Sgian-dubh

You asked me where he is.

She’s just writing another chapter of her fanfiction about the greatest love story ever told.

Because, of course, all the friends of every celebrity in Scotland are familiar with Purv’s famous blog, and those celebrities naturally volunteer wonderfully flattering and remarkably detailed information about other celebrities’ girlfriends, completely unprompted.

You know who else always had a professional life conveniently wrapped in mystery?

Anthony G. McGill

And perhaps some of you have been around long enough to remember how fascinatingly flexible his professional biography used to be.

In the beginning, we had the rather generic “works in finance.” Then, somewhere along the way, the story became considerably more interesting. Anthony was apparently the owner of a bar in London. Or perhaps two bars, depending on which version happened to be circulating at the time.

And eventually, after a few adjustments and upgrades, we arrived at the title that seemed to stick, music producer.

Quite the professional journey, when you think about it.

The interesting part, of course, was never simply what Anthony supposedly did for a living. It was watching his professional story become a little more polished and impressive as the years went by, while actual details remained remarkably scarce.

A vague job becomes a business. A business becomes multiple businesses. And eventually, we land on something suitably glamorous for the narrative.

Until one version is repeated often enough that everyone simply starts treating it as established fact.

Perhaps that’s why watching another mysterious professional biography being slowly assembled feels so familiar.

Some of us have been here long enough to recognize the process.

And yes, he was a publican in Islington, London.

He wrote, for example, that Good and Evil are concepts built and set in stone by human societies themselves, who annoyingly decree -at some point in time - what they mean, while also setting their respective boundaries. He also wrote, if I remember well - and yes, I do remember well enough, I believe - that what social morality considers as 'evil values' (selfishness, straightforwardness, aggressivity, etc) make the world progress and accelerate change. He believed the New Man must free himself of this artificial distinction and go beyond this dichotomy. In fact, he believed that so strongly, that he made one of his most famous books out of this idea. Jenseits von Gut und Böse (Beyond Good and Evil), which he explicitly considered as a 'prelude to a future philosophy'.

Playing with Nietzsche's ideas is like playing with scissors. Please, please don't do this at home, unattended. It's grandiose and depressing and raw and -yes!- 'human, all too human' (another interesting book for your nightstand, or perhaps not). It is also racist, blaming and proven tragically wrong by recent History.

added about 11 hours, 34 minutes, 50 seconds ago

I just needed to get this off my chest.

I'm reading the complaints from fans about the auction of the series' costumes, and I think something needs clarifying…

These pieces are copies. A film or series' wardrobe is never made up of unique pieces due to potential damage or misuse. In fact, extras and stunt doubles wear the same outfits as the main actor. Rest assured that the most important costumes will be preserved, and many of them will be stored in a warehouse where they will be inventoried and reused for future period productions.

There are many specialized warehouses that rent and care for these costumes, and if you're observant, you'll notice that many of the costumes you've seen in other productions appear, slightly modified or exactly as they were made, in other series or films.

Cornejo, in Spain, is one of the leading tailors specializing in period productions. I've visited their facilities, and they are enormous. They have costumes from films and series like Ben-Hur, Game of Thrones, and Pirates of the Caribbean, to name a few.

If you're curious, visit their website 😉

yourpublishingprofessor

😬

PS: meanwhile, the Mommies' Brigade...

theoutlandercollector

Even with 'Erself's dubious base material, this could have been so, so much better.

Hi Anon. I saw a screenshot, and if you look closely, her whole blog reads like fanfiction. Healer? Wiccan? Herbalist? I know real witches—people whose social media (or even personal interactions) would never suggest they know the meaning of "coven," let alone practice ancient lore.

Well, maybe it’s just a wish (one that will never come true) to be like Claire or... Caitríona Balfe????? That might explain the obsession with Sam and his love life, by the way.

Then again, maybe this person is so excited about posting photos and videos of other people's children that she hasn't stopped to consider the possibility that the adults involved finally decided to do the obvious thing: not expose a child on social media. I’ve always found the mother’s over-exposure of the child strange, especially since the father doesn't seem like the type who wants his kids exposed to his own fandom.

So, if *La Dame Blanche’s* family sees no issue with exposing every step the kids take online—and she doesn't think it's wrong—then I feel sorry for the children, but that’s her decision regarding her own kids. However, if she,Purv, or the others think it’s ethical to expose *other people's* children, then I find that questionable. Ireland ran a great campaign about exposing children online, and I think the fact that Caitríona doesn't expose her son is the right call. If Caitríona—who is incredibly famous and acclaimed for her work and awards—can manage that, then an ordinary person with no fame, fans, or established career can certainly do it too.

Speaking of La Dame Blanche, Halloween is approaching, and here are some costume suggestions—in case anyone wants to dress up but can't quite pull off the *Outlander* look because they aren't as beautiful as Caitríona Balfe:

Being in the same place is not the same thing as being in a relationship.

We've known Sam for almost 13 years. We know he's expressive. We know he's tactile. He hugs people, touches people, puts an arm around friends, strangers and fans without thinking twice. Warmth has never seemed difficult for him to show.

So even if, for some reason, he were consciously avoiding physical contact with Steph, whether for privacy (something she herself doesn't seem particularly interested in) or for any other strange reason, it's hard to believe that someone with such a glass face would be able to hide every trace of warmth or affection in every single interaction.

Even statistically, it just doesn't make sense:

After an entire year of highly public events, many attended by Sam's most dedicated fans, with hundreds of professional cameras and phone cameras pointed at them from every angle, we still don't have a single candid photo that unmistakably captures what most people would recognize as couple like behavior.