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dwreader · 10 months

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What movies would you recommend for good examples of period costumes?

Ok since I could talk for literally hours about this I’m going to stick to periods that are show adjacent or relevant otherwise I’ll be here all day.

18th century (Lestat’s time):

Barry Lyndon (1975) - takes place in the 1760s throughout Europe so a little before Lestat’s time but honestly fashion changed very slowly back then so it’s pretty much the vibe we’re gonna see in s3 I believe. I think this is essential to understanding the period’s masculinity as it features mostly men and is also not about romance. You also get to see class differences in men’s dress as the character starts off in a very different social position from where he ends up. I also think Sam in his Lestat get up from set leaks looks sooo much like Ryan O’Neal in this movie I think it will be a major inspiration.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988) - this is pretty much smack dab in the middle of Lestat’s human life (pre-revolutionary) and it’s one of the few romantic dramas that actually allows its leading men to look period accurate cause somehow Hollywood decided calves and stockings were too gay for their leading men who usually show up to dinner parties in riding gear which would NEVER happen. Anyways I also think the character of Valmont is probably another big Lestat influence.

I also think movies like Amadeus (1984) and The Favourite (2018) are helpful in establishing to viewers that men did look ridiculous back then with big ass wigs and face caked full of makeup and it was not considered gay or unmanly!!

Gilded Age / Edwardian and beyond (Louis’s time):

The Age of Innocence (1993) - takes place in the 1870s so again a bit before Louis but I think now it’s important to establish that fashion trends are moving a bit faster as you’ll see a few decades later the big ass bustle look is no longer on trend but this is just a beautiful film to look at if you want a good intro to film costuming.

The trio of Merchant-Ivory’s EM Forster adaptations: A Room with a View, Maurice and Howard’s End are nice examples of early 20th century wear and again you finally get to see more class differences in dress. Also great references for men’s wear.

Daughters of the Dust (1991) - this takes place in Georgia around 1902 so getting quite close to the start of the show and it has absolutely gorgeous design like it’s the women’s silhouette so spot on. Good reference for the costumes on black women in the show. Also I think this is one case where the flowy down do’s hair in a period film isn’t anachronistic cause of the specific story they’re telling otherwise I’m usually like why are you an adult woman walking around outside with your hair down.

Passing (2021) - takes place in 1920s New York and features really lovely b&w cinematography and costuming wise it’s a really beautiful representation of upper middle class black families of the time and also has very interesting contrasts with the white upper class. Amazing book too, I highly recommend both.

For periods beyond 1930 I actually recommend just watching films from that era cause they give a more accurate representation of what was fashionable then not filtered through today’s beauty standards. For example the thin penciled eyebrow is almost never seen in modern period films cause no actress wants to shave off their eyebrows 💀 and their hair is almost always too long cause they don’t wanna chop off their hair.

Here are some good fashion recs of 30s-40s:

Trouble in Paradise (1932), It Happened One Night (1934), The Awful Truth (1937), Imitation of Life (1934), Notorious (1946), Mildred Pierce (1945), Gilda (1946), Orphee (1949), and a bunch others you can ask me for recs based on more specific criteria and I’d be happy to provide!

Also a film that’s a bit past the show’s timeline is Paris Blues (1961) starring Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman that’s also about American expats in Paris and it’s very good, everyone watch it.

#I’m sorry this is so long alsjsjakdjajajaja #but i have like 12 more I refrained from talking about cause I don’t have time I gotta run #iwtv #asks

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leechs · 7 months

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carry me up them stairs with my white socks on and my pretty song you like my blue nail polish what is all this you said of the mess upstairs dont be scared daddy dearest you know how i like to take trips popsfirst stop at the kmart buy me my peach lipgloss cigarettes and lollipops for our trip across the usa were gonna party like its 1949 were in the pontiac from july to july gonna see it all before he says goodbye gonna party like its 1949 carry me up the stairs with my white socks on and my blonde hair long you like my pinup bodice and the solace that comes with the midnight air and my icy stare its the clearest when its me and him alone he stops he talks about all the ways he used to let up dinnerettes and soda pops for our trip across the usa were gonna party like its 1949 were in the pontiac from july to july gonna see ita lal before he says goodbye gonna party like its 1949 daddy likes black pool pleasure beach and road stops me i like the swiss alps souvenir gift shops late night midnight radio show talks him n me a big jailbreak ponytail and lollipops dinerettes and soda pops new blue bathing suit ruched tops and cadillacs blue lake carter docks hopscotch hot talk alabama hard knocks motel brass locks

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vzajemnik · 8 months

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WERE GONNA PARTY LIKE ITS 1949 WERE IN THAT CHEVROLET FROM JULY TO JULY GONNA SEE IT ALL BEFORE HE SAYS GOODBYE EVERY MAN DESERVES TO SEE THE SUNRISE🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

#🗞️

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seasami · 4 years

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Larry Fic Rec -- June/July

hii!! so I’ve got some fics that I read in June and July (until now). If you see a ✰ next to a title it means I really liked it and it’s one of my favs from the ones I listed. If there’s a 🔒 next to title it means you have to be logged in to read.

[Click on the title for link]

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Latitude by nikogda (44k)

Summary: Harry’s a hybrid on a boat about to be hit by a storm and Louis is the human who comes to his rescue. That storm is all the time they have to fall in love before going their separate ways. That is, until almost a year later…

Ever Since I Tried Your Way by Anonymous ✰ (25k)

Summary: Harry had been kissed before, but never like this.He’d shared sweet, curious kisses behind bleachers and in soda shop booths, one or two more daring ones in cars parked on dark suburban streets, but the girls he’d kissed had never filled him with the desperation that erupted from Louis’ touch. He parted his lips and pulled him closer, as though he could breathe Louis straight into his lungs, as if he could swallow him. He wanted to consume Louis the way he consumed the body and blood of Christ. He wanted to place Louis on his tongue and feel him dissolve into a frothy mess of starch and saliva. He wanted to gulp him down until his teeth were stained purple and he was drunk on him. He wanted him in some violent holy way that made his hands shake where they were twisted in Louis’ shirt.

In 1949 Harry left his bride at the altar, running away from the only life he'd known. When a kindhearted farmer offers him a ride in his truck and a place to sleep the two find themselves inexplicably drawn together. Isolated on Louis' farm with nobody but a field of dairy cows to intrude, the men are finally able to explore the parts of themselves they've spent their lives hiding away.

No Candle No Light (No Friendzone To My Love) by Anonymous (11k)

Summary: Louis glanced at his friend, glaring daggers and Niall chuckled. He looked like his idea could end world hunger and Louis was horrified. [...]“Come on, Niall! Tell me!” Harry insisted, excited.“You can threaten him other than with violence. You said you want a little revenge, right? What if an ex-boyfriend came to reconquer you? You know, the jealous and aggressive kind.”Harry sighed loudly, closing his eyes. Louis frowned, just like Liam and Zayn. What was he talking about? And why was he still looking at Louis that way?“Niall, this could’ve been a nice idea if I had an ex-boyfriend, but-”“Let me explain!” Niall barged in. “ You don’t have an ex-boyfriend but you can pretend you have one! I’m sure Louis would love to help you with that.”Liam almost choked on his wine and Zayn bit so hard on his lip to contain his laughter that it might have bled. Niall looked satisfied as hell, of course he was the little shit, and Louis just had time to flip him the finger before Harry turned to him. He was fucking delighted.

Or the one where helping Harry getting rid of his boyfriend may be the only way to his heart

Sugar by lettersfromvenus (15k) ✰

Summary:

“I hope our paths will ‘croissant’ again.”

There’s a little smiley face drawn next to the words, and it’s ridiculous, Louis knows, but he can’t help the swell of butterflies that he feels as he reads over the words once more. An odd fellow indeed, he thinks.A moment later he shakes his head and collects himself, because he really does need to get home; he’s sure that Harry is probably watching him from behind the counter, all sweet, smug smiles and pink cheeks. And if he’s being honest, he’s not entirely sure he won’t toss his groceries into the trash and walk straight back into the bakery if he doesn’t leave now, so… he really does need to get going.

Before he goes on his way, though, he plucks the note from the top of the container and carefully tucks it inside of his wallet to protect it from the rain.

That’s how it begins.

Only Been Here One Time by alienharry (10k)

Summary:

“Good morning, Liam. Harry.” Louis nods at them both and then cocks his head. “Are you aware you have four nipples, Harry?”

Harry looks down at his chest, suddenly worried. He doesn’t know how many nipples humans have, but four must not be a usual amount. “Should I have six?”

“Not unless you’ve a litter of kittens to feed.”

Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can’t Lose by dolce_piccante (112k) ✰

I KNOW ITS ICONIC BUT I READ IT A MONTH AGO SO I THOUGHT I’D INCLUDE IT HERE.

Summary: American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).

Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.

A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?

It’s All Brand New by midnightwhistleberries (10k)

Summary: “Harry,” Louis intones emphatically, “literally everyone in the U.K. has known that I’m openly bisexual since 2011.”

“’Cept you, I guess,” supplies Niall.

In which Harry studies engineering, loves Madonna, and can't tell if Louis likes him or just keeps coming back to the record store because he's some sort of musical hoarder. Louis is famous, Harry has no idea, communication issues are rampant and fluffy pining ensues.

Fool For You by flowercrownfemme, lesbianferrissbueller (46k) ✰

Summary: “It’s not a game.” Harry scoffed, trying to push past him once more but Louis held his ground. “And I’ve never once told you a lie.” “All you do is lie," Harry argued. "Jests and tricks and made up stories, that’s your trade. I’d never trust a word from your mouth.” “I tell stories,” Louis conceded, “but a good one must be based on truth. And my stories tend to get a bit more truthful when I’m around you, Princess.”

In which Harry is a brooding prince who's scarcely smiled since the death of his mother and Louis is the dashing jester hired to change that.

streetwise hercules by bottomlinsons (7k) 🔒

Summary: I said,” Louis’ voice is venomous, “who the fuck is this?”Right. This is Harry’s part.

(Uni AU, where Louis pretends to be Harry's boyfriend to scare away his one night stands.)

Close Enough To Touch by stinky28 (7k)

Summary: “You are killing it!” The stranger shouts in his ear, to which Louis raises a brow, setting up the next transition and song, bobbing a bit in place before glancing over to the stranger and Oh. Red.

He’s staring right at a very large, oddly tied red bow tie. It takes up the whole stranger’s chest and..it’s bloody brilliant. He fucking loves it. He feels himself break into a giant grin, looking up at Mr. Red Bowtie’s face and Oh. Fuck.

OR an au where louis is the dj for the met gala after party and harry can’t leave his side.

Hate Me To The Moon by harrystylesandstuff (83k)

Summary: The last thing Harry wanted was to spend his entire summer stuck with his dad's new fiancée and her kids. He wants no more when he learns she's a very religious dictator, raising a sixteen year old nun and a clean cut potential priest ass kisser.

Everything takes a slightly different turn, however, when Harry finds out his future step-brother is actually the rude stranger he caught sucking off a guy in a pub, far from the reserved Christian his mom thinks he is...

AU where Harry is a sexy nerd, Louis is a great actor, and they both pretend to hate each other's guts to convince themselves they're not feeling things future step-brothers shouldn't feel...

hush. by Wankerville (41k)

Summary: “I don't like you like that, Harry.”

“See,” Harry starts, Louis can hear the smile in his voice, “that's where I think you're lying.”

or an au where small towns suck, louis is losing it, and harry’s just too perfect.

The Unsuccessful Promise by trysomecats (11k)

Summary: At the end of the previous school year, Louis swore to everyone that he would return in the fall as an alpha. He made this promise especially to his arch-nemesis Harry Styles, who has already presented as an alpha himself. Unfortunately over summer break, the worst thing possible happens: Louis presents as an omega. Now school is back in session and he has to return and face the consequences of pre-determining his status.

Featuring Liam and Zayn as Louis' doting and exasperated parents.

Autumn At My Window by TheCellarDoor (20k)

Summary: A canon-compliant AU, in which Harry and Louis are both in the band and have been sharing flats and hotel rooms for nearly five years, but never made the leap past 'friends who are too close for comfort'.

Featuring a lot of pining, Louis' addiction to Harry's scent, and a whole lot of sexual tension that might just snap loose when they decide to spend some time together all on their own.

OKAY! That’s it for now cause I don’t want this post to be too long (oof i’ve read a lot actually). I have Fic Rec June/July Part Two in drafts and im also gonna collect fics that I’ve read on my kindle (its usually above 50k and make a fic rec with them). Stay tuned and follow my blog so you don’t miss it idk <33.

PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS: I can make: Iconic Fics, My Fav Fics or try and do some themed fic rec. LET ME KNOW IF YOU’D WANT THAT!

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corymulpepper · 3 years

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Cory Mulpepper Intro

☆ CORY MULPEPPER —

BASICS

★ BIRTH DATE / 13 August, 1960 ★ BLOOD STATUS / Half-blood ★ PRONOUNS & IDENTITY / she/her; cis female ★ FACECLAIM / Sophie Simnett

ACADEMICS & ROOMING

★ PRIMARY SCHOOL / Cork Wizarding School, class of 1978 ★ ACADEMIC PURSUITS / Natural sciences degree, Potions cohort ★ HOUSE & YEAR / Hufflepuff, second year

POINTS OF INTEREST

★ It had been established in 1106 and not much had changed in ways of Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary except for its staff throughout the years. It stayed within the family and eventually reached the hands of Nikolas Mulpepper, an English botanist and potioneer, in the year of 1949. Outraged by the fellow apothecaries that littered the wizarding world, Nikolas condemned them all for their greed and their use of harmful practices. Since then, Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary has been the most affordable apothecary to shop, with constant deals on cleaning solutions and performative draughts. And it’s no secret Nikolas is one to barter if a patron cannot afford the remedies they so dearly need. The shop has almost gone bankrupt multiple times and while Nikolas may pay the ultimate price by having to shut down his family’s century old shop, he would never go back on his ways. He’s always been loyal to the customer and have taught his two daughters the very same. It should come as no surprise that they’ve made a formal announcement -- that they do not approve of Selwyn’s squib vaccine.

★ Lydia, Nikolas’ wife, was born a squib. It positively broke his heart when the love of his life was unable to see her twin daughters start showing signs of magic themselves. But as Lydia had had a difficult upbringing because of her status in the wizarding world, Nikolas was just happy she’d finally found her peace. He told nothing but wonderful tales of his beautiful wife as bedtime stories to their daughters, who looked more and more like Lydia as the days passed by.

★ Born only minutes apart, it was safe to say the girls were inseparable from day one. This never, not once, got in the way of their individuality. Where one was brushing their teeth, the other one was using her toothbrush on the family dog’s teeth. Where one was doing arts and crafts, the other was using their scissors to give herself a new haircut. Two different sides of the same coin, essentially. They really became individuals upon attending Cork Wizardy College. They still shared a room, which wasn’t so different, until they began meeting friends of their own and attending different social gatherings. One would go to group palm readings, while the other went for live music shows. Even as time passed and distance began leaving its toll, the girls would still get together once a week with their favorite sweets and catch up on what boys or girls they were kissing.

★ Cory, the loud mouth she could be, was not placed into Gryffindor upon arriving at Hogwarts. But her quieter sister, Colleen, was, while she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Cory carried a chip on her shoulder about that one for a long time coming, wanting to be sorted where their father had gone. Where she’d idolized half her life. But no, Colleen got in where Cory hadn’t. Their weekly meetings were soon diminished, Cory saying she was too busy with the workload to catch up on any gossip. The most they spoke now were holidays back at home, where they put on a show for their father. To be perfectly clear, this wasn’t something Colleen had ever wanted, but for most of her life just like in birth, she followed Cory, Cory’s wants, Cory’s needs. They came first.

★ Cory usually spends her time half-assing a dozen things; painting, riding her skateboard, her school work in potions. But when it came to quidditch, she put in 110%. But as much as she put into the game, Cory rarely saw positive results coming back. In Primary, she’d gotten ejected from two games in row, which ultimately got her kicked off the team. She’d been too aggressive (and broken more bones than anyone) and needed to turn a new leaf, but when she had, upon joining Hufflepuff’s team, her efforts once again went unnoticed. This time she was denied from a summer quidditch camp. It seemed no matter what route she rode, she never chose the right one at the right time. It didn’t help that she was playing with and against peers that simply outshined her on the field. Dawn Withey was going to be the talk of Hogwarts when she landed herself on a fancy, popular, professional quidditch team, while Cory just barely scratched the surface. Her cynicism didn’t stop her from trying, though. With her third year coming up and a possible captainship, more is on the line than ever.

★ Thankfully, growing up, the girls never had to rely on looking for summer jobs. Their pops let them open and close the store on weekends for extra money. Cory was sure she could’ve gotten extra school credit towards her potions work for working in an apothecary. She’d have to pull that card if her grades ever dropped, she decided. One afternoon, the shop was buzzing with Christmas crowds, and the next second everybody was fleeing the scene. The Menagerie next door had apparently caught fire, smoke now billowing over into Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary. Now, Cory couldn’t see much of what was happening once smoke grew thicker, but she knew a man had entered the shop. The man turned his wand on Cory, throwing Cory aside and knocking her right out until black was all she saw. When she awoke, alone in the shop, she knew that he had escaped with something in the commotion of it all. Cory had planned on going through inventory herself, but an item as rare as this, Mr. Mulpepper knew it was gone the second he returned to his shop. He immediately owled the DMLE. Cory’s yet to come forward with her statement of that afternoon, hardly believing anything truly happened as it all happened so quickly. The nightmares about it haven’t stopped.

TRAITS

✓ challenging; individualistic; responsive ✗ critical; self-conscious; reactive

extra shit

cory is on hufflepuff’s quidditch team, as a seeker! this is the one thing she never slacks off with and is always on time for. and im sure gives people a hard time if they’re not picking up the slack dlsfjasjf and it’s like SHUT UP CORY, YOU’RE NOT THE CAPTAIN. so any hufflepuff team connects hmu.

has a twiiin name colleen. cory is the “older” one. colleen’s gonna be an open bio if anyone has an itch 2 get silly wit me

is Dramatic af

is not totally full of hufflepuff pride and maybe gets points taken away every so often? oops. 19 years old and still actin’ up.

her about page is here

listens to a LOT of music. a lot of underground bands that people havent heard of allll the waaay to the huge names like rolling stones and the who. she’s never been to an actual, huge concert venue with a big band headlining. she’s only seen smaller shows here and there. despite that, doesnt own a whole lot of vinyl. cuz she really prefers the live experience better.

she would love a skateboard riding buddy for when the weather’s nicer!! and she paints only landscapes and oceans cuz she sucks at pretty much everything besides that. and always knows where the best party is happening. probably cant wait to have a low street house next year to throw her own parties.

opinionated for the fact that she just loves to hear herself talking

hmu for any relationships!! friendships, she is prone to enemies with her big mouth, she is bisexual AF so anything there, just anythaaaang <3

hmu for threads! it’s kinda a busy time so i get that <3 if not let’s plan stuff for when they get back to school :’ ) ty xoxo

#sleepingdintro

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skippyv20 · 5 years

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Latest MM Anon, here's my attempt...

“an unholy trinity” Bible prophecy refer to an “unholy trinity.” This concept comes from Revelation 12 and 13, which describes three evil beings who will deceive many in the end times. These three beings are Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

“public strife”- public turning against the monarchy

“spinning the facts” …In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to persuade public opinion in favor or against some organization or public figure… “fact-checking the spin”—what is truth, what is fiction

“Teflon protection”—while Teflon is used in many products to offer a thick layer of protection, it’s also very slippery and does not offer long with effects wearing off.

“no MET- abolism”-so the police aren’t involved “abolism” Being discriminated because of a mental disability?

“I’m APP-appalled” APP in computing terms is an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device.

“Death of a salesman” It was written in 1949, just a few years after the World War ll was over, meaning the United States, where the play occurs, was going through many changes. You also have to consider the times this play came from. When Arthur Miller wrote the play , we had won WW II and the economic and emotional climate of the country were all spiraling up. Willy, child of the depression was caught up in his own life of mediocrity. He took the safe path and continued being a traveling salesman in an era that was moving toward the technological revolution stage 1. The real story here is that Willy was an anachronism – he had old fashioned values, a life style that was reminiscent of an earlier era and sons and a wife who he believed expected more of him. It was this culture clash Miller wrote about.

LLM-PC-PP- Perhaps they represent an end of an era? or more secrets about them about to be revealed??

1946 Atomic Energy act of 1946 in United States ends cooperation with between UK and US on development of nuclear technology. Not sure if that’s the date implies or something else happened that year?

1955 The year is marked by changes of leadership for both principal political parties.

1972 King Edward VIII Duke of Windsor dies

“we’re gonna need a bigger rug” take on Jaws, bigger rug implies rolling up an hiding secrets, bodies, etc. There’s more than one can imagine needing to be buried.

“SEE-green-incorruptible” one utterly, disinterestedly, and rigidly devoted to some ideal or objective especially in the world of political thought or action

“1789-2023" 1789 Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces a Regency Bill to Parliament so that the Prince of Wales may act as regent for his father George III during a period of mental illness, but the King recovers before the Bill becomes law. 2023 implies either end of Monarchy or how long it will take for Monarchy to recover from this mess if William is King?

Willwilliamsavethecrown- pretty self explanatory. The burden of carrying the weight of the Monarchy’s survival now falls on William.

"Whole-sum-Family"—also can read as wholesome. Whole sum as in total. Since this follows William saving the crown, one can connect William’s family is the entire future of the monarchy and they represent what is wholesome, family orientated.

Hope I got enough near on the mark to help put this together until PG or someone else with keener sense comes along! In short, the Monarchy is either going to crumble and public will revolt against them, or if William is next in line instead of PC, there’s a chance of redemption. What a tangled mess. What a disaster. Also, I feel a heavy heart for those who have taken an oath and dedicated themselves to serving the Queen to now see it near its final days like this…

Thank you....it doesn’t sound good. However, God knows the truth.....if the BRF falls....God knows why.....🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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justforbooks · 7 years

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Fats Domino, the New Orleans rhythm-and-blues singer whose two-fisted boogie-woogie piano and nonchalant vocals, heard on dozens of hits, made him one of the biggest stars of the early rock ’n’ roll era, has died in Louisiana. He was 89.

His death was confirmed by his brother-in-law and former road manager Reggie Hall, who said he had no other details. Mr. Domino lived in Harvey, La., across the Mississippi River from New Orleans.

Mr. Domino had more than three dozen Top 40 pop hits through the 1950s and early ’60s, among them “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t It a Shame” (also known as “Ain’t That a Shame,” which is the actual lyric), “I’m Walkin’,” “Blue Monday” and “Walkin’ to New Orleans.” Throughout he displayed both the buoyant spirit of New Orleans, his hometown, and a droll resilience that reached listeners worldwide.

He sold 65 million singles in those years, with 23 gold records, making him second only to Elvis Presley as a commercial force. Presley acknowledged Mr. Domino as a predecessor.

“A lot of people seem to think I started this business,” Presley told Jet magazine in 1957. “But rock ’n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that music like colored people. Let’s face it: I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that.”

Rotund and standing 5 feet 5 inches — he would joke that he was as wide as he was tall — Mr. Domino had a big, infectious grin, a fondness for ornate, jewel-encrusted rings and an easygoing manner in performance; even in plaintive songs his voice had a smile in it. And he was a master of the wordless vocal, making hits out of songs full of “woo-woos” and “la-las.”

Working with the songwriter, producer and arranger David Bartholomew, Mr. Domino and his band carried New Orleans parade rhythms into rock ’n’ roll and put a local stamp on nearly everything they touched, even country tunes like “Jambalaya” or big-band songs like “My Blue Heaven” and “When My Dreamboat Comes Home.”

Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. was born on Feb. 26, 1928, the youngest of eight children in a family with Creole roots. He grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where he spent most of his life.

Music filled his life from the age of 10, when his family inherited an old piano. After his brother-in-law Harrison Verrett, a traditional-jazz musician, wrote down the notes on the keys and taught him a few chords, Antoine threw himself at the instrument — so enthusiastically that his parents moved it to the garage.

He was almost entirely self-taught, picking up ideas from boogie-woogie masters like Meade Lux Lewis, Pinetop Smith and Amos Milburn. “Back then I used to play everybody’s records; everybody’s records who made records,” he told the New Orleans music magazine Offbeat in 2004. “I used to hear ’em, listen at ’em five, six, seven, eight times and I could play it just like the record because I had a good ear for catchin’ notes and different things.”

He attended the Louis B. Macarty School but dropped out in the fourth grade to work as an iceman’s helper. “In the houses where people had a piano in their rooms, I’d stop and play,” he told USA Today in 2007. “That’s how I practiced.”

In his teens, he started working at a club called the Hideaway with a band led by the bassist Billy Diamond, who nicknamed him Fats. Mr. Domino soon became the band’s frontman and a local draw.

“Fats was breaking up the place, man,” Mr. Bartholomew told The Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2010. “He was singing and playing the piano and carrying on. Everyone was having a good time. When you saw Fats Domino, it was ‘Let’s have a party!’ ”

He added: “My first impression was a lasting impression. He was a great singer. He was a great artist. And whatever he was doing, nobody could beat him.”

In 1947 Mr. Domino married Rosemary Hall, and they had eight children, Antoine III, Anatole, Andre, Anonio, Antoinette, Andrea, Anola and Adonica. His wife died in 2008. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

In 1949 Mr. Bartholomew brought Lew Chudd, the owner of Imperial Records in Los Angeles, to the Hideaway. Mr. Chudd signed Mr. Domino on the spot, with a contract, unusual for the time, that paid royalties rather than a one-time purchase of songs.

Immediately, Mr. Domino and Mr. Bartholomew wrote “The Fat Man,” a cleaned-up version of a song about drug addiction called “Junkers Blues,” and recorded it with Mr. Bartholomew’s studio band. By 1951 it had sold a million copies.

Mr. Domino’s trademark triplets, picked up from “It’s Midnight,” a 1949 record by the boogie-woogie pianist and singer Little Willie Littlefield, appeared on his next rhythm-and-blues hit, “Every Night About This Time.” The technique spread like wildfire, becoming a virtual requirement for rock ’n’ roll ballads.

“Fats made it popular,” Mr. Bartholomew told Rick Coleman, the author of “Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ’n’ Roll” (2006). “Then it was on every record.”

In 1952, on a chance visit to Cosimo Matassa’s recording studio in New Orleans, Mr. Domino was asked to help out on a recording by a nervous teenager named Lloyd Price. Sitting in with Mr. Bartholomew’s band, he came up with the memorable piano part for “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” one of the first rhythm-and-blues records to cross over into the pop charts.

Through the early 1950s Mr. Domino turned out a stream of hits, taking up what seemed like permanent residence in the upper reaches of the R&B charts. His records began reaching the pop charts as well.

In that racially segregated era, white performers used his hits to build their careers. In 1955, “Ain’t It a Shame” became a No. 1 hit for Pat Boone as “Ain’t That a Shame,” while Domino’s arrangement of a traditional song, “Bo Weevil,” was imitated by Teresa Brewer.

Mr. Domino’s appeal to white teenagers broadened as he embarked on national tours and appeared with mixed-race rock ’n’ roll revues like the Moondog Jubilee of Stars Under the Stars, presented by the disc jockey Alan Freed at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Appearances on national television, on Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan’s shows, put him in millions of living rooms.

He did not flaunt his status as an innovator, or as an architect of a powerful cultural movement.

“Fats, how did this rock ’n’ roll all get started anyway?” an interviewer for a Hearst newsreel asked him in 1957. Mr. Domino answered: “Well, what they call rock ’n’ roll now is rhythm and blues. I’ve been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans.”

At a news conference in Las Vegas in 1969, after resuming his performing career, Elvis Presley interrupted a reporter who had called him “the king.” He pointed to Mr. Domino, who was in the room, and said, “There’s the real king of rock ’n’ roll.”

Mr. Domino had his biggest hit in 1956 with his version of “Blueberry Hill,” a song that had been recorded by Glenn Miller’s big band in 1940. It peaked at No. 2 on the pop charts and sold a reported three million copies.

“I liked that record ’cause I heard it by Louis Armstrong and I said, ‘That number gonna fit me,’ ” he told Offbeat. “We had to beg Lew Chudd for a while. I told him I wasn’t gonna make no more records till they put that record out. I could feel it, that it was a hit, a good record.”

He followed with two more Top Five pop hits: “Blue Monday” and “I’m Walkin’,” which outsold the version recorded by Ricky Nelson.

“I was lucky enough to write songs that carry a good beat and tell a real story that people could feel was their story, too — something that old people or the kids could both enjoy,” Mr. Domino told The Los Angeles Times in 1985.

Mr. Domino performed in 1950s movies like “Shake, Rattle and Rock,” “The Big Beat” (for which he and Mr. Bartholomew wrote the title song) and “The Girl Can’t Help It.” In 1957, he toured for three months with Chuck Berry, Clyde McPhatter, the Moonglows and others.

Well into the early 1960s, Mr. Domino continued to reach both the pop and rhythm-and-blues charts with songs like “Whole Lotta Lovin’,” “I’m Ready,” “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday,” “Be My Guest,” “Walkin’ to New Orleans” and “My Girl Josephine.”

He toured Europe for the first time in 1962 and met the Beatles in Liverpool, before they were famous. His contract with Imperial ended in 1963, and he went on to record for ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor, Reprise and other labels.

His last appearance in the pop Top 100 was in 1968, with a version of “Lady Madonna,” the Beatles song that had been inspired by Mr. Domino’s piano-pounding style. In 1982, he had a country hit with “Whiskey Heaven.”

Although he was no longer a pop sensation, Mr. Domino continued to perform worldwide and appeared for 10 months a year in Las Vegas in the mid-1960s. On tour, he would bring his own pots and pans so he could cook.

His life on the road ended in the early 1980s, when he decided that he did not want to leave New Orleans, saying it was the only place where he liked the food.

He went on to perform regularly at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and in 1987 Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles joined him for a Cinemax special, “Fats Domino and Friends.” He released a holiday album, “Christmas Is a Special Day,” in 1993.

Reclusive and notoriously resistant to interview requests, Mr. Domino stayed home even when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 as one of its first members. He did the same when he received a lifetime achievement Grammy Award in 1987. In 1999, when he was awarded the National Medal of Arts,he sent his daughter Antoinette to the White House to pick up the prize.

He even refused to leave New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city on Aug. 29, 2005, remaining at his flooded home — he was living in the Lower Ninth Ward then — until he was rescued by helicopter on Sept. 1.

“I wasn’t too nervous” about waiting to be saved, he told The New York Times in 2006. “I had my little wine and a couple of beers with me; I’m all right.”

His rescue was loosely the basis for “Saving Fats,” a tall tale in Sam Shepard’s 2010 short-story collection, “Day Out of Days.”

President George W. Bush visited Mr. Domino’s home in 2006 in recognition of New Orleans’s cultural resilience; that same year, Mr. Domino released “Alive and Kickin,’ ” his first album in more than a decade. The title song began, “All over the country, people want to know / Whatever happened to Fats Domino,” then continued, “I’m alive and kicking and I’m where I wanna be.”

He was often seen around New Orleans, emerging from his pink-roofed mansion driving a pink Cadillac. “I just drink my little beers, do some cookin’, anything I feel like ” he told The Daily Telegraph of London in 2007, describing his retirement.

In 1953, in Down Beat magazine, the Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler made a bold-sounding prediction that turned out to be, in retrospect, quite timid. “Can’t you envision a collector in 1993 discovering a Fats Domino record in a Salvation Army depot and rushing home to put it on the turntable?” he wrote. “We can. It’s good blues, it’s good jazz, and it’s the kind of good that never wears out.”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS

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lanaswansblog · 3 months

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Some pics i took today🧺🍒

#girlblogging #coquette #lana del rey #lana del rey aka lizzy grant #dollette #coquette girl #cinnamon girl #girl interrupted #were gonna party like its 1949 #sweet cherries #60s #locally hated #hyper femme #femme fatale #small town america #girly blog #heart shaped sunglasses

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englishchinesetranslations · 5 years

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Gwelio 60

Perhaps a better allegory would be, say, if during the Great Depression a communist party had arisen in Canada and, with the financial and military aid of the USSR waged a long and eventually successful war against Canada's parliamentary democracy, forcing the Canadian government to take refuge on Prince Edward Island, whereupon the British navy stepped in and prevented its complete destruction ("liberation" if you're on the side of the Communists). Decades later the situation remained the same - the former Canadian government on P.E.I. and the single-party authoritarian, "People's Republic of Canada" ruling the rest of the country. Would it be wrong to say that P.E.I. is a province of Canada? No. Would it accurate to say that P.E.I. was a province of the "People's Republic of Canada?" No, because it is not and has never been ruled by that government. So, although Taiwan may be geographically (and historically, perhaps, but that, too, is controversial) a province of China, it is definitely not and never has been a province of the "People's Republic of China." Does the PRC have a legitimate territorial claim for Taiwan? Perhaps. Does the Republic of China have a legitimate territorial claim for Taiwan? Yes - because the R.O.C. had sovereignty over Mainland China from 1911 to 1949 and has had "control" over Taiwan from 1952 (as per the Treaty of San Francisco, which did not assign sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC, but the Nationalists took it to mean that) to the present. Keep in mind, the ROC has never surrendered to the PRC, so there is no peace treaty between them that assigns territory to one or the other. China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan is just that - a claim - and only that. Realistically, although there may be only one China in the world there are two separate Chinese governments in existence - one on the Mainland and one on Taiwan. Neither side will tolerate diplomatic recognition by any country of both at the same time, so the world has had to take sides, and the PRC, rightfully, has dominated this contest. It's a shame that the UN did not insist on recognizing the legitimacy of the ROC government on Taiwan even as it dismissed their unrealistic claims to be the rightful government of Mainland China. However, had it done so, its almost certain that the PRC would not be a member of the UN today, and that would be a bad situation for the world. So, we have to live with this "One China Policy" that treats a country with the population of Australia as something it is not - a "rogue" state, a "breakaway province" (it can't have broken away, as it was never, ever ruled or occupied by the PRC, but whatever) and turns a blind eye to the rights and well-being of 23 million people living there. Truly, if not for the foreign policy of the United States, the Taiwanese people would not have the freedom and democracy that they cherish today. The ROC on Taiwan is the only full democracy in Asia, and its citizens enjoy the same civil rights and freedoms as Canadians, unlike their "compatriots" across the Taiwan Strait. I live in Taipei, and I can tell you that no Taiwanese under 35 I've met has expressed willingness to give up their hard-won political freedoms, Taiwanese identity and de facto independence under any circumstances (particularly not under any such ruse as, "One Country, Two Systems"). Most I've talked to would not oppose Taiwan gaining de jure independence if it could be accomplished without provoking war with the PRC, but in light of that improbability they are very much OK with the status quo, as long as the PRC respects the (full) 1992 Consensus - which states there is one China but that both sides, PRC and ROC, have differing interpretations of what that means, and, implicitly at least, both sides also consent to respect each other's interpretation. Unfortunately, the PRC tends to leave out that 2nd part, as if the Consensus is more of a declaration of Taiwan's admission that it must work toward reunification with the PRC (again, under President Xi's "One Country, Two Systems" rubric) than an understanding that each side has different interpretations of what "China" means. One thing I find interesting is how President Xi asserts that the only form of government suitable for Chinese people is the single-party, centralized control of the CCP. "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," he euphemistically calls it. The CCP propaganda apparatus portrays Western democracy as incompatible with Chinese culture, demographics, and social diversity. But what about Taiwan? Isn't there a functioning democracy (albeit with all the warts of an open society on full display) on Taiwan? So, does that mean that Taiwan isn't really "Chinese", implying that it is something else and perhaps should be an independent nation, or does it imply that Mainland China could actually be governed by the same democratic, multi-party system ("Multi-party Democracy with Chinese Characteristics") as are the "compatriots" on Taiwan? One or the other, Mr. Xi, you can't have both. Here's a historical fact that some interested in this subject may find enlightening: up until 1943, the official position of the Chinese Communist Party was that Taiwan should be an independent country. Yes, it's true - just look in the history books (or, rather, any history book published outside the PRC). So, while I don't fault any PRC citizen for having believed the propaganda they were force-fed since birth that Taiwan is an "inseparable part of China since ancient times," etc... and that the "rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation can't be complete without the reunification of Taiwan with the Mainland," etc..., they should ask themselves about the rather contradictory history of the CCP's policy regarding Taiwan's political status. Another curious history is that of Mongolia, which was, presumably, a part of China since ancient times (having been ruled by Beijing from 1691 - 1911) but became an independent state in the 20th Century. The only difference between Mongolia and Taiwan is that the independence of Mongolia had the backing of the Soviet Union, the PRC's main military ally in their struggle agains the Nationalists, and the CCP chose not to oppose it. So, you see, such present-day sentiments as that Taiwan must be eventually reunited with the PRC in order for the China to be "whole" are wholly artificial, manufactured, and arbitrary. (BTW, when the independence of Mongolia was recognized by the UN following WWII, the ROC government used its veto power to block it for a time, claiming historical sovereignty, but later rescinded its veto under diplomatic pressure). My opinion is that the well-being of the 23 million people on Taiwan takes precedence over the nationalistic desire of the PRC to swallow-up Taiwan. The UN has recognized many new states under the universal principle of self-determination, and I don't think a case can be made that the Taiwanese somehow don't qualify for that basic human right. Put side-by-side on the moral scale, the right of a people to determine their own future and govern themselves as they desire far outweigh any claims by China of harm caused to its citizens by an independent (particularly de facto under the status quo) Taiwan. They may have gotten away with it in Tibet, but Taiwan has been on its own for too long, in my view, for the PRC to just march in and say, "this territory and these people historically belong to us." Gweilo60 backs sanctions against Taiwan to force it to "come to the table." But Taiwan is and has been at the table for some time - the snag is what the Taiwanese would require from China before agreeing to reunification: freedom and democracy for ALL Chinese citizens under a new constitution that removes the Communist Party from unilateral primacy, plus genuine, unambiguous guarantees of freedom of speech, assembly, association, travel, religion, etc... for ALL citizens (China and Taiwan) backed by an independent court. No, "Citizens must support the Communist Party of China" caveat. You are probably saying to yourself, "Well, that ain't gonna happen." Perhaps so - but that is what is holding up progress, not "anti-China separatists" in Taiwan. Sure, those people exist, but they aren't the majority. There is a big difference between Iran and Taiwan - Iran has offensive missiles, a nuclear weapons program, is ruled by religious extremists and regularly threatens Israel and Saudi Arabia with destruction. Economic sanctions against a country like Taiwan that represents no threat to its neighbors would not be supported by the international community (with the exception of North Korea, of course). Sympathy would overwhelmingly favor the Taiwanese side, and I am rather convinced that China would face unswerving opposition and pressure in the UN by the United States, the EU, Great Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and other global and regional powers. Let me ask you this, Gweilo60 - if China were to say to the Canadian people, "Hey, if you join us, abolish your government and become provinces of the People's Republic of China, it will be great for your economy, you'll get new railroads, highways and bridges, and your college graduates will be able to get good-paying jobs, etc...", would you support that? You'd have to give up your multi-party democracy, privacy, freedom of (political) speech, assembly, free exercise of religion, and, of course, you'd have to unquestionably obey and support the leadership of the Communist Party. Would that be an attractive exchange? Would a majority of Canadian citizens go for that? If not, then why would you expect the Taiwanese people to go for such a deal?

#taiwan #canada #china

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isaacathom · 6 years

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my fav thing about browsing the wikipedia page for the prime minister is he absolute clusterfuck that is the first decade or so. like, WHAT is happening there. you get the first guy to serve his full term (i THINK???? maybe he resigned, forcing an election by Deakin? idk). then deakin comes in. but then a year later, without an election, hes replaced by someone from labor, but then a few months later HE is replaced by a guy from free trade, and then deakin fucking returns to power, and subsequently wins the 1906 election. but THEN. HES OUSTED AGAIN. by another labor guy. but fucking then. he comes back. he fucking comes back again. then he resigns for the 1910 election, but to my understand that was like... as in he didnt recontest his seat. im guessing? idk.

so, to clarify, in the first 9 years, we had a single (?) guy serves his election to election term, the FIRST one. but then we had 4 guys in the space on the next 7 years, with one guy taking power three SEPARATE TIMES. whhhat. what in the fuck. modern australian politics can only wish it were as fucking confusing.

after 1910 it gets a lot more boring because thats when they introduced the two party system, preventing this sort of power-swapping squabbling (i presume the independents were crossing the floor like it was hot shit for the first 9 years, lol).

oh my god. so that last labor guy, right, he gets the 1910. makes it his full term, loses 1913. but then hes back? in 1914?? then he resigns in 1915, to be replaced by billy hughes. who wins the 1917 and 1919 elections. seems normal, right? nope. billy was a member of three different parties throughout his 8 years on the chair. what in the fuck. how do you remain the prime minister during that. like, so Labor got split. and he made the National Labor party. who then merged with the National Liberal Party to become the Nationalist party. jeeeeesus.

its at that point that it just becomes the boring, regular stuff. term or two a pop, barring death, usually. first death on the chair in 1939. we then get a guy holding the chair for 19 days before Ol Menzies comes on the block. do we know if he pronounced it with a z or like Mingies or however its said? hmm

and this is the fun one, the 1940. because menzies wins due to a split in the labor party that literally split the vote a lil, preventing majority. that split gets mended, meaning only 2 crossbenchers prevent them losing majority. menzies resigns in 1941 bc his party tells him to fuck off, and shortly thereafter the independents cross the floor and suddenly BAM BITCH ITS THE LABOR PARTY.

labor stays in power until 1949, with only the death of the first guy (that won w/ the crossbenchers) to sorta mess with that. theres a pm slotted in there who only held the spot for 7 days. modern australia wishes it could pull that shit.

knock knock, its the 1949 election, and look who’s here? its menzies! he’s back! with his new and improved liberal party. how fancy! and how long will he be around this time? 2 years? 6? oh no sir. he’s here for 17 years. fucking nice. he resigns at the end, 1966, probably old age or smth, i mean fucking damn 17 years straight as the prime minister. oof.

guess who is here now? its harold holt! yknow. the guy who disappeared at sea in 1967? nice. now we got a country party pm to hold the fort for a month while the liberals figure out What the Fuck to Do. now its the libs again. this guy resigns too, not sure why. ill blame War for that. another lib guy.

now its the 1972 election. who wins? why, its Gough Whitlam! what a cool dude! here to kick ass an- oh he’s been fired by the governor general because the liberal-stacked senate was about the bankrupt the government. oh shit. its 1975. an election was JUST last year. but here we are again. who should win by the GG appointed pm, Fraser! fancy that, huh. hes here till 83. knock knock, labors back! we’re gonna have two consecutive, non-fired, non-dead, non-resigned pms! fucking nice.

its 1996. its paul keating vs john howard. who could w- its john howard. its john howard. paul keating ragequits parliament immediately after. poor bloke. its howard time. and its howard time until that most fabled of years, 2007.

and then the modern australian political era arrives to say ‘hey, remember the 1900s? we liked that’

and now we’ve had 5 separate people as pm, at 6 times (with kevin rudd, who beat howard in 2007, being ousted by guillard before returning to oust here. hence, he is both 1 and 3, the 5th and the 6th. crazy, right?)

and here we are! :)

#uh #auspol ////#dont. dont mind me. i really like reading the wikipedia page for the prime minister of australia. its fucking fascinating #i REALLY want to know what the FUCK was happening with deakin in there though. not only because hes the namesake of my uni #and im contractually obligated to find him cool. but also WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON THERE #long post/

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swipestream · 6 years

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Short Reviews – The Witches of Karres, by James H. Schmitz

The Witches of Karres, by James H. Schmitz, appeared in the December 1949 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. An expanded novel-length version was a Hugo Finalist in 1967. The Novelette version can be read here at Archive.org.

What did John Campbell mean by this?

“This is true science fiction about three real witches who cast curses and perform magic.”

So, depending on how you look at it [and given science fiction fandom’s landscape, it’s a menacing prospect], The Witches of Karres is either like one of those 60s/early 70s Disney family movies, or it’s a loli harem comedy.

Maybe this would be less creepy if Pausert wasn’t drawn with that ‘stache.

Captain Pausert, a merchant spacer, finds himself discomfited on a world where he’s just unloaded his cargo by the sights and sounds of a man menacing a young slave girl. This turns into a scuffle, and both men end up in the hands of the planet’s justice system.

“Bruth the Baker was charged with having struck a citizen of a foreign government on the head with a potentially lethal instrument—produced in evidence. Said citizen had admittedly attempted to interfere as Bruth was attempting to punish his slave Maleen—also produced in evidence—whom he suspected of having added something to a batch of cakes she was working on that afternoon, resulting in illness and complaints from fifty-two of Bruth’s customers.

Said foreign citizen had also used insulting language—the captain admitted under pressure to “Fat and Ugly.”

Some provocation could be conceded for the action taken by Bruth, but not enough. Bruth paled.

Captain Pausert, of the Republic of Nikkeldepain—everybody but the prisoners smiled this time—was charged (a) with said attempted interference, (b) with said insult, (c) with having frequently and severely struck Bruth the Baker in the course of the subsequent dispute.

The blow on the head was conceded to have provided a provocation for charge (c)—but not enough.

Nobody seemed to be charging the slave Maleen with anything. The judge only looked at her curiously, and shook his head.

“As the Court considers this regrettable incident,” he remarked, “it looks like two years for you, Bruth; and about three for you, captain. Too bad!”

The captain had an awful sinking feeling. He had seen something and heard a lot of Imperial court methods in the fringe systems. He could probably get out of this three-year rap; but it would be expensive.

He realized that the judge was studying him reflectively.

“The Court wishes to acknowledge,” the judge continued, “that the captain’s chargeable actions were due largely to a natural feeling of human sympathy for the predicament of the slave Maleen. The Court, therefore, would suggest a settlement as follows—subsequent to which all charges could be dropped:

“That Bruth the Baker resell Maleen of Karres—with whose service he appears to be dissatisfied—for a reasonable sum to Captain Pausert of the Republic of Nikkeldepain.”

Bruth sells Maleen for song and boat-load of court fees, collected by the judge, and Pausert is now stuck with a 14-year old slave girl, the purchase of whom being a serious criminal offense on his own world. Pausert intends to take the girl back to whatever world she came from, but Maleen insists that he has to free her little sisters first.

The youngest sister, the Leewit, has the power to cause intense vibrations and shatter objects—naturally, she’s owned by a potter who’s happy to be rid of her. The middle sister, Goth, has the power of minor object teleportation and endlessly vexes her master, a jeweler. Together, the three girls are also able to engage a magic space-drive.

Pausert liberates the girls, they have a series of awkward magic-related incidents [mostly Goth stealing things] as he tries to get them back to Karres. The Leewit is the rambunctious tyke, Goth is the tsundere, and Maleen is the big sis who crushes on Pausert while trying to keep her sisters in line.

Pausert returns the girls, spends some reflective time on Karres, and gets loaded up with nice, but worthless for legal and custom reasons, trade goods that will still leave him deep in the hole as a reward. A tearful Maleen tells Pausert she’ll be of marriageable age soon… He gets back to his homeworld, to find that he’s considered a criminal for all of his adventures [slave-buying, all of Goth’s thefts, carrying contraband, concealing new space drive technology, contact with a forbidden world, etc.] and, to make matters worse, his fiancé has married someone else while he was gone and they’re both part of the party waiting to arrest him.

Well, Goth had stowed away on the ship and uses her powers to help him escape. The fix was in all along. Maleen actually had a boyfriend, but Goth [who is like 9] is gonna be Pausert’s waifu while they find where Karres had been moved [the witches use their magic drive to move the entire planet to escape persecution]. Presumably, they go on to have further space adventures until Goth is of marriageable age as was planned by the wise folk of Karres.

You could go a lot of different directions on this. It would be nice to have a fairly pure reading of the story, and it is a fun story—but I gotta say…

It’s good. But did this get its Hugo Nom because it’s good or because it has lolis?

The novelette is just short enough that it doesn’t manage to wear out its welcome. I haven’t read the novel, but I honestly don’t know that I’d be able to muster enthusiasm for either a book-length expansion of the story here or subsequent acts of the adventures of Pausert and his tsundere magical little girl as they go looking for where Karres ended up.

Short Reviews – The Witches of Karres, by James H. Schmitz published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

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3one3 · 7 years

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The Sequel - 781

Truth To Power

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea players, and random awesome OC’s

(okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

Spending 6 hours touring the Natural History Museum and visiting the London Film Museum to see the Bond cars exhibition with the whole family was a good way to recover from Wednesday night’s emotional diarrhea. Taking Lukas on any all-day outing was always a production that left little time for personal reflection. Christina was glad she didn’t have any opportunity to start picking through all that was said about her relationships with three of the four top guys in her life, and really enjoyed showing the fourth guy all kinds of cool things. He was just getting into dinosaurs, and he liked the Stegosaurus skeleton. The one on display in London happened to be the most complete ever found, and even if Lukas couldn’t put together that what he was looking at were the bones of the creature he had in stuffed and plastic form, he still found the staged skeleton captivating.

The whole experience of being in the crowded museum was fun and interesting and new for him. There were lots of little people around, which made it different from just walking around a busy store. There was no hurry. And Mommy, Daddy, Gran Ma, and Papa were all there to pick him up and show him things, or hold his hand so he could wander about and pick what to look at, or come over and look at whatever he wanted to show them. André found an “Investigate Center” near the bug exhibits, where everybody could pick up artifacts and check them out up close. The whole experience was a lot different to what the littlest Schürrle was used to in terms of going out to public places. Usually he was pushed or carried around while adults took care of errands or just getting from A to B. He was almost confused at first that they were there for him to have fun, and that he could do so much of his own walking. He liked the mammals exhibits best, with the big taxidermied animals he could name and identify, and some he’d never seen before. His mom liked the animal photography exhibit. Dad was into anything and everything to do with Earth, like the rocks and minerals displays. The grandparents were into feeling like grandparents. They took a million photos and virtually none of them were of the museum’s artifacts or recreations.

Lukas was pretty into cars, or anything with wheels, so he liked the Film Museum too even without any understanding of the significance of the cars used in the various James Bond movies. His parents enjoyed that aspect more. Christina took a lot of pictures there and her kid wasn’t in any of them. She also enjoyed the cappuccino she had when they stopped at a little cafe for a snack break, but it completely ruined her plan to nap they got home. Lukas went straight to sleep and André was ready to lie down, watch TV, and probably pass out. Christina wanted to rest a little too and then go squeeze in a few horses before the very late dinner reservation.

“May I read on you?” she asked her partner after giving up on the nap and getting herself some juice instead. She returned to the couch armed with the biography of Ernst Kantorowicz, a historian of medieval kings and their body politic. It was a study written by another medieval historian, who credits Kantorowicz, who began his career as a militant German nationalist in World War I and then sought safety in leftist-academia first in Oxford and then California, as the “most influential” medieval historian of all time. Christina wasn’t interested in that so much as she was in Kantorowicz’s evolution from right to left- from an outspoken and proud nationalist to the kind of person who stood up against a communism-fear-obsessed era loyalty oath tabled by his employer, the University of California, in 1949. He said, “This is the way it begins. The first oath is so gentle that one can scarcely notice anything at which to take exception. The next oath is stronger!” He said resistance must begin with the first oath because it was a “typical expedient of demagogues to bring the most loyal citizens, and only the loyal ones, into a conflict of conscience by branding nonconformists as un-Athenian, un-English, un-German.” The rider wanted to know how he got there from once writing that “since the dawn of time,” true loyalty had been possible only for Germans.

She wanted to know if it was through his study of kings, their politics, their realities, and the myth that worked its way into their legacies, or if it was more about his own experiences in life. He sounded like an interesting guy. The proprietor at her favorite independent bookshop recommended it to her when she stopped in to look for Christmas gifts. Things like that- like having a bookstore hookup who knew what she liked to read and could point her toward non-obvious books that could tickle her fancy- were among the reasons she still hated the idea of having to move away from London. Christina liked having ties to strangers since she didn’t have a lot of ties to family or even friends. She was going to miss her shopping consultant too, and the guy at Audi who made sure the techs were careful and mindful of all the non-original and very expensive parts on her R8 when she took it in to be serviced.

“Isn’t the TV going to bother you?” André asked. His girl shook her head so he turned from his side onto his back, unsure of exactly where she intended to read on him. Sometimes she liked to sit sideways across his lap so that she could lean over on his upper body, but he didn’t feel like being sat on so he remained relatively flat in his corner. Christina just stretched out on her back too and used his stomach as a pillow for her head. She tossed a blanket to cover her feet and wished Spencer and Lucky were around to sit with her. She could hold the heavy book with one hand and pet with the other, but they were at the barn. André was fine with only having her to pet. He finger combed her hair out across his waist.

He did spend a bit of his Thursday thinking about his Wednesday night. Watching Lukas look at stuff and either smile, turn pensive, or look like he could care less was only entertaining for so long. He thought about how relieved he felt to have a clear plan. André liked plans. Problems didn’t scare him if he could make a plan for fixing them. He believed eliminating some of the conflict within Christina by taking away boundaries could help her focus more on getting the best from Dirk, and that seeing some success there would make her feel whole and happy again, and that if she were whole and happy then all the other issues and questions she listed would shrink back into the shadows where they used to exist and where she was capable of ignoring them, or at least not let them consume her. He also felt good knowing he finally had the whole picture. His wife kept a lot of things inside that could have prevented some of their fights or difficult talks. He would have responded to things differently if he had the full context. So it looked to him like they were in for less of those fights and difficult talks going forward. He fell asleep untroubled and feeling positive, and Christina was actually able to focus on her book. She only had to read each paragraph once. The author’s voice and style were easy on the eyes and ears. Only when Isandro’s prodding texts went from “when are you coming?” to “can you please ride soon so I can go home?” did she put the book down and get up to get changed.

“Do you want me to go with you?” André yawned. He woke up when she tried to stealthily kiss him goodbye.

“No but I would like you to go shave your face.”

“I wiiiiiill. I’m going to shower and shave while you’re getting ready later.”

“Nuhuh then you’re gonna make it steamy and humid in the bathroom and it’ll ruin my hair.”

“Fine.”

“Go do it now so you can play with Luke when he gets up, which should be soon or he’ll never go to bed tonight. He said he wants to build with you, remember?” Christina poked at the player’s right bicep, in part because she was afraid he was going to go back to sleep but mostly because she just felt like it. What she didn’t really feel like doing was leaving. There was nothing inside averse to riding. There was just a lot inside in favor of staying within poking distance. If she wasn’t already in the love bubble because of everything that was said between them the night before, spending the day watching him do Dad Things would have shoved her into the bubble anyway. Even when he did things she hated, like hold Lukas right up to the museum glass and let him put his hands all over it, he was still the cutest dad and the most fun person with whom to co-parent.

“He wants to build a pyramid because he saw the Egyptian stuff at the museum.”

“So build a pyramid with him. If they could do it 3000 years ago without science, math, and machinery, I think you can manage one with some wood blocks.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that I couldn’t. How many horses are you riding?” André took possession of her poking finger- not to end the poking but just to hang onto it, kind of like Lukas did when he was bored and there was nothing else good to play with.

“Just two. I won’t be long.”

“Are you going to wear something pretty tonight, or beautiful, or sexy?”

“I dunno. Which would you prefer?” Christina lay back down again, on her tummy. Her plan to make sure he got up was not only not working but also sort of reversing on itself.

“Don’t be too sexy or I’ll think too much about coming home to enjoy the food. Wear a nice dress, and straighten your hair,” the player suggested, reaching to gently tug a few of her locks between his middle and pointer fingers. “And do the makeup like you did for Juan’s party. I liked that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You looked...so awake, and alive, and...beautiful, with the dark eyes,” he said quietly, his own set of blues still on the hair in his fingers. “Or you’re just happier being around him and his family. You’re...irresistibly beautiful when you’re happy, pretty girl.” I don’t want it to be that. He was a little sad from thinking about that night. He didn’t really look at her until she was all-over radiant, having slipped into her natural element at the table- charming people, and delighting in random conversation, and laughing, and smiling, and laughing and smiling entirely in her grayed eyes. Before that his only thought about her face was that she shouldn’t have had to bring supplies to do a whole makeover in the car for dinner. Dinner at Juan’s wasn’t supposed to warrant that much effort, or that much blending of eye shadows.

“No, you were right the first time. I need pounds of makeup to look happy these days,” Christina quipped as she prepared to get up again.

“That is not what I was saying. Don’t be like this,” André urged, recognizing he’d really stepped in it. “You put on makeup to look extra pretty. I can’t say that it works? And that I like it?”

“You don’t get it. I was being sarcastic.” The rider shook her head once she got to her feet, but let him succeed in reaching out for her hand to stop her from leaving. He looks so confused. I’m not complaining that he thinks I look better with makeup than without. I’m complaining that he’s only attracted to me when I’m happy. I hate that. In sickness and in health. You’re supposed to feel the same about your spouse no matter what. Juanin is the same no matter whether I’m happy or miserable. Even Marco once told me I look gorgeous when I’m depressed. Granted, he was drunk and then kissed the side of my face in the weirdest way I’ve ever experienced.

“Then why are you mad at me?”

“I’m not. Can I go, please? If I don’t get moving then I don’t have enough time to put the makeup on so that I look happy for you.”

“Chris. Stop. Explain it to me if I don’t get it.” André was tired of being blamed for not understanding things she made no effort to help him understand- things she seemed to deliberately withhold the pertinent facts and background about. He tried to be calm though. “Isn’t it easier to talk to me than it is to get all upset?”

“Why do you only find me irresistible or whatever when I’m happy?”

“I feel something inside when you smile and it’s real, and when you smile just in your eyes,” he shrugged. How is this a problem, he wondered, still confused. “I didn’t say the word “only”. You added that. It’s not like I think you’re ugly when you’re down. I can’t appreciate when you feel good? Would you...like...rather I find you the most sexy when you look like you haven’t slept in a month and want to disappear from the world? I should hope for that so I get to see it? You don’t make any sense.”

“I just- When you’re unhappy a lot and the person you love most is constantly reminding you how much more he likes you when you’re happier, it’s like extra pressure to...get happy. I’m trying,” Christina relented. She appeared more sad to him than angry, which he considered a strange form of progress in the exchange. Being duly sad was better, he thought, than angry for no good reason.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I don’t mean it that way. I was just trying to tell you how beautiful you looked the other night.”

“Okay. Whatever. Let’s forget it. I need to go change.”

“Kiss.”

She bent down to get a little peck on the lips and then somewhat hurried to vacate the area before anything else could come up. The footballer rubbed his face and turned over onto his right side, curling up in the process. The prior conversation was a reminder that having a plan to make things better didn’t actually make things better, at least not yet. His girl was never as assured about the whole having a plan thing as he was. She was, by nature, more skeptical and less inclined to believe that which she couldn’t see or touch. Having a plan to fix things was a reassuring relief to him and just a small source of hope to her. Real things were more significant for her. Having a definitive answer on the moving agenda, for example, was a real thing. Knowing she didn’t have to live in the apartment was a real thing that relieved some stress. Knowing and actually believing that she didn’t have to fight any Juan urges, at least from an André-perspective, helped a little too. That meant she could stop worrying why she was willing to indulge herself in ways that hurt him, because it didn’t actually hurt him. That took away Juan’s ability to make her question it and suffer from the subsequent doubt about her relationships with them. She was about specifics and details that way, and she was apprehensive and cynical, so it hurt her less when a speed bump cropped up in the “having a plan” process. To her husband, a speed bump like the one he experienced after his nap was a discouragement instead of an anticipated event.

I guess the reason she doesn’t want to tell me everything is that she knows she reacts badly to hard truths and then assumes I will too. I was just trying to tell her how good she looked the other night, and to ask her if it was because she enjoyed being with Juan and his family. It would have been okay if she said yes, he thought while staring at the TV. Obviously I wish she could fit into my family as well as she fits into that one, and connect with my mom the way she does with Juan’s, but it would have been okay. I wouldn’t get angry with her, or make a fight out of it. She makes a thing out of hearing the truth, though. Obviously she thinks everyone else will too. I didn’t say she looks bad, otherwise. Just like I’m not saying now that she doesn’t like my parents or doesn’t get along with them. They have a good relationship too. It’s just different. This is going to get hard again when I leave next week. At least during camp I have a lot of down time and I can use it to talk to her a lot. But I hope they finish the damn house soon. If I harass Marco about it every day in Marbella, will he harass Zoe to harass the contractors?

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