.02.025 – via Research Gate.

^ Head, Milena; Hassanein, Khaled (2002). “Trust in e-Commerce: Evaluating the Impact of Third-Party Seals”. Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce (3). CiteSeerX 10.1.1.465.9764.

^ Wood, Richard (2008). “Why Swedish people play online poker and factors that can increase or decrease trust in poker web sites: A qualitative investigation”. Journal of Gambling Issues. 21 (21): 80–97. doi:10.4309/jgi.2008.21.8.

^ Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform (2011). Interactive and online gambling and gambling advertising. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Terminology

See: Gambling terminology

Miscellaneous

Casino game

Game of chance

Game of skill

List of bets

Problem gambling

Category

Commons

Wiktionary

WikiProject

source http://wikimakemoney.com/2020/04/15/online-gambling/

[qualitytacolover]

A-line bob haircuts 2020 - celebrity hairstyles

New Post has been published on https://www.easypromhairstyles.com/a-line-bob-haircuts-2020-celebrity-hairstyles.html

A-line bob haircuts 2020 - celebrity hairstyles

Who doesn't love to step back in time with a high-end vintage? Despite the sticky reputation this hairstyle had in the 1980s, the A-Line Bob Cut is making a comeback that hardly feels out of date. 2019 has just adopted the classic look and it has been re-labeled as trendy, bold and chic. With the official start of summer, the current season requires a current, low-maintenance hairstyle that makes you feel light and fresh without compromising your personal style.

With an ongoing list of trendy celebrities rocking this laid-back look shamelessly, they're here to show that summer 2019 is about getting shorter in the back and longer in the front, or vice versa (layers optional). Think of Kris Jenner after shaking the world when she debuted her super slim new “do” at this year's Met Gala (which undoubtedly made her look 10 years younger), or Winnie Harlow, who looks like a modern Mia Wallace looked at the CFDA Awards in Brooklyn last week.

Whatever the atmosphere of your daily look and overall style, the A-Line bob cut does all the work for you – channel your inner badass, even if you effortlessly throw on blue jeans and a simple T-shirt. In other words, it's the modern beast for your makeup routine. Since the iconic cut has shaped generations since the early 20th century, there is an abundance of inspiration. I mean, did you see what this cut did for Emily Ratajkowski in 2017? Just when you thought she couldn't get sexier, she hit us in the face with an A-line bob cut and said, "You thought."

If further evidence is needed to confirm that this hair trend is the only way to get her brand right in summer 2019, here's a jam-packed list of the hottest celebrities who let the bold bob take over.

Jourdan Dunn

The model rocks a nifty, sleek version that we can't stop staring at.

Katie Holmes

The actress channeled her inner freak with her clean haircut and a pop, and she's never looked better.

Katie Perry

Perry mastered the rock star atmosphere with her chaotic, pale blonde A-line cut.

Emily Ratajkowski

I'm not going to say I told you, but she killed it.

Margot Robbie

The actress served us the ideal summer look with her short beachy cut.

Kris Jenner

Kris' pale blonde A-line cut frames her face perfectly in all the right areas and encourages this radiant youthful glow to shine.

Naomi Campbell

This cut gives the iconic model the royal atmosphere it deserves.

Taylor Swift

The singer finally showed us her wild side after rocking this punk-inspired cut.

Soo Joo Park

So Joo killed the 2019 Kenzo Show with its fiery but classy new hairstyle.

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa embodied the perfect everyday version of the A-line cut by having a perfect balance between bold and slim and making her classy look completely versatile.

Nicki Minaj

Minaj recreated the retro style cut to make a bold statement. Her blonde hair turned her into the futuristic Barbie of our dreams.

Kim Kardashian

Once again Kim K. gets it. They say that characters tend to repeat themselves, and Kim's pinger, mid-section cut makes me feel like I'm staring at a modern Cleopatra.

Gabrielle Union

The actress delivered class with a gracious side of Sass in her beautiful, ultra-silky clean cut.

Khloé Kardashian

The beautiful development of Khloé. The Kardashian releases a new “hot mom” status with its current hairstyle without affecting its youthful, luxurious aesthetic.

Winnie Harlow

With this stunning version of the cut, the model switched it for this year's CFDA Awards. It makes me want a new version of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction film just so it can be the star.

Hailey Bieber

I don't really care whether this look was for Halloween or the red carpet; it looks epic.

Irina Shayk

The Russian supermodel made the right decision with the classic style, looked effortlessly snapped, while the A-line cut made the bold look for her.

Joan Smalls

I can't tell if she looks more like a fancy gangster straight out of The Godfather or a female James Bond, but the supermodel's one-sided A-line cut paired with a power suit is the epitome of a boss.

Rihanna

And last but not least, the queen herself looks like a king in a simple, classic A-line bob cut. She is undoubtedly a trendsetter, as shown by her transformation in 2007, when she also wore the A line during her Good Girl Gone Bad era.

[mrmichaelchadler]

Home Entertainment Consumer Guide: March 28, 2019

3 NEW TO NETFLIX

"Kung Fu Hustle" "The Lives of Others" "A Separation"

8 NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD

"Aquaman"

At its best, James Wan's "Aquaman" is a live-action cartoon, complete with armies astride seahorses and sharks. It has a fantastic cast, including great supporting work from Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, and Willem Dafoe. It's refreshingly goofy from a company (DC) that too often takes itself way too seriously. Really, the only problem with "Aquaman" is one common to the genre: bloat. There's no reason for this movie to be 2.5-hours long, and you can feel its charm washing away as the length sets in. My kids were excited for about an hour and it almost felt more like an obligation to finish it. I recommend watching it in installments. And focus on the fun stuff. 

Buy it here 

Special Features Going Deep Into the World of Aquaman Becoming Aquaman James Wan: World Builder Aqua Tech Atlantis Warfare The Dark Depths of Black Manta Heroines of Atlantis Villaneous Training Kingdoms of the Seven Seas Creating Undersea Creatures A Match Made in Atlantis Scene Study Breakdowns Exclusive Sneak Peek of Shazam!

"Detour" (Criterion)

An acknowledged classic of Poverty Row, Edward G. Ulmer's 1945 noir is as pitch black as the genre comes. Restored recently after years of people watching degraded copies, "Detour" has probably never looked this good. As expert Noah Isenberg explains in an excellent special feature, "Detour" was made for almost no money in roughly a week, depending on who you believe. It's a stunning piece of work, containing one of the best femme fatale performances of all time from Ann Savage. Ulmer and Savage's take on the role is instantly mesmerizing. Gone are the typically glamorous looks of the femme, replaced by grit and sweat and dirt. Savage's character feels threatening in such a perfect way that we know the minute our protagonist crosses paths with her, he's doomed. 

Buy it here 

Special Features New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen, a 2004 documentary featuring interviews with actor Ann Savage and filmmakers Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and Wim Wenders New interview with film scholar Noah Isenberg, author of Edgar G. Ulmer: A Filmmaker at the Margins New program about the restoration Janus Films rerelease trailer PLUS: An essay by critic and poet Robert Polito

"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (Criterion)

Robert Zemeckis has been working with American nostalgia since his first film, 1978's "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," now available on a bonus-packed Criterion release. The film itself is a sweet comedy about not just Beatlemania but those years in which one had the time and energy to commit their lives to something like a band. A cousin of "American Graffiti," this ensemble piece is about a bunch of teenagers trying to get to "The Ed Sullivan Show" on the night that The Beatles would make TV and music history. It's a light-hearted comedy that doesn't hit every mark but is also truly hard to dislike. And it's particularly interesting as a stepping stone in the careers of both Zemeckis and Spielberg, who get together with Bob Gale for a fantastic special feature on this release about the making of the film. 

Buy it here 

Special Features New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Robert Zemeckis and cowriter Bob Gale, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray New conversation among Zemeckis, Gale, and executive producer Steven Spielberg New interview with actors Nancy Allen and Marc McClure Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Zemeckis and Gale The Lift (1972) and A Field of Honor (1973), two early short films by Zemeckis Trailer and radio spots PLUS: An essay by critic Scott Tobias

"If Beale Street Could Talk"

This might be the final great film of 2018 to be released on Blu-ray. There are some interesting films that came out the final few weeks of last year still to hit the market ("The Mule," "Bumblebee," others) but this is the last essential movie, one that you really need to see before you can close the book and move on to 2019. Barry Jenkins' adaptation of James Baldwin's book has been written about so many times since its TIFF debut, on this site alone, that there's not much I could possibly add to the conversation. Read my TIFF review. Read Odie's brilliant 4-star review. Read about it in our ten best. Read my interviews with Barry Jenkins and the stars of the film, KiKi Layne and Stephan James. I hold this movie very close to my heart and will for the rest of my life. It's gorgeous, riveting filmmaking and a true must-own on Blu-ray, especially given it has a commentary track by Jenkins himself. 

Buy it here 

Special Features Deleted Scenes Featurette: If Beale Street Could Talk: Poetry in Motion Audio Commentary by Barry Jenkins

"Mary Poppins Returns"

Everyone involved in this movie should give Emily Blunt a gift. Her prodigious charm is really the fuel that keeps this film moving (with no offense to Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer, who are always good). Blunt gets the film over its several dull passages, although even she can't save original songs that sound fine in the film but that I dare anyone to hum a section of outside of it. Like so many of the Disney live-action films, there's a magic missing here - the magic that allows a movie to live on in imagination when you're done watching it. This one is better than some (I'm still angry about "Alice in Wonderland" and "Beauty and the Beast") but that's mostly just because those movies didn't have a performer as charismatic and committed as Emily Blunt. For the record, my five-year-old STRONGLY disagrees. He loves this movie. But even he can't sing a song from it. 

Buy it here 

Special Features Deleted Song — "The Anthropomorphic Zoo" The Practically Perfect Making of "Mary Poppins Returns"  Seeing Things From a Different Point of View": The Musical Numbers of "Mary Poppins Returns"  Back to Cherry Tree Lane: Dick Van Dyke Returns  Practically Perfect Bloopers  Deleted Scenes Play Movie in Sing-Along Mode 

"Perfect Blue"

Satoshi Kon is an interesting enigma in that his name isn't as much of a household one as Hayao Miyazaki or Brad Bird but those who do know his work absolutely adore him. Kon's ambitious, visually breathtaking style is arguably never more brilliantly realized than in this 1999 masterpiece FINALLY getting a Blu-ray release for its 20th anniversary. That it took this long for a movie that so many people love to even get an HD release is telling in terms of how Kon's reputation doesn't seem to be at the level he deserves. 

Buy it here 

Special Features BRAND NEW REMASTER OF THE FILM NEW Lectures by Satoshi Kon featurette NEW Into The Blue featurette - New Interviews Original SD Version of Feature (Japanese mono Dolby Digital 2.0 with English subtitles) Angel of Your Heart Recording Sessions Angel of Your Heart Full English Version Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots—includes new trailers from US and UK re-releases Cast and Crew Interviews

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse"

For months, it felt like Disney's "Incredibles 2" was the runaway favorite to take the Oscar for Best Animated Film. Who could have guessed that an animated superhero movie, which is usually the genre of straight-to-DVD fare, could be good enough to topple the highest grossing animated film of all time? Make no mistake -- this is no ordinary superhero movie. This is no ordinary animated movie. It may only be a few months old, but it feels like a classic already, a movie that I know I'll see at least a dozen times over the course of my lifetime. It gets richer and feels more ambitious each time I see it. This is a very strong edition of the HECG and I hope you got a nice refund from the IRS because this one is a must-own too. It also comes with some fantastic special features, including a cut of the film that includes several scenes that never got past the sketch phase re-cut into the movie. 

Buy it here 

Special Features We Are Spider-Man Spider-Verse: A New Dimension The Ultimate Comics Cast A Tribute to Stan Lee & Steve Ditko The Spider-Verse Super-Fan Easter Egg Challenge Designing Cinematic Comics Characters Heroes & Hams Alternate Universe Mode: In this all-new viewing experience, discover alternate scenes, plotlines, characters, and more with the filmmakers as your guide. "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee "Familia" by Nicki Minaj & Anuel AA (feat. Bantu) All-New Original Short "Spider-Ham: Caught In a Ham" 

"Wanda" (Criterion)

I'll admit to not remembering having heard of Barbara Loden's "Wanda" until the Criterion edition showed up in my mailbox. It's a stunning movie, a bleak de-glamorization of the criminal life. A blue-collar woman named Wanda can barely make ends meet and has her kids taken away in a divorce. She basically stumbles into the life of a petty criminal, and the two form a strange, mesmerizing Bonnie and Clyde duo. He's abusive. She seems constantly uncertain, almost as if she could just wander off the face of the Earth. It's Loden's only film and it's a fascinating piece of work, almost akin to Cassavetes in its dirty, sweaty, naturalistic style. It's a shame Loden never got to make another movie, but I love that this one is getting appraised again a half-century after it was produced. 

Buy it here 

Special Features New 2K digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, The Film Foundation, and Gucci, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray I Am Wanda, an hour-long documentary by Katja Raganelli featuring an interview with director Barbara Loden filmed in 1980 Audio recording of Loden speaking to students at the American Film Institute in 1971 Segment from a 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show featuring Loden The Frontier Experience (1975), a short educational film about a pioneer woman’s struggle to survive, directed by and starring Loden Trailer PLUS: An essay by film critic Amy Taubin

from All Content https://ift.tt/2TCB4ON

[harryandmeghan0-blog]

How Meghan Markle's divorcee predecessor Wallis Simpson was slandered for her marriage - Daily Mail

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/how-meghan-markles-divorcee-predecessor-wallis-simpson-was-slandered-for-her-marriage-daily-mail/

How Meghan Markle's divorcee predecessor Wallis Simpson was slandered for her marriage - Daily Mail

Twice-married American socialite Wallis Simpson was at the center of what was arguably most scandalous love affair of the 20th century when she entered into a relationship and marriage with Prince Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne.

His obsession Wallis subjected her to a brutal character assassination – she was called a temptress and sorceress who had cast a spell on the fairy-tale Prince with one goal – to be Queen.

Wallis was ridiculed as being born genetically male with the XY chromosome -giving her internal male sexual organs and a shallow vagina – rumors that stemmed from being infertile and having never menstruated.

Unsavory gossip circulated that in her early travels to China, she learned special sexual techniques of giving oral sex – that aided in her seduction.

She was slandered as a gold digger, a Nazi sympathizer, as well as a villainous, unfaithful woman, who held some perverse psycho-sexual hold over the blue-eyed Prince Charming.

American socialite Wallis Simpson became the center of the most scandalous love affair of the 20th century with her relationship with Prince Edward VIII. Their relationship led to Prince Edward VIII abdicating the British throne so they could wed in 1937. Wallis was slandered as a gold digger, a Nazi sympathizer, as well as a villainous, unfaithful woman, who held some perverse hold over Prince Edward VIII

Wallis decided that the best revenge on her royal in-laws who refused to accept her was a life well lived – that meant parties, outrageous jewels, couture gowns and multiple face lifts

Wallis was married twice before giving in to the Prince’s obsession with her, which meant Edward could not marry her and inherit the throne. Pictured at their wedding in June 1937 without any of the royal family in attendance 

Edward dazzled the world as a fairy-tale prince began behaving like a film star he  was obsessed with romancing married women, American women and street-corner affairs’.

But Prince Charming was a disappoint to the House of Windsor with his playboy lifestyle, love of needlepoint, crochet, gardening and golf as well as lack of intellectual pursuits.

The treatment of Wallis stands in contrast to the way fellow American divorcee Meghan Markle was welcomed to the Royal Family when she married Prince Harry. Despite rumors of a rift between her and Harry and William and Kate, her arrival was considered a progressive step by the British royals

‘Edward did not conform to court life preferring a vigorous and flamboyant social life over the grey strictures of monarchial duty – tantamount to treachery in the eyes of his advisors’, writes Anna Pasternak, author of The Real Wallis Simpson, A New History of the American Divorcée Who Became the Duchess of Windsor, published by Atria Books.

Edward would face his own slander from the Court and was called ‘mad’ with his nervous tics and odd speech.

‘He thought that English girls were boring and zinging cocktail girls were what he liked’.

Edward’s father, King George V succinctly predicted, ‘After I am dead the boy will ruin himself within twelve months. My eldest son will never succeed me. He will abdicate’.

Wallis and Edward both favored starvation diets and punishing regimes, ‘each obsessed with retaining an almost prepubescent slenderness.’

Wallis kept herself thin for fear that if she gained any weight, she would ‘bulk up in a masculine way’.

‘She certainly was no ‘sex siren’ or ‘harlot’, but she did like to be the center of attention socially and had grown bored with life with her husband Ernest’, writes the author.

A nervous disposition and subsequent ulcers sent her to bed on a doctor’s advise to drink only whisky or water for six months.

Wallis and Edward shared insecurities about their sexual identities and Wallis later claimed that she ‘had never had sexual intercourse with either of her first two husbands’ — nor had any man touched her below ‘her personal Mason-Dixon Line’.

When she visited brothels in China, her friend, interior designer Nicky Haslam stated it was the fashionable thing to do. ‘To have a good look’.

Ernest Simpson was a decent gentleman but the dull, conformity of their marriage was shattered by the dazzling Prince of Wales.

Wallis and her husband Ernest found their way into the inner circle of the Prince’s friends with their gay nightclub partying and her lavish dinner parties while Wallis claimed she misunderstood Edward’s growing admiration for her.

One of Wallis’ many obsessions was serving guests food proportions that were identical in size requiring her butcher and fishmonger to source six or eight identical trout or grouse.’Vegetables were laid out on the plate with military precision’.

The Prince found everything to be in ‘exquisite taste and the food unrivalled in London’.

Wallis even sprayed floral centerpieces with Diorissimo perfume.

This was so different from Buckingham Palace that Edward loathed with its ‘curious musty odor’.

He started giving Wallis gifts: a photograph of himself, a table for her drawing room and grand jewels soon followed, even some of the Crown jewels which Wallis adored.

The real turning point in their relationship came when she asked the Prince about his work and what he hoped to do.

The couple were exiled from the UK and lived in France and the Bahamas for some time. The Duke of Windsor served as Governor of the Bahamas from 1940 to 1945. Pictured outside the Government House in Nassau, the Bahamas in 1943

She was the only woman ever to ask him and sensed ‘a deep loneliness, an overtone of spiritual isolation.’

When he started showing up more often at their home, Ernest quietly excused himself and let her dine alone with the prince.

The prince dispensed with his old married flame, Mrs. Dudley Ward and Wallis became his ‘one and only’.

She was now ‘Wallis in Wonderland’ and told her aunt that she knew what she was doing. Her aunt Bessie doubted that.

Edward gave her a velvet pouch from Cartier containing a diamond and emerald charm for a bracelet – the first of many exquisite jewels.

Details of Wallis’ life will be revealed in the book The Real Wallis Simpson, A New History of the American Divorcée Who Became the Duchess of Windsor to be released Tuesday

Edward drew Wallis more intimately into his life with frequent dinners and telephoning her throughout the day out of neediness.

Alerted to the jewels that Edward was bestowing on Wallis, the king worried that his son was being blackmailed and requested MI5 begin a covert surveillance operation.

Scotland Yard confirmed that Mrs. Simpson was the recipient of the jewels ‘and spends lavishly on clothes and entertainment’, they call each other ‘darling’, and she appeared to have Edward ‘completely under her thumb’.

They came up with a trumped up charge that she was having ‘intimate relations’ with a Ford car salesman named Guy Marcus Trundle who boasted to his family about fantasy conquests.

Wallis’ marriage to Ernest was disintegrating while she took off with Edward on his insatiable jet-setting trips.

‘The prince and Mrs. Simpson continued to storm society, while Special Branch continued to spy on Wallis and the royal family made every effort to avoid her’, writes the author.

The jewels kept coming and Wallis had made herself indispensable to the prince, becoming his oxygen.

When King George V died, Edward became His Most Excellent Majesty Edward the VIII with a crown he didn’t want without Wallis being accepted as Her Royal Highness.

She was the only friend he ever had.

‘Members of the aristocracy were out to destroy the king and his addiction to what they viewed as Cafe Society and turning Buckingham Palace into the status of an American nightclub’.

Edward was obsessed with Wallis above affairs of state.

Wallis thought she could handle whatever hurt was to come but she felt heartache when Ernest was tired of the marriage.

Now she felt trapped in a dependent relationship with Edward who was utterly in love with her.

Her first thought of escape was to return to Ernest that would make her poor but give her a calm congenial life in a brother-sister relationship.

But the King wore her down. Wallis was his only real friend.

She tried to make him realize it couldn’t work but he wouldn’t listen.

It was too late when the New York Daily Mirror ran a headline that the couple was to marry.

Wallis offered to leave the country but the King said he could not live without her.

‘Being blamed in perpetuity for stealing a beloved popular king from his throne and almost destroying the British monarchy would prove to be a lifelong annihilating burden that Wallis was forced to bear’, writes the author.

The King’s mother, Queen Mary refused to accede to a proper introduction to Wallis. She would not be called HRH.

Abdication was the King’s only resolve. He would not give Wallis up.

The former King was offered a governorship in the Bahamas by his friend Winston Churchill and he accepted. It was another form of exile but in a tropical environment where the couple arrived with an extravagant 57 pieces of luggage. Pictured inside the Government House 

The divorcee was married twice before her love affair with Prince Edward VIII. Pictured at her wedding with second husband Ernest Simpson in 1928

The Duchess and Duke of Windsor are pictured in 1955 picking flowers on the grounds of their home, la Moulin de la Tuilerie, in the commune of Gif-sur-Yvette, outside of Paris where they settled after exile 

Elizabeth, daughter of Edward’s brother and later Queen, stated she hoped that Mrs. Simpson would stay in France and ‘kept up her delusional menace of the duchess gossiping to Prince Paul of Yugoslavia – ‘What a curse black sheep are in a family’.

Wallis received abusive and hostile hate mail as well as a rumored plot to blow up her house and assassinate her.

Edward never wished that Wallis be queen. He only wanted her to have a proper title and befitting dignity.

Wallis wrote Edward a 15-page letter asking him not to abdicate and that the entire world will say she could have prevented it.

‘I who had sought no place in history would now be assured of one – an appalling one, carved out by blind prejudice’, she predicted.

The Cabinet and Prime Minister had met and the only conditions Edward could stay would be if he renounced her for all time.

‘It was an obsession. No greater love has ever existed’, stated the couple’s friend, Perry Brownlow. He could not agree.

Permanent exile from Britain and banishment from his family began what became a campaign of obliteration.

Edward’s mother wrote to him that the acceptance he craved would never be forthcoming.

Wallis did not want the abdication but vowed to make the duke happy.

He presented her with a 19.77 carat emerald engagement ring inscribed ‘WE are ours now’. They married in France on 3 June 1937.

Adored by her husband, Wallis was reviled by the rest of the world.

Exile first took them to Paris and a small apartment at the Hôtel Meurice.

They rented a house in Versailles in the French Riviera with a bath in the shape of a swan made of gold.

This home had sixteen servants including two chauffeurs, an English butler, a French chef and tea formally served by manservants in livery and white gloves.

It was all done in a grand seaside ambiance where they received their friends, Churchill and his wife, Noel Coward and other notable English and French friends.

They often gave dinners in deluxe hotels where they gambled.

But it was a twilight zone for the couple.

Back in Paris, they leased a house and had footmen in scarlet livery lining the stairs.

In Paris, the duke commissioned a brooch from Cartier for Wallis’s birthday using valuable stones from a necklace and four bracelets. It was a flamingo with tail feathers made of rubies, sapphires and emerald.

Popular on the island of the Bahamas, Wallis became president of the Red Cross and started up two infant welfare clinics on New Providence Island. She’s pictured in her Red Cross uniform along with her husband in Nassau, the Bahamas in 1942

The couple fled to neutral Spain when France collapsed.

It was the first time Edward was without a valet.

‘It is impossible for a Prince to be a hero to his wife without a valet,’ Wallis is quoted.

A governorship in the Bahamas was offered to the duke by his friend, Winston Churchill and the former king accepted – just another form of exile but this one in a sweltering environment where they arrived with 57 pieces of luggage.

Popular on the island, Wallis became president of the Red Cross and started up two infant welfare clinics on New Providence Island.

She brought in an interior designer from New York and shipped in period French furniture, fueling extravagance rumors along with stories that she had her hair done once a week in Miami where she shopped for garden furniture.

Given permission for a trip to Washington, the Windsors arrived with 73 pieces of luggage – only a portion of the 118 traveling trunks they owned, each with a numbered lid.

Wallis was ‘keen to flaunt her style and lavish jewels’ but it was an ill-advised move in time of war.

They had lunch with the President and Mrs. Roosevelt.

The British Press Service Reported on the ‘rich and carefree couple, travelling with all the pre-war accoutrement of royalty and with no thought either to the suffering of their own people or the fact that the world is at war’.

They traveled on to New York – again with ‘a ridiculous amount of luggage’ and stayed in a luxurious suite at the Waldorf Towers. After feeling deprivation in the Bahamas, Wallis went on an insatiable shopping expedition.

By spring 1944, the couple were desperate to leave the Bahamas and Edward never stopped badgering Churchill for a suitable role.

Growing tired of life in the Bahamas, the couple made multiple trips to New York City. Pictured strolling down Park Avenue

The Duke and Duchess attended a New York Yankee’s game while visiting the city in 1953. Pictured being greeted by (left to right) Yankee pitcher Eddie Ford, teammate Johnny Mize, Yankee co-owner Don Topping and Casey Steng

The Duke was diagnosed with throat cancer in the fall of 1971, pictured in New York 20 years prior. He died the following May and Wallis ‘felt her life was over’

Lying aimlessly in the sun in Palm Beach for a short escape, the couple wondered where to go next as it became clear that their previous existence was history.

Wallis decided that the best revenge on her in laws was a life well lived – that meant fancy parties, outrageous jewels, couture gowns and multiple facelifts.

They decided on France and his mother finally agreed to see him without Wallis by his side.

‘There would be no return to court life in England if he was with Wallis’, writes Pasternak.

‘The government had such an influence over the royal family. Everything that happened to the duke was political. The only government that behaved well towards them was the French government.

In Paris, the duke followed Wallis around to her appointments at hairdressers, couturiers and beauty salons. He whined he had no one to talk to while she had her French lessons.

She established her famed jewelry collection and became an icon for Cartier as well as a client of Culco di Verdura, Harry Winston and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The duke never stopped working with Cartier on jewelry for his wife including ‘a sapphire and diamond panther lolling across an enormous Kashmire sapphire’.

On to Antibes, 22 staff were recruited included a personal valet.

The Windsors arrived with their usual caravan of luggage in three army trucks.

While out to dinner, thieves entered the house and found Wallis’s jewelry box stashed under the maid’s bed.

Wallis was devastated. The jewels represented her husband’s obsessive love for her and perhaps were ‘Wallis’s reward for being forced into marriage, and then exile with him’, writes Pasternak.

The duke used the insurance money to replace the pieces – but not the crown jewels.

In the early 1950s, Wallis became infatuated with an American playboy Jimmy Donahue (left), an heir to the Woolworth estate, who was 19 years her junior and gay. Donahue claimed he had had a four-year affair with Wallis

The Duchess of Windsor died on April 24, 1986, at age 89. Her death came 14 desperate years after her husband, the Duke, passed. Her jewels fetched $50,281,887 when sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva

In 1948, they were on the move again – to Versailles, New York, Palm Beach.

In the early 1950s, Wallis became infatuated with an American playboy Jimmy Donahue, 19 years her junior and gay, whose mother was a Woolworth heir.

She went out dancing with Jimmy to night clubs making fun of the duke.

For three successive summers, the couple went on Mediterranean cruises with Donahue – paid for by Woolworth money.

Wallis had had four or five facelifts ‘yet nothing could conceal the tragic lack of purpose eating into the fabric of their existence’.

They both began drinking too much and eating even less.

A hip operation in 1968, lumbago and impair eyesight made Edward lethargic and despondent.

He was diagnosed with throat cancer in the autumn of 1971, the thirty-fourth and final year of their wedding anniversary.

He died the following May and Wallis ‘felt her life was over’.

Her health began deteriorating and she preferred vodka to eating, suffered falls and fracturing her hip. She began longing for death.

In 1974 in New York, Wallis had her final facelift.

‘The result was splendid, but of course she died on the operating table for several minutes, quite long enough to scramble her oxygen-denied brain’, stated her friend, author Gore Vidal.

The Duchess of Windsor died on April 24, 1986, at age 89, 14 desperate years after the duke passed.

After Wallis’ death, her jewels fetched $50,281,887 when sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva. 

The entire royal family attended the duchess’s funeral no doubt suggested by the courtiers to ensure favorable publicity for the royal family. 

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6769491/How-Meghan-Markles-divorcee-predecessor-Wallis-Simpson-slandered-marriage.html

[samhodes24-blog]

Without a doubt, Nicki Minaj is currently one of the most influential artists in hip hop culture today. Of course, for a woman to have so much power in the game that is almost all male rappers, she had to be creative in her efforts to “blow up.” For women rappers, history has shown that to be able to be successful they had to target a female fan base.  A lot of them in the 20th century would rhyme lyrics and create visuals that are empowering to females and that were in no way, shape, or form supporting male rappers who have sexualized women through their work. 

While many see Minaj as merely a successful female rapper, they don’t realize the actual genius behind her marketing and advertising. Instead of being the typical female rapper and taking a stance to empower women, such as rapper Queen Kenya and other artists did in the late 20th and early 21st century, Minaj went with a different approach. She sexualized herself through her lyrics and visuals in a way that attracted both a male and female fan base. Before Minaj knew it, her career had taken off at an incredibly fast pace. 

In my reading for Hip Hop and Religion, I learned that women in rap music attempt to “redefine women’s culture and identity from a Black feminist perspective” (Keyes 273). This was not the case for Nicki Minaj. It seems as if Minaj disregarded a lot of what previous female rappers had worked so hard for and made it her primary goal to promote her music and rise to the top of the charts. It is no secret that a lot of people stereotype and sexualize women, and in my opinion, by sexualizing herself, Minaj helps to feed into those terrible stereotypes and takes away from the respect previous female rappers had built up. Nicki Minaj could not be put under any of the four female rapper categories; not a lesbian, sista with attitude, Queen mother, nor fly girl. Instead, Minaj takes the approach of a male rapper and uses that image of women on herself and others. As a major influence in today’s society, young girls are looking up to Minaj and then have motive to dress like her and carry the same attitude towards men and and their body image as she shows to the public. Nicki Minaj, while being one of the most successful female artists of all time, is not helping the women in rap take a step forward. 

[langcultureuk]

Rock n roll is our epiphany: Patrick Jones and a theatrical vision for a young Wales

In recent days, I received my copy of the 10th anniversary edition of Manic Street Preachers’ eighth studio album Send Away the Tigers. I have been collecting Manics’ special editions for some time now. While they sit outside the scope of my electronica radar, I find them musically, lyrically and aesthetically irresistible; indeed, their exceptional artwork is often the reason why I purchase their reissues, rather than James Dean Bradfield’s kitchen demos.

Last year, of course, was the 20th anniversary of their iconic (as a threesome) Everything Must Go, which followed their even more iconic The Holy Bible (when they were a foursome).

Against this backdrop, I have been reminded of my encounter with the early plays of Patrick Jones (pictured above), which I covered when I was a drama critic at the turn of the second millennium. Jones, for those who don’t know, is the older brother of Nicky Wire (real name: Nicholas Jones), feather boa-adoring bass player of the Manics. But he is also one of the most intriguing playwrights I ever came across. Given that I am dipping in and out of the Manics on iTunes these days, I thought I would share some of my writing on Jones’ first two staged plays, which I had the privilege of seeing in 1999-2000. While they were staged during the first term of Tony Blair’s government, the issues they explored seem just as relevant now, if not more so, as when they were premiered. Please bear in mind, as you read on, that the following was written in 2000.

Then came human beings. They wanted to cling but there was nothing to cling to. Albert Camus

The Sherman Theatre in Cardiff is celebrating the millennium with an urgent form of epic theatre. Fusing the wintry apocalypse of 20th century British poetry, the classical paradigm of modern American drama and the nihilistic vision of a teenage wasteland, two powerful and contrasting plays reveal Patrick Jones as a vital new British playwright. This unique voice rejects the muscular iconography of Welsh culture and instead confronts historical and topical manifestations of nationalism and fatherhood.

With the nihilistic pose of punk and the androgynous pout of glam, Manic Street Preachers have always understood the grand gesture. The generation the Welsh rock group represent is largely drawn to the shared hopelessness that Richey Edwards, their original ideologist-in-chief, articulated in a despairing, often holocaustic, lyricism. His disappearance without trace, after episodes of self-harm and anorexia, in 1995 arguably compares with the cultural and emotional significance of Princess Diana and Kurt Cobain.

Provoked by the subsequent media hysteria, Jones was anxious to find a theatrical voice that would eloquently speak out: “The press were saying that rock music is bad for young people,” he recalls. “I wanted an intellectual rebel to look around today and ask what we have become. So I started writing notes for a play about how young people grew up amongst this.” Against an urgent rock soundtrack, Jones reclaims the classical tragedy from Arthur Miller for a youth betrayed by old Wales and the New Labour government.

Libraries gave us power, then came work and made use free. What price now for a shallow piece of dignity? “A Design for Life”, Manic Street Preachers

Jones’ first play Everything Must Go* is located in Blackwood, the South Wales hometown he shares with Manic Street Preachers. Under Margaret Thatcher, the capitalist temples of Sony, Toshiba and Pot Noodle replaced the local coal industry. In Phil Clark’s production, which premiered in February 1999 at the Sherman Theatre, beautifully choreographed factory production lines hover menacingly over the stage like an Orwellian industrial nightmare. As piercing shrills of factory hooters punctuate these images, a cacophonic fanfare to the philosophy of “arbeit macht frei” is hauntingly evoked. “It’s creating theatre that works on all your senses,” insists Clark, the Sherman’s artistic director and a highly regarded champion of new plays for young people.

The production inhabits a vastly different universe from the venal commercial instincts of an Irvine Welsh stage adaptation. What transpires is a powerhouse mixture of poetic imagery and an intelligent rock score. This Brechtian model sharpens the play’s dialectic by using popular songwriting to lend immediacy to not only the political issues raised, but also the human cost involved. “We should be looking for more epic forms of theatre,” argues Clark.

Opening with “A Design for Life”, this urban hymn to the British welfare state sweeps rhapsodically over an apocalyptic scene of youth culture in the Welsh valleys. “It allows the audience to enter into the dramatic world of the play,” explains Clark. Another song called “Ready for Drowning” translates the Stevie Smith metaphor into a polemic about how recent British governments have divided communities with free market economics. This nightmarish sequence shows a group of miners leaving the pit, before being placed in front of computers they are clearly incapable of using. As frustration turns into farce, one by one, the miners pick up their monitors and throw them into the pit hole, while the light from their helmets pierces the dark auditorium. “An understanding of the working-class voice and the structures of our society has always been of use to the next generation,” reckons Clark.

Only takes one tree to make a thousand matches. Only takes one match to burn a thousand trees. “A Thousand Trees”, Stereophonics

The narrative, however, pivots around the enigmatically named A, a rebel archetype in a similar mould to Quadrophenia’s Jimmy or The Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield. As the play’s title infers, a plague of retail outlets has reduced Blackwood to a shuttered fortress. Better still, an anarchist’s playground. “The dilemma Patrick brings up in the play,” Clark suggests, “is that, even though A identifies what’s wrong, he doesn’t know what to do about it.”

Politically inspired by Aneurin Bevan, A has the ideal canvas on which to graffiti the social ills he sees around him – want, ignorance, squalor, disease and idleness – which the founder of the NHS sought to eradicate. More poignantly, Bevan’s message actually sounds like a modus vivendi for a modern Wales. “The message I get from young people is more cynical than the punk vision,” adds Jones. “I want to show that, if they had A’s awareness, it would give them empowerment out of all this.”

A is originated by a remarkable young Welsh actor called Oliver Ryan, who understands the protagonist’s iconoclasm and the ambivalence of his situation. “He’s terrifyingly well read,” says Ryan. “But he has built his own world through newspaper clippings, Welsh history and Karl Marx. He has to make it seem real to him. There’s so much sadness in A because he doesn’t realize that he has a voice. Instead, he chooses to destroy in order to create, which I think is very apt for teenagers today.”

This mentality is intelligently juxtaposed with Ryan’s mesmerizingly ethereal character in Unprotected Sex, Jones’ play by Jones, which premiered at the Sherman Theatre Studio in October 1999. Appearing as a sullied glam rock angel, Denver is the victim of childhood bullying who sought refuge among the mountain ponies and found solace in their need for companionship.

Witnessing the murder of a pregnant mare by knife-wielding thugs has heightened his selfless despair: a solo choir voicing the isolation and destructiveness of this grotesque rite of male initiation.

Acting as a counterpoint to Denver’s introspection, Richard Harrington’s portrayal of Gary, a former soldier, is a sensitive antidote to the Charles Bukowski image of manhood. What social skills the army taught him are the brutalizing, if childlike, means of control used to inspire discipline through some kind of surrogate family loyalty. Abandoned by his father at a vulnerable age, he is seemingly perfect cannon fodder. But military life has denied him the full range of emotions to deal with the atrocities he witnessed in Kosovo. The war still raging inside his mental universe, he returns to Triste, his pregnant girlfriend, with only alcohol and testosterone as support.

Returning to Everything Must Go, the dominant focus of A’s rage is to avenge the loss of his father, a former miner whose death was hastened after being sacked following a decade on a production line without any explanation. “It’s about how, with a click of the mouse, his father was gone from the workforce,” says Jones. In the apotheosis, extreme personal morality, rather than sociopathic dysfunction, inexorably propels A to kill Worthington, the factory manager responsible for sacking his father. “There’s a certain rage when words are not enough,” Jones accepts. “I’m not saying that killing someone is the answer. But I don’t think there was another way, dramatically, in which he could prove his point. He’s not going to be a politician or a pop star and he cares so much about his father.”

Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I’m Welsh. “International Velvet”, Catatonia

The betrayal of the human spirit underpins the damning indictment of Blair’s Britain, which drives Everything Must Go. For A’s friends, empty days are filled with material dreams, petty crime and a perverse determination to survive. There’s Pip, who is more interested in the next sexual conquest than political idealism; there’s Jim, who never seems to learn from the Open University TV programmes that keep him up all night; and there’s Curtis, who, denied an identity at school, speaks only in song lyrics from époque-making groups, such as The Who, Nirvana and Oasis. “It’s brilliant you have to pay to listen to young people, telling you how they feel,” enthuses Oliver Ryan, “because this is the generation that everyone is so quick to dismiss.”

This popular cultural sensibility is employed with greater subtlety in Unprotected Sex. Admittedly, there is a hypnotic score from James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, which resonates through this compelling example of physical theatre. Meanwhile, the lyrical sense of poetry mirrors the social disintegration of TS Eliot’s The Wasteland, which, in its time, commented on a crisis in the human condition. Moreover, it convincingly evokes the claustrophobic intensity of Edward Albee and Tennessee Williams.

Jones attempts to resolve the patriarchal conundrums that – from the Rebecca Riots to the tribal machismo of the rugby field – are posed (but not exclusively) by Welsh society. In each play, a female character – both stunningly portrayed by Maria Pride – offers poignant insights into maleness and its relationship with national identity at this millennial juncture. As masculinity implodes around her in Unprotected Sex, Triste becomes the voice of hope, while Cindy in Everything Must Go has to deal with her disgust and frustration at what Wales has become through self-harm and heroin abuse. “I’m sure part of me hates a lot of the old Wales,” believes Jones. “But part of me relishes what it was. We don’t really celebrate Bevan. Instead, we’ll have the Welsh national anthem only sing on the rugby pitch by ‘real’ men with a tear in their eye.”

Dr Stephen Gregson Co-founder Language and Culture

* Although the Manics’ album Everything Must Go was released in 1996, it took its name from Jones’ play, which was in draft form at that stage.

If you enjoyed this blog, check out Fuse, a collection of plays and poetry by Patrick Jones, published by Parthian Books.

#wales #manic street preachers #poetry #theatre