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asoftervirge · 4 years ago

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Of “Love” & Murder - (8/13)

CHAPTER TITLE: Intelligence is Lethal and Deadly

RATING: M PAIRINGS: P. Sanders/V. Sanders (main/one-sided); R. Sanders/V. Sanders (former); V. Sanders/L. Sanders (former); V. Sanders/D. Sanders (former); Remy/E. Picani (side); T. Sanders/OMC (mentioned)

CHAPTER WARNINGS/KINKS: Murder, Arsenic Poisoning, mentions of Lying, mentions of a False Past, brief mention of Alcohol, minor Religious Allegory, introduction to Janus Sanders CHAPTER SUMMARY: Logan tells Patton all about his death.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: And now, the death of Logan! Plus, we get the introduction to the last of Virgil’s spouses! :D Not a lot of triggers for this chapter, but it’s still a death chapter, so please take care of yourself if you decide to keep going! And in case anyone was wondering, Logan’s death was inspired by an Italian novel, and actual arsenic poisoned books that are currently housed in the University of Denmark. Have fun reading everyone! xx Virge

INSPIRATION: This post by @phantomofthesanderssides

AO3 || Buy Me a Ko-Fi!

Patton’s heart dropped to his stomach. Like with hearing the method of Roman’s murder, his face grew pale and his hands started quaking. He could swear that his legs were also buckling and quaking underneath of himself.

“You—” he almost didn’t know what to say. “Y-You were poisoned?!”

“I hadn’t realized my sentence has fallen upon deaf ears,” Logan’s mouth twists into something almost cruel. “After hearing of Roman’s ultimate demise, I did not realize that hearing Virgil is capable of committing such horrific and murderous atrocities is still hard so conceive.”

Again, Logan didn’t have to be mean about it, but it’s true! Even after hearing Roman explain how he was murdered; Patton was still in some form of denial. He’s been seeing Virgil for over a month now, and he’s just now discovering the truth about him? It was like he was in a nightmare! And, in a way, he is; a nightmare where he isn’t sleeping, which seems to be much worse.

He didn’t have it in him to ask how, he didn’t even know if he could. Poisoning was poisoning, it was so linear that there is almost no need for an explanation. And yet, Logan was willing to give him one.

“It appeared to be a normal day for the two of us. We woke up together, made and had breakfast, then spent some time by ourselves— I was working on essays for journals and drafting a possible novel idea. Virgil isolated himself upstairs in his office doing whatever he tended to occupy himself with— but that didn’t mean we did not spend quality time together. We would have afternoon tea, then then dinner, and after that we would spend some time reading in the library before we would go to bed.”

“It was very unexpected,” the novelist’s frown grows deeper. “Virgil seemed…almost normal, as normal as a murderer can be. I failed to see him poisoning my possessions, I failed to any murderous paraphernalia in the manor, and most importantly, I failed to see the truth behind all the niceties. I failed to see how I had fallen into the trappings of evil.”

Patton’s heart sunk lower in his body. Logan’s fancy way of words almost made is seem crueler.

Xe continued on. “I was here in the library, simply enjoying my novel when he came in with a tray of drinks and snacks. Then he left and returned with a box for me, a box containing my favorite work by Agatha Christie. One could say that I was touched by what he had gifted me. I absorbed myself in the novel, but I slowly started to have an upset stomach. I drank my tea in hopes that would help me, but then an unbearable pain quickly took hold of my being. Sweet-sounding words were then cooed into my ear, but they didn’t hide any cruelty. And finally, blackness.”

…

Virgil shuffled about the kitchen, humming a tune under his breath as he finishes preparing drinks for himself and his new spouse Logan, French press coffee and green tea respectively. The kitchen still faintly smelled of the dinner they had just had together moments before, a dish that was a particular favorite of the novelist.

(Even though xe was going to die soon, he figured he would give xem the same treatment he did his first husband. Minus the whole drowning and choking, that is.)

He also got started on biscuits and cake for themselves, grabbing dishes of butter, marmalade, chocolate sauce, and jelly spreads— which was an unabashed weakness of Logan’s.

All that was needed was one more finishing touch.

He made his way upstairs and into his office. Sitting on his desk was a decorative box, but he wasn’t focused on that just yet. He rummaged through the drawers before finally finding what he was looking for.

It was a small bottle filled with a white powder.

Any normal person might confuse it with everyday things like flour or baking soda, but Virgil knew exactly what it was and what it was used for.

Smirking, he grabbed the bottle and the box before taking them back down to the kitchen.

He opens the bottle, making sure he doesn’t inhale any of the toxins, before dumping some into Logan’s tea. He quickly puts the bottle away before stirring the contents together so it would dissolve.

When it did, he finally carried the tray to the library where he knew his second partner would be.

Sure enough, Logan was reclining in one of the chairs closest to the fireplace. One hand was holding xyrs book securely so it wouldn’t fall out of xyrs lap, while the other was perched on xyrs chin. Xyrs dark blue eyes were looking at the text in deep fascination.

Virgil couldn’t help but peak down and look at the cover.

Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

He liked talking about stars and constellations and whatnot with Logan every now and again, but sometimes he would get annoyed because the novelist would drone on and on. He often wondered how xe was able to do that publicly, every single day and not annoy people. Then again, the panels and conferences they would attend (much to Virgil’s chagrin) would often have people that shared in xyrs interests.

In a way, xe almost reminded him of Roman, what with how he would talk about Disney and Broadway musicals all the time. The only difference was he didn’t hear singing constantly coming from the novelist’s mouth, if any for that matter.

(Such a minute thing almost made Virgil miss the late actor…almost.)

A soft clearing of his throat got Logan’s attention.

“Ah, Virgil,” Xe sits up a little straighter and closes his book, but not without putting a page-marker in it. “How are you this evening, my moonlight?”

Despite his dark motivations, Virgil couldn’t help the tiny blush and faint growl. Damn this nerd for saying something so simple yet making it affectionate at the same time!

He quickly recovered however. “Oh, I’m doing just fine, starshine.” He says as he sets the tray down on the table beside Logan. He moved closer and gave him a small pinch to the corner of his lips. (This was their special way of expressing love to each other since neither were very affectionate people). “Reading anything special?”

“Nothing that I already didn’t know about,” xe tells him, showing him the cover. “But it’s still an exciting read regardless.”

Virgil hummed. “Well, I’ve brought some tea and biscuits for us before bed. I even brought your favorite jellies because I know you can’t resist.” He snickered at the noise Logan made. “I’ll be right back, just have to get something else from the kitchen.”

“Alright.”

His devious smirk returned as he slipped out of the library and back into the kitchen where he left the box. He grabs it and returns to see Logan still preoccupied with his current book.

The wealthy man cleared his throat once more, signaling that he came back.

Logan looked up. “Oh, you’ve returned.” Xe noticed the box Virgil was holding. “What is that you’re holding?”

“Just a little something special for you,” he says with a sweet-looking smile. “Here. Open it.”

Setting down xyrs book and taking the box, Logan opens it and is surprised by what was inside.

“Is— Is this a copy of my favorite Agatha Christie novel?” xe asks in astonishment as xe pulls out the copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. “I-I…I don’t even know what to say…”

“Maybe a thank you?” Virgil snickered.

Logan cleared xyrs throat, faintly blushing in embarrassment. “Y-Yes. Yes, I suppose— Uhm. Th-Thank you for this, Virgil. It is a very thoughtful gift coming from you.”

“Anything for my new spouse.” He gives him another pinch before taking his mug of coffee.

No more words were spoken between the two as they read from their respective novels. The only sounds made were the crackles of the fire and the occasional turn of a page.

Virgil couldn’t help but look to see how Logan was fairing. He watches with a hint of amusement as the novelist was more absorbed in this book than the last. He hadn’t even touched his tea yet!

Although he wanted to frown at that, he didn’t.

He knew better.

The time will come eventually.

What he did notice was that Logan read (or maybe skimmed?) the pages then lick at xyr fingers before flipping to the next one.

Virgil hid his victorious smile within his mug. He sprinkled the corners with that exact same powder he dumped into the tea, so at least xe were ingesting it. But it wasn’t enough to garner a true reaction out of xem just yet.

He goes back to his book, but still looked up at his spouse every now and again.

Things started to get interesting sometime after.

Logan let out a quiet grunt, which wouldn’t be a big deal had it not been for what Virgil had done to the book and tea. He watches as the novelist tries to play it off.

“You okay there, starshine? Got a headache or something?” He feigned concern, watching his second victim for any tell-tale signs that the poison was slowly taking effect. He then sees xem drinking xyr tea, hoping that would help ease his pains.

That only made things worse, however.

Logan began to cough, and again, it wouldn’t be something to worry about had it not been for the blood that appeared on his hand.

“Are you sure you’re alright, L? That was a pretty hard cough.” Virgil continued to fake his concerns.

Logan coughed again, waving him off. Xyr hands started to shake as xe brought xyr cup to xyr lips. “Y-Yes,” xe reassures. “I-I’m alright, Virgil.”

Xe think xyr fine. How adorable. Virgil had done his research; it takes about a half an hour for an eighth of a teaspoon to kill someone. He put in a little more than that, just for good measure.

Virgil kept staring at his spouse, watching every little thing that went on. It was intriguing, if he were to be honest.

Preoccupied with his dark thoughts, he didn’t realize Logan’s eye roll into the back of xyr head, and only became aware of his surroundings when he heard the thud of his spouse hitting the floor, a book falling right beside xyr body, and xyr glasses flying of xyr face.

With a smirk, the widower slid down to the floor, holding Logan’s head in his lap. He pets xyr hair, the very thing he remembered the novelist doing to him when he (pretended to) have anxiety and panic attacks. All the while he whispered quietly, knowing Logan would hear but wouldn’t respond to.

“Oh, Logan. My brilliant but naïve starshine. I think I forgot to tell you something. There might have been a little…surprise in both your tea and your book. Yep, a surprise. What was it, you might be asking? Well, if you hadn’t already deduced it— and I doubt you have— it was a bit of arsenic that I keep in my medicine cabinet.”

He chucked sinisterly while Logan seized in his arms, all the while, petting xem like xe were some sort of sick puppy.

“How does it feel, Mx. Oxford? To know that your death was caused by the two things that had meant the absolute world to you?”

Logan jerked violently, foam starting to slip past xyr lips. Virgil laughed.

“The minute I heard you come into my old bookstore, it seemed like a sense irony was on my side. And you were such an easy target too! All I had to do was debate with you, butter your ego up with flattery and you followed me like a schoolboy getting praise from a teacher.”

Virgil’s smirk grew wider, almost to where he was smiling.

“Too bad it wasn’t gonna last. Like I did with Roman— you’ve heard about him, haven’t you? The Scarlet Rose from my first marriage? — I had to get rid of you eventually. And now, I am.”

Logan’s body jerked violently again, foam now pouring out of xyr mouth and down xyr chin. Xe kept coughing, blood turning the foam pink and red in places where blood clots came out.

“Now, just sleep, Logan. Sleep and dream of those oh so wonderful constellations you kept ranting about to me~”

Suddenly, after Virgil’s last coo, the novelist stilled. The blood and foam slowly stopped leaking out of xyr mouth, but xe already drench the now two-time widower’s hands in red.

Virgil fished cleansing wipes out of his pocket and cleaned his hands as best he could. He knew he would have to get the peroxide out later. Right now? He was going to finish reading his book.

Allowing Logan’s head to thump to the carpet underneath, he stood up and simply sat back down in his leather chair, acting as if nothing had happened.

He flipped the page and chuckled at the short story he turned to.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue.”

Devilishly ironic.

Name: Logan Oxford November 03, 1954 - April 18, 1978 Cause of Death: Arsenic Poisoning Accidental Suicide

…

Patton felt tears burning his eyes once more as Logan finished his recollection. The novelist looked down at the floor, xyr hands were behind xyr back so the confectioner couldn’t see how they were shaking in slight rage.

He didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t say anything. All he did was sniffle and wipe his tears.

“I was stupid to play it off as nothing,” Logan says, a cold anger slowly seeping into xyr voice. “I should’ve recognized the symptoms of arsenic poisoning.” Xe huffed something akin to a laugh. “It’s indescribable…watching your spouse place your head in his lap and pretend to comfort you in such a sickening way. All the while telling you it was his intention to kill you.”

First with Roman, and now Logan?… He still can’t imagine it, it all sounded so horrible.

Suddenly, something that the novelist said resurfaced in his mind.

“Wait,” he says with a small crack in his voice. “Did you say…Virgil worked in that bookstore?!”

Logan nodded. “That’s what I hypothesized from his words. He didn’t seem all that comfortable with being there the first time we had met, last I recall.” Xe tell him. “While it is not a lot of evidence, there is no way he wouldn’t say that to me— as I was dying, mind you— if it wasn’t anything but the truth.”

All of this was changing everything for Patton.

Virgil originally worked in a bookstore? He lied to him from the first moment they met? His heart was slowly breaking. If this was just one thing Virgil lied about, then how many more lies did he tell him? And, most importantly, how many of them did he fall for?

“I’m not one to beg,” the novelist tells him. Xe looked at him with a small hint of desperation in xyr dark blue eyes. “But you must leave this place at once, Patton. We are warning you because we do not want another person to fall prey to Virgil’s inhumanity.”

Patton was surprised by how tiny his voice became.

“Logan—”

“I’ll have you know that we are not saying this to scare you,” Logan’s eyes sharpened, causing the confectioner to coil back in surprise. “We all have been flattered by his smooth praises, compliments, and other methods of blandishment. He made us feel good, made us feel more appreciated than how we were before we fell into his hands.”

The novelist’s shoulders slumped and now xe were looking at him tiredly. Xe were tired. Tired of all the emotions xe had suppressed while xe were alive. Now, they were finally breaching up to the surface.

“Listen to me, Patton. There is much more to your life than just having Virgil in it. You have accomplished so much before you met him, and you will be able to gain so much more if you leave.” Xe explain. “Love makes people do extremely irrational things. It makes them pull stupid actions, and this, is one of them. So please, heed our warning and escape this manor. Escape Virgil.”

“…I promise.” Patton says in a whisper, another one that had a lie burning underneath it.

Feeling satisfied, Logan nods and fades away. The fireplace flickers out the second xe vanished.

Two stories down and only one remains.

With a sigh, Patton leaves the library with a gentle shut of the doors (or as gentle as double-doors can close). He curled forward as he rested against them.

His mind was swimming with emotions, primarily those on the negative end of the spectrum. And despite the deep (very deep) desire to run and never look back, he still didn’t have it within him to do that just yet. He needed to know who the one in the suit was, what role did they play as Virgil’s last husband (or spouse), and how did the two-time widower destroy him too.

So, Patton forced himself to straighten up and made his way to the back of the manor.

Light shined from the glass door of the conservatory, sending him a small amount of comfort as he stopped in front of the walnut door. He looked up and down it, observing the serpentine engravings marked on it. Then, his gaze settled on the cobra-looking door handle.

After inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, he inserts the key and moved his wrist. It finally clicked open after a few minutes of jimmying with it. Feeling emboldened, he pulls the door back and walks inside.

It was an office, he realizes. A simple, yet fancy looking office.

The carpeted floor was a dark green as opposed to the dark blue ones in the library, and instead of silver embroidery, it was detailed in gold. The desk was mahogany wood and in front of it, were two black leathered seats.

A file cabinet rested against the wall right of the desk, and a glass tank (maybe for fish? reptiles?) rested left of it. A bar was to the left of the door, no alcohol was stocked on the shelves, aside from a crystal platter holding cups for vials of stock and whisky.

Behind the desk was a beautiful, ornate glass window that shined moonlight thanks to the parted dark green and gold curtains. Photographs hung in various places on the walls, many of them were newspaper headlines — headlines of famous court cases, many of them won.

Patton closes the door.

“My, my.” A deep, silky voice rings in the air. “It amazes me how an innocent little lamb continues to wander far from the comforts of Eden.” The confectioner shivers at the sound. “But I wouldn’t want to be a lost sheep forever. One must return to God soon, or he shall be slaughtered by the wicked Devil himself.”

Patton looks around to see where the voice was coming from, but he couldn’t find anyone. Then the leather chair slowly swivels around to face him.

The person sitting in it? Was the one in the third portrait.

The one in the suit.

“I’ve been expecting you, Mr. Hart.”

#Sanders Sides #Patton Sanders #Logan Sanders #Virgil Sanders #Janus Sanders #Moxiety #Analogical #Anxceit #death tw #blood tw #poison tw #Of Love & Murder

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ntiromantic · 5 years ago

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i wrote an essay in the comments section of the “suga’s interlude” lyric video & it hurts me too much not to post it here

background: i wrote a comment about the art being deep, people asked why, so this was my response

note: there are probably (definitely) some mistakes because i only casually like psychology and did some googling of stuff & this is my interpretation!!!! pls i’m dumb my last two braincells started napping after the first sentence :(

so the beginning is quite simple, right? (everything i say might not be exact bc i’m not doing an essay) halsey (the purple haired character) is standing under rain, connecting to the lyrics of “i’ve been trying all my life/to separate the time, in between the having it all and giving it up.” basically, having it all being the sun and giving it up being the rain. while you want the sun, you must separate it from getting the rain essentially drowning in that. this rain, however, has positive effects (the orange stuff which later grows flowers). the rain stops when yoongi comes in. in his verse, he basically addresses the rain. his last line is “but never forget the stars you wish for only appear in the dark” and he leaves the frame. it starts to rain again, clouds dark; halsey is now prepared with her umbrella, and flowers start growing (the “stars” yoongi talks about). halsey has separated having it all and giving it up. also, pay attention to the lyric, “i wonder what’s in store/if i don’t love it anymore” because while it does heavily relate to yoongi’s song “shadow,” it connects to near the end. in yoongi’s next verse, people with crowns are drawn. my personal interpretation is that these crowns represent the crown of thorns, with both biblical and jungian references. crowns can also represent royalty/riches, so when halsey and yoongi move to the crowned people, it can represent the media, public, or society. the people with the “crowns” or power; these can also represent friends in the public spotlight as well. there is one in the sky with a blue eye, this can represent sans from undertale (just kidding; i think it represents the company/media that is always watching celebrities’ every move). meanwhile, yoongi’s verse talks about getting lost and moving into things you’re unsure of— like the way yoongi and halsey move into the spotlight together. the sun is back and a rainbow is drawn; this is happiness. as soon as halsey says “if i don’t love it anymore,” however, rain clouds form once again. it rains on the two. it floods, and the two crowned people next to them are crossed off, as well as the flowers, and slowly, so are yoongi and halsey. this can represent the downfall of an artist; the passion is lost, and the public is bored. the rain represents this loss of passion. soon, fans are lost, the media leaves, the good things are no longer. it’s almost as though yoongi and halsey have drowned in their shadow.

according to carl jung, psychologist, a shadow is one of four theories as to the human mind (with persona, anima/animus, and ego). basically, the shadow is the dark, repressed part of a person. it’s where fears and shameful things are hidden. in yoongi’s song “shadow,” he talks about his shadow, which grows bigger the more famous he gets. he talks about his fears of falling from the spotlight (as somewhat depicted in this video). in a bts interview (specifically on the zach sang show) yoongi talks about bts’s new album being about accepting your shadow but not losing yourself in it. so when the rain “drowns” everyone, they’re all enveloped in their shadow. bringing back the crown of thorns, it basically represents sin — shadow. (one must note that one’s shadow is not always inherently evil; see murray stein’s book on carl jung.)

as art is, there are multiple interpretations. one can also interpret this as the crowned figures being shadows looming behind halsey and yoongi as they are shrouded in light/fame, or perhaps the fact that your shadow can overtake you if you don’t acknowledge it and lose yourself in euphoria. simplest of all, one can just interpret this as two artists who’ve lost their passion; everything, all of their art, achievements, and fame is lost, and soon the artists themselves are lost.

art is subjective, though, so understand it however you see fit! i hope this helps :)

youtube

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skonnaris · 5 years ago

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Books I’ve Read: 2006-2019

Alexie, Sherman - Flight

Anderson, Joan - A Second Journey

- An Unfinished Marriage

- A Walk on the Beach

- A Year By The Sea

Anshaw, Carol - Carry the One

Auden, W.H. - The Selected Poems of W.H. Auden

Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice

Bach, Richard - Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Bear, Donald R - Words Their Way

Berg, Elizabeth - Open House

Bly, Nellie - Ten Days in a Madhouse

Bradbury, Ray - Fahrenheit 451

- The Martian Chronicles

Brooks, David - The Road to Character

Brooks, Geraldine - Caleb’s Crossing

Brown, Dan - The Da Vinci Code

Bryson, Bill - The Lost Continent

Burnett, Frances Hodgson - The Secret Garden

Buscaglia, Leo - Bus 9 to Paradise

- Living, Loving & Learning

- Personhood

- Seven Stories of Christmas Love

Byrne, Rhonda - The Secret

Carlson, Richard - Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Carson, Rachel - The Sense of Wonder

- Silent Spring

Cervantes, Miguel de - Don Quixote

Cherry, Lynne - The Greek Kapok Tree

Chopin, Karen - The Awakening

Clurman, Harold - The Fervent Years: The Group Theatre & the 30s

Coelho, Paulo - Adultery

The Alchemist

Conklin, Tara - The Last Romantics

Conroy, Pat - Beach Music

- The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son

- The Great Santini

- The Lords of Discipline

- The Prince of Tides

- The Water is Wide

Corelli, Marie - A Romance of Two Worlds

Delderfield, R.F. - To Serve Them All My Days

Dempsey, Janet - Washington’s Last Contonment: High Time for a Peace

Dewey, John - Experience and Education

Dickens, Charles - A Christmas Carol

- Great Expectations

- A Tale of Two Cities

Didion, Joan - The Year of Magical Thinking

Disraeli, Benjamin - Sybil

Doctorow, E.L. - Andrew’s Brain

- Ragtime

Doerr, Anthony - All the Light We Cannot See

Dreiser, Theodore - Sister Carrie

Dyer, Wayne - Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

- The Power of Intention

- Your Erroneous Zones

Edwards, Kim - The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Ellis, Joseph J. - His Excellency: George Washington

Ellison, Ralph - The Invisible Man

Emerson, Ralph Waldo - Essays and Lectures

Felkner, Donald W. - Building Positive Self Concepts

Fergus, Jim - One Thousand White Women

Flynn, Gillian - Gone Girl

Follett, Ken - Pillars of the Earth

Frank, Anne - The Diary of a Young Girl

Freud, Sigmund - The Interpretation of Dreams

Frey, James - A Million Little Pieces

Fromm, Erich - The Art of Loving

- Escape from Freedom

Fulghum, Robert - All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Fuller, Alexandra - Leaving Before the Rains Come

Garield, David - The Actors Studion: A Player’s Place

Gates, Melinda - The Moment of Lift

Gibran, Kahlil - The Prophet

Gilbert, Elizabeth - Eat, Pray, Love

- The Last American Man

- The Signature of All Things

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader - My Own Words

Girzone, Joseph F, - Joshua

- Joshua and the Children

Gladwell, Malcom - Blink

- David and Goliath

- Outliers

- The Tipping Point

- Talking to Strangers

Glass, Julia - Three Junes

Goodall, Jane - Reason for Hope

Goodwin, Doris Kearnes - Team of Rivals

Graham, Steve - Best Practices in Writing Instruction

Gray, John - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Groom, Winston - Forrest Gump

Gruen, Sarah - Water for Elephants

Hannah, Kristin - The Great Alone

- The Nightingale

Harvey, Stephanie and Anne Goudvis - Strategies That Work

Hawkins, Paula - The Girl on the Train

Hedges, Chris - Empire of Illusion

Hellman, Lillian - Maybe

- Pentimento

Hemingway - Ernest - A Moveable Feast

Hendrix, Harville - Getting the Love You Want

Hesse, Hermann - Demian

- Narcissus and Goldmund

- Peter Camenzind

- Siddhartha

- Steppenwolf

Hilderbrand, Elin - The Beach Club

Hitchens, Christopher - God is Not Great

Hoffman, Abbie - Soon to be a Major Motion Picture

- Steal This Book

Holt, John - How Children Fail

- How Children Learn

- Learning All the Time

- Never Too Late

Hopkins, Joseph - The American Transcendentalist

Horney, Karen - Feminine Psychology

- Neurosis and Human Growth

- The Neurotic Personality of Our Time

- New Ways in Psychoanalysis

- Our Inner Conflicts

- Self Analysis

Hosseini, Khaled - The Kite Runner

Hoover, John J, Leonard M. Baca, Janette K. Klingner - Why Do English Learners Struggle with Reading?

Janouch, Gustav - Conversations with Kafka

Jefferson, Thomas - Crusade Against Ignorance

Jong, Erica - Fear of Dying

Joyce, Rachel - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Kafka, Franz - Amerika

- Metamophosis

- The Trial

Kallos, Stephanie - Broken For You

Kazantzakis, Nikos - Zorba the Greek

Keaton, Diane - Then Again

Kelly, Martha Hall - The Lilac Girls

Keyes, Daniel - Flowers for Algernon

King, Steven - On Writing

Kornfield, Jack - Bringing Home the Dharma

Kraft, Herbert - The Indians of Lenapehoking - The Lenape or Delaware Indians: The Original People of NJ, Southeastern New York State, Eastern Pennsylvania, Northern Delaware and Parts of Western Connecticut

Kundera, Milan - The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Lacayo, Richard - Native Son

Lamott, Anne - Bird by Bird

Word by Word

L’Engle, Madeleine - A Wrinkle in Time

Lahiri, Jhumpa - The Namesake

Lappe, Frances Moore - Diet for a Small Planet

Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird

Lems, Kristin et al - Building Literacy with English Language Learners

Lewis, Sinclair - Main Street

London, Jack - The Call of the Wild

Lowry, Lois - The Giver

Mander, Jerry - Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television

Marks, John D. - The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control

Martel, Yann - Life of Pi

Maslow, Abraham - The Farther Reaches of Human Nature

- Motivation and Personality

- Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences

- Toward a Psychology of Being

Maugham. W. Somerset - Of Human Bondage

- Christmas Holiday

Maurier, Daphne du - Rebecca

Mayes, Frances - Under the Tuscan Sun

Mayle, Peter - A Year in Provence

McCourt, Frank - Angela’s Ashes

- Teacher man

McCullough, David - 1776

- Brave Companions

McEwan, Ian - Atonement

- Saturday

McLaughlin, Emma - The Nanny Diaries

McLuhan, Marshall - Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man

Meissner, Susan - The Fall of Marigolds

Millman, Dan - Way of the Peaceful Warrior

Moehringer, J.R. - The Tender Bar

Moon, Elizabeth - The Speed of Dark

Moriarty, Liane - The Husband’s Sister

- The Last Anniversary

- What Alice Forgot

Mortenson, Greg - Three Cups of Tea

Moyes, Jo Jo - One Plus One

- Me Before You

Ng, Celeste - Little Fires Everywhere

Neill, A.S. - Summerhill

Noah, Trevor - Born a Crime

O’Dell, Scott - Island of the Blue Dolphins

Offerman, Nick - Gumption

O’Neill, Eugene - Long Day’s Journey Into Night

A Touch of the Poet

Orwell, George - Animal Farm

Owens, Delia - Where the Crawdads Sing

Paulus, Trina - Hope for the Flowers

Pausch, Randy - The Last Lecture

Patchett, Ann - The Dutch House

Peck, Scott M. - The Road Less Traveled

- The Road Less Traveled and Beyond

Paterson, Katherine - Bridge to Teribithia

Picoult, Jodi - My Sister’s Keeper

Pirsig, Robert - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Puzo, Mario - The Godfather

Quindlen, Anna - Black and Blue

Radish, Kris - Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral

Redfield, James - The Celestine Prophecy

Rickert, Mary - The Memory Garden

Rogers, Carl - On Becoming a Person

Ruiz, Miguel - The Fifth Agreement

- The Four Agreements

- The Mastery of Love

Rum, Etaf - A Woman is No Man

Saint-Exupery, Antoine de - The Little Prince

Salinger, J.D. - Catcher in the Rye

Schumacher, E.F. - Small is Beautiful

Sebold, Alice - The Almost Moon

- The Lovely Bones

Shaffer, Mary Ann and Anne Barrows - The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Shakespeare, William - Alls Well That Ends Well

- Much Ado About Nothing

- Romeo and Juliet

- The Sonnets

- The Taming of the Shrew

- Twelfth Night

- Two Gentlemen of Verona

Sides, Hampton - Hellhound on his Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin

Silverstein, Shel - The Giving Tree

Skinner, B.F. - About Behaviorism

Smith, Betty - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley - The Velvet Room

Spinelli, Jerry - Loser

Spolin, Viola - Improvisation for the Theater

Stanislavski, Constantin - An Actor Prepares

Stedman, M.L. - The Light Between Oceans

Steinbeck, John - Travels with Charley

Steiner, Peter - The Terrorist

Stockett, Kathryn - The Help

Strayer, Cheryl - Wild

Streatfeild, Dominic - Brainwash

Strout, Elizabeth - My Name is Lucy Barton

Tartt, Donna - The Goldfinch

Taylor, Kathleen - Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control

Thomas, Matthew - We Are Not Ourselves

Thoreau, Henry David - Walden

Tolle, Eckhart - A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

- The Power of Now

Towles, Amor - A Gentleman in Moscow

- Rules of Civility

Tracey, Diane and Lesley Morrow - Lenses on Reading

Traub, Nina - Recipe for Reading

Tzu, Lao - Tao Te Ching

United States Congress - Project MKULTRA, the CIA's program of research in behavioral modification: Joint hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the ... Congress, first session, August 3, 1977

Van Allsburg, Chris - Just a Dream

- Polar Express

- Sweet Dreams

- Stranger

- Two Bad Ants

Walker, Alice - The Color Purple

Waller, Robert James - Bridges of Madison County

Warren, Elizabeth - A Fighting Chance

Waugh, Evelyn - Brideshead Revisited

Weir, Andy - The Martian

Weinstein, Harvey M. - Father, Son and CIA

Welles, Rebecca - The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood

Westover, Tara - Educated

White, E.B. - Charlotte’s Web

Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorien Gray

Wolfe, Tom - I Am Charlotte Simmons

Wolitzer, Meg - The Female Persuasion

Woolf, Virginia - Mrs. Dalloway

Zevin, Gabrielle - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Zusak, Marcus - The Book Thief

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thedungeonsbat · 5 years ago

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Muggle Love (Chapter 13)

Chapter 13

Holly had been asking you questions about Severus since that conversation with Carl. Of course, he told her about it. You were not mad at him because one day or another, she had to find out and she was the one who noted the change in your attitude in the first place. You were careful not to mention anything that might make her suspicious about his true identity and you did not tell her how much you felt for him.

There had been numerous sleepless nights which you spent tossing and turning in your bed like a child, thinking about what it was that you felt, not just around him but even at his thoughts.

Even when you had an idea what it might be, you were too afraid to admit it. It would have been a lot easier if he was like you, but he was not. He was different, he was a wizard. He had told you how some wizards don't like befriending muggles. What was more upsetting was the thought of him rejecting you because you were not special like him.

Weeks passed by and Halloween was near. The reply to your letter from Severus was not so quick (He took his time, trying not to mess it up). Yet, it didn't say much except he was as well as he could be and asking you how it was going on. He did not write anything about Hogwarts except that he was the Potions Master which you thought to be very cool, chemicals with magic ingredients sounded fun. Also, it reminded you of the strange book you had read at his house.

You had grown very, very fond of Erebus and he had taken a liking to you too, he often showed affection towards you which was actually very pleasant. Even when he was asleep, you would talk to him about your days and feelings. He was the only one you talked to about how you truly felt about Severus. It had been months since you've been worrying about it.

'Maybe it's just a crush or something.' You kept telling yourself, even if it made no sense, but even a crush lasts for a maximum of four months and if the feeling seeds, it's love (that's another fact).

Did that mean you were falling for him?

After that thought had occurred to you, you were more than nervous to write to him. You never wrote to him again after that one time. Whenever you sat at your desk to write one nothing really comes to your mind, you were not sure what to ask or tell him. Obviously, he wasn't interested in what gossips you did. And every time you ended up scrunching up the papers.

You kept re-reading Severus' letter but of course, the words remained the same. You felt stupid hoping to find something - anything - about the wizardry school or at least about him. No matter how many times you read it, it was the same formal letter.

Finally, you made up your mind. You would write to him two days before Halloween.

_____________________

Severus was just as frustrated as you were or even more. He hated that the reason for his unusually extra bad mood was no word from you. Thankfully, everyone else thought it was because of Lupin but no one really knew the reality. Except for Dumbledore maybe because he kept smiling at Severus and he had this uneasy feeling that he knew.

Severus was unknowingly even deadlier than before. His patience was being tested by you, but you, however, have been unaware of these consequences. Extra house points were being deducted, even from his own house Slytherin and extra detentions were being given. The students did not even dare to argue with their Professor.

At the end of the day, he would sit at his desk and mark the essays, in an attempt to not think about you. He missed you, very much in fact. The strange optimism that surrounded him when he was with you was lacking. He felt emotions he thought he would never experience again around you.

He closed his eyes and began massaging his temples with his fingers. His frown hadn't disappeared for a long time now but he tried hard to de-frown. He was trying to meditate as you had once suggested in some conversation you had long ago but with little success.

'I'll owl you.' He recalled what you said and that did not make him feel any better but only more confused as to why after all these years he felt this. After years of cold-heartedness, he found a soft spot for someone. After all the years of emotional suffering, he felt happy but only with you and that could only mean one thing. The only thing he was afraid to feel.

The more he thought about it, the worse his headache became. Only if you shared his feeling, which of course you did but he was just too blind to see it.

He ran his hands through his hair a couple of times before finally giving up and going to sleep. He knew he would not be able to focus on his work in this state and he, for sure, did not want a loss of any more quills which he might break during the process.

~~Time Skip to Halloween (because the weeks were uneventful and I don't wanna bore you)~~

Halloween was here and the castle was already decorated with all sorts of decorations. Every child in Hogwarts was looking forward to the feast that night.

This time Erebus showed up along with all the other owls. When the owl post arrived the hall was filled with excited chatter. Severus was scowling at the happy crowd, as usual, that was before he realised one of the owls was his own.

He was surprised as well as pleased to see Erebus flying among all the others. He was not only carrying a letter but also a small package.

As soon as Erebus approached Severus' place, all the staff's eyes turned to him. Everyone was rather taken aback. Dumbledore and Ponoma smiled kindly at him whereas Minerva and Filius eyed him curiously. Hagrid looked as if he was about to say something but swallowed his words as Severus glared menacingly at him. The others, looking at how Severus was unpleased with all eyes on him turned their attention back to their plates.

Some of the Slytherin's also eyed their Head of the House curiously, including Draco who was smiling at him. Luckily their attention went back to their own owl posts and soon they began rambling about what their families had sent them.

Severus untied the letter and the package and put them in a pocket in his robes. Ponoma, who was sitting on his right tried to suppress a giggle. What all must be going in her mind right now, Severus did not know and he couldn't care less because finally, after weeks, a word from you arrived. But Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes were something much harder to avoid. When Severus questioningly looked at him, all he did was smile cheekily. That did not feel so good.

The breakfast went slower than usual. Why is it that time passes slowly when you want it to go faster?

Many times during the meal Severus' hand lingered on his pocket. He couldn't wait to read what you wrote and see what you sent. What did you even send? There was only one way to know but he would have to wait. Ah, more wait!

After all the classes he had to take were over, he took a breath of relief. His hands found their way to your letter and the mysterious package. Even when he just wanted to rip it open, he gently opened the letter first.

'Happy Halloween Severus,

If my calculations were right this should have reached you on Halloween, not before or after. Anyway, I hope you're doing well. And sorry for being this late though I doubt you notice because I am quite sure you must be very busy (He scoffed and rolled his eyes because of course, he cared). Plus, I've sent you something which I really wish you like.

This may sound weird but I miss you very much. I know we haven't even known each other for that long but it's hard not to think of you and what you can do of course. To be honest, its often hard not to miss you (His expression softened and a small smile began to form on his face), you really are hard to forget ;).

Happy Halloween once again and please enjoy the celebration. I don't want to know that you were the same grumpy-self instead, I wish for a reply with details on what you did. Have a good day, Sev. Looking forward to seeing you, even if it isn't gonna happen anytime soon.

With love,

(Y/N).'

The feeling of warmth and affection filled Severus and he couldn't help but smile and re-read the letter, especially where you mentioned that you miss him as much as he misses you. It angered him how you thought you meant so little to him. How could his work ever be more important than you?

'What am I thinking? When did she mean so much to me?' Then the unavoidable thought came to his mind. What if….. He shook his head vigorously and took the package. It was wrapped nicely in wrapping paper. He opened it to find a box of… treats?

A small note saying 'Made these for you' was stuck to them. There were all sorts of sweets and cookies, chocolate chips and sugarless. Apparently, you wanted to make sure that at least one of these was his choice and they all were. Mostly. Even if they weren't, he would gladly have them because they were made by you for him.

His smile only broadened after receiving what he thought least probable. He was glad that after a wait that long, he got what he wanted. Not just some parcel, happiness, pleasure and warmth.

He carefully put all your homemade treats in his cupboard and continued with the routine. The only change was that strange delight he felt. No scowling at others and no points taken the whole day. That was until Black's attempt to get into the Gryffindor common room. Just the perfect thing to happen!

After making sure all the students were safe Severus could go to bed. Before he did so, he made sure to write you a reply. He began,

'(Y/N),

Happy Halloween to you too even though it's over now. I hope you had a nice holiday and thank you for the gift, that was very nice of you. I can't say my holiday was great but that's nothing new. Th-'

Just then, it occurred to him, he ought to give you something in return too. But what? The answer was quick - he needed to go to Hogsmeade.

"Incendio." He muttered and the parchment burned to ash. He smiled as finally, you would get something you really wanted, something from the wizarding world.

~~Time skip to Hogsmeade visit~~

Third-years were more than excited for the coming weekend because they would visit Hogsmeade again. It would take make more weekends for their excitement to wear off. The others to visit the wizarding village were moderately excited. All the common rooms were filled with eager chats.

Severus knew what he had to do but the problem was with how. He had an idea but was not quite sure about it.

Before leaving for Hogsmeade along with all other students after the breakfast, he had a few of your handmade cookies. They really were exceedingly delicious. As he had already done before, he admired your skill in baking and cooking.

In a way better mood than the previous few weeks, he headed off.

He spotted Draco Malfoy in Honeydukes and with great courage asked him for a favour. He called him aside and trying to maintain his business-like tone, he asked,

"I need you to do something for me Malfoy." He stated rather than ask. He could see Draco was a bit nervous as Severus never really asked for favours. Severus rolled his eyes, "Dont worry, I'm not gonna ask you to murder someone."

It did seem to reassure him, a bit. He nodded. "What can I do for you Professor?" He asked smugly, feeling proud that his teacher trusted him with his work, especially a teacher like their Potions Master.

Severus instructed him on what he needed to do exactly, avoiding any question. Draco was suspicious as to why he was asking him to do so but Severus being his professor as well as a friend of his father's, he obeyed.

As told, Draco brought him the required things. The 'things' were indeed very less likely to be purchased by a professor which justified Severus wanting him to buy the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans, Cauldron cakes, Charm choc, Nougat chunks, Glacial Snow Flakes, Chocoballs and Pumpkin pasties. It was almost all the best sweets in Honeydukes, he did not detail what he wanted but told him to get everything except 'the stupid ones'.

He stored them all in a bag with an Extending Charm on it. He handed them all to Severus and smirked at him, he wondered who he might want to give these to because he was certain that his professor did not enjoy these sweets. Severus thanked him in a stern tone, though he was grateful and tried hard to avoid his mischievous glance. He could not blame him though, any one would get doubtful if they saw him with all those sweets.

___________________

After returning from Hogsmeade, Severus went to his private office and wrote another letter for you,

'Thank You (Y/N),

I received your letter and the gift two days ago, thank you for that. The reason for the delay in my reply, you will find with the letter itself. It is not a payback but a mere fulfilment. You might find them unusual, they are what you get here. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy them but also be careful with a few.

It is too late to wish you a 'Happy Halloween' too but I do hope you had a nice holiday. Mine was okay, it shouldn't matter, nothing new to me.

Most importantly, I want you to know that I am not too busy to not care.

- Severus.'

When he was satisfied with the response, he made for the owlery where he would find Erebus.

Erebus flew away with a piece of parchment and a box full of wizard sweets which seemed too heavy for him to carry but Severus put a charm on it so that his owl won't bear much burden.

He watched him until he disappeared completely. Even with what was going on with Black's attempt to enter the castle, Severus was not so bothered. He smiled to himself and pictured your reaction after you would accidentally have a vomit-flavoured bean.

How much longer until you could finally see each other again?

______________________

A/N: Sorry this one had to wait for this long. also, sorry for boring you with their thoughts, emotions etc. I promise you a better chapter but you will still have to wait for the real thing, when theg finally get to meet each other once again. There are gonna be a few more time skips. one to Christmas and the next to New year. I hate making you wait for so long but I don't want to rush this thing. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

P.S. I really like Severus and the Malfoys' relation, you'll be seeing more of it later ;)

_______

@smokindoinksinthejungle

@princetale

_______

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sweetpeatrashxo · 7 years ago

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Tutors brother: C.G

So today, since I’ve got so little to do and well so much time on my hands since it’s the long weekend here in Australia I’m gonna do a couple of imagines for you guys. So here we go

It was a Thursday afternoon and you were going back to the Gallagher house for tutoring with Lip, so you had to walk with Debbie and Carl. Carl was talking about how Dominique dumped him for some college guy, he seemed destroyed by it. You quietly said “Carl, she isn’t worth it. You could do so much better.” He laughed “You really think so Y/N? Why would any fucker want a guy who was convicted for drugs not even a year ago?” You mumbled “Cause well even if you’ve been in juvie doesn’t define who you are.”

Debs asked “Why are you so quiet today Y/N?” You said “Just thinking tbh.” You thought ‘Why is Carl so caught up on Dominique when I’m here. I could be a fucking perfect girlfriend for him, she didn’t deserve him. He deserves so much fucking better than her.’ You’ve liked Carl for quite some time, even before he went to juvie. It was a quiet few minutes before you three arrived at the Gallagher house, you walked in behind Debbie and Carl.

You walked into the kitchen and saw Lip, you felt a smile rise on your face, Lip was your best friend. He knows the whole thing about you liking Carl, he know more about you then well you do yourself. You said “Phillip Gallagher would you look at that. The college man is back.” He smiled “Always here on a Thursday afternoon to see my favorite best friend.” You laughed “Bring it here boy.” He walked over and hugged you “So what are we working on today Y/N?” You said “Hmm, I need some help on algebra and need a plan for getting pizza.” You and Lip always had a code name for your crushes, Carl’s is pizza cause well you love pizza, Carl loves pizza everyone loves pizza.

Lip asked “Ok if the question is 2x - 15 = 9 how would you do that?” You said “Add 9 to 15 then divide by 2 which would equal 12.” He smiled “That correct so another one 3x9-x=12.” You done the equation on paper then said “15.” Lip smiled “Yup, now onto plan pizza.” As you went to talk Carl walked down the stairs, he said “Hey Y/N, do you mind if I talk to Lip privately for a minute or so?” You nodded “Sure Carl, I’ll go finish off my questions in the lounge room.”

Carl’s p.o.v*

I watched as Y/N walked into the lounge room with her Maths textbook, Lip said “What’s up kiddo?” I said “I like Y/N. I just dunno what to do about it ya know.” Lip smiled “Aw Carl, that is actually really cute. Just go for it maybe she likes you back who knows.” I laughed “You obviously but yeah I’ll just man up, What do I do?” He smiled “I have the perfect plan.” I said “Go on.” He then whispered the plan to me and well I left the house soon after to get the supplies.

Y/N’s p.o.v*

You watched as Carl practically ran out of the house, you walked back into the kitchen “So plan pizza?” He said “Well I just got him to go to the store to grab some groceries, so when he gets home give it like a 5 10 minute period then go up to his room and well just kinda flirt with him then kinda just let it slip. But till then got any other assignments you need help with?” You nodded “Yeah my History essay on the American revolution.” He said “Ok, lets get into it.” You both sat there writing about it, you heard the door open then slam shut then running upstairs, it was probably Carl so you didn’t think much of it other than you are gonna tell him you like him today.You and Lip were talking, when Lip said “How do you wanna tell him?” You sighed “I dunno, just be like Yo Carl I like ya.” He laughed “That could work.” You smiled “I’m gonna go up now.”

You walked up the stairs, you looked at Carl’s bedroom door, it was closed. You knocked on it, Carl said “Hold on.” You said “Alright I’ll be here waiting.” A couple seconds later, Carl opened the door poking his head out “hey Y/N.” You said “Can I come in?” He smiled “Yeah come on in.” You walked in to see rose petals scattered all over the room, his room was lit by candles, the room was scented with vanilla, you saw a sign that read ‘Y/N, I like you. Be my girlfriend?’ You hand flew up to your mouth, did Lip plan this? Carl said “Will you be my girlfriend?” You smiled “Oh my fucking god, Carl. Yes!! I was just coming up here to tell you I like you.”

Then it went quiet and all you hear is Lip yell out “Fuck yes Fi it worked, we got the two losers together.” Carl laughed “Well there it is Lip planned it.” You smiled “It’s alright Gallagher you did a good job.” You walked over to him and hugged him “I’m just glad you’re finally mine.”

Well there we go, Carl x Reader. I hope you enjoyed it. Requests are open so just clink the link below to ask.

http://lip-gallaghers-bae.tumblr.com/ask

#carl gallagher #Carl x reader #carl Gallagher fanfic #carl gallagher imagines #carl gallagher imagine #shameless #shameless imagine #Shamelesus #shameless us #shameless imagines #ian #ian gallagher #lip gallagher #phillip gallagher #Lip x reader #Lip imagine #fiona gallagher #debbie gallagher #liam gallagher

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investmart007 · 6 years ago

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BERLIN | China lets Nobel widow go to Berlin after long house arrest

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/ji4L4Z

BERLIN | China lets Nobel widow go to Berlin after long house arrest

BERLIN— In the fall of 2010, Liu Xia traveled to a prison in northeast China to tell her husband, the dissident intellectual Liu Xiaobo, that he had just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. That was the last time she left home as a free woman.

Until this week. China on Tuesday allowed Liu Xia to fly to Berlin, ending an eight-year house arrest that drew international criticism and made the soft-spoken, chain-smoking 57-year-old poet with a shaven head a tragic icon known around the world.

As Liu Xia came off a plane Tuesday in Helsinki, Finland to transfer to a flight to Berlin, she spread her arms and grinned widely at a waiting photographer. Her plane from Helsinki landed in the German capital a few hours later and she was seen getting into a car at Berlin’s Tegel airport.

The release of Liu Xia, who was never charged with a crime, results from years of campaigning by Western governments and activists and comes just days before the one-year anniversary Friday of Liu Xiaobo’s death. Liu’s 11-year prison sentence and his wife’s subsequent detention in her home had become glaring symbols of the authoritarian government’s determination to prevent the couple from becoming an inspiration to other Chinese.

“Sister has already left Beijing for Europe at noon to start her new life,” wrote Liu Xia’s brother, Liu Hui, on a social media site. “Thanks to everyone who has helped and cared for her these few years. I hope from now on her life is peaceful and happy.”

Liu Xia arrived in Germany while Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is on an official state visit to the country, which is among the ones that urged Beijing to free her.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets regularly with dissidents during visits to China and had raised Liu Xia’s case with Chinese officials, including during a visit in May, people familiar with the matter said.

Liu’s close friends Gao Yu, a veteran journalist in Beijing, and Wu Yangwei, better known by his pen name Ye Du, said Liu Xia took a Finnair flight to Berlin on Tuesday morning. Wu said he spoke to Liu Xia’s older brother, Liu Tong.

“Liu Xia has been kept isolated for so many years,” Wu said by phone from the southern city of Guangzhou. “I hope that being in a free country will allow Liu Xia to heal her long-standing traumas and wounds.”

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said Liu left for Germany to seek “medical treatment on her own accord.”

Liu Xia is an accomplished artist and poet who reluctantly followed her husband into politics two decades ago. In 2009, China sentenced Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in prison on a charge of inciting subversion after he helped write Charter 08, a manifesto calling for political and economic liberalization.

Liu was awarded the Nobel prize on Oct. 8, 2010. As soon as Liu Xia returned home from visiting her husband in prison that month, she was confined in her fifth-floor apartment in Beijing and denied access to a phone and the internet.

At first, she was optimistic her confinement would be brief, telling AP reporters at the time: “I believe they won’t go on like this forever.”

But the days turned into months, and then years.

Guards ate and slept outside her door, driving away well-wishers, activists, journalists and diplomats — a slow-burning ordeal worse than death, she said in a rare recording that emerged in May.

“If I can’t leave, I’ll die in my home,” Liu Xia told her close friend Liao Yiwu, a writer who documented their phone conversation in an essay published in May.

Liu’s friends said her psychological condition had steadily deteriorated, particularly since the death of her husband.

“Xiaobo is gone, and there’s nothing in the world for me now,” Liu tearfully told Liao. “It’s easier to die than live. Using death to defy could not be any simpler for me.”

Liu’s release was rare good news for China’s beleaguered community of activists, who have been the focus of an expansive crackdown on civil society, rights lawyers and other independent groups the administration of President Xi Jinping deems a threat to the ruling Communist Party’s grip on power. The last time China let a high-profile political prisoner leave was in 2012, when blind activist Chen Guangcheng was allowed to fly to New York after escaping from house arrest and hiding for six days in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Authorities are still holding Liu Xia’s brother, Liu Hui, who was convicted of fraud and imprisoned in a case supporters say was in retaliation against the attention given the Nobel laureate.

“This is fantastic news, something we have all been hoping against hope for a long time,” said Hu Jia, a family friend and Beijing-based activist. “But we still fear for Liu Hui, who is being kept in the country as a guarantee so that Liu Xia does not speak out abroad.”

China had criticized calls by Western governments for Liu’s release as interference in its domestic affairs and insisted that Liu Xia was free.

Last year, she appeared pale, gaunt and somber in images released by the authorities as she cared for Liu Xiaobo just before his death from liver cancer in a hospital under police custody. She was shown at his closely staged funeral dressed in black and wearing dark sunglasses as she clutched a photograph of her husband.

Liu Xiaobo was only the second Nobel Peace Prize winner to die in police custody, and human rights group say that shows the Communist Party’s increasingly hard line. The first, Carl von Ossietzky, died of tuberculosis in Germany in 1938 while jailed for opposing Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

Frances Eve, a researcher for Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said Liu Xia’s release was likely intended to mute criticism around the anniversary of Liu’s death.

“I think the government wanted to try and save face, and make it seem as though it is a country ruled according to law when everything about her case has shown demonstrably that it is not,” Eve said. “She has been an unwilling symbol of the brutality of China’s treatment of human rights activists.”

By GERRY SHIH and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER , Associated Press

#Berlin #BERLIN NEWS #China lets Nobel #fly to Berlin #house arrest #Liu Xia traveled #northeast China #TodayNews

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deutscheshausnyu · 7 years ago

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INTERVIEW WITH WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE NORBERT NIEMANN

Norbert Niemann, born 1961, is an author based in Munich and Chiemsee. His most recent novels are "Willkommen neue Träume“ (2008) and "Die Einzigen“ (2014). Niemann received the Ingeborg-Bachmann-Prize (1997), the Carl-Amery-Prize (2015), the Music Theatre Now Award for "Musicophilia,“ a stage version based on Oliver Sacks' book (2016), and the German Literaturfonds’ New York Stipend (2016). His essay "Erschütterung. Literatur und Globalisierung unter dem Diktat von Markt und Macht" appeared as a part of the series "Einsichten“ by Alfred Kröner Publishing in May 2017.

Please join us for our public event on Monday, October 23 at 6:30pm at Deutsches Haus at NYU, Norbert Niemann will be joined by Eric Jarosinski to discuss his new book Disruptions: Literature and Globalization under the Rule of Markets and Power. The conversation will investigate how economic and digital globalization are reflected in international contemporary writing, including examples from Teju Cole's “Open City”, Don DeLillo's “Cosmopolis” and Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie's “Americanah.”

Throughout your career as a writer, you have written works of fiction as well as non-fiction books about politics, society, literary theory, and art. How do you decide whether to address a topic through fiction or non-fiction?

It’s more a question of necessity than of decision. Mostly it depends on actual political, social and cultural developments in society. Germany is known as the home of “Dichter und Denker” [poets and thinkers], and I always defined myself as a Dichter AND a Denker. To close the cardinal gap between reality and thinking, present time and language, sometimes it’s necessary to approach this gap in a more rational or philosophical way, sometimes with fictional structures. Fiction and non-fiction are different forms of awareness. Fiction shows both writers and readers how it is to be someone else who lives under different (or even lives differently under similar) circumstances. Especially the novel is a place for what Robert Musil called “Möglichkeitsform.” Fiction goes on where non-fiction has to stop. But also the other way around: non-fiction becomes essential when fiction starts becoming false.

Can you tell us a bit about your creative writing process? What inspires you? Where and when are you most productive? Do you have a favorite place to write?

All I can say is that I’m NOT ABLE to write in subways or buses, at marriages, in concert halls or jazz clubs, but I have no favorite places, except a special calm and lucid place inside of me. My inspiration comes from that never-ending doubt about the real dynamics of our present time. I have no language for it. Nobody has it. I would like to find this language, which is constantly lost. I want to think, to “speak” it. This is my idea of the task of a writer.

How did you become a writer? Have you always known you wanted to pursue that career?

In my first life I was a musician and composer, and when I was a young man I thought I would continue for the rest of my days. But in the early 80s, I sang and played guitar in a New Wave Band and began writing lyrics for our songs. When I recognized that pop music became more and more a pure business thing and that there is no longer a way out of all these growing commercial structures, I left this kind of stage forever and started to write prose.

Has your musical past influenced your writing?

Of course, the influence is immense. Especially in my last novel that tells the story of Marlene Krahl, an experimental electronic composer, I’ve tried to bring music and literature together as near as possible. I generally think that there are two types of writers (and even moviemakers): one is guided primarily by musical structures, the other by visual structures. But music is no language, as Oswald Wiener, the famous head of the Austrian “Wiener Gruppe,” said. The relationship between literature and music is a complex act of transformation. Exactly this act inspires me. How can I say what music sounds about?

We understand you’re a member of the PEN-Zentrum Deutschland. Could you explain what that means exactly? Does it involve specific responsibilities? How do you become a member?

The PEN is an important organization, especially for foreign political affairs. It advocates for persecuted writers around the world. With its writers-in-prison program, it takes care of imprisoned authors. It also has a number of asylum apartments in Germany. Its voice on domestic issues, however, is currently weak. You become a member by proposing two members for election.

Is this your first time visiting New York? If you have been here before, how are things different now from the last time you were here?

It’s my first time in New York, but not my first time in the U.S. About fifteen years ago I visited Los Angeles with Thomas Meinecke and Nobel Prize Winner Herta Müller for a German-American writers meeting. I can’t say yet whether there are any differences with my former visit, I just arrived here a little over a week ago. I’ve expected something like signs of the new Trump-America. So far, I haven’t found them. Perhaps New York—this huge, obviously quite well-functioning migrant product—is also the wrong place for it.

How do you plan to spend your residency in New York? Will you take advantage of the cultural scene or do you plan to mainly focus on your writing and research for future projects?

I want to see and hear as much as possible in New York. Maybe I’ll write a few small texts about my impressions for “Freitext” on “ZEIT online”. Another thing I have to do this year is write an essay for the “Punctum” series at Matthes & Seitz with the working title “The Responsibility of the Writer and his Allies”. Last but not least, I want to start a new novel, but I cannot give you any information about it yet. I hope I have enough time and power with all my heart to do both: enjoy NYC and do my work.

Would you say you are particularly influenced by a specific author and, if so, how? May we ask what you are reading at the moment?

Not just one specific author, but a huge number of authors! However, the older I get and the longer I write, the more the role models fade into the background. They become like colleagues and reading their work becomes a dialogue, whether they are still alive or have already died.

In your most recent book Erschütterungen, you examine how economic and digital globalization are reflected in international contemporary writing. What inspired you to write this book? How did you select the authors you included?

There are two aspects. First, my experiences as a reader showed me that authors all over the world write about similar social and cultural phenomena of this new time with comparable literary expressions. Second, I couldn’t find anything to read about it! Soon I thought that this fact may also be related to the ideology of the pure market. So it was a kind of fight against this ideology. I have tried to counter commercial thinking, which destroys sociocultural structures, with a form of cultural thought that both recognizes and creates life-relations. In this respect the book is politically motivated. My selection of authors had no scientific approach. It follows the traces of a reader who is passionate about the texts of his contemporary colleagues after their lived and written present. Or, as I wrote in the introduction: the book “is not written out of the methodically secure viewpoint of a scientist, but from a writer who assures himself of the literary orchestra in which he himself is an instrumentalist among many, and who wants to try out how this orchestra might sound in harmony when it is not directed by a conductor appointed from the market.”

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caveartfair · 7 years ago

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17 Artists Share the Films That Influenced Them Most

The right kind of film can stick with you for years, like a half-remembered dream. I’m still haunted by Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema (1968), even though I’d be at a loss to lucidly describe its plot. (I vaguely recall a strapping Terence Stamp, who may or may not utter a word during the entire film, and who spends most of its duration seducing every single member of a nuclear family, from daughter to father).

What were some of the feature films that had a similarly impactful, unnerving, or productive influence on contemporary artists working in the medium, I wondered? We asked 17 talents to open up about the moving pictures that left a lasting mark on them, from disaster documentaries to 1970s action flicks and Swedish psychodramas.

Pauline Curnier Jardin

The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)

Photo by John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images.

Visitors to the latest Venice Biennale likely encountered Jardin’s immersive installation, resembling a psychedelic cave, in which she showcased a very unconventional take on a Catholic saint’s life. (I previously described it as “an exercise in high camp, one that includes a sort of psychedelic nude ballet and a didactic explanation of racial divisions that uses ice cream as a defining metaphor.”)

Her most compelling cinematic memory also involves a female saint. “My passion for the persona of Joan of Arc started when I symbolically made the decision to become an artist,” Jardin recalls. “I was making ‘performed movies,’ a form of expanded cinema where I was told the story of a movie on stage, performing some scenes myself and presenting others that I had previously shot, with the whole thing looking like a live editing session.

“For one of the first, I took Joan of Arc as my protagonist and as the subject through which I could dialogue with the world. When I found out that Dreyer’s masterpiece addresses a lot of my questions about Joan of Arc, but also about art in general, I decided to write my master’s thesis about this film. For Dreyer, the central question is the supernatural power of faith. In all of his works, he shows and represents that passion is determined by a particular relation to the flesh and to the body, but also by a mystical engagement with the world.

“This film is my inner sanctum. It had a magical function in my life. It operated like a kaleidoscope for me, and it taught me that masterpieces can be created out of radical oppositions: formal ones, but also philosophical and political oppositions. It taught me that a film could be sacred poetry. It’s a film cult and a cult film, a film of faces and masks, a skin-film, a totally grotesque and entirely profound movie. The Passion of Joan of Arc doesn’t end with its main subject burned. It contains a fire that will burn anyone already burning inside.”

Samuel T. Adams

The Corridor, Sharunas Bartas (1995)

Painter Adams runs a D.I.Y. screening series out of his studio. In 2017, he focused “exclusively on 16mm masterpieces” from the likes of Antonioni, Resnais, and Bresson. “About four years ago, enticed by the cinema of Béla Tarr, I started digging into Eastern European cinema,” he says, “and The Corridor was the film that ripped the lid off the rabbit hole.

“Shot in harsh black and white, entirely void of dialogue but with constant buzzing and humming on its eclectic, oozing soundtrack, the film traverses an apartment complex somewhere in freshly independent Vilnius, Lithuania. Bartas’s expression of ‘freedom’ is quite grim: The inhabitants seem to be emotionless ghosts, neither content nor dissatisfied, aimless, as if objects or meager furniture themselves, and it’s clear they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

“Occasionally something happens: Bed sheets are set aflame, a gun is fired out a window, a girl is pushed into a giant puddle repeatedly by two thugs—but essentially time is frozen. The corridor that connects these disheveled humans is a void, the corridor of a forgotten post-Soviet armpit. While this surely sounds quite bleak, and it is, this film is moving-image poetry, purely experiential, a feast for the eyes and ears, no words necessary.”

Trevor Paglen

Solaris, Andrei Tarkovsky (1972)

Paglen’s next project, facilitated by the Nevada Museum of Art and titled Orbital Reflector, is a satellite that would hover above the earth, a high-tech sculpture in the sky. The artist has previously sent an intensely durable, image-based time-capsule into space. So it’s no surprise that his most notable cinematic memories take place beyond the limits of our home planet.

“Tarkovsky’s classic sci-fi film presents a distinctly ‘un-American’ vision of a journey to the cosmos,” he says. “In American mythology, space is an extension of the frontier–you go to space and plant some flags and build a colony and do some mining. It’s Nevada all over again. Solaris, based on Stanisław Lem’s literary masterpiece, is emblematic of a completely different imagination.

“Russian attitudes towards the cosmos have been strongly shaped by the work of Nikolai Fedorov, a 19th-century philosopher of what he called the ‘Common Task.’ Fedorov believed that all human activities should be organized in the service of a higher purpose. One: We should make ourselves immortal. Two: We should resurrect every human who’s ever lived. To accomplish this ‘Common Task,’ Fedorov understood that we would have to develop spaceflight. First, we’d have to go to space to collect the particles of our ancestors’ bodies that had evaporated from Earth so that we could bring them back for reconstitution.

“Solaris is very much in this tradition. As the cosmonauts encounter the alien world, there are no colonies or flags or mining; instead they encounter an eerie and deeply alien landscape that is constituted of their own distorted memories and ancestries. A journey into the cosmos is a journey into one’s own self.”

Larissa Sansour

Persona, Ingmar Bergman (1966)

Swedish actress Bibi Andersson and Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann on the set of Persona, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images.

Palestinian filmmaker Sansour uses sci-fi tropes to explore the intricacies of our current world; her work is currently included in “Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction,” on view at the Barbican in London through September 1st. “Ingmar Bergman was always a major inspiration,” she says. “Persona, from 1966, has influenced my own work. The film is a masterclass in acting, screenwriting, and direction, stretching filmmaking to its limits.

“The hauntingly captivating dialogue between two women, one of whom has ceased to speak, creates a psychological horror, magnified by intense close-ups, minimalist set decor, and often motionless choreography. As intimate secrets are exposed, and the personal identities of the two women slowly begin to merge, the insanity at the core of the film becomes violent and almost unbearable to witness. The abrupt cuts from stylized studio and location shots to archival footage, with images of the crucifixion and the slaughtering of a lamb, further demonstrate Bergman’s experimental conviction and confidence.”

Nina Katchadourian

Touching the Void, Kevin MacDonald (2003)

This September, a survey of the artist’s career will open at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, including a great deal of inventive photographic and video work made in a very impromptu “studio”: onboard airlines during domestic or international trips. She cites this 2003 documentary as being especially important to her. “As an extension of my long-standing obsession with true shipwreck accounts, I’ve also gotten interested in mountaineering disaster stories,” Katchadourian explains.

“Even though it’s narrated by the survivors themselves, this unforgettable film is one of the most nerve-wracking I’ve ever seen. As the story goes on, you can’t believe things can get worse—and they always do. There are some terrible mistakes: After falling off a cliff in a storm, roped together, the guy on the upper part of the rope eventually cuts the rope because he decides the guy on the lower part of the rope must be dead. He isn’t. Without revealing too much, I’ll disclose that one of the most mundane things imaginable ends up saving his life: a pop song that he hates and just can’t get out of his head. I find a lot of hope in the idea that something deeply annoying could come along in a different context and be life-saving.”

Stanya Kahn

Pink Floyd: The Wall, Alan Parker (1982)

From the campy, semi-improvised apocalyptic narrative Don’t Go Back to Sleep to Stand in the Stream, a moving film-essay on view at MoMA PS1 through September 4th, Kahn has defied labels and expectations. When asked to select a movie that had a particular impact on her life, she found herself torn between eclectic options. “Enter the Dragon, which scarred me for life after seeing it too young at age six?” she pondered.

“The Marx Brothers oeuvre that I watched in all-day marathons to beat the summer heat as a kid? Paper Moon? Young Frankenstein? The Harder They Come? Yellow Submarine? Richard Pryor’s Live in Concert with my mom at age 11? Liquid Sky at 15? Pasolini’s Oedipus Rex? Holy Mountain? Every Cassavetes film? Killer of Sheep? Born in Flames? Naked Spaces: Living is Round? Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, or Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles? The Right Way? Crystal Voyager? Pain & Gain?”

Finally, after a “panic of picking,” Kahn made a decision. “Last week, in a spontaneous pop-culture education moment on a long car ride with my 12-year-old, I played the entire record of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. He prefers Young Thug, but listened intently. I hadn’t heard the album since probably 1983. I first saw the movie at age 13, on opening night and (stupidly) on my first acid trip. Pre-dating popular music videos, but post-The Who’s Tommy, The Wall’s editing and sound design make seamless shifts between live-action and animation, between the images formed in our minds from listening to the music and the images onscreen.

“Full of existential crises—namely those that stem from the blurring of socio-political terror (for example, the rise of fascism) with personal anxiety and depression—The Wall might hold up as a perfect rock film for youth living in the nightmare of Trump times.”

Olaf Breuning

Assault on Precinct 13, John Carpenter (1976)

Known for absurdist cartoons, over-the-top faux-travel videos, and elaborately staged photographic tableaux, Breuning fondly recalls discovering this action-flick about besieged cops decades ago in his native Switzerland. “I was around 20, and had come home late at night and turned on the TV after a wonderfully boring country-disco night,” he says. “It was playing the scene in Assault on Precinct 13, where criminal intruders were shooting the windows of the police station. And the sound! Carpenter has a very good, unique use of sound. I just stared at this scene. Over the next few months I became addicted to his movies.”

Gregor Hildebrandt

Bonjour Tristesse, Otto Preminger (1958)

Still from Otto Preminger’s Bonjour Tristesse. Image courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

This German artist’s mixed-media paintings and sculptures often allude to music, using its physical remnants (cassette tape, cut vinyl records) as a medium. But he’s long been influenced by cinema, as well. “I had a profound experience when I watched this Otto Preminger film,” Hildebrandt says. “Juliette Gréco is singing the song ‘Bonjour Tristesse,’ while Jean Seberg dances–first with an admirer, and then with her father. At the end of the scene, which was initially in black and white, the film zooms into the colorful past. The voice-over thoughts of Seberg’s character overlap Gréco’s song.

“It is, for me, a perfect excerpt from the film, where several things come together in peculiar synergy. This scene was a pivotal moment for my paper works, in which I complement an image with a fragment of soundtrack. In a similar way to the admirer in the film, who can’t hear his dancing partner’s thoughts, the beholder doesn’t have access to the song present in my work.”

Julieta Aranda

Dead Man’s Letters, Konstantin Lopushansky (1986)

“This is a fairly obscure post-apocalyptic Russian science fiction film,” says Mexico City-born Aranda, an artist who develops nuanced multimedia installations and collaborative projects like the e-flux video rental program. “I watched it when I was 13 years old, at the bequest of my geography teacher at the time. This was a man to whom I gave a lot of headache–not only am I terrible at geography (because I lack a sense of orientation), but at the time I was the epitome of a problematic student. So off to the movies I went….and a different teenager walked out of the movie theater.

“I was already interested in science-fiction as a literary genre, and had thought about becoming a writer, but after this film, I decided to become a filmmaker. Clearly I am not a filmmaker now, so something happened along the way, but that is a different story. At least for the next dozen years, the memory of this film was a guiding light for me. I took pains to track a downloadable copy of it, and was afraid to watch it, as I was worried about realizing that one of my foundational works was nothing more than a coming-of-age piece (anybody that has re-read Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf in their thirties knows what I am talking about). But that fear was unfounded; the film is superb.”

Baseera Khan

Girl’s Trip, Malcolm D. Lee (2017)

For a show early in 2017 at Participant Inc. in New York, Khan presented multimedia works that explored gender and Islam, and staged a performance in which she struggled to ascend a climbing wall whose handholds were body-casts of her limbs. Her choice for a salient and influential film was rather surprising: a 2017 comedy featuring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish on a journey to New Orleans. She itemized her responses to the film as follows (Artsy isn’t responsible for any spoilers):

“Note #1: I bootlegged a copy with a laugh-track and live theater commentary.

Note #2: Grapefruits, need I say more?

Note #3: I’m wondering about the dynamics of four as a comedy routine. Aren’t there four people in a barbershop quartet?

Note #4: This film resolved itself in the patrilineal status quo, but broke said status quo with moments of real, totally believable comedic circumstance: women that risk performing against their beauty and power to reach a collective balance.

Note #5: Pee showers and ziplines in New Orleans—an example of the unexpected.

Note #6: Sister-solidarity by way of opposing teams of sisterhood fighting for the loyalty of the same man.…This is an example of what we as a creative legacy of writers, artists, and musicians have to keep pushing against, until industries allow for more meaningful narrative twists-and-turns that bend toward feminist intersectionality.”

Shana Moulton

Twin Peaks (television series), David Lynch (1990–91)

Moulton’s video art mixes lo-fi effects with fantasy and absurdity to stir unexpected emotions. She says that “although there were some films that had a massive impact, nothing was as life-changing” for her as the original Twin Peaks television series, which debuted in 1990 (followed by a film in 1992, and a Showtime reboot earlier this year).

“Growing up in a small town near Yosemite National Park, I’d had zero exposure to any contemporary art or experimental film, unless you count Fantasia or Escape to Witch Mountain. Twin Peaks aired when I was around 13 and it was the first thing to, in the words of David Foster Wallace, ‘ring my psychic cherries.’ It was my first mature contact with the sublime, and my first obsession. I expressed that obsession by scrapbooking all Twin Peaks magazine articles, collecting all associated merchandise, imagining Laura Palmer was my best friend, and making a home-video reenactment of the Black Lodge scene from the final episode. I played both Laura and BOB and directed my cousins and my little brother in the other roles. Making that home video planted the seed for my own Whispering Pines.”

Cécile B. Evans

It’s All About Love, Thomas Vinterberg (2003)

Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes in It’s All About Love. Photo by Sundance/WireImage.

“This is a wonderfully terrible movie that introduced me to my favorite genre of cinema: the unbridled follow-up film, a genre exclusively populated by men,” says Evans, whose own eclectic work has dabbled with artificial intelligence, dance performances modeled on those of North Korean performers, and a digital reanimation of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. “A director follows up on their first wildly successful film—which in Vinterberg’s case was Festen—and is suddenly gifted with budget, actors, an army of visual effects, and unrelenting support to live their genius.

“In It’s All About Love, the result is unsettling and unhinged. The film is set in the future, where Claire Danes is a Polish figure skater who is divorcing Joaquin Phoenix. She wants to retire but suspects she is being cloned, and needs Joaquin’s help. Adding to their sense of urgency, people keep dropping dead from ‘not enough love,’ and Joaquin’s brother, played by Sean Penn, has escaped to an airplane that is permanently in flight, where everyone seems to have eschewed the smoking ban.

“As a sidebar, the whole country of Uganda seems to be losing gravity, its people saying self-conscious things like ‘We’re not angels. We’re ordinary people.’ That’s just the set up. At some point in production, Vinterberg called Ingmar Bergman and asked him to help finish the film. He declined. The studio tried to bill it as sci-fi apocalyptic but Vinterberg insisted that it’s merely ‘a dream.’ It was an utter flop, and one of the best worst films about the human condition. It’s changed the way I approach my own projects and I sometimes re-watch it when I’m nervous about an idea.”

Those curious about the influence of this big-budget disaster on Evans’s own work can find her this fall at the Ural Industrial Biennal; the 7th Moscow Biennale; or the Museum Leuven, where she has a solo up through November 19th.

Tomáš Rafa

The Shop On Main Street, Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos (1965)

This Slovakian artist’s powerful “New Nationalisms” (which remains on view at MoMA PS1 in New York through September 10th) presents a series of visceral documentary films tracking, among other things, the resurgence of right-wing and populist movements around the globe. When asked to suggest a movie that has inspired him, he chose this 1965 feature that the Criterion Collection dubbed a “scathing exploration of one cowardly man’s complicity in the horrors of a totalitarian regime.”

“This film had a strong influence on me,” Rafa explains. “It showed how xenophobia and fear manipulated people against the Jews during World War II, in the (first) Slovak Republic. Unfortunately, we’re witnessing a very similar attitude these days against refugees and minorities—the Roma people—in Central Europe. I’m afraid history is repeating itself.”

Sanford Biggers

Network, Sidney Lumet (1976)

Working across media, Biggers has wrought new meaning out of quilts, African iconography, and pop culture figures like Fat Albert (whom he appropriated in the form of a massive inflatable sculpture). He looks to Network, a classic drama about the world of broadcast journalism, as a “film that becomes more relevant every few years, as contemporary society echoes its satirical descent. I frequently think of the absurdity of the movie’s premise when it was released in 1976—yet how prescient it was in foreseeing televangelism, the meta-celebrity of reality TV, and the news media as a corporate and political distraction-strategy.”

Guido van der Werve

Big River Man, John Maringouin (2009)

Photo by John Maringouin. Courtesy of Lightshow Creative.

The art world is rarely seen as a bastion of physical fitness, but this Dutch artist is an exception; a 2011 performance work in New York involved him leading a 30-mile run. He cites a 2009 documentary about an epic-minded athlete as a personal favorite film.

“It’s about a Slovenian swimmer, Martin Strel, who made it his mission to swim all the big rivers in the world,” van der Werve says. “He swam the Mississippi, the Danube, and the Yangtze. The last and longest one left was the Amazon. This documentary is about him swimming that river.

“I’m not a big fan of artificial narratives in movies. To me, watching Strel swimming through beautiful nature and observing everybody involved—his relatives and guides—really moved me. They were all just there, participating in the action, because it was their sport, mission, or job; nobody was in the movie for a fake reason. The film is quite dramatic but also very funny, which in the end creates a great balance. As a performance artist who is interested in feature films that exist for a reason other than entertainment, this movie did everything right.”

Jesper Just

Un Chant d’Amour, Jean Genet (1950)

“This is a peculiarity, the only film from renowned French writer Jean Genet,” says Just, a Danish artist whose own films occasionally and adopt or subvert the tropes of mainstream cinema. “Set in a French prison, the film depicts an unorthodox homoerotic love triangle between a voyeuristic prison guard, an older Algerian prisoner and a young prisoner, without any of the three ever fully consummating their desires. One scene in particular, in which the men express their desires alone, from either side of a wall, influenced my 2013 piece Intercourses. Whereas Genet stripped his film of sound, sound became imperative in my piece to help create a sense of space and orientation, but this same longing—in which an architectural structure becomes a character, an insurmountable obstacle or conduit for repressed homosexual desire—was extremely influential to me.”

Marc Hundley

Strangers in Good Company, Cynthia Scott (1990)

“Except for one actress, everyone in the all-female cast is a non-professional, using their real name,” explains Hundley, whose romantic, earnest work often alludes to pop and folk music favorites, from the Smiths to Joni Mitchell. “This film has everything, except men!” The New York Times approvingly referred to Strangers in Good Company as a “gentle Canadian film” that “feels less like a drama than a vacation, and an outstandingly tranquil vacation at that.”

—Scott Indrisek

from Artsy News

#Artsy News

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authormarialberg · 7 years ago

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In my last post, I told you about all the fun squares/book choices of the Seattle Summer Book Bingo. One of those squares said to get a recommendation from an independent bookseller, so I headed over to A Good Book in Sumner, WA to see what they could recommend.

Recommendations

When I mentioned to the dark-haired, bespectacled young man behind the counter what I was up to, he motioned toward the woman behind him who was the proprietor of the establishment, Evelyn Nicholas. They were both quick to point out the books that were next to the cash register.

Campfire Bookclub

The first book they showed me was A Darker Shade of Magic: A Novel (Shades of Magic) by V. E. Schwab. This is the book selection for their June Campfire Bookclub. You are welcome to join in a discussion of the book around a campfire with a drink and marshmallows on June 28th from 7-9pm. The book is part of a trilogy and Evelyn told me that her customers who read the first book rush back in for the second, A Gathering of Shadows: A Novel (Shades of Magic). The third book in the series is A Conjuring of Light: A Novel (Shades of Magic).

Though this sounded interesting, and the bookclub sounds fun, I was curious to see what else they would recommend.

The Great Train Robbery

The second book near the register that they recommended was a 2014 re-release of the 1975 novel by Michael Crichton. I had heard of the film and didn’t know it was based on a Michael Crichton book. I have read most of his books and found this tempting, but it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for.

Evelyn said, “and we also have used books,” and took me into the other half of the shop. This reminded me that I had read on their website that they buy used books, so I asked her about their buy-back policy. Turns out they do a one-to-one exchange, meaning for every book you bring in, you get a discount on a purchase. I’ll definitely be taking her up on that, next time I visit.

Since I recently enjoyed Pest Control and The Exterminators (Assassin Bug Thrillers) by Bill Fitzhugh and I’ve enjoyed every book by Carl Hiaasen, I asked her if she had any recommendations in that vein.

Evelyn said, “You like funny,” and took me to another section of the shop. She told me about a couple of books then grabbed Hidden Palms: A Butch Bliss Novel by Harry Bryant. The plot, as she described it, sounded like something Mr. Hiaasen might have conjured and I really liked the cover. Then she directed me over to another area of the store while she explained that Harry Bryant is a new nom de plume of an author that works at the store. I was pretty sure I knew who she was speaking of because I had met him and as I looked over what she called his “darker titles” I saw I was right.

Harry Bryant is the “more light-hearted and funny” persona of Mark Teppo who I met at an authors’ talk at the Sumner library and again when I went to a NaNoWriMo write-in at this bookstore. I haven’t read any of his books yet, so this was a perfect recommendation. SOLD.

While back at the register, where my adventure began, I saw that they, too, have a Summer Book Bingo. I excitedly got my first BUY A BOOK square stamped in the top

row, though I was given a choice, so I recommend reading through and seeing where it will be most advantageous for you to fill a row.

This bingo card is a clever way to inspire me to come back and buy books. The squares aren’t only types of books to read, but calls to action as well. Not only do you get a stamp for buying books, but also:

Read a media tie-in – Okay, this isn’t a call to action. Turns out it’s a genre. The call to action is, I had to look this up. I thought it would be reading articles or essays about books, but it’s not. It’s a genre all its own and, actually, will help me out with my “Genre that is new to you” square on my Seattle Summer Book Bingo card. Media tie-ins are books made from TV or movies. Things like Star Wars and Star Trek books. I really enjoyed the TV shows Monk and Castle, so I will probably read one of the books made as extensions of those series.

Attend an event – I’m not sure, but I would think that attending the Fireside Bookclub would get stamps for an event and a book discussion. Another event at A Good Book that I think sounds interesting is A Good Talk Salon where local people give talks on subjects other than their profession. The only problem being I would have to sign up to give a talk. I hope they have another one soon.

Have a book discussion – It’ll be interesting to see how I prove some of these things for my stamp. I have book discussions all the time.

Show them your library card – I should have gotten this stamp while I was there. I always have it on me.

Review a book – this is something I have been working on. Reviews are so important to authors these days. If you like a book, you should quickly head over to Amazon and Goodreads and let everyone know.

and Gift a book – I’m always excited when I find a book that I think is just right for a friend or family member.

Supporting Local Authors

Evelyn told me, as the only bookstore in town, she really wants to help local authors. She showed me a Free Books in return for review shelf at the front of the store that she hopes to fill with local authors. These are the books I took.

Wedgie & Gizmo- This will be my “Gift a book” bingo square. I plan to give it to my niece and can picture her reading it to her little brother. I’ve already posted my review on Goodreads.

The Fallen Star: The Nocturnals Book 3- Not a local author, but I’m hoping this will be a nice birthday gift for my niece. I better read and review it quickly as she’s an independence day baby.

The Best of Talebones-I was excited to see this on the free-for-review shelf. I met Patrick Swenson at the same author talk at the Sumner library as Mark Teppo. I got a signed copy of The Ultra Thin Man: A Science Fiction Novel and enjoyed it. Though the sequel, The Ultra Big Sleep

was on the shelf, I left it for another reader, for now, and grabbed the collection of short stories from Patrick Swenson‘s previous magazine. As a short story writer, I’m always looking for interesting short story collections.

Another way that A Good Book is supporting local authors is by inviting local authors to sell their books in front of the shop during the Rhubarb Days weekend. Evelyn offered me a spot on Sunday, July 16th and I am very excited to bring Gator McBumpypants to my local community. I’ll talk more about it soon.

I want to thank Evelyn and A Good Book Bookstore for her time, great book recommendations and her work for local authors. I had no idea that trying to fill one square on my Summer Book Bingo Card could be such a great adventure. Goes to show how important independent bookstores are to a community. I hope this inspires you to venture to your local independent bookseller and ask for a recommendation. I would love to hear about your local bookstore and the latest book you bought there.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Summer Book Bingo 2: Adventures with A Good Book In my last post, I told you about all the fun squares/book choices of the Seattle Summer Book Bingo.

#authors #bonnie lake #books #independent bookstores #independent publishing #lake tapps #local writers #self-publishing #sumner #Washington #washingtonbooks

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martha-mary-blog1 · 8 years ago

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Lady Gaga - Million Reasons - YouTube Music Videos

"Million Reasons" is a song tape-recorded by American vocalist Lady Gaga for her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). Initially released as an advertising single, it was launched to radio stations on November 8, 2016, as the album's 2nd single. The track was written by Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Mark Ronson, and produced by Ronson, Gaga and BloodPop. A pop song with nation affects, backed by guitar and piano, "Million Reasons" lyrically digs on "heartbreak and hope" during a relationship. In order to promote "Million Reasons", the vocalist performed it on several concert places of her Dive Bar Tour (2016), and an additional advertising video premiered. Commercially, the recording already reached several charts during its advertising release, and has considering that peaked within the leading 60 in the majority of the territories it charted, consisting of number 52 on the United States' Signboard Hot 100. Following the release of lead single "Perfect Illusion" on September 9, 2016, Lady Gaga announced the Dive Bar Tour (2016), a marketing concert series where the vocalist carried out at different dive bars in the United States. However, the places for the concert series stayed concealed to meet a more intimate technique. The campaign was sponsored by Bud Light, and premiered on October 5. All at once, a live broadcast of the occasion was live streamed on Bud Light's official Facebook page. On October 2, 2016, numerous publications claimed that during the very first show of the tour, a brand-new tune entitled "Million Reasons" would be carried out, in addition to "Perfect Impression". " Million Reasons" was provided as an advertising digital download to listeners who pre-ordered Joanne through iTunes on October 6, 2016. Nevertheless, following the tune's commercial surge when Gaga appeared on the Carpool Karaoke sector of The Late Late Show with James Corden, "Million Reasons" was chosen as the second single from Joanne. It was launched to American modern hit radio stations on November 8, 2016. Gaga co-wrote and co-produced "Million Reasons" along with Mark Ronson, while artists Hillary Lindsey and BloodPop offered extra songwriting and production, respectively. Inning accordance with Emily Mackay of NME, "Million Reasons" functions as a "powerful, sky-clutching reminder of Gaga's way with a bare-bone ballad". Idolator's Patrick Bowman agreed and explained it as a "country-tinged [...] quiet ballad" while Stephen L. Betts from Rolling Stone called it a pop tune which had a c and w appeal, similar to vocalist Beyoncé's "Daddy Lessons". Michael Cragg from The Guardian discovered this similar to Carrie Underwood's particular design, which he called nation balladry. Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo! Music joked that it was undoubtedly composed by c and w artists. In the structure, the vocalist's vocals are layered among "faintly strummed guitars" and differing degrees of percussion. The vocalist spoke relating to the category of the single: "Million Reasons" is a nation song combined with funk and rock 'n' roll. You would never ever envision it would sound that way ... the feeling below the record is it's nearly got like a bit of a hip-hop feeling. But at the same time, it's not a hip-hop tune. It's kind of like I just had no borders making music-- and neither do any of the other people we were dealing with. It was type of like exactly what feels right, what hits the best, what's going to get everyone in their stomach and their heart. "Million Reasons" is written in the key of C significant with a tempo of roughly 64 beats per minute, and is accompanied by piano and guitar. Her vocals cover from G3 to E5 in the tune, which in common time, follows a progression of C-- Am-- F-- G, with a chorus of F-- C-- Am-- G. Throughout the song's chorus, Gaga croons "You're offering me a million reasons to let you go/ You're offering me a million reasons to give up the program". Its conversation of heartbreak and hope, as described by International Organisation Times's Nicholas Mojica, was guaranteed to "resonate with [the] listeners" of the record. Cady Lang, writing for Time appreciated the touching quality of the recording's nature, which she referred to as heartbreaking. [20] Craig Jenkins of Vulture compared its potential interest Beyoncé's 2016 song "Daddy Lessons" and felt they both shared a "huge left-field bid for country-radio airplay". Mojica ranked "Million Reasons" at number six on his list of the very best songs from Joanne; he acclaimed its lyrics and kept in mind the contributions made by Lindsey. The staff at Idolator selected "Million Reasons" to evaluate as part of their 'Rated & Reviewed' column series. Robbie Daw from the publication congratulated the vocalist for producing a "super-produced" country variation of her 2011 single "You and I". Rachel Sonis concurred and claimed that it is basic and sweet, awarding it 8.5/ 10. However, both Carl Williott and Mike Wass were dissatisfied, with the latter claiming: "this age is shaping up to be even worse than I envisioned." It ultimately got an average score of 6.1/ 10 from the authors. Similarly, Bowman from the very same website called it one of Joanne's "more forgettable tracks". Although The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber discovered it to be a "steadily crafted" single, he discovered Gaga to be neglectful of the tune's details and claimed that American singer Taylor Swift might excel exceptionally better at the exact same craft. Signboard ranked "Million Reasons" at number 35 on their on their "100 Best Pop Tunes of 2016" list. Rena Gross from the publication said that "traffic-stopping singing delivery completely encapsulates our longing for the impossible". Given its initial announcement as Joanne's first advertising single, "Million Reasons" got in several record charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 76 on the Signboard Hot 100, becoming her 24th profession entry and 2nd from Joanne. [24] It later on peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100. Its entry was accompanied by sales of 15,000 digital downloads, which enabled it to enter the Digital Songs element chart at number 38. Following the release of Joanne, "Million Reasons" was used at a discount of 69 cents through the iTunes Shop. The tune debuted at number 38 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart for the week ending December 13, 2016. Exact same week, after Gaga's efficiency at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, "Million Reasons" reached a new peak of number 52 on the Hot 100. The placement was assisted by sales of 44,000 digital downloads (up 144%), which allowed it to move 34-- 6 on the Digital Songs, becoming her 16th top-ten tune on the chart. It has actually been streamed 24.4 million times in the country. The song debuted at number 48 in the UK and peaked at number 11 in Scotland, in charts compiled and released by the Authorities Charts Company. Following Gaga's efficiency of the tune in The X Element, "Million Reasons" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 60, with sales of 10,396 copies. It further climbed the charts the next week, assisted by the performance on Alan Carr and its music video. The track moved from number 60 to number 39, with sales of 15,943 systems, reaching a brand-new peak on the UK Songs Chart and ending up being Gaga's 18th top 40 single. In France, it debuted at number 107 according to the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing, and was the ninth highest entry for the week of October 8, 2016. The following week, it peaked at number 29 and ended up being the chart's greatest moving entry, jumping a total of 76 positions. Somewhere else, it peaked at number 37 in Australia and number 7 in Switzerland. The video for "Million Reasons" was directed by Ruth Hogben and Andrea Gelardin, who had actually likewise helmed the video for the previous single, "Perfect Impression". Gaga revealed that the video for "Million Reasons" would be an extension of that for "Perfect Impression". It was released on December 14, 2016, afternoon on MTV followed by a worldwide release to Vevo soon afterwards. The vocalist also released a 16-second teaser revealing her laying throughout the desert floor from the ending of "Perfect Impression" during sunset, as black SUVs approach her from afar. After that her crew comes out of the SUVs and takes her to a video shoot where she prepares to sing "Million Reasons". As she starts preparing, the vocalist notifications a small box with a bow atop it on her desk. The video then intercuts to a number of flashbacks-- Gaga singing in a white studio while playing the guitar, getting saved by her pals from the desert and Gaga breaking down in tears. Lastly Gaga opens package which reveals the within material to be a rosary with a note stating "Love you, sis". Ian David Monroe from V found the video to be "in stark contrast" with that of the one for "Perfect Impression", and observed that it did not depict a "traditional love narrative", rather made the video about Gaga's own group. Monroe thought that with the recent expose by Gaga that she struggled with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an open letter, the ongoing theme in between the videos made good sense. He added: "As she described in the essay, Gaga was traumatized by the lack of care with which she was managed in her earlier career, required to visit even though she was in pain, which is possibly represented by the 'Perfect Impression' video where she is literally thrown into a crowd. The video for 'Million Reasons', then, shows how her team-- her family-- chose her up again, and assisted her recover in creating the new record." Brian Joseph from Spin discovered the video's portrayal of Gaga as "emotionally transparent" and added that the video was in line with the "mentally vulnerable themes running throughout [Joanne]. Julianne Shepherd from Jezebel compared Gaga's searches in the video to that of vocalist Stevie Nicks, "with a filmic play on the rock-and-roll mythos, attaching images of everyday backstage trip preparation to a song of solitude and seclusion, life on the road permanently breaking its professionals." Click Here To Buy Lady Gaga "Million Reasons" Now!!!

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thedungeonsbat · 5 years ago

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Muggle Love (Chapter 12)

A/N: This is shorter than usual but I hope you still like it. Also, credit to @obviously-best-potions-master for our dear owl's name.😊

_________________

Chapter 12

The lunch with your dad on Sunday went fine. He told you what's new back home, how's your mother doing and all. He made some jokes and you had a nice laugh. For some time, you were able to get Severus out of your head. You did like him but lately, he has been intruding your thoughts way too much. Especially when you sat down to relax. You kept wondering if it was too soon to write to him and the argument had continued.

Apparently, Severus' owl didn't have a name so you decided to name him. Erebus. Surprisingly, he began answering that name though it took 4-5 days. He was grumpy as ever but now he did not resist you petting him. You were hopeful that maybe someday he'll show some signs of affection too.

Just another evening you were chilling with Carl and Holly. They were talking about things you didn't pay attention to. You kept looking out of the window, wishing Severus would pop out of some corner.

Holly excused herself as she was running late for her work. Carl turned to you but you did not notice. He waved his hand in front you and you snapped out of your thoughts. He smiled at you and asked softly,

"Where are you lost (Y/N)?"

"Oh, nowhere. Just thinking." You replied, shrugging.

He turned a bit serious, or rather worried. "Is there something wrong (Y/N/N)? You can tell me because I think you've been acting unusual lately." There was concern in his eyes, he was always worrying that you were stressing yourself too much.

"No, really. I'm fine." You weakly smiled at him but his expression did not change, he was not gonna let go this easy.

"(Y/N), you can tell me anything, all right?" He said softly and slowly. He was so concerned for you and you felt bad you hadn't been sharing with your best friend, the one whom you told everything that happened with you. You had never mentioned Severus, he was more like your own secret world. It was true, every time you had been with him, everything had been very different, very magical. It was almost like you did not want to share him which you felt weird to know. Were you being obsessive?

With a deep sigh, you gathered up the courage to speak, "It's just a guy I know… from back home." you lied about him being someone from your home city but you were half-honest.

Carl furrowed his brows, wanting to hear more about this 'guy' you never told him about before. "I've just been missing him." That was true, even if it was just a few weeks since he has been away and you seldom saw him while he was here, you missed him. You missed his velvety voice that made your insides flutter, you missed his cold yet tender gaze which saw directly through you.

It was as if some realization had struck Carl when he began nodding his head in understanding. "So, Holly was right all along." He said thoughtfully.

You eyed him curiously, "Holly? What did she say?"

"She was the one to notice your different behaviour. She suspected it was a guy, I thought otherwise. Now I know, so tell me who he is." He smirked and you rolled your eyes.

"Oh please, he's just a friend." You said irritably.

He snickered and said, "I am your friend, you don't daydream about me." His mischievous glance was not something you were enjoying.

You scowled and punched his arm. "OW!" He said while rubbing his arm. You folded your arms and went back to looking out of the window, face fuming. He regained his teasing grin, "Ooh, look who's blushing."

Your eyes widened and you glared daggers at him. Your cheeks turned even redder if that was possible. "You shut up right now!" It felt so embarrassing to you, you couldn't maintain eye contact with him.

He pretended to be hurt and made a sullen look. You could not do this anymore, you gave up. As always, he was too sweet to be upset with. You rolled your eyes at him and apologised, "Okay, I'm sorry."

He instantly gave up with the acting and smiled broadly. "So, you telling me about him?"

"Do I have a choice?" You asked.

"Nope." He replied. "Tell me his name first." He said excitedly. You smiled at how childish he was being.

"It's Severus." You said, letting the name roll off your tongue smoothly. Images of Severus flooded your mind. His cold, piercing eyes, his dark hair, black robes and then his smile, the most beautiful smile you had witnessed.

"Severus." He repeated, "Odd sort of name, isn't it?" You narrowed your eyes at him. "No offence, of course, just never heard something like it before." He quickly added.

"He's different." You remarked smugly.

"Clearly." He smirked. You raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant. "Only someone different would have caught your eye." He teased.

You would have hit him again but contained yourself. "Go on." He said, very amused, more by your embarrassment than the conversation.

"Well, he is tall, has shoulder-length black hair with onyx eyes." You began the description, Carl was listening closely. "He usually wears all-black. He is this mysterious kind of guy, doesn't really talk much, mostly just listens or lost in his own thoughts. You can never tell what he's thinking. He's hard on the outside, softer on the inside." You were lost in your narrative until Carl spoke,

"Doesn't seem your type to me." He stated.

"What do you mean?" You asked, harshly than intended.

"I mean, he seems like a dark sort of person, mysterious, as you put it and you, on the other hand, are totally the opposite." You were indeed different from him but that never occurred as a problem, you were fine this way. Besides, Severus was not as hard as he seemed but the reality was, he was actually softer just around you.

"I don't know. I told you we were just friends." It was his turn to roll his eyes. It was strange how it was so obvious to him that you liked him but it was so hard to accept it to yourself. It was transparent to him whereas opaque to you. Nothing had been this hard to understand.

"He certainly has had an impact on you, you are acting like him." He complained and you wondered if you really were. He glanced at his watch and his expression changed into an annoyed one, "Wish we could continue with the description but it seems I have to go."

You smiled kindly at him and replied, "It's fine. Perhaps someday else." Internally, you wished you never had to continue this little chat. Somehow, just talking about Severus made you feel weird.

He got up and stretched a bit. He made his way to the door and waved you goodbye but before leaving he said something leaving you wide-eyed in your seat.

"He's not 'from back home', is he?"

You were dumbfounded in your place and he got his answer. "Bye (Y/N)."

~~Meanwhile at Hogwarts~~

It hasn't been easy for Severus at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin, another Gryffindor he did not 'like' had been appointed as the Defense Against The Dark Arts professor this year.

What annoyed him more was that he hadn't received a single letter from you. Two weeks and he still had not seen any sign of his owl. He was disappointed, never in his life, he had longed for a sight of his owl.

Another day passed, Lupin brought a boggart in his class and one of the students took Severus' form. But it did not bug him for very long.

He was seated in the staff room, not his usual place to be as he stayed mostly in the dungeons. There was only Professor Sprout there to accompany him. She was on the verge of leaving when something began banging the window, distracting Severus from the essay papers he was checking.

"Severus, is that your owl?" Professor Sprout asked cheerfully, which was how she always remained. She was the Head of the Hufflepuff house after all. Severus grunted and looked at the window and it was indeed his owl with a letter tied to its feet.

Severus did not reply to Professor Sprout and walked towards the window and opened it, letting the owl in. It was a great relief to see you had finally written to him and all of his anger just vanished away, though he did not show any change of expressions due to her Sprout's presence.

She smiled broadly at him, a bit excited to know who had owled him. Anyone would be curious to know who that person might be as Dumbledore was there at Hogwarts and she could not think of anyone else writing to him. She knew Severus would not be very informative so she left without any word.

Severus gently untied the letter and stroked the owl softly, his gaze fixed upon the piece of paper in his hand.

He sat down to read the letter and carefully opened it. He could not help a smile when he finished reading it. It said,

'Dear Severus,

I am sorry for being this late in writing to you as I could not decide if it was fine to write this soon. I hope you are doing excellent and this letter finds you well. I do not know where you stay but it seems like your owl does.

I do not have much to tell, everything is the same in the "muggle" world. I keep thinking of how things are in the magical world. I'd be more than happy to know if you can let me know about some of the interesting stuff in your letter.

Also, I never asked you what you taught (very foolish of me). I am sure that whatever it is, you are great at it. And you should know that I named owl, seeing that you had not. I call him Erebus and much to my astonishment, he even answers to that name. I hope you don't mind it.

I look forward to your reply and if possible, tell me about your fellow teachers and the school, I can't seem to stop thinking about how fascinating they might be. I am already missing you a lot and wish you could come or I could come over for Christmas. Have a good day.

(Y/N).'

Even in the cold staff room, he felt warm. His eyes were shining with numbers of emotions. Even if the letter didn't say that much, it was so much to him. Mostly, he was relieved to know that you had not completely forgotten him. Stupid of him to think that though, you, who thought of him all the time could not possibly dream of forgetting him.

"Erebus," Severus said while smiling at your thoughtful choice. The owl did look at him, questioningly.

He got up after staring at the letter and thinking of you for several minutes. It was unfortunate he had two more classes but now, not even Potter could bother his joyous mood.

He opened the door to leave and at the same moment, McGonagall was entering the room. He didn't grunt or scowl at her, as he usually might.

"Afternoon, Minerva." He greeted and not bitterly, but with a hint of a smile.

Minerva blinked a couple of times in disbelief, "A-afternoon, Severus." She said, her eyebrows knitted together in deep confusion.

Severus gave her a side smirk, only increasing her interest. He walked out of the door, his cloak billowing behind him.

'What was that? Severus and smiling? Slytherin's not even in lead. Potter is in no trouble.....or is he?' Minerva was thinking. Whatever possible reasons she could think of, none of them was anywhere near the real thing. It was you, an ordinary muggle (not to Severus), who was on his mind.

_________________

Thanks for Reading!

Taglist:

@smokindoinksinthejungle

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suzannebrown1-blog · 8 years ago

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Lady Gaga - Million Reasons - YouTube Music Videos

"Million Reasons" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her 5th studio album, Joanne (2016). At first launched as a promotional single, it was launched to radio stations on November 8, 2016, as the album's second single. The track was written by Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Mark Ronson, and produced by Ronson, Gaga and BloodPop. A pop song with country affects, backed by guitar and piano, "Million Reasons" lyrically delves on "heartbreak and hope" throughout a relationship. In order to promote "Million Reasons", the vocalist performed it on several performance locations of her Dive Bar Tour (2016), and an additional advertising video premiered. Commercially, the recording already reached several charts throughout its advertising release, and has actually considering that peaked within the leading 60 in most of the areas it charted, including number 52 on the United States' Billboard Hot 100. Following the release of lead single "Perfect Illusion" on September 9, 2016, Lady Gaga revealed the Dive Bar Tour (2016), a promotional concert series where the singer performed at various dive bars in the United States. However, the places for the concert series stayed undisclosed to meet a more intimate approach. The campaign was sponsored by Bud Light, and premiered on October 5. At the same time, a live broadcast of the event was live streamed on Bud Light's main Facebook page. On October 2, 2016, several publications declared that throughout the very first program of the tour, a new tune entitled "Million Reasons" would be performed, in addition to "Perfect Impression". " Million Reasons" was made available as a marketing digital download to listeners who pre-ordered Joanne through iTunes on October 6, 2016. Nevertheless, following the tune's business rise when Gaga appeared on the Carpool Karaoke sector of The Late Late Show with James Corden, "Million Reasons" was picked as the second single from Joanne. It was launched to American contemporary hit radio stations on November 8, 2016. Gaga co-wrote and co-produced "Million Reasons" along with Mark Ronson, while musicians Hillary Lindsey and BloodPop supplied extra songwriting and production, respectively. According to Emily Mackay of NME, "Million Reasons" serves as a "potent, sky-clutching suggestion of Gaga's way with a bare-bone ballad". Idolator's Patrick Bowman agreed and explained it as a "country-tinged [...] quiet ballad" while Stephen L. Betts from Wanderer called it a pop song which had a country music appeal, just like vocalist Beyoncé's "Daddy Lessons". Michael Cragg from The Guardian discovered this reminiscent of Carrie Underwood's characteristic style, which he called nation balladry. Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo! Music joked that it was clearly composed by country music artists. In the structure, the singer's vocals are layered among "faintly strummed guitars" and differing degrees of percussion. The singer spoke concerning the category of the single: "Million Reasons" is a country song blended with funk and rock 'n' roll. You would never ever picture it would sound that way ... the feeling beneath the record is it's nearly got like a little bit of a hip-hop feeling. However at the same time, it's not a hip-hop song. It's sort of like I just had no limits making music-- and neither do any of the other individuals we were dealing with. It was type of like exactly what feels right, what hits the best, exactly what's going to get everyone in their stomach and their heart. "Million Reasons" is written in the key of C major with a pace of around 64 beats per minute, and is accompanied by piano and guitar. Her vocals span from G3 to E5 in the song, which in common time, follows a development of C-- Am-- F-- G, with a chorus of F-- C-- Am-- G. Throughout the tune's chorus, Gaga croons "You're providing me a million reasons to let you go/ You're giving me a million reasons to give up the program". Its conversation of heartbreak and hope, as described by International Organisation Times's Nicholas Mojica, was ensured to "resonate with [the] listeners" of the record. Cady Lang, composing for Time appreciated the touching quality of the recording's nature, which she described as heartbreaking. [20] Craig Jenkins of Vulture compared its prospective appeal to Beyoncé's 2016 tune "Daddy Lessons" and felt they both shared a "big left-field bid for country-radio airplay". Mojica ranked "Million Reasons" at number six on his list of the very best tunes from Joanne; he acclaimed its lyrics and noted the contributions made by Lindsey. The staff at Idolator chosen "Million Reasons" to evaluate as part of their 'Rated & Reviewed' column series. Robbie Daw from the publication congratulated the vocalist for developing a "super-produced" nation version of her 2011 single "You and I". Rachel Sonis concurred and claimed that it is easy and sweet, granting it 8.5/ 10. Nevertheless, both Carl Williott and Mike Wass were disappointed, with the latter declaring: "this age is shaping up to be even worse than I pictured." It eventually received an average rating of 6.1/ 10 from the writers. Likewise, Bowman from the very same site called it among Joanne's "more forgettable tracks". Although The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber discovered it to be a "steadily crafted" single, he discovered Gaga to be neglectful of the song's details and declared that American singer Taylor Swift could excel exceptionally better at the very same craft. Billboard ranked "Million Reasons" at number 35 on their on their "100 Finest Pop Songs of 2016" list. Rena Gross from the publication said that "traffic-stopping singing shipment perfectly encapsulates our longing for the impossible". Given its initial announcement as Joanne's first promotional single, "Million Reasons" went into numerous record charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 76 on the Signboard Hot 100, becoming her 24th profession entry and 2nd from Joanne. [24] It later on peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100. Its entry was accompanied by sales of 15,000 digital downloads, which allowed it to get in the Digital Songs part chart at number 38. Following the release of Joanne, "Million Reasons" was offered at a discount rate of 69 cents through the iTunes Store. The tune debuted at number 38 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart for the week ending December 13, 2016. Very same week, after Gaga's efficiency at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Style Program, "Million Reasons" reached a brand-new peak of number 52 on the Hot 100. The positioning was assisted by sales of 44,000 digital downloads (up 144%), which allowed it to move 34-- 6 on the Digital Songs, becoming her 16th top-ten song on the chart. It has actually been streamed 24.4 million times in the nation. The song debuted at number 48 in the UK and peaked at number 11 in Scotland, in charts assembled and released by the Official Charts Company. Following Gaga's performance of the tune in The X Aspect, "Million Reasons" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 60, with sales of 10,396 copies. It even more climbed the charts the next week, helped by the efficiency on Alan Carr and its video. The track moved from number 60 to number 39, with sales of 15,943 systems, reaching a new peak on the UK Singles Chart and ending up being Gaga's 18th top 40 single. In France, it debuted at number 107 inning accordance with the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing, and was the ninth greatest entry for the week of October 8, 2016. The following week, it peaked at number 29 and ended up being the chart's highest moving entry, leaping a total of 76 positions. Elsewhere, it peaked at number 37 in Australia and number 7 in Switzerland. The music video for "Million Reasons" was directed by Ruth Hogben and Andrea Gelardin, who had actually also helmed the video for the previous single, "Perfect Illusion". Gaga revealed that the music video for "Million Reasons" would be a continuation of that for "Perfect Impression". It was released on December 14, 2016, afternoon on MTV followed by a worldwide release to Vevo soon later on. The vocalist also launched a 16-second teaser showing her laying throughout the desert floor from the ending of "Perfect Impression" during sundown, as black SUVs approach her from afar. After that her crew comes out of the SUVs and takes her to a video shoot where she prepares to sing "Million Reasons". As she starts preparing, the vocalist notifications a small box with a bow atop it on her desk. The video then intercuts to a variety of flashbacks-- Gaga singing in a white studio while playing the guitar, getting rescued by her pals from the desert and Gaga breaking down in tears. Finally Gaga opens package which reveals the inside material to be a rosary with a note saying "Love you, sis". Ian David Monroe from V discovered the video to be "in stark contrast" with that of the one for "Perfect Impression", and saw that it did not depict a "traditional love story", rather made the video about Gaga's own group. Monroe thought that with the recent expose by Gaga that she struggled with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an open letter, the continued style in between the videos made sense. He added: "As she explained in the essay, Gaga was distressed by the lack of care with which she was dealt with in her earlier profession, forced to visit although she was in pain, which is perhaps represented by the 'Perfect Impression' video where she is actually thrown into a crowd. The video for 'Million Reasons', then, demonstrates how her group-- her family-- selected her up once again, and helped her heal in developing the brand-new record." Brian Joseph from Spin discovered the video's representation of Gaga as "mentally transparent" and included that the video remained in line with the "emotionally susceptible styles running throughout [Joanne]. Julianne Shepherd from Jezebel compared Gaga's looks in the video to that of vocalist Stevie Nicks, "with a filmic play on the rock-and-roll mythos, attaching images of daily backstage trip preparation to a tune of isolation and seclusion, life on the road forever breaking its practitioners." Click Here To Buy Lady Gaga "Million Reasons" Now!!!

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leah-dickens-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Lady Gaga - Million Reasons - YouTube Music Videos

"Million Reasons" is a tune taped by American vocalist Lady Gaga for her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). Initially released as a marketing single, it was launched to radio stations on November 8, 2016, as the album's 2nd single. The track was composed by Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Mark Ronson, and produced by Ronson, Gaga and BloodPop. A pop song with nation influences, backed by guitar and piano, "Million Reasons" lyrically dives on "heartbreak and hope" throughout a relationship. In order to promote "Million Reasons", the singer performed it on numerous performance venues of her Dive Bar Trip (2016), and an extra marketing video premiered. Commercially, the recording currently reached a number of charts throughout its promotional release, and has since peaked within the top 60 in the majority of the areas it charted, including number 52 on the United States' Signboard Hot 100. Following the release of lead single "Perfect Impression" on September 9, 2016, Lady Gaga announced the Dive Bar Trip (2016), an advertising concert series where the singer performed at numerous dive bars in the United States. Nevertheless, the places for the performance series stayed concealed to fulfill a more intimate method. The project was sponsored by Bud Light, and premiered on October 5. Concurrently, a live broadcast of the event was live streamed on Bud Light's official Facebook page. On October 2, 2016, several publications declared that throughout the very first show of the tour, a new tune entitled "Million Reasons" would be carried out, in addition to "Perfect Impression". " Million Reasons" was offered as a marketing digital download to listeners who pre-ordered Joanne through iTunes on October 6, 2016. However, following the song's commercial surge when Gaga appeared on the Carpool Karaoke section of The Late Late Show with James Corden, "Million Reasons" was picked as the second single from Joanne. It was released to American modern hit radio stations on November 8, 2016. Gaga co-wrote and co-produced "Million Reasons" along with Mark Ronson, while musicians Hillary Lindsey and BloodPop provided additional songwriting and production, respectively. Inning accordance with Emily Mackay of NME, "Million Reasons" acts as a "powerful, sky-clutching suggestion of Gaga's method with a bare-bone ballad". Idolator's Patrick Bowman agreed and described it as a "country-tinged [...] peaceful ballad" while Stephen L. Betts from Wanderer called it a pop tune which had a c and w appeal, similar to singer Beyoncé's "Daddy Lessons". Michael Cragg from The Guardian discovered this similar to Carrie Underwood's particular design, which he called nation balladry. Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo! Music joked that it was clearly written by country music artists. In the composition, the singer's vocals are layered among "faintly strummed guitars" and varying degrees of percussion. The vocalist spoke relating to the genre of the single: "Million Reasons" is a nation song mixed with funk and rock 'n' roll. You would never ever imagine it would sound that way ... the sensation beneath the record is it's nearly got like a little bit of a hip-hop sensation. However at the same time, it's not a hip-hop tune. It's type of like I simply had no boundaries making music-- and neither do any of the other individuals we were working with. It was sort of like what feels right, what hits the very best, what's going to get everyone in their stomach and their heart. "Million Reasons" is written in the secret of C significant with a tempo of around 64 beats per minute, and is accompanied by piano and guitar. Her vocals span from G3 to E5 in the tune, which in common time, follows a progression of C-- Am-- F-- G, with a chorus of F-- C-- Am-- G. During the song's chorus, Gaga croons "You're providing me a million needs to let you go/ You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show". Its discussion of heartbreak and hope, as described by International Organisation Times's Nicholas Mojica, was guaranteed to "resonate with [the] listeners" of the record. Cady Lang, composing for Time appreciated the touching quality of the recording's nature, which she described as heartbreaking. [20] Craig Jenkins of Vulture compared its prospective interest Beyoncé's 2016 song "Daddy Lessons" and felt they both shared a "huge left-field bid for country-radio airplay". Mojica ranked "Million Reasons" at number 6 on his list of the best songs from Joanne; he acclaimed its lyrics and noted the contributions made by Lindsey. The personnel at Idolator picked "Million Reasons" to review as part of their 'Rated & Reviewed' column series. Robbie Daw from the publication praised the singer for creating a "super-produced" nation version of her 2011 single "You and I". Rachel Sonis agreed and claimed that it is basic and sweet, granting it 8.5/ 10. However, both Carl Williott and Mike Wass were disappointed, with the latter declaring: "this period is shaping up to be even worse than I pictured." It ultimately received a typical rating of 6.1/ 10 from the authors. Similarly, Bowman from the exact same site called it one of Joanne's "more forgettable tracks". Although The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber discovered it to be a "sturdily crafted" single, he found Gaga to be neglectful of the tune's details and declared that American vocalist Taylor Swift could excel incredibly much better at the same craft. Billboard ranked "Million Reasons" at number 35 on their on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list. Rena Gross from the magazine stated that "traffic-stopping singing delivery perfectly encapsulates our longing for the impossible". Provided its initial statement as Joanne's first marketing single, "Million Reasons" entered a number of record charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 24th profession entry and 2nd from Joanne. [24] It later on peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100. Its entry was accompanied by sales of 15,000 digital downloads, which permitted it to get in the Digital Songs element chart at number 38. Following the release of Joanne, "Million Reasons" was offered at a discount rate of 69 cents through the iTunes Store. The tune debuted at number 38 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart for the week ending December 13, 2016. Same week, after Gaga's performance at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, "Million Reasons" reached a new peak of number 52 on the Hot 100. The placement was assisted by sales of 44,000 digital downloads (up 144%), which allowed it to move 34-- 6 on the Digital Songs, becoming her 16th top-ten tune on the chart. It has been streamed 24.4 million times in the nation. The song debuted at number 48 in the UK and peaked at number 11 in Scotland, in charts put together and released by the Official Charts Business. Following Gaga's performance of the song in The X Element, "Million Reasons" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 60, with sales of 10,396 copies. It further climbed the charts the next week, aided by the performance on Alan Carr and its video. The track moved from number 60 to number 39, with sales of 15,943 units, reaching a brand-new peak on the UK Songs Chart and becoming Gaga's 18th top 40 single. In France, it debuted at number 107 according to the National Distribute of Phonographic Publishing, and was the ninth greatest entry for the week of October 8, 2016. The following week, it peaked at number 29 and became the chart's greatest moving entry, jumping a total of 76 positions. In other places, it peaked at number 37 in Australia and number 7 in Switzerland. The video for "Million Reasons" was directed by Ruth Hogben and Andrea Gelardin, who had actually also helmed the video for the previous single, "Perfect Illusion". Gaga announced that the video for "Million Reasons" would be an extension of that for "Perfect Illusion". It was launched on December 14, 2016, afternoon on MTV followed by a worldwide release to Vevo soon later on. The singer likewise launched a 16-second teaser revealing her laying throughout the desert floor from the ending of "Perfect Illusion" throughout sunset, as black SUVs approach her from afar. After that her crew comes out of the SUVs and takes her to a video shoot where she prepares to sing "Million Reasons". As she begins preparing, the vocalist notices a little box with a bow atop it on her desk. The video then intercuts to a variety of flashbacks-- Gaga singing in a white studio while playing the guitar, getting saved by her good friends from the desert and Gaga breaking down in tears. Lastly Gaga opens the box which exposes the within material to be a rosary with a note stating "Love you, sis". Ian David Monroe from V found the video to be "in plain contrast" with that of the one for "Perfect Illusion", and noticed that it did not represent a "standard love narrative", rather made the video about Gaga's own team. Monroe thought that with the recent expose by Gaga that she struggled with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an open letter, the ongoing style between the videos made good sense. He included: "As she described in the essay, Gaga was traumatized by the absence of care with which she was managed in her earlier profession, forced to explore despite the fact that she was in pain, which is perhaps represented by the 'Perfect Impression' video where she is literally tossed into a crowd. The video for 'Million Reasons', then, demonstrates how her team-- her family-- chose her up again, and helped her heal in creating the brand-new record." Brian Joseph from Spin found the video's representation of Gaga as "mentally transparent" and included that the video was in line with the "emotionally susceptible styles running throughout [Joanne]. Julianne Shepherd from Jezebel compared Gaga's looks in the video to that of singer Stevie Nicks, "with a filmic play on the rock-and-roll mythos, connecting imagery of everyday backstage trip preparation to a song of solitude and isolation, life on the road permanently breaking its professionals." 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