#Nightclub Bus Queens

[nycpartybusrental1]

Unforgettable Moments: Using a Party Bus Rental in NYC to Make Lasting Memories

Are you planning an important event in New York City? Do you want to guarantee a fantastic and memorable experience for both you and your guests? You only need to look at NYC Party Bus Rental!

We provide excellent party bus rental services in NYC because we know how important it is to make special memories with your loved ones. For any special occasion, including birthdays, bachelorette parties, and tailgating, we offer the ideal mode of transportation.

For those searching for a different and thrilling way to spend their birthday, our Birthday Party Bus Hire in Queens is a great option. Modern music systems, party lighting, and roomy seats are just a few of the features that our buses are outfitted with to ensure a pleasurable and pleasant travel. Bring your loved ones along, and allow us to take you on a birthday tour around the city.

Forget about parking and licensed drivers if you're coming for Tailgating Event Transportation in Staten Island; leave the transportation to us. Your company will arrive in style and safely when you choose our tailgating event transportation service. On the bus, you may take part in pre-game celebrations as our skilled drivers handle New York City's busy streets. Additionally, you can carry on the celebration on the bus after the event without worrying about parking or traffic.

If you are planning the next bride's bachelorette party to remember, we have you covered with our Luxury Bachelorette Party Bus in Queens. Our buses, with their fully functional bars, LED lighting, and plush leather seating, provide the perfect party atmosphere. While you groove to your preferred music and dance, our professional driver will take you to the greatest locations in New York City. While you and your pals concentrate on savoring your final days as a single lady, let us handle the transportation.

Not only are our party buses perfect for special occasions, but they may also be hired for business gatherings or an evening spent with friends. We provide a variety of vehicles to suit varying group sizes, ranging from opulent coaches with 50 seats to party buses with 20 seats. Additionally, you may customize your bus hire by selecting the schedule, stops, and music.

Customer satisfaction and safety are our main concerns at NYC Party Bus Rental. To guarantee a secure and pleasurable travel, our buses go through routine maintenance and inspections. While you kick back and unwind, our courteous and competent drivers will take care of all your transportation needs.

For additional information and a quotation for your event, get in contact with us at 347-506-1682. Visit our official website at:- www.nycpartybusrental.com!

[tryin]

the loveliest time album review

anything to be with you (7/10) : this song just feels like 70s on a silver platter. love the drums so much. i love crj so much. perfect first song. listened to this on repeat bc my data died after loading just this song on a bus journey that felt neverending. very good.

kamikaze (8/10) : i want to eat this track. this song feels like the bgm to a movie scene where the protag dances with their love interest at a nightclub.

after last night (9/10) : one of my fav tracks off the album. i love the mario kart esque ? feeling to the intro. also the chorus is so wonderful. would've been a 10 if there were more harmonies ig but this is amazing anyway. would've set this as my ringtone if i wasn't emotionally attached to my current one

aeroplanes (10/10) : my real fav track. so so so good. so musically gorgeous. insanely 70s im in love with her. good lyrics. i love this song so so much.

shy boy (7/10) : great song. i didn't like it on the first listen but ive grown to love it a lot on later listens. the Synth [chefs kiss]

kollage (9/10) : would've been my fav if it didn't rip my heart out. the lyrics could've been more poetic? the lyrics are too simple idk how to explain it? it feels so sad and guilty regardless though. ive not listened to this as much as the others bc it just makes me super sad.

shadow (7/10) : this song is so gorgeous i need to inject it directly into my bloodstream. the overlaps!!!!!!! it's so good but it didn't stand out in the album tbh. it feels like honey

psychedelic switch (7/10) : this should've been in barbie. crj was ROBBED.

so right (6/10) : this song felt very fletcher-like? cool song fun lyrics perfect song to drive to

come over (7/10) : so fun! i love the beat loads. the queen of pop has done it again.

put it to rest (9/10) : so so so good. imogen heap vibes. have been and will be listening to this on loop.

stadium love (6/10) : she's straight up just flexing her vocal chops on this album i love it. gorgeous song but it feels like it's missing something? idk.

weekend love (7/10) : unique?!?! fun as hell outro to the album. haven't listened to this as much as the others but this feels like smth that would be perfect for a silly little romcom

[qnewsau]

Adelaide queer venue 'My Lover Cindi' set to close its doors

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/adelaide-queer-venue-my-lover-cindi-set-to-close-its-doors/

Adelaide queer venue 'My Lover Cindi' set to close its doors

Accessible LGBTQIA+ nightclub and venue My Lover Cindi has announced it will be closing its doors from June 1.

As a safe and accessible venue, the loss of My Lover Cindi will be keenly felt by Adelaide’s queer community.

Owners Rachel Hosking and Kate Toone shared news of the venue’s impending closure on social media.

“We are filled with mixed emotions as we let you know that My Lover Cindi is closing its doors; heartbreak at the thought of not seeing your faces every weekend, concern at the hole this leaves in accessible queer options left on Kaurna Land,” they wrote.

“Hope that one of you will pick up the baton and begin a new journey inspired by ours, elation thinking about the times we have shared and the meaning we have made of this life, frustration at the crushing demands of this capitalist hellscape, and pride at the resilience, the joy and the solidarity that the Cindi’s community has showed over the last three years.

“We know that you will have mixed feelings too, you’ll likely have questions about how this has happened. The simple answer is that maintaining the exorbitant costs of a night-time venue has been near impossible for the whole three years and finally at this point we can no longer continue.

“We (and you all) have done everything possible to keep this place running but we are joining an ever-growing list of venues that just cannot function with the ‘post’-covid cost of living crisis.”

My Lover Cindi to host ‘Funeral Farewell Festival’ celebration 

Ensuring they farewell their community in style, My Lover Cindi will be wrapping up with a ‘Funeral Farewell Festival’.

“Cindi’s was always more than a space, it has been what it has been because of the community (you!),” Toone and Hosking wrote.

“We’ve crammed in something for absolutely everyone, so pick an event, grab ya mates and ya dates and and come give Cindi’s a send off that’ll go down in queer history.

“We love you all so very very much (more than you will ever know) and our lives will be forever changed by every interaction you’ve shared with us over this bar.”

Cindi’s Alt Funeral 

When: Friday May 31, 7PM to 2AM

Theme: 90s grunge and 2000s pop punk 

Feat. Church Moms, DJ Catey Rose and performances by Saskia, Ariel Drop and Kalopsia (FKA Say Gah). The evening will be hosted by emo fever dream Claire Parsons, with Infinite Worlds doing flash Tatts!

Cindi’s Funeral Celebration

When: Saturday June 1, 2pm to 2am across three events

1. 2pm-5pm DROP IN: Drop in, daytime markets and live music by Steph Daughtry and Erin & Lucinda

2. 5pm- 7pm SENSORY HOURS: Sensory Hours hosted by Diana Divine feat low music, neutral lights and a performance and capped ticketing (50 persons)

3. 7pm-2am LAST DANCE: A jam-packed night of queer celebration featuring performances from Loveit Murray, Dorian Courtisan, Miss Thermodynamics, Ariel Drop, UV Lite, Diana Divine, hosted by our king of camp, ANNIE from The Finest Filth. DJ Cookie and Nelya DJ on the decks to give the dance floor a final send-off that’ll be remembered forever. 

Theme:  FUNERAL … but make it FIRE. Lace and corsets, stockings and veils, knee-highs and mini skirts, bodices and blazers…

For more information and for tickets, visit Humanitix.

More South Australian News: 

Josh Cavallo wants the Gay Games to come to Adelaide

‘Save the queen’: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert bus found

AFLW power couple become mums for the first time

For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[brooklynlivingtips]

Things to consider before deciding to live in Bushwick, Brooklyn

The Brooklyn borough of New York City's Bushwick contains the neighborhood of Bushwick. Ridgewood, Queens to the east, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, and Williamsburg to the north, form its borders.

Once a neighborhood with a large German population, Bushwick has undergone numerous transformations and is today renowned for its varied population, street art, and nightlife culture. Bushwick has gained popularity in recent years as a destination for musicians, artists, and young professionals because of its reasonably priced homes and convenient access to Manhattan by subway. Read how buy my house fast for cash works in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The House of Yes, a well-liked performance space and nightclub, and the Bushwick Collective, a collection of murals and street art installations located around the neighborhood, are two famous Bushwick attractions. The Brooklyn Mirage, a sizable outdoor event venue, and Roberta's, a renowned pizzeria, are two further hotspots.

Like many New York City neighborhoods, Bushwick has seen phases of economic downturn and gentrification throughout its complicated and occasionally controversial history. It nevertheless continues to be a thriving, culturally diverse community with a distinct personality and identity.

How to spend time in Bushwick

Particularly for those interested in art, cuisine, and nightlife, Bushwick has a lot to offer in terms of things to do. Here are a few ideas:

See the street art: The Bushwick Collective is an artistic collective that has transformed the area into an outdoor gallery of murals and street art. To discover more about the artists and their creations, you may either explore the streets on your own or join a guided tour.

Go to the galleries: The art scene in Bushwick is growing, and there are many galleries showing the creations of both regional and international artists. The Sardine Gallery, the Fresh Window Gallery, and the Luhring Augustine Gallery are a few of the well-known ones.

Get a bite to eat: Bushwick is renowned for its diverse dining scene, offering everything from classic German cuisine to hip cafés and diners. Popular restaurants serve pizza at Roberta's, Venezuelan food at Arepera Guacuco, and Ethiopian food at Bunna Café.

Enjoy the nightlife: There are many bars, clubs, and music venues to pick from in Bushwick's thriving nightlife scene. While the Brooklyn Mirage accommodates outdoor concerts and events, the House of Yes is a well-known location for dance performances.

Go for a stroll in Maria Hernandez Park: This community park is a terrific spot to unwind, observe people, and enjoy the sunshine. Also, there are several community gatherings and performances hosted here all year long.

These are only a few of the numerous activities available in Bushwick. There is constantly something new to uncover because the neighborhood is continually changing.

Reasons to reside in Brooklyn's Bushwick

There are a number of reasons someone could decide to sell my house quick for cash, including:

Affordability: Bushwick is relatively reasonable in terms of housing costs when compared to other areas of Brooklyn or Manhattan. For people who wish to live in New York City but are on a tight budget, this makes it an appealing choice.

Cultural diversity: Bushwick is renowned for its multicultural neighborhood, which is home to people from all over the world. As a result, there are numerous opportunities to sample other foods, languages, and traditions, creating a complex cultural tapestry.

Arts and culture: Bushwick is home to a vibrant arts scene, with a wide variety of galleries, street art installations, and performance venues. This can be a big lure for musicians, painters, and other creative types.

Transportation: With a number of subway lines and bus routes passing through the area, Bushwick has excellent access to the rest of the city via public transportation.

A strong sense of community is still there in Bushwick despite its recent fast urbanization. For those looking to get involved and make a difference, there are many community events, festivals, and volunteer opportunities.

Of course, there are also possible cons to residing in Bushwick, including as gentrification issues, rising rents, and worries about neighborhood safety in some areas. When selecting if Bushwick is the location for you, as with any metropolitan region, it's crucial to do your research and consider the benefits and drawbacks.

[findhomeaway]

Discover Tropical Paradise: Newly Renovated Waikiki Grand Hotel Unit with Stunning Views and World-Class Amenities

Looking for the perfect tropical getaway? Look no further than Condo #176528, available to book directly from the owner at FindHomeAway.com! This charming unit is conveniently located just steps away from all of the world-class amenities Honolulu has to offer, including Waikiki Beach, Kapiolani Park, the Honolulu Zoo, and countless restaurants and shops.

Upon entering the unit, you'll be greeted by stunning views of Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean. The cozy space features a Queen bed, pull out couch, and kitchenette, making it the perfect place to unwind after a day of exploring. Relax and enjoy a movie, or cook a delicious meal in the kitchenette.

In addition to the inviting unit, the Waikiki Grand Hotel offers a variety of amenities to enhance your stay. Head up to the 10th floor sundeck for a refreshing swim in the pool, then grab a bite to eat at the on-site restaurant. Later, dance the night away at the hotel's nightclub or plan your activities with the help of the activities desk.

While staying at the Waikiki Grand Hotel, you'll be located in the heart of Waikiki, Oahu's most iconic tourist destination. This diverse and vibrant residential neighborhood has grown from a small community of surfers and artists in the 1960s to an urban neighborhood of high rises after a $100 million initiative in the 1970s. Along with the stunning beaches, such as Waikiki Beach, Kuhio Beach, Grays Beach, Fort DeRussy Beach, and Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki also includes local attractions like Kapiolani Park, Kahanamoku Lagoon, Kuhio Beach Park, and Ala Wai Harbor.

Getting around Waikiki is a breeze, with many bus routes going through the area and offering access to different parts of the island. Alternatively, ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are generally available at most times of the day, making it easy to get around and explore.

Don't miss the opportunity to experience the best of Waikiki! Book your stay at the Waikiki Grand Hotel and enjoy a tropical paradise filled with world-class amenities, stunning views, and endless activities. With so much to see and do in Waikiki, you'll want to come back again and again!

[utopiaskids]

Kim Kardashian Brings Back Y2K MySpace Vibes with "Milky Mani" Nail Trend

Kim Kardashian is a name that has become synonymous with the world of fashion and beauty. Whether it's her contouring techniques or her stylish outfits, she never fails to make headlines. In her latest Instagram post, she gave us major Y2K MySpace energy by debuting the "milky mani" nail trend. Bu gönderiyi Instagram'da gör Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)'in paylaştığı bir gönderi The early 2000s were a time of velour tracksuits, Motorola RAZR V3s, and, of course, MySpace. Kim Kardashian and her BFF (at the time) Paris Hilton were the queens of the era. With their nightclub appearances, paparazzi photos, and matching outfits, they were unstoppable. However, what they were best known for was being the frontiers of MySpace, a social networking site that was all the rage back then. Fast forward to 2023, and Kim Kardashian has brought back the Y2K era with a Valentine's Day post that has made fans nostalgic. In the photo, she can be seen striking a backward peace and pout pose, but what catches the eye is her milky white nails. The long and squared tip shape of her nails is reminiscent of the early 2000s, when the Motorola RAZR V3 was the hottest phone on the market. The milky white color of her nails is timeless and could have been rocked in the early 2000s. However, paired with the long and squared tip shape, it screams Y2K. Move over glazed doughnut nails, the "milky mani" is the latest nail trend to hit the scene. Fans of Kim took to the comments section of her post to share their love for the throwback energy she exudes in the photo. The Y2K era may be long gone, but it seems to be making a comeback. With fashion and beauty trends from that era resurfacing, it looks like the early 2000s may be making a comeback in more ways than one. Kim Kardashian has always been a trendsetter in the world of fashion and beauty, and with her latest Instagram post, she has proven that she can make even the most unexpected trends popular. The "milky mani" nail trend may seem like a blast from the past, but with Kim's stamp of approval, it's sure to be the next big thing in the world of beauty. In conclusion, Kim Kardashian's latest Instagram post has given us major Y2K MySpace energy, and her "milky mani" nails are the latest trend to hit the beauty scene. Whether you love it or hate it, one thing's for sure: the early 2000s are making a comeback. Read the full article

[bibbawrites]

Dancing Queens - Modern AU!Sunset Curve blurb

“How are we meant to sneak in when those security guards are bigger than Luke’s ego?” Alex questioned, and Luke smacked him lightly. 

“Just follow my lead.” The singer said. 

“Cause that’s never gotten us in trouble before.” Alex bit back. Reggie gripped onto Bobby’s hand tightly. 

“Can someone shut Negative Nancy up before I punch him?” Luke groaned. Alex rolled his eyes. 

“I’d like to see you try.” He retorted. Bobby sighed. 

“Boys. I mean this in the nicest way but you make me want to jump in front of a bus.” He said. Luke turned to him, a large smirk on his face.

“Dare you to.” He sung. 

“Lucas!” Alex exclaimed, smacking Luke’s arm. Luke gave him a look. 

“What? He was the one who brought it up.” He defended. 

“Everyone shut up. We’re gonna draw attention to ourselves.” Reggie spoke for the first time since they had arrived outside the club. Bobby nodded in agreement. 

“Reg is right, we need to work together on this.” He agreed, and Reggie gave him a thankful smile. Luke sighed. 

“I can’t believe the most badass thing we’re ever gonna do is sneak into a fucking ABBA night at a nightclub.” He muttered under his breath. 

“What’s wrong with ABBA Luke?” Alex raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah Luke.” Reggie chimed in. Luke glanced between the two of them. 

“They’re not exactly my type of music.” He stated. 

“Whatever. We need to get in there now.” Bobby interrupted, and they all nodded in agreement. 

They waited until the coast was clear and with ease Luke picked the lock, letting the others pass him before sneaking in himself. They headed down the hallway into the main room and Luke smirked. 

“Told you we’d get in.” He said with a cocky tone. 

“Shut up, that bouncer is staring at us.” Alex bit his lip, clearly panicking. 

“Don’t look at him, you’ll draw attention to us.” Bobby instructed, and Alex hurriedly tried to look away, but it was too late, they’d already caught the eye of the large bouncer.  

“Too late, he’s coming over.” Reggie said, sounding slightly panicked. Bobby wrapped an arm around Reggie’s waist, squeezing slightly as a sign of reassurance as the bouncer arrived in front of them. 

“ID’s please boys.” The bouncer said, eyeing them all carefully. They all pulled out the fake ID’s that Bobby’s uncle had bought them, handing them over to the bouncer. He looked at each ID carefully, before handing them back. 

“Have a nice night.” He grumbled. 

“You too, sir.” Alex smiled politely, hoping the bouncer didn’t notice the shakiness in his voice. The bouncer nodded once before walking away. 

“That was a close one.” Reggie breathed out once the bouncer was far enough away that he couldn’t hear them. 

“Julie is so gonna kill us.” Alex groaned. Luke shook his head. 

“Who cares about Julie? Tonight is all about us.” He said, wrapping an arm around both Alex and Bobby, linking the four of them together. 

“And ABBA.” Reggie added. Luke rolled his eyes but nodded anyways. 

“And ABBA.” 

[jondalars]

movies, tv shows, and books of 2022

((* is a rewatch/reread; currently watching; can’t get through))

It Follows (2014) *

Word of Honor (s1*)

tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Mo Dao Zu Shi (s3)

Passage by Connie Willis

Don't Look Up (2021)

Zach Stone is Gonna be Famous (s1*)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Scumbag System (s1)

Dark Shadows (2012)

Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut

Tears in Heaven (s1)

Cheer (s2)

Hometown Cha-cha-cha (s1)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

The Land of Steady Habits (2018)

Brain on Fire (2016)

Paddington (2014)

Monster (2003)

JT LeRoy (2018)

The Door into Summer (2021)

The Lost Daughter (2021)

Interview with the Vampire (1994) *

Identity (2003) *

Our Beloved Summer (s1)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Aziz Ansari: Nightclub Comedian (2022)

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Phantom Thread (2017)

In the Woods by Tana French

The Tinder Swindler (2022)

I Want You Back (2022)

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (vol. 1) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Heaven Official's Blessing (vol. 1) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Heaven Official’s Blessing (vol. 2) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

All of Us are Dead (s1)

Guess Who (2005)

The Disaster Artist (2017) *

The Walking Dead (s1*, s2*, s3*, s4*, s5*, s6*, s7, s8, s9, s10)

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Long Ballad (s1)

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Upload (s1*, s2)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Death on the Nile (2022)

The Weekend Away (2022)

Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives (s1)

Moby Dick by Herman Melville *

Eternal Love (s1)

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Bridgerton (s2)

Survivor (41, 42, 16*, 15*, s7*, s8*, 37*, s18*, s29*, s17*, s43)

The Scum Villain's Self-saving System (vol. 2) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Glass, Irony and God by Anne Carson *

Russian Doll (s1*, s2)

The Joke by Milan Kundera

The Wilds (s2)

Crush by Richard Siken *

The Circle (s4)

Are You the One? (s4, s6)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley *

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn *

Jackass 4.5 (2022)

Beloved by Toni Morrison *

Business Proposal (s1)

Heartstopper (s1)

Senior Year (2022)

First Kill (s1)

Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Spiderhead (2022)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (vol. 2) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Nirvana in Fire (s1)

Tenth of December by George Saunders *

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

Shipped by Angie Hockman

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood & *

Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

The Boys (s3)

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It by Kaitlyn Tiffany

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

The Mole (s3)

Dream Garden (s1)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

KinnPorsche: The Series (s1)

The Invisible Man (2020)

The Hunt (2020)

Sliding Doors (1998)

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Persuasion (2022)

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

The Challenge (s25)

Umbrella Academy (s3)

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

The Challenge: USA (s1)

Claim to Fame (s1)

Great Men Academy (s1)

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Boo, Bitch (s1)

Umma (2022)

Resident Evil (s1)

A Perfect Pairing (2022)

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson *

Love Like the Galaxy (s1)

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Wedding Season (2022)

Fall in Love (s1)

Candyman (2021)

Black Bear (2022)

Lie to Love (s1)

Heaven Official’s Blessing (vol. 3) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

You Are My Glory (s1)

Love Between Fairy and Devil (s1 & *)

Democracy by Joan Didion *

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo *

Who Rules The World (s1)

Lovely Writer (s1)

Alchemy of Souls (s1)

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell *

The Scum Villain’s Self-saving System (vol. 3) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Do Revenge (2022)

Girl from Nowhere (s1)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (vol. 3) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The Mole (s1)

TharnType (s1)

The Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past Apocalypses by Peter Brannen

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

The Rational Life (s1)

The Genius (s1, s2, s3, s4)

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

RRR (2022)

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (s1)

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)

Derry Girls (s1*, s2*,s3)

Demon King/The Parting of the Orchid and Cang by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

Heaven Official’s Blessing (vol. 4) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Dracula by Bram Stoker *

Roswell, New Mexico (s1*, s2*)

Meteor Garden (s1)

Falling for Christmas (2022)

The School for Good and Evil (2022)

Mistakenly Saving the Villain by Feng Yu Nie

Heroes (s1)

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

The Scum Villain’s Self-saving System (vol. 4) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Kieta Hatsukoi (s1)

Plainwater: Essays and Poetry by Anne Carson *

Lighter and Princess (s1)

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins *

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

The Vow (2012) *

Mr. Bad (s1)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins *

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins *

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris *

Alice in Borderland (s1, s2)

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

Barabbas by Pär Lagerkvist

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July *

The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

[aion-rsa]

How All in the Family Changed the TV Landscape

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

All in the Family is roundly considered a touchstone for television achievement now, but when it debuted 50 years ago, even the network carrying it hoped it would fizzle quickly and unnoticed. CBS put an army of operators at phone lines expecting a barrage of complaints from offended middle Americans demanding its cancellation. Those calls didn’t come. What came was a deluge of support from people hoping this mid-season replacement was a permanent addition to the network’s lineup. The premiere episode contained a considerable list of “television firsts.” One of these rarities continues to remain scarce on network TV: creator Norman Lear trusted the intelligence of the viewing audience. To celebrate All in the Family’s 50th anniversary, we look back at its journey from conception to broadcast, and how it continues to influence and inform entertainment and society today.

Actor Carroll O’Connor, who was a large part of the creative process of the series, consistently maintains he took the now-iconic role of Archie Bunker because All in the Family was a satire, not a sitcom. It was funny, but it wasn’t a lampoon. It was grounded in the most serious of realities, more than the generation gap which it openly showcased, but in the schism between progressive and conservative thinking. The divide goes beyond party, and is not delineated by age, wealth, or even class. The Bunkers were working class. The middle-aged bigot chomping on the cigar was played by an outspoken liberal who took the art of acting very seriously. The audience cared deeply, and laughed loudly, because they were never pandered to. They were as respected as the authenticity of the series characters’ parodies.

Even the laughs were genuine. All in the Family was the first major American series to be videotaped in front of a live audience. There was never a canned laugh added, even in the last season when reactions were captured by an audience viewing pre-taped episodes. Up to this time, sitcoms were taped without audiences in single-camera format and the laugh track was added later. Mary Tyler Moore shot live on film, but videotape helped give All in the Family the look of early live television, like the original live broadcasts of The Honeymooners. Lear wanted to shoot the series in black and white, the same as the British series, Till Death Us Do Part, it was based on. He settled for keeping the soundstage neutral, implying the sepia tones of an old family photograph album. The Astoria, Queens, row house living room was supposed to look comfortable but worn, old-fashioned and retrograde, mirroring Archie’s attitudes: A displaced white hourly wage earner left behind by the social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s.

“I think they invented good weather around 1940.”

American sitcoms began shortly after World War II, and primarily focused on the upper-middle class white families of Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. I Love Lucy’s Ricky Ricardo, played by Cuban-American Desi Arnaz, ran a successful nightclub. The Honeymooners was a standout because Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden was a bus driver from Bensonhurst (the actual address on that show, 328 Chauncey Street, is in the Bedford–Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn). American TV had little use for the working class until the 1970s. They’d only paid frightened lip service to the fights for civil rights and the women’s liberation movements, and when the postwar economy had to be divided to meet with more equalized opportunities there was no one to break it down in easy terms. The charitable and likable Flying Nun didn’t have the answer hidden under her cornette. It wasn’t even on the docket in Nancy, a 1970 sitcom about a first daughter. The first working family on TV competing in the new job market was the Bunkers, and they had something to say about the new competition.

Social commentary wasn’t new on television. Shows like The Twilight Zone and Star Trek routinely explored contemporary issues, including racism, corporate greed, and the military action in Vietnam, through the lens of fantasy and science fiction. The war and other unrest were coming into the people’s living rooms every night on the evening news. The times they were a-changing, but television answered to sponsors who feared offending consumers. 

Ah, but British TV, that’s where the action was. Lear read about a show called Till Death Us Do Part, a BBC1 television sitcom that aired from 1965 to 1975. Created by Johnny Speight, the show set its sights on a working-class East End family, spoofing the relationship between reactionary white head of the house Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell), his wife Else (Dandy Nichols), daughter Rita (Una Stubbs), and her husband Mike Rawlins (Anthony Booth), a socialist from Liverpool. Lear recognized the relationship he had with his own father between the lines.

CBS wanted to buy the rights to the British show as a star vehicle for Gleason, Lear beat out CBS for the rights and personalized it. One of the reasons All in the Family works so well is because Lear wasn’t just putting a representative American family on the screen, he was putting his own family up there.

“If It’s Too Hot in The Kitchen, Stay Away from The Cook.”

Archie Bunker dubbed his son-in-law, Michael Stivic, played by Rob Reiner, a “Meathead, dead from the neck up.” This was the same dubious endearment Lear’s father Herman called him. The same man who routinely commanded Lear’s mother to “stifle herself.” Lear’s mother accused her husband, a “rascal” who was sent to jail for selling fake bonds of being “the laziest white man I ever saw,” according to his memoir Even This I Get to Experience  All three lines made it into all three of the pilots taped for All In the Family. When Lear’s father got out of prison after a three-year stretch, the young budding writer sat through constant, heated, family discussions. “I used to sit at the kitchen table and I would score their arguments,” Lear remembers in his memoir. “I would give her points for this, him points for that, as a way of coping with it.”

All in the Family, season 1, episode 1, provides an almost greatest hits package of these terse and tense exchanges, which also taught Lear not to back away from the fray. He served as a radio operator and gunner in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, earning an Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters after flying 52 combat missions, and being among the crew members featured in the books Crew Umbriag and 772nd Bomb Squadron: The Men, The Memories. Lear partnered with Ed Simmons to write sketches for Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin’s first five appearances on the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1950. They remained as the head writers for three years. They also wrote for The Ford Star Revue, The George Gobel Show, and the comedy team Rowan and Martin, who would later headline Laugh-In.

Lear went solo to write opening monologues for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, and produce NBC’s sitcom The Martha Raye Show, before creating his first series in 1959, the western The Deputy, which starred Henry Fonda. To get Frank Sinatra to read Lear’s screenplay for the 1963 film Come Blow Your Horn, Lear went on a protracted aerial assault. Over the course of weeks, he had the script delivered while planes with banners flew over Sinatra’s home, or accompanied by a toy brass band or a gaggle of hens. Lear even assembled a “reading den” in Ol’ Blue Eyes’ driveway, complete with smoking jacket, an ashtray and a pipe, an easy chair, ottoman, lamp, and the Jackie Gleason Music to Read By album playing on a portable phonograph. After weeks of missed opportunities, Lear remembers Sinatra finally read the script and “bawled the shit out of me for not getting it to him sooner.”

The creative perseverance Lear showed just to get the right person for the right part is indicative of the lengths Lear would go for creative excellence. He would continue to fight for artistic integrity, transforming prime time comedy with shows like Good Times, One Day at a Time, and the first late-night soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. He brought legendary blue comedian Redd Foxx into homes with Sanford and Son, also based on a British sitcom, Steptoe and Son, which starred Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell, best known for playing Paul McCartney’s grand-dad in A Hard Day’s Night. But before he could do these, and the successful and progressive All in the Family spinoffs The Jeffersons and Maude, he had to face battles, big and small, over the reluctantly changing face of television.

“Patience is a Virgin”

After Lear beat CBS to the rights to adapt Till Death Us Do Part he offered the show to ABC. When it was being developed for the television studio, the family in the original pilot were named the Justices, and the series was titled “Justice for All,” according to a 1991 “All in the Family 20th Anniversary Special.” They considered future Happy Days dad Tom Bosley, and acclaimed character actor Jack Warden for the lead part, before offering the role to Mickey Rooney. According to Even This I Get to Experience, Lear’s pitch to the veteran actor got to the words “You play a bigot” before Rooney stopped him. “Norm, they’re going to kill you, shoot you dead in the streets,” the Hollywood icon warned, asking if Lear might have a series about a blind detective with a big dog somewhere in the works.

Taped in New York on Sept. 3, 1968, the first pilot starred O’Connor and Jean Stapleton as Archie and Edith Justice. Stapleton, a stage-trained character actor who first worked as a stock player in 1941, was a consistent supporting player for playwright Horton Foote. Stapleton originated the role of Mrs. Strakosh in the 1964 Broadway production of Funny Girl, which starred Barbra Streisand. Lear considered her after seeing her performance in Damn Yankees. She’d made guest appearances on TV series like Dr. Kildare and The Defenders.

O’Connor was born in Manhattan but grew up in Queens, the same borough as the Bunker household with the external living room window which wasn’t visible from the interior. O’Connor acted steadily in theaters in Dublin, Ireland, and New York until director Burgess Meredith, assisted by The Addams Family’s John Astin, cast him in the Broadway adaptation of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. O’Connor had roles in major motion pictures, including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), Cleopatra (1963), Point Blank (1967), The Devil’s Brigade (1968), Death of a Gunfighter (1969), Marlowe (1969), and Kelly’s Heroes (1970).  O’Connor appeared on television series like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Fugitive, The Wild Wild West, The Outer Limits, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, That Girl, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He’d guest starred as a villain in a season 1 episode of Mission Impossible, and was up for the parts the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island and Dr. Smith on Lost in Space.

The first pilot also starred Kelly Jean Peters as Gloria and Tim McIntire as her husband Richard. ABC liked it enough to fund a second pilot, “Those Were the Days,” which shot in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 1969. Richard was played by Chip Oliver, and Gloria Justice was played by Candice Azzara, who would go on to play Rodney Dangerfield’s wife in Easy Money, and make numerous, memorable guest appearances on Barney Miller. D’Urville Martin played Lionel Jefferson in both pilots. ABC cancelled it after one episode, worried about a show with a foul-mouthed, bigoted character as the lead.

CBS, which was trying to veer away from rural shows like Mayberry R.F.D., The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres, bought the rights to the urban comedy and renamed it All in the Family. When Gleason’s contract to CBS ran out, Lear was allowed to keep O’Connor on as the main character.

Sally Struthers was one of the young actors featured in Five Easy Pieces, the 1970 counterculture classic starring Jack Nicholson. She’d also recently finished shooting a memorable part in the 1972 Steve McQueen hit The Getaway. Struthers had just been fired from The Tim Conway Comedy Hour because executives thought she made the show look cheap, which was her job. The premise of the show was it was so low-budget it could only afford one musician, who had to hum the theme song because they couldn’t afford an instrument, and one dancer, as opposed to a line of dancers like they had on The Jackie Gleason Show. Lear noticed her as a dancer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a counterculture variety show which Rob Reiner wrote for with Steve Martin as a writing partner. Reiner’s then-fiancée, the director Penny Marshall, was also up for the role of Gloria, but in an interview for The Television Academy, Reiner recalls that, while Marshall could pass as Stapleton’s daughter, Struthers was obviously the one who looked like Archie’s “little girl.”

Reiner, the son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, was discovered in a guest acting role on the Andy Griffith vehicle series Headmaster, a show he wrote for, but had also played bit roles in Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, Room 222, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Beverly Hillbillies and The Odd Couple. Reportedly, Richard Dreyfuss campaigned for the role of Michael, and Harrison Ford turned it down. Mike Evans was cast as Lionel Jefferson, the Bunkers’ young Black next-door neighbor who sugar-coated nonviolent protests with subtle and subversive twists on “giving people what they want.”

“We’re just sweeping dirty dishes under the rug.”

The very first episode tackled multiple issues right away. It discussed atheism, with Michael and Gloria explaining they have found no evidence of god. The family dissects affirmative action, with Archie asserting everyone has an equal chance to advance if they “hustle for it like I done.” He says he didn’t have millions of people marching for him to get his job, like Black Americans. “His uncle got it for him,” Edith explains, with an off-the-cuff delivery exemplifying why Stapleton is one of the all-time great comic character actors. The family argues socialism, anti-Semitism, sausage links and sausage patties. The generation gap widens as Archie wonders why men’s hair is now down to there, while Gloria’s skirt got so high “all the mystery disappears” when she sits down.

All in the Family would continue to deal with taboo topics like the gay rights movement, divorce, breast cancer, and rape. Future episodes would question why presidential campaign funds are unequal, how tax breaks for corporations kill the middle class, and weigh the personal price of serving in an unpopular war as opposed to dodging the draft. When Archie goes to a female doctor for emergency surgery a few seasons in, All in the Family points out she is most certainly paid less than a male doctor. When skyjackings were a persistent domestic threat in the 1970s, Archie suggested airlines should “arm the passengers.” It is very prescient of the NRA’s suggestion of arming teachers to combat school shootings.

But the first showdown between Lear and the network was fought for the sexual revolution. The first episode’s action begins when Edith and Archie come home early from church and interrupt Michael and Gloria as they’re about to take advantage of having the house to themselves. Gloria’s got her legs wrapped around Michael as he is walking them toward the stairs, and the bed. “At 11:10 on a Sunday,” Archie wants to know as he makes himself known. According to Lear’s memoir, CBS President William Paley objected, saying the line suggested sex. “And the network wants that out even though they’re married–I mean, it was plain silly,” he writes. “My script could have lived without the line, but somehow I understood that if I give on that moment, I’m going to give on silly things forever. So, I had to have that showdown.”

The standoff continued until 25 minutes before air time. CBS broadcast the episode, but put a disclaimer before the opening credits rolled, which Reiner later described as saying “Nothing you’re about to see has anything that we want to have anything to do with. As far as we’re concerned, if you don’t watch the next half hour, it’s okay with us.” Lear knew, with what he was doing, this was going to be the first of many battles, because this was the first show of its kind. Television families didn’t even flush toilets, much less bring unmentionables to the table. “The biggest problem a family might face would have been that the roast was ruined when the boss was coming over to dinner,” Lear writes. “There were no women or their problems in American life on television. There were no health issues. There were no abortions. There were no economic problems. The worst thing that could happen was the roast would be ruined. I realized that was a giant statement — that we weren’t making any statements.”

“What I say ain’t got nothing to do with what I think.”

Politicians and pundits worried about how the series might affect racial relations. The country had experienced inner city riots, battle lines were drawn over school desegregation, busing children to schools was met with violent resistance. Did All In the Family undermine bigotry or reinforce racism? Were people laughing at Archie or with him? Was it okay to like Archie more than Mike?

Lear believed humor would be cathartic, eroding bigotry. Bigots found a relief valve. Lear always insisted Archie was a satirically exaggerated parody to make racism and sexism look foolish. Liberals protested the character came across as a “loveable bigot,” because satire only works if the audience is in on the joke. Bigoted viewers didn’t see the show as satire. They identified with Archie and saw nothing wrong with ethnic slurs. Mike and Gloria come off like preachy, bleeding-heart liberal, hippie leeches. Lionel handled Archie better than Michael did.

O’Connor humanized Archie as an old-fashioned guy trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world. Bunker gave bigotry a human face and, because he hated everyone, he was written off as an “equal-opportunity bigot.” Not quite a defensible title. Archie was the most liked character on the show, and the most disliked. Most people saw him as a likable loser, so identifiable he was able to change attitudes. In a 1972 interview, O’Connor explained white fans would “tell me, ‘Archie was my father; Archie was my uncle.’ It is always was, was, was. It’s not now. I have an impression that most white people are, in some halting way, trying to reach out, or they’re thinking about it.” It sometimes worked against O’Connor the activist, however. When he backed New York Mayor John Lindsay’s 1972 anti-war nomination for the Democratic presidential nomination, Archie Bunker’s shadow distanced progressives.

Archie was relatable beyond his bigotry. He spoke to the anxieties of working- and middle-class families. Archie was a dock worker in the Corona section of Queens, who had to drive a cab as a second job, with little hope of upward mobility. He didn’t get political correctness. The character’s ideological quips were transformed into the bestselling paperback mock manifesto The Wit and Wisdom of Archie Bunker. White conservative viewers bought “Archie for President” buttons. 

“If you call me Cute one more time, I swear I’ll open a vein.”

As cannot be overstated, All in the Family set many precedents, both socially and artistically. The Bunker family is an icon on many levels, Archie and Edith’s chairs are at the Smithsonian. But Archie Bunker is also the Mother Courage of TV. The antithesis of the bland sitcom characters of the time, he also wasn’t the character we hated to love, or loved to hate. Archie was the first character we weren’t supposed to like, but couldn’t help it. This phenomenon continues. The next TV character to take on the iconic mantle was probably Louis De Palma on Taxi. Audiences should have wanted to take a lug wrench to his head, but Danny De Vito brought such a diverse range of rage and vulnerability to that part it was named TV Guide’s most beloved character for years.

We shouldn’t like Walter White, especially when he doffs that pretentious Heisenberg hat, on Breaking Bad. And let’s face it, Slipping Jimmy on Better Call Saul isn’t really the kind of guy you want to leave alone in your living room while you grab a drink. Families across the United States and abroad sat down to an Italian-style family dinner with Tony Soprano and The Sopranos every Sunday night. But on Monday mornings, most of us would have ducked him, especially if we owed him money. Even the advanced model of the Terminator guy was scared of Tony.

The best example of this is South Park’s Eric Cartman. While we don’t know who his father is on the series, he’s got Bunker DNA all over him. He’s even gotten into squabbles with Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner. This wasn’t lost on Lear, who contacted creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to say he loved the show in 2003. Lear wound up writing for South Park’s seventh season. “They invited me to a party and we’re partying,” Lear told USA Today at the time. “There’s no way to overstate the kick of being welcomed by this group.”

“I hate entertainment. Entertainment is a thing of the past, now we got television.”

Television can educate as much as it wants to entertain, and All in the Family taught the viewing audience a whole new vocabulary. The casual epithets thrown on the show were unheard of in broadcast programming, no matter how commonplace they might have been in the homes of the people watching. When Sammy Davis Jr. comes to Bunker house in the first season, every ethnic and racial slur ever thrown is exchanged. In another first season episode, and both the unaired pilots, Archie breaks down the curse word “Goddamn.” But a large segment of the more socially conservative, and religious, audience thought All in the Family said whatever they wanted just because they could get away with it.

All in the Family debuted to low viewership, but rose to be ranked number one in the Nielsen ratings for five years. The show undermined the perception of the homogeneous middle-class demographic allowing shows like M*A*S*H to comment on contemporary events.

All in the Family represented the changing American neighborhood. The show opened the door for the working poor to join situation comedies as much as when the Bunkers welcomed Lionel, Louise (Isabel Sanford), and George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) when they moved into Archie’s neighborhood. Lear reportedly was challenged by the Black Panther Party to expand the range of black characters on his shows. He took the challenge seriously and added subversive humor. Sanford and Son was set in a junkyard in Watts. Foxx’s Fred Sanford rebelled against the middle-class aspirations of his son, Lamont (Demond Wilson). Good Times was set in the projects of Chicago, and took on issues like street gangs, evictions and poor public schools.

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Married With Children, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill continued to explore the comic possibilities of working class drama. Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a successful, upwardly mobile television producer. Working-class women were represented on sitcoms like Alice, but didn’t have a central voice until 1988 when Roseanne debuted on ABC, and Roseanne Barr ushered in her brand of proletarian feminism. All in the Family’s legacy includes Black-ish, as creator Kenya Barris continues to mine serious and controversial subject matter for cathartic and educational laughter. Tim Allen covets the conservative crown, and is currently the Last Man Standing in for Archie. But as reality gets more exaggerated than any satire can capture, All in the Family remains and retains its most authentic achievement.

The post How All in the Family Changed the TV Landscape appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[carole-lombard-screwball-queen]

Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. She was the highest-paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930s and in 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 23rd on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

Lombard was born into a wealthy family in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but was raised in Los Angeles by her single mother. At 12, she was recruited by director Allan Dwan and made her screen debut in A Perfect Crime (1921). Eager to become an actress, she signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation at age 16, but mainly played bit parts. She was dropped by Fox just before her 18th birthday after a shattered windshield from a car accident left a scar on her face. Lombard appeared in fifteen short comedies for Mack Sennett between 1927 and 1929, and then began appearing in feature films such as High Voltage (1929) and The Racketeer (1929). After a successful appearance in The Arizona Kid (1930), she was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures.

Paramount quickly began casting Lombard as a leading lady, primarily in drama films. Her profile increased when she married William Powell in 1931, but the couple divorced amicably after two years. A turning point in Lombard's career came when she starred in Howard Hawks's pioneering screwball comedy Twentieth Century (1934). The actress found her niche in this genre, and continued to appear in films such as Hands Across the Table (1935) (forming a popular partnership with Fred MacMurray), My Man Godfrey (1936), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Nothing Sacred (1937). At this time, Lombard married "The King of Hollywood", Clark Gable, and the supercouple gained much attention from the media. Keen to win an Oscar, Lombard began to move towards more serious roles at the end of the decade. Unsuccessful in this aim, she returned to comedy in Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) and Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be (1942), her final film role.

Lombard's career was cut short when she died at the age of 33 aboard TWA Flight 3, which crashed on Mount Potosi, Nevada, while returning from a war bond tour. Today, she is remembered as one of the definitive actresses of the screwball comedy genre and American comedy, and icon of American cinema.

Lombard was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908 at 704 Rockhill Street. Christened with the name Jane Alice Peters, she was the third child and only daughter of Frederick Christian Peters (1875–1935) and Elizabeth Jayne "Bessie" (Knight) Peters (1876–1942). Her two older brothers, to each of whom she was close, both growing up and in adulthood, were Frederick Charles (1902–1979) and John Stuart (1906–1956). Lombard's parents both descended from wealthy families and her early years were lived in comfort, with the biographer Robert Matzen calling it her "silver spoon period". The marriage between her parents was strained, however, and in October 1914, her mother took the children and moved to Los Angeles. Although the couple did not divorce, the separation was permanent. Her father's continued financial support allowed the family to live without worry, if not with the same affluence they had enjoyed in Indiana, and they settled into an apartment near Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Described by her biographer Wes Gehring as "a free-spirited tomboy", the young Lombard was passionately involved in sports and enjoyed watching movies. At Virgil Junior High School, she participated in tennis, volleyball, and swimming, and won trophies for her achievements in athletics. At the age of 12, this hobby unexpectedly landed Lombard her first screen role. While playing baseball with friends, she caught the attention of the film director Allan Dwan, who later recalled seeing "a cute-looking little tomboy ... out there knocking the hell out of the other kids, playing better baseball than they were. And I needed someone of her type for this picture." With the encouragement of her mother, Lombard happily took a small role in the melodrama A Perfect Crime (1921). She was on set for two days, playing the sister of Monte Blue. Dwan later commented, "She ate it up".

A Perfect Crime was not widely distributed, but the brief experience spurred Lombard and her mother to look for more film work. The teenager attended several auditions, but none was successful.[11] While appearing as the queen of Fairfax High School's May Day Carnival at the age of 15, she was scouted by an employee of Charlie Chaplin and offered a screen test to appear in his film The Gold Rush (1925). Lombard was not given the role, but it raised Hollywood's awareness of the aspiring actress. Her test was seen by the Vitagraph Film Company, which expressed an interest in signing her to a contract. Although this did not materialize, the condition that she adopt a new first name ("Jane" was considered too dull) lasted with Lombard throughout her career. She selected the name "Carol" after a girl with whom she played tennis in middle school.

In October 1924, shortly after these disappointments, 16-year-old Lombard was signed to a contract with the Fox Film Corporation. How this came about is uncertain: in her lifetime, it was reported that a director for the studio scouted her at a dinner party, but more recent evidence suggests that Lombard's mother contacted Louella Parsons, the gossip columnist, who then got her a screen test. According to the biographer Larry Swindell, Lombard's beauty convinced Winfield Sheehan, head of the studio, to sign her to a $75-per-week contract. The teenager abandoned her schooling to embark on this new career. Fox was happy to use the name Carol, but unlike Vitagraph, disliked her surname. From this point, she became "Carol Lombard", the new name taken from a family friend.

The majority of Lombard's appearances with Fox were bit parts in low-budget Westerns and adventure films. She later commented on her dissatisfaction with these roles: "All I had to do was simper prettily at the hero and scream with terror when he battled with the villain." She fully enjoyed the other aspects of film work, however, such as photo shoots, costume fittings, and socializing with actors on the studio set. Lombard embraced the flapper lifestyle and became a regular at the Coconut Grove nightclub, where she won several Charleston dance competitions.

In March 1925, Fox gave Lombard a leading role in the drama Marriage in Transit, opposite Edmund Lowe. Her performance was well received, with a reviewer for Motion Picture News writing that she displayed "good poise and considerable charm." Despite this, the studio heads were unconvinced that Lombard was leading lady material, and her one-year contract was not renewed. Gehring has suggested that a facial scar she obtained in an automobile accident was a factor in this decision. Fearing that the scar—which ran across her cheek—would ruin her career, the 17-year-old had an early plastic surgery procedure to make it less visible. For the remainder of her career, Lombard learned to hide the mark with make-up and careful lighting.

After a year without work, Lombard obtained a screen test for the "King of Comedy" Mack Sennett. She was offered a contract, and although she initially had reservations about performing in slapstick comedies, the actress joined his company as one of the "Sennett Bathing Beauties". She appeared in 15 short films between September 1927 and March 1929, and greatly enjoyed her time at the studio. It gave Lombard her first experiences in comedy and provided valuable training for her future work in the genre. In 1940, she called her Sennett years "the turning point of [my] acting career."

Sennett's productions were distributed by Pathé Exchange, and the company began casting Lombard in feature films. She had prominent roles in Show Folks and Ned McCobb's Daughter (both 1928), where reviewers observed that she made a "good impression" and was "worth watching". The following year, Pathé elevated Lombard from a supporting player to a leading lady. Her success in Raoul Walsh's picture Me, Gangster (also 1928), opposite June Collyer and Don Terry on his film debut, finally eased the pressure her family had been putting on her to succeed. In Howard Higgin's High Voltage (1929), her first talking picture, she played a criminal in the custody of a deputy sheriff, both of whom are among bus passengers stranded in deep snow. Her next film, the comedy Big News (1929), cast her opposite Robert Armstrong and was a critical and commercial success. Lombard was reunited with Armstrong for the crime drama The Racketeer, released in late 1929. The review in Film Daily wrote, "Carol Lombard proves a real surprise, and does her best work to date. In fact, this is the first opportunity she has had to prove that she has the stuff to go over."

Lombard returned to Fox for a one-off role in the western The Arizona Kid (1930). It was a big release for the studio, starring the popular actor Warner Baxter, in which Lombard received third billing. Following the success of the film, Paramount Pictures recruited Lombard and signed her to a $350-per-week contract, gradually increasing to $3,500 per week by 1936. They cast her in the Buddy Rogers comedy Safety in Numbers (also 1930), and one critic observed of her work, "Lombard proves [to be] an ace comedienne." For her second assignment, Fast and Loose (also 1930) with Miriam Hopkins, Paramount mistakenly credited the actress as "Carole Lombard". She decided she liked this spelling and it became her permanent screen name.

Lombard appeared in five films released during 1931, beginning with the Frank Tuttle comedy It Pays to Advertise. Her next two films, Man of the World and Ladies Man, both featured William Powell, Paramount's top male star. Lombard had been a fan of the actor before they met, attracted to his good looks and debonair screen persona, and they were soon in a relationship. The differences between the pair have been noted by biographers: she was 22, carefree, and famously foul-mouthed, while he was 38, intellectual, and sophisticated. Despite their disparate personalities, Lombard married Powell on June 6, 1931, at her Beverly Hills home. Talking to the media, she argued for the benefits of "love between two people who are diametrically different", claiming that their relationship allowed for a "perfect see-saw love".

The marriage to Powell increased Lombard's fame, while she continued to please critics with her work in Up Pops the Devil and I Take this Woman (both 1931). In reviews for the latter film, which co-starred Gary Cooper, several critics predicted that Lombard was set to become a major star. She went on to appear in five films throughout 1932. No One Man and Sinners in the Sun were not successful, but Edward Buzzell's romantic picture Virtue was well received. After featuring in the drama No More Orchids, Lombard was cast as the wife of a con artist in No Man of Her Own. Her co-star for the picture was Clark Gable, who was rapidly becoming one of Hollywood's top stars. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Wes Gehring writes that it was "arguably Lombard's finest film appearance" to that point. It was the only picture that Gable and Lombard, future husband and wife, made together. There was no romantic interest at this time, however, as she recounted to Garson Kanin: "[we] did all kinds of hot love scenes ... and I never got any kind of tremble out of him at all".

In August 1933, Lombard and Powell divorced after 26 months of marriage, although they remained very good friends until the end of Lombard's life. At the time, she blamed it on their careers, but in a 1936 interview, she admitted that this "had little to do with the divorce. We were just two completely incompatible people". She appeared in five films that year, beginning with the drama From Hell to Heaven and continuing with Supernatural, her only horror vehicle. After a small role in The Eagle and the Hawk, a war film starring Fredric March and Cary Grant, she starred in two melodramas: Brief Moment, which critics enjoyed, and White Woman, where she was paired with Charles Laughton. “We would have married,” said Carole Lombard during her interview with magazine writer Sonia Lee for Movie Screen Magazine in 1934 about her relationship with Russ Columbo, the famous singer killed in a tragic accident whose movie and radio career she had been guiding.

The year 1934 marked a high point in Lombard's career. She began with Wesley Ruggles's musical drama Bolero, where George Raft and she showcased their dancing skills in an extravagantly staged performance to Maurice Ravel's "Boléro". Before filming began, she was offered the lead female role in It Happened One Night, but turned it down because of scheduling conflicts with this production Bolero was favorably received, while her next film, the musical comedy We're Not Dressing with Bing Crosby, was a box-office hit.

Lombard was then recruited by the director Howard Hawks, a second cousin, to star in his screwball comedy film Twentieth Century which proved a watershed in her career and made her a major star. Hawks had seen the actress inebriated at a party, where he found her to be "hilarious and uninhibited and just what the part needed", and she was cast opposite John Barrymore. In Twentieth Century, Lombard played an actress who is pursued by her former mentor, a flamboyant Broadway impresario. Hawks and Barrymore were unimpressed with her work in rehearsals, finding that she was "acting" too hard and giving a stiff performance. The director encouraged Lombard to relax, be herself, and act on her instincts. She responded well to this tutoring, and reviews for the film commented on her unexpectedly "fiery talent"—"a Lombard like no Lombard you've ever seen". The Los Angeles Times' critic felt that she was "entirely different" from her formerly cool, "calculated" persona, adding, "she vibrates with life and passion, abandon and diablerie".

The next films in which Lombard appeared were Henry Hathaway's Now and Forever (1934), featuring Gary Cooper and the new child star Shirley Temple, and Lady by Choice (1934), which was a critical and commercial success. The Gay Bride (1934) placed her opposite Chester Morris in a gangster comedy, but this outing was panned by critics. After reuniting with George Raft for another dance picture, Rumba (1935), Lombard was given the opportunity to repeat the screwball success of Twentieth Century. In Mitchell Leisen's Hands Across the Table (1935), she portrayed a manicurist in search of a rich husband, played by Fred MacMurray. Critics praised the film, and Photoplay's reviewer stated that Lombard had reaffirmed her talent for the genre. It is remembered as one of her best films, and the pairing of Lombard and MacMurray proved so successful that they made three more pictures together.

Lombard's first film of 1936 was Love Before Breakfast, described by Gehring as "The Taming of the Shrew, screwball style". In William K. Howard's The Princess Comes Across, her second comedy with MacMurray, she played a budding actress who wins a film contract by masquerading as a Swedish princess. The performance was considered a satire of Greta Garbo, and was widely praised by critics. Lombard's success continued as she was recruited by Universal Studios to star in the screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936). William Powell, who was playing the eponymous Godfrey, insisted on her being cast as the female lead; despite their divorce, the pair remained friendly and Powell felt she would be perfect in the role of Irene, a zany heiress who employs a "forgotten man" as the family butler. The film was directed by Gregory LaCava, who knew Lombard personally and advised that she draw on her "eccentric nature" for the role. She worked hard on the performance, particularly with finding the appropriate facial expressions for Irene. My Man Godfrey was released to great acclaim and was a box office hit. It received six nominations at the 9th Academy Awards, including Lombard for Best Actress. Biographers cite it as her finest performance, and Frederick Ott says it "clearly established [her] as a comedienne of the first rank."

By 1937, Lombard was one of Hollywood's most popular actresses, and also the highest-paid star in Hollywood following the deal which Myron Selznick negotiated with Paramount that brought her $450,000, more than five times the salary of the U.S. President. As her salary was widely reported in the press, Lombard stated that 80 percent of her earnings went in taxes, but that she was happy to help improve her country. The comments earned her much positive publicity, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent her a personal letter of thanks.

Her first release of the year was Leisen's Swing High, Swing Low, a third pairing with MacMurray. The film focused on a romance between two cabaret performers, and was a critical and commercial success. It had been primarily a drama, with occasional moments of comedy, but for her next project, Nothing Sacred, Lombard returned to the screwball genre. Producer David O. Selznick, impressed by her work in My Man Godfrey, was eager to make a comedy with the actress and hired Ben Hecht to write an original screenplay for her. Nothing Sacred, directed by William Wellman and co-starring Fredric March, satirized the journalism industry and "the gullible urban masses". Lombard portrayed a small-town girl who pretends to be dying and finds her story exploited by a New York reporter. Marking her only appearance in Technicolor, the film was highly praised and was one of Lombard's personal favorites.

Lombard continued with screwball comedies, next starring in what Swindell calls one of her "wackiest" films, True Confession (1937). She played a compulsive liar who wrongly confesses to murder. Lombard loved the script and was excited about the project, which reunited her with John Barrymore and was her final appearance with MacMurray. Her prediction that it "smacked of a surefire success" proved accurate, as critics responded positively and it was popular at the box office.

True Confession was the last film Lombard made on her Paramount contract, and she remained an independent performer for the rest of her career. Her next film was made at Warner Bros., where she played a famous actress in Mervyn LeRoy's Fools for Scandal (1938). The comedy met with scathing reviews and was a commercial failure, with Swindell calling it "one of the most horrendous flops of the thirties".

Fools for Scandal was the only film Lombard made in 1938. By this time, she was devoted to a relationship with Clark Gable. Four years after their teaming on No Man of Her Own, the pair had reunited at a Hollywood party and began a romance early in 1936. The media took great interest in their partnership and frequently questioned if they would wed. Gable was separated from his wife, Rhea Langham, but she did not want to grant him a divorce. As his relationship with Lombard became serious, Langham eventually agreed to a settlement worth half a million dollars. The divorce was finalized in March 1939, and Gable and Lombard eloped in Kingman, Arizona, on March 29. The couple, both lovers of the outdoors, bought a 20-acre ranch in Encino, California, where they kept barnyard animals and enjoyed hunting trips. Almost immediately, Lombard wanted to start a family, but her attempts failed; after two miscarriages and numerous trips to fertility specialists, she was unable to have children. In early 1938, Lombard officially joined the Baháʼí Faith, of which her mother had been a member since 1922.

While continuing with a slower work-rate, Lombard decided to move away from comedies and return to dramatic roles. She appeared in a second David O. Selznick production, Made for Each Other (1939), which paired her with James Stewart to play a couple facing domestic difficulties. Reviews for the film were highly positive, and praised Lombard's dramatic effort; financially, it was a disappointment. Lombard's next appearance came opposite Cary Grant in the John Cromwell romance In Name Only (1939), a credit she personally negotiated with RKO Radio Pictures upon hearing of the script and Grant's involvement. The role mirrored her recent experiences, as she played a woman in love with a married man whose wife refuses to divorce. She was paid $150,000 for the film, continuing her status as one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, and it was a moderate success.

Lombard was eager to win an Academy Award, and selected her next project—from several possible scripts—with the expectation that it would bring her the trophy. Vigil in the Night (1940), directed by George Stevens, featured Lombard as a nurse who faces a series of personal difficulties. Although the performance was praised, she did not get her nomination, as the sombre mood of the picture turned audiences away and box-office returns were poor. Despite the realization that she was best suited to comedies, Lombard completed one more drama: They Knew What They Wanted (1940), co-starring Charles Laughton, which was mildly successful.

Accepting that "my name doesn't sell tickets to serious pictures", Lombard returned to comedy for the first time in three years to film Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941), about a couple who learns that their marriage is invalid, with Robert Montgomery. Lombard was influential in bringing Alfred Hitchcock, whom she knew through David O. Selznick, to direct one of his most atypical films. It was a commercial success, as audiences were happy with what Swindell calls "the belated happy news ... that Carole Lombard was a screwball once more."

It was nearly a year before Lombard committed to another film, as she focused instead on her home and marriage. Determined that her next film be "an unqualified smash hit", she was also careful in selecting a new project. Through her agent, Lombard heard of Ernst Lubitsch's upcoming film: To Be or Not to Be (1942), a dark comedy that satirized the Nazi takeover of Poland. The actress had long wanted to work with Lubitsch, her favorite comedy director, and felt that the material—although controversial—was a worthy subject. Lombard accepted the role of actress Maria Tura, despite it being a smaller part than she was used to, and was given top billing over the film's lead, Jack Benny. Filming took place in the fall of 1941, and was reportedly one of the happiest experiences of Lombard's career.

When the U.S. entered World War II at the end of 1941, Lombard traveled to her home state of Indiana for a war bond rally with her mother, Bess Peters, and Clark Gable's press agent, Otto Winkler. Lombard was able to raise over $2 million in defense bonds in a single evening. Her party had initially been scheduled to return to Los Angeles by train, but Lombard was anxious to reach home more quickly and wanted to fly by a scheduled airline. Her mother and Winkler were both afraid of flying and insisted they follow their original travel plans. Lombard suggested they flip a coin; they agreed and Lombard won the toss.

In the early morning hours of January 16, 1942, Lombard, her mother, and Winkler boarded a Transcontinental and Western Air Douglas DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) aircraft to return to California. After refueling in Las Vegas, TWA Flight 3 took off at 7:07 p.m. and crashed into "Double Up Peak" near the 8,300-foot (2,530 m) level of Potosi Mountain, 32 statute miles (51 km) southwest of the Las Vegas airport. All 22 aboard, including Lombard, her mother, and 15 U.S. Army soldiers, were killed instantly. The cause of the crash was determined to be linked to the pilot and crew's inability to properly navigate over the mountains surrounding Las Vegas. As a precaution against the possibility of enemy Japanese bomber aircraft coming into American airspace from the Pacific, safety beacons used to direct night flights were turned off, leaving the pilot and crew of the TWA flight without visual warnings of the mountains in their flight path. The crash on the mountainside occurred three miles outside of Las Vegas.

Gable was flown to Las Vegas after learning of the tragedy to claim the bodies of his wife, mother-in-law, and Winkler, who aside from being his press agent, had been a close friend. Lombard's funeral was January 21 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. She was interred beside her mother under the name of Carole Lombard Gable. Despite remarrying twice following her death, Gable chose to be interred beside Lombard when he died in 1960.

Lombard's final film, To Be or Not to Be, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and co-starring Jack Benny, a satire about Nazism and World War II, was in post-production at the time of her death. The film's producers decided to cut part of the film in which Lombard's character asks, "What can happen on a plane?" out of respect for the circumstances surrounding her death. When the film was released, it received mixed reviews, particularly about its controversial content, but Lombard's performance was hailed as the perfect send-off to one of 1930s Hollywood's most important stars.

At the time of her death, Lombard had been scheduled to star in the film They All Kissed the Bride; when production started, she was replaced by Joan Crawford. Crawford donated all of her salary for the film to the Red Cross, which had helped extensively in the recovery of bodies from the air crash. Shortly after Lombard's death, Gable, who was inconsolable and devastated by his loss, joined the United States Army Air Forces. Lombard had asked him to do that numerous times after the United States had entered World War II. After officer training, Gable headed a six-man motion picture unit attached to a B-17 bomb group in England to film aerial gunners in combat, flying five missions himself. In December 1943, the United States Maritime Commission announced that a Liberty ship named after Carole Lombard would be launched. Gable attended the launch of the SS Carole Lombard on January 15, 1944, the two-year anniversary of Lombard's record-breaking war bond drive. The ship was involved in rescuing hundreds of survivors from sunken ships in the Pacific and returning them to safety.

In 1962, Jill Winkler Rath, widow of publicist Otto Winkler, filed a $100,000 lawsuit against the $2,000,000 estate of Clark Gable in connection with Winkler's death in the plane crash with Carole Lombard. The suit was dismissed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Rath, in her action, claimed Gable promised to provide financial aid for her if she would not bring suit against the airline involved. Rath stated she later learned that Gable settled his claim against the airline for $10. He did so because he did not want to repeat his grief in court and subsequently provided her no financial aid in his will.

[nycpartybusrental1]

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[ryujaesi]

( BAE JOO-HYUN (IRENE) + CISFEMALE ) — Have you seen JAESI RYU ? This TWENTY-NINE year old is a NIGHTCLUB WAITRESS who resides in QUEENS. SHE has been living in NYC for FOUR MONTHS, and is known to be QUICK-WITTED and CARING, but can also be GUARDED and COMPETITIVE, if you cross them. People tend to associate them with BUBBLE TEA and A LACK OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS.

TW: death, implied rape, abuse.

History

Born Haeun Kang, Haeun grew up in Incheon, South Korea until she was 10 when she moved to Chicago for her parents’ work.

While she didn’t grow up in a wealthy family, Haeun didn’t lack anything. Her parents made sure that they could provide everything for their family so their daughter would never be deprived of anything. Unfortunately this did result in them being absolute workaholics that didn’t have time to actually do anything with their child and so they had all the best intentions, Haeun was very much neglected on an emotional level.

She made the most of it though, figured out how to look after herself and focused on her schoolwork and hobbies. She soon discovered she loved music and singing, which led to her dream of becoming a singer.

Her initial dream was to move back to South Korea and pursue a career of K-pop Idol there, but her parents wouldn’t give their blessing. So after high school graduation, she went on to study music - with a focus on piano and singing. Any free time she had would be spent on doing little gigs wherever she could and just generally performing, or teaching music to willing students.

When she was 21, her parents passed away in an unfortunate accident. Which left Haeun to fend for herself.

It’s through her performances that at the age of 23, she caught the attention of the son of one of the biggest crime bosses in Chicago. Unaware of who he was, Haeun was flattered by all the attention and craving the affection that he gave her and soon started a relationship with him.

For the first two years, everything went fairly well. Sure there were the occasional outburst, the jealousy and accusations, as well as having to sleep with him when she wasn’t actually in the mood - but overall she was in a happy and loving relationship (so she thought). Then he proposed and she said yes. After that, he started showing his true colours - proving that he truly was his father’s son. It wasn’t until then that she found out about his family’s business.

So things took a turn, he became a lot meaner and physical. He also wanted to control every aspect of her life, which resulted in one of the men being assigned as her personal bodyguard that would follow her everywhere and report everything back.

Still, she managed with it. It wasn’t until a month before the wedding, when she found out that she was pregnant, that she knew she needed to get out. There was no way that she was going to bring a child into her world, into his world. She just didn’t know how... She just knew she needed to keep her pregnancy a secret for as long as she possibly could.

Then her bodyguard found out. Haeun was at a total loss of what she was going to do and was just ready to accept her fate, but then he surprised her. He was going to help her get away from her fiancé. He gathered everything she would need, amongst which was a new identity, enough money so she’d get by for a while and a bus ticket far away from Chicago.

A few days before the wedding, she finally ran away. That day she very much considers the death of Haeun Kang and the birth of Jaesi Ryu.

Ever since she’s been on the run from her ex, and though her former-bodyguard assured her that he’d do everything to make sure that she wouldn’t be found, she knew that he could make no guarantees so she still lives in fear that one day he’ll find her.

Between her fear and her life on the run, Jaesi knew that she couldn’t possibly raise a child as well. She wanted better for them. So eventually she decided to give her child up for adoption. With the help of an agency, she found a lovely couple and knew that they’d give her child a good life. A few month later she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and with pain in her heart gave him away.

She’s lived a few places ever since, and now she’s living in New York. Though she’s only been here for four months, she does like it. Still, she can’t make herself completely comfortable. Despite four years having passed by since she got away from her ex, she’s still looking over her shoulder all the time and living in fear. You can even find a packed bag under her bed, lying ready in case she needs to move quick and start running again.

Personality

The past few years have changed Jaesi. At first glance, she tends to come across as quite a cold person. She’s a pretty no-nonsense and uptight person that isn’t afraid to say her thoughts or disagree with someone.

She’s a very caring person once you get to know her. Though she hasn’t been in NY for that long, Jaesi quickly has a made a name for herself as being the mother figure amongst the girls of the nightclub she works at. She’s always the first to check on them with any issues and just generally looks after them.

Jaesi is the kind of person that will listen to other’s people issues and help them out however she can, but she never opens up about her own problems. She keeps those buried deep inside and isn’t quick to open up to people.

It’s not that she doesn’t trust people anymore, but she definitely doesn’t trust people easily. It takes her a bit to truly warm up to people. Actually getting her to open up to someone would probably require some kind of miracle.

She doesn’t sing anymore, at least not in public. In the privacy of her own home she might do it, or hum a little bit while getting ready to open the club, but other than that she doesn’t share it with anyone anymore.

She definitely pretends to be more okay than she actually is. She probably should’ve become an actress because she’s good at it. 98% of the time she is putting on an act.

Just plenty of issues, okay? Trust issues, commitment issues, terrified of actual feelings... it goes on.

Do not challenge her to some kind of contest or bet because she will give it her everything and 99% of the time she wil win. She’s not a sore loser per se, but she is definitely more comfortable with winning.

With the exception of one private Instagram account that’s only existed for the past three years, Jaesi has no social media accounts. For obvious reasons if you read her history. Main reason she made an Instagram account was so she could follow the accounts of the people that adopted her baby...

Possible connections

Roommates (0/2) - NY is expensive so she’d be living with two other people, she wouldn’t necessarily be close with them though

Friends

Neighbours

Coworkers from the nightclub - fellow waitresses, bar staff, bouncers, etc.

Customers at the night club (regulars or first timers or occasional)

Friends with benefits - she doesn’t do relationships and feels well okay, but the girl does have needs

One night stands / casual hook-ups - see above

Her former bodyguard - give me some angst, we can plot this okay

Her ex - listen if you want to play trash, come at me

People who knew her from before and come across her in NY - can be from back in South Korea, Chicago or even from some of the other places she lived while on the run

Anything - just come hit me up!!

[gluttons-for-punishment]

What follows is the article I wrote for the book Queen: The Fans Have Their Say. I haven’t seen the book yet, so I don’t know if it’s been edited down or if the whole thing was used. I actually wrote it for Gluttons For Punishment first, and it’s been gathering dust until the time was right to post it. The time is right now, so here it is.

Tottenham Mayfair, 19th Dec 1979. Out of all the Queen concerts I attended back in the day, this was my favourite. It was my third concert of the Crazy Tour Of London, preceded by the Lyceum on the 13th and the Rainbow on the 14th. On the morning of the 19th I was determined to get to the venue nice and early in order to be first in the queue. So I hopped on a bus (the venue is about 8km away from where I was living at the time) and arrived just after 10 o’clock in the morning - I’d intended to get there earlier but I couldn’t shift my lazy arse out of bed. I needn’t have worried though - there was no one there. I was at the head of the queue! At first I felt a bit of a fool. Maybe nobody else will turn up until 6 o’clock or whatever, and I’ll be sitting here like a lemon all day. As luck would have it, some ten minutes after I got there a big party of Northerners arrived - about twenty of them. They were good company, and I was glad I’d at least made some effort to get there early.

Come mid-day, my friends Mark and Andy turned up and joined me at the front. By now there were about 200 fans queuing behind us. When the time came to open the doors and let us in, we ran to the front of the stage to get a good vantage point. I can still see all these crowds of people running across this tiny nightclub towards the stage. The three of us managed to plant ourselves right in front of the catwalk at the front of the stage. I lost precious seconds arguing with the doorman who wasn’t returning the ticket stubs to us (the above pic is someone else’s). But I still managed to get the best spot in the venue.

So the band were mere feet away from our faces throughout the whole gig. At one point I thought I was going to drown in dry ice.

The best bit was during Death On Two Legs. Freddie was right in front of me when he sang “...and now you can kiss my ass goodbye”, and at that point I presented him with my middle finger. He laughed, grabbed my hand, and swept it aside. So if you’re lucky enough to ever hear a recording of this show (I’ve never been able to find one), listen for a little chuckle when he delivers that line. That was me, that was.

These photos are by Shane Wilkes.

[closetofanxiety]

Mania Madness: In Queens With Queens Quest

Wrestlemania was in New York this year (well, New Jersey, but you know what they mean), and since I live about two and a half hours away, I felt like I would be failing in my duties as a wrestling fan if I didn’t attend some of the related events. Make no mistake: I did not want to go to Wrestlemania itself, as the idea of sitting in a football stadium and squinting at a faraway shape that might be Buddy Murphy in the springtime chill is not high on my bucket list. But there were lots of other things to do, and I did very few of them! I did go to see the Stardom show in Queens and to WrestleCon in Manhattan, though, and herewith are my observations, jotted down for posterity and, hopefully, your amusement and/or edification:

FRIDAY

I think this is only the second time Stardom has run a show in the U.S., and it’s definitely the first time they’ve done it amidst the surge of popularity they’ve experienced in the GIF era. Although going to visit Hakujinjoe in Tokyo is a goal towards which I am even now socking away money, there’s no guarantee that I’ll ever actually get to see Stardom in Japan, and so this was the must-see event of the weekend for me.

This anticipation was accompanied by two apprehensions: First, my nature reluctance to drive in New York City, even in the outer boroughs. I live in the woods, and your city ways frighten and confuse me. Second, based on many of the US joshi fans I have encountered online, I worried this crowd would basically be a giant convention for creepers, perverts, rageaholic gatekeepers, scam artists peddling $300 autographed gravure DVDs, and people who seem to have only a dim understanding that the characters portrayed in the ring are not, in fact, identical with the women portraying them. Listen: I am not exactly Cary Grant when it comes to wit and charm, and just being an American who watches Japanese women’s wrestling puts me among a tiny percentage of hardcore nerds, so I hope this doesn’t come off as haughty. But there are good nerds, and then there are the nerds we encounter online way too often.

The first apprehension turned out to be baseless, as I got to Queens with plenty of time to spare and, like most joshi fans, headed over to the Rufus King Homestead on Jamaica Avenue for a tour of the mansion once owned by the fiery antislavery advocate and signatory to the Constitution. OK, so I was the only joshi fan who toured the Rufus King Homestead (in fact, I was the only person, period; Rufus does not get much love), but I still learned a lot. Rufus King used to loan money at exorbitant rates to local farmers who owned slaves, and when they couldn’t pay him back, he’d accept the enslaved people as collateral, only to immediatly free them. Rufus King, Loan Shark For Justice!

It turns out the second apprehension was also baseles, because the crowd turned out to be full of awesome people. Really friendly, outgoing, and super enthusiastic nerds, the best kind of nerd, really. The dominant attitude was not, “Oh you like Stardom? Name five of their faction drafts” but “I can’t believe we all get to see this awesome show together.” It was also, by a country mile, the most diverse indie wrestling crowd I’ve been part of, and about 35-40 percent of the people in attendance were women, which really made the whole experience better. I’m not saying everyone was awesome, but it was definitely a fun group of people to be part of for an afternoon. I am ashamed that I assumed it would be full of unbearable dweebs.

So, that out of the way, here’s the highlights of the show, in the time-honored spaghetti Western sytem of categorization:

THE GOOD

Momo Watanabe vs. Utami Hayashishita: Easily the match of the day, and one of the best matches I’ve seen all year. The Queen’s Quest teammates were batling for Momo’s Wonder of Stardom title, which she won from the departing Io Shirai last year. I don’t just like Momo, I identify with her image as the studious but introverted nerd kid who thinks hard work and playing by the rules is enough to guarantee success, only to be constantly frustrated as flashier peers take shortcuts to the top. The tension between these two has been building since Utami’s debut last year and subsequent mega-push as The Big Rookie and Utami All-the-Belts. Momo, who put in years of quiet, dedicated work as Io’s understudy, is in danger of being usurped as Queen’s Quest leader by the newcomer before her tenure has really even gotten under way. This is a great basis for a wrestling match, and these two, aware they were in front of their biggest audience outside of Japan not just in person but watching on Fite, rose to the occasion. I’m terrible at describing wrestling matches, but this was a nailbiter full of near-falls and what-will-it-take kickouts that felt earned rather than slathered on. It helped that the crowd was rabid, with Utami having a slight edge, WHICH ONLY SERVED TO MAKE ME CHEER LOUDER FOR MOMO. I honestly had no idea who was going to win: normally you’d know the champ would retain in an away match like this, but having their second most important belt change hands would also have been a great way to make a splash in their New York debut. In the end, though, Momo retained with her Peach Sunrise finisher and I LOST IT.

Stars vs. Oedo Tai: The villainous but lovable Oedo Tai were over like crazy with this crowd, and people went bananas when they came out to do their pre-match war dance. They could have basically just done that and most people would have been, but they had a fun elimination match with the Stars faction. A lot of zany action in this and a genuine surprise elimination of Kagetsu midway through. The only missing piece of the puzzle was Sumire Natsu, who didn’t come over with the company, possibly because she’s a freelancer. She made appearances at Tokyo BDSM clubs instead during Mania weekend, which is the most Sumire Natsu thing ever.

Yurie Kozakai doing the ring introductions: Stardom was really smart about the idea that they were giving fans in New York “a real Stardom show,” and having the promotion’s normal ring announcer introduce the wrestlers was a perfect touch.

Hana Kimura: The newest Stardom signing looked like a superstar and basked in the crowd’s adulation during a three-way tag match that also involved Konami and Bea Priestley (making her US debut?) and Britt Baker and Brittany Blake, who should have called themselves the Britt-ish. No? I’m - I’m [putting my finger to my ear, like I’m listening] I’m being told “No, they should not have called themselves that.” Anyway, the match was fun but insubstantial, but Hana’s charisma is off the charts.

THE BAD

IPW:UK ran a show at the venue (the NYC Arena, which is an arena only in the sense that a mid-sized nightclub is an arena) right before Stardom, using House of Glory’s ring (the compromises and arrangements of Mania Weekend!), and the bottom rope broke. The effort to fix the broken rope was mostly unsuccessful, and also delayed the opening of doors at the venue by nearly an hour, meaning 600 hearty nerds were standing in line in 39 degree weather, with sleet pelting us. The paperback I had brought to pass the time in line was USELESS. On the lemons-lemonade side of things, though, this did mean we were all in line when Stardom’s bus rolled up, and all the wrestlers disembarked to head inside. Big cheers from the crowd, which obviously delighted the wrestlers. “It’s gonna be awesome!” Hana yelled at us. It was! Once we got out of the sleet

The broken rope delay also meant they had to cut the already abbreviated (five matches) show short, and it showed. The first three matches were all obviously truncated, with the High Speed title match between Hazuki and Dust suffering the most for it. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, and I was impressed by Dust, who’s new to me, but it felt like they were just starting to get going when it ended. IPW:UK, YOU ARE NOW MY ENEMY. OR MAYBE HOUSE OF GLORY, I DON’T KNOW. SOMEONE. 

THE UGLY

Maybe half the appeal of this thing was the promised meet and greet afterward, but the meet and greet was more chaotic and less organized than Kelley Square at rush hour (sorry, this is a Worcester reference, Worcester people will know this). Nobody seemed to know where to stand, lots of fans didn’t realize they had to buy little tickets before meeting the wrestlers, and as someone whose job sometimes involves putting up signs in medical buildings, the lack of even rudimentary paper signage was APPALLING. This did not stop me from getting nerdy fan pics with Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Momo Watanabe, Mayu Iwatani, and Konami. Hazuki left her table before I could get to her, and this failure will haunt the remainder of my days upon this earth. Possibly. The wrestlers all had pieces of paper with common American names written on them, so they’d know how to address the autographed pictures, which was sweet. Hana has great conversational English. There was no line when I went up to Konami, which is preposterous. Konami rules, fellow nerds. The whole thing was nice, and the language barrier prevented any of that thing where guys try to unburden their psyches onto female wrestlers in a bid to make some kind of emotional connection. JUST SMILE FOR THE CAMERA AND MOVE ALONG, PAL.

Also, apparently the Fite stream was choppy as hell and cut out completely right at the end of the Momo-Utami match, and only came back after it was over. Glad I went in person!

In part two, we’ll cover the gregarious Jesse Ventura, the surprising lack of merch slingers at WrestleCon, and the puzzling fame of that fan who had a cardboard sign saying “FACE FUCK ME FINN” at a Takeover a few years ago.

[chadstjames]

The last 24 hours…

Minimal train services due to a cancelled strike which meant I had take a longer route from Dorchester to Brighton.

The trip also included a rail replacement with a bus driver playing music that made you feel like you were either starring in a David Lynch or John Waters film depending what track came on.

Made a friend with a filmmaker where we exchanged recommendations, hopes and dreams.

Discovered a used roll of film on the train. My mind pondered at what it might reveal if I developed it. It’s got the making of an adventure or a horror movie. Time will tell.

Finally got to Brighton, checked into my hotel, treated myself with a hot towel shave at one of the local barbershops. Met up with a guy off Grindr for coffee. I was surprised when he proceeded to inform me of his hourly rates. I respectfully declined his offer while thanking him kindly.

Had stroll through town and discovered a cabaret show at The Queen of Arms. Made some new friends who also happened to be touring with the Cher musical. Ended up dancing and drinking the night away at nightclub Legends. Wrapped things up with a less than desirable kebab and stumbled back to my hotel with my liver feeling punished.

[theofficialcunt]

Hurricane Adore - Chapter 1