#Owen Lee

[norashelley]

Grand opening of Mayer's Department Store. Irving G. Thalberg, Leila Hyams, Norma Shearer, S. Charles Lee, Owen Lee, Raquel Torres, and Sidney Weisman, 1928

[blackswaneuroparedux]

An artist has to pay for the gift of his genius. Wagner paid. He was defeated, one way or another, all his life. His own self-destructiveness always pursued him. There wasn’t one of his triumphs that was not spoiled, at the moment of triumph, by his own self-destructiveness. But what he couldn’t do, his characters do. In his operas, he splits his many-faceted self into those characters. He drains off the evil in himself and, as the long dramas move towards their great catharses, he brings the good together. Hans Sachs does what Wagner wanted to do but never could – renounce his own wilfulness and open up in understanding and compassion to others.

M. Owen Lee, Wagner and the Wonder of Art: An Introduction to Die Meistersinger

Of Wagner’s great operas, “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” often gets overlooked when the conversation of “greatest works” begins. Perhaps partly because the story is pretty straightforward and is also admittedly one of the composer’s more intimate operas. The opera opens on Midsummer's eve, Nuremberg in the 16th century - a setting many productions have played loose with for example I went to one of Glyndebourne's production that updated the setting to the early 19th century.

The story revolves around the real-life cobbler-poet Hans Sachs and the guild of mastersingers - poets and musicians who pursue their craft according to traditions and rules. A goldsmith's daughter, Eva, and a knight, Walther von Stolzing, fall in love, but Eva's father has promised her to the winner in the forthcoming song contest. Walther must learn the mastersinger's art rapidly, under the wise tuition of Sachs (considered Wagner's most generous and human character) - and despite a challenge from the foolish town clerk Beckmesser.

The premiere of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg was generously supported by Ludwig II of Bavaria, at the Munich Court Opera on 21 June 1868. Hans von Bülow conducted, and Franz Strauss, the father of Richard Strauss played the French horn at the premiere. It was enthusiastically received, and Eduard Hanslick wrote in Die Neue Freie Presse, “Dazzling scenes of colour and splendour, ensembles full of life and character unfold before the spectator’s eyes, hardly allowing him the leisure to weigh how much and how little of these effects is of musical origin.”

Within a year of its premiere, Meistersinger was performed across central Europe, and Hans Sachs’s final warning at the end of Act III for the need to preserve German art from foreign threats became a rallying point for German nationalism, particularly during the Franco-Prussian War, the Wilhelmine Reich, the Weimar Republic, and most notoriously, during the Third Reich. But - and quite rightly so - many contemporary productions have attempted to redeem it as one of Wagner's most approachable, tuneful and likeable works.

The opera itself was not based on any major myth the way some of his other works were and its tame and comic nature make it seem ripe to overlook in the context of his other massive philosophical works. Yet this opera is every bit as good, if not better, than many of Wagner’s best works. It’s overture has become a staple of the standard orchestral repertoire, but its themes of longing and the nature of art and its purpose are among the most immersive and potent discussions that the creator engages his audience in. The main draw I think is the character of Hans Sachs himself that Wagner himself readily identified with.

As a 15-year-old Wagner saw Deinhardstein’s comedy “Hans Sachs” on a Dresden stage, which captivated him instantly. It was about the Nuremberg poet and Meistersinger Sachs, who was known for his poetry in the 16th century. The art of the Mastersingers went back to minstrels who made music according to free rules and who recorded their art rules in fixed tablatures as they gradually settled in the cities. This art was subsequently administered by the guild masters, of whom the shoemaker Sachs was the most famous.

17 years after his experience in the Dresden theatre, Wagner felt the need to create a cheerful counterpart to the tragic “Tannhäuser”. He recollected the comedy and created his first sketches in 1845 during a spa stay in Marienbad. His involvement in the Dresden Revolution and the hectic flight to Switzerland interrupted the work and it was to take another 15 years before he resumed work.

Why it took him so long to write could partly be explained by financial woes which despite taking a heavy advance he failed to turn in a credible draft. It was not until the work on the opera continued when Ludwig II of Bavaria relieved him of his financial needs and he was able to complete the work by 1867. But also he needed time for ideas to marinate as it was only later that Wagner had come across a chronicle by Wagenseil (“von den Meisters Singer holdseligen Kunst”), which gave him a comprehensive insight into the rules and regulations of the Meistersinger.

But yet another reason exists which was the emotional turbulence in his life, in particular his relationship with his then secret lover, Mathilde Wesendonck. At the invitation of his Zurich patrons, the Wesendonck couple, Wagner spent a few days with them in Venice in 1861. There he discovered that his secret lover Mathilde Wesendonck was pregnant with her husband’s fifth child. After the love affair was already in a crisis, Wagner realised that this love, which inspired him to “Tristan and Isolde” was over. Now Wagner decided to philosophically transcend this indirect “rejection” and saw himself as Hans Sachs, who renounced love for noble reasons.

The philosophical framework for this was provided by Schopenhauer’s work “Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung” (The World as Will and representation”), which he had become acquainted with a few years earlier. In Schopenhauer’s pessimistic view of the world, the will of the predator “man” results in destructive torments. This inherent mania leads to war, self-destruction and loss of love, whose only way out is renunciation (of the will).

Thus the shoemaker poet Hans Sachs became a Schopenhauer figure whose world philosophy Wagner expounded in the delusional monologue of the third act. This philosophical change explains the paramount importance of Hans Sachs’ figure in Wagner’s Meistersinger: Sachs is the master himself. Wagner identified himself with no other figure more than the cobbler-poet, and he has him quoted in the third act “Tristan and Isolde”: «Mein Kind, von Tristan und Isolde kenn’ ich ein traurig Stück. Hans Sachs war klug und wollte nichts von Herrn Markes Glück». (“My child, I know a sad tale of Tristan and Isolde. Hans Sachs was clever and did not want anything of King Marke’s lot”). Isolde now became Eva!

Apart from Sachs, all other figures fade away, even the revolutionary hero and iconoclast Walther (who also has a little Wagner in him) must take a back seat to the light figure Sachs. If the Junker Walther were the hero of the final act in a “normal” opera, the third act now becomes the two-hour “Hans Sachs Festival”, which begins with his Wahn-monologue and ends with his «Verachtet mir die Meister nicht» (“Don’t despise me the masters”), forming one of the most gigantic par force tours in all of opera literature. The part of Sachs demands the whole range of the singer’s repertoire: high lyrical passages, long declamatory stretches and of course the high passages of the third act and the enormous final scene.

Marco Jentzsc sings a snippet of Walther's prize song in David McVicar's 2011 production.

[clairewritesandrambles]

Currently watching Twisters with headphones and subtitles (as it should be experienced). If you had a hard time hearing some of the quieter dialogue like me, here is a list of little details I didn't notice the first time:

Scott's driver tells to Boone to blow him when the Tornado Wranglers arrive at the first gas station.

Ben telling Tyler to keep his eyes on the road when he is staring at Kate as she and Javi pass them.

As Boone is hanging out the window loading rockets, he sings 'Dead End Road' by Jellyroll and then when the camera pans out he yells "SING IT BEN!" (Honestly this rewatch caught a lot of background dialogue for him, made me love Boone even more).

The cause of the broken trigger during the second tornado is melted chocolate and Tyler is lecturing Boone about eating chocolate in the truck.

In the background after the Stillwater tornado you can see the StormPAR guys digging the truck out of the wreck of the motel. (Still find it hilarious that it survived, considering we see a - slightly smaller - truck get sucked straight into the tornado in the same area).

Scott 100% calls Riggs his uncle. I already was pretty sure that was what he said, but subtitles confirmed it.

You can barely hear the dialogue, but the entire time during the EF5 that hits El Reno Scott is the one talking in the truck with Javi. It's all super quiet because of the music and sound of the tornado, but throughout the entire thing it is Scott who is showing fear and Javi is the calmer one (while still being realistic for the scene). I think it just adds an interesting take on how calm he is later and wanting to go back to the tornado. Maybe a bit of a pride thing?

Not so much something that I *just* noticed, but I find the inconsistency with Tyler's truck damage at the end hilarious. The thing just got rolled by an EF5 and a few days later (StormPAR truck is still covered in mud, so it can't be a big time gap) it seems fine at the airport. I can totally see him being the type of guy who would absolutely run it to the mechanic as soon as possible, that is HIS BABY.

This has been Live Watching with Claire.

[amelia-mariee]

Everyone say thank you to Lee Isaac Chung’s editor for vouching for us

[doodles-bi-tea]

claim your “I was a Lewis Pullman fan before Thunderbolts” ticket here! (in case he blows up in popularity any more than he might have after things like TGM and Lessons in Chemistry…)

[dialoguestetatet]

Windbreaker characters (separate)

Can you buy me pads

Takeda Kaneshiro; Noah Austin; Vinny Hong (Hong Yoo Bin); Deokbong Kim (Monster); Wooin; Shelly Scott; Gyuchan (Monster crew); June (Junsu Lee); Sangho Choi; Hyeok Gwon; Owen Knight; Minu Yoon; Ryohei; Sung Kwon; Hajun (Joker); Harry Shepherd; Dom Kang; Hwangyeon Choi

masterlist

Why does it look like they're texting each other? 😭 I tried to include as many characters as possible 😥

[dxeam-c4nteen]

men who are "trailer park hot" (according to a tiktok i saw)

- fred durst

- paul wall

- johnny knoxville (heavy on him)

- bam margera

- steve-o

- rob zombie

- norman reedus

- stone cold steve austin

- jason lee

- billy bob thornton

- kyle gallner

- eminem

(some men in my opinion)

- theo von

- riff raff

- violent j and shaggy 2 dope

- jay and silent bob

- owen wilson

[artist-issues]

I also like that his nickname for her changes as he learns more about her (because their interest in understanding each other parallels their interest in understanding how storms work) but it’s always in reference to where she’s from. Because she has that whole “running from home -> returning to home” character arc thing going. So we start with “city girl” and we move to “Sepulpa.” And the guy who’s giving her those nicknames is not only demonstrating that he’s learned more about her and they’re getting closer, but also, he’s the one really reminding her where she’s from/where she belongs in this story.

Javi is also doing that, but the thing about Javi is that he is associated with the Big Tragedy. He was part of the thing that makes Kate want to cut herself off from “where she belongs.” So even though he’s reminding her of who she is and where she’s from, too, it’s in the wrong direction. Kate’s character needed somebody new to come into her life, not somebody from the tortured past. And what better “somebody new” than a guy who’s got all the love for weather she used to have, and all the challenging interest in her, with none of the “reference to tragedy?”

I mean they could’ve written Tyler to be a storm-chaser who lost someone, too. At the rodeo, he could’ve gone, “yeah, my parents died in a storm, there wasn’t an early enough warning system, so now I chase what I used to fear to help understand the thing that took my family from me,” yadda yadda, angst angst. But that’s not what they do. Because Tyler’s character doesn’t need to foil the tragedy. He needs to foil the fun. And the hope, and the enjoyment, and the bravery, that Kate’s character has been suppressing.

So what better character to start marking where Kate’s return-to-where-she-belongs journey is, with nicknames, than Tyler—the guy trying to understand her—and then once he gets an understanding, he’s the guy trying to push her to move forward?

Good good good. Good writing, good storytelling, good characters. Nothing fancy. Just plain good.

[silvergifs]

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

It appears to be bread day on tumblr, so here's the Michael Sheen bread toaster video for the vibes

Superb direction. 1000/10. Every shot, every transition was perfectly timed. The sound was synced beautifully to the toaster clicking, building the atmosphere and urgency even though there were no clear stakes. The dialogue was so understated but it was positioned perfectly. Just where it made sense to add it, nowhere else. The use of diagetic sound, the clicking toaster, to add to the mood. The transitions themselves, oh man. The way one shot of the bread moved to another, like the clicking of old-fashioned slides in a projector. The perfect POVs. The variety that they managed to bring to one simple, repeated action. The stillness in the kitchen filled with frantic motion, and the restless motion in the beach that was mostly deserted. It's like a beautifully choreographed dance. Not one step out of place, not a single missed beat. It felt flawless.

And above is the reaction I had to watching it the first time. Happy, uh, tumblr bread day? Thanks @madfangirlontheloose.

@todayontumblr

[kald-dal-art]

Part 2 of TMA Episode posters, been procrastinating a bit on this series, but hey got the perfect excuse to work on it again so why not.

Hope you like these ones as well :^)

[the-woman-upstairs]

Twisters is so funny because we’re first introduced to the corporate sponsored tornado chasers and they’re just…a boring collection of dudes. Totally bland, with barely a single personality between them. And then in come the Tornado Wranglers: the hottest, gayest collection of exuberant fun-loving weirdos you could possibly imagine. And it’s like…gee I wonder who the good guys are.

[whineandcheese24]

my unpopular opinion for the day: i don't like the way the 911 fandom shoehorns the firefam into a nuclear family situation. Bobby may be a father-figure for Buck, but he is not really his father and Athena is definitely not his mother. neither of them raised Buck, or even knew him when he was a kid, and that's kind of a big part of being a parent

the thing that pisses me off is the mom!Athena thing, because it feels like the only reason people say that is because of Bobby and Athena's marriage. Buck and Athena never had that kind of relationship. she may affectionately scold him, but like Bobby she didn't raise him, and unlike Bobby, she doesn't feel any kind of responsibility towards him. she loves him and cares for him, and he's part of her family, but that doesn't make her his mom. in fact, Buck already has a mother figure, and it's MADDIE. frankly, Maddie is more of a parent to Buck than Bobby is

and this goes for Maddie, May and Harry too. Bathena are not parent-figures for Maddie. Athena is Maddie's friend, and Maddie's on-screen relationship with Bobby is almost non-existent, same with Buck and Maddie's on-screen relationship with May and Harry. they're not siblings, as far as we know they barely know each other.

I just hate the way people want to shove Buck and even Maddie into the Grant-Nash family like a little nuclear family cutout. Bobby will always feel responsible for Buck, more so than he does for the rest of the firefam, and Bobby is one of the most important people in Buck's life. but being a parent isn't just about a relationship dynamic, it's about child-raising, and money, and teaching.

[venusimleder]

The Face, May 1995.

Ph. Lee Jenkins

[edsearring]

was thinking to myself "lmao jack manhattan and cosmo chase were Partners. curtwen arc when" when i remembered the actual plot of spies are forever

hm. a Partner who is dead/"dead" and the other one is obsessed with revenge. going on dangerous missions . where have i heard that before ?

[demifiendrsa]

Official character posters for Horizon: An American Saga