#LA [May 1950]

[chronicowboy]

the marker of my final piece this year has so spectacularly missed the point of my story that i want to fucking scream

[aiiaiiiyo]

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hello! may i ask for some advice on writing women involved in the mafia? i'm having difficulty finding realistic ways women involved can be inducted (aside from being a wife), work, and climb up the ranks when the italian mafia was quite patriarchal, conservative, and catholic. thank you very much!

Writing Notes: Women in the Mafia

Mafia - hierarchically structured society of criminals of primarily Italian or Sicilian birth or extraction. The term applies to the traditional criminal organization in Sicily and also to a criminal organization in the United States.

Investigations conducted by U.S. government agencies in the 1950s and ’60s revealed that the structure of the American Mafia was similar to that of its Sicilian prototype.

In the United States, the organization had adopted the name Cosa Nostra [Italian: “Our Affair”].

From the 1950s, Mafia operations were conducted by some 24 groups, or “families,” throughout the country.

In most cities where syndicated crime operated, there was one family, but in New York City there were 5: Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno.

The heads of the most powerful families made up a commission whose main function was judicial.

At the head of each family was a “boss,” or “don,” whose authority could be challenged only by the commission.

Each don had an underboss, who functioned as a vice president or deputy director, and a consigliere, or counselor, who had considerable power and influence.

Below the underboss were the caporegime, or lieutenants, who, acting as buffers between the lower echelon workers and the don himself, protected him from a too-direct association with the organization’s illicit operations.

The lieutenants supervised squads of “soldiers,” who often had charge of one of the family’s legal operations (e.g., vending machines, food-products companies, or restaurants) or illegal operations involving prostitution, gambling, or narcotics.

By the late 20th century the Mafia’s role in U.S. organized crime seemed to be diminishing.

Convictions of top officials, defections by members who became government witnesses, and murderous internal disputes thinned the ranks.

In addition, the gradual breakup of insulated Italian-Sicilian communities and their assimilation into the larger American society effectively reduced the traditional breeding ground for prospective mafiosi.

Sicilian Mafia

Hierarchically structured organization of criminals in Sicily, Italy.

Made up of a coalition of criminal organizations—called “families” or “clans” in English and cosche (singular, cosca) in Italian—which engage in extortion, smuggling, gambling, and the mediation of disagreements between other criminals.

The term Mafia has become synonymous in English with organized crime, but technically Mafia refers only to the Sicilian organization and its Sicilian American counterpart in the United States.

Women in the Mafia

Men have dominated the history of organized crime as bosses, capos, soldiers and associates.

They traditionally relegated women to servile roles as prostitutes, shills, dancers and servers.

America’s La Cosa Nostra and Sicily’s Mafia are old-style patriarchies.

In Mob movies, females typically portray mothers, wives, siblings, girlfriends, “molls” and, at best, crime-wise, low-level smugglers.

The Mafia is a criminal organization renowned for being "full male chauvinists" (Pizzini-Gambetta 1999, 257) where no woman has ever been admitted into in.

However, despite their exclusion, women have featured in norms upheld by this criminal group.

The Mafia is usually depicted, especially by the media, as a conservative, male-dominated organization, but it is probably less backward and more flexible than the rest of society would like to think and believe.

A "good" woman of the Mafia is expected to dedicate her life to her family and especially to her husband.

Women who participate in Mafia's illicit activities are usually unemployed and live in the most deprived areas of Sicilian cities.

These types of women are quite easy targets for Cosa Nostra.

Usually they are contacted "through an intermediary (so that, if captured will no be in the position to tell anything about the organization) and to offer them a relatively easy way to make money, selling drugs in the areas where they live, usually from their own homes and frequently using their children as couriers" (De Pretis 1996, 5).

These are the types of activities that women tend to be selected for.

Different from men, women can move freely in their environment without arousing suspicions in the police.

In addition, with the growth of the international drug trade (particularly towards the United States), which enabled the Mafia to expand, the organization was forced to "employ" more workers, including women.

Women took advantage of prejudice: they passed unsuspected across international borders, where the presence of female customs officers to search them was exceptional.

It is also important to note that "although these women are recruited primarily as a criminal force, they often have to accept sexual intercourse with their referents, who regard this practice as their own right" (De Pretis 1996, 6).

It can be said that for long time, the Italian law favoured female criminals and indeed their partners, albeit indirectly.

For example, Mafiosi used women's names to register companies, properties and bank accounts.

It can be claimed that the system worked perfectly for the honoured organization because "women, even wives of high-ranking Mafiosi, were considered beyond suspicion. Since there was not legal definition of the Mafia, there was no way of connecting a bank account in a woman's name with a drug smuggling ring" (Longrigg 1997, 18).

Anti-Mafia crackdowns by Italian police started in the 1980s with stringent new laws.

According to the investigative news website TransCrime, while Italian courts indicted only one female boss in 1989, they indicted 89 of them in 1995.

Male bosses headed for prison commonly hand their assets over to their wives or sisters. Even though women made up only 2.5 percent of those sent to prison for Mafia-linked crimes, they controlled a third of Mafia financial resources.

Women have served as acting bosses in Italy’s major crime families, including the ’Ndrangheta and Camorra.

“There is a growing number of women who hold executive roles,” Gaetano Maruccia, an Italian police commander in greater Naples, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper in 2009. “They are either widows or wives of husbands who have been put in prison. They hold the reins. They’re very good at mapping out strategy, even sharper (than the men).”

Example: Maria Licciardi

Naples, Italy, is the home of the Camorra, a group of savvy, ruthless organized criminal clans that try to work together but have a history of deadly internal clashes.

By the late 1990s, during a murderous feud among Camorra cliques, a Neapolitan woman in her late 40s, Maria Licciardi, materialized as the boss of one of the largest Camorra families, the Secondigliano clan.

In 2001, while a fugitive from the law for two years, Licciardi made it onto a list compiled by Italian police of the nation’s thirty most wanted criminals.

Licciardi was born in 1951 in the Secondigliano section of northern Naples.

Some came to regard her as a boss within the Camorra organized crime group from 1993 to 2001.

Her ascendancy to the apex of a Camorra crime group occurred as women were stepping into leadership roles in the syndicate left open by men arrested, imprisoned or killed in the 1990s and 2000s.

That trend continued alongside battles won by Italy’s criminal justice system.

Some wives of Mafia bosses will cut and package cocaine and heroin for their husbands at home while also performing traditional family duties such as cooking, cleaning and raising children.

While men mostly handle the violent side of things, some of these women are as capable of making threats and extorting money from victims, and running drug sales operations, as their male spouses. Licciardi was one such person.

She grew up with a close-knit family deeply involved in the Camorra syndicate. Her father served as a clan boss.

She seized power as a “madrina” (godmother) in the Secondigliano clan after police arrested her two brothers, Pietro and Vincenzo, and her husband, Antonio Teghemi.

She took over the mantle to manage the clan’s prostitution, drug trafficking, cigarette smuggling, extortion and other rackets.

Smart and practical, steeped in Camorra business, she conversed with various male Camorra bosses, listening, debating and taking action as their equal.

During the late 1990s, Licciardi gained the confidence of the “guappos” (bosses) of twenty warring criminal gangs within the Camorra in Naples.

She used her skills as a negotiator to convince them that fighting was bad for business and unity would bring more money for everyone and avoid bloodshed.

Her view held sway in Naples. For several months, there were no Mob-related slayings in the city.

Then, a gang war erupted over a substantial shipment of heroin from Istanbul:

The cache was not refined, too strong and posed a deadly risk for users. Licciardi rejected the drugs and ordered the load returned.

A rival clan, the Lo Russo, disobeyed, snatched the drug supply and sold the powder in small bags.

As it turned out, the heroin was indeed too pure to use, and nearly a dozen addicts died on city streets.

Publicity about the deaths led police to arrest various known local hoodlums. The fragile union Licciardi created fell apart.

Rival Camorra clans began to rebel.

Over 8 days, they shot several of her clan’s people to death.

One of her nephews died in the clashes.

Licciardi fought back with her gunmen.

Within a few days, in revenge, she allegedly had 14 people murdered.

Police believe Licciardi commanded the deaths of about 30 people in all.

Her petite stature emboldened some to assign her the nickname “la piccolina,” or the little one.

Others named her the “Camorra Princess.”

Still, she proved herself as unabashed as her male counterparts in ordering people killed.

Neapolitan police came after her with an arrest warrant in 1999.

Police raided the meeting of 13 Mafia bosses and arrested them, but Licciardi eluded the cops.

She went into hiding until officers pulled a car over outside Naples, and recognized her in it, in 2001.

Since then, Licciardi has been in prison, living under the harsh conditions of isolation from the outside world as dictated by Italian law for convicted Mafiosi.

She has dropped out of the limelight, but not from her clan’s rackets.

In 2009, Anna Maria Zaccaria, a sociologist at Naples Federico II University, told the Associated Press: “She’s in prison, but she still commands.”

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Thanks for this request, I found this quite interesting. You could use stories like Maria Licciardi's as inspiration. And additional stories I found [1, 2] that you could do further research on, since this is a really long post already. Hope this helps with your writing!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Thanks to screamingflutes for sending in this crazy 1950 building in Montreal, Canada. 2bds, 2ba, $763,500. You gotta see this.

If you were a fan of the game Chutes & Ladders, like to rollerblade or skateboard, this home is perfect for you. Look at the ramps. (Just don't go thru the window.)

Actually, these little jumps would land you in the sofa.

The glass walls provide a lovely view of the deck and garden.

Look at this. Do you love the way they lift to reveal the kitchen? If you left a mess, and company comes, just close it.

Now, this is a built-in dining table.

So, here we are in the kitchen. Check out the crooked duct and wall- is that a reflection? I'm getting a little disoriented. Kitchen's nice, though.

This has to be my favorite house to date.

I'm seeing like a weird mirror or some portal to another dimension up ahead. This is actually bedroom #1.

This is the area under the bedroom. Actually, it looks like it could be made into another bedroom.

It looks like that black end table is a built-in.

I like the fireplace- look at the large firebox, although I think it may be an electric display. This area is set up as an office.

In this house, you definitely remove your shoes- look at the white stairs. Love that big gold cabinet.

It's actually the bathroom. Well, it has a lot of storage. There's the sink at the end.

This is beautiful, if disorienting.

The shower is magnificent. It appears to come to a point.

Then up the stairs, there's a lofted bedroom with a terrace.

Looking up from the 1st fl. That's an art piece.

And, this is a bathroom with beautiful marble walls.

Beautiful private covered terrace outside. Love the ivy-covered wall.

Then, this is the rooftop deck. You'd have to make sure you trim the grass around the a/c units and stuff.

https://www.centris.ca/fr/maison~a-vendre~montreal-rosemont-la-petite-patrie/17623955?

[vintagelasvegas]

7:30 AM, May 8, 1953 - Atomic blast and mushroom cloud 75 miles away, seen from Hotel Last Frontier, Las Vegas Strip.

The blast was at Nevada Test Site; the photo was a planned promotional effort by the Las Vegas News Bureau.

The News Bureau, the resort industry’s own PR team whose mission it was to get the name “Las Vegas” into the national media by any means possible, found the series of atomic tests in the 1950s to be a reliable success. An earlier photo by Bureau photographer Don English showing an atomic cloud rising in the distance over downtown Las Vegas skyline had been his biggest success to date with his photo published in LIFE and newspapers around the world.

English planned these photos for the May 8th test blast hoping for a similar success. He was perched on a balcony at Hotel Last Frontier facing northwest, overlooking the courtyard and pool. It was early-morning on a day that wasn’t particularly hot, with the swimmers possibly also positioned for the photo.

The covered wagons in the distance are the hotel's Last Frontier Village theme park. The screen of Motor-Vu Drive-In theater is beyond the hotel. A Union Pacific train passed in the distance of the second photo.

[batboyblog]

Welcome to Infrastructure Week, Biden edition.

For the 4 years of the Trump Presidency it felt like every other week was gonna be "Infrastructure Week" but some piece of chaos derailed the Trump White House's plans.

well Yesterday, May 13th 2024, The Biden Administration declared this week Infrastructure Week to highlight ALL the major work they've done in the last 3 years.

Under the 2021  Bipartisan Infrastructure Law $454 billion in funding has gone to over 56,000 specific projects across all 50 states, the territories, DC, and tribal communities.

The White House launched a Map of all the projects you can look at

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is part of President Biden's wider Investing in America agenda, and together with the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the American Rescue Plan, all passed by Biden and Democrats in Congress has brought $866 billion dollars in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments.

They released a State by State factsheet to show projects in all 50 states, all the territories and DC

Roads & Bridges: The Biden Administration has launched improvements on 257,000 miles of roads, and repaired 13,000 bridges. This $300 billion investment in our roads and bridges is the biggest since President Eisenhower’s interstate highway system in the 1950s. The Administration has given special attention to addressing historic injustice in our infrastructure. Many minority communities have been divided by highway bypass projects from the 1940s forward, such as the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta Georgia. The Biden-Harris Administration is now helping reconnect divided communities and righting historic wrongs. The Department of Transportation put out a video highlighting the story of Philadelphia's Chinatown, how being split in half and have a multilane highway in the middle of their community effects them, and how the Stitch project will positively impact the people who live there who have fought for years for such relief.

Rail: The Biden Administration has invested  $66 billion for rail, the largest investment in passenger rail since the inception of Amtrak. The President recently announced $16.4 billion for 25 passenger rail projects on the Northeast Corridor. This will improve service for riders from Boston to Washington DC. President Biden has also announced $8.2 billion in new funding for 10 major high speed passenger rail projects across the country. These include a high speed rail project to connect Los Angeles with Las Vegas, which broke ground April 22nd. Planned to be finished in 2028 in time for the LA Olympics, the train will take 2 hours to get from Rancho Cucamonga, California to downtown Las Vegas making it the fastest way between the two cities.

Transit and School Buses: The Administration has invested $90 billion in public transit, the largest in American history. To date the DoT has helped replace 3,000 public buses with low or zero emission buses while the EPA has replaced 5,000 school buses with clean buses.

Electric Vehicle Charging, EV Batteries & Critical Materials: The Biden Administration is the first to directly invest in electric vehicle charging. the number of publicly available charging ports on America’s roads has surpassed 182,000, over a 90% increase since President Biden took office. The President has also invested in domestic manufacturing of batteries, already five manufacturing plants have broken ground.

Clean Water: The President invested over $50 billion government-wide for the largest upgrade to the nation’s water infrastructure in history. This funding places us on a path to meet the President’s commitment to replace every toxic lead pipe in America and works to close the wastewater gap for 2 million people who lack basic sanitation. These funds have already financed over 1,400 drinking water and wastewater projects across the country, including over 800 projects that will deliver clean water for Tribal communities that lack basic water services. To date, the Administration has deployed funding that will help replace up to 1.7 million toxic lead pipes. 

High-Speed Internet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $65 billion to help ensure that everyone in America has access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet—regardless of their income, race, or zip code.  Over the last year, all 56 states and territories have developed their plans for how they will spend more than $40 billion in funding to connect every unserved location within their borders. That funding comes atop $1 billion for middle-mile infrastructure, which will build more than 12,000 miles of fiber across 370 counties. These projects, will connect 10,500 people, 1,600 farms, and 295 businesses directly to fiber networks. The Department of Commerce has also awarded 148 Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) grants, serving over 280 Tribal Governments, which will connect more than 65,000 Tribal households, subsidizing thousands of devices, and funding digital inclusion activities for Tribal communities. 

Deploying Clean Energy: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes more than $62 billion in funding at the Department of Energy to advance our clean energy future by investing in clean energy demonstration and deployment projects, developing new technologies, and modernizing our power grid. This includes an investment of over $20 billion to upgrade the nation’s grid—a critical component to achieve President Biden’s goal of delivering a 100% carbon-pollution free power sector by 2035. 

Legacy Pollution: Thanks to funding in the The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law the EPA has been able to cap 8,000 orphaned oil and gas wells, with tens of thousands more to be plugged in the years to come. Over 100 Superfund sites have also been cleaned up or started with funds from the Law as well.

And More!

[notbecauseofvictories]

The full list is quite long, so I didn't want to clutter up the last post with it---still, it is impressive to see them all laid out together. So without further ado!

THE 50 MOVIES AND 50ISH BOOKS I WATCHED/READ IN 2024

MOVIES

The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) Emilia Pérez (2024) Wicked (2024) American Psycho (2000) Heavy Trip (2018) La Planète sauvage / Fantastic Planet (1973) The Slipper and the Rose (1973) Bottoms (2023) I Saw the TV Glow (2024) *We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021) Oddity (2024) Maxxxine (2024) *The Substance (2024) *The Wicker Man (1973) Housebound (2014) Problemista (2023) Showing Up (2023) *Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) It Comes at Night (2017) The Boy and the Heron (2023) Abigail (2024) Seven Samurai (1954) The Iron Claw (2023) Talk to Me (2023) Bodies Bodies Bodies (2023) Rashomon (1950) *M (1931) Lord of Misrule (2023) The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) *Crimes of the Future (2022) Sanctuary (2022) After Yang (2022) **The Florida Project (2017) Pig (2021) The Favourite (2018) Poor Things (2023) Infinity Pool (2023) The Feast (2021) Office Space (1999) *Corsage (2022) Robots (2023) The Deer King (2021) Madame de… (1953) Orphée (1950) Master Gardener (2022) *Something in the Dirt (2022) Black Orpheus (1959) Priscilla (2023) How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022) *The Lure (2015) To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

BOOKS

The Shambling Guide to New York City, Ghost Train to New Orleans, Mur Lafferty What Feasts At Night, T. Kingfisher *Bad Girls, Camila Sosa Villada Don't Fear the Reaper, Stephen Graham Jones *Vintner's Luck, Elizabeth Knox The Barrow Will Send What it May, Margaret Killjoy You Know How the Story Goes, Thomas Olde Heuvelt Bloodchild, Wild Seed, Octavia E. Butler The Angel of Indian Lake, Stephen Graham Jones The Default World, Naomi Kanakia Fantasyland, Mike Bockoven Something is Killing the Children, issues 1-15 The Night Eaters Book 1, Book 2, Marjorie Liu This Wretched Valley, Jenny Kiefer These Deathless Bones, Cassandra Khaw *Dead Inside, Chandler Morrison Mental Diplopia, Julianna Baggott A Human Stain, Kelly Robson The Shape of My Name, Nino Cipri Daughter of Necessity, Marie Brennan The Mist, Stephen King A Skinful of Shadows, Frances Hardinge The Chalk Man, C. J. Tudor *The Rehearsal, Eleanor Catton Come Closer, Sara Gran The Underwater Welder, Jeff Lemire Blink, Christopher Sebela Pulling the Wings Off Angels, KJ Parker Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock, Maud Woolf An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, Helene Tursten Thornhedge, T. Kingfisher HEX, Thomas Olde Heuvelt Midnight Rooms, Donyae Coles Aglaeca, Mohnfisch Dr. Limos Plays God, Stevie Barot Home by the Rotting Sea, Otava Heikkila Last Crane, Narsid Sacred Bodies, Ver No Trouble at All, Various Authors (short story collection) *Wylding Hall, Elizabeth Hand Glass House, Paul Jessup Agony's Lodestone, Laura Keating * Big Swiss, Jen Beagin House of Rot, Danger Slater Dreadful, Rebecca Rozakis *Diavola, Jennifer Thorne Lute, Jennifer Thorne Regrettably, I Am About To Cause Trouble, Amie McNee The Rules Upheld by No One, Amie McNee The Sacrifice, Rin Chupeco The Bog Wife, Kay Chronister The Unmothers, Leslie J. Anderson *The Eyes Are the Best Part, Monika Kim Paying for It, Chester Brown Snow, Ronald Malfi Midnight on Beacon Street, Emily Ruth Verona Haunt Sweet Home, Sarah Pinsker The Doll-Master, Joyce Carol Oates The Third Person, Emma Grove The Werewolf at Dusk, David Small It's Lonely At The Centre Of The Earth, Zoe Thorogood Mom's Cancer, Brian Fies Mary Astor's Purple Diary, Edward Sorel Impossible People, Julia Wertz Roaming, Jillian Tamaki

[deadmotelsusa]

Tropicana, the second-oldest resort casino on the Las Vegas Strip, is closing.

On May 9, 2023, it was announced that a 33,000-seat baseball stadium will be built on the Tropicana site. It has to be removed by late 2024 so construction can start.

The Tropicana dates back to 1955, when hotelier Ben Jaffe, part owner of the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, purchased the land. Gone is the original showroom where Les Folies Bergère dancers danced for 50 years, where Siegfried & Roy made their Vegas debut in 1967 and where Muhammad Ali held public training sessions for his fight against Ron Lyle in 1975.

Pictured here in the 1950s, 1990s and 2023. Two of my favorite features are the ornate stained-glass ceiling (built in 1979) above the blackjack tables and the bright orange carpet.

[noneun]

Sarò distratto io...

ma dopo le critiche di Elena Cecchettin alla condanna dell'assassino di sua sorella, i giornali si sono affrettati a riportare il comunicato di ieri della Camera Penale Veneziana:

Non possiamo non evidenziare come le parole della Signora Elena Cecchettin sviliscano la funzione difensiva criticando le tesi sostenute dall’Avv. Caruso (...) appare un fuor d’opera farlo sui social, senza neppure avere contezza delle basi giuridiche sottese alle decisioni.

Ma non ho trovato nessun articolo che riportasse gli elogi dell'altro ieri dell'Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane alle parole di Gino Cecchettin e le successive aspre critiche a Matteo Salvini:

Davvero lezioni di grande civiltà che segnano la insuperabile distanza con la società politica e con i nostri governanti, impegnati, come sempre, a diffondere sguaiati e rabbiosi spot per la solita propaganda populista da bassifondi. Così, il ministro Salvini, perdendo una ghiotta occasione per tacere, si lancia in spericolati auspici di “lavori forzati” per l’imputato Turetta perché la sua detenzione non gravi economicamente sulla collettività. Forse il Ministro Salvini non conosce affatto le convenzioni internazionali vincolanti per l’Italia, fra tutte la Convenzione per la salvaguardia dei diritti dell’uomo e delle libertà fondamentali, comunemente nota come Convenzione Europea dei Diritti dell’Uomo (CEDU), sottoscritta proprio a Roma il 4 novembre 1950 e che all’art. 4 stabilisce che “Nessuno può essere costretto a compiere un lavoro forzato o obbligatorio”, così come analogamente statuito dall’art. 5 della Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione europea, adottata con il Trattato di Lisbona del 1 dicembre 2009. Forse le conosce e allora, cosa ben più grave, intenzionalmente le calpesta e con esse calpesta la Costituzione e quei principi che rappresentano un baluardo di civiltà e soprattutto impediscono che la nostra società precipiti verso la barbarie. Nell’un caso e nell’altro, in ogni caso, il Ministro dimostra una netta e incolmabile distanza con i valori di civiltà che hanno espresso i familiari stretti della povera Cecchettin, nonché l’assoluta urgenza di un accelerato corso di alfabetizzazione costituzionale a cui magari invitare gli altri noti esponenti del governo e del Parlamento, purtroppo non pochi, che, da una parte e dall’altra, ostendono una clamorosa ignoranza, oltre che il vilipendio della Costituzione e della Repubblica italiana. Se invece, il Ministro Salvini intendeva denunziare il fallimento economico – per noi anche sociale – del sistema penitenziario italiano che costa a tutti i cittadini più di 3 miliardi di euro l’anno, incapace di svolgere adeguata attività di risocializzazione e di reinserimento sociale, inutile alla prevenzione della recidiva giunta oramai al 70% di ricaduta nei reati, senza rispetto alcuno per la dignità dei detenuti e di coloro che svolgono la loro attività lavorativa, foriero del più alto numero di morti “in e di” carcere mai registrato prima d’ora, allora si attivi per una sessione parlamentare per discutere pubblicamente delle condizioni attuali delle carceri italiane, consentendo, così, ad un Parlamento, troppo muto, di intraprendere un percorso illuminato di riforme. In entrambi i casi, potrà contare sul contributo della comunità di penalisti che si spende continuamente per il superamento delle condizioni di inciviltà in cui si trova il mondo delle carceri italiane.

Mi sembra un filino più rilevante che un ministro mostri una clamorosa ignoranza in materia giuridica e costituzionale.

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

End of month update - May

Hello, all! This is the end-of-month update, where I post Tumblr’s current top four films that have received the highest percentage of “yes,” “no,” and “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

As of today, the top four films with the highest percentage of “yes” votes are:

Finding Nemo (2003) | Shrek (2001) | Monsters, Inc. (2001) | The Lion King (1994)

Next, the top four films with the highest percentage of “no” votes are:

Sausage Party (2016) | Pinocchio (2019) | Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) | All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

This top four changed through the new addition of Pinocchio (2019), which replaced Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Finally, the top four films with the highest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes are:

Like a Cat on a Highway (2017) | Dean Spanley (2008) | Monica and Friends: Bonds (2019) | Monsturd (2003)

This top four changed through the new additions of Like a Cat on a Highway (2017) and Dean Spanley (2008), which replaced Heroic Losers (2019) and Death Trance (2005).

Currently, The Incredibles (2004) is the still the only film to receive absolutely zero “haven’t heard of this” votes.

That’s it for May’s end-of-month update! Remember that you can view last month’s update by clicking here. Additionally, you can view the full ranked Letterboxd lists of movies that have come up on this blog by clicking the following links:

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “yes” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “no” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

Remember to vote on the polls that are currently running: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) | Now Add Honey (2015) | Lady Bird (2017) | Kath & Kimderella (2012) | Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012) | The Fly (1986) | First Reformed (2017) | Candleshoe (1977) | The Thief and the Cobbler (1993) | Addams Family Values (1993) | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) | The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) | Yentl (1983) | Two Times Lotte (1950) | The Fox and the Hound (1981) | Muriel's Wedding (1994) | The Loved Ones (2009) | Kenny (2006) | Winter Sleep (2014) | Mustang (2015) | The Butterfly's Dream (2013) | Re-Animator (1985) | Bride of Re-Animator (1990) | The Runaways (2010) | American Psycho (2000) | Nim's Island (2008) | No Reservations (2007) | Nancy Drew (2007) | Battle Royale (2000) | [REC] (2007) | La Vage aux Folles (1978) | Y Tu Mamá También (2001) | Beau Travail (1999) | Happy as Lazzarro (2018) | Farewell My Concubine (1993)

[tina-aumont]

Il Ladro di Venezia, 1950

"Il Ladro di Venezia" is a 1950 Italian film directed by John Brahm. The US title was "The Thief of Venice".

It was released in the US two years after being made.

Plot (it may contain spoilers)

In 1575 Venice, the Doge has just died and Scarpa the Grand Inquisitor leads a plot to seize control of Venice.

Disani, a popular admiral works to stop the Grand Inquisitor's power grab with the help of Lorenzo, one of his officers. They manage to get back to Venice in record time by promising the galley slaves their freedom. When they arrive back Disani is killed and Lorenzo goes into hiding.

Lorenzo continues the fight against Scarpa, who plans to marry Disani's daughter Francesca. Lorenzo and Francesca fall in love even though Lorenzo is also loved by tavern girl Tina.

Lorenzo's rebellion against Scarpa is successful.

Cast

Maria Montez - Tina

Paul Christian - Alfiere Lorenzo Contarini

Massimo Serato - Scarpa the Inquisitor

Faye Marlowe - Francesca Disani

Aldo Silvani - Capt. von Sturm

Luigi Saltamerenda - Alfredo

Guido Celano - Polo

Umberto Sacripante - Durro

Camillo Pilotto - Adm. Disani

Ferdinando Tamberlani - Lombardi

Liana Del Balzo - Duenna

Paolo Stoppa - Marco

Mario Tosi - Mario

Vinicio Sofia - Grazzi

Leonardo Scavino - Sharp Eye

Shooting

Filming started November 1949 and went until February. Then it resumed in June. The movie was shot on location in Italy with studio work done at Scalera Studios. Filming finished by March 1950.

While filming a scene in the canal, Maria Montez almost drown herself, that's why when the filming ended, she decided to write her will.

It was released in Rome on the 22nd December 1950 and Maria's character was highly praised by the press & critics.

Here you can watch part 1, part 2, part 3 & part 4

Scans from "María Montez: La Reina del Technicolor", book written by Antonio Pérez Arnay & ebay.

[wanderlustinwonderland18]

Turkkila & Versluis: “We Want To Differentiate Ourselves From Previous Years”

Earlier this month, ice dance couple Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis skated in the show L'Apprenti Sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) organized in Champéry, Switzerland. The choreography was done by Salome Brunner and Stéphane Lambiel. The Finns were the only ice dancers in the show. How did they end up there?

“Last year, I edited the music for Deniss Vasiljevs' free program The Lion King,” Matthias says. This season, Matthias has done ten different music cuts for Lambiel's students.

“Towards the end of May, Stéphane asked us if we would be interested in joining the show. It was a great honor,” he continues.

“We were with an amazing group of skaters, some of the world's best. It's unique to skate with a live pianist,” Juulia shares.

In the show, Juulia and Matthias performed to Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2. They presented wonderful lifts and spectacular movements. The international audience was impressed by the couple's soulful performance.

Finland's top couple has been training hard throughout the summer.

“Early May, we went to Rome for new choreography. In June, we had some vacation time and in July, we went to the Czech Republic for five weeks of summer camp,” Juulia says.

The rhythm dance theme for the 2024–25 season is Social Dancing from the 1950s–1970s.

“We chose music from the 1960s because we suspect that many teams will use disco from the 70s,” Juulia explains.

The pair found a go-go jive song that they immediately liked, and combined it with James Brown's classic I Got You.

“We wanted high energy music that the audience can recognize. There is no slow part in our rhythm dance. It is challenging,” Juulia reflects.

The couple's free dance is the Argentine Tango La Rubia Mirella, which is based on true events. The story was introduced to the couple by an Argentinian tango dancer, who worked with them on and off the ice.

“The beginning is quite soft, but the end is really strong. We want to show that we can be strong and fast. The language of movement is traditional tango, but the program is not built from typical dance movements,” Matthias shares.

Juulia plays a strong woman initially, but is used and abused by men. Matthias plays the role of a villain. The ending is dramatic.

“When there is a clear story, you have to bring in more emotion and drama,” Juulia states.

The pair's programs will first be seen in the Challenger Series competitions, followed by the Grand Prix events in Finland and China.

“We are aiming for medal positions in both GP competitions, and thus a place in the GP final. We are trying to collect world ranking points so that we can start competitions in the right groups during the Olympic season,” the couple says in unison.

With a fierce tango, Juulia and Matthias will be taking a different path this upcoming season, changing their image as classical lyrical skaters.

“We want to differentiate ourselves from previous years. A new combination lift is in the works for the free program, and the choreographic elements will be totally in character with the tango,” Juulia sums up.

[blueiscoool]

Century-Old Clara Bow Silent Film Believed Lost Forever Found

Long-Lost Clara Bow Silent Film Found in a Omaha Parking Lot.

The Pill Pounder, one of the key titles in the CV of the iconic flapper, has enjoyed a belated revival at the San Francisco Silent film festival

A century after she first began to turn heads, Clara Bow is “It” once more. The iconic flapper of the silent film era inspired Margot Robbie’s character Nellie in Damien Chazelle’s Hollywood epic Babylon, is namechecked on Taylor Swift’s forthcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, and yesterday at the San Francisco Silent film festival, one of her earliest films was shown for the first time since the days of bathtub gin.

The story of the film’s discovery has already caused excitement online. Film-maker Gary Huggins inadvertently snapped up a slice of lost silent film history at an auction in a car park in Omaha, Nebraska, that was selling old stock from a distribution company called Modern Sound Pictures. Hoping to bid on a copy of the 1926 comedy Eve’s Leaves that he had spotted on top of a pile, Huggins was informed that he could only buy the whole pallet of movies, not individual cans. The upside? The lot was his for only $20.

Huggins soon discovered that his new pile of reels included 1923’s The Pill Pounder, a silent comedy that had been thought to be lost for decades. It is a short, two-reel film, shot on Long Island, New York, and directed by Gregory La Cava, best known for later classics such as My Man Godfrey (1936) and Stage Door (1937). The film stars rubber-faced vaudeville veteran Charlie Murray, the so-called “Irish comedian” who was actually from Laurel, Indiana. He plays a hapless pharmacist, the “pill pounder” of the title, who is trying to host a clandestine poker game in the back room of his drugstore. What few realised until Huggins watched the film, was that it also features 17-year-old Bow in a supporting role. She plays the girlfriend of Murray’s son, played by James Turfler, who had already appeared with Bow in her second film Down to the Sea in Ships, directed by Elmer Clifton and screened in 1922. Turfler’s character is the butt of some bizarre gags. At one point, he chugs a jug of effervescent “fomo seltzer” and Bow watches in horror as he floats up to the ceiling.

In this, one of her earliest surviving performances on film, Bow looks even younger than her years. Although she lacks the sleek Hollywood glamour she later acquired, she has the charisma to turn a thankless bit-part into something of a scene-stealer. The critics took note: based on the evidence of this film, the Exhibitors’ Trade Review described her as “perhaps the most promising of the younger actresses”. In his introduction to the film at San Francisco’s grand Palace of Fine Arts theatre, Bow’s biographer, the screenwriter David Stenn, speculated that the actor may have forgotten that she made the film, as she never talked about it. It was made during a traumatic period in her life, only a few weeks after her mother’s death following prolonged mental illness. He invited us to imagine how Bow might have felt appearing in a lighthearted slapstick comedy in such circumstances.

The film, which has been restored by the festival’s organisers and was screened with accompanying music from composer Wayne Barker, now looks remarkably good for its age. The festival’s senior film restorer, Kathy Rose O’Regan, said it was in great shape when they received it. She added: “We imagined it was screened maybe a few times, but there’s hardly any damage – a few scratches here and there, some dirt, but overall in pretty stellar condition.”

Now it has been freshened up and looks its best, but it is still incomplete, being in what Stenn called a “beta version”.

That’s because the copy Huggins found was not from the 1920s, but a 35mm print from the 1950s or 1960s of an edit of the film that was destined to become part of a 16mm compilation of old silent films with a comic voiceover poking fun at its archaic aspects. The intertitles have been removed and there are a few scenes and shots missing, too.

This process is deeply unflattering to old movies, but it has been responsible for preserving versions of silent films that would otherwise have been lost, including the Lois Weber melodrama Shoes from 1916. And the lack of titles are no barrier to following the film.

“For me, it is a pretty perfect 14-minutes of fun,” says O’Regan. “It would be nice to know what the titles were, but you can certainly get the gist without them.”

Stenn called the tale of the film’s discovery “miraculous” and led a round of applause for Huggins, who was in the audience. He explained that there was reason to believe that some of the discarded material was among the other cans that were sold at the Omaha auction. The hunt is on to round out The Pill Pounder, and several people have joined in the search, combing through thousands of reels. One Omaha-based film-maker and silent film enthusiast, Alexander Payne, was quick to offer his support.

The film fills in a brief blank period in Bow’s filmography. She shot the role – probably in just a couple of days – in the early “false start” phase of her film career. Bow, a tomboy from a troubled home in Brooklyn, made her debut after winning a magazine talent competition in 1921 but struggled to get her career off the ground.

“I wore myself out goin’ from studio t’studio, from agency t’agency, applyin’ for every possible part,” she later recalled. “But there was always something. I was too young, or too little, or too fat. Usually I was too fat.”

In 1923, she found her way into a handful of films, including The Pill Pounder, where she had the chance to shine in supporting roles, and this is when she finally got her ticket to Hollywood and Paramount.

“She’s not the star of the film, but you can’t take her eyes off her,” says O’Regan. “For the few minutes she’s there she’s divine, she’s fun, she’s full of energy.”

The festival screened The Pill Pounder alongside another new restoration. The feature film Dancing Mothers directed by Herbert Brenon in 1926, is a flapper drama that Bow made for Paramount, in one of her last supporting roles. She plays the reckless daughter of a lonely woman (Alice Joyce) who tires of staying home while her husband and daughter party hard in New York and steps out to go nightclubbing. Bow completely pulls focus from the grownups around her, playing a hedonistic minx, whose body spasms with pleasure when she sips a cocktail.

Stenn described the later film as “like watching a star being born”. Finally, Bow was able to make good on her early promise and start her career as a leading lady. With the breakout comedy It directed by Clarence Badger in 1927, she became a genuine star for the ages. It is easy to look back and assume Bow was destined to become a sensation, but her overnight stardom took a good five years of hard work. The Pill Pounder offers a fascinating glimpse into the route that she took to get there.

By Pamela Hutchinson.

[sleepanonymous]

This is a reminder to everyone in North America who is unable to get tickets for the pre-sale and general sale of Sleep Token’s Teeth of God tour. DO NOT buy resale tickets through third-party vendors like StubHub, Seat Geek, Vivid Seats, etc. Tickets for the Teeth of God tour are mobile-only and non-transferable. This means the seller will not be able to transfer the tickets you purchased from them. The only reliable way to purchase tickets to this tour is through Ticketmaster or your local venue’s ticketing system. Please protect yourself and do not get scammed. If you do not have tickets and need tickets, check out the list I’ve created below the cut. Once pre-sales/general sales are over, I’ll update this post with more links. For more context, check my post here.

Saturday, April 27 – Las Vegas, Nevada Sick New World Music Festival Purchase Tickets through Sick New World’s Website. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.

Tuesday, April 30 – Phoenix, Arizona Arizona Financial Theatre 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85003 (602) 379-2800 Purchase tickets resale through Ticketmaster.

Wednesday, May 1 – Albuquerque, New Mexico Revel Entertainment Center 4720 Alexander Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 321-0406 Purchase tickets resale through Prekindle.

Friday, May 3 – Austin, Texas H-E-B Center 2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park, TX 78613 (512) 600-5000 Purchase Tickets resale through Ticketmaster.

Saturday, May 4 – Dallas, Texas Toyota Music Factory 316 W Las Colinas Blvd., Irving, TX 75039 (469) 840-9730 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Monday, May 6 – Tampa, Florida Yuengling Center 12499 USF Bull Run Drive, Tampa, FL 33617 (813) 974-3111 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Tuesday, May 7 – Atlanta, Georgia Coca-Cola Roxy 800 Battery Ave SE #500, Atlanta, GA 30339 (470) 351-3866 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Wednesday, May 8 – Asheville, North Carolina ExploreAshville.com Arena 87 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 259-5736 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Friday, May 10 – St. Louis, Missouri The Factory 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, MO 63005 (314) 423-8500 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Sunday, May 12 – Morrison, Colorado Red Rocks Amphitheatre 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison, CO 80465 (720) 865-2494 Purchase Tickets through AXS. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.

Tuesday May 14 – Des Moines, Iowa Vibrant Music Hall 2938 Grand Prairie Pkwy, Waukee, IA 50263 (515) 895-4980 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Wednesday, May 15 & Thursday, May 16 – Chicago, Illinois Salt Shed 1357 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 (708) 967-2168 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.

Saturday, May 18 – Columbus, Ohio Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival Purchase Tickets through Sonic Temple’s Website. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.

Sunday, May 19 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Petersen Events Center 3719 Terrace St, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (412) 648-3054 Purchase Tickets through AXS.

Monday, May 20 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Met 858 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19130 (800) 653-8000 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Wednesday, May 22 – New York, New York Radio City Music Hall 1260 6th Ave, New York, NY 10020 (212) 465-6000 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.

Friday, May 24 – Boston, Massachusetts MGM Music Hall 2 Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215 (617) 488-7540 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Saturday, May 25 – Laval, Quebec Place Bell 1950 Rue Claude-Gagné, Laval, QC H7N 0E4, Canada (514) 492-1775 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Monday, May 27 & Tuesday May 28– Toronto, Ontario Massey Hall 178 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 1T7, Canada (416) 872-4255 Purchase Tickets through Massey Hall.

[bitter69uk]

Died on this day: Britain's answer to Jayne Mansfield, TV personality, b-movie starlet, pin-up, Stockport’s finest export and all-round glamour girl (when that was still a legit job title) – the fabulously ridiculous Sabrina (née Norma Ann Sykes, 19 May 1936 - 24 November 2016)! In her 1950s and 60s heyday, the sex kitten’s sensational 42½ inch bust and a 19-inch waist earned her lecherous publicity titles like “Britain's Finest Hourglass”, “Queen of the Big Top" and "The Juliet with the Built-in Balcony.” Sabrina also had great taste in men: she enjoyed a tempestuous fling with Hollywood film noir tough guy Steve Cochran in the fifties. I treasure Sabrina’s gloriously awful performance in 1962 American sexploitation masterpiece Satan in High Heels. But I also clearly need to seek out The Ice House (1969) (aka Love in Cold Blood, aka The Passion Pit) in which Sabrina plays Venus De Marco, a role originally intended for Jayne Mansfield before her death. (The part was also offered to Mamie Van Doren, Diana Dors and Joi Lansing). Pictured: Sabrina in Las Vegas, 1962.

[vintagelasvegas]

Westerner club, 21-23 Fremont St, 1950

Opened in Spring 1950, the Westerner club was a partnership of Benny Binion, Emilio Goergetti, Frank Converse, and landlord Catherine Horden, occupying the original site of Las Vegas Club. The building had been completely remodeled by architect F. A. Ripley of Billings, MT. Binion left the partnership soon after the opening of the club.

The overheard mural titled “Pioneers Westerward” was completed July 1950. The 20 x 45-foot, 7-ton enamel-porcelain piece was created by Payne Mahoney of Oakland, CA, based on an original painting by artists Leroy Green and John Greenleaf. The mural acted as a facade that covered the original building. About two years later a marquee was installed that covered most of the mural. The mural may have been demolished along with the building in '62.

Pioneer Club (25 Fremont), left. Kolstad's Toggery (17 Fremont), right.

Photos: L. F. Manis Photograph Collection (PH-00100) UNLV Special Collections & Archives. Sources: Huge Mural to Adorn Facade of Westerner Club Monday. Review-Journal, 7/16/50. New Sign Goes Up on Westerner Club. Review-Journal, 7/23/50.