#Gary Tom's Empire

[mixamorphosis]

Blog post and linked up tracklist [HERE]

www.mixamorphosis.com/2023/11/built-…ow-motion.html

Tracklist

01. Kate Bush - Red Shoes (Appo Re-edit) (Self Released) 02. Gazeebo - Boob Holder (Gazeebo International) 03. DJ Agent 86 - Magic (Lightspeed Recordings) 04. Gary Tom's Empire - Sexy Lady (Lou's Handin' Out Bruises Beatdown) (Tigers On A Leash) 05. Loin Brothers - Garden Of Vargolf (Tornado Wallace Remix) (Future Classic) 06. Drop Out City Rockers - International Track (Drop Out) 07. Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That ( Unknown Remake) 08. Art Of Tones - The World As I Live It (Room With A View) 09. Bonar Bradberry - Turning Loose (Ron Basejam Remix) (Under The Shade) 10. Honesty - Bleep Me (Room With A View) 11. Tape To Tape - Pure + Easy (Future Disco) 12. Sean Brosnan - Sat Jam (Eddie C Remix) (NeedWant) 13. Matthew Dear - Little People (Black City) (Mark E Remix) (Ghostly International) 14. FETE - The Islands (Maelstrom's Solar Disco Mix) (NeedWant) 15. Massimiliano Pagliara - Keep On Dreaming (Mark E Remix) (NeedWant)

Download available via [HEARTHIS]

[doamarierose-honoka]

Batman is back with a vengeance. Three years after HBO Max and Cartoon Network first announced Batman: Caped Crusader — the adult-oriented animated series that was eventually canceled by the since-renamed Max streaming service, only to then be picked up at Prime Video — the new Batman TV show is about to hit the small screen. Set in 1940s Gotham City, Caped Crusader is described as "a reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens" of executive producers Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond), Matt Reeves (The Batman and The Penguin), and J.J. Abrams (Alias and Lost).

"We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City," Timm, Reeves, and Abrams said when announcing the series in 2021. "The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman's noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world."

Below, ComicBook is shining the Bat-Signal on everything we know so far about Batman: Caped Crusader, including the voice cast, release date, and the rogues who will populate the first solo Batman animated series in more than a decade.

Where Can I Watch Batman: Caped Crusader?

To watch Batman: Caped Crusader on Amazon's Prime Video, you'll need either a Prime Video subscription ($8.99 per month with ads, or $11.98/mo for ad-free) or an Amazon Prime membership ($14.99 per month with Prime Video ads, or $17.98/mo with ad-free Prime Video).

Batman: Caped Crusader Release Date

All episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere Thursday, August 1st, on Amazon Prime Video.

How Many Episodes Is Batman: Caped Crusader?

Batman: Caped Crusader season 1 consists of 10 episodes. In 2023, Prime Video announced a two-season order for the new series.

What Is Batman: Caped Crusader About?

The official description: "Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human — the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications."

Who Voices Batman in the Batman: Caped Crusader Cast?

The Batman: Caped Crusader voice cast includes Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) in the title role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets) as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Jamie Chung (Gotham) as Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel, and Diedrich Bader — a DC veteran whose credits include episodes of Batman Beyond, 2006's The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and the Max adult animated series Harley Quinn — as Two-Face/Harvey Dent.

Announced cast members in as-yet-unrevealed roles include Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), Reid Scott (Venom), Dan Donohue (For All Mankind), Gary Anthony Williams (Hailey's on It!), Jason Watkins (The Crown), John DiMaggio (Futurama), Krystal Joy Brown (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), Michelle C. Bonilla (9-1-1: Lone Star), Eric Morgan Stuart (Fallout 4), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), and Minnie Driver (The Witcher: Blood Origin).

Batman: Caped Crusader Villains

A cast announcement video revealed Linklater's Batman voice and the Dark Knight's rogue's gallery: The Penguin, Catwoman, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, the pyromaniac Firebug, Natalia Knight (in the comics, a reformed career criminal with photosensitive skin known as Nocturna, the mistress of the night), the phantom criminal called Gentleman Ghost, and Clayface (the Golden Age Clayface of the 1940s was Basil Karlo, a once-famous character actor and makeup expert turned costumed killer). Caped Crusader reimagines Dr. Harleen Quinzel as Asian American — and Bruce Wayne's psychologist. Here, her alter-ego as the jester-costumed Harley Quinn is independent from the Joker, who is noticeably absent from the roundup of Batman characters.

Batman: Caped Crusader Characters

Batman – A cold, remorseless avenger of evil, seemingly more machine than man. Forged in the fire of tragedy, every fiber of his being is dedicated to the eradication of crime. (The Batman suit is influenced by the character's earliest appearances in Detective Comics, by creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, with longer, narrow ears, a collared cape, and with black gloves rather than the original purple.)

Bruce Wayne - To the public at large, Bruce Wayne is a shallow dilettante, apparently wasting his parents' vast fortune on frivolous pursuits and hedonistic pleasures. In fact, he's an elaborate facade, carefully constructed to divert attention from his activities as Batman.

Selina Kyle / "Catwoman" – Selena Kyle is a blithe and pampered heiress whose family lost their fortune after her father was imprisoned for embezzlement. Despite having the silver spoon yanked from her mouth, Selina refuses to quit living in the lap of luxury and becomes Catwoman as a "fun" way to maintain her lavish lifestyle.

Dr. Harleen Quinzel / "Harley Quinn" – Despite a personable and bubbly demeanor, Dr. Harleen Quinzel is a brilliant psychiatrist who treats some of Gotham's elite. However, as Harley Quinn, she is a different person, entirely. A creepy, quiet, calculating menace who secretly dispenses her twisted justice to the truly despicable among her elite clientele.

Commissioner Jim Gordon – Former beat cop close to retirement, Gordon was hired to play along with the corrupt system and run out the clock till he can draw a pension. But they've sorely underestimated Jim Gordon. His unassailable character brings him into conflict with dirty cops and crooked politicians, alike. Not to mention, he has to reckon with a deranged vigilante beating up Gotham's criminals.

Clayface – Thanks to his "unique" facial features, screen actor Basil Karlo has been forever typecast as a B-movie heavy. Frustrated by the limitations his appearance put on both his career and personal life (he fell hopelessly in love with his co-star), Karlo turned to an experimental serum that promised to change his face. However, not only does this serum ultimately disfigure his face, but it ruptures the last of his sanity – creating the tragic, vengeance seeking villain, Clayface.

Batman: Caped Crusader Creators

Batman: Caped Crusader comes from Warner Bros. Animation (My Adventures with Superman, Bat-Family), Abrams' Bad Robot Productions (Lovecraft Country, the Star Trek films) and Reeves' 6th & Idaho (2022's The Batman, The Batman – Part II). Along with Abrams, Reeves and Timm, Batman: Caped Crusader executive producers include head writer Ed Brubaker (DC's Batman comic, Gotham Central), James Tucker (Justice League Unlimited), Daniel Pipski (The Penguin), Rachel Rusch Rich (Castle Rock), and Sam Register (Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One and Part Two).

[ludmilachaibemachado]

July 28th 1968 - 'Mad Day Out' photoshoot (Location 1 - Thomson House)🎍

In the early summer of 1968, Paul McCartney called war photojournalist Don McCullin and asked him to conduct a photo shoot. The band needed new promotional images and wanted to leave the recording studio temporarily. On July 28th, 1968, the Beatles and McCullin were joined by five more people with cameras: Ronald Fitzgibbon, Stephen Goldblatt, Tom Murray, Tony Bramwell, and Mal Evans. Also taking part in the photo shoot were Yoko Ono, McCartney's girlfriend Francie Schwartz and Mal's six-year-old son Gary Evans🥀

Mel Evans: "In the afternoon we met at Paul's house and set off in a small convoy of cars. John went with me in my car, and I took my little son, Gary, with me. The others got into Ringo's white Mercedes, and the van with all the suits and clothes followed at the end of the column as we crossed London from St John's Wood through the West End to Fleet Street and beyond. The first stop was the Sunday Times building."🌵

The first place for the photo shoot was Thomson House, the centre of Lord Thomson's newspaper empire, where publications such as The Times and The Sunday Times were based. The penthouse of the building housed a photo studio built for photographer Lord Snowdon, which was often used by Apple employees John Kelly and Stephen Goldblatt🍁

Beatles and Cavern Club Photos🌺

[neitherabaron]

Really looking forward to the Chris Pine D&D movie, and I want to share some love for the original attempt at a D&D film from 2000!

Make no mistake, this is a so-bad-it’s-good film, with digital effects that are ropey as hell (especially when you consider that Fellowship of the Ring was already in post-production in 2000), a plot so disjointed it barely exists, (including a final battle that the main characters don’t even really take part in) and staggering levels of camp.

But it’s fucking charming.

Jeremy Irons (Scar from The Lion King) is the villain, an evil archmage who wants to overthrow an (not particularly benevolent anyway) empire with a plan that is never really clear but involves dragons?

Just look at this guy:

:readmore:

He walks about like that for the whole film, waggling his fingers slowly so you know he’s the baddie. He has an office where all the furniture and decor is made of human skulls and bones (a real location; I believe it’s a church somewhere?) and likes swooping his cape about. And Jeremy Irons himself is so bored, it’s hilarious. I seem to remember that in the dvd extras he’s interviewed alongside Gary Gygax and pretty much expresses open disdain for the whole process. He’s a serious actor! This is beneath him!

Elsewhere on the supporting cast, we have a henchman with spiky armour and inexplicably blue lips that are always pouting in a way that seems vaguely sexual; Tom Baker(!) as a wood elf Druid who only exists in order to say something vaguely mystic about dragons for 20 seconds before disappearing forever; and Richard O’Brien in full fey bastard mode as a camp thieves’ guild master who challenges the party to…find a crystal…in a deadly maze filled with traps and puzzles. Like in that game show he used to present…I forget the name. I wanna say Diamond Labyrinth? 😂

As for the party, it’s all delightfully one-note characters. We’ve got a rogue? bard? who goes from being a selfish dickhead to altruistic freedom fighter on a dime. Some dialogue suggests he’s some kind of chosen one, but the plot never actually explores or resolves that. Then there’s a wizard who doesn’t like poor people, an elf fighter who doesn’t like anyone, a dwarf who’s so out of it he barely knows he’s there and is never given any character motivation to explain why he’s travelling with these guys; and some dude called Snails, whose personality is…he’s scared? Basically Shaggy without Scooby.

These guys have to save a princess from Jeremy Irons, who wants to kill her because she has friendly dragons or something. But here’s the great thing: the party have very little reason to want to rescue her (most of them as non-mages are actively oppressed and even enslaved by the ruling mage class of which she is the figurehead) and they never actually *meet* her until the very end of the film, after the evil archmage has pretty much already been defeated - by the princess and her dragons btw, not the party, who basically teleport a magic wand to her and then just watch.

They rescue her because in order for the film to be a film, there needs to be an end goal, even if it’s totally arbitrary. And that’s what I love. Isn’t that just so reflective of a slightly haphazard campaign of Dungeons & Dragons with a party that’s hastily thrown together?

And there are more similarities that compound this feeling of watching some randoms play a home campaign. The plot as I mentioned is disjointed. It’s not a series of events that flows or has any kind of pacing - the movie is a series of 15 minute adventures that don’t really connect to each other or build to the ending. As if the director is a dungeon master arbitrarily stringing together modular adventure sourcebooks! Let’s storm a castle for reasons! Great, now let’s raid a tomb. No, I don’t know why. At one point a party member just bounces from the plot and is never seen again, just like that player in your group who never shows up and you all just move on.

It’s like the writers transcribed a home campaign, warts and all, into script form and then somehow successfully pitched it as a B-movie. Though the Chris Pine version will doubtlessly be a much better movie, Dungeons & Dragons (2000) is perhaps the most accurate possible dramatic presentation of D&D as it actually is in practice for most people playing it. What could be more charming than that?

[nerds-yearbook]

On June 19, 1998, the X-Files jumped from the small screen to premiere as a feature film The X-Files: Fight the Future. Creator Chris Carter, cast and crew had hoped after season 5 to continue the series as films, however Fox insisted that it continue on as a TV series. The next The X-Files film wouldn't appear until 5 years after the first run of the series cancelled (The X-Files: I Want To Believe July 25, 2008). The movie saw a new development in the pending alien invasion and gave a reason to re-open the X-Files, which had been closed in season 5. It teased fans with a kiss between Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). The movie also saw the demise of The Well Manicured Man (John Neville). Some of the TV series regulars who appeared in the movie were The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B Davis), A.D. Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), Langly (Dean Haglund), Byers (Bruce Harwood), Frohike (Tom Braidwood), Group Elder (Don S Williams), 2nd Elder (George Murdock), and the Black Haired Man (Michael Shamus Wiles). Some of the characters that were exclusive to the movie were Kurtzweil (Martin Landau), Bronschweig (Jeffrey DeMunn), Cassidy (Blythe Danner), Michaud (Terry O'Quinn), Strughold (Armin Mueller-Stahl), Fire Captain Cooles (Gary Grubbs), and The Barmaid (Glenne Headly). If the British Valley looked familiar it was because Milton Johns also appeared in the Empire Strikes Back and the original run of Doctor Who. ("The X-Files", Movie, Film)

[brokehorrorfan]

RoboCop 2 will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on June 18 via Scream Factory. The 1990 sci-fi action sequel was the final film directed by Irvin Kershner (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back).

Comic book legend Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City) and Walon Green (Eraser) wrote the script. Peter Weller returns to star with Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Tom Noonan, Belinda Bauer, and Gabriel Damon.

RoboCop 2 has been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Audio commentary with author/CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon

Audio commentary with RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop documentarians Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths, and Eastwood Allen

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary with author/CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon

Audio commentary with RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop documentarians Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths, and Eastwood Allen

Corporate Wars: The Making of RoboCop 2 – Interviews with director Irvin Kershner, producer Jon Davidson, actors Tom Noonan, Nancy Allen, Galyn Görg, executive producer Patrick Crowley, associate producer Phil Tippett, cinematographer Mark Irwin, and author/CG supervision Paul M. Sammon

Machine Parts: The FX of RoboCop 2 – Interviews with Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, Craig Hayes, Jim Aupperle, Kirk Thatcher, Paul Gentry, Don Waller, Justin Kohn, Randal Dutra, and Kevin Kutchaver

Interview with RoboCop armor fabricator James Belohovek

Interview with comic book writer Steven Grant

OCP Declassified – Archival production and behind-the-scenes videos including interviews with director Irvin Kershner and actors Peter Weller and Dan O’Herlihy, and a look at the filming of some deleted scene

Theatrical trailer

Teaser trailers

TV spots

Still Galleries – deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes photos, stills, posters and lobby cards

When Detroit's descent into chaos is further compounded by a police department strike and a new designer drug called "Nuke," only RoboCop (Peter Weller) can stop the mayhem. But in his way are a sinister corporation and a bigger and tougher cyborg with a deadly directive: take RoboCop off the streets … permanently.

Pre-order RoboCop 2.

[omegaremix]

Omega Radio for July 29, 2013; #26.

Scope “Big Ferro”

Hank Crawford “Lament”

Mighty Ryeders “Evil Vibrations”

Los Chobros “El Sonido Cano Roto”

Ofege “Gbe Mi Lo”

Nite-Liters, The “Damn”

Johnny Hammond “Fantasy”

Geoffrey Stoner “Bend Your Head Low”

Jon Lucien “A Sunny Day”

Bobbi Humphrey “Jealousy”

Chick Carlton & Mesmeriah “One More Time With Feeling”

Blue Mitchell “Delilah”

Grover Washington Jr. “Black Frost”

Jesse Morrison “Love Won’t Let Me Wait”

Lee Ritenour “Theme From 3 Days Of The Condor”

Gary Burton “Las Vegas Tango”

Frank Ricotti “Vibes”

Sunburst “Mysterious Vibes”

Tower Of Power “By Your Side”

Mo Foster “Stateside II”

Larry Bright “Aura (part 1)”

Jacky Giordano “Latest News”

Alan Parker “Backing Track No. 20”

Passport & Doldinger “Continuation”

Azimuth “Outubro”

Brian Bennett “Solstice”

Jean Pierre Decerf “Gates Of Pop Empire”

Joachim Sherrylee “Iceberg”

Blackbyrds, The “Love Is Love”

Tom Scott “Shadows”

Francis Monkman “Getting Ready”

Mort Garson “Walking In Space”

Herbie Hancock “Butterfly”

Hysear Don Walker “Poo Joo”

Manzel “Midnight Theme”

Freda Payne “I Get High”

Minnie Riperton “Les Fleur”

James Mason “I Want Your Love”

Bonus Omega; first-ever vinyl treasures, sampling, and crate-digging broadcast.

[john-anderson112]

Glenn Thompkins received the Glenn Davis Award for high school football excellence

Glenn Thompkins, the star quarterback of Rialto Eisenhower High, made headlines once again as he was honored with the prestigious Glenn Davis Award for his outstanding performance in Southern California's high school football scene. Just two days after leading his team to victory in the Southern Section Division I championship, Thompkins received this coveted award during a ceremony held in Riverside.

Named after the esteemed Heisman Trophy winner who attended Army and Bonita High in La Verne, the Glenn Davis Award is presented annually by The Times. It serves as a testament to the remarkable talent and dedication demonstrated by high school football players in the region.

At the age of 17, Thompkins, a three-year starter for the Eagles, showcased his versatility and prowess on the field throughout the season. With an impressive 14-0 record under his leadership, the team secured their championship title by defeating Santa Ana Mater Dei with a resounding score of 56-3 at Anaheim Stadium. In this decisive game, Thompkins exhibited his multifaceted skill set by throwing for 174 yards and three touchdowns, along with rushing for 71 yards and an additional touchdown. Not content with just offensive contributions, he also made significant defensive plays, breaking up several passes and returning two punts.

Tom Hoak, Eisenhower’s coach, attributed the team's undefeated season to Thompkins, emphasizing his versatility and ability to excel in any position on the field. Standing at 5 feet 9 inches and weighing 163 pounds, Thompkins amassed impressive statistics throughout the season, passing for 1,214 yards and rushing for 717. Additionally, he showcased his defensive prowess by starting in various positions, including inside linebacker and end.

Thompkins' remarkable performance on the field has garnered attention from numerous colleges and universities, with notable institutions such as Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Kansas vying for his talents. However, it is widely anticipated that Thompkins will sign with UCLA, where he is expected to continue his football career at the collegiate level.

Among other notable finalists for the Glenn Davis Award were quarterback Keith Smith of Newbury Park and tight end/linebacker Tony Gonzalez of Huntington Beach. The Times also recognized outstanding players and coaches from various circulation regions, highlighting their contributions to high school football:

In the Central City region, honorees included Norman Ysaguirre from Dorsey High (lineman), William Yates from Fremont High (back), and Taja Rodisha from Fremont High (coach).

The Inland Empire region featured standout players such as Coleman Johnson from Riverside Poly (lineman) and Gary Campbell from Norco High (coach).

Orange County's honorees included Tony Gonzalez from Huntington Beach High (lineman), Chris Draft from Placentia Valencia High (back), and Myron Miller from Costa Mesa High (coach).

San Fernando Valley recognized players like Keith Schiele from Lancaster Antelope Valley High (lineman), Mike Kocicka from Newhall Hart High (back), and Richard Fong from Panorama City St. Genevieve High (coach).

The San Gabriel Valley region celebrated talents such as Pene Talamaivao from Pomona Ganesha High (lineman), Miguel Meriwether from West Covina High (back), and Bob Mount from West Covina High (coach).

South Bay's standout players included John Welbourn from Palos Verdes Peninsula High (lineman), Omarr Morgan from Hawthorne High (back), and Don Morrow from Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High (coach).

South Coast region recognized talents like Brandon Whiting from Long Beach Poly High (lineman), Danjuan McGee from Long Beach Poly High (back), and Willie Donerson from Compton Dominguez High (coach).

Southeast region honored players such as Jerry Lemon from La Mirada High (lineman), Greg Ford from Whittier High (back), and Darrell Walsh from Cerritos Gahr High (coach).

Ventura region celebrated players like Leodes Van Buren from Newbury Park High (lineman), Keith Smith from Newbury Park High (back), and George Hurley from Newbury Park High (coach).

Westside's standout players included Matt Higgins from Playa del Rey St. Bernard High (lineman), Seka Edwards from Westchester High (back), and Marshall Jones from L.A. University High (coach).

Glenn Thompkins' remarkable journey from leading his team to victory on the field to receiving the prestigious Glenn Davis Award exemplifies the dedication, skill, and passion that define high school football in Southern California. His achievements serve as an inspiration to aspiring athletes and a testament to the enduring spirit of the sport.

For Reference :-

https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-thompkins-0aa41b130

[renatarenatah]

Eu li todos livros que Rory leu!

Por acaso, eu leio muito rápido e terminei esses livros por dias e semanas. Amei esses livros! Rory é estudiosa, tem boas escolhas para ler.

Listona com os 339 livros que Rory leu em ‘Gilmore Girls’:

1. 1 984 – George Orwell

2. As Aventuras de Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

3. Alice no País das Maravilhas – Lewis Carroll

4. As Incríveis Aventuras de Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

5. Uma Tragédia Americana – Theodore Dreiser

6. As Cinzas de Ângela – Frank McCourt

7. Anna Karenina – Leon Tolstoy

8. O Diário de Anne Frank – Anne Frank

9. The Archidamian War – Donald Kagan

10. A Arte da Ficção – Henry James

11. A Arte da Guerra – Sun Tzu

12. Enquanto Agonizo – William Faulkner

13. Reparação – Ian McEwan

14. Autobiography of a Face – Lucy Grealy

15. The Awakening – Kate Chopin

16. Babe – Dick King-Smith

17. Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women – Susan Faludi

18. Balzac e a Costureirinha Chinesa – Dai Sijie

19. Bel Canto – Ann Patchett

20. A Redoma de Vidro – Sylvia Plath

21. Amada – Toni Morrison

22. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation – Seamus Heaney

23. Bagavadguitá

24. Os Irmãos Bielski – Peter Duffy

25. Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women – Elizabeth Wurtzel

26. A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays – Mary McCarthy

27. Admirável Mundo Novo – Aldous Huxley

28. Um Lugar Chamado Brick Lane – Monica Ali

29. Brigadoon – Alan Jay Lerner

30. Cândido – Voltaire

31. Os Cantos de Cantuária – Chaucer

32. Carrie, A Estranha – Stephen King

33. Ardil 22 – Joseph Heller

34. O Apanhador no Campo de Centeio – J. D. Salinger

35. A Teia de Charlotte – E. B. White

36. The Children’s Hour – Lillian Hellman

37. Christine – Stephen King

38. Um Conto de Natal – Charles Dickens

39. Laranja Mecânica – Anthony Burgess

40. The Code of the Woosters – P.G. Wodehouse

41. The Collected Stories – Eudora Welty

42. A Comédia dos Erros – William Shakespeare

43. Complete Novels – Dawn Powell

44. The Complete Poems – Anne Sexton

45. Complete Stories – Dorothy Parker

46. Uma Confraria de Tolos – John Kennedy Toole

47. O Conde de Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

48. A Vingança de Bette – Honoré de Balzac

49. Crime e Castigo – Fiodor Dostoievski

50. Pétala Escarlate, Flor Branca – Michel Faber

51. As Bruxas de Salém – Arthur Miller

52. Cão Raivoso – Stephen King

53. O Estranho Caso do Cão Morto – Mark Haddon

54. Filha da Fortuna – Isabel Allende

55. David e Lisa – Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D

56. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

57. O Código da Vinci – Dan Brown

58. Almas Mortas – Nikolai Gogol

59. Os Demônios – Fiodor Dostoievski

60. A Morte de Um Caixeiro-Viajante – Arthur Miller

61. Deenie – Judy Blume

62. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America – Erik Larson

63. The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band – Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars e Nikki Sixx

64. A Divina Comédia – Dante Alighieri

65. Divinos Segredos – Rebecca Wells

66. Dom Quixote de La Mancha – Miguel Cervantes

67. Conduzindo Miss Daisy – Alfred Uhry

68. O Médico e o Monstro – Robert Louis Stevenson

69. Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems – Edgar Allan Poe

70. Eleanor Roosevelt – Blanche Wiesen Cook

71. O Teste do Ácido do Refresco Elétrico – Tom Wolfe

72. Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters – Mark Dunn

73. Eloise – Kay Thompson

74. Emily, the Strange: Os Dias Perdidos – Roger Reger

75. Emma – Jane Austen

76. Empire Falls – Richard Russo

77. Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective – Donald J. Sobol

78. Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton

79. Ética – Spinoza

80. Europe through the Back Door, 2003 – Rick Steves

81. Eva Luna – Isabel Allende

82. Tudo se Ilumina – Jonathan Safran Foer

83. Extravagance – Gary Krist

84. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

85. Fahrenheit 9/11 – Michael Moore

86. The Fall of the Athenian Empire – Donald Kagan

87. Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World – Greg Critser

88. Medo e Delírio em Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson

89. A Sociedade do Anel – J. R. R. Tolkien

90. Um Violinista no Telhado – Joseph Stein

91. As Cinco Pessoas que Você Encontra no Céu – Mitch Albom

92. Finnegan’s Wake – James Joyce

93. Fletch Venceu – Gregory McDonald

94. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes

95. The Fortress of Solitude – Jonathan Lethem

96. A Nascente – Ayn Rand

97. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

98. Franny e Zooey – J. D. Salinger

99. Sexta-Feira Muito Louca – Mary Rodgers

100. Galápagos – Kurt Vonnegut

101. Gender Trouble – Judith Butler

102. George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President – Jacob Weisberg

103. Gidget – Frederick Kohner

104. Garota, Interrompida – Susanna Kaysen

105. Os Evangelhos Gnósticos – Elaine Pagels

106. O Poderoso Chefão: Livro 1 – Mario Puzo

107. O Deus das Pequenas Coisas – Arundhati Roy

108. Cachinhos Dourados e os Três Ursos – Alvin Granowsky

109. E o Vento Levou – Margaret Mitchell

110. O Bom Soldado – Ford Maddox Ford

111. The Gospel According to Judy Bloom – Judy Bloom

112. A Primeira Noite de um Homem – Charles Webb

113. As Vinhas da Ira – John Steinbeck

114. O Grande Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

115. Grandes Esperanças – Charles Dickens

116. O Grupo – Mary McCarthy

117. Hamlet – William Shakespeare

118. Harry Potter e o Cálice de Fogo – J. K. Rowling

119. Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal – J. K. Rowling

120. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers

121. O Coração das Trevas – Joseph Conrad

122. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders – Vincent Bugliosi e Curt Gentry

123. Henry IV, parte I – William Shakespeare

124. Henry IV, parte II – William Shakespeare

125. Henry V – William Shakespeare

126. Alta Fidelidade – Nick Hornby

127. A História do Declínio e Queda do Império Romano – Edward Gibbon

128. Holidays on Ice: Stories – David Sedaris

129. The Holy Barbarians – Lawrence Lipton

130. Casa de Areia e Névoa – Andre Dubus III

131. A Casa dos Espíritos – Isabel Allende

132. Como Respirar Debaixo D’Água – Julie Orringer

133. Como o Grinch Roubou o Natal – Dr. Seuss

134. How the Light Gets In – M. J. Hyland

135. Uivo – Allen Ginsberg

136. O Corcunda de Notre Dame – Victor Hugo

137. A Ilíada – Homero

138. Confissões de uma Groupie: I’m With the Band – Pamela des Barres

139. A Sangue Frio – Truman Capote

140. Inferno – Dante Alighieri

141. O Vento Será tua Herança – Jerome Lawrence e Robert E. Lee

142. Ironweed – William J. Kennedy

143. It Takes a Village – Hillary Rodham Clinton

144. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

145. O Clube da Sorte da Alegria – Amy Tan

146. Júlio César – William Shakespeare

147. A Célebre Rã Saltadora do Condado de Cavaleras – Mark Twain

148. A Selva – Upton Sinclair

149. Just a Couple of Days – Tony Vigorito

150. Os Últimos Dias dos Romanov – Robert Alexander

[randomvarious]

Today’s compilation:

Son of Super Bad 1991 Funk / Disco / Disco-Funk / Funk-Rock

Here's a short and sweet batch of 70s tunes that bridge a gap between disco and funk that was released by the famed and prolific budget compilation label K-tel Records in the early 90s. It has some of the era's most popular and successful acts on it, like Kool & the Gang, Parliament, and KC & the Sunshine Band, all of whom helped to significantly raise the profile of disco and/or funk by achieving their own broad levels of mass popularity.

So, this album, for the most part, ultimately serves well as 'baby's first 70s funk compilation,' because almost all of these songs were huge hits in their day and most of them still manage to get plenty of rotation now. "Jungle Boogie," "Get Down Tonight," "Give Up the Funk," and "Play That Funky Music" are all great songs, but they're also ones that you're more than likely to already be very familiar with since they're standard 70s smashes.

But in the final leg of this release, K-tel finally digs a bit deeper and manages to pull out a couple bangers that are a whole lot more obscure: "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)" by the Gary Toms Empire and "On Fire" by T-Connection. "7-6-5-4-3-2-1" only peaked at #73 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1975, but it definitely deserved to be way more recognized, as it's a spectacularly infectious clap-along type of party rocker, outfitted with a sweet drum groove, an ever-so-slightly countrified synth riff, funk guitar, horns, and, of course, a whistle.

And T-Connection's "On Fire" didn't even make the Hot 100 at all! But it was a top-fiver on the Dance chart and that part's at least easy to see why since it's a catchy, uptempo, and sweaty disco-funk-rock bop with a nice guitar solo, strings, hand drums, piano, and synthesizer. But I unfortunately can’t find the exact edit on YouTube that appears on this compilation ���.

This album feels like a pretty ample starter pack for anyone who doesn't know the first thing about 70s funk music. You get a bunch of total classics as well as a couple more obscure goodies towards the end that most people are far less likely to know about. Good on K-tel for including them here among some other juggernauts.

Highlights:

Kool & the Gang - "Jungle Boogie" B.T. Express - "Express" Ohio Players - "Fire" Parliament - "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)" Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music" KC & the Sunshine Band - "Get Down Tonight" Brass Construction - "Movin'" Gary Toms Empire - "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (Blow Your Whistle)" T-Connection - "On Fire"

[spiderdreamer-blog]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

As observed in the last post, when the Disney Renaissance period "ends" isn't always entirely clear. Even after the high water mark of The Lion King, the animated films were still making money (esp. on the merchandising end) and getting good reviews, just somewhat less effusive ones depending on the film. Perhaps no film during this period was regarded with more curiosity and suspicion than their attempt at adapting Victor Hugo's classic French novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame (though if you want to get technical, that's the title of most adaptations, whereas the original French title is Notre Dame de Paris). The story of Quasimodo is often a dark one, after all, full of themes like religious hypocrisy and discrimination against minorities. Could Disney handle that, critics seemed to ask, or should they even TRY? Well, they ultimately did, and we have the film in front of us to judge. Let's dig in.

(Quick note: the film uses the outdated g-slur to refer to Roma characters throughout. I will not be doing so for sensitivity purposes.)

We open in 15th century Paris, as Clopin (Paul Kandel), leader of the city's Roma begins to narrate a story, "a tale of a man...and a monster." Twenty years ago, Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay) murdered a Roma woman when pursuing her for a presumed theft. The cargo turns out to be her son, who Frollo classifies as a monster for his hunchbacked deformities, and he nearly murders him to boot. But the Archdeacon of Notre Dame (David Ogden Stiers) stops him, warning that the "eyes" of Notre Dame, and possibly God Himself, will witness this crime. A shaken Frollo agrees to raise Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), but shuts him away in the bell tower. As the present day opens, Quasimodo yearns to join the outside world, with his gargoyle friends Hugo (Jason Alexander), Victor (Charles Kimbrough), and Laverne (Mary Wickes, in her final film role) as his only companions. But Frollo insists they would never accept him, and Quasimodo nearly seems ready to accept that lonely lot in life, so much has he internalized this abuse. His friends, however, encourage him to sneak out to the yearly Feast of Fools, just for one day. He works up the courage to do so, only to encounter the beautiful Roma Esmeralda (Demi Moore) and be crowned the King of Fools. After the crowd turns on him, Esmeralda comes to his rescue, only to be pursued by Frollo and the goodhearted captain Phoebus (Kevin Kline), who convinces her to take sanctuary in the church. Things quickly become a waiting game as Quasimodo and Esmeralda begin to bond over sharing an outsider status, and he begins to consider a potential life "out there", as Frollo's anger begins to twist into hatred...and lust.

The first thing that has to be said about Hunchback is that it's one of the best-looking films the studio ever made. Like Tarzan after it, CGI techniques were heavily used to give Notre Dame a real sense of place and atmosphere previously though unachievable. You truly FEEL the vastness of the cathedral and Paris, occasionally feeling just a bit of awe in the process, but thankfully directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise (Beauty and the Beast, Atlantis: The Lost Empire) never let them overwhelm the characters and their emotions. Some of this hasn't aged gracefully (the CGI crowds are definitely a little ropey when you look close), but the overall effect remains outstanding.

So too does the character animation, which is remarkable in its complexity. Quasimodo alone would be a challenge for most animators, but James Baxter is not most animators, and he gives the hunchback a genuine soulfulness in addition to making that seemingly impossible body move with pencils. Kathy Zielinski, meanwhile, takes what could have felt like a caricature in Frollo and makes him into a real, terrifying person. You feel his pain...and gape in horror at his cruelty. Tony Fucile's Esmeralda is vivacious and vibrant, Russ Edmonds makes Phoebus a little rougher than most handsome Disney leading men even with his good heart, and Mike Surrey grants Clopin an intriguing ambiguity; right up until the end, you're never totally sure what he's after.

The story is just as good as the visuals. I will admit upfront that it probably bites off more than it can chew. There is a LOT to cover here in terms of the intersections of racism, religious hypocrisy, and othering of people deemed "monsters" because of their disabilities. Especially since smarter people than me have pointed out this was NOT wholly Victor Hugo's original intent, but that the story transformed into a parable about discrimination thanks to Hollywood and other adaptations. It's possible that anyone could balk at it, much less the largely-compositionally-white Disney animation studio of the 1990s. Yet it has to be said that a genuine, earnest effort is made here even with some fumbles (which we'll get to later).

A useful comparison point is the previous year's Pocahontas. I can genuinely say I kind of hate that film outside of a few caveats, and one big reason why is that the characters feel so flat in their assigned roles. Nobody surprises or does anything unexpected, there's no nuance in the colors of the wind there, and even the characters you think could have affecting arcs are unbearably stiff. Not so here. Quasimodo is an excellent lead, for starters; even if he's gentler and less outright antisocial than other adaptations or the source material, he's allowed to be flawed in terms of parroting assumptions about Roma planted in him by Frollo and initially feeling entitled to Esmeralda's love because she was kind to him. He rises to heroism instead of having it be assumed. Frollo, too, is more complex than most Disney villains. Not sympathetic, precisely, but you get the sense that he really is just a miserable person at the end of the day, directing that misery outward as the contradictions between his religious piety, his racism, and his lust tear him up inside. Esmeralda is a little sexualized, it's true, and perhaps a little more noble than she might truly be in the situation, but she's a passionate, driven adult with a sense of humor. Which feels rare even now in animated kid's movies. The triangle that develops between her, Quasimodo, and Phoebus is intriguing because we can see it going either way, rather than having Phoebus be an obvious bad egg. I like his arc, too, as the Roma gain a human face and he grows increasingly uncomfortable with his complicity.

The voice cast helps with this considerably, giving stellar performances across the board. Helping is that they have one of the best soundtracks in the Disney canon backing them up, with Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz giving us banger after banger. "The Bells of Notre Dame" stands out especially for getting across a ton of story and character notes as elegantly as the likes of "Belle", "Circle of Life", and "The Family Madrigal." (Credit to Kandel, too, for hitting that insane high D note at the end of both it and the final reprise) Plus, I'm always a sucker for Badass Ominous Latin Chanting, and that's all over this score. We also get TWO "I Want" songs for the price of one, with "Out There" and "God Help The Outcasts" being excellent mission statements for Quasimodo and Esmeralda. "Hellfire" is the most chilling Villain Song in the entire canon, taking us down a road of darkness and flame. And "Topsy Turvy" feels underrated as a comedy song, feeling almost like something you could hear in another Hugo-derived musical, Les Miserables, in the clever rhyming and archaic word usage. (I'm also partial to "The Court of Miracles", which is short, but has a nicely sinister bounce)

In terms OF the actors, Tom Hulce is honestly an interesting choice for Quasimodo given that his best-known performance otherwise is as Mozart in Amadeus. A great film, and great acting, but Mozart is a markedly different character in that he is cheerfully obnoxious even whilst remaining in our sympathies. Here, Hulce finds a wistful quality in his tones, childlike without ever being childish, which is a hard balance to strike. And he knocks "Out There" out of the park, as it were. Tony Jay, meanwhile, gives the performance of his lifetime as Frollo, mining every scrap of loathsome humanity he can without ever losing the reality of the man. His rendition of "Hellfire" always leaves me awestruck. Moore has a distinct, smoky tone that aids Esmeralda spectacularly even if we can question the ethics of casting a white woman as a dark-skinned Roma in retrospect, and Kline matches her well in terms of being funny and down-to-Earth, making us believe in Phoebus' turn.

(Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Stiers' cameo at least a little bit. He was a good luck charm for Disney in this period, and he gives the Archdeacon genuine warmth to contrast Frollo's bigotry, a necessary one given how brutal that becomes)

Now there are some fumbles, even if they don't blemish the film overmuch for me. The first is the depiction of the Roma, which can run a little inconsistently. It's laudable that the movie is sympathetic to their plight and doesn't make any mealy-mouthed both-sides statements about it the way Pocahontas tries to run with an ill-defined "hatred" as the Aesop. Frollo is just straight-up racist and that's how we're doing this. But they also get played as comic relief and we don't get much internal dialogue on them outside of Esmeralda and Clopin (though as said, I appreciate that he has purposeful ambiguity in seeming like a gleeful jester one moment, then a tough street boss the next).

The second is the gargoyles, who you may have noticed haven't been mentioned much up to now. That's because I'm of two minds about them. On the one hand, I don't think they're bad characters. The animation on them is as good as the rest of the film, and you could tell the animators had fun figuring out how to move stone figures around. Alexander, Kimbrough, and Wickes all give excellent comedic performances, and especially in the early part of the film, they serve a useful function as keeping the mood light and confidants for Quasimodo. There are much worse Disney sidekicks purely on the merits (fuck you, Gurgi, go to hell). Nor do I object to comic relief on its face. I adore comedy-as-characterization, and Disney sidekicks can often be a useful counterbalance.

What I dispute is the usage here. To me, there's an obvious arc of Quasimodo shedding his comfort levels as he grows up and decides to engage in the outside world. But the gargoyles...keep showing up past a point where it feels necessary. You get the sense the filmmakers were nervous about just HOW dark and adult the rest of the film was, and were hedging their bets. This is best exemplified in their song "A Guy Like You." On its face, it's a funny, catchy number that the actors sing the hell out of. And the dramatic purpose (building Quasimodo's confidence about his romance before learning that Esmeralda has fallen for Phoebus) is solid. But it's just...too much. These guys aren't the Genie or Timon and Pumbaa, and they shouldn't be. Also between them and Esmeralda's pet goat Dhjali, who's also Fine mechanically, and Clopin already being funny in cleverer ways, it begins to feel a smidge crowded.

One quibble I DON'T have is with the ending. This remains the most criticized part of the film, given that the book ends tragically with Frollo, Quasimodo, and Esmeralda all dead, and some variation on this tends to stick for a lot of adaptations (in fact, both Disney's later German and English-language stage adaptations hewed closer to the novel, if not exactly in terms of circumstances). By contrast, here we get an uplifting ending where not only is Frollo the only casualty (and with a bitchin' variation on the Disney Villain Death to boot), Quasimodo is accepted by the citizens of Paris. Unrealistic? Maybe. Does my heart melt every time that little girl comes up to feel Quasimodo's face? Absolutely. Look, I'm not someone who thinks we need to treat minorities/disadvantaged people like glass dolls in narratives. We can have bad things happen to them without it being Le Problematique. But given the history, is it really so terrible to give a hunchback a happy ending on occasion? I think not, and for this version of the story, they absolutely arrive at the correct decision.

The mood around the film was slightly more muted upon its release. It made money, the critical reception was generally positive-even in France!-and some critics like Roger Ebert gave it effusive reviews. But it was usually agreed that Disney had done its usual thing of simplifying a popular narrative for mass consumption the way they did for fairy tales and such. Hard to totally argue against that point, but I would posit that, as said, the story had already mutated into a very different form thanks to various other adaptations. You'd hardly think Les Miserables would be a good crowd-pleasing musical either at first glance. Even if it totally doesn't stick the landing, this remains one of my favorite Disney films because it TRIED, damn it. It's imperfect, but beautiful.

Could say that about our hunchback, couldn't we?

[derekfoxwit]

The Best Picture Oscar My Way (1980-1999)

Here’s Part 2 of Best Picture My Way (as started here). All information about my approach with this category can be found on that linked first part.

For convenience sake, I’ll relay this message. Only the films I add onto here as nominees will have listed nominated producers next to the movie’s title. (Here’s the Wikipedia page for the rest.)

1980

The Empire Strikes Back - Gary Kurtz

Raging Bull

The Elephant Man

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Ordinary People

1981

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Das Boot - Gunter Rohrbach; Michael Bittins

Reds

On the Golden Pond

Chariots of Fire

1982

Tootsie

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Fitzcarraldo - Werner Herzog; Willi Segler; Lucki Stipetic

Missing

Gandhi

1983

Fanny and Alexander - Jorn Donner

Terms of Endearment

Scarface - Martin Bregman

Mender Mercies

The Right Stuff

1984

Amadeus (still)

The Terminator - Gale Anne Hurd

Love Streams - Yoram Globus; Menahem Golan

Ghostbusters - Ivan Reitman

A Passage to India

1985

Back to the Future - Neil Canton; Bob Gale

The Color Purple

After Hours - Robert F. Colesberry; Griffin Dunne; Amy Robinson

Ran - Masato Hara; Serge Silberman

Witness

1986

Platoon (still)

Misery - Rob Reiner; Andrew Scheinman

Hannah and Her Sisters

A Room with a View

Blue Velvet - Fred C. Caruso

1987

The Last Emperor (still)

The Princess Bride - Rob Reiner; Andrew Scheinman

Broadcast News

Moonstruck

Fatal Attraction

1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Frank Marshall; Robert Watts

Rain Man

Dangerous Liaisons

Mississippi Burning

The Last Temptation of Christ - Barbara De Fina

1989

Do The Right Thing - Spike Lee

Driving Miss Daisy

Dead Poets Society

My Left Foot

Cinema Paradiso - Giovanna Romagnoli

1990

Goodfellas

Dances with Wolves

Edward Scissorhands - Tim Burton; Denise Di Novi

Ghost

The Godfather Part III

1991

The Silence of the Lambs (still)

Thelma & Louise - Ridley Scott

Beauty and the Beast

Boyz in the Hood - Steve Nicolaides

JFK

1992

Unforgiven (still)

A Few Good Men

Malcolm X - Spike Lee; Marvin Worth

Reservoir Dogs - Lawrence Bender; Harvey Keitel

Aladdin - Ron Clements; John Musker

1993

Schindler’s List (still)

The Piano

Philadelphia - Jonathan Demme; Edward Saxon

In The Name of the Father

The Fugitive

1994

The Lion King - Don Hahn

Forrest Gump

Pulp Fiction

The Shawshank Redemption

Eat Drink Man Woman - Kong Hsu; Li-Kong Hsu

1995

Toy Story - Bonnie Arnold; Ralph Guggenheim

Se7en - Phyllis Carlyle; Arnold Kopelson

The Postman (Il Postino)

Before Sunrise - Anne Walker-McBay

Braveheart

1996

Fargo

Trainspotting - Andrew Macdonald

Secrets & Lies

Jerry Maguire

The English Patient

1997

Titanic (still)

Good Will Hunting

L.A. Confidential

Princess Mononoke - Toshio Suzuki

Boogie Nights - Paul Thomas Anderson; Lloyd Levin; John S. Lyons; JoAnne Sellar

Lost Highway - Deepak Nayar; Tom Sternberg; Mary Sweeney

As Good as It Gets

The Full Monty

1998

Saving Private Ryan

Life is Beautiful

The Thin Red Line

The Big Lebowski - Joel and Ethan Coen

Mulan - Pam Coats

Central Station - Arthur Cohn; Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre; Robert Redford; Walter Salles

The Truman Show - Edward S. Feldman; Andrew Niccol; Scott Rudin; Adam Schroeder

Rushmore - Barry Mendel; Paul Schiff

Shakespeare in Love

1999

The Matrix - Joel Silver

American Beauty

The Green Mile

The Sixth Sense

Magnolia - Paul Thomas Anderson; JoAnne Sellar

The Straight Story - Neal Edelstein; Mary Sweeney

Man on the Moon - Danny DeVito; Michael Shamberg; Stacey Sher

Being John Malkovich - Steve Golin; Vincent Landay; Sandy Stern; Michael Stipe

[rpmtrish]

NEOPMA/PMRA PRO MODIFIEDS READY FOR EMPIRE DRAGWAY SHOWDOWN THIS WEEKEND

LEICESTER, NEW YORK (June 17, 2024) – The Pro Modifieds of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) and Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA) will return to Empire Dragway in Leicester, NY this weekend in the first of two scheduled weekend shows for 2024. Last year, Pro Modifieds from both series ran successfully on the New York state eighth-mile drag strip and this year’s event promises to provide more action and cars in this popular door-slammer class. "It is always a pleasure to return to Empire Dragway. The facility is first class and Jerry Scaccia, his family and officials go above and beyond to prepare an excellent racing surface," stated John Mazzorana of the NEOPMA. “We hope to have over 20 pro modified cars attending, breaking track records and giving fans one of the best shows ever. Empire Dragway is one of the best tracks in North America and combined with our two associations, it is the perfect formula for an amazing race.” Expected Pro Modifieds for this weekend’s show include James Beadling, Cedrick Beaulieu, Gary Courtier, Mike Decker Jr., Mike (Hollywood) Decker III, John Glekas/Pierre Chicoine Team, Paulo Giust, Jack Grainy, Andy Jensen, Kenny Lang, Louis Ouimette, Chris Russo, Melanie Salemi, Jay Santos, Mike Stawicki, Claude St. Maurice, Dave Texido, John Vergotz and Derek Ward. Along with a strong Pro Modified presence, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) will also compete at the Empire Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Challenge VI and VII on June 21- 22 and August 16-17, plus a standalone event on September 13-14, 2024. The Quick 32 Sportsman Series includes a Top Sportsman and Top Dragster qualified field of 32 teams and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) is comprised of a qualified field of 16 quick motorcycles and snowmobiles. Quick 32 Sportsman Series entries include Tim Antinora, Brett Bennett, Jessica Bennett, Craig Chadderdon, Scott Church, Art Cioffi, Charlie Emler Jr., Buddy Forrest, Dan Germano, Andy Gregoire, Bob Jaus, Don Kiekel, Billy Leber, Doug Lynden, Tony Madonia, Gary O'Connell, Anthony Platania, Cody Reome, Mark Romanofsky, Tyler Rudolph, Tom Simone, Bill Stevens and Ron Szewczyk, who will do battle with Dave Burchell, Luke DeJonge, Jeff Gabel, Brooklyn Noakes, Phil Sampson, Kayden Wicke and Wilson & Grey, all of Ontario.  Included in the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) entries is Nicole Albin, Lee Burgess, Josh Costra, Ron Dean, Peter Edwards, Dick Nearhoof, Bill Pippard, Mike Puglia and Bob Salerno. Qualifying for all classes will be held Friday, June 21, at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 22, at noon, with eliminations starting at 2:00 pm Saturday. Empire Dragway will also offer a Box and No Box Eliminator program. Spectators can go to EmpireDragway.com for schedule, admission and camping details. Visit the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association at neoutlawpromods.com, the Pro Modified Racing Association at facebook.com/promodifiedracing, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series at facebook.com/quick32, the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) at facebook.com/probikeandsledseries and Empire Dragway at EmpireDragway.com for more information and event updates. For more information, please contact Bruce Mehlenbacher at Bruce@JAJentertainment.com   Read the full article

[ludmilachaibemachado]

July 28th 1968 - 'Mad Day Out' photoshoot (Location 1 - Thomson House)🪴

In the early summer of 1968, Paul McCartney called war photojournalist Don McCullin and asked him to conduct a photo shoot. The band needed new promotional images and wanted to leave the recording studio temporarily. On July 28th, 1968, the Beatles and McCullin were joined by five more people with cameras: Ronald Fitzgibbon, Stephen Goldblatt, Tom Murray, Tony Bramwell, and Mal Evans. Also taking part in the photo shoot were Yoko Ono, McCartney's girlfriend Francie Schwartz and Mal's six-year-old son Gary Evans🎍

Mel Evans: "In the afternoon we met at Paul's house and set off in a small convoy of cars. John went with me in my car, and I took my little son, Gary, with me. The others got into Ringo's white Mercedes, and the van with all the suits and clothes followed at the end of the column as we crossed London from St John's Wood through the West End to Fleet Street and beyond. The first stop was the Sunday Times building."🌸

The first place for the photo shoot was Thomson House, the centre of Lord Thomson's newspaper empire, where publications such as The Times and The Sunday Times were based. The penthouse of the building housed a photo studio built for photographer Lord Snowdon, which was often used by Apple employees John Kelly and Stephen Goldblatt🌼

Beatles and Cavern Club Photos💐

[sparecrew]

The 2024 Book List

Fighting for Your Marriage (Howard J. Markman, Scott M. Stanley & Susan L. Blumberg)

Soldier's Heart (Gary Paulsen)

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (James Agee & Walker Evans) - 1K List: 1/year, 139/total

A Matter of Principle (Susan Beth Pfeffer)

5 Miraculous Muslims Touched by God (Author Unknown - Presumably Some Christian Organization)

The Woman in Me (Britney Spears)

Cold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)

Romney: A Reckoning (McKay Coppins) *

Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen) ; 1K List: 2/year, 140/total

[Audiobook] The Underground Railroad (Colson Whitehead); 1K List: 3/year, 142 total

Opportunity Knocks (Tim Scott)

Why Marriages Succeed or Fail (John Gottman)

How to Know a Person (David Brooks) *

Killing Floor (Lee Child)

They Called Us "Lucky" (Ruben Gallego) *

Acquitted (Kyle Rittenhouse)

Profiles in Courage (John F. Kennedy)

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution (Louise Perry) *

The Things We Cannot Say (Kelly Rimmer) *

Who Killed These Girls? (Beverly Lowry)

Endgame (Omid Scobie)

[Textbook] AHA Heartsaver - First Aid (2021 Student Edition/Workbook)

[Textbook] AHA Heartsaver - First Aid, CPR, AED (2021 Student Edition/Workbook)

[Textbook] AHA BLS Instructor Manual

House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) ; 1K List: 4/year, 143 total

Social Justice Fallacies (Thomas Sowell)

The Canceling of the American Mind (Greg Lukianoff & Rikki Schlott) *

Lost in Trans Nation (Miriam Grossman, MD)

Bad Therapy (Abigail Shrier) *

Hitler's Pawn (Stephen Koch) *

Rule Number Two (Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft) *

The Exchange (John Grisham)

[Audiobook] Zero Days (Ruth Ware)

Jesus Calling (Sarah Young)

Partners in Power (Roger Morris)

The Iliad (Homer - translated by Emily Wilson) - 1K List: 5/year, 144 total

[Audiobook] The It Girl (Ruth Ware)

In the Country of Men (Hisham Matar)

Get It Together (Jesse Watters)

Say More (Jen Psaki)

The Bible in 52 Weeks (Kimberly D. Moore)

White Rural Rage (Tom Schaller & Paul Waldman)

Prequel (Rachel Maddow)

Mansfield Park (Jane Austen) - 1K List: 6/year, 145 total

Morning After the Revolution (Nellie Bowles)

[Textbook] How to Write Anything - Third Edition (John J. Ruszkiewicz & Jay T. Dolmage)

I Swear (Katie Porter)

[Textbook] Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured - Twelfth Edition (Andrew Pollack, series editor)

What the Dead Know (Barbara Butcher)

Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand)

The Situation Room (George Stephanopoulos)

King (Jonathan Eig) *

The Making of a King (Robert Hardman)

Troubled (Rob Henderson) *

If You Didn't Write It Down, It Never Happened! (Paul Serino)

Emma (Jane Austen) - 1K List: 7/year, 146 total

Elon Musk (Walter Isaacson)

The Fred Factor (Mark Sanborn)

A Coffin For Dimitrios (Eric Ambler) - 1K List: 8/year, 147 total

Privacy Is Power (Carissa Veliz)

[Textbook] Foundations of Education - Third Edition (NAEMSE)

Effective Difficult Conversations (Catherine Soehner & Ann Darling)

Foundation (Isaac Asimov) - 1K List: 9/year, 148 total

Foundation and Empire (Isaac Asimov) - 1K List: 10/year, 149 total

Book Club Reboot (Sarah Ostman & Stephanie Saba)

[chappell-roans]

What are some of the biggest Oscar flukes in your opinion?

Coda 💀 but besides that...

Best Picture: I think Chicago is a bizarre Best Picture winner but I really like that movie so I support it (I love hot people!!!) and Marty 1955 kinda too because it's a very idk... small movie but in a good way. Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain is my roman empire tho. (Stupid silly vaguely sexist meme but it’s true.) Also The Life of Emile Zola winning over A Star is Born in 1936? Lmao. Some other forgotten movies that have been eclipsed by more modern faves like How Green is My Valley over Citizen Kane lmaooo. It's still wild to me that Midnight Cowboy won but imo it was very deserved, it's still an excellent movie. Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas kinda wild, same with Forrest Gump over Shawshank Redemption. And now I'm scrolling through a list and: Shakespeare in Love over either Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line? Seriously?

This is going to get long so I'm putting the rest of the categories under a cut so come along for the madness if you want but I got way too into this lmao, hopefully this is answering your question tho.

Best Actor:

Paul Newman should've won for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

1967 is an insane year I truly don't know how voters chose like look at this we have some all-time great actors at arguably their very best and most iconic here...

and you didn't ask but once again I think Al Pacino deserved it for Dog Day Afternoon! (Then he got it for Scent of a Woman when maybe Denzel should've gotten it for Malcolm X. But I digress.) Tom Hanks winning back to back years is maybe one of the bigger flukes?????? Especially 1994........ come on. I also find Nicholson winning for As Good as it Gets to be a fluke because I kinda hate that movie and he's not that great in it. But! Again! I digress! Imo Heath Ledger should've won for Brokeback Mountain because PSH could've won basically any other year because Capote is good but not great but here we are in the Oscars biopic or nada era sigh.

Anyone else should've won in 2017.

And I forgot about BoRhap. Let's not talk about that fluke. Same with Joker lowkey and I just I wanna redo all the Oscars now ifsdnlkzm. (Give it to him for 2017 and You Were Never Really Here!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD.)

Barring Gary Oldman again, what a good category. Riz Ahmed gave my favorite performance of the awards season but wild that Chadwick didn't win. (And Steven Yeun could've won for Burning. BUT ANYWAY.)

And let's also not talk about The Whale and also not about that fact that fucking horny posting aside, Paul Mescal gave my favorite performance of 2022 that I've seen.

Best Actress:

Gloria Swanson should've won.

I think everything that As Good As It Gets won was a fluke bc again. Movie kinda sucks. Sharon Stone should've won for Casino. This has just become a bitch session! I'm just getting surprised my favs didn't win. Same w Shirley MacLaine not winning for The Apartment. Sandra Bullock winning for The Blind Side of all things is bullshit but whatever. Frances McDormand winning for Nomadland is kinda random af, same w Jessica Chastain but good for her.

Bitch session over i can't do this anymorenldfkmz