#Craig Vance

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[evilhorse]

New Warriors #36

[prcg]

El gobierno es la causa del aumento vertiginoso de los costos de la vivienda

No han faltado planes gubernamentales que pretenden hacer que las casas sean más asequibles en Estados Unidos, incluido más recientemente un subsidio gubernamental de 25.000 dólares para compradores selectos por primera vez propuesto por la candidata presidencial demócrata Kamala Harris. Sin embargo, informes recientes sostienen que el propio gobierno ha desempeñado un papel fundamental al poner…

[tomorrowusa]

If you want to know what the US would be like during a second Trump-Pence-Vance administration, just visit some red states.

Utah has just unleashed a wave of book bans and almost all the banned authors are female.

Books by Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, Rupi Kaur and Sarah J Maas are among 13 titles that the state of Utah has ordered to be removed from all public school classrooms and libraries. This marks the first time a state has outlawed a list of books statewide, according to PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, who oversees the organisation’s free expression programs. The books on the list were prohibited under a new law requiring all of Utah’s public school districts to remove books if they are banned in either three districts, or two school districts and five charter schools. Utah has 41 public school districts in total. The 13 books could be banned under House bill 29, which became effective from 1 July, because they were considered to contain “pornographic or indecent” material. The list “will likely be updated as more books begin to meet the law’s criteria”, according to PEN America. Twelve of the 13 titles were written by women. Six books by Maas, a fantasy author, appear on the list, along with Oryx and Crake by Atwood, Milk and Honey by Kaur and Forever by Blume. Two books by Ellen Hopkins appear, as well as Elana K Arnold’s What Girls Are Made Of and Craig Thompson’s Blankets.

Utah is looking for a way of "legally" disposing of the books because burning them would invite obvious comparisons with Nazis.

Implementation guidelines say that banned materials must be “legally disposed of” and “may not be sold or distributed”. PEN America Freedom to Read programme director Kasey Meehan said that such “vague” guidelines will “undoubtedly result in dumpsters full of books that could otherwise be enjoyed by readers” and that while they stop short of “calling for book burning, the effect is the same: a signal that some books are too dangerous”. Let Utah Read, a coalition of organisations, librarians, teachers and parents among others, has started a petition to “fix the ‘sensitive materials’ law”. “It is a dark day for the freedom to read in Utah,” said Meehan. The list of banned books “will impose a dystopian censorship regime across public schools and, in many cases, will directly contravene local preferences. Allowing just a handful of districts to make decisions for the whole state is anti-democratic.”

I hope that Utah school library users and librarians manage to hide the books so that the MAGA book-banning fascists can't destroy them.

The Republican Party which gave us Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Ron DeSantis, and Marjorie Taylor Greene runs Utah with an iron fist. Republicans have given up on even the pretense of freedom. They have unapologetically gone full blown authoritarian. As such, they should not be entrusted with any elected office at any level in the United States.

[brokehorrorfan]

The Gate will be released on Blu-ray (with Digital) in Steelbook packaging on May 14 exclusively at Walmart for $19.96. Other than the packaging, the disc is identical to Lionsgate's Vestron Video release from 2017.

The 1987 horror cult classic is directed by Tibor Takács (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and written by Michael Nankin. Stephen Dorff, Louis Tripp, Christa Denton, Kelly Rowan, and Jennifer Irwin star.

Vance Kelly designed the Steelbook art. Special features are listed below, where you can also see the interior layout.

Special features:

Audio commentaries by director Tibor Takacs, writer Michael Nankin, and special effects designer Randall William Cook

Audio commentary by special effects designer Randall William Cook, special make-up effects artist Craig Reardon, special effects artist Frank Carere, and matte photographer Bill Taylor

Isolated score selections and audio interview with composers Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson

The Gate: Unlocked featurette

Minion Maker featurette

From Hell It Came featurette

The Workman Speaks! featurette

Made in Canada featurette

From Hell: The Creatures & Demons of The Gate featurette

The Gatekeepers featurette

Making of The Gate featurette

Teaser trailer

Theatrical trailer

TV spot

Storyboard gallery

Behind-the-scenes still gallery

When best friends Glen and Terry stumble across a mysterious crystalline rock in Glen’s backyard, they quickly dig up the newly sodden lawn searching for more precious stones. Instead, they unearth The Gate — an underground chamber of terrifying demonic evil. The teenagers soon understand what evil they’ve released as they are overcome with an assortment of horrific experiences. With fiendish followers invading suburbia, it’s now up to the kids to discover the secret that can lock The Gate forever… if it’s not too late.

Pre-order The Gate.

[vintagetvstars]

Hot Vintage TV Ladies Bracket - Round 1

Round 1 (All polls)

Bea Arthur Vs. Bea Benaderet

Barbara Eden Vs. Kathryn Leigh Scott

Kellye Nakahara Vs. Janine Turner

Betty White Vs. Gracie Allen

Joely Richardson Vs. Miranda Richardson

Holland Taylor Vs. Joan Collins

Joan Chen Vs. Rachel Bilson

Lucille Ball Vs. Suzanne Pleshette

Angela Lansbury Vs. Eartha Kitt

Alex Kingston Vs. Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Gina Torres Vs. Sherilyn Fenn

Katee Sackhoff Vs. Geraldine James

Barbara Feldon Vs. Carol Cleveland

Amanda Tapping Vs. Nana Visitor

Amanda Randolph Vs. Barbara Mullen

Kate Jackson Vs. Kim Cattrall

Emma Thompson Vs. Penelope Keith

Rue McClanahan Vs. Barbara Stanwyck

Thalía Vs. Sheila Kuehl

Joan Bennett Vs. Grayson Hall

Julie Newmar Vs. Lalla Ward

Farrah Fawcett Vs. Catherine Bach

Diahann Carroll Vs. Siân Phillips

Mary Tyler Moore Vs. Jan Smithers

Nichelle Nichols Vs. Yvonne Craig

Carolyn Jones Vs. Lara Parker

Janet Hubert Vs. Marcia Strassman

Jackée Harry Vs. Dawn French

Tina Louise Vs. Linda Cristal

Eva Gabor Vs. Anne Francis

Lynda Carter Vs. Peggy Lipton

Courteney Cox Vs. Mädchen Amick

Vivica A Fox Vs. Julia Duffy

Valerie Harper Vs. Jaclyn Smith

Doris Day Vs. Dawn Wells

Debbie Allen Vs. Elizabeth Montgomery

Karyn Parsons Vs. Katy Manning

Deidre Hall Vs. Phyllis Logan

Jeri Ryan Vs. Mira Furlan

Lucy Lawless Vs. Claudia Black

Morena Baccarin Vs. Shannen Doherty

Jonelle Allen Vs. Francesca Annis

Jane Seymour Vs. Annette Crosbie

Diana Rigg Vs. Joanna Lumley

Melissa Joan Hart Vs. Lisa Robin Kelly

Lisa Bonet / Lilakoi Moon Vs. Lisa Hartman

Eliza Dushku Vs. Chloe Annett

Fran Drescher Vs. Mariska Hargitay

Lauren Graham Vs. Charisma Carpenter

Marlo Thomas Vs. Lily Tomlin

Connie Booth Vs. Barbara Billingsley

Gillian Anderson Vs. Alexandra Paul

Penny Johnson Jerald Vs. Mag Ruffman

Sarah Jessica Parker Vs. Judy Parfitt

Cicely Tyson Vs. Aimi MacDonald

Anna May Wong Vs. Peggy Ashcroft

Carol Burnett Vs. Elisabeth Sladen

Sarah Michelle Gellar Vs. Hattie Hayridge

Pamela Anderson Vs. Loretta Swit

Itatí Cantoral Vs. Audrey Meadows

Jane Krakowski Vs. Jennifer Aniston

Terry Farrell Vs. Nicole de Boer

Carole André Vs. Melissa Leo Vs. Sabrina Lloyd

Eve Arden Vs. Dorothy Provine Vs. Vivian Vance

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Andy Craig at The UnPopulist:

While running for the U.S. senate from Ohio three years ago, JD Vance inveighed against “childless cat ladies” during a broadcast of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, a comment that went viral after he was named Donald Trump’s running mate on the 2024 Republican presidential ticket. These women, who Vance argued have been running the country alongside “corporate oligarchs” and the rest of the Democratic Party, are “miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” Expanding the critique to include childless men, Vance went on: “It's just a basic fact—you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC—the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.” (Kamala Harris is a stepmom of two, Pete Buttigieg and his husband adopted twins shortly after Vance’s interview aired, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was still years younger than Vance was at the birth of his first child.)

That’s not the only occasion that Vance has exhibited an odd and explicit hostility toward childless Americans. In another resurfaced clip from 2021, this time as a guest on far-right influencer Charlie Kirk’s podcast, Vance pushed the idea that we need to “punish the things we think are bad,” before offering his proposal to tax Americans who don’t have kids at a higher rate than Americans who do. As UnPopulist contributor and law professor Ilya Somin has pointed out, the problem wasn’t necessarily with the underlying policy—the child tax credit—but the needlessly punitive framing Vance gave to it, singling out a particular constituency for a social penalty rather than playing up the pro-family outcomes the provision is supposed to incentivize. But one of the strangest policy proposals motivated by Vance’s contempt for the childless is his contention that parents ought to receive an additional vote for each of their minor children during elections.

Vance isn’t the only one who has endorsed this policy. Notable leftist and independent presidential candidate Cornel West also thinks it’s a good idea (though his professed interest in helping children does not appear to extend to the tens of thousands of dollars he owes in unpaid child support). In a new paper, two law professors, Northwestern University’s Joshua Kleinfeld and Harvard’s Stephen E. Sachs, flesh out the idea in more detail. As they see it, parents “should be able to cast proxy ballots on behalf of their minor children.” Although there’s always some merit to thinking outside the box on structural reforms to our democracy, giving extra votes to parents fundamentally misunderstands the purpose and principles of free elections.

Parents Aren’t the Only Voters Who Care About Kids

The assumption underlying the proposals to give parents extra votes on behalf of their children is that, in American politics, the interests of children are underrepresented. But that’s a dubious premise. Governments at all levels in the United States spend huge sums on education, healthcare, benefits, and tax breaks for children, not to mention on laws and regulations to protect the health and safety of children. In total, these policies amount to public spending well into the six figures for every child from birth until adulthood. If children were indeed an electorally inert constituency, parties and politicians wouldn’t bother devoting so many resources to them. In other words, none of this spending would make sense if politicians and policymakers could ignore children simply because they can’t vote, the supposed problem extra votes for parents is intended to remedy.

The “Proxy” Pretense

More importantly, this proposal is not about giving votes to children. It is about giving extra votes to parents. To say these extra votes are “proxy votes,” as proponents tend to frame the idea, is a fig leaf. The extra votes allocated would be cast by parents or other guardians, however they see fit, as an expression of their own political views. Parents who receive extra votes to cast “for their children” would be under no obligation to cast those votes any differently than they do their own. That’s true even if they’re party-line Republicans and their 17-year old is already a staunch progressive, or—less commonly—vice versa.

One adult person, one vote is not an arbitrary standard—it is a manifestation of legal equality, the core principle from which everything else flows. The franchise represents the equal interest we have as autonomous, equal members of society with an equal interest in the protection of our rights. That construct is only applicable to adults who actually are free agents; adults are free to read what they want, believe what they want, associate with whomever they want, form their own opinions, and freely express them. By aggregating the expression of these freely formed views, we have a kind of collective freedom in deciding how our self-governing society should function.

A genuine proxy vote, such as we sometimes see in legislative bodies, is a consensual arrangement. Individuals who have a vote in their own right delegate that vote to somebody else they have authorized to cast it. No such process plays out under the extra-votes-for-parents plan. That’s because minors do not have a vote in the first place. That means they cannot freely allocate their vote to anybody. It would be absurd to say children could revoke these extra votes if they disapprove of how their parents will use them, in the way actual proxy votes can be revoked. That inherent lack of consent makes it nonsensical to say this is really the child’s vote. The proposed extra votes instead belong to the adults, just as exclusively and absolutely as their own regular individual vote. Rather than proxy voting, the system proposed is more analogous to a number of discredited historical schemes for skewing the electorate by super-powering some class of voters and—as a corollary—either partially or fully disenfranchising others.

[...]

Why Stop At Extra Votes for Parents?

Once you open the door to picking and choosing which voters get more say than others, parenthood is hardly the only possible attribute you could choose to reward. Why not an extra vote for people with college degrees, since we want more educated people to have greater say? How about taxes paid—isn’t that a relevant interest we should accord extra weight to? Land ownership? Number of employees? Or how about age? Should 70-year olds who have a shorter amount of time to live with the consequences only have a fraction of a vote compared to 20-year olds with their whole life ahead of them? If we value religiosity, as many including Vance say they do, should churchgoers get an electoral boost over the irreligious? If you’re skeptical of immigration, as Vance is to a weirdly historical degree, should votes be weighted by the number of generations your ancestors have been in the United States? If these arguments sound familiar, it’s because many of them were once common, alongside the more notorious disenfranchisements based on race and sex. Property requirements, poll taxes, university constituencies, class-based plural voting, and various other efforts to skew the electorate have all been relegated to the dustbin of history for good reason.

JD Vance’s proposal to disenfranchise single women is more proof that he is a weirdo unfit to be the nation’s #2 in charge.

[nightingaelic]

I love your companions react posts and thought of a good topic! Companions reaction to being told by their courier that they love them (platonic of course)

If I had a dollar for every time someone did this, anon, I'd be rich - you're fine, the fact that it's the courier saying it is enough context

It had been a long day. There had been trouble on the road to Primm, vagabonds and giant ants and an NCR patrol officer who refused to take "package delivery" as a good enough reason to go traipsing through the territory without an escort. In the end, the courier and their companion had made it through okay, but they were late to the Mojave Express outpost and barely managed to catch Johnson Nash before he closed up shop.

Rather than shell out the money they'd just earned for a room at the Vikki and Vance Casino or risk a night in the eerie Bison Steve Hotel, the courier and their companion claimed one of the outdoor fire pits and began to set up camp. There were few other travelers in the town at this time of year, so they had the windswept courtyard behind the main casino to themselves, with the occasional interruption from Primm Slim clanking by on rounds.

The courier unrolled their bedding and smoothed some lumps out before settling down on it close to the campfire. The stars were a little dimmer thanks to the lights of the town, but they still winked and turned overhead like so many dancers at a party the rest of the cosmos wasn't invited to. The courier watched them for a moment before turning to their companion with a peaceful look. "I love nights like this. Sometimes I forget that, or at least forget to say it. And I love you. You know that, right?"

Arcade Israel Gannon: "Um." Arcade rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then adjusted his glasses. "Yeah. Yeah, I know it. I mean, there are things you do that people I used to... people who care about me have done, in the past. You notice things about me, and you remember them."

"I'm not overstepping, am I?" the courier asked. "You're as red as a tato."

"No, I'm just not good at this." Arcade took his glasses off and started to clean them furiously, just to give his hands something to do. "The last person I said that to... never mind. I... appreciate you, Six. Truly, I do."

The courier smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "That it?"

"Are you gonna make me say it?"

"Nah." The courier laid back on their bedding and tucked their arms behind their head. "That's good enough."

Craig Boone: Boone bounced a little on his heels as he crouched before the fire, then straightened up abruptly. "Perimeter check. Be right back," he said, before stalking off between the nearest pair of shacks.

The courier sighed and settled in for a long wait. It had been a long day though, and by the time Boone came back to the campfire, they had fallen asleep. The sniper stood for a while and stared into the embers, then settled down for his watch.

"I know," he murmured. The reflection of the dying fire's light danced over the sunglasses he tapped against his leg.

The courier muttered something in their sleep and turned over.

Lily Bowen: "Of course I know that, dearie." Lily smiled. "Grandma loves you, too."

"Just checking." The courier smiled back. "We're both so different now, compared to where we started out. It's just nice to know that some things don't change."

Lily scooted over and put her arm around them. "Grandma will always be here for you, pumpkin. Don't forget that."

"I won't."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul chuckled. "What did I do to earn that, boss?"

"You keep me out of trouble."

"Imposible."

"You keep me out of real trouble." The courier grinned. "Just say it back, viejo. Tell me you're glad I broke you out of the State of Utobitha."

"Te quiero, Six. But I would have gotten myself out just fine, if you hadn't come calling."

"Sure you would've."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Stop it." Cass smacked their arm. "None of that touchy-feely shit unless we're about to die."

"I'm not waiting until we're in the middle of a swarm of radscorpions just to tell you that I care about you, Cass," the courier argued. "Besides, you told me you loved me yesterday, when you were two-and-a-half bottles deep at the Mojave Outpost and getting real misty about your caravan troubles. I'm just returning the favor."

Cass unearthed the half-bottle of whiskey she'd saved and pointed it at the courier. "If I tell you I love you, it is most definitely not a favor, Six. I'm cursed. Bad luck down to the bone. So watch out, or you'll wind up burned to ash, too."

"Haven't you heard?" The courier grabbed the bottle from her and uncorked it themselves. "I'm invincible."

Veronica Santangelo: "Oh." Veronica wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth on her own bedding, blushing furiously. "I... I guess I love you too, Six."

"You guess?" the courier teased. "Fine, I take it back."

"No no, I do! It's just that nobody's... nobody's said that to me in a really long time." Veronica bit her lip. "We're close in the Brotherhood, even the black sheep of the family like me, but we're not always emotionally open, if that makes sense. And the people I wanted to be open with... couldn't. For reasons."

"Sure." The courier scooted closer and put an arm around her. "Well. I love you. I should say it more, but I won't if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Here's fine. But maybe not in public." Veronica smiled gratefully. "People might get the wrong idea. I might not look like it, but I do have a reputation to maintain."

ED-E: ED-E beeped and tilted its speakers forward solemnly. The courier ran a careful hand up its chassis, leaned in to press their forehead to the eyebot's dome. "I don't want to be that person who doesn't really care about their bots. I love you, ED-E. You make my life better, especially my life on the road. I'll take care of you as long as you'll let me."

Rex: Rex whined and snuggled closer to them, rubbing his nose into their hand. The courier chuckled and stroked his fur, before turning back to the sky. "Yeah, you know it, buddy. You're the best dog someone like me could ask for."

[lecameleontv]

Captures de l’Ep. 4.11 - Intrigues à Las Vegas / V.O. : Cold Dick (2000) de la série Le Caméléon (V.O. : The Pretender).

Mlle Parker : "C'est la différence entre maîtriser sa vie, et la laisser vous contrôler."

Mlle Parker : "vous les entendez ?" Broots : "quoi ?" Mlle Parker "J'entends les violons..."

Broots : "Mais avant tout, j'aimerai que tu m'appelles... PUFF DADDY"

Jarod : "On dit que la vie bien souvent dépasse la fiction"

Jarod : "Dans le doute, ne tenir compte que des faits".

Argyle : "Mais tu ne sais pas jouer au golf ?"

Jarod : "C'est de la géométrie et de la physique. Rien de très compliqué."

Jarod : "En 56 min j'avais trouvé la clef d swing parfait. Je vous mettrai dans la confidence un de ces jours."

père d'Argyle : "Et on a dansé sur les nuages du 7ème ciel toute la nuit, vous saisissez la métaphore ? Et là, on a été béni des Dieux."

Clin d'oeil au co-créateur Craig Van Sickle ^^... Jarod apprend donc à jouer au golf en regardant une émission ludique d'un certain... Sam Van Sickle !

Jarod était déjà passé à Las Vegas dans l'Episode 1.04 - Les Jeux sont Faits /Curious Jarod (1996).

Saison 4 : Episodes 01 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10  - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 18 - 19 - 20.

Autre série à Las Vegas : Las Vegas (Ep. 1.19) avec Jon Gries ...

Autre série de golf :  In The Rough avec Ryan Merriman.

Films à Las Vegas : ...

Films de golf :  La Légende de Bagger Vance avec Harve Presnell, que pratiquent également James Denton, Ryan Merriman, Jeffrey Donovan, George Lazenby et Willie Gault.

L'acteur Leland Orser avait déjà fait du nettoyage dans le film Very Bad Things (1998) et recroisera un chameau dans l’Ep. 14.10 de la série Urgences... que montait Jarod dans l'Ep. 1. ?

source : imdb

[bsktcasey]

What I’ll write for

——————————————————————— Who I’ll write

TMNT

07’

Leo

Raph

Mikey

Donnie

12’

Leo

Raph

Donnie

Mikey

18’

Raph

Leo

Mikey

Donnie

———————————————————————MCR

Gerard( any era) : this also counts for characters such as: Nurse Way, Party poison etc

Frank

Ray

( I’m not writing for Mikey at the moment because i don’t think I can capture him well enough)

———————————————————————SOUTH PARK

( when I write for SP I will age up the characters to be teens or adults depending on the type of story )

The main 4: Stan Kyle Kenny Cartman

Tweak

Craig

Tolkien:

Clyde

Wendy

Bebe

Butters

Pip

Damien

———————————————————————

AOT

Armin

Eren

Reiner

Connie

———————————————————————

Haikyuu

( same as South Park depending on the kind of story characters might be aged up )

Hinata

Kageyama

Tsukishima

Yamaguchi

Daichi

Sugawara

Coach Ukai

Kuroo

Kenma

Oikawa

Bokuto( aka big booty goddess ✨)

———————————————————————

Kakeguri

Midari

Yumiko

Mary

———————————————————————MHA

Bakugo

Deku

Kirishima

Denki

Sero

Iida

Shoji

Tokoyami

Dabi

Hawks

Aizawa

Mic

All Might

Fat Gum

Shigaraki

Twice

———————————————————————

Stranger Things

Steve

Robbin

Eddie

———————————————————————The Black Phone

Finny Blake

Bruce Yamada

Vance Hopper

———————————————————————

CODMW2

Ghost

König

———————————————————————Hazbin Hotel/ Helluva Boss

Charlie

Vaggie

Alastor

Angel

Arackniss

Sir Pentious

Tom Trench

Lucifer

Lillith

Vox

Blitzø

Millie & Moxie

Stolas

Octavia

Loona

———————————————————————

What I WILL write

hc’s

Fluff💛

Simple romance/one shots 💖

Smut♥️

Angst 🖤 to an extent

incorrect quotes 💚

Personal Headcannons🤍

——————————————————————What I WILL NOT write

anything MAPS Related

T-cest/ incest

abusive relationships

toxic anything

yandare

underage anything

———————————————————————if there is anything I left unclear of something I missed or was not on the list that you would like to see please LMK! I hope to hear from you lovely humans soon

BYE BYE

Amiri

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[evilhorse]

I actually can feel this attack!

(New Warriors #36)

[lifewithaview]

Adam Jamal Craig and Daniela Ruah in NCIS: Los Angeles (2009) Search and Destroy

S1E4

A discharged Marine, now an employee of a security firm working for the US government, returns to LA from Baghdad, accused of having killed an Iraqi; Vance tasks the Callen team to find the Marine; they find him and figure out everything.

[ulkaralakbarova]

Loosely based on the Charles Dickens’ classic novel, “Great Expectations” is a sensual tale of a young man’s unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever. Through the surprising interactions of these vivid characters, “Great Expectations” takes a unique and contemporary look at life’s great coincidences. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Finnegan Bell: Ethan Hawke Estella: Gwyneth Paltrow Walter Plane: Hank Azaria Joe: Chris Cooper Ms. Dinsmoor: Anne Bancroft Prisoner / Lustig: Robert De Niro Jerry Ragno: Josh Mostel Maggie: Kim Dickens Erica Thall: Nell Campbell Owen: Gabriel Mann Finnegan at Age 10: Jeremy James Kissner Estella at Age 10: Raquel Beaudene Carter Macleish: Stephen Spinella Ruth Shepard: Marla Sucharetza Lois Pope: Isabelle Anderson Man on Phone: Peter Jacobson Marcy: Drena De Niro Anton Le Farge: Lance Reddick Mr. Barrow: Craig Braun Mrs. Barrow: Kim Snyder Security Guard: Nicholas Wolfert Ted Rabinowitz: Gerry Bamman Senator Elwood: Dorin Seymour Hitman #1: Clem Caserta Hitman #2: Frank Pietrangolare Hitman #3: Dennis Paladino Hitman #4: Clem Caserta Jr. Cop on Boat: Marc Macaulay Clemma: Ana Susana Gerardino Waiter: Francis Dumaurier Lover: Pedro Barquin 7 Year Old Girl: Kendall Williamson Singing Indian Woman: Shobha Jain Singing Indian Girl: Aditi Jain Anchor Woman: Margo Peace Waitress: Kimmy Suzuki Doorman: John P. Casey Taxi Driver: Adusah Boakye Gallery Waitress: Dyan Kane Gallery Receptionist: Anne Ok Gallery Guest: Alva Chinn Gallery Guest: G.B. Thomas Gallery Guest: Albert Zihenni Gallery Guest: Fritz Michel Gallery Guest: Lisa Herth Gallery Guest: Nino Pepicelli Gallery Guest: Wills Robbins Gallery Guest: Jewel Turner Gallery Guest: Jim Taylor McNickle Gallery Guest: Martin Alvin Gallery Guest: William Rothlein Gallery Guest (uncredited): Maria Capp Gallery Guest (uncredited): Stephen Sherman Cop #2 (uncredited): Paul Neglio DJ (voice) (uncredited): Gary Newton Richard (uncredited): Dale Resteghini Film Crew: Director: Alfonso Cuarón Novel: Charles Dickens Original Music Composer: Patrick Doyle Screenplay: Mitch Glazer Editor: Steven Weisberg Director of Photography: Emmanuel Lubezki Production Design: Tony Burrough Art Direction: John Kasarda Set Decoration: Susan Bode Tyson Costume Design: Judianna Makovsky Sound Designer: Richard Beggs Executive Producer: Deborah Lee Producer: Art Linson Co-Producer: John Linson Casting: Jill Greenberg Sands Makeup Artist: Vivian Baker Key Makeup Artist: Angel De Angelis Makeup & Hair: Ilona Herman Makeup Artist: Manlio Rocchetti Hairstylist: Anthony Veader Key Makeup Artist: Cecilia Verardi Makeup Artist: Linda Kamp Makeup Artist: Sara Seidman Vance Movie Reviews:

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 09/03/2024 (Charli XCX, twenty one pilots, RAYE)

The BRIT Awards have had their impact week - I didn’t watch them, which I know is ridiculous considering the subject matter of my blog. RAYE swept though, and we see that as well as a lot of other nonsense this week. It’s a messy one, not because it’s problematic, more so just because everyone’s here, so it’ll also be a fun one. Beyoncé is at #1 for a third week with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start the show with our notable dropouts, those being songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks within the region or a peak in the top 40 and given the smathering of returns and new tracks, we do see quite a few, though many of them are relegated to shorter-term hits. Those of note we bid adieu to are “16 CARRIAGES” by Beyoncé, “Abracadabra” by Wes Nelson featuring Craig David, “Incredible Sauce” by Giggs featuring Dave, “Eagle” by D-Block Europe and Noizy, “Heather on the Hill” by Nathan Evans, “Runaway” by Ye featuring Pusha T (“FUK SUMN” debuted below #75, hence three-song rule is in action here), “Three Little Birds” by the late Bob Marley & The Wailers, “Rich Baby Daddy” by Drake featuring Sexyy Red and SZA, “Asking” by Sonny Fodera and MK featuring Clementine Douglas, and finally, and I mean, FINALLY, “Riptide” by Vance Joy.

Firstly, I should separate one particular artist, who was not only the artist of the year, but made the album of the year (My 21st Century Blues returns to the albums chart this week at #5) and the song of the year. Ignore that said song released in 2022, but regardless, RAYE had a good showing at the ceremony and it’s clear in a new entry we’ll discuss later, but also our gains and returns - “Prada” with casso and D-Block Europe, a Song of the Year nominee, is up to #18, but at #13, the song it lost to, and a former #1 hit, “Escapism.” featuring 070 Shake re-enters the chart thanks to BRITs support and given this song’s longevity, probably another wind. It did help that both of those songs were conveniently performed at the award show.

Now for the others, we see a nice return for “Disconnect” by Becky Hill and producers of the year Chase & Status at #67, likely boosted by its BRITs performance, which also helped “greedy” by Tate McRae, Best International Song nominee, up to #22. Sadly, neither Jungle or Kylie have much to speak for their BRITs performances impacting the chart but otherwise, we have other Best International Song nominee “Water” by Tyla at #49 and some residual performance gains for the already gaining “Never be Alone” by Becky Hill and Sonny Fodera at #23. Our other gains are probably, if not definitely, unrelated, including boosts for “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers at #61, “FE!N” by Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti at #47, “Whatever She Wants” by Bryson Tiller at #20 (really not expecting this comeback), “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #16 and finally, to prove that notable gains aren’t healthy gains, Ella Henderson and Rudimental find their way to the top 10 once again with “Alibi”.

This week, our top five starts with Rich the Kid because, of course it does. There is no God. Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler and Goring are at #5 with “CARNIVAL”, whilst we see a push for Djo at #4 with “End of Beginning”, then Teddy Swims with “Lose Control” at #3 and Benson Boone at #2 with “Beautiful Things”, and of course, Queen Bey at the top. Now for our potpourri of new entries, starting with Madonna - but not the one you’re thinking of.

New Entries

#71 - “Happier” - The Blessed Madonna featuring Clementine Douglas

Produced by Clementine Douglas, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Pat Alvarez and The Blessed Madonna

These credits perplex me. They imply that the song was produced primarily by The Blessed Madonna with vocals by Clementine Douglas but in fact, Douglas helped produce alongside two other producers, one of which, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, is a pretty big name who probably shouldn’t miss out on a credit. I know this is all arbitrary but I have to find something to talk about in this completely serviceable house tune. It’s got a punchier vintage groove to it thanks to the Dinosaurs and The Blessed Madonna, a DJ you probably know through Best Pop Act winner Dua Lipa’s remix album or collaborations with Best Dance Act nominee Fred again.., and yet it still just goes in one ear and out the other. Why is that? Well, despite an infectious hook, it’s lacking in quantity of hooks, it feels too reliant on that one phrase being sung by a pretty unremarkable vocalist in the form of Douglas, and its strays away from form seem to be out of necessity more than artistic intent. The little switch-ups whether they be the synth stab build-ups, complete readjustment of the drums, they all feel secondary to a groove that just chugs and chugs in a very deadweight manner, especially with that practically non-existent drop. As it is, it’s completely fine - I can even see it growing on me - but I’m surprised this is charting at all considering these aren’t massive names and this song, outside of a couple cool ideas, is not exactly making a name for itself. Just functioning.

#69 - “Green & Gold” - Rudimental and Skepsis featuring Charlotte Plank and Riko Dan

Produced by Rudimental, Skepsis, Billen Ted and Slim Typical

There are three members of Rudimental, Skepsis is one guy and then both Billen Ted and Slim Typical are duos, meaning this song not even reaching three minutes was produced by, hypothetically, eight people. I bring this up because really, production-wise, this could easily be a solo effort from a more dedicated and underground producer, or Hell, if you want to be generous, you could get something more interesting out of a winning trio like Skrillex-Four Tet-Fred again.., or you know, that famous drum and bass trio Rudimental? It’s not like there are too many cooks in the kitchen either because this is fully in the space Rudimental and Skepsis are familiar with, there’s a vaguely reggae-influenced loop replicated in the trickling electronics and beeping bass, with a smoky female vocal lead and eventually, oddly throaty bass desperately trying to keep up with preset breakbeats. I like the airy atmosphere fine, the content is in that specific arena between nondescript and nonsensical that ChatGPT usually hits, and we have an inane inclusion of a Riko Dan verse. If you know Riko Dan from anywhere, it’s because he was a member of the grime crew Roll Deep (though he barely appears on their hits), and he brings his distinct accent and energy to the song, but isn’t given much time or space - why not have him holler his ad-libs all throughout the track? Get a real MC vibe going with that, it could bring more character to a frankly worryingly lifeless drum and bass tune. The outro is a nice touch - on a worse day, or maybe without five other dudes, Rudimental wouldn’t bother with that - but it’s too little, too late for what otherwise doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose at all. Pretty disappointing.

#68 - “Wasted Youth” - goddard. featuring Cat Burns

Produced by Jonny Coffer, Chase & Status and goddard.

Maybe producer Andrew Goddard, or just goddard., can bring something interesting to the EDM debuts, of which there are a lot of this week. He’s famous for his remix of Cat Burns’ big hit “go” so another collaboration makes perfect sense and there’s already six versions so that’s how you know it’s a hit. Jokes aside, this is pretty good - the sombre acoustics are filtered to allow for Burns’ bitter post-breakup vocals to shine, and the progression doesn’t feel as contrived as, say, Rudimental’s. Now all of that doesn’t matter because the drop is just scuzzingly hard. goddard. delivers a punchy, borderline industrial bass that has me wondering why he stylises himself in lowercase instead of block capitals, alongside a differently pitched vocal that makes the separation between verse and hook much more distinct and impactful, especially with the rubbery glitch of the bass that eventually absorbs other elements of the track, like Burns’ lead vocal. The best part of this may be that there’s an actually meaningful bridge, albeit a short one, that develops the song until its abrupt end. My main complaint here is the personality of the vocal of which there practically is none, and there’s nothing particularly potent lyrically that makes this a great song, but I’ll be damned if goddard. didn’t try alongside producers of the year Chase & Status, with his VIP mix being even more to the point and alien, probably my favourite version… if it weren’t for the incredibly creative remixes.

I’m not one to cover all versions of a song but there are a bunch of different creative reinventions of this song here, a trio in fact. The first is an absolutely killer hardcore remix by [IVY] that twists the drum and bass frolick into a thump that elevates the existing drop to a festival stage that Cat Burns’ vocal probably didn’t deserve. Yes, it is my favourite version, mostly for how it relegates the drum and bass elements for a bizarre post-drop, where they become so buzzy and distorted that it’s practically indistinguishable from the bass synth and the filters placed on Burns to make her sound utterly inhuman. The cascading of fuzzy synth in the second build-up is beautiful and the manic despair it leads into is just brilliant dissonance. Now where it gets real interesting is the ozone remix, which brings in Enya to the mix, specifically the song made famous through sampling like three or four times at this point, and that eerie tone the sample often carries takes on a new, filthy tone with the ripping, ravishing bass and trainwreck drums, interrupted at every angle by what sounds like a bark of Cerberus. [IVY] builds upon “Wasted Youth”, ozone brings in elements of another classic only to deconstruct the two songs simultaneously in complete disregard of their elements, so what does Serum do? He only samples the ozone remix, of course, making a remix of a remix that in itself remixes yet another song known for its remixes. Serum adds an acoustic guitar as well as a swinging Afrobeats groove, only for it to blast through the necessities by the time we get to the drop, including the Enya loop much more prominently to place against complete implosions of bass, warped and distorted to really non-mainstream capabilities, simultaneously boiling the song down to only its most tense staccato elements. None of these remixes meaningfully adjust the structure of “Wasted Youth” but they all tear it apart sonically and recreate it in really fascinating ways that make me almost want to give the original more props… but these remixes aren’t the songs charting. The original is what’s credited and unfortunately is what I have to consider but do note, these are some killer alternate versions.

#57 - “Austin” - Dasha

Produced by Travis Heidelman

Alright, I’ll bite: who the Hell is Dasha? Well, according to her obvious press release of a Genius profile, she’s a pop singer from California, which contrasts a bit with this song, a back-to-basic country hoedown that’s a bit too well produced to convince me it isn’t a California pop singer trying to emulate that sound. She doesn’t even try for a twang, though maybe that’d be for the best. Outside of that, I pretty much have no gripes with this, it’s excellent country pop. If you ever have read this blog, you’d know I’m a stickler for detail in lyrics, especially narrative-driven pop tracks, and this does it incredibly well, painting a story about two young lovers. Dasha makes plans with this guy to leave Texas for LA and move onto bigger things but he ditches her last minute and this is her lament of the betrayal, not dissimilar to the late Toby Keith’s “How Do You Like Me Now?!”, except somehow less pissy and unjustifiably mean, which is kind of what sells that song for me, and Dasha doesn’t exactly have a smoky rasp that fully convinces me on its content, like an Elle King would, but she definitely has a power to her voice that accentuates some of the more vulnerable elements of this story, like how she runs out of breath on that first lead chorus melody, leading for the wistful backing vocals to echo her and fill in the blanks, how she can’t really finish the word “Austin”, referring to the city in Texas but of course here, it could also be the guy’s name. Of course, I would love for a good bridge here, but as it is, this is a vengeful frolick that stops at dismissing the guy entirely, more so promising to herself that she will forget about her. It’s no shock to me that a compelling story and infectious hook alongside the relatively organic sounding fiddle and acoustics could go viral and become a sleeper hit in this way, even if it’s not as organic industry-wise as it may be sonically, and if we in the UK end up getting more country hits that not even the US will touch, I’m here for it, especially if it’s from rightfully pissed-off women in country. We need more songs from them in the mainstream.

#53 - “stayinit” - Fred again.., Lil Yachty and Overmono

Produced by Fred again.., Overmono, Boo and Joy Anonymous

Like his partner Skrillex, Best Dance Act nominee Mr. Again has a tendency to skewer these strange collaborations together and thanks to him, now we have a team-up between rapper-turned-whatever-he-feels-like-that-day Lil Yachty and DJ duo Overmono, who I’m not familiar with but have a following for their atmospheric UK bass and future garage tunes so I was definitely expecting something interesting and not necessarily chart-friendly here. We also get original vocals instead of a sample like with Baby Keem on “leavemealone”, as Yachty sings here - albeit awkwardly - in a filter that makes him sound like he’s crooning to you but with a very large fan in the middle. His warbling vibrato is cute and his sentimental mantra would work in a more sentimental track, but this goes for full eerie future garage, Burial-style but a tad sharper and edgier, and I have no idea why they did that. It doesn’t sound bad, it’s pretty alarming, it may reflect some darker moments about contemplating ending the life Lil Boat’s begging this person to stay in, but I don’t think there’s enough lyrically for that to fully work. There is enough detail and it’s oddly poetic for Yachty, especially that main line “you’ve got a life, stay in it”, it’s kind of potent, but it feels mismatched with thenumb violence of its instrumental. He feels like a lost optimist stepping into the wrong narrow back alley, and the song completely gives up on adjusting for him. It’s a shame, but this honestly just baffles me more than anything. Some collaborations may not need to happen, Fred.

#51 - “Cuban Links” - Skrapz, Nines and D-Block Europe

Produced by EmzBeats and chucks

Keeping up with these nondescript UK rappers can be difficult, man, I had to check what Skrapz had done prior to his #10 album Reflection and it seems like his main route to fame is collaborating with the immensely dull Nines, and that’s not changed, but thankfully, we have two certified weirdos here to cancel them out. First of all, there’s no reflection here at all over this liquid acoustic guitar and stale trap beat, he says he has a lion as a pet for God’s sake.When Skrapz started off the song, I just thought he was Nines mixed weirdly, but then Nines came in for the second verse and I realised just how further off rhythm the real deal’s rambles are. He doesn’t feel like a real rapper sometimes. Neither do DBE, of course, as Young Adz carries the very catchy chorus, as he tends to do, it really has everything I’d want from his hooks: a meandering refusal to stick to one flow or melodic idea, “ski!” ad-libs and some bizarrely infectious non-sequiturs. It is genuinely insane how much better this beat sounds with Adz and Dirtbike Lb on it than it does for Nines and Skrapz, this is a killer verse from Dirtbike, I’m being serious. The flows are effortless and he has some pretty smooth-sounding rhyme scheme ideas throughout. It even has the weird eerie outro where the entire song devolves like some DBE songs end with, I don’t even know why Skrapz and Nines are on here, let alone the primary artist. They feel added on in post to what would be a pretty above-par D-Block Europe song. Man, it’s really worrying when these are the guys saving your songs.

#46 - “Doctor (Work it Out)” - Pharrell Williams featuring Miley Cyrus

Produced by Pharrell Williams

This is the newest single by award-winning record producer Pharrell Williams featuring guest vocals from pop star and International Artist of the Year nominee Miley Cyrus. It consists of a funk groove with slick guitars and raspy vocals from Ms. Cyrus about making love to her partner. It has a chorus and bassline and a mix. This has actually existed since the Bangerz era which begs the question of: how is this so safe and boring? Both of these artists can be genuinely batshit when they feel like it so whenever they put out anything in this very familiar vein, it’s just an immediate disinterest from me, especially if it’s going to be a collaboration between the two making the thing that both of them do “best”: vaguely existent funk-pop. I’ll give it a fair shake when these two give the prospect of being in any way compelling another try.

#42 - “Dizzy” - Olly Alexander

Produced by Danny L Harle

The multinational song contest Eurovision is on its way in May, and we’re bringing our best and brightest to the competition in Malmo this year! And by that, I mean Danny L Harle because the Years & Years guy’s identity crisis has gotten to breaking point: he’s had to rebrand his former group Years & Years as Olly Alexander (Years & Years), which is now the credit given to songs created and performed by the group, not just the solo act version. Well, it’s not exactly classy, or really all that sensical, but I suppose he wants everything in one place, even if that means work is attributed to the wrong person. I don’t know why complaining about credits has been the major theme. Regardless, this is probably the guy’s best song in years, largely because of the intricacies that Mr. Harle and his fellow former PC Music fellow EASYFUN can bring to the mix, with some sparkling Pet Shop Boys synths in the right channel, a thumping Eurodance beat and enough space to show off Alexander’s vocals whilst also adding a lot of little tiny filters and soundbites in the mix to make it interesting as a studio performance, distracting you from the lack of personality. That aforementioned Pet Shop Boys lead ends up transforming into Christmas-esque bells in the chorus alongside a weirdly lo-fi crackle that makes it a lot more interesting of an otherwise simplistic and expected chorus. This is by all means an utterly serviceable song in good hands, rather than a song that feels constructed from the bottom up, but sometimes for Eurovision, that’ll work. It’s fine, we could do well with this. We’re Britain, though, so catastrophic failure is in the cards as always.

#38 - “Worth It.” - RAYE

Produced by Mike Sabath

She didn’t even perform this one, but you win that many awards, you basically get a free debut and since I don’t think this’ll stick around for much longer even if it is kind of a single, I’ll try to be brief, especially since I don’t like this one too much. Despite the melodramatic presentation that plagues all of the albums, for better and for worse, this is one of the less substanceful tracks, a bit confused about how seriously it wants to take itself considering the direly joyless composition placed against pop culture references and stammering over a tinny funk guitar. Sure, there’s some weight to the horns but this feels like a bit of a stodge overall. She’s having fun on it, sometimes, and Sabath is showing off his compositional and mixing skills… sometimes? Definitely an awkward one for me, edging close to being decent, but even then not in a particularly interesting way.

#34 - “Overcompensate” - twenty one pilots

Produced by Paul Meany and Tyler Joseph

Overcompensate indeed. You make one album that sounds just like The Killers and your next lead single starts with an abrasive industrial drone accompanied with a cacophony of incomprehensible German spoken word chatter, before dropping into a pulsating punk drive that seems to want to lure me into the lore of Trench once again, as if that last album didn’t exist at all. Maybe a smart move for the fans, but I do feel a bit lost here. The blasts of saxophones add to the intensity, and the droning vocals from Mr. Joseph strain motionlessly over the chaos in a pretty interesting manner that could definitely lead to an interesting, dark song… that gets ret-conned by boom bap and yes, overcompensate indeed by the time he’s rapping again, which is something I have never liked about this band, and yes, I know it’s an integral part of their sound. Outside of the Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque chorus, this song just feels alien to me as an outsider of the Skeletons or what have you. On a sonic level, it’s like seven songs smashed into one project file, and on a lyrical level, it seems to actively push me out of understanding it because I’m 1.) not the demographic and 2.) not willing to envelop myself in the abstract narrative deep enough because of how unadjusted the song is as a piece of music to what it’s attempting to convey. It’s not surprising to me that I just don’t get this one.

#26 - “Von dutch” - Charli XCX

Produced by EASYFUN

Even with the BRIT Awards and certified, relatively more consistent hitmakers like RAYE, Fred again.., Rudimental, twenty one pilots, DBE, Miley Cyrus and even Pharrell Williams, it’s a mid-week release from Best Pop Act nominee Charli XCX of all people with production from EASYFUN of former PC Music fame that debuts the highest of them all. It’s the lead single from her upcoming club record Brat and that’s a damn good way to describe it of course. There’s no attempt to hide her classic obnoxious Auto-Tuned whine that makes up a lot of her more interesting character, and if anything, EASYFUN wants to make this a racket. The vocal editing slurs words together, loops them and places them over gross, faux-cinematic revving that despite her moving onto planes in the music video, still functions as a high-speed car chase, she’s never that far from cars, is she? I can imagine this being the soundtrack to a Formula 1 race or, more accurately, a car crash caught on a dash-cam. I really like Charli XCX, I like noisier, more abrasive dance music, this might even be a bit too annoying for me, mostly because its tension emerges largely from its own decision to be noisy, instead of any actual lyrical tension or a functional structure. I don’t know what level of post-quasi-meta-irony Charli and co. are on at this point, but I think I finally… don’t really get it. Catchy though.

Conclusion

Like I prefaced, it’s weird, it’s messy, and not the greatest week either. Most of it just ended up mediocre or putting some kind of guard up to prevent me from fully getting into it. This may be my boomer moment, ladies and gentlemen, but the conventional country pop song, “Austin” by Dasha gets Best of the Week with an Honourable Mention to “Wasted Youth” by goddard. and Cat Burns, because Chase & Status tend to just land themselves here effortlessly. As for the opposite end of the spectrum, I suppose Rudimental and co. land the Worst of the Week with “Green & Gold” even if it’s not devastatingly bad and I have to tie the Dishonourable Mention between Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Williams with “Doctor (Work it Out)” and honestly, “Overcompensate” by twenty one pilots. It’s a headache to me. As for what’s on the horizon, who cares? Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week!