#Donald is shorter than Toni

[marmakar]

[nerdynanny]

HI IM HERE WITH MORE MAX GOOF HEADCANONS FOR HIS DUCKTALES [2017] AU

He and Della were Powerline fans together. She introduced him to the music and he FIXATED ON IT

The events of A Goofy Movie and the sequel occur. Max's motivation for going to the Powerline concert in this AU was not to impress Roxanne, but rather so Della could see him. There was no way she'd miss seeing him on the news. Then maybe she'd come home and Uncle Donald and his dad would start talking again.

Max is gay. His interest in Roxanne was purely because he found her really pretty. He briefly dates Bradley in college but eventually moves on.

He is not out publicly. He is terrified what his fanbase would think.

In terms of notoriety he's like Tony Hawk meets The Rock. He's considered a Hollywood Hearthrob and is often seen in the company of beautiful women.

Max is a head or two shorter than his dad, but looks very much like Goofy did at his age.

He lives in Digland, the capital of Ohiorado. Aesthetically Chicago coded. After word gets out about Darkwing Duck being real, Max joins in the heroic game.

Known as KickFlip, Max wears an eye mask and skates around on a techy skateboard-- designed by PJ, an amateur inventor. His gear gets a bit more techy as PJ gains access to more technology [Scrooge eventually uncovers this venture and decides to anonymously fund his enterprise].

PJ and Bobby are his assistants and occasional sidekicks.

He tries to keep this all a secret from his dad, but he can't stop Donald and Della from finding out. So they join the team to help out on occasion, getting to bond with their estranged nephew.

Max acknowledges he's not blood related to the Duck family, but they are his family and there's nothing he wouldn't do to keep them safe.

Max is the last living descendant of King Arthur Lionheart. His mother, it is later revealed, passed away due to a family curse. Good thing he knows a few cursebreakers.

Max eventually obtains Excalibur-- and boasts magical powers he then infuses into his [now hoverboard] tech. He dons a more knight inspired motif and a new name: KnightTech. His skateboard is modified to become a shield [similar to his prime KH timeline]. Further tying into the motif.

[antiques-for-geeks]

Kolchak : The Night Stalker at 50 - The Ripper

One of our favourite shows is 50 years old today.

About thirty years ago, Friday nights were a different experience; some of the school year diligently did their homework, avoiding having to do it on Sunday night. The cool kids were down the park; the local teenage boys trying to woo the local teenage girls with cheap cider from a corner shop whose proprietor would incessantly complain about the crumbling moral fibre of society, yet whose only check for the suitability of the cigarettes and alcohol he sold to his juvenile customers was their ability to pay.

Then there were those who were glued to the TV, who fell in love with early evening comedy, talk shows, late night news analysis and cult films starting not long before midnight.

Guess which ones we were?

Around the autumn of 1991, a series of late night cult TV started on BBC 2 in the UK. Called The Mystery Train was presented by Richard O’Brien (he of The Rocky Horror Show and Crystal Maze fame) and came in three parts. A serial, a film (usually a 50s sci-fi / schlock horror flick) and a short. Much like the Saturday morning matinees at the cinema my Dad used to tell me about.

The serial that was chosen for this nighttime smorgasbord? Kolchak : The Night Stalker.

Fronted by Darren McGavin reprises his titular role of Carl Kolchak (or Karl depending on the week's writer) from the earlier TV movies, it continued the adventures of the old-school newshound whose stories always seem to end up taking him into the world of the paranormal, shadowy government conspiracy, corporate shenanigans or scientists who unwittingly have unleashed far more than they expected.

To keep him in check, as much as Kolchak can be kept in check, Simon Oakland also returned as his long suffering boss, Tony Vincenzo.

The show has been seen as the progenitor of the X-Files, but it’s really better. Yes, it is rather “monster of the week” at its core, but Kolchak’s conceit is better than either Mulder or Scully. Plus, it’s unencumbered by a story-arc that has to be periodically shoe-horned into the show.

With hindsight the show really sat well with The Mystery Train’s eclectic vibe. Funnily, for a while neither Pop nor I knew the other was watching the show; but once we found out, Monday break and lunchtimes at school were a breathless analysis of Friday’s episode. Those who had missed it, or worse still didn't care, obviously shrugged their shoulders and left us to it.

Analysis might be stretching it a bit far. More a mix of piss-taking at the quality of the special effects, the flatness or excitement of that week’s story or marvelling at certain shots and the atmosphere they managed to create.

Siskel & Ebert’s jobs, no doubt to their relief, were safe.

Why bring this up now? Well, exactly 50 years ago today, the 13th of September 1974, Kolchak : The Night Stalker began airing in the US at 10pm, on ABC with the Episode The Ripper. 

The show only lasted a season, and a shorter than intended one at that, but it has cast a very long shadow.

Plot

The Ripper strikes. It's about to go down.

Quite straightforward this one. A series of murders in Chicago has similarities with those committed in Whitechapel, London during 1888. No-one other than Kolchak can - or is willing enough to - suspend belief and put the pieces together to do what is needed to stop the killer.

Guests

Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland were joined by :

Beatrice Colen - Jane Plumm

Ruth McDevitt - Elderly Woman

Jack Grinnage - Ron Updyke

Ken Lynch - Capt. Warren

Marya Small - Masseuse

Donald Mantooth - Policeman

Robert Bryan Berger - Mail Boy

Roberta Collins - Detective Cortazzo

Clint Young - Driver

and

Mickey Gilbert as The Ripper

The Scoop

Pop : I haven't watched this series for many years, but this one feels like it hits all the beats of a 'typical' Night Stalker episode.

Carl Kolchak stalking a supernatural fiend, mostly at night, to get a juicy story.

Police officers being thrown about by said fiend.

Some banter with an exasperated Tony Vincenzo, Carl's boss at the Independent News Service.

Light piss taking of Ron Updike, a rival reporter.

Footage of a Chicago 'L' train passing through the city (you're going to see this clip a lot!)

Since it's the pilot, that all makes sense, but it also exposes one of my main issues with this series - it's very much like a smaller scale, less impressive version of the 2 highly successful feature films, which many original viewers were likely to have seen first. Still, taken on its own merits it's a decent pick for a pilot. And just to be clear, I'd definitely count myself as a fan of this series.

Just like the films, it's all very darkly lit. Although it reminds me a little of the critique of 'Manos, the hands of fate" in MST3k - "Every frame of this movie looks like someone's last known photo!", in my opinion, the lack of light in many of the scenes only adds to the creepy atmosphere, and helps to disguise cheap sets and costumes.

There is a decent amount of outdoor footage, and pacing is also good for a show of this era. This is the pilot, so I'm interested to see if that continues!

You won't catch him like that. Our hero holds court to an exasperated Vincenzo and an indifferent Police Captain, who's about to get his arse handed to him.

Tim : This could so easily have been a rejected script for a third Kolchak film and yes, it does feel a little rushed in places, but the script does a good job of reintroducing the Kolchak/Vincenzo dynamic to an audience who would not have had the luxury of pulling up a streaming service and re-watching the preceding movies.

It also pretty well sets up the character of Ron Updyke and his, albeit one-sided, rivalry with Kolchak. Jack Grinnage and Darren McGavin were good friends, which is immediately obvious from chemistry.

The tension and tone of the show is established quickly in the opening shots and maintained. Part of this is down to the theme by Gil Melle, part to the incidental music; that moment you hear the series theme and its flip from gentle to menacing half way through. Coupled with some really lovely cinematography, even if by modern standards, sometimes feels a bit shonky.

What the episode doesn’t do well is as obvious as what it does - away from the leads and the characters of Updyke and Captain Warren (Ken Lynch), there is a very real feeling that everyone else is wallpaper, only there to move the story forward to Kolchak’s next checkpoint.

Overall though, this was one of my favourite episodes back in the 1990s and on rewatching it didn’t disappoint.

Highlight

Pop : I love Kolchak's freak out when he's hiding in the ripper's wardrobe and is about to get caught. Darren McGavin really does give his all to sell this series, and his performance perfectly walks the line by treating the material just seriously enough to avoid undermining it.

Tim : Agree the wardrobe scene is a key moment, but the chase between The Ripper and Police is an exciting, if sanitised for 1970s US network TV, action scene that feels larger than the budget. The lighter, more comedic moments with the Independent News Service staff and the Police land well too, providing just enough of a counterpoint to the show's horror, to avoid seeming silly.

"Miss Physical Therapist" in a Ripper story. Uh-huh. Right. "Contestants". Gotcha.

Lowlight

Pop : The ripper himself has no character - he's a silent killing machine.

He also manages to keep his Victorian era suit and cloak perfectly intact through decades of gruesome murder. Perhaps his clothes are also supernatural?

Tim : Jane Plumm’s given a raw deal in this episode; the way she’s introduced, you’re immediately made aware she’s a one dimensional. disposable character defined largely by her physique.

Score on the doors

Pop : I'll give this one 7/10.

Tim : Solid. 8/10.

How can you explain it? Who could explain it? Who'd believe it? Carl ponders if his story will ever fly.

[popculturebuffet]

House of Mouse: The Stolen Cartoons Review (Patreon Review)

Hello all you happy people! It’s Patreon Review Time. Since my 5 dollar or higherr patreons get 1 review a month, Kevin my 10 dollar patreon is using one of his to celebrate the 20th anniversary of House of Mouse by having me review a random episode a month. And for this month we’re going all the way back to the start with The Stolen Cartoons!

I already introed house of mouse back when I reviewed “The Three Cablleros” episode but for a refresher: House of Mouse is a 2001 cartoon about Mickey and Co running a club. Mickey is host, Minnie plans the show and runs the books, Donald tends to the VIP”s and co owns the club with Mickey, Goofy is head waiter,  Daisy runs guest services, Horace is technical support, Clarabelle is a gossip monger with no clear actual job, and Max is Valet. The show was used to repackage shorts from the short lived show Mickey mouseworks, using the club setting as a wraparound and said club was attentend by all the various characters from the disney canon. It’s as awesome as it sounds. 

The voice cast, which I didn’t intro thorughly last time, was equally awesome with all the actors for the characters at the time, all legends in the industry. Wayne Allwine as Mickey,who played the character from the late 70′s to his death, Russi Taylor as Minnie and the Triplets, who did the same and was also married to wayne, Tony Anselmo, who should be thorughly familiar to readers of this blog and donald duck fans as his voice since Ducktales, Voice Actress Tress Macneile as Daisy, likewise,  Jason Marsden as Max and Voice Acting Legend Jim Cummings as Pete. All except Allweine i’ve profieled before on this blog in various other series, but Wayne, outisde of a very minor role in black cauldron, only voiced Mickey, and to me is the defntiive voice for the guy, though Chris is getting close. 

The other notable members of the cast i havent’ covered are April Winchell, who while tremendous, I will save for an episode Clarabelle is actually in more, and Bill Farmer. I have a great amount of Love for Bill and like everyone here, he was a vertran of the industry by the time he showed up in this series. His defining roll far and away is goofy, who was, to my delighted surprise his FIRST voice audition, having studided PInto Colving’s voice well to the point you can barely tell the difference between the two, and having inherited the roll around the same time as Russi and Tony. He’s the voice of Goofy I and most kids from the 80′s onward have grown up with and is the best at the roll by far, having chances for depth and nuance Pinto wasn’t allowed with the Goofy Movies and other works. IN general he’s just THE goofy to me. He’s also the voice of horace and pluto, and currently voices Hop Pop in Amphibia which is super noteworthy as looking at his filmography like a lot of the sensational 6′s va’s he’s only voiced goofy or Pluto for most of his career. But hey like Tony, if you only do one charcter might as well be the fucking best at it. He also has a show on Disney Plus with him and dogs I need to watch yesterday. 

So with our cast out of the way, and not much history to go into, join me after the cut and we’ll see how House of Mouse got it’s start and if it was a good one. 

Breaking from my usual format for House of Mouse and doing the shorts as they come up int he main story for two reasons: The first is that the shorts are integral to the plot and the second is that there’s way more main story this time around than usual, likely to properly set things up. 

So we open at the House of Mouse with Mickey Adressing the club and showing off the general premise of this being a club for all of the various heroes and villains of disney to hang out and what not. He also presents the house rules which are no smoking (Fair and should’ve always been a thing), no villianous schemes and no eating the other guests, all helpfully demonstrated as he says them. We also get to see the others in action: Minnie handling the schedule and the crew, Donald welcoming the guests, and Daisy running the desk and getitng brainwashed by Jafar into giving him a table. Max also is providing his job as Valet which surprised me because I genuinely thought he didn’t join the cast till season 2.. despite the fact he’s right there in the credits.. which are the same for ALL THREE SEASONS. 

So things are going well.. so naturally that’s when Pete shows up to try and ruin things. Look he’s having a hard time after the divorce.. several years ago. Okay maybe he’s always just been a dick and that’s why he’s divorced in the first place. Point is he naturally wants to shut the club down, boot them out, and wreck up the place like any natural cartoon villian or real estate scum bag landlord. Pete just happens to be both because he can multitask. .and because it’s basically the same thing you just have to be animated for one of them.  Thankfully whoever the previous Landlord was, i’m going with Shere Kahn given the setting, his roll in tailspin and the fact the obvious candidate, scrooge, would make no sense here given a later episode where he guest stars, wrote into the contract that as long as the show goes on, they can stay in business. Pete stews over this and naturally plans to stop the show while Minnie, in a cute bit, comforts a nervous mickey and just tells him to play some cartoons. So...

Pluto Gets the Paper: Wet Cement and Donald’s Dynamite: Magic Act I”m covering both of these at once. But as I said the animated shorts this time are one big sized one and two of the shorter ones to make more room for the story. Which is fair: this is the first episode, and thus needs to set up the premise. The series isn’t story driven but your first episode should still feel like one, ease you into the world and get you situated and THEN can do the normal format. It’s also in the episode’s favor as the heavier story focus meant a BETTER story than most season 1 episodes, on par with the two season 3 episodes i’ve covered so far. 

The shorts themselves are fine. So far this is the only Pluto Short i’ve liked as it has a neat enough gaga: Pluto has to get the paper in wet cement. Why did the paperboy throw it in wet cement instead of in the driveway, I dunno but given this short is well.. short and just meant to deliver on some quick gags, I’m not going to question it. It’s the first Pluto short i’ve covered without any dog sexual harassment, i’m not looking a gift dog in the mouth. 

The other short short played right after is part of a series where Donald ends up trying to get rid of a round bomb that shows up wherever he is....

It’s pretty damn funny, though being a huge Donald fan i’m obviously biased, but even removing my donald duck brand sunglasses, I will concede this was objectively fun.

But the cartoons stop as, true to the title, they’ve gone missing! Horace is found tied up, the cartoons are gone and Pete is obviously responsible. and hilariously so as the rope has his name on it and he says “I don’t know horace horsecollar” There are a LOT of good gags in this one, i’m leaving a lot out for time’s sake. 

So Mickey and Minnie come up with a plan: Mickey sends the.. Quackstreet Boys.... to stall. Now it may shock you but I actually LIKE the backstreet boys. Not to an extreme amount but I did grow up with them, and even now find their music pretty damn good. No my issue is this parody is weak, mostly running entirely on the title pun. The most I can give them credit for is using the outfits from their second album cover. No I wasn’t kidding I did grow up with them. You saw that everywhere so even if I didn’t enjoy their music then and now, i’d know it. But it just feels really weak, like they had no idea what to DO with the boys and instead just slapped them in a lame parody. It dosen’t help i’m not a fan of the classic version of the boys outside of the comics, as I feel later productions should’ve had them actually be distinct, and it took until 2017 to pull that off with the reboot, something I fear may be undone in future productions. Please.. don’t.. you can have Cristina Vee voice them all, I don’t care about the voice I just want to be able to tell them a apart. So yeah I don’t like it but it dosen’t drag the episode down. Just something I wanted to have a moan about. 

So they split up: Mickey, Minnie and Goofy go to shoot a cartoon while Donald runs the club. Naturally he rebrands.. but what really is telling is everyone boos him when he tries to mc.. just for not being Mickey. While Donald does have a massive inferiority complex here, desperately wanting to one up mickey.. with moments like this it’s hard not to see why> He’s JUST as big a star, just as talented , maybe not as nice but just as likeable. He even co-owns the club. But ironically only Mickey Himself, and Daisy of Course, treat him like an equal. To everyone else it’s Mickey’s world and he’s just the sidekick. It’s no wonder he spend sthe entire show desperately trying to outdo mickey: he doesn’t hate the guy, even if he wouldn’t admit it.. but he just wants to be loved too. Sure it’s part ego.

Mickey does return though with the new cartoon. And our only sizeable one so. 

Hickory Dickory Mickey: This is a REALLY good one with a simple enough premise; Goofy wants Mickey to take him to the airport at 6am tomorrow.. which Mickey balks at. 

Seriously i’ve woken up at 3-4am to go to the airport or on road trips. Waking up at 5:30 is pretty standard. Goofy also has good reason to ask as he once BROKE MICKEY OUT OF JAIL. And as seen up top the flashback is done in black and white AND with their old models. I just.. love everything about this and it had to have taken extra effort to make new models for the old models and thus extra money for a quick joke. So kudos best part of the episode. But with his hands tied Mickey is forced to take him and Goofy leaves him his clock which won’t stop ticking. So we get just.. nonstop good gags as Mickey tries to sleep with standouts being his trying to drown it out only to get the tick station, the tock station on the radio and the clock channel on the tv. He also tries to mail it and naturally it comes back thanks to a kangaroo when he ships it to Australia..a nd then get’s progressively batshit as he mails it to HADES (comes back in a puff of smoke) and to the 1920′s (It comes back in black and white with arms and legs). It’s just.. really damn good and I suggest seeking it out. I have liked other shorts better but this was a good one. 

Pete still gloats as they’ll need more cartoons.. only for one to fall out of his jacket and Mickey to shake the rest out. We then get a fun chase between the two, SO many good jokes, my favorite being him dressing up as a dalmation only for Cruella to take measurements, before being cornered by the three and the elephant from tarzan who throws him out.. right next to pepper-ann and her mom “Don’t touch the villian dear”. Good crossover.. and another show that like House of Mouse is not on disney plus don’t ask me why. 

So our heroes win, we get our usual sponsorship and unusually we see the guests leave, a nice bit I wish they did more. All’s well that ends well. 

Final Thoughts: This episode was fantastic. It introduces the cast well, sets up our villian, our basic premise and while only having one major cartoon, uses that as a plot point and it’s a damn good one. A fantastic start to the series and frankly the best place to start if your curious about the show. I’d like to thank Kev for sponsoring this review. If you’d like your own review you can look at comissoin details on my blog or get one guaranteed every month by becoming a 5 dollar patreon. You get one guaranteed review a month, acess to my discord server for my patreons, and to pick a short when I do birthday specials. And contributing to my patreon gets me closer to my stretch goals, even one dollar helps. Next goal not only gets reviews of the super ducktales mini series, but also a darkwing duck episode EVERY MONTH. And with the plug done, i’ll see you at the next rainbow. 

[96thdayofrage]

ProPublica gained access to the group after Lang sent an invitation to a reporter’s social media account. It’s unclear whether Lang knew he had invited a reporter, and the reporter joined but did not participate in the chats.

The group, created two days after the Jan. 6 attack, grew from a few dozen members to nearly 200 in just a week. There, safe from the deplatforming spree of mainstream social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, Lang set out to recruit “normies” and radicalize them to the point that they joined regional militia groups.

Lang’s conversations offer a window into how some of President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters — still simmering over baseless allegations of election fraud — are finding new connections on messaging platforms that are largely hidden from public scrutiny. Unlike sites such as Facebook, Telegram is a messaging app where users can create large, invitation-only and encrypted chat groups, and it allows users to remain anonymous by hiding their phone numbers from one another. Within days of the riots, more than 25 million users globally joined Telegram, the company’s CEO said, although the U.S. accounts for a fraction of its user base. A company spokesman did not respond to questions from ProPublica.

The chats also make clear that at least some of those involved in the Capitol insurrection, despite a sweeping crackdown by U.S. law enforcement that has resulted in more than 160 cases, appear dedicated to planning and participating in further violence.

“This has been one of my concerns shorter-term: That folks who are more fervent are seeking each other out in a way that can lead to some short-term, violent outbursts,” said Amy Cooter, a senior lecturer of sociology at Vanderbilt University who has studied militia activity for more than a decade. Homeland Security officials on Wednesday warned of heightened threats of violence across the country from domestic extremists who felt emboldened by the Jan. 6 attack.

The FBI referred questions of whether the government was aware of Lang’s activities to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, which did not immediately return an inquiry seeking comment Wednesday. 

ProPublica sifted through thousands of videos taken by Parler users to create an immersive, first-person view of the Capitol riot. 

A lawyer for Lang, Steven Metcalf, said he was not aware of his client’s private social media messages, including the Telegram group. Metcalf said he planned to enter a not-guilty plea and to contend that Lang was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech on Jan. 6.

After Lang’s arrest, his father, Ned Lang, told the local newspaper, the Times Herald-Record of Middletown, New York, that his son had struggled with substance abuse. “As a result, he has had numerous issues with law enforcement over the past 11 years and it has only gotten worse, as is evidenced by his most recent arrest and actions at our nation’s Capitol!” Ned Lang said in an emailed statement to the newspaper. “We are praying for my son that he conquers his addictions and finds a new path forward in his life!” Ned Lang did not respond to messages from ProPublica seeking comment.

Jake Lang’s public social media accounts depict him as an internet-savvy serial entrepreneur, with one now-defunct Instagram account, @jakevape, chronicling hashtagged trips to Coachella, California, and to Art Basel in Miami. Public records show he had moved through various business ventures, from one selling vaporizers to another selling custom baseball hats. For a time, he ran Social Model Management, which promised to help prospective models get “social media famous” by unlocking “industry secrets” that would triple their Instagram followers.

More recent social media posts by Lang acknowledged his struggle to stay sober and a deepening interest in religion. In an Instagram post from last year, tagged “#ChristEnergy,” Lang set goals for himself to memorize the Hebrew alphabet and stay kosher.

After his participation in the Capitol insurrection, Lang seemingly turned his online audience-building skills to a new mission: On the evening of Jan. 8, he turned to Instagram to send a round of invitations to join his private Telegram group, appealing to “patriots” willing to act locally and nationally as an armed paramilitary.

When new members joined the group, he emphasized they should remain anonymous by hiding their phone numbers and changing their usernames to “@Patriot[name].” He urged members to avoid chitchat and any specifics about future actions. Some floated gatherings on Inauguration Day or a few days before in state capitals, although others warned that protests on those days could be a trap. Participants were told they’d be vetted “to make sure they are who they claim to be,” wrote user Silence DoGood, before they were added to their local group chats by regional leaders.

Lang repeatedly used photos and videos of himself from the Capitol insurrection to stress the importance of military-style organization in future attacks.

“A woman just died in this video being trampled by DC police because we aren’t organized as patriots,” Lang posted on Jan. 10, an apparent reference to Rosanne Boyland, who died in a stampede at the Capitol. “This was my carnal cry for the real men to step up and help.”

Replied one member, who went by the username Tony Bologna: “Damn brother! Amen.”

“It was the first battle of the Second American Revolution- make no mistakes,” Lang continued. “This is WAR.” He posted a code of conduct in the group, as well as a set of meme-like instructions for members to prepare for a national “blackout,” buying long-range walkie-talkies and stocking up on guns, ammo and food.

“It’s really happening huh?” asked another user, Alastair. Lang replied with a video attachment, again of himself outside of the Capitol: “Do not be afraid of these tyrants.”

Some of the chat’s new recruits referred to Lang in language borrowed from the military. When one new member asked who the group’s leader was, another replied: “GENERAL JAKE😈😈😈 Your soldiers are reporting for duty.”

One user, dubbed Nomad, appointed himself a regional organizer in western Michigan, while another volunteered to boost the group’s ranks in central Florida. 

“This is grass roots,” wrote Patriot Captain RedorDead, who claimed to invite 20 prospective recruits from a local gym. “This is real.” Lang also encouraged recruiting at local gun shops.

He chastised members who veered into more social territory. “Guys please this is a MILITIA group to defend our country from communism - private message each other if you want to flirt. Only warning.”

While the idea was to organize a coherent strategy ahead of Jan. 20, when President Joe Biden would be sworn in, the group didn’t appear to coalesce around one. Lang offered few details: “The plan for now is to Martin Luther king style March on 17th and 20th, exercising our Rights (that means armed),” he wrote on Jan. 13. “Peace and God be the forefront of all of what we do. But we cannot not show up and appear weak! That is not an option.”

There’s no sign those in the chats took action on those days, but experts like Cooter warn against writing off their intentions as chatroom bluster. While most new online militia groups “are probably keyboard warriors and nothing more,” she cautioned, “we don't know that for sure, and I don’t think we can be complacent about a real risk from even a small minority of such groups.”

Experts have warned about the dangers of online echo chambers for years, but deplatforming may bring other risks, said Josh Pasek, a political science and communication and media professor at the University of Michigan. “The concern is much larger if the selection of which platforms people are using in the first place is itself more polarized. The chance that they make themselves far more extreme is high.”

He added: “The Capitol riot isn’t the end of much. What happens online can move offline. We’ve seen way too many examples of that to ignore it at this point.” 

By Jan. 18, word of Lang’s arrest reached the Telegram group users. 

“Seems as though the FEDs aren’t fucking around…” wrote one member. 

“Omg @patriotjake !!!” Patriot Jetaime wrote.

Some members left, but others vowed to stick around. “I’m still going to stay in the group in case he comes back, which is unlikely, but we may have to continue where he left off,” Patriot Zoomer said.

“The group is still here,” added PatriotLos. “Being patriotic is a lifestyle. Everyone has the capability to lead so don’t get lost.”

ProPublica gained access to the group after Lang sent an invitation to a reporter’s social media account. It’s unclear whether Lang knew he had invited a reporter, and the reporter joined but did not participate in the chats.

The group, created two days after the Jan. 6 attack, grew from a few dozen members to nearly 200 in just a week. There, safe from the deplatforming spree of mainstream social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, Lang set out to recruit “normies” and radicalize them to the point that they joined regional militia groups.

Lang’s conversations offer a window into how some of President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters — still simmering over baseless allegations of election fraud — are finding new connections on messaging platforms that are largely hidden from public scrutiny. Unlike sites such as Facebook, Telegram is a messaging app where users can create large, invitation-only and encrypted chat groups, and it allows users to remain anonymous by hiding their phone numbers from one another. Within days of the riots, more than 25 million users globally joined Telegram, the company’s CEO said, although the U.S. accounts for a fraction of its user base. A company spokesman did not respond to questions from ProPublica.

The chats also make clear that at least some of those involved in the Capitol insurrection, despite a sweeping crackdown by U.S. law enforcement that has resulted in more than 160 cases, appear dedicated to planning and participating in further violence.

“This has been one of my concerns shorter-term: That folks who are more fervent are seeking each other out in a way that can lead to some short-term, violent outbursts,” said Amy Cooter, a senior lecturer of sociology at Vanderbilt University who has studied militia activity for more than a decade. Homeland Security officials on Wednesday warned of heightened threats of violence across the country from domestic extremists who felt emboldened by the Jan. 6 attack.

The FBI referred questions of whether the government was aware of Lang’s activities to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, which did not immediately return an inquiry seeking comment Wednesday.

ProPublica sifted through thousands of videos taken by Parler users to create an immersive, first-person view of the Capitol riot. 

A lawyer for Lang, Steven Metcalf, said he was not aware of his client’s private social media messages, including the Telegram group. Metcalf said he planned to enter a not-guilty plea and to contend that Lang was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech on Jan. 6.

After Lang’s arrest, his father, Ned Lang, told the local newspaper, the Times Herald-Record of Middletown, New York, that his son had struggled with substance abuse. “As a result, he has had numerous issues with law enforcement over the past 11 years and it has only gotten worse, as is evidenced by his most recent arrest and actions at our nation’s Capitol!” Ned Lang said in an emailed statement to the newspaper. “We are praying for my son that he conquers his addictions and finds a new path forward in his life!” Ned Lang did not respond to messages from ProPublica seeking comment.

Jake Lang’s public social media accounts depict him as an internet-savvy serial entrepreneur, with one now-defunct Instagram account, @jakevape, chronicling hashtagged trips to Coachella, California, and to Art Basel in Miami. Public records show he had moved through various business ventures, from one selling vaporizers to another selling custom baseball hats. For a time, he ran Social Model Management, which promised to help prospective models get “social media famous” by unlocking “industry secrets” that would triple their Instagram followers.

More recent social media posts by Lang acknowledged his struggle to stay sober and a deepening interest in religion. In an Instagram post from last year, tagged “#ChristEnergy,” Lang set goals for himself to memorize the Hebrew alphabet and stay kosher.

After his participation in the Capitol insurrection, Lang seemingly turned his online audience-building skills to a new mission: On the evening of Jan. 8, he turned to Instagram to send a round of invitations to join his private Telegram group, appealing to “patriots” willing to act locally and nationally as an armed paramilitary.

When new members joined the group, he emphasized they should remain anonymous by hiding their phone numbers and changing their usernames to “@Patriot[name].” He urged members to avoid chitchat and any specifics about future actions. Some floated gatherings on Inauguration Day or a few days before in state capitals, although others warned that protests on those days could be a trap. Participants were told they’d be vetted “to make sure they are who they claim to be,” wrote user Silence DoGood, before they were added to their local group chats by regional leaders.

Lang repeatedly used photos and videos of himself from the Capitol insurrection to stress the importance of military-style organization in future attacks.

“A woman just died in this video being trampled by DC police because we aren’t organized as patriots,” Lang posted on Jan. 10, an apparent reference to Rosanne Boyland, who died in a stampede at the Capitol. “This was my carnal cry for the real men to step up and help.”

Replied one member, who went by the username Tony Bologna: “Damn brother! Amen.”

“It was the first battle of the Second American Revolution- make no mistakes,” Lang continued. “This is WAR.” He posted a code of conduct in the group, as well as a set of meme-like instructions for members to prepare for a national “blackout,” buying long-range walkie-talkies and stocking up on guns, ammo and food.

“It’s really happening huh?” asked another user, Alastair. Lang replied with a video attachment, again of himself outside of the Capitol: “Do not be afraid of these tyrants.”

Some of the chat’s new recruits referred to Lang in language borrowed from the military. When one new member asked who the group’s leader was, another replied: “GENERAL JAKE😈😈😈 Your soldiers are reporting for duty.”

One user, dubbed Nomad, appointed himself a regional organizer in western Michigan, while another volunteered to boost the group’s ranks in central Florida. 

“This is grass roots,” wrote Patriot Captain RedorDead, who claimed to invite 20 prospective recruits from a local gym. “This is real.” Lang also encouraged recruiting at local gun shops.

He chastised members who veered into more social territory. “Guys please this is a MILITIA group to defend our country from communism - private message each other if you want to flirt. Only warning.”

While the idea was to organize a coherent strategy ahead of Jan. 20, when President Joe Biden would be sworn in, the group didn’t appear to coalesce around one. Lang offered few details: “The plan for now is to Martin Luther king style March on 17th and 20th, exercising our Rights (that means armed),” he wrote on Jan. 13. “Peace and God be the forefront of all of what we do. But we cannot not show up and appear weak! That is not an option.”

There’s no sign those in the chats took action on those days, but experts like Cooter warn against writing off their intentions as chatroom bluster. While most new online militia groups “are probably keyboard warriors and nothing more,” she cautioned, “we don't know that for sure, and I don’t think we can be complacent about a real risk from even a small minority of such groups.”

Experts have warned about the dangers of online echo chambers for years, but deplatforming may bring other risks, said Josh Pasek, a political science and communication and media professor at the University of Michigan. “The concern is much larger if the selection of which platforms people are using in the first place is itself more polarized. The chance that they make themselves far more extreme is high.”

He added: “The Capitol riot isn’t the end of much. What happens online can move offline. We’ve seen way too many examples of that to ignore it at this point.” 

By Jan. 18, word of Lang’s arrest reached the Telegram group users. 

“Seems as though the FEDs aren’t fucking around…” wrote one member. 

“Omg @patriotjake !!!” Patriot Jetaime wrote.

Some members left, but others vowed to stick around. “I’m still going to stay in the group in case he comes back, which is unlikely, but we may have to continue where he left off,” Patriot Zoomer said.

“The group is still here,” added PatriotLos. “Being patriotic is a lifestyle. Everyone has the capability to lead so don’t get lost.”

[sineala]

heyy sorry this is a stupid question but you mention you're writing a star trek au sequel (which i'm very excited for!!) but somehow i can't find the original fic that you wrote. sorry i'm dumb but i was wondering if you had on ao3 and i'd like to read it before your sequel comes out. thank you!

It’s totally not a stupid question! Here it is on AO3:

Straight on till Morning (109848 words) by SinealaChapters: 6/6Fandom: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Avengers (Comics)Rating: ExplicitWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Steve Rogers/Tony StarkCharacters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Carol Danvers, Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Clint Barton, Donald Blake (Marvel), Jocasta (Marvel)Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Action/Adventure, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pining, Angst, Secret Identity, Identity Porn, Sex Pollen, Fuck Or Die, Caves, Sex In A Cave, Technobabble, Happy Ending, Cap_Ironman Big Bang 2016, Community: cap_ironman

Summary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he'd never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony's own design. What's more, the Avenger's captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive... and very, very attractive.

But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own -- and the truth could change everything.

Anyway. Yeah.

It’s an AU/fusion with approximately the Avengers team from volume 3, set during the TOS-era movies. It takes place slightly after Star Trek IV, but none of the Trek characters are in this, though their names are mentioned a few times and a few of the TOS episodes and movies are spoiled.

A bunch of people bid on me for, uh, Stony Trumps Hate 2017 to write a sequel. The sequel is currently 115,000 words long and somewhere between half and two-thirds done. It’s been taking me a while. Real life has gotten in the way a lot more than I expected it to, sorry. Anyway, it’s probably going to be the longest thing I’ve ever written. (I’m almost done with Chapter 3 out of 6 and Chapter 3 has somehow ended up being 60,000 words so far. The others will be shorter. Hopefully.) So I have no idea when the sequel will actually be done, but it is currently my primary story in progress when I manage to make writing happen.

Thank you for asking! I’m glad you are excited for the sequel! I hope you like the first one!

[aion-rsa]

Hamilton and 10 Other Ways to Watch the American Revolution

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Hamilton will debut on Disney+ on July 3rd, the start of a long holiday weekend. The Walt Disney Company paid good money for the Broadway phenomenon, a reported $75 million for the rights to the film, which features performances by the original cast (we wrote a primer on the cast and where they are now).

If you’re healthily avoiding crowds and already had your fill of fireworks, here are 10 more movies and TV shows that explore the American Revolution from different angles. 

1776 (1972)

Making the Founding Fathers sing was truly revolutionary when Sherman Edwards’s musical debuted on Broadway in 1969. The plot traced how the Second Continental Congress decided on independence; there are lots of fun character moments but really no other story. After the show won the Tony for Best Musical, Hollywood mogul Jack Warner hired most of the cast and director Peter Hunt to make a movie. Then Warner cut a big production number (now restored) to please President Nixon. This is John Adams’s view of history, so he’s the hero and John Dickinson the antagonist—but Dickinson still comes off better than eminent jurist James Wilson. Recognizing 1776 as an inspiration, Lin-Manuel Miranda gave the song “Sit Down, John!” a shout-out in Hamilton.

More of This: For rollicking fun in the 1700s, everybody should see Tom Jones, the 1963 film by Tony Richardson that made Albert Finney a global star.

April Morning (1988) and The Crossing (1999)

Howard Fast, proud leftist author of Spartacus, published April Morning as a novel about the Battle of Lexington and Concord and The Crossing as a nonfiction account of the Battle of Trenton. Now we recognize both as historical fiction. Fast’s robust stories were adapted into television movies with stellar leads: Tommy Lee Jones played a Lexington farmer guiding his teen-aged son in 1988, and Jeff Daniels portrayed Gen. George Washington trying to get across the Delaware in 2000.

More of This: In 1984 and 1986, CBS dramatized the life of George Washington over 10 hours. Barry Bostwick played George and Patty Duke Astin played Martha, so they got the height differential right.

The Book of Negroes

At the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, British authorities evacuated thousands of Loyalists of African descent to Canada. The names of free black refugees were recorded in a document labeled “The Book of Negroes,” and Canadian novelist Lawrence Hill borrowed that title. (In the U.S., his book was retitled Someone Knows My Name.) In 2015 Hill turned his award-winning novel into a six-episode miniseries with writer-director Clement Virgo. This globe-spanning story follows a woman kidnapped in Niger, enslaved in South Carolina, and evacuated to Nova Scotia; she then returns to Africa to help found Sierra Leone. The Book of Negroes thus explores personal and political liberty, war, and nation-building—but not confined to the U.S.

More of This: The 1990 biopic Divided Loyalties profiles Joseph Brant, leader of Britain’s Mohawk allies during the Revolutionary War. Why do we see such side-eye on the American Revolution from Canada? Oh, yeah… 

The Devil’s Disciple

It’s always fun to watch Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas work together, enjoying each other’s company and trying to steal scenes. How about adding Laurence Olivier to the mix as real-life British general and playwright John Burgoyne? All in a 1959 adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s first successful play, set in upstate New York during the crucial 1777 campaign. You might think the battle scenes acted out by wooden dolls are the most unrealistic part of this film, but wait till Lancaster blows up a room full of redcoats and stays on his feet. Because he’s Burt Lancaster, dammit!

More of This: To be frank, John Ford’s 1939 adaptation of Drums Along the Mohawk with Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda is a better Hollywood movie set in upstate New York during the Revolution, but a more conventional one. 

John Adams

HBO’s seven-hour miniseries from 2008 remains the gold standard for Revolutionary drama because of the terrific acting by Paul Giamatti as John Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail Adams. The screenplay throws John into the center of events even more than his own autobiography did, and historical shortcuts often shortchange the facts. But the smart, cantankerous, high-minded spirit of the Adamses shines through.

More of This: Back in 1976, PBS covered the same ground in its thirteen-episode series The Adams Chronicles, which continued into the next two generations. Compare and contrast. 

Liberty’s Kids

PBS, DIC Entertainment, and a slew of celebrity voices taught Gen. Z about America’s Revolution in this 40-episode animated cartoon. Three years before Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted, this series showed a bunch of teens navigating a world at war. The young heroes managed to go almost everywhere the action was, and also not to age much between 1773 and 1789.

More of This: For another animated take, seek out Disney’s 1953 short “Ben and Me.” To see teens caught up in the start of the Revolution, Disney also offers Johnny Tremain from 1957. Even better, read the novels by Robert Lawson and Esther Forbes. 

Mary Silliman’s War

This is undoubtedly the most historically accurate film about life during the Revolutionary War. Mary Silliman was a housewife in Fairfield, Connecticut. Her husband was a militia officer imprisoned by the British, and she pursued his release while managing their farm and evading a Royal Navy attack. Educated and pious, Silliman kept a journal, which Joy Day Buel and Richard Buel, Jr., studied to write The Way of Duty. That biography was the basis of this independent drama from 1994 directed by Stephen Surjik, whose more recent work includes episodes of Daredevil and The Umbrella Academy.

More of This: The 1997 documentary A Midwife’s Tale dramatizes crucial moments in the life of midwife Martha Ballard while focusing on how historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich recreated that life from the bare bones of Ballard’s post-Revolutionary diary. 

Revolution

After making the so-very-British Chariots of Fire, very-British Hugh Hudson turned in 1985 to the American War for Independence. And he cast not-at-all-British Al Pacino and Nastassja Kinski as British colonists caught up in the fighting, plus Canadian Donald Sutherland as a sadistic British sergeant. The result was widely derided as an epic mess, but there are some powerful visual sequences. Hudson later made a director’s cut that’s unusual in being 10 minutes shorter than the original version, as well as more coherent.

More of This: The next time Hollywood tried a Revolutionary War epic with a foreign-born director, Roland Emmerich delivered The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson. Such an invincible hero, such cartoonish villains, such whitewashing of the period’s sticky issues—it made Revolution look better.

Sweet Liberty

This 1986 comedy by Alan Alda hinged on the making of a movie about the 1781 Battle of Cowpens. Alda played a local professor and reenactor trying to stand up for historical accuracy. Michele Pfeiffer and Michael Caine were over-the-top actors come to South Carolina to star in the movie within the movie, and Saul Rubinek and Bob Hoskins played the crass filmmakers. It’s a mild satire of Hollywood clashing with genuine folk, but dedicated eighteenth-century reenactors who trained the troops in The Patriot say this film is the most accurate reflection of their experience.

More of This: For real drama behind Revolutionary reenactments, check out Nyier Abdou and Adya Beasley’s 39-minute documentary Being George on YouTube.

Turn: Washington’s Spies

From 2014 to 2017, this 40-episode AMC series told a highly fictionalized account of the Culper Spy Ring that operated on Long Island, slipping information from British-occupied New York to the American command. Later seasons covered Benedict Arnold’s betrayal and carried through to Yorktown. Though most of the main characters were inspired by real people, only Ian Kahn’s portrayal of George Washington felt deeply rooted in history. But adherence to the documentary record wasn’t the point of Turn—melodrama was, and the plot twists and romantic entanglements are many.

More of This: For more eighteenth-century melodrama, check out the 2013 filming of Moonfleet on Amazon. (But beware: The website offers cast info about Fritz Lang’s 1955 version instead.) 

The post Hamilton and 10 Other Ways to Watch the American Revolution appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38rGftS

[amandafelb09-blog]

Blog 3: Politics online

With loss of privacy, shorter attention spans and the increased circulation of non-factual information, social media is associated with some negative societal impacts (Jung 2017), however, one positive aspect is that people may eventually use their digital citizenship to engage in political conversation online, resulting in true democracy (Swinburne Online 2017).

When digital platforms were becoming popular socialising hubs, websites began to appear allowing the public to take part in opinion polls, mock voting and discussions around politics. This new environment created opportunities for public debate of political matters as well as alternative communication avenues for political marketing (Carson 2016). Despite the interest from the public, Australian politicians were not overly quick to take up social media (Grant, Moon & Grant 2010), with some dismissing its impact. In 2015, Tony Abbott said ‘Social media is like electronic graffiti, you make a big mistake to pay too much attention to it, it has about as much authority and credibility as graffiti.’ Abbott is an ex-journalist and should know that graffiti is also a form of human expression which can be used to demonstrate political dissatisfaction (Snowden 2015).

Now that social media captures every word, politicians need to be cautious with their language and message. Emily Thornberry, a British politician, tweeted a picture of a small house with three English flags on the window of the home. She included the hashtag #Rochester. Regardless of what she meant, people quickly jumped to the conclusion that she was being snobby and/or accusing the house owner of being racist for his pride in his country. This created immediate backlash on Twitter and despite an apology, she felt pressure to resign from her role. A responder on Twitter typed: ‘Twitter is not for everyone you know, maybe time to take a break’ (Donald 2014). It is possible that Thornberry did not understand the nuanced culture of social media.

Other politicians, who still have their jobs, but did not grow up with social media, are attempting to navigate this new world with questionable results (Jericho 2012). Some may consider whether online participation will help or hinder their careers. To increase the success rate, politicians must avoid temptation to solely push political messages, as research shows that personal and light-hearted posts receive more positive responses from the public (Young 2010). Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull appears to understand the dynamics of being a savvy social media participator. He posts about his personal life, amongst policy issues, using simple, relatable language on his Facebook and Twitter feed (Dunn 2016). In December 2017, Turnbull had 393,185 followers on Facebook while his opposition leader, Bill Shorten had 209,232. A review of the Bill Shorten Facebook page shows that he posts mostly about policy issues.

Social media has empowered the public to take part in news and politics. Currently 48% of Australian’s get their news via Facebook (Liddy 2015), though algorithms used by Facebook can result in polarised, unreliable information being viewed and shared. Those who are interested in politics share what angers or interests them but are unlikely to see contradictory arguments (Phillips 2016). This is a challenge if true democracy is to flourish online. On a positive note, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, recently announced that he plans to change the algorithms to prioritise ‘meaningful social interactions’ between friends and family, rather than from media outlets and businesses (Wong, 2018). This may decrease polarisation of content in the News Feed which is a positive step for democracy and the well-being of society.

One final thought to consider before it is determined that our digital citizenship has the potential to contribute to political decisions. Despite regular political debate on Twitter, it is estimated that Twitter may have only around 150,000 active accounts in Australia (Jericho 2012). This makes up less than 0.6% of Australia’s population. With 99.4% of Australian’s not active on Twitter, online conversations hardly represent the majority opinion, of which the government are meant to reflect in a democratic country (Dahl 2017). Perhaps in the future, there will be a legal requirement to have a digital citizenship in order to participate in political debate.

References

Carson, A 2016, ‘Please like me: why Facebook might be the key to success in the 2016 election’, viewed 4 January 2018, https://theconversation.com/please-like-me-why-facebook-might-be-the-key-to-success-in-the-2016-election-56427.

Dahl, R, 2017, 'Democracy', Encyclopaedia Britannica, viewed 29 January 2017,https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy. 

Donald, A 2014, ‘Emily Thornberry: How one tweet led to her resignation’, viewed 10 January 2018, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30142579.

Dunn. M 2016 ‘Malcolm Turnbull most popular party leader on Facebook thanks to his personal posts’, viewed 10 January 2018, http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/malcolm-turnbull-most-popular-party-leader-on-facebook-thanks-to-his-personal-posts/news-story/2a412ce46f7c03663f83b9ecc0f803ac.

Grant, W, Moon, B & Grant J 2010, ‘Digital Dialogue? Australian Politicians use of social network tool Twitter’, Australian Journal of Political Science, v16, Iss.5, viewed 19 January 2018.

Jericho, G 2012, 'How many votes are there on Twitter?', in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

Liddy, M 2015, ‘Australian’s don’t trust the news �� except when it comes from their favourite sources’, viewed 21 January 2018, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-16/australians-digital-news-trust/6548232.

Phillips, A 2016, ‘Social media is changing the face of politics’, viewed 9 January 2018, https://theconversation.com/social-media-is-changing-the-face-of-politics-and-its-not-good-news-54266.

Snowden, C 2015, ‘No, Tony Abbott, you can’t dismiss social media as electronic graffiti’, viewed 14 January 2018, https://theconversation.com/no-tony-abbott-you-cant-dismiss-social-media-as-electronic-graffiti-36819.

Swinburne Online 2017, ‘Week 5: Digital Communities’, viewed 22 January 2018, https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/77/pages/5-dot-1-this-weeks-focus?module_item_id=6767.

Wong, J 2018, ‘Facebook overhauls News Feed in favour of meaningful social interactions’, viewed 21 January 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/11/facebook-news-feed-algorithm-overhaul-mark-zuckerberg.

L�%�

[mikelumsden]

Interview: ALAN LICHT

We met on the morning of June 4, 2017, after his performance at Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo festival, with Kristin Thora Haraldsdottir and Vicky Mettler.

***

ML: Last night, we talked about your Minimalist Top Ten lists [published in Halana magazine starting in 1996]. You said they had kind of taken on a life of their own.

AL: Yeah. People have done blogs where they post the albums, or links to them on Youtube. It's a little bit different, because I had to do a lot of digging to track those things down. Even when I wrote that article, I probably didn’t own the actual artefact of every album. It was either a CD reissue or someone had taped it. Now, some of them I have been able to track down, and a lot of them get reissued on vinyl too. It's a different era now where you can actually read this thing and actually listen to all the albums, whereas when I wrote it, it would have taken quite a bit of doing to actually hear the stuff. Like the Henry Flynt cassette “You Are My Everlovin” -- it got reissued a few years later, but before that it would have been virtually impossible. I only heard it because Donald Miller, the guitarist in Borbetomagus, had it. He played it and copied it for me. That was really the way I heard a lot of that stuff, someone copying it. Like Tony Conrad's “Outside the Dream Syndicate.” Originally that was a tape of a tape of a tape I got from someone who had gotten it from Phil Milstein, who ran the Velvet Underground Appreciation Society.

ML: Because that only came out on CD after you wrote that list?

AL: It came out maybe the year before, but it was sort of an encouraging sign, the CD reissue. It was a pretty unlikely record to be reissued at all. That was the great thing about CDs when they came out - it's a new format, maybe people will buy it this time around.

ML: You wrote about Tony Conrad. You've interviewed him?

AL: I interviewed Tony - this is kind of a long story. The long version is - I interviewed him but it was sort of after one failed attempt to interview him. That was for the piece I did on Theater of Eternal Music that ran in Forced Exposure in 1990. I was kind of researching that for a couple years. Tony was giving a presentation of his videos in New York and I introduced myself to him. I called him up and had no idea of the whole feud over the tapes between him and La Monte [Young], and that opened a can of worms, and so I didn't end up interviewing him for that article. A year or so later, while I was still in college, I had met this guy Neil Strauss. He later went on to write this book called "The Game".

ML: The same Neil Strauss?

AL: The same Neil Strauss who wrote this bestselling book about, like, picking up chicks. I met him in college. He turned out to be an experimental music enthusiast and he was getting involved in starting to write for magazines. In 1989, he pitched an idea of doing an article about minimalist composers now, and "where are they now," to Option magazine, which was the big experimental music magazine of the day, and they went for it. We split it up. I interviewed Charlemagne Palestine and Tony Conrad, and he interviewed Phill Niblock and Glenn Branca.

My interview with Charlemagne was kind of a disaster. That's one that lives on on the web, because he was kind of drunk, and went off on this whole rant about being excluded from the "big four" of minimalism, or whatever.

But then Tony - I had a very long conversation with. He was a little more amenable to talking about his own music than talking about La Monte. And that was right when he was starting to do Early Minimalism, kind of around the time of the first performances of that. He was doing it in New Music America and some festivals in Europe. Neil had seen him do it in, I think, Ars Electronica. He had taped part of it and played the tape for me. I was totally blown away by it. This was years before the CD of Early Minimalism came out.

I had heard that Charlemagne was getting back into music at that point too, which he was, but it was still very sporadic. Because of CDs he got more into it in the mid-90s than he was at that point. You gotta say, in 1989, hardly anybody remembered these guys as musicians. Charlemagne had his heyday in New York in the seventies, and in the eighties he didn't do music at all. Sort of the same with Tony, he had done the stuff with La Monte and John Cale in the sixties, and in the seventies he was doing a little bit, but not a lot.

ML: Because he was mostly doing film?

AL: He was teaching film, and that was mostly what he was working on. Although it seems he was kind of working on music on his own, there was just no public outlet for it.

ML: You mentioned Phill Niblock, who's also been featured on a Minimalist Top Ten list. Did you work with him?

AL: I've played Phill's music a number of different times. He has one piece for e-bowed guitars, and I'm on the recording [“G2,44+/x2,” Moikai, 2002] that Jim O'Rourke's label put out, and I've done it live a number of times. And I've played at Experimental Intermedia. I know him pretty well actually.

ML: When you were writing that article, you were working in film distribution?

AL: I was a film student at this point, when I'm talking to all these guys. After I got out of college, I got a job at a film distribution company. Film was an interest but music was always the main interest. I'd contemplated majoring in music, and could never get my head around music theory. Most of the stuff I was working on didn't need to be notated in that way. Actually, the composition teacher I had as a freshman in college was Annea Lockwood, who does a lot of experimental music. Funnily enough, she was actually very strict about rules of harmony.

ML: We were also talking about Kelly Reichardt. You said that you introduced her to Will Oldham. I love his acting in her film “Old Joy.”

AL: I had a number of friends in common with Kelly. She knows a lot of people in the music scene. I got to know her that way, and in fact, I even got her a job at the film distribution company I was working at at one point. I think after I left, she actually worked there full time for a while. Will was living in New York at one point in the late nineties, around when “I See a Darkness” [Palace Records, 1999] came out. I think I introduced them. We'd done this film series at Tonic and we showed “River of Grass.” I don't think Will knew it, and at the screening I introduced the two of them. Then he did the score for “Ode,” this Super 8 movie Kelly did because she had one script that was in turnaround for years and years. She said, forget it, I'll make this shorter movie on my own. Will did the score for that, and then she cast him in “Old Joy.”

ML: And then Yo La Tengo did the score for “Old Joy.”

AL: Kelly is pretty good friends with all of them. And this guy Smokey Hormel is sitting in with Yo La Tengo on that score. Smokey is married to this woman who did lights for Sonic Youth and Nirvana and lots of bands, who is also a good friend of mine. It's one circle of people.

ML: We were also talking last night about “Calvin Johnson Has Ruined Rock for an Entire Generation,” [1994] your solo record on Tom Scharpling’s label 18 Wheeler. With that, and the Love Child and Run On records, how did you fit with the whole New Jersey/New York scene in the nineties? How did you end up dedicating one of the tracks on “Rabbi Sky” [Siltbreeze, 1999] to James McNew of Yo La Tengo?

AL:  I think the dedication to James is because that track is using an MXR Blue Box, which is an octave fuzz pedal, and James really liked that pedal. I guess it just reminded me of Phill [Niblock]'s music, so that's probably why.

ML: That kind of thick sound.

AL: Yeah. Now, the music scene… Tom [Scharpling] and I, and this guy named Jim Romeo, were all from New Jersey. They were from a little different part of NJ than I was. Jim Romeo - this is funny because it does all kind of tie together - was my roommate when I first moved to Hoboken.

He moved into a place in Hoboken that had been lived in by these guys that were friends with a guy named Ken Katkin, who put out the first Love Child single [“Know It’s Alright,” Trash Flow, 1989]. These friends of his kind of abandoned this apartment, I think, and Jim moved in. It was super cheap rent. The total rent of the apartment was four hundred fifty dollars, and there were two of us. Even in 1990 that was unheard of.

One of the guys that lived there, Eric [Fischer], went on to become the road manager for the Stooges. He also shot a video of Love Child, the only real video we made, for the song “Sofa,” using Pixelvision.

Jim moved in there and was looking for a roommate. He had just started working at this booking agency that Bob Lawton ran. They booked Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, and so forth. The way he got that job was because he somehow knew somebody in Big Dipper, and I think they were booking Big Dipper at that point. Bob would have known them from the New England scene. Anyway, I was Jim’s roommate, and Tom was Jim’s best friend from New Jersey. Tom actually worked at this weird music store in Summit, which was the town next to the town I grew up in. Once or twice I kind of stopped in and said hi.

ML: I’ve heard him talk about that sheet music store. I think that’s where he and Jon Wurster would do these telephone calls to each other before they had “The Best Show” on WFMU.

AL: So that was kind of the connection. He would go see Love Child. He was a fan. He did the fanzine 18 Wheeler and was starting to put out some records. I don’t remember the genesis of it, whether he said, “if you want to do something let me know.” I was kind of fooling around in the rehearsal space with the guitar cable through distortion pedals and getting feedback, but also with the delay pedal getting this rhythm to it too. That’s actually what Tom liked. He said, “It’s got the pulse.” I think Suicide was probably the influence, like Martin Rev’s drum machine.

ML: We were talking about the new record [“Currents,” VDSQ, 2015]. This is the first of yours I’ve heard that is acoustic.

AL: It’s the only one that’s acoustic. I’ve played acoustic in my house a little bit. I started off playing a Yamaha classical guitar and then I didn’t own an acoustic guitar until 2009 or so. It’s a pretty big gap. The guitar I was playing last night, I bought before I had an actual acoustic. It’s an acoustic-electric that I bought in 2005.

It was something I only really did at home. All the stuff I played last night was originally worked up in my bedroom, not really knowing what I would do with it. Over the years I realized I had enough things to make an album. I started thinking about the things I could rework. The third piece I played last night was an example of that, something I wrote towards the end of Run On. I had post-rock in mind when I was writing it, but I never did anything with it then. Then I reworked it as a solo guitar piece for this. Some of the other ones –- I started playing guitar like that more once I started playing in Lee Ranaldo and the Dust. We were touring a lot, and then I would spend more time at home just playing guitar because I was more used to playing guitar everday from touring, and also I wasn’t so concerned about finding other ways to make money in between.

ML: You’ve mentioned Keith Richards as an influence on some of the new songs. I was wondering about Steve Gunn.

AL: I know him. In fact, he toured a little bit on a bill with the Lee Ranaldo band. We did a bunch of shows together and I guess I had met him a little before that. There was one bill with [John] Truscinski – their duo played. Apparently we were both at this talent show at somebody’s house, which I remember doing but don’t really remember him. He’s been up in Brooklyn for a while. He and Steve Shelley and I just played as a trio at this benefit concert for Bruce Langhorne. We did one piece from the soundtrack to the Hired Hand and one from the Dylan soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

The other influence is Michael Hedges. He was on Windham Hill in the 80s. He was one of these guys who would do tapping stuff. There was one record called “Aerial Boundaries,” the second album. I heard that when I was a teenager and really liked it. He was a really great guitarist at that point. I listened to him again and some of the stuff on “Currents” is kind of from listening to Michael Hedges again, and translating that into more of the Steve Reich thing.

ML: The percussive pulse that comes through.

AL: Right, and the piece “Aerial Boundaries” really sounds like Steve Reich. Kristin [Thora Haraldsdottir]’s piece “Currents” is a little like that too. I don’t know if she’s listened to Michael Hedges. I sent the music to Steve Lowenthal from [record label] VDSQ and we met up to talk about doing a release, and he got the Steve Reich influence right away. I was really encouraged by that.

ML: Earlier, we were talking about Will Oldham, which made me think of his frequent collaborator Emmett Kelly. Have you heard the record Emmett put out with Jim White as the Double [“Dawn of the Double”, In the Red, 2016]?

AL: I wrote the liner notes for it! (Laughs.) So I’ve heard it, and heard them play live before I heard the record.

ML: My first thought was it could grab a spot in the next top ten list.

AL: It’s definitely within that. It was amazing to see it live when I didn’t know what to expect. I was talking to Jim beforehand and he said it was dance music. I didn’t really understand what that would mean coming from those two guys. I think they actually did it for a choreographer. Setting a groove, and keeping the groove going as long as possible. I’ve met Emmett a number of times and talked about doing something together, but it hasn’t happened yet. I sat in on one secret show Will was playing with Jim and played a couple of songs. Maybe “Cinnamon Girl”. That was a long time ago, maybe around 2000.

ML: One of the things your writing pointed me to was connecting the blues with minimalism. I was thinking of how you collaborated with Tetuzi Akiyama [“Tomorrow Outside Tomorrow,” Editions Mego, 2016], who really explores those genres on “Don’t Forget to Boogie” [Idea, 2003]. How did you come to collaborate?

AL: There’s probably two parts to that. Tetuzi, I met in New York. He came and played at Tonic and this guy – Toshio Kajiwara – was DJing the basement of Tonic every week, and I guess he knew Tetuzi. He was like, you should really play with this guy, and that was unusual for him – ordinarily he wouldn't suggest people to play with. I took it pretty seriously and saw him play, around 2004. I forget if “Don’t Forget to Boogie” was out then or not. He gave me a CD-R of it, so maybe it hadn’t quite come out yet. There’s one track, “Fast Machine”, and he said, “that track is dedicated to you”. He said that he and Taku Sugimoto used to listen to “Sink the Aging Process” which probably inspired the dedication. On the track he’s just playing one chord for ten minutes.

That record came out, and Oren Ambarchi put out “Triste” [Idea, 2003] on the same label, and the record that became “YMCA” [Family Vineyard, 2009] was also originally going to be on that label before it stopped production. I suggested to the two guys that we do a tour of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, where we would each organize one country. Both those guys dropped the ball, but I did get a tour of New Zealand together – four shows for the trio, then Oren left and Tetuzi and I did a few other pick-up shows for another week. We got one recording from the tour that was really good, which became a 3” CD called “Willow Weep and Moan” [Antiopic, 2006]. That name, “Blues Deceiver”, that’s Tetuzi’s. I can definitely hear the blues influence in there, but it’s probably a little more his thing than mine.

La Monte always talks about the blues being a big influence in this kind of thing -– like the dominant seventh, which is an interval he favors, comes out of the blues, to him. A lot of his pieces from the early sixties are called “Sunday Morning Blues”, “Tuesday Morning Blues”, which he claims are extremely slow moving blues chord progressions. It’s a little hard to actually ascertain when you listen to them, but I'll take his word for it. I know he did one sound installation where he had a chords made with sine tones in the room. It was a twelve-day thing that was structured as a  twelve bar blues, and each day was equivalent to one bar-- the chord only changed (or not) each day. A mind-blowing idea.

Maybe I mentioned Junior Kimbrough [in the Minimalist Top Ten lists]. There was a movie of the book “Deep Blues”, a documentary. That was, I think, before he had records out, but he’s in the movie. It’s a ten-minute drone thing. I remember seeing it and thinking, wow, who was that guy? I realized he was the same guy when his records started to come out.

ML: Now, Taku Sugimoto -- I love some of his recordings, like “Saritote” [Saritote Disk, 2007] and “Opposite” [hatNOIR, 1998].

AL: I don’t know his records very well, but I saw him play live in Switzerland with [trombonist] Radu Malfatti. It was this venue where I was playing the next night. I was hanging out backstage and Taku and Radu were playing a game of chess. One of them would make a move, and five minutes later the other would make a move. Then, they go out on stage, and of course, one guy would play one note, and five minutes later the other guy would play one note. I was like, okay, I get it now. It was almost like the Cage 4’33” piece, where the focus shifts from what’s going on onstage to becoming more conscious of every other sound in the room.

ML: And then as far as New Zealand…

AL: Bruce Russell put out that CD of mine, “The Evan Dando of Noise?” [Corpus Hermeticum, 1997]. I contacted him and got the names of people to set things up. The first show was in Auckland on a bill with the Dead C. They were amazing. I had seen them in the US but they were so incredible down there, in their element, using their own amps. Lawrence English was on that bill, who at that point was starting out, but has since become a big figure in that music scene. I’ve played with Bruce a little bit. Maybe he sat in on one show with the trio. We did at least one duo thing at this funny bar near his house. He lives in a small town on the South Island.

ML: So many of your works have been collaborations. Is there anyone who’s still on your list?

AL: There’s people like Emmett [Kelly] where we talk about trying to do something someday, and who knows where it’ll go. Now, the CD I did with Henry [Kaiser], “Skip to the Solo” [Public Eyesore, 2016], which came out last year – I studied with him. He did a summer workshop in improvisation guitar when I was about nineteen. I’d been a fan of his from reading this article he did in Guitar Player. They had this whole column called “Essential Listening” where guitarists would talk about records that were significant to them. Henry did a pretty long article and a lot of it was non-guitar stuff, and I probably wouldn’t have paid attention except I noticed he had “Trout Mask Replica” and “Live/Dead,” and I liked those. His list had Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Terry Riley, Masayuki Takayanagi, all the stuff that has since become pretty crucial to my development. I went and bought his current record “It’s a Wonderful Life” [Metalanguage, 1984]. The first side is this sidelong improvisation that he says is inspired by Terry Riley and Evan Parker. That in turn became a big inspiration to me.

In that course he really showed me how to listen to free improvisation. Then I could start to think about doing it as a musician. That was extremely valuable and I’ve stayed in touch with him ever since. Jim O’Rourke met Henry at the same time and had a similar mentor/mentee relationship with him, and that was common ground I had when I met Jim. Once Jim produced “Hoffman Estates” [Drag City, 1998] with Loren [Connors] – it might have been around that time that Henry called me up and proposed doing a record together. We talked about it from time to time for years after that.

We did a gig at the Stone in New York as a duo. At one point, he said, “play two chords so I can fuzz solo over them”. I remembered on this other record of his, “Outside Pleasure” [Metalanguage, 1980], there’s one section where he’s doing a fuzz solo over two chords he has looped behind him, just A minor and G – a rock move in the middle of free improv. So I said, I’ll play the two chords from “Outside Pleasure”. After the show he told me it was the chords from [the Seeds’] “Pushing Too Hard” which I’d never realized.

A record I really like is “Shut Up ‘n Play Yer Guitar” [1977-1980] by [Frank] Zappa, that series where he takes out guitar solos from some of his songs, gives them a new name, and calls them a new composition. I suggested doing a record like that to Henry, I booked the plane ticket, and we did it in two days – one of recording and one of mixing. But that’s an example of someone I really wanted to do a record with for a long time and finally got around to doing it two years ago. I didn’t want to just to a guitar duo record, since he’s done that with other people. I wanted to go deeper because I had this longstanding relationship with him and wanted the full Henry treatment, with him producing, designing the cover – things I would ordinarily want to control myself.

Because most of it is rock-oriented, it’s also the path not taken, in a way. This is the road I was on until I discovered this article that Henry wrote in Guitar Player and discovered Derek Bailey. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t. Would I have been a famous rock guitarist or just lost interest after I was out of my teens?

***

[flauntpage]

The Complete Guide to Ridiculous Super Bowl 53 Prop Bets

The Crossing Broad staff has done a deep dive on several of the more ridiculous Super Bowl 53 prop bets. Keep in mind, these props come from a wide range of sportsbooks and all may not be available at legal New Jersey sportbooks. You can also check out our full guide on where to bet on the Super Bowl in New Jersey.

Will the Nielsen Rating of Super Bowl 53 reach 44.5? Over (-110)/Under (-110)

This number has only gone below 44.5 twice in the last 10 years. Super Bowl LII actually pulled a 43.1 last February. Super Bowl XLII pulled a 42 number. Both of those games were on NBC, however NBC also had a pair of Super Bowls that pulled 47 and 47.5, and I don’t see anything in the research that shows much differentiation by broadcast. The X-factor here is the LA market, which typically does not do strong Super Bowl numbers. It’s hard to measure how interested Los Angeles is in the Rams and whether or not that translates to strong or weak numbers next week. My lean is over, but the Los Angeles market is unpredictable. How interested will it be in the Rams?

-Kevin Kinkead

Will Jim Nantz or Tony Romo say “Philly Special”? Yes (+250)/No  (-260)

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Interesting question. It’s obvious the play that was ranked the top sports moment in 2018 by Sports Illustrated will be a part of the Super Bowl broadcast. The ballsiest play to ever be called in a Super Bowl was run to perfection against the Patriots (moments after Tom Brady dropped a pass of his own) and was ripped from the Patriots playbook, so it will certainly be brought up during the game, but will either Jim Nantz or Tony Romo actually say the words “Philly Special”?

It’s tough because the play is essentially known by two names. “Philly Special” is the official name of the play, but “Philly Philly” will forever be immortalized when Nick Foles asked Doug Pederson if he wanted “Philly Philly” near the end of the second quarter. Do you trust Romo or Nantz to call the play by its official name, or will they simply just say “Philly Philly”?

I can’t find either of these announcers discussing the play in interviews during the season, so I have no basis on how they would make reference to it.

The value isn’t bad for a “yes” answer at +250, and if anything Romo has proven that he knows the ins and outs of everything going into a game, so he should know that the actual play was called the “Philly Special.” I would put a few bucks down on “Yes” for this prop bet. -The Coggin Toboggan

Will the winner of Super Bowl 53 visit the White House? Yes  (-200/No +150)

If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, odds are that, yes, they will visit the White House and President Trump. The last two times the Patriots won, in 2015 and 2017, they visited the White House both times. Barack Obama was president in 2015 during the team’s visit and Trump was president in 2017. So they’ve attended while both a Democrat and Republican President was in power.

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are both fans of President Trump, even though Brady didn’t attend the 2017 ceremony and may have lost favor with the President. But Patriots owner Bob Kraft has a deep friendship and personal relationship with Trump, so it’s likely a delegation from the Patriots will attend.

On the Rams side, Sean McVay was able to steer the team clear of the National Anthem protests last season, a major thorn in Trump’s side over the last two seasons. Defensive end Robert Quinn, who raised his right fist during National Anthems at the start of the 2017 season, is no longer on the team. Additionally, owner Stan Kroenke donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee in 2017 and has had no public comments since about any falling out with the President or his ideals, so the Rams would likely send a few players to the White House as well.

Trump’s inability to congratulate the Rams on their Super Bowl appearance (he only congratulated the Patriots, Brady, Belichick and Kraft for making the Super Bowl in a tweet) may sour some players, but I’d say a bet on the “Yes” side of this prop is a good one. -The Coggin Toboggan

What will be longer? The Total Days of the Government Shutdown (+110) or Yardage of the Longest TD (-140)

UPDATE: This was written before the Shutdown was over. Take the yardage.

Let’s say the shutdown extends all the way to Super Bowl Sunday. That’d be 43 days (we’re at 34 as of 1/25). That might be tough to beat.

Last year, the longest touchdown was the Alshon Jeffery 34-yard catch in the first quarter. In Super Bowl LII, Robert Alford got an 82-yard pick six. Overall, in the nine Super Bowls played this decade, there’s been a total of six touchdowns longer than 43 yards (two in Super Bowl XLVIII, two in Super Bowl XLVII, one in Super Bowl XLIV). Outside of the Alford pick six, there hasn’t been a TD scored that’s been at least 35 yards.

This season, the Patriots have scored six TDs longer than 43 yards. Their longest in the postseason was a Phillip Dorsett 29-yard pass against the Chiefs in the AFC title game. As for the Rams, they’ve had four TDs longer than 43 yards, but all of them have come in the first four weeks of the season (Cooper Kupp had two of them). Since then, their longest TD was a 40-yard catch from Gerald Everett in that crazy Monday Night Football game against the Chiefs. Their longest TD in the postseason was a 35-yard Todd Gurley rushing score.

If the shutdown ends sooner rather than later, it’s a good chance that the longest TD is greater than the total days of the shutdown. But if I’m betting right now, I’m going with the total days of the shutdown.

-Chris Jastrzembski

Will the Dome of Mercedes-Benz Stadium be Open at Kickoff Yes (-280)/No (+210)

It’s a beautiful stadium and dome. But in its biggest games, the dome has been closed.

In both SEC Championship games in 2017 and 2018, as well as the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and the 2018 MLS Cup, the roof was closed.

The current weather forecast calls for rain for most of the day and evening. Without a doubt, the roof is going to be closed, even if the conditions outside are fine.

-Chris Jastrzembski

Which Song Will Maroon 5 Open With?

Plenty of people groaned at Maroon 5 being named the headliner of this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, but look at the list of performers in the title game’s history. Be grateful you are living in a time where Up With People doesn’t get the nod three times in seven years. The other upside to Maroon 5 playing the halftime show is that you know so many of their songs. Unfortunately, this makes figuring out which of those songs they will start the show with that much more difficult.

Here are the odds on which song they will open their show with as of 1/24:

“One More Night” and “Makes Me Wonder” — +300 “Animals” — +500 “Don’t Wanna Know” and “Girls Like You” — +600 “Moves Like Jagger” and “Sugar” — +700 “Payphone” and “Maps” — +1200 “Mic Jack” — +1500 Any Other Song — +400

You might be able to win a bar bet with this nugget: Maroon 5 have only placed four singles at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. All four of them are listed above in bold. “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved” were not #1s. You learn something new every day.

On Maroon 5’s recent tour, they opened every show with “What Lovers Do,” which only ever reached #9 on the Hot 100. That makes any other song at +400 pretty enticing — you get “What Lovers Do,” “Love Somebody,” “Harder to Breathe” and a lot of other hits as an entry.

It might also help to see what recent performers opened with. Last year, Justin Timberlake opened with “Filthy.” Two years ago, Lady Gaga opened with “God Bless America.” Three years ago, Chris Martin opened the show by singing the chorus to “Yellow” before the full band played “Vida la Vida.” I would have lost my ass on “Clocks.” What the past three years tells you is that there is no formula (and apparently no mandate as to what the artist leads with), so the artist’s preference is what carries the day.

A unit each on “One More Night,” “Makes Me Wonder” and “Any Other Song” should at least get you your money back, but if pushed, I’m riding with “Any Other Song.” Adam Levine clearly feels comfortable opening with “What Lovers Do,” you’re getting a number of other strong contenders — “This Love” especially is a song that will reach the entire viewing audience — and you’ve accounted for the possibility that Maroon 5 pulls a Gaga, gets political and opens with something like a verse from “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.” Phil Keidel

Gladys Knight National Anthem over-under 1:50?

I’ve done an obscene amount of research on this and was only able to find one video of Gladys Knight with or without the Pips singing the Star-Spangled Banner. Boom:

That’s a crisp 1 minute and 38 seconds, and she’s a full 27 years older. No way she can hold the last note that long.

This line is low, though. Five singers since Super Bowl 40 have gone over 2:00 minutes when singing the National Anthem– Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Hudson and, weirdly, Luke Bryan.

Alicia Keys, who couldn’t read a phone number without an interlude, was the longest at 2:35.

This means oddsmakers already implicitly like a shorter version this year. The line has come down in some places to 1:45, so clearly the smart money is under Gladys Knight… if you can grab this before it dips to 1:40, I’d hammer Gladys and the under.

-Kyle

What will be higher Trump’s approval rating or the longest field goal in the game?

Donald Trump’s approval rating is around 34-36 depending on where you look, and that’s under the average NFL made field goal length of 36, so the odds, at first blush, appear to be pretty even. But given the fact the game is LIKELY being played in a dome and that every playoff game this year except for the Colts-Texans and Chargers-Patriots games have featured a field goal of at least 36 yards, the field goal seems to be the play here. It is the favorite at -140, but it’s worth noting that the end of the government shutdown may push Trump slightly higher. Still, take the field goal.

-Kyle

How Many Maroon 5 Songs Will be Played During the Halftime Show?

Over 3.5 — -160 Under 3.5 — +120

Yeah, yeah, I know, Travis Scott and Big Boi are going to be up there, too, and they need to be heard doing something. But there are plenty of Maroon 5 hits that feature similar players. Wiz Khalifa contributed to “Payphone.” Kendrick Lamar was in on “Don’t Wanna Know.” Future guested on “Cold.” So even if Scott and Boi (that was fun to write) get a minute or two of airtime, it’s probably going to be partly chiming in on a Maroon 5 song. None of the songs that were given their own odds exceeds four minutes in length, and because so many of them sound the same, they are all easy to string into each other in two-minute bursts. So we should definitely get segments of five or even six different songs being played in the halftime show running time, which in the last three years has been 13:45, 13:33 and 13:11. This is an over, all day.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go listen to some jets take off to get Adam Levine’s voice out of my head.

-Phil Keidel

Jersey Number of First/Last Touchdown Scorer Over (-134)/Under (+100)

When I saw the betting line on the props bets for jersey number of the first and last touchdown in the Super Bowl, I did a double take. Showing my age, my first thought was this has to be a mistake. The majority of touchdowns scored are scored by guys with uniform numbers 27 or higher. I mean, there are 73 numbers between 27 and 99 compared to just 26 between 1 and 26. Why wouldn’t the odds be more diverse? So, I had to dive into it. I had to look closer to find out if my initial instinct was correct, or if there was something more indicative into the logic of setting the line where it is. As such, I went back and reviewed the box score for each of the 52 previous Super Bowls and looked at who scored the first touchdown and who scored the last touchdown.

Here’s what I came up with:

First Touchdown of the Super Bowl

Uniform number 27 or higher – 39 times

Uniform number 26 or lower – 13 times

Last Touchdown of the Super Bowl

Uniform number 27 or higher – 39 times

Uniform number 26 or lower 13 times

At first glance, my hypothesis seemed correct. That’s 75% of the time that the first or last touchdown in the Super Bowl would be scored by someone with a uniform number of 27 or higher.

As such, just based on this data, betting the over would seem to be really good odds. I mean, yeah, it’s minus 134, but it’s not like it’s minus-260.

It seems like a real value bet, but then I looked a little closer. See, I told you my original theory was rooted in age. That’s because nowadays, more wide receivers are wearing lower numbers than they used to. I’m not exactly sure when the trend started toward lower numbers for receivers, but since 2001, both the fist touchdown and the last touchdown of the Super Bowl were scored by guys with uniform numbers of 27 or higher just three times.

From Super Bowl XXXI through Super Bowl XXXV it happened every year. In fact, it happened in 25 of the first 35 Super Bowls, and through the first 40 Super Bowls, it never happened that both the first and last touchdown of the big game were scored by a player with a uniform number of 26 or below. Not once. Since then it’s happened three times (Super Bowls XLI, XLVIII, XLIX).

And then there’s this stat:

First Touchdown of the Super Bowl:

LII – Alshon Jeffrey (No. 17)

LI – Devonta Freeman (No. 24)

L – Malik Jackson (No. 97)

XLIX – Brandon LaFell (No. 19)

XLVIII – Marshawn Lynch (No. 24)

That makes four of the last five Super Bowls where the first touchdown was scored by someone with a number below the 26.5 line set by DraftKings and the only one that wasn’t was a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Denver’s Malik Jackson.

But wait a minute…what else can we glean from the available information that could help here? Well, of the 104 touchdowns that were examined over 52 Super Bowls, only 10 were scored on defense or special teams. That means there’s a 90.4% chance that an offensive player will score the first or last touchdown.

So, let’s look at the guys who have the best chance of scoring for New England and Los Angeles.

For the Patriots, there are 10 guys to consider. Five of them have uniform numbers of 26 or lower (Tom Brady, Sony Michel, Julian Edelman, Philip Dorsett and Chris Hogan), and five of them are 27 or higher (James White, Patrick Develin, Rex Burkhead, Cordarelle Patterson and Rob Gronkowski).

For the Rams, there are eight guys to consider since they don’t spread the ball around as much as the Pats do. They have just three guys at No. 26 or lower (Jared Goff, Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks) and five guys at No. 27 or higher (Todd Gurley, C.J. Anderson, Gerald Everett, Josh Reynolds and Tyler Higbee).

That would give a slight edge to the over (10 vs. 8) but you pretty much have to take the quarterbacks out of the mix. Neither Brady nor Goff are particularly known for rushing the ball. Brady ran for just 35 yards this season while Goff ran for 108. They each scored two rushing touchdowns though, but that would mean they would have to be down at the goal line and likely trying to plunge it in.

So if you take them out of the mix, that leaves you with 10 guys with uniforms that are over the number and just six guys with uniforms under the number.

With that information, the odds definitely swing more in the favor of over.

But, there’s one other thing to note: only 13 of the 52 touchdowns that were the last touchdown of the game were scored by running backs, meaning late in the game – and that’s historically. In today’s pass-happy NFL, it’s a good bet that the RB’s odds of scoring late are diminished even further, while 19 of the 52 first touchdowns were scored by backs – meaning they’re more a bit more active early. So, to me, this comes down to receivers, which gets us back to even – five on each side of the over/under line.

That’s frustrating. The over bet is no longer a value play and the under bet is the correct odds. So, there’s nothing here that really makes me want to take a side. Mathematically, you should go with the under if you absolutely must bet it. But the odds aren’t in your favor here either way.

In closing, this prop is simply a sucker bet. Avoid.

-Anthony SanFilippo

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The Complete Guide to Ridiculous Super Bowl 53 Prop Bets published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[teafortwo29]

Can Scandal's Return Help Resuscitate ABC's Season? Shonda Rhimes says she doesn't care about ratings By Jason Lynch

January 10, 2017

Scandal's wild season premiere kicks off with the results from last season's presidential election. Tony Rivetti/ABC

After a long hiatus, Scandal is finally returning to ABC—and not a moment too soon for the struggling network, which desperately needs the show's ratings and ad revenue boost after a difficult fall.

Scandal's Season 6 return was delayed until January to accommodate Kerry Washington's pregnancy. ABC's fall replacement in the Thursday 9 p.m. time slot, Notorious, was an instant flop in the high-profile time slot. The show averaged a paltry 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic—less than half of what Scandal brought in last season (2.1)—and bottomed out at a 0.5 for its finale.

Without Scandal, ABC fell to a 1.7 demo average so far this season (at this point last season, it was averaging a 2.0), behind NBC (2.7), Fox (2.0) and CBS (1.9). And the network's Scandal-free Thursday primetime lineup in November saw a 26.6 percent drop on gross spend for the evening versus last year, according to Standard Media Index.

But speaking at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., executive producer Shonda Rhimes said she's not worried that Notorious' failure will dent the ratings for Scandal's return—because she doesn't think about ratings at all.

"I don't, and haven't for I would say seven or eight years, paid attention to the ratings because that's something I can't control. Also, ratings are not, as far as I'm concerned, real or true anymore, so that's not a thing I've ever paid attention to," said Rhimes.

As Scandal will air its 100th episode this season, "we're doing something that very few shows get to do anymore, which is to run this long and do it this successfully, so I'm happy, wherever we are," said Rhimes.

Scandal had been set to return alongside Grey's Anatomy and How to Get Away With Murder on Jan. 19. But yesterday, ABC announced that it was delaying the return of its TGIT lineup one week, to Jan. 26, so that it could air a pre-inauguration 20/20 special on the evening instead.

Rhimes said she was unfazed by ABC's scheduling move. "ABC does its programming. I'm not in charge of scheduling. I'm fine with whatever they want to do. I like to stay in my lane," she said.

Scandal's season premiere opens as the presidential election results come in, but that's just the first of many game-changing twists in the wild premiere. While the episode is packed with Scandal's signature jaw-dropping moments, the cast and actors said the show is breaking the mold in Season 6. This season, Rhimes "is taking the show in a whole, fresh direction," said star Tony Goldwyn.

"You really do have this beautifully different way of telling the season this year where we're really stepping back in time, and coming forward in time, and seeing things from different characters' perspectives. It's not really about crazy things happening to the characters and what crazy moments are happening. It's really about where they've come to after all this time," said Rhimes.

The executive producer also downplayed any parallels between her show, which is dealing with the handoff to a new president, and Donald Trump's real-life ascendancy to the presidency.

"I don't really equate the two. That's not really the goal," or she would have waited until after the election to write that storyline, said Rhimes. (Instead, Scandal's season premiere was filmed in July.) "I don't know that there are any similarities. I don't think that the candidates have any similarities to the candidates in real life."

Because of the production hiatus while Washington was on maternity leave, this season of Scandal is just 16 episodes, six less than its usual 22-episode season order. Rhimes was "delighted" by the opportunity to crafter a shorter, leaner season, and said she had asked the network for shorter seasons last year, long before Washington announced her pregnancy.

With fewer episodes, "you don't have to tread water every once in a while. I think it actually made our storytelling more powerful," said Rhimes.

[opedguy]

Biden Beats Expectations in Geneva Summit

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), June 16, 2021.--President Joe Biden, 78, amused himself after meeting with 68-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin in a safe-house on Lake Geneva for about two-and-a-half hours, three-to-four hours shorter that expected. Biden said he “did what I came to do,” emphasizing that things were copacetic between the two world leaders.  Before the summit, 58-year-oldSecretary of State Tony Blinke and 73-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov each postured about possible demands, leaving the actual meeting with more suspense, not knowing what would happen..  Unlike Putin, Biden came with a long list of complaints about the Russian Federation, especially recent Russian-based cyber attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure including the Colonial Pipeline and Brazil-bases meatpacking, the larges beef, port and poultry supplier in the U.S.  Biden did better than expected.     

        Biden got paid an oblique compliment by Putin, calling the president “an experienced statesman,” very different from his predecessor 75-year-old President Donald Trump. Putin said the meeting was “quite conducive.”  “There was no hostility.  Quite the contrary,” Putin said, in a disguised slap to Trump, essentially saying that Biden was more predicable than the previous commander-in-chief. While the U.S. press looked for confrontation between the two world leaders, Biden and Putin both agreed that the summit was orderly and civilized.  Biden had been pushed to confront Putin on a variety of issues related to Ukraine, human rights in Russia and a flurry of cyber attacks that left critical U.S. infrastructure paralyzed.  Both leaders agreed to work on improving U.S.-Russian relations, agreeing to reopen embassies with full diplomatic personnel in Moscow and Washington.      

       Biden and Putin agreed to let their diplomats and military experts to get things back on track, after U.S.-Russian relations hit rock bottom after Biden called Putin a “soulless killer” March 16.  “President Putin and I share a unique responsibility to manage the relationship between two powerful and proud countries—a relationship that has to be stable and predictable,” Biden said, one of his goals in holding the summit.  Biden wanted to meet face-to-face with Putin to re-establish some personal rapport that the ongoing relationship would work toward stability and predictability.  Without saying it, Putin didn’t know what to expect with Trump, whose flamboyant style was a bit much on the world stage.  While Trump never pushed Putin, especially on cyber security or meddling in U.S. elections and democracy, Biden invited Putin to open a new chapter in cooperative relations with the U.S.      

       Biden and Putin agreed to open as strategic working group designed for both countries to get on the same page when it came to global hot spots around the globe.  Biden asked Putin to help with the U.S. transition out of Afghanistan, the longest ‘war” in U.S. history, coming up Sept. 11 on the 20th anniversary.  Pentagon planners have ongoing concerns about the Taliban trying to destabilize the U.S.-backed Kabul government of 72-year-old Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.  Putin said he would try to provide stability to the transition as the U.S. military leaves Afghanistan in September.  Biden pressed Putin on 44-year-old jailed Russian dissident Alexi Navalny, something he and Blinken made a big deal about in the run up to the Geneva summit.  Putin countered that whatever issues involved Navalny, the U.S. has been cracking down on Jan. 6 Capitol protesters, much like Russia does to preserve order.       

      Biden called any comparison between the Jan. 6 arrests-and-prosecutions and Russian human right abuses in Russia “ridiculous.”  But Biden surely knows, as Putin pointed out, that both countries deal harshly with rabble-rousers try to disrupt national order.  Biden didn’t like Putin’s rejoinder but the parallels are clear, especially when the press calls the Jan. 6 rioters “insurrectionists.”  No sovereign state can accept “insurrectionists” as legitimate protester or human rights activists.  Putin pointed out he didn’t want Russia to fall into the same pattern of violent street riots that happened in the United States last summer sponsored by Black Lives Matter and other leftist groups.  Biden wants to call Putin’s analogy “ridiculous” but maintaining street order is the essential responsibility of all sovereign governments.  U.S. press has to get over its muckraking and yellow journalism.      

       Biden’s meeting with Putin was a success because he parked the vitriol at the door and tried to treat Putin like any other head-of-state.  Whatever alleged complaints about Russia’s human rights abuses or its military adventures in Ukraine, Putin certainly explained what happened with Crimea.  No one in the Western press wanted to hear Putin talk about the violent Feb. 22, 2014 pro-Western coup in Kiev, toppling the Kremlin-backed government of Viktor Yanukovych.  No one in the Western press responded to Putin’s explanation of what happened March 1, 2014 in Crimea or in Russian enclaves in eastern Ukraine.  Calling Biden “an experience statesman,” Putin felt more comfortable with Biden knowing what to expect, over his predecessor. “There’s no happiness in life.  There’s only a mirage on the horizon . . . But I believe there is a spark of hope in his eyes,” Putin said, expressing the bottom line. 

About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.      

[thecloudupblog]

Interview With The Amazing Artist Law Artis

1. Where are we talking from today? A. I currently live in Jamaica Queens. 2. What would you like to accomplish in 2019? A. I will like to connect with a team and label that gets my sound and art. Begin my album, release it by November and Start touring by the beginning of 2020. You got to be specific and set your goals and intentions. That’s my philosophy in 2019. 3. What is your take on politics? A. I always remember what my 8th grade history teacher said, “You picking the lesser of two evils.” For example, in the last election, who you rather Hillary who has hot sauce in her bag and can’t email properly or Donald J. Trump who’s grabbing women by their genitals and making America great again on Twitter(wink wink). I think politics are great but I leave that to your own personal preference. Freedom and equality is what I stand for no matter the race, color, religion, etc. 4. Where did you get your artist name from? A. My full name is Lawrence Artis, Jr. My friend who was smoking the green earth as we were chilling says, “You should make your stage name Law...it’s the Law now drop it!” I went with it and it stuck. It’s basically a shorter version of my birth name. 5. Growing up, how important has music been in your life? Can you recall the moment when you decided that you wanted to be a musician? Was it an easy or difficult choice to make? A. Music was my everything! I wanted to sing like my Grandparents who are both very good singer. R.I.P. Pop-Pop. I knew I wanted to be a musician when I wrote my first song at 10 years old. My cousin who was a wonderful vocalist, we had a childhood group called Double L and we sang at a banquet. I remember thinking I want this to be like this for the rest of my life. It was easy until I hit 18. Everything became so much harder. Where am I going to get the money to finance these dreams? Many people kept telling me to find a backup plan. That’s not what God is saying in my heart. It was a struggle to find balance, and peace in this artistic journey. 6. Was there ever a time when you thought about doing something else? If you weren’t a musician today, what could you see yourself doing? A. Are you kidding me...I’m the king of back up plans. I have been a deli worker, call center rep, bank teller, paperboy, college student worker, and a soldier. If I wasn’t doing music today. I would continue my education and become a professor for the arts. 7. What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all? A. The biggest surprise is how easy it is for me to record my song and write lyrics. It’s like breathing to me. I hadn’t been in a studio in 5 years and decided to just go for it. I had to write the songs before the studio session. My producer Ian Litovich just went with the flow. I don’t like to waste time. We knocked out a song a day and no more than an 8-hour session. The hardest challenge was the visuals, writing the treatments and explaining my vision to the directors. Sometimes people come with their own agenda and you got to give them room to express but not take over your vision. 8. What was it like putting together your EP? A. It was so organic. I loved it! I enjoyed really digging into my creative place. I was so free from my insecurities. I was doing ME and that felt good. Talking about things that people don’t always sing about and not caring. That’s revolutionary for me! 9. Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely still love to work within  ? A. Favorite Artist are Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Brandy, Babyface, Toni Braxton...(basically anybody in the ’90s) Artist that inspire me is different, these artists I can see myself in their reflection: Kelis, Pink, Lenny Kravitz, Bill Withers, Bjork, Grace Jones, and Macy Gray. I would love to work with my Cancer sis Solange, Dawn Richard and Lion’s Babe. 10. What has it been like keeping up with your social media accounts and all of the different platforms? Is it hard to stay up to date on it all? What would you say is your favorite way to connect with your fans now? A. I’m a private person and will always be. I’m only on Twitter and YouTube It keeps me sane and focused on my mission in life. I like to keep my peace and my humans(my fans) know me and I speak with a purpose or there is no reason to speak at all. 11. If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island, what musical item would you take with you and why? A. I would take a recorder and a pencil and paper. I’m about to write one of the dopest album on this island. Law Artis: The lost files...I’m already marketing it. lol 12. If your music was going to be featured on any TV show that is currently on right now, which would you love it to be on? Or if you prefer, what is a movie that you love that you wish your music was featured in? A. This current EP, I would say Grey’s Anatomy because this music is full of mood, love,and drama. That’s definitely the Grey’s Anatomy series. 13. At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music? A. I hope people will become more transparent in themselves. Live in their truth with no apologies. Just know you are not alone, we all got stuff, but it’s how you take that stuff and make it gold. It’s your life...do what you will :-) 14. When you are not making music what else do you enjoy to do? A. Acting, Dancing, and watching art and tennis. I see a concert and a Broadway show once a month. I’m at a movie once a week. 15. Where you @ online? https://artist.spinnup.com/law-artis https://twitter.com/artis_law Check out Dear God: https://youtu.be/4wscAxzV2pg

[vacationsoup]

New Post has been published on https://vacationsoup.com/mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party-2/

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2018

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is the very veriest, merry merriest event of the Holiday Season.

This special ticketed event runs on 22 select nights from November 8th 2018 and finishes on December 21st 2018.

Mickey and all his favorite friends will be at the party: Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Daisy all wearing their festive finest.

The Seven Dwarfs, Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws and Scrooge McDuck will also be making appearances for unique photo ops. A whole host of favorite characters will also be showing up for meet and greets throughout the night.

New to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2018

There are a few new events at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2018. Firstly, The Edge Effect are an acapella group who will be performing in Tomorrowland Stage. Also, Tony's Most Merriest Town Square Party is a new dining upgrade. Finally, Disney Junior Jingle Jam is a dance party in Storybook Circus.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas 2018 Party Dates & Prices

November 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 25, 27, 29, 30

December 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21

Ticket prices for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2018:

November 8, 9, 16, 25, 27, 29, December 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16: Advance Sale: Adult $99, Child $94. On The Day Tickets: Adult $109, Child $104.

November 12, 13, 15: Advance Sale: Adult $95, Child $90.On The Day Tickets: Adult $105, Child $100.

November 30, December 7, 14: Advance Sale: Adult $109, Child $104. On The Day Tickets: Adult $119, Child $114.

December 18, 20: Advance Sale Adult $115, Child $110. On The Day Tickets: Adult $125, Child $120.

December 21 - Adult $125, Child $120

Annual Passholders get slightly discounted tickets and there are discounted tickets available for Military.

Keep in mind ticket prices are non refundable, even for bad weather. Some nights will sell out completely, so do book ahead if you are visiting on busy nights.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Events

A Frozen Holiday Wish

Music, comedy, snow, shimmering lights and warm hugs. What's not to love?

A Frozen Holiday Wish brings Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf together on the Castle Forecourt Stage for a short live show. Queen Elsa gives the precious gift of transforming the Castle into a shimmering spectacle of dazzling lights. Castle Dream Lights are so beautiful and you'll be in awe as the Castle comes alive with over 200,000 sparkling lights.

You can see the Castle transform from anywhere along Main Street USA and a little off to each side. You'll need to be near the stage if you want to be close enough to see the characters clearly.

The show is held at dusk every night (party nights and non party nights). For those visiting earlier in November, A Frozen Holiday Wish will be starting on November 4th 2018.

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Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration

A live stage show that brings Mickey and pals and a whole crew of colorful characters together for a Holiday soiree.

Each time the doorbell rings, the Castle magnificently changes before your eyes and more characters arrive to join in the Party celebrations. Sing along to classic and contemporary Holiday tunes and watch in wonder as the castle transforms to an ever-changing magical backdrop.

Festive is the order of the day and this show oozes with seasonal fun and frolics.

If you want to see the actual characters and actors you will need to be fairly close to the stage. However, the music and castle projections make it just as enjoyable if you can't get close enough.

The show is held 4 times a night on Castle Forecourt Stage. 7.40pm, 9.25pm, 10.30pm, 11.55pm.

With so many children raised up on shoulders as the show starts, it makes for very limited viewing for those behind.

Phones and cameras raised high to record don't help matters either. To avoid a blocked view, try to stand behind a family without young children.

As many families leave after the fireworks, the later shows generally don't have too many eight foot tall children to block your view. The midnight show is the perfect time to get a great view as the crowds have dwindled dramatically by then.

Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade

The Parade to end all parades. Don't miss this under any circumstances!

Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade starts off from Frontierland twice a night at 8.30pm and 11.00pm.

The parade is crammed with favorite characters dressed in Holiday finery and accompanied by a whole host of Christmas friends.

The music is magical, the characters colorful and the floats enchanting.

The marching Toy Soldiers are a personal favorite of ours. The sounds of the marching stomping feet just adds something extra special.

The second parade is always much quieter than the first, as many families with smaller children head home after the fireworks. If you don't want to watch it twice, you can take the opportunity to meet characters, see other shows or take advantage of shorter ride lines during the first parade.

Watching Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade from Main Street USA makes it so much more magical.

The snow, lighting and atmosphere puts the icing on the Christmas cake, so it's well worth staking out a spot early. It also gives you the sparkling Castle as the backdrop to make your pictures even better. Try to stand somewhere between the buildings on Main Street USA. People will start saving spots at least an hour prior to the parade, especially for the early show.

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Holiday Wishes - Celebrate the Season

This spectacular fireworks extravaganza will thrill all ages. Absolutely do NOT miss this for anything!

The dazzling fireworks are bigger, better, wider, louder and longer. Splashes of Christmas color fill the skies with exploding presents. And Jiminy Cricket narrating the importance of being home for the Holiday season is the icing on the cake.

Fireworks Showtime: 10pm

Wishes Fireworks Viewing Spots:

Wide Bursts: The firework bursts during Holiday Wishes are much wider than regular fireworks shows, so you don't want to stand too close to the Castle, otherwise you'll miss the full experience. Likewise, you don't want to stand too far down Main Street, otherwise you'll only see the bursts above the castle, the buildings will block the perimeter bursts. Standing a little further back from the Castle will give you an overall view. Somewhere between the hub and Casey's Corner will give you an overall terrific view.

Quick Exit: If you have little ones and want an easy exit strategy right after the fireworks, stand at the far end of Main Street - you won't get a perfect view of the fireworks, but you'll exit much quicker. A lot of guests with younger children do leave after the fireworks.

Free Fireworks! If you are around and not attending Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, you can get a great view of the fireworks from the boat landing at the Ticket & Transportation Center. You can see the full width of the bursts, plus the reflection on the lagoon, so it makes for great pictures. Like anywhere else, the good spots at the front will be taken pretty quickly, so don't wait until the last-minute to get there!

Dance Parties & Live Entertainment

No party would be complete without a dance party! Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party has two.

A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas: Host Haley Comet is accompanied by Stitch, Mike Wazowski, Buzz Lightyear and a troupe of intergalactic dancers. They all add their interstellar takes on popular Christmas tunes, while the crowd around the stage dance away and join in the fun.

Club Tinsel: Over at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, you can dance the night away with a host of holiday  characters and awesome Christmas dance music.

Disney Junior Jingle Jam New for 2018, the Disney Junior Jingle Jam will be held at Storybook Circus. A Halloween version of this already made a debut at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

The Edge Effect A brand new attraction for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The Edge Effect are an Orlando based acapella group. Winners of MTV's "Top Pop Group" and Boyz II Men's "Next Great A Cappella Group". The were also America's Got Talent finalists. The Edge Effect combines pop, R & B, jazz, rock, and funk in a show unlike any other.

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Character Meet & Greets

There are always rare characters making appearances at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. You'll see the Seven Dwarfs, Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws and Nick & Judy too.

Jack Skellington joins in Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Many of the characters are dressed in Holiday finery, which can make very special pictures.

Also on the rare appearance list are the Princes. It's not often they come out to escort their beautiful Princesses. Fans will want to make the most of them.

As your Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party ticket gives you access from 4pm, make the most of the earlier hours meeting as many of the characters that are available. Not all will appear that early, but you will get the opportunity to see some prior to the official party.

Catch the Seven Dwarfs while you can

PhotoPass & Magic Shots

Photopass Photographers will be at every location to snap your memories, plus at other locations throughout the park all night.

There are also special animated shots, some of which are only available during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

Check Disney's Website for a full list of Photo Ops during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

You must have an active Memory Maker account to download or print images.

Complimentary Cookies, Cocoa & Sweet Treats

A delight of sweet treats are available and unlimited throughout the party night. There are different drinks and specialty treats on offer at several locations. And always a friendly face to hand them over!

There are allergy and healthy options available on request, so just ask at any cookie station for nut free, gluten free or sugar free options.

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Attractions Open During Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Several iconic Magic Kingdom attractions will be open throughout the party.Frontierland

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Splash Mountain

Fantasyland

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Tomorrowland

Space Mountain

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Upgrades

If you're looking to upgrade your party night, there are a few options you can add on. Two Holiday Dessert Parties and also Tony’s Most Merriest Town Square Party.

Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party

There are two Dessert Party options available for the 2018 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Dessert Parties:

The Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace gives you reserved viewing of Holiday Wishes: A Celebration of The Season at Tomorrowland Terrace. All guests taking this option have seating for the fireworks, although all are on a first come first serve basis. Tickets are $84 for adults and $50 for children ages 3 to 9, tax on top.

The Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party at Plaza Garden gives you a dessert party at Tomorrowland Terrance, followed by a reserved standing area in Plaza Gardens for Holiday Wishes: A Celebration of the Season. Tickets are $69 for adults and $41 for children aged 3 to 9, plus tax.

For reservations, book online or call (407) 939-3463.

Tony’s Most Merriest Town Square Party

New for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2018 is Tony’s Most Merriest Town Square Party. From 9.30pm to 12.30am you'll be able to pop in and out all night long. Indulge in savory hors d’oeuvres including a selection of artisanal meats and cheeses. There will also be Tony’s famous meatballs, mini hand-tossed pizzas, boursin-stuffed artichoke and lots more. And no Christmas party would be complete without sweet treats. You'll be able to munch on pumpkin tartlets, Yule Logs, cannoli, Christmas cookies and red velvet cupcakes.

And the icing on the cake? You'll get access to a special reserved viewing area for the truly enchanting 11pm Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade. Watch as it makes its way down Main Street, U.S.A.

The cost is $99 per person plus tax. Admission to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is required to attend. You can see full details at Disney Parks Blog.

You'll be able to make reservations on October 30th online or by calling 407-827-7348. Space is limited and will fill up fast, so book your reservation soon! If you are an Annual Passholder or DVC member, you'll get a 1-day exclusive early booking window on October 29th. 

Tips for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

#1 Arrive Early Even though Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party doesn't start until 7pm, your ticket gives you access from 4pm. Go early and meet characters, do some rides, do some shopping and make the most of the extra 3 hours.

#2 Stay Late The party doesn't finish until midnight. If you don't have kids, or if the kids can last, stay as late as possible to enjoy a quieter experience. The later parade is always a little quieter so it's easier to get a great position. The last show of Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration is at 12.00am so you can stay to watch that with a lot fewer people in front of you.

#3 Have A Plan To make sure you fit in all the shows and events, you'll need to study the various times and have a timescale planned out. In between the shows and parades you can meet characters, do some rides (with less lines than normal) and enjoy the park and atmosphere.

#4 Pack Your Patience Although it's limited entry during party nights and rides will have shorter lines, It's still going to be busy. Even more so if you are visiting on peak dates. Make sure you pack plenty of patience and just enjoy the magical Holiday atmosphere.

#5 Eat Early You don't want to pay a small fortune for a Party Ticket and waste precious time sitting down for dinner. Eat before you go to the park and top up on snacks during the night if you feel hungry. There's way too much fun to be had to waste time on eating! If you can't last that long without dining, consider eating between 4pm to 7pm before the actual Party events start. There will be 3 full service restaurants open during MVMCP which are:

Be Our Guest

Cinderella’s Royal Table

Crystal Palace

But you'll need to book well in advance. Reservations open 180 days ahead. Call Disney Dining on (407) 939-3463 or book online. Alternatively, take advantage of Tony's Most Merriest Town Square Party and munch throughout the night!

#6 Have a Rest Day If you plan to head to the Party at 4pm, don't forget it lasts until midnight so it could be an 8 hour stint. Spend the day relaxing at home so your energy levels are fully charged for the evening ahead.

#7 Dress in Layers Some nights can get a little chilly (or even downright cold!) Make sure you pack a jacket or sweater to keep you warm just in case. If the kids are using a stroller, take a blanket for them to snuggle under.

#8 Pack A Poncho Although it's not officially rainy season, we do still get rain in the winter months. As long as you have poncho's with you, you're good to go. You can purchase them in the parks, but they will be cheaper in the stores like Walmart, Target and Publix. If you're staying in one of our vacation homes, you'll find ponchos in the closets. No need to buy any!

#9 Remember Where You Park Take an image with your phone where you park and at what section. Remembering where you parked after 8 hours of partying might not be so easy!

#10 Pack Some Power Make sure you have spare batteries or a portable charger for your camera, video or phone. No doubt you'll be clicking away all evening. Make sure you don't run out of memory space or battery by having spares and a back-up. You can also purchase portable charging systems located throughout Walt Disney World.  For $30, you will receive a fully charged portable battery with cables that fit most Apple and Android devices. When the battery runs down you can either recharge it again, or swap it for a fully charged battery free of charge.

#11 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for FREE! The last Party is on December 21st. If you are visiting from December 22nd, you'll have all the main elements of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party thrown in for free.

Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade: Dec 22-31 - 3.30pm

Holiday Wishes Fireworks– Celebrate the Spirit of the Season: Dec 22-29 - 9pm Times subject to change - check Magic Kingdom Daily Calendar

So there you have it. All our tips for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. 

Now go party and make happy! Maybe we'll see you there 🙂

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See All Orlando & Kissimmee Christmas Events

Walt Disney World Christmas:

Universal Holiday Events

SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Holiday Events

Local Christmas Events

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

When Anthony Bourdain Called Out Putin and Trumpin Russia

It’s difficult to suspect a world without Anthony Bourdain, its most trusted and royal traveler; a tender curmudgeon whose raison d’etre was, simply put, to persuasion Americans that beyond their borders lay a macrocosm filled with heinous beauty.

Even if you never had the distinct pleasure of powwow Bourdain–or Tony, as he was known to their own families, pals and colleagues–his felt like a familiar aspect, one that strangers across the globe opened their dwellings to knowing that they would be seen.

While countless gratified in his books, which showcased his sardonic Jersey-bred banter , nowhere were his talents more in evidence than on the television programs No Reservations and Parts Unknown . He was the accomplished( excellent ?) travel guide–empathetic, brash, devoid of affectation, and prone to introspection.

There are too many standout instants to weigh. Fleeing the 2006 Lebanon War; subbing in on the kitchen path at El Bulli; his open-hearted see to Palestine; destroying a ribeye with Bill fucking Murray; a pilgrimage to Yankee Stadium; coming PNG’d from Azerbaijan; the best house party ever at Alison Mosshart’s in Nashville; gabbing over pates with President Obama in Hanoi; a safarus of Japan with Masa( and his infectious chuckle ); wandering deep into the heart of Trumptown, USA. Some of the most indelible episodes chronicled his alliance with fellow chef Eric Ripert and their Abbott and Costello act. Others, like his return to the age-old stomping grounds of Provincetown, Massachusetts, recognized Bourdain wrestle with his own demons.

Part of what performed Bourdain such an effective traveler was his first-rate bullshit detector. He announced it like “hes seen” it, and his dream was rarely gloomed. On the Season 5 incident of Parts Unknown titled” New Jersey ,” he traveled to Atlantic City and discouraged Donald Trump for bleeding it baked. The occurrence aired on May 31, 2015; 16 weeks later, Trump certified his candidacy for president. When I brought up how prophetic it was to Bourdain, he offered,” It’ll is completely prophetic if he does with the conference of presidents what he did with Atlantic City, which is pretty much say victory and then recede. If you recollect, when he left his casinos behind shattered and in shamblings, he was quick to point out how well it used to work for him . He saw his coin, but his investors and Atlantic City were left with a giant, terrible white elephant .”

” He strikes me as a businessman–a businessman with an ego. OK, so he’s like Donald Trump–but shorter .” div>

— Anthony Bourdain on Vladimir Putin

But hands-down the most prescient occurrence of Parts Unknown was ” Russia .” Airing May 11, 2014, it opens with a montage of anti-Putin protests followed by Bourdain’s portentous voiceover:” No content how transparently tyrannical, vengeful, oblivious to even a thin veneer of republic, Russians affection[ Putin ]. They seem to feel about him like New Yorkers used to feel about Giuliani: he may be a sonofabitch, but he’s our sonofabitch .”

Before you can say Na Zdorovie ! i >, Bourdain is lounging in the foyer of the tony Hotel Metropol, smack-dab in the midst of Moscow. There, he fulfils his frequent travelmate Zamir Gotta, a Russian Tv producer.” Now, my concern is, you are familiar, back in the working day, this target was famed for … all of the offices were imperfection ,” Bourdain tells him. Zamir giggles it off. After a few vodkas, our multitude advances to lay into Putin … and Trump.

” My insight of Putin? Do “youve been” wanna hear it? A onetime mid-level overseer in a large organization. Short. I think that’s very important–short “– Zamir vigorously clears his throat –” who has experienced himself master of the universe. And like a lot of short parties, if you piss him off, bad things happen to you. He likes to make his shirt off a lot. He strikes me as a businessman–a businessman with an self-esteem. OK, so he’s like Donald Trump–but shorter .”

Though the “Russia” incident aired in May 2014, it was filmed in late 2013, well before Trump is not simply declared his presidential candidacy, but U.S. intelligence agencies found that the Kremlin had interfered in the presidential election to tip the scales toward Trump–and Trump, in turn, appears to be concede to Russia, recently exiting as much as is campaigning for their readmittance to the G7 summit.

” Bad circumstances seem to happen to critics of Vladimir Putin. Correspondents, partisans, even powerful oligarchs formerly seemingly untouchable are now fair game if they rile The Leader ,” chronicles Bourdain, before seguing to a diner dinner incident with Boris Nemtsov, a passing Putin critic.

According to Bourdain, he and his makes approached” four or five” Moscow restaurants about planning the representation with Nemtsov, and when they found out who the legion was dining with, the creation hurriedly canceled the representation. After much chase, they eventually tallied a distinguish at an unnamed restaurant with a British chef.

” Critics of the government–critics of Putin–bad things seem to happen to them ,” Bourdain tells Nemtsov over borscht.” This is a case, the Litvinenko case, a known enemy of Putin stricken with a bout of radioactive polonium. Aren’t you referred ?”

” Tony, I was born here 54 years ago. This is my country. Russian parties are in disturb. Russian law doesn’t work, Russian education decline every year, and I believe that Russia has a chance to be free. Has a hazard . It’s difficult but we must do it ,” remarks Nemtsov.

On Feb. 27, 2015, really nine several months after the chapter aired, Nemtsov was assassinated, shot four times in the back while spanning a bridge near the Kremlin. Foe rulers blamed the state–and by propagation, Putin–for the murder.

Reflecting on their dinner, Bourdain recalled,” I ask[ Nemtsov] instantly,’ Aren’t you pertained? The adversaries of Vladimir Putin, bad things have happened to them ,’ and he tittered it off and answered,’ It would be too perplexing. I’m too important. I’m a public figure .’ One has to wonder if that was in somebody’s brain as they killed him to death pretty much on the front lawn of the Kremlin. It’s not like they don’t demand you to know who done it, you are familiar? When they kill someone with nerve gas or radioactive polonium in Central London, they miss you to know who done it. That’s the whole part .”

The episode ends with a foiled Bourdain describing–in voiceover–how Russia currently being annexed Crimea and amassed their armies at the Ukrainian frontier.” The life has done nothing. It will do nothing. As Vladimir well knew ,” remarks Bourdain.” He wins. Again .”

Read more: https :// www.thedailybeast.com/ when-anthony-bourdain-called-out-putin-and-trumpin-russia

[altusfl]

65. The 1989 off season --- a year of epic changes. #1) Goodbye Herschel Walker!

1989 was a year of huge changes for both leagues.

Hershel Walker abandons the USFL

At the USFL championship Game Hershel Walker would reveal that the rumors were true…He had signed a contract to play for the Dallas Cowboys in the fall.  Walker would leave the league as it’s all-time leading rusher.

While the lack of notice would leave Stephen Ross and the USFL with a PR nightmare, Ross had known Walker was unhappy and had been preparing for this eventuality, drafting Robert Drummond as a potential replacement.

Drummond had spotted Walker extensively the previous season rushing for over 400 yards and the Generals felt fairly certain they had a replacement feature back.

Head coach Walt Michaels was privately quite happy to see the end of the Walker era.  He had seen Walker gravitate more and more towards former owner Donald Trump and as that had happened Walker seemed less and less a team player.  Michaels was eager to finally have the money to build around the pinpoint passing of Steve Young.

Walker was unhappy about being considered the #2 back in the NYC metro area and thought the only higher profile home he could get into would be to replace the retiring Tony Dorsett in Dallas.  

It would be a mixed bag. In year one, Walker would join a team that had been the least talented team in the league and was in the process of being ripped down in order to rebuild by new coach Jimmy Johnson.  

With a wilted passing game lead by struggling rookie QB Troy Aikman, the team would turn to Walker on most plays. After his disappointing finish in New Jersey, Walker would be eager to prove himself in Dallas and would run with a fire not seen since his early years in the USFL.

He would be leading the league in rushing and receptions when he would be traded to the Minnesota Vikings in what many would call the most lopsided trade in NFL history.  

Minnesota coach Jerry Burns and his staff had a super bowl caliber team, but Walker didn’t fit what Burns wanted to do on offense.  The office staff traded for a player the coaches didn’t want, so rather than maximizing Walker in the confines of what Burns wanted to do on offense --- slotting him heavily into the passing game and return games --- the coaching staff resented the aloof Walker, largely burying him in protest of the move.

Walker would be blamed in Minnesota for all the failings of the coaching staff.

The Loss of Walker directly leads to a shorter USFL season.

The loss of Herschel Walker to the NFL would leave the USFL with a lot credibility to recover. 

The league leadership would decide to obscure the issue with continuous press conferences.  

“Stage 3″ had yielded 4 ready to go expansion sites.  Expansion announcements would trickle out during the summer.  The thought was “How could the media argue that the USFL was on the decline if there was constant talk of expansion?”

While Barry Sanders and Bo Jackson were better, more dynamic runners at that point then Herschel Walker, the loss of one of the most recognized names in pro football and one of the league’s two “aces” would scare the owners on the heels of Jim Kelly’s half season.

The league would make an active choice to push “the new generation of stars” --- Jackson, Sanders, and Tampa Bay QB Chuck Long --- as much as possible to combat the narrative of a watered down league....

But the owners themselves had ideas to address the elephant in the room.

Oakland Invaders owner Tad Taube and Denver Gold owner Doug Spedding wrote a lengthy joint letter on the subject.  It would read, “... The difference between a 14 game season and an 18 game season mathematically is a 22% reduction of hits on our quarterbacks each year. “

“18 months is a four month season. How would your team’s QB fare if you lost a tackle for a month or two?  We do not have the quality of OL depth to manage this.  Last season only 10 starting tackles started all 18 games... “

“Hits have a compound effect over the course of the season and over the course of a player’s career.  Jim Kelly should have another 6 years or so of great play.  We almost lost that.”

“Warren Moon is older than Kelly.  Doug Williams and Doug Flutie have taken beatings over the last few years. How many great QBs can we afford to sacrifice in order to play an arbitrary 18 games?”

“We have 4 teams that recorded more 66 sacks in the regular season last year.  66 is the NFL single season record.”

“How much is an extra 6 seasons of Jim Kelly’s career worth to this league now that Herschel is gone?”

“Our season is too long.  Fans loose interest.  Our game to game sales show that depression in the last month of the season each year.”

“It we cut 20% off our season, but it results in much higher attendance because season tickets are cheaper and our stars play longer careers, there is a point where it becomes financially irrefutable.”

“We don’t have to play 18 games or even 16.  Our fans are as much fans of college football with their 11 game schedule as the NFL.  In fact 72% of fans of college football who don’t follow pro football say that the length of the pro seasons turn them off. In college, every game matters.  In the pros, effectively several do not.  So....What if we scrap those games?”

“Additionally, look at stars we have lured from the NFL like RB Joe Cribbs and NT Pete Kugler. In about 2 seasons in the USFL they were a shade of the players they were because we asked them to follow a 16-20 game NFL season with an 18-20 game USFL season.  We ask each migrating NFL starter to play 34-40 games in a 8 month period.  The human body can’t take that.  We have chewed these players’ playing days up at the cost of added power to the league’s marketability. “

“Not only should we shorten the season to 10-12 games, we should cap NFL starters at 6-8 regular season games in their first USFL season.” 

Shaken by the loss of Walker and acknowledging the annual last month attendance dip, the owners would ask Ted Turner to share the financial implications of adopting a shorter season.

Ted Turner agreed that a 14 game schedule would seem an optimal target.  The loss of media revenue would only project to be about a 10% loss over the projections for an 18 game season and Turner’s projections for 14 games in the coming year were ahead of what they had projected for an 18 game season prior to the last season.

The owners would agree to shorten the regular season to 14 games.

The league would spin the narrative to attack the NFL’s now longer 16 game season with it’s 4 pre-season games as an “immoral” length in terms of their players’ health.

The USFL owners would table the talk of limiting the playing time for NFL starters jumping to the USFL on the case of QBs specifically, but a few years later, that too would be implemented. 

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