#(and also it made me think mel would be alice and wonderland themed)

[rokeas-finest]

Bringing this ship to the table and dramatically running away. Melzelle everyone

[liunaticfringe]

By Scott Moore April 25, 1999 

 At first blush, Lucy Liu seems to have little in common with the character she plays on "Ally McBeal."

Unlike the assertive Ling -- soft L, soft G -- she doesn't growl. Neither is she sarcastic, rude or abrupt.

Rather, it's with enthusiasm, courtesy and a bit of a giggle -- traits Ling Woo would never permit -- that Liu explains the hardships of portraying this very litigious woman each week on Fox's "Ally McBeal" (Monday at 9 on Fox).

"I can barely keep a straight face most of the time in the scenes," she said.

The insulting Ling Woo has little time for emotion -- or so viewers first thought. After the death of a young boy, the character kept up the persona by declaring: "We knew he was dying, Ally. This isn't the world's biggest shock. The boy had leukemia. Get over it."

The true shock came moments later, when Ling was seen crying outside the hospital parking lot -- and later still when she apparently arranged for a blimp to convey a comforting sign to Ally.

The turn of events "are just as surprising to me as to the audience," Liu said.

The actress has had quite a ride since being introduced in the second week of the season as the ill-tempered friend of icy attorney Nelle Porter, played by Portia de Rossi. A potential cash cow for the law firm and a romantic target for perpetually excited senior partner Richard Fish, Ling instantly drew the scorn of the rest of the firm and the attention of a large fan base, helping move the series into the Top 20 in the weekly ratings.

The turn of events, like each week's story line, has been a pleasant surprise to Liu, who was rejected last year while auditioning for the role of Nelle.

"They said they'd think about me in the future," Liu said. "But I was the only person of color there at all," of the half-dozen actresses applying for the part.

However, a few days later, she was cast for a role that writer-producer David E. Kelley created for her. Further, color doesn't seem to have any detriment on Kelley's offbeat comedy, where interracial relationships are commonplace.

If anything, Liu's Chinese heritage works to her advantage. Kelley has used her ability to speak Mandarin in a couple of story lines -- Ling inadvertently instructed waiters to cook John Cage's pet frog Stephan ("Tastes like chicken") and addressed a jury with nonsensical phrases that Liu's mother helped her construct. ("It doesn't matter what I say here," said the subtitles, "because none of you speak Chinese. But you can see from my sad face . . . I'm sympathetic.").

As a result, Ling Woo has evolved from an Asian stereotype -- that of Dragon Lady or sexual object -- to a multi-dimensional character. In addition to the show of emotion, Ling recently was revealed to have a law degree and joined the firm.

Still, Liu's character certainly has draconian elements. Her appearance on screen is often accompanied by glares or "The Wizard of Oz's" Wicked Witch of the West theme. And Ling's creative foreplay-but-no-play romance with Fish has gained Liu a growing fan base and several job offers.

"I knew she was well-rounded from the beginning," Liu said. "There's friction, and she's blunt and honest, but I always knew she was a sympathetic character."

Sympathetic? Ling yelled at a man in a wheelchair to watch where he was going. ("It's bad enough you people get all the parking places.") She declares that "men are horny toads." She has sued a radio shock jock for contributing to sexual harassment and a nurse of a plastic surgeon for having natural breasts.

Ling would interrupt here to ask, "Do you have a point?" Liu only laughs.

"I have to study her a great deal so she can shoot them out," Liu said of her character's audacity. "She doesn't hesitate when she talks or after she talks. If I know the lines, I can be more secure when I try to express her.

"She's a very clear-minded, blunt person. She's not disciplined, so I need to discipline myself, so she doesn't get lost or muddled."

Liu, born in New York City's Queens in the 1960s (she doesn't reveal her age), began acting while majoring in Asian languages and cultures at the University of Michigan. She played the lead in "Alice in Wonderland."

She had recurring roles on "ER," "High Incident" and "Coach," and guest spots on "NYPD Blue," "L.A. Law," "Michael Hayes" and "The X-Files." She also had a regular role as a brainy student in the short-lived Rhea Perlman comedy "Pearl."

And after playing a former girlfriend in "Jerry Maguire" and a hooker in "Bang," she made a mark this year with her portrayal of a brutal dominatrix in the Mel Gibson action-thriller "Payback." Liu also appears in "True Crime" with Clint Eastwood, "Molly" with Elizabeth Shue, and the "Austin Powers" sequel, "The Spy Who Shagged Me." And she was just cast in Ron Shelton's "Play It to the Bone."

"I've come to terms with things the last few years, so I can appreciate things as they're happening," she said.

Her favorite part of playing Ling, she said, are the romantic scenes with Fish (played by Greg Germann, a fellow accordion player).

"They're a real challenge for me, because my roles before didn't involve sexuality," said Liu. "I think, Oh, I can't do that. But, hey, I'm a woman, why not find some sensuality in that? When you discover yourself and allow yourself to be sexual, it's a really liberating feeling."

In fact, Liu says Fish is the character to whom she is most drawn: "I'm attracted to humor. Laughter is the most important thing in the world -- it takes 10 years off your age."

So, Liu is able to laugh off criticism from those who try to attach stereotypical labels to her character. "Chill out, take a pill or don't watch the show," she said.

The line could have been Ling's, except it was accompanied by a giggle.

CAPTION: Lucy Liu: "I can barely keep a straight face most of the time in the scenes."

CAPTION: LUCY LIU

[cutiepisenpai]

Sinfully Delicious (Spencer Reid x Female OC)

Warnings: mentions of cheating, mentions of unsubs crimes. Angst with a happy ending.

Reid is sitting at his desk going through paperwork when a man walks in holding a large vase of flowers. "Delivery for Dr. Reid he says looking around." "I'm Dr. Reid.", Spencer says, getting up and walking towards the man. "You're Dr. Melinda Reid?" He questions. "Oh, no that's my wife but I can take them to her." The man hands the vase over to Spencer and leaves. "That's so cute having flowers delivered for Mel. But if you wanted to surprise her you should have made sure she was down here when they were delivered." Announces JJ. "They aren't from me." Spencer dejectedly walks to Melinda's desk leaving the vase there. Or at least that was his plan until curiosity got the better of him and he decided to read the card. 

A special gift for the most marvelous woman. I can't wait to see you again, we can talk over wine and discuss all the fun treats I would love to lick, suck and eat for you. 

Reading the card sent Spencer into a rage. He could not believe his wife would cheat on him. He thought she was happy, that they were both happy. He knew their job took a toll on both of them from time to time but overall they were happy. Before he can go into a full spiral he hears Hotch calling everyone to the briefing. Melinda takes her usual seat next to him but when she reaches for him he pulls away. They have a habit of intertwining pinkys while at work for limited PDA. But Spencer is still upset and spends the meeting avoiding eye contact and any conversation with her.(Unsub is taking male and female victims torturing them over 3 days before killing them) Once the meeting is over and everyone is leaving they grab their go bags and head for the plane. Spencer is the first to leave without saying a word. 

Melinda knows something is wrong with Spencer but he isn't giving her a chance to talk with him about it. Once they're all on the plane discussing the case she can tell he is going out of his way to avoid her. Sitting on the opposite side of the plane never responding to what she was saying. It's making the entire plane ride seem much longer than it should. The team doesn't get involved, from past experiences they have learned the best way to deal with the two Dr's lover quarrels is to leave them be. They will work through it on their own hopefully sooner than later. 

The team makes a break in the case when they find the relation between the victims. All the males and female victims who were taken together were having an affair. The team is delivering the profile to the local police. "The unknown subject is a white male in his early 30's." Hotch starts by saying. "We believe he is targeting couples who are cheating on their spouse or significant other." Morgan continues. "We believe he is committing these crimes because a significant other cheating on him in the past." Says Melinda finishing the profile. Hearing Melinda say that so nonchalantly makes Spencer scoff, "Guess you of all people would know." This is just one of the many passive aggressive comments Reid has made towards her in the past couple of days, but it makes her snap. "Okay enough! I don't know what's wrong with you but you won't tell me and I'm not a mind reader so why don't you just come out and say it." "Why bother talking to me, why don't you just talk to the guy you're screwing!" Reid spits back. Before Melinda gets a chance to respond Hotch is dragging both of them by the arm into the conference room. "Are you two serious? We are in the middle of a case and people are dying. We don't have time for this! Now talk you have 10 minutes!" Hotch says before walking out of the room. "Why would you think I'm cheating on you?" "The flowers!" Reid yells. "The flowers that were delivered before we left aren't from me but whoever sent them is obviously more than a friend." Reid's statement just confuses Melinda even more; she didn't even go back to her desk before they left and she had no idea why someone would send her flowers. It might have been one of the team members messing around, they played terrible pranks from time to time but if it was one of them they would have said something by now. "What did the card say?" Reid didn't want to think about the vile words on that card let alone say what someone else would want to do to his wife. Reid is clenching his jaw so tightly he can feel his teeth begin to grind. "The card read, A special gift for the most marvelous woman. He can't wait to see you again, you can talk over wine and discuss all the fun treats he would love to lick, suck and eat for you." Reid finally relents. Melinda is focusing on the words they sound familiar, out of context but she figures out who sent the flowers. But when she opens her mouth to tell him all that comes out is laughter. Her laughter upsets Reid even more, "Seriously Mel this isn't funny." "Oh my jealous little honeybee it is. And you're about to find out why." Instead of saying anything more to Reid she pulls out her phone, finds a contact and presses send. The phone now on speaker begins to ring, Spencer is anxious not wanting to know who this person is. "Hello beautiful", they hear in a familiar voice. It's the voice of Emily Prentiss who is currently working in London. "Thought you'd never call and thank me for the flowers", she laughs. "Yea about that, I didn't know you had sent them but my oh so jealous husband did not like what you had to say, especially since you didn't put who it was from." Melinda says holding back a laugh. "Oh my God, Reid I'm so sorry. You must have been so upset. I didn't think I needed to sign it. If she had read it she would know it's me. But you can't be mad, you're supposed to be grossly happy and making a BAU prodigy.  Actually scratch that if you two have a baby between chasing after baby genius and creepy killers she won't have time to make more delicious treats." They chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. With the tension and anger finally leaving Spencer's body he pulls Melinda into a bone crushing hug, before Hotch reappears. "Good to know everything is better, now we have a killer to catch."

On the plane ride home everything seems back to normal Spencer and Melinda are sitting side by side holding hands with her head resting on his shoulder. Everyone is tired after this case and ready to get back home. But everyone is also still curious about the now from Emily. "So lil sis, I have to know what Prentiss meant in that card." Morgan asks. His question catches the attention of everyone else curious to know what those innuendos really meant. "Oh, well we were talking on the phone about a week ago and she was saying how she missed all of us and wished she could come visit. So I sent her a care package. I put two bottles of wine and a container of homemade pastries. Everything was wrapped individually so I did a little Alice in Wonderland theme and wrote things like drink me, eat me, taste me and lick me on the labels." Melinda says and she starts to laugh, thinking of Emily opening the package to see that. "I was just having some fun, didn't think she would respond in a way that would require an explanation." Her confession causes everyone to break out in laughter. "I don't know, I have had your baked goods before. It should be a crime they taste so amazing." JJ said. Everyone nods in agreement now asking when she will bring in more treats for me. 

[wildflowerfiction77]

Hollywood

Movies 3 6/21/2019 4:07pm

So, after the last blog, I was inclined to google the movie “The Fountain”.  When doing so, I saw that they had created a graphic novel of the same name.  The writer/director gave a script and had the artist, one of the best painters of comics, known to me the artist for Havok and Wolverine mini series in the late 80′s/early 90′s.  Now, I loved the guys work. He had a palette of earth tones and muted colors, mixed with an abstract expressionistic style.  After reading the directors comments about the details of how they created the book, I was somewhat upset.  The artist was given free reign in the storytelling, in which the images I saw on the internet, looked like the main characters were Mexican or Native American.  It could have been the bad guy, but he kind of looked like me at the time and a girl I had dated, that was an inspiration to the character and I had used one of her poems in the sixth chapter.  So I ordered the book and the movie on Amazon the next day.  I have yet to see the book, but I am still a bit unsettled.  I have come to terms that it is a different version of the story, and it is based on historical events, and it is something that I am glad it made it to the big screen.  I am not happy with the fact that their is a high percent chance that it the seed did come from my book.  The interesting thing is that years later, around 2012, I had gotton a back tattoo of a lion and a snake, and later on a phoenix.  On the cover of the graphic novel, the guy had a tattoo of a tree.  So I guess that was a weird coincidence. 

Another interesting fact was that on my mothers side, my grandmothers maiden name is Moctezuma.  Now I’m not sure how common that is, but it is believed that we have blood lines of one of the Kings of the Aztec Empire.  As diluted as it may be, there is also many wives and concubines that Kings usually have.  That being said, it is a truth.  I have my own ideas of the history of the Aztec Empire and what has been changed and rewritten by the Europeans after its downfall, but that will have to wait for a more specific writing.  

To go along with “The Fountain”, a slew of other movies, created years after were made.  Pan’s Labyrinth also in 2006 by Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro was similar to a few stories mixed in with history, including Alice in Wonderland and The Labyrinth by Jim Henson.  The premise of my story was the young boy and girl in a fairytale world were they worked in a slave factory.  The drawings looked similar to the movie as well as the soldier aspect.  I guess they also made a book/graphic novel of that as well.  When the movie came out, I was also kind of upset, but didn’t like the overall premise of how dark they represented the fairytale world, furthering the propaganda, although it was set in Spain, the director is Mexican, albeit, very anglo in blood line. I did like the movie though, and thought it was a great creation in art. 

The last two movies that were also similar to the story were Elysium with Matt Damon in 2013 and Apocalypto by Mel Gibson in 2006. In 2003-2004, I was hired by Fifth Sun, a t-shirt company in Chico, CA.  Dan Gonzalez, the owner,  had known me from a couple of years before that from me doing art around town and working with Voice Magazine in Paradise.  His brother had created the toy line of Chicano culture years before that, “The Homies”, in which I was familiar with.  I had done some concept work for a few t-shirt lines for him and he was kind enough to give me some work.  At the time, I was living in Butte County, and had girlfriend that moved to San Francisco to attend the State College.  I had just dropped out of the SF Art Institute the year before, so she was upset that I did, because she had went to SF because I was there.  Now there was a story I’m going to tell of why I did, and have told people I know about it, but about a year or two, I did move back to SF to live with said girlfriend, and the owner of Voice and Dan Gonzalez were upset that I had done so.  At the time, Dan Gonzalez had offered me a chance to be a featured artist in Low Rider magazine and to do a Aztec comic book for him.  

I pitched him the idea the idea of story based on Cuatemoc, which he had shown me some Chicano artwork and well know Mexica paintings of the Aztec hero.  During that same month, I had been given the ultimatum by the girlfriend to move with her or end the relationship.  Since I was in love with the girl, I given my three week notice to everyone.  Dan Gonzalez was upset, as well as others, but I finished the art for the first book in the first month I was in SF, which was a daunting task.  Fifth Sun was a T-Shirt company, and the book was something a little separate. Dan Gonzalez had given me a used Mac, G3 with the works on it, and I had gathered the other computer equipment while working at Voice in Paradise to work on my own.  The money was good, and in the contract was an agreement for me not to work on any other Aztec themed works for five years, other than Nezahual and Rhayne, which was the story I had been working on for almost ten years and was known to Dan Gonzalez.  So we put that in the contract.  

In the first month, I presented to him the finished art for the pages of the book he hired me to do.  We had a meeting and he said he couldn’t use the work, that it was not he hired me to do.  He wanted something more superhero like.  I had presented him something more Conan like.  Now, I had given him a script and a few sketches, in which he kept the sketches.  He had the pages copied and I had some other Chicano themed ideas I was also presenting him with.  Among them were pictures of me a kid dressed up in Low Rider garb and other photos of my family that I wanted to recreate for a t-shirt line.  He had brought in another Chicano artist, and had shown him the pics and said to him, that this is the style he was talking about he wanted to create.  He offered to create a project with those photos, but I declined when he had other artists in mind to work on the project.  I had not gotten permission by family to even use the photos and didn’t like the idea of other artists taking over the project.  He seemed upset.  

So, leaving with the artwork of the Aztec comic and not getting paid the second half of the money, we had emailed each other about the terms of the unused artwork.  I had told him that I would use the artwork in my story for Nezahual and Rhayne, and would create him another book.  He had said in the meeting before that he had decided not to create comics, that his advisors told him to stay with t-shirts and that he really just wanted the abundance of artwork that the comic medium provided. So in the email, he had said to whatever I wanted with the artwork.  So that seemed to be the end of the contract.  Interestingly enough, during first working with him and Voice, Fifth Sun had hired some Chicano artists in L.A.  from Disney, and had brought them to work and live in Chico.  While working at Voice, we had community events where Voice would have a table promoting its books.  Unbeknownst to me, one of the artists and his wife came to the table looking at the books and art.  After a moment, the artist pulled his wife to the side and talked, then they abrubtely excused themselves.  This was before the Aztec comic book was conceived, but I had put it in the idea that maybe they had word not to mingle with me because of Fifth Sun art stuff.  Now, I’m thinking there was something else to it.  During that time as well, I had heard of another artist that first worked with 5th Sun in its early days, and didn’t get paid what he felt was owed to him, like a house and royalties.  I guess the artist from Disney had left without getting their full deals in similar fashion, but that was just hear-say.  So I was aware of the possibilities of this happening, but artists are always in danger of this happening when creating work for the public.  

So the work that I created for fifth sun was pretty much that Aztec guy running from supernatural enemies in the jungle, trying to save his girl.  When Apocalypto premiered I didn’t really think it the same as the story I created, but now I see some similarities.  Honestly, I didn’t like the presentation of the Aztec culture, as it seemed really Eurocentric and downright demonizing of the ancient Mexican culture, which Euro history is seems to do in my opinion.  The Elysium movie, 2013 was something that was the third idea of my story that I felt was used as inspiration.  After a year in SF with said girlfriend, in 2007-2008 we had moved to Chico and I continued my work on the Nezahual and Rhayne story.  This time, I finished coloring the declined work for 5th Sun and tried to rework it to fit into an acceptable adaptation to Nezahual and Rhayne  Included to this, my girlfriend and I starting writing down the dissutopian future of the love story of urban life after world war 3.  Now the Matt Damon movie starred a white guy and included high tech electronics and such, but the premise of that world, was that Nezahual was from the poor people world, that sold drugs, guns and black market stuff,, while Rhayne was from the rich part of the world in which she went to college.  There is more to it, which most of it I haven't written down or even talked about it as it has been fermenting in my brain, it is overall a Romeo and Juliet styled story.  So the movie wasn’t a rip off so much, because I never finished it, but some of the drawing I created do have a similar feeling.  I actually like the movie, but did think they should have went with a brown actor.  It would have given it the grit it needed to make it believable and ground breaking, other than it being just another Hollywood movie that will be lost in time.  

So that's pretty much most of the main connections to that story that I noticed other than a couple of computer animated movies, but none as close as the afformentioned movies.  I guess I’m more flattered than anything.  I could have never come close to any of those creations, other than drawing and painting them, in which I intend to.  But there is always, which came first, which I got to go with my stuff.  There is always a race in creation but there is something to be said with quality and true inspiration.  My story has more to do with the cultures history than with the look of it.  

[theliterateape]

Does the Character of the Artist Taint the Art?

By Don Hall

I love science fiction.

One of my very first memories of science fiction in films was my mother constructing a card table fort in front of the television (this was back before cable or VCRs when there were only three major networks that were accessed through rabbit ear antennae — a little foil helped the signal, dontchaknow...) so I could camp out all night and watch the Planet of the Apes marathon.

I read Asimov's Foundation Trilogy before I was in 6th grade and saw Star Wars (when I was 12) in a Phoenix, Ariz. movie theater 25 times in two weeks when it opened in 1977.

So, when Ender's Game came out, I burned through it in record time. And have subsequently read every single spinoff (both the Ender's thread and the Ender's Shadow books.)

I was not really a fan of Orson Scott Card as a person because he is a devoted Mormon. I don't have anything special against Mormons because I'm basically suspicious of most people who wear their religious beliefs like a badge — given my strong intuition that all religions are fantasy and myth, I don't see Mormonism any different than I do Christianity, Scientology, Islam or Greek Mythology — and people who announce their solidarity with a fairy tale first and foremost give me the whim whams.

When it was announced that Card was anti-gay, I really wasn't surprised. He's a Mormon. He's Mormon enough to have "Mormon" as a primary identifier of who he is in his bio. He wears his Mormonism like a flag he waves. And Mormons, as a collective, don't like the gays.

While it didn't change the fact that I loved the stories or that the movie that came out with Harrison Ford was a bit of a turd, I'll admit it gave me pause. It made me want to go back and see if there was some sort of anti-gay themes or propaganda embedded in the books. Like reading Roald Dahl and suddenly recognizing his anti-Semitism dripping from the corners of Willy Wonka or watching Manhattan and being a bit creeped out by Woody Allen's lust for women half his age.

It brings to mind the fact that I generally like Tom Cruise movies but think Scientology is just goofy as shit. Or know that Lewis Carroll was probably a pedophile but dig Alice in Wonderland nonetheless.

The question begged is pretty straightforward:

If the art created by someone with hateful and ugly beliefs doesn't espouse those beliefs, does his or her intent matter?

"[Charles] Krafft, an elder of Seattle art, is a provocateur. He makes ceramics out of human cremains, perfume bottles with swastika stoppers, wedding cakes frosted with Third Reich insignias. Up-and-coming artists continue to admire him. Leading curators include him in group shows from Bumbershoot to City Arts Fest. His work is in the permanent collections of Seattle Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, and the Museum of Northwest Art, and it's been written about in the New Yorker, Harper's, Artforum, Juxtapoz. It's also appeared on the cover of The Stranger.

SOURCE

Turns out that Krafft is a Holocaust denier and a White Nationalist. Progressive art lovers everywhere spent vast amounts of wealth buying his ironic pieces only to find out that he wasn't really being ironic at all.

If you bought his kitchy "Hitler Idaho" teapot and thought it was an ironic joke and, in your subjective opinion, displayed the teapot as a provocative piece of dark humorous art, does the realization that the artist is a raging lunatic with hatefully poisonous beliefs change the teapot?

Whether you find the allegations of pedophilia against Allen to be credible (I'm not one to subscribe to the blanket, "I Believe Her" because I recognize that women, while shoved into a place in society that has been the literal shit end of the stick, are human beings and capable of all sorts of disingenuous nonsense) it's hard to deny that Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah & Her Sisters are flat out brilliant. And that Zelig was Forrest Gump but funnier.

If the art created by someone with hateful and ugly beliefs doesn't espouse those beliefs, does his or her intent matter?

I think sometimes it does, Hitler himself started the Nazi movement first and foremost as a huge national art project. He designed the logos and iconography of his lunacy himself and some of his first acts were surrounding the definitions of National German Art.

Krafft actually uses that imagery to promote a subversive version of that ideology. That is definitely problematic.

I suppose if Card used his Big Royalty Paychecks to fund anti-gay legislation, that would impact my decision to read his books. It can be argued that by tithing to the Mormon Church, he is doing exactly that.

Allen is trickier because he is not an advocate of child molestation nor does any of his work promote the idea. If he suddenly made a comedy effectively apologizing for a child rapist, I'd definitely avoid it.

I have a tattoo on my right shoulder that says "Ars Gratia Artis" - Latin for "Art for Art's Sake" and, for the most part, I believe that art subjectively stands alone. We still see A Merchant of Venice produced routinely, in spite of it's ridiculously anti-Semitic subject matter and no one seems to be boycotting Shakespeare.  Perhaps it is about time. When the art and the artist can be seen in the same room, perhaps the intent and the inherent beliefs of the artist do matter, do influence the subjective appreciation of the art.

Do we require a purity of thought to appreciate the work? Bukowski was a scumbag misogynist cat who I would not have ever wanted to drink with but I love his poetry. 

Will it be forgotten what a complete fucker Mel Gibson is once he croaks and 100 years from now people watch Braveheart? Will the films of Clint Eastwood live on far beyond the memory of him lambasting Barack Obama for the GOP? Is it possible to marvel at the paintings of Picasso without being reminded that he was a monster to the women in his life and to those who modeled for him? Can we enjoy listening to the Beatles even though we know John Lennon beat up women?

Maybe so. Maybe not. Art is still subjective while the context in which the art is created is not so much. 

I still love the original Planet of the Apes movies even though I know that Charleston Heston was an unrepentant shill for the NRA.