#David Morehead

[thebutcher-5]

Il figlio di Babbo Natale

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Nello scorso articolo abbiamo deciso di fare una cosa particolare, una cosa che non facevo da anni, parlare di un libro di King e i film tratti dalla sua opere e mettendoli a confronto, e abbiamo deciso di farlo con Firestarter (L’incendiaria in italiano). La storia parla della piccola Charlie e di suo padre Andy, in fuga da un’organizzazione federale…

[diabolimeservavit666]

BMoL Diner Tweets (Part 1)

Renny is a bit distracted at the moment. He's been starting out the window for some time, now. Serena is handling the order while the others are doing their own thing. This happens a lot, actually.

[aaronburrdaily]

January 1, 1809

Edinburgh. Got my best parlour in order, expecting Lord Justice Clerk¹. At 12 Arbuthnot came in, and afterward Colonel Smith. At 2 went out. Met in the street and was introduced to Alexander M'Kenzie², author of “Man of Feeling,” being on the way to his house. Called on Jeffrey³ and handed him a letter. Called on Walter Scott ; on Lord Provost (Mayor). While Arbuthnot and Smith were sitting with me this morning, Lord Justice Clerk called, and was refused by the stupidity of a servant. Wrote Lord Justice Clerk, apologizing, accepting his invitation and enclosing Colonel J.'s letter. At 5 went to dine with Mr. Jardine, an advocate. Delayed a whole hour, not being able to find the house. The coachman more ignorant than myself. Met there Erskine, brother of the Lord Chancellor and of the Earl of Buchan, and heir apparent to the title ; Colonel Alexander Munro ; Madame Munro ; the Colonel has been fifteen years in India, and very lately returned ; the Rev. Mr. Morehead ; Mr. Forbes, son of Sir ⁠——— Forbes ; Madame Bruce, femme de ——— Bruce, son of the traveler. He was confined with the rheumatism, and did not appear. Henry M’Kenzie, advocate, son of the author of the “Man of Feeling.”

1  Charles Hope, Lord Granton (1763-1851), was educated at Edinburgh, admitted an advocate in 1784, and in 1801 was appointed Lord Advocate. In 1804 he was appointed an ordinary Lord of Session and Lord Justice Clerk in the place of Sir David Rae, and assuming the title of Lord Granton, took his seat on the bench on December 6, 1804. On November 12, 1811, he succeeded Robert Blair of Avontoun as Lord President of the Court of Sessions. In December, 1836, he became Lord Justice General. In 1793 Hope married his cousin, Lady Charlotte Hope, second daughter of John, second Earl of Hopetoun, by his third wife, Lady Elizabeth Leslie. Burr's letter of introduction to Lord Justice Clerk was written by A. Cochrane Johnstone, of London, who said : “Permit me to introduce to your Lordship the bearer of this, the celebrated Colonel Burr, with whom our worthy friend, Charles Williamson, was very intimate. His talents, abilities, and amiable qualities will, I am confident, ensure him a place in your esteem. He proposes making a stay of only a few days in Scotland, during which time I have to request that you will render him any attention in your power. He is anxious to have an opportunity of making the acquaintance of the most learned of our profession, and to whom can I apply so well as to you to bring this about?” 2  But it was Henry M’Kenzie, not Alexander, who wrote the novel of this name. He was also the author of “The Man of the World” (1773), “Julia de Roubigné” (1777), etc. Under date of February 12, 1809, Burr wrote to his daughter : “Among the literary men of England 1 have met M’Kenzie, author of the ‘Man of Feeling,’ and Scott, author of the ‘Minstrel.’ I met both frequently, and from both received civilities and hospitality. M’Kenzie has twelve children—six daughters, all very interesting and handsome. He is remarkably sprightly in company, amiable, witty—might pass for 42, though certainly much older. Scott, with less softness than M’Kenzie, has still more animation; talks much, and very agreeably." At this time M’Kenzie was 64 and Scott 38. 3  Lord Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850), founder, and for twenty-six years editor of The Edinburgh Review.

[dankusner]

Kim Davis’ counsel moves to make her appeal a springboard for overturning marriage rights

A conservative legal group has filed a brief on behalf of a former Kentucky county clerk that it says could lead to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Kim Davis, then the Rowan County clerk, made national headlines in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to several same-sex couples based on her religious beliefs.

Liberty Counsel, based in Orlando, Florida, and labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed the brief Monday with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, according to a news release from Liberty Counsel and first reported by Jezebel.

Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a Tuesday press release that “Kim Davis deserves justice in this case since she was entitled to a religious accommodation from issuing marriage licenses under her name and authority.”

“This case has the potential to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and extend the same religious freedom protections beyond Kentucky to the entire nation,” Staver said.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning in 2015 ordered Davis to jail for five days for contempt for refusing to comply with a court order.

Bunning earlier this year ordered Davis to pay $260,104 in fees and expenses to attorneys who represented one of the couples she refused a marriage license.

Bunning had earlier ordered Davis to pay the couple, David Ermold and David Moore, $100,000 in damages for violating their constitutional rights.

Liberty Counsel is appealing Bunning’s decisions.

Davis lost her bid for reelection as Rowan County clerk in 2018.

Chris Hartman, the director of Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign, told the Lantern Tuesday that the latest legal move on Davis’ behalf is “sad and desperate” but also within the realm of possibility under the current U.S. Supreme Court.

“The threat of anti-LGBTQ hate groups … is real, however, and it comes as no surprise that they are seeking to overturn LGBTQ marriage in America. With an arch-conservative Supreme Court that’s already upended half a century of abortion rights, anything is unfortunately possible.”

Court documents filed by Liberty Counsel point specifically to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, saying the court should overturn Obergefell for the same reasons.

In the abortion case, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion that the court could use the same rationale to overturn earlier decisions on same-sex marriage and access to contraception.

“Obergefell was wrong when it was decided and it is wrong today because it was based entirely on the legal fiction of substantive due process, which lacks any basis in the Constitution,” say court documents filed by Liberty Counsel.

Liberty Counsel has not yet responded to a Lantern inquiry seeking further comment.

Ermold and Moore were married Oct. 31, 2015 in an outdoor ceremony on the Morehead State University campus, which the student newspaper, The Trail Blazer, covered.

[visualimagemarketing]

Robert Eskridge - Takes from Steve Baker on Vimeo.

Country singer / songwriter Robert Eskridge was born on November 10, 1968, in Wilmington, Delaware. As a kid he bounced back and forth between Delaware, and Eastern Kentucky, where he graduated from Morehead State University. Eskridge started playing in the local bars and honky-tonks at the age of 16, and throughout college in various bands in the Lexington, Ky area. Key early highlights in Nashville, he took the stage at the Grand Ole Opry, had a Saturday night performance at the world-famous Ernest Tubb Record Shop, as well as the old Stock Yard and Bull Pen Lounge – where he played frequently with the George Jones Band.

As music was just starting to take off, the start of a young family re-prioritized his music career, but he still played locally with his band Southern Daze in the tri-state area. Recent Times: With two full albums released, Eskridge and Southern Daze has had good success as an Independent Country Artist:

• Buck Wild and Whiskey Crazy was an Indie World Country #1 and New Music Weekly Top 10 • Simple Things, the title track, was an Indie World Country #1, EACM #1 and New Music Weekly Top 5 • You’re My Destiny hit #1 in Canada and EACM #1 and peaked at #16 New Music Weekly Main #9 New Music Weekly Digital. • I Can’t Win for Losing You – hit #1 on the New Music Weekly charts in Nashville and held on for two weeks! #5 in Europe • Glasses UP was a Top 10 New Music Weekly, #1 in EACM (Europe) • My Girl Kicks it Country - hit the Music Row Charts as well as #1 in EACM • TAKES released to country radio on 3/20/2023

Key Nominations / Awards: - ACMA New Male Artist of the Year 2020 - New Music Weekly New Male Artist of the Year nominee 2021 - Josie Music Awards Nominee: Song, Entertainer and Male artist of the Year 2021 - 92.9 Nash FM Ky Proud Headliner - Josie Music Awards Nominee: Band / Group of the year, Entertainer and Male artist of the Year 2022 - CMA Fest artist - 2022

Southern Daze is known for their southern rock style, guitars and harmonies. With seasoned musicians that have the same passion and drive for music & entertaining, they enjoy putting on shows for their fans. The band consists of • Robert Eskridge - Nicholasville, Ky • Sam Pollock – Georgetown, Ky • Kevin Rawlings – Lexington, Ky • Kerry Elliott – Paris, Ky

People love the energy of the band and their wide range of music and the originals. Personal Life Outside of his professional and music career, Eskridge has several interests including cars, traveling, the great outdoors and skiing. He and his wife Juli have four children, Jessi Eskridge, Jerad Eskridge, Malina Gaworski and Iza Gaworski.

Website: roberteskridgecountry.com Facebook: facebook.com/roberteskridgecountry Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7g3ILKyEHm55JyBGKrJAB6 Instagram: instagram.com/roberteskridgecountry/

Label: Bucket List Records TRT: 3:30 ISRC: TCAFP2184844 Song IPI#

Songwriters: Rob Harris / David Rivers / Todd Taylor Songwriters’ IPI#:

Publisher: Tunecore

[wutbju]

Edelweiss “Weisy” Spencer Roberts, died Friday, February 18, 2022, at Baptist Health in Lexington, KY, at the age of 97. Born February 5, 1925, in Lynchburg, VA, a daughter of the late John Kilpen Spencer and Letitia Florence Womeldorf Spencer. Weisy was a graduate of E.C. Glass High School, received her bachelor’s degree from Bob Jones University in Cleveland, Tennessee, where she was a member of Sigma Lambda Delta Literary Society, as well as some graduate work at Morehead and Eastern Kentucky University.

She moved to Bourbon County, KY, following her marriage in 1947 to Marion Roberts who predeceased her. She was a talented artist, seamstress and knitter, having graced many family members and friends with her creations. She also like to travel and enjoyed trips to many states and several different countries. Weisy was a substitute teacher for both Bourbon County and Paris City Schools for many years and taught full time at St. Mary School in Paris for several years. She had worked for the UK Extension Service as a SNAP employee, was an insurance adjuster for Federal Crop Insurance, and worked as a life insurance agent with Pennsylvania Life. She spent part of many summers as an adult volunteer with the Bourbon County 4-H Camp program and was a member of Little Rock Christian Church for 75 years.

Survivors include her children, Sherrie Wilson, Randy (Judy) Roberts, and Ben (Linda) Roberts; grandchildren, Traci (Joey) Wasson, Stephanie Adams, Cathy Eads, Danny Roberts, Laura (Chris) Jones, and Beth Roberts (Tom Viehe); great grandchildren, Shae (Tommy) Stanfield, Carraden Adams, Austin Adams, David W. Eads, Thomas Eads (his fiancé Lilah Donnelly), Anna Eads, Eleanor Viehe, Sam Jones, Alexis (Zack) Morris, Tabitha Wasson; great, great granddaughters, Joanna Stanfield, Amber Leigh Oney; her sister, Alyce (Lionel) Harrison of Huddleston, Virginia; niece, Marian Duncan of Carlisle; and a nephew, Billy Knippenberg of North Middletown; as well as a host of nieces and nephews around the United States.

Along with her parents, Weisy was preceded in death by her son-in-law Jack Wilson as well as six brothers, and four sisters.

Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m., on Saturday, February 26, 2022, at Hinton-Turner Funeral Home with Rev. Rex Graham officiating. Visitation will be held preceding the service 1:00 p.m., until time for the service. Interment will follow in Evergreen Memorial Gardens with pallbearers being Danny Roberts, Austin Adams, Billy Knippenberg, Joey Wasson, Chris Jones, Tom Viehe, Thomas Eads and Kenwood Soper. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Little Rock Christian Church.

[watching-pictures-move]

Put On Your Raincoats #20 | Squalid Motels and Desperate Gals, courtesy of Kim Christy

This review contains mild spoilers.

When I first heard of Kim Christy, I knew I had to delve into her work. Here is someone who was involved in the drag scene in the '60s and went on to direct and produce pornography from the '80s onward. She's also a trans woman director (and occasional actress), which is not just unusual in golden age pornography but even mainstream cinema today. Unfortunately, figuring out where to start was a challenge. There's a very good interview with her on the Advocate but which doesn't really delve into her directing work. So I did the highly risky and ill-advised move of scanning through the titles in her filmography and trying to pick out ones with interesting sounding premises. Even this was a challenge, as a lot of her movies sounded like they didn't have a terrible amount of story. (A good many of them also had certain slurs in the title, which are unfortunately common in trans pornography.) So out of the crapshoot of movies I picked, I can't say I really got to the bottom of what makes her work interesting or even gelled to most of them, but hopefully I can convey what makes the ones I did take to interesting.

To start with the most slight, the two Divine Atrocities movies are basically a collection of sex scenes. There's a theme of dominant women running through them, but otherwise there isn't much tying together in terms of staging, aesthetics and the like. The segments have titles like "The Leather Lass Tamer", "Rubber Rampage" and "Ms. Degradation", but truth be told, nothing here is terribly shocking. So there isn't a lot to either of these movies, but if you're watching it for those reasons, they're enjoyable enough. A few of the segments feature trans performers, and I did find that Sulka had a nicely imposing screen presence in her scene, and while Sugar Nicole briefly threatens her partner with her "big black cock", I did like that for the most part the movies don't discern between these scenes and the ones with cisgender performers. In the eyes of Kim Christy, there's room for everyone in this great sexual melange. Also notable is the threesome scene with Janey Robbins, who (after likely reading Dan Savage's column) tells one of her partners, "If you don't find a different way to fuck me, you can forget it, I'll have to find somebody else", and in the first time in the history of civilization, gets mad at her male partner for not climaxing quickly enough. "You always say it'll only take a few minutes. Time is the only thing I can't replace, and it always takes too long."

A bit more substantive narratively but less interesting is Momma's Boy, with a premise that you can guess based on the title. Tantala Ray presides over a brothel set during an indeterminate period, where she presides over her girls and also her son, who mysteriously became a deaf-mute at a certain point of time. Why did her son become a deaf-mute? Will we ever find out? Spoiler: it's incest. Tantala Ray does have a weird enough screen presence to make her parts watchable, but this has none of the charge that, say, Taboo brings to the same material. (It's worth noting that Ray in this movie, looking like a debauched queen of Mardi Gras in one scene, is a camp villain while Kay Parker plays her role straight in the other movie.) As it's shot on video, the movie is not very nice to look at, and the dirt cheap production values make it unclear whether this is supposed to be a period piece. Some of the dialogue is amusing ("Oxford?" "Guess again." "Princeton?" "Try Biloxi Tech, my sweetie."), and there is some old timey music and one of the clients wears an ascot at one point, so it's not a totally squalid affair. (It's classy, see? He's wearing an ascot.) As the son, Jerry Butler does a cringe-inducing lisp, but I did chuckle at his last line.

A bit easier to recommend is True Crimes of Passion, where Janey Robbins plays a private detective (cheekily named B.J. Fondel) who invariably bungles her investigations and winds up in sex scenes with the people she's supposed to be investigating. "Out of the fog and into the smog" begins the overwrought voiceover, which truth be told doesn't compare to the likes of Chandler but I guess the effort is nice. The first case involves her investigating the wife of a minister whom her client suspects of infidelity. Surprise, surprise, it turns out the wife has a girlfriend with whom she has dominant sex. Thanks to Robbins' investigative prowess, she gets found out and forced to join the proceedings and ends up getting her client, a Dan Quayle looking motherfucker in a cowboy hat, captured as well, which leads to an incredible burn.

"The lord will punish you for this."

"The lord already has, he gave me you for a husband."

Also, when Robbins is forced into cunnilingus, she says over narration, "Oh Christ, I'm not even sure I've seen one of these things up close", and yeah, okay, Janey.

The second scene is probably the most notable as it features Christy as a performer. Robbins visits her friend to investigate a death threat against her friend's brother (also Robbins' ex), and the twist can be deduced when you start wondering why a seemingly minor character gets an unusually large amount of screentime. The scene features a trope that likely isn't terribly sensitive by modern standards, but I get the sense from that Advocate interview that Christy isn't too hung up about such things and one must concede that the film is a product of its time and genre (and within that context, there's a lot worse out there). The last scene has Robbins spying on her neighbour in hotel to get some industry secrets, which leads to some really awkward dialogue about champagne and then a threesome involving her client and mark. Like the work of Yasojiru Ozu, this scene breaks the 180-rule, but I guess if this is your thing, you might enjoy it. At the very end, the mark just gives up his secrets to the client. The secrets of male bonding sometimes elude me.

Easily the most accomplished and enjoyable film from Christy that I watched was Squalor Motel. It combines the sexual variety of the other films with a sense of camp and grounds it in a distinct, memorable location. There isn't much more "plot" than the other movies, as it's basically about a motel concierge doing her job over the course of a day, but as it follows her bumping into a variety of (usually horny) guests and finding herself in amusing (and unfailingly sexual) situations, there's enough of a narrative through line that it feels like a "real" movie where the other movies strained for similar effect, and the movie uses a soundtrack of icy synths and jazz that sounds like imitation Angelo Badalamenti to give it all an alluring vibe. I'm gonna make a wager that David Lynch would have liked this movie. Look, I have no idea what his viewing habits are or what sends his motor running, and the thought of him jacking it furiously to this or any movie is not something that brings me pleasure. But this shares some of the campy tone and surface qualities of his works, and I also wanted to leave you all with that image.

Why does the motel have its own house band (to whom people try to listen to while they engage in all kinds of sexual congress)? Why is Jamie Gillis made up like a vampire and trying to sell marital aids? Why does the one guest's blow-up doll turn into a real person (and prove, uh, extremely vocal during their scene)? Why is the owner wearing a pig mask and a tutu while he spies on his guests? Why is everyone laughing at the newlywed? Why is the one scientist with a Hitler mustache and his shrill-voiced assistant conducting experiments (read: having a threesome) with Tantala Ray? And how are most of these things taking place in the mysterious Reptile Room in the middle of the motel? With an extremely winning Colleen Brennan in the lead role (sporting a pair of thick glasses, a Lucille Ball updo, and a big, toothy smile), we'll have a pretty good time finding out. Like a lot of hardcore movies, this is pretty episodic in structure, but its distinct atmosphere gives it a nice sense of momentum as it drifts from scene to scene.

With its nice production design (and the fact that it seems to have actual sets, rather than being shot in what I assume are people's homes like in the other movies), Squalor Motel feels a bit more upscale and lavish than the average porno. While I don't have any budgetary information handy, I do know that the production had an assistant director, Ned Morehead. To what extent he contributed to the movie's DNA I can't say for certain, but the directorial effort of his I watched, also produced by Christy, had many of the same qualities. Desperate Women starts off feeling pretty stylish with its spraypaint style opening credits (although it loses a bit of style when it misspells star Taija Rae's name as "Taja Rea"). Taija Rae plays a reporter who ends up wrongfully convicted for a murder and thrown in brutal women's prison presided over by the sadistic Tantala Ray, who seems to get her jollies from spying on her prisoners as they get it on or abusing them with the help of her dimwitted guard. During such incidents, the guard frequently ends up ejaculating on her uniform as a source of comic relief. (One such scene ends with a shot of a photo of Ronald Reagan.) I must however disclose, without revealing too much about the shameful inner workings of my hopelessly degenerate mind, that the denouement of scene involving Ray, her guard and Sharon Mitchell did not leave me unmoved. Mitchell plays a prisoner who befriends Taija Rae, and it's worth noting that despite being one of the best actresses in classic porn, she's saddled here with an atrocious Hispanic accent and at one point sings a bit of "America" from West Side Story.

By porn standards, this is actually quite well produced and has a relatively sturdy narrative. (I must however note that one scene has a blatant ejaculation-related continuity error.) Women in prison movies tend to be pretty squalid affairs in general, at least in terms of production values, so this doesn't feel too far off from the real thing and offers more explicit versions of the same pleasures, while its sense of humour gives it a nice campy quality. Tantala Ray especially delivers in a pleasingly over the top performance as the teeth-gnashing villain (the camera often frames her severe face in wide angle close ups), and say what you will about Sharon Mitchell's accent, I did like seeing her pop up in here. With all the flamboyance and excitement around her, Taija Rae almost becomes a supporting character in her own movie, although I must confess that I found her character's hopeless naivety pretty cute. ("I didn't wear rubbers, it's sunny out".) With a fun cast, a firm handle on the genre's pleasures and a groovy soundtrack, this is a pretty good time.

[mollydsails]

April 17 - Morehead City to Belhaven, 60 miles. A couple of bridges, no problems. Transited the Neuse, Pamlico and Pungo Rivers without issue. So unlike the last time, but the past is the past. It was so calm today that I was able to make bread while underway! Still not many cruisers heading north, and that’s fine with us. We arrived in Belhaven and the dock master told us to dock between two boats. He was unable to assist us. Well, “between two boats” meant that we really needed a shoehorn. I didn’t think that Molly D would fit into the space. David did an expert job and managed to sandwich Molly D between the two other boats. Didn’t even hit the other boats or slam the dock. Very impressive! We were able to get off the boat for a walk around town. Belhaven is a small town—1.59 square miles, population 1688. That’s small! Nice stop nonetheless. Tomorrow we will head to someplace in the swamps. Seriously. But not the “creepy” swamps—did that once and will never anchor there again.

[disappointingyet]

Mank

Director David Fincher Stars Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Amanda Seyfried, Sam Troughton USA 2020 Language English, a tiny bit of German, some Latin sayings 2hrs 11mins Black & white

Lovely-to-look at but essentially pointless delve into ancient and very dull Hollywood gossip

The selling point for this film is, apparently, its contribution to the debate over who wrote Citizen Kane. Really? Really? After almost 80 years, is it vital to figure out exactly how much Herman Mankiewicz contributed to the script versus how much (if anything) Orson Welles put in? What about John Houseman, Roger Q Denny and Mollie Kent, all of whom the IMDB suggests made uncredited contributions to the screenplay but whose possible input is not acknowledged in this movie? (Other than Houseman supplying the stationery and surroundings for Mankiewicz to do the work.) 

This all seems remarkably small beer – it’s not as if Mankiewicz was like one of the blacklisted writers whose names didn’t appear on the work they wrote. His name was in the movie, he did get the Oscar. He’s one of the reasons Kane is a terrific film, but then so were Joseph Cotton and Agnes Morehead (actors) and Gregg Toland (cinematographer) and Robert Wise (editor) and Bernard Hermann (composer) and everyone else who worked on the picture.

Likewise, are there really people out there desperate to revisit the accident gossip about William Randolph Hearst, especially as this film takes a fairly unexciting take on him? Maybe I’m wrong, maybe this is all the stuff of urgent debate. Maybe you’ve been smarting since 1999’s RKO 281told the same story, only from Welles’ side. 

One thing the two films have in common is that they are littered with limeys. In RKO 281, we had David Suchet as Louis B Mayer and Fiona Shaw and Brenda Blethyn and as gossip column rivals Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons and even Roger Allam as Walt Disney! In Mank, meanwhile, we’ve got Gary Oldman as the lead character, plus Tuppence Middleton as his wife Sara, Ferdinand Kingsley as Irving  Thalberg, Charles Dance as Hearst and Tom Burke as Welles. It’s ridiculous. The only fully* British character is played by the less British-than-you-might-think Lily Collins, who indeed struggles with the accent. 

New Cross’ Gary Oldman is 62 years old. Herman J Mankiewicz was only 55 when he died in 1953. The film doesn’t fudge this: Oldman’s Mankiewicz actually says. ‘I’m 43,’ presumably to the bafflement of the audience. And that’s during the 1940 segment of the movie – there are plenty of flashbacks to the 1930s when Mank was in his thirties. There’s no obvious attempt to de-age Oldman – I think we’re meant to accept that Mankiewicz’ alcoholism had taken a brutal toll. 

So the plot is this: Mankiewicz, who has been injured in a car crash, is parked by Welles and Houseman on a ranch in the desert to write a script, tended to by a German nurse (Monika Gossmann) and a British typist (Collins). While working on the script, he flashes back to how he first met Hearst and Hearst’s mistress, actress Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), his friendship with them and troubled working relationship with MGM bosses Louis B Mayer and Irving Thalberg. 

There’s something admirable perverse/ambitious about a glossy 2020 production that invites its audience to join with Mank in sneering at people who don’t know the difference between Upton Sinclair and Sinclair Lewis.** Upton Sinclair’s candidacy for the governorship of California indirectly triggers the crisis in the friendship between Mank and Hearst, which ultimately leads (in this telling of the story) to Kane. This section of the movie is both protracted yet incomplete and unconvincing. 

Mankiewicz was by all accounts a big character. Unsurprisingly, then, directors chose grand hams to play him: John Malkovich in RKO 281 and Oldman here. For me, there’s no getting past how ridiculously old Oldman is for the role. The drinking and his reliance on a young secretary also reminded me of Oldman’s portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour, one of the most despicable and disgraceful films of recent times. But as Oldman performances go, this is one of the more likeable. Just not one that should ever have happened. 

The best thing about the film by a very long way is the luscious black & white photography. The film plays around a bit – at times it hints a full pastiche of old movies, including the use of rear projection when the characters are in a car and having cue marks, the little circles on the top right of the screen to tell the projectionist to change the reel. At other times, though, it’s quite clearly using all the tricks and tools of 2020. It’s great work from cinematographer Eric Messerschmidt, whose previous director of photography stints have mostly been on TV.

The feeling I was mostly left with by this film is: why? What’s it for? To give a juicy role to an overindulged and miscast actor? To recreate the glory of lost Hollywood, just because we can? There have been far better recent excursions into the movie industry’s past: the Coen’s Hail, Caesar!, Trumbo or the TV show Feud, for instance. And, to be fair, there have been worse: this probably has the edge on Rules Don’t Apply. But I feel that if someone like me – who goes into this knowing who Thalberg and Houseman and Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur and so on were – doesn’t really care, why would anyone else?

 *Houseman was half-British and very much English educated. He’s played by Sam Troughton, who you could probably correctly guess is Patrick Troughton’s grandson. **I’m happy to admit this is something I’ve always struggled with, having never read a word either wrote. 

[thebutcher-5]

Piovono polpette

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Nello scorso articolo abbiamo deciso di spostarci in Italia e per la precisone negli anni ’70 per parlare di Dario Argento, un regista che ha regalato tanto non solo al cinema italiano ma anche al cinema a livello mondiale e lo abbiamo fatto parlando del secondo capitolo de La trilogiadegli animali, Il gatto a nove code. In un istituto di genetica avviene…

[diabolimeservavit666]

BMoL Oneshot Ideas (Part 1)

(Can't promise that it will come quick but I appreciate the responses.)

[newsdeshya-2022]

Murders Trending Down in Westmoreland – Jamaica Information Service - Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service

Murders Trending Down in Westmoreland – Jamaica Information Service – Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service

Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen (left), with 2023 Rhodes Scholar for Jamaica, David Salmon, following the announcement ceremony at King’s House on November 10.Click to view moreHead of the Westmoreland Police Division, Senior Superintendent Wayne Joseph, says murders in the parish are trending down, since the implementation of Operation Relentless II in…

[ksstradio]

Kerry Kirkpatrick

Funeral service for Kerry Kirkpatrick, age 58, of Sulphur Springs, Tx will be at 11:00A.M. on Saturday, March 20, 2021 at Murray-Orwosky Funeral Chapel with Paul Ray Vititow officiating. Interment will follow at Greenpond Cemetery with Kerry Coker, Jerry Coker, Jacob Lively, Duncan Wood, Wes Carswell, Buddy Morehead serving as pallbearers and Kent Kirkpatrick, Larry Wells, David Leewright, Deryl…

[mollydsails]

April 16 - After a 3 hour unplanned delay, Molly D is now in Morehead City, NC. Our day started off on a good note. We were a mile away from the Onslow Beach bridge when we noticed it was beginning to open. David hailed the bridge tender and told him we were a mile out (about 6 minutes). We were expecting to be told that we had to wait for the next opening in 30 minutes. Instead, we were surprised to hear “Full throttle, Captain!” Didn’t have to tell the Captain twice. Our day took a turn for the worse when we approached the Emerald Isle Bridge. It was high tide which is when the reported bridge height of 65’ Is the maximum clearance. The tide appeared to be a bit higher than normal, so the maximum clearance would be less than 65’. We need 64.5’. No tide board was posted!!! We slowly approached the bridge and decided that passing under it might be cutting it too close. David did a 180 so that we could think about how to proceed. The S/V Lantz-a lot had been following us and witnessed our maneuver. They hailed us on the radio and David explained our dilemma. Lantz-a lot has an air draft of 58’. We watched them pass under the bridge and figured they had maybe 4’ clearance. Not enough for Molly D. We pulled to the side of the channel, anchored, and waited 3 hours for the tide to lower (there’s less than a 2’ tidal range!) Tide didn’t go down much in 3 hours, but we proceeded anyway. Couldn’t tell how much airspace was above the antenna, but we didn’t hear or see it ping, so we were good to go. What a pain to have had to play the waiting game! Could we have made it without waiting? We will never know! The rest of the transit into Morehead City was uneventful. A small pod of dolphins frolicked ahead of Molly D and headed towards us. Didn’t hear any noises against the hull, so they passed safely by. Morehead City is a nice stop, although with the currents, it could be tricky docking. We arrived late afternoon, so walking around (nice waterfront shops and restaurants) was not an option. We had the opportunity to wash clothes, get fuel, get water, dispose of trash, and get a loaf of bread at the nearby convenience store. We will leave early tomorrow morning to make the 60 mile trip to Belhaven (NC). Two things that I do not like about Belhaven—midges and a mud bottom for anchoring. We are hoping to be lucky enough to get one of the couple of spots at the town dock.

[hillbillyhippiemusicreview]

OVERTONES LIVE CEMENTS ITS REPUTATION AS A VALUABLE ASSET TO THE LOCAL MUSIC SCENE WITH 100th SHOW

By: Lyssa Culbertson

Renee Collins Cobb & Rachel Crowe; Photo by Arden Barnes

Music is a labor of love, whether you’re writing it, playing it, listening to it, promoting it, or involved in any facet in the industry. Anyone who knows anything knows that it’s not a profession—or hobby—you embark on to get rich: it’s heart work. It’s the soul of the matter. It’s the spirit of the passion. It’s a labor of love that takes a village to keep alive. Renee Collins Cobb, host of Overtones Live, is a force who embodies all of those qualities in her devotion to the Appalachian music scene. Along with her co-host Rachel Crowe, they showcase regional acts live from the historic and world-famous Austin City Saloon in Lexington, KY on Overtones LIVE. Not only is the show special because of the music it bestows upon the world from its grassroots framework, but it’s unique because it’s solely female ran—an impressive feat in today’s typically male-dominated industry.

Now entering its 100th show on March 10th, Overtones LIVE has provided a stage for countless artists to shine and share their gifts with audiences over the years. With its humble beginnings as a radio show recorded for Lexington Community Radio set at The Lyric Theater in Lexington for its first 75 episodes from January 2018-2020, the show has now grown to its current home at Austin City Saloon and is broadcasting on air at Radiolex WLXU, Forward KY Radio, WFMP, Pickup Country WSKV, and Trendkill Radio. Overtones’ format was unique due to its efforts to focus on the multicultural and multigenerational melting pot of genres and sounds found within the Appalachian region, with hour long shows showcasing four diverse acts and their unique sounds. In addition to live music played by some of the area’s finest, the show featured regular segments such as the inspirational “Talking About My Generation,” where according to Renee, “parent-child musical dream teams congregated in the studio to talk about what being a musician looked like and behaved like in their own generation and also opened a forum of productive discussion on what each generation feels they have and can learn from the other generation,” as well as the quarterly “Faculty Meeting” that brought together music faculty from across Kentucky from private studios to public universities, who also had ties into the local music scene. Throughout the duration of the show in its initial years, the music was flowing and listeners were sonically hungry for all the new artists that Overtones LIVE put on their paths. Renee, Rachel, and their team exemplified the notion of service throughout their devotion to artists and live music in the area.

Especially amidst a pandemic. Despite changing times brimming with uncertainty, Renee didn’t lose her vision or drive to serve the music world and found innovative ways to stay on the airwaves to bring the tunes to listeners once The Lyric shutdown due to COVID-related struggles. From March to June, the melodies continued to play out amongst the airwaves by reformulating and repurposing the shows to reflect Tributes to The Men of The Bluegrass, The Women of The Bluegrass, The Bands of the Bluegrass and Tributes to Harlan, Morehead, Eastern Kentucky and Louisville. Additionally, there was a Tributes to Teachers show, featuring Kentucky musicians who also serve as educators within the state, such as David and Teresa Prince—Appalachian royalty also known by their stage names Laid Back Country Picker and Honey. With easing restrictions came a traveling roadshow, as the Overtones LIVE crew traveled to the homes of musicians with home studios to record in, including frequent guests Mama Said String Band at Wave Garden Studio in Indiana.

Cody Lee Meece; Photo by Jim Cundiff, Off the Trail Photography

The “aha moment” of figuring out how to continue recording the show by adapting the way it was recorded led to its current home at Austin City Saloon, where bands who had not played live in quite a while finally got the chance to do what they do best again. The reopening of restaurants, bars, and venues took Overtones LIVE from the studio to the stage, broadening the realm of possibilities. After a one month trial surrounding a combined vision with a theme referencing the origins of Austin City Saloon and its namesake Greg Austin, months later the show is in its six month of recording the LIVE format at the venue. Having the platform to record live at the saloon reshaped and redesigned the trajectory of the show, as it allowed magic to occur that previously had not. Now, a full band could perform, whereas the studio could only host a small group. Additionally, full concert video could now be recorded by Renee’s husband, Warren Cobb, further increasing the potential of the material shared on the show and successfully supporting artists in a myriad of ways by providing them not only a platform to have their voices and music heard, but also viable footage to share of their essence in live performances, which is pertinent to EPKs and booking. Since its debut at Austin City Saloon, Kevin Dalton and The Tuesday Blooms, Rifletown, Cody Lee Meece, Jenn Marie McDaniel & The Bruce, Eight Daze Sober, Bedford Band and Trippin Roots were a few of the acts featured early out of the gate. Presented by Whitney Adams, Overtones LIVE also brought a Nashville flair to Kentucky by hosted songwriters Blue Foley and Russell Sutton to start to present a Master Class to local singer/songwriters in the area. Despite another shutdown in the fall of 2020, Renee and Rachel were able to continue recording without interruption within the bounds of state rules and regulations, furthering the reach of their content. Nowadays, the show thrives in a socially distanced and mask-required environment, allowing audiences to be captivated by the talent on stage each time, providing a sense of normalcy to a once deprived artistic outlet.

Overtones LIVE continues to be an asset to the local music community in Kentucky and surrounding areas. The work that Renee and Rachel do, as well as Renee’s work with her and Warren’s business Listen Locally, is vital to not only artists but fans alike. Members of the listenership, attendees, and performers echo my sentiments:

Overtones Live is such a great experience for musicians, bands, fans and music lovers.This is because it is hosted and managed by musicians, music lovers and simply put, great people. To have the honor of sharing music to a live recording audience, to have the outlet to detail the stories behind the songs and the creative process is an opportunity that many musicians and bands never get. The Overtones Live staff is top tier when it comes to creating a comfortable and an art conducive environment, with great hospitality for the live audience, a wonderful space to perform, magical sound engineering, professional delivery of the programing and the kindest and warmest of hosts. Rifletown thanks the entire Overtones Live team for making us feel welcomed and special enough to take the stage and for also allowing our family and fans the chance to be part of the show! Thank you: Renee Collins Cobb, Rachel Crowe, Warren Cobb, Garrick Howell, Chris Slater, Austin Brashear and David Howard. --Jason Howard, Lead vocalist of Rifletown

I’ve been fortunate to have appeared on overtones several times in the past 3 years. I am so Grateful for Renee and all involved for what they do to support regional musicians. It’s helped get my music out to he heard by new listeners and also has lead me to meet some other amazing musicians and songwriters. Overtones has become somewhat of a home place that has brought together a family of artists. Thank you so much for building an amazing community and connection between artists and listeners. --Kevin Dalton, of Kevin Dalton & The Tuesday Blooms

It is amazing to hear 100 unique episodes of pure musical talent and the stories behind the songs through Overtones. Many congrats on reaching a milestone to help spread the love of music and people who create it! May there be even more episodes that celebrate the musicians. --Jessica Blankenship, Kentucky Country Music

It was clear from the day that Renee walked into Lexington Community Radio - now RadioLex - that she had a deep care for local music and was thoroughly dedicated to the idea of Overtones and the planning it would take to pull it off, an idea that has now grown beyond her initial pitch and has extended into social media and live performances as well. The fact that the show has made it to such a huge milestone is a testament to her commitment! I’ve enjoyed seeing so many wonderful musicians and collaborators on the program and am looking forward to what the next 100 episodes will bring to the local and regional music community. --Mary Clark, Station manager at WLXU

We were very excited to work with people who’s goal has always been to support the local music scene. Our experience with Overtones has been nothing but good vibes and mutual love for the local music scene. We were very honored to be a small part of something great and would always choose to do so in the future. We are excited for what Overtones and Renee has in store for the music community in the future! --Justin Riley, Eight Daze Sober

I am super thankful for the folks behind Overtones Live! The support, dedication and time put into recording, editing and promoting local music and musicians goes above and beyond. They not only promote your music across multiple media outlets regularly, but they truly care about your well-being as friends who treat you like family, lending a helping hand or word of advice in time of need! Thank you for all that you do!! --Jenn Marie McDaniel

Overtones LIVE is recorded live at Austin City Saloon, Kentucky’s home for live, local music, and brought to you by Listen Locally, produced by Warren Cobb. Sound is engineered by Chris Slater and Garrick Howell and mixed at Jobu’s Rum Recording Studio. Below are some examples of live shows recorded at ACS:

[man-creates-dinosaurs]

BIGFOOT JOINS THE RANKS OF AMERICAN CHRISTMAS ICONS

When did Bigfoot become a Christmas icon? I’m sure that question sounds strange to most of you, but I can’t be the only one to have noticed Sasquatch’s gradual induction into the pantheon of modern American Christmas characters. Right now you can buy Bigfoot Christmas tree ornaments, sweaters and stockings online, while a retailer as mainstream as Wal-Mart currently has a pair of yuletide Yeti shirts for sale in stores. If you need more proof just pull up Netflix and check out the new film Pottersville (2017, Dir. Seth Henrikson); an indy Christmas comedy with some major league talent including Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water), Judy Greer (Jurassic World), Ron Perlman (Pacific Rim) and Ian McShane (American Gods) – the latter doing his best impression of Robert Shaw’s character from Jaws (1975, Dir. Steven Spielberg). The film revolves around the small town of Pottersville – from the Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, Dir.  Frank Capra) – which has fallen on hard times economically. The residents gets an unexpected Christmas gift however in the form of a series of Bigfoot sightings which instantly transforms their forgotten hamlet into a must-visit tourist attraction!

Naturally, some people will scoff at the idea of Bigfoot becoming a part of the American Christmas holiday, but personally I’m all for it. I’m a big fan of Christmas monsters, ghosts and goblins – all of which were a part of the season long before Frosty the Snowman and Elf on the Shelf came along and something which I spoke about at length with John W. Morehead of Theofantastique last year. But still, the question persists, when exactly did Bigfoot get in on the holiday scene – or has he always been here?

When looking for Bigfoot’s entry point into the Christmas season the most obvious starting place is Rankin/Bass Productions’ 1964 holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Dir. Larry Roemer & Kizo Nagashima) featuring stop-motion by underappreciated Japanese animator Tadahito Mochinaga. As anyone who has experienced this timeless piece of Christmas Americana knows, Rudolph and his friends spend much of the movie being menaced by a giant Yeti referred to by the various characters as either the Abominable Snow Monster of the North or just the Bumble for short. Perhaps the only true Christmas kaijū, scholar Jason Barr sees the Bumble as one of the many thematic descendants of King Kong, which corroborates author David Coleman’s observation, as found in his encyclopedic The Bigfoot Filmography (2011), that no single film has had more impact on the pop-culture perception of Bigfoot and the Yeti then King Kong (1933, Dir. Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack).

Of course, King Kong is a work of paleo-fiction, specifically the ‘Lost World’ sub-genre and as a result retains elements of the colonialist worldview which gave rise to the literary and cinematic tradition of stories concerning white explorers traveling to distant exotic lands where – unlike back home – “time stands still” and primitive beasts and people exist in Eden-like bliss; or at least until our intrepid adventures decide it’s their god given right to run roughshod over the place killing and/or capturing the animals and conquering the indigenous inhabitants.

As Barr writes in his book The Kaijū Film (2016), Rudolph’s Bumble is no exception to this tradition as we see the fearsome Snowman “is not only outwitted by the gathered cast” but also reduced to literal “toothless subservience” and subsequently put “to work decorating Christmas trees” in Santa’s workshop. Truly a sad fate for any once ferocious Christmas monster.

But in more recent years the Bumble’s kith and kin appear to be getting their revenge!

This leads us to our second possible point of origin for the modern Christmas Bigfoot; researcher Phyllis Siefker’s 1997 tome Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men. Here Siefker challenges the conventional notion that America’s Santa Claus is merely a modified version of Europe’s St. Nicholas. After all, asks Siefker, why would Protestant immigrants to the New World bring with them the tradition of an extremely popular Catholic saint? As an alternative explanation Siefker proposes that Santa – with his great beard, furry coat, and habit of nocturnal prowling – is really based upon the ancient pre-Christian figure of the Wildman as outlined in such excellent scholarly works as Richard Bernheimer’s Wild Men in the Middle Ages (1952) and Roger Bartra’s Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of the European Otherness (1994).

The idea that Santa isn’t actually a “right jolly old elf” and instead a hairy, savage Bigfoot-like monster must have been at least part of Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander’s inspiration for his fantastically bizarre 2010 film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale in which plucky child protagonist Pietari discovers that “the Coca- Cola Santa is just a hoax” while the actual Kris Kringle is a Kong-sized goat-horned monster who “tears naughty kids to pieces” until “not even their skeletons are left.” Unfortunately for Pietari and his friends, a rich oil tycoon from America – possibly inspired by real-life American oil tycoon Tom Slick (d. 1962) who spent much of his fortune hunting for Bigfoot and the Yeti – has come to unseal the tomb buried beneath the Korvatunturi mountain range where the Saami people imprisoned Santa long ago.

Of course for cryptozoologists like Loren Coleman who entertain the possibility that there might be some truth behind such worldwide Wildman tales, Siefker’s work represents more than just a radical rewriting of Christmastime folklore, but rather the tantalizing – though unlikely - possibility that a character as iconic and beloved as Santa Claus may have been inspired by a relic population of anomalous-primates!

More recently a different kind of yuletide Wildman has been making his presence known here in the US. This, of course, is the Krampus; a kind of shaggy demon with curled goat horns, a lolling red tongue and a talent for punishing naughty children with switches and chains. As outlined in Al Ridenour’s excellent The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas (2016), Krampus hails from Austria where in small remote mountains towns such as Bad Gastein and Öblarn the day preceding the Catholic Church’s feast in honor of St. Nicolas sees the celebration of Krampusnacht (“Krampus Night”) in which children of all ages anticipate a visit from St. Nicholas and his posse of Krampus. These house visits are enacted by local Krampuspass (“Krampus Troupes”) composed of men ranging in age from their late teens to early forties who prepare all-year by sewing heavy wool suits made from sheep and goat’s hair and carving handcrafted wooden masks – called klaubaufkopfe (“Krampus heads”) – which along with chains, bells, switches and baskets will be worn by the performers as they accompany St. Nick – typically played by the tallest member of a troupe – throughout the town to distribute rewards and punishments. In addition to these house visits many towns also feature a Krampusumzüge (“Krampus-Run”) in which dozens of individuals dressed as the Krampus run through the streets threatening and menacing children as well as occasionally smacking a pretty young girl on the rear with their switches all while consuming copious amounts of alcohol. All of this makes for a festival that is equal parts Christmas, Halloween and Mardi Gras.

Since the early 2000s Krampus has begun an unassailable assent through mainstream American pop-culture gradually, and now undeniably, situating himself among other time honored holiday icons. According to reporter Christopher Bickel as of 2014 there are annual Krampus runs, bar crawls, parties and other related events being help in over thirty US cities nationwide while Krampus’ likeness can be found on a huge number of products including Christmas sweaters, stockings, ornaments, playing cards, plush and vinyl toys, decorative figurines, t-shirts, books, comics and in cartoons ranging from Scooby-Doo to American Dad. In 2015 Hollywood unleashed two theatrical Krampus flicks with the William Shatner staring anthology A Christmas Horror Story (Dir. Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban & Brett Sullivan) and Legendary/Universal Pictures’ Krampus (Dir. Michael Dougherty). There’s even a company selling an 11-foot-tall animatronic toddler swinging Krampus which you can put in your front yard! Krampus may also have played a part in inspiring another popular 20th-Century American Christmas monster: The Grinch. As artist Jeffrey Vallance – who via several essays has picked up the torch lit by Phyllis Siefker and continued exploring the possibility of Santa’s Wildman roots – has observed: “Over the ages, the brutal Wildman figure evolved into a character more like a clown or holiday fool. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss follows a classic Wildman scenario: The Grinch is a hairy, Bigfoot-like creature that lives in an alpine cave in a mountain similar to the Matterhorn.”

While Theodor Geisel – aka Dr. Seuss – maintained that The Grinch was primarily an autobiographical character, considering the beloved children’s author’s German ancestry one cannot help but wonder if yuletide Wildman characters like Krampus didn’t also play some part in the formation of the beloved holiday humbug.  

Back in November I delivered a presentation at the American Academy of Religions in Boston on the Krampus in which I argued that American’s recent infatuation with the Krampus – and other Christmas monsters, including apparently now Bigfoot – can best be understood as an oppositional response to conservative’s alleged “War on Christmas,” a moment perhaps best embodied by comedian Stephen Colbert’s 2009 declaration that Americans “need to bring Krampus to America to fight the War on Christmas.” While it seems clear that many Americans who desired a more interfaith approach to the season did not initially see themselves as engaged in a “War” the continual insistence by certain factions – and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in particular – that there was indeed one eventually drove those opposed to a totalitarian Protestant interpretation of the holiday to fight back and call in the cavalry in the form of a monstrous menagerie of older darker Christmas creations. As scholar Joseph P. Laycock has observed monsters are often underappreciated sources of religious meaning, a set of symbols and rituals which can be used to inspire awe in the beholder, be it participating in a Krampusumzüge or catching a brief glimpse of Bigfoot.