#so we always say it's a 'daughter who is Britney Spears' situation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

boricuacherry-blog · 4 months

Text

I was struck by the diametrically different approaches Mitch and Janis took to their daughter. Janis, who had been a pharmacist before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, took an almost fatalistic view that only Amy could help herself.

Janis said one of the hardest things she ever had to face was going to visit her daughter in hospital in November 2008, when she was suffering a serious lung infection, and finding Jane sitting on the other side of Amy's bed.

When Erbil, my partner, took Janis to visit Amy, staff didn't recognize her - Erbil had to tell them who she was.

Mitch admitted to the camera that Amy didn't even need to be in the hospital - so controlling was he that he'd ensured she was kept there to prevent Blake Fielder-Civil, her then husband, from coming home to her when he was released from jail.

In one interview with me, Mitch bragged that 'Janis left me to deal with it,' meaning Amy. 'She trusted me completely,' he added. He actually admitted to me that he had considered 'doing a Britney' on Amy. It was the end of 2008, months after Jamie Spears became his daughter's conservator, supposedly to protect her from predators who wanted to manipulate her out of her money. Mitch explained that he was worried Blake would burn Amy's fortune on drugs. Unfortunately for him, conservatorships don't exist under British law.

Amy knew what her father was trying to accomplish. She told me: 'He is always coming with papers for me to sign. I'm NOT signing. I know what's going on.' A couple of Mitch's proposed business partners were with us in St. Lucia, having been led to believe, by Mitch, that Amy would sign a deal. In fact, she insulted them in front of Erbil and me.

When I held a private screening for Mitch, Janis and their friends, he seemed to feel the footage of his grown-up daughter repeatedly kissing him on the lips was unremarkable. Perhaps he's right - and that such a level of intimacy is accepted in some families, but it had left me feeling uncomfortable.

There was one moment I shared with Amy which I think got closest to her true feelings. She was crying, and said to me: 'Daph, I did show them how good I am, five years ago.' She didn't think she could repeat the extraordinary success she'd had with her album Back to Black. That insecurity was something she didn't feel she could talk about with her family. It was heart breaking.

Later that night we ended up filming outside my villa. Mitch murmured, 'Maybe I am part of the problem.' Finally, he was acknowledging that his controlling nature might be contributing to Amy's troubles. 'I tend sometimes to make a situation worse,' he added. He tried to explain by imagining a situation where Amy met a stranger. He says: 'In my mind, Amy is not talking to a nice woman on the beach, she is talking to a potential drug dealer. She is not - but unfortunately that is how my mind has been working. So what I have got to do is try to retrain my mind so that when I see her talking to a perfectly normal person on the beach, that is fine, I don't need to intervene. Why shouldn't she be saying anything other than pleasantries? Sometimes I think I make the situation worse, unquestionably.'

It was clearly difficult for Mitch not to treat his daughter like the child he thought she was. Even now, he struggles to assert control over her memory.

In the decade since Amy's death, Mitch has developed a reputation for challenging anyone who has dared to question his relationship with his daughter.

It won't happen to me, because it's important that the footage I have is seen. It asks difficult questions, and considering the answers could help others who find themselves in a similar situation. Perhaps Mitch himself put it best back in 2008 when I asked him whether he thought Amy would continue with her recovery. 'We're all in recovery,' he answered. If only that had really been true, perhaps the story's ending could have been different.

#daphne barak #article #amy winehouse #mitch winehouse

0 notes

thelovelyghostwriter · 3 years

Audio

(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/52aFxZiF6IhgLaj8Zzj3hU?si=2HFVzdSQT0WZ_fxe4gNniQ)

1. Million Dollar Man by Lana del Ray

You're screwed up and brilliant Look like a million dollar man So why is my heart broke?

We all know Kurapika is now the Nostrade Family Young Boss. He provides the money for Neon now by revamping their business model. He literally saved her family from financial crisis, he can provide her anything, she likes him a lot no matter how messed up he is - but why is she still “broke”.

2. National Anthem by Lana del Ray

Money is the reason we exist Everybody knows it, it's a fact (Kiss, kiss)

This song talks about the excess of materials, drugs, drinking, wealth and sex. A girl having a rich handsome man that gives her everything and he can’t keep her hands off of her. Sounds like Kurapika being in the mafia underworld and making tons of money; Neon bathing materialism as both gets drunk in love and sex? Heck yeah.

3. Young and Beautiful by Lana del Ray

Will you still love me when I'm no longer Young and beautiful? Will you still love me when I got nothing But my achin' soul?

This is the theme song for movie The Great Gatsby. @anotherworldash always paralleled the relationships between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan with Kurapika and Neon. Gatsby desired Daisy because she represents the old money wealth that Gatsby longed for as a child. He became rich through illegal activities. Kurapika desired adventure and for their eyes to be appreciated (and not called a demon for it), which Neon appreciates their eyes as beautiful (even though now it’s in a twisted way. Daisy and Neon are very similar characters who bathes in materialism because they are despondent.

4. Dress by Taylor Swift

Only bought this dress so you could take it off.

Her wedding dress on their wedding night when they finally consummate their marriage. Duh.

5. Daddy Issues by Demi Lovato

Addicted to love with the wrong one Lucky for you, I got all these daddy issues

100% Neon and her daddy issues. She’s always with insane messed up men like Kurapika and also Chrollo because she never had a good upbringing to begin with.

6. Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding and Earned It by The Weekend

Are we going to put more saucy 50 Shades of Grey OSTs for this hot pairing? Heck yeah we are.

7. A Little Death by The Neighbourhood

I want you to touch me there Make me feel like I am breathing Feel like I am human.

She sought death on a queen-sized bed And he had said, "Darling, your looks can kill, So now you're dead."

This one’s interesting. So the title is based on the French phrase La petite mort to describe post-orgasm. The song describes two people having sex, finding solace in one another and “experiencing death”. Kurapika and Neon are two wounded souls - Kurapika’s tragic past and Neon’s lack of love from her father.

Also, Nostrade is from Nostradamus - a French astrologer, physician and reputed seer. I can totally see Neon speaking to Kurapika in French. OOF sexy.

T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais? (You have beautiful eyes, you know?)

8. Requiem Arena, The Phantom Elegy and Kurapika’s Theme aka Hiiro no Hitom (Hunter x Hunter OST)

I know the first two are the Phantom Troupe theme songs, but this also reminds me of YorkNew City arc and Kurapika so yes it’s gonna be here.

9. Afterglow by Taylor Swift

I lived like an island, punished you with silence Went off like sirens, just crying Why'd I have to break what I love so much?

This gives me imagination if Kurapika and Neon ever gets into quarrels, and Neon feels guilty about her petty tantrums because she doesn’t want to lose him.

10. Run To You by Whitney Houston

OMFG. This song is 100% KuraNeon bodyguard-boss situation. So this song was actually from this movie called The Bodyguard (1992). It’s a story about a celebrity in danger, so she hired a bodyguard to protect her. Both don’t really like each other at first, but they eventually fall in love. Sounds like Kurapika and Neon? YES! This was actually the movie that made me think KuraNeon is possible.

The first verse describes Neon:

I know that when you look at me There's so much that you just don't see But if you would only take the time I know in my heart you'd find A girl who's scared sometimes Who isn't always strong Can't you see the hurt in me? I feel so all alone

Neon is actually a really lonely girl and locked up in the bubble. She may be smiling, but deep down she’s not okay.

The second verse describes Kurapika:

Each day, each day I play the role Of someone always in control But at night I come home and turn the key There's nobody there, no one cares for me What's the sense of trying hard to find your dreams Without someone to share it with Tell me what does it mean?

Kurapika always appear calm and stoic, but really, he has a sad past. His sole purpose now is to collect his brethren’s Eyes, and to take revenge. But does that make him happy? No, he’s lonely too. Don’t worry Pika you can collect the Scarlet Eyes with Neon.

11. Love Theme and Apollonia (The Godfather movie OST)

What’s a KuraNeon song without a mafia-themed love song?

12. California King Bed by Rihanna

So confused wanna ask you if you love me But I don't wanna seem so weak

I always have this headcanon (and also some other shippers) that their relationship will start off as something physical attraction first? Then it grows from there when both of them starts blurring the lines.

13. Pavane for A Dead Princess

Okay, this is classical music is just... we don’t really know if Neon is dead in the current arc (although I believe that she’s not dead and Chrollo’s speculation is only a false narrative).

But if Togashi does decide to kill her off, I think this song is so fitting for her. Given that she has Princess Syndrome.

Even if Neon’s alive, I don’t think she is living the best life. Personally, I think she’s a princess-sy girl with a dead soul. She collects dead body parts because she has no sympathy for the dead, partly because of her upbringing. Very interesting.

This classical music is actually my inspiration for Melody’s music box gift for Neon in Chapter 4 of my KuraNeon fanfic https://archiveofourown.org/works/27963668/chapters/70030809

14. All Too Well by Taylor Swift

Okay, this is the one song I always think of if I’m going to write about Kurapika leaving Neon for the Dark Continent.

Maybe we got lost in translation Maybe I asked for too much But maybe this thing was a masterpiece Till you tore it all up

This is a very powerful breakup song, and one of Taylor Swift’s best! (I’m a Tay fan actually).

15. King of My Heart by Taylor Swift

Is the end of all the endings? My broken bones are mending With all these nights we're spending Up on the roof with a school girl crush Drinking beer out of plastic cups Say you fancy me, not fancy stuff

We all know Kurapika is the King of Neon’s heart. <3

16. Lucky by Britney Spears

If there’s nothing missing in her life, then why do tears come at night?

Not really a KuraNeon song, but more for Neon. She seems like a rich girl, but she’s lonely and incomplete deep down. Her father is using her as a cash cow, much like how Britney Spear’s situation is right now.

17. For the Love of A Daughter by Demi Lovato

Don't you remember, I'm your baby girl? How could you throw me right out of your world? So young when the pain had begun Now forever afraid of being loved

This song... gets me so sad. Not really a KuraNeon song but I think it describes Neon’s situation with her father a bit, particularly this verse.

Okay, I will continue explaining the rest soon.

#kuraneon #kuraneo

24 notes · View notes

theunderdogwrites · 3 years

Text

Headcheese Adjacent

To know me is to know my taste in music runs the full spectrum, minus country music and death metal. And anything Mariah Carey sings. Not dissing her talent, just her. Sometimes I will succumb to disposable music. Its music that’s popular for a little while, but then later discarded. Think the opposite of tunes like AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’. A song that has passed the test of time. Disposable music feels overly processed and is ultimately not good for you, but acceptable in small doses.

For example: Mariah Carey is like microwave popcorn. There’s nothing wrong with popcorn and there’s nothing wrong with microwaving food. The problem is the bag itself. Perfluoroalkyls are just one class of chemical found in microwave popcorn bags. Some studies have linked perfluoroalkyls with health problems as diverse as impaired kidney function and poor semen quality. Mariah Carey is the bag.

Ok, I really just wanted to find a way to compare Mariah Carey to a bag of microwave popcorn.

I will just assume you understand what I mean when I say disposable music.

Britney Spears. Not sure how this is going to sound, but I was never a fan of hers UNTIL she shaved her head and attacked people with an umbrella. I’m also a fan of when mistreated elephants in captivity snap and trample their oppressors. Something about a caged animal finally fighting back… really resonates with me. I’m sure one day my future therapist will have a blast unpacking that last sentence, but until then let’s focus.

I recently watched the documentary “Framing Britney Spears”. Here is a quick synopsis from IMDB:

“Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.”

I’m not going to talk about the documentary too much, but it appropriately chronicles her rise to fame and gives you an idea of what happens to these young performers when they become held captive by the very thing and the very people who made them famous in the first place. I found parts of it almost… sad and other parts suffocating. If you’re able to find it, give it a watch. Some of the people who have dedicated a great deal of their time to this ‘Free Britney’ movement are obnoxious, but their intentions don’t feel misplaced. Britney Spears had nothing to do with documentary but has acknowledged it and approved.

Now, I know some people take the stance of – “Oh poor you, you’re famous with lots of money and adoring fans and if you choose that life you deserve no privacy and no sympathy when people pester you for pictures and autographs. That is life in the public eye”. Well, I somewhat disagree. And I disagree because whether it be acting or singing or whatever, it’s only a J-O-B.

Imagine you’re an accountant and suddenly it becomes the least boring profession in the world. Every time you leave your house there are throngs of people scurrying to catch a glimpse of you in all your glory while you’re just going to the pharmacy to get that rash cream prescription refilled. Not only that, they get up in your face… crowding you, snapping 100’s of photos at close range hoping to get a cringe worthy picture to sell to the tabloids, pulling at your sweater vest and screaming “do me and then do my taxes!”. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

I don’t believe anyone is sitting at home at this very moment and wishing they had the life of Britney Spears.

One of the best moments in that documentary (and something I didn’t even know had happened because I don’t pay much attention to her career) is when she was supposed to announce her next residency in Vegas. It was a live streaming event in Vegas with loads of crazed people in attendance where she was to come out, perform a little on stage and then talk. She came out. Walked down the steps to the stage and kept walking. She walked right past everyone without a word and disappeared. People were pissed. I laughed and cheered.

She then made a post stating that until her Father was removed as her conservator, she would no longer be working in any capacity. Full stop. A total walkout and strike.

If you’re not familiar with the situation with her Dad… the long and the short of it is – when her mental health became compromised due to MANY factors, he took over control of her life. Her career, her money… everything. And at that time, it was seriously the best thing for her. But now at 38 with two teenage sons, she wants her freedom. Her Father is insisting that he continues to manage her life because she is not capable of making healthy decisions for herself and fears the vultures are always waiting to pounce and take advantage of his daughter.

Honestly, I don’t have an opinion regarding her conservatorship. None of us should. We can sympathize / empathize but we don’t have any actual idea of what is really taking place behind closed doors. As a fellow human being just trying to make it to the end of toilet roll with all my marbles intact, I hope she is ok.

Does the world owe Britney an apology?

This question came to me after watching the documentary and hearing about how Justin Timberlake was called out to say sorry to her for weaponizing their break-up to his advantage; as well as Diane Sawyer and a number of others for their various questions, comments and jokes they’ve made at her expense over the years.

Funny thing about apologies… sometimes they don’t mean shit. Sometimes, without appropriate action, they’re just words people say to make themselves feel better about being instinctively terrible. Going on an apology tour for something you did a decade ago just seems inauthentic. Acknowledging your past mistakes and making concentrated efforts not to repeat poor behavior feels more appropriate. It’s called growth. It’s one thing to say your sorry to someone you feel you’ve wronged, it’s another to be pulled out and placed on display by the media and publicly forced to reconcile previous atrocities of character. For one thing, the media is hardly the yard stick for good morals. And the public… well if Twitter has taught us anything, it’s that everyone needs an enema of their soul. And it wouldn’t hurt if some people got their mouths washed out with soap for being callous little trolls looking for attention.

I write this to you as someone who has been both apologized to and done the apologizing. I fancy neither of these options. While it may be nice having someone tell you they’re sorry for something they did that didn’t exactly give you the feels, I struggle with the authenticity. That’s a me problem. I don’t scoff at any delivered apologies, but rather squirm, accept and want to move forward. I’ll tell you what is better than saying sorry to me – scotch. The silent peacemaker.

I don’t feel the world owes Britney Spears an apology in the same way I feel beets do NOT belong on a burger. Some will agree with me and some will argue that I’m wrong. Look, that documentary puts into focus how terribly she was treated by a wide range of people across the globe on multiple platforms. And the bottom line is – she’s not the first and won’t be the last. People love to see others fall and that is just the truth and people love to take cheap shots at them on the way down. Should they say sorry for being shitty humans? Nope. But they should not pretend they’re nothing more than headcheese adjacent. No one will be saying sorry today because WE DON’T LEARN. Maybe next decade?

The first time I had a burger with beets was when I lived in Australia. I asked the waiter why they put beetroot on a burger and he replied – “I don’t know… because it sounds good?”. Well so do apologies, but in reality, sometimes they just don’t taste right in our mouths.

#framing britney spears #britney spears #mariah carey #saysorry #beets #microwave popcorn

1 note · View note

jazziehart · 4 years

Text

Character Dissection [Rachel Berry]: Episode by Episode - Season 2A

Hello everyone and welcome back to the character dissection series. Once again I’m going to be on the topic of Rachel Berry. I’ve already covered Season 1 by splitting it into two parts. I’m going to be doing the same for Seasons 2 and 3. Today we are going to be covering the first half of Season 2 which is from Audition until A Very Glee Christmas. I will be breaking down her character episode by episode much like the first two posts. Unfortunately, these posts will not be as positive so reader beware. If you are a Rachel fan, this may not be for you.

Let’s start off with the season 2 premiere of Audition. Rachel starts off the episode much like her usual self. She’s now dating Finn and seems relatively happy. However, this happiness is short lived when she finds a foreign exchange student named Sunshine Corozan. She originally apporaches Sunshine to join the Glee Club thinking that she wouldn’t have much to add, however when she hears Sunshine begin singing, she realizes Sunshine is most likely going to be her main competition and may even be *gasp* better than her. After this Rachel tries to make it her mission to discourage Sunshine from joining the Glee Club. Originally she pays off Karofsky and Azimio to slushie her and some of her fellow glee clubbers in front of Sunshine’s locker to scare her off. When Kurt and Mercedes shame her for trying this, she comes up with a new tactic. This is quite possibly one of the worst things she does in the entire series which is sending Sunshine to a crack house. This is Rachel at her very worst. She’s always been self absored and wanting to take the competition out of her way but this was extreme even for her. I wish she would’ve just sent her to Cheerios practice or even to Sue’s office. It would’ve accomplished the same goal of keeping her away from Glee Club while being a lot less cruel to someone who she barely knew. Anyway, soon Tina and Mike find out and alert Will who scolds Rachel and tells her to make it right with Sunshine. Rachel agrees to and invites her to actually try out for the New Directions which she does and has a fantastic performance which you can see Rachel seething throughout. Unfortunately, Sue has found out about Sunshine and tips off Vocal Adrenaline to take her into their school which makes the club angry knowing she probably wouldn’t have left if not for Rachel. Finn also scolds Rachel for what happened and Rachel fears he’ll break up with her to which Finn tells her that he’d never break up with her which gives some relief to Rachel. Rachel goes to rehearse on her own to prepare to accept the backlash of her actions in Glee Club which is where the episode ends.

Next up is Britney/Brittany, another episode where Rachel has a huge part in. Rachel’s first big scene is when the Glee Club takes tablets courtsey of Carl the Dentist and she is one of the few members whose teeth turn blue which she’s upset about saying she flosses between classes and takes good care of herself to which Carl says it’s probably genetic. Later, she and Finn are talking in the hallway where Finn expresses his disappointment about no longer being on the football team. Rachel, selfishly makes it about her and says she’s glad he wasn’t on the team saying he’d probably leave her for a cheerleader. Finn is upset that she believes this and talks about how he feels bad about himself to which Rachel says she wants to be the only thing to make him feel good which Finn doesn’t take well to. Their conversation is interrupted by Santana and Brittany with Santana snarking at Rachel and Brittany saying she’s more talented. Finn laughs rather than defend Rachel which makes her upset but Finn says maybe Santana has a point and adds that he’s trying to be honest, much like what Rachel said to him before. Rachel then goes for her appointment where she has a Britney Spears fantasy which inspires her to change her wardrobe which Finn doesn’t take well to at all, especially since other guys are constantly looking at her. Rachel talks in Glee Club about how she realizes it’s okay to dress like a pretty girl and feel good about yourself from time to time, something that actually isn’t a bad speech at all but is overshadowed by fan speculation about why Quinn is looking away from Rachel which is something I’ve addressed in a previous post. Rachel comes back to Glee practice later that afternoon to find out Finn is back on the football team which she’s upset about even though she previously gave him her blessing. Rachel soon confronts Finn in the locker room as he’s trying on his uniform and wants him to quit the team trying to make him choose between her and football which is yet another selfish move. Later on she purporsely has Quinn test him by asking him out on a date which Finn declines. Rachel is so happy about this she pretends like she realized she was wrong on her own. This is something that’s always annoyed me about Rachel at the end of this episode. The truth is she tested him and he passed. Can you imagine had he actually taken Quinn up on it and had gotten back with her then how mad Rachel woud’ve been? It would’ve served her right for trying to test him when Finn had done nothing to say that he would just leave her for a cheerleader. I know Rachel brought up how he left her to be with Santana and Brittany but he only went on one date with them and didn’t like it. Besides at that time he was trying to find himself something he had the right to do. Anyway I’ll get more into that when I analyze Finn. The show ends with ‘The Only Exception’ which was actually a poor choice of song for the situation and it was la-di-da Finn and Rachel are fine.

Moving onto Grilled Cheesus, one of the few episode Rachel actually doesn’t have a lot of storyline in. She lets Finn touch her breast and is once again making a selfish comment when the Glee Club can’t do any religious songs. She over dramatically exclaims that she found the perfect song and it was ripped away from her like Sophie’s daughter. She eventually performs the song anyway when she’s outside with Finn lighting a candle for Burt so I guess it wasn’t ripped away huh? Anyway she doesn’t have much else of a storyline in the episode since she’s Jewish and this was more of an episode about Christianity.

Up next is my personal favorite episode of Duets. In this episode Rachel’s trying to be more selfless and follow in Finn’s footsteps, one of the only times during the entire season that she displays this quality. She thinks that Sam should win so he feels a part of the group which Finn agrees to. She overdramatically says they need to find a way for her to lose a competition. Let me just go on another rant. One thing I couldn’t stand about Glee (this is on the writers end) was that anytime Rachel gave a really good performance the entire club would just vote for her. Meanwhile, when anyone else killed their performance, it was never met with as much enthusiam, case in point, this episode. Everyone voted for themselves except Finn and Rachel who helped Sam and Quinn win. This is something that made me annoyed just because it was a real slap in the face to some of the great vocalists in the club like Mercedes and Santana. Anyway back to the episode, Finn and Rachel end up picking a duet and perform it offensively as a priest and catholic school girl which the club obviously finds awful. They end up getting Sam and Quinn the win and things work out. Rachel soon notices how sad Kurt is and decides to talk to him. She lets him know that even though he’s lonely, he’s not alone and decides to perform a duet with him that is one they both love and the two start to form a friendship, one that actually helped Rachel become more humble as time went on.

Up next is the Rocky Horror Glee Show, another one of the best episodes. This episode starts off with a bang with Rachel once again selfishly claiming the lead female role. When Will says that girls need to split the lesser female roles of Columbia and Magenta, Rachel makes a comment that pisses me off. She said it’s standard Broadway practice to save their voices. If any role should’ve been split, it should’ve been the lead. Rachel should ‘preserve her voice’ sometime but once again nothing is said another than a throw away comment from Mercedes. Anyway Rachel is just jazzed about the musical and doesn’t realize what a toll it’s taking on Finn, though she does come to his defense when Brittany and Santana are making rude comments about his body. Anyway Will cancels the musical saying he was selfish for wanting to put it on in the first place but agrees to let the New Directions put on the production for themselves, something they seem happy about.

The next episode is Never Been Kissed, another episode Rachel takes more of a backseat to. Her biggest part in the episode is when she tries to do the opposite and keep quiet, something no one expects from her and when she once again is the lead in the mashup (so much for opposites am I right?). Anyway the only other storyline she has is when the guys reveal that they’ve been using Coach Beiste to cool off and she glares at Finn who tells her that he’s never done it.

Moving onto The Subsititute which starts off with Will getting sick and Rachel taking over the Glee Club, something Santana doesn’t take kindly to and tries to attack her for once again only wanting the lesson to revolve around herself. The club soon gets a subsititute in Holly and Rachel isn’t fond of her in the least. She finds her to be goofing off too much and tries to convince Will to come back to the school as soon as he can saying Sue (who’s now acting principal) would replace him. Holly tries to talk to Rachel and soon gets her more onboard with her lessons as the two do a duet. When Will is fired however, Rachel is the first one to come to his defense and says he’s the best thing that happened to the school, not her. An unlikely statement.

Up next is Furt which is probably one of my favorite episodes. Rachel tries to rally the girls to get their boyfriends to defend Kurt from Karofsky, something Quinn isn’t too fond of saying that she isn’t dating Sam (yes you are girl don’t lie to yourself you were literally on top of him making out two episodes ago). Anyway Rachel tries to talk to Finn who’s more worried about his reputation which Rachel is upset with him over saying she’s never been more disappointed in him. Later at the wedding she is constantly trying to keep Finn’s attention insisting on him telling her how pretty she looks and the two actually seem relatively happy at the wedding but all that changes in the next episode.

Special Education is probably the most complex episode for Rachel, especially since at the beginning she finds out that Finn lied to her about not sleeping with Santana last year, something she’s clearly hurt about. The two are fighting and it leads Rachel to try to hurt him the way he hurt her. Enter in Puck, she invites him over and makes out with him, fully intending to have sex with him but Puck stops it saying he can’t do that to Finn again. Rachel is upset but seems to understand. Rachel is at her most selfish in this episode especially after she finds out she doesn’t have a solo. She’s constantly rude about Sam and Quinn having the duet and even places ducttape on her mouth babbling about how her talented is wasted in the club (you literally are giving everything don’t even). Anyway Will calls her and the rest of the club out about their bad attitutes and they prepare for Sectionals. Rachel actually is less selfish when she helps out Kurt with his audition for a solo for the Warblers. The two soon are bonding when Rachel reveals that she and Finn broke up after he lied about being with Santana which Kurt was surprised that she didn’t know. Rachel soon finds out the entire club knew about it which leads to a huge argument before the New Directions go on. Rachel isn’t too happy about being background but is glad when the New Directions tie the Warblers and move onto Regionals. She and Finn hug and start to put the past behind them. However, the next day Rachel reveals about what happened with Puck which clearly hurts Finn, especially with what he went through last year with Quinn and he breaks up with Rachel for good. A fitting ending to this episode.

Finally we get to the mid-season finale of A Very Glee Christmas. Rachel tries to win Finn back by singing a song to him and even trying to pick out a tree with him. However, Finn isn’t ready to forgive Rachel for what she did to him and leaves her.

Let’s talk overview. Rachel somehow has become even more selfish this season and I have no idea where it stemmed from or why it happened. Even in the finale she keeps trying to force Finn to get back with her, something he’s told her that he’s not ready to do and still needs to heal. Honestly Season 2 Rachel is probably the worst she is throughout the series. This actually gave me an idea about another subject I wanted to cover in the favoritism that was displayed towards Rachel by the show which will probably be written after my character overview. I hope you enjoyed this. Stay tuned for the second half of Season 2.

#rachel berry #glee #glee season 2 #finchel #Faberry #puckleberry

6 notes · View notes

haleripley · 4 years

Text

Golden Truth

Written with @thirst-n-bullshit

@swifteforeverandalways @baronsbelleevangeline @drspencerreidloveshalloween @the-iridescent-phoenix

Seth was finally home healing after his ordeal at Claymore and everyone was preparing themselves for Roman's memorial service, Cody and Brandi Rhodes had stayed to pay their respects and the entire group was sitting the the living room when a knock sounded at the door, "Who.." Violet started to say from her spot on Finn's lap "Oh! It's Sonya and Mandy! I'll go let them in" Paige says, not noticing Seth, Cody, Brandi and Mox's reactions "Uh…sis?" Jon says, "Oh shit." Seth murmured "Okay, uh so Sonya and Mandy are probably about to try and kill me" Cody says in a rush just as the two women walked in looking around at everyone before their eyes locked on Cody. With no hesitation both women pulled out their guns and pointed them at Cody "What the fuck is he doing here." Mandy said coldly "What the bloody hell?" Paige exclaimed "Do you two know him" she asked "He was our brother." Sonya whispers, her voice filled with pain. "And then he abandoned us." "He helped us save Seth" Violet says quietly "It's them?" She asks her Ex "Your sisters that you ran away from after Legacy got wiped out?" "If it wasn't for Jon…and Roman…and Seth" Mandy says, tears filling her eyes " They were both insane….They didn't care that we were their daughters, Cody..they were gonna kill us too." "And you left." Sonya says "We should just end you"

Everyone was so focused on the drama unfolding in front of them that no one noticed Trent until he stepped right in front of Mandy blocking Cody from her view.

"Seven, what the fuck?!" Pete yelled out, but Trent was completely focused on the beautiful woman now pointing her gun at him.

"You don't want to shoot him, love. You know you'll regret it later" He says quietly

"I really don't think I will, Sevvie. He was our big brother. Big brothers aren't supposed to abandon their sisters." Mandy replied, her words making both Seth and Jon wince at the similarity to their own situation

"Sevvie….?" Tyler whispered to Pete

"Come on, baby…" Trent said reaching for her gun and taking it from her with no resistance. "Let the asshole explain himself. If you don't like what you hear, I'll help you hide the body"

Mandy glanced at Sonya who simply nodded and put her own pistol away. Turning to Cody, Trent told him "I'm dead ass serious. You better have a good fucking reason for what the fuck you did or I'll help my girl end you, " "YOUR GIRL?!" His entire family explained "Cat's out of the bag, Sevvie," Mandy says smiling despite her tears and hugging her husband. "So remember last year when we all went to Vegas? Karat and I got drunk and accidentally pulled a Britney Spears" Trent said laughing “A Britney….YOUR FUCKING MARRIED?!" Seth yelled "Yes..for almost 10 months, we didn't tell anyone cause A. You would have all lost your shit and B. We'd decided to make a go of it. We've always kinda liked each other" Mandy explained "Hey, I thought you were out of my bloody league," Trent says kissing her forehead "And I thought you didn't like me" The normally cold blonde replied grinning "Guess we were both stupid"

7 notes · View notes

holyfourthofjulyweenieroast · 4 years

Text

Notes on Season 15- Part 1 (contains spoilers, are mostly complaints about Torres (and Quinn in Pandora’s Box (Part 1)), and are my personal opinions, don’t @ me)

Since Season 15 started rerunning in Australia on 19 November, I’ve decided to write down things I forgot or would like to emphasise upon:

House Divided

I’m so glad Quinn’s gone, good riddance

Reeves saying NCIS wasn’t allowed to look for Gibbs and McGee, then the dispatch guy looking around at their efforts to do just that was great

Why does Torres have to be so disrespectful, even in court- poor Vance having to witness it

Were Bishop and Jimmy being serious about the phone booth?

Poor Reeves- never lend anything to Torres

I love it when Vance gets angry on the team’s behalf, it’s awesome

Don’t be such a dick, Torres

Jezebel Poppins sort of looks like Britney Spears- sidenote, I wonder how the show comes up with character names

Gibbs’ carving was amazing

Bishop and Reeves look so good together, ugh

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children- in relation to Torres, that explains a lot

Fuck off with your insulting Reeves, Torres- like you haven’t made a mistake before (and much bigger than letting not-so-relevant information slip)

The committee backing Vance up was awesome

‘hobbies?’ ‘not dying’ amazing

The end scenes were so sweet

Every time Delilah said ‘husband’ and McGee said ‘wife’, I went ‘aww’ inside

McGee had such great lines this episode

WHY COULDN’T REEVES HAVE BEEN THE THIRD AGENT SO TORRES AND QUINN WOULD HAVE NEVER EXISTED AND CBS WOULD’VE SAVED HEAPS OF MONEY HIRING ONE MAIN CHARACTER THAT AUDIENCES ALREADY KNEW AND LOVED INSTEAD OF TWO NEW ANNOYING ONES

Twofer

Dr. Grace! I love her so much, and her reaction to Gibbs catching her off-guard was awesome

When does Torres not have doubts about Bishop and her competency for just about anything

I almost forgot about Ducky’s ringtone

Ugh, I hate Torres’ macho persona

I don’t get the whole falling-in-love-with-someone-your-S.O.-was-close-to (or falling in love with anyone after your S.O. died, for that matter)

When did Abby make the switch from coffin to casket (or is it a backup or something)? I forgot if it’s been mentioned previously

I was really worried watching the Jimmy-and-the-liver bit for the first time

For some reason, Gibbs and McGee’s basement conversation reminded me of McGee and Tony’s in 3x10

Aww, Ducky getting invited to be honoured as an alumnus was so sweet

McGee’s shrink appointment with Dr. Grace was a really great scene

Dr. Grace and Gibbs have a such great friendship, and this episode was no exception

Exit Strategy

McGee talking about all the old cases, so nostalgic

I love McGee and Jimmy’s friendship

SPORTELLI! I kind of missed him, not going to lie (I wish his story didn’t end the way it did)

Torres is such an asshole to and about everyone, ugh

Torres’ flower drawing looked more like a hubcap

Aww, Ducky teaching the lecture was so cute

Jimmy standing up for himself, go Autopsy Gremlin

Ducky’s fanclub is way too over-eager

Seriously, Torres? You’re a federal agent, and you think saying you’d steal bearer bonds out loud is a good idea?

Ducky and Jimmy have such a sweet relationship

The plot of this episode sucked, I don’t get why they had to make Sportelli dirty

Skeleton Crew

Why is Toccata and Fugue the music piece of choice for every spooky TV show scene ever (it’s great, though, don’t get me wrong)

SLOANE! Her entrance is one of the most iconic (and obvious, I caught the ID flash the first time I watched it) ever, plus she looked just so beautiful

McGee talking about Delilah was so cute

Torres is so pigheaded and obnoxious

Abby’s zombie apocalypse kits were such a sweet idea

Abby and Jimmy have such a cute friendship (and the Hamilton bit was hilarious)

Sloane and Vance are such a great brotp from the very first scene

SHUT. UP. TORRES.

I hate it whenever Torres says something along the lines of ‘I’m not trying to be ________, but...’- he uses it as an excuse for his shitty behaviour, and it’s never addressed

‘I don’t believe in absolutes’ well, we know that Sloane’s not a Sith, then (I know the Sith deal in absolutes, but to deal in something, you most likely have to believe in it first)

$300, 000 really isn’t a lot, especially split between two people

The last two Bishop-and-Buckner scenes were sweet, but didn’t make up for his previous behaviour towards her

Akin to 17x06, this episode glossed over the bullying Bishop endured, and how it’s a serious issue

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

The first time I saw this, I instantly knew it was Tony’s doing- how could anyone not

Reeves is so caring and kind, it sucks how Melissa played him

Abby and Reeves (Rabby? Clabby?) were such a great brotp while it lasted

FUCK. OFF. TORRES.

Why is Torres such an asshole? He’s rude and insensitive to everyone, even recovering addicts- how have the writers not been called out for their writing of him yet

I love Sloane so much-she’s awesome

Those tap-lights are horribly hipster and ugly

The end scene in the bullpen was hilarious, and the end scene with Reeves was so emotional and heartbreaking

Rishop’s friendship (not their more-than-friendship, they’re two separate things) was so prevalent in this episode, and it was great to see

This episode had such a powerful message, and was a great instance in the Rule 10 debate

Trapped

Aww, Jimmy’s so sweet

Torres is so ungrateful and stingy

Torres using work time for personal stuff, not surprising

Reeves’ chess pun was absolutely the best

For some reason, I really love it when Reeves does that thing where he puts his hands behind his back and slightly leans forward

‘The Timinator’ I’m dying

Like Reeves said, Torres always has to one-up everyone else and I hate it

That kid was so sassy, omfG

Bishop knows Reeves so well, and it’s too adorable- how could the writers set up Ellick when Rishop already had an outline

That’s what you get for being such an asshole, Torres, and trying to get it back was one of the lowest things a character has done

I love it when NCIS includes charities (real and based-on-real) and the like in episodes

Words can’t even describe how much I hated Torres in this episode- he was at his worst

Pandora’s Box (Part 1)- Season 14, didn’t re-air with the other episodes because Part 2 (NOLA) is re-airing in two days from time of writing

Bishop being a fangirl was completely understandable (and relatable)

Good job insulting Abby, Torres- not

I’m gonna try and start saying ‘Aristotle banana split’ in everyday conversation

Poor Abby- such a sucky situation

Quinn is so annoying

JJ looks to old to have a daughter in preschool

‘Dr. Ducky’ TOO ADORABLE

Ducky and Reeves having banter about British things was the best thing ever

Bishop and Reeves are so cute together (also the ‘smart girl’ comment was definitely about her)

Bishop was on the shortlist after all, I’m so proud of her (even though the mission went south)

The NYB memorial wall, so sad

LaSalle (rip)! I just love his Alabama accent

Torres is just such a douche

McAbby is such a great brotp

Why does Torres have to be so dramatic and show-offy

Burden Of Proof

Yuck, I hate Torres, and even more when he talks about himself

Sloane’s choker top, YES

I hate it when Torres messes with Bishop’s mind and feelings- that’s not how you show you care about someone

Oof, Fornell- it sucks his job was brought into this mess, and that he lost it as a result

I really don’t want to know why ‘feet’ was the first thing that came to Torres’ mind

There’s something to just love about when Vance breaks up Fornell and Gibbs’ arguments

‘Name That Profile’ actually sounds like a pretty fun game

I hate Torres’ innate cockiness- he risks the suspect getting away just so he can put on a show beforehand

Ouch, poor Fornell- it was the wrong decision, and I don’t know if I would’ve done it, but I did get why he did it- the evidence that Hicks killed the Lieutenant was compelling

Poor Gibbs, you can just see the inner turmoil in his head

Aww, Sloane

Fornell, aww- I’ll fight anyone who says he’s an inherently bad person

Hicks really is a great liar to be able to fool a shrink

I really liked the Gabriel Hicks arc, this episode was the first of a few great ones

Voices

It’s rich of Torres to back up a woman’s side of things

Never stop being awkward and adorkable, Jimmy (adwarkable?)

‘Jack, knock yourself out’ ‘I will, Gibbs’- funniest exchange ever

Ducky lives for the drama and I love it

Collapsing floor during a birthday party- hell of a way to go

Delilah putting up a firewall to prevent McGee from finding out the baby’s gender was so funny

Mike Franks popping up for all of ten seconds was just so iconic

The twins reveal was pretty cute

The foreshadowing in this episode with Sloane and the losing-a-daughter storyline (whether intentional or not) was really good to watch back

The amount of times the word ‘sex’ was said during this episode made me extremely uncomfortable- how hard is it to say ‘gender’ instead

Ready Or Not

Don’t be such an asshole to Reeves, Torres

The Harrison Ford-themed names were kind of bad, but definitely not as much as they could have been

Abby and Delilah’s friendship has come such a long way, I’m so proud

Aww, Morgan, he was so sweet and didn’t deserve to die

Poor Sloane

McGee making a duplicate comfort kit for Delilah was the most adorable thing ever, and Abby yelling along with her was so funny

Bishop and Reeves always stand and sit so close together, too cute

I remember watching this for the first time and being really shocked when Yorka shot Morgan, especially since it was so early on in the episode

Abby really is a terrible liar

Bishop and Gibbs’ little performance was awesome

I don’t know why they didn’t think about putting Sloane in in the first place

Sloane making snarky comments was awesome

Morgan dying was so sad

Seriously, Torres? Do you want everything to blow up?

Reeves and Torres debating the bomb was hilarious

I loved how Gibbs just straight-up punched the driver in the face

The end scene with the twin-naming was so cute

High Tide (originally Ep. 11, but for some reason it aired as Ep. 10)

Torres is so obnoxious and a really bad law enforcer- lives are always more important than the op

Reeves worried about Bishop, so sweet

Torres is such a dick for ignoring Bishop and protocol

Ugh, why is Torres so arrogant and bigheaded- I hate him so much, yuck

How could those girls not know the capital of Maine

Insubordination is Torres’ middle name, and I could’ve watched a whole season’s worth of Vance chewing him out

Bishop’s anger was completely justified, but I wish it wasn’t because of feelings for him

I FUCKING HATE TORRES SO MUCH I WANT TO KILL HIM

Torres absolutely cannot be trusted, Sloane- you know it and so does everyone else

Yuuuck, I hated that part so much, and it didn’t even make sense- Bishop was super-angry at him just before, why would she do a complete 180

What other sort of cop is there, you idiot

Go, Bishop! So badass

Ya think, McGee?

Torres is such an idiot- don’t admit anything to someone who can’t be 100% trusted, and that plot twist was pretty predictable

More like a soft zero

Seriously? What if he died, you dickhead- also the fact that Torres had no backup plan and was only okay because the team saved him shows how self-obsessed and incompetent he is

The fact that the team doubted Torres shows how little he can be trusted, and how little they trust him

There was absolutely no chemistry between Bishop and Torres in this episode (or ever), and words can’t express how much I loathe and despise him and everything about him, which sucks because he could’ve been really well-written

Dark Secrets (originally Ep. 12, but for some reason it aired as Ep. 11)

I think all babies are pretty ugly, but Johnny and Morgan are cute

It’s just an ID photo, Torres- stop complaining

‘is there a spouse’ Autopsy Gremlin for the gender-inclusive win!

Carol mention! She’s awesome

Bud again! I’m using a lot of exclamation marks, but they’re things to exclaim about

Poor guy- she was a total asshole, lying to and cheating on him

Bishop and Sloane have such a pure relationship

Seriously, Torres? Not everyone dates in high school, and shaming someone about it is pathetic and juvenile (and it doesn’t help if they’re dead, either)

Recording your infidelity exploits isn’t a good idea (infidelity isn’t, full-stop)

I hate how obnoxious and over-confident Torres is

Just another instance of Torres manipulating someone into doing something for him

This was easily one of the most gross and uncomfortable plots I’ve seen, but a good way of showing that it’s not only guys that cheat and lie- girls do as well

#season 15 #ncis season 15 #ncis #naval criminal investigative service

4 notes · View notes

britneyfanforever · 5 years

Text

PAPER: Never-Before-Seen Letter by Britney Spears Circulates Online

For months, fans and the media have speculated on Britney Spears' well-being and the circumstances surrounding her ongoing conservatorship. The heightened interest has prompted an online movement of its own, #FreeBritney.

Adding to the #FreeBritney discussion is a new letter obtained by Daily Mail, which was reportedly written by Spears and shared within her circle during a time many consider the peak of her personal troubles, between 2008 and 2010. It was the post-divorce period from Kevin Federline, culminating in psychiatric hospitalization, the enacting of Spears' still-active conservatorship, and unrelenting media scrutiny.

The Daily Mail claims the letter, in which Spears accuses her team of lying to her, setting her up, "controlling her" and "constantly threatening" her, was furnished by a Spears insider. It also comes as details have emerged of Spears' father committing her to a mental health facility in April and allegedly forcing her to take her medication against her will.

The letter is hand-written by Spears in third person, which is quite possibly a choice the singer made to protect herself, as well as set the record straight in 2008. It could also be that Spears never wanted the letter to be unearthed to the public. And yet, here we are. Daily Mail reports that the Spears insider who supplied the letter claimed that she usually doesn't have a chance to be heard.

Spears opens the letter by writing about the dissolution of her marriage to Federline back in 2006. She writes: "After reading Kevin's article in People I was amazed at how a lot of the focus was on Britney their mother to sell a story for People magazine, instead of the focus being on Kevin."

She continues: "What happened to Britney was a year ago and people need to get with the times. And as far as Kevin saying Britney divorced him, she was forced to by her lawyers b/c she went to visit him in NY and he wouldn't see her and the children and her lawyers said if she doesn't divorce him he's going to do it himself. So Kevin trying to play the innocent victim is hardly irelavent [sic]. He left her and the babies. Her going on the mend partying two years ago has nothing to do w/ the situation now. She is a completely different person and most of their fighting was done back then b/c of his problem waking and baking to marujuna [sic] at 5 in the morning. No one talks about these things b/c no one knows the truth."

Spears writes, in defense of herself, "She was lied to and set up. Her children were taken away and she did spin out of control which any mother would in those circumstances."

Spears also accused her family and team of using her for money. "Now this year Britney has been silenced to speak about anything that's really going on," she writes. "The people controlling her life have made 3 million dollars this year."

She continues: "She would love for new eyes to see her situation, but if she brings it up she's constantly threatened that the conservators will take her kids away... So how long does this go on. As long as the people are getting paid and she has no rights it could go on for a while, but it doesn't make it right at all."

Perhaps one of the most personally revealing bits of info in addition to the obvious details about her family life is Spears' plea for respect. "Everyone is very quick to put a gloomy eye on Britney... she's a very giving person and would love to get the respect she deserves."

In recent weeks, Spears' longtime manager Larry Rudolph has spoken out, telling TMZ, that, in light of her father's reported illness and her own mental health issues, he didn't foresee Spears working again. "I don't want her to work again 'till she's ready, physically, mentally and passionately," Rudolph said. "If that time never comes again it will never come again. I have no desire or ability to make her work again. I am only here for her when she wants to work. And, if she ever does want to work again, I'm here to tell her if it's a good idea or a bad idea."

Spears' former manager Sam Lufti currently has a restraining order against him for reportedly harassing Spears and her family; he has been critical of Spears' conservatorship online, joining the chorus of fans and supporters who feel Spears should be "freed" from her current arrangement. Spears' mother Lynne reportedly filed a motion to "have a voice" in her daughter's affairs. But to Spears' credit, amid all the happenings, she has broken her silence on Instagram — at least minimally. They are moments of Spears, a 37-year-old woman, speaking for herself.

In one video, she insists that "all is well," but she's "under a lot of stress and anxiety." In another, she affirms that, contrary to popular belief, she does make all her own videos. In that clip, Spears tells people who infer that she has little control of her own life, "you're wrong."

What we do and don't know about Spears and what control she has of her own life can't possibly be totally accurately assessed — at least, not by the public. As long as others speak for Spears, her true freedom remains hanging in the balance. Whether Spears wanted this letter out or not, it's worth considering how her situation would be different now if only she were always heard, rather than silenced.

#britney #britney spears #free britney #britneyfanforever

33 notes · View notes

inky-starlight · 3 years

Text

While I’m thinking about family stories, memory of my other Grandpa (mom’s dad) that I just kinda remember and giggle at occasionally:

This was around the time when Britney Spears was in the news for her (completely understandable absolutely reasonable) mental breakdown and my mom and I drove out to see my Grandpa. We would do that some Sundays, go out after church and bring enough food so that we could all eat lunch and then he could eat on it during the week.

So my mom and grandpa are talking and I think Britney Spears was in the news so much that he remembered her name. Also my grandpa was a farmer turned accountant and I think he only got newspapers for the business section... he had no clue who celebrities were, is what I’m saying. But I just have this very clear memory of him looking at my mom and kind of sighing before asking:

“Daughter... who is Britney Spears?”

#my mom and I still use that as almost an inside joke cause she'll be watching tv and some awards show will come on like for music or #something and she'll have literally no clue who any of these people are #so we always say it's a 'daughter who is Britney Spears' situation #and then occasionally I will catch an article or something and it's either about youtubers or musicians that I have no clue who they are #and I call my mom just shrieking like #MOM I'M ALREADY HAVING A WHO IS BRITNEY SPEARS MOMENT HELP ME

1 note · View note

didsbumeare-blog · 5 years

Text

Sample guys dating profile

Best dating profile pics for successful likes Also avoid mentioning your previous heartbreaks or relationships. Samples of dating profiles, sample 2: I like watching movies with friends, traveling, and Britney Spears back when she was still bald bald chicks are hot! The cats are my favorite and if I could, I would take them all home with me. If you aren't able to be objective about your profile, ask someone you trust to read it for you. But it opened my mind to the whole scene of online dating — which I had supposed was mainly congested with males. I was surprised he fit through the door! Hi, I am Peter; a simple and easy going guy who looks out to the world from behind the lens. Once they start talking out loud about themselves, their history, their goals, a direction starts to reveal itself. One of my ambitions is to design robot applications.

Online Dating Profile Examples To Attract Men: Hook Your Prince Charming! Like, make sure that you are showing your best assets. If yes, fix your life instead of making up false stories. So you will want to get people hooked. This one is a sample of a bad dating profile. Usually, you should have one or two portraits, one full-body pic, and a few action ones like of you playing a sport or dressed up for Halloween.

6 Tips For Writing The Perfect Online Dating Profile Living in the Big Apple as a strong and confident single mother has taught me how adventurous life should be. We are all individuals with a diverse group of likes and dislikes, but this is not the venue to promote every single one. At a gathering one evening, a girlfriend suggested I make an online dating profile. Though I may be controlling on the set, off it I'm quite easy going. My friends rush to me in the time of there need and I never let them down or disappointed. Sure, there are also private messages, but your profile itself will also say a lot about you that can either reel a person in or it could also go the wrong way and drive them off.

Online dating profile examples This was an average online dating profile example, and the first day this was up my client got 26 messages. Actually no maintenance would be best, but a semi-annual maintenance check and level check would be acceptable…. I want to be in a relationship with someone who thinks about the future and knows where they want to be 5, 10, and even 20 years from now. I am a single guy and I love simplicity. This is something that will definitely help me. Since we're talking about writing a profile, I have to mention spelling and grammar.

Innovative and Creative Dating Profile Examples for Men Men tend to do the laundry list thing and it never really works. Tell a fictional story that describes what happens when you two go on a vacation to do everything your type of woman does. Some are even visibly shocked to suddenly find themselves talking their own profile out loud. Remember - you have already started your profile by saying who you are and what you're into - if someone is still reading, they're already intrigued by you and what you care about. Next, this is an example of dating profile that is very good and well written! I am looking forsomeone who understands me and accepts me as I am. It is essential that you feel as comfortable in jeans as an evening gown.

Write The Best Online Dating Profile Examples For MenCreator Dating Save the sexy lingerie and bikinis for real life. Five to seven is a good number. You must have a job and your own place. I believe in being the life and soul of any part, and my sweet and sour personality is the reason behind my large gang of friends! I am the type of person who is very flexible and likes to go with the flow. I am incredibly nice by nature, and I treat my women very well. Be sure when writing your profile that you are mindful of tone, style, and formality. And do you want to discover how to meet women online and get a date without much effort too? Handbags, extreme cupcake baking, or eyelash curling — perhaps? Moving to the Golden State was indeed the best decision I've ever made in my life.

Dating Profile Examples For Women I am a wild card, a lover of life, and a citizen of the world who is looking for someone like me. I love to go out for a morning walk as it keeps me active and fresh the whole day. But more importantly, what are you passionate about? But playing fairly and with integrity. Just like in any epic movie, I love the idea of falling in love in completely ordinary situations, thereby creating an extra-ordinary love story! Why would I choose you and not the other hundreds of thousands of potential suitors? I'm loyal, friendly, and sincere. Thrill and adventure entice me, and I am always looking for the right man to grow old with; someone that can play the male lead in this theatric production called life. They say life starts after you're thirty, that's why my life has just begun.

Write The Best Online Dating Profile Examples For MenCreator Dating You need to set the scene so that the right person will enter the script. As a photographer, my job is to look for the most beautiful things out there and capture them, and that's exactly what I intend to do. Your true character should come out. And taking a picture of yourself in a bathroom mirror will reduce your chances of a like by as much as 90 per cent. I love to live life to the fullest. Being a mother does not stop me from having fun and enjoying life. Perhaps you have an interesting palate and love food.

6 Tips For Writing The Perfect Online Dating Profile While I am a bit of a homebody, I like going out too. Having witnessed many happily ever-after's on the reel, I wish to bring the same spark of romance in real life. Obviously, taking pictures is my forte as well as my bread and butter. Parties, dinners, dates and spending time with my cutie pie daughter are what I enjoy doing the most in life. It can be likened to a store window display; with your products personal characteristics on show, and your customers women browsing. When writing your profile, you should let people know about your personality and what you like and look for in a partner. Don't use the crutch of describing your job and moving on.

#74 #Best #Online #Dating #Profile #Examples #for #Men #images

1 note · View note

willgayers · 6 years

Note

uhhhh i need a reddie as parents hc

oh my god yes!!!!!

planned together w @remushlupin again

its also long again. do i even need to say this anymore??? all my hc’s are long i cant write them short sue me

lets assume they have a boy and a girl (*cough* neil patrick harris & david burtka *cough*)

so ever since the kids first arrived at the shared household of tozier and kaspbrak,,, richie would not put the polaroid camera out of his hands

he’d be taking pictures of the kids CONSTANTLY in every situation ever. bath time? absolutely. messy spaghetti for lunch? you bet your ass. play time on the floor? DEFINITELY. eddie changing the diapers? even then.

“RICHIE ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RN?”

“well what! we gotta memorize everything!”

“nOT EVERYTHING”

richie’s also constantly emailing the photos to the rest of the losers because he’s such a proud dad

“this is rhiana eating. this is rhiana outside playing in the leafs. this is rhiana taking a bath. this is rhiana sleeping. this is rhiana —”

“okay richie great pics!!” (please no more)

“thanks! now here’s liam watching tv. here’s liam with the neighbor dog. here’s liam in his favorite overalls isn’t he just so CUTE—”

so many shopping for baby clothes!!! beverly’s also bought so many like every time she sees a cute baby overall or something she buys it immediately

they basically have so many colors like all the colors of rainbow

(obviously)

once the kids get a little older like around 4-6 all they wanna do is watch disney movies!!! and eddie and richie are down with it of course

just imagine reddie + kids movie night???? all of them cuddled up on the couch??? with a bowl of popcorn??? under a blanket????

mulan is rhiana’s favorite and little mermaid is liam’s favorite

richie of course learns how to do the voices to all the funny disney characters, his best ones are sebastian and mushu though and the kids LOVE them!!!! they love them so much and it just drives richie to do the voices even more so eventually eddie has to forbid him from doing them around bedtime because the kids will never stop giggling and every time they giggle richie’s heart expands like a trillion times so he will just continue with the impressions and it’s a CYCLE

in case you were wondering, richie’s the stay at home dad. i repeat, richie’s the stay at home dad!!!!!

he definitely does the laundry and dishes wearing a baby blue apron

eddie’s working 9 to 5 as an accountant and he fucking hates the job

richie and the kids decide to cheer him up and call him facetime calls and eddie’s immediately feelin better :“)

also. whenever eddie has to work a long day he comes back home to a ready bubble bath,, a warm prepped meal and a glass of red wine

eddie knows it’s gonna happen every time he’s coming home late but somehow he always forgets? so whenever he comes home and opens the door to see the dim lighted kitchen with a candle on the table next to his foil-covered plate and the wine glass he nearly bursts out in tears

richie’s a very caring husband™

but not that great with dressing up the kids

*one night when richie’s taking liam to the movies*

“honey … what is liam wearing???”

“he’s wearing fashion.”

“is that a… baby hawaiian shirt???”

“LIAM RUN TO THE CAR!!!!!”

anyway,,, how cute would christmas times be too?? like baking gingerbread cookies all of them around the kitchen counter together while listening to christmas songs ,,, richie and eddie forgetting about the kids for a moment when richie accidentally gets some red sugar frosting on eddie’s nose and eddie’s like “omg what did you do!!!” and richie says “you’re rudolph now” and boops his nose,,, and eddie just swoons and oh WOW they’re in LOVE and some disgustingly cute heart eyes to each other are exchanged before richie leans to kiss him and the kids go “EWWWWWWWW!!!”

imagining this just added 10 years to my life

richie literally spoils them SO MUCH

*reddie shopping for christmas presents*

“richie what is that?”

“it’s the doll house rhiana asked for”

“uhh yes and it’s also 200 dollars”

“,,, it’s the DOLL HOUSE ,, RHIANA ASKED FOR”

richie would fetch them the moon from the sky if they asked for it

also imagine the christmas mornings ,,, richie and eddie on the couch snuggled next to each other with cups of coffee/tea,, with smiles on their faces watching as the kids open the presents and it’s literally just the photo of a perfect family on a snowy xmas morning

well lets fast forward a little again, the kids are like 8-10 now

rhiana has the prettiest dark, curly hair and her eyes are brown and beautiful

liam has light hair, it’s kind of like dirty blonde and he’s got blue eyes

rhiana has a lot of friends over all the time and eddie’s always making food and/or snacks and bringing them to the kids

liam has like three good friends and they’re also constantly over but they’re mainly inside liam’s room playing video games. (or secretly listening to britney spears)

rhiana does karate and liam plays soccer

richie always drives them to school and practices ,, eddie always picks them up

they’re definitely at every competition/game cheering

“THATS RIGHT! KICK HIS ASS! KICK HIS ASS RHIANNA!”

that’s not richie by the way. that’s eddie

and at liam’s soccer games they definitely have the big foam thumbs and self-made cheer sheets

whenever liam scores richie’s gonna tap the person next to him on the shoulder and be like “tHATS MY SON!!”

and that one time when liam did the winning score,,, oh my god eddie screamed and richie accidentally threw his nachos to the air

at one karate competition, rhiana got kicked a little too hard and she fell on top of her shoulder, dislocating it

eddie and richie had sort of an argument after this,, whether or not they’re gonna let rhiana continue

eddie doesn’t want his daughter anywhere NEAR the karate ring anymore and richie thinks that if rhiana wants to continue she should

however she doesn’t want to do it anymore and richie notices she’s super sad all the time, so he suggests a new hobby and rhiana is like “like what?”

richie’s like well how about i teach you how to play guitar!!

rhiana learns acoustic guitar in like a freaking week and she gets so excited about musical instruments so she learns how to play piano and fipple flute and ukulele and wow richie’s so proud

liam gets interested in instruments too now that he has to listen to his sister practice in her room 24/7 (because of course richie bought her her own piano too), so liam learns how to play the bass

“kids, i think we should start a garage band!”

eddie cutting in between with slightly nervous laughter

“i think NOT, richie!”

lord knows eddie couldnt take it

times of horror ahead at the age of 12-13

so many “I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU BOTH!!!!“s

…because they weren’t allowed to play video games after 11pm anymore or go to slovenia with their best friend’s family or buy the shoes that cost 150$

(even richie’s getting a little strict now because eddie keeps on telling him this is your fault you spoiled them too much and now they walk around thinking im gonna buy them a fucking 2000$ smartphone)

richie’s hurt because his imitation voices aren’t funny to the kids anymore, instead they say he’s stupid and childish

wait did i say richie’s hurt? i meant richie’s heartbroken

because his kids his babies his best friends don’t want him around anymore they push richie away and rhiana even told him to ”get a fucking life, dad!!!!“

they definitely won’t let richie take any photos to the "baby photo” books that turned into a little longer than expected

so one night eddie walks upstairs to find richie crying in the bedroom with his head in his hands

“honey what’s wrong???”

“they hate me”

“richie they adore you. they’re just teenagers it’ll go away you know it”

and it does go away thankfully,,, and at the age of 15-16 they’re almost back to normal again. but now they’re just so teenagers

richie’s the good cop and eddie’s the bad cop

one time liam comes home high

fun little fact; they’re looking after their neighbor susan’s cat for a week because she’s traveling and richie is stroking the cat on his lap as he speaks

(you know how bad guys turn around on the chair)

“well well well,,, look who decided to come home”

eddie has one leg thrown over the other and hands resting on top of his other knee with such a strict look on his face

liam goes pale as he turns around, his eyes are so red and he’s just. definitely not there

richie tilts his head

“are you… are you high?”

liam just looks at him before shaking his head slowly. like. way too slowly

“shit you got any left?”

eddie gasps and slaps richie’s arm who immediately then blurts out

“i MEAN— sHAME ON YOU, LIAM, THAT IS AWFUL AND THAT IS WRONG!”

later that night richie tries to get some sexy times but eddie’s still mad at him

“oh come on eddie it wasn’t that bad”

“yOU ASKeD yOUR SiXTEeN YEAR OLd SON IF HE HaD ANY WEED LEFt fOR yOU!!!!”

“…okay i guess it was a little bad but-”

next week rhiana wants to go to a party

surprisingly tho, richie won’t let her

she asks this over dinner and she on purpose asks this from richie directly because she’s sure he’s gonna say yes

“so dad there’s this party on friday and-”

“no.”

eddies eyes widen, rhianas jaw drops and liam raises his brows but he’s lowkey gloat that his sister gets told no for a chance

“what???”

“you heard me” richie just guides a piece of the steak to his mouth

“this steak is very good honey” he just speaks like he just didnt forbid something from his daughter

“thank… you”

“excuse me but why am i not getting to go to the party??????” rhiana is like uHhh WTF dad

“because i said so”

liam snorts

“OH MY GOD!!!”

“:)” richie

“but EVERYONE is going!!!!!”

“i don’t care you are not”

“LIAM WENT TO A PARTY LAST WEEKEND!!!”

“liam’s sixteen”

“I AM FIFTEEN”

“yes so wait one more year”

“!!!!UGH!!!”

liam decides to take advantage of this

“hey so uh, johnny invited me to this-”

“no.”

“???huh???”

“i said no”

“BUT YOU JUST SAID I COULD GO BECAUSE IM SIXTEEN”

“yes, and last weekend you got home high”

“BUT-”

“no buts. liam, you are… what do you call it…”

silence

“ah, right. grounded”

“GROUNDED???”

“really?” even eddie asks, confused

“YOU CANT GROUND ME A WEEK LATER, DAD”

“says who?”

liam is just gaping

“thats what i thought”

eddie’s lowkey turned on and needs to take a sip of some ice cold water in his glass

at the age of 17-18 liam starts dating some girl from his high school and both richie and eddie love her she’s a very sweet girl!!

she’s at the house constantly and now both eddie and richie realize that rhiana’s never once mentioned having a boyfriend?? and now they’re confused because she’s gorgeous and smart and funny and everything

richie thinks he’s such a scary dad that no guy would even dare to approach her

eddie just snorts and mumbles a "sure…”

one time eddie and rhiana are having some quality time together at the mall and eddie brings up the relationship subject even though him and richie agreed not to bring it up but hE CANT HELP IT

“so… any cute guys at your class?”

rhiana gets so pissed off and storms out of the restaurant and won’t talk to eddie for the rest of the day and eddies so confused like what did i do wrong??? honey i’m so sorry???? but rhiana won’t answer she just sulks for the whole car ride

when they get home she locks herself in the room and won’t come out and eddie has to tell richie that he asked her and richie’s like why would you do that and blah blah blah

anyway then richie goes up to knock on rhiana’s door

“GO AWAY!!!”

“it’s me”

silence

the door opens

rhiana’s eyes are all teary and her lower lip is shaking and richie’s heart drops at the sight

“,,,baby what’s wrong??”

rhiana bursts out in sobs and richie steps in to her room,,, pulling her to a hug and she just cries and cries

richie then asks again what’s wrong and suggests sitting down and talking about it

“i… the reason why i… haven’t… brought a boyfriend home is… because…”

“yes???” richie asks, his voice soft

rhiana sniffs

“honey you can tell me anything okay???”

“its because im gay, dad”

richie doesn’t say anything for a moment

it’s not because he’d be shocked but because why would his daughter feel awful about telling this to him??? to eddie?? her parents are gay,, she shouldn’t feel like this,,, but clearly something or someone has made her feel like it’s wrong and now richie feels so sad

“okay.” he just says

rhiana blinks

“o-okay?”

“okay. so you’re gay. lovely!”

rhiana lets out a stuffed-nose laugh

“really? that’s it?”

“well we can throw a parade if you want to”

rhiana just hugs richie and murmurs a “i love you dad”

she then gets the courage to tell eddie too and eddie tries not to cry because he’s actually so happy??? that his daughter is so brave to tell both him and richie ?? like he never would’ve had the guts and he never even did tell his mom he’s dating richie before they were 19 and richie pROPOSED but here his daughter is at the age of 17 ,,, and he tells her she should never be ashamed of herself and honestly the two of them have a long heart-to-heart conversation that really just,,, brings them so much closer than they ever were

liam,,, in his hetero relationship however…

“YOU BROUGHT A GIRL IN TO THIS HOUSE TO HAVE SEX????”

“eddie calm down. they’re eighteen-”

“SEX??? INSIDE THIS HOUSE??!!”

richie just ignores eddie and asks liam,,,

“just tell me you were at least using a condom?”

“yeah”

“a cONdOM??? YOU— oh MY GOD YOU KNOW WHAT A CONDOM IS!”

“baby isn’t that a good thing? the kids are being safe!”

“A CONDOM, RICHIE!!! SEX!! LIAM IS HAVING SEX!”

“okay can we PLEASE stop saying sex?!?!!,”

“THATS WHAT YOU’RE DOING! IF YOU’RE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO SAY IT YOU’RE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE IT!!!!”

“oh come on babe we were like sixteen when we first-”

liam gags and eddie gasps

that was a long, long night and a conversation for all of them. also painful

for poor liam especially

anyway overall they’re just the greatest family ever

ikea shopping together

painting the kitchen walls together and eating chinese takeaway food on the floor

disney land trips

family vacations

movie nights

watching the ball drop from the tv at new years and shooting some fireworks from the backyard

(richie nearly set the house on fire once or twice tho)

when the kids were younger and it was date night and babysitters were needed…. losers club to the rescue!

stan and bill as godfathers,,, they always take the kids to museum tours or great restaurants

mike is their favorite because sheep,,, cows,,, chickens!!!! also he shows them pretty places and photos from when richie and eddie were teens which is funny because what the fuck is richie wearing and why does eddie have two fanny packs?????

ben and beverly always take them to cute ice cream shops or play board games with them

and when richie and eddie come back home/pick the kids up they’ve literally just missed them so much

PARENTS!REDDIE FOR LIFE

@superbyersbros @xbell22 @donthateonk8 @stenbroughbros@reddiebrekmyheart@itsgreywaterrichie @donvex @blueeyespurpleskies@ageorgymi@oh-youre-the-worst@eddiekaaspbraak @whipashwhipash @rissyq @richietoaster@edskasqbrak@urtury@bukiminajimu @kcutieeesblog @stansmansuris @adorefack @reddieaddict@icyeyes102@denbroughbill @graveyardshipper @taletellingsir@anxiety-freak-yuuri@rheddie@queertrashmouth @richiefreakingtozier@castletozier @tohzier @80soleff @lonewolfhard@low-key-dying @sad-synth @richietoaster @badboyharrington @beepbeep-losers@temptedtozier@kaspbraccs@kylieee827-blog @sad-synth @low-key-dying@officiallyreddie@reddietofall @stanleyboii @eternitynurarms@remushlupin@turtleneckrichie@rosegoldrichie @80srichie@asteroidbill@lonewolfhard @trashmouthgazebos @littlepointman

#reddie #parents!reddie #it 2017 #it fanfiction #hcs

739 notes · View notes

greatlove-keepsyouguessing · 7 years

Text

Day 3: School

As I said at the beginning of my family post, I had a painfully average upbringing and my educational experience was no exception to this. I went through Kindergarten to Grade 3 in one elementary school and then my parents made the wise decision to move us to the other side of town which was just generally a better neighborhood. In my first school, I had lots of friends and I was sort of the “rich-kid” in an area of otherwise less fortunate families, but in retrospect my family was maybe just the least-poor. Everyone wanted to come to my birthday parties, but I don’t think it was so much because I had the hippest Northern Getaway outfits and killer butterfly clips. It probably had more to do with the fact that my mom liked to throw these pretty elaborate birthday parties. My birthday is in December so she had to get creative, and oh boy, did she ever rise to that challenge. One year I had pony rides around our back yard. Yes, I got a pony for my birthday (but not really because he was just rented). Another year I got a pool party at the local community center where the cake melted in the party room and a kid almost drowned. That year was maybe not so great for my awesome party throwing rep. I had a Mad Science party, and if you aren’t familiar with that a person basically comes to your house and teaches you how to make goop and cotton candy and I don’t really know what that has to do with science but it set off the smoke detectors so it was very exciting. I also got a Harry Potter movie theatre party where my parents tried to be shining examples of law-abiding citizens by sneaking us into a double feature but chickened out. By the time I was a pre-teen the elaborate birthday party fund ran dry and I was allowed one friend over for a sleepover with cake and all the snacks we could dream of, but of course I was “too-cool” for those kiddie parties now anyways.

Once I switched schools things got a little more difficult for me. The curriculum was further ahead; I remember I was given a fractions quiz on the first day of school when I hadn’t even seen fractions before that. I also thought it would be a great idea to overhaul my “look” when I started at my new school so for some reason I faked an eye exam so I could get glasses and my mother let me cut my hair short and put two purple streaks in it. My new classmates were ACTUAL rich kids too (no joke, the daughter of the man who co-founded RIM/Blackberry was in my class) and I was now the poorest kid in the class. They turned their noses up at my Northern Getaway outfits and even when I had finally begged my mom to get me the cool expensive Gap sweater that everyone had these kids had already moved on to Campus Crew, and then after that it was all about American Eagle, Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. From that point forward, I always felt one step behind everyone. I was the new nerdy girl who wasn’t good at math, had an embarrassingly obvious crush on the most popular boy in the class, and who wore Britney Spears concert t-shirts to school (she was my first concert and it was right in between her Oops I Did It Again and Slave 4 U phases, and my mother was completely appalled that she had bought me those tickets for Christmas and exposed her daughter to such sluttery.) I was constantly made fun of and it was such an unfamiliar feeling to me to not have many friends. Of course, I made some at some point but I still felt out of place, like I didn’t belong and that feeling didn’t go away until I entered middle school.

I was reunited with the friends who I had been separated from when I changed elementary schools, and I now felt like I should have twice the amount the friends. It was a whole new world but with all the fresh teenage hormones rolling in and the fight to find your place in the cliques, kids weren’t as kind and welcoming as I thought they’d be. I still struggled with identity and bullying and mean girls and having strict parents when other kids seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted. Grade eight was actually straight out of mean girls. There were three girls who had been friends since they were little and they seemed SO cool to me. They were popular with the boys (for reasons I would learn much later on, but that my pure naïve little mind couldn’t wrap itself around) and it seemed like they were important and they knew secrets and people wanted to be their friends. I HAD to know what that was like and somehow for some reason unbeknownst to me they let me in. It quickly went down-hill and turned into a nightmare of a year that opened my eyes to just how innocent I was, and no matter how much I wanted to seem cool I just wasn’t ready to do the things they deemed cool. Thankfully I had the support of two loving parents and actually a couple incredible teachers who told me that they knew I was better than that situation and that I could potentially ruin my future if I continued down that path. I won’t get into the gritty details but over the course of the year my parents dealt with the family drama of one of the girls which involved the police and child protective services. Suffice it to say, my parents were very happy that those girls wouldn’t end up going to the same high school as I was due to our difference in districts. We went to camp for a week at the end of grade 8 to celebrate the end of middle school and the beginning of high school, and because of all the drama that had happened that year I was left without a group of friends to book a cabin with, so I was placed in what we jokingly (but not that jokingly) called the “reject-cabin”. Let me tell you, finding myself in that cabin was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. That week I reconnected with Amy who I had been friends with at my new elementary school for a hot minute. We became inseparable, and that was also where I connected with Adrienne for the first time (you’ll remember her from my last post about my friends). Making these friends at seemingly the final seconds of middle school made starting high school so much easier than I thought it would be, and I’m grateful that everything that happened that year put me in that perfect situation to meet friends who I would have for the rest of my life.

I remember high school quite fondly actually, which I feel I have to thank my extensive list of extra-curricular activities for. I went in now calling Amy and Adrienne two of my best friends, and they introduced me to their extended friends and just like that, I had a whole group of awesome people to go through the trials and tribulations of grade 9 with. Of course, I went through different phases where I would meet new people and call new girls my best friend every year and immerse myself in different groups of people to try to find my perfect place, but Amy and Adrienne were always a constant. Katrina came into the picture about half way through high school – once I stopped hating her for seemingly having everything I wanted but couldn’t achieve. My studies weren’t something I stressed about anymore. In middle school we all sort of got back on a level playing field and I found my sea legs again and went back to being my perfection seeking straight-A self, so I focused more on being as involved as I could and striving for popularity. I was involved in 4 different choirs at one point and I was also cast in a musical, 2 plays, was a member of the student council, radio crew and even tried to run for co-president which was mildly mortifying since I was the youngest and least experience candidate and was basically laughed off the stage. I participated in every charity event the school hosted, went to every dance, and at my school that was cool thing to do. You know in 22 Jump Street when Channing Tatum in all confused because the cool kids are super involved in school and study hard to get into a good college… that’s what my high school felt like. We had cliques like every other school but there wasn’t a lot of drama. Cliques really kept to themselves and stuck to what they were good at, and didn’t involve themselves in other clique’s drama. Looking back on it now, I do remember being bullied pretty severely when anonymous cyber bullying first became a thing and that was really difficult; something that actually still affects me to this day, but is part of what makes me who I am. I fought with my friends and even thought I lost them at one point when I became enthralled in my first love and all of the new experiences that come with that. You’re figuring out who you are, who you want to be and the path you should take in life and it’s not as fun of a time when you’re in it, but I’m happy that I can look back on it now and remember all of the amazing memories and friends I made through it, and realize that the good really did outweigh the bad in the end. I know that I’m extremely lucky to have had the high school experience that I did because even my sister who went to the same high school right after I did wasn’t as fortunate.

Well that’s not all for school because I did spend four years in university and a year in college but that will be for my next post where I will talk about the special friends I made there and my first crack at sort-of adulting.

Until next time!

#text post #about me #blog post #my story #taylor swift #taylor nation #my swift life #autobiography #10 parter

1 note · View note

spotlightsaga · 7 years

Photo

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Orange is the New Black (S05E06) Flaming Hot Cheetos Airdate: June 9, 2017 @oitnb Ratings: @netflix original Score: 8.75/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** How fitting that the episode we finally get a glimpse of the woman who left us all in emotional turmoil at the end of S4, is actually written by the wife and longtime partner of Samira Wiley (we love you Poussey Washington!), the incredibly talented, Lauren Morelli. In our last review of OITNB5, we focused a lot on perspective... When it comes to the loss and grieving of the very character that inspired the women of Litchfield Prison to take control of their prison, who better to give us a perspective as to the woman who is literally married to her in real life! Just thinking about life without my significant other sends complete and total perplexing, dramatic psychological turmoil surging through my entire being. No way. But if someone had to write what it would be like to move towards a place where moving on, and simultaneously holding on & letting go of even the character my significant other was playing... I guess the best person for the job would be me. There's a bit of added emotion that I've talked about being missing before, turning this episode from great to one helluva good time! 'Flaming Hot Cheetos, Literally' gives us more than just Soso & Taystee coming to terms with the loss of Poussey, though admittedly these two have had the most dramatically effective storyline in S5. We also get to see how the riot is changing the prison... Not just Litchfield, but the world of Litchfield and everyone's own little world that makes up the sum of its parts. It's easy to laugh when Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) comes in dressed to the nines, playing her 'Law & Order' theme music, claiming 'due process', and telling '2007 Britney Spears on Steroids' Helen (Francesca Curran) to 'best step out of her way' so she can talk to Pensatucky (Taryn Manning)... But the outcome is way more revealing of the heart and human side of these inmates. You see, these inmates who now have control have all been moved aside and dropped into a system where they are lost in privatized, overcrowded prisons... For the most part they may gravitate towards self-segregation, but they all have very key things in common. Boo plays her role well, pushing the women to 'be better than they are'... And she's right. You get locked up in a cage for so long and you start feeling like the animals that you are being treated as... But all these people are human beings and long prison sentences have proven not to work. So what does Boo suggest? A little bit of what my fellow TVTime'r and friend precisely called out as 'Restorative Justice'. In the whole process we get a bit more of the incredibly natural dynamic between Doggett and Boo. They are an incredible force together. The entire scene where Boo is counseling and directing Pensatucky as to how she needs to act, what she needs to say and do... Its just magic. Doggett responds so naturally, rattling off a story about how her mom used to coach her in case of getting caught shoplifting. It's these little scenes that continue to grow these original characters that really stick with me. Same with Soso (Kimiko Glenn) and Janae, the very unlikely duo. They are both grieving and instead of carrying that chip on her shoulder, Janae has a rare moment with Soso where she leaves her heart on her sleeve. I tear up just thinking about it. Janae has seen and felt so much prejudice and racial injustice... And the fact that she's so intelligent sometimes works against her. It's like being too smart for your own good. But with the prison now a barbed wired, locked down 'land of the free', Janae can parallel her feelings towards her racial injustices to her feelings about simply losing a friend... And let go, while still holding on to what makes her, her. Janae has always been a favorite of mine and while she's done questionable things, as we all have, it's easy to understand why. Deep down Janae is exploding with love, she has so much to give, but her intellect and her principles hold her back from sharing that love with all of those around her... That and of course the fact that she's in prison and must keep a certain air about her. With Taystee & Soso and now Boo & Doggett really stealing the show, it's nice to see Janae snag that spotlight because Vicky Jeudy deserves it... She gives so many dimensions to Janae that sometimes I think the writers don't even realize that the character has, that you simply can't ignore her. You can't ignore her plight. Janae is simply such a beautiful character, etched in pain, achievements, and a massive leap where she almost was able to grab the stars... Almost. As you know, 'almost doesn't count'. Speaking of not being able to ignore... Nita Reddy (Gita Reddy, isn't that funny?) has been tasked to help quell the riot. Unfortunately she's only meeting a few of the demands, the shallow ones, the 'Takis' and the 'Flaming Hot Cheetos', and one very necessary one (just not in the big picture), tampons! At first it feels like a win for Taystee and her 'Heads of Litchfield State' but after a phone call with a pushy Nita later on, it's clear that the rest of the demands aren't being taken seriously. Taystee is the last person in Litchfield who should be taken with a grain of salt. She has no ties to the outside, and her flashback gives us an in depth look at why she ended up wrapped tight in Vee's clutches. I've never met my biological father, but I often think about how it would go. Wonder if I'll ever even get an email or call... I think maybe there's a huge part of me that just wants to know that he acknowledges me. Taystee' story shows how that could all go horribly wrong when she is young and ready to be embraced by her real mother, who ends up having second thoughts because she has already started another life with another family. This killed me... I'm rewatching the scene now and I'm completely teared up. My biological father has since moved on from whatever the circumstances were surrounding my birth as my mother was a very young teenager, as was he. He has another son and a daughter. I wonder if they know who I am, I doubt it. In my head, this is more close to reality. There's a great shame in Taystee's mother's soul... She can't bring herself to overcome it and it crushes Taystee. Mia Jefferson (Tiffany Mann) plays this character right, there's a lot of us out there who never have met one or more of our birth parents. The first thing Taystee asks is 'Why didn't you want me?' The first thing I would ask is, 'Why have waited so long to reach out?' Taystee's situation is more difficult than mine, she has no one. I had a mother who beat incredible odds at a young age and a step-father who earned the title of 'Dad'. Still, there will always be a void until that man says something to me, and if he's too afraid to say something or complacent enough in his own life to never reach out, then I'll die with that void... But that will be on him, and I hope it weighs heavy. Little does he probably know that I am one of the most understanding and forgiving people in this world... And that's because I have people to fall back on. It breaks my heart that Taystee doesn't. I understand it, but to know this pain and imagine it multiplied wrecks me, truly. Andrew McCarthy seems to be given the most chaotic episodes. There is so much happening here... The Litchfield Trial of Tiffany Doggett, the arrival and subsequent removal of Hot Cheetos & Takis, Taystee's backstory with her biological mother, Janae & Soso running their pain away together, Lorna (Yael Stone) & Nicky (Natasha Lyons) finally giving in to sexual tensions and then facing the repercussions, Aleida Diaz (Elizabeth Rodriguez) being rushed into prime time news to give her exclusive take on Litchfield and being taken advantage of by a shady producer (Megumi Haggerty), Bayley (Alan Aisenberg) considering suicide because no one will listen to him or arrest the upper-middle class white boy who's in a 'bad place', Piper leaving Alex's backyard sit-in to take a stand, Freida leading all the 'elders' to her giant survivalist utopia, as well as Taystee meeting Poussey for the first time in the library that was always very close to her heart... And let's not forget the 'blaze of glory' finale where our fan favorites and 'Woke' Litchfield Leaders burn those mother fucking Flaming Hot Cheetos and Takis to the ground! Cindy starts the party... 'Flamin Cheetos, y'all!' Janae keeps the energy going, 'Yo, T... Tell this woman what we want!' Taystee plays off her hype women, 'We want to be mother fucking taken serious!' Chaos reigns supreme here, but McCarthy is masterful at balancing it all out. Who knew... Right? Oh wait, we all did! That's why McCarthy is given the tough ones!

3 notes · View notes

musicvoyage · 7 years

Photo

Ray of Light by Madonna, 1998

For the 19th anniversary of this gem, I decided to dedicate my first album review to the record that changed me as a person and gave me a completely different outlook on the world.

I remember when our Philosophy teacher asked us to bring something that makes you happy. A possession that you look at and gives you immediate joy. I immediately thought of bringing a physical copy of my all-time favorite album Ray of light, simply because this album changed my life for the better.

Not only is Ray of Light Madonna’s biggest comeback album to date but it also inspired many artists such as Adele with her recent hit 25. This Avant-dance perfection is considered to be Madonna’s best work for several reasons.

We all know Madonna as the versatile and fearless queen who is not afraid to take risks and never fails to surprise us with each era. In Ray of Light, you can hear her opening up to the world. Ray of Light, the song that is also the album title, is about rebirth from a former Material Girl. This song truly reflects what the album is all about; Life.

In the first title track Drowned World/Substitute for Love Madonna does not hold back as she talks about how motherhood has changed her perspective on fame and fortune, she used to yearn for. It is a perfect introduction to the album as you get a preview of what the concept of Ray of Light is all about. The woman who once lived so selfishly has found the missing piece in her life. Lourdes has made her see that all the stardom in the world could never substitute the love she longed for. It is evident that the major influence on this album is Lourdes, as many songs were dedicated to her. To some people, Little Star seems like a repetitive song. To me, however, this is truly a beautiful tribute to her daughter.

Other than motherhood, another door opened up for Madonna which is spirituality. Everybody knows by now that the Vogue-singer has been practicing Kabbalah for two decades now. Here is what Madonna once said about finding her spiritual path in 1997:

The thing about Kabbalah is that it has similarities with, say, Buddhism, the whole idea of cause and effect. For every action there is a reaction, you are the absolute master of your destiny and you have to take responsibility in your life. It’s like you pull in what you pull out, basically. If you want to have goodness in your life, then you have to give it.

Many songs on Ray of Light were influenced by Kabbalah, such as the underrated EDM-hit Nothing Really Matters, the dance masterpiece that gave me goosebumps the first time I listened to it Sky Fits Heaven and the harmonious and cosmic-like gem Swim. Shanti/Ashtangi was another track inspired by her new-found spirituality, which was written in Sankrit. However, even though the song is melodious and can be applauded for Madonna’s effort in stepping into a completely different lyrical and musical direction, I do not find the song to be memorable. The same can be said for Candy Perfume Girl, the song I did not care about when I heard it for the first time, considering it has no intriguing parts except for the catchy guitar riff. On the other hand, once I’ve listened to it several times I realized what a brilliantly written song it truly is. People who assumed that Madonna completely distanced herself from her raw sexual persona with this album were wrong. Candy Perfume Girl and Skin are songs that give you a certain sexual vibe to it, however, what differentiates those tracks from her earlier sexually explicit songs is that they comprise depth and make you think. Is Madonna’s lyrical intention in Skin about love at first sight and the intense rush you feel once meeting someone new or maybe about the manic confusion someone goes through once they inject drugs into them? This song can be interpreted in many different ways, yet the magical production of William Orbit is very clear.

William Orbit is a Grammy-winning, Electronica/Trip-hop oriented composer and thanks to Madonna, he has received worldwide acclaim and started working with several famous musical acts like Mel C, No Doubt, Britney Spears etc. His impact on this record is strong and applicable, as it can be heard in tracks like the masterpiece of a ballad Frozen, which included a somehow controversial music video. Because the video seems so dark and obscure, people did not even bother acknowledging the brilliance of this song, but rather linked with a ‘satanic propaganda message that Madonna tried to spread’. Madonna never shied away from sparking controversies and pushing people’s buttons, but to think that people can be that naive is truly upsetting.

The last few songs after Shanti/Ashtangi are definitely more mellow and in my personal opinion the best part of the album. It sickens me to this day that two of Madonna’s best ballads were left unnoticed; The Power of Good-Bye, a hauntingly beautiful song about being stuck in a toxic relationship or situation which is hard to get out of because your spirit is stuck. However, the path is in your hands as only YOU are the one who is capable of putting yourself out of your misery by willing to free yourself from the things that cause you harm. Just like many of Madonna’s songs, the statement she tries to make in it is truly empowering. Another song with a similar Dilemma is To Have and Not to Hold, it talks about the person you adore, admire and care about not giving you the love and recognition back. Many of us can find this song relatable because many of us were in love with a person who was never able to give the love back. You feel abandonment, but you are also aware that you’ll never be the object of their desire. Madonna closes up the album with Mer Girl, which many people do not find enjoyable to listen to. I believe that this song was not meant to hear but rather felt. When I listened to it for the first time, I could not help get teary eyed. Dedicating this song to the death of her mother, Madonna lets herself be vulnerable. After her mother’s death, she runs away to discover life, going through different journeys and learning about herself as she tries to find herself. This specific song is always somehow being completely ignored by the general public simply because it is not melodious like the other songs. But once you pay attention to its lyrical content, you will truly be amazed at how lyrically gifted Madonna is.

I personally believe that this is Madonna’s finest work, as it is not only musically impressive but also lyrically. Madonna was never able to be this open to her fans and after listening to this record, I felt like I knew her so much better, that I could relate to this person who has been ridiculed by the media for years, who has been called a ‘Bitch’ ever since she became a prominent figure. This record does not only prove Madonna’s versatility, but also her longevity of being able to put out successful quality content.

I recommend every person with an open and curious mind to listen to this album at least once in their lives. Try not to think of her as the Madonna that every media has made her out to be, but to understand and feel the message that she is trying to spread across the world. Once you do that, you will feel like your perspective on the world and the people around you has changed positively.

#madonna #rayoflight #1998 #ray #of #light #swim #drownedworld #substituteforlove #skin #littlestar #mergirl #skyfitsheaven #tohaveandnottohold #shanti #ashtangi #frozen #candyperfumegirl #nothing really matters

9 notes · View notes

cringeynews · 7 years

Text

New Post has been published on

New Post has been published on http://cringeynews.com/featured/to-understand-britney-spears-you-need-to-understand-her-hair/

To understand Britney Spears, you need to understand her hair

Pogs. Furbys. Juicy Couture tracksuits. American Pie. Willa Ford.

These are just a few of the trends Britney Spears has outlasted in her long and storied career, which spans nine albums, 20 years, and countless iconic moments that today’s celebrity Snapchat wars could never hope to replicate.

Even as new generations of bobbleheaded pop stars keep cropping up to snatch her crown, Britney has been a unique fascination from the moment she danced her way around a Catholic high school in 1998’s “…Baby One More Time” video.

Even escaping to Las Vegas for a multiple-year residency — an eternity in the celebrity news cycle — hasn’t stopped Spears from being one of the biggest and most instantly recognizable stars on this whole dumb planet.

When the aliens come, don’t be surprised if they don’t care about us taking them to our leaders when they could meet Britney Jean Spears instead.

She’s also gone through so many career transformations, rock bottoms, and comebacks that it can be hard to remember how, exactly, Britney Spears became the icon she is today. As any of her devoted fans will tell you, though, Britney’s always played the poker game of celebrity with one painfully obvious tell: her hair.

If you want to know how Britney Spears is doing, all you have to do is look at her hair (or the wigs and weaves she wears to approximate it) — which, when you think about it, makes her about as relatable as a pop star can get.

So as we celebrate Brit’s 35th birthday, let’s take a break from our own mundane lives to look back at the 20 years that brought Britney Spears to this point, by way of her mood ring hairstyles.

1) Britney Spears Original Flavor: dirty blonde (1998–2001)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

When Britney Spears charged into the spotlight on the edge of a new millennium, her naughty Catholic schoolgirl routine for “…Baby One More Time” was tempered by the fact that the bubbly 17-year-old also seemed like your kid’s favorite babysitter — a contrast that was, of course, purposeful.

As we later came to realize, Britney’s family and managerial team carefully calibrated her public persona, and in the beginning that meant selling sex while being a paragon of virtue. So while the other pop starlets in Britney’s early orbit — Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, even Mandy Moore — defaulted to brighter, louder blondes, she started off as a softer honey blonde, to slightly undercut her salacious image.

2) Blonde(r) ambition (2001–2005)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

Soon enough, though, Britney couldn’t escape the blonde — nor, arguably, did she want to. Though her team kept assigning her a virginal narrative even throughout her high-profile relationship with cocky N’Sync leading man Justin Timberlake, Britney pushed back against that sterile persona, becoming more openly sexual, even a little dangerous.

By the time she debuted her legendary “I’m a Slave 4 U” performance at the 2001 VMAs, she’d amped up not only her dance moves but also the amount of peroxide in her perpetually whipping hair.

[embedded content]

From there on out, Britney made clear that she was — say it with me/I am so sorry — not that innocent. (First and last one, I swear.) She became the sex symbol her image had always teased, vamping it up with a self-aware smirk. This glorious time included her 2003 album In the Zone — widely considered one of her best — not to mention her 2003 hit “Britney makes out with Madonna at the VMAs.”

[embedded content]

But by 2004, Britney’s grip on her world was starting to slip — or maybe more accurately, Britney started to slip from the world. Forces within both her own circle and the salivating music industry were pulling the sweetly dorky Louisiana girl in a thousand directions, and it was only a matter of time before she broke.

2004 was the end of polished Britney. Reports of drug use and mental health breaks started circulating in the tabloids, and then a Vegas trip with childhood friends ended in a spontaneous wedding — and hasty annulment — that gave the press ammunition for years. She met Kevin Federline, a backup dancer with cornrows and a “who gives a fuck?” vibe that Britney probably found refreshing. Finally, her tour got delayed when she tore her ACL during dance rehearsal — and shortly thereafter, she proposed to Federline.

This time is maybe best summed up by the 2005 reality show Britney and Federline starred in, featuring footage they shot of each other acting stoned and snorting through Cheetos: Chaotic.

3) The debut of “Brunetteny” (2006)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

One of the first signs that Britney was about to go even more dramatically off script came when she ditched any semblance of blonde for a dark brown weave in 2006.

Two years after she tore her ACL, “Brunetteny” — as her fiercely loyal self-described “Brit Army” of fans call this bizarro version of her — played by a different set of rules than the pop star we’d come to know.

She abandoned her old persona completely, embracing the chaos of being exactly the opposite of everything people thought she was before. Then Britney got pregnant, and Brunetteny became an even more clearly different persona, separate from her previous blonde teen princess act. She had two sons within two years — Sean Preston in 2005, Jayden James in 2006 — and backed off the grueling performance schedule she’d been under since she was just a kid herself.

Britney was done trying to be the slick package of sexed-up stardust the industry had sold her as, and Brunetteny was her way of saying so.

But if anyone thought Britney’s rebellious stage would culminate in something as banal as a Vegas wedding, an ill-advised investment in a shady backup dancer, or brunette wigs … well, they were mistaken.

4) Shaved hair, don’t care (2007)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

In 2007, Britney’s marriage to Federline crumbled into a fine powder, and her mental health became the subject of worldwide discussion. Once her family and Federline took her sons away from her, she spiraled hard.

She tried rehab, ditched rehab, and cut out her family and friends for a new circle of people whose close ties with the paparazzi ushered in an unprecedented new era of scrutiny into Britney’s personal life at the exact moment when she was at her lowest.

The situation, Rolling Stone wrote then, was dire. When Britney left rehab without completing any kind of program, her family and friends wondered if she was about to self-destruct:

She arrived at Federline’s house for her babies, but he had joined forces with Lynne [Britney’s mother] and Rudolph [Britney’s manager], and wouldn’t talk to her until she registered at the Malibu rehab center Promises. She circled his house three times, furious at having to concede to their demands, before pulling into a random hair salon in the Valley and taking her hair off in big clumps, less as a penance than a liberation. Then she stayed up for forty-eight hours straight, driving around, sucking down dozens of Red Bulls, afraid that she was being followed by demons, or that a cell-phone charger was taping her thoughts, and obsessively listening to the radio for news about Anna Nicole Smith’s death earlier that month. That was her fate, she declared — she was next.

Everyone — including Britney, apparently — thought they knew what was coming. But when she did snap, she still managed to surprise the hell out of all of us.

You know the pictures. Britney, peering at herself in a mirror, shaves off what’s left of her brown hair with a giant grin. Britney, bald head peeking out of a loose sweatshirt, gets tattooed. Britney, wild-eyed, grips an umbrella and beats the hell out of a paparazzo’s car.

As “fuck you”s go, though, this one was pretty spectacular.

5) The pink wig (2007–2008)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

The moments after the head shaving were dark for Britney. Rehab wouldn’t take, she had lost custody of her kids, and Kevin Federline was screening her calls. But Britney’s always been able to put on a show, and in 2007 she might’ve singlehandedly staged the most compelling entertainment of the year. (Google reminds me that the Oscar winner for Best Picture that year was The Departed, but I don’t care, I stand by it.)

Britney’s biggest fans at this point might have been the paparazzi, who stalked her from her driveway to Starbucks and back again. They learned how to anticipate when she was likely to give them something of interest beyond detailing which Frappuccino flavor is her favorite. (She revealed in 2011 that it’s strawberry, and also, the fact that we still cared about what her favorite Frappuccino flavor was a good five years after we were done caring about Frappuccinos speaks to Britney’s strange charisma.)

One detail of Britney’s appearance was a particularly solid indication that something strange was on the horizon: a hot pink bobbed wig, crumpled and frizzy, like she’d just fished it out of the bottom of a long-forgotten Party City sale bin. As one charming paparazzo told People then: “When she puts on the pink wig, you just know something crazy is about to happen.”

And so it did. She’d throw on the wig and tear around the Los Angeles canyons, leading the paparazzi on wild goose chases while taunting them in a British accent, seemingly manic and desperate for approval. Sometimes she’d even stop to hang out with them — which is how she met boyfriend Adnan Ghalib, a former paparazzo whose job used to be to follow her around.

Consider all this when you realize that in October 2007 — eight months after she shaved her head — Britney still managed to put out Blackout, her best album to date.

The wig reluctantly went into retirement once her father, Jamie Spears, stepped in, securing a temporary conservatorship over his daughter’s life and finances — a drastic measure, and one that’s since become a permanent fixture of Britney’s life.

Britney still loves wigs, but that pink bob is imprinted on her history like a bruise that refuses to fade.

6) Finding a new normal through questionable blond weaves (2008– 2013)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

These were the best of times. These were the worst of times.

As Spears tried to grow out her hair underneath a series of excruciatingly bad weaves, her career ramped back up into high gear — though she clearly wasn’t ready.

Watching her now-infamous performance of “Gimme More” at the 2007 VMA’s is like watching someone sleepwalking, and not being sure if waking her would be the best or worst thing. Instead of really dancing — always Britney’s favorite part of performing — she listlessly wandered across the stage, looking less like a pop star than a figure skater who got bored and started thinking about where to get lunch.

[embedded content]

In a 2008 cover story titled “The Tragedy of Britney Spears,” Rolling Stone called her “a perfectly proportioned twenty-six-year-old porcelain doll with a nasty weave.”

Slowly, though, Britney clawed her way out of her hell. Though her father’s conservatorship monitored her every decision — and, again, continues to do so today — she recommitted to being a pop star. She released solid pop albums Circus (2008) and Femme Fatale (2011), before the more introspective Britney Jean (2013). In 2013 she announced her Vegas residency, a show called Piece of Me that would run 50 times a year.

In her exclusive announcement with Good Morning America, Britney smiled from behind enormous sunglasses, a helicopter whirring away behind her. “I’m definitely ready,” she said.

And she was right.

7) A new contender — “Auburtney”? “Redheadny?” — appears (2014)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

As Britney settled into the role of anchoring her own Vegas experience, she turned back to her Brunetteny roots, this time with more of a red sheen than she’d ever had. This was a brief period, but still significant if only because Britney trying brown hair on for size usually signals a restlessness with her own image.

Vegas was a whole new stage for Britney’s career, and though she ended up embracing it to the point where she’s now extended her stay through 2017, she was still figuring out exactly what it — not to mention she — was going to be. For Britney, that usually means dusting off another wig, slipping on a different persona, and trying something new for the sake of it.

8) Mermaid Britney (2015)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

Maybe the best sign of Britney’s improved mental state is her Instagram. In 2015, the boilerplate posts telling fans to go to Vegas in unsettlingly stilted social media speak disappeared. Britney’s Instagram became way more personal, filled with videos of her sons doing skateboard tricks in their Vegas backyard, motivational quotes, and more pictures of sparkly fairies and apple-cheeked babies than Anne Geddes could stuff in a teapot.

At one point, Britney got her hands on a phosphorescent mermaid tail, which she wore to lounge around the pool with her sons and niece in the Vegas heat. She dyed the tips of her hair to match, and thus, Mermaid Britney — a determined performer and goofy mom — got her name.

Also: Mermaid Britney came to slay.

When she started the show in 2014, she was tentative; in 2015, she owned that stage. Her performing is more solid than it’s been in a decade, as she switches up her Piece of Me dance numbers and incorporates new jams for dozens of high-octane performances a year.

9) Back to blonde (2016–?)

Javier Zarracina / Vox

Today, Britney Spears has settled into her role about as comfortably as could be expected, given the fact that she’s spent her entire life trying to be a person while everyone surrounding her tries to fold her into boxes.

But at 35, Britney’s fully twice the age she was when “…Baby One More Time” came out and her life changed forever. She’s a mom who posts inspirational memes and videos of her sons with her giggle as their soundtracks. She’s a performer who churns out show after show, who released a ninth album that has more variation than any she’s done, who knows everything you think of her and has become her own person in spite of it.

Glory be.

Via

1 note · View note

newstfionline · 7 years

Text

My idol turned out to be my sister

By Vibeke Venema, BBC World Service, Jan. 25, 2017

Aerial performer Jennifer Bricker was born without legs, but she never let it stop her. By the age of 11 she was a gymnastics champion--having fallen in love with the sport after watching Dominique Moceanu win a gold medal for the US at the 1996 Olympics. And it turned out the two had a lot more in common than athletic talent.

Wrapped in a loop of red silk suspended from the ceiling Jennifer Bricker climbs and twists to the music. Her head hangs down and her strong arms let go as she balances on her back, high above the ground--a move that’s all the more daring because she has no legs.

Jennifer was a few months old when she was adopted by Sharon and Gerald Bricker. She had big brown eyes, a radiant smile, and huge amounts of energy. When a doctor advised her adoptive parents to carry her around in a kind of bucket, they refused.

Jennifer soon learned to walk--and run--on her hands and bottom, and grew up fearlessly climbing trees and bouncing on the trampoline with her three older brothers. “They encouraged all of that by having me jump off everything and scare everybody half to death,” she says.

At the age of three she was fitted with prosthetic legs, but she never really took to them--she moved more freely without.

At school Jennifer loved competing in ball games. “I was right there with everyone else,” she says. “My parents didn’t treat me differently so I didn’t grasp the concept that I was different. I knew I didn’t have legs but that wasn’t stopping me from doing the things I wanted to do.”

The Brickers had always been open with her about her adoption. “I knew that I was Romanian and that probably a good reason why I was given up for adoption was because I didn’t have legs,” says Jennifer.

Sharon and Gerald even encouraged her to understand her birth parents--Romanian immigrants to the US who had given her up on the day she was born. “You didn’t walk in their shoes so you really don’t know what was going on in their life. They were from a different country. They had a different mindset,” they would explain.

At the same time, they made sure she felt loved and wanted, telling her she was the answer to their prayers.

Jennifer grew up in a tiny community in Illinois. The first time she saw a fellow Romanian was on TV. It was 1996 and the Olympic Games were taking place in Atlanta. Jennifer loved to watch the women’s gymnastics team, but there was one member of the team she especially idolised--14-year-old Dominique Moceanu. She was only six years older, and, as Jennifer puts it, “very small” like her.

“I was drawn to her because we looked alike and that was so important to me,” says Jennifer. “No-one looked like me growing up. I didn’t know any other Romanian people. I just saw myself in her in so many ways and that was a big deal for me.”

Moceanu and the women’s team went on to win gold, and it was at that moment Jennifer decided she was going to be a gymnast, too. She took up power tumbling, which involves performing floor exercises down a runway. But Jennifer did not want any allowances to be made for her disability. “That way when I compete, I know that it’s legit,” she says.

She remembers spectators being surprised when they saw her: “Wow, this girl doesn’t have legs--is she competing?”

“But the love, the support when I did compete was amazing,” she says. “They would always applaud and cheer because I made sure that there were no exceptions made for me--nothing.”

At the age of 10 she took part in the Junior Olympics and by age 11 she was tumbling champion for the state of Illinois.

Jennifer continued to follow the ups and downs of her idol, who was now making headlines for different reasons. In 1998, when Dominique was 17, she took her parents to court, accusing them of mis-spending $1m of her post-Olympic earnings. During the court case, stories came out about her father’s harsh treatment of her. She succeeded in legally breaking free from her parents and taking control of her own finances.

When Jennifer was 16 she asked her mother if there was anything they hadn’t told her about her birth family. She really wasn’t expecting her to say, “Yes,” because her parents had always been so open. But to her surprise, her mother did have something important to tell her. She sat her down and said: “Your biological last name would have been Moceanu.”

There was no doubting what that meant. “Immediately when she said that I was like, ‘Wow, that means Dominique’s my sister,’” says Jennifer.

The Brickers had found out purely by accident. Jennifer’s was meant to have been a closed adoption, but her birth parents’ names appeared on some documents. Then, during the 1996 Olympics, the TV cameras had cut to Dominique’s mother Camelia and father Dumitru in the crowd. As their names flashed up on the screen, the Brickers realised they were looking at Jennifer’s parents. But they decided not to tell their daughter until she was older.

When she found out, Jennifer wanted to get in touch with Dominique, but she was determined to do it properly. “I couldn’t just call her and say ‘Hey, I’m your sister’--I didn’t want her to think I was crazy.” Her uncle happened to be a private investigator so she asked him to contact her biological parents. They didn’t deny putting her up for adoption, but after that first phone call they no longer responded. “It was clear they wanted to continue keeping me a secret,” she says.

Four years later, Jennifer wrote her sister a letter, explaining the situation and telling her how she had inspired her to take up gymnastics.

“I almost could not believe it myself, you had been my idol my whole life, and you turned out to be my sister!” she wrote.

She included copies of all the documentation she had and lots of photographs--all from the waist up. “I instinctively made the choice not to tell her I didn’t have legs because I thought it might be a little bit much,” explains Jennifer. “She’s already finding out she has a sister she didn’t know about. I’ll just wait and tell her about the no legs afterwards.”

By now, Dominique was 26 years old and no longer competing professionally. It was a busy time in her life. She had married a fellow athlete and they were expecting their first child. She was trying to finish her college exams before giving birth. On 10 December 2007, after finishing a statistics exam, Dominique drove to the post office to collect a package.

She tore open the envelope when she got back to the car--the first thing she saw were some court documents with her parents’ signatures. That piqued her interest. Then she shifted her attention to the photographs of a girl who looked just like her younger sister, Christina. “The resemblance was unbelievable,” she says. Finally she turned to the neatly-typed letter. One sentence leapt out at her: “My biological last name is Moceanu.”

“That letter was the biggest shock of my life and I’ll never forget it,” says Dominique.

She needed to know if it was true. Still sitting in her car, she called her mother, who lived a few time zones away, and woke her up with the words: “Did you give up a baby girl for adoption in 1987?”

“She had the wake-up call of her life--it was just so blunt,” she admits.

Her mother burst into tears. She said “Yes” but could barely say anything else.

“My heart broke for her because she had to keep this a secret for all these years and she could never have had the opportunity to deal with it,” says Dominique.

The next few weeks were an emotional rollercoaster. Dominique wrote back to Jennifer, asking for time to process the news and explaining that she was about to have a baby.

“I needed to answer some of my own questions and figure out how this could have happened,” says Dominique.

At the time her father was very ill so it was difficult to communicate with him, but Dominique found out that he had made the decision to give Jennifer up at the hospital out of fear that they would not be able to pay her medical bills. Her mother had not had a say in it, and had never even got the chance to hold her.

Dominique’s own daughter was born on Christmas Day and a few weeks later, on 14 January, she felt ready to call her sister for the first time. She was nervous and had even prepared notes, but the conversation soon flowed.

Then Jennifer bit the bullet. “By the way, you know I don’t have legs right?” she said.

Dominique was stunned into silence. How did this fit with what she knew?

“She told me that I was the reason she started gymnastics, and I thought that was a beautiful thing,” says Dominique. “I never imagined she would do all of these sports without having legs.”

That spring, Dominique, Jennifer and their younger sister Christina met for the first time in Ohio, where Dominique lived.

“On one hand it was surreal and a bit like a dream,” says Jennifer. “But on the other hand it was very natural. The DNA was very clear at that point. When I met my younger sister it was like looking in a mirror.”

The sisters marvelled at all the things they had in common--the way they laughed, even certain hand gestures--but when they spoke about their upbringing, their stories could not have been more different.

“They did not have the love and support that I had. They had some abuse and turmoil and secrets so it was not an easy childhood for them,” says Jennifer.

Their father died before Jennifer could meet him, but in January 2010, at the age of 22, she met her biological mother, Camelia, for the first time.

“She couldn’t believe how much I looked like my sisters and so she was instinctively speaking in Romanian.” Dominique had to translate for her mother, who was too stunned to switch to English.

The women hugged, and Jennifer showed her videos of her performances, including a trampoline act she had performed on tour with Britney Spears. “She was so amazed and she knew that she could have never given me that life,” she says.

Jennifer felt no anger towards her. She credits her adoptive parents for this. “They gave me the freedom not to be bitter,” she says.

In fact, she says her heart went out to her mother.

“You know, my biological mother was very much a victim of an abusive marriage,” she says. “She did not have an easy life--and that’s not me making an excuse for her, that’s just the truth.”

The sisters live in separate states but try to see each other when they can, making up for lost time. Jennifer now travels the world as an inspirational speaker and performs as an aerial acrobat.

“She’s wonderful, she’s up there in the air and you can see her passion,” says Dominique. “I’m proud of her as an older sister--she’s really living her dreams.”

#disabilities #Jennifer Bricker #Dominique Moceanu

0 notes

guidetoenjoy-blog · 5 years

Text

High Entertainment

New Post has been published on https://entertainmentguideto.com/trending/high-entertainment/

High Entertainment

Jane Fonda.

This excerpt is taken from the author’s online book High Entertainment which interprets the myriad destabilizations ushered in by the digital era. High Entertainment proposes a model of cultural production that combines the accessibility of entertainment with the principles of formal discovery and experimentation that have come to define the art context. High Entertainment argues for a new kind of author, described by the term “independent imagination” instead of “artist.”

In media culture, two models of heightened self — “star” and “persona” — consistently play themselves out. The concept of the “star” isn’t very old — 150 years at most, since the time of P.T. Barnum and his creation of modern stardom. The idea of “persona” is thousands of years old.

Both models showcase a performed version of self-hood. Nevertheless, there’s a significant distinction between star and persona. A star’s traits are perceived to be genuine extensions of that person. Julia Roberts the star really is Julia Roberts the person, we think. A star is the whole person — a person blessed with “star quality.” A persona, by contrast, is accepted to be more frankly a construction, an artifice, an invention, an idea on its own terms. Persona is constructed by identifying specific traits of the individual, isolating those traits, and then heightening, magnifying or amplifying them to gain certain effects. Because the star is thought to actually be that person it’s a much trickier concept than persona.

What is a star? The star is not an historical actor — not Alexander the Great, not Nero, not Benjamin Franklin. A star is far less than they were. A star just embodies an abstraction — a congeries of human qualities, heightened, yes, but without being linked to specific historical actions. A star represents only a style of being. “Stardom,” a contrivance, applies a management attitude toward human nature.

The concept of the star has a direct relation to modern media. To project an amplified and magnified self, you need amplifiers and magnifiers. You need machinery — cameras and recorders. The star as we know it is therefore a by-product of the machine age.

A star is a star within a frame of media, and within the industry surrounding and supporting that media. “A star of stage and screen,” “a rock star,” “a star athlete” — there is no such thing as a star without a system. A star is always the star of some cultural system. Star and system are absolutely symbiotic.

Stardom has both production and consumption functions. Culture industries (movies, TV, art, literature, music) need “stars” in order to stabilize the market, predict sales numbers, and reduce risk. Consumers approach the matter with less calculation, singling out certain individuals who, for whatever reason, represent desirable, glamorous or innovative human coordinates. Culture industries are adept at manipulating this response, and (to some degree) controlling it in advance. It is a nearly seamless system. Whitney Houston to Britney Spears to Christina Aguilera to Gwen Stefani, the stars change while the star location remains stable. Maintaining that seamlessness requires, though, heavy audience-response management, i.e. environment control; seeing to it that our affections will be transferred from Whitney to Britney to Christina to Gwen takes a great deal of planning! And as we might expect, there’s a direct relationship between the amount of environment control and the inorganic or inauthentic aspects of our culture.

The idea of the star has hardly changed at all since its invention. Why this stasis? Does the concept of the star simply lack elasticity? Or have our imaginations stalled on this one? Really, the sole profound challenge to the established model of stardom was offered by Andy Warhol, who devised an alternative model based on a radically reductive relation between camera and performer, presented and presenter.

Warhol’s concept of the star came from his insight into a certain technology. Fortunately, technology periodically makes cracks in the control mechanism that are not dependent on one genius’s destabilizing vision. Television famously made a crack in the audience control mechanism long enjoyed by the movie industry. The personal computer made a crack in the audience control mechanism long enjoyed by television. And the digital revolution has produced a very large crack in the entire media control mechanism.

Jennifer Bolande, “Tower of Movie Marquees,” installation view at Thomas Solomon Gallery, Los Angeles (2010). Courtesy of the Artist, Cottage Home, Los Angeles and Thomas Solomon, Los Angeles.

Any High Entertainment aspirant who has a taste for self-presentation might consider the innovation of a new star model — perhaps one in which you’d somehow show the system at the same time that the system showed you. As ever, the form would have to be discovered. Helpful precedents can be identified, though.

Cindy Sherman was still a child when Jane Fonda began exploring her own novel take on the coordinates of self-presentation in a media-saturated culture. Fonda had an insight into the power secreted within the ostensible passivity of the Gazed Upon — did it spring from having cameras regularly trained on her as Hollywood royalty, daughter of actor Henry? — and she then proceeded to organize her life around that insight in a way that broke new ground.

The record of her progress unfolds in a series of photographs taken over many years. (The photographs were not themselves the project but, rather, trace the contour of the project.) None of the photos were taken by her. Some were production stills from movies, some were publicity shots or press photos, others were photo-journalistic documents that appeared in newspapers. Arranged chronologically these images describe a consciousness flowering through a succession of roles.

Jane makes her entrance in the late ’50s as Hollywood Ingénue, fresh-faced find of the movie studios. From there it’s an easy segue to publicity stills that promote Starlet Jane — a Young Working Actress learning her craft but still doing what she is told. Next get an eyeful of Jane working another traditional Hollywood role — Sex Kitten — selling it on the beach, nude, come hither, self-possessed. Va-va-va-voom! Zap! it’s Avant-Garde Jane in her Euro phase as Barbarella, campy sci-fi adventuress, wife of French director Roger Vadim, open to experiment. Returned to American shores, she’s Activist Jane, at a rally with new husband Tom Hayden. Boo, hiss — it’s the reviled Hanoi Jane, visiting the Viet Cong to see the enemy for herself. Lights, camera, action: it’s Movie Star Jane (just as extremist, really, though it reads as a retreat), in ’70s hits like Klute, The China Syndrome, The Electric Horseman, and Nine to Five. Feel the burn with Jane the Workout Queen! Marriage to CNN founder and billionaire Ted Turner lands her another role: Mogul’s Wife.

Hanoi Jane, Mogul’s Wife… Each phase is in quotes. Can she have meant any of them? Did she mean them all? The sets keep changing. Supporting players come and go. Because the subject of the photographs is a famous actress, historical situations and social trends read as theaters — all the world’s a stage, right? Jane, inviting herself into history, absorbs history, makes it hers. Confident that she has your attention, she brings you along on her personal life-adventure. (Imagine the scale of ego involved.) Cindy Sherman would later gain fame for concocting a series of photographic images of female role-playing. But Fonda, while perhaps less clever, was far more radical than Sherman who, bewigged and costumed, carried out her work within the safety of her studio. Switching lifestyle like a change in hairstyle, Fonda did it out there in the world, confident that the cameras would follow.

Fonda worked interesting angles on celebrity, that oh so modern phenomenon which is everywhere shoved at us yet manages to elicit from us only a collective sigh of toleration. For what is the celebrity, really, but a vehicle through which mass media conveys its power and ubiquity? Celebrities are willing dupes of that power — “morally neutral,” Daniel Boorstin called them — and as such they represent a decadence. They accomplish next to nothing in the world of human affairs, yet, because they’ve gained entree to our society’s silly but exclusive VIP lounge, the media culture, expect always to be noticed nevertheless. How to make celebrity interesting? That’s the question confronting the budding High Entertainer who chooses to take the subject on. It won’t be easy: only a few stars (Fonda, Madonna, Michael Jackson, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Warhol) found ways to use their media access to conceptual, as opposed to a purely commercial, effect. Is there some way to use the space occupied by the celebrity in a more satisfying way?

Maurizio Cattelan, “Untitled” (1999). Courtesy of the Artist and Marian Goodman, New York/Paris.

Some of us have been interested in Paris Hilton for the very reason that she appears to have no other content than the mechanisms of celebrity. Standing before us minus the distractions of apparent talent or ability, she, like the Los Angeles billboard fixture Angelyne, is a concept, of her or someone like her. Other than occasionally mewing “That’s hot!” (her own variant on bland Warholian endorsement), the woman has nothing to say, and yet for some time now she has succeeded in moving from media space to media space to media space, web to print to broadcast. Her “content” is her presence in that space, her access to it, her movement from one medium to another. Movement across the surface of the system that presents her is the only “meaning” Paris Hilton offers. Approve of it or don’t, but hers is a very pure position. That she’s from the upper class is crucial to her contentlessness. An heiress needn’t engage the conventional middle-class success narrative. Neither does she seek change or progress of any sort, as a middle-class person might feel compelled to do. Thus, not only “morally neutral” but refreshingly devoid of the needs associated with most who aspire to a place in media culture, the urge to comment muted, she is able to stand — more accurately, pose — in the foreground as a purer representative of the background. As a result, Hilton functions as a prism through which we observe the disturbing realities of our media system at work.

Whether Hilton is conscious of the concept she embodies isn’t clear. Her inarticulateness frustrates our notions of authorship, and yet the woman is not only making choices but, within the theater that interests her, the correct choices. Clueless she is not, even if the exact amount of her input is unknown. The possibility that the real author of these choices might instead be some manager, talent agent or other behind-the-scenes Svengali is classic show biz opacity, perpetrated a thousand times before. Young Paris may or may not be in charge, may or may not be an artist of the mass media, but isn’t ambiguity of that sort the currency of show biz?

If context isn’t all it certainly determines much: Hilton is considered a joke while her nearest counterpart in the art world, Maurizio Cattelan, is looked upon as a genius. A huge difference between these two does have to be noted up front, of course: Cattelan consistently makes terrific objects that signal his highly sophisticated strategy. He actually does something, in other words. As befits one who’s working in the art context, Cattelan’s intentionality is much more pronounced, much more part of his subject matter — and unquestionably it’s vastly more satisfying to think about a brilliant comedian who is strongly present as the author of his decisions than it is a mere celebrity who may not be. By now the attentive reader will have noticed a pattern. Cindy Sherman represents one kind of sophistication about image-production and role-playing, Jane Fonda another. Paris Hilton can be read as having made a contribution to future work of a sort that Maurizio Cattelan does in a more explicit and directed manner. Ideas useful to the High Entertainer are to be discovered in both contexts. Can we say that entertainers Fonda and Hilton lack all intentionality simply because they don’t foreground it in the manner of artists Sherman and Cattelan? No. Occasionally an “entertainer” will even get to the good idea first! Art and show business are organized around differing cores of transparency and opacity, and the star model will perform differently within each context. The High Entertainer understands this and takes what he needs.

David Robbins is an artist and writer living in Milwaukee, United States.

0 notes