#Report From Sundance

[nerdygaymormon]

LDS LGBTQ Anniversaries for 2023

For 8 years I’ve been in charge of creating my stake’s calendar. In addition to stake meetings & activities, I include holidays and significant LDS anniversaries like when it was the 175th anniversary of the founding of Sunday School or 40 years ago priesthood and temple blessings were restored to members of African descent. 

This year there's only 1 significant anniversary I put on the calendar: Sept 21st will be 200 years since the angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith.

For readers of this blog, here’s a few anniversaries this year that may be of interest:

75 years ago

April 1948 - Gay BYU students Kent Goodridge and Richard Snow met with church president George Albert Smith. They were in love and wanted to get a clarification of their ‘status.’ President Smith treated them with great kindness and told them to "live their lives as best they could" in their companionship. They had gambled making this appointment and worried they could be excommunicated on the spot, instead they left feeling loved and valued. 

Unfortunately, this live-and-let-live attitude didn’t last long as President Smith's successor, David O. McKay, felt homosexuals "should be excommunicated without any doubt, that the homosexual has no right to membership in the Church."

30 years ago

May 18, 1993 - Apostle Boyd K. Packer gave an address to the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric, in which he stated there are three great threats to the LDS Church: the gay/lesbian challenge, the feminist movement, and scholars 

September - The September Six are excommunicated for publishing scholarly work against or criticizing church doctrine or leadership. This was widely reported in national press and resulted in a chilling effect on academics challenging approved church narratives

25 years ago

October - Mormon-raised Russell Henderson and his friend Aaron McKinney tortured Matthew Shepard and left him for dead in Wyoming. The shocking crime made international news. The outrage over this crime eventually lead to the Matthew Shepard Act in 2009 which expanded the federal law’s definition of “hate crime” to include sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2018, Matthew's ashes were moved to the Washington National Cathedral

15 years ago

Chieko Okazaki, the first person of color to serve in an LDS Church general organization presidency, was first counselor in the General Relief Society President when she published a book in which she wrote “A family with a gay child is not a failed family. It's a family with a member who needs special love and understanding and who has love and understanding to give back.”

California’s Prop 8 - Church leadership heavily encouraged members donate time and money to pass Prop 8 which would ban same-sex marriage in California. About 1/2 of the money raised for its passage came from Mormons. The proposition passed and immediately there were protests at temples in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, and the church received a lot of negative exposure. Since then the church has preferred behind-the-scenes roles in its efforts to combat queer rights

10 years ago

Dec 20, 2013 - Same-sex marriages became legally recognized in Utah. Seth Anderson & Michael Ferguson, both former Mormons, are the first gay couple to get married in Utah 

5 years ago 

January 2018 - The documentary "Believer" featuring Imagine Dragon's lead singer Dan Reynolds premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Reynolds discussed the intersection of LGBTQ people in the Mormon community. Later in the year he appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and spoke of LGBTQ Mormons and suicides

January 2018 - Josh Weed, the most famous LDS gay man in a mixed-orientation marriage, announces that he & his wife will get a divorce. They apologize to everyone who ever had their story held up as an example that gay people can get married and stay in the Church.

February 2018 - Church-run Family Services states it no longer provides reparative therapy or sexual orientation change efforts

February 2018 - Richard Ostler starts a podcast called “Listen, Learn, and Love,” which has LGBTQ members/former members share their stories

March 2018 -  BYU sponsors its first LGBT campus event, a panel of four students--Kaitlynn Wright, Ben Schilaty, Sarah Langford and Gabriel Cano–answer student-submitted questions

As president of the LGBTQAI+ and Allies Club, Jill Stevenson worked with administration at Southern Virginia University, a predominantly-LDS liberal arts college, to get the university to officially recognize the club, and to allow same-gender dancing on campus

June 2018 - The Church’s Family Search website starts allowing same-sex marriages to be recorded

July 2018 - The Provo Freedom Festival allows LGBTQ groups to participate in the parade due to a contract it had signed with the city of Provo which included a non-discrimination clause.

Dec 2018 - Stacey Harkey, a cast member on BYUTV’s popular show Studio C, comes out as gay

[eretzyisrael]

Report: Israeli Artists Censored by Hollywood

The Hollywood Reporter revisited that topic, expanding the focus to show how Israeli artists struggle to get their visions to the screen.

Israeli content creators are increasingly becoming pariahs in the global marketplace.

According to the site, some Jewish artists can’t find funding post Oct. 7. That’s bad enough, but it gets worse.

Israelis have become persona non-grata, particularly on the film festival front — even when their work and social media profiles are apolitical….Israeli filmmakers say their projects are being deliberately excluded on the festival circuit by gatekeepers, some of whom have signaled support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on social media.

We also hear from “veteran Hollywood dealmaker Craig Emanuel” who said festival programmers (including those from Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival) fear “pushback and demonstrations” from anti-Israel activists.

That convinced them to avoid Israeli films and filmmakers regardless of the content. Pro-Palestinian protesters helped make this a reality. The Heckler’s Veto is alive and well within the creative community.

Shameful. Cowardly.

[foxes-that-run]

2014 Haylor Timeline

Timeline Tag, or years, back to 2013.

1 January - Taylor wrote say don’t go

2 - 4 January - Harry and Kendall Skiing with Jeff and his GF

6 January Lover Journal January 6, 2014, LA: Taylor decides to move to NY “dating is awful”. Reports KUWK producers wanted to film Harry and Kendall and Harry said no.

16 January - Harry seen at pool, then eagles concert in LA on 17th Harry puts his arm around Kendall at Eagles Concert. Kathy Griffiths said he was wasted, said that Tom hanks joked about wanting to drive Harry rehab and that he didn’t stay with Kendall inside. 18th Jarry at sundance festival

19 January - Harry covered "things I can't" with bible and Silver Spoon tattoo's. 20th in LA

21 January - I know places written, then Welcome to NY, you are in Love. Ryan Tedder said Harry was in the Studio then also.

25 January - Lover Journal: January 25, 2014, LA - after Clive Davis Grammy party at night that she never felt better about their chances of winning a Grammy. Rumour Harry seen with Kendall.

26 January - Red doesn't win Grammy, Taylor decides to make 1989 sonically cohesive

1 February - Harry’s 20th birthday, he told stern in 2022 that when he was 20 he felt like every decision in his adult life had been made as a democracy till that point and felt he should make decisions. Daily Mail he spent birthday with Kendall Jenner, his cousin said he is always the dumpee.

9 February - Clean written

11 February - Taylor gets haircut, Harry seen backstage, she then writes Shake it off. He writes Stockholm Syndrome

14 February - Taylor posted "there's nothing like real love"

15, 17, 18th - Harry seen in London

18 February - Kendall at London Fashion Week, Harry goes to Cara's show not hers, in the BUA the next week "Harry purposely didn’t go to the Topshop show or have his planned party so people wouldn’t speculate about him and Kendall,”

19 February -Taylor writes Style in LA. Harry later to collect Brit because he was in bathroom. Rumour he was smoking with Nick G, Harry left after party with his mum, Zayn and Louis not there.

20 February - Harry arrives in LA in afternoon.

21 February - Harry at Sushi Dream with his mum and Robin, later dinner with Jeff, may be the date Charlie Puth tweeted about him.

22 February - Lover Journal February 22, 2014, LA, Been in the studio with Max, Shake it off, has been in Conway Studios all week. Taylor walks on beach with Lorde. Ariana Grande also recording album with JALBOYH in Conway Studios, Max Martin working on both records. Harry MIA in day, then at same Miley concert, Kendall goes separately. Harry and Kendall BUA, work commitments

24 February Harry got anatomical heart tattoo (a real heart for a real love) HSA Publishing Limited (UK company) (private limited company) this is harry’s publishing company was incorporated in February 25, 2014 and is the publisher of JALBOYH

25 February - Article about Harry having written with John Legend and on 20 songs away from the band, says he had worked with Alex & Sierra

1 March - Both at Oscars party. Karlie Kloss flies from Paris to LA.

2 March - Harry seen in LA, then disappeared for 10 days, then LA again. 1D on break.

3 March - Taylor at vanity fair party

4 March - Alex & Sierra posts photo of Meredith in Taylor’s LA home. Harry wrote I love you for them and this was like meeting him about that, Taylor later confirmed she heard it. Harry seen Culver city

5 March - Harry tweets ‘hands on the wheel’ when Taylor posted the photos from the weekend starting with a photo with Ed and others at vanity fair “this weekend was like..” and including a road trip to big sur with Karlie. Karlie has posted daily till she arrived in LA then started again when Taylor posted her photos. Who took the photos? A tumblr user assumed they stayed at Deetjen's Big Sur Inn resort because someone who took a photo in the same place did, maybe, the hotel is 4 star.

7 March - Taylor publicist Paula Erickson resigns, she provided 60 day notice but announced 2 weeks before took affect. Release said taking PR in-house. This reddit post has good analysis suggesting the split may have been because of the rise of Taylor’s image as a serial dater. There was a page six article that may have come from the publicist that Taylor’s parents were hard to work with.

12, 13 March - Harry had dinner alone in LA, Kendall on date with someone else down the street. Harry’s motorbike broke down, he looked sad, guy who came to help mad. 15 March LA

18 March - Harry back in London

19 March - Liam and Harry take fan who won competition out to dinner at Sanctum Soho Hotel London

24 March - Lover Journal: March 24, 2014, New York; Moved to Tribeca, never felt more busy. One Direction filmed You and I music video at Clevedon Pier Somerset

25 March - Harry The Ace Hotel Shoreditch with Ed and Lou Teasdale for a book launch. 1D tour rehearsals

27 March - 1D Where we are tour rehearsals London. (27 & 28) 1D Camden London recording. MH plays call or delete with Nick Grimshaw and calls Niall and Harry, he says he has Niall’s number because he is writing a song for one direction and that he had never spoken to Harry before (but had his number and Harry recognised his voice.) MH asks to borrow £5k and Harry agrees. Harry probably knew he was on Nick Grimshaw. Harry and Niall seen in rehearsals in England.

2, 3 April - Harry London

17, 22, 23 April - Harry seen in LA

8 April - page six article maybe put out by Taylor’s resigned publicist that says Taylor’s parents are difficult to work with and says her business manager also resigned.

22 April - HS in LA at Sharks game with Jeff

25 April - 5 October - 1D Where we are Tour. South American dates till 11 May.

26 April - Harry Fern Tattoos, healed, covering "Might as well..."

29 April - Matty Healy's mum says MH is writing a song for 1D

4 May - Taylor attends met gala and later features this dress of ‘old Taylor’ in LAYMMD, marked start of 1989. 1D in Argentina.

7 May - One direction bread van to Christ the redeemer in TV special. Earlier Harry drunk at the hotel pool, floated his hat in the sea and Brazil! Tattoo. 1D sue over condoms using their name, MTV says it means fans will “never ever sleep with Harry Styles”

8 May - One Direction record Change your ticket in Fasano Hotel, (2:12) Rio De Janeiro. The TV Special shows Niall working out the lyrics and Harry recording WDBHG (2:25) also, though the hotel is not credited for WDBHG. In 2016 Matty Healy messily said he had been asked for a song for Four which wasn't used and felt Change Your Ticket was similar to guitars on the 1975 Girls. 1975 or MH never pursued it other than the shade. MH said to Capital FM he heard change your ticket before it came out and asked to take guitars off he didn’t write on it.

11 May - 1D tour break till 23 May, working on Four.

17 May - Taylor on tour break in NYC, working on 1989. Taylor seen most days in NYC in May.

17 & 20 May - Harry seen LA

24 May - One Direction (headliner) and Ed Sheeran play Radio 1 Big weekend in Glasgow. Ed wrote 18 this week. Liam said they had a show in another country the night before and that night. Taylor leaves NYC not seen for 6 days until Japan 31 May. 23 May - 13 July Europe 1D dates.

26 - 28 May - One Direction break, Taylor MIA. Harry in London and plays celebrity football game on 26th. After scoring a penalty shot Harry hugged Niall then kissed his heart tattoo.

27 May - footage of Zayn and Louis smoking weed in a car leaked, filmed in April. Harry quoted in media being annoyed they let it be filmed. Ed Sheeran live on Britans got talent, Simon Cowell asked for a 1D song, Ed declined then wrote 18 the next day.

30 May - Lover Journal: May 30, 2014, Shanghai 1989 cover art. 2 June - Tokyo, then asian dates till 12 June. Taylor arrives at a commercial airport with so many fans it’s talked about 10 years later… and held up as why she flies private when she had owned a jet for years… Harry Manchester show.

31 May - Tree Paine starts as Taylor’s publicist.

7 June - rumour Harry was getting dual citizenship

8 June - 1D had 5 day break starting in London then Stockholm on the 13th. Heart kiss in You and I

11 June - Harry sent a fan a video for her wedding “"You don't have to go through with this, you know all men cheat these days and it usually happens pretty fast. It’s not too late, I’m going to be waiting at Orli’s in Borehamwood for the next three hours. If you don’t come I’ll understand but that’s where I’ll be.”

12 June - Red Tour ends in Singapore, then seen most days in NYC till the 20th.

18 June - Taylor adopted Olivia Bensen, model Steph Smith with her, Steph posts to instagram and follows both Harry and Taylor that day. Harry can be heard laughing in this video. Harry not seen, but in Copenhagen the day before and day after in London

19 June - Harry in London dressed the same as in the Four booklet

20 June - Taylor seen in NYC then not again for 10 days till 30th. 1D Paris

2 July - Ariana Grande talks about Harry writing JALBOYH. She says it's a beautiful song he's an amazing songwriter.

4 July - Taylor squad party at RI. 1D had a show in Switzerland.

13 July - Taylor water gun patrol at High Watch RI. Last time she is papped there for 10 years.

17 July - Harry and Paige at same GQ party.

20 July - Harry at Anne and Robins wedding UK

31 July - Harry in LA, not seen on 28th. Taylor NYC

March - September - Harry wrote for Four: stockholm, Where do broken hearts go, I love you (Alex and Sierra) & Little bit of your heart.

1 August - 5 October - 1D US/Canada dates.

2 August - Taylor played 1989 for Harry. Harry followed Jack Antonoff on Twitter the next day. 2 November Harry said he spent a week in the US and then played daytime TV for the rest of break.

14 August - Taylor wore black and white rose dress on Tonight show with jimmy Fallon, prompting rumors 1989 will be called Roses

18 and 20 August - 18th seen with fans in US, Harry MIA on 20th

19 August - Shake it off released, 1989's lead single with Hella Good Hair line.

24 August - 1D show in Dallas where a fan has a “Harry you have hella good hair”’poster Harry grins at. Harry comes back (he first sees it at 1:03) to point, thumbs up and again smile at the sign.

23 and 25 August - Harry in Nashville. JALBOYH released.

26 August - 1D in LA for Ellen, then Chicago then disappeared

20 - 25 August - Taylor in LA, MIA till 3 September

30 August - Heart Kiss you and I

31 August - 9 September - Harry MIA, only seen LAX 5 September then appears in London on 9th.

3 September - Ariana says she nearly refused to record JALBOYH

When asked whether she felt pressure recording a song written by Harry, Ariana said, "No, I was more intimidated because he recorded a demo for me so I could learn the song. I was like, "I don't know if I wanna touch this song.'" She has previously said ""I remember when I heard it I was like 'Wow that's a really strong verse, that's really beautiful' and then the [pre-chorus], I was like 'wow that's a really beautiful pre, that's a really strong pre!' and then the chorus I was like crying!"

3 September - Taylor arrives in London wearing the New York sweater she wears in the Reputation Magazine polaroid for Dancing with our Hands Tied. The Rep photo looks to be taken in her London rental she had in 2017, it's unclear when it was rented.

3 - 14 September - Taylor seen in London till 7th, then MIA till NYC on 14th (i.e. both go from LA to London and MIA for a week) Niall said they had 10 days off and didn’t see each other.

8 September - Taylors 1989 Rolling Stone Interview where she said it was infatuation, RS said she sounded jaded.

11 September - Rolling Stone things you learn hanging out with Taylor Swift included:

"“I think the way I used to approach relationships was very idealistic,” she says. “I used to go into them thinking, ‘Maybe this is the one — we’ll get married and have a family, this could be forever.’ Whereas now I go in thinking, ‘How long do we have on the clock — before something comes along and puts a wrench in it, or your publicist calls and says this isn’t a good idea?'”

13 September - One Direction - Rose Bowl Los Angeles, during You and I on “did they ever hold each other tight like us?�� Harry kissed the heart then had chest pains later in the show. He ends the show visibly unwell.

14 September - Four written with Fools Gold. First day Taylor seen (NYC) in a week, last seen London. 18 September Niall mentioned a 10 day break and again said the band didn’t see each other on break.

19 and 20 September - both play the iHeartRadio festival, on the 19th Taylor played WANGB, IKYWT, Love Story with a speech about Romeo & Juliet and a lot of pointing 22 and Shake it off. and 1D on the 20th, Harry kissed the heart tattoo in Little Things.

23 September - Harry, Niall, Altoid girl go to bars including a gay bar, Harry and girl rode a mechanical bull together. fan reports she had a boyfriend and hired to show them around Austin.

25 September - Nola 1D concert 1D 2 hours late and helicopter out immediately after show, fans wonder if the night Zayn threw Liam against wall.

Late September Harry had US shows, he kissed his heart tattoo un Better than words (4:23) and was in a great mood. Taylor wasn't seen until NY the day of that show. Harry’s instagram goes b&w between 24 September and 23 October. Out of the woods released 14 October, may refer to screaming colour lyric? Taylor posted about screaming colour. Also over 28 sept anniversary

4 October - Lou Teasdale shares photo of Harry’s braids

6-11 October - Taylor in Paris and london

8 October - Harry pumpkin picking with Erin Foster. E news “It's unlikely it will ever become serious, but they are casually dating whenever they are in the same place at the same time and it works for both of them. Meanwhile, their outing was PDA-free and didn't seem to hint that any sort of romance was brewing.”

10 October - Taylor performed Riptide performance on BBC 1 with the lyric "I love you when you're singing that song / And I got a lump in my throat / 'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong"

12 October - Harry threw up on side of the road in LA and sign put up. He had been at lily Allen’s party the night before. Press included quotes from Ed that Harry didn’t drink in the US

24 October  - Taylor MTV You are in Love is about Jack and Lena, who didn't know and her body language is guarded. Recorded this date.

27 October - 1989 released, Taylor NY. 1D Film Night Changes  MV

29 October - 1D meet with the Guardian. Louis said not seen each other for 2 weeks, the interview for shadows the end

1 November - Harry wore the Saint Laurent coat in November - December 2014. In 2016, He choose it, now with a lipstick stain, as one of '12 prized possessions', “I was leaving breakfast in London wearing this coat. I thought the girl was biting me. She was lovely.”

4 November - Taylor pulls her entire discography off Spotify over period that artists would not earn royalties. Harry said a month ago at an Airport a reporter said "Do you have any Nudes on the cloud?!" I said "yeah, loads." 

5 November - Taylor Posts a video of herself lip syncing to Kendrick Lamars Backseat Freestyle

8 November - Taylor liked a tumblr post of Matty Healy wearing a 1989 t-Shirt on stage.

10 November - Taylor wore the Butterfly and Reputation Snake Ring in the Blank Space Music video.

13 November - Harry's mermaid tattoo. “I am a mermaid”

14 November - sad guardian 1D interview

15 November - Taylor in NY, Harry records Band Aid in London. Throughout November and December Louis and Liam seem annoyed with Harry and talk over him. Many consider this the point Harry told the band he would not renew his contract, the band tensions were high from this point. See One Direction break up deep dive on Reddit.

17 November - One Direction releases Four. Perform Today show in Orlando live, Zayn missing. Filmed Four TV special. Released the Four Hangout where Harry describes the Stockholm Syndrome muse (TS) a Nympho and talks about writing from personal experience. At 31 mins Niall says WDBHG is his favourite 1D song, Harry says thank you and Niall hugs him. Harry agrees, then says best song ever then gotta be you One Direction song which (in the background) Harry adds "well done Tyler." Niall adds "your boyfriend’s back." (The boys had rhyming nicknames for each other, Tyler Swift was Taylor’s name in The Man) Change your ticket announced as bonus track on ultimate edition.

19 November - Harry and Taylor go to a 1975 concert together, ET reported they went back stage together. Change your ticket (which MH claimed was too similar to Girls after  1D did not use a song MH submitted for Four. Us weekly reports Haylor talking again.

23 November - Harry looks in Taylors direction while performing, she points at him in her performance and he makes heart eyes/whistles at Taylors AMA’s speech. Harry stayed in LA an extra day to go to Taylor's mini post-AMAs part while 1D went to Australia. (Canyon Moon vibes).

30 November  - Taylor arrives London

1 December - Harry, Kendall and Cara at British Fashion Awards in London, the day of that photo of him at top of stairs.

2 December- Taylor performs Style at VS show and completely slays. Harry joins them at the VS after party and leave 5 mins apart. (So it Goes, pick you up, leak vibes) Taylor posted photos with Ariana also, JALBOYH was still charting. Taylor wears a similar outfit in the I don’t wanna live forever video with Zayn. This was also the first time Style was played live!

4 December - Taylor returns to NY

5 December - rumours Taylor at 1975 concert

Early December- Harry follows Xander Ritz on Instagram. Xander is a lacrosse player who is close friends with Harry and seen a lot in late 2015 and 2017/2018, there are ships of them. Xander is now married to Jacquelyn. Harry is still seen with his brother Maxwell. Max and Xander co-own the Loyalist in Brooklyn. The loyalist is a high end brand integration company. Like Taylor, Xander is from Philadelphia and his family is still there. He was seen with Jeff a lot and rumoured Jeff introduced them.

6 December - Taylor has laryngitis at Jingle Bell Ball. Matty Healy has a meltdown on stage, crying, lying down and is eventually dragged off stage. In 2015 he said this was about girl stuff, drug stuff, financial stuff. In 2016 is said "“Yeah. Absolutely. And the reason I mention that is because if I had gone out with Taylor Swift I would’ve been, ‘F***ing hell! I am NOT being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.’ You know, ‘F***. THAT.’ That’s also a man thing, a demasculinizing, emasculating thing.”

8 December - Blind "The B- list celebrity offspring of two of the worst celebrity parents ever has been hooking up the past few weeks with the lead singer of the band that Taylor Swift loves. Apparently they sent Taylor a pic of themselves naked in bed together." (Ali Lohan (Dina and Michael)/Matty Healy “The 1975″)

9 December - one direction RTL episode where the band is angry at Harry, especially this section, where Liam seems drunk and talks about new experiences (shading Harry for saying he won’t continue 1D maybe) later in the interview says “we should have written a song about beards” and Louis said “or hair in general” and with a mocking look to Harry “har, har”, (possibly shading Harry for Matty Healy's meltdown the night before.) This was followed by a lot of interviews with Liam and Louis reacting to Harry like this and some they gave separate interviews.

12 December - Taylor performs the Z100 Jingle Bell Ball, with IKYWT over midnight to her birthday and during Shake it Off she gives a breathless sounding 'it's my birthday' she points to the left of the stage to say guy with the hella good hair. Calvin Harris also on the setlist. Harry was in Spain for Los40 Spain. Rob Sheffield writes a piece about just Harry (not band) in Rolling Stone which is positively glowing.

13 December - Taylor has a party in her apartment. Harry is in France for the NRG Awards. Tweets asking the media to stop having her date her friends (MH & KK)

15 December - one direction performs WDBHG with Ronnie Wood on xfactor UK final

19 December - Harry at the Bowery Hotel again, wears the Another Man 12 Prized Possessions coat that later has lipstick

22 December - Harry in Central Park, wearing Saint Laurent coat

21 December - Harry seen with Nadine Leopold and wears her jacket and carrying her bags. Sun reports things “heating up” with happy photos. The same night there are photos of Harry pointing and yelling angrily at 2am in the east village in the jacket with bags.

24 December - Tabloid media about Ali Lohan/MH

26 December - Taylor wears opal ring thought to be from Harry.

30 december- Taylor morning show and says about Style “This song is about a relationship that is never really done. you always have that person who you feel like might interrupt your wedding and say ‘don’t do it because we’re not over!” I compared it to person comes in and out and never really go out of style with a smile. Asked if the person sings she says she wants fans to picture their ex-BF not hers.

Continue to 2015

[onlydylanobrien]

'Ponyboi' stars Dylan O'Brien, Victoria Pedretti, River Gallo, Indya Moore and Director Esteban Arango stop by The Hollywood Reporter's studio during the Sundance film festival and detail the intricate look of Dylan O'Brian's character, from how he should style his hair to the tattoos on his body.

[justforbooks]

Daniel Ellsberg, a US government analyst who became one of the most famous whistleblowers in world politics when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, exposing US government knowledge of the futility of the Vietnam war, has died. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his family on Friday.

In March, Ellsberg announced that he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Saying he had been given three to six months to live, he said he had chosen not to undergo chemotherapy and had been assured of hospice care.

“I am not in any physical pain,” he wrote, adding: “My cardiologist has given me license to abandon my salt-free diet of the last six years. This has improved my life dramatically: the pleasure of eating my favourite foods!”

On Friday, the family said Ellsberg “was not in pain” when he died. He spent his final months eating “hot chocolate, croissants, cake, poppy-seed bagels and lox” and enjoying “several viewings of his all-time favourite [movie], Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, the family statement added.

“In his final days, surrounded by so much love from so many people, Daniel joked, ‘If I had known dying would be like this, I would have done it sooner …’

“Thank you, everyone, for your outpouring of love, appreciation and well-wishes. It all warmed his heart at the end of his life.”

Tributes were swift and many.

Alan Rusbridger, the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said Ellsberg “was widely, and rightly, acclaimed as a great and significant figure. But not by Richard Nixon, who wanted him locked up. He’s why the national interest should never be confused with the interest of whoever’s in power.”

The Pulitzer-winning journalist Wesley Lowery wrote: “It was an honor knowing Daniel … I’ll remain inspired by his commitment to a mission bigger than himself.”

The writer and political commentator Molly Jong-Fast said: “One of the few really brave people on this earth has left it.”

The MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan said: “Huge loss for this country. An inspiring, brave, and patriotic American. Rest in power, Dan, rest in power.”

The Pentagon Papers covered US policy in Vietnam between 1945 and 1967 and showed that successive administrations were aware the US could not win.

By the end of the war in 1975, more than 58,000 Americans were dead and 304,000 were wounded. Nearly 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers were killed, as were about 1 million North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong guerillas and more than 2 million civilians in North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Pentagon Papers caused a sensation in 1971, when they were published – first by the New York Times and then by the Washington Post and other papers – after the supreme court overruled the Nixon administration on whether publication threatened national security.

In 2017, the story was retold in The Post, an Oscar-nominated film directed by Steven Spielberg in which Ellsberg was played by the British actor Matthew Rhys.

Ellsberg served in the US Marine Corps in the 1950s but went to Vietnam in the mid-60s as a civilian analyst for the defense department, conducting a study of counter-insurgency tactics. When he leaked the Pentagon Papers, he was working for the Rand Corporation.

In 2021, a half-century after he blew the whistle, he told the Guardian: “By two years in Vietnam, I was reporting very strongly that there was no prospect of progress of any kind so the war should not be continued. And that came to be the majority view of the American people before the Pentagon Papers came out.

“By ’68 with the Tet offensive, by ’69, most Americans already thought it was immoral to continue but that had no effect on Nixon. He thought he was going to try to win it and they would be happy once he’d won it, however long it took.”

In 1973, Ellsberg was put on trial. Charges of espionage, conspiracy and stealing government property adding up to a possible 115-year sentence were dismissed due to gross governmental misconduct, including a break-in at the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, part of the gathering scandal which led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

Born in Chicago on 7 April 1931, Ellsberg was educated at Harvard and Cambridge, completing his PhD after serving as a marine. He was married twice and had two sons and a daughter.

After the end of the Vietnam war he became by his own description “a lecturer, scholar, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful US interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing”.

Ellsberg contributed to publications including the Guardian and published four books, among them an autobiography, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, and most recently The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.

In recent years, he publicly supported Chelsea Manning, the US soldier who leaked records of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who published Manning’s leaks, and Edward Snowden, who leaked records concerning surveillance by the National Security Agency.

On Friday, the journalist Glenn Greenwald, one of the Guardian team which published the Snowden leaks in 2013, winning a Pulitzer prize, called Ellsberg “a true American hero” and “the most vocal defender” of Assange, Snowden, Manning and “others who followed in his brave footsteps”.

Steven Donziger, an attorney who represented Indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest against the oil giant Chevron, a case that led to his own house arrest, said: “Today the world lost a singularly brave voice who spoke truth about the US military machine in Vietnam and risked his life in the process. I drew deep inspiration from the courage of Daniel Ellsberg and was deeply honored to have his support.”

In 2018, in a joint Guardian interview with Snowden, Ellsberg paid tribute to those who refused to be drafted to fight in Vietnam.

“I would not have thought of doing what I did,” he said, “which I knew would risk prison for life, without the public example of young Americans going to prison to make a strong statement that the Vietnam war was wrong and they would not participate, even at the cost of their own freedom.

“Without them, there would have been no Pentagon Papers. Courage is contagious.”

Three years later, in an interview to mark 50 years since the publication of the Pentagon Papers, he said he “never regretted for a moment” his decision to leak.

His one regret, he said, was “that I didn’t release those documents much earlier when I think they would have been much more effective.

“I’ve often said to whistleblowers, ‘Don’t do what I did, don’t wait years till the bombs are falling and people have been dying.’”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[ghostchasersmagazine]

Been stuck on what to write here recently, one of those "too many choices" sort of deals, so I figured I'd share some of them with you all. These are fic ideas for crossover fics, specifically only featuring two shows.

I've had most of these ideas in my head for a good while now so let me know if you all are interested in me expanding on them.

Scooby Doo + Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids crossover

Working title: The Ghost of Butch Cassidy

Monster: The Ghost of Butch Cassidy

Working summary: Butch Cassidy the rockstar finds himself and his band being terrorized by the ghost of Butch Cassidy the outlaw. The Scooby gang is called in to figure out why, but it seems like the more they find out, the less Butch wants the investigation to continue.

-

Scooby Doo + Speed Buggy crossover

Working title: The Horrible Haunting of the Hideous Highway Star

Monster: The Highway Star

Working summary: The Speed Buggs are invited to celebrate the opening of a new race track in Fuchsia Falls, one that the residents don't want there. So when an undead racer attacks the track, they decide to call in some old friends to help solve why.

-

Scooby Doo + Drak Pack crossover

Working titles: The Real Problem with Count Dracula's Estate; It Came from the Pictures!

Monster: The Creature from the Pictures

Working summary: It's said that the mausoleum on the edge of town belongs to Count Dracula, but anyone who has tried to visit it has been scared away by a mysterious monster. The Scooby gang decide to check it out for themselves, but are met with a trio of teenagers who need convincing that they can be trusted to do so.

-

Scooby Doo + The Buford Files crossover

Working title: The Freaky Fish of Tourist's Lake

Monster: Giant Fish Monster

Working summary: There are rumors of a fish monster terrorizing a popular tourist destination in Fenokee County and the Scooby gang is asked to investigate. But so are local detectives Woody and Cindy-Mae Boggs and their dog Buford, and the two groups come to realize that were hired by different people for different reasons.

-

Scooby Doo + The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan crossover

Working title: The Girl from Eek!-anema

Monster: The Drowned Dancer

Working summary: The Scooby gang are in Brazil for a chance to show off their detective skills to the world-famous Charlie Chan. When a zombie suddenly interrupts their meeting they get that chance - as long as they can keep up with the rest of the Chan family.

-

Drak Pack + Goober and the Ghost Chasers crossover

Working title: Ghost Photographer

Working summary: The Drak Pack put out an advertisement for a "ghost photographer" which unintentionally attracts the attention of Ghost Chasers Magazine. The misunderstandings only get worse when O.G.R.E mistakes one of the reporters for Drak and kidnaps him.

[darkmaga-returns]

It’s becoming more clear by the day that the Deep State is gathering itself for an all out war against Trump 2.0. The attempts at disruptive “leaks”—hoaxes—were just the start, although we can expect them to continue, perhaps at more sophisticated levels. The ATACMS authorization, which was quickly implemented, is a lesson in how far the Deep State is willing to go. How that will work out remains to be seen.

Early on when the first rumors were floated, touting former Congressman Mike Rogers for the Director FBI position, I warned that there could hardly be a worse choice, from a purely Trumpian standpoint. Rogers is totally Deep State and Swamp Dweller, having served as chairman of the HPSCI and now being on the board of directors for the Atlantic Council. If you require more confirmation of how bad Rogers would be, The Federalist can fill you in:

A New FBI Director: Americans Can’t Trust Mike Rogers To Give The FBI The Reckoning It Needs

Today we got another Rogers related rumor from Sundance:

Reported Senate Offer: We’ll Give You Matt Gaetz in DOJ, if You Give us Mike Rogers in FBI

That says so much, doesn’t it? For starters, you know that if that’s the Senate offer, it’s a bad deal for Trump. And it raises the question of why the Deep State/Ruling Class place such a high priority on the FBI—as if we couldn’t figure this out from Trump 1.0. This tells you that the Deep State view is that controlling the investigative process with regard to USPersons and controlling the flow of classified information is a top priority. It has to be the case, if Thune is willing to tolerate Gaetz at DoJ. There may also be a calculation that Gaetz may be more easily thwarted at DoJ than a tough Director at the FBI. Or that Gaetz could be ousted after confirmation. Lots of possibilities here, but they all militate against Trump’s interests.

All of this fits in with my speculation that at least some of Trump’s announced appointments may be initial bargaining positions. If this rumor is true, it’s a strong indication that the Deep State and the Ruling Class are playing for keeps against Trump. It also suggests that they are very fearful that Trump will prioritize a full airing of the Russia Hoax. One which would implicate large swathes of the Deep State/Ruling Class.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Color me shocked.

Fox News is hosting the GOP debate in Wisconsin.  During this build up segment, Martha MacCallum introduces the “random Republican voters” in Wisconsin who will watch the debate.  Except, well… there’s a little problem.  MacCallum introduces Chris Lawrence as a “Wisconsin GOP voter” who seemingly supports Ron DeSantis.  However, MacCallum fails to mention that Chris Lawrence actually works for the Koch Network, who have recently pledged to spend $70 million to defeat President Trump.

@RaheemKassam

Hi I looked into “Wisconsin voter” Christopher Lawrence, why didn’t you tell people he’s a paid activist belonging to the open borders network that recently pledged $70M to stop Trump?

‘Globalist’ Koch Network Blows $70M of Donor Cash to ‘Stop Trump’.

From Sundance Treehouse Blog: "The ‘Koch network’ group Americans for Prosperity Action is dropping $70M+ on a bid to stop President Donald J. Trump becoming the 47th President of the United States, according to a new report which suggests the libertarian billionaire backed organization is campaign in the Republican primaries “for the first time in its nearly 20 year history”.

The money is in addition to a $200M+ fund established by corporate backers for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign, and will likely be used for “digital advertising on the issue of electability in the presidential race,” in addition to direct mail. In such scenarios, high percentages of donor cash ends up in the pockets of campaign consultants and vendors.

The Koch network includes groups such as Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together, i360, the American Legislative Exchange Council, the State Policy Network, the CATO Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Atlas Network, the Heritage Foundation, the Independent Women’s Forum, the Manhattan Institute, the Reason Foundation, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and many more.

 The organization’s LIBRE initiative even campaigns in favor of amnesty for illegal migrants.

 The co-option of the Tea Party movement was spearheaded by the Kochs, who turned it from a citizen-led organization into a pro-corporate, libertarian shell, before dumping it when press attention became too inconvenient.

“The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,” Trump tweeted in 2018. “I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas.”

Not only has Chris Lawrence worked for the Koch Network for the past 9 years, he is also the Senior Field Director for the Koch group Americans for Prosperity.  In essence, Lawrence is a political operative planted in the group by Fox News to support Ron DeSantis and make it appear like he is an innocuous voter.  Fox News and Martha MacCallum should be embarrassed, but they won’t be. 

Don’t forget, Ron DeSantis supporters Eric Erickson and Guy Benson sit on the Koch Network AfP Advisory Board (see here).

It’s all one big game of illusion, and Fox News is once again a big part of the Republican fraud.  Proving yet again, that everything in the Ron DeSantis orbit is astroturf, phony, manufactured and made up."

[denimbex1986]

'Sebastian Stan corrected a journalist at the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his new film, the psychological thriller “A Different Man,” when they used insensitive language to describe a character with facial disfigurement.

The film follows Edward (Stan), who, after undergoing facial surgery, becomes fixated on another man playing him in a stage production based on his former life. In the first act of the movie, Stan wears heavy makeup to portray a character with a facial disfigurement, and after the surgery, his face returns to its typical look.

At Friday’s press conference, a journalist asked, “What do you think happens after the transformation from this so-called beast, as they call him, to this perfect man?”

“I have to call you out a little bit on the choice of words there, because I think part of why the film is important is because we often don’t have the right vocabulary,” Stan responded. “I think it’s a little bit more complex than that, and obviously there are language barriers, but you know, ‘beast’ isn’t the word. And I think, ultimately, it’s just interesting to hear this word because I think that’s one of the things the film is saying — we have these preconceived ideas and we’re not really educated on how to understand this experience in particular.”

“That’s one of the things I love about the movie,” he continued. “He’s offering you a way to look at it, and hopefully, if you can have the same objective point of view while you’re experiencing the film, maybe you can kind of pick apart the initial instincts that you have, and maybe those aren’t always the right ones.”

Following its Sundance premiere, “A Different Man” is set to debut in competition at Berlin Film Festival on Friday night. Directed by Aaron Schimberg, the film also stars Renate Reinsve and Adam Pearson.

The film was well-received at Sundance, where the audience was left laughing and gasping at the film’s twists and turns. Variety‘s Peter Debruge wrote in his review that the film “asks what it means to be ‘normal,’ and whether, if we could wave a magic wand and ‘correct’ those same aberrant qualities which set us apart, that’s really something we’d want.”

Pearson, who has neurofibromatosis, spoke at the Sundance premiere about how he was able to find common ground with Stan while discussing their characters.

“This was the hook that we gave to Sebastian,” he said. “‘You don’t know what it’s like to have a disfigurement, but you do know what it’s like to not have privacy and to have your life constantly invaded. You become public property.’”'

[sol-consort]

God to be a male Quarian getting hit on by femshep, should’ve been me, anyway looked him up and apparently he was based on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, specifically a combo of the two, and considering they both die at the end his ending probably wouldn’t have been too happy. He was also described as a boisterous ladies man, so I guess that’s why he gets excited when someone actually likes him. You wouldn’t have been able to romance him if you were too renegade for him and his goal was to prove that the Geth are now less of a threat. His introduction seems to have been given to Garrus considering they’re similar (shootout with criminals on Omega) maybe Garrus wasn’t gonna return before they cut him?

Also random fact I came across Garrus is 2-4 years younger than Shepard

By the way how is Miranda in your ME3 playthrough?

Glad to know we all collectively are down bad for femshep in here. Oh, to be a barracks bunny for the femdom lieutenant commander, a person could only dream.

Like it doesn't even have to he a full romance or anything, just being Shepard's squeeze toy whenever she's too fed up with this demandinh world outside, and instead would rather spend time with you in this soft bed inside. She'd be absolutely relentless and insatiable, I don't think her libido is ever sated tbh, a lot of times it is the other person insisting that she waits to sleep with them rather than the other way around.

Hell Shepard seems down for it 24/7. You'd get some bullshit job on the Normandy but will spend 90% of your time on her personal deck. The second she boards the ship after a mission, she's requesting your presence upstairs in her qaurters to...debrief you on the aftermisison report, nothing else. Mhm.

I'm just saying I am a simple person and I would put out on the first ever conversation femshep has with me, no renegade or paragon pointchecks. No required time to romance me, and not even locked by a certian level or plot checkpoint. If a woman like her tells me to shut up and bend over after five minutes of meeting me then you know that's exactly what I'd be doing.

Anyway, so back to the main topic.

Miranda is doing well! I saved her sister in ME2 but didn't let her shoot her bestfriend, then I encouraged her to speak to her sister. I took her to the final mission in facing the human reaper and she told the illusive man that she quits after he threw a hissy fit over me destroying the reaper.

In ME3, she asked for some documents from the alliance and I gave it to her. Then I met her again during the Kai Leng chase and she killed her father and saved her sister. Miranda is dandy as far as I'm aware.

-

And I can't stop thinking about the male Quarian. Ugh. Imagine someone who knows he can't have sex with people but still is a relentless flirt with the ladies, like the clear cardboard faux playboy badge he wears is so pathetic and adorable.

It's like he is using the Johnny Bravo method of hitting on every woman he sees, and eventually, one of them has gotta bite, right?

So for someone like him not to only have his "incel mimicking a chad" strategy work but also hit the jackpot and get the commander Shepard? Hallelujah! Ring the bells! Call your mom and tell her you've fucking made it Ma!!

Because Shepard too can be a bit of a playboy at times, except with the game protagonist logic, we get to be the successful one with the smoothest flirting lines. Now you have two people interested in each other, with one that's an embarrassingly terrible flirt and another who people would pay to sleep with them.

Personally, I really like that he is on the side of the Geth because Tali starts off being hostile to them, and it would've made a perfect chance to view both sides.

His dynamic with Tali would've been very interesting, two people with similar backgrounds and experiences who came to two totally different conclusions on how to handle to the Geth.

Because it is so easy for paragon Shepard to side with the Geth. Like of course you feel sympathy for them, you're human. It wasn't earth they stole from you.

Imagine it. Imagine the outrage if some random species you made steals earth from us and we are forced to move onto fleets. I would've fucking gone full renegade and demanded my planet back immediately.

But because we are just outsiders on the geth problem, we can't relate or have a clear perspective on how the qaurians must feel. We only get to see the most hostile of them and the hate towards the geth. That other admiral was the cloeest thing to a pro-geth quarian but even he was an annoying character who antagonises you and Tali as his introduction in the ME2 loyality mission.

So the male quarian love interest being sympathetic towards the geth would've filled a perfectly empty spot we were missing for the full picture of the geth quarian relationship.

Samara has a similar thing in ME2, where if you're too renegade, she doesn't indulge you in the romance attempt and immediately shuts it off. But if you have very little renegade points then she says your heart is pure and indulges you more, let's you try and convince her and it's so clear she is struggling not to give into the temptation before leaving the room.

The Quarian kink is so real, now I understand why you like Tali so much oh god. Someone willing to experience sickness just to fuck you? Damn that is some determination.

[orville-j-clutchpopper]

Alright..... I borrowed something here. I'm pasting the whole thing because I want you to read it, and not have to waste time clicking a link, and I want you to THINK about it... PONDER, even. I think this is 100% spot on, and I also think it raises just as many questions as it answers, and I don't think enough people are talking about this...

Notice Something About This Israeli War and The Gaza Conflict? October 9, 2023  The coverage of the attacks by Hamas against the Israeli people is extensive, but have you paused to notice a very peculiar dynamic? As familiar to most news consumers, various media war correspondents are embedded throughout the Israel and Gaza region.  Flak jackets and helmets are worn by CNN, BBC, Fox News and all the international agencies who are covering the Israeli War.  All of that footage is common and familiar. Television streams are lit up with the continuing coverage and the audience is brought in live to the fight, despite the dangers and the military combat that is taking place throughout the area.  Brave war correspondents are doing what they do, showing the public exactly what is happening on the ground as the fighting continues. Yet, the extensive footage triggers a reminder of something…. The war in Ukraine has been raging for 20 months, and not once, not even one single time, did we see simultaneous international war correspondents delivering their reporting, showing action on the front lines, donning their protective gear and taking the audience toward the battles in a similar fashion. The contrast between the War in Israel and the “War” in Ukraine could not be starker when viewed through the prism of what a real combat war looks like. Why is that? You know the answer to that question. You might not want to absorb the truth behind this stark reality, but the war in Ukraine is an intelligence war, a creation of the U.S. State Department, CIA, and allied intelligence networks. All of the information coming from the Ukraine War doesn’t come complete with accompanying war correspondents to give context to the statements made by the military officials on the ground in Ukraine, because there isn’t any way to connect to something that just doesn’t exist. The “War” in Ukraine is World War Reddit.  A war carried out and advanced by the intelligence system that created it.  As the night life and dance festivals in Kiev continue, it would be challenging for the international war correspondents, the actual media, to deliver broadcast ground reports from Ukraine without using green screens and fabricated livestreams. That’s why we have never seen them. The Ukraine War is an intelligence operation, and with it comes the need for high control over the propaganda to support it.  It would be troublesome for those carrying out the Ukraine operation if people were brought into the “fight” by media.   Worse still, it would be very challenging to retain support for an intelligence operation, if the American and global population realized it is propaganda. We’ve seen more footage of the war inside Israel in 48 hours than we have seen inside Ukraine in two years. Carry on….

H/T Sundance @ Conservative Treehouse.

[ahungeringknife]

365: April 30

Cayde and Ikora's friendship is very important to me specifically because Cayde never feels like he's good enough to be Ikora's friend. Guess what bud??? you isssss

--

Cayde was swamped. Since the threat of Crota had appeared on the horizon it was all reasonable hands on deck. Xander sent him a dozen reports and mission requests a day at least, often more. Cayde hadn't been Vanguard long enough to see what it was like when the Legion had something to sink it's teeth in to. And it was all important because he needed to get this stuff to Ikora and Zavala so they all could coordinate with Eris and maybe have a moment to reign Kass in as she stalked across the Russian steppe looking for any Hive to blow to smithereens. Hard keeping a hand on that girl. She just did whatever she wanted and how the fuck was a guy like Cayde supposed to handle her? And even without the Legion and Kass and Crota occupying his mind there were also dozens of mission requests and reports from Hunters and those who wanted to hire out their services. Sometimes he was grateful he was an EXO so he didn't get headaches because this would do it.

He looked up from his stack of reports he was organizing with Sundance when Ikora got to her feet. Zavala had left some time ago to go have some meeting or something with the Factions. Or maybe the Speaker? He'd not been paying too much attention. Her 'out' box was full and her own 'in' reports was a stalk a third of Cayde's. He tried not to be resentful. Ikora had been doing this longer, had been Vanguard during dire situations like this. She knew how to handle herself.

"You also leaving me to my own devices?" he joked. "Tired of seeing my mess," it was only sort of sarcastic. A lot of times Cayde's work and reports could consume the entire half of the table and the rest of it not reserved for Ikora and Zavala. He liked being able to see everything at once!

Ikora didn't smile but her eyebrows did move in a way Cayde had learned to interpret as amusement. "No, Zavala called me to join him in his meeting with Xander to discuss allocating Titan and Warlock resources to the Legion temporarily," she said.

Cayde sighed theatrically. "Of course, gotta go to a meeting with your fave Hunter and Big Blue. What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" as if the answer wasn't obvious. Finish his work. He'd be here all night though.

Ikora's face didn't move but her brows creased. He wasn't quite sure what that emotion was. Cayde had been Vanguard a few decades but some of Ikora's 'emotions' were still unknowable to him. "No he's staying here and keeping watch over the Hall," she said, almost befuddled.

Cayde was surprised when his voice box cracked as he said, "You got it, I'll hold down the fort." And what the fuck was wrong with his voice? He couldn't control the speaker in the back of his skull that acted as his voice but it was coming out almost... distorted?

"See that you do," Ikora said and left. Cayde stared after her.

Sundance flew up next to him. "That's cute! You're her favorite," she said cheerfully.

"Pft, yeah right," he scoffed and had to clear his throat to settle the sudden buzzing in his nerves. He couldn't get his voice box to chill out though and it kept making a noise that was almost unhearable and more a low vibration in his skull so it made all his servos and bolts shiver.

"Are you... crying?" Sundance asked him.

"What! No," he almost shouted.

"You look like you are," Sundance said smugly and floated around in front of him. "You're doing that flickering eye thing EXOs do."

"I am not. Shut up," he looked away from her and back at her reports. "You're distracting me. What was I doing?" he more said to himself. Sundance just giggled and highlighted the report he'd been looking at before Ikora had left. He picked it up. Right. This one. He leaned over the table so his hood hid the front of his face and looked down at the report.

"I think it's sweet," Sundance said nicely. "I'm glad you and Ikora are friends."

"Pft, yeah right," Cayde said dismissively. "Now quiet I'm trying to read this report," which he was having a hard time doing because of the vibrating from his voice box. He stood there staring at it, not able to even really read it, until the vibrating finally stopped and his vision cleared. Thank the Traveler Ikora or Zavala wasn't there to see him do that!

[dertaglichedan]

Morgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker known for eating McDonald’s every day for a month in the 2004 film “Super Size Me,” has died, according to multiple reports. He was 53.

>> Read more trending news

Spurlock’s family confirmed he died Thursday in upstate New York from complications of cancer, according to a statement obtained by The Guardian and Variety.

“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” said his brother, Craig Spurlock, who worked with him on several projects. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”

Spurlock rose to prominence with “Super Size Me,” which chronicled his experience eating only McDonald’s for every meal for 30 days. The film earned him an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature and a Grand Jury Prize for directing the film at the Sundance Film Festival

[watchmenanon]

A chat with Noah Schnapp, the 11-year-old Montrealer who voices Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie

'I listened to as much as I could find online to get the voice right. Winning the role took a lot of hard work'

Special to National Post

Published Nov 06, 2015

Noah Schnapp, the 11-year-old actor, son of former Montrealers Karine and Mitchell Schnapp, was selected to provide the pipes for the ever-flappable Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie after an extensive hunt. For good reason: his take is dead-on. It turns out that wasn’t accidental.

“In preparing for my recording audition, my mom told me to YouTube the old Peanuts Thanksgiving and Christmas specials to hear how Charlie Brown speaks,” the articulate Schnapp says in a phone interview from his family’s New York City base. “So I listened to as much as I could find online to get the voice right. Winning the role took a lot of hard work, but good fortune as well. There were a lot of other talented kids up for the part, too.”

After studying the character, Schnapp says, he can relate to Charlie Brown in a lot of ways. “Charlie never gives up, and I try never to give up either. And my dog Spaghetti is a bit like Snoopy — a real wise guy.”

Schnapp already has an impressive resumé — moviegoers can catch him in Steven Spielberg’s new Bridge of Spies, and will soon be able to see him in the indie feature, We Only Know So Much, based on the book of the same title.

He is commuting between New York and Atlanta, where he is in the midst of shooting Stranger Things, a supernatural thriller series for Netflix.

And he spent a portion of last spring in Park City, Utah, where he took part in the Sundance Directors Lab and played the lead in director Brent Green’s Untitled Loveless Fable. No surprise, Schnapp was the youngest person invited to the event, which was also attended by such heavies as Robert Redford and Ed Harris.

To top it all off, he was just listed in Variety’s Youth Impact Report as a rising star under 21 to watch out for.

Pretty heady stuff for a kid who only started acting in community theatre three years ago.

Schnapp plays the son of Tom Hanks’s negotiator character in Bridge of Spies, and is most convincing as a kid who’s concerned about a Soviet nuclear retaliation at the height of the Cold War. He dutifully learns the ludicrous duck-and-cover technique should a missile strike while he’s at school, and keeps his bathtub full of water should it strike while he’s at home.

“I have to be honest and admit that before I started working on that project, I actually didn’t know much about that period or who they (Hanks and Spielberg), were,” Schnapp says. “But you have to understand that I was only nine at the time.

“However, when we started pre-production, I watched most of their movies. Then I went: ‘Wow!’ I hadn’t realized how big and how important they were.”

He was particularly struck by Hanks’s manner.

“He’s just such a selfless, generous actor,” Schnapp marvels. “In most of his movies, he’s usually playing the hero and good guy, which is what he really is. He would always be holding on to my shoulder (during shooting), and putting me into the spotlight. And not just me — he was always trying to make everyone else shine, too. It was really such a great experience working with him and Steven Spielberg.”

Schnapp is nothing if not determined. Because of his lack of experience, he figured he was a long shot to land the roles in The Peanuts Movie and Bridge of Spies.

“It was kind of crazy — those were some of my first auditions,” he recalls. “I was very excited, but I didn’t really think I could get the work in Peanuts. Still, I really, really wanted it, because I knew I could do it. And I got it.

“It was the same thing for Bridge of Spies. It was crazy, too. Then I just started getting more and more roles.”

Apart from Hanks, he’s had some solid parental figures watching his back when he’s on the job. In We Only Know So Much, Jeanne Tripplehorn plays his mom, while Winona Ryder takes on that role in Stranger Things.

The Sundance Directors Lab was a great learning experience. “There were about 200 directors, actors and screenwriters. I learned that it was OK to experiment with scenes and improvise new lines. We were like a big family — everyone became my friend.”

Though he didn’t start acting until he was eight, Schnapp says he caught the bug two years earlier.

“After I saw Annie on Broadway, I came out of the show crying, because I wanted to be on that stage. Then when I watched TV, I just knew I wanted to be that person in the TV, too.”

[xivu-arath]

cayde is in this one

“There’s my favourite Nightstalker!” Cayde said, straightening up from the map with a look of relief.

Oni rolled her shoulders, trying not to look too uneasy. He was just being facetious, like he always was. Her instincts went screamingly taut whenever anyone drew too much attention to her, but that didn’t mean they were right. While the City always made her itch, the years had dulled whatever paranoia her previous lives had nurtured about the place.

Mostly.

“As if. I bet I’m not even in the top five.”

“The top ten, maybe?” Miraj said, floating in close on her left.

“Tell you what, next time you report back I’ll give you the rankings – for your Ghost’s sake, anyways. And how to move on up,” he said, tipping his head to the Ghost. Before she could get the polite banter aside, Cayde switched gears. “If I don’t move, I’m going to rust to the spot. Come on, you can report while I get some air.”

They didn’t go far, just out onto one of the Tower’s terraces. More used to the sight of the dormant Traveler than she’d like, Oni watched various ships flit in and out of the atmosphere above them until Cayde leaned on the balcony beside her. Miraj and Sundance drifted a little ways away, which could have been politeness but was more likely Miraj trying to get the latest Vanguard gossip without distracting them.

“So. How’d it go?”

She tore her eyes away from an arriving ship. Right. The report. “Oh, well – I shot down the ether shipments, picked off the reinforcements. Fallen know when they’re beaten. If it’d been Cabal, I’d still be out there.”

Cayde shot her a look, eyes glowing in what passed for an eye roll among Exos. “Come on, not one exciting thing happened? In two weeks of ‘picking off reinforcements’?”

She slumped further down on the balcony, exasperated at him and at herself for caring about his needling. She was always a little... raw when she came back from the wilds. The City was too crowded. People wanted to hear stories from beyond the walls, or to see her knife, or ask about people who were definitely bones and dust somewhere in the wilds. It all piled on, until she wanted to shake them by the shoulders, tell them she didn’t even want to be here and then throw them over the walls.

Cayde was good at figuring out where people’s limits were, and grating juuust up to them and no further. Better than facing Zavala’s certainty, or Ikora’s knowing. As long as Cayde was the only important person she had to ever talk to, she could handle all of this.

But it was tiring, some days.

“Hey, if you keep spacing out, I’m pushing you over. I bet Miraj would get a real kick out of hearing you try to be a thanatonaut.”

“I’m here,” she grumbled, well aware he might actually try to do it. It took her a minute to go over the conversation, and she hated drifting off so openly. Miraj could usually cover for her, but... another Exo could always tell. “You know I don’t go for excitement. That’s why I was out there in the first place.”

“You know, you could get a mission watching paint dry and something would still show up to ruin it,” he said. “If we’re not throwing ourselves at danger, it’s going to find us anyways. That’s just part of the job.”

And not one she had asked for, not that there was any point in whining about it. She’d woken up with her past lives all dragging at her feet – what was just one burden of duty, compared to that?

“Did you shoot the bow at least?”

It was her turn to roll her eyes. “Yes, I shot the bow. Several times, even.”

“Come on, Nightstalkers are cool because of that bow. Everyone loves it. You can get so many free drinks once you show it off.”

“That’s because they don’t have to use it.” Not that she’d ever stop. There was a weight to it, a... finality in where the void pierced the world. It should have made her want to crawl out of the skin she didn’t have, but instead it was comforting. There was security there, the certainty that as long as she hit her mark, she would survive – and her enemies wouldn’t.

And it was, admittedly, more than a bit cool.

“Alright so, Fallen: too boring to even mention. Bow: shot. How was China? The ruins?”

“Quiet,” Oni said, mulling it over. “Overgrown, anywhere that the Fallen haven’t been. It was kind of nice, once all the shooting was done with. Lots of birds. The nights, when we were waiting and watching and the animals forgot to be afraid of us...”

She lost the words for the memory of it. “It was quiet,” she said again. The peace of those nights had made her ache, a foreign intruder into a space where she couldn’t belong, but she had been desperate to be close, to be able to at least witness it.

“Yeah,” Cayde said, dropping the banter. She appreciated that, and resented it. Banter was easier than sincerity. Safer. “I remember what it’s like.” And then, just as quickly, he was back in full form. “Really makes me want to head back out there, just... drink in the horizon for a bit. How much glimmer do you think I’d have to pay to get someone to imitate me for a week?”

She couldn’t help it, and snorted. Cayde brightened, probably taking it as yet another victory for his irrepressible wit. “You wouldn’t. But I don’t blame you for hating... all of this.” She swept an arm at the skyline, taking in the endless parade of inbound and outbound ships, the crackling comms transmissions and, of course, the millions of lives that tied him down to this place.

“What, you don’t think I’d risk making both Ikora and Zavala want me dead in a dozen different ways?”

“You care too much,” she said, and shut her mouth with a click. That had been too sincere by miles.

Cayde didn’t seem to notice, or take offence, and she tried to push down the jittery tension that had jolted up her spine. “You would know, seeing as you don’t care at all.”

“Right,” she said, and almost dared to relax when he added, “Because you’re scared to,” and she nearly went over the balcony herself.

“What?” she heard herself say, and commended her autopilot for only sounding a little strangled.

“I mean, I get it.” He tipped his head back, and his not looking at her made it easier, somehow. “Forty two is... a lot. A lot of past lives running around with their own stories. Though they were probably better at telling them than you are.”

Oni laced her fingers together, absorbing herself in the joins of her hands, how hard she could press before her receptors began to complain.

[laresearchette]

Sunday, December 31, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: GARDENERS' WORLD WINTER SPECIALS 2023 (BritBox) OFF SCRIPT WITH THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (AMC+/Sundance Now) DICK CLARK'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVEN WITH RYAN SEACREST 2024 (City TV) 8:00pm CNN NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE WITH ANDERSON COOPER AND ANDY COHEN (CNN) 8:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE'S BIG BASH (CBS Feed) THE YEAR: COUNTDOWN TO 2024 (ABC Feed)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

CRAVE TV NEW YEAR’S EVE

NETFLIX CANADA BLANCHE (Season 1) BLIPPI WONDERS (Season 3) DAVE CHAPPELLE: THE DREAMER THE MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER: (Seasons 3-4)

IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (TSN/TSN3/TSN5) 6:00am: United States vs. Slovakia (TSN4/TSN5) 8:30am: Sweden vs. Finland (TSN3/TSN5) 11:00am: Czechia vs. Switzerland (TSN4/TSN5) 1:30pm: Canada vs. Germany

NFL FOOTBALL (TSN/TSN4/TSN5) 1:00pm: 49ers vs. Commanders (TSN/TSN4/TSN5) 4:00pm: Steelers vs. Seahawks (TSN/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) 8:20pm: Packers vs. Vikings

NHL HOCKEY (TSN3) 2:00pm: Jets vs. Wild (SN) 5:00pm: Bruins vs. Red Wings (TSN5) 6:00pm: Sabres vs. Sens (TSN2) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Lightning (SN/SN1) 8:00pm: Oilers vs. Ducks (SNWest) 8:00pm: Flyers vs. Flames

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW (CBC) 6:00pm: The Great New Year Bake Off: Kicking off a new year with a friendly competition over comfort food.

NBA BASKETBALL (SN Now) 7:00pm: Nets vs. Thunder (SN Now) 7:00pm: Celtics vs. Spurs

LAUGHING ALL THE WAY (Global) 7:00pm: Put in charge of a holiday variety show, an aspiring comedian worries she may not have what it takes, until a famous comedian makes her see how talented she truly is.

DEATH ON THE NILE (CBC) 7:30pm: Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.

CHRISTMAS IS CANCELED (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm: When Emma's father and her high school frenemy start dating, she embarks on a mission to break up the happy couple after her dad insists they spend the holidays together.

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND: DRILLING DOWN (History Canada) 10:00pm: The Fellowship has been intensely investigating Lot 5 since the Laginas purchased it more than a year ago, and now Matty Black takes a deep dive into the clues the lot has provided and what those clues could mean.

JUST FOR LAUGHS (CBC) 11:00pm: Mae Martin: The Gala: The hilarious comedian Mae Martin hosts a stand-up special at the renowned Just For Laughs festival; featuring Carolyn Taylor, James Davis, Mark Forward, River Butcher, Sydnee Washington and others.

THE COUNTDOWN (CHCH) 11:10pm: A New Year's Eve Special broadcasting from the CHCH Studio in Hamilton, ON and featuring local Hamilton talent.