#“she doesn’t talk about political issues“ SHES ON TOUR BRO

[lwkshrav]

i’m gonna be so fr every reason that the haters have to hate on taylor is so easily debunked they literally have nothing

[askbensolo]

Sorry I haven’t posted much this week. It’s been a liiittle crazy. I gave both Armitage and Poe tours of the apartment this week (Armitage on Monday, Poe yesterday).

I thought I hated them when I was just messaging them. Oh, buddy, I had no idea.

Let’s start with Armitage. Listen: my mother raised me right. I tried to be nice, even though every previous interaction I’d had with him had proven that he was not. I opened the door and put on a smile and said, “Hey!” Bro looks past me and sees my holopad propped up on the dining table, where I’d been watching the livestream of the Senate hearing on arms control on Coruscant. Unfortunately, it was paused right on a close-up of my mom.

This dude cannot be normal. Imagine. You walk into a stranger’s home, see an image of a senator you’re maybe not so fond of, and go “Tch. Senator Organa… I’m convinced she was only voted in out of pity. Everyone loves the Alderaanian princess, but she’s really rather far from qualified.”

What.

I was so pissed I almost couldn’t talk. “What the—wh—why do you think she’s not qualified?! She has years of political experience, and she fought on the ground. She’s done so much volunteer and charity work, and she actually understands the issues she talks about on the floor, and—”

Armitage looked taken aback, but also like he was scrutinizing me. I shut my mouth.

“…What did you say your last name was?” he asked suspiciously, his tone clipped.

‘Cause, see, when I’m first meeting someone, I don’t usually tell them who I am am. I’m just Ben. I like being my own person. And then maybe after they pass the vibe check I can be like, “oh, yeah, I’m Ben Solo, but I’m also just a chill dude, please treat me normal haha.” But, yeah—that’s why Armitage didn’t know who I was.

You know when you’re talking to a stranger and you’re like, “Oh. No. We are not getting into this, because I’m never gonna see you again”? That was me in that moment. I was like, yeah, there’s no way I’m rooming with this snooty bag of tauntaun flatulence for a year.

“Quadinaros,” I said. It was the first name I thought of. I hoped Armitage didn’t know his podracers.

He looked like he wasn’t buying it.

“Well, what’s your last name?” I blurted in a stupid retort. Like a “your mom” kind of thing. Usually, that doesn’t work. Surprisingly, it caught him off guard.

“…Arkanis,” he replied, with less confidence than one would usually declare his own name with.

Whatever.

I showed him the apartment like I promised (and believe me, the comment about my mom was not the last rude thing he said while he was there), but in my head I knew I was picking Poe.

That is…until yesterday, when I had Poe over to tour.

I was actually genuinely excited to greet Poe at the door, because he was my ticket to not rooming with Armitage…but the smile melted right off my face when I beheld the sight before me.

This guy is. De-kriffing-ranged.

You know those, like, baby holders you buckle onto your chest? Well, get this. Homie was wearing one of those…but his BB droid was in it. And those models are hefty. They may be all round, and relatively small compared to your average R2 unit, but they’re still like…I don’t know, the height of your knee? And made of metal, obviously.

My jaw dropped at the sight of this absolute madman. I just stood there staring at him.

“So, uh.” Poe cleared his throat, as if he didn’t have forty pounds of droid buckled to his body. “Who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?”

I snapped out of it. “Sorry. Uh. Here. Come in.”

Once inside, he put his droid down on the floor, and I was reminded that choosing Poe meant also getting a pet, basically. “Weeeeoooooo!” said the BB unit, and started rolling all over the place.

Forty pounds of droid rolled over my foot. “Ow!”

“Sorry!” said Poe. “He’s just a little excitable. Aren’t ya, buddy?”

So I gave them the tour. And I really don’t have the energy to recount that endeavor, so here’s a list of some (just some) of Poe’s demands:

the droid’s charging dock needs to be in our bedroom near the window, even though the window is on my side of the bedroom

we need to put down rubber mats over the carpet so it’s easier for the droid to roll around

we need to ask management to install an accessibility ramp at the doorstep so the droid can roll in and out

it would be great if I could play with the droid when Poe’s not around, since the droid needs daily stimulation

After a while I kind of stopped listening. I thought to myself, Is this real life? Are astromechs not just flight navigation equipment? Is this would-be pilot who doesn’t even own a starship asking me to play with his droid like it’s his son?

I couldn’t have been more relieved to finally show Poe and his droid out the door. And then I ran into my room and flopped on my bed face-down and screamed into the mattress.

If only it wasn’t so late into the year. It’s impossible to find roommates right now. I’m lucky to have two options, as horrible as both options are.

I almost thought about moving back in with Mom and Dad. But…then I thought about my job, and Wednesday nights at the cantina with the guys, and quiet Sunday walks along the lake, and lazy Saturday museum-crawls with my ink pen and paper notebook…compared to how living at home just transforms me back into a sixteen-year-old, and I was like…no. No. I’m not leaving Naboo.

Anyway…so that’s my week. At least Fannie’s coming over tomorrow and I can temporarily forget next year’s gonna be hell.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 25: Oh Hai Mai

Heyyy we’re back. Thank for bearing with me, it’s been kind of chaos over here. Everything from a pandemic (we are very sloooowly reopening over here but I’ve been quarantined so long I can french braid my damn leg hair.) to important political protests, to getting an evacuation order because an arsonist burned down 90 acres in the heat of summer (luckily we’re all fine), to a vole that ate everything in my pandemic self-care garden so I lost my entire mind and waged war and dug so many holes and put out 17 mouse traps and set off so many critter bombs under the ground trying to kill the little bastard like it was Caddyshack (It’s still alive, ps, I lost that war). These last 3 months have been the longest decades of my life. The only month longer was the one where I’m pretty sure I had mono and it made me positive that my basement was haunted.

Man, bring back my haunted basement, Sorry if this comes through in my writing, I tried but, I can’t edit it out. You get FML-Rachel today.

Lets get back to a good, mindless distraction, lets turn on Yugioh.

BUT------->it just so happens that this episode of Yugioh has cop stuff in it, I’m just going to be blunt. We’re going into Valon’s backstory, he’s very much a victim of problems within the bizarre Yugioh legal system, and much like a Gotham supervillain, he is a symptom of the problem more than the cause.

I’m not going to ignore that, but in case you are overwhelmed about that right now, if you want to like...save this for later--I have another FMA recap coming out soon that I wrote in a simpler time before....the corona freakin ruined us all.

Last we left off, we were on the heels of Joey Wheeler, who decided to book it down the street because he wants to murder the hell out of Valon.

Youknow...Joey is one hell of a protagonist. He just does...so MANY antagonistic things.

Joey has decided that although the world is ending, and everyone left alive will be absorbed into the Great Leviathon’s big yummy tummy, which can only be prevented by three people, of which he is one of--he’s going to go sprint in completely the other direction.

We even managed to get Kaiba on board. We were ready. We were done, but then Joey had to lose his freakin mind because that’s just what Joey Wheeler does sometimes.

Normally heroes avoid the call to duty because of a severe lack of self confidence, but this is Joey, and he’s going to avoid the call to duty because of too much self confidence.

And so Joey and his Chaperone turn a corner and walk into this random orc who’s just casually living his best life and touring SF.

One of my worst fears walking through SF, tbh. Running into high school people. Not so much the orcs.

Yo, I wonder what the bushman was doing through all of this? So IRL, we have this guy who just...hides in a bush and jump-scares tourists. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be in a bush and then just...all these orcs show up and you’re all.

...oh no, now I’m the fool...

I just want to know if bushman made it, or if he’s in a paper card that’s just a picture of foliage.

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, Joey was already in the process of running, so they just turned around on this street of...so much parking.

Like y’all there is SO MUCH PARKING this episode. I was trying to pay attention to anything else, but like...do you see this!? It takes nearly half an hour usually to get a spot but this--this right here?

And the crazy thing is, recently my bro had to go pick up some old guy from a cruise that...got quarantined...and so bro had to go the Pier and like--this is what the city looked like. This is a pandemic, it’s just lots of parking, so I want to criticize Yugioh, and I normally would, but I can’t. I’ve seen the receipts. They called it. This is what the endtimes look like and it’s so much parking.

Also, they were too lazy to draw cars but damn, they called it.

So, left with no other option, Joey decides to...be Joey, and punches a huge orc covered in armor.

So Valon’s here, because apparently SF has just...no one left alive in it except for these few kids and that one Uber Eats driver. I imagine it’s a lot easier to find Joey if you just follow the only one screaming in Japanese in a Brooklyn accent at the top of his lungs.

And Valon decides that this one way street isn’t good enough, and that they must duel somewhere else.

I assumed it would be a tall structure, but considering Kaiba just blew up the tallest structures in the Financial District...I was like...what else is tall? And bear in mind, I’m a mess, so I was like...OMG I wish it were Macy’s!!!

Now I hear you saying that’s weird, and we shouldn’t have a very fancy Macy’s in 2020, and you’re correct. but we still have one, and the top floor is just...a massive Cheesecake factory, and I can’t think of anything more 00′s than a Yugioh duel on top of that specific Cheesecake Factory.

And I’ve never really thought before about where the best Yugioh duel would be, and it’s there. It’s at the high rise Cheesecake. Listen Yugioh, if you need an insider to choose locations for your Netflix remake of S4--call me.

So anyways, instead of doing the right thing and going to the Cheesecake Factory on top of Macy’s like any other self respecting 00′s teenager, Valon and Joey are going to drive through the most boring parts of town.

They had an opportunity to go chase eachother through any tourist attraction, Lombard street, Ghirardelli Square, the Palace of Fine Arts, China town, reuse some assets and drive through Japan town, that fountain that looks like Yoda--but no...they decided to drive through literal trash.

Just...a missed opportunity, and it should have been a Cheesecake Factory.

Also, I totally and fully acknowledge that a strange nostalgic affection for the Cheesecake Factory is a weird Millennial thing (much like our weird encyclopedic knowledge of Sailor Moon) but listen. You have your thing, too. You go do you, I’m gonna soak my sorrows in a bowl of Chinese chicken salad so wide, it’ll last me 3 days.

Anyways, Joey’s gonna steal that guy’s bike.

Yugioh just predicting the future in 2003. We actually have a HUGE problem right now with vehicle theft in the city to an almost comedic degree, which is partly why the parking situation has gotten so incredibly dire. It’s kind of incredible that this guy left his bike out because after about 1 day in the city you learn pretty fast that you need to be constantly checking on your street parked vehicle--I mean, that guy was just asking for it, honestly. If Joey hadn’t taken it, some other guy would have absolutely taken it, (even that orc would’ve taken it, the city has no consideration for cars.)

Sorry --one sec-- that was an earthquake just now. As I’m typing this. Just a little guy. Just a little treat for me...

...but still like...c’mon. I’m also getting this weird issue where Tumblr doesn’t save my drafts so like...this is like the 3rd time I’ve had to write this like...I just want to make a Yugioh post for my tiny funtime tv blog, Universe. Don’t @ me right now, Universe.

SO MUCH FREAKIN PARKING.

...is it the space between two piers? What is this? We don’t have rivers in SF, it is a peninsula covered in very steep hills. Like very VERY steep hills. All water just rolls into the ocean and there’s a couple of lake thingies but...no rivers that I know of (And like maybe this is a thing, and I just haven’t seen it? Learn something new every day.)

*loud, audible sigh* home. Where we belong. At the warehousssssssse.

Back at the RV base, Duke Devlin is still babysitting. Maybe this is to make up for the two seasons he spent trying to date a girl Rebecca’s age, that they felt like going out of their way to show that he has indeed no longer horny now. Got to hand it to them, that’s a lot of character development right there. Although at the same time, it has made Duke Devlin a very non-character.

But imagine how insanely complicated would it have been if Duke got involved in that bizarre love-square that is Yugi, Tea, and the Ghost that killed Yugi by accident.

PS that’s either a freeway onramp (which is too far South from where they were, I think) or it sure does look like old Embarcadero behind them. Youknow, that lifted street from the 80′s that fell down in Loma Prieta and was never rebuilt? I just freakin love that it’s still here in 2003. This bizarre Yugioh alternate California.

Anyway, because this is alternate California, Seto set a massive fire and the entire city didn’t immediately go up in flames. Apparently they just kinda ran away from the explosion and damage before anyone noticed.

Probably because most people on Earth are dead anyway, so what more can these two actually do?

And so Yami ends up getting lectured by the wife.

And justifiably, the wife seems to have absolutely no confidence that Yami will be able to do a damn thing right.

Wifes all around this episode.

Speaking of,

At this point, Arthur Hawkins senses that Yami’s nearby, so he opens the door just to freakin dump some guilt on him.

...Rebecca seems to be a character that’s mostly there to recap the lore and also to dump on Yami. I don’t mind that. Yami needs to get dunked more often, and I’m saying that in S4, where the entire season’s tagline is “how many times can we dunk on Yami?”

So lets check on Yugi, how’s that kid doing? It’s been quite a number of episodes since we last saw him.

Yep, still hanging out in the Han Solo cosplay room.

And then, because I guess everyone is just hanging out in the same 4 blocks, Mai and Tristan have a heart-to-heart.

In the show, this conversation was Mai (who is now a serial killer) saying “Oh hey, Tristan, where’s Joey?” and Tristan saying “It’s ALL YOUR FAULT he wants to kill Valon--thanks a lot, Mai! GODS!” all indignant like.

Not how you would ordinarily talk to a serial killer, just saying. No one from the Yugi crew fears this woman...at all...and she has killed over 20 people in front of them and is trying very hard to kill Joey Wheeler all the time.

Like what would it actually take for them to fear this woman? They can’t, right?

Meanwhile, Valon is trying to explain to Joey that his obsession with Mai is in fact damaging any relationship they could have had.

So then when you’re like OK...this is actually very valid points on Valon’s part, and Joey really does need to step back and let people make their mistakes considering Joey was barely a part of her life to begin with. But then, Valon just turns a 180 and...it becomes a catty love triangle where only one person in the triangle even feels romantic emotions.

I just...so Valon is doing this fight because he thinks Mai is in love with Joey.

This whole time I was like “well maybe it’s more that Valon is trying to defend Mai’s right to make her own choices” but no...he just straight up thinks Mai is in love with Joey. And, in fighting Joey, Valon himself is ignoring Mai’s life choices

Just a whole lot of misunderstanding that would have been fixed with better ways than dueling with cards. At least that one guy in S2 who tried to marry Mai actually dueled HER instead of some random guy.

It just really feels like these boys are having a pissing contest and Mai was never let in on the deets that this was even happening.

Mai needs to hang out with older men. Set her up with Roland, this is ridiculous.

Back at the RV, which got very, very big in this shot, Seto has an odd convo with Mokuba about how they are probably not going to get Kaiba Corp back. And then no one really argued with him about that.

He’s taking it really well. Maybe because this isn’t even the first time or the second time or even really the third time Seto’s lost everything. Kid’s really freakin great at failure. At least this time Mokuba isn’t currently abducted, which is really good improvement for these two.

Outside the RV, Tristan has decided to...give up as well, just right here, in the middle of traffic. Then he gets Orc’d...these orcs are kind of like Slenderman, in that they kinda...show up...but then that’s all they do because the designers didn’t actually want to animate anything.

And then this happens.

God bless this story boarder for this random series of events presented in just this way.

Also here’s yet another example where Tea just has...no fear. She’s actually only out here because she was like “that’s it, we’re getting another driver” and was going to chew out Duke Devlin. The Orc being in the middle of the road was not the reason she walked out here.

Anyways, Yami killed it because everyone here can just throw cards forever, these things are not threatening.

The subplot of everyone refusing to drive with Duke Devlin after he busted his car in Death Valley is still ongoing, and it’s still low key hilarious that no one will outright say “Duke, your driving is just so bad” and instead, Duke just has to sit there and watch Joey STEAL A MOTORCYCLE just so he won’t have to drive shotgun with Duke Devlin.

Rebecca, our plot-dump device, then informs us that Valon has Special Rules.

Because Valon, if you’ve forgotten, has a card that allows him to physically punch his opponent in the face.

They should have invented that card a long time ago TBH.

SO, lets get into Valons tragic backstory. First off, go turn on your Les Mis Soundtrack, because this is some old school cop stuff.

So apparently Valon, as a child just...stayed in the system forever. We don’t know why yet, but lets just assume that it’s tragic and heavy handed. If he steals a loaf of bread and ends up in 12 Juvies (which is a line from the show and not an exaggeration--12 Juvies) then I will expect him to be singing by the end of this and I will be very disappointed if he does not.

Anyways, he was such an asshole, that he caught the attention of some very illegal rich bastard who was trying to turn prisoners into...card murders. (it was Dartz.) because apparently...Dartz also funds prisons and that is...that is some deep lore.

And so probably about the same time that Yugi was Dueling to the death on Pegasus’ Island, and about the same time that Marik was hanging out in the ocean next to Pegasus’ Island with a pair of binoculars, and about the same time that Noah was underneath Pegasus’ Island just watching Pegasus steal KaibaCorp, Dartz decided to make his OWN murder island--because I guess he got jealous.

Anyway, Valon won, and didn’t even need to set anyone on fire.

Those little green things there--those are all souls of prison inmates.

YUGIOH.

Millennials got DARK, OK? Freakin...we had a show for 9 year olds that went deep into the school-to-prison pipeline and didn’t even try to hide it under any layers of symbolism. Like Hunger Games at least had two people survive.

This was a show to sell PAPER CARDS.

+++++++++++THIS IS A RANT WHERE I WENT OFF ABOUT PRISON TALK IN KID’S SHOWS FEEL FREE TO SKIP++++++++++++++++++++

Now, there’s a lot of good conversation going on right now about errors in the modern justice system on not just a local scale, but on a global scale, especially regarding racial profiling and criminalization of poor, sick, and young, and we better keep pushing it. But it’s surprising when people pretend like this hasn’t been talked about for a long time. Because...we’ve been talking about it in kids and YA shows for a long time. This is not something that just popped up in 2020.

Like millennials didn’t invent this obsession with dark and gritty stories with uncomfortable themes. It’s been around for thousands of years, but back in the 90′s and 00′s, a lot of shows for YA and younger enjoyed talking about the problems with prisons and abuse of power with our justice systems--a lot. Batman, X-men, Death Note, so so many, hell, even the OC.

And like, don’t get me wrong, we still have these shows running around, but I’ve been there’s been a trend of stories (not saying names) where just...nothing bad happens. And, that’s kind of sad because...they CAN have small elements that are more progressive in them, but only brought forth with a very risk-free cotton candy fluffy coating to make the majority of the population happy.

I could go long about this, and I’m getting very cryptic. If a kid escapes to more colorful worlds where nothing bad ever happens, that’s OK--sometimes you need that, but when nothing bad ever happens surrounding certain experiences where bad things normally happen--the meaning of the story changes because it isn’t a real experience anymore.

Like I don’t want to tangent too much, and I just had to delete a lot of examples, but I know a lot of people want to write stories about misrepresented minorities and about real deal serious situations and are just so afraid of misrepresentation that they go in completely the wrong direction by not putting in anything uncomfortable at all. I think it’s important to look at the work and ask yourself is this about the minority the work should be about--or is this work about patting the majority of the population on the back and saying neat, we’ve achieved utopia without having to even do anything?

...anyway, obvi I’m ranting, but I feel like we’re taking a step backwards when it comes to the importance of kids programming and that we do need to talk to kids about prison again. This is a show about paper cards, and they don’t do a great job at talking about...the reality of prison, this was exaggerated with genre stereotypes, but at least they didn’t cover it with rainbows and unicorns, because this isn’t about how great Joey and the “normal” people are at saving Valon, this is about how society screwed Valon beyond repair, and I am 99% certain we will see this guy’s soul stuffed in a brick above Dartz’ snake fireplace.

Like, yeah he duels to the death on an island, but that’s imagery that is very close to real life prison issues. We don’t talk to kids a lot about how a lot of inmates get enlisted into the military during war times (and quite literally...duel to their death...on islands). We don’t talk about how we use inmates to betray eachother for a chance at maybe getting amnesty. We don’t talk about how a lot of the victims of this system are essentially children, and have been caught in a system of endless prison for what will probably be the rest of their lives. We don’t talk about how we’re systematically turning kids into criminals so much in kid’s shows of late...and Freakin Yugioh just did in a filler season. 

....................I think our standard for modern kids programming to talk about serious issues is way too low if Yugioh just threw this out there in a filler season, is all I’m saying.

++++++++++++++++++END OF PRISON RANT++++++++++++++++++++++

 So, Valon is free but...is he?

Not really, he’s just gone from one jailer to another, but at least this time he gets his own room. Don’t blame him for latching onto Dartz’ dream to end the world, because the world for him has been one behind bars. He doesn’t know it. Never been there.

It’s just interesting juxtaposed to Joey because Joey had some sort of Season Zero history with a gang and I haven’t watched that episode yet.

So that’s it for now, again, I’m very slooow lately. I slept for 3 hours today...and I don’t know why. But hey--we all got through three (four???) months of this...we just gotta go...one month at a time.

That and I accidentally did my taxes early so there’s that. See? Good things still happen.

Also, because I only slightly referenced the most incredible movie ever made on San Fransisco soil, I’ll just leave this here. The true hallmark of our city.

Anyway you know the drill, here’s the link

[warmbeebosoftbeebo]

do you think panic!’s management/brendon are gonna do anything about the whole zack thing?

i don’t know. it strikes me how they announced their firing of kenny in less than 48 hours after the disclosures started coming forward, but kenny was actually less integrated into panic than zack is. a lot of people think zack is just a bodyguard, but he’s been wearing several hats for years (panic stuff/storage, panic’s twitter, tour management). 

kenny also i think had a very different personality and temperament that he showed to people (eg goofy friendly guy, polite, easy to get along with) vs what he got up to with 12-18 year old girls (inappropriately sexual convos considering the age gap, talked and bribed them into sending inappropriate pictures, most of which didn’t cross over into child porn under the law eg bikinis, bras, using his position as a guy in a band to do it--the fucker knew what he was doing). it shocked me. 

zack is openly very vulgar (some of which i don’t have an issue with in themselves), even pornographic, and he hides behind “it’s my sense of humor” and “i’m just really sexual” (when i think he’s more oriented toward making people uncomfortable, pushing boundaries, turning almost everything into something to laugh at). he’s “so sexual” he seeks out porn of women who’ve been hacked and had their nude photos published without consent, eg emily ratajkowski. now, that was something in the news and easily known, not one of those assumption of consent and agreement to distribution that men (and many women) justify their porn use on eg if it’s on a porn site that’s legal, it must be consensual, the exit interview (which guarantees that women say it was fine/fun/consensual: they don’t get paid for the hell they went through until after they give that interview). he sought them out because they were violations, private, not to be shared (indeed emily called one book of nudes published of her just that: a violation). he seems more into the  on one level, i was even thinking sexual compulsiveness (i don’t think it is an addiction, and often men will use that as an excuse and to bullshit and gaslight, but it is compulsive) was at work too. 

his “hyper sexuality” is more about LOOKING than experiencing. about women looking certain ways for him to gaze at (eg getting women to flash their breasts, photos of bra’d and topless women) than being sexual with him per se. 

i had previously thought that there must be something to him because he was with his ex wife for seven years (couple for 7, married for 4 i believe), and she left him because she had fallen for another women and now understood her sexuality to be lesbian. meaning, there must’ve been some things goin for him (eg his and b’s eat pussy no matter what periscope moment) for him to hold onto her for 7 years :P 

i thought his humor was a joke, sarcasm, and didn’t know about the scope of it, thought he wasn’t like that in intimate/sexual situations with women or men, because there’s been indications including his own statement of bisexuality that he’s bi. turns out, it’s not sarcasm, joking around... it’s how he is. i now think it’s more like he pornifies women so much it sometimes gets boring and he turns to objectifying men too. breezy would be the clearest case of it being how he is because she had to tolerate him for nearly a decade and he didn’t even stop when she got more assertive in trying to stop him. she said he got even worse. again, that is aligned with what i’ve noticed about him: he pushes, and pushes, until he’s on the other side of the damn boundary field. that people dislike it often encourages him and he continues or worsens it.

but i wasn’t surprised like i was with kenny, although i believed everything with kenny even quicker, because there was so much evidence, eg screenshots of his words, selfies. i’m almost surprised there hasn’t been more than the one accusation of sexual assault (the opportunistic touching of the 13 year old girl’s breasts), because he is a very impulsive, almost compulsive person re his “i’m so sexual.” that there is only one public accusation of that is what has me a bit cautious of that one. would he even hit on, touch, take advantage of a 13 year old? it is completely plausible considering what else we know. 

something else that strikes me is the time where he joked on periscope about his dad sexually abusing him. it was one of the few times b tried to shut him up, spoke over him, etc. 

another thing i’ve wondered: if his behavior has something to do with jealousy, aggrieved entitlement (thinks that he deserves “it” as a man, sees other guys getting “what he wants” while he often doesn’t get “it” aka the sex he wants with the women he wants) over how much women/fans/groupies/girls (and boys too ;) ) go for band mates, especially b. i think that was at work with dallon and breezy. he probably thought he should have “access” to her that dallon and her own will and desires (for dallon, not for zack, she actually strikes me as somewhat “dominating” sexually) was in the way of. that she should of been there for his entertainment and consumption and pleasure, not been in a sexual partnership with gentle female dominance with dallon.

b obviously knew at least some of this (he’s heard his jokes for about 14 years, including sexist, misogynist, homophobic, ableist, etc ones), and would have seen some things too. the question is how much. some of it was, as i said before, “just” (as in normalized) the environment of all-male bands with mostly to all male crew, that zack partook in too, and b would have seen a lot of that as well. 

most things zack has been called out on is within that realm of normal (watching and collecting porn, verbal harassment disguised as fun joking around, “show us your tits,” band-related bribes by bts guys in exchange for sex acts, taking photos of women in their bra at shows, the topless collage and posting them publicly, mocking disabled people)... kenny breached that normal “bros doing bro things” code by going after girls under 16, as young as 12. in undeniable ways (lots of screenshots, several girls who came forward, and did i say lots of screenshots?). the normal bros couldn’t stand for that, both because of the age (”pedophiles” are nearly universally reviled at the same time as being part of the norm men are trained into by other men from preteenhood eg barely legal/incest/“age play” porn, no body hair on women, how “daddy,” ddlg and similar themes have even entered vanilla sex) and how undeniable it was. 

that was a long way to do more zack musing and to say: i don’t know. he already knew a lot of it, although something that struck me was that b seemed more comfortable in that periscope with sarah where she was talking about the nude wallpaper talking about zack having some nudes of men than the general discussion/discussion of having nudes of women.  

edit: something else i saw was that b’s dad would continue or worsen zack’s tweets several times. wonder how much boyd is like zack? there was even one that just said he (zack) was single again with a photo of a pug (or similar) dog with sunglasses (suggesting he looked like the dog) but boyd turned it into a fucking rape joke (the hide your wives one). wonder if b grew up with boyd talking about women in similar ways? 

[back-and-totheleft]

Rider on the Storm

Oliver Stone--Hollywood outlaw, cinematic high priest of the lost generation, America’s reigning Angry Young Man--has dismissed the haplessly out-of-touch: those within earshot as well as those not in sync with his favorite decade.

“Get out there! Take a chance! That’s what the ‘60s were--the cutting edge! Ride the snake! Now! Now ! Remember that? Go to the limits! Challenge authority! Challenge your parents! See for yourself! Get in touch with your senses!”

That fusillade is being delivered by arguably Hollywood’s most successful protester. Yale dropout, drug-taking, decorated Vietnam vet turned auteur , Stone has delivered take after take on the ‘60s and their children--"Salvador,” “Platoon,” “Wall Street,” “Talk Radio,” “Born on the Fourth of July"--coming at his theme every which way. Drugs! War! Money! Politics! Stone has made movies to exorcise his and his generation’s demons, annoying the industry with his excesses, filmic and personal, earning a round of grudging respect for ballyhooing a 20-year-old Zeitgeist all the way to the bank. He is even a producer these days, taking home a nice percentage of the gross. The Outsider has become Establishment. Hey, Oliver, what’s that sound, everything going round and round?

After nearly two decades in the business--writing or directing about a dozen films, earning five Oscar nominations, including two awards for Best Director--Stone has mastered the art of turning the counterculture into a mainstream, bankable product. Today he is Hollywood’s most consistent practitioner of point-of-view filmmaking, yet one who just as consistently falls on his own sword.

His films, lofty in their intent to capture the New Left values of the ‘60s, frequently come up short with undistinguished if competent craftsmanship and an in-your-face moralizing. Critics regularly fault his work. The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael wondered in a review of “Platoon” whether Stone was “using filmmaking as a substitute for drugs. . . . There are too many scenes,” she went on to write, “where you think, It’s a bit much. The movie crowds you; it doesn’t give you room to have an honest emotion.” If Stone disdains such caviling as aesthetic elitism--"Critics say that; audiences don’t. I won’t ever make boring movies, ever!"--he nonetheless has his sharpshooter’s eye trained on his place in American film history. Stone still hungers for the imprimatur of artist.

“We don’t practice repression in this country, we practice triviality,” the director says, standing in a Hollywood sound stage on an early winter afternoon. “I try to make films that are bold and on the cutting edge, with ideas that are greater than me--and I try to serve those ideas.”

Now, Stone is set to unveil his latest homage to his generation--"The Doors,” the much-anticipated movie about the legendary ‘60s band, starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, the band’s charismatic lead singer and lyricist. It is Stone’s first film since “Born on the Fourth of July” won him his third Oscar three years ago, and at $30 million it’s his most expensive production to date. It is also his least overtly political--something of a first for this filmmaker who is regularly accused of being anti-American--but one that is not without risks.

With few exceptions--such as “The Buddy Holly Story"--movies about the music industry are notoriously poor box office. And with “The Doors,” Stone is bringing to market a glossy tale of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll come round again in a new age of conservatism. It is a film for the ‘90s, with a controversial protagonist who practiced a particularly lethal brand of hedonistic nihilism; Morrison died of an apparent heart attack in Paris 20 years ago at the age of 27. Stone has taken a calculated risk in opening “The Doors” in today’s sexually nervous and unexpectedly jingoistic climate--the AIDS crisis and the country embroiled in its first real war since Vietnam. “I think we all feel on the edge of imminent disaster,” says Stone about his film’s upcoming release. “One always has that feeling.”

Even by the ‘60s’ break-the-mold musical standards, the Doors were considered sui generis--a home-grown Los Angeles band whose organ-rich, Eastern-sounding melodies, combined with Morrison’s vicious but poetic lyrics and undeniable stage presence, captured the growing alienation of an entire generation. From their first album--"The Doors” in 1967--to their last--"L.A. Woman” four years later--the band’s raspy mysticism and intellectual lyricism embodied the dark side of the ‘60s.

At the center of the band’s appeal was Morrison, the pouty, drug-ingesting “Lizard King” who became something of the Prince of Darkness in an era that did not lack for antiheroes--a figure extolling themes of undeniable attraction for Stone. “Look, I’m in my 40s,” the director says. “So I suppose this film is about the formation of our generation--the values we shared. People were out there, experiencing things, changing things. There were no limits, no laws. . . .”

Brian Grazer, an executive producer of “The Doors,” perceived two outlaws well-matched. “Oliver was my first choice as the director,” Grazer says. “He does what nobody else does--he takes dark, difficult subjects and turns them into hits.”

But hit making, as Stone likes to maintain, is not his goal. Rather, he single-mindedly goes after what he thinks of as the truths of his generation, wherever that search takes him: Vietnam, Wall Street, rock ‘n’ roll, even the Kennedy assassination. He describes the J.F.K. murder, the subject of his next film, which he will begin shooting this spring, as “the most covered-up crime of our era.” Although risk-taking and possibly radical in their intent, Stone’s films are increasingly mainstream, made with ever-larger budgets and more prestigious producers--Hemdale, Carolco and now, with the Kennedy film, Warner Bros. Success, for Stone, is a double-edged sword.

“Success?” asks the director, slightly startled. “That didn’t become popular as a concept until the ‘70s. Yeah, I have much more freedom to make the subjects that I want, but I don’t see myself as Darryl Zanuck. I would feel bad if I got indulgent. All good films come from people with an independent spirit, those who push. But the power of perception in the world is such that fringe ideas, when they are accepted, become mainstream--that because of their success they become a cliche.

“ ‘Platoon’ was a major innovation in our perception of what that war was. I thought ‘Born’ was a fairly radical statement; it took 10 years to make that picture--everybody passed on it. Once it was made and got eight Oscar nominations, it became a successful Hollywood movie. If it had not been successful, it would have been considered an outlaw film. Now, with the Kennedy film--why haven’t they made that already? Because people were fearful that it was uncommercial. I hope I was destined to make that picture.”

Those who know him suggest that Stone is indeed struggling to reconcile his renegade past with his current role as emerging power broker. “Oliver is conflicted about his success,” says one industry executive. “He hasn’t allowed his political sensibilities to get in the way of taking large amounts of money, and he struggles with that.”

“It isn’t about getting successful and having a career,” Stone says. “Going against success as a formula and embracing failure, like Morrison, where death becomes the last limit. . . . You mustn’t let money or power corrupt. I don’t feel in any way that I have compromised. I want to stay truthful to my era.”

STANDING HERE IN THE CAVERNOUS SOUND STAGE, Stone is putting the finishing touches on “The Doors.” While ostensibly another ‘60s film, “The Doors,” colleagues say, is actually a further cinematic echo of the director’s own persona as self-exiled prodigal son. As one actor puts it, “Although Oliver’s films seem to be about social issues, they are really about him.”

In conversation, Stone is by turns boyish, combative, thoughtful and overheated, one who seems to delight in spewing hyperbole as much in person as he does in his films. A husband and a father, he insists that his one regret is, “I didn’t sleep with all the women I could have.” A former drug user once busted in Mexico, he now calls cocaine “the biggest killer I know” but still salutes hallucinogenics as “fascinating.” A relentless advocate of the ‘60s, he disparages Woodstock as “a bunch of Boy Scouts getting together.” A most famous veteran, he is nonetheless disdained by some members of his old unit as a self-righteous blowhard with little sense of humor and a skewed perspective. (“He is very opinionated, over-generalizes the facts and bad-mouths people who have different points of view,” says Monte Newcombe, who served with Stone in Vietnam.)

As is well known, Stone made his mark as a movie maker five years ago when he turned his own life into film--"Platoon,” the 1986 Oscar-winning Vietnam War film that chronicled the director’s 1967-68 tour of duty. The movie won Best Picture and Best Director and grossed more than $160 million. Stone has made similar connections in his other less overtly biographical films. James Woods in “Salvador,” Charlie Sheen in “Wall Street,” Eric Bogosian in “Talk Radio,” Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July,” all played characters close to the director’s “male, Type-A personality,” says Bogosian. “Oliver makes movies about men under pressure.”

In “The Doors,” Stone evinces a similar fealty to Morrison, a contemporary of the director’s and a man also known for not tempering his excesses. “Jim had a thing where he went to the limits--women, drugs, alcohol, the law,” says Stone, who plays down some of Morrison’s excesses and recut parts of the film to make Kilmer’s character more likable. “His lyrics were earthy--snakes, fire, earth, death, fear, eros, sexuality. But he was also close to the French symbolist poets--Apollinaire, Rimbaud and a little Dylan Thomas. That combination--the high end and low end, black and white, vulgar and refined--I liked that contrast.”

It is a marriage of opposites that also fits Stone, who is described by those who know him as intense, passionate and smart, a prodigious director and writer whose early reputation for womanizing and drug taking never hindered an equally relentless work ethic. “He has the curiosity of a child and an incredible drive,” says Kenneth Lipper, an investment banker, author and consultant on “Wall Street.” “Oliver uses his films as an excuse to search out the facts--the truth--of a situation.”

Others who have worked for him say Stone is a masterful taskmaster who will manipulate, taunt and pressure cast and crew into sharing his commitment to the subject at hand. “He likes to do a lot of sparring to challenge you,” says actor Willem Dafoe, who starred in “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July.” Adds Bogosian: “He expects you to be a self-starter and thick-skinned when it comes to criticism. And if he senses you can’t take it, he will move away from you fast. Being on a set with him can be very punishing. But at the end of the day, everyone wants to be around him.” Kyle MacLachlan, an actor best known as FBI man Dale Cooper in television’s “Twin Peaks,” who co-stars in “The Doors,” says simply, “I miss working with Oliver.”

With so many of the director’s oft-related demons so readily on the surface, so out there, it is a challenge to sift through the rhetoric. Ask Stone what he is looking for in his self-inflicted Sturm und Drang , and he scorns the question as “so obvious. OK, the 49ers to win.” But in the next breath he turns philosophical, cribbing from Milan Kundera, the celebrated Czech novelist: “the ‘Lightness of Being.’ We’re all looking for equanimity of our souls.”

HE IS TALL, ABOUT 6 FEET AND JUST SHORT OF formidable, with an arresting collision of cultures--French-American, Jewish-Roman Catholic--etched into a face that is all but haggard from years of hard living and late hours. Bleary-eyed, dressed totally in black, Stone is sandwiching in an interview in the midst of back-to-back editing sessions for Friday’s release of “The Doors.”

Surrounded by his editing crew, he holds court in a room that seems the extension of himself as both polemical filmmaker and erstwhile Peck’s Bad Boy--everything state-of-the-art and bigger-than-life. Extra-large leather sofas, screen the size of a football field, giant neon clock ticking off the frames. The sequence being edited this day is quintessential Stone. On screen, Morrison, played by Kilmer, heaves a television set at the head of Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek: MacLachlan in flowing locks. The result--exploding glass and screamed epithets.

Stone flashes his signature gap-toothed grin. “There was a sound vacuum, and it’s making me crazy,” he says about the morning spent laying down extra decibels of breaking glass. “Sound abuse. I’m accused of that all the time,” he says. “But this is the noisiest film I’ve ever made. I have to gauge how much the audience can take after two hours and 15 minutes.” In Stone’s hands, “The Doors” is less an illustrated history of the band’s genesis or Morrison’s peculiarly tortured life than a visceral recreation of the world of ‘60s music. The approach is similar to the sensuous verisimilitude the director achieved in “Platoon,” the first Vietnam War film made by someone who had served. “I don’t want to reduce the ‘60s to a formula or say this is all-inclusive,” Stone says, “but it is about the texture of the ‘60s . . . how music was the big common denominator.”

Producer Grazer says the film is less linear and narrative than “a film made from a real rock-music point of view. Oliver has made a movie that shows that world as dangerous and erotic. It has a real feel for the period.”

Much of that feel comes from the director’s personal affinity for The Doors’ music, which he first encountered in Vietnam. He found the band “visceral and mystical,” Stone says. “The Doors were not a mainstream band like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. Jim hated that whole teeny-bopper thing. There were decency rallies held against him.”

That Morrison’s grave site in Paris still has the faithful trekking to touch the headstone has only burnished the mystique of the tortured songwriter with the Kennedyesque jaw and the black leather pants that would, on occasion, not stay zipped. A well-known abuser of alcohol, drugs and women, Morrison was arrested in 1969 on obscenity charges after exposing himself during a Miami concert. “He was a pirate, a free soul, an anarchist,” Stone says. “I loved his spirit--a combination of James Dean and Brando, sexiness combined with sensitivity and rawness.”

Morrison’s persona transcended not only his performances but also his death in 1971, which Stone recalls as “like the day Kennedy died.” The revival of so-called Doorsmania, as Rolling Stone magazine referred to it, began 12 years ago when director Francis Ford Coppola used the band’s Oedipal song, “The End,” in his 1979 Vietnam film, “Apocalypse Now.” In 1981, the lurid, controversial Morrison biography, “No One Here Gets Out Alive” by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman, the singer’s manager, was published. That same year, “The Doors’ Greatest Hits” was released and made it into Billboard’s Top 10. By 1981, Rolling Stone had Morrison on its cover with the headline, “He’s Hot, He’s Sexy . . . He’s Dead.”

Hollywood chased the Morrison story for nearly a decade while the Morrison estate and the surviving members of the band battled over the movie rights. Eventually, Grazer’s Imagine Productions held all the cards--a hefty $2-million development package--largely through the assistance of veteran rock producer Bill Graham, who shares production credit on the film. Grazer took the project to Stone--who had just passed on the on-again, off-again “Evita"--and Mario Kossar’s Carolco Productions, which had signed the director to a two-picture deal.

For Stone, directing “The Doors” brought several new challenges. “It was a very complicated screenplay to write,” says Stone, who shares screenwriting credit with J. Randal Johnson, who had done an earlier draft. Using his usual reporter’s approach, Stone plowed through “250 transcripts from people who had known Jim. It was like ‘Citizen Kane’ in a way--everyone had a different point of view.” Stone shot the film last spring with 30,000 extras for concert scenes in San Francisco, New York, Paris and Los Angeles, including the L. A. clubs Whisky a Go-Go and The Central, which doubled as the old London Fog.

Recreating The Doors’ sound on film proved more difficult. Kilmer, a baritone like Morrison, was cast after Stone interviewed hundreds of actors. Perhaps best known as Ice Man, Tom Cruise’s nemesis in the film “Top Gun,” Kilmer had been so eager to land the role that he recorded an entire Doors album, substituting his own vocals for Morrison’s. In a similar move, Stone decided to obtain the rights to The Doors’ master tapes minus Morrison’s lead vocals. He then spliced the original soundtracks with performances by the actors--Kilmer, MacLachlan, Kevin Dillon and Frank Whaley, who learned to play instruments for the film. The film’s final cut contains 25 Doors songs, including such classic hits as “L. A. Woman,” “Crystal Ship,” “Light My Fire” and “The End.” The music was recorded with “a little bit of Jim Morrison’s vocals--and in the concert scenes I have mixed in the actors’ voices, and I defy you to find the difference,” Stone says.

Kilmer describes Stone as “a person of vision and integrity. He has lived triumph and horrors. And I can tell you his life does not pass unexamined. Look at his body of work. It pulls from his introspection, knowledge and vast intuition.”

Indeed, ask Stone what he hopes the reception for his film will be, and he launches into another paternalistic eulogy for the ‘60s. “A lot of people will want to see this the way they wanted to see Tom Cruise in ‘Born,’ so they can be given an alternative way of looking at things,” he says. “These kids have grown up with Travolta and disco, the high-tech world of the ‘80s, and maybe they have never even seen that there is a different, an alternative, lifestyle, a world we’ve lost touch with.”

“WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE BAND OF THE ‘60s?”

Stone is asking this over lunch of Thai soup--hot as napalm--set out for him and his guest in an upstairs conference room. With Stone, that isn’t an idle question; it’s a password, a test of character, sort of like the soup he’s ordered--beyond an ordinary mortal’s standards. “Come on, it’s good for you,” he says laughing at his guest’s discomfort. “It puts hair on your chest.”

Shying away from risks is the ultimate sin with Stone, the only child of a privileged Manhattan couple, a stockbroker father and socialite mother. Stone wore a coat and tie every day to prep school, wrote weekly essays for his father--who paid him 25 cents each--and embarked on his well-documented fall from grace as soon as he was able. Says one old friend: “Oliver grew up with a lot of contradictions in his life--Jewish father, French Roman Catholic mother who was this semi-Regine-type character. Oliver led this sort of Eurotrash jet-setter’s life--even after his parents were divorced--where nothing was normal.”

“My mother was never in bed before 3 in the morning,” Stone recalls. “She used to take me to France in the summers, and she was a great fan of movies, took me out of school to go to double and triple features. She was this kind of Auntie Mame person. ‘Evita’ would have been my homage to her.”

His parents’ divorce when he was 16 years old, Stone says, “was like parting the curtains of a stage play and seeing what was really there. I found out about a whole lot of things--affairs--I had been blind to. After that, I felt I was really on my own.”

The divorce also coincided with a larger rupture--Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the de facto starting gun of the ‘60s. “I had no faith in my parents’ generation after that,” Stone says. “By 1965, I was in Vietnam"--first as a teacher and a merchant marine, later as an Army enlistee.

He briefly attended Yale University, his father’s alma mater, which he says he “hated, especially since it was before women were admitted.” Stone dropped out and headed for Vietnam.

He was wounded twice and earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in a tour of duty that was later chronicled in “Platoon.” “He was never a regular GI Joe,” recalls Crutcher Patterson, a former member of Stone’s platoon. “He was pretty green, a loner and moody, always writing things. Whenever we got a break, he would stop and write a little descriptive story about it.”

During his brief Army career, Stone abandoned the idea of being a writer--he had written a novel at 18--to become a filmmaker. “Being there was a very sensual experience, and I started thinking in visual terms,” Stone says. “In Vietnam, all your senses were awakened. You had to see better, smell better, hear better. It was very sensual, with the jungle six inches in front of your face. You couldn’t think along abstract lines--you had to become more animalistic or you wouldn’t survive.”

He bought a still camera and started taking pictures even before he left for home. Once Stone returned to New York, “I got a super-8 right away and started making home movies.” He enrolled at New York University’s film school, where he studied under director Martin Scorsese, drove a cab, married Najwa Sarkis--an official at the Moroccan mission to the United Nations--and made “short, crude 16-millimeter films that were really screwed up,” Stone says. “They were arty, kind of abstract poems with a touch of Orson Welles and the French New Wave filmmakers--Goddard, Resnais, Bunuel. I was trying to get away from a normal narrative line.”

He was also pursuing a similar line in his personal life. Arrested for marijuana possession in Mexico 10 days after his return from Vietnam, Stone became well known for using drugs, an experience that later informed his screenplay for Brian DePalma’s ���Scarface.”

“I started smoking cigarettes on the plane going over to Vietnam,” says Stone. “Once I got there, the guys I liked best had been around drugs for ages, and I started doing acid and marijuana. I also got into the music. I had never heard Motown before then. Jefferson Airplane and the Doors. Jim was the acid king. It was all part of the Zeitgeist. “

It was a taste for substance abuse, topped off with an appetite for pursuing women, that Stone, newly divorced, took with him to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s as an aspiring screenwriter. He soon had a reputation notable even by Hollywood’s standards. “He always had a million women in his life,” says one female former friend. “I don’t think he missed too many.”

In Hollywood, Stone wrote “Platoon,” and although it would be more than 10 years before he would get it made, the script earned him attention as a writer of unusual force.

“I was looking for a writer for ‘Conan’ ” recalls Ed Pressman, an independent film producer who worked with Stone on “Conan the Barbarian” and several films since, including “Born.” “His agent showed me ‘Platoon,’ and I was very taken with it. His script for ‘Conan’ was a great screenplay. Like Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ ”

The success of that film led to other screenwriting assignments--"Midnight Express,” “Scarface,” “Year of the Dragon” among others--all white-hot, unsubtle stories, the type that increasingly became Stone’s signature. He won his first Oscar for “Midnight Express,” which led to his first directing opportunity--"The Hand,” a marginal thriller starring Michael Caine that failed at the box office and temporarily stalled Stone’s directing career. Eventually, he was able to make the low-budget “Salvador” through Hemdale Productions, followed by “Platoon,” a $6-million film that Orion picked up from Hemdale and that saw grosses in the hundreds of millions. After that, Stone was admitted to the big leagues--directing Michael Douglas in “Wall Street” and Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July.” The latter film, based on Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic’s life story, won Stone his second Best Director award but lost out for Best Picture to the crowd pleaser “Driving Miss Daisy"--a loss that Stone took particularly hard. “We made over $60 million with that film--an incredible success. I guess it was just not meant to be.”

Today, Stone has remarried and divides his time among homes in Santa Monica, Montecito and Colorado with his wife, Elizabeth, a former nurse, and their 6-year-old son, Sean, who plays young Morrison in “The Doors.” Stone hasn’t lost his concern for current events: “I’m praying for our soldiers, who are making the ultimate sacrifice in the Gulf War, but I don’t think Bush ever intended to negotiate. There was a military-industrial complex that pushed us into this.” Friends add that the director’s only real interest these days, in addition to making films, “is trying to set up other films.”

Have Stone’s demons finally gone AWOL? “I didn’t say I didn’t miss my old life,” he says with a half-smile. “I love the concept of suburbia, but I also love going to New York and Europe and Asia, meeting new people. My wife and I are different that way. I have a restlessness that never stops.”

Indeed, as soon as “The Doors” opens, Stone is off to Dallas to begin shooting his version of the Kennedy assassination, a film that Stone describes as “the untold story of a murder that occurred at the dawn of our adulthood. It’s a bit like ‘Hamlet.’ You know, the real king was killed, and a fake king put on the throne.” Suggest to Stone that some of Camelot’s luster has tarnished since 1963, and the director says quietly, “There has been an incredible disinformation campaign put out about him. A lot of misinformation. I am using everything I have to get this film made.”

Ask Stone if he likes where he is positioned now in the industry and he laughs. “Oh, this is the part where you’re going to quote me, right? The outlaw director.”

If Stone is cagey about self-definition these days, friends seem equally divided. Some, such as Pressman, who produced “Blue Steel” and “Reversal of Fortune” with Stone, say the director “is at the top of his game. I was always mesmerized and excited by his personality, but now he is much more comfortable with himself and a lot easier to work with.”

But another Hollywood executive suggests that “Oliver has not changed much. He really hasn’t mellowed. He is conflicted about his ‘financial’ success. But that’s how Hollywood respects you--they pay for what they respect, and his movies now make money.”

Stone does seem to be a man with his eye fixed perpetually over his shoulder, one who keeps a daily diary and who describes the art of filmmaking as giving vent to “that other person that is in you. The shadow self, the one that is always walking behind you. The real you, the deeper you.

“I’m not going to say I’m a lone soul here, wandering through my own soundtrack,” he says. “I enjoy the community of people who love movies. And I like using the power that I have to make things happen. But will I be doing this forever? Maybe I’ll be working in Eritrea or the Sudan, or maybe I’ll become a journalist for Rolling Stone.”

Stone has spent several hours over lunch, repeatedly waving off his crew, but now his impatience is tangible. “I still don’t like the answer I gave you about the ‘60s, how this film relates to this current generation. I felt stupid. I was doing a lot of ‘ums’ and ‘ahs,’ ” he says, suddenly obsessed with his image.

“I don’t want to believe in generation conflict, but it’s there. I feel distant from my own generation, out of step with the people my age who went to college. I always identified more with the Charlie Sheen generation, that younger group who came up, because it gave me new life. I was able to act out my own history through them, skip a generation and go back to it again. Believe me, that’s exciting, and I’m grateful for that chance because our tribal rituals are the same. It doesn’t have to be Jim Morrison or Vietnam; it’s about going out there and finding yourself.”

-Hilary de Vries, “RIDER ON THE STORM : With ‘The Doors,’ Director Oliver Stone Exhumes the ‘60s in All Their Lurid Excess,” Los Angeles Times, Feb 24 1991 [x]

[sheilacwall]

Common: ‘I wanted to be the dopest. Then I found a higher purpose’ | Music

It’s apt that Common and I meet in Philadelphia, the US city of brotherly love. The rapper, who is also an activist and Emmy-winning actor, has a preoccupation with the subject, which he believes should be the driving force behind personal and social change. “My mother’s love was the first thing I pretty much knew,” he says as we drive to the soundcheck for a gig. His new album, Let Love, his 12th, is full of lush, moving jazz and soul-tinged odes to life, hip-hop, his mother, his 22-year-old daughter, his hope for a future romantic relationship and to God.

Common, 47, speaks powerfully about his childhood, growing up on Chicago’s notorious South Side. His parents split when he was a baby, but he maintained regular contact with his father, and his grandmother walked him to school. There he met Mr Brown, a teacher who “took a lot of pride in what it was to be a black man”. Although the drugs and gangs that plagued the neighbourhood were close by, “it wasn’t like every day we were walking around dodging bullets,” Common explains in a laid-back drawl. “The ultimate thing was that, man, I had something to aspire to. One of the solutions to the violence that goes on in the inner city is providing young people with something [that makes them] feel valued.”

Common performing in Austin in August. Photograph: Gary Miller/Getty Images

He’s become known for writing conscious rap, but his debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar, came out in an era when gangsta rap was the genre’s driving force. It depicted a less mature person, particularly on the misogynist track Heidi Hoe. “I definitely put a lot of that down to youth,” Common explains, sounding a bit embarrassed. “It was ‘bros before hoes’ – stuff you’re repeating from your homies when you’re not really thinking for yourself yet.”

After the album failed to achieve commercial success, he embarked on a journey of personal and spiritual growth. He read the Bible and the Qur’an, listened to jazz and worked on his craft as an MC. Two years later, he came back with a critically acclaimed second album, Resurrection. It was “as if Common had gone from playing dozens on the corner to standing in as an elder statesman”, declared one critic. “[He was] socially conscious, verbally dexterous and seemingly wise beyond his years.” Clearly, his underwhelming experiences with his first album affected him. “I named the album Resurrection because I felt like I was coming back from the dead,” he says, with a deep belly laugh.

“My ambition initially was driven by wanting to be seen, wanting to be heard – I wanted to be the dopest. But when I started writing stories about myself I would have people come to me and say, ‘Wow, your song Retrospect for Life [about abortion] made me decide to have my child.’ When people start telling you how your music has affected them, you know that it has a higher purpose.”

Common: Resurrection �� video

The experience taught him that change doesn’t happen unless you make it happen. He applied the same line of thinking to acting, which he began studying in 2001. He’s appeared in more than 50 movies – including a role in Ava DuVernay’s Selma and in the next 10 years, he says: “I want people to say, “Man, he’s one of the great actors of his generation.’” Calling acting enlightening and therapeutic, he says it has taught him that “what’s more important than being cool is telling the truth”.

This might sound like so much celebrity puff, but Common credits acting with a profound late-in-life revelation. While filming The Tale, a film about sexual abuse starring Laura Dern, he recalled that he had been molested as a child by a male relative of a family friend. Common opens up easily about the recollection: “It was something I had removed from my thoughts, but through being part of the movie, the situation came to my memory. As a kid I must have felt, ‘I don’t want nobody to know about this, I don’t wanna get in trouble or get this person in trouble’, so I just didn’t let it exist in my mind.”

Common with Democratic party politician Stacey Abrams at a rally in 2018. Photograph: Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

He also wrote about this in his memoir, Let Love Have the Last Word, published earlier this year. “I’ve recently been getting into the mental health of the community and how we deal with some of the issues that are generational [but] we never talk about,” he says. “This is one of them.”

At first reticent to write about the issue – music was “a safer place” to deal with it, he says – he discussed it with his mother, who told him something similar had happened in their family. “It was something people never talked about, but the not talking about it is what allows it to continue,” Common says. He felt it was vital he share his story so that “anybody who has experienced [abuse] can feel they don’t have to carry the shame and can figure out a way to get past it and heal”.

The topic of healing weighs heavily on the rapper’s mind these days, especially when it comes to race, poverty and US politics. “There has to be a shift in values,” he says. “What can we offer our communities to provide people not only with hope but with practical ways to advance and live a full life?”

More than a decade ago, he created the Common Ground Foundation, which focuses on empowering high-school students from underserved communities. It is about to open the Art in Motion charter school in Chicago. He is also involved in criminal justice reform initiatives. Since 2017, he has toured California prisons, talking to and performing for inmates. His efforts have been credited with helping pass a bill in California that allows young offenders sentenced to life without parole the opportunity to have their cases reheard.

Sitting on his tour bus after his show, Common sips on red wine while showing friends the video for Show Me That You Love, a song about how his relationship with his daughter has evolved. A few years ago, she told him she didn’t think he had been the best father – he was separated from her mother and away on tour all the time – and she felt that he didn’t really care about her. At first, Common says, he was defensive, but then they started mending their relationship with the help of therapy.

“It’s important that people see there are artists out there who have achieved, but they still have issues they are working through,” he says, explaining why he wants to reveal vulnerability in his music. “This is why I talk about therapy and mindfulness and meditation in my [new] songs. It’s why I talk about being molested, and my father. The job of the artist is to not always show the accolades.”

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[projectalbum]

At my most beautiful. 194. “Up,” 195. “Reveal,” 196. “In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003,” 197. “Around the Sun,” 198. “And I Feel Fine… The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987,” 199. “R.E.M. Live" by R.E.M.

If New Adventures in Hi-Fi was part of the score to my college years (along with a sudden influx of Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails, and Bob Dylan), my hesitant, unsure 20's were captured by Up.

Up (#194) was a bold recalibration of R.E.M. as a three-piece after the departure of Bill Berry. The compilation In Time (#196) had helpfully introduced me to the electronically-inflected chamber pop of “Daysleeper” and “At My Most Beautiful” (which only now, years later, do I recognize as a Beach Boys pastiche.) So as big of a stylistic departure as it is, with gentler melodies, burbling distortion, processed or programmed drums, and an air of the retro-futurism that had begun creeping into late 90’s aesthetics, I wasn't taken aback the way long-time fans were. The songs didn’t need to reassure me that the band was still A Thing after losing a founding member; by the time I got around to Up, it was simply another entry in the canon.

“Airportman” sounds like what it is: a transitional piece; a low key, glimpsed-through-a-keyhole preview of a new sound. The lyrics are murmured, the pre-programmed beat and keyboards nearly chintzy. The bass is a single note, repeated percussively, that provides the counterweight to the tinkling, echoey vibraphone; the only guitar presence is trembling feedback floating in the ether. I know it’s considered an odd choice for an opening gambit— it was even the first number they played publicly as a three-piece, to the collective head-scratching of an arena. But like “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" or "All The Love In The World,” it's a song that isn’t necessarily representative of the album as a whole, but it's one that never fails to put me in the right headspace for the journey: ready for the unexpected. 

“Suspicion” is a track that I return to often. On my 70th or so listen, I recognize that the lyrics are about meeting someone and wanting to luxuriate in the fantasy. "Please don't talk, don't make me think / Order up another drink / Let me let imagination drive.” Don’t break the spell by bringing real life into this. Radiohead covered similar ground on “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” but the sonic approach here is much mellower, almost a satire of spacey cocktail lounge music.

Bleating forth from the soft outro of “Suspicion” comes “Hope,” a dramatically out-of-the-box composition for this band: busy loops of synth, organ, piano, rattling guitar feedback, and stanzas with no chorus. As a weirdo hymn about "looking for deliverance” while trying to avoid the traps of recognizable religious dogma, it channels the itch for transcendence in me. “You look up to the heavens and you hope that it’s a spaceship” and "You’re looking like an idiot, and you no longer care,” two lines for the spooky seekers among us. Befitting a song about searching that offers no answers, the melody doesn’t resolve so much as boil over into cacophony and then cut itself short.

Up was largely overlooked on release, but it has gained a comfortable reputation over the years (the singles never really stuck, but “Walk Unafraid” is the classic track of the record). Which has opened up a spot for Reveal (#195) to step up as The Underrated R.E.M. Album. It’s a further journey into trippy, sunny pop, shot through with electronica. The titles of these records could easily be transposed: the angst and introspection of the tracks on Up��suggest something the artists Reveal, whereas the modus operandi of “Summer Turns To High” and “All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)” is to convince us that things are looking Up.

It could be easy to get the shakes from the taste of so much sugarcane (that’s a reference to “Imitation of Life,” y’see), but the band adds a dash of bitters with the stirring balladry of “She Just Wants To Be,” featuring Peter Buck’s most aching solo since the New Adventures days, and the cracked Americana of “Disappear,” which transforms the string arrangements that sweep through the lighter songs into scritching dissonance. The bubbly production can at times threaten to shave the edges off of solid songs like “Beat A Drum” and “I’ll Take The Rain.” For the first several years of owning this record, the 2nd half tended to melt into a candy-colored mass in my brain. Unplugged recordings unlocked the re-listenability, and the whole disc has become perfect for summertime spinning.

Around The Sun (#197), consensus pick for the weakest album in their catalogue, has some strong melodies and biting political sentiment hidden behind some anemic performances and shrug-worthy production. I’m probably fonder of it than most: I groove on “The Outsiders,” for instance, which gives some folks palpitations due to the mere presence of hip-hop in the mix— but Q-Tip’s guest verse is the high point, not a repeat of KRS One’s cornball contribution way back on Out of Time. Opener “Leaving New York” is a bittersweet ballad for Stipe’s adopted home, still overcast by recent tragedy and a lifetime of personal associations. While the band was never shy in the press about throwing a spotlight on political issues, the post-9/11, middle of the Iraq War atmosphere couldn’t help but flow into the lyrics to a larger degree than ever before.

“Final Straw” is an electro-bluegrass reaction to the feckless villainy of Bush and Cheney in the midst of a million little cuts to civil liberties: "As I raise my head to broadcast my objection / As your latest triumph draws the final straw  / Who died and lifted you up to perfection? / And what silenced me is written into law.” The righteous anger within the singer tussles with his empathy and belief in love’s ultimate victory against hate. “I Wanted To Be Wrong” follows, a look at the strange contradictions of America revealing themselves in the light of a conservative sea change. Stipe follows a verse about the milk and honey, bread basket bounty of America that he’s enjoyed in a largely privileged life, with the reflection: "Mythology's seductive and it turned a trick on me / That I have just begun to understand.” There’s a diseased streak of greed and inequality winding through it all, and it became impossible to turn your eyes from.

These tracks flourished a bit more on tour, out of the stifling studio environment that lead Peter Buck to describe the results as "a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can't stand it anymore.” There’s a heavy focus on the Sun songs throughout the band’s first live album, the straight-forwardly-titled R.E.M. Live (#199). Not a huge surprise, as it was recorded in Dublin during the tour supporting what would end up being their last studio release for four years. Everyone is in fine form on those maligned songs, but the exciting inclusions are performances like “I Took Your Name,” in a recording that made me take notice of that gloriously surreal kiss-off song I had ignored in the back half of Monster. That qualifies as the most obscure pick in a setlist that reliably digs up the hits and a few fan faves. My favorite moment might be the soulful intro to “Walk Unafraid,” just Michael Stipe’s voice over sustained church organ, before the rest of the band crashes in.

Where Warner Bros’s In Time compilation had served me as a helpful primer, And I Feel Fine… (#198), released 3 years into my assured R.E.M. fandom, was worth it for the remastered versions of I.R.S. Records tracks that only existed on 80’s-era CD’s. The rarities were a major draw for the 2-disc version, though it feels like a bit of a joke now, in the light of our current Everything Streams! age (just check out the literally hundreds of b-sides and alternate mixes and live recordings on Spotify or iTunes). But you get new liner notes, as any physical media fan will stump for, and there’s a personal curation hook to the deep cuts selected by all four original band members.

After recovering from the loss of Bill Berry’s contributions, and in the light of their first truly disappointing LP, R.E.M. took a look at their past to gain insight into a bold future. It wouldn't last long, but it would be on their terms.

[aion-rsa]

Wonder Woman 1984’s Maxwell Lord is a Trumpian Villain For Our Time

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The best movie villains are ones who tie into a deeper theme. The Dark Knight Joker isn’t scary solely for his mad unpredictability, he is terrifying because he embodies a thematic nihilism that Bruce has chosen to fight against every time he puts on the cowl. It will (hopefully) be six weeks before we see Wonder Woman 1984, but Den of Geek had the chance to garner some insight into the sequel film during a set visit two years ago.

Coming away from that visit, I was most excited about the relevance of the film’s main themes to contemporary America. While the Wonder Woman sequel is set in 1984, it seems to be a story that taps into the anxieties and frustrations of late stage capitalism (though the producers and cast never used this terminology). Wonder Woman 1984 antagonist Maxwell Lord (played by The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal) is the perfect villain to embody that theme. Described by producer Anna Obropta as a “desperate, self-obsessed, fraudulent entrepreneur who runs a business selling the American dream,” Wonder Woman 1984‘s depiction of a villain doesn’t sound so far away from what many of our society’s real-life villains look like, and that might not be a coincidence…

Maxwell Lord has a long history in the comics. First introduced in 1987’s Justice League #1 and previously depicted on-screen in Smallville and Supergirl, Lord is generally depicted as a cunning and powerful businessman. In Wonder Woman 1984, he is the president of Black Gold International, a corporation that promises to give the people of America, according to the trailer, “everything [they] always wanted.”

“[The 1980s] was the height of everything that we’re now paying the price for,” says director Patty Jenkins. “It was like we thought for sure it could go on forever and there was going to be no price and you could just exponential growth then it could keep going and all of this excess. And so I think, in that way, we’re talking about then and we’re also talking about right now. We’re talking about what we’re dealing with right now because that struggle is very much alive in our own psyche.”

Producer Anna Obropta expands on this discussion of theme by highlighting the decision to set the sequel film in 1984.

Why 1984? America was at the peak of its power and its pride. It was everything from commercialism, fashion, wealth, even violence was in excess. It was a decade of greed and desire with time of me and more, so America was really at its peak. It was humanity at its best and at its worst. 1984 because it was a year of lessons learned, lessons for a goddess warrior and lessons for all of us.

How does Maxwell Lord tie into all of this? He epitomizes that greed and desire, building his unsustainable business model on that part of all of us that wishes for having without consequence. As Jenkins puts it: “[He is] somebody who’s everything about that era and what we believed in then that has resulted in who we are now.”

When it comes to a film, nothing you see on screen is a coincidence. It was a conscious, ideally story-driven choice made by a production department under the vision of the director. When it comes to the aesthetic of Maxwell Lord, it’s not a coincidence he dresses like Donald Trump circa 1980-something. When we visit the costume department, a photo of 80s-era Trump is on a board of inspirations for Lord’s costuming.

“[Maxwell Lord is a man who] appears to have quite a bit of money, but not so much taste,” costumer designer Lindy Hemming tells us. “So he has really beautiful tailoring done by lovely tailors, and beautiful fabrics, really elegant and expensive, but just something is not quite right. How’s that? They don’t quite fit and they’re not quite right. And I’m sure that people will think I don’t know anything about tailoring when they see it, but the truth is, that’s how we wanted them to be.”

Speaking about using a younger Trump as inspiration, Hemming says: “There is something about the period of Donald Trump and being a businessman, isn’t there, of being rather sleazy a little bit, and a bit goofy and a lot of talk. So that’s why he’s there.”

Much of the action in Wonder Woman 1984 is based in Washington D.C. During our set visit, we get to tour Diana’s swanky-yet-comfortable, D.C.-based apartment, as well as a White House Oval Office set where, presumably, Maxwell Lord spends some time. Later in the set visit, we watch Jenkins films a scene that sees Diana and Steve facing off against Maxwell Lord and his henchman in the halls of the White House—another not-so-subtle hint that, while Lord is very much his own filmic character with a history in the comics, his specific portrayal in this film draws at least partial inspiration from the real-life antagonist currently sitting in the real-life Oval Office.

“You know, what I wanted this movie to be about was pretty clear fairly early on,” says Jenkins, discussing the thematic important of truth and its manipulation in the film. “There is something about what the world wants to talk about right now, and [Diana] happens to have this lasso of truth, and truth ends up figuring in very large.”

It should be noted that, like most big-budget studio tentpoles, this film is not overtly political. In fact, when discussing having filmed in D.C. and the city’s prominence in the film, Gal Gadot specifically says: “The movie is not a political movie, but … it taps on issues that are very current.”

I don’t believe there is such a thing as an apolitical movie—films that viewers tend to classify as such are really just movies that reinforce the political and social status quo. I doubt that Wonder Woman 1984 is going to be particularly subversive (though, frankly, as a big-budget Hollywood film that centers women in positions of creative authority both in front of and behind the camera, its existence in and of itself is subversive), but I am interested in the filmmakers interest in using the 1980s as a setting not solely for its fun fashion and its hip tunes, but as “a metaphor for this time,” as producer Charles Roven puts it.

The best antagonists and themes also challenge our hero in some way. Maxwell Lord and his promise of easy happiness driven by greed and desire goes against everything that Diana believes in and works for, but that doesn’t mean she might not be susceptible to the temptation. (Isn’t it interesting that Steve Trevor somehow appears decades after his death?)

When we catch back up with Diana, she is secretly saving the world as Wonder Woman, but also working in cultural anthropology and archeology at the Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian.

“While she’s still doing her best to stoically perform her duty to protect humanity, we learn early in the film that she’s very slightly disengaged with the world, and a bit lonely,” says Obropta. “The world whips around her, as people chase after dreams of wealth and power and fame, dreams that are apparently for sale by [Lord].”

The film’s other antagonist, Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva (aka Cheetah), is one of the people who buys what Lord is selling. While Barbara enters the story as Diana’s co-worker and newfound friend, she “falls prey to this scheme of Black Gold International,” says Obropta.

“She starts to transform,” continues Obropta. “At first look, it is a dream come true. She’s wished for and now feels more confident. She feels more beautiful. She feels physically stronger. She feels more seen and respected in the world, but her power takes a very fast, very dark turn as she transforms into this vicious and savage creature, like nothing we could have ever imagined.”

Barbara isn’t the only person whose dreams begin to come true.

“At first, it’s great,” says Obropta, “but what happens if you get everything you ever wanted, everything you think you deserve? … What happens when the entire world gets what they want at the same time? What are the consequences for Barbara? For [Maxwell Lord]? For Diana? For you and for the world?”

Through a certain lens, it’s a capitalist thought experiment wrapped up in a superhero movie, and I say that with the utmost delight presuming that it is still going to be mostly epic fight sequences and Diana getting shit nobly done. Movies don’t have to be overtly political to mean something. They’re reflecting and impacting our culture whether they are meant to or not, whether we want them to or not. I appreciate that Wonder Woman 1984 seems to be trying something thematically new, especially in its use of the 1980s not simply as an excuse to rock shoulder pads and Walkmans but as a major turning point in our country’s relationship to and execution of its capitalist ideals.

“I would say that it’s a good bet that Patty was using that time as a metaphor for this time,” reflects Roven. “There are a lot of similarities to where the world was. It’s remarkable how those similarities just keep growing.”

Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters on October 2nd. Warner Bros. will be dropping a new trailer for the film this Saturday during the Wonder Woman 1984 panel at 1pm ET at DC Fandome.

The post Wonder Woman 1984’s Maxwell Lord is a Trumpian Villain For Our Time appeared first on Den of Geek.

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12 issues you should know in tech at this time

Right here’s your day by day tech digest, by means of the DGiT Each day publication, for Wednesday, June 12, 2019!

1. Nintendo: this E3’s winner?

The main E3 2019 conferences at the moment are over and we’ll quickly be again to speaking different tech. However first, right here’s what went down with the Nintendo Direct.

Nintendo

Nintendo introduced a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and it was probably the best-kept secret of this yr’s present / all time.

In a brief teaser, we see Hyperlink and Zelda touring by a mysterious cave (I assume all caves are sort of mysterious aren’t they?) accompanied by some eerie, backward music, and a glowing, flowing gentle.

Subsequent factor , some useless monstrosity (that followers are fairly certain is the collection’ recurring villain Ganondorf) is reanimating and Hyrule Fort is rising from the bottom.

That’s about all we acquired from the teaser when it comes to plot, and we didn’t be taught something about gameplay.

Nevertheless it seems prefer it’s based mostly on the Breath of the Wild engine and tech, so an enormous graphical or gameplay overhaul gained’t be in tow.

Similar console, similar engine, darker tone… this feels very very like what Majora’s Masks was to Ocarina of Time. Which might technically imply it would destroy each different recreation, ever?

A direct relationship to Majora’s Masks has already been denied, although. Boo!

Fairly than a launch date or title reveal, the teaser ends with the quote: “The sequel to the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is now in development.”

I think it’s two or so years away from launch, however my co-worker Ollie Cragg has one other concept.

Upcoming Animal Crossing title pushed again to 2020

Nintendo

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been delayed till March 20, 2020 after Nintendo beforehand stated it was coming in 2019.

However there’s a brief new gameplay trailer right here, after which 24 minutes of footage and a chat by way of Gamespot right here, and it seems so gosh-darn lovely I can’t be upset in regards to the delay.

On this iteration of the chat-to-animals-and-craft-stuff-em-up, gamers are set to construct a brand new life on a abandoned island.

It doesn’t appear to be it would keep abandoned for very lengthy.

The gameplay appears to be very a lot within the custom of earlier titles, however the trailer’s finish suggests the participant will obtain management of a possible smartphone-like gadget by way of enterprise tycoon-racoon Tom Nook. What is going to it do? Hmmm.

These unfamiliar with Animal Crossing could also be forgiven for questioning if it’s a spoof of a youngsters’s academic recreation.

And people conversant in Animal Crossing will in all probability have already fainted from the joy of all of it.

Different Nintendo bulletins

Gamespot

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is heading to the Swap this yr, which means you’ll quickly have the ability to Gwent on the go.

The title picked up quite a few game-of-the-year awards in 2015, and regardless of its age, it’s going to check the Swap’s hardware to the max. The Witcher’s official Twitter has confirmed it would run at 720p decision when docked and 540p whereas handheld.

There have been baggage of latest footage of The Legend of Zelda: Hyperlink’s Awakening remake, and a confirmed launch date: September 20, 2019. Should you haven’t seen what it seems like, have a peek – the artwork model is ridiculously good.

Additionally, we should all shield the Hyperlink’s Awakening amiibo.

We acquired a take a look at some upcoming Smash Bros DLC characters, together with Banjo-Kazooie (after a cheeky faux out) and a few Dragon Quest people that Japan in all probability went nuts over.

And a cinematic trailer for Fireplace Emblem: Three Homes appeared. That’s touchdown on the Swap subsequent month on July 26.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is occurring and the web is right here for his slimy doppelganger, Gooigi.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Defend gameplay was proven off. Appears scorching however persons are upset in regards to the Pokémon switch limitations. It’s difficult, however principally, you possibly can’t catch ‘em all on this one.

A brand new Trials of Mana RPG is on the horizon, coming early 2020. It is a large deal for some long-time followers – the collection has been round for the reason that mid-90s.

And Nintendo introduced No Extra Heroes 3 – one other collection with a fervent following (for some purpose).

A superb present all spherical

Nintendo didn’t point out its rumored new Swap consoles – minor up to date machines stated to be coming this yr – or the lately rebooted Metroid Prime 4, Bayonetta 3, or Pikmin 4.

And but it nonetheless had a killer E3 with tons of causes to be excited in regards to the Swap’s future.

I simply realized how Nintendo has actually embraced the “family friendly” picture it tried to shake within the GameCube days. It makes for a pleasant change of tempo from the drab tone and gun porn in so many different gameplay trailers at this yr’s E3.

Additionally, I bear in mind poring over E3 screenshots in Nintendo Official Journal once I was a child, and now all these things is there, with a great deal of footage, on YouTube. Fairly neat.

2. Mark Zuckerberg deepfake to bother Fb faux video stance?

Instagram

From the great world of Nintendo to a considerably bleak actuality.

A deepfake video, displaying the likeness of Mark Zuckerberg, has appeared on Instagram.

Within the video, created by artists Invoice Posters and Daniel Howe with promoting firm Canny, the faux Zuckerberg talks in regards to the implications of 1 individual controlling billions of individuals’s stolen knowledge.

“Imagine this for a second: One man, with total control of billions of people’s stolen data, all their secrets, their lives, their futures,” says Fakerberg.

Instagram proprietor Fb has beforehand stated it might not take away this kind of video below its insurance policies. However what about when it issues its personal CEO?

Effectively, Instagram advised Motherboard would deal with this video the identical method because it treats all different misinformation on its platform.

Which means deprioritization, however not removing.

Anybody watching the video fastidiously (or listening for that matter) will discover it isn’t fairly proper. However that depends on the viewer’s considerably cautious consideration.

Which, on the subject of on-line media, will be briefly provide.

Although it’s good to see Fb-owned Instagram standing by its coverage regardless that this impacts the massive man himself, the dangerous information is – as we’re all conscious by now – faux content material will be produced for political acquire.

As soon as this know-how reaches the purpose the place it’s utterly indistinguishable from actuality, we may very well be doomed.

New York Occasions warned we must be ready for this eventuality in an article earlier this week: Deepfakes are coming. we will not consider what we see. Don’t miss it.

3. Fb desires to present you cash in your knowledge (Android Authority). That’s fairly, erm, properly, erm, er, properly, erm, ahem, yeah… higher than taking it totally free, is what I’ll say about that.

4. Additionally, Zuckerberg apparently reached out to Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a current deepfake she was the goal of. She hasn’t known as him again (Washington Publish).

5. LG Elec’s 5G telephones unsure as chip cope with Qualcomm set to run out (Reuters).

6. The Pixel Four might have been noticed in real-life images, although we don’t get an awesome take a look at the gadget as a result of it’s inside a case. There are a number of Pixel Four designs within the works, apparently, however this may very well be one among them (GSMArena).

7. Extra Pixel Four rumors, together with dialogue about its potential sq. digicam bump (The Verge).

8. TechCrunch says Tesla has a design for a submarine automotive simply sitting round, however I say, why wouldn’t it? It in all probability has a great deal of oddball automotive designs sitting round… its enterprise is breakthrough automotive tech (TechCrunch).

9. Dropbox is getting a large overhaul, desires to be the middle of your workflow (The Verge). Form of wants it as a result of Google Drive has been destroying it.

10. Uber provides Melbourne to flying taxi plans (Monetary Occasions). It in all probability gained’t appear to be a yellow cab like in Again to the Future Half II, although.

11. Apple discusses acquisition of Intel’s German modem unit (The Info, paywall)

12. Huawei says it’s scrapping laptop computer launch due to US blacklisting (CNBC). We don’t know which laptop computer, however its MateBook collection depends on Intel chips, so it was probably a type of.

DGiT Each day: Your Tech Useful resource

In case you don’t know, the DGiT Each day delivers a day by day electronic mail that retains you forward of the curve for all tech information, opinions, and hyperlinks to what’s taking place within the planet’s most necessary area. You get all of the context and perception you want, and all with a contact of enjoyable, and the day by day enjoyable aspect that you just in any other case miss.

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Michael Bublé Talks Eggplant Emojis, ‘Sexist’ Christmas Cover

“You’re my first. Be gentle with me. Can we start with, like, a foreplay thing where you can just take it easy on me? Some gentle licking perhaps, and then we’ll get into the heavy stuff.” And so my interview with Michael Bublé, who has almost made me forget he has a wife, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, begins.

Returning to music with a new heart-emoji-titled album called love that he will support on a world tour in 2019, Bublé – who introduces himself by that mononym when he rings me directly – spoke openly on a variety of topics, including the difficulties of being a public figure amid familial distress, atoning for his “sexist” Christmas song and doing his part to support the LGBTQ community.

It’s sweet that this album uses the heart emoji for its title, though the gay community certainly wouldn’t have argued with you naming your album using the eggplant emoji.

Oh god, I wanted to use the eggplant. You have no idea.

You fought for that.

I did. I had long conversations about it. And you think I’m joking. I’ve already said this a million times when talking to my friends: They were like, (in a deeply bro voice) “Why didn’t you use the eggplant?” and I’m like, “Oh, I would have.”

Did you intend for the album to be a Band-Aid for our divisive times?

Yeah, it’s funny that you just said that: I’ve actually said that in private. You know what, man, obviously everything I’ve gone through has everything to do with this record and what I want to put out to the world. I had different names that I’d come up with, but there was nothing that really explained the record and the concept as well as just one word could.

The record is about love, but it’s not simply about romantic love. It was really a record that was kind of my theory on this word, this emotion that has so much range. When you hear it you think, “Oh god, romantic and lovey-smovey,” but there’s so many different things that happen with that word.

“When I Fall in Love” is such a beautiful track and people say, “Oh, it’s so romantic.” It is romantic. But for me, it’s really sad. As I put myself into the character of that song, I thought about a guy sitting at the bar at 4 o’clock in the morning, drunk, looking over at another couple, wishing that he had that because it hasn’t happened for him. It’s very unique in that way. It’s a very sad song about longing. I could go on through the whole tracklist. They all have a story for me.

Did you personalize any of the songs?

I wanted to do the best I could to be as personal and honest in the storytelling, in becoming the characters for the song, but at the same time give the audience a way to be able to hear and have their own opinions.

If I want to use this album to get a guy to fall in love with me, which song do you suggest I play to make him swoon?

Honestly, I think “La Vie En Rose” (a duet with jazz vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant) is incredible because when I did this song my concept was to build a mirror of the relationship I had with my wife. It was me going to this foreign land with someone who didn’t speak my language and having this kind of dance of love with them.

I felt like there were these two characters and one is singing to the other, where I was singing to her in my language and my culture and she was answering in hers. Though we were on this path together, we were still apart; and by the middle of the song we have this beautiful dance together, this incredible night, and by the morning we were walking through the streets of Paris. I have sort of assimilated to her culture and I am singing in her language, and I loved that because that’s exactly what happened in my life.

I don’t think you thought you’d be recording music again after your 5-year-old son, Noah, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016, days after our last conversation. But I’ve heard you say he’s holding up and is in remission. Was creating this album more cathartic than past albums?

I don’t think I ever fell out of love with making music or being a creative person; I just think I knew it had to be put aside. The part of being a public person, that part I didn’t know if I was ready for. There are always reminders every time you go out and people speak and you’re trying to move on with your life or yourself and your family. At first, there were always these reminders of it and so it was hard to just move on.

I made a promise to myself that it would be organic and that it would be joy and it would be blissful – and if it ever becomes what I consider work, or egotistically driven, then I would step away. But I never fell out of love with making music. You know, I’m having to leave the family and stuff for little bits, and if I do then it has to be for the right reasons.

Harder than usual to leave the family right now?

No, it’s not. When I do something, I know that there’s a great reason for it. We can make more money and we can make more music and we can make more this and more that, but it’s time – you can’t make time. I wanna make sure I’m spending time doing what I love and that it’s all worthwhile.

You talked about being an LGBTQ ally in our last interview. Why did you decide to express your compassion and advocacy for the LGBTQ community at that moment in your career?

I don’t know if it was about that moment. I think I had an opportunity to speak with you, and I felt like it was a really good chance to say how I felt. Now more than ever I think it’s important for me to just be honest, and it’s what I believe. It’s part of who I fundamentally am, how I was raised. And it’s about equality. It’s simple. That’s it.

I wish it were so simple. When we last spoke, Trump hadn’t been elected, and a lot has changed in the last couple of years politically. How are you feeling about the way this administration has treated the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups?

I don’t… (pause)… it sounds crazy, but after what I’ve been through, I really promised myself that I would try not to get into – and when I say “get into,” I just didn’t want to be a part of negative things. So I stopped reading things. I stopped reading things about myself. I stopped reading things that made me feel badly.

I really, truly feel like more than ever in my life actions speak much louder than words do and how you treat people is – it’s funny, a friend heard me talking to my son. My son was going to his first day of kindergarten and he saw me kneel down to my boy and I said to him, “Noah, I just want you to know that” – and it sounds like a cliché, but I said, “You treat people the way you want to be treated, kid.” I said, “If you’re kind to people and you’re good to people, life will always be OK for you.” And I got up and I walked away and my friend said to me, “They may not remember what you did or what you said but they’ll remember how you made them feel.”

I can’t stop the politicians or stupid, uneducated people from thinking and saying and doing stupid things, but I can make a stand, I can talk to you, and when I’m with groups of friends or I’m in public places or when I’m with people who I think can use that sense of love and education, I can open my mouth and tell them how I feel. And one at a time, you can change the world like that.

Listen, I’ve gone through too much not to feel this way. I just feel this way really strongly. I also think it’s important – it’s really easy for someone selling something, an artist, to say that they support or love the gay community; I just think it’s a different thing to say it than to do it.

When we spoke in 2016, you told me you had plans to get involved with the Harvey Milk High School in New York City, but then, of course, you had to tend to your family. Do you plan on picking up where you left off?

As a matter of fact, (my publicist) Liz (Rosenberg) and I have spoken many times and talked about the plan that we have. We have a plan (that involves) the Hetrick-Martin Institute (a NYC-based professional provider of social support and programming for LGBTQ youth and host agency for the Harvey Milk High School).

To start, I just wanted to go. I wanted to go and just let people know they had my support. Young kids who have been bullied and haven’t felt comfortable have a place to go, which is just disturbing in the first place, that in 2018 they didn’t. There wasn’t an environment where they felt they could be who they are. Listen, I can’t get into the details. I can’t.

You can’t get into details about the project?

Not those details, but within my family there are things that I can’t really speak to that have made this even more pressing for me. It’s because it’s not my story to tell. But I’ll just say that within my family these are the same issues that every family has. I wouldn’t and I couldn’t talk about something so personal. Definitely, I just know there needs to be advocates. Being a public person is having a responsibility sometimes to show that kind of love and that kind of support and to step out there and to do that. It’s not an edgy fucking thing to do. It’s not.

For some public figures it seems so.

Why? Because what – half of the audience doesn’t buy your records anymore? Well, that’s fucking stupid, isn’t it? Then you gotta ask yourself if you want half of those people buying your records in the first place, and what’s really important to you. Because if you’re gonna tell people that you know what’s important or that you’ve had an epiphany in your life that you know what matters then, again, actions speak louder than words, don’t they?

Knowing what Noah has gone through, has the feeling of loving your kids no matter who they are, which we discussed in 2016, intensified in the last couple of years?

No, it was always the same. I could tell you the truth: I never had to find that perspective, I always felt that way. And I think I’m very lucky because I really do think that came from the way I was parented. I really do think I was very lucky to be raised in a family that was so open and liberal and loving. I just think they were always so unconditionally loving – not just toward us children, but toward our family.

Again, clichés, but I just tell both of my boys now that they’re old enough to understand: “You know, boys, the things that make you different are what makes you special.” What’s amazing to me about that school and wanting so badly to go to that school is, I just feel so strongly that the difference between a child and an adult is only life experience. An adult’s life experience is, “It’s gonna get better. This isn’t how it has to be, and this isn’t how it’s going to be.” So for me, it’s really massive to be able to meet kids and to say publicly – really: “It’s not always going to be like this.”

In light of the holidays, you do realize your gay fans would’ve gone wild for a version of “Santa Baby” by you that was actually called “Santa Baby,” right?

(Laughs) Yeah, exactly. Instead of “Santa Buddy.” I think I used “Santa Baby” in one of the lines.

You did.

I should’ve gone full.

I mean, a straight man can shop at Tiffany’s.

(Laughs) Yeah, no, you’re right. It’s funny: When I did that song, I tried to put it into my perspective and modernize it. I changed words; I asked for a Rolex or Mercedes or things I would want. The best part about it is: I get to sing those kinds of songs now in my life, and if I do concerts and I wanna add a Christmas song, then you know what? I can amend it and I can sing “Santa Baby.”

A straight guy singing “Santa Baby” is the progress we need.

F*ck yeah. You’re right, you’re absolutely right. It was sexist of me not to.

I’m looking forward to your live rendition of it.

I’ll do it for you. That’s a promise. I promise I’ll do it for you even if it’s not f*cking Christmas.

Even if it’s the middle of summer?

You think I’m kidding, but you shout it out and I promise you I’ll get it done. Madison Square Garden, f*cking done.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/13/michael-buble-talks-eggplant-emojis-sexist-christmas-cover/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/181080332255

[cynthiajayusa]

Michael Bublé Talks Eggplant Emojis, ‘Sexist’ Christmas Cover

“You’re my first. Be gentle with me. Can we start with, like, a foreplay thing where you can just take it easy on me? Some gentle licking perhaps, and then we’ll get into the heavy stuff.” And so my interview with Michael Bublé, who has almost made me forget he has a wife, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, begins.

Returning to music with a new heart-emoji-titled album called love that he will support on a world tour in 2019, Bublé – who introduces himself by that mononym when he rings me directly – spoke openly on a variety of topics, including the difficulties of being a public figure amid familial distress, atoning for his “sexist” Christmas song and doing his part to support the LGBTQ community.

It’s sweet that this album uses the heart emoji for its title, though the gay community certainly wouldn’t have argued with you naming your album using the eggplant emoji.

Oh god, I wanted to use the eggplant. You have no idea.

You fought for that.

I did. I had long conversations about it. And you think I’m joking. I’ve already said this a million times when talking to my friends: They were like, (in a deeply bro voice) “Why didn’t you use the eggplant?” and I’m like, “Oh, I would have.”

Did you intend for the album to be a Band-Aid for our divisive times?

Yeah, it’s funny that you just said that: I’ve actually said that in private. You know what, man, obviously everything I’ve gone through has everything to do with this record and what I want to put out to the world. I had different names that I’d come up with, but there was nothing that really explained the record and the concept as well as just one word could.

The record is about love, but it’s not simply about romantic love. It was really a record that was kind of my theory on this word, this emotion that has so much range. When you hear it you think, “Oh god, romantic and lovey-smovey,” but there’s so many different things that happen with that word.

“When I Fall in Love” is such a beautiful track and people say, “Oh, it’s so romantic.” It is romantic. But for me, it’s really sad. As I put myself into the character of that song, I thought about a guy sitting at the bar at 4 o’clock in the morning, drunk, looking over at another couple, wishing that he had that because it hasn’t happened for him. It’s very unique in that way. It’s a very sad song about longing. I could go on through the whole tracklist. They all have a story for me.

Did you personalize any of the songs?

I wanted to do the best I could to be as personal and honest in the storytelling, in becoming the characters for the song, but at the same time give the audience a way to be able to hear and have their own opinions.

If I want to use this album to get a guy to fall in love with me, which song do you suggest I play to make him swoon?

Honestly, I think “La Vie En Rose” (a duet with jazz vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant) is incredible because when I did this song my concept was to build a mirror of the relationship I had with my wife. It was me going to this foreign land with someone who didn’t speak my language and having this kind of dance of love with them.

I felt like there were these two characters and one is singing to the other, where I was singing to her in my language and my culture and she was answering in hers. Though we were on this path together, we were still apart; and by the middle of the song we have this beautiful dance together, this incredible night, and by the morning we were walking through the streets of Paris. I have sort of assimilated to her culture and I am singing in her language, and I loved that because that’s exactly what happened in my life.

I don’t think you thought you’d be recording music again after your 5-year-old son, Noah, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016, days after our last conversation. But I’ve heard you say he’s holding up and is in remission. Was creating this album more cathartic than past albums?

I don’t think I ever fell out of love with making music or being a creative person; I just think I knew it had to be put aside. The part of being a public person, that part I didn’t know if I was ready for. There are always reminders every time you go out and people speak and you’re trying to move on with your life or yourself and your family. At first, there were always these reminders of it and so it was hard to just move on.

I made a promise to myself that it would be organic and that it would be joy and it would be blissful – and if it ever becomes what I consider work, or egotistically driven, then I would step away. But I never fell out of love with making music. You know, I’m having to leave the family and stuff for little bits, and if I do then it has to be for the right reasons.

Harder than usual to leave the family right now?

No, it’s not. When I do something, I know that there’s a great reason for it. We can make more money and we can make more music and we can make more this and more that, but it’s time – you can’t make time. I wanna make sure I’m spending time doing what I love and that it’s all worthwhile.

You talked about being an LGBTQ ally in our last interview. Why did you decide to express your compassion and advocacy for the LGBTQ community at that moment in your career?

I don’t know if it was about that moment. I think I had an opportunity to speak with you, and I felt like it was a really good chance to say how I felt. Now more than ever I think it’s important for me to just be honest, and it’s what I believe. It’s part of who I fundamentally am, how I was raised. And it’s about equality. It’s simple. That’s it.

I wish it were so simple. When we last spoke, Trump hadn’t been elected, and a lot has changed in the last couple of years politically. How are you feeling about the way this administration has treated the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups?

I don’t… (pause)… it sounds crazy, but after what I’ve been through, I really promised myself that I would try not to get into – and when I say “get into,” I just didn’t want to be a part of negative things. So I stopped reading things. I stopped reading things about myself. I stopped reading things that made me feel badly.

I really, truly feel like more than ever in my life actions speak much louder than words do and how you treat people is – it’s funny, a friend heard me talking to my son. My son was going to his first day of kindergarten and he saw me kneel down to my boy and I said to him, “Noah, I just want you to know that” – and it sounds like a cliché, but I said, “You treat people the way you want to be treated, kid.” I said, “If you’re kind to people and you’re good to people, life will always be OK for you.” And I got up and I walked away and my friend said to me, “They may not remember what you did or what you said but they’ll remember how you made them feel.”

I can’t stop the politicians or stupid, uneducated people from thinking and saying and doing stupid things, but I can make a stand, I can talk to you, and when I’m with groups of friends or I’m in public places or when I’m with people who I think can use that sense of love and education, I can open my mouth and tell them how I feel. And one at a time, you can change the world like that.

Listen, I’ve gone through too much not to feel this way. I just feel this way really strongly. I also think it’s important – it’s really easy for someone selling something, an artist, to say that they support or love the gay community; I just think it’s a different thing to say it than to do it.

When we spoke in 2016, you told me you had plans to get involved with the Harvey Milk High School in New York City, but then, of course, you had to tend to your family. Do you plan on picking up where you left off?

As a matter of fact, (my publicist) Liz (Rosenberg) and I have spoken many times and talked about the plan that we have. We have a plan (that involves) the Hetrick-Martin Institute (a NYC-based professional provider of social support and programming for LGBTQ youth and host agency for the Harvey Milk High School).

To start, I just wanted to go. I wanted to go and just let people know they had my support. Young kids who have been bullied and haven’t felt comfortable have a place to go, which is just disturbing in the first place, that in 2018 they didn’t. There wasn’t an environment where they felt they could be who they are. Listen, I can’t get into the details. I can’t.

You can’t get into details about the project?

Not those details, but within my family there are things that I can’t really speak to that have made this even more pressing for me. It’s because it’s not my story to tell. But I’ll just say that within my family these are the same issues that every family has. I wouldn’t and I couldn’t talk about something so personal. Definitely, I just know there needs to be advocates. Being a public person is having a responsibility sometimes to show that kind of love and that kind of support and to step out there and to do that. It’s not an edgy fucking thing to do. It’s not.

For some public figures it seems so.

Why? Because what – half of the audience doesn’t buy your records anymore? Well, that’s fucking stupid, isn’t it? Then you gotta ask yourself if you want half of those people buying your records in the first place, and what’s really important to you. Because if you’re gonna tell people that you know what’s important or that you’ve had an epiphany in your life that you know what matters then, again, actions speak louder than words, don’t they?

Knowing what Noah has gone through, has the feeling of loving your kids no matter who they are, which we discussed in 2016, intensified in the last couple of years?

No, it was always the same. I could tell you the truth: I never had to find that perspective, I always felt that way. And I think I’m very lucky because I really do think that came from the way I was parented. I really do think I was very lucky to be raised in a family that was so open and liberal and loving. I just think they were always so unconditionally loving – not just toward us children, but toward our family.

Again, clichés, but I just tell both of my boys now that they’re old enough to understand: “You know, boys, the things that make you different are what makes you special.” What’s amazing to me about that school and wanting so badly to go to that school is, I just feel so strongly that the difference between a child and an adult is only life experience. An adult’s life experience is, “It’s gonna get better. This isn’t how it has to be, and this isn’t how it’s going to be.” So for me, it’s really massive to be able to meet kids and to say publicly – really: “It’s not always going to be like this.”

In light of the holidays, you do realize your gay fans would’ve gone wild for a version of “Santa Baby” by you that was actually called “Santa Baby,” right?

(Laughs) Yeah, exactly. Instead of “Santa Buddy.” I think I used “Santa Baby” in one of the lines.

You did.

I should’ve gone full.

I mean, a straight man can shop at Tiffany’s.

(Laughs) Yeah, no, you’re right. It’s funny: When I did that song, I tried to put it into my perspective and modernize it. I changed words; I asked for a Rolex or Mercedes or things I would want. The best part about it is: I get to sing those kinds of songs now in my life, and if I do concerts and I wanna add a Christmas song, then you know what? I can amend it and I can sing “Santa Baby.”

A straight guy singing “Santa Baby” is the progress we need.

F*ck yeah. You’re right, you’re absolutely right. It was sexist of me not to.

I’m looking forward to your live rendition of it.

I’ll do it for you. That’s a promise. I promise I’ll do it for you even if it’s not f*cking Christmas.

Even if it’s the middle of summer?

You think I’m kidding, but you shout it out and I promise you I’ll get it done. Madison Square Garden, f*cking done.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/13/michael-buble-talks-eggplant-emojis-sexist-christmas-cover/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/12/michael-buble-talks-eggplant-emojis.html

[hotspotsmagazine]

Michael Bublé Talks Eggplant Emojis, ‘Sexist’ Christmas Cover

“You’re my first. Be gentle with me. Can we start with, like, a foreplay thing where you can just take it easy on me? Some gentle licking perhaps, and then we’ll get into the heavy stuff.” And so my interview with Michael Bublé, who has almost made me forget he has a wife, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, begins.

Returning to music with a new heart-emoji-titled album called love that he will support on a world tour in 2019, Bublé – who introduces himself by that mononym when he rings me directly – spoke openly on a variety of topics, including the difficulties of being a public figure amid familial distress, atoning for his “sexist” Christmas song and doing his part to support the LGBTQ community.

It’s sweet that this album uses the heart emoji for its title, though the gay community certainly wouldn’t have argued with you naming your album using the eggplant emoji.

Oh god, I wanted to use the eggplant. You have no idea.

You fought for that.

I did. I had long conversations about it. And you think I’m joking. I’ve already said this a million times when talking to my friends: They were like, (in a deeply bro voice) “Why didn’t you use the eggplant?” and I’m like, “Oh, I would have.”

Did you intend for the album to be a Band-Aid for our divisive times?

Yeah, it’s funny that you just said that: I’ve actually said that in private. You know what, man, obviously everything I’ve gone through has everything to do with this record and what I want to put out to the world. I had different names that I’d come up with, but there was nothing that really explained the record and the concept as well as just one word could.

The record is about love, but it’s not simply about romantic love. It was really a record that was kind of my theory on this word, this emotion that has so much range. When you hear it you think, “Oh god, romantic and lovey-smovey,” but there’s so many different things that happen with that word.

“When I Fall in Love” is such a beautiful track and people say, “Oh, it’s so romantic.” It is romantic. But for me, it’s really sad. As I put myself into the character of that song, I thought about a guy sitting at the bar at 4 o’clock in the morning, drunk, looking over at another couple, wishing that he had that because it hasn’t happened for him. It’s very unique in that way. It’s a very sad song about longing. I could go on through the whole tracklist. They all have a story for me.

Did you personalize any of the songs?

I wanted to do the best I could to be as personal and honest in the storytelling, in becoming the characters for the song, but at the same time give the audience a way to be able to hear and have their own opinions.

If I want to use this album to get a guy to fall in love with me, which song do you suggest I play to make him swoon?

Honestly, I think “La Vie En Rose” (a duet with jazz vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant) is incredible because when I did this song my concept was to build a mirror of the relationship I had with my wife. It was me going to this foreign land with someone who didn’t speak my language and having this kind of dance of love with them.

I felt like there were these two characters and one is singing to the other, where I was singing to her in my language and my culture and she was answering in hers. Though we were on this path together, we were still apart; and by the middle of the song we have this beautiful dance together, this incredible night, and by the morning we were walking through the streets of Paris. I have sort of assimilated to her culture and I am singing in her language, and I loved that because that’s exactly what happened in my life.

I don’t think you thought you’d be recording music again after your 5-year-old son, Noah, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016, days after our last conversation. But I’ve heard you say he’s holding up and is in remission. Was creating this album more cathartic than past albums?

I don’t think I ever fell out of love with making music or being a creative person; I just think I knew it had to be put aside. The part of being a public person, that part I didn’t know if I was ready for. There are always reminders every time you go out and people speak and you’re trying to move on with your life or yourself and your family. At first, there were always these reminders of it and so it was hard to just move on.

I made a promise to myself that it would be organic and that it would be joy and it would be blissful – and if it ever becomes what I consider work, or egotistically driven, then I would step away. But I never fell out of love with making music. You know, I’m having to leave the family and stuff for little bits, and if I do then it has to be for the right reasons.

Harder than usual to leave the family right now?

No, it’s not. When I do something, I know that there’s a great reason for it. We can make more money and we can make more music and we can make more this and more that, but it’s time – you can’t make time. I wanna make sure I’m spending time doing what I love and that it’s all worthwhile.

You talked about being an LGBTQ ally in our last interview. Why did you decide to express your compassion and advocacy for the LGBTQ community at that moment in your career?

I don’t know if it was about that moment. I think I had an opportunity to speak with you, and I felt like it was a really good chance to say how I felt. Now more than ever I think it’s important for me to just be honest, and it’s what I believe. It’s part of who I fundamentally am, how I was raised. And it’s about equality. It’s simple. That’s it.

I wish it were so simple. When we last spoke, Trump hadn’t been elected, and a lot has changed in the last couple of years politically. How are you feeling about the way this administration has treated the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups?

I don’t… (pause)… it sounds crazy, but after what I’ve been through, I really promised myself that I would try not to get into – and when I say “get into,” I just didn’t want to be a part of negative things. So I stopped reading things. I stopped reading things about myself. I stopped reading things that made me feel badly.

I really, truly feel like more than ever in my life actions speak much louder than words do and how you treat people is – it’s funny, a friend heard me talking to my son. My son was going to his first day of kindergarten and he saw me kneel down to my boy and I said to him, “Noah, I just want you to know that” – and it sounds like a cliché, but I said, “You treat people the way you want to be treated, kid.” I said, “If you’re kind to people and you’re good to people, life will always be OK for you.” And I got up and I walked away and my friend said to me, “They may not remember what you did or what you said but they’ll remember how you made them feel.”

I can’t stop the politicians or stupid, uneducated people from thinking and saying and doing stupid things, but I can make a stand, I can talk to you, and when I’m with groups of friends or I’m in public places or when I’m with people who I think can use that sense of love and education, I can open my mouth and tell them how I feel. And one at a time, you can change the world like that.

Listen, I’ve gone through too much not to feel this way. I just feel this way really strongly. I also think it’s important – it’s really easy for someone selling something, an artist, to say that they support or love the gay community; I just think it’s a different thing to say it than to do it.

When we spoke in 2016, you told me you had plans to get involved with the Harvey Milk High School in New York City, but then, of course, you had to tend to your family. Do you plan on picking up where you left off?

As a matter of fact, (my publicist) Liz (Rosenberg) and I have spoken many times and talked about the plan that we have. We have a plan (that involves) the Hetrick-Martin Institute (a NYC-based professional provider of social support and programming for LGBTQ youth and host agency for the Harvey Milk High School).

To start, I just wanted to go. I wanted to go and just let people know they had my support. Young kids who have been bullied and haven’t felt comfortable have a place to go, which is just disturbing in the first place, that in 2018 they didn’t. There wasn’t an environment where they felt they could be who they are. Listen, I can’t get into the details. I can’t.

You can’t get into details about the project?

Not those details, but within my family there are things that I can’t really speak to that have made this even more pressing for me. It’s because it’s not my story to tell. But I’ll just say that within my family these are the same issues that every family has. I wouldn’t and I couldn’t talk about something so personal. Definitely, I just know there needs to be advocates. Being a public person is having a responsibility sometimes to show that kind of love and that kind of support and to step out there and to do that. It’s not an edgy fucking thing to do. It’s not.

For some public figures it seems so.

Why? Because what – half of the audience doesn’t buy your records anymore? Well, that’s fucking stupid, isn’t it? Then you gotta ask yourself if you want half of those people buying your records in the first place, and what’s really important to you. Because if you’re gonna tell people that you know what’s important or that you’ve had an epiphany in your life that you know what matters then, again, actions speak louder than words, don’t they?

Knowing what Noah has gone through, has the feeling of loving your kids no matter who they are, which we discussed in 2016, intensified in the last couple of years?

No, it was always the same. I could tell you the truth: I never had to find that perspective, I always felt that way. And I think I’m very lucky because I really do think that came from the way I was parented. I really do think I was very lucky to be raised in a family that was so open and liberal and loving. I just think they were always so unconditionally loving – not just toward us children, but toward our family.

Again, clichés, but I just tell both of my boys now that they’re old enough to understand: “You know, boys, the things that make you different are what makes you special.” What’s amazing to me about that school and wanting so badly to go to that school is, I just feel so strongly that the difference between a child and an adult is only life experience. An adult’s life experience is, “It’s gonna get better. This isn’t how it has to be, and this isn’t how it’s going to be.” So for me, it’s really massive to be able to meet kids and to say publicly – really: “It’s not always going to be like this.”

In light of the holidays, you do realize your gay fans would’ve gone wild for a version of “Santa Baby” by you that was actually called “Santa Baby,” right?

(Laughs) Yeah, exactly. Instead of “Santa Buddy.” I think I used “Santa Baby” in one of the lines.

You did.

I should’ve gone full.

I mean, a straight man can shop at Tiffany’s.

(Laughs) Yeah, no, you’re right. It’s funny: When I did that song, I tried to put it into my perspective and modernize it. I changed words; I asked for a Rolex or Mercedes or things I would want. The best part about it is: I get to sing those kinds of songs now in my life, and if I do concerts and I wanna add a Christmas song, then you know what? I can amend it and I can sing “Santa Baby.”

A straight guy singing “Santa Baby” is the progress we need.

F*ck yeah. You’re right, you’re absolutely right. It was sexist of me not to.

I’m looking forward to your live rendition of it.

I’ll do it for you. That’s a promise. I promise I’ll do it for you even if it’s not f*cking Christmas.

Even if it’s the middle of summer?

You think I’m kidding, but you shout it out and I promise you I’ll get it done. Madison Square Garden, f*cking done.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/13/michael-buble-talks-eggplant-emojis-sexist-christmas-cover/

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

19 Feuds that Prove No One Does Drama Better than Celebrities

Don’t you simply dislike drama? It’s so wearying. There are just so many acts you have to deal with. Making the popcorn. Buttering the popcorn. Seeing a good seat. But we do what have to do. Advertisement div > Nobody does drama better than luminaries . b> div > Getty Images So while we know it’s a lot of work, it’s time to get up and start searching the cabinets for the Orville and get poppin.’ Here are 19 of the craziest celebrity feuds of all time. Advertisement div > div > Megyn Kelly vs. Jane Fonda div > via: Getty Images Talk about a face-off between two seriously strong and terrifying alpha-females. It’s a miracle that Megyn Kelly didn’t instantly turn to stone after she received the look of death from Jane Fonda, after asking her about plastic surgery on live television. Jane successfully evaded the issue and redirected those discussions back to the movie but Fonda was nowhere near done talking about the incident. She went on to criticise Kelly in various subsequent interrogations, claiming that Kelly is” not a good examiner” for expecting a question that was ” so inappropriate .” On her see, Megyn Kelly is a response to Fonda’s comments in a highly organized attack. She blamed Jane Fonda for her contentious trip to Vietnam in’ 72 which earned her the unfavorable nickname “Hanoi Jane” and claimed that Fonda” had not yet been business castigating anyone on what prepares as offensive .” Advertisement div > div > Vin Diesel vs. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson div > via: Getty Images Perhaps these two celebs were duelling it out for best baldy in Hollywood. While killing the final representations of Fast and Furious 8 , em> Dwayne’ The Rock’ Johnson posted an likenes hashtagged with the quotation “zero tolerance for candy-asses.” While it was unclear at the time who precisely’ The Rock’ was specific referring to as a candy-ass, another post of Johnson’s would clear up any candy-ass confusion. It was an image of the direct and crew under which he thanked practically everyone from the plane service girlfriend to Fast and Furious Fans, yet nowhere in his affix did he thanks the films co-producer, Vin Diesel. And while’ The Rock’ continued to confirm the squabble on the welcome mat of the film’s debut, Vin Diesel managed to defuse suspected hostilities that same night, by commenting on the closeness of the two’s relationship. It’s not always easy being an alpha. And it’s two alphas. Being an alpha is sometimes a pain in the ass . em> Tell me about it, Vin. But at the end of the day, according to Diesel, the people we consider to be our category are our genealogy, candy-assed or not. At my house,[ Dwayne Johnson] is’ Uncle Dwayne’ and I’m proud of that . em> Oh, gag me with a spoon! This ” duel” between two of the( presumably) “toughest” chaps in Hollywood perfectly epitomizes just how sorry workers are at the skill of drama. Unlike female feuds, where a public oral combat to the death follows, in which no youth, grandmother, pet, or blasphemed secret is off limits. Just look at Megyn Kelly, she had to dig back 40 years to come up with a half-decent clap-back, but she dug in with both paws and did the drudgery, like a real woman. Was it right? Absolutely not. But at the least her backside isn’t eternally sticky, like these candy-ass baldies. Advertisement div > div > Jay-Z vs. Kanye West div > via: Getty Images When the two mega hip-hop masters first worked together, rumors began to run that Jay-Z didn’t want to sign Kanye on with Roc–AFella Registers but claims to have half-heartedly signed him in an attempt to” at the least, keep the trounces in-house .” While the two seemed to develop a friendship despite any past matters, Kanye made it clear in his song about the relations between the two countries( yes, a song about their relationship ), Big Brother, that he was still butthurt. Apparently, Kanye didn’t realize being toldby Jay-Z to start buy tickets to his substantiate after asking his big bro for a duo and expressed this sentiment in his lyrics… Only situation I wanna know is why I get ogled over. I guess I’ll understand when I get more older. Big brother experienced me at the bottom of the totem. Now I’m on the top and everybody on the scrotum . em> When Jay Z didn’t accompanied Kanye and Kim’s wedding nuptials, West replied,” All that, I wouldn’t even speak on. It doesn’t even matter to me whatsoever .” And afterward, after both of their children were born, Kanye greatly carried angst toward his “big brother” where reference is articulated,” Our children ain’t never even played together.” Eventually, Jay Z “ve had enough” of Kanye’s evaluations, and so he announced Kanye out in his line “KILL JAY” for his” f-everybody posture” and continues at, calling West “insane.” Apparently, West had also had enough and made am of the view that TIDAL owed him 3 billion dollars right before officially chipping ties with the streaming service. Jay-Z lately addressed the bro-drama, clarifying,” I enjoy Kanye. I do. It’s a complicated affair with us … But it’s gonna, we gonna ever be good .” Why didn’t these two time get onto over with and debate it out, face-to-face, 8 Mile status? Advertisement div > div > Susan Sarandon vs. Debra Messing div > via: Getty Images Get “re ready for” revenge of the redheads. Things curdled political in a twitter struggle between Susan Sarandon and Debra Messing after Sarandon suggested that she may not backing Hilary Clinton, should Bernie Sanders be booted out of the presidential race. Messing publicly carried the issue as to whether Sarandon would share her same sentiment should she be” poverty-stricken, homosexual, Muslim or an immigrant” in a tweet. Despite Sarandon clarifying that she would not be voting for Donald Trump, the two went back and forth on titter aiming, at least publicly, with Messing announcing Sarandon’s principles “sanctimonious.” Advertisement div > div > Katy Perry vs. Taylor Swift div > via: Getty Images While it seemed as though the two pop-icons were affectionate for some time, that would all change after various of Taylor Swift’s backup dancers unexpectedly cease and were abruptly booked to perform on Katy Perry’s tour. After years of speculation, Swift eventually interpreted the incident that extended her to write her epic-smash-hit “Bad Blood” about Perry, in an interview with Rolling Stone. She claims that Perry” mostly tried to sabotage an part realm expedition of hers by hiring her gang out from under her. In return, Katy alleged Swift of” trying to assassinate her person .” After several years and a few ballads, the popping combat finally came to a shut when Perry literally referred an olive branch to Swift with a tone calling a moratorium and formally rationalizing for her part in the mess. Taylor posted a picture of the notation and olive branch on Instagram with the caption,” Thank you Katy” along with a centre emoji. We’re not sure precisely who was right and who was wrong in this hot mess of a theatre but points to Perry for the elegant gesticulate and same to Swift for knowing when it’s time to let go of “Bad Blood” and just move on. Advertisement div > div > Neil Patrick Harris vs. James Woods div > via: Getty Images In reference to an image of an 8-year-old boy with their own families at Pride, James Woods tweeted a response that is as inappropriate as it is offensive. The actor wrote,” This is sweet. Wait until this poor adolescents grows up, realizes what you’ve done, and materials both of you amputated into a freezer in the garage.” Wait, huh? We’re disorient and James Woods is weird. Neil Patrick Harris fired back at Woods, announcing specific comments, “Utterly ignorant and classless .” Harris continued, lending,” I’m friends with this family. You know not of what you speak, and should be ashamed of yourself .” Amen, Neil Patrick. Urge! Advertisement div > div > Sarah Jessica Parker vs. Kim Cattrall div > via: Getty Images We hate to abound your bubble, but rumors regarding Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall’s strained liaison supported true when, upon the enact of her brother, Cattrall wrote this remorseless call-out on Instagram TAGEND My Mom asked a question today “When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that charlatan, leave you alone? ” Your incessant contacting out is a unpleasant reminder to seeing how brutal “youve been” was later and now. Let me make this Awfully clear.( If I haven’t previously) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last-place time to stop manipulating our tragedy in order to restore your’ neat girl’ persona . em> Yikes, wow, and ouch. Advertisement div > div > Lady Gaga vs. Kelly Osbourne div > via: Getty Images After Lady Gaga wrote an open letter to Kelly Osbourne alleging her of has become a ��bully,” Osbourne seemed more than simply a bit confused when Gaga apparently attempted to make peace by referring her a birthday cake. Osbourne tweeted : Not to be ungrateful but why would you move me a birthday cake via MY MOTHER in a country half the world apart? #EatMySh* t Hmmm. Well, we’re not entirely sure why Gaga moved her anything at all, and we’re too not sure she understands the word, “ungrateful.” If Lady Gaga sends you a cake, you eat it, and you like it. Advertisement div > div > Jennifer Lawrence vs. Chloe Sevigny div > via: Getty Images While it seems to be the general consensus that actress Jennifer Lawrence is likable, according to colleague actress, Chloe Sevigny, she’s really not. In an interrogation with V store, Sevigny was explained that while she adoration fellow actresses Angelina Jolie and Emma Stone, “shes not”, I reiterate, NOT, a fan of J-Law. Jennifer Lawrence, I find exasperating. Too indelicate . em> Okay, Chloe, route to tell it like it is. And while Sevigny is certainly entitled to her belief, one might find such an unprompted proclamation, I don’t know, extremely crass? Advertisement div > div > Gwyneth Paltrow vs. Martha Stewart div > via: Getty Images It all began when Martha Stewart was asked her belief on Gwyneth Paltrow’s attempt to break into the “lifestyle” industry with her managerial Goop em> launch. Stewart seemed less than impressed and seemed to question the faithfulnes of Paltrow’s professional pursuits. But Stewart wasn’t done slamming the stellar, going on to eventually articulate that Gwyneth” simply needs to be quiet. She’s a movie star. If she were confident in her play, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart .” Gwyneth responded by recommending she was totally unphased by Stewart’s comments but, if anything, was flattered that Martha considered her as “competition.” Perhaps Martha was merely welcoming Paltrow to the table … in her own, crafty way. After all, the fine art of passive-aggressiveness is prerequisite to lifestyle living. And, apparently, Gwyneth can hold her own just fine. Advertisement div > div > Angelina Jolie vs. Chelsea Handler div > via: Getty Images After news broke of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s divorce, Chelsea Handler did not hesitate to express her thinkings on the divide, calling Jolie a” f *#% ing lunatic” and the divorce” an emancipation” of kinds for Pitt. The explanation behind Handler’s blatant disfavor of Angelina Jolie is an age-old and widely acceptable excuse for disliking a fellow female; She messed around with her friend’s man. That’s right. Handler is good friends with Pitt’s jilted ex, Jennifer Aniston. It all obligates ability now. Advertisement div > div > Kim Kardashian vs. Chloe Grace Moretz div > via: Getty Images As soon as the internet rebooted after Kim Kardashian’s naked selfie briefly break-dance it, Kim was reacted with a fling from actress Chloe Grace Moretz. Moretz replied to Kardashian scant selfie by reminding Kim that she is an example to young girls who need to know that they are” so much more than precisely their own bodies .” However, Moretz’ assault at a feministic reply seemed to backfire when she was immediately flung online for seemingly slut-shaming Kardashian. Kim replied to Chloe Moretz with a classily immature Kardashian tone that one plainly cannot compete with, tweeting,” Let’s all welcome @ ChloeGMoretz to quaver, since no one were aware that she is. Your nylon shield is charming boo .” Not simply did Kim hurl the hypocrisy of the tweet( considering Moretz recent NUDE Nylon periodical cover. Oh sorry, technically I guess she has a cardigan wrap over her shoulders because I know that’s always how I rock my favorite cardigan) but she also insinuated that Chloe Grace Moretz isn’t exactly a household name, to put it gently. In other words, she’s a hypocrite AND a nobody. One can’t deny that Kim can hold her own. Advertisement div > div > Khloe Kardashian vs. Amy Schumer div > via: Getty Images In her SNL monologue, Amy Schumer cracked pranks at Khloe Kardashian’s recent weight loss. We used to have Khloe, you are familiar? Khloe was ours, right? But then Khloe, she lost half their own bodies heavines. She lost a Kendall . em> And considering all the flack Kardashians get for not inevitably being the most culturally persuasive home, Khloe Kardashian’s comments Schumer’s oration were impressively astute. During an impression on The Howard Stern Show , Kardashian pointed out just how sanctimonious Amy Schumer’s comments certainly were. I was more disrupt that someone claims they’re like a girl’s girl and that they’re all about girls empowerment, and then she says that I’m not relatable because I’m not fat anymore … I’m proud, I’ve worked for three [ email kept ] *% ing years to do this. Schumer, who is also commonly criticized for her value, retrospectively seemed to see the double standard she was continuing in her harangue as she promptly apologized to Khloe and agreed that all women, solid and scrawny alike, should lift each other up. Advertisement div > div > Justin Bieber vs. Orlando Bloom div > via: https :// www.gettyimages.com Orlando Bloom and Justin Bieber have a long and even violent biography that revolves around Blooms ex-wife, model Miranda Kerr. It is believed that Justin Bieber made a comment to Bloom at a nightclub that somehow alleged that he and Kerr had been intimate during her marriage to Bloom. As you can imagine, thoughts spiraled downward from there and ended with many gales being thrown, although none landed. Justin Bieber continued to throw punches on Twitter after the physical showdown had ended by affixing an image of Miranda Kerr and soon after, another image of Orlando Bloom apparently visibly psychological over the exchange. Advertisement div > div > Rihanna vs. Ciara div > via: Getty Images On Fashion Police , em> Singer Ciara claimed that Rihanna “wasn’t the nicest” when meeting her in the past. In response to this apparently unsolicited throw, Rihanna tweeted back with a vengeance. My bad Ci, did I 4get to gratuity u ? em> Daaaamn , now that is harsh. And kind of demonstrates Ciara’s comment may not have been that unwarranted after all but it doesn’t seem like Rhianna really is all that concerned with being “the nicest,” anyway. Advertisement div > div > Brooke Shields vs. Tom Cruise div > via: Getty Images In her memoir, Down Came the Rain , Brooke Shields endorsed the use of antidepressants to analyse postpartum recession but Tom Cruise made it clear that he was not in agreeance with Brooke on the issue. In an interview with the Today display, Cruise announced Sheilds ” reckless” for promoting antidepressants without” telling beings the risks .” Brooke responded with what is perhaps the classiest organize of clapping back ever. She wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in which she writes,” I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffering from postpartum sadnes .” Cruise was left with no choice but to apologize, which he did, and even departed as far as to invite Shields to his and Kaie Holmes’ upcoming bridal, to which Brooke accepted. Awkward. Advertisement div > div > Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus div > via: Getty Images The fighting paroles at the 2015 VMA’s between the two celebs seemed to have stanch from Miley’s Halloween costume that year … which was ” Nicki Minaj .” Apparently, Minaj was also upset over comments Cyrus had made about Minaj’s reaction to not being nominated for Video of the Year. On stage at the VMA’s, Nicki slammed out at the former Disney star. And now, back to this bitch that had a lot to say about me the other epoch in the press the other daylight ,” she shelled, before delivering one of pop culture’s standout times of 2015, the soon to be shared and memed,” Miley, what’s good ? em> Eek. Can’t answer we didn’t see that coming. Advertisement div > div > Taylor Swift vs. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West div > via: Getty Images It all started with the odious mic swipe onstage by Kanye at the 2009 MTV Music Awards, heightened with Swift’s response to Kayne via her song pick at the 2010 VMA’s. Cue apology from Kayne and all is seemingly well in the world. Until it’s not. Kanye’s release of Famous reignited the drama and deepened tensions to brand-new levels. I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex Why? I started that bitch famous I realized that bitch prominent Taylor Swift was not delighted, to say the least. Swift claimed never to have approved the offensive texts and addressed their misogynistic feeling in her adoption lecture for recording of the year at the Grammys, telling young women never to let anyone to take ascribe for their success. While Kim and Kanye attempted to claim that Taylor did approve the words by exhausting sound recordings of conversations with Swift made by the couple without Swift’s knowledge, the whole shady proposal culminated up backfiring when the strip was outed as being edited. Swift continued to call out Kanye and Kim the best way she knew how, through her music. Her album, Reputation , em> were considered to be riddled with hurls of Kanye West and we can’t say we accuse her. This neverending feud takes the cake for most drawn-out celeb drama to date. Advertisement div > div > And while acts seem to have rectified down for the moment … b> div > You exactly never know when the drama will show itself next. Share this with the spectacular people in your life! Advertisement Read more: http :// twentytwowords.com/ the-craziest-celebrity-feuds-of-all-time / http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/07/25/19-feuds-that-prove-no-one-does-drama-better-than-celebrities/

[sinceileftyoublog]

Riot Fest Review: 9/15-9/17

BY JORDAN MAINZER

In 2015, we couldn’t find our way around. In 2016, Trump was the talk of the town. Well, in its third year in Douglas Park, Riot Fest has become a festival as seamless as Lollapalooza and Pitchfork, and by now, Trump is our President. So what’s left to talk about besides...well...the music?

Of course, this year’s Riot Fest had its fair share of sound issues, and there were definitely some politically-oriented bands, but there were really no standout thematic patterns. There were, however, standout bands, and a lot of them. Perhaps it’s the depth of the lineup--strong at the top, strong at the bottom--that may have distracted me from my usual experience of vibe and people watching. That’s a good thing.

So read on as I break down this year’s Riot Fest, filled with radical punk marching bands, Aussie pop rockers, alternative hip hop duos, girl groups, and a couple classic indie rock bands. I’ve broken down some of the different acts I saw into three categories: sets that met, were worse than, and exceeded my expectations. No, I didn’t write about Jawbreaker, and no, I wasn’t given a photo pass.

AS EXPECTED

Liars

After catching Liars’ stellar set at last year’s Day For Night festival in Houston, I knew that even in the middle of a hot day, they’d be worthwhile. Since that set in December, they’ve released a new record, TFCF, and frontman Angus Andrew has traded his mummy mask for a petticoat and veil. During their Riot Fest set, the mix of synthesizer, guitar, and drums was on point as Liars played from all over their discography, the highlights the anthem “Mess on a Mission” and Sisterworld’s “The Overachievers” and “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant”. As someone who actually prefers Liars’ 2010s output to their 2000s output (especially 2012′s WIXIW, which I would have liked to hear more of), this set was a great start to the weekend.

Death From Above

You know what you’re getting with Death From Above: unsubtle jams for slightly more socially conscious bros, in essence. That doesn’t stop their set from being one of the more blistering, raw sets of the weekend, classics like “Little Girl” and “Black History Month” blending in well with songs from both their comeback record The Physical World (“White Is Red”) and their new record Outrage! Is Now (“Right On, Frankenstein!”, “Freeze Me”). 

Nine Inch Nails

You’re not going to see or hear a better-sounding set than Nine Inch Nails at any festival. Trent Reznor and company combined material from the band’s recent string of EPs with classics from The Downward Spiral and Pretty Hate Machine. Throw in a cover from David Bowie’s Blackstar, and you’ve got yourself a pretty typical Nine Inch Nails set: pure professionalism with a little room for play.

Downtown Boys

The most overtly political act at Riot Fest was also one of the most vital. Downtown Boys combine punk instrumentation, marching band spirit, and inspiring words to maximum uplifting effect. So does it matter when you can’t hear exactly what the incredibly dynamic lead singer Victoria Ruiz is saying? I don’t think so. She put every song, from Full Communism’s “Wave of History” and “Monstro” to Cost of Living’s “The Wall” (even more inspiring than it was upon initial listen in the context of DACA), in its proper context. The music and her speeches emphasized what’s most important: telling it like it is, urgency, and not feeling defeated. And did I mention the saxophone playing? Amazing.

Culture Abuse

There’s not enough noisy rock at Riot Fest. Ok, I’m being a bit facetious, but Culture Abuse provide enough grit to make the noise a little different. From “Chinatown” to recent single “So Busted”, the San Francisco punks bring the ear worms and the dirt that comes along with them.

Say Anything

It was a bit hard to hear lead singer Max Bemis, but that did not matter. The crowd filled in for him on classics “Belt”, “Shiksa (Girlfriend)”, and “Little Girls”. Bonus points for playing “Six Six Six” from Hebrews, which in my mind is Say Anything’s most mature album to date.

Not written about but still great: TV On The Radio

WORSE THAN EXPECTED

The Hotelier

This was the first set of the weekend where the sound was sub par. With a live show from The Hotelier, everything is amplified--the twangy riffs, the noisy breakdowns, lead singer Christian Holden’s screams--but when the sound at a small stage is off, amplified sonics are usually hindered even more than minimal ones. Sure, “Soft Animal” has become even more of a live anthem than “An Introduction to the Album”, and the instrumental interludes from last year’s Goodness are better than your average tuning music, but a messy “Dendron” and “The Scope of All of This Rebuilding” left me feeling underwhelmed.

Knuckle Puck

I didn’t expect much out of Knuckle Puck, a band I’ve never really liked, but the antics of lead singer Joe Taylor really annoyed me during their Riot Fest set. The band are capable players, and their songs are catchy, but Taylor’s constant efforts to demand more and more out of the audience and scream every word of stage banter is exactly what makes pop punk naysayers take the genre less seriously. I mean, c’mon, dude: The crowd was as into your new songs making their live debut as they were songs from your popular debut Copacetic. You can’t ask for much more than that.

BETTER THAN EXPECTED

X

Before L.A. punk rockers X took to the stage to play as part of commemorating their 40th anniversary as a band, fans were treated to recordings of Elvis Presley, Link Wray, and old country. It was obvious, but fitting: As soon as the band launched into Wild Gift’s “Beyond and Back”, it was clear that this set wasn’t simply nostalgia. X still sound great, and you can hear their direct and indirect influence in bands and artists today from Gun Outfit to Lydia Loveless. And yeah, they didn’t play anything from their seminal Los Angeles until about halfway through the set, but that didn’t prevent me from enjoying it to its fullest at all. In fact, I never imagined they’d still sound this good.

X

New Order

Despite early sound troubles, New Order had the standout set of the first day of Riot Fest. The big question at a fest centered around nostalgia is how many old songs--specifically Joy Division songs--New Order would play. Well, “Disorder” was song number two. “Bizarre Love Triangle” came in the middle of the set. “Blue Monday” mesmerized the crowd: Nobody moved, and everybody held up their phones, simply because hearing one of the greatest songs of all time live in person was a moment they might need to prove to their children they were there for one day. End with “Temptation” and come out for a rare non-headliner encore performance of “Love Will Tear Us Apart”--never mind the fact that encores at festivals in general are rare--and you have a classic set that just happens to be filled with classics.

The Smith Street Band

On The Smith Street Band’s More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me, the Australian band succeeds the most when they’re sardonic and light. That’s exactly what their Riot Fest set was. They walked out to “Who Let The Dogs Out?” Lead singer Wil Wagner introduced the band by saying, “We’re the Wu Tang Clan, thanks for coming out early.” They were thankful but not overly earnest. And best, they sounded more raw and less poppy than they do on the immaculately-Jeff-Rosenstock-produced record. They sounded a little muffled, but that was okay; songs like “Forrest”, “Birthdays”, and “25″ provided enough fodder for the crowd to mosh, while older tracks like “Sigourney Weaver” and “Young Drunk” stood with their new tracks. While soft closer “Throw Me in the River” was unfortunately drowned out by Black Pistol Fire and Fishbone on nearby stages, the set was a victory lap for an Australian band who has been touring the U.S. for a month and have finally broken out.

Shabazz Palaces

This was probably the most understated Riot Fest set of all time. The combination of live instrumentation and rapping and synth/laptop playing from the inimitable duo of Ishmael Butler and Tendai Maraire was at once heady and enveloping. While the duo just released two (!) new albums, it was the old stuff that hit hardest, especially Black Up’s “Youlogy”. As one of the only hip hop acts to ever sign to Sub Pop, Shabazz Palaces were radical in their own way even if they didn’t sound like they were inciting a riot.

The Regrettes

The four-piece band from L.A. is the real deal. Beginning their 30-minute, small-stage Riot Fest set with Maxx Morando’s limber drumming, as guitarist Genessa Gariano, bassist Sage Nicole, and bonafide frontwoman Lydia Night entered the stage, The Regrettes began with “I Don’t Like You” and burned through much of their great debut album Feel Your Feelings Fool! from there. Like The Smith Street Band before them, the live show was more raw even though the band was more tight, their playing in sync and their harmonies even better on “Lacy Loo”. They even debuted a new song, one with an incredible bass line, that has me anxious for more material. And there was something both empowering and powerful about a band that’s majority female--and college age--playing to an almost all-male mosh pit. The sweetness of their doo-wop interpolations only serves to amplify their pure rock n roll.

Queens of the Stone Age; photo by Mac Grossman

Queens of the Stone Age

Throughout Queens of the Stone Age’s headlining set Saturday night at Riot Fest, lead singer and guitarist Josh Homme threw up the horns. Normally, this would be cheesy, but if any band deserves it, it’s them. After they started with the one-two punch of “You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire” and “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer”, it was clear the band wasn’t there to fuck around. Of the 14 songs they played, only 4 were from their new album Villains. Of the Villains songs they did play, even the most slick and poppy, like “The Way You Used to Do” and “Feet Don’t Fail Me”, blended in seamlessly with their old stuff, the songs from 2013′s ...Like Clockwork acting as a glammy intermediate between the desert metal of early Queens and the pop of new Queens. They played, sounded, and acted like headliners, with both a sense of swagger and humility, and they were the best set of the weekend.

Built to Spill

Ok, Keep It Like A Secret is no There’s Nothing Wrong With Love. But it’s an album that showcases Built to Spill’s ability to write great compositions over catchy songs. Playing it live in full at Riot Fest, they extended “The Plan” to about 8 minutes and “Broken Chairs” to about twice that time. And “Carry The Zero” was the expected anthem. I couldn’t have expected any better from this jam-heavy set.

Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr. 

Full album sets are always great if you love the album, but nonetheless predictable. Dinosaur Jr. made sure to keep us on our toes. They opened with their cover of “Just Like Heaven” and “Training Ground” by Deep Wound, J. Mascis’s pre-Dino J hardcore band. Only then did they launch into You’re Living All Over Me. The shredding on “Kracked” was earsplitting, Mascis centered in front of about 6 Marshall stacks. Lou Barlow did his part admirably on “Lose” and “Poledo”. Best, the band left time for some extras: a version of “The Wagon” with an extra drummer and guitarist as well as classics “Freak Scene” and “Feel the Pain”. They closed with another cover--“Chunks” by Last Rights--and garnered huge applause from an audience glad this wasn’t just another regular full album set.

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Common: ‘I wanted to be the dopest. Then I found a higher purpose’ | Music

It’s apt that Common and I meet in Philadelphia, the US city of brotherly love. The rapper, who is also an activist and Emmy-winning actor, has a preoccupation with the subject, which he believes should be the driving force behind personal and social change. “My mother’s love was the first thing I pretty much knew,” he says as we drive to the soundcheck for a gig. His new album, Let Love, his 12th, is full of lush, moving jazz and soul-tinged odes to life, hip-hop, his mother, his 22-year-old daughter, his hope for a future romantic relationship and to God.

Common, 47, speaks powerfully about his childhood, growing up on Chicago’s notorious South Side. His parents split when he was a baby, but he maintained regular contact with his father, and his grandmother walked him to school. There he met Mr Brown, a teacher who “took a lot of pride in what it was to be a black man”. Although the drugs and gangs that plagued the neighbourhood were close by, “it wasn’t like every day we were walking around dodging bullets,” Common explains in a laid-back drawl. “The ultimate thing was that, man, I had something to aspire to. One of the solutions to the violence that goes on in the inner city is providing young people with something [that makes them] feel valued.”

Common performing in Austin in August. Photograph: Gary Miller/Getty Images

He’s become known for writing conscious rap, but his debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar, came out in an era when gangsta rap was the genre’s driving force. It depicted a less mature person, particularly on the misogynist track Heidi Hoe. “I definitely put a lot of that down to youth,” Common explains, sounding a bit embarrassed. “It was ‘bros before hoes’ – stuff you’re repeating from your homies when you’re not really thinking for yourself yet.”

After the album failed to achieve commercial success, he embarked on a journey of personal and spiritual growth. He read the Bible and the Qur’an, listened to jazz and worked on his craft as an MC. Two years later, he came back with a critically acclaimed second album, Resurrection. It was “as if Common had gone from playing dozens on the corner to standing in as an elder statesman”, declared one critic. “[He was] socially conscious, verbally dexterous and seemingly wise beyond his years.” Clearly, his underwhelming experiences with his first album affected him. “I named the album Resurrection because I felt like I was coming back from the dead,” he says, with a deep belly laugh.

“My ambition initially was driven by wanting to be seen, wanting to be heard – I wanted to be the dopest. But when I started writing stories about myself I would have people come to me and say, ‘Wow, your song Retrospect for Life [about abortion] made me decide to have my child.’ When people start telling you how your music has affected them, you know that it has a higher purpose.”

Common: Resurrection – video

The experience taught him that change doesn’t happen unless you make it happen. He applied the same line of thinking to acting, which he began studying in 2001. He’s appeared in more than 50 movies – including a role in Ava DuVernay’s Selma and in the next 10 years, he says: “I want people to say, “Man, he’s one of the great actors of his generation.’” Calling acting enlightening and therapeutic, he says it has taught him that “what’s more important than being cool is telling the truth”.

This might sound like so much celebrity puff, but Common credits acting with a profound late-in-life revelation. While filming The Tale, a film about sexual abuse starring Laura Dern, he recalled that he had been molested as a child by a male relative of a family friend. Common opens up easily about the recollection: “It was something I had removed from my thoughts, but through being part of the movie, the situation came to my memory. As a kid I must have felt, ‘I don’t want nobody to know about this, I don’t wanna get in trouble or get this person in trouble’, so I just didn’t let it exist in my mind.”

Common with Democratic party politician Stacey Abrams at a rally in 2018. Photograph: Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

He also wrote about this in his memoir, Let Love Have the Last Word, published earlier this year. “I’ve recently been getting into the mental health of the community and how we deal with some of the issues that are generational [but] we never talk about,” he says. “This is one of them.”

At first reticent to write about the issue – music was “a safer place” to deal with it, he says – he discussed it with his mother, who told him something similar had happened in their family. “It was something people never talked about, but the not talking about it is what allows it to continue,” Common says. He felt it was vital he share his story so that “anybody who has experienced [abuse] can feel they don’t have to carry the shame and can figure out a way to get past it and heal”.

The topic of healing weighs heavily on the rapper’s mind these days, especially when it comes to race, poverty and US politics. “There has to be a shift in values,” he says. “What can we offer our communities to provide people not only with hope but with practical ways to advance and live a full life?”

More than a decade ago, he created the Common Ground Foundation, which focuses on empowering high-school students from underserved communities. It is about to open the Art in Motion charter school in Chicago. He is also involved in criminal justice reform initiatives. Since 2017, he has toured California prisons, talking to and performing for inmates. His efforts have been credited with helping pass a bill in California that allows young offenders sentenced to life without parole the opportunity to have their cases reheard.

Sitting on his tour bus after his show, Common sips on red wine while showing friends the video for Show Me That You Love, a song about how his relationship with his daughter has evolved. A few years ago, she told him she didn’t think he had been the best father – he was separated from her mother and away on tour all the time – and she felt that he didn’t really care about her. At first, Common says, he was defensive, but then they started mending their relationship with the help of therapy.

“It’s important that people see there are artists out there who have achieved, but they still have issues they are working through,” he says, explaining why he wants to reveal vulnerability in his music. “This is why I talk about therapy and mindfulness and meditation in my [new] songs. It’s why I talk about being molested, and my father. The job of the artist is to not always show the accolades.”

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