#Saul Craven

[jenni3penny]

An up-to-date list of nicknames Saul has now used for Farah’s ex:

“the professor”

“Rosalind’s puppy”

“craven shit” 

“massive shithead”

“Asshole of Abjuration”

[kwebtv]

Smiley's People - BBC Two - September 20, 1982 - October 25, 1982

Spy Drama (6 episodes)

Running Time: 360 minutes Total

Stars:

Alec Guinness as George Smiley

Eileen Atkins as Madame Ostrakova

Michael Byrne as Peter Guillam

Bernard Hepton as Toby Esterhase

Anthony Bate as Sir Oliver Lacon

Barry Foster as Sir Saul Enderby

Michael Lonsdale as Anton Grigoriev

Beryl Reid as Connie Sachs

Bill Paterson as Lauder Strickland

Siân Phillips as Ann Smiley

Mario Adorf as Claus Kretschmar

Tessy Kuhls as Frau Kretzschmar

Patrick Stewart as Karla

Curd Jürgens as Gen. Vladimir

Vladek Sheybal as Otto Leipzig

Rosalie Crutchley as Mother Felicity

Maureen Lipman as Stella Craven

Dudley Sutton as Oleg Kirov

Michael Gough as Mikhel

Michael Elphick as Detective Chief Superintendent

Paul Herzberg as Villem Craven

Stephen Riddle as Nigel Mostyn

Tusse Silberg as Alexandra/Tatiana

Norma West as Hilary

Ingrid Pitt as Elvira

Lucy Fleming as Molly Meakin

Andrew Bradford as Ferguson

Joe Praml as Paul Skordeno

Alan Rickman as Mr Brownlow

Tanya Rees as Beckie Craven

Alex Jennings as PC Hall

[foreverknightalways]

Out in the hallway of squad room, Natalie asks Nick, How is he? When can I see him? Nick answers, Soon enough. Natalie asks, What is it? What's wrong? Nick says, Oh, nothing. I'm just a little uneasy, that's all. You know how hesitant I was. Natalie says, It's going to work out, I know it. Sarah's dying to see him. Nick answers, Soon enough. Natalie says, Yeah, I told her. Can't blame her for being impatient, though.

[an-american-anglophile]

I’m thinking a lot about just how perfect it is that this show was positioned from day one as being a legal drama, whereas Breaking Bad was always more of a straight crime drama. Because this is a dirty, perverted world these characters occupy. The Albuquerque of Vince Gilligan’s fictional universe is a broken place, governed by a pretty Old Testament-level system of consequences for our actions. So the fact that something as big as the law, the very concept of Law itself, is the backdrop for this show is important.

Because what a sorry profession the law is in Better Call Saul’s world.

It’s so very easy to look at Jimmy (and now Kim) and think they’re outliers. Rotten apples. They’re tarnishing the very notion of the law with the evil and selfish ways they ‘practice’ it. In the process, they doom themselves. That part is easy. But we know that it’s not just them. Chuck McGill was essentially the protagonist of his own Shakespearean tragedy, so consumed by his devotion to Law with a capital L that he lost the ability to tell when he’d begun to undermine his own principles. Chuck was damned, too.

But look at this very episode. At the way Howard and Cliff agree to put Irene Landry in a wheelchair so that she’ll strike a more pitiable figure to the mediator judge who’s coming. That’s a very mild sort of sin. Jimmy blows his nose with more evil in his heart than that. Neither Howard nor Cliff are inherently bad people for doing that, certainly. And yet it is highlighted. Howard first starts to feel the effects of the vet’s drug right as he’s invited Irene to sit in that chair, too. Starts to feel the heat.

Look at how Rich Schweikart pounces on the opportunity to settle this lawsuit the minute he smells blood in the water from Howard’s meltdown, just as Jimmy and Kim knew he would. Rich is the legal representation for a corporation that manipulates and abuses the trust of the elderly as a matter of course, the kind of behavior that made so many of us so viscerally uncomfortable when Jimmy tried dabbling in it at the end of Season 3.  

All of this is legal, what’s going on here. Some of it is a necessary evil, some of it is more defensible than not, but this is what the Law is. What does this remind you of? Because it reminds me of Slippin’ Jimmy. The kind of chicanery that Chuck so vehemently opposed him for perpetrating. But what the hell was everyone else doing this whole time?

You think this is bad? This chicanery? They’ve done worse. They’ve all done worse.

It’s a perversion of the law because the law is only useful as a concept so long as it’s the vessel through which we do what is *right*. The entire Albuquerque-verse is dominated more than anything else by the power we have to do the right thing and the wrong thing, whether we break bad or break good. So on a thematic level, for a group of *lawyers*, of all people, to reflect these kinds of qualities, these Slippin’ Jimmy qualities... is damning.

Walter White famously said toward the end of “Fly”, in an epiphany brought on by sleeping pills he’d been slipped by Jesse, that it didn’t matter whether a fly got into the meth they were cooking because “it’s all contaminated.” There is no truer statement about the stories of Jimmy, Kim, Howard, Chuck, and the rest of the Better Call Saul cast. It’s all contaminated. They contaminate it for themselves, for each other, and make it so very hard for decency to shine through.

To me, that’s the tragedy of Howard Hamlin. It’s the tragedy of all of them. These lawyers who so easily understand the law and so struggle to understand what’s right. Some of them (Chuck) are never able to see the world beyond their own perspective enough to make it to the ‘right side’, whatever that may be. Some of them (Howard) have just enough self-awareness to understand the way people are reduced to their most craven selves for nothing, but still can’t escape the pull of the current around them. Some of them (Jimmy and Kim) try to become one with the current, for all the good that does them when a true force of nature (Lalo) comes knocking.

When Howard was talking to Cary, the young employee restocking the fridge with sodas today who hopes he might become tomorrow’s Chuck McGill, his dialogue (”Well, maybe there are more important things”) evokes a line he spoke back in “Fall”, when Chuck himself was balking at the notion that he should become partner emeritus rather than remain a practicing lawyer: “Chuck, there’s more to life than this.”

Words worthy of his epitaph. Rest in peace, Howard.

[pige0ns]

revisiting some of saul’s scenes in breaking bad, it’s interesting how insistent he is on walt and jesse cooking all the time. in the context of breaking bad, it seems like he just cares for his own sake. he’s a fun “criminal” lawyer who wants to get rich. but in the context of better call saul, even when jimmy wants money he’s really not quite so openly craven. watching now, his interactions with walt and jesse have the vibe that he wants the money for something pretty specific, or that he’s being pressured in some way. whether that’s from gus via mike (him hooking walt and jesse up with gus feels very different now), or because of some situation he got into, who knows. but even if jimmy isn’t trying to orchestrate some master plan with regards to walt and jesse, i kind of suspect we’ll find out that there is some very particular reason that he pushes them and involves himself with them. rather than it just being that jimmy loses his soul and only wants money and they seem like a golden opportunity. maybe that’s obvious to everyone else, but because i’m not as familiar with breaking bad, it stood out.

[nitrateglow]

Halloween 2020 marathon:

Okay, briefly breaking the hiatus to update you guys on my horror viewing this month...

The Hills Have Eyes

The last Wes Craven movie I saw did not impress me. Without hyperbole, The Last House on the Left is among my most loathed movies-- I found it tone deaf, badly paced, and horribly acted. The Hills Have Eyes was in every way an improvement: here, the dreadful atmosphere was consistent, the acting was solid, and the story was actually scary with some choice moments of black humor.

Halloween [rewatch]

This was my second viewing of John Carpenter’s classic. One thing which sets it apart from the slashers which followed it is just how relatable Laurie is. She seems like a normal shy teenager, which makes the nightmarish scenario she undergoes all the more harrowing for the viewer-- a real achievement, considering how bloodless the kills in Halloween are.

Chopping Mall

Schlock, glorious schlock! This 80s cheesefest is everything you could ever want in a B-horror movie. There are killer robots, fun characters, and ample laser effects.

Subspecies III

Tbh, I don’t even remember much of what happened in this one, other than all the scenes with Radu’s mom-- a sorceress mummy named Mummy. I love how Radu is this gross vampire who’s centuries’ old, but his mom is still around nagging him on his life choices.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

As much as I love spooky movies, it’s rare for a movie to get under my skin. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one such film. Despite having little to no blood or gore (something you would not expect given the movie’s title for crying out loud), this film delivers scares based on its oppressive atmosphere and strong suggestions of depravity. The scares are so strong that you become exhausted along with the characters as they try to escape with all their might from this nightmarish scenario. By the end, I experienced such a catharsis as I had not with a horror movie in a long time-- and even then, I was not fully relieved, as it would be laughable to call this a movie where good triumphs over evil. Like The Shining, this is a movie where innocence is lost and the evil is not defeated in the long-term whatsoever.

I was most pleasantly surprised by the characterizations of the villains. From pop cultural osmosis, I expected Leatherface and his ilk to be generic killers. Instead, they’re a dysfunctional family in line with the eccentric Femms from The Old Dark House-- only a thousand times more homicidal (I dare say Saul Femm would have a great time with them). I find my favorite scary villains tend to pair their violent tendencies with eccentricities that make them almost likable, at least for someone on the other end of the fourth wall: I’m thinking Michael Myers’ artful appreciation of his killings in Halloween, Harry Roat’s attention to detail with costuming and acting in Wait Until Dark, or Frankenstein’s sassy put-downs of pretentious people in the Hammer Frankenstein series. Leatherface and co. are a family constantly at one another’s throats, but they are united in a love of good cuisine-- eh, at least their idea of it.

Also, I love how Leatherface is into arts and crafts. I mean, yes, it’s crafts made from people parts, but a man has to have a hobby, even if he is a chainsaw-wielding cannibal.

I recall critic Tim Brayton once saying the 70s were such a great decade for horror because the horror classics of that era had a grimy, documentary feel due to their low budgets. Slicker, more lavish productions just don’t have that same sense of verisimilitude. And that’s what makes TCM so terrifying-- despite the absurd touches, it feels gross and down to earth in its own bizarre way.

[pastorida]

La filósofa Martha Nussbaum cumple 73 años entre la vida pública y la academia

México, 6 May (Notimex).- La filósofa estadunidense Martha Nussbaum cumple hoy 73 años de edad. Durante su vida ha recibido premios, medallas, doctorados honoris causa en todo el mundo y ha publicado una treintena de libros que le han generado polémica con intelectuales e instituciones, pero sobre todo han provocado el pensamiento y la reflexión en el lector.

    La doctora por la Universidad de Harvard no se ha dedicado sólo a las cuestiones estadounidenses académicas y eruditas, sino en la medida que se lo permite otorga entrevistas a diferentes medios del mundo y da conferencias en Asia, África, Europa, Sudamérica y, por supuesto, México.

     A sus 73 primaveras, por su trabajo la doctora Nussbaum tiene en el bolsillo el Premio Príncipe de Asturias, 2012; en 2016 le dieron el galardón Kyoto, conocido como el Nobel japonés y que se da a los logros de una vida en las ciencias y las artes; y en 2018 recibió el premio Berggruen, que laurea lo mejor del trabajo individual en la filosofía.

    Asimismo, en el 2010 recibió la Medalla Centenario de la Escuela de Graduados de Artes y Ciencias, de la Universidad de Harvard, entre una veintena de premios más.

     Ante este panorama tan apabullante, habría que recular para conocer de dónde salió esta pensadora tan prolífica.

    Martha Craven Nussbaum (Craven es su apellido de soltera) nació el seis de mayo de 1947 en una opulenta familia de la ciudad de Nueva York.

    En su juventud aprendió lenguas clásicas como latín y griego.

    Tras graduarse en artes por la Universidad de Nueva York (1965) y una renunciar a una carrera en el teatro, se mudó a Boston para hacer una maestría (1972) y doctorado (1975) en filosofía por la Universidad de Harvard, bajo la dirección de G. E. L Owen, una autoridad en el aristotelismo.

    En Harvard fue la primera mujer en recibir la prestigiosa Junior Fellowship, una beca que cubre los gastos de manutención por tres años y que se le otorga a un académico con potencial al inicio de su carrera para que pueda avanzar en el conocimiento. Otros ganadores de esta beca en la filosofía fueron Noam Chomsky, Willard Quine, Thomas S. Kuhn y Saul Kripke.

    En esta misma universidad enseñó filosofía y letras clásicas desde 1975, pero en 1982 la abandonó tras que se le denegó una titularidad de clase en el departamento de Letras Clásicas.

    En una entrevista a Robert S. Boynton, para The New York Times Magazine, Nussbaum señaló: “No me gustaba Harvard. Desaprobaba a los clasicistas. Eran antisemitas, racistas y sexistas y tenían una verdadera brutalidad entre ellos”.

    De 1982 a 1994 enseñó en la Universidad de Brown. En el 94´se mudó, más al centro de los Estados Unidos, para enseñar en la Universidad de Chicago, escuela en la que se mantiene en la actualidad como Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, en los departamentos de Derecho y Filosofía, lugar donde conoció, apoyo y fue colega del expresidente Barack Obama.

    Si bien es difícil abarcar en pocas líneas el pensamiento tan fértil de Nussbaum, en general, el trabajo de la doctora se ha centrado en reflexionar la dimensión moral y ética de aquello que es humano. Ya sea desde los filósofos y trágicos griegos y su relación con la modernidad, hasta las maneras actuales de exclusión y tolerancia, pasando por sus estudios recientes de las emociones, el amor, el feminismo, el derecho y un largo etcétera.

    En una entrevista dada a William D. Adams, para la revista Humanities, Nussbaum señaló que toda su carrera se trata sobre buscar las condiciones del florecimiento humano y preguntar:

    “¿Cuáles son las catástrofes que pueden interponerse en el camino? ¿Cuáles son las formas en que somos vulnerables? Por supuesto, como seres humanos, debemos ser vulnerables. No debemos tratar de decir que podemos ser autosuficientes o hacer lo necesario para una buena vida por nuestra cuenta, porque necesitamos a otras personas”.

    En lo estrictamente filosófico, la doctora Nussbaum ha incursionado en casi toda la filosofía antigua griega con resultados en su mayoría de impacto. Por ejemplo, en 1972 publicó una serie de artículos sobre la ética y moral del concepto de ΨΥΧΗ (Alma), en Heráclito.

    Del mismo modo, tiene artículos académicos sobre Aristóteles, los Estoicos (desde Zenón, de Citio, hasta Séneca), los Escépticos (desde Pirrón hasta Sexto Empírico), los Cínicos, Platón, los Epicúreos y demás pléyade de pensadores griegos.

    No sólo sus artículos causan provocación, sino también sus libros como “La fragilidad del bien: fortuna y ética en la tragedia y la filosofía griega” (Ed. Machado). Libro en el que rechaza el clásico argumento platónico de que una buena vida es de total autosuficiencia.

    Además, las reflexiones filosóficas de Craven Nussbaum han tratado el cosmopolitismo, como en “La tradición cosmopolita” (disponible en inglés y próximo a publicarse en Ed. Paidós). Libro en el que reflexiona, a partir de la célebre cita acuñada al filósofo cínico Diógenes, el perro, la noción de cosmopolitismo en la actualidad como punto de encuentro más que de separación.

    Entre sus libros dedicados a la filosofía destacan “Libertad de conciencia” (Ed. Tusquets), “La terapia del deseo. Teoría y práctica en la ética helenística”. (Ed. Paidós) y “El Conocimiento del amor: ensayos sobre filosofía y literatura” (Ed. Machado).

    Su influencia no se limita a la filosofía; en el buscador académico de Google su nombre arroja 85 mil 300 resultados en tanto que en Jstor, otro buscador académico, tiene más de 14 mil referencias. Las referencias son en áreas tan diversas como la sociología, la ciencia política, el derecho, la historia, la psicología, la economía, la antropología y el psicoanálisis.

    Tampoco la actividad de Martha Nussbaum no se limita a la vida académica. Durante su trayectoria ha entablado diálogos públicos y provocativos con importantes figuras intelectuales angloparlantes como la jurista Catherine Mackinnon y con la feminista Judith Butler, sobre feminismo. 

    Además, Nussbaum sostuvo una discusión más que diálogo con Allan Bloom, en una reseña que hizo en The New York Review of Books, en el que la filósofa lo acusó de tener una visión elitista de las universidades y de haber citado mal a Platón.

Asimismo, ha sido una de las críticas más férreas de las políticas y de los seguidores del actual presidente de los Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, como se constata en uno de sus más recientes libros “La monarquía del miedo” (Ed. Paidós). 

    En éste, Nussbaum se imagina un diálogo imaginario con un personaje denominado “Defensor del miedo” (DM). Tras un intercambio de palabras, Nussbaum le señala a DM:

    “Mis alumnos no confían en nadie que haya votado por Donald Trump y consideran que tales personas son como una fuerza hostil, unos despreciables en el mejor de los casos, o unos fascistas en el peor” (pág. 30).

    Por otro lado, la doctora Craven Nussbaum ha visitado nuestro país en varias ocasiones. El 2012 dictó la conferencia “Cultivando las humanidades” en la Cátedra Alfonso Reyes en el Tecnológico de Monterrey.

    Al año siguiente, leyó la conferencia “Capacidades, justicia social y la importancia de la filosofía” en la Universidad Iberoamericana, de la que recibió un doctorado honoris causa. 

    En el 2016 clausuró en Puebla el “Primer Congreso Internacional de Cultura Globalización y Desarrollo Social”, organizado por la UPAEP.

Apenas el año pasado, el Tecnológico de Monterrey anunció que Nussbaum cerraría el XX aniversario de la Cátedra Alfonso Reyes con la conferencia: “Enojo y miedo: La amenaza para la democracia”.

    Su actividad en días recientes tampoco es limitada a sus clases en la Universidad de Chicago. A pesar de la cuarentena ocasionada por la pandemia por el Covid-19 y de su apretada agenda, otorga entrevistas a diferentes medios de comunicación y no evade cuestionamientos.

    A mediados de abril dio una entrevista para la agencia EFE, a Jairo Mejía, en la que refirió, también, sus pensamientos sobre el Covid-19 en su país y en el mundo, así como se lamentó de pasarse todo el día frente al computador. 

    “No quiero más conferencias en Zoom, me paso el día delante del ordenador con los alumnos”, señaló.

    Apenas ayer El País, de Uruguay, publicó una entrevista de Nussbaum con Hugo Alconada Mon en la que trata sus reflexiones sobre el presente y el futuro de la pandemia que generó el Covid-19.

    A grandes rasgos, estas limitadas líneas sólo intentaron señalar la importancia del pensamiento de Martha Nussbaum sobre lo que nos hace humanos. Ya sea como profesora, mentora, articulista, ensayista en la académica; ya sea como conferencista fuera de las universidades estadounidenses; ya sea como comentadora -más nunca opinóloga- de las problemáticas sociales actuales a los medios que lo piden.

    A reserva de lo que diga la audiencia, Martha Craven Nussbaum vive bajo esa célebre frase atribuida a Terencio: Homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum; (nada de lo humano me es ajeno).

    Como dato curioso, Nussbaum nació el mismo día que otro apasionado estudioso de las pasiones humanas: Sigmund Freud.ç

    Por último, el Fondo de Cultura Económica publicó a un precio accesible en el 2018 el libro “La ira y el perdón. Resentimiento, generosidad, justicia. Curso John Locke de Filosofía Universidad de Oxford, primavera de 2014”, de Nussbaum.

-Fin de nota-

NTX/EZP

[televinita]

Books Read in 2019: The Why

In a tradition I accidentally started for myself and now quite enjoy, at the end of the year I look back at my reading list and answer the question, why did you read this particular book? 

Below, the books are split into groups by target readership age, plus nonfiction at the end. This year I have added the category “how I heard of it” as well, because I just think that info is neat.

FICTION

The Visitor - K.L. Slater. 2018. Read because: Ten episodes of The Good Cop weren't enough, so I tried to find something w/ similar characters, and this looked kinda like "TJ as a slightly more withdrawn weirdo." By the time I realized it wouldn't work due to being British, I was too excited by the prospect of a thriller to stop.

How I heard of it: Googling keywords

Like the Red Panda - Andrea Seigel. 2004. The back cover and first few pages reminded me of a friend I had once.

How I heard of it: Library

The Lost Vintage - Ann Mah. 2018. What's that? You've got some secret family history/a mystery from the past to be solved using old personal papers, including a diary? My jams.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls (4th ed.) - Emilie Autumn. 2017. I googled for books that promised unique formatting/art design, and Emilie Autumn has always been an intriguing enigma to me.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name - Margaret Craven. 1967. I know this title, but not why -- when I tripped over it in the teen* section and saw how tiny it was, I decided to find out what it was about. (*it's there because it's often taught in schools. It's here because its intended audience is adult.)

Escape - Barbara Delinsky. 2011. Went looking for an audiobook -- the cover with a woman standing on a small bridge amidst the woods drew me in (I can't find that cover on the internet though), and the idea of abandoning responsibility and driving off to a small town sounded like my dream.

How I heard of it: Library

Saul and Patsy - Charles Baxter. 2003. Another search result from my attempt to cast Josh Groban in a novel -- Midwestern-set and a man very much in love with his wife, no worries about the relationship being wrecked? Sweet! (though ultimately, I had to mentally recast)

How I heard of it: Googling

California - Edan Lepucki. 2014. Needed an audiobook. The title and green forest cover caught my eye, and the off-the-grid life + promise of a mysterious and possibly suspicious settler community described in the plot appealed to me.

How I heard of it: Library

The Lost Queen of Crocker County - Elizabeth Leiknes. 2018. Woman moves back home to rural Iowa in a book described as a "love letter to the Midwest"? Look at all these good choices.

How I heard of it: Library

All The Things You Are - Declan Hughs. 2014. Was looking for a different book w/ this title, but saw Spooky Dark House cover + wild summary and wanted to know how that could possibly happen / what the explanation was.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

Tumbledown Manor - Helen Brown. 2016. Cover love. A book about restoring a historic family manor?? BRING ME THERE.

How I heard of it: Library

The War Bride's Scrapbook - Caroline Preston. 2017. IT'S LITERALLY A SCRAPBOOK. I loved her other one like this.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day - Winifred Watson. 1938. Rewatched the movie and needed to relive an alternate take immediately (especially for more Michael).

How I heard of it: special features on the DVD

April & Oliver - Tess Callahan. 2009. This just screamed "(slightly less storybook) Ned/Chuck AU!!" [Pushing Daisies] at me. There was semi-platonic comfort-spooning in the second chapter, COME ON.

How I heard of it: Half Price Books

A Short Walk to the Bookshop - Aleksandra Drake. 2019. This looked like an even more solid Ned/Chuck AU, missing only the childhood connection/age similarity, with bonus fave keywords anxiety, widower, bookshop and dog.

How I heard of it: Googling

Girl Last Seen - Nina Laurin. 2017. Recently watched "Captive" and wanted a story of the aftermath from the captive's perspective.

How I heard of it: Goodreads (specifically, I looked up an older book by this title intending to check out related recs, but this came up first)

The Road to Enchantment - Kaya McLaren. 2017. Gorgeous cover/title + "single [pregnant] woman inherits late mother's ranch" = an alternate life I want to try on.

How I heard of it: Library

From Sand and Ash - Amy Harmon. 2016. Love between childhood best friends who can’t (well, aren’t supposed to) touch? Sounds like a Ned/Chuck AU to me!

How I heard of it: a book blog post

My Oxford Year - Julia Whelan. 2018. Always here for age-appropriate student/teacher romances -- I had this one saved for a while -- but read now specifically to cast David Tennant.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond - Jaime Jo Wright. 2018. There's a mystery from the past being solved in the present. Also, "inherited hoarder's trailer" made me v. curious about what was inside.

How I heard of it: a book blog post

My Husband the Stranger - Rebecca Done. 2017. It's Find Books That Remind Me Of David Tennant's Roles Month, and this was my crack at "Recovery."

How I heard of it: Googling

The House on Foster Hill - Jaime Jo Wright. 2017. Fixing up a spooky abandoned historic house + solving a mystery from the past in the present!

How I heard of it: a book blog post

Broadchurch - Erin Kelly. 2014. Fell in love with the show, had to immediately relive it in text form.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Vanishing - Wendy Webb. 2014. Spooky historic mansion from a reliable author for the spookening season.

How I heard of it: looking up the author’s back catalog

The Scholar - Dervla McTiernan. 2019. The Ruin - Dervla McTiernan. 2018. "Hmmm looks kind of like (Irish) Broadchurch but where the detective character has a girlfriend to fuss over and worry about. Nice." Read out of order because the second one had more girlfriend content, and enjoyed it enough to go back for book 1.

How I heard of it: Googling

The Day She Died - Catriona McPherson. 2014. The cover looked perfect for the Spook Season/gloomy weather. Sign me up for insta-families and murder mysteries w/ MCs in possible danger any day.

How I heard of it: library (literally because it was right next to McTiernan)

Still Missing - Chevy Stevens. 2010. Collecting base material for when I play this scenario (abduction/prolonged captivity and its aftermath) out w/ TV characters I like.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone. 2019. It sounded EXACTLY like a (genderbent) Doctor/Master or Crowley/Aziraphale relationship.

How I heard of it: a book blog post

The Tale of Halcyon Crane - Wendy Webb. 2010. Wanted an audiobook and I like this author (esp. for spook season).

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

The Child Garden - Catriona McPherson. 2015. I liked her previous book and this setting looked even spookier and more atmospheric.

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Quiet Neighbors - Catriona McPherson. 2016. One last dip into this author...because what part of "woman gets a job organizing the books in 'the oldest bookshop in a town full of bookshops' + an old cottage to stay in" does not sound like my dream life?

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Doctor Who: The Nightmare of Black Island - Mike Tucker. 2006. After 2.5 months in a Ten/Rose spiral, the time was nigh to pluck one of their novels I didn’t get around to reading back in my original fandom heyday.

How I heard of it: can't remember

Misery - Stephen King. 1987. I just woke up one day and decided I was in the mood to try this infamous mother of all literary whumps.

How I heard of it: can’t remember

The Whisper Man - Alex North. 2019. Went looking for books that would remind me of the father/son dynamic in "The Escape Artist."

How I heard of it: Googling

Open Your Eyes - Paula Daly. 2018. Second crack at a "Recovery"-shaped novel (it failed instantly because I didn’t take the possibility of diversity into account, but suspense is still a good genre regardless).

How I heard of it: Googling

The Last - Hanna Jameson. 2019. "Dystopian psychological thriller" + the gorgeous hotel on the cover.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

------------------

YOUNG ADULT

Blood Wounds - Susan Beth Pfeffer. 2011. Established quality author + (what I thought was a) thriller premise.

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Beware That Girl - Teresa Totten. 2016. I wanted an audiobook, and contemporary YA options are limited at the library. The mystery/thriller aspect sounded good enough to spend 8+ hours with.

How I heard of it: library

Trafficked - Kim Purcell. 2012. I am mystified/intrigued by domestic/non-sexual slavery, and have not seen the topic covered in YA.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Wild Bird - Wendelin Van Draanen. 2017. I have long been fascinated by teen reform camps for girls in the wilderness.

How I heard of it: library

The Year of Luminous Love - Lurlene McDaniel. 2013. The Year of Chasing Dreams - Lurlene McDaniel. 2014.

The library didn't have Girl With the Broken Heart, but it did have a fat duology featuring similar elements of horses + tragic illness, and a trio of friends that called to mind Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

The Pull of Gravity - Gae Polisner. 2011. I was looking for quality male friendships, but the male/female friendship + road trip in this search result sounded like I could cast them as teen versions of Survivor contestants. I forget which ones.

How I heard of it: Googling

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) - Amy Spalding. 2018. Established quality author + bright cover, cool title, burger quest, MC's love of fashion and job in a clothing store, and summer in L.A. setting

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Tiger Eyes - Judy Blume. 1981. Found out Amy Jo Johnson was the mom in the movie version, decided to read the book as prep since once again, I knew the title, but not why I knew it.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay - Adib Khorram. 2018. I turned the internet upside down in search of books with quality male friendships, and was pointed here.

How I heard of it: Googling

Big Doc's Girl - Mary Medearis. 1941. Went looking for vintage stories of simple country girls who reminded me of Katharine McPhee's character in The House Bunny. (spoiler alert: this was not it even a little bit, why did I think it was)

How I heard of it: Googling

With Malice - Eileen Cook. 2016. Always here for random teen thrillers, including a fictionalized version of Amanda Knox.

How I heard of it: library

The Girls of No Return - Erin Saldin. 2012. Like I said, I'm big on girls reform camps in the wilderness.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Hope Was Here - Joan Bauer. 2000. Needed an audiobook. This one was short and by a proven quality author.

How I heard of it: library

Rules of the Road - Joan Bauer. 1998. Best Foot Forward - Joan Bauer. 2006. Bought the first super-cheap a while ago because of the cover/road trip aspect/fascinating first few pages; read NOW to keep the Bauer train rolling, followed immediately by its sequel.

How I heard of it: Goodwill/Goodreads

Now Is Everything - Amy Giles. 2017. Interesting format, sympathetic-sounding main character (edit: What Makes You Beautiful - Ha Ha Ha version.mp3), potential for a sweet and protective romance.

How I heard of it: library

Radical - E.M. Kokie. 2016. Survivalist/prepper teen?  Intriguing and underrepresented concept in YA.

How I heard of it: library

Hit the Road - Caroline B. Cooney. 2006. “It's spring, which means it's time to think about road trips.” Plus I just read a fun teen + old lady on the road book (Rules of the Road). It's thematic.

How I heard of it: library

I Am Still Alive - Kate Alice Marshall. 2018. I dig survival stories, especially in the wilderness, and this one was well recced.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Caged Graves - Dianne K. Salerni. 2013. Spook cover!! I MUST KNOW WHY THERE ARE CAGES OVER THESE GRAVES.

How I heard of it: library

Fancy Free - Betty Cavanna. 1961. Found cheap and will read this author always.

How I heard of it: antique store

Once And For All - Sarah Dessen. 2017. Stubborn determination to complete this author's canon and literally no other reasons.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Wired Man and Other Freaks of Nature - Sashi Kaufman. 2016. People in the Goodreads reviews were mad that the guys were so close yet not gay for each other. That's the very specific male friendship wheelhouse I've been looking for! Plus I know this author can write teen boys in a way I can tolerate.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Field Notes on Love - Jennifer E. Smith. 2019. Needed an audiobook and this was on display at the library; it looked cute and fluffy and I was ready for an antidote to the Dessen book.

How I heard of it: library

Midnight Sun - Trish Cook. 2017. Needed an audiobook and sick!lit seemed the most reliable of my options, given that previews for the movie had looked okay and it was real short.

How I heard of it: library

9 Days and 9 Nights - Katie Cotugno. 2018. Sequel to a book that drove me insane, but where I loved the writing style and was frustratingly fond of the characters so I Had 2 Know what happened next.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Your Destination Is On The Left - Lauren Spieller. 2018. Attractive cover + keywords like "nomadic RV lifestyle," Santa Fe, post-high-school YA, and internship

How I heard of it: library

Weird Girl and What's His Name - Meagan Brothers. 2015. X-Philes?? In MY modern-day YA fiction?? (with a side of inappropriate age-mismatched relationship?)  My interest is more likely than you'd think!

How I heard of it: library

All Out of Pretty - Ingrid Palmer. 2018. Attractive design + arresting first page piqued my curiosity

How I heard of it: library

Hitchhike - Isabelle Holland. 1977. Vintage book w/ a puppy on the cover, by an author I like.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Send No Blessings - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. 1990. Reread from high school after it came up on the What's The Name of That Book? discussion group; felt a strong pull of positive feelings but couldn't remember much.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Year of the Gopher - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. 1987 Wanted better understanding of the source material before reading an essay about this book and the above in Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature.

How I heard of it: another book

Up In Seth's Room - Norma Fox Mazer. 1979 There was an essay about this in Lost Masterworks too. I had read it a long time ago and remembered NOT liking it, but figured I might as well revisit it to review on Goodreads.

How I heard of it: library

Blizzard's Wake - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. 2002. Happened to be on the shelf when I checked to see what non-Alice books of hers the library had in stock, and figured as long I'm on a Naylor kick, this might as well happen. Mainly ‘cause I saw "deadly blizzard" on the back and was like "WOW this seems useful for my hurt/comfort scenario stockpile."

How I heard of it: library

A Whole New World - Liz Braswell. 2015. Seeing the new Aladdin trailer blew up my heart with FEELINGS for the original, so I went looking for a YA retelling. Can't believe I found an actual Disney-based retelling.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

After the Dancing Days - Margaret I. Rostkowski. 1986. The connection between Roy and the little girl in The Fall reminded me of this book, so I reread it specifically to visualize Andrew as Lee Pace.

How I heard of it: Library

There's Someone Inside Your House - Stephanie Perkins. 2017. I'll read most any teen thriller you throw at me. The more murders the better.

How I heard of it: Library

All the Forever Things - Jolene Perry. 2017. Loved the author's writing style on a previous book, but couldn't stomach the love triangle. Wanted to give her another chance.

How I heard of it: Library

Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz. 2012. Been on my TBR for a while because quality male friendship; read it now to see if I should keep or get rid of the dollar store copy I bought. (answer: get rid of. it's good but not amazing to me personally)

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Hollow Girl - Hillary Monahan. 2017. Violent revenge fantasy against rapists? Especially to save the life of a guy you like who was brutally beaten during your assault? Heck yeah.

How I heard of it: Library

The Opposite of Love - Sarah Lynn Scheerger. 2014. The hurt/comfort potential was off the charts and it vaguely reminded me of Ryan/Marissa (the O.C.).

How I heard of it: Library

Sophomore Year is Greek to Me - Meredith Zeitlin. 2015. It just looked light and cute, like summer.

How I heard of it: Library

Girl Online On Tour - Zoe Sugg. 2015. Girl Online Going Solo - Zoe Sugg. 2016. Two sequels to a book I enjoyed.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Plague Land - Alex Scarrow. 2017. Plague Land Reborn - Alex Scarrow. 2018. Always here for illness-based apocalypse/dystopia. Would have finished the trilogy but library doesn’t have book 3 yet.

How I heard of it: Library

Pretty Fierce - Kieran Scott. 2017. Spy daughter of spies running for her life along w/ doting boyfriend (named Oliver, a name that has never let me down in fiction)? The ship radar is sounding OFF.

How I heard of it: Library

The Leaving - Lynn Hall. 1980. Will read any LH book, but this one was small and easy to take on an overnight trip plus everything about the summary and first couple of pages drew me in.

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Speed of Life - J.M. Kelly. 2016. Beautiful cover, blue collar family, unusual premise (twin sisters co-parenting the baby one of them had, no dad in sight), and I love stories where teens are (essentially) head of household.

How I heard of it: Thrift Books

Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters - Meredith Zeitlin. 2012. Looked light and cute, because it's back-to-school time and lately I've been enjoying study blogs from people just starting high school.

How I heard of it: Library

The Land of 10,000 Madonnas - Kate Hattemer. 2016. Unsupervised teens a-wanderin' through Europe? Sign me up for that vicarious wanderlust.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

A Thousand Boy Kisses - Tillie Cole. 2016. A romance w/ astronomical hurt/comfort potential. (spoiler alert it’s too sickly saccharine even for me)

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Hooked - Catherine Greenman. 2011. Random reread of a book I had come to believe should have been 4 stars rather than 3, but couldn’t remember well enough to feel confident in changing the rating without checking first.

How I heard of it: Library

Appaloosa Summer - Tudor Robins. 2014. Horsey YA + after years of it being on my TBR, the author saw me post about this fact and offered to send me a free paperback copy for review.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I Stop Somewhere - T.E. Carter. 2018. I too identified as a girl my classmates would never notice was missing (moreso in college, but still). Plus it's getting close to Halloween, so time for spooky/true-crime-esque reads.

How I heard of it: library

What Waits in the Woods - Kieran Scott. 2015. An ideal spook setting for the spook season!

How I heard of it: Library

Illuminae - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. 2015. The formatting/art design just sounded cool and unique.

How I heard of it: a book blog post

Boot Camp - Todd Strasser. 2006. I went to the library to check out a different book of his, but this caught my eye because WHUMPITY WHUMP (with a side of pining for the teacher he had previously been in a relationship with).

The Last Trip of the Magi - Michael Lorinser. 2012. Picked up cheap at a book sale for the struggling-to-survive-a-winter-night-outside aspect.

A List of Cages - Robin Roe. 2017. Male friendship loaded with hurt/comfort.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

-------

MIDDLE GRADE

Sparrow Road - Sheila O'Connor. 2011. The setting -- an artist's retreat at an old mansion on sprawling estate grounds formerly used as an orphanage -- captivated me.

How I heard of it: a Little Free Library (outside of a mansion repurposed as an art council's center, actually)

Annie's Life in Lists - Kristin Mahoney. 2018. I LOVE LISTS.

How I heard of it: library

Hope is a Ferris Wheel - Robin Herrera. 2014. Still grinding my teeth over Dessen's Once and For All, I was desperate for a sweet middle grade story to refresh my palate. Gimme that bright cover. Ooh, and a trailer park kid?

How I heard of it: Library

The Education of Ivy Blake - Ellen Airgood. 2015. Prairie Evers - Ellen Airgood. 2012. Also intended as a Dessen antidote, I picked up the sequel first due to the incredibly charming excerpt on the back, and then fell so in love with the character and writing style I needed more of her world.

How I heard of it: Library

When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead. 2009. Rave reviews from friends; mystery aspect sounded intriguing.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Counting By 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan. 2013. Picked up cheap at a fundraiser garage sale I wanted to support; seemed easily readable.

Summerlost - Ally Condie. 2016. Young!Ned/Chuck AU?? (spoiler alert: maybe if it wasn't so boring)

How I heard of it: Googling

Where The Heart Is - Jo Knowles. 2019. "Country girl taking care of the animals at a hobby farm across the road" = the childhood dream and also I wanted to ignore the summary and hope I could still get a Young!Ned/Chuck AU. How I heard of it: Library

The Wizards of Once - Cressida Cowell. 2017. Twice Magic - Cressida Cowell. 2018. First one: David Tennant reads the audiobook, and literally no other reasons.

Second one: Ah heck turns out I kind of loved how David Tennant read that audiobook and want more.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece - Annabel Pitcher. 2011. David Tennant reads the audiobook, and literally no other reasons.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

----------

NONFICTION

Seinology: The Sociology of Seinfeld - Tim Delaney. 2006. It's sociology, it's Seinfeld, what's not to love?

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Survivor: The Ultimate Game - Mark Burnett. 2000. At the beginning of the year I was obsessed w/ this show like never before, so a detailed recap of one of its seasons seemed like the ticket to complement that.

How I heard of it: Googling

Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival - Yossi Ghinsberg. 1985. Loved the movie, wanted to relive it in text form.

How I heard of it: special features on the DVD

Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature - ed. Connie Zitlow. 2002. There was an essay about Send No Blessings in here. If that's the kind of book this book is about, I wanna hear all about it.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

Animals in Young Adult Fiction - Walter Hogan. 2009. From the same publishing line as the above, which I loved, I figured this was even MORE my specialized reading niche.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Phantoms of the Hudson Valley - Monica Randall. 1996. When I have I ever NOT wanted to read about grand mansions of yesteryear -- especially if some are abandoned ruins?

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Seven Cats and the Art of Living - Jo Coudert. 1996. Picked up cheap at a library sale because cats (and the cute author-illustrated cover painting).

Psychic Pets and Spirit Animals: True Stories From The Files of Fate Magazine. 1996. Random reread of a childhood favorite.

How I heard of it: B. Dalton's (THAT’S how long I’ve had this book, y’all).

Extreme Couponing - Joni Meyer-Crothers with Beth Adelman. 2013. Who doesn't love saving money? But I am not very coupon-savvy and wanted to learn.

How I heard of it: Library

Cabin Lessons: A Tale of 2x4s, Blisters and Love - Spike Carlsen. 2015. Having the money/skill to build my own cabin on MN's north shore is a fun daydream.

How I heard of it: Library

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book  - Wendy Welch. 2012. Opening a used bookstore is my impractical dream too.

How I heard of it: Library

Belonging: A German Reckons With History and Home - Nora Krug.  2018. Illustrated memoirs are always awesome.

How I heard of it: Library

The Astor Orphan: A Memoir - Alexandra Aldrich. 2013.

Rokeby was one of the estates that fascinated me in Phantoms of the Hudson Valley, and the content of this one took place around the same era that book was written.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I'll Be There For You: The One About Friends - Kelsey Miller. 2018. Am I going to turn down "a retrospective" about one of my favorite shows?? I am not.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB & UPN. 2007. Recommended after the above because I love hearing how network TV stations are built in terms of programming decisions.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of 80s and 90s Teen Fiction - Gabrielle Moss. 2018. Take how I reacted to Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature, and multiply it by "fully illustrated with brightly colored pages." These are the kind of books I’m familiar with and always down to talk/hear about, but hardly anyone else is.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

[kaoskakibandung3]

Chelsea menjalani bursa transfer musim panas 2021 dengan sangat baik. Selain membeli pemain, mereka juga tercatat melepas beberapa pemainnya.

Chelsea membeli Romelu Lukaku dari Inter Milan dengan mahar 155 juta Euro. Mereka juga berhasil mendatangkan Saul Niguez dari Atletico Madrid.

Di sisi lain, Chelsea juga berpisah dengan sejumlah pemainnya. Di antaranya pemain yang meninggalkan The Blues adalah Tammy Abraham, Kurt Zouma hingga Olivier Giroud.

Namun, tidak semua pemain yang ingin dilepas Chelsea bisa meninggalkan klub. Mereka gagal pergi sehingga harus tetap bertahan di Stamford Bridge pada musim ini.

Berikut ini lima pemain Chelsea yang gagal dilepas selama bursa transfer musim panas.

1 dari 5

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Ruben Loftus-Cheek Resmi memperpanjang kontraknya di Chelsea © Chelsea FC Official

Ruben Loftus-Cheek merupakan pemain didikan akademi Chelsea. Namun, gelandang asal Inggris tersebut kesulitan mendapat kesempatan bermain reguler.

Loftus-Cheek dipinjamkan ke Fulham pada musim lalu. Namun, pemain berusia 25 tahun tersebut gagal membuat dampak yang signifikan selama berada di Craven Cottage.

Mantan pemain Crystal Palace itu tidak masuk dalam rencana Thomas Tuchel di Chelsea. Setelah gagal pindah, Loftus-Cheek sepertinya harus menghabiskan sebagian besar waktunya di bangku cadangan.

2 dari 5

Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley © AP Photo

Ross Barkley direkrut Chelsea dari Everton pada tahun 2018. Namun, gelandang asal Inggris tersebut gagal menunjukkan performa impresif saat seperti di Goodison Park.

Seiring berjalannya waktu, Barkley terisih dari skuad Chelsea. Sang pemain pun menjalani masa peminjaman bersama Aston Villa pada musim lalu.

Burnley kabarnya ingin meminjam Barkley pada hari terakhir bursa transfer musim panas. Namun, transfer tersebut gagal terwujud sehingga sang pemain terpaksa bertahan di Stamford Bridge.

3 dari 5

Callum Hudson-Odoi

Pemain Chelsea, Callum Hudson-Odoi. © AP Photo

Callum Hudson-Odoi sudah jarang bermain untuk Chelsea. Pasalnya, dia harus bersaing dengan pemain-pemain macam Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, dan Timo Werner.

Menjelang penutupan bursa transfer musim panas 2021, Hudson-Odoi berpeluang meninggalkan Stamford Bridge. Leiceser City dikabarkan tertarik memboyong sang pemain.

Sayangnya, kepindahan Hudson-Odoi ke King Power Stadium tidak terwujud. Namun, pemain berusia 20 tahun tersebut masih bisa meninggalkan klub pada bulan Januari mendatang.

4 dari 5

Charly Musonda

Charly Musonda © CFC

Charly Musonda baru tampil tiga kali untuk tim utama Chelsea. Namun, pemain berusia 24 tahun itu akan tetap berada di skuad The Blues untuk musim 21/22.

Dengan kontraknya yang akan berakhir pada 2022, Chelsea berharap bisa menjual Musonda pada panas ini. Pasalnya, sang pemain bisa pergi secara gratis pada musim panas mendatang.

Namun, pemain sayap asal Belgia itu tidak bisa meninggalkan Chelsea karena cedera ligamen posterior. Musonda pun akan absen untuk sebagian besar musim ini.

5 dari 5

Lewis Baker

Lewis Baker merupakan pemain didikan akademi Chelsea. Sejauh ini sang gelandang asal Inggris tersebut hanya bermain sekali untuk The Blues.

Baker sudah dipinjamkan ke delapan klub berbeda. Musim lalu Baker bermain untuk klub Turki tepatnya bersama Trabzonspor.

Pemain berusia 26 tahun itu memasuki tahun terakhir di kontraknya dan Chelsea sudah tidak mau menawarinya kontrak baru. Baker sudah tidak punya masa depan di Stamford Bridge.

[booksfromthefuture]

Book Launch and Lecture Performances : Performance Society by Books From The Future Organised as part of the current class on Performance and Performing Identities. 6th July 7.30pm @Evening Class ABOUT THE LECTURE PERFORMANCES Performance Society Curated by Yvan Martinez and Joshua Trees with lecture performances by:

Claude Marzotto and Maia Sambonet (Milan) The Nose Theory & Other Masks NY City, 1967. The Italian director Sergio Zavoli and his troupe meet Saul Steinberg in his Manhattan apartment. As the conversation unfolds across the rooms, the illustrator engages a subtle play with graphic materials – paper, drawing and photos – to constantly question and shape his own identity in front of his interlocutors. Tom Joyes (Glasgow) Performing Truth: Non-Fiction-Science-Fiction Non-Fiction-Science-Fiction is a genre that aims to be documentary, speculative and highly aesthetic at the same time. How does this combination produce a convincing science-fiction through the performance of truth? And to what extent does the designer have an obligation to tell the truth in a time of slippery subjects and uncertain sources?

Franek Wardyński (London) Invasive Species 3.0 In 1930, Oswald de Andrade articulated the concept of Cultural Cannabalism with the intention of subsuming foreign cultures under a Brazilian identity in what he called ‘poetry for export’. As our contemporary culture feeds off itself, the question of poetry remains… ABOUT THE BOOK Performance Society is a compilation of critical and performance writing on Performance. Experience has moved to the centre of cultural, economic and political action. Technology, its catalyst. Fantasies, Feelings and Fun, its currency. Postdigital selves enact the Aesthetics of Existence. Art as Life. Work as Play. Sign as Reality. Welcome to Performance Society. Contributors: Vicky Carr, Jack Clarke, Karolina Cialkaite, Loes Claessens, Georgia Cranstoun, Josiah Craven, William Fairbrother, Jurate Gacionyte, Léa Gallon, Paul Haworth, Lars Høie, Tom Joyes, Halima Olalemi, Elisa Raciti, Jacob Rowlinson, Alberto Ruiz Soler, Tereza Ruller, Oliver Smith, Kirsten Spruit, Merve Ünsal, Bryce Wilner Edited and designed by Yvan Martinez and Joshua Trees Published by Books From The Future, June 2017 Risograph printed in an edition of 250; 290pp; 130x195mm

[ask-saul-tarvitz]

What is the meanest thing anyone has ever done to/said to/ called your muse?

[Meme]

Saul rubs his forehead, hesitating. “All right. ‘The meanest thing,’ to me, suggests something petty, unnecessary, and cruel. That being the case, the meanest thing someone did to me was follow my lead, maintain my trust, and act as a friend only to betray us all for his own personal gain. 

But it is far worse than that. Lucius actively slaughtered his own brothers to save his own wretched life. Mean isn’t apt enough a word. Despicable comes to mind. Craven too. And yet the darkest of these deplorable acts is what that bastard did to Solomon Demeter, not to me. That Lucius doesn’t suffer in any way…” 

Saul trails off, angrily looking elsewhere, his fists opening and closing at his sides. “You’ll have to excuse me, stranger… I think that’s all I would like to say on the subject.” 

[foreverknightalways]

Back at the 27th precinct, Schanke come into room with a stack of files. Nick asks, Problem? Schanke answers, No thanks. I've already got one. Nick answers, Craven. Schanke says, Vanessa suddenly developed a case of laryngitis. Nick asks, Do you we got a plan B? Schanke continues, Stonetree's going to plead our case for us, but without Vanessa's testimony... Nick interrupts, Yeah, the fat lady's just sung. Schanke say, Hey, you got that right. I mean, this stinks. We've got circumstantial linking Craven to six killings in the last two years, and now our only witness is convinced we can't protect her.

[jml726]

I had a dream the other night where I was in my apartment getting ready to go out and out of no where, Mandy Patinkin walks in and starts making himself a sandwich. Not with like regular lunch meat or a PB&J like you would think, but he started frying up chicken cutlets, cooking bacon, and toasting bread for his sandwich. It was just so bizarre...I'm still so confused. What the hell does this mean?

[nonbinaryhatboxghost]

8:47pm. The MST3K we watched was The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t. My sanity was nearly destroyed by how bad the movie was and the recurring “I’m a baby” gag.

Matthew has gone to bed so there will be no more slasher watching this evening. The plan is to do Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, then Freddy vs. Jason, then Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, and finally Jason X. Because nothing can possibly follow what I’ve been told happens in that movie.

I’ve got one more Better Call Saul episode, so that’s something.

I also have more Firestarter to read.

I should also make food as I technically didn’t have dinner yet.

[mastcomm]

In the Met Opera’s ‘Agrippina,’ the Roman Empire Never Ended

What if the Roman Empire — with all its decadence, corruption and power-grabbing rulers left unchecked by an oddly docile Senate — never really ended?

That was the conceit that the Scottish director David McVicar used two decades ago, when he first staged Handel’s “Agrippina,” a black comedy about a mother’s Machiavellian machinations to make her son, Nero, the emperor of Rome, and set it in the present day.

Fast-forward 20 years, and Mr. McVicar is remounting the production at the Metropolitan Opera, which is staging “Agrippina” on Feb. 6 for the first time in its history as a star vehicle for the mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. And he is discovering that conditions in 2020 may be more conducive to his vision than was the present day circa 2000.

“Of course, the political world is, if anything, even crazier, and in some ways closer to the brutal politics of ancient Rome, than it actually was 20 years ago,” Mr. McVicar said in an interview, citing the United States, Britain and Brazil, among so many convulsing countries.

When his “Agrippina” premiered in 2000 in Brussels, its first critics wrote that its power-suited cast called to mind politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Bill and Hillary Clinton, and television shows like “Dynasty.” Its Trump-era return suggests a different set of rulers — and programs like “House of Cards,” “Succession” and “Veep.” Its timeliness will be palpable at a moment when the classicist Mary Beard has written of how frequently she is asked “Which Roman emperor is Donald Trump most like?” and Edward J. Watts’s 2018 book “Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell Into Tyranny,” is dissected for clues about the fate of representative democracy in the United States.

Ms. DiDonato, who sings the title role in “Agrippina,” said in an interview that parts of the opera felt as if they had come off the nightly news. “David, of course, had the instinct that this was a very modern piece,” she said. “And I think it amplifies the genius of the piece, and his production, that it’s even more compelling, and even more modern, in 2020.”

Some of the super-contemporary connections will be in the eye of the beholder: Much of Mr. McVicar’s original staging has remained the same for the Met’s staging, which will be conducted by Harry Bicket and also features the mezzo Kate Lindsey as Nerone (Nero, in Handel’s Italian), the countertenor Iestyn Davies as the army commander Ottone and the soprano Brenda Rae, in her Met debut, as Poppea.

But this “Agrippina” has inevitably taken on new meanings as the world changed around it. Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, addressed the elephant in the room during a recent talk about the opera at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, an event held as the impeachment trial of President Trump unfolded in Washington.

“‘Agrippina’ is a dark comedy about the corrupt leaders of ancient Rome, who lie and manipulate in their quest to stay in power,’’ Mr. Gelb said.

The audience dissolved into knowing laughter.

“I should say that we’re grateful to the White House for making ‘Agrippina’ feel more immediate,” Mr. Gelb said. “We like to think of the impeachment trial as a co-promotion for our new production.”

It is difficult to look at the centerpiece of the opera’s set — a golden staircase leading to a golden throne — without thinking of the escalator in the gilded lobby of Trump Tower, and the descent that ushered in the current political era.

Then there is the whole golf thing.

At a recent rehearsal in the basement of the Met, the bass Matthew Rose, playing the Emperor Claudius — yes, the title character of Robert Graves’s “I, Claudius,” whom Derek Jacobi played with a memorable stutter on television — began one scene by thwacking golf balls. The cap he wore was black, not red, and did not say anything about making Rome great again, but the sequence couldn’t help but conjure a certain American president who spends a great deal of his time on the links.

“We did that 20 years ago; that joke’s never gone away,” Mr. McVicar said of the golfing bit. “But it’s become particularly pungent right now.”

None of this is new for “Agrippina,” which has been about much more than ancient Rome since it was first staged in Venice in 1709.

“Even in the early 18th century, the piece was being used as a very thinly disguised satire on the state of Venetian politics,” Mr. Bicket, the conductor, said in an interview after leading a rehearsal from the harpsichord. “None of this changes: the way people lie to get into power, and lie even more to stay in power. How they use sex as a weapon. These are eternal truths. On it goes.”

Although “Agrippina” is set to become one of the oldest works in the Met’s repertory, Mr. McVicar said it never occurred to him to do such a modern-feeling piece in togas. His Roman Empire features homeless people pushing shopping carts; TV reporters; a lively bar scene; and a deranged Nero, consuming positively imperial amounts of cocaine.

Of course, it is not just politics that have changed over the past 20 years, but also fashion, technology and social mores. Keeping the production from turning into a period piece — albeit a very recent period — required some changes. The costumes had to be redesigned to reflect rising hemlines and modern-fitting suits; the hairstyles rethought; and technology introduced.

“We have a bar scene, and originally, in Brussels, everyone was sitting around talking to each other,” Mr. McVicar said. “This year, everyone’s either on their device or on their phone, ignoring each other.”

There have been more substantive changes, too. A scene in which Claudius chases his love interest, Poppea, was rethought to reflect the sensibilities of the post-#MeToo world. “It was too dark,” Mr. McVicar said. “It’s not funny any more: this nubile young girl being chased around an apartment by this elderly, very powerful man.”

So he tweaked the staging while trying to keep the mood comic by placing the emphasis on Claudius’s ridiculousness. Poppea’s characterization has evolved as well: “She now has to be much more assertive,” Mr. McVicar said. “Much more her own woman, and much less of the sex kitten that she was originally 20 years ago.”

The revival of mainstream interest in Handel and other early operas over the past 50 years or so has been one of the joys of the music world. But bringing these Baroque works to the enormous Met, which was designed — and supersized — for later operas, can be a challenge. The company did not stage a Handel opera until 1984, when it mounted “Rinaldo.”

Mr. McVicar said it was vital to keep the energy up for Handel to connect in a house the size of the Met; he had a big success when the Met staged his Bollywood-inflected production of “Giulio Cesare” in 2013. And Mr. Davies, the countertenor, questioned the idea that Handel works demand a special kind of intimacy.

“Your version of what you think is intimate is very different from what somebody in the 18th century would have thought intimate,” he said in an interview in the Met’s cafeteria after a recent rehearsal. “When they went to hear the ‘Messiah,’ and they heard the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus, or they heard bits of ‘Saul’ with all those trombones, that is the loudest music they’d ever heard. There’s nothing intimate about that. That is shocking, and Handel was out to shock.”

“Agrippina” tells a story that unfolded in Rome nearly 2,000 years ago. It has been 311 years since the opera had its premiere, sending up the politicians of his day, and 20 years since Mr. McVicar created his production, which satirized a whole new age.

Now the story is being told once again, a darkly comic power grab that ends with Agrippina’s exultant final line that she can die happy now that she has ensured that Nero will rise to the throne — quite the punch line, given that he would go on to have her killed.

The suggestion is that the world has always been a bit craven, and a bit crazy.

“This, for me, is the genius of what I think opera can do better than anything, but what art is meant to do,” Ms. DiDonato said. “How many times do we have to be knocked over the head with history, with the facts that are right before us? As a society, we still don’t get it. We still don’t get it. So we’ll keep telling the stories until we get it.”

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The first crack in Donald Trump’s red wall came on Christmas Eve when not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, except for Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said she was “disturbed” by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s promise of “total coordination” with Donald Trump in his impeachment trial in the Senate. “It’s wrong to pre-judge,” she said of McConnell working “hand-in-glove” with Trump.Straightforward and conscientious, so press-reluctant her name auto-corrects to “Murrow skis,” the daughter of a former governor breaking publicly with McConnell is like her donning a lampshade and popping open the Champagne on New Year’s Eve. When she opposed the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, rather than dramatize her struggle—by contrast to Sen. Susan Collins, who went on about how hard it all was but finally voted as Trump told her to—Murkowski voted “present.” It didn’t change the outcome—Kavanaugh’s approval was in the bag—but by going against Trump and McConnell she stayed true to her conscience, something the rest of her caucus lost in 2016, bearing out Sen. Lindsey Graham’s warning to his party that, by nominating Trump, “We will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.”  Murkowski wouldn’t have gone so far as to be “disturbed” had McConnell not committed one of the few mistakes of his political life in no longer simply doing everything Trump tells him to do, but doing it the way Trump tells him to. McConnell, left to his own devices, wouldn’t have revealed that “Everything I do during this [trial] I’m coordinating with White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position.” When defending Trump, it must be done loudly and immediately. He keeps score. Trump is driven so mad by impeachment—he claimed not to have been impeached in one of the hundreds of unhinged tweets he’s issued since the two articles were passed in the House—that he not only needed to be assured of acquittal, he had to have it blasted out prematurely to buy him a night or two when Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t disturb his dreams. Even before Murkowski’s rebuke, McConnell had inched back from the ledge Trump lured him on to. He told Fox & Friends Monday morning that he hadn’t “ruled out” witnesses. He had, of course, calling it an untimely “fishing expedition.” The cagey, sphinx-like McConnell realized too late he shouldn’t listen to Trump, a creature of impulse and immediate gratification. It’s McConnell, not Trump, who’s stacked the federal courts with 175 judges, setting a new indoor record when he got confirmed his seventh  “unqualified” nominee: 37-year-old Kentuckian Justin Walker, who lacked any time in a courtroom or practicing law since graduating. The Obama administration and most other administrations have had none.   McConnell has a point that impeachment is a “political process” but not that “there’s not anything judicial about it.” We’re all political and partial: Some people swear by the Mets over the Yankees or Dunkin’ over Starbucks, but no one admits to favoring wrong over right. It’s why we have trials, and as anyone who’s watched Law & Order knows that means witnesses and exhibits, direct testimony and cross-examination, and an impartial judge. McConnell keeps citing Clinton’s impeachment as precedent for what he’s doing. The 100-to-0 vote in that trial kept open having witnesses—and three were called ultimately called—even though there was already a stack of deposition testimony from the Starr Report. McConnell argued that “every other impeachment has had witnesses,” and that Clinton’s should include at least three. There might be some holiday sympathy for McConnell. Imagine what Trump would have done had McConnell held the door open for testimony from Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who may be escaping to run for the Senate in Kansas—not to mention former National Security Council chief John Bolton, who saw a “drug deal” going down in the Situation Room. There’s still time before the Jan. 28 deadline to recruit a new primary opponent for McConnell’s 2020 re-election bid.Before going all in with Trump, McConnell should have talked to those who’ve left his White House, or read the shelf full of books recounting life inside the West Wing and how, no matter how bad we think it is, it’s worse. Former White House Counsel Don McGahn packed up his belongings rather than carry out Trump’s orders to end the Mueller inquiry. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned rather than carry out Trump’s deadly Syria policy. John Kelly predicted impeachment should Trump have only “yes men” like Mulvaney and Pompeo around him. Rex Tillerson never took back calling Trump a “moron.” While  Bolton may be exaggerating his superpowers, without his containment of Trump and Trump’s penchant for photo-op summits, North Korea’s beautiful leader might be even closer to leveling Detroit. If Trump played his cards as well as the majority leader had until now, his casinos would not have gone bankrupt. He might not have made that perfect call and 90 minutes later ordered congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine halted. He wouldn’t have sent Mulvaney out to admit everything and advise everyone to get over bribing a foreign leader, or told Mulvaney  to take it back and then disappear. He wouldn’t have Pompeo lie that he wasn’t in on the “perfect” call only to have to deny his denial when the truth came out. If only McConnell hadn’t blurted out his plans, he could have done everything he said he would with impunity. Now, with Murkowski questioning McConnell throwing his lot in with Trump, he’s lost the first post-impeachment round to Nancy Pelosi. At worst, by holding on to the articles of impeachment, Pelosi chose a slow death over a quick one in the craven Senate. At best, she may get a fairer, if not a fair, trial, a witness or two that if she had waited—and waited—for court rulings to compel their testimony that would have been met with cries of outrage for daring to continue hearings in the midst of an election. Pelosi has also exposed that when McConnell swears an oath to be impartial at the opening of the trial, in the sight of his Baptist God and Chief Justice John Roberts, he’s either had an unbelievable change of heart, like Saul on the road to Damascus, or he’s perjuring himself. If we had a functioning Senate, McConnell would have to recuse himself. Alas, with Trump as de facto majority leader, that won’t happen.Senate Republicans didn’t ask for a spine for Christmas, but Murkowski showed what having one is like. “If it means that I am viewed as one who looks openly and critically at every issue in front of me, rather than acting as a rubber stamp for my party or my president, I am totally good with that,” she said.  And so are we. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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