#Sara Canter

[bellasaraeternal]

“While Emma and her friends are delivering cookies to everyone in Canter Hollow and the Valkyries are off delivering presents and goodies to the children of North of North, Bella and I are enjoying an evening ride through town. We and everyone else in North of North hope that you too are enjoying a wonderful Christmas Eve!”

- Xoxo Sara, the Goddess of Horses

[wanderdell]

[part 2 below]

"Again. With some actual focus this time, if you're capable of it."

Sara let the bow fall and nudged the horse back onto the track for another round.

By the gods, how she hated that man. Hated him with the passion of a thousand pit vipers roused from their nest. Loathed him so much that being too close to his presence made her feel like she needed a wash. Despised him like he was the personification of all that was wrong with the world. In fact, he probably was the source of about 50 per cent of the -

"Useless. Have you not got two marbles left in that numbskull of yours? You cannot watch me and the target while controlling the movement of your mount and drawing all at once. I cannot believe I am wasting my time with you."

Gods, she hated that man.

The berating was endless. She could never do anything right in his book. She walked too slow, did chores too loudly, got too distracted in her archery lessons. Spoke too much when she was supposed to be eating. Asked too many questions. Everything was spliced with an insult that only enraged her further.

Sara thought about that sometimes. Oh, the traps she could lay for him. Draw him out into the woods to get eaten by the bears. Give him a rigged deck of cards and a story about the bets going on in the ale house - he wouldn't be able to resist - and imagine him getting beaten up for trying to cheat. She knew, deep down, that the main reason she loathed him so much because she needed him.

He was teaching her for a favour. Sara had found the resting place of his beloved wife, a location long since thought lost in the war. She could not believe anyone had married the crotchety bastard, but she supposed he might have been a different man in youth. Although she couldn't imagine him ever being young, either. At any rate, she had bartered the location in exchange for three months of lessons. The retired weapons master had once been the best, and she needed all the help she could get. He had glared and grunted and told her she would earn her keep like everybody else who begged him for lessons.

It had taken her six months of traipsing up and down the countryside consulting every rumour mill and mapmaker she could find to locate the burial place. That now seemed like a lifetime ago. Back in a life of leisure in comparison with the life she led now.

"I think the horse has more sense than you. It at least keeps an eye on the target."

Sara growled under her breath and slowed the horse to a walk. Her shoulders were starting to ache. Her head hurt after hours of sun and movement without a break or drink.

"Do it once more and concentrate this time. If you can't rub your wits together enough to hit the target, get off the horse and give me the bow."

She gave him her best impassive face, and tried hard not to think of him slipping face first into the dirt. Darien had been an Honored One, once. Known across the lands for his expertise, knowledge and experience in fighting and weaponry. Consultant to the Royal Family. It was a position a step above mastery, and she had to remember that she was lucky to be learning anything from him at all.

But it was hard when she was tired and sore, thirsty and hungry, and could not get the hang of hitting a target at a trot. Let alone a canter. She doubted they'd ever get to that point, but she had to try. If she hit the darn thing maybe Darien would let her take a break and a drink.

The horse moved with the nudge of her knees, the weight of her head shifting as they rounded the bend and sped up. Nock, aim, breathe, fire.

She'd done it. The resounding thwack right in the yellow centre of the wooden board. Sara tried not to whoop with joy. Wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being right.

"See, girl? Put your mind on the task and maybe we won't be here all day. I was starting to think we'd be here all night too."

He made a good point and it irritated her. She'd been so focused on him, wondering what fresh insults there would be, dreaming about she would pull one over him, that she had been too distracted to really focus on the target.

There was a trick to it, he'd said, of how you time it just right so the horse and rider are both in the air at the moment of firing, so as not to jostle and disturb the aim. She could deal with bouncing around on the horse. Riding was the easy part. She was pretty good with animals and not a bad rider at all. But doing so at speed while firing an unfamiliar weapon was a different story. Once she had mastered it at a canter, he'd said, they'd be onto moving targets.

"What moving targets?" she'd asked. "Peasants" he'd said. She'd been washing the dishes after dinner at the time, and dropped the pan in her shock at the suggestion they'd be firing on people. She'd caught the pan again, and his resulting huffed laugh had made sense when he said it again. "Birds. Pheasants. Slow and easy."

As Sara bought the horse round, handed the bow and arrows to Darien and dismounted, she thought about the fact that she had believed the man would graduate to hunting the locals. She wasn't so ready to believe the worst of him anymore, but she still thought him a loathsome man. His rude and rough treatment of his students and staff. His miserliness and refusal to pay his staff adequate wages or supply the household with more than basic foodstuffs.

Sara knew he had wealth. The other students talked, and she had seen the bejweled swords and armour he kept inside his study. That collection would pay for a small castle and retained army, and yet his household and guests were constantly hungry.

The Binding of Icarus

Prompt response to "[WP] as the hero you’re supposed to kill the demon lord. But how can you kill kid who doesn’t even know he’s demon lord and only killed humans who were going to kill his family and friends."

When the King was anointed, they said it was fate.

Sure, it was an inherited position, partly. Third son of a brother of the first King's wife, after everyone else got wiped out. But the point was, he was a survivor. And the realm needed survivors.

They said he was gifted. The child had the ears of all the courtiers and maestros, all the visiting diplomats. They said he had the utter loyalty of the servants and the peasantry who came to pay their respects. They whispered behind closed doors, in the dark of night, that the boy had made deals. That he, not yet a man grown, had favours owed him by those we dared not speak the names of.

There has been a maestro in the village once. He had been said to survive on rum and stories, and the few coins he got on the rare occasions the battered lute was actually brought out. That maestro had told the children of the village time and time again that each of them held a gift inside. That man had a power within that only a child knew how to operate; that if they could learn of it and from it, then they would control armies. Could gain empires.

The children, entertained by a man their parents spoke of as a doddering old drunk, didn't pay much attention to that particular story. The maestro was never very clear on how they were to learn of and understand this power, or what exactly it was. The only real thing anyone could get a clear line on was that man generated a power that the other races fed on. The darklings in the mountains, the night hunters, the names of the old ones; they all would one day bow to man for the great gift man had granted them.

Then the war had come. The Citadel had burned, along with half the members of the royal family. A new order was instituted, a new king crowned. The new king's men had come through the towns and villages and banned the old stories. The maestro was strongly encouraged to leave, for his words would poison the minds of the young. The old drunk left with the soldiers and was never seen or heard from again.

But the children didn't forget. And as the boy King grew, so did the girl who had listened to and remembered the stories.

Sara was an orphan who had a particular talent for being invisible, and for remembering things adults would rather children forget. Nobody paid much attention to scrappy orphans of no family name, unless they looked like they were in a thieving way. Sara was a sponge of information in her own way, and as a result had more than a few friends who had benefited from her uncanny fountain of knowledge. But her friends moved on from the tales and stories of their younger years, and thought nothing more of it.

Sara kept hold of the flame inside. Held it close as the knowledge grew, as she slowly made friends with travelling maestros on their way to the city, with sailors who had wandered too far from the port in the town over. She had found a position sweeping in the mayor's kitchen, and talked the cook into reading lessons in exchange for odd jobs around the house and village. That had turned into errand runner for the village council. Which had turned into access to more books, stories and secrets.

It might take her years, but she would make her way out of the village and travel the realm to learn everything she can. Maybe someone would teach her to fight so she could visit the darklings in the mountains and trade her skills for their knowledge. No matter what it took - no matter how many roles she had to play, favours she had to barter, names she would assume - Sara knew the power the King held was worth it. If she could get her hands on the truth of the power that the maestro had told her of so long ago, then she would get revenge for her parents. Better yet, if she could take out the King it would wipe out what remained of the royal line in one swoop.

She would change the world.

Burn it to ashes with all she had learned if she had to. And start again anew.

.....

[talkinfanfic]

Talkin' Fanfic Episode 303: MAD FER IT: Oasis, RPF, and Gallaghercest

🎙 LISTEN HERE! Or find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and everywhere else you can stream podcasts!

Summary:

Are ye mad fer it?! In episode 303 Sara and Laura crack open a lager and spend three hours indulging in their most problematic (or NOT) obsession yet– The Gallagher Brothers of Oasis! RPF, or ‘real person fiction’ is fanfiction based on the lives of real people. We figure, if you’re gonna get into RPF, you ‘might as well do the white line’ and in true rock’n’roll lifestyle Slide Away into the nitty gritty of one of the most complicated, fascinating, beautiful, ugly, loving, brutal, intense relationships maybe ever. D' You Know What I Mean? 

Gcest fans, this is for you. Turn your light on, take the shame out of your bread, sit back and enjoy! 

PS. Even in three hours we didn’t get to everything! If you’re interested in more gcest fic, we’ve got our recs listed below, and do check out Snickfic’s Gcest Primer, and the Livejournal communities “MFOK” community and quote archive. 

PPS. 🎵 Spotify Playlist of our Top Oasis and Gallagher Bros. solo tracks!

Timecaps!

0m - Episode Intro

4m - Cold open. Laura is forced to name all the Oasis and Gallagher solo studio albums in order

10m - HOW WE GOT HERE (RPF?! Incest?! On arrive à la problématique)

25m - IRL Timeline Walkthrough, “Who are the Gallagher Brothers?”

1h33m - The fanfiction! RPF, gcest, and our recs!

2h03 - The music and our Toppermost of the Poppermost of Oasis, Liam Gallagher, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

Episode References

Documentary on Oasis, “Supersonic” (2016) [Prime] [Official Trailer]

Documentary on Liam, “As You Were” (2019) [Prime] [Official Trailer]

Oasis on MTV Most Wanted (18th August 1994) - “Whatever” and “Live Forever” (Liam looking ethereally beautiful, music starts 1m40s)

Tumblr post ft. pics of the amazing and infamous 'Loch Lomond Kiss' 

“Gallaghercest, a Primer” by Snickfic (LJ)

“Mad for Our Kid” quote archive https://mfokquotearchiv.livejournal.com/ 

“Mad for Our Kid” LJ https://mfokquotearchiv.livejournal.com/ 

Oasis and Gallagher Brother Timeline (public Google Doc we made)

BE on Spotify (our fave Beady Eye album)

2015 Youtube video of Liam in an Irish pub playing early versions of ‘Bold’ and ‘When I’m In Need’

Liam Gallagher - “Once” Music Video ft. Eric Cantona, and Butler!Liam

Liam Gallagher - "One of Us" Music Video or, “I miss my brother, here is my heart on my sleeve.” Try not to cry! 

Beady Eye - “Ballroom Figured” acoustic studio. Liam’s voice is raw but beautiful here. Lovely.

Liam Gallagher - "Greedy Soul" Live at Air Studios BIBLICAL

Liam Gallagher - "All You're Dreaming Of" Live on Jonathan Ross CELESTIAL

Liam Gallagher - "Gone" MTV Unplugged MAJESTICAL

Noel Gallagher’s HFB - “Holy Mountain” music video (aka Hot Daddy NG in his tiny trousers)   

Noel Gallagher’s HFB - "Dead in the Water" Live at The Late Late Show RTÉ One 

Contact and Credits:

Music: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)

Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 

Instagram: @talkinfanfic

Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com 

Fic Recs (3-5)

Sara’s Recs

time's slipping away (and what will it hold for me?) by mansgotalimit (young!Liam appears in older!Noel’s world. WIP. )

“A Lot Like Gravity”, by RedheadAmongWolves (Superhero AU, SO!MUCH!FUN!)

"Let Me Be the One" by Savageandwise (angsty with happy ending, psychological excavation, amazing!!)

"don't you know you're life itself?" by liamnoel (early days, romantic, surreal, stylistic)

"Candy Floss Heart" by Jeevey  (lovely present day, Sonny meets Liam at the zoo)

Laura’s Recs

“Canter”, by cancellable (early days, short drabble, pretty, that one incredible line!)

“Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone” by storyshark2005 (Reconciliation, Sara’s Coma trope fic)

“Razorblade” by Jeevey (sexy, early days pre-band, rawr)

“you and I are gonna live forever” by StripySock, (sexy, first kiss, beautifully and sharply written, early days band) 

Filmstar (orphaned, A/N reads: "This was written by lonelyisourlife @ livejournal in 2014" FILMSTAR!!!! WE FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT FILMSTAR!! READ THIS FIC!! In our opinion, one of the best fics in the fandom.

Music Recs

🎵Spotify Playlist of our Top Oasis and Gallagher Bros. solo tracks!

Sara’s Faves

Oasis: Slide Away / Don’t Look Back in Anger / Supersonic 

LG Solo: “Once” / “Diamond in the Dark” / “When I’m in Need”

NG Solo: “If I Had a Gun” / “Dying of the Light” / “Holy Mountain”

Laura’s Faves

Oasis: Talk Tonight / Cast No Shadow / Don’t Go Away / Stop Crying Your Heart Out / Songbird 

LG Solo: Ballroom Figured (BE) / All You’re Dreaming of / Gone

NG Solo: Dead in the Water / Black Star Dancing / Alone on the Rope

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

Been wanting to do this one for a long while. Thinking a lot about Fire and Blood because House of the Dragon is coming up, and there are quite a lot of parallels between the Dance of the Dragons and the main ASOIAF series. More below...

The Dance of the Dragons happened, in part, because the legitimacy of Rhaenyra's children was in question. Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey (how fitting, two bastard children named Joffrey) had brown hair instead of the typical silver-blonde hair of Targaryen and Velaryon children, and their father was not Laenor Velaryon, but rather Harwin Strong. Because of this, Rhaenyra's claim to the Iron Throne was contested, since her heirs would be bastards.

Not too dissimilar to the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, where Cersei, the beautiful queen of King Robert, fathered three bastard children in secret with her brother Jaime, all of them with the golden blond hair of the Lannisters. Then when Robert died, Joffrey ascended the throne, and Ned backed Stannis, who was in truth the rightful heir to the throne... we all know how that went of course. Also, while Rhaenyra's Joffrey was the youngest of the three, Cersei's Joffrey was the oldest of the three.

Rhaenyra and Cersei are very strong parallels. Rhaenyra was secretly involved in an affair with a family member (her uncle Daemon) whilst Cersei was involved in a secret affair with her own family member (brother Jaime). The difference, of course, being that Rhaenyra ended up marrying Daemon because Targs do Targ things, and Cersei just kept her affair with Jaime secret because they weren't Targs. In addition, Rhaenyra ended up losing all three of her children, becoming more and more bitter and distraught, becoming prone to paranoia.

Meanwhile, Cersei has thus far only lost Joffrey, but the valonqar prophecy states she will lose all three of her children. Like Rhaenyra, though, after the death of Joffrey, she does become more prone to paranoia and is increasingly bitter. Rhaenyra was eventually fed to Sunfyre by her half-brother Aegon. If Jaime is truly the valonqar, then Cersei might end up being killed by her brother as well. Eventually, Rhaenyra did end up becoming estranged from Daemon, and currently Cersei is estranged from Jaime.

However, a better Dance parallel with Cersei and Jaime is Rhaenyra and Criston Cole. They were lovers, a future queen with a member of the Kingsguard. They later suffered some sort of estrangement (the nature of which is a source of conflict in terms of what is real) that led to Criston eventually siding with the greens over the blacks during the Dance. Criston also was made Hand of the King, while Cersei presses for Jaime to be made Hand, but he refuses the position.

However, Rhaenyra isn't the only Cersei parallel. Alicent Hightower is another. Like Cersei, she supports her eldest son in claiming the throne against its lawful heir, and is the dowager queen of the former king... And she is the daughter of the Hand of the King, who is a member of one of the richest, most powerful families in the kingdoms. However, Rh

But the parallels run even deeper than that. It shocked me to see how far these go. The story of Aegon III and Viserys II as children is not too dissimilar to both the story of Daenerys and Viserys after Robert's Rebellion and some of the Stark children. Like Dany and Viserys, Viserys II ended up spending a lot of time in the Free Cities, specifically Lys, although he was captured in battle and returned as a hostage, whereas Dany and Viserys spent time in Illyrio's mansion as guests. Arya also went to Braavos, a Free City, but that's about where the similarities end so that isn't very intentional, I think.

Nonetheless, both Aegon and Viserys spent the majority of the war separated from each other and only reunited after it ended. Likewise, the Stark children were separated from each other for the majority of the war as well, and seem poised to reunite after the initial War of the Five Kings is over. And speaking of Starks, Aegon III does have a slight parallel with Bran.

As confirmed by George, Bran will be the King of Westeros by the end of the books, and there is a moniker given to him in the show that actually does appear in the books, of Bran the Broken. Meanwhile, at the end of the Dance, Aegon is now the King, and he is known as the Broken King, because of his extreme PTSD and depression from his traumatic experiences during the war.

Doesn't even end there. Now we get into some of, in my opinion, the biggest parallels with the Dance and ASOIAF proper. We all know about R+L=J, and the Dance has not one, but two big nods to this. First is the story told by Mushroom of when Jacaerys visited Winterfell. Supposedly, he fell in love with Cregan's bastard half-sister Sara Snow, and the two secretly wed before the Winterfell heart tree. Regardless of the validity of the story, Cregan and Jace did end up agreeing to what was called the Pact of Ice and Fire, wherein Jace's firstborn daughter would marry Cregan's son Rickon... son of a Targaryen king marrying the daughter of Lord Stark? Hmmm....

However, the other one is a lot more significant, to me anyways, and that would be the relationship between Crown Prince Aemond One-Eye and Alys Rivers. During the Dance, when Aemond took over Harrenhal, he took Alys Rivers as his paramour. The mysterious Alys was said to be a witch who was a bastard of House Strong, a House that has strong ties to the First Men. So, Valyrian crown prince and a First Man woman in love... but don't worry, it gets extremely apparent afterwards.

Aemond impregnates Alys and leaves her in a tower to go fight Daemon, during which Aemond is killed, leaving Alys all alone. Rhaegar impregnates Lyanna and leaves her in a tower to go fight Robert, during which Rhaegar is killed and leaves Alys all alone... then, years later, during winter, the Hand of the King Tyland Lannister tries to get together a force to retake Harrenhal, as it is held by brigands and thieves and broken men, only to find Alys there... with a young child she calls her and Aemond's trueborn son, and the rightful King of Westeros.

If that isn't enough for you, there is a very distinct similarity in the armour of Rhaegar and Aemond. Rhaegar's armour is mentioned to have been;

Seventeen and new to knighthood, Rhaegar Targaryen had worn black plate over golden ringmail when he cantered onto the lists.

And:

The day had been windy when he said farewell to Rhaegar, in the yard of the Red Keep. The prince had donned his night-black armor, with the three-headed dragon picked out in rubies on his breastplate.

Compare this to Aemond's own armour.

Vhagar had come at last, and on her back rode the one-eyed Prince Aemond Targaryen, clad in nightblack armor chased with gold.

It seems clear to me that George is trying to tell us something. I think Aemond and Alys are a sort of dark mirror to Rhaegar and Lyanna. Rhaegar was considered a very noble, chivalrous prince who was well loved by the smallfolk, and Lyanna had a strong sense of Stark justice (as seen in the Knight of the Laughing Tree story). Meanwhile, Aemond was a narcissistic, psychopathic mass murderer who seems almost Ramsay-esque in his demeanour. And Alys seems more power hungry and eventually took over Harrenhal as its witch queen. But the fact they have what Alys claims to be their trueborn child and true king of Westeros does strongly suggest Rhaegar and Lyanna did eventually marry and Jon is their trueborn son, not a bastard.

I hoped I would be done by now, but there is still even more parallels. Cregan Stark and Eddard Stark are parallels and foils. Ned becomes Hand of the King and travels south to uncover who poisoned the previous Hand of the King, before the War of the Five Kings starts. Meanwhile, Cregan travels south and arrives at King's Landing after the Dance was over, then becomes Hand of the King to uncover who poisoned the previous king (Aegon II). However, while Ned was cautious and not really a big player of the game of thrones, Cregan was ambitious and knew what he was doing, even if his actions weren't always the best (attacking Storm's End, Oldtown, and Casterly Rock after the war was essentially over? Not a good idea, Stark).

The Regency of Aegon III in and of itself is a metacommentary to the writing process of ASOIAF. Originally, after GRRM finished ASOS, he decided to do a 5-year gap between that and what was to be ADWD. However, that ended up not working out, so he scrapped it all together. During that time, Tommen would've remained king, and his reign would be under a regency. So thus, Aegon III having a 5-year regency (from 131 to 136 AC) during that time alludes to that.

And then you get to Unwin Peake, my least favourite character in Fire and Blood. He appears to be a combination of Mace Tyrell and Randyll Tarly. Personality wise, he is very much like Randyll. He is a very outspoken misogynist, a very proud man, and a noted warrior wielding a Valyrian steel blade (that he likely stole from Tumbleton since Orphan-Maker was from House Roxton originally). He also changed out Aegon III's master-at-arms to be Gareth Long, who was a very harsh taskmaster, who routinely engaged in abusive tactics with the boys he trained when they didn't meet his expectations, including days without sleep, doused in tubs of ice water, being beat, and having their heads shaved, which is very reminiscent of Randyll's abuse of Sam as a child.

Unwin and Randyll also dealt with lawful punishment in very harsh ways, as seen by Randyll's treatment of those who break the law at Maidenpool, and Unwin's clearing the Red Keep cells during the Feast of Our Father Above. However, Unwin has a lot of similarities with Mace Tyrell as well. Mace is on the small council, and has routinely tried to engage in nepotism by implanting allies and family members of his into positions at the council and at King's Landing, including marrying Margaery to the king, becoming Hand of the King, having Paxter Redwyne be the lord admiral and Randyll Tarly the lord justiciar, try to bring his uncle Garth to become the new master of coin, and Garth's bastard sons to join the gold cloaks, not to mention the Conclave nearly sending his uncle Gormon to become the new Grand Maester (something Mace will surely approve of), Mace having his son Loras join the Kingsguard, and even try to betroth his heir Willas to Myrcella.

Meanwhile, Unwin engaged in much more rampant and unchecked nepotism. He was Hand of the King and Lord Regent, had Ser Gareth as master-at-arms at the Red Keep, since he was master-at-arms at Starpike, while his widowed aunt Clarice Osgrey was put in charge of Queen Jaehaera's household, Lord George Graceford (a member of the Caltrops that Peake himself was involved in) was appointed as the Lord Confessor, and Ser Victor Risley, the other surviving member of the Caltrops, was appointed to the position of the King's Justice.

He even dismissed Septon Eustace and replaced him with Septon Bernard, another relative of his. He also had his nephew Amaury and his bastard half-brother Ser Mervyn Flowers put onto the Kingsguard, while his uncle Gedmund was made the master of ships. Not to mention his attempted marriage between his daughter Myrielle and Aegon III. So basically the Peakes are the Tyrells of their day, trying to take control of the Seven Kingdoms and the Iron Throne.

And that is all that I can remember! I'm sure there is a lot more, but it's striking to see just how many parallels there are between the Dance and ASOIAF itself.

[bellasaraarchivist]

In the DVD "Emma and the Ice Palace", the Winter Festival Comes to life. Horses and fairies gather from all over North of North for a great feast and the lighting and decorating of Canter Hollow. The amazing Ice Palace is revealed by our heroes, and the wonder and beauty of Canter Hollow is brought to life with the help of herd Elemyn. One Bella Sara DVD Box comes contains a DVD with a secret online code, 2 Bella Sara Chibis and 1 rare Chibi, each in their own cube, 1 decoration sheet for 3 cubes, 1 secret code for online Chibis and 1 Bella Sara trading card! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9WbCiiQ0dU

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0052AJ28E/tag=wwwwvgcom-21

Existence of more DVD stories!

[larryland]

Living Room Theatre Presents a New Comedy “Lucy’s Wedding”

Living Room Theatre Presents a New Comedy “Lucy’s Wedding”

Bees are buzzing, roses are blooming and the Living Room Theatre is in rehearsal with an American comedy written by our own Randolyn Zinn. Lucy’s Wedding will mark LRT’s fourth new play since we began in 2012 and the third by a female playwright.

Set in the early 1980s (before Google and cell phones), three sisters, their mother, grandmother, the bride’s groom and his brother pray, dream and…

[dark-lady-sylvanas]

so i’ve been writing a lil dk/wild hunt au for sara over the past couple of days and i was just curious to see if there was any interest for a public post:tm: so i’ll put a lil snippet under the cut! :D i’m up to chapter....3? i think? so if you want a link to the rest of the fic feel free to dm me!! :D

Clang. Clang. 

If there was one thing that never ended in Icecrown, it was the noise. Sara had been assigned to watch over the forges this morning, standing guard over the undead smiths. She stationed herself just inside the doors to the master’s citadel, listening intently for any hint of invaders. Well, as best as she could over the noise of the forge behind her. 

Most of her daily assignments were spent waiting for a replacement to come. There was hardly a reason to be by the door, besides to escape the oppressive heat behind her, especially with the citadel’s defenses. If the heroes she’s been training to defeat came anywhere close, alarms would sound throughout the entire structure. 

Most of their training recently had even been about identifying the various alarms. The one for invaders, of course, sounded like a low, deep war horn. Something similar to the noise playi— Shit!

Immediately whipping around, she was relieved to see the smiths already dousing the forges and fleeing to the inner citadel. Sara moved quickly from forge to forge, freezing each one as she herded the smiths away. Just as the last forge froze over, the great doors behind her took their first blow

THUD. 

She summoned her mount as she kept walking, a horse fashioned from the coldest shadow. 

THUD. 

A moment to set the hidden traps, then swinging into the saddle. Her steed immediately broke into a canter, riding through the ring Marrowgar was slowly forming in. 

THUD. 

A quick nod to their Nerubian priestess, then she was ascending. A platform slowly raised up, away from the gates. And it seems her escape came at the perfect time. 

CRASH!

[whitecanary-lance]

Into | Self Para ; Part Two

Sweet paralyzation No one here to keep me safe Hyperventilation

Sara. Sara....it’s me... Please come find me..

Sara’s fist curled in on itself as she approached the dimly lit circular table where the trinkets of the past no longer seemed to glow like they used too. The gold trimmed globe and crystal cut canter blurred against the glaring silhouette of the metal container that shadowed them. 

The death totem. 

Sara didn’t want to face the truth of her nature. Death had become of her and now it’s laced itself up in every woven fiber of her being. The scraping sound of glass grating echoed in her ears till her palms pressed into the cool metal. Don’t do it. Don’t open this.. the frantic voice that sounded from the base of her chest fell silent as the lid opened. 

“You found me.”

A shiver ran down her spine at the familiar voice that echoed in her head. Her stomach twisting up with the silvery tone that sang to her forever a c h i n g soul.

Her mouth ran dry by the silver spun strands that illuminated in the smoky florescent light that hung above her.  The blacked out mask hardly dulled the honeydew skin that dared to shine behind the darkness. Sara’s jaw clenched at the sight of the woman who stared back at her. “This isn’t real. You’re now--this can’t be real.” Sara’s fingers itched to reach out to the woman but stilled just a few inches. The intrusive glint of her rings distracted the pull of reality begging for Sara to fight the static sounds that crackled in the base of her mind. 

Sometimes a dream hurt less than the real longing desperation of guilty. 

“The totem chose you, Sara. You lived in the light and it still chose you.” Laurel’s honeyed words twisting in the base of her ears. “You know that this is the only way. You can control that darkness inside of you--hold dominion over the dead and we can be together again.” The crisp crackling sound eroded the singsongy memory of Laurel’s last encouraging send off. Sara felt had forgotten how soft spoken and raw her sister’s voice was. After all this time, she could remember every detail of the woman’s appearance and mannerisms; she just couldn’t recall the soft treble that once used to saturate her words. 

“Pick up the totem, Sara. Do it for me. It’s the only way to defeat Mallus. You know I’m right, little sis.” 

Sara swallowed back the desperate burn of her grief before loosing the obsidian colored amulet from the circular cushion that held it in place. Before she could rationalize the emotions that rumbled through her; the totem l a t c h e d around her throat like a noose. The world fell away and the static crackling silenced. 

[waus-news]

Badosa's title defence meets Fernandez challenge; Azarenka, Kvitova exit - WAUS

March 14 (Reuters) - Reigning champion Paula Badosa outlasted friend and fellow Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6(4) 6-1 at Indian Wells on Monday to set up a mouth-watering fourth round clash against U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.After edging Sorribes Tormo in the tiebreaker during an 82-minute opening set, Badosa cantered through the second to remain on course to become the first woman to defend the Indian Wells title since Martina Navratilova won in 1990 and 1991.Next up for world number seven Badosa will be Canadian 19-year-old Fernandez, who arrived at the Californian desert after defending her WTA title in Monterrey, Mexico.SEE MORE ENTERTAINMENT WAUS NEWS >> Fernandez, who went down to Emma Raducanu in last year's final at Flushing Meadows, defeated American Shelby Rogers 6-1 3-6 6-3 to close out Monday evening's action at the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells."It will be a very tough one. She's the defending champion. She has a lot of good matches under her belt. I'm very excited to play against her," Fernandez told reporters."I'll just try to focus on my game and see what my dad (coach) has in store for me to execute."Earlier in the day, former major champions Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova were ousted in the third round.Greece's Maria Sakkari, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros and the U.S. Open last year, fired off five aces in a strong service display to make light work of Czech Kvitova 6-3 6-0.The world number six won all of her first-serve points in the first set and dropped just one in the second, as Kvitova struggled with her serve, producing five double-faults across the 66-minute affair in California.Two-times Wimbledon winner Kvitova ceded break point in the eighth game of the first set and never regained her composure, as Sakkari fended off two breaks to close out the frame and ran away with the match in the second set.It was the second time that Sakkari has reached the round of 16 at tennis' unofficial "fifth major," after she reached the fourth round in 2018.Two-time winner and 13th seed Azarenka fell to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 6-3 6-4 after a malfunctioning serve saw her produce eight double faults.An in-form Rybakina produced a pristine first set, launching four aces without dropping a single first-serve point to claim the early momentum.With her right shoulder heavily taped and a sleeve placed on her right arm, two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka grimaced, crouched down on the court and wept after a double fault in the fifth game of the second set.That prompted the chair umpire to approach Azarenka to ask if she needed medical attention.Azarenka, who lost in the final last year to Badosa, apologized and continued but Rybakina converted the critical break point in the seventh game of the second set.Elsewhere on the women's side, Czech Marketa Vondrousova knocked out Estonian fourth seed Anett Kontaveit 3-7 7-5 7-6(5).SEE MORE ENTERTAINMENT WAUS NEWS >> Reporting by Amy Tennery and Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Christian Radnedge, Kenneth Maxwell & Simon Cameron-Moore SOURCE: REUTERS Read the full article

[lushscreamqueen]

LADY FRANKENSTEIN 1971

OPENING: Why hello there, Welcome to the Schlocky Horror Picture show. Nice to see you again. You look great. Have you lost weight? But seriously folks. When only the monster you make can satisfy your strange desires you know the movie is going to be worthy of a Friday night TVS. And when Dr. Frankenstein is killed by the monster he created, it's only natural His Daughter continues his crazy experiments. Well THAT does sounds reasonable enough. So grab a cold one, kick of your shroud and enjoy with me now, Lady Frankenstein.

BREAK: I feel a message coming through from the great beyond. And then after the ad break more of our movie, LADY FRANKENSTEIN.

MIDDLE: Lady Frankenstein, or to show you how "in continental" I am, La Figlia di Frankenstein opens in a graveyard by night. Now where have I seen that kind of opening before? With grave robber Lynch played by Herbert Fux , and yes, that is his real name, transporting corpses to the big spooky castle on a hill. Hellloooo Castle Hill (waving) Anyway it's seems more than a little ironic that Fux left acting shortly after this movie to pursue his political ambitions as the local Representative of the Green Party of Austria. I guess it was the extreme recycling that inspired him. He came back to acting when he realised no-one voted for him. Baron Frankenstein is ably played by Hollywood screen great Joseph Cotton. I guess he needed the cash. It's certainly a far cry from his award winning roles in Citizen Kane, The Third man, Fantasy Island and sadly non award winning role in Return to Fantasy Island. Sara Bay began her career as Rosalba Beri at the age of 15 with a role in the film " I Pinguini ci guardano" The Penguins Watch Us in which the animals at the zoo watched the humans around them and cultivated some very interesting thoughts. Sounds like just another day the TVS studios to me. She changed her name several times in her career before finishing up with Sara Bay. As Tanya Frankenstein she is not bad. But she's not great either, she does throw herself into the tacky role with such relish that she comes off pretty damned thrilling. Yay nudity. Baron Frankenstein’s daughter Tanya is herself a super-intelligent scientific sort who dislikes being left out of the loop when it comes to her father's horrific experiments. Of course, as the movie was created by men and pretty much for men, any possibility that it might serve as a truly feminist inspiration or even a fair representation of how women think and act is rather suspect and more than a little foolhardy.

Paul Muller plays Dr Charles Marshall and for our lady viewers tonight, he is prettier than most "Igor's" tend to be. Even though Charles is a Doctor in his own right he, is still ends up as that guy that fishes a brain out of a jar. Still it is a step up from his previous film, Vampiros Lesbos, but not much. In fact most of Mr Mullers movie involve naked women and dead people and there are 232 of them. Kiss me Killer, Christina, Princesse de l'érotisme (A Virgin Living among the Living Dead) Sie tötete in Ekstase (She Killed in Ecstasy) and Hitler the last Ten days, but then isn't that the reason we are all here on a Friday night and not SBS? Add the usual suspect like Mickey Hargitay, aka Mr. Jayne Mansfield, as the obligatory police officer to flesh out the cast and a Renate Cash as Julia Stack who was great in Emmanuelle in America and Frauleins in Uniform, or was that just me? And you have a reasonable movie. Ok I lied, but thankfully screen writer Edward Di Lorenzo did find his muse and move onto his truly talented writing with Space 1999. But then again, we do have to blame him for some of Miami Vice.

The film is often compared with the Frankenstein cycle made by the Hammer Studios (1957-72), and may also have been an influence on Paul Morrissey's controversial Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) It was rescued at the last minute by a cash infusion from the notoriously tight-fisted Roger Corman, "Lady Frankenstein" is a low budget affair filmed in Italy by American Mel Welles. Screen veteran Joseph Cotton, slumming near the end of his career, gets top billing though he's killed off 35 minutes in. It's all sort of downhill from there really. The dubbing was apparently done in the States by Corman's people and this leads to the quirky anomaly of a film set in an early 19th Century England where the townspeople talk and sound like the cast of a post-Civil War western. All in all, it’s bad, good, fast slow and has some sexy Italian ladies. And with that let's return to that 1971Classic Argentinean film "LADY FRANKENSTEIN"

CLOSING: So it's really Rosalba Neri aka Sara Bay at the height of her beauty, who really steals your heart, spleen, liver, and all the fun bouncy bits. Her Tanya is a calculating, self-cantered bitch that's willing to drive a man to murder so she can enjoy a good-looking bonk. Who wouldn't? The scene in which she wickedly seduces the child-like Thomas was, for me, the high point of the film. Teasingly undressing in front of me…him…I mean him…Phew! Her lap dancing while a tortured Charles watches from behind a curtain was just cruel. And then to have Charles then sneak up and suffocate Thomas with a pillow. It's just like that scene from with Scott and Charlene from "Neighbours". The bit that got cut out before it was broadcast. Tanya's reaction as poor dumbo Thomas dies, sensuously biting her hand to stifle her own …..(Silent stare at screen) ….. Evil never looked so sexy….and…ahem...cough cough on that image. So until next week from the Nigel Honeybone and the SCHLOCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. "Toodles!"

By Lushscreamqueen 21st july 2009

#schlockyhorrorpictureshow

#nigelhoneybone

[bigyack-com]

Australian Open Day 3 Live Updates:Barty powers through, Djokovic advances; Dmitrov ousted - tennis

Australian Open Day 3 Live Updates: Top seed Rafael Nadal turned on the style as he launched his bid for a record-equalling 20th Major title at the Australian Open on Tuesday, but falling star Maria Sharapova hit a career low. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios also cantered into the second round, but fourth seed Daniil Medvedev had to fight his way past American Frances Tiafoe in four sets. The third day promises some exciting contests as Novak Djokovic goes up against T Ito, while Ashleigh Barty will face P Hercog. Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer will be in action as well.Follow live updates of Australian Open Day 3 Live Updates: 13:55 hrs IST

Dmitrov crashes out

Tommy Paul comes up with the biggest win of his career as he sends packing Grigor Dmitrov in a five-set thriller. Paul won the match 7-6 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 (10-8) to enter the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. 13:01 hrs IST

Divij shines

India’s Divij Sharan advanced to the second round of men’s doubles event at the Australian Open after beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa along with his New Zealand partner Artem Sitak. Divij and Sitak needed an hour and 28 minutes to win the first-round match 6-4, 7-5 against their lower-ranked opponents. The pair won 69 per cent 1st serve points and hit 27 winners to get their Australian Open campaign going. 12:13 hrs IST

Djokovic vs Nishioka in third round

Defending champion Novak Djokovic entered the third round of the Australian Open after cruising past Japanese wildcard Tatsuma Ito. Djokovic needed just 95 minutes to advance as he defeated Ito 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena. He will next face another Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka. 11:30 hrs IST

Gauff books Osaka date

Teenage sensation Coco Gauff survived a three-set thriller against Sorana Cirstea at the Australian Open on Wednesday to book a third-round showdown with defending champion Naomi Osaka for the second Grand Slam in a row. 10:18 hrs IST

Results on day 3

Results on day three of the Australian Open Grand Slam at Melbourne Park on Wednesday:Men’s singles2nd roundSam Querrey (USA) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x6) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) retiredGuido Pella (ARG x22) bt Gregoire Barrere (FRA) 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3Women’s singles1st roundSara Sorribes (ESP) bt Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1Anett Kontaveit (EST x28) bt Astra Sharma (AUS) 6-0, 6-2Iga Swiatek (POL) bt Timea Babos (HUN) 6-3, 6-2Carla Suarez (ESP) bt Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x11) 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6)Heather Watson (GBR) bt Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x30) bt Nina Stojanovic (SRB) 6-1, 7-5Taylor Townsend (USA) bt Jessica Pegula (USA) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5)Elise Mertens (BEL x16) bt Danka Kovinic (MNE) 6-2, 6-0Women’s singles2nd roundAshleigh Barty (AUS x1) bt Polona Hercog (SLO) 6-1, 6-4Elena Rybakina (KAZ x29) bt Greet Minnen (BEL) 6-3, 6-4Alison Riske (USA x18) bt Lin Zhu (CHN) 6-3, 6-1Julia Goerges (GER) bt Petra Martic (CRO x13) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS x25) bt Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-1, 6-3Petra Kvitova (CZE x7) bt Paula Badosa (ESP) 7-5, 7-5Naomi Osaka (JPN x3) bt Zheng Saisai (CHN) 6-2, 6-4Zhang Shuai (CHN) bt Caty McNally (USA) 6-2, 6-4Sofia Kenin (USA x14) bt Ann Li (USA) 6-1, 6-3Ons Jabeur (TUN) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) bt Dayana Yastremska (UKR x23) 7-5, 7-5 8:37 hrs IST

Tsitsipas’ opponent withdraws

Stefanos Tsitsipas marches on to the third round after his German opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew. 05:00 hrs IST

Australian Open Day 3 - Order of Play

ROD LAVER ARENAP. Badosa v P. Kvitova (7)A. Barty (1) v P. HercogT. Ito v N. Djokovic (2)T. Zidansek v S. Williams (8)F. Krajinovic v R. Federer (3)MARGARET COURT ARENAN. Osaka (3) v S. ZhengC. Wozniacki v D. Yastremska (23)T. Paul v G. Dimitrov (18)J. Thompson v F. Fognini (12)M. Keys (10) v A. RusMELBOURNE ARENAJ. Goerges v P. Martic (13)C. Gauff v S. CirsteaS. Tsitsipas (6) v P. KohlschreiberH. Hurkacz (31) v J. Millman1573 ARENAC. Suarez Navarro v A. Sabalenka (11)E. Mertens (16) v D. KovinicM. Berrettini (8) v T. SandgrenM. Mmoh v R. Bautista Agut (9)COURT 3A. Li v S. Kenin (14)E. Alexandrova (25) v B. KrejcikovaB. Paire (21) v M. CilicM. Polmans v D. Lajovic (24)COURT 8A. Sharma v A. Kontaveit (28)A. Riske (18) v L. ZhuD. Schwartzman (14) v A. Davidovich FokinaN. Hibino v M. Sakkari (22)COURT 12K. Pliskova v H. WatsonM. Inglis/K. McPhee v L. Kichenok (14)/Z. Yang (14)H. Kontinen/J. Struff v A. Seppi/L. SonegoD. Sharan/A. Sitak v P. Carreno Busta/J. SousaCOURT 19S. Sorribes Tormo v V. KudermetovaD. Evans (30) v Y. NishiokaC. Garin v M. Raonic (32)Q. Wang (27) v F. Ferro Read the full article

[stephzyun-blog]

The enduring Dukha, one of the last nomadic reindeer herders in Mongolia

By Stephanie Zheng

The four-wheel drive my friend and I were on hit a bump and for the briefest moment we were airborne, before gravity drew us down unceremoniously onto our seats. Shaken but not stirred, we buckled up for the journey to find and spend some time with the Dukha, one of the last few groups of nomadic reindeer herders in the world.

The Dukha live out their lives alongside reindeer in the northern Khövsgöl aimag of Mongolia. The aimag is further split into the East and West Taiga, with the entire area characterised by an awe-inspiring combination of infinite steppes, pine trees, rolling hills, mountains, steep, rocky slopes, lakes and winding rivers of varying depths.

Thousands of years before, the Dukha dwell in Tuva, a republic southwest of Russia. Due to forced collectivisation and fear of being drafted into the Soviet war they did not ask for, they moved closer to Mongolia, eventually gaining Mongolian citizenship. Their nomadic movement are limited within the area now known as the Tsaagan Nuur (”White Lake”).

Fast forward a century, and a declining community of less than 30 Dukha Tsaatan households now occupy West Taiga. Due to its diverse topography, vehicles steer sensibly clear of the area, which is normally traversed on horseback by the locals and increasingly, on motorbikes.

Our personal bouncy castle (read: the 4WD) could only bring us as far as a Mongolian family’s camp located at the edge of the Tsaagan Nuur, where we would rent horses from. An additional horse guide was needed to guide us through the next leg of our expedition and help provide translation. From there, it would take around one to two days to locate a Dukha family.

After one and a half day of cantering through steepe and fields of wildflowers, crossing rivers and trotting up rocky slopes, we entered a dramatic and Lord-of-the-Ring-esque landscape.

It’s the start of summer but snow still strings the hills, while the nearby lake hasn’t thawed. The weather can get chilly due to the subarctic nature of the region but the relentless afternoon sun keeps the weather at a cool 16-19 degree Celsius. Mongolia receives the most rain during summer, so travellers need to be prepared for sun, rain or hail at a moment’s notice.

It didn’t take long for our guides to lead us to yurts, the telltale sign of a Dukha’s dwelling.

Before long, we found ourselves swept into the life of the modern Dukha, who struggle between keeping their traditions alive and adapting to the world that’s whizzing by them. Here’s a little insight.

An entire family in a single yurt

An entire household usually occupies one yurt and in this camp, five households coexist together peacefully. Pictured below, our host Magsar, his wife Shinae and their daughters Nara and Sara make up the young family who allowed us to stay in their yurt for the night.

Nara and Sara, which means sun and moon respectively in their traditional tongue, behaved just as their name suggests. Nara (in yellow) is a bright ray of sunshine who is always in the center of attention—teasing, demanding, jumping into a picture at any chance and laughing at anything. Younger Sara (in green) is more shy and prefers playing with rocks quietly in a corner, hiding behind her sister and snuggling in the bosom of her father.

Curing reindeer meat on strings

The first thing we saw when we entered their yurt was meat being smoked and cured on strings. Traditionally, what set the Dukha apart from all the other reindeer-herding culture in the world was the fact that they do not eat their meat because the reindeer is seen as part of the family, though the hide and leather could be used to craft clothes, belts and boots. It’s a bit like refusing to eat your uncle and aunt, but being okay with wearing them.

Times have changed since then, and meat is important to survive the -50 degrees Celsius cold Mongolian winter. Our 20-year-old guide Shagai also informed us that Mongolians in general believe in letting animals lead a full lifespan before being slaughtered, a decision likely to be influenced by their religious relationship with nature.

Riding reindeers at a young age, stirrups not needed

It’s not difficult to find young children racing past us on reindeer-back, shouting “Chu! Chu!” as they slap the reindeer’s hind to make them go faster. Younger toddlers are placed behind their older siblings, and before long they too will be able to ride the reindeer confidently.

English lessons for the children

Supported by a government's initiative, children and teens get English lessons from a teacher who lives near their camp. Everyday, Granny helps some of the younger kids onto the reindeer before they ride off to the teacher’s place, around one hour from their camp. 

Protective of their reindeer herds

We arrived just after the calves were just born, and the period during which mama reindeers tend to be overprotective prevented us from getting too near to the herd. Sneakily, we inch slowly towards some of the reindeer, only for the local teen to step in to protect us from them (or maybe it’s the other way round).

The reindeer’s home

Reindeer spend the entire day grazing, roaming far till evening when the men chase after them on horses and herd them back to camp. Gone were the days when each household owned hundreds of reindeer, as forced collectivization in the communism era in Tuva greatly decimated the reindeer’s population in each household.

The Mongolian government has stepped in to import reindeer from nearby regions in order to increase the gene pool of the reindeer, and ensure continuity of the reindeer-herding culture, but nowadays it’s still hard to see any average Dukha household own more than 20 reindeer.

Carving out souvenirs made from reindeer antlers

To supplement his income, our host carved statues out of reindeer antlers to sell to visitors. Selling handmade souvenirs helps the Dukha community earn extra cash to support their families to procure additional rations and equipment that would ease the tough condition of life in the taiga. We understood from him that they receive around a hundred tourists a year, particularly during summer.

Neighbours coming over for a traditional Mongolian card game

On the second day of our stay, neighbouring nomads arrived on horseback to play a traditional card game which bears similarity to poker. The women sat around chatting while the men smoked and played cards.

The Dukha cherubs

One of the most rewarding experience, apart from gaining an insight into how the Dukha live from day-to-day, was mingling with the free-spirited children of the taiga. They embody the resilience of a race that has survived thousands of years in some of the world’s remotest and coldest region.

It’s hard to tell if the children will continue the Dukha’s way of life as too many from each generation have given up the rough uncertainty of nomadic living to assimilate into city life.

But when one of them pulled my hand towards the reindeer, excitedly chattering to me in his native tongue, while another hands me a fist full of the stones she’s sharpened, I cannot thank my lucky stars enough that I’ve had a chance to be there, however brief, in the enduring life of the Dukha.

Photo: Nicole Ang

Photo: Nicole Ang

[motioncollector]

HAIM - Summer Girl (Official Video) via https://youtu.be/ZjuA_o6Jzyo // HAIM - Summer Girl Listen: https://HAIM.lnk.to/SummerGirlVD Performed by Danielle Haim Este Haim Alana Haim Henry Solomon Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Recording Produced by: Danielle Haim, Rostam Batmanglij, and Ariel Rechtshaid Producers: Sara Murphy, Erica Frauman Editor: Andy Jurgensen Recording Mixed by: Rostam Batmanglij, Ariel Rechtshaid, and Shawn Everett Recording Mastered by: Emily Lazar Production Company: Ghoulardi Film Company UPM: Kat Barnette Camera / Steadicam Operator: Colin Anderson 1st Assistant Camera: Steve Cueva 2nd Assistant Camera: Jozo Zovko Gaffer: Danny Durr Key Grip: Jeff Kunkel Loaders: Drey Jordan Singer, Hadyn Pazanti Production Coordinator: Lauren Andrade Wardrobe: Rebecca Grice Playback & Other Stuff: Victoria Kunkel Production Assistant: EJ Smith Colorists: Mike Sowa, Phil Beckner DI Producer: Jason Pelham THANK YOU: Jules McLean Panavision Cameras: Lori Killam Light Force Kodak: Anne Hubbell Color and Prints by: Fotokem Filmed on location at VOX Studios, New Beverly Cinema, Canters Deli, Ventura Blvd., California June 8 & 9, 2019

[larryland]

by Gail M. Burns

“Elderly” folks like me may remember the late Dudley Moore’s classic skit (if you don’t you can watch it HERE) where he plays multiple variations on the Colonel Bogey March and then is unable to end it. He plays coda after coda after coda, but they never resolve. The Living Room Theatre’s production of Lucy’s Wedding, written and directed by Randolyn Zinn, has that same rambling, unwieldy feeling and is equally hilarious. Comedy run amok.

  LRT presents just one production each summer at the Park-McCullough House in North Bennington. The production is site-specific, and the actors cast live, eat, and rehearse together, I offer this little preface so that you understand the dynamic of this group. There are lots of new plays on the boards this summer, but Lucy’s Wedding is nurtured by its creator and owned by the performers in a unique way.

  The play has been evolving over many years. Initially it was a 10 minute play, then a one act, and now it is a full length two act play. I was unable to decide which were the original 10 minutes content, but Act II is clearly the add-on. Act I, which takes place on Lucy’s wedding day, remains a self-contained work. Act II, set the following Christmas, merely updates us on the character’s lives five months later. Luckily they are engaging characters, winningly played by a lively and talented cast.

  Last season LRT presented Lucy Caldwell’s Irish adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Lucy’s Wedding is also the tale of three sisters, and it sprang originally from Zinn’s own thoughts and memories of growing up as one of three sisters – although she is quick to point out that the play outgrew its autobiographical roots long ago.

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This is most adamantly a play about women. The central family is a matriarchy consisting of Gaga (Kirk Jackson), her daughter Peggy (Karen Trott), and Peggy’s three adult daughters Merle (Sara Canter), Doreen (Colleen O’Connor), and Lucy (Julia Valen). Gaga’s husband, Otto, and Peggy’s husband, Farley, are dead, although the latter does make some ghostly appearances in the person of LRT co-founder Allen McCullough . Doreen’s husband, Donald, chooses not to be present. Lucy’s fiancé Cal (Michael Broadhurst)and his brother Eliot (Will Gallacher) are the only living male characters on stage.

  I will not give away the plot but suffice it to say that these are definitely people who put the “fun” in “dysfunctional” with broad slapstick comedy. The family is devoutly Roman Catholic and Gaga has memories of her mother and life back in the “old country,” the Alsace-Lorraine, an alpine region between France and Germany.  \There are the usual siblings squabbles and rivalries. Merle is the sister who has escaped the Midwest, moving to New York to pursue a career as an artist. Lucy still lives at home with her mother and grandmother but that will change with her marriage. And while Doreen is married with a home of her own, she lives close by and still identifies herself strongly with her birth family since she and Donald are childless.

  The play begins with Lucy dreaming, and over the course of the show all the other characters recount or reenact dreams of their own, often to side-splitting comic effect. Towards the end of Act I Cal and Eliot perform an hilarious version of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” with delightfully mangled lyrics as part of a fight scene, and towards the end of Act II Gaga’s dream of dancing with Jesus comes true. (Yes, Jesus makes a cameo appearance. Why not?)

  Over the course of rehearsals in New York and then in North Bennington Zinn has encouraged and allowed each performer to really inhabit their characters, so all of the performers are perfectly suited to their roles – and vice versa. Some of the actors, notably Trott, have been involved with the show for a long while; some, like Broadhurst and O’Connor, have been with LRT for several seasons, and others are newcomers. Each brings their own unique spark of life to the production.

  Two performances are notable for their physicality. Broadhurst is a fine physical comedian and his Cal is just a whirlwind of anxiety and energy, whether sober or, in Act II, totally sloshed. While Broadhurst is perpetual motion, Jackson, with his silver hair neatly clipped to the side, is tightly constrained as the wheelchair-bound Gaga, who demands that she be integral to every refuses to be excluded from the goings-on.

  Since LRT usually performs in non-theatre spaces, there are no sets. Three different spaces within the Park-McCullough Carriage Barn are used – one for each act and a third for a very brief scene that takes place just before the start of the second act – and the audience is moved rather than the scenery. Chase McCloud has designed the lighting, which I cannot really comment on since I saw a matinee performance and natural daylight washed out many of the effects. His sound design, however, was smart and well executed.

  The play is set in the 1980’s and many of the costumes harken back to that gaudier, chintzier time in fashion. Costumes have been loaned by Sherry Recinella and Emily White is credited with “Special Costumes,” while Richard McPike is the creator of the “special undergarment.” My companions and I actually differed on which undergarment we thought was the special one, which proves that there’s more than one exotic underpinning on display!

  Lucy’s Wedding runs two and a half hours with one intermission, and it could easily have that extra half hour trimmed off. Tightened up this would be a really hilarious show. In its current form it is a happy meander from one character’s moment to the next, with many hearty laughs along the way.

  Lucy’s Wedding, written and directed by Randolyn Zinn, is presented by the Living Room Theatre in the Park-McCullough Carriage Barn at 1 Park Street in North Bennington, VT, from July 17-28, 2019. Producer Roger Cooper, Project Manager Rocky Friedman Vargas, Lighting and Sound Design by Chase McCloud, Special Costumes Emily White, Special Undergarment Richard McPike, Costume Loans Sherry Recinella, Masks Julia Toacaci, Miscellaneous Sewing Anne Cooper, Graphic Design Angus McCullough, Rehearsal Assistant Monique Vukovic.

  CAST: Julie Valen as Lucy, Will Gallacher as Eliot, Karen Trott as Mom/Peggy, Kirk Jackson as Gaga, Sara Canter as Merle, Colleen O’Connor as Doreen, and Michael Broadhurst as Cal.

  Performances July 17-20 and 24-27 at 7:30 pm, matinees at 2 pm July 20, 21, 27 & 28. Suggested contribution $30. Since seating is limited and the show can only run TWO WEEKS, reservations are a must! Best to reserve online at info@lrtvt.org. Or by phone: 802-442-5322

REVIEW: “Lucy’s Wedding” Living Room Theatre by Gail M. Burns "Elderly" folks like me may remember the late Dudley Moore’s classic skit (if you don’t you can watch it…

[gyrlversion]

Mitch McConnell Will Be The Boogeyman Of The 2020 Elections

Democrats are preparing to make Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a central villain of their push to win total control of Congress in 2020, an effort top advisers to the Kentucky Republican say will only further his efforts to become a conservative hero. 

“Mitch McConnell is a transcendent figure in American politics; he is a unifier. He unites everyone in hatred and animosity toward him, including Republicans,” said Matt Canter, a Democratic pollster at Global Strategy Group who recently conducted a survey that could guide Democrats’ anti-McConnell efforts. “He’s a walking, talking definition of what people hate about Washington and the corrupt political system today.”

The focus on painting McConnell as corrupt and obstructionist, on display in early Democratic messaging, coincides with efforts by McConnell’s own advisers to portray him as a Grim Reaper slashing down progressive dreams as he runs for reelection in Kentucky. The dual pushes seem likely to ensure that McConnell’s record as the leader of the Senate is at the center of the 2020 elections, especially in the states that will ultimately determine who wins a majority of seats in the upper chamber. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning Democrats need to win a net of at least three seats in 2020.

The poll, paid for by the Democratic campaign finance reform group End Citizens United, surveyed 1,200 voters across twelve presidential battleground states. The initial result found Democrats with a 3 percentage point advantage on a generic ballot for Congress. After being exposed to messaging about McConnell, the Democratic advantage grew to 12 percentage points. That was more effective than messages about President Donald Trump (6 percentage points) or congressional Republicans overall (9 percentage points).

McConnell’s approval rating among swing-state voters in the survey is just 26%, with 50% viewing him unfavorably. Among independents, just 18% view him favorably, and 58% have a negative opinion. In counties that swung from former President Barack Obama to President Trump, his approval rating is 25%, while 53% have a negative opinion. 

End Citizens United is presenting the findings to Democratic congressional leaders, as well as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But the anti-McConnell focus is already clear in early messaging from Democratic Senate candidates. 

Three highly touted Democratic Senate candidates ― Iowa’s Theresa Greenfield, Texas’ M.J. Hegar and Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon ― all focus on McConnell’s influence in their campaign launch videos. Hegar refers to her potential opponent, Sen. John Cornyn, as “that tall guy lurking behind Mitch McConnell in basically every single video.”

“He calls himself ‘Big John,’ but he shrinks out of the way while Mitch McConnell gets in the way of anything actually getting done in our government,” Hegar says in the video.

Gideon highlighted McConnell’s promise of financial support for GOP Sen. Susan Collins, while Greenfield claimed her opponent, Sen. Joni Ernst, voted with McConnell 99% of the time. 

While McConnell has been a prominent Democratic boogeyman since at least the start of Obama’s administration, the Democratic base is increasingly aware of McConnell after his starring roles in the blockade of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and the successful nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The DSCC’s fundraising messages now focus heavily on McConnell. 

“When President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell didn’t even let him have a hearing,” reads one of the dozens of McConnell-centric Facebook ads the DSCC is running. “Now that Donald Trump is in power, Mitch McConnell is going NUCLEAR by changing the rules to pack our courts with extreme right-wing judges like Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the bench instead.”

Equally noteworthy is who Ernst and Hegar don’t mention in their videos: Trump. The use of McConnell but not the president (Trump won both Iowa and Texas by fairly substantial margins in 2016) shows how Democrats believe McConnell has become a fairly nonpartisan villain, a symbol of corruption and, as one strategist put it, “the least sympathetic man in Washington.” Democrats hope they can use McConnell’s reputation to turn even swing voters who still like and trust the president against the GOP.

(The End Citizens United poll found swing voters were more likely to agree with Democratic arguments when they mentioned McConnell and the corrupting influence of money on politics.)

Republicans, including close McConnell allies, say the veteran senator will be able to turn the Democratic attacks to his advantage as he runs for reelection in Kentucky, potentially against Democratic Air Force veteran Amy McGrath. 

“I think the left has turned him into a deity on the right. The more they highlight what he’s doing in the Senate, the more popular he becomes,” said Josh Holmes, a former McConnell chief of staff who remains one of the senator’s top political lieutenants. “Every time Donald Trump attacks Nancy Pelosi, it makes her stronger. When Democrats attack Mitch McConnell, it makes him stronger.”

McConnell’s team has been playing up his status as a bête noire of the left. The senator himself told voters in Kentucky to “think of me as the Grim Reaper,” and his reelection campaign has been using “Cocaine Mitch,” the infamous nickname bestowed upon him by disgraced coal baron Don Blankenship, as a way to sell merchandise. He also eagerly announced his willingness to fill a Supreme Court seat in 2020 after using the election-year status of Garland’s nomination as a fig leaf for blocking it. 

“Oh, we’d fill it,” McConnell told a Kentucky questioner who asked about the plan for a possible Supreme Court vacancy. (CNN noted the senator “took a long sip of what appeared to be iced tea” before answering the question “with a smile.”)

McConnell’s allies believe he’s been at his weakest when Trump and rank-and-file Republicans have questioned his effectiveness, such as when Obamacare repeal failed in the Senate in the summer of 2017. But they argue his work to push through Kavanaugh’s nomination has restored his approval rating among Republicans, making his reelection in Kentucky safer (no GOP primary challenger has emerged yet) and strengthening his hand when dealing with donors and candidates across the country. 

But Democrats and Republicans are now both emphasizing his skill and importance. (The portrait of McConnell as master manipulator and strategist ignores the aforementioned failure to repeal Obamacare, as well as his occasional electoral missteps.) 

Beyond the question of McConnell’s strength, Holmes also said he thinks it’s impossible for Democrats in states like Iowa and Texas to shift the conversation from the all-encompassing Trump to the relatively low-key McConnell.

“When you can go after party leaders, you’re making a straight partisan play to solidify your base. But it doesn’t go further than that,” Holmes said. “With Donald Trump running for reelection, the idea that voters are going to ignore that and then pick and choose based on party leaders, that’s absurd to me.”

The End Citizens United poll, conducted by Global Strategy Group, was an online survey of more than 1,200 voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. 

The survey, part of a broader effort by End Citizens United to develop the best Democratic message on corruption and money in politics, also found that voters are even split between Trump and Democrats on who they can trust to crack down on corruption and the influence of money in politics.

“This dynamic provides a clear opportunity for Democratic candidates to shape and win the debate, while also demonstrating the danger of ceding the issue to Republicans,” Global Strategy Group’s pollsters wrote in a memo. “Committing to enacting these policies and making these issues a focus of their campaigns will be critical for Democrats to win over persuadable voters in 2020.”

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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Agents Place in Los Angeles Business Journal’s Top 75 for 2018

The Los Angeles Business Journal has unveiled its list of the county’s top 75 residential real estate agents ranked by 2018 sales volume, and five of them are from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

“This annual list recognizes the power players who drive the residential market, and it’s no surprise that our agents are so well-represented,” says Kathy King, vice president and regional manager, Los Angeles, at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties. “Through hard work, integrity and a winning attitude, their ability to surpass the expectations of their clients is what makes them leaders within our company, the Los Angeles County market and our entire nationwide network.”

The five agents, branch office, sales volume and number of units sold, are as follows:

David Offer – No. 9 Brentwood $303 million 35 units sold

The Shevin Team: Mark, Rory and Sara Shevin – No. 14 Calabasas $208 million 57 units sold 

Gary Glass – No. 40 Brentwood $116 million 7 units sold

Larry Young – No. 52 Beverly Hills $94 million 37 units sold

St. James + Canter Team: Cristie St. James and Markus Canter – No. 63 Beverly Hills $88 million 37 units sold

For numerical purposes, the Los Angeles Business Journal list groups the individual agents along with their team members as a single ranking.

For more information, please visit www.bhhscalifornia.com.

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