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lover-of-skellies · 1 year ago

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How smoochable is Stretch? It's for science I swear

Stretch gets a very safe rating of 11. He’s chill and tends to think things through before acting, so there’s a very low chance of him ever doing anything on impulse and accidentally hurting someone. Lord knows he’d never hurt anyone intentionally

1) How dangerous is his mouth? I’d say his mouth is pretty safe and not dangerous at all, due to him having flat teeth rather than anything sharp or jagged. 2 points for mouth safety

2) Would Stretch bite? For the life of me, I just cannot see him ever biting anyone. He seems way too laidback and docile to do something like that, to me. Is he aggressive? Really only if the situation calls for it, I think. He loafs around most of the time, teleporting here and there, and we can probably assume (since he’s Papyrus with classic Sans’ personality) that he actually does more behind the scenes than we get to see ourselves. The only time he’d really be aggressive with anyone would be during a genocide route, I think, assuming it follows the same general structure as it does in classic Undertale. Since I can’t imagine him being aggressive outside of those very specific circumstances, I’d say he gets another 2 points for being chill and not being a biter

3) Are there any health hazards to the smoocher? Frankly… no, there don’t appear to be. He doesn’t regularly carry a weapon around that the smoocher could accidentally get hurt by, he’s not leaking any gross fluids or anything, and aside from basic hygiene (as we don’t know how well he takes care of himself) being questionable and there being a potential stink, the only thing that may happen is the smoocher tasting cigarettes and honey when kissing him. Yes, he is very skilled with magic and has a lot of it at his disposal, but because he’s so skilled, it’s not likely that he’d somehow manage to lose control of it or anything. That being said, I’m giving 2 more points for him not being a hazard

4) Does he have a sympathetic backstory? Again, assuming his backstory is basically the same as Sans Classic’s (raising his brother, potentially working multiple odd jobs to financially support both of them, having the burden of being the only one who knows about resets, and having the responsibility of being the last one standing to guard judgement hall and keep the player from reaching Toriel), then yeah, I could see it being somewhat sympathetic. He’d definitely be going through a lot and could be somewhat stressed out with all those responsibilities adding up over time, but with Sans Classic’s personality, he probably copes with that at least decently well. Due to everything he’s likely experienced, I could see him also coping with having depression and anxiety, and whatever other issues he may have from the repeated resets. Headcanons and things aside, we don’t know much about his mental and emotional state, except that he’s a bit apathetic and sluggish (hints at depression, maybe, but I’m not sure what else could be going on in his head, and I’m not a psychologist, so-). Following the same general idea as in Undertale, Stretch also would’ve agreed to look after Chara, so he also had that responsibility, too. Since he’s basically Sans Classic in a Papyrus body, I’ll give him 1 point here just like I did with Sans

5) Does he deserve a smooch? With everything he does and deals with regularly, yeah, I’d say he’s pretty deserving. There’s another very easily earned 2 points for him

6) Is he cute or cool? I’m not sure if I’d say he’s a cutesy character, necessarily, but he does have a cool sort of personality. He’s very laidback and level headed, he’s smart as hell, as he’s incredibly strong and proficient with magic, then to top it off, he has a simple design that’s still unique enough to him to make him recognizable. 2 points for his cool personality and his strengths as a character

In total, Stretch gets a rating of 11. He’s a very safe bet to smooch, if you had to kiss a skeleton and preferred Papyrus types over Sanses. He won’t do anything that could hurt you, and there’s nothing about him that could result in you being ill or dying. At worst, he’d calmly ask you not to smooch him again, and at best, he’s get flustered and blushy, and need a minute to collect himself so he can find his words and speak again

#creatorsomething #asks #smoochability rating #stretch papyrus #swap papyrus

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shadows-and-science-gone-mad · 5 years ago

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An Analysis of the Creature Designs in Jurassic Fight Club

The 2008 History Channel miniseries Jurassic Fight Club was not a good show. Almost objectively, it was a badly-done series. The effects were of generally high quality, but those decent effects were in service of a poorly-scripted, gratuitously-violent, scientifically-inaccurate gorefest masquerading as a documentary.

It’s not worth your time.

That said, one bit of unambiguous praise I can give it lies in the designs for the dinosaurs. While they are frequently very inaccurate, they are completely unlike any dinosaur designs in any other media. The showrunners very easily could have just appropriated stock footage from older programs to pad their runtime, but they created unique clips featuring their own designs, which is commendable.

In this post, I’m going to be going through all of the creature designs that appear in Jurassic Fight Club and give my honest thoughts on them. I will factor in both accuracy to the real animal and my own personal tastes, and ultimately assign each one a score out of 10.

So, without further ado, let’s begin:

Majungasaurus crenatissimus (male)

Let’s cover these in order of appearance, which means that the male Majungasaurus is first on the plate. (I am choosing to ignore that they call it Majungatholus in the narration; that is not what this creature’s name is.)

This is a pretty interesting portrayal of this animal. They very easily could have just thrown some skin over the bones and called it a day. But, they stretched their creativity a bit and gave it some speculative soft tissue, and I like that.

That said, the anatomy is completely wrong for a Majungasaurus. The skull is correct, but the arms are too well-developed, and the legs are way too long and lean. Those proportions would work pretty well if this were a Carnotaurus, but it’s a bit too athletic for a majungasaur.

7/10.

Majungasaurus crenatissimus (female)

This is much more in line with what I was expecting from their Majungasaurus. It has the exact same problems as the male, and is missing the speculative soft tissue that I liked so much. Still okay, but not as interesting as the male.

6/10.

Tyrannosaurus rex

No, I don’t know why it’s squatting like that in this promotional image.

Ignoring the weird pose, this isn’t too bad, actually. Sure, it still has broken wrists, and the skull is a bit off, but it otherwise looks about right. For a depiction of T. rex from 2008, this is pretty decent stuff. I like the muted purple color, and I am immensely appreciative of the fact that they didn’t just copy-paste a Jurassic Park rex into their show. They could have very easily done that, but they chose to make something more representative of the actual animal.

8/10.

Nanotyrannus lancensis

This one’s a bit tough to judge. You see, Nanotyrannus doesn’t actually exist. In 2008, it was considered its own genus. But, in the decade since this series aired, it has been all but confirmed that Nanotyrannus is just a juvenile Tyrannosaurus.

That said, as a juvenile Tyrannosaurus, this is pretty good. It’s slim and fierce, with a good color scheme and decent accuracy to the fossils. Aside from the fact that this animal never existed, this is decent. Not bad at all.

7/10.

Deinonychus antirrhopus

I am of completely mixed opinions about this one. On the one hand, aside from the broken wrists, the anatomy is pretty much spot-on. You can tell that the designers actually looked at real Deinonychus skeletons to model this. Also, the blue body with the striping on the tail is a very striking color pallete. As a design, this is actually pretty good.

But, then we get to the elephant in the room. Not a single feather to be found anywhere on its body. Even in 2008, no feathers at all was barely acceptable, and it is completely unforgiveable today.

I have heard that they didn’t do feathers because of budgetary restrictions, which is understandable, but it does drag this design down quite a bit.

I’m going to have to give it a neutral score. It’s a great monster design, but it’s a terrible raptor.

5/10.

Tenontosaurus tilletti

Poor Tenontosaurus. It pretty much only ever gets media representation so that it can be killed by either Deinonychus or Acrocanthosaurus, and nobody ever seems to give it the time of day.

Fortunate, then, that this is a fantastic design.

Anatomically, it’s spot-on. The colors are dull, but not boring. It has a good amount of soft tissue, and carries a real sense of weight. Out of all the dinosaurs in the show, this one looks the most like a real animal. I have absolutely no complaints.

10/10.

Stegosaurus ungulatus

This is top-quality stuff right here. The proportions are good, even if the tail is a bit on the short side. The hands have the correct number of digits, and all of the plates and spikes seem to be in order. Again, the colors are a bit drab, but it feels appropriate for an animal of this size.

Also, how strange is it that, of all shows, Jurassic Fight Club is the only one I’ve seen that gets Stegosaurus’s weirdly long neck right?

Another triumph.

10/10.

Ceratosaurus nasicornis

Wow.

This is almost entirely perfect.

It has the right skull, it has the long teeth, it has the osteoderms on the back, the proportions are correct. Literally the only inaccuracy I can find is the pronated wrists, but that’s hardly enough to tarnish this thing’s otherwise perfect score.

This may be the best depiction of Ceratosaurus I’ve ever seen, and it is unquestionably the best design in the show.

10/10.

Camarasaurus supremus

Eh.

It looks about right, but it just feels...plain. This is the first one where the dull color scheme is a downside. It’s just flat grey with a yellow head. I do like that detail, but that’s pretty much all it has going for it.

Also, it has elephant feet, which is just wrong.

4/10.

Allosaurus fragilis

Alright, buckle down, because this one’s really bad.

Whereas everything up to this point at least feels like they looked at the actual animal as they were rendering, I’m not certain anyone involved in this thing’s design process had ever seen an Allosaurus skeleton. Let me count the issues:

The skull is so utterly wrong I’m unconvinced they didn’t just completely make it up.

The horns are the wrong size, the wrong shape, and in the wrong spot.

The wrists are broken and stuck on the end of way-too-long human arms.

The torso is too shallow, and has this weird hunchback thing going on.

The legs are too short, and those dainty little feet are bordering on comical. It doesn’t look like it should be able to stand up.

Literally no component of this thing’s anatomy resembles the animal it is supposed to be. It’s a trainwreck.

1/10.

Carcharocles megalodon

To begin with, yes, I am all aboard Team Carcharocles.

With that out of the way, this is a very “meh” design. It’s literally just a big great white shark. No real creativity or imagination at play here. Normally, that would be fine, but C. megalodon isn’t particularly closely related to the great white, so I can’t rate this too highly.

4/10.

Brygmophyseter shigensis

Conversely, I think that making Brygmophyseter a modified sperm whale is completely appropriate. This animal was a close cousin of the modern sperm whale, and thus would probably look fairly similar.

Decent colors, realistic anatomy, appropriate role within the episode’s story. Pretty decent stuff.

7/10.

Gastonia burgei

The show’s designers keep doing a really good job with their armored dinosaurs. The Stegosaurus above was one of their best, and Gastonia here is no different.

It certainly helps that Gastonia is known from pretty solid remains, so they had a lot of material to work with. It looks pretty much as it should, and the color scheme is vibrant, but not overdone. Pretty stellar work overall.

9/10.

Utahraptor ostrommaysi

Okay, I was willing to be forgiving of the Deinonychus because of the colors, plus the fact that they nailed its skeletal anatomy. This thing doesn’t have either of those advantages.

I can forgive the incorrect skull, Utahraptor‘s skull wasn’t known until nearly a decade after the show came out. What I cannot forgive is the drab, boring color scheme and those AWFUL feathers. If this is all they were going to do to add feathers to their raptors, I’m almost glad they left Deinonychus scaly.

Just awful.

2/10.

Arctodus simus

Wait. They didn’t have the budget to render raptors with proper feathers, but they did have the budget to do an episode all about furry Pleistocene mammals?

Anyways, this is alright. The skull looks a bit off to me, and the legs are too short, but it’s not awful. Y’know, aside from the fact that they gave this bear human eyes for some reason.

6/10.

Panthera leo atrox

That sure is a lion.

5/10.

Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis

That is not Pachyrhinosaurus. Even ignoring the erroneous horn, -- which is addressed as speculative within the show -- that is straight-up not the skull of a Pachyrhinosaurus. They just modelled an (admittedly okay-looking) Achelousaurus, and then had the narrator call it Pachyrhinosaurus.

3/10.

Albertosaurus sarcophagus

I don’t even know what to say here. All of the show’s other theropods had something interesting or noteworthy about them, either good or bad. But, this is just every pop-culture Albertosaurus I’ve ever seen.

It certainly is there.

4/10.

Edmontosaurus annectens

This is one of the most completely unremarkable creature designs I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a single dull color, it has no speculative soft tissue, and its only role in the episode is to be killed and eaten by predators.

This is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a representation of a Perfectly Normal Beast. There is not a single remarkable thing here.

And it’s a shame, because Edmontosaurus is a very interesting and underrated animal, but here it gets saddled with this halfhearted shrug of a design.

4/10.

Dromaeosaurus albertensis

Yeesh.

This has the advantage of being more anatomically accurate than the Utahraptor and the colors are okay, but those feathers are, again, absolutely appalling.

Topping that off, the narration talks about them communicating with each other via sign language, which is just...dumb. Even as a kid, I thought that was dumb.

2/10.

#my writing #essay #review #creature design #dinosaurs #jurassic fight club

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letterboxd · 5 years ago

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Daddy.

“I had zero arrogance because I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing.”

We sat down with director Ant Timpson and star Elijah Wood to talk about pushing boundaries, living with dead bodies, and “de-greasing” the script of their new film Come To Daddy.

In the general flow of the movie industry, not a lot of producers make the shift to directing. But for New Zealander Ant Timpson, it seems like a natural move.

His unique genre predilections have long shone through in his producing credits, which include titles such as Housebound, The ABCs of Death (and its sequel), Turbo Kid, Deathgasm, The Field Guide to Evil, and the instantly iconic cult oddity The Greasy Strangler. Those predilections extend somewhat into his directorial debut, the darkly comedic new thriller Come To Daddy.

Scripted by The Greasy Strangler co-writer Toby Harvard, Come To Daddy is based on an idea from Timpson, who was “inspired” by his reaction to the death of his own father. As he articulates in this captivating blog post, the week Timpson spent in a house with his father’s body learning things he never knew about his dad not only sparked the plot of Come To Daddy, but also prompted Timpson to re-engage his long-held desire to direct movies.

In the resulting film, Elijah Wood (who worked alongside Timpson as a producer on The Greasy Strangler, and has put in his fair share of work hours in New Zealand) stars as Norval, a 30-ish hipster layabout who travels to a remote seaside home to meet with with the father he hasn’t seen since he was a child.

Norval’s reunion with pop (played by Canadian great Stephen McHattie) starts awkwardly, then gets increasingly weird, and soon mortal peril is in play.

Following the film’s well-received world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Timpson and Wood sat down with Letterboxd for a two-on-one to talk about Come To Daddy.

‘Come To Daddy’ director Ant Timpson.

Letterboxd: This film ends with the credit ‘Based on an idea by Ant Timpson’. What did you convey to Toby Harvard when you first approached him about this idea? Ant Timpson: I gave him the skeleton structure of: staying alone in a house with a dead body, trying to process that. Maybe thinking about: you didn’t know everything about your dad, the unresolved issues, not getting answers that you wanted, wanting to say stuff to him that you didn’t. All that stuff sons have with their dads. And mothers and daughters. So during the rest of the week [when Timpson Sr’s body was on display], people came to the house who I didn’t know had this alternate history [of my dad]. And learning that information, my brain took it to crazy extremes, as I do, as a movie guy. I took it in to weird areas. And I started formulating it and thinking. But also, a big part of it was like: watching someone die in front of you—what am I doing with my life? I used to dream about directing, and I’ve just been servicing everyone else’s dreams.

So your father’s death also served as an impetus to pursue your directorial dreams? AT: Get tryin’ or get dyin’, man. It was kind of like that. And I didn’t feel like I could just grab a script as a producer, because I come across scripts all the time, and nothing was like “Ooh, I need to direct that”.

Elijah Wood: I get that. I get that the impulse isn’t to just simply find a piece that somebody else wrote. It had to be personal, a fire within you that needed to be told.

AT: So it was the impetus, but it needed to have that emotional connection to make it actually happen. I was just lucky enough that Toby was game, and Toby brought everything to the party. He took that [idea] away and then came back with a draft that was really funny. It was kind of different from the final film. And so we bounced back and forth.

He got pissed off with me because I was quite rude, I think, with the first feedback I gave. We’ve got this dynamic relationship about the whole film. I think I was like: “This is really Greasy, we need to de-Grease it”. And so he did. And we always thought about Elijah. Toby was like, “It would be amazing for Elijah to be in it,” and we talked about that and what he could bring to it and ground the whole thing. Eventually it was in good enough shape to send out and so [producer] Mette-Marie [Kongsved] and Elijah read it. He was the first to read it really out of the gate.

Elijah, you’ve had a professional relationship with Ant for years prior to this. Were you surprised or excited to hear that he was making his first film as a director? EW: Not surprised. Excited. It all really just fell into place. Because it was Toby too, we had all worked together on The Greasy Strangler. There was a lot of connective tissue that made sense. And it was not a surprise. I mean, he’s a filmmaker. As a producer, part of the job is understanding the process and guiding that process, so it’s not a huge leap. Then reading that script, it was just instant. It’s one of the better scripts I’ve read in years. It leaped off the page and it constantly surprised me in terms of where it was going. It starts off as one thing, and every step of the way your expectations are subverted. It’s shocking and funny and fucking crazy. And a blast. I immediately fell in love with it. And was intimidated by it.

I think from an emotional standpoint, what Norval has to go through… it’s a lot on Norval’s shoulders. And so I wanted to make sure that I delivered for that. I was honored that [Timpson] wanted me to be a part of it but I was also anxious about making sure that I honored that and serviced that in the right way. Particularly because it was based on a personal experience of Ant’s.

Was the Ant that you worked with on set as a director the same Ant you’d worked with in the previous years as a producer? EW: (high pitched) Yeah. Yeah.

AT: I feel like that’s part of my background of organizing events-based stuff: getting teams of people enthusiastic about things [Ant’s cinema-centric events are the stuff of legend in New Zealand]. And I think that really helps when you get a team around you. Plus, I had zero arrogance because I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. Kind of. I knew what I wanted but also had a lot of pressure I put on myself. So I felt like I had a really great support team that were there for me and once I knew that, my confidence just went straight up.

It’s clear from the films you’ve produced that you love movies that push the boundaries. Have you drawn any conclusions about how far you can push that kind of stuff? AT: I wanted a film that was pretty accessible at the end of the day. And I also knew that this had a decent budget for the type of film, more than I had been used to for some other things, so there was a responsibility that we’ve got to reach an audience. And it’s hard. But I also didn’t want to alienate the audience that I think would really like it. So it’s right on that fine line.

I don’t feel like it fits totally within [my produced works], like there’s elements of it in the previous producer stuff but I honestly feel like when I was watching it that there’s not… it takes a while. This is slow burn, man. I think it rolls out at just the right pace for when things happen. Like it’s building and building and then when things snap it starts to unravel quickly.

Saban has acquired ‘Come To Daddy’ for distribution; the film will have a US cinema release. Upcoming festival screenings include: Sydney Film Festival, Australia, June; Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Korea, June–July; Fantasia Film Festival, Quebec, July–August.

Ant has created a list of films that inspired him in the making of his movie, which you can see here. Stay tuned for another, more personal list coming soon. Comments have been edited for clarity and length.

#ant timpson #anthony timpson #come to daddy #elijah wood #tribeca #tribeca film festival #sydney film festival #letterboxd

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tirkdi · 7 years ago

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Hospital alarkling au! Yes!!!

omg, ok, here we go. this is like, half crack.

Alina blinked, fidgeted. Coughed into her white sleeve. Maybe he hadn’t heard her, maybe she should say it again – but his countenance, as brutally beautiful as it was, didn’t invite repetition. He stared down at her, unamused.

She’d thought the stories about him were overblown – no one with standing job offers around the world would choose to work at a teaching hospital and be that much of a misanthrope.

She had apparently been wrong.

When he did choose to respond, it wasn’t exactly the first words she’d hoped to hear from the doctor who would be her mentor for the next year. “You’re my intern.”

“Yup!” she replied, far too brightly.

He looked her over, his gaze traveling down the white coat she was so proud of and back up in quick dismissal. “Do you have any surgical experience?”

“Um, no, sir – er, doctor. I just graduated medical school, you know, last week.” She mentally chastised herself for her timidity and wished, not for the first time, that she had the same unreasonable self-confidence that all the other surgical interns seemed to.

Disbelief and dismay warred across his features. “And before that?”

If only the last conversation she’d had with her parents before they died had been about her being a dermatologist, or a professor, or a dog-walker – if only they’d told her to go into anything but surgery. But she’d busted her butt for years and here she finally was, intern to a surgeon who was a worldwide legend. Damn if she was going to let him get the better of her on her first day.

She snorted. “What, you think I spent my childhood cutting open my friends?”

She’d been expecting him to disavow the idea, but he just lifted an eyebrow in an expression she couldn’t read. It was uniquely disconcerting. “So I’m going to have to teach you everything.”

“Not everything,” she countered. “I did go to med school.”

“Did you.” His gaze sharpened to a scalpel’s edge and she got her first glimpse of the surgeon Morozova, ready to carve open a living subject. “Then let’s see what you know, shall we?”

“Dr. Starkov.”

Alina bent her head towards the linoleum floor, trying to stifle the smile that threatened to erupt across her features any time she was called that. She hadn’t quite gotten control of the grin by the time she turned around, but the steel gaze that met hers made quick work of the kill.

This seemed like a bad way to begin her second day.

“My office, please.” Dr. Morozova gestured to down the hallway. She marched ahead of him and entered, sitting in the chair in front of his desk as he sat behind it. He leaned back, elbows on his armrests and fingers steepled in front of his chest, and stared at her.

For a while. She could only return the look for a few seconds before diverting her eyes to the bookshelf behind him. The books were worn, each shelf bookended by bones hinged together with wire. It wasn’t unusual for a surgeon’s office to have skeletons interspersed with the decor, but there were significantly more bones in the room than she’d expected.

“Um,” she said, finally tired of looking anywhere but at him and hoping he’d say something. “Am I in trouble?”

“Do you know what I read this morning?”

“The newspaper?” she guessed.

“Your file.” He leaned forwarded, rested his forearms on the desk. “You graduated first in your class. From the best medical school in the country.”

She blinked, unsure of where he was going but pretty sure she wasn’t going to like it. “I already knew that?” she asked, her nervousness forcing her snark into a question.

Dr. Morozova sneered. “There it is again.”

“There what is?”

“That appalling lack of confidence. I grilled you for three hours yesterday. Based on your tone alone, I would have said you had no idea what you were talking about – yet you answered every question I asked perfectly. You don’t seem to know what it is you know, let alone have the ego to slice into someone else.”

Her anger at being insulted finally eclipsed her anxiety. “I figured if I ever needed extra ego, there would be no shortage of surgeons to borrow it from. And here I am, paired up with you, giving me a convenient lifetime supply.”

He leaned forward even further, nearly in her face despite the desk between them. “I have the ego,” he said, voice tense but even, “because I’m the best at what I do. If I second-guessed myself all the time, I couldn’t be.”

Her brain generated a number of responses to that, but she bit her tongue, not trusting herself to not make a bad situation worse.

“You could be an excellent surgeon if you believed in yourself.”

“Just because I don’t think I’m the best doesn’t mean I don’t believe in –”

“You don’t,” he interrupted. Then he leaned back in his chair, picked up a file of case notes and began leafing through them, dismissing her. “I hope you’ll decide to one day, though. Preferably soon.”

There were leaves on the trees. And birds. Alina blinked slowly, allowing her brain to reacclimate to sunlight and the fact that a world existed beyond the walls of the hospital. Her first week as an intern had been brutal but she hadn’t killed anyone – a low bar but a good start. She inhaled deeply and mentally gave herself a gold star as she began the walk to her car. Good job not murdering your patients, Alina.

“Leaving already, Dr. Starkov?”

Alina startled and stopped, turning towards the voice. Her mentor sat on a bench outside the hospital, a stack of files in his lap.

They’d spoken almost not at all since their meeting in his office several days prior, though he’d been conspicuously present as she went about her rounds, hovering in the shadows, watching, waiting – though for what, she wasn’t sure. She had returned the favor during his surgeries, positioning herself in the corners of the room to watch as he sliced, examined, and arranged with a deftness and confidence that she would never be able to muster. She hadn’t killed any humans her first week, but she was getting ready to bury her hope of becoming even a mediocre surgeon in a shallow grave.

She sighed and rubbed a hand across her face, trying to hide both her fatigue and her caffeine shakes. “Yeah, it’s … I’m off, now. I’ve been working for twenty-four hours straight.”

“Is that all.” His gaze was even and clear though Alina could have sworn he’d been at the hospital at least as long as she had. “They let interns get by with so little these days.”

This was too much. Half the reason his reputation was what it was was that he was impossibly young himself – while there were other surgeons that approached his skill level, none were within even a decade or two of his age. “It can’t possibly be that different from when you were a medical student,” she snapped.

“You’d be surprised at what’s changed.”

His medical school must have had a class in non-answers or else he was just a prodigy at those, too. “How old are you, anyway?

“One hundred and twenty.”

She lowered her lids halfway. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Yes,” he turned back to his files. “I count in surgeon years. If you can ever be bothered to become a decent surgeon, you will too, soon enough.”

Dr. Morozova materialized seemingly from nowhere as Alina was making herself coffee in the breakroom. She avoided spilling it all over her white coat, but it was a close call.

He leaned against the counter in front of the sugars she’d been about to grab, a case file dangling carelessly from one hand. “There’s a surgery I want you to take tomorrow.”

That was enough to almost make her forget her coffee. “What? Why?”

“Because I’m a surgeon and you’re my intern.”

“You don’t even like me.” One of these days, Alina would remember that she didn’t always have to say what she was thinking.

One brow raised a millimeter. “I don’t have to like you.” A beat, considering. “I saw how you handled Mrs. Bratslov’s case yesterday.”

“You saw that?” she whispered. It had not been her finest hour; she’d been performing a routine examination when the woman had gone into cardiac arrest. Alina had screamed for backup, grabbing the defibrillator and giving the first person into the room the instructions that happened to pop into her head. They hadn’t been the ones she’d learned in medical school, though at the time she said them they seemed correct; she still hadn’t figured out why.

“I did.”

“She almost died.”

“But she didn’t.” He straightened and walked towards her, his head tilted down to look her in the eyes. “You made a call –”

“A bad one,” she interrupted, though he had to have known it.

“The only bad calls are the ones that don’t work. Something went wrong and you handled it, well. There is confidence buried somewhere in there. You just need the right thing to bring it out.”

“And you think this is the way to do it?”

He handed her a file. “Read this tonight. Surgery is tomorrow.”

She scrubbed her hands viciously, trying to project the confidence she knew she should feel, attempting to hide the shaking that betrayed her intense nerves over her very first surgery.

“This is straightforward,” Dr. Morozova said from the sink next to her. “Simple patellar fix. In and out.”

“Right, right.” Alina nodded her head, scrubbing under her fingernails. “I just don’t want to forget the plan.”

“You remember the plan.”

“Sure I do.” She swallowed. “But could we maybe just go over it one more time?”

He cut her a glance. She was worried he might call off the surgery right now, send her home, kick her out of the program – but whatever he saw in her face, he relented. “One more time: we’re going to go in there. I’m going to pick up a scalpel and get the site prepared for you. That means that I will strip away all of the skin, all of the flesh, until you have no surface but knee. All you have to do is take it from there.” He lifted his foot from the pedal, turning off the faucet. “Ready?”

She rinsed her forearms and did the same. “As I’ll ever be.”

“You need to believe in yourself. For what it’s worth,” he continued as he shook the excess water from his fingers in the sink, “I do.”

He headed towards the operating room before she could respond. When he reached the door he turned, hands held in front of him, ready to push it open with his back. “Wait,” she said. “What are you wearing?”

“Scrubs,” Dr. Morozova replied.

“They’re black.”

A corner of his lips quirked, not quite a smile. “Hides the blood.”

He leaned back into the door, letting it swing shut behind him. Alina took a deep breath and followed suit, entering the operating room for her first surgery.

Her hands had stopped shaking by the time her mentor handed her the scalpel and she made her first cut into a living human. It had gone better than she anticipated – not only had she done well, but, to her horror, she’d enjoyed it. Dr. Morozova had stood as he had for most of the week prior – unmoving, silent, just watching – and she had been grateful for the mask that had hidden her smile as she sewed the final stitches into place.

Her fourth day as an intern, she had put in an inquiry to the anesthesiology department to see if a transfer might be possible. She’d heard the saying in medical school before, and they had repeated it to her then: “If your favorite place in the hospital is the operating room, be an anesthesiologist. If your favorite place in the world is an operating room, be a surgeon.”

After the surgery, as the two of them made their way through the maze of corridors to their lockers, shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor, she felt it acutely: she was walking away from her favorite place in the world.

Her mentor looked down at her. Even without the safety of a mask, she found that her smile couldn’t be constrained.

“I told you,” was all he said.

Her fifteenth surgery made her feel as invincible as the first. “Did you see that?” Alina practically screamed, jumping into the air. “I crushed that tendon!” She furrowed her brow. “In a good way.”

“That you did,” Dr. Morozova agreed. “But the surgery ended minutes ago. Take some of that youthful exuberance and direct it towards the problem at hand.”

“You’re no fun at all,” Alina complained. He’d become a more active mentor over the last month; she had thought she might find some humanity underneath his all-work-no-play exterior, but she’d only found an interior that was no-play-all-work.

“You’re not the first person to point that out.”

She sighed, not wanting to let go of the post-surgical high, but finally turned around. She was face to face with a tumor on a backlit scan. She examined it a while, trying to focus.

“Well?” Dr. Morozova asked from behind her. “What’s your diagnosis, doctor?”

She’d been working with him on straightforward cases so far, building up, but this was the first time he’d let her see what the whole department referred to as a Morozova Surgery. The tricky surgeries, the ones only he could handle.

The answer hit her. She lifted her hand to her mouth. “We’re going to have to take the whole thing out.” The surgery was going to be horrifyingly invasive – this was not a part of the body she was looking forward to rooting around for cancer cells in, but there was no other choice.

“What about cutting off the blood supply? Finding some way to starve it?”

He was testing her, and she shook her head, transfixed with the image, beginning to mentally step through the incisions. “We’re not going to be able to control the tumor, it’s too much. We’re going to have to cut it out completely.” She whirled around, more confident than she could ever remember being before. “This is going to be fun.”

He smiled at her for a moment, then looked at the desk he sat on and moved a paper to one side. “Yes,” he said. “It will be.”

The next week, Alina high-fived the head of surgery after he had watched them perform the operation – flawlessly. She was walking down the hall with her mentor, still smiling to herself when Dr. Morozova leaned closer and spoke.

“We don’t high five over surgeries, Alina.”

“You don’t,” she replied. “Maybe people just like me more.”

“If you keep up that sort of behavior,” he continued, his voice casual and more serious for it, “you’ll kill both of our careers.”

“My career will be just fine.” They reached a turn in the hallway where Alina would head back to her locker and Morozova to his. “And if your whole career is built on being an unrelenting asshole, maybe it’s time to rethink your strategy.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “It’s half the reason I went into surgery in the first place.”

“What’s the other half?” she asked, but he just continued down the hallway. “Wait,” she called after him, “where are you going?”

“Home,” he replied over his shoulder without breaking his stride.

She hadn’t really thought that he lived at the hospital, but as she watched him walk away she realized she’d never actually seen him leave. She stood dumbly as his black clad figure disappeared into the parking structure, a strange loneliness settling in her chest. She’d never been in the hospital without Dr. Morozova before.

She blinked a few times, shook her head, then headed to her locker. Whatever she was feeling, it was nothing that a hot shower and a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure.

#alarkling #the darkling #alina starkov #the grisha trilogy #grisha fic #nb: i am not a doctor #crack fic

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likeaguardianangel-archive-blog · 7 years ago

Note

send an ask: get to know your author: Answer them all please :D

omg xD honestly. why this? i can’t haha.

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

Not that I know of? I feel like I get the urges to write certain subjects and then I look around eagerly and hope that someone will like it enough to write it with me. I haven’t purposely held off on too much. Although I guess I do hold of on M/F couples with Barry sometimes, though it’s not really about the story and more about what I’ve said in #2.

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

Oh god. I get embarrassed so easily. I’m probably most embarrassed by any smut I’ve written. Because I always feel like such an impostor. I know so little about it in truth, haha. I’m always like ‘oh god, I am this virgin over here who really doesn’t know how that shit feels’ and then like dramatically flop on my bed or something. So I guess those types of things I get embarrassed by easiest, as I am the kind of person who can write words like dick or cock or whatever, but saying it aloud gets me all flustered. It’s truly embarrassing.

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

Usually I just write from what I read first, the first paragraph and go from there. Sometimes though, if my rp partner said such a good line that my muse was like ‘omg I have to say /this/’ then I start from there and work my way through the post backwards. But that doesn’t happen super often. Usually it’s just the first to last strategy.

4) favorite character you’ve written

I think that’s a tough choice. Like, I’ve written so many characters, and I’ve loved them all for very different reasons. But since I’ve been missing this one particular character lately, I’m going to say him: Jacques Crevette. He was originally a character from a Disney RPG, a personified version of the shrimp from finding nemo. I know, you’re probably looking at me right now like: why such an obscure character?? The thing is, they had an awesome skeleton for this character, featuring the ability to heal via touch, and I thought that was so so fascinating. It’s really funny, because the skeleton originally said this character would be aloof etc., but my muse sort of became its own thing. A bouncy, energetic, people loving character that liked to sing when he was happy, but also sing when he was having a tough time. He was an interesting muse. I think the fact is he was so weird, and to me it feels I developed that character from the ground up and I am incredibly proud of him. I miss him something fierce.

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

Well, I was surprised that I ended up writing Barry. For a while there I really didn’t think I would be doing that. But I also think...okay so there was this intense character in this fandom I was in (les mis), and i would have the desire to write him (Enjolras), but I was so so so incredibly intimidated by the idea of writing him. Like, I was sure that my take on him would be so terrible and it would end up being this horrible disaster. Honestly, a lot of muses I took up from the les mis fandom were like that. I lack confidence sometimes. It’s how I am.

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

I’m not sure. I try not to go back and look too often because I tend to be pretty self-conscious about what I’ve written. I have anxiety so it’s not very productive for me to take a look at what flaws I can find. I know what I want to do better with (description), and for me that is more than enough.

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

Wellll. I say I write, but I can never say what I write or really who I write with. My mom used to put down my rping a lot when I was growing up, so I’ve learned to just...keep what I write to myself, even when I’m really excited about what I’ve been writing. No one really knows that I rp and that’s kind of how I think it’ll stay tbh.

8) favorite genre to write

Oh man. I love a little bit of the romantic comedy sorts of elements, but also angst/drama. Fantasy is always fun (dragons guys. Dragons are the fucking best). Really anything that is missing a bit of realism is great. I mean come on guys, I write The Flash. I love the superpowers and the ridiculousness in some ways.

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

Sometimes I go to Netflix and I do a rewatch of the Flash. Usually it’s like the sad episodes where Barry cries (admit it: he’s beautiful when he cries), but sometimes it’s episodes like the Duet one which is just fun. So fun. And then other times if it doesn’t need that much of a push, just my own motivation, I pull up my spotify playlist for Barry and I listen and let the words that I think fit him wash over me and help me get writing.

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?

I can do either one. Honestly I write with my family in the living room at times, and others I write while I’m in my room alone. Really that doesn’t matter to me as long as no one invades my personal space with it.

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

I think I’ve improved some of my writing of dialogue? Honestly, Barry is such a talkative character, it’s really been a focus for me to work on intonation and emphasizing certain words based on how he’s feeling. So I think that I’ve gotten a bit better with that? I don’t know, that’s the best I can come up with.

12) your weaknesses as an author

Dear god I mean....I think I write too much in my character’s thoughts and not enough of actions or what’s going on at that same time. Honestly that’s what’s been bothering me the most. I’ve been trying to improve that but we’ll see how that goes.

13) your strengths as an author

Ummm....that I’m willing to go in so many different directions? Idk that I can write decent dialogue, and I think that the characters I do choose to actually put out there have such strong personalities. I might struggle in description, but I do make up for it with their thoughts and what I think would impact them the most. Is that a strength? I feel like it is.

14) do you make playlists for your current wips?

I make playlists for muses as a whole. So I have a Barry Allen playlist, a Steve Rogers playlist, etc. And then I have a couple of ship playlists and that kind of thing. I don’t ever base it on a thread, but I do on characters and their relationships.

15) why did you start writing?

Well my friend introduced me to an rp thing when I was like...11? at the time I was god awful, but I really enjoyed it and I would see some talented writers who were doing so much more at the time, more in depth, paragraphs and all and I wanted to be able to get to that point. I am, perhaps on occasion competitive for the weirdest reasons. The first few things of writing were like horse based or hp based, but I think when I got to HP stuff, I wanted to be able to write things that the books or movies just didn’t cover. I wanted to be able to put voice to things that could have happened but didn’t.

16) are there any characters who haunt you?

Haunt me? Oh god yes. I did a horrible, truly horrible take on Lucifer from SPN. I just...the directions I went make me really mad at myself. Like just...no. no no no no no. I’m scarred just thinking about this. Ugh god help me but I was so fixated on a thing back then. I refuse to be like that. Yikes. Just. Yeah. Lucifer. Even thinking it is embarrassing, so I just don’t want to go any further in detail there.

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

I would tell myself not to push myself before I was ready. Not to throw myself in the adult world before I really knew what I was doing. When I was thirteen I was already writing smut and stuff which is just...I shouldn’t have. You see the stuff about illegal and all now, but nobody was making a big deal out of it at the time. But I think I could have benefited just...not doing that until I for sure was ready.

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

Ummm. I’m not sure? I think maybe the Percy Jackson books a little bit in terms of the snarky little thought process of the character and the way that’s done. Ummm....I don’t really know how to describe my writing style so I’m not sure if certain works did influence me like that. There’s that novel the Things They Carried which has a unique way of describing things and thinking. Maybe something from there, Harry Potter without a doubt as that is a huge influence. Maybe some Tolkien? Eragon? I don’t know man.

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Well, if it’s really complex I end up opening a word doc, as I have a super organized rp partner who did it long before I did. And since they influenced me there, I now write up timelines if I feel like I need to remember/mark it down. I honestly haven’t done that with anything on here yet. I probably should. But you know. Whatever. The point is yes. Google docs if I need to organize things.

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

It depends on the day and the mood. Sometimes I can just sit down and whack out multiple replies and keep at it. Other times I write one or two and then say ‘good job Lena, you done enough today’ and go read. It really depends.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

I cringe. Honestly that’s just the way I am. I can’t look back on stuff too often for that reason.

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

Yeah. I can’t write anything about space/outer space or throw any of my muses in that sort of setting. I also can’t handle other people writing excessively detailed gore? It’s like, if I don’t have the control on what gore it is and how it’s done I just...I feel sick and I can’t do it and I overthink about it. Like one time another writer killed off my muse’s husband, and the way they did it (without consulting me on that particular way of dying) well it had my nauseous for weeks. I think most anything else I can write if we talk about it, but those two things are iffy for me.

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

I feel like my brief tenure in an apartment has helped me a little in context of thinking of how some of my muses would live etc. Before that I only had the vaguest idea of how people handle apartment living. Haha. I know, it’s helpful to experience shit. I can’t think of much else.

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

Yes. Actually for a thread me and @keeperoftheliars were doing, or are still doing I think technically. I like...look. The reason I originally wasn’t going to do Barry is cause I don’t science. I feel kind of bad for leaving the science out a lot of times but so does the show. They often forget to demonstrate Smart Barry who is in fact a CSI etc. Anyway, I’m digressing, but Barry had to talk about fingerprinting criminals, and to my immense displeasure, I did research what would happen if people damaged their fingerprints in often gruesome ways and what would be done about that. Unpleasant. For my writing of Steve Rogers, I read up a lot on the different illnesses that he had, on how he would have lived in the past, in order to understand what things he might still do today, out of habit, or out of respect for that time period. Yeah, I definitely research where I can on subjects I don’t fully grasp.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

(okay so this is a few paragraphs, but i really really enjoyed this starter)

As was becoming the frustrating norm, Barry just wasn’t fast enough. Zoom had an insane strength to him, only bolstered by Barry’s own speed. The loss of his father had caused something in him to shatter. The hatred towards the other speedster fueled Barry, but as he chased the other through his city, he knew that that hatred alone wouldn’t help him stop the guy. But it pushed him forward anyway.

Barry had shut off his coms half an hour into this ridiculous race with Zoom. He knew what his friends and family wanted. They wanted to work together to handle him. But Barry had lost enough in this fight to want them to have nothing to do with it. The man had been monstrous enough to kill Barry’s father right in front of him. He likely wouldn’t stop to think about his feelings with anyone else important to him.

He couldn’t watch another person he loved die. And, admittedly, he was still slightly bitter about the fact that his friends had locked him in the pipeline to keep him from going after Zoom. He kept running, twisting past cars and trees and chasing after Zoom, always chasing. He had never had a moment where he had come close to equaling the other’s speed.

At some point though, it seemed Zoom tired of simply having Barry chase him around, and before Barry knew it, the other darted out towards the speedster. catching him completely by surprise, the other speedster’s punch hitting him in the stomach and sending him flying backwards. The lucky thing: he didn’t crash into any cars or civilians. The unlucky: he collided with a very solid wall, not having had the time to ready himself to phase through it as he could have.

Everything ached. And Zoom was there a moment later, grabbing him by his throat and lifting him up, seemingly delighted by the power he held over Barry. Barry managed to get a few hits in, and found them running again, though this time it barely went another block before he was sprawled on the ground in the park. He groaned, forcing himself to his feet as he tried to prepare himself for the next blow.

#ooc #about the mun #this took a while xP #keeperoftheliars

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while-my-tardis-gently-weeps · 8 years ago

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Eurovision 2017: Initial Thoughts (3/13)

Now that the songs for all the participating countries are announced, here are my initial impressions of each piece. The stand-out entries (so far) are in in bold, and the ones in italics are ones I’m keeping my eyes on in the coming weeks but didn’t quite make the mark.

In alphabetical order:

ALBANIA - Lindita “World” - On first listen, I liked it, but it didn’t really leave a lasting impression on me. Above average Eurovision ballad, but nothing more.

ARMENIA - Artsvik “Fly With Me” - Okay song, forgettable.

AUSTRALIA - Isaiah Firebrace “Don’t come easy” - Australia brings it again! 3 for 3 from down under since they joined Eurovision. Only heard the music video version though so I’m curious how he will do in live performance. It definitely didn’t impress me nearly as much as Dami Im’s did last year, but I was sold on her live performance last year, not the recorded version.

AUSTRIA - Nathan Trent “Running on air” - Thoroughly average pop ballad with good energy and beat, but it’s been growing on me. A LOT. I blame it on the gorgeous Austrian mountain backdrop in the music video. Austria should definitely keep that up in the live staging if they know what’s good for them. I can’t be the only one sold on the scenery porn.

AZERBAIJAN - DiHaj “Skeletons” - Good, but didn’t make much of an impact on me. Withholding further commentary until I listen to it more.

BELARUS - NaviBand “Historyja Majho Zyccia” - A charming little piece, bonus points for not singing in English. I don’t see it winning Eurovision, but it’s absolutely delightful to listen to.

BELGIUM - Blanche “City lights” - Love it! Though not as much as a lot of other people seem to. It’s unique and ethereal and showcases her voice very well, but it’s a bit one-tone and kind of resembles dozens of other songs in the same style. Not to mention that it will fit right in among the Skins soundtrack. That said, I see it doing very well and it’ll be a much-welcomed breath of fresh air after listening to generic eurovision ballad after generic eurovision ballad.

BULGARIA - Kristian Kostov “Beautiful mess” - A lot better than I expected, but to be entirely honest my expectations were very low going in. It will depend on his live performance I expect.

CROATIA - Jacques Houdek “My friend” - Nice, but boring.

CYPRUS - Hovig “Gravity” - Powerful, energetic song that can do extremely well with the right staging, (like Russia 2016 or Sweden 2015, though this one is definitely more along the veins of the former rather than later. That might be my fondness for Mans talking though).

CZECH REPUBLIC - Martina Bárta “My turn” - Um, no. Not feeling it at all. I don’t know if anything can fix this one.

DENMARK - Anja “Where I Am” - I like her voice, I like her performance, I like everything except this boring snoozefest of a song. There are those ballads of yesteryear that were propelled to high rankings by a phenomenal performance, but this one is just too average for that to happen. It might carry her past the semis on a good night but I won’t hold my breath for anything more than that.

ESTONIA - Koit Toome & Laura “Verona” - Sounds a bit retro, but not in a bad way. Laura’s facial expression during the chorus bothers me a bit though.

FINLAND - Norma John “Blackbird” - I love Finland for always taking a risk. Doesn’t always work but I appreciate the effort even if the song crashes and burns spectacularly. Wonderfully dark and definitely something I would listen to normally but I’m not sure if it will keep my attention sufficiently enough during a lengthy (Semi-)final.

FRANCE - Alma “Requiem” - One of my personal favs this year. Fell in love with the tune from the start. Would I had preferred it if they stuck with the original version? Hell yes. Do I think version with English added is as horrendous as everybody says, not really but everything will depend on the live performance I think. I’m 100% behind another song but I’ll be hoping and praying that she does well in the final.

GEORGIA - Tako Gachechiladze “Keep the faith” - This song annoys me greatly.

GERMANY - Levina “Perfect life” - I have to stop forgiving otherwise-generic pop tunes for having lyrics that tick my fancy despite everything. That said, it could have been worse.

GREECE - Demy “This is love” - Good but a bit too generic.

HUNGARY - Joci Pápai “Origo” - Not exactly my cup of tea at first listen, but it’s rapidly growing on me, to the point that it’s squeezing past other entries to be one of my favs before I knew it. Can do without the rap; it’s extremely jarring. That chorus though. SUPERB.

ICELAND - Svala “Paper” - I quite like it, but don’t exactly love it (yet?). Need to give it a few more listens but I can see it growing on me a lot more in the coming weeks.

IRELAND - Brendan Murray “Dying to try” - It’s growing on me. Mostly because of his voice. The song itself is a bit forgettable but not so disastrously average that it can’t be salvaged by a live performance that knocks it out of the park. But even so the left side of the final voting table might be a bit of a stretch.

ISRAEL - Imri Ziv “I feel alive” - It’s okay but doesn’t stay in your memory for long.

ITALY - Francesco Gabbani “Occidentali’s Karma” - Remember what I said about being 100% behind one song? WELL THIS IS IT! I was already sold by the joyous, fun, and all-around spectacular performance at San Remo, but then I read the lyrics. AND I AM BLOWN AWAY. This man is a genius. This is Italian pop at its very best even without understanding the lyrics, complete with a staging that can do very well in Kyiv. But with the lyrics? Such a clever critique of Western appropriation and commercialization of Eastern philosophies disguised as a perfect explosion of effervescent joy. My only worries: he needs to do some major cutting to make it fit within the time limit, and there won’t be a live orchestra in Kyiv for the “ale!” moment with raised bows, so I’m crossing my fingers that everything will come together perfectly even with these restraints, and that there will be improvements in the staging that help carry the messages in the lyrics across to a non-Italian-speaking audience. (and the length of this alone is a testament of how much more I love this one above all other entries. Italy2018 please!)

LATVIA - Triana Park “Line” - Latvia’s been on a roll since Aminata! It’s not quite on the level of the last two years imho, but great song nonetheless.

LITHUANIA - Fusedmarc “Rain of revolution” - ...Aaaaaand right from my most favorite to least. No. Just, no.

MACEDONIA - Jana Burčeska “Dance alone” - I won’t cringe if it comes on while I’m partying at a club, but I won’t love the DJ for putting it on either.

MALTA - Claudia Faniello “Breathlessly” - Another boring ballad stuck in the dead zone between “not bad” and “not great.”

MOLDOVA - SunStroke Project “Hey, Mamma!” - Oh this is fun! I can dance to this one. Not masterpiece material but it doesn’t aspire to be one either. It brings the party, and that’s all it needs to do for a job well-done, I’d say.

MONTENEGRO - Slavko Kalezić “Space” - I would rather spend the time staring into blank space. No thanks.

THE NETHERLANDS - OG3NE “Lights and shadows” - Like Estonia’s entry, this one is also a bit retro, with a dash of Glee thrown in as well. I know I definitely want them to qualify, and probably even end up on the left side of the chart during the finals, but something about the song just doesn’t quite do it for me.

NORWAY - JOWST “Grab the moment” - It’s growing on me. A lot of Norway’s songs tend to be growers for me. I don’t think it will quite get there though.

POLAND - Kasia Moś “Flashlight” - This can either be a dark horse or a disaster depending on how she performs live and the staging. I fell in love with the music video version but the live version from the national final left me a bit flat. We’ll wait and see I suppose.

PORTUGAL - Salvador Sobral “Amar Pelos Dois” - Marvellously quaint, reminiscent of one’s best dreams under the Mediterranean sky, best enjoyed with headphones and your eyes closed...WAIT. “Your eyes closed?” Yeah, that’s my main worry with this song. Someone please get that boy a good stylist so that he doesn’t look like a library-dwelling classics major pulled on-stage last minute after a week of all-nighters. And add some better staging too. But, yeah, best wishes for a top-five finish Portugal!

ROMANIA - Ilinca feat. Alex Florea “Yodel it!” - I am reminded of how much I came to love “My Slowanie” from Poland. It never pretends to be anything deep or profound, but Ilinca just sells it so well.

RUSSIA - Yulia Samoylova “Flame is burning” - Funny that Russia chose a song with this title... Politics and transparent appeal for sympathy points to counteract booing and flaming aside, it’s an okay song and she’s not necessarily a bad singer, but by GOD if you can’t even fake passable English by hiring any half-way decent diction coach then stick to Russian!

SAN MARINO - Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson “Spirit of the night” - It’s fine, I guess. Just heard it again in the last hour but already forgot how it went.

SERBIA - Tijana Bogićević “In too deep” - See last comment.

SLOVENIA - Omar Naber “On my way” - *Facepalm*. Enough said.

SPAIN - Manel Navarro “Do it for your lover” - Makes the last one I commented on sound decent, if not good, by comparison.

SWEDEN - Robin Bengtsson “I can’t go on” - What happened Sweden? You’ve been going downhill since Mans in 2015. I always want to vote for Sweden because they host it so well but this definitely sound like they are trying their hardest to avoid Sweden2018. Not even my everlasting love for Petra (+Mans) as the host will make this less cringeworthy.

SWITZERLAND - Timebelle “Apollo” - I quite like it. Despite myself. The red dress she wore during live performance certainly doesn’t hurt.

UKRAINE - O.Torvald “Time” - Definitely refreshing, and mad points to Ukraine for the second entry in a row that’s different from the Eurovision norm, but this isn’t exactly good rock is it?

UNITED KINGDOM - Lucie Jones “Never give up on you” - Good showing for UK. In general? Not so much. Kind of like Denmark this year, really, with a combination of good vocalist and subpar song, but this song is a step (or two. or three) down from Denmark’s.

Top 3 Picks:

Italy - “Occidentali’s Karma,” Francesco Gabbani

France - “Requiem,” Alma

Portugal - “Amar Pelos Dois,” Salvador Sobral

(I’m noticing a theme for my top picks...)

#you have been warned: there will be an explosion of eurovision posts from here out #personal opinions #eurovision 2017

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audio-luddite · 7 years ago

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Number 1

AUDIOFILE

I have a nice stereo. I do not have one of those systems that cost more than a car or even a house. Still I think it is pretty damn good. If my house burned down I could probably replace the main parts of it for less than $8000.00. The LPs though, that would take a lot of time and a lot of money. I have some pretty good ones.

Back Story:

This will take a while.

Let’s set the wayback machine to a time when everyone knew what a wayback machine was. I entered the engineering program at a big eastern US university in 1973. I had some cash and I wanted a stereo in my dorm, as that was a good thing to have. The year before my brother and I travelled to NYC to buy exotic bipolar power transistors that went into an amplifier design out of a magazine. They were about 60 Watts per channel. We each built one. Frankly I do not remember what kind of preamplifier I had. We probably built that too. I had built some big ass speakers with a lovely 12” die cast aluminum frame woofer in a two way system. It got loud. I thought it sounded fine.

The only “factory” components I had was a Dual Turntable and a Shure phono cartridge I think it was an M95. That system lasted two years before I caught the bug or curse as the case may be. In the second year my amplifier was sick. Whenever my roommate played Queen it went crazy and demonstrated what I now know as thermal runaway. Only Queen had this effect for some reason. I did not like Queen.

Over the next summer I bought and built a Dynaco 400 Amp and a Dynaco Pat 5 preamp kit. I also made a friend who turned out to be even weirder with more money who bought a Harmon Kardon Citation 11 and 12 with a really nice Sony Turntable with an SME arm. He had these speakers called Advents that some guy in Boston was selling to raise money to build a big TV.

The two of us got a subscription to a sort of underground magazine called the Absolute Sound. It eschewed advertising as that was corrupting and yet somehow convinced serious manufacturers to loan them equipment. When they managed to get an issue out we devoured it. We also managed to visit stores that actually had much of the equipment they listed as good stuff. We heard almost everything on their lists.

My friend got tired of his Sony Turntable and I bought it from him and I sold my Dual. He kept his SME arm and I do not remember what he did with it. I bought a Grace 707 tone arm and a Sure V15 cartridge as that was considered really good if you tweaked it a bit. It was so tweaked.

I remember he went from the Sony to a HK ST7 turntable. It had pretty lights. Then he went off the reservation and got a Transcriptor Skeleton Turntable. I think he managed to get the SME arm on it as the funky transcriptor arm was a recognized PITA. He had a part time job at a stereo shop and could order stuff wholesale.

He also sold me his old Advents which were wrapped in vinyl phony wood stuff and bought a pair of Advents that were covered in real wood.

He also traded his Citation 11 for an exotic tube thing called an AR SP3. He later sent it to the factory to have it upgraded to SP3 a1 status.

At that point I had his old Sony 2251la turntable, Grace 707 arm with a Sure V15, playing into a PAT 5 preamplifier and a Dynaco 400 amplifier feeding into a pair of Advents.

All that should tell you that for a couple of college students we had some pretty good stuff. It should also tell you I have no fear of cracking open a case and messing with things. When Dynaco upgraded the PAT5 to better OP Amps I got a set and soldered them in.

A very strange Grad-student with an all tube system would visit and offer restrained praise of our systems. About mine he said it was really good for a transistor system.

As all good things had to come to an end I graduated and had to move far away. I sold almost my whole system to another guy keeping only my LPs and my turntable. I still have that turntable that arm but not the Sure V15.

When I arrived at my new home and job in the Frozen North (Edmonton Alberta Canada) I had no tunes. Once paycheques started I got some stuff. I bought a preamp and I do not remember what kind of amplifier or maybe I did not have one, but I had a project. I was building electrostatic loudspeakers. Big ones too. For those I bought a pair of Dynaco Mk3 tube amps. I almost killed myself with high voltage building the speaker power supply. The palm of my hand got charred by being too friendly with some capacitors while they were “hot”.

Interestingly these big ass electrostatic speakers 4 ft square per channel worked! The bass was less than great so I built a 15” subwoofer and some other bits. I lived with my cousin and this crazy setup took a lot of space up and sounded impressive if not actually good. For the record I now think electrostatics have more problems than benefits.

I saw an ad for somebody who was selling a Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable and as one of the few people who knew what that was in the Northern Alberta I grabbed it. You cannot overstate how cool that thing looks. I still have that too, though I may sell it soon. The Stock arm got broken. I think alcohol was involved. I still have the parts. I modified the Transcriptors to fit another Grace 707 arm which was tricky as the bitch was heavier than the stock one and I had to rebalance the whole thing with ballast.

At this point things get fuzzy. I tired of the big electrostatic speakers and I think I built some small more wife friendly things as I had acquired a wife. Powered by the pair of MK3s it was pretty good. I had tweaked my preamp power supply with bigger caps and it got better. Then one day in a shop I found an orphan Audio Research SP12 for sale. All tubes 6DJ8s instead of 12ax7s. Somewhere along here I had built a copy of the SP3a1 from the circuit diagram on a breadboard and found 12ax7s to be PITAs as well. So that was my system for a while. All glowing warn lovely tubes.

The next step was newer bigger speakers. I had a design idea and paid a wood worker to make me some boxes. They were fairly big towers with a biamped woofer thing and went down to seismic bass and the treble was way past what I could hear as a young man. Those were still fed by the MK3s and a midsize transistor amp for the woofers.

Thing is the MK3s though really good are tube amps and those tubes were getting bloody expensive. So I went backwards. Dynaco was out of business. I found a company that had bought all their stock and I ordered a black box 400 kit and a few extra parts to build something special.

What I built was a black box Dynaco 416 with two power supplies and some really nice film bridging capacitors. I tweaked the mother while I was building it. No magic smoke when I turned it on. It was wonderful. I did another silly thing by adding an outboard power supply capacitor bank. Actually a pair as each channel was separate. Do you know how big 1 farad is at 74 volts? Unplug the bugger and it plays loud for a long time. Not being silly under normal operation it just made the beast remarkably quiet and potent.

I made a diversion to surround sound and 7.1 channel movies for a while. My black box and tube preamp went in the crawlspace. I sold the MK3s for a decent price. If you wanted to listen to records you needed the programmable remote. Life was getting complicated.

The old SP12 came out of the crawlspace with a nasty hum. I replaced a failed big PS capacitor with larger value but physically smaller caps and it worked fine. I dragged out the 416. I needed new speakers. The big guns were tied up in the surround system.

Actually what got me going was an ad on craigslist. I found some Advents and thought about going back in time. I also saw an ad for a speaker called Sonabs. I remembered hearing them 40 years ago and liking them. They were gone before I got in touch with the guy. I read up on them and decided to build some like it. I really liked the theory behind them. Simple and very restrained in a Nordic sort of way. The drivers you can buy today are really good and the crossover parts are really very very good now. They have computer programs to lock down optimum millihenries and microfarads based on the impedance curve of the drivers. So I used those.

The idea behind these things is to put the speaker drivers as close to the wall as possible to minimize reflections. It is a good idea, the sound I get out of them is very clear and uncluttered. Spooky actually.

So over the last few months that is what I have been playing with. I set up the Sony / Grace table and it has been a lot of fun. The Black Dynaco lurks in the corner and things are good. You push a few buttons and the thing turns on and music is available. No remotes required.

One of the really fun things is the cartridge on the Sony. I have a Signets TK7e and loved it 20 years ago. I found a replacement stylus and it still works. The thing responds to 45 khz. That is insane. I do not think any current cartridge is comparable. It was designed for 4 channel sound that used an ultrasonic carrier. Interesting the Grace 707 was also intended for 4 channel sound. They work very well together.

So take it as reasonable that I do have a serious and good home stereo system. I have more than a passing technical appreciation of electronics, but I am not a repair technician.

Then the fun really starts.

Set the reference frame to now. I am trying to reason out the basic issue of quality in audio.

Why do things sound different? Why does equipment have a unique voice?

One of the fundamental mathematical ideas behind low distortion is to have a given device respond to frequencies double or better than you want to recreate. So if a tweeter can go to 40 khz it has no trouble with 20khz. Same thing for that Signet it can do 45 khz so 22khz is easy. My latest preamp is rated to 100 khz so it really has no problem with audio frequencies. This should mean that normal frequencies are handled with respectably low distortion.

If signals are so accurate and distortion is very low should not all “good” equipment sound the same? The audiophile cohorts at this point lean back and say of course not. So let’s restate it as “If signals are so accurate and distortion is very low, why does all “good” equipment not sound the same?” It really should you know.

Both of my preamps are both earlier 1980’s vintage. One is the Venerable AR SP12 the other is an SAE Mk 30. Both list distortion as a tiny percentage of the signal. In db terms way down under -70 db. That should be effectively inaudible. Yet they sound very different. Taking it a bit weirder swapping different tubes out makes the SP12 sound different from itself though the distortion should still be low. That should not be.

People familiar with Audio Research products will know that they built a machine called an SP11 which is still regarded as a wonderful device and much sought after. The innovation of that design was using 6DJ8 tubes which are radio frequency capable and just much better than the venerable 12AX7 tubes. The SP12 was apparently a less expensive version of the SP11 using a much simpler power supply and I think one fewer tubes in one section. It still measured impressively so it is not trash. The design came out of the same very capable brains. It was a business decision.

The thing with Audio Research Fans is they think every subsequent model must surpass the previous or it is a failure. Even so that SP3a1 my friend had was once considered “a straight wire with gain” until it was later proved to be very coloured and muddy. The SP 12 is probably much better than the SP3 but is not worth near as much. I saw a recent sale of an SP3 for $3000.00 and for an SP12 for $500.00.

So why do they sound different? There is no point in picking which is better as it is like saying blue is better than green. A difference in frequency response would be measured and actually the SP 12 has a much more accurate RIAA phono curve than the SP3a1. In the high level section they both show a damn flat plot. Distortion is very low.

One of the most informative experiences I had with Audio was many years ago. I was reading a high end magazine extolling the virtue of a really expensive interconnect wire between a very expensive CD player and a similarly very expensive preamplifier. The reviewer said that only with this particular interconnect cable could he hear this particular very subtle sound on this particular CD. I had that CD, and I had heard that sound.

This was years ago. I am not sure what the full equipment set I had then was, but I had a “cheap” Philips CD deck. The cost of that deck, and my preamp would have been less than this wire. I could hear the sound he described. First Track Cowboy Junkies Trinity Session, down to the left a metallic rattle. There is also audile air rushing from a vent. So it was not the wire itself it was how this wire interacted with his equipment. (Good album) Most important I could hear it clearly without that stuff.

There I learned that good and better depend on a lot of things. Later I learned that many high end designers cannot afford extensive testing of certain things. The commercial demands are severe to get stuff out quickly. Some circuits will react badly to inductive and capacitive reactive loads. That can make them freak out. Fancy wires are both capacitive and inductive so get the wrong mix of parameters with a given machine and the reaction to those changes the sound or may even let out the magic smoke.

The best I can come up with is speculation. There is a famous Bet made by Mr Bob Carver that he could make one of his relatively inexpensive amplifiers sound EXACTLY like any amplifier a group of golden eared critics chose. He then proceeded to do just that. What he did was run a music signal through a channel of the target amp and inverted through his amp. If they were perfect the signal would completely cancel. At first they did not cancel indicating that there was a difference in how they sounded. Then he tweaked his machine until it did cancel. Once that was done, the two machines sounded indistinguishable. You could say he “voiced” his amplifier. I believe they still measured very low distortion. Very low distortion combined with a particular sound. Vellly interesting!

Subsequently he built a mad, cost no object all tube monster amplifier then produced a product line of smaller transistor amps voiced to sound just like it. This is very clever for business and not supportive of the idea of ultimate sonic goodness.

What must be happening is subtle interference, reactions and resonances inside the circuits. Sometimes there must be reactions between different devices entirely. Given a complex signal complex stuff happens and it comes out different if there are different components arranged differently. Neither is right or wrong, just different. We are noticing different voicings perhaps deliberate perhaps accidental. If you like something more than the other it is then better for you. So it ends up a personal choice.

Sometimes I hear something I had not heard before. I have many albums I have heard many times. A few nights ago I played a Philips recording of Stravinsky’s Firebird and a particular oboe part jumped out at me. I have heard that part many times before, but now there was something about it. I could tell it was made by a wooden instrument. It felt dimensional I could hear the wall behind it. Why? Some previously interfering sound was gone is the best I can come up with.

The real problem was the turntable was the same, the amplifier was the same the preamp and speakers not the same at all. Was the preamp clearer and more accurate? Maybe, it’s pretty good. Are the speakers clearer and more accurate? Was it an interaction between the two? Probably it was all of those things to some degree.

In this particular case I think the “new” things I am hearing are due to the speakers. My amplifier is really very clean. I assume the preamp is. My speakers are derived from the Sonab design from 40 years ago. The intent is to minimize wall reflections by keeping the drivers close to the wall and away from major reflective surfaces. I think that idea works very well.

I think a lot of very respected speakers are not really that good because they react badly with the room surfaces. Sounds get to your ears that are not on the recording based on the design and placement of speakers in the room and furniture for that matter. If sound waves that are not on the recording are audible then that is wrong. Maybe that’s why people like headphones so much. Dipoles are the worst for it. (My Electrostatics were dipoles.) Box speakers set far from a wall are bad too. If they sound “good” then these interactions must be compensating for a flaw in the voicing. Large panel speakers like electrostatics and Magnepans couple well to the air in a room and that gives the impression of presence and immediacy. That is actually good device-to-room impedance matching as large surfaces couple to the air better. Yet you will be hearing sounds that are not on the recording. Perhaps it is better to say they were not in the recording in the place and time that you hear them in.

To a certain degree you can get pretty close to honest and true sounds coming out of these machines. A powerful amplifier pumping many Watts into a little box is very persuasive. If it produces linear power, which almost any amplifier will, you can depend on it getting out into the room. The only limit is the frequency range of the speaker.

According to the charts of the components and the formulas for calculations I used, my speakers should respond from 30ish Hertz to over 40khz. The bass sounds good and is much dependent on the recording. My high frequency hearing is gone with the years but I still can appreciate the tiny metallic character of cymbals on a drum kit or bells or a lonely triangle in the back of an orchestra. I have an FFT analyser on my tablet and it shows some response over 18 khz on some records. I will not vouch for the frequency response of my tablet, but if something is there it is there.

So with respect to the room my little speakers work well. I know that they have a voice, but it is subtle. Another visit with the wayback machine is illustrative.

Does anyone remember the Fulton J Modular speaker? It was a behemoth and for a time at the top of the “good stuff” list. I heard it and was really impressed. My college friend bought a piece of one. The Modular moniker referred to it being built up from 3 pieces. There was a refrigerator sized base that had some number of woofer drivers a small box speaker midrange and an electrostatic tweeter array.

The piece in question is the Fulton FMI 80. In the day it was well thought of. It was responsible for all the middle frequencies of the unit, and those are where most of the important information is. You can see reviews of it in the archives of Stereophile magazine. They liked it. It was small and plain and you know it sounded great with chamber music and acoustic guitar and many instruments that had wood sound boxes. When he got his he kept the Advents, keeping them in my dorm room to keep my pair company so for a time I ran what were called double Advents. A certain magazine liked that arrangement. My room was the main listening place and we puzzled over the FMI 80s. They were good and not good depending on the material. Actually it was all about the material.

So being curious we brought the little guys into my room, and fiddled. String quartets were great, Fleetwood Mac not. We knew some musicians and invited their opinion. They liked them for acoustic instruments with strings and some woodwinds. Horns and such not really good at all.

I was sitting between them (it was a small room) and I noticed the sound coming off the side of the box. Revelation it was. I knocked the side of the box with my knuckle the box was made from thin wood. When you played certain instruments the box resonated and made the sound more “real” and alive, but that is not right. You should hit the box of almost any speaker and get a dull thud at most. These highly respected speakers had a definite voice. If the recording was woody it made it sound more woody.

We also opened one up and found the crossover circuit was a single rather cheap electrolytic capacitor. This was an educational experience. Well that is what college is for is it not? He sold them for what he paid for them and took his Advents back. Here is an example of a great respected behemoth speaker with a flawed heart. Respected reviewers were fooled, or perhaps charmed by the seductive flaws.

I wish there were definitive objective tests we could use. Then we could depend on getting things that are actually better. I will continue to play in this field. I mess with my equipment to keep it in the zone and listen to music. That is what it is really all about.

In the mean while it stays interesting.

#SAE mark 30 #Audio Research SP 12 #Dynaco 416 #one Farad

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iftekharsanom · 8 years ago

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Top 7 Teen Movies

When you grow up, your heart dies - or so they say. Here's the proof: Heathers Juno, critic of The Guardian and Observer select the 10 best movies for teenagers. Blackboard Jungle

Under the name "Evan Hunter", also known as a crime writer Ed McBain - Blackboard Jungle the early age of the labeled teen offender - it was based on his own experience as a teacher in the Bronx. In London movie Brooks attracted crowds of Stuffed Boys, cut theater seats, danced in the aisles and actually started a riot. The reason for this so shocking behavior was not so much the content of the film, which is now a sober 12 rating, but achieved due to the use of Bill Haley and the early rock'n'roll comets, Rock Around the Clock, who played in polarization . Today is the least shocking aspect of a crime-thrusting film with a knife, drugs and even rape in the state school system, but at the time it was a touchstone for disgruntled young people, regardless of whether Haley was a white musician traveler in Its 30 years and the music has already been a year old. Almost 60 years later, he still has a hit, with Richard Dadier Glenn Ford (first called to enable students to call the Jive to talk to him "Daddy-O") struggle to control his students in the North fiction manual school. Others try and fail, such as the unfortunate Mr. Edwards, whose valuable 78s are crushed by his class consists of an act of symbolic and even disturbing rebellion, but I hope that as African Americans Gregory Miller, what eventually patriotic authority Dadier replied. But for all its war morality, Vic Morrow, the evil Artie West, is the true anti-hero of the film, dressed in leather and meets the logical heir Wild One, Marlon Brando, two years before. Superbad

With certified hits The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, the Judd Apatow Express was already rolling at full speed when Superbad, directed a comedy in the younger audience, appeared on the movie screens. Co-written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (designated the main characters to be), and produced by Apatow, he liked this movie more with a hoarse Partycrowd. The image is dominated by three young actors who were not then the stars they are now. Evan (Michael Cera), Seth (Jonah Hill) and Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) are high school graduates getting ready for a final party before college. Evan and Seth no longer see each other when the first outing to the prestigious Dartmouth while the latter attended a public university; Seth Groll scattered around the action, but now he's eyeing sex. If he offers through the object of his alcohol affection to a party held so the numbers he is sleeping with her. This is where the drippy Fogell enters: having a fake identity secured mis-adapted under the pseudonym of McLovin, is the key is to plan Seth. With its notes and 24-hour melancholy, the film takes a similar American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused terrain, but is distinguished by a Post-Porky Sensitivity Hallows celebrates simultaneously pre-PC smuttiness. Much of the humor derives from the assessments of the chauvinistic Sex by inexperienced hero. (Adult, I no longer sophisticated. A Rogen police admits that police work is nothing like the serious coroner CSI procedural having been carried out, can be expected. "When I joined the force," he laments, "I semen believed oftentimes "). Goodwill mocking the experts, the details of the accompaniment and direction of Greg Mottola exuberant makes the image almost irresistible, although the pace of broad-fashion and humor is as sexist as a hope for the production of Apatow Kids

No kids at school wisecracking here. In fact there is no mention of the school. Not that many jokes, either come to think of it. Instead, Larry Clark's raw, Drama bracing reminds us securely and artificially that most movies are teenagers. The boys were dangerous: an open honest representation of what modern teenagers actually do (those who grew up in New York, anyway). It was a heavy blow to the chops of a complacent society, who thought she had made all the rebels in the 1950s, and was convicted by demonstrators and politicians. But as The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause, the film showed a terrible chasm between generations of young and old. The last only demographic number in history. While they work, their children are drunk, they are stoned, fun, fight, steal them and more sex than they did, yet clumsy, insecure and people who do not particularly like. Worse than all this danger sign, but the general lack of concern or compassion for the characters, especially Leo Fitzpatrick's anti-hero is Telly's terrible reckless pursuit of "de-virginise" younger girls and neglected joint has its successes. With the spectrum of AIDS lurking in the shadows, a happy ending is even more in the distance. But there is nothing particularly sensational about the way children have gone through these adolescent lives. The treatment is more like a documentary: on the wall with the camera (which incidentally by the indecent sometimes), the actual sites of the road, unstructured scenes and dialogue really conversation - the latter in Harmony Korine, largely through Of the internal work of a writing, as he was 19 years old. That's the thing, do not get the kids credit for the season: it's done. It is a work of fiction, but the benefits are so little is known, is not included as an "actor", although many of the players followed the decent career, such as Fitzpatrick, Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson and Korine. In short, the will of a job done a little too well. 10 Things I Hate About You

The philosophy behind this lively teen comedy looks like the Shrew the Clueless made Emma do. That is, take the skeleton of a literary classic and dressed in the threads of high school. Although the film Clueless is not, still quite blinding Bobby. Shakespeare's transplant into a youthful atmosphere of the United States in recent times is the least successful part of it: It is not something that a strident touch in the plot, in which a young man told his father that he would not allow graduation date, until the Abrasive ground older sister Kat (Julia Stiles). This sets up a system of younger brother suitors born of a legal soil, Patrick (Heath Ledger), is paid uncontrollably seduce Kat. But that's a small detail. To which we respond in 10 things are visual and verbal, energetic rhythm and charismatic performances: Stiles and the last Ledger may be known for more intense films, but it is doubtful that we do not always get more on the screen than I do here. Writer Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, keeping things bright will not character for a long time without toxic replica or a sharp zinger their lips anymore. If someone has hit a dry spot, there is always a language to see. "I know you can be overwhelmed and dominated" reflects a girl, "but can it alone" overwhelmed "? Everyone here is united and evoked by their idiosyncratic vocabulary, and the viewer is also enriched by phrases such as" (The brain area where the images are saved as desirable partner for stimulants) or a new definition for the word "backup." For the cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt and as the father of the Kat, the magnificent Larry Miller (who was an early contender for George Costanza's game at Seinfeld.) If the rhythm flags, still pick-me-ups like the wonderful accounting show karaoke with the zeal of Steve's early start Martin is held. Juno

Written by an ex-stripper and the issue of student pregnancy approaching - the downfall of all middle-class parents - Jason Reitman's film is a hilarious comedy, played well, that a star made night Ellen Page as the title character. Much if talked about its pro-life nuances in its release, but in reality the situation is Juno is something of a MacGuffin, a premise that a smart, wise to the world and its future can look 16 years. Juno begins with his heroine to realize that a baby will have, the result of a loose ball with his best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, in his own weediest). Instead of finishing, Juno decides the child for adoption to give attributes to the Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), a couple who seem to be in tune - especially participate their love for indie rock and horror movies (although their tastes are quite Early, even by today's standards). The latter is twee and well marked, but what Juno is refreshing, without dismantling the smart edge. In the end, she is certainly older and wiser, but what Juno learns more, do, prepare for disappointment: the adult world not Disney World of complexity is what he seems to think. The use of indie rock still dark have hampered its potential as a mainstream success, but now that only its charm is given lo-fi and in a sense, it is probably useful because Juno really is not aligned world, only those who think Who knew everything grew and learned the hard way that even if they know everything, nobody likes a smartass. Clueless

"As if!" — "I totally paused!" — "Minor ducats…" — "Let's do a lap before we commit to a location!" — "I was surfing the crimson wave!" — "Did my hair get flat?"If Clueless was published in 1995, it was not just sensational and intelligent fun - carefree, the opposite of its title was. Insinuating indirect, clever and funny: writers director Amy Heckerling and seemed to have invented a new culture of the teen-pop language. It was as vivid and colorful as his remarkable movie heroine-keeper: funnier and more romantic than any romcom. In the nineties, it was the hot topics issue. This film was a disgrace to all who, a funny and gracious tribute to Emma Jane Austen with nod to Shakespeare and Wilde. In Clueless, 19, Alicia Silverstone was the role of her life, unique style and comedy display ability, but never found after the race that everything seemed to promise. She plays Cher, the pampered, but basically good-hearted Princess: rich, popular, obsessed with fashion, but lonely and looking for love. Silverstone finds laughter as a teacher, and his voice in a sort of pitchy yodel pause in perplexing tones or complaint. Cher is best friend Dionne (Stacey Trace), but somewhat aggressive with his ex-strident Josh, whose mother was married to Cher's ferocious defender Mel, played by Dan Hedaya. However, could there be a spark between these two? Josh is a college student in liberal causes and Roar Mode "Rock Complaint". It is played by 26-year-old Paul Rudd, who immediately became a brand in Hollywood and sniper. Rudd's character began to mature and youthful Clueless. Get Cher decides what bad grades you have to do with getting your teachers in love, to sneakily two of them fall to each other, and if the east coast dorky girl named Tai appears, Cher makes a personal change "project ". Tai is very well played by Brittany Murphy, an up-and-comer talent who was bleak due to complications of dying in 2009 after an overdose of prescription drugs. The teen movie references to contemporary youth culture is always complicated with irony and melancholy if you look after almost 20 years. The terrible fate of Brittany Murphy is the saddest part of it. Clueless is strange to think that once the social networks. These people are ready and ready for the Internet and the digital revolution. There is a splendid view of the gag on Cher and Dionne talking uncomfortable on his large mobile phone. The recent film by Sofia Coppola, The Ring Bling is Clueless next generation. The difference is that the lean teenager Coppola really are clueless, white and selfish. There is a nice quality and idealistic Clueless comic that makes it so appealing. Cher and Dionne are the queens at their school, but not unpleasant, and according to their lights, they always want to do the right thing. Clueless is not characterized by a sign of "Bully" noticing a comeuppance ter. Mean Girls, the 2004 satirical film written by Tina Fey and Lindsay Lohan is very different. There's nothing new about bullying, of course, but I think it's interesting that Clueless appeared briefly to introduce snarky sites and reality farce at the center of pop culture. Clueless is a true classic: handsome, innocent fun. I envy people I have not yet seen. Pretty In Pink

The amazing ability to take advantage of John Hughes' teenage thrill, and then inexorably, pack it in a commercial way, has never been better employed here. This is empathy for his films, but also the most outrageous Eighties-tastic. A universal heart-tugger and retro bible style. It's a win-win. There is an old story - the poor Cinderella rich Prince Charming meets, and agonize all the way to the climatic ball, sorry, dance - but the full spectrum of teen angst is here: worry about what your colleagues think; Believing secretly tell your best friend and courage; They worry that you are very poor; Concern for parents; Worry that the sleeve of your vintage tuxedo has not rolled high enough. Hughes takes everything seriously and it takes time to build his characters. Andie knows where Molly Ringwald is coming from. We have to see him at home, and how embarrassing it is, we hung in his room, we saw the status of his single father (playing Harry Dean Stanton). This does not want to take the Ringwald natural wonderful power. Their blend of forward and fragility is the compelling effort. If you apply your lipstick or calls snobbery Andrew McCarthy, we are all the way with it. And Duckie John Cryer is the strangest of the male characters: the friendly and friendly clown who does not stay with the girl, although a better and better dressed society. The latter (especially the requirements of the modified screening tests) feels a bit like a cop-out, but could be read as a commentary on the bittersweet novel against pragmatism. If the story you do not start with Pretty in Pink, style it be. The film is worth looking at the costume changes alone, the respective boss Ringwald, Annie Potts, who travels from the fetish-punk in the 50's hive, Madonna-like material girl Debbie Harry New Wave. Serious art direction now makes the film look like a time capsule intentionally, filled with so many fashions, posters, records and decorative objects as they thought they could escape. And do not forget the soundtrack: Psychedelic Furs, OMD, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, The Smiths, uh, a cover by Nik Kershaw. Was each teen movie better?

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