#Al Sterling

[macksting]

If you like El Goonish Shive

If you like El Goonish Shive, I think you might like Dungeon Meshi, and also O Human Star. They're all three different situations entirely, but Dungeon Meshi has the same earnest portrayal of neurodivergence and the same sense of responsibility to its characters and its readers; and all three have that incredible and sometimes painful compassion for their characters. Dungeon Meshi's kinda long, though not One Piece long, and having recently concluded you can also rest assured it is finite and has an ending as intended. O Human Star is much shorter, much more freely available on its own site. While it lacks in what one might say are obvious warnable content, it does have a forking/cloning situation somewhat coincidentally a bit like Elliot's and Ellen's, and I know one person at least who cannot deal with forking content; there's one death, but it doesn't stick, and is what sets the story in motion; and there's self-harm scars but it's plot-relevant that they're not talked about, much less actively engaged in creating. That said, it's intense. I know only one person who's read it through without having to take a break just to come up for air, and at eight approachably short comic chapters, that says a lot. Personally, I didn't get through the first chapter before I had to lay down and sob uncontrollably. My wife managed to make it all the way to the middle of chapter eight before she had to stop and take it in, and another friend made it to chapter seven before they had to pull out for a bit. It's a lot.

[pierppasolini]

The Other Side of Aspen (1979) // dir. Matt Sterling

[citizenscreen]

Francis Ford Coppola directing Sterling Hayden, Al Lettieri, and Al Pacino in the restaurant scene in THE GODFATHER (1972)

[thedaily-beer]

Sterling Pig The Snuffler IPA on tap at The Dandelion in Philadelphia. A 3 of 4. Lighter-bodied IPA with a pretty classic West Coast hop profile of mostly citrus and pine. Nice balance with some faint malty sweetness and a mild bitterness that builds in the finish.

[mtonino]

Francis Ford Coppola, Sterling Hayden, Al Pancino and Al Lettieri on the set of The Godfather (1972)

[mudwerks]

(via JHALAL DRUT: Al Hirschfeld)

1973: Robert Altman's THE LONG GOODBYE with Elliot Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, & Sterling Hayden

[friendlessghoul]

Roscoe Arbuckle, Al St. John, Mabel Normand, Mack Sennett, Charlie Murry, Ford Sterling, Fred Mason, and Bobbie Dunn

[holdoncallfailed]

"[Lou] was a good friend through everything. We had this brother-sister type relationship in the group, and it lasted long after the group split. We would always exchange Christmas cards, Valentine cards. It was one of those friendships where it didn't matter if you didn't see each other a lot. We'd meet up after two years or five years and it would be like we'd seen each other last week. As you get older, you come to realize that that kind of friendship is rare, so I miss him a hell of a lot. It's just dawning on me that he's not out there anymore...Now Andy's gone, Sterling's gone, Nico's gone and Lou's gone. It feels strange. I miss them all, but I really miss Lou. He was a great songwriter who pushed the boundaries in terms of what he was writing about, but more importantly, he was a good and loyal friend. It doesn't seem right that I won't be sending him a Christmas card." (via)

photos: lou reed & maureen "moe" tucker (& sterling morrison & doug yule), late 1960s.

correspondence from tucker to reed: undated valentine's day card + fax sent on january 1, 1996, referencing reed's obituary for sterling morrison, which had been published the day before in the new york times magazine.

[camyfilms]

THE GODFATHER 1972

Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.

[elenichr]

Year of Lists

March Films

more awards-related stuff and then FREEDOM (what I chose to do with it is another thing but one thing I cannot be judged for is there are a LOT of movies this month, and that is positive)

must-watches in bold (these are in relation to other movies watched, and the time, not necessarily must-watches of all time)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (2023) *6ish, I guess? - does this count? It's nostalgia in an hour's worth. it's every bit as bad as you would hope. Great stuff.

American Fiction (2023) *7.5 - hell yeah. Finally, something important done in a pleasant, human, enjoyable way (see how much I sobbed during this awards season: so.many.super.sad movies - or if not sad, just.so.much, overall). Performances are out of this world; it has everything: humour, nuance, a bit of romance, a bit of sadness; it was so damn good to watch.

The Zone of Interest (2023) *6 - how do you rate this? that six is not representative of the movie at all, but here we are. Everything you've heard about this is true: it's masterful, definitely a gut punch, Sandra Hüller is having a great year; the sound(track) is out of this world. It says so much with so little. Yes, it's a movie about the Holocaust, but it's also, really, a movie about how we stand by and allow atrocities to happen. It's a movie about humanity's cruellest side: indifference - right now, and then, and always. There is much to be said here, a lot of conversation was around how Schindler's List worked as a movie, therefore, romanticised, by the movie lens, the Holocaust. I can see how The Zone of Interest tried really hard not to do that, and I can confidently say it's done so much for exposing how useless we can be in the face of tragedy, but with every day that passes, I keep thinking more and more that it hasn't escaped that movie lens. However, it does really well at asking the question of whether we can portray atrocities of this kind, and does it really make a difference when we try?

Dune: Part Two (2024) *7.5 - umm, this is so long I need to rewatch it to even have a formed opinion. In lieu of a rewatch, here are my current thoughts: it wouldn't have been half the movie it is without the soundtrack. Also currently my favourite soundtrack of all time. I could rave and rave about it. The performances were great all round. I really love that Villeneuve doesn't try to constantly capture people like the mega starts they are: see Timmy's double chin, constipated face, present in both movies, and at a close-up at that. Some scenes were visually and emotionally breathtaking but I'm not sure if this was the case because of the anticipation of seeing something loved in a book portrayed on screen. It felt busy and a bit disjointed, especially in comparison to Part 1. I so wish they'd done the romance differently. I was constantly thinking of The Bear and how well that worked there. I wish they'd let Paul and Chani's connection breathe and mature, taken us along for the ride.

Alice, Darling (2022) *6 - this gave How to Have Sex vibes. I love when a movie addresses difficult subjects (in this case, abuse) in a slice-of-life, uber real, awkward way. It dexterously looks at the outward indicators of abuse, the responsibility of friendship - some mild body horror for both symbolic and literal purposes.

The Sixth Sense (1999) *7.5 - they don't make them like this anymore. Boy, do I envy anyone who hasn't watched this and doesn't know anything about it. If you know that person, please, make them known, I want to sit them down and pop this in the cassette player (Netflix or Prime or whatever, but you know). It's only the second time I watched this because I thought there wasn't much reason to, apart from nostalgia. Surely, it's just so worthy because of the set-up. Yeah, yeah, I was wrong. I had to pause a couple of times to allow myself to digest the mastery of what this movie is when YOU DO KNOW.

Scarface (1983) *7 - what can I say? Yup, it's great. Colours are a highlight, as is Michelle Pfeiffer.

A Time to Kill (1996) *6 - disclaimer: I am going through legal dramas, I love 'em. This was fun, much more timely than I expected. Samuel L Jackson has a beautiful, beautiful speech. A man fancies a woman that is not his wife, and she is pretty, and young, and smart, and she ignites a spark in him, and she believes in what he's doing in all the ways his wife doesn't, and yet, said man doesn't cheat on said wife. Woohoo. I'm all for complexity and non-monogamy (when both, or more parties, agree to it) but it is just so beautiful to see a good marriage challenged and withstand the challenge. Bonus points for young Matthew McConaughey and infant Sandy Bullock. It's serious, it's legal fun, a bit naïve; the nineties in a two and a half hour ride.

Rush Hour; Rush Hour 2; Rush Hour 3 (1998) (2001) (2007) *6 *6 *5 - WAR UGH ... SO MUCH FUN. Yeah, they shouldn't be bunched together, yeah, a lot of it reads problematic, yeah, I wish I'd been watching them all my life. Great stuff. Don't look away at all the racist jokes, both ways, and any other way you can imagine. This is a superb example of looking at what we made for fun: there's so much to digest, learn from, appreciate. I LOVE JACKIE CHAN. When I was a kid, it was considered embarrassing to appreciate his work. I had a stupid-ass, DUH, moment of realisation watching this: oh, that 'martial arts movies are sub-par' idea? Yeah, blatant racism. It feels so good to come to this now. Side-note: Zhang Ziyi showing up in 2, what a treat. I'm not one for recycling material but can we have Rush Hour 4 please, please, please?

Blow Out (1981) *6 - another Brian de Palma, another good movie with its merits. Some of it was delicious in a movie buff way, but I was bored nonetheless. If you're into your legal, crime, journalistic slow-burners, go for it.

Decision to Leave (2022) *9 - triple bold. This is my favourite movie. It has been since I saw it in the cinema and cried in the toilets after. It is a masterpiece, Park Chan-Wook might well be my favourite director. There are not enough good things or good enough words I could say. Here's the best I can do rn: noir at its best, romance at its most complex, human nature at its barest, lyricism, depth, story for days, really unapologetic storytelling, no infantilising the audience here, crime at its most beautiful, and potentially the best ending scene cinema has ever seen. Watch this, watch The Handmaiden, watch Stoker, watch Oldboy (when I watch more of his movies, they'll be added to this). They're all in my great movies of all time (fictional) list. Side-note: WE ARE SLEEPING ON KOREAN CINEMA. We're getting there, but we're not even close. Still underrated.

Joy Ride (2023) *6 - does what it says on the tin. Also SO MUCH FUN.

[doomed-jester]

If they ever go through with that Jamie Foxx helmed Spawn movie that's supposedly in development, I have one fancast suggestion:

TELL ME IT DOESN'T WORK. YOU CAN'T.

[reubncs]

“¿me das esa estaca?” señala con un movimiento de su mano aquella que está lejos de su alcance, a figura que puede notar a su espalda, en tanto, mantiene rígida la cuerda que sostiene la tienda principal. “¿qué tal vas con tu tienda? si lo pides amablemente, podría ayudarte~” que acampar no le molesta; le recuerda a momentos más sencillos en su vida familiar, a s’mores a atardecer, y a su madre quejándose por el sol de moab mientras su padre les enseñaba a armar las tiendas de campaña. “he visto intentos lamentables de levantar una de éstas.” 

[twstrhythm]

During the Endless Halloween Night/Spectral Soirée, which of your OCs were on the rescue teams and which ones were possessed?

Of course this is just NRC kids (and Sterling since he had still been there at the time)

Rescue Teams: 15 people.

Aaron, Caius, Elise, Haoyu, Hubert, KunMing, Nalani, Peri, Rayan, Shi Yin, Sterling, Theodore, Varian, YunLong, and Zixuan.

Unfortunate victims of possession: 14 people

Aster, Emil, Ester, Jian-Yu, Jiao-Long, Li Feng, Longwei, Matthew, Sebastien, Shen, Xavi, Xiaoshi, Xinyi, and Xue Long

Let's just say they were all a pain in the ass to rescue

[archivist-dragonfly]

Book 407

Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion

Al Seckel

Sterling Publishing Co. 2004

A survey of optical illusion artists, this book is unusual in that it focuses mostly on contemporary artists. Yes, it includes Escher and Dali and Arcimboldo, but the bulk of the book presents the work of living artists (or they were when the book was published). Artists included in this collection: Mathieu Hamaekers, Scott Kim, Akiyoshi Kitaoka, Ken Knowlton, Guido Moretti, Octavio Ocampo, and many more. Some of my favorite work in the book is by Japanese artist Shigeo Fukuda (1932-2009) whose sculptures of common objects cast shadows of other things (a mass of welded scissors casts a shadow of a clipper ship, for example) and Brazilian artist Vik Muniz (1961- ) who fashions objects made out of wire and landscapes composed of sewing thread.

[thedaily-beer]

Sterling Pig’s Fog Hog Hazy IPA on tap at Yard House at King Of Prussia, PA. A 3 of 4. Nice orange citrus in the nose with some herbal and floral undertones as well as a few stone fruit notes. Nice medium body carries the hazy well, and this is quite well-balanced with some nice sticky lacing. Nice stuff.

[ekirina]

Hace poco hice "maratón" de las tres películas de El Padrino, donde Al Pacino cogió la fama que merece. Es una película sobre la mafia italiana y su aposento en Estados Unidos. La evolución de los personajes es notorio y se te pasa volando el tiempo cuando empiezas a verla.

La recomiendo totalmente este cine clásico, todo un éxito en sus tiempos. Hubiese estado muy bien hacer una serie, porque me dejó la parte tres con falta de desarrollo de algún que otro personaje. Pero las tres películas no defraudan. Quizás habría que leer también el libro.

Podréis verlas (por ahora) tanto en la plataforma de Netflix como en HBO.

The Godfather (USA, 1972)