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kaijuno · 5 months

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In light of Fall Out Boy’s GARBAGE cover of the song. Let’s learn about the original. Notice how they’re actually in chronological order instead of just random references 😒😒😒😒

1949

Harry Truman was inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948 to his own term; previously he was sworn in following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively.

Doris Day enters the public spotlight with the films My Dream Is Yours and It’s a Great Feeling as well as popular songs like “It’s Magic”; divorces her second husband.

Red China: The Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People’s Republic of China.

Johnnie Ray signs his first recording contract with Okeh Records, although he would not become popular for another two years.

South Pacific, the prize-winning musical, opens on Broadway on April 7.

Walter Winchell is an aggressive radio and newspaper journalist credited with inventing the gossip column.

Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees go to the World Series five times in the 1940s, winning four of them.

1950

Joe McCarthy, the US Senator, gains national attention and begins his anti-communist crusade with his Lincoln Day speech.

Richard Nixon is first elected to the United States Senate.

Studebaker, a popular car company, begins its financial downfall.

Television is becoming widespread throughout Europe and North America.

North Korea and South Korea declare war after Northern forces stream south on June 25.

Marilyn Monroe soars in popularity with five new movies, including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, and attempts suicide after the death of friend Johnny Hyde who asked to marry her several times, but she refused respectfully. Monroe would later (1954) be married for a brief time to Joe DiMaggio (mentioned in the previous verse).

1951

The Rosenbergs, Ethel and Julius, were convicted on March 29 for espionage.

H-Bomb is in the middle of its development as a nuclear weapon, announced in early 1950 and first tested in late 1952.

Sugar Ray Robinson, a champion welterweight boxer.

Panmunjom, the border village in Korea, is the location of truce talks between the parties of the Korean War.

Marlon Brando is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

The King and I, musical, opens on Broadway on March 29.

The Catcher in the Rye, a controversial novel by J. D. Salinger, is published.

1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower is first elected as U.S. president, winning by a landslide margin of 442 to 89 electoral votes.

The vaccine for polio is privately tested by Jonas Salk.

England’s got a new queen: Queen Elizabeth II succeeds to the throne upon the death of her father, George VI, and is crowned the next year.

Rocky Marciano defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world Heavyweight champion.

Liberace has a popular 1950s television show for his musical entertainment.

Santayana goodbye: George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, dies on September 26.

1953

Joseph Stalin dies on March 5, yielding his position as leader of the Soviet Union.

Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Stalin for six months following his death. Malenkov had presided over Stalin’s purges of party “enemies”, but would be spared a similar fate by Nikita Khrushchev mentioned later in verse.

Gamal Abdel Nasser acts as the true power behind the new Egyptian nation as Muhammad Naguib’s minister of the interior.

Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, dies on March 5, the same day as Stalin.

Winthrop Rockefeller and his wife Barbara are involved in a highly publicized divorce, culminating in 1954 with a record-breaking $5.5 million settlement.

Roy Campanella, an African-American baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, receives the National League’s Most Valuable Player award for the second time.

Communist bloc is a group of communist nations dominated by the Soviet Union at this time. Probably a reference to the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany.

1954

Roy Cohn resigns as Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel and enters private practice with the fall of McCarthy. He also worked to prosecute the Rosenbergs, mentioned earlier.

Juan Perón spends his last full year as President of Argentina before a September 1955 coup.

Arturo Toscanini is at the height of his fame as a conductor, performing regularly with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on national radio.

Dacron is an early artificial fiber made from the same plastic as polyester.

Dien Bien Phu falls. A village in North Vietnam falls to Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap, leading to the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam as separate states.

“Rock Around the Clock” is a hit single released by Bill Haley & His Comets in May, spurring worldwide interest in rock and roll music.

1955

Albert Einstein dies on April 18 at the age of 76.

James Dean achieves success with East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, gets nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and dies in a car accident on September 30 at the age of 24.

Brooklyn’s got a winning team: The Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series for the only time before their move to Los Angeles.

Davy Crockett is a Disney television miniseries about the legendary frontiersman of the same name. The show was a huge hit with young boys and inspired a short-lived “coonskin cap” craze.

Peter Pan is broadcast on TV live and in color from the 1954 version of the stage musical starring Mary Martin on March 7. Disney released an animated version the previous year.

Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career.

Disneyland opens on July 17, 1955 as Walt Disney’s first theme park.

1956

Brigitte Bardot appears in her first mainstream film And God Created Woman and establishes an international reputation as a French “sex kitten”.

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and site of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Alabama is the site of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which ultimately led to the removal of the last race laws in the USA. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr figure prominently.

Nikita Khrushchev makes his famous Secret Speech denouncing Stalin’s “cult of personality” on February 25.

Princess Grace Kelly releases her last film, High Society, and marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Peyton Place, the best-selling novel by Grace Metalious, is published. Though mild compared to today’s prime time, it shocked the reserved values of the 1950s.

Trouble in the Suez: The Suez Crisis boils as Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal on October 29.

1957

Little Rock, Arkansas is the site of an anti-integration standoff, as Governor Orval Faubus stops the Little Rock Nine from attending Little Rock Central High School and President Dwight D. Eisenhower deploys the 101st Airborne Division to counteract him.

Boris Pasternak, the Russian author, publishes his famous novel Doctor Zhivago.

Mickey Mantle is in the middle of his career as a famous New York Yankees outfielder and American League All-Star for the sixth year in a row.

Jack Kerouac publishes his first novel in seven years, On the Road.

Sputnik becomes the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, marking the start of the space race.

Chou En-Lai, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, survives an assassination attempt on the charter airliner Kashmir Princess.

Bridge on the River Kwai is released as a film adaptation of the 1954 novel and receives seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

1958

Lebanon is engulfed in a political and religious crisis that eventually involves U.S. intervention.

Charles de Gaulle is elected first president of the French Fifth Republic following the Algerian Crisis.

California baseball begins as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California and become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. They are the first major league teams west of Kansas City.

Charles Starkweather Homicide captures the attention of Americans, in which he kills eleven people between January 25 and 29 before being caught in a massive manhunt in Douglas, Wyoming.

Children of Thalidomide: Mothers taking the drug Thalidomide had children born with congenital birth defects caused by the sleeping aid and antiemetic, which was also used at times to treat morning sickness.

1959

Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture. Joel prefaces the lyric with a Holly signature vocal hiccup: “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

Ben-Hur, a film based around the New Testament starring Charlton Heston, wins eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Space Monkey: Able and Miss Baker return to Earth from space aboard the flight Jupiter AM-18.

The Mafia are the center of attention for the FBI and public attention builds to this organized crime society with a historically Sicilian-American origin.

Hula hoops reach 100 million in sales as the latest toy fad.

Fidel Castro comes to power after a revolution in Cuba and visits the United States later that year on an unofficial twelve-day tour.

Edsel is a no-go: Production of this car marque ends after only three years due to poor sales.

1960

U-2: An American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union, causing the U-2 Crisis of 1960.

Syngman Rhee was rescued by the CIA after being forced to resign as leader of South Korea for allegedly fixing an election and embezzling more than US $20 million.

Payola, illegal payments for radio broadcasting of songs, was publicized due to Dick Clark’s testimony before Congress and Alan Freed’s public disgrace.

John F. Kennedy beats Richard Nixon in the November 8 general election.

Chubby Checker popularizes the dance The Twist with his cover of the song of the same name.

Psycho: An Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a pulp novel by Robert Bloch and adapted by Joseph Stefano, which becomes a landmark in graphic violence and cinema sensationalism. The screeching violins heard briefly in the background of the song are a trademark of the film’s soundtrack.

Belgians in the Congo: The Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) was declared independent of Belgium on June 30, with Joseph Kasavubu as President and Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister.

1961

Ernest Hemingway commits suicide on July 2 after a long battle with depression.

Adolf Eichmann, a “most wanted” Nazi war criminal, is traced to Argentina and captured by Mossad agents. He is covertly taken to Israel where he is put on trial for crimes against humanityin Germany during World War II, convicted, and hanged.

Stranger in a Strange Land, written by Robert A. Heinlein, is a breakthrough best-seller with themes of sexual freedom and liberation.

Bob Dylan is signed to Columbia Records after a New York Times review by critic Robert Shelton.

Berlin is separated into West Berlin and East Berlin, and from the rest of East Germany, when the Berlin Wall is erected on August 13 to prevent citizens escaping to the West.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion fails, an attempt by United States-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro.

1962

Lawrence of Arabia: The Academy Award-winning film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence starring Peter O’Toole premieres in America on December 16.

British Beatlemania: The Beatles, a British rock group, gain Ringo Starr as drummer and Brian Epstein as manager, and join the EMI’s Parlophone label. They soon become the world’s most famous rock band, with the word “Beatlemania” adopted by the press for their fans’ unprecedented enthusiasm. It also began the British Invasion in the United States.

Ole’ Miss: James Meredith integrates the University of Mississippi

John Glenn: Flew the first American manned orbital mission termed “Friendship 7” on February 20.

Liston beats Patterson: Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson fight for the world heavyweight championship on September 25, ending in a first-round knockout. This match marked the first time Patterson had ever been knocked out and one of only eight losses in his 20-year professional career.

1963

Pope Paul VI: Cardinal Giovanni Montini is elected to the papacy and takes the papal name of Paul VI.

Malcolm X makes his infamous statement “The chickens have come home to roost” about the Kennedy assassination, thus causing the Nation of Islam to censor him.

British politician sex: The British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, has a relationship with a showgirl, and then lies when questioned about it before the House of Commons. When the truth came out, it led to his own resignation and undermined the credibility of the Prime Minister.

JFK blown away: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22 while riding in an open convertible through Dallas.

1965

Birth control: In the early 1960s, oral contraceptives, popularly known as “the pill”, first go on the market and are extremely popular. Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 challenged a Connecticut law prohibiting contraceptives. In 1968, Pope Paul VI released a papal encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae which declared artificial birth control a sin.

Ho Chi Minh: A Vietnamese communist, who served as President of Vietnam from 1954–1969. March 2 Operation Rolling Thunder begins bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply line from North Vietnam to the Vietcong rebels in the south. On March 8, the first U.S. combat troops, 3,500 marines, land in South Vietnam.

1968

Richard Nixon back again: Former Vice President Nixon is elected President in 1968.

1969

Moonshot: Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, successfully lands on the moon.

Woodstock: Famous rock and roll festival of 1969 that came to be the epitome of the counterculture movement.

1974–75

Watergate: Political scandal that began when the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC was broken into. After the break-in, word began to spread that President Richard Nixon (a Republican) may have known about the break-in, and tried to cover it up. The scandal would ultimately result in the resignation of President Nixon, and to date, this remains the only time that anyone has ever resigned the United States Presidency.

Punk rock: The Ramones form, with the Sex Pistols following in 1975, bringing in the punk era.

1976–77

(An item from 1977 comes before three items from 1976 to make the song scan.)

Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel in 1977 and negotiates the Camp David Accords with Egypt’s president in 1978.

Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States in 1980, but he first attempted to run for the position in 1976.

Palestine: a United Nations resolution that calls for an independent Palestinian state and to end the Israeli occupation.

Terror on the airline: Numerous aircraft hijackings take place, specifically, the Palestinian hijack of Air France Flight 139 and the subsequent Operation Entebbe in Uganda.

1979

Ayatollah’s in Iran: During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the West-backed and secular Shah is overthrown as the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gains power after years in exile and forces Islamic law.

Russians in Afghanistan: Following their move into Afghanistan, Soviet forces fight a ten-year war, from 1979 to 1989.

1983

Wheel of Fortune: A hit television game show which has been TV’s highest-rated syndicated program since 1983.

Sally Ride: In 1983 she becomes the first American woman in space. Ride’s quip from space “Better than an E-ticket”, harkens back to the opening of Disneyland mentioned earlier, with the E-ticket purchase needed for the best rides.

Heavy metal suicide: In the 1980s Ozzy Osbourne and the bands Judas Priest and Metallica were brought to court by parents who accused the musicians of hiding subliminal pro-suicide messages in their music.

Foreign debts: Persistent U.S. trade deficits

Homeless vets: Veterans of the Vietnam War, including many disabled ex-military, are reported to be left homeless and impoverished.

AIDS: A collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is first detected and recognized in the 1980s, and was on its way to becoming a pandemic.

Crack cocaine use surged in the mid-to-late 1980s.

1984

Bernie Goetz: On December 22, Goetz shot four young men who he said were threatening him on a New York City subway. Goetz was charged with attempted murder but was acquitted of the charges, though convicted of carrying an unlicensed gun.

1988

Hypodermics on the shore: Medical waste was found washed up on beaches in New Jersey after being illegally dumped at sea. Before this event, waste dumped in the oceans was an “out of sight, out of mind” affair. This has been cited as one of the crucial turning points in popular opinion on environmentalism.

1989

China’s under martial law: On May 20, China declares martial law, enabling them to use force of arms against protesting students to end the Tiananmen Square protests.

Rock-and-roller cola wars: Soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi each run marketing campaigns using rock & roll and popular music stars to reach the teenage and young adult demographic.

Short summaries of all 119 references mentioned in the song, you’re welcome.

#look fall out boy is one of my fave bands but this is inexcusable #fall out boy #Billy Joel #music #Spotify

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eldritchboop · 10 months

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The Definitive Demonology Book Collection

The Lost Book Project is charging $13 for this collection. If you've found this roundup useful, please consider donating to the Internet Archive instead.

Other roundups here

Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Agrippa (1531)

The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology by Rossell Hope Robbins (1959)

The History of Witchcraft and Demonology by Montague Summers (1926)

Biblical Demonology by Merrill F. Unger (1952) Ed note: This book is still in copyright; this is rental

The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904)

The Magus, Celestial Intelligencer: A Complete System of Occult Philosophy (1801)

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum by Johann Weyer (1577)

The Grand Grimoire by Unknown (1521)

Daemonologie by King I James (1597)

Satanism and Witchcraft: The Classic Study of Medieval Superstition (1862)

Demoniality: Incubi and Succubi: A Book of Demonology (1869)

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism - L. Spence (1920)

Devils, Gods, and Spirits of the Dictionnaire Infernal (1863) Ed note: The original book is in French; the translation is still in copyright.

White Stains by Aleister Crowley (1898)

The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy: The Companion to Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1959)

The Biography of Satan (1921)

Begone Satan - A Soul Stirring Account of Diabolical Possession - C. Vogl (1936)

Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft by Walter Scott (1830)

#demonology #satanism #demonolatry #witchblr #occultism

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hometoursandotherstuff · 4 days

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Who added a square to the round house? According to some research, this house was also a Community Center, then became a Church. Eventually, the 1952 mid-century modern became a home to several owners. It's recently been remodeled and is located in Safety Harbor, FL, has 2bds, 2ba, & the owners are asking $699K.

The front door opens to a round hallway. The floor looks like stained cement.

The living room is gigantic, but it looks like the current owners either have a business or are set up for a moving sale. The floor in here is terrazzo.

It looks like they pushed the sofa behind the screen.

The round kitchen is kind of interesting. It looks like they painted the original cabinets black, b/c MCM cabinets would be flat front style.

This looks like a bedroom, possibly the primary.

And, here's bath #1, that has a double shower.

In order to accommodate the addition on the roof, they put up a spiral staircase that looks like it may be part of the primary bedroom.

Interesting configuration.

Oh, I get it now, the house was originally only 1 bedroom and 1 bath, and that's why they did the addition. This is all newer construction.

The 2nd bath is up here- a small shower room. Wow, $699K for this.

You couldn't call the small cement area a patio, but there's some lawn.

It has a garage with a large parking area.

The house is on a .27 acre lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1111-Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-St-N-Safety-Harbor-FL-34695/46971387_zpid/

#round homes #unusual homes #houses #house tours #home tour

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morrieandlicky · 1 year

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All Different Endings of Maurice and Alec from E.M. Forster's Maurice

Having been to the King's College archive myself, as well as read the Abinger edition of Maurice (which examines the differences between various versions of the manuscripts stored at the archive), I can conclude that there are 3 main different versions of the novel: from 1914, 1932, and 1952-1959, each differing from one another in Forster's treatment of the relationship between Maurice and Alec after the British Museum.

1914 version:

Order: British Museum - Southhampton - Penge with Clive - Epilogue

NO HOTEL SCENE, NO BOATHOUSE

In this version, Maurice and Alec do not spend the night together after the British Museum; Alec asks Maurice to but Maurice refuses with a long speech about how they shouldn't be together because of their class differences. So they part ways instead.

Maurice, however, does go to the Southhampton to see Alec off. After not seeing Alec there, Maurice leaves with Reverend Borenius at end of the chapter directly to Penge to say goodbye to Clive.

The reunion between them is implied first during Maurice's farewell to Clive—"I've wired to him (that I understand why he missed the boat)"—and then specifically illustrated in the written epilogue.

1932 version:

Order: British Museum - Southhampton - Penge with Clive

NO HOTEL SCENE, NO BOATHOUSE, NO EPILOGUE

The British Museum chapter is pretty much the same as the published version.

Maurice and Alec stay the night but there is NO hotel chapter written out. Their night together is only described in 4 lines at the beginning of the Southampton chapter as an "unwise escapade".

The scene thus goes from Maurice saying "To hell with with it" directly to him at the Southampton.

The end of the Southampton chapter as well as the farewell chapter with Clive conform to the 1914 version: i.e. no boathouse reunion.

Epilogue by 1932 had already been disregarded by Forster, so the only clue we have to the reunion between Maurice and Alec is Maurice's line "I've wired to him (that I understand)".

Therefore the 1932 version is the least hopeful in regards to the happy ending between Maurice and Alec.

1950's version:

Order: British Museum - Hotel - Southhampton - Boathouse - Penge with Clive

This is basically the final and published version that we all have read.

The hotel chapter was drafted out in 1952 and added to the 1932 manuscript.

But it wasn't until 1958 that Forster was able to finally and fully pen out how Maurice and Alec reunite at the boathouse.

It must be noted that Forster had troubles finding a way to bring Maurice and Alec together, and in fact refused to reunite them for decades. The boathouse reunion, Alec sending a wire to Maurice, and Maurice not receiving that wire but instinctively knowing where Alec is nonetheless—all were only conceived by Forster in 1958.

Therefore—and this is really the most touching and important part—according to scholars and editors of the Abinger edition...

"now we shan't be parted no more, and that's finished" were by logic the very last words Forster had written for the novel. Alec's promise marks the end of Maurice's search for a friend, as well as the end of Forster's writing progess for Maurice. It is both a fictional and a real-life farewell.

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sebastianswallows · 22 days

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The English Client — Three

— PAIRING: Tom Riddle x F!Reader

— SYNOPSIS: The year is 1952. Tom is working for Borgin and Burkes. He is sent to Rome to acquire three ancient books of magic by any means necessary. One in particular proves challenging to reach, and the only path forward is through a pretty, young bookseller. A foreigner like him, she lives alone, obsessed with her work... until Tom comes into her life.

— WARNINGS: just Tom perving on reader

— WORDCOUNT: 2.5k

Tom had a number of other establishments on his list, all in further parts of the city that he hadn’t been to yet, but he decided to start the day where the previous one had ended: Casa Ur. If asked, he probably couldn’t answer why. Or perhaps he could give many answers: it was the closest of the promising ones relative to his hotel; it was in one of the oldest parts of the city; it occupied a sizable plot and seemed full from floor to roof with books… All adequate justifications in his mind.

He stepped through its oak doors — which were heavy but feeble around the hinges, windows trembling within their frames — and a bell announced him. He was struck first of all by how cold and dark it was inside. Some marvellous trick of architecture seemed to insulate the shop from what went on at its exterior. The part of him accustomed to the Slytherin common room felt right at home there. Tom hissed in pleasure.

He cast his eyes around before he took another step, and found his decision to come there thoroughly justified: shelves stocked up to the ceiling so high he had to crane his neck. They stood as tightly packed as could be, their covers with a sturdy sheen to them that wasn’t seen in modern books. If there were forgeries among them, they were well concealed. Smaller editions were tucked wherever a space could be found on top of bigger volumes. Some larger books, so big the shelves wouldn’t have held them, were laid out horizontally on tables here and there. To the left, he could see a large open door that showed more of the same beyond it. To the right, a crimson curtain — probably the clerk’s office.

There was something to see everywhere. In the vitrines were all manner of assorted trinkets, old photographs and jewels and medals, the leftovers of nobility. Against the walls, tall paintings of ruins, fortresses, and kings. A phonograph held pride of place on a pedestal between two lamps, and crystal chandeliers hung over everything, unlit yet still silently shining.

And in the middle of it, her.

The clerk was a woman, a prim and pretty figure with her hair pinned up, her body fastened in a pale grey suit. Her pointy shoes were fixed to the floor in a half-abandoned step. She stood before her desk like a rabbit surprised outside its burrow. If he had any self-awareness, Tom would have noted that she looked at him in much the same way as he looked at the books.

“Buongiorno,” said Tom tentatively. “Cerco un libro.”

“Buongiorno,” she said, smiling instantly. “And erm, it’s alright, we can speak in English.”

“Ah. Is it that obvious?”

Her cheeks filled with a teasing smile, and she eyed him knowingly. If it wasn’t his accent, his complexion certainly gave him away.

“Well, it takes one to know one, I suppose,” she said.

Tom hummed and looked her up and down once more.

“So, what book are you looking for?”

“What do you have?”

“Books on a wide range of topics, from gothic novels to books of hours, and the largest collection of incunabula for sale in Rome. We keep only the rarest, the oldest editions,” she said with a measure of pride and joy.

He stepped closer, looking more closely at the volumes on the shelves as he passed them by. She stepped forth to meet him, observing him all the while.

“I’m looking for Isis Unveiled, volumes one and two. The older the better,” he said, naming an ordinary book of esoterica off the top of his head. He wanted first to test her knowledge and the breadth of her collection.

She smiled immediately, her eyes shining.

“By Helena Blavatsky? We have her, although I’m not sure we keep any first editions here. One moment, please. I will check.”

She hardly finished saying it before she turned and stepped through that imposing door on the left.

Tom followed her at a respectable distance, hand tucked casually in his trouser pocket. The darkness and the coolth around them, the tall heavy furniture, the echoing of steps against old wood, it all made him feel so comfortable and safe. It was nothing like the cluttered mess at Borgin and Burkes, where you could hardly walk for fear of tripping over something.

He stepped through the doorway after her. A broad table dominated the centre of this new room, holding an array of decorative lamps. Ladders reached up into the darkness by the bookcases that lined the walls. She pulled one toward her.

“So if you don’t keep first editions here, where do you keep them?”

“It’s not that we don’t keep any firsts, just not sure if we have hers,” she said as she began to climb. “I shall take a look anyway.” It was a clever evasion, not telling him if they had any other shops, or perhaps a secret storage place somewhere.

She went up and up the rows, all unmarked in any way, with surety. Tom had to admire her familiarity with the place, her naked knowledge. He could assume by now that she’d worked there for a while, but there was no way she was the owner. Too young, and as a foreigner, she was unlikely to have inherited it.

He held the ladder for her. The higher she went, the less Tom saw of her — and the more he saw of her. Those dainty leather shoes showed their soles to him, and above, her legs stretched on. Calves flexed in their silky stockings, disappearing in the tightness of her skirt like snakes. The slit of her skirt showed a hint of the back of her thighs every time she took a step upward, and then hid it again. It was the most cruel sort of striptease, and Tom felt its effects pool warmly at the centre of his abdomen.

“Nineteen twenty-one,” she said.

“What?”

“Our oldest edition. Is that good enough?”

“I’m… not sure. May I see it?”

She pulled out the first volume and gingerly climbed down with it until she was a few steps above the floor, and from there bent and handed it to Tom. He was close enough to feel the scent of the back of her knees. Dust and sweat and bergamot, delicious flesh.

“Ahem, thank you,” he said, parting the pages. He caught in passing the glimpse of a ring on her finger, a heavy signet carved into carnelian. It took a few moments for his mind to catch up on what he was reading. “This is in French,” he frowned.

“It’s the oldest of hers we have,” she shrugged, holding onto the railing like a wild nymph. “We have other books of hers if you prefer. I saw a copy of The Voice of the Silence, first edition, 1889.”

Tom hummed thoughtfully as he looked into her eyes. She squirmed at the attention.

“There are a few other places that might have it,” she said, twisting the tip of her shoe against the steps playfully. “But I’m not sure if they take just any clients. Most first editions of such authors are in private collections.”

“You know that for a fact?”

“I do.”

Tom smiled and brought the book closer for his inspection. His fingertips caressed the cover, testing its make. The pages were thick, the writing clear. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp scent, then held several pages in his hand and slowly let them cascade from beneath his thumb, his ear held close.

“It’s not a forgery,” she giggled, realising what he was doing.

“Just checking,” Tom smiled up at her. He held onto the ladder with one hand and gave her back the book. “Thank you.”

She nodded and climbed back, putting it in its place.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t satisfy,” she said on her way up.

“You might yet,” he purred, letting his eyes wander. “A list of those other bookshops might be handy.”

She gazed down at him, and even in the darkness of her high perch he could tell that she was blushing. She held her legs closer together as she climbed back down.

“I never said I could tell you who they were,” she teased once she stood before him, brushing a stray curl away with the back of her hand. “Most are quite exclusive.”

Tom looked into her eyes a moment, a cold smile on his face. It made her tense. With the quick prodding of Legilimency, he could tell that she wasn’t saying something untrue, but there was slightly more to it — more than even she was privy to. Shadows in her knowledge that she was well aware of.

“Quite unfair,” he said.

“It’s a small circle, Mr…”

“Riddle. Tom Riddle.”

“Well, Mr. Riddle, could I have your number?”

“What?”

“In case I find that book you’re looking for. I will make some inquiries.”

“Ah, well… I’m staying at the Gallienus, for now.”

She nodded and walked past him, going out of the room and toward her writing desk. Tom followed.

He looked once more around at the books. So many of them… And she seemed to know where each author was by heart. It must’ve been a challenge to work in a place like that if she was telling the truth and these groups were more ‘exclusive’. He doubted any real witchcraft took place in any of them, but it seemed that muggles still had their pride. His glance slid back to her, just enough to catch her bent over for a second as she wrote his hotel down.

“Is there anything else I could help you with?” she asked, straightening herself — only to catch him staring. She glared.

“Not right now,” Tom smiled, then turned to leave. “Thank you.”

He could feel her eyes at the back of his neck, a trembling chill while the sun beat against his face as he approached the door. With a quick breath and a pause, he pivoted to look at her again.

“Oh yes, there was something I wanted to ask.”

She held his gaze, her eyes inscrutable.

“I’m also looking for something a little older. Say, from around 1650?”

“We have even older than that.”

“Specifically, something by Aristide Torchia.”

“Most of his works were burned by the Holy Inquisition...”

“So you don’t have anything by him? Nor any of his… friends?”

“Torchia didn’t have any friends,” she chuckled.

“He had at least one,” Tom shrugged.

She smiled slowly, knowingly. He liked that look on her. “Why do you ask?”

“Just out of curiosity, really,” Tom shrugged. “I know it is being sought after in France by some collectors. Thought I might as try my luck. But, as you say, it’s a long shot.”

“If I come across it,” she said, lifting the note with his hotel up.

“Yes, you know where to find me,” Tom smirked. “Well, arrivederci.”

“Arrivederci, signor Riddle.”

Tom was at his third coffee, another one of the sacrifices he had to make for Borgin. The buzzing of couples and merchants and passing Vespas cluttered what would have been a serene scenery of tall white statutes, proud buildings, crumbling columns holding it all together. An inspiring sight even for a cynic like him.

But he was there with a purpose.

She left work at half past five, closing the door behind her and locking it in several places. The windows had only darkness behind them then, the writing on them faded gold. Tom abandoned his cold coffee and threw a few lire on the table. He got up to pursue her. Dipping between narrow buildings, he quickly pulled his wand out and obscured himself. A part of him wanted her to see him, to know that he was there, but perhaps they could play cat and mouse a little later.

Her grey figure swayed left and right, quick steps through the alley, high heels hitting the cobblestones leaving small echoes behind. Fully clothed, even in this weather, the nape of her neck was the only naked skin he could see. The sheer stockings didn’t count; they obscured the flesh of her calves in a honeyed gauze that, although sweet, didn’t satisfy him. Her pinned hair sat tightly at the crown of her head, a few loose curls trembling in the breeze.

He walked with her, waited with her, sat with her, all of it just a few paces away. It was a novel experience, to walk with someone like that. It was different than with Clement, who was like a fly he couldn’t swat. This felt like… companionship. Like a silent friendship the sort of which he hadn’t had since childhood, if ever.

She was different here from how she was when they met face to face. Staring out of invisible eyes, Tom noticed just how drained she looked, how exhausted, almost angry. Her lips were pulled into a low and dour line, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes had a delicate sadness about them the sort he’d only read about in books. Had her good cheer at seeing him all been just an act? Perhaps she was just that talented a saleswoman… There was, after all, a certain amount of emotional labour involved in any client-facing job. Tom knew all about it.

He got to see a new side of Rome while travelling with her. Less touristy, more quotidian, more quiet — or perhaps the better word was ‘dull’. The rickety tram she took, the piss-stained streets she walked, the crumbling building she lived in, were not the worst Tom had ever seen… But if he was being honest, he’d expected better. There was something of Knockturn Alley about the place.

From the sparkling piazza surrounded by monuments and statues like a quiet lake between the mountains, the architecture contracted and modernised. A strange counterpose of industry and squalor grew — closer and closer together. Façades cracking, windows smogged, the scent of animal blood in the air. Tom could no longer point out where the claustrophobic feeling started, but he was in the vortex of it by the time he stood outside her window.

There was a cellar bar just across the street, and patrons had already begun to sing inside. Their warbled voices reached him like cries from hell. Beside it, an empty restaurant that advertised a hostel on the upper floor. A bit further on the street, an old bookshop, boarded up. Pigeons flew in flocks overhead and between the windows of other flats above hung wires heavy with white laundry.

Everything seemed very… entrepreneurial. Just locals filling in the void left by an indifferent Rome. They seemed like parts of different cities, although one was merely the outgrowth of the other containing the people that fell over the sides. It was at once both loud and quiet. Filled with people, filled with nothing.

The thought of her living here made his nose curl — or maybe it was the scent of urine coming from the bar. Tom ignored the memory of his own pathetic lodgings near Borgin and Burkes.

He turned and looked around once more, and tried to remember where the tram line was.

#Tom Riddle #Tom Riddle x reader #Tom Riddle x OC #Tom Riddle fanfiction #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #sswallow;fanfics #sswallow;made a thing #fanfic;englishclient

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deadmotelsusa · 25 days

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After being vacant for over 10 years, the former Kings Grant Inn is officially up for auction.

This resort dates back to the 1930s. From 1952 to 1978, it was owned by Ralph and Margarete Krauss, who turned it into an all-inclusive, four season resort. In the late 70s, they sold their hotel to new owners who didn't keep up with many of the amenities that made the Krauss's resort so popular. A few years later, the Kings Grant Inn went bankrupt.

After closing, it was taken over by a local business owner who turned it into a strip club called Lakes Region Cafe & Tavern and later, Mardi Gras North. It finally closed for good after being raided by the Gilford PD. Four of the strippers working there pleaded guilty to drug charges.

Today, much of the property is in disrepair and the main building hasn’t been used since the strip club closed in 2012. I’ve always wondered what original features, if any, have been left behind.

While I haven't been inside any of the buildings, I did come across one sweet touch while in the pool area: Ralph and Margarete signed their names in the concrete, likely when the pool was first being constructed. Still there, almost 70 years later.

#gilford #new hampshire #kings grant inn

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beautiful-basque-country · 6 days

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Hi!

Do you know if there's any Jewish history in EH? There are a lot of old (pre-Inquisition) Jewish buildings/art in Spain, Catalonia, and Portugal, but I'm not sure if there are EH. I'm just curious, since I've learned a lot about Jewish life in Spain before the Inquisition, but never about Jewish life in EH, if there even was any.

Thank you!

Kaixo and thanks for your message!

Of course there's Jewish history in EH! In Gipuzkoa there never was a big community, as well as in Araba, with the exception of Guardia. In Bizkaia, Balmaseda was the biggest center for Jews, but sadly they were forcibly expelled around 40 years prior to the expulsion from Castile. Jewish people flourished mainly in the southern side of Nafarroa in Muslim times: there were thriving Jewish communities in Lizarra, Tutera, Tafalla, even Iruña.

Luckily this didn't change after the Reconquista! Jewish people were mainly merchants and moneylenders - profession banned for Christians - and they would work with peasants and nobility alike. They were also wine makers, and this wine was very much appreciated not only in the kingdom of Navarre, but also in Aragón and Castile. Navarrese kings supported Jewish communities and welcomed any Jew from other region.

There's a tragic but moving story about this time. The Jewish community of Gasteiz was forced to leave, but they agreed to hand over their cemetery to the city on the condition of respect the ground and don't build on it. The promise was respected for 460 years until 1952, when Jewish representatives agreed with the town hall that the ground was available for any use. Nowadays, it's a park with this monument to Jewish people. The neighborhood is called Judimendi, "the mountain of Jewish people".

In fact, when the kingdom of Castile ordered the expulsion of Jews from Castile, most of them moved to the kingdom of Navarre. But after the conquest by Castile in 1512, Jews and Muslims were effectively expelled from their home. Most of them didn't go too far, just across the border, to Baiona.

Baiona welcomed Basque, Spanish and Portuguese Jews, gathering a very important community that led to call the town the little Jerusalem at one time. There's a much modern legacy there than south the border, for example, there's still a functioning synagogue.

After the French revolution, Jews were reocgnised the same rights and duties than any other French, so they kept their businesses and in Baiona, many of them devoted themselves to chocolate - still one of the best in Europe, I must add.

But during WW2 and nazi occupation, maaaany of these Jewish people were captured and led to extermination camps. The community didn't die, though, and they welcomed a new wave of Jewish refugees in the 60s due to the French-Algerian war.

René Cassin, one of the fathers of the Declaration of Human Rights, was a Jew from Baiona, btw.

Nowadays in Euskadi there are just around 300 Jews, while in Iparralde this figure is bigger but not super high (just around ~3,000 in the whole Aquitaine).

#euskal herria #basque country #pays basque #pais vasco #euskadi #jewish history #jews #history #sefarad

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romanceyourdemons · 4 months

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do you have a really really beginners guide/recs to film noir? i don’t know anything about the genre except the detectives which i’m now gathering is Incorrect

here’s a list i made a couple years ago, obviously this is biased by my experience/preferences but every film on this list is a good one

Important Noirs

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Double Indemnity (1944)

Detour (1945)

All the King’s Men (1949)

The Bigamist (1953)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

The Third Man (1949)

Key Largo (1948)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

The Sniper (1952)

The Killers (1946)

Important Proto-noirs

M (1931)

Little Caesar (1931)

Underworld (1927)

You Only Live Once (1937)

Marked Woman (1937)

Important Neo-noirs

Chinatown (1974)

Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)

Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014)

High and Low (1963)

North by Northwest (1959)

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Insomnia (2002)

Psycho (1960)

#yeah this list is pretty long but not everything on it is required viewing #one or two from every category should give you a pretty well-rounded view of the genre

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george-the-good · 2 months

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The Dukes of Edinburgh, Gloucester, Windsor and Kent march during the funeral procession of King George VI // 15 FEBRUARY 1952

‘It was a long walk to Paddington, past the Cenotaph, along the Mall, where Queen Mary watched the procession pass from her balcony at Marlborough House, past what was left of 145 Piccadilly, the King’s home before his accession, and up Park Lane to Paddington. The Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of Windsor wore naval uniform, the Duke of Gloucester a military greatcoat, and I wore an overcoat and top hat. I was only sixteen.’

- THE DUKE OF KENT (A Royal Life, 2022)

ABOVE: The Duke of Kent shares his recollections of the funeral in the 2016 documentary ‘Elizabeth at 90 - A Family Tribute’

The newsreel he watches in the clip - ‘The Last Journey’ - can be viewed HERE

#King George VI #Prince Philip #Prince Henry #King Edward VIII #Prince Edward Duke of Kent #1952 #1950s

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master-john-uk · 3 months

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I know that Prince Harry is not popular with many but, please... allow him enough space without criticism to visit his father at this worrying time!

His Majesty The King is staying in London tonight, after his first course of cancer treatment. Buckingham Palace are not likely to reveal further details of King Charles's illness, or treatment at this time.

I know from personal experience, that a cancer diagnosis is very frightening for both the individual concerned, and their family (and friends.) Even if it is a mild, and easily treatable form of cancer... nothing is guaranteed!

[King George VI (a heavy smoker) had already had surgery for lung cancer when he waved goodbye to his daughter Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip at London Airport on 31st January 1952, and was very unwell. George VI passed away in his sleep six days later.]

My prayers and genuine good wishes are with King Charles, Queen Camilla, their children, and all the Royal Family tonight.

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broadwaydivastournament · 27 days

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Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 2A

Christine Baranski (1952) "CHRISTINE BARANSKI (Charlotte) last appeared in the Playwrights Horizon’s workshop production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. Just prior to that she appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festiva’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for which she received an Obie Award. She also recently completed filming Louis Malle’s new movie Crackers in which she co-stars with Donald Sutherland. Other New York credits include Sally and Marsha with Bernadette Peters at the Manhattan Theatre Club; The Undefeated Rhumba Champ at the Ensemble Studio Theatre and Coming Attractions at Playwrights Horizons. Her films include Playing for Time with Vanessa Redgrave, Lovesick, and Soup for One. She has worked at Center Stage in Baltimore, Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and the McCarter Theatre in Princeton as well as the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut. Christine is a graduate of the Julliard School and is the happy bride of actor Matthew Cowles.” – Playbill bio from The Real Thing, May 1984

Judy Kuhn (1958) “JUDY KUHN (Alice/Succuba/Citizen/Miss Isabel Yearsley) is making her Broadway debut in Drood and was a member of the original company in Central Park last summer. Off-Broadway she received critical praise for her performance in the Jewish Repertory Theatre’s production of Pearls. Before that she was seen with Yul Brynner’s farewell tour of The King and I. Roles in stock productions include Maria in West Side Story, Julie in Carousel, Rosamund in The Robber Bridegroom. Judy is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studies acting with John Stix.” – Playbill bio from The Mystery of Edwin Drood, April 1986.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

youtube

"With the devastating elimination of Patti LuPone, Christine Baranski may well be our reigning *Diva* in the most literal sense of the word. Are you truly worthy of the title if you don't inspire drag egos? Go on, close your eyes right now and picture a living Broadway Diva. Baranski is going to be on that list every time."

youtube

"Four-time Tony loser Judy Kuhn is a sad sentence to type. But hey, at least she's in good company with Elaine Stritch. Judy doesn't need a fancy trophy to prove how talented she is. She's booked and busy, and aren't we glad for it?"

#broadwaydivastournament #broadway #broadway divas #tournament poll #christine baranski #judy kuhn #round 2a

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the-monkey-ruler · 4 months

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Do you know what other Chinese media have the Six-Eared Macaque and the Macaque King as the same being?

I only know that the Lego Monkie Kid has this take like officially. Like it is far more popular to have the Six Ears as Wukong's brother, adopted or sworn, but they are never given the title 'King', and in fact a lot of movie plots are were the Six Ears is mad that he isn't the king and wants to take over wukong's life. The jealous brother trope. Let me make an updated list of Macaque in media that I am aware of!

1928 True and False Sun Xingzhe 真假孙行者 - evil self

1950 How Nazha Thrice Tricked the Six-eared Monkey 哪宅三戲六耳猴 - some guy

1952 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

1983 Real and Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王 - evil self

1986 Journey to West 西游记 - evil self

1996 Journey to the West 西遊記 - adopted brother

1999 Legends of the Monkey King 西游记 - evil self

2009 Monkey King 美猴王 - sworn brother but not a king

2010 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

2011 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

2015 Journey to the West: True and False Exchange - 西游之偷梁换柱 - evil self

2015 The Grow 2 金箍棒传奇2：沙僧的逆袭 - some guy

2016 A Chinese Odyssey Part Three 大话西游3 - some guy

2017 Journey to the West The Legend of the Merman 西游鲛人传 - some guy.

2017 A Chinese Odyssey: Million Years 大话西游之爱你一万年 - some guy

2017 Winning Buddha 斗战胜佛 - evil self

2018 The New Legends of Monkey - evil clone

2019 The Monkey King: The True Sun Wukong 美猴王之真假孙悟空 - adopted brother.

2020 The Real vs. Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王之大圣无双 - some guy

2020 Monkey King 大圣 - evil clone

2020 Lego Monkie Kid 乐高悟空小侠 - Macaque King

2020 Golden-Banded Staff 降妖伏魔之定海神针 - some guy

2021 Monkey King: The One and Only 大圣无双 - evil clone

2021 Six-Eared Monkey 六耳猕猴 - clan members? adopted dad?

2021 Marvel Monkey 六耳猕猴之妖王重生 - some guy

2021 The Legend of Flower Fruit Mountain 花果山传 - twin brother

2022 Journey to the West: True and False Monkey King 西游记之真假美猴王 - adopted brother? Maybe sworn but not a king?

2022 King of Confusion: The Rise of the Great Sage / Four Monkeys in Confusion 混世之王：混世四猴 /混世之王之大圣崛起 - clan member?

2022 Dislyte - twin brother

2022 Wukong Returns (2022) - evil self

2023 The Legends of Monkey King 凌云志 - some guy

2023 I’m Not a Great Sage 我不是大圣 - some guy

2024 The Monkey King: True and False Monkey King 齐天大圣之真假美猴王 - adopted brother? Maybe sworn but not a king?

2030 True and False Monkey King / Dare to Ask the Way: Apprentice Chapter 西游记真假美猴王 - some guy

Evil Self - 10 (Just Wukong but Evil) Evil Clone - 3 (Created by an outside force) Some Guy - 11 (Just villain, no previous connection) Adopted/Twin Brother/Clan Member - 6~8 (Family connection) Sworn Brother - 1~3 (Friends) Macaque King - 1 (Literally says that they are the Macaque King)

I see a lot more fan content per say that has the Six Ears also have the role of the Macaque King so is it more on a low-key scale where you see the theory really being popular. It is a really fun theory and has a lot of people that enjoy it, but narrative-wise it wouldn't fit in a casual Xiyouji tv show/movie without making major changes. Most mainstream or individual projects have it that Wukong is facing his literal brother/family member, or that he is just facing SOME GUY that he has never met before. Or that it is his evil clone or physical embodiment of his violent thoughts which is what a lot of the older movies do since that aligns with the book's symbolism and narrative meaning of the story.

#anon ask #anonymous #anon #jttw #journey to the west #sun wukong #xiyouji #ask #six eared macaque #the macaque king #female macaque king #spiritual macaque king #liu er mihou #liuer mihou

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