#Carry On Teacher (1959)

[thezombiegeekinthehawaiianshirt]

[smth-intheway]

I haven't seen anyone talk about it, or maybe someone noticed but didn't said anything...

Neil and Charlie are connected, not only by the bonds of friendship but also by their shared symbolism of “death”, which is shown at the very end of the movie/book when their seats were empty. They are both key characters and as those who, despite their differences, are very similar.

Let's start with Neil. We all know that Neil is the one who started the dead poets society in 1959, he is the speaker and the leader of the group, as if leading the boys. He is the first to find the album with Keating's photo in it, the first to learn what the society is (yeah boys were near him), the first to read the official opening speech and assign roles to everyone. Who will read and who won’t. He acts as a confident person, his actions are based on a new feeling and finding freedom from the grip of his father. Everyone noticed how he looked at Keating when he gave his famous speech that every person in this fandom knows?

Yes, you can't help but notice how his eyes shine with hope, that he like a prisoner, will free himself from the shackles and escape from the clutches of his father. By the way, about his dad.

This man plays a very important role in Neil's life, as he does in his, albeit in the most disgusting way. His father sees himself in him only in his youth, he wants to achieve what he could not in the past. He uses Neil to turn back the time and become an ideal version of himself without caring what Neil thinks. Most likely, Mr. Perry was an unsuccessful person and perhaps he did not succeed in many things, proving this with the following phrases: "I sacrificed so much for you to be here" and "you have opportunities that I don’t had” He kind of puts pressure on Neil shoulders to give him false motivation to do things as he said, setting himself as an example, like... if you don’t do as I say, then the worst will happen to you, because I know better than you and I have lived longer than you. His father makes his son a submissive and obedient boy who is obliged to do and act as he is told, simply because he has no choice, because he is inexperienced and "impressionable" in the opinion of his father and he must definitely listen to the one who knows better in order to avoid the worst outcome. Just lower your head and show obedience like everyone else.

By the way, it is interesting that in the book the first description of Neil, and the first words about his appearance sound like this: "The breast pocket of his Welton blazer was covered with a huge cluster of achievement pins." (page 5, ch.1) Ironic, right? Now try to close your eyes and imagine the same student, without imagining Neil. What impression will you have of him? Right.. smart, successful with a brilliant future. This is what people who don’t know Neil see. He has become someone who is held up as an example. A diligent student and an example of behavior. Even the fact that in the book he wears a pillar with the inscription "excellence" as if hanging a label of idealism and perfection on himself. That is why they gave him this sign, so that he would carry it, introducing himself as the personification of that very perfection that teachers want to have in their students. But is that what he needs? Neil did not know what he wanted, he did not allow himself to go beyond what was permitted, always silently and following the rules. Afraid of getting burned like a moth over a fire. He was suppressed by his father, all the time his desires and dreams were rejected and not accepted, because there is a coordinate system and you cannot move against it. I can even assume that his father pressured him if his academic results did not satisfy him, from which Neil tried to prove that he could do better, because he wants his father to be proud of him and love him for being a good son, perhaps Mr. Perry could punish Neil for disobedience, from which the boy began to fear his father like a nightmare. Remember the scene when his father entered the room at the very beginning of the movie after the ceremony? Neil's behavior changed from before to after. With his friends he was happy, self-confident and the life of the party, but when his father showed up on the doorstep all of these traits were washed away and Neil showed his fear and insecurity.

So he hid himself, his dreams, ambitions and desires including emotions in front of his father. Several times in the book, (the movie didn’t showed it) Neil had the outbursts and slightly hysterical release of his emotions he was holding when his father was around. “Neil held the achievement pin in his hand as he spoke. “The bastard!” he shouted suddenly, jabbing his thumb with the metal point of the pin and drawing blood. Todd winced, but Neil just stared at the blood intently. He pulled the pin out and hurled it against the wall.” (Page 19, Chap3)

“Mr. Perry turned and stalked out. Neil stood still for a long time, then, walking to his desk, he started pounding on it, harder and harder until his fists went numb and tears began rolling down his cheeks.” (Page 119, chap11) Neil isn’t an emotionally stable person because his emotions only show when his father is not around. He is mentally weak because he is afraid to speak his mind around someone who will not listen to him. This is important and worth remembering because Neil has no voice around his father, so he did not tell him what he wanted, so he kept silent because he understood and built a mental reflex that his father's stubborn nature would still make him do what Neil does not want. He already knows what his father will say. Rejection. This is his weak point. He is afraid of rejection and does not want to hear it again, because he has heard it so many times ... over and over again. This Neil is very different from the confident guy he shows himself to be in society.

he did not share his feelings/thoughts with anyone, because he most likely not had close friends except Charlie. Because His entire life was planned and controlled by his authoritarian father, from A to Z. His dad would’ve probably not be happy about his son being friends with the “who the hell knows”.

That's why when he heard Keating's words about enjoying the moment, living here and now while this moment is here because one day it won't be. Carpe diem my friend. You need to look at things in the different way and not be afraid of what others think because what matters is what you think. These words entered Neil's thoughts as a basis for changing his situation, to free himself from the shackles and become who he always wanted. Because if not, this moment will never come. He began to think differently and began to go towards his dream that he wanted to acquire so much. Neil was slowly drowning in his ideal world, living freely and hopelessly, but he misunderstood Keating's words, because he had to change his idea of ​​the world and not himself. Neil did not understand that you cannot change the situation you are in, you can only change your idea and vision of it. He wanted to take control, but he forgot that sucking out the bone marrow, you need to do it so as not to choke on the bone. It is interesting that he was the first to come and recreate the Dead poets society and the first to leave, thus killing this society.

His death has a huge influence on the plot as well as on the symbolism itself, because if you look closely, in the book he dies with his crown of flowers as if killing his personality "Puck" through which he embodied the archetype of the deceiver (his father’s deceiver), challenging the established standards of behaviour. The second one is a reference to Jesus that many talk about. So, if you think about it, the crown of branches that he wore is very similar to the one that Jesus had. At first, he looks up, supposedly into the sky, in search of the meaning of life and pondering his decision. He puts on the crown, proclaiming himself his own liberator, just as Jesus was in Christian culture.

He didn't want to depend on his father or the rotten system anymore, Neil thought he would make his own decision outside of his father's wishes. After all, if there is no freedom in life itself, then why should he live?

Then, he lowers his head as if accepting his fate and knowing that he has chosen the right path for himself.

Neil showed obedience to himself and not to someone else which made him one step freer before he got freedom completely. He, like Jesus, accepted himself as a sacrifice in the face of freedom intending to be free even if not for others then for himself. Therefore, it was his own "crucifixion".

It is interesting that he lowers his head just like the boy from that very wall painting.

Okay, but then how does he relate to Charlie? It's simple, Charlie isn't always himself either, and unlike Neil's hidden symbolism, he directly proclaims himself to be another person, namely "Nuwanda". He abandons his boring, past self by forgetting who he was through self-destruction. "I have an announcement. In keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm giving up the name Charles Dalton. From now on, call me 'Nuwanda.'" (page 89, chap9) In the same way, he added more nuances to his personality, such as his famous phrase "getting red" and when he painted the Indian symbol of virility on his torso supposedly giving himself confidence through the symbol's underlying meaning, which is anchored in the Indian goddess Shiva-Lingam which signifies masculinity, virility and association with fertility due to its sexual significance.

The same goes for the symbols he drew on his cheek, what's interesting is that in the movie he drew it with lipstick using red again, which usually symbolizes power, passion and life, this colour is used to attract attention. But in the book... he literally scrapes dirt off the wall to draw this symbol on his cheek. (What a cheerful boy fr)

Charlie is a time bomb. He constantly has ideas in his head, at first it may seem empty but there really is a lot of things, plus this “dish” is also seasoned with the guy's self-confidence and huge ego. This is proven by the fact that Charlie literally claimed the cave when he entered it and then used it to bring girls, without worrying about the opinions of others. He kind of stands as an example of the opposite of the Welton school value system, and encourages boys not to be afraid to be more confident. In the film, he was the first to support Neil in the idea of ​​creating a club, standing on his side, and also defending him after Cameron's betrayal at the very end, knowing that he is risking his education in Welton, but he is not afraid to take on such responsibility ... well, because why should he be afraid? He already has a future full of money, knowing that his father will force him to work with his business. By the way, about his father.

Unlike Neil, his relationship with his father is controversial and he can fight back with the confidence that he will be forgiven. In the film, his parents are shown in the background.

And in the book we only know his mother. I can assume that Charlie is a child from a rich family who lives as an accessory in the hands of his parents. He, like Neil, is the "pride" of his parents and should be an example, only Charlie does not want to follow the coordinate system and enter it instead he moves against it. Like Neil at the end of his path.

We know that Rebellion is already embedded in any ideology at the time of its creation, and rebels only personify rebellion and do not bring it to the established system of values. After all, there will always be those who are against the established system, moving in the opposite direction and trying to find other conclusions, other ideas that will definitely suit a certain type.

Charlie could become a rebel for two reasons, the first: the search for attention. Unlike the hyper-care of Neil's father over his son, his father could be so bogged down in work that he forgot about his own son, perhaps not even his beloved, because then the marriage would be of convenience. His parents did not give him enough attention, pushing him away, rejecting him. He wanted to be noticed by them so that they would give him love, so he tried to achieve it in every possible way and it became a habit. Or the second option: He was tired of living a pretense. Straightforwardness is always a way out when it’s difficult to explain. Just be simple and do not bother to be complex, so the fear of making a mistake disappears. So Charlie did, because as far back as he could remember, he hated being told how he should behave, how he should talk to guests, how he should smile, how he should take utensils for food, and so on. Charlie was tired of seeing people from high society smiling at each other with such hypocrisy, as if a second ago they had not been in deep judgmental discussion. The world of big business disgusted Charlie, because those people were too worried about how they looked in front of others and they ran after status. Charlie was a prisoner of this every day and he didn't want to be like the others, he wanted to create something of his own in his personality, something that the others didn't have and something that would distinguish them from him, or him from them. So he chose the easy way - rebellion. So Keating's words meant something to him in the sense that he would enjoy the moment of rebelling against the school's rules and building his own system. Charlie could relate to his own approaching "death" if life at Welton was not symbolic but real. That is, his expulsion is an actual death. It could be similar to the phrase that Carpe diem oppose - Memento Mori. Carpe diem, in simple terms, says that death is inevitable, but it is unknown when it will come, and therefore it should not be feared, but instead enjoy the moment, which is what Keating taught his students, but there is also memento mori, which says that death is inevitable, but the moment of its onset can be delayed by behaving, so to speak, you should live “correctly” and act rationally for the benefit of your own life. In other words, memento mori means that everything is in your hands and when you die is determined by how you live. And Carpe diem is about the opposite, that nothing depends on you. And therefore you can and should take everything from life here and now. These two terms are closely related to the understanding of Keating's lessons, so each DPS boy had his own end. Tragic or partly happy. Knox and Todd understood that you can't change this system, but you can change your attitude towards it by finding beauty in things and avoiding death, but Neil and Charlie didn't understand him, wanting to change system and putting their lives on the line, so both of their seats are empty at the end.

If you think about it... Charlie is Neil's desire for suicide. After all, he too is moving towards self-destruction by excluding himself from the system directly through death, while Charlie does it indirectly by going through exclusion.

[justforbooks]

The actor Lou Gossett Jr, who has died aged 87, is best known for his performance in An Officer and A Gentleman (1982) as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, whose tough training transforms recruit Richard Gere into the man of the film’s title. He was the first black winner of an Academy Award for best supporting actor, and only the third black actor (after Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier) to take home any Oscar.

The director, Taylor Hackford, said he cast Gossett in a role written for a white actor, following a familiar Hollywood trope played by John Wayne, Burt Lancaster, Victor McLaglen or R Lee Ermey, because while researching he realised the tension of “black enlisted men having make-or-break control over whether white college graduates would become officers”. Gossett had already won an Emmy award playing a different sort of mentor, the slave Fiddler who teaches Kunta Kinte the ropes in Roots (1977), but he was still a relatively unknown 46-year-old when he got his breakthrough role, despite a long history of success on stage and in music as well as on screen.

Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Louis was the son of Helen (nee Wray), a nurse, and Louis Sr, a porter. As a child he suffered from polio, but became a high school athlete before a basketball injury led to his joining the drama club. His teacher encouraged him to audition professionally, and at 17 he was on Broadway playing a troubled child in Take a Giant Step, which won him a Donaldson award for best newcomer.

He won a drama scholarship to New York University, but continued working, in The Desk Set (1955), and made his television debut in two episodes of the NBC anthology show The Big Story. In 1959 he was cast with Poitier and Ruby Dee in Raisin in the Sun, and made his film debut reprising his role in 1961. On Broadway that year he played in Jean Genet’s The Blacks, in an all-star cast with James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Roscoe Lee Brown, Godfrey Cambridge and a young Maya Angelou; it was the decade’s longest-running show.

Gossett was also active in the Greenwich Village folk music scene. He released his first single Hooka Dooka, Green Green in 1964, followed by See See Rider, and co-wrote the anti-war hit Handsome Johnny with Richie Havens. In 1967 he released another single, a drums and horns version of Pete Seeger’s anti-war hymn Where Have All the Flowers Gone. He was in the gospel musical Tambourines to Glory (1963) and in producer Mike Todd’s America, Be Seated at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

His plays became more limited: The Zulu and the Zayda and My Sweet Charlie; the very short run of Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights, in which he played a black man owning a white slave; and a revival of Golden Boy (1964), with Sammy Davis Jr. His final Broadway part was as the murdered Congolese leader Patrice Lamumba, in Conor Cruise O’Brien’s Murderous Angels (1971). Gossett had played roles in New York-set TV series such as The Naked City, but he began to make a mark in Hollywood, despite LAPD officers having handcuffed him to a tree, on “suspicion”, in 1966.

On TV he starred in The Young Rebels (1970-71) set in the American revolution. In film, he was good as a desperate tenant in Hal Ashby’s Landlord (1970) and brilliant with James Garner in Skin Game (1971), taking part in a con trick in which Garner sells him repeatedly into slavery then helps him to escape.

In 1977, alongside Roots, he attracted attention as a memorable villain in Peter Yates’s hit The Deep, and got artistic revenge on the LAPD in Robert Aldrich’s The Choirboys. The TV movie of The Lazarus Syndrome (1979) became a series in which Gossett played a realistic hospital chief of staff set against an idealistic younger doctor. He played the black baseball star Satchel Paige in the TV movie Don’t Look Back (1981); years later he had a small part as another Negro League star, Cool Papa Bell, in The Perfect Game (2009).

After his Oscar, he played another assassinated African leader, in the TV mini-series Sadat, reportedly approved for the role by Anwar Sadat’s widow Jihan. Though he remained a busy working actor, good starring roles in major productions eluded him, as producers fell back on his drill sergeant image. He was Colonel “Chappy” Sinclair in Iron Eagle (1986) and its three dismal sequels.

But in 1989 he starred in Dick Wolf’s TV series Gideon Oliver, as an anthropology professor solving crimes in New York. And he won a best supporting actor Golden Globe for his role in the TV movie The Josephine Baker Story (1991). He revisited the stage in the film adaptation of Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class (1994).

Gossett twice received the NAACP’s Image Award, and another Emmy for producing a children’s special, In His Father’s Shoes (1997). In 2006 he founded the Eracism Foundation, providing programmes to foster “cultural diversity, historical enrichment and anti-violence initiatives”. Despite an illness eventually linked to toxic mould in his Santa Monica home, he kept working with a recurring part in Stargate SG-1 (2005-06). A diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2010 hardly slowed him down.

Most recently, he played Will “Hooded Justice” Reeves in the TV series Watchmen (2019), in the series Kingdom Business, about the gospel music industry, and in the 2023 musical remake of The Color Purple.

His first marriage, to Hattie Glascoe, in 1967, was annulled after five months; his second, to Christina Mangosing, lasted for two years from 1973; and his third, to Cyndi (Cynthia) James, from 1987 to 1992. He is survived by two sons, Satie, from his second marriage, and Sharron, from his third.

🔔 Louis Cameron Gossett Jr, actor, born 27 May 1936; died 28 March 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[polutrope]

Beleria AU: Cast

A list that no one asked for of my Beleria Modern AU characters, for your perusal. To be expanded, edited, and retconned as the mood strikes.

The Noldoran Finvesens

Finwë Noldoran (b. 1922, d. 2015, aged 92, natural causes). 6'. WW2 veteran and founder of Tirion Technical University in Valin, Aman. A Noldorin revolutionary sympathiser.

Míriel Noldoran, née Weber. (b. 1925, d. 1960, aged 35, pancreatic cancer). 5’2”. Finwë's first wife. They were very much in love and wished to have children but were never successful.

Fëanor Finvesen (b. 1958), 65. 5’11”. Adopted by Finwë and Míriel in 1960. Míriel died the first month of his adoption. His biological mother committed suicide and his father was incarcerated for sedition in the Noldorin Revolution and never released. Bachelor of Arts and Sciences (joint), Masters Civil Engineering, PhD Economics. Left Valin for Beleria, Endor, in 2016 after losing a major land ownership lawsuit against the government of Aman. Founder and President of Ambar Metta Development Group.

Nerdanel Finvesen (b. 1957), 66. 5’7”. Retired landscape architect. Sculptor, occasionally does public art projects. Studied at Tirion Technical University, where she met Fëanor.

Their children:

Maedhros (b. 1987), 36. 6’5”. Physical therapist and VP of Community Partnerships, and a shareholder, of Ambar Metta. Moved to Beleria with his parents. In a common-law relationship with Fingon.

Maglor (b. 1989), 34. 6’1”. Associate Artistic Director of Lindon Studios children’s musical theatre school. Shareholder in Ambar Metta. Divorced. Was in a successful rock band with his ex-husband in Valin. Moved to Beleria in 2021 after his divorce. In a relationship and lives with Daeron.

Celegorm (b. 1991), 32. 6’2”. Veterinary college student, part-time bartender at Angrist microbrewery. Shareholder in Ambar Metta. BA in Philosophy. Moved to Beleria with his parents. In a relationship with Aredhel.

Huan (b. 2017). His dog, a German shepherd and a good boy.

Caranthir (b. 1992), 31. 6’2”. Long-haul trucker, investor. Co-founder of Angrist microbrewery. Shareholder in Ambar Metta. MA Economics. Moved to Beleria in 2019. Single.

Curufin (b. 1994), 29. 5’10.” Co-founder, owner, and head brewer of Angrist microbrewery. Shareholder in Ambar Metta. BSc Chemistry. Moved to Beleria with his parents, on whom he was financially dependent. Single.

Celebrimbor (b. 2013), 10. His son, a fourth-grader at Himlad Elementary. Likes machines and cool facts. Alwen (b. 1993), 30. Celebrimbor’s mother and Curufin’s high school girlfriend. Lives in Valin.

Amrod (b. 2001), 22. 6’3”. Undergraduate student in Forestry. Shareholder in Ambar Metta. Moved to Beleria with his parents.

Amras (b. 2001), 22. 6’3”. Undergraduate student in Applied Biology. Shareholder in Ambar Metta. Moved to Beleria with his parents.

Indis Noldoran, née Vasiliev. (b. 1933), 90. 5’11”. Finwë’s second wife. From Valma, Aman. Lives in an eldercare home in south end of Beleria. Nerdanel and Fingolfin are her most frequent visitors.

Findis Noldoran (b. 1962), 61. 5’9”. Finwë and Indis’ first child. Lives in Valin.

Elemmírë. Her wife.

Fingolfin Noldoran (b. 1963), 60. 6’. Finwë and Indis’ second child. Founder and owner of Hithlum Properties. Moved to Beleria, Endor with his family in 2017 during the recession in Aman.

Anairë Noldoran (b. 1959). 64. 5’6”. Fingolfin’s wife. A clinical counsellor.

Their children:

Fingon (b. 1989), 34. 5’11”. Firefighter. In a common-law relationship with Maedhros.

Turgon (b. 1992), 31. 6’6”. Postdoc in urban planning at Ondolindë University. Best friends with his cousin Finrod.

Elenwë (b. 1992), 31. 5’4”. His wife. School teacher at Tumladen Elementary. Was nearly killed in 2019 when her car, also carrying Idril (who was unharmed), was hit by a maintenance truck owned by Ambar Metta, for which she received no financial compensation after the company won a lawsuit blaming the City for black ice on the roads. Idril (b. 2018), 5. Their daughter, a first-grader at Tumladen Elementary.

Aredhel (b. 1993), 30. 5’10”. Divorced in 2022 after five-year relationship with Eöl. Temporarily living with Turgon and Elenwë. Yoga teacher searching for a more stable career. In a relationship with Celegorm, who was her boyfriend prior to Eöl.

Maeglin Lómion (b. 2019), 4. Aredhel’s son with Eöl over whom she has full custody. A kindergartner at Tumladen Elementary.

Argon (b. 1997), 26. 6’5”. Moved back to Valin. Close with Fingon.

Lalwen Noldoran (b. 1965), 58. 5’7”. Third child of Finwe and Indis. Owner of a Nordic spa near Beleria. Moved there at the same time as Fingolfin. Single, no children.

Finarfin Noldoran (b. 1968), 55. 5’10”. Fourth child of Finwe and Indis. Cinematographer and occasional film director. Moved to Beleria in 2021, after most of his children had already done so.

Eärwen (b. 1966), 57. Finarfin's wife. Former Olympic swimmer. Now a motivational speaker and author.

Their children:

Finrod (b. 1996), 27. 5’11”. MA Human Geography. Works at a coffee shop. Can’t stop travelling, does not know what he’s doing with his life. Lives with Curufin. Best friends with his cousin, Turgon. Single.

Orodreth (b. 1998), 25. 5’10”. Joined the military, to the befuddlement of his family. Of his siblings, only Finrod gets him. In a relationship.

Angrod (b. 2000), 23. 6’. Recent graduate and volleyball player. Didn’t make pro leagues. Coaches high school volleyball. Single.

Aegnor (b. 2002), 20. 6’1”. Student, varsity volleyball player. Single.

Galadriel (b. 2003), 19. 5’10”. Second-year undergraduate student in psychology at Ondolindë University. Varsity swimmer. Single.

The Singh-Goels

Elu Singh-Goel (b. 1960, Cuivien), 63. 6’7”. Mayor of Beleria. Immigrated to Endor in 1970.

Dr. Melian Goel (b. 1957), 66. Professor of Pyschology at Ondolindë University, planning retirement to become a tarot card reader and astrologist.

Their children:

Lúthien (b. 1989), 34. Director of Neldoreth Dance Company. Engaged to Beren.

Daeron (b. 1994), 29. 5’7”. Collections Assistant for Beleria City Archives. Singer-songwriter and local history vlogger. BA Linguistics. Environmental activist. Vegetarian. Bisexual. In a relationship and lives with Maglor.

Beren Escarra (b. 1998), 25. Former Dorthon oilsands worker. Son of refugees, father deceased and mother in long term care. Currently Volunteer Coordinator for an environmental conservation group. Vegan. Foraging enthusiast. Engaged to Lúthien.

Their friends and acquaintances

Húrin, 32. buddy of Beren's who works up north.

Morwen Ethel-Wang, 33. His wife. A pharmacist. Pregnant with their second child.

Túrin, 9. Their son.

Miscellaneous Residents

Eöl (b. 1983), 40. Former Alquin ferry engineer, laid off when Fëanor Finvesen privatised the ferry service. Aredhel’s ex-husband and Maeglin’s father. Single.

Círdan (b. 1955), 68. Park ranger at Eglarest Beach. “Communist” (when it suits him). Old friend of Elu. Single, no children.

Rúmil, 70. Friend of Fëanor, developing an app with him.

Celeborn, 19. Student.

Galathil, 21. Student, Celeborn’s brother.

Beleg, 20. Student and intern for the City of Beleria.

Mablung, 20. Student and intern for the City of Beleria.

Edhellos, 18. Student. Friend of Galadriel. Has a crush on Angrod.

Nellas, 19. Friend of Galadriel. Dancer with Neldoreth Dance Company and friend of Lúthien.

Saeros Green, a flamboyant and corrupt music producer. Offered Daeron a record deal which he declined.

[hellhoundmaggie]

top 5 strangely formative films you saw as a child?

ooh this is a toughie but I'll do my best

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Gun to my head this is probably my favorite film of all time. I choose to blame it for my interest in (fictional) broody dudes.

2. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

I watched this movie every single day for a year and a half when I was in preschool. I barely remember it but I'm sure it's responsible for a lot of the wiring in my brain. I do remember that I carried around a plushie of Lucky the dog everywhere I went until my kindergarten teacher forced me to stop.

3. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

I'm sure you're starting to see a pattern at this point. As a small, grumpy person, I identified strongly with Merryweather, the feistiest of the three good fairies. As an adult, I appreciate how radical this movie really is: a tentpole fantasy film that's not only led by its women characters, but by three fluffy grandma types. It's hard to imagine a major studio putting out a movie like that today. In fact, when Disney revised the telling for Maleficent (2014), they made the three good fairies stupid and incompetent in order to give more development to their cool sexy dark heroine. This actually makes the story less feminist than the 1959 version. "Sorry ladies," says Maleficent, "you're only worth taking seriously if you age like Angelina Jolie."

4. The Little Mermaid (1989)

Before Beauty and the Beast came out, I was obsessed with this movie. Then I had a vivid nightmare where Ursula the Sea Witch tried to keep me from my mother and refused to watch it again. Now I'm an adult and I love Ursula! She has one of the best villain songs ever.

5. An American Tail (1986)

The only not-Disney movie on this list, this film also sticks out for its more subtle characterization and take on the real-life struggles of 19th-century American immigrants and the urban poor. I think this movie was a catalyst for my own interest in history.

Thank you laconicmoon!

[georgefairbrother]

British actor Larry Dann became a household name in the 1980s through his wholly believable performance as the likeable and dependable sergeant, Alec Peters, in 229 episodes of ITV's long-running police drama, The Bill (2500 episodes 1983-2010). His autobiography has just been published by specialists in British television tie-ins, Oliver Crocker's Devonfire Books.

In the days before internet and social media, it was too easy to assume that mature actors in high profile roles appeared out of nowhere, fully formed, but of course that wasn't the case at all. Actors of Larry Dann's generation learned their craft over many years, through determination, no shortage of courage, and sheer, unrelenting hard graft. Born in 1941, he worked as a child actor in movies, which included a brush with Spencer Tracy, Deborah Kerr and George Cukor, and studied at the Corona Academy stage school from where he built an enduring career on stage and screen.

One of many highlights in Larry Dann's memoir is the fascinating window he affords us into the iconic Theatre Workshop, run by Joan Littlewood, and the production of their huge international hit, Oh What a Lovely War which, according to Michael Billington in The Guardian, not only changed attitudes toward the Great War, it also 'remade British theatre'.

"…So what effect did Oh What a Lovely War have? It helped change attitudes to the first world war. Although we may have read the poetry of Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, we had never before seen popular entertainment express the disenchantment felt at the time by the average soldier. Looking back at the 1963 programme, it is also clear that the production was intended as a political provocation…On a purely theatrical level, the show also did a lot to loosen up the formal rigidity of the British theatre. It was active in demolishing the gap between stage and auditorium, promoted the growth of the musical documentary and encouraged actors to take responsibility for research and development…"

In Joan Littlewood's Oh What a Lovely War, which also featured his friend Brian Murphy, who later starred as George Roper in George and Mildred, and who wrote the foreword to Oh, What a Lovely Memoir

Larry Dann's diverse film career included some major Hollywood productions and a joyous experience working with David Niven, who we learn was just as charming, generous and friendly as his image portrayed, and neatly bookended the Carry On franchise, appearing in one of the earliest offerings, Teacher (1959), and in the final three of the original run; Behind (1976), England (1977), and the widely maligned, notorious Emmannuelle (1978).

With Carol Hawkins, Sherrie Hewson and Brian Osborne in Carry On Behind

He also carved out a lucrative sideline in television commercials, working with some of the pioneering directors in that field, including Alan Parker, and Ridley and Tony Scott.

Larry Dann writes with pragmatic honesty about family troubles growing up, and the rollercoaster working life of an actor even with major roles in their CV. Oh, What a Lovely Memoir is a recommended read with some wonderful insights into the evolution of entertainment in post-war Britain.

Larry Dann was one of the first stars of The Bill to be interviewed by Oliver Crocker for The Bill Podcast.

[ms-kio]

Isekai Turtles: Rarely, Are There Turtles

Raph & Leo x Kung Fu Panda! 1959 Words

Have some dust [;

"Uugh.." Leo groaned. What happened? He and Raph had been in the middle of kicking some Kraang butt when their world turned black. Had they used some sort of new weapon? Leo could tell every inch of him was still very much alive, due to the aching all over.

"'Bout time you woke up!" Raph's irritated voice said. "We need to get moving. I'm starving!"

"Good to see you too Raph." Leo replied in a raspy voice and chuckled. "You can go ahead and do whatever, I'll stay here."

"Heh, whatever you say, fearless leader." Raph said and smacked Leo's shoulder. He quickly jumped up into the trees and Leo muttered to himself.

"You'd think Mikey liked climbing, but Raph has always loved the trees most." Leo opened his eyes and observed his surroundings. They were nowhere near anywhere Leo had been before. "Huh." He said to himself and climbed a tree. "Where even are we?" A gentle breeze brushed his face as he looked about. As dusk fell, Leo could see trails of smoke start to rise from the west.

About half an hour later, Leo saw Raph approach with a large whole deer. It was dark out by then and the two brothers had their fill of dinner. "Well I'm out." Raph said in a disappointed voice. "Guess moving is gonna have to wait 'til tomorrow."

"I guess so." Leo agreed. He was still wide awake due to having slept most of the day, so he kept watch.

~ ~ ~

Tigress couldn't get it. Didn't the others realize that there could be another attack at any moment? Tigress took it upon herself to go out on patrol by herself and do a perimeter sweep of the valley, and sometimes even go out to the forest if she had a bad hunch. Tigress slipped out of the Jade Palace and made her way down the stairs, her light feet leaping flawlessly down the mountain. Her silk uniform rippled in the wind as she glided down and through the valley and did her nightly routine. Tigress decided to venture out into the forest and was about to turn back when she heard something unusual: Breathing.

One of them sounded raspy and slightly strained, and the other was full and deep, obviously asleep. She soundlessly made her way to the noise. She saw two… Turtles!? They were supposed to be incredibly rare and ancient! To find even one as a teenager is once every hundred lifetimes! Considering how old they get and how uncommon they are. Tigress ran back to the Jade Palace as fast as her legs could carry her, she would have to report this immediately.

~ ~ ~

Once Leo knew he would be able to fall asleep, he woke Raph to take watch and he did so with little complaint. Once Leo curled up in a ball on the ground, he was immediately able to doze off into the land of dreams.

~ ~ ~

Raph was shaken awake by his older brother and he took watch. The cool night air was satisfying to the hot headed turtle as he leaned against a tree and closed his eyes, knowing his hearing would serve him better in a forest. "Donnie, Mikey… Where are you?" He whispered to himself. Though he would never admit it, he missed the two already.

~ ~ ~

"Master Shifu!" Tigress borderline shouted as she abruptly opened her teachers door.

"What is it, Tigress?" Her master said as he woke up with a start.

"There are two teenage turtles in the woods beyond the valley. One of them is badly injured!" The kung-fu master explained. Soon the duo were headed back to the forest, Shifu shaken and wide awake. The both of them soon arrived where Tigress saw the boys and they saw that one was on watch. He seemed alert and stiff, as if he was listening closely to something, his red mask rippling in the wind. The one in the blue mask, who was asleep, was clearly injured due to his positioning and his breathing was raspy and strained. When they got closer, the one in red drew a pair of weapons, unfamiliar to the duo.

"Come out now and don't touch my brother." He said in a low voice, almost making eye-contact with them. Shifu jumped down from the tree, not wanting a fight, and then was followed by Tigress. "Who are you?" The teenager questioned, Shifu could tell it would not be easy to get him and his brother back to the palace.

"I am Master Shifu of the Jade Palace, and this is one of my students, Tigress." She stepped up and gave a slight bow, which, surprisingly, the turtle teen returned. He knew his manners. When Shifu offered them a place in the palace, he was yet again surprised when the boy accepted.

"My brother won't last long out here, even if he doesn't admit it." He said as he turned his face to his cold-blooded kin. "I'm only doing this for him. One wrong move and you have an enemy." The turtle declared.

"Those terms are acceptable." Tigress spoke up. "Do you want help carrying him?" She asked. The turtle declined and picked his taller brother up bridal style, seeming unphased. It was still night when the group arrived back at the Jade Palace and Tigress took the two brothers to an extra room. It had two beds, a small table and a potted plant in the corner. The red masked teen put his brother on one of the beds and walked up to Tigress who was at the threshold of the doorway.

"Thank you." He said with a slight bow. "We owe you." Tigress bowed back in kind, knowing her manners.

"The pleasure is mine." She said and they both righted themselves, the teen giving a slightly strained smile and closing the door.

~ ~ ~

Raph closed the door and looked worriedly at his brother, he sighed. "At least you have a better place to sleep." He said, then lied down himself on the bed on the opposite side of the room and soon fell asleep.

: : :

The next morning, Raph woke up to the sound of a loud gong, signaling the start of the day. "Time for morning training." He said to himself and looked over to his brother who was still fast asleep. "Seriously. He snaps awake at the sound of someone stepping on a twig, but sleeps through a flipping gong? Talk about unusual." Raph strapped on his sais, left the room and closed the door behind him. Luckily for the hot headed teen, the dojo in the palace was relatively close and was easily found. He walked in and there was only one punching dummy, to which he gave a light punch, for his standards anyway, and it flew halfway across the room. Raph put it back where it was and moved to the masts that looked like they each had a different level of hardness. Raph went for the hardest and thickest one and gave it a good punch, it gave a significant rumble. "Good enough." Raph muttered and continued striking at it, letting his morning anger out before breakfast.

~ ~ ~

As the Furious Five and Master Shifu were serving themselves breakfast, they heard the palace rumble slightly, followed by more rumbles and some shouting on the stronger ones. "Uhh. What is that?" Crane asked, looking around at his peers.

"Oh, that's probably one of our guests." Shifu explained, everyone but Tigress turned his way, curious looks on their faces. "Tigress found two teenage-looking turtles last night in the woods, we brought them here because one looked badly injured." Shifu explained. Everyone was shocked to hear there were turtles staying at the palace, young ones no less, but kept listening. "They don't trust us much yet, so please try to leave a good impression." The room rumbled again. "I have a feeling we don't want to get on their bad side."

"Yes master!" The five replied in union. The six of them eventually finished their food and decided to head to the dojo early to see for themselves what was making the ruckus. When they opened the doors, they saw the young turtle dripping with sweat and punching the thickest iron mast they had, vibrating the whole room.

"Wow! Not even Tigress can get much of a vibration out of that one!" Monkey commented and was about to head over to the turtle, but Shifu stopped him. "Don't. It takes even us grandmasters utmost concentration to even get close to that power on the tier three iron pole without breaking ourselves." They watched for a few more minutes, then the boy finally stopped and bent over, hands on his knees and panting.

"Haaah.. I. Haaa, haaa.. Needed that." The boy said, clearly out of breath.

"Woah kid! That was impressive!" Mantis said as he climbed up the pole to get eye-level with the teen.

"Thanks." the red-masked turtle said, having caught his breath. He stood up to his full height and spoke once again. "Mind introducing me?" The boy asked, looking back and forth between Tigress and Shifu. "It would be my honor." Shifu said. "I am Grand Master Shifu, You've met Master Tigress." She gave a curt nod. "And these are masters Viper,"

"Hi!"

"Crane,"

"Good to meet you, kid."

"Monkey"

"Hello!"

"and Mantis."

"On your shell."

"Along with Po." Shifu introduced. Po waved and Raph bowed to each of them, which they returned in kind, once Mantis got off his shell. "I'm Raphael, my friends call me Raph." Said turtle introduced himself. "What about your brother?" Tigress asked, Raph chuckled. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

"Good to see you too, Raph." A raspy voice said from the door, making the others turn. They all saw a taller turtle with lighter skin, complemented with a blue mask. He was leaning against the door frame. "Leo, you should be resting. You haven't healed yet." The others made their way to the new company and they could all tell he was older by the look in his eyes and how he handled his manners. "My name is Leonardo, my friends call me Leo." The Furious Five and Shifu bowed back in kind to his own and introduced themselves again. "Even though I am glad to meet you," Shifu said, gaining the turtle's attention, "I would have to agree with your brother. You need to rest."

"You're probably right, but I'd like to get a short spar in with Raph first." Leo turned to his brother. "A spar Raph, not a brawl." The younger turtle chuckled. "Sure bro." The ninja duo headed over to a clear area, the others following in curiosity. They got in stances unfamiliar to the Furious Five, Po and their master, quipping their interest further. "Hajime!" Leo shouted, beginning the fight. Their style of fighting caused the spectators to stare in awe. Their fluidity and speed was much higher than that of the Five and they used foreign strikes and different fighting patterns. It was, by far, a much more beautiful form of combat. Within a minute, Raph had won, his brother pinned beneath him. "Congrats Raph, you win."

"Only because you're injured, Leo." Raph said, getting off his brother. "Maybe so, but still. Congrats." Shifu then stepped up, an awed smile on his face. "Where did you learn that style? I don't recognize it."

"It's ninjitsu, we learned it from our master Splinter. The style is a Japanese form of Martial Arts and includes weapons in the more advanced forms, such as tantos, fighting fans, sais, nunchucks, staffs, maces, etc." Raph chuckled. "What about Death Dragon? Remember when Mikey learned that one? It was too good to be true."

[rabbitcruiser]

Robert Goddard Day

Robert Goddard Day is celebrated on March 16 every year. It is a day to celebrate the great mind of Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard and his achievements. He is known as the father of American rocketry and the space age. Dr. Goddard discovered the technology and created the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926. The success of his test is considered a milestone in the space age. His achievement is of the same importance as the invention of the Wright brothers in testing the first flight. He conducted the test from Auburn, Massachusetts, earning him the title “the father of modern rocket propulsion.”

History of Robert Goddard Day

Flight is a dream for every human being. Birds have always made us jealous with their ability to soar through the freedom of the vast white expanse of the sky, watching the flightless beings on the ground. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers took to the sky, giving wings to the dreams of humans to touch the sky. What felt like an impossible event a few decades ago is now easy to achieve. With the sky conquered, the next dream is to reach the infinite distances of space. The problem with the airplane is that it depends on the air and air pressure. Space does not have air, and, thus flight is not possible.

Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard was born on October 5, 1882, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He had a way to work in a vacuum. He predicted that a rocket would be able to work in the emptiness of space as it does not need air to push. He was a physics teacher at Clark University in Worcester. He had already started working on his idea of space travel in 1915. When Goddard claimed that the rockets could be used to transport payloads to the moon, he was ridiculed, and his theory was considered folly. But time taught them they were wrong.

Goddard did not live long enough to see his childhood dream of space travel realized. But his work laid the foundation for propelling modern space dreams.

Robert Goddard Day timeline

1909

The Gunpowder Rockets

As a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Goddard experiments on a gunpowder-powered rocket.

1923

The Director of Physical Laboratory

Goddard is appointed the director of the Physical Laboratory.

1926

The First Rocket Test

Goddard tests the first liquid-fueled rocket.

1959

The Goddard Space Flight Center

Nasa establishes Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Robert Goddard Day FAQs

Why was the liquid-fueled rocket important?

Liquid rockets can provide more thrust and allow engineers to specify the range of the rocket.

Why is it important to have rockets?

They help deliver satellites to space and enable global communication, weather forecasts, and other technologies like GPS, which are an integral part of our lives.

How did rockets change the world?

Rockets changed warfare. Due to intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads, wars are no longer possible between major powers due to mutually assured destruction. Rockets also opened a frontier for space exploration. It helped revolutionize the technologies that we are so dependent on.

How to Observe Robert Goddard Day

Carry out a science experiment: This day is best spent doing a science experiment. You can start small with an experiment like collecting gas from a soda bottle. Record the experiment and post it on social media.

Watch a scientific documentary: Another easy way to spend the day is by watching scientific documentaries. Fluidity, air pressure, gravity, space, chemistry, etc. You choose the topic and start watching.

Create a mini rocket: You can purchase small rockets that can be assembled and taken off. Don’t worry, if they are not as advanced as the original rockets. We do not have to be rocket scientists to work on them.

5 Interesting Facts About Rockets

Arrows and rockets: The first rockets were used to propel arrows with greater speed and impact.

The first rockets: The Song dynasty of China found ways to weaponize gunpowder-powered rockets during the tenth century.

The ‘Father of Rockets’: It took Goddard 17 years to develop the first liquid-fueled rockets.

The iron-cased rockets: Tipu Sultan of India used iron-cased rockets for military use.

The first space rocket: In 1957, Russia created Sputnik, the first rocket that reached space.

Why Robert Goddard Day is Important

Space is infinite: Space is infinite. The contributions of Dr. Goddard helped us reach the infinity of space.

Sky is no longer the limit: Something beyond the sky just opened up thanks to the rockets. Now we can dream even bigger into the vast dark space.

It promotes innovations: Innovations can change society. With the advancement in technology, advancement in human civilization follows. The rocket's innovation now allows us to launch satellites and progress into the modern world.

Source

[proustianlesbian]

did you know the first black person in space was an african-cuban man named arnaldo tamayo méndez ? a little post on him and his achievements for black history month since space exploration is my special interest and i think he should be more known !

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez was born on the 29th of January 1942 in Guantánamo, into a humble Afro-Cuban family. He began to work from a very young age, becoming the only breadwinner for his family at the age of 13, while studying at the same time. He worked as a shoeshiner, a carpenter's assistant and a newspaper seller. Arnaldo Tamayo said :"Since childhood, I dreamed of flying, of being a military pilot."

During the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez participated in several student demonstrations in protest against the dictator who had turned Cuba into a United-States dominated country and whose economy and political sectors were plagued by the mafia. Cuba's economic sectors were largely in the hands of American multinationals. To ensure control of Cuba, the United States supported a corrupt ruling class linked to the mafia.

Tobacco and sugar, the main sources of income, were in the hands of monopolists, mainly American. Cuban workers were starving and did not have a single piece of land to cultivate. They had borrow money from loan sharks. There were no schools or teachers for the majority of Cuba's 6 million people.

After the start of the Cuban Revolution, in 1953, Arnaldo Tamayo entered in January 1959 the "Rebel Army" Technical Institute and after that the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, F.A.R., in spanish)

He became a fighter pilot and trained to become a MiG-15 fighter pilot in the Soviet Union at just 19 years old. MiG-15 were produced in the U.S.S.R. and several communist block countries used them during conflicts but also for training.

In April 1961, two events happened a few days apart :

On the 12th April, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space

Between the 17th and 19th, C.I.A. and U.S.-backed Cuban exiles attempted a military invasion of Cuba which was successfully stopped by the Cuban army.

Arnaldo Tamayo took part in the combats against the C.I.A. mercenaries who had invaded Cuba. But a week before that victory, the news of Gagarin's successful flight into the cosmos greatly inspired him. So he was happy when he was later sent in the USSR to study in the Military Aviation School.

On the 24th July 1961, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, arrived in La Havana for a visit after his flight. In part of his speech, Yuri Gagarin said a sentence that stuck with Arnaldo Tamayo : "The day will come when a son of the Cuban people will also travel to the cosmos."

After his training in the Soviet Union (April 1961-May 1962), he came back to Cuba. In October 1962, during the Cuban missiles crisis, Tamayo carried out several reconnaissance missions (around 20) in the Cuban sky with the aim to intercept enemy aircraft. As the two powers come to an agreement, the Americans promise Moscow that they will not attack Cuba. So it is now possible for Arnaldo Tamayo to continue his studies. He applies to the Antonio Maceo Grajales Higher School of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, from which he successfully graduates in 1971. During his service in the Cuban Air Force, Arnaldo Tamayo makes countless flights and achieved the rank of first class pilot (Class I) and later become an instructor pilot. In 1975, he was chief of staff of the Santa Clara Aviation Brigade and is promoted in 1976 to lieutenant colonel.

Meanwhile, in 1966, the Intercosmos program (Интеркосмос) was created. It was a Soviet space cooperation program, carried out under the auspices of the USSR Academy of Sciences, among the countries of the socialist bloc, aimed at promoting international cooperation in space for peaceful purposes. The countries participating in this program had all adopted a socialist regime but some pro-Soviet non-aligned countries were included over the years. The program resulted in the development of 26 scientific satellites and the participation in space missions of around fifteen nationals of the co-opted countries.

In the 1970s, the Intercosmos program starts training cosmonauts to send them in space, first in 1978 with the Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek, the first neither Soviet nor American cosmonaut. Cuba then sends Arnaldo Tamayo and his colleague José Armando López Falcón to the USSR to prepare for a space flight.

The applicants had to be experienced pilots with an accident-free record and speak Russian. 600 pilots registered but the number decreased in the as the weeks went by during the tests. Tamayo Méndez and López Falcón traveled to the City of Stars, near Moscow, to train as cosmonauts.

They were paired with Yuri Romanenko (Ю́рий Романе́нко) and Yevgeny Khrunov (Евге́ний Хруно́в) who both went to space once before that. Tamayo and Romanenko were chosen as the main crew while López and Khrunov were their backup crew. They started training in September 1979.

Yuri Romanenko saw Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez as jovial and has said of him : "In Tamayo, the best traits of Cubans are concentrated : the ability to work and perseverance. Plus cordiality, kindness and good humor. And believe me, they are qualities very important for cosmonauts." Arnaldo Tamayo described Yuri Romanenko as part of his family.

After a year, in September 1980, they were ready for their space flight : the "Soyuz 38" mission during which they would stay in Salyut 6, the soviet orbital space station, for several days, to carry out experiments. Finally, on the 18th September 1980, at 22:11 in Moscow and 15:11 in Cuba, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez and Yuri Romanenko took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome (Kazakh SSR). Tamayo was traveling as a research cosmonaut while Romanenko was the commander of the spacecraft.

They were met at the Station by Leonid Popov (Леони́д Попо́в) and Valery Ryumin (Вале́рий Рю́мин), on board from April to October 1980, in light blue on the first picture. Romanenko and Tamayo's stay lasted 7 days and 20 hours, a week they used for their scientific researches.

They studied different brain areas to further understand its electrical activity Another experiment was observing changes of skeletal muscle structure, as well as another on blood circulation, which sought to determine the impact weightlessness has on the human circulatory system. The other researches studied how cell division, immune system, concentrations of antibodies and other proteins and minerals were affected after prolonged exposure to a weightless environment. They also studied the growth of a crystal of sucrose in weightlessness.

They used calibrators developed by the Cuban National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Entertainment. When the researches were completed, Soyuz 38 separated from Salyut-6 on the 25th October. The next day at 15:54, the rescue team welcomed the cosmonauts in Kazakhstan.

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, by being the first Latin American, first Afro-descendant and first Spanish speaker in space made history. Fidel Castro said that he "represented Cuba, Latin America, Africa and the Third World in the cosmos". Tamayo, with Romanenko was decorated by Raúl Castro with the first honorary medal of Hero of the Republic of Cuba and the Playa Girón Order. In Moscow, he received the Order of Lenin and was named Hero of the Soviet Union. His colleague had been awarded with these titles as well.

After the space flight, knowing of the sad death of Yuri Gagarin in a plane crash in 1968, Fidel prohibited the Cuban cosmonaut from flying or carrying out training flights in combat aircraft. Despite his love for flying and longing for the cosmos, Tamayo followed the orders.

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez is now more known as a public and military leader than as a cosmonaut or a pilot. He became a general, a deputy of the National Assembly of People's Power of the republic and heads the foreign relations directorate of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba. He is still close with his colleagues, Soviet and others, especially his partner, the one he considers his "star brother" Yuri Romanenko, despite the distance and even after the fall of the U.S.S.R.. Today, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez also heads the Cuba-Russia Friendship Association.

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez expressed it this way: "My luck is similar to that of all the hungry people of my generation, for whom the revolution opened the paths of life. But there is a particularity, I was very lucky, they sent me to study in the Union Soviet, to a military pilot academy, and then... to the City of Stars, where cosmonauts live and study ."

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez emphasizes that the relations between Cuba and the U.S.S.R. have deep important historical roots. The work of thousands of Soviet specialists allowed the small revolutionary island to greatly raise the level of its scientific and technical development. The participation of their engineers and agricultural specialists was a considerable contribution to the industrial development of Cuba. Thousands of Cuban students graduated from higher education centers in the USSR, receiving high-quality professional preparation, like Arnaldo Tamayo did.

Arnaldo Tamayo said that Yuri Gagarin, as a spiritual teacher, had a huge influence on him. "He was and will continue to be my idol. In the difficult moments of life, those that happen to everyone, I remember Gagarin's smile known throughout the world. And the discomfort recedes" Even if there hasn't been any other Cuban or Latin-American cosmonaut, Tamayo Méndez inspired plenty of people with his incredible trajectory of life, like Yuri Gagarin did in his time.

Look at their beautiful smiles !!

After him, several Black astronauts went to space, such as Guion Bluford (in 1983) or Mae Jemison (1992), leading the way for many more.

The 97th cosmonaut, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, has his name written in the History of World Cosmonautics as the first Cuban, first Latin American and the first Afro-descendant person who saw our planet from the Cosmos, representing his homeland and People with glory and honor.

[sophieeeikli]

“The truth is that I felt cheated, in spite of the fact that our possibility of academic convergence was nearly exactly nil. He had never belonged to me and yet I felt like an imagined correspondence of poets had been stolen from me by death itself. In my search for poetry he had emerged as a preeminent inspiration for my own work, and I worshipped his perfection of form and metre that I had found nowhere else. And through it all had been his voice, dry and joking as he dictated my mind’s visualisation of line breaks and stanza forms. All of these were very different to the direction that they took on the page, his voice severing sentences that otherwise carried on, and continuing things that had ended. I felt like I had lost a teacher who had told his poems to me in confined quarters. I felt like I had lost a friend.  

I have since heard readings by other poets who are no longer with us. Sylvia Plath’s is the voice that truly inspired this essay through her posthumous contribution to a Poem Talk episode called The After-Hell. In her reading of ‘The Stones,’ her accent is near transatlantic; her voice weighed down by a gravity of postmodern grief. There is an unavoidable quiet in her voice, just like the “still pebble” of which she speaks, that simultaneously spreads to fill every crevice in the room and in our minds. She speaks like a woman, yes, but also like a girl who has not fully come to form. She sounds sad.

Perhaps it is the knowledge of what came after this that strikes us. The particular reading I listened to is estimated to have been performed in 1962. She would die by her own hand in the following year, aged only 30 years old and leaving behind a small, yet monumental body of work. Perhaps it is the gravity of the future that we hear within Plath’s voice, even as she reads a piece from 1959, when her world had only just begun its final capsize. Perhaps it is dramatic irony come to life through our own understanding of history.

What do we lose when a poet stops speaking?”

from Ghosts Are Real: Poets And Their Voices by Sophie E. Eikli

[panglossesanddiadorims]

The Apt Pupils

In one story in the comic strip Hagar the Horrible, by Chris Brownie, Hagar's son, Hamlet, asks his mother why the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west.  Helga, overwhelmed with house chores, tells him to stop bothering and go ask his father. When posed the question, Hagar does not falter and explains a long time ago only the gods were entitled to have light in the form a bright shining star while the mortals were compelled- even destined - to live in darkness.

One day a village man decides to steal the star from the gods, but is caught during the attempt. After deliberating, the gods decide to grant him the star but not without inflicting a harsh punishment. From that day on and for all eternity, he was sentenced to carry the star on his shoulder while running from east to west around the globe. Then, said Hagar, that is the reason the sun, the robbed star, always appears first in the east and sets in the west.

When Helga asks Hamlet if his father answered his question, he simply says, " No, he doesn't know either."

If only we could behave more like Hamlet, who craves knowledge and new discoveries but never relinquishes his ability to question an information and confirm its verisimilitude. See the brave new world through the lenses of the glasses given to Miguilim, rather than through a myopic blurred one provided by an ignoramus captain.

No doubt it is easier to be in a reality that fits one's ambitions, expectations, fears, mindsets, dogmas and idiosyncrasies; to anathemize the messenger than debate his ideas; to assassinate characters by spreading fallacies, and as fanatical simpletons to wave banners with messages (photos taken in 1959, but it could be today) conceived by sectarian catatonic minds, than flying over the cuckoo's nest and away from the grip of Nurse Ratchet.  

But, for a moment, let's allow her – in fact all she symbolizes - to be our tutor and we, her apt pupils. It will be an opportunity for me to, as Hamlet, learn something…or not.

#1:” Paulo Freire, an educator and philosopher, fought to eradicate illiteracy among adults and formulated the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, based on people’s social conditions and history to contextualize the language to teach them to read and write while developing critical thinking, something good in real democracies. Since his methodology used people’s lifetime experiences, it could not teach - or as some patriots claim, indoctrinate - children.

Indoctrination should be associated with far-right and far-left dictatorships, influencers, French movie lovers, football fan’s organized groups, religious leaders, and social media.  A child’s life experience is still little, even if many have worked as adults, sought food in landfills and migrated in huddled boats and deadly caravans.  

Answer: You are wrong. He was a Communist, period. Every student in every school should, after prayers, videotape teachers to inform on them and prevent the spread of subversive, atheist ideas.

#2: But isn’t informing on teachers a tactic used by the Gestapo, Stasi, NKDV, Securitate, KGB, Hitler’s Youth and Mao’s Red Guards? Besides, why is it ok to videotape teachers in classrooms but not ok to install cameras on police uniforms?  What about filming priests when left alone with children, for evidences have shown they can harm kids in far worse ways than a school syllabus.  

Answer: Next Communist question, please.

#3: The 1964 Coup d’état succeeded because of several factors. First, the Cold War atmosphere prevailed; second, president Joao Goulart (the 1946 Constitution set voting for both president and vice-president separately; Milton Campos, the contender, was Janio Quadro's’ official running mate. Had he won, hardly ever would Janio tried a coup by resigning in 1961) was never a Communist, but a left-wing populist, a " getulista", whose erratic behavior, sectarian attitudes and irresponsible actions convinced even legalists, both military and civilians, to adhere to the coup to curb the political upheaval, never to implement a fascist regime; third, the conservative (nowadays reactionary) middle class, the Church and industrialists opposed Jango’s social reforms and really believed the country was heading towards communism (radical left-wing groups, people like Brizola and infiltrated right-wing agitators, trained by CIA, helped to contribute to this mindset). Finally, the military, who instituted the Republic through a coup, had tried to seize power in 1922, 1945, 1954, 1955, 1958 and 1961; 1964 was just the perfect storm.   

After the coup, the military promised constitutional disrupt was temporary and kept the 1965 presidential elections. Then, it all went wrong. But not to the far-right wing branch of the military and their civilian lackeys. They overpowered Castello Branco, abolished popular elections for president, governors and mayors of capitals, exiled critics and opposers and first-time coup defenders like JK and Lacerda. When in 1968 even the Church, middle class and industrialists joined intellectuals, students and unions in huge demonstrations against the regime, they used the lame excuse of Congress not allowing the prosecution of a House representative to enact AI-5 that legitimized a Police State, one that also exists in Communist countries. Later they disregarded their own 1967 Constitution when the three military commanders, nicknamed the Three Stooges, arrested vice-president Pedro Aleixo, preventing him from being sworn in as president after Costa e Silva suffered a stroke, making him more mentally incapacitated than he already was. Then, the three gathered in an apartment in Copacabana and decided to use their intellectual abilities, despite military intelligence being an oxymoron, to write another Constitution, for, after all, they knew better how to keep power privileges.

Eventually, the FEBEAPA ( Stanislaw Ponte Preta) disrupt spawned for another 17 years, during which radical left-wing guerrillas fought not to reinstate democracy and Jango, but to implement a Communist dictatorship (read Combate nas Trevas, by Jacob Gorender), and also military and right-wing paramilitary groups fought to maintain the status-quo by acting as terrorists by plotting to explode the Gasometro and the Rio Centro Convention center, estimated to have resulted in tens of thousands of victims.  

Is there a contradiction in defending the 1964 coup, the AI-5, and the military dictatorship and all the damage it entailed, socially, economically and politically, and at the same time preaching for freedom and democracy?

Answer: I don’t know what the word contradiction means.

#4: Why didn't the same indignant and revolted people in the demonstrations in the past gather again to protest and make choreographies and shout around a duck like mobs during public executions when the government was accused of COVID vaccine overprice, rachadinhas, the rigging of public offices and agencies, the use of Federal agencies for family and personal interests, fake news spread and attack on opponents, State property smuggling, collusion with militias, State ministers' association with Pentecostal pastors, illegal miners and timber loggers, money laundering, the Secret Budget, the purchase of properties (but not the Triplex) by the family in cash?

If Haddad had been elected and accused of not only of all of that, but a video showed his governments intents to disrupt the election and foster a revolution if he lost the election, how would the 'patriots" behave?

Had the other candidate been re-elected, would he, his military henchmen and supporters still doubt the electoral process even after its inner circle itself admitted to spreading fake news and not finding a single evidence the system was rigged?

If after the election results, instead of truck drivers blocking highways and bridges, terrorists planting bombs near airports, mobs making riots by burning vehicles and confronting police officers, people camping for weeks (don't they work, that used to be the motto) while blocking streets, marching like idiots and begging the military to intervene (its like fetish for people in uniforms), instead of pathetic infantile sectarian imbeciles wearing yellow shirts wrapped around flags, if, instead, there had been pathetic infantile sectarian people wearing red shirts and caps wreaking havoc and mayhem, what would their opinion be?

After storming into to official buildings, vandalizing the properties, including destruction of objects and defecation on furniture, participating in an attempt to overthrow a constitutionally elected government and mocking the institutions like criminal delinquents, they were appalled for being arrested for breaking the law (do you who you are talking to or why aren't you arresting street criminals?), horrified at the precarious sub-human conditions of our jails (seriously?), vehement to associate their arrest with draconian dictatorial measures (I thought they liked it) and not feeling any remorse or guilt, would they also condone the attitudes as legitimate if the other side had acted the same way?

No need to answer. It was never about ending corruption or fighting for democracy.

Just like Hamlet, one must learn to reason and not open the door to evil and expect to not to end up devoured by the ogres as happened with the American psychiatrist Douglas M. Kelley and Hermann Goring and the character in the movie The Apt Pupil and a former SS officer; both obsessed to understand how and why the most educated, law-abiding, and civilized people in Europe could have worshipped a deranged sociopath and enabled him and his inner circle of criminal delinquents, homicidal thugs and sycophants to transform them in a nation of murderers.

It is simple. All it takes is to start thinking collectively and accepting any explanation, even if it means believing in Hagar’s story.

[wutbju]

The White Citizens’ Council wrote about the segregation academies proposed in South Carolina in March 1959. Notice that separation is synonymous with segregation in response to Brown v. Board:

ACTION SLATED

The South Carolina Citizens' Councils have launched a statewide survey to determine what facilities are available for private schools, in the event public schools are closed by Federal court integration orders.

Volunteer workers will make the survey, listing the types of physical facilities that could be used for private schools in each community, how many children could be accommodated, and the number of teachers available.

South Carolina law provides that both white and Negro schools will be closed if a court issues an integration decree.

Executive secretary Farley Smith explained that no school integration pressure is expected in the state, but added:

"We have no intention whatever of making any compromise where the segregation of the races is concerned, no partial or token integration. We want to be prepared and carry out peacefully with as much order as possible the transition from public to private schools should that become necessary.”

At last report, the survey was producing encouraging results, with sufficient space available to provide private white schools.

[mvalana]

Carry On Teacher

[brimfire-and-hellstone]

Real Name: Kriemhild Steuck (formerly Hulda Amsel)

Other Aliases: [My] Gazelle (by Jeremías), Magdalene König (early 1900’s), Winifred Medina (1930’s-1940’s), Cecilia Tercero (1950’s-1960’s), Pandora Warren (1970’s-1980’s)

Fandom: n/a

FC: Nadia Hilker

Age: 170 (physically 30s)

D.O.B: 21 March

P.O.B: Bremen, Germany

Current Location: Frankfurt, Germany

Nationality: German, North American

Languages spoken:  German, Yiddish, English, Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Greek, Portuguese, Sign Language (American, German, Spanish)

Relatives: 

Verena Taube (née Kühn) (mother +), Friedrich Taube (father +)

Arend Taube (brother) 

Jeremías Amsel (husband +)

Lev Amsel (son) (aka Lev Steuck), Carmina Amsel (daughter +), Yaeli Jagoda (née Amsel), Leberecht Jagoda (son-in-law) 

Fritzi Jagoda (granddaughter)

Romantic/Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Significant other(s): Jeremías Amsel (husband +), Filomena Cardoso (ex-girlfriend +)

Marital Status: Widowed

Affiliation: n/a

Alignment: Neutral 

Identity: Secret

Species: Witch

Abilities: spell casting, cursing, hexing, can summon various animals, energy absorption, sound manipulation, geokinesis, hydrokinesis, electrokinesis, longevity

Skills: multilingual, first aid knowledge, zoology knowledge, detailed, proficient in hunting & tracking, excellent sense of direction, leadership

Occupation: Monster Hunter (1892-1901), Governess (1901-1906)(1907-1912), Army Nurse (1921-1955), Reading teacher (1959-1980), Librarian (1984-present)

Religion: Jewish

Gender: Female

Pronoun(s): She/Her

Height: 5’6”, 167.64cm

Eyes: dark brown

Hair: dark auburn brown

Notable physical trait(s): rope scar around her neck, a healed split lip that almost meets her chin, freckles on her back and shoulders, a stab wound scar near her collar bone

Phobia(s): Ophidiophobia, Pyrophobia

Mental Disease(s): Depression

Physical Disease(s): n/a

How/When was this diagnosed? Her brother recommended she see a psychologist after Kriemhild went into “hibernation” for two weeks straight one spring in 1992

One positive trait: protective

One negative trait: skeptical

Hobbies: reading, environmental terrorism, rehabilitating animals, writing, dancing

Miscellaneous: 

She has several pets: a bear named Götz, two sister cats named Agosto and Junio, a crow named Margarete, a mountain lion named Thorne, and a fox named Oak

She wears two shades of lipstick for makeup, for different occasions

Kriemhild participated in an exorcism once and never wanted anything to do with the activity or spirits again

She completed two degrees to become a teacher & a librarian and has the degrees hung up on her wall, Kriemhild is very proud of them

History: Having lost her husband and first daughter to a vampire, Kriemhild became a Monster Hunter out of blind rage and grief, which sent her into a violent spiral that left her sick to her stomach as she didn’t care for violence, as she witnessed others during her time resorting to 

She spent her existence trying to care for others to atone for the mercilessness she displayed to the creatures she could have protected with her power and was able to meet the violence and hatred that the humans carried with them daily, despite experiencing this personally Kriemhild continued to work in fields where she could serve others, no matter how tired she became, until she found her true calling as a librarian, finding joy in the study of information and having access to so many books as she was while in her husband’s personal library.

[meikaserlya]

Turning challenges into opportunities: Denny Ja's success story in the Pandemic era

Introduction: In the midst of Pandemi Covid-19 that hit the world today, many people have difficulty in carrying out daily life. However, there are some individuals who are able to turn challenges into opportunities and achieve success in the midst of this crisis. One example is Denny JA, a character known as a successful motivator, writer, and entrepreneur in Indonesia. In this article, we will explore Denny JA's career journey and how he is able to take advantage of the Pandemic situation to achieve success. I. Background Denny JA: Denny JA was born on January 20, 1959 in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia and obtained a Master of Public Administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Denny Ja is famous for his involvement in various fields, including politics, social, and education. He is also known as the founder and chairman of the Popular Survey Institute, the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI). II. Challenges in the Pandemic Era: In this Pandemic era, many economic sectors were severely affected due to social restrictions and decreased purchasing power of the people. The opportunity to run a business normally becomes very limited. However, Denny Ja sees this challenge as an opportunity to develop innovative ideas and create new solutions to the problems faced by the community. III. Changes in Business Strategy: In dealing with the Pandemic situation, Denny Ja made a significant change in business strategy. He turned to the online field and utilized technological advances to run various businesses. For example, he expanded his business reach by opening online stores and using social media to promote its products. Denny Ja also launched an e-learning platform to help students and teachers in dealing with distance learning. IV. Maintaining involvement with the community: In a pandemic situation that causes social isolation, Denny Ja is trying to remain involved with the community. He is actively involved in social activities and provides support to those who are economically affected. In addition, Denny Ja also held webinars and online discussions to share knowledge and experience with others. V. Collaboration with the government and related parties: Denny Ja realized the importance of cooperation with the government and related parties in dealing with this pandemic. He actively participates in various discussion forums with government leaders and shares constructive suggestions to overcome the challenges faced by the community. Denny Ja also established relationships with companies and other organizations to work together in developing innovative solutions. VI. Denny Ja's success in the Pandemic era: Through changes in business strategies and involvement with the community, Denny Ja managed to achieve success in this Pandemic era. He is able to maintain his business and even develop a new business. In addition, Denny Ja also succeeded in helping people affected by Pandemic through social activities and education. Conclusion: Denny Ja is an inspirational example for all of us in facing the challenges faced in this Pandemic era. He proves that with a positive attitude, innovation, and cooperation with the government and related parties, we can turn challenges into opportunities and achieve success. Hopefully Denny Ja's success story can be a motivation for all of us to keep fighting and working in the midst of this difficult situation.

Check more: Turning challenges into Opportunities: Denny JA's Success Story in the Pandemic Era

[ranhaozhecen3d]

Artistic Traditions and Lineages

In weeks four and five, we had a field trip to the National Gallery and critically analysed artistic traditions and lineages, mainly focusing on Chua Mia Tee's 1959 painting National Language Class.

The painting National Language Class has a style of Social realism. It is a realist-style of painting that usually consists of elements like flowers, sunlight, youth, flight, industry, and new technology. In this art style, art became more than an aesthetic pleasure; instead, it served a very specific function: it tried to call attention to the real social and political issues of the working class in order to speak out against the power structures. The picture was painted in 1959, the year Singapore gained independence from the British, and portrays a Malay-speaking teacher teaching a group of Chinese students the Malay language. The artist's social identity, which has been mentioned in week two's discussion, is that of an immigrant.

Another piece of artwork that caught my attention is Affandi’s Burung Hitam, Matahari, Manusia (Black Bird, Sun, Man), 1950. It depicts a thin, miserable old man carrying a musical instrument. His look is full of pain and grimace compared to the background, which is full of energy—the sun radiates vibrant blue rays across a canvas suffused with warm colours. There is a quote from him I like: “Matahari hidup saya, dengan tangan saya bekerja, dengan kaki saya maju." (“The sun is my life, with my hands I work, with my feet I move forward.”) In my understanding, this art work is to show the courage to be unremitting in the face of adversity and life struggles. As long as the sun still rises, we should always keep going.

(279 words)

Fig. 1. "National Language Class by Chua Mia Tee, 1959." Roots, https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1030759. Accessed 18 Sep 2023.

Fig. 2. Affandi’s Burung Hitam, Matahari, Manusia (Black Bird, Sun, Man), 1950. Oil on canvas. 169.5 x 84.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore. © Affandi Foundation