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scotianostra · 6 months

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Today marks a year since we lost the legendary actor Sean Connery.

Born Thomas Sean Connery, in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh, Big Tam, he was known growing or as Tommy.

His first job was as a milkman with the St Cuthbert’s Co-Operative Society in Edinburgh. I would think he would have delivered the milk on a horse drawn carriage, the stables for these horses was in the are he grew up, were in Grove Street, where I used to live the main offices for St Cuthbert’s still stands round the corner on Fountainbridge.

Connery also played football at junior level for Bonnyrigg Rose, my cousin played for them too for several years.

A few more facts about Sean are he has a tattoo on his arm that state “Scotland Forever” he got when he enrolled in the Merchant Navy, he was discharged from that job due to stomach ulcers, between jobs he was a nude model for art students at Edinburgh College of art, again not to far from Fountainbridge. Other jobs he took up were, a lorry driver, a lifeguard at Portobello swimming baths, a labourer and a coffin polisher!

I think it is interesting Connery never strayed far from Fountainbridge in his younger days, indeed when he decided that acting was a career he was going to pursue, it was the nearby Kings Theatre he got a job helping backstage, he was also competing in bodybuilding competitions at this time and while at an event in London he learned that there were auditions being held for South Pacific, he was picked to appear on the chorus line but as the production toured the country he was making his way up the ladder.

By the time it hit Edinburgh he had the part of Marine Cpl Hamilton Steeves and was understudying two of the juvenile leads, and his salary was raised from £12 to £14–10s a week, when the production was reprised the following year he had the lead role on the tour, taking over from the actor Larry Hagman, who played the part in London’s West End.

Connery never looked back from there and of course the role of James Bond catapulted him to international stardom, Ian Fleming though was against him getting the part initially, he said Sean was “unrefined” and not what he had in mind, Sean soon won him over though and Fleming later admitted he was an “ideal” Bond.

A few of the parts Sean either didn’t get or turned down are Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings series of films, he said he never understood the books and also wasn’t keen on 18 months of filming in New Zealand. He also turned down the chance to play the role of the Architect in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Sean was asked to portray King Edward I in Braveheart, but was too busy working on Another film at the time, Patrick McGoohan took the role instead.

His 93rd and last film was 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Sir Sean Connery passed away in his sleep on 31st October 2020 at his home in the Bahamas, his son said he had been unwell for some time. The official cause of death was pneumonia, heart failure and old age, his death certificate revealed.

In a career spanning over 50 years, Connery earned an Academy Award, multiple Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille and Henrietta Awards, as well as two British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) awards.

#scotland #scottish #history #edinburgh #actor #Theatre #Television #Cinema #James Bond #007

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ironborealis · 1 month

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Head canon: Alastor is old enough that he likely was drafted into World War I, and probably early on (1917) given the known biases of the all-white draft boards. His time in the military is where he falls in love with Radio.

Some history and more thoughts beneath the cut...

First, the history:

Due to Racism there were only a few regiments that Alastor would have been allowed to serve in, if he could or chose not pass as white during WW1: the 24th or 25th Infantry Regiment (stationed in Texas/New Mexico or Hawai'i), the 9th or 10th Calvary Regiment (stationed in Arizona or the Philippines)

World War I is also when the US Military, partially at the pressure of African Americans, started experimenting with larger all-black Divisions (that would include black commanding officers), resulting in the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions, both of whom served in France.

These regiments and divisions were poorly treated, poorly outfitted (Civil War uniforms allegedly handed out), inadequately trained, and the 92nd especially endured a nasty PR campaign from white superior officers to make them look incompetent and cowardly.

The 92nd Division, however, had it's own field signal battalions who were responsible for setting up communication between the front lines and command headquarters, with a whole company dedicated to establishing radio communications.

Back to head canon:

Alastor returns home from a war so gruesome it was supposed to end all wars, where he did the honorable thing and served his country, only to be treated to the same old racist bullshit with a heaping side of pointless bloodshed. He's witnessed the abuse of his fellow soldiers by white command staff who frequently throw them into situations they're not equipped or trained for (and then blame them for the inevitable failure).

The only good thing to come out the entire shit show of the last 2 years is that he's met the love of his life: Radio. He knows how to build and troubleshoot radio equipment, valuable skills in the current boom in civilian radio stations. He's learned how to drop his accent so he can be better understood over the air, and is working on that fancy transatlantic accent everyone is going nuts for.

He also knows how to kill someone for a "righteous" cause.

He can't wait to put all his new skills to work

#hazbin hotel #headcanon #alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #alastor the radio demon

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e350tb · 2 months

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On one hand, only having the Tuskagee Airman in Episode 8 makes sense - the 99th Fighter Squadron, which I think is the one they're portraying, was in Italy until summer 1944. On the other hand, I absolutely understand people being disappointed that they only appear now. On that note, I've been thinking of possible subjects for a POC-focused WWII miniseries. I've got a few ideas - wondering what you think.

This is largely combat unit focused too, so if anyone has other suggestions I'd love to hear them. I am looking forward to that film on the 6888th, hope that's good.

The big one is probably the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which consisted of Japanese-Americans and was the most decorated combat unit of the war for the United States.

Either the 92nd or 93rd Infantry Regiments, both African-American - the former faced particularly severe racism from their commander, a white supremacist, piece-of-shit and all-round incompetent by the name of Ned Almond.

The 99th Fighter Squadron - they're appearing in Masters of the Air but they deserve their own series.

Any of the African-American tank units at the close of the war.

Literally anything, ever, on the British Indian Army or the Gurkhas. You could complicate this by having some of the characters end up in Bose's INA and others remain with the British.

A miniseries based on the life of Reg Saunders, one of the first indigenous Australian army officers.

And while it's WWI, the Harlem Hellfighters are overdue for onscreen rep.

#masters of the air

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dairy-farmer · 11 months

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Just had a dream where omega Tim, all of 10 years old, is home alone one night when he finds the neighbors dog Ace wandering his yard. It's raining so Tim let's him come inside the mud room and stay the night, and he can't help but hang out in there with him bc Ace is such a good boy, and Tim is lonely and has always wanted a dog!

Tim is expecting to just pet the dog, sit with him throughout the night so neither of them are alone

He isn't expecting to be laying on his back, his knees up and legs open, moaning like a slut as Ace eats out his sopping wet pussy. He definitely isn't expecting the dog to send him into his first heat, but at least by now he's expecting the German Shepard to mount him, fucking into his cunt and knotting him up tight. Ace comes so much that Tim looks pregnant by the end of it. Ace ends up staying for three days, helping Tim through his heat, before Tim sends him home

As the weeks pass by, Ace surprises Tim by coming over a few times a week to eat him out and knot him before heading home. This goes on for a while until Tim notices his breasts feel tender and soft, and seem to be growing. His belly, too, is getting steadily bigger, and it happens fast

He Google's dog pregnancies and learns they only last 9 weeks, and he stays true to that timeline, delivering a litter of healthy, normal looking German Shepard pups 9 weeks after he shares his heat with Ace

Tim loves his pups (all 5 of them, 3 girls and 2 boy) but knows he can't keep any of them, so he does extensive research throughout his pregnancy to find families for his puppies

He figures, as much as he loved being pregnant (and the feeling of Ace knotting him when he was nearly full term, his big, heavy pregnant belly and full, milky tits twinging beneath him as he's fucked on all fours might just be the best thing he's ever felt), he should probably try not to have anymore pups, at least until he's older and can live on his own. He tries not to fuck Ace but caves after two weeks, and hey, he isn't in heat, so it should be fine to let the dog mount and knot him, right? So long as Tim isn't in heat, he won't get pregnant

Evidently this is not true. Tim must be exceptionally fertile bc he gets pregnant again not even 3 weeks after he had his first litter. This one is bigger and it shows, Tim is huge by the end of it, his tits having gotten bigger and heavier, and his belly big and round, full of a healthy litter of what Tim learns is 8 puppies when he finally gives birth

He tries one more time to hold out but let's Ace knot him again as soon as Tim's body feels up to it, and ofc he finds himself heavy with the dog's pups once again. He decides that whatever, this is fine so long as he doesn't get caught! Ace can knot him as much as he wants, Tim can swell up with as many puppies as his little womb will hold, he'll give birth, and then the cycle starts a new

He even starts to branch out when Alfred starts keeping a closer eye on Ace, who keeps getting out of the Manor, sometimes for days at a time, and so the dog is kept in a kennel to keep him from running off. So when Tim needs to be knotted and filled, 5 days post partum of his biggest litter yet (12 perfect puppies that made him so big and heavy that he could hardly move, had to camp out in the living room where the kitchen and a bathroom were only a few feet away), he goes out to Gotham city looking for a new stud

(he isn't expecting to find a pack of strays, but he also isn't complaining, and he stays in Gotham for 2 days, letting the 9 dogs fuck and knot him as much as they want. He walks away from this encounter with a huge litter of 14 puppies, almost all of them having different sires)

So Tim becomes a little dog slut broodmare and hides it in secret. His parents don't find out, and no one else does, until he's 13 years old and on his 93rd litter (he's been getting bred and popping out pups on average of every 12 weeks: he had 18 litters by the time he was 11, then an additional 30 litters by the time he was 12, another 30 added to that when he hit 13, and since his 13th birthday, Tim has had 15 additional litters) and Jason Todd of all people walks in on Tim, heavy with his newest litter, being pounded into by Ace, having followed the dog when he snuck out again

This is, unfortunately, where my dream ended, but I woke up and immediately thought of you lmao so what do you think would happen after Jason found Tim? Or any additional thoughts to Tim being his own little puppy factory 🤭

👀👀👀👀👀 jason went from trying to find out where bruce's damn dog kept running off to to fucking a little baby slut with the milkiest tits he's ever seen. maybe jason should be grossed out or shocked or worried but he grew up in the roughest parts of gotham. he knew some of the whores would do shit like this for extra cash and jason would admit that some part of him had always been a bit curious about it when he'd catch a sight of it from the other side of the room. he knows the kid is his neighbor and he's known for awhile that the drakes sold or gave away puppies because he'd seen the childish son advertising as such hanging from their iron fence. jason had suspected the drakes were backyard breeders and it was why he'd gotten the idea to wander into their property because maybe titus smelled the pups or a bitch in heat and went following his dick.

turns out jason was right.

jason presses down on timmy drakes little womb housing what seems like a fresh litter of puppies while he pumps his cock into his warmed over puppy cunt while squeezing soft tits and full hips that had been used to birth litters of pups. god, little timmy drake is more 'woman' than most of the women in the porn jason watches. he doesn't seem to mind a stud like jason mounting him at the first oppertunity and fucking that hot, tight little cunt that's so wet it makes a 'sucking' sound everytime he pumps in.

tim ends up having his cute litter and its the last one he has for awhile because jason starts making daily visits to fuck little timmy drake. and tim's baby womb is just desperate to be filled that it's not long before he's knocked up with a real, full human baby and that's...well that one is a little harder to hide and a lot harder to give away once they're born.

#asks #anonymous #answered asks

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spider-xan · 2 years

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We never get any confirmation on what exactly R. M. stands for in Renfield's name, but if we assume his parents would have chosen very traditional and therefore old timey popular names as upper-class types, I figured we can look at what the most popular boy names that start with R and M were in England during the 1830s when he would have been born and make educated guesses based on that.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find such a list online, though they exist in print, but I did find this list of the top 200 baby names for boys and girls in England and Wales in 1840, and honestly, I don't think the names would be too different from an 1830s list:

Robert (9th), Richard (11th), Ralph (44th), Reuben (46th), Rees (87th), Roger (89th), Rowland (95th), Robinson (131st), Ruben (157th), Reginald (176th)

Matthew (26th), Michael (30th), Mark (34th), Moses (59th), Martin (63rd), Morgan (83rd), Mathew (93rd), Morris (104th), Miles (115th), Maurice (118th), Matthias (167th), Marshall (186th), Marmaduke (189th)

#dracula #dracula daily #rm renfield #renfield

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sea-dukes-assistant · 10 months

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ATTN: The boomers that follow me for some reason

The abuse I'd been getting since this started dropped off roughly 2016, when I told Rachel if she wanted to have a say in what I post, she can pay me. It picked back up roughly the same time Harry was outed as being with his current wife, at the time of the Karen Occupation, and been on the upswing ever since.

For the longest time, I never understood why I received so much negative attention from your particular niche in this fandom. I never spoke to you, minded your business, nor knew you existed, yet you felt the need to mind mine, scold me, yell at me, and speak to me as though I do not deserve respect and decency, perhaps going so far as to hoping one day I'd just eat a bullet.

The theory, which is disturbing at best, for why you project your insecurities onto me (and only me) is that you can't fathom mine and younger generations being so "ourselves" because that was not a thing when you grew up. I'm sorry that was the way it was, but that is not how it is now. Times change, often for the better, even from when I was growing up in the '90s. I'm thankful for this. You lot, however, seem to have taken the fantasy/ideology of "what a man should be" and decided you are disgusted/upset that I do not fall into that mold. So you come into my house and shit all over the place like you ain't got no home training, sending me homophobic messages, personally insulting me and my intelligence, telling me I need to "get my head checked (I've had 2 neuro-pysch exams I promise you my brain functions just fine)," and going out of your way to make me hate myself. Why? So you can fix me and make me the "alpha male" of your fantasies. It's like some form of conversion therapy. This is why you're so obsessed with me. I'm not bitter that nobody else is being hated on; I'M BITTER THAT I WAS/AM SINGLED OUT.

Quite frankly, that's fucking disturbing. I'm 36. I'm a regular guy, enlisted, trying to make it through the next 10 of my career without further damaging my already broken body. I'm nobody. But y'all out here harassing me for *checks notes* living my life and being happy. Not even a single shred of empathy. Just fuckin' "SEND IT" with the constant degradation and berating and lecturing. Fuck sake I serve this country with pride, nearly had the national ensign over my casket and folded and handed to my mother before I hit 30, and this is how y'all gonna act towards me, after walking around with your metaphorical dick out, posting boomer ass Facebook graphics yelling "REPOST THE FLAG OR YOUR A COMMIE?" THAT is some fucking disrespect, not a royal in an honorary position of rank wearing a service's uniform. It's fucking disgusting...oh I'm a "brave PATRIOT" until you find out I wanna fuck some hot British guy's brains out. Then I need to shut up and "eat shit and die."

I'm not a project. I'm not responsible for your issues. I'm under no obligation to be nice to you. Your baggage is not mine to carry. You are responsible for your own behavior. I do have intellectual superiority; this is not me swinging my dick, it is fact. My ASVAB score qualified me for everything except the nuclear field. I learned college-level electronics theory in 9 months. I've had a combined 10 months of specialized training on specific systems, the most recent being the AN/GSC-52B MET. This last advancement cycle I scored in the 93rd percentile overall IN THE ENTIRE GODDAMN NAVY. My job is entirely critical-thinking, problem solving, and written/verbal communication. PEOPLE COULD DIE IF THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS CAN'T SEE THE PLANES. I have to explain to idiots officers with degrees why I can't connect a system carrying classified data to their unclassified computer to they "don't have to get up" to look at the console. Between you there's...what, 10 brain cells? You think tabloids are classic literature. IT IS A FUCKING FACT, BRENDA.

Oh and the "I hate that you were treated like that/you didn't deserve that BUT" can be shoved up your ass, as well. If that were the case, you wouldn't continue your anonymous! tirade about how I'm a fuck up, need to be nicer, how I'm treated is entirely my fault, and using Prince Philip, who is very much dead despite my wishes, as a way to emotionally manipulate me (an entirely different level of Fucking Disgusting).

The entire fucking audacity. Take your own advice and look in the mirror. YOU are the reason I'm so fucking stressed. YOU are the reason I fucking hate it here and want to leave. YOU are the reason I'm so fucking "rude" and on defense all the time. DEALING WITH YOU IS FUCKING EXHAUSTING.

#it's long I'm sorry #<- that's what Sea Duke said #but there's only so much bullshit I can take #I'm not joking when I tell y'all I hate it here #not my best work but it's honest #boomer women be miserable and I'm not here for that shit #it's very disrespectful to bae

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pluckysidekick · 1 year

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Happy 93rd birthday to Nancy Drew! On this day in 1930 the first book, “The Secret of the Old Clock,” was published. Of course in the show Nancy has 2 birthdays (real and made up by the Drews) - but our favorite Nancy couldn’t exist without the original and still the best girl detective.

Kennedy marked the occasion by using everyone’s favorite birthday thirst pic to celebrate. Love the interaction with RJ - and with the Drewds.

Speaking of everyone’s favorite cop (sorry, Park), we have RJ to thank for this glorious picture of him with the elusive Tunji at the Bridgerton: Queen Charlotte premiere (so good I posted it twice). They both look stunning. Love the slo mo of Tunji descending from the carriage (woof).

Now that all of the episodes have been added to IMDB, we now know that Tunji is in 4 out of 6 of them. So happy we get to see him throughout the series!

We also got see some gorgeous promo photos for all three women of the Drew Crew, while Riley’s back home from filming Station 19 and hanging with his best (little) woman.

In other Nancy Drew math news, only 33 days to the S4 premiere. Now about that trailer…

#nancy drew #nancy drew cw #bridgerton #queen charlotte #rj hatanaka #tunji kasim #maddison jaizani #kennedy mcmann #ndcw #leah lewis #riley smith #author: pluckysidekick

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bsaka7 · 1 year

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Mikel Arteta at Rangers and his title-clinching penalty: 'He pulled rank on everyone' - Jordan Campbell

As the go-karts whizzed around the chicane, each player was treated to the usual jeers and taunts from their Rangers team-mates waiting to race. Karting had become a regular team-building exercise for Rangers in the 1990s, but there was one unusual sight on this afternoon in 2002 that caused the rest of the squad to double-take.

“Mikel Arteta was driving one-handed. We couldn’t believe it,” laughs former Rangers full-back Maurice Ross.

“We gave him pelters at the time but, if we’re talking about coolness and being in control, then that was Mikel in a nutshell.”

His unassuming persona made an immediate impression, but fast forward to May 25 the following year and Arteta faces the most intense scrutiny of those qualities imaginable.

Heading into the final day of the 2002-03 season, Rangers and Celtic are neck and neck. Level on 94 points and inseparable on goal difference, the only column that differs is that Rangers have scored 95 and Celtic have scored 94.

It is a minor advantage, but with 92 minutes on the clock, Rangers 5-1 up at Ibrox against Dunfermline Athletic and Celtic 4-0 up at Rugby Park, that was still the only difference. A last-gasp goal for Celtic would see the helicopter carrying the trophy turn west to Kilmarnock.

Cue a 93rd-minute penalty to Rangers. All eyes are now on who would dare to be the hero.

Twenty-year-old Arteta. He casually strokes the ball into the bottom right corner, sending goalkeeper Derek Stillie the wrong way, and produces the most iconic of images with his celebration.

Shaking both of his hands wildly above his head, fingers splayed like a raptor, he sprinted towards the jubilant fans at the Copland Road end. He pulled down his shirt from the badge and threw a fist pump like an uppercut before being swarmed. Rangers were champions of Scotland for the 50th time.

“My brother-in-law gave me a picture of that moment and enlarged it. I’ve got it in a frame in my house. I can still hear the noise through it now,” his then-manager Alex McLeish tells The Athletic.

The mystery? How the baby-faced Spaniard, mostly seen and not heard, ended up with the ball in his arms.

He was in a team of big names including Lorenzo Amoruso, Arthur Numan, Barry Ferguson, Claudio Caniggia, Shota Arveladze, Ronald de Boer and Michael Mols. Only Caniggia and Mols were not on the pitch at that moment and even their replacements, 29-year-old Neil McCann and Scotland striker Steven Thompson, may have had cause to claim the ball.

Granted, Ferguson had missed two in one game against Dundee the month earlier, which saw Arteta take the third penalty and score, but under such pressure, it would have been natural to revert to authority.

“He pulled rank on everybody. Ronald must have said, ‘Let him take it, he’ll bury it’,” adds McLeish.

“Who, me?” asks De Boer. “No, he just took the ball. That says something about his personality.”

“No one argued. There was a confidence in him within our team. We had no doubt he was going to score,” adds Australian centre-back Craig Moore.

Within a year of joining from Barcelona, Arteta had earned the trust of his seniors and cemented his place in Rangers folklore.

How Rangers managed to lure him to Glasgow surprised even those who brokered the deal, but how his time in Scotland was limited to just two seasons — and a tale of two halves — is a source of frustration for some ex-team-mates.

(Second photo) Arteta (right) chats to Emerson (left), Nuno Capucho and Michael Mols in training (Photo: Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)

His move only came about due to Rangers being drawn to face Paris Saint-Germain in the third round of the UEFA Cup in November 2001, which saw manager Dick Advocaat request a report from chief scout Ewan Chester. He went to watch PSG twice, away from home in freezing conditions, and returned with the message to look past the glamorous names. ‘Young Arteta is their most influential player’, his report read.

After two legs, in which Arteta delivered an outstanding performance at Ibrox, Rangers went through on penalties. It was a huge feat but when McLeish took over the next month, the talk was still about the boy with jet-black hair and blushed cheeks who had strolled around the pitch as if he owned it.

“He was so mature. You could immediately see he came from that Barcelona background. I thought, ‘Who is that guy?’,” De Boer tells The Athletic.

McLeish knew he had to use his finite resources wisely come the summer and so he sought counsel from two wise heads. His assistant Andy Watson provided a glowing review but McLeish sighed when he read his defined position was a holding midfielder.

“I knew right away that would be a problem as we had a phenomenal player of our own making in Barry Ferguson,” McLeish says.

“Could the two of them play together? Andy thought not. He said he was a nice footballer and never really got troubled in the game but it would probably be difficult for him in Scotland.

“So I got Ronald in the office and asked if he thought he could play in different positions. He said he could play anywhere and that he would be a tremendous signing.”

PSG had first refusal on him but Rangers splashed £6million on Arteta. They had finished the previous season strongly by winning both domestic cups, but Celtic had won back-to-back leagues.

There was not a huge influx of players to wrestle back the title, though. Kevin Muscat on a free was the only other signing. All the eggs had been placed in Arteta’s basket.

So when the Spaniard scored six minutes into his first Old Firm derby, a fixture that can define players good or bad, a few sighs will have been let out in the boardroom. “It’s as if you’re in a washing machine at a thousand miles per hour,” Arteta poetically described in 2019, after choosing it as the most ferocious derby he had played in.

(Third photo) McLeish (left) with Nuno Capucho and Arteta in training (Photo: Nick Ponty/SNS Group via Getty Images)

“I try to dictate play, but in that game, you can’t. Don’t even bother. It doesn’t stop. One touch, bam! Next touch, boof! Tackle, shot, corner, we go again! It’s nuts.”

McLeish’s assistant, Jan Wouters, had been a key figure in convincing Arteta he would fit in despite telling him to get ready for 90 minutes of being chased.

“He played his own game with one and two touches,” he says. “Sometimes, you don’t need words to see how important a player can be on the pitch. He took the lead by showing, ‘This is how we want to play, the combination play’.

“It’s a gift. You can learn but only if you have the talent for it. Players around him could see he was a fantastic player and that made it easy to accept if he said something.

“Players were physical with him but he could be mean if needed, too, don’t forget that. He would be tricky with it so no one noticed it.”

His own team-mates wanted to test his mettle and see if he was ready for the cauldron of Scottish football.

“He was quite slight, so in his first session I tried to go in and nick the ball from him,” says former full-back Maurice Ross.

“But he had this ability like a basketball player where they show it with one hand and then shift it to the other side of their body so you can’t see it or get round him. That was when you realised just how strong his legs were.

“It was normal to be roughed up. No one was given special treatment. Billy Dodds’ wife used to stay behind the training ground and one day she said, ‘What the hell was happening in training today with the noise?’. That was just Scotland boys vs the rest of the world. It was like a cup final most days, it was mental.”

Arteta’s ability won him respect instantly, but his team-mates speak of a player who appeared to be acutely aware of the hierarchy he had entered.

“He hardly spoke apart from the few he got close to as he was a quiet boy… but he had this stare,” says Ross.

“That can lead to people thinking, ‘Oh, he’s a bit mysterious, a bit deep, a bit aloof, maybe he doesn’t want to talk to us’. But he just didn’t get involved in the extra stuff and I admired him for that. It wasn’t bravado or forced, it was just this calm authority. He just knew he was the mustard.”

Arteta was friends with Argentinian winger Claudio Caniggia as they could speak in Spanish, and Georgian defender Zurab Khizanishvili says he and his wife often went for dinner with Arteta’s now-wife Lorena Bernal at popular Glasgow haunts O Sole Mio and Il Pavone.

They were both young and adjusting to the pressure and spotlight.

“At Rangers, you have to win every game. All I ever heard before a game in the dressing room was ‘three points’. Alex McLeish would say, ‘I don’t care how, I just need three points’, even if it was against Man United,” says Khizanishvili.

The person who got to know him best, though, was De Boer. Having spent a season at Barcelona in 1999 before joining Rangers, he felt duty-bound to make sure Arteta settled in Scotland.

“I had the father-son role,” says De Boer.

“Me and my wife took him everywhere with his girlfriend and got on really well, so I took him under my wing. He was a great son. Humble and always wanted to listen and learn.

“You saw some moments where you could see him maybe thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’. But there were other times I thought, ‘Jesus, he’s really stepping up now and doesn’t give in’.”

De Boer describes a little “shoulder rubbing” with Ferguson over who was seen as the main catalyst in possession, but Ross says their egos worked “silently in the background” to propel each other.

It was an interesting jigsaw as Ferguson was ‘Mr Rangers’, the heartbeat of the team who constantly demanded the ball incessantly and represented everything the club stood for in a city where symbolism is king.

“In the first season, we deployed Mikel on the left with the freedom to come inside and interact with Barry while supporting the front men,” says McLeish.

“It worked absolutely amazingly for us. Barry ran the show and Arteta was the playmaker coming in on his right foot. He was a revelation. If he had played central midfielder for us he would have been kicked all over the place.

(Fourth photo) Ferguson (second right) and Arteta learned to work together in midfield (Photo: Matthew Ashton/EMPICS via Getty Images)

“The game was tougher then — referees let you get away with a bit more. Celtic were a big strong team, so it may have been a bit too much in a defensive midfield role. We played him in the right position for that moment.”

Rangers won a domestic treble and Arteta played 35 times, scored five goals and looked every bit the superstar they were hoping he would be. But De Boer maintains that it still wasn’t the optimal solution.

“People said he couldn’t stand the physical part of the game, but I told people to give him time as I only learned what football really was at 20. He was a raw diamond, we just had to polish him,” says the Dutchman.

“In the beginning, it should have been 60 per cent Ferguson to demand the game and Mikel 40 per cent, but as his level progressed, by the end it should have been 60 per cent Mikel the playmaker as he had more skills.

“Barry was a tremendous player box to box but the real artistry was Mikel. They wanted to give Ferguson that role but that was a mistake in my eyes.”

Come the second season, that was a moot point. Arteta was now in a very different team.

It was widely appreciated that Rangers were looking to raise funds, but McLeish had half of his team gutted. Ferguson and Amoruso were sold to Blackburn Rovers, McCann moved to Southampton, Caniggia went to Qatar and Numan retired.

Half the senior starters exited and Rangers spent less than £1million on refreshing the squad as Sir David Murray attempted to cut the wage bill amid rising debts. Arteta even came out publicly to deny claims from Rangers executives that he had asked to go back to Spain.

“I was worried beforehand about the crowd’s reaction, but I love these fans,” Arteta said in August 2003 after a starring performance against Kilmarnock.

“I never said I would like to leave here in the first place. I only ever said that one day I would like to go back to Spain and it’s normal to want to return home sometime. But I am in no hurry. It would be impossible to leave now.”

He remained and took up the mantle from Ferguson at the heart of midfield, but Rangers were a shadow of the team from the previous season. They finished 17 points adrift of Celtic, losing all four league derbies, and failed to reach either of the domestic cup finals.

“This was his chance to play central midfield but I was playing a young cultured player who hadn’t been through the wars and learned to cope himself,” says McLeish.

“We put him to the forefront. Him and Stevie Hughes (a 22-year-old academy player) played in the middle of the park against Manchester United in the Champions League. They got a wee lesson that night against Roy Keane and Scholes but they were valuable.

“He was hugely respectful at all times. We gave him the perfect solution in the first season and a not-so-perfect one in the second season with a depleted squad. He didn’t quite have the shoulders to lean on.”

Arteta left for home at the end of his second season, moving to Real Sociedad for a fee below what Rangers paid for him. It was a crime that Rangers didn’t retain a player of his ability for longer — as De Boer believes they could have if the club had made him feel more important — or at least capitalise on that talent by making a profit.

The official line at the time was that he was homesick, but it was a curt goodbye for a young player who delivered the classiest of debut seasons. Had he stayed for longer, Arteta would have been held in the same esteem as many less talented foreign players are, but as Craig Moore knew after his first few sessions, this was a boy destined for the top.

This article is part of a series on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta which will be published during the international break. The next feature is scheduled for Monday.

Artwork: Sam Richardson, using Getty Images

#Mikel arteta #Arsenal #Footieposting #Maybe I should create an athleticposting tag #The Athletic #I deffff reccomemd watching the clip of him scoring the pen I just didn't want to screen record and embed bc i always have trouble with vid #Start at like 1:34:23 #If it doesn't start there from the link. Sorry #Also i added the Pic of him doing the celly #It just seemed like it needed to be there

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agentplutonium · 3 months

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i’m thinking about immortality again. In reference to Sam, sure, but also just in reference to my vampire OC.

Cause here’s the thing. Immortality is so cool to mortals. You get to live forever. You get to do what you want when you want because you finally have the time to do so. You can start a new hobby. Travel. You can write that book you wanted, paint what you wanted, get classically trained in whatever your heart desires. You can get a degree in everything you can possibly get a degree in because you can. Time is finally living in tandem with you instead of working against you. You get to see how humanity continues to develop and grow, seeing all of the wonderful things that they can come up with. You might meet the next big figure in the history books and get to watch as the world starts to recognize them for their talent or wisdom. You get to watch as new discoveries are made from the ancient world and all, hell, you might even be part of the “ancient world” at one point and get to laugh at how wrong these new scientists are getting it. No matter what, humanity lives on, and you get to watch that.

But when does that novelty wear off? When your parents die? Your siblings? Your friends, a lover even? When do you stop and realize that everyone you got to know in your mortal life is now gone? When do you realize that today would have been your 93rd birthday, and by all means it is should probably be a miracle you’re still alive? But it’s not a miracle. You haven’t aged a day in decades. You haven’t grown, or aged. And you’re alone. Sure, you could make new friends, find new lovers, but you have to leave them eventually as well. People start to get suspicious when their friend still doesn’t look a day over 25. You’re forced to travel because if you stay in one place an old time-y witch hunt will start up coming for you. Unless, of course, you enter some sort of immortal cult where the leader has insane fucking power and control over that one city. Unless you start living inconspicuously, only interacting with said other immortals, not being seen or heard by anyone else. I mean, what else can you do? If you make mortal friends, you’re gonna have to abandon them eventually. If you have a mortal lover, you’re either going to have to be selfish enough to turn them immortal—if you can even do that—OR also leave them either through them dying or on your own terms. And if you do turn your mortal lover immortal to be with you, who’s to say you guys will stand the rest of time of literal eternity. What are you going to do when the relationship no longer works out 50, 100 years down the line? Theoretically you’d break up, but now what? Your lover has to deal with the same problems you do, problems that they were willing to overlook because the loved you, and has to spend eternity alive struggling the same way you did if not worse.

I wasn’t gonna get into the vampire part of this because it was immortals in general kinda post, but i’m gonna anyway. The line between monster and human that vampires balance on is so interesting to me also. Because, when does a vampire stop feeling like a human and start feeling like some sort of animal just trying to satiate their hunger of blood. When do they stop looking forward to the human experience of being alive forever and start living day in and out, barley recognizing the time go by, feeding and sleeping and starting that cycle over and over again? When does time start to feel like an enclosure, keeping them trapped to the mortal plane of existence to be gawked at by people and gods alike? When do they start to loose their sense of self, start to lose the person they were before being turned? When does their humanity start to slip, and they do more and more heinous things just because they are bored or because they came to the conclusion that nothing applies to them anymore? That they are an untouchable being that cannot be harmed for what they do because they are stronger than anything that faces them. When someone is first turned, they may think this is absurd. Of course they’re not going to be like other vampires. They may even be able to keep up this way of thinking for decades. But what about oh i don’t know 3,4 centuries in? Will that be when it hits? Or will they hold out, going on 6 or 7 centuries? It’s a matter of when for something like this, because if you manage to live that long you’re going to start thinking you’re a god.

Anyway. I have gone insane actually. This is my insanity in one post. I like my ocs way too much.

#plutonium_rambles #redacted audio #redactedverse

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pidayscott · 1 month

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Red Carpet

Very excited to be attending the west coast premiere of “You can call me Bill” from Legion M. Looking forward to toasting Mr. William Shatner for his 93rd birthday tonight after the film.

#me #williamshatner #youcancallmebill #legionm #startrek #bostonlegal #captainkirk #jamestkirk #dennycrane #tjhooker #ohcaptainmycaptain

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scotianostra · 8 months

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Thomas Sean Connery, born in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh on 25th August, 1930.

Big Tam, as he was affectionately known around Fountainbridge in his youth, he was Tommy until his teens, when he shot up in height and stature, at one point he entered a bodybuilding contest, he was 6'2″ at the time, weighed around 14 stone, had a 48-inch chest, 25-inch thigh, and his arms were 15.25 inches.

Connery also played football at junior level for Bonnyrigg Rose, my cousin played for them too for several years.

His 93rd and last film was 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentleman - although he officially retired in 2006, although he was temporarily tempted back to do the voice of Sir Billi in the animated adventure comedy of the same name.

#scotland #scottish #history #actor #milkman #footballer #edinburgh #theatre #cinema

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football-and-fanfics · 2 years

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Penalty - Mason Mount

Who: Mason Mount Request: Hey, from the prompt list please could you do “feeling guilty over a mistake that made the team lose the match” with Mason Mount? Requested by: anonymous Warnings: mentions of feeling sad / guilty.

It was his fault. He had caused the penalty to be awarded to their opponent. And with it being the 93rd minute, the last minute of stoppage time and the current score a 1-1 draw, this could very well become the winning goal. If so, Chelsea would lose this important match… "Come on, mate, work your magic..." Mason prayed softly to himself as Kepa lined up in goal for the penalty. The goalkeeper had a good record when it came to stopping penalties, and Mason furiously wished Kepa would be successful in this particular case. But it wasn't to be. Even though Kepa dived to the right side, the expertly taken penalty kept the ball well out of his reach. "Ah, fuck off." Mason hung his head. There would be no time for them to score another goal, so the weight of this lost match immediately pressed down heavily on his shoulders. The whistle for full-time sounded not a minute after that penalty. Mason sank to the ground, resting his forehead on his knees. He felt tears in his eyes, both of sadness and frustration, but refused to let them fall. This loss was his doing. If he hadn’t been so stupid as to give away that penalty, they might have been able to gain at least one point from this match. “Come on.” The words were spoken sympathetically, accompanied by a gentle hand on Mason’s shoulder. He looked up to find Kepa kneeling beside him. “I'm sorry,” Mason mumbled brokenly, “I royally messed this one up, Kepa. It’s my fault we lost this match.” “It’s not your fault alone.” Kepa gave Mason a pat on the back. “We all fell short today." “Sure, but you lot didn’t cause the penalty, I did,” Mason grumbled. “Well…” Kepa answered with a grim chuckle, “I didn't stop it from going in, so that kind of makes it my fault, too.” Mason looked up at his teammate. He truly appreciated Kepa trying to cheer him up, even though it wasn't having much effect on him yet. “Do you think the team will forgive me for this?” “Yes,” Kepa confirmed, “it’s not the first time a penalty has lost us a match, and it certainly won’t be the last. It’s all in the game. They’ll be grumpy when we get back inside, I won’t lie about that, but I'm sure it won’t last long.” Mason passed a hand over his face. "This feeling sucks." “I never said it felt good,” Kepa chuckled, “but you’ll be fine. Trust me.”

Tags: @glam-khal, @evie-pr, @gryffinwars, @auawdo, @meteora-fc, @de-geas, @stonesyyyy, @drizzyreese, @hbstre, @liverpoolfanfiction, @sternennebel2001Mason tags: @livstilinski, @juliabrghs, @footballffbarbiex, @youkantebeserious, @laurasstufff1PL tags: @ella33Chelsea tags: @chilwell-21 If you would like to be added to the tags list, too, you can fill out this form and I'll add you to it! For more of my Mason imagines, click here

#footballandfanficsmasonmount #mason mount #mason mount imagine #mason mount blurb #mason mount fanfic #mason mount fanfiction #football imagine #football blurb #football fanfic #football fanfiction #footballer imagine #footballer blurb #footballer fanfic #footballer fanfiction

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pierreism · 1 year

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youtube

A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair (2013)

To honour the great Stephen Sondheim on what would have been his 93rd birthday, I present my remaster* of his unique 2013 revue, A Bed and a Chair, which debuted November 13th at New York City Center for an all-too-brief 5 day engagement.

Far from the usual songbook recital, the show was a new creative collaboration between Sondheim and jazz composer Wynton Marsalis, who reinterpreted each track especially for his 15-piece jazz ensemble. The resulting work casts these enduring showtunes in a new light; the gilded brass and velvet tones nods back to an era of Manhattan ballrooms and big band orchestras – the kind of lost urban elegance we search for in the records of Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. In ways both good and sometimes contradictory, Sondheim’s New York neuroses has never sounded so luxe.

Let Jeremy Jordan effortlessly break your heart. Delight at Bernadette Peters’ left-field choices. Hear Norm Lewis somehow evoke every single member of the Rat Pack in his rendition of “Someone Is Waiting”. Try not to fall in love with French chanteuse Cyrille Aimée, a wildcard borrowed from the jazz world and the ace that makes the entire hand work. 90 minutes.

*mixed from two separate audio and video sources. While the video is 144p, to my knowledge it’s the highest quality recording of the entire show currently available. If anyone has a better looking or sounding copy, get in touch! Many thanks to the original recorders/preservationists.

#Stephen Sondheim #Wynton Marsalis #Bernadette Peters #Norm Lewis #Jeremy Jordan #Cyrille Aimée

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freifraufischer · 3 months

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The New Zealand Problem: Painful Choices Edition

Courtney McGregor has recently given an interview where she explains that she's not being permitted to trial for Oceania championships because the criteria require results from the last two years (which she doesn't have). There is a lot of anger and frustration from the gymternet about this but I have a theory about what is going on with New Zealand Gymnastics refusing to allow McGregor to compete for the Oceania trials. It's going to seem a little byzantine as I explain it.

First, remember that Gymnastics New Zealand wants to get a WAG to the Olympics and the New Zealand Olympic Committee is the gatekeeper here. The Olympic Committee has set the policy that you have to be in the top 16 in your sport before they'll send you to the Olympics. A few weeks back I asked Courtney how that was done in 2016 for her and she said that she wasn't directly involved in the conversations but that her impression was that it couldn't be based on a single score or result. She was allowed to go based on her 2015 Worlds, 2016 Pac Rims, and 2016 Test Event placements. The fed needs to be able to make a large picture case for the athlete to the NZ Olympic committee.

Let's start from the basis that Gymnastics New Zealand already knows they can't make that case for Madeleine Marshall or Reece Cobb based on their 2023 Worlds results. Marshall was their best AAer in 93rd and Cobb had their best apparatus result in 56th on Beam.

McGregor would have no spectrum of results to make a case. Even if she won Oceania champs it would be just one result and remember she told me it couldn't just be 1 result. Her last international result was 5 years ago where she was 102nd in the AA at worlds and 17th on vault. I think McGregor is a beautiful gymnast and competitive on the basis of what the New Zealand policy wants their athletes to be. I just strongly suspect GymNZ doesn't think they can make that case for her to the Olympic Committee because of her lack of recent results.

So what's the harm in letting her compete?

Well from a strategic point of view if your goal is "get a New Zealand WAG to the Olympics" ... there is a downside to having her in the field. And yes I know what I'm about to describe is a bit twisted.

Georgia-Rose Brown came 4th and 5th at the Baku and Doha World Cup bars finals last year. She's also in the group that GNZ has elected to send to World Cups this year. Based on "you have to show a set of competitive results" I think GymNZ thinks they can make a case for her. Ideally the case for brown is 2 World Cup finals in 2023, and hopefully a couple more in 2024, with her qualifying at Oceania Championships. I believe based on my understanding of the New Zealand Olympic Committee policy they would send Brown on that basis.

But if Courtney beats Brown at Oceania championships the case for Brown changes. It's no longer a case where (ideally) Brown has a bunch of World Cup results and qualified through Oceania championships. She now has World Cup results which by themselves get her nothing and Brown hasn't qualified in her own right at Oceania championships. They've passed on McGregor for not meeting the standard, and they simply aren't going to consider someone who didn't qualify in their own right.

Is this frustrating and warped and counterintuitive to the idea of competition? Yes. No argument from me. But we're already in a situation where an athlete can win a spot at the Olympics and not be sent. Gymnastics New Zealand looks like the rigid bad guy here for not allowing Courtney to Trial for Oceania Champs. But I doubt they are. I'm sure they would LOVE to be able to to send Courtney to the Olympics if she qualified. It's not personal against her. It's triage.

All of this doesn't mean I don't hope Courtney is able to convince them to send her to Oceania anyway. I hope they do. I'm just trying to get people to see that it's not a "no lose" situation for Gymnastics NZ.

#gymnastics #olympics

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