Regina is All

It is with an unbelievably heavy heart that I share this news with all of you. Our dearest friend and co-founder, Ang @chelsie-carson, has passed a way after a nearly six-year long battle with cancer.

Those who knew Ang loved her - it was impossible not to. Those who didn’t know her truly missed out on something special. She was one of the OG Chelsie fandom moms, a gifted writer, and a sweet, funny, generous soul. She was proud of so many things Downton-related, but perhaps the greatest was the work we’ve been able to do with Phyllis Logan, raising money for Hearts and Minds UK, which is an organization so near and dear to our hearts. This effort started with half a dozen far-flung friends, and while it dwindled down to just us and Phyllis, our energy and reach continued to grow - in large part due to Ang’s ability to reach across the miles and connect with you all.

Ang leaves behind her beloved mom, her nieces and nephew, extended family, and so many of her chosen family, both on this platform and beyond.

I’ll miss you, travel buddy. So, so much. 💔

~Lynn (@csota)

To the Person Who Asked If I Was OK

Donald Trump promised to make the Kennedy Center “hot” again after seizing control of the legendary performing arts institution last year.

Instead, audiences have fled, donors have disappeared, and now one of America’s greatest orchestras is facing a potentially catastrophic financial crisis.

WaPo just obtained confidential Kennedy Center documents revealing that National Symphony Orchestra ticket revenue is on pace to bring in roughly HALF of what was budgeted, while donations have also fallen dramatically short.

“It’s never been as bad as it is,” one NSO employee told the Post.

The numbers are brutal. The NSO expected $238,000 from two performances of a Bee Gees tribute last September, but just 443 people bought tickets, filling 10 percent of the seats and generating less than $27,000.

Management gave away more than 600 additional tickets, and even then the hall was only about a quarter full.

Andrew Taylor, director of American University’s arts management program, reviewed the records and called the declines “fairly catastrophic.”

Former NSO executive director Jean Davidson was feeling the shame: “What an international embarrassment it would be for the National Symphony Orchestra of the United States to fold … It’s very possible that could happen.”

The orchestra itself had been flourishing. The NSO posted a banner year for ticket sales in 2024, while music director Gianandrea Noseda has earned some of the strongest reviews in its history.

Then Trump arrived.

We know the story. He seized control of the Kennedy Center, installed loyalists, became chairman and attacked the previous leadership for driving away audiences with “woke” programming.

His new leadership slashed the fundraising department from 94 employees to just 16.

Now the orchestra doesn’t even have an approved budget for its upcoming season, hampering its ability to announce performances, sell subscriptions and court donors.

That makes tomorrow crucial. The Kennedy Center board will meet to approve budgets and decide how to proceed with Trump’s massive renovation after a federal judge blocked his plan to shut the entire center for two years.

Options now include moving performances elsewhere or renovating in phases so some programming can continue.

And there remains something deeply strange about Trump’s obsession with the Kennedy Center. His cultural tastes have always run considerably more toward WrestleMania and reality television than the symphony or ballet.

But the Kennedy Center offers something Trump has coveted his entire life: prestige.

It bears the name of a president whose family became synonymous with American glamour and culture. Its Honors were bestowed by an establishment that never regarded Trump as belonging to it.

Trump couldn't make that world embrace him, so he took control of the institution, installed himself as chairman, put his own name on the building and began remaking it according to his tastes.

Then the audience started walking out.

Tomorrow, Trump's board will decide what comes next for an institution he promised to make “hot” again.

Instead, he may have driven one of America's great orchestras and a great institution to the brink.

Extremely fucking stupid bc genuinely who cares. Walking sticks are literally for anyone. They help you when you walk around. Perfectly healthy and abled bodied people use them while hiking because they just work.

And what if it was just a fashion thing? It used to be trendy. It gives your outfit a different vibe. Experimenting with fashion is fun, there's literally zero things wrong with using a cane because you like the way it looks or how it makes you feel.

Every single person choosing to use a mobility aid in public normalises their use, and makes it less likely for me to get harassed out there. It just becomes a regular thing you see while out in public. And that's the exact thing ableist TERFs like Stock are actually against - Not even mentioning the absolutely obvious misogyny here.