#boston tour company

[bostonsightseeingtour]

#bostonsightseeing #boston #boston tour #boston sightseeing #boston tour company #travel agency #hop on hop off #blackfalconcruiseterminal #Black Falcon Cruise Terminal

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Prison-tech company bribed jails to ban in-person visits

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroe (Apr 11), then PROVIDENCE (Apr 12), and beyond!

Beware of geeks bearing gifts. When prison-tech companies started offering "free" tablets to America's vast army of prisoners, it set off alarm-bells for prison reform advocates – but not for the law-enforcement agencies that manage the great American carceral enterprise.

The pitch from these prison-tech companies was that they could cut the costs of locking people up while making jails and prisons safer. Hell, they'd even make life better for prisoners. And they'd do it for free!

These prison tablets would give every prisoner their own phone and their own video-conferencing terminal. They'd supply email, of course, and all the world's books, music, movies and games. Prisoners could maintain connections with the outside world, from family to continuing education. Sounds too good to be true, huh?

Here's the catch: all of these services are blisteringly expensive. Prisoners are accustomed to being gouged on phone calls – for years, prisons have done deals with private telcos that charge a fortune for prisoners' calls and split the take with prison administrators – but even by those standards, the calls you make on a tablet are still a ripoff.

Sure, there are some prisoners for whom money is no object – wealthy people who screwed up so bad they can't get bail and are stewing in a county lockup, along with the odd rich murderer or scammer serving a long bid. But most prisoners are poor. They start poor – the cops are more likely to arrest poor people than rich people, even for the same crime, and the poorer you are, the more likely you are to get convicted or be suckered into a plea bargain with a long sentence. State legislatures are easy to whip up into a froth about minimum sentences for shoplifters who steal $7 deodorant sticks, but they are wildly indifferent to the store owner's rampant wage-theft. Wage theft is by far the most costly form of property crime in America and it is almost entirely ignored:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/15/wage-theft-us-workers-employees

So America's prisons are heaving with its poorest citizens, and they're certainly not getting any richer while they're inside. While many prisoners hold jobs – prisoners produce $2b/year in goods and $9b/year in services – the average prison wage is $0.52/hour:

https://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2024/0324bowman.html

(In six states, prisoners get nothing; North Carolina law bans paying prisoners more than $1/day, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly permits slavery – forced labor without pay – for prisoners.)

Likewise, prisoners' families are poor. They start poor – being poor is a strong correlate of being an American prisoner – and then one of their breadwinners is put behind bars, taking their income with them. The family savings go to paying a lawyer.

Prison-tech is a bet that these poor people, locked up and paid $1/day or less; or their families, deprived of an earner and in debt to a lawyer; will somehow come up with cash to pay $13 for a 20-minute phone call, $3 for an MP3, or double the Kindle price for an ebook.

How do you convince a prisoner earning $0.52/hour to spend $13 on a phone-call?

Well, for Securus and Viapath (AKA Global Tellink) – a pair of private equity backed prison monopolists who have swallowed nearly all their competitors – the answer was simple: they bribed prison officials to get rid of the prison phones.

Not just the phones, either: a pair of Michigan suits brought by the Civil Rights Corps accuse sheriffs and the state Department of Corrections of ending in-person visits in exchange for kickbacks from the money that prisoners' families would pay once the only way to reach their loved ones was over the "free" tablets:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/jails-banned-family-visits-to-make-more-money-on-video-calls-lawsuits-claim/

These two cases are just the tip of the iceberg; Civil Rights Corps says there are hundreds of jails and prisons where Securus and Viapath have struck similar corrupt bargains:

https://civilrightscorps.org/case/port-huron-michigan-right2hug/

And it's not just visits and calls. Prison-tech companies have convinced jails and prisons to eliminate mail and parcels. Letters to prisoners are scanned and delivered their tablets, at a price. Prisoners – and their loved ones – have to buy virtual "postage stamps" and pay one stamp per "page" of email. Scanned letters (say, hand-drawn birthday cards from your kids) cost several stamps:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/#shitty-technology-adoption-curve

Prisons and jails have also been convinced to eliminate their libraries and continuing education programs, and to get rid of TVs and recreational equipment. That way, prisoners will pay vastly inflated prices for streaming videos and DRM-locked music.

The icing on the cake? If the prison changes providers, all that data is wiped out – a prisoner serving decades of time will lose their music library, their kids' letters, the books they love. They can get some of that back – by working for $1/day – but the personal stuff? It's just gone.

Readers of my novels know all this. A prison-tech scam just like the one described in the Civil Rights Corps suits is at the center of my latest novel The Bezzle:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

Prison-tech has haunted me for years. At first, it was just the normal horror anyone with a shred of empathy would feel for prisoners and their families, captive customers for sadistic "businesses" that have figured out how to get the poorest, most desperate people in the country to make them billions. In the novel, I call prison-tech "a machine":

a million-­armed robot whose every limb was tipped with a needle that sank itself into a different place on prisoners and their families and drew out a few more cc’s of blood.

But over time, that furious empathy gave way to dread. Prisoners are at the bottom of the shitty technology adoption curve. They endure the technological torments that haven't yet been sanded down on their bodies, normalized enough to impose them on people with a little more privilege and agency. I'm a long way up the curve from prisoners, but while the shitty technology curve may grind slow, it grinds fine:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

The future isn't here, it's just not evenly distributed. Prisoners are the ultimate early adopters of the technology that the richest, most powerful, most sadistic people in the country's corporate board-rooms would like to force us all to use.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

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#pluralistic #prison #prison-tech #marty hench #the bezzle #securus #captive audiences #St Clair County #human rights #prisoners rights #viapath #gtl #global tellink #Genesee County #michigan #guillotine watch #carceral state #corruption

[what-shitfuckery-is-this-ew]

BOYCOTTING FOR PALESTINE

The Official BDS Boycott Targets

Events:

EUROVISION. IT IS IN OUR TOP PRIORITY TO BOYCOTT EUROVISION

Giro d’Italia and Tour de France (these are past campaigns as the events have finished)

Consumer Boycotts - a complete boycott of these brands

Disney (SPECIFICALLY MARVEL)

Intel

Axa

Puma

Carrefour

HP

Cevron

Caltex

Israeli produce

Re/max

Ahava

Texaco

Siemens

Sodastream

Intel

Organic Boycott Targets - boycotts not initiated by BDS but still complete boycott of these brands

Macdonald's

Dominos

Papa Johns

Burger King

Pizza Hut

Wix

Divestments and exclusion - pressure governments, institutions, investment funds, city councils, etc. to exclude from procurement contracts and investments and to divest from these

Elbit Systems

CAF

Volvo

CAT

Barclays

JCB

HD Hyundai

TKH Security

HikVision

Pressure - boycotts when reasonable alternatives exist, as well as lobbying, peaceful disruptions, and social media pressure.

Google

Amazon

AirBnb

Booking.Com

Expedia

Teva

Here are some companies that strongly support Israel (but are not Boycott targets). There is no ethical consumption under capitalism and boycotting is a political strategy - not a moral one. If you did try to boycott every supporter of Israel you would struggle to survive because every major company supports Israel (as a result of attempting to keep the US economy afloat), that being said, the ones that are being boycotted by masses and not already on the organic boycott list are coloured red.

5 Star Chocolate

7Days

7Up

Apple

Arsenal FC

ALDO

Arket

Axe

Accenture

Ariel

Adidas

ActionIQ

Aquafina

Amika

AccuWeather

Activia

Adobe

Aesop

Azrieli Group

American Eagle

Amway Corp

Axel Springer

American Airlines

American Express

Atlassian

AdeS

Aquarius

Ayataka

Audi

Barqs

Bain & Company

Bayer

Bank Leumi

Bank Hapoalim

BCG (Boston Consulting Group)

Biotherm

Bershka

Bloomberg

BMW

Boeing

Booz Allen Hamilton

Burberry

Bath & Body Works

Bosch

Bristol Myers Squibb

Capri Holdings

Costa

Carita Paris

CareTrust REIT

Caterpillar

Coach

Cappy

Caudalie

CeraVe

Check Point Software Technologies

Cerelac

Chanel

Chapman and Cutler

Channel

Cheerios

Cheetos

Chevron

Chips Ahoy!

Christina Aguilera

Citi Bank

Carrefour

Codral

Cosco

Canada Dry

Citi

Clal Insurance Enterprises

Clean & Clear

Clearblue

Clinique

Champion

Club Social

Coca Cola

Coffee Mate

Colgate

Comcast

Compass

Caesars

Conde Nast

Cooley LLP

Costco

Côte d’Or

Crest

CV Starr

CyberArk Software

Cytokinetics

Crayola

Cra Z Art

Daimler

Dr Pepper

Del Valle

Daim

Doctor Pepper

Dasani

Doritos

Daz

Dior

Dell

Deloitte

Delta Air Lines

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Telekom

DHL Group

David Off

Disney

DLA Piper

Domestos

Domino’s

Douglas Elliman

Downy

Duane Morris LLP

Dreft Baby Detergent & Laundry Products

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream

eBay

Edelman

Eli Lilly

Evian

Empyrean

Ericsson

Endeavor

EPAM Systems

Estee Lauder

Elbit Systems

Expedia

EY

Forbes

Facebook

Fairlife

Fanta

First International Bank of Israel

Fiverr

Funyuns

Fuze

Fox News

Fritos

Fox Corp

Gatorade

Gamida Cell

GE

Glamglow

General Catalyst

General Motors

Georgia

Gold Peak

Genesys

Goldman Sachs

Grandma’s Cookies

Google

Garnier

Guess

Greenberg Traurig

Guerlain

Givenchy

H&M

Hadiklaim

Huggies

Hanes

HSBC

Head & Shoulders

Hersheys

Herbert Smith Freehills

Hewlett Packard

Hasbro

Hyundai

Henkel

Harel Insurance Investment & Financial Services

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HubSpot

Huntsman Corp

IBM

Innocent

Insight Partners

Inditex Group

IT Cosmetics

Instacart

Intermedia

Interpublic Group

Instagram

ICL Group

Intuit

Jazwares

Jefferies

John Lewis

JP Morgan Chase

Jaguar

Johnson & Johnson

JPMorgan

Kenon Holdings

Kate Spade

Kirks’

Kinley Water

KKR

KFC

KKW Cosmetics

Kurkure

Keebler

Kolynos

Kaufland

Kevita

Knorr

KPMG

Lemonade

Lidl

Loblaws

Levi Strauss

Louis Vuitton

Life Water

Levi’s

Levi’s Strauss

LinkedIn

Land Rover

L’Oréal

Lego

Levissima

Live Nation Entertainment

Lufthansa

La Roche-Posay

Lipton

Major League Baseball

Manpower Group

Marriott

Marsh McLennan

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Mastercard

Mattel

Minute Maid

Monster

Monki

Mainz FC

Mellow Yellow

Mountain Dew

Migdal Insurance

Marks & Spencer

Mirinda

McDermott Will & Emery

Motorola

McKinsey

Merck

Michael Kors

Mizrahi Tefahot Bank

Merck KGaA

Micheal Kors

Milkybar

Maybelline

Mount Franklin

Meta

MeUndies

Mattle

Microsoft

Munchies

Miranda

Morgan Lewis

Moroccanoil

Morgan Stanley

MRC

Nasdaq

Naughty Dog

Nivea

Next

NOS

Nabisco

Nutter Butter

No Frills

National Basketball Association

National Geographic

Nintendo

New Balance

Nutella

Newtons

NVIDIA

Netflix

Nescafe

Nestle

Nesquick

Nike

Nussbeisser

Oreo

Oral B

Old spice

Oysho

Omeprazole

Oceanspray

Opodo

P&G (Procter and Gamble)

Pampers

Pull & Bear

Pepsi

Pfizer

Popeyes

Parker Pens

Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Pizza Hut

Powerade

Purina

Phoenix Holdings

Propel

Ponds

Pure Leaf Green Tea

Power Action Wipes

PwC

Prada

Perry Ellis

Prada Eyewear

Pringles

Payoneer

Procter & Gamble

Purelife

Pureology

Quaker Oats

Reddit

Royal Bank of Canada

Ruffles

Revlon

Ralph Lauren

Ritz

Rolls Royce

Royal

S.Pellegrino

Sabra Hummus

Sabre

Sony

SAP

Simply

Smart Water

Sprite

Schwabe

Shell

Soda Stream

Siemens

StreamElements

Schweppes

Sunsilk

Signal

Skittles

Smart Food

Sobe

Smarties

Sephora

Sam’s Club

Superbus

Samsung

Sodastream

Sunkist

Scotiabank

Sour Patch Kids

Starbucks

Sadaf

Stride

Subway

Tang

Tate’s Bake Shop

The Body Shop

TEVA

Tesco

Twitch

The Ordinary

Tim Hortons

Tostitos

Timberland

Topo Chico

Tapestry

Tropicana

Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries

Turbos

Tom Ford

Taco Bell

Triscuit

TUC

Twix

Tottenham Hotspurs

Twisties

Tripadvisor

Uber

Uber Eats

Urban Decay

Upfield

Unilever

Vicks

Victoria’s Secret

V8

Vaseline

Vitaminwater

Volkswagen

Volvo

Walmart

Wegmans

WhatsApp

Waitrose

Woolworths

Wheat Thins

Walkers

Warner Brothers

Warner Chilcot

Warner Music

Wells Fargo

Winston & Strawn

WingStreet

Wissotzky Tea

WWE

Wheel Washing Powder

Wrigley Company

YouTube

Yvel

Yum Brands

Ziyad

Zara

Zim Shipping

Ziff Davis

#free palestine #palestine #free gaza #israel #gaza #long post #from river to sea palestine will be free #palestinian lives matter #palestinian genocide #free free palestine #current events #fuck israel #anti zionisim #isntreal #defund israel #ceasefire #boycott israel #boycott divest sanction #boycott starbucks #boycott disney #boycott mcdonalds #boycotting #boycott divestment sanctions #my post #boycotts work

[nervoussagittarius]

y/n and chris being the hottest couple for 5 minutes straight

summary: hot moments caught on camera between chris and his girlfriend

warnings: fluff, little suggestive, request

★ you were chris’s biggest supporter, so when he asked you to model for his new fresh love drop the obvious answer was absolutely. the drop was so big for chris that he went as far as filming the entire design and creative process for his fans. including this photo shoot.

when photo shoot day came around chris kept you by his side the whole time. you walked out in the first design and his jaw dropped. “you’re stunning. holy shit, ma. you look so good.” chris said as he placed you in the light for the photographer.

you were a natural when it came to taking pictures and posing. you did everything to make chris’s brand look good.

you did a few test shots before starting the real shoot. “you’re so hot, baby. you’re doing so good.” you felt the heat rise to your face. you were able to play it off by looking over at chris and sending him a wink.

chris was the best hype man the entire day even though this shoot was really for him. “thank you for letting me be involved.” you said walking away from the backdrop and over to chris. he pulled you in by the belt loops on your jeans and connected his lips to yours.

“you were the biggest help through all of this. this day was just as much about you as it was me.” chris comments, pulling you into a bone crushing hug.

★ you hadn’t seen your boyfriend in over a month due to his touring schedule. after talking to his brothers you decided to suprise him for one of their shows.

you hid in the crowd so when they picked players for their tournament you would be seen. “alright chris you pick first.” nick said into the mic.

you were completely decked out in orange for chris. you went as far as wearing his clothes. chris did a double take when he saw you. convinced the lights were distorting his vision, he walked toward the front of the stage.

“not fucking way.” he said looking straight at you. you could see his pupils dilate from across the room. “guys my girlfriend y/n is here. i didn’t know she was coming.” he started jumping around like an excited child.

you were ushered backstage and immediately were met with chris when you crossed the curtains. he pulled you over to his brothers before finally taking you all in.

“is that my shirt?” he asked tugging on it gently to get your attention. you responded with a nod and a smug smile. “oh my fuck, baby.” he said basically melting in your presence.

the crowd went crazy at your interactions.

★ people from boston went all out for sporting events. if you’re from boston you support boston teams. so you weren’t suprise when your boyfriend decided to drag you to a bruins hockey game.

you sat in between nick and chris while nick kept you company because there was no getting chris’s attention off of the game in front of him. this was until he overheard nick talking about how hot all of the hockey boys were.

“nick, why are you talking to my girl about all of these hot guys when i’m right here. i’m the only hot guy she needs to think about.” the smirk on chris’s face gave away his playful demeanor. you knew he was joking with you two.

“you’re the only guy i think about, baby. don’t worry.” you said as you adjusted his beanie. chris replied by resting his hand in your thigh and placing a kiss on your forehead.

there was a pause in the game where they started playing different commercials and things on the big screen. it was all fun and games until the kiss cam focused on you and nick.

the two of you jokingly went in for a kiss before swerving each other with a laugh. all of a sudden you felt chris’s hand on your chin redirecting your focus to him.

chris rested his hand around your neck in a simple gesture before leaning in to give you a passionate kiss. everyone around cheered for him before the camera focused on another couple.

you gave chris a ‘really’ look with your raised eyebrow. he shrugged before saying, “i had to show all these hockey players that you’re off limits.”

comments:

find you a man who can still make you blush three years in

chat how to find a sexy gf like y/n

sleeping on the highway tonight

what i would give to be in those crowds

taglist: @norr1ssturni0lo @recklessmatt @luvr4miya @hpyjw @unbruisable @watercolorskyy @elliewrites1 @rheaasturn @slxt4matt @mmay4ever @aurizp

#nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #matt sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo fluff #matt sturniolo smut #chris sturniolo smut #sturniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo imagine #chris sturniolo snaps #chrissturniolofanfic #chris sturniolo fluff #chrissturniolo #chris x reader

[senp1i]

Hey I asked for the previous yunjin fic and I have another for a male reader x her it’s like when all of them go to New York reader takes yunjin to his home town of Boston and they have dinner with his parents and after they go back to a hotel in New York and have a bath together then have fluffy sex thank you

It had been a whirlwind few weeks for LE SSERAFIM promoting their latest comeback album all across Asia with their tour ‘FLAME RISES’, And even flying around the States for their abroad schedules. Though the girls were energized seeing their international fans, the grueling schedule was starting to take its toll.

One evening after wrapping up their final work day for the week in New York City, Yunjin collapsed exhausted on one of the couches of her and her members hotel suite.

"I don't know how much more I can take, unnie," she murmured to the leader of Lesserafim,

Kim Chaewon, who patted her back in a way she hoped was soothing, even though she's just as tired, if not more.

As the two groupmates are relaxing on the couch, Yunjin's phone suddenly lit up with a text from her boyfriend Y/N, who had come to several of the group's shows to support his girl.

"Wanna get away for some R&R this weekend? My parent's want to meet you" He wrote.

Yunjin perked up at the thought of seeing Y/N and the chance to recharge. "Unnie, do you think the company would let me take a couple days off if I went with Y/N to visit his family?" She asked Chaewon with pleading puppy eyes.

to which Chaewon smiled knowingly. "I think after this week, you've earned a little break. Let me talk to the managers."

A few hours later, everything was approved. Yunjin excitedly called Y/N to share the good news and make plans to fly out to Boston together the next day to meet his parents.

On the flight, Yunjin dozed contentedly against Y/N's shoulder for the entirety of the hour long flight, already feeling some of her tiredness disappear in her boyfriend’s comforting presence.

Touching down in Boston, Y/N drove quietly as the radio played a random tune while Yunjin finished her nap a little longer. Pulling up outside his family home, Yunjin took a deep breath, suddenly nervous as she walked up to the front door,

But all her worries vanished the moment she was pulled into a warm hug by Y/N's mother,

"Welcome, welcome! It's so nice to finally meet our son's girlfriend. I've heard so much about you!" She says genuinely.

And more into the night over a much needed home-cooked meal, Yunjin charmed Y/N's parents with stories of LE SSERAFIM and her own fun from her opera days. She was touched by their warm hospitality, feeling instantly at ease.

Later, curled up on the sofa, Yunjin sighed contentedly in Y/N's arms. "Thank you for bringing me here babe. This is for real what I needed to recharge."

Y/N pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Anything for you, babe."

But as the night deepened, Yunjin began to feel the effects of her long travels catching up to her. "I think it's time we turned in, what do you say?" Y/N smiled down at her tired form nestled against his chest.

"Mom set you up in the guest room, but you're welcome to bunk with me if you'd like."

Truth be told, the idea of curling up beside Y/N under cozy blankets was far more appealing than sleeping alone.

"I'd like that," Yunjin replied softly. Hand in hand they made their way upstairs, Y/N pointing out family photos, his goofy smiles and random shots along the walls before reaching the door to his childhood bedroom.

The house had a vibe that was uniquely Y/N. Football posters and vinyl's lined the walls, knickknacks all over the place on the shelves.

She smiled to see photos of the two of them mixed with pictures of his past, of him growing up, of him playing and yada yada.

Stepping inside, Yunjin ran her hand along the old, scratched wood of his desk, imagining a younger Y/N hunched over doing homework.

The bed was neatly made, with his favorite colored sheets and 3 pillows, almost inviting her to lay on it.

Y/N watched her explore with adoring eyes, always loving being able to share parts of himself with her. "It's not a lot, but it's home i guess," he says with a shrug and a chuckle.

Yunjin turned to him, cupping his face in her hands. "It tells me so much about the great man my boyfriend is. I feel like I know you even better coming here."

Leaning in, their lips met in a soft kiss filled with care, trust and understanding.

Breaking the kiss reluctantly, Yunjin moved to unpack a few items from her bag as Y/N changed into his sleep clothes.

The familiar routine of her nightly routine brought her comfort. Sliding under the covers, she sighed contentedly as Y/N's arm curled around her slim waist, drawing her close against the solid planes of his body. Their breaths and heartbeats syncing as sleep takes over them from the long journey of the day

Sunlight was filtering through the curtains when Yunjin woke up the next morning. For a moment she was disoriented, not recognizing where she was. Then the memories of the previous day flooded back mixed with a rush of gratitude and happiness.

Rolling over, she saw Y/N still sleeping peacefully beside her. His features soft and slacking in sleep, lips slightly ajar as he snored softly.

Reaching out, Yunjin gently brushed back a lock of hair from his forehead, letting her fingers linger tracing the lines of his cheekbone, the curve of his lips.

Sensing her touch, Y/N began to stir, blinking awake to smile warmly up at her. "Good morning, beautiful," he murmured in a sleep-husky, velvety voice that sent a jolt through her spine.

Leaning in, their lips met in a lazy kiss conveying all the love and affection they felt.

As the kiss deepened, getting sloppier, Yunjin felt the familiar pulls of desire stirring in her abdomen.

It had been too long since they'd fucked, both of their schedules keeping them way too busy.

Y/N seemed to sense her rising horniness, as his hands began to roam with confidence over her curvy body still under the blanket and her sleep clothes.

A soft sigh escaped Yunjin's lips feeling his hands, her body arching into his on its own, wanting more contact.

Y/N took the invitation, flipping himself and her so she was under him, without breaking their kiss.

Through the fabric of her clothes, she could feel his morning wood pressing against her thigh, stirring a fresh wave of horniness in her.

Breaking the kiss breathlessly and swollen, Yunjin looked up at Y/N with lusty eyes. "Fuck me," she said, her own voice raspy.

That was all the initiative Y/N needed as he dunked in kissing her again, tongue sliding through her parted lips as his hands moved in tandem, taking her clothes off.

Yunjin shivered as the cold morning air touched her bare legs, tits and arms, nipples hardening to peaks.

She helped take his own clothes off, eager as fuck to feel his muscles against her.

At last as his boxer got tossed across the room, Yunjin wrapped her legs around his waist, while grabbing his dick and inserting it inside her dripping cunt.

Both moaning at finally joining after so long without sex, Y/N stayed still, blissed out feeling her tight, dripping hole clench his dick so snugly even after taking him a billion times.

Under him, Yunjin squirmed, impatient for him to fuck her stupid. "Please… fucking move," she begged, raking her nails down his back encouragingly.

With a hum in response, Y/N started to rock his hips in a slow, deep pace still a bit hazy having just woken up.

Lost in the feeling, they moved together lazily.

Yunjin met Y/N pump for pump, taking him fully to the hilt and clenching tighter with each thrust. The slapping of his balls hitting her ass mingled with their moans filled his small room.

Y/N began to redouble his efforts, picking up pace as his hips snap powerfully as he chased his and Yunjin's orgasm.

Reaching down, his fingers started rubbing Yunjin's clit in circles. That was all it took to break her, back arching off the mattress as jolts after jolts wracked her body.

Her walls clenching vice-like around Y/N's dick still pounding her into his mattress relentlessly, pulling his own orgasm from him with a groan.

Ropes after ropes of hot semen spurt inside her, painting Yunjin's inner walls white, as he fucked her through the aftershocks together, in a blissed out haze.

Collapsing in a sweaty, tired mess, they took a few moments to catch their breaths.

Yunjin turned her head lazily to press a kiss to Y/N's sweaty shoulder, murmuring lovey dovey shit. And him responding with a lazy dopey smile, eyes crinkling in the corners.

"That was fucking amazing. I missed being with you like this so much," Y/N mumbled sighing, as he ran his fingers up and down Yunjin's side.

She hummed in agreement, snuggling closer against his chest listening to the frantic thumps of his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. His arms encircled her holding her close.

Yunjin stretched luxuriously in the bed against his chest, enjoying the post-sex glow before reality set back in.

Glancing at Y/N beside her, having rolled off, she smiled at his messed up, lazy look. "Not a bad way to start the day, huh?" she teased, tracing idle patterns on his chest, As he chuckles.

But the spell is broken as A knock and his mom's muffled voice reminded them of breakfast waiting, "Kids, you up? Breakfast is ready whenever you are,"

Yunjin's stomach rumbled in agreement. "Food does sound good. And your Mom's cooking is no joke," she whispered to Y/N grinning,

"We'll be down in a bit, mom, thanks!" Y/N called back chuckling as he pats Yunjin's flat stomach after hearing the rumble, before rolling from the bed to begin gathering their clothes.

Over a hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and fruits, Yunjin chatted animatedly with his parents about their plans for the day.

"I was hoping to show Yunjin around some of my favorite spots, maybe catch a Sox game if the timing works out?" Y/N said with a mouthful of pancakes.

His dad grinned. "Take my car, it'll be easier than public transports with your schedule. And here, take some cash - I insist on treating my future daughter-in-law to a nice lunch out." he says passing car keys and some cash to Y/N.

Yunjin ducked her head, cheeks warming at the endearing term, far beyond grateful for the way Y/N's family welcomed her since the start of yesterday to now.

"Thank you so much for your generosity and hospitality Mr. and Mrs L/N," she said with a smile as Y/N's hand found hers under the table, giving her a gentle squeeze.

Once the breakfast came to an end, Yunjin and Y/N set off to explore the city Y/N grew up in.

Their first stop was the harbor, which was filled seagulls and fishing boats, not to mention the crowds of people.

Yunjin leaned over the railing to take it all in, breathing in the sea air, genuinely feeling the refreshment after months of being shut indoors and traveling to buildings, stadiums and back.

"It's so peaceful here," she murmured with a contented sigh.

Y/N slipped his arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her temple. "This is nice huh? I used to come here to…. Think, relax, play, u name it." He says with a slight laugh as he tilts his head and looks at her

Turning in his arms, Yunjin smiled up at her loving boyfriend "Yeah? It really is nice.. Thank you, like really.. you know, for sharing your special places with me." She says, and the response she gets in the smile Y/N gives her more than any word he could’ve said.

And then as the time goes their next stop happens to be walking through the Boston Commons, taking in the leaves and families enjoying their afternoon.

Yunjin spotted a street performer juggling and doing tricks, laughing, she turns to Y/N,

"You'd give him a run for his money," she teased Y/N, who makes a faux hurt face, "puhlease, my juggling skills are elite, thank you very much."

As they continued on, Yunjin spotted a food truck selling crepes. "Ooh, can we try one? I'm starving." She says dramatically,

Making Y/N chuckle, "Sureee, Go pick the flavors." After paying, they stroll around, finding a bench to eat, while feeding each other bites and laughing at the mess they're making.

Yunjin savored these carefree moments away from the pressures of being an idol, the constant scrutiny and the lack of privacy, just enjoying life with the person she loved and adored.

Soon Their afternoon started winding down, with catching the last bit of a Red Sox game from the box seats courtesy of Y/N's dad's connections, and of course Yunjin’s status,

Yunjin cheered alongside the loud and roaring Boston fans, completely entertained by the atmosphere.

As the sun began to set, Y/N drove them to a hole in the wall near the waters.

Over plates of pasta, garlic bread and red wine, they talked about everything and nothing at the same time, laughing and joking like a bunch of tweens.

And after finishing their food, they wandered through the Public Garden, pausing to admire the swans gliding thru the waters. Under one of the trees, with little to no people nearby,

Y/N turns to Yunjin, taking her hands in his, and softly kissing her palm.

"Thank you for coming here with me babe, for letting me share this part of myself, even though you have this insane schedule to follow, " He says with a chuckle,

“I mean it really, I love you” he murmurs, leaning in and kissing her, soft and gentle.

And as the night grew colder they finally, got back in the car and headed home, fingers laced together on top of the console as Y/N drove them back to his childhood home,

but all too soon their little weekend getaway was coming to an end, Y/N and Yunjin’s flight being at midnight to fly back to New York,

Yunjin bids a sad goodbye to Y/N's parents, promising to visit again soon. His mom hugs her tight. "You're always welcome here, sweetheart."

In the car on the way to the airport, Yunjin rests her head on Y/N's shoulder. "Thank you for the best weekend. I really needed this."

Y/N kisses the top of her head. "I'm glad. I'll miss you."

At the airport, they linger in a hug. "I booked a suite at your hotel in New York. Want to come over after we land?" Y/N asks.

Yunjin smiles. "I'd love that."

They fly back to JFK, taking an Uber straight to the hotel.

There, Y/N checks into the lavish suite as Yunjin texts her manager and her members that she'll be with Y/N for the night.

Inside the suite, Yunjin sighs. "This place is amazing." she says, as She wraps her arms around Y/N's waist from behind, resting her head against his back. "Thank you for doing this."

Y/N turns in her arms, caressing her cheek. "You deserve to relax, Want to take a bath?"

In the massive bathroom, Y/N runs warm water into the jacuzzi tub as Yunjin lights candles and dumps bath bombs into it.

They undress slowly, giving each other gentle kisses.

Once Naked, Yunjin sinks into the bubbles, leaning back against Y/N's bare chest with a relaxed hum as his arms wrap around her. "This is perfect," she murmurs.

They soak in silence, Y/N occasionally pressing kisses to Yunjin's neck and shoulders.

His hands slide lazily over her skin, rememorizing her curves.

Yunjin turns her head to meet Y/N's lips in a deep kiss.

His hands move to cup her tits, thumbs teasing her nipples until she's whimpering into his mouth.

"Y/N…" she says his name breathlessly.

She reaches back to grasp his growing dick, stroking him to his full length.

Y/N groans, biting her shoulder gently as his fingers find her clit.

She gasps at the contact, grinding into his hand and pushing back against his hard on. "Please, I need you inside me…"

Y/N lifts her wihtout a sweat out of the tub, laying her on the plush bathmat.

He settles between her thighs, kissing down her body lazily until his tongue replaces his thumb, lapping at her slcik pussy lips.

Yunjin cries out, raking her fingers through his hair to hold him against her as the tension coils tighter.

When she orgasms, her back arches off the tiles, Y/N laps up her nectar like a starving man.

Once her orgasm subsides, Y/N positions himself at her pussy.

"Look at me," he murmurs, pushing in slowly inch by inch until he's fully sheathed.

Yunjin moans at the fullness, locking eyes with Y/N's dark gaze. "You feel so good daddy," she whimpers, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Y/N sets a deep, lazy pace.

Balls slapping against her ass as their breaths mingle in between their kisses. Yunjin runs her nails down his back, urging him faster.

He hooks her leg over his shoulder for a new angle, immediately finding her g-spot inside her that makes colors burst behind her eyelids.

"There, don't stop, Y/N!" she screams,

Her walls start fluttering around him as another orgasm starts building.

Y/N pounds into her relentlessly, chasing his own release.

"cum for me," he rumbles in her ear, "Cum for daddy jen" he says shattering her with a squeaky moan,

The grip of her walls draw Y/N's orgasm from him and he spills spurts of semen inside her with a groan.

They lay on the bathmat still connected as their frantic heartbeats slow down, sharing lazy kisses.

Y/N brushes the damp hair from Yunjin's forehead. "You're so fucking pretty."

She smiles in response, scratching his cheek softly, "That was perfect, baby"

After finally getting off the floor and dressing into the plush robes, Y/N orders a feast of food from the room service - sushi, steak, pasta, sweets, champagne, you name it.

They feed each other bites between kisses, playfully stealing food from each other's plates.

Later, curled half naked on bed with the remains of their meal, Yunjin traces patterns on Y/N's chest. "I don't want this night to end," she murmurs sadly.

Y/N presses a kiss to her forehead, smirking "One more round before sleep?"

Yunjin grins, straddling his hips. She takes him in her hand, stroking his flaccid dick to its full length ,

Before sinking down slowly as they moan in unison. Bracing her hands on his chest, she sets a steady rhythm, eyes closed.

Under her, Y/N watches her ride him, his hands roam her curves, rubbing and pinching her nipples.

When he feels her walls start fluttering around him, Y/N sits up to take one nipple in his mouth.

His suckling sends Yunjin over the edge for the third time this night with a cry, walls clenching down on him.

With a pleased hum, Y/N starts bouncing her on his dick holding her hips before following her over the edge.

As his dick grows soft again, Yunjin collapses against his chest as they kiss through eachothers aftershocks.

Y/N lays down onto the pillows, Yunjin still on him as he pulls the blankets over their tired, sweaty bodies.

"I love you so much," he whispers, nuzzling her neck.

Yunjin's eyes are already shut as she sighs contentedly. "Love you too."

In each other's arms, surrounded by the mixed heady scents of their orgasms and sweat, they slip into a nice, much needed sleep.

a- honestly how the fuck do people write so many words? jesus this took me two whole weeks, well in my defense i barely got time to write each day cause of training but holy hell, this is like w/c: 3300 maybe, anyway, i hope you enjoy man and reqs are open but i doubt i'll post consecutively

#kpop smut #kpop fanfic #reader insert #idol x male reader #idol x reader #lesserafim smut #yunjin smut #male reader #kpop #kpop fanfic male reader #female idol smut #girl group smut #kpop gg smut #Yunjin #HuhYunjin #jennifer huh #huh yunjin #Yunjin smut #le sserafim #Le sserafim smut #Male reader

[28mindgames]

Faith In The Future World Tour 23/24: Graphic Tees

Gilford (Marni + Carhartt WIP) - Sterling Heights (1017 ALYX 9SM) - Kansas City (Raf Simons) - Vancouver (Ksubi) - Berkeley (ERL) - Las Vegas (Palace) - Irving (DEVÁ STATES) - Atlanta (Casablanca) - Raleigh (Paul Smith) - Boston N2 (Andersson Bell) - Asbury Park (Maison MIHARA YASUHIRO) - Lisbon (C.P Company) - Barcelona (Moncler) - Prague (Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons) - Glasgow (Palace) - Birmingham (Burberry)

source: @fashionlouist

#lt fashion #fitfwt #louis tomlinson #28mindgames

[cartermagazine]

Today In History

An impresario in the broadest and most creative sense of the word, Quincy Jones’ career has encompassed the roles of composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, television producer, record company executive, magazine founder and multi-media entrepreneur. As a master inventor of musical hybrids, he has shuffled pop, soul, hip-hop, jazz, classical, African and Brazilian music into many dazzling fusions, traversing virtually every medium, including records, live performance, movies and television.

Quincy Jones was born on March 14, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois, and brought up in Seattle, Washington. His musical studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, afforded him the opportunity to tour with Lionel Hampton’s band as a trumpeter, arranger and sometime-pianist.

He moved to New York in 1951, where his reputation as an arranger grew. By the mid-1950s, he was arranging and recording for such diverse artists as Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Dinah Washington.

Celebrating more than fifty years performing and being involved in music, Jones’ creative magic has spanned over six decades, beginning with the music of the post-swing era and continuing through today’s high-technology, international multi-media hybrids.

Jones has 28 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, producer of the album Thriller, by the king of pop Michael Jackson and as the producer and conductor of the charity song “We Are the World.

CARTER™️ Magazine

#quincy jones #carter magazine #carter #historyandhiphop365 #wherehistoryandhiphopmeet #history #cartermagazine #today in history #staywoke #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth

[jazminrhode1]

Hi hi hi could you pls write something abt where the reader fell for Matt or Chris more than they did and they were friends but now they're break up? I hope that makes sense!

I Could Never Hate You Matt Sturniolo x Reader One Shot

Summary: Matt thinks you're better off as friends.

Word Count: 1019 words

Things were different between you and Matt since he got back from Boston.

You had been dating for 2 years and you had planned your future around him. He was everything that you had been looking for and you couldn’t imagine loving anyone else but him. Things felt off before he left but, he promised that you’d talk it out when he got back.

You didn’t hear from him as much as you usually did when he was away but, you thought it was just because he was spending time with him family. You had every intention to fix things when he got back but, you were starting to feel like he didn’t want too.

He had invited you over to the house and you were going to spend the day together. Your excitement was hindered by a lingering feeling that he was going to tell you it was over. You couldn’t explain it but, you had an instinct for these kinds of things.

When he greeted you with a kiss it felt so distant that it left a giant chasm in your chest. Nick and Chris said hello and then disappear to their rooms like you were a friend of their parents they didn’t want to see.

You and Matt headed out for lunch like you always did. He keeping rubbing his hands together like he was cold to avoid holding yours. You both avoided eye contact and barely uttered a word between you.

As you looked out the window of your way toward the beach, you tried to pin point where it all went wrong. It all seemed so trivial, you couldn’t being to understand what would have turned him off you. Your heart tightened in your chest as you tried to hold your tears back. Maybe you were reading too much into this. Maybe the honeymoon phase was just coming to an end.

When you got to the restaurant, he still opened the car door for you and pulled your chair out at the table. He still told you that you looked nice and asked if the food was ok. He still played the part even though you had convinced yourself he didn’t want to.

He told you about Boston and about the tour he’d been on since March. He lit up when he spoke about the people he got to meet along the way. He even said that he wished you had gone with him. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

He asked about your friends and you family back in Florida. He even went to see them when he first got to Orlando. He was excited when you told him about your new promotion at work and even asked if you what you plans were for the fall. 

Over lunch you convinced yourself that you just hadn’t seen him in a long time and you were reading too much into it. He wouldn’t have been here if he didn’t want to be, right?

You tried to get out of your head and enjoy his company. You wanted to ask what he was thinking but, this wasn’t the time or the place. All you wanted to know was where you stood and he wasn’t giving you anything.

As you both waited for the bill to come, the small talk was unbearable. You reached for his hand across the table, a small gesture of connection but, he pulled it away. 

The silence was so loud. Your heart on the verge of breaking. In that moment you knew it was over. You had held onto everyword he said like your life depended on it and here he was cutting your lifeline.

You saw the sadness in his eyes as he gave his card to the waiter. “I’ll be at the car,” you whispered hoarsely as you got up to leave.

It felt like an eternity before he emerged from the restaurant. As you climbed into the passenger seat, you kept your head facing forward. You couldn’t look at him, you didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

“Y/n,” he started, turning to face you, “Please look at me.” You couldn’t.

“It’s not you,” he said. You couldn’t help but, laugh as tears rolled down your cheeks.

“Is there someone else?” you asked. “No,” he assured, “but we’ve barely spoked in three months.”

“I love you… But, I just think that we’re better off as friends,” he explained.

He finally tipped your heart over the edge and shattered it into pieces. Not only was he breaking up with you but, you realised that your absence clearly had no affect on his life. You couldn’t help but think that your presence had no meaning either.

You sat in silence for the rest of the drive. You wanted to berate him but, you couldn’t do that to someone you loved. 

And, you still did love him. He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t have to love you and you didn’t want to beg him to. He couldn’t see a future and you had to let him go.

When he pulled up behind your car parked outside of his house, he got out and opened your door. As you slipped past him and headed to your drivers side, he grabbed your wrist and spun you back round to him.

On a different day he would have kissed but, instead he said, “I’m sorry, Y/n… I really am.”

You forced a smile despite your red, puffy eyes and said, “I guess I always knew this day would come.”

He looked at you, confused. “I always loved you so much more than you loved me. You were my best friend and I forced you to love me and in doing that I ruined everything.”

“That’s not true… God, I never wanted you to hate me,” Matt said with tears welling in his eyes.

“It’s ok, Matt,” you said, “I was delusional to think that you would fall for me like I fell for you. And, I was crazy to think that we were made for each other. But, I will never hate you. How could I?”

#Matt #matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #matthew bernard sturniolo #the sturniolo triplets x reader #matt sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo imagine #matthew sturniolo imagine #sturniolo #Chris #Chris sturniolo #Christopher sturniolo #Christopher Owen sturniolo #Chris sturniolo x reader #Christopher sturniolo x reader #Chris sturniolo imagine #Christopher sturniolo imagine #Nick #Nick sturniolo #Nicolas sturniolo #Nicolas Antonio sturniolo #Nick sturniolo x reader #Nicolas sturniolo x reader #Nick sturniolo imagine #Nicolas sturniolo imagine #nick sturniolo fan fic #chris sturniolo fan fic #matt sturniolo fan fic

[irisbleufic]

> Have trip to Boston, MA planned for May 31 - June 3 to see one of the preview performances of Florence Welch’s GATSBY musical premiere at American Repertory Theater on June 1.

> Having seen the touring company of Beetlejuice in Albuquerque, NM a mere week ago, musingly say, “I wonder where the tour is going next…”

> Look that shit up on a lark, find out they will be doing performances in Hartford, CT the same fucking weekend you’re already in New England anyway.

> Book round trip Peter Pan bus tickets Boston - Hartford and Beetlejuice tickets for June 2, day after GATSBY.

> Realize you will not sleep all weekend, do not even give AF.

#the great gatsby #gatsby #beetlejuice #beetlejuice the musical #live theater junkies unite

[fitf-ducks]

The Ducks of the FITF Tour.

John Delf the sound engineer of the Louis Tomlinson tour started to put in the sound booth rubber ducks that fans gave him to keep him company, and this collection got big this US & Canada leg. So here is the story (that nobody ask for) of how this family of ducks started and growth.

[Disclaimer: I'm aware this could sound like a dumb post to make but i have fun making it and wanted to share what fans created. Also some of this photos and edits are potato quality so sorry in advanced if you don't see very well the details.]

-The Duck family started with the green duck, who was first spotted at the Cuyahoga Falls show (01.06.23) [duck count: 1].

-After that the green duck was spotted in John's photos in different shows, however at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin show (13.06.23) five new friends join in (pink, black, blue, yellow and red ducks), the green duck wasn't alone anymore [duck count: 6].

-The rainbow ducks were spotted in different shows until the Berkley, California show(29.06.23) where a new family member join in: The capitan duck with an anchor [duck count: 7].

-The seven ducks were spotted in LA, Las Vegas, Phoenix but in Irving, Texas show (06.07.23) three new members join in [duck count:10].

In the upper photo we see: the space polka dot duck, the disco duck and the duck the duck with green hair/hat.

-In the Austin, Texas show (07.07.23) two new members were add it: the FITF duck and the futbol duck [duck count: 12].

-The next show that a new family member was added it was in Hollywood Florida (13.07.23), where 1 more join in: the duck chileno [duck count: 13].

-In the Tampa, Florida show (14.07.23) the duck family got bigger with 6 Louis ducks plus a green turtle [duck count: 19+1 turtle].

In the upper photo we see (Louis in Gilford duck, Louis in Cuyahoga Falls duck,Louis in Columbus duck, Louis with 28 clothing white hoodie duck,Louis in Seattle duck and Louis Troutdale duck) and the green turtle.

If you forgot about those outfits here is a reminder:

-In the Atlanta, Georgia show (15.07.23) two new members join: the second duck chileno and the soccer ball duck [duck count: 21 + 1 turtle].

-In the Nashville show (18.07.21) six members join in [duck count: 27 + 1 turtle].

In the upper photo we see: princess duck, angel duck, green with blue glasses duck (later shows it ends up with black glasses),bracelet-flying helmet duck,big red duck, fitf album cover duck.

-In the Charlotte show (19.07.23) in the day the 28 member was add it, the cowboy duck with a pink floatie, at night two more join in Louis in Nashville duck and Louis in Atlanta duck [duck count: 30+ 1 turtle].

Checking this post and this other post and what John posted of other show, for the position of the ducks,the Nashville and Atlanta duck have a penguin on their butt so they can look more like the original Louis(they also have blue eyes like Louis).

I know the quality is not the best but you can see the form of the outfits (Atlanta outfit on the left and Nashville outfit on the right):

-In the Raleigh show (21.07.23), were add it 14 members to the duck family [duck count: 44+ 1 turtle].

In the upper photo we see: 5 long hair neon rainbow light ducks, john delf duck, baby purple duck, duck with blue shirt, North Caroline duck, middle finger duck, black stripes duck, yellow duck with a sparkly shirt and lastly duck unicorn twins.

-In the Columbia show (23.07.23), 16 ducks join the family [duck count: 60+ 1 turtle].

In the upper photo are: triplets soccer ball ducks, clown duck (fandom representation), duck blue shirt, duck with green shirt, sparkly triplets ducks (golden, red, gray ), DIY duck, pilot duck with floatie, mystery red duck (I can't see how it looks), duck with black hat, superman duck, transparent duck, red rocket duck.

-In the Boston night 1 show (24.07.23) we got 2 more ducks and an octopus stuffed animal ?.[duck count: 62+ 1 turtle+1 octopus]

In the upper photo we see High in California duck, soldier duck and cute octopus.

-In the Boston night 2 show (25.07.23), the photos share for this are really dark and I really can't see a lot, for the form and future show post I figure which were the new ones (maybe I could have miss something), in this show were add it 4 new ducks.[duck count: 66+ 1 turtle+1 octopus]

In the upper photo we see writing duck, gray necklace duck, Boston duck and weed duck.

-In the Philadelphia show (27.07.23), the photo is really dark and even edited the quality is not the best, but in this show the rest of the ducks weren't showcase in the photo we only see the new 7 ducks [duck count: 73+ 1 turtle+1 octopus].

In the upper photo we see red duck with a quiff, Luigui the italian duck, punk purple duck, soccer dress duck, blue duck (this is a new one besides the other blue)white duck and astronaut duck.

-In the Asbury Park, New Jersey show (28.07.23) we only see the 4 new duck that join the family [duck count: 77+ 1 turtle+1 octopus].

In the upper photo we see yellow Louis duck, Tomlinson duck, O.R.F.C and beaded blue duck.

-In NYC (29.07.23) in the day we got a video that share the collection and were add it 2 new ducks (maybe john got them after taking the pic of Ausbury) [duck count: 79 + 1 turtle + 1 octopus] .

My edit is awful and I have to put some photos on top so you can see all of them. Anyway in the image we see duck with glasses and mini yellow duck.

-Same day at night more ducks were add it. This is the last one and the most hard to figure it out because of the picture, I probably miss something but this is what I could notice, in the NYC show (29.07.23) 7 ducks join the family [duck count: 86+ 1 turtle+1 octopus].

In the upper photo we see duck shark, crochet duck, hidden duck, darker unknown duck, sparkly big green duck, yellow duck with something in their back and helmet duck.

Just like this collection got out of control, this post as well, If you have links of the story of fans who give ducks or better photos or name suggestions for the ducks please share it with me.

I have the same post on twitter in english and español if you want to share it over there. I'm hoping fans that gift ducks see it and could tag me in better photos so please reblog and retweet.

In the European leg tour John doesn't show the new ducks in all shows and the photos are really dark with not a lot of close ups but I will try to do another recap.

#ducks of the fitf tour #rubber duck #john delf #rubber ducks #fitfwt #fitf tour #fitf world tour #keeping up with the ducks #louistomlinson #louis tomlinson

[runnning-outof-time]

More than Material | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: yes by anonymous

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: (Y/N) tries to get Tommy to understand that she doesn't need so many material things, and that instead she needs him. Tommy doesn't quite know how to take that.

Warnings: smoking, language, sexual situations (PG-13 rated)

Word Count: 3126

A/N: this was a fun one to write. I hope it doesn’t feel rushed to y’all. Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! - YOUR COMMENTS & REBLOGS HELP ME WRITE!

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in stories similar to this!

To say that (Y/N)'s life did a complete 180 is an understatement. How does a young woman go from barely having any money to her name and working tireless hours as a schoolteacher in the dirty city of Small Heath to living a lavish lifestyle in an estate with an entire staff ready to wait on her? The short answer: Tommy Shelby.

(Y/N) (Y/L/N) and Tommy Shelby first met when the blue-eyed businessman came to her school with the intention of making a charitable donation. The headmaster tasked (Y/N) with giving him a tour of the grounds and allowing him to get a better idea of what their school did for the community.

She thought it would just be a one and done deal, but she arrived at her classroom the next day to find a Shelby Company Ltd. business card sitting on her desk. Written on the back of it was: meet me here @ 6.

'Here' meant the address of the Shelby's home base for their operations; the betting shop on Watery Lane. (Y/N) had heard about their company before. She knew who the Peaky Blinders were and what they did amongst the community. And she was intrigued. So she accepted his invitation and went where he told her to. Upon arriving, she found him waiting outside for her.

They went to the Garrison, where they shared a dinner. To her surprise, Tommy was a rather interesting man to talk to. He promised her that if she was interested, their next dinner would be somewhere more classy, and he didn't disappoint. The following weekend, they wined and dined at The Ritz in London, and from then on, (Y/N) was hooked.

Things between them quickly moved from sharing a dinner table to sharing a bed, and within a month of the couple seeing each other, (Y/N) agreed to move in with him in Arrow House. Now she lived in the mansion on the beautiful grounds alongside Tommy and his three year old son, Charlie, who was a polite, young boy. She still decided to keep her job though, she just had to transfer to a school that was closer to her new home.

As time went on, (Y/N) learned more about the Shelby family and the business that it had been tied into. She quickly realized that all of its members, save for Ada, who was in Boston, and Finn, who stayed in Small Heath, had just recently been released from prison and essentially wanted nothing to do with Tommy. She didn't know the exact reason as to why this was the case, but she was able to see the tension rise within him whenever someone spoke about them, so she decided not to bring the topic up. Tommy seemed to be ok with it just being the three of them living at Arrow House. She figured that the relationships would be repaired in due time.

Another thing she noticed pretty quickly with Tommy was that he enjoyed buying her things. Whether it was bringing something home with him from his business trips, or having things custom-made and delivered to the house, the train of gifts seemed to be endless.

(Y/N) still remembered the first time that Tommy bought her something. She was sitting in the front room of the house when his car pulled up outside. She waited to hear Mary greet him, and a smile formed on her face as she heard his footsteps approaching the room she was in.

"Welcome home, Tommy," she greeted him with a smile as he walked through the doorway.

"Hi, love," he smiled back at her as he walked over to where she was sitting. She twisted her neck and craned it upwards so that she could meet him in the middle and accept the kiss that he gave her before she allowed him to sit on the section of couch that was open next to her. "How've you been?" he asked her once he was sitting.

"I've been well. I missed you, but I managed. There's just so much to do around here; getting the property ready for spring and whatnot," she told him about what she'd busied herself with while he was away.

"Sounds like you had your hands full," he mused as he glanced over at her.

(Y/N) laughed slightly at his statement, "I'm sure it was nothing compared to what you were faced with on your trip," she brushed off his words.

"The trip was only business," he shook his head, his way of waving off her statement.

"Polly called while you were away..." (Y/N) trailed off, switching the topic hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Tommy hummed, now focused on lighting the cigarette that he'd just placed between his lips.

"She wanted to hear how Charles was doing. I offered for her to come over and see him, but she declined," she gave him more information on the call that had happened.

"She only calls when she knows I'm away," Tommy commented, an indiscernible emotion laced into his words. (Y/N) sent him a knowing look. A few beats of silence passed before Tommy cleared his throat and moved in his seat so that he was turned and slightly facing (Y/N). "I've got something to show you," he started, talking with the cigarette between his lips as he fished something out of his suit jacket's pocket.

(Y/N) was intrigued by his statement. She turned herself so that she was completely facing Tommy, a smile on her face as she waited intently for what he had to show her. It took him a few moments, but eventually he had what looked to be a thin, rectangular box in his hands. "What is it?" she asked, the anticipation getting to be too much.

"Open it," he instructed her, a lazy grin on his lips as he held the box out in her direction.

(Y/N) did as she was told, opening the box to show a diamond line bracelet that shimmered from the lights in the room. "Oh wow, this is beautiful, Tommy," she commented with a slight gasp, "Polly's really gonna like it."

Tommy gave her a bit of a confused look, "'s not for Polly, love. It's for you," he corrected her, making her look up at him with a wide-eyed expression that made him chuckle. She didn't know why she mentioned his aunt; it must've been the first thing on her mind.

"For me?" she asked, in shock now.

"Yes," Tommy nodded, taking the bracelet out of its confines then, "give me your hand," he said with a grin and she did. She laughed at her now shaking hand as she held it out in the space between them so that he'd be able to hook the bracelet around her wrist.

"Wow, Tommy," she said in awe once it was hooked on. It fit perfectly and was really sparkling now. "This must've cost a fortune. You really didn't need to buy it for me," she continued as she then looked up at him.

"You deserve it...for putting up with my shit and all," he brushed her statement off, a grin forming on his lips. "You like it?" he asked her then.

"Like it?" she looked at him incredulously as her smile widened, "I absolutely love it," she said, then leaning in to kiss his lips. He caught her chin with his hand and kept her there, kissing her once more before they pulled away and he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm happy to hear that," he grinned at her, his eyes hooked onto hers from where they were inches away.

"Thank you, Tommy," she whispered, "I don't know how I could repay you."

"There's no need," he told her, stroking her chin once more.

A bit of a grin started to form on her face then, "surely there must be some way that I can," she said, and Tommy caught her tone change. It made him chuckle as he allowed her to move over so that she was now sitting on his lap. "Can you think of anything?" she asked him in a sultry whisper as she then lowered her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

The gifts didn't end there though. After the bracelet came matching earrings and a necklace; all for the reason of her just being there and putting up with him. Then the gifts started getting bigger.

(Y/N) was in the process of changing from her day's clothes to her nightgown when the door to the bedroom opened. She jumped slightly but then relaxed when she noticed that it was Tommy. "Close your eyes, love," he instructed as he moved closer to her.

"Why am I doing this?" she asked him with a smile as she did what she was told. She was able to feel him stop in front of her.

"Gimme your hands," he gave her another instruction and she listened, holding her hands out in front of her. Immediately, there was something that held weight resting against her arms. "Open your eyes," he told her and she did, her gaze dropping to see that a garment bag was now resting against her forearms.

"What's this?" she questioned curiously as she looked between him and the bag.

"Open it," he told her, a grin forming on his face as she moved over to the bed so that she could lay it there and move the zipper from the top to the bottom.

A beautiful, emerald colored gown was revealed when she pulled the folds of the bag back. The sight of it nearly took her breath away. "What is this for, Tommy?" she asked, her mouth gaped slightly as she turned to look at him.

"Take it out," he ignored her question, nodding his head to the garment. (Y/N) turned again and pulled the piece from the confines of the bag.

"My goodness..." she breathed in awe as she took in the entirety of the floor-length ball gown that was made of the most regal material she'd seen in her life.

"You like it?" Tommy asked from behind her, making her turn to look at him with the dress still in her hands.

"It's beautiful, Tommy," she agreed with him, glancing between him and the dress once more. "Why did you buy it?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I bought it because I thought you'd look fucking gorgeous in it," he answered her with a grin, her cheeks heating up just at his words.

"Should I go try it on?" she queried, looking at him with excited eyes.

"Go on," Tommy nodded his head and she quickly made her way over to the dressing screen in the corner of the room.

Soon enough, she had the garment on and came out to show him. "How does it look?" she asked as she did a twirl while looking in the mirror. She felt like a princess with it on.

"Fucking perfect," Tommy answered, a grin on his face as he drank her in. She then stopped her twirling and locked her eyes with his before moving slowly over to where he was standing. "Just like I thought you would," he finished his previous statement in a softer voice as he hooked his hands around the small of her back and held her close to him.

"Thanks for this, Tommy," she said, her hands settling on his shoulders as he swayed her gently to imaginary music, "even though I don't think I deserve it."

"Of course you deserve it," Tommy dispelled her doubts, shaking his head before he dropped his lips onto hers.

As the months went on, the amount of gifts that (Y/N) received from Tommy stayed steady. The only thing that changed was how he'd present them to her. It went from him making a big spectacle about the newest thing he'd gotten her to him mentioning that he'd bought it for her as he placed whatever it was into her hands or lap. He'd be leaving the room before she could even thank him for the present.

She was sitting at her vanity in the master bedroom when Tommy entered. She glanced up and saw him walking over in the mirror, so she decided to stay quiet until he reached her.

"I got this for you," he said, his hand coming around in front of her to show a red velvet, rectangular box. She opened it without a reaction, moving through the motions of opening it like clockwork to show a golden necklace with a diamond pendant in the middle. "Thought you'd look good in it," he continued, his voice rather monotoned in nature.

He was still holding the box, and before he could move to set it on the vanity and walk away, (Y/N) grabbed onto his forearm. "Why do you buy me all of these gifts, Tommy?" she questioned as she turned and looked up at him.

"Cuz I thought you'd like them," he answered, his voice still flat.

"You need to stop."

"What?" his brows were furrowed now because he hadn't expected such a statement to come from her.

"You need to stop buying me these gifts just to buy them for me; just because you think I'd like them," (Y/N) explained herself more in depth as she kept her eyes hooked onto his, her hand still holding a slight pressure on his forearm.

"Why? I thought you like them?" he questioned, still taken back by her statement.

"Because it's too much, Tom. All of these gifts are getting to be too much for me," she told him, taking a deep breath as she stood from the bench seat so that she was now standing in front of him. "They're too much and I don't need them...I already have everything I need in you," she spoke in a sincere voice, her hand slipping down his forearm so that she could link her fingers with his.

Tommy didn't say anything at first. He stood with his brows furrowed as he tried to wrap his head around what she'd just told him. "You...you don't like the gifts I've been giving you?" he finally asked, making his confusion evident now.

(Y/N) shook her head slightly. "No, I didn't mean it in that sense. I appreciate everything that you give me, it's just....I don't need them to be happy," she tried to stress her point, "all I need to be happy is you, Tommy."

"I...I don't think that giving myself would be enough for you, love," he told her, his words sounding unsure. (Y/N) frowned slightly as she heard what he had to say.

"You are enough. My love for you is more than material...I fell in love with the person I met and came to know before you started giving me all those fancy things," she spoke with sincerity as she kept her eyes hooked onto his, "and I'll stay here with you if you stop giving me those material things, because what I enjoy the most about this; about us, is the things only you can give me. Like the way you hold me," she paused, taking hold of his hands and manually hooking them around her waist. Tommy took the hint and kept them fastened there after she released her grip from him. "The way you look at me," she continued, her hands now moving up to take hold of his cheeks so that their gaze could be locked on each other. "And the way that you kiss me..." she trailed off again, placing a kiss to the corner of his lips. She pulled away just enough so that she could look him in the eyes again. "Kiss me, Tommy," she whispered, and that was enough for him to make his move. His lips pressed to hers in a passionate kiss that just about swept her off of her feet.

She let a satisfied moan vibrate against his lips, the sound of it egging Tommy on as he moved his hands up from the swell of her hips to the top of her back. There, he fumbled with the buttons of her dress for a moment before undoing them so that the garment now hung slack on her shoulders. His deft hands wasted no time in sliding the material down her arms, and she dropped her hands from his face so that she could let it drop completely; the dress now only hugging onto her hips. "I love when you do this to me," she breathed against his lips, "...so much better than any gift you could give me."

Her words only spurred him on more, and he wasted no time in blindly moving her over to their bed, allowing her to fall back onto it before he hovered over her. "You love this?" he questioned her, his eyebrows raised slightly as a grin teetered on his lips.

"Yes," she breathed in between the kisses he was giving her, "god, yes." She then reached up to undo his waistcoat, and he shrugged it off his shoulders and sat it on the side of the bed before she quickly continued with pulling the suspenders off of his shoulders so that she could get to work on unbuttoning and taking the dress shirt off of his body. She'd just finished with the last button and was about to take the material off of his broad shoulders when he leaned down and pressed his lips to the valley of her neck.

“You’d rather this?” he asked in between his kisses.

"Yes, Tommy," she whined, wanting nothing more than to feel his bare skin against her. He hummed against her neck, which only served her to become more antsy for what was to come. "Take your fucking shirt off, Tommy," she finally ordered him, making him chuckle against her skin before he pulled away and did what she asked him to.

Quickly, the button down and undershirt came off of his torso, and (Y/N) happily reached up and grabbed hold of his neck, bringing his chest flush against hers. Their lips met again, and their kisses became fervent as they scrambled to rid themselves of the last pieces of clothings separating one body from the other.

And sure, the gifts didn’t stop after that day, but they became more scarce in nature, which (Y/N) really appreciated. Instead of the material items, Tommy made sure to spend his time loving on his woman, because (Y/N) found that to be the greatest gift of all.

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts @magicalxdaydream @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @easilyobessedbutflighty @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole

MASTERLIST

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby imagine #peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic

[lady-jane-asher]

April 5th 2024, happy beloved 78th birthday to the one and only Jane! She’s been my inspiration for around 12 years since I first discovered about her. It’s been a wonderful journey getting to share new pictures I find, my scans, colourisations and accurate information in regards of the pictures I found. May I be able to meet her one day. 🤍

This post will be divided in two, as the picture shown was used for two different newspapers that I scanned therefore the subtle mark on the photos. And you might have seen the photos with my old username so I am sharing them with the new one!

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967.

First picture is my edition and enhancement from historical picture auction scan, second one is my scan from the newspaper, and third one is the scan of the newspaper.

Jane Asher-More Than a Beatle's Bird

In cities all across the U.S. this spring Beatle fans are swarming to a touring production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet staged by the Bristol Old Vic Company. When Juliet appears on stage for the first time the reaction is almost always the same. Applause thunders through the theater. Flash bulbs pop—electrifying the scene like summer lightning. At the end of the play young girls scream the name of the actress who plays Juliet: "Jane Asher! Jane Asher!" This is the girl they have come to see. To a Beatle fan Jane Asher's romance is even more exciting than the story of Romeo and Juliet. Jane Asher, in case you haven't heard, is the girl friend of Paul McCartney-the last unmarried Beatle.

An Interview With Jane

To find out what kind of girl dates a Beatle and also has enough talent to

perform in one of England's most respected theatre groups, CURRENT EVENTS Editor Nancy Malone talked to Jane Asher in New York City. The 20-year-old actress seemed puzzled when asked why teen-age girls scream for her. "I don't really know," she said “and I don’t think they’re quite sure themselves. Once they’re with me, they seem a little lost and aren’t sure what to do or say”.

Miss Asher, in contrast to her fans, is not at all confused. She is looking the forward to a successful career in the theatre—on her own merit, not because of her friendship with a Beatle. The actress with the golden-red hair is well on her way to stardom. Her portrayal of Juliet with England’s Bristol Old Vic company has been highly praised. The company is nearing the end of 16-city american tour, which began in Boston last January. After appearances next month in Bloomington, Ind., Detroit, and Cleveland, the company will perform at expo 67 in Montreal. Then the actors and actresses will retur to England.

Does Jane Asher hope to do more Shakespeare? "Oh, yes." she said, “I'd like to do all the Shakespearean heroines-especially Lady Macbeth. But I'd also like to do modern comedy. I wouldn't like ever to stick to just one thing. For example, I don't want to do all movies or all stage. Though if I had to choose, I'd choose stage. I like having a live audience.

Movie Fame Unimportant

"I know you can become more famous by being in movies,", Jane said. "but I've had a taste of that kind of glamor, and I know I don't want it. I want to be a good actress." Jane, who has been acting since she was five years old, comes from a show business family. Her brother, Peter Asher, has toured the U.S. several times. He makes up one-half of the popular singing duo Peter and Gordon.

But Jane hesitates to encourage outer young people to become entertainers. "It's really not the glamorous life people imagine. It's hard work with rehearsals all day and shows every night. And when you come right down to it, acting is really only pretending you're something else on stage." Although Jane made several films during her childhood, she attended regular m schools—not acting schools for m professionals. "I'm glad I got a normal education," she said. "I think it gave me a more balanced view of life. In addition to several Shakespearean roles, Jane has played Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Wendy in Peter Pan, and Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. Juliet, however, is the highlight of her career.

Jane and the Bard

She is particularly delighted that she is helping to acquaint American teenagers with Shakespeare. She commented on her own attitude as a 13-year-old: "I suppose I felt as all English schoolchildren do-that Shakespeare was pretty dull stuff with lots of language I didn't understand. I know I wasn't mad about it." Now, at 20, she believes that Shakespeare wrote "the greatest roles in the world." She added: "On this tour, I've gotten a lot of mail and it has meant a great deal to me. Some of the letters from kids say “We came to see you. We were so surprised. We really liked the play.” “That’s great. That’s a real accomplishment to me —as an actress”.

#jane asher #the beatles #60s #beatles girls #actress #lady jane asher #something about jane asher #model #beatles women #1967 #romeo and juliet #redhead #red hair #vintage #1960s

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Humans are not perfectly vigilant

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroe (Apr 11), then PROVIDENCE (Apr 12), and beyond!

Here's a fun AI story: a security researcher noticed that large companies' AI-authored source-code repeatedly referenced a nonexistent library (an AI "hallucination"), so he created a (defanged) malicious library with that name and uploaded it, and thousands of developers automatically downloaded and incorporated it as they compiled the code:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ai_bots_hallucinate_software_packages/

These "hallucinations" are a stubbornly persistent feature of large language models, because these models only give the illusion of understanding; in reality, they are just sophisticated forms of autocomplete, drawing on huge databases to make shrewd (but reliably fallible) guesses about which word comes next:

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922

Guessing the next word without understanding the meaning of the resulting sentence makes unsupervised LLMs unsuitable for high-stakes tasks. The whole AI bubble is based on convincing investors that one or more of the following is true:

There are low-stakes, high-value tasks that will recoup the massive costs of AI training and operation;

There are high-stakes, high-value tasks that can be made cheaper by adding an AI to a human operator;

Adding more training data to an AI will make it stop hallucinating, so that it can take over high-stakes, high-value tasks without a "human in the loop."

These are dubious propositions. There's a universe of low-stakes, low-value tasks – political disinformation, spam, fraud, academic cheating, nonconsensual porn, dialog for video-game NPCs – but none of them seem likely to generate enough revenue for AI companies to justify the billions spent on models, nor the trillions in valuation attributed to AI companies:

https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/

The proposition that increasing training data will decrease hallucinations is hotly contested among AI practitioners. I confess that I don't know enough about AI to evaluate opposing sides' claims, but even if you stipulate that adding lots of human-generated training data will make the software a better guesser, there's a serious problem. All those low-value, low-stakes applications are flooding the internet with botshit. After all, the one thing AI is unarguably very good at is producing bullshit at scale. As the web becomes an anaerobic lagoon for botshit, the quantum of human-generated "content" in any internet core sample is dwindling to homeopathic levels:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/14/inhuman-centipede/#enshittibottification

This means that adding another order of magnitude more training data to AI won't just add massive computational expense – the data will be many orders of magnitude more expensive to acquire, even without factoring in the additional liability arising from new legal theories about scraping:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

That leaves us with "humans in the loop" – the idea that an AI's business model is selling software to businesses that will pair it with human operators who will closely scrutinize the code's guesses. There's a version of this that sounds plausible – the one in which the human operator is in charge, and the AI acts as an eternally vigilant "sanity check" on the human's activities.

For example, my car has a system that notices when I activate my blinker while there's another car in my blind-spot. I'm pretty consistent about checking my blind spot, but I'm also a fallible human and there've been a couple times where the alert saved me from making a potentially dangerous maneuver. As disciplined as I am, I'm also sometimes forgetful about turning off lights, or waking up in time for work, or remembering someone's phone number (or birthday). I like having an automated system that does the robotically perfect trick of never forgetting something important.

There's a name for this in automation circles: a "centaur." I'm the human head, and I've fused with a powerful robot body that supports me, doing things that humans are innately bad at.

That's the good kind of automation, and we all benefit from it. But it only takes a small twist to turn this good automation into a nightmare. I'm speaking here of the reverse-centaur: automation in which the computer is in charge, bossing a human around so it can get its job done. Think of Amazon warehouse workers, who wear haptic bracelets and are continuously observed by AI cameras as autonomous shelves shuttle in front of them and demand that they pick and pack items at a pace that destroys their bodies and drives them mad:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

Automation centaurs are great: they relieve humans of drudgework and let them focus on the creative and satisfying parts of their jobs. That's how AI-assisted coding is pitched: rather than looking up tricky syntax and other tedious programming tasks, an AI "co-pilot" is billed as freeing up its human "pilot" to focus on the creative puzzle-solving that makes coding so satisfying.

But an hallucinating AI is a terrible co-pilot. It's just good enough to get the job done much of the time, but it also sneakily inserts booby-traps that are statistically guaranteed to look as plausible as the good code (that's what a next-word-guessing program does: guesses the statistically most likely word).

This turns AI-"assisted" coders into reverse centaurs. The AI can churn out code at superhuman speed, and you, the human in the loop, must maintain perfect vigilance and attention as you review that code, spotting the cleverly disguised hooks for malicious code that the AI can't be prevented from inserting into its code. As "Lena" writes, "code review [is] difficult relative to writing new code":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773779967521780169

Why is that? "Passively reading someone else's code just doesn't engage my brain in the same way. It's harder to do properly":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773780355708764665

There's a name for this phenomenon: "automation blindness." Humans are just not equipped for eternal vigilance. We get good at spotting patterns that occur frequently – so good that we miss the anomalies. That's why TSA agents are so good at spotting harmless shampoo bottles on X-rays, even as they miss nearly every gun and bomb that a red team smuggles through their checkpoints:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/23/automation-blindness/#humans-in-the-loop

"Lena"'s thread points out that this is as true for AI-assisted driving as it is for AI-assisted coding: "self-driving cars replace the experience of driving with the experience of being a driving instructor":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773841546753831283

In other words, they turn you into a reverse-centaur. Whereas my blind-spot double-checking robot allows me to make maneuvers at human speed and points out the things I've missed, a "supervised" self-driving car makes maneuvers at a computer's frantic pace, and demands that its human supervisor tirelessly and perfectly assesses each of those maneuvers. No wonder Cruise's murderous "self-driving" taxis replaced each low-waged driver with 1.5 high-waged technical robot supervisors:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

AI radiology programs are said to be able to spot cancerous masses that human radiologists miss. A centaur-based AI-assisted radiology program would keep the same number of radiologists in the field, but they would get less done: every time they assessed an X-ray, the AI would give them a second opinion. If the human and the AI disagreed, the human would go back and re-assess the X-ray. We'd get better radiology, at a higher price (the price of the AI software, plus the additional hours the radiologist would work).

But back to making the AI bubble pay off: for AI to pay off, the human in the loop has to reduce the costs of the business buying an AI. No one who invests in an AI company believes that their returns will come from business customers to agree to increase their costs. The AI can't do your job, but the AI salesman can convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI anyway – that pitch is the most successful form of AI disinformation in the world.

An AI that "hallucinates" bad advice to fliers can't replace human customer service reps, but airlines are firing reps and replacing them with chatbots:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know

An AI that "hallucinates" bad legal advice to New Yorkers can't replace city services, but Mayor Adams still tells New Yorkers to get their legal advice from his chatbots:

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/03/nycs-government-chatbot-is-lying-about-city-laws-and-regulations/

The only reason bosses want to buy robots is to fire humans and lower their costs. That's why "AI art" is such a pisser. There are plenty of harmless ways to automate art production with software – everything from a "healing brush" in Photoshop to deepfake tools that let a video-editor alter the eye-lines of all the extras in a scene to shift the focus. A graphic novelist who models a room in The Sims and then moves the camera around to get traceable geometry for different angles is a centaur – they are genuinely offloading some finicky drudgework onto a robot that is perfectly attentive and vigilant.

But the pitch from "AI art" companies is "fire your graphic artists and replace them with botshit." They're pitching a world where the robots get to do all the creative stuff (badly) and humans have to work at robotic pace, with robotic vigilance, in order to catch the mistakes that the robots make at superhuman speed.

Reverse centaurism is brutal. That's not news: Charlie Chaplin documented the problems of reverse centaurs nearly 100 years ago:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)

As ever, the problem with a gadget isn't what it does: it's who it does it for and who it does it to. There are plenty of benefits from being a centaur – lots of ways that automation can help workers. But the only path to AI profitability lies in reverse centaurs, automation that turns the human in the loop into the crumple-zone for a robot:

https://estsjournal.org/index.php/ests/article/view/260

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/01/human-in-the-loop/#monkey-in-the-middle

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Jorge Royan (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munich_-_Two_boys_playing_in_a_park_-_7328.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

--

Noah Wulf (modified) https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thunderbirds_at_Attention_Next_to_Thunderbird_1_-_Aviation_Nation_2019.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #ai #supervised ai #humans in the loop #coding assistance #ai art #fully automated luxury communism #labor

[yr-obedt-cicero]

The fascination with busts of Hamilton

After @essentialaegis pointed this out in the notes of this post, I started to look back and realize there were quite a few times people had some alluring interest or comments towards busts of Hamilton. These particular recollections being from Elizabeth Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and none other than Aaron Burr.

I remember nothing more distinctly than a sofa and chairs with spindle tracting legs, upholstered in black broadcloth, embroidered in flowery wreaths by Mrs. [Elizabeth] Hamilton herself, and a marble bust of [Alexander] Hamilton standing on its pedestal in a draped corner. That bust I can never forget, for centuries the old lady always paused before it in her tour of the rooms, and, leaning on her cane, gazed and gazed, as if she could never be satisfied.

The Atlantic Monthly. United States, Atlantic Monthly Company, 1896.

After gazing a moment at these objects, the eye settled with a deeper interest on busts of [Thomas] Jefferson and [Alexander] Hamilton, by Ceracchi, placed on massive pedestals on each side of the main entrance—“opposed in death as in life,” as the surviving original sometimes remarked, with a pensive smile, as he observed the notice they attracted.

Randall, Henry Stephens. The Life of Thomas Jefferson. United States, Derby & Jackson, 1858.

Soon after his return Burr visited Boston. Phillips called on him at the Tremont Hotel, and offered to act the part of a cicerone. Among other places they went to the Athenæum, then on Pearl Street, to see the pictures and look at the library. As they walked down the hall, between the alcoves, Phillips caught sight of a bust of Hamilton, one of the ornaments of the library, which he had forgotten was there. He tried on some pretext to draw Burr in another direction; but he, too, had seen the bust and marched straight up to it. He stood facing it for a moment, then turned and said: “A remarkable man—a very remarkable man.” Upon this he wheeled on both heels in military style and moved on again with great composure.

Martyn, William Carlos. Wendell Phillips: the Agitator: With an Appendix Containing Three of the Orator's Masterpieces, Never Before Published in Book Form, Viz.: "The Lost Arts", "Daniel O'Connell", "The Scholar in a Republic".. United Kingdom, Funk & Wagnalls, 1890.

[Original source Recollections of Wendell Phillips, by F. B. Sanborn]

Take an anecdote in point. Mr. John Ant—n, a brother lawyer, had a bust of Hamilton in his office, and, from a trick or habit, A., when in earnest thought or talk, would fix his eye upon the bust. Burr had a consultation with him; and A., unconsciously, fixed his eye upon the pale Hamilton; but, instantly remembering, withdrew his sight from it, still not before Burr divined his thoughts. The Colonel quietly, slowly poked out his long fingers, pointed to the bust very deliberately, and said: “He may thank me—I made him a great man.”

PARTON, James. The Life and Times of Aaron Burr ... Vice-President of the United States, Etc. Fourteenth Edition. United States, n.p, 1864.

He had occasion to pay some attentions to Aaron Burr during a visit Burr made to Boston after the death of Hamilton. He took him to the Athenæum, and while walking through the sculpture gallery, seeing the bust of Hamilton near him, turned off, naturally thinking it would be disagreeable to Burr to be brought before it. But Burr went directly up to it and said in a very loud tone, ‘Ah! Here is Hamilton.’ And, pressing his finger along certain lines of his face said, ‘There was the poetry!’

Adams, Charles Francis. Richard Henry Dana: A Biography. United States, Houghton, Mifflin, 1891.

Arguably the most beloved busts of Hamilton has been coined as Giuseppe Ceracchi's iconic one. When Ceracchi took a trip to the US in 1791-92, he proposed a monument in honor of the Revolution and appealed to Congress to finance the project. Ceracchi had attempted to raise the funds for the memorial, and Jefferson endorsed him and told Robert Livingston that he was; “a very celebrated sculptor from Rome.” [x] He began sculpting models of the founding fathers, including others like Washington and Jefferson. In July 1792, Ceracchi wrote to Hamilton that he was; “impatient to receive the clay that I had the satisfaction of forming from your witty and significant physiognomy”. [x] When Ceracchi heard the memorial proposal was rejected by Congress on May 7th, 1792, he sent the completed busts to each of his models in 1794. Hilariously, he also sent them each a bill for the work which they didn't ask for. Though while Washington tried to return the bust rather than pay that outrageously for a marbel copy of his face, Hamilton shamelessly paid $620; “for this sum through delicacy paid upon cherachi's draft for making my bust on his own importunity & as a favour to him.” [x]

The Roman stylized bust paints Hamilton like an ancient senator, with a slash of the Order of Cincinnatus over his bare chest—Likely referring to the Society of the Cincinnati, which you can read more about here and here. The original is inscribed on the back in Latin; “DE FACIE PHILADELPHIAE EX ECTIPO FLORENCIAE FACIEBAT JOS. CERACCHI CIDDCCLXXXXIV” Which translates; “Executed in Philadelphia and copied in Florence, Executed by Joseph Ceracchi, 1794.” [x]

The Hamilton family kept the bust until 1896 when they donated it to the New York Public Library, there is also a copy on display at the Grange. This bust would be utilized as a common reference for Hamilton's appearance posthumously, as Trumbull used the bust as model for a series of 1804-1808 portraits of Hamilton, that would later be used for reference on the ten dollar bill. [x] And the first US Postal Service stamp to honor Hamilton was an 1870 30-cent stamp using this bust as a model. [x] Also in 1880 while the bust was owned by Hamilton's son, John Church Hamilton, he lended it so it could be used as a model for the head of the granite statue of Hamilton by Carl Conrads. [x]

#amrev #american history #alexander hamilton #historical alexander hamilton #elizabeth hamilton #elizabeth schuyler #thomas jefferson #aaron burr #history #cicero's history lessons #founding fathers

[overthinkingbelle]

Aaron Tveit appreciation post.

Movie appearances/roles:

2008-Ghost Town (Anesthesiologist)

2010-Howl (Peter Orlovsky)

2011-Girl Walks into a Bar (Henry)

2012-Premium Rush (Kyle)

2012-Les Misérables (Enjolras)

2013-A Dream of Flying (The Young Man) Short film

2015- Big Sky (Pru)

2016-Undrafted (John "Maz" Mazzello)

2016-Better Off Single (Charlie) Previously named Stereotypically You

2017-Created Equal (Tommy Reilly)

2018-Out of Blue (Tony Silvero)

TV roles/appearances:

2009–2012 Gossip Girl (William "Tripp" van der Bilt III) 10 episodes

2010 Ugly Betty (Zachary Boule) Episode: "All the World's a Stage"

2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(Jan Eyck) Episode: "Beef"

2011 Body of Proof (Skip) Episode: "Point of Origin"

2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Stevie Harris) Episode: "Personal Fouls"

2011 The Good Wife (Spencer Zschau) Episode: "Executive Order 13224"

2013–2015 Graceland (Mike Warren) Main cast; 38 episodes

2016 Grease Live (Danny Zuko) Television movie

2016 BrainDead (Gareth Ritter) Main cast; 13 episodes

2017–21 The Good Fight (Spencer Zschau) 3 episodes

2019 The Code (Matt Dobbins) 5 episodes

2020 One Royal Holiday (Prince James Gallant) Television movie

2021 American Horror Stories (Adam) Episode: "Rubber(wo) Man Part Two", (Jay Gantz) Episode: "Feral"

2021–present Schmigadoon! (Danny Bailey) Main cast; 6 episodes

Theatre works:

2003 Footloose (Garvin) Merry-Go-Round Playhouse [2003 Regional production]

2004 Rent (Steve, u/s Roger, Mark) US national tour [January – December 2004 National tour replacement]

2005–08 Hairspray (Link Larkin) US national tour [August 2005 – July 2006 First national tour replacement], Neil Simon Theatre [July 18, 2006 – January 18, 2007; April 1 – May 4, 2008 Broadway replacement]

2007 Calvin Berger (Matt) Barrington Stage Company: [July 3–14, 2007 Original regional production]

2007 The Three Musketeers (D'Artagnan) North Shore Music Theatre [August 21 – September 9, 2007 Regional production]

2008–10 Next to Normal (Gabe Goodman) Second Stage Theatre [January 16 – March 16,2008 Original Off-Broadway production], Arena Stage [November 21, 2008 – January 18, 2009 Original Washington, D.C. production], Booth Theatre [March 27, 2009 – January 3, 2010 Original Broadway production]

2008 Saved! (Dean) Playwrights Horizons

[May 10 – June 22, 2008 Original Off-Broadway production]

2008–09 Wicked (Fiyero Tigelaar) Gershwin Theatre [June 24 – November 9, 2008;

January 20 – March 9, 2009Broadway replacement]

2009–11 Catch Me If You Can (Frank Abagnale, Jr.) 5th Avenue Theatre [July 28 – August 16, 2009 Original Seattle production] Neil Simon Theatre: [March 11 – September 4, 2011 Original Broadway production]

2010 Rent (Roger Davis) Hollywood Bowl: [August 6–8, 2010 Limited engagement]

2014–15 Assassins (John Wilkes Booth) Menier Chocolate Factory: [November 21, 2014 – February 8, 2015 Off-West End revival]

2017Company (Robert) Barrington Stage Company: [August 10 – September 10, 2017 Regional revival]

2018–22; 2023 Moulin Rouge!(Christian) Emerson Colonial Theatre: [July 10 – August 19, 2018 Original Boston production] Al Hirschfeld Theatre: [June 28, 2019 – March 11, 2020, September 24, 2021 – May 8, 2022, January 17 – April 9, 2023 Original Broadway production; paused due to COVID-19 , Won 2020 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, Returning for limited engagement in 2023]

Feb. 9-May 12, 2023 Sweeney Todd (title role) Broadway revival, Lunt-Fontanne Theater (replacement)

Source: Wikipedia

#aaron tveit #musical #les miserables #broadway #graceland #brain dead #next to normal #catch me if you can #hairspray #wicked #moulin rouge #rent #grease #gossip girl

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Royal blue

The Princess of Wales in an Alexander McQueen blazer and matching cigarette pants on a visit to HMP High Down, Surrey.

Winning white

The Princess of Wales put a sophisticated twist on England’s team colour as she cheered on players in their opening match at the Rugby World Cup.

Teal triumph

The Princess of Wales at her polished best in a custom teal Burberry suit and custom blouse by the designer for a reception with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway at Windsor Castle.

Lady in red

Catherine makes a statement in scarlet Alexander McQueen for a ‘Shaping Us’ pre-launch event at the BAFTA headquarters, January 2023.

Purple reign

The Princess of Wales is radiant in Roland Mouret for a reception at Windsor Castle, January 2023.

Sugar plum princess

Another outing for the Roland Mouret suit, this time during William and Catherine's royal tour of Boston, December 2022.

High flyer

A navy Alexander McQueen number is the perfect choice for the princess’s arrival in Boston, December 2022.

In the navy

The same suit was last seen on the Princess of Wales for one of her first engagements in her new position: a reception for some of the Royal Navy Ship’s Company of HMS Glasgow, November 2022.

Cream of the crop

Cheering on swimmers in Alexander McQueen at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, August 2022.

Monochrome mastery

Head-to-toe white Alexander McQueen was a chic choice for an outing to mark Windrush Day in London, June 2022.

Pink perfection

Another Alexander McQueen suit, this time in a soft shade of rose, for a meeting with early childhood experts in London, June 2022.

A royal tour triumph

An orange Ridley London blouse brought a splash of colour to her white Alexander McQueen suit for an engagement in Jamaica, March 2022.

Magenta magic

Catherine ensured she stood out from the crowd in this Emilia Wickstead ensemble for a visit to Ulster University, September 2021.

Queen of green

An emerald green Massimo Dutti ensemble blended into the park setting on a visit to Edinburgh, May 2021.

HRH High Street

The Princess of Wales donned a pink M&S suit for a visit to the London Ambulance Centre in Croydon, March 2020.

Green Dream

The Princess donned a faithful Burberry number for a visit to a textile factory in Leeds in September 2023.

Recycled Red

The Princess Of Wales on her way to an event for her 'Shaping Us' Campaign On Early Childhood in September 2023, in one of her favourite red Zara blazers.

Magenta Masterpiece

The Princess of Wales was a tailored masterpiece in Emilia Wickstead for the Shaping Us National Symposium at the Design Museum, even accessorising with Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond drop earrings.

#Princess of Wales #Catherine Princess of Wales #Catherine Middleton #Kate Middleton #British Royal Family #fashion #style #blazers #pants #suit #Alexander McQueen #Burberry #Roland Mouret #Emilia Wickstead #Massimo Dutti #M&S #Zara #fashion brands