#He is the sys manager therefore I feel like leaving it to him :']

[warpweighted]

I have so many feelings about luo bingge hes supposed to be the ultimate power fantasy clearly to the extent that even he does not recognize how fundamentally empty his life has become. he was very open-hearted until Shen Qingqiu pushed him into the Abyss, at which point he reforged his fundamental worldview into the same one Shen Qingqiu ascribes to, which is: there are two types of people in the world, those who get hurt and those who do the hurting (optional type 3: women and children who are mostly innocent of either, by virtue of having someone do and/or receive the hurt on their behalf), and the only way to move from the first category is to place yourself firmly in the second. he does, I think, try to make himself better than SQQ, by maintaining his position only by hurting people who have already done harm (for whatever his threshold of "harm" is), but he definitely does not reject the worldview. because that would require him to be vulnerable! and look where that fucking got him the last time he tried it! it got him in the Abyss is where it got him!

which does not leave room for things like "love" or "care", but does ensure that he is extremely secure in his position (power fantasy) and that he will always have people to do whatever he wants (power fantasy) and that he will have every single one of his physical needs taken care of (power fantasy) and that because he is the most powerful person in the entire world, he will never be hurt again (power fantasyyyyyyy). which, given the entirety of his childhood and young adulthood, is understandable! I dont think he's ever been able to dream something more for himself than "I'm warm and I have enough to eat and no one hurts me." I doubt he thinks there is anything more than that. from all possible angles he has more than achieved his wildest dreams. what could there possibly be to be unhappy about? If he's discontent, that's just because he's gone too long without a conquest (a conquest of what type? take your pick).

But he is never satisfied with what he has, and he has no one who will treat him as a person to be loved rather than a lord to be appeased. which is by design! someone who treats him like a person is someone who is close enough to hurt him, and as long as there is some new power to be grabbed there is some avenue by which he is not yet all powerful, and therefore some way in which he can still be hurt.

which means that meeting SY!SQQ shakes the very foundations of his worldview, because here is a Shizun who cared for him. Hurt him, yes - in most of the ways that his own SQQ hurt him - but cared for him nonetheless, and is currently trying his best to care for him entirely and hurt him not at all, and who expects the same of Luo Bingge Binghe. This world's SQQ rejected the premise that avoiding harm necessitates harming others, and this world's (weak! vulnerable!) LBH also rejected this premise and somehow managed to live by it? symbolized very blatantly by having somehow managed to hold on to his mother's guanyin pendant. and this LBH is satisfied, he's happy despite having almost nothing at all, only one spouse and not even a quarter of the treasures LBG has and he fucking shattered Xin Mo, he hasnt taken out hardly any powerful enemies and there are still people in the world who can hurt him and somehow he's the one who got the genuine security and the loving relationship even though he's done nothing at all to deserve it -

And confronting all of that is going to require he internalizes that he did not deserve what SQQ did to him, and that the relations of power he thinks of as an immutable foundation to the world are not only not inherent but are actually wrong, and that all the security and safety he has acquired over his lifetime will not be what actually makes him happy, and actually being happy requires taking on the risk that he will be hurt again. which has got to be terrifying to him, but theres no way he can un-pop that bubble and go back to not remembering how it feels to receive a loving touch.

[youve-been-etho-d]

Resisting urge to even touch our pk system description just because that's Hels' job lol

[syismycaptain]

Syverson's reaction to you not asking for his help

Masterlist

⦁ You were raised to be as independent as possible, because as you were told, you might not always be surrounded by reliable people, therefore you were to help yourself. Also because you grew up with busy parents , you had learn to rely on yourself when it came to means of transportation, getting groceries, cooking and so on.

⦁ When you got together with our burly captain, you continued with the same mindset.

⦁ So of course our captain nearly had a damn heart attack when he saw you carrying anything that was remotely too heavy for you, huffing and grunting silently under your breath as you struggled.

⦁ "Jesus, woman, are you trying to break your back?" he grunts as he takes the heavy box from your grasp, realizing just how heavy it was. " Next time, tell me and I will carry it." with that he takes the box where you need, leaving you stunned.

⦁ One rainy afternoon you got home from an appointment, drenched from head to toe, umbrella broken beyond repair from the strong wind blowing outside, hanging uselessly from your hands.

⦁ "Hey, berry-woah, what the hell happened?" Lucas' eyes widen at the state of his lover, drenched and shivering, instantly making his mission to get her a towel and warm her up, instructing her to strip while he is gone.

⦁ "Sy, I am good, come on-", "no can do, lady bug, if you stay like that you'll catch a cold." "no, I won't- Sy! I can undress myself!" Dripping clothes fall to the floor with a loud wet plop. "Hush, now". Somehow he managed to get you naked and wrapped into a fluffy big towel in under two minutes, ushering you to the bathroom while he took care of your clothes." What happened?"

⦁ " Remember I had that appointment at the dermatologist?" "Yeah", "Well the place is really hard to get to, it is about 10 minutes walking distance from the bus station or subway station to get to it. So, I walked, I am used to walking everywhere, I don't mind but unfortunately on the way back home, the rain started and the wind started picking up real bad and it, of course, broke my umbrella." You reply, shuddering as the hot water came into contact with your cold skin, shoulders hunching to get as much of yourself under the spray of water as you could. "I tried calling an Uber but they were all taken, because of the storm I suppose"

⦁ "Why didn't you call me?" he murmurs, furrowing his eyebrows as he leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he takes his lover's glistening form. " I didn't think of it ". you muse, washing the cleanser away from your face before turning to look at your boyfriend. "It's fine though, no harm done, one warm shower and I will be as good as new." You throw him a smile over your shoulder before turning off the water, wrapping yourself in a towel. " Yeah, good as new." Syverson frowns with a tap to the wooden frame before he makes his way to the bedroom to get your pajamas.

⦁ The sudden change of tone left you feeling, somewhat reprimanded? It left you with a feeling that made you lower your head like a child after being scolded. Confused, you start walking towards the bedroom only to bump into the captain who came back with your clothes. "Here, let me." his voice is low and throaty as his hands go to your towel to take it off, leaving you bare to him. Timid of this sudden display of affection, you allow him to dress you, squeaking in surprise when you are picked up and taken to the bedroom.

⦁ That night as you fall asleep cuddled to him, the captain makes a promise to himself and you. " I will take care of you baby, just you wait."

⦁ And he did keep his promise, even if you didn't know he made it.

⦁ He became even more observant than before, checking in with you all the time.

⦁ "Did you bring your lunch today? If not I can bring you some. " ; " Did you need me to pick you up?" ; " You said you wanted to go grocery shopping, I will come pick you up after work, so you don't have to carry them back home all alone" ; " You forgot to take your umbrella when you left, tell me when to come pick you up from your girls' night. Don't want you walking in the rain again. ".

⦁ You learnt that it was alright to ask for Syverson's help and that he would gladly do it for you, without doubt. He still let you do things on your own, he knew you could do them and he encouraged you to, but he didn't want you to feel like you couldn't rely on him.

⦁ Syverson thought he finally got somewhere with you, but he was wrong. You would ask for his help here and there but at one point, you started it all over again.

⦁ He nearly growled you when you arrived home with hands filled with grocery bags but what made his blood rise was the multiple big bottles of water that you had in your backbag, knowing just how much you have been complaining about bad backaches. He wanted to scold the hell out of you but he stopped himself by sucking a deep breath and helping you put everything away. Once everything was done, he wordlessly hoisted you onto the counter, ripping a yelp from you.

⦁ "Sy! " you whine, resting your hands on his chest to balance yourself, only to shut up at the look in his eyes." Y/n, I am really trying to understand what is going on here but...I am getting really frustrated. Why won't you rely on me, baby? Do I make you feel like you can't? Tell me and I swear I will try to fix it but I can't help but feel freaking useless whenever I see you struggling and in result getting exhausted by trying doing everything by yourself, why won't you allow me to help you, baby?"

⦁ You were stunned into silence by his admission, not realizing that this was affecting him in any way. "I-.."you hesitated, pulling at the tender skin of your inner lip before continuing. "It is not your fault as much as it is mine. "you admit, staring at your hands as they rest on his broad chest. " Since I was young, I had to deal with any problem myself, because I was supposed to be a "big girl". So I dealt with it, never asked for anyone's help because there was no one I could ask or nobody offered..so I suppose I feel like a bother sometimes, to ask you to do this or that for me. And instead I do it myself. No matter how hard it is. " you sigh quietly, hesitant to meet his eyes.

⦁ Syverson stares at you with an unreadable look in his eyes before his eyes soften and instead of speaking he chooses to pull you into his broad, warm chest, keeping you close to him as he buries his face into your hair. " I had no idea, love. But you need to tell me these things, I don't mind doing things for you and I don't feel obligated, I like doing them because I love you." he pulls back to press a kiss to your forehead, his beard tickling the tender skin there.

⦁ Overcome with emotions you nod your head silently, nibbling at your lower lip before you burrow yourself further into his chest." I love you." You answer simply, holding him as close as possible.

⦁ From then on, you tried to be as open as possible, telling him what you were planning to do and when or if you needed his help and he couldn't be more happy. Sure, you still had moments where you would stubbornly do things on your own but he let those go, content that most times you feel comfortable enough to rely on him and trusted him to admit when you needed his help.

[happytroopers]

Why Did it Have to be Me?

pt. 4 

As promised: more Fives content :)) 

wanna read the whole series? 

As much as you wanted to sleep, it was hard in a stuffy, overcrowded room with performers coming and going periodically- you tossed and turned four hours only managing to doze. When a group of chatty pa’lowicks (including Sy Snootles who Keehla had a strong distaste for) made the bunks their gossipping grounds, you decided sleep wasn’t worth it- or at least not there.  

In a huff, you quickly abandoned your bed to search for something to eat. Though your ankles still ached from the platforms, your flowy shirt and comfy shorts definitely looked more natural for meandering around the halls- or at least more so than the heels and costumes you performed in. Seeing the cafeteria at the end of the long corridor, you could see the cleaning-droid crew locking the door behind them as they closed down for the night or morning-- whatever time it was.

“No! Wait! Open up!” You yelled, now sprinting past people, “Waiitt! It’s not too late!”

All your pleas got was a disgruntled mouse droid ramming your ankle. You hissed, slightly kicked the bot away, glaring at as it beeped indignantly before it sped away. Huffing you looked through the windows into the cafeteria as it was being cleaned, not noticing the trooper walk up behind him.

“Here I thought I was supposed to be the one scrapping droids.” You heard a voice snicker. Turning around slowly, you rolled your eyes but smiled regardless at the sight of Fives.

“Please, I barely tapped it.” You crossed arms over your chest, tossing your hair over your shoulder. Fives chuckled, looking past you into the cafeteria, but you just continued, “I really wanted to get in there, my roommates are terrible .”

“Little late for dinner… or is it just too early for breakfast? Either way, it’ll be open again tomorrow.” He shrugged, taking a ration bar around of a pocket of his belt before continuing his walk down the corridor. If it wasn’t for the growl of your stomach, you would have left him alone. But you were hungry, and the alternative was going back to the bunks- you shivered remembering Sy Snootles changing clothes as you left. You decided to pursue the ARC trooper, double-timing it to catch up with his slow saunter.

“Righhht, but you know…” You drawled, swinging yourself around so you were in front of him, walking backward, “What would be great- today, not tomorrow- was if someone… maybe even in this hallway- there was a guy-”

Fives nodded, interrupting you, “Young, strong, tall, dashingly handsome?”

You laughed aloud, rolling your eyes, “Probably passable… buuut he has snacks!”

The soldier breathed a laugh, but disregarded your comment and continued playing along, snapping his fingers as if he had an epiphany, “And he has a private place when you could share these said snacks!”

You nodded thoughtfully, inching a little closer, “So maybe he could help me out?”

Punctuating your question with a hopeful smile, and he lit up with a grin as he answered, “He’d love to!”

Unfortunately, he continued with a frown, “But the sad fact is, that was my last ration bar, and I also have a bunk full of troopers. I was just saying that to impress you.”

With that news, your shoulders slumped, stopping your backward stride. Laughing slightly, you waved him off before beginning to turn away, “Okay.”

Before you could get far though, he laughed brightly and grabbed your wrist, admitting, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! C’mon, I’ve got somewhere we can go.”

Minutes later, Fives led you into what you assumed were his quarters and tossed you a ration bar and bottle of water. You had to admit, his bright smile and hilarious jokes made it easy to be around the Arc trooper. He kept you on your toes, but never once made you feel uncomfortable. You found yourself laughing more than ever, usually teasing him when he would be overly flirty- but that never stopped him.

“Now there are two beds, buuut as you can see.” He did a sweeping motion of the second bed which was covered in cargo boxes, datapads, folded sets of underclothes, and other miscellaneous items, “Is unfortunately rather full.”

You looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow and wicked grin, “Hmm, how convenient.”

Turning on your heel, you traced a fingernail across his armored chest with another smile as you walked away towards the other bed. You didn’t have anywhere specific to go, but regardless, Fives stopped you before you got far.

“You have one of those smiles that makes the whole galaxy smile back.” He mused, interlacing his fingers with yours. “Lucky this trip isn’t long enough for you to break my fragile heart.”  

He almost looked dumbfounded when you doubled over laughing, taking your hand from him you spun around, moving to the cabin’s window. “Ohhhh, I get it. You’re one of them.”

The Arc trooper snapped his neck over to you, looking at you quizzically, “wh-wha-one of who?!”

You took a deep breath, rolling your head to the side to look at him out of the corner of your eye, “There are two types of seducer. The first doesn’t actually care about women- so therefore wants to assert their power and dominance over them.”

You paused to make sure he was listening; he was with raised eyebrows. With a playful eye roll, you flipped your hair over your shoulder before continuing, “But the second and farrr more dangerous-  is the guy who genuinely falls in love every night, only to fall out of love the next morning.”

You stopped for a moment, moving so you sat on the bed. Before putting on a sugary sweet, exaggerated voice, you nodding your head as you went,  “And as you leave, you tell her ‘you’re the one in pain and she’s just too much for you to handle’.”

Fives laughed, loud and bold, and placed an arm around your shoulder, “I’m an ARC trooper, I can handle anything.”

Suddenly, he grabbed your wrist and spun you towards him, chuckling at your little yelp. With him slightly behind you, he began.

“When you were lonely, you needed a man

Someone to lean on, well I understand”

The ARC trooper propped his chin on your shoulder, but as soon as you looked at him switched sides to the rhythm.

“It's only natural

But why did it have to be me?”

“Oh just like that, huh?” You chuckled, scooting away from him the more he inched towards you. Laughing loudly when he wiggled his eyebrows at you. You shoved his shoulder, but it didn’t deter him.

“Nights can be empty and nights can be cold

So you were looking for someone to hold”

Fives jumped up so fast, he almost fell over, but he ignored your teasing remarks as he picked up his helmet and rolled it along his arms before popping it on and jumping on top of a cargo crate that was propped against the far wall.

“That's only natural

But why did it have to be me?”

You rolled your eyes as he took off his helmet, propping it on his hip. But looking at those brown puppy eyes, you decided to indulge him,

“I was so lonesome, I was blue

I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I

Always thought you knew the reason why”

Giggling, you jumped onto the crate beside him and snatched the helmet out of his hand. Giggling when he almost fell over, you propped his helmet on one of your hips, rolling it to the other side to the beat. You didn’t fail to notice the hitch in his breath as you did this.

“I only wanted a little love affair

Now I can see you are beginning to care

But baby, believe me

It's better to forget me”

Tossing the helmet squarely at his chest, he easily caught it as you stepped down. He followed suit, but laughed when he caught you by the wrist (once again). You yelped involuntarily as he dipped you low enough your hair grazed the floor.

Several systems away, in a Republic warzone, Dogma held the letter you had written him in his hand. In the barracks, the scent of your perfume was a relief, but it was quickly fading. He had returned to your apartment to say goodbye, only to find you had already gone. Looking up at the bustling camp, he watched his brothers go about their regular routines- but all he could think of was the wild girl from 79’s.

“Men are the toys in the game that you play

When you get tired, you throw them away

That's only natural

But why did it have to be me?”

Fives was in a similar predicament, not being able to take his eyes off you for even a second as the two of you danced around the room, laughing and giggling every moment. Once you pulled away from him, you went to the cluttered bed.

“Falling in love with a woman like you

Happens so quickly, there's nothing to do”

You would pick something up and hand it to Fives, but he would only pass it behind you and put it back on the bed with a mischievous smirk. It took a little bit for you to realize the bed wasn’t getting any less cluttered, but finally, you caught on. Turning to smack Fives’ arm before loading a heap onto his waiting arms. With a shrug, he dumped the object into a pile in the corner.

“It's only natural

Why did it have to be me?”

You gave him a look, crossing your arms over your chest, “We only just met.”

“And you’re not that kind of girl?” He joked, quirking an eyebrow. You smacked his arm.

“Absolutely not.” You affirmed, but revised your statement. “Not usually.”

Shaking his head with a small smile, Fives inched closer, you closed your eyes, and he leaned down, but his lips only brushed yours when something whistled loudly- startling you away from him. You raking your fingers through your hair, your face flushed, “What was that?”

Fives quickly tried regaining the situation, cupping your cheeks in his hands, “Nothing, nothing. Probably just a droid in the hallway. It’s only natural, but why did it have to be-”

Once again he was interrupted by the whistling chirp. He sighed, stepping away from you, answering the commlink on his wrist with a sharp tone, “Echo, what is it?”

“We need you down in the East hangar now. We got a bounty hunter and a small troop of droids. Private security teams are guarding all high-class guests.” His partner��s voice was no-nonsense, and you could see Fives immediately switch gears.

“I’m on my way.” With that, he clicked the transmitter off. You quickly handed him his helmet as he turned to you. “Stay here. Don’t answer the door. Everything will be fine.”

And with a wink, he was gone. And even though you were technically in a warzone, you knew he was right. Knowing everything would be fine, you curled up on the extra bed- not even realizing you had closed your eyes,

Fives wandered back to his room a few hours later. The droids had been mopped up rather easily- they later find out that the droids had been reprogrammed by the bounty hunter. The hunter herself put up quite a fight, killing one trooper and actually managing to crack Echo’s visor before she was stunned. All in all, it was mostly just a headache.

When he entered his quarters, he was almost surprised to find you had listened to him. He thought about waking you up and continuing your dance. But you looked so serene (and he knew it’d be a dick move), he decided to leave you be after brushing some hair out of your face and tossing a blanket over you. Smiling softly at you for a moment, Fives then moved to take off his armor before climbing into bed himself.

Staring at the ceiling, Fives couldn't say much for the future, but he was positive he’d still feel the same way about you tomorrow.

sorry for all the gifs :) 

[filmmakersvision]

Top 10 Hindi Films of 2018

January 13, 2019

by Inakshi Chandra-Mohanty

1. October

October is like poetry unfolding on screen. An amalgamation of visual pleasure, a heart-warming score, and some of the strongest, most emotional performances of the year, this film is the definition of beauty. With an extremely simple plot, October thrives on the humorous antics of the eccentric Dan (Varun Dhawan) as he develops an unspoken bond with Shiuli (Banita Sandhu). As the trailer stated, it’s not a love story, but instead a story of love. There is the love between mother and daughter, which is tested time and again as the mother (Gitanjali Rao) is pushed by her brother-in-law to take Shiuli off the ventilator. And on the other hand, there are the selfless emotions that Dan has for Shiuli. His feelings for her are never explained, while what she feels for him can never be known. There is so much more to explore in the film, so many more nuances to touch on, which is why it is the best film of the year.

2. Tumbbad

“So jaa varna hastar aa jayega.” When children cry at night, mothers say phrases like this interchanging the villain (for example, Gabbar Singh), to make the children go to sleep. It has become such a popular phrase in the media, that the Tumbbad writers used it as the catchphrase of their film. This mythological horror fantasy film told in three phases, deserves to be recognized for being one of the most imaginative, surreal films made in Hindi cinema. A combination of frightening visual effects, a heart-racing background score, mindblowing cinematography, and creative storytelling, this film is about a man who encounters a mythological demon while searching for an ancient, hidden treasure in his ancestral ‘haveli’ (mansion) situated in the village of Tumbbad. Behind this unique storyline, is a very basic concept of greed in human nature. However, the film manages to present it in a fresh way. The best aspect of this film is the fact that it is a pure entertainer, which is commercially viable. The regular Indian film-going audience would love this film, if they were taken to see it. Unfortunately there is no known name associated with the film, therefore most of this audience has not even heard of the film, let alone gone to see it.

3. Mukkabaaz

Though many people characterize Mukkabaaz as a film about boxing and the hardships sports players in India face, I believe that it is at its core a love story. The heroine, Sunaina Mishra (Zoya Hussain), is the driving force behind the hero, Shravan Kumar Singh’s (Vineet Kumar Singh), passion for boxing. The first time he sees her he rebels against his good-for-nothing, but powerful coach, Bhagwan Das Mishra (Jimmy Shergill), who also happens to be Sunaina’s uncle, in an attempt to impress her. Throughout the film, his motivations, his passion, and his support all derive from his love for her. And even his decision at the end of the film is for the safety and happiness of Sunaina. His passion for boxing is secondary to his love for his wife, which is proven again and again by his actions. Mukkabaaz is Anurag Kashyap’s first attempt at creating a love story and is much better than his latest film, Manmarziyan, which after a certain point, becomes frustrating. Not only is Mukkabaaz a fresh and unique love story, but it also contains elements of Anurag Kashyap’s trademark style, so no true Anurag Kashyap fan will leave the film feeling disappointed.

4. Andhadhun

For many critics and audience members, Andhadhun is being lauded as the film of the year. It is no doubt a great film. The writing is intelligent for the most part, the direction is crisp, and the performances are phenomenal. But in my opinion it is fourth on this list primarily because I viewed it less in comparison to the other films of this year, and more in the context of Sriram Raghavan’s body of work. If compared to his other films, Andhadhun is closest in style and storytelling format to Johnny Gaddaar. Both are told as flashbacks. Both begin with a small mistake spiraling out of control. Both are an ode to 60s and 70s Bollywood crime capers. Both have elements characteristic of a neo-noir. And both are extremely intelligent edge-of-the-seat thrillers, with twists and turns at every moment keeping the suspense high. However, Johnny Gaddaar has a far tighter script than Andhadhun, especially in the second half where Andhadhun becomes slower and slightly less interesting due to the introduction of less entertaining characters. Therefore, Andhadhun is still one of the best films of the year, but my love for Johnny Gaddaar prevents me from rating it higher on this list.

5. Raazi 

Bias is the biggest weakness of any film based off of real events. The director’s most difficult obstacle is to not let his/her own views reflect on the objectiveness of the story, while still keeping the emotions intact. With Raazi, Meghna Gulzar has so brilliantly manipulated the audience into empathizing with every character in the film, regardless of nationality, therefore feeling patriotism regardless of country. After watching this film, you won’t hate Pakistan, nor will you hate India. You will just hate war altogether. Everyone will leave the theater feeling patriotic with no specific country in mind. Raazi follows the character Sehmat (Alia Bhatt), the daughter of an Indian spy, who gets married to a Pakistani military officer, Iqbal Syed (Vicky Kaushal), in order to gather information on the Pakistani military plans during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Sehmat is such a well-written character with multiple dimensions. On one side, she is bound by her patriotism towards India, and the promises she has made to her father. And on the other hand, her growing love and affection for her husband and his family comes in the way of her mission. Ultimately, she is torn between these two and can no longer distinguish between right and wrong. There are very few films, which explore so many emotions and so many different sides to an issue with minimum bias, and Raazi is one of them.

6. Mulk

In the current times, when the Hindu-Muslim animosity is still fatal, and when anti-Muslim hatred is spreading widely throughout the world, a film like Mulk is essential. The film explores the backlash and ostracization Muslims face from Hindus and even from their own community, when the word terrorism is applied to a member of their family. After his nephew, Shahid Mohammed (Prateik Babbar), turns to terrorism, it is up to a respected advocate Murad Ali Mohammed (Rishi Kapoor) and his daughter in law Aarti Mohammed (Taapsee Pannu) to reclaim their family’s honor and fight for their prestige, as the whole family is prosecuted in court on charges of terrorism. The issues discussed in Mulk are tackled with sensitivity and minimum bias by writer-director Anubhav Sinha, and are made to resonate with the audience through the poignancy of the film. The film is not a landmark film, but it is an important one and hopefully it will allow people to gain a broader understanding of the type of anti-Muslim hatred that plagues the country.

7. Laila Majnu

It is very difficult to recreate a timeless, epic love story in a period where in film, practicality and realistic situations have begun to take over the classic notion of love. Making people believe in the intensity of emotions and craziness of love is a complicated task. The plot of Laila Majnu is a basic love story, boy meets girl, they fall in love, and their family enmity causes obstacles in the path towards their union. The first half is full of clichés yet remains fresh because of the new faces, the beautiful music, and the strong chemistry between the leads. However, it is the daring second half, when we see the love being torn apart, where Majnu’s separation from Laila causes him to succumb to depression, that makes this film worthy of being on this list.

8. Stree

After Bhool Bhulaiyaa, here is another brilliant horror comedy that has truly left the audience frightened by some scenes but has also managed to make them laugh extremely hard in others. A town is terrorized by a woman, called Stree (Flora Saini), who abducts men, leaving their clothes behind, and Vicky (Rajkumar Rao) attempts to solve this mystery and rid the town of ‘Stree’ forever. The three male leads, Rajkumar Rao, Aparshakti Khurrana, and Abhishek Banerjee, as well as Pankaj Tripathi have impeccable comic timing, which is supported by the hilarious dialogues. And yet the film still lives up to its role as a horror comedy since it is filled with scary moments and jump scares, the essence of which are not affected by the comedy. Stree is an overall entertainer, and its box office success is proof of that.

9. Pari

Pari was harshly criticized by film critics and the audience because it promised a horror film, yet it was not scary. However, its approach at creating a unique universe and widening the imagination of the audience is commendable. Pari is the story of a man, Arnab (Parambrata Chatterjee), who takes in an apparent victim of abuse, Rukhsana (Anushka Sharma), after her mother is killed in an accident caused by his car. However, everything is not as simple as it seems and soon Arnab realizes he has been dragged into a very dark world filled with conspiracies and supernatural forces. The line between good and evil has been blurred, and he no longer knows whom to trust. Though not scary in the moment, it leaves people with nightmarish thoughts and goosebumps afterwards, as the concepts and characters, which are thoroughly developed, are quite frightening. It would have been on the same level of Tumbbad if not for the weak script that completely derailed in the second half. However, despite that, the film works, partly because of the daring to try something new, and the brilliant performances, especially by Anushka Sharma, which will continue to haunt you for days.

10. Blackmail

At the time of its release, this film went almost completely unnoticed, due to bad PR and few noticeable actors. When I went to see the film, there were only two people apart from me in the theater. However, this black comedy is such a hilariously entertaining film. A man, Dev Kaushal (Irfan Khan) returns home one day to find his wife, Reena (Kirti Kulhari), cheating on him, and instead of confronting her like any normal person would, his sadistic mind convinces him to anonymously blackmail her and her lover, Ranjit Arora (Arunoday Singh). What begins as a simple plan, turns into a convoluted game as Ranjit’s wife, Dolly Verma (Divya Dutta), an employee at Dev’s office, Dolly’s father, and a private detective get involved. Though I do believe that a lot more could have been done with the story to make more comedic situations using the unique characters, the film was still thoroughly engaging due to the witty dialogues and brilliant characterization, emphasized further by the amazing performances.

[siarven]

Dreams and Shadows

AKA my current fantasy WIP novel of too many words even though it’s not even done. 

Other projects I’m working on

Status:

First Draft done. Second and third drafts abandoned half-way through because they were stupid. Currently on the fourth draft, the one that might actually be worthwhile! 

Wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo 2014. 93,734 words. At first it was called Dreamweaver, then Dreamweaver and Shadowdancer, and then I shortened that because it sounded stupid. 

Now the total wordcount that I’ve invested in this stupid book is in the 500K words area, and the current approved words are roughly 75K. It’s probably going to be two books if I can’t get myself to write less ô.Ó

The world (called Aelaris) is a mix of steampunk and solarpunk and fantasy, it has three intricate magic systems, and is also set after an apocalypse that pretty much wiped everything from the face of the earth. So while it’s been about 500 years since then (and the world from before was technologically incredibly savvy, on the brink of wrecking the whole planet) almost nothing from that world has survived except sealed-off ruins and mouth-to-mouth told legends. The technology that society does have nowadays is a wild mix of magic-, steam- and solar-powered machinery. Most of the continent is ruled by the Empire of the New Dawn, a conglomerate of different tribes who subjugated each other after the fall of society. The Empire grew so strong mostly because they managed to find out how to control the magic-users who started popping up everywhere after the apocalypse. Nowadays children with magic potential are found by a procedure called the Testing, which every child reaching age 4 has to undergo. If they have potential, they’ll be whisked away to be trained and raised (and indoctrinated) seperately, and they’ll only see their parents twice every year afterwards. The only reason why the Empire still exists and almost nobody is able to oppose them is because their grip on the Asim (magic-users) is absolute, and brutal. (It’s one of my meanest magic systems yet, because it makes the user HIGHLY addictive, usually kills you before you turn 25, and only a handful in the Empire know how to make the fluids used...) Maybe I’ll make a post about Asim-Magic in the future!

Synopsis:

The lives of two siblings, Ava and Ben, are thoroughly disrupted when Ben has a life-threatening freak “accident” that leaves him in a weird coma-like state, and nobody knows exactly what happened. Ava’s whole life up until that point has been revolving around Ben so this comes as quite a shock, especially since their parents aren’t exactly healthy or well-functioning either, and nobody knows how to cope with this possible loss since Ben was always the one holding the family together. Ben, meanwhile, “wakes up” days later in a sort of In-Between-World and remembers nothing at all. Now he has to find a way to return before the living give up on him, and Ava has to help her parents reconnect and learn that pushing everyone away when they only want to help is probably not the best plan. And maybe there’s a way for her to help Ben, even if she isn’t quite sure if he’s still there. It’s a good thing, then, that the family cat is a lot more than she seems! Also includes a bunch of tiny dragons, some ancient entities, a former pirate queen, a few monsters, a whole bunch of pigeons, and a demon who may have something to do with the accident.

Characters in this story include:

The Nichols Family

- Elizabeth “Liz” Nichols, a clockwork engineer/scientist who loves science more than anything and is kind of bad with people but tries very hard, most of the time. She connects with Ava over their shared love for knowledge and science and loves both her children and her husband very much. She’s incapable of properly conveying those emotions. I’m so sorry, Liz.

- Jonathan “Jon” Nichols, a children’s book artist who never got over the loss of his oldest daughter, Elinor. He’s depressed since a few years because he feels responsible for losing her, and he feels responsible for not connecting with his wife like he used to, and he feels bad for failing his children, but mostly he feels empty and lost and all those burdens are slowly but surely drowning him. The only light in his life are Ben, Ava, and Elinor, when she visits. What am I doing to this poor man???

- Elinor Vika Nichols, the oldest daughter, 15, who was taken by the Asim (the “magic-users”) at age four because she had potential abilities herself. She is allowed to see her family twice every year and lives at the Asimdrium during the rest of the time where she’s trained. The Asim are controlled by the Empress and basically the reason why the Empire doesn’t fall apart, and why the society works the way it does. [And the magic-system(s) and all that are very complex, I think I’ll make a new post for that specifically when I have time. Suffice to say using this sort of magic also kills you, slowly. Most Asim live only between 20 and 25 years.] I’m so sorry, Eli.

- Benjamin Alec “Ben” Nichols, the middle child (and oldest one, after Elinor got taken). He’s basically the reason why the whole family hasn’t broken apart yet. He more or less takes care of both his father and his little sister while excelling in school at the same time, because he thinks it’s what people expect of him. And now he’s practically dying. Poor baby, he just needs a break! What am I doing to him?!

- Ava Elyssa Nichols, the youngest daughter, 8 years old. Her whole life basically revolves around Ben, she’s afraid of the darkness and the monsters it holds, afraid of her parents fighting (which hasn’t happened in a long time but still) and sleeps in Ben’s bed at night because she knows that he’s the only one who can keep the monsters away. She loves her parents, too, and connects best with her mother because she also shares her fascination with sciency stuff. And now her whole life has collapsed because Ben is suddenly gone and Ava doesn’t know how to cope with that.

Others

- Kiyera Sy, a 57-year old woman who has given up on life after losing both her lover and son. The only thing that keeps her going is taking care of the city’s abandoned pets and carrier pigeons. She spent most of her life as a pirate queen fighting the very empire she now lives in. One day I might will write her story.

- Amelia Chastner and Niall Cohen – the best friends of Ava who have to put up with so much shit but still love Ava and only want to help, bless them. Amelia is also bad with people so she’d probably get along perfectly with Liz, and Niall is a people person. Nobody knows why he chose Ava. Also, they hate each other but they are willing to put up with that shit to help Ava. If only Ava would see that!

And now before we move on to the OTHERS, here’s a general overview of the worldbuilding so you understand at least the basics of it beforehand :P

There’s a group of creatures known as the Ellariel. They’re remnants of an older world that has been destroyed millennia ago, the last survivors so to speak. They live in a sort of In-between world which they cannot leave because they can’t survive outside of it. Ellariel are practically immortal but this has been so long ago that there have been more than ten generations in between the original survivors and now. The only two original Ellariel are the creatures watching over this world: Viridaeya, Goddess of Creation, and Ruienn, God of Destruction. Both chose their names themselves, based on the powers they would embody when they chose to Ascend, to properly fulfill their tasks. When the first and second generations had died and only the third remained, the Ellariel broke into two subgroups: The Natah and the Nanaël, mostly because there were a few incidents and it was generally decided that they were too powerful, so each Ellariel chose for themselves which of their Gods they would follow, and which power they would choose over the other. The results were mostly balanced because back then they still knew about the importance of balance.

Since the Ellariel who are alive now are from the fifth to the tenth generation they never got the chance to choose between Creation and Destruction, being born into their role, which is a sore point for many of them.

They can’t leave the In-Between spaces or influence the physical world so they bond to a human child which can do that for them. Every child is chosen by both a Nanaël and a Natah, though, because humans can decide between creation and destruction so the Ellariel aren’t capable of influencing directly, they can just hope that their chosen human will act for them. Every child therefore has the potential for magic, it’s just that some have more and some less. Also, the Natah and Nanaël have formed into regulated pairs, so that they either work very well with each other (like Azrae and Iuri) or try to cancel out each other’s influence (like Mikaën and Luzire).

Ellariel and Affiliated include:

- Fiyare, a 500-year-old once-human Guardian who is trying to protect the Nichols family. She’s kind of failing, though. Badly. She’s also best friends with Mikaën.

- Alasayr, a demon and once-human, who is responsible for all of Ben’s problems (maybe not all but at least most of them). He is Luzire’s right hand.  

- Azrae, a Natah who chose Ava; They’re the Protector of the Realm of the Fallen (and Guide of those on their way there). They fall on the nonbinary spectrum and prefers they/them/their but is also all right with she/her. 

- Iuri, Ava’s Nanaël. She’s also known as Lady of Fire.

- Mikaën, Ben’s Nanaël. He’s the leader of the Nanaël but has sort of given up since every child he’s chosen during the last 300 years was either taken or killed by the Asim. He only chose Ben because Fiyare told him to, and he trusts her wisdom.  

- Luzire, a Natah who strongly dislikes being forced into roles she hasn’t chosen herself. She’s also completely bonkers and wants to destroy the universe. Since she and Mikaën are partners in choosing children she’s Ben’s Natah. At least she’s imprisoned ever since she brought on the last apocalypse and even though she’s not quite as imprisoned as everyone seems to think she is still in there and hasn’t found a way to escape yet. Alasayr works for her only because she isn’t powerful yet to get access to her other friends.  

[newagesispage]

                                                                          MARCH 2017

 PAGE RIB

*****Beyonce and Amal are both pregnant with twins.

*****The Trump international hotel and tower opened in Vancouver B.C. with Tiffany and the sons amidst hundreds of protesters and a boycott from the mayor.

*****So, did anybody see Seth Mcfarlane in Real time with Bill Maher? He seemed to just sit and pout. He sat there sying nothing and suddenly blurted out “I’ve got water.” It seems that perhaps an earlier guest got his Jack D. and he got water. It just seemed to me that he wasn’t going to add much to the conversation if he did not have his drink. Such a diva!

*****Kevin Smith and comic book men are back and looking good!!

*****TLC is back with the fabulous ‘Who do you think you are?’ The season begins with Courtney Cox and her relatives who killed the King of England.

*****Leann Rimes seems to have added a few pounds and looking healthy and well too!!

*****Have John Stewart and Ricky Gervais lost it?

*****The number 1 item requested in homeless shelters is socks. Bombas (latin word for bees) socks is giving away 60 thousand pairs in one day.

*****American rehab: Detroit on DIY told a great story of a couple bringing an old house which had been part of the family back to life for a new era.

*****Nick Cannon is out at America’s got talent.

*****Louie Anderson is just knocking it out of the park on Baskets.

*****David Cassidy went public with dementia diagnosis.

*****Who knew that Hillary Farr, the’ love it or list it ‘chick was Betty Monroe on The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

*****Roger Waters is heading out on the Us and Them tour and will the poke the snake called Trump.

*****Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on Watch what happens live and seems to like Vanderpump rules. Too bad about the crash at Daytona Jr.  Hooray for Michael Waltrip and his 8th place. We do not want to see U go.

*****Stay away from the Remington 700. It shoots without pulling the trigger. Of course the company does not want to admit that.

*****Tried to watch the new sitcom Powerless. I want DC to succeed in their endeavor but hmmm..??

*****CBS Doubt looked like it had a great cast so gave it a try. The stories were of the same old kind but love the supporting cast and a nice twist. It had a little Spader/Shatner thing going on.

*****The Pats won that super bowl but it didn’t start out that way. Super bowl 51 was so up and so down. Their wide receiver, Malcolm Mitchell was asked by a woman at Barnes and Noble one day to join her book club. He joined, in part, because he couldn’t read very well. He is still with the club and it has inspired him to write a children’s book and begin a literary campaign.  For the halftime entertainment at 51, Lady Gaga gave us a statement of equality that said it all.

*****Days alert: Ok.. Is Days going to be cancelled for Megyn Kelly? Say it ain’t so.. Word is coming that there will be no Days in 2018!! Oh NBC, it is about the only thing you have left that I want to watch. Get the picket signs ready. We can’t lose Days. I am still hurting from losing One Life to Live.  Jen and Eric have seen each other again and he is saving a picture of her. Let’s fix his hair and get these two together. The last days of February and finally some progress on that front. We need that Tom and Alice couple that we can rely on and stick together no matter what. She already has the house and they have the good foundation and they have come back from the brink. **And.. is Drake feeling better yet? Bring back John Black!

*****Twitter donated a mil to the ACLU.

*****I want to be in the middle of those great scenes with Tim Omundson and Deidrich Bader on American Housewife.

*****The house votes to roll back the background checks for gun owners .This includes those mentally incapable of managing their own affairs.

*****Are we all really supposed to pray for Schwarzenegger? Weren’t the ratings of that awful show low anyway?

*****A friend told me that 80% of immigrants are on welfare. Depending on where you look, it is really 40-51%. Do your research people!

*****SNL is back with new shows starting with Octavia Spencer and Scarlett Johansson.

*****The continuing madness of King Trump includes him waiting a week into the Presidency before handing the reigns of biz to his son’s. It wasn’t until he was called out by reporters that he finally did it. His supporters do not even seem to care. The sons have secret service all over the world looking after them with our tax dollars as they go about the Trump business. *** Steve Bannon openly admitted that they put people in place to deconstruct the administration.

*****Some republicans are now asking for an independent prosecutor to investigate the Russian contact and interference. Jeff Sessions should recuse himself.

*****Our state reps are chickening out with tele town halls. They feel they don’t have to face the people who elected them and can therefor go full speed ahead with their own agendas. They use the excuse that too many people are turning up so they have to take questions by phone. Funny how the softball questions from people who mostly agree with them get through. Quit being cowards and do your jobs or get out of the way.

*****Tom Perez is now DNC chair, the moderates win. I don’t agree with scary clown 45 that it was rigged but a little shake up may have been in order. Personally I love Donna Brazile. Is it time for a new party ,the resistance party? Some will never trust the Dems. Some will never trust Republicans. A new hard left party may be in order. It will struggle but eventually take hold. We need to start with brains and artisans.

*****The President will not come to the White House correspondence dinner on April 29. He says he was elected to get work done and to focus on the country, like getting busy on that wall.  Pendejo! Oh please!

*****Pandering to Wall Street, the house is working on ridding us of Dodd Frank that was put in place to help the financial crisis. Do we really want to relax those rules? They are going for a 75% reduction in regulations for companies to add more pollution, to not look out for the customers best interest etc. Shouldn’t we be worrying more about production? Will they do the right thing as they see how the rest of us live or will they continue to ignore the problems?

*****Scary clown 45 claims he did not know what he was signing when he put Bannon on the National Security council. Huh?

*****Elizabeth Warren was stopped from reading pertinent information from Coretta Scott King on the senate floor.

*****Charlie Rose underwent heart surgery and will be back in March. He has been spotted and is doing fine.

*****Looks like a new show Trial and Error is coming. The ads look ok but they are advertising the hell out of it. Wasn’t there a movie with the same name?

*****Carol Merna, executive director for the center for prevention of abuse, wrote an open letter to Illinois governor Rauner. She asked him to put partisan politics aside and get a budget for the state. Some neglect cases have had to be dropped due to lack of funds.

*****CNN is doing the history of comedy.

*****Bill Nye saves the World is coming April 21 to Netflix.

*****Chris Kennedy, 8th child of Bobby and Ethel that was born July 4th 1963, is running for Governor of Illinois.

*****Blondie brings us the ne “FUN”. They are touring with Garbage this summer.

*****Zach Braff and Carol Burnett are both returning to tv.

*****Burger King is buying Popeye’s, lord help us.

*****Iran has cancelled visas for wrestlers that were to compete in a world competition. The Muslim ban has upset so many apple carts. Church missionaries and Doctors have to rethink leaving the country to help others because they may not get back in. We are not all as stupid as they think and should respect us enough to at least quit saying this is about our safety. Why are Christians prioritized? This new administration does not agree with Obama on much so why keep talking about the 7 countries he specified? He did no bans for these countries. Hundreds of companies have coordinated to file a lawsuit against this.

*****If we don’t live globally, things will be a lot more expensive.

*****Isis is on a drone buying frenzy. They are buying drones off the shelf and doing much damage. Our commander in chief needs to get in front of this.

*****New Power Rangers coming out this month.

*****Mar-a Lago, the former home of Emily Post and E.F. Hutton was donated to the government but Nixon did not really want it. After scary clown 45 bought the Palm Beach estate there was much ado about his flag pole. He also wanted the flight patterns changed so as not to disturb his guests. With the racist white house raging on, it is hard to believe that he was once more welcoming. The old guard of Palm Beach was not too crazy at who he was bringing to Mar-a-Lago. The resort would welcome anyone who could pay the fee. Initially it was 100 thou but as soon as he became President it was doubled, being President pays. Oh yea, and the flight pattern has now been changed. ** Scary clown 45 seems to think he is under some sort of cloak of invisibility when he is there. Hillary’s e mails were a problem but he can discuss anything classified on his own cell?? Are you fucking kidding me?**And speaking of Palm Beach, the President is spending a lot of time there. Before the election he claimed he would have no time for golf and relaxing. He has spent about as much of our money on secret service and his travels in a month as Obama spent in a year. This does not even include Melania and the NY digs and the sons who travel the world for the Trump business all the time. Of course, the business is benefitting from this.

*****Kevin Brady and Orrin Hatch can make The IRS show us the Presidents taxes.

*****Nordstrum’s dropped Ivanka’s line. Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Sears and Kmart are in agreement.

*****If you give up freedom to get security, you get neither. –Ben Franklin

*****Why are the Sunday morning political shows just repeating the same mainstream stuff all the time? Let’s follow Bill Maher and John Oliver who at least talk more about our rights that keep getting stripped away. John Oliver is putting ads on the shows that scary clown 45 watches so he can at least get some real information. Marijuana laws, transgender rights, voting rights are all under attack. The pot industry is booming, why does this administration want to start taking away U.S. jobs? The department of agriculture has removed regs about the treatment of animals. The will no longer make lab inspection results and violations publicly available. Now, you must file a request to the freedom of information act if you want to know.** John Kasich is still making sense, why couldn’t the republicans have went with a sane person? He met with the President on health care. He feels the ACA needs reform but that you can’t just pull the rug out from 20 million people. Kasich tries to do things in a calm and reasonable manner much like the left. Is it worth trying? The administration says that the opposition is acting like 5th graders.  How many times do we reach out and try to do things reasonable only to be shut down?

*****Thank you J Lo for reminding us of Toni Morrison’s words about how important artists are in times like these.

*****Thank you A tribe called Quest for yelling “Resist” and telling us to break through the wall.

*****Seattle severed ties with Wells Fargo in protest of the DAPL. ** A federal judge denied the Sioux tribes request for a halt to the pipeline. And while the CPAC was in full bloom, the protesters were dragged away.  Some moved across the river and some moved on.

*****Good news for Kim Cade: Camping can help you to sleep better by shifting internal clocks to align with daylight hours.

*****Jimmy Carter put in enough solar panels to power half of Plains. Go Jimmy Go!!!!

*****North Korea launched a ballistic missile.

***** It was something to see when Paul Ryan was asked over and over again about Flynn and the Russian situation. He was annoyed right away. Really? How does it feel? And Hillary held up for 11 hours. Who can take it and wo can’t? Pussies!

*****FLEXIT: After many denials, Mike Flynn , the man who started the ‘lock her up’ chant, was finally ousted. When will they find proof that they all knew about this? They are not even good spin kings but how do they live with themselves? And Pence calls himself a good Christian? Did he know?** Did they make a good choice with H R Mcmaster? Of course, he is active duty so he could hardly say no. He is getting a lot of support because he wrote against Johnson and the handling of Vietnam and Bush with Iraq.

*****White house flunkie Steven Miller was getting invited everywhere after he told George Stephanopoulos he would go on any show, anywhere. Colbert and the View were waiting but he never showed. LIES,LIES,LIES: GET OUT!!!!

***** Streisand men ,past and present, seem to be showing up at CBS. James Brolin has been there for a couple of seasons and Elliot Gould is on the new Doubt.

*****Catch Trevor Noah on Afraid of the Dark.

*****Glad that Nightcap is back for season 2.

*****Scary Clown 45 gave his presidential address on the last day of February. He started the day by letting us all know that the protests and problems were Obamas fault. He started to adlib about 8 pages in. A lot of attention was paid to Karen Owens, the widow of navy seal Ryan who was killed in Yemen. The VP insists that the reports of nothing being gained from the raid are false. Trump pulled back on the immigration agenda that he earlier seemed to soften on. He did mention black history month which never happens. He is still talking about repeal and replace with the ACA. He did not shut it down first day like he said on the campaign trail. He said the same stuff in this address that he has been saying, just with a slightly different tone. He sure changed his tune about the Jewish hate crimes. Former Kentucky governor Steve Beshear gave the democratic response. What?? Why the fuck did they pick a FORMER Gov.? It was a pretty middle of the road response. He gave Trump polite hell for his lashing out at military, media and the intelligent agencies. He scolded that just because they disagree does not make them their enemies. Agreed but Yawn!! The best part of the night was afterward on MSNBC. Kathy Griffin, Michael Moore and Rob Reiner put a wonderful cap on the evening. Thank you for some sanity.

*****Better Call Saul is starting to run ads for their April 10th premiere. So fucking excited!!

*****Comedy Central is bringing ‘Colossal Clusterfest” to San Francisco on June 2nd. The fest will include stand up and sketch comedy, podcasts and music. The lineup includes Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman, Hannibal Buress, Bob Odenkirk, Fred Armisen, Tig Nataro, Ice Cube, Tegan and Sara, Reggie Watts and Princess and interactive offerings with South Park, Seinfeld and It’s always Sunny in Philadelphia.

*****Finn Whitrock, Sally Field and Joe Mantello appear in Broadway’s The Glass Menagerie.

*****The Grammy awards which I have never really understood came and went again. Some of the audience looked a bit perplexed when James Corden purposely flubbed the opening. They rarely honor anyone I really respect. But Adele’s George Michael tribute , once on track was amazing. Chance the Rapper won best new artist and claimed his victory in the name of the lord. Lady Gaga sounded great with Metallica. Again there were sound issues that you would think the Grammys of all places would have worked out but… Best dressed were Lady Gaga and Audra Day. The worst was Taraji P. Henson.

*****HBO is making a documentary about Andre the Giant.

*****The Independent spirit awards were on Feb. 25th and made some great choices. Molly Shannon won best supporting female for Other People. Moonlight won best picture, best director for Barry Jenkins and the Robert Altman award. Casey Affleck (best actor) and Jenkins took their best shots at Trump.

*****Bison have been reintroduced to Canada’s first national park after 140 years.

*****The Oscars were the next day, Feb. 26th and oh what a finale they had. Most everybody knows by now that the wrong film was announced, but that was not the entire show. It was only the second time an envelope mishap happened. Sammy Davis Jr. opened the wrong envelope last time. I always wished that they would show the honorary awards as well, they look like fun. Jimmy Kimmel seemed casual about his hosting gig and never stuck the knife in too deep. The Matt Damon stuff never really gets old. Tourists were brought in and Gary from Chicago is already getting offers from just being there. He had just gotten out of prison 3 days before after a 20 year sentence. Wal Mart is giving he and his fiancé wedding gifts. ** During rehearsal a big part of the set fell down.**The Salesman from Iran won and a statement was read about the Muslim ban. A lot of people were wearing ACLU ribbons to show solidarity. The best dressed were Emma Roberts, Haylee Steinfeld, Ava Duvernay, Laura Dern, Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, the dancer with Timberlake wearing the red and black dress, Luciana Barroso, Nicole Kidman, Ryan Gosling and Meryl Streep. Honorable mention goes to Halle Barry, Viola Davis, Michelle Williams, Karlie Klass and Emma Stone. Worst dressed were Leslie Mann, Dakota Johnson, Octavia spencer, Trudie Styler and Felicity Jones and some chick in the audience with a bold blue and white striped lace fiasco. There was a story about Karl Lagerfeld saying that Meryl Streep wanting to be paid to wear a dress but nobody believes it. In the fallout after the best picture controversy, Les Moonves said he’d fire his accountant if this happened. Matt Damon said he was not at all surprised and that is what you get when you let Jimmy host.

*****You can now get Dateline’s Keith Morrison on your GPS.

*****Michael Moore has put out a 10 point plan to get rid of Trump. Most of it is common sense but good o remember:

1.       Call your senators and reps: 202-225-3121 or 202-224-3121. A call a day keeps the Trump away

2.       Visit your members of congress and both senators once a month.

3.       Create your own personal rapid response team, form a group to be ready to leap into action.

4.       Join national groups like Planned Parenthood or the ACLU.

5.       Remember the women’s march. Join in.

6.       Join the democratic party.

7.       Form ‘regions of resistance’. Pass state laws.

8.       Run for office. Everyone can run for precinct delegate.

9.       Become the media. Report the truth.

10.   Join the army of comedy. Spread the words of great comedy about scary clown 45.

*****Elvis Costello and the Imposters are touring in June.

*****George W. Bush is making the rounds with his new book, Portraits of courage. He pays tribute to the wounded warriors and at the same time raises money for vets. He also probably feels that it is safe since he is small potatoes compared to the new Prez. We can’t forget the havoc that he and Cheney brought upon us today is today.

*****Lisa Marie Presley is in the middle of a nasty custody battel. Priscilla has her twin grandchildren living with her.

*****The Prez has already cut domestic spending so he can pour millions into the military budget. We spend as much on the military as the next 7 largest military spending countries combined.

*****Spain is going to appoint a sex czar.

*****Another Sandusky, the son Jeff was arrested for sex offenses against minors.

*****Scary Clown 45 made his

*****RIP William H. Busch, Richard Hatch, Al Jarreau, Erwin Corey, George the Animal Steele, Ward Chamberlin, Clyde Stubblefield, Bill Paxton, Judge Wopner and Neil Fingleton.

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